Chapter 39

Synopsis
The Tale of Princess Kaguya and its sad ending makes a profound impact on Kotarou. In order to ensure nobody he cares about goes away forever, Kotaro begins giving them his most treasured possessions.

Long Summary
Ryuuichi reads the Tale of Princess Kaguya to Kotaro, who listens very intently. The princess Kaguya said that in order to marry her, she had to be given whatever she requested, but her demands were impossible to fulfill. The Emperor of Japan then asks Kaguya to marry him. The old man and woman were pleased, but Kaguya was depressed, saying that she is not from Earth and must return to her people on the moon. The emperor, old man, and old woman tried to stop her from leaving, but the moon people put everyone to sleep and took Kaguya away. Ryuu starts to doze off, and Kotaro starts to tear up. Ryuu ends the story by saying that perhaps if the people had given Kaguya something they really treasured, she would not have left.

The next morning, Ryuu wakes up under a pile of picture books. Kotaro piles more books onto Ryuu's chest, and Ryuu says that there is no time in the morning to read stories. Ryuu starts to put the books away, but Kotaro tears up and starts mumbling about a present. Seeing that Kotaro is depressed, Ryuu agrees to read him one picture book. After Ryuu has finished, Kotaro presses the book against Ryuu and gives it to him. Ryuu pats him on the head and says that he can keep it. The two get dressed and head down to eat breakfast. Saikawa notices that Kotaro is knitting his eyebrows, so he prepares Kotaro's favorite meal, which consists of flower carrots, a bird-shaped omelette, and crab and octopus sausages; he also sticks a flag with Ryuu's face into the rice. Kotaro's eyes sparkle, and he holds up a sausage in the chairwoman's direction. The chairwoman tells him to eat it, and Kotaro looks disappointed. Ryuu feeds him the sausage, but Kotaro has a depressed look on his face. Saikawa interprets this as a failure in terms of culinary skill. Kotaro gets down from the chair and offers a sausage to Saikawa. Ryuu thinks back to when he told Kotaro about giving treasures to Kaguya and asks Saikawa if he could take a bite of the sausage. Kotaro is very excited and asks if Saikawa is going, to which Saikawa denies. Kotaro proceeds to offer his favorite cherry tomatoes to the chairwoman and Ryuu.

Kotaro starts giving away a lot of his food. He gives his eggrolls away to Taka, Takuma, Kazuma, and Kirin. Ryuu tells Kotaro to stop giving away all his food. Satoru enters from the window and demands to know who is feeding his beloved daughter. Kotaro walks up to him and offers an eggroll, which Satoru eats and enjoys. He gives some to Usaida and Midori as well.

Hayato asks why Ryuu has been sighing so much, and he explains that he is worried Kotaro will turn into a person who only buys gifts to please the ones he loves. Hayato notes that Ryuu sounds like a father. The two overhear Usokawa and other classmates talk about the supposed importance of being rich and buying others' love. Hayato says that Kotaro has always been sincere with his goodbyes, so it is strange that he is giving people gifts and telling them not to go.

In the daycare center, Kotaro, who is holding an acorn, and the children are taking a nap. Kotaro has a dream of his mother reading a story to him but is interrupted by his father, who tells her that it is time to go. His mother apologizes and tells him that she will go now. Kotaro offers her the acorn as a present, and she is excited to accept. Then, Ryuu appears and says that he needs to go as well. Kotaro awakens and immediately starts crying extremely loudly. Usaida picks him up and consoles him but is confused because it is rare for Kotaro to wake up crying. The other children slowly awaken, and Ryuu enters the daycare room. Kotaro calls out to his brother, who takes him into his arms, and asks him not to go to the sky. Ryuu realizes that Kotaro recognized that Kaguya's departure is similar to their mother and father's departure and reassures his brother that he will not be leaving. He tells Kotaro that he is not leaving even if he does not receive any presents, and that he is grateful for all the presents Kotaro has given him. Ryuu thinks about all the good memories he has had with his little brother. The children all decide to play together.

Even after the incident, Kotaro is still giving food to his brother. The other children also happily feed each other food.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Saikawa Keigo
 * Morinomiya Youko
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Satoru Kumatsuka
 * Sawatari Midori
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Usokawa