Everyone is searching for a new world
to attain that overflowing dream.
They all jump over the horizon,
regardless of what lies beyond.
We've run,
we've dived into hope,
and forgotten only courage.
And we've been swept away by the crowd
only to lose something dear to us.
I smile with a twisted face,
and it was the best smile I could put on.
The inside of my mask overflowed with tears
so I covered my wet mask with yet another mask.
I continue to walk through the flat battleground,
and I struggle, unable to warp.
The dream waits quietly on a cape far away.
Even if I fumble around clumsily,
I'm sure I'll still be able to make it there.
I'm leaving for L.A. We'll be out of contact for awhile. Take care of Rio.
Celebrities... Always something going on.
And I really need for you to stop poking your nose into them.
These incidents are police business.
I can't allow Madoka to get any further involved
with the Blade Children or my brother. She's just gonna get hurt again.
Yet she continues and keeps glaring at me from the shadows.
Ayumu! Ayumu! Ayumu!
I'm glad I finally found you. This is bad. Really bad!
Please try and keep it down, or you'll spoil my lunch.
That wouldn't happen to be another super fancy boxed lunch
that would be a waste to eat by yourself, would it?
You shouldn't have.
Look this isn't a good time to be goofing around Ayumu.
This is terrible news we have here. A new second year transfer student arrived.
Come to think of it, you said that this morning, didn't you?
Yeah, but this guy is really bad news!
I don't see what the big deal is about a new guy.
Asazuki?
Yo.
What do you think you're doing here?
What, you can't tell? Starting today, I'm a student at Tsukiomi Academy.
It's true. Kousuke is the new guy I was talking about.
- Hey. - Yes?
I was under the impression that our friend here
disappeared from middle school. So where could he have transferred from?
I think he must be a fraud
because he got a surprisingly good score on the entrance exam.
Look, I took that exam fair and square.
Little Narumi, this means,
starting today I'm a senior student to you in the Academy.
So from now on you will address me as Mr. Asazuki.
Go to hell.
Ayumu would never do that. I'm a senior student to him and I work for the paper,
and he's never even once had the common courtesy to call me Ms. Yuizaki.
He just always says "Hey" or "You" or "Yo."
Look, that's neither here, nor there.
Asazuki, what have you got up your sleeve?
I highly doubt you transferred here to further your education.
No. Don't tell me.
I know why. There's someone at this Academy that you want dead.
Ah, perhaps. I could take care of a person or two if l...
You won't be causing any trouble on your first day, Kousuke.
You got that?
Ryoko, now It looks like you're trying to kill me!
Right, as if you'd die so easily. Now get up you tough guy.
Cheap shot. Flying kick from outta nowhere.
You're a man, aren't you?
Stop complaining like a baby and go buy me some bread before lunch ends.
Bread?
It's what I eat for lunch to watch my girlish figure. Now hop to it.
Hold on. Why should I?
Just go get it.
Now!
Sorry about that. I'll put a collar around Kousuke
so you won't have to watch your back all the time.
Now, don't tell me that you're a...
Sure am. I'm one of the Blade Children, Ryoko Takamachi.
I've heard a lot about you two
and I'd suggest you try keeping a low profile for a little while.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means you should have fun while you still can.
It's been real nice talking to you. See ya.
Hiyono, do you have any idea what they could be cooking up?
Got me.
Here.
I bought you some bread.
That's a good boy.
I've heard the rumors.
So that's Kiyotaka's little brother, huh?
Yeah. Pretty charming for the bastard's bro, don't you think?
I guess so. People like him usually tend to keep something mysterious
living at the bottom of their hearts.
Ryoko?
I'm sorry for getting you involved.
I know you probably won't believe me, but you're...
you're the last person I ever intended to get caught up in this mess.
Kousuke, have you gotten taller?
You've grown, haven't you? Just a while ago I was much taller.
You've been watching your calcium intake, huh?
