Chapter 12

"Before You Swim... One, Two, Three, Four..." is the 12th chapter of Gakuen Babysittings.

Synopsis
It's summer break, the Babysitting Club are spending a day at the beach with the children, their mothers, and Inomata-san. Kotaro seems to be afraid of playing in the ocean, so Ryuuichi holds back his own great desire to swim to keep his brother company on the shore.

Long Summary
Regular classes at Morinomiya Academy have been suspended for the summer holidays. The Babysitting Club is spending a day at the beach, though only half of the children are having fun in the ocean. Usaida is also present, and has plans to enjoy lounging around on the beach looking at girls in swimsuits between eating and sleeping. The teachers plan to watch over their children for the day, and encourage Ryuu to join Hayato for a swim. Inomata still had classes, but Shizuka insisted she take a break to join them. She eventually finishes changing into her swimsuit and joins the group. The teachers are shocked that she is wearing her school swimsuit, which Usaida also teases her for until Shizuka smacks him. Ryuu doesn't judge her for it, since he also has just has swimming trunks from middle school to change in. Yukari, on the other hand, insist that girls need to look cute at all times. The other teachers agree, and decide they'll all pitch in to buy Inomata a new swimsuit as thanks for all the sweets she makes for the children. They drag the reluctant Inomata over to the beach house to pick one out. Usaida and Ryuu are amazed at the powers of persuasion matriarchs possess.

Usaida shares some of his corn with the boys and offers to watch over them while Ryuu goes for a swim. Ryuu declines, having noticed that Kotaro would be too scared to be near the ocean without him. Ryuu decides to gradually walk out into the water while carrying Kotaro in his arms, hoping it could help his little brother become more accustomed to the ocean. As he tries to say comforting things to Kotaro, Ryuu fails to notice an enormous wave until it crashes into them. Getting knocked down on his back, Ryuu barely manages to hold Kotaro above the water. As bad as it is being teased by the other children for having nearly drowned, Kotaro is more scared of the ocean than ever. Ryuu's attempts to assure Kotaro and Kazuma that the water isn't scary are woefully unsuccessful. Thus, Ryuu must resign to the fact that he likely won't get to swim on this beach trip, and decides that he and the children can play in the sand. Usaida winds up being hit with the sand getting thrown around as Taka digs a hole. The others start building hills and plan to dig tunnels through them. But another big wave ruins everyone's hard work. The mothers return with juice that cheer up the children a little bit. But Kotaro drops his drink when a startled Ryuu shouts at the sudden appearance of Hayato with his head covered in seaweed. Ryuu gives his own drink to Kotaro as an apology, while Hayato is smacked by his mother for trying to offer him the seaweed in exchange for forgiveness. After telling the hungry Hayato to get himself some onigiri, Shizuka asks what they both think of Inomata's new swimsuit. Hayato expresses no opinion, while Ryuu can only think to say that he likes how the same cute pattern is on Kirin's new inner tube. The teachers can't believe that this was the best the boys could come up with, but Inomata and Kirin seem to agree that it's their favorite thing about the swimsuit too. Kotaro wants to start over on building a hill out of sand, but the incoming tide prevents this activity. Ryuu convinces him to go to a drier part of the beach to collect seashells together instead. As he shades Kotaro from the hot sun with his own body, Ryuu can't help but wish he was enjoying a refreshing dip in the water.

Eventually, Kotaro and the other children fall asleep, so the teachers encourage Ryuu to take the opportunity to go for a swim while they take over in babysitting. The cooling waters feel incredibly soothing to Ryuu. Hayato asks if Ryuu stayed out of the ocean due to not knowing how to swim. Ryuu explains that he stayed out to keep Kotaro company. He recalls that the last time Kotaro was at the beach was when he was just a baby. He wasn't afraid back then, so Ryuu assumes that he didn't have his trust yet. Considering this to be a foolish assumption, Hayato painfully strikes Ryuu on the head and informs him that Kotaro was too young to really understand what he was afraid of. Back on the beach, Kotaro wakes up and looks around for Ryuu. When Yukari points out that he went swimming, Kotaro immediately sets out to join him. In alarm, Yukari follows him and insists that he doesn't go in the water without her. Kotaro stops at the water's edge, frightened again. But when he sees Ryuu dive down, he fears the worst and leaps into the water. Another wave carries him right back to shore and into the arms of the panicked Yukari. Rattled, Kotaro begins crying out for Ryuu. As soon as Ryuu hears him, he swims back to shore with a speed that even Hayato thinks is impressive. Kotaro begins to settle down as soon as he's in Ryuu's arms. Yukari explains what happened, and believes that Kotaro was actually crying because she stopped him from getting back in the water. Ryuu tells Kotaro he's sorry for leaving him behind on the beach, and offers him a seashell he found. Ryuu believes that Kotaro probably doesn't remember this isn't the first time he got one of these souvenirs from the sea. But Kotaro does seem to remember their father telling them to hold it up to their ear to hear the sound of the ocean. He's so happy that he doesn't seem to mind the fact that he's holding the seashell backwards.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Kashima Kotaro
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Sawatori Midori
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Yayoi Kumatsuka
 * Umi Mamizuka
 * Yukari Sawatari
 * Shizuka Kamitani
 * Inomata Maria
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Ryuuichi and Kotaro's mother (flashback)
 * Ryuuichi and Kotaro's father (flashback)