"Kotoba dake ja tsutawaranai mono o The things you can't get across with just words" "Ichiban tsutaetai no wa naze?" "Why do you want to get those things across the most?" "Kutsuzoko o suriherashite Wearing down the soles of your shoes" "Hadashi demo tomarenai no wa naze?" "Why can't you stop, even when you're down to your bare feet?" "Kaban no naka ni hoshizora The starry sky is in your bag" "Arashi no yoru mo soko ni aru The stormy nights are in there too" "Soro-soro tabi ni dero It's about time you go on a journey" "Robou ni saku hana yo hana yo The flowers, the flowers that bloom by the wayside" "Goro-goro doro-darake Rolling around, covered in mud" "Mune o kogasu yoake yoake The dawn, the dawn that consumes your heart" "Soro-soro hashiri-dase It's about time you start running" "Kowareru made asobe asobe Play, play until you break down" "Odorou yo doro-darake Let's dance, covered in mud" "Mune o kogasu yoake yoake The dawn, the dawn that consumes your heart" "Cha pter Twenty-One To Perish in the Starlit Night" "What are you men doing?" "!" "Lord Akamatsu has arrived!" "Show your respect!" "My lord..." "Very good." "I obtained the item in question from the British in India." "It took some doing." "Show me." "I am Nagataka Kawamura, the Niigata Magistrate!" "Here at the Port of Niigata, we see many foreign goods smuggled in against the Shogun's decree!" "We will now examine your ship!" "Those damn villains..." "Do not be hasty, Akera." "Yes, Sir." "The Niigata Magistrate?" "The Shogunate seized Niigata from the Nagaoka Clan, under some pretext about northern security." "What could samurai from Edo possibly do on the northern seas?" "I will leave it to you." "We'll sort this out in no time." "This is something else." "Among the Southern Barbarians, there is a tale of a monster that sucks human blood." "They say this creature sometimes turns itself into a wolf, or at other times, into a bat." "And this is one..." "People believed them to be blood-sucking monsters and consecrated them in this way." "I shall give you a name and make you a god of the land!" "They say the character "west" originally referred to a birdcage." "Seiga (Western Fang)" "Seiga." "Just what are you people..." "You men are no Shogunate officials!" "Do not dare insult us!" "What is this?" "A respectable warrior would not have a taste for guns." "The Shogunate appointed me, Kawamura, as the Niigata Magistrate because I come from an Oniwaban family." "To punish suspicious individuals such as yourselves!" "Lord Kawamura!" "Ah, how beautiful." "Donned by man, only then is it a god of the land." "Akera..." "Impossible..." "Akera turned into a monster..." "I was to be the one to don it..." "If a god of the land has been unleashed and brings disorder to the Tokugawa rule, that is all that matters." "An Oniwaban, is he?" "He will likely head for Edo, where he was born and raised." "Edo" " Around the time of the Tanabata Festival" "Hold it tighter!" "I can't hold on anymore!" "Lord Ogasawara!" "This is..." "This has been going on since last night?" "Yes, she was enjoying herself out in the yard, but after she had slipped out of my sight for a moment..." "Aki!" "She is no longer..." "Please!" "Do not cut down Aki!" "But..." "Are we in agreement?" "Allow me!" "Oh, no!" "Aki!" "Aki!" "Maejima Temple" "The four, young maidens all, suddenly became like beasts and attacked other people." "In the West, they say there exists a Youi that sucks people's blood." "But these maidens were not Youi." "So they were turned into beasts by a Youi." "They were no longer able to maintain their human forms..." "With regards to the incident in Ueno," "I have received words of praise from Lords Abe and Atobe for the Ayashi." "Make short work of this case as well." "It is good to know that our superiors view us with favor." "However..." "I know." "However..." "I know." "Slaying Youi is for the good of the world and of the people." "Not for the purpose of receiving praise." "Ryudo." "Why did you take on that form again?" "There was no other way." "That is a lie." "You made sure that you revealed that form before your mother." "By doing so, you..." "Tamaya!" "Oh, but Tamaya was banished from Edo in April, weren't they?" "Mm-hm, over a measly little fire that was put out quickly." "Fireworks are deemed a luxury too, so they were just made an example of." "You'll get in