Tonari/Plot

Tonari's Past
Tonari lives rather normal life in a presumably wealthy family. Her dream is to surpass her father Erran G. Dalton. At seven years old, she wakes up and finds her mother dead. Her father gets condemned as a killer and is to be exiled. Tonari is faced with a decision between staying home as an orphan or following her father into exile. Tonari decides on the latter, as she believes in her father's innocence. They are sent to Jananda Island, where everyone is obsessed with the tournament which determines the leader of the island.

One day, Erran reveals to Tonari that he has decided to participate in the tournament. Despite Tonari's worry, he insists and promises her that he will not die. Erran wins the tournament, leaving Tonari in denial as she does not accept her father as a ruthless killer. On her next birthday, she discovers a book from her father as a birthday gift. Whilst reading the attached note, Erran falls down a nearby set of stairs. He tries to apologize, but dies before he was able to finish his sentence.

In the next few years, Tonari lives on her own and meets a few friends. They plan an escape, only to be struck by the reality that they aren't welcome in the outside world.

Meeting Fushi
Tonari is 14 year old when she sees Fushi at a port preparing to board the ship to Sarlnine. She is approached by a mysterious person who tells her that if she leads Fushi to Jananda, he will win the tournament and completely change Tonari and Jananda Island's fate. Intrigued in the opportunity, Tonari appears in front of Fushi and Pioran, guiding them to the ship to Jananda, explaining that the other one is full.

Upon Fushi's arrival in Jananda, he was inspected by a sailer who notices that his legs aren’t shackled and that he isn’t branded. Tonari appears again, apologizing to the man and stating that she'll bring Fushi back. Tonari grabs Fushi's hand and runs. Fushi questions Tonari about Pioran's whereabouts, to which she answers vaguely that "she's probably already taken care of". Tonari then proceeds to tell Fushi that "everyone who comes here eventually comes to smile", but without explaining any deeper meanings. Fushi frees himself from Tonari's grip and disappears into a crowd.

Arena Tournament
However, they unexpectedly reunite some time later, as Tonari and her friends find Fushi lying dead on the ground after failing to climb a tall wall. Fushi is able to revive himself, earning cheers from Tonari's group. Fushi asks them if they know a way to get to the other side of the wall, but none of them do. Tonari then explains that Jananda island is a place for criminals, and that even if he found Pioran, she won't be able to leave as long as she's marked. Seeing Fushi enraged, Tonari proceeds to sign him up for the arena tournament, assuring him that if he wins, he will be able to control the island. During the arena fight, Tonari is amazed by Fushi's ability to survive all of his opponent's attacks and realized that what the mysterious person said was true. After the fight, she finally introduces herself to Fushi.

Jananda's residents gather around Fushi, celebrating his victory. Tonari announces that she has finally found a proper lawgiver for the island. Fushi walks away in an effort to get rid of her, but Tonari and her group continue following him. While they walk around the city, Tonari explains that the island was once run by a different country, but after a while the population got too big and the prisoners themselves started managing the island, eventually becoming self-sufficient. While only the non-prisoners are allowed to leave the island for the main land, the prisoners work as farmers on the island. After Tonari mentions this, Fushi gets angry and asks why Pioran wasn’t released to work outside. Tonari hesitates to answer, but finally says that serious offenders have certain restrictions and that she heard rumors about her killing 10 people. She then explains that someone told her to bring him and Pioran to Jananda, but also that she doesn’t know that person. After that, Fushi decides to leave the group behind, calling them ‘not normal’ for still being able to smile in their situation. Upon hearing that, Tonari bursts into laughter.

The next morning, Tonari finds Fushi after he once again fails to climb the tall wall. She reminds Fushi of the second round of the tournament which is in two hours. The sailer asks to have a word with Tonari, telling her that the woman from Yanome has run off. They soon find out that this woman has slaughtered her opponents in the arena and intends to win the tournament. Tonari's group soon reunite with Fushi as he was captured and brought back by Ligard while in the form of a mole. Tonari urges Fushi to return to the arena and participate in the second round, where he will again be victorious, although still being hesitant to kill his opponent.

After the round, Tonari finds Fushi(in Parona's form) in grief next to a lake, having discovered Parona's death. She tries to invite Fushi to eat but gets rejected. She then starts complimenting Fushi's new body while leading her back to the populated area. Tonari attempts to persuade Fushi that some people are better off dead, such as the man that Fushi fought in the arena who has killed more than 50 people. She reveals to Fushi that she wants them to work together, but Fushi answers that she won't be controlled by anyone and requests Tonari to leave. Tonari puts on a sad expression, questioning how she can make Fushi like her. Fushi explains that she dislikes her because her actions resulted in Pioran being locked up, and that she chooses to believe in the Pioran she knows even if Tonari calls her a murderer. Reminded of her father and the unconditional trust she used to place in him, Tonari comes to understand Fushi's feelings and decides to cooperate with her to save Pioran. Before leaving to investigate, she reminds Fushi to smile when she's sad.

