Chapter 38

Synopsis
Angry at always being ignored, Taka locks Hayato out on the balcony on a cold and snowy evening. Hayato has no choice but to wait and hope that someone rescues him from freezing to death.

Long Summary
Hayato looks out the deck window as he talks on the phone with Ryuuichi and complains about the cold temperature. Meanwhile, Taka yells out for him to give him the phone so he can also talk. The reception is quite bad, so Hayato struggles to hear the other end while Taka is also shouting, so he steps outside onto the deck and slides the door close. Taka starts to tremble and tear up, saying that he will never forgive him. Hayato tells Ryuu to hold on as he turns to tell Taka that he can talk on the phone now, but Taka turns the lock on the deck door, trapping Hayato outside in the freezing cold. Taka mocks Hayato, saying that he will never step into the house again for ignoring him. Hayato menacingly glares at him and motions for him to unlock the door. Taka flinches in fear and runs away, crying into a pillow. Unfortunately for Hayato, he is stuck on a deck on the ninth floor of a building. Ryuu, who is holding Kotaro, asks Hayato if Taka wants to speak, but Hayato insults Taka over the phone as the wind blows. Ryuu asks about the situation, but Hayato simply dismisses it.

Kotaro hugs Ryuu as Ryuu wonders if Hayato and Taka had a fight. Then, Ryuu takes a call from Umi and the twins. Umi asks if he and Kotaro would like to come over to play since Kousuke had come home and they had baked too many cookies together. She also says that he should bring Hayato and Taka. Ryuu agrees to call Hayato and tells Kotaro that they will be going to Takuma and Kazuma's house later. Ryuu tries to dial Hayato's number, but the line does not go through. Ryuu looks out the window and excitedly shows Kotaro that it is snowing.

Hayato is shivering from the snowfall and looks at his phone, which has run out of battery. He looks into the apartment and sees Taka comfortably taking a nap on the warm pillow. Hayato, pissed, decides to break the deck door and imagines shattering the glass. However, he hesitates and turns back around, knowing that Shizuka would hit him and demand that he pay for the damage and that the glass could hit Taka. He clicks his tongue and sits down, deciding to wait for Shizuka to come home instead.

Kousuke steps out onto the deck and marvels at the snowflakes, but Takuma steps on a stool and locks the door behind him. Then, the twins pull the curtains down, announcing that they are now playing hide-and-seek. Kousuke panics, but cannot do anything. He bangs on the door, calling for Umi, but the door has soundproof glass and Umi is wearing earmuffs and rustling a bag. She asks the twins where Kousuke is, to which they reply that he is playing hide-and-seek. She asks if they want to drive out to meet Ryuu and Kotaro or wait with Kousuke at home. The twins, who have forgotten about their father already, decide to go with their mother. Umi calls out to Kousuke, telling him that they will be leaving. Meanwhile, Kousuke shivers and trembles to the point where he cannot coherently speak.

Kotaro catches snowflakes with his mittens outside while Ryuu tries to dial Hayato's number again. Kotaro disappointed to see that the snowflakes disappear from his hands so quickly. Ryuu says that it is easiest to see them with a black background. Umi and the twins arrive and greet Ryuu and Kotaro. Umi asks why Kotaro is knitting his eyebrows, so Ryuu explains that he cannot see the snowflakes. Umi mispronounces the word for paper and accidentally suggests that they use hair, so the children try climbing onto Ryuu and grabbing onto his hair. Umi apologizes and clears the misunderstanding. She brings out sheets of dried seaweed, and when the snow hit the seaweed, they can clearly see the snowflakes. Kotaro's eyes sparkle as he shows Ryuu the snowflakes. Umi asks Ryuu where Hayato and Taka are, to which Ryuu replies that he cannot seem to contact them. She invites them to her home since it is quite cold outside.

Umi calls out to Kousuke and wonders where he is. She draws back the curtains and see Kousuke shivering outside on the deck. She colds Takuma and Kazuma for locking their father outside. Kousuke tries to defend them saying that they just wanted to play hide-and-seek, but Umi tells him that he does not have to defend them for doing this. Ryuu recalls his conversation with Hayato and what he had heard over the phone. He remembers a voice in the background saying that Hayato will never step into the house again. As Umi brings Kousuke in, Ryuu quickly picks up Kotaro and rushes out of the house, telling Umi that he had just remembered something important.

Ryuu remembers that Hayato had dismissed the situation and knows that Hayato is not the type of person to admit that something had happened. He tries to dial his house phone, waking up Taka. As he is running towards Hayato's house, he crosses paths with Shizuka, who has just arrived home. Ryuu rushes into the house and swiftly opens the deck door, asking if Hayato is still alive. Hayato is sitting on the deck with snow covering his head and body. He glares at Ryuu and then at Taka. Before Hayato does anything, Ryuu urges him to calm down and be angry with him later. Hayato grabs his brother by the collar and hugs him close. Hayato complains that he did not think to bring a hot pack when he came to check on him. He shivers and clings onto Taka as Shizuka tells both of them to come inside. Taka cries, saying that it is cold, causing Hayato to smack him on the head and scold him. Shizuka urges them to come inside and take a bath before they catch a cold.

Another day, the children lock Usaida out of the daycare center, leaving him in the freezing corridor, but Ryuu later scolds them.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Taka Kamitani
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Umi Mamizuka
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Kousuke Mamizuka
 * Shizuka Kamitani
 * Usaida Yoshihito (briefly)