The Yuzuki Household
Eat faster, guys.
Or you'll be late to school.
Yuzuki Hayato, the oldest son of the Yuzuki family.
23 years old. Works as a high school teacher.
Yuzuki Mikoto, the second son.
13 years old. First year in middle school.
Thanks for the food.
Yuzuki Gakuto, the youngest.
6 years old. First year in elementary school.
Then, there's me.
Yuzuki Minato, the third son.
12 years old. Also a first year in middle school.
The four of us make the Yuzuki family.
We had to deal with the sudden loss of our parents a few years ago,
but we've been able to get by with just the four of us.
It's a little lonely without our parents around,
but we just have to accept that they're gone.
I've gotten pretty used to the loneliness now.
But...
Right now, there's one thing I'm not happy about.
Minato, you plan on eating forever? You'll be late!
It's not even 8 yet, it's fine.
Hayato, the laundry's done.
Oh yeah?
Want me to put them out to dry?
It's a pretty large load, though.
Not a problem.
Mind taking care of it then, Mikoto?
Let me help out, too!
Check it out!
Minato, you take Gakuto and go to school!
What the heck, man?
Minato, let's go.
Your big bro will chake you to shool.
Mmkay, Gaku-chan?
I'm in elementary school now...
Damn it.
Yo!
Gaku-chan, good morning!
Morning.
Sup.
Already in a bad mood this early?
Not really.
I wonder what's for lunch today?
Mapo tofu?
These two are Waka and Uta who live across from us.
Uta's the same age as me and also my best bud.
Crap, I forgot to do my math homework!
Me too!
Let's copy Nikaido's homework!
Yeah!
We tend to be on the same wavelength.
Something wrong, Gaku?
No.
Yeah? Let's get going.
Okay.
Seriously, you two?
Why are you guys acting like I have to let you copy my homework first thing in the morning?
You're awesome, Nikaido. I expected nothing less.
Your notes are always so clean and easy to read!
Homeroom's starting!
Go, go!
Minato.
Hmm?
Your older brother just made it to school.
Oh, you're right.
Mikoto's usually here early.
It's your fault for putting up the laundry by yourself.
I would've gotten it done faster.
He's not my older brother.
But you're not twins, right?
He's your older brother, then.
I don't like it.
Is Minato here?
It's Mikoto!
He's so cool!
Your gym clothes.
Class 5 has PE today, right?
There were two of them in the laundry.
Later.
He dried it before bringing it over?
Was he late because of that?
What a nice older brother.
I already said he's not my older brother!
Aren't you glad?
Now you don't have to go to PE naked.
Mikoto and I are in the same year.
He was born in April while I was born later in March.
We're the same age but 11 months apart.
He's way taller than me, too.
Hayato treats me like I'm a kid,
yet he relies on Mikoto instead.
Sensei?
Yuzuki-sensei?
Someone looks tired.
I'm sorry. I was up late making tests for my class.
It's a lot of work, for sure.
Have you gotten used to your first class?
Not at all...
My younger brothers had to enroll at their new schools at the same time, so it was a real mess.
Makes sense since you're their guardian.
Two of them are in their first year of middle school, right?
Right, and there's also our youngest in his first year of elementary.
All three enrolled with one in elementary?!
Elementary schools are pretty merciless.
I had to write his name on all of his school supplies.
But before I became an adult,
my parents did all of that for me.
I'm hoping I can do the same for my brothers.
You're only 23 years old...
And you're already acting like a grief-stricken single father in his 40s...
If you ever need help with anything,
don't hesitate to ask us anything!
Sure! Thank you very much.
Something smells burned...
It's past 7 already?!
The alarm clock didn't go off?!
What the hell is this smell?!
A fire?!
Morning!
Hayato...
What're you doing, Minato?!
What, you can't tell?
I made us breakfast.
What do you mean breakfast?
You sure you didn't just make carcinogen-producing matter?!
Don't eat that, Mikoto!
You turned off my alarm clock, didn't you?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
I knew it.
Why do you always have to cause problems around here?
Try learning from Mikoto for a change and settle down!
You're the same age!
Jeez, give me a second, I'll make breakfast again.
What's your problem? Stupid Hayato!
Who're you calling stupid?!
Hey! Minato!
What's up?
You've been pretty cranky recently, you know?
That's not true.
You sure?
Whatever, let's go hit up the arcade!
Today's karate day, so I can't.
Oh, right.
Lame.
Gaku, what're you staring at?
N-Nothing...
The 43rd Hoshigaoka Fireworks Festival
You want to check out the festival?
Not really.
Don't lie, you were looking at this the other day, weren't you?
I don't remember it much because I was too small,
but I think we went to the festival with dad and mom a long time ago...
I guess we never went again after mom and dad passed away.
Gaku doesn't have a clear memory of ever seeing fireworks before.
Alright, let's go check it out.
We can't!
Hayato just got put in charge of his own class this year, so he's busy!
Dummy.
Hayato isn't your only brother.
But we need to take the train to get to the festival...
If we don't have an adult with us...
Dummy!
And here's another fact!
Who do you think I am?!
I'm a middle schooler, you know?
Riding the train's a piece of cake.
Thanks, Minato!
You're so adorable, Gaku-chan!
I'm in elementary now, you know...
Oh, right.
Keep this a secret from Hayato and Mikoto, okay?
Why?
Because if you tell Hayato,
he'll do whatever it takes to take us there.
Oh, right.
And if you tell Mikoto, he'll rat us out to Hayato.
Okay.
Just you wait and see, Hayato.
If I can take Gaku to the festival on my own...
Wow, fireworks!
