Sensei, do you believe in reincarnation?
I'd like to be reincarnated as something with wings.
This wasn't a suicide.
Someone strangled her to death.
I didn't want to kill her.
Hitoe told me she was dating someone.
We've searched the area where the body was found,
and we've found another body.
The sphenoid has been removed.
To Shitara-sensei's house?
Do you need me to go with you?
No.
Then could you post something for me?
I'd like to send something to the hospital.
Or how about we finally go for another visit together.
May 1997.
Why that place?
You were there all the time after leaving home, weren't you?
We've looked at your phone records.
"Why won't you contact me?"
"Aren't you coming here anymore?"
"There are lots of butterflies here again this year."
"Don't you like this place anymore?"
"I'm waiting."
"I miss you."
"I miss you" "I miss you" "I miss you" "I miss you".
Heavy stuff.
Did your boyfriend like that place?
What's he like?
Is he much older than you?
Does that have something to do with Futaba?
Answer me.
Did you ask him where to bury your friend?
Did he say, "That'll be a good place"?
"If you bury her there, she'll never be found."
Yamaji-san.
Close to Nishizawa Futaba's body,
another corpse has been found.
Know anything about that?
I don't.
Yamaji-san, let's go.
You think the man Madoka Hitoe met
has something to do with the newly found body, right?
Of course.
You asked if he was much older than her.
What did you mean by that?
Do you think he's also linked
to your brother's case 20 years ago?
The sphenoid was missing from the new body.
You know about that other case?
It's hard to believe it wouldn't be connected to that case.
The case your brother was investigating 20 years ago...
It's true...
A skeleton was found in woods by a lake,
and identified as a woman named Usubuchi Hiyori.
From a rope discovered on a tree at the scene,
and background checks,
it was thought she'd hung herself.
But at some later time,
after the body had decayed to bones,
someone had taken part of the skull.
The detachment surface was smooth.
That shows knowledge of anatomy and technical skill.
and a criminal with the right tools for the delicate work.
Your brother was pursuing the culprit
who desecrated the corpse, wasn't he?
I don't want to leave a mystery unsolved, either.
I want to help you.
Come with me.
Apparently he was like me,
and didn't think it was a normal suicide.
Most of the team
just thought some freak had found the bones
and taken the sphenoid.
They didn't think it had any link to the death.
But Yōsuke...
My brother didn't believe that.
Whoever took the sphenoid
didn't find that skeleton by chance.
They'd been involved in the suicide from the start,
planning to steal the sphenoid.
Or otherwise,
it was murder disguised as suicide,
that's what Yōsuke thought.
But why go so far to...
I don't know! But something's not right!
So the newly discovered body this time
was also killed to steal the sphenoid?
In any case,
we need to find the identities
of both the man Hitoe met and the corpse.
Don't you dare tell anyone about 20 years ago.
Well then, I'll be counting on you again from tomorrow.
It's fine for today.
Thank you very much.
Hm?
It's exceptionally good mud.
Thanks.
Looks like you understand more about plants now, too.
- Go ahead. - Thanks.
Isozaki-san, Isozaki-san.
I thought I'd buy some lunch.
Choose your favourite.
Beef bone, that's great.
Looks delicious.
Super-Pork, with thick soup.
And spicy kimchi, for energy.
That looks spicy.
Chicken soup and soy sauce...
Why does chicken have such a mild flavour?
Chickens are scary.
Eh? You don't like chickens?
They're terrifying!
They could peck out your eyes!
What are you talking about?
Is that a curse?
Ah! Don't do that!
Thanks for worrying about me.
It might be presumptuous of me,
but I think it's thanks to you that Hitoe-san didn't die.
I'm sorry about Futaba-san, though.
Ah, I'm sorry, that was arrogant of me.
I thought some good food might help cheer you up...
But thinking cup noodles count as "good food"
is a Tatewaki quality, isn't it?
That's true.
Is that a problem?
Not really.
"Try this extreme pork flavour".
That's ridiculous.
- I'm glad. - Hm?
You smiled.
Are you trying to embarrass me?
I plan to keep doing what I can.
But I'm okay.
Ah, thanks for this.
You're welcome.
See you tomorrow.
Good work.
- Good work. - Good work.
He's...probably not okay.
I'm sure Isozaki-san saw
2 Human Skeletons Found in Hachimine
the report in yesterday's newspaper.
Is it all right if I have one?
Ah, yes.
I wonder if Minami-chan's okay?
What?
She's been released, hasn't she?
Mm, apparently.
The statute of limitation for abandonment is 3 years.
Shall we go and visit her after work?
- You're free, right? - Well, yes...
Thanks for this.
What was that, "You're free, right?" for?
She's making fun of me!
And...she's spot on.
Are you going somewhere?
Yes.
Please be back for dinner.
