Fushi: an ever-changing sphere.
Nice to meet you. I'm Hisame.
Fushi is met by those who want to take him...
Hey, you there.
...along with those who seek to stop them.
People who've been poisoned are strong against poison.
Tonari...
of Jananda!
Beating Will
This is the three-taloned owl I've had on my shoulder since I was a kid.
Its third talon seeps poison.
I've been taking in a little each day.
I found out later that it's similar to the poison of western morning glories.
The owl girl, Tonari...
I know of you from my grandmother's autobiography.
Why are you here?
Weren't you the island leader at Jananda?
My buddies are taking care of it.
I had some unfinished business, after all.
Since we've bumped into each other, I'll give you a warning:
You'd best stop following Fushi around.
I can't do that.
Fushi belongs to us Guardians.
The Guardians, huh?
There are many of you in Jananda, too.
I figured I'd let them be, so long as they weren't harming Fushi.
But if you're siding with the Nokkers, that changes things.
You don't understand.
The Nokkers are a threat to Fushi and to you.
It wouldn't hurt me!
This is my dear friend that's been passed down to me from my grandmother!
This woman's scary, isn't she?
She's trying to kill you.
But don't worry. I'll protect you.
It's taken over your mind.
I'll take care of it real quick.
Ligard!
Shit! It's taken root.
No! Don't fall asleep!
Is this it for me?
Fushi!
Fushi...
Hey, you're awake.
I'm the elder of this village.
I'm grateful to have met you.
What happened last night?
Follow me.
Fushi-san! You made it!
What happened?
She was attacked by the Nokker in Hisame's left hand while we were knocked out.
Why?
Where's Hisame?
The Nokker apparently dragged her away.
The Nokkers must have hated her more than they hate you.
She's hurting all over.
You have to do something!
Hurry!
Don't look like that.
You're better off smiling.
Here.
Wine? At a time like this?
There's nothing I can do.
It must have made holes all throughout her insides.
All she can do is purge the blood that's built up.
So I want her to at least enjoy her favorite wine.
No...
Another one I failed to protect.
It's all right, Fushi.
I'm feeling great.
Is there anything I can do for you?
You're going to do something for this old bag?
I appreciate it.
Well, then...
Could you stay by my side until I croak?
That's all you need?
That's more than enough.
I heard you've been hiding on the island this whole time.
What were you doing for forty years?
Fighting the Nokkers, killing them, eating them...
That's it?
Oh, no.
I feel the most like myself in this form, so I tested to see how long I could stay in it.
I tried practicing archery and training my body,
but there was nothing I could do that I could be proud of.
Why didn't you leave the island?
Because...
I didn't want to see people dying anymore.
I was with a person named Pioran for a long time.
When she died,
I realized I wouldn't have to go through so much misery if I just didn't meet anyone.
I don't have the power to stop anyone from dying.
So many people died because I couldn't save them, and because of me.
Are you going to continue living like that?
Alone, secluded?
If I can.
But you rushed to the village when you heard it was in danger.
I think you need people who understand you.
People who can be your friends.
I can't take it.
I don't want people to sacrifice themselves to help me.
Everyone experiences the deaths of those close to them.
That pain isn't unique to you.
You're wrong.
Everyone else dies. I live.
That goes on forever.
I can live by myself.
I don't need anyone.
Hey, Fushi...
I'd like to see the people you've met.
It's this dying woman's last wish.
Please.
All right. Don't be shocked.
The first person I met...
looked like this.
This is when he was really young.
I don't know his name.
He passed away peacefully.
He died because I didn't do anything.
The next one I met was March.
She took care of me when I was hopeless.
Parona was desperate to protect March.
Both of them were killed by Hayase.
I met Gugu in Takunaha.
He fought the Nokkers for me.
But because of that...
I stole Gugu away from his older brother, Shin.
Gugu had more family.
The boozer, and...
Rean.
What's the matter, Fushi-san?
And then I arrived at Jananda.
There...
I fought this strong guy named Nando.
Nando sacrificed himself to save his younger brother.
