ERASED (僕だけがいない街)

I'm having a birthday. I want you to come.

Sure.

It's kind of easy to talk to you these days, Fujinuma.

Well...

That's because I decided not to lie to you.

I just said that out loud.

H-Hinazuki!

I'll see you tomorrow!

This is the last place I saw Hinazuki 18 years ago.

Her body was found after the snow melted...

but what day did she disappear in March?

GIRL

ISOLATION

DISAPPEARANCE

ABDUCT

DEAD

If I can figure that out, I can prevent it from happening.

NIPPON SHOWA'S MOST SHOCKING CRIMES

AYA NAKANISHI

KAYO HINAZUKI

HIROMI SUGITA

Aya Nakanishi...

Hiromi Sugita...

Hiromi Souda, too...

KAYO HINAZUKI

But only Hinazuki was ten years old.

In other words, when Hinazuki went missing in March,

she hadn't had her birthday yet.

MARCH

X-day is between March 1st and Hinazuki's birthday.

ERASED

Ice Hockey Club 1988 National Champions

Ow!

I hear the boys are gonna race each other one on one.

Huh.

This should be fun!

Well, I'm sure Hamada's gonna get the best time.

I guess.

Hamada!

- Ice hockey team! - Hamada, do your best!

- Good luck! - Do your best!

Shut up, already.

Go!

I'm not gonna hold back, y'know.

Okay.

Hamada is a regular on the ice hockey team,

the kind who'd win the national championship.

Come to think of it, I remember racing against him.

Fujinuma is racing Hamada.

Poor guy!

Hinazuki, you should cheer him on.

Come on, Hinazuki!

Fujinuma, are you going to win?

I'll go as fast as I can.

I see. Then good luck.

On your mark...

Get set...

Crap!

- All right! Go! - Satoru, go for it!

That's the way!

- Hamada, what are you doing?! - Try harder!

This guy is fast!

Fujinuma probably started before the pistol went off.

Is it okay to win?

Would victory have any meaning?

Go for it!

This guy goes through hard training every day.

The winner should be...

Goal!

I knew Hamada would win in the end!

That was awesome!

He gave Hamada a run for his money! That's a big deal!

Right, Kenya?

Fujinuma!

I hate punks like you!

Satoru!

That was a close one!

Shut up!

What's up with Hamada?

I know. Just because he almost lost...

It's okay.

I remember.

I hate punks like you!

I made the same mistake I did 18 years ago.

Wait, Hinazuki!

Hamada really was fast.

Oh.

Hey,

X-DAY

tell me your birthday, Hinazuki.

What's wrong?

You said you wouldn't lie to me.

Sorry.

For some reason, I thought Hamada should win today.

Oh.

Um...

It doesn't matter.

We're both fakes and liars.

Satoru, wanna walk home together?

Sorry! I left something in the room, so go on ahead!

STAFF ROOM

5th Grade, Class 4 Homeroom Teacher Gaku Yashiro

What's the matter, Satoru?

Yashiro-sensei...

U-Um...

Is it about Kayo?

His intuition is good...

I wanted to look up her birthday. I'm sorry.

I see.

Satoru, it seems like you've gotten friendly with Kayo lately.

I wouldn't say that...

You didn't ask her directly?

I told her my birthday,

but she wouldn't tell me hers.

That makes sense.

Here, see for yourself.

What do you mean, "that makes sense?"

Kayo Hinazuki - March 2nd Satoru Fujinuma - March 2nd

The same day as me...

I see.

Thank you!

Well, Kayo is pretty shy, so it was probably hard for her to say that you share the same birthday.

It's probably a good idea to celebrate it with her without thinking too much.

Yeah. I will.

Well... excuse me!

Satoru...

That was a close race today.

Doing your best is the key to everything.

I'm counting on you with Kayo, too.

Okay!

Gaku Yashiro...

He's about my age in this time period.

And he's got a sharp, observing eye.

I know when X-day is.

MARCH 1st

March 1st.

February 19th

11 days from now...

First, I have to make up with Hinazuki.

Huh? She's not here.

Satoru!

Yuuki!

I-It looks like you've made lots of friends.

Good for you.

Yuuki is 23 years old in this time period.

He's younger than me now.

It's thanks to you, Yuuki.

No, it isn't!

I-I-It's because you mustered up courage.

The feeling you had of wanting to have fun with everyone g-got across.

His stuttering and softhearted soul are just like I remember.

He's a good person.

Yuuki, do you know Kayo Hinazuki?

Kayo? Sure I know her.

That was a quick answer.

She's always in the park alone, right?

I've talked to her a number of times.

Is she a classmate?

Yeah.

Huh. I didn't know.

Jun! Time to eat!

You can start without me!

Isn't it early for dinner?

We get up early.

I work at my dad's bento shop from four in the morning.

Four?

Yeah. But just until noon.

I see.

We always hung out in the afternoon,

so I assumed he was unemployed.

Now that I'm 29,

I can tell he's making an effort to curb his dialect when he talks to me.

To a kid, the way he talks has a persuasiveness and maturity.

Tell me about the way he talked.

Did you think he was a good person?

There was another feature on the papercrafting tournament.

U-Um... Someone gave them to me,

a-a-and I couldn't just throw them out.

It's okay. I don't care.

Was there anything in his room that made you feel uneasy?

I'd better get going.

Okay.

Satoru, you've become more mature somehow.

Really?

Yeah.

JUN SHIRATORI

MAY 2006, DEATH ROW PRISONER

Jun Shiratori.

In my present of 2006,