Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Three--A Reason to Act
Part 17--Attack of the Oniwaban
(Kenshin is drawing up a chart)
Kanryuu Takeda
Soldiers--Yakuza (30) Swordsmen (10) Infantry (10) Others (10)
Okashira--Oniwabanshuu
Kenshin: So, these are Kanryuu’s sixty-odd fighters. The Oniwabanshuu?
Megumi: Hmm. I don’t think there’s more than ten of them.
Kenshin: Next. Where is the opium kept?
(she sticks out her tongue.)
Kenshin (sighing): Are you always going to keep silent about the opium?
Megumi: I'm telling you this in order to make your fighting easier.
It has nothing to do with opium. Instead of asking so many questions, just get rid of them.
(thinking) If it really comes to a fight with the Oniwabanshuu . . . these people couldn't
handle them at all. There's no point in staying here too long.
If I leave while everyone's distracted by the fighting, I could get far away before anyone
notices.
(Kaoru is sneaking along outside the room.)
Kenshin: Well, Miss Megumi, what about--
Megumi: I won’t answer any further!
(Kaoru creeps cautiously outside and puts her ear to the door.)
Sanosuke: You’d make a good peeping tom, little girl. The master of the Kamiya Kasshin
school would weep.
Kaoru: But--but--but--but--but they’re alone together in that room!!
Sanosuke (grudgingly patting her on the head): Okay, okay. It’s all right. It's not what
you're thinking, so just relax.
Kaoru (tears streaming from big marble eyes): But why--
Sanosuke: It’s his nature. He sees someone in trouble and he just can’t help himself.
That’s his nature as a vagabond. The sword is incredibly strong, but the person is
incredibly weak when people are involved. Women and children especially--
Kaoru: You can say that about him. (slight pause) But, then aren't you the same?
Sanosuke: Stupid. This is just revenge for my friend. I could care less about that
vixen!
Kenshin (coming out): Sano, there's no trouble, is there?
Sanosuke: Nope.
Kenshin (tossing him the paper): Here’s the
layout of Kanryuu and his followers. I think it’s best if we’re familiar with those
other than the Oniwabanshuu as well. We can’t be careless.
Sanosuke (studying the paper): Kenshin. You’ve got really bad handwriting.
Kaoru: Yeah, it's just like Watsuki's . . .
Kenshin: That’s great, can we get back to the story?
(They get back to the story.)
Kenshin: And, Miss Kaoru. I can’t share the details, but there could be an incident or
two. There won’t be another stupid blunder like the time with Jin’eh. I will be sure
to protect you. (smiling) And so I want you to close your eyes for a while, okay?
Kaoru (sighing): I understand. But when all this is over I want an explanation.
Mysterious Voice: Heh heh heh. I heard you, Kenshin!
(General shock.)
(the mysterious voice turns out to be Yahiko, squished under the porch.)
Yahiko: What’s this about a fight?
Kenshin: Yahiko, how long have you--
Kaoru: The kid's pretty flexible . . .
Yahiko: Since last night. That’s why my face is all flat. (bouncing back to normal)
This is cruel! I’m the only one left out! I’m one of your company too!
Sanosuke: What?
Kenshin: When did I get one of those?
Sanosuke: Don't be ridiculous. You're just a kid.
Yahiko: What, you . . . ! You talk too much, and you're just a Sanosuke! (kicking him)
Knock it off!!
Sanosuke (blocking casually) No chance, kid.
(Megumi watches them scuffle through the open door. She remembers her own family . . .)
(Outside)
Beshimi: This is it. We attack according to plan.
(Two others are with him. One (Hanya) wears a devil mask and has horizontal stripes
running around his arms; the other (Hyottoko) is simply huge.)
Hyottoko: You’re good at telling people what to do, Beshimi. We were ordered by the Okashira to
help you. Don’t forget that.
Hanya: Stop. A company divided will lose a fight that could be won.
Hyottoko: Even a company divided could take these guys. I could take them alone!
(He smashes through the wall.)
Megumi: They’re here . . .
Kenshin: They’re at the gate!
