"Hey, what are you doing, Urara-chan?" "I am the housekeeper Mita." "Excuse me?" "What's that about?" "Urara-san is here." "What?" "Sorry, Yui-chan, but can I stay here tonight?" "Hey, Mita-san?" "!" "What are you doing?" "Dad kinda told me to get out..." "Sorry..." "Allow me." "Geez, what are you doing!" "Nothing good happens" "when Urara comes." "Wait, guys, what are you talking about?" "Look, this is Mita-san and this is Urara-chan!" "Onee-chan!" "This is just your dream." "You're Mita-san, right?" "Urara-san is here." "What?" "Sorry, Yui-chan, but can I stay here tonight?" "Dad told me to "Get out"." "Wah~!" "Sorry!" "Allow me." "No way..." "What are you saying, Onee-chan?" "Huh?" "Oh..." "It's just like the dream..." "Or rather, the opposite..." "What are you blabbering about?" "Onii-san." "I'm intruding again." "Urara-chan." "What's up?" "I got mad at Dad because he yelled at the kids the other day and said he didn't consider them to be his grandkids anymore, and we got into a fight." "To top it off, he was nagging me to go to a marriage meeting." "Oh, really?" "Onii-san, will you talk to my dad?" "I have no intention to marry any time soon..." "Yeah, but I don't think he'll listen to me.." "You know, I'm still looking for a job." "Dad, haven't you found a job yet?" "Things are pretty tough in these economic times." "What's "these economic times"?" "Huh?" "That's... what might be called a recession." "What's a "recession"?" "So that's..." "Mita-san, will you?" "A recession is when business owners act solely for their own profit and bureaucrats only want to protect their status, and because of the inept politicians who can't do anything about it, many people lose their jobs and become poor." "Are we alright, Dad?" "Yeah..." "Don't worry too much." "For the time being, we can get by on our savings." "But there's the mortgage for this house too." "If you don't find a job soon we won't be able to keep Mita-san..." "Should I get a part-time job?" "Like delivering newspaper." "In fact, I don't have to go to a private school." "I'll ask my friends at school if they know of any good jobs." "Thanks, guys." "But really, we're okay." "But anyway, I'm getting hungry." "Mita-san, what about dinner?" "It's ready." "Woah~ Looks delicious!" "Urara-chan, why don't you join us?" "Yeah, come on, Urara-chan." "I'm going home after all." "Why don't you eat before you go?" "This isn't the time to be freeloading off you guys who's already going through a tough time." "Besides, I can't very well sit in Onee-chan's spot either." "See you!" "Let's eat, shall we?" "Do you think Urara-chan has a place to stay?" "I can't see her having a boyfriend." "I've been thinking, but don't you think maybe Urara likes Dad?" "What are you talking about, Kaito?" "Think about it." "Even if she's a relative, don't you think it's unnatural for her to come here so often?" "You're just overreacting." "That doesn't make any sense." "Dad, why don't we ask Mita-san to eat with us?" "Oh, yeah." "Mita-san?" "How about it, for a change?" "No, thank you." "Don't be like that." "I feel bad that you're always just standing there while we eat." "Let's eat, Mita-san." "I am just a housekeeper." "Never in my lifetime will I be having a meal with you." "Do you want to play too, Mita-san?" "Yeah, let's play together." "Is that a work order?" "Uh..." "No, not really, but..." "I'm sorry, but from now on, please do not talk to me unless you're giving me work orders." "Mita-san's gotten even more distant lately, don't you think?" "Do you suppose it's because we asked her persistently about her deceased family?" "I have already told you." "That if you insist on asking me, I shall ask to be released." "What are we going to do, Onee-chan?" "Are we gonna give up asking about Mita-san?" "You know, I've been thinking." "What?" "I think Mita-san might actually be the reincarnation of Mom." "What?" "What are you talking about?" "Sh~!" "Yeah, what's your basis?" "What's "basis"?" "I'll tell you later." "Think about it." "Mita-san came to our house right after Mom's 49 days." "If you follow that reasoning, it kinda makes sense that she burned the clothes and family altar without hesitating." "Gosh, you scared me." "What?" "Onee-chan, we went and bought monaka." "What about it?" "Let me sleep." "It's Saturday." "We're gonna test to see if Mita-san's a ghost." "What?" "It means