"House of Five Leaves"
I'm sorry to bother you so late at night.
Is this the residence of Chouji-san, the hairdresser
who used to call upon the Saegusa household on business?
Yeah.
A servant there named Yaichi was always kind to me.
I'm trying to find him.
I was wondering if you knew anything.
I'm sorry, but he passed away.
I think it was right after their heir died in an epidemic.
He fell into a well.
His grave? Well, that I don't know.
Sei, what were you doing?
Your eyes are red.
It's our first trip to Edo in a while.
Let's take it easy in Shinagawa.
"Shinagawa"
I'm Take. What's your name?
Yaichi...
How long are you planning to lay there, Ichi?
This reminds me of the time I met you for the first time.
You were quiet as a mouse that time too.
It made me regret taking in such a burden.
In any case, I hadn't seen a dirty, stray cat like you before.
"A Dirty, Stray Cat"
Boss Lady, can I have some tobacco?
Isn't Sachi a bother?
Not really.
She's an odd girl, though... to think that she wants to be like me.
I did tell her that I used to work in an unauthorized brothel district.
Otake-dono?
Yeah, I used to work in a brothel in Shinagawa.
It was a long time ago.
But compared to other girls, I was fortunate.
Someone paid my way out of bondage, so I was able to come back to this world.
Was it Yaichi-dono?
You've got good instincts, Masa.
Then you know, Otake-dono?
About what? You mean about the gang Ichi-san used to belong to?
Yeah...
I don't. So you do?
Well...
You don't have to tell me.
If we want our friendship with Ichi-san to last a long time,
we shouldn't have an interest in him.
We can tell that's what he wants by how he behaves, right?
Aniue, you're going to keep me company today, right?
I'd like to take a stroll in town.
This is a big house, isn't it?
Akitsu!
Yagi-dono!
I'm his little sister, Sachi.
She's visiting from our hometown.
I've got some tasty sweets at home. Come with me, Akitsu.
You're so easy to read.
It's so obvious that you're avoiding me.
Ah...
Here.
You are indeed strong, Yagi-dono.
I know Aniue was excellent at least in his swordsmanship skills...
Come inside, Akitsu. I'll have someone prepare some tea.
Did you lose on purpose?
No... he's strong.
Don't show my full swordsmanship skills?
Pretend that you're weak.
Why?
He realizes that we're so different and yet we hang around together.
Pretend to be the man you appear to be
so that he won't get interested in us more than he is now.
It's the end for us if we get caught, you know.
Don't you have to go back to your office?
Well, I'm sure someone'll come get me if they need me.
There was a maple tree bigger than this one
across the street from the Sawai residence.
One of the Shogun's direct retainers called Saegusa live there then.
We went to visit some graves the other day, remember?
The one who I said died of sickness was that family's son.
All my memories with the Sawais were about being scolded by my old man.
You were scolded?
It's hard to believe.
I used to live a very wild life.
The gate would be locked when I came home at night.
My old man would yell at me from inside,
saying that his foolish son should stay outside and cool his head.
One day, it was raining heavily.
Even so, he locked me out so I got soaking wet.
Then, one of the servants from the Saegusa family talked to me.
Heizaemon-sama, please come this way.
Hm? You're our neighbor's...
You'll catch a cold.
Rice balls, huh?
You'll be disowned someday if you keep this up.
I could live with that.
You're strange man.
That was Yaichi.
Since then, we got together from time to time and hit it off really well.
We were about the same age, too, so...
The son of the family he worked for was serious to a fault.
I often teased him. His name was Seinoshin, I think.
He was a good kid, too.
It was tough for me when both of them died.
Seinoshin-sama!
What are you doing?
Children should be in bed now, Sei.
I can't sleep, so...
Are you two drinking?
Yeah. Wanna have a drink?
Hey, Heiza...!
Hm?
...-sama...
Drop the "-sama." It's annoying.
Sei, come sit here.
You two are close, aren't you?
We are good friends. You have friends from the dojo, too, don't you?
I don't.
Hm?
