Original subtitles

Tarou-kun went to a fruit store and bought 2 bananas for 15 yen each,

3 apples for 25 yen each,

and then went to a fish shop where he tried to buy 2 fish for 70 yen each,

but he was short by 30 yen.

So, how much money did Tarou-kun leave home with?

Okay, the first person to get it right will receive something nice.

"1 banana for 15 yen"? When the heck were they that cheap?

Pretty pathetic, huh? Only being short 30 yen.

He's only a kid, right? The shop keeper should've given him a discount.

Maybe it was actually an older man with a wicked beard.

Perhaps in his 40s?

It's Tarou-KUN, right? It's got the "kun" to it, right? It's gotta be a kid.

But perhaps this problem is from the perspective of a 70-year-old

Well, looking at it that way...

I see... From the perspective of a 70-year-old, a 40-year-old would still seem like a kid.

Hey, are you guys going to solve the problem or what?

I've never been good at math!

"Me, too."

Then I'm "Me, too," too.

Then I guess I'm "Me, too," too.

Hey guys! Who wants me to do some card tricks?

All right! Okay then, Kiriyama-kun. Pick a card, any card.

Nah...

Take a card!

Oh, seven of diamonds!

Hey! Don't say it!

But it IS the seven of diamonds.

Do it again!

Why are you so mad?

- I'm not sure... - HURRY UP!

Today is when students find out if they've made it into the school of their choice, right?

- Why are you carrying a turtle? - Huh, a turtle?

A turtle!

You didn't even realize you were carrying it?!

Yeah, but a turtle's shell is pretty hard, so it should be okay holding it like this.

You didn't notice it?!

Good thing it wasn't a baby.

I said, you didn't realize you were carrying it?

Kiriyama-kun! Put it back without showing me what it is.

I SAID, YOU DID NOT EVEN REALIZE YOU WERE HOLDING A TURTLE?!

Now, I'll shuffle the cards...

- Which college was it? - Asahigaoka University.

They're announcing it today.

Really?

The card that you picked is...

the eight of hearts. Am I right?

Huh?

It's not the right one?

I'm not sure, I didn't really look at it.

You didn't?!

Oh, uhh..then, that's the one.

Whaddya mean "then that's the one."?

Remembering numbers and stuff is "Me, too", ya know.

I have no idea what you're talking about!

Speaking of school acceptance announcement day, how about this case, Kiriyama-kun?

Yeah?

Precisely 15 years ago in spring, a girl who just got accepted to Asahigaoka University was murdered.

Oh, that one. Right after finally being free of taking entrance exams...

She probably had lots of plans after getting into college, too.

Such a sad story.

- Oh, a hermit crab! - Hmm?

- Where did that come from? - Oh!? A crawdad?

She was killed on the day of finding out she got accepted?

The one who was killed was Ritsuko Tachibana, 18...

a third year student of Kamoshika High School.

On the night of her acceptance when she was on her way home after an acceptance party

she was attacked by someone.

I'll leave the details to Kiriyama, but first I have to...

He solves cases which have passed the statute of limitations as his hobby,

Kiriyama Shuuichirou

Police Department of the Statute of Limitations Episode 8

Is acceptance to college an invitation to death?

On March 3, 1991 at around 10:30 p.m., Ritsuko Tachibana was found murdered in a forest outside of Kamoshika city in her school uniform.

The cause of death was suffocation. The murder weapon was determined to be a scarf left at the scene.

Just before then, Ritsuko was at a cafe, "Mori no Arakuma," eating with her classmate Yayoi Sekigahara

Since they had both got into college, they were apparently pretty excited at the time.

Tada!

Congratulations!

All right! All together now...

Congrats!

From now on we're college girls. We can do whatever we want!

Don't get too wild.

I am gonna get wild! I got into college just for that!

It's okay, I'll keep an eye on her.

You better keep both eyes on her.

Something, something, something...

And in the end, the monkey always wins...

It's amazing how Ritsuko just sings without knowing the lyrics.

