The scene opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, in which Hiroshi, a student at a boarding school in Chiba Prefecture, is caught in the crossfire of a fight between his classmates and the authorities. As the scene opens, Hiroshi is in the middle of a debate with his classmates about whether or not he should be allowed to stay at the school for the rest of the school year. The debate has been going on for a long time, and the students have finally decided that they want to stay, despite the fact that many of the other students have left the school.