(Wanting you to just be near, to feel your breath upon my ear)
(Wishing you would call my name, 'Cause only you can light the flame)
Constantly searching, still can't find
Ever illusive peace of mind
Sometimes it's near, but slips away
And I'm faced with another day
Of wanting you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
...to just be near ('Cause only you can light the flame)
Of wishing you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
...would call my name, to feel your breath upon my ear
Of wanting you...wishing you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
Call my name, 'cause only you can light the flame
Oh, jeez. I can't tell right from left in this.
Shouldn't we turn back?
God, what is with these guys?!
You sure it's around here?
With long ears like mine, you hear rumors.
It's definitely around here.
I think it's somewhere in this area.
Come on, let's head back!
How annoying. If you want to head back, be our guest.
Little boy.
Hmm? You smell that?
It's this way.
Right on target.
What the...?!
That's funny.
Mataichi? Ogin?!
- These are... - DELICIOUS!
They taste just like the ones at Kyogokutei!
It even makes me cry!
- Is it tasty? - Tasty?
I'm Shiratama, this inn's eye-candy.
And I'm Kuromame. Same job.
Shiratama and Kuromame.
Those names sound familiar.
YOU TWO?!
Granny White Hermit...
...and Granny Black Hermit!
We've been tricked.
We have a teensy favor to ask of you.
I want you to do the job since you ate our food.
But first, about that young man...
Yes, about him.
Help...me.
Well?
Well, he'll be lucky to live through the night.
Feed him something that'll give him strength.
That might save his life.
What did you say?!
You don't remember anything of your last few days here?
No.
At the Ikomaya shop near Kyo Bridge, I retired from work to write riddles.
Then I decided I wanted to write a book of 100 ghost stories.
Ah. Ghost stories, you say?
Your name is Momosuke Yamaoka, correct?
Since you seem to have saved me, I guess I should thank you.
I'm fine now.
Don't strain yourself.
I think you may have experienced something truly terrifying.
I've heard that people who experience...
terrifying things can lose their memory of it.
What's wrong?!
The... The horse!
Heh, take a closer look, please.
This is Hayate, a horse my master loved very much.
That reminds me. I want to thank him for his hospitality.
Did I say something wrong?
Oh, no. It's just the master isn't home right now.
Oh. Well, perhaps his wife, then.
The mistress passed away.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Is anybody there?!
My... My stomach!
What's wrong?!
My... My stomach suddenly...
I'll call the foreman!
There... There's a horse!
A pitch-black horse...
There are no horses here in the mansion, sir.
Trouble! The painting of Hayate...
What?!
What's all this uproar in the middle of the night?!
Hayate is...
Wh-What on earth?!
It's a ghost. Hayate's ghost!
Don't be absurd!
What the...? My stomach's all right now.
L- Look!
Did it break out? The horse in the painting?
About the night I was brought here...
What did I eat that night?
It... It was...
Please tell me!
It was horse meat.
Animal meat?! Horse?
We had no choice.
The doctor said we needed to give you something nutritious.
You killed a horse for my sake?
Oh, no. We had a horse who died by accident, so...
Hmm? Something wrong?
There's the story of "Salty Choji."
There was a man named Choji who raised horses.
A horse he'd raised died...
so he put miso and salt on its meat and ate it.
Then, one night, the ghost of the horse appeared...
invaded Choji's body through his mouth...
and then ran wild in his stomach, so the story goes.
It went on for 100 days.
Momosuke, you're saying the pain in your stomach...
comes from being cursed by a horse?
A curse from a horse, you say?
Doctor! You've come again?
Horses escaping from paintings, horse curses...
Hmpf! You people are so superstitious!
But, Doctor...
Rather than that, I have medicines to try.
Have him take them.
Yes, sir.
Is that clear? Be sure to take them before he sleeps.
Yes, sir.
Master.
Oh... meat! I want to have some meat!
But, Master, any more and...
The meat I had that one time...
I want to eat more!
Monkey! This time, bring me the flesh of a monkey to eat!
Tr- Trouble!
Now what are you yelling about?
A... A girl's shown up here!
She says her name is Osan.
What?! The master's daughter?! Where is she?!
The main hall.
What should we do?
Again. The ghost of Hayate is running wild again!
It hurts. My stomach hurts so much.
