Chapter 27

Synopsis
Overcome by curiosity, Yukari drags Ryuuichi along on her after-school mission to find out just what Usaida does in his personal life.

Long Summary
Midori smacks Usaida awake during his nap and grabs at his face, pulling it to show the whites of his eyes. Ryuuichi is stunned that Usaida does not wake up right away even though Midori is harassing him. Usaida wakes up after Midori gives him a hard slap. He sees that Kotaro is hiding behind Ryuu, so Ryuu explains that he saw the whites of his eyes. Ryuu blushes and starts stuttering about recently feeling something, causing Usaida to believe he is being confessed to or that Ryuu is doing some kind of trend. Ryuu then bursts into a string of sentences, wondering if Usaida might have an illness because he is always sleeping. Usaida thinks about how Ryuu sounds genuinely concerned, even though his sentences sound sarcastic, unlike Hayato, who employs sarcasm quite often. Usaida pats Ryuu and Kotaro's heads, saying that he does things during night, and asks them if they want to know. Ryuu says yes while Kotaro nods his head, although he does not completely understand what is going on. Usaida grins, saying that it is a secret. Ryuu and Kotaro are stunned: they had never seen Usaida smile in such a refreshing way. Usaida looks at the time and tells Ryuu that he will have to go and hands him Midori.

When Yukari comes to pick up Midori, she suggests that Usaida's "springtime" has come. She also decides that they should follow him, guessing that Usaida must be on a date. Ryuu thinks about this weird side of Yukari and wonders what the point of stalking him is. They follow him for quite a bit, but Midori lets out a loud yelp, causing Usaida to turn his head. Usaida wonders if he had just heard Midori's voice and sarcastically tells himself that he is such a dedicated worker that he hears his the children's voices. Just then, a young woman waves over to Usaida, calling him over. Usaida calls out to the woman, whose name is Misuzu. Misuzu puts her hands on Usaida's cheeks, telling him that they are cold already. She also says that her husband will come home late that night, so they can take it slowly. Ryuu and Yukari are shocked when they overhear this. After watching the two enter an apartment together, Yukari panics and suggests that they go home. Just then, a man bumps into Ryuu and tells him to be careful, although he has a rather intimidating look. He is about to open the door as Ryuu suddenly asks him if he can give them directions. The man turns out to be quite friendly and he invites them inside for some tea, but Midori starts to cry. Usaida comes out from the inside, and Kotaro points to him and calls his name. Usaida asks what the four of them are doing here and explains who they are to the man.

Misuzu and her husband laugh at the idea that Misuzu and Usaida are having an affair. She explains that she is already six-months pregnant, so an affair would be impossible. She says the Usaida is their neighbor and her husband's tutor. Her husband says that he is thinking about applying to night school. He is neither rich nor smart, but would like to make his future child proud. He says that Usaida's teaching is really good and should consider becoming a teacher someday. Ryuu and Usaida go out to buy drinks, and Ryuu apologizes for following him. Usaida says that he does not mind and is rather happy that Ryuu is so interested. He asks Ryuu if he would like to hear an old story of his, but Ryuu refuses, saying he does not look like he wants to tell it. Usaida decides to tell him anyways.

Usaida's father was an elite businessman and had high expectations for his son. As a student, Usaida placed fifth in academic rankings since good grades would be good enough to maintain good results. However, Usaida's father's company went bankrupt, which led to his father's downfall. His father told him that he wants to have a fresh start with his mom and that Usaida is free to live the way he wants to as well. Usaida's parents talked about becoming farmers in the countryside, but Usaida was shocked at the fact that his father suddenly turned from a money-loving businessman to an alien. Usaida then spent a whole year doing nothing but sleeping. Later, Usaida met Youichi, the chairwoman's son, who came to scout him for a suitable job. Youichi says that Usaida has always been good at teaching others, and memories of Usaida's classmates begging Usaida to help them with academics come up. Usaida had asked himself why Youichi, whom he calls "sensei," understood him, but he could not understand himself. Usaida then took a service course and got his babysitting license. He kind of dismisses Youichi's death, but Ryuu figures that he must have been an incredibly important person to Usaida. He wonders if Usaida will quit his job at the daycare center when he finds what he likes to do, but also wonders whether he has found what he wants to do already or not.

The moment Usaida steps into the house, Kotaro hugs his leg, taking him for Ryuu. Usaida apologizes for not being Ryuu while Kotaro tears up. Yukari informs Usaida that Kotaro stuck to the door once he had woken up from his nap. Usaida picks up Kotaro and gives him to Ryuu. Misuzu and her husband invite them for dinner, but Ryuu and Yukari politely refuse, saying that it would be too troublesome. On his way out, Ryuu asks Usaida if he has found what he wants to do yet. Usaida smiles and tells him that it is a secret. Ryuu thinks to himself that he does not understand what Usaida is currently thinking.

Later, Hayato says that the thing that Usaida wants to do is definitely sleeping. He figures that if it were not for his job, Usaida would be sleeping. However, Usaida is still Usaida, and he continues to sleep in the daycare center.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Midori Sawatari
 * Yukari Sawatari
 * Misuzu
 * Misuzu's husband
 * Morinomiya Youichi (flashback)
 * Hayato Kamitani