In one corner of the buzzling Tokyo, in one of the crammed alleys, stood a small building. It had resemblance with the other buildings lined up along the street. The area was well-known as culinary spot and shopping center for middle class or lower, and the building mentioned in the front was one of the best places in the area. Hanging before the door of the said building was a name board spelling “Shida Restaurant”.

Shida Restaurant was a small two storey building which served both as a living place and a working place. The first floor was set as a small restaurant, which consisted of a serving hall, a kitchen, a storage room, and restroom; while the second floor served as the living space for the owner, Shida Hiroshi, his wife, and their two daughters.

Just like the other stores in the area, Shida Restaurant was busy even in the early morning. After all, they opened the business at 8 a.m. so they had to make sure all they needed for running the business that day were all well prepared. Everyone left Shida Restaurant smiling, that was their tag line, and they committed to their motto.

As Shida Hiroshi and his wife were busy in the kitchen, their youngest daughter, Shida Miyu, trotted down the stairs stiffling a yawn and rubbing her eyes. Sleepily greeting her parents, she received more enthusiastic ones from them.

“Where is your sister?” Shida Asako, the mother, asked as Miyu peeked at the prepared breakfast.

“Nee-chan is still sleeping,” Miyu answered. “She worked on her assignment all night long.”

“My poor baby,” the father chirped in. “Let her sleep for an hour more or so. She has been driving herself so hard.”

It had been a habit, that the daughters would help preparing the business before they went to school. Miyu was in the third year of middle school, while the older daughter, Shida Mirai, was in second year of college, majoring nursing in the medical science department.

Miyu had already finished rinsing half of the cooking uttensils when her older sister showed up with a guilty face.

“Sorry, I slept in,” Mirai hurriedly tied her mid-back-length hair to a ponytail, taking the napkin to wipe the tables.

Though her parents insisted for her to get more sleep since she almost knocked her head down the table as she did the cleaning, she waved her hands to emphasize that she was alright. She was indeed still sleepy, but she felt bad if not helping. She thought she would just take a short nap after helping her parents before heading for her first class at 10 a.m.

“Where is the milk?” her mother’s voice rang around the room, and immediately she heard her father answered that he had not heard the delivery boy came.

“Mirai-chan, please check outside!” her mother then instructed her, which she replied with obedience.

She adjusted her jumper before sliding the front door open. She just took the first step outside when she found herself stumbling upon something. She steadied herself by grabbing the door sill, cursing for whatever it was almost causing her fall. Looking down, her hand flew to as she gasped. There in front of her door was a body of a human.

Her nurse instinct kicked in, washing away her shock as she hurriedly crouched down to inspect the person who turned out to be a man. She went first to check his breathing. It was there. She went to his neck and wrist. She flinched at the first contact with the cold skin, but felt so relieved when she found pulse despite weak.

She dashed inside to ask for her father help, and they carried the man inside, placing him in one of the closest bench. At a time like this, her commanding side would appear. She asked for her sister to get a cloth and a basin of hot water, her mother to make a cup of hot chocolate, and for her father to check on the man’s identity, while she herself rushed upstair to retrieve her first aid kid box.

She was checking the body temperature, and found that indeed the man had fever. She guessed by the coldness of the man’s skin, he might suffer hypothermia for being exposed to the cold winter air for hours before she found him. Her father said he didn’t find the man’s wallet or anything to explain who the stranger was. After her sister and her mother got what she had asked, she told them to just return to their previous activities, while she asked her father to bring the stranger up to the second floor. They placed him on the couch of the family room.

She know it was dangerous to bring a stranger in, but her conscience didn’t allowe her to let a person die when she could do something. She left for a moment as her father changed the stranger’s clothes since the one he was wearing were damped. She was left alone to tend him when her father went downstair to pick up the milk in front of the door.

As she wiped the warm towel on the stranger’s neck, she couldn’t help not to stare. He was young, and despite the bruises on his face, he had an extremely nice features. His skin was fair and smooth. He had a short dark brown hair, and surprisingly she found that he also wore a piercing in his left ear. She frowned. She hoped he was not part of juvenile or any gang who always seek troubles.

Not long after, her mother came asking whether they should call a doctor. She said no, because the stranger seemed just fine, only needed warmth. Then Miyu came to get a look at the stranger. Miyu didn’t hide the fact that she was jaw dropping the moment she got a clear sight of this stranger.

“Wow, he is quite a hottie,” Miyu whistled, while Mirai frowned. She did not like that Miyu started to take a liking to boys.

“Miyu, just get yourself prepared and go to school!” Mirai mildly scolded her little sister.

“Alright, alright! Geez, Nee-chan, you are no fun,” Miyu stucked her tongue at her before going inside their shared bedroom.

It was about an hour when finally she was sure the fever had lowered, and not endangered that stranger. She rose up and headed downstair. The restaurant had been opened, and she only found her mother in the kitchen. Her father was serving a customer at the front room. She told her mom to inform the police officer who used to come to their restaurant for breakfast about the stranger. Her mom agreed and shushed her away to prepare for college. Miyu had left a few moments ago. Before she left for college, she reminded her parents again, that if the stranger had awaken, they should send him out. She did not like having a stranger in their house.

Mirai’s day in the college went as usual; meant that she would be receiving haughty remarks from Suzuki Nana, who self-proclaimed to be the queen of the college, and her bunch of followers while she was walking towards her classes. It was a known fact that Nana and gang disliked poor people, and Mirai being one of those poor people was not the only reason of Nana making her the main target of bullying. It was also the fact that the captain of the baseball team whom Nana had set her eyes upon, had taken a liking to her instead of the beauty queen. Though Mirai didn’t reciprocrate the feeling since she was keen on focusing to study, Nana did not have that counted. Nana had set her mind that Mirai would live her college life in hell.

Most of the times Mirai ignored them, and it always worked as Nana would get piss off and leave her alone. Yet, on the days when her luck was drained, it was her best friend, Kawashima Umika, who would stand up for her. She would always smile whenever Umika got into the picture. Nana did not fear Umika. It was Umika’s boyfriend that she feared of. Chinen Yuri could be the epitome of royal prince and a scary yakuza leader at the same times. Not that he was a yakuza leader, though, it was just an hyperbolic. Chinen Yuri was the heir of Chinen Security Service which provided any short of security arrangements from simply installing the security cameras to providing bodyguards. His family company was often asked to guard important figures in Japan. Surely, he was someone you would not want to mess with, and since he was so protective over Umika, she also became one who was feared most in the college.

Mirai came home not expecting to see the stranger still in her house. Her frown deepened as she saw her family all sat down in the table having dinner with the stranger.

“Ah, welcome home, Mi-chan~,” as always, her father would be so enthusiastic greeted her.

Instead of greeting back, she narrowed her eyes, “Not being rude, but I need to ask, why is he still here?”

“Oh, Yamada-kun said he doesn’t have place to stay, so Mom offer a shelter for him,” Miyu answered in between chewing her food.

“What?!” she let out her surprise.

“Miyu, no talk when your mouth is full!” their mom reprimanded while Miyu shrugged. “And yes, Mi-chan, he is going to stay with us until he found another place to stay.”

She shook her head, “No, Mom. We don’t know who he is. Have you reported him to the police officer? With those bruises, he