I'll never be easily loved...
Am I just too clumsy?
That girl who looks good in pink...
Is that who you want?
Is red not good enough?
The rabbit with red eyes runs away.
Even though I loved you so much...
If I'm sad, I'm going to die.
The rabbit that you like...
...isn't on the moon. It's just a rabbit...
Anotsu Kagehisa...
You killed my dad...
Hey, Rin.
Why are you just staring into space?
Wheel
Yukimachi
I told you to quit it.
Well, I won't ! Tai, you haven't taken a bath in so long!
Stuff will crawl on you if you're not clean.
I'll do it myself, so give that here.
The wounded should just follow directions.
Do you want me to come back?
No, that's okay.
You seem better.
Kind of.
But I heal pretty slowly compared to the Hundred-man Slayer.
The Hundred-man Slayer...
Did something happen?
Is it about that Akagi thing?
No, it's not about that.
Then what is it?
Well, that's fine if you don't want to say it.
You just seem a little different than usual today.
Do I seem that way?
I'm in no position to have any say now that I've left the ltto-ryu...
...but how can I put it, y'know?
I'm here to visit the injured, and you worry about me instead.
I guess I'm slipping.
I wish Tai would talk to me that way too.
Um, are you leaving?
Yes.
If something is bothering you...
...you could always hide in the hills and swing your sword around.
You're right.
That may be the best idea.
The best thing to do when you feel depressed is to move your body.
I was thinking about training you some anyway.
Yes, sir!
Good answer at least.
But we can do sword training at my dojo.
Why do we have to go all the way back to your place?
Because I see them.
See them?
Yeah.
Spirits.
Spirits?
Yeah.
Your dojo's swarming with the spirits of its murdered students.
I can't train you in such a gloomy place.
Is that true?
Special attack!
Golden Wasps!
Three hits!
That's all?
See for yourself.
Rin, this tree's about as wide as a person's shoulders.
You hit with three out of twelve.
Two of those three hit the torso.
If the target was as big as Kuroi Sabato, that'd probably work...
...but beating a typical guy with that accuracy would be a total gamble.
I just happened to mess up this time. It really does well, when it hits.
Look, this isn't the same as swinging a wooden sword in a dojo.
You can't get away with "I messed up," stupid.
These fights are to the death.
Now you're a corpse.
Guess how you scored. Terribly, that's how.
Maybe you'd manage against a third-rate opponent...
...but if it's an ltto-ryu guy, you'd be better off running.
Stop crying over every little thing, kid.
The first thing to learn in swordplay is to know your own weakness.
Y-Yes, sir...
If you have time to cry, do some practice swings.
Moping around like this wastes more time than anything else.
We'll continue this after we eat.
Manji...
We ate together here like this the first time we met.
Yeah.
When Yaobikuni suggested I hire a bodyguard...
...I immediately thought it was a good idea.
It's true that I was lonely...
But the truth was I thought if I was with someone like that...
...maybe I could become strong too.
Maybe I don't have the talent.
Back in the day, the students taught me forms using wooden swords...
...and after Father died, I swung swords around alone every day at the dojo.
I've been watching you fight a lot recently...
...but it's not really going the way I thought it would go.
Are you kidding me?
It's one thing if you were fighting every day till you puked blood...
...but what's so special about learning forms from mere students...
...and swinging a sword at an invisible opponent on a flat and empty floor?
lt'd sure be easy to become strong if all you needed was a room somewhere.
In two years time, I killed a hundred samurai.
I've been in plenty of real fights...
...and I honestly only barely manage to win when I fight the ltto-ryu.
Training in a dojo isn't going to do jack shit for you.
That's why it's here instead of the dojo?
Only those who've done what they needed to do get to talk about "talent."
Don't make me laugh.
Is he trying to cheer me up?
Could that be?
He shouldn't wake up for a while.
It's nice to train away from civilization, but I'm still a girl after all.
Manji?
There's somebody doing the same thing as us...
Incredible, he hasn't missed a single leaf within range of his weapon.
He's also looking straight ahead the whole time.
I admire him in a way.
I wonder if I have to become like that someday. But...
Who's there? If you're a swordsman, come out and name yourself.
We'll see how good you are.
Damn it... Damn it...
I have 24 Golden Wasps in all. I can attack twice.
But from this distance, he'll see me before I throw them.
It'd be a total gamble.
I-I... can't just have Manji protect me all the time.
Am I hearing things?
No...
Golden Wasps!
I hit him!
Do you wish to die, little girl?
He's going to kill me...
Infinity.
Don't tell me those were your only weapons.
You shouldn't underestimate an enemy this badly.
I'm a swordswoman too, sort of...
And you underestimated me even worse...
...by leaving this weapon lying around like this!
No way... He was swinging it so easily before...
I'm sorry, Manji... I'm such an idiot...
