Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 230: The Back of a Man, part Three: Images of a Family Kudos to Shizuki (a lengend) for this brilliant translation!!! (This translation was obtained from http://members.xoom.com/shizooks/rk230_text.html.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next Day: "We're done! We made it on time!" Uki rejoices surrounded by stacks of straw hats. ""Well, when I get into things, it's a cinch." Kamishimoemon replies. "Let's go to town! Put them all in furoshiki!" furoshiki = big cloth to wrap things in to carry. The Higashidani family sing as they walk alongside the dry fields of the village. A villager working in the fields asks, "Old man of Higashidani, are you skipping town carrying that big furoshiki on your back?" Kamishimoemon growls back, "You idiot! If I'm gonna skip town in this broad daylight, I'd rather kill Fudousawa as I die." As he walks away he waves, "Don't worry about petty things, and make daikon for my sake too. I'll make sure we can live in peace next fall." Sanosuke stands in a dry field that's been destroyed by large rocks. He mumbles, "This is terrible.. You can't expect to grow anything on this anymore, let alone this year." Uki sees Sano standing in the field and yells, "What are you doing there! Don't trespass on our field!" Sano responds, "Isn't it a barren land, not a field?" Uki yells, "Shut up! Get off!" and walks towards Sano. Sano stares at her, and Uki gives a puzzled look. Kamishimoemon walks towards the edge of the field. "Hey," he mumbles, "Hajimemashite." Sano replies, "Hajimemashite." Kamishimoemon says, "I heard my kids were helped by you the other day. Come with us. I'll treat you for a meal in return." hajimemashite = "nice to meet you" to a person you've met for the first time. In the town Kamishimoemon tells his kids, "Go eat there before me. I'll go drop these off first." In the restaurant, Uki asks Outa what he wants to eat. Uki orders, "TWO tempura soba, please." Sano grumbles, "Hey, half-forehead." Uki yells back, "No, you can't have any! No matter what dad said, I maintain the family budget, and if I say no, it's no! While you call me half-forehead, you can't have any!" Sano stares at her once again, and Uki asks, "What do you want?" Then a lightbulb appears and Uki thinks, "I get it. He's embarrassed in front of me--a single flower in this country village. That'd make sense! And calling me half-forehead is a way to hide his embarrassment." While Sano is thinking, "She was cute when she used to run after me and call me Onii-chan, Onii-chan in the past... but people sure do change." Uki sighs happily and says, "Well, if that's the case, I can't do anything about it. You can eat too." Sano mumbles, "What's with you?" After they're done eating Uki holds a towel to Outa's face. "C'mon Outa. Wipe your mouth after you're done eating. And when you get home, don't forget to brush your teeth, or you'll get cavities." Sano stares at the two of them, "Don't you think you're spoiling the red-cheeks a little too much?" Uki glares at Sano. "Don't give an opinion about other people's families! You're not involved, so don't bother with us!" Outa begins to say something, but is interrupted by a loud voice from another store. "Is that dad?" Uki looks worriedly. At Sakura-ya, Kamishimoemon yells at the owner, "What do you mean you can't take these straw hats anymore?!" The owner responds quietly, "I'm sorry. I really want to take them, but..." Kamishimoemon asks, "Fudousawa is threatening you...?" and the owner nods, "Yeah." The owner continues, "That ain't it.. The sponsor that's been rumored for a long time.. That higher-up (Ishin Shishi) has finally appeared. If they miss the last batch of the silk that they've been after, they won't get any til spring... There's no doubt about it. They're gonna take the market using full force now." "I'm really sorry, danna.. But I can't make my family walk on the streets.." Kamishimoemon walks out of the store, "I guess I made you worry more than necessary. I'll leave those straw hats to compensate. They're the best stuff that the Higashidani family made. Take good care selling them off." As Kamishimoemon steps out, a voice calls out, "Hey, why are you looking so blue?" He turns around and sees Fudousawa and his thugs standing in the street. Kamishimoemon glares at him, "Fudousawa, you bastard..." Fudousawa grins, "Don't glare at me like that. I don't plan on fighting today. Just here to say hello, since my uncle who came from Tokyo insisted." Fudousawa's uncle sneers, "So you're Kamishimoemon. I see.. You sure look stubborn. But you should give up sooner or later. Even though we say we're taking the market, we're not saying we're gonna take all the villagers and eat them too. We'll pay accordingly. My nephew is acting as the liason." Kamishimoemon scoffs, "What 'accordingly' means to yakuza and former Ishin Shishi-sama who've grown fat from eating good things... to us means starve and die!" Two thugs yell, "Who do you think you're talking to?!" "Our uncle just came to warn you..." Kamishimoemon knocks them out with both arms before they finish. "You should already know that talking to me doesn't work. You don't get it even after having 50 of your friends beaten up?" Fudousawa replies, "As usual, your fists fly before your mouth. Well, if you wanna fight, that's fine. BUT..." "If you fight here wildly and IF my uncle gets injured, it's gonna be trouble. Not only the police, but the state will move too. Then the thing will be a big incident. A small market place in a countryside like this won't survive under the pressure. It'll rot away, no doubt." The townspeople are gathered around them, murmurring. Kamishimoemon thinks about his family, about his fellow village folks.. and snaps his tongue. "That's the smart decision. If the market place rots away, nothing will be left. Well, even if you snap and beat up all of our men," Fudousawa grins, "having my uncle backing us up, there's no way I'll lose. You never had a chance with this fight." "No matter how stubborn you are or how strong you are, this is reality," the uncle adds. "Under the strongest power called political power, physical power is useless. We will continue to get fat, and you will continue to wither away. Even if you don't like it, that's reality." "Think about how you approach others. Next time we won't let it go by just talking," the uncle warns Kamishimoemon. Fudousawa then says, "Wait a minute, uncle. I had two men beated up just now. I want to make clear about that now." The uncle agrees, "That's true." Fudousawa calls two other men. "Hey, return him the favor for those two that are knocked out. But in our way.. by doubling it." Kamishimoemon thinks, "If the market place is gone, then nothing will be left..." "Don't worry, we won't kill you," the two thugs yell out, "We'll forgive you after we crush those two arms!" As they are about to fling down their clubs, Sanosuke kicks one of them in the face. And he punches the other. Uki and Outa come running after, "Dad!" Fudousawa growls at Sanosuke, "Why you, street fighter.. What do you mean by this?!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to Main [1]