Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Twenty-Two--Three-Front Battle
Part 194--Three-Front Battle: Fight 3 Part 1
(On the other side of the dojo, Otowa and Yahiko stand watching each other.)
Otowa: It's gotten quiet . . . The fight must be over. Are you worried?
Yahiko: No. There's no way Sanosuke would lose. Anyway, forget about that! Quit standing there and come at me!
Sanosuke (inside, being bandaged by Megumi): Forget about my fight?
Megumi: Shouldn't he?
(Kenshin gets to his feet.)
Kaoru: Wait, Kenshin. You rest. I'll watch Yahiko.
Otowa: I may not be rushing, but I will kill you, don't worry. I'm just thinking how I should do it. Shoot you with needles. Burn you with acid. Poison you. Just killing you would be easy, but I want the shame of the wound to remain . . . I'll make you taste death directly. It's time for what I brought today.
(He draws the sword on his back and tucks the sheath in his belt.)
Otowa: The assassin's tool Bishamonken! (he chuckles) Shall we begin?
Yahiko (thinking): This is the third time I've risked my life in a fight . . . I'm gonna give it all the strength I have!
(Otowa swings downward; Yahiko blocks with his shinai. The edge of the sword cuts into the bamboo only slightly.)
Yahiko (thinking): It's not cutting at all! (aloud) Your precious sword doesn't have much of an edge on it.
Otowa: Laugh while you can.
Yahiko (thinking): His strokes are wild. His footwork is all over the place. There's no question about it--this guy is a rank amateur! I don't know how this thing is an assassin's tool, but I'm definitely the better swordsman!
Kaoru: Wait, Yahiko! He's an expert with assassin's tools--don't get too close to him!
Otowa: You should have listened to her, boy.
Yahiko: What?
(Otowa tosses a small glass jar at him. It shatters against Yahiko's shinai, showering him with powder.)
Yahiko (thinking): To get in my eyes? Or is it poisonous?
Otowa: It will neither cloud your vision or poison you. It's my assassin's tool Bishamonpun. As the name implies, it works with the sword . . .This is the first time I've been able to show its full worth. (thinking) Preparations complete. Now the real fun starts.
(He strikes with another downward swing. Yahiko dodges sideways)
Yahiko (thinking): He's fast! This is nothing like before!
Otowa: You can't run!
(His sword twists around to follow Yahiko, striking him in the shoulder.)
Yahiko (thinking): He changed direction in mid-swing?
Kaoru (thinking): No . . . There's no way an amateur could use such a high-level technique. This is the sword's own power--a high-speed homing device!
(Otowa smiles knowingly.)
Yahiko: What the hell? (High speed, yeah, but a homing device?)
Otowa: Allow me to explain. Essentially, the Bishamonken makes even amateurish techniques into those of a master. You might call it a demon sword!
(A rain of high-speed blows batter Yahiko from head to toe.)
Kaoru (thinking): There's no such thing as a demon sword . . . it's an anki. There must be some trick to it . . .
Otowa: How does it feel, little swordsman? To be cut up and killed by an amateur? Could there be any deeper humiliation?
Kaoru (thinking): The trick-- (aloud) I've got it, Yahiko! It's magnetism! He's using magnetic force! The Bishamonken is a magnetic sword, and the Bishamonpun you're covered with is iron filings! That would explain the high-speed homing of his swings! A sword made of magnets wouldn't be very strong, so you couldn't use it. So the trick is the scabbard . . . There are magnets fixed inside the scabbard, so when the sword is pressed against them, it becomes magnetic itself. (looking at Otowa) Well?
Otowa: Perfect. An excellent answer. You're a very clever young lady. Unfortunately, you figured out that much, but you couldn't find a way to counter it.
Yahiko: What're you talking about. That's enough! If Myoujin Yahiko had to be told everything from A to Z to be able to fight, there'd be no way I'd have gotten this far!
(He rushes forward.)
Otowa: Hm . . . you're just charging like a bullfight. As clever as a cow.
(They pass each other, Otowa's blow scratching across Yahiko's cheek.)
Otowa (turning for another blow): Don't think so lightly of the tools of Otowa Hyouko!
(His blow goes glancing off to the side.)
Otowa: What!?
(Yahiko holds up the sheath, with Otowa's sword stuck to it.)
Yahiko: If the secret of the high-speed homing is magnetism, then of course the sword would be more strongly attracted to the scabbard than to the iron filings! When I said I'd put all my strength into this, I didn't mean as a pickpocket, but now that I've made up my mind to live through this fight, there's no way I'm gonna lose!
Kaoru (thinking): He's taken away his secret weapon. Now this Otowa person is probably the weakest of the six. (aloud) You shouldn't underestimate my Yahiko.
Yahiko (tossing the sheath aside): Let's go!
Otowa: No--!
Yahiko: Learned-by-watching Ryuutsuisen!
Otowa: Well, now.
(The six black spikes on Otowa's kimono shoot forward to stab Yahiko in the arms, legs and sides.)
Otowa: Assassin's tool Rokudouko. Don't get too close to the assassin's tool expert--you really should have listened to the clever young lady.
translations by maigo-chan
last updated 15 august 2000