02x15 - Between Life and Death

[bunniefuu]

Who...

Who the hell are you?!

It would be pointless to give
my name to one who is about to die.

You are pretty unlucky, boy.

Since the coming of the
Black Ships two years ago,

peace has broken down.

Degenerate samurai turned bandits
have increased in number around here.

I just happened to be here...

For now, I’ve avenged you.

No matter how much you hate or suffer,

you can’t bring the dead back to life.

The same thing is happening
all over Japan these days.

You should be glad to be alive.

If you go to the village and
tell what happened,

they will find some way for
you to make a living.

That was a long time ago.

Hey, how long are you gonna sleep?

Wake up.

Rurouni Kenshin -Kyoto Disturbance-

Episode 39
Between Life and Death

Wake up, stupid pupil.

Well, if you’re not going to wake up,

I’ll just sit back and keep
remembering old times.

Like the last time you wet the bed,
the autumn, you were eleven.

Or the time you were so hungry
you ate toadstools and almost died.

Shishō!!

To remember these shameful things,

even I had forgotten,
you have to be truly evil.

What are you talking about?

I have been training a whole week with
my stupid pupil who left me after a fight.

You couldn’t ask for a better Shishō.

But I am getting kind of sick of this.

If you cannot get an attack
in this next round,

I’m not teaching you
the secret technique.

The 13th successor of the
Hitenmitsurugi-ryū, Hiko Seijūrō.

Cheap tricks won’t work at all.

If this is my last chance...

I’ll attack with my whole body and soul!

Let’s go.

Sure...

Hitenmitsurugi-ryū...

Ryūtsuisen!

Ryūshōsen!

Hey, how long are you gonna sleep?

Wake up.

You were too focused on
striking with full force

that you were careless on your landing.

That’s why you blacked out.

You idiot.

But...

If you hadn't,

it'd be impossible to land even a
single blow on me, even after ten years.

I’m not saying it was perfect, but you
can’t change the fact that it was a hit.

As I promised, I will pass down
to you the secret technique.

All right, now don’t move.

One fault move, and you’ll be k*lled.

First, a review.

The types of attacks in kenjutsu.

First, the karatake.

Kesagiri.

Reverse gesa.

Right nagi.

Left nagi.

Right upward cut.

Left upward cut.

And the sakakaze.

Finally, the stroke that pierces at the
shortest range to the chest is the tsuki.

In all schools, the k*lling technique
aims for one of these nine points.

Naturally,

the stances of defense were developed
to correspond to these nine points.

But...

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9"

Move with the God-like
speed of the Hitenmitsurugi-ryū...

And strike at all nine points at once.

This is the Hitenmitsurugi-ryū...

Kuzuryūsen.

"Kuzuryūsen"

Even though it is the same
attacking technique, unlike Ryūsōsen,

all nine strikes have the power
of a single decisive blow,

and since it is also a charging technique,
it is impossible to evade them all.

It's a technique I am most skilled at.

I couldn't move at all...

This is the secret technique...

Hitenmitsurugi-ryū, Kuzuryūsen...

Quit standing there
and give it a try.

Just...

Just like that!?

What are you talking about?

It’s when you have felt its force,

and you are on your
hands and knees that you learn.

It's the way I've always trained you.

Ryūshōsen!

Ryūtsuisen!

Ryūkansen!

I was lucky I survived.

Well, it is all thanks to my skill to
give you just enough, so you won't die.

Come on and try it...

With full strength.

I couldn’t move a muscle.

But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t see it.

Hitenmitsurugi-ryū...

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9"

Kuzuryūsen!

I was beaten.

My Kuzuryūsen wasn’t perfect?

No, it was perfect.

But, for an attacking technique, it’s
the strength of your arms that counts.

And for a charging technique,
it’s your weight.

In both respects,
you’re overwhelmingly inferior.

In other words, before my Kuzuryūsen,

your Kuzuryūsen is, of course,
as useless as any other techniques.

If you are going to defeat my Kuzuryūsen,

there’s only one technique that can do it.

The greatest secret
of the Hitenmitsurugi-ryū...

Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.

"Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki"

What are you looking so shocked for?

I never said that the Kuzuryūsen
was the secret technique.

It's a technique I am most skilled at.

He did that on purpose.

The Kuzuryūsen was made as a step in
passing the secret technique, as a test.

If you defeat the Kuzuryūsen,

the passing of the
secret technique is complete.

However...

Think hard about the Kuzuryūsen
you just learned.

If you do, you will get a general idea
of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.

About the Kuzuryūsen...

The Kuzuryūsen is a technique that
allows no possibility of defense or evade.

Nothing but the Battōjutsu could
strike before the Kuzuryūsen is ex*cuted!

Well done.

