Hiroshi Ishihara

**Hiroshi Ishihara** (石原博, *Ishihara Hiroshi*) is one of Sanjou's most trusted subordinates in the Mutagawa Group. It is his responsibility to oversee the group's new child trafficking venture.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Ishihara is a hardworking and trusted member of the Mutagawa Group, allowing his superior to recognize but dismiss his flaws as a violent man who is quick to anger. He frequently beats his son.

## Background

Just prior to the start of the story, Ishihara is placed in charge of gathering children for the Mutagawa Group's first human trafficking deal. His son manages to bring Rena Aikawa home while she is in their neighborhood.

## Synopsis

### Avengers Arc

Ishihara is visited by Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin when they are canvassing the neighborhood where Rena disappeared. The detectives leave when he claims to know nothing of the missing girl, but he is angered by the knowledge that detectives have narrowed down the area where she might be and takes out his frustrations on his son.

Enokida provides Méqué with the list of abusive parents in Fukuoka that he had requested the day before. Ishihara's name is on the list, along with Rena's stepmother, Mari Aikawa.

That evening, Ishihara meets with the avenger, Jiro Tanaka, at the bar Smokin' Hot. As he presents the avenger with a made-up scenario, he questions Jiro on his past requests. He and the other yakuza present point their guns at him to prevent him leaving. When Jiro refuses to answer his direct questions about the murder of Shota Yamazaki, Ishihara shoots him in the arm. Moments later, Méqué enters the bar and begins slaughtering the yakuza members without introduction. Ishihara and Jiro, furthest from the door, make it to the back of the building, and after running out of bullets, Ishihara hides in the walk-in refrigerator while the clown murders and hangs his comrades. He only emerges and contacts his boss when the clown has departed. Slightly injured, suffering from chills from hiding in the cold room, and stunned by the shock of the fight, he answers Sanjou's questions shakily and in a stupor.

The following day, Ishihara has had time to mentally and physically recover from the incident at the bar. He is furious to learn that one of the abducted children the group has in holding has died from an allergic reaction, and he decides that they need to obtain more before the children are shipped to Korea the following day.

That evening, Ishihara and his subordinate Kase attend the Houjouya festival in Hakozaki. Ishihara finds a young, lost boy, drugs him to sleep, and carries him back to the car. After a while, Kase joins them with a young girl. Despite exceeding the number of children they need for the deal, Ishihara is uneasy about the thought of another accident, and he and Kase pick up Misaki Tanaka as she is walking home from the festival.

That night, in a warehouse owned by the Mutagawa Group where the kidnapped children are being kept in dog crates, Ishihara and Kase are making the final preparations for their transportation. Misaki begins talking to Ishihara, repeating his name and occupation with a smile on her face, and Ishihara, unsettled by her matter-of-fact attitude despite her position, takes the bait. Desperate to uncover her background and her source of understanding that young children should not have, he brings her to his apartment, leaving Kase to meet with the hitman and bring the rest of the children to the ship.

When he gets home, he immediately throws Misaki into the bathtub and begins filling it with water. He continues questioning her, and she refuses to talk. When he is distracted by someone at the door, she slips out of the bathroom and hides in a closet, leaving a trail of water easy for Ishihara to follow. He drags her out and begins beating her when she fights back. He questions her one final time, and when she mocks his violence, his temper reaches a breaking point.

With someone new at the door, he sends his son to answer it. His yells can be heard from the entryway, and Jiro and Lin burst into the apartment. Seeing his daughter lying on the floor covered in her own blood, with the large, furious Ishihara over her, punching her repeatedly, Jiro snaps, and despite the injury from the bullet he had taken the day before, beats Ishihara to unconsciousness and carries Misaki from his home.

Ishihara reports the connection between the girl and the avenger to Sanjou later, and by hiring multiple informants to look at elementary schools across Fukuoka, the Mutagawa Group is able to locate both her school and home, intending to use Misaki to avenge Shota Yamazaki's murder. It is unknown what becomes of Ishihara after the events of the story, but due to his name being on Méqué's list of abusive parents, it can be assumed he is killed not long after.