Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 139--A Loud Laugh (Saitou bursts through the door.) Sanosuke: Saitou! (He strikes Shishio’s forehead with the Gatotsu.) Houji: Lord Shishio! (Yumi screams. Shishio grins and slashes across Saitou’s legs, reopening his wounds.) Saitou (falling back): Dammit . . . . Shishio: Just as I said. You were close to us, so I expected a surprised attack. (He pulls away a bandage, revealing a steel band around his forehead.) Saitou (thinking): A skullband . . . ! Shishio: It was an unexpected blow to the forehead that knocked me out before I was thrown on the fire. So I’ve made sure I won’t make the same mistake twice. You didn’t do your homework, Saitou Hajime. You wasted your one slim chance to bring me down. Usui must have given you those wounds. It’s impressive that you could still use the Gatotsu, but you’ve done it for the last time. (He raises his sword.) Saitou: No sooner do you say that than you let down your guard again? Fool! You’re the one who hasn’t done your homework! Zero-shiki! (Shishio dodges to one side and drives his fingers into Saitou’s shoulder.) Shishio: You call this carelessness? I call it confidence. (Saitou coughs blood.) Shishio: The Gatotsu performed at ground zero. Not bad for a government dog. (He ignites his glove.) You’re different from Battosai. You meant to kill me. So in my new age only your name will remain! (His glove explodes; Saitou falls back in flames.) Sanosuke: You bastard! (He strikes Shishio’s face with the Futae no Kiwami. Shishio only smiles.) Shishio: No matter how great your strength, I’ll match it, so bring it on! (He punches Sanosuke, throwing him back against a wall.) Sanosuke (slumped over): Shit . . . Shishio: You are shit. (Looking over the bodies of his enemies, Shishio laughs in triumph.) Houji (thinking): Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Even greater than I had imagined! We won’t have to wait ten years--with Lord Shishio nothing is impossible! Yumi: Finish them, Lord Shishio! These guys are as stubborn as cockroaches! Hurry up and finish them! Shishio: Don’t rush me. It’s been so long since I fought myself. Let me savor the afterglow of victory a little longer. (From the door): No . . . it’s still too soon for a finishing blow or the flush of victory. (Aoshi stands at the door, swords out.) Shishio: Oops. It completely slipped my mind. There’s still one whipped dog left. Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 6 april 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 140--Not Yet Gone to One’s Fate Shishio: Now what would a whipped dog be doing here all by himself? Houji: . . . A whipped dog. Yes, as Lord Shishio says. Shinomori Aoshi! You’ve already lost to Himura! Your time to fight is over! How dare you show your face here! Get out! Aoshi: It is as you say, Houji. If you call me a whipped dog, I cannot deny it. But Battousai accepted a challenge from this whipped dog without trying to get out of it, and lost strength by taking unnecessary wounds. This, too, is truth I cannot deny. Shishio: So this is how you repay him. Houji: Ridiculous! Even at his peak, Battousai was pitiful compared to Lord Shishio! The outcome would have been no different! Shishio: Let it go, Houji. Houji: Lord Shishio! Shishio: I haven’t fought in such a long time. Let’s leave no doubts about who is the strongest. Now that I’ve beaten Himura and the others, it’s me. Care to defeat me and lay that honor before the Oniwabanshuu? (Aoshi blurs into the Kaiten Kenbu.) Shishio: So our alliance dissolves . . . (charging) Let’s do it! (Aoshi circles) Shishio: You’re too slow. I can see your every move. (Aoshi attacks, but Shishio traps both kodachi with his sword.) Houji: Yes! Even with two swords, Aoshi can’t meet Lord Shishio’s ruthless attack! A defensive, one-sided battle! (Aoshi frees his swords and backflips over Shishio, leaving him facing the corner.) Yumi: He’s trapped from behind! (No one moves.) Shishio: What’s wrong? (spreading his arms) Your enemy is trapped in a corner. You stand at his back. You have a good chance at winning. Why are you just standing there? You can’t attack? Or, you don’t want to? (Aoshi raises his swords.) Yumi: That technique! Oniwabanshuu Two Kodachi-style Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren! Shishio: Too slow! (He strikes Aoshi’s wrist with his elbow, causing him to drop the sword.) Shishio: The Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren is six instantaneous attacks from both sides. Hardly what you just did. As I thought, the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki has cost you your strength. There’s only one thing left you can do--play for time! (He strikes him with a flaming sword; Aoshi goes down.) Shishio: Pathetic. That a man who once commanded pure mindless violence should be