- Today is... - I know.
A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako-san's Feet
Bone 6
Subtitles by Candylemon
Have you traced who Madoka Hitoe was messaging?
Yes.
They went through a foreign server,
so it'll take some time to identify the recipient.
Whose the body was under Nishizawa Futaba's?
The autopsy found it was a woman in her early twenties.
We're checking against the national missing persons' list.
You still don't know?!
Kitamoto Squad, look into dental records.
The report on the Usubuchi Hiyori case 20 years ago.
My uncle felt there was something not right.
Look at the last page.
He mentions your younger brother.
"Was Yōsuke-kun's death really an accident?"
Professor Shitara thought like I do...
But there was no evidence to say it wasn't an accident.
The case had no conclusive evidence at all.
The culprit who stole the sphenoid
was extremely careful.
I don't need evidence!
My brother was getting close to the truth.
At that time,
he wouldn't have let himself have an accident.
I'm his brother, so I know.
I don't have a scientific basis.
But I know!
Still mourning your brother?
That's right.
Well, the reason doesn't matter to me.
I only care about these notes,
which were hidden away from the others.
And the last sentence.
"I may have committed an irreparable mistake."
Did my uncle see something behind this case?
I want to know.
Let's cooperate.
Thank you.
Having a strong partner...
Here.
I'm glad you seem well.
Thanks for worrying about me.
How should I put it?
Having spent a night together, we're friends, right?
Friends?
Why?
Why...
...would Hitoe kill a friend like that?
Why, when we were friends...
Why did it end up like this?
I keep thinking about it, but I don't know.
The more I think about it, the more scared I get...
Scared?
Hitoe and I were together since elementary school,
but I didn't know her at all.
Not long after we became second years,
Hitoe said she'd met someone good.
After that, she seemed very emotionally stable,
and stopped complaining about her parents,
so I thought it was good.
But after that,
Futaba kept saying more than ever that she wanted to die...
What?
At the same time that Hitoe-san became more stable?
"When the body dies and decays,
"the soul is born anew."
Futaba often said that.
But I never thought...
Minami-chan...
However close you are,
I don't think you can ever 100% know someone.
Even if you think of a better way to have handled things
you'll just keep blaming yourself,
so why not think about how to move on?
I can't move on, that's why it hurts.
Whatever I do, I can't erase my guilt.
What should I do?
Ah, well, um...
Don't just give me pretty words.
How are you feeling?
Are you getting some sleep?
I thought we hadn't talked properly yet.
What about?
The phone call.
Sensei...
I'm...
...going to disappear.
Why did you call me?
Was there something you wanted to say?
I saw the news.
There was another body found with Futaba's.
I didn't know.
- If I can help you... - How?
How can you save me from this?
Hitoe...
Why didn't you help me sooner?
Why am I in here?
Sensei...
I haven't really
done anything wrong.
All I did...
...was make Futaba happy.
Futaba wanted to be reborn with wings.
So just once,
I helped her body decay and release her.
I just granted her wish.
What are you saying?
So I don't need you to help me.
Hitoe!
I think pretty words are necessary.
What?
They're the ideal, right?
There's nothing wrong with seeking an ideal.
Besides, they're better than ugly words.
Thank you.
I like your pretty words.
Ah, sorry, excuse me.
Er... Hello?
- There. - Wow~ Amazing!
It looks so good!
"The more the merrier", I thought.
Especially today...
By the way, Young Master Shōtarō and Shikura-sama,
were you out together?
Ah, yes.
A date?
Eh? No no...
Nothing of the sort.
Painfully dismissive...
Itadakimasu.
Yes, dig in.
Itadakimasu.
Here you go.
It looks delicious.
This is custard pudding, isn't it?
Is today some sort of anniversary?
Yes, once a year...
Here you go.
Now with rose tea from the rose gardens of Haboro-chō,
please eat up.
- Itadakimasu. - Itadakimasu.
It's so good!
This takes me back.
Hm?
There's pastry shop near my family home that sells custard puddings like this.
Did you eat them often?
Yes.
My grandma loved their puddings.
She died 2 years ago,
but I'd always buy them to take to her in hospital.
Your grandmother was unwell?
Yes...she had cancer.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Plain custard pudding,
brown sugar flavour,
coconut, or green tea...
Hello, Grandma?
I'm coming to visit, what flavour would you like?
I'd always call her to check...
She'd never had a sweet tooth before.
But a while after she was hospitalised,
she suddenly asked me to buy those puddings.
Maybe the illness changed her tastes?
Where was she hospitalised?
Eh?
Ah, in Onokura Hospital.
How far is that from your house?
About 10 minutes by bike...
It's close.
But thinking about it,
if I went to buy pudding,
the shop was in the opposite direction
so it took me about 30 minutes to reach the hospital.
It was quite a detour.
