Chapter 28

Scene 28 is the first chapter included in Volume 6 of Urakata!!

Summary
While the Art Squad is helping to put on a puppet show for a local children's center, Ranmaru and Soh are each able to spend more time with Ruka and Izumi, respectively. They discover more about their worldview as a result of discovering struggles in their lives that they had not previously shared.

Plot
The Art Squad is helping a local children's center with a puppet show that will be held on Christmas Eve at the request of Soh, who wanted to help for the sake of her little brother, Riku. Ranmaru and Soh each get to spend time with Ruka and Izumi respectively during the preparations. At home, Ranmaru and Soh are both motivated to work hard to become better people for those that they like.

As preparations continue, some of the children are saddened by the outcome of the play's story, where the kind spirit of a prince within a bejeweled statue and a hard-working swallow work together to help the poor of the town by distributing the statue's gems to them. The sad ending of the story is that the now plain-looking statue of the prince is forgotten by the people and the swallow dies. While Ryuuji offers logical explanations, Izumi and Ruka stop him and explain that it was an inevitable outcome but that it was okay because they were still happy.

Later, while Soh and Izumi are out shopping for supplies, he denies the notion that he and Ruka are dating and expresses his doubts that Ruka and Ryuuji would ever date. Meanwhile, back at the children's center, Ruka is taking a seemingly serious phone call and Ranmaru inquires about it. Ruka admits that the phone call was from a prospective marriage partner who she was turning down. She explains that since she is from an old, traditional family, she will have to get married after she graduates.

Back with Soh and Izumi, they encounter a street Santa who is actually a young man. He recognized Izumi as his former classmate from elementary school. While taken aback at first, Izumi eventually smiles and simply says that he doesn't remember. Both Izumi and Ruka say that there's nothing to be done about their situations as both Ranmaru and Soh realize that they both relate to the prince in the story. They have taken the perspective that although they are in less-than-ideal situations, they believe that it's inevitable, there's nothing that can be done about it, and that just being happy in the moment is enough.

Characters

 * Ryuuji Gouda
 * Izumi Samura
 * Tomu Tenba
 * Ruka Enjoji
 * Maasa Rokubu
 * Ranmaru Kurisu
 * Soh Kobora
 * Riku Kobora