"Sou sa maiagare hoshi yo That's right, soar high, o star" "Ichido dake kagayaite futari o terashite Shine just once and illuminate the two of us" "Unmei no sora o kakeru hito-suji no hikari ga The single streak of light dashing across the fateful sky" "Futari o kaete yuku yo It's going to change us both" "Tashikameta no wa kowai kara ja nai The reason I double-checked wasn't because I was scared" "Shoujun wa ano ryuusei ni shibotta I've set our sights on that shooting star" "Marui renzu ni hitai o yoseta We crowd our foreheads around the round lens" ""Hajimaruyo" kimi ga yoko de tsubuyaku "It's going to start," you murmur next to me" "Sotto iki o tometa Quietly, we hold our breaths" "Futari te nigitta And join hands" "Wakatterunda mousugu kitto kiseki ga yatte kuru We know that soon, a miracle is sure to come along" "Saa maiagare hoshi yo Now, soar high, o star" "Ichido dake kagayaite futari o terashite Shine just once and illuminate the two of us" "Unmei no sora o kakeru hito-suji no hikari ga The single streak of light dashing across the fateful sky" "Futari o kaete yuku yo It's going to change us both" "Your estate's in Kudan, right?" "Are we going there again?" "Yuki, look." "It's a dead end." "Chapter Three The Undercurrents of Beautiful Edo" "I wonder where we're going." "Yuki, what is this?" "Maejima Temple" "Maejima Temple Maejima Temple..." "Maejima Temple..." "You can read?" "So this is your base of operations." "A place like this beneath Edo..." "We flow underground, unobserved." "As do the Youi." "Amazing..." "I will return shortly." "Abi, get things ready." "Right." "Come up." "Office of Barbaria n Knowledge Enforcement" "Office of Barbarian Knowledge Enforcement Office of Barbarian Knowledge Enforcement..." "Office of Barbarian Knowledge Enforcement..." "Pardon the wait." "I am the head priest of Maejima Temple and a descendant of people who were once called acolytes." "Since ancient times, in the guise of women, we have assumed the task of magical rites." "Ma!" "He's really a man?" "Ma!" "I'm so glad!" "As expected, you are worthy of being an Ayashi." "You're telling me to become an Ayashi." "There is no need for you to hesitate." "With this, you will no longer be a vagrant." "Of course, you will be paid wages as well." "Yuki..." "Tae, Outa, you two must completely forget what you saw this night." "I have prepared a register for you in Shimousa." "If you promise to move there and never set foot in your own land or Edo again..." "What are you saying?" "!" "Those two were just being pursued by the Youi!" "It's fine." "We can't go back to our land anyway." "Where's Shimousa?" "What about you, Yuki?" "Are you going to come with us?" "What's this smell?" "How is it?" "Abi, is it ready?" "It's ready." "Hurry up and eat." "Or it'll be all gone." "Hot!" "Hot!" "Irresistible." "It's fresh, after all." "Hey, what's that meat?" "Don't tell me it's that monster's..." "Indeed, it is." "What?" "!" "This is part of how Ayashi are compensated." "The flesh of Youi is delicious." "Once you've eaten it, everything else tastes like sand." "But..." "Master Ryudo, you have already had a taste of it before, have you not?" "Disgusting!" "I can't believe people like you are in the service of the Shogun!" "At dawn, the day after tomorrow!" "Do not forget!" "Humans are such decadent creatures." "Once they have tasted something delicious, the tongue can never be cured." "Once they have had a taste of the easy life, they can never return to hardships." "I have no intention of getting involved with the Other World." "Don't tempt me with your tricks." "Oh, what a waste." "That was the good part." "You wish to go with that mother and son, don't you?" "Who are you talking about?" "!" "South Magistrate's Office" "South Magistrate's Office Yukiatsu Ryudo encounters a Youi and awakens to his potential." "Yukiatsu Ryudo encounters a Youi and awakens to his potential." "A success thus far." "However, if the Ayashi gain too much dominance, it will surely anger the gods of this land." "Ultimately, the number of Youi subdued by that rabble will be trifling." "The myriads of gods and goddesses are above them." "Only Ryudo will be capable of reaching those heights." "Tokiwabashi!" "We have received word that Lord Matsudaira of Echizen's estate is on fire!" "We are seeing a great deal of these cases lately..." "War!" "War!" "What in the world is that?" "!" "It is war!" "It disappeared..." "The fire!" "Hurry up and put out the fire!" "As we had expected, it's still around." "The fire was at Tokiwabashi, my lord." "So it is not a war?" "It is not a war, my lord." "I must recover that armor!" "The one made of gold, given to me by the Shogun, that my boy sold off!" "It is not a war, my lord." "I helped shuck some baby-neck clams, and I received a small share." "I've never had clams." "They're torn up and they look bad, but..." "The water..." "It's empty." "I'll go fetch some." "The