Regarding Usubuchi Hiyori-san's case,
although there was no definitive proof,
from interviewing related parties, and the situation at the scene
the police concluded it was suicide.
However, the removal of the sphenoid
remains unexplained.
Like me, Yamaji-kun wondered if that was true,
and pursued the truth alone.
But the mystery remained a mystery,
and last year, on 14th October 1997,
Yamaji Yōsuke-kun failed to go home.
Was Yōsuke-kun's death really an accident?
I may have committed an irreparable mistake.
Hey.
Is the lecture over already?
That case again?
Yeah.
- What kind of case? - Don't touch.
It's still unsolved.
- I'll think with you. - It's not a game!
I don't intend to play games!
When I graduate,
I want to become a forensic scientist.
Sakurako...
Because you're all I've got.
That's not true.
You're like my atlas.
The first cervical vertebra.
The most important bone.
I'm glad you think so.
But you can't live with just an atlas.
The body needs other bones to support it.
People are fragile.
In particular, those who've lost someone precious
and been overwhelmed by sadness.
They cling to those around them,
desperate not to collapse.
After Shōtarō died,
that happened to your mother.
Sadly, your mother didn't have enough bones to support her.
That's why she eventually collapsed.
Sakurako...
Life is a journey, searching for someone
to become a bone supporting them while they support you.
That's what I believe.
I pray that in this wide world,
you will find more bones to support you,
and that you, too,
will become a bone saving someone else from collapse.
Ah~ This is unusual.
Too much head shaking is bad for your spine.
Too little metal is bad for my nerves.
So, what do you want?
Ah, getting married?
What?
A case I was in charge of?
The case 20 years ago
where the sphenoid was removed.
20 years ago...
I was a good man.
- Huh? - Ah, sorry.
Since hitting my head,
I don't really remember my cases.
How about you?
Is your job going well?
Working alone,
I bet you're cut off from everyone.
That's when I'm calmest.
Found someone good yet?
I have no interest in marriage.
I didn't mean that.
I meant have you found someone
who'll be a bone supporting you?
Was Shitara-sensei well?
Yeah, but as ever
his memory is vague concerning his work.
I see.
If he hadn't had that accident,
I'm sure he'd still be working hard today.
Perhaps he wanted to forget.
What?
Perhaps there was something he wanted to forget.
Ah...
Coming!
Please come bone-collecting with us!
Please.
Go yourselves.
The two of us are too nervous...
If we have someone amazing like you with us,
I'm sure we'll learn a lot.
Apparently Mount Bikage has lots of flying squirrels.
The ones that look like they have cloaks?
- That's right... - They're common there?
Common?
What do you mean, common?
Ah, well...
I've never seen a wild flying squirrel...
Flying squirrels don't exist just for you to gawk at.
Of course, I know that.
World Nagging Champion, Sakurako Kujō~!
Humans cut the mountain open and moved there without permission.
In the world of biology,
rather than common, we should call ourselves invasive.
Yes. You're right.
Sermon Scale: Majestic!
I'm sorry.
As long as you understand.
You've switched sides?
Let's get going.
Yay!
I wonder if the cloak part has bones?
Boy!
Come on!
Ah, right.
We're rivals now.
What?
I'm Sakurako-san's best apprentice.
Eh? Ah, what?
Hey, wait...
Airi.
Yes!
By your feet.
A tanuki?
Boy, collect it.
Ah, right.
I'm still just "Boy"?
I'll do it.
- Ah, no, I'll... - No, I'll do it.
Whichever, get a move on.
Yes.
What's wrong?
B-bones!
An animal?
Human! A skeleton!
Eh?
Ah, wait, Sakurako-san!
F-follow behind me.
You're walking twisted.
Hm?
This is my first time...
Isn't it wonderful?
Eh?
From the clothing,
they died in spring or autumn.
Cause of death was a cervical spinal cord injury.
They probably fell from that cliff.
She was an adult Asian woman.
Judging from the pelvis, she had once given birth.
From the degree of occlusion of the teeth,
and the symmetry of the left and right pubis,
she was over 70 years old.
Amazing as ever...
Hm?
I should report this!
Report it!
Airi, steal his phone!
Quickly!
When you call the police, my study is over!
- Give me that... - No, hey, let go...
Steal it...
A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako-san's Feet
Bone 8
Subtitles by Candylemon Color By Muhkition
Yo.
Got a minute?
You two have been taken off the sphenoid case.
Shut up.
So, how's it going?
Learned anything?
Removing the sphenoid bone requires a lot of skill,
and it's unlikely Nimura could have done it.
As I thought.
So the person who stole Mizutani Rumi-san's sphenoid
was someone else?
The sphenoids were removed from Usubuchi Hiyori and Mizutani Rumi.
