Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Three--A Reason to Act
Bonus Story 2
This is the original "Vagabond," published in a extra edition of the magazine half a
year before the story that was included in volume one. The one in volume one was an extra story
, but if it were a movie, it would be called the pilot film. The details have changed
considerably.
If you read this you’ll see how it was the pattern for the Megumi story, but Megumi,
Kaoru and Yahiko were brother and sisters, and Megumi is a completely different person.
I can confide in you now that I didn’t start this comic of my own volition. My debut
was a historical story. It was popular with the readers, but I thought that historicals were too
hard and my next story was going to be set in modern times . . . or so I thought, but my boss
gave me the advice, "Since you received such a favorable response for a newcomer, and since a
historical story would be so popular, why don’t you make a sequel?" and that led to "Vagabond."
I was in trouble, aiming for a Meiji mix that took the setting of the Bakumatsu from my bible,
"Burning Sword," and adding the going-ons of "Sagata Sanshirou." The title changed along with
the contents, from "Swordsman with Two Hearts," to "Kenshin the Jack-of-all-Trades," to "The
Vagabond Kenshin" to "Vagabond" in kanji to "Vagabond" without the kanji, to "Vagabond--Tales of
a Meiji Swordsman;" and although it was a 45 page story, it took me more than eight months. The
first time it was rejected for publication and I thought I was terrible, so this is a story
with deep memories attached. After a year’s maturation period went by, this "Vagabond" became
"Rurouni Kenshin." I want to thank again all the readers who encouraged me.
Watsuki (in the sketch below): But looking at it now, this is TERRIBLE. I’m glad it had to
be shelved.
Vagabond--Tales of a Meiji Swordsman
Long ago in Kyoto, in the violence of the Bakumatsu, there was a patriot called Hitokiri
Battousai. This man, who killed in the whirlpool of violence, disappeared as it reached a
conclusion. And now, in Tokyo, in the tenth year of Meiji (1877)--
(the busy streets of Tokyo)
Vagabond (to the policeman who has stopped him): No, as I said, I’m a vagabond. That’s why
I’m carrying a sword.
Policeman: What’s a vagabond in these hallowed times of Meiji? Don’t you know there’s an
edict against wearing swords?
Vagabond: Oro?
Policeman: No one is permitted to wear an real sword! (slapping handcuffs on him) You’re
under--
Vagabond (hurrying away): Perhaps another time.
Policeman: WHY YOU--
Onlookers: There are no vagabonds after ten years of Meiji rule
What a fool, in this era of culture and enlightenment.
(Among these onlookers is a Yahiko, who resembles the ordinary Yahiko in every way except for
his samurai topknot. He scowls. Meanwhile the vagabond is hiding in an alley.)
Policeman: Where are you hiding you--
Vagabond: He’s so persistent.
Yahiko (from behind him): Hey!
Vagabond (recovering from the shock): What is it, child.
Yahiko: Kamiya Yahiko is not a child!
Vagabond (frantically): Okay, I understand, now shhhhh. What do you want with me?
Yahiko: How much to borrow your sword?
Vagabond: My sword? What do you need it for?
Yahiko (drawing himself up): There is someone I must kill.
Vagabond: You should see the look on your face.
Yahiko: I’m serious!
Vagabond: No, no. I’m sorry, child, but actually this sword isn’t something that could kill.
Yahiko: What, is it bamboo?
Vagabond: No, but it couldn’t do what you want it to. If you’re in trouble, why don't you tell
me about it. Maybe I can help.
Yahiko (walking away): I don’t need your help.
Vagabond: Wait, wait, just tell me about it. I can at least give you a different point of
view.
Yahiko: I said I don’t need it! It won’t mean a thing unless I do it myself!!
Policeman: FOUND YOU!! You can’t escape the police!
Vagabond (scooping up Yahiko and running for it): It’s a little noisy here. Let’s go back to
your house.
Yahiko: You jerk, lemme go!!
(A bit later)
Vagabond: This is your house?
Yahiko: It’s just an old longhouse. We used to own a kenjutsu dojo. My father was the
second strongest man in all Japan, but he’s dead now.
