Is it possible?
Lie down, you two!
In Japanese flower language, the konotegashiwa (or arborvitae) symbolizes eternal friendship.
Episode 12 Both Sides of the Konotegashiwa
Hey! Are you all right?
What was that?
Huh? Everyone's okay.
Are you all right?
Y-Yes!
Who are you?
Ah! That was quite close, wasn't it?
Ah, I'm glad! Everyone seems to be fine.
Take it easy. That rat is mine.
Kurotobi-san, weren't you out with Tsuruume-san?
I did go with her. She had something quite useful, so our errand went really fast.
When we came back, you weren't there.
And as I rushed here, I saw a cohort of demons.
What is this rat?
This is a demon I raised specially.
It's a type known as a fire rat.
When I call him, he emerges and runs to me.
Don't you know "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter"?
The princess coaxed the Right Minister into getting her the fur of a fire rat.
Its fur is very tough.
Umm... so... thank you very much.
You're welcome.
In fact, I didn't do anything special.
I just controlled this demon well. That's all.
People seem to be gathering because of the commotion.
You bastard. How dare you use fire?
Oh, what?
That explosion wasn't their doing.
They seem to be heavily injured.
It was probably a dust explosion.
It's a natural phenomenon that can be caused by flour or dust.
So the demons had nothing to do with it.
Oh, I see.
I don't know about that, so how do you know?
Last month, I saw a news item about an accident like this, and I just remembered it.
Although I didn't really think that I'd experience it first-hand.
Oh, was there an accident like that?
You damned humans!
What are you doing? Get back.
What a brave swordsman.
But, I have to ask her something, so would you please wait?
Didn't you do the same thing at Naitou-Shinjyuku?
I think you killed a man named Genkichi by crushing him like this.
You still stink.
Your aura reeks of brutality.
I don't know his name. Why would I know his name?
I killed him for revenge.
He cut down my dear Master and then put poison in him.
First you worshiped him as a sacred tree, then you suddenly and cruelly cut him down.
That crime deserves death.
The sacred tree was this demon's master.
Then, that trunk must be...
Why did it happen?
Oh, I see. I understand now.
Please wait!
Umm... I don't think you have to kill her.
Because, she isn't really bad, right?
Rather, a human who did bad things hurt something precious to her!
Oh my, oh my. How kind you are, Rikugou-san.
You sympathize with her, eh?
Then, what about this story?
This demon killed Genkichi, who had a daughter, his loving wife's posthumous child.
As in a story you often hear, his daughter was sickly like her mother and suffered from serious illness.
To make a lot of money quickly, he took a job transporting dangerous medicines.
I-I didn't know...
You see the problem now.
Same sinner, same crime.
They're both to be pitied.
If you look for reasons for sympathy, you can find them anywhere.
If reasons like that convince you to sheath your sword,
it's easy to make a peaceful world.
But matters don't turn out like that.
Those who do harm should be exterminated.
After all, that's the law of this world.
I agree with that.
Oh, here comes a very important person.
Aren't you part of Amaza?
You talk too much.
Please, Buddha!
If you used your own claws, you'd find it easier to fight.
Why don't you use the weapons you were given when you were born, Inugami?
I see. That's why my master wants you.
Inugami are very rare.
If you call me by that name again,
I'll kill you.
Kuchiha!
You don't have to cover for me anymore.
Hey, what happened to Toki?
I'm at a disadvantage against that thing.
If Beni-chan were here...
I know that I'm not really good at these direct attacks.
Toki?
Idiot. What are you doing? Come back!
Aren't you guys looking for this?
Is that it? Is that my Master's?
I found it. I found it.
Master is finally in my hand.
Isn't that enough? Now take it and leave.
I won't go back until I have avenged my Master.
I won't listen to you!
I'm sad. I don't want to die.
I'm sad. I don't want to lose you.
I don't understand difficult things, because I never thought about them.
But... it can't be helped, right?
That's all I know.
Yes.
I also didn't want to be alone.
Hey, Imayou. Wait—
Hey, brat! Sorry if this hits you.
Bonten.
Look, boss! It hit her right in the middle!
Why are you taken in so easily? Do you want to die?