reduced to playing for time. But it doesn’t matter how long you spin this out. Battousai isn’t getting back up. This is meaningless. (Aoshi gets to his knees.) Shishio: Shinomori Aoshi . . . You have narrower aims than Himura, but you both wield your swords for others. You’re the same as him. When you were asked black or white, in the end you chose white. When you met me, who chose black without a second thought, you had already gone to meet your destiny. Aoshi: I don’t know if you can call Battousai and I the same, but I know one thing. I cannot think him weaker than you. (Behind Aoshi, Kenshin suddenly rises, his eyes still rolled back in his head.) Houji: It’s all right, Lord Shishio! Himura still hasn’t regained consciousness! Hurry, give him the final blow! With that blow the entire nation falls into our hands! (Kenshin’s eyes snap into focus, with a deathly stare that knocks Houji off his feet.) Aoshi: The time to fight is now . . . We are all gathered at this place. We have not yet gone to meet our fate! (Saitou and Sanosuke, too, are beginning to regain consciousness.) Shishio: The second bout of the final battle . . . Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 6 april 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 141--Flame of a Double-Edged Sword (Leaves drift over the battlefield as Kenshin stands at the ready.) Houji (thinking): He . . . he stood up. No . . . calm down, all he’s doing is standing. It’s highly doubtful he still has the strength to use the succession technique Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki. The burns of the Homura Dana and the explosion of the Guren Kaina . . . it’s obvious he won’t survive. Lord Shishio is too strong for him . . . And yet . . . this chill! this unease! this fear! (Kenshin roars, sending out a blast of ki that snaps leaves in midair and knocks Houji and Yumi back.) Houji (thinking): Formidable! Himura Battousai surpasses everything I know! I cannot think that Lord Shishio would lose! And yet . . . (Saitou and Sanosuke, too, have gained consciousness.) Sanosuke: Why didn’t . . . you get up before this? You had me worried . . . (He looks down at his right hand, which is twisted and bloodied.) Sanosuke (thinking): So this is what died. (aloud) He said, before the fight, not to interfere . . . and in the end he was the one we had to rely on. Kenshin: Let’s do it! Shishio: What refreshing sword-ki . . . Yes. From an opponent I can face with all of my strength. Something I had never before experienced. Let us see if you can heat up even further my white-hot flesh! (Kenshin strikes, Shishio blocks; the battle begins.) (Yumi gasps, clutching the watch; it reads 5:16.) Yumi (clutching at Houji's coat): He can’t! You have to stop them! It’s been more than fifteen minutes! It’s too dangerous to fight any more! Houji (slowly): What? Yumi: Did you forget? Lord Shishio’s entire body was burned. He can’t regulate his body temperature by sweating. His temperature is higher than anyone should be able to withstand! The doctor said he can only do anything strenuous for fifteen minutes! If this goes on and his temperature continues to rise, I don’t know what will happen! (Kenshin and Shishio fly at each other in a storm of blades and flames.) Yumi: Stop them! Houji (thinking): So that’s why he built up this organization and the Ten Swords, even though he’s so strong, to act as his arms and legs . . . Yumi: Hurry! (Houji throws open his coat, revealing the gun at his side. Then, with a broad gesture, he throws it over the side of the enclosure.) Houji: It’s faith, Yumi. We were chosen by Lord Shishio as his subjects. It is a subject’s natural duty to have faith in his master. This steam engine burns coal and uses steam to move. Heat is the key to generating power. Lord Shishio’s explosive power and excessive body heat mean that the hotter it gets, the stronger he becomes! Yumi: But . . . even his body has limits . . . Houji: What limits?! If Himura can surpass then, you think that Lord Shishio cannot? (At that moment Shishio’s hand closes around Kenshin’s throat. He lifts him off the ground.) Shishio: Not yet. I’m still not finished with you. If I couldn’t hurt you anymore, you couldn’t get any stronger. Shall I help you once again? Would you like to try dying again? By my Guren Kaina! (Just as he strikes the tip of his sword against his glove to ignite it, Kenshin drives the hilt of his own sword down on his elbow.) Fifteen minutes since the final battle began, (Shishio is forced to release his grip; Kenshin leaps away.) For two swordsmen, who lived through the same Bakumatsu to see two different Meijis, (Shishio is caught in the force of his own explosion.) The time has finally come for the decisive battle. Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 14 april 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 142--The Final Situation (Shishio takes the full force of the explosion.) Yumi: Lord Shishio!! (Kenshin leaps into the air.) Hiten Mitsurugi-- Houji (thinking): I have faith! No matter what Battousai tries, it can't finish Lord Shishio! It can’t destroy him! (aloud) Lord Shishio! Ryuutsui! Shousen! (Kenshin strikes downwards and upwards in quick succession.) Sanosuke: A double attack! Saitou: Fool. He won’t let this chance slip by. Aoshi: He’s still going. Ryuukansen Kogarashi! Tsumuji! Arashi! (He strikes across left, across right, and down, ending in a crouch.) Sanosuke: A five-part attack! Shishio (regaining his balance): Is that all you have? (He ignites his sword and catches Kenshin across the chest.) Houji: He got him! Homura Dama! (Kenshin catches some of Shishio’s dangling bandages.) Houji: It didn’t have any effect! Yumi: Even the Homura Dama that burns at the same time . . . Kenshin: The pain of wounds can be overcome with determination and preparation. For those who leave themselves to the fight, it is second nature. But the age you want, forcing pain on the weak who are doing their best to live--as long as there’s breath in my body, I will not allow this to happen! Hiten Mitsurugi Kuzuryuusen! (The attack throws Shishio back into a corner of the battleground.) Houji (thinking): It’s not true that it had no effect. After taking blow after blow from Lord Shishio, he must be close to death. But to save the weak and powerless of his country, this man has borne the Homura Dama and returned the Guren Kaina. He knocked down the invincible Lord Shishio . . . Lord Shishio once compared defeating this man to taking over the country. That was no mistake. He didn’t try to defeat Himura Battousai--no, Himura Kenshin--to take Japan. Defeating him and taking Japan is the same thing! (An explosion seems to rock the grounds. The flames from the smokestacks roar and blaze.) Sanosuke: What the hell?! Houji: The flames--the flames are raging! Aoshi: Shishio’s sword-ki responds in kind to Battousai’s . . . Saitou: You think they’re the same? These flames are far beyond a few leaves. Shishio: So we’ve reached the end. Let’s do it. Yumi (looking hopeful): Lord Shi-- (Shishio rises up, a grim look on his face.) Shishio: The final secret sword. Kagu Tsuchi. (Kenshin, breathing hard and covered in sweat, returns his stare.) Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 9 may 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 143--The Third Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki The final secret sword--Kagu Tsuchi. (Houji glances at Yumi, who shakes her head.) Houji (thinking): Something even Yumi doesn’t know--truly a secret sword! Probably Lord Shishio’s greatest technique . . . Sanosuke (thinking along similar lines): Kenshin hasn’t used his greatest technique yet either! the Hiten Mitsurugi succession technique Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki! Aoshi (thinking): But after all he’s been through, does he really have the strength to use it? Saitou (thinking): Whatever happens, this could be the final attack. (Kenshin gets to his feet and slowly sheathes his sword.) Yumi (thinking): Battou-jutsu stance! Then he is going to use the Amakakeru-- Houji (thinking): Don’t lose your head! With those wounds, even if he takes the stance, it doesn't mean he can use the technique! And even if he can, thanks to Soujirou the secret’s out! The Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki hinges upon the left foot! Right or left . . . it’s the difference of an instant, but Lord Shishio won't let that instant slip! Shishio: It’s been a good fight. I haven’t had this much fun since the Bakumatsu. But I have a country to conquer. I don’t have time to play with you any more. Kenshin: Though I can’t say I’ve enjoyed this, your skills are truly admirable. But, Shishio, if you speak of time, it ran out for hitokiri like you and I long ago. Shishio: It isn’t over yet. Not as long as I hold the Mugenjin. Kenshin: It ended the moment I took up the reverse blade . . . (He pushes his sword out from the sheath.) Kenshin: En guarde. (They charge.) Houji (thinking): Right? Left? (Kenshin takes the fatal step.) Shishio (thinking): Left! Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki! (Shishio blocks the first strike, trapping Kenshin’s sword.) Sanosuke (thinking): He stopped it! (Shishio wrests his sword away.) Yumi (thinking): He blocked! Houji (thinking): He broke the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki! (Shishio scrapes the full length of his sword along his scabbard.) Houji (thinking): From base to tip, he unleashes the full burning force of the Mugenjin! The final secret sword Kagu Tsuchi! (Shishio raises his sword as a tornado of flames rage about it.) (Shishio slips, his feet starting to slide out from under him.) Shishio (thinking): What--what the--I’m being pulled in towards Battousai? No--towards the space in front of him! The sheer force of the attack that split the air created a time lag, and now it's drawing matter back in on itself! (He loses his balance.) The succession technique Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki is the ultimate-godspeed battou-jutsu! And all Hiten Mitsurugi battou-jutsu are two-step attacks that leave no opening! (Kenshin smashes Shishio in the ribs.) Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 9 may 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 144--Yumi--Forms of Love (In front of the wreckage of the Aoiya, Omasu hands Kaoru a cup of tea.) Omasu: Here you are, Kaoru. Kaoru: Oh--thank you. Misao (climbing to the top of the smashed roof): They really wrecked the place. Okina (similarly perched): Ah, this is nothing compared to what happened in the Boshin War. Omasu: Will you two get down from there! (You’re hurt!) (Kaoru broods over her tea.) Hiko (sipping sake): You worried about him? Don’t be. The Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki I taught him can’t fail. When you avoid the fangs of the dragon that soars the heavens, a fierce wind steals the freedom of your body and it pierces you with its claws. That is, if you do it exactly right. (I didn’t bother to tell him that much!) Kaoru: . . . I understand. It’s all right. I believe in him. Misao: But you still can’t help worrying about him. (sighing) I know. When I think of Lord Aoshi . . . Yahiko: I still don’t know what you see in that gloomy guy. (Misao demon-bird kicks Yahiko.) Okina (tears streaming down his cheeks): Love is different for everyone, Yahiko. Among a hundred different people there would be a hundred different forms of love. (Yahiko: What’re you crying for, old man?) Okina: There is no one form of love. (Yahiko: Aren’t you embarrassed to talk like that, old man?) (Back at the battlegrounds.) Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki! (Kenshin’s attack throws Shishio’s body high into the air.) Sanosuke: That’s settled it. The Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki . . . (Shishio lands on his feet, but chokes and has to sink to the ground.) Saitou: He’s feeling it . . . Aoshi (thinking): The attack pulled together the first step, the drawing of the sword, the centrifugal force of swinging the body, the second step, and the advantage gained by splitting the air in front of him. The second Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki concentrates all these forces; it's much greater than the attack I took. (Shishio shudders, then retches violently, throwing back his head in pain.) Sanosuke, Saitou, Aoshi: (thinking): Something's changed . . . !! Yumi (thinking): His limits . . . . Houji: Wait, Yumi! (She throws her body between Shishio and Kenshin.) Yumi: Stop! He can’t anymore! Because of his burns he can’t fight for more than fifteen minutes. Look at his body. He's had enough. Don’t hurt him any further! Please . . . (Kenshin lowers his sword.) Shishio: You’re soft, Battousai. The fight’s still on. (He drives his sword through Yumi’s body to stab Kenshin in the stomach. Kenshin’s collapse is reflected in Yumi’s eyes as she falls back against Shishio, bleeding profusely.) Kenshin: Shi . . . Shishio . . you bastard, you’d go so far . . . you'd betray the woman who loves you just to win? Shishio: Betray her? That’s what you’d call it . . . She understands me better than anyone. And I understand her better than anyone else could Yumi (tears dripping down her cheeks): I’m so happy . . . For the first time, I was useful in a fight . . . I helped Lord Shishio in the most important fight of his life. I was always so jealous of Sou and Kamatari . . . For Lord Shishio, the fight is everything . . . and all I could do was take care of his body. It was always at the back of my mind . . . but this time was different. (turning to him) Please win, Lord Shishio . . . I’ll be waiting a few steps ahead on the road to hell . . . (Her body goes limp.) Houji: Komagata Yumi . . . a woman never blessed in life. But in the end, she found happiness . . . Kenshin (pounding the ground with his fist): Don’t give me that bullshit! Where’s the happiness in death? If she’d lived she might have had more--it could have been different-- (The wound reopens, and he goes down again.) Shishio: But it is time to speak of death. Yours and mine. The one who gets up and deliver the next attack, the one who survives, will be the victor! Kaoru (looking up and thinking): Kenshin! Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 9 may 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 145--Conclusion--the One to Decide the Age Attack follows attack in this quintessential fight to the death. The battle on which the destiny of the next age is staked now approaches the end. Not a clash of strength or an exchange of blows, the one who ends this will be the one who narrowly escapes with his life--And in the end, the one to decide the age is-- (Both Shishio and Kenshin are hunched over, shaking and out of breath. As Shishio struggles to pull himself together, steam begins to rise from his body.) Aoshi (thinking): Red steam? Houji (thinking): Blood--his blood is boiling! Lord Shishio’s temperature is rising even higher--it’s exceeding the coagulating point of blood. Lord Shishio is finally surpassing his limits! (Shishio slowly gets to his feet; the smokestacks flare again.) Saitou (thinking): Even now, this sword-ki . . . As I thought, in this fight Shishio Makoto holds the upper hand! Sanosuke: Kenshin!! Kenshin (thinking): My entire body is exhausted . . . And I’m losing a lot of blood . . . I’ve felt death near many times, but this is the first . . . this is true death. But Shishio’s lost almost all of his strength as well. How many years later will he recover? Even if he comes back again, the ones who will bear the next age should be able to stop him. So the mission entrusted to me . . . will end here. To protect this country . . . to protect this city. And . . . Kenshin . . . If you sacrifice yourself now, a girl who came all the way from Tokyo just to see you will be very unhappy. (Shishio, screaming and foaming at the mouth, raises his sword for the final blow.) Let’s go home to Tokyo together, okay? Let’s go home . . . (Kenshin wrests himself upright to meet Shishio’s charge.) Kenshin: I can’t die! There’s no reason for me to die here! There’s still someone waiting for me to come back! Nothing . . . nothing is stronger than the will to live! Shishio: No. Nothing is stronger than I! In this world, the flesh of the weak is the food of the strong. The strong live, the weak die. I am the one who should survive! Houji: Lord Shishio has at long last surpassed all human limitations! (Shishio’s entire body suddenly erupts into a pillar of flame.) Houji (sinking to his knees in disbelief): Lord . . . Shishio? Aoshi: Spontaneous combustion . . . He passed his limits . . . His temperature ignites his own body. The violence that came forth from the flames of the Bakumatsu is once again enveloped in flame as it returns to hell . . . (The fire envelopes Yumi’s body as well. From within the pillar of flame, mad laughter can be heard. Gradually the flames die down.) Houji (beating his fists against the ground) I cannot accept this! I cannot accept it! Lord Shishio was winning! Saitou: No. In this fight the winner was the survivor. The strong live, the weak die. Just as he said . . . (Kenshin picks up Yumi’s broken watch.) Aoshi: The flow of time that connects the past to the present . . . it could not allow Shishio’s victory and became Battousai’s ally. Time . . . chose the one who should live . . . Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 28 april 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 146--Houji’s Devotion A devil wrapped in flame, Shishio disappeared into the fire laughing. What was the meaning of that last laugh? No one undestood . . . And so-- (They stand staring at the blackened stones.) Sanosuke: Not a trace left . . . He really just burned away. (looking at Kenshin) You won. Kenshin (bowing his head): No . . . (Houji falls to his knees.) Houji: He didn’t lose! He did not lose! Lord Shishio cannot lose! (Screaming, he runs from the platform.) Aoshi: He’s gone mad . . . (Yumi’s watch drops to the floor as Kenshin collapses.) Sanosuke: Kenshin! (The heavy iron doors creak shut.) Sanosuke (pounding on the door): Dammit! That pointy-eyed bastard! It won’t open! Even if I could use the Futae no Kiwami, they’re too thick-- Aoshi (remembering Shishio’s words to him): After the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki, your attacking power is nil. (aloud) Damn him . . . Sanosuke: If we don’t get out of here quick Kenshin’ll-- Saitou: Stand aside. (He assumes Gatotsu stance.) Aoshi: The Gatotsu . . . Sanosuke: Wait a minute--you’re hurt too-- (Saitou punches through the doors.) Saitou (even though his wounds are bleeding again): I’ve gotten through more of these situations than you. Sanosuke (Kenshin slung over his shoulder): Let’s get out of here! (They start across the walkway, but the entire structure suddenly shakes. One of the chimneys bursts and falls over.) Sanosuke: The battlefield--it’s exploding! (Houji is down in the boiler room chopping at pipes with an axe.) Houji: Ha ha ha! Die, die! Everybody dies! If everyone dies no one wins, and Lord Shishio is invincible! Only Lord Shishio will forever be unbeaten! (A huge section of the walkway falls, leaving Saitou stranded on the far side.) Sanosuke: Sa--saitou! Saitou: How annoying . . . (He calmly lights a