Hey, why don't we all go somewhere together?

Let's go overseas!

No way! It's already 10 o'clock.

Ya know what? You should just think of it as 10:00 in the morning!

She's talkin' crazy.

I can't. It's already past my curfew.

You're such a goody two shoes.

Come on, let's be good little girls and go home.

- How about we draw some nose hair... - Hey, what the...?

See ya!

Good night.

Uh, yeah. Good night!

"Mori no Arakuma" closed at 10:00. Ritsuko said goodbye to Yayoi and the shop keeper in front of the cafe and left for home alone.

Ritsuko's house was only about a 10-minute walk from the cafe, but the murder scene was 1 km away in the forest.

At the scene of the crime, since there was no trace of her being dragged, Ritsuko was deemed to have gone their of her own volition.

At that time, there were many reports of girls running into a pervert in the area.

The police felt that this was caused by the same man.

Half a year later, on September 11th, Shinya Yamazaki, an unemployed man living in the same city, was arrested.

Huh?

Having arrested Yamazaki, they thought they had solved the case, but at the time of the crime,

it was determined he was chasing another woman and doing strange acts with a female sheep.

Huh?!

Yamazaki was arrested for obscenity, but he was cleared of the charge for murder.

After that, without any new evidence, Ritsuko Tachibana's case went unsolved for 15 years and reached the statute of limitations.

Restaurant of "More"

You wouldn't normally go somewhere where it says, "Beware of perverts in the area," would you?

It's strange, definitely strange!

Are you listening?

No, not really.

- Hello and welcome! - Hello.

Oh! Just the two of you? I brought 7!

It's okay. We'll drink them.

Oh, good.

Here, everything is more than you expect, so you might get bloated.

It really helps out having you come here every day.

You come here every day?!

No, no... I don't come EVERY day.

I spoke more than I should have.

Ahh. Wait, 3 of them?

What will you have today?

Uhh, I guess I'll have this, "Just 2 slices of sauteed pork"

- Okay. - You'll pile up "more", right?

- Yep, 26 slices. - 26?!

- How about you? - I'm not really that hungry.

Oh, well then this is perfect ("Almost nothing, 1,200 yen").

Even though there's almost nothing, it's 1,200 yen?!

It's okay! She'll give you "more".

Yep. Actually, there's quite a bit.

Huh? What's "quite a bit"?!

Will you show me that magazine again?

Here you go.

You really don't know what's gonna happen in life, do you?

Two friends get into the same college. One is killed the same day; the other becomes an assistant professor at that same college.

Wow, she's beautiful.

I don't know about that. She's wearing a lab coat, so of course she looks twice as pretty.

Huh? What's that?

What I'm saying is, that when a woman wears a lab coat, she looks prettier than she actually is.

In some cases, perhaps even 3 or 4 times prettier.

That much "more" pretty?

What's with this "more" business?

Here you are.

Damn, that was quick!

Wait a sec, there are only 12 slices.

That's right.

I thought you said 26 slices.

I spoke "more" than I should have.

Here you are, "Almost nothing."

- That's a ton! - Yep. I gave you more daikon oroshi.

Is the reason you named this restaurant "More" because you were trying to serve more than usual?

Nope, it's because I lived in More City.

After we eat, will you go somewhere with me?

I'm not sure I'll be able to finish eating in the first place.

When you would like to use the trigonometric function to solve, e to the i to the 20th power equals e to the...

When I look at all of these numbers on a full stomach, it makes me wanna puke!

That's because you ate all that crap!

I felt bad since I thought you were treating me. Why did I have everything "more"?

She even charged "more" than on the menu.

Yuck, more numbers.

- "Me, too." - Yes you, fourth from the back.

Me?!

You can explain this proof, right?

- Of course. - I can't believe you said, "of course."

Come on down. Hurry up!

Uh, yes.

Why are you going down there?! Say you don't understand!

Let's see... e to the i to the x power equals 5 times the sine of x plus i times the sine of x...

