Original subtitles

You're her first visitor.

I can't believe Aoi Tachibana agreed to see you.

Thanks for arranging everything.

That was so casual…

So, what are you planning to talk about?

Well…

I'll explain everything properly later.

I've heard everything

about you.

I have a message for you.

"The three of us are still doing well."

That's all.

So, what do you plan to do after your release?

Can we talk about that today?

I see.

Thank you.

What did they say?

She received a suspended sentence and will be released tomorrow.

- I'm going to pick her up. - That's good to hear.

But I wonder what Aoi is really thinking.

Could it be that Shuuto is really gone?

I'm sure that he's with Aoi's brother.

Didn't Aoi say she had no family?

- Well-- - There were a lot of lies.

That's why everyone was worried

when you decided to marry her.

It's you and your wife's business so I won't get involved,

but don't tarnish the company's reputation any further.

I'm counting on you.

It's really coming down.

I'm scared.

It's okay.

We'll be safe as long as we're in this house.

Lightning! It's dangerous!

It's okay!

It's okay!

It'll all pass soon!

The meeting has ended.

As for what comes next…

SHINJUKU CHUO POLICE STATION

Mr. Tachibana.

I'm sorry that my wife has caused so much trouble.

It's no problem.

The person in charge will bring your wife shortly.

Please come out, Mrs. Tachibana.

Okay.

It must be quite difficult for you right now.

Still, it's my fault for not keeping an eye on things.

From now on, I'll handle my family matters properly.

After you leave here, turn right and go straight.

I was told by the reporter who met you

that someone will be waiting for you across the street.

Aoi Tachibana isn't here.

- Not here? - No.

Oh, wait!

Mr. Yamada, have you seen Aoi Tachibana?

Huh?

Oh, I heard she was going home alone today.

Did that ever come up?

She ran away?

Aoi is something else.

She couldn't have gone too far.

Can you search over there?

Sure, but…

Thanks.

You're so casual…

What's the big deal? It's not like we let a dangerous criminal escape.

That's true, but…

Two coffees, please.

Okay.

Could it be

that you regret helping Aoi Tachibana?

I don't regret it.

I knew there was a reason she was lying.

I've known all along.

Then why are you making that face?

Unless she reports the domestic violence,

there's almost nothing we can do.

But even if she reports it,

it won't be easy to resolve.

Every time I see the scene after we've arrived too late,

I wonder why we're so powerless.

I can't completely trust everything Aoi Tachibana said,

but if her child is really in danger,

I feel like there's more

we could do.

Takada, you're a good detective.

No wonder I picked you up.

Huh?

Why are you helping me again?

You said it, didn't you?

I haven't given up yet.

Can I have a little time?

We can't fool people as we planned to do at the beginning,

but I'll prepare a fake identity for you

so you can escape from Shougo Tachibana.

And also a place to hide.

But I don't have any money or anything--

Think of this

as your last chance.

This time, please do as I say.

And now,

I'm heading to where your son is.

Huh?

It's time.

Mi, let's play with this next.

Lunch break is over.

It's time to work.

Let's play a bit longer.

No.

It's time to work.

Hiroto?

Where did he go?

When will he be back?

Long time no see.

You're so grown up now.

Hiroto.

I'm sorry.

I've caused you a lot of trouble.

Um…

Before we go to the guest house--

They're renting out bicycles.

Do you want to ride one?

Huh?

Come on, pedal harder.

Why are we doing this?

By the way, you…

Your back's so big now.

You were so small back then.

Of course.

Hey…

Look straight ahead.

Go!

There were so many things I wanted to ask and say.

But,

I was overwhelmed by my sister's chaos.

My butt hurts.

Is there any food you don't like?

No, not really.

Do you have oil?

Ah, no.

Then, this and…

Ah, we have that.

But it runs out quickly.

Excuse me, can I have these please?

Hello.

Here.

Hey, when's Hiroto coming back?

Is he at work?

Brother isn't at work.

Then, where is he?

I'm not supposed to tell you.

Why not?

I promised not to tell you.

Why is it a secret from me?

I promised not to tell you.

But why?

- I promised not to tell you. - Mi, you're so mean!

Don't throw things at people!

You're mean!

No!

Don't throw things!

- Apologize! - Shut up!

I wonder…

Is it okay to see him?

I was planning to meet him next time with a new name…

Do I even have the right to meet Shuuto?

It doesn't matter to Lion.

He's been waiting for you all this time.