(Kaoru opens the door. She is also much as we know her, and carries a broom.)
Vagabond (smiling): Oh, you must be the child’s sister. I’m--
Kaoru: Will you ever give up--
Vagabond (in a small voice): Oro.
(Kaoru smashes him over the head with the broom.)
Kaoru: You’re not taking Megumi. Go back to Nishiwaki and tell him that!!
Megumi: What . . . what’s all the fuss, Kaoru?
Kaoru (letting him have it again): It’s another one of Nishiwaki’s goons!
Megumi: St--stop, Kaoru!
Kaoru: Look, he’s wearing a sword!
Vagabond: Ow!
Yahiko (thinking): This guy’s weak.
(A little later. Megumi and Kaoru are eating dinner with the vagabond; Yahiko is sitting
before the family altar.)
Megumi: I’m sorry. My sister can be a little hasty.
Vagabond: Not at all. She has a very good sword arm, however. Did she learn from your father?
Megumi: Yes.
Vagabond: So it’s as the child said. The second greatest swordsman in Japan--
Megumi: Well . . . he certainly opened a dojo for the Kamiya Kasshin school that’s been
handed down for generations . . . but I wouldn’t say he was that strong . . .
Vagabond: Really . . .
Yahiko: You’re wrong! Father was great! He was the strongest after Hitokiri Battousai!
(The name produces quite a reaction from the vagabond.)
Megumi: Of course, Yahiko. I’m sorry. (to the vagabond) Please excuse him. Yahiko never
learned kenjutsu from our father. He died in the Southwest before he could teach him. So he
idolizes him; he believes that Father was strong. Hitokiri Battousai was a compatriot of
Father’s, an anti-foreigner loyalist. In Father’s day, he was hailed as the greatest with the
sword.
Vagabond: So the Hitokiri was the best, and your father the second best . . .
Megumi: Hitokiri Battousai . . . they say he could kill three men with a single stroke using
the techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi school, but it’s only a story. Probably the Hiten
Mitsurugi school itself was just a rumor from the days of war . . .
Vagabond: No need to go into particulars. Now, you mentioned this Nishiwaki . . .
Kaoru: It has nothing to do with you, so stop asking about it! (the vagabond looks shocked)
I may have overreacted a little . . . (pounding the table) But this is a matter for the Kamiya
family! Who do you think you are, butting in our problems?
Vagabond (smiling): I’m just a vagabond, but . . . (Slow on the uptake).
Kaoru (grabbing his shirt): I meant why are you forcing your way into this!!
Vagabond: You’re a serious little girl.
Kaoru (hands around his throat): Who’s a little girl???
Vagabond: Oro . . .
Megumi: Stop, Kaoru!
Nishiwaki: Such a lively scene.
(all eyes to the door, while the vagabond ponders his brush with strangulation. Nishiwaki
stands in the doorway, surrounded by fighters of all descriptions. He wears a black western
suit with a white scarf.)
Nishiwaki: Good evening.
Megumi: Mr . . . Mr. Nishiwaki.
Vagabond: Ah, so that’s him.
Nishiwaki: You look exhausted, Megumi. This life of poverty is draining you. Stop your
tedious resistance, and come back to our Kamiya Kasshin school dojo.
Vagabond: Our . . . but Miss Megumi said it was passed down through the family . . .
Kaoru (leveling a shinai at Nishiwaki): He stole it. This bastard of an assistant master
stole it! When my father died he used the fact that there was no master to drive away all
the other students! And then took on his followers! Didn’t you, Nishiwaki!!
Nishiwaki: I didn’t steal anything. Say that I’m taking care of the school. No matter how
many students you have, a school will fail without a master. You may know kenjutsu, but a
woman can’t carry on the school. So. After the eldest daughter Megumi becomes my wife, I’ll
become a member of the Kamiya family, and I can take up my place as a rightful successor.
Won't I, Megumi?
(The vagabond steps up, but Nishiwaki smacks him to keep him quiet.)
Vagabond: Oro.
