You're crazy, you know?
Coming up here at this hour...
I could say the same about you.
Yeah, we're both crazy.
This is the place.
The horizon looks like it's on fire!
This is what it was talking about.
I remembered.
A "heat haze" refers to that shimmer you see when it's hot in summer.
But in the old Japanese of the poem, it means the burning light of dawn.
The Japanese person who explained the poem to you probably misinterpreted it.
But the wine showed me the truth.
Let's have some.
And envision ourselves wandering through space.
"Hingashi no no ni kagirohi no tatsu miete,
kaherimisureba tsuki katabukinu."
I can't even move...
I love you, Natsuki...
Ten o'clock?!
Wake up, you guys!
Gosh, we sure drank a lot after that.
We're all gonna catch colds.
Sorry to drag you out here like this.
But that was just lovely.
The perfect combination of dawn breaking and the Barolo...
I don't think I'll ever forget it.
I definitely agree.
Weird. You smell like a drunk.
You from around here?
What a cute little guy.
What's your name, young man?
Sora. It means "space"!
Look at me, sonny.
Your mother... Where is your mother?
Is she here with you?
Sora! Sora!
Over here, dear!
I found him!
Sorry to trouble you all.
Sora, let's go.
No, I'm staying here.
Hey, sonny, do you like this place?
Yeah! It's mom's favorite spot.
So I like it too!
Um, can we do something for you?
Does this boy have a mother named Natsuki?
How did you know that?
I see...
It was all my fault.
I want to apologize, and this time, I want to stay with her.
This way, please.
What a coincidence.
We're staying at the same hotel.
Kobayashi-kun told you where I was staying, no doubt.
It's just like you to play dumb.
Tell me, Issei.
Are you going to Koryu-ji to see the Miroku Bosatsu again?
Of course.
I see. Perhaps I'll go with you, then.
Please don't!
Stop trying to get in my way!
That's not my intention.
There's something I want to see.
What is it?
The Miroku Bosatsu.
But not the one you're so obsessed with.
The other Miroku Bosatsu.
Didn't you realize?
The one you've been looking at is the Hokan Miroku.
But there's another smaller one next to it, isn't there?
I never even noticed...
I thought not.
That's just who you are.
But for me, that small Miroku Bosatsu was my salvation.
Reminds you of when we came here together, doesn't it?
Maybe. I've forgotten that.
Have you really?
During the two years I spent in Kyoto,
I brought you here almost every day to pray
in front of this smaller Miroku statue.
Issei, take a look at this Miroku statue.
Okay.
I-It's beautiful, Mother.
Like he's thinking about something.
What do you suppose he's contemplating?
Huh? Mother?
"The Crying Miroku."
That's what this statue is called.
It got the name because its right hand looks like it's wiping away tears,
not to mention its sorrowful expression.
Open it.
Wh-What are you thinking?
To open that here... How inappropriate!
Just do it.
What's the matter?
This wine...
You thought it was the Sixth Apostle?
Absurd.
Drink it, Issei.
And realize how little you know.
How far you are from Kanzaki Yutaka.
Where am I?
This is the mind of someone who feels lost.
It's like the world that Kanzaki Yutaka spoke of.
But this isn't space.
It's more... Yes, I feel the earth,
rich in water and green,
all with the breath of life.
Who's there?
Have you been waiting for me here?
Why?
Why are you so sad?
You straighten your posture
and put your finger to your cheek as if to keep the sadness from overflowing.
Who are you?
Why...?
Why couldn't I tell?
That my mother was crying that day...
Mother...
Natsuki died of a brain hemorrhage soon after giving birth to him.
No...
How could this be?
I told her to stop waiting.
You understand, right?
He's not going to follow you to the middle of the Japanese countryside!
I'm not waiting.
I ran away in shock when he wasn't happy about our baby.
But now I realize he was just under too much stress.
Then why do you go out to Manyo Park every morning?!
I know he'll figure it out.
A Western wine made far beyond the horizon
and a poem written in an Eastern country...
It's just like a miracle that they met.
And someday, there'll be another miracle.
Natsuki...
That miracle has come true.
She may be gone now,
but the child she left us has made a miracle happen.
Father...
Come on, Sora.
I told you not to come in.
You smell like Mom, mister.
You smell like Mom's wine!
Sora...
It's like they've been family for years.
Yeah.
I'm sure they'll be family now.
A real family.
Oh, that's right!
Natsuki was finally able to self-publish her poems.
Would you and your friends like to see them, Leo?
Definitely!
Here.
"Wine and Japanese Poetry."
This looks really interesting.
These are the poems she wrote while drinking wine in Italy!
There're so many great poems!
This is...
What is it, Shizuku-san?
"I wander alone in the world."
"I stop and look into space,
and it speaks to me silently."
This poem is just like the Sixth Apostle!
It's like she wrote it while thinking of the Sixth Apostle.
If that's true,
then the wine she had was...
Ma'am, where is the wine she'd drink?
Well, you see, she was pregnant.
She never drank when she was here.
I saved all the corks from the wine she had in Italy.
Really?!
I was going to use them for decor in the restaurant when I had enough.
Where are they now?
In the storeroom at my bar.
