01x10 - Candlelight

[bunniefuu]

Did lips, painted with poison,
just come to my room?

It seems as if my mind and body
are melting with your kiss.

Hateful self, 19 years old
Hateful self, 19 years old

Your heart is so beautiful
it's almost nauseating.

Why would you kiss someone like me,
who can't do a thing?

Hmm?

Hateful days, 19 years old
Hateful face, 19 years old

L-L-L-Like a black swallowtail butterfly,

I want to fly on magnificent wings!

P-P-P-Please don't say it's ridiculous!

That kind of life is good...

It's good!
[L-L-L-Like a black
swallowtail butterfly...]

Ah... It's hot...

It's hot!

I'm dead tired...

Hang in there, Mistress!

Why is summer in Japan like this?

It's hot!

--Hello...
--Huh?

Yuko-san, listen to this...

Here comes a guy even more
dismal than a Japanese summer...

I won't be able to see
Himawari-chan for a whole month!

It's sweltering!

How am I going to be able
to get through this summer!?

Surely summer is a worry,
as it is the season of the sun.

What do you mean?

The beaches, the mountains,
in the towns or anywhere,

the height of summer
is the season of love.

You're k*lling me!

Himawari-chan would not
be so... so immoral!

Love and conflict are
the privilege of youth.

I don't need such privilege!

A summer resort on a plateau
would suit Himawari-chan, but...

If she went to one,
I wouldn't be able to see her!

If so, then how about you
boldly ask her out on a date?

Uh... A date?

Well, if I could, I'd like to, but...

Suddenly being alone together
makes me all nervous, and...

Then, a group get-together.

Huh?

For Watanuki, who gets all
nervous at being alone together,

I'll pitch in and help...

Woo-woo!

--Speaking of summer dates...
--Speaking of...

--It's definitely...
--Definitely!

Uh, let's not...

Ghost stories!

Yay! Ghost stories!

Those have absolutely nothing
to do with each other!

Okay then, Watanuki, please
hurry up and talk to Doumeki-kun.

Huh!?

An important thing to a ghost
story is setting the stage.

Doumeki-kun's house is a temple, right...

So? What does that have to do with this?

We'll rent a room in the temple for
hyakumonogatari! [100 ghost stories]

--Hyakumonogatari!
--It's a date! A date!

--Hyakumonogatari!
--It's a date! A date!

--Hyakumonogatari!
--Why!?

Hello! Ah, I guess it's
"Good evening" by now, huh?

Either works for me!
Good evening, Himawari-chan!

I haven't seen you
in a while, Yuko-san.

Thank you for inviting
me along today!

Glad you came.

Yo! Doing well?

It's been so long!
Everything well with you?

--Pretty much.
--As cute as ever.

--Right, Watanuki?
--That, and more...

She looks good in a yukata, too...
This is the best! [summer kimono]

But she's still something
of a difficult girl.

I know that! With someone as cute as
Himawari-chan, I have many rivals!

That's not what I meant, though.

Huh?

Good evening, Doumeki-kun.

Hi.

It'd be better if you just
made friends with Doumeki-kun.

No way! At best, he's just
letting us rent the location.

What's "making friends" about that!?

Well, you'll know soon enough.

What does she mean by that?

This is such an ideal
hyakumonogatari situation.

This all right,
telling ghost stories here?

The next room over is
in use today, isn't it?

Yeah, but doesn't matter.

Not to you! I mean, it wouldn't be
polite if we made a lot of noise.

Like I said, it's not gonna matter.

Well, aren't you easy-going?

Now then...

This is for you, Watanuki.

Could you put that over in the
southwest [unlucky] corner?

Next are the candles...

Everyone, light your own
candles in this fire

and carry them to the
candlestands in the corners.

That's it, stand them there.

Now the preparations are over.

Truly, there are many more.

Like one hundred candles, a razor,
turning your lined kimono inside out...

But today, this simplified
version will be fine.

The actors are all present...

