01x17 - Maogui

[bunniefuu]

OTOYA - NANOKA KIBA
Seems a lot happened while I was gone.

Master Hakubi reversed
Master Mao's transformation,

and we were in grave danger.

We managed to break the Water seal
that bound Master Hyakka,

and he was able to drive
Master Hakubi away.

Nice job, Hyakka.

HYAKKA
Nice job, Hyakka.

HYAKKA
Show some more respect!

So does that mean you broke
the Water seal, Otoya?

Yes. I'm a shikigami created
from a human doll.

WOOD - FIRE - EARTH - METAL - WATER
Humans belong to the Earth element.

WOOD [SCALED] - FIRE [FEATHERED] - EARTH [NAKED]
Earth overcomes Water, so...

METAL [FURRED] - WATER [SHELLED]
Earth overcomes Water, so...

EARTH OVERCOMES WATER
Even though I'm just a shikigami,

I thought I could do it.

That's amazing, Otoya!

Hey! Why don't you praise my skills?!

MAOGUI

MAO

What should I do?

I came to tell him that Byouki
came and talked to me.

And also...

To tell him how Lady Sana
spewed black curses from her mouth.

It's kind of hard to even bring it up...

I feel like I'd be
talking badly about her.

Dr. Mao! Please treat him!

What's the matter?

Hey, Mao! You've got an emergency patient!

Master Hyakka!
Don't wake him up.

You have a hairline fracture.

This is something I can treat by myself.

There.

Please take care.

Are you open?

Thank goodness!
You were closed yesterday.

I've broken out all over my face.

EFFICIENT
I have no appetite.

EFFICIENT
I'll give you some medicine.

Here.

My neck feels so stiff...

EFFICIENT
One here, here and here... And here!

One here, here and here... And here!

EFFICIENT
It's a stye.

You're good to go.

Business is booming.

Let me help, Otoya.

I appreciate it, Miss Nanoka.

Can you help that patient
waiting over there?

I have a splitting headache.

This is a heck of a way to start!

I just have to pull it out, right?

Pardon me.

It's really stuck!

You're hurting me!
- You suck at this.

Move.

Hey!

Ouch!

One... Two...

It's out!

He dodged it!

Mao! Are you alright?

Isn't he awake?

He's sound asleep.

No way.

How long are you gonna
keep sleeping, dammit?!

Shut up.

What spell was that?!

That was probably a barrier.

He's in a deep sleep.

You gotta be kidding.

Is he always like this?

Well, I've never
forced him to wake up.

He must be exhausted.

Maybe sleep is the only time
when he is at peace.

I feel sorry for him.

Okay, then!

Let's keep working!

We only have a few patients to go!

Miss Nanoka, you're so kind.

Damn it...

Dr. Mao!

We shared a hotpot...
- Then we started getting stomach pains!

A big group...

Hey! No puking on the floor!

Where's the bucket?

That was a good sleep.

Oh, good morning.

Morning.

Huh?

I never got the chance to tell
Mao about Lady Sana.

And...

Is it true that cats exist outside
the realm of Onmyodo?

Wait, what're you talking about?

Yeah. That b*stard Hakubi mentioned it.

He said that cats don't belong
to any of the Five Elements.

In fact, while Master Mao
was transformed,

Master Hakubi's Onmyo spells
did not affect him.

Outside the realm of Onmyodo...

Are cats such special creatures?

I'll look into it.

The connection between
Onmyodo and cats...

SHIRAHA

This isn't getting anywhere...

Nanoka, what've you been
looking at all morning?

Huh?

YUI NAKAGAWA
Shiraha's been watching you all morning.

STARING
Huh?

You can depend on me, you know.

Okay...

To begin with,

Onmyodo has its roots in ancient
Chinese natural philosophy.

It's based on the idea that
everything exists

through the harmony

ROOTS OF ONMYODO
through the harmony

of two opposing forces.

That's the Yin-Yang Philosophy.

There's also the idea that
everything is made up

of five basic elements
that influence one another.

The Five Elements Philosophy.

Onmyodo is a fusion
of those two philosophies.

And cats originally came from Egypt.

When the Yin-Yang Five Elements Theory
was first developed,

cats apparently hadn't reached China.

What?!

But, uh...