As we all know, "e" is the natural logarithm. Here, in the proof of the trigonometric function, if you change the form to

you get the ic log e...

Yeah, right. Like that would happen.

Uh, for this... it's difficult to explain all at once.

It's a famous Euler formula.

"Oira"?

Don't say it...

"Oira" am Kiriyama Shuuichirou. ("Oira" = "I" in a Japanese dialect)

He said it.

Get it?

You suck.

- Excuse me for such foolishness earlier. - Truly sorry.

Nevermind that. So what is this "hobby" of yours?

I investigate cases which have reached the statute of limitations as a hobby.

I find it somewhat insulting when you refer to it as your "hobby."

Ritsuko was my best friend.

- Forgive me. - We are truly sorry!

But doncha think that is precisely why I thought I should investigate your best friend's case?

Of course, I doncha think so.

Oh... really.

Sorry to bother you.

What is it? I have guests, so could you... you know...

make it short?

It's about the paper on Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem.

Should I write it for you yet again?

- You don't like being my assistant? - No, it's not that. - Then please carry on.

I have a schedule, so I thought I would check just in case.

- That's all you came for? - Yes.

Sorry to have disturbed you.

Sorry about that.

Professor, you don't write your own papers?

- You were eavesdropping?! - No, no! I could naturally hear what you were saying at this distance.

I love numbers, but I really don't like having to read or write papers.

- Writing is just so imprecise, don't you think? - Ahh, I guess so.

Tako!... just then, you weren't sure if I meant an octopus (tako), a callus (tako), a kite (tako), or an idiot (tako), right?

Of course not, he's an idiot (tako).

I don't like such vaguenessity.

But, no matter where you are, 1 is 1 and 2 is 2. Do you understand?

I guess.

What in the world do you mean by, "I guess"?

Uh... ummm... Not so much "I guess" as "I suppose so."

Clarify yourself! If you agree, answer "yes"! If you don't, answer "no"! If you don't understand, answer "I don't understand"! If you say "I guess," I'M the one who doesn't understand!

- Sorry. - I absolutely and completely did not understand.

It's nice that you're so easy to understand.

Next time, if you have something to discuss, please study up on the subject beforehand, okay?

Okay.

It's almost as if we came here to get scolded.

- Just what is "vaguenessity"? - "Vaguenessity"?

Is it like a snail?

- That professor said it. - I don't like such vaguenessity.

- Didn't she just make a mistake? Because it just doesn't make sense to say you don't likes snails out of nowhere.

But what about that other time, "But doncha think that is precisely why I thought I should investigate your best friend's case?"

"Of course I doncha think so."

- Pretty strange, don't ya think? - I'm sure she was just being sarcastic.

I really don't like people like her. Life is interesting precisely because it's hard to define, don't you think?

- You're not listening, are you? - Nope, not at all.

Are you a new student?

- Oh, I'm sorry. Were you a taxi driver? - No, I'm a new student.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Can you tell me what's on the entrance exam to get into the School of Math?

Math, English, and an essay, right? [What's up with this guy?]

- Uh, yeah. - How long has it been like that?

Uh, I'm not really sure. [Is this guy gay or what?]

- I wonder if the essay is hard... - It's pretty well known that it's difficult. [He's gotta be gay]

- Right? - Yeah.

Thanks...

By the way, I'm not gay.

- The case 15 years ago? - Yeah, the case where Ritsuko Tachibana was murdered after celebrating at this cafe.

Really?! She died here?

- Huh? - Where about?

No, not here! In the forest.

Don't you remember?

No, I don't.

- Yeah, right. - No really!

Even though it was a murder case and Ritsuko came here so often?!

Actually, I have short term memory loss, and I forget things after 30-40 minutes or so.

Sometimes, I forget things after only 1 or 2 minutes.

Yeah, right.

Inspector, I understand that you don't believe me, but have to have some faith in the goodness of people!

- Sorry, but I'm not an inspector. - Uh huh.