cigarette.) Sanosuke: You bastard, trying to run out again while you’re ahead? What about our fight, huh? Answer me, Saitou! Saitou: I just got through telling you. I’ve gotten through more of these situations than you. Idiot. (He turns and walks back towards the battlefield.) Sanosuke: Saitou!! (Houji screams with laughter as Shishio’s headquarters is consumed in flame.) (Later. Houji comes to, on his back in a grassy field.) Anji: So you’re awake. Houji: Anji . . . you saved me . . . (in tears) Why did you save me? Why didn’t you let me die with Lord Shishio! (Soujirou stands behind him watching the smoke rise in the distance.) Soujirou: So Mr. Shishio is dead. Along with Miss Yumi . . . (He closes his eyes.) Soujirou: Well, I’ll take my leave of you now. Anji: Where are you going? Soujirou: I don’t know. But I’m going to find out the truth for myself. (He smiles as he walks away.) Anji: I will turn myself in to atone for my crimes. (to Houji) What will you do? If you still wish to die, I cannot stop you, but . . . Houji: I’ll turn myself in as well. But not to atone. At the trial I’ll tell everyone about the battle! I’ll warn those government idiots about the need for policy in which the strong rule! For Lord Shishio . . . and for the nation! (Sanosuke, Kenshin and Aoshi have gotten out safely; they too watch the flames.) Sanosuke: Damn him! He couldn’t die if you killed him, and he goes and kicks off at the last minute! That bastard . . . Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last updated 7 may 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 147--the Kyoto Story Epilogue 1 The End of the Ten Swords (Beginning) A month after the battle with Shishio--The heavy rains have passed; it is early summer. And now--- (Kenshin dresses and puts on his sword; coming downstairs, he bumps into Kaoru.) Kaoru: Kenshin! Are you sure it’s all right for you to be up? Kenshin: Yes. It’s all right. I’m well. (Downstairs everyone is celebrating wildy. A banner reads "Thirty-first celebration of the defeat of the Shishio faction! We’ll defend Kyoto to the death! Well done!") Kenshin: Anyway, with all this noise downstairs I couldn’t sleep anyway. Kaoru: You can say that again . . . Sanosuke (trying to eat): Dammit, I can’t use chopsticks with my left hand! (Okina wails a song into a spoon labeled "mic.") Yahiko (clutching a jug of sake): I’m dizzy . . . Omasu (to Sae): I’m really very sorry about all this. Sae: No worries! Misao: WHERE’S LORD AOSHI??? It will be another week before repairs on the Aoiya are finished. For now, Sae is letting us stay at the Shirobeko. Sae: You could say it’s more like moving in than staying! Yahiko: You don’t have to look so happy about it. Kenshin: Miss Megumi. Thank you for treating me. Megumi: Not at all. But you’ll still have to be careful. When Megumi heard how badly Kenshin was hurt, she rushed down. On that day, the sun had set and the moon was in the eastern sky when Kenshin and the others returned. He was on the verge of death. No matter how I called, he wouldn’t open his eyes. But now-- Kenshin: Miss Sae, I’m sorry, could I trouble you for a cup of tea? Sae: Coming right up. (The party jumps on Kenshin.) Okina: Oh, Himura, you’re finally up! Give us a tune! Misao (bowling them all over): I said, where’s Lord Aoshi?!! (Please tell me!) Okina: Aoshi? He’s at the temple. Misao: What, again? Since he got better he hasn’t gone anywhere else! Okina: He’s had a lot to think about since he got back. Leave him alone for a while. Misao: Do I have to! Kenshin: It’s for his sake. (Chou approaches the Shirobeko, toying with a sword.) Chou: This is it . . . the restaurant they’ve all gathered at. (Kenshin and Sanosuke instantly realize something is wrong.) Kenshin: Sano! Sanosuke: Right! (They dash out front to confront him.) Chou (looking hurt): Man . . . here I thought I’d make a big entrance and pop ya one before you realized. You really are no fun. Sanosuke: Haven’t the cops caught you yet? (They move inside; Chou gets his food.) Everyone: A police officer?? Kenshin: You? Misao: He’s lying! Chou: Actually, I’m more undercover. Kenshin: . . . So you changed sides. Chou: They said if I did they’d let me off. Now that Lord Shishio’s dead I gotta live somehow. But this spy thing is just to pass the time. When I find something more fun, I’m outta here. Misao: You can’t! You can’t! Sanosuke: Someone shut the weasel-girl up. (She’s so loud.) So, what do you want, broom-head? Misao (being restrained by Kaoru): Don’t call me a weasel! (Everyone calls me that!) Chou: I see you’ve still got a big mouth, rooster-head. I came all this way to tell you what happened to the other six Ten Swords who were caught and see what thanks I get. (A pause.) Kenshin: Well. Tell us. Chou: Like me, they pretty much all agreed to work for the government in exchange for