Original Work: Higashino Keigo "Nemuri no Mori" (Kodansha Publishers)
Kaga-san.
I'm sorry...
Kaga Kyoichiro Abe Hiroshi
Ah... I'm sorry.
Kaga-san?
Screenplay Sakurai Takeharu
Well, that was a wonderful ballet, wasn't it?
Ballet Supervision, Ballet Cooperation
You slept through most of it, didn't you?
Music Producer Shida Hirohide
Music Kan'no Yuugo
Who was that? The dancer in black?
Theme Song Yamashita Tatsuro "Town Story" (Warners Music - Japan)
The "Black Swan," Odile.
Yes, the Black Swan.
Ishihara Satomi
There was a strange dreadfulness about her.
Kaga-san, tell your boss, Tomii-san...
Otozuki Kei
...that I turned this down, won't you?
Kinami Haruka
Huh?
Miyao Shuntaro (K Ballet Company)
Mashiko Yamato (K Ballet Company)
I think it's best if it's the woman who turns down an omiai.
Ootani Eiko
Takezai Terunosuke
Ah... I'm very sorry.
Uchida Asahi
Kosuda Yasuto
You were up all night on a stakeout and are exhausted...
Nakama Yukie
...so thank you very much for going to the ballet even though you weren't interested.
Triendl Reina
Eimi Kurara
Please do your best at your work.
Um... Yamada-san...
Matsuo Takashi
Kusamura Reiko
Kato Toranosuke
Nadaka Tatsuo
Hira Takehiro
Horiuchi Keiko
Emoto Akira
Excuse me!
Ah, Mio-chan.
Yamazaki Tsutomu
You were sooo good.
Thank you.
Haru-chan, unhook me.
Yes.
People lie.
A lie is magic spell.
Haruko.
Ah...
You don't have to do such things, Haruko.
Since I can't appear on the stage right now, I can do this much.
While you're telling the lie...
...you can dance in a dreamland.
You were completely off the music during the show.
Because your body isn't thin enough.
I'm sorry.
A dancer who is late with the music is the worst.
That's why people lie.
Because if the magic was taken away, you know your true self would return.
So you continue to lie desperately.
Planning Nasuda Jun
A lie is the shadow of truth.
Associate Producer Takanari Asaseko
Producer Iyoda Hidenori
Director Doi Nobuhiro
But the magic will be taken away before long...
...and it will be time to come out of the dream.
Hello?
It's me, Kajita.
I want you to listen calmly.
Haruko has...
...killed someone.
Investigation Division One
Yes, this is Kaga.
Understood. I'll head over to the crime scene.
Heiwa Fansubs Presents:
Nemuri no Mori The Sleeping Forest
Taganakayki Ballet Company
Shakujii North Precinct, Police Detective Ota Daisaku
The suspect, Saito Haruko, was taken to the police station with a staff member.
Ah.
Looks like her line is going to be it was self-defense, doesn't it?
Shakujii North Precinct, Police Detective Sano Makoto
Hmm...
Oi, oi, who are you? Are you an authorized person?
I'm Kaga of Investigation Division One.
I'm Ota with the Shakujii North Precinct.
Ehh... You should have been told that Investigation Division One's turn wouldn't be needed here.
From the Chief I got, "Until legitimate self-defense is proven, you should see what the situation is."
So that's how it is...
Excuse me!
Yes?
Um... I was contacted by Kajita-sensei...
Ballet Dancer Asaoka Mio
Ah, a member of the ballet. Come in.
Thank you...
The one who discovered him first...
...was you, Ballet Director Kajita-san?
Takayanagi Ballet Director Kajita Yasunari
Yes.
The office itself was closed for today.
I had come at 7pm because we were going to have a planning meeting to go over our next performance.
As I entered the office...
Haruko... Haruko!
Haruko and a man I'd never seen before had both fallen to the ground.
What sort of people normally come and go at this office?
Those who can come to this office are limited to the ballet troupe itself.
Takayanagi Ballet Company's Representative Takayanagi Shizuko
Is this everyone who was supposed to come in for today's meeting?
No...
There's still my daughter, Akiko...
Ballet Dancer Takayanagi Akiko
Sorry for keeping you waiting.
Something serious has happened, hasn't it?
This is our top dancer, Takayanagi Akiko.
In other words... you're the prima ballerina?
Yes.
Detective.
Yes?
It was self-defense, wasn't it?
That's still under investigation.
Now that all of you have gathered...
...there's something I'd like you to look at.
Do any of you know who this man is?
No one?
Since there was nothing among this man's belongings indicating what his identity is.
That's a bother.
Excuse me...
He was a robber, wasn't he?
Don't know that yet...
There's evidence a fight took place, but no evidence any money has been stolen.
Um, by the way...
Was there anything of value other than money in there?
For a ballet company, what is of value...
...is our dancers.
Ah... I see.
I've seen Takayanagi Ballet Company's "Swan Lake."
Well, it was very great.
I was fascinated by your dancing as the Black Swan, Odile.
I was dancing as the White Swan, Odette.
The Black Swan was this girl, Mio-chan.
Ah, I didn't realize that.
Up on the stage, you're like a different person, aren't you?
What are you talking about?
About the ballet.
That may be so, but it's not what we're talking about now, is it?
Detective.
Yes?
Will Haruko-chan be able to return?
Well, not yet... Because she's being investigated.
Excuse me...
When will Haru-chan be able to come back?
I don't know yet.
I'd like to go over with you once again what the situation was like at the time of the incident.
Ballet Dancer Saito Haruko
You entered the office...
...and before you knew it, a strange man was standing behind you.
Kyaa!
You then fainted from the shock?
Yes.
And...
Do you know this man?
No.
By the way, the cause of the criminal's death...
...was from a blow to the back of his head.
Ota-san could you stand for a moment?
Eh?!
Please. Please stand up.
Whaa! What is this?!
While you struggled with a man who was taller than yourself...
...how were you able to hit him on the back of the head?
"How was I..."
I'm sorry. I don't remember.
I'm sorry. Thank you very much.
You were the first one to come to the rehearsal today?
Yes.
In other words, you have a key to the entrance?
Yes.
You... aren't an office staff member, but a ballerina, aren't you?
Why would you have a key?
Um... since I always come first...
...and because I practice right until the end...
...it's become part of my duties to lock up.
Hmm... You're an avid practicer, huh?
No...
I'm just paying for my mistake.
Half a year ago, happy about getting my driver's license...
...I went out for a drive one night.
I damaged the ligaments in my right knee.
And then, because that opened up a gap in my practice routines...
...I would practice on my days off.
A gap... of how long?
Three months.
And? You'd go in every day?
Yes. I wanted to return to performing even one day sooner.
Was Asaoka Mio-san, who was riding along with you, injured?
Mio-chan happened to receive a concussion as well...
...but fortunately there were no injuries to her body.
By the way, I happened to see Takayanagi Ballet Company's "Swan Lake" last month...
...but you didn't perform in it, right?
Yes.
Truth is... Although I was supposed to have had the leading role of the White Swan, Odette...
But the prima ballerina, Takayanagi Akiko-san, played that role.
Yes.
Kajita-sensei was giving the younger people a chance this year...
...and I had been selected for it, but...
But you weren't able to appear due to your injury.
Yes.
And so it went to Akiko-san, my understudy.
But...
Akiko-san was good as the White Swan.
She was... born for the leading role.
Ah, hello.
Takayanagi Akiko-san will be performing the lead in your next production as well, won't she?
Yes.
Haruko-san said that Akiko-san was born to be a prima ballerina.
That's right.
Because Akiko-san is one-of-a-kind.
And she's that for you as well?
Of course.
I first went to see the Takayanagi Ballet stage when I was a middle school student...
...and there I watched Akiko-san dance.
Then you were attracted to this Ballet Company because you longed to be like Akiko-san?
Yes.
I've been working hard to get even a little closer to her level...
...but I'm still nowhere close yet.
Still...
For me, more so than Akiko-san's White Swan...
...your Black Swan was the memorable one.
Ah... Thank you very much.
Ah... I'll be going.
