"Kagome, Kagome" "When, oh, when will that bird" "Come out of its cage?" "The crane and the turtle slipped" "In the morning twilight" "Who is behind you?" "Mountain Fairy Tale" "If you listen closely, you should be able to hear" "A faint voice that's calling you" "Yes, deep within this deep, wide forest" "Someone is crying out, force open the night!" "Let's go to the other side of the veil" "To save the Secret World" "Close your eyes and fly off" "To a world that cannot be seen" "Ancient... (Woo)" "Eternal... (Woo)" "Secret World, Secret World" "What a tranquil little village!" "Yeah, things here haven't changed from how they used to be long ago." "But as peaceful as it looks, there are also scary things here, right?" "Oh, c'mon, Suzu!" "This is our long-awaited vacation, so I'm not even gonna be thinking about the case!" "Just leave the dangerous stuff to Kantaro." "That's right, dangerous stuff is my job after all." "A missing persons case?" "Yes, there have been several unusual cases of children suddenly disappearing from a certain mountain village." "They still have no idea who the culprit might be." "So you want me to investigate it?" "Well, the last story you did on that bizarre case was so popular, we got approval from the editor-in-chief to start running them serially." "A modern-day "Spiriting Away," huh?" "Not bad..." "I don't think we have the time to be going to places like that!" "You still haven't written your book!" "You know you can't make a living without money!" "Yeah, but it looks like this time I'll actually be paid for the story." "I think it would be a very good assignment." "And there are even hot springs near the village." "Hot springs?" "Well, it's a well-known health resort, isn't it?" "I think that relaxing in the hot springs at a nice country inn would really help you get you ahead on your manuscript." "And of course, your expenses would also cover your lodging." "What do you think, Yoko?" "Well, I guess we don't have any choice, do we?" "After all, with things as tight as they are, we need a quick and easy way to earn some cash, right?" "In that case, I'll be counting on you, Mr. Ichinomiya." "But I should note we won't be able to extend the deadline on your book." "This is where the disappearances have been occurring." "THERE?" "So you used to live here, Kantaro?" "Yeah, just for a short time back when I was a kid." "Hello, Lady Kiyo!" "Sorry I haven't kept in touch." "I'm glad to see you." "You haven't changed at all." "Well?" "Excuse me?" "I trust you've brought a souvenir, haven't you?" "Well, I just dropped in to say hi for now." "Surely you wouldn't come empty-handed when visiting someone you see so rarely, would you?" "Well?" "Hey, since when have we ever stood on ceremony?" "I trust the god to which you owe so much would find no quarrel in being offered some of Tokyo's delicacies." "Well?" "But city food is nothing but poison to one who serves God." "Without knowing the poison, we cannot offer the prayer that would cure it." "If you've brought no presents, then a donation would do just as well." "So many of the village children have already gone missing." "We've searched everywhere, but haven't turned up a single clue." "So far only one child has returned, the first one to have vanished." "But he has no memory of what happened to him while he was gone." "Then there really is some supernatural force involved." "Kagome, Kagome" "When, oh, when will that bird" "Come out of its cage?" "The crane and the turtle slipped" "In the morning twilight" "Who is behind you?" "Fumihiro!" "Wrong!" "I wonder how long it will be before one of the children under this temple's care is taken." "It worries me to no end." "Every day, I offer up prayers to the god of the mountain." "The god of the mountain?" "In this region, there are those who still worship the mountains." "They believe that a god resides in the mountains and protects their villages." "Hmm..." "Come on, let's play!" "Huh?" "Who, me?" "Whoa, wait a minute!" "Long ago, an awful famine befell this area." "For years, it was one bad harvest after another." "They couldn't even gather enough for a proper offering to the mountain god." "Enraged at the meager offerings, the mountain god went berserk and destroyed the village." "Then one night, a being with immense spiritual power alighted at my ancestor's bedside and said