Stay With You

"Mother please don't be like this! I'm sure we can all work this out together!" Ayumi yells. "How are we going to work this out to earn $1,000,000,000,000?! Become some slaves earning a cent an hour?! No thank you! I'm leaving!" Her mother says. "Mother please don't leave us!!" Shusei begins crying. Their mother grabs Ayumi, "I'm taking Ayumi, you can have Shusei. Take good care of him please." "Yuki.. please.. please don't be like this.." Father says sadly. "I do not want to be in any sort of trouble like this, I work and only earn about $10 an hour, I have no idea how I will help you pay them back. Sorry," she replies back to him.

"Mother please! Please think this through! I don't want to leave Father and Shusei alone!! They need us!" Ayumi too, begins crying. "My dear daughter, it's best we don't get caught in trouble as well. It will ruin our lives," Her mother speaks. "No! I don't want to be with anyone who only thinks about themselves!" Ayumi angrily replies while tears falls down her big eyes. Her mother slaps her," I don't think of myself only....I have ALWAYS..thought of you all, how precious and loving it is to have you.. Ayumi, you know nothing of a mother's heart." "Then why... WHY?!! You would rather ditch them and leave trouble to them?!! How cruel of you!!" Ayumi shouts back. Her father looks down, "Ayumi..quit with the shouting at your mother.. it was my fault to begin with.. I should be the one to fix this all.."

"I don't want to be away from Ayumi!" Shusei cries desperately. Kaya has no right to speak of the situation, she only hugs Shusei while feeling bad. "Go pack up your stuff, we're leaving now," Mother tells Ayumi. She clenches her fists as her tears falls down, "FINE." "I'll have the divorce papers ready by tomorrow," Mother tells Father. He nods his head, "I'll be willingly to sign it.." Ayumi balls up in the corner of her room and cries.

"Mother don't leave us please!!" Shusei cries. She walks over to him and gives him a big hug, "You're a big boy now. 12 years old, and you're still crying? I will come back to get you when I can, I love you so much.. please look after your father okay?" Ayumi walks out the room with a big suitcase. "Goodbye, my Shusei," Mother walks to Ayumi and leaves. Ayumi runs to Shusei to give him one last hug, "Shu~ be a good boy and listen to father alright? I love you, and you will forever always be in my heart! We will meet again!" Their tears drops endlessly and sadly as they hug each other.

Kaya too, cried as she witnessed everything. Ayumi looks over at Kaya, "I'll see you tomorrow if possible Kaya.. thanks for always being there for me." She also gives Kaya a big hug. "Please don't leave me alone too," Kaya cries. "Let's go Ayumi," Mother says. After saying their goodbyes, they left the house. It felt empty and cold without them. Shusei continues crying and Kaya tries her best to comfort him and the Father.

The next day, Kaya arrived to school and waits for Ayumi at the school gate. She hangs her head down for the very first time at school. Sanyu arrives to school and sees Kaya at the school gate. He walks over to her, "Are you..Alright?" She looks up and sees Sanyu, "Oh..hey.." "You don't seem so well?" He asks her. "Yeah I'm not doing so well, don't ask why though.." she sighs. "Are you waiting for Ayumi?" he looks for her because she isn't with Kaya. "Yeah... if she even does come," Kaya leans her head on the school gate.

Minutes later, Ayumi arrives. "She's here," Sanyu tells Kaya. Her eyes brightens up and suddenly she looks as if she's all better now, "Ayumi?!!" He raises his eyebrow and lets out a little laugh, "She's all well now." The two girls hugs each other. "Thank god.. you're here.. I thought I was going to be alone..,' Kaya says to Ayumi. "I would never leave you alone Kaya," Ayumi smiles at her. In the background of what looks like a beautiful reunion scenery, Sanyu speaks up, "Alright girly girls let's go, class is about to start." "Right! Let's go!" Kaya smiles big and happily.

—Last night— "This apartment is only $800 a month, I can handle this," Mother tells Ayumi. She doesn't care, "Yeah." As they rented the apartment, Ayumi asks, "Mother, are you going to be transferring me out of Koyo Gakuin High School?" Mother looks at Ayumi, "Well, yes sweetie,we have to. Where we are right now, it's no longer in that neighborhood of that school anymore. I'll have transfer you to a closer school." Immediately, Ayumi replies, "I don't want it." "What?"

"I said I don't want to transfer schools. You don't know how much Kaya means to me.. I like the school I'm in now and I won't transfer out no matter what." She thinks to herself, 'I want to clear up the situation at school before it gets any worse..I want to become stronger.' "You can always make new friends..Ayumi," Mother tells her. "I don't want to. I have Kaya and I won't replace her," Ayumi talks back. Mother looks at her, "Ayumi.." "I won't be with you if you transfer me out, because if you do I will go back to Shusei and Father. However, if you don't transfer me, I will continue to stay with you," She continues speaking to her mother.

Tired, she sighs as she looks away from Ayumi, "Alright then. I won't transfer you." Ayumi walks into her new room, it was smaller than her old room. "I'll have furniture in by tomorrow, as well as our beds," Her Mother says to Ayumi behind the closed door of her room. "Alright," Ayumi replies back to her.

—Present— During lunch Kaya never gave Ayumi her space, she was just too happy that Ayumi ended up not transferring. Sanyu smiles as he sees the two girls happily with each other then walks by. While walking around the school, he sees Sona, digging through Ayumi's school locker. He walks up to Sona, "What are you doing? That's Ayumi's locker is it not?" Startled she tells him, "I- I was looking for my notebook that I gave to Ayumi to borrow. But it's not in here." He looks at her suspiciously, "Did you lend her a notebook? I don't remember seeing that." "Yes, I did. It was the notebook on English," Sona answers back. "When did you lend her your notebook? You were never close by her at all this whole week, nor last week," Sanyu questions Sona.

Ayumi and Kaya walks over to her locker. Ayumi sees Sona, "Oh, why are you in my locker for?" Kaya stares at Sona and crosses her arms, "Did you find anything interesting? It's rude to go through people's lockers like that." Sanyu looks at the two girls, "Said she was looking for her English notebook that she lent to Ayumi." Kaya looks at Ayumi, "She lent you her English notebook? When? I never saw her being with you at all?" Sona starts to worry that she might get caught. Ayumi gasps, "Ah! It wasn't the English notebook you gave me, it was just a regular book called 'The Blue Ocean' you said I can have it, but that was 3 months ago."

"Well yes! That book! It seems like I might need it back. My niece wants to read the book since she knows I have the book. Sadly I don't have it right now because I gave it to you. I thought it would've been in your locker, so I checked here, sorry," she covers herself up. Sanyu drops his suspicion of Sona. "It's in my desk, I'll get it for you," Ayumi tells her. "Thank you, sorry to bother you," she replies. "No problem"

Together the four of them walks back to the classroom. Behind their backs, Sona smiles and looks away as she follows them.