Afternoon of Spring
Shinshu-chan, do you like going to town?
Yes, because I don't go there very often.
I'm sorry. I know we're not going there for fun, so I won't play around anymore.
Umm, I didn't mean it that way.
Anyway, there are lots of unclean people there. Prepare yourself.
Okay.
Because we don't know what kind of monsters might be there,
Shinshu wasn't allowed to go at all,
unless the Princess went with her.
So, since Ginshu-san became like that...
Of course, Shinshu never leaves the Princess's side.
She keeps blaming herself.
After the Princess's body became like that, Shinshu only addressed the Princess as Princess,
and she doesn't behave like a spoiled child anymore, even when they're alone.
A child raised as a butterfly or flower now lives like a maidservant,
and serves the Princess.
The responsibility for causing the Princess's illness was a serious matter.
The Princess knows that it hurts Shinshu to have to attend her elder brother.
So the Princess keeps her distance and watches her as much as possible.
I... see.
"Elder brother" means that Ginshu-san is a man, right?
Is that all you understood?!
Tsuruume, hurry, hurry!
Yes, I'm coming!
Don't go through the gateway first.
Okay.
You have a strange expression again.
Really?
Yes, yes. That's better.
Kuchiha, you also have a strange expression.
How rude you are! I'm not like you!
You don't feel secure without Shinonome, right?
I'm not like you.
You're right.
Somehow he seems to know many things,
so I do feel a bit uneasy without him.
Well, that may be true.
Basically, he conceals his real intentions, and he's sticky-fingered as well.
I hope he keeps himself under control.
So you're worried, rather than just feeling uneasy.
I don't trust him.
He'll be fine.
He's probably cooking some food and serving it to everyone.
Yes, that's possible.
Shamon-san may be waiting for us,
so we should get back early.
Yeah. Let's get this done as soon as possible and go home.
And if this goes well,
we might be able to do something about Kuchiha's inugami.
Toki, what's up?
Nothing.
Then, let's go.
Hey, don't pull me!
Don't be shy. Don't be shy!
Wh-What?
Where is this?
Why are you surprised?
I just linked a gateway with another gateway.
L-Linked?
Didn't you know?
Then how did you get here?
Huh?
This is a travel pass that the Princess made.
If you carry this, the gateway becomes an entrance and an exit.
But we came via a dark, strange path last time.
He made you take the monster's road again.
Since it's an unclean path, I've asked him repeatedly not to send people that way...
That's why I hate people from the Bureau of Onmyoudo.
The Bureau of Onmyoudo?
Were you talking with him without knowing that?
Well, I heard that he's a big wheel in the Shogunate and helps exterminate spirits, but...
That's right. The Onmyoudo is a group led by Sasaki-dono,
consisting of people trusted by the Shogunate, yet possessing unusual talents.
The group is full of members with unknown backgrounds.
February 4th, third year of Bunkyuu (1863).
Ronin were gathered at Dentsuin in Koishikawa to guard the Shogun.
Dentsuin Temple in Koishikawa is the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu's mother.
About 200 men were present.
Sasaki Tadasaburou, Sasaki-dono's younger brother, was one of the organizers.
What? Sasaki-san, I think this idea was a failure.
But what are you going to tell Matsudaira-sama and Udono-sama?
Two officials in the Shogunate.
Are you going to tell them that it was a failure?
There are members of Mito Tengu-ren and Shieikan here.
Mito Tengu-ren was a nationalist group, Shieikan a famous dojo.
Some of them are expert-class,
but there's a man wearing a tiger skin, and another carrying sake in a big gourd.
This is just chaos.
Dentsuin
Ah, excuse me. If there are extra men, can I take some of them with me?
Brother.
Oh my, oh my...
Hi. Sorry for interrupting.
Well, I just took a peek at them,
but perhaps some of them would be more useful under my direction.
Can you give them to me?
But, as you can see, they're mostly ronin whose backgrounds are unknown.
They might cause trouble for you.
It's all right.
From the outset, we've never cared about social status, unlike your group.
Brother.
Can't I, Tadasaburou?
We're always in difficulties because we're short of people.
If you say it's all right, then I don't have any objection.
Oh, is that so?
Thank you.
They use a merit system and never ask about status or feudal allegiance.
I've heard that some of them are suspected of not being human.
That's the Bureau of Onmyoudo.
How's that? Isn't that a shady group?.
Well, what a surprise. Young lady, you speak frankly.
Oh, dear, I seem to have scared you.
