In search of a lead on Shiki’s parents, Kabane and the others head to his hometown of Kinshigo, where they meet up with his uncle, Akio Tademaru. The others don’t know what to say to Shiki when he learns about his parents, but then Nobimaru turns up.
When a series of animal bodies that rot away after a single night begin appearing in a remote mountain village, Inugami, a detective from Tokyo who specializes in the occult, is called to investigate.
While working the case, he befriends a strange boy who works in the field every day instead of going to school. Shunned by his peers and nicknamed “Dorotabo” after a yokai that lives in the mud, he helps Inugami uncover the truth behind the killings — but supernatural forces are at work, and while Dorotabo is just a nickname, it might not be the only thing about the boy that isn’t human.
