One day,
I got a message from a girl
who had been popular in my middle school class,
asking if I'd be interested in a reunion for two.
My mind was instantly electrified
by the words "for two."
The venue she chose
was a romantic restaurant with a secretive mood.
I grew confident
- that we'd go to a hotel afterward. - I prefer it cluttered...
After we reminisced over memories,
she stared into my eyes
and said, "I want to take you somewhere."
At last.
But contrary to my expectations,
she wanted to take me to an MLM seminar.
She then told me about five vital nutrients.
I WANT TO TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE
Ever since that day,
I sometimes find myself at the mercy of women's whims.
BAR LIGHTHOUSE
- Good night. - Thank you. Come again.
- Excuse me. I'll be off. - Good work today.
- Have a good night! - You too.
- Careful on your way out. - Will do.
You like white rice?
I do. Isn't it delicious?
Just white rice? No toppings?
The toppings are there to enhance the rice's flavor.
Is that right?
Do you know any good restaurants?
Yes, I know a couple.
What's good around here?
- There's a cafe called Mermaid. - Okay?
- Their doria is good. - Doria?
I know a good doria place. It's a little far,
but there's a restaurant called Kujira.
Their doria is made with blue rice.
- Blue rice? - Yes.
- How does it taste? - I've never had it.
What else is good at Mermaid?
Well, their breakfast is good...
-It's American style -Really.
- Izumi. - It's not too good.
What do you mean by that?
- Wake up. - Well, I mean...
I said wake up!
Izumi!
Sorry. Wow.
My bad.
- Fuku, he needs a cup of water. - All right.
You frequent bars then.
- The ones close to where I live, I do. - I see.
We had better get going.
Is it closing time already?
- It is. - Here's your water.
- Drink it. - Thanks.
Izumi, you good?
I'm fine. Yes.
- See you. - Good night.
- Thanks for coming.
- Can you stand? - I'm okay.
Nice and slow.
See you.
How are you getting home?
I'm going to the station.
The station is this way.
Right, it's that way.
By the way, is it connected to Toei Subway's Shinjuku Line?
That one's a bit of a walk.
Right.
It's not time for the last trains yet. I think I'll walk.
I'm headed that way too. I'll walk with you.
What is it?
Oh, nothing.
Oh, are you drunk?
Do I look drunk?
Shall we go for another round?
If you want to, that is.
Oh, but I feel bad. You have a girlfriend.
We're only going out for drinks.
Besides, my girlfriend is gone.
Gone?
Like, she exists somewhere,
but not here.
What do you mean?
What?
What? It's you, Izumi.
Are you okay?
What?
Oh, it's Sensei.
- Hello! - Careful! Don't lean!
What's that in your hand?
- What? - That thing you're holding.
What the heck?
Oh, I know.
I found this on the ground by the little buddha statue.
I think it's the thing that goes around their neck.
What? A little buddha's?
You don't realize what you've done.
We have to return it now. Wait there, I'm coming.
All right. I'll be here.
Wait up.
Are you okay?
Careful now.
That one?
I think so.
Hold on.
This one?
You can't mess with little buddhas.
There are many ghost stories about them.
About little buddhas?
I'm sorry.
The last train probably left already.
Yes, I think it did.
Shall we go sit at a restaurant then?
Yes, sure.
- Oh, thanks. - A little further.
- You good? - Yes, thanks.
- This way. - Okay.
Excuse me. Thank you for waiting.
Thank you.
I'll take your cups.
- Sorry. Thank you. - Of course.
You're so young.
Are you two regulars of that bar?
I started going recently.
Speaking of that, Izumi.
What do you do? Are you a student?
No. I'm trying to become an actor.
- Really? - I moved here from Niigata.
I've been in Tokyo for two months now.
Do you know anyone here?
No friends or anything,
but I guess there's my father.
- You have nothing to worry about then. - Well...
He's here, but he isn't.
So which is it?
We aren't a normal family.
We're technically strangers.
He hasn't realized that I'm his son.