We've found it, Miyabi-chan.
One of these is the Miroku!
Loulan...
Sorry. I came anyway.
Issei?
Let me...
Let me stay like this for a while.
Yes.
That's wonderful.
I'll call you back.
Who is it?
It's me.
What's this about?
I can't believe you're inviting me around Kyoto.
No real reason.
Your mother?
Yes. With a Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru
Clos Saint-Jacques from '97.
I'd thought it was possibly the Sixth Apostle, but I was wrong.
My mother made me realize how much I still have to learn.
She knew you might make that mistake.
Yes.
I think she knew and wanted to show you.
Issei, I know you won't forgive me so readily.
Even now, wine is the only thing on your mind.
He was the same way when he was young.
Why is it, I wonder...
In photos, sunrise and sunset look exactly the same.
But when you see them in person, they're completely different.
Sunset is a momentary light as day passes into darkness.
And sunrise is filled with bright hope as you are freed from the long darkness.
The sun's below the horizon. Let's go.
It's time for our dinner reservation.
You won't stay to watch it?
The darkness that comes after the sun sets.
Have you ever waited?
Waited like you're wandering in the dark and begging for the sun?
Yes, of course.
I'm sure you know—
When you finally find the sun, try turning around.
You'll see for yourself...
That the pale moon was shining in the distance,
faintly illuminating the path you walked.
I'm sorry, but I need to return to Tokyo immediately!
Do you mind?
Go ahead.
I'll stay here a little longer
and watch the night.
I'm sorry, Mother!
Now, who will go first?
I will.
Darkness, lonely and complete.
No water, no wind.
All is calm.
Where should I go?
I simply wander.
Now, show me.
This is...
The Miroku Bosatsu Hanka statue in Chugu-ji Temple!
Perfectly formed and divine!
Oh, I see...
What's wrong, Issei?
Reveal your wine and describe it.
This wine is from...
the greatest winemaker of Barolo, a very traditional wine,
Bruno Giacosa.
He refused to compromise, only ever producing small amounts
of his legendary red label,
Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto.
It reminds of the Miroku Bosatsu Hanka statue in Chugu-ji.
Its divine form, with radiance gleaming behind it...
Is this the Sixth Apostle?
I felt no warmth and closeness in this wine!
Its divinity makes it distant. And the Sixth Apostle had no radiance behind it.
Wait, you're kidding me.
Don't tell me...
This wine isn't the Sixth Apostle!
Tomine got it wrong?
So you understand?
The Sixth Apostle is nothing so simple.
It's your turn now, Shizuku.
I can't get this wrong.
Both Tomine and I got the Third Apostle wrong and were both nearly disqualified.
I won't get a second chance.
Well, let's just see what happens...
No, I have to focus!
I won't be able to describe it properly otherwise.
And then Robert will disqualify me.
I have to believe in myself!
Show me!
Reveal the message Dad left for us!
Where... am I?
It's too complicated.
Too difficult.
But it's also simple.
What is that?
It's drawing me to it.
I can feel the great will of the universe guiding me down the path I should follow.
Who...
Who are you?
What are you saying in your silence?
Shizuku, tell me what you saw in the wine.
The first thing I felt was darkness, probably the same that Tomine did.
I was guided by a faint light,
and I found something that felt like the truth of the universe.
It was the Miroku Bosatsu Hanka Shiizo statue.
Is that all?
No, I think what happened after that is what Dad wanted to tell me.
I finally understand.
The loneliness I felt at first
was the solitude and sorrow that comes at the start of a journey.
That sense of fear I felt when walking alone...
Everything seemed simple, but I couldn't go on.
Yet I feel so strongly now...
That even if I'm uncertain, I can still move forward
because I have people who care for me and watch over me,
like my mother and father.
You'll see for yourself.
That the pale moon shines in the distance,
faintly illuminating the path you walked.
I rebelled against my father when he was alive,
but I was also reliant on him.
So I didn't realize it.
But now that my mom and dad are gone
and I've decided to live my life alone, alongside wine,
I think I can faintly see it.
That is my description of this wine.
The '01 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis.
This wine taught me about real human kindness,
the kind you can only understand as an adult looking back on your life.
Don't be ridiculous!
The Miroku Bosatsu has been worshiped for centuries!
How could it be a wine made with modern methods?
The traditional Barolo Riserva is far more expensive
and a much better choice for an apostle!
Shut up!
If you can't accept it, then try a glass.
Here you are.
You understand, I see.
It doesn't matter if it's modern or traditional.
When you drink a wine and feel what it has to offer,
that's the moment its world begins.
Issei, you know far too much about wine.
Perhaps Yutaka wanted you to realize that sometimes that can be a trap.
Yes.
Then let me declare here and now...
The winner in the battle for the Sixth Apostle is Kanzaki Shizuku.
No objections, I assume, Issei?
None.
Let's go, Maki-san.
Hey, don't tell me what to do!
Move!
W-We did it!
We won, didn't we, Shizuku-san?
Yeah, we did.
Maybe for the first time...
I've really beaten that genius.
And perhaps the moment that very thought entered your head
was the moment you started walking to your next defeat.
That, too, is wine.