(Hyottoko emerges.)
Hyottoko: Hand over Megumi. Do it now and I might let you go.
Kenshin: It’s the Oniwabanshuu.
Hyottoko: One of the Oniwabanshuu. I am the great Hyottoko!
Sanosuke: Hyottoko? That’s way too cute for you. I’d change it.
Hyottoko: Well? Who do I fight first? I don't care if you come together.
Sanosuke: He looks like he’s more proud of his strength than any kind of weapon.
Kenshin, leave this one to me.
Kenshin: However, your opponent is one of the Oniwabanshuu. It won't be just a simple fight . . .
Sanosuke: I don’t care! I’ll catch him alive and find out the truth about the opium!
Hyottoko (cracking his knuckles): You first?
(Hyottoko punches. Sanosuke ducks under it and hits him in the ribs.)
Sanosuke: Doesn’t matter how strong you are if you can’t connect.
Hyottoko: Thank you. You deliberately stepped into range.
(He snaps his teeth together and breathes out flame.)
Yahiko: Sanosuke!
(His jacket falls burning to the ground. Sanosuke is still standing, but his right leg
is burnt.)
Sanosuke: That was close, you bastard.
Hyottoko: So you’ve warded off my killer Kaentoiki technique. But can you survive the
next blast?
Beshimi (concealed in a tree above them): Kekeke. He talks big, but he delivers. With
an oil sac hidden in his stomach and flint for teeth, this Oniwaban attacks with flame!
"Hyottoko" is written with the characters for "fire man"! And there's nothing he can't burn!
Hyottoko: I've got you now.
(Sanosuke notes the small tube in Hyottoko’s mouth.)
Kenshin (to Hyottoko's side, sword out): You look away? I am your opponent.
Hyottoko: I’ll finish this one first. No hurry, I’ll burn you next.
Kenshin: Your sideshow act won’t singe a hair of my head.
Hyottoko (breathing fire): S-sideshow!!
(Kenshin whirls his sword in a circle in front of him.)
Yahiko: He’s using the wind of the turning blade as a shield . . .
Hyottoko: Idiot! How long do you think you can keep this hopeless act up? You'll taste my
sideshow act to the fullest!
(Megumi stands around the corner of the dojo.)
Megumi (thinking): I can slip out now without anyone noticing.
Kaoru: Going somewhere? (Megumi stops) Kenshin is fighting for you. You could at
least watch!
Megumi: He’s not fighting someone a swordsman can beat. That’s the middle-rank of the
Oniwabanshuu. He’s different from the low-ranked Beshimi.
Kaoru: No. He’ll win. You don’t know Kenshin. He’s a swordsman, but not just a
swordsman.
(Hyottoko’s flame sputters and dies out.)
Hyottoko (thinking): Ridiculous--I’m out of oil . . .
Kenshin: Have I tasted your sideshow act fully yet?
the Makings of the Characters--Oniwabanshuu Hyottoko
There was no model for this character. However I'd already been playing with the idea of
"Hyottoko" meaning "Fire Man," or a man who could breathe fire.
I wanted to put this man who could breathe fire into the group of spies (ordinarily
you’d say ninja, but writing "ninja" seemed sort of cheap, so I used spy (onmitsu) instead) but
Hyottoko seems out of place. Maybe it’s something you just don’t have in this fictional
world . . . As for his personality, for someone who’s bang introduced and bang defeated, a
conceited idiot seemed natural.
By the way, as for the match between Hyottoko’s Kaentoiki and Kenshin’s revolving
sword, everyone: readers, people at the magazine, friends and aquaintances all said, "Both
of them are sideshow acts!!" Looking at it more closely, all I can say is I give up. (It was
summer then and I was really tired, so please forgive me.)
For the design, I again took a mutant from that popular American comic. As I said
before, I needed to keep a strange characteristic in mind, and as I planned to conceal an oil
sac in his stomach, I thought I’d make him extremely fat. It was the first time I’d ever
drawn someone like that, and until I got used to it, it was really difficult. Once I’d gotten
used to it, though, it got easier.