- So you don't remember anything? - That's right.

Just a sec. Just for occasions like this, I keep notes.

Even if I don't remember, these notes record everything for me.

March 4th, a little after 4:00 p.m.: I have an engaging conversation with Inspector Kiriyama.

I'm not really an inspector, though.

Is it okay if I take your picture?

- Say "cheese"! - You already took it!

Now if I just put this in my notes, I'll remember just by glancing at it.

So... do you have notes from 15 years ago?

Sure do. I have them as far back as 30 years ago. Have a seat.

Here it is. "March 3rd, 7:10 p.m.: Yayoi and Ritsuko arrive."

"Order of a forest pork cutlet platter, a wolf salad, and white fairy juice."

"8:00 p.m.: Yayoi and Ritsuko have a good conversation, but they leave me out."

"I go back to the counter. 9:00 p.m.: Ritsuko sings karaoke."

"10:00 p.m.: Closing time. I walk with them outside."

- Isn't the writing style slightly different in some parts? - Don't peek! - Oh, sorry!

- To show you this is to show you my soul! - Forgive me.

- Writing style? - Sometimes it seemed a bit different.

That's because I forgot how I was writing at the same time that I'm writing it.

I see.

You don't have to get so mad. I just want to investigate this case that happened 15 years ago.

- A case 15 years ago? - Yeah.

- What's that about? - You forgot already?

- Actually, I have short term memory loss... - I got it.

- Could I perhaps borrow this notebook for a day? - What do you think?

No?

Can I take a picture?

Say "cheese"!

- I still didn't do it in time. - I'm sorry?

- Nothing. - I'm gonna place this picture in my notes.

Hm? You're already in here.

- Yeah, you just took one. - You could've told me!

Sorry, sorry.

Hm? Did you come last week?

- Huh? - Is that a toupee?

- No. - 'Cause I don't think it would grow that much in 1 week.

Let me look at that!

Don't do that! To show you that is to show you my soul!

Wait a sec. Wasn't my notebook just here?

Didn't you just put it away?

Really?

Did you forget?

I'm not sure what I should do. Do you guys understand what I mean?

But, you have to think about Shimokitazawa's feelings as well.

Shimokitazawa, how do you feel?

That's hard to say...

- Do you wanna press charges? - What?!

My belly button is so itchy!

Oh yeah, I should just scratch it.

What's wrong?

Something terrible has been discovered.

Sounds tough.

It's no joke.

- My belly button? - Shimokitazawa's underwear has been stolen for this past month.

I don't know anything about that. It's not me!

She caught it all on video.

It's not me, I swear! I was playing Mah Jong with Ueda...

Just take a look.

- Hachi-san! - But you're closer... oh well.

- Hachi-san... - Oh yeah.

Oh, you saw it too? Mikazuki-kun

I started working here at the same time as him.

I ate the same food as he did.

I feel terrible.

And without even knowing that, he comes in the door.

You feel bad? Are you okay?

Ah, Kichijouji-kun!

Did you bring the school uniform?

The school uniform. I mentioned that, right? That I just wanted to borrow it for awhile.

No, I don't!

Hey! What's up with that?

Ah, Mikazuki-kun!

Won't you come with me to the forest for awhile? You know, the "pervert's forest"?

Right now I'm so confused I can't say anything!

What's with that?

I saw a weird dream this morning.

An old guy who was about 10 feet tall looked at me with a grin on his face and said...

[Kiriyama-kun is a pervert]

"if your throat has gotten better, you should rethink your debut."

So I said, "I never had my debut in the first place. Why would I rethink about it?"

[Kiriyama kun is a pervert. Kiriyama-kun is a pervert...]

Then the old guy grew to about 20 feet...

So I got really pissed, and said, "What is that 'lobe' part of 'ear lobe'?" Then the old guy shrank to about 2 millimeters and started crying.

- Mikazuki-san?

[Kiriyama-kun is a pervert.]

