Things that are, and things that cannot be,
call out,
and blend together.
They become a Mononoke.
To cut,
to stab,
to gouge,
to carve,
are the duties of the sword.
I must learn the Mononoke’s name,
its shape,
its Form.
I must learn its state of being, its Truth,
and the state of its mind, its Regret.
Then, my blade will cleanse it of its fate.
Ghost Cat
The blue moon illuminated
your wandering shadow.
I could never tell you all I wanted to say.
It was so very frustrating.
I think about your faked smile,
and forget all the hot tears we shed.
What do these empty husks,
those empty eyes of yours, reflect, my dear?
The transient quarter moon
hides in a rift in the clouds,
as darkness seeps up from the ground.
Tell me the truth, please.
Are you so despondent
that you still sit alone, sighing?
The Second Act
A Mononoke who wishes its Truth to be known.
Interesting.
The person who committed suicide,
was it that lady?
Lady?
You mean on that stanchion?
Didn’t you all see her?
Isn’t that why you were so surprised?
So, that’s what you meant when you said there was someone there.
She was standing there, holding the stanchion!
I was so scared when it started moving!
Sh—She was dressed like a fashion model!
She was there, holding a cat!
Ichikawa Setsuko?
Wh—What do you mean? Ichikawa didn’t have a cat!
Why me? Why? Why?
Can’t you see it, sir?
I need the scales,
because I cannot.
Why can only he…
Because he saw it.
This Setsuko-san’s thoughts brought forth the Ghost Cat.
That, at least, is clear.
That voice…
What voice?
“I won’t forgive you.”
That was real?
Did anyone else hear the woman’s voice?
She’s the one who killed herself.
Why do we have to suffer the consequences?
I see.
Let me out!
Let me out of here!
Please, let me go!
I have to get out of here!
I…
Mayor’s death, Ghost Cat.
Everyone hid something about Ichikawa Setsuko’s death.
Death, eh?
Wh—What do you want now?
Don’t you mean suicide?
Listen up.
Ichikawa Setsuko threw herself off that bridge to her death.
That’s all there is to it.
Tell me, please,
that I might kill the Ghost Cat.
Oh no! Oh no! I have to get back!
She was hit.
However, I never did believe that she committed suicide.
What are you talking about?
You’re the one who testified she was having trouble at work!
Yes, and she really was having trouble.
She had a good lead, but couldn’t follow it through.
No use writing an article with too little information.
That’s why I had to—
Sure she didn’t just give up on it all?
No, she was determined to rise to the challenge.
She was just a newbie reporter, and a woman to boot, but she had skill!
Her future was incredibly bright.
Say, is there anyone here who saw it happen?
Of course there isn’t!
A witness, eh?
At any rate, the case was closed!
There shouldn’t be any problem with it.
Even this girl here saw Ichikawa Setsuko looking depressed.
What was it you said, then?
Hm?
Is that so?
Um, well, I…
Come on. Spit it out!
The weaker the dog, the louder its bark, eh?
Huh?
Now talk!
Wh—What I said then, was…
It couldn’t be that it wasn’t a suicide, right?
No!
It had to be!
Well, I…
It was so long ago.
But you remembered her name, did you not?
Ichikawa Setsuko.
W—Well, she was in the newspaper, so of course, I remember.
I’m sorry!
Why are you apologizing?
I—I was just talking to myself, you see.
Maybe she’s dead.
I’m so sorry!
Why are you apologizing?
B—Because I don’t remember too well.
I don’t know anything! I saw nothing!
I didn’t do it!
I just…
Come to think of it, the detective told me something!
Told you what?
That there was someone who saw Setsuko-san walking near the Kirigahara Bridge,
and that was why they were investigating it as a suicide!
But he just said there were no witnesses.
That’s why I thought it was odd.
You just don’t understand.
Her shoes were neatly arranged on top of the bridge.
Wait a moment!
Couldn’t someone have faked her suicide, though?
Yes, that’s right!
You said there was a witness when you came to question me!
Did you ask them leading questions, Kadowaki-san?
What if I did?
Even if I did try to lead them in one direction or another, nobody said anything to contradict me.
You got a problem?
Setsuko-san’s death
was a faked
suicide.
That is
the Truth.
What?
What’s going on?
Stop! Stop!
Stop! Help me!
Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
S—S—Stop!
Were we
rescued?
Thank you, Mr. Driver!
He doesn’t look so good.
Open this door immediately!
I—I—I didn’t…
What do you mean?
I don’t care!
Just open the door!
Unlike you lot, I’ve got work to do.
Why isn’t it opening?
Help me!
We can finally go back, now.
Wait. This is…
We’re home!
We’ve got it!
What is this?
A trap!
I don’t care, as long as we can get off.
You cannot.
Do not leave.
M—Mayor?
All this is the Ghost Cat’s doing.
If you leave, your lives will be forfeited.
Help us, Mr. Medicine Seller!
Please!
You seem content to pass comment, without actually helping the situation.
People are dead! We have to get out of here, now!
Whether you get out or not is entirely up to you.
I’m not the one who won the raffle.
Why, then? I just got on in his place!
Who did, in fact, win?
