Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Six--No Need for Worries
Bonus Story 3
This is my debut, a work with a lot of memories attached. As the title says, it’s
set in a country at war, but at first it was meant to be a work of fantasy. It was meant to be
set in the world of Hokuoufuu, with Hiko as a knight and Isshinta as a peasant warrior, but I
looked around and everyone looked like fantasy, it had become the Sengoku period. So, rather
than change anything, I followed the trend, even though I never dreamed I’d be doing a
historical story.
Actually, when I first started, Isshinta was the main character. When I showed it to my
boss, he said "Is this the main character?" while pointing to Hiko, so Hiko ended up as the
main character instead . . . It wasn’t supposed to be about Hiko’s actions and romance, but
about the weakling Isshinta learning to be brave; even crying, when he returns to the
battlefield, "in an instant weakness turns to strength." The actions of brave men like Hiko and
Kenshin make up the bulk of boy’s comics, but the idea of a weakling learning to be brave struck
home to me. I’ve drawn a lot of characters since then, but only Isshinta has been completely,
one hundred percent as I meant him to be.
**note-- "sengoku" literally means "war country," but it refers to the time before the
Tokugawas unified the country, when Japan was ruled by several warlords, from about 1450 to
1600. I couldn’t figure out how to work that neatly into the title, though. --maigo
Crescent Moon Over a Country at War
A time of war, a confusion of violence--
(Hiko, a tall man in armor, kills a man in a spray of blood. He is surrounded by fallen
warriors; the others fall back.)
Hiko: Next--!!
In the war of the country of Kitakata and Nagumo, warriors meet, giving no thought to their
own lives.
Hiko: What’s wrong? Isn’t there anyone left who remembered my skill? Is there no one here
who can kill me???
However . . .
(Another man rushes forward. Isshinta screams, tears pouring from his eyes. He darts between
the man’s legs.)
There are always a few exceptions . . .
Isshinta: I’ve had enough of this! I don’t want to die! I want to live to get back to the
village! Natsu, Isshinta is coming home to you!!
Soldier: Hey, you’re a Kitakata soldier! You’re supposed to stay here and fight!
It is early winter, and war has broken out between the larger province of Nagumo and
the smaller one of Kitakata. Even using all of its resources, the destructions of Kitakata is
said to be inevitable. The lord of Nagumo, Iwano Hirosaki, had proclaimed that if he weds the
beautiful and renown Princess Natsu, the war would be ended. Kitakata, believing him, became careless, and
Nagumo broke the peace, attacking once again. The castle fell, and the royal family was
killed. Their loyal subjects are scattered, threatened with death if they offer resistance.
But there is one swordsman on whom we can pin our hopes . . .
(Isshinta is walking down a road.)
Isshinta: Natsu, wait for me. I’m alive, I’m coming home. (stopping) But when I ran for my
life I ended up kinda lost. Where am I?
(He walks straight into a group of soldiers.)
Soldier: Is he a Kitakata scout?
Soldier2: Who cares, just kill him!
Soldier: (raising his sword) I’ll cut him in two!!
Isshinta (sobbing): Save me----
(It is he who is cut in two, as Hiko appears behind him.)
Soldiers: Who is that!!
Hiko (attacking): One who has become your enemy!!
Isshinta (thinking): Three people . . . with only one stroke . . !!
Remaining soldier: Not you . . .
Hiko: Do you run?
Isshinta (throwing himself around Hiko’s ankles): Lord Hiko!!
(They go down in a heap.)
Isshinta: Three people with a single stroke, and a sword like lightning . . . you’re the famous
swordsman Lord Hiko Seijuurou! You’re the one that’s going to kill the evil general Iwano and
save Kitakata! The samurai everyone is always talking about--
(Hiko throws him to the ground.)
Hiko: You idiot!! One of them got away! What are you doing here without a sword when there’s
an army in the mountains?
Isshinta (sobbing again): An . . . an army?? I ran so far from the battle and now--
Hiko: I see. You deserted. You pathetic excuse for a samurai!
Isshinta: I’m no samurai. Just a farmer. They didn’t have enough soldiers so they came to
the village and--
Soldiers: There they are!! Kill them!!
Hiko: Feh. Fresh troops?
(He raises his sword, only to find Isshinta clinging to his other hand.)
Hiko: You fool, let me go! I can’t use the sword!