water..." "It's empty." "I'll go fetch some." "Changing professions, are we?" "That could be a good idea, too." "I didn't feed them last night, so they ended up dead." "Are you going with that mother and son?" "You've got sharp ears." "Weren't you trying to keep me from getting involved with them?" "Nothing to worry about now." "But if you became one of those Ayashi, you'd have to use the power of the Other World that you so abhor." "You're just Yuki with no particular rank or status." "You want to stay that way, don't you?" "If I settled down as that woman's husband," "I'll then be able to be my true self, huh?" "Was someone here?" "Oh, no, just talking to myself." "You still want to go there?" "That night..." "There was another monster that wasn't the mountain god, remember?" "Last night, there was a fire at a place called Tokiwabashi, but they said some people saw a monster there." "I see..." "The other Youi..." "Maybe that one was..." "I feel..." "I feel like I might've dug up that one." "We'll be leaving Edo tomorrow." "Better settle anything that's weighing on our minds, right?" "After all, people aren't allowed to sell extravagant sets of armor that have gold or silver on them, by Lord Mizuno's decree." "There's peace throughout the land, so a lot of people have been disposing of them lately." "They don't sell one bit!" "So, just like any other hopeless merchandise, as you can see over there, I'm throwing them away." "Though, in not even ten more years, the Black Ships will come, and we'll be in an era when people're hurrying to buy up armor and swords." "You know how they say old things come to have souls?" "Iseya You know how they say old things come to have souls?" "Iseya They're called tsukumogami." "Iseya Master Yukiatsu," "Iseya you think that thrown-out armor is turning into the Youi?" "you think that thrown-out armor is turning into the Youi?" "Just call me Yuki." "Yukiatsu is a name I threw out." "Like the sets of armor?" "For Sale Chea p Like the sets of armor?" "For Sale Chea p" "For Sale Cheap Maybe in the unseen parts of Edo," "Maybe in the unseen parts of Edo, there are all sorts of discarded things drifting about, unable to find their graves..." "Mou ntain Whale" "Mou ntain Whale Mountain Whale..." "Mountain Whale..." "What is it?" "Want to give it a try?" "Hey, welcome!" "Wild boar meat?" "Considering the season, there's probably deer in there too." "Other than that, horse or cow." "Horse?" "!" "You don't like it?" "I can't eat it." "Horses and cows are precious." "When they die, there are places you have to put them, and you never just eat them..." "I see..." "I'm sorry." "You brought me here and..." "No." "It seems this isn't what I want to eat either." "You mean..." "You want to eat monsters?" "I told you I came back from the Other World, right?" "Yeah." "Since then, no matter what I ate, the food over here has never satisfied me." "Where'd you come in from?" "!" "Don't touch the things in my store!" "Oh?" "You've got some unusual customers here!" "Having a curative meal in the middle of the day, eh?" "That's some luxury!" "Eh, Yuki?" "!" "Chief..." "This guy's a vagrant!" "Can't you tell by looking at him?" "!" "You'll be severely reprimanded for letting a vagrant in to your store!" "This is wrong..." "Eh?" "This'll be cannibalism for you!" "Hot!" "Hot!" "Chief Tamahei, you pig!" "Let's play nice when we're outside your turf!" "That's horse!" "Forget about taking out a live horse's eyes!" "I'm going for the balls!" "Bastard!" "The bill..." "If you join those people, you won't have to be chased anymore." "And you'll get to eat monster flesh, too." "Why don't you just join them?" "!" "It'd be pitiful to join for reasons like that, wouldn't it?" "Just to make my life easier..." "Then, will you come with us?" "It might not be easy, but Ma will probably have you..." "My lord!" "This isn't it either!" "Lord Inoue, please have mercy!" "Where did you hide it?" "!" "The armor made of gold, given to me by the Shogun!" "I know your store bought it from my family!" "That was with the understanding of the young Lord Inoue..." "No matter what my boy says, that is the pride and joy of our house!" "Where is it?" "!" "Where did you hide it?" "!" "Wait!" "My lord!" "Where is it?" "!" "It was nothing like this rubbish!" "Have mercy!" "Please have mercy!" "Where did you hide it?" "!" "What a weird old man." "You can't see that?" "Oh?" "Come on, are you all right?" "My lord?" "I swear!" "What a troublesome lord." "Who is this man?" "The Shogun's vassal of Hongou, the retired Lord Inoue." "I had the honor of buying a set of armor from them some time ago, but it seems he was never told." "Hence this commotion." "Someone!" "Take him back to his retirement home in Mukoujima!" "Mukoujima, huh?" "It's on our way home." "The doctor's practically given up on him." "The family says to let him have his way." "I appreciate you going to the trouble of