01x05 - Trace

[bunniefuu]

This face of mine...

proves it all.

You must be kidding.

I was eaten.

By someone in Kuge Village.

It happened... 18 years ago.

EATEN FACE: I don't
remember much about it,

except for...

the weird singing

of the villagers.

The shadow of a person...

and the moment my
face was eaten.

When I came to realize,

I was in my mother's arms.

After that day,

we moved far away
from Kuge Village

and lived in hiding.

When I got older,

I learned

that I had no birth certificate.

And...

my guess is that

some newborn babies
in Kuge Village

are not given birth
certificates on purpose.

So that they can be eaten?

My mother died

without telling me
anything about her past.

But I wanted to know
about the village.

I wanted

to know why...

my face was eaten.

That's why you
approached Mr. Kano?

Hey, wait!

Why now? What do
you want me to do?

The Votive Festival
is coming up.

There might be...

another victim like me.

Hey!

KURUNOKAMI SHRINE

-Let's start!

Hold it, guys! He's here.

You've got a lot of
nerve coming late

to the first practice.

I'm sorry.

So...

where were you?

I had some work to do.

Really?

By the way, officer,

weren't you talking to someone
on the phone last night?

Who were you talking to?

Someone you can't tell us about?

Please stop these questions.

Let's keep our noses out
of other people's business.

Hello, Junior!

Please stop calling me Junior.

Is Masamune with you?

Grandfather won't be joining
the festival this year.

Is he unwell or something?

No.

Actually, he's retiring
as chief priest next year,

and I'm going to be
taking over his position.

- Wow! Finally!
- Yes.

And prior to that,

I'll be in charge

of this year's Votive Festival.

Congratulations.

-This is great news.

About time.

- He is getting old now.
- Right.

Nice to meet you.

I'm Munechika Kamiyama
from Kurunokami Shrine.

Nice to meet you, too.

Can I have a word

with you later?

Okay.

What did you wanna talk about?

I'll get straight to the point.

You and your family
should leave the village.

I wasn't expecting that.

Will you explain why?

At this rate,

you'll end up like Mr. Kano.

I don't want that
to happen to you.

I'm sure you've noticed

that this village is isolated,

and its people

are bound to the land and
enforce their rules on newcomers.

Be honest.

You're fed up, aren't you?

Not at all.

Since we moved here,

my daughter has finally
started to smile again.

I'm glad we came.

I see.

- Let's take it from the top again.
- Okay.

The tempo of the shime
drum is completely off.

- Too slow?
- Too fast!

So...

you're accepting everything

about this village?

The Votive Festival of Kuge.

Human sacrifices were
once made to the gods.

I'm talking about
hundreds of years ago.

People were hungry all the time,

because the land here was
unsuitable for farming.

So, to reduce the number
of mouths to feed,

they k*lled children to
offer them to the gods.

- k*lled?
- Yes.

Horrifying, isn't it?

Were they just k*lled?

What's your point?

Are you implying

they were k*lled and eaten?

Where is the officer?

- You see him?
- No.

If you need to talk about
anything, I'll listen.

Okay.

Oh.

There you are, officer.

We were looking for you.

Hey. You're here, too, Junior.

I bumped into him
in the restroom.

Oh, yeah?

And what were you talking about?

Nothing much.

I was giving him a little
tour of the shrine.

- Right?
- That's right.

Are you up to no good again?

Behave yourself in
front of Junior, Jin.

It's not like we're suspecting
you of anything, officer.

Don't get us wrong.

Besides, in this village,

everybody knows everything
about everybody!

Let's keep practicing the drums.

- Come on.
- Okay.

Mashiro!

Bye, Mashiro!

- Bye!
- See you!

What were you playing?

You looked like you
were having lots of fun.

Come on, tell me.

I'm curious.

Hello.

We're back.

-Huh?

Hey! What are you doing?

I know it's here.

-What is?

A bug!

- Daigo, stop it.
- Damn those b*stards.

Are you listening?

