"Meiji 7 (1874)." "Tokyo Prison, Hachioji, Kanagawa Prefecture Branch" "Yuki..." "You were born for vengeance..." "Such a poor child..." "A child of the netherworlds..." "Lady Snowblood" "Move it!" "Get out of our way, woman!" "Who do you think you are?" "!" "Do you realize that he's Shibayama Genzo, the Asakura Senryo Gang leader?" "It doesn't matter!" "Kill her!" "You bitch!" "What are you, an assassin?" "!" "You little bitch!" "Don't kill her..." "I want her to tell us what fool hired her." "Yessir!" "Yessir!" "Who are you?" "!" "Speak!" "Who gave you orders to come after me...of all people?" "!" "Answer me!" "Wh..." "Who are you...?" "Revenge.." "Wh..." "Wh..." "Whoose?" "!" "All those helpless people that have suffered, thanks to you..." "Woman, wh...wh...who the hell are you?" "!" "Lady Snowblood." "# Begrieving snow falls..." "in the dead morning... #" "# Stray dog's howls... and the footsteps of Gete pierce the air... #" "# I walk with the weigth of the Milky Way on my shoulders... # # ...but an umbrella that holds onto the darkness is all there is. #" "# I'm a woman who walks at the brink of life and death... # # ...who's emptied my tears many moons ago... #" "# All the compassion, tears and dreams... # # ...the snowy nights... and tomorrow..." "hold no meaning... #" "# I've immersed my body in the river of vengeance... # # ...and thrown away my womanhood many moons ago... #" "Chapter One:" "Vengeance Binds Love and Hate" "Over twenty years have flown by since the new era of Meiji ended three centuries of peaceful Tokugawa rule." "The European ideas of social progress that once greatly unsettled the people are becoming widely accepted." "Still, provincial disputes continue unabated as do unfair practices by mercenary plutocrats and shady businessmen and actions taken by corrupt officials seeking only to benefit themselves." "And, self-indulgent, rich men and women only grew in number while the pleas of poor peasants who could barely make ends meet, remained unanswered." "And at this time, there lived a woman of the netherworlds." "Everyone knew her flowery beauty but, not many knew that deep inside her seemingly gentle and pure heart burned a raging desire to hunt down her enemies." "People say...that what cleanses this world of decay is not pure white snow but snow that is stained fiery-red:" ""the snow of the netherworlds."" "Damn it..." "Pardon me..." "I would like to see Sir Matsuemon..." "Where can I find Sir Matsuemon, your leader?" "Please, would you take me to him?" "Come with me." "Please!" "Please!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "Anything that comes here gets passed around!" "That is the law of our band!" "C'mon now!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "Pass it around!" "This goddess of sex is here for us!" "You think you're tough?" "!" "She got me!" "Kill this bitch!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop it!" "Fool!" "Idiot!" "Ow!" "How dare you!" "Wh..." "Wh..." "What the...?" "You fools..." "How dare you act like stray dogs in heat?" "!" "But, Boss..." "You idiot!" "Sir..." "The lady is a very important guest of mine." "What?" "!" "As you know, that ruthless bastard Shiba-Gen tried to destroy our village by bankrupring us." "This lady is the one who croaked him!" "Miss..." "I was told that you make your living as an assassin yet, looking at you, I cannot imagine you hurting a fly." "Tell me, Miss Shurayuki what is it that you seek?" "Sir Matsuemon..." "I would like to request your assistance in finding these individuals." "Takemura Banzo..." "Tsukamoto Gishiro Kitahama Okono..." "Oh... all three seem to be from the Koichi Village, in the Aimi District of Shimane Prefecture." "Now, Koichi Village... that's where I grew up." "It has taken me a whole year..." "to ascertain that very fact." "But, tell me..." "Why?" "Are you familiar with the Ketsuzei Riots that occured in the 6th year of Meiji?" "The Ketsuzei Riots?" "I can't say that I don't know of it..." "These three explited that situation ...and swindled large sums from the villages of kiochi ...by running a "draft- exclusion" scam and then skipping out without a trace." "I don't know all the details but I heard that there were four culprits, not three." "Yes sir." "Of the four..." "Shokei