02x08 - Kakegae no Nai Mono

[bunniefuu]

I have been expecting you, Yasuie.

It has been a long time, Sir Kinmune.

- MAJOR COUNSELOR
KINMUNE SAIONJI

- Kinmune Saionji, Major Counselor.

- He came from a court noble family

- that had served for generations
as a link between Kamakura and Kyo.

How I miss the days
when the shogunate still stood.

In those days, all the court nobles in Kyo
heeded my every word.

TOKIYUKI

Chojumaru. I have important matters
to discuss with him.

You must be eager to see Kyo.

When I was young,

I used to hide my identity
and have all sorts of fun in Kyo.

Just make sure no one blows your cover.

What exactly are they planning?

No idea.

He said they were planning an uprising,
but if he's discussing it

with a high-ranking noble,
it must be something big.

Sounds pretty serious.

But setting that aside…

We're in Kyo!

THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI

Wow!

Make way!

A noble lady is in a hurry!

Are you all right, My Lord?

What's that? That eel is huge!

It's pike conger.

Look how carefully he's cutting the bones.

Is it really worth that much trouble?

It's absolutely worth the trouble!

Wait. Where's Fubuki?

He said he was out of money,
so he'd earn some first.

"They're putting up new buildings
all over the city,

so it'll be easy to find work
as a laborer.

And the wages are much higher
than in Suwa or Kamakura," he said.

Well, well.

-Aren't you adorable in that fox mask?
-Ba-dump!

Why don't you come have some fun with us?

I just got hit on
by the ladies of Kyo! But why?

Was my refinement showing
through the mask?

Or does a man with money
just get more attention from women?

I'm gonna take off for a bit, brat.

I'll be back by tonight…

No, actually, I don't know
if I'll even be back by morning.

Be a good boy and run along to bed!

I despise loquat seeds!

Those wretched seeds ruin the texture
of an otherwise perfect fruit!

Merciful Buddha, rid every loquat
in this world of its seeds!

Stop it. Let go!
Enough about the seeds already!

That's Kyo for you.

The people here are way weirder
than anyone back in Shinano.

Yeah…

It's almost overwhelming.

Its size and economy… They’re on
a whole other level compared to Kamakura.

So Takauji is vying for power
in a capital like this.

Young Lord, we should get going.

Right.

Where could Genba be?

Should we look around
where we saw him earlier?

What's the matter, little fox?

You're not just penniless.
You're 20 kanmon in debt.

What a pushover.
I've never lost a game of dice.

Genba!

This is bad! He's barely alive!

-Congratulations…
-The despair of losing at gambling

-and being stripped of everything he had…
-Thank you…

…combined with the thrill of playing
a game of dice stark naked

under the woman's gaze,
has completely broken his mind!

Are you his companions?
Too bad. He already belongs to me.

A labor broker will be here
to collect him soon.

He'll work off his debt
doing forced labor deep in Mount Hiei.

Everyone, your money.

We're country folk who have just arrived
and don't know how things work here yet.

Would this be enough
for you to let him go?

No deal.

You settle a loss in battle with battle,
and a loss in gambling with gambling.

That's the way of the world.

Why don't you sit down at the board?

Don't wager your money. Wager yourself.

I don't know much about dice games,

-but if someone can teach me as we go…
-Big Brother!

He didn't hesitate to stake himself
for his retainer.

And his retainers followed his lead
and put up the money without hesitation.

Eastern warrior, huh?

He may be a country boy,
but he must come from quite a family.

How I love it…

Taking a proud, innocent country warrior…

and dragging him through the filth of Kyo
until he's utterly soiled.

Step aside, Big Brother.

I'll play her.

Shizuku!

How very touching!

Devotion to your lord?
Love for your brother?

Fine by me. I like it.
You're on, country shrine maiden.

If you lose, you'll learn what it means
to be tainted so young.

-You're fine with that, right?
-Of course.

Hey, you.

Take the money and leave it at that.

A gambling dispute ends in bloodshed
wherever you go.

You're just a girl with no fighting force
to back you up.

Don't get greedy.

I'm Mima.

Doyo Sasaki's daughter.

Everyone in Kyo knows who I am.

Doyo Sasaki.

