Sachiko Kasukabe

**Sachiko Kasukabe** (粕壁 幸子, *Kasukabe Sachiko*?), born **Sachiko Matsushima** (松島 幸子, *Matsushima Sachiko*?), is the deceased beloved grandmother of Hayato Kasukabe who died a little before the story starts, leaving Hayato with ownership of the café.

Her absence is still felt throughout the story, whether it be because of her debts, because of her influence on heroines like Shiragiku Ono, or because her death reminds the heroines of some of their own family problems.

## Appearance

During her youth, Sachiko was a beauty with long wavy hair while wearing her uniform. It turns out that her future great-grand daughter of her grandson Hayato Kasukabe looks exactly like her.

## Personality

Sachiko was known to be caring and selfless, always making sure to treat her customers like family. She worked very hard every day to keep the café which she treasured running, even going as far as sucking up to debt collectors, particularly Shigehisa Fuwa. When the group of girls who would later work for Hayato Kasukabe approached her, she allowed them to work for her and gave each of them a place to live. She did this ignoring the budget she worked with, showing she had a high capacity for empathy.

Sachiko frequently got into arguments with Hayato, the latest one caused them to not communicate for three years, a period which Hayato later regrets.

## Plot

Sachiko was born in 1945, after the war at Ishikawa prefecture. She used to work on Familia Café Terrace along with 5 other girls under Masahiro Kasukabe, whom she later married. At age 18, she entered the culinary world and trained at numerous famous restaurants. In 1988 at age 43, she moved to Spain and was head chef for 15 years on a restaurant. During that time the restaurant was awarded with 3 michelin stars. In 2005, as owner-chef, she planned to open a new restaurant in Spain called, "Anhelo" (means **longing** in Spanish). But before it could be completed the construction was terminated and she returned to Japan.

Hayato Kasukabe realized that it was during the time his parents died in the car accident and his grandma took him to raise by herself. So she had the others who know the story hide it to avoid Hayato from blaming himself. For her to keep watch on her grandson while growing up, she reopened the café but with an ordinary menu, composed of only snacks but also the best she could come up with to meet that need. Had she given her best with her skills the café would surely flourish and become popular but she chose to be a grandmother first for Hayato. Because of this she had a hard time on money and is totally indebted to Shigehisa Fuwa who has a longtime grudge on their family, lowering herself just to keep the café running. Still she was happy for she gets to be with Hayato and see him grow. However, they argue a lot and their last argument led to them not talking for 3 years. During that time time she let in 5 girls who turned out to be the granddaughters of her former colleagues and allowed them to live with her while also working part-time job at the café. They always eat together and treated each other as family. They were also the last people she was with before passing away peacefully.

## Etymology

* The name **Sachiko** means "happiness, good luck" (幸) (**sachi**) and "child" (子) (**ko**).
* Sachiko's surname **Kasukabe** means "scrap, waste" (粕) (**kasu**) and "wall" (壁) (**kabe**).
	+ Her maiden name **Matsushima** means "pine tree, fir tree" (松) (**matsu**) and "island" (島) (**shima**).