Stop, please!
If you keep burning that...
Hayate will never stop running wild in your stomach!
Master! What?!
Master? Didn't you say he wasn't here?
It's coming!
No, it can't be!
H- Help me!
Master!
Help me!
You ate horse meat, too, didn't you?
My medicine!
Medicine won't work. You have the curse of "Salty Choji."
Is there nothing we can do?
Help me, please!
Please, tell me what happened here.
It all started 12 years ago.
The master had married into the household...
and with the birth of Miss Osan, he was very happy.
Then, one day...
we were attacked by a gang of bandits called the "Mishima Night Riders"...
led by a man named Hyakki-maru.
Osan!
By a stroke of luck, the master fell into a cave...
on the way down and was saved.
That's what happened?
After that, the master changed.
He's like a different man now.
And the girl?
She'd disappeared. But now...
Master! Master!
What's wrong?
It's the talisman-selling exorcist everyone in town's been talking about.
I thought I'd have him come and perform an exorcism.
If this cures his illness, there's no need for doctors anymore.
It hurts!
It's happening again! Help me!
There is only one way to save you from the curse of Salty Choji.
Wh-What is it?
Are you hiding an evil deed that you've done?
Tell me every bad thing you've done that you're hiding!
E- Even if you ask me that...
You will tell me, won't you, please?
But I don't remember!
Tell him! Then you'll be saved!
But I don't remember!
Then you shall die.
No, please! Help me!
Isn't there anything you can do?
Help... Help me!
Confessing his evil deeds could have saved him, but...
Poor fellow.
Well? What about you?
I... I'm not really Chojiro.
I'm Hyakki-maru of the Night Riders!
You're not the master?!
You switched when you fell in the cave, didn't you?
But that's impossible!
Chojiro was my twin brother.
We sent him here to be our inside man.
But he betrayed us!
He was overwhelmed by the happy life he found here!
That's why we decided to kill everyone here.
No...
That cave! If we just hadn't fallen into that cave!
You're planning to die here?
Even though I've finally found happiness.
I'm not going to die. Not in a place like this!
You ate Hayate, didn't you?
It was delicious.
I never forgot how it tasted, and I've tried all different kinds of meat.
That's the reason.
But nothing can compare to the flavor of that meat.
I find that story strange.
I thought the horse's body was found below the cave.
So, what exactly did you eat to keep yourself alive?
What... What are you saying I did?!
What you devoured was the last remnant...
of human conscience within your soul.
I... I...
Help me, please!
As we travel down the path of life, we are confronted by choices.
Step off the path of righteousness and you become trapped in the depths of sin.
In the end, this transient world is but a dream.
Evil and ambition scatter in the darkness...
leaving behind dubious rumors to fly in public.
What the...?
This... This is...
Save me, please!
To the next world, we commit Thee.
You're...
Don't you think your true calling is to be an actor, Mr. Author?
Aw, come on, Nagamimi. You know that's not true.
Who are you people?
The real Osan lost her memory after falling from the cliff.
She lives in an Edo tenement now, in the home of Tokujiro Soroban.
How do you know all this?
Never mind that. In the morning, go fetch her.
Thank you so much.
You won't have to kill any more animals now.
And yet... when the bandits attacked...
I could do nothing to help the master.
And all the things I killed to feed that villain!
Forget that. Go save Miss Osan, then protect this home, all right?
Do you have the intention of becoming a kabuki actor?
The kid...
...was pretty good, don't you think?
I hope he has a sweet tooth.
Wind chimes whisper soft and sweet
Though there's not a hint of a breeze
Moonlight dancing on the garden walk
As it gently drifts through the trees
Romance takes flight on this perfect night
While all of the world lays sleeping
Find us here as we feel the moment of love
Draw near
Dream, sleep, with your hand in mine
Underneath a blanket of stars
Song birds singing in a distant glade
As we share the warmth of the dawn
Evil and ambition scatter in the darkness...
leaving behind dubious rumors to fly in public.
A troupe of puppeteers called Shibaemon.
A tanuki (raccoon dog) masquerading as a human.
A murderous monster or a specter?
Next time, on Natsuhiko Kyogoku's "Requiem From the Darkness:"
Shibaemon the Raccoon Dog.
To the next world, we commit Thee!