Volume One, Chapter One

“Mum! I’m going to be late!” she shouted towards the main door. Sachi put on her shoes, and rushed out in a hurry. “Wait! You forgot your bag!” Sachi turned around, and grabbed her bag. “Thanks Mum!” “Remember to come home for dinner!” Too late. Sachi was already far away into the distance. This was not the first time that Sachi was late. She was late to school most of the time, and would always try to find an excuse for her actions. The school is not far away or is just a short walking distance, so being late is not really a hassle for Sachi. She reached the school in time, and saw new juniors coming in. She hoped that the new term in High School and the new juniors would refresh her life. “SACHI! SACHI!”

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Sachi felt bewildered due to someone calling her name from a distance. “Hmm… Who is shouting my name?” “SACHI-CHAN! My cute and beloved Sachichan!” “Sounds familiar. Oh wait—“ It was none other than her best friend Yurika. She turns around, and sees Yurkia running at an incredibly high speed. Sachi was not surprised since her friend was an athlete. She zoomed past the gate, and stopped right in front of Sachi while feeling rather energetic. “Yo! Good Morning Sachi-chan!” She was happy to see Sachi's face after a long-term break, as she smiled while greeting her. “Good Morning Yurika-san!” Sachi was happy to see her best friend too, and returned her greeting. “Ahh. New term already. I cannot believe how fast the time has passed. We are going

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to graduate next year. Do you have any plans, Sachi-chan?” “Huh? Plans? Um… Not really.” “Seriously? No plans? Come on. You have got to think of something to do.” “Erm… I’ll probably go to college.” Yurika knew she was lying, as Sachi did not sound confident in her answer. Nevertheless, she decided not to pursue it further. “Alright, I will see you later in class!” The bell rang, as she stared at Yurika while she walked away. Sachi quickly rushed to her classroom hoping to arrive before her homeroom teacher did. While she walked up the stairs, she remembered that the first lesson with her homeroom teacher would be mathematics. “Ugh. What a lesson to start my new term with.” She rolled her eyes due to the fact that she never enjoyed the subject. Sachi sat at the end of the classroom next to the windows. As the teacher arrived and was

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greeted by the class before the first lesson of the day began. While in the midst of the lesson she gazed out into the scenery out of boredom and frustration. She was not happy since something had recently bothered her. That bothering feeling had spoiled her mood. She felt rendered, which caused her to not be able to focus to get anything done. She knew that the problem was beyond her control, but if nothing was done then it would only get worse. “Sachi Yuzuka!” The teacher called out Sachi while she was staring into space. “Could you answer this question for the rest of the class?” “Eh? Um… Alright.” She was confused, and did not know what was going on. She stumbled while trying to figure out what the question was. The teacher was getting impatient, as Sachi struggled for an answer. Then she looked up, and towards the front of the room. Yurika had written an answer on her hand. She looked at Sachi, and gave her a thumbs up.

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She answered the question correctly while looking at Yurika's answer despite the unknown. Once again her best friend saved Sachi’s ass for the day. This was not the first time such a thing had happened. The teacher was not impressed. Knowing that she obviously had looked at someone else for the answer, but decided to let it slip since he was unable to determine whom it was. “Tch. Alright. Please pay attention.” The teacher turned around, and continued his class like usual. “I’m sorry. I will focus more during the lessons.” Nobody liked the mathematics teacher known as Mr. Fujikawa. He is very strict compared to the other teachers, and does not like to joke around with students. He acts cold all of the time, and has never smiled towards anyone. He is huge in size, and easily sweats which causes an unbearable stench. The students gave Mr. Fujikawa the nickname “Mr. Stinky” for that.

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He knew people gave him that name, but chose not to care anyway. Half a day was gone, and the bell rang for lunch. Sachi took out her mum’s homemade food, and sat with Yurika. “Sachi! What do you have today?!” Yurika was always amazed by Sachi’s lunch because the friend's lunch always looked much more appealing than her own. Sachi opened up her lunchbox to reveal the delicious food that her mum had made for her. Everything inside was what Yurkia had a craving for such as egg rolls or baby octopus. Unable to hold her urge she quickly snatched one egg roll away from Sachi. “Hey-“ “Come on. Just one egg roll won’t hurt. Sharing is caring, you know?” “You could ask me first.” “I’m heading to the toilet for a while.” Sachi exited the room while feeling annoyed.