That's a rude gesture even for you, Kousuke!
Don't worry, I'll catch up.
You haven't changed a bit, Ryoko.
Annihilation is our destiny.
We Blade Children are children who must not live.
Must not live?
If that's true, Kanone, then why were we born in the first place?
Inspector Narumi.
Oh, hello, Commissioner.
May I have a word with you?
It'll only take a moment.
Sure.
Let's do the next sentence structure now. "Not only you, but he is right."
Notice the placement of the comma in this one.
"Not only A, but B."
- This will be on the next test, - The nerve of that girl.
"Thanks for the boxed lunch! Hiyono" as well as the final exam, so be sure to study it.
So the example sentence would translate as,
- "He who sits in mud gets dirty." - She stole yet another lunch from me.
- This is an important sentence structure, - Unbelievable.
So expect it to be on the test as well.
Actually, everything we go over today...
Hello, Rio?
Uh, Rio?
Oh, it's just Hiyono.
Oh, there you are. What were you doing underneath the bed?
Wait. You were playing hide-and-seek all by yourself, right?
No, you can't play hide-and-seek with only one person.
That's strange. I could have sworn I smelled bloodlust from behind the door.
What are you doing here, Hiyono? Aren't you skipping class?
Ta-da!
It's one of Ayumu's boxed lunches. They're so fantastic and filling
that it's a waste to eat them by myself,
so I thought I'd bring one by here. Figured we could share it.
- Delicious! - Delicious!
- Oh, I want to marry him! - Oh, I want to marry him!
Those aren't the normal doctors.
- Run, Rio! - Run, Hiyono!
What's happening?
No! I let my guard down! These aren't doctors, they're Hunters!
Something is beginning.
But what?
Guess my only choice is to just ask her.
"Rio Takeuchi"
Hey, Rio. We're coming in!
I hear you're still as short as I remember.
Rio? Where could... Where could she have gone?
Did Rio mention anything about a room change, maybe,
or a checkup in another part of the hospital?
Both of those seem unlikely.
What does that mean?
Little Narumi?
You mean you can't tell?
Judging by the circumstances...
There's a high probability she was taken.
Very soon even more dangerous Hunters will be tracking us.
So the Hunters that Rutherford talked about...
...finally showed up.
Were these your Hunters?
I'll take those looks as a yes.
This is none of your business. Get lost!
Take my advice. You'd best stay out of this.
Don't get me wrong. I'd like to sit this one out, if I could.
But I can't.
The fact that this food is here means that Hiyono was here as well.
So like it or not, this is my business.
We've been captured, Rio.
Thanks to you.
You know, now that I think of it,
the air in the room did feel a bit tense and gloomy.
I still can't believe I let my guard down.
Ahh! Ayumu's boxed lunch!
I only got to taste one bite of it and I worked so hard to steal it from him!
Hey, Hiyono? What information were you looking to get from me today?
Whatta ya mean?
I doubt your only reason for seeing me today was to bring lunch, right?
Well, I had been thinking a lot about the Blade Children
and it seems to me you've all been acting strangely frantic lately.
I have a mountain of questions that I'd really like to ask you,
but I can't take notes with my hands tied like this,
so I'll save them for another time.
Hey, Rio. Where are we, anyway?
Well, if I had to guess, I would say it's an abandoned hotel.
It's a term we use for everyone that has been hostile to us and our cause.
Anyone who has tried to hunt, maim or kill the Blade Children.
So you call all of your enemies...
The Hunters.
So basically we should expect more of these Hunters in the near future.
Kousuke, where's Rutherford?
He left for L.A. This morning.
Just our luck at a time like this.
We'll be out of contact for awhile. Take care of Rio.
Damn it. I won't allow Rio to be hunted.
What's this?
"The two you want are in the Excellent Hotel."
"Rescue them by midnight or they'll be blown to pieces."
It's from the Hunters.
Seven hours left.
Seven hours?
