The Nokker revealed itself in front of Fushi, and he challenged it to battle.
Bring it.
I'll play with you.
I have to get back.
Yay! I'm free!
Hey, can I come back?
I love having fun!
That person will appreciate it, too!
"That person"?
Trouble
I thought I might bump into Fushi if just I wandered around.
What to do...
Maybe I'll drop by Yuki-kun's place.
I can't think of an excuse, though.
Fushi, I'm here to help with your homework.
Would I be imposing?
That Tonari girl might get pissed at me.
You broke your promise to meet up after school every day!
You suck!
No way.
No one likes a hysterical woman.
Yuki-kun, I found a shiny rock.
Is it a power stone?!
Nice, Senpai!
That's it!
He might not be at home, though.
Should I go take a peek?
That'd make me a stalker!
Also, isn't he worried about me? He just left me hanging.
Maybe he doesn't care anymore.
What should I tell him when I see him?
I can't stop thinking about Fushi.
I feel so stupid.
It's like I'm lovesick.
I have a kind mom and a good friend.
I'm happy, and yet...
Things would be even more perfect if Fushi said he loved me.
A sea turtle...
Fushi?!
I want you to teach me about love.
I can't believe I actually bumped into him.
Is it fate?
It has to be, right?
Fushi?!
What's wrong?! Please be okay!
You came back to life!
You scared me.
Are you okay, Fushi?
You're all better now?
Yeah, sorry for scaring you.
That's a relief.
So anyway, um... wanna take me somewhere this Sunday?
Like where?
Anywhere.
You haven't been keeping up with your promise to meet up after school lately.
I'll forgive you if you go on a date with me.
A d-d-date?!
What's this, er... "date"?
Come, Fushi, Fushi...
Don't forget your date with me!
Our plan to defeat the Nokkers and save the planet!
Of course.
I was about to do that.
Okay, Mizuha.
Let's do that "date" thing.
You'll let me be by myself after that, right?
I don't like the way you said that.
Okay, then, 10 AM on Sunday.
Meet me at the station.
She's really living it up.
Do you think those two are going to go steady?
You lied to me!
"Peaceful," my ass!
The Nokker took my body!
She was going crazy with the grass cutter!
Is there a problem with that?
Aren't you worried about me at all?
I'd be dead if it got my head!
Exactly!
Wait, Fushi, you can die?
No, to be precise, I'd lose my ability to transform into this body.
We have to exterminate the Nokkers!
We have to do it!
If you feel threatened by that girl, you'll need to deal with her yourself.
There's nothing I can do for you.
No, there is.
First off, retract your lie.
The lie that it's peaceful now.
And cooperate with me.
You have more abilities to detect the Nokkers, don't you?
Not much of my ability remains.
Until now, I could make the surface part of my body
to find the foreign contaminants that are the Nokkers.
Not anymore.
Not since I gave you my ability to reconnect.
All I can do is involve myself with the humans nearby to sense when things are off.
So that's how you found Mimori-chan.
That ability will slowly wither, as well.
And I am not lying when I say that
the current state of the world is already the best it can be.
So then what was the point of Fushi's fight today?
Satoru!
A-A-Are those your friends?!
Yeah.
Where did you meet them?
The park.
I'm Sumika. I live at this institution.
I'm everyone's big sister.
And I'm this kid's guardian.
By the way, I'm the strongest person here.
I made a guy cry at school one time.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you!
I'm Yuki.
I like power spots and out-of-place artifacts.
Oh, there you are.
Come, Fushi. Let's go talk outside.
Oh, hello.
Who's he?
An acquaintance.
You're going with them?
You're sure?
Don't worry about me.
Man, what a shock.
To think you were attacked by Fake Mimori at school...
Anyway, Mimori-kun had a request for us.
She doesn't want us to fight the Nokker anymore.
But why? What's the reason?
She never told me.
She's fine with her body having been taken over?
That's what she said.
What do I do now?
Do I just lie down and take it?
She said she'd be coming back.
And she said "that person" would be happy.
"That person"?
Who does she mean?
Do you know, Boy Black?
He's focused.
Oh, hey, why don't we have Nixon and Fen follow Fake Mimori?
We might figure out who "that person" is.
What? You would have us go?
That's a great idea.
Let's do it.
Hold it.
The Nokker living inside Mimori is combative.
It won't hesitate to fight you wherever it finds you.
We ought to take out the weak ones first and learn their weaknesses.
But...
Bon?
That child can tell when a Nokker is in his vicinity, can't he?
That's one idea.
But Fake Mimori will attack, no matter what we do.
Is Izumi-san saying something?
Fushi, I want you to prepare for ambushes
as you search for Nokker-infested humans with Boy Black while we look for Mimori.
And if we find her?
