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.
Stop! This will accomplish nothing!
Listen to me! Put away your spears and return to Kanbal!
How long do you intend to continue such a futile endeavor?
Episode 22 Season of Awakening
Stay back!
At that point, it had nothing to do with the King's Spears or anything else.
It was just a battle to the death.
And that was how Jiguro killed all of the King's Spears...
...who had been sent to hunt us down.
He did it to protect both me and himself.
But in the process, his own soul was lost along with those eight people's .
Along with the eight people's ?
Right. The souls I talked about the night I took you under my protection...
...were those of the King's Spears that Jiguro killed.
Because of Logsam, Jiguro and I were forced to walk a cruel path in life.
Even so, those dead men didn't deserve to be killed over nothing either.
So you see, my life has been built on their sacrifice.
Care to eat dinner?
That's why you swore to...
...save the same number of people that Jiguro killed, isn't it?
Yes. Jiguro told me to forget about it, though.
But if it weren't for that vow, I would be dead.
I suppose you would.
Anyway, that was my reason for doing it.
But aside from the fact that my father was his friend...
...Jiguro had no reason to save me.
Why was Jiguro willing to kill eight of his friends to save you?
I don't know. That question has always bothered me.
Why did he agree to my father's request?
Why didn't he abandon me somewhere along the way?
Why did he agree to something that would gain him nothing...
...and would cost him everything that he had worked for?
I want to find out why he did.
If I could understand what Jiguro was thinking...
...maybe I could accept my own situation a little better.
Care to continue the discussion over dinner downstairs?
I feel like reminiscing about Jiguro too.
After the fight with the King's Spears was over, what did you do, Balsa?
My training with Jiguro was complete by that point...
...so my skills were more than a match for any of the local warriors.
Plus, I was 16 by then...
...so I understood Jiguro's suffering all too well.
That's why I said to him...
"Let's go our separate ways."
Jiguro, let's split up.
I can take care of myself now.
So please...
You've already saved me so many times.
So please, forget about me.
Focus on your own happiness from now on.
You may feel as if you owe me an enormous debt...
...but don't think of the past that way.
It'll only leave you with an empty feeling.
Besides, Balsa...
I've grown fond of both you and our life here.
When Jiguro said that, I was at a loss for words.
But in spite of what he said...
...he had tried his utmost to avoid fighting his friends.
And even though he said he was fond of me...
...that certainly wasn't the case at first.
After all, women may have...
...maternal instincts, but they aren't something men are born with.
In the end, I never learned what Jiguro was thinking...
...when he first escaped with me.
Some five years after that, Jiguro died.
He wasn't defeated by pursuers. He succumbed to an illness.
By that time, King Logsam was dead...
...so there was no reason for us to keep living like fugitives.
Fifteen years had passed since the two of us first left Kanbal.
I give you my word. I'll save eight souls.
I'll lay your friends' souls to rest. I promise.
So please...rest easy.
Balsa...
It's much harder to save lives than it is to take them...
Are you trying to become a hero or something?
People often yearn for a hero who will sacrifice his life for them.
Saving lives isn't something that you do on a whim.
Stop trying so hard.
But you know, Chagum, this is how I see it now.
Maybe Jiguro was someone who thought if you're in a position to act...
...it would be a sin not to, even if you had nothing to gain from doing so.
To Jiguro, being a national hero and protecting some nameless person...
...they were the same thing.
He even hoped to spare the lives of his pursuers if he could.
I finally understand that now.
After becoming your bodyguard.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit
We can't talk you out of going?
There's no time like the present.
Besides, winter will be at its harshest over the next two months.
If I don't leave now, the snow will have me good and stuck here.
I have better things to do than spend the whole winter cooped up in here!
Surely you don't need to go to the health springs...
...at an important time like this!
Relax, I'll be back before the spring thaw.
Mistress Torogai, are you going somewhere?
To the hot springs, boy! The hot springs!
Oh.
Chagum, why are you carrying that?
Teach me how to fight too.
I want to learn as much as I can to protect the egg and myself.
If I'm stronger, I might be able to get away even if Rarunga attacks...