Hey, Daigo...

Have you lost your mind?

It's them, not me.

Stop it.

What's wrong with you?

You're scaring me.

What's going on?

What happened?

- Six.
- Six.

So far, so good.

Yuki!

Coming.

See you.

I'm here.

- Please.
- Got it.

- Who were you talking to?
- Here you are.

- Tell us.
- No one, really.

- Okay!
- Cheers!

Looks like your wife's getting the hang
of how things work in this village.

Does she really have
to go through this?

Hm? Did you say something?

- I have to go take a leak.
- Oh, okay.

He needs the toilet.

This is juice made from oats.

PLEASE COME AGAIN
TO KUGE VILLAGE

Come to Room 801 tonight.

There's something
you should know

about why Mr. Kano was k*lled.

Excuse me.

I'm glad you came, Mr. Agawa.

Come in.

Who are you?

My name is Utada.

I was helping Mr. Kano.

Come in.

Okay.

Do you want something to drink?

No, I'm fine.

I've never been in a
no-tell motel with a man.

Is that right?

I do it all the time.

You met a man who had his
face eaten, didn't you?

He contacted me

and said I can trust you.

I run a website
called Chronicle.

It's about the occult

and other dubious subjects.

But what I'm currently
most interested in is...

cannibalism.

The man with no face

posted an article about the
dark secret of Kuge Village.

I met Mr. Kano through him.

He claims...

there is a village in Japan
that practices cannibalism.

That's why he approached me.

I didn't believe him at first,

but when he showed me his face

and said that's the proof...

There's no journalist on Earth

who wouldn't be
intrigued by that face.

I asked him to write an article.

And before I knew it,

I was helping with
Mr. Kano's investigation.

Who is he?

I don't know.

He always gets in touch with me.

How were you helping Mr. Kano?

We started looking

for evidence of
cannibalism in the village.

Evidence?

What do you mean?

Children.

Children?

That man told you, didn't he?

That there are babies

who don't have
birth certificates,

who are only born to
be eaten, like him.

It sounds a bit farfetched.

I was skeptical, too, at first.

But...

Mr. Kano's death

has convinced me
that it is true.

There's a child
somewhere in the village

who'll be eaten on the
day of the festival.

You're an angel, Mashiro.

What an angel.

At first,

Mr. Kano didn’t
believe it either.

But one day,

he noticed...

that the rate of stillbirths in
Kuge Village was alarmingly high.

During the two and half years
that Mr. Kano worked in Kuge,

and also, going back further,

there was an average

of one stillbirth per year.

The village has an
elementary school

with less than ten
students in total.

Don't you think the
odds are too high?

Excuse me.

I'm sorry!

I was just... I'm so sorry.

Sorry.

- No.
- Sorry!

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry.

Forgive me.

I'm so sorry.

What are you doing, Kanako?

Please stop
apologizing. It's okay.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Please forgive me.

- I'm sorry for whatever my daughter did.
- It's okay.

Life hasn't been kind to her.

About three years ago,

her baby... was born dead.

That's not true.

My baby is alive.

He's still alive!

I'm sure of it!

Ow.

Let go of me.

Hey, Mr. Sabu.

She fell the other day.

- He's not dead!
- Time to go home, Kanako.

He moved!

You said he wasn't
breathing, but he moved!

I saw him move!

Gin Goto took my baby!

- Dad...
- Enough already!

Go get him back! Hurry!

You mean...

babies who are declared stillborn
are kept alive to be eaten?

If so, how do they
fabricate the stillbirths?

That, I don't know.

I see.

About a month before
he disappeared,

he suddenly stopped calling me.

A month...

That means it wasn't you who made
the last call to Mr. Kano's phone.

What do you mean?

Mr. Kano received a call

right before he disappeared.

And it wasn't from the man
who had his face eaten.

I see.

Maybe...

he kept chasing the truth

and finally found the children.

- That's why he was m*rder*d.
- Yes.

