Fifteen-year-old Momoko Asuka hated her life.
Ever since her father had left her at the tender age of three, life had been going downhill for her.
Her mother had grown abusive over the years, still refusing to accept her husband's departure, and this eventually turned to violence.
This was exactly why she stayed in her room most of the time: she didn't want to face her mother the way she was acting.
The things her mother had done to her since dad left were the exact reasons why Momoko hated her life.
And Miyumi used to be such a wonderful person before dad had left.
Having had to put up with this torture for over ten years now, Momoko was about to go insane before long.
So that was why, when she was sure her mother was asleep, Momoko had jumped out of her bedroom window and ran for all she was worth, not stopping until she was sure she was clear of that wretched house.
After about fifteen minutes of non-stop running, she found herself under a large, shady oak tree.
"She thinks she can control me?" Momoko cried. "She thinks she can mess with me? My own mother..."
The tears were falling freely by now.
Momoko just felt like dying by this point.
She absolutely hated her life.
"Well, well, I sure didn't expect someone else to be at our tree."
Momoko spun around at this, noticing a boy only a year older than her standing by the tree.
It was then that Nick noticed Momoko's tear-stained face. "Hey, what's the matter?" Nick wondered, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Momoko just blurted it out. "I'm just so sick of my life!!!!"
Nick nearly fell down at the force of Momoko's outburst.
"Why does mom do these things to me?!" Momoko exclaimed. "It just isn't right!!!"
With that, Momoko sprung to her feet and threw her clenched fist for the tree, surprisingly punching a nicely-sized hole in the bark.
Nick was pretty surprised at this. All the punches he'd thrown at that tree couldn't even dent it, and yet Momoko had blasted a hole in it with just one strike.
But Momoko didn't stop there. She continued to throw punch after punch for the old oak tree, venting her rage as each successive strike threatened to snap the tree in half.
Eventually, Nick decided to step in, gently pulling Momoko away from the tree. "Whoa, there! Don't want you breaking the thing, now."
Momoko looked like she was about to burst into tears again, but Nick pulled her close to him, effectively getting her to calm down a bit.
"Why don't you just take a few deep breaths, okay?" Nick instructed. Momoko did as she was told.
"Now, what's the matter?"
And so, for a good long time, Momoko told Nick her story. She told him how her mother had abused her so much since her father had left them. She told him how much she was sick of her mother acting like she was all high and mighty when she clearly wasn't. She told him how she often felt like just ending it all so she wouldn't have to go through this hell.
By the time she'd finished her tale, she had finally broken down and started crying, but Nick put his arms around her and did his best to comfort her. He knew where this new girl was coming from, having gone through the exact same thing himself.
It was almost three in the morning by the time Momoko had finished her tale.
"I can relate to that kind of story," Nick responded. "I went through that same thing myself. Only difference was that it was my father who was messing with me. There are times when I wonder why people act like this..."
Momoko stared up into the moon-lit sky. "It's getting late... if my mom wakes up and I'm not home, she's gonna go ballistic. I'd rather not go through anymore of this crap."
"I'll take you home, then," Nick responded. "If you want to hang out with me later, just come back to the tree when your mom's asleep. I'll be waiting, okay?"
Momoko giggled a bit, nodding.
So Nick walked Momoko back to her house. Then came the first real obstacle of the night.
"Oh, crap. How am I going to get back inside without waking my mom?"
"I've got an idea."
Nick bent down a bit so Momoko could step into his grip. Nick then ferried Momoko into the air, where she quickly grabbed the edge of her open window, thanking the goddesses that her mom's room was all the way on the other side of the house.
Not wasting any time, Momoko pulled herself into her room, giving Nick a silent wave as he rushed off to who knew where.
And finally, Momoko slipped under the covers of her bed and passed into dreamland, a bright smile on her face for the first time in god only knew when.
This trend would continue for a while. Just about every night after her mother fell asleep, Momoko would leap out her window and Nick would take her for a night on the town. They'd usually go to one of the many all-night eateries that were scattered throughout Misora nightlife. Nick had somehow discovered that Momoko had a bit of an appetite when it came to the trendy, seventies-style eateries.
One night, Nick had even taken Momoko to her favorite nightclub, the Crystal Night. She had really never been there before that night, but she had always been intrigued by it, due to all the things her classmates had said about it.
Momoko couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun before Nick had entered her life. It was as if she could finally be herself around someone, instead of hiding behind a façade like she had been ever since her father had left.
Before she knew it, two months had passed, and Momoko always counted the time until she could hang out with Nick again every night.
Before long, Momoko had finally decided she didn't want to show her abusive mother a façade anymore. She'd made up her mind.
On the beginning of the ninth week of her nightly outings, she decided to have a bit of a talk with Nick.
"What's up, Momoko?" Nick asked as they headed into town.
"I can't take living a lie to my mother anymore, Nick," Momoko explained. "I've had so much fun with you that I just don't want to go back to my old life. I'm sick of living a lie."
"So, basically, you want to break away from your old life like I did," Nick summed up. Momoko nodded.
"All right, how about this. I'll take you home early tonight after we're finished satisfying our munchies. You pack up anything you want to bring with you, and I'll come back in an hour and we'll head out. That okay with you?"
