[insects chirping]
[Megumi] Here I am, the only one who gets left behind.
I'm responsible for looking after the dojo, too.
[sighs]
What in the world am I doing?
[door creaks]
Eh?
This door shouldn't be unlocked.
What's going on?
Maybe one of them came back for something they forgot.
Or maybe-- maybe it's Kenshin who's come back!
[gasps]
[brooding music]
♪ ♪
[gasping]
Aoshi Shinomori...
the leader of the Oniwaban Group.
Where has Battosai disappeared to?
["Chained" by Kitani Tatsuya x natori]
♪ ♪
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
- [shudders]
♪ ♪
[shudders]
- Answer me. - [gasps]
- Where has Battosai gone?
- This man wants to take Kenshin's life.
I don't-- I don't know.
[winces]
- Answer me honestly,
or I'll kill you.
- [shuddering]
[Saito] Battosai is on his way to Kyoto.
[Megumi gasps]
- Who are you?
- Goro Fujita.
A police officer, as you can probably tell.
There's no need to glare at me.
I was only going to fill you in on what's happened
while you've been holed up in the mountains.
All right, then. Tell me.
Makoto Shishio?
- Whether you believe it or not is up to you.
But the fact remains that the man you're looking for
has gone to Kyoto.
- I see.
Then, I'll just wait for Battosai to return
and come back for him then.
- [gasps]
- Hmph.
Of course, he'll never return if Shishio kills him.
- That's impossible.
I'm the only one who can kill Battosai.
- My, aren't we confident?
Then again...
maybe we have a reason to be confident.
- Why did you have to go and tell him everything,
you crooked cop?!
Don't you understand?
The one thing that he wants is to kill Kenshin!
He's a dangerous man!
- Yes, you're right.
Dangerous enough that he would have killed you
if I hadn't stepped in and told him what he wanted to know.
- [grumbles]
- Dangerous, clever, and skillful enough
that he was made leader of the Oniwaban Group
at the age of 15.
I was just wondering if there might be a way
to make use of someone like that.
[Sojiro] Yes, I like your train of thought.
Aoshi Shinomori.
Yes, indeed.
He could prove very useful.
[birds chirping]
[footsteps scraping]
[men laughing]
- Take it from me,
you don't meet a dame like that every day.
Oh, man, she was somethin' else.
- You'll have to introduce me someday.
- Yeah, sure.
- Wait, no way! - [laughter]
- Oh? - Here he is.
- Assuming that you're Aoshi Shinomori, you're late.
- Where have you been? We almost gave up on you.
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
- And who the hell are you?
- [laughter]
- We're the trusted envoys of the great Lord Shishio!
- We're the famous Four Monks of Abukuma!
- [laughs] Rejoice.
Somehow, you caught Lord Shishio's attention,
and he wants to meet you in person.
- We only ever get to see Lord Shishio once a year,
if we're lucky, and even then, only at a distance.
- Yeah, so you should feel honored.
- Okay, enough standing around.
Come on. Lord Shishio is waiting.
- Tell him, if he wanted to meet me so badly,
he should have come himself.
- Eh? - Huh?
- Now that you've delivered your message,
you can turn around and go back home and stay there.
If you ever set foot in this land again,
I will chop you in half,
and then I'll do the same to this Shishio.
- Huh? - [sputtering]
- You may have some skills, little man,
but not nearly enough for that kind of talk!
- Having the gall to think you can chop us in half
is bad enough right there.
But to threaten Lord Shishio,
you deserve to die 10,000 times for that!
- Look up! - Look down!
- Look left! - Look right!
- You won't find any blind spots on the Four Monks!
[all yell]
- Huh?
Well, he is the leader of the Oniwaban Group, after all.
- But even he can't keep dodging all four of us.
- So let's finish him off, already.
- Clean up this mess.
- Huh? - Huh?
- Pick up all your trash, and I'll let you live.
- That's enough of this nonsense.
Get him.
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
- [gasps]
[gasps]
[all yell]
[dramatic music]
[all] You're dead!
- A long katana?
I thought he fought with kodachi!
- Did he change his weapon after he lost to Battosai?
- It doesn't matter what weapon he uses.
- A single katana isn't enough
to defend him from our four-man synchro attack!
[all] What?!
- Two kodachis in one scabbard?! - Two kodachis in one scabbard?!
- No! It can't be! - No! It can't be!
[all] A dual Kodachi?!
[screams echo]
♪ ♪
- Spectacular.
Those poor monks never stood a chance against you, did they?
- You one of Shishio's men, too?
- I am. And one of his best.
I'm Sojiro Seta. Pleased to meet you.
Now, will you come with me
and at least hear what he has to say?
- Get lost. I have no interest in going anywhere with you.
Least of all to meet a guy who's so heartless
that he'd sacrifice his own men to gauge an opponent's skill.
- Oh, wow. Yeah, that's him, all right.
[chuckles] But then, killing those men
when you knew they were little more than pawns
was a little heartless as well, wouldn't you say?
[wind blowing]
Anyway, if you ever change your mind, come to Kyoto.