Hi! I'm from that shady group. My name is Kurotobi.
Old man Sasaki ordered me to take you to Nihonbashi.
Nice to meet you.
Well, "shady" was meant to be, like, umm...
It doesn't matter, because it's true.
I'm just a minor official that has no power.
But there are some who are truly scary.
Because, we're not like Ginshu-sama, who uses gods to save human beings.
We in the Bureau of Onmyoudo use demons or spirits to settle things.
And in the end, many are entirely consumed by those demons.
Scary, scary.
Well, they are quite a group of roughnecks.
Please be careful not to attract their attention.
Now, standing and talking like this is difficult,
so, shall we go?
Umm, Kurotobi-san.
Oh, aren't you the highly vaunted Rikugou-san?
You're much cuter than I imagined.
Umm... thanks.
So, a kid like you is...
Nothing is sure in this world.
Umm...
Oh, sorry. It was rude of me to stare at you for so long.
Now, let me fulfill my assigned task.
I heard that you don't have any specific destination.
Then why don't we wander around a bit and gather information?
Come with me.
We're talking about Nihonbashi, where 3,000 ryou worth of trading takes place daily.
So I think it's worth a look.
Nihonbashi is a prosperous merchant's district around Edo Castle.
I think you've at least heard about
Mitsui-Echigo-ya, the kimono merchant, or Suhara-ya, the paper wholesaler.
Oh, even I know about Suhara-ya and Mitsui.
In modern Japan, Suhara-ya is a bookstore chain, and Mitsui is a bank.
You see?
Suhara-ya is officially licensed by the Shogunate to sell books.
Echigo-ya is a huge store that earns even more than normal feudal lords.
Still, if you look behind these huge stores, there are many day laborers hanging around.
This is a place where people who have come to Edo from the outside like to settle.
Here you can earn your rent by working just one or two days.
You can earn money easily if you have valuable skills.
Carpentry is an especially good job.
You never run short of work, because the houses and buildings in Edo burn so easily.
Let's be thankful for fires.
So if you're broke, just set a little fire, and then you'll be flush with money, eh?
Stop your threatening utterances, young master of Yorozu-ya.
Oh my, oh my. Good afternoon, officers of Hacchoubori.
Geez. Arson is a serious crime.
You shouldn't talk like that, even if it's a joke.
I'll arrest you.
Your hair, your eyes... Are you a stranger?
Hey, hey, don't look so serious.
It's all right.
He's our new apprentice.
His background is credible.
But...
Come on. I don't think you have time to waste on pestering innocent people.
From the way you two are staying together,
I guess there must've been an incident.
It's just a patrol.
The thing is, a man was killed in the back streets of Naitou-Shinjyuku.
Don't you know anything?
According to the landlord, the victim was a carpenter named Genkichi.
Hey, you talk too much.
Y-Y-Yeah, but this guy knows a lot of people.
I thought he might know something...
You idiot!
What if Genkichi's sister hears about the incident from this man and gets scared?
Don't you have any information?
How dare you ignore my words?!
I was just thinking that the name sounded familiar.
And?
I suppose a long time ago we kept a dog named Genkichi...
Does this help?
How can that be relevant?
It was stupid to ask you.
What a waste of time. Let's go.
Hey, where are you going?
Aren't you going back to your official residence?
I have business at the jail in Kodenmachou.
Young master,
under the present circumstances, I'll say this:
If you see a man with many tattoos on his left arm, tell us immediately.
Tattoos?
They're used to mark criminals.
Oh, isn't this the first time a prisoner escaped?
So he killed Genkichi?
Didn't I say to stop such threatening utterances, young master?
Be careful, or you'll be eaten by the darkness.
I can't find it.
All signs of Tsuyukusa have completely disappeared.
What could have happened?
What should I do, Bon?
You've been so ill-tempered since we left that barrier.
Bon! Where are you going?!
It's quicker to ask a human about an incident that happened in the human world.
Bon, are you going to that place again?!
You will accumulate filth inside you just by visiting there!
I'll go alone, so you wait here.
How can I let you go alone to a haunt of gamblers?
Why are you looking so annoyed?
Because you're annoying.
The dice are rolling!
Now, place your bets!
Excuse me.
Oh, look who's here.
Long time, no see, boss.
Now, what should we do?
Old man Sasaki told me to investigate if something strange was happening in town.
Why? Although there's been a murder, it's none of our business.
Young lady, your honesty is so cute.
Think about it.
The tengu brought that story to you.
They may've lured you to Nihonbashi in order to attack you.