You really don't know, do you?
What?
What your grandmother really wanted
wasn't the pudding, it was the 30 minutes.
Cancer eventually spreads to the bones.
That causes severe pain.
It's too painful even to talk properly.
When she knew you were coming to visit,
I suspect she'd ask the doctor for a painkiller
and it took about 30 minutes to take effect.
So she asked me for pudding
in order to buy time?
Now that you say it,
I never saw Grandma in pain.
Why...
Perhaps she didn't want to worry you?
But why lie?
Humans are wise creatures.
They lie for many reasons.
Behind your grandmother's lie was resolve.
Resolve?
Not to let her beloved grandson see her weakness.
Until the very end,
she wanted to have fun with you as usual.
She kept quiet so you wouldn't worry.
That was her resolve.
I'm terrible, aren't I?
I never realised.
Now, there's plenty more pudding,
so eat as much as you want.
I wonder how Minami-chan felt when she lied.
She's been carrying the guilt all this time,
lying to everyone around her, right?
Futaba-san told Minami-chan,
"When the body decays, the soul is born anew",
If a friend said that to me,
I wouldn't have a clue how best to respond.
There's no correct response.
Are you resolved to carry that burden or not?
That's the only answer.
Sakurako-san is amazing, isn't she?
"There's no correct response."
"There is only resolve."
I want to try saying something like that.
Actually, someone I used to date
said, "There is no work, there is only free time."
That was a lousy thing to say,
but it's the total opposite.
The weight is different.
You have terrible luck with men.
Hm?
Ah, no... Resolve, huh?
I wonder what kind of life makes someone that way?
She seems coolly philosophical,
but sometimes gets passionate,
but then sometimes her eyes are sad...
Don't you find that unnerving?
Yeah...
The sadness must be due
to having lost someone important to her.
I wonder what resolution Sakurako-san has.
Tatewaki-san?
Ah, sorry.
Miss Sakurako, you have a visitor.
The house is so lively today.
Please, do come in.
Sorry for calling so late.
What's up?
I visited Hitoe today.
I asked her if she knew
anything about the newly discovered body.
And she said she didn't...
But suddenly,
she said, "I haven't done anything wrong".
Before her arrest, she said, "I didn't want to kill her".
Now suddenly she said,
"All I did was make Futaba happy"...
- What? - That's not all.
"Futaba wanted to be reborn with wings",
"So just once,
"I helped her body decay and release her."
- It's frightening... - Futaba said the same.
What?
"When the body decays, the soul is born anew",
Futaba said that to Minami.
That's not a coincidence, is it?
Why did they think that way?
Those words were the fuel
that made Futaba want to die,
and Hitoe replaced her guilt
with the conviction she'd granted Futaba's wish.
They were both guided by someone.
That's it.
Hitoe and Futaba both met the same man.
Why did that man get close to them?
Why did Hitoe lie
and say she didn't know about him.
The corpse's identity has been found.
Mizutani Rumi, died aged 22.
She worked at a sex shop in Shinjuku.
The skeleton was identified by matching the teeth
with Mizutani Rumi's dental record.
- Kitamoto. - Sir.
We've confirmed with the sex shop where she worked,
and 7 years ago she suddenly stopped turning up.
It seems that's common.
Is Mizutani Rumi's murder 7 years ago
linked to Nishizawa Futaba's burial 5 years ago?
We can't currently confirm
contact with Nishizawa Futaba and Madoka Hitoe.
For now,
thoroughly investigate Mizutani Rumi's affairs!
And the phone contact!
Ah, may we have a moment?
Come in, please.
Sorry, excuse us.
What do you want?
We'd like to see your daughter's room.
Has Hitoe done something else?
Please don't tell my husband.
You care more about that than about your daughter?
Please, leave us alone!
Why do I have to be blamed?
Why?
I haven't done anything...
Upstairs, right?
We'll head up.
Not having done anything is the problem, right?
She hasn't even visited her.
Hey.
What's that?
A nettle-tree butterfly.
You were right.
Kondō found this picture in Futaba's room.
And at the shop where Mizutani Rumi worked,
this photo was found stuck
to the roof of her locker.
Are these the same?
No...
Both are nettle-tree butterflies,
but this is the Japanese mainland subspecies
and this is the Hokkaidō subspecies.
The pattern colours are slightly different.
The Hokkaidō subspecies is said to be extinct.
And this is an Adonis morpho.
It's a rare butterfly.
Does the man give butterfly pictures to women he's involved with?
Why the hell...?
To mark them?
To take their sphenoids?
Something so frivolous before...
Madoka Hitoe's messages went to Mizutani Rumi.
What?!
I think the man used Mizutani Rumi's phone
to keep in touch with Madoka Hitoe.
Right, Mizutani Rumi and Nishizawa Futaba.