Yes, firmly! Put more into your jumps!
Your forefoot! Set that foot on the floor!
Set your upper body properly!
Ballet Teacher Nakano Taeko
Ballet Dancer Morii Yasuko
Mio, you've fallen behind the music.
Kohei! Your toe! Geez... Your toe! Your toe!
Your toe, I said!
Yes. Then, let's go on to the Grand Waltz.
Are you watching us practice?
Your next production will be of "Sleeping Beauty"?
Yes. You know of it?
No...
Although I've heard of the title, I don't know what the story is about.
Could you tell me?
In brief...
...the Princess Aurora falls asleep for 100 years after being put under a magic spell.
She sleeps for over 100 years?
Yes.
After 100 years, the Princess Aurora is awakened by the kiss from a Prince and then the Prince and her get married.
The magic was taken away?
Yes. The magic is taken away at the end.
Who plays the Prince?
Konno-kun.
He's our Ace and rising dancer now.
Ballet Dancer Konno Takehiko
By the way, who's he?
Ah. Yagyu-kun plays the Blue Bird...
Ballet Dancer Yagyu Kokai
...and is one of our young hopes.
He dances as a pair along with Mio-chan as Princess Florina.
It's the job of the Blue Bird to bring...
...the mysterious magic to the Princess, isn't it?
If you put it that way, that may be so.
We... tell lies.
Lies?
A lie is a magic spell.
For the sake of being of use to mere mortals...
...we put ourselves under the magic.
And then all those in the Ballet Company...
...take to the stage to tell a huge lie.
Then, you're in the middle of that huge lie even now?
That's how it is.
Once you're done on the stage, the magic is taken away.
Yes...
Um, you haven't proven that it was self-defense yet?
No, not yet.
Please hurry and return Haruko-chan to us.
For a dancer, not being able to dance...
...is the same as being dead.
I will take proper measures.
So long.
From the autopsy, the estimated time of death was between 5pm and 6pm yesterday evening...
In Charge of Criminal Enforcement
...and the mortal wound to the back of the head matches up with the trophy as the weapon.
The only fingerprints on the weapon were from Saito Haruko.
In Charge of Criminal Enforcement Chief Clerk Arai Yoji
Anything else?
That is all.
There was one wound to the head of the victim.
In other words, he was hit just once.
If there had been two or more, the possibility of excessive self-defense would appear.
What can be said for now is that the possibility it was self-defense is high.
Excuse me... but who are you?
From Investigation Division One...
This is Detective Kaga.
Ah...
I was contacted by Chief Tomii about you.
Nice to meet you.
There's something bothering me.
If we follow the line that it was a robbery...
...what is there at the Ballet Company that was worth sneaking in for?
What he was aiming for...
...was Saito Haruko?
Well but, she denies being a acquaintance of the man.
Well, either way, it's not murder.
The probability of this being self-defense is high.
In other words...
There's no need to set up an Investigation HQ for this.
It also means Investigation Division One won't need to take their turn here.
It's okay for him... to go back.
Then I'll leave for today.
"For today"?
Eh?
Ota-san.
As there were no stolen goods on the dead man...
...you've come to investigate the suspect's apartment?
Because THIS jurisdiction's Detectives have jurisdiction in this case...
...you don't have to go this far in escorting us.
This is a murder case and not just a simple case of self-defense.
Ota-san, don't you think so?
Following the course Chief Arai has set...
...I'm moving forward in this investigation along the line that it was self-defense.
Then...
I'll accompany you until you prove this was self-defense.
Ah, hello...
Excuse me.
Hello.
You're Haruko-san's roommate, aren't you?
Excuse me.
Um...
I truly believe Haru-chan didn't know that man.
We live together and I didn't know him, either.
Being suspicious of every possibility is a Detective's job.
Ah... Blue Bird.
Eh?
What is that "Blue Bird"?
Him.
Ala? As I recall, from the same Ballet Company...
Yagyu... Kokai-san?
Could it be...
...he's Haruko-san's lover?
For me to tell you...
He is her lover, isn't he?
Moreover, the reason you won't tell us...
Like I said, I have no idea who he is. It was a robbery, wasn't it?
Yagyu-san, where were you at 5:30pm on the day of the incident?
What's this about? Could it be you're asking me for an alibi?
Yes. For the time being I'm questioning everyone as if this were a murder.
I was still at home at that time.
Is there someone who can prove that?
Even if you say such a thing...
By the way, what is your relationship with Saito Haruko-san?
We're dating.
Not everyone in the troupe knows about that?
Well, somehow or other... We haven't talked about it openly.
And what... is the reason for that?
It's difficult for dancers to be lovers.
You're saying it's forbidden for them to be in love?
Same as it is for Idols.
This is enough, isn't it? I have my rehearsal.
More gorgeously.
Blue Bird, your upper body is wooden!
I don't get it...
About what?
How they can be different people from their usual selves while dancing.
I feel she normally gives off the impression of being a more quiet person.
To put it plainly, she could be called meek or ordinary.
Even now I can't believe she was the one dancing as the Black Swan.
That's true. I was surprised as well.
Even when it's you watching her?
Yes.
I can't put it very well...
...but there was something different about her from what she's been until now.
What was that "something"?
Dunno...
Maybe it's love.
Kaga-san. I didn't come here for ballet appreciation.
I came to do an investigation.
Me, too.
Gotta hit the restroom.
It's alright for you to go on back first.
Yes.
Hello.
This is out of the blue, but is there a ban on dancers being in love?
Ah... That really is out of the blue.
Haruko-chan and Yagyu-kun?
Yes. The two of them are lovers.
Are they still going out together?
I didn't realize that though.
Why is there a ban on having a lover?
It's not forbidden particularly.
It's just... To Kajita-sensei...
...love develops into marriage...
...and from there to pregnancy and then raising children and making a family.
He believes that such things are an evil for dancers.
To Kajita-sensei's way of thinking...
...a dancer's best period shouldn't be wasted on love and such.
Is that right.
Because the period in which we can dance is limited.
By the way, have you also decided you won't be in love?
Am I interrupting you?
It's okay. We were just having a little chat.
The Detective here was saying how he was curious about dancers being in love.
What do you think about that?
I'm not interested in anything other than ballet.
Is that right.
Thinking just as a layman...
...I have a hunch being in love would bring you a wealth of new expressions.
Just because you fall in love in the real world...
...doesn't necessarily translate into dancing well up on the stage.
Is there such a thing?
Um Akiko-san, Kajita-sensei is calling us.
Is it okay to end our talk?
Yeah... Go ahead.
Ota-san.
You're still here?
When you were contacted by the Chief, did some new line we can follow float up?
On the day of the incident, this man came here?
Ah... Yes. That's him.
You remember him well, huh?
Because from the time he came in that morning...
...he stuck to one spot the entire time until it was night.
Right there... And he stared out to over there.
You could say he was keeping a watch for when Saito Haruko would come...
Do you know what time this man left the restaurant?
About 5pm?
That was his estimated time of death, wasn't it?
Yes.
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Thanks.
Ota-san.
Eh?
If you'd like, could I offer you a cup of coffee?
Don't you drink coffee?
Well...
In an old-fashioned coffee shop such as this one, don't you badly want to have a cream soda?
This is...
Is this what you do during your off-hours?
Yes.
I forget about investigations and concentrate on having cream sodas.
Since we're off-duty, I dare you to not use honorifics.
I am older.
Do you know just how long Detectives from Division One have been using us jurisdictional Detectives?
I have no idea.
You need to find out!
If you don't understand people's hearts, you aren't fit to be a Detective!
Well, um... For now anyway, I'll just go on being a Detective.
When they're doing an interview, it's like that.
What a Detective wants to hear he wants to hear bluntly.
His job is to rudely waltz into another person's heart and walk around in their shoes.
Yes.
That's why you have to knock properly on the door to their hearts.
Yes.
I've been a jurisdictional Detective for forty years.
Because I reach retirement age this month, I can tell you this since being promoted doesn't matter to me.
Yes.
I...
...hate Detectives from Investigation Section One.
Yes, I know that.
Being contacted by the Chief?
