Author's Notes: Hey guys, E. Pedro here. I've been wanting to redo 'Reaching for the Stars' for a while now - and now that I have some time on my hands, I went forward with it! Thank you for supporting me after all this time - I hope you enjoy my story!

It was late in the evening at the seaside villa of Ami Kawashima. The late winter skies were pitch black as the moon shined brightly over the sea and the villa seemed to glow in a captivating dark blue. Cold sea breezes blew through the areas, rustling the trees and resounding with the surf. At the front gates of the villa, Ami stood in a nightgown, a cloth jacket and a scarf. Her arms were folded and her eyes were fixated on a young man who stood before her. He wore a tattered coat and was shivering from the cold breeze. His head was lowered and his face was dark from his own shadow.

"Trespassing on someone else's property is against the law." Ami spoke sharply, looking down at the young man. "I've had enough of you stalkers and paparazzi and weirdos trying to break into my house! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the police!"

Ami was holding onto her cellphone, ready to call the police. The young man panicked.

"Kawashima-san, please!" The young man pleaded desperately, "I'm not a stalker or a papparazi…"

"What the hell are you doing here, then?" Ami quickly demanded, putting her phone to her ear.

The young man lifted his head and his face was illuminated by the moonlight. Then he spoke,

"I have nowhere else to go. Please… I beg of you…"

"You are…" Ami was taken aback. Her jaw dropped, and she put aside her phone. "Tainaka-kun… You're Satoshi Tainaka, right?"

Satoshi lowered his head weakly as a response. He didn't know how else to reply to her words.

"Quick, come on inside." Ami took Satoshi's shivering hand and dragged him through the gates, "What the hell happened to you?"

"It's a long story…" Satoshi replied.

As Ami pulled Satoshi into her house, she noticed a large backpack on the young man's back. Clothes were sticking out of the poorly-closed zippers and the bag was filled to the brim. Ami grunted in displeasure. She felt as if she already had a good idea as to what was going on.

"You stink, Tainaka-kun. Go take a bath. I'll make something for you to eat too – you'd better like canned corned beef because that's all I have to spare. Once you're done… tell me your story – from the beginning."

…

To Reach for the Stars

- Volume I -

…

That very same evening, far away from the Kawashima villa, the Tainaka household was in uproar. Azusa Nakano came rushing to the Tainakas' home the moment she heard about what had happened. When she arrived, she saw policemen stationed near the house, questioning the Tainakas and the neighbors. Mr. Tainaka looked frustrated as he tried to answer for his questions while Mrs. Tainaka was weeping and in tears. Ritsu Tainaka did what she could to comfort her mother, but she herself looked absolutely devastated. Meanwhile, Satoshi Tainaka, Ritsu's younger brother, was nowhere to be found.

Mio Akiyama had arrived at the Tainaka household first before Azusa. The black-haired girl looked at Ritsu and her family from afar, at a loss for words. Yui and Ui Hirasawa and Tsumugi Kotobuki arrived not long after and weren't exactly sure what they could do. Azusa looked at this disastrous scene with a bitter heart.

"Did this happen... because of me?"

To Be Continued

...

Preview

Things were easier back then,

All there was to do was to laugh and play.

How I wish I could go back to then,

To before everything changed.

- Satoshi Tainaka