You better hope the beast that comes out of the cave isn't a monster.
Hey, are you hungry?
Guess he has other things to worry about.
Say, you've never laughed before, have you?
Fine, be that way your whole life for all I care.
I'm never going back to my wife.
I want to stay with you forever.
Me too.
Get a room!
Get eaten by a bear! Take this, and this!
Ow.
What the...
Hey, you all right?
What the heck? Has he lost his mind?
Hyakkimaru!
Come on out!
Dang it.
It got away.
Hey look, there's a village.
I guess I'll have to regain my energy there.
Party is over
But I still wanna dance
I can't even sleep
Someday, one day my passion's fire will
From the beginning I knew
One day the flames would die out
Hey, I thought I didn't need anything
But even now, I'm so serious
Ah... I still have time to make it
Ah... but I'm gonna burn it up, baby
Sorry darling, it's not that easy
But surely it's not that bad either
Give me fire
Light it up, baby. I'm gonna burn it up, yeah
Party is over
Sorry darling Hurry up Ah... I still have time to make it
Give me fire
Light it up, baby. I'm gonna burn it up, yeah
#7 The story of the Jorogumo silk spider
How wretched I am, I can't even pull myself up.
What a bothersome village.
"TRAVELER'S PASS"
We have guards out to protect the village now.
Protect from what?
-There's been a kidnapper around here. -A kidnapper?
Yeah, our villagers keep disappearing almost nightly.
That's what those watchtowers are for.
You let us know if you see anything suspicious.
Hey.
I bet it's that spider monster kidnapping the villagers.
Seems like a big problem for them.
We could help this village out.
I bet there'd be a good reward, too.
This, I must complete.
Hey, you! Are you okay?
Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.
Are you sick?
You're as pale as death. Come to my house.
I can give you something to eat. Can you walk?
Yes, I can...
Okay, come with me.
I'll suck out his life force first.
Say, what's your name? I'm Yajiro.
I have none.
You don't? Well then.
There.
Then how about Ohagi?
-Ohagi? -You were lying in a bed of hagi flowers.
Have it your way.
Okay then, Ohagi. You must be hungry.
Eat up.
What's this? Looks nasty.
Go ahead, eat up.
It's good.
Ohagi, if it's okay, tell me where you came from.
It's not, so I won't.
Then why were you lying there?
As if I had a choice.
If I had the strength, I'd leave this place this very second.
Aren't you going to eat?
Huh? Oh...
I just ate before you came.
What's that noise?
Don't mind it, eat up.
I have to go to work. I'll be back by dusk. Eat up and go to sleep.
What a strange human.
It's mine. Don't touch it.
No rice paddies, no fields.
We might not find any food in this village.
What's going on?
Hey, what's that sign say?
It says there's a reward for finding the kidnapper.
Not that it's helping any in finding the kidnapper.
See, told you so.
That reward is ours then!
What, you know who it might be?
After the reward too? I'd stay out of it if I were you.
We're dealing with a monster here.
A monster?
Quiet, quiet! Don't stop, keep working!
I bet the monster only comes out once it gets really dark.
We don't have the energy to search during the day.
Gotta be smart.
Right, let's go.
I guess this is the most I can do on human food.
Sorry, I got off work late.
You stayed up?
I slept. But I woke up because of all the noise outside.
Yeah, another man died out at work in the mountains.
It's hard work out in the hot sun. It's harsh.
Why do you work so hard? Is it worth dying for?
This is a quarry village.
Our lord won't allow us to slow down.
Humans have no freedom.
You look dreadful.
I see you've eaten, but...
A cockroach.
Why did you let it go?
It's okay for humans to die, but not bugs?
Humans and bugs, they're all the same. Life is life.
I've never met a human who speaks like that before.
You're strange.
Am I? Anyways, eat up.
And sleep. That solves everything.
You're not like any man I've met before.
I guess we both are hungry.
Ugh, I'm pooped out.
We walked all night for nothing.
Where's that spider monster hiding?
My brain isn't working anymore. Let's sleep while it's still cool.
Hey, what's that say?
Another man disappeared last night, so the reward went up.
Last night? But there weren't any signs of monsters.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's not a monster...
Hey, will the man who takes people away get caught?
Don't worry, he won't get caught.
No man of this village would snitch to the lord no matter the reward.
We have nothing else to eat here but bugs and weeds.
Guess we'll chew on herbs and rest till night.
Ohagi, you're growing weaker and weaker. Are you...
You left mighty early this morning.
It was still dark, but you didn't even take a torch.
Do you have another job besides the quarry?
Yeah, a bit of a job as the moon sets.
It's actually my main job.
Must be tough.
Ohagi, as far as I can tell, you're sick with something.
