"So you´re awake?" "Fix something to eat." "I hope you like it." "Help yourself" "Thank you." "I will." "Very Good." "Where´s the guy?" "The man who brought you?" "I did what i could  but his wounds were too deep." "I see." "I have no family." "He was like a brother to me." "I´m sorry." "War is cruel to everyone." "Where is he?" "I cleaned his body changed his kimono and laid him in another room." "You did?" "That´s one more thing I must thank you for." "Don´t let it concern you." "This is a very unusual temple." "Are you it´s priest?" "No." "It was derelict." "Not many come this deep into the mountains." "I don´t get along with people very well." "I´ve been living here for years." "I see." "And the lady?" "Well, it´s a bit complicated." "She´s been here for years." "Anyway, what are you going to do?" "Now?" "Yes." "I´ll take his body back to his home." "I have no home, but he does." "That´s the only way I can mourn him." "Thank you for everything." "I´ll take my leave." "What´s your hurry?" "The enemy will be looking for you on the road you came." "To the west is a sheer cliff." "You could go down it, but in this rain it might collapse." "I say this for your own good." "Rest the night here." "I have few guests." "I dislike society, so I´ve retired to this temple." "I´m glad to have someone to drink with after so long." "I know, considering your friend,that this is not an auspicious encounter but perhaps this,too, is some kind of destiny." "Well?" "Let´s drink the night away and sit vigil for him." "I´ll take you up on that, then." "You have my thanks." "No, you have mine." "We´ll make a night of it." "This is a drink called "wine", from a land called "France"." "It´s made from grapes." "A strange taste but a good one." "Isn´t it?" "Drink up!" "This liquor, and this temple..." "It´s all new to me." "Is all of this from foreign lands?" "Yes." "I traveled far before I chanced upon this temple." "And that Buddha, is it foreign, too?" "The face is strange." "I carved it." "You?" "Yes.Living here, i have lots and lots of time." "It´s quite something!" "It´s not so much Buddha as a carving of me." "Do you see?" "Perhaps a little, now you mention it." "Speak your mind." "It´s a very heavy rain." "Well, it should stop by tomorrow." "The mountain roads are dangerous." "And there is a legend they tell of this mountain." "Do you know it?" "No." "They say the long-nosed goblin haunts this mountain." ""Tengu"?" "Who haunts this forest, who seizes men to eat?" "The very same." ""Tengu" rules this mountain." "He hears the drop of a pin." "He sees a thousand leagues." "He scents the difference between a man´s blood and a beast´s and he eats only flesh." "But "Tengu" is just the name that people give him." "He´s really "Aragami" a fury of wild violence, the Raging God of Battle." "You seem to know this well." "But isn´t something as dangerous as that a threat to this temple?" "Not really." "Because this "Aragami" is me." "You had me there!" "Sorry, sorry." "But "Tengu" legend is real." "Even if he did appear, you look like a strong man with a sword." "You could handle him." "What about you?" "To survive that battle, and those wounds..." "I´m sure more than a few men have fallen before you." "Tell me how many have you killed?" "To count them would be in very bad taste." "Oh?" "So you kill men in uncounted numbers and forget?" "Shouldn´t you remember the lives you take?" "I´ve killed 794." "I remember their shape, their voice the last look on their face everything." "May I see my friend?" "He scents the difference between a man´s blood and a beast´s." "I smell it..." "You reek of blood!" "Enough!" "You´re drunk." "I´ll be on my way." "I´ll come back and thank you properly." "Oh?" "No, I´d like you to do that now." "I want you to kill me." "Are you mad?" "I told you..." "I am Aragami." "But I´ve lived far too long." "I´ve been waiting for the one who will grant me death." "But it is not easy for Aragami to have himself killed." "Only a man worthy of the deed can cut me down." "This is crazy!" "Why would I kill the man who saved my life?" "That´s why I ask." "You´re in my dept." "Stop, will you?" "You look like a man to me." "Not "Tengu" or "Aragami"." "Not all is what it