5th Grade, Class 4 Kayo Hinazuki
Mom...
Kayo!
Where have you been for the last few days?!
You...
You!
So you were the ones behind this!
What do you think you're doing, hiding someone else's daughter?!
You made me worried about her!
Be prepared because I'm going to sue!
Have you looked for Kayo at all during the past three days?
What?
Are you... trying to paint me as the bad guy?!
Go to hell!
Kayo! Let go of me, idiot!
Made you worried about her?
You were only worried about yourself.
What?!
ERASED
Dammit!
What?! What are you doing, Kayo?!
Let go! You're not gonna listen to me?!
That's enough, Ms. Hinazuki.
Kayo doesn't want to see you like this.
How about you?! Treating me like a bad guy in front of Kayo!
Who the hell do you think you are, kidnapping someone else's daughter?!
Shut up!
What kind of parent throws her daughter in a shed
and doesn't do anything after she's gone for three days?!
You have no idea about the pains and responsibilities of being a parent, brat,
so you shut your smart mouth!
You—
You are Ms. Akemi Hinazuki?
We're with the Ishikari Development Bureau's Child Consultation Center.
We've come to discuss your daughter Kayo with you.
You tricked me...
Goddamn both of you!
It seemed you wouldn't agree to meet with us,
so we enlisted Ms. Fujinuma's cooperation.
Who ever said I wouldn't meet you?!
Please forgive my presumptuousness.
Sorry I asked you to do this.
Not at all, Mr. Yashiro.
I had a few words for her too,
so I'm actually grateful that I could help.
They're the criminals for abducting my daughter!
Call the cops!
No, first we need to discuss your usual relationship with your child.
What are you talking about?!
What about my relationship with Kayo?!
We've decided that your daughter, Kayo, needs to be taken into custody.
Into custody?! I'm her guardian!
You revoked your guardianship
by failing to look for your daughter when she went missing for three days!
It's because of that brat over there!
Why are you treating me like a criminal?!
All right, all right, Ms. Hinazuki.
Please calm down.
Fine!
I'll go to the police myself!
They can settle this!
Come on, Kayo!
- W-Wait, Ms. Hinazuki! - We need to talk!
Please calm down!
S-Sensei...
Come on! Come on, I said!
Kayo!
You come with me!
Akemi!
Akemi...
Mom?
I'm sorry.
We've been estranged ever since I made you break up with that man,
but I've been worried about you and Kayo all this time.
I know very well how hard it is for a woman to raise a child on her own.
You must have been so lonely.
It must have been hard.
I should have helped you.
But I made you...
DIVORCE REGISTRATION
take all of it on by yourself.
Everyone... This is my fault.
Please don't think badly of Akemi.
Mom...
Mom! Mom!
I bet those tears were out of self-pity.
Kayo wasn't moved either.
She wouldn't look at her weeping mother.
Akemi, don't worry about Kayo.
I'll take good care of her.
My child is the most precious thing I have in this world.
You must have thought the same way at some point.
Thank you, Sensei.
No, you're the one who got me in gear, Satoru.
Your heroic efforts just couldn't end in tragedy.
Kayo's going to be okay now.
I hardly have any memory of my father,
but I wonder if he talked like that.
Satoru, thank you.
Thank you for getting me out of here.
Well, shall we go?
"The Town Without Me," by Kayo Hinazuki.
When I get bigger, big enough to go somewhere by myself,
I want to go to a land that's far away.
I want to go to a faraway island.
I want to go to an island that has no people.
I want to go to an island that has no pain or sadness.
Thank you for dinner! Next time, I want to cook with you. -Kayo
On that island, I can climb a tree when I want to climb,
swim in the sea when I want to swim,
and sleep when I want to sleep.
When I think about the town without me, I feel a sense of relief.
I want to go far, far away.
I saved Kayo at last.
I fastened her life to the future.
From now on, Kayo will make her own mark.
I have faith that the future Kayo faces is a bright place.
