Intrigue in the Bakumatsu
Tsukikage kooru daichi wo
Korogari fumiwakete yuku
Horobi to saisei no jidai ga hajimaru
Jiyuu wo omoku kakagete
Michinaki michi wo erande
Mahiru yori mabushii nichibotsu wo koete
Yume wo kataru you ni toki no fune wa yuku
Sono yamiji no mukou ni atarashii yoake
Bokura wa kitto kurayami no kaina kara umarete kita
Kanawanu koi wo suruyou ni
Hikari e to samayotteku
Doko made mo hateshino nai kono michi wo
Kaeru sube wa nai
Vice-Commander Hijikata!
Kai Shimada
So you've come to Sendai, too!
Kazue Soma
Akizuki, until the cause of your negative aura is revealed, goodbye for now.
Here they come! They're huge!
"Bring them aboard", you say?
Comrade Enomoto mentioned that he wants a kabuki actor who's fit to deal with rough stuff.
Rough stuff? Kabuki actor?
Someone like Danjuro.
Hey, hey, hold on a second!
DANJURO ICHIKAWA
What is Enomoto doing? I haven't seen him all day.
He's locked himself in his room.
He must be thinking up ideas for the story's climax.
Don't tell me he's copying the script you wrote!
Hardly likely.
Still, you'll find out soon enough.
To Kazunari Sainen
Lord Shoten and I have known each other and we both share a love of food.
This is a request from him, so no problem. Feel free to stay at my temple for a while.
Well, actually I should say that I'm more into women than food.
Feel free to use this space.
So, you two are...
Did you two fight or something?
All right, let me handle that for you!
Aoba Castle
Vice-Commander!
Vice-Commander Hijikata!
Vice-Commander! We've been waiting for you!
Hijikata-sensei!
It is the beginning of the ninth month of the fourth year of the Keio Era.
Toshizo Hijikata enters Sendai, and attends a war council with the Ou Alliance at Aoba Castle.
However, many of the provinces in the alliance have buckled under the New Government Army's attack,
or have left the alliance to sue for peace.
Sendai Province's Leader Yoshikuni Date
The alliance is on the verge of collapse.
Nagaoka fell, and both Yonezawa and Aizu are about to surrender.
The outcome of this war is quite obvious.
Continuing to fight any longer is tantamount to dying for nothing.
Exactly!
If that's the case, we should consider the future of our citizens...
Here's my opinion! If that's the case, we should consider the future of our citizens...
I think our best option is to humbly prostrate ourselves before them
and hope they'll be gracious enough to extend us mercy.
I agree with him!
He's right!
Then why don't we humbly-
Why don't we go out there and die with pride?
I don't see anything pointless in samurai dying in battle!
This is nonsense! First of all, this is no time for such talk!
Superbly done, Hijikata-san.
Tell me your name.
I'm Sotetsu Ibaragi.
I'm here as representative of my comrade Enomoto.
"Representative"? What happened to Enomoto?
My comrade Enomoto has decided to stay on his ship for various reasons.
Don't tell me even Fleet Commander Enomoto is scared?
What an insult!
Who does he think we are?
He's nothing but some upstart!
So he's the one fit to deal with this rough stuff?
I'd expect nothing less from a leader of the Shinsengumi... Toshizo Hijikata.
So you're worried about him?
No, nothing like that.
Come on, take this with you. I'm sure you'll get hungry.
I'll do the cleaning.
B-but...
Oh, so you two don't have that type of relationship yet?
Then you really need to go see him.
Here.
Just go, go.
Thank you!
Ah, youth!
Akizuki-sama...
It's beautiful.
So you think you can handle this?
One target versus the four of us. It's more than enough.
That's encouraging to hear.
We won't do anything to trouble you, Commander.
You just sit back and watch us work from here.
Very well.
What are you trying to say?
Do you mean to tell me you don't trust what Enomoto said?!
I'd love to trust him, but he's already lost two ships to that stormy weather!
What makes you think we'll even be good enough to go up against Satsuma and Choshu?
Nonsense!
With our Kaiyomaru, the most powerful ship of the shogunate government,
the Satsuma-Choshu Forces are nothing to fear!
But the man who's supposed to be at the helm
has locked himself in his cabin and hasn't come out at all!
We've come to Sendai but he still hasn't given us any guidance!
What in the world could we even fight against in this kind of condition?
How dare you?
It seems that another heated war council is being held here as well.
