Original subtitles

Sit.

Shake hands.

Bang!

You're supposed to play dead. Like this. Do like this, see?

Count me out.

You're a dog, aren't you?

I was once human.

But you're a dog now.

Supper is ready.

Huh...?

No! That's Nozomi's!

Gen, you're a dummy, so you brought the same order as before.

Nozomi...

Why didn't she come with us, anyway?

Who knows?

Maybe she's in a spat with a certain somebody.

Hey, tell us a funny story.

That's not something a dog can do.

Meanie. Okay, tell us why you turned into a dog.

Why did I turn into a dog...? Yeah, why did I?

Huh? Did you forget?

Well, it happened a really long time ago.

Then just tell us whatever you do remember, okay?

What I remember...

Right. It was a very long time ago.

Five thousand years ago now.

Back then, I was a terribly ill-natured young man.

But there was someone who was nice enough to give me her smile.

She possessed a special power.

It was the power to direct all things.

You'll be okay now.

She was the hope of all the others,

and the one they all trusted to make their choices.

She was our whole world.

However, our time of happiness did not last long.

An epidemic hit us out of nowhere.

Lesions became tumors,

and they swelled ever larger on a daily basis.

And even with her power to direct all things, she could not heal us.

Hey, Yamabiko...

How do I look?

Be honest with me.

Your hair looks so clear, and reminds me of snow.

What else?

Also... your lips are as blue as the sky.

And...?

Your eyes...

...project even more kindness than they did before.

Don't avert your eyes.

But...

Please. I want to get a closer look.

Hmm, you're right. They're much nicer than before. More natural.

This is the real me.

But no one else would ever think so.

I...

...would have been willing to do anything for her.

I would have been anything for her.

Yes, anything.

She never gave up.

She fought the epidemic, believing that she could save us all.

As the days wore on, I got so I could no longer look at her directly.

Because it was too painful?

No, just the opposite.

She was far too brilliant for me to look directly at her.

Ooh, listen to you!

It was a terrible disease.

Over time, the tumors spread all over their bodies,

and they no longer even looked human.

Until finally...

Are you okay?

You don't have to talk about it.

No,

I want you to hear this.

At the time, there was still some hope left within all of their hearts.

They believed for certain that she would find a way to save us.

It sounds like she was amazing.

Yeah.

I've seen many worlds,

but she was the first person I ever saw with that kind of power.

Up until I met her, I was just wandering aimlessly across worlds.

Doing so was a lot easier on me than being with my classmates.

I spent my days in neither sadness nor joy,

and just went on living.

It happened one night when there was a new moon.

That's when I met her.

Tell me your name.

Y-Yamabiko...

I'm Kodama.

Kodama was able to control everything here, any way she liked.

The others called her power "M," and venerated her as though she were a god.

For goodness' sake, what am I going to do with you?

No matter how much time passes, you're still so needy.

And don't come back here again, okay?

How was it?

Did you sleep well in a bed after all this time?

Yeah.

Tell me, do you have some kind of power, too?

I'm... just a regular homeless guy.

A traveler, huh? That's so cool.

I don't have a place of my own, that's all.

We've traveled around to different places before coming here, too.

Then we finally found this place.

This is a very peaceful, easy world. Almost unbelievably so.

I don't know...

So, how come you're all alone? You didn't drift here by yourself, right?

What is it you're after?

Huh?

I don't have anything of value. Nor do I have a power that will be useful to you.

I don't have anything.

Then tell me something--

I want to hear about the worlds you've been to.

There isn't much to talk about.

Anything is fine.

Even if it's complete and utter nonsense. We're all dying for new information.

Mm-hmm, so, tell us all about it after supper, okay?

H-Hey, you can't just dictate...

It's a little early still, but let's make it nighttime.

One with a full moon.

All right, I'm looking forward to it.

Wait!

Guys, it's suppertime!

Treat me like a fool, will she...?

To me, her kindness felt only disturbing.

Those guys all seem so fake.

And it's not as though any of them believed me.

Hey.

Wha--?

It doesn't taste as good cold, does it?

Here, while it's still hot.

No thanks.

Go ahead, help yourself--

I said no thanks!

Damn it.

Damn it!

Damn it, damn it, damn it! And damn her!

It's ready.

I get it now. Your tongue burns easily, right?

Huh?

Mmm, just right. Here, try some.

But...

Just try it.

Well?

Well nothing.

Too salty.

Yeah, you're right. I must have added a bit too much salt.

I've never had soup this salty before. It's unbelievable.

Mm-hmm, I'll be more careful next time.

I was so embarrassed and frustrated by myself...

...but also a little bit happy.

You're a surprisingly simple fellow, huh?

Still, I think I can relate a little bit.

Just a little bit, though!

I shouldn't have even tried. I failed.

Did you?

Yeah. All I ever do is regret the things I've done.

I've wasted most of my life doing so. Then I regret having done that.

Incredible. You must be a master at regretting.

Don't you ever have any regrets? Like, say, having drifted into this world?

No, I don't.

Why not?

Well, I was never given the freedom to choose.

I went to school like normal, and attended my classes like normal...

and before I knew it, here I was.

There's nothing there to regret even if I wanted to. Isn't that right?

You see, all we can do is move forward.

I began thinking that this might be the final destination of my long journey.

I thought those days would keep going on forever.

They'd go on forever, I thought.

How long has he been here?

You found him because a bird was making noise?

Hey, is this...?