Those cases were 13 years apart.
Have any other cases been found?
It's highly likely.
Arai, keep on asking your forensic colleagues
for info from HQ.
Okay.
Ah, but getting info like this is pretty risky.
- I know. - Eh?
- There you go. - Eh?
Wait a minute, Yamaji-san...
This is even riskier...
These are worthless.
How many bones does a human adult have?
206.
What are the smallest bones in the human body?
The ossicles.
What are the names of those 3 ossicles?
Malleus, incus, stapes.
Yes~!
I'll have jasmine tea.
Okay~
Not so long ago,
you couldn't bear to look at a skeleton in the mountains.
You're turning into Kujō-san.
I wonder if Kujō-san's influence
as a teacher is that extreme?
Once I began studying,
I realised again how amazing Sakurako-san is.
No one is an expert from the start.
Kujō-san's uncle is an expert,
and she learned from him, didn't she?
Yes, Professor Shitara of Shinomiya University.
He's an authority on forensic medicine.
Here you go.
- Thank you. - Excuse me...
- Yes? - What is it?
Is Tatewaki-san here?
Ah, yes.
- Ah! - Tatewaki-kun.
Kōgami-san!
What...? It's been years.
An acquaintance of yours?
We were classmates in middle school.
Long time no see. You haven't changed.
Ah, mm...
Ah, Kōgami-san...
You've had a haircut?
Lots of them.
That's true!
That atmosphere...
Maybe his first crush?
So, why are you here?
I heard you found my grandma.
What?
It was around October last year
when my grandmother disappeared.
The police contacted me this morning
to say her bones had been found on Mount Bikage.
Tatewaki-kun told me it's thanks to you
that she was identified quickly.
Thank you very much.
Did she have an accident?
The police think it was suicide.
Grandma left the house at night,
and apparently witnesses saw her
walking up the mountain alone.
They've suggested she went up alone at night
to throw herself off the cliff.
Why would she do that?
It's my fault.
Eh? What do you mean?
About 4 years ago, Grandpa had a cerebral haemorrhage
and became virtually bedridden.
Grandma nursed him all that time,
but then he developed dementia...
You stole my wallet.
Give it back!
I'm Asa!
I'm family!
I wouldn't steal your wallet!
Grandpa!
- What happened? - He gets like this.
Give back my money!
You thief!
Are you all right?
A long life has good times and bad ones.
But however hard things get,
if you can feel you're not alone
then you can overcome it.
I have your grandpa and you.
So I'll be fine.
Grandma had always busied herself
putting me and the family before herself.
And yet I...
I naively accepted her "I'll be fine"
and let her carry on alone.
Grandpa remembered her less and less,
and there's no way she was fine...
Kōgami-san...
Even though she'd always cherished me,
I never did anything for her...
Tears contain the components of blood, minus the plasma.
Fluid is lost as tears,
but the excess plasma remains.
That causes temporary blood thickening.
So after crying, you should drink water.
And ideally eat some salt.
Regret is pointless.
No amount of regret will bring back the dead.
Forget her.
Forgetting is the best solution.
Forgetting would be quite a solution.
Sakurako-san knows better than anyone that's impossible.
What do you mean?
In the past, her younger brother died.
What?
She can't forget about him.
Then why did she say that?
I'm sorry.
I'm going back first.
- Eh? - Sorry!
There you go.
- Excuse me! - Oh, what's wrong?
- Ah, uh... - Hm?
When you said said forgetting would be best,
was that like a wish?
If you could, it would be easier...
The more you try to forget,
the more the memories intrude
and you get caught up...
What do you want to say?
Well, uh, that's...
Will you make happy memories with me?
Ah, that sounded weird. I'm sorry!
For now, I want to lend my strength!
- Lend strength to me? - Yes.
100 million years too soon.
100...million...
I don't need your strength.
Leave.
I'll prepare dinner.
- Please join us. - No...
I'd better go.
Hey, it seems although Nimura drank poison,
there's no evidence he obtained it himself.
So it's likely someone else acquired the poison
and gave it to Nimura.
And that someone
took the spheroid from Usubuchi Hiyori 20 years ago
and targeted my brother who was investigating.
The bastard calmly wiped him out for getting in the way!
The same might happen to me.
Well, I'll definitely catch him,
and dump him straight into prison.
If you learn anything, tell me.
See ya.
One thing bothers me.
What's that?
I can't grasp Usubuchi Hiyori's personality.
Usubuchi Hiyori's personality?
The police suggested she killed herself in despair
because her fiancé dumped her.
And that fiancé said...
Right after our engagement,
she cheated on me with a doctor.
It was disgusting.
I didn't think she was like that.
But her colleagues at work
said Hiyori was diligent and considerate,
with a strong sense of morality.
In other words,
the testimonies don't match.
