Mom?
Oh, no, did I wake you?
What are you doing up this early?
You're going to school early again today, aren't you?
Yeah.
Well, hurry up and eat, then.
Okay, thank you for the food.
Can I ask you something?
Who are you meeting this early, and for what?
- That's a secret. - I thought so. You're not doing anything bad, are you?
Nope.
Then fine.
Take this with you.
I'm worried you won't be able to make it to lunch.
Thanks, Mom.
TOMAKOMAI CITY
Morning. Morning.
Here, I brought you breakfast.
Sorry, Kayo.
I'm sure you're bored here.
I'm fine, Hiromi brought me lots of books to read.
I'm sure you'll only need to hold out for another day or two.
- Bye, then. - Wait, Satoru...
HOPE YOU DON'T MIND, I JUST INCLUDED EVERYTHING MY SON LIKES. -SACHIKO FUJINUMA
Good morning.
MARCH 4th (FRIDAY)
- Haruko Nomura. - Here.
- Kaori Hasebe. - Here. - Koichi Hamada. - Here.
Kayo Hinazuki.
I guess Kayo is absent again.
Satoru Fujinuma.
Here.
- Kazuma Horiguchi. - Here.
- Yuko Matsumoto. - Here.
- Misato Yanagihara. - Here.
I stopped by this morning, but nobody answered.
I see.
That's worrisome.
Yeah.
You seem pretty calm considering, though.
It's like they say. It's best to stay calm at times like this.
You're right.
I called Kayo's house today and yesterday, but nobody answered.
- It seems her mother's missing work, too. - Mr. Yashiro.
Could you call the police or Child Services?
I called Child Services yesterday.
They said they'd come today. I'll go with them, too.
My guess is the root of the problem is likely the mother.
So, he was taking action on his end.
You're a great teacher, Mr. Yashiro.
Ms. Hinazuki.
We're from Child Services.
The lights are on.
Shall we try going around back?
Ms. Hinazuki?
The lights and heater are on.
Her mother must have fled from the back when we arrived.
That's unfortunate. I was hoping we could take the daughter into custody.
Let's come back tomorrow morning.
Oh, Satoru's back.
Child Services came.
Mr. Yashiro was with them, too.
- What about Hina's mother? - She wasn't there.
But... I think this will all be over soon.
Kayo.
They're going to take you away from your mother.
That would make me really happy.
I'll be fine.
Because I feel warm when I think about all of you.
Satoru. Here.
I know it's late, but happy birthday.
KAYO HINAZUKI BURNABLE TRASH
Sorry, Fujinuma.
I couldn't make your present in time.
- I'll give it to you tomorrow. - Okay.
I promise.
I think I've been waiting for this moment all this time.
Thank you. Kayo.
I'll cherish them.
Satoru, you're more emotional than I thought.
What? Oh, by the way...
someone came here late last night.
What?
It seems he came to stash some things, but...
he was angry about something.
I was scared.
What did he leave?
Wasn't Hinazuki taken to an industrial freezer
where she was sprayed down to freeze her quickly?
What are these?
We have to leave this bus. We're still in the middle of the crime.
Let's all... get out of here.
Yeah.
I don't like the look of these.
But, Satoru, do you have a plan for what to do next?
I do.
Okay. Let's head out, then.
Give me a hand, Hiromi.
What is this? Coal?
Can you give us a hand?
Sure.
This is your next big plan?
It's simple, isn't it?
Time to take just... one step further.
Satoru.
Explain.
I didn't give up on this halfway through. Here we are.
Good job, you guys.
I thought you'd say that.
But I thought you might yell at me first.
I've got nothing to yell at you about.
You did this for your friend.
Why don't you all stay and have some curry?
You can leave the rest to me.
Come on in.
I bet you were freezing.
Thank you for this meal.
- It's so delicious. - Good, isn't it?
Hello, is this Mr. Yashiro?
This is Satoru Fujinuma's mother. Satoru and Kayo have come home.
Oh, thank goodness. I thought they would.
I'm glad I didn't call the police.
By the way, Ms. Fujinuma, I have a favor to ask.
Don't forget your vegetables.
Kayo, why don't you spend the night here? You can head home tomorrow morning.
Mom...
It'll be fine. You've got nothing to worry about.
You'd better clean your plates.
Thank you for the lunch.
Don't mention it.
Hey, Kayo.
Next time... let's make it together.
Together?
Come on, Kayo!
You gotta ice it down!
I'm the one who'll get criticized if you go to school bruised up.
You can come over anytime.
Mom.
Kayo!
Where the hell have you been?!