He was a proud man.
That's why I decided to help the people of Jananda.
There were more who put their lives on the line to fight with me.
Uroy.
Mia.
Oopa.
And...
Sandel, Tonari...
They're alive.
They're both still alive!
I'm glad to hear that.
Are you all right?
Hey, Fushi...
What was Tonari like?
Tonari?
Tonari was...
I always thought she was horrible.
But she brought people to fight alongside me.
Was she a meddler?
I'm grateful to her now.
Is she not horrible anymore?
She isn't.
Fushi, keep remembering lots about the people around you when they were alive.
Let that make you appreciate being alive.
What will you do now, Fushi-san?
I haven't decided yet.
I see.
I'm going back home to deliver the news of her passing.
Please become her when you need to confront the Guardians.
She built her body to be impervious to poison for your sake.
For my sake? Why?
Who are you people?
I'm sorry, but I can't tell you.
That was her wish.
She said she'd be embarrassed if you found out.
Then could you at least tell me your names?
She and I both love you.
Better to fight with a lot of arrows than just one. Right?
Your friends didn't live to make you suffer.
So long.
Tonari-san...
Where are you now?
Are you content now with all you've done?
She built her body to be impervious to poison for your sake.
I see...
I see now.
I think you need people who can be your friends.
"Better a lot of arrows than just one"?
Friends, huh?
Should I be looking for people who understand me?
I don't want to go where there are people, though.
I have good news.
The Nokkers have emerged
in two places that are beyond your reach.
How is that good news?!
You don't have an excuse to lock yourself away anymore.
Wherever you are, the Nokkers will attack people.
Why are they attacking other people besides me?
Are they trying to ruin the whole world or something?
Why are they doing this?
Who knows?
I can only guess that maybe they are jealous of us.
You don't actually know anything, do you?
It's not as though I can control the minds of others.
I can't sense what they are thinking.
But you can control people's bodies, can't you?
So stop them!
Don't you feel anything about this?
If that's how you feel, then that's what you should do next.
Quit blabbering and help me!
The bastard ran away...
Is that you there, Fushi?
Hisame? Are you okay?
When I came to, I was in this forest.
But my friend here guided me to you.
Have I done something?
I don't remember anything.
That thing on your arm...
...needs to be extracted.
Please, don't! I'm scared!
That form scares me!
It's just going to rot off.
I don't care!
I've already given my left arm to it!
Stop being silly!
There are still things I need to do.
It seems this is the end.
My body won't hold up much longer.
I will avoid meeting you from now on.
I'll take you to the grown-ups.
Follow me.
Fushi...
Take this cloth. Wrap it up.
Thank you.
We're getting closer to the scent.
We'll be there by tomorrow.
No! Stay put.
What are you going to do when you get back?
I'm going to work to maintain the Guardians.
"Maintain"?
I'll have a child someday and pass down my blood...
Rather, Hayase's blood.
I don't get it.
This is the last day I'll see you, so I'll tell you now.
Hayase had a wish.
A secret goal that was separate from the goals of the Guardians.
It's been shared only between me and my mother and grandmother.
Fushi, I want to have your child.
That's your goal?
Yes.
Will you leave me alone if you accomplish that?
I don't know, but I think my mother and my late grandmother would both be content.
I don't know how children are made, though.
My mother said we just need to sleep together.
That's it?!
I've slept with a lot of people, but we've never had kids because of it.
You have to be a girl of age to become pregnant, I'm told.
And you have to want it.
It's okay, right?
My mother said it's too early for me, but I'll work hard to bear a child.
If that'll make you lose interest in me...
Thank you.
I can go home proud now.
Tell that thing in your arm
to come after me when it learns to talk.
I'm sure it's listening.
Please go to sleep now, Fushi.
I guess she needs someone who understands her and will help her, too.
Hisame-sama!
Where are you, Hisame-sama?
She was passed out on the road.
She's alive, but her arm's beginning to rot.
I want you to cut it off and save her, quickly.
Hisame-sama!