Toshi-kun...
Toshi-kun!
Why...
His name is Kazama Toshiyuki.
He lived alone in his apartment in Arakawa.
Kazama's Lover Miyamoto Kiyomi
When did you start going out with Kazama-san?
When he came back last year from New York; at his previous part-time job.
New York?
Toshi-kun's goal was to become an artist while continuing his part-time job.
He said after leaving Art School, he went there to study painting.
And that he had lived there for a year...
If he lived there for one year and then returned last year...
...then Kazama-san went to New York two years ago?
Yes.
His plans...
...were to go to New York again, but...
When was this?
Yesterday.
So I wanted to see him off.
I was waiting for him at the airport for so long.
But, even when his departure time arrived, he didn't come...
I couldn't reach him on his cell phone, either.
When I went into his apartment using my duplicate key...
...the things he was taking to New York were still as is.
Miyamoto-san.
Yes?
Do you recall this brochure?
I don't.
The Takayanagi Ballet Company?
"Swan Lake."
The date is from last year.
Was this about the time he had returned from New York?
Yes.
Did Kazama-san like ballet?
Well... I hadn't heard anything like that.
Kazama-san, who had no interest in ballet...
...went and saw a ballet as soon as he had returned from New York?
What's more, she was appearing on the stage.
Who's that?
Did you ever hear the name "Saito Haruko" from him?
His name is Kazama Toshiyuki.
Kazama Toshiyuki
Kazama Toshiyuki...
Don't know him.
I don't think he's connected to any of us.
Even Haruko said he was someone she didn't know, didn't she?
Yes, well...
Detectives.
Is this incident resolved with this?
Why would you think that?
Well...
Because the robbery is unrelated to our Ballet Company, isn't it?
Kazama Toshiyuki had watched a performance of the Takayanagi Ballet Company.
Is that right...
Still... We have lots of visitors who have seen our performances.
Including you, Detective, right?
That's true.
By the way, the performance he watched was of your "Swan Lake" from last year.
Last year you were the White Swan...
...and Morii Yasuko-san danced as the Black Swan, right?
Yes...
Please don't digress from the investigation.
I'm sorry.
Who was it that chose the cast for that?
That was me.
Kajita-sensei, it's about time.
That's true. It's time for rehearsals.
Is this enough?
Yes.
You love ballet quite a lot, don't you? Even though the other Detective left already.
Well, saying I "love it" is a bit much.
Truth is, um... I fell asleep while I was watching it.
But, I do enjoy watching them while they practice.
Throwing everything away, they challenge themselves wholeheartedly.
It's all for their stage performance.
Ah, um...
The one who played the Black Swan last year was Morii Yasuko-san, so what role will she play this year?
Yasuko... She's begun making major mistakes in our recent productions for some reason.
That's why I've taken her off of any major roles.
Aurora's friends!
Though at one time her and Akiko would compete for the lead role.
Seems Yasuko's mistakes were due to her going on an impossible diet.
A diet? Her?
In order to fit the "Kajita Standard."
Kajita Standard?
To Kajita-sensei, there is an idealized body form for a dancer.
Body form?
Yes.
It's the body form for a dancer Kajita-sensei has pictured in his head.
He doesn't seek personality or giving something from inside.
I'll be speaking badly of him, but for Kajita-sensei...
...dancers are only dolls to be under his direction.
Then, um...
Akiko-san is also one of his dolls?
She's special.
You could say she's the perfect doll.
Whatever the role, she can represent it perfectly.
Kajita-sensei's coaching is relentless, isn't it?
He has no choice but to be relentless.
Because Kajita-sensei is a great dancer himself.
I heard some about the "Kajita Standard."
Yes. Like Akiko-san...
For Kajita-sensei, Akiko-san is the ideal dancer.
As you see it, is Akiko-san's dancing perfect?
That's right.
That's why Akiko-san always gets the lead roles.
Um, by the way...
You aren't familiar with this man, are you?
I don't know him.
I'm sorry; I'm tired.
Thank you very much.
Detective.
When will Haru-chan be able to come back?
Unless we can find conclusive evidence that it was self-defense...
...it may be she'll have to stay at the station for the full detention time limit.
No...
She won't be able to make up the gap she's lost this time around...
If that happens...
...I'll file a lawsuit against the police.
You love your friend.
We will strive to return Haruko-san to you as quickly as we possibly can.
Is that right... Ah, I'm sorry for being so rude.
Having done nothing but ballet, I'm ignorant to the ways of the world.
Isn't it fine to be ignorant to the ways of the world?
Absorbing yourself in one thing...
There are lots of people who will never find that for themselves.
I didn't find this on my own though.
I was told about it by Haru-chan.
At the time I was a child, I was gloomy and didn't have friends.
Ugly
Moron
To be honest, I was bullied.
To be frank, I hated even being alive.
Say Mio-chan, want to try this with me?
It was then that Haru-chan called out to me.
Then, no matter how painful or how boring the everyday world was...
...when I was dancing...
...I was in a dreamworld.
Haru-chan had given me magic.
You could say you've been in that dreamworld ever since, couldn't you?
Thanks to Haru-chan, I can dance.
I want you to return Haru-chan as soon as possible.
Please, Detective.
I understand.
So long.
Ah, that's right.
Once every two years, this Ballet Company...
...seems to have some training done in New York, doesn't it?
New York Ballet Training
Yes. Just two people each time.
Were you sent to New York...
I've never gone.
Is that right.
Well then, see you again.
Ah... Did it!
Quite good at that, aren't you?
Did you hear about this from someone with the Ballet Company?
Yes.
This is my only hobby.
Pathetic, isn't it?
For a woman of my age.
When it comes to ballet, it could be said that's as much as you could do, right?
That reminds me, you have good hearing.
Ala? You drink, don't you?
When I drink a bourbon soda...
...I can sleep well without getting hungry.
Is that your diet?
For the sake of ballet, you pay a price too, don't you?
I don't think of it... as paying a price.
Hmm...
Still, because of that, you can dance perfectly, can't you?
Is it perfect? Can you tell, Detective?
No, it was from the people at the ballet company that I heard you're perfect, Akiko-san.
I'm...
...an empty doll.
Eh?
That may be why I've been able to dance so perfectly.
Up till now.
Is that something like "The Innocent Strike"?
The Innocent Strike?
It's a story from kendo.
By casting aside your feelings such as the fear of losing or the desire to win...
...unless you are innocent of those, you can't deliver the perfect strike.
You said you use the magic of lies in order to get into your character, right?
For that sake, emptying yourself is essential for dancing, isn't it?
Ah... Still, Kaga-san...
Rather than my White Swan, you found the Black Swam to be more memorable, didn't you?
I'm a poor judge of ballet though, aren't I?
Because ballet is something for our visitors...
...feel free to judge.
Excuse me for being rude, but what was the cause of that wound to your arm?
Ah... This is...
It's a warning.
A warning?
When I was cooking for a hobby before, I became a bit careless.
Seems I could have it fixed up to be a little cleaner, but I've left it as is.
As a warning to myself not to do unnecessary things other than ballet.
Yeah...
By the way, have you ever gone to New York?
Eh?!
I heard the Takayanagi Ballet Company...
...is in the practice of choosing two people to go to New York for training every two years, right?
Yes... I went four years ago for one year.
Kazama Toshiyuki-san.
It seems the man who died also went to New York in order to study painting.
Is that right.
Ah... If you'll excuse me.
So long.
Police HQ - Shakujii North Police Station
The Takayanagi Ballet Company has been hosting trainings in New York for the last four years.
Four years ago it was Takayanagi Akiko and Morii Yasuko.
And two years ago it was Kajita Yasunari and Yagyu Kokai.
First Round of NY Ballet Training
Takayanagi Akiko
Morii Yasuko
During the time Kazuma was in New York...
Went to NY in order to study painting
Kazama Toshiyuki
...he would have been there with Kajita and Yagyu, right?
Second Round of NY ballet training
Yagyu Kokai
Kajita Yasunari
There's the possibility Kajita and Yagyu had come into contact with Kazuma in New York...