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“Why is she so grumpy?” Yurika looked at her, as she headed out. Sachi walked down the hallway towards the toilet, and a familiar face emerged at the staircase. It was none other than Jun. As Sachi approached towards Jun her heart skipped a beat, and a mild blush could be seen on her face. “Hey Sachi!” Jun noticed her, and approached her with a pleasant greeting. “Oh. Hey Jun. How are you?” At this point Sachi was feeling happy seeing him. “I’m fine. Erm… There is something that I would like to ask you.” “Eh!? What would that be?” Her heart pulse started to rise, and her face was beginning to turn red. She looked nervous, started to clench her fists, and covered her chin. “Well. I was wondering if you are free this weekend. I was thinking maybe we can go watch a movie or something.” Sachi was nervous, but tried to hide it from Jun. She kept thinking that this must be the

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date that she had been dying to go to with Jun. “O…k…” It was a long answer, but she agreed to it. “Great! I will meet you at the train station near your house at mid-day.” “Alright.” Jun turned around while feeling happy, and walked away. Jun was Sachi’s only childhood friend, and they used to live together as neighbors once. It was no secret that both had feelings for each other, but both were just too afraid to make the first move. While Jun walked back up the staircase his best friend Satoshi was waiting for him. “So, did you ask? What did she say?” “Well. She agreed to it.” “You see? If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t even have had the guts to ask her out on a date.” Satoshi burst into excitement while

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feeling proud because of encouraging Jun to ask her out. “Yeah. I just hope that the date turns out well.” Satoshi knew that Jun was eyeing Sachi for a while now, and ever since the beginning of high school. Adding to the fact that they were both childhood friends, Satoshi felt that they should be together as lovers. Therefore, he feels the need to help his best friend out with his situation. However, Jun felt uneasy about this, and was confused about what sort of activity there would be on the date, as he did not have any ideas at all. “Wait. What are we going to do during the date?” “Hehe. Do not worry. I have a plan that will make you both a lovely couple.” “Don’t—say such a thing. It’s embarrassing.” Jun thought of it and blushed. Embarrassing as it sounded, Jun smiled at himself, knowing he was happy for the fact that he will be

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going out with her. He could not wait for the weekend to come. Satoshi, on the other hand, could not wait to see how interesting this date would turned out. The bell rang, as another school day ended. Yurika tried to ask Sachi out for dinner knowing that there was no track field session today. “Oi- Sachi-chan. Do you have plans after school? Want to try out the new family restaurant in town? I heard it’s good.” “I’m sorry Yurika-san. I have other plans at home already. Maybe next time?” “Ehhh? Sachi-chan, you’re no fun at all.” Clearly, Yurika was disappointed at her answer. “I’m sorry. I’ll promise to go with you next time. Okay?” Sachi gave Yurika a pat on the head. “Okay! I will see you tomorrow then.”

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Yurika went to mingle around with other classmates. Sachi did not reject her because she was not interested. She had a bad vibe recently. She felt that something was not right, and had to rush to her house. Sachi walked out of the school as urgently as possible. At the same moment, Jun was having his usual baseball practice with Satoshi and his teammates. He was running on the track field, and noticed Sachi heading home with a troubled expression. “I hope she is alright.” She returned back home, and noticed the opened front door. As she entered the house she was greeted with the horror of seeing her mum crying on the floor including bruises on her arms and face. “Mum! What happened to you?!” “Tell me! It is dad again?” She knew it had something to do with her father.

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“Your dad… He’s in the kitchen.” Her mum did not look at her, and mumbled something instead. She entered the kitchen, and saw her Dad dead drunk while helplessly lying on the floor. She knew what was going on within an instant. Ever since Sachi’s dad was fired from his last job he lost all motivation to find another job. He became an abusive alcoholic, and sometimes hit his wife out of frustration. To make the situation even worse, her mum was ill, and could not really work at all. In order to survive, her mum had to borrow money from their relatives, and even from the bank. Sachi knew that, eventually, the family would need to pay their debt incurred by the bank. She knew that such a lifestyle could not go on anymore. However, she felt powerless, knowing that there was nothing that she could do to help her dad’s addiction and her mum’s illness. Nevertheless, she was mad at dad; the anger was building up due to the many incidents that had happened over such a long period of time. 12

“Dad! What the fuck is wrong with you!? What have you done to mum?!” She took up the courage, and confronted her father.