So, it was you.
Making me worry for nothing.
I am going to sue you for this.
You were worried, were you?
Tell me... did you even go out once to look for Kayo?
What? Are you trying to make me out to be the bad guy?
You're only worried about yourself.
There's nothing more important to me in this world than my child.
I want you to remember. There was a time you felt like that, too.
You little piece of...
Let go of me, Kayo! You idiot!
Kayo!
You'd better listen to me!
Kayo!
Kayo.
Let go of me, you idiot! Kayo!
Ms. Hinazuki.
- These people are with Child Services. - You are Akemi Hinazuki, I presume?
We have come to discuss the matter concerning you and Kayo.
There's nothing to talk about.
They're the ones that kidnapped my daughter.
Hurry up, and call the police!
Thank you, Mr. Yashiro.
No. You're the one who spurred the adults to action.
You tackled this head-on.
We couldn't let your courageous actions end in tragedy.
Kayo's okay now.
Mr. Yashiro. Shall we go?
I found Mr. Yashiro's words
reassuring and comforting.
I'm sure this is what...
fatherly advice sounds like.
Not having any memory of my father, that was what came to mind.
Kayo...
The snow blankets the scenery in white.
The future has been turned blank.
All that's left of it are my memories and hopes.
I'd like to believe that Kayo's future there
is a bright one. Airi.
Thank goodness.
You weren't taken by the police.
Airi... Airi.
Airi!
I'm not returning to 2006.
Does that mean...
this isn't over?
Is only saving Kayo... not enough?
So, this won't end unless...
I keep stopping the crimes before they happen
and catch the real killer?
Satoru's been like that since morning. You think he's okay?
- Well... - Sorry. I forgot to hand out these papers.
How many are still here?
Sorry to drag you into this, Satoru. I'm bad with directions.
It's okay, I know where everyone lives. By the way, about Kayo's mother...
she won't be able to get near Kayo for a few years.
It seems like her parental rights will be suspended, too.
Kayo will be safe now.
- Thank you, Mr. Yashiro. - I only did...
Not about that.
For your words, "We couldn't let your courageous actions end in tragedy."
They made me very happy.
Well, you know...
it might sound a little crass to rephrase it like this...
but basically you did what you needed to do to get the results you wanted.
Nothing can be gained by inaction.
Mr. Yashiro has some wise words.
I feel better just listening to him.
By the way, Satoru, was Kayo at your house the whole time?
No, we had a hideout.
We were in an abandoned bus, behind Izumi Elementary.
You found a good spot, then.
Mr. Yashiro, something's poking out.
Satoru, don't touch that.
Satoru. You know my secret now.
I'm sorry.
But now... I don't have to hide it anymore.
Ever since I quit smoking three years ago,
I basically replaced my addiction with candy.
I can't calm down unless I have some.
I'm usually fine at school or when I'm out in public, but...
Satoru. Eat up, you're my accomplice now.
Oh, thank you.
I can't get motivated.
Is it because I didn't get a real sense of accomplishment?
Satoru.
Can we talk alone for a bit?
Okay.
Satoru, what are you really thinking?
Something about the way you've been out of it
makes me feel uneasy.
I don't know, maybe I feel relieved it went well?
Maybe just getting careless.
Does that mean...
you think there's more?
Like me.
You do, too?
What makes you think that?
Maybe it's because I saw you throw a rock at the house belonging to the Shiratoris.
What?
I've seen their son meet with Hinazuki in the park a number of times.
I was thinking that maybe you were trying
to protect Hinazuki from him, too, not just her mother.
I see. It was Kenya's testimony that put Yuuki away.
It's the opposite.
I know the son.
He would never do anything wrong.
But if something happened to Hinazuki that day,
I just had a thought that he would get suspected somehow.
So, that's why you made the family call the police to give him an alibi.
Kenya's so smart.
Much smarter than I am at 29 years old.
You're only 11.
How can you be so perceptive?
My dad's a lawyer.
I decided to become one, too.
You're only in grade school, and you know what you want to be.
There's a reason for that.
My dad...
is defending a murder case that happened
in the next town over last fall.
My dad's convinced his client is innocent.
Really?
My dad said these cases are more common than you think.
So, I thought I'd fix that.
Hey, so that case...
Can you tell me more about it?
The victim was a 10-year-old girl. She was locked inside the bath...
CHITOSE CITY, FATHER ARRESTED FOR MURDERING DAUGHTER
...and was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from a coal stove.
SLEEPING PILLS FOUND IN STOMACH, KILLED BY COAL STOVE FUMES Coal stove?
Is it just a coincidence?