Satoru Fujinuma is a shut-in manga artist (or so he insists) with a weird power called 'Revival,' which sends him back in time just before something terrible happens.
One day, his mother Sachiko realizes the identity of the kidnapper behind a series of child abductions in Satoru's old Hokkaido hometown. Satoru dismisses it as paranoia. That night, he comes home to find his mother stabbed and dying. Wrongly accused of her murder, Satoru's panic triggers Revival—but this time it's different. He'
Erased IF: The Day I Didn't Open the Door - Abandoned Coal Mine Operation, Everyone Assembles
The blizzard night gave way to dawn.
Saturday morning. Sparrows chirped outside the window.
Fujinuma Satoru stood before a public phone in the shopping district, gripping the receiver.
Last night, after warming up at Hamada-san's house, Kenta had called Hiromi over and over. But it was already late, and no one answered.
"[whispers]...Please, pick up."
He dialed. Brrrr, brrrr.
On the third ring, there was a click.
"...Hello, this is Kobayashi."
A sleepy voice. It was still six in the morning.
"[serious]It's me. Fujinuma."
"[surprised]...Fujinuma-kun? What's going on this early in the—"
"[serious]We found Michi. Probably in the abandoned coal mine. Come to Hamada-san's house right away."
On the other end of the line, he heard a sharp intake of breath.
"[serious]...Got it. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
The call ended.
Satoru took a deep breath. Cold air filled his lungs.
(It's starting.)
He murmured that in his heart.
——
Hamada-san's living room.
A kettle hissed on the stove. Old hunting rifle photos and a bearskin pelt decorated the walls.
On the table, a single sheet of paper was spread out.
Yellowed, with sharp creases—a hand-drawn map.
"Bison Second Tunnel Sketch Map."
"[serious]This is the abandoned mine map my old man drew when he was still working."
Hamada-san tapped the map with his thick finger. A solidly built man in his sixties, wearing a hunting club jumpsuit.
"[serious]This here's the main tunnel entrance. But—"
"[serious]It was completely sealed off by a cave-in back in the late sixties."
Hiromi peered at the map.
Behind his thick silver-rimmed glasses, his narrow eyes gleamed sharper than usual. His bobbed hair swayed slightly.
"[surprised]...You already checked?"
Hiromi didn't answer.
He was already pulling a fountain pen from his chest pocket, scribbling something in the notepad he'd brought.
"[excited]Hiromi, what're you doing?"
Kenta leaned over Hiromi's shoulder from behind, peeking at the notepad. His short black hair, buzzed with clippers, was slightly damp with sweat from the stove's heat.
"[cold]Shut up. I'm thinking."
"[angry]What'd you say?!"
"[sarcastic]Your voice is too loud for me to calculate. Why don't you go practice swings in the corner or something?"
"[angry]Why you—!"
"[laughing]Now, now."
Hamada-san gave a wry smile. Nomura-san and Abe-san exchanged glances and laughed too.
The tension in the room eased, just a little.
Satoru watched it all in silence.
(...They're amazing.)
Hiromi's focus, Kenta's straightforwardness, and the adults' composure in accepting it all.
So this is what it feels like—when you're not alone.
——
Nine in the morning.
Ishikari Misono Town Library.
A small library converted from the old town office building. About fifteen thousand books in the collection. The librarian, Morikawa-san, was organizing bound newspaper archives behind the counter.
"[polite]Morikawa-san, I'd like to look at the Meiji-era mining records and tunnel safety reports."
Hiromi said, standing up straight.
Morikawa-san was a female librarian in her forties. She pushed her glasses up with her middle finger and looked down at Hiromi.
"[surprised]...Mining records? That's not something elementary school kids read. What do you need them for?"
"[serious]Research. The library is supposed to be a facility open to all town residents."
Hiromi didn't back down an inch.
Morikawa-san fell silent for a moment.
"[sigh]...Good grief."
With that, she disappeared into the back stacks.
Kenta whispered into Hiromi's ear.
