01x04 - Perfect Memory Ability

[bunniefuu]

Apparently, the books that Index memorized

contain magic so evil it can poison the human mind.

That's the reason she's being pursued.

And yet... with all she's facing,

she never asked me to help her...

What now...? What do I do now?

[Music]

Perfect Memory Ability"

There's no one here...

What's happening?

Runes.

I engraved them around this spot

so we could have a little privacy.

And who the hell are you?

Kaori Kanzaki and I know who you are.

If possible... I would like to avoid

giving you my magic name.

And why's that?

It's also my k*ller name.

So you're like that other guy...

You're a sorceress.

I'm not going to b*at around the bush...

I would like you to hand over Index...

and I'd prefer to avoid v*olence.

And if I refuse?

Then you'll leave me no choice.

I will tell you my other name and then take her.

I'll ask once again.

Are you going to hand Index over to me...

or do I need to say the name I've been withholding?

You think I'll give in to you?

You think I'd surrender her?

No, not to someone like you.

I'll ask as many times as I have to.

With this sword, I wield the Seven Flashes...

Do you know what that means...?

I have the power to k*ll you

seven times over in the blink of an eye.

Certain death is the reason

you should surrender her to me.

Damn...

She's not exaggerating...

What now?

I still have this.

Stiyl has informed me about your talent...

From what he tells me, your right hand

can somehow render magic ineffective.

But that got me thinking...

What if you can't touch the source of the magic...?

Then you're out of luck, aren't you?

Now what...? Should I try charging her?

Seven Flashes.

You're going to make me keep asking aren't you?

You stubborn boy...

I don't understand why you refuse to give in

when you know what I can do.

Seven Flashes.

Damn you!

It's not working.

Ultra-thin wires?

She's been using the movement of her sword

to distract me from noticing them.

You're not using magic...

Maybe you aren't really a sorceress after all.

Weren't you listening earlier...?

Stiyl told me about your sneaky little power.

So does that mean your sword isn't a magic w*apon?

Magic or not,

I don't carry it around for decoration.

The Seven Flashes come first...

but the ultimate att*ck, Single Flash,

still awaits you...

and don't forget...

I haven't yet told you my magic name.

And I truly hope you won't make me say it, boy...

If it was my choice...

I would never give that name out again.

What do I do?

Surrender?

I'm sorry what did you say...?

Speak a little louder I couldn't hear you.

Shut up.

I was telling you to shut up...!

I will never surrender to a heartless monster.

Seven Flashes.

Haven't you had enough pain already?

You're willing to risk your life to protect this girl...

What is she to you?

There's something I wanna know.

Why am I still alive?

If you were gonna k*ll me,

you could've done it a dozen times by now.

But you keep holding back...

You're still human enough to know right from wrong...

You aren't enjoying this any more than I am.

You understand why I'm doing this...

Index is an innocent girl, and you att*cked her...

You tore her up and left her for dead...

You can't expect me...

to just let you get away with it.

And that's not all...

Thanks to you and your friends,

she lost her memory...

Did you know that?

What horrible things did you have to do to her

to make something like that happen?

I did try...

I have fought like hell against you people...

but it wasn't enough...

I'm just a pathetic kid

who can't even save a single young girl.

A weakling who can do nothing but watch helplessly

while you drag her away to do who knows what to her.

But you... you're stronger than that.

You're no weakling stuck on the sidelines.

With powers like yours,

you can do anything you want to do...

You can protect anybody who needs protecting...

but you choose not to!

You understand nothing.

Nothing at all...

I didn't have any choice.

I'm not doing this because I want to.

I am only doing the work that I am required to do...

by Necessarius.

Wait, I know that name...

It's the same branch of the English church

Index belongs to.

She and I belong to the same organization...

More importantly, she is a very dear friend to me.

I know I injured her badly,

but that was never my intention.

It was an accident.

I didn't know...

I didn't realize the Walking Church

had been compromised.

I wouldn't have att*cked so hard

if I'd known she would get hurt like that...

Never.

Hold on a second...

if you're such good friends,

why would you be attacking her at all?

I had to att*ck her in order to protect her...

Without our help, she's not going to live much longer.

It's because of her photographic memory.

But why, what does that have to do with anything?

It's the reason behind all that has happened.

This is about her perfect memory.

About those books she's always describing.

She says they're in her head--

that she always carries them with her.

The capacity of the human brain is surprisingly small.

So you forget...

You get rid of the memories you don't need...

Doing so keeps your brain from overloading.