He's been desperately rereading the promise notebook.

Fine! I'll find Hiroto by myself!

No! You can't go out!

But you're keeping secrets!

- No! You can't go out! - Shuuto?

Mom?

Mom!

Mom, guess what?

I went on a trip with Hiroto and Mi.

We took a boat, did some drawing, had a barbecue,

ate lots of meat, and played a lot in the yard!

And, guess what? I turned six!

I kept my promise, right?

I became the king of beasts, right?

Yeah!

You got a haircut!

Looks good!

Hiroto cut it for me.

Looks good, right?

Yeah! It looks good!

Lion's mom…

Is Lion's mom a good person?

Our sister is scary.

Is Lion's mom a good person?

She's not scary, so it's okay.

Mi, go wait inside.

Our sister is scary.

I took pictures on the boat with Hiroto and Mi…

Sorry to keep you waiting.

I told them someone hit my car

so they showed me the security camera footage.

Who took Aoi away?

Was it Aoi's brother?

Well… we're not sure yet.

We're currently looking into the owner of the car.

What is this?

Mi did it.

Is that so?

Are you okay, Mi?

Lion's mom is my big sister.

Do you want to do it together?

Yeah!

Lion's mom is my big sister.

Hey, do you have a bowl?

- I'll leave it here. - Thank you.

Please put it in here.

I've put it in.

Okay. Thank you.

Next, I'll put the vegetables here.

Okay!

Looks delicious!

- Let's eat! - Let's eat!

Let's eat.

Yes, yes.

Here.

- Put in a lot. - Okay.

That's a lot of mayo.

Okay, here you go.

Let's eat.

It's hot!

I told you to blow on it before you eat it.

Michito, are you having curry?

Would you like some fried chicken?

It might go well with the curry.

He doesn't need it.

He doesn't like mixing food.

I see.

I'm sorry.

Mom's fried chicken is delicious.

I'll put it in a nice dish for you.

Here you go.

It's delicious.

The fried chicken is delicious.

Yes.

- Right? - Yes.

Hey.

Did you paint the picture over there?

Yes.

That's amazing. Your paintings are so impactful.

I've painted with him before.

I painted with Lion.

I painted a picture with me, Brother, and Lion.

Hey, I want to see it.

You want to see it?

Okay.

Did you paint this together?

Mi painted most of it.

That's amazing, Michito.

It's so unique. It's one of a kind.

One of a kind?

What's that?

It's a beautiful picture that only you can draw.

Are you my fan?

Huh?

Are you my fan?

I've become your fan.

Can I see some others?

Yes.

Mom is my number one fan.

Dad is number two.

Brother is number three.

- Grandpa Tora is number four. - I like this.

Mr. Funaki is number five and Mr. Onodera is number six.

Ms. Mio Makimura is number seven.

Sister is number eight.

What about me?

I'm number eight.

Lion is number eight.

- You just said I'm number eight, right? - I'm number eight.

I'm number eight.

No, Mom, you're after me.

Michito

quickly accepted our sister

despite my worries.

Um…

What is it?

Well, it's just that…

Ask me anything.

I'll tell you properly.

Why did you

act so recklessly?

Faking your death…

If it was to protect yourself from your husband,

there were other ways to do it.

Why go so far as to separate from Lion

and resort to such a reckless method?

Right…

But

I thought that was the only way.

Open the door!

I could have endured it if I were alone.

But then one day,

he started hurting Shuuto too.

You guys…

Why don't you understand?

Yes.

Yes, I'm confirming that right now.

Shuuto!

Shuuto!

Are you okay? Come here.

Where does it hurt?

I thought I had to leave the house right away.

CHILD PROTECTION ASSOCIATION

The police,

child services, shelters,

local support centers.

I thought about many options.

Aoi.

Shuuto is sleeping, right?

How long are you going to stay there?

Right…

I felt like my husband could see right through my actions

and that I couldn't escape no matter what.

I didn't have the time to rely on society.

So I searched for a quick way to leave

without being found out by my husband.

I reached out on social media for help.

That's when I found out about

Mr. Yurugi's site.

I needed money, too.

To avoid drawing attention for a while,

I entrusted the child to you.

I honestly thought

that this was the only way that Shuuto and I

could start a new life together.

Even so,

Lion was suddenly left in a stranger's house,

and wasn't allowed to talk about his mother at all.

When he thought you were dead,

he came down with a fever and was desperate with anxiety.

And when he thought you finally showed up…

You were taken by the police in front of him.