She's unconscious. Hurry!
Are you even listening?
We can't have her dying now.
Fix that thing on her arm!
Also, tell her parents to be better to their daughter!
Hold it.
I could have killed this kid at any time.
Go!
It may be your child with Hisame who comes next.
It won't be. I didn't sleep.
Your reproductive organs do work.
You might go to town if you're interested.
What are you talking about?
Right, sorry. You don't understand.
I was simply suggesting that you visit a city.
Yeah...
If the Nokkers are coming either way,
I may as well go look for someone who understands me.
Let's go.
To town!
Let's race!
Wait for me!
This is from another country.
No can do. This won't pass.
Buy this from me, then.
I'll take it for one silver coin.
That'll do.
Now, can I have that?
Those are three silver coins.
You'll need at least two more swords.
Here.
New food.
Nice!
Feathers! It's been a while.
Nice!
Towns are nice.
This is nice!
I decided to look for friends.
But that didn't mean I stopped worrying about exposing people to danger.
There's a trick to dealing with the city.
From my experience so far,
the Nokkers showed up if I spent more than seven days in one place.
The first and second days are safe.
The third day on is risky.
Even if I can't see them, they'll often have sown their seeds in rocks and plants.
That's why I leave the town before the third day begins.
I move elsewhere by the fourth day.
I don't stay long.
It was really only once every half a year or so that I encountered the Nokkers.
But...
Nine additional victims.
They caused harm where I couldn't reach them.
That was my only regret.
If only I could coordinate with someone, I could help more people.
I need to find friends soon.
I traveled from town to town,
acquiring food, books, and tools of all sorts.
Animals and insects, as well.
I needed to remember them to produce them in the future.
About four months into my travels, I learned that Ligard had died.
I wonder if it's by Tonari's side now...
I envied Ligard for being able to return to its kin.
I didn't make much progress finding friends.
Even when I found people who might understand me,
when I thought about having to watch them die, I couldn't go on.
What's left after they die is what becomes my friend.
We can't come to understand each other,
and even if I can talk to them in my head,
they only respond in the words I already know.
These were the only friends I had.
Hello, Fushi.
I'm the vice president of the Guardians.
The Guardians still exist?
Yes.
We are currently looking for more to join us all across the continent of Hena.
Any city that joins us is taken under our auspices, and they raise that flag.
It shows that they are prepared to fight off a Nokker invasion.
The citizens here will fight alongside you if the Nokkers come.
Isn't it an act of betrayal for the thing on your arm?
Doesn't it resist?
Sometimes.
It seems to be conflicted, but it's different from the other Nokkers.
It's very cooperative.
Are you Hisame's daughter?
Yes.
Thank you for taking care of my mother.
Don't worry. I was born when my mother was seventeen.
I'm told that you are a kind man who was by my mother's side when she was young.
She passed away half a year ago.
This child in my belly will soon be the one to succeed Hayase's will.
I hope you'll give us your help when the time comes.
Yeah... Okay.
Hayase's descendants came to see me every now and then.
I'm the second successor, Ushio.
Nice to meet you.
Stop it!
Hello.
I'm the third successor, Chisui.
One after the other, they were a weird, chummy bunch.
But as soon as I took on Tonari's form,
they'd quickly leave, looking disappointed.
It was an amusing sight.
I slowly started looking forward to them coming.
On the other hand, a sad truth came to be.
Ten Nokkers have emerged in the mountains to the north.
The Guardians seem to have made quick work of them.
Oh...
The Guardians were the ones who had been taking concrete actions against the Nokkers.
What are you reading?
Mostly cooking and needlework books.
Large Ship Architecture, Construction Guidebook, How to Make Water...
That's a magic book.
Are you reading because you can't make those things?
Dunno.
Who are you?
The sixth successor, Kahaku.
A man?
Preview
Kahaku, successor of Hayase's will.
Fushi spends his days with him.
The worship and persecution of others.
The ceaseless harm brought by the Nokkers.
A strange prince emerges before a troubled Fushi.
The Awaited