I'm sorry to sour the mood, Shinichi, but...
No way.
You must be kidding.
We need to start running right now.
Are you sure it's him?
These wavelengths are too powerful to come from some lackey.
And given the speed of his approach, I'd say he's in a car.
Take a right at that corner.
Shit!
Now I'm a thief.
Is this the time to whine about it?
When'd you learn to drive, anyway?
I mastered Japanese in a single day, you know.
Migi, I have a favor to ask.
Please go somewhere with as few people as possible.
If we fight him in a city, many people will die.
Very well.
I've thought of something that's worth a gamble.
Parasyte
The Maxim
Quiescence and Awakening
Well?
It didn't work.
He's alive.
He's tough.
Let's go.
Go where?
Let's run.
All right, stop.
Why are we stopping?
We can't afford to waste time here!
Calm down.
Let's strategize until he shows up.
Strategize?!
We might be minutes away from being chopped up!
Shinichi.
I understand how you feel.
Anyone would fear death.
I'm afraid, as well.
However, this is our moment of truth!
You have a strength normal humans don't have.
You can be calm, no matter what the circumstance.
Now, put your hand on your chest
and breathe deeply like you always do.
Good, well done.
Listen.
When it comes to ability, Gotou surpasses us in every way.
By simple calculations, our odds of victory might be zero percent.
But that just means we should approach this from a different angle.
If we can't win even by working together,
maybe we should try not working together.
What?
In war, what matters is opportunity, not numbers.
Opportunity?
In your pocket is a lighter I found in the car.
They're above...
They've spread out among the tree branches to hide.
How unoriginal.
This will be a race against time.
To a parasite, the body is our lifeline as well as our greatest weakness.
My cells that have dispersed in your body
have been completely integrated, and are altered,
so Gotou can't detect them.
He will come straight for me
without noticing your presence.
If there is a protracted fight, I will shrivel up and die.
This is an extremely reckless strategy.
But that means even Gotou is unlikely to anticipate our strategy.
What, no counterattack?
Where is the human boy?
If only I can find and destroy the body, I'll win.
His body
is protected by semi-hardened parasite cells.
It's unlikely that his entire body is armored,
but there's no time to find where the chinks are in his armor.
The part least likely to be armored
and thus most suitable as a target...
is his head.
Unifying the multiple parasites in his torso and limbs must
require a tremendous amount of energy.
Thus, the "head" has its hands full acting as the control tower.
If we lop the head off,
unity will be lost along with his armor,
which should allow us to destroy his body.
Any time now, Migi!
If you don't hurry, you'll...
I will only have one chance!
If I am to decapitate Gotou when his power and speed far surpasses my own...
What is this?
My consciousness is already fading...
I must hurry!
But the angle of attack is still poor.
Hey! Listen up!
Are you that scared of me?!
Spreading out in all directions isn't much of a camouflage!
Use your brains to fight, not run!
Now! Do it!
Was that my voice?
There!
The surface cells will instinctively disengage
from Gotou's command upon exposure to fire,
and as a result...
Damn!
Not deep enough!
Did we fail?
Migi!
Stay back, Shinichi!
We failed!
Well, this is a surprise.
Well done.
Run! Now!
But...
Don't come any closer!
We don't both need to die!
But, Migi...
What are you doing?!
Hurry up and go!
Goodbye, Shinichi.
This is farewell, Shinichi.
I'm glad I didn't take over your brain when we first met.
Thanks to that, we made many good memories as friends...
I'm fading...
I feel oddly sleepy,
yet it's all eclipsed by the feeling that I'm so alone.
So this...
is death...
Who's there?!
Oh, sorry.
A... A burglar?!
No!
I'm not... But...
Sure. You can call me that.
Huh?
I did try to drink some water without permission, after all.
I see.
Water isn't free, either.
S-Sorry...
Well, uh...
I should go.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
Hang on a second.
Yes?
You're hurt.
Oh...
Well, no, uh...
No, your head.
You lost your right arm a long time ago, from the looks of it.
I'm fine.
I think the bleeding's already stopped.
Just come in and let me take a look.
But...
Hurry up!
A burglar wouldn't be this polite.
Besides, you look like you've been crying.
I worked in retail for a long time.
I can tell a lot about a person from just one look.
This injury wasn't from a fair fight, was it? You were bullied.
Uh...
The cut's pretty deep.
Some people in this world do terrible things.
I didn't expect so much kindness from a complete stranger.
Thank you for everything.
Stay the night.
What?
I couldn't possibly...
Where do you expect to go this late at night?
There are no hotels around here!
Um, do you live here by yourself, Granny?
I don't have any grandchildren your age.
Erm, Auntie?
I don't have any nephews, either.
