MoonPhase (月詠～MOON PHASE～)

- Hazuki: I CAN HEAR IT, FEEL IT.

I CAN SENSE IT IN EVERYTHING.

FROM BEYOND THIS OLD SCENERY

THAT THE NIGHT WINDS BLOW SLEEPILY THROUGH.

MY FROZEN TIME IN THIS WASTELAND IS FINALLY COMING TO AN END.

I'M WAITING FOR YOU.

( theme song playing )

( singing in Japanese )

( camera clicking )

WAS THAT A GIRL?

( camera clicking )

- THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW HER.

IF THAT GIRL'S NOT IN THESE PICTURES,

I'M GONNA COMPLETELY LOSE IT.

KOUHEI!

HIROMI, HEY.

- GOOD MORNING. YOU GOT THE PICTURES?

( sighs )

- SOME OF THESE SHOTS ARE JUST AMAZING.

THERE ARE GONNA BE A LOT OF HAPPY FACES BACK AT THE OFFICE.

DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DO IT? SOMETHING CREEPY

IN EVERY PICTURE.

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE A MAGNET FOR THE PARANORMAL.

( sighs )

- WHAT ARE YOU SO DOWN ABOUT? - IT DIDN'T COME OUT.

HUH? WHAT DIDN'T?

- I WAS JUST SURE I GOT THAT SHOT.

- DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE BEATING YOURSELF UP

OVER ONE LOST PICTURE, WHEN YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE GREAT ONES.

YOU HAVE GOTTA STOP WITH THE HALF-EMPTY, WOE-IS-ME ROUTINE.

IT'S NOT ATTRACTIVE, AND YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR IT, ANYWAY.

WHY DO YOU THINK I RECOMMENDED YOU TO OCCULT MAGAZINE

THE SAME DAY I WAS HIRED, HUH? OUT OF PITY?

HMM.

WELL, SOME PITY, OF COURSE.

BUT MOSTLY IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE TALENTED, BABE.

YOU'RE MADE FOR THIS WORK.

- WELL, I DON'T WANNA DO ALL THAT CRAZY STUFF.

I JUST WANNA TAKE NORMAL PHOTOGRAPHS.

- NORMAL? AND WHAT IS NORMAL TO YOU, HUH?

( sighs ) WELL, NOT GHOSTS.

OH, MAN. YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN HER.

KOUHEI? EARTH TO KOUHEI.

SORRY I'M RUNNING LATE.

( gasps )

SENSEI, YOU'RE HERE!

I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GONNA SHOW UP!

I WANTED TO GET HERE EARLIER,

BUT I HAD TO CHECK OUT A FEW THINGS DOWN AT THE TOWN LIBRARY.

JUST A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH.

YOU'LL THANK ME LATER, I PROMISE.

- WAIT. YOU WERE RESEARCHING AT THE TOWN LIBRARY?

DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN READ GERMAN?

OF COURSE.

THE GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE IS BASICALLY THE SAME AS ENGLISH.

EASY TO DECIPHER.

OH, BUT IT'S STILL IMPRESSIVE.

I MEAN, I KNEW YOU WERE JAPAN'S LEADING SPIRITUAL MEDIUM,

BUT NOW I FIND OUT YOU'RE A SCHOLAR?

- I'M SURPRISED HER NOSE ISN'T BROWN.

YOU SAY SOMETHING?

NOT ME.

SO, DID YOU FIND ANYTHING INTERESTING AT THE LIBRARY

FOR YOUR NEXT ARTICLE, SEIJI? ANY NEW LEADS?

I DID.

ACTUALLY, I MANAGED TO DIG UP QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION

ON THE SCHWARTZ QUELLE CASTLE.

( sighs )

HE'LL COME AGAIN. I JUST KNOW IT.

TONIGHT IT HAPPENS. TONIGHT I LEAVE THIS PLACE.

FINALLY.

THEN EVERYTHING WILL BE PERFECT. I KNOW IT WILL.

( bats screeching )

VIGO.

- I TRUST YOUR BATH WATER IS AS YOU LIKE IT, MISTRESS LUNA.

I AM NOT LUNA.

MY APOLOGIES.

I SIMPLY NOTICED THE FULL MOON WAS HANGING, SO I ASSUMED...

IT'S OVERCAST OUTSIDE.

MY TOWEL.

- Seiji: SCHWARTZ QUELLE CASTLE

OVERLOOKS THE SCHWARTZ WALD LAKE.

WHEN THE BUBONIC PLAGUE TORE IT'S WAY ACROSS EUROPE,

GERMANY WAS NOT SPARED.

IN FACT, THE DISEASE STRUCK THIS REGION ESPECIALLY HARD,

KILLING THOUSANDS AND DISPLACING THOUSANDS MORE.

IT'S WHISPERED IN SOME CIRCLES THAT

THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD WIPED OUT BY THE BLACK DEATH,

WANDER THE HALLS OF THAT CASTLE,

AND ALL THOSE THAT ENTER IT'S WALLS

WILL ENCOUNTER THOSE FROM THE OTHER SIDE.

MANY WHO'VE ENTERED HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS.

MANY OTHERS SIMPLY DIED FROM THE FRIGHT OF IT ALL.

- Hiromi: HUH. SO, THAT MUST MEAN THAT THE GIRL KOUHEI SAW

ON THE CASTLE THAT NIGHT WAS ONE OF THOSE PLAGUE VICTIMS

DOOMED TO WANDER AROUND FOR ETERNITY.