Forgetting keeps humans alive......

however... Index cannot forget.

The number of leaves on a tree-lined street...

The faces of people crowded together during rush hour...

The shape of every raindrop that falls from the sky.

It doesn't take long before her brain

is so packed full of trivial memories

that it can't function.

Wait a second...

Explain something.

You say that Index is part of the same organization as you...

If so, why does she describe

you and your friend as evil sorcerers...?

It makes no sense...

or... are you saying that Index has been lying to me

this whole time?

No. She is telling you what she believes to be true.

But she doesn't know...

not that we all work together

as members of Necessarius...

nor the actual reason that we have to pursue her.

All of it has been erased from her memory.

So she's just working with what she does remember.

Her fears are not unreasonable...

From what she knows, it makes sense for her

to believe that a magic cabal

is after the library of grimoires.

Hold on... I don't understand...

Index has a photographic memory, right?

How is it possible for someone with her ability

to forget everything that happened before a year ago?

"Forgetting" isn't the right way to describe it...

It's more accurate to say we took her memories from her.

You erased her memory...

How is that possible?

You used magic... But why do it at all?

You and Index were close.

You even belong to the same church...

That's what you said, isn't it?

You consider her a very dear friend.

That's what you told me...!

If it's true, how could you do this to her?

Because I had no other choice, that's why!

I do it because...

because unless I do, my friend will die.

A full % of Index's brain is used to store

the hundred and three thousand grimoires...

As a result, she has only % of her brain

remaining to control day-to-day functions.

That % quickly fills up with new memories,

and once it's full, her brain will be overloaded.

That's terrifying, but...

Isn't there another way to save her?

No, there isn't.

How much time does she have left?

Index's memory erasure is conducted

at precise yearly intervals...

If we do not do it at that exact time,

the erasure cannot occur.

There are three days remaining.

Only three?

Don't worry.

The procedure we perform doesn't hurt her...

And as I've already explained to you,

if we don't do it, she will be lost.

So I'll ask you again: will you turn Index over

to us without forcing me to speak my magic name...?

If we battle, you will lose,

and her memory will still be erased...

She will have no idea who you are

or what you have done for her.

Fight me and your sacrifice will mean nothing...

Trying to help her now is ultimately an empty gesture.

What the hell do you know? !

It doesn't matter whether or not

she remembers me once this is over.

I'll explain since you clearly don't get it.

I am truly Index's friend, unlike you...!

Nothing you can say will change my mind...

For better or worse, I'm on her side,

and that's how it's gonna stay...

every single thing you've said since we started

talking has only convinced me more.

I don't think you're telling me everything...

Like why you left her in the dark on this...

After stealing her memory,

couldn't you still explain what was happening?

Why not at least try to tell her what you're doing?

Instead you hunt her down and frighten her.

When she needed somebody the most,

you people abandoned her.

Some friend you turned out to be!

Shut up, you ignorant little maggot!

You know less than nothing!

Do you think this is something we enjoy...?

Stealing her memories over and over and over again?

You look at Stiyl like he's some monster from a nightmare...

Well, he's not...

You fight for her as a friend,

while he must save her life by pretending to be the enemy.

Do you have any idea the toll it took on him

to confront you? !

You stay safely cocooned in your self-righteous rage

while Stiyl sacrifices everything

to save his friend...

What the hell gives you the right to judge us? !

I've done everything I can!

I've tried it all!

I once spent a full year--spring, summer, fall,

winter--collecting memories for her.

I wrote them all down in a diary,

every detail I could remember,

so she would remember, too.

I just wanted to give her something to hold on to!

But it was no use...

It didn't work.

We watch her start over every year...

creating new memories with new people...

rebuilding the world that we had to take away......

Only to have every one of those new memories stolen again...

Knowing that it is all because of us.

We finally realized we couldn't take it anymore.

We can't stand beside her, knowing what we'll have to do.

It's too much to bear!

Don't give me that crap.

Poor you...

That's what this is about: how much it hurts you.

I didn't hear anything in your speech

about Index's feelings...

You're ashamed of what you do and scared of getting hurt.

You let Index pay the price for your cowardice.

You could tell her the truth about

what has to be done to her.

Tell her she won't be alone

and there's no need to be scared,

because she can make new memories.

Tell her that the memories she creates

could be even happier than the memories she's losing.

Do that...

and she wouldn't have to be constantly on the run anymore...

It sounds like a simple enough solution,

don't you think?

So why won't you do it?

What's the real reason you're hiding everything from her...?