Then you disappeared from his life again.

It was you who left our house in the beginning.

It was tough for us.

Mom and Dad were gone

and Michito became unstable.

It was all we could do to keep going.

Even so, in order to survive somehow,

the two of us built a peaceful life together.

But then…

Again, we're swept up by your selfishness.

I might have gotten off-topic,

but this is what I think.

There were other choices you could have made.

I'm sorry.

I understand it was a difficult situation, but…

URAO CITY HALL

“How to easily win over a girl.”

There's no way I'd type something like that.

It's a message for my kids.

I know.

Mr. Sadamoto, you love your family, right?

Of course. Family is the most important thing to me.

The fact that you can say that so boldly

is kind of beautiful.

Huh, that's cold.

Whenever you compliment me, I feel like I'm going to catch a cold.

No, I say this kind of thing normally.

By the way, I haven't seen any news about Komori's older sister lately.

That's true.

The buzz has really died down.

The public gets bored so quickly.

In reality, the child is fleeing for fear of his father.

Is Mr. Komori staying calm about this?

He seems fine.

He told me they want to stay a bit longer at the guesthouse.

That's good.

Your guesthouse was an incredible game-changer, wasn't it?

What?

You're complimenting me a lot today.

Is today Compliment Day?

It's Compliment Day. Ah, this is Compliment Day.

- Nevermind. - Are you after something?

Sorry.

Can I talk to you?

Tomorrow,

I plan to leave here with Shuuto.

Tomorrow?

I received a message from Mr. Yurugi.

The preparations will be ready soon.

On the 24th,

please take the ferry at noon.

I'll be waiting at the ferry terminal where we parted before.

So,

today will be--

Wait a minute.

You just got here yesterday…

It was a short time, but

thank you for calling me here.

I said wait!

I don't want to trouble you and Michito anymore.

There's no need for you to be swayed by my selfishness anymore.

You and Michito

can go home.

You're free now.

This is so sudden…

Are we going home tomorrow?

Mi, what's wrong?

Are we going home tomorrow?

Yes.

You can go home.

Sorry for making you live in an unfamiliar environment.

I'll be going home tomorrow.

Lion, Brother, and I are going home.

Shuuto

is not going home.

Shuuto?

Shuuto?

Lion and Michito living together

ends today.

Ends today?

Ends today?

- Ends today? - That's selfish!

This is our last chance!

Don't get angry!

I want to give that child

a peaceful life as soon as possible.

I can't give up yet.

I'll tell Lion

myself.

So…

Don't tell him yet.

Please.

Done!

Look! It's all finished!

Oh, that's amazing!

Right?

Hey, Hiroto, I want to play outside.

What should we do?

Hide-and-seek tag!

Okay, I'll finish this first, so wait for me.

Okay!

I'm playing!

I'll play tag with Lion!

Mi, what about work?

It's work time! It's work time!

Mi, Mi!

Why don't you play today? As a special occasion.

Special?

Yes!

I'll play tag with Lion!

Yay!

Let's play!

No, no!

I'm it!

I'm it!

Mi. Mi is it.

I'm it!

The days with Lion

weren't going to last long, I knew that.

Apparently, a bigwig from the Tokyo police

yelled at him for three hours.

They said "Outsiders shouldn't meddle. Are Yamanashi people bored?"

Big grown men, just being yelled at.

I was criticized non-stop.

I got caught up in it too!

Sing your hearts out.

I'll listen to anything.

Got it!

Go ahead!

If you strip, you're banned!

You never learn.

AMANE

Hello?

Hello, Ms. Kudo, where are you and what are you doing?

I'm at Kasumi right now.

I think I'm starting to connect the dots.

Sorry, I can't hear you.

Kamegaya and Tachibana Construction might be connected behind the scenes.

Hold on.

Say that again.

Anyway, I'm heading there now.

I've learned too much now.

I feel like I’ve got a target on my back.

I don't know if I'll make it safely.

Amane?

Amane?

What happened?

What did Amane say?

Well, something about…

having a target on his back.

That was scary!

So fast!

Were you just outside?

Ms. Kudo!

Too close, too close.

Listen to this.

The results of my investigation.

Amane.

Yes?

Well done, Amane!

- Hey! - Good job, good job, good job!

Shuuto really looks happy

playing with the two of you like that.

Lion is not Shuuto.

Lion is Lion.

- That's true. - Yes.

After all,

I'm glad I entrusted him to you.

I truly believe that.

