I won't forgive you.
I won't forgive you!
(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
Brother, it's me, Momosuke! I'm back from Kyoto!
The Master is out at the moment, sir.
I'm...
Master Momosuke, I presume.
Where has my brother...?
Momosuke! Momosuke, is that you?
Sorry I've been out of touch so long.
I'm so glad you've come!
That's Jihei.
It can be sort of inconvenient to live alone. He's a real help to me.
This place hasn't changed a bit.
Even though I was taken in when I was still an infant...
this place is strangely nostalgic for me.
That means you're getting old.
Aw, come on.
I heard rumors. You've left Ikomaya?
That's not true! I just want to work on The 100 Stories!
I'm just on a trip to collect stories about ghosts and the supernatural!
Oh? I see.
You must be writing about some interesting things!
Anyway, what did you want to consult me about, Brother?
Consult you? What do you mean?
But you sent me a letter in Kyoto, didn't you?
A letter? Don't know anything about that.
I didn't know you were even in Kyoto until just today.
Strange. I could've sworn I had it here.
Actually, this is good timing on your part.
Huh?
A strange death, you say?
Yeah. His name's Kijuro Hamada.
He was a colleague, a fellow member of the Hachioji Thousand.
A rock in his forehead?
Not even a catapult could do this.
Gunpowder, maybe?
No. If gunpowder was used, it'd have to be round, wouldn't it?
The stone's slightly charred.
It's troubling.
If this is a murder and we don't find the killer soon...
the shogunate will take direct control of the investigation...
and the Hachioji Thousand will be disgraced.
I guess government officials have their troubles, too.
In any case, we can't keep this covered up for long.
Now, then...
Have you heard of anything like this?
A flying squirrel, maybe?
Flying squirrel?
You mean those mouse-like animals that jump from tree to tree?
The older generation calls them "nobusuma."
It's said a nobusuma will latch onto a person's face...
suffocate him, then suck out his lifeblood.
It's said that a badger or a tanuki known as a "nodeppo" (Field gun)...
launches the nobusuma into the air.
They blow nobusuma at people traveling on mountain roads.
A nodeppo.
But Kijuro didn't have his blood drained and wasn't suffocated.
There are other strange incidents of rocks and other objects being thrown.
Other things can cause a stone to be thrown with great force.
If he was attacked by a monster, then there's nothing we can do.
Who here seriously believes this story?!
B- But...
Master Tagami, I think somebody is hiding on the Iriyama Ridge.
All right! Tomorrow, we go on a hunt in the mountains!
Wait, please!
If this really is the work of a monster, we'll be no match for it!
Matashiro! Are you afraid?
No.
But if there really is a nodeppo out there...
Isn't there any way to defend against it?
They say the only way to defend against a nobusuma...
is to hide a cocklebur in your breast pocket.
A cocklebur, huh?
Well, then, tomorrow we hunt in the mountains!
Sir!
Don't run from this!
Still not much of a drinker, are you?
If you don't drink a little sake...
nobody's gonna tell you any interesting stories!
Uh-huh. But drinking gives me such a headache!
Get past that, and you'll find it's fun.
Is that so?
Try a drink.
Okay...
You look just like you did when you were a baby!
Big brother, please!
Shall I bring you some snacks?
Thank you!
Ever since Jihei came here, drinking's been a lot more fun.
Who's there?
Master Yamaoka!
Master Yamaoka, are you in there?
Matashiro.
What brings you here at this hour?
The truth is... Kijuro wasn't killed by a monster.
I... I know the whole story.
Yes, it was called a nodeppo, just like the specter.
But it's... it's...
It's a gun that shoots stones!
A gun that fires stones?! Have you ever heard of one?
The pirates of the Inland Sea...
have long talked about a type of catapult.
A pirate boss, Shimazo, built an improved version of it.
How would you know about this?
Because once upon a time...
I was a member of Boss Shimazo's pirate gang, The Bats.
You've betrayed me?!
You were foolish to believe you could just retire and live a peaceful life.
You want the nodeppo?
If you know that, we can move things along.
Now, tell us where you've hidden it.
I'll never give it to people like you!
Let's see how long you can keep playing the tough guy!
Otami!
Don't you want your dear granddaughter to live?
Otami!
If I give you the gun, you'll hunt down...
heaven knows how many innocent people!
Shut up! Hurry up and tell us, or we'll really kill her!