Do we defeat her?
She was immortal.
If we separate her body from her consciousness,
the Nokker might have nowhere to go.
The brain stem.
Aim here.
Make it die instantly.
Izumi-san says you can kill it if you aim for the head.
Stab it, cut it...
Whatever works.
Fushi?
Yeah.
I can do it.
I can kill it.
What's the matter?
You've been killing them all this time.
That one has pain.
It wasn't like that before.
I definitely felt it.
The same kind of pain that we feel.
Pain from a blade is definitely repulsive.
Why not try explosives or poison?
I'm sure it's horrible, but it's only for a moment, Fushi.
The pain you feel won't last long.
No...
Yeah. You're right.
It won't be a problem.
Sorry, but I'm going to give my own life priority.
Don't expect me to be able to help you.
I'm sick of this!
I don't know what's happened to you,
but as far as I'm concerned, this is all your doing!
Fushi!
Stop it! Calm down!
Are you all right?
Apologize, Fushi.
Tut, tut.
I'm leaving.
I'll walk you.
No.
Don't be like that.
Wanna hold hands?
Oh, he forgot his math worksheet.
He made mistakes.
He seemed so smart.
That's odd.
The Black One's good at counting.
Is he?
I guess with a new vessel, his mind changes, too.
That's what he said before.
Basically, now that he's young, his brain's smaller, too.
Ah.
That might mean the Nokkers will take on
gentler personalities in their new bodies, too, right?
That would be great.
Come on, you pig, squeal!
I know you've been poking around.
Try to tell anyone about what you saw, and I'll make you suffer even more.
Respond!
Y-Yes, ma'am!
You know what I want to hear!
Oink, oink, oink!
Sorry, Fushi!
I overslept!
I kept you waiting, didn't I?
Sorry! And on our first date, too...
Well, let's go.
Where should we go?
Let's see...
Is he cosplaying?
He looks so weird.
I kinda want to check out some clothes.
You haven't been at school lately.
You can't tell me nothing's wrong.
Tonari-san told me you haven't been coming home lately, either.
I just didn't want people to see me when I'm not doing so great.
Ever since the day I was attacked by the Mimori Nokker,
I've been sleeping outside in preparation for the next attack.
And yet...
the real Mimori says I don't need to fight, and the Black One isn't cooperating.
What the hell?!
We're obviously better off without the Nokkers.
So something did happen.
You should tell me.
Oh, er, well...
Did you find some clothes you like?
Wear these, Fushi.
You were looking for clothes for me, huh?
You really don't mind buying these for me?
It's fine.
Mom gave me a raise on my allowance.
How is your mom? Still the same?
Yeah. She's super nice.
It's so peaceful, I can hardly believe it.
Yeah?
That's good to hear.
Damn it...
I have to make sure I don't forget.
That this isn't peace.
There has to be a reason the Nokkers are still controlling people's bodies.
Notice, Fushi?
Notice what?
All the girls are looking at you.
They think you're attractive.
Attractive?
You fit in well in town.
You should always dress like that.
So there you are!
Can we help you, miss?
Look at you, out on a date like everything's fine.
Don't think you can escape what we talked about before!
Before?
Do you know her?
You got Satoru hurt!
Don't act like you don't remember!
Satoru?
Oh.
Um... Sumika-san, was it?
That wasn't on purpose.
Wait, he got hurt? Really?
Don't play dumb with me, asshole!
He has a scrape and a bump!
Satoru's so quiet.
I was so happy. I thought he'd finally made friends.
Turns out his "friend" was a piece of shit!
There's no way that gloomy kid's gonna make friends.
I'll give you a taste of what you did to him!
Ow!
No violence! You're awful!
You don't know what he's been through.
He was all on his own in the rain when he was taken in.
He couldn't even say his own name.
I warmed up his cold body, and he said, with a shocked face...
It's warm.
As if it was his first time taking a bath.
So I cooked for him, and he said, with a surprised face again...
I've never eaten before.
He couldn't seem to answer what he was doing until now or who his parents were.
That's what happens when a child doesn't have anyone to love them anymore.
That's why I gave him the name Satoru, so he could start a new life.
And I wanted to fill his life with love.
Sorry, but he isn't the kind of person you think he is.
You're wasting your time on him.
Sounds like you really want me to teach you a lesson.
Hey!
I won't allow it.
Karate, judo, aikido... I've done it all. I'll take you on!
You think you can beat me, huh?
A puny thing like you?
Hold it!
I'm gonna make you apologize!
This way!
Fushi, transform!
To anything! Whatever!
Huh? Where'd he go?
He ran off on his own.
Really? You'd better not be hiding him.
You don't see him anywhere, do you?
Right?
Right.
Bastard!
Get back here!
