Haru remembers that in the past, when Seiji was sick in bed, she asked for assistance from the next door neighbor. The lady told her, "All kids can do is to let someone know, so Haru-chan is a good girl." Haru could only stay quiet and watch over him. Now, the apartment they lived in for so long is being demolished due to it's deteriorated condition and a new apartment will be built. The place they moved to is not far from the apartment in a residential area elevated on a hill with good ventilation.
Chapter 2
"The winds blow but the mountain doesn't move", is a phrase Seiji's grandmother said. "You're a difficult child." Haru wonders if the grandmother probably said those words to Seiji too. As Seiji blows bubbles, she thinks that even though it may look like his grandmother is just watching from the sidelines, if that means she's watching over him then they are definitely family after all. Seiji finally notices her and asks how long she's been standing there. Haru tells him that she just got home and wonders what he's doing. She grabs the bubble wand and asks about his fever and cold and reminds him that he promised to stay in bed until she returned home. He tells her that he feels a lot better after staying in bed for two days. It's just a developmental fever (*a fever that brings with it intellectual growth). He says that it was probably brought on by all the commotion lately. He tells her, "Seiji feels good" and she responds back that he shouldn't refer to himself as "Seiji". He then does a cartwheel and lands on his feet. He smiles at her and says that he can take on Johnny's Juniors (*young male idols who are part of the Johnny's talent agency). Haru is impressed and wants him to do it again. Seiji is actually shocked that he did a cartwheel since it's his first time ever. He tries to figure out how to do it again and ends up in a backbend. (T/N: too funny) Haru tells him to stop trying and calls him an old man. Haru smiles to herself, realizing that Seiji always tries hard to not make her worry. Haru thinks back to when she and a playmate were holding hands and was told by the neighbor that she would be staying over at their house that night. When Haru asked what about Seiji, she was told that since Seiji caught a cold, she could see him tomorrow after he got better. Haru was sad that Seiji would be all by himself, but the woman told her that just as Haru was worried about Seiji, Seiji was worried about Haru too. Did Haru understand that?
The scene changes to Haru sitting at her desk, studying. She thinks that even though the house they live in now is a little big for the two of them, they are still close in their hearts. She pauses and then turns the page to the entry "childhood friends". She lays her head down on the desk and thinks, "... to meet (as a child)". It's morning and breakfast is on the table. Seiji tells Haru, "good morning" and exclaims that everything looks delicious while counting the number of sausages on the plate. Haru tells him, "good morning" back and gives him a thermos of ginger tea, saying that it's warm. She tells him that when he was sick in bed in the past, she remembered that he drank ginger tea. She tells him that she thinks she can do pretty much anything for him now, so he just needs to let her know. Seiji agrees as he takes a drink and tells her that it's delicious and that she has a good memory. Embarrassed, Haru tells him, "Yeah, I guess." Seiji goes to work and is greeted by a co-worker. The co-worker says that he will go and buy some hot tea and Seiji thanks him. Seiji is sitting at his desk, drinking a cup of the ginger tea and the co-worker leans to take a whiff. Seiji happily explains that his daughter made it for him. The co-worker mentions that they look close (seeing the picture of the two of them at Disneyland). Seiji responds back that he's not sure if he really looks like a father though, but the co-worker says that he looks like he's a great father. Seiji gives him a big smile as another guy walks up and pulls the co-worker away. Someone mentions that Seiji won't fall apart and they think that he shouldn't be putting pictures on his desk now that his daughter is big and maybe he's not interested in a relationship. Seiji is working at his desk when a co-worker approaches and points out that it's lunchtime. As they head out for lunch, Seiji ponders about being a great dad. The co-worker is confused so Seiji tells him that he will do anything for Haru. The co-worker says that is true since Seiji's bought a house for her. Seiji responds back that eventually it will be Haru's property. He wonders how much he can leave for Haru's sake. The co-worker tells Seiji that he's been like that in the past, disappearing into his own world and that it's depressing. Seiji tells him to leave him alone.
