Art by Kyosai Kawanabe
A wavering wraith of karmic retribution Art by Kyosai Kawanabe
A wavering wraith of karmic retribution
on a wandering path of wretched fate.
Thoroughly despised and fractured,
a set of two mirrors facing one another.
Coming forth from the darkness where time intersects,
your grievance shall be avenged.
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Tell me what time it is right now
Hell Girl Two Mirrors Say it's a dream, hold me
The city in ruins looks familiar
Inside that photographic collection I flipped through with you
Why am I alone all alone?
Right away, right away, I realize it's a dream
I run through the rubble, I kick something
Searching for the exit that will wake me from the dream
I have to hurry, I have to hurry
I can hear your voice from somewhere
You can only see eternity in the flow of time
Tell me what time it is right now
Say it's a dream, hold me
My heart's on the verge of becoming still, make it stir again
Please
You're next to me
Probably having a different dream
I don't need the sun
Right now, I miss your smile
Hell Amidst the Steam, Lodging for Travelers
The water sure is fine, isn't it?
My granddad's real pleased with it, too.
That elderly gentleman who was here earlier?
Yes, for soreness in the back,
they say the hot springs of Arima and Kusatsu are good,
but my granddad could never make it that far.
But I never imagined they'd find a hot spring so close by.
We're really happy about it, too.
And it chases away the weariness of field work.
I heard Kahei's thinking of changing his trade.
Startin' up a hot springs inn or somethin'?
That's what I heard. This is Kahei's land, after all.
That'd be a great help for folks like us comin' from afar.
I hear the government officials are all for it, too.
You know, because something like Arima could happen.
[The title of retired lord regent, "taiko", can often specifically refer to the most famous one, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who was in power in the late 1500s.] Oh, the retired Lord Regent took a likin' to Arima
[The title of retired lord regent, "taiko", can often specifically refer to the most famous one, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who was in power in the late 1500s.] and I hear they're doin' real good business.
[As is later said, the inn has endured for 400 years, which means this story takes place relatively close to when Ai began her duties as Hell Girl.] If that happens, we might be able to share a bit of the good fortune, too.
[As is later said, the inn has endured for 400 years, which means this story takes place relatively close to when Ai began her duties as Hell Girl.]
Kahei, what about me was not acceptable?
I'm sorry, Tami.
I thought all that remained was to wait for the wedding...
I'm sorry. Please give up on Yohei.
Why?
That's finally taken care of.
What's he talkin' about, Yohei?
Th-That's...
Oh, no, it has nothing to do with you, Hanae.
Don't trouble yourself over it.
More importantly, we must talk of the wedding.
We must reassure your parents in Arima.
Yes!
And we'll need a lot of guidance with regards to the inn, too. Yes!
And we'll need a lot of guidance with regards to the inn, too.
Perhaps we should have stayed at that post station, after all.
They say monsters appear on this mountain pass, too...
Hah!
A means to make people stay at their inn!
No need to take it seriously.
But sir...
There, look at that.
There are others making use of this road as well.
l-It's a monster!
Cursed apparition!
I can still run! I can run!
I hear it showed up again.
Rest Stop
You mean that wheel monster?
Rest Stop The one called Kaen-nyuudou or Wanyuudou or something, right?
Yeah, that's the one.
They said a samurai got attacked this time and got injured real bad!
I don't like it. How frightening!
What's it got against humans anyway?
Why?!
Why are you not frightened at the sight of me?!
Are you that intent on frightening people?
I...
You see, I...
You're a strange little missy.
What happened?
It just rankled...
It rankled and rankled...
It made me beyond bitter...
When I realized, I'd become like this...
I have no choice but to keep on running.
For how long?
Until I rot in Hell someday.
Come.
I'll tell you about Hell.
Looking like this?
You're capable of human speech, aren't you?
So this is it, huh?
Your name?
Ai Enma.
People call me Kaen-nyuudou or Wanyuudou...
Then, Wanyuudou.
I guess that will work.
You're no ordinary human, are you?
Where'd that little missy go?
She couldn't have become that stone statue...
Of course not.
Look at how magnificent it's become...
Do you know?
Oh, no! There's someone in here!
What? What do you want to do?
It's just one old grandpa. No worries, no worries.
Um...
Hello.
You won't mind if we join you, right?
I see. Taking time off school to go on a trip with friends, huh?
Well, isn't that grand?
Not grand, not grand at all. We're poor high school students.
Ichiko said she'd take care of it all, that's why.
You see, I can actually stay at this hotel
as much as I want, whenever I want.
Hey, Ichiko!
Oh, I just had an idea.
Hey, did you know, mister?
Know what?
See, this hotel is actually...
Ma'am!
Pardon the interruption, but about tonight's meal...
Oh, dear, here's the proprietress.
Okay, just forget I ever said anything.
Later.
Do you know?
Know what?
["Ema" are votive horse tablets. They are wooden panels with horses drawn on them as symbolic offerings.] Of Hell Ema Tablets.
["Ema" are votive horse tablets. They are wooden panels with horses drawn on them as symbolic offerings.] Hell Ema Tablets? Never heard of them.
I see.
Kahei Haven
I won't forgive them.
Oh-ho! This is quite the sumptuous feast!
Pardon us.
I am the owner, Kahei.
M-My name is Yohei. Uh, um...
I am Hanae, Yohei's wife. And I serve as the overseer.
We hope ya enjoy yer stay.
We hope you enjoy it.