You say it's for her sake,

but I think that's a lie...!

You have the power to help her,

but you keep her trapped in the same cycle.

There has to be a reason you haven't told me...

What are you really afraid of...?

What are you really trying to protect...?

What are you really doing here?

You're so confident in your strength as a sorceress,

but if you're so damn powerful, then why...

Why can't you do something, for... her....

Are we finished here?

Walk slower; I can't keep up with you.

Geez, why're you in such a hurry all the time?

Kuroko, are you listening to yourself?

You're the one always going on

about the importance of sticking to curfew...

Well, if we get there late it's not gonna be my fault!

Come on, please wait for me!

What's going on here?

Wow, look at that.

That's a perfectly smooth cut...

It could be a prank pulled by some student

with pneumatic control ability.

Yeah, sure... a prank.

It's a good thing I'm here, then.

This is a job for Judgment.

Get back here, Kuroko!

What am I supposed to do with all these bags...?

Thanks a lot.

What are you looking at? Is something the matter?

No, it's fine.

Are you awake, Toma?

Where am I?

Ow, that really hurt.

Be careful! You shouldn't be getting out of bed yet.

The sun is up already,

so that must mean I slept the whole night...

I don't remember coming back here...

Hey, what time is it now?

You were out for more than just one night.

Three whole days.

Really? That long...?..

What happened that would keep me

unconscious for three days?

There was something...

Index's memory erasure is conducted

at precise yearly intervals.

There are three days remaining.

You got quiet all of a sudden...

What's wrong? Are you in pain?

Oh, no.

That's a good sign...

Index still remembers me...

That must mean her memories haven't been erased.

She doesn't seem to be acting any differently...

So it can't have happened yet.

It's all right then.

Nothing's all right!

It was horrible...

I didn't know what happened to you.

Until Komoe told me you had collapsed

in the middle of the road,

I had no idea where you were...

She was the one who found you,

battered and bruised and unconscious,

and carried you back here to the apartment.

But I had no clue what was happening to you out there.

I didn't realize that you were fighting another sorcerer...

that you were in trouble because of me...

It's my fault.

It's all my fault...

I couldn't help you, Toma. I'm so sorry!

What's the deal with all these bandages?

I look like a mummy...

Don't you think that was a little bit of overkill?

I figured the more I bandaged you up,

the quicker you were going to heal...

Of course, there's no way it'll be as fast as using magic.

No, probably not... but personally,

I'm just fine with letting it heal the normal way.

Toma!

Unbelievable! After everything that's happened,

you still don't believe in magic, do you?

I swear you're the most stubborn guy I've ever met!

Calm down. That isn't what I meant.

It's not that I don't believe...

I just don't like seeing you that way.

It freaks me out when that other personality

takes over your body.

Okay... I understand.

But I'm awake now, so it's all right.

What do you mean "awake"?

Well... When the other voice takes over,

it's like I'm talking in my sleep.

I sound all cold and robotic.

John's Pen is useful when I'm unconscious or badly hurt...

but it's still kind of scary...

It's not me.

What I'm trying to say is I can understand

why you don't wanna see me like that...

I don't want you to either.

I'm sorry, Index.

It's okay...

dummy.

Now, you should eat something!

Um... I appreciate it, but...

I'm not hungry.

Too bad... You have to eat to regain your strength...

I'm a Sister. I know how to care for the sick.

Yes... I know...

But right now I'd just like some quiet time

to myself to, uh...

to meditate.

Is that so...? You don't want the food I made? ...

Yes?

Maybe Komoe's back.

Excuse me... I live here.

Can I help you with something?

Kamijo, Index, are you there...?

I don't know what's going on,

but you seem to have some visitors out here.

You again! What are you doing here? !

Looks like you're in pretty bad shape...

I don't think you're going to have much luck

running away from me this time.

He's right...

Up until now, Index has been staying ahead of them

fairly easily on her own.

But it'll be a different story if she's saddled

with someone who's badly injured.

That's why they did this to me...

To make it easier for them to catch her.

What now?

Go away!

Please, I'm begging you...!

Leave him alone and I'll go anywhere you want.

I'll do anything you ask... anything!

Index, no!

Just take me...! I'm the one you want, aren't I?

But I ask one thing:

I don't want you hurting Toma anymore!

[Music]

[Music]

The ceremony that will erase Index's memories

begins tonight at twelve o'clock.

But I'm not giving up...

I swear I'll find some way to save her!

Next time, "Limit."

When science and magic cross paths, a story is born.