Nameless Poison (Na mo Naki Doku / 名もなき毒)

The ghost jumps out in front of Risako

and in a loud voice said, "Boo!"

Okay, say cheese. Everyone smile.

Kajita-san. Kajita-san.

How's this one?

That might be nice.

A man died.

- Please use this. - Certainly.

Take that off.

It was a clear day in early May, warm enough to make one perspire.

The man was run over by a bicycle. He died instantly.

His life ended right there.

The bicyclist fled the scene without stopping.

Episode 1 "28 years of Darkness - The Sisters' Secret and the Mystery of Their Father's Death"

Satomi, did you notify your father's relatives?

I did, but we weren't really that close to them.

Riko...

The man who died, Kajita Nobuo-san,

was the only person in this world who sincerely

gave us his heartfelt congratulations on our marriage.

Here's your order. That's 320 yen. Here's your change.

8 years ago Here's your order. That's 320 yen. Here's your change.

Here's your order. That's 320 yen. Here's your change.

Yes, Sugimura speaking. Yes, I'm on my way now.

Pardon me? Is that right.

No, 4 o'clock is just fine. That works for me,

since I haven't had lunch yet. Yes, I'll see you later.

Good bye.

That was early spring 8 years ago.

To accommodate the picture book author I was working with,

I found myself with nothing to do on a weekday afternoon.

Hey, hey.

- Stop it, please. - Are you alone?

- Please don't. - Hey, don't be so cold.

What are you doing?

Please stop!

Stop it! Help. Someone help!

Pervert.

What's the matter?

There's medication in my bag...

Bag...I'm opening it, okay?

A bottle of water please.

- If you'd like. - Thank you.

Are you sure you don't need an ambulance?

Yes, I'm fine now.

That's good then.

I'm Imada Nahoko.

- Thank you for your help. - No, I didn't do much...

But...

that was a weird movie, wasn't it?

Actually, I fell asleep...

You didn't miss anything. But if I was really into it,

I probably would've been more upset that I was disrupted.

- Are you really all right? - Yes.

Thank you very much.

Don't mention it.

Excuse me...

Shall I take you home?

- No, that's okay. - Oh, what I meant was,

I just thought it won't be safe if that guy was still hanging around.

- Aozora (Blue Sky) Bookstore? - Yes.

I'm not a shady character.

I love the "Jeremy and Fu" series.

I'll take my leave now.

Thank you.

In my uneventful life, even something like this

was quite a dramatic occurrence.

How are you today? This is Fujita from Aozora Bookstore.

When may I expect to pick up your manuscript?

- Sugimura-kun. - Thank you.

She even conscientiously sent me a thank you letter.

- Sorry to keep you waiting. - Not at all. I just got here too.

At that time, the image I had of her in my mind was

that of a girl helping around the house because of her ill health.

She didn't have a mother, liked movies and books.

A somewhat lonely girl.

I wanted to protect her.

Will you marry me?

Are you sure you're okay with me?

I'm the one who feels you're too good for me.

Imada's written the same way as yours. It's quite unusual, isn't it?

What if he's related to you.

But it must be tough to work for someone like him.

- Why? - Why? His eyes are scary.

They say his nickname's Raptor.

He actually looks like one of those birds. You know, the ones in illustrated reference books.

Shall we watch a video? I rented "Yakamashi Mura" and "Ring."

He's my father.

What?

Him..that's my father.

Hey, I almost believed you for a second there.

It's true.

Is that right...

But I wasn't brought up like a princess at all.

My mother was the so-called No. 2.

Since that's what she was.

But you're living with your father now, aren't you?

My mother passed away when I was in high school.

She had a weak heart too.

I would've been all alone, right? It just so happened that

my father's wife had passed away too.

So I went to live at my father's house in Matsubara.

It's not a big deal, is it?

Is it a big deal?

The Imada conglomerate, with Imada Distribution as its hub,

consists of Imada Distribution Warehouse, Imada Seaborne, among others.

The group's total gross income is not in billions, but trillions.

Imada Yoshichika is the man who built up his fortune in one generation.

And here, I thought she was a frail girl who helped around the house,

raised modestly by a single parent...

I was way off the mark.

Right?

Nothing will change, right?

Father's Father. I'm me.

You won't change your mind, right?

About marrying me.

Thank God.

- Hey~. - Welcome home.

- Hi there. - Long time no see.

- How old is she? - 6 years younger than me.

- She's quite a bit younger. - Break up with her!

There you go again...

They say some people have a venomous tongue.

My mother's has a viper's venom. I've been bit several times.

- Why do we have to break up? - If you don't break up,

you'll suffer the rest for your life. Because of the difference.

It wouldn't be so bad if you're a woman, but for what it's worth, you are a man.

It's not like I'm marrying into her family.

He's not gonna live off of her either. Right, Saburo?

- Yeah. - But it's not just the fact that she's wealthy.

It's her complicated family situation...

- That's not her fault. - I do want to give you my blessing.

But frankly, it won't be easy to associate with them as in-laws.

She's just an ordinary girl. I want you to meet her once.

- I don't want to. - How come?

If I meet her, I'll become emotionally attached.

I swear, this princess...

what does she see in someone like you?

It was my mistake giving birth to a slightly good-looking son.

I know you're not pleased, but...

Oh, I know!

You guys should elope. Then I'll give you my blessing.

- Elope? - Imada Group, was it?

...or whatever, throw away all that bothersome stuff

and if you two can start afresh from nothing, I'll give you my blessing is what I'm saying.

Dad. Dad, what do you think?

Well, depends on what her family says.

I guess we can't assume they'll approve.

That's true, huh?

We're opposed it first!

Excuse me.

My name is Sugimura Saburo.

Thank you for making time to meet with me today.

Today, I came to ask for your permission.

Nahoko-san...

Nahoko-san and I

would like to get married.

I...

I have one condition.

I want you to work at one of our affiliate's Group Public Relations Office.

Does that mean

you want me to quit my current job?

It would mean that, yes.

Let me give you fair warning that the Group Public Relations Office

is a small department that only publishes internal company newsletters.

It's nothing more, nothing less.

There won't be any reassignments to other departments either.

If you can agree to that condition,

I'll approve of the marriage.

Wholeheartedly.

Nahoko has two half-brothers

who already held key positions in Imada Group.

He was telling me not to entertain any thoughts of being ambitious.

I'm not ambitious, however,

I enjoyed publishing picture books at my present company.

I thought of it as my lifework.

However. However...

You don't need to give me an answer right away.

It's a decision that would affect the rest of your life.

No.

It would be a pleasure to work for you.

Excuse me.

Congratulations.

Since then, there were many times

I thought back about that "Congratulations."

Because it was a genuine "Congratulations."

No "however," or

"you got yourself a good deal," or "it's gonna be tough from now on."

No extraneous words like that followed.

And for me,

a whole new life began.

- Have a nice day. - Don't overexert yourself.

Yes, I know. I'll work slowly with Tanabe-san.

Okay.

Oh, wait a minute.

- Huh? - I said you look cool.

Have a nice day.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

We haven't unpacked anything from the move. I'd appreciate it if you'd take care of it.

Yes, certainly.