WHITE CENTER WORK JOURNAL
Director Obata? What are you doing?
What's wrong?
You shouldn't be out here.
What were you burning?
Hmm?
Don't worry. It has nothing to do with you.
- It does, though. - Huh.
In what way?
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!
- Director Ozaki! - Satsuki! Come back!
- Director! - It's dangerous!
- Wake up! - Satsuki!
Director!
Come back!
Satsuki!
- Come back! - You'll hurt yourself.
- Satsuki… Satsuki! - Director, stop!
Snap out of it! Wake up!
- Are you all right? - Yes, I'm fine.
Let's get you back. You were sleepwalking.
I'm all right. Really, I'm fine.
- Are you sure? - Yes, yes.
PLACE OF REST: UMIKAZE
- Stop. That's dangerous! Don't! - Breakfast time!
You… Ah, ah, ah! Come here!
- Is it yummy? - I got you!
- Want any more soy sauce? - Leo, you're going to sit.
Sit, Leo, sit.
No, no, no, hey. Look what you did.
You spilled your drink.
- I'll clean it up. - Leo…
Leo. Go ahead, thanks.
You all right, sweetie? It didn't get on you?
Deep breaths, okay? Let's just take a deep breath.
Did something bad happen this morning?
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…
Oh!
America, Germany, and Italy. Okay, bye!
A man calling himself the Human Vapor…
Leo ate most of his food.
Oh, good. Finally. Thank you.
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.
What were these alleged crimes, exactly?
White Center…
The Human Vapor, huh?
That's a new one.
He said, "White Center." You heard of a place like that?
Can't say that I have.
The people who were involved with White Center
must be remembering the crimes they committed and panicking….
Oh, that scared me.
Mr. Ozaki?
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.
HUMAN VAPOR
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?
It's not that I don't believe you,
but we have to explore every angle.
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?
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?
- 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.
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.
No, he wasn't so smart in the end.
Such a tragedy.
You son of a bitch!
- 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!
- Let go! - Stop!
- Fuck! You shithead! - Calm down!
Get a hold of yourself!
Time's up.
Walk it off.
You did the best you could.
Ugh, you're so heavy. Almost there.
I'm fine.
Get off me. I said I'm fine.
Damn.
You gonna be okay?
- Sorry. - What?
Hey! Be careful!
Oh!
Okay.
- That son of a bitch. - 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.
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.
Right this way, please.
- Nice place. - Yeah, it's gorgeous.
KYOKO KONO ARE YOU OKAY, KYOKO?
MICHIKO ABE
- Yeah, what is it? - 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.
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? - No, you're leaving.
What did you do to her? Hey! The people deserve to know the truth!
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…
A certain journalist has reported…
MORI COMMITS SUICIDE
…about an active investigation you were in charge of.
We need you outta here today.
You're suspended.
I have nothing more to say.
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? - 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.
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.
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.
It's a first for me.
It's like he doesn't even exist.
Anything on his identity yet?
We tried running his face through recognition software, but no hits.
We'll widen the search.
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.
- What? You see something? - Uh, no.
It's just that the stitching is different on this button.
- Stitching? - As if it were added on later.
What's that?
There's a pattern on the underside.
WHITE CENTER, KYUGO SANO, CONNECTION NO RESULTS
- 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.
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? - 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.
Get your hands off me! I didn't do anything, I swear!
- We got a hit on the symbol. - The Fujishiro Syndicate.
- They're linked to the Kasuga Group? - 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?
This pocket square, how it's folded…
I swear I've seen it before.
The pocket square?
Professor Sano had the same one.
Exactly.
He might be leaving us clues as to his next target.
It increases the risk of getting caught. Why would he do that?
- Hi there. - This way, sir.
Anywhere you'd like. We'll be right with you.
- Thanks. - Ah!
Shinichi Kato? You're the reporter who contacted us with the information?
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… - Ah…
Tatsuya Nishiyama.
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.
- What can I get you? - A cup of coffee.
- All right. - Uh, cream soda.
No problem.
There was something happening in Yamanashi at the time.