We'll be waiting there for you.
You will see how the whole world
can change twice in your lifetime
and how you had no effect on things either time.
Such a waste of the Oniwaban Group leader's talents.
[footsteps receding]
[liquid pours]
So, do you still like the sound of him?
- [sighs] Yes, I like him.
Especially the way he slays men as if they were nothing.
- But as you can see, he's going to be a very hard sell.
What do you suggest we do next?
- Well, for now,
I should go and meet the former Hitokiri.
And the sooner, the better.
- [chuckles]
Mr. Shishio...
you're enjoying this, aren't you?
- [chuckles]
[Shishio] Well, yeah.
[birds chirping]
[Aoshi] Kyoto.
If I'm to tend your graves,
the sooner I do, the better.
[narrator] Stretching from Tokyo to Kyoto,
the Tokaido, or East Sea Road,
is nearly 500 kilometers long and has been
a prominent route since ancient times.
But in 1872,
a railway between Shimbashi and Yokohama
was completed, and as train lines
spread across the nation,
foot traffic on the Tokaido dwindled.
Odawara was the first castle town
one came to after leaving Tokyo,
and travelers often sought lodging there
to prepare themselves for the greatest obstacle
along the Tokaido, getting past Hakone.
- Spend your night here at the Odaya!
- Good rooms at good prices!
- Come and spend the night at the Odaya!
- Oh! This way, Mr. Swordsman!
You look tired. Come on in.
- Thank you, but I'm in too much of a hurry to stop.
- Well, whether you're in a hurry or not,
the sun's going down.
Keep going, and you'll get caught
in the middle of the Hakone mountains at night.
- I'll take my chances, that I will.
There's no way of knowing
when one of Shishio's men might attack.
I certainly don't want it happening
when I'm in a town full of people.
I need to avoid human contact as much as possible.
- Hmph. He's broke, that's what it is.
- Oro?
[insects chirping]
I haven't camped out in a long time.
I'm sure they're all angry with me, that I am.
I can't avoid them hating me for what I'm doing.
[gasps]
[ominous music]
[man] Come on, keep walking. Hurry up!
[woman] Wait! Don't pull so hard!
[man 2] Shut up and walk!
[Kenshin] Voices of one woman and several men.
This isn't Shishio's gang.
Sounds like bandits or something like that.
I know I should avoid other people,
but I can't let this go unchallenged.
- [winces]
- [laughs]
- What game are you playing, lady?
Why are you acting so scared?
You're the one that invited us, remember?
- You're right, I did.
Well, then, do you have the money or not?
- Oh, we got the money. 'Fact, your timing's perfect,
'cause we just finished pullin' off a job in Odawara.
A big job, as you can see.
- I can. I can see that very clearly.
All right, then!
- Huh? - Huh?
- The show's over, boys.
- So now hand over all your money,
everything you got!
[wind blows]
- What the hell is goin' on?!
- The dame is just a kid! - [winces]
- Aw, jeez. She had kind of a sexy voice, too.
- Turns out it's a snot-nosed little girl.
Go home, kid, and stop bothering us.
- [groans]
Hey, hold on just a second there, buddy!
- [groans]
- Who the hell are you calling a kid?!
Are you blind or something?!
- You lousy little brat!
- I'm 16 and a little bit over, you morons!
- Well, you ain't gonna live to see 17!
- You think we draw the line at robbin' people? Nah.
We got no problem killin' people, either!
Just watch!
[men gasp]
- You may be bigger and brawnier,
but that's exactly why you're too slow to catch me!
There, I think that about takes care of everything.
This job was even easier than I expected.
These idiots fell for my "sexy" voice
hook, line, and sinker.
- Well, that's a surprise. - [yelps]
- I suspected bandits were involved,
but it seems I had the roles reversed.
The female was the bandit.
- Where'd you come from?
And what's wrong with a female being a bandit?
- Oh, nothing! That's not what I--
Well, I mean, no one should be a bandit,
really, that they shouldn't.
- Hmm. Oh, I see.
I get it.
You're gonna tell me I should give the money back.
I could. Or I could just rob you, too.
Except...
you don't look like you have any money to rob.
- [winces]
- You're penniless, aren't you?
Well, I'm sorry, then, but I've got no choice.
I'm just gonna have to relieve you of that katana
you've got under your belt and settle for that.
- Katana?
- Yeah. You don't see many of them around anymore,
what with the Sword Abolishment Act and all.
So I'm guessing it's pretty valuable, right?!
How's that?
- Well, to be honest,
you're a bit too light to throw much of a punch.
Perhaps after you've grown up a little more.
[coins clink]
- Hmm? [wails]
- [grumbles] - Stop that, already.
Now, about this money--
- Hey, that's my money!
Okay, that's it! Now you've made me really mad!
- [gasps] - Take this!
Kansatsu Tobi-Kunai!
- [sighs]
- [shrieks]
You wrecked my cloak!
- [gasps] I'm sorry.
That was pure instinct.
- Give me back my cloak and my money right now!