Bonten, why are you here?
Aren't you with Amaza?
Why are you on their side instead of ours?
Isn't Amaza our salvation?!
Why?!
That's just what you've been ranting to yourselves.
You might be mistaken. Yakou is an obstacle to me.
Both the Princess and Yakou are equal obstacles to me.
I maintain harmony.
Those who disrupt it are my enemies. That's all.
You used Yakou's power to go too far.
You've been reduced to being tools of Yakou.
I don't need you anymore.
On the other hand, he's one of my most useful tools.
If you lay a finger on him, I won't forgive you.
I'll take him back.
Did you come here for this?
You seem to be good at running errands.
You can say what you want, but this demon has a special connection with me.
If you lay a finger on her, I won't forgive you.
Tsuyukusa, you idiot. How shameful you look.
Are you going to die for this fox?
Shut up! If that brat is precious to you, why don't you take him with you right now?
If you're still going to block us...
you're equally guilty!
Damn it!
What a fool. How dare you lift your hand against Bon?
Let me go!
This idiot has gone crazy from Yakou's impurity, Utsubushi.
He's can't judge even the simplest thing.
What a shame.
Shut up. You're merely Bonten's sycophant.
From the beginning, I never said that I'd just follow Bonten, like you did!
What? Tsuyukusa. You...
Geez, you're a disgrace.
I never asked for flattery or followers.
There's only one unwritten law.
If you've forgotten it in your merriment, then you need to remember.
I have always allowed dissent, but I have never permitted resistance.
Amaza has abandoned us!
They're not really Amaza.
Eat them. Eat the human-shaped things!
Eat! Eat to the sound of Yakou's bell.
Gouge out the guts, suck out the blood.
Why are you staring mindlessly?
Are you all right, Rikugou-san?
Shinonome's string...
Before you worry about that, you should see if your body is all right.
I-I'm fine. Sorry.
Never mind. More to the point, we have to do something about that.
The good thing is that the denizens of Amaza are quarreling among themselves.
Hey, you guys...
Heihachi-san.
Hey, Utsubushi.
I left him outside, like you said.
It's not my responsibility if he climbed over the wall by himself.
Heihachi, what are you doing here?
He seems to have something to tell you.
At least, just listen to him.
Just when I thought I was rid of him.
Are you an idiot? I don't have the time to talk to you right now!
Get out of here!
I appreciate that you let me go,
but listen to me.
I'm truly sorry that humans cut down the tree for their own convenience.
But I don't want you to kill the people in this store!
They didn't act out of malice.
An abandoned village was being redeveloped by official decree.
The people there decided to sell some trees to wholesalers.
So this is the tree.
It really is a big camphor tree, but supposedly it's been hollowed out by disease.
Hollowed out? Then it can't be used for building materials.
All we can do is burn it as a dedication or render it for oil.
It may not be of use, but it's still a sacred tree.
We have to soothe the god's anger.
But if we do that, we'll go over budget.
If no one is willing to take it, allow me to do so.
Nakamura-ya-san.
I don't think you should take it.
It's not a good fit for your trade.
No, no. Camphor has a nice aroma.
If I carve it properly, I can make some nice pipes from it.
If we treat a big sacred camphor tree badly, we'll be cursed.
Even if we cut it because of the official decree, we have to thank it as it deserves.
That way we can reward the tree that has worked to protect us for so long.
He's a noble person to undertake such a money-losing task.
Then, should we leave it to Nakamura-ya-san?
Yes, we should.
What an honest man he is.
That's what it looked like to me, even though I was just a bystander.
I'll take it from here.
It's an old story that was already woven in heaven's net.
That day, a man came to visit the carpenter.
Is the rumor about the drug true, Genkichi?
Yeah, it's true.
A doctor who lives in the neighborhood said it.
I overheard it when I took my daughter to see him.
The doctor said that the drug he uses when sewing up sword wounds
has the same effect as the prohibited drug opium.
I see. Then, you must go steal it.
If you do that, I'll pay you twice the normal price.
But don't bring it straight to the store.
The eyes of the people at the store are sharper these days.
No problem. I found a perfect container today.
Just widen the opening, and then drop the stuff inside.
