Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Six--No Need for Worries
Part 44--No Need for Worries
Tsukayama Estate
Servant: It’s kind of you, but he’s said he doesn’t want to see anyone.
Kaoru: Really. Well, please give him this. (handing him a cloth-wrapped bundle)
Servant: Thank you.
Kaoru: We’ll come again soon.
Servant: Thank you very much. From myself as well.
Sanosuke (as they walk away): Shutting himself up’s no good. But, he was betrayed by his
master, and he'll never be able to do kenjutsu again . . .
Kaoru: . . . the Kamiya Kasshin school is "the sword that protects life" but . . . what do you
do at a time like this. It’s a tragedy . . . and I can’t think of a single word that will
change that.
(Yahiko gives the house an angry glare. Inside, Yutarou sits on his bed, staring at the
floor. Meanwhile, in the garden, Tsukayama and Kenshin are deep in conversation.)
Tsukayama: If you remember, in the sudden change of lifestyle after the Meiji era began,
I had no connections. As a lower samurai, all I had was a good eye for swords, so I became a
swords merchant. They were a great success overseas. It made my fortune when a lot of samurai
were ruined. If they saw my way of life they’d call me a success. But if you asked me, I’d
say I’m no better than a dog. To raise my family and protect my home, every day I bowed my
head down to others.
So I wanted Yutarou to be strong. To never lose at anything. To never yield to the flow of
the times. I wanted him to be a man who lived according to his own beliefs. Unlike me.
Kenshin (remembering Tsukayama saying "A man must be strong no matter what"): I see.
Tsukayama: In thinking this way, I took Isurugi Raijuuta for his strength at face value, and
destroyed Yutarou’s dreams . . .
Kaoru: Oh, there you are, Kenshin--
Kenshin: Oro. That was quick. Mr. Tsukayama Yuzaemon, we’ll come to pay another visit soon.
Tsukayama: Thank you. But this is probably the last time you’ll see me. I’ve been thinking
about a lot of things, and I’ve decided to take Yutarou with me to Germany.
Everyone: Germany!?
Tsukayama: Germany is the most advanced country in medicine. If he can be healed, it will be
there . . . I think. Living on foreign soil, Yutarou can forget about kenjutsu. We’re leaving
in a week. I don’t know when we’re coming back.
And so--
Shinbashi Station
Tsukayama: I want to thank you for all you’ve done. Yutarou, say your last goodbyes.
(Yutarou only stares at the floor.)
Kaoru (thinking): I had a week to think, but I don’t have anything to say that will make
him feel better--
Sanosuke (thinking): I could encourage him, tell him not to give up . . . but it wouldn’t ease
his heart.
Servant: Master, it’s time . . .
Tsukayama: Oh, right. Well . . .
Yahiko: Yutarou!! (he whips the shinai off his back to strike Yutarou, who manages to block
with his cane.)
Everyone: Yahiko?!
Yahiko: Are you just going to give up!! If you’re bitter because Raijuuta betrayed you, be
stronger than Raijuuta and you can erase all this! Not the fake Raijuuta he really was. Be
stronger than the Raijuuta you dreamed of!! If you can’t do this, all your life you’ll be
nothing more than a beaten dog!
Yutarou: You bastard. Shut up and listen to me. Who’s a beaten dog?! There’s no way I’m
quitting kenjutsu! No way I’ll quit! (returning the blow) If my right arm’s no good I’ll use
my left. My left arm’s enough to deal with you!!
Yahiko: Don’t talk to me like that, you cat-eyed quitter!
Yutarou: Shut up, you twisted little shrimp!
(They fight, as smiles slowly creep over everyone’s faces.)
Kaoru: Hmm.
Sanosuke: Well.
Kenshin: I see. There was no need for worries.
(A little later, as Yutarou is boarding the train.)
Yahiko: Okay? Don’t forget. My fight with you isn’t finished. You better come back.
Kaoru: We’ll keep the space of the Kamiya Kasshin school’s second student open and waiting
for you.
(The train pulls away from the station.)
Tsukayama: They’re nice people.
Yutarou: That jerk. Beating up on someone who’s hurt. Myoujin Yahiko. I’ll be back, and
I’ll destroy you.
(Back at the station.)
Sanosuke: Well, we came all the way to Shinbashi. Let’s go get some Western food.
Kaoru: You’re just trying to get a meal out of me again.
(They start to walk away, but Kenshin is still watching the train.)
Kaoru: Kenshin, why the long face?
Kenshin: It's nothing . . . I was just thinking of what Mr. Maekawa of the Chuuetsu school told me
about the future of kenjutsu. he was very pessimistic. Raijuuta was the same. (he smiles)
But seeing those two, I’m not worried.
Kaoru: . . . Right.
Kamiya Kasshin School
Master--
Adjutant Master--Kamiya Kaoru
Students--Myoujin Yahiko, Tsukayama Yutarou (expected)
the Makings of the Characters--Tsukayama Yuutarou
There was no real model. The character was created to be a good rival for Yahiko. Like
Yahiko, he seeks strength, but their contrat is Yutarou’s antipathy towards
his father, seen through a child’s eyes. Later he has a crush on Kaoru, and recognizes
Kenshin’s strength and personality, yet couldn’t get along with them because they were his
master’s enemies; drawing a boy with these important points in mind was fun. I think he was
a pretty good character, but as he came with the pathetic Raijuuta, I couldn’t cope with
drawing him anymore.
I haven’t decided for certain if I’ll bring Yutarou back. I had the idea that he would learn
fencing and return home . . . I thought it might be good to do an extra story about Yahiko,
Yutarou and Tsubame. Maybe set in the boys' and girls’ groups that formed five years
later . . . but maybe that wouldn’t work.
I had no real design either; I just drew a character to contrast with Yahiko. At first it
was a lot of work to draw his hair the way it is now, but once I got the knack of it it
became easier and now it’s very useful. The Yutarou you see isn’t very dark, and I was
careless and made him too light, and fixing him was a lot of work.