No one man can defeat an army,
but one creature can.
How does such a creature come to be?
Long before our great shogun ordained the sun to rise…
… there lived a ronin.
Seared into his soul was the day his lord…
… Was assassinated by a rival clan
whose crest was the phoenix.
On that day,
he felt something rise within him.
A storm in his soul.
Kill everyone, then burn it down.
A hate that radiated from deep in his heart
to the tip of his sword.
Master.
Get everyone to the cellar.
You have murdered us all.
Ringo, stand guard over them.
I don't have a weapon.
Start with a kitchen knife.
Come on! This way, this way.
The ronin returned home to his village…
where his parents implored him to begin a new life.
But hate is like a typhoon.
It begins as a breeze at sea…
Mama.
No one can find us.
… that is swallowed by darkness.
Bad men are looking for you, Mizu.
For a girl.
You must be a boy, always a boy.
Then deepens. Energizes.
I'll avenge us, Mama. I swear it.
And grows ever stronger.
Swirling and raging
until it is ready to strike!
The ronin set on his quest,
vowing to cleanse the Earth of all who wore the phoenix crest
or shared their blood.
But he would soon learn
the demon's path is paved with sharp stone.
Do you have a death wish?
Now they have to get through both of us.
You're the bravest princess I've ever met.
I'm not brave.
I've been a captive my whole life.
If I die today, I die free.
Excuse me.
I'm told opium from the West is sold here.
I want to find the white men who supply it.
I seek no trouble, only information.
It looks like you do want trouble.
No, I only want to ask…
You half-breed piece of shit.
The ronin's soul grew weary and his body ill.
He did not fear death,
only that he might die before fulfilling his vow.
Help me.
Please. I need a doctor.
All seemed hopeless
until…
… the ronin saw a vision as if sent from the gods.
Help me.
Mister, come with me.
A few coins, and I'll show you heaven.
Can you help me?
Mama, you… you're alive.
Mizu.
The beautiful woman took the ronin home with her.
And for the first time in many moons,
the ronin rested.
Mama, you're alive.
How?
Medicine for my headaches.
Oh.
Eat up, then I have to go back to work.
You must never do that again. I earned money, more than enough.
Ah. How honorable you grew up to be.
I knew it'd be hard on you, thinking me dead,
but I knew it was for the best.
Being on your own, you could be like water.
Impossible to catch.
Now the gods have brought you back to me.
The ronin regained his strength,
ready to return to his journey of hate.
The woman beseeched him to stay.
The ronin told her of his vow, a vow he could not break.
Desperate, the woman recalled something taught to her long ago.
The money is gone.
Don't worry about money. Don't worry about anything.
I have the answer to all our prayers.
I found you a husband.
He's an outcast, so your looks are no matter.
He's getting old and needs a strong woman to help him with chores.
Out of the question. I made my vow.
What woman doesn't want a man to take care of her?
Of her mother?
The men who hunted you as a child think you died in that fire.
If anyone found out you were alive, they could turn you in for a great bounty.
Let them. I am nobody's wife.
I'm off to work now.
We need the money.
You see, I'd do anything for you.
You're going to love the mountains!
No other soul will ever see you.
You'll have to work, of course.
Cooking, cleaning, helping out with the horses.
Change your clothes. He raises horses for the lord.
Mikio was a great samurai until he transgressed.
Transgressed?
Oh, lords execute their men if they tie a belt wrong.
The point is, you're both outcasts.
He has money and is in no position to complain about your face.
Makeup.
Hmm.
You're not as hideous as I expected.
You're much older than I expected.
Might as well get this over with.
His loyalty was no longer to his slain lord nor to revenge…
… but… to his bride.
Okay, back to work.
Let's get you ready for tonight.
Mizu can't possibly hold them all off.
I'm not a brute.
What do we have here?
They cornered the samurai upstairs.
Let's steal a little fun for us.
You little son of a bitch!
Stay here. Keep watch.
Whoa.
Easy. Easy.
That's okay. That's okay.
You can trust me.
Shh.
Stay away from the horses!
Hmm.
Well, back to work.
Who is this one?
Name's Kai.
Beautiful, but a beast.
Been trying to break her for months.
Hmm.
This is what Kai thinks of me.
Ever since I was banished by my lord, I've held onto this… fantasy
that if I bring him the perfect creature, he will welcome me back.
Hmm. It's silly.
Yes, it is.
Hmm.
Can I feed Kai?