it would save this village." "That being did away with the rampaging mountain god and became our new god, watching over the area and bringing abundant crops." "Really..." "Who is behind you?" "It's Suzu!" "Wrong!" "That was fun, huh?" "We'll let you know if we find out anything." "Please take care on the way." "That includes you, Miss Fox Spirit and Mr. Goblin." "Huh?" "How did you know what we really are?" "I am a servant of God after all." "Rin..." "Pyo..." "Toh..." "Sha..." "Kai..." "Jin..." "Retsu..." "Zai..." "Zen!" "Are you all right?" "Hitoshi, are you okay?" "Yeah..." "Ahh, this is Heaven." "Talk about refreshing!" "Your ears are sticking out." "It makes you want to just relax and gaze at the moon, huh?" "Wow, an outdoor bath!" "Is that Kantaro?" "C'mon, Haruka!" "Hurry up!" "Haruka?" "I'll wash your back later, okay?" "Aah..." "His back..." "I don't need you to." "It'll only hurt my wings." "His wings?" "!" "[BATH]" "Kantaro..." "Yeah?" "Is that it?" "Yeah, whenever I get near a demon, this area starts to ache." "Is it very painful?" "Well..." "I'd say it hurts about THIS much!" "You moron of a master!" "Huh?" "Whoa, what the heck is that?" "A monster?" "What should we do?" "It's not breathing!" "This calls for some mouth-to-mouth!" "Ah!" "It opened its eyes!" "Thank goodness!" "Are you all right?" "Mu!" "Are you from around here?" "We came all the way from Tokyo!" "Mu!" "Wow, you're a funny one!" "Hey!" "Hold on, Haruka!" "You're okay now, right?" "Think you can make it back home?" "Mu!" "Great!" "Well, see ya!" "Mu?" "Mu..." "Hitoshi, you're the one who came back after having been spirited away, right?" "Do you remember anything?" "Like maybe the last place you were in, or any scenery you might be able to recognize?" "I see..." "If only you could remember something, it might help lead us to the other children." "Hitoshi!" "Let's go play!" "Let's go play!" "Okay!" "You mustn't go into the mountains!" "Okay!" "Hitoshi never used to be very good at making friends." "He'd always just play on his own." "But ever since he returned, he's been playing with the other children just like this." "He was never that way before." "Haruka..." "Yeah, it seems like it's the same kind." "Hey, Haruka." "Did you know that the god watching over this area is a white goblin?" "When humans are prideful of their power and fall to the goblin path, they end up becoming white goblins, right?" "They're different from black goblins like you, who are born the way they are." "It looks like our only choice is to pay this mountain god a visit." "Kagome, Kagome" "When, oh, when will that bird" "Come out of its cage?" "The crane and the turtle slipped" "In the morning twilight" "Who is behind you?" "Hey, Suzu!" "It's the kagome." "The kagome?" "You mean from the song that the children were singing?" "This seal got its name from the kagome pattern used to weave bamboo baskets." "There are a lot of different theories about the kagome song." "One says that the bird inside the cage symbolizes a child in the womb." "But since the crane and turtle "slipped," and they're both symbols of longevity, it means the song is about a stillborn child." "Another theory says it's describing a condemned criminal being carried in a cage toward the execution grounds." "Other interpretations suggest it's a secret code to finding the buried treasure of the Tokugawa shogunate, or about a prostitute trying to escape the red light district." "There are all sorts of variations." "So which one are we dealing with?" "Do you know why it's mostly children who disappear?" "No..." "Since olden times, people have believed that children hold mysterious powers." "Some people even think of them as sacred." "It's said that in certain places, the kagome song is part of a ritual to summon a god." "To summon a god?" "It's a particularly effective method of finding children with exceptionally strong spiritual powers." "Well..." "Hitoshi?" "Congratulations." "You've been chosen by the god." "Do you know where we're going?" "Yeah, just keep following that mountain ridge and fly west!" "We have to get there before the moon sets and day starts to break!" "I want to settle this before the cock crows!" "Hurry, Haruka!" "Hang on tight!" "Kantaro!" "You saved us!" "I thought we were going to die." "You there!" "What business do you have here on this mountain?" "The white