The Chinese zodiac is part of
the Five Elements Theory, isn't it?

Yes.

I always wondered why there isn't
a cat in the Chinese zodiac.

So I looked into it...

Apparently, the cat
was tricked by the rat,

and it missed the day the animals
were chosen for the zodiac.

That's what I read.

So that's why there's no cat
in the zodiac?

Well, that story exists only in Japan.

Maybe it was added later.

He's got an answer for everything!

Wait, does that mean that cats were never
incorporated into the Onmyodo system?

Cats didn't arrive in Japan
until after the Asuka period.

They came with the introduction of Buddhism
to protect the valuable scriptures from rats.

By the Heian period,

records show that cats were being kept
in the Imperial Court as prized pets.

So that means the Goko Clan must have
been a pretty prestigious family.

Oh, and I found this.

I don't know if it's related
to Onmyodo, but...

Back during the Sui dynasty, when Japan
was sending envoys to China,

Maogui was very popular over there.

It was a curse used to control cat kodoku.

What does Maogui
translate to in Japanese?

Cat Demon or 'Byouki.'

It's on the internet?!

"A Byouki possesses people,
devours their internal organs,

and steals the wealth
of those it kills."

"As a result, its master
gradually becomes wealthy."

It's a type of kodoku, similar to Enmi.

The Sui emperor banned
the use of Maogui.

Clans that were found to be using Maogui
were imprisoned for four generations.

Even so, people never stopped using them.

If that's the case,

then Byouki was a perfect fit
for the Goko Clan,

since they were the guardians of
the secret arts of Jugondo.

But the Goko Clan came to an end
because they couldn't control Byouki?

There were onmyoji who disliked cats.

The more traditional clans
tended to avoid them.

But that man Hakubi...

For all appearances,
he was actually quite idealistic.

Master had told me that Maogui
had existed since ancient times.

HAIMARU

HAIMARU
He never told me the reason

why the cat Haimaru was brought

MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN - SANA
into the compound,

MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN - SANA
but I suspected he ultimately

intended to control Haimaru as a Byouki.

HAKUBI
Apparently, Master Hakubi

HAKUBI
came to the same conclusion.

Yes.

But what has always bothered me is...

When did Haimaru become a Byouki?

But didn't you already tell me?

That Mokuzu, one of the servants
at the compound,

threw Haimaru into the kodoku pit.

That's what Mokuzu said,
and that's likely what he believed.

But no matter how I look at it,
it doesn't add up.

Haimaru wouldn't let anyone but
Lady Sana and me even get near him,

yet he never tried to escape
when Mokuzu took him away.

And then he k*lled and devoured wild
dogs and boar inside the kodoku pit.

Is an ordinary cat capable of such things?

So you mean...

Haimaru may have already been
a Byouki long before then.

That's what I believe.

MILK HALL

MILK HALL
A well-respected doctor?

TENKO
Yes. At first everyone was delighted.

They said he'd treat even
the most serious injuries for free.

Like Mao?

Please continue, Tenko.

The people whose wounds had healed
went missing several months later.

Most of them were men
in the prime of their lives,

so some thought they had
simply chosen to disappear.

But the other day, a person who had
been treated by that doctor...

That's the man who was pinned under
lumber and almost lost his arm.

It hasn't even been ten days,
but he's already up and about.

He suddenly collapsed.

And all that was left were his clothes
and tools, and a pile of dirt.

What?! You mean
his body turned into dirt?

If you're looking for Dr. Domon, he moved.

This morning, without notice.

Do you know what treatment
he used on his patients?

Yes. It was some kind of poultice.

He was always grinding something up.

Whenever someone with
an injury was brought in,

he'd pack the wound
with the medicine.

A few days later, the wound
would be completely healed.

It was like magic.

Was that medicine
made of dirt by any chance?

Dirt?

This guy hated Sengoku-Dayu so much
that he tried to curse him to death.

There!

So he summoned a demon god...

But the poor guy got
ripped apart instead.

SENGOKU-DAYU
You're back.

SENGOKU-DAYU
You disposed of the body as I instructed?

You disposed of the body as I instructed?

Yes, Master Sengoku-Dayu.

DAIGO

DAIGO
Mao! You're so big now!

Daigo...