Tell me your name.

You... are so ugly...

There are lots of rumors going around,

wondering if that man is the cause of this plague.

He probably is.

So what are you going to do?

I don't want to abandon him, if I can help it.

He told me that I was ugly after he looked at me. He didn't even hesitate.

He was nice enough to speak the truth.

Besides, if I can find out what's causing these tumors,

I think I can do something about them using my power.

What do you think? What do you think I should do?

I...

...think that your idea is right.

Really? Is that really what you think?

Of course. You're always right.

Aren't you?

I'm not as great a person as all that.

He's kind of like you were... when you had just barely arrived here.

I looked the other way...

...from her mistake.

I should have corrected her choice at the time.

But I couldn't.

Why not?

It was probably...

...because I believed in her...

...more than I believed in myself.

Mm-hmm, it's all right.

Come and let me check you tomorrow.

You said the same thing yesterday.

Well, I...

He's turned into this.

You just barely told him that he was all right.

Let me have a look. There's still--

Don't touch!

If only he wasn't here...

He's the one who brought this illness here.

If we had only killed him back then...

I said that you were ugly, but that was a lie.

The truth is, I thought you were beautiful.

Why did you lie, then?

I wanted to be liked by you. And, just as I expected, you were pleased.

What do you take people's feelings for?

I get that question a lot.

You're the cause of these tumors, aren't you?

Mm-hmm, that's right.

I'm the one who brought them here.

Then I need you to tell me how to conquer them.

I should be able to cure these tumors.

Those wounds can't be healed by anyone.

I know you must understand... that I'm not all that's causing them.

Never mind. I'm going.

I don't have time for this.

No, wait!

I'll give you this! Okay?

What is it?

Pretty, isn't it? This is an award you get for killing a hundred people.

This one is for a thousand. This one is for ten thousand.

See? Pretty, aren't they?

Stop it!

I'm sorry. This always happens. I can't help but do the wrong thing.

Then finally, people end up hating me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do!

Don't come near us anymore.

No, please, don't be so afraid of me!

Get out of our sight!

Damn it! How come this...

...always happens to me?!

Yamabiko, you didn't fall ill?

No. And I hated that more than anything.

He said that it wasn't the plague that he brought, but a different "This World."

A world where mental wounds manifested as tumors.

He called that world "Scar Art."

Yes, this is my art. I'm hoping to collect many more of these.

Here, you can touch it. Come closer.

Come on, don't you want to know why you're the only one who hasn't taken ill?

Well, I'll tell you. It's because This World is a world that you made.

I hadn't realized it until he said so.

The power to materialize what was within my mind--

that's what my power was.

At some point along the way, I had become locked up inside my own shell.

That's the reason why I alone didn't suffer from the illness,

and why, within those parameters, Kodama's powers were meaningless.

Whatever is causing the wounds themselves

are events happening somewhere outside of This World.

You all had to resolve those.

Then how do we do that?

You just had to change yourself.

All you had to do was break out of your shell and fly out.

But it's too late now. I'm leaving now.

I get it.

I know what you're trying to say.

But there's nothing that those of us who have been discarded can do.

We don't have a choice. You've heard the voice, too, haven't you?

Who exactly are you, anyway?!

Have you forgotten? We've met before, remember?

I know you've seen me around.

In all sorts of places. And not just once, either; many times.

There, there, good boy, good boy.

If only you had a little more courage,

you could have saved her. She's been waiting for you.

So eerily nice, but surprisingly dull--

this world is you to a tee.

Well then, farewell.

Come to think of it,

I never mentioned, did I...

...that my name was War?

And after I kept telling him to fly away...

I did a bad thing...

If I hadn't helped him, he could have flown off to a faraway world somewhere.

I thought I was helping him, when actually, I was hampering him.

Yamabiko...

What is it?

Will you do anything I ask you to?

Of course.

Then, someday, fulfill the promise you made to me.

You have to fly away from this place.

This is not the real world.

I'm all right.

Tell me, you'll do that, right?

I know you're able to.

After all, you're...

And so, a single dog was all that remained in the forest.

She was right.

I had plenty of chances--

chances to save her.

But I closed my eyes to all of them.

Her wish was to walk together with me in the outside world, that was all.

She waited for me all that time.

And yet I was unable to step up and respond.

Sorry to talk your ears off.

Yamabiko...

What is it?

Can I sleep together with you?

Remember, you promised.

Let's walk together

down that road made of skeleton bones you once told me about,

while we have some ice cream or something.

Yeah.

The two of us.

Can't sleep?

Mm-mm. I have a lot on my mind.

Like, "Why did I do what I did back then?"

and "Why didn't I do that?"

After thinking about all those things that I can't do anything about now,

I'm no longer sleepy.

I just wanted to accept the light.

I was so afraid of losing the light

that I ended up not being able to step forward.

But I was finally able to take off.

It took me 5,000 years.

I wonder if I can do it, too.

Yeah,

you can.

It's Nozomi! Long time!

You're late!

This is exactly the time we agreed on.

Huh?! I've been waiting two weeks since the day we were supposed to meet!

Huh? Our clocks are different.

Oh, you're right.

The flow of time must have been different for the two of you.

There, back in sync.

Mm-hmm.

Wow, so all that happened on the island?

But who was this "War" guy fighting against?

His objective was to kill God.

Hmm? Is that even possible?

Who knows?

Even if he were able to kill him...

I wonder if that would change anything.