Valt had decided to stay in Japan for a week or two so he could be there for Daigo. For five days straight, he stopped by Daigo's apartment every afternoon, along with Ken, to check on him. He never let them in his room, though.

"Do you ever wanna see Honcho again?" Valt asked him one day. He and Ken had volunteered to help him put away the shrine set up for the memorial. Daigo wasn't helping much, but Valt understood, so he didn't bother him about it.

In response to the question, Daigo simply shrugged. He didn't seem to be able to form words. Nothing could truly encapsulate how broken he felt.

Honcho himself had been too ashamed to go to the otsuya or the funeral, not that he'd be allowed to in the first place. He didn't intend to take so long to buy himself and Ryota some shobayaki. It was just going to be a quick vape break. How could he have broken his promise, even for just one moment?

"How could you be so stupid?" Valt chewed his best friend out later that day, shaking with anger once again.

Honcho had simply wiped his teary eyes, sniffling and quivering. He had no excuse for what he had done, and he knew it.

So that's it, Valt thought to himself, absolutely crushed. The original beyclub was officially broken up, forever. It just wouldn't be the same without Daigo or Honcho.

Eight years of friendship, gone.

One day, over two weeks after Ryota died, Valt found himself hanging out with the Black Hole Beyclub - all except for Daigo, who had called Ken and said that he didn't feel like leaving home. Valt had wanted to grab the phone away and demanded that he come, but he knew that would only make things worse. Daigo needed time to grieve. They all did.

"How're Toko and Nika?" Litsuko asked with concern.

Valt wanted to say they were okay, but they weren't.

"Whaddya think?" he sighed. He was squatting in front of the bey stadium, hands rested on the ground in between his feet like a frog.

"Fair enough," Litsuko replied, sounding ashamed of herself for even asking.

"Whaddya think we should do?" Jin asked. There was a rare spark of true emotion in his gaunt face. "Y'know . . . about Daigo."

Valt thought long and hard, racking his brain for a way to comfort his friend that he hadn't seen for a week. For some reason, his mind drifted to the wonderful scent of his mother's bread, and the heavenly feeling of sensing it just coming out of the oven downstairs.

"When I'm sad, my mom always makes me some fresh food," he thought out loud. "And when my gramma died, my siblings and I tried cooking something for her instead - y'know, to return the favor."

"Yeah, I remember that." Ken said. "Wasn't it terrible?"

"It still helped her, though." Valt groaned.

"I mean, it's pretty fundamental." Asa quipped. "But it could work: Shu sent me some of his pasta recipes a while back."

"That's perfect!" Valt squealed, jumping to stand up from his position. "Everyone likes Shu's pasta!"

"How 'bout we all show up at Daigo's place tomorrow?" Litsuko suggested, a big grin forming on her face. "We'll make him lunch and hang out with him for a while! He likes surprises."

"And we are not leaving the dishes behind for him to do." Asa insisted. "When my mom died, my dad completely forgot how to clean up after himself."

The image of empty takeout bags and dirty dishes littering the kitchen counter made Valt's stomach churn: he didn't have to be told twice.

"So it's settled!" he decided. "Tomorrow, we pull up with the ingredients and make Daigo a lunch he'll never forget!"

Everyone cheered in agreement. They quickly decided on a menu and a time to meet up and finished the plan with a cheesy but empowering, "go, team!" Valt turned on his heel and was about to hurry home for dinner when he heard Ken speak up.

"Uh, guys? One more thing."

Valt spun back around to look at his friend. Ken had a slight air of embarrassment hanging about them: their posture was awkward and their face was a pastel pink color.

"Everything okay, Kenny?" Litsuko asked.

"I, uh . . ." It took a moment for Ken to form a full sentence. Valt waited with an uncharacteristic patience.

"The night before . . . you know . . . I told Daigo how I feel about him."

Valt squinted his eyes in confusion. They looked around at the others: Asa's and Jin's eyes were wide, and Litsuko was gradually beginning to beam.

"And?" Asa egged Ken on.

Ken's cheeks were now a pleasant shade of crimson.

". . . He said he feels the same way."

Litsuko gasped with joy and grabbed onto her girlfriend's arm, shaking her excitedly.

"Wow," Jin acknowledged in shock. "Didn't think you had it in you, Mittens."

"Shut up," Ken hissed.

"Am I missing something here?"

Everyone's heads swiveled to look at Valt, their eyes bugging. Asa finally broke the silence, groaning in annoyance as she smacked the back of Valt's neck. A momentary snap of pain spread through his head.

"The fuck was that for, bitch!?" Valt cried out.

"Ken's liked Daigo for years, dimwit!" Jin snapped. "How the hell did you not notice, it was so obvious!"

"You need to get tested for autism," Asa went on. "There's no neurotypical explanation for that little social awareness."

"Forget that," Litsuko dismissed them. She turned to Ken. "Are you gonna do anything about this new . . . situation?"

"Well - well, not now," Ken stammered, finally meeting her eyes. "The tragedy's too fresh." Ken's face fell as they said this, and the newfound color faded from their face. Everyone solemnly agreed.

A short silence fell.

"You need taking care of, too?" Litsuko finally asked.

Ken shook their head.

"Thank you," they replied, "but I have my family to keep me grounded - Daigo doesn't."

Two days later, Valt, Asa, Jin, and Litsuko met Ken in the lobby of the apartment building they and Daigo resided in. Ken led them up to the eleventh floor with their groceries, and they knocked on the door. Valt anxiously shuffled his feet, secretly preparing for the worst.

"Think he's still asleep?" Litsuko wondered out loud.

"Probably," Jin said with a shrug.

Ken knocked again. A muffled voice from inside suddenly called out, "Coming!"

"It's like he senses your presence," Asa teased Ken.

Valt giggled like a hyena as Ken rolled their eyes.

Finally, the door opened, and Valt was face to face with a Daigo that he hadn't seen in over a week. Black circles hung heavy under his eyes, like the thickest eyeliner he had ever worn. His pajamas, consisting of a baggy black T-shirt and athlete's shorts, were stained. His hair was unkempt and damaged. His socks were dirty. The stench of cat litter arose from inside.

Daigo's eyes widened at the sight of his friends standing there with grocery bags and cautious smiles on their faces.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"We're here to take care of you." Valt declared. "Now let us in, dude!"

Daigo nearly fell over himself as his friends barged their way in, kicked off their shoes, and made themselves comfortable. He had no words - he just stood back and watched as Valt grabbed the vacuum cleaner, Asa and Ken headed to the kitchen, and Jin started clearing away takeout trash, stroking Bibi's spine as he passed her by.

"W-what's going on?" Daigo demanded. He cleared his throat. "I didn't ask you to come."

"But we're here," Litsuko announced. She snatched Mimi off the floor and shoved her into his arms. "Now go get dressed, we're making you lunch."

Daigo opened his mouth to try and formulate words, but hardly any sounds came out as Litsuko asked him where the litter box was. Recognizing that there was no arguing his way out of this, Daigo pointed her to the hall bathroom, and she skipped away as though she were about to buy herself some ice cream.

Really, he didn't know why he was surprised.