Well…
I’d like you all to tell me.
If we assemble all your stories, it will likely form the Regret.
Um, uh, I—I saw it.
I kept quiet, thinking it wasn’t my business.
I was in a hurry and didn’t think to stop.
When they said it was a suicide in the newspaper, I figured that was that.
I forgot all about it soon enough.
Man or woman? Which was it?
I don’t remember.
If it wasn’t a suicide, was it
the culprit?
Masao-kun, you…
It itches! It itches!
My eyes hurt! They hurt, but it itches!
I can’t see!
He told us…
He told us the truth!
Why did it have to take Masao-kun?
How the hell should we know?
It seems like you’re all hiding something!
The medicine seller’s the only sane one among you!
I don’t want to die!
Ichikawa was killed by the mayor’s attaché.
That’s my suspicion.
Oh, the truth at last, eh?
I still don’t have any credible evidence.
That’s why I didn’t want to say anything.
Why was the mayor involved?
A lot of people had a vested interest in this subway’s construction.
Everyone, from the government to the construction companies,
were tapping into a veritable river of cash.
Those were the allegations that Ichikawa made.
This is a huge scoop!
We have to let everyone know.
Be patient.
I’ll let you publish it, if you track down one more lead.
I can’t just let it rot!
You know who we’re up against. We must be careful.
And then, the night before she died, Ichikawa told me she had incontrovertible evidence.
Even so, I said I was too busy, and turned her away.
If only I’d listened then, she might still be alive.
The reason why I came today, abandoning my desk job,
was to trace everything back to the mayor, and avenge her death.
You were involved.
Then, the mayor must have killed Setsuko-san!
I’m shocked the mayor would do something like that.
It’s a pretty common thing.
What is this?
It itches! It itches! Ah, it hurts!
Three more left.
I need all of you to talk.
I won’t!
If I’m just going to die, there’s no use telling!
Besides, she’s the one who lied in the first place!
I wasn’t!
You always seemed suspicious to me! You’re too ignorant of what happened!
You didn’t see anything at all, did you?
How did you come across this?
Kinoshita-san’s the worst of you!
He’s the one who ran her over!
I told you, I didn’t!
I thought it was a cat—
What? You knew it was a living thing?
There’re too many cats to stop! I just thought I hit a cat!
You’re terrible!
You didn’t even think to check?
If we stopped for every cat on the tracks, we’d never keep our schedules!
Even if it was a cat, does life really mean so little to you?
A cat’s life isn’t worth messing up so many peoples’ schedules for!
You’re awful!
Besides, what about you? You’re the one who said it was a suicide!
Chiyo-chan,
do you know this woman?
Oh, well, I think I’ve seen her around.
So, you lied about her being a regular customer!
Well—
It looks like the detective is investigating something.
Oh! Maybe I can get into a newspaper, or even a magazine!
You wanted to use the situation for your own personal gain!
Well, I want to be an actress!
I have to be in the papers and stuff to get famous.
Do you really have a face for the stage?
Sakai Shoujiro.
However did you get a hold
Sakai Shoujiro-sama
Congratulations! You won!
of this?
I came in his place.
In his place?
He couldn’t come, you see.
Harlot!
I can see your wrinkles, you old harlot!
Even your dead husband wouldn’t want you now.
I’m no harlot!
"Give it to me!!"
Yeah, that’s what I want to know!
- "You’ll never get it."
Then, what the hell were you doing?
You were out all night! Where were you?
"The people will not allow this!"
Shut up! I don’t need to listen to you!
"If only you would just die!"
You bastard!
Aaaah! Stop!
S
TO
P
STOP
I can’t believe you!
Something like that could have been extremely useful!
If only you’d told the truth, it wouldn’t have been called a suicide!
Poor Setsuko-san!
Tell the truth?
That’s rich, coming from your mouth.
I was close enough to the truth.
You should be arrested for perjury!
I just didn’t say anything!
Your crime was the worst of all. I’m sure of it!
The mayor’s the only criminal!
Right, Mr. Medicine Seller?
You were listening well.
My mother-in-law didn’t even know I was out!
I couldn’t say anything!
You chose your own happiness over truthful testimony?
That’s just wrong!
I don’t want to hear it from you!
Put yourself in my shoes!
I had to leave while my mother-in-law was asleep and be back by dawn!
I had to be very careful!
Are you saying I should have just stayed celibate after my damned husband died?
Maybe you should have!
Yeah, right. I saw you eyeing the medicine seller not minutes ago!
What are you talking about?
Cat fights are so ugly.
Oh man, oh man.
Oh man, oh man, oh man.
This is all thanks to you not stopping your damn train!
I was just doing my job!
I didn’t stop because I thought it was a cat!
But you did hit Setsuko-san, didn’t you?
Shut up!
Oh my.
There’s still more?
Why don’t we
put an end
to this?
To be continued
Without you, I just can’t smile.
I walk this banal town,
feeling such intense emotions.
I know that if I could treasure them and live on,
I would need nothing else.
The summer flowers that bloomed in the sky
Come falling down, dancing in the wind.
I can barely recall the night sky
where they all came tumbling down,
so what I can still recall is all the more precious.