A Story in Yokohama -28【Icicle】
A Story in Yokohama【 Subtitled "Longing"】-28
After they left the courtroom, Yuichi asked J,
“Why did you suddenly say that?”
J was silent for a while, then answered,
“The way she said it irritated me.”
“She is right, she's standing up for herself and I'm running away from her.”
“Yuichi, you must stick to the policy you've decided on. Once you've made up your mind, go with it.”
“Yes, I will. But I'm afraid of losing and being jailed.”
“When you take a match, you have to accept the result.”
“I'm a weak man.”
“Don't think that way. The trial's not over yet.”
“You're not hiding anything from me, are you?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I'm starting to think you and Mrs. Fukada are the same person.”
“She was just stating a natural fact.”
(...I'm sure my mother saw you from somewhere all those years. Now I know how she was feeling. She must have been worried about you.)
“I want to drink alone today.”
With that, Yuichi disappeared into the streets of Yokohama city.
Afraid of being jailed, Yuichi indulged in heavy drinking. J gave him advice.
“Yuichi, don't drink all the time, have fun with the girls. It's a good distraction.”
“I'm a man who can't do anything on my own and I don't have the courage to go to prison.”
“Be patient. It's not a sure thing.”
“When the judge comes down, there's something I want you to see.”
“Does it have to be now?”
“I don't have the strength to show you now. I'll ask you when the time comes.”
After the prosecutor's argument and request for sentence and the defense lawyer's closing argument, the Day of Judgment finally arrived. Neither the tax lawyer's thesis nor the lawyer's arguments were of any use.
Yuichi was sentenced to one year in prison, the same sentence Naomi had already been sentenced to at the separation trial.
Naomi accepted the sentence, and Yuichi's lawyer immediately filed an appeal.
Commentary
The result of Yuichi's trial turned out to be a prison sentence, just as he had feared.
...To be continued...