01x08 - Contact

[bunniefuu]

HOW TO GET BLOOD STAIN OUT OF WHITE SHIRT

BLOOD STAIN REMOVER

Feels like we're tryin' to erase
evidence of a m*rder.

Well, we kinda are.

We gotta clean all this
before Mom gets home.

By the way, how's your wound?

I fixed it, of course.

Fixed it?

I usually leave tiny cuts alone, though.
Since I barely feel pain anyway.

So my last-ditch attempt to k*ll you
was pointless from the start, huh?

Hikaru wrote this note?

Yeah.

"Nuki-sama"? As in "Nonuki-sama"?

Ms. Matsuura was sayin' that name too.

Know what it means?

Well, ya see...

I can hardly remember stuff like this.

My memory's all blurry...

Hey.

Do ya think this "Nonuki-sama" is me?

Dunno.

No idea.

THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED

THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED

INDO

EPISODE EIGHT: CONTACT

There's nothin' else like that.

No more clues, huh?

Oof, down we go.

Grandpa.

What?

Could ya look at this note?

HICHI

That reminds me, Hikaru.

Where'd Hichi-san go?

Hee-who?

Gotta return Hichi-san to the mountain.

Ain't in our temple no more, either.

Who's Hichi-san?

Someone who's had it pretty rough.

If only they hadn't asked
Unuki-san to do all that back then...

This village... A m*rder village...

Long-running curse...

Since way back when...

Grandpa?

He's left this world behind.

Um...

Are ya feelin' better?

I'm fine.

You okay, Asako? After all that happened...

I'm...

Well...

The thing is,

since then,
my right ear ain't hearin' so well.

Even the doctor can't figure out why.

I wonder what happened.

Oh, really?

I'm sorry.

What'cha sorry for?
This ain't nobody's fault.

Hey, listen.

Hikaru was actin' strange that night, huh?

He didn't seem like himself.

Do ya think Hikaru was possessed
by that evil spirit I was talkin' about?

If that were true, would you hate him?

Huh? I dunno.

Don't hate him, okay?

- You bein' serious?
- Nah...

I'm joking.

Sorry I'm late.

Asako said she can barely hear
from her right ear anymore.

That's probably...

'cause I kinda tapped her a little.

With people, just pokin' around a little

is enough to break 'em.

But Asako's got a tough mind.

So, instead of breakin' her,
maybe I just messed up that ear.

Either way, it's your fault.

I reckon she's lucky it's only her ear.

That's cold.

Now, with the choir concert behind us...

A curse on our village?

Maybe that could be a lead
as to what Hikaru really is...

I did find this thread online
about disturbing place names.

It is weird how Kubitachi
uses the characters "neck" and "stand."

I think there was a map in the library...

Hi...

Hi...

- It's a monster. Another one.
- Hi...

I can't look at it.

- Don't look. Don't look.
- Hi!

Don't look, don't look, don't look...

What the hell?!

Don't look! Don't look!
Don't look! Don't look!

Hikaru...

That's a person.

Is that a knife he's holding?

Why's he butt naked?

Is he some kind of pervert?

Freeze!

Drop the knife!

Stay calm!

He slashed his own neck.

Mr. Yoshinaga got hurt...

That intruder earlier
had something inside of him.

Inside?

Yeah.

Somethin' scary inside.
Like, possessing him, ya know?

That's probably how Maki got hurt
the other day too.

Someone from the baseball club
suddenly went berserk and got violent.

Are you okay, Hikaru?

Me?

There's totally something inside you, too.

I'm all good.

Maybe I got some immunity to evil spirits.

Oh yeah?

Listen. I'm getting worried about y'all.

I've noticed stuff like this
happenin' more often recently.

It's even made its way to school now.

And I can't do nothin' about it.

Asako...

Guess even Asako's noticed
that there've been more impurities lately.

What do we do?

We gotta figure somethin' out.

If it comes down to it, I...

What's the matter?

Nothin', my arm just...

I bumped it earlier,

and now it hurts?

A map of the Kibogayama area?

KIBOGAYAMA LIBRARY

An old one.

It's from the early Meiji era.
Covers the whole region, even Kubitachi.

This is Mount Tenban.

And this is the river.

So this is...

"Sute"...

Wrong. Read right to left.

Darumasute.

What kinda name is that?

It's what Kibogayama used to be called.

And Kubitachi used to use
the characters "neck" and "cut."

Darumasute, Udekari.

Udeiri, which is abandoned now,
and Ashidori under that.

Some place I don't recognize
stretching out to the bottom right, and...

Kubitachi.

Is this...

shaped like a human body?

The village names are all body parts, too.

Does "Daruma" correspond to the torso?

No freakin' way! That's creepy as hell.

Kubitachi Village
was split into five parts,

Kubitachi, Udekari, Udeiri,
Ashidori, and Darumasute,

at the start of the early modern period.

Udeiri merged with Darumasute
midway through the Meiji era.

Famine and plague
k*lled tons of villagers in 1749.

Whoa, long time ago.

Before, it was all one big village.

Kibogayama and Kubitachi, too.

Excuse me.

Try to keep your voices down.

- My bad.
- It's all right.

Are you working on homework?

We're Yama High students from Kubitachi.

We wanted to research
our hometown, and yeah...

My, my.

I happen to be from Kubitachi as well.

Ya are?

Until my mother passed recently,

I hadn't returned home in ages.

