Human Vapor (2026) s01e02 Episode Script

[suspenseful music droning]
WHITE CENTER
WORK JOURNAL
- [soft meow]
- [man gasps]
[girl] Director Obata? What are you doing?
[Obata sighs]
What's wrong?
You shouldn't be out here.
[girl] What were you burning?
[Obata] Hmm?
Don't worry.
It has nothing to do with you.
- [girl] It does, though.
- [Obata] Huh.
In what way?
[girl meows]
- [Obata gasps]
- [dramatic chord screeching]
[Obata] Satsuki…
It's dangerous out there.
Come back. Satsuki!
Come back! It's dangerous! Satsuki!
Stay away from there!
Satsuki!
Come back! It's dangerous! Hey!
Come back! Please! Satsuki!
- [woman] Director Ozaki!
- [Obata] Satsuki! Come back!
- [woman] Director!
- [Obata] It's dangerous!
- [woman] Wake up!
- [Obata] Satsuki!
[woman] Director!
[Obata] Come back!
Satsuki!
- [woman] Come back!
- [Obata] You'll hurt yourself.
- Satsuki… Satsuki!
- Director, stop!
Snap out of it! Wake up!
- [woman breathes heavily]
- [Obata grunts]
[Obata hesitates]
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm fine.
Let's get you back. You were sleepwalking.
[Obata grunts]
I'm all right. Really, I'm fine.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, yes.
PLACE OF REST: UMIKAZE
- [indistinct chatter]
- [gentle piano music]
- [man 1] Stop. That's dangerous! Don't!
- [man 2] Breakfast time!
[man 1] You… Ah, ah, ah! Come here!
- [man 2] Is it yummy?
- [man 1] I got you!
- [man 2] Want any more soy sauce?
- [man 1] Leo, you're going to sit.
Sit, Leo, sit.
No, no, no, hey. Look what you did.
You spilled your drink.
- [man 2] I'll clean it up.
- Leo…
Leo. Go ahead, thanks.
[man 2] You all right, sweetie?
It didn't get on you?
[man 1] Deep breaths, okay?
Let's just take a deep breath.
Did something bad happen this morning?
[Obata] Shota.
Aren't you going to eat breakfast?
Ah, no, thanks, sir. I'm fine.
Oh! You can't forget your lunch, then.
Here.
Oh, um, do you know
all the members of the G7?
The G7?
It's going to be on our test.
There's the UK, France, Canada,
Japan…
[objects clattering]
[man 1] Oh!
America, Germany, and Italy. Okay, bye!
[Kyoko, on TV] A man
calling himself the Human Vapor…
Leo ate most of his food.
[woman] Oh, good. Finally. Thank you.
[news continues on TV]
[Kyoko] The Metropolitan Police Department
arrived on the scene to secure the area
and question the man, but he vanished
when a dense gust of fog blew through,
knocking down police officers.
The phenomenon was caught on camera.
Just who is the Human Vapor,
and what is the mysterious White Center?
The investigation is still ongoing.
More to come.
And let's take another look
at the dramatic footage
captured exclusively by our reporters.
[Kyoko] What were
these alleged crimes, exactly?
White Center…
The Human Vapor, huh?
That's a new one.
[woman] He said, "White Center."
You heard of a place like that?
[man] Can't say that I have.
The people who were involved
with White Center
must be remembering
the crimes they committed and panicking….
- [dish clatters]
- [woman gasps] Oh, that scared me.
- [man and woman chuckle]
- [man] Mr. Ozaki?
[woman] Director, are you all right?
Director Ozaki?
This is my solemn vow
to all those guilty souls.
I'm going to kill you all,
one by one.
[suspenseful music playing]
[dark, dramatic music playing]
HUMAN VAPOR
[detective] Then you went to where
Bunko Ramen used to be 27 years ago.
What I don't understand is how you knew
the Human Vapor
would hold the press conference there,
of all places.
He never turned up at the other location,
so I connected the dots.
Or… perhaps another reliable source
reached out to you?
Tipped you off
so you could arrive in time?
I assure you, I have no such source.
All right.
Did the culprit himself contact you, then?
I find it hard to believe
you two have no connection.
Okay, listen.
Why don't you just cut to the chase?
[quiet, tense music playing]
[detective sighs]
It's not that I don't believe you,
but we have to explore every angle.
