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The Fight to Save an Innocent
Another day. Another outing. Understanding begins to dawn on Ogata. Maybe Yamaguchi Kumiko is someone they can trust. Maybe Ren isn't the mugger despite being in the vicinity and running away.
At the coffee house, Honjo and Kamiya still don’t understand why Yamkumi believes in Ren especially after Yamato told her Ren was in the vicinity of the tunnel.
Outside, Yankumi continues her mission. She will find the culprit if it’s the last things she does. Suddenly, she gets a call on her cell phone. It’s the Vice Principal. The news sends her running and she finds herself in front of the police station.
Sawatari arrives in a taxi with Ren in tow. Without his uniform, the boy looks dull and subdued. Sawatari is displeased to see her. He drags Ren along by the arm; the boy does not resist. “Apparently, I was being too complacent. I thought you would be able to keep the 3D troublemakers under control. These guys are scum, after all. It’s useless to try to teach scum.” Ren accepts the condemnation. This is the card he was dealt in life.
Yankumi though won’t stand for it, but before she could get fired up, Sawatari had some words for her, too. “Ms Yamaguchi, you knew, didn’t you? That he was near the scene around the time of the incident. It seems the detectives found out from Yamato Ogata.” His anger at her is real. He didn’t think even she would keep him in the dark like this.
Ren is surprised Ogata gave him up to the police.
As important as it was to have Sawatari’s trust, it’s more important for her at that moment to have Ren’s. His life and his future is on the line. She needs her strength and the intensity of her emotions to fight for her student. For the Vice Principal, that’s neither here nor there. Whether Ren is the culprit or not is up to the detectives and they seem hell-bent on arresting the boy.
Yankumi looks around. Six detectives and at least one uniformed officer appear at the top of the stairs. She races towards them and tries to explain Ren’s point of view. “Detectives, he lied because he thought if he told the truth, you’d suspect him.”
“It’s enough!” Ren recognizes that she has gone beyond and above even what a teacher should do for a student. He’s grateful, but she needs to stop now.
“What’s enough?” she demands.
He lays it on the line. “I’m used to this!”
This angers her. “Don’t get used to something like this!”
The detectives pass her by and she chases them, still trying to explain. “Detectives, he lied because it was the only way he could protect himself.” One grabs Ren by the arm and drags him up the stairs. She continues. “Didn’t we adults make him like this? Please don’t push Kazama into a corner.” She begs and begs because she knows once Ren loses all hope and trusts in people, then he truly will become a thug.
Sawatari, whose been holding on to her for awhile, finally puts an end to it. That done, he follows Ren and the police.
As she turns to leave, she pots Ogata Yamato. In silence, he walks away.
Before long, he ends up walking along the same river bank Ren and Yankumi did earlier. While there, he remembers what Yankumi told him. “I believe Kazama. If I don’t believe in my students, I’m not a teacher.” Yamato stops and pulls a flyer from his pocket. He makes a decision and turns back. There is something he must do.
Page 1 - Hell is an
Page 2 - The Return of Yamaguchi Kumiko
Page 4 - Don’t Turn Your Back on Them
Page 6 - Cheers, Crime and Boyz on the Loose
Page 8 - Misconduct, Punishment and a Lie
Page 12 - The Fight to Save an Innocent
Page 13 - Redemption: A Leader is Born
Page 14 - To Protect What is Important