“DON’T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! I’M YOUR FATHER!” Her father stood up, and slapped her face. “THIS HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! GO UPSTAIRS TO YOUR ROOM! NOW!” Sachi sobbed in pain, as she stared at her father with murderous eyes. Her mum heard the commotion and crying from a distance. “I— hate— you, dad.” Sachi ran upstairs. Her dad fell down, and while drunk landed on the floor. Sachi laid down on her bed while crying. She felt hurt and hopeless. “Why does such a thing have to happen to me?” She thought of that to herself, and remained there for the entire evening until dinnertime. Her mum had to walk upstairs into her room to call her.

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“Sachi. Dinner is ready.” Shouted from her mum. There was no response from Sachi, and her mum decided to check her out in her room. “Sachi? Sachi, are you there?” Her mum walked into the room to see Sachi lying in bed. “What’s wrong, Sachi?” Her mum sat next to her while holding her hands, and patted her head. Sachi got up, and hugged her mum for comfort. “Why does this thing have to happen to us? What have we done wrong?” “We did nothing wrong. Sometimes in life, things just happen for a reason.” “Life isn’t fair! I don’t want to live through this. I want to go back to the days where we were a happy family.” “We can’t go back anymore, Sachi. We need to live life the way it is now, and hope for a better tomorrow.”

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Despite the assurance, both of them knew deep down that the better tomorrow might never come. “Let’s not think too much, Okay? Let’s go downstairs for dinner together.” Sachi and her Mum both came downstairs for dinner. Sachi noticed that Dad was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s dad?” “He… went out again…” “Again?! He is going out to drink again. Did he take your money too?” Her Mum kept silent, and dared not to look Sachi in the eyes. “Mum! You need to stop dad from taking your money!” “I… don’t want to talk it about. Let’s have dinner, alright?” Sachi could see her mum’s eyes turning watery. She never liked to see her mum in

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this situation. Yet again, there was nothing that she could do. “Alright. Let’s have dinner together.” Sachi knew that her father had forcefully taken money away from mum, and probably could not imagine the pain that she was going through. She still felt that something had to be done. She tried to figure out a solution to this problem during dinner. As the dinner went on, her mum noticed, she was staring into space looking very worried. Mum knew what she was thinking and tried to distract her. Mum interrupted her thoughts. “How is the food, Sachi?” “Huh? Food? Oh. It’s delicious!” “Good to hear that. There’s plenty if you want more.” Sachi nodded her head in agreement, and they both happily ate their dinner together. After dinner, Sachi headed back upstairs into her room to do her usual homework. It took her quite a long time to complete since it was math after all. Nonetheless, she managed to get it done. 16

“Ahh… finally finished with this stupid homework.” She noticed that the timing was late, and that she needed to sleep. Many things had happened that day, and she was too tired to stay up late again. “Yawn… Time for bed.” She headed downstairs to the toilet to get her teeth brushed. She saw that the living room lights were still on. She assumed it was dad as during this time mum would be asleep. However, to her surprise, she heard her mum’s voice in the living room, and out of curiosity, decided to take a look at what was going on. She opened the shoji just a little to make sure that her mum would not notice her presence. Sachi saw her mum tearing up while talking to someone over the phone. “Please! I need your help. The banks are asking for the money. I need your help. Otherwise-“ She was interrupted over the phone.