trouble if a police hand hears you say that!" "Look!" "Whoa, there!" "Oh, wait!" "It's dangerous!" "It's so pretty!" "You're going to catch hell for getting yourself so dirty." "But they say you won't catch a cold if you bathe in a shower of sparks." "It's close!" "I was too late!" "Abi!" "You Ayashi, do not involve yourselves in this." "Honjo..." "Akera, it is I, Kawamura!" "Do you recognize me?" "!" "So, it was Akera, after all." "Lord Kawamura..." "This incident..." "So it means the South Magistrate is up to something again." "The fifth maiden now..." "I was the one who was summoned." "As if I could let you come to Yoshiwara alone!" "How disgusting." "But if you come along..." "Master Saizo!" "What?" "No, wait..." "Off we go!" "Hey!" "Good of you to come, old geezer." "Well, come on in." "Who are you calling an old geezer?" "!" "This is a circular detailing a similar incident." "Rumors have a way of making their way to Yoshiwara, eh?" "Want me to guess which maiden will be attacked next?" "To be attacked will be a beautiful, young maiden." "What?" "!" "All the maidens who were attacked were known for their beauty." "One of their parents even came to me once to commission a portrait of her." "In which case..." "Use a beautiful maiden as bait?" "What?" "I cannot!" "You cannot ask this of me!" "But well, if it's to serve as bait, it can't be helped." "It attacks only beautiful maidens..." "Such tales are not unheard of in the West." "Lord Ogasawara." "Lord Kawamura, I had heard that you were appointed Niigata Magistrate and that you had left Edo long ago." "Smuggling was far more rampant in Niigata than I had heard." "No matter how many we apprehend, the merchants bring in goods from foreign ships out at sea." "And among those goods was that monster." "You do not mean, the Youi that attacks maidens?" "I cannot apologize enough!" "I was ordered here by the Finance Magistrate Lord Atobe and I should have come immediately, but Torii said..." "Torii?" "!" "What did South Magistrate Lord Torii say?" "That because this is the handiwork of the Western Ones, it must be kept secret." "Western Ones?" "Come on, Saizo." "I will be done shortly." "Hold it still!" "You look pretty enough already, don't you think?" "The Youi goes after the most beautiful maidens in Edo, does it not?" "No one ever said that." "At any rate, it means whoever is attacked is more beautiful!" "Will it be Atl?" "!" "Or me?" "!" "Weren't you trying to become a man?" "Is it a crime to become beautiful?" "!" "Good, good!" "Go!" "Yukiatsu certainly is late." "He IS late." "I wonder if the Youi is looking for someone." "Why did you go so far as to defy Torii to tell us this?" "You will understand when you see this." "This is the wife of one Tomiya Akera, a subordinate of mine." "Why did she take her own life?" "That Youi is Akera!" "And it was the Western Ones who awakened this Youi?" "That is what Torii called it." "When he heard my story, he said I needn't reveal any of this, and that the Youi would be slain." "And I was made to bring them here." "Anticipating that Akera would return to this place." "After hearing the story, the wife took her own life when we were not looking." "Having heard that her husband had been possessed by a monster, perhaps she felt responsible." "Or perhaps she thought she could not serve as bait to capture her husband." "At any rate, we are leaving her like this, waiting for Akera, now turned Youi, to come back." "Lord Niigata Magistrate," "I believe you were told not to divulge this information." "I cannot stand this!" "Even if it is by Torii's orders," "I cannot condone this method, that treats humans as if they are objects!" "Who are the Western Ones?" "Are they your compatriots?" "The Western Ones do not exist." "Do not speak that name." "This is..." "Even among the Oniwaban, Akera was an expert with guns." "His wife also often helped with his work." "Then, this is gunpowder?" "Oh, I see!" "Lord Kawamura, the Ayashi will deal with the matter of the Youi." "Ah, you would take pity on Akera?" "The only ones to be pitied are this woman and the maidens who have fallen victim!" "Is it close?" "I think so." "Though I am not as certain as the foxes." "If I asked them again, they might eat my arm this time." "Oh, um, are things going well between you and Kyousai?" "No, well, I thought you two make a good match." "Do you