Episode 9

Synopsis
The Babysitting Club spends the day at the beach though some of the children are terrified at being near the ocean. Hayato ignores Taka after Taka ruins Hayato's baseball, and Ryuuichi tries to find a way to get the two to reconcile.

Act One
Kirin and Kazuma sob in fear while Kotaro stares at his feet in shock as the three stand on the sand and feel the waves crashing onto the shore. Midori excitedly plays with the sand while Takuma eagerly chases Taka through the water.

Ryuu watches the children as Usaida arrives with snacks, seeing that the children have divided into beach-loving and beach-hating factions. Ryuu says that he has no idea which side Usaida is on, but he does see that he has no intention of swimming. Usaida declares himself on the beach-loving side. He plans to look at swimsuit hotties, eat snacks, and sleep.

He asks where Hayato has gone, and Ryuu explains that Hayato had said he would go for a swim. He points towards the ocean and the two see a huge stir in the water where Hayato is rapidly swimming far from the beach.

Yayoi appears behind Ryuu, stunning him. She tells him that he can go for a swim as well. Umi holds her twins' hands as she says that the mothers will be looking after the children today, and Yukari thanks him for everything he does at the Babysitting Club. Taka cries that he wants to play with Ryuu, but Shizuka holds him back, instructing him to put up with being with his mother for today. Shizuka holds an energetic Taka as she asks where Inomata is. She had invited Inomata so that she could relax, but she has not seen Inomata around. Ryuu looks behind Shizuka and sees that Inomata has just arrived. Inomata apologizes for arriving late with a stoic face, and everyone's face goes blank when they see that she is wearing her school swimming suit.

Usaida calls her naughty for wearing her school bathing suit, but Shizuka stands up and hits him in the face with a towel. Ryuu holds Kotaro as he points out that Inomata also arrived with her school swimming suit. Inomata argues that she can still swim in it, so there should not be a problem with her suit. Ryuu tells her that he is also wearing his middle school bathing suit. Yukari takes Inomata's hands and tells her that girls need to look pretty all the time. Yayoi recalls that they sell swimming suits at the beach shop, and Umi wraps a cloth around Inomata's waist. Shizuka tells Inomata that they will help pick one out for her, and Yukari adds that they will buy her a swimming suit as a thank-you for all the sweets she gives to the children.

Inomata tries to decline the offer, but the mothers quickly hurry her away from the beach and towards the shops. They tell Usaida to look after the children as they are out. Usaida comments that, as usual, one cannot say "no" to a housewife. Ryuu agrees, seeing that even Inomata is at their mercy. Usaida holds out some snacks to the children, asking if they want some. The children eat some corn, and Usaida tells Ryuu that he can go swim since he will be looking after the children. Ryuu refuses, citing that Kotaro, who is clinging to his brother, is still scared of the ocean. Usaida asks if this is Kotaro's first time at the beach, and Ryuu affirms. Usaida wonders what is so scary about the beach, so he picks up Kazuma and holds him right above the water. As expected, Kazuma begins to cry and flail.

Ryuu steps into the water with a nervous Kotaro in his arms and figures that it must be the feeling of being swept away by the water that is scaring the children. Ryuu wades into the water, reasoning that as long as he keeps Kotaro above the sand, he will not feel scared. He shows Kotaro that the ocean is not scary with his brother. Before he can finish his sentence, however, a huge wave crashes over Ryuu. Usaida, Takuma, Taka, and a frightened Kazuma watch Ryuu being overwhelmed by the water. Ryuu ends up underwater, and he holds up Kotaro above the water. Kotaro trembles in fear as he sees Ryuu gasping for breath. On the beach, Ryuu coughs and once again tries to tell Kotaro that the ocean is not scary, but Usaida tells him that his argument is not convincing at all. Taka and Takuma make fun of Ryuu for drowning, and Ryuu suggests that they all play on the sand together instead. Takuma and Kazuma build a huge mountain of sand together. Taka digs a hole, and Usaida complains that Taka is flinging sand at him. Kotaro also builds a pile of sand using a shovel. Ryuu is glad to see that the children are enjoying this, and he suggests to Kotaro that they build a mountain of sand and dig a tunnel through it.

