Chapter 68

Synopsis
At the end of summer vacation, the Babysitting Club decides to attend a festival, where they catch goldfish. They decide to take care of them so that they do not die, and they prepare a fish tank. There are supposed to be eight goldfish in total, but they only count seven in the tank.

Long Summary
The children ready their paper spoons as they stare at the multitude of goldfish in the tank. Taka violently splashes around with his spoon in a futile attempt to catch a fish. He splashes the twins and Usaida, and then Kotaro and Kirin. Hayato glares at his brother as he is splashed as well. All of the children's paper spoons break, and Taka cries, saying that he was close, which Usaida refutes. The person at the goldfish booth hands them goldfish as consolation prizes, and all the children, except Taka, excitedly look at their fish. Usaida shows Taka his fish, but Taka sniffles, saying he wishes to catch his own. Hayato looks at his brother and hands the concession stand worker some money, asking him for one more chance. He gives Taka the paper spoon and holds his hand, instructing him to hold it gently. Hayato glares at the fish, determined to catch the liveliest one. Taka's eyes sparkle as he and Hayato scoop the fish into the bucket. Taka excitedly announces that he has caught a fish. Usaida begins to refute him, saying that Hayato had caught it, but Ryuuichi covers his mouth. Inomata and Ushimaru greet them, and the children show them their goldfish. Inomata sternly says that she does not like this fishing game, since the goldfish will die in two or three days anyways. The children stare at her in dismay as Ushimaru panics, causing Inomata to panic as well. Ryuu scolds Hayato after he affirms Inomata's claim that goldfish die quickly. The children tear up, asking Inomata if the goldfish will die. Inomata is stunned since she does not want to make the children cry. Ryuu tries to console them by saying that they do not die right away, but he recalls crying over his dead goldfish as a toddler while his mother comforts him. Ushimaru remembers the time when her goldfish quickly died when she was a toddler as well. Ryuu looks at the children, who are about to cry. Usaida, who is catching fish while holding Midori, says that they do usually die quickly, but they can also live at least ten years. He says that he will ask his friend, whose fish is still alive even though he had caught it back in elementary school, for some tips. The children feel determined to take care of their fish. Kazuma nervously looks down, but Hayato sits him on his leg and holds his hand with the paper spoon, telling him to catch his own as well. Inomata, depressed, pulls Ryuu's shirt sleeve and apologizes for making the children cry. Ryuu instinctively pats her head, causing Inomata to push his hand away and insist that she was seriously apologizing. Ryuu smiles and thanks her for saying those words. Now, the children will take great care of their fish. Ushimaru smiles and suggests that she and Inomata raise fish as well. Usaida tells them to catch fish themselves, figuring that Inomata has not fished at a festival before, causing Inomata to feel flustered. The daycare center prepares a fish tank borrowed from the school, and Inomata researches the best way to raise goldfish. Usaida brings sand substrate to place at the bottom of the tank, and Saikawa presents fish food that the chairwoman prepared for them. Kotaro excitedly looks at the fish in the tank. Usaida lies on his side as he notes that Kotaro refuses to take his eyes off of the fish. Kotaro points at each fish and calls out the children's names. Ryuu wonders why Kotaro does not say his own name. Usaida counts the fish and sees that there are only seven, meaning Kotaro's fish is missing, much to Kotaro's dismay. Inomata and Ushimaru enter the room, asking them what they are doing. Ryuu explains that he and the others are searching the room for a fish and asks if they can help, confusing the two. Usaida figures that it was eaten by a cat, since the window is open. Takuma defends the cat, being good friends with the stray. Hayato searches behind a piece of furniture and announces that he has found it. He crouches next to the goldfish on the floor as Taka asks if it is dead. Hayato reasons that it is dead because it is completely dried up. The children begin to bawl, but Kotaro picks up the fish and runs over to Ryuu, asking for water. Ryuu agrees to put the fish in the water. As the crying Kotaro hands the fish over, his tears drop onto the fish, and the fish begins to jump around. Ryuu immediately yells for Usaida to bring filtered water for the fish, and everyone in the daycare yells as Hayato calmly watches them while holding Midori. The children, Ryuu, and Hayato observe the still and silent fish in the bucket, and wonder if it is dead. Taka puts his finger to his mouth and says that they should be quiet since the fish is sleeping. Little by little, the fish recovers and begins to swim. Ryuu holds Kotaro up to the tank, and Kotaro is happy to see that the fish is alright.

As expected, it was the cat's fault that the fish had fallen out. Takuma cries out to the cat as it stands up to the tank in a second attempt to catch a fish.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * The Goldfish
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Midori Sawatari
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Ushimaru Yuki
 * Inomata Maria
 * Saikawa Keigo (briefly)
 * Youko Morinomiya (briefly)
 * The Cat