Chapter 31

Synopsis
Hayato brings his baby cousin Tsugumi over to the daycare when his aunt and uncle catch the flu. Taka begins to feel overshadowed when the baby's presence draws everybody's attention.

Long Summary
The daycare is open during spring break, and Hayato brings in a new baby to take care of. The baby is strapped to Hayato and will not stop wailing. Usaida, Ryuuichi, and the children stare at Hayato as he, Taka, and the baby enter. Usaida looks at the baby and sarcastically asks Hayato if he has a child too. Shizuka calls Ryuu on the phone and explains the situation: Her sister and her husband have caught a cold and are on their way to the hospital, she had no choice but to leave their child with Hayato. Shizuka comforts her sister who is crying and apologizing for leaving her child to Hayato. Meanwhile, the child continues to cry as Hayato glares at him. Hayato motions for Ryuu to give him the phone and demands that Shizuka bring him to the hospital because he cannot stop crying. Shizuka's sister continues to cry, figuring that he is not fine without his mother. Shizuka reasons that if they took the baby, whose name is Tsugumi, to the hospital, he would also fall ill. She then notices that Tsugumi has stopped crying. Hayato looks over to Ryuu, who is holding Tsugumi. Ryuu comforts and pats Tsugumi, who stops crying. Hayato tells Shizuka that everything is fine, while Tsugumi's mother cries more. Taka holds his hands out to Hayato, saying that he wants to talk on the phone as well, to which Hayato responds that she has already hung up.

Usaida comments that Tsugumi is Hayato and Taka's cousin, but he looks a lot more like Hayato. Tsugumi glares with fierce eyes as he chews on his finger. Hayato tells him to be quiet, but Usaida continues to note that he resembles Shizuka, his mother, the most with his fierce eyes. Taka is shocked to hear this, so Usaida tells him to come over and play, saying that Tsugumi is like his older brother but as a baby. Ryuu wonders where Kotaro and the others are and looks over to see that they have hidden in the corner. Ryuu consoles them and tells them that they can come over. Hayato says that Ryuu has been a great help and takes Tsugumi back, but Tsugumi immediately starts to cry. Hayato glares at him and calls him a brat, saying that he cannot call himself a man if he keeps crying. Ryuu panics and tells Hayato not to hit babies. Hayato assures him that he is not the type to hit babies. Kotaro and the others offer to pat the baby so that he stops crying. Ryuu tells Taka that he should come over to play too, but Taka squats in the corner, saying that he will play heroes. He tells everyone that if they want to come over, they can, but no one goes over. The children pat Tsugumi as they talk about Hayato and how scary he is. Usaida cracks up at Taka, who is lonely.

Midori requests a diaper change, causing the children to offer to get tissues. Seeing the attention that Midori receives, Taka goes to Hayato, telling him that he needs to poo as well. Hayato tells him to go alone as Usaida giggles. He then instructs Taka to act as a big brother for Tsugumi. Taka asks if he is a big brother now, to which Ryuu affirms. He runs over to his toy sword and declares that he will give it to Tsugumi. Ryuu praises Taka, but before he can finish, Tsugumi cries and hits the sword away. The sword hits the ceiling and shatters on the ground. Taka is stunned and starts to cry as he looks at Tsugumi. Hayato tells Taka to bear with it and tells the children not to touch the broken shards, as they are dangerous. Taka glares at Tsugumi and smacks him on the forehead. Hayato scolds Taka, who only denies that it is his fault and runs out of the room. Hayato tells Ryuu not to worry about him as he picks up the broken toy sword. Usaida says that being a big brother is a tough job.

Hayato finds Taka sniffling in a bush and tells him to come out if he wants to apologize. Taka insists that he is not in the wrong, saying that Tsugumi broke his sword. Hayato says that he is a baby, so these things cannot be helped. He also mentions that Taka is the one who gave him the sword. He tells Taka that he is proud of him since he is no longer a kid. Hayato then moves the leaves and faces Taka. He smirks and tells Taka to get out of there for him, calling him a snotty brat. Taka quickly comes out from the bush and denies being a snotty brat. Hayato reflects to himself, saying that he will bear with whatever things Taka presents him, thinking that being a brother is not all that bad. He had fixed Taka's sword using tape and super glue. Taka looks at his fixed sword with sparkling eyes while Hayato tells him to apologize. He instructs him not to hit someone smaller than him while Usaida points out the irony. Taka apologizes to Tsugumi for hitting him, and Tsugumi sparkles and smiles. He reaches out his hands to Taka, who also smiles, but then smacks him on the forehead.

Taka starts to bawl as he clings onto Hayato, who calls Shizuka to quickly come take Tsugumi back.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Tsugumi
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Shizuka Kamitani