So, shall we begin
our hyakumonogatari?

Okay, starting with Himawari-chan...

This is the story of a family...

A handsome husband, caring wife,

and a boy who loved
his mother very much.

But the husband tended
toward infidelity,

causing a huge fight between them.

Whether it was talk of
consolation money or what,

with the blood rushing to his head,
the husband beat his wife to death.

If he were found out, he'd go to jail,
and his entire life would go to waste.

He had to hide her somehow.

Having made up his mind,

he needed a way to deceive
the one most likely to worry:

the son who'd been so
attached to his mother,

but not particularly fond of his father.

At first, he thought he'd
say she'd gone on a trip.

That she'd accidentally
forgotten to tell him about it.

Every day after that,

he wondered when his son
would ask about his mother.

He spent the entire time
in fear of that moment.

But the next day, and the day
after that, the boy never asked.

After a week, when he could no longer
bear it, he asked his son instead.

"Aren't you lonely without
your mother here?"

The boy looked at him
blankly for a little while.

He said this...

"But Dad, Mom has been right
next to you the entire time."

The end.

Himawari-chan, you are
quite the storyteller.

I'm glad. It wasn't boring?

For now, it seems you had quite an
effect on at least one person here.

What do you mean by that!? Hey!

--Just that.
--I am not scared!

It may just be a story, but...

Strange things can just drop
into the real world with a thud!

All right, shall we continue?

Okay, I guess that's me.

This is a story I heard
from my grandpa.

A student had moved into an
old apartment by himself.

That night, as he was
dozing off to sleep,

around the six tatami mat room...

Just a bit frightened, the next day,

he got some charms
from an acquaintance

and placed them on
the four corners of the room.

"Spiritual peace and enlightenment"

"Spiritual peace and enlightenment"
That night...

It seemed that, due to the charms,
it could not come near.

If you're feeling relieved...

"It was futile!"

That was scary!

Wasn't that scary?

Y-Yeah... I mean, no teasing!

--Sure.
--Not "sure"!

Doumeki-kun, your grandfather
was head priest here, yes?

That's right. He's since died, though.

Did he often see ghosts?

So it seems. He also seems to
have been good at palm reading.

Then, Doumeki-kun's blood as well...

Huh?

Is somebody in that room?

You could say that.

What's with that half-assed answer!?

--Is it someone from the house?
--Nope. A parishioner.

Just their remains, though...

Huh?

We're looking after them,
before the funeral.

A-Are any of the bereaved in there, too?

Nope. Just the deceased.
That's why I said it wouldn't matter.

Then... Then, is a window
over there open or something?

There are no windows in that room.

I told you, didn't I?
That the actors were present...

You're including a dead body
in with the "actors!?" Geez!

Let's go, Himawari-chan!

Telling ghost stories in
a place like this is no joke!

You can't.

While in the middle of
the hyakumonogatari,

you shouldn't leave
the protective barrier.

Protective barrier?

The barrier is created
by the four candles.

Now, this world is being
protected by that power.

But I can't make any
guarantees about outside.

So, you mean...

You can't leave here until
the hyakumonogatari is over.

I knew it!

It's bad for me to be in here telling
ghost stories with a dead body.

But you haven't seen
any spirits yet, right?

Ah... Now that you mention it...

However, I expect that if
things continue to escalate...

If?

--Himawari-chan?
--Yes?

Are you okay continuing this?

Yes. Once something is started,
it must be seen through to the finish.

You're such a good girl,
Himawari-chan.

Gah! Her fangs are out!
Himawari-chan's gonna be eaten!

By whom!?

All right now, shall we
resume our hyakumonogatari?

Uh... Next is...

You, right?

Let me guess... You haven't
prepared a story, have you?

I have a story, but...

This story is about a kid,
early in elementary school...

Ah... a boy, on his way
home from school.

At a crossroads, an unusual person
was approaching from the side.

He thought it was odd that,
though it wasn't raining,

the man was carrying an umbrella.