Isshinta: I’m scared. Save us, Lord Hiko . . .
Hiko: Damn . . . (scooping up Isshinta and running for it) That I should flee in battle!
Soldiers: They’re getting away! After them!
In Nagumo headquarters
Iwano: What! Hiko Seijuurou was there!
Soldier: He killed three men with a single stroke. It could be no other.
Iwano (swigging sake): A master of the sword from Kitakata. Hiko Seijuurou The swordsman
revered as the country’s saviour, the last of the samurai clan, whose loyalty blazes bright.
(The sake jug smashes against the floor.) Kitakata’s last hope! Because he works alone, he
hasn’t been captured yet . . . Take the field! This is our chance to take him! I too shall go!
Begin the preparations!
Soldier: What? Lord Iwano, it’s too dangerous. His Hiten Mitsurugi school has invincible
speed! They say he can cut down not just three but a hundred men with a single stroke! To
attack him carelessly would be to take your life in your hands . . .
Iwano: However great, a sword is a sword and for that I care nothing. I won’t be satisfied
until he falls into my hands! Take the field!
(The soldiers comb the canyon.)
Soldier: Is he here?
Soldier: No, but in a dark moonless night he can’t have gone far on his own! Leave no stone
unturned!
Hiko (concealed someplace): There’s a lot of them all of a sudden . . .
Isshinta: Why do we have to fight them . . . It was so good long ago. The abundance of peace
. . . But now because of the late lord and the people of the court, even though we were just
peaceful farmers . . .
Hiko: Hey. Rather than think of the day you don’t return, if you want to live, don’t run away.
The enemy is determined to capture me. Until then, we’re together until death!
Isshinta: I can’t escape by myself!
Hiko: Then you have only to die.
Isshinta: I--I don’t want to die! Natsu’s waiting for me in the village!
(The name surprises Hiko.)
Isshinta: Natsu’s . . . She’s waiting . . .
(Flashback, to when Isshinta says farewell to his sweetheart Natsu.)
Isshinta: Natsu . . . I don’t want to go to war. I can’t do anything great. I’m just
scared . . .
Natsu (hitting him): Stop crying! Crying won’t change the fact that you have to go.
A weakling like you is sure to die, Isshinta! Give me your hand, Isshinta. (She hands him a
charm.) This is a keepsake from my mother. It’s a charm to make a weakling strong. I’m giving
it to you so you’ll stop crying.
Isshinta: Why does it say "Safety in Childbirth"?
Natsu: It’s a charm for strength, all right! You got that? You have to live to come back,
Isshinta! I’ll be waiting for you!
Isshinta (coming out of the flashback): I definitely don’t want to die. I have to go back for
Natsu . . .
Hiko: I see. So you don’t care if you run away because it’s for the sake of a girl . . .
(thinking) Natsu . . .
Isshinta: Yeah . . . I’m a weakling because running away is the only way I know how to survive
. . But what are we going to do on a dark night without a moon . . .
Hiko: We’d better get some sleep until dawn.
(Hiko enters a room in which the princess of Kitakata, Natsu, is kneeling alone.)
Hiko: I thought you’d be here . . . I left the castle in the middle of the night. Everyone is
very worried. Let’s go back.
Natsu: Seijuurou . . . how do you think of me? Is it like the other samurai, "the princess of
the country I serve"?
(A pause.)
Hiko: Perhaps I might compare you to the moon . . . the soft light shining down on this war-torn
country is irreplaceable. If you would permit me, I think I want to stay near it my entire
life.
Natsu (with tears in her eyes): I too want to be near you. Please . . . run away with me. I
have no desire to become Iwano’s wife . . .
Hiko: But . . . the country of Kitakata . . .
(She is suddenly enveloped by a storm.)
Hiko: Princess Natsu! I can’t move . . . Princess Natsu! Princess Natsu! Princess Natsu!
Natsu--!!!!
Isshinta: Natsu! Where? Where is she? Where . . .
Hiko: A dream . . . It was a dream . . .
Isshinta: "Natsu" wasn’t my Natsu. Your . . . lover? Natsu, Natsu, Natsu--I remember! The
beautiful princess that Iwano Hirosaki stole as a false term of peace! She had the same name
as my Natsu! But . . . you’re a swordsman, and she’s a princess . . .
