Ruroni Kenshin Chapter #181 "A Gleam of Hope" Author: Nobuhiro Watsuki Publisher: Shueisha Pg 1. Sideline: With Tokyo, Yokohama and Kyoto involved, they'll all be forced into the frightening "jinchu"! Pg 2. Narrator: A long day ends- -Yokohama villa- Enishi: Nine more days to go... (With many digging tools and a box on his back, Gein returns from grave digging with what seems like a human head in his bucket) Gein: My, you're up early. Pg 3. Enishi: Gein san, why do you look like that so early this morning? Where'd you go? Gein: Well, since I didn't have enough supplies... I went to get them. I got my hands on some good stuff. If this is good enough, then I can have it finished one to two days earlier than planned. Enishi: That's great but we're in no rush. We'll attack in nine days right according to plan. Until then let Battosai worry and suffer. Pg 4. Enishi: You made my sister unhappy, you took her life and deprived me of her. SUFFER BATTOSAI. My sole delight is your mere suffering. Gein: (thinks) ... this man's unstoppable now... Pg 5. -Kamiya dojo- (Taking a bucket of water in his hands, Kenshin dumps it over his head) Kenshin: (thinks) nine days left... the fight can't be avoided... -but... (Kaoru approaches) Pg 6. Kaoru: Good morning Kenshin though it's already noon. Since there's quite a few people over, we'll be eating in the dojo. Kenshin: Oh... I've not been hungry the slightest since yesterday so- Megumi: No Ken san. Pg 7. Megumi: If you don't eat one bit, you're going to be killed in an instant. Kaoru: The washtowels are in the drawers so wipe your face and come right away, okay? Yahiko: (practices the hand exercise) FIVE THOUSAND!! Pg 8. Yahiko: (steaming with sweat) Alright! Now for the second half!! Kaoru: You've already finished the first half of the exercises? Yahiko: Yep! Kaoru: Wow. Alright, if you're that enthusiastic about it then I'll give you another seven thousand remaining. Yahiko: Alright!! Seven thousand!! (pissed) -hey, you gave me more!? Kaoru: (to Tsubame) C'mon. Let's eat. Tsubame: (thinks) Cruel... Kaoru san... Pg 9. Yahiko: (starts to exercise again) Grrr.. but you won't make me give up yet!! Kaoru: (sees Sano sleeping on the porch) Hey Sanosuke. Wake up. Time to eat! Look, wake up. Aren't you going to drink the miso-shiru I made? (Sano continues to sleep heavily) Megumi: Let me take care of him. (Megumi opens up Sano's mouth and pours in a big spoonful of Kaoru's miso-shiru. Sano spits it up violently ) Sano: [an enemy attack?] Who is it! The one who gave me the poison just now!! (Megumi looks away innocently with Kaoru pissed off at Sano for calling her miso-shiru "poison" ) Pg 10. (Kenshin appears at the fit, speechless ) Kaoru: (upset) Sanosuke!! Megumi san!! -in the dojo- Kaoru: Don't talk about it anymore! Sano: No- seriously, I was surprised considering that I'd been given aconite before... Pg 11. Yahiko: (starts to eat like crazy) Itadakima-su!! (finishes his bowl) More! (finishes another) More!! (finishes another) MORE!!! (finishes another) MO... Kaoru: (slams the soup lid into his face) CALM DOWN and eat. Tsubame: ... amazing. He's eating an aweful lot. Megumi: He usually has a good appettite. Yahiko kun doesn't need to worry about anything. Pg 12. Kenshin: (thinks) ... the usual noisy fuss. An unchanged aspect of life... Kaoru: (sees Kenshin with his food untouched) Kenshin? Kenshin: (continues to think) That's right... I musn't get caught up in the past. I have to fight now. I'll protect the present and fight for it. Pg 13. Yahiko: (throws up his bowl) More!! (Annoyed, Kaoru refills his bowl) Kenshin: (tells himself) Believe that there will definately be an answer for forgiveness... (he smiles and says) Kaoru, get me another bowl too. Kaoru: (smiles as she takes Kenshin's empty bowl) Okay. Yahiko: (holds up his bowl at the same moment) More!! Kaoru: (barks) Get a hold of yourself!! Pg 14. Sano: (rubs his tummy) Ha- that was one heck of a meal. I was hardly able to breathe these last few days. It feels like I've revived again. (Yahiko lays unable to move with his fat belly) Tsubame: ... so it's going to be in nine days... the fight... I wonder if there could be some way we could talk them out of it... Megumi: I understand how you feel but there's nothing we can do. Probably the only person that can stop Enishi Yukishiro is Tomoe who's already dead. He won't listen to anything besides Tomoe san's words. Kaoru: (ponders) Tomoe san's words... Kenshin! Pg 15. Kaoru: Tomoe san's... Where's Tomoe san's diary now!? (thinks) The proof Tomoe left behind about her true feelings. If we can get Enishi to understand that Tomoe never died hating Kenshin... then perhaps he might stop. Kenshin: ... after the battle at Toba-Fushimi when I was leaving Kyoto, I had the Temple, where she was buried, hang on to it. Kaoru: (thinks) Kyoto... what will we do? I can't leave Kenshin now and go by myself. Even if I count on someone else, Yahiko and Tsubame can't do it, Megumi has to take care of patients daily and Sanosuke has to stay here to help out when the fight starts... If there's someone I can count on, it's.... ! Pg 16. Narrator: Few days later in Kyoto- -New Aoiya- Misao: Um... thank you. I have one silly short story for you. What's the one phrase the traveling traveler said at the well side? "Hey, using that teoke is stop teoke!!" (note: Lame joke. The original meaning is "Hey, stop using that wooden bucket and let it be!!") Pg 17. (Misao pauses stupidly for Aoshi's reaction but he continues to sit silently reading a Zen book. Okina comes in ) Misao: (in tears clinging to Okina) [he's so cold!] It's hopeless~! I told Himura I'd be the one to make Aoshi smile just for nothing~!! Okina: (thinks) Fool. I thought she was a fool but she's really out of her mind this time... Misao: (burning with determination) Alright. If he's going to be this way then I'll just have to go knock on the door of Yoshimoto Enterprises- [enlightened comedian!] Okina: [Yoshimoto?] Okay now. Won't you take a minute and listen to what I have to say? Misao: What? Okina: (hands her a letter) Mail from Kaoru kun in Tokyo. Misao: (takes the letter happily) From Kaoru!? Pg 18. Okina: We don't know the details but it appears that Himura kun is in trouble. Whether or not we'll be there in time is hard to tell. It looks like they need our help. Misao: ... okay! I'll go retrieve that diary from the temple written in this letter! Okina: Aoshi, I don't want Misao going alone. You go along with her and assist Himura when he needs help. (silent pause) Aoshi: (gets up) I don't think that man will need any help but Pg 19. Aoshi: I'll go to have my promise of drinking hot tea with him quickly done with... Misao: (in pure delight) A trip with Aoshi sama. Okina: (whacks her head) You fool! Get real! (Aoshi and Misao retrieve the diary and set off) Narrator: And so, along with the gleam of hope that might stop Enishi, Aoshi and Misao head towards Tokyo-! Sideline: Will the two make it in time!? -End of Ruroni Kenshin Chapter #181- translation: Jenny