I don't care! I don't care if he's a pervert!

Huh?

I guess it was somewhere around here.

Why would Ritsuko come here so late at night?

- Things are kind of creepy at this time of night. - It's dangerous. Watch your step.

Oh, thanks!

- That's why I said "watch your step." - Ouch.

What is this? A bottle?

Eh? There's someone there!

Huh?

- Hello. - Hello.

- You were her homeroom teacher? - That's correct. My name is Shinagawa.

Were you her teacher all 3 years?

- Yes. - So that means you were also Yayoi Sekigahara's homeroom teacher.

- That's correct.

- Ritsuko and Yayoi were good friends, weren't they? - (It's that bottle again!) - They had been friends since they were little.

- Did Sekigahara do something? - How were their grades at that time?

Ritsuko was to major in literature at Asahigaoka University, and Yayoi was accepted into the Math dept., right?

- Yes, that's right. - Did that seem natural to you?

- Are you trying to say something? - Huh?

- Thank you for the meal! - You're very welcome!

- Ah, hello again. - Did you forget something?

- I'm sorry? - I asked if you forgot something! Are you gonna ask me more?

No. I guess I'll have the "pork cutlet that hardly fills you up".

You're still going to eat?!

You're still gonna eat?!

- Why did you spit at me twice?! - I always do things "more".

What the heck...

Here you go. Here's some more.

- I'm still asking if you're gonna eat more! - What the...?! I only ate breakfast and I just came here for lunch!

- Huh?! - Huh?!

- Hm?! - Hm?!

- 'Cause you were just... huh?!

- Might it be, that I was just here a minute ago? - Yep.

- My hair was different, right? - Yeah.

- And my clothes? - Those are different, too.

That wasn't me.

- It wasn't you? - Yeah, there's someone else...

- "More" of you? - No, me and someone else.

- I see.

- Which is the real you? - That's hard to say.

So not even you know.

It's not that. He has his own perverted life, and, well... We both have our own lives.

It's amazing you have such a secret talent.

Switching places during the exams?

I heard many things from your former homeroom teacher Shinagawa.

I even read your old essays.

Forgive me for being rude, but your writing skills are... well

pretty crappy.

An essay where the topic was "chestnut picking,"(kurihiroi) you ended up writing as "chestnut throwing".(kurisutei) (She wrote the incorrect character for "picking")

Like Agatha "Christie" (kurisutei). Get it?

Your teacher Shinagawa didn't laugh either.

So what's your point?

On the other hand, Ritsuko Tachibana's essays were very scholarly, comparing a tug of war contest to the struggles of life. I was very touched and even cried.

It seems as though she frequently sent in postcards to a late night radio program, and some of them were read on air.

For the purpose of having something interesting to write about, she would do stuff like drain public pools dry and let loose pet rabbits.

Shinagawa always laughed how she would make fun of everything that went wrong in her life.

So what?

I also went to the cafe that you two frequented, "Mori no Arakuma."

Really?

The shop keeper said he forgot the origin of the cafe's name, but I felt that perhaps he took it from a certain song.

That's right.

You think so too?

One day, in the forest (mori), I met a bear (kuma-san), While walking in the forest, I met a bear.

"Oh, a bear!" (Ara, kuma-san!) ["Oh, a bear!"]

The shop keeper thought that this "Ara, kuma-san!" (Oh, a bear!) was "Arakuma-san" (a person's name).

And that's why he named his cafe, "Mori no Arakuma."

That's what I said.

I knew it! Sorry for such a lengthy explanation.

My singing isn't really... you know...

What do you mean "you know"?

As I said before, I like things to be precise.

Yes, yes. You don't like "vaguenessity," do you?

Well, as long as you understand.

What's so funny?

Nothing really. You know about the notes at the cafe, right?

This is the notebook from the day of the murder.

[My memory notebook]

Here.

It reads, "Yayoi and Ritsuko talk about switching places at the exam."

You switched places with Ritsuko during the exam, didn't you?