I wouldn't be surprised if he was planning something.
We might be the ones to be attacked,
or possibly the shrine, since the guard there has been reduced.
Are you saying that they're targeting the Princess?
Oh, no, no. I'm just talking about a possibility.
I'm basically a boor, so...
I become suspicious at the first little thing.
Well, I hear that Gyouten-san has been attacked by demons many times.
Bonten is so powerful that he's now the leader of the demons.
It wouldn't be surprising if they had planned that far ahead.
I don't think so.
Eh? Are you objecting too?
Geez. It seems I'm the only lily-livered man here.
Umm... no... see... how should I say it...
To me, he didn't seem like someone who would spring a surprise attack.
He might be like that himself, but you can't say his friends are as well.
In fact,
it's not unusual for the esteemed and noble demon hunters and their allies to eradicate man-eating demons,
only to be killed by one of his subordinates from Amaza.
Amaza?
It means the gracious place where the gods reside.
The demons consider Bonten to be a sacred existence.
Don't forget.
No matter how far we go, they are still our enemies.
This silence intelligibly expresses everyone's agreement.
These are eyes that see their enemies.
These are the expressions of rejection towards those who threaten their lives.
These are the signs of a strong hatred that is part of their survival instinct.
People of this era were always carrying lethal weapons, right?
Guns or swords aren't the only things that kill people.
There were more things in our world that could kill people.
What we lacked was the will to attack an identified enemy.
Here, it's all too common to hate, reject, and even kill the enemy.
I may have realized this too late, but...
am I already involved in something outrageous?
Heihachi!
Oh, it's disgusting. This red water... He must surely be a human being.
Isn't it strange?
Aren't you here to rescue me? Am I wrong?
No, you're not wrong.
Oh, that's good.
At first, I wasn't thinking about killing humans.
I just exerted some slight force to coerce him into confessing my master's whereabouts, and...
I didn't know that it was so easy to punish human beings.
It was a surprise.
Did I really need to ask Amaza for help if it was this easy?
Oh, yes. If I finish this, would you let me join you to help
exterminate human beings on behalf of the weaker demons?
It hurts. Someone, someone.
Sorry, Mom. I'll have to go there too.
Master, Master.
Now, now, I'm old.
If someone big like you climbs on me, I'll break.
You're the highest in the area, so it feels great up here.
Oh, yes. I heard that a shrine will be built on your leg.
Yeah, over there.
It'll be a small, small shrine.
That's nice.
I've made up my mind. I'll live here.
And I'll dwell on Master.
There won't be any good places to dwell on me.
I suggest you don't...
You're treated like an outcast because you're always in human form.
If you stopped doing that, you'd be the highest, most beautiful, and finest-looking tree!
But if you're talking about my form being human,
there are other tree spirits that take human form.
No! You're the only one that takes human form from morning till night.
If you didn't do that, there wouldn't be a tree spirit like that around here.
Are you sure?
Because you take that form, no demon will take care of you.
Tree spirits are respected as fully grown once they make demons dwell in them.
You'll be treated as a halfwit if you keep on like this.
I know. You don't have any intention of stopping.
Yes. I'm sorry for that, because it worries you.
I received this figure from the benefactor who brought me up when I was about to wither.
He took care of me devotedly.
In the beginning, my trunk was thin, but it soon became thicker,
and by the time the flowers bloomed, it had become fairly big.
People played, laughed, and read poems under me.
They were not only skillful, but they all sounded nice to me.
Why does everyone think human beings are so special?
They may do bad things, but they're not as bad as drought.
I like their sparkling, short lives.
Humans, insects, animals... they are all the same, Imayou.
I adore all their sparkling lives.
I like him.
Master!
You bastard humans. Why did you cut Master down?
Wait, Imayou.
Don't worry about me.
If you do that, you'll disappear.
Please wait. I'll be back by tomorrow morning.
Amaza will surely help me!
Surely...
they will come to help me.
Imayou. Humans and demons, they both lead wonderful lives.
Well, if we go on like this, we'll get nowhere.
We'll let Rikugou-san decide where we should go.
Umm...
The Blank Page has the power to change destiny, right?
Then, this might be a turning point too.
Isn't it exciting that we don't know whether it will turn out good or bad?
My decision will change something.
Does that mean that it will upset the balance between humans and demons?
Well, you don't have to take it that seriously.
Then, let's go to Nihonbashi.
It's sad.
Next Episode
Episode Ten And The Day Falls
Episode ten: And The Day Falls.