Chapter 25

Synopsis
Ever since the Morinomiya Academy Culture Festival, Ryuuichi can't help but wonder which of the people he knows could be the father of the Kamitani brothers. He's surprised when Hayato reveals him to be their chemistry teacher, Hebihara Taizou.

Long Summary
Ryuuichi asks if Usaida could possibly be around 40 years old, which stuns him. He replies that he is only 23 and wonders if he really looks that old. Ryuu thinks about the 7 year difference between 23 and 16 as he thinks back to what Hayato had told him at the Culture Festival. He thinks about all the adult males that he knows of. Saikawa arrives to bring Kotaro's bento which has Vienna sausages in crab-shapes. Ryuu thinks about all the mysteries behind Saikawa and asks Saikawa if he is possibly Hayato's father. Saikawa puts a finger to his lips and says that that is a secret. Hayato appears behind Saikawa and says that he has no relations with this person. He asks Ryuu if he is really bothered about his father; he figured that since he did not ask him about he, he did not care. Ryuu becomes flustered and admits that he did not know how to ask. He also acknowledges that it was quite rude of him to ask Saikawa directly. Ryuu panics since Taka might have heard the things he has said. Hayato explains that Taka was just born when their father left, so he has no idea who his father is and that he has never talked to Taka about the topic before. Ryuu believes this might be bad, but Hayato says that Taka is a huge idiot. Meanwhile, Taka is not listening to what they are saying at all and is preoccupied with playing heroes with Kotaro. The other chidlren come into the daycare center and greet Ryuu and Hayato. Usaida asks them why he is not greeted. He then turns to Ryuu and reminds him that he has a report to hand to Hebihara-sensei. He urges him to hurry along since the teacher likes to bully others and suggests that Hayato and Ryuu talk about the topic along the way to hand in the report. Ryuu is about to say something as Usaida hurries him along, also reminding him to take off his apron. He quickly closes the door as they leave, earning the ire of Kotaro. Usaida tells them that he is not chasing after him while the children curiously look at him.

Ryuu apologizes for forcing a secret out of Hayato, but Hayato says that he did not intend to keep the secret from him. Ryuu tells Hayato that it is alright if he does not want to talk about it but is cut short when Hayato talks about someone who likes to bully others. Ryuu is confused, so Hayato repeats what he said. He informs him that the annoying teacher who likes to bully others, Hebihara-sensei, is his father.

In the chemistry room, Ryuu cannot stop thinking about the fact that Hebihara Taizo is Hayato's birth father. Taizo starts calling attendance, and Usokawa responds a few moments late. Taizo marks him absent and tells him that if he is unhappy with it, he can write a 500-word reflection. Next, he calls out Ryuu's name, but he does not respond immediately either, causing Ushimaru to whisper to him. Ryuu swiftly stands up and announces that he is here, but Taizo tells him to write a reflection. Ryuu nervously sits back down as Taizo calls out Hayato's name. Taizo asks where Hayato's report is, to which Hayato replies that he has forgotten it. Taizo sternly tells him that he does not need to hand it in if he does not want to come for lessons. He then addresses the entire class, telling them that the report is due today, and if they do not hand it in on time, they will have to be prepared to be held back for another year. Ryuu wonders if anyone realized that this is a parent-child quarrel and if Hayato neglected to hand in the report on purpose. He then takes back what he was thinking, telling himself that Hayato is always like this, but he and his parents should not be strangers. Once class is dismissed, Taizo tells Hayato to hand in the report by the time school ends and that he will not accept the report if it is handed in late by even a second. He also tells Usokawa and Ryuu to hand in their reflections by that time. In the chemistry study room, Hayato explains that he has been treated like this from the beginning: his father told him to not treat him as a father in school since he must treat every student equally. Hayato also warns Ryuu not to tell Taka about this, as an idiot should stay an idiot.

Ryuu returns to the daycare center, and the children eagerly jump onto him. He apologizes for coming late, explaining that he was writing a reflection and Hayato is busy writing a report. Kotaro holds his bento with a growling stomach because he refused to eat until Ryuu arrived. Ryuu tells Kotaro that he does not have to wait for his brother to come to eat lunch. Kirin hands Ryuu photos that Satoru had taken during the Culture Festival. He sees a lot of photos of Kirin but then looks at the photo of all of them together. The children point to their respective fathers. Kirin points at Saikawa and says that he must be Kotaro's father, which makes Ryuu flustered. Kirin then says that she does not see Taka's father. She asks Taka if his father works at the school just like her mother while Taka looks at her with wide-eyes. Ryuu panics and suggests that they all play the heroes game, but Taka tears up and meekly says that he does not know who his father is. Usaida pats his head and calls him an idiot. Ryuu thinks that Usaida is making a joke at an inappropriate time and begins to call him out. Usaida points to Hayato and tells Taka that even though he does not have a father like Kirin and the others, he has his older brother. He says that Kotaro does not have his mother or father but has Ryuu, explaining that every family is different. He then asks if Taka would rather not have his brother. Taka shakes his head and smiles, declaring that compared to his father, he cannot live without his brother. Hayato silently watches the scene outside of the daycare center as Taka and the others start playing. Usaida breathes a sigh of relief since family matters are so troublesome. He tells Ryuu that Taka will eventually have to come to face his family circumstances. Hayato walks away from the room.

Ryuu thinks about his and Kotaro's family matters. They clearly understand that they can no longer see their parents because they are no longer around. He wonders why Taka cannot see his father when his father is right by him. Hayato enters Taizo's office to hand in his report. Taizo tells him that if he is finished, he can leave it on the table. Hayato calls out "father," but Taizo reminds him that he does not allow his students to address him in such a way. He then tells him to leave the room if he is done with handing in his report. Ryuu appears behind him and watches Hayato walk out of the room. Taizo turns around and instructs Ryuu to hand in his reflection but stops when he sees Ryuu tear up. Ryuu thinks about Hayato's hurt expression as he was leaving the room. Hayato is always so calm, and Ryuu has never seen such a painful facial expression on him. He angrily shoves his papers onto Taizo instead of leaving them on the table, asking him to read it. He knows that his family might differ from Hayato's, but the fact that Taizo has distanced himself so much must be wrong. He bows and leaves the room. He knows that he and Kotaro will never see their parents and wonders why Taizo has such a cold face when looking at Hayato and does not even visit Taka. Taizo feels that he has just been slapped and looks through Ryuu's reflection. He discovers that Ryuu had not written a reflection, but instead recounted stories about Hayato and Taka in the daycare center; he even included the photo of them all at the Culture Festival. Taizo reads the stories.

The next day, Usokawa complains that Taizo marked his reflections as he figured he would simply breeze through them. Ryuu lifts the cover of his paper and sees that the photo is gone. Hayato looks at his papers and demands about what he told Taizo regarding him and Taka. Taizo had written a note to Hayato that he should not make his little brother cry over trivial matters such as a ruined baseball and that he may consult him after work hours if he has personal matters. He also signs his note with "Father." Usokawa laughs at the fact that Taizo told Hayato not to make his little brother cry and points out that Hayato's face is turning red. Hayato tells him to shut up.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * RyuuichiKashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Saikawa Keigo
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Taizo Hebihara
 * Usokawa
 * Ushimaru Yuki (briefly)