I want to shine on you, and always like that dazzling sun.
I will defend you from all the darkness.
This is the truth from my heart.
If only our hearts could connect, I could get you to believe me.
Even if you can't see it now, don't lose it.
Your kindness won't be in vain.
You'll be carried aloft by the wind to somewhere that isn't here.
You'll cross the sea and cross time, and I know you'll blossom one day.
Whatever the day, I'll be there for you.
I hope I can watch over you like the sun for all time.
This is the truth from my heart.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit This is the truth from my heart.
Don't take your eyes off the center of the wood.
Ow!
You'll just have to learn by actually trying your hand at it.
Wait for me!
Walk faster!
They all seem to be excited about something.
Yes, it's because the Summer Solstice Festival is coming up soon.
Festival?
Around here, they say you can tell how many days are left...
...until the festival by how much the villagers have loosened their collars.
Episode 12 The Summer Solstice Festival
The people who passed by earlier were carrying rather large torches.
What will they be used for?
I guess they'll be used when they go from house to house...
...to light the bonfires during the festival.
Oh, I see! Those were the lights that we could see from the palace!
At court, we celebrate the Founding Day Festival at the spring equinox.
It commemorates the victory over the water demon by my holy ancestor...
...Torugaru, and his Warriors Eight, and the founding of Shin-Yogo.
I've heard about it before.
I always wondered why the farmers...
...didn't light their bonfires at the same time.
But since they're busy planting rice at the start of spring...
...they began doing it at the summer solstice instead. That must be it.
I see... You may be right.
Every year on the summer solstice, I would look down on the city...
...from the star tower with the mikado and my brother.
The fires lit at all the houses would make it look as if...
...the river of heaven had come down to flow across the land.
Do you want to go back to your old life?
No, I don't want to go back to that.
Hey! Chagum!
We're all gonna go practice lucha!
Lucha? You mean the martial art?
Is there any other lucha?
We're going to practice for the festival!
Come practice with us!
There's a lucha tournament on the day of the festival.
Go ahead.
Let's go!
Come on!
Why are you all bowing with your eyes closed?
What do you mean, why?
These are the statues of the legendary Warriors Eight...
...who fought alongside Mikado Torugaru to slay the water demon!
If you look them in the eye, you'll be struck blind!
That makes no sense.
Commoners are only struck blind looking at members of the royal family...
...who are descendants of their sacred ancestor Torugaru.
Is he right?
I don't know...
Besides, no one has ever gone blind just by looking at the royal family.
What did you just say?
You're going to get it!
Wait, are you saying that you've actually looked at one of the royal family?
No, I only meant...
You over there, what are you doing?
Who is that, anyway?
The mighty Yarsam is about to start practicing for the lucha tournament...
...so I want you to fight me!
Are you from Rota?
Can't you tell by looking at me?
Rota?
He's here for the Summer Solstice Festival.
Whenever there's a festival, traveling merchants come from far and wide.
Oh, he's a merchant's son.
What's the matter? Let's get started!
Why should we take orders from a drifter like you?
If you need our help so badly, bow your head and ask politely!
Why should I have to bow down to a bunch of Yogo kids?
What did you say?
Get him, big brother! Make that foreigner sorry!
Right! Get him!
Beat him up!
This should be good.
Okay, you come at me with your lucha.
I'll be using porakku, Rota's national martial art.
If I win, all of you have to be my minions!
No way am I going to lose.
First one who touches the ground with anything above the knees loses!
Agreed?
Begin!
Take that! Take that!
Why you...
Ow! That hurts!
Big brother!
Not so tough now, are you?
Round and round...
...we go!
Big brother!
That was pathetic.
What do you think you're doing! That's so mean!
You didn't have to take it that far!
Don't give me any of that whining.
I've won, so that means you're all under my power now.
But you're such a bunch of losers... It doesn't seem worth it!
If the kids in Yogo are all weaklings like you...
...that must mean the mikado of this country must be a real weakling too!
The mikado has nothing to do with us!
Take back what you said about the mikado being a weakling!
Yeah!
You can't insult the mikado! We won't let you.
What are you talking about, you losers?
You're going to fight me.
If I win, you have to take back what you said about the mikado.
Don't mess with me. Why should I do as my own minion tells me?
I'm no minion of yours!
Don't do it, Chagum!
Not even my brother could beat him! You don't stand a chance!
I don't mind fighting you, but there's no fun in fighting a weakling.
Let's do it this way then. I'll give you a one-day reprieve.
We'll fight in the tournament on the day of the festival.
On the off chance that I do happen to lose, I'll give in to your demand.
On the other hand, if you lose...
...you have to eat slugs in front of everyone, all right?
You're on!
I'm going to find some big, juicy slugs for you!
Make sure you come with an empty stomach!
Say, Balsa.
Have you ever traveled to Rota?
Yes. Why do you ask?
I met a boy from Rota today.
He was big and foul-tempered.
Most people from Rota are like that.
For people as large as they are, they can be surprisingly touchy.
Many different races call it home...
...and there's a huge gap between rich and poor.
That's why there are so many people there with high-strung personalities.
In contrast, the Yogo people are easygoing...
...which can get on a Rotan's nerves all the more.
Ah, I see.
Actually, I'm supposed to fight this Rotan boy in a lucha match.
But he uses a martial art called porakku, and he's very good at it.
Do you think there's any way that I might beat him?
Porakku is a martial art developed out of unarmed combat on the battlefield.
In comparison, lucha is just an extension of farmers' horseplay...