F- Forgive me, Otami!
Why, you...
I'm not sure about this.
Shut up!
Grand...father...
OTAMI!
I was... I was just following Kijuro's orders.
If I knew what would happen...
And Shimazo?
Dead.
And his men?!
Dead, too. All of them!
Wh-What should I do?!
Tomorrow we'll talk with Master Tagami.
It wasn't my fault!
Matashiro!
Help me!
Matashiro was a bandit?
Yes, sir. He told me himself last night.
He hadn't been drinking, had he?
No, it didn't seem like it.
And where is he now?
I haven't seen him since he ran from my house.
Didn't he just play a trick on you?
I wish that was the case.
Cockleburs, sir. If you hang them around your neck...
Are we ready? Then let's set out!
Jihei? Jihei?
Boss!
J-Jihei... they did this.
Wh-Who did?!
Never mind. Take this!
Do you understand? Guard this with your life!
And then...I pray... my...
BOSS!
It's Jihei!
What the...?!
Nobusuma... It was nobusuma.
Brother's sword.
I'm sorry, but where's my brother? Where's Yamaoka?!
Brother! BROTHER!
Hyoubu...
OTAMI!
You bastards! How dare you?!
Oh, well. Guess I'll have to content myself with the gold!
I won't forgive you.
Brother!
Jihei? No, it's not!
Somebody! Is somebody there?!
Brother!
You aren't hurt, are you?!
Oh, Momosuke! It's just as you said!
This wasn't any "stone gun."
Somebody must have been trying to trick us.
Master Tagami sacrificed himself to avenge Kijuro's killer!
No. Mataichi and the others are behind this!
Brother!
Forget it. It's nothing serious.
It's because those nobusumas attacked us.
What's...
Jihei made them for us.
What you told me saved my life!
It smells like a narcotic!
What was...
Please, wait here!
This isn't the work of any nobusuma!
It's Mataichi!
Mataichi and the others are behind it!
You?!
Well, who should I run into, but...
What?! Nagamimi? Why do you look like that?
Have you forgotten?
So, this is all another setup!
Exactly.
And the letter I got in Kyoto, too?
Huh? Letter? I don't know about that.
Huh? But...
I said I don't know about it, so I don't.
Now, if you value your brother, you'll get him out of here, fast!
What do you mean?
Our plot worked, but Jihei's been possessed by malice.
He's what?!
We don't know if it's the malice of Shimazo...
or of those the nodeppo killed.
People possessed by malice can be dangerous.
They're originally human, but they no longer have human hearts!
Hatred, hatred, and more hatred. That's all that's left inside.
As he is now, he'd shoot anyone. That's all he wants.
That weapon itself is the specter.
Where is Jihei now?
Headed for the village.
What?! But there's a festival in the village tonight!
That's why I told you to get out of here now!
This is terrible! We have to stop him!
- No, wait! Even saying that... - Nagamimi, let go!
An upright man to the bitter end. Sheesh!
Stop this, please!
Stand aside!
Jihei-- No, Shimazo!
Haven't you taken your revenge already?!
Shimazo!
Sh-Shimazo! No! Stop this, please!
Kill them.
Shimazo!
Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!
Grandfather!
Otami!
Grandfather, please!
Stop this, please!
- Kill them! - Kill them!
Kill them!
Make them like us!
They're suffering!
They're suffering because they were murdered!
Always... Always...
What... What's going on?
I remember, Grandfather. We once went to a festival long ago.
You were always kind.
You never stole from the poor. Please, stay the grandfather I knew!
What on earth happened?
Shimazo's soul was able to beat the nodeppo's hatred.
Mataichi!
This time, I didn't have to intervene.
Shimazo was an impressive man.
Even in death, his faith allowed him to win against the nodeppo's hatred.
To the next world, we commit Thee.
It's so bright down there.
The bright world of the living, the dark world of the dead.
The boundary separating them is truly paper-thin.
And living between them...is us.
Are you trying to say we live in different worlds?
Mr. Author.
It's a bit too bright for our tastes here. Take care of the rest, will you?
Where...
Let's go home.
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.
There's a rumor that the decapitated Giemon...
will come back to life for a third time.
Lurking in the shadows is Ogin's hatred.
Next time, on Natsuhiko Kyogoku's "Requiem From the Darkness:"
Kowai. (The Unkillable)
To the next world, we commit Thee!