she's human if she eats this, right?" "Why don't you stop this nonsense?" "Then don't you care anymore, Onee-chan?" "About finding out Mita-san's true identity." "It's not that I don't care." "Mita-san." "Would you like a monaka?" "The manager at the referral agency told us." "You like these, right?" "No." "Not particularly." "What~." "Don't be like that." "Here!" "What would you like to have for lunch?" "Oh, hamburger then." "With lots of onion." "Huh~ I want omurice." "She might tear up when chopping onions, right?" "Oh, yeah." "Sorry, I changed my mind." "Hamburger please." "Very well." "Did you want something?" "Uh~..." "We were wondering if you'd tear up." "Why?" "That's because..." "Mita-san, are you a ghost?" "Ahh~!" "Wait, Kii." "Or are you the reincarnation of Mom?" "I want to get to know you, Mita-san!" "I believe I've already made it clear." "Please do not talk to me unless you're giving me work orders." "Then I have a work order for you." "What is it?" "Let's play janken (rock paper scissors)." "If I win, you have to tell me about yourself." "And if I win?" "I promise I won't ask about you anymore." "Very well." "I'm really good at this." "Okay, janken-pon." "One more time." "Janken-pon." "Just one more time." "Janken-pon." "Pon." "Pon!" "No~." "How about taking me on next?" "With this." "Done." "Wow~ 57 seconds." "Wow~." "You're the man, Kai-chan!" "I'm sorry, but I've never lost." "Here." "Okay, here we go." "Ready, go!" "5 seconds." "First one to get three points wins, okay?" "Very well." "I'll let you go first." "Here." "No way..." "Kakeru-chan!" "That was a fluke!" "I'm deciding this time." "I'm not letting my guard down anymore!" "There's no way!" "Ah, ow, ow...!" "Can you be a little gentler?" "Geez~ What are you doing?" "How pathetic." "Leave me alone." "Excuse me, I will go prepare dinner." "Hey, I wonder what it's like in that bag." "There might be something in there that would give us a clue." "Why don't you just let it go?" "Both of you." "Then you do something, Onee-chan." "Yeah, you really want to know too, don't you?" "Mita-san's true identity." "I have a feeling that maybe Mita-san used to be someone like Urara-chan." "Excuse me?" "That's not even a possibility." "Onee-chan, what's your...basis?" "I mean, I just had a dream like that." "What the heck's that?" "Dad, how did your job hunting go?" "Is it still a recession?" "Something like that." "Dad, have a seat." "What is it?" "Dad, we need your cooperation." "Please." "You're our last resort!" "Can you give Mita-san something to do?" "While she's doing that, we'll look in her bag." "But...you'd better not get too nosy." "What if she really quits?" "Please, Dad." "Excuse me, Mita-san." "Yes." "I think one of the light bulbs in my room is out." "Can you go take a look?" "Very well." "It won't open." "Huh?" "Move over, I'll do it." "Hurry." "Hurry, hurry." "What's with this?" "Hey, bring me a screwdriver." "Screwdriver, screwdriver." "Hurry, hurry." "Dad!" "I'm almost there!" "Never mind "almost there."" "What!" "Huh...?" "!" "I'm sorry, but please don't look at my belonging without asking." "Oh..." "Sorry." "Furthermore, isn't there something else you all should be doing?" "Huh?" "What do you mean?" "This is Asuda." "Sir, it's Urara-san." "Thank you." "Hello?" "What's up, Urara-chan?" "Sorry, Onii-san." "Something terrible happened to Dad!" "What?" "Sorry, guys." "What happened to Father?" "He yelled at some high school kids who were smoking in front of the convenience store but he got beat up instead." "What?" "Dad, Onii-san and the kids are here to see you." "I don't have anything to say to them!" "What's wrong with you!" "Geez." "Uh..." "Are you alright?" "Father." "Don't be too reckless." "We get worried, you know." "I never asked you guys to worry about me." "Will you stop that!" "Be quiet...ouch..." "You go to a marriage meeting and make me a grandchild!" "An obedient one, not like these kids!" "Don't yell, this is a hospital!" "I'm not yelling at you!" "Sorry, guys." "You took the time to come and..." "That's alright." "Kii, why don't you show Grandpa your rocks?" "Okay!" "Grandpa." "These rocks are our family." "This is Kii, and this is Kai-chan, and this is Kakeru-chan, and this is Onee-chan, and this is Mom, and just the other day, Dad came back." "I'll look for Grandpa and Urara-chan's rocks and put them in here too, okay?" "Your