She just didn't know what to do.

They'd been pushed out a door yet again, a third family for her and Teppei that just hadn't worked out. How many times would she hear those words, "we're sorry but..." How many more times would she and Teppei have to pack their few belongings into a single suitcase and leave a place they'd begun to call home? After so many times, she'd begun to give up, close off, not allow herself to feel any sort of attachment to the place they stayed. It only took a few weeks before something would come up and out the door they would go.

But as Fumino looked beside her, to stare at her little brother who smiled happily beside her, munching on a snack she had nicked from the corner store, and knew she had to do something. They couldn't sleep on the streets, she wouldn't allow that. She cared too much for Teppei to allow his little life to sink so far. He had already experienced so much these last few months, the loss of both their parents, the stumbling from family to family... He was only a child, he needed stability. She had to find that for him, no matter the cost to herself. School would be out of the question now- she had no where for Teppei to go while she was there, and without a place to live.. She would have to work to support them both. To keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.

She was already doing an awful job at it.

A sigh escaped her and Fumino glanced up the street, watching the slow pace of a man as he walked along the sidewalk. She squinted into the dying sun and adjusted the scarf around her neck, feeling the icy chill of the wind lift her hair. As the man approached, she began to recognize the gait, and it was then she realized just who it was. Sensei... he must live nearby.. she thought as her homeroom teacher slowed to a hault just before the park bench she and Teppei sat upon. "Fumino-san," he greeted with a little nod, taking in the sight of the girl and the little boy there on the bench. His student looked worried beyond her years- he could almost see the weight upon her slim shoulders as she looked up at him with her fierce eyes. He recalled earlier that day, when he'd caught her dozing off in class, looking as if she'd not slept well in days. Why hadn't he noticed her sooner? "Hello there," he dropped down to the child's level, recognizing the smile as Fumino's when he giggled. He must have been her little brother, Teppei, who he knew of from reading her file. And hearing the gossip, of course. "What have you got there?" He asked with a grin, noting the flimsy plastic covered pie in his little hands.

"A cherry pie!" He threw his hands up in excitement, revealing sticky fingers that had clearly already torn about something else sweet. "Buncha got it for me," he went on with a wide grin at his sister, who for the first time seemed to light up from the inside out. Kazuma leaned back on his hunches, the moment before him beginning to make more and more sense. "Here, Teppei," Kazuma reached into his pocket, fishing for some money, which he handed off to the small child. "Why don't you go get you and Fumino-san here something good." He pointed at the small food cart adjacent to the bench they sat on, which would keep the small boy in their line of sight the whole time. With a cheer, Teppei lept off the bench and ran at the cart full speed, the money clutched tightly in his little hand.

"We don't need your help," Fumino immediately spit out, though Kazuma could see the relief that seeped into her eyes, gentling their gaze ever so slightly. "But... Thank you." For her brother, she would beg on her very knees if it meant providing for him. And even though it pained her to do so, she'd accept any sort of help she could get, if it meant she was protecting Teppei. She watched her little brother from across the road, watching as he talked and laughed with the lady at the cart, who was smiling as she handed him something wrapped in paper. Fumino turned her eyes instead to her teacher, who gestured at the now empty seat beside her, to which she nodded. When he sat down beside her, their shoulders brushed and she felt the warmth of his skin despite the layers of clothes between them.

"Fumino-san, where are you two sleeping tonight?" Her teacher asked softly and she bowed her head, not having an answer prepped for such a question. Kazuma watched her shoulders droop, her hair falling across her face as she shifted, her arm brushing against his again, this time sending an electric shock through him. That was when he realized, she had no where to go. She and her small brother, a baby almost, had no where to sleep that night. "Come on, you can... You can stay with me." He couldn't very well leave them out to sleep in the cold, there was no way he could turn his back on her like that. He knew he was way out of line with this, allowing an underage student to come back to his apartment like this... But he couldn't just walk away from them. "You and Teppei both." Something told him that these two kids needed someone to protect them, to fight for them... Maybe that someone would have to be him.

She sat up, turning to stare at her teacher with wide, surprised eyes. Was he really asking her... Was he really asking her to come home with him? He was willing to put a roof over their heads, no questions asked? No, he would get into trouble, she told herself, knowing what would happen if anyone found out an underage student was staying with her teacher overnight. Even if it was only for one night. But then... She looked out at Teppei, who was coming back, clutching his treats to his chest, his smile wider than she had seen in in weeks. It wasn't about her, it wasn't really even about the young man beside her... It was about Teppei. She turned back to look at her teacher, noticing only then just how young he truly looked to be, and felt for some reason that she could trust him. Something told her that this was someone who would not disappoint her. "But..." She trailed off, looking away as he got to his feet, a smile on his face.

"Marry me, Fumino-san," he grinned down at her, offering her a hand to take as Teppei came up behind him. "Marry me, so I can take care of you. Of both of you." Teppei looked from face to face, but much like his sister, could tell that this was someone who was not lying. Unlike their previous few families who had given up on them time after time. This was someone who could not go back on their word.

Fumino felt her cheeks blazing as she looked up at Kazuma, who was still yet grinning, and she couldn't help but to wonder if he had lost his mind. "Marry... You...?" Hundreds of thoughts were whirling through her mind- reasons why this made sense, reasons why it didn't... But every thought led back to Teppei and so that was why she found herself to be slipping her hand into Kazuma's, her other into Teppei's. This is why she allowed for Kazuma to lift their single bag into his free hand, leading them down the street towards the place they would call home.

And perhaps this time... Home might mean forever.