Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou

Happy New Year

It's winter break.

School and work...

As I went from one to the other,

the days passed quickly.

Did the Yokai Apartments really exist?

Did I really live there for six months?

I thought those memories would become a part of me, eventually.

But now, I can't believe it!

Ryu-san!

Fifth Haunting A Place to Call Home

Joutou Business High School

Hey, Tashiro,

I listed the props we need for the English Club's end-of-year thing.

Prop List 1. Red hood 2. Basket 3. Apple (plastic) x3 4. Wine bottle x1 5. Bed

Will this do it?

Seems fine.

Take a closer look!

We're the ones who'll have a hard time if anything is missing.

I know that!

And lately, you've been weird, Inaba.

Like you're forcing yourself to work harder...

I've always been like this.

Check that list carefully.

It's cold! Close the window!

Sorry, sorry!

Is something wrong?

N-Nothing.

Without realizing, I found myself looking for them.

Shadows in the classroom corners.

Tree branches waving in the wind.

"Maybe the yokai are out there," I told myself.

But I couldn't ever find them.

Because over time, nothing ever stays exactly the same.

But is that really right?

I'm home.

Welcome back.

I'm home.

I'm so hungry!

Want to get some food, Kaga-san?

I think they're serving tonkatsu today.

I love that!

What about you?

When you eat meat, you feel powerful—

You're annoying!

I don't care what you eat.

And you shouldn't care what I like.

Or what?

Is this some kind of important, Earth-shaking news?

N-No... I just wanted to talk—

I know that!

You look down on me, don't you?

You think I'm boring and don't know how to talk to others!

No! I don't think that!

You really want to involve me in other people's worlds this way?!

Do you think you're special?

He got mad...

What a weirdo.

Leave him alone.

Best to let sleeping dogs lie.

B-But...

And so, the days passed,

whether I wanted them to or not.

Joy... Sadness...

All of it recedes into the past

and becomes a memory.

And the more fun the memory, the more vague it is.

And the sooner it slips through your fingers.

This...

This is the normal life I wanted, right?

I'm heading back now.

What's for dinner today?

No, I'll pass today.

If I don't eat at home today, my wife will divorce me!

Anyway, the drinks there are so good...

I'm in love!

Really, boss?

Of course. You'll love it.

Drink all you want!

You're the best, boss.

S-Sato-san!

Yushi-kun...

How have you been?

How's the new dorm?

Being in a brand-new building must be nice!

Did you go skiing over winter break?

Everyone at the apartments is fine.

They're always wondering about you.

You never contact us at all.

I keep saying there's nothing to worry about, but...

It really wasn't a dream.

That apartment building...

Everyone...

Why don't we get some food, Yushi-kun?

I know a great Japanese place.

Okay, here it is!

The oden here is so good.

I could eat a whole plate of the tofu.

Oh, ma'am...

I'll take the sashimi plate and kabayaki unagi.

Some mixed vegetables and yakitori with sauce.

And a rice bowl, like always.

Thank you very much.

Eat up, Yushi-kun!

Right.

I-It's great!

Isn't it?

She's almost as good as Ruriko-chan, right?

But is ditching those people from your company okay?

It's fine!

Sorry. Catch you next time!

They trust me!

You'd better.

I've worked for Soir Cosmetics for twenty years.

And all the girls love me, the #1 nice middle-management guy!

Section Chief!

They call me "Silver-Haired Sato."

Nice middle-management guy?

Ma'am, I'll take another beer.

Thank you. Coming right up.

Sato-san's a yokai,

but for years, he's worked at a human company.

Actually, he's been living with humans for centuries.

He works at a company for years,

leaves, and goes to another one.

He works pretty hard

and has a pretty nice life.

He has a good, steady job, and lives a quiet life.

That, he says, is his image of the ideal human.

Hey, Sato-san...

Why do you live as a human?

I wanted to be born as a human.

Humans have limited lifespans, don't they?

The way they live as hard as they can in that time is so beautiful.

I've always loved it.

My end's going to come eventually, right?

When that time comes, I want a girl who will live as a human.

Then I'll marry her, we'll have a child together, and grow old.

I think that'd be so nice!

Aren't humans great, Yushi-kun?

Yushi-kun?

Humans aren't that great...

I appreciate that you feel that way. But we aren't like you think.

Did something happen?

Bad things... A lot of them...

And I couldn't do anything!

I'm not worthy of hearing you say those things about us!

I couldn't save Takenaka... And I can't befriend Kaga-san.

Then, just change.

Change?

I've changed!

Otherwise, I wouldn't last at the company.

We yokai live a long time, so I know this.

Sure, this might be a bad time for anyone,

but better days will come.

And it's kids like you who form the next generation.

Even your bad and ugly parts are still human.

You can't just cut those parts off.

However,

you can change them.

So you need to look to the future.

The future...

That's right. Your dreams.