And this makes six shots.
"Fired rifle at four young men accompanying a girl
who's believed to be the target."
Just like he said in his testimony.
Do you think those "Forest of Death" rumors are for real?
Geomagnetic abnormalities have been confirmed.
Compasses are useless, and machines go crazy as soon as you turn 'em on.
They say nobody's ever gone in and come back out alive, right?
I wouldn't be surprised if the place was haunted.
If you're that curious about it, why not go in?
Get serious.
Geez, this forest is depressing...
I thought forests were supposed to be more, you know, vibrant.
It's the Forest of Death, remember?
That's why the humans can't follow us in.
Well, we don't have to rely on compasses or whatever...
Still, shouldn't there at least be some rabbits or foxes or something?
In other words, you're hungry.
So sue me.
Once we're through this forest, we ought to come across a town.
Just hang in there until then.
If we make it out of here alive, that is.
There are bugs here, huh?
Thanks, Tsume.
I've never seen a bug like this before.
Here.
You're hungry, aren't you? Eat up.
Why me?
You've got the strongest stomach.
Eat it.
Am I your food taster?
And how come you're giving me orders?
You think you're our leader or something?
Right?!
Hey, I know! Cheza!
Let's give it to Cheza!
I bet you're hungry, right?
She won't eat that.
What should we feed her, then?
This one does not eat. Anything.
Nothing at all?
Now that you mention it, I've never seen her eat...
She drank some water that one time.
This one drinks, and this one basks.
Basks?
This one cannot bask here.
Oh, I get it! Sunlight!
Well, she is a flower...
It was just like I said, wasn't it?
Four 30-caliber metal jacket slugs.
It was six.
Now, why don't you start again from the beginning?
Is this any way to treat a civilian who's offering you information?
If you offered me a shot of vodka, maybe I'd be a bit more...
I'm told that you had a dog with you. What happened to it?
Don't you have anything to drink around here?
We found animal bite marks on the corpses of my dead men.
There weren't any pet dogs in that town, much less any strays.
Gosh, I guess they must've been killed by wolves.
Yeah, it must've been wolves.
Let me see it.
It doesn't look sprained.
Ow!
He can't even handle a little forest like this...
This is the problem with kids who were raised in human cities.
Can you walk on it?
I'm okay. I can walk just... Ow!
Cheza?
Thanks, Cheza.
Does that... feel good?
Yeah, really good! It's like the pain is melting away.
Cheza? Um... Could you pet me, too?
C'mon, Tsume! Have her pet you, too!
It feels really good!
She smells so great!
Where am I?
I wanted to see you.
I must apologize for my rude behavior.
Where's Cheza?
It would seem that Cheza hates both me and your people.
What are you after?
Tell me, what's Cheza's... What's her real significance?
Lord Orkham knows nothing.
He stole Cheza from my clan solely as a display of power.
What do you intend to do with me?
That depends entirely upon you.
This place isn't so bad once you get used to it.
There aren't any territories to fight over.
And the best part is, no humans!
We have the forest to ourselves.
And if we get hungry, we can always eat the bugs.
No thanks!
Then we won't share any with you.
I've asked it before, and I'll ask it again. Who died and made you leader, Tsume?
We don't have a leader. We're not that kind of pack.
What kind of pack are we, then?
C-Cmon, that doesn't matter, right?
Hey, I know! When we get out of here, what's the first thing you want to do?
What else?
Eat all I can.
Eat, then sleep.
I guess you're right...
What else did you expect? You're not very good at this, are ya?
Cheza!
You must be tired. Let's rest a while.
This one is all right.
--A bird! --Huh? Where?
You must be seeing things. This is the Forest of Death.
No, I heard the flapping of wings coming from above us.
That's an owl.
Which means...
Bird meat!
Hey! Hige!
Come back here!
Damn it...
What a pain in the ass... You stay here.
Sure.
You must've seen some dead leaves falling or something.
Let's go back.
That's strange... I'm positive that I saw something.
See, what did I tell you? It is an owl!
There's not enough to split with everybody, though...
Be careful.
There's no scent.
There's something suspicious about that owl.
An owl that's suspicious...
Wolves that look delicious...
They all wandered in and got lost as one...
