A/N: Hey guys and girls. University kept me even busier than I anticipated so that's why it took such a really long time. I'll try to spend more time on writing, but I can't really say that I'll release the next chapter in like two weeks or something, but I'll always try to do it as fast as possible with the quality I want. One last thing, this chapter turned out quite different from what I thought it would be, but the next one should have the promised development :-D

Kyousuke, hesitantly at first, returned hug. Ayase kept it up for several seconds before letting go of Kyousuke and closing the door behind him. Without saying a word, Ayase went up the stairs towards her room and Kyousuke followed after taking off his shoes. He looked into the kitchen and the living room, trying to spot signs of disturbance, but everything looked just like he remembered it. When they both entered Ayase's room, the silence grew even weirder than it was before. Her room was a complete mess. There were clothes lying on the bed and on the floor, her desk was filled with used glasses and tissues and the door to her closet stood open. But Ayase, instead of trying to cover it up, just pushed a few pants to the side and sat on her bed, with enough space left so that Kyousuke could sit down. He looked at her, not sure what to do, when she coughed violently.
Kyousuke looked at Ayase, concern showing in his eyes "Uhm, I'll go downstairs and get you some tea and the cough drops that I brought you. Just wait here, I'll be right back."
Just as he was about to leave the room, the door already opened again, he heard Ayase quietly say "Hurry, Onii-san" so Kyousuke went downstairs, two steps at a time, ran into the kitchen to get some water cooking and got his bag from the pharmacy. He could barely wait the time it took for the water to heat up, but there was nothing else to do but to prepare the tea, so that was what he did. When everything was ready, he went upstairs and saw that the door was still open, but Ayase was not sitting on the bed anymore. He just saw her close her closet as he climbed the stairs, careful not to spill anything. With one foot, he knocked on the doorframe to make her aware of his presence. Ayase turned around and came to him, taking the tray from his hands on which the tea was standing and set in on her, now cleaner, desk. Her bed was still messy, but at least the floor was empty enough so that you could now walk through the room without the fear of stumbling over various objects. As she sat the tray on the desk, Kyousuke walked up to her and told her to sit down, that he would take care of the tea now. He prepared two cups, took a few of the medicines he bought from the bag, sat down besides Ayase on her bed and handed her one cup.
Not looking up, she said "Thank you" and started drinking, slowly because of the heat.
"Here, the medicine I told you about. I wasn't quite sure what kind of cold or sickness you had so I just bought several kinds of pills and drops..." Kyousuke said, but when he looked at Ayase he saw that her cold was actually the least of her worries. Even though she wiped away the smeary makeup that she had had on her when she opened the door, Kyousuke could still clearly see that Ayase was in a bad shape. After a moment of consideration, he decided that it would be the best for her, if he immediately told her of Manami's, or actually his plan.

Kyousuke looked around the room, fumbled with his hands, stirred the tea and then his eyes went directly to Ayase's. She sensed it and turned to look at him, weariness showing in her eyes.
"Ayase. I have an idea. Listen to me and then tell me what you think." Kyousuke said with a strong voice which startled Ayase a bit. She was just starting to get used to Kyousuke being so determined. "What is it?" Ayase asked quietly.
Without thinking of how to phrase it, Kyousuke just blurted out "I want you to come with me and move in with me!"
"What? Whatasd" Ayase said, scooting away from him on the bed.
"Sorry, I said that badly. Listen, I'll explain what I mean. The thing is here at your home, you can not relax. Your father is being abusive to you and your mother, you are sick and no one can take care of you. You really need to get away, even if it's only for one to two days and get back on track. You need a place where you can feel safe and just relax." Kyousuke said, trying to explain his idea to Ayase.
Ayase looked like she was considering this proposal, but quickly shook her head. "I can't leave my mom alone here with my father. What if he beats her again? Who is here to protect her? No, Kyousuke, I can't, sorry." Ayase looked down at her feet and took another sip from her mug.
"Ayase, you are one of the nicest girls I know. You are always there to help others, to keep people from harm. But sometimes, you need to think about yourself. Your mother handled your father before, she is probably the only person who can persuade him to stop drinking again, the only person to really know how to help him. You are awesome, but you are a factor that your mother does not know how it will influence your father. It will be hard, but I trust that she will be able to..heal him. And you should as well. Also, you know your father. Even though he is sick at the moment, he is still the person you at heart, so you know that he would never hurt your mother in a harmful way. Just think of yourself. For once, Ayase. For once, let me help you. Let yourself be helped." Kyousuke looked at her, holding out his hand as a gesture.
Ayase looked at his hand, considered his words and just wanted to respond when Kyousuke said one more sentence. "Your mother will not get hurt Ayase, I promise."

Even though she knew that that was something that Kyousuke could not promise since he had barely any influence over what her father was doing, it still persuaded her. Ayase came closer to Kyousuke and took his hand. At this moment, all she wanted to know was that Kyousuke was ready to help and cared for her.

After she took his hand, she slowly pulled him towards her. He came closer until he was sitting right in front of her, wondering what she was doing. Ayase kept pulling him, even stronger now until he had to climb over her legs to get any closer. Just as he looked down to make sure that he did not hurt her, she moved forward and kissed him as soon as he looked up again. He had his mouth closed and her kiss was a rather innocent touch of her lips against his', but he was still taken by surprise. Just as Kyousuke started to really grasp what Ayase was doing, she pulled away and gently but determined pushed him off of her. "Sorry Kyousuke. I don't know what I just did. Just.. go downstairs and get yourself some food, I'll pack my things and we can go."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one :)