I'm having a birthday. I want you to come.
Sure.
It's kind of easy to talk to you these days, Fujinuma.
Well...
That's because I decided not to lie to you.
I just said that out loud.
H-Hinazuki!
I'll see you tomorrow!
This is the last place I saw Hinazuki 18 years ago.
Her body was found after the snow melted...
but what day did she disappear in March?
GIRL
ISOLATION
DISAPPEARANCE
ABDUCT
DEAD
If I can figure that out, I can prevent it from happening.
NIPPON SHOWA'S MOST SHOCKING CRIMES
AYA NAKANISHI (11 YEARS OLD)
KAYO HINAZUKI (10 YEARS OLD)
HIROMI SUGITA (11 YEARS OLD)
Aya Nakanishi...
Hiromi Sugita...
Hiromi Souda, too...
KAYO HINAZUKI (10 YEARS OLD)
But only Hinazuki was ten years old.
In other words, when Hinazuki went missing in March,
she hadn't had her birthday yet.
MARCH
X-day is between March 1st and Hinazuki's birthday.
ERASED
Ice Hockey Club 1988 National Champions
Ow!
I hear the boys are gonna race each other one on one.
Huh.
This should be fun!
Well, I'm sure Hamada's gonna get the best time.
I guess.
Hamada!
- Ice hockey team! - Hamada, do your best!
- Good luck! - Do your best!
Shut up, already.
Go!
I'm not gonna hold back, y'know.
Okay.
Hamada is a regular on the ice hockey team,
the kind who'd win the national championship.
Come to think of it, I remember racing against him.
Fujinuma is racing Hamada.
Poor guy!
Hinazuki, you should cheer him on.
Come on, Hinazuki!
Fujinuma, are you going to win?
I'll go as fast as I can.
I see. Then good luck.
On your mark...
Get set...
Crap!
- All right! Go! - Satoru, go for it!
That's the way!
- Hamada, what are you doing?! - Try harder!
This guy is fast!
Fujinuma probably started before the pistol went off.
Is it okay to win?
Would victory have any meaning?
Go for it!
This guy goes through hard training every day.
The winner should be...
Goal!
I knew Hamada would win in the end!
That was awesome!
He gave Hamada a run for his money! That's a big deal!
Right, Kenya?
Fujinuma!
I hate punks like you!
Satoru!
That was a close one!
Shut up!
What's up with Hamada?
I know. Just because he almost lost...
It's okay.
I remember.
I hate punks like you!
I made the same mistake I did 18 years ago.
Wait, Hinazuki!
Hamada really was fast.
Oh.
Hey,
X-DAY
tell me your birthday, Hinazuki.
What's wrong?
You said you wouldn't lie to me.
Sorry.
For some reason, I thought Hamada should win today.
Oh.
Um...
It doesn't matter.
We're both fakes and liars.
Satoru, wanna walk home together?
Sorry! I left something in the room, so go on ahead!
STAFF ROOM
5th Grade, Class 4 Homeroom Teacher Gaku Yashiro
What's the matter, Satoru?
Yashiro-sensei...
U-Um...
Is it about Kayo?
His intuition is good...
I wanted to look up her birthday. I'm sorry.
I see.
Satoru, it seems like you've gotten friendly with Kayo lately.
I wouldn't say that...
You didn't ask her directly?
I told her my birthday,
but she wouldn't tell me hers.
That makes sense.
Here, see for yourself.
What do you mean, "that makes sense?"
Kayo Hinazuki - March 2nd Satoru Fujinuma - March 2nd
The same day as me...
I see.
Thank you!
Well, Kayo is pretty shy, so it was probably hard for her to say that you share the same birthday.
It's probably a good idea to celebrate it with her without thinking too much.
Yeah. I will.
Well... excuse me!
Satoru...
That was a close race today.
Doing your best is the key to everything.
I'm counting on you with Kayo, too.
Okay!
Gaku Yashiro...
He's about my age in this time period.
And he's got a sharp, observing eye.
I know when X-day is.
MARCH 1st
March 1st.
February 19th
11 days from now...
First, I have to make up with Hinazuki.
Huh? She's not here.
Satoru!
Yuuki!
I-It looks like you've made lots of friends.
Good for you.
Yuuki is 23 years old in this time period.
He's younger than me now.
It's thanks to you, Yuuki.
No, it isn't!
I-I-It's because you mustered up courage.
The feeling you had of wanting to have fun with everyone g-got across.
His stuttering and softhearted soul are just like I remember.
He's a good person.
Yuuki, do you know Kayo Hinazuki?
Kayo? Sure I know her.
That was a quick answer.
She's always in the park alone, right?
I've talked to her a number of times.
Is she a classmate?
Yeah.
Huh. I didn't know.
Jun! Time to eat!
You can start without me!
Isn't it early for dinner?
We get up early.
I work at my dad's bento shop from four in the morning.
Four?
Yeah. But just until noon.
I see.
We always hung out in the afternoon,
so I assumed he was unemployed.
Now that I'm 29,
I can tell he's making an effort to curb his dialect when he talks to me.
To a kid, the way he talks has a persuasiveness and maturity.
Tell me about the way he talked.
Did you think he was a good person?
There was another feature on the papercrafting tournament.
U-Um... Someone gave them to me,
a-a-and I couldn't just throw them out.
It's okay. I don't care.
Was there anything in his room that made you feel uneasy?
I'd better get going.
Okay.
Satoru, you've become more mature somehow.
Really?
Yeah.