However, the waves crash onto the beach, causing the mountains and hole to disappear. Taka cries while Kotaro stares at his flattened mountain with disappointment. Shizuka returns holding a few cups, asking what he is making a fuss about. Umi, also carrying some cups, sees that they are playing in the sand. Shizuka tells Taka to simply dig another hole and hands him a cup, telling everyone that she had bought everyone juice as a special treat. Umi hands Ryuu a cup of juice as well, and Ryuu accepts it. Shizuka smiles as she watches Taka quickly sip the juice, and Ryuu kneels down to Kotaro. Suddenly, Hayato appears behind the two with seaweed on his head, asking what the two are doing. Ryuu gasps in shock while Kotaro drops his cup, spilling the juice. Hayato takes the seaweed off his head and offers it to Kotaro if he forgives him. Shizuka smacks Hayato on the head, asking what Kotaro would do with seaweed. Ryuu gives Kotaro his cup of juice, and Kotaro takes the cup. Hayato complains to his mother that he is hungry, and Shizuka bluntly tells him to get some onigiri.

She then tells the two that Inomata has just gone and changed. Yayoi and Yukari excitedly await Hayato and Ryuu's reactions as they stand next to Inomata, who has her hair tied in a side-ponytail and wearing a flower-patterned bikini. Usaida, Hayato, and Ryuu stare at her for a moment. Hayato simply says that it is a swimsuit, causing Shizuka to sigh in defeat. Ryuu comments that "it" is cute, but when he clarifies that the "it" he is referring to is the pattern of the swimsuit, the mothers stare at him in shock. They stare at him as he says that the pattern matches Kirin's tube.

Shizuka is disappointed at the defeat and feels especially displeased with her son's heartlessness. Yukari suggests that they may be embarrassed to compliment a girl, but Umi notes that they do not seem flustered at all. Yayoi is pleased to see that Inomata is happy with her new swimsuit. Inomata and Kirin smile as they tell each other that they are matching. Ryuu turns to Kotaro and suggests that they make a big mountain, but Kotaro is sitting in a pile of gravel. Ryuu walks over to where he thinks the water cannot reach, but the waves crash around his ankles. He sees that Kotaro is nervous, and he notes that Kotaro is rather cute when he is trying to be strong. Ryuu brings Kotaro over to collect seashells, and the mothers warn them that it is hot in the sun. Ryuu hovers over Kotaro as he collects shells, protecting Kotaro from the sweltering heat. He wishes that he can enter the water, and Kotaro pulls out a nice seashell. The children and Usaida quietly sleep in the shade of the umbrellas, and Umi tells Ryuu that he can play in the water now. Ryuu bows and asks them to take care of Kotaro, and Hayato urges him to hurry up. Ryuu and Hayato enter the water, and Ryuu is relieved at the cool feeling. Hayato asks if he can swim, and Ryuu asks what that is supposed to mean. He asks if he looks that unathletic to him, and Hayato explains that because Ryuu seemed to be avoiding the ocean, he had figured that he could not swim. Ryuu responds that he simply felt bad about leaving Kotaro alone.

Ryuu recalls that this is not the first time that Kotaro has visited the ocean. Kotaro does not remember it, but when he was a baby, he had come to the beach. He remembers that his parents had brought Kotaro into the water, and he was not scared at all. He wonders if he is scared now because he is not enough to reassure him. Hayato abruptly smacks Ryuu, causing him to drop underwater. Ryuu swims back up, gasping for breath and holding his head. He asks Hayato if he always hits Taka this hard, but Hayato calls him stupid, claiming that he did not even hit him half as hard. He dismisses that and tells Ryuu that the reason that Kotaro was not scared back then was because he was only a baby who did not know better. He tells Ryuu not to say stupid things, and Ryuu admits that back then, Kotaro could not even stand. Yukari notices that Kotaro has woken up from his nap. Kotaro sits up and looks around for Ryuu. Yukari tells Kotaro that his brother is in the ocean right now. She points at the ocean, noting that Kotaro probably cannot see Ryuu from such a long distance. Kotaro immediately stands up and runs towards the water. He stops when he reaches where the waves are crashing onto the beach. Kotaro looks at his brother and Hayato. When he sees Ryuu hold his breath and go under water, he freezes in fear, recalling when Ryuu held him above water when the wave crashed onto him. Kotaro steps into the water despite his fear. Yukari walks up to Kotaro while Kotaro suddenly leaps into the water. He falls, unable to swim, and Yukari quickly pulls him out, telling Kotaro that his brother will be back soon. Kotaro coughs and begins to cry. He reaches his arms out in Ryuu's direction as he wails. Ryuu emerges from underwater and hears Kotaro's cries. He asks Hayato if Kotaro was calling for him just now, and Hayato asks if that is what all the commotion on the beach is. Ryuu looks over and sees Kotaro crying for him.