mother isn't here anymore!" "Don't hang on to things like this anymore!" "Dad!" "Hey, what are you doing!" "Don't take it out on Kii." "It's all your fault!" "If you had died and Nagiko was alive, none of this would have happened!" "Looks like you were able to deceive the kids, but" "I won't be deceived!" "What do you think we should do?" "Mom..." "Mita-san." "Let me help you." "It's alright." "This is my job." "I want to help." "Please let me." "Very well." "I used to help Mom like this sometimes." "It's strange, but when I was doing this," "I was able to talk honestly." "Say, what you said yesterday." "That there's something else we should be doing." "You were talking about Grandpa, weren't you?" "I wonder what we should do." "Kakeru and Kaito are, like, leave him alone, and" "Kii's simply terrified of Grandpa." "I wonder why Grandpa always yells." "Was he always like that?" "Oh..." "Sorry." "For a moment, I thought I was actually talking to Mom." "What can I do for you?" "What?" "Are you still here?" "When are you going to quit?" "I don't think it's any of your business, Oba-san." "Looks like your father came back too, but" "I don't see how you can forgive him." "A man who committed adultery and drove his wife to suicide." "Are you alright being so complacent?" "What?" "What do you mean?" "The other day, your husband was sneaking around talking on his cell phone." ""My wife doesn't suspect a thing, so don't worry." "Besides, I can divorce her any time," he was saying." "Mind you own business!" "Yes!" "One more time..." "Hurry." "Awe~some!" "Mita-san, do a cat next!" "Guys, guys." "Did you know Mita-san can mimic anything?" "Like the oba-san next door." "No way!" "Let's hear it!" "Are you still here?" "Ha, ha...!" "That's great!" "Then who from AKB48 can you do?" "I can do everyone." "Wow, she can do them all!" "Then from the 1st place in the election..." "No, the janken contest..." "Mita-san!" "I have a favor to ask." "Today, we came to a nearby park for a picnic." "Come on, Mom." "You have to smile a more!" "Hey, stop it, Yui." "This is embarrassing." "Mita-san." "Can you mimic Mom?" "I can." "Then will you go to the hospital and act like Mom's ghost in front of Grandpa?" "What are you talking about, Onee-chan?" "If Grandpa hears how we feel through Mom's voice," "I think he might open his heart to us." "That won't work." "He'll find out as soon as he sees her." "Don't worry." "If the lights are out and it's dark, he can't see her face well anyway." "Mita-san, please!" "I want us to somehow make up with Grandpa." "Is that a work order?" "Yes." "Very well." "Dad." "Who's there?" "Dad, how's your injury?" "Is that you, Nagiko?" "I'm sorry, Dad." "For dying before you." "Nagiko..." "Ouch." "When Keiichi-san asked me for a divorce, the life that I so desperately tried to maintain until now seemed like a total waste of time, and and I felt that my life wasn't worth living anymore." "But now," "I'm regretting that I left the children behind." "I should have raised them even if I had to do it alone." "So..." "Doesn't it sound different from the practice?" "What she's saying." "Will you watch over the children in my place, Dad?" "I understand why you hate Keiichi-san, but please forgive him, if just for the children's sake." "Please." "I'm afraid, Nagiko." "Yui told me too, but" "I'm afraid that everyone who's precious to me may be doomed to be unhappy." "Like you and your mother." "When I think Urara might be doomed too as long as she's with me," "I'm so scared, I can't stand it!" "If I have to go on living feeling like this, it would've been a lot easier if" "I had gone first." "Why did you die?" "You and your mother." "Hey, what are you guys all doing?" "Sh~!" "What are you doing?" "Mita-san called and said she was coming to the hospital." "Anyway, why don't you go in?" "What the hell are you doing?" "Stop playing me for a fool!" "Dad, what are you doing!" "Father!" "Grandpa, it's not Mita-san's fault!" "I asked her to do it." "To pretend to be Mom." "What!" "Do you think it's funny to make fun of me like this!" "I'm sorry." "I don't ever want to see you again." "Get out!" "Dad, you don't have to go that far." "Father, I'm sorry." "I apologize too." "Shut up!" "You get out too!" "Wait, Dad." "Leave me alone already!" "What are you doing!" "It's way past visiting hours." "I'm sorry." "Let's go home for