...and there might have been some trouble between them.
And then... Yagyu and Haruko are lovers.
Kazama visited the Ballet Company to see Yagyu and was murdered by Yagyu.
Haruko, in order to protect Yagyu, took his place.
What is Yagyu Kokai's alibi?
We haven't confirmed that.
Still, at it's current stage, this is merely a guess.
Yes.
It will be necessary to get information from the New York Ballet Company.
I'll put in a request to Chief Tomii of Investigation Division One...
...to ask the NY Police Department for its help in getting information.
Understood.
I heard this from Tomii-san.
He said Kaga-san went to see the Takayanagi Ballet Company while on an omiai, right?
Yes. I dozed off though and she turned me down.
Ala, ala...
And thus your interest in ballet, huh?
To check into any points of contact between Kazuma and Yagyu...
...may I go and have a talk with Kazuma's lover?
Ah, well, I'll do that.
Then, please go along with Ota-san.
It's been decided this will be a joint investigation with Division One...
...so we should make Kaga-san and Ota-san into a combo team here.
That'll be fine, right?
Understood.
Toshi-kun was killed by this person?
We don't know what the situation was yet.
Did you...
...ever hear anything from Kazuma-san...
...about his life in New York?
Not really.
As I recall...
He had a senpai at the University that he respected.
He said he'd be relying on him when he went to New York.
Who was this person?
I'm sorry.
I don't know.
I didn't know anything much about Toshi-kun.
That's not true.
You have the memories of your one year with him.
Memories?
Whatever memories you have are fine.
This is?
When I had just met Toshi-kun...
...he asked me to be the model for this painting...
That's enough. Thank you.
Eh?
You've finished drawing it already?
It's not that.
Ever since I left Japan...
...I've just been cornering myself.
"Can I paint better drawings for myself?"
For myself?
Kazuma-san said, "For myself"?
Yeah.
We're looking for Kazuma Toshiyuki-san's University senpai...
Aoki Real Estate
...who's in New York right now.
When some names were given to us...
...the name Aoki Kazuhiro-san came up.
You are Kazuhiro-san's...
I'm his sister.
Kazuhiro... isn't here.
Yes. He's gone to New York, hasn't he?
If you could at least tell us how to contact him...
My brother...
...is dead.
Three days ago.
In New York.
Father is going there now.
What a pain. Kazuma's Senpai, who we went to all this trouble of finding, has died from an illness.
Yes.
It's unbearable.
Having to go to New York to pick up your deceased son.
When you think of how that father must be feeling...
Ota-san, do you have a son, too?
He sits in front of a computer all day long.
He's what's called a geek.
I have no idea what it is he's thinking.
I've had investigations where I'm in front of a computer all day long as well.
Then you're a geek just like my son.
An investigation geek.
Well Ota-san, aren't you the same too?
I'm not like you!
I don't have the slightest idea what geeks are like.
Not my son, nor you.
Day of the Performance - Costume Rehearsal
Don't move around in such a rush!
This is a walking scene!
Make greater use of the space and make your movements smaller!
Even though it's the day of the performance, they still have to practice?
This is called a Costume Rehearsal.
It's done exactly how it will be during the public performance. It's a final, through check.
We can't get information like this, can we?
Or anyone who'd even talk to us.
How about her?
Frentzen! Stop your movement!
Um, excuse me!
Be quiet! Go away; you're bothering me!
She got a bit angry...
We'll go through Act 3 in five minutes.
Much higher!
Shizu, hit your marks firmly!
Be sensitive about your fingertips!
Your final move is too lax!
It's already time for the public performance!
Florina, you're slow!
A dancer who is late with the music is the worst!
Sensei?
Kajita-sensei?
Kajita-san?
Are you okay?! Kajita-san!
Kajita-san! Call for an ambulance!
Can you understand me, Kajita-san?
Kajita-san?!
Can you understand me, Kajita-san?
Kajita-san!
The liquid left behind in this container is probably a poison.
The bleeding on the corpse is thought to have been done via a needle.
There's a stain that's thought to be the poison.
It had been prepared under the lining of this jacket.
When Kajita-san sat down in his chair...
...the poison was then injected into his body from the back.
Who and when did someone set up this murder?
Just now, Kajita Yasunari-san was confirmed to be dead.
Um, what was the cause of death?
There's a possibility he was murdered.
They must be kidding, right?
The Crime Lab will be entering this Hall.
Everyone, you will...
Um, Detective.
The performance is in two hours.
Sorry about this.
Could you give that up...
That would be a problem.
Our visitors have already been given their tickets.
Even so, as the police...
Is this compulsory?
Well...
Forcing you to stop...
We can't do it?
Can't be helped. Since this happened to Kajita-sensei, after all.
That's true, but...
Tonight, as scheduled...
...we will stage "Sleeping Beauty."
We are family; lovers.
No matter how important the person who died was...
...we must not leave a hole in the stage.
Our visitors are coming, looking forward to this.
Still, thinking with some common sense...
Will the police compensate us if you suspend the performance?
Well, no...
We will dance.
Will you let us?
Very well.
However, we must have our on-the-spot investigation.
Can you delay the start of the performance?
Very well. I'll arrange that.
After the show, all of you will have to be questioned.
Are you okay with that?
Very well.
Thank you very much, Kaga-san.
Not at all.
It's become a serious matter after all, hasn't it?
This is what you were concerned about, Ota-san.
That that case wasn't a simple case of self-defense but of murder.
Those in that ballet company are a gang.
A gang?
They're all conspiring together to hide whatever it is.
The forensics results were that the poison that was injected was nicotine extracted from cigarettes...
Ballet Company Stage Director Murder Investigation
...and it is understood the cause of death was from acute nicotine poisoning.
The construction of the deadly weapon was of a considerably fine injection needle...
...cut to 3 millimeters in length and then affixed by silicon rubber to this small soy sauce case.
Concerning the timing of when the needle was attached to the victim's jacket...
...it's thought to have been done between the practice for Act 1...
...and just before the practice for Act 3.
What about the alibis of those who were around during that time?
Criminal Investigation Division One, Commissioner Tsuyoshi Mano
Criminal Investigation Division One, Chief Tomii Yuji
Until the third Act...
...the jacket was hanging across a sofa in the corridor behind the stage.
Any authorized person who was a part of the performance could have touched it.
In other words, none of them has an alibi.
How about the line of those with a grudge against the victim?
Concerning his relationships with women...
...several times this month he and the Ballet Company's Representative, Takayanagi Shizuko...
...and her adopted daughter, the dancer Akiko, had meals together.
I think those were merely business meetings though.
Anyone else?
There is the Assistant Dirctor, Nakano Taeko who, according to testimony of several of the team members...
...seems to have questioned Kajita's direction.
For Kajita-sensei, dancers are...
...only dolls to be under his direction.
Yesterday, at a theater in Tokyo's Shibuya-ku...
Famous Ballet Stage Director - Poisoned
...the Artistic Director for the Takayanagi Ballet Company, Kajita Yasunari-san...
...died during rehearsals.
According to the MPD, the cause of death was acute nicotine poisoning.
On Kajita-san's back, there was evidence of him being injected by...
Be more expressive!
Yes, stop, stop...
This is big deal, isn't it?
And yet the day after such a thing happened, they're back to practicing right away.
Yes.
Yasuko, get a little further apart. Yes.
Ala, what is she doing there?
She receives a sting from the spinning wheel and then collapses.
Stung by a needle and then collapses?
Being stung by a poisoned needle and then collapsing is just like this case.
Are you okay?
What happened?
They said it was probably anemia.
I'm sorry for having worried you.
It's just one week until our next performance after all.
Make sure you fix your physical condition properly.
Yes.
I'll take Mio to dinner and then home.
What will you guys do?
I'll go with you.
I'll go home.
Mother is in shock over Kajita-sensei and has taken to her bed.
All of you are light eaters, aren't you?
It's the influence of Kajita-sensei.
He forced all of them into dieting.
Even so, none of the dancers complained?
Well, many of the dancers were devotees of his.
The dances he directed...
Anyway, watching his dances would give you a pleasant feeling.