Tokuichi is now dead..." "He was killed." "I beseech you, sir." "Please find those three." "I hear you but, without knowing what they look like knowing their names alone won't be much help." "That is not true!" "I believe that you can do it, sir!" "It should be possible to find many people who know of them." "As your clan is spread widely across the entire nation if you were to use your many connections I know that you could succeed!" "I don't believe that it is impossible..." "But... what exactly are you after?" "The 6th year of Meiji..." "I doubt that you had even been born yet." "It could be said that Karma can stain the unborn..." "All the young men of this nation, as of their seventeenth birthday will be registered for the draft, and assigned to the army or reserves." "Their service is required to defend the nation." "On November 10th, all familt heads must register their sixteen year-old male children with town officials." "Upon reaching the age of twenty all such man will be inducted into the military." "Going back in time... over twenty years ago..." "In the Sixth year of Meiji, March..." "the nation's first draft mandate was enacted by the Cabinet." "The new government sought to strengthen the nation through militarism believing that the modernization of Japan must be based on the development of military power similar to that of foreign superpowers." "However... the peasants did not consider it to be a reasonable measure and soon their discontent exploded in riots." "The end to these uprisings was nowhere in sight..." "Destruction, robbery, arson... and other acts of rebellion continued without end." "Many strange rumors circulated, the most famous being about the "Men in White"." "Men dressed in white were said to be the pawns of the new government who killed conscripts and collected their blood for sale to foreign nations." "This is where the first chapter of the tragedy begins." "Meiji 6 (1873), June." "Koichi Village, Aimi District, Shimane Prefecture." "Shiro!" "Shiro!" "Knock it off!" "Let me go!" "Guys!" "Let me go!" "Mommy!" "Shiro!" "Let's go." "Get off, fool!" "Knock it off!" "Let go!" "Mommy!" "Hey!" "Look at him!" "He's wearing white!" "Knock it off!" "It's HIM..." "He's the new government man!" "Kill him!" "Don't be ridiculous!" "I'm..." "I'm the new gradeschool teacher who's just moved to this village!" "Shut up!" "Die!" "Tsukamoto Gishiro" "Takemura Banzo" "Shokei Tokuichi" "Dear!" "Kitahama Okono" "This is unthinkable!" "How could this be?" "!" "Dear!" "Dear!" "Dear!" "Dear...!" "Dear!" "Has the moment come?" "I believe so." "Then you ought to go..." "There is othing to prevent you from walking your path." "Reverend, I must thank you for all these years of training." "I am disheartened because I have not been able to repay you in any way." "Don't be ridiculous..." "You have a destiny that needs to be realized." "Forget joy, forget sorrow forget love, and forget hate except for vengeance, thse must be forgotten." "And thus, there should be no sadness in you." "A child of the netherworlds ought not talk like that." "A "child of the netherworlds..."" "...who knows how many times you've scolded me by calling me that." ""Kajima Sayo"" ""Kobayashi Tora"" "You are a child of the netherworld..." "You are not a being of this early realm." "You are a devil that abides by netherworldly principles a beast, a devil... one whose disguise is human one so evil that even Buddha cannot save you now." "Sayo!" "You gotta hang in there!" "Hang in there!" "Otora!" "Don't just sit there!" "I've helped many give birth in this jail but I've never seen a birth this difficult!" "If it goes wrong, Sayo could die!" "I..." "I don't care..." "if I die but... at least... save my baby... please..." "Otora!" "This isn't good... it's overdue... the baby's overdue and it's twisted around..." "It doesn't matter..." "At least save my baby..." "my baby..." "You don't even know whose child you're bearing!" "Should... should my baby be stillborn if that should happen, Otora..." "I'll kill you!" "But, tell me... why did those four commit such a hideous crime?" "For profit..." ""For profit?"" "They told the people that draftees could be excused from service by paying them a sum of 270 yen and thus they swindled the villagers out