Chapter 11: Heartbreaks

[Quest: Be there for her]

Description: Comfort Shouko and help her with her grandmother's passing

Rewards: 2x normal gacha spins

Failure: Shouko's family's relationship with yours becomes distant

"What..this is too sudden...why now?" I muttered to myself, the words barely leaving my mouth.

Of course I would be sad...Grandma Ito became quite close to our family, Not only do I see her as my own grandma, Raiha did too. After all, she always treated us as family every time we drop by, and we haven't seen our grandparents as well so she took their place as a grandmother in our hearts.

*Didn't think I would encounter death again so soon* I thought to myself bitterly.

"But I need to be strong... for Raiha and for Shouko's family." I resolved myself, gritting my teeth and bringing Raiha and my mother along to Shouko's house.

{A/N I know that Grandma Ito dies a lot later but this is a fanfic so screw the cannon. If you guys don't like it then I'm sorry i guess.}

It was 8 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, and sobbing can be heard from inside the house. I knocked on the door, only to be greeted by Shouko's mother, Yaeko, her face quite helpless when she saw Raiha and me.

"Is this a bad time to drop by? I mean, is there something wrong? What happened?" I asked with worry in my eyes while Raiha was being worried as well. My mother had concern in her eyes, but waited for her to continue speaking first.

"Well, it's complicated, and I know you guys won't be happy because of what I want to ask of you guys...but can you ...go to Shouko and Yuzuru? They really need you guys right now." Yaeko was practically pleading, her eyes filled with moisture, but not crying. I guess she doesn't want her children to see this as a sign of weakness as a single mother - she wants them to see their mother as a headstrong woman.

We nodded our heads lightly and made our way through their apartment and reached Shouko's and Yuzuru's room while my mother remained with her in the living room. Raiha's eyes were brimming with tears at this point. When we looked inside, Shouko was sitting with her back against the room and head between her legs while Yuzuru was crouching at the corner of the room, bawling her eyes out.

When we called out to them, both of them lifted their heads, turned their heads towards us and realised who we were as Shouko started tearing. She sprang to her feet, surprising me slightly, threw herself into my arms letting out a flood of tears on my chest. Meanwhile Yuzuru and Raiha was hugging each other while bawling their hearts out.

Since Shouko couldn't control the volume of her voice well, she started bawling and shouting as well, squeezing me tightly, bringing herself as close as she can in my embrace. I put my arms around her back as well, hugging her tightly while trying to comfort Shouko at the same time.

The four of us just remained in our position for hours, until everyone except me got tired and fell asleep with a mess on their face. I carried the three of them into the bathroom, wiped the snot and tears on their faces before setting them on their beds. I tried calling my father, and it turns out he was already on the way home since he had gotten news of it a few hours ago from my mother.

I told him about Grandma Ito's passing, and I could hear him being silent for a while, before I hear a bit of sniffling on the phone. At this point, I realised that I had underestimated the depth of the relationship between the two families. After the call where my father told me that he would settle the funeral for them, I grabbed a chair to sleep by the three girls' side.

That night I was woken multiple times by the girls' cries, but every time I was there to comfort and calm them down. Raiha and Yuzuru was hugging each other while sleeping while Shouko was holding tightly onto my hand, as if she was afraid that I would be gone as well. Since everyone was in great turmoil, I decided to cook a light breakfast for everyone...but a lot was left over as everyone have completely lost their appetites.

A week later, Grandma Ito's funeral was held, as Yaeko couldn't pay for it (A/N Remember that she was a single mother providing for two kids), my father told her that he had already settled it for her. Raiha was hugging dad along with mum, Yuzuru was hugging her mum while Shouko was in my arms the entire time. She broke into tears from time to time, making my recently dried clothes soaked by the end of the day.

[Quest completed, rewards are being issued.]

[2x normal gacha spin]

*Sigh, I really hate that sound sometimes* I thought with a little resentment inside me. The last time I almost lost my mother, and now I lost my grandma. I couldn't stop her death. No one could stop old age, not even a senzu bean. A senzu bean heals all injuries, but couldn't provide enough life force to reverse ageing.