Yeah...
A pleasant feeling watching the dancing?
Right.
It was unclear what he was appealing to during his direction...
...but in the end, since he held the reigns over all the casting choices...
...each of them dieted frantically.
I see.
Yasuko-san.
It was delicious...
I'll be able to eat a little more...
...from here on.
That's fine, but it's best not to eat so much, so rapidly.
That's right. Your body will be surprised.
Still, that's right Yasuko.
From now on and little by little...
...it might be best to eat more normal, adult-sized portions.
Yes.
Because Kajita-san won't be around any longer.
Oh no. It's falling again.
I'm sorry. I should get home before the rain becomes stronger.
Then, I'll go back with you.
We'll be fine here.
I'm sorry. Thank you for the meal.
Thank you for the meal.
Thanks.
Mio-chan!
Mio-chan, Mio-chan!
Mio-chan, are you okay?
Ballet dancers listen to so much music, don't they?
I'm sorry, even though you're taking me home.
Ah, no.
In ballet, you'll be late if you don't dance to the music.
You must become one with the music.
If your dancing doesn't become a part of the music, it's no good.
Ah, I'm sorry. All I talk about is ballet.
No.
By the way, I was told since all I do is talk about investigations, that I'm an investigation geek.
I can understand that.
Really?
We're birds of a feather, aren't we?
Ah...
Could you stop?
Are you okay?
If I can breathe in some fresh air, that calms me down considerably.
I think we should get you to the hospital for a thorough checkup.
I don't want to.
Eh?
If they found I had an incurable disease, I'd be scared.
Is what you're scared of...
...the magic melting away and you'd have to come out of the dream and back into reality?
While you are dancing, you may be in the dreamworld.
But because the real you lives here in the real world...
...if you aren't careful about your health...
This is the advice from a bird of a feather.
After going three days and nights...
...in continuous reading of documents from an investigation and without eating or drinking...
...I had to be admitted to a hospital.
That was overdoing it.
You said my Black Swan was memorable, didn't you?
Yes.
I was incredibly happy about that.
Because the only one who's said my dancing was better than Akiko-san's...
...was you, Kaga-san.
But I'm no judge of ballet.
I'm sure that's true, isn't it?
Still, I'm happy my dancing was memorable to someone.
Your dance seemed...
...every bit as if you were making a slash.
A slash?
Yeah. Like something out of kendo, for example.
Anyhow...
...your Black Swan was powerful.
What is it about you...
...that brought forth that power?
I'm sure that it was the power of the role.
Because the role of the Black Swan is to tempt men.
And so I think you were drawn by that as well, Kaga-san.
Was it that?
I studied the role very much.
While she was dancing as the Black Swan last year, I stayed over at Yasuko-san's apartment...
...and heard the story of it that night.
Excuse me a moment.
Yes, this is Kaga.
Please return to the station. We've found the true nature of the deadly weapon.
Sand art?
Yes.
This is sand art.
This syringe comes as an essential accessory to it.
It was this needle part that was used as the weapon.
How is it used?
Yes.
From this small hole...
...by regulating the amount of air that's inside with this...
...you can change the speed at which the sand falls.
First message.
It's me.
Your Aunt said to tell you, "I've gotten you another omiai photo."
She'll send it over to you tomorrow and get your answer.
And then, about what we spoke of earlier.
The matter of that traffic accident caused by that friend of hers has gotten complicated.
The other side didn't file a lawsuit over any after-effects at first.
I'm going to discuss it with them tonight.
In the event some urgent business comes up, call my cell phone.
That is all.
I'm not in right now.
Leave a message.
This is Kyoichiro.
I don't have any urgent business with you.
And then, no matter how much of a former police officer you are...
Kaga's Father Kaga Takamasa
...there's no need for you to go sticking your neck into things you don't need to.
And finally, in the matter of that omiai, I'll decline.
That is all.
Lesson number one for an elite is not to go out drinking with jurisdictional Detectives, isn't it?
No, that's not true.
I don't know what it is that ballet gang is hiding.
In ballet they jump and prance around.
I just don't get the feelings of a bunch who have such dissipated jobs.
Ota-san, haven't you had a little too much to drink?
I'm only just getting started.
Will you be okay about returning home?
You and your father don't get along well?
Just like me and my son.
While I was absorbed in my investigations...
...I left raising our son up to my wife.
Gradually we stopped talking to one another...
...and now we don't even say a word.
I've reached retirement age and may not have a job soon.
With only my computer, maybe I'll become such a geek, too.
Well, in this work...
...that's pretty common.
When you get married, you'll understand it, too.
I was told it's best for police officers to get married.
So then...
...I was encouraged to go on an omiai.
The one you dozed off during and got turned down?
Yes.
I got the cock-and-bull story about omiais, too.
"Your life will be stable if you're married. You can concentrate on work."
My boss encouraged me into it.
Well, we're the same as those ballerinas, too.
Always being forced into making some kind of sacrifice.
And in that way, the family is sacrificed.
I know of one Detective who wrecked his family that way.
Ah, that's not hot, isn't it?
Hot one...
Here, here.
Thanks.
Excuse us.
No contact yet?
No.
Then try calling her family and I'll go check her apartment.
Has something happened?
Yasuko is absent from practice without notice.
Eh? That's all?
She's never taken a day off up till now.
Even if she was running a bit of a fever, she would come in for practice, no matter what.
She's never taken a day off, not even once?
Yes.
As I can say I've looked over her ever since she joined this ballet company, there's no doubt about that.
She hasn't contacted us and I'm worried.
I'll be able to eat a little more...
...from here on.
Yasuko-san!
Morii Yasuko-san!
Call an ambulance!
Yes!
She murdered Kajita then committed suicide.
Why?
I'm sure the motive was...
To fit the "Kajita Standard."
That's why I've taken her off of any major roles.
That's why Akiko-san always gets the lead roles.
Until the end...
...you were never made the prima ballerina...
The cause of death for Morii Yasuko was the same as Kajita's; acute nicotine poisoning.
The syringe, as we thought, was a part of this sand art.
The only fingerprints we collected off of this syringe were from Morii Yasuko.
Given the above-mentioned evidence...
...we can assume Morii Yasuko committed suicide...
...and that the suspect in Kajita Yasunari's murder is Morii Yasuko.
It was a suicide out of a sense of guilt for having murdered Kajita, wasn't it?
This is unrelated to the case of Saito Haruko and the murder of Kazama, isn't it?
Um, excuse me.
The motive Morii Yasuko had for murdering Kajita could be said to have been...
...that Kajita's coaching had mentally cornered her.
It is unrelated to the Saito Haruko case.
Um, Commissioner.
Something's bothering me.
What's that?
Detective Ota noticed this.
That you can hear sounds from the neighboring apartments in Morii Yasuko's apartment. The walls are thin.
Therefore?
After getting information from the resident in the apartment to the left...
This was a few days ago.
A man was shouting at her with a very threatening attitude.
It wasn't from inside her apartment.
You heard this coming from outside?
Probably from right around there.
Did you get a look at the face of the man who was shouting?
No. I was just in my apartment. But, I could tell what he said.
"Yasuko-san, Yasuko-san," he said. Because he was shouting it.
Someone associated with Morri Yasuko?
There's no information that Morii Yasuko had a boyfriend.
What was the subject the man was shouting about?
From what the neighbor was able to hear, there were just two things.
Two things?
The first was "Yasuko-san."
And the other was "New York."
Because the neighbor who lives to her right was out...
...we're going out again to try to interview him.
Ehh... As I recall, the people concerned in this case who went to New York were...
Two years ago, Kazama, Kajita and Yagyu.
Went to NY in order to study painting (2 Years ago)
Second Round of NY ballet training (2 years ago)
Yagyu Kokai
Kajita Yasunari
Kazama Toshiyuki
And four years ago, Takayanagi Akiko...
First Round of NY ballet training (4 years ago)
Morii Yasuko
Takayanagi Akiko
...and Morii Yasuko.
Of those who went two years ago, Kazama and Kajita were murdered...
...while of those who went four years ago, Morii Yasuko killed Kajita.