[tense music playing]
[Kenji sighs]
4 MONTHS AGO
You say you've never been to the hotel
where the victim of the drug overdose
was found.
So where were you that night?
[attorney] Mori?
I choose to remain silent.
You offered the young, inebriated victim
a drive home.
- You put her in the vehicle, right?
- I choose to remain silent.
You choose to remain silent,
so you don't wanna talk?
Then I'll fill in the blanks.
You drugged a 17-year-old high-school girl
and killed her, and have nothing to say?
- [Mori] What? You have no evidence!
- Hold on.
You're grasping at straws.
You have nothing. Nothing!
I know you were once yakuza.
A guy like you would be used
to making evidence go away.
Prove it.
Look at the time.
Wow. Surely we're almost done?
That's true.
One minute left.
[Kenji sighs]
[Mori] Okamoto…
I knew an Okamoto once.
You must be his son.
The two of us, we go way back,
your old man and I.
He was just like you.
Couldn't, or wouldn't, play the game.
[laughs]
No, he wasn't so smart in the end.
Such a tragedy.
[Mori croaks]
You son of a bitch!
- [attorney] Get off him!
- Let's go!
We got him! Hold on!
- What are you doing?
- You fucker!
- Let go! Back off, now!
- You fucking shit!
Hey! Hey! Let go!
- [Kenji] Let go!
- [detective] Stop!
- Fuck! You shithead!
- [detective] Calm down!
- [Kenji grunts]
- Get a hold of yourself!
Time's up.
[laughs]
[breathing heavily]
Walk it off.
You did the best you could.
[Kyoko] Ugh, you're so heavy.
Almost there.
- [Kenji] I'm fine.
- [Kyoko groans]
[Kenji] Get off me. I said I'm fine.
[Kyoko grunts, sighs]
[Kenji groans]
- [Kyoko] Damn.
- [Kenji groans]
- [Kyoko] You gonna be okay?
- [Kenji groans]
[Kyoko sighs]
- Sorry.
- What?
- [Kenji groans]
- Hey! Be careful!
- Oh!
- [Kenji grunts]
[Kyoko] Okay.
- [soft music playing]
- [both groan]
[Kenji sighs]
- That son of a bitch.
- [Kyoko] Who?
Bastard's never gonna face the music.
He's just gonna do it again and again,
and he'll keep getting away with it.
He's gonna learn from this time
and get smarter…
There's no damn justice in the world.
A guy like him gets to go free?
Why, son of a bitch.
[soft music continues]
[sighs softly]
[server 1] Excuse me, sir. Do you know
if your guest is still on her way
or when she'll be here?
Yeah, sorry.
Pretty sure she'll be here real soon.
Thank you very much, sir.
- [server 2] Right this way, please.
- [Kenji sighs]
- [man] Nice place.
- [woman] Yeah, it's gorgeous.
KYOKO KONO
ARE YOU OKAY, KYOKO?
MICHIKO ABE
- [phone vibrating]
- [sighs]
- Yeah, what is it?
- [Michiko] Bad news.
I'm sending you the video now.
JNT has obtained information
revealing that Bit-Money-Trade's CEO,
Yasutoshi Mori, is under investigation
in connection to the death
of a 17-year-old high-school girl.
We now go to our investigative team's
interview with him.
Excuse me! Excuse me, Yasutoshi Mori?
Who the hell are you?
- My name is Kyoko. I'm with JNT.
- [tense music playing]
You were recently questioned by police
about a schoolgirl
who died of an overdose.
Care to comment?
- Get that camera out of my face.
- I see some of your shareholders are here.
Anything you'd like to say
to put their minds at ease?
Nah, I'm clean.
If you have nothing to hide,
why did you refuse to give investigators
access to your phone?
Get out of here before I call someone.
Hey!
- Can we get her out of here?
- Nice phone, Mr. Mori. Is it new?
You got rid of your old phone, didn't you,
so they couldn't see what was in there?
- The girl asked you for help, didn't she?
- [guard] No, you're leaving.
[Kyoko] What did you do to her? Hey!
The people deserve to know the truth!
[newscaster] Mr. Mori admitted
to having been questioned
but left without further comment.
- He later denied…
- Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday… ♪
[chief] A certain journalist has reported…
MORI COMMITS SUICIDE
…about an active investigation
you were in charge of.
[chilling music playing]
We need you outta here today.
You're suspended.
[Kyoko] I have nothing more to say.