"[whispers]Man, you really don't get scared of adults like her, huh."
"[cold]I just stated a fact. Being judged by age is unreasonable."
"[excited]Heh, that's badass!"
"[embarrassed]...Shut up."
Hiromi pushed his glasses up with a quick motion.
Satoru murmured in his heart.
(These guys... they're incredible.)
——
Ten minutes later, Morikawa-san dropped a bundle of old files onto the counter with a thud.
"[serious]Here are the mining records and safety reports. But you can't look at them for too long. They're old documents—they damage easily."
"[serious]Thank you very much."
Hiromi took the files and immediately spread them out on the reading desk.
He cross-referenced the map with the documents. Took notes with his fountain pen. His speed kept increasing.
"[excited]...Well?!"
Kenta fidgeted restlessly in his chair.
"[serious]I told you to shut up."
"[angry]But—"
"[serious]—Got it."
Thirty minutes later.
Hiromi looked up.
"[serious]The main tunnel is, as expected, completely sealed off by the late-sixties cave-in. Adults can't get through, obviously—not even kids could. But—"
He pointed to a spot on the map.
"[serious]On the southern slope, there are three ventilation shafts. About fifty centimeters in diameter. Adults can't fit through. But kids can. Here, here, and here."
His finger moved across the map.
"[serious]Beyond the ventilation shafts, they connect to a large excavated chamber. Cross-referencing with the full tunnel map—"
His finger stopped at the deepest part of the map.
"[serious]It has to be here. The only place the culprit could take Michi and hide is this excavated chamber."
Kenta stood up.
"[excited]Alright! Then I'll—"
"[serious]Wait, Kenta."
Satoru grabbed Kenta's shoulder.
"[serious]You can't go alone. If there are three ventilation shafts, we have to breach them simultaneously. Otherwise, he'll escape."
"[excited]...I see! So then—"
Kenta's eyes sparkled as if he'd just thought of something. His double canine teeth showed.
"[excited]I'll call my baseball team buddies! There's six of 'em! Two for each of the three shafts!"
No sooner had he said it than Kenta bolted out of the library.
"[surprised]Hey—"
Morikawa-san didn't even have time to scold him.
——
Hamada-san's house.
"[angry]No. I can't let just kids go into the mine tunnels."
Hamada-san crossed his arms and declared it across the table.
Beside him, Nomura-san had his arms crossed too, and Abe-san looked down with a grim expression.
Satoru and Hiromi sat facing the three adults.
"[serious]But, Hamada-san—"
"[angry]No means no. You never know what could happen in an abandoned mine. There might be gas buildup. The footing could collapse. I can't let kids do something adults can't take responsibility for."
"[serious]Then how do you propose we save Michi?"
Hiromi spread out the map.
"[serious]Adults physically cannot fit through the ventilation shafts. Even if we call the police, it'll take them an hour to arrive. In that time, the culprit could escape, or in the worst case—"
He cut himself off.
"[serious]We don't have time."
Hamada-san opened his mouth, then closed it.
"[serious]We'll flush the culprit out from the inside. The ventilation shaft teams will enter from three different routes and converge at the excavated chamber. We'll drive the culprit toward the main tunnel. The adults will wait in ambush outside the main entrance and apprehend him."
"[serious]But—"
"[serious]At the same time, please notify the police. While we're buying time inside, if the police squad enters from the front, they can make an arrest in the act. The role adults can play is, in fact, right there."
Hamada-san fell silent.
He bit his lip. His thick fingers clenched tightly on the table.
"[whispers]...Alright."
Nomura-san said it quietly.
"[surprised]Nomura?!"
"[sad]...Hamada-san. That's all we can do now. Physically, we can't fit through."
"[serious]But—"
"[serious]We'll wait at the front. Until the police come, we absolutely won't let anyone out. That works, right, Hiromi?"
Hiromi nodded.
Hamada-san let out a deep, deep sigh.
"[sad]...To make kids do something like this."
