Usagi Drop

What kind of clothes to buy her? What to feed her? What to do about nursery school? Daikichi's new life raising a 6-year-old girl is an uninterrupted stream of bewilderment. Rin looks anxious on her first day of nursery school, so Daikichi does a "pinky swear" with her, promising to pick her up as soon as he can. And Daikichi, who has no confidence he can live with Rin for long, starts thinking about meeting Rin's mother...

Daikichi goes back to his parents’ house with Rin in tow in order to search for clues about her mother. At first, his parents were opposed to him taking custody of the girl, but now they’re not entirely dissatisfied about having what amounts to a grandchild. And at his grandfather's house, Daikichi discovers a mystery modem. This leads him to think about his life with Rin and he makes an important decision.

Rin befriends Kouki, a boy she met at the local nursery school, while Daikichi's pulse races a bit when he meets Kouki's beautiful single mother. Later, the modem Daikichi found leads him to his grandfather's last words. And from there, he receives a contact number for Rin's mother, Masako...

Daikichi finally meets Rin's mother, Masako, and he's shocked by her frankness. When they part, Masako asks Daikichi for a favor, and it's an issue that Daikichi can't avoid, as long as he's going to raise Rin. Daikichi tries to resolve it by having a heart-to-heart conversation with Rin, but he gets an unexpected answer...

When Rin enters elementary school, Daikichi proposes planting a tree to commemorate the occasion. Rin plants a loquat seed in the yard, but there's no telling whether it will actually put forth buds. Thinking that perhaps Souichi planted something to mark Rin's birth, Daikichi has another visit with Masako...

Daikichi's cousin, Haruko, runs away from home to Daikichi's house with her daughter Reina in tow. Daikichi can hardly fathom Haruko's determination, but when he does learn her reasons, he's not a little surprised by how strong Haruko has become as a mother. It gets him thinking again about what marriage and family mean.

During Rin's summer vacation, Daikichi and Rin visit her father's grave, where they find an ink bottle and bellflowers. Daikichi runs after Masako, Rin's mother, who had just been there, and when he catches up, offers her an unusual proposal.

At school, Rin is concerned that the disobedient Kouki is getting off track and getting a bad reputation. Meanwhile, when a typhoon hits, Kouki and his mom take shelter with Daikichi and Rin at their house.

Daikichi feels helpless when Rin is laid up with stomach flu, so Kouki's mother steps in to give them both a hand.

It's the first anniversary of Grandpa's death, which means Rin and Daikichi have been living together for about a year now. Daikichi mulls over what he's lost and what he's gained since Rin came into his life...