Surpassing divine speed is the
greater divine speed of Battōjutsu.

This is the true nature of the secret
technique Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.

But the problem is that the
Sakabatō will handicap the Battōjutsu.

Can you still surpass divine speed?

Sheathing your blade and
assuming a formless stance...

How reckless.

I know.

But even so...

Even if I were to throw away my life,
I must master the secret technique.

Take one night.

Search your heart and find the part
of you that you lack by morning.

If you can’t do that,

you’ll not only fail to master
the secret technique,

but you’ll lose your life as well.

Rurouni Kenshin -Kyoto Disturbance-

What is it that I lack...

He didn’t come this way?

No.

I haven't seen that
kind of boy around here.

Here.

Did he despair of the
world and commit suicide?

But that happens often, too...

Even wielding a blade, following the
precepts of the Hitenmitsurugi-ryū,

in the end, there have been
many times I couldn’t save anyone.

An age warped with
madness with each passing day,

the only thing I can do is
lay the victim’s body to rest...

You dug graves not just for your
parents but for the bandits, too?

They weren’t my parents but sl*ves.

My parents died last year of cholera.

But even bandits and sl*ves
are only bodies when they die...

So you made them graves...

Those three stone graves?

Miss Kasumi, Miss Akane, and Miss Sakura.

They were taken from their
families because of debts.

I only met them the day before,

but I was the only boy, and we
didn’t have any parents to rely on...

So I thought, even if it cost me my life,
I had to protect them.

But...

So, I at least wanted to make them
a grave with a good stone,

but these were the only ones I could find.

I looked for flowers too,
but I couldn’t find any...

This is from me.

What is your name, boy?

Shinta.

Shinta?

Shinta

That name is too kind for a swordsman.

From now on, you are called Kenshin.

Kenshin

I will teach you all I know.

More left.

Strength in your pinky is too weak.

Too much unnecessary strength.

That was 19 years ago...

And now...

Whether he masters the
secret technique or not,

we'll have to say goodbye tomorrow...

It’s obvious you didn’t get
a bit of sleep last night.

The same goes for you.

So, did you discover that
part which you lack?

No.

I see.

So here you are, a man with limits...

As incomplete as you are,

mastering the secret technique
and defeating Shishio are both impossible.

Even if you do beat him,

you will never defeat the
Hitokiri that lies deep inside your heart!

You'll be tormented by anguish
and pain your entire life...

And will eventually k*ll someone...

If that is the case,

I should end your life here instead of
passing down the secret technique.

It's my final duty as your Shishō!!

A cloak with ten kan of shoulder weights

with internal springs
opposing the muscles.

It's been used to restrain the powers
of the Hitenmitsurugi-ryū successors.

By all those who held
the name Hiko Seijūrō.

Prepare yourself, Kenshin.

This is the real Hiko Seijūrō!!

My left hand...

Am I scared...

Of Hiko Seijūrō?

Or the death I can see
so clearly behind him!?

Don't be afraid!

I’ve been prepared to die
since the violence of the Bakumatsu!

Even if it costs me my life...

I will learn the secret technique!

Let’s go!

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9"

"Kuzuryūsen"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

Death...

No matter how much you hate or suffer,

you can’t bring the dead back to life.

The same thing is happening
all over Japan these days.

You should be glad to be alive.

What is your name, boy?

That name is too kind for a swordsman.

From now on, you are called Kenshin.

Death!

"Death"

"Death"

"Death"

Kaoru?

I want the Rurōni you to be here!

Damn it...

I want to be stronger...

Don't go off wandering
without my permission!

I'll keep watching you from hell.

Himura Battōsai!

You are going to end up miserable
if you try to do everything by yourself!

Himura, please go to Kyōto once again.

Kenshin!

I can’t die!

I cannot die here!!

That is it...

That was good...

You, who has k*lled and stolen many lives,
held remorse and a sense of guilt.

Hence, you thought
nothing of your own life.

You hid the fact that yours, too,
is just another human life.

This held back your strength

and allowed the Hitokiri to
make a nest in your heart.

To overcome this, you need

the "will to live" that you discovered
just now between life and death.

Even if you protect those
you love and the weak

with the compassion of
Buddha and self-sacrifice,

only sorrow will be left within them,
and true happiness will never come.

In the danger of the age,

in the passion of violence,

quietly laying down
your life is utterly insignificant

in the ever-flowing passage of time.

There is nothing stronger
than the will to live...

Never forget that.

Then, you will be able to use the
Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki freely and well.

You won’t lose to the Shishio faction,

nor will you lose the fight against
the Hitokiri inside of you.

Shishō...

Shishō?

Don’t worry.

It is the destiny of a Shishō and
student in the passing down

of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.

Shishō!!

Next Episode:
The Gathering of the Juppon Gatana