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“I know. I know I owe you a lot, but there is nothing I can do right now. I promise I will pay you back when I have the money.” The phone simply hung up without a reply from the other side. Mum put down the phone, feeling useless in life. Every time Sachi saw her mum crying, she always felt a sting in her heart. It felt very painful for Sachi to see her mum getting hurt repeatedly; therefore, Sachi was more determined than ever to do something about it. The next morning, Sachi woke up early. Still feeling tired, she instantly remembered what had happened late last night, but did not want to think about it. “Sachi! Breakfast is ready! Wake up!” Mum shouted from downstairs. “Okay!” Sachi got dressed up for school, and headed down for breakfast. She sat down, and began eating. Her mum was cleaning the crockery in the kitchen, which was when her mum decided to break the news to her. 18

“I’ve decided to look for a job right now.” Sachi was shocked and almost chocked on her food. “Uaw. Eh? What?” “The family needs money right now, so I currently looking for a job to support ourselves.” “But mum, what about your health?” “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself” “But…” “No Sachi. You don’t have to worry about me. I can really take care of myself.” “Erm. Okay then.” Sachi knew this was not the case and was worried about her mum. She could only pray and hope that everything would turn out fine. Feeling moody, she completed her breakfast reluctantly. “I’m done with breakfast. Thank you very much.”

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Sachi headed out the door and put her shoes on. “I’m going out!” “Be careful and come back home safety.” “Okay.” Sachi went out of the house and walked towards school looking worried. Satoshi was heading to school at the same time from another direction. When both of them met at the junction, he noticed that Sachi was not paying attention to her surroundings, looking sad and bothered by something. “Hmm? I wonder what’s wrong with her.” Satoshi walked behind her slowly and observed her from a distance. Suddenly, a rude girl stepped right in front of him from behind. It was none other than Yurika. “What do you think you are doing?” “Eh? Nothing. Just walking to school?”

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“Don’t play dumb with me young man. I know you are ogling at my Sachi just now.” “Ogling? What do you mean by that? I would never do such a thing.” “Hmph! We all know your reputation in this school. Pervert.” Satoshi was pissed, as Yurika walked away to catch up with Sachi. “What the hell is wrong with her?” As school began halfway through, Satoshi and Jun decided to chill out for a while on top of the school’s roof before the start of the next lesson. Jun was tired from the entire lesson, and was glad that he took a break with Satoshi. “Ah. Lesson sucks. So glad that we had a quick break.” Both sat down together drinking canned coffee from the vending machine.

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As the afternoon wind blew, Satoshi looked into the clouds thinking about the girl from earlier that morning. “Hmm…” “What’s wrong?” Jun turned around and looked at him. “Hey, do you know that girl who always sticks to Sachi?” “Oh. You mean Yurika? They have been best friends since middle school.” “Ehh… So they are best friends huh.” “Why did you ask about her?” “Nothing really, just wondering who she is.” Jun felt something was going on between him and Yurika, so he decided to question about it even further. “Hey. Don’t tell me you are going after her.” “What? No. I would never go after such a rude person!” “Oh. Is that so?”

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While feeling irritated Satoshi stood up with his hands stretched high into the air. “Ah…. Don’t worry about it. Right now, you just need to focus on your date this weekend.” “I—“ The bell rang before Jun could reply. “Well, time to head back to class then.” As they both headed down the stairs, a flashback of Yurika walking with Sachi earlier on occurred to him. He shook his head, and tried to forget about it. Satoshi knew he felt something towards Yurika, but could not find the right words to explain his feelings. It almost felt too weird for him to be hitting on Jun’s lover's best friend. He is not a stranger to girls at school. He considered a predator that preys on girls. Sometimes, Jun got pissed for imitating him by using Sachi.

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He had been in a relationship with several girls, and his objective is just to get into bed with them. Many people held negative views about him, which is the reason why he only has Jun for a friend. However, this was a different feeling than what he had felt from all the girls that he had slept with. He thought to himself about it. “Could this be a feeling of true love?” Again, he shook his head to forget about it. As the lessons continued toward mid-day, Sachi stared out the windows again and worried about her mum. She knew her mum’s condition very well. She has Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD); it’s a disease that causes your legs and arms to get painful cramps due to poor blood flow. Old people have more risk of getting such a disease. Sachi’s mum was around 50 years old and was not young. If it is not treated then it will get only worse. However, given the current family financial situation, her mum was unable to seek

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treatment and had to stay at home, unable to work. Working would only deteriorate her condition further. “What should I do?” Suddenly an idea came to her mind; she thought that maybe if she started to work after school, it would relieve some of the financial burden from the family. “Maybe if I worked part time after school, I could earn some income for my family.” She knew that the time was running out, and did not want to see her mum working. The more she thought of it, the more she wanted to do something about it. Setting her mind straight, she turned around to look at the clock hanging on the classroom wall. Noticing that the school was just moments away from dismissing, she knew she could find a job after school. “That’s right! I will try and find a job after school!” The bell rang. Sachi rushed out of the class before Yurika could spot her.

