Chapter 22

Synopsis
Ryuuichi and Kotaro are invited to join the Kamitani brothers at the summer festival. In all the excitement over the surrounding attractions, Taka misplaces his prized toy sword.

Long Summary
It is summer vacation, and Saikawa answers the phone only to hear huffing noises on the other side. Taka and Hayato are calling the Morinomiya residence, but Taka panics when he does not hear Ryuuichi answer the phone, causing Hayato to hit him on the head. Hayato scolds him for insisting on making the call despite being afraid of strangers. He picks up the phone and introduces himself. Saikawa informs him that the color of his underwear is black, but Hayato responds that he never asked. Saikawa had made a joke when he heard the two brothers quarreling; he tells Hayato that he will get Ryuu on the phone. Ryuu and Hayato speak while their brothers eagerly listen on the phone. Taka nervously asks Kotaro to go to the summer festival with him, to which Kotaro agrees by nodding his head, bumping his head on the receiver in the process. The chairwoman tells them that they are free to go, but should be wary of overpriced food items and prizes. Saikawa prepares yukatas for Ryuu and Kotaro, offering to help them put them on if they do not know how.

Hayato and Taka, who is wearing a yukata, wait for Ryuu and Kotaro at the festival. Hayato asks why Taka brought his toy sword and tells him to stop waving it around. He says he would not care if he lost it, but Taka insists that he will not. Hayato scoffs and thinks to himself that Taka will surely lose it. When Ryuu and Kotaro arrive, Hayato apologizes for inviting them so suddenly and asks why they are in such formal clothing. Ryuu responds that Saikawa had prepared them for the two, and Hayato asks if Saikawa is the one with black underwear. Taka grabs Kotaro's hand and rushes to explore the festival. Hayato raises a fist and regrets not hitting him earlier, but Ryuu tells him not to resort to violence.

Kotaro excitedly watches the cotton candy being made, but he does not wish to eat the candy right away. Ryuu suggests that he eat it right away before it deflates, but Kotaro shakes his head. Taka stares at a Transformer's belt at a rope-drawing game. Hayato and Ryuu swiftly pick up the children and move away, knowing that there was no way the strings were connected and did not want to waste money on such a scam. Taka starts crying, saying that he wants the Transformer's belt. They meet Usaida at a goldfish stand, and he comments on Taka's depressed demeanor. Usaida is working at the stand because a neighbor asked him to, and he offers to let the children scoop goldfish at a discount. Taka, still upset, does not want goldfish, but wants to pull the ropes. Hayato asks him where his toy sword is, and Taka, shocked, looks at Kotaro, Usaida, and Ryuu. Hayato tells a stunned Taka that he has lost his sword, and Taka wails over his lost sword, attracting a lot of attention from the crowd. Hayato immediately hits him on the head for crying so loudly.

Sometime later, Ryuu is holding and comforting Taka and suggests searching for the sword. Hayato tells Ryuu that he and Kotaro can go enjoy the festival without them since he is not obligated to do duties outside of school. However, Ryuu says he will help because the two are friends. Hayato does not respond immediately, making Ryuu think that he was the only one who thought they were friends, but Hayato responds by saying that he is incredible to taking care of a brat like Taka. The four retrace their steps and search for Taka's toy sword. They meet Usokawa and other classmates along the way. Once they get back to the cotton candy stand without any success, the cotton candy stand runner tells them that they should search the lost and found booth. At the booth, they see Yagi surrounded by several girls. Ryuu and Hayato, who thinks there is some kind of host club, are stunned but inform Yagi that Taka has lost his toy sword. Yagi suffers a nosebleed when he sees Taka and Kotaro holding hands and Taka's teary eyes. Nezu calls the four over and tells Kichi and Suekichi to take out all the toy swords they have. Unfortunately, Taka's sword is not in their possession, and Nezu apologizes. Hayato tells Taka that it is time for him to give up searching for the sword, as they have been searching for quite a while. Taka wants to keep searching, so Hayato instructs him to search by himself. Ryuu protests and calls out Hayato for phrasing his words in such a manner, but Hayato quickly silences him and continues his thought. He offers Taka a try at the rope-pulling game if he gives up the search. He also reminds him to thank Ryuu for helping with his search. Taka remembers the fun he has had with his sword and tearfully gives up his search. Hayato pats his brother's head and takes him to the rope-pulling stand. Taka stares at the ropes for a while, deciding on which to pull, when Kotaro suddenly pulls out a rope that is attached to a sword that looks identical to Taka's lost sword. Ryuu is shocked at the uncanny similarities while Hayato threatens the man running the booth. The man gives him the sword for free.

Back at home, Ryuu shows the chairwoman and Saikawa the game console coin bank that they had won, and Kotaro is upset over his deflated cotton candy.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Saikawa Keigo
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Morinomiya Youko
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Usokawa (briefly)
 * Yagi Tomoya
 * Chuukichi Nezu
 * Suekichi Nezu
 * Kichi Nezu