What does this mean?
What about the New York police?
Huh?
Have you heard anything from them about Kazama's apartment and the New York Ballet Company?
We didn't get too much back from them.
Let's see... According to information from the neighbors of the apartment Kazama lived in...
..."an Asian man came over a lot." That was it.
Please allow me to go check into it.
You're saying you'll go to New York?
Yes.
Maybe if there were more definitive evidence.
Anyway, in it's present stage, it wouldn't be possible for us to dispatch a Detective to New York.
However, some new information may be provided if I were to go to the scene.
We're being nagged by our superiors to cut costs.
It will be sufficient if you can confirm these photos with the New York Police Department.
No...
I don't think that's gonna be enough.
Huh?
Ota-san!
I...
...have been a jurisdictional Detective for forty years.
I've never once had the experience of one who comes from Investigation Division One.
The basis for a Detective like us is to work your legs off looking around...
...and doing questioning until you're confident.
If this wasn't New York but some neighboring town, what would you do?
You wouldn't dispatch a Detective over there?
You'd just finish it off with some report from the local police?
Just how much do you think it costs to send a Detective off to New York?!
We can't go wasting taxpayer's money.
It won't be wasted!
An investigation is different from just stepping out on some fool's errand!
I was taught that long ago by my senpai Detective.
Whether it's New York or wherever...
...if he doesn't go, this investigation can't start.
This Detective Kaga will poke his face into every place he can...
...see everything with his own eyes...
...and will ask what needs to be asked.
How about it?
Commissioner.
How about dispatching this Detective Kaga to New York?
As the last wish of a Detective who is nearing his retirement age.
Couldn't you listen to that?
Commissioner Mano.
Would that be okay?
Since he's an elite, it's a given he speaks English.
Right?
Three years ago?
He was supposed to be studying here two years ago.
I clearly remember.
He came with a police officer well before two years.
With the police?
They were asking around questions of some of my students.
These two?
Oh yes, that was them.
Were they in some kind of trouble?
I was on a business trip earlier and have only just gotten back.
We're sorry when you're so tired.
About a week ago at night and right over there...
...do you know if there was a man who was talking to Morii-san?
Eh? Ah...
I'm very sorry for inconveniencing you.
He lowered his head to her?
He wasn't shouting?
No.
That man...
Is he among these?
Ah, it was this man.
Thanks. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Thank you very much.
Excuse me...
Yes?
I'm sorry if this is unrelated. I remembered a little more...
On the night before my business trip...
...I heard the voice of a person talking to her from her room.
It was a woman's voice?
Yeah.
If there was a woman who went into Yasuko-san's apartment that night...
It would have been someone familiar to her, right?
Or it could have been a relation where she couldn't help but let in.
Could it have been that woman...
...knew Morii Yasuko had murdered Kajita?
There is that possibility.
Kajita was still alive at the time the man came there...
...and then, after Kajita was killed...
...a woman visited her.
How's it going over there?
I got some information from the New York Ballet Company.
Kajita had come here to New York three years ago.
Wasn't Kajita's training two years ago?
When Takayanagi Akiko and Morii Yasuko were to return to Japan...
...it seems Kajita came here to pick them up.
He went there just to pick up that young lady Akiko?
Seems it wasn't quite as simple as that.
It seems Kajita came along with a New York Police Detective when they went to the New York Ballet Company.
Had they gotten involved in some incident?
That's what I'm investigating now.
If I find out something again, I'll contact you.
Mister Kaga.
Let's go.
Lieutenant Mills.
You visited the "New York Ballet Company"...
...with this person?
Sorry, I really don't remember the case that well.
Uh, other than it was an unsolved case.
What happened?
Well, uh...
A Japanese man was stabbed.
Stabbed?
The man was sent to the hospital, critically wounded.
The Super saw him with an Asian woman.
I found a lot of "New York Ballet Company" ticket stubs in his room, so...
...I contacted the ballet and...
...there were these Japanese dancers there.
Takayanagi Akiko and Morii Yasuko, right?
Yes, yes.
What did they say?
I ended up not interviewing them.
What?
The vicitim woke up the next day and said he was stabbed by some random Asian prostitute.
And not by them.
So they were no longer considered suspects?
It was about that time that, uh...
...this man came from Japan.
So I went with him back to the "New York Ballet Company" to explain the situation.
I see.
By the way...
...do you remember the name of the Japanese man who was stabbed?
Japanese names are so hard to remember. Um...
He should have been a painter.
A painter?
Was his name...
...Kazuhiro Aoki?
Yeah, I think that was it.
Aoki! That was his name. Aoki!
Poor thing. He was so young.
And his Japanese girlfriend didn't even visit in the end.
Girlfriend?
Had Mister Aoki been waiting for his girlfriend to visit from Japan?
Kazuhiro didn't have a phone...
...so I delivered a message from his friend.
"I promise I'll bring your girl to you."
"Just wait a bit more."
But she never showed up?
Never.
Found him dead in his bed.
He sort of killed himself.
For three years he harmed himself...
...got himself sick...
Never went to the doctor.
Do you know the name of his girlfriend?
Ya... Yasuko.
Yasuko.
Aoki Real Estate
Yasuko?
Yes.
"Yasuko" is probably Morii Yasuko.
Are you acquainted with this woman?
No...
Could you let us check into whether there was anything related to Morii Yasuko...
...among Kazuhiro-san's belongings?
Well, if such a thing had been there, I would have seen it...
Well then, was there anything related to ballet?
Um, that ballet where they dance?
Yes.
Father.
Ah, come up a for a minute.
We got rid of most of his paintings...
...so only this one is left.
This is Morii Yasuko, isn't it?
Ever since I left Japan, I've just been cornering myself.
Can I paint better drawings for myself?
Kazama had seen this drawing when he was in New York, hadn't he?
In the apartment of the senpai he respected, Aoki-san.
Yes.
When you and Morii Yasuko-san were in New York...
...she was seeing a young man named Aoki Kazuhiro-san who was aiming to become a painter, wasn't she?
Yes, that's true.
Just prior to you and Yasuko-san returning to Japan...
...this Aoki-san...
...was stabbed in passing by an Asian person and it became a police case.
In the wake of that incident...
...Kajita-san came to find out about Yasuko-san's love.
Kajita-san, who was strict about his dancers being in love...
...immediately returned with you two back to Japan.
It's true. That's how it was.
Was Aoki-san really stabbed just in passing by an Asian person?
What do you mean?
After all, the Asian who stabbed Aoki-san couldn't be found.
Wasn't Aoki-san protecting Yasuko-san?
I don't know all that much.
This Aoki-san died recently.
Until the day before he did...
...it seems he had gone on waiting for a call from Yasuko-san.
This may seem cold of me...
...but I don't know anything about Yasuko's lover.
Aoki and Yasuko became lovers four years ago in New York.
However, that love didn't bear fruit and so Yasuko returned to Japan three years ago.
Two years ago, Kazama-san met Aoki-san in New York.
Impressed by a painting Aoki-san had done using Yasuko-san as a model...
...this Kazama-san returned to Japan last year...
...and went to see this theater.
And then this year...
...a few days before Kazama was to return to New York...
...he went to visit Morii Yasuko and then shouted at her.
And then Kazama stole into the ballet company. Why?
I don't know. As Aoki's days were numbered...
...I don't think it was connected to him.
Wasn't it that Kazuma-san was trying to get Yasuko-san to go and meet Aoki-san?
And so why did Saito Haruko kill him?
I feel we don't have enough pieces yet in order to solve this mystery.
Ota-san, what do you think?
I think that ballet gang is protecting something.
Who would you say is it the Takayanagi Ballet Company would want to protect most?
That would be Takayanagi Akiko, their prima ballerina.
Takayanagi Akiko is the mark.
From her, we might understand something.
Even when flustered, she doesn't run and hide.
Because she's a prima ballerina.
Yes, move your hand out to the front a little more.
Has anything unusual happened with Takayanagi Akiko?
No, nothing.
Just that during practice, one of the performers collapsed due to anemia.
Kaga-san?
Ah...
I heard you had collapsed again.