MATSUURA

Hey, are you...

Ms. Matsuura's daughter?

THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED

Yes, she's my mother.

I didn't get to see her
before she died, though.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

- Ms. Matsuura?
- Yes?

Do ya know about Nonuki-sama?

OFFICE

My mother uttered that name, did she?
After all these years.

She talked about Nonuki-sama quite often.

Apparently, as a child,

my mother snuck into the forest
and saw something terrifying.

So she warned me to avoid
Nonuki-sama's mountain at all costs.

You mean I--

Nonuki-sama is a monster
who lives on that mountain?

Actually, more like a god.

A god willing to bless us
in exchange for a particular offering.

That's how it used to be.

A particular offering...

"Used to be"?

So, the god doesn't do that anymore?

That's right.

Nonuki-sama had been worshiped
since long before that village split.

But after a certain famine
wiped out many of the villagers,

it became a curse god
as a result of this disaster.

That's why I was never allowed
to go to the mountain.

Did Ms. Matsuura, I mean, your mother,
see Nonuki-sama on the mountain?

Is that what made her go crazy?

Don't say stuff like that.

No offense taken.

I think she became that way

after my little sister disappeared
on that very mountain.

When I was in elementary school,
my little sister went missing up there.

Wait, you're sayin' it was my--

It was Nonuki-sama's fault?

I doubt it,
but my mother certainly believed so.

The whole village was in uproar back then.

Us kids didn't know much
about Nonuki-sama and whatnot.

But actually, Hajime and the others
might've known something.

Ya mean Mr. Takeda?

Yes, him.

We all grew up together.

Oh, perhaps you could ask Hajime's father.

Old Man Takeda. He might know something.

He's from my mother's generation.

Old Man Takeda.

Thank you very much.

I'm sorry for askin' all this
right after you lost your mother.

I don't mind.

After all, my mother only ever saw me
as her cold-hearted daughter.

But now I'm realizing
just how precious she was to me.

Even though it's too late now.

I hate mornings.

Because every mornin'
I remember my daddy's gone.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

Hey, do ya think
I'm a curse god after all?

Crap, that sucks.

Am I the one who k*lled everybody?

Answer me this.

Do you understand what you did
to Ms. Matsuura?

I...

No, I don't understand.

I'm a fool.

That old lady Matsuura
had a family of her own, too.

But I disregarded that.

Death...

is heavy.

Sorry...

What're ya sorry for, though?

Apologizin' won't fix anything.

You can't comprehend it anyway.

- But I...
- Don't worry.

From now on,
even if you end up killin' someone again,

I'll shoulder that sin with you.

As I learn more about this Hikaru,

it may become obvious
that he can't stay here.

But I'm done lookin' the other way.

And now, our next story.

This morning, a man armed with a knife

trespassed into Kibogayama High School.

The man...

Greetings.

What're ya doin' here, ya little...

Hajime!

Where'd you go? Come quick, would ya?

This ain't a good time.

Please give this to your father.

You never listen, do ya?
Always doin' as you please.

At least tell me what it is.

That's a hard one.

Think of it as a good luck charm.

He let his papers get mixed up in my bag
just like the real Hikaru always did.

There's a new face.

He's tall.

Hey, you.

Do you live here?

I do...

Oh yeah?

In that case,
there's something I'd like to ask you.

Got a minute?

What do ya want?

It's about this village...

What's a good local souvenir?

- Local souvenir?
- Yep.

Shiitake mushrooms, I guess?

Really? You don't say.

But I'm actually not a fan of shiitake.

Doesn't the flavor kinda linger
in your mouth?

I'm an ethnologist.
I came to study this village.

I'm staying over at the Mikasas' place.

What is your name?

It's Tsujinaka.

Ah, I see, Mr. Tsujinaka.

Thanks. I'll quit being picky
and try those mushrooms.

It's pooping on you.

I don't mind at all.

This little rat is my partner, you see.

I've had it for about 12 years.

You're jokin', right?

Hamsters only live two or three years...

This one's special. It's a "hamonster".

Well, anyway,

thank you.

You know,

you remind me of myself.

Later.

That kid... He's got something.
And he's "mixed," hasn't he?

He's got something with strong ties to it.

He's come into contact with it, no doubt.

And those marks on his arm.

It has no sense of identity,
let alone any emotion.

It should be more abstract than that.

Could it possibly be living among us,
disguised as a human?

Can my hunting dog sniff this out?

Hello?

You need to keep me updated at all times.

Case AA-104, investigation underway.

No abnormality found as of yet.

Understood.
Please continue your investigation.

Do not neglect
your periodic status reports.

Gets on my nerves.

Could you take table eight's order?

I thought we were
goin' to Old Man Takeda's place.

What'cha studyin' for?

I'm thinkin' about how to question him
at the same time.

Hey, you still got
that piece of me, right?

Right here. I ain't ever lettin' go.

Ya better not lose it.

If you break it, I might be toast.

What?! It's that important?

Duh, of course it is.
I'm entrustin' you with my fate.

Meh, I doubt it'll break anyway.

Was it always this quiet in here?

The sound of a bell?

Yoshiki.

Don't move.

Come on, come on, come on...

Come on, come on, come on...

Come on, come on.

Come on...

Crap...

I can't do it.

Why won't it open?!

Hikaru!

Hey!

Hey, now. Sit up.

- Are you okay?
- You're fine now.

What happened?

Hey, Tsujinaka.