But that wasn't all.

He seemed somehow
difficult to approach,

and after he passed,
the boy breathed a sigh of relief.

When he came to
the next crossroads: again.

Of course, if he'd been in a
hurry and detoured in confusion,

there was a possibility he could
have appeared again, but...

For whatever reason,
it seemed so unbelievable,

and he became frightened.

And then...

Uh... That's all I've got...

How mysterious.

There's no hook...

Well, excuse me!

It really happened to me!

I wonder what that guy was...

Maybe a ghost.

Ah! So you can see ghosts after all?

Nope. Not at all.

Oh...

I've told you over and over.

I didn't know!

But, yeah, I guess, you know...
Ghosts are like that...

Yeah, that's...

--Even without being able
to see them, it is possible.
--Huh?

It was good for that boy, though.

What was?

Had he met that man once more,
he might not still be here.

That's right. To meet at
a crossroads four times...

The number four is a number
leading to the realm of the dead.

Is that so?

In hospitals, there are no rooms
numbered with four, right?

Now that you mention it, that's true.

Being in the place where
four roads intersect,

one thinks of being able
to go to the underworld,

also known as the fourth world,
or world of the dead.

Aren't you knowledgeable,
Doumeki-kun?

Something from my grandpa.

What's with this
harmonious discussion!?

So, Watanuki, how was that
boy able to make it home?

--Huh?
--Were there no more incidents?

Or did it take a turn for the worse?

I don't remember.

Well then, my story is last...

You see...

What is that reflecting on
the screen behind me?

--The roof, huh?
--You're exactly right.

Sounds kind of like
someone landed on the roof.

The sound seems
to have split into four.

Like someone's crawling
around on all fours.

No!

A-An earthquake?

No. Look at the water dish.

Even with all this
moving around, nothing...

But the barrier is most in danger.

Damn you, Doumeki!

Watanuki-kun... behind you...

Huh?

The barrier has been cut.

Doumeki-kun, take that
bow from the alcove.

Fire toward the screen.

Watanuki-kun...

I don't have an arrow.

It will be fine, as long as it's you.

--Mokona...
--Right!

What a feast!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Amazing!

Umm, Himawari-chan,
are you not afraid of this guy?

I mean, he ate something we
don't even know what it was.

Don't call me "this guy!"

But, wasn't it amazing!?

I'm amazing!

Calling that amazing...

Talk about amazing,

Doumeki-kun, you didn't have an
arrow for that bow before, right?

--Yeah.
--Then what was the flying thing?

Energy.

Energy?

Doumeki-kun has a power that wipes
away evil spirits and demons.

His power comes from his family
lineage, same as Watanuki's.

Being similar to this guy
does not make me happy!

What are you saying? When
something arises regarding spirits,

Doumeki-kun is the one
driving them all away for you.

Having him drive spirits away
is so humiliating!

Oh yeah, Yuko-san, saying that
the actors were gathered, that...

For today, our guest was
the corpse next door.

Seeing as the star was the spirit,
something would easily attract them.

And something that would
drive the spirits away...

Then, Himawari-chan was?

She's included in the "actors," right?

She was, you see...

I'm not telling!

What's with that!?

This feeling is welling up
for the first time.

The transparent ring connects,
yes, our eyes meet, baby, it's you.

Unto the coloring of the sky,
reincarnation is beginning.

The lamp of my heart is lit,
the door of insight is opening.

More than glossing things over,
I'd rather have your real intentions.

Reserve is the password,
someday we'll solve it.

This feeling is welling up
for the first time.

Pulling my arm, facing each other,
don't be afraid, call a name...

Even I will certainly be reborn.

Falling, crying, feeling,
everything for a reason.

Twinkling, fireflies flying
down on a summer's evening.

Lightly, passing each other by
soaring through the night sky.

With so many things
wanting to be said...

With one feeling
wanting to be conveyed...

So, good luck!

Next time, Holic, "Confession."

Shall I grant your wish?