of tens of thousands of yen." "After splitting the money among themselves they fled from the village, as planned." "Shokei Tokuichi, who desired my body took me along with him to Tokyo." "In Tokyo, Tokuichi opened a little eatery." "I did as I was told, and waited for the right moment..." "I killed Tokuichi and was in the midst of hunting down the remaining three when I was arrested..." "Three more vengeances remain." "But..." "I've been sentenced to life in prison..." "I can no longer... exact my revenge... with my own hands." "Then, you mean for this child to you want this newborn to..." "That's why you kept saying you wanted a strong boy..." "Otora..." "I can't remember how many times you told me..." ""...you're a slut!"" "But that's all right... because it was true." "Because I wanted a child so much..." "I've..." "At the women's prison in Ichingaya and after I arrived here I acted like a mad bitch in heat I want only seduced men, and screwed one after another." "I knew this made you look upon me with disgust." "For me, there remain things left undone." "Even if I have to devote my next seven lives to it my vengeance..." "cannot be denied." "So I... must let this child wreak my vengeance for me." "I'll die... so my spirit can be embodied in her!" "That's the only... method of vengeance I have left." "Otora..." "I beg you..." "Okiku... please take care of this child." "You were born for vengeance..." "Such a poor child..." "A child of the netherworlds but, Yuki you must avenge us without fail your father... your big brother and me Yuki my..." "Sayo!" "Sayo!" "Sayo!" "Sayo!" "Some time later, Mikazuki Otora was released." "She took care of the baby with the help of Dokai, a priest and former liege vassal." "Being a "child of the netherworlds", Yuki received severe training from Dokai." "Weighing down her little shoulders were sad thoughts of vengeance but despite this, Yuki endured great hardships, and survived the training." "Meiji 15 (1882)" "Kashima Yuki, Age 8" "Stretch out your hands and feet..." "Don't get thrown out, Yuki!" "Yessir!" "Here we go..." "Yuki!" "Stand up!" "Stand up!" "Yuki!" "Yuki!" "Yuki!" "Until the barrel stops naturally after rolling down the hill you must not become dislodged!" "You were not born as a human child." "You were born a child of the netherworlds who will devote your own life to avenge another's death." "You must never forget that this is your duty." "Feel like a beast!" "Become a beast!" "What are you looking at?" "!" "Look into my eyes!" "You must look into my eyes!" "You fool!" "Stand up!" "Yuki!" "What's the matter with you?" "!" "Come on now!" "C'mon!" "What's with that face?" "Step out!" "On your feet!" "At long last..." "At long last, I've managed to come this far my dear mother..." "Though born and raised as a child of the netherworlds human compassion was never absent from her heart." "Unforgettable memories of her mother overwhelmed her with sadness yet her journey of vengeance was far from over." "This day... marked the 20th anniversary of her mother Sayo's passing." "Chapter Two:" "Crying Bamboo Dolls of the Netherworlds" "Not many days later a letter arrived from the leader of the beggar clan, Matsuemon." "Takemura Banzo, one of the villains she sought, had been located." "Dad..." "I'll go sell all the Chikufujin I've made." "I don't know what to say..." "I am always making you work so hard." "What are you talking about...?" "There are so many orders that I can't keep up with the demand." "Is that so?" "Are they selling that well?" "Uh-huh." "You saw me?" "Why...?" "It doesn't matter." "They won't sell anyway." "Here..." "Keep it." "I made it." "Here you go." "Say..." "What's your name?" "Kobue." "Takemura Kobue" "Why?" "Good-bye." "As usual, here's your three yen." "Please count it." "It's correct, sir." "Oh, one more thing here..." "Take it." "Your customer for tonight is a prefectual officer and he's a very important client of mine too." "So... we expect the best from you." "I know that, sir." "Hey!" "Yessiree!" "Here we go!" "Kobue, is that you?" "Heh... it's you guys." "Who did you think it was?" "Whassup, good Takemura?" "You don't look too well." "We're here today representing the House of Hamakatsu..." "It doesn't look like Kobue is home yet." "She's out