Hiroyuki held onto Wada, when Soma appeared from behind the corner.
"What happened?" she asked.
Jiro, who had been dumbfounded by the series of events, finally woke up from his trance. "This man came and he wanted to hurt me. But Hiroyuki stopped him."
Soma peered into the unknown man's face. Upon recognizing who it was, she exclaimed loudly, "Wada!"
"Don't worry," Soma told Jiro. "I'll notify the authorities and have them take him away."
"Please don't," Wada opened his bloody mouth to plead. "I don't want any trouble."
"You dared to come here to cause trouble, but you don't have the guts to face the consequences?"
"I'm sorry," Wada cried out loudly. "I promise I won't return. If you let me go, I'll disappear and never show up here again."
Hiroyuki shook his head. "No. If I let you go, you won't learn your lesson."
"I will," Wada quickly promised.
"Let him go," Jiro suddenly said. "We can report the incident to the authorities after he's gone."
Hiroyuki couldn't understand why Jiro wanted to let Wada get away. Didn't he understand Wada could return to cause trouble again? Just as Hiroyuki was about to ask Jiro, he saw the forlorn look on the young boy's face. The expression caused Hiroyuki to lose his speech. Was there something Jiro hadn't told him?
"Yes, let's do as Jiro suggested," Soma agreed. She didn't want any more trouble than necessary.
"Thank you, thank you," Wada happily responded.
"Then quickly scram," Hiroyuki told him.
The moment Hiroyuki released his hold, Wada sprinted away.
The police report was filed with a simple phone call. The police promised to survey the area around the apartment complex for Wada. As a troublemaker, the police knew Wada quite well.
After making sure Soma would keep an eye out for Wada, Hiroyuki left for work. Before leaving, he leaned in and whispered in Jiro's ear, "Let's discuss this tonight."
The young boy nodded his head, a troubled look on his face. It seemed he would have to explain some things to Hiroyuki tonight. And if after Hiroyuki heard his explanation, and wanted him to leave, Jiro would comply.
But Jiro was really unwilling to leave because he felt Hiroyuki was his guardian angel. From the moment he met Hiroyuki, his life had turned around for the better.