Hiko: Considering your fallen face that’s not a bad guess. But it’s as you thought. A lowly
swordsman would never be permitted near a princess.
Isshinta: Well . . . (thinking) A secret affair?
Hiko: But that is all over with. I, who abandoned Princess Natsu, no longer have the capacity
to love or be loved.
Isshinta: What . . . abandoned!?
Hiko: The night before Iwano took her, Princess Natsu begged me to flee with her. But I
couldn’t do that. My loyalty to my lord would not permit me . . . And so I abandoned her.
From beginning to end, in my selfishness I wouldn’t listen . . .
Isshinta: But . . . a samurai tries to keep his devotion to his lord. No one could blame you
for that. (throwing himself at Hiko’s feet) You and Princess Natsu didn’t do anything wrong!
It was Iwano who stole her! Please, kill Iwano! You’re so much stronger than I am! You
could do it! With your sword you could restore peace again . . . And then Princess Natsu
could come back!
Hiko: Iwano may have stolen her, but I am the one who abandoned her! Just as I can’t go back,
I can’t make those fallen tears return to her eyes . . .
Isshinta: Lord Hiko . . .
Hiko: Enough. What we say now can’t change the fact that I abandoned her.
Isshinta: But that’s . . .Princess Natsu . . . (breaking down to tears) What will happen to
Princess Natsu?
Hiko (surprised): . . . you . . .
Soldier: There they are! This way!
Hiko: Damn! (The soldier is killed, but too late.) This is could be trouble . . .
Isshinta: No---I don’t want to die . . . Natsu . . .
Hiko: I never asked your name.
Isshinta: Huh? I’m Isshinta.
Hiko: All right, Isshinta, run away.
Isshinta: WHAT??
Hiko: Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the soldiers here. (taking off his long sword) But
just because you’re running away doesn’t mean you should go unarmed. This is a treasure of
the Hiten Mitsurugi school passed down generation to generation, called "Fuyutsuki" (Winter
Moon.) Sell it for the money to reach your village safely.
(Hordes of soldiers appear, surrounding them.)
Soldiers: There they are!! One false move and you’ll be killed! We have you surrounded!
Isshinta: Are you trying to die, Lord Hiko . . .
Hiko: It doesn’t matter. Go!
Isshinta: But Lord Hiko!!
Hiko: Isshinta, I didn’t come to the battlefield to fight. I came to find the place where I
would die. I want no part of living this empty shell of a life after losing Princess Natsu.
What are you standing around here for--I told you to run! You have somewhere to go back to!
Someone is waiting for you! Live and go back to Natsu! Go, Isshinta!
Isshinta: Lord Hiko . . .
Hiko: Go.
Isshinta: Lord . . . Hiko . . .
(He runs off.)
Soldiers: One of them’s getting away
Let the shrimp go! Hiko’s not running.
Hiko (thinking): I think I am happy you don’t know what your tears have done for one about
to leave this world, Isshinta . . . .
Soldier (behind him): An opening!
(Hiko blocks with his remaining wakizashi.)
Hiko: You cannot take my head as easily as that. With one wakizashi, you will know the worth
of the last of the Hiten Mitsurugi school.
(The soldier is swiftly killed. Hiko moves easily through the crowd of soldiers, killing all
he meets.)
Hiko (thinking): Run, Isshinta! At least you can live. Return to the village where your
lover waits . . . You will be happy, instead of Princess Natsu.
(Some distance away, Isshinta runs out of breath. He thinks of Hiko slaying the soldier.)
Isshinta: Natsu-- (clutching the charm) Natsu!
(Hiko has dispatched an entire group of soldiers. The remaining company draws back.)
Soldier: He’s a sword demon . . .
Hiko: What’s wrong? Is there no one here who can take me? I’m getting tired of killing you.
Iwano: Hiko--!! Single combat!
Hiko (turning and thinking): That voice!
(He finds himself staring down the muzzle of a gun. A bullet hits his left shoulder.)
Iwano: What good is the Hiten Mitsurugi against a gun?
Hiko: How dare you, Iwano!!!
(A second shot to the right shoulder.)
Iwano: You’re the only remnant of Kitakata’s last hope! When you die, all of Kitakata will
fall! And then Natsu! Even though I spared her life, the only woman of the royal family of
Kitakata, she’s boring, all she ever does is cry. I heard the story of your little love affair!