Episode 9 Closure
Satoru's been like this all day. Do you think he's okay?
He's a hero for helping Hinazuki, but...
Hey, Satoru, are you all right?
Yeah. I'm fine.
You don't look fine at all.
Well, I can't blame him. I mean, with Hinazuki gone...
Yeah. Although that does bring closure...
Satoru...
Come here a minute.
STAFF ROOM
About Kayo's mother...
I don't think she'll be able to see Kayo for a number of years.
Kayo's going to begin a new life with her grandmother.
Sensei, thank you.
Oh, no need to...
No, not about that.
What you said, "Your heroic efforts just couldn't end in tragedy"...
That made me really happy.
Yes, well, it may have sounded a little vulgar
if I'd said "the reward for your heroic efforts,"
but what you did was deserving of a reward, Satoru.
What did you want? To see Kayo smile?
I wanted that, too.
By the way, Satoru, was Kayo in your house all that time?
No. We had a hideout.
- A hideout? - Yes.
We hid Kayo in the bus Izumi Elementary's hockey club used to use.
A place that only kidnappers like you guys would think to go, huh?
R-Right.
I can't really laugh...
KAYO HINAZUKI (11 YEARS OLD)
Kayo's gone now,
AYA NAKANISHI (11 YEARS OLD)
but the killer is still targeting Hiromi and Aya Nakanishi.
HIROMI SUGITA (11 YEARS OLD)
AYA NAKANISHI (11 YEARS OLD)
KAYO HINAZUKI (11 YEARS OLD)
I have to make sure neither one of them are left alone.
It's like with Kayo.
FIGHT, WONDER GUY! TV THEME SONG
Hiromi is my classmate,
but Aya Nakanishi goes to Izumi Elementary next door,
so it'll be hard to approach her.
I hear she's often with Yuuki, but how can I start a conversation with her?
She doesn't know anything about me.
This is a pretty high hurdle.
A way to become friends with someone you don't know?
Just be straightforward, like, "Let's be friends!"
Like that would—
You're thinking, "Like that would work," aren't you?
Did she read my mind?!
You've already got Kayo, and now...
Why would you think I...
I just wanted to trick you into fessing up.
Well, she is a girl...
but she's always alone.
You can't be so pessimistic.
You should focus on a positive result. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Ice Hockey Club 1988 National Champions
I have stop somewhere.
Kenya and Hiromi, you're going to the center, right?
Yeah.
Okay, I'll meet you there later. See you!
See you!
WITH YUUKI BY THE RIVER
HAMANASU PRIVATE CRAM SCHOOL
GRADE COURSES
So she gets out of cram school at 6:30.
I should be able to walk Hiromi home and get back here in time.
First I have to investigate her basic activity pattern.
WITH HIROMI AND KENYA AT THE CHILDREN'S RECREATION CENTER
LEAVING HIROMI AND KENYA
CRAM SCHOOL LETS OUT BEGIN TAILING AYA NAKANISHI AGAIN
Aya Nakanishi's daily activity schedule was simple.
If she were going to be abducted,
it would most likely happen in this time slot, after cram school.
Satoru!
Perfect timing! Help me!
I wanted to make sure she got home, so don't suddenly appear like this!
Why did you buy all this in one trip?
It was cheap, so I couldn't help myself.
It's heavy.
Don't complain! That only makes it heavier!
It's heavy even if I don't say anything.
You're a lifesaver, Sensei!
Mom binged on groceries.
Don't say I binged!
Say, Sensei...
Why aren't you married?
That came out of nowhere.
Listen, Satoru...
You need to have a partner to get married.
And then it depends on your partner's feelings, mutual timing...
Well, various things... Wait...
I've been through a painful experience once,
so maybe I'm proceeding with excessive caution.
I'm sorry.
Don't worry about it. It's not a bad question.
Actually, I was going to ask you something else.
How to approach a girl you don't know?
Yeah. I know about her, but she doesn't know me.
Let's see...