You took the math portion of the exam for Ritsuko, and she wrote the essay portion for you.

You two had the same hairstyle and the same school uniform.

It's very difficult to confirm every student's identity in a room full of about 100 other students.

So what?

What do you mean by "so what"?

What exactly are you trying to prove?

Even if we did switch places, it has nothing to do with her murder.

So you admit to switching places?

- Do you want me to? - It's okay. This is just my hobby.

Just leave the rest as homework for me.

That's fine with me. However, today's visit turned out to be little more that a small concert.

- Thank you. - Don't give up. It's not easy to prove what people are thinking.

Yeah, I guess that's why they say, "One who seeketh the psyche doth not break the building blocks with time."

That's true.

- Did you understand the meaning? - Of course I do! Don't make fun of me!

I didn't. I just kind of made it up on the spot. I'll be leaving now.

It actually looks pretty good on me.

"- My boyfriend seems a little perverted. Should I break up with him? - Humans are all perverted to some degree! Wouldn't it be a waste to break up for such a reason?"

Yeah, that's right. Wouldn't that be a waste?

Eh?! It's the pervert.

- Mikazuki-kun? You've got nothing better to do, right? - I guess not.

I thought so. Won't you come to my place?

- What? - I've got a favor to ask.

- Okay. - Come quickly. I can't do this alone.

What?! You want to see me?

Sure, I'll stay by your side for awhile, even if you are a pervert.

Get in here quick!

- But... - No "but"s. Quickly!

Wait just a sec.

What?

Noth..Nothing.

Well, just having you strip down all of a sudden...

- Would you wear this for me? - What?!

- Hurry up! - Wear this?

I can't do these things by myself. Hurry up and take off your clothes.

Okay.

- Would you turn down the light? - Huh? Why?

- Well... it's just... - Come tell me when you're done.

- Okay. - Do it quickly.

Humans are all perverted to some degree.

Alright. I can do this. I can definitely do this.

- Hello? - I'm, done, chang-ing!

- Tada!

What do you think?

It looks good on you.

Okay, so can we get started?

Okay.

I don't completely understand... you know... this special way of doing it.

What the hell are you talking about? Come here.

Would you look the other way for a sec?

What are you gonna do?

Forget about me being behind you, okay?

Okay.

For this occasion, I'll do anything you want me to.

Yeah.

I'm no longer here. Got it?

Yeah.

That hurts! What are you doing?!

I knew that wouldn't work.

What is this?!

I was trying to recreate the scene of the crime.

Tell me that before you do anything!

But if I told you beforehand, you would know what was going on, and it wouldn't be like the crime scene, right?

If Ritsuko Tachibana knew beforehand, she probably would have survived.

Even so... this hurts!

But thanks to you, I finally understand.

Understand what?

Since Ritsuko had no scarf on her school uniform, I thought she was killed by her own scarf.

But like in our reenactment, it was impossible to take the scarf off.

- Which means...? - There were 2 scarfs.

So the scarf at the crime scene wasn't Ritsuko's?

I think it was the murderer's scarf.

- Why didn't the police realize that at that time? - I don't know. - You don't know.

Mikazuki-kun!

What?

Aren't you about ready to go home?

What?!

[Three-headed goat meat on a stick]

- You ate that? - No way.

- I was afraid to go in. - I would be too.

- The scarf. - Oh, yeah.

This scarf was deemed to be Ritsuko's at the time. Why did they think that?

- This has gotta be it. - Huh?

It's written here, the first initial of the girl's name, "R".

Oh, I see.

- The victim's name was Ritsuko Tachibana, right? - Yeah.

Oh, so that's how they knew.

- What was the name of the girl you were checking on? - Yayoi Sekigahara. I guess that would be "Y".

If it were only "Rayoi", then it would be "R".

Yeah, or "Reyoi" or something.

Or "Royoi".

"Yoroi", maybe?

- Wait, "Yoroi"... - That would be "Y".

Isn't this odd?

- Huh? - This "R"...