today." "Okay?" "Excuse us." "Come on." "Mita-san." "Let's go home." "What are you looking at!" "You get out too!" "That's not true." "What?" "That all your precious people are doomed to be unhappy." "That's completely untrue." "What?" "All you did was love your family the best you could in your own way." "The reason you yell is because you can't convey your thoughts well and you become frustrated." "You're afraid people will find out that you're actually insecure and scared." "You're simply yelling at yourself." "Shut up!" "What would a housekeeper...!" "I know the sorrow of losing your loved ones." "I also know the hopeless feeling that you can never bring them back." "But you still have a chance to make your loved ones happy." "Grandpa." "Kii went and found them." "Grandpa and Urara-chan's rocks." "Urara-chan, put yours in here." "This is Urara-chan's." "Thanks." "And this is Grandpa's." "Dad, the children just want you to get better." "They just wanted to make up with you, Dad." "I'll come visit you every day until you're released from the hospital, Grandpa." "Me too." "My exam's coming up and there's a lot of thing I want you to teach me." "Grandpa, we're family." "We're Grandpa's family." "Aren't we?" "Here." "Dad, wipe that look off your face." "They're going to misunderstand you again." "Be quiet!" "This is my natural look." "I got it." "You have a loud voice, Dad, so that's why everyone thinks you're yelling." "That's right." "Why don't you add something like "that is" at the end of your sentence?" "What's that about?" "Instead of "Be quiet!"" "if you say "Be quiet, that is," see, it sounds cute." "Idiot!" "You expect me to say that!" "Just try saying it." ""Be quiet, that is~."" "Say "Be quiet, that is~."" "Be quiet!" "Hurry up and ring the doorbell." "Geez." "Onee-chan, Dad's all well and out of the hospital now." "Thank you, Nagiko." "I feel bad about making you buy the family altar." "What choice do I have!" "I can't very well make an unemployed bum buy it!" "Dad." "The children are ready to face the reality that their mother's gone." "This morning too, they all put their hands together before they went to school." "They're really maturing day by day." "Father." "I'm sorry." "Onii-san..." "It's my fault that I couldn't make your precious daughter happy." "I made her die before you...." "More than anybody else, she would've wanted to watch the children grow up." "I'm sorry I couldn't let her do that." "Onii-san, I'm thinking about having a get-together to celebrate Dad's release from the hospital." "Yeah, okay." "I'll tell the kids too." "Oh, is it okay if Mita-san comes too?" "The kids will like that." "Yeah..." "Of course." "Alright, Mita-san?" "No, thank you." "Please don't be that way." "It's been a while since the family got together." "I am not a part of your family." "Dad?" "I'm sorry." "I did a terrible thing to you the other day, that is." "I think you're actually a good person, that is." "I want to you come, that is!" "Tomorrow!" "Here's this month's referral fee." "Yes, indeed." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "The children told me about it." "So what are you going to do today?" "Why don't you go?" "Don't stick to formalities and say a housekeeper isn't part of the member." "Akari-chan, do you remember the first time I gave you a monaka?" "You were this..." "maybe about this small, you know." "Day after day, you hid your loneliness and tried your best to keep on smiling." "Before I knew it," "I've become this old lady." "So I want to see you smile one more time before I die." "Don't you think it's about time now?" "To believe in someone and open your heart." "You know..." "I think they're great." "That family." "The long winter eventually gives way to spring, and the ice will melt." "Uh..." "I think there's a reservation under the name of Yuuki." "One moment please." "This place is pretty famous." "It's hard to get reservations, I hear." "Awesome." "Urara outdid herself." "Thank you for waiting." "We do indeed show reservation for a Yuuki party of 8, however, the reservation is for next month." "What?" "Uh..." "Then what about today?" "I'm sorry, but we're completely booked." "What the heck." "Nope, can't get a hold of Urara-chan." "What do we do now?" "Argh~ Leave it to Urara." "What the hell are you doing?" "Just as we're about to leave." "Just a minute." "I lost the map