[Michiko] All right.
I got a good read on you.
You're the kind of person
who'll do anything for the story.
- Aren't you, Ms. Kono?
- [detective] Abe.
That's enough.
Ah, there you go.
We took a look at your phone.
There's nothing out of the ordinary.
Apologies.
You're free to go for today, Ms. Kono.
Thanks. If you'll excuse me.
Kyoko.
Kenji.
You saw all that?
Yeah.
[Kenji sighs]
It would be best if you took a step back
from this case, all right?
We've got it under control.
Go chase down some other story.
Stop getting in our way.
What do you mean?
When did I get in your way?
Oh, I don't know, was it when you stole
evidence to run down a lead?
You thought you knew better than we did.
And because of you, Mori's dead.
Because of you, we'll never know
the whole truth about what he did.
Committing suicide
is basically an admission of his guilt.
He killed that girl.
He deserved what he got.
[somber acoustic guitar music playing]
[Kenji sighs]
[woman] Bear with me. This is unusual.
DNA analysis requires biological material,
like blood or sweat,
that can normally be pulled
from a suspect's clothing.
But in this case…
What'd you find?
Well, that's just it.
We didn't find any samples.
[tense music playing]
[sighs] It's a first for me.
It's like he doesn't even exist.
[chief sighs]
Anything on his identity yet?
We tried running his face
through recognition software, but no hits.
We'll widen the search.
[sighs] Son of a bitch.
It's a shit show.
What about the, uh, White Center
or whatever it was called? Anything there?
Looks like it was operating
in Yamanashi Prefecture 30 years ago.
Although there's hardly any record of it,
so it'll take some time to learn more.
- [chief] What? You see something?
- Uh, no.
It's just that the stitching is different
on this button.
- [chief] Stitching?
- [Kenji] As if it were added on later.
[chief] What's that?
[Michiko] There's a pattern
on the underside.
WHITE CENTER, KYUGO SANO, CONNECTION
NO RESULTS
- [Kyoko] Anything on White Center?
- Uh, no.
There's nothing about it anywhere.
Even if it was destroyed,
there should still be some record.
Which means there's a chance
those records were scrubbed.
[Tatsuya] Uh, excuse me, Ms. Kono?
- Do you have a second?
- Mm.
I've got something here that I think
you're gonna want to check out.
It looks like this White Center was
a social welfare facility 27 years ago.
Uh, it was in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Its mission statement seems to do
with supporting the social reintegration
of orphans and homeless people.
And I think I can find
the connection to Professor Sano
if I dig a bit deeper into all of this.
Whoa. Great work, Tatsuya.
Where did you find all this info?
Uh, right after the Human Vapor's
first message went out,
someone got in touch.
- Someone?
- [Tatsuya] Yeah, uh…
A retired newspaper reporter said
he had written an article
about White Center years ago.
- Can you set up a meeting?
- Yeah, sure.
[man] Get your hands off me!
I didn't do anything, I swear!
- [Michiko] We got a hit on the symbol.
- [Kenji] The Fujishiro Syndicate.
- They're linked to the Kasuga Group?
- [Michiko] That's right.
And we got confirmation
that it's the Fujishiro crest.
How's the Human Vapor connected
to a yakuza syndicate?
- What do we know about the Fujishiro?
- That's where all this gets interesting.
Recently, they've been
expanding their operations.
There might be a new player
in the syndicate or behind the scenes.
It's one button.
Let's say the Human Vapor
used to be a member of the Syndicate,
why wouldn't he rep the group more?
Why only wear one button?
That's weird, don't you think?
[Kenji] This pocket square,
how it's folded…
I swear I've seen it before.
[Michiko] The pocket square?
[Michiko] Professor Sano had the same one.
[Kenji] Exactly.
He might be leaving us clues
as to his next target.
[Michiko] It increases the risk
of getting caught. Why would he do that?
[indistinct chattering]
[light, intriguing music playing]
- [server 1] Hi there.
- [server 2] This way, sir.
[server 1] Anywhere you'd like.
We'll be right with you.
- Thanks.
- [Kyoko] Ah!
Shinichi Kato? You're the reporter
who contacted us with the information?
[chuckles] I'm not sure
you should be calling me a reporter.
I've been retired for a while.
I'm Kyoko Kono from JNT.
- And this is…
- [Tatsuya] Ah…
Tatsuya Nishiyama.
