I never trust
people with the initial N.
You think, "So, he's an N,"
and then before you know it...
...he's lying down and is now a Z.
And in an outrageous case,
he then flips over and becomes an S.
Really, it's horrible.
My initial is none of those.
Then talk.
At last, you seem
to be willing to talk.
What are you thinking?
What am I thinking?
I'm the one asking questions!
You're to answer me!
Make sure you get that right.
If you insist on being uncooperative,
I will have to treat you to a drink.
But, if possible,
I'd like to avoid that.
And your answer is?
Threats won't work on me.
It's not exactly a stirred martini,
but have some anyway.
Alcohol helps protect a lot of things.
Except secrets.
Nothing to munch on?
Pinch your nose instead.
Drink, drink.
Hold on, hold on.
Shochu, give me shochu!
Sho...
We don't have soba-shochu,
but we do have wheat-shochu.
Wheat! Wheat!
How about that?
How about that?
Wine!
Give me some wine!
Are you a fountain?
You fountain man!
Give me some of the
more expensive booze!
The bulb's dead!
Hang on a second, hey!
I'm throwing up now.
I'm throwing up now.
I'm throwing up here.
My dead grandma told
me to throw up here!
Hold it!
I can't.
Hurry!
Here you go!
Straighten your backs,
and do some kick-ups.
Higher!
Higher!
One more game.
You should call it quits now.
Go home and sleep.
Hey, man.
When playing games,
you have to know when to quit.
You should call it quits now.
Come on, just one more game.
I have mercy in my heart, you know.
Feed it to a dog, then!
My nest egg.
Some hundred thousand yen.
Stripping to the fuzz on
your behind is mercy as well.
You wish.
Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Hey man, what kind of
joke are you playing at, eh?
You're blaming the wrong man.
Over there!
It's been a while.
Ao.
Koichi.
Who the hell are you?
Get him!
Koichi!
Wake up, Koichi.
Koichi!
Now, it's time for
some wake-up exercises.
Let's pump up the energy!
Hold out your fingers,
and do bend-and-unbends.
Bend, unbend, bend, and unbend.
As if you were thrusting
them forward.
And elbow-stretching.
Let's see some energy!
Got a headache?
If you want a drink, help yourself.
Beer's in there.
Want something to eat?
Yeah.
Ao.
Don't call me that!
Don't call me by that name.
The man who used
to be called that is gone.
He doesn't exist anymore.
Why?
Tell me, what happened during
the time we were apart?
Why?
That's right, you weren't here.
What those of us who remained
in this town went through.
You couldn't have known about it.
I...
...had to escape all alone
and survive in a foreign land...
...without even a friend to talk to.
Dreaming of the day you would
return here, gritting your teeth...
I know.
We...
We were the same.
When you returned,
things would be all right.
And the days of
battles will start again.
We believed that blindly.
That's why, we never lost our hope,
even while living as fugitives.
And even when we were arrested.
But we were wrong.
In cold solitary cells,
the first month passed in hope...
the second month passed in yearning...
Then everyone started to realize.
That we were, after all, left behind.
I didn't mean...
Maybe not.
But, after taking off
the reinforcement gear...
...we were more fragile than a
crab that just finished molting.
One by one, we dug a hole fit to
our own shell and burrowed into it.
No more hurt. No more desperation.
But since then,
hope has been forever lost.
And, that's when we were
released without warning.
Underdogs don't require
cages, you see.
The series of events were treated
as dirty laundry and hushed up.
Nobody remembers it now.
Before submitting to their power...
...we sought a new shell to
replace the reinforcement gear.
So we have no right
to shout blame at them.
It was too late.
It was way too late.
If we were wrong to wait for you...
... knowing you would
probably return someday...
...then you may be equally guilty, for