Everyone is having issues in Volume 3 of Ohana Holoholo.

Michiru has successfully been moved up to a supervisor position, but is finding it to be even longer hours and more stress. And, for reasons she really doesn’t know, the sight of Hidesuke’s sweater hanging up with their laundry, where Maya has put it, upsets her no end. When she overhears two employees trashing her managerial style, the stomach pains she’s begun to have become intolerable. To add to her misery, she’s seen and rescued by Mochizuki-sensei, Yuuta’s day care teacher. Mochi-sensei is incredibly kind to her, despite her snarling. When she asks him sarcastically, if he likes her or something, he admits that he might.

Mochizuki takes her to his apartment and has his landlady give Michiru medicine and a place to sleep. Belatedly, but feeling much better, Michiru returns home, only to realize that she and Mochizuki-sensei may now have something they’ll have to work out.

Yuuta is also having some problems. A girl in day care, Hiyori, is being absolutely foul to him. Kicking his sandcastles over, blaming him for things she’s done. The children around them tell the truth, but Yuuta’s being hurt and he has no idea why! We can see that Hiyori’s mother talks trash about Yuuta’s family all the time, but he doesn’t know that. Finally, he reaches breaking point, when she tells him that his family is strange, Yuuta pushes her away. Typical bully, she starts screaming bloody murder, but it quickly comes out that she’s the one to blame. Nonetheless Yuuta, little gentleman that he is, apologizes for pushing her. And he forgives her when she’s made to apologize to him. There is just no way to dislike this child.

In the meantime, Maya has abandoned any pretense and is clearly going out with Hidesuke. Only, we see her true feelings, when she comes across Michiru asleep at the kitchen table. She kisses the other woman gently on the neck and covers her with a blanket. It’s a short-lived victory, because Hidesuke steps up his courtship. He’s already proposed…now Maya accepts. And as the book comes to a close, he kisses her.

This book was excellent – in large part because I spent most of it annoyed. Annoyed that Michiru was jealous, when she herself had left Maya in the first place. Annoyed because Hiyori was being a bully – at least there we had resolution and justice – and annoyed because Hidesuke’s a really nice guy and I don’t want Maya to end up with him. Grrr. Oh, and then Michiru is so annoying and Maya really would be better off with Hidesuke and just to top it all off Mochizuki-sensei is a REALLY nice guy too and he’d be a great father to Yuuta. Shimano-sensei cut me a break here, will ya? Argh!

Okay, bottom line, Maya might like Hidesuke (and who could blame her?) but she still has feelings for Michiru. And now that Michiru is finally maturing, she’s starting to get touchy about losing Maya, not for Yuuta, but for herself.

Because this story is about an alternate family, (Nico is still a doofus and a great “uncle” to Yuuta) I’m almost hoping we make it work as an extended alternate family. I kind of am rooting for Maya and Michiru to get back together… and kind of not.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – I’m bumping it up to 5 for this volume
Service – Still a resounding 0

Overall – 9

I read this manga as it comes out in Feel Young and I know what comes next, so my annoyance is slightly mitigated. But only slightly. I may have missed the last chapter, too, so I’m back to being annoyed. ^_^;