(He raises the gun.) Hiko! I’ll give her your head with my own hands! Then she’ll give
you up! The woman and all of Kitakata will be mine!
(A final shot. Hiko falls to his knees, dropping the wakizashi in a pool of blood.)
Hiko (thinking): It’s cruel . . . to be brought to this before my mortal enemy . . .
(he looks to the sky.) The moon . . . the moon is shining through the clouds. It will be easy
for Isshinta to get away . . . That’s ridiculous! Tonight is the new moon! There shouldn’t be
any moonlight at all. Then what is that crescent moon . . . That’s--
(Iwano and his men have noticed it as well, turning in fear. The crescent moon reveals itself
as a sword--screaming, tears pouring from his eyes, Isshinta holds Hiko’s sword above his
head. He charges.)
Hiko: You idiot! Why did you come back to die??
Isshinta (hacking wildly; the soldiers draw back): I don’t want to die! I’m going back to
Natsu!!
Hiko: Then you should get out of here!
Isshinta: You too--you’re going back to Princess Natsu!
Hiko: You fool! You came back to tell me that! I am the man who abandoned Princess Natsu.
I have nowhere to go back to! Run away without thought for me, Isshinta! Until you I-- I
don’t want to bring tears to my last love!
Isshinta: You’re the fool, Lord Hiko! Don’t you know who Princess Natsu is crying for??
I wouldn’t want to make Natsu cry! But I don’t want to leave Princess Natsu in tears. Don’t
run away in death, Lord Hiko! If you die, you won’t be able to stop Princess Natsu from
crying her entire life!!
Soldier (striking the sword from Isshinta’s hands): Shut up, shrimp!
(Hiko leaps forward, scooping up his sword and killing the soldier in one smooth movement.)
Issshinta: Lord Hiko!
Hiko: Answer me, Isshinta! If you returned to Natsu and she wasn’t waiting for you, what would
you do?
Isshinta: I . . . I . . . (smiling through his tears) I love Natsu, so I still wouldn’t give
up!
Hiko (smiling very slightly): I see . . . (whipping around) Return the princess Natsu, Iwano!!
Iwano: You--you want to take on a gun with a sword??
Hiko: I’ll destory it! (in an instant, the gun’s muzzle is jammed with the wakizashi.)
Taste fully the secret sword of the Hiten Mitsurugi! Hiten Mugenzan!!!
(Iwano and the rock he is standing on are utterly destroyed.)
Hiko: Apologize to my lord in hell.
(Shards of rock fly through the air . . . and resolve themselves as snowflakes, falling on a
castle.)
The Nagumo castle of Iwano Hirosaki
(Princess Natsu sits in her room alone. Outside--)
Princess Natsu: An enemy attack--
(A famialiar sillhoette cuts down her guard.)
Hiko: I’m sorry I took so long. Princess Natsu.
Isshinta (pulling himself along slowly): Lord Hiko . . . is the princess there . . .
(They are in each other’s arms. Isshinta smiles.)
And so time went by--
(Natsu is harvesting rice in the fields.)
Isshinta (walking up, with Hiko and Princess Natsu behind him): Natsu! Natsu! I’m back!
Natsu (running towards him): Isshinta!
Isshinta: Natsu!
Natsu: Isshinta!
(He barely manages to stop the thresher she swings at him.)
Natsu: What’s this all of a sudden, those two noisy women behind you? You brought two of
them with you? Are you cheating on me, you idiot!
Isshinta: You’re the one being an idiot! I owe them my life! They brought me here!
Hiko: Two women . . .
(Princess Natsu giggles.)
Hiko: Well, I wish you a long and happy future. This is as far as we go.
Isshinta: Won’t you at least have some tea with us?
Hiko: The restored nation of Kitakata has many things which require our attention.
If you have the chance, please come and visit us.
And so time passed--
Isshinta (waving): I’ll be waiting, Lord Hiko!!
Hiko (to Natsu): But that girl’s mistake . .
Princess Natsu: Maybe it’s finally time you cut your hair?
Natsu: Restored? Hiko? That wasn’t . . .
Isshinta: Uh-huh, the new lord of Kitakata!
The peace that had been hoped and prayed for--
Natsu: Oh no, what have I done--
Began with the times of gentleness like the moon.
Crescent Moon over a Country at War--End