When last we left our conman and lawyer, they got an onsen episode together before it was time to move on to the Big Conflict.
This means a new case!
Shiba goes over the case with Haruto and I’ll go over it with you. There’s real estate property that is supposed to become a big development. The construction company set to work on it canceled, presumably because Big Bad Pony Tail guy Arisuinbo’s company pressured them. They want the land for themselves.
To win this lawsuit they want to expose Arisuinbo’s illegal acts. Haruto wants them to win the case as the ultimate duo. No pressure.
The sales manager of that construction company is fishing at some random place in the city. It looks odd. Haruto approaches him as a helpless beginner fisherman and gets the older man to help him and share his life story.
Shiba learns there were environmental protests at the development site, but he can’t find the people who organized them. He suspects Arisuinbo also worked behind the scenes.
Time for a dessert break
Haruto takes Shiba to an Old Fashioned Cupcake style treat of honey toast. Shiba is wound up, but with gentle prodding, he eats a bite and declares “It’s edible”.
Hachisuka, his old boss and the mini-boss of this show, comes in and sits in the next booth. Shiba wants to know why he set him up, and Hachisuka makes it sound like a teachable moment to help him grow. But Shiba suspects he was trying to crush him and keep his position safe.
Hachisuka runs his hands through his long luxurious locks and laughs. He derides Shiba for making his boyfriend his work assistant and says he can find someone much better. Shiba yells at him to shut up and says he’s the best partner he can hope for.
See you in court!
They need the fisherman/sales manager to testify but don’t think he’ll risk his job. Shiba is frustrated and getting rough with the succulents, which I don’t like. Neither does Haruto.
Haruto runs to the fisherman, supplicates, and begs him to testify. Wherever they are fishing is easily reached by foot from Shiba’s place, because here he is too.
Haruto reminds the fisherman how proud he was of this project, and he can’t accept it ending this way. The man agrees to be a witness.
But in court, the man changes his story. He makes it sound like the cancellation was over an internal issue. Hachisuka and his glorious hair smirk at Shiba.
At the bar, Shiba gets drunk and Haruto feels like a failure. Our guys aren’t handling this turn of events well. Haruto takes pity on the bartender and drags Shiba outside. He tells Shiba he has to win, traps him in a back hug, and promises to be by his side.
Shiba calms down, and they both promise not to say they can’t do it or they are failures. We get a sweet kiss and Haruto cries.
Kazama rudely spies from the street below and finally recognizes Haruto.
Time to work on the environmental group angle
Haruto promises to get real evidence and mentions for the first time in a while that he can become anyone. He teases Shiba into smiling.
I’m not sure about Haruto’s mindset, because he’s still set on proving himself as Shiba’s partner. He pretends to be a college student to get information on these groups.
Meanwhile, Shiba finally gets called into his boss’s office about Haruto. Someone sent everyone a letter saying that Haruto is a criminal. Shiba can either give up Haruto, or his job.
At home, Shiba withholds his decision from us. Haruto returns and Shiba shares everything with him, including the choice he was given. Look at this lovely, open honest communication. It’s so sexy. They both think Hachisuka sent the letter. Haruto assumes Shiba decided to cut ties with him.
Shiba takes his time saying he has no intention of doing so. Haruto gets angry because this moves Shiba away from becoming Guardian of Law. He can find a new partner.
Shiba wrist-grabs Haruto and tells him how he’s changed him from someone focused only on winning in court to the happiest person in the world. He’s scared of Haruto disappearing and there’s no way he can leave him.
Haruto is overwhelmed, but being Haruto, he teases him about liking him that much and stretches Shiba’s cheeks. Instead of a kiss, Shiba gives Haruto a forceful back hug and asks Haruto to promise not to leave him. Haruto agrees easily.
They sleep holding hands
Haruto’s past is becoming The Big Issue
Now that Haruto’s con man history is out, Shiba is uneasy because he doesn’t know more about Haruto. He admits to himself that he’s afraid of the truth, but wants to know everything.
First, he goes to Haruto’s street kid friends, bringing donuts because he’s not a monster. The kids don’t have any info, but send him to the bar. The bartender has always acted like she doesn’t know anything, but Shiba brings up Haruto’s scar and the nightmares. He tells her that he loves Haruto so he wants to know.
This earns him the full story. Some time ago she found Haruto outside her bar with no home to return to, so she let him sleep there. Gradually, he opened up to her. The scar is from when he protected his mom, but she died later.
His mom was Arisuinbo’s mistress. Arisuinbo is Haruto’s father.
This means Shiba has to go runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnning.
Haruto isn’t home. He’s left an innocent message about going out and Shiba needing to eat. But he’s also left his ring behind. We see Haruto, looking lost as he walks outside, and Shiba looking lost sitting in his living room.
This show hates long hair
Too bad there’s not much more to our bad guys. That’s a weakness of this show in general. I don’t blame it entirely, the run time for each episode isn’t long enough for much. Still, all the characters outside our leads are shallow.
The moment with the bartender is good though. I like how she’s been quiet with Shiba this whole time, but when he breaks down and proves he cares, she starts talking.
What exactly happens with Shiba and Haruto after their witness turns on them is a little confusing emotionally. What’s clear is that they’re both putting a lot of pressure on themselves with this case. It’s hard to work with a loved one, this is not the way to do it. It’s like without saying it, they’ve decided this proves something about their relationship. So when things went wrong with the case, they both panicked.
In Shiba’s case, his dark fear is that Haruto will vanish. Because he fails or someone says the wrong thing to Haruto or something. He needed Haruto’s back hug and reassurances before he could work on the case again. But that’s only a temporary fix.
Even getting the story from the bartender is only part of the solution. We, er well Shiba, still need to hear it from Haruto. He’s gotta stop covering up with those smiles and tell us, er, Shiba, why he’s crying. Then he needs to let Shiba hug him.
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