Oh, this is, you know, written from the back side.

The back side?

Like this, at that time she wrote "R" backwards on the back side, so when you turn it over, it looks like this.

Why would she do something so difficult?

[I wonder why?]

- Wow! That's pretty good!

Maybe she wanted someone to think that.

Hello? Anyone here?

Hello?

Yes? Wait just a minute.

This is a cleaner, right?

It's written right there, isn't it? "Cleaners",

I don't think many people come here.

- Why's that? - Because even if they did wash your clothes...

- Oh, it's just a cockroach. - What do you mean "just"?! It's a freaking cockroach!

Welcome.

Oh, Tachibana-san. Yeah, she cleaned her stuff here.

- Really?

Such a tragedy!

Did someone here write that "R" on the scarf tag?

You're not from around these parts, are you?

We came from Soobu City.

I see. There's not a person from Kamoshika who doesn't know Gogol.

- Gogol? - Gogol!

- Did you call me? - These people said they wanna ask you something.

- Hello. - I'm Gogol.

My name is the same as a great Russian writer. Have you read anything by Gogol?

Thank you.

"Dead Souls" is a masterpiece. You should read it some time.

I see.

What did he say?

This isn't an "R" on the scarf. It's from the Russian alphabet. It's pronounced "Ya".

- Oh! Thank you! - So it's written in Russian.

So that means it was from someone whose name began with "Ya".

Isn't that right, Gogol?

One of Gogol's masterpieces was called "Nose". Would you like that one?

What'd he say?

"I've worked here for 20 years, but I can only write Russian. Gotta a problem with that?"

No, no. No problem.

So that means the owner of the scarf was...

Russian literature is very interesting, you know?

What was that?

"Of course, the owner's name started with 'Ya', like 'Yaida Hitomi' or 'Yashiro Aki'."

Did he really say that?

- What did you say to me? - We got it. Thank you very much.

I'm not sure how accurate she was in translating for Gogol, but it seems like I finally arrived at my destination.

Please allow me to explain my theory for you.

First, "Mori no Arakuma".

[Mori no Aratai]

15 years ago, after you two got accepted to this University by trading places at the entrance exams...

you two celebrated here and had a blast. It should have ended in happiness at that point.

However,

"The thing that you gave me, something, something, blah, blah, blah"

"I'm no good at Math, Yayoi can't write essays."

- "That's why we traded places... - Ritsuko-chan!

- "and got into college by cheating." - Ritsuko!

Don't worry, the shop keeper will forget all about it.

Right?

[Yayoi and Ritsuko talk about switching places at the exams] - "Something, something, blah, blah, blah

What's the big idea?

What do you mean?

You should be more careful about what you say!

Who cares? We already got in.

Huh?

At that time in your mind, were you perhaps thinking about what was on the radio before?

Ritsuko Tachibana, 18, from Kamoshika City writes to us again!

"Please listen to what I have to say" We're listening, we're listening!

"I just recently got into college," Oh, congratulations!

"But actually, I cheated my way in!"

What did you say?!

We've heard it again from Ritsuko Tachibana! "The report that I wrote for the exam is included." Stop it!

"The person who took my math exam, Yayoi Sekigahara, is a such a goody two shoes. In summary, she's so boring."

Oh, what a thing to say!

- Why were there crawdads in there? - No real reason.

After you left the cafe for home, you decided to go back and follow Ritsuko.

And for some reason, on her way home, Ritsuko took a walk through the forest where a pervert had recently been seen.

The only reason you cheated on the exam was so that you have something to write about for that damn radio show!

At the scene of the crime, the "Ya" of "Yayoi" was written on the scarf in Russian.

The police at that time thought it was the "R" in "Ritsuko" and didn't think much of it.

Well, I'd say that's about 90% correct.

Almost completely right.

Thank you.

I wanted to study more about Goedel's incompleteness theory.

For that purpose, I wanted to go to a major University more than anything.

- But do you know what her dream was? - Yes, she wrote it down.

