"The Last Samurai"
The Last Samurai. That was my father, Kaito Ayatsuji's nickname.
When I was in junior high
When I was in junior high, he retired due to a heart problem.
Even when he became unable to wield a sword like he used to,
he still taught us and guided us with dignity.
Two Years Ago Ayatsuji's School
No
No. Relax your shoulders but keep your arms strong.
Tighten your wrists more, but never strain.
Try to be as natural as you can be.
Without that, you'll never master this secret technique, Ten-i-muho.
TEN-I-MUHO
Don't strain.
I-it's hard to do!
Father, maybe it's impossible for me--
It's not impossible
Ayase.
You have followed my teachings more obediently than anyone else.
You've taken it to heart
I know you've taken it to heart:
Never forget your pride at any time
"Never forget your pride at any time.
Always value civility, help the weak, and hate evil."
Ayatsuji Itto-ryu is a kind of swordsmanship...
Protect People
...that protect people.
I knew... My father doesn't have much time left.
That's why he taught me Ayatsuji Itto-ryu, even though I was still immature.
But...
Father...
"Takami o mezasu nosa, A brave new world," I'll aim higher, A brave new world,
"Jounetsu no kissaki de" With the point of a passionate sword
"Kono basho ni kizamu no wa, It's my soul" What I mark in this place, It's my soul
"Dare nimo furesase nai identity," I won't let anyone touch my identity,
"Kyoumei shiteku kodou" The heart beat that begins to resonate
"Unmei wa kono isshun de kimaru darou" My destiny will be decided in this moment
""Kakugo" o waraeba ii, Ogori takabureba ii" Mock my "resolution," Be arrogant
"Mayoi fumi tsubushi, Let's go ahead!" I'll stomp out doubts, Let's go ahead!
(Let's go ahead, Right now) "Mayoi fumi tsubushi, Let's go ahead!" I'll stomp out doubts, Let's go ahead!
"Dakara ima uchiyaburu nosa," That's why I'll break it now,
"Sou, ashita o fusagu omoi door o" Yes, the heavy door that blocks tomorrow
"Zenryouku de jibun tsukai tsukuse," Use yourself in full force to the end,
"Togi sumasareta kokoro de" With your sharp mind
"Ichigeki de tsuki yaburu nosa," Break it with one stroke,
"Sou mirai o kobamu atsui door o" Yes, the heavy door that refuses tomorrow
"Kishi kaisei, sono toki ga kita nosa," Revive, The time has come,
"Dotanba no climax" The climax at the last minute
It's time to take a top
Kuraudo Kurashiki
Sword Eater III
Kuraudo Kurashiki, the third-year at Donro Academy.
This guy's terrible.
He storms into other schools unofficially, and destroys martial art schools around town...
But, he was one of the top eight contestants at last year's Seven Star Battle Festival.
His overwhelming swordplay earned him the nickname, "Sword Eater."
Sword Eater... Swordsman killer.
He's definitely strong. Two years ago, when he came to challenge my father's school,
he didn't use his device.
You mean, he fought only using his sword technique, not using his ability?
Yeah. But my father couldn't...
That's unbelievable.
Kaito was called the Last Samurai for a reason.
I know.
I couldn't believe it, either.
Two years ago
It was like having a bad dream...
Ayatsuji Itto-ryu School
Father!
Father! Please stop!
Sensei! That's enough! Please stop now!
Thank you for worrying about me.
I'm proud of your kindness.
But that's why...
I can never forgive him for hurting you!
The swordsmanship to protect people, huh?
No wonder you're the Last Samurai. How noble of you.
But is that it? Is this all you've got?
This is just the beginning, you punk.
Father!
This is my fight! Don't interrupt!
I'll show you, as you wish.
The heart of my swordplay, the heart of Ayase Itto-ryu.
Wha--
Stop!
No!! Father!
I...
Father!
I'm... sorry...
You have until tomorrow to pack your stuff and leave.
This place doesn't belong to you anymore.
You bastard!
If only I had stopped him...
If only I took my father's place and stood in front of the man...
His sword has neither pride nor nobility.
