As butterflies ominously multiply in town, rumors of a mysterious creature lurking in the tunnel behind the school spread among the children. When the body of Arie Kimura's mother is found at the entrance to this tunnel, next to what appear to be human traces, the legend seems confirmed. Is the end of the world approaching? To appease the beast's wrath, the children decide to offer it a sacrifice: the unfortunate Arie, whom they believe is the cause of the curse, is shoved into a well leading to the Nijigahara tunnel—an act that, in turn, pushes Komatsuzaki, the budding thug who has harbored a torch for Arie for some time, entirely over the edge. But this is only the beginning of the complex, challenging, and obliquely told Nijigahara Holograph, which unfolds across two separate timelines and involves the suicidal Suzuki; Higure, his stalker-like would-be girlfriend; their teacher Miss Sakaki, whose heavily bandaged face remains a mystery; and many others—brothers, sisters, parents, co-workers, teachers, aggressors, and victims who are all inextricably linked to one another and who will eventually, ten years later, have to live with what they have done or suffered through.