selling her wares." "She's probably shopping on her way back home." "What's so funny?" "Look wake up, why don't you?" "Look... do you really think that people are buying your Chikufujin?" "!" "You dumb asshole." "Your daughter, you see, is throwing everything she makes into the sea!" "But, Kobue brings home money..." "Do you wanna know where that money comes from?" "!" "Look... eight yen in all." "The due date passed long, long ago." "You got to be kidding me!" "It's all your fault to begin with." "You're making her sell herself!" "Oh, what a poor thing!" "She has to do it, to pay for her drunkard daddy's booze and medicine..." "Quiet!" "Kobue would never do such a thing!" "Here we go." "Place your bets!" "Place your bets, please!" "Place your bets." "Place your bets now, please." "Say... is that a girl travelling gambler?" "Yes, sir..." "Apparently, she's from Sanshuu." "An independent." "Said her name is "Oyuki..." Is she hot or what?" "!" "She sure gets a rise out of me!" "She's no ordinary mouse." "You shouldn't play..." "Quiet!" "All right!" "One, folks!" "One!" "One, folks!" "One, folks!" "Banzo!" "Hey, gimme a card." "Right, next round..." "Place your bets!" "Place your bets, please." "Place your bets, please." "All right!" "Four, folks!" "Four, folks!" "yeah!" "I got it!" "Four, folks!" "Four, folks!" "Place your next bets, please!" "Here we go." "All right." "Place your bets please." "Place your bets please." "Here we go." "Next bet..." "Here we go." "Bets please." "Bets please." "No more bets!" "Score!" "Hold it!" "Mr. Takemura... we need to talk!" "Please forgive me..." "Can't do it." "S..." "Spare me..." "Boss..." "Huh?" "Why don't we roll him up and throw him into the sea!" "Don't be in such a hurry." "First, we should torture him as much as we want." "P..." "Please forgive me!" "Y..." "You can have Kobue..." "Too late for that, you smartass!" "Fool...!" "Please wait." "As a professional, it is my fault that I did not detect his cheating." "Allow me to pay compensation." "It's none of your concern!" "Butt out!" "Just what the hell is going on?" "!" "What is that you want, stranger?" "I beg you please..." "I must ask you to spare his life, no matter what the cost." "Don't tell me that you knew that he was cheating?" "!" "Well, in any case..." "Masa..." "Kame..." "let him go." "Boss!" "We shouldn't concern ourselves with trivialities like this all the time." "I appreciate this, sir." "You bastard!" "The next time you show up forget being rolled up and thrown into the sea you'll be shredded to bits and fed to the pigs!" "You bastard!" "Oh?" "What brings you here?" "If something happens, you should go to Tokyo." "Okiku of Tajire, in Ueno's 7th ward, can put you in touch with me." "Thanks, but I can't leave my dad here." "You're still hanging around?" "I owe you one for what you did for me earlier." "But, you know... it wouldn't really matter anyway wheter I lived or died..." "If it weren't for my daughter..." "By the way... why did you save my life?" "Because we have a little business to take care of, Takemura Banzo!" "Shall we go?" "Go?" "Where to?" "Who are you anyway?" "!" "I've come to take you away... to take you to where you truly belong." "Come now... it's time to start the journey of death." "Who..." "Who are you?" "Just who are you?" "What are you gonna do to me?" "Are you scared, Banzo?" "I bet you are." "A man like you has memories so gruesome that you can't forget them even if you want to." "What are you talking about?" "A long, long time ago you lived in the village of Kiochi." "That's what I'm talking about." "You, Tsukamoto Gishiro Kitashama Okono and Shokei Tokuichi..." "the four of you in order to swindle money from the unsuspecting villagers killed an innocent man and raped and tortured his wife for three days and three nights." "I know nothing!" "I know nothing about it!" "Look closely at my face." "Doesn't this face remind you of somebody somebody that you have raped?" "My name is Shurayuki." "There was a woman who died in a jail... who died cursing you." "I'm the daughter of Kashima Sayo." "I was wrong." "I was wrong." "They made me do it..." "I've never been able to forget it..." "even to this day!" "Please...!" "Where is Gishiro?" "Where is Okono?" "I don't know!" "I really don't