to the restaurant so" "I don't have a clue where the restaurant is." "Hurry up." "Everyone's probably already there." "What?" "The laptop froze." "You're such a...." "You'd better give them a call." "Let them know we'll be late." "I know!" "I forgot my cell at school." "Call them from the house phone." "I know!" "I don't know Onii-san's number without my cell." "What are you doing, that is." "You still can't reach Urara-chan?" "No." "...Seriously, what's she doing?" "Ah~ I'm starving to death." "I'll fix something right away." "Mita-san." "Why don't we order sushi or something?" "Yeah." "Mita-san, have dinner with us." "No thank you." "Please!" "This is a good opportunity to have a long talk." "When I heard you talking to Grandpa at the hospital, it really sounded like Mom was talking." "I thought Mita-san might really be the reincarnation of Mom." "I... am not your mother." "Then tell us about yourself." "You were telling Grandpa, right?" "That you knew the sorrow of losing your loved ones and the hopeless feeling that you could never bring them back." "Please." "I want to protect Mita-san." "Mita-san, won't you please have dinner with the children today?" "Very well." "Yes~!" "Mita-san, sit over here." "Alright!" "Oh, let's get the sushi ordered." "Oh, that's right!" "Shall we have monaka while we're waiting for sushi?" "I'm so hungry, I'm not gonna last much longer." "It doesn't look real friendly, but it's good, huh?" "With lots of red bean paste in it." "Like Mita-san." "I lo~ve monaka now." "I think I'll have one too." "Mita-san, you have one too." "Please have one!" "Alright!" "How many have you had?" "Here, Kii." "Good, huh?" "Don't eat too many." "Sushi's coming, you know." "The first time" "I was given a monaka by the manager of the referral agency was when I was about Kii-san's age." "One year before that, while trying to save me from drowning in a nearby river, my beloved father died." "Ever since then, somewhere in my mother's heart there was a hatred for the daughter who killed her beloved husband, and she started to avoid me." "I put all my effort into school work and all kinds of lessons to somehow make my mother happy." "However, after she remarried and had a child, she gave all her affection to my brother." "When my stepfather started giving me amorous looks, my mother hated me even more." ""It's all because of that smile of yours." "That smile is bringing unhappiness to everyone around you,"" "she berated me over and over." "Even so, encouraged by the manager who was working as our housekeeper at that time," "I did my best to keep on smiling." "I believed that someday, I'll meet someone who will love me for what I was." "And then, I met my husband." "We were blessed with a son who looked just like him." "Watching them eat the food I cooked for them, saying how delicious it was," "I didn't need anything else." "Everyday was full of happiness and I lived each day with a genuine smile." "That's when my brother started coming to the house." "He said he loved me, and started following me around." "My husband never imagined such a thing was happening, and always welcomed my brother." "Taking advantage of that, my brother made advances on me, and started acting like a stalker." "Even though we have different fathers, we're still siblings, so" "I tried to appeal to his good conscience." "I begged him over and over to spare me." "But it fell on deaf ears." "Eventually, my husband found out my brother's real identity." "My brother, who was told by my husband never to come again, flew into a rage." "Saying "It's all your fault for seducing me,"" "he set our house on fire." "In the burning fire," "I could hear my son screaming, "Mom, help me," "Mom, help me."" "I tried to jump into the fire." "But the fireman stopped me." "My husband and son, the most precious people in the world to me, died." "And as if to sneer at me, my brother took his own life." "My mother and my husband's parents who were left behind said, "It's your fault." "In the end, that smile of yours makes everyone around you unhappy."" ""You don't have to apologize anymore." "You don't have to do anything." "Just don't smile anymore until you die."" "And that's how light, hope, dream, love, joy, happiness, future disappeared from my life." "I have told you everything about myself." "As we promised, I shall quit." "Mita-san." "Please wait!"