THAT'S SO SAD.

- SHE'S NOT A GHOST! SHE WAS A NORMAL PERSON LIKE YOU OR ME.

BUT NO ONE LIVES THERE.

NOT TO MENTION THAT YOU SAW HER ON THE ROOFTOPS OF THE CASTLE.

A LITTLE GIRL ALL THE WAY UP THERE? NOT A CHANCE.

IT'S A GHOST OR SOME KIND OF ILLUSION.

- I KNOW WHAT I SAW, OKAY? SHE WAS REAL.

I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SEE GHOSTS. YOU KNOW THAT.

I AGREE WITH KOUHEI.

I DON'T BELIEVE THE GIRL HE SAW WAS A GHOST.

IT SEEMS MORE LIKELY THAT

THERE'S ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR ALL THIS.

YEAH, MAYBE.

I MEAN, HE'S THE BEST PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPHER AROUND,

BUT HE'S NEVER SEEN A GHOST BEFORE. SO, WHY SHOULD HE NOW?

WAIT, DOES THAT MEAN SOMEONE

ACTUALLY DOES LIVE IN THAT CASTLE?

- Seiji: THAT, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR,

BUT IT'S WORTH INVESTIGATING.

- I THINK WE SHOULD GO TAKE A LOOK. DON'T YOU, KOUHEI?

OH, WE'RE GOING INSIDE?

KOUHEI, WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS?

YOU'RE NOT ALWAYS THE SMOOTHEST OPERATOR, YOU KNOW.

- I THINK I CAN MANAGE TO CLIMB A LADDER.

AND HE'S DOWN.

- ( laughs ) ALL THIS MIST OUT HERE

MUST HAVE MADE IT KINDA SLICK.

HE'LL KILL HIMSELF.

DON'T WORRY, HE'LL BE FINE.

ALTHOUGH, I DON'T CARE MUCH FOR THIS CLOAK AND DAGGER ROUTINE,

TO TELL YA THE TRUTH.

UNFORTUNATELY, ENTRY TO SCHWARTZ QUELLE CASTLE

IS FORBIDDEN TO FOREIGNERS,

SO, I'M AFRAID WE DON'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE.

- YOU REALLY THINK HE'LL WALK OUT OF THERE OKAY, SENSEI?

SURE, WHY NOT?

- LADDER'S DOWN, GUYS. I'M GOING IN.

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED, KOUHEI!

- YEAH, UH, I HEAD NORTH. IS THAT RIGHT?

- THAT'S IT. AND USE YOUR CAMERA AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

WE NEED TO GET AS MANY PICTURES AS POSSIBLE, YOU GOT IT?

- THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. SEE YA IN A BIT.

( bats squealing )

( screams )

( thudding )

Hiromi: FIGURES.

AH, THAT WAS AWESOME.

GOOD THING I DIDN'T LAND ON MY CAMERA. I'D BE OUT OF A JOB.

UNREAL! THIS PLACE IS NUTS.

( camera clicking )

( sighs )

UH, SENSEI?

I'M A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT KOUHEI BEING IN THERE ALL ALONE.

I MEAN, HE'S ALL READY FALLEN TWICE.

MAYBE WE SHOULD GO IN AFTER HIM.

- WELL, ACTUALLY, THAT MIGHT NOT BE SUCH A SMART MOVE.

WHY NOT?

- THIS IS NOT JUST YOUR RUN-OF-THE-MILL

HAUNTED CASTLE, HIROMI.

LET ME SHOW YOU.

STEP ACROSS THIS LINE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU FEEL.

OH. OKAY.

WHOA, WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME?

- YOU CROSSED THEIR BARRIER. - BARRIER?

- THERE'S A SPIRITUAL BARRIER SURROUNDING THIS CASTLE.

IT'S STRENGTH IS MASSIVE ENOUGH

THAT THE MOST INSENSITIVE PERSON CAN FEEL IT'S POWER.

EVEN SOMEONE OF MY EXPERTISE COULD BARELY PUT A DENT IN IT.

LUCKY FOR US WE HAVE A KEY OF SORTS.

KOUHEI.

THE BARRIER WON'T EVER HAVE AN EFFECT ON HIM.

IT WON'T? WHY NOT?

- SIMPLE. HE CAN'T SEE THE SPIRITS.

HE CAN'T SEE THE DISTURBANCES THEY CAUSE.

THEY CAN TAUNT HIM ALL THEY WANT,

BUT THEY CAN'T FRIGHTEN HIM.

HE NEVER HAS A CLUE THAT THEY'RE AROUND.

( screams )

- I GUESS THAT MAKES SOME KIND OF SENSE.

BUT WHY DID YOU SEND HIM NORTH?

- BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE POWER IS COMING FROM.

I SENSED IT WHEN WE GOT HERE.

SOME WHERE IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CASTLE

IS THE SOURCE OF THE BARRIERS' SPIRITUAL ENERGY.

IF KOUHEI MANAGES TO LOCATE IT,

THEN WE MAY BE ABLE TO SHUT IT DOWN SOMEHOW AND GET INSIDE.

AND IF SOMEONE'S LIVING IN THERE, CONTROLLING IT ALL,

WELL THEN, WE'VE GOT OURSELVES A HELL OF A STORY.

YEAH, THAT WOULD BE PERFECT!

YOU KNOW, COME TO THINK OF IT,

WE COULD PROBABLY EVEN SPREAD THIS STORY OUT OVER TWO ISSUES.

IF WE WORK IT RIGHT.