know!" "Please forgive me!" "Please spare me!" "I will neither forgive nor spare you!" "Please..." "Please don't kill me..." "Don't slay me..." "I beg you... please..." "Please, I beg you..." "If I die... what happens to my daughter what about my daughter Kobue?" "Please!" "Please!" "For Kobue's sake..." "An eye for an eye!" "All life is transitory..." "the virtuous, eternal." "Having slain one of her enemies, it is now the break of dawn." "The sea assaulted the shore, as if it was reflecting Yuki's innermost feelings." "In this journey of vengeance, the end was receeding from view." "Chapter Three:" "Umbrella of Blood, Heart of Strewn Flowers" ""Tsukamoto Gishiro"" ""Tajire"" "It's just so unfortunate..." "When we heard from you that Gishiro was dead she didn't want to believe it, no matter what I said." "But, now that she's seen his tombstone with her own eyes well, what else can we do?" "It's just to bad..." "If only we had..." "If only we had gone searching much earlier..." "When did he die?" "Three years ago a shipwreck during a voyage to America, or so the story goes." "When he was alive, Gishiro was said to have been involved with foreigners, smuggling opium." "Three years ago?" "Yuki had just come to me to receive pickpocketing training." "The training I have received from the Reerend... and from you Auntie it's all so that I can personally avenge my mother's death." "Gishiro was the leader of the four villains..." "How I longed to destroy him stricking him down with the sword of vengeance, for my mother's sake." "Oyuki!" "Be strong..." "Don't you know that you've still got to face one more wrongdoer?" "!" "Sir Matsuemon..." "I beseech you..." "Please try to find Kitahama Okono as fast as you can." "I have my men working on it, but there's only so much we can do." "Looking for someone?" "We meet at last." "I've been looking for you everywhere." "What do you want from me?" "I'd like you to explain something." "That tombstone... belonged to a Tsukamoto Gishiro, did it not?" "There's nothing I can tell you." "I doubt that's true..." "You shredded flowers left as an offering to the dead something no one would do without a good reason." "So you had something against him..." "That man, that is." "It's none of your business." "My name is Ashiro Ryurei." "See, I publish a cheap little rag called "The People's Paper."" "I also write novels too, when I feel like it." "I guess you could say that I'm just a walking hunk of curiosity." "If something catches my attention I'll sniff out the truth, no matter what." "You sound like you're a stray dog." "Yes..." "If I find some leftover meat, then I'm doing well." "It's best if you stop bothering me from now on." "What makes you say that?" "That unwise curiosity of yours might cost you your life." "Is that a threat?" "If you like" "You know, people call me "the man of threats."" "People fear me because I use my newspaper as a weapon basically I'm a dirty blackmailer." "So. when somebody threats me instead that makes me even more curious." "What is it that you want?" "Please don't think that I'm trying to threaten you..." "I just want to know what's going on." "Leave me alone." "Shu" "Shura (Netherworlds" "Shura Yuki (Netherworlds Snow" "Shura Yuki Hime (Netherworlds Snow Lady)" "By Ashio Ryurei" "It was the sixth year of Meiji, that long ago." "A tragedy befell an innocent family..." "gruesome, horrific, and hellish." "They were victims of a blood-chilling plot." "Time has passed, but who will exact vengeance?" "Time has passed, but what dark deed remains unavenged?" "Whose tears fill the river of revenge?" "Whose sould is filled with turbulent Karma?" "Who kills without premeditation, without any thought for her own safety?" "Knowing neither forgiveness nor compassion she traveled the land, seeking out her enemies and left their corpses withou a second glance." "Her name was Shurayuki..." "the child of vengeance." "Certainly..." "The person who told Ashiro Ryurei about you... was indeed I!" "Why did you have to, sir?" "!" "I just cannot comprehend... why you did that, Reverend." "Don't you see?" "It's bail, to lure out the one villain that remains:" "Kitahama Okono." "Matsuemon's men are not without their limits." "However... should Ryurei's novel become widely read I'm certain