I seriously thought I could defeat him...
...even though I'm all by myself.
It's you.
I never expected Asano's daughter to demonstrate such surprising growth.
However, your technique is downright insipid.
As it stands, it can only be used to intimidate.
You're looking away from the enemy just before you release.
Why are you crying?
Because I'm frustrated of course!
The man I want to kill is right in front of me, but I can't do a damn thing!
So what will you do now? Strip and rape me?
What if I did?
I'd bite my tongue off.
What if I was going to kill you right away?
That would be better. Why not hurry and get it over with?
What I don't understand...
...is the attitude you people have of rushing towards death.
Is that the " way of the samurai" ?
Say what you want...
I'm not a samurai. First of all, I'm a woman...
I only took up the sword because I wanted revenge for my parents.
Then why aren't you begging for your life?
If you get out of here alive, you'll have another chance to kill me.
What are you saying?
What the hell?
You killed my father like it was nothing, you know!
Are you pitying me because I'm still a kid? Well, think again!
No.
What do you mean, "No" ?
Your thoughts?
It's a weird axe. Isn't a Japanese sword easier to use?
It certainly is.
For tight turns and sharpness...
...perhaps nothing surpasses Japanese swords.
But...
...you don't control this via power.
If you add to the axe's downward momentum just a little...
...then even my strength is enough to control it.
Even if an opponent reads my moves in an actual battle...
...it's possible to shatter their blocked sword and their skull with this axe.
My grandfather was expelled from the Mutenichi-ryu...
...simply for using a foreign sword.
I brandish a weapon like this to prove his actions were just.
I killed your father to settle the score for my grandfather.
At first, anyway.
But even if that situation hadn't existed...
...I would've thought it best to do away with people like your father anyway.
I'm not going to kill you here.
...but chances are one of my followers will eventually kill both of you.
If you don't want to die, don't get involved with me any further.
Why...
Why do you hate my father so much?
Do you hold a grudge over something he did?
It's not a grudge.
It's a cross-examination as a swordsman.
Cross-examination?
W-Wait, hold on!
I have the right to ask. Don't I?
Do you wish every day to become strong?
Y-Yes.
You came up with that ridiculous move for that reason?
I'm sorry you think it's ridiculous.
It was 300 years ago...
Oda Nobunaga brought our country its first 3,000 firearms...
...at Shitaragahara in Mikawa, and he defeated Takeda's cavalry.
Fifty years later, during the Kan'ei era. Miyamoto Musashi...
...abandoned the conviction that swords should be used one at a time...
...fought with a sword in each hand...
...and became the founder of the dual-sword technique.
Do any point at these two and call them cowards?
It's the same as you right now.
It's a matter of thinking of a way to achieve...
...the very natural motive of victory over one's enemy.
If this were cowardice...
...then it's also cowardice for cavalry to stab foot soldiers with their spears.
Am I wrong?
I don't think so...
I believe only those who taxed their ingenuity to become stronger...
...should be called excellent military commanders and swordsmen.
These are peaceful times, but sword schools keep growing in number.
However, this has nothing to do with the sword's prosperity.
Their schools mean nothing more than a mere occupation.
They allow daimyo and feudal retainers to hold a shinai...
...teach them forms, and receive praise and registration fees at best.
That's why they exist.
To what end they use their own swords is perhaps up to them.
But whenever I think about it, a certain anxiety runs through my heart.
If we...
If the ltto-ryu fight one on one...
...it doesn't matter what weapon or techniques we use.
It's a school, yet not a school.
Your father was wrapped up...
...in a bushido of nothing but form, appearance, and lip service.
We won't lose sight of our duty as warriors as he did.
I'll stake my lifetime on tearing down the walls of all the different schools.
Until then...
...I don't care at all if they brand me a demon.
There's hardly a day when you'll find me sitting in a dojo.
If you miss this chance, it'll likely be some time before we meet again.
These are yours.
Do as you like with them.
Um...
Please... Please answer one thing for me.
Why are you letting me live?
I am a member of the Mutenichi-ryu too, just like my father was.
I'm trying to kill you, and you know it...
Your eyes are looking in a different direction than your father.
If the technique you used earlier was judged by Mutenichi-ryu rules...
...it would unquestionably be deemed heterodox.
You should know that.
But you chose to walk such a path in order to surpass me.
You are a bold woman.
You're no longer part of the Mutenichi-ryu.
You're on your way to becoming just like us.
Goodbye.
Keep devoting yourself to it.
N-No...
So...
So what are you telling me to do?
Damn it...
Father...
Sadly, I awakened...
Overflowing reality is just...
...more of the empty lies.
To be honest, I have to get ready for the next one.
The morning slides in from the window.
Regardless of what I see, I remember.
I remember...
The unchanging wind always...
...just said this as it passed by...
"What's needed for this endless journey?"
Where should I go?
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