amnesty. The government’s making good use of their unusual abilities. Soaring Henya’s scouting the situation in Asia for the army from the air. Saitsuchi of the Destructive Army’s back to using his persuasive powers to argue tough foreign negotiations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And Fuji’s in Hokkaido laying the first railway line up there. Misao: And the cross-dresser? Kaoru: The one we fought . . . I think his name was Kamatari . . . Chou: Kamatari of the Great Scythe’s going into intelligence. He’s going to use his appearance to scout out advanced nations by studying abroad in a girls’ school. Or at least that’s the plan. Kaoru: That’s the plan? Chou: Yeah, he’s not healing so well. Yahiko (nudging Kaoru): So what happened to the sword that protects life, eh? Kaoru: I didn’t mean to-- Chou: No, he’s not actually hurt that bad. It’s more that he’s sick at heart. He took Lord Shishio’s death pretty hard. (flashback to Chou visiting Kamatari.) Kamatari: So Lord Shishio’s . . . then maybe I should die too. Chou: What kinda stupid talk is that. Kamatari: But living on now would just be boring. Chou: Look, you wanna die, you better hurry up and do it. But don’t think that’s what Lord Shishio would have wanted. Kamatari: What? Chou: You got to Kyoto late so maybe you missed it. The Ten Swords had one other important duty besides the assassinations. The Meiji government is never going to allow Lord Shishio to be recorded in the history books. We have the duty of keeping his legend alive for future generations. Kamatari: You’re joking . . . Chou: We from Kansai may joke around, but this is no lie. Lord Shishio trusted in us. He'll be my best storyteller, he said, and he smiled. Kamatari: A storyteller . . . now that Yumi’s died and Sou left . . . this is something they can’t do . . . Kaoru: I feel a little better. Misao: This is so complicated. Okina: To think that Shishio Makoto could speak those kind words. Chou: What’re you talking about. I made the whole thing up. (Mass face-fault.) Chou: That’s what the Lord Shishio that lives inside Kamatari is like. If he believes it, he’ll live for that lie with all his heart. And if it keeps him alive, who cares if it’s a lie? Okina: . . . You’re right. Sanosuke: I don’t care about the rest of the Ten Swords, but what happened to that Anji guy? Cause there’s no way he’d agree to work for the government. Chou: Anji the Wrath of God? He was spared the maximum penalty by the plea for mercy, but he’s doing time by his own will. Twenty-five years in a prison in Hokkaido. Sanosuke: Twenty-five years . . . that’s a long time. Kenshin: And the other man? The one present at the fight with Shishio. Probably the most loyal of the Ten Swords . . . Chou: He’s dead. Houji of the Hundred Sense has left this world. Back to Home To Volume Seventeen To the Next Chapter translations by maigo-chan last update 9 may 1999 Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations Volume Seventeen--The One to Decide the Age Part 148--Kyoto Epilogue 2--The End of the Ten Swords (End) Kenshin: Dead? He . . . Chou: Yeah. After the last battle, Anji saved his life, and they both turned themselves in. He was waiting for the trial to justify his policy of "the strong live, the weak die" and clear Lord Shishio’s name. But he didn’t get anywhere. Nothing he said was made public. Kenshin: I see . . . whether in the Bakumatsu or the Meji era, Shishio is the dark shadow of the new age. His very existence can never be brought to light. Chou: That’s why Houji refused the government’s offer. "Forget Shishio and work for us. We’ll gurantee your safety for life." Under the spell of Lord Shishio’s charisma, Houji brought together an army and even purchased a battleship from an underground arms merchant. The government wants skill like that bad. They offered him some pretty sweet terms. They didn't care about his arguments or principles. All they wanted was power. Houji lost all hope. They couldn’t publicly try him for high treason. A country in an age that had lost all honor, an age so weak they have to ask an enemy to work for them . . . He slit his throat with a small dagger he had hidden. He used the last of his strength to write his last words in blood and died . . . With no regrets for this world, I go to join Lord Shishio in hell. (Everyone is silent. Finally--) Yahiko: Even though we won, it’s hard to say who was right. Chou: That’s the way of the world, kid. You’da thought at least Yumi would have come out on top. Kaoru: You say she died with Shishio Makoto . . . Chou: She told me about herself once when we were out drinking. She was once the best oiran in Shnyoshinara, so popular that even a high-ranking official couldn’t get near her. oiran--the highest rank of prostitute in the entertainment district. (flashback) Yumi (toying with the ice in