[sighs] I'll cut right to the chase.
We understand you wrote about
the White Center when it was established?
I did.
Yes, I believe it was ten articles in all.
That's interesting.
We've been looking for any information,
and nothing's come up.
- [server 3] What can I get you?
- A cup of coffee.
- [server 3] All right.
- Uh, cream soda.
[server 3] No problem.
There was something happening
in Yamanashi at the time.
The Children of the World Peace Expo.
Oh, I remember that.
[Tatsuya] Uh…
I'm not surprised young people today
wouldn't know, but back in '99,
hosting an international event like that
was all anyone could talk about.
4-HOUR WAIT AT ENTRANCE GATE
But that same year…
a meteorite fell in Yamanashi.
Obviously not a common occurrence.
- Plus it started a forest fire.
- [foreboding music playing]
A meteorite? Really?
Was it big news then, or no?
People were more excited
about the Peace Expo,
which would explain
why it didn't get quite as much coverage.
Professor Sano was head of the Meteorite
Safety Committee at the time.
PROFESSOR SANO
NO HARMFUL EFFECTS FROM METEORITE
He said the debris was completely safe,
didn't pose any threat,
and the public was lied to.
It wasn't true?
[Shinichi] No.
Harmful substances had been found.
What he did was a cover-up,
pure and simple.
NO HARMFUL EFFECTS SEEN FROM METEORITE
Cleanup was being taken care of quietly.
By a certain facility,
privately owned and operated.
You understand what I'm saying?
White Center, you mean?
[Shinichi] Exactly.
White Center
was said to be for social welfare.
But that was just a cover.
In reality, they used the residents
for all kinds of manual labor
that needed to be kept quiet.
I investigated the Center
and its management,
but when I went to publish…
All your articles were rejected,
in favor of…
the Children of the World Peace Expo.
All the government wanted was
some positive international attention
after the decade we'd had.
And the meteorite,
White Center, the cover-up,
it didn't look good.
That's the way the world works.
[Kyoko] Who's this?
He's not named in the caption.
Did he work for the White Center?
[Shinichi] Oh yes, that's Obata.
He was the director at the time.
Do you know
how to get in touch with him now?
[Shinichi] After the peace expo,
he disappeared without a trace.
Like a ghost.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Here's your coffee.
[music fades out]
- Do you need any milk?
- No, thanks, I'm fine.
And your cream soda.
[Shinichi] Not so long
after he disappeared,
I saw him again.
You saw him?
I was looking for a place to eat
while I was on the road.
There were… volunteers distributing bags
of food to hungry children.
And you saw Obata with them,
you're saying? He was volunteering?
I called out to him to get his attention,
but he ignored me. They all did.
[Shinichi inhales slowly]
They were all calling him
by a different name. It wasn't Obata.
What was it?
It was quite similar, I recall.
It's gone. Darn.
Where'd you see him last?
What do you think this is, a handout?
What's it worth to you?
[bolt creaking open]
[bolt clattering]
[gates clanging]
[gates screeching open]
[haunting music droning]
What happened? Where is everyone?
[zipper opening]
[gasps]
[inhales sharply]
[music fades]
[waves lapping gently]
[cries softly]
[groaning]
[melancholy music playing]
[groaning]
[sniffling and groaning]
[crying]
[anguished groaning]
[Kyoko] Hiroki Obata.
He was the director of White Center.
These days, we think he's volunteering
with youth groups in Shizuoka.
We're not sure where exactly,
but I'm going to find him.
[director sighs]
So this guy, Obata,
do you think
you can get him to go on the record?
He'd need to.
You're sure you can get him to talk?
- I'll do my best.
- Your best isn't good enough, Kono.
This peace expo was a major event.
No one wants to tarnish its memory.
You'll make enemies left and right.
I understand that, sir.
And you're prepared for that?
Yes.
This is the story.
I can feel it in my gut.
Better get going.
FUJISHIRO ENTERPRISES
[suspenseful music playing]
[Michiko] You think the Human Vapor
is going to kill a member of the yakuza?
You can't be serious.
Look, the button
could be some kind of hint.
Maybe he'll show up. You never know.
[Palm] Give me my tray!
- [man 1] Get out of here.
- [Palm] I'm sorry, I just…
I'm missing one.
- [man 1] Aw, gonna cry?
- [Palm] I need it.
[man 2] Hey! Get out of here.
