Chapter 55

Synopsis
The chairwoman and Saikawa will be away for a week, leaving just Ryuuichi and Kotaro at the house. The two brothers spend time together, and Ryuu learns just how much Kotaro cares for him.

Long Summary
The chairwoman must leave for a business meeting at a school in a different district for a week. Since Saikawa will be accompanying her, the Kashima brothers would take care of the mansion themselves. Saikawa has been working hard to ensure the brothers would be provided for during his absence, making sure they had enough food and the number to the inn they will be staying at. Kotaro wishes that they would stay, but Ryuuichi tells him that he should wish them a safe trip. Kotaro fights back tears in his struggle to do as his brother says, a heartbreaking sight that makes for a great temptation for the chairwoman and Saikawa to stay. Saikawa actually returns to the brothers' side and wishes his boss a safe trip as well before being ordered to get moving. Their car drives off, and Kotaro continues to wave long after it's out of sight. In the car, Saikawa remains tempted to return, but the chairwoman must tell him to stay put. Though the chairwoman has gotten home late before, a week's absence is a first. Kotaro does not take it well, so Ryuu goes about trying to cheer him up. He tells Kotaro that as soon as the chores are taken care of, there is an entire week for just the two of them to play together. Since Ryuu usually has to mind the other children at the daycare, it would be the first time in a while that he could focus solely on Kotaro without fretting over homework as well. This does the trick, as Kotaro becomes so happy, he falls into a daze. After finishing the chores with Kotaro, Ryuu asks what him would like to do first, but Kotaro is too overwhelmed by how many activities they can do together. After Ryuu calms him down, Kotaro decides that he'd be happy just being cuddled for a while. Ryuu is glad that Kotaro is satisfied and decides that they may as well watch TV while sitting on the couch. The first thing to appear on the screen is a news report about a plane that caught on fire. Ryuu begins to panic, but he remembers that Saikawa and the chairwoman would not even be on an international flight to begin with. Kotaro, who saw Ryuu's distress, tries to make him feel better by making the pain fly away. Not yet finished, Kotaro chooses story-time for their next activity. He brings a picture book of the tale of Momotaro, but he wants to be the one to read it to Ryuu for a change. Clearly still worried about his big brother, Kotaro bids Ryuu to lie down so he can begin. Ryuu knows that Kotaro cannot read well enough to tell the story all the way through and tries to convince him to go for a walk together or play hide-and-seek. Kotaro insists that he reads the story. Ryuu eventually falls fast asleep. He wakes up feeling incredibly hot and quickly realizes that he has been covered by a futon. He then turns his attention to the room, which is in a messy state. The overturned furniture and broken flower vase make Ryuu fear that a burglar had broken in. He calms down and figures that it is more likely that Kotaro had accidentally knocked things over when he was dragging the futon to the couch. After quickly cleaning up the remains of the vase, Ryuu looks around for Kotaro. Eventually entering their bedroom and coming across some petals from the flowers of the broken vase, he discovers Kotaro hiding in shame under the bed. Ryuu wipes Kotaro's eyes and nose while telling him that he does not have to feel too bad about worrying for the well-being of a loved one. Ryuu tells him that they could apologize to the chairwoman later. Just as they are finishing cleaning up the rest of the mess, the chairwoman calls to let them know that they have safely arrived at their destination. Though he himself told Kotaro not to worry, Ryuu is quite nervous in their apology for the vase. When he offers to work part-time to pay for a replacement, the chairwoman snaps that he does not have that kind of free time and tells him to get a grip. She tells them both that as long as nobody got hurt, then there is no point in making her so worried. Ryuu thanks her for calling, and Kotaro apologizes one last time before the chairwoman tells them to just be more careful from now on.

Saikawa is buying more souvenirs for the boys than the chairwoman thinks are reasonable, while at the daycare, Usaida asks Ryuu if he feels like he's living in an ogre's house.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Morinomiya Youko
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Saikawa Keigo
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Kirin Kumatsuka