Ryuu quickly swims back to the shore, and Hayato comments that he is fast. He also notes that he had thought that Kotaro was the clingy brother, but it might be the other way around. Ryuu takes Kotaro from Yukari and asks what is wrong. He apologizes for playing while he was napping, but he still asks Kotaro why he is crying so loudly. Yukari explains that he panicked when he saw that Ryuu had gone underwater. Yukari adds that this is her first time seeing Kotaro cry, but Kotaro walked into the ocean that he was so afraid of. He had started to cry when she stopped him. Kotaro clings onto Ryuu as he sniffles, and Ryuu apologizes to Yukari for causing a fuss. Yukari says that it is nice that the two are so close. Ryuu sets Kotaro down and apologizes for worrying him. He hands him a shell. He remembers that his father had told him that if he held up this conch shell to his ear, he can hear the ocean. Ryuu figures that Kotaro would not remember such a thing, but to his surprise, Kotaro holds the shell up to his ear to hear the ocean.

Ryuu laughs and reorients the way Kotaro is holding the shell, telling him that he is holding it upside-down. Ryuu hopes that the next time Kotaro visits the beach, he will love the ocean.

Act Two
Morinomiya Academy is still in summer vacation, but Ryuu and Kotaro are reopening the daycare center. They clean the floor as they wait for the others

Taka holds his mother's hand as he looks down and pouts, and his eyes and cheeks are puffy and red as he sniffles. Ryuu asks Taka if he had another fight with Hayato, and Taka immediately runs into Ryuu's arms. He tries to explain to Ryuu what happened, but because he is sniffling, Ryuu cannot decipher what he is saying. Taka cries in Ryuu's lap while Shizuka explains what happened. She holds up a ball with scribbles all over it and hands it to him. Kotaro points at the ball and says "poo." Shizuka confirms that Taka scribbled poo-like shapes over the baseball, which is an autographed baseball that Hayato has treasured for a long time. Ryuu gasps and assumes that Hayato got mad for real and hit Taka really hard. However, Shizuka smiles, saying that would be business as usual. In a flashback, Hayato stares at his ruined baseball while Taka teases him for not spending time with him. Hayato gets up and walks in Taka's direction, so Taka covers his head, expecting him to hit him. Instead, however, Hayato walks past him without saying a word. Hayato tells his mother that he needs lunch because he has to go to club at school, completely ignoring Taka. Hayato gets dressed and puts on his shoes. Taka runs after him with his backpack, telling him that he wants to go to school too. Before Taka can finish his sentence, Hayato closes the door behind him and leaves. Taka immediately begins to cry, and Shizuka comes up to him, asking what is wrong.

Ryuu realizes that Hayato is completely ignoring Taka. Kotaro holds out a book about bugs, which is pronounced the same way as the word "ignore" is. Ryuu comments that Hayato must have been incredibly angry, and Taka wails that it is Hayato's fault. Shizuka asks Ryuu if he will check up on Hayato for her, because even if she makes Taka apologize, it will not help if Hayato continues to ignore him. Taka cries that he refuses to apologize. Ryuu asks who is going to look after the children since Shizuka has supplementary classes to get going to, and Usaida is not here. Just then, the chairwoman, followed by Saikawa, opens the door and declares that she will look after the children. She demands that the two immediately get moving, as she cannot have the sound of crying children echo in the hallway. Shizuka and Ryuu stand up and comply. Kotaro calls the chairwoman "shaggy" as Ryuu and Shizuka leave. The chairwoman turns to Taka, and her intimidating glare scares him, but she kneels down and takes out a tissue, saying that they should cool off his eyes first. She helps Taka blow his nose while she instructs Kotaro and Saikawa to get some ice. Ryuu arrives at the Baseball Club's practice, and one of the members warns Ryuu against speaking to Hayato. The two look over at Hayato, who is fiercely swinging his bat around in anger. The club member says that Hayato has the talent to attend a school with a stronger baseball team and pities the fact that he has to take care of his little brother.