I have only Yaichi.
Hmm...
You're a lonely kid. Then, I'll be your friend, too.
What?
How about that? You've got two now.
Ma'am...
What is it?
Hasn't Ichi-san been acting strange these past few days?
He's often in a daze.
Sometimes when I talked to him, he doesn't even hear what I say.
Don't you think he's sick or something?
Maybe he's lovesick!
Go back to your rooms!
It's not just the past few days. He's been like that
ever since that ronin came to live here.
Let me ask you a question.
What is it?
This Yaichi guy who you're close to...
Does he have a burn scar on his left shoulder?
I've never checked, so I don't know.
I see. Then forget it.
But in any case, he reminds me of him.
Kitty... Where's that kitty?
I'm going home.
I see.
Seeing Otake-san makes me miss Chuujiro-sama.
But please write a letter to Bun-niisama for me...
saying that you're opposed to this marriage introduction.
I don't think my words would change anything.
Get a grip, Aniue.
Although Bun-niisama is the head of our family now,
we still cannot go against Masa-niisama.
When I told you to go home, you didn't, did you?
It depends on the time and circumstances!
Matsukichi-san!
Thanks for the hair ornament.
Sure...
Good. It looks good on you.
Uhm... I have a boyfriend in my hometown.
Yeah?
I'm sorry... but is it okay for me to keep this hair ornament?
Sure.
I'll keep it as a memento of Edo.
So you're going home? Have a safe trip.
Ah...
Aniue, life is tough, isn't it?
I'm such a sinful woman.
Huh?
Living here, I don't know much about what's going on in Edo anymore.
I appreciate you coming here to talk to me like this, Toku-san.
A man talked to me in Hiratsuka.
He's one of those that are left of the Bakuro gang.
A man with a large scar on his left cheek.
He said that he was after another member of the gang
and asked me if I knew anything.
Another member...?
Well, the man he was after was someone I had never heard of.
Seinoshin was the name. Do you know him?
Why is he being pursued?
I was told that there's a rumor that the Bakuro gang was caught
because this Seinoshin guy betrayed them.
You know about it, Soji-don?
Just the other day... he came here.
Toku-san, could you keep quiet about this man?
Of course! If there's something you want me to do, just tell me. I'll do it for you.
I have to let Ume know about this.
"Katsura-ya"
Next, tell us about your girlfriend.
Please, that's too...
Please pick one of us.
Pick your favorite face.
Well...
Then tell us about your hometown.
Hmm...
Tell us fun stories, okay?
Don't be silly. If we hear fun stories, it'll only make us miss our hometowns.
I'll go buy some sweets or something for you.
Oh, how nice of you.
He's become a thoughtful man.
He's always been that way.
He's a kind person.
Don't do uncalled-for things.
When those women remember their hometowns, they become lonely.
That being the case, I thought if their lives were not always tough
they might think about their hometowns less often and so feel sad less often.
You've got more of a positive attitude than I thought.
I'm probably taking it straight from Yaichi-dono.
He said we should enjoy each day... When I heard that, I thought, "That's true."
It's thanks to him.
Don't tell others to do things that you can't do yourself, Ichi.
Kill all those who could be in your way.
Kill all those...
Yagi-dono...
You sure work late, don't you?
Yagi-dono...
What is it?
Regarding what you asked me the other day...
Hm?
Yaichi-dono doesn't have a burn scar on his shoulder.
I don't recall asking you to check it.
I thought I should let you know anyway.
Okay.
Let's go have soba noodles some time.
Akitsu is a bad liar.
As I thought, he must be Seinoshin...
Seinoshin-sama, please have a look.
It's lovely and quite gorgeous.
So, please have confidence.
Your burn scar has the same shape as this maple leaf, right?
"To be continued"
Now, about the next episode of House of Five Leaves...
Jin speaking.
I have a large scar on my left cheek. You're curious about it, aren't you?
But I have no time now to tell you about the awful event in which I got this scar.
That's too bad.
Well, the next episode is...
"Pardon Me."