- The cloak I can understand,
but the money isn't yours, that it isn't.
- I put in a lot of work to get it,
- and I got it, so it's mine! - Uh...
Plus you owe me for wrecking my cloak,
so I'll take that katana off of you!
- [sighs]
- There, now you're being smart.
That's the spirit.
Now let's see how much this thing is worth.
What the heck?
The blade's on backwards.
- As you can see, that's no ordinary katana, that it isn't.
Even if you found a bladesmith to sell it to,
you wouldn't get very much for it.
- Hmm.
Oh, well. Not very much is a lot better than nothing,
so I'll take it. Thank you.
- Oro?!
Hold on, now!
That is my own personal, precious, favorite sword--
- So? That cloak was my own personal favorite, too!
- Wait, wait. Here, take my money instead!
You can have all the money I've got!
- This pocket change is all you've got?
So I was right. You really are poor.
- Well, anyway, that should cover it.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I'm going to return this sack of money to its rightful owner.
And you should stop robbing people, that you should.
- Hey, hey, hold on a second!
Like I said, that money's mine! I earned it!
Stop, damn it! Come back here!
- [grumbles]
[Kenshin] "Odawara Inn Currency Exchange."
The same name as is on the bag.
This must be it.
The place seems awfully quiet, however.
They must not know they've been robbed yet.
Good. That works in my favor.
- Whoa. Not bad, stranger.
Hey, wait a second.
You've done some robbing yourself, haven't ya?
- [grumbles]
- Well, I can do that, too. Look.
- How's that? - [sighs]
- Judging from her kenpo-like moves earlier
and those tobi-kunai she threw,
she is clearly no ordinary girl, that she isn't.
But I suppose anyone would know that,
just by looking at her.
- Hmm? What's wrong?
- Aha.
There. It's done.
- "There. It's done."
- Oro?
Come on, now. Let's get out of here before anyone sees us.
- Okay, but tell me
how I get back to Kyoto without any money!
- Kyoto?
[water flowing]
I see. So Kyoto is your home.
- That's right. And I ran out of money
on my way back from a trip to Tokyo,
so that's why I was robbing those robbers.
Until you went and messed everything up.
- [nervous chuckle]
A young person like you
traveling to Tokyo all by herself? Why?
- You might say I was kind of on a mission.
See, a long time ago in the Bakumatsu Era,
I lost my family shortly after I was born.
I was all alone,
'til a man and his friends took me in and raised me.
I've been looking for them.
When the Meiji Era first started,
we traveled together, all of us, all over the country.
But then I got left behind.
They stuck me with a grandpa the man knew in Kyoto.
I just really want to see them all again.
So every time I hear a rumor about them,
I leave home and go rushing off to look for them.
And it's been nothing but a wild-goose chase every time!
- [coughs] Yes, well...
I think I get the picture now. Thank you.
Miss, uh...
- Oh, my name?
It's Misao, Misao Makimachi.
- Miss Misao, no matter how strapped for cash you are,
it's not right to steal from others, that it isn't.
- Fine, but then how do you suggest I get back to Kyoto?
- Well, I know the money I gave you isn't much,
but it's enough to send a letter to that grandpa in Kyoto.
You could ask him to come and get you.
- Yeah, you're right.
- And another thing.
It's more than likely those men you encountered
have ties to the local yakuza.
You should leave Odawara as soon as pos--
- [panting] Here she is!
- Over here! Hurry! - [men clamoring]
[dramatic music]
- There's nowhere she can go now!
- You damn brat! You're gonna be sorry you did that!
- [sighs] These guys are persistent.
I count about 30 of them.
You're a swordsman, aren't you?
Can you handle half of them?
- Oh, good grief.
I'm actually trying to avoid crowds right now.
- Huh?
- If you're on her side, carrot-top,
then we're gonna bury you with her!
[men yell]
[murmuring]
- It was wrong of you to rob the currency exchange,
and it was wrong of Miss Misao to rob you.
[triumphant music]
So here is my judgment.
Both sides are equally guilty, so I'll pardon you all.
♪ ♪
- [yelps]
- What?! - [yelling]
♪ ♪
- [coughs]
You may not look like much,
but I got to admit, that was spectacular.
- I've learned things from fighting many battles
over bridges and river crossings in the past.
With a bridge like this, once your enemies rush in
and concentrate their weight at the center,
it doesn't take much to bring it down, that it doesn't.
- Hmm.
Well, I was impressed, all right,
but I know some people who are even more impressive,
the people I'm looking for.
- They must be impressive, indeed.
- Oh, if you knew what they did back in the Bakumatsu Era.
They were the ones who defended the Edo Castle
during the darkest hours of the war.
- [gasps]
- I wonder what they're all doing now...
Lord Aoshi...
and everyone in the Oniwaban Group.
- [shudders]
Aoshi.
Aoshi Shinomori.
- [gasps] You know him?
You know Lord Aoshi?
[sentimental music]
♪ ♪
["suikousetten" by NOMELON NOLEMON]
♪ ♪
[Kenshin] Next episode: "The Abandoned Village."