[title screen]
Night has come and Mirai is getting very hungry and crying out loud. Natsumi is doing her best to get her milk ready and make her stop crying, but the noise brings Izumi downstairs and she starts yelling at both of them at once, complaining that she cannot work with such noise.
This also wakes up their sneaky neighbour Hanada, but thankfully Mirai stops crying as soon as Hanada opens the window facing Mirai's house. She swears to find out what's going on though.
The morning after, a very sleepy Izumi goes to pick up the mail of the day, complaining to herself that the same thing [Mirai crying] happens every night therefore she should do something, when Hanada shows up. She says that from her house she can hear _the_ baby crying every night, and sympathizes with Izumi in her deeps problems, poor Izumi having run away from her husband with her baby. Izumi manages to dodge, making her think she _is_ sick and should better get back home and have a rest, and slams the door shut behind her. But Hanada is still doubtful.
Inside, Izumi, being seen as an eloping wife, is desperate, and says she'd better hide the baby. It's time for Hanada's son Hideo [who also is Natsumi's classmate] to show up, complaining to his mother that they are short of milk. His mother takes him to the bushes nearby, and asks him if their neighbour Natsumi has changed recently. "No.", he says, nor does he know the reason why Natsumi decided to stay [instead of going to London]. Hanada pretends to get sick soon if he keeps studying instead of listening to his mother's problems, so he swears he'll try to find out.
It's lunch break at the Yumegaoka School, and Tamae and Eriko spot Natsumi sleeping in the middle of her lunch, her o-bentou [lunch] box still open on her lap. Tamae points out that seeing their lively Natsumi sleeping during lunch break is very seldom seen, but Eriko remarks that since her mother has left, Natsumi might get very tired, doing the chores. But Tamae doesn't think that's the only reason: "might her aunt.. be illtreating her to do all of the housework ??", she wonders [making Izumi sneeze at home ^_^]. Tamae has heard that Natsumi's aunt was awake every night, probably illtreating her.
Then an apple core falls down on Natusmi's face, not waking her up, so Daisuke, who was hiding in the tree just above them, says she really is sleeping soundly. Stealing a bite from her o-bentou box, he runs away, saying that Natsumi isn't the kind of girl to let somebody illtreat her. Tamae and Eriko decide to help Natsumi and see by themselves how her aunt treats her.
Daisuke is now alone, eating what he just picked up from Natsumi's lunch, when Hanada Hideo shows up, asking him for an advice.
The school is over, and Natsumi hurries back home to tell Izumi that her friends will come to visit her and help her doing the housework. This drives Izumi crazy, she yells out that they must hide the baby or their sneaky neighbour will discover everything one way or another. Natsumi says that if she tells Tamae and Eriko about Mirai, they will surely understand, but Izumi says that if she does that, their future might get changed: she, Izumi, might not become a famous manga artist, and Natsumi's husband might change. Natsumi imagines herself marrying Daisuke instead of the handsome Fukazawa..
As Izumi hands out Mirai to Natsumi, the door bell rings..
[CM break]
Tamae and Eriko have just come in. Natsumi pretends Izumi has left so that she is all alone with Bobby. Tamae complains about Izumi for being so illnatured and careless. Izumi, hiding in the stairs, isn't very pleased to hear that, and when Mirai starts crying out loud, she takes her upstairs and tries to calm her down. Natsumi and her friends have heard the baby crying, but Natsumi "casually" says that it was Bobby who has caught cold (Bobby is actually sleeping in the garden).
"Anyway, we have come here to help you. We'll do the washing up and clean the 2nd floor for you", Tamae says. Natsumi tries to smile but secretly wishes that Izumi has hidden Mirai in a safe place.
Soon Tamae begins to wash the dishes, while Natsumi is drying them. Natsumi then spots Mirai's feeding bottle she has left on sight. She creeps on her fours, grabs the bottle, and decides to put it in the fridge, out of her friends' reach. But she closes the door of the fridge so hard behind her that Tamae stops washing the dishes and looks at her, wondering what's going on there.