At school, Haru is bouncing a basketball in the gym while wondering what can she do for Seiji. Her friend, Hikari, tells her that all she does is talk about Seiji and wonders how much of a father-complex she has. Haru tells Hikari to stop and it hasn't turned out like this because she likes him. Hikari changes the subject and mentions that it's time to concentrate on exams anyway. Haru says that her first wish is Kita High School and Hikari points out that the Kita High's girl uniforms are really cute and there are three different styles. A guy classmate overhears them talking and asks if they are aiming for Kita High. Haru answers back that it would be nice to go there. The guy says, "hmm..." as he holds up the basketball and when Haru tries to reach for it, her shirt pulls up. As his friends laugh, the guy plays with the ball but won't give it back to Haru. Annoyed, Hikari tells Haru that they should go to the bathroom. The girls talk about the guys, saying they don't like them because they're perverted. After entering junior high, the guys changed. Up until sixth grade, they were cute but not anymore. Now, they're really disgusting. Hikari says that guys always have ulterior motives and are idiots. Haru agrees. Then Hikari apologizes and says that she wasn't referring to Seiji, though. Haru is confused, so Hikari tells her that it's nothing. Hikari wonders if it's because she doesn't have a father living at home and her mother has trouble with guys. She knows it's a narrow view but it seems like her mother can't live without a man. Haru stares at her friend and then says that she couldn't live without Seiji. They both laugh as Hikari says that Haru is talking about Seiji again. They agree that they're still kids. "All kids can do is to let someone know." Ever since she was small, Haru lived in an apartment. She wasn't sure when she became close friends with the boy next door who was one year older, but they were always together, going back and forth between the two apartments. That boy left their apartment building one year earlier and the last time they met was at his junior high graduation ceremony. Since then, they haven't had any contact but Haru thinks about him occasionally. "Just as Haru was worried about Seiji, Seiji was worried about Haru too. Did Haru understand that?" "Me too..." Haru remembers the boy saying that to her. Snapping Haru out of her thoughts, Hikari points out some girls who are wearing Kita High uniforms. Hikari likes the skirt on the right and Haru likes the one on the left. Hikari definitely wants to go to Kita High and Haru agrees with her.
Haru arrives at home and there are two pairs of shoes in the entryway. She sees Seiji as she steps into the house, but then slips on something and ends up falling on Seiji's co-worker. The co-worker tells her to watch out and asks if she's okay. Concerned, Seiji quickly pulls her up and away from the co-worker. The co-worker scratches his head and grumbles that he wouldn't try anything. Seiji tells Haru, "Welcome home" and Haru looks sheepish as she responds back, "I'm home". Haru looks around the messy room and wants to know who's responsible for the disaster. Seiji says that it wasn't him and blames the co-worker.The co-worker introduces himself as Kawabata. Both Seiji and Haru make a joke of his name, and Kawabata tells them to quit with the nicknames. Kawabata picks up from an earlier conversation and says that they should all go to the flea market at the end of the year.They can get rid of the unwanted stuff that's in their house. Haru is surprised that he has the time to do this. Seiji thanks her for the ginger tea and she tells him she will make more tomorrow. Kawabata is annoyed that they're in their own world and throws a ball at Seiji's head. Seiji turns to Kawabata and says that he already told him there's nothing that they want to get rid of in the house. However, Haru pulls out a unicycle and says that they don't need this since Seiji never plays with it. Kawabata chokes back a laugh as Seiji looks embarrassed, saying that was for Haru's sake. At any rate, they need to organize everything around them. Kawabata is going through the stuff, saying that Seiji doesn't need this and that, while Seiji is in despair. Then Kawabata holds up the bunny mask that Haru had when she was with her mom, and both Haru and Seiji freeze. Haru starts to cry as Seiji chases Kawabata out of the house. As he leaves, Kawabata tells Seiji that he's not going to throw anything away. There are people who will need the items and it's not like they're getting rid of the memories. He's just saying that they should relieve themselves a little of their burdens. Seiji glances back at him, looking thoughtful. When Seiji returns back to the room, Haru tells him that she found something that brings back memories even though she can't use it anymore. She's sitting on a little kid's bicycle. Seiji looks surprised and then starts to smile.