Well done, well done!
The damn thing is screwing with us!
Lost as one, well done!
Crap...
That was...
It's Toboe!
Cheza! Hang in there, Cheza!
What's wrong?!
It's Cheza! She just...
That's...
Is she... withering?
She needs water. Even sunlight would help!
But there isn't...
I can't see the sun.
And just take a look at this dry ground.
There's no water around here.
We've still...
We've still got to look!
Which way do you think we should go?
Let's go right.
Do you smell water?
No, but just standing here isn't helping us.
Not helping! Not helping!
An owl?
The damn thing is back, huh?
It can't be helped if there is no light.
It can't be helped if there is no water.
It can't be helped if the flower is withering.
What?!
Wait a minute.
That owl lives here in this forest, right?
So do you suppose he knows where there's water?
Tell us!
Tell us the closest place that has water!
Cut the theatrics and just tell us, damn it!
Do you live here in this forest? If you do, then tell us!
She needs water!
Kiba?
Kiba? Who are you talking to?
An owl.
An owl?
Water! Isn't there any water in this forest?!
Go astray, go astray, my good wolves.
Answers always lie in confusion.
Don't lose him!
He's our only lead!
You never find what you are looking for.
If a searcher were to find his objective,
it would become a mere object.
The answer lies within the darkness.
The answer lies within confined places.
Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded.
Riddles?
He's telling us to go into the cave.
So does that mean there's water inside?
How should I know?
Hey! Don't go in there on your own!
Are you gonna believe what an owl tells you?
That thing's fishy.
You tell me where we can find water, then!
Do you know?
We've got no other choice.
There's this much...?
You people are aware of only the slightest fraction of Cheza.
Is what is written in the Book of the Moon the truth?
Do you believe in that book?
I've seen them. I've seen wolves.
I've seen them running with Cheza.
I see.
There's no doubt about it.
They're the same wolves who turned up in the city.
They're the wolves who appeared when Cheza awakened.
They will be the key that will open Paradise.
Paradise?
Only those who bravely enter...
Only those who enter... Only those who enter...
We saw this thing a while ago!
Does this mean we've been going in circles?
This stupid place is like a maze.
And to top it all off, everything looks the same...
We went left last time.
Damn it!
Don't get so worked up.
Kiba, you're tired, right?
Want me to carry her for you?
Can you carry her?
I'm asking you, do you think you can carry Cheza?!
Well, l...
I'm fine, so just walk! We don't have time to rest!
Cut the crap, damn it.
We can't trust your nose. The scent of flowers has screwed it up.
My nose is working fine!
Kiba, put Cheza down.
Tsume, you still don't trust Cheza?!
The way you are now, we can't trust you with Cheza.
To lead a pack, you have to be calm and detached.
Right now, you don't have that.
You can't be right all the time.
Stay out of my way.
You wanna fight?
Cut it out, you two!
Are these... bones?
Human bones?
It doesn't look like it. They're... bird bones.
Birds?
That looks like... Wait, could this be an owl?
There's tons of 'em!
Damn! I knew that owl was trouble!
--Let's get out of here! --Sure, but where?!
Cheza?!
Damn it, you little...
Kiba!
UP here!
Tsume!
Tsume...
We'll handle it.
Are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?
Admittedly, we both like to hang around flowers, though...
Well put, runt.
Here they come!
Everyone...
We will all go... together.
This one can be useful, too...
Cheza!
Crap!
Cheza! Why are you doing this?!
That way... Through there!
Cheza!
No, wait a minute.
Cheza...
This one is... all right.
Thank goodness...
This one heard them. They said they were hungry.
Plants that eat bugs, huh?
I guess this means we were saved by Cheza's friends.
Guys!
I see light! It's the way out!
There's water!
And moonlight!
Water! There's water!
Look, Cheza. Water. Now you can...
Eat and drink all this one can.
Yeah.
C'mon, Toboe, drink up!
I've had plenty!
Q.“ m.“
Flowers only live a short time.
Lunar Flowers are no exception.
Moonlight gives her her strength.
But after basking in the light of the full moon a scant few more times,
Cheza's life will come to an end.
"Next Time"
So why do people want to know?
They know they can't avoid it.
On the night of the full moon,