She'd never chosen a home before. Was that really possible for someone like her?

It hadn't been a good week for Shion. Her stepmother had convinced her father that they needed money to move to a flashy new apartment more than Shion needed tertiary education and so it had been decided that after Shion had graduated from high school she would move out and look for a job instead.

"Please don't do this, Otou-san!" Shion begged. "I've always wanted to go to the same university as Okaa-san!"

"There's no point in wasting money on such an expensive education if you don't have any plans for the future, Shion." Her stepmother said matter-of-factly.

Her father nodded in agreement. "It will do you good to get out into the real world like this. Living alone will be a good experience for you. You're always shut away in your room. It's unnatural."

And so she had found herself being forced to change her plans. It really would be impossible for her to attend university without financial aid, and she wasn't so sure her skills were up to scratch enough for her to qualify for a full scholarship.

Her dream to attend the same university and pursue the violin as a professional career just as her mother had slipped through her fingers in an instant. For her father to just stand by and allow that to happen - the betrayal burned deep.

She was never going to fall in love. It was pointless and toxic. Those people were only employing someone else to love them because they didn't love themselves. She didn't need something like that to come and mess up her life anymore than it already was.

No, if she was going to do anything from now on it would be to live for herself.

Starting with a place to live.

Andou-san had given her a call and asked her to meet at the apartment she had been interested in. The only thing that had stopped her from taking the place straight away had been the price - she'd never had a job before in her life and suddenly needing to pay 70,000 yen a month was a scary thought. But if she worked hard, things just might work out.

Except when she arrived at apartment 707, she was surprised and immediately self-conscious of two other women inspecting the place - under the watchful eye of another realtor agent and Andou-san.

"My customer has already decided to live here." The other realtor agent was saying, referring to the dark-haired woman who looked like she belonged in a punk band. As she was mentioned, she turned slightly from where she had been peering out of the window.

The other woman who had more of an innocent aura about her immediately gasped and pointed at her in shock.

"Nana! It's Nana! What a coincidence!"

As she charged forward to meet Nana, the dark-haired woman stared blankly.

"Who are you?"
The woman tripped over her feet in shock and her face must have shown it as well because Nana laughed good-naturedly and helped the woman to her feet.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay, Nana-chan?"
Another Nana? Before Shion had a chance to think about anything else, Andou-san had spotted her.

"Ah, Nishimura-san - you're here as well. This is good."
Shion immediately lowered her head and took a step back as the focus of the conversation. "If you wanted to tell me you'd already given this place to someone else you could have just said on the phone."

Andou-san smiled. "That's not it. I actually had an idea although it would seem with Osaki-san here as well my plan will have to change a little." He nodded towards the dark-haired Nana.

What he said piqued the interest of the other peppier Nana. "Plan? What are you talking about Andou-san?"

The older man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, I thought it would be good for Nishimura-san and you to share the apartment so that neither of you live alone. You've only just moved to Tokyo Komatsu-san, and Nishimura-san has only just graduated from high school."

He continued. "However it would seem that Komatsu-san and Osaki-san know each other from a previous encounter, and if Osaki-san is also interested in this apartment, perhaps this arrangement could benefit all three of you."

"You mean, the three of us would live together?" Komatsu-san asked, wide-eyed.

"Well there's a kitchen, and three seperate bedrooms. It not only keeps your privacy, but the three of you would be able to help each other out in the case of an emergency. It would be a really good idea to live together. And both the living cost and the rent will be split into three."

Shion perked up at the mention of money. This last detail seemed to also appeal to Komatsu-san and Osaki-san.

"What's a third of 70,000 yen?" Osaki-san asked excitedly.

"About 24,000 yen, give or take~!" Komatsu-san sang.

"So cheap~!" They sighed happily.

As the two of them made a big fuss, Shion saw the other realtor turn to Andou-san.

"I suppose you'll take two-thirds of the commission then." He said accusingly, as if that had been Andou-san's plan all along. Well, who knows? Maybe it had.

Komatsu-san was decided. "Let's do this, Nana!" Then remembering Shion she skipped towards her with a bright smile on her face. "Nishimura-san… was it? What do you think?"

Shion averted her eyes and looked at the ground. "It's… preferable for me as well… The lower rent, I mean."

"Then it's decided!" She said.

"But are you the type that can keep other people's privacy?" Osaki-san directed the question at Komatsu-san.

"Of course!" Komatsu-san said.

"If you really want to keep your privacy, I would suggest you put locks in each room." Andou-san piped up. "I'll do that for you right away."
Komatsu-san hugged him. "Arigatou, Andou-san!You're such a nice person! Right, Nana?"
The other realtor agent was already asking Osaki-san to reject the offer.

"You'll only have trouble by living with other people." He was saying in a hushed voice.

Osaki-san stared at him, expressionless. "Not really. You're such a lonely man."

With that she walked towards Andou-san. "Ne, Andou-san? When can you put the locks on for the bedrooms?"

He thought about it. "If I start now, it'll be done before noon tomorrow."
Osaki-san smiled. "Please do. I'll move in here by tomorrow afternoon"
She turned to Komatsu-san. "What about you?" It was like she'd been struck by lighting. Somehow she reminded Shion of an eager puppy.

"W-well me too!" Komatsu-san said.

Osaki-san finally turned her attention to Shion, who had been quietly letting everything unfold.

"And you?"

Shion thought about it carefully. She'd rather not move in at the same time - more than anything she just wanted to be alone. Not to mention… when she'd left the house that morning, her stepmother had told her not to come back. All her things were already in her backpack, which she had on her, and she carried her violin case everywhere anyway.

"If it's okay, I would like to move in immediately." She said. "I don't have anywhere else to go. The rest of my money will be going towards the deposit here."

Andou-san looked surprised. "It's not usually the way we would do it but… I suppose if the other two aren't against it, it should be fine."
Osaki-san and Komatsu-san nodded their agreement.

"Then it's settled." Andou-san said. "You can stay here tonight, and Osaki-san and Komatsu-san will join you tomorrow. Please make sure to send in all the paperwork as soon as possible so I can secure you your own keys."

Osaki-san offered her hand to Shion who hesitated before quickly shaking it. The handshake between Komatsu-san and Osaki-san seemed to somehow be more dramatic.

"Let's take care of each other starting tomorrow, Nana-chan." The dark-haired woman said with a cool smile.
Komatsu-san beamed and shook her hand.

As everyone turned to leave, Osaki-san eyed Shion with interest. "You never introduced yourself by the way."

Shion just bowed her head. "Nishimura Shion desu."

"I'm Osaki Nana." The older woman said with a small smile. "See you tomorrow, Shion-chan."

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