Momoko nodded vigorously, so happy to finally be moving on from her old life.
"Now let's head out. I've got a craving for a bacon double cheeseburger like you wouldn't believe," Nick stated, to which Momoko couldn't help but giggle.
Once they had taken their seats at the Rusty Bucket, which was now one of Momoko's favorite hang-out spots, Momoko looked over at Nick. There was something she'd been trying to tell him during their nights out, but she just couldn't find the time to actually say it.
After she'd finished off her soda, she looked towards the boy who'd opened her eyes to the world. She had to giggle as she saw him chowing down on the bacon double cheeseburger he'd said he'd wanted so badly.
Deciding to just bite the bullet, Momoko tapped Nick on the shoulder. The sixteen-year-old boy took a moment to swallow what was left of his burger before turning towards Momoko.
"What's up?" Nick asked.
Getting over her nervousness, Momoko shot forward and connected her lips with Nick's. The girl that had served them their food couldn't help but squeal at the romantic sight.
When Momoko pulled back, she was blushing like mad, and Nick's face could have easily been mistaken for a tomato.
After a couple seconds of recovery, Momoko said four magical words.
"I love you, Nick."
Nick's blush only intensified at these words.
"You want to know why I love you, Nick? Because you've been my first true friend ever since dad left. I had to go through twelve years of hell before I finally met someone who understood me and my troubles. It's nice to know someone's there for me."
Momoko couldn't hold it in anymore, and thusly threw her arms around Nick.
"You wanna get going?"
"Sure. I'm ready for this."
Nick had scattered to the winds once he'd escorted Momoko back to the house so she could get her things.
However, once he'd returned an hour later, all hell had apparently broken loose.
Deciding to just forego the knocking on the door, Nick took a couple steps back, then barreled forward full charge, easily busting through the door to assess the situation.
Momoko skidded around the corner of a nearby room, only for her enraged mother to follow her.
"Nick!!! She found out somehow!!!" Momoko exclaimed.
"That's all I need to hear," Nick responded, racing towards the angry Miyumi and shoving her backwards.
"You're that boy she's been sneaking out with, aren't you?!" Miyumi screamed.
"So what if I am?!" Nick shot back. "You put Momoko through twelve years of hell, and FOR WHAT?! All because you still can't get over your husband's departure? That's NO FREAKING REASON to put your own daughter through that kind of hell!!"
Miyumi didn't seem to hear that, still in a rage.
"All right, then," Nick growled. "If that's the way you're going to play."
Nick looked over to Momoko, who just nodded. He then turned back towards Miyumi, chanting a few choice words.
"Asobu soba de sakiyaki sore!! Seal her in the frost!!"
A sky-blue energy aura surrounded Miyumi before, apparently, completely freezing her.
"Whoa... you've got magic powers, too?" Momoko wondered.
"Let's go!! That spell won't last long!!" Nick exclaimed, taking Momoko's hands and rushing out of the house.
"I didn't know you could perform magic," Momoko stated.
"I didn't know YOU could," Nick responded.
"I've actually kept it a secret from my mother, but I found these odd spell books at the library one day, and I decided to try something with it," Momoko explained. "Before long, I found that I could use magic spells. Believe me, it's a little freaky at first."
"No joke," Nick stated.
After a while of running, Nick and Momoko eventually stopped in front of the Through the Night Hotel.
"Ritzy joint," Momoko giggled. "Are you sure you can afford this?"
"My grandparents have a trust fund set up for us," Nick responded. "They understand our situation."
"Wait... 'us'?" Momoko wondered, now a bit confused.
"Me and my sister," Nick answered. "We're both staying at the hotel until we can find a suitable place to live."
Momoko seemed a little nervous.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll love you," Nick responded. "Come on, I'll introduce you."
Up in Nick's room, Yuki had just woken up and wondered where her brother could have gone.
"He's been going out a lot lately... wonder what's up?" Yuki asked nobody in particular, adjusting the covers and thinking of going to the fridge for a late-night snack, when the door to the room opened and in stepped Nick, along with a girl that Yuki didn't recognize.
"There you are, Nick-kun!!" Yuki exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
"Don't I usually say that to you, Yuki-chan?" Nick responded, making Yuki blush a bit.
"So, who's the new girl?" Yuki asked out of curiosity.
"This is Momoko Asuka," Nick explained. "She went through a lot of the stuff we did. I met her on one of my little excursions."
"And I'm his girlfriend," Momoko giggled, latching onto Nick's arm.
Yuki looked very surprised for a second. "Nick-kun, you lucky little boy..." Yuki giggled.
"Tell me about it. Oh, before I forget... Momoko, this is my little sister, Yuki Shinoya," Nick explained.
Yuki took that moment to strike a cute pose. "At your service, Momo-chan!! You must be hungry... I think I have some strawberries in the fridge..."
"I'd love some," Momoko responded, to which Yuki made a mad dash for the fridge.
"So, Momoko, welcome to your new life," Nick stated to his girlfriend. "How's it feel?"
Momoko couldn't help but smile, leaning forward to connect her lips with Nick's for a few seconds.
"I think I'm going to enjoy it."