It's merely barbaric violence.
A man like that took my father...
and Ayatsuji's swordplay was trampled!
Senpai...
Kaito...
This is what used to be my father's house.
They're disgusting.
Hey you guys...
Wha?
Could you take me to see Kurashiki?
Who the hell are you?!
You're the sissy from the other day.
Kurashiki. I'm challenging you to a duel.
Huh?
I'm the helper. On behalf of Ayatsuji, I'm here to get this school back.
Ha! You're challenging this school?
That's very high-spirited of you. Unlike the last time I saw you.
It wasn't the proper situation then.
How did she convince you?
It's prohibited for knight students to use their devices outside the school without permission.
Except at the accredited martial art school and when the school master gives permission.
You're not going to turn me down, are you?
Ha! Interesting!
But before we get into it, I need to see if you're even qualified to fight with me.
Are these satisfactory?
Orochimaru.
Oops.
Come to me, Intetsu.
I see. It's a first-class.
That's why I love a swordsman!
Alright then. The deadly battle starts now!
Heh! You have good response!
Ah, that's too bad!
My timing was right on.
Did he realize my intention? No...
Follow and kill him, Jakotsujin!
Orochimaru can transform into anything!
It can erode the engagement distance of any swordsman!
This is where he gets his nickname, Sword Eater.
And Ikki doesn't have a means to control the engagement distance of the enemy when out of range.
But it won't stop him. Ikki's better than that.
I thought that'd be your next move.
His perfect vision!
Oops.
He's got a... I knew it!
No!
Wh-what was that just now?!
You can dodge that? That's pretty good.
I see.
This is your true ability that defeated the Last Samurai.
The power that has become the foundation of your strength is...
your speed of reflexes.
To "perceive," "understand" and "respond":
the speed of processing this series of actions is called the speed of reflexes.
For most people, it's 0.3 seconds.
And for me and Stella, about 0.1 seconds, no matter how much we train.
But when I calculated the exchange of our attacks, your speed of reflexes is less than 0.05 second.
Before I can make one move,
you can make two or three.
With that speed, you can dodge the attacks that are impossible to avoid in common sense,
or correct the course of your blade before it hits mine,
which will enable you to strike from a completely different angle.
This is why his sword looked like it disappeared in the middle.
You were the first one to discover my Marginal Counter in the first battle.
But you know, so what?
There's nothing you can do about it.
Marginal Counter is not a technique.
It is a characteristic I was born with.
No matter how much you train your body, hone your techniques, and learn to use tactics...
It's meaningless if all of that gets overwhelmed by your natural-born speed of reflexes.
I took my time to verify your answer, so you better not drop dead right away!
Hebigami!
Simultaneous quick attack from two points!
You're an amateur! You think you can do the same trick twice?!
Irregular guarding?
It just means that you're not the only one who has control of distance.
It's not over! My fastest speed is no match for this!
Now a quadroattack?
I can't defend them all...
You lost balance and avoided the fatal attack.
Lucky bastard.
This is the skill at the national level!
But this is the end of your useless defense.
I'll slice you into pieces!
You won't get your school back if you stop him now.
But!
I want to stop him too if I can.
But... he's having so much fun.
He's smiling?
Such a fool. He wants to fight the strong guy.
He simply wants to beat the strong guy that's in front of him.
That's all he's thinking about.
Hey Senpai? Did the Last Samurai really go down in mortification?
What are you saying?! Of course he did!
If...if that bastard never came here, we could've stayed happy!
My father must've been mortified!
That's what you believe, but maybe that's not true.
Ayatsuji Itto-ryu School
For a man who used to have all the fame in the world of swordplay
and even have the title of the Last Samurai, was he really happy as a swordsman...
living everyday just rusting away?
You're right. What that guy has done is aggressive and barbaric.
But when he had no choice but to rust away to death,
finding that there's someone who would challenge him head on,
maybe was a very good thing for him as a swordsman.
Then what my father said then...
I--
Father
I'm...sorry...
I'm sorry...that I have to be this way...
I wasn't a swordsman at all.
I couldn't see the mind and the soul of the man who fights...