Excellent Hotel... It's abandoned on the outskirts of town.
It's starting to get dark outside.
Rio, what's wrong? Are you okay? That sounded painful.
I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much.
You certainly don't sound fine to me.
I think we should ask our kidnappers to get a doctor here right away.
That would be pointless.
No it wouldn't. As kidnappers,
it's their duty to treat their hostages with the utmost care.
Plus, you're already injured. They have to treat you.
Why would they help me when they want me dead?
The hunters and the hunted. The cursed battle of the cursed children.
It will forever continue until one finally dies out.
Our fight is not nearly so clean and simple as that.
Kill or be killed: That's every single day for us.
But to run away from my challenge, isn't that really the same as death?
A terrible fate awaits you and will simply snatch away
that which you desire and all you hold dear,
as it slays your spirit and mind.
We die when we turn our backs on our own fate.
You know if the Hunters do want you dead, then I don't understand
why they're even bothering with tying us up here like this.
It just doesn't seem necessary to bring us here.
If they wanted,
it would have been easier to just dispose of us back at the hospital, right?
But for some reason they didn't.
Then maybe they do have a reason to keep me alive.
No sneaking in from the back. There are mines buried all over the perimeter.
Mines?
All of the first floor doors we could sneak through are locked.
They're also rigged with explosives. The instant we open one, we go boom.
The same thing goes for all of the windows.
Looks like the only safe way to enter is through the front door.
In other words, come through the front door fair and square.
Oh, thank goodness, the lights are on!
At least we now know that the power is working in this awful place.
This is a trap!
A trap?
I see what the Hunters were up to now. They weren't after just me.
They're planning to round us all up in one big haul!
Looks like they've have been expecting us, huh?
Fine with me, Hunters. You're on.
I have no problem accepting their challenge.
But there's no question they have traps waiting for us.
We must proceed with caution.
The game finally begins.
Are they trying to lure us?
Lure us to the phone? Give me a break.
Just answer it will you?
Ah Rio, what do you think we should do?
Nothing.
You're only here with me because the Hunters weren't expecting you.
The hostages are on the top floor.
The top floor?
Too bad.
Hey, wait! What do you mean by too bad? Damn!
Do you guys hear that?
I do. It sounds like a time bomb to me.
Our only choice is to go up. Let's go!
You're kidding!
Just move!
Little Narumi probably won't stand idly by
once he learns you've has been caught up in this mess.
Well then that's good. I haven't been entirely useless!
Will you just hear me out?
I'm all ears.
It's about the old man.
You mean Commissioner Kanzaka?
I work my butt off doing my job and he has the nerve to tell me
that I'd be better suited elsewhere. Can you believe that?
That's terrible!
So what is it you do, you know, on your days off or whatever?
I like to wash my car.
Uh, you wash your car?
Yep.
Then why does the boss choose to counsel me about quitting early
and not say a word to you?
Uh, don't ask me!
No honey, I won't be home for dinner tonight.
One cucumber salad!
A sweet scent washes into my throat
and my feelings continuously overflow...
Don't look at me with that same gaze
that's like you're following a soccer ball.
I've already grown used to my third year at the office,
but did I lose something instead?
Those days long ago when we would talk about anything...
We're finally old enough now
to have those slightly awkward discussions about love.
A single day seems so long, but a whole year ends so quickly.
A whole year seems so short,
but how well will I be able to live the rest of my life?
Time for Hiyono's Useful News Report!
; La, la, la, la, la, la, la! ;
Clouds blown to the moon, wind blasting flowers.
Relations and silhouettes stick with you!
Next episode's highlight is a charming and telling song
performed by the singing sensation, Hiyo Hiyo!
If you're a ship, then I'm the port.
Waiting for you is painful, but I'll endure it!
On the next Spiral: "The Watcher in the Darkness"
You can break one arrow, but you can't break three!
That's all for today's Hiyono's Playhouse!