JUN SHIRATORI
MAY 2006, DEATH ROW PRISONER
Jun Shiratori.
In my present of 2006,
he's a prisoner on Death Row.
Ever since the first trial, he's claimed to be innocent.
I just can't believe that Yuuki would kill anyone.
If the abductions don't take place, he won't be a suspect or anything.
Yuuki, wait for me.
I promise to...
She's not home yet?
It's kind of a dump.
What's this?
Gloves!
Don't tell me...
Hinazuki!
Don't look at me...
Close it.
N-No. You'll catch cold in here!
Stay away from me!
Huh? What's wrong, Kayo?
You're in here alone again?
She...
She did this!
Get in the house right now.
Hey...
How did Hinazuki get hurt like that?
Answer him, Kayo.
I fell.
I couldn't find the words to answer Hinazuki's sad lie.
And she wouldn't look at me.
Episode 3 Birthmark
Here, Kayo. Cool down!
ICE
You need to get that face healed by Monday!
Otherwise, everyone will blame me!
Hey!
Leave some ice for me.
February 22nd
She's not here...
On Duty: Kayo Hinazuki, Satoru Fujinuma
Morning, Satoru.
Good morning.
Boy, it's cold.
To find the radius,
you multiply the diameter by 3.14, which is the circumference.
And if you do the opposite, you'll get the diameter,
so if you split that in half—
Hinazuki...
It's okay. Take your seat.
Okay, who will solve this at the board?
How about Satou? Will you do it?
Me?!
Oh, come on. It's easy.
SCHOOL LUNCH FEE
School Lunch Fee
We're collecting the school lunch fee!
I have to change...
Please put it in here!
...the future.
If you forgot today, bring it tomorrow!
The reason Kayo is often late or absent on Mondays...
Do you know, Satoru?
Because Hinazuki's mother beats her on Saturday.
I see. Then you've noticed.
You knew, Sensei?
Well...
What is it? Sensei, tell me!
I've been struggling with the idea of talking to the students about it.
Even in class, Kayo is cut off from everyone else, right?
I thought if everyone knew she was being physically abused,
they would be prejudiced against her.
That's not true!
I know, Satoru.
For you, it's not.
That's why I'll tell you everything.
But don't share it with your classmates.
Okay.
To be honest, I began to suspect Kayo's mother last May.
But there weren't any tangible signs yet.
Why not?
Kayo's mother craftily hid the marks.
The Child Consultation Center visited their house three times,
but maybe the mother has good intuition
because each time she and Kayo were out of the house,
so an official interview hasn't been conducted yet.
What the hell? Then they're incompetent.
I said that out loud.
Yeah.
I've seen the mother a number of times,
and physical abuse is definitely going on.
Now the Child Consultation Center just has to confirm it.
Then they'll take Kayo away from her mother.
So he's already made the preliminary arrangements.
But once that happens,
Kayo won't be in class anymore, Satoru.
If it saves Hinazuki, I don't care.
Hurry, Sensei.
I'm positive Yashiro is waiting until spring vacation before taking action.
But it'll be too late by then!
Hurry, dammit!
Sit down!
D-Dammit...
It's gone.
The lunch money is gone.
29 years old and I've gotta be involved in an incident like this?
Sensei...
What is it?
Everyone's lunch money
is gone.
Excuse me! Not gone!
I think somebody must have stolen it!
And I'm suspicious of Hinazuki!
Hey... On what grounds?
After all, Hinazuki doesn't pay for her lunches,
and I think the culprit has to be somebody who's poor.
That may be right!
Hey, did you take it, Hinazuki?
Little brat...
I think the truth will come out if we do a search of everyone's bags.
I agree!
Jeez. I just wanna eat lunch!
You're not going to look?
I didn't take it, so what's the point of lookin'?
Search the bag of the person next to you.
I bet you stole it, didn't you?
Idiot!
Come on, find the thief!
I didn't find anything!
Then it was Hinazuki?
Of course!
Poor! Poor!
Here it is.
- It was Hinazuki! - The poor girl really did do it!
See? Just like I said!
Kayo is the thief!
Shut up!
I don't care if she's poor or hungry!
Hinazuki would never steal from anybody!
You probably did it.
Listen, anyone could've taken it from Satoru's desk and planted it.
Everyone! Kayo is on duty today,
so there's nothing unusual about her having the lunch money.
Misato, Satoru, that's the end of it, okay?
Let's have lunch!
That's right.
Okay!
School is out, everyone.
Students who are still in the building, please turn off the lights...
This is awkward.
Fujinuma, thanks for before.
It's okay. What she said was totally uncalled-for.
In third grade,
Misato kept making fun of my pencils,
so I threw her prized mechanical pencil out the window.
She's hated me ever since.
Although it's mutual...
But she once invited me to a Christmas party.
It was just so she could show off her big Christmas tree.
But it was beautiful.
I remember...
Listen...
Wanna go see one after this?
See what?
A Christmas tree.
Are you stupid?
Here.
Satoru Fujinuma
They're working gloves,
but it's cold up in the mountains.
I didn't agree to go.
I always used to ski and bobsled in this area.
I even saw red foxes once in a while.
There!
W-Wow!
I remembered the red foxes running around at my feet.
18 years ago, I saw it alone,
and no one believed me when I told them.
I wonder if they're a couple.
Yeah. I bet they are.
It's a lucky day.
Not a cloud in the sky.
We're here.
A Christmas tree!
Right?
Are you stupid? It's February.
Let's come back to see it in the summer.
This Christmas tree...
Are you stupid?