Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Ten--Master and Student of the Sword
Part 84--Master and Student of the Sword
Hiko: Well, now that you've had the gall to actually show your face here, what is it you want
with me?
Kenshin (looking at the shelves around him): It seems that Niitsu Kakunoshin is a rising new
name in the world of ceramics. Why pottery again?
Hiko: I didn't really care, pottery, whatever. It was just the easiest way to make a living
without having to deal with a lot of people.
Kenshin: That's easy for you to say.
Hiko: Well, you know. My genius shows in whatever I do.
Kenshin (thinking): He's as conceited as ever . . .
Hiko: You didn't answer my question. You came to tell me something that's hard for you to
say. (Kenshin looks surprised.) I was your master. I can read my foolish pupil like a book.
Kenshin: Then I'll say it straight out. (kneeling) The instruction of the Hiten Mitsurugi
school that I left ten years ago--I ask it of you now!
Hiko: Absolutely not. You were the one who left ten years ago. (turning away) Why now after all
this time.
(Kenshin catches hold of his mantle.)
Kenshin: Please . . . I beg of you.
Hiko: . . . Well, that's something. You look like you're at the end of your rope.
All right. If you're asking, I'm listening.
(Elsewhere)
Kaoru: It's getting dark.
Yahiko: We should hurry.
Misao: You're right . . . According to Gramps' directions it's just a little farther.
(flashback, to the Aoiya earlier that afternoon.)
Misao: Himura's already gone?!
Okina: Who are these people?
Misao: Friends of Himura's. They came from Tokyo to see him.
Okina (to Kaoru): You know that Himura is fighting for the future of Japan and getting
involved now with superficial feelings--
Misao: I already asked her that. Kaoru's serious! So hurry up and tell her where Himura is.
Kaoru (bowing): Please . . .
Okina: I see . . . Well, please be careful.
Misao (flipping the pages of the letter): Himura went to see Niitsu Kakunoshin. Our sources
say he's a rising potter deluged with orders. But actually, his hidden name is Hiko Seijuurou,
a teacher of the Hiten Mitsurugi school. In other words, Kenshin's master.
Yahiko: Hidden name?
Kaoru: Well, it could mean a lot of things, but it's probably another name, kept secret.
Misao: In the case of the Hiten Mitsurugi school, Hiko Seijuurou is the name of the founder,
passed down generation after generation. It's inherited by those who have completely mastered
the style and will pass it on.
Yahiko: Hmm. (considering) Wait a minute! That means--
Misao: Exactly! When Himura left he hadn't completely mastered the school! There was a
technique he didn't learn for some reason, and he's going to master it now!
Yahiko: And then he'll be even stronger than before! Wow, the guy's just not human!
Misao: He's a demon, a demon!
Kaoru (thinking): That's a terrible thing to say. Stronger, stronger . . . it's only
natural for a swordsman. But . . .
(Hiko pours himself a saucer of sake.)
Hiko: Hmm. So to put it simply, this man called Shishio Makoto is plotting to take over
Japan. You, on the other hand, are slowly reverting to the Hitokiri Battousai. You want to
defeat Shishio without becoming the Hitokiri--in other words, you need to be stronger than
you are now. Well, you know what they say, he who runs after two hares won't catch either one.
Kenshin: Master!
Hiko: I'm sure I taught you this. A sword is a weapon. Kenjutsu is the art of killing.
Whatever pretty words you use, this is its true nature. Your own foolish ideals, or today's
harsh realities--whatever you're trying to protect, it's complete selfishness.
(A long pause.)
Hiko: What? Fifteen years ago you devoted yourself to the chaos of the Bakumatsu. That was
your big mistake--
(flashback to when Kenshin was fourteen--)
Hiko: No.
Kenshin: Master!
Hiko: You should be thinking of your training, not worrying about outside affairs.
Kenshin: But now a lot of people are being dragged into the fighting and getting killed! The whole idea
behind the Hiten Mitsurugi school is to protect people from the suffering of the ages! If I
can't use my sword now, when can I? Master!!
Hiko: If you're telling me why, defeat me now and go.
(Kenshin whacks him with his sheathed sword.)
Hiko: That was for real!
Kenshin: Because you don't understand!
Hiko: You're the one who doesn't understand! Fine, but because of the strength of the Hiten
Mitsurugi school, you have to be sure you'll win before you take sides! I'm talking about the landing of the
Black Ships! Do you understand me? In other words--
Kenshin: I don't understand! People are suffering before my eyes! They're in misery! I can't
leave them as they are, no matter what the reason!
(back to the present)
Hiko: After that we argued, and parted on bad terms. You see before you
the result. You may have gotten better with the sword, but your spirit hasn't grown at all ever
since you were fourteen, my foolish pupil. Carrying words that cannot be erased, on your
left cheek and your heart, you're unstable, teetering between the Hitokiri and one who has
sworn never to kill again. This Shishio Makoto is the ghost of the Bakumatsu.
You Ishin Shishi believed in justice and supported it. You certainly built the Meiji government
out of the violence. But at the same time, to hide your wrongdoings you buried in darkness
whatever wasn't convenient. Shishio Makoto will come back even stronger as the ghost of the Bakumatsu.
Violence begets violence in a vicious circle. You played a role indirectly in raising the ghost
with the Hiten Mitsurugi school. You were right; the original purpose of
school was to protect others from the sufferings of the ages. But as a free sword,
not under anyone's control! If such strength is not free, this is the kind of disaster that will
be born! This is why for three hundred years of Edo rule generations of our successors were
known as Hiko Seijuurou. So no power could use us! You, who never understood this, could
never have learned the secret techniques of our school!
Misao: Here it is.
Yahiko: Well let's go in--
Hiko: Maybe it was a mistake to teach you the Hiten Mitsurugi at all.
Misao & Yahiko (bursting in): What was that just now?!
Hiko: Who are you?
Kenshin: Miss Misao. Yahiko . . .
(Kaoru appears in the doorway.)
Kenshin: Miss Kaoru . . .