Their cases are linked.
- GPS? - We're tracing it.
- Let's go. - Yes, sir.
Hey.
Here to see Madoka Hitoe?
Yes.
The creatures we call butterflies
grow from larvae to adults via a pupal stage.
When the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis,
it leaves the decaying remains of some organs behind,
reconfigures its proteins,
and changes to a very different form.
What are you trying to say?
The man gave you this.
And he gave this one to Futaba.
He gave you both pictures
of the same species of butterfly.
What's more, yours was the mainland subspecies
while Futaba's was the Hokkaidō subspecies.
Looks like you don't know what that means.
The Hokkaidō subspecies
is a valuable variety believed to be extinct.
In other words, that man
considered Futaba more valuable than you.
Yamaji-san, the GPS signal has gone.
- I think the power has cut out. - Damn it.
It's somewhere around here, right?
Time for some legwork.
That man
didn't care whether it was you or Futaba who died.
He just wanted a sphenoid bone.
Since she already wanted to die, Futaba was chosen
and you were used to kill her.
When you get past the foolishness
it seems pathetic.
No! That's not true!
Calm down.
Sit down.
Did he flatter you with pretty words.
"You are yourself".
"You're special".
Bingo.
When you were in high school, you said,
"My parents try to force me to do things their way",
isn't that right?
Back then,
I told you it was because they cared about you,
but that was nothing but a platitude.
They said it was for my sake,
but in the end,
they only cared about looking good themselves.
Selfish trash!
What you really wanted to hear
was, "You're fine the way you are".
But Hitoe,
the things that man said to you
weren't because he cared about you.
He found a wound in your heart...
A weakness to use.
He probably got close to Futaba the same way.
No...
That man used you
and led you to kill Futaba.
No!
He consoled you by saying you'd made her happy, didn't he?
But his real aim
was to assuage your guilt so you wouldn't confess.
You know deep down, don't you?
That man won't come back.
But when you keep saying you don't know him,
you don't do it to protect him.
Isn't it just because
you don't want to admit your weakness and misery?
But you know that's wrong, too.
When he stopped replying to your messages
and you were crushed by loneliness and guilt,
isn't that when you contacted me?
No.
When you tried to jump from the roof, you told me.
"I didn't want to kill her."
Wasn't that how you really feel?
Stop it!
Shut up! I haven't done anything wrong!
When people decay, they don't become butterflies!
They aren't reborn!
Futaba isn't happy!
She's just dead!
If you get her worked up, you'll have to leave.
Hitoe...
You're fine as you are.
That's why
you mustn't run away from what you've done.
Even if you run away, the past won't change.
Your regret won't disappear.
You have no choice but to live with it.
And then, if I can help you,
I'll do whatever it takes.
Sensei...
You don't need to cling to that man anymore.
Tell us about him.
Anything?
Isozaki
- Hello? - It's me.
I know who the man is.
His name is Hanabusa.
He has a butterfly tattoo on his arm.
Butterfly tattoo on his arm?
One of Mizutani Rumi's former colleagues
is a man with a butterfly tattoo.
Here...
Excuse me.
- Get his address immediately. - Yes, sir.
Got it. 27-10-105.
Thanks for your help.
HQ had his address.
105 is probably the furthest in.
Wait, Yamaji-san!
Backup is coming, let's wait.
We shouldn't do this.
Yamaji-san!
Hanabusa.
Hey!
Damn it!
Come back, Hanabusa!
Don't you dare die!
I finally found you! Wake up!
- Stop it! - Wake up!
Backup is here!
You can't do this!
Get off me!
- Calm down! - Don't die...
"Hanabusa" was an alias.
His real name was Nimura Satoshi.
He also lied about being a photographer.
He worked in a sex shop.
And he committed suicide by poison.
Damn it!
Ending things this way...
The detachment surface was smooth.
That shows knowledge of anatomy and technical skill.
"When the body dies and decays..."
I helped her body decay and release her.
To mark them?
The sphenoid thief is someone else.
Shall we go?
I brought this for you,
but they said I can't give you food.
It's burnt.
Cooking is pretty hard.
It takes practice, right?
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry...
What?
That meal the other day...
That was for your brother's birthday, wasn't it?
I found the old newspaper article online.
It said Kujō Shōtarō-kun died 3 days after his fifth birthday.
It was an accident, wasn't it?
Yet you still...
Shōtarō's death was my fault.
What?
It was because I lied.
I'm going for an injection.
If you come with me, you'll be injected, too.
You don't want that?
In that case, wait at home.
I'm going now.
Onēchan...
Shōtarō!
That's when I realised.
For Sakurako-san,
time had stopped on that day.
However much you regret it, you can't change the past.
The regret will be with her all her life.
But it's possible for that stopped clock to move again.
For the sake of her future, there must be a way.