Upstairs, Izumi is trying to find, among the books of the libabry, where Mirai is hiding herself. In fact, the door is open so Mirai finds her way out, crosses the corridor, and enters Natsumi's bedroom just as Eriko arrives and also enters the bedroom, closing the door behind. Izumi quietly sneaks in, finds Mirai playing with stuffed animals, and while Eriko climbs up the bed stand, takes Mirai in her arms and hurries out. Izumi goes to the attic to hide Mirai there, but on her way she steps on a large wrapped tool which bumps into the window and opens it.
Outside, Tamae and Eriko hang the washing; Natsumi, with a worried look on her face, hopes that they won't discover Mirai-chan, but Tamae has already noticed that Natsumi is worried about something.
On the other side of the house, Daisuke and Hideo are trying to climb to the balcony with a rope. Hideo isn't as good as Daisuke at sports, so Daisuke has to pull him up, but Hideo suddently lets go, making so much noise that it brings Tamae and Natsumi there. The girls are very surprised to see them, but Tamae, smiling, says that they must have come because they were worried about Natsumi, so, since both boys have nothing else to do today, Tamae begs them to help out a bit. Seeing Natsumi's embarrassment, Daisuke looks very pleased after all.
In the attic, Izumi has fallen asleep. Mirai, in the meantime, has left thru the open door and is now climbing onto the packed tool, toward the open window. Bobby, who has smelled that something bad was happening, arrives just in time and grabs Mirai by the rabbit tail of her outfit. Instead of making her stop, Mirai starts laughing, as if it were a game, and suddently the tail breaks up. Since Mirai is out of Bobby's reach, he hurries downstairs, and brings the rabbit tail to Natsumi. Seeing this, she can only yell: "Waa! That's Mirai-chan's !..." until she freezes, realizing that everybody is now staring at her.
Tamae asks her who Mirai is. Natsumi replies that's nothing. So Tamae retorts that Natsumi is acting strangely today, as if she was hiding something. Natsumi defends herself, saying she isn't, so they keep quarrelling until Tamae yells out that she hates stubborn girls like her and leaves, with Eriko running after her. Daisuke makes a smart remark about girls' relationships always ending up this way, but Natsumi makes him shut up, and in turn dashes after Tamae to apologize.
She finds Eriko, at a run, on her way, who grabs her by her arm and tells her not to worry about Tamae's sudden anger: it will soon cool off. Eriko keeps running after Tamae, and suddently Natsumi hears the compact beeping in her pocket. The red lights are all flashing and making a sound she has never heard before, so Natsumi doesn't know what to think.
At home, Daisuke is tired of waiting, and decides to get some juice in the fridge. He opens the door.. and finds Mirai's feeding bottle inside.
In the meantime, Hideo, now in the garden, hears the baby screaming on the roof. Mirai is walking on the edge of the it, and spotting a butterfly, tries to catch it. Hideo wants to stay below to catch the baby in his arms if she ever falls down, but bumps into the wall and knocks himself out.
Back home, Natsumi first spots Hideo, knocked out, then Mirai, about to fall down. She hides her face in her hands, as Mirai slips and falls.. but thankfully Izumi has hurried to the roof and grabs Mirai by her back at the very last second.
Later, Daisuke and Hideo, with a large bandage on his forehead, leave the house. Hideo is convinced he has seen a ghost, Izumi even adds that the ghost of a baby is hiding in the attic. This doesn't convince Daisuke though.
Mirai is now having a sleep, unaware that she forced Natsumi to lie to her friends. Natsumi decides to apologize to Tamae tomorrow.
Then the phone rings. It's a call from London from Natsumi's mother [who also is Izumi's big sister by the way]. Izumi gets mixed up and almost tells her sister that there's a baby to take care of at home now, but quickly adds there's nothing to do if Natsumi has decided not to go to London. Then she calls for Natsumi.
"Today", Natsumi says, "Mirai-chan getting almost discovered has put such a big mess, but we succeeded in hiding her after all. It's really tiring to behave like a mom !".
P-chan, Dec 2, 1994 at 22:08