Episode 2: Denied feelings
Hiroki finds Fumiya, but loses sight of him because Futaba called out to her brother to run away. At that moment, Hiroki had been holding a knife. Futaba reveals that she is Fumiya’s younger sister. Hiroki asks her why she has not searched for her brother’s whereabouts all this while, and she cannot answer him. She denies his accusation that there will be other victims if Fumiya is left alone. He declares that they are enemies and just as he tries to drive off, Futaba hurriedly scribbles her mobile phone number on a piece of paper and slips it into his car through the open window.
Futaba’s family shifts again in order to escape from the harassment. As soon as they arrive at their new address in Shizuoka prefecture, a policeman comes by to distribute flyers with information about an elementary school girl who has gone missing in the vicinity. Futaba recalls the words that Hiroki had said to her.
After the funeral service for his father, Tatsuhiko, Hiroki is invited to the Higaki residence by his younger brother, Kohei. Kohei had married into the family and adopted the Higaki surname. Their mother, Kyoko is living there too. Hiroki had been told by Kohei not to mention meeting Fumiya to their mother, but Hiroki loses his composure when his attempt at conversation with her is met with silence. He points out that she should hate Fumiya and not Tatsuhiko. Doesn’t she want to know what has become of Aki’s murderer?! He is about to go on, but catches himself when he sees Kohei’s baby. With the mood now awkward because of his outburst, Hiroki decides to go home. When he gets into his car, he finds the piece of paper that Futaba had slipped in the other day.
The next day, Futaba arrives at ‘Fukami’. When it appears that there is a lull in their conversation, she takes out a newspaper from her bag and shows him an article. It is an article about the missing girl. Pointing to the photo, Futaba comments that the back view of the person that had been captured on security cameras resembles Fumiya. If Fumiya had committed the crime, the girl would be in the lake now … … Hiroki dismisses it as overactive imagination, but she suggests that they take a look. And so, Hiroki and Futaba head to the lake at Mt Mikazuki.
As they make their way through the forest toward the lake, Hiroki asks Futaba why Fumiya killed Aki. Futaba does not have an answer, but she starts to talk about how Fumiya had been a kind brother in her memories. The time when the two of them had saved kittens, the time Fumiya was arrested, and the time when an apology letter had arrived from him because the summer festival she had been looking forward to had been called off … … Observing from the way Futaba speaks that she still adores her brother, Hiroki explodes in anger. Her suggestion that Fumiya was falsely accused infuriates him further. To Hiroki, Fumiya is a hardened killer who repeatedly hit his 7-year-old sister’s head with a hammer, grabbed her by the limbs and then flung her into the lake like an object. His fury stems from what he had heard from Kohei. Kohei had seen the Toyamas buy a Christmas cake after Aki’s murder that year. Blinded by his emotions, Hiroki asks if he should give her a taste of the same treatment. He pushes her down to the ground and chokes her, but lets go of her when he sees her gasp for breath. Futaba does not put up any resistance and tells him to go ahead. After becoming the victimiser’s family, she has neither the will to live nor to die. She understands his feelings because her family had been told that they should die to atone for her brother’s deed. Hiroki pushes himself away from her. Then, Futaba tells him that her family had not eaten the cake. They had brought the Christmas cake back to the shop. Hiroki leaves Futaba behind and goes back. Futaba remains lying on the ground even as the rain starts to pour down on her … …
Hiroki turns on the television when he returns to the shop, and sees a news flash announcing that the missing girl has been safely taken into custody. He calls Futaba on her mobile phone but she does not answer.
At that moment, Akari, finds a letter that her older sister sent to their brother, but was returned because his address was not known. Their parents, Shunsuke and Takami, read the letter and learn that Futaba still believes in Fumiya’s innocence and hopes that he will live with the family.
Futaba wanders about the mountains in the rain. She comes across red poppies in full bloom by the bank of the lake. The sight of the flowers makes her cry aloud. A short while later, Hiroki arrives. Futaba tells him that Fumiya was the murderer. She knows this because he had planted many red poppies over the grave for the dead kitten … … Hiroki stops her from apologising. However, Futaba starts to say that her brother may kill someone again. She remembers the time he had tried to strangle her. If she had died at that time, perhaps Aki would not have been killed … …
Hiroki and Futaba leave the mountains and go to town. Learning that a summer festival is being held nearby, Hiroki suggests to a surprised Futaba that they stop by to take a look. When they walk over, they meet Kyoko.
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