As soon as Valt heard the news, he had hopped on a plane back to Japan lickety-split. Along with the Midoris, he and his family had been asked to come to Ryota's otsuya, a Japanese ceremony that occurs the night before the actual funeral.

The night of said otsuya, Valt dressed in a black suit, as was the custom. His mother, Chiharu Aoi, dressed in her kimono, while Nika wore a nice black dress with Mary Jane's; Toko wore a white dress shirt and black dress pants. The house was silent except for the shuffling of feet and the occasional sniffle. Valt's father, a pilot, unfortunately wasn't able to come.

The drive to the apartment building where Daigo lived was uncomfortably quiet, especially for Valt: he hated silence, but not as much as he hated seeing his friends in distress. And Valt knew that no matter how sad he was, Daigo was infinitely worse.

"We're here," Chiharu announced as she brought the van to a halt in the parking garage under the apartment building. "Nika, you got the basket?"

Nika nodded sullenly. Just like back when Ryota was still in the hospital, Chiharu had prepared a basket of bread rolls shaped like Raiju. This basket was a little bigger than the last one, though.

The four climbed out of the van and made their way up to the elevator. Valt hadn't been in Daigo's apartment for a while, and he had never met his mother. But he hadn't exactly heard a lot of good things about her.

When Chiharu knocked on the door, an old woman wearing a stylish black kimono answered it. She was short and tubby, but she had dark eyes similar to Daigo's.

"Hello," Chiharu greeted her in a solemn tone. She bowed formally to her. "We're the Aoi family. We're come to pay our respects."

"Ah, yes," Daigo's grandmother answered with a nod. "Come in."

Valt took a black and silver envelope out of his suit pocket and handed it to the woman as he and his family stepped over the threshold. They were all careful to remove their shoes as they took in the sight before them. Most of the people in the room, Valt recognized: Daigo was sitting in the corner, and Ken and their family were scattered about. The only other two people whom Valt hadn't met before were Daigo's mother and grandfather, who were sitting at the dining room table, heads bowed. The smell of smoke and lotuses filled the vicinity.

"Good afternoon," Chiharu cautiously said to Daigo's mother, who was also wearing a kimono. "I think we've met before - I'm Chiharu."

"Tsakana," Daigo's mother mumbled in response. Her indigo eyes were red and puffy.

"We brought you bread," Nika offered, setting the basket on the table.

"Thank you, dear," Daigo's grandfather said quietly. "That's very kind of you."

Tsakana picked up a roll, eyeing it curiously. To Valt's confusion, she didn't seem to recognize its shape.

"They were modeled after Ryota's bey, Kindred Raiju," Toko said, answering her question before she could ask it.

"I see," Tsakana exclaimed. "I . . . wouldn't have noticed." Fat tears began to stream from her eyes once again.

"Oh, Tsakana," Himeko Midori rushed over to comfort her.

Valt was nearly shaking with fury. How could she not know what her dead son's bey looked like? Ryota had competed in the team battle leg of the national tournament. Surely she had seen everything on TV, right?

"Hi, Valt."

Valt turned around to find Ken standing there, their green eyes glossed over from all the tears they had cried. They had fastened their hair back in a low ponytail. Valt didn't hesitate before giving them a big hug, squeezing them tightly. He could feel Ken's body trembling between his arms.

"Where's Daigo?" Valt asked as he pulled away. He was already getting choked up.

Ken gestured over to where the shrine had been set up. Under the living room window, a bench had been covered with a white tablecloth. On top of it sat a photograph of Ryota, beaming as though he had discovered that the world was made of chocolate. On each side of said photograph was a tray of incense, gentle streams of smoke billowing from the sticks; Mr. Invincible was there, too. Daigo was sitting in front of it, knees hugged to his chest, barely moving as though frozen in time. He looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock and die, and that was probably pretty accurate as to how he was feeling.

Valt approached his friend and sat beside him. He knew Daigo wasn't the biggest fan of hugs, but Valt couldn't resist: he wrapped his arms around his dear friend and gave him a big squeeze. By some miracle, Daigo hugged him back.

"I'm so sorry," Valt whispered, voice cracking. A few tears escaped his eyes.

"I know," Daigo whispered back, his shaking hand pressing into Valt's back. "I know."

The front door opened again, and Asa, Jin, and Litsuko all entered, as well as a couple other members of the Beigoma Academy Beyclub, all wearing black. Tsakana didn't seem to know who they were, but Valt watched as Toko and Nika vouched for them, though Daigo's grandparents looked suspicious. The area was getting a little crowded now, and Valt could tell that both Daigo and Ken were uncomfortable.

"Wanna go to your room?" Valt asked Daigo.

"Yeah, thanks," Daigo said with a nod. "It's messy, though, so - "

"Dude, I don't fucking care." Valt insisted.

Daigo's eyes teared up once again. He swallowed hard before nodding and getting up. Valt and Ken followed him to his room, and when he opened the door, Valt was a little taken aback by what he saw: it looked as though it had been ransacked. Daigo seemed to have ripped the room apart in a fit of heartbroken rage.

"Sorry about this," Daigo mumbled as he sat on the edge of his bed. Ken immediately sat down next to him and wrapped their arms around him.

"Don't be, man," Valt reassured him. "If it were me, it'd be even worse."

"Don't doubt it," Daigo quipped.

"By the way, the others at BC Sol send their regards," Valt reminded him.

Daigo nodded his thanks. Silence momentarily fell over the room. Valt could hear the cacophony of soft crying and mumbling from down the hall.

"So," Valt said hesitantly, "is Honcho gonna come - ?"

"No."

Valt was taken aback by the terrifying fog that filled Daigo's eyes. Valt had already been told by his mother about what had happened: apparently, Honcho was supposed to be watching Ryota when he went off to get a snack for the two of them. He was gone for a suspiciously long time, and when he finally returned, Ryota was in the middle of an awful seizure. Valt couldn't even imagine how angry and betrayed Daigo felt.

"What the fuck!?"

Valt jumped as he heard Tsakana's shrill wailing from the living room. The three hurried out to see what was going on. There was Daigo's father, standing in the doorway with an awkward disposition. Everyone was staring at him, horrified and perplexed. Daigo's grandfather looked like he was going to faint.

"What're you doing here!?" Tsakana shrieked at her estranged husband, her face ashen.

"Tsakana, listen, I just wanted to - "

"Get out, get out!"

"Mom, stop it!"

Valt watched on in horror as Tsakana shooed her husband out of the apartment, smacking him in the head and face as he feebly tried to shield himself. She finally shoved him out, slamming the door behind him.

"What the hell!?" Daigo snapped. "I asked him to come - "

SMACK!

Valt gasped as Daigo's grandmother slapped him cleanly across the face.

"How dare you disrespect your mother like this!"

The room fell completely silent. Not a sound followed. Valt looked around the area: the Midoris were terrified. The Aois were shocked. Asa, Litsuko, and Jin were visibly furious. Valt waited for Tsakana to correct her mother, but she didn't even look at her.

"Everyone, thank you for coming." Tsakana snarled through gritted teeth. "Now get the hell out."