Where am I?
I'm falling from the sky.
Strange.
Why am I not afraid?
Are you worried about me?
Where am I?
Fluffy and warm, but I'm anxious inside.
I'm not afraid, but my heart is cold.
You can't.
But thank you.
Cocoon Dream of Falling from the Sky Old Home
Here you go!
Oh, my goodness.
Oh my, oh my!
Young Feathers must NOT enter!! - Reki
Almost there. Almost there.
There.
Oh, everyone's here already.
It's too far from town.
And Reki's scooter is a single-seater.
Young Feathers must NOT enter!! - Reki
Isn't this only gonna Provoke them?
COCOON HATCHING AREA!! KEEP OUT!!
Really, you saw the sign to stay out, why can't you?
We want to see!
I said no.
Yes!
Yeah, let us see!
I knew it.
Hey!
If you don't get out, you'll get a smacking!
You're too soft on the kids, Reki.
So, think you can take time off work?
Of course.
This is a great event for us Haibane.
We can't miss it.
I can get time off, too.
But just for three days at most, starting tomorrow.
So, where's the star of this great event?
Wow!
It's huge!
This really is something.
You're late.
Didn't get the word in time.
It was hard to leave work, you know.
It started out about as big as a dandelion Puff, right?
I wish I could've seen it grow.
From now on, we'll have to make rounds more often.
If Reki wouldn't have accidentally found it...
it would've hatched without us knowing.
Come on!
There's no way the five of us can cover this ridiculously huge building.
Anyway, it would be hard to miss something this gigantic.
I guess.
The surface is turning charcoal grey.
It may hatch soon.
At any rate, why don't we at least clean up this room.
To be born into a room full of junk like this, is kind of sad.
There's really a Person inside there?
Yes.
Just as you and I were, Kuu...
all the Haibane are born like this.
Wow, a huge monster egg!
A monster!
What?! Still here!
A monster! A monster!
You are absolutely forbidden to come into this room!
Really, those curious brats!
She's the one who's been bubbling over this the most.
She's happy.
I'm excited, too. A new feather!
Kuu's excited, too!
I hope it'll be like getting a little sister.
Well, this cocoon is bigger than yours was, Kuu.
What?!
Come on, got to clean the room.
You're so mean!
Is this...
a dream?
I can breathe.
I think I'm still in a dream.
I can hear voices.
Let's quit it. This is clean enough.
There are people outside.
It's all clean now.
I'm so tired.
There.
OK then, shall we draw lots to decide turns for the watch?
Yeah!!
What a drag.
Why don't we just crack it open...
with a hammer or something lying around here.
How can you say that?!
We can't do that. It's a custom.
If you can't crack the shell by yourself, you won't grow strong.
So now we're baby chicks?
You can just sleep your turn away.
That defeats the purpose of having a watch!
Listen, it just went "blub".
Hear that?
ABSOLUTELY OFF-LIMITS!! COCOON HATCHING AREA
Still in the clouds?
I must be still in that strange dream.
What?
Where am I?
It feels rough.
But, everything felt fluffy in the dream.
Smells like nuts.
Ouch!
Oh, you're awake.
Sorry, we had to do some quick shopping.
You've been asleep for an entire day.
It was amazing.
See, I should've stayed here.
But you're the ring bearer.
Well, uh...
- How do you feel? - Are you hungry?
Do you want us to go get something from the store?
We were wondering when you'd wake up.
Hey! Stop talking all at once.
You'll confuse her.
OK.
Sorry for all this commotion.
I'm Reki.
This is my room, but it doubles as a guestroom...
so you can use it as you like.
You turned this guestroom into your own room, to be more precise.
That's why I'm moving my stuff out.
Well, let me explain everything from the beginning.
Is it OK if I smoke?
Ah, yes.
Now, first tell us about your dream.
My dream?
Yes, you had it, didn't you?
While you were sleeping in the cocoon.
Well, uh...
Oh, sorry.
Was it a frightening one?
No, it's OK.
Well, it was a dream about falling straight down...
from somewhere very high up.
Wow, just like mine.
What should we do? It'll overlap.
Mine was a dream about floating around in the air.
That's why my name is Kuu, which means "air."
Each Haibane is named after the dream she had in the cocoon.
I had a dream being surrounded by a sparkling light.
So I'm Hikari, meaning "light."
I was drifting in a river like a fish in my dream...
...so my name is Kana, which stands for "river fish."
This one here is a hard-core sleepy-head named Nemu...
which means "sleep," because she was sleeping even in her dream.
Do you want to be smacked?
What else? Did you see anything?
I think I saw something, but I can't remember.
Dropping... Falling...
Then we'll call you Rakka, as in "falling."
Your name is...
Rakka.
But my name...
What? My name?
Nobody knows who you were any longer.
Including yourself, of course.
Hikari.
Feather Rakka.
To be a guide for your future as a Haibane...
I give you this halo.
A Haibane?
Oh, be careful. It's still hot.
Oh, no!
Well, it looks good.
Don't worry, it will stick in a few days.
Oh, lunch break is over.
Oh, no. This isn't good.
I have to get back.
Introductions only for today, I guess.
We'll come again tomorrow when your wings have grown, so we can talk.
Reki, you can take it from here.
See you, Rakka.
Bye.
See you tomorrow.
Some peace and quiet, finally.
It's hard to explain things smoothly with a lot of people around.
Now then, where should we begin?
Well, uh, where am I?
And Haibane...?
Are those real?
Yours will grow soon, too.
Feeling uncomfortable in your back?
A little.
I thought I was sore from sleeping funny.
Let me see.
I'll go get some ice.
What?
Stay here.
I'm just going to get ready for it.
I'm sorry.
The wings seem to be growing faster than I'd assumed.
I was going to explain things before the fever broke out.
Are you in pain?
Not exactly, but it feels like being pulled.
Like a cramp.
It will sting when the wingtips break the skin...
and then you'll run a high fever, but it'll be gone after one night.
Mirror...
You'd better not. It'll hurt more if you see it.
I see.
Are we not human?
Nobody knows what we are.
For need of a name, we call ourselves the Haibane.
I want to go home.
A Haibane is not allowed to go outside of this town.
Besides, even if your family was somewhere in this world...
they wouldn't recognize you when they saw you now.
Why not?
As you cannot remember the world you used to be in...
nobody in this world remembers you.
That's the kind of world we are in.
Why me?
I'm sure I was nothing special. Just an ordinary girl.
I wonder.
Nobody remembers why.
It's started!
It hurts!
It hurts!!
It hurts!
Bite on this! So you won't bite your tongue!
My limbs are cold and heavy.
The wings on my back twitch...
every time pain shoots through my shoulders and sides.
I feel the wings becoming a part of my body.
I'm afraid that my body is being turned into something else.
Sweat's stinging my eyes.
I can't see anything.
Reki, are you there?
Yes.
What are you doing?
Cleaning your wings.
You've been doing that for a long time?
It takes time.
They'll get stained...
unless you get them completely free of blood and grease.
Is your hand alright?
Oh, this? It's nothing.
Just think about yourself for now.
OK.
My head is hot.
You'll feel better by tomorrow.
Like magic, you'll feel completely fine, OK?
OK.
Pretty wings.
Not white, not black, beautiful charcoal grey.
What is this?!
What's happening?
Hey, don't laugh!
Are you prone to static electricity?
I don't know! I can't remember.
Something's wrong with this ring!
What is this?
Probably.
They are real.
Reki, did you keep cleaning my wings, even after I fell asleep?
Oh, of course. They're clean now, aren't they?
Thank you.
You're welcome.
And welcome to Old Home.