seems." "Not even a man." "One with a saintly face may betray you." "One with an innocent face may be prostitute." "One with an evil face may be good." "All right, let´s say you really are Aragami." "Why should I kill you?" "Take me to my friend, damn it!" "You´re a samurai." "You have a duty to accept my challenge." "Why do I have a duty to fight the man who saved my life?" "You are no longer who you were when you came." "Think about it." "Isn´t it strange?" "You came here two days ago with 13 sword cuts and four arrows stuck in you." "Your wounds had festered, and you had a high fever." "And now?" "Once a crazed lord kidnapped large numbers of small babies." "He believed he needed them to concoct a potion of immortality." "He thought newborns held untold possibility as nourishment... in the treatment of wounds of disease and old age." "Now, while this lord was simply a lunatic his idea was not completely wrong." "There is a mysterious power in human flesh." "My friend..." "Where is he?" "To take your body past its limits the human liver is best." "Yes." "You ate the flesh of your friend." "He bacame part of you, and gave you strength otherwise you were dead by now." "You bastard!" "I understand how you feel." "How about another drink first." "What are you?" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Will you look at this sword!" "It´s about ready to snap." "This looks like it could be fun." "The night´s still young." "Let´s take our time." "Shut up!" "Huh?" "You go too far!" "Stop looking like you´re dying." "It´s just a scratch." "Hey... hey." "Give it a rest." "See?" "But you aren´t immortal, you know." "The head or the heart kills you." "Anyway, let´s have another drink." "Now, this liquor is from a land called Russia." "They call it vodka." "It´s pretty strong." "It´s from corn." "Anyway, have a drink." "Do you think I´m giong to just sit and drink?" "!" "How come I´m not dead?" "!" "I told you." "You ate the liver..." "So you just eat someone´s liver and you don´t die?" "Don´t be silly." "Look." "...no two cooks make the same thing the same way." "This woman is a good cook." "An excellent one." "So." "Are you a demon,too?" "It´s been said that women are devils, hasn´t it?" "She´s more a devil than I am." "While you´re at it could you kill her, too?" "Hey!" "What´s in that?" "!" "I said it was strong." "What do you want?" "Why are you doing this to me?" "!" "How many times do I have to tell you?" "I want to die." "Fighting is the only reason to live." "I´ve always hoped I´d meet someone stronger but I´m tired" "This body of mine will never get any older." "I´m not able to die naturally" "Why not cut your stomach open,then?" "Don´t ask me to kill you!" "Hara-kiri?" "That´s something mortals do from excessive self-respect and stupid pride." "I am without fault." "Why would I do that?" "Besides." "I am Aragami, the Raging God of Battle." "I was born to die in battle." "And i can´t be cut down by some backwoods samurai." "No." "I will die when I encounter the one." "Sophistry." "Nothing you say makes any sense at all!" "It´s absurd!" "Then let me ask you do mortals make sense?" "Shabby politicians start wars where you kill each other by the thousand." "Isn´t that the reason you´re here, and your friend is dead?" "Isn´t that absurd?" "Listen the existence of this world is absurd." "All right, then." "...why did you kill him and choose me?" "You were both half-dead." "I could only save one." "But why me and not him?" "No reason." "I just chose you, that´s all." "Would you rather you´d died and been eaten instead?" "And look, I didn´t kill him." "I gave you the chance to survive." "I could have let you both die." "But, now you have the chance to live." "There´s a big difference." "Consider yourself lucky you have the chance." "Make the best of it." "Who do you think you are?" "!" "You bring people here to split hairs, and then kill them." "What chance have I got?" "It´s just murder!" "Not all the ones I killed were people." "They weren´t?" "Wher´d he go?" "Sometimes demons or goblins look like people." "There are beings in the world that are beyond imagination." "They made me realize that I wasn´t human that I was Aragami." "Demons, goblins, Aragami..." "what