EDIH

7: Once Upon A December

Bey City, Japan, Earth

Tyson felt hollow. The days leading up to Kai's funeral felt like dreams rather than reality. The others had come back to the dojo and offered their condolences to him. Max had bawled in his arms, wishing someone would tell them it was a sick joke. Tyson wanted to hear the same thing but everything became too real when they brought his body from Australia.

Rin had to identify Kai's corpse - Tyson had to comfort him afterwards because Rin didn't want anyone else to see his tears - and that just solidified the fact that Kai really was dead.

Mariah, Tala, Garland and Miguel were alive but they blamed themselves for Kai's death. Lee and Ray were constantly trying to convince Mariah that she had done enough and that it wasn't her fault but she ignored them. She was always apologizing to Tyson, as if it was her fault that Kai was dead.

Bryan was constantly by Tala's side, soothing him, while Miguel hardly let anyone near him. Garland was constantly talking with the others, trying to not let the grief consume him but Brooklyn had told him that it pained Garland to the point where he would cry only at night when he thought no one could hear him.

Surprisingly, Voltaire had arrived to Bey City and Tyson had never seen the old man look so devastated. His only grandchild was dead and he sometimes pondered if Voltaire felt guilt for not being a better grandfather to Kai. If he was in Voltaire's shoes, he knows he would've.

The funeral was to happen today, three days after Kai's demise. Tyson was dressed in his best black suit, provided to him by Aya because he didn't own any suits. He hadn't gone to a funeral in years - the service they did for Night didn't count - so it felt weird dressing in so many dark colors. He fixed his black tie as Hiro entered the room. His older brother was dressed in black too, looking at Tyson with sad eyes, "Let's go, Tyson. The service started."

"Yeah, I'm on my way." Tyson muttered before they headed to the funeral home where the wake was going to be done. They arrived when there was a crowd there, familiar faces mixing in with the ocean of unfamiliar people. Tyson cleared his throat as he walked in, wiping his tears away. He wanted to be near Kai's coffin but he knew he wouldn't have the strength to do it. He wasn't strong enough.

The coffin was an open casket so you could see Kai's pale, lifeless body. Kenny had broken down in front of the coffin when he had seen their former captain and Hilary and Kaori were one of the first to attempt to comfort him.

No one had dared break the silence in the room after that, some people conversing softly in Russian or other languages Tyson didn't recognize but he supposed these people had known Kai. He heard pieces of the conversations but decided he didn't care enough to understand them. Kai was gone, his brain whispered. What was he to do now?

"It's okay, Ty," Aya whispered hoarsely to him, passing him a tissue. Tears were running softly down her cheeks but she was still holding herself firm. In private, though, she allowed herself time to properly grieve. This, however, was Kai's funeral so she had to keep up appearances as the future heir of Orikasa.

Tyson smiled at her, appreciating his brother's girlfriend's gesture. Aya nodded before she walked towards Hiro, the older Granger wrapping his arms around her trembling frame. She leaned to the embrace and Tyson wished he could do the same. He looked around the room, taking it all in.

Nami was talking with her parents in English in a secluded part of the funeral home, the girl occasionally sniffing while her parents comforted her. Nami's father wiped a tear from his daughter's face while Nami's mother openly wept.

The twins were walking around talking with the businessmen that had come to the funeral to pay their respects to the deceased Hiwatari heir. Shun was holding Hikaru's hand and he looked ready to burst into tears.