...and I might be able to make sure the egg hatches safely even if I die.
After all, I'm the guardian of the spirit.
You're right.
But I'm not going to let you die.
I'll protect you no matter what.
Huh? Teacher...
Yes, what?
I thought it was unusual, that's all.
So, you can make that expression too?
No one cares what you think!
I'm going!
Balsa, feel free to train the boy if you want, but don't go overboard.
Unlike you, he doesn't seem to have any talent for the martial arts.
Hey, that's mean!
Hmph, I'm just stating the facts.
Well, I'm off.
Caw, caw, hey, hey!
Will tomorrow bring fair weather, a blizzard, or rain?
Look, the Misty Blues are slightly cloudy.
Don't let the paddies dry out. Call for water!
Nurture the seedlings and spread the fertilizer!
Nahji, fly, fly! Nahji, fly, fly!
If you fly to the sea, the rice plants will grow swiftly.
What's up, why are you standing there in the doorway?
Huh? Oh.
I was just thinking that this really takes me back.
Jiguro sometimes watched over you as you slept...
...after the day's training was over, just like you are now.
Balsa, this winter has been a good one, hasn't it?
With the three of us together like this...
...I hoped that this winter would go on forever.
But spring will be here soon.
These quiet days are almost over.
Rarunga will probably be waking soon too.
Probably. We'll be facing a life-or-death struggle soon.
Balsa, if we all make it through this battle alive...
...how about the three of us living together like we did this winter?
I've always been hesitant to bring it up.
I thought I should wait until after you'd fulfilled your promise.
But even if I did wait, you'd never notice it.
Battles are your whole life now, aren't they?
I'm not sure how I can cure that...
Do you have any medicine for it?
If you can't think of me as the cure, I guess there's no point in me waiting.
You idiot...
Don't you think I have enough on my mind right now?
Chagum!
What's the matter? Chagum!
Chagum, what in the world happened?
This is...
There's no ground... I'm floating above a deep valley.
Balsa!
I'm falling! I'm falling!
Don't let Chagum drag you across!
He's being pulled into Nayug!
What should I do!
You've got to be the anchor that keeps Chagum fixed in place!
I'm falling!
Calm down, Chagum.
The valley that you're seeing doesn't exist here in this place.
What you're seeing is the landscape of Nayug.
Can you hear me?
Your body is still right here in Sagu.
You're going to be fine. You aren't going to fall.
Chagum, I want you to calm yourself...
...and focus on Balsa's arms around you.
Well? Do you feel them now?
Use Balsa's body as your guide.
Moving outwards from where she's touching you, sense your own body.
Slowly bring your mind back to this side.
Remember what it looks like here.
You're at Hunter's Hole, the place you've been living all winter.
Can you see me, Chagum?
I can see you...
Chagum!
It's all right. His soul has returned to this world. Don't worry.
Do you think this happened because of the egg?
Well, it is almost spring...
I guess this means it's finally started.
How is the work progressing, Master Gakai?
I'm amazed. To think that so many epitaphs were hidden beneath our feet...
I cannot help but feel regret at all the time we have wasted.
How are preparations going on your end?
I was finally able to determine the approximate location...
...of the land of feasting the other day.
I see.
However, recovering the very last of the tablets...
...from the lowest, flooded levels is taking much time and effort.
What's more, many of them contain information...
...that is crucial to our understanding.
Though I would prefer to obtain all available information as soon as possible...
...I ask that you rest a while.
Perhaps you should direct those words at yourself.
You have dark circles under your eyes.
Now that we have learned the secret behind the country's founding...
...we cannot afford to have you collapse on us.
Leave this to us. Mark my words. We will finish in time.
Master Gakai.
I'll be right there.
If we turn up anything, we will notify you at once.
Master Shuga, the mikado wishes to see you.
When did we last have snow?
It was about the time of the first month of the new year, as I recall.
Who would ever have imagined that clear blue skies...
...would instill such dread and fill my heart with such worry?
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.
The egg awakens with the spring thaw...
...and the being from another world also reaches its time of emergence.
Next time, "In Search of the Shigu Salua."
The scent of flowers draws everyone to the last place they can be found.