It's December 12th, the day of the flea market. As Seiji carries some items, Haru remarks that it's the first time she's been to one and there are a lot of people. She tells him that it looks fun and she's going to check it out. Seiji is standing by their stuff as people look. Then Kawabata, who's looking for Seiji, sees him and calls out to him. Seiji waves him over but then stops when he sees the woman next to Kawabata. Suddenly, someone taps him on the shoulder. It's Haru, who tells him that she went around the whole flea market and is thirsty. Seiji watches her, smiling. Then the woman with Kawabata calls out to him. Haru looks over at her and the woman and Haru stare at each other. Seiji grabs Haru's head and turns it, telling her that she's staring too much. The woman was his senpai in college. With his arm around Haru, Seiji introduces her as his daughter as Kawabata leans over and whispers in the woman's ear that Seiji got married. She can't believe he's a dad. Both Seiji and Haru look embarrassed by the word, dad. The woman continues on, saying that she didn't know but she also quit school early and it's been over 10 years since they last met. Yet, surprisingly even though they haven't seen each in awhile, they recognized each other. She laughs and tells him that he hasn't changed at all. Seiji replies back that she (Chie-chan) hasn't changed either. Kawabata says that he was shocked though and Chie tells him to stop since she has a child. Haru looks on as the three of them laugh and thinks that Seiji seems to be having fun. She glances over at Chie. Chie introduces herself to Haru. Her name is Samejima Chie and she was one year above Seiji in college. Haru thinks that Chie is someone who's cheerful and smiles a lot. Haru suddenly bows and tells Chie, "Please take care of Seiji." Seiji is stunned. He turns to Haru and scolds her as the other two laugh. Haru tells him that he should walk around with the other two since there's a lot of fun things to see. She says that he should go and she can watch their stuff. The little girl lets go of her Chie's hand and Haru says that she will watch her. Chie wants to make sure that Haru is okay with it and then says they will look around for just a little bit.
The three adults walk off and Haru thinks that they probably have a lot of things to say to each other. The little girl is playing with the dollhouse and Haru tells her that all of the toys used to be hers. As she watches the little girl, she think that she used to be like that too. She wonders what she was like back then and if Seiji did everything for her. She wonders if she was selfish at times and if she was an inconvenience to him. She's deep in thought and when she snaps out of it, she realizes that the little girl is gone. The adults have returned and Haru is crying and apologizing to Chie over and over. Haru wanted to look for the little girl right away but she wasn't sure if she should leave their area. They ask how long the girl has been missing and Haru thinks about five minutes. Chie grabs Haru's hand and tells her that she understands. Chie then runs off to look for the girl. Haru decides to look for her too. Seiji tells Kawabata to stay there just in case the girl comes back and takes off after Haru. Haru is running and crying. She doesn't know what to do and it's all her fault. Suddenly she trips and falls to the ground. As she sits there looking at her injuries, Chie runs up to Haru carrying the little girl. Haru apologizes to Chie as Chie takes care of her injuries. Chie tells her that at first she thought that Haru was too old to be Seiji's child, but then she found out the truth when they were walking around and felt like a bad person. Chie tells Haru that she shouldn't apologize because after all, she (Chie) is the one who took her eyes off the child first. Haru is confused by what Chie is trying to say but feels that Chie understands about Haru and Seiji. Seiji runs up to them, relieved that they found the little girl. Chie apologizes to Seiji as she walks away. Seiji notices that Haru got hurt. He tells Haru that he's glad it didn't turn out to be a huge incident and that Chie was looking after a friend's child. Haru looks over at Chie who's talking on the phone and telling the person to bring the first aid kit and meet her by the toilets. As she looks over at Chie, Haru recalls Chie saying to stop because she also has a child...