Aya Kingashi

Aya Kingashi is the deceased mother of Hitomi and Cahi Kingashi. She died of tuberculosis when Hitomi and Cahi were children.

Appearance
Aya was a slender, tall woman with long orange hair tied in a low ponytail by a red bow. Aya was often seen wearing a red satin dress and was a very pretty woman. Aya had pink eyes and when she was younger, she had the exact same hime cut as Hitomi but over the years, her hair grew out and the former hime cut would hang freely from her ponytail.

Personality
Aya was very kind and had a special place in her heart for children and always took them seriously. Despite her husband being a little rude sometimes, Aya never saw herself as above him as a person and treating him as any other person. Aya was very keen on manners, telling her children that they must always use manners because it makes people all warm and fuzzy inside. However, Aya can be very meek around people older than her sometimes. As a child, Aya always believed in obedience, no matter how badly she was treated by a person. Anyone older than Aya was like somebody zeniths upon her and thus she should treat them with much respect. When Aya became an adult, these feelings slowly faded away and Aya treated people older than her and herself as any other human being, not above or below her.

Story
Aya was born to the prestigious Kingashi family. She was raised an elite woman and when she graduated school, Aya moved to a Kingashi mansion in Sao Oi. Somewhere along the line, she married a man named Yuuto and had two children with him: Hitomi and Cahi. When the girls were both 7 years old, Aya fell ill with tuberculosis, and 3 years later, Aya’s illness was proven fatal when she passed away from the disease. In those 3 years, doctors told Aya that her fate was close, so Aya spent much time working with people to give both Hitomi and Cahi heirlooms. Yuuto left the house for a long time in search of money, as his side of the family was facing commercial issues, the said commercial issues because of Yuuto himself. Soon, Yuuto’s side of the family crumbled and finances became dependent on the Kingashis. Aya refused to give Yuuto any money as she said she was working for their children and that he needed to find a job. Aya got herself a maid named Nerine who took care of Aya 24/7 until the time Nerine went home: 8:00 PM. In the times Nerine came to the mansion, Aya was regularly seen bedridden as her condition gradually worsened. Hitomi did not like the many people who came to the house (not including Nerine), as Hitomi believed they were trying to take her mom away from her. Aya assured the girls that the people came for a good cause, but never revealed the good cause, as Aya didn’t want her children to know that she was working out her will, testament and legacy with these people. She had also been writing a very meaningful letter to both Hitomi and Cahi for after she died.

When all of her will was worked out, Aya spent the last weeks of her life showering her daughters with happiness and bright prospects. Aya told Nerine that she was happy that she got to go and die with love in her heart instead of pain and fear. Aya believed that when somebody dies, it may be painful but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a new life starting. That a day closes with a death and the sun rises with a new life. Yuuto came back in those coming weeks as a better person and stayed along with his wife and daughters in the last few weeks of Aya’s life. And on a February day, Aya passed away surrounded by her family with happiness and bright prospects as she said her goodbyes and was sent off to heaven. Aya’s last word was, “Farewell.”

Trivia

 * Aya means, “coloring (彩)”.
 * Sadako means, “chaste (貞), child (ko)”.