Like everyday, this day begins with Kyou doing newspaper deliveries and Asu preparing breakfast. Both look forward to the firework festival this evening, an event they used to visit every year. Asu has been saving money in the piggy-bank all year to make this day lots of fun together with her onee-san, and without telling her she has already worked out a plan for which stands to visit on the festival. But when she returns home she finds the piggy-bank empty.

On the last but one day of every month, at 06:30 p.m. precisely, a scary demon knocks at the door of the poor sisters` apartment: It`s the apartment owner collecting the rent. To their surprise and relief he didn`t come today, and Kyou already begins to daydream: What if he has won in a lottery and doesn`t care about the rent any more? But when they learn that the owner has broke his leg and is hospitalized, and no one would visit him, Asu begins to feel sorry for him.

Being short on money, Kyo and Asu hunt for Big Sale items for dinner everyday. When trying to pick the last item of low-price white radish, Asu is outpaced by a blonde girl her age who happily presents her prey to her older sister. Next day at school Asu runs into the blonde girl again. They both chase to the shop with the Big Sale but when they struggle for the last pork item the blonde Ginko fakes tears, claiming her older sister would scold her if she didn`t bring the pork home. Asu hesitates, then offers the pork to Ginko - who laughs at her for being that naive... right when some woman takes that last pork item away.

Kyou happens to find a paper saying Asu`s school will soon have an Open Day which Asu didn`t tell her older sister. Kyou remembers how lonely she felt back then when it was her turn at school and none of her parents came; to prevent Asu from having the same sad experience Kyou tries to find appropriate clothes so that she can go there. The next morning Kyou happens to find a wallet with lots of money, right in front of their house! Would that be the end of the girls` desperate times, and even allow them to buy adult clothes for Kyou so that she could act as Asu`s mother at her sister`s school?

Autumn has come; the sisters watch the falling leaves of the sakura tree in front of their room`s window - and observe their lodging`s owner doing the same. To their bewilderment the owner addressed them as "Eriko" and "Nami" and allows them to delay their payment of rent for the first time ever. A couple of days later both sisters meet the owner who tells the girls to move out their location as soon as possible! The house is about to be torn down and rebuilt to provide more expensive apartments - which means that the precious sakura tree will also be gone soon.

Ginko is still longing for being loved and respected by her her older sister, and she can`t understand how Kyou and Asu, her new neighbors can always be so close with each others. Both being class presidents, Ginko and Asu have to take care of handouts for their class, but while Ginko is bossing her classmates around Asu does her work alone with a smile, even helping another girl understand some difficult question during the process. On their way home from school Ginko becomes aware how everyone likes Asu and gives her presents, which makes her angry: She won`t lose to another girl her age!

For the first Valentine day ever Asu-chan has managed to make a chocolate heart. She can hardly wait for the moment to give her present to her beloved older sister and decides to pick her up at school. But to her big surprise she happens to observe Kyou also giving a chocolate present... to a boy, and then running away immediately! So Kyou has already someone she loves? Jealously Asu follows this guy to find out more about his character - and she learns that he has many friends, behaves friendly and helpful... in short: He seems just perfect. But can Asu hand over her sister to someone else so easily?

At night Kyou is frightened by the weird sound of a voice - is that the spirit of a dead girl? Asu-chan bravely supporting and encouraging her older sister enables Kyou to go back to sleep. At school Asu is once again helping her classmates, getting praised for being good in everything. But actually Asu has a problem: She can`t sing, the music test at school is only a couple of days away, and all her friends at school expect her to sing as well as she`s performing in all other classes. At home she begins to practice her song for the test but soon becomes frustrated... then suddenly she hears a wonderful voice from outside continue her song.

Because of additional work Kyou is permanently tired and can hardly focus on what she`s doing, giving Asu some concern that Kyou might get into an accident. In the shopping district, Asu wins a set of cell phones with prepaid cards for three months. When Asu shows her price to her onee-san, Kyou can hardly believe they`re real. After one week, neither one of the sisters has used their cellphone even once as to save the precious minutes. Now they decide to be more liberal about it. But when Kyou finally finds a reason for calling Asu, their connection is suddenly aborted, and "this number isn`t available now". Kyou is worried: Something must have happened to her little sister!

Kyou has a cold and a fever, and Asu is nursing her. A few days later, Kyou can go back to work and tries to do her best as to gain back the sick days. But when Kyou finally returns from her newspaper run, there`s no light in the sister`s room - and she finds Asu collapsed at the ground! Panicking, Kyou tries to carry Asu to the hospital, but the owner convinces her to call the ambulance instead. Kyou becomes even more worried now, as she remembers the days when their mother died in the hospital.