Chapter 53

Synopsis
As Inui struggles to get over the truth regarding "Inomata-san," he finds himself getting involved with the Babysitting Club once again. When Kotaro becomes separated from the group, Inui dons a familiar makeshift mask in order to try reuniting the boy with his brother and friends.

Long Summary
Spring, the season of love, has arrived, but Inui is trying to recover from his second heartbreak. He swears out loud that he will never love again, catching the attention of Nekota and his classmates. Nekota asks how he will manage, and Inui begins to say that the problem is not that the girl has a boyfriend, but that the "girl" is actually a boy. Inui tries to avoid the humiliation of revealing that the girl of his dreams turned out to be a male babysitter wearing a wig. After the confusion fades away, Inui says that with his self-confidence at an all-time low, he must close his heart to avoid anymore pain. Nekota says that it is probably for the best, since it would be unlikely that any girl who knew him would ever fall for him. Not noticing her blushing as she says this, Inui agrees, adding that the girls in their class hardly qualified as girls in the first place. The girls, angered by his rude remark, begin flinging garbage at him.

Inui decides to take his bag lunch outside in order to avoid the wrath of his female classmates. Just as he is about to eat however, he hears the sound of cheerful children fast approaching. Inui quickly hides behind a tree, realizing that wherever the children are, their babysitter can't be far off. Sure enough, Ryuuichi is calling out to them. Inui cannot help but feel lingering feelings at the sight of Ryuu's face. His heart begins pounding as visions of "Inomata-san" fill his head, prompting him to try and get ahold of himself. He decides it is best for him to just get out of there, but he stops in his tracks at the sight of Kotaro, who has stopped to bend down and stare at ants. Inui manages to hide before the child spots him, and waits until the coast is clear. To his relief, Ryuu calls out for Kotaro to get back to the group. Inui is relieved when Kotaro heads towards his brother's voice. His relief turns to frustration when Kotaro gets distracted by a passing butterfly, and Ryuu too busy chasing after the other children to notice. Kotaro realizes that he has been left behind and can only stare off in the distance while Inui ponders what he should do. He hopes that Kotaro will come to his senses and head back of his own volition. However, Kotaro just stands there, staring through watery eyes. Inui grips his lunch bag and sighs, deciding to step in.

The soccer team is practicing nearby, but one of the players accidentally sends the ball flying towards the idle Kotaro. In the nick of time, Kotaro is pulled away by a student in a paper bag mask, who kicks the ball away. He reprimands the team, who are so bewildered by the strange appearance of this individual in a paper bag that the player responsible barely manages to apologize for their carelessness. Inui asks Kotaro if he is alright. Kotaro recognizes "Mr. Mask" from his trip to deliver Ryuu's lunch, and gazes in admiration of his rescuer. Inui realizes that Kotaro remembers him, and sets him down and urges him to return to his brother. As Inui points, his index finger is gripped by Kotaro. Feeling the child's wet hand and looking at his runny nose, Inui is reminded of exactly why he doesn't like kids. In order to keep Kotaro from getting too "attached" to him, Inui musters his best hero voice and says that while he could easily reunite Kotaro with his friends, a tough boy could venture on without help. Inui is embarrassed to play this part, but it seems to have done the trick. Kotaro nods and heads off to follow the directions given to him by Inui, who promises to watch over him as he goes on his way. The journey is cut short by a group of girls who fawn over the adorable Kotaro the moment they lay eyes on him. When Inui pulls Kotaro away from them, the girls call him gross and scary-looking. As they wonder if they should tell a teacher about him, Inui accuses the girls of being the scary ones. Kotaro chimes in and says that Mr. Mask isn't scary at all, which Inui considers very moving.

They try once more to get Kotaro on his way. Kotaro goes forward, stops, and turns to look at Mr. Mask. He does this a few more times, to the alarm of Inui, who fears that Kotaro will fall if he does not watch where he is going. Sure enough, Kotaro trips and falls flat on his face. Inui runs over and asks if he is hurt. Kotaro is bleeding from a gash on his forehead, but remains upbeat in the presence of Mr. Mask. Inui decides that there's no choice but to personally bring Kotaro to the infirmary, but worries about running into Ryuu. To make matters more complicated, Kotaro remains determined to go on his own, still inspired by the encouraging words of Mr. Mask. Inui marches on even as Kotaro struggles to break free of the hold on him.

At that moment, who should appear but Ryuu, apologizing for having left Kotaro behind. He sees his brother, bleeding and fidgeting in the arms of a suspicious person wearing a bag over their head. Both students freeze for a moment, before Inui runs off screaming it is a misunderstanding. He turns back to see Ryuu glaring at and chasing after him. Inui is now thoroughly scared, but he keeps making his way to the infirmary. When he finally gets there, he leaves Kotaro with the nurse and leaps out the window. When Ryuu reaches the infirmary, he asks the nurse if she had seen a suspicious person carrying his brother come by. This remark stings Inui, who listens in from outside, beneath the open window. Kotaro happy calls out to Ryuu, who sighs in relief. Inui sticks around for a bit, listening to Kotaro recount the adventure to Ryuu. Ryuu asks if Kotaro thinks they should thank that masked person properly. Inui tells himself that he does not care what Ryuu and Kotaro think of him, though the creepy look that Nekota notices on his face says otherwise.

A few days later, Inui finds himself heading towards the daycare. Usaida greets him and ask if he has come to visit anybody in particular. Inui claims he was just passing by. Unconvinced, Usaida tells Ryuu he has a visitor. Ryuu greets Inui, and makes him blush by addressing him as senpai. Inui notices Kotaro wearing a paper bag mask much like his own. Ryuu explains that Kotaro has been imitating the masked person who heroically helped him ever since that day. The other children like Kotaro's costume, and Taka announces they should all take down Usaida together. Ryuu adds that the masked person had apparently helped Kotaro once before too, and wishes he could thank him. Ryuu asks if Inui knows who the masked man is. Inui denies any knowledge, but says that wearing a paper bag is not really that big of a deal. Ryuu concedes that he has a point, as a secret identity makes him more like a real life hero.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Inui Hiroyuki
 * Nekota
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Usaida Yoshihito