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Yurika turned around searching for Sachi, as she promised yesterday that she would eat with her at the new family restaurant. “Hmm? Where did Sachi go?” Feeling that Sachi might have escaped, Yurika messaged her on the phone. “Hey. Where did you go? I thought you promised me to go to dinner together?” Sachi, who was already outside the school, saw her message and replied to her. “Sorry. Something caught up again. Maybe next time.” Yurika received the message, and while looking upon it she was disappointed. “I wonder what’s wrong with her.” Yurika knew her since middle school and they always hung out together. They cared and loved each other like best friends. They hardly quarrelled over anything. She knew that this was not Sachi, and she knew very well that something was going on

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with her. She only hoped that whatever was going on that she would be fine. Sachi went to a nearby place where she would be able to find a job. She went around looking for it, but no luck at all. Night fell quickly, and it was already late. Sachi could not find any job in the end, and decided to concede before heading home. However, on her way home, she saw a convenience store, and decided to try her luck there. “Hmm… Maybe I can give this place a try.” She entered into the convenience store, and was greeted by a man from behind the cashier counter. He seemed scary, and weird looking. Regardless, Sachi approached him. “Hi, erm. I am currently looking for a job.” She asked the man while twirling around her hair with her fingers. “A job? You mean you want to work here?”

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“Yes. I was wondering if you have vacancy here.” The man did a quick scan of Sachi. “Hmm… Yes we do.” Sachi was happy and finally relieved that she might have found a job. “Really? You do? When can I start work?” “Well. You can start work after school anytime if you want to. I’m the manager of this convenience store by the way. My name is Yowaka. You can just call me Manager.” The man scratched his head while answering her question. Sachi breathed a sigh of relief, as she finally landed herself a part time job. “Can I start work after school tomorrow?” Replying to him while hopping in excitement. “Yes. You can. I will start training you tomorrow.” “Alright, see you tomorrow then, Managersan.”

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“Okay.” Sachi happily walked out of the store and headed home while feeling like some of the burden was off of her chest. “Looks like what mum said is true. There is a better tomorrow after all.” As she walked out, Yowaka was leering at her. “Ah. She is so beautiful. That slender body of hers and that wonderful smell of a high school girl. Makes me so horny.” Yowaka continued to think dirty about Sachi. “Hehe... Looks like tomorrow is going to be an exciting day.” Sachi reached home, and could not wait to break the news to her mum. She dashed into the house looking for her mum, but only to find her dad lying on the floor drunk once again. Ignoring her dad, she decided to find mum in the kitchen.

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“Mum! Mum!” “What it is, Sachi?” “Mum! I found a part time job.” “Huh? You found a part time job?” Her mum was confused, and could not believe what she was saying. “Yes. I found a job at the convenience store, so now you don’t have to work anymore.” “But your part time job wouldn’t be enough to cover the expenses. I will still have to work.” Her mum giggled and patted her head. Upon hearing that, Sachi broken down in tears. “But mum. I don’t want you to get your health condition any worse. So please don’t go to work. I beg you!” “Listen here Sachi-chan. Your mother is doing whatever she can for a better tomorrow. Since you have already found a job, the best I can do is to work less hours.”

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Her mum hugged her, trying to comfort Sachi. “But what about your health?” Sachi looked up at her mum face. “Don’t worry. I will take care of myself. I promise.” “You… Promise?” “Yes. Sachi-chan, I promise.” Feeling reassured, Sachi wiped her tears off her cheek. “Okay!” “Now, you must be hungry. Go and have your dinner.” “Okay!” Sachi headed for the dining table, while her mum prepares the food for her.

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