like Kyousai?" "No!" "As if I would!" "I was just wondering who it is that you really li..." "If you are going to attack, take me!" "Huh?" "So you prefer her, after all?" "!" "It was not me." "Atl!" "Are you hurt?" "I am fine." "What is going on here?" "When two of the most beautiful maidens in Edo were right here..." "Pardon?" "Are you..." "Matsu..." "Matsu, is that you?" "I have been waiting for you, my dear." "My dear!" "Edogen!" "Genbatsu!" "Boss!" "That Youi was looking for a woman who smelled of gunpowder." "Gunpowder?" "The maidens were attacked after watching fireworks or playing with fireworks in the yard." "Because they smelled the same as your wife." "And you smell the same scent on me, too." "So he was attacking women, drawn by the scent of his wife." "In other words, beauty had nothing to do with it." "Edogen will draw him in." "Go." "But there's a man inside the Youi, isn't there?" "It is too late to save him now!" "You have me trapped." "Is that what you think?" "Yeah, that's right." "These are your wife's kimonos." "I felt bad about it, but I borrowed them." "If there's still any humanity left in you," "I bet they're far more soothing than some Shinto prayers." "Well then, you two enjoy your time together in the next world..." "Could it be that you people are..." "Edogen!" "Flames" "Genbatsu, why did you hesitate?" "Kumoshichi, we're using the Ayagami!" "Ryudo!" "Against an enemy in the sky, there's no choice but for me to go!" "Listen to me!" "If you become one with a Youi, you will also become a Youi!" "Even though he could sniff out his wife, there was no humanity left in him!" "So, you would turn your back on Edogen?" "Isn't that what losing your humanity is about?" "Lord Torii?" "Let's go, Kumoshichi!" "You mustn't forget..." "I've brought plenty of gunpowder with me!" "I cannot escape from the Western Ones..." "I may as well..." "Ryudo!" "What is your Ayagami?" "!" "What is this?" "Summoning his Ayagami is useless!" "He was given his form by the Western Ones!" "His name will also only be a false name!" "So that is Yukiatsu Ryudo..." "Lord Torii, why do you allow this to go unchallenged?" "I am not that stupid!" "So, that serpent head has thwarted us yet again." "Next, Inba Swamp." "Don't move, Genbatsu." "I am fine." "More importantly, please see to Ryudo." "Ryudo is..." "Please let him just sleep like this." "Will he awaken?" "Yes, probably." "Atl, what should we do?" "Atl?" "How beautiful..." "What are you saying?" "The Other World is even more beautiful." "Compared to that, our beauty is meaningless." "Even so, we cling to this ground and go on living..." "That is what Ryudo said." "Mado no soto no sora o mitara Outside my window, looking at the sky" "Kumo ga haato no katachi ni mieta yo The clouds looked like they were in the shape of a heart" "Iki o ookiku suikome ba If you take in a deep breath" "Kokoro ga ookiku natta ki ga suru ne It makes you feel like your heart's grown bigger, doesn't it?" "Ai to wa nanika?" "What is love?" "Nante kono toshi ja wakaru wake nai kedo There's no way I'd know that at my age" "Itsu no hi ka wakaru toki ga kuru no kana I wonder if there'll come a day when I do know" "Mado kara mieru ki no eda mo ha mo Outside my window, I can see tree branches and leaves" "Mainichi mainichi nobite-iru yo And they grow every day, day after day" "Kore kara mo nobite-iku yo ne They'll continue to grow from now on too, won't they?" "Konna toki ni wa konna uta ga niau At times like this, a song like this is just the thing" "Jibun no ima omou kimochi o kuchizusame Sing whatever you're feeling right now" "Aishite-iru to iu suteki ni hibiku kotoba ga The words "I love you" have such a wonderful ring to them" "Mirai ni iru jibun o kitto ima no nanbai mo ookiku Surely they'll make my future self many times greater" "Yasashiku sasete kureru no kamo shirenai Maybe many times kinder than I am today" "Preview" "Preview Drinking sake and getting drunk, people become some other thing." "Drinking sake and getting drunk, people become some other thing." "Though you put up a front, saying, "There is something I want to forget,"" "the next morning, you are once again the same person you were before." "Next Time Chapter Twenty-Two The Drunk Who Does Not Come Home" "Next Time Chapter Twenty-Two The Drunk Who Does Not Come Home Chapter Twenty-Two." "The Drunk Who Does Not Come Home."