that Okono will read it." "And, when she does... she will surely take action." "That will be... the moment when you can at last destroy her." "Besides, you see I've come to really like..." "this Ryurei fellow." "He's using his talents as a writer to express his hostility and malice towards the political system." "He may be a rogue, but I felt strongly that he's be the ideal man to write your story, a tale of the netherworlds." "But, will Kitahama Okono take action...?" "Will she reveal herself?" "You must wait and see..." "You must be patient." "Yuki, you must not rush things." "If you must endure a moment of peace and tranquility when the winds of carnage do not blow the snow of the netherworlds your Bhudda will not punish you." "...to Mount Kazusa from Mount Kazusa, looking into the valley a little child picks up a pebble..." "Born to settle and old score." "Born to seek vengeance." "Yet, listening to the children sing, she could not help but be moved." "As she continued to travel her lonely path the glimmers of the past became dimmer and dimmer." "Just tell me, please that this is merely fiction!" "That it's all made up, just to make it interesting reading!" "No..." "I've written nothing but the truth." "You're not lying..." "It's all truth." "Then..." "Oyuki... killed my dad..." "Just who are you?" "I'm..." "Banzo's..." "I'm Takemura Banzo's daughter." "This is awful!" "Just awful!" "So now we have... another girl seeking vengeance." "Born under unlucky stars, both of you you... and her." "Wait!" "Wait, why don't you?" "!" "There's no way..." "No way can you understand how I feel!" "I do!" "I can understand..." "Are you..." "Ashio Ryurei?" "Yeah, so what do you want from me?" "Because your "Lady Snowblood" story seems all-too real the people have become confused and riotous." "So, we must question you." "Come with us to headquarters!" "You've got to be kidding me..." "Silence!" "Take him!" "Quiet!" "Hey!" "We don't got all day!" "Who is it?" "Who are you?" "Takemura Kobue." "Kobue?" "Takemura?" "You must be Banzo's..." "Did you come here to see Yuki?" "I wouldn't ever want to see her!" "Then what brings you here?" "Ashio Ryurei got arrested by some cops." "I didn't know that there was a police station there, though inside a restaurant called "Kagetsu", that is..." "Wait!" "Wait a second!" "Wait, I said!" "Take that!" "You bastard!" "You fuckin' retard!" "Get up!" "Scum!" "There!" "C'mon!" "Out with it!" "Where's Shurayuki?" "!" "I spent a cosiderable amount of time reading the story in your paper." "Clearly, it's based on a real event." "There's no way someone who didn't know Shurayuki could've written it." "Kitahama Okono..." "So you've revealed yourself, just as I expected." "So, the money you pocketed from that ruthless murder twenty years ago paid for this shady little hideout of yours, eh?" "That sure is nice to know." "Silence!" "Tell me!" "Where's Shurayuki?" "!" "Tell me!" "Tell me!" "Tell me!" "I don't know!" "I'm not in touch with her!" "You stubborn fool!" "Don't hold back!" "Go ahead and beat this scumbag!" "Dumb ass!" "Suffer!" "Suffer a lot more!" "Suffer!" "There!" "That should be enough." "Let's hold off for the time being." "But..." "He's no good to us if he's dead." "We'll use him as bait." "Bait?" "Yes." "Shurayuki will, without a doubt, soon show up." "She's here!" "So you've come, Shurayuki!" "I've been waiting for you." "Kitahama Okono... as last..." "at last we meet!" "That's right!" "I deliberately acted just as you hoped I would." "Thunder-Sand Bomb!" "What?" "!" "Thunder-Sand?" "!" "Hold your breath!" "Hold your breath!" "Be careful!" "Shurayuki!" "Oyuki..." "Okono..." "Has she escaped?" "!" "It's all done now, Yuki your vengeance... everything." "Is it really over?" "Is it supposed to feel like this?" "It is over..." "It's all done now." "Just forget it all." "Can the netherworld's snow, soaked in bloody carnage, regain it's purity...?" "You were born inside a jail, a child of vengeance..." "How can you live like a normal human being, Yuki?" "I do remember from the moment I was born..." "I remember everything I saw..." "I can still picture it before my eyes..." "That's why my mother's vengeance is my own." "This revenge... is mine." ""Chapter Four:"" "Just as I thought... you are