You're awesome, big bro!
Oh, what a splendid brother you've become!
I know, right?
He'll definitely change his mind about me!
Nice, I got the money.
Minato, your piggy bank is a pink pig, huh?
Makes sense since it's a piggy bank, right?
I save my New Year's money in a postal box one I got from the mail person.
That's pretty classy.
How much money will we need?
I'm guessing around 200 to 500 yen.
If it's just 200 yen, I have enough.
Dummy, leave it to your big bro.
But...
Whoa, are these the stalls everyone was talking about?
The fireworks aren't until 8. Let's check them out until then.
Okay, we'll do a lap around the area.
Let's decide on which stall to go to first.
It's not free, after all.
You're thinking too hard, Gaku.
This is where you're supposed to just go with it.
Oh, they have super ball scooping here! Let's go play that!
Minato!
Alright, give it a try.
Awesome job, Gaku!
Is it good?
This is cotton candy? It's like sugar!
It's sugar, yeah.
It's got a flavor of guilt to it.
I bet Hayato would get angry at us if he finds out.
But if we're spending this much, will we have enough money?
Like money for the train back.
It's fine, just leave everything to me.
Or maybe not.
Might be bad if we don't start saving a bit.
Sorry about that.
Daddy, buy me some cotton candy.
No, no. Anyway, hold my hand.
I don't wanna!
Minato, you'll get lost. Hold my hand.
No way, that's too embarrassing!
When was the last time our family went to a festival?
Hayato was in college, so he wasn't there with us.
Gaku was much younger and fell asleep before the fireworks started.
So mom was carrying him the entire time.
And to keep me from getting lost,
my dad held my hand.
His hand was really big and warm.
Gaku, let's hold hands.
Gaku...
I'm home.
Welcome back.
Sorry, got back pretty late.
I'll get started on dinner.
Is Gaku still at Kirishima's place?
Should I go pick him up?
I'll tag along.
I have some food to share with them.
Good evening, this is Yuzuki.
Is Gakuto here?
He's not here?
I see.
Here's something from us.
Thank you for always taking care of Gakuto.
Sorry that you go out of your way for this as well.
He's not here today, surprisingly.
Gaku-chan said he had something important to do today.
Uta-chan, what about Minato?
He went straight home after school was over.
Looks like Minato's the culprit again.
Where on earth did they go this late?
What's that noise?
It's the start of the Hoshigaoka Fireworks Festival.
There's a park being built in the summer this year,
so they decided to hold the festival earlier than usual.
I wanna go see the fireworks too, grandpa.
Really? I guess we can go next year.
That's where those two went.
They were meeting up in secret the other day.
Turns out they were talking about money for the stalls.
They went by themselves?! You're kidding me!
Let's go find them, Mikoto!
Should I come, too?
That's okay.
If they come back, let us know.
Got it.
Jeez, why is Minato like this?
If he wanted to go the festival, he could've just told me.
I think he couldn't.
It's because you're busy right now.
So he didn't want to make it any harder for you.
How?
He's just making it harder for me right now.
Well, you can chalk that up to the Minato way.
But Minato's trying to watch out for you and Gakuto in his own way, I think.
Gaku!
He's gone!
Idiot, watch where you're going.
Gaku.
He's still a kid.
I can't believe I left him on his alone in a place like this.
Look, the fireworks started.
Look, Gakuto, fireworks.
I can't see them! Dad, carry me on your shoulders!
Only after Mikoto, alright?
Now that dad and mom are gone,
I haven't...
I haven't done anything right!
Gaku, sorry.
Minato!
Hayato...
Thank god, I finally found you.
What now? He's going to yell at me again!
I did something I shouldn't have.
I even lost track of Gaku.
He'll just say how I'm always causing problems again.
Hey, you hurt you leg.
You okay?
Yeah, I'm okay.
Great. Let's get you cleaned up when we get back.
Hayato, I'm sorry! I let Gaku...
Minato!
If you're looking for Gakuto, he's right here.
I'm sorry, I got separated from you.
I met up with Hayato and Mikoto earlier.
Is your leg okay, Minato?
I have a bandaid with me...
Gaku!
I want to be useful, too!
I don't want Hayato to shoulder all of the burden.
I want him to rely on me like he does with Mikoto.
And I want Gaku to be happy.
I want to be useful to everyone.
Afterwards, we watched the fireworks together.
Hayato didn't say a word to me about taking Gaku out on my own.
Gaku was against it for a little,
but he ended up riding on Hayato's shoulders.
Fireworks are this big and pretty, huh?
Thanks for taking me here, Minato.
Yeah.
Let's come back next year.
We can go again the year after, and even the year after that.
But what if you get a girlfriend?
Do you plan on never getting married?
We can cross that bridge when we get to it.
We'll always be a family no matter what happens.
We'll live our lives while supporting each other.
Anyway...
I haven't been able to sleep much recently.
I want to sleep in since tomorrow's a Saturday.
Minato, can you help with the laundry?
Yeah, leave it to me!
Thanks.
I'll teach you how to dry the clothes.
I can do it without your help, Mikoto.
Look, I know we're only 11 months apart,
but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still your older brother.
So just let me act like one.
Fine.
Dad, mom.
We still fight every now and then, but we're getting by just fine.
Please don't worry too much and watch over us from heaven.
You're doing it wrong.
You need to pop the clothes more to get the wrinkles out.
That'll cause the clothes to stretch!
At this rate, Hayato's just going to make you do it again.
I'll pop them more!
Breakfast's ready!
I'm starving.
Morning, Minato, Mikoto!
Morning.
Let's dig in.
Thanks for the food!