her drink): The red-light district looks glamorous, but it’s a world of suffering. I went through a lot to become the best oiran. But life is having to choose, and I made my own choices. At least an oiran had honor. Until the Mary Ruth case. Kaoru: Mary Ruth? Misao: What’s that? Okina: In 1872 a Chinese coolie deserted from a Peruvian ship lying at anchor in Yokohama . . . When it became clear that the ship, the Mary Ruth, was a slave ship and that the coolie had been cruelly treated, the Meiji government liberated him at his trial, showing the world that it was a nation that respected human rights. Peru retorted that Japan had prostitutes living as slaves in the pleasure quarters. Faced with this contradiction, the government eventually stated that if prositutes were to be human beings whose freedom had been stolen, then one might as well say it was wrong to demand payment for cattle and release them. Issuing an emancipation proclamation in this spirit, so far strayed from the rest of humanity, would be just as logical. Yumi: You have to laugh. Slaves are human beings, but prostitutes are no better that horses or cows. We’ve fallen into this world of suffering and we’re doing our best to live our lives. But the Meiji governments says we’re not women. We’re bitches. Misao: WHAT?!! Yahiko: More and more . . .you can’t tell who was right. Chou: It’s the way of the world. But she was happy that she’d met Lord Shishio. Maybe that was the only thing . . . (He sets down his cup.) Chou: Well, this is getting dull. Time I got going. Oh, almost forgot. There’s still two of them out there they didn’t catch. They’ll never find Soujirou the Prodigy. He's probably drinking tea on some mountaintop about now. (out in a rustic town, Soujirou is eating dango in front of a tea shop.) Soujirou: I ought to be on my way, grandmother. Thank you. Tea Lady: Where are you headed? Soujirou: Where indeed. I don’t have any particular destination. I’ve decided to wander for ten years. Tea Lady: Ten years, now. Soujirou: There were two men--they walked the same road, but after ten years they discovered completely opposite truths. So I think if I wander for ten years, I’ll be able to find my own truth. But let me ask you, grandmother, where does this road go? Tea Lady: I’m not really sure, but it heads north. Soujirou: North. It’s getting warmer. North might be good. Chou: And Iwanbou’s so stupid he can’t do anything alone. He’s gone wild. Best to leave him alone. (Iwanbou sits alone on a cliff, laughing a goofy laugh that gradually grows more sinister.) (Chou is about to leave.) Kenshin: Chou. Chou: Hm? Kenshin: The man who committed suicide in prison. Shishio’s loyal follower. Would you tell me his name? Chou: It was Sadojima Houji. Kenshin: At the funeral of Sadojima Houji the patriot, tell his spirit that Shishio Makoto, Komagata Yumi, the rest of the Ten Swords . . . they are left nothing in the history books, but I keep them in my heart. Chou: Don’t know how happy he’ll be to hear that from his greatest enemy . . . but yeah. I’ll tell him. (He walks off.) Yahiko: Hey, Kenshin . . We won. Aren’t we the ones who’re right? Kenshin: If you think might makes right, you’re the same as Shishio Makoto. Which side was right is up to future generations. What we can do is believe in what we know ourselves to be true . . .and to fight for it. An age in which the strong live and the weak die, where the flesh of the weak is the food of the strong, is wrong. Very wrong. But contrary to Kenshin’s beliefs, many years later, the Meiji government itself implemented a policy of "rich country, strong army" and brought the nation into an era in which the strong ruled. Japan’s confusion soon turned to reckless force . . . (Houji finds himself in a landscape of heaped bones and skulls.) Houji (thinking): Is it a dream? A vision? A hallucination . . . (aloud) I . . I must have died. So where . . . Shishio (standing a little ways ahead of him with Yumi): This is hell. Houji: Lord Shishio!! Yumi: See, I told you if we waited a little Houji would come. Shishio: Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s get going. Houji: Going? Going where? Shishio: I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to overthrow the king of hell. Yumi: Usui should be coming this way too. This time we’ll all be on the same side, won’t we? Shishio: Hm. I’ll think about it. (Houji is still frozen in disbelief.) Shishio: What’s the matter, Houji. Didn’t I tell you you’d taste victory at my side? Houji: Yes! I’ll be right there! Shishio: In my fight with Battousai he had those who feared me to help him. Here there are only devils. It won’t happen this time. (As Houji hurries to catch up, Shishio bursts out laughing.) The One to Decide the Age--End Back to Home To Volume Seventeen translations by maigo-chan last updated 9 may 1999