alive after all." "I was hoping that I was only imagining things..." "Why... did you fake your deah?" "Who are you talking about?" "If you're talking about a wretch named Tsukamoto Gishiro, he's dead." "He died when his ship foundered three years ago..." "That's not true!" "Gishiro is alive!" "He's right here!" "Right in front of my eyes!" "The boat that you were on..." "yes, it did sink..." "But... as the police were after you for opium smuggling the shipwreck provided you with a wonderful opportunity to fake your own death!" "You survived... and continue to engage in shady dealings." "You haven't changed..." "You haven't changed at all since you ran away ten years ago." "Why did you come here?" "To make you forget about things about Tsukamoto Gishiro..." "and the man you saw..." "You must forget them all." "Your Shurayukihime story is at an end." "With Kitahama Okono's death, it's all over." "There's no more to write about." "Are you threatening me?" "It's so like you." "No." "Just giving advice." "Let me tell you something..." "These days I'm mostly involved in the weapons trade." "Even the government can't buy weapons without my involvement." "I believe that Japan will soon be at war." "Japan is streangthening its military forces and preparing them for the conflict and I'm lending them a hand, helping to expand the Empire." "I don't have time for some silly, twenty-year old tale vengeance." "The place where I conduct most of my business is the Rokumeikan." "It's supposed to be the place where we negotiate with foreign powers and debate the use of Western ideas to modernize our society." "But, what really goes on there are nightly parties for the elite members of our society who indulge themselves in self- gratification and hedonism." "Despite this, society is changing." "And I will float with the tide all the time harvesting more money and power!" "It's fine to be concerned with justice and conscience, or upholding principles yet, in the end, it's all nothing more than empty words, at least in this filthy hole." "Forget newspapers and all that, why don't you?" "If you feel like it, you can come work for me." "I cut my ties to you all those many years ago." "Oh, well." "But, let me say this..." "Don't continue to stick your nose in where it isn't welcome." "Stay out!" "That's my final... advice, from the bottom of my heart." "Ryu..." "Gishiro is alive..." "What?" "He was just here, before you came." "Then... that man in the rickshaw..." "Wait!" "Please wait!" "He won't get away..." "I'll finish him, I swear it!" "And, listen, there's one more thing there's one more thing I have to tell you." "Gishiro is Tsukamoto Gishiro is my father." "When I found out that one of the scum you were looking after was my own father what kept me going was the fact that I thought he was dead." "If it weren't for that, I couldn't have written your story of carnage." "But... when Kitahama Okono was killed at the moment, I realized who had actually killed her." "That's why I couldn't tell you..." "There was no way that I could've told you." "I won't be writing "Shurayukihime" anymore." "There's no way that I can write it anymore." "But..." "Chapter Four:" "The House of Joy, The Final Hell." ""Charity Masquerade"" "May I have this dance?" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh, yes!" "Yuki!" "Wait!" ""Stay out!" "That's my final... advice, form the bottom of my heart."" "Damn it!" "This is so typical of him..." "It doesn't matter if someone dies..." "as long as his hands remain clean." "No matter what happens, he'll have his way." "Ryu!" "Tsukamoto Gishiro..." "I'll kill you!" "For twenty years... all these twenty years..." "It's all I've thought about..." "It's all that mattered." "That's about to end now." "Yes." "That's about to end now." "Oyuki!" "Don't worry about me..." "Do it!" "Do it!" "Yuki!" "Hurry!" "Hurry!" "Yuki!" "An eye for an eye!" "# Begrieving snow falls..." "in the dead morning... #" "# Stray dog's howls... and the footsteps of Geta pierce the air... #" "# I walk with the weight of the Milky Way on my shoulders... # # ...but an umbrella that holds onto the darkness is all there is. #" "# I'm a woman who walks at the brink of life and death... # # ...who's emptied my tears many moons ago... #" "THE END"