- You need a shave. You look like shit.
- I need my tray.
- My boss will be so mad.
- Do I look like I care?
- Get the fuck out of here.
- I need my tray--
[motorbikes approaching]
- [Kenji] Abe, get some shots of this.
- [tense music playing]
- [man 3] What's up?
- [camera clicking]
- [man 1] Let's go.
- [Palm] Hang on, I need my tray!
- [man 3] Hey, food boy!
- [Palm] I want it back.
[man 3] Trying to start some shit?
I'll kill you!
- [man 1] Yo!
- [man 3] Chill out.
[camera clicking]
Palm! Hey, Palm!
Palm, wait up!
You remember me?
- Yeah, you're that police officer.
- Uh-huh.
That's me,
and right now, I'm on the clock.
I'm investigating some bad guys,
you understand?
Maybe you could tell me…
what it was like in there.
It was bad, yeah?
They were going on about the news.
They were talking about the Human Vapor.
Said it was an emergency.
And those guys that just went in,
they looked like they came
from somewhere else. Hear anything?
They were scary dudes
and really dangerous.
They might've had guns, I'm not sure.
Thanks a lot. You did good.
[Palm] No problem.
- Oh, right.
- [Kenji] Hmm?
I wanted to say thanks.
Hmm?
[Palm] Because of you, I quit that place.
I deliver for these guys now.
Check it out. Isn't it awesome?
- Ah!
- What do you think?
It suits me, right?
It does, yeah.
I appreciate what you did.
I know my worth.
I won't assume any less.
Uh-huh.
Oh! [chuckles]
Sure.
Hmm.
What's the opposite of a dead end?
We found 32 volunteer youth groups
in Shizuoka alone.
[Tatsuya] If any individual group
receives government funding,
then we can request
information about their staff,
but if they're a private group, privacy
laws make it a lot harder to get anything.
Of course. Well, it doesn't have to be
through official channels.
Maybe we can scrub their websites
or social media for photos?
[Tatsuya] Hmm…
Wait, hang on! That photo.
- Put it up on the screen?
- Yeah.
So? It could be the same guy.
[determined music playing]
[Tatsuya] Hat, glasses, beard…
- The mole, too.
- What's this man's name?
[man] Uh, hang on, I'm sure it's here.
It's… Ah!
Hiroshi Ozaki. He's the director.
Right. What did Kato say about it?
That Obata's alias sounded a lot
like his real name.
Hiroki and Hiroshi…
Ozaki and Obata…
- You all see it too?
- Can't be a coincidence.
Even if it is him, he's not gonna want
to admit to being connected.
Hmm. Though, if it is Obata, he…
he must know the kind of danger he's in
from the Human Vapor.
But if we're too forceful,
he could go on the run again.
Hey. Ozaki's listed on the website.
- [man 1] Time to eat!
- [woman] Dinner time!
[man 1] Oh, look. Mm-mm!
- [man 1] Hello. One for Leo too, please.
- [woman] Coming right up.
Hello, Kazuha. Have you seen Shota?
- [Kazuha] Mm-mm.
- [Obata] Oh.
- [phone vibrating]
- [woman] All right, here you go!
- Here. It's Kazuha's.
- Okay. Thank you, sir.
[phone vibrating]
Hello?
[Kyoko] Hello,
I'm looking to speak with Hiroshi Ozaki.
This is he.
I'm sorry to call you
out of the blue like this, Mr. Ozaki.
My name is Kyoko Kono.
I'm a journalist with JNT.
I was the one interviewing Professor Sano
when he was killed by the Human Vapor.
[suspenseful music playing]
Oh, I see.
What can I do for you, Ms. Kono?
I wanted to talk about your past.
You used to be the director
of White Center.
[Obata exhales slowly]
I'm sorry.
You must have the wrong number.
Just a minute, please.
You haven't been living under a rock.
I hope you're aware the Human Vapor said
he was gonna kill again.
He might set his sights on you
because of your link to the center.
[tense music playing]
[Obata] I'm sorry. Wrong number.
- Goodbye.
- [call disconnects]
[sighs]
Well, that's that then.
It's definitely him.
[man] Mr. Ozaki.
- Sir? Sir? Mr. Ozaki!
- [music fades out]
It's someone from Shota's school
on the phone, sir.
He's in trouble.
It's something to do with stealing?
Ow! Hey!
We don't pinch, okay? What are you doing?
