ERASED (僕だけがいない街)

I'm scared...

scared to dig too deep into myself.

Hmm.

Your work's not bad.

It's all right, but...

how do I put this?

Readers want to see what makes an artist tick.

You gotta dig deep down into yourself.

That's what art's all about.

You say you're 29 now?

Yeah, our magazine might not be the best fit for you.

The 2006 World Cup in Germany is only 26 days away.

"If only I'd done things different" is a phrase that pops into my head every day.

I don't think about it too seriously, though.

It's just words.

As soon as they come to mind, they disappear.

I'm scared.

Scared to dig too deep into myself.

Headin' out on a delivery.

OK.

Drive safe.

I'm heading out on one, too!

OK. Drive safe out there.

Fujinuma, keep your stomach away from that pizza, ya hear?

Jeez, is that what kids are calling humor these days?

I will.

Fun Fact. She says that to me every day.

It's the only thing she says to me.

Far as I can tell, she's got zero feelings for me.

She's so weird. Too weird, too... young.

Hmm?

There it was.

It happened again.

Where is it?

Something's not right, but what?

Hey, you in the truck! Pull over!

Yo, stop the truck!

Wait, that's Fujinuma. What's he doing?

Goddamn it! I can't believe I'm doing this.

Why am I doing this?

Come on!

Oh, my God!

You OK?

What... what am I looking at?

Oh, it's my life flashing before my eyes.

This is what happens when you get involved with other people's problems.

Oh, well, if I'm dead, I'm dead. Who cares?

Huh?

You opened your eyes.

It's about time. You were out for two days.

Hmm?

Katagiri?

Hiya, sleeping beauty.

So, do you know who you are and how you got here?

Satoru Fujinuma, I'm 29.

I was chasing a truck and... I got hit.

Awesome! The doc said it's a miracle you didn't get hurt more.

Do you want me to go call someone for you?

Like a friend or girlfriend or something?

Huh‐uh. There isn't anyone I want to bother telling.

Snip‐snip.

I don't get it. That supposed to be funny?

No, I'm just trying to cut through that thick cocoon you're in.

You come off like the type who doesn't open up or care about anyone.

The non‐laughing type.

But after the other day, I know better.

‐How so? ‐You saved that kid's life.

I was right there and I saw the whole thing go down. And you know that truck driver?

Well, I heard he had a heart attack and died at the wheel.

I still don't get how you noticed that.

Lucky, I guess.

Yeah, well, the truck crashed into a warehouse and amazingly you and the driver were the only casualties.

What about the damages?

I told our manager what happened, and he says insurance will take care of the bike and the other car.

And then when you get better, come back to work.

That's good news.

Hah! I caught you smiling.

Hmm. How come you work at the pizza place?

It can't be for the money.

Wow! Now, there's a personal question.

Oh, sorry. Was it?

Mm‐hmm. In fact, you're the first person to ever ask me that.

I work there 'cause I have a dream.

‐That's cool. ‐Don't you wanna know what it is?

Well... aren't you worried it would jinx it for you?

Besides, if it didn't come true, people would think you're a loser.

Oh, I'm not worried about telling anyone.

The more I talk about it, the better the chance it'll come true.

That's what I think, anyway.

Wait, where have I heard that before?

You know what? I've decided I'm not going to tell you about it after all.

It's not like we're dating or anything like that.

I'm going to let the nurse know you're awake, and then I'm going home.

See ya.

Man, she's weird.

I have a name for what happens to me: Revival.

It never benefits me, but I play along with it anyway.

When it happens,I go back in time anywhere from one to five minutes.

Then it always happens before something bad goes down.

It's like someone's forcing me to fix whatever's gone wrong,

so I start looking for the one thing that seems, you know, off.

I've managed to stop a lot of tragedies.

So far.

Most of the time, I fix whatever bad's supposed to happen

and everything comes out OK.

But sometimes, like this time, things go bad for me.

Oh. Hey there, Satoru.

Hey, Mom.

I went to the hospital, but you were out cold.

Sorry I didn't stay, but I got bored watching you sleep.

So, how is your head doing, kiddo?

It's fine.

Yeah, right.

They told me you had a head‐on with a car.

I'll be staying for a while.

Huh? What do you mean you're staying?

What do you think I mean? I want to make sure my little guy's OK.

A car hit you, for Christ's sakes.

You don't have to. I said I'm fine.

Anyway, I only have one futon.

No worries. I can make do with a sleeping bag I found in the closet.

A hotel's better.

Nah, a hotel's too expensive.

Oh, then I can pay you back for the hospital.

So keep it and we'll call it my rent.

She's 52 but looks the same as when I was a kid.

Same attitude too.

Satoru, do I have to change trains to get to Ueno?

No, you don't. Wait, you wanna go sightseeing?

Well, I did come all the way from Hokkaido.

Besides, if I had to look at your face all day, I'd get bored.

You haven't even been here a whole day yet, Mom.

Come on, let's eat.

I took over your futon and TV.

Sorry.

No, it's cool.

This sucks. If I need to use the bathroom later,

I'll have to tiptoe around her.

Hey, if you need to use the bathroom later,

don't worry about tiptoeing around me.

I'm gonna sleep like a log tonight.

Witch.

And now for our next story.

Yesterday evening, we told you about a first‐grade girl from Saitama who went missing.

Well, I'm happy to report that this morning,

she was found walking along a road in Yokohama.

Hey, kiddo, you remember back then?

Back when?

You were in fifth grade, and something like this happened in the neighborhood.

Do you remember that?

... an unemployed male from the West Ward of Yokohama...

It's OK if you don't.

Us parents got together and decided the best thing was to try to get you kids to forget about it.

You didn't know, but your life was in danger.

When I was in fifth grade...

a kidnapping?

I remember... two classmates of mine went missing.

I was a shy kid,

but then I met this local guy, Yuuki.

He'd play with me.

Yuuki wasn't his real name, but I called him that.

He'd always say, "Have courage."

I b‐bet I know what the most popular k‐kid in your class is like.

Huh?

For starters, I bet he's cheerful and good at sports.

He ain't afraid to speak up for himself and he can be a goofball, too,

but not when it comes to something he's super into.

Wow!

No biggie. Popular folks are always like that.