He immediately apologizes to Ryuu when he realizes that he is also in the Babysitting Club looking after his brother. Ryuu dismisses the concerning, telling him that he enjoys taking care of the children. He decides to talk to Hayato and nonchalantly walks up to him while the club member warns him once again. Ryuu calls out to Hayato, who glares at him. He shakes a bit, admitting that Hayato is rather scary, and he asks if he and Hayato can talk. By the water fountains, Ryuu explains the situation with Taka. He rests his head on his knees as he reflects on the age difference and sympathizes with Hayato's anger. Hayato asks if Kotaro also does things to like this to him, and Ryuu recalls all the times that Kotaro has upset him. He remembers that Kotaro knocked over his matchstick model of the Osaka Castle that he had spent two weeks building for a summer project, and he has scribbled over his homework. Ryuu tears up when he recalls that Kotaro dropped his phone, which had emails from his parents, in the toilet. Hayato pats his shoulder and tells him to cheer up.

Ryuu wipes his tears and figures that since it was an accident, he will simply get over it. Hayato tells him the situation with him and Taka is different. He explains that he does not care about the object itself, but Taka had malintent. He figures that he refuses to apologize. He sighs, saying that he should probably just suck it up. The chairwoman listens to Taka explain what happened, and Taka sniffles as he blames Hayato for not playing with him. Saikawa is impressed that she is able to decipher Taka's incoherent speech. The chairwoman asks if Taka has anything that he treasures, and Taka eagerly gets his toy sword. She takes the sword from him and asks Saikawa to fetch a hammer so she can destroy the sword, and Saikawa holds out a hammer, much to Taka's dismay. The chairwoman holds the sword against the wall and is about to destroy it with the hammer, but Taka begs her to stop. The chairwoman stops and faces Taka, telling him that this is essentially what he did to his brother. She hands him the sword and asks if he really did nothing wrong. Taka stares at his sword. When Ryuu returns, the chairwoman tells Saikawa that they should get going. After school, Ryuu asks Taka if he would like to go to apologize to Hayato, and to his surprise, Taka quietly nods. Ryuu brings Kotaro and Taka to the Baseball Club's practice area. Hayato walks with a few of his teammates, but stops when he sees the three of them. Taka hides behind Ryuu's leg as he stares at his brother in fear. Hayato then turns and walks away. Taka sprints after him, calling for him to wait, but slips and falls. He looks up and calls for his brother again. Hayato calls Taka and idiot and tells him that if he does not hurry up, he will leave him behind. Taka immediately gets up and runs to his brother, crying for him. He clings to his leg and apologizes, admitting that he was wrong. Hayato lightly hits him on the head, telling him to shut up. He then places his hand on his head and apologizes for not spending time with him.

Ryuu watches the two and reflects on what Hayato was thinking during their conversation. He thinks to himself that little kids do grow up: someday, Kotaro will be as tall as he is, and he will stop playing pranks on him. Ryuu admits that he might feel just a little bit lonely then.

Hayato begins to walk home, and Taka follows him. Ryuu and Kotaro catch up. Hayato suggests to Ryuu that they all play baseball tomorrow, and Ryuu wonders if the children will be able to handle such a sport. Taka excitedly says that he will play baseball.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Midori Sawatari
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Yayoi Kumatsuka
 * Umi Mamizuka
 * Yukari Sawatari
 * Shizuka Kamitani
 * Inomata Maria
 * Mr. Kashima (flashback)
 * Mrs. Kashima (flashback)
 * Morinomiya Youko
 * Saikawa Keigo