At school?
- Hello, sir.
- Hello.
[brass and wind instruments playing]
[Obata] It must be here.
Excuse me, sorry. Excuse me.
[teacher] Now, Shota…
no one's mad at you, okay?
We just want you to tell us the truth.
I heard you saw Yoshitsune
stealing money
from other students' wallets?
Is that right?
You can tell me.
[sighs]
Daisuke says
that you were with him at the time,
that you both saw Yoshitsune stealing.
Did you?
Is it true?
Yeah.
Yeah, I saw it.
[woman sighs with relief]
[Shota sighs]
Mr. Ozaki…
I couldn't…
I couldn't tell the truth. I'm sorry.
I lied to her.
Daisuke did it.
[Obata sighs softly]
He's the one who stole.
And I saw it. I saw him do it.
Why didn't you tell the teacher
what you saw?
I just… I don't know.
I was worried something bad would happen
if I told on him, I guess.
Like with Yoshitsune.
He's gonna get bullied now.
And I didn't want everyone picking on me.
But now it's too late.
It doesn't matter what I do.
Even if I tell the truth,
nothing's gonna change.
Daisuke…
He's the most popular kid in school.
He's class president.
And, uh, Yoshitsune, he's…
uh…
not like that.
He's always alone and doesn't have
a lot of friends, you know?
So… Yeah.
I guess that's it. It's just, like…
basically, it doesn't really matter
what I do, it doesn't change anything, so…
Shota.
Yes, sir?
You know the truth about something.
If you choose to stay silent…
it'll haunt you for the rest of your life.
[poignant music playing]
So please don't give up on the truth.
For your own peace of mind.
Words have power, and so does silence.
If you do nothing…
that makes you no better
than the kids bullying Yoshitsune.
Is that really what you want?
[Shota cries softly]
No, it's not.
[breathes deeply]
[sighs]
[Obata] Let's go home.
[low, suspenseful music playing]
[mysterious music playing]
WHITE CENTER
WORK JOURNAL
METEORITE CLEANUP OPERATION
JANUARY TO APRIL, 1999
METEORITE IMPACT CONTAMINATION AREA
Just skin and bones…
MISSING
WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
MISSING
[mysterious music intensifies]
[gasps softly]
MISSING
REN TSUTSUMIDA
[mysterious music continues]
- [horn blares]
- [music stops]
[newscaster] Our top story.
News has recently emerged
about White Center,
named by the Human Vapor
in his latest interview.
- There was a social welfare facility…
- [phone vibrating]
…which was based in Yamanashi Prefecture.
[softly] Hello? Mr. Ozaki?
That's not my real name.
[newscaster continues in background]
[Obata] Ms. Kono.
I have a journal in my possession
that details my time at White Center.
It lists all the crimes committed
by the individuals
at the head of the facility.
And…
I'd like to hand the journal over to you,
if you'll take it?
- [solemn piano music playing]
- [breathes deeply]
That means the world.
Thank you for your courage.
My life has been a lie,
and I'm sick of it.
I'm tired of the lies
and I'm tired of hating myself.
- Can I see you now, please?
- Yes, of course.
Now is fine.
Where would you like to meet?
[music becomes suspenseful]
[exhales]
[sighs]
[music fades out]
[Shota] Mr. Ozaki.
Hello, Shota.
I couldn't sleep.
I was up all night thinking.
I can't do it.
I can't tell the truth like you said.
I…
I don't want to keep lying.
And I don't want to be like the bullies
who pick on Yoshitsune.
But I'm scared.
I'm not brave enough.
Sorry for disappointing you, sir.
Shota.
I understand.
Being brave's not easy.
There's still time.
[soft, poignant music playing]
[sniffs]
Thanks for your help.
Have a good day.
[sighs]
[menacing music playing]
Hey!
Looks like they're heading out.
[Kenji] Let's go.
[music fades out]
- I guess he hasn't arrived yet.
- Yeah.
I can get us something to drink.
[breathes deeply]
[low, tense music playing]
- Tatsuya, come on, let's go.
- What's wrong?
Wait.
Wait up!
We can't meet here.
Call Obata, let him know.
- What?
- Hurry.
Okay.
[tense music continues]
Come on.
[music intensifies]
He's not there.
Start running.
Right.
- [man 1 grunts]
- [pedestrians yell]
- Through here!
- [man 1] Outta my way!
