Chapter 105

Synopsis
December is a busy month with Christmas, final exams, cleaning, and of course, New Year's postcards. Ryuuichi and Kotaro, along with the rest of the Babysitting Club, prepare postcards for their loved ones.

Long Summary
The chairwoman hands Ryuu twenty postcards for him and his brother to use and scolds him for only thinking to text his friends. Ryuu plans to send postcards to his teachers, friends from his old school, and his neighbors. Suddenly, Saikawa appears behind him with a stack of sample postcards with pictures of Ryuu and Kotaro to serve as inspiration. Saikawa proudly tells him that he used the best shots of the brothers that he could find, and even printed them onto recycled paper. Kotaro gazes at the postcards in awe.

At school, Ebizawa and Saginuma tell Ryuu that sending postcards seems a little embarrassing. Usokawa fondly remembers taking family photos each year for New Year's postcards. Ryuu smiles as he agrees that it is embarrassing, but he wants to tell his friends that he is doing well. The three classmates are touched by his warmth, but Hayato flatly refuses to send postcards, as it is too much of a hassle.

Taka excitedly announces that he will send postcards, and a dejected Hayato hands him a regular piece of paper and tells him to write whatever he wants. Kirin, Takuma, Kazuma, and Kotaro hold up crayons and paper, also excited to write postcards. Usaida notices that Kotaro is doodling on one of Saikawa's sample postcards. Kazuma notices a drop of blood, and screams as he looks up from his paper to see Tomoya staring at him. Inomata yells at him for creeping up on Kazuma and making him cry. Usaida chuckles as he points out that the two came here together as Ryuu hands Yagi a tissue. Kirin hugs Inomata, and Ryuu asks for her and Tomoya's addresses to send them postcards. Inomata, who has never received postcards from friends, asks why he is sending postcards to friends and not just relatives, and Tomoya says that he always sends one to Chuukichi, although he does not receive any in return. Inomata questions whether the two are really friends.

Chuukichi, who is working at his part-time job, asks his coworker if he could buy postcards after his shift, to which his coworker replies that he is not the type to send postcards. Chuukichi claims that he will be sending one to their manager.

Ryuu looks through Saikawa's postcards and is amazed that there are so many pictures of him and Kotaro. Kotaro holds up pictures of Ryuu, but Ryuu tells him that they should use pictures with both of them together. He thinks back to what Usokawa mentioned about family photos and rummages through a drawer to find a photo album. He shows a photo to Kotaro and asks if he wants to use this one for their cards, to which Kotaro happily nods. Ryuu asks Saikawa if he could print this photo onto the postcards, and Saikawa smiles as he agrees.

The Mamizuka family drops off their postcards at the mailbox. A few days later, Ushimaru excitedly reads the postcard that Ryuu sent her and admires the picture that Kotaro drew of her holding a tennis racket. She wonders why she has not received Inomata's card since she had promised to send one. She gasps when she sees her older brother demand to be introduced to the "Maria-chan" who sent her an elegantly written postcard. Ushimaru holds Inomata's card as her brother states that he is determined to find a beautiful wife who will support him. She reminds him that their mother will stop sending him an allowance if he does not continue job hunting.

Tomoya sadly asks Kotone if she is going off to the shrine with her friends, and Kotone sees that he is feeling rather lonely. To cheer him up, she shows him the postcard that Chuukichi sent him. On the postcard, Chuukichi offers to go to the shrine with Tomoya. Tomoya recalls feeling lonely on New Year's Day as a small child, but Chuukichi had invited him over to his house. Tomoya also sees a postcard that Kotaro drew of him and his bleeding nose.

Kotaro beams as he sees the postcards that everyone has sent him and Ryuu. On the back of Taka's postcard, Hayato sarcastically addresses the two with the honorific -sama. Ryuu is happy to receive postcards from his old friends and neighbors.

The postcard that he had sent to loved ones features a picture of the chairwoman, Saikawa, Ryuu, and Kotaro on the day that they went strawberry picking together.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Kotaro Kashima
 * Ryuuichi Kashima
 * Morinomiya Youko
 * Saikawa Keigo
 * Ebizawa
 * Saginuma
 * Usokawa
 * Hayato Kamitani
 * Kirin Kumatsuka
 * Takuma Mamizuka
 * Kazuma Mamizuka
 * Usaida Yoshihito
 * Yagi Tomoya
 * Inomata Maria
 * Nezu Chuukichi
 * Umi Mamizuka
 * Kousuke Mamizuka
 * Ushimaru Yuki
 * Ushimaru's brother
 * Yagi Kotone