...so the odds aren't really in your favor.
But if you just have to throw him from the ring, you do have a chance to win.
Really?
You'll need a lot of courage and a little skill to pull it off, though.
So, when is this match going to be held?
The Solstice Festival.
I'm sorry to hear that.
You'll have to let this one go.
We can't go to the festival.
Why not?
Lots of people go to festivals.
Where there are night stalls, there will also be shady street peddlers.
And that means that all sorts of shady characters, people who can't normally...
...show their faces in broad daylight, will also be emerging from all over.
You and I aren't supposed to still be alive.
Living the way we do here won't raise any red flags...
...but at a festival, there's no telling who might be watching.
So we need to be inconspicuous and stay in the house that night.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit
Good morning.
Wash up, and then let's stack up the firewood we chopped yesterday.
We might not be able to go to the festival, but we can at least light a bonfire!
Sure.
Balsa, you said yesterday that I had a chance if I only needed to...
...throw him from the ring, remember?
What did you mean by that?
You're still thinking about that?
Yes.
Well, I suppose I can tell you if you promise you won't go to the festival.
Chagum, do you know what makes the waterwheel turn?
There's only a slow trickle of water flowing past it, right?
Why do you think it is...
...that so little water can keep such a heavy wheel turning steadily?
It's because once you get something moving, even if it's heavy...
...you can keep it moving with just a small amount of force.
And once it starts moving, the heavier an object is, the greater its momentum...
...and the easier it is to keep it moving.
The trick is figuring out how to give it that initial kick.
Light the fires!
All that firewood we chopped... We're going to use almost all of it!
Yes, we are.
Light the fires!
And here they are.
Light the fires!
Since we can't go to the festival, let's treat ourselves to a special meal.
We might run out of firewood. Split a few more logs, will you?
All right.
Come on!
I'm next!
Chagum, it's almost time to eat.
I knew it. He went anyway...
What would Jiguro do in a situation like this?
You had us completely outmatched this year.
Anyway, let's have a toast to your victory.
I knew my old man was tough...
Looks like your friend decided not to show up.
So do you want to eat these for him?
Dig in!
Don't be shy!
Oh, so now you finally decide to show your face?
You didn't want to miss out on your slug treat?
I haven't lost just yet.
The tournament is over.
But the ring is still here.
Or maybe the truth is that you're afraid to take me on?
I'll be glad to fight you if you're going to talk like that.
Don't come crying to me later!
I guess I won't draw this out. I'll just end it.
Come and get me, slug boy!
Your only asset is your size. You yourself are as slow as a slug.
If you aren't all talk, hurry up and show me what you have!
He's going to get himself killed!
What did you say to me!
I was going let you off with just eating a slug...
...but I'm going to make you hurt now!
He did it! Chagum won!
Right!
Chagum won!
Hey, what was that?
That was a dirty move!
You left the ring. You lose!
That's not what happened! I didn't lose!
Now, take back what you said about the mikado.
Forget it.
You cheated. That means the mikado is a cheater too.
That's not what we agreed on!
You little bastard!
Chagum!
Yarsam!
Let it go, Son. In lucha, you lose if you leave the ring.
Conceding the match is the honorable thing for a man of Rota to do here.
I won the tournament this year. Hold your head high.
In this village, there are no adults stronger than I am...
...and no child is stronger than you.
Nothing can change that.
Damn it...
Come on, let's go.
But that's not...
Just a minute.
Conceding the match isn't the issue here.
Your boy has to keep up his end of the agreement.
Agreement? What agreement?
I-I don't know what she's talking about!
He says he made no promise. Please stop making false accusations.
So the father gets to rule on his son's disputes?
Is that the honorable thing for a man of Rota to do?
That being the case, why don't we parents settle this?
Whoever wins is in the right, and we'll abide by what that child says.
What is she talking about? Let's go.
This boy doesn't have a father, so I'll be the one fighting you.
What?
Women are barred from lucha matches, but I'm a Rotan.
I myself have no problem fighting you...
And I'm from Kanbal. We have a deal then.
If I win, your son is going to keep his word.
We're going to have a long talk once this is over. Wait right there.
I'm not going to dodge at the last second...
...so feel free to give it all you've got.
Get in there! Lift her off her feet!
Father!
Father, you went easy on her because she's a woman, right?
Right? That's it, isn't it?
That is no ordinary woman...
She didn't win by some fluke or because I held back.
If I fought her ten times, she would win all ten matches.
I don't know what you promised, but apologize, and be quick about it!
But...
If we'd been spotted, we wouldn't be able to live like this anymore.
You understand that, right?
I'm sorry.
Well, I was the one who made matters worse.
But I was the one who started it all by breaking my word.
I'm sure that your parents would have been proud...
...that you went to such lengths to fight for them.
As I sat huddled and alone, holding back the tears on those nights...
When it felt like I was about to succumb to my doubts...
...there you were, at my side before I knew it.
It was none other than you who was there for me.
I keep wishing, "I want to be strong." I stumble and hurt myself again.
But because I have you to believe in, I can get back to my feet.
I simply want to tell my dear one, "Thank you."
At the top of my lungs, again and again.
I call out to my precious loved one.
Is my voice reaching you?
In this world that always changes, human warmth never does.
I'm certain I sensed the presence of the one that I hold dear.
Someone has realized that Balsa is still alive.
A wild beast born of Balsa's karma... her past deeds.
Next time, "Neither Human nor Tiger."
Deep within Balsa, something that had lain dormant is roused...