You and I shouldn't be...
Would you please stay away from me?
I don't want you caught up in this, Leader.
I've already become caught up in it.
I'm sorry, but we shouldn't travel the same path together.
Is that right?
Your sword... Look at how it's made... It's exactly like the one I picked up.
Toshogu is where the Head of the Conqueror used to be sealed away.
It's not surprising that they're the same swords.
But that sword chose me!
That's what you want to believe.
Hitotsu, higure ni gan kakete One, make a wish on a sunset
Futatsu, fudasho no tsukimi- Two, the primrose at the temp-
Stop it.
I've been thinking about it for a long time.
Akizuki-sama, you knew this song, too!
Oryo told me something...
I don't know why, but I can smell the same thing from you and Yo...
That's right! Ever since we met in Yokohama, you and I have been on the same path...
Say no more!
Akizuki-sama...
Just leave.
Thank you for fighting with me, sir!
I'm not done yet!
Hijikata-sensei looks best when he's doing this. I'm not done yet!
Yeah, this reminds me of the time in Kyoto.
Indeed.
Compared to how they were in Fushimi, their morale has improved greatly.
Thank you for fighting with me, sir! Compared to how they were in Fushimi, their morale has improved greatly.
We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Hijikata-sensei.
Exactly.
On the other hand, those cowards in the Alliance...
They might call it a war council, but all they do is to talk of surrender.
I've heard that Enomoto's fleet hasn't even landed in Sendai yet.
I'm sure he's reached the limits of his patience, too.
Why?
Splendidly done, Hijikata.
Why does it bother me so much?
Sotetsu Ibaragi...
I'm coming in.
What's that?
This is still unofficial, but these are the ones who offered to come aboard our ship.
However, we still don't have the most important man of all... our Danjuro...
People in Sendai have been talking about surrendering to the New Government.
We don't have time to be sitting back!
What is Enomoto saying about this?
He said, "Just as I speculated".
How so?
Who knows.
Oh?
What?
Don't tell me...
Kakunojo-dono!
D-don't rush into it!
Akizuki-sama!
Please have a match with me!
We've got a visitor for you.
I figured you would be showing up soon.
Tell me... You were laughing at the war council earlier, weren't you?
And you were angry.
Were you laughing at those cowardly men, thinking that a pack of curs can never win a war?
With this, the most powerful fleet, and with you, Hijikata, we can win this war.
You mean we can save the Tokugawa?
Saving the Tokugawa... Is that your war?
That's right.
I am samurai. I'll stake my life for the master I serve!
The Tokugawa will fall.
I'm certain there are things you will come to understand if we cross swords.
I have the same destiny as you, Akizuki-sama.
The Tokugawa will surely fall.
However, we are...
Akizuki-sama...
Enomoto!
Enomoto...
Akizuki-sama!
It's still bitter, Lord Shoten.
We got a letter from Yojiro.
Oh!
I successfully investigated Toshogu the other day.
I found a sword there. My traveling companion picked it up and hasn't let go since.
The details of the sword look just like those on Moontear...
This is bad.
I told you it's not ripe yet.
No...
I'm not talking about the persimmon.
Isn't that?
My comrade Enomoto.
Enomoto?
That was very considerate of him. It was a salute to welcome you.
I need you to sign your name.
After the Tokugawa are gone, how will you be able to fight?
You once fought for Commander Kondo and the Shinsengumi.
Shinsengumi
You've been fighting for the Tokugawa ever since Commander Kondo died.
Now the Tokugawa are about to fall. What are you going to do?
But as long as you have a master to serve, you can still continue to fight as samurai.
You aren't meant to die in this war.
I want to see you shine on stage for me.
I knew it... You're no ordinary playwright...
UNNECESSARY DELIBERATION
Sono te wa ai no tsurugi
Subete no hajimari no akashi
Hikaru sora no hate
Yume wa mada maboroshi
Tsuki no akari kage ouyouni hashiru kono michi
Chigireta ai no tsurugi
Sashidasu saki wa ikusen no namida ga hitotsu ni nari
Ashita wo kagayakaseru
Kono te wa ai no tsurugi
Subete no hajimari no akashi
EPISODE 18 PATHETIC DESTINY
I shall seal the Head of the Conqueror!
L-Leader?
Akizuki-sama!
Why?
PATHETIC DESTINY
I see, that's how it is.
O Pitiable Eternal Assassin.
Because you don't know your own destiny, you let destiny kill you.