My name is Mitsuyo.
I'm sorry.
I'm Izumi Shinichi.
Shinichi, eh?
Shin-chan, then.
Sorry for making you help with the shopping.
Oh, no problem.
I can at least do that much.
Let's just say you're my nephew.
Nephew?
Strange things have been happening around here lately.
They're suspicious of outsiders.
Strange things?
This is what I was talking about.
Someone keeps dumping truckloads of garbage without permission.
One time, it caught fire and nearly set the entire mountain ablaze.
I know they say big cities are running out of landfills,
but this is a bit much, don't you think?
Yes...
Those of us who live around here
have been keeping watch day and night,
but they're no-shows when we do keep watch
and come the one day we sleep.
Mitsuyo-san had a sharp tongue,
but she was kindhearted.
Whenever I tried to thank her and leave,
she'd stop me with a machine gun barrage of conversation.
With Migi gone,
I had no idea what to do next.
I ended up staying several days.
But I can't impose on her forever.
I should go home tomorrow and tell Dad everything.
About why I lost my right arm...
About how I had a friend named Migi...
About the day Migi first showed up in my life.
About the days we spent together.
And about how great a guy he was.
To save my life, he...
His intelligence, his courage...
I can't even hope to come close to him in any way.
He is a true hero!
Where am I?
I think I've been here before.
What's that?
Uh, who're you?
What is it?
Are you looking for something?
Looking?
Yeah, I'm looking for a friend.
A friend?
What does this friend look like?
Look like?
I don't really remember.
Then I can't help you.
Hey, wait.
I think he looked like you...
Right! I remember now!
He...
He died.
What? He's dead?
Yeah...
No, he's alive.
What?!
I can tell.
I actually know his name, too.
His... name?
His name...
Migi?!
Huh?!
M...
Migi!
Some of his cells are still here!
Hey! It's me!
Do you recognize me?!
Keep it down.
Go back to sleep.
It won't work.
Even if he can make a small eye,
it's not enough to be capable of thought or speech.
Migi...
Migi!
I see.
I guess I don't have a choice.
I can't keep you here forever.
I don't know how I can ever repay you.
What's the matter?
Why're you here so early in the morning?
Hey, you!
Are you really Mitsuyo-san's nephew?
What does it matter?
He's about to leave.
Not so fast.
There are way too many strange things happening lately.
The illegal trash dumping,
the car crash between two driver-less vehicles,
and now, murder.
What?!
Isn't it always outsiders who commit crimes?
Outsiders like him?
I told you, that thing was beyond being an outsider.
He's been with me the entire time—
It wasn't human!
I wasn't just seeing things!
It was at least three meters tall!
And its legs!
Yeah, it had four front legs alone!
It had more than three eyes, too!
It's Gotou...
It has to be!
Yeah, laugh at me all you want.
But see this blood? It's all Kitayama's!
Kitayama was killed and eaten by a monster right close by!
So it happened around here?
Th-That's right.
This is horrible.
Wait, something similar's happened before...
The Mincemeat Murders?
I see.
Okay, got it.
A bunch of hunters are going to get together tomorrow,
so they should be able to take down this "monster" then.
Hunting rifles won't be enough to take him down.
Huh?
"Him"?
You know the monster?
He's here because he's after me.
To kill me.
Huh?
Stop talking nonsense.
This is my fault!
I brought him here!
And someone was killed!
Many more will die tomorrow if I don't do something!
Shin-chan...
I just wanted to keep myself alive.
Whatever it took.
Friends have died for me, too.
But I can't just keep running away on my own.
Why not?
Why not live?
Why not run?
Run if it's only to save your own life.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
Mitsuyo-san, I haven't done everything I can just yet!
I have to make use of my life before a group of people
come face-to-face with that monster tomorrow!
You idiot!
Cut the bullshit!
Make use of your life?
How dare you speak so lightly of your own life?!
Who do you think you are?!
Use your life?
Don't make me laugh!
What does a snot-nosed brat like you expect to do?!
Look, I don't know your story,
but you should just let adults handle this sort of thing.
You're still leaving?
Don't you have someone in your life you care about?
Even if it's a stranger,
once I come to know them,
I can't just abandon them.
That's what it means to be human.
But you...
I don't know how much time you have left,
but give some thought to as many things, as many ideas, as you can come up with.
If you throw everything away, that's the end.
Don't give up, no matter what,
and be flexible.
Wait.
Isn't there something useful you can take with you?
Like a weapon?
This, then.
What, that? It's all rusty.
But I guess it's better than nothing.
Dear...
Please keep him safe.
If Gotou's adopted a totally different human appearance,
there'll be no way for me to recognize him.
But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!
Life and Oath
Next time:
"Life and Oath."