Do you even know him?
Kind of.
I see him at the bar often.
What?
- Is it me? - No.
Then who is it? Is it Tani?
It's Fukuo.
- Fuku? - Who's that?
He runs the kitchen. The guy in the cap.
This is him.
Is that Fuku? He looks good.
And here's my mother.
She moved to Niigata right after she got pregnant with me.
I don't think Fukuo knows about me.
I see.
Are you going to tell him?
I wanted to see what kind of person he was.
I didn't plan on getting involved.
But I don't know anyone here.
That bar is the only place I can go to.
So I don't mind keeping things like this for a while.
I feel at ease just knowing he's close.
But this has been fun today.
I haven't spoken to someone past midnight in a while.
- Can I have a bite? - Go ahead.
- Yum. - Isn't it good?
What's this one? The second layer.
Oh, what is it?
Where do you live?
I'll call a cab. You should go home.
It's pretty late.
We'll take you home. We want you to be safe.
Oh, thanks.
What's this one?
- Want to try it? - It's all mixed in.
Look at this one.
What was that?
What? What just happened?
Thanks for everything today.
- See you. - Goodnight.
What're you going to do?
You have three more hours until the first train of the day arrives.
I'll go kill time somewhere else. I live far from here.
What will you do?
I'll stick with you.
I don't have anything going on tomorrow morning.
In that case,
I want to take you somewhere.
THRILLER NIGHT
What is this place?
A horror tale bar.
I love listening to horror stories on YouTube.
I always come when my favorite storyteller is performing.
Come on.
Welcome.
This is an odd hobby.
Is it though? We're enjoying stories.
Same as enjoying comedy.
What would you like to drink?
If I remember correctly, you don't like sweets.
What?
Well, that's true.
I'm Kota Nakayama. Thank you for coming today.
This happened when I was 19.
I befriended A and B, who lived in the next town over.
One day, A and B
went to a health spa in town.
Health spas are like bathhouses nowadays.
They had baths, saunas, pools, and more.
You could spend the entire day at a health spa.
There, A and B were hanging out by the pool.
A tried to dive into the water.
B was a few steps away from A.
B heard A splash into the water, so he looked over.
In the next moment,
A floated to the surface hunched over.
They hurriedly called the ambulance,
but A had broken his neck. He died instantly.
I heard about this from B.
Then B wanted to see me.
As soon as he sees me, he goes, "You said you can see ghosts, right?"
I told him I've seen them in the past.
I asked him why he asked.
He then said,
"No one would believe what I'm about to say
unless they can see ghosts."
"Will you hear my story?"
Then he told me this.
When A was trying to jump into the pool,
B was a few steps away.
As A put his hands together to dive in,
a man in all red slid out of the changing room.
His movements were smooth, as if he wore ice skates.
He came out without a sound.
He glanced at B, who was frozen in fear.
He then held A's body and slammed him into the pool headfirst.
He then slid over to B,
again as if skating.
He slid over to B very quickly.
Then he looked up at B from below.
His face didn't have eyes, a nose, or a mouth.
It was a face wrinkled with red lines.
The man shook his shoulders as he laughed.
B lost his consciousness at that moment.
That's mine.
- Sorry. - This man took others' lives for fun.
I don't know what this man in red was.
I don't know who he is, but..
Well...
I'm sorry.
Did someone in the audience bring a spirit?
- What? - Who could it be?
What?
Is this part of his act?
I don't think so.
My ears won't stop ringing.
It's you.
You over there!
What?
An evil spirit haunts you.
I'm haunted?
You need to take care of this before it becomes serious.
- Let's go. - Okay.
What was up with him?
Scaring the audience like that.
That storyteller was rude.
Where are you headed?
What?
Nowhere in particular.
Are you suspicious of me?
Well,
when I think back,
you seem to know a lot about me.
I've never said that I don't like sweets, not even in interviews.
Oh, that.
She'd always tell me.
Who would?
Your girlfriend.
The one who went missing.
What?
I worked at the kindergarten until this summer.