are you talking about?" "As I told you, the world isn´t always what it seems." "Many who look human aren´t so at all." "Warriors who defeat vast numbers of the enemy..." "Miraculous survivors of disease or accident..." "People say they´re lucky but that´s not it." "Thy´re human, but then again they´re not." "Oh, I get it." "If you´re Aragami, maybe I am, too." "Maybe." "That´s not true!" "Neither of us looks anything other than human." "Some birds fly high up in the sky, but some never leave the ground." "It´s not strange that humans come in different forms." "My being here is proof of existence beyond what is known." "I say white, you say black." "I just don´t see it." "No, you wouldn´t." "I used to think I was human, too." "I went looking for battle from the moment I was born and I fought lots of men." "No one could beat me." "I couldn´t help wondering why I was so strong." "And then in time the whole world knew my name." "I became feared" "No man would face me in a fair fight any more." "Wait..." "What is that name the whole world knew?" "Who, me?" "Yeah." "Miyamoto Musashi." "Musashi?" "You´re the Musashi who never met his match?" "It doesn´t matter now what my name was." "But he died years ago!" "Yeah, that´s what I heard." "You know "rumors"." "You´re history´s greatest samurai in the world?" "...and also you´re an inhuman Aragami?" "Is that it?" "Yeah, something like that." "And you want me to fight a monster like you?" "That´s right." "What an idiot!" "Ow!" "That hurts!" "Sorry, sorry." "You´re Musashi!" "Ow!" "Ow!" "Give me a break!" "What the hell." "I´ve already died once." "Alright." "Your sword´s no good any more." "Take what you like." "No, not that one." "That´s mine." "You said to take one." "Sorry." "I recommend that western one." "It´s called a "broadsword"." "It´s heavy, and it cuts." "The owners of these weapons are all dead so feel free." "Forget that sickle-and-chain." "The room´s too small." "Too many pillars." "How will a bear´s-claw help?" "Ninja stars are for losers." "That gun´s good." "It´s a "pistol"." "The latest weapon from the west." "It fires a bullet with gunpowder, like a matchclock." "It won´t be easy to hit me with it, of course." "Hey, wait a minute." "Shooting me when I was asleep wouldn´t be much fun." "I thought I´d wake you up." "I am not able to sleep." "Tell me have you ever dreamed?" "Of course." "I dont sleep, so I never have." "That´s too bad." "A good dream is fun." "I´d like to try it someday..." "dreaming." "About the gun..." "You have to pull the hammer back to fire." "That was your friend´s sword." "It´s a good one." "Killing me with it would be a nice way to mourn." "So that´s your choice?" "So you mean to win..." "You´re my kind." "We can´t turn away from fighting." "If we´re the same kind, and you´re Aragami what does that make me?" "Beat me and you´ll find out." "I´m glad we met." "That´s a sneaky trick!" "Yes!" "I like that!" "That´s why I chose you." "This is the central moment of your life." "Stake body and soul, present. past and future and show me!" "You´re the man I chose." "Can´t you do better than that?" "The hammer..." "You won´t beat me with that." "I guess not." "I thought maybe he was the one." "Is there no one in this world who can stand against me?" "He was a real samurai." "Give him a good funeral." "You?" "The world isn´t always what it seems." "Didn´t you say that?" "Yes, I did." "I´m sure you have no equal under heaven." "But look up there´re millions of stars above." "You´ve made me realize what I really am." "This is indeed a world of wonder." "Fascinating." "You´re the one I´ve been waiting for." "You weren´t waiting for me." "I was searching for you." "Thanks." "This is the best moment in my life." "What manner of being are you?" "Beat me and you´ll find out." "I see..." "The world is so wide, and still full of mystery..." "Now you can sleep." "I can?" "So this is sleep..." "Hey do you think I can dream, too?" "Yeah." "I wonder what he´s dreaming..." "What will you do?" "I´ll stay here with you." "You will stay here and continue your battle." "Oh,well..." "I´ve got nowhere to go." "I guess I´ll stay." "Aragami..." "I wonder who´s going to beat me." "I´ll be here to see."