Father!
Oh. So that's the weakness of the Sword Eater.
He has to take more actions for the Marginal Counter, so his stamina runs out very quickly.
How stubborn are you?
Unfortunately, I hate to lose.
Also it's been a long time since I was overwhelmed by sword fighting this much,
so I was having too much fun that I didn't want to put an end to it.
Fun, huh?
You're a psycho too.
Can I ask you one last thing?
Huh?
That great swordsman that we admired...
Was he able to smile like we are now?
Huh. What a dumb question.
A weakling who cannot enjoy such a heated, deadly battle will never be called the Last Samurai.
Ayatsuji.
Now, with my strongest, I'll get back you and your father's two years.
Come! Yamata-no-orochi!
He's not gonna dodge? What is he thinking?
This is the thing that old man tried to show me at the end!
It was worth waiting for two years!
That was...
The last secret technique... Ten-i-muho!
This is the essence of Ayatsuji Itto-ryu!
How does he know that?
Is it possible he had already...?
Blade Steal.
What?
He's done it to me too.
Chasing that man is really worthwhile.
You. What's your name?
Ikki Kurogane.
Kurogane...
We'll pick up the rest at the Seven Star Battle Festival.
How about this place?
Do whatever you wanna do. There's no point in waiting anymore.
Ikki! Are you alright?!
Kurogane.
I'm really sorry.
It's my fault that you had to go through this.
I didn't know anything...
About my father, and what it means to live as a swordsman.
I'm not good enough to carry on Ayatsuji Itto-ryu.
That's not true.
What?
The reason I could win today was because you had memorized Kaito's sword down to the last inch.
That's why I could use the technique, Ten-i-muho.
No one understands Kaito more than you.
You're the true successor of the Last Samurai.
Kurogane...
Thank you. But if that's the case...
Then I need to get much stronger.
Ayatsuji Itto-ryu School
So I can say with confidence that I'm the successor.
Ayatsuji Itto-ryu School
Did you hear about Ayatsuji Senpai?
Apparently she admitted to the Committee of the Selection Match
that she did foul play at the match with you.
Yeah. She was removed from the selection match, and suspended for 10 days, I heard.
She said she'd take responsibility for her actions.
It's from Ayatsuji.
Incoming... Ayatsuji Senpai
What is it?
She says Kaito regained his consciousness!
Really? That's great!
Yeah. I guess we can call it case closed.
Yeah. Good work, Ikki.
Sh-Shizuku?! Alice?!
I-Ikki! Here, let's battle! Japanese thumb wrestling!
Ready, and go!
My, my. Did we interrupt them?
I believe we have the legitimate right.
We were completely cut out of the loop, and ignored during the whole school challenge duel.
How can they leave us out like this?
Again! Ikki, again!
Well, I don't pester like that bitch over there, though.
Who are you calling a bitch?!
You.
What part of me screams bitch?
It's your name. Cattle Vermillion.
Who's that?!
"Ikiru nowa ma no michi, Megutte koete" Life is a road of evil, I go around and over
"Deaishi wa sadame ka, Mezame no chi wa makoto no yume" What I encounter, Is it fate? The land where I woke is the true dream
"Shinawa yori too hibi" Going back further than the days of myths
"Watashi wa honoo no tori" I'm a firebird
"Ou no kata o hanare" I left the shoulder of the king
"Guren no sora ni tonda" And flew into the crimson sky
"Nante negai tabi nano" What a long journey
"Kioku wa suna to mai" Memories hover around with sand
"Ima wa anata no ude" Now I'm in your arms
"Yatto yasuragi oboetemo" I finally learned peace, but...
"Mada tsubasa o tsurugi ni kae" Still I turned my wings into swords
"Aisuru wa shuradou, Kugutte ochite" Love is a road of the demon, I go through and down
"Matoshi wa hiiro no toge no yoroi" What I wear, It's scarlet armor with thorns
"Kono namami ga shi no hana nara" If this flesh and blood is the flower of death
"Anata no ken de sakasete hoshii" I want your sword to make me bloom
Princess' Vacation