Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Nine--Arrival in Kyoto
Part 71--Once Again to Kyoto
Misao: The reverse blade . . . it's broken . . .
Saitou: And Shishio got away.
Misao (scowling at him): Hey!!
Kenshin: What? We can make a new sword, and we can follow Shishio again. (he smiles) For now, Shishio has pulled out of Shingetsu, and I'm glad about that.
(While they're talking, Eiji moves over beside the fallen Senkaku.)
Eiji (thinking): He's breathing. He's not dead.
(He grits his teeth and raises the sword.)
Misao: Eiji!!
Eiji: Die, Senkaku!!
Misao: Wait, it's already over--
(Saitou catches the sword blade with one hand, then yanks Eiji back by the shirt collar with the other, throwing him against the wall.)
Saitou: You can't just kill him. I have a mountain of questions for him to answer.
Eiji: He's my enemy! Get out of my way!
Saitou: Idiot. Revenge killing was outlawed in 1873. Don't give me any more work to do. Besides, in addition to torture in the investigation, he'll undoubtably get the death penalty. It will be far more painful than simply being killed his sleep.
Eiji: Shut up! This has nothing to do with the law or the death penalty! I have to kill him with my own hands. (picking up the sword again) My family can't rest until--
(Kenshin lays a hand on his.)
Kenshin: The dead don't desire revenge, but the happiness of the livng. To dirty your small hands would bring joy to no one. As time goes by your small hands will become big and you'll become an adult. You won't be a man who oppresses other with his strength like Shishio's men. Nor will you be powerless, frightened and downtrodden like the men of the village. You'll be a man like your brother, who cared for you until the very end. And you'll be happy.
(The sword clatters to the floor; Eiji begins to cry.)
Misao: So I guess it's case closed for now. Here, take my handkerchief. Dry your tears.
(He blows his nose on her sash instead, to her rage.)
Saitou (looking away from the fracas to the fragment of the reverse blade): Case closed, indeed . . .
Soujirou (scratching the back of his head apologetically): It wasn't my fault. If you're angry, please be angry with Battousai.
Shishio: How could the reverse blade destroy the Nagasone Kotetsu like this? I may have underestimated him . . .
Soujirou: Kotetsu?
Yumi: Too bad your head isn't as strong as your arms. It was a famous sword used by one of the Bold Thirty-One.
Shishio: Soujirou, will you do something for me?
Soujirou: Anything, as long as I don't have to pay you back for the sword.
Shishio: Bring all of the Ten Swords to Kyoto at once. I want to drag Hitokiri Battousai out of Himura Kenshin, by force if I have to.
(Kenshin, Saitou, Misao and Eiji look on, as police drag Senkaku's body out of the village, amid cheering villagers.)
Kenshin: So Shingetsu has been restored to the way it was . . .
Misao: All those guys who wouldn't stand up for themselves look pretty happy. I'm kind of unsatisfied.
Saitou: In this terrible matter, the ugliness of the villagers' hearts have been exposed. Their relations will be unsettled for a while.
Misao: Something about your personality leaves me unsatisfied, too.
Eiji: This village is my home. I'm glad something good happened to it . . .
(Later, on the road agan.)
Saitou: Well . . . I should be getting back.
Kenshin: Yes, but what about Eiji?
Saitou: I'll take him with me. He can stay with Tokio while he cools off and considers his future.
Kenshin: Tokio?
Saitou: My wife.
Misao: W-w-w . . . wife?!?
Saitou: Yes.
Kenshin: You're married?!?
Saitou: Yes. Don't worry. Tokio is a capable woman. She'll take care of Eiji.
Misao: Anyone who married him--
Kenshin: Yes, she'd have to be a woman like a bodisattva, otherwise it would never work.
Saitou: Don't worry about me. You go straight to Kyoto. And become the Hitokiri again. I realized it in the fight; facing Shishio as a vagabond is foolish. You couldn't even take his advisor. It's good that the reverse blade is broken. You can finally make up your mind. I'll be expecting your old self.
(He walks off. Kenshin watches him go.)
Misao: Himura. (a brief pause, then she puts on a exuberant face): I'm not really sure what that was all about, but since he ran off, you won, right? In the end nothing happened. Just ignore Saitou. Cheer up! (Secret Technique Expression Imitation!--Misao puts on a variety of Kenshin faces) When you go all slanty-eyed like this it's cool, but it's kind of scary and cruel (Dark, too) It's better when you're all nice and going "Oro!" That's the one I like best, your "No way!" expression.
Kenshin: It really doesn't matter to me which you like.
Misao: Well, that's kind what I thought you'd--hey!! That was extremely rude!
(Kenshin gives her a very small smile.)
Kenshin (turning back down the road): We lost a lot of time. Let's hurry. Shishio's men will probably attack in Kyoto, so let's get to the Toukai Way.
Misao: You were making fun of me . . . !!! Angry Demon Bird Kick!!
Kenshin: Oro!
(The sun sets before them.)
Kenshin (thinking): Whether I truly must become the Hitokiri or not, the answer will lie in Kyoto.
In the meantime . . .
Sanosuke (in the middle of the forest): Great. Now I'm really lost. Which way is Kyoto?