He deceived both the good and the bad,
and the log and its contents were carried into the warehouse for storage.
It was quite a wonderful idea.
Unfortunately for the man,
the fox demon wasn't at the purification, and she didn't see her Master's peaceful ascension.
Had she known, she wouldn't have wreaked so much havoc.
Was the master of Nakamura-ya burned so horribly because of that fox?
It wouldn't be strange to think it was the divine tree's curse.
No. The story of the fox and the sacred tree is quite different.
Tsuyukusa, I think you do understand.
The sacred tree was purified properly,
and the master of the tree went to heaven,
leaving behind no hatred or curse.
So, you were taken in by a fretful fox that really had nothing to avenge.
You'd better stop this nonsense.
That the owner of this store was injured demonstrates my Master's hatred.
No matter how much nonsense you spout, this truth can never be changed.
No. If what he's saying is true, I can understand now why the warehouse seemed normal.
The purification of the sacred tree worked with miraculous efficiency.
Then, was it...
Yes.
By chance, the owner, who harbored suspicions about the head clerk,
found the powder in the warehouse.
When the panicked owner tried to take it out of the trunk,
a lot of the powder fell into the lantern at his feet.
The powder caught fire and then burned the powder in the owner's hand.
It spread to the camphor log, which burned easily, and to the owner's clothes.
I don't care if you call this the god's punishment.
But Tsuyukusa, what you must do
is return that demon, who's being controlled by Yakou, to her senses.
Shut up! What do you understand?
You don't have the right to order me around!
Bon, I think he did understand that.
He just sympathized with the fox, who was going to disappear while filled with regrets.
I think he wanted to stop the fox.
He probably became a bit emotional from overdoing things,
and he ended up filled with Yakou's poison and dancing to his tune.
The word idiot is saved especially for someone like him.
Tsuyukusa, sheath your sword!
Please. If matters continue this way, you and the fox will not be treated kindly.
If people and demons die in suffering...
I don't want that to happen!
Please. I beg you. Please help that fox!
This is why I hate humans.
They take everything, they notice nothing... and then they cry with the same face.
So, that's it, eh?
That bell is...
Boss! There's a demon—
You came here to pick up your failure.
It wasn't a failure.
They've seen a different view of heaven's net.
So I came here to pick them up before heaven destroys them.
This could be an answer to my question.
Isn't it regrettable for her to end up dying this way?
Yakou. She finally—
How can you say that?
It'd be better for her to die here than to be taken by you and treated as a specimen,
or to lose her soul and be unable to reincarnate.
Unfortunately, she's too conspicuous.
Her anger is desperate.
Even if she dies here, she'll never go to heaven.
Then, I'll use her life to answer my question.
Hey, stop that, Bonten!
Why?
"Why"?
These are the consequences you chose.
You told me that you had something to do before you went back to your world.
That is to lift Ginshu's curse, for Shinshu-chan.
Because you wanted that, I gave you the information.
Because I wanted it?
Now, you are the Blank Page.
You're the only one besides Teiten who can change the future of this world. Do you know what that means?
If you don't want to make a choice, then heaven's net won't change.
Because I wanted it...
Didn't Yakou also say that the results are not in heaven's net?
Originally, the fox was supposed to curse and kill the people in the store.
Humans who were supposed to die were saved,
those who were supposed to be elsewhere came here,
and a pitiful fox demon was left with her regrets.
Because you wished to save a human life at the risk of a demon's, heaven's net has changed.
Isn't that so?
If you side with one of us, naturally the other will lose out.
Trying to depend on me while you still want to satisfy both...
There are limits to selfishness.
I didn't mean to do that.
Then, you must be satisfied with this.
No.
This is what you wanted.
You should take responsibility for this until the end.
Rikugou-san.
It's dangerous! Toki, get back!
You idiot! What are you doing?!
You'll be engulfed!
Let me go, Heihachi.
There's nothing you can do now.
If you want to waste your life, do it somewhere else!
Shut up!
Please. Could you be quiet for a while?
Next Episode
Episode thirteen: A Whistling of Wind from a High Peak.
Episode Thirteen
A Whistling of Wind from a High Peak