01x02 - The Kemonoist

[bunniefuu]

"Episode 2: The Kemonoist"

"Episode 2: The Kemonoist"

It's a pleasure to meet you.

My name is Kabane.

That's Shiki and Akira. They work here.

Huh? Someone new?

So, Kabane, would you like to work here?

Now you're recruiting him?

One thing about Kemono

is that whatever we do, we act so that

we won't give ourselves away to people,

in order for us to each preserve

our own unique ecosystems,

but once in a while,

one of us will step out of line.

Kind of like a bear wandering

into a human settlement.

We're a detective agency that stands

between those that do so and humanity,

taking on cases ranging from

consultations to arbitrating disputes,

all the way up to mortuary services.

You could call us "Kemonoists."

Kemonoists?

I won't ask you to answer right away.

Just think it over for me.

Huh? Then he's a Kemono, too?

He smells a little unusual.

Yeah, Kabane is an

immortal-demon-and-human hanyo.

A hanyo? That's why. Just like Shiki, then.

Hey! Look, nobody asked you!

And you! Those are my clothes!

Don't wear them without asking!

You've got a morbidly high number of

clothes like that. What does it matter?

It absolutely matters!

That's one of my favorites!

--I'll give it back.

--Huh?! I don't want it!

I would never wear something

that someone else has already worn!

Man, you're such a pain.

How old are you?

Probably 13.

Oh, really? Well I'm 14.

You'd best keep that in mind.

--Shiki, where are you going?

--The bathroom.

Oh, hold on. He doesn't have

anywhere to sleep tonight

I'm not sharing my room, understand?

He's an outsider, right?

Let him sleep on the sofa.

Jeez

Sorry about him. That's just

the way he is. Pay him no mind.

Okay.

I'm Akira. Nice to meet you.

Hm? I-Is something the matter?

Oh, forgive me. I was just thinking

what a pretty girl you are.

J-Just so you know, I

am a boy, all right?!

Kabane-kun, you dummy!

Well, there you have it.

Do your best to get along with them.

Something very tragic just happened

#HeartBlue.

Send.

Ah, I already have a comment!

I'm just going to say upfront

for some reason, I don't like you.

Don't go thinking that we're gonna be pals

just because we're both hanyo.

I have no intention of making nice with you.

Understood.

Well, you're nice and agreeable.

Aren't you gonna eat?

I'm not really a monster, you know.

I'll at least share my food with you.

Go on, eat some pizza.

I've never seen this before.

Huh?! Y-You've never had pizza before?!

That's completely messed up!

What do you even live for?!

You've been downright missing out on life!

Here, eat! Hurry!

Nice form!

And happy birthday! Your life has just begun!

That's so lame!

Gah! I forgot that I made up my mind

not to be nice to him!

Delicious.

Come on, what's bothering you?

Nothing's bothering me!

You're concerned about Kabane-kun

being another hanyo, right?

Tch, what does Inugami-san see in him?

You'll never know unless you ask.

But you know, if he brought him home with him,

it means he has nowhere else to go, right?

Just like us. He either feels

super sorry for him,

or he's super strong.

Okay, you go ask him!

In fact, go bully it out of him!

No way! What are you, dense?

Unlike you, I'm not upset about this.

I'm going to sleep. Don't disturb me.

Huh? What about your bath?

I changed my mind.

I'm like that some days. I'm a boy, after all.

After all? Hmph, fine, then. I'll do it.

A thread?

What brings you here?

Shiki, wasn't it?

Shiki-san to you, 13-year-old.

Answer my question. What brings you here?

--A car?

--That's not what I'm asking!

Oh I couldn't stay at

the home where I came from,

so Inugami-san brought me.

What does that mean?

They said good riddance to you?

Did your parents abandon you?

I'll bet that's it. Your parents

just up and gave you up--

No.

My silk doesn't come off. If you try

to peel it off, you'll tear your--

I wasn't abandoned.

Huh?!

Hey, hold on!

What are you doing?! Doesn't that hurt?!

Your wound--it's gone!

I was

told to go take a bath. Can I go?

Mock me, will he?

"Monthly Parking"

"No unauthorized parking please"

"Spots available"

"Monthly Parking"

"No unauthorized parking please"

"Spots available"

Damn it, we've got a rush job, too!