The Children of the World Peace Expo.
Oh, I remember that.
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.
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?
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?
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.
Who's this? He's not named in the caption.
Did he work for the White Center?
Oh yes, that's Obata. He was the director at the time.
Do you know how to get in touch with him now?
After the peace expo, he disappeared without a trace.
Like a ghost.
Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's your coffee.
- Do you need any milk? - No, thanks, I'm fine.
And your cream soda.
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.
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?
What happened? Where is everyone?
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.
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
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.
Give me my tray!
- Get out of here. - I'm sorry, I just…
I'm missing one.
- Aw, gonna cry? - I need it.
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--
Abe, get some shots of this.
What's up?
- Let's go. - Hang on, I need my tray!
- Hey, food boy! - I want it back.
Trying to start some shit? I'll kill you!
- Yo! - Chill out.
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.
No problem.
- Oh, right. - Hmm?
I wanted to say thanks.
Hmm?
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!
Sure.
Hmm.
What's the opposite of a dead end?
We found 32 volunteer youth groups in Shizuoka alone.
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?
Hmm…
Wait, hang on! That photo.
- Put it up on the screen? - Yeah.
So? It could be the same guy.
Hat, glasses, beard…
- The mole, too. - What's this man's name?
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.
- Time to eat! - Dinner time!
Oh, look. Mm-mm!
- Hello. One for Leo too, please. - Coming right up.
Hello, Kazuha. Have you seen Shota?
- Mm-mm. - Oh.
All right, here you go!
- Here. It's Kazuha's. - Okay. Thank you, sir.
Hello?
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.
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.
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.
I'm sorry. Wrong number.
Goodbye.
Well, that's that then.
It's definitely him.
Mr. Ozaki.
Sir? Sir? Mr. Ozaki!
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.
It must be here.
Excuse me, sorry. Excuse me.
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.
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.
Mr. Ozaki…
I couldn't…
I couldn't tell the truth. I'm sorry.
I lied to her.
Daisuke did it.
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.
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?
No, it's not.
Let's go home.
WHITE CENTER WORK JOURNAL
METEORITE CLEANUP OPERATION JANUARY TO APRIL, 1999
METEORITE IMPACT CONTAMINATION AREA
Just skin and bones…
MISSING
WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
MISSING
REN TSUTSUMIDA
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…
…which was based in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Hello? Mr. Ozaki?
That's not my real name.
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?
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?
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.
Thanks for your help.
Have a good day.
Hey!
Looks like they're heading out.
Let's go.
- I guess he hasn't arrived yet. - Yeah.
I can get us something to drink.
- 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.
Come on.
He's not there.
Start running.
Right.
- Through here! - Outta my way!
Stop!
Stop! Hey!
- Move! - They went down!
Fucking move!
Whoa!
- Tatsuya! - Sorry!
Get back here!
Kyoko, what do we do?
Gimme that!
Hey! Here! Take it.
Where'd you put it?
- What? - Where the fuck is it?
We're not gonna ask again.
Tell us where it is.
You wanna die? Huh? Tell us!
Police! Drop your weapon!
Quick, grab her!
Let's get outta here!
Get off of me!
- Get in the fuckin' car! - They're still down.
Get in!
Abe!
Oh shit.
Kyoko.
You okay?
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.
Kyoko! You okay?
I recorded it. I got the whole thing!
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!
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?
Thank you. That would be very helpful.
I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment.
Yes, sir.
Hello?
Ms. Kono?
Where are you right now?
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.
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?
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"?
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?
An organization called Mufu.
I have records that detail Mufu's involvement.
Mufu's what?
I don't…
Mr. Obata, please…
Mr. Obata?
Are you still there?
Mr. Obata!
Are you okay?
What's going on?
Mr. Obata!
Finally! I got you, asshole!
Burn in hell, you bastard!
You son of a bitch!
Burn in hell!
Mr. Obata!
Are you okay?!
WHITE CENTER WORK JOURNAL
Say something!
Mr. Obata?
What happened?
What's going on? Mr. Obata? Are you okay?