This episode shows how the hardships made Sugishita Nozomi (played by Eikura Nana) and Naruse Shinji (played by Tsubota Masataka) close, and helped each other out. It also tells about "the incident Nozomi and Shinji encountered" on their island 5 years before the murder of a husband and his wife in an upscale condominium.
(Spoiler)
2014 in Tokyo
Nishizaki (played by Koide Keisuke) who killed the husband of the woman he loved and Takano (played by Miura Tomokazu) a retired policeman are talking in a coffee shop. Takano suspects Nishizaki is not the real murderer, but Nishizaki insists he's the one.
Nishizaki asks "Have you ever felt that there's no meaning in life if a particular woman doesn't exist?" He goes on saying "I've felt that... I killed the man who killed my precious woman. I have no regrets." He tells Takano that the case is over as he paid for his crime (staying 10 years in prison), and that Takano should find a better hobby.
When he's about to leave, Nishizaki asks Takano "What changed most in these 10 years?" Takano answers "Well... People's hearts are more desolated." Nishizaki, then says, "They are desolated from the beginning."
Back in 2000 on Aokage Island on the Seto Island Sea.
Naruse Shinji (played by Tsubota Masataka) and his father are looking for Shinji's mother. She left their house without telling anybody. With the declining business and the talk of selling their restaurant, the relationship between Shinji's mother and father is going sour. Takano, the policeman on the island, finds the whereabouts of Shinji's mother. She's staying with her parents.
Sugishita Nozomi (played by Eikura Nana), who left a nice house and good life with her mother and younger brother, works as a newspaper delivery person without telling her mother.
At school, Nozomi is told by a teacher that she's not qualified to get a scholarship to go to college as her dad makes more than the maximum family income for the scholarship.
One day Nozomi and Shinji take a ferry to go to a bookstore on the mainland to check books on college scholarships. On a street near the bookstore, Nozomi sees a woman who looks just like her mother. The woman is dressed nicely.
Nozomi and Shinji have lunch together (Udon noodles with Tempura), and go to see a sunset. It's a date. They talk about their future. Nozomi hopes that both Shinji and herself will be happy.
Back at home Nozomi finds that the woman she saw was indeed her mother. The mother got a new credit card and bought dresses, handbags, cosmetics, accessories, etc. Nozomi takes away her credit card and burn it on a cooking stove.
Her mother apologizes. She says she knows she can't go back to their old house, but she wants to go back there.
Nozomi tries to return the items her mother bought, but the stores do not accept them as they were already used. Nozomi, then goes to see her father. He doesn't help Nozomi or her mother. He also says he won't pay for her college.
At an ATM, Nozomi sees her bank book with a small amount of money, and sobs. In her heart, she keeps saying "Help. Somebody help me, please." Shinji wonders what she's been thinking.
Nozomi's mother finds out that Nozomi's trying to go to college in Tokyo. She sobs and begs Nozomi not to go and leave her. She ran outside and cries. Nozomi holds her and tries to comfort her. The whole scene was witnessed by Shinji who happened to be walking around there.
Nozomi is feeling desperate and starts to think that if her old house disappears, her mother will give up her wish to go back there, and face the reality. She goes to a hardware store and buys oil to refill cigarette lighters.
She goes to her old house to burn it down. Suddenly Shinji appears and stops her. Nozomi tells him she wants to make the house disappear. Shinji tells her he understands that if it's burnt down, nobody can take it away from her and that her precious place becomes hers. He also tells her he'll do it for her because he doesn't want Nozomi to be a criminal.
Shinji asks Nozomi what he can do to help her. She answers she doesn't want anything from him. He says to her "Let's leave this island after we graduate (from high school)."
Next morning Nozomi's father falls down from a stair. The stair was slippery with oil.
Takano, the policeman brings a social worker to Nozomi's house.
Shinji's mother is leaving the island as she cannot stand being with his father. She asks Shinji to come and live with her, but Shinji refuses.
It's the night before Shinji and his father are moving out of their house/restaurant. Shinji remembers his father saying he doesn't want other people to take over this place, and looks at the oil he's taken away from Nozomi.
Shinji's parents' house/restaurant is on fire. Takano's wife runs inside the burning house to save Shinji's father who was trapped there. Their lives are saved by firefighters, but they are badly injured.
Nozomi runs to look for Shinji, and finds him at a harbor. They look at the burning house/restaurant, holding hands. Then, Takano comes, looking for Shinji. Nozomi lies to Takano that she's been with Shinji till that time as she asked him to help her with a scholarship application. When Shinji leaves by Takano's car to go to a hospital to see his father, Nozomi says something to his ear.
The police is suspicious of Shinji as the fire starter. Questioning begins. Nozomi tells that Shinji and she are not that close, and they are just class mates. Shinji tells the police he was with Nozomi even before the fire.
Takano gives his house key to Shinji and tells him to stay at his place for the time being. Shinji calls Nozomi on his cell phone. Nozomi tells him she's not going to speak to Shinji any more as the police is coming back to check on them. She says to Shinji "Thank you for all this time. Thank you for being with me all this time. Thank you for helping me." That was the end of their phone call.
In 2014.
Takano has been looking for Andou Nozomi (played by Kaku Kento) who lived in the same apartment building with Sugishita Nozomi and Nishizaki, the murderer. Andou was at the murder scene, also. Takano finally catches Andou who just came back to Japan after spending 10 years overseas. He's an elite businessman in his company. His boss was murdered 10 years ago and he took over the position of the boss.
Takano starts to ask him about the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Noguchi. Andou says he knew both of them, but doesn't know much about the murder as he came late to the scene. When he got to the place, everything had already happened. He also says he hardly knew Naruse Shinji, that Shinji and he "happened to be there."
Takano asks Andou why he assisted Nishizaki, the murderer, in getting a good lawyer and collecting donations. Andou answers he felt guilty because he was promoted in his company because of Noguchi's death.
Takano asks further about "everything for N". Andou goes on and says "Everybody on that scene had N, a precious person. For me, it was Sugishita Nozomi."
After parting with Andou, Takano calls his wife. She cannot talk.
Sugishita Nozomi now works at a design company. She receives a text message from Andou which says "I'm back in Japan. I waited until Mr. Nizhizaki gets out of prison. I want to see you." Nozomi gets another message from Andou. "Takano, a former policeman came to see me. He's checking on the case."
Nozomi gets shook up by Andou's messages. She stands up and goes to her boss (business partner?) to tell her she's resigning from the company. The boss asks why. Nozomi answers she can't say it.
(Nozomi's narration)
I'm sorry, Naruse-kun. I want to end while nobody notices all those lies I made up at that time. I must end them... for N.
N no Tame ni Ep.1