My uncle felt that was odd.
I can't grasp Hiyori's personality.
I want to find the truth behind that incongruity.
How's Professor Shitara's condition?
- You know about that? - Vaguely.
He's well.
Apart from his memory loss.
I see.
Next time, take me to see him.
Before that, we need to solve this case.
Right.
I'll ask the staff at the hospital where she worked.
Yeah.
I'm going on a geological survey,
will you come and help?
What?
Bones are fine, but the soil world is interesting, too.
Okay, I'll go.
Oh, you will?
I might pick up some bones.
- Here. - Thanks.
- We're off~ - See you later.
You look like you're wilting.
Need some water?
Sakurako-san said to me,
"I don't need your strength".
What?
Am I that unreliable?
Sakurako-san hasn't even called me by my name.
She still says "Boy".
Why's that?
My name is the same as her late brother's,
so I think if she called me that, she'd remember him.
But it still feels lonely...
I want her to acknowledge me for myself.
Hmm, I wonder...
What?
It may be because you're important to her
that she deliberately avoids your name.
How about it?
What do you mean?
Kujō-san knows the pain of losing someone you care about.
So she's afraid to let anyone get close.
That's her form of affection.
She's used to trampling on the soil of people's hearts.
Ah, but you and I have been saved by that.
Satsuki-san loved her older sister from the bottom of her heart.
Are you looking for something?
Usubuchi Satsuki?
Yes.
I have some questions about your sister, Usubuchi Hiyori.
My sister was a direct, honest person.
Because of that, she acted without thinking
and rushed headlong into things.
Is that why she had an affair?
But that doesn't fit.
If she was direct and honest,
was it a serious relationship rather than a simple affair.
In which case, after rushing into it,
would she commit suicide over her broken engagement?
My sister was kind,
so perhaps betraying her fiancé
left her tormented by guilt.
Unable to endure that...
There was no suicide note.
Did she say anything to you before she died?
Nothing.
I suppose she didn't want to worry me.
Thinking about it now, it was all very like her.
I'm sorry for intruding.
You came all the way over,
and Miss Sakurako isn't home.
I apologise.
Ah, no. Likewise, I'm sorry.
I should have telephoned first.
I expect she'll be back soon.
Skeleton Found by a Lakeside
Usubuchi Hiyori
What are you doing?
Ah, sorry.
Gran said to wait here...
Not up here, specifically...
I thought there might be a good reference book,
so I had a look.
I'm sorry.
I had a call from Kōgami-san.
She's feeling calmer after her grandmother's funeral,
and asked if we'd visit.
Thanks for coming all this way.
My condolences.
This is splendid.
The skeleton has been carefully observed.
Did your grandmother paint it?
My grandpa did.
Painting was his lifelong hobby.
Is this a sunset?
Beautiful use of colour.
Come to think of it, there are none of people.
I haven't seen any portraits, even of Grandma.
I wonder why not.
She'd probably have liked him to paint her.
Excuse us.
Kujō-san.
I can't forget her, after all.
I keep thinking of things I wanted to give her,
and things I couldn't do...
Kōgami-san...
I want to know her final thoughts.
However painful they may be.
Will you show me the place where she died?
We found the body here.
Your grandmother passed away painlessly.
Given the cervical rupture,
she fell from the cliff and was killed instantly.
There's no indication that she suffered.
I see.
Thank you.
But why did she come somewhere like this?
That's true, why would she?
Your grandmother fell from up there.
Shall we go up?
I see.
Huh?
This scenery...
Grandpa's painting?
She knew that painting was of the view from here.
She'd seen it with your grandfather.
A place from their memories together...
This links it all together.
When we found the body,
I wondered about how little she had with her.
That was evidence she'd come here many times.
That's how she knew the way even at night...
You said there were no paintings of your grandmother,
but she was there within that painting.
It was scenery your grandfather painted
with someone he loved by his side.
So Grandma chose to die
at a place from their memories.
That's probably not true.
Why did she leave the house at night?
Wasn't it to watch the sunrise from here?
That way is east.
In other words, the painting depicts the sunrise.
Eh?
It's not a sunset...
When the human brain basks in the morning sun
it begins to secrete serotonin.
Serotonin is known as the happy hormone
because it regulates body temperature and biological rhythms,
and suppresses noradrenaline and dopamine.
In other words, it makes you feel happy.
Your grandmother must have had a hard time as a carer.
But she didn't come here intending to die.
She came to find the determination to live.
Don't you think so?
The determination to live...
Unfortunately she fell from here,
but since she was determined to live,
to the very end, she wasn't alone.
Even without doing anything,
having the people she loved living beside her
gave her support.
It wasn't suicide...
Grandma...
Since you said you'd accept the truth,
however painful it might be,
it seems you've inherited your grandmother's strength.