Battle against the Nokker
Fushi wins the third round of the tournament against Nand. A crowd surrounds Fushi, criticizing him for his inability to kill his opponents. Tonari tries to defend Fushi, only to get punched in the face. The chaos quickly escalate as Tonari's friends join the fight to protect her. Tonari hears a rumbling sound, following which is Fushi's(in Gugu's form) body being punctured by a stone-sealed Nokker. The Nokker rises from the ground in the stolen form of Oniguma. Amazed by the giant creature, Tonari asks Fushi what it is and whether he summoned it. Fushi explains that the Nokker is coming for him, and warns Tonari not to follow as he leaves to fight the creature.

Fushi fights the Nokker, but it soon becomes clear that the Nokker has an advantage. Just as Fushi is about to be struck by another lethal blow, Tonari's friends throw an object at the Nokker's back, distracting it for a brief moment and enabling Tonari to drag Fushi away. Tonari learns from Fushi the name of the creature. She then nearly falls down a crack in the ground, but was saved by Fushi. Ultimately, Fushi, Tonari's group alongside other Jananda residents are able to defeat the Nokker using explosive arrows. After the fight, Tonari is somewhat surprised when she hears Fushi saying "thanks" to her. She then goes to celebrate the victory with her group.

Tonari's group, Fushi, and Nand sit down to chat. Tonari learns more of the Nokkers, Fushi's forms and his will. The group starts to share their dreams. When questioned, Tonari states that her dream now is to "surprise her father".

Return of Hayase
At the final round of the tournament, to everyone's surprise, Hayase turns out to be the other finalist and is able to defeat Fushi using the Western Morning Glory. Even more shocking is Hayase's announcement that she will be taking care of Fushi.

A while later, Tonari and her friends arrive at Hayase's estate in search of Fushi. They are met by Hayase who tells them that Fushi is headed to a deep underground room which nobody will find. Frustrated, the group prepares to leave, but runs into Captain Skyfish. As they discuss a plan to leave the island with Fushi and Pioran, Hayase's guards quickly surround them. Hayase gives the group ten seconds to choose between returning quietly or facing death. However, the group has no intention of backing down. As the countdown is about to finish, Hayase is caught off guard by Fushi, putting a knife against her neck and offering a deal: In exchange for him staying with Hayase, let everyone else take the ship and leave. Hayase agrees.

With Fushi's sacrifice, Tonari is now able to leave the island. Tonari decides that her friends, Pioran, and children under the age of 7 will be the ones to leave with her, as she believes that children should be given a chance to define their own lives. However, as Tonari's group says goodbye to Fushi, they are captured by Hayase's guards. When they wake up, they find themselves locked up on Captain Skyfish's ship which has already departed from the island. Fortunately, with the assistance of the sailor, Ligard, and Captain Skyfish, Tonari is able to get off the ship. With the goal of saving Fushi in mind, she sets out on her own journey back to Jananda Island alongside Ligard.

Reunion with Fushi
Tonari returns to the hole where Fushi was trapped, only to realize that Fushi has managed to get out on his own. After reuniting, they once again set sail to leave the island. At night, they sit down by a campfire inside a cave and start to chat. Tonari learns more about the goals of the Nokkers and Fushi's creator. When on the topic of gods and demons, Tonari confesses that her father's laughter after his victory in the tournament has made her understand that he and every other prisoner on the island were "murderous scums who are better off dead", and that the way she has lived her life isn't much different from theirs. Fushi tries to comfort her by saying that even if their parents are demons, they still will live exactly how they want to. That night, Tonari dreams of returning home and sharing her newest work with her parents, after which she comes to the painful realization that it is time to move on. The next morning, she and Fushi set sail to continue their journey.

Return of the Nokkers
Stopping at land, Fushi tells Tonari that he is worried about the islanders after hearing news about another Nokker attack. Tonari protests, arguing that everyone worth saving has been saved. However, Fushi ignores and runs off alone. Fushi finds a large amount of Jananda residents whose bodies have been taken over by Nokkers. He kills one of the residents, but letting the Nokker escape. Tonari, who has followed Fushi, appears and finishes off the Nokker with a small knife. A Nokker-controlled man tries to attack her from behind but gets hit with a chair. As it turns out, the ones who threw the chair are Tonari's friends who also returned to the island to assist Tonari. The group starts to fight the Nokkers, hoping to eliminate them all before sunset. They manage to kill a few Nokkers before Oopa trips on a Nokker and has her body taken over. Mia tries to help Oopa up, but is pierced in the chest.

The group runs away, while Fushi carries the unconscious Mia to a safe spot. As they look after Mia, the Nokker-controlled Oopa appears again. Tonari begs Fushi not to kill Oopa, but Fushi responds that she is already dead. Having returned to consciousness, Mia asks Tonari why she's crying and tells her that life is better spent smiling instead. Heartbroken, Tonari apologizes furiously. The remaining four are forced to run when they see Parona's form robbed from Fushi as she struggled to finish off Oopa. Noticing another Nokker rise out of the ground, Uroy decides to let Tonari and Sandel escape on their own, sacrificing himself. Sandel drags Tonari away to escape as she cries for her friends.