Oh.
Can you ride?
Wake up! Wake up!
Come on! Come on!
Go… fast.
Too fast! You're going too fast!
I'll get you a ripe one.
Impressive.
You try.
Come on, I'll show you. Hold your hand back.
Aim for that one right there.
Not bad for a first try.
As time passed…
the ronin and the bride enjoyed their simple life.
The demon's path seemed like a distant dream.
Though sometimes, if he stopped to listen,
the ronin could still hear it
calling his… name.
Mama, are you sure you can go into town like that?
Once I get my medicine, I'll be fine.
Get some dried mackerel. Mizu likes it.
There isn't enough for my medicine.
We think you should try going without.
Slow down!
Keep up!
The lord is going to be so pleased with this team.
With Kai, your wish may come true.
Kai is too good for any lord.
Kai is… yours.
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Come on!
Akemi, when I strike, run to the others.
Strike who?
You wanted to be a man?
I had to live as one.
All so the men who were after you couldn't find you?
And so I could have my revenge
against the man who made me this way.
A monster.
I want to see all of you,
not who your mother wants you to pretend to be.
All I did was train with a sword.
Show me.
I've never faced a naginata.
A bit old-fashioned,
but no better weapon when outnumbered in battle.
Don't worry, we can start slow.
Ready?
Don't hold back.
Not bad.
Unsheathe it.
Show me your blade.
I don't want to hurt you.
Oh.
Okay, that's enough.
Did you also lose your backbone when you lost your title?
You are a monster.
After what seemed an eternity of sunshine,
one day, the sky darkened.
The rain washed away the dye on her kimono,
revealing the phoenix crest of her former clan.
The ronin now realized
the bride shared the blood of his sworn enemy.
The bride exclaimed she had run away from her father's evil clan.
She swore her loyalty was to the ronin alone.
But for the first time in years…
the ronin felt the storm rage inside him.
He left early to take the horses to the lord.
All of the horses.
Yours too.
I made you tea of gold leaves,
and you spat in it.
Hoping to soften her husband's heart…
… the bride danced.
Those eyes. That's her.
Which white devil do you work for?
The only white devil I see is you.
Let's kill her quick.
Who told you I was here? Was it her?
The bounty is a sum few could resist.
Mikio.
Hyah.
And so the bride met her death,
but she did not meet her end.
Within her lifeless body roiled a tempest of hate,
betrayal, injustice, possessing her soul,
transforming her into a nightmare,
into an onryō!
No, no, no, no!
For Kinuyo.
You are more man than any come through my door.
Oh no! No!
I came to help.
I was a coward before, but I came back. Forgive me.
You did this.
I would never.
It was her!
I saw you smoking opium again.
How did you buy it? You turned her in.
- Admit it! - Mizu, I didn't!
I sold myself back on the bridge!
I needed my medicine.
He must have turned you in to win back his title.
I am your mother. Your mother.
Mizu.
He stood by to watch them kill you!
He's dishonorable!
Weak!
Shut your mouth, you lying whore.
He's hurting me!
Mizu! Mizu!
Stop it.
Mizu. I love you, Mizu. Mizu.
Master! Master!
You beat them. All of them. An entire army.
Akemi and I helped. She killed two men. I killed one.
Something came over me from inside.
It felt… dark.
You want to be like me? Don't hide from the dark.
More of Hamata's men?
That's her, Princess Akemi. We found her.
By order of Lord Daichi Tokunobu,
his daughter must return with us.
I'm not going anywhere.
Right, Mizu?
Do we have a problem here?
Get him.
Take her.
Get off of me! Mizu! Get off of me!
Let me go! Let me go!
Mizu!
Master? You just stood there.
She's better off.
You are no samurai. A samurai is honorable.
I never said I was a samurai.
You did. I am on the path of revenge.
There's no place on it for love or friendship or weakness.
Now, I have a man to kill.
How did this terrible creature come to be?
Hate alone was not enough.
It took one more ingredient.
Love… poisoned by betrayal,
to bring so much bloodshed and woe
to create the onryō.
Our humble thanks
to our most benevolent shogun.
A terrifying tale.
We promised you the finest entertainment here in Edo,
did we not, Akemi?
Yes, my lord.
Only one thing was inaccurate.
Huh. Was it now?
Indeed.
You see, I met an onryō once.
A real one.
But it was incapable of love.
I searched its eyes for a sign of love
or mercy or good.
There was only darkness.