[man 2] Stop!
- [Kyoko whimpers]
- Stop! Hey!
- [man 2] Move!
- [man 3] They went down!
[man 2] Fucking move!
- [man 4] Whoa!
- [woman squeals]
- Tatsuya!
- [Tatsuya] Sorry!
[Kyoko panting]
[man 2] Get back here!
[Kyoko yells]
[man 2 grunts]
- [man 3 yelps]
- [Kyoko whimpers]
[motorbikes engines whirring]
[Tatsuya] Kyoko, what do we do?
[man 5] Gimme that!
Hey! Here! Take it.
[man 5] Where'd you put it?
- What?
- Where the fuck is it?
[man 6] We're not gonna ask again.
[breathes shakily]
[man 6] Tell us where it is.
- You wanna die? Huh? Tell us!
- [tires screech]
Police! Drop your weapon!
- [man 3] Quick, grab her!
- [gunshot]
[man 3] Let's get outta here!
[Kyoko] Get off of me!
- Get in the fuckin' car!
- [man 3] They're still down.
- [woman] Get in!
- [Kyoko squeals]
[grunting]
Abe!
[tires screech]
[grunts, breathes heavily]
[gun clicks repeatedly]
[man 6] Oh shit.
[grunting]
[grunting]
[choking]
[music fades]
[Kenji] Kyoko.
You okay?
[Kyoko breathes shakily]
I thought they were gonna kill us.
Why would the yakuza be going after you?
You do anything to piss them off?
Yakuza?
No, nothing.
I was meeting
the ex-director of the White Center.
He was gonna bring all his records.
[rapid footsteps approaching]
Kyoko! You okay?
[Tatsuya panting]
I recorded it. I got the whole thing!
[Kyoko] I'm fine. Good job.
You were meeting an informant, huh?
That explains why they were after you,
doesn't it? Because of him.
Where is he now?
Obata's in danger!
[tense, dramatic music playing]
[music softens]
[sighs]
[Obata] Ah.
Your car broke down?
Yeah.
My insurance is sending a car,
but they said it would take a while.
There's a little repair shop
not too far back down the road.
I could call them for you?
[man] Thank you.
That would be very helpful.
- [phone vibrates]
- I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment.
[man] Yes, sir.
[Obata] Hello?
Ms. Kono?
Where are you right now?
[Obata] Unfortunately I was delayed
slightly, but I'm on my way now.
No! Stay where you are.
We'll send some officers
to pick you up as soon as we can.
Don't move. You're in serious danger.
I'm not afraid of death.
Not after what I've been through.
[steam hissing]
But I don't want to die before I've had
the chance to make things right.
Undo some of the pain I caused.
What pain?
[Obata] White Center.
It may have been intended
to help society's most vulnerable,
but that's not what it became.
We did not help them. We used them.
We turned them into human fuel.
Sorry, what do you mean, "human fuel"?
[tense, dramatic music continues]
The people who took over White Center
were ruthless.
The director tried to oppose them,
and they shot him.
I was working there.
They made me the new director.
And they were very clear.
The residents of White Center,
the marginalized,
the homeless,
the orphans with nowhere left to go,
no families…
that they deserved to be sacrificed
in the name of progress.
Human fuel.
Mr. Obata.
You know who was responsible, don't you?
[wind blowing]
An organization called Mufu.
I have records
that detail Mufu's involvement.
- [soft thud]
- [Obata grunts]
[Obata groans]
- [dramatic music playing]
- [Obata whimpers]
Mufu's what?
I don't…
Mr. Obata, please…
[pained groaning]
[Kyoko] Mr. Obata?
Are you still there?
[Obata grunts]
Mr. Obata!
[Obata grunts and gasps]
[yells]
[Obata grunting]
[Kyoko] Are you okay?
- What's going on?
- [strained yell]
Mr. Obata!
[man yells wildly]
Finally! I got you, asshole!
Burn in hell, you bastard!
You son of a bitch!
Burn in hell! [yells]
Mr. Obata!
Are you okay?!
[dramatic music continues]
WHITE CENTER
WORK JOURNAL
- [Obata whimpers]
- [Kyoko] Say something!
Mr. Obata?
[Obata groans weakly]
- [Obata gasps]
- [Kyoko] What happened?
What's going on? Mr. Obata? Are you okay?
[dramatic music intensifies]
[music ends]
[dark, dramatic music playing]