The chapter opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, in which Hiroyuki's mother, who is a student at the university, tells Hiroyuki that his part-time job is tiring and that he should eat less. She also tells him that she has been to the university once a month for the past few months. Hiroyuki, however, feels that he has been working too hard and that his clothes are too heavy. He complains that he feels suffocated by the weight of his new clothes. He tells his mother that he is so hungry that he cannot eat the curry that has just been served. He also tells her that he does not think it is normal for people to help him out of the toilet because he is an only child with three siblings. He wonders if she is so reserved because she has three siblings, and he wonders if her personality is so un-reserved because she is such a small child. He asks her if she can go to the store and buy some tea or juice, and she says that she would like to go with him. She invites him to play with her little sister, Shuri Tori, and Hiroyuki agrees to go. She asks him if he can come over to eat with her, and when he says yes, she asks him to roll if he is free. He says that at home, he had to fold clothes for six people, so this is much better than folding clothes for three people. He thanks his mother for having him over, and says that they are having mackerel and grilled eggplant with miso and that they should not fight because they are so close