"I don't want to." "would you not do it?" "you have every right to refuse." "if the calamity begins..." "All right." "Excuse me..." "What will the teachers outside of class 3 do?" "They will cooperate to the best of their ability." "you should not discuss this matter with anyone outside the class." "Not even our families?" "The rules dictate that we must not speak of it." "May 1 (Fri.)" "I thought it wasn't going to happen this year. we had the perfect number of desks." "But we were short a desk once the new student came." "It can start a month late?" "Looks that way." "So... right?" "How'd it go?" "I don't think it's him." "How do you know?" "He never lived in Yomiyama." "He has no siblings." "And his hands weren't cold." "Still..." "Still... why wasn't I told about it right away?" "You had already spoken to me." "That made it difficult for them to broach the subject." "there's something else I want to ask you." "Is there some reason your desk is the only one in the class that's so old?" "That's part of the rule." "I guess it serves some purpose in completing the charm." "Who is dead?" "I saw the words "Who is dead?" scribbled on your desk." "Did you write that?" "Yes. who is?" "You can tell?" "Well..." "Sakakibara." "Welcome." "Forgive my appearance." "Is he a friend from class?" "Or the art club?" "He's also a customer at the gallery downstairs." "He seems to enjoy it immensely." "really?" "for a boy." "You like dolls?" "I..." "Sakakibara." "okay." "I will see him out." "I see." "Feel free to come again anytime." "Are you always like that?" "Like what?" "The way you talk to your mom." "I'd almost think you two were strangers." "We've pretty much always treated each other that way." "What's your family like?" "I don't have a mom." "She died right after I was born." "I see." "that was normal for us." "I'm just another one of her dolls." "That's awful." "her flesh and blood." "but I'm not real." "does your mom know about class 3?" "and I can't tell her." "What does she think of you skipping school so often?" "or she just doesn't interfere." "Except with certain things." "What things?" "now I know class 3's secret..." "But how can you just accept what they're putting you through to complete the charm?" "There's no other way." "I just happened to be the one." "I would've had to follow the others in treating someone else like they don't exist." "It's better that I'm the one who's cut off." "Children's Park" "Why did they decide to make two people nonexistent?" "They probably thought the charm wouldn't hold if they told you to start ignoring me now. they could strengthen the charm?" "Right." "It also saved them the trouble of explaining me to you." "It's quite logical." "isn't it?" "All of this for a charm?" "they're desperate. it makes them take it seriously." "Do you think they're being unreasonable?" "I do!" "There are no guarantees. isn't it worth it?" "It's sad when people die." "Thanks." "Be careful on your way home." "after all." "I'll be fine." "didn't I?" "I lost my left eye when I was four." "It developed a nasty tumor." "and the eye was gone. so she made a special one for me." "You don't have to hide it." "I think your eye is beautiful." "They said I almost died during surgery." "I can sort of vaguely remember what happened then." "Do you believe that's possible?" "You mean near-death experiences?" "Death is not kind. and you're all alone." "All alone... is it? we're all alone. too." "So was Misaki." "we're two of a kind." "yeah." "Sakakibara." "Hel—" "India's scorching!" "Dad" "What's with you?" "what do you mean by that?" "I'm fine." "Hey..." "Did Mom ever talk to you about her memories of junior high school?" "Eh?" "Where's this coming from?" "right?" "Anything come to mind?" "Hmm..." "Nope!" "Not a thing?" "I'm sure she told me a few things... you say?" "how does it feel to be back after a year and a half away from Yomiyama?" "A year and a half?" "This was my first time coming here since I started junior high." "I'm sure that— yeah." "you're right." "My mistake." "0)}Who is dead?" "June 8 (Mon.) Practice Exercises No whispering No walking around" "Misaki!" "Sakakibara!" "I've gotta stop that..." "Kirika doesn't make lunches for you?" "when she feels like it." "they're not very good." "Do you ever cook?" "never." "I can only heat up ready-made meals." "Isn't that normal for kids our age?" "actually." "Really?" "That's unusual." "I was in the cooking club at my old school." "someday?" "someday. weren't you drawing up here before?" "Have you finished it?" "Pretty much." "Did you give her wings?" "Yeah." "I'll show you... someday." "Okay." "Is drawing your hobby?" "more than making it." "though." "We have lots of them at home." "Do you ever go to museums?" "there aren't many around here." "you should visit me in Tokyo someday." "We can go to museums there." "I'll be your tour guide." "Sure... someday." "Art Club Room hey!" "What are you doing here?" "I just felt like dropping in." "you didn't quit the club?" "I just needed a break." "yeah?" "I see Mochizuki hasn't changed." "Speak