One of the first things Genzo does after settling into his new home is seek out Mayuko, carrying with him sacks of rice that he claims are gifts from his father. From then on, he is a frequent visitor to the bathhouse and Karuchie’s European Restaurant, usually bearing some form of food or another, usually declaring it a present from his parents. He also willingly gets involved with some of the craziness surrounding the bathhouse, first as one of Kotomi’s “Iron Men” for the video game tournament, and later to help spy against Chada’s rival bathhouse. Genzo is more than happy to go out of his way to help Mayuko and her friends.

His motivation for this quickly becomes obvious to everyone but Mayuko; he has a crush on her. Little Chie makes digs to her about Genzo being her boyfriend and even Chiaki makes this natural assumption following the events at the Space King Bath. Mayuko is always flustered and deeply embarrassed by such assumptions, holding fast to her belief that Genzo’s family is just extending kindess to a fellow transplant.

Genzo eventually provides Mayuko the first step in reclaiming her childhood memories and finding more strength within herself when he asks if she still writes stories. Genzo is revealed as having a crystal clear memory of the childhood he and Mayuko shared together where she barely remembers any specifics at all. Foremost among Genzo’s recollections are the way she used to cheer him up when they were young. In fact, it seems clear that until Mayuko and her mother moved to where she met Genzo, his life was a long string of encounters with heartless bullies. (The now-burly Genzo was quite scrawny as a youngster.)