"[gentle]We decided this ourselves."
Satoru watched the exchange intently.
The moment adults yielded to children.
Acknowledging their own limits, yet still trying to do their best.
Something stirred deep in his chest.
(If you're not alone—you can even do something like this, huh.)
——
Near noon.
In front of the ventilation shaft.
The southern slope of Kamui Forest. The snow had lightened, but the sky was still gray.
Satoru, Kenta, Hiromi.
And six friends from the baseball team.
Everyone stood with serious expressions.
"[excited]Alright, listen up, you guys!"
Kenta raised his voice.
"[excited]Two people per shaft! Me and Satoru are taking the deepest route! Hiromi, you enter from the south entrance and head for the excavated chamber by the shortest route! We'll converge there!"
Kenta gave instructions, pointing at the map.
The boss kid who normally said he "wasn't good at complicated stuff" was now giving orders more clearly than anyone.
"[serious]If you enter from the south entrance, it's eight minutes to the excavated chamber. From the north entrance, twelve minutes. The middle route that Kenta and Fujinuma-kun are taking is ten minutes. We'll synchronize our timing—"
"[excited]Shut up, Hiromi! The details don't matter!"
"[angry]The details are what matter!!"
The baseball team friends snickered.
The tension eased.
Kenta looked around at everyone's faces.
"[serious]...Hey, everyone."
His voice dropped a little lower.
"[serious]There's this girl, Michi. Some of you probably know her. She's trapped inside the abandoned coal mine right now. It might be scary. But even so—are you still going?"
No one said anything.
They all just nodded.
Just a nod. That was enough.
Satoru felt a shiver at that silence.
(These guys—)
No words were needed. They'd simply decided to "go."
Just that—and it was this reassuring.
Kenta grinned. Showing his double canines.
"[excited]Alright! Then, let's go!!"
Satoru stood before the ventilation shaft.
A small hole in the ground, reinforced with concrete. A pitch-black vertical shaft, not even as wide as an adult's shoulders.
In that moment—
Something shifted in his head.
The culprit's face, which had been blurry all this time.
The outline alone—just barely, ever so slightly—became clearer.
He still couldn't see the face. The shape of the eyes, the height of the nose, the mouth—all still blurred.
But the outline—as if a haze was lifting—had become a little clearer.
(The corrective force of fate... is weakening.)
Revival hadn't returned yet.
But something was definitely changing.
Was it because he hadn't shouldered it alone—because he'd trusted his friends?
"[whispers]...Let's go."
Satoru dropped to the ground on all fours.
Cold snow touched his face.
He plunged headfirst into the ventilation shaft.
The cool scent of earth and coal filled his nose.
"[excited]Alright, let's go!!"
Kenta's shout echoed through the narrow tunnel behind him.
——
Pitch black.
He crawled forward.
On his elbows and knees, inching forward bit by bit. The concrete walls were cold and hard.
The smell of earth and coal was much stronger than before.
(Should I thank Kenta?)
The thought crossed his mind.
Last night, he'd sobbed in the blizzard forest.
And yet, since this morning, Kenta had been acting like he didn't care at all.
Was he hiding his embarrassment?
Did he genuinely not care?
He didn't know.
But—that straightforwardness pierced his heart all the more.
"[grumpy]Tight, tight, tight!!"
Kenta's voice from behind.
"[grumpy]My shoulders are getting stuck! What's with this hole?! Dig it wider, you old-timers!"
"[cold]Don't complain to Meiji-era miners."
"[angry]But it's tight!!"
"[laughing]...Haha."
Before he knew it, he was laughing.
(Why—can I laugh right now?)
He surprised himself.
Michi still hadn't been found. The culprit was unknown. He couldn't even use Revival.
And yet—he was laughing.
When he was alone, he'd never had the luxury to laugh.
(I can laugh... because I have friends.)
For the first time, he realized it.
The moment when a man who'd shouldered everything alone for twenty-nine years, crawling on all fours in an eleven-year-old body, truly understood what "
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