But this village has no doctors.
You can't leave this village without a traveler's pass.
But I can get you out of here.
Well, seems like I won't find any young prey here.
I would leave this place if I could.
But I have nothing to pay you with.
I just want you to live.
Yes, that's right.
I'm the same as a cockroach.
Yes, you are. All lives matter just the same.
I don't wish to die, either.
Help me, then.
Gladly. We should go as soon as possible.
Tonight, after the moon sets and before dawn breaks.
Rest until then.
If the kidnapper isn't a monster, we won't be able to find him.
Anyways, tonight's our last chance.
This will be our last night looking for the monster here.
We might be hungry, but let's do it.
Where are we going? The village exit isn't this way.
There are guards over there. The secret passage is this way.
We'll get there right before dawn.
You'll have to bear with me.
It's tough on a kid to walk two nights on an empty stomach.
Sorry Hyakkimaru, guess we lucked out this time.
We should give up and go...
Ohagi, do you need to rest a little?
Who do you think I am? I could suck the life out of you.
You're the guy we met yesterday.
The boys after the reward.
You again! Have you come to kill me, you little brats!
That voice, in the forest. It's her!
This woman is the spider monster.
I knew she was the kidnapper!
Get away from her, old man. She'll suck you dry.
We can get food if we beat the monster.
Go get her, Hyakkimaru.
Ohagi, a monster?
Don't you get what I'm saying?
That woman is a monster and a kidnapper!
I'm the kidnapper.
I've helped people escape from here.
Ohagi didn't do it.
I don't mind being caught, but please let Ohagi go.
She's sick and weakened.
Sick? Why protect a monster!
So you're the one behind it all. We finally got you.
We're the ones that found him. We can have that reward, right?
Yeah, right. We just said that to lure any squealers.
That's too cruel.
That's dirty, you guys are villains!
Fine with us.
If we lose any more workers and work slows down, our heads will go flying.
Catch that man!
Tastes disgusting.
Bro...
I see you won't let me go.
Don't just stand there. Your job isn't done yet. Which way?
-That way! -Okay.
Hyakkimaru, stay still for a bit.
I was wrong about the reward, so what now?
I'm with ya!
What, you're scared? They'll catch up to us if we walk.
I'm fine.
Then here we go.
Ready?
You're all in good health now, it seems.
You won't need me anymore, huh.
I'm not strong enough to cross the mountain.
I need to suck out 5 or 6 more men's life force.
Do you kill them?
Humans are precious prey. I don't take their lives.
If they're alive, their life force revives.
Then I suck it out again. Living together is the secret to a long life.
I see. From now on too, right?
Yeah.
Good.
Hyakkimaru!
Not even you could climb this.
We'll just have to go after them. Let's go.
This is the secret passage?
It's small here, but wider inside.
Hear that water?
Follow it and you'll reach the stream on the other side.
It's a natural cave.
You won't need a light. They'll never catch you.
My job is done. Now go.
You're coming, too.
You can't stay here now that they know your identity.
Think of what they'll do to you.
Yes, they'll use me to warn people.
Is that what you want?
-No... -Then let's escape.
Don't want to be with a monster?
Okay, Ohagi.
Instead of dying here in this village, I'll live on as your prey.
I'll never meet a human as strange as you again.
Then let's go...
No!
That's what happens when you betray the lord.
Kill him together with the monster woman!
You bastards!
I'll drain every drop of your life force!
Hyakkimaru!
There's no doctor here, right?
Then I will take you to one.
I won't let you die.
I see one of us will have to die.
No, don't kill...
Ohagi, you never have, and you never will, right?
They're gone now.
A ghoul that likes a human, huh.
The world's full of surprises.
But it's a good thing your hearing was back.
Or else it would've ended in a really awkward way.
Still don't want to speak?
Fine, I'll talk enough for two and cheer things up.
Huh? A spider, ouch!
It bit me!
Sorry, I'm the one that scared you, huh.
Hey, did you just...
You laughed at me!
I heard that, your first laugh!
But that's not the kind I wanted to hear.
Not the kind that makes fun of people.
A happier laugh, you know?
Sorrow scatters in the wind,
piling up to form shadows
Our footsteps admonish indifference in such verbose ways
As I peek into your fathomless eyes, I lose my composure
Is there any hope in the place I am heading to?
I feign amusement and laugh
because this road is so dark
I will be there to shine the light
I'm used to playing at saying goodbye,
but I cried when I waved to you
Our fiery woes fade... and fade... until night falls upon us
If I knew tomorrow would be so mundane,
I wouldn't have said that I wanted to live
I know it's futile but can't help dreaming of a future... a future... you are to blame
"Jorogumo"