You two are our very first guests,
so we came to say hello, intendin' to provide ya with the best we've got.
We're the first?
Yes. Up until yesterday, we were entertainin'
government officials and the heads of local villages.
So you are our first guests.
Everyone seemed to know what they were doing for all that.
Oh, my family runs a hot springs inn back in Arima,
so they found me promisin',
and I had the honor of marryin' Yohei last month.
Thanks to that, I've been saved from becomin' a spinster.
Hey, where are you going?
A shrine, huh?
Offerings
I'll show you.
This is the Hell Ema Tablet.
Your grievance shall be avenged.
If you write the name of someone you hate on the back of this,
Your grievance shall be avenged. you can banish them to Hell.
Your grievance shall be avenged.
To Hell...
However, that person will go to Hell, too.
Are you sure you should be taking such a leisurely bath?
Was there something you were dissatisfied with?
Tonight's dinner.
You served all those high-calorie dishes, even after everything I said.
But that was our best...
As punishment, you're going back to your room stark-naked.
No covering yourself up with a towel.
But...
You know what'll happen if you defy me, right?
Oh, give me about 100,000 in allowance later, okay?
I'll be counting on you.
Pardon me! Pardon me!
Your grievance shall be avenged. Send
Your grievance shall be avenged.
But are there people who actually use those ema tablets?
That person also goes to Hell after they die, right?
There are people like that.
You summoned me, didn't you?
You're...
...Hell Girl.
Take it.
If you really want retribution,
untie this red thread.
By untying the thread, you will enter into a covenant with me.
The object of your vengeance will immediately be banished to Hell.
However, once you have your retribution,
you will have to pay the price for it as well.
Curses come home to roost.
If you enter into the covenant, your soul will also go to Hell.
That's only after you die, though.
Preparations for the wedding were already done, you know.
And I was already with child, too.
But they were building a hot springs inn,
so they said they wanted a bride suited for that sort of thing.
It's beyond selfish!
Offerings
I can't ever let them get away with it!
Come.
Where...?
This place...
Ai, dear, I'll leave your under-kimono here.
So you always go on foot like that?
Yes.
Get on.
Ah! Another hot spring!
Business will be booming here, without a doubt!
Hot! That's hot!
Why?
If the hot springs inn became a success, everyone would be happy.
Why...
Why did it end up this way?
Is that little missy always doing things like this?
I consign this grievance to Hell...
Pa! Pa!
Pa...
Yohei! Pa...
Pa!
Calm down! Yohei, calm down! Pa!
Calm down! Yohei, calm down! Pa! Pa!
This inn will be finished!
A hotel like this deserves to go belly up.
Oh, it's you.
Humans sure are karmic creatures.
That Ichiko girl had an ancestor who went to Hell.
She asked for Kahei, the first owner of this hotel, to be banished to Hell.
I see. No wonder I thought she looked familiar.
They say Ichiko's ancestor, Tami, despised this inn till the day she died.
Oh, here she comes.
You'll pay for what you did!
Talk about ironic.
If you trace back, our client and her target are both Kahei's descendants.
Your grievance has been heard.
What is this? What's going on?!
It's hot!
What is this?! What is this?!
You like hot springs, right?
Let's take a dip together.
There's no way I could take a dip in that!
Come on, it's okay. There's someone in there already.
Join me.
Here we go!
Yet Another Fake Hot Springs What are we doing about this?
Yet Another Fake Hot Springs Kihei Haven, please talk to us a bit about this.
Yet Another Fake Hot Springs Don't you feel bad about this towards your customers?
Yet Another Fake Hot Springs How long have you been faking it?
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we will be closing down the hotel for a while. Hotel Kahei Haven Corp Manager How long have you been faking it?
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we will be closing down the hotel for a while. Hotel Kahei Haven Corp Manager With regards to that matter, we are currently investigating it.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we will be closing down the hotel for a while. Hotel Kahei Haven Corp Manager We are very sorry, but we will be closing for a while.
If I said that I banished someone to Hell, would you believe me?
I was being blackmailed for a long time by this high school girl.
She saw me putting bath salts into the bath.
Our hot spring dried up years ago.
I banished her to Hell in order to maintain the secret,
but she'd asked her friends and such
to insure that the secret would be leaked to the press immediately
if something happened to her.
This inn has been in business for four hundred years and today, it's all over.
You are our last guests.
So, your first guests will also be your last.
What?
Let's go.
Hell Girl...
I never imagined things would end up this way.
The karmic fate that humans bear is boundless.
Thank ya very much. Please come again.
That inn will be finished!
Man will never cease to hate.
Is that how it goes?
Just as you continued to run through that mountain pass,
until it all rots away in Hell.
Come with me.
It's not in my nature to be an attendant.
Then be my legs.
All right then, Miss.
Yurie Yumoto
Your grievance shall be avenged.
Yurie Yumoto
No empty dreams, no eternal lament
The luster of the moon
Illuminates my soul
The dance of the fiery flowers guides my way
The entangling songs of errors
Bring me heartache
Placing my hand in the endless river, let it wash away
The words that tormented me, dyeing them indigo
Your name?
Mari Fujimaki.
You used to be close, right?
It was fun at first.
I even thought that all I wanted in the world was us.
But...
There's no such thing as eternity.
Not in anything.
Please, banish her to Hell for me.
Your grievance has been heard.
Next time, "A Maiden's Album".
Hell Girl Two Mirrors A Maiden's Album Next time, "A Maiden's Album".
Hell Girl Two Mirrors A Maiden's Album