A western warrior who wielded power
behind the scenes in Kyo.

His reputation had reached as far as Suwa.

All right, shall we begin?

A country shrine maiden like you

wouldn't know the more complicated
ways to play, would you?

We'll play Willow, the simplest version.

I could sense holy power in her hand
when she moved that piece.

That means this will be
no ordinary game of dice.

Go on. Roll the dice.

These will take you
straight from Kyo to hell.

Willow is an extremely simple
game of dice.

We take turns rolling,

and the first to move
all their pieces to the end wins.

Obviously, the higher you roll,
the better.

But you need an exact roll
to reach the end.

Any excess sends the piece back
by that many spaces.

In other words, it almost entirely
comes down to luck.

Holy power.

In the hands of an ordinary person,

it might reveal
faint glimpses of the future

or beings normally hidden from sight,

or grant them
a small measure of good fortune.

But even that slight power
can decide the outcome of a wager.

Nice roll, Shizuku!

So you can use it too.

You get people like that sometimes.

People who can nudge
the luck of the dice in their favor.

Not even the Emperor
can control how they fall.

Well, I'm in a league of my own.

No…

Stop…

You can't… You can't beat her…

Hey, country shrine maiden.

I've got pretty good instincts, you know.

You keep calling him ''Big Brother," but
that boy isn't really your brother, is he?

And yet you're willing to
wager yourself in his place…

Wait. Are you into him or something?

No. Not at all.

He's my lord,
so of course I'd take his place.

But do I like him that way?
Absolutely, positively not.

Harsh!

I see.

Then if I win this game,
maybe I'll claim the boy instead of you.

He's actually kind of my type,
looks and personality.

Holy power is influenced by
one's state of mind.

Remain as serene as a god,
and holy power will gather around you.

Let human emotions disturb your composure,
and it will slip away.

In gambling, a bluff is a means of
shaking your opponent's composure

and robbing them of holy power.

This is incredible!
I've never seen a game of dice like this.

Almost every roll is a six!

But Shizuku's rolls
are consistently a little lower.

And she's almost at the finish…

Who is she?

What's up with you lot?

You've got nowhere to go?

This is an age
when no one reveres the gods or Buddha.

No wonder divine spirits like you
are left to wander.

You want to come with me?
If you prove useful, I'll let you stay.

That was when this power came to me.

It's only a faint trace of power,
but used right, it could be incredible.

I'll use this power to aid Father…
and that person in their grand ambitions!

Big Brother, rest your head in my lap.

Why?

I don't know why,

but when Shizuku suggests something
at a time like this, it's best to listen.

Mima. Big Brother has a past
that makes me want to help him,

and a future that makes him worth serving.

Many retainers have the misfortune
of serving foolish lords.

But I found a lord who is kind
and truly cares for his retainers.

That makes me incredibly fortunate.

That's why we, his retainers,
would give our lives to protect him.

And there's one thing I lied about.

I love him.

What do you think you're doing,
country shrine maiden?

Who confesses their feelings
in the middle of a game of dice?

Wait… She's still making moves?

Wait, you're taking it that far?

She looks so calm,
but she's so passionate!

Your turn.

I know!

I failed to get one piece to the end!

No matter.
One exact roll on my next turn, and I win!

She's been doing all that while playing!

Even we've never played like that.

Look! I've never seen a move like that!

Damn it!
Why can't I roll the exact number I need?

What is with this girl?

I've never met anyone this outrageous,
not even in Kyo!

Shizuku isn't closing the gap this quickly
because of luck alone.

While everyone's attention
is fixed on her lips,

she's palming other pieces
and sneaking them forward.

She even factored cheating
into her strategy.

Our steward is one formidable operator.

This is bad. I'm losing my composure.
My luck is slipping away!

I win.

-Yes! We won!
-Genba retrieval successful!

Sheesh. You really made us work for it.

I'm saved!

Learn your lesson!

Yes…

You can relax now, Big Brother. I won.

You really did win! What happened?

And just so we're clear…

I don't like you, Big Brother.
Not in the slightest.

Did I say something to upset her?

Wait.
I can't let you walk away for nothing.

Don't, Mima.

Kojiro.

Don't worry. If she draws her sword,
I'll take her head.