I'm the cautious type, so even if it'd be beating around the bush,
I'd start by getting her to relax her guard.
Relax her guard?
Yeah. Put another way, charm her.
If you're good at sports or cooking, whatever, use it as a weapon.
When she becomes interested in whatever it is,
she lets her guard down.
Don't be so impressed.
I'm not good at expressing my feelings directly, so I just rely on logic.
Something's sticking out.
Satoru, don't touch it!
I-I'm sorr—
It's...
Satoru...
You've seen it.
Candy?
Now that you've seen, there's no sense in hiding it anymore!
You have some too, so you become equally guilty!
Since I quit smoking three years ago,
candy has been my go-to substitute.
In private, I can't relax without it.
H-He's weird...
Thank you.
Give me one, too.
Here.
Well, I'm going to the center to do my homework.
Okay!
Wait, Hiromi! I'll go with you!
First Hinazuki, and now it's like you're Hiromi's guardian.
R-Really?
Satoru, can I speak to you in private?
Sure.
Sorry, Hiromi. I'll catch up.
Okay.
Satoru, honestly, what are you thinking?
I saw your determination to save Hinazuki, and that went well,
but looking at you, I still get the sense that something's wrong.
Satoru, if something's up, will you tell me about it?
I can't really explain it. It's too much of a leap.
I want to make that leap, like you.
I want to be a superhero.
If there's a "part two," take me with you.
Kenya, what do you think of these footprints?
An adult's, coming and going.
And if you look carefully...
The shoes were wrapped in cloth?
Not to keep from slipping, right?
Maybe to keep from leaving shoe sole imprints.
The backpack is gone.
And the box with the briquette isn't here anymore either.
I think there are fewer boxes here overall.
And a lot of them are torn up.
Somebody must have made off with their contents only.
Satoru, what are you trying to say?
When Kayo was staying here alone,
do you remember about the man who came here in the middle of the night?
Yeah.
The guy who gave off a dangerous vibe based on the stuff he left here.
I think he's a killer who targets children.
Satoru? I don't know where you're getting this from...
I know. It's unbelievable, right?
Why do you think that, Satoru?
I can't explain it right now.
But when I saw the contents of the backpack and the briquette,
it made me think this was where a serial killer kept his murderous tools.
I know it all sounds insane.
But I believe it.
I can tell you now, with Kayo too,
I didn't want to leave her alone just to keep her mother from abusing her,
but also to protect her from this killer.
Satoru, do you mean to become a novelist or detective in the future?
I don't think the issue is whether what you're saying is far-fetched or not.
It's whether I believe or not.
STOP
I'll be fine without you walking me all this way. I am a man.
That's all right. I have business in the neighborhood anyway.
Satoru...
What?
I want to believe you, too.
I'll do whatever I can to help, so don't hold back, okay?
Of course!
- See you! - See you!
Bye!
Later!
Satoru, to be honest, I'm about 99% sure your hypothesis is nonsense.
But 1% of me says it's not totally impossible.
Yeah. Looking at it from the outside,
it seems like I'm just wrapped up in a game of make-believe crimes.
I don't mind if it is make-believe.
Part of it may be down to these circumstances,
but I have a strong sense your thinking is going to lead to something.
Yeah.
You trusted me enough to tell me about it.
So I want to believe in you, too.
I want to believe you for my own sake.
It's the flip side to someone saying "please believe me."
Thank you, Kenya.
Thank you, Hiromi.
I could've saved her.
That's what I said when I was crying in front of Mom 18 years ago?
I don't want to feel that way again.
I won't let anyone be alone!
I can save them!
Remember to get a parent's signature!
Okay!
I want you to come with me somewhere.
- Okay. - Okay.
Satoru, wanna go to the hideout?
Sorry. There's something we have to do.
Then see you later.
See you!
- Yeah! - See you.
What are they sneakin' around about?
I don't like it.
- Wanna follow 'em? - Yeah!
- Let's go! - All right!