I told you all to get along.

Intraoffice relations and teamwork is important.

Do you get it?

I'm sorry.

It wasn't me. Shiki's the one who

Huh?! What'd you say?!

Knock it off, would you?

It's okay. This is the perfect chance

to show Kabane what a Kemonoist does.

Let's go.

"Keep out"

Please keep back.

Emergency vehicles coming through.

Please keep back!

This area is currently off limits!

Yeah, yeah. The name is Inugami.

I'm here at the request of Superintendent Inari.

Oh, pardon me. We were informed

that a specialist would be coming.

Go ahead. There's no time to lose at the scene.

Wow, this looks like a pretty old house.

Right, Kabane-kun?

Hey, you can't take children in there!

Ah, these children are also specialists.

Oh, is that right? I beg your pardon.

Are you Inugami-san?

Thank goodness. There's a mother, a child,

and a member of the rescue team.

The situation is way beyond our control.

Big Brother! I don't like this. I'm scared.

Huh? Must be siblings.

I think it's best if you see for yourself.

It's a pretty shocking scene.

We're used to it.

We can't open the sliding doors.

You'll have to peel back the tape to see.

I see.

How long has it been since this was reported?

Twenty--no, make that 30 minutes or so.

Thirty minutes. I don't like how this is going.

Want to have a look?

--Huh?

--Huh?

This isn't the sort of thing

you should show children.

It's okay, it's okay.

Ew!

You're not scared by that?

They're called sanshichu--three-corpse bugs.

Usually, they're harmless critters that

nibble your skin a bit while you sleep,

but they do have certain favorite dishes.

One of them is inside that room.

Once we take it out of there,

the bugs will stop swarming

and go back to their nest.

Then you can do something about them?

I can eliminate the bugs 100%.

As for saving their lives

If I transform my skin to steel,

I won't get bitten.

But going head to toe will take some time.

I'd say it was 50-50.

50-50?

I need to get things ready.

Please step away from here.

We watched him--

the member of the rescue team who went in there.

There's no telling when the bugs

will come out, and the damage spread!

To keep the civilian population safe,

I, um, recommend

that we burn them up as soon as possible!

--Hey!

--However bad it is,

you shouldn't say that

in front of the family, should you?

But no matter how you look at it, they're dead--

They're not dead!

They're still alive! Mom wouldn't

die and leave us behind!

Please! You have to help them!

--Please!

--Well, shucks. It will take a while

to go head to toe, but time is limited.

--Mom! Mom!

--Well, shucks. It will take a while

to go head to toe, but time is limited.

Well, it's not like it'll k*ll me--

I can do it.

What you're saying is that I just have to

contain the bugs somehow,

and yank whatever their

favorite dish is outta there, right?

Why are we standing by?

The specialists are dealing with it.

Are you sure we should leave this

to those so-called specialists?

We've done everything we can.

We even requested the hazmat team to come in.

S-So what do we do?

I'll use my silk. Just watch, okay?

A spider web, eh?

If I can keep them from moving toward me,

they won't be able to chew on me.

Amazing.

Gah! They're eating it!

Close it!

I wasn't expecting them

to feed on your silk, too.

There's no other choice.

I'll have to go in. I can probably survive.

Excuse me.

I can go, if you don't mind.

Huh?!

You can't, Kabane-kun! You'll be k*lled!

I'll be fine, most likely. May I?

Oh, right. Fine. Give it a try.

Inugami-san!

What are you talking about!

You fiend! You're inhuman!

No, I'm not human.

Listen, Kabane, you have to remove

the item at the center of the swarm.

All right, I'm opening up.

Immortal demons don't have blood.

Sanshichu use stingers

to inject a paralytic into the blood,

and devour anyone who gets in their way,

but that won't work on Kabane.

I can't see where I'm going.

Immortal demons don't feel pain.

He may have had emotions

like fear and revulsion at one time,

but his foster mother snuffed those out.

Kabane doesn't waver. And that

makes him strong.

That's it! Raise it up high!

A child

Good! Way to go!

Really? Problem resolved?

We're finished. There's no danger

to any of their lives now.

Do you mean it?

--Mom! Hayato!