Nishiwaki: Let’s go someplace where we can talk, Megumi.
Kaoru: Don’t come one step closer to Megumi!
Vagabond (rubbing his nose): But does Miss Megumi need a successor for the school? The family
has a son.
Yahiko: Exactly!
(He rushes forward with his bokutou.)
Megumi: Yahiko!
Fighter: Brat . . . (smashing him across the face) stay out of this!!
Vagabond: Hey, there’s no need to--
(Kaoru knocks the fighter down.)
Fighters: That bitch--
Kaoru: Yahiko, stay back!
Vagabond: Do as she says . . .
(Yahiko shakes himself free.)
Vagabond: Child! (thinking) Child . . .
Kaoru: Yahiko, stay back!
Fighter (kicking him down): Get out of the way, brat!
Megumi: Yahiko!
Kaoru: Stay back, Yahiko! You’re only getting in the way!
(This is the final straw. Yahiko charges once again, roaring.)
Kaoru: Yahiko!!
Man (from the door): Hey, what’s all the noise? Stop, or I’ll call the police!
Megumi: The landlord . . .
Fighters: You think we’re scared of the cops?
Nishiwaki: Stop!!! (to the landlord) I’m sorry about the noise. We were just leaving.
There’s no need for the police.
Landlord: Well . . .
Nishiwaki: Megumi, things got a little out of hand, but I’m sure you’ll excuse us, since it was
for the sake of continuing the school. You couldn’t bear to see your ancestral school
destroyed. Please think about the best way to save it.
Landlord: What was all that about, Miss Kamiya? Give me an explanation.
Megumi: Um . . .
Vagabond: The child.
Kaoru: What?
Vagabond: I don’t see the child.
(A little later. The vagabond and Kaoru are out searching for Yahiko.)
Kaoru: Where can that boy be!!
Vagabond: Well, no need to get so angry.
Kaoru: This is all Nishiwaki’s fault for getting him so mad.
Vagabond: Being angry causes wrinkles, you know.
Kaoru (whapping him in the nose again): I’ve hated him ever since he joined the school. We
heard rumors about how he was the leader of those guys. From the start I knew he had to be up
to something! But he deceived father with his talent . . . and thanks to him we’re now . . .
Vagabond: I see . . . He didn’t make any distinctions about who he taught kenjutsu to, but only
hoped that they would find the right path . . . Well, every individual chooses for himself.
(Kaoru is silent.) What’s wrong? (thinking) I wonder if she suspects I knew her father
. . . no, it can’t be.
(They both glance up. Yahiko is standing on the roof of the house, staring into the distance.)
Vagabond: There he is. He climbed up there.
Kaoru: Hey, Ya--
Vagabond (pulling her ponytail): Wait.
Kaoru: What do you think you’re--
Vagabond: Leave this to me. We’ll have a talk, man to man. You wait down here.
(Kaoru looks puzzled but agrees. The vagabond climbs up to the roof.)
Vagabond: Your sisters are worried about you. Come back to the house.
(Yahiko turns away.)
Vagabond: You were in the way, so do you hate your sisters now? No. You must love both your
sisters very much. The one you hate, for not being able to protect them, is yourself. You
want to protect them. That’s why you said that if you didn’t do it yourself, it didn’t mean
anything.
(Yahiko is fighting tears, refusing to turn around.)
Vagabond: You’re small, but you’re the son of the second-best swordsman in Japan, so you want
that strength . . . (he sits back to back with Yahiko) But, Yahiko, you shouldn’t kill anyone.
Your father never would have told you to become a killer. A killer, no matter how strong,
is just an imitation. The only things left are your regrets and a lonely sword . . .
Yahiko (kicking him): You’re weak, what would you know about it?
Vagabond: Oro. (almost falling off) But, Yahiko, you’ll be strong. You have my guarantee,
so set your mind at ease.
Yahiko: I’m supposed to be happy with your guaruantee?!
(Kaoru, who has been listening to this conversation, now makes her way back to the house. The
landlord is just leaving.)
Landlord: I’ll overlook this once. But next time there’s a disturbance I’ll have you thrown
out.