I lived at a home for foundlings.

Just as the name suggests, it was
a home for abandoned children.

Children who had been kidnapped,

sold to traffickers,
or orphaned lived there as well.

A home for foundlings?

I lived there from
as early as I can remember.

So to be honest, I don't even know
who I am or where I came from.

Uh... I don't even know what to say.

When we were six or seven years old,
we were taken out

to an open field
in the middle of the night.

We were asked,
"Can you see them or not?"

I can see them.

Starting the next day,

I was given slightly nicer clothes
and a little bit more to eat.

Those who answered that they couldn't see
anything were sold off somewhere.

The master of the house, Sengoku-Dayu,

knew all sorts of mysterious spells.

Every day, he taught me how to write
cursed talismans and form hand seals.

Daigo had been training
for several years before me.

Watch me.

Hey, Mao.

Ever hear of the Goko Clan?

No.

They say if you're chosen
to join the Goko Clan,

they'll teach you
even more amazing spells.

Then I'll get to help shape the world
from behind the scenes.

It's a magnificent compound and I'll live
a life far better than I can here.

It'll be like paradise.

I'll train as hard as I can.

One day, I'll make it into the Goko Clan.

True to his word,

some years later, Daigo was chosen
to join the Goko Clan.

So the home for foundlings
where you were raised

was basically a farm team
for the Goko Clan?

Far... What?

Oh, sorry. I mean like the minors.

Right.

He didn't get it,
but he just went along with it.

Then, a few years later,
after he had undergone training,

Daigo returned for me.

I told the Master about you.

He said...

Yes, I remember that boy.

Several years ago,
during the White Bone Cave ritual...

He was the boy who made it out
of the natural maze with ease.

Ah, it's you.

The boy from the home for foundlings.

Daigo.

Who's that? Is he new?

Yes, Lady Sana.

He's like a little brother to me.

Oh, my.

What? Haimaru has never
been that friendly with me.

Surprised?

This creature is called a cat.

I've never seen one before.

I was assigned to serve
as Master's attendant.

I accompanied Master
as he traveled between

the training grounds for
each of the Five Elements.

I watched the sorcerers train,
including Daigo and the Earth sorcerers.

Who'll test their skills
against my shikigami?

I will.

You're out of your league, Daigo.

You're a nobody from
the home for foundlings!

D-Damn you!

It isn't just the strength
of his elemental energy.

Daigo has cultivated
truly exceptional Earth energy.

You should all learn from his example.

Yes, Master!

Daigo...

Daigo should have been living his dream.

He'd been recognized for his talent
by the Goko Clan he'd long admired.

And yet...

Are you saying that Daigo
might be Dr. Domon?

No. Many Earth sorcerers knew how
to treat people using Earth medicine.

Otoya.

Here, sir.

What is that, Otoya?

It's soil.

I collected this from the site where
the man who turned into dirt collapsed.

If that man named Domon still has
the same Earth medicine in his possession,

the butterfly talismans
should let us know.

That's so handy.

Did I select the wrong soil?

I prepared it exactly as
that person told me to, but...

Dr. Domon! My son fell from a tree!

I promise to pay you later.

Oh.

DR. DOMON
You don't have to pay me.

DR. DOMON
Let's have a look.

The bone doesn't appear to be broken.

But the abrasion is severe
and he's bleeding.

I'll apply some medicine.

He'll be fine tomorrow.

Wow, Shobo!

You can run already?

Dr. Domon fixed me up.

Huh?

I can't move my leg.

Hurry up, Shobo!

Wait...

Let me see.

This is...

The soil is eating his flesh.

The cursed talisman!

Otoya.

Yes, Master Mao.

It's festering with miasmatic poison!

It's going to be alright.

He's going to be alright...

I managed to remove
the miasmatic poison, but...

This Earth medicine
was prepared by an amateur.

This isn't the work of an onmyoji.

What's the matter, Yae?

Are you feeling ill?

Oh, I need to hurry...

Dr. Domon, I presume?

He's an old man.

There was never anyone like him
among the Earth sorcerers.

Who are you?

Your treatment using soil...

Wasn't it originally taught to you
by someone else?

You know something about this?

About that person...

That person?

What do you know?

Next time: "Natsuno."