Chapter 1: The Beginning of It All

Her name is Kazuya.

Her story begins with this purple, pocket- sized notebook.

Let's see. Ten years ago, when she was eight, she lost a father. He was a policeman, a honest job, really. To her, she have always wondered if it was worth losing his life. But he loved his job, and she loved him.

It was all the accursed fire's fault. Not only did innocent people lose their lives, but also the whole town's livelihood.

Now this shabby town, with all its stores closed and orphans without parents, was hers to live in.

She never had a mother as far as she remembered, but she had a sister, Sakura. Their life was never the same again.

They were bounced off of their relatives, but they didn't want them, nor do they preferred it over their parents either. Soon, they were awfully close to being turned into foster care.

By this point, they were done with adults.

They didn't have much luck in school either.

The sisters were bright, and their placement in advanced class earned scorn few their peers.

They had no friends nor anyone to care for them.

That's when they decided to take matters into their own hands.

They were around thirteen at that time.

Somehow, they broke into a building with working lights and running water.

The building, like the rest of the town, was burnt. Some walls and floor either collapsed or had rotted away.

But it was good enough. Nobody cared right? they thought.

They adjusted to their lifestyle.

Nobody wondered why at night, there was light and the sound of running water. To their knowledge, it was abandoned after the Big Fire. They didn't care enough to check.

So the sisters began their "secret" living in the advanced year after year unlike their peers who didn't even do the bare minimum to pass.

They had friends, if you can call them that

Soon, their flowering years came

To their knowledge, they couldn't see how anything beautiful can come out of such a soiled place

The older sister, Sakura, turned into a young woman. She was older than Kazuya by two years. Quiet, hardworking, a model student. At home, lazy and bossy. She earned a meager living at the Cat Eye Cafe where they cater to children of the town. It was enough to buy food and clothes. Sometimes, not really. However, Sakura often takes leftovers home to Kazuya and herself.

Meanwhile, Kazuya was more problematic.