Megumi: I’m very sorry.
(Kaoru walks in.)
Megumi: Oh, Kaoru, you’re back. Where’s Yahiko?
(Kaoru clutches Megumi’s jacket.)
Megumi: Kaoru?
Kaoru: His own sister didn’t understand . . . That vagabond understood how Yahiko was feeling.
And I didn’t understand at all . . .
Megumi: Kaoru . . . (thinking) Yahiko and Kaoru have taken as much of this as they can stand.
(she remembers
Nishiwaki’s words: "You couldn’t bear to see your ancestral school destroyed. Please think
about the best way to save it.") I can’t cause them any further pain. If I gave up . . .
If I went to him, everything could be all right again. If I went to him . . .
Vagabond (coming in): You two are--
(Kaoru is instantly at his throat again)
Vagabond: No, I just meant that you’re both so beautiful.
Kaoru: Some recovery!!
Yahiko: What was he saying?
Megumi: You don’t need to know.
Vagabond: Well, it’s getting late. I think I’ll get to bed.
Kaoru: You mean you’re staying here??
(The next morning. Kaoru finds a letter:
I’ve gone to Nishiwaki. Yahiko, Kaoru, please try to forgive me. Megumi.
Kaoru (crumpling the letter): Megumi is too nice for her own good . . .
Vagabond: What are you going to do?
Kaoru: I’ve made up my mind! (kilting up her kimono skirt and sleeves) I’m storming
Nishiwaki’s mansion! Megumi isn’t going to face this misery alone!
(Yahiko begins to scowl, but Kaoru hands him a bokutou as well.)
Kaoru: Yahiko! Your sister will be fighting Nishiwaki’s men as hard as she can! So you need
to protect Megumi! Let’s go, Yahiko!
(Megumi enters the Kamiya Kasshin dojo, to find it has been converted to a gambling hall.)
Nishiwaki (behind her): I’m pleased that you came, but it could be dangerous to enter the
dojo on your own.
Megumi: Mr. Nishiwaki, what on earth . . .
Nishiwaki: Don’t you recognize a gambling hall when you see one? The dojo was isolated from
the world. But it can’t be helped; this is spacious land in the best of districts. Even more
than a dojo, a gambling hall needs to be spacious. The police would hear about a land sale
immediately, but when your lands are transferred to me, we can build our fortune quite easily.
Megumi: You . . . you planned this from the beginning . . .
Nishiwaki (lifting her chin): In the Meiji era of culture and enlightenment, a kenjutsu dojo
is just out of date.
Megumi (tears in her eyes): You scum.
Nishiwaki (licking his lips): As you like.
Kaoru: Nishiwaki!!! Return Megumi! Or else you’re dead!!
Vagabond: What she said.
Megumi: Kaoru! Yahiko!
Nishiwaki (to his fighters): Since we have the woman, we have no use for the brat and the girl.
Fighters: You won’t get away!
Kaoru: Let’s go, Yahiko!
Vagabond (pulling their respective ponytails): Wait.
Kaoru (as she and Yahiko lay into him): What was that all about!!
Vagabond: Just be reasonable and leave this to me.
Nishiwaki: Did you just come here to quarrel among yourselves, or . . .
Vagabond: No, no, we’re here to take back Miss Megumi and the dojo. It’s a family dojo, and it
properly belongs to the eldest son, Yahiko. Of course, he’ll have to be an adult to run the
school, so Miss Kaoru can take care of it in the meantime. Her nature is pretty much a man’s
anyway, so she’ll do a good job.
Kaoru (hitting him): You talk too much.
Nishiwaki: That’s reasonable indeed. Did you expect me to say, "Oh, you’re right" and back
off?
Vagabond: No good? So you refuse to listen?
Nishiwaki: We can settle this easily enough. I see we both have swords. Face me, the
assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin school, and my nine followers
Vagabond: I was afraid you would resort to violence. But as you say . . .
.
Kaoru: Wait a minute!
Vagabond: Oro.
Kaoru: I know what you’re trying to do, but this has nothing to do with you, you don’t need
to get involved!