Ritsuko wanted to become a writer for variety shows.

For her, cheating on the exam was just another joke to write about.

It was just like her. If I were to become more famous, it would be even more funny.

You think I was gonna let her make me the punchline of her joke? So having her disappear was the only thing that could be done.

I understand how you feel.

From now on, though, don't hate the cafe's shop keeper for this, okay?

In this notebook, the one who wrote down that you two cheated on the exam was me.

What?

His writing style changed quite often from the beginning, so he never really noticed.

And then there's this...

I've been pointing at this term a lot (Mori no Aratai), don't you think there is something strange?

Something strange?

Oh, nothing. Thank you for listening.

But you still haven't explained why Ritsuko went into that forest that night.

Why do you think?

I asked because I don't know.

- What's that? - It's the time capsule that you two buried in that forest when you were 8.

- Don't you remember? - Time capsule?

Ritsuko wrote down her wish for you, You wrote down your wish for her, and you buried them in a bottle in that forest.

You did this without telling each other what you had written down. You then made a pact to dig them up in 10 years.

- Did you remember? - I don't remember doing that.

Ritsuko remembered.

That's why she went there and tried to dig it up.

The wish that Ritsuko had at age 8 for you when you became 18 was this...

[When Yayoi-chan is 18, she will get into an ivy league college and be happy.]

I think that Ritsuko really wanted to know what you wished for her at that time.

So, let see what you wrote.

What's that say?

Ritsuko-chin will wachamake n stuf.

- What the heck is that? - I'm not sure, but it's what you wrote.

- What's that picture? - Maybe a "wachamake n stuf"?

- 12%. - Yeah.

- Even though you wrote it, you don't know what it means? - We should just leave it alone.

Thank you for your cooperation. That was the end of my explanation.

So...

- What's that? - It's my "I won't tell anyone, but..." card.

"But"?

Just like you like proving theorems, I like to solve old unsolved cases.

If I solve it, I'm satisfied.

I won't say anything to anyone about this case...

I won't say anything, BUT I feel you should study Japanese more.

I see your point.

The meaning of "wachamake n stuf" was never understood.

You picked this card, didn't you?

No, not even close.

I mean, that was it! You're amazing!

Can you call that magic?

- Kiriyama-kun! They finally found him! - What?

They found the real culprit!

- It wasn't Kiriyama-kun after all! - What are you talking about?

- Hey you little punk! I know you're playing dumb! - Sorry.

Oh, so it wasn't you.

You call yourself innocent? Looking like a pervert!

- I'm sorry, but what are you talking about? - It's better not to know.

Well, then don't bring it up.

That just makes me wanna say it more.

- Well, what if I told you to say it? - Then I don't feel like saying anything.

- What if I tell you to say it even if you don't feel like it? - Try saying it.

- Say it even if you don't feel like it. - One more time. - Say it even if...

Ouch!

- Oh yeah, Chief Kumamoto. - Yes?

I found a banana for 15 yen.

It's completely black! Where did you get it?

At a fruit stand near the station.

I told you they sell them!

- Yes, they do. - Yeah, I was like, "So this is where Tarou-kun bought those bananas."

It'll probably become famous and be known as Tarou-kun's fruit stand.

- Who is this Tarou-kun? - It's a secret!

It's not really a secret.

Now that things have gotten boring again, let's get to work, shall we? Hachi-san,

C'ya. I feel sorry for you big wigs.

Oh! It's green!

100 people will receive the theme song by Ceyren.

And 50 people will receive the original soundtrack.

Please write to the above address for consideration.

- Next week will be the final episode. - Already? - Yes.

Next week is the last episode! - If possible, I would like to kill with my own bare hands.

His last words were "Sarieri".

It's not completely incorrect to say that the dying message is not the same as saying goodbye.

See you next time.

[Kiyoshirou Iwamano is an original member of RC Succession, but this drama is fiction.]

Subtitles by kazuya5661@yahoo.com