of the devil!" "Mochizuki!" "guys?" "Could you come with me for a second?" "There's something we've gotta do right away." "We do?" "But Misaki's here to visit us!" "okay?" "I guess..." "Which one is your mom?" "This one." "huh?" "I see." "is their homeroom teacher..." "He sure looked different back then." "The person you mentioned before..." "I was talking about Chibiki." "two of you here today?" "There are two nonexistent people now." "So I see." "Sakakibara? though I still find it hard to believe." "That's understandable." "But it's true." "This phenomenon is truly happening in this town." "In this school." "weren't you?" "And that's how you knew my mother?" "You got it." "is it okay for you to not ignore us?" "I have no connections to your class at this time." "you might say." "who's in danger?" "Student" "The students of class 3" "Father |" "Mother Student within two degrees of separation." "Grandfather |" "Grandmother |" "Grandfather |" "Grandmother Father |" "Mother Student" "Grandfather |" "Grandmother |" "Grandfather |" "Grandmother Father |" "Mother Student Brothers |" "Sisters" "And they must live in Yomiyama." "Grandfather |" "Grandmother |" "Grandfather |" "Grandmother Father |" "Mother Student Brothers |" "Sisters Within Yomiyama and siblings? does that mean anyone who leaves town would be safe?" "Yes." "Think of it like a cell phone going out of range." "why do you stay here?" "I never meant to harm anyone." "Never... which opened the door to death." "I was responsible for that. not a teacher." "Half of that was just me running away." "Running away?" "Half of me was crushed by guilt." "But the other half was ruled by fear." "Fear that I might die as well." "So I ran away." "too?" "Only homeroom and assistant homeroom teachers." "was the Misaki of 26 years ago a boy or a girl?" "A boy." "like this town." "His full name was Misaki Yomiyama." "his house burned down." "parents and brother included." "Did you see the photo the dead Misaki appeared in?" "Sure did." "Do you have it?" "No." "it terrified me." "And when they say the school records somehow get altered..." "It's true." "This holds copies of all class rosters." "from 1972 to the present." "The people with a red "X" by their name" "Class Rosters are the ones who died that year." "Look at the roster from two years ago." "See the name written at the bottom?" "Deceased:" "Mami Asakura" "Yes." "She was the dead person that year." "seven people died in 1996?" "is it?" "It's because the plan to make one person nonexistent worked." "nobody else died. the student they chose to not exist ended up renouncing the role. and that everyone treat him accordingly." "And so it began..." "The deceased in 1996 was named Mami Asakura." "But she was originally a student in the 1993 class. that was not the case." "It wasn't?" "Correct." "her name was on the 1996 roster." "But it was not on the roster for 1993." "It had disappeared." "Both the name and the "X"? checking records is pointless." "right?" "Exactly. 0)}Mami Asakura ultimately revealing the extra student." "all memories of her as the deceased are lost." "All is forgotten." "The records and memories just go back to normal?" "I cannot comprehend the logic behind it." "I've essentially given up." "There is only one countermeasure that seems effective against this phenomenon:" "denying the existence of someone in the class." "What's the success rate?" "About 50%." "others it fails. others it's unknown." "That's terrible..." "It's not a curse." "There is no malice to be found." "like a typhoon or earthquake." "will having two nonexistent students be more effective?" "I can't say." "There are almost no instances of the calamity stopping midyear." "Really?" "Ms. Mikami was class 3's homeroom teacher in 1996?" "you're right." "She has been through a great deal already." "To make her the assistant homeroom teacher again..." "That'll be all for today." "Just one more thing." "a year when it happened?" "1983?" "I believe it was." "I thought so... right." "That was Reiko's year." "You mean Ritsuko was in Yomiyama then?" "Yes." "and stay with her family." "So she died in this town..." "I see." "Kouichi." "I'm sorry." "There was nothing I could do... was that part of the class 3 calamity?" "I don't know." "My poor Ritsuko... too... dear." "Let's call it a night." "Cheer!" "Cheer up! but I think the calamity was stopped that year." "It stopped midyear?" "Why?" "How was it stopped?" "Reiko." "I can't remember." "try to remember something!" "Anything!" "I think something may have happened during summer break..." "Summer break?" "though." "Kouichi." "July 13 (Mon.)" "class." "I must apologize to you all." "I have to..." "I have done my utmost so that you could all graduate in good health next spring." "I did everything I could to make that happen." "But everything that occurs henceforth is for you all to deal with." "I do not know if any amount of struggling will do any good." "I don't know..." "You can't expect me to." "But I believe it is futile to speak of such things now." "Sphere joint."