bringing him back here." "Might I be allowed to have a final word with his lordship before I go?" "But... even if you try talking to him..." "I am a masterless samurai now, but I was once a warrior." "If I might just be allowed to sear his lordship's image into my eyes..." "Welcome back, Dad." "Have you been a good boy?" "Yeah!" "Mom's waiting!" "I must find it!" "You've studied the history of Musashi Miyamoto, my lord?" "I must find it!" "You've studied the history of Musashi Miyamoto, my lord?" "The armor given to me by the Shogun..." "The war..." "You know Musashi?" "He was supposedly a great swordsman without equal." "I have heard that he entered Nirvana in his armor." "Yes, a true warrior." "But there are no longer any warriors in this world." "People sell their armor for a mere pittance and we are unable to prepare for the worst in case of a war." "I know..." "My neighbor, Toda, used to look covetously at our family suit of armor." "He must have stolen it." "That is my suit of armor!" "Quickly!" "The storehouse in the back!" "At Lord Toda of Awa's estate in Hongou, the armor Youi has appeared." "We will subdue it swiftly and treat it as a fire." "Every attack has been on a samurai house." "If we do not hurry, trouble will come for us as well." "What of Master Yukiatsu?" "We, Ayashi, will show that we can carry out our duties, even without Ryudo's help." "Yes." "War!" "Ah, it brings back memories!" "My days of youth, when I spurred on a fine steed upon the field of battle!" "Two hundred years since the Amakusa uprising..." "There has been peace throughout the land." "Even at your age, my lord, surely, you have never known the field of battle." "That's right!" "When I was young, That's right!" "When I was young," "I clad myself in that armor, and took to the field of battle..." "Are you sure the accounts of war that you have read have not become reality in your mind?" "Are you all right?" "!" "Here it comes!" "Move!" "Saizo!" "Draw the Youi's attention!" "It is the shrine maiden's duty!" "An armor made of gold would only be heavy and fragile." "A mere ornamental object, of no use upon the field of battle." "To seek it is surely not a warrior's long-cherished desire." "My lord, the Other World is encroaching upon your soul." "The Youi is feeding upon your delusions!" "Rekkou" "Rekkou Rekkou!" "So that's the Youi's name!" "Rekkou!" "So that's the Youi's name!" "Rekkou" "Rekkou What is that?" "!" "Rekkou "Retsu"..." "Rekkou A character that reflects" "Rekkou the sword that beheads and the head to be beheaded." "Rekkou Behead enemy soldiers and line them up." "Behead enemy soldiers and line them up." "In other words, a "line"." "So, a Youi that has gained power by lining up armor..." "Could it be that Master Yukiatsu..." "Finish it, Genbatsu!" "It is war!" "Ready the armor..." "War..." "The Other World beguiles people and takes everything away from them." "That's the power of the Youi..." "If so, I will fight." "But, you know..." "That old man seemed to enjoy having his dream." "Yukiatsu!" "Tomorrow morning..." "Ah, Ryudo." "Where have you been and what have you been doing tonight?" "Were you unable to forget that taste, after all?" "After everything we went through..." "Then, this means you will become an Ayashi?" "Good work." "Take your time eating." "Is there any message from Master Yukiatsu?" "A run-of-the-mill "take care" or something of the sort..." "That's what he said." "Outa?" "Even then, man must live on in this world." "Even if it's boring." "Even if it hurts." "I'm right here, Ma!" "So, you've finally become unable to run away." "Is that it?" "I don't like the Other World." "At least it's a better reason than wanting to make my life easier." "Nagaku nagai tabiji ni On that long, ageless journey" "Boku wa kimi ni koi shita I fell in love with you" "Kisetsu meguri shigure-zuki The seasons turned to the month of autumn rains" "Kokoro o sotto nurasu Gently dampening hearts" "Toki ga nanika kaeru nara If time can change things" "Douka douka sotto shite Please, please be gentle" "Kimi to aruku ima dake This one moment as I walk with you" "Shizuka ni tomatte ite Stay quiet, be still" "Mizube no hotori ni tsuzuita Winding Road The winding road following along the water's edge" "Konna futari ni wa oniai nandarou It's probably fitting for a couple like us" "Hitotsu no kasa ga kanashii The lone umbrella is sad" "Mada kimi ga suki dakara Because I still love you" "Sunao ni uketomerarezu ni I couldn't accept it graciously" "Kono ame ni nagasarete Let this rain carry you away" ""Subete ga uso da" to mou ichido hohoende Smile once more and tell me, "It was all a lie"" "Preview" "A girl with bronze skin." "The alien thing that Yukiatsu encounters." "Among men, each and every person is different." "Next Time" " Cha pter Four Life-Size Dolls" "Next Time" " Chapter Four Life-Size Dolls Chapter Four:" "Life-Size Dolls." "Next Time" " Chapter Four Life-Size Dolls"