And for that, you came all the way out here?
Ah, please eat this.
And, take care.
Um...
Could we be together for just a little while?
Eh?
Since we're birds of a feather.
Ah.
Were you in the middle of listening to that?
Ah, it's okay.
Could you sit somewhere around here?
Ah. Then, excuse me for disturbing you.
Would tea be fine?
Don't bother about me.
Internal Medicine Asaoka Mio
Um...
Would it be okay if I asked you to talk about something?
To talk?
For my own sake, I just wanted to hear someone talking.
Ah...
What do you want to talk about?
Um, the other day you told me my "Black Swan" was like I was making a slash.
Yes.
I've never been told anything like that before.
Could you tell me your impressions of it in more detail?
Truth is, I won the all-Japan kendo championship.
You suddenly start bragging.
Ah, no...
I'm sorry. Please continue.
There are always opponents who strike at you during a championship, aren't there?
I took victory after victory and they never scored even one point against me.
You are bragging.
Ah...
Please talk.
During the final round, my opponent's spirit was incredible.
You could say he even had a thirst for blood.
A thirst... for blood?
That opponent scored the first point against me.
After that I got back two points and so won the match.
The match became so intensely violent that we suffered injuries.
Well, even though I was injured, I did win the championship.
I brag no matter what, huh?
And then, afterwards... You and that opponent became close friends?
No.
He's not around anymore.
He died of an illness.
The story I heard afterwards...
...was that just before the tournament...
...he had been told he only had a short time left to live.
Seems those close to him urged him to stop participating.
But he wanted his final battle to be against Kaga.
And so he participated.
He knew he couldn't win by his merits.
But, even if he couldn't win...
...he wanted to strike at me with all that was left of his life.
Leaving behind the scars of his own life.
That was... what led to his thirst for blood, wasn't it?
Yes.
I felt that same thirst for blood in your "Black Swan."
Kaga-san.
Yes?
"Sleeping Beauty."
Please come and watch it.
I'm looking forward to it.
In ballet, you'll be late if you don't dance with the music.
You must become one with the music.
Internal Medicine Asaoka Mio
For my own sake, I just wanted to hear someone talking.
I'm just paying for my mistake.
For Kajita-sensei, Akiko-san is the ideal dancer.
This is a warning.
While she was dancing as the Black Swan last year, I stayed over at Yasuko-san's apartment...
...and heard the story of it that night.
Because the period in which we can dance...
...is limited.
Kyoichiro
Is this urgent?
I wanted to ask you something.
Hello?
Because I hear your bright voice across the phone, it must be worthless.
I remember saying the same thing to you long ago.
I see.
Must be our blood relationship.
Yes, come in.
Sorry about this before it's your turn.
Did you come to look at the stage?
I came to see the final moment when the magic is taken away.
In that case, please don't fall asleep.
I won't be taking my eyes off of you guys today.
Then, I must dance to perfection.
You are always the perfect prima ballerina.
Before she died, Yasuko-san told me...
...the leading role always went to you, Akiko-san.
The story you told me; the one of Yasuko-san and Aoki-san in New York.
The leading role over there wasn't Yasuko-san.
As I thought, the leading role...
...was the prima ballerina, you.
Do you know of this painting?
This is the painting Aoki-san drew depicting his lover.
I wouldn't know. It's almost time for my performance, so please get out.
I had a huge misunderstanding.
This isn't Morii Yasuko-san.
Takayanagi Akiko-san... this is you, isn't it?
How can you assert that it's me?
The ballerina in this painting...
...was drawn just at the moment she's about to make her turn, isn't she?
What is it you're trying to say?
Please look closely at the direction she's rotating in.
This ballerina is turning to her left.
I've heard that dancers who are good at rotating to their left are rare.
By the way, you...
...rotate to the left, don't you?
This painting's model...
In other words, Aoki-san's lover...
...was you.
You were watching me closely to have noticed the direction of my rotation, weren't you?
Even though you nodded off during the public performance.
I'm sorry.
It was me.
Aoki-san's lover...
...was me.
The one who stabbed Aoki-san three years ago in New York...
As my return to Japan drew near...
...he said he was being mentally cornered.
At last, on the day before I was to return to Japan...
You could do it with the New York Ballet Company, couldn't you?
3 Years Ago New York
Let me go. Please.
Please, don't go.
If you're not here, I won't be able to draw anymore.
I'm sorry.
I'm begging you! Please don't go!
Stop! Stop it! Let go!
It was my fault. I'm sorry.
Don't come near.
I'm sorry.
Don't come near me.
Let's stop this already, okay?
Let go of it... Let go and let's stop this...
Akiko...
I... just ran away.
I asked Kajita-sensei, who was in Japan, for help.
Kajita-san, who rushed over to New York...
...then lied to the police in order to protect his precious prima ballerina, didn't he?
He told them Aoki-san's lover was Yasuko-san.
And then the next day...
...when Aoki-san awoke in the hospital, he wanted to protect you as well.
He lied that it wasn't a Japanese who had stabbed him.
In the future, please don't give out the name Akiko.
This is for Akiko's sake.
I don't want her talent and future...
...to be ruined like this.
If you love her...
...you'll understand, right?
If the police ask you about it...
...please answer them...
...that the name of your lover is Morii Yasuko.
Taking himself out of the picture...
...Aoki-san entrusted his feelings for you to a painting.
And there in New York, Kazama-san saw that painting.
This ballerina is...
Morii...
...Yasuko.
One year later, when Kazama-san was to go back to New York again...
...he learned over the phone that Aoki-san didn't have much longer.
And so Kazama-san promised him this.
That because he would bring Aoki-san's lover along with him no matter what...
...he should hang on until then.
Please! Please wait a moment!
And then Kazama-san made a sudden visit to Morii Yasuko-san's apartment.
You know Aoki Kazuhiro-san, don't you?
I don't know him.
He's been thinking about you all these three years...
He's ill right now... and doesn't have much longer.
Please stop this; I don't know him.
Yasuko-san! You studied ballet while in New York, didn't you?
Yes.
Then you should know him.
You and him were...
This man... You say he was a painter in the making...
Look, you do know him, don't you?
Akiko-san.
Eh?
It was Akiko-san.
His lover.
Akiko?
And so Kazama-san came to find out that Aoki-san's lover...
...was you, Akiko-san.
I'm very sorry for inconveniencing you.
Why did you think it was me?
Please tell me the reason.
Aoki-san...
Of course Yasuko-san knew it all as well.
You heard about this on the day of the incident...
...when Kazama-san came to the Ballet Company, didn't you?
That day...
I went to the Ballet Company for practice.
I wanted to watch the video of our last "Sleeping Beauty" before the meeting took place.
You're Akiko-san, aren't you?
My name is Kazama.
Um, you know of...
...an Aoki Kazuhiro-san in New York, don't you?
I'm Aoki-san's friend.
He's ill and won't last much longer.
Before he dies, could you come and meet him one last time?!
I made a promise to Aoki-san.
That I would be sure and bring you along to New York.
I don't know him.
I don't know this Aoki person.
What are you saying?!
Your boyfriend is Aoki Kazuhiro-san, isn't it?
I don't have a boyfriend.
Wait... What are you saying?!
I saw it.
That painting of a ballerina.
Aoki-san has been thinking about you all this time.
And so he did a painting of you.
You ARE Aoki-san's lover, aren't you?
You're wrong!
I'm not wrong, now am I?
Three years ago, you left Aoki-san.
You chose the ballet. But!
Aoki-san has been in love with you ever since.
I don't know him!
Aoki-san is crumbling to pieces.
He's waiting for you.
At least let him have his dream at the end!
You are...
...Aoki-san's dream.
Okay? Please!
Come with me to New York.
Please. Please!
I can't.
I can't go.
I'll call Aoki-san.
Even lying is fine. Just tell him that you're coming.
And then his life will be rewarded a little.
You can lie about that, can't you?
Stop it.
Oi! Wait, oi!
I've decided that he never existed in my life.
I won't see him. I have no reason to see him.
He's not inside me any longer.
Wait! Wait...
In his life...