I thought salt would be good for you after mountain walking,
so this is chocolate made with Lake Saroma salt.
The slight hint of salt compliments the sweetness.
That's a comment like a 100% review.
Thank you so much.
Not at all...
Would you like some more tea?
Ah, yes, please.
Um...
Thank you very much.
For helping Kōgami-san.
When they're dead, we can't be sure how someone felt.
That's why those left behind suffer.
That's what you've taught me.
Kōgami-san was suffering.
But you've given her hope.
So that she won't collapse.
All I did was present what the facts suggested.
That's given Kōgami-san strength.
I'd like to support you like that someday.
So next time, I...
Is there something I can look into?
Regarding that past case.
Is there any way I can help?
I told you, it's 100 million years too soon.
I may not be much use.
But I want you to know!
That you're not alone.
I want to give you strength!
I'm sure everyone at the museum does!
They want to support you.
Bones...
What?
My uncle told me once.
"You can't live with just an atlas."
"I pray you'll find more bones to support you,
"and that you, too,
"will become a bone saving someone else from collapse."
I didn't understand at the time.
But my uncle predicted it.
That I'd meet a meddler like you someday.
Whatever happens, I'll talk to you.
And you'll lend me your strength.
Yes!
Usubuchi Hiyori-san was your junior as a nurse?
Yes.
She was intelligent and enthusiastic.
You resigned just after she died.
Why was that, suddenly?
There was a rumour.
Rumour?
That a treatment error by Usubuchi-san
had led to the death of a patient in her care.
You mean medical malpractice?
There was an order from above not to discuss it,
so that the rumour wouldn't spread,
but everyone began to avoid her.
Was the medical malpractice true?
I don't know.
Usubuchi-san died,
so we never knew the truth...
But if I'd spoken to her properly
when the rumour appeared,
I might have prevented her suicide.
While working to save lives
I felt I'd thrown Usubuchi-san's away,
that's why I quit.
A rumour of medical malpractice?
Yeah, I'm exploring that now.
Find the whereabouts of her former fiancé
and the man she allegedly had an affair with.
Got it.
Remembering it still makes me angry.
I feel sorry now that she died,
but I still don't understand why she betrayed me.
Did Usubuchi Hiyori herself acknowledge the affair?
She didn't deny it.
Isn't that the same thing?
How did you learn she'd had an affair with a doctor?
What?
How did you find out?
Do you remember Usubuchi Hiyori?
Yes.
She was suspected of medical malpractice.
At the same time,
she cheated with you and was dumped by her fiancé.
Don't you think the timing is suspicious?
She told me she'd do anything
if I kept quiet about it.
I don't know how her fiancé found out.
Was it true about the malpractice?
Probably.
But I didn't do anything...
- How did you find out? - What?
Where did you hear about the malpractice?
I never did anything for her...
It was all very like her...
She loved her older sister from the bottom of her heart.
I still don't understand why...
I don't know how her fiancé found out.
Don't touch.
Why are you investigating after all this time?
After all this time?
My sister died 20 years ago.
In my uncle's notebook,
he wrote that you loved your sister.
I adored her.
Is that really true?
When someone they love dies,
especially when that death is unexpected,
people lose themselves.
They fret over what they could have done,
and blame themselves for what they didn't do.
And that doesn't fade with time.
It never becomes "After all this time".
From the start, you didn't suffer from her loss.
You couldn't know the truth without a suicide note,
but you said it was "Very like her".
What are you trying to say?
You made everyone think she'd committed suicide.
You knew one of her patients had died,
and decided to use it to have her accused
of medical malpractice.
You told the doctor, Kida, about it,
and convinced him to start a physical relationship with her.
If the malpractice went public
Hiyori thought her fiancé would be troubled,
so she agreed to it.
But then you told her fiancé about their relationship
and he broke off the engagement.
Kida and Taguchi both testified they'd heard things from you.
Having created the conditions for suicide,
you killed Usubuchi Hiyori.
Did you drug her to get her to the lakeside,
then hang her by the neck?
You brilliantly manipulated the people around her.
No wonder I couldn't grasp her personality.
How ridiculous.
This is all your fantasy, isn't it?
Atlas.
Atlas?
Who is your atlas?
What are you talking about?
I understand you well.
It doesn't matter.
Huh?
What I'm interested in
is who directed you to disguise the death as suicide
and then stole Hiyori's sphenoid bone.
There was someone, right?
When I asked about your atlas,
it became clear you have no knowledge of forensic medicine.
Who is hiding behind you?
Answer me!
Sakurako-san?
Why are you here?
I was worried...
Sakurako-san!
Are you okay?!
You said you'd talk to me.
You broke your promise...
Stay with me!
Shōtarō!
Color By Muhkition