He really is letting that girl protect him.
He's completely become human.
I did it.
I protected Fushi.
I don't know what happened, but you shouldn't make girls angry.
You don't know how much of a pain it can be later.
Uh-huh.
Hello.
We're from the Minamoto Elementary School photography club.
Would you be open to modeling for a few photos?
Modeling?
Thank you!
You can have that one.
Let me know if you're ever using those photos somewhere.
Okay.
What's up, Fushi? You look happy.
Do you like having your picture taken?
I was remembering the owner of this body.
Her name was Mia.
She'd dreamed of being an art model.
She passed away before it could come true.
It's a photo, but you kind of granted her wish, huh?
That's what I was just thinking.
Oh, yeah! Oopa and Uroy, too.
What? There are more?
Sure, I'll help out.
Uroy's dream was to keep a lot of animals.
All these animals I've never seen before!
He's gonna love it!
Look.
That's the Oniguma constellation.
Oopa was interested in the sun.
She'd be blown away if she found out that there are stars that are farther away
and bigger than the sun.
Sorry it's so late.
Thanks for hanging out with me today.
I'm so happy I met you, Fushi.
To think I used to want to die...
Later, Fushi.
You should come to school once in a while.
Okay.
The Oniguma constellation, huh?
I should tell March.
I can't go home yet, though.
Not until I deal with the Mimori Nokker.
Fushi!
There you are!
Tonari.
You've been gone for so long. Everyone's worried.
What are you doing in Oopa's form, anyway?
I was watching the stars.
The Oniguma.
Which one?
Um...
That reddish one and the one next to it.
I don't see it.
I think it was that blue one.
This scent takes me back.
A mix of dirt and perfume.
If only Oopa were actually here...
I wanted to look at the stars with her.
I can't get used to having only one eye.
Fushi!
Goodnight, Fushi!
Yup, night.
Oh, of course! You were with Mizuha today.
Yeah. On a date.
In Oopa's form?
Yeah!
She took me to this place called a planetarium.
We saw all kinds of stars.
Remember how Oopa used to be interested in the sun?
I wanted her to see it.
And the zoo.
I let Uroy see it with his own eyes.
Oh, and I let Mia be a model.
See? She looks awesome in this photo, right?
Stop it!
Oh, there you are.
Fushi! Tonari talked to you, right?
Let's head home.
Haven't you heard?
Bon wants to talk to you.
She took Ligard to find you since you've been missing.
Is something wrong?
She used my friends for romantic pursuits.
Huh?
What do you mean?
Mizuha's just being kind.
I don't want to hear it!
H-Hey...
Listen...
It isn't you or this Mizuha girl.
I love Oopa and Uroy and Mia more than anyone else does!
I adore them!
They died being taken over by the Nokkers.
That was the end of their lives, and there was nothing we could do.
If you think you're living out their lives...
Don't defile my friends with your dirty thoughts!
Tonari!
Tonari-san?!
Fushi, I'm just guessing, but...
Was Tonari-san super angry?
Did you fight?
Hey, you good?
We should head home.
I'll help Tonari feel better.
No!
Stay away!
Why not?
Eko's making hot pot.
What are you even doing these days, Fushi?
You've been wandering around on your own.
Are you hiding something?
Gugu-niisan, you know how it is.
What?
It's a guy thing.
He's just like the cat I used to own.
He left home when he was in heat and never came back.
You're saying he's in heat? Fushi is?
Oh, right!
He was hitting it off with that Mizuha girl.
So now things've gotten messy with Tonari,
and you don't feel comfortable at home.
You deserter!
I don't think Mizuha's right for you,
but I got your back if she's the one you like.
I'll talk to Tonari. You got this.
I'll tell Bon-san to meet you at school.
Well, sir brother, shall we get back?
No thanks.
I let Tonari down.
I couldn't help Oopa and the others that day.
I used their bodies to try to work through my own hopelessness.
It's not even as if Oopa or Uroy could see what I saw.
Living is hard.
I wonder if drinking away your sadness really works.
I can drink when I'm in Booze Man's body.
This is kinda nice.
Look...
Look at this!
Fushi! You all right?
Who are you?!
What have you done to Fushi?!
I simply...
want you to behold this!
That happy trail!
It shines like a black silk road over white sands!
And the bonds that confine it...
The karma of man!
The antithesis to all those who defile life!
Who are you?!
Hirotoshi.
Oh, he's the guy I called.
He's been standing around the school gate lately.
He said he was looking for Fushi, so we exchanged contacts.
You pervert!
What do you want from me?
I want you to help my sister.
Help her?
Preview
A severed soul and a lost body.
Will Mimori hear Hirotoshi's pained cries?
Who will stand victorious in the midnight battle?
Rejected Life