The last call Mr. Kano
received was from someone...

who told him where
the children are?

Possibly.

Do you have any idea who it was?

I'm afraid not.

But there could be...

a whistleblower in the village.

There are two of you?

I didn't know that.

You'll have to pay me
double for a threesome.

Is that okay?

-He's not staying.

Now, go.

Of course.

- Did you get a haircut?
- Can you tell?

Yeah. It looks cute.

Going home so early?

Where the hell were you?

- Huh?
- Easy, Jin.

He's a policeman.

Leave it. Go home.

You owe us an explanation
next time we see you.

Are you okay?

What's going on?

Mr. Sabu raised his hand
against his daughter.

Huh?

Gin Goto took her baby.

Did she really say that?

Yeah.

She looked so tormented.

YAMAGUCHI

Yes?

Who is it?

Hello, Mr. Sabu.

It's Agawa from the substation.

What do you want?

I have some questions

about your daughter.

Your wife must've filled
your head with crazy ideas.

Please open the door.

This is an official
police investigation.

You've been accused of
assaulting your daughter.

I never assaulted her!

I have nothing to say to you.

Go away!

Wait!

If you didn't as*ault her,
then cooperate with me!

Kanako.

I heard that Gin
Goto took your child.

Will you tell me more in detail?

Kanako!

Keep your mouth shut.

Come here!

I'll be at the substation.

I'll be there to hear you out.

GIN GOTO

The festival's just around
the corner, Grandma.

Mother.

Keisuke will be the new head

of the Goto family
starting next week.

He'll proudly carry on

the blood of the Goto family.

Please watch over him.

KUGE SUBSTATION

Welcome back!

- Dinner's ready. Are you still working?
- Hmm...

- Yeah.
- Okay.

We'll start without you.

- Yuki.
- What is it?

I have a small favor.

How can I help you?

Sorry to bother you.

There's something
I'd like to ask you.

Is it okay if I
come to see you now?

Of course. Come as you wish.

KUGE COMMUNITY CENTER

What do you want?

Nothing.

You smoke that like
you really enjoy it.

Is that so?

Do you smoke?

I used to.

- Do you want one?
- No, I'm good.

Suit yourself.

It feels great smoking
while surrounded by nature.

What's that word?

When you like doing
something wrong?

I know what you mean.
What was that word?

- Um...
- I can't remember.

Oh.

- Guilty pleasure!
- That's the one!

Yeah. That.

Thanks.

- Wait!
- That's my ball!

You shouldn't play like that.

Got it?

- Who's going to help me?
- Me!

b*tches.

They let their children play near
me, knowing how much it hurts me.

Don't smoke if
you don't want to.

Hey.

Um...

About what you
said the other day.

About Gin Goto taking your baby.

My husband wants to
know more about it.

But I was told not to
talk about it anymore.

Wait.

I think he can help you.

Years back, I was being stalked.

My husband was the detective
in charge of my case.

I never asked him to,

but he stood watch in front
of my apartment for hours.

It's hard to tell who was
actually the stalker in the end,

but he made me feel safe.

- So you can...
- Sorry, but I have to go.

The reason why the villagers
avoid the Goto family?

Yes.

Why are they so scared of them?

A long time ago,

the Goto family was the majority
landowner in the village.

During the w*r, the villagers had to
borrow land from them to make a living.

They were already afraid
of them back then.

Which w*r are you talking about?

That's irrelevant.

The fear of the Goto family

has been passed on
from parent to child.

In this isolated village,

the tradition remains the same.

Even in recent years,

there was trouble between
the villagers and Gin Goto.

What kind of trouble?

A few women claimed

that Gin stole or
k*lled their babies.

I see.

But...

how could she have done that?

She was the one and only...

midwife in this village.

A midwife...

It was she who assisted

with every childbirth
in the village.

Okay.

So that's why.

Although, I believe that
the claims made by the women

couldn't have happened.

Yes, of course.

I don't think she could've done
something so horrific either.

Kanako?

Kanako!