Vagabond: That’s cold, considering you’ve given me a meal and a place to sleep.
Kaoru: For that you’re going to throw your life away?
Vagabond: Not just that. One more thing. Even if I die, I think Mr. Koujirou’s spirit guided
my wanderings here because his children were in need . . . This may be dangerous, so stand
back.
Megumi (thinking): But I never mentioned Father’s name . . .
Kaoru (thinking): So he did know Father . . .
Nishiwaki: Enough of this foolishness!!
(His fighters charge.)
Vagabond: Yahiko! Watch the sword your father called the strongest!
Kaoru (thinking): He’s strong . . . too strong. This is the Hiten Mitsurugi
school’s . . .
Megumi (thinking): He . . . this vagabond is . . .
Yahiko (thinking): The one Father called the strongest . . . Hitokiri Battousai!
(all nine fighters are quickly laid out on the floor.)
Kaoru: With three strokes . . . you took out nine people . . .
Vagabond: Don’t say things like that. I didn’t kill anyone.
Kaoru: That blade--!
Vagabond: The blade and flat edge are reversed--a reverse blade. One can use ordinary strokes
without killing.
Kaoru: I see. But what would Hitokiri Battousai be doing with a sword that couldn’t
kill . . .
Vagabond (flipping the blade over): It's all right. But, Mr. Nishiwaki. You could still suffer
several broken bones. Will you leave them alone?
Nishiwaki: You . . . don’t toy with me! (drawing his sword) I am the assistant master of the
Kamiya Kasshin--
(The vagabond breaks his sword.)
Vagabond: Never say that again. You dirty the name of the Kamiya Kasshin school.
(Nishiwaki retreats a few paces.)
Nishiwaki (drawing a gun from his coat): Then what about this? The tables have been turned.
What good is your sword now?
Vagabond: I’ll say it again. Will you leave them alone?
Nishiwaki (firing): Die!!
(The vagabond merely ducks his head a little to the side, letting the bullet fly by harmlessly.
Nishiwaki panics, firing again and again.)
Vagabond: Reading the angle of your lines of sight and the gun’s mouth is simplicity itself!
(He strikes Nishiwaki across the face with the handle of the sword; Nishiwaki goes down. The
sword lands point down between his legs.)
Vagabond: I have reached the end of my patience. This is your last warning. You will never
bother them again.
(Nishiwaki faints.)
Vagabond: Well. (sheathing his sword) I think I’ve done all I can for you. Miss Megumi, it
must have been very hard for you when Mr. Koujirou died. Please look after the Kamiya family.
Miss Kaoru, until Yahiko becomes an adult, please take care of the dojo. (doing the innocent
smile again) And try not to be so grouchy all the time!
Kaoru: You’re a big help.
Yahiko: The Hiten Mitsurugi school . . .teach it to me. Please! I . . . I want to be as
strong as you!
Vagabond (smiling sadly): I said it before. No matter how strong, a killer is only an
imitation. You don’t need the kenjutsu that would kill like this, without this sword.
(tousling his hair) You’ll be strong in the Kamiya Kasshin school, and bring pride to the
name of your father. (turning to go) Good luck.
Kaoru: Wait! Where are you--
Vagabond: I’m a vagabond. I’ll be wandering once again.
Kaoru (watching him go): . . . Hitokiri Battousai . . . (thinking) A sword that can’t kill
. Why would Hitokiri Battousai . . . no. A nameless vagabond . . .
Long ago in Kyoto, in the violence of the Bakumatsu, there was a patriot called Hitokiri
Battousai. This man, who killed in the whirlpool of violence, disappeared as it reached a
conclusion. And now, in Tokyo, in the tenth year of Meiji--
A swordsman known only as "vagabond"--
Policeman: Today for sure, you’re under arrest--
Vagabond (running): Perhaps next time.
--is wandering through the age.
Megumi: But if he was one of father’s compatriots, how old would he have to be?
Kaoru (looking stricken): He looked young, but he’d have to be at least thirty . . .
Vagabond--Tales of a Meiji Swordsman (end)