Your girlfriend was my best friend on the job.
Was she really?
Yes.
What? What's this?
What?
What's going on?
What?
Did you do something?
What?
Did you do anything to the little buddha?
Did you take anything from him?
How did I end up with it?
Sometimes the rock follows people around.
That may be why.
I feel dizzy all of a sudden.
Let's go back right now.
Hurry!
What?
Are you okay?
The rock.
Are we done? Are things good now?
How do you feel?
Okay, I guess.
Good morning.
So, at the end of the first semester,
all the staff joined together
and requested better working conditions from the principal.
We said we wouldn't come to work after the summer break if things didn't improve.
But the principal didn't respond.
When the summer break ended, children came back, so we began to worry.
Your girlfriend went to the kindergarten to explain our situation to the parents
on the first day of the second semester.
And the next day, she was back at work.
She betrayed you?
The parents begged her to come in,
saying they can't go to work if their kids have nowhere to go.
Wow.
She told me this in person.
I can put myself in her shoes. I understand where she's coming from.
But I lashed out anyway.
I told her we're through.
I mean, we lost our jobs and she didn't.
I was really upset with everything.
But later, I regretted saying that to her.
I wanted to apologize.
That's why I went to see her play on Halloween.
Let's do it, let's do it
Let's go beat the demons On the demon island
Let's go, let's go
I'll follow you anywhere
I'll be your friend, now let's go
She left the stage as soon as our eyes met.
Teacher?
Sorry.
I was shocked.
Being a kindergarten teacher doesn't pay.
She shouldn't have had that much money.
I asked about her later
and apparently, she quit that day and disappeared.
No one knows where she went.
But I want to
return this to her.
I wanted to tell you right away,
but I had to make sure it was going to the right person.
That's why I hesitated.
She inherited her grandmother's wealth.
It was quite a fortune.
What?
Really?
I had no idea.
Ready.
- Oh, you can leave it there. - Okay, sure.
You approached me
because you had questions for me.
I was hoping you knew where she went.
That I don't know.
I see.
Oh, but she responded to me for the first time, yesterday.
I asked her where she was
and she sent me this.
TAHITI
"Tahiti?"
I didn't think she was interested in traveling,
but maybe she went overseas.
I sent her this image.
What?
We promised to go to Tahiti together once we quit that crappy kindergarten job.
Even though we were both short on money.
I don't know if she's in Tahiti,
but I know she's doing well.
She's somewhere out there in this world.
I can give her the money.
I'll return it myself.
If you find her, can you tell her this?
That I want to see her.
Okay. I can do that.
All right, careful on your way back.
Good morning.
Over here.
Good morrning.
Sensei, hello?
You stayed out all night?
What?
You didn't go home last night.
Wait there!
- Good morning. - Morning.
What is it?
Are you on your way to BAR Lighthouse now?
Was that the girl you were hitting on last night?
So you two were together the entire time.
Even though your girlfriend is missing.
No, that's a misunderstanding.
You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday.
I'm telling you.
We were with Izumi.
We talked all night at a diner.
You know, he's got a serious problem.
Do you mean Fukuo?
What? You know about it?
Look.
I found this in Ochanomizu.
Oh, don't tell Kaoru about this, okay?
Why is that?
Because Kaoru has a crush on Fukuo.
What?
SAIKYO BILLY THE TEN HOLES
I finally left this room for two I spent so much time in
I then realized a couple of things
When I fit the pieces into place
It's your face that comes to my mind
Before coming to the realization
Just after my feelings tear into pieces
I began to wander around
To find ways to force my feelings out
I walked on
In the midst of the city
I thought I was just passing through
I found a Mobius
As I was standing still As we part ways
I won't even tell you The feelings I lost along the way
Yes, I will drown in this love
He'll cover for me over the end-of-year holidays.
PREVIEW
Fuku's hand-me-down!
Some things are better unsaid.
I'm not gonna tell him.
- Sensei caught the flu. - Oh, dear.
But this is the best season of the year!
Translated by