--Ah, hey!

Mom!

--Mom! Hey, wake up! Come on, Mom!

--Mom! Mom! Mom!

--You, too, Hayato! Wake up, Mom!

--Hey, bring a stretcher!

--Please give us some room.

--You, too, Hayato! Wake up, Mom!

Everything's going to be okay.

Family

He's strong, but at the same time

so sad.

It's nice that they survived, huh?

You say that like you weren't responsible.

This is all thanks to you.

I have to say, there sure are

some strange bugs in the world.

Imagine, those being their favorite dish.

What sanshichu find to be a delicacy is "guilt."

Those shoes are very likely stolen.

Huh?

Um, excuse me!

Oh, if it isn't the older brother.

Um, I really wanted to say thank you personally.

In that case, thank him.

Thank you very much! Thank you so, so much!

It's okay. I didn't do that much.

So anyway, um

Was there something about our home

that caused this to happen?

We aren't very well-to-do,

so we'd like avoid moving, if we can.

As long as you stay

out of mischief, you'll be fine.

Please tell your brother to return

those shoes to where he got them.

Then these

That was it after all, wasn't it?

We're a single-mother household,

and everything has always been tight.

Mom always thinks of herself last,

and her shoes are worn out.

She's worn shoes with holes in them

for so long without buying a new pair.

So today

my brother said we'd give these to Mom.

I knew at a glance that he'd shoplifted them.

It must have been because it was for Mom,

but he didn't seem to realize

that what he did was wrong.

I yelled at my brother. And then,

his face quickly clouded over with guilt,

and a moment later

Hayato!

Mom hates bugs, too

Family

All right, how about we go home?

Inugami-san?

One of my parents was a Kemono, right?

Inugami-san, you're a detective

that does it all when it comes to Kemono, right?

If I work for you, Inugami-san,

can I meet my parents?

Man

You really weren't being

straight with me back then, were you?

You were more concerned about me,

when you're supposed to be the kid.

I'm sorry.

Oh, that's okay. Now,

for the third time, Kabane,

do you want to meet your parents?

Yes, I do.

That settles it.

I'll take my fee out of your pay.

Check with them about doing

odd jobs and whatever.

It's going to be nice

working with you, Kabane-kun!

It's not fair for me to only find out about you.

My mom was an "Arachne," a spider Kemono.

That's why my sweat and saliva

and stuff are like spider silk.

Is she alive?

Who knows? Probably not. I don't know.

Then she's alive.

Huh? Based on what?

On that she might not be dead.

That doesn't count as proof!

Usually, when a parent

gets separated from their child,

they try to find them!

But what about our situation?

Think rationally about it.

Either they're dead, or they abandoned us

and are ditching responsibility.

Grow up, would you, 13-year-old?

You can't be sure.

About what?

Maybe they are alive, and are looking for us.

Now look, forget the false hope.

Once you get betrayed, you're the one

who's gonna feel miserable.

Even so

they're alive, and I wasn't abandoned.

Tokyo is extremely bright. The village

I'm from didn't have many lights,

and when night fell, it really got dark.

Up until yesterday, I never had

any doubts that I'd been abandoned.

It was completely dark,

without any reference points.

Up until yesterday,

my life didn't have any lights.

But then, Inugami-san lit a light

for me. And now, I will never

extinguish that flame.

I'm going to bed.

All right. Good night.

Your bed

isn't out there. Come on.

I'll show you where your room is.

It's not like you're a stranger, or anything.

But in return, if you snore,

I'll pound you, understand?!

All right. I'll be careful.

How are you gonna be careful?

I'll be careful, somehow.

Now, listen!

Hello?

Sorry, sorry. Were you asleep?

Oh, you were up? Well then,

who cares? You're always so picky.

I safely finished that job you hired me for.

Also, I have a bit of a report.

I've ended up taking in a fascinating

hanyo boy. And you know what?

He had a lifestone on him.

He what?!

That's it. Glad to hear

the reaction I was going for.

I'm going to start looking into the reason why,

but one thing for sure is that

he is not some stray hanyo.

Is he a threat?

A threat?

Perhaps.

It's so cushy, I can't sleep.

But then, he might be our star of hope.

"Next time"

"Episode 3: Foxes"