"If you're ever in trouble,

you can rely on Hiroto and Michito.

Because we're all family."

I'm glad I trusted

what Mom said.

Thank you

for watching over Lion.

Yesterday,

I said a lot of things,

but it wasn't all bad.

How should I put it…

Our world has become bigger

since Lion came.

September 5th.

Lion came the day we saw the black-tailed gull.

On September 5th, the day we saw the black-tailed gull, Lion came.

September 7th.

Lion got lost at Urao Park.

He was on the swing at Sunset Park.

On September 14th, I did live painting

at the Animal Art Exhibition at Asagao Zoo.

On September 16th, we took care of Lion because he got sick.

Mi.

We understand.

We never thought we would leave our house, right?

It's a trip.

It's autumn break.

Brother wants to travel.

Even Brother has things he wants to do too.

I couldn't imagine it until Lion came.

Just living peacefully with Mi and I

was all I ever thought about.

Thank you for the meal.

I'm full too.

Now Shuuto, say thank you for the meal.

Thank you for the meal.

Lion is not Shuuto. Lion is Lion.

Mi, you know,

I have two names.

You don't have two names.

Lion is Lion.

Lion is a name to become strong.

Shuuto is my real name.

Real name?

I got Shuuto's name

from Hiroto and Michito, you know.

Is that so?

The "to" in "Shuuto" is written with the kanji for "person."

Just like Hiroto and Michito.

The same?

Hiroto, Michito, Shuuto.

The same?

"May they be blessed with connections and bonds between people."

"That's why I gave them those names." That's what she said.

I learned that from Mom. Hiroto and Michito's mother.

So you were able to become such good friends

with Hiroto and Michito.

I'm so happy.

We're not just friends. We're from the same pride.

Lion, me, and my brother are part of the same pride.

Such a meaningful name…

You both wait here.

Can I talk to you?

Yeah.

Is there really no other way?

The only option is to change your name and live as a different person?

About that…

I said it myself yesterday and I realized it.

You thought there were no other choices, and lived that way,

but I'm the same.

But then Lion came and things changed.

Thanks to Lion, things changed. So…

Throwing away Lion's meaningful name would be

wrong.

I mean, it's just not right.

It's wrong that we can't live as we are.

It's definitely wrong.

And your situation is different now compared to before.

There are many people who will help you, knowing everything.

So…

I'll find it.

I'll find a way for you not to have to run from Shougo Tachibana.

I'll definitely find it.

Thank you.

You might be right.

But I've made my decision.

After thinking about many choices,

I decided to choose this one.

Why?

There's one thing that's bothering me about that person.

My husband…

might be a dangerous person.

Much more than you imagine.

So, from now on,

neither we nor anyone else

should be involved with him.

What do you mean…

Could you…

give the two of us some time?

I'll talk to Shuuto.

Shuuto…

I have something important to tell you.

I'm sorry.

A lion.

A lion is here.

You're right.

- I'll go buy it. - Okay.

Buy it for Lion.

He's going to outgrow these soon though…

I need to contact Grandpa Tora and Mr. Funaki too

to let them know we're going back.

We're going home.

It's time to say goodbye to Lion.

Mi, go ahead and head back first.

Okay.

Mr. Komori?

Excuse me, we've uncovered something new. Do you have a moment?

Yes.

According to Amane's investigation,

the politician Kamegaya and Tachibana Construction may be secretly connected.

Secretly connected?

Around Kamegaya, several people involved

in the linear construction project have gone missing.

It hasn't been treated as a criminal case, but all of their families

said they disappeared without any warning.

When we investigated the only body that was found, his former secretary,

it turns out that she had been looking into these disappearances,

suspecting they were orchestrated by Kamegaya and Tachibana Construction.

That means…

The former secretary was likely

killed because her investigation was discovered.

My husband might be a dangerous person.

There's one suspicious individual close to Kamegaya and Shougo Tachibana,

and we're investigating him now.

We don't yet know how deeply Shougo Tachibana is involved in this.

But we intend to pursue Shougo Tachibana from this point on.

Mr. Komori, please stay where you are,

and remain hidden for just a little longer.

Understood.

I can't wrap my head around this at all…

But, with this, perhaps the layers will…

I'm home.

What's this?

Mi!

L-Lion is gone!

Lion is gone!

Welcome home.

Mi, we need to leave right now.

Shougo Tachibana can't keep himself together

without relying on his family.

I don't even understand how it came to this.

Mi can't paint anymore.