goblin?" "By chance, are you the god of this mountain?" "You did a fine job getting in my way yesterday too!" "Just another second and I would have finished that kid off!" "You're the one who's been kidnapping children?" "Sugino, is that you?" "Huh?" "Are you..." "The demon-eater!" "Demon-eater!" "Your seal's been broken!" "This is great!" "Oh, how I've wanted to see you, Demon-eater!" "Whoa!" "Okay, hold on a second!" "Get away from Haruka!" "Did you say Haruka?" "Yes, my name is Haruka now." "You mean to tell me this HUMAN undid a seal that even I couldn't remove?" "!" "That's not the point here!" "Return Suzu and those other children now!" "Children?" "I don't know what you're talking about!" "You're kidding!" "Yoko, Lord Sugino here is not the one behind all this." "What?" "What's going on?" "It seems that the real culprit has revealed himself." "I knew it." "You're the previous god of this mountain, aren't you?" "Ah, the clever human and his servants!" "To intrude upon my holy sanctuary is unforgivable!" "Your holy sanctuary?" "I am the god of this mountain now!" "Enough!" "This place has ever been my domain!" "Come on!" "He's become stronger since the last time we fought." "The spiritual energy he's gathered from the children has increased his own power!" "You're that demon-eating goblin, aren't you?" "They say you're the strongest." "But I hear you've been sealed away for quite a long time!" "You, then, should understand what I have suffered!" "I won't be needing your sympathy, thank you very much." "I'm afraid I don't have any recollection of being sealed." "Haruka!" "Rin..." "Pyo..." "Toh..." "Sha..." "Kai..." "Jin..." "Retsu..." "Zai..." "Zen!" "You dare to seal ME?" "!" "Lord Dragon, you wanted to use the spiritual energy from those children to return to the Heavens." "Isn't that right?" "What are you talking about?" "!" "I gathered energy so that I could destroy this town that betrayed me!" "The morning sun is already rising." "But you must return to the Heavens in the pre-dawn twilight, before the rooster crows." "You think that matters to me?" "I have no desire to return to the Heavens!" "Hear me, God:" "Return to the mountain once more!" "Suzu!" "Suzu!" "Yoko, what was I..." "Not too smart, are you?" "Instead of doing all that, you should've just destroyed him." "He'll only do the same thing again if his seal is broken." "If you won't destroy him before that, then what WILL you do?" "If it comes to that," "I'll be there to do the same thing I did today." "And what if it's no use?" "What if no matter how many times you try, he never changes?" "Then I'll do it as many times as it takes!" "As long as I live, I'll repeat what I've done today and nothing more." "Have it your way then!" "Demon-eater..." "Humans and monsters are too different." "Monsters can never change." "Remember that, Demon-eater." "There will never be fellowship between humans and monsters." "You must never go to that place again." "Okay!" "That little boy accidentally touched the old mountain god's seal." "The mountain god possessed him, and used him to gather children who had a strong spiritual energy." "Sugino realized that, and had been keeping a close watch on the boy." "So why is Sugino here?" "Because this is where Muu-chan said she wanted to come!" "Muh-huh!" "So her name is Muu-chan?" "Mu!" "Mu..." "Oh, Muu-chan!" "How could you become attached to such a rotten human when you already have ME as a husband?" "!" "Husband?" "!" "Then you and Muu-chan are MARRIED?" "Isn't it obvious?" "No, it isn't." "Would you keep it down already?" "!" "Today is my deadline and I can't write a thing!" "In the town at night" "I found myself calling out to you" "Though we're far apart" "I won't fall prey to loneliness" "When we feel there's someone on our side" "We all change" "Becoming stronger, stronger, stronger" "The unseen power invites hope" "The unseen power is the courage you gave me" "Well then!" "What is the next oddity that will appear?" "It all began with a single picture!" "A most unusual curse befalls a happy young couple!" "Kantaro and the gang are hot on the trail of the mystery man who took this strange picture." "However, the man's whereabouts are completely unknown!" "Then, disaster strikes our lovely lady editor, Reiko!" "What will you do now, Kantaro?" "!" "Next time on Tactics, "The Forbidden Portrait""