...you do exist!
Stop it!
You who had devoted everything to ballet...
...had fallen in love for the first time in New York.
However...
...you didn't chose love... but ballet.
That wound on your arm.
You called that wound a "warning," didn't you?
However, isn't that wound...
...the proof of your resolve in regards to ballet?
That's why you refused Kazama-san so intensely.
If you had met Aoki-san...
...it would be negating the life of devoting everything to ballet...
...you had chosen for yourself.
Isn't that so?
Excuse me. Akiko-san...
Akiko-san, it's time to go on.
Akiko-san!
Kaga-san, please!
Please wait for just two hours.
Please allow me to dance just for tonight.
Tonight only; for just a little longer.
Please allow me to cast the magic that will let me dance.
Once the magic is taken away...
...I will tell you everything.
I will not run away or hide.
I will be on stage the entire time.
Because I'm...
...a prima ballerina.
Very well.
Thank you very much.
Mio-san, you're...
Kaga-san.
Please...
...watch my "Sleeping Beauty"...
...closely.
We have to wait for two hours while the criminal dances?
I did this on my own. Please overlook it.
So soft. Especially for a detective from Investigation Division One.
It's okay; I'll keep you company.
Thank you very much.
Even at a time like this, she's so dignified.
She's making this the best stage.
She has to keep her promise, doesn't she?
A promise? With who?
With Asaoka Mio.
Asaoka Mio?
She provided the final piece that solved this mystery.
What was used as the weapon in the Kajita homicide...
...was a syringe from sand art.
She had been in Yasuko-san's apartment and had seen the sand art there.
While she was dancing as the Black Swan last year, I stayed over at Yasuko-san's apartment...
...and heard the story of it that night.
And so Mio-san...
...went to visit Yasuko-san's apartment.
I loved Kajita-sensei.
I wanted to confess to Sensei.
I wanted him to recognize me more than anyone.
And for that reason, I sacrificed everything for him.
Then Kajita-sensei betrayed that.
Kajita-sensei...
...in order to protect Akiko-san...
...set me up as the leading role in that scandal of hers.
And yet for the real stage... he never selected me for the leading role, not even once.
Still, even so...
I was never going to be made the prima ballerina.
Can you understand my despair when I realized that?
Since you're a dancer the same as I, you know how painful that is, don't you?
I've been...
...denied everything in my life.
Yasuko-san.
Please listen.
I know.
You're recommending I turn myself in, aren't you?
I'm not.
Please don't turn yourself in.
Not until...
...the upcoming "Sleeping Beauty" is over.
Still, why didn't she tell the police about the syringe?
Why would she expressly tell that to Yasuko, who was the criminal?
That's because...
...this "Sleeping Beauty"...
...will be Mio-san's final appearance on the stage.
What's that about a "final appearance"?
She's losing her hearing.
Eh?
She gets a ringing in her ears when it rains.
And then, suddenly...
...she can't hear any sounds at all.
It seems such a disease of the ear exists.
Half a year ago, when the car Saito Haruko was driving was in an accident, she struck her head.
That was the occasion for it.
Every time it rains, she gets a spasm attack, over and over.
Even so, she couldn't stop dancing.
Surely her body remembers...
...the tempo of the music, doesn't it?
In the middle of her dance, even though she can't hear the music...
...she can continue dancing.
She may not hear at any moment.
Even though she struggles against such a fear...
...she can go on dancing?
Her strong dizziness and her repeated spasms of deafness...
...are the disease of her ear.
In Asaoka-san's case, it developed in the wake of the accident.
Can she be cured?
You could say that would be difficult.
Then, you're saying... I won't be able to hear at all someday?
At present, I don't know.
But it is very likely.
What about ballet?
Will I be able to continue with ballet?
Please.
Please do something.
I want to dance.
Please! I want to dance.
Even so, she would attend the rehearsals every day.
She continued to dance.
And then, on the day of the incident...
Wait!
Stop it.
Wait a minute. Oi.
Hey, stop. Stop it.
Stop! Kyaa!
Perhaps Mio-san could only think of one thing...
Stop it!
...that she just had to protect Akiko-san.
Asaoka Mio protected Takayanagi Akiko, huh?
If something happened to Akiko-san...
...her own final appearance on the stage wouldn't be complete.
Just that alone absolutely had to be avoided.
So she hit him like someone in a trance...
...and killed him, huh?
But...
If Asaoka Mio killed Kazama...
...why was Saito Haruko made to substitute for her?
What'll we do?
This is my fault for getting you involved, Mio-chan.
You're not. I...
You didn't do anything wrong, Mio-chan. You were just trying to protect me...
You're wrong!
I did this for me.
Because "Sleeping Beauty" will be my final appearance on stage.
Eh?
If something happened to you, Akiko-san...
...my final appearance on stage would disappear.
Because I would hate that. I absolutely would hate that!
That's why I did it...
I did it.
It's my fault.
What do you mean?
I'll do something about this somehow.
I'll be the one who did it.
Huh?
This man had nothing to do with Akiko-san. It was a robbery.
I was attacked during a robbery...
...and I killed this man in self-defense.
That would be fine, wouldn't it?
You can't. Because it was me who did it.
It's decided that I did it.
Mio-chan, you can dance on your final stage.
What is this about?
I...
...took away from Mio-chan...
...the most important thing to her.
Because of...
...the traffic accident that I caused...
...Mio-chan is losing the hearing in her ears.
The music...
She might not be able to hear it anymore.
I've...
...taken away Mio-chan's life in ballet.
That's why...
...I'll tell any lie as long as it lets her dance.
Mio-chan's final stage appearance...
Please let her do it, Akiko-san!
I will...
...dispose of this.
Haruko-chan...
I won't let them cancel the "Sleeping Beauty."
We'll start the magic here.
And until your final appearance on stage is over.
Akiko-san...
No matter what happens, we have to go on telling this lie, don't we?
As the prima ballerina...
...I will dance the very best Princess Aurora.
Please charm them with your finest Princess Florina.
I will...
Asaoka Mio isn't there.
Mio-san!
Mio-san.
Thank goodness. You can hear me, can't you?
You found me, didn't you?
Because I'm an investigation geek.
I watched your Princess Florina.
Did my thirst for blood appear?
No.
But your passion, gentleness, strength...
Every part of your life did appear.
But...
I can't dance any longer.
Because the magic has been taken away.
The magic has not been taken away.
Your dance will remain in our memories forever.
In mine and within the memories of those people who saw it, your dance will continue.
Kaga-san.
Yes?
Right now...
...could you talk to me?
Kaga-san?
Could you talk to me about something?!
Kaga-san! Kaga-san! Kaga-san!
Talk to me... Talk to me about something!
Police HQ - Shakujii North Police Station
Ballet Company Investigation
How was it? Mio-chan's final dance?
It was her finest.
Both Mio-san's Princess Florina...
...and your Princess Aurora as well, Akiko-san.
Thank goodness.
Kaga-san.
Thank you very much.
Kyoichiro
Yes?
The information I got from you proved to be useful.
I see.
That incident involving a traffic accident I discussed with you about...
...led to the solution of this current case.
I see.
I said you shouldn't stick your neck unnecessarily into the affairs of others...
...but that doesn't mean what you did was a fool's errand.
Hello?
If you have no other business, I'm hanging up.
I have no other business.
The only thing you talk about is investigations, isn't it?
Both you and me.
That's all.
Kaga!
Ah, Ota-san.
I was under your care.
I told you before about my son, right?
Ah, um... The one you said spends all day in front of his computer.
I took my son out for drinks last night.
Ah...
He's been making computer games...
...and apparently won a prize, so we celebrated.
That's incredible, isn't it? Then you did talk with your son?
We didn't talk at all.
We picked up some sushi in silence then went back home.
Is that right.
That's how it is.
That's how it is between a father and son.
Your Father had to go through some harsh fool's errands.
Still, thanks to that...
...I was able to serve until my retirement though.
Investigation Division One
So long. Thanks for your hard work.
Ota-san.
Thank you for your long, hard work.
This is Kaga.
Understood. I'll head over to the crime scene.