Ikebukuro West Gate Park (池袋ウエストゲートパーク)

"This is a work of fiction. The characters, organizations, and names herein are fictitious, and bear no relation to existing entities."

"Ikebukuro West Gate Park"

"Majima Produce"

"3-Year-Old Falls from Balcony"

Hello.

Kyouichi, and Isogai.

What brings you out here?

I have a request for Ikebukuro's capable troubleshooter.

Huh?

Several days ago, a small child had a fall at a Senkawa apartment.

Yeah.

"3-Year-Old Falls from Balcony"

Yeah.

"3-Year-Old Falls from Balcony"

You mean this.

He's three, with a single mother.

Could you go check in on them?

Huh?!

The two of them often come by our park.

The mother watches Kyouichi dance while she lets her boy play.

But several days ago, she came by herself. Without her child.

"He apparently fell while playing on the balcony,

while his mother was out by herself."

Was that when?

Yes.

And these are posts in response to that article.

"This is why I can't stand single mothers." "She's irresponsible." "That's the problem with single mothers." And these are posts in response to that article.

"Don't have children if you can't raise them."

"Unfit mother"

I'd like to take the ones who made those posts,

line them up, and mow them down with a machine gun.

Yui Ohnuki, age 22. Kazushi, age 3.

Kyouichi and I have only spoken with them once or twice.

If you've hardly ever talked to them, why are you being so supportive?

Because she's a fan of my dancing.

You have to take care of your fans.

Right...

Makoto!

What?!

You go and check on them.

Huh?!

I can't just ignore it when I hear "single mother."

Hello there, ma'am.

This is our--

Kyouichi- kun . I've heard about you from Makoto.

Heck, you're a lot more handsome than what I imagined.

What were you imagining?

Never you mind!

Now, hurry and go!

Hold on a minute! There's no reason for you to be so eager!

I'm the one who got the reque--

Then as of now, I'm seconding the request.

Go and take these to them.

The small ones taste best this time of year.

Go and share them.

"Troubleshooter"?

Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas!

We have company, quiet down!

Ugh...

Our Kyouichi was concerned.

He asked Makoto- san here to help out, in case you two were having trouble.

But why is he concerned about us?

That's the kind of guy Kyouichi is.

It's a good thing Kazushi- kun 's injuries were no big deal.

I've been striving so hard since he was born.

That's why I thought I could get away with it.

"Get away with it"?

My man ran off while I was pregnant.

That's why I can't collect child support.

I've been working like crazy since he was born.

Where do you work now?

A plant in Ouji where they make convenience store box lunches.

I'm on my feet working from 10 PM to 5 AM, and when I get home,

I make breakfast for Kazushi, and then nap during the day.

I play with him some, then snatch whatever sleep I can.

You don't have much in the way of time.

It's not just time. I don't have money, either.

For working all night, five nights a week, I get a little over ¥160,000.

That's how it is for contract employees.

Things like taxes and insurance get deducted from that,

and the rent here is 70,000, so I'm not sure how I can cut costs any further.

I've gotten lots of calls from newspapers and magazines, too.

I'm so fed up with it.

That banana was good, wasn't it?

Yeah! Banana!

Can I just call you "Kazushi"?

Sure!

Why don't we all go to a family restaurant!

Huh?

Family restaurant! Family restaurant!

Oh, it's not out of pity.

My mom's a single mother, too,

so I know how much of a pain that stuff can be.

And I'm hungry.

Can I ask you something?

You were always with Kazushi,

but that day, you went alone to watch Kyouichi dance. How come?

I was always on a walk with Kazushi, so I would only catch glimpses.

But I thought his dancing looked so good, and I wanted to take my time watching.

That day, I wanted to watch by myself so badly.

Gotcha.

It's so hard.

I'm standing on the edge of a cliff.

That's the story.

So, what do we do now?

Keep an eye on them a bit longer.

Fine, but just watching isn't going to change anything about their situation.

Your mother...

Huh?

Never mind, tell her this: "The small ones were superb."

She's already falling?

Yeah. Yui- chan 's not on the edge of a cliff, she's already starting to fall off.

If something isn't done, she'll be in trouble.

Ritsuko- san .

Hello.

What's going on?

A little something good.

Hey, Kazushi.

Kazushi, what do we say?

Hello...

Hello.

See you later.

What the heck is--

She's got a man.

Huh?

You think so, too, ma'am?

--Huh? --Oh, Yoshioka- san .

Has Yui done something wrong?

I can't go into detail,

but a nasty sex industry scout's been showing up around here lately.

It starts with him flirting with a woman, and dating like normal,

but then he buys her more and more luxury goods,

then when the time seems right, he picks a fight with her.

"Pay me back for all the gifts and food I've bought you."

If she refuses, then it's off to the sex industry.

Luxury goods as gifts...

"A little something good," she said.

His group makes a killing by collecting referral fees from sex joints.

We've been keeping an eye on women likely to be targeted,

hoping to catch the guys in the act.

But they're good at not getting caught.

You were watching Yui?

They go after single mothers who have trouble making ends meet.

If anything happens, let me know.

Okay, I'm going to go keep an eye on another lady.

He just told me to follow Yui around.

Don't take your eyes off her.

They're not dropping her into the sex industry!

Okay, fine.

But, hey, isn't the sex industry still a business?

I mean, it's nothing to be proud of, but it's not shameful either.

You're an idiot! Men and women look at these things differently!

Now get going!

"Episode 8"