You've got some wild retainers
serving you, huh, boy?

I like you lot. Take it!

You guys are quite the Basara yourselves!

Basara?

Sell that and live it up in Kyo.

I can't have the people who defeated me
wandering around Kyo

with nothing but pocket change.

It would tarnish the name
of the prestigious Kyogoku-Sasaki clan.

Let's have some fun, boy!
Just the two of us.

I'll personally show you around Kyo.

-Show me around?
-That's right!

And tonight, you can stay at my residence.

What was that for, you country bumpkins?

Stay away from him, you pest.

What are you planning to do
alone with him?

What am I planning?

That's none of your business…

All right, all right! I get it! I get it!

I'll show you all around!

Chojumaru Koizumi…

You're the son of a guard
at Suwa Grand Shrine?

Yeah. I'm visiting the Suwa shrines
around Kyo to ask for donations.

Suwa Grand Shrine has branch shrines
all over the country, after all.

I thought you came from
a more prestigious family.

You're not even in my father's league.

I suppose not.

Hey.

If she's the daughter of a Kyo warrior,
she's on the enemy's side, right?

Should be.

Should we really be
hanging around with her?

Who knows? If she gets
even slightly suspicious of us,

we grab the Young Lord and get out fast.

Those hakama pants
are enormous and flashy!

They're okuchi bakama,
all the rage in Kyo right now.

People who dress and act
in such outrageous ways are called Basara.

So your bizarre outfit is Basara too?

Exactly.

Exhibitionist.

Shut up! You're awfully harsh with me,
country shrine maiden!

After overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate,
the warriors who entered Kyo

began swaggering around
in outrageously flamboyant attire.

Soon, even the nobles rushed
to imitate them.

The trend was known as Basara.

Created by the warrior class,
it was Japan's first fashion craze.

And my father was the man behind it all.

Forget those outdated ideas
of what a warrior should be, boy.

The times are changing,
and so are the old rules.

Now the world belongs to
those who live as they please.

Come on, sucker!

You country samurai too! Let's go!

Kyo's too vast to see in a single day.

It'll take you a month to see it all,
so brace yourselves!

Once she takes a liking to someone,
she shows it openly.

I feel guilty about hiding
my true identity from her.

But for now, I'll use her generosity

as a chance to learn
as much about Kyo as I can.

I can't walk another step!
Let's go to the inn!

Your stamina is pathetic!

The best of Kyo is still to come…

Hey.

Apologize, girl.

How dare you parade around
in such indecent attire?

Oopsie!

Good grief. Kyo is rotten to the core.

You can't get a fair judgment anymore,

and warriors and young girls alike
dress indecently.

You've got country bumpkin
written all over you,

drinking and ranting in broad daylight.

You must be another eastern warrior who
never received a reward for his service.

I see losers like you every day.

Hey…

You're one of Nitta's men.

Yoshisada Nitta!

The man who led the as*ault on Kamakura!

Poor thing!

Your lord Yoshisada is such an idiot

that his own retainers don't even benefit
from the Emperor's favor.

You little brat.
You must have a death wish.

Mima!

It's fine. Go ahead.

Hit me, cut me, whatever you like.

I'm the daughter of a Kyo warrior family.

You think I'd back down
from some country samurai?

Father will pay you back
a thousandfold anyway.

Kojiro. Ayako.

Before this causes a commotion,
can you take him down?

Of course.

We'll follow your lead, My Lord.

You dare underestimate me…

I took three heads
in the as*ault on Kamakura!

You're a young lady
from a distinguished family.

It would be terrible
if your face were scarred.

Though I suppose
that way of thinking is old-fashioned too.

Perhaps I'm simply not cut out for Basara.

Yikes! He stinks of booze!

Guess he was all talk, My Lord.

Why are you so damn earnest?
You're gonna be the death of women!

You're so straitlaced,
it's almost basara in its own way…

I've got to introduce this guy to Father.

Yes, yes. So that's what happened.

I can't bear it anymore!
Yet again, I nearly died!

I see. You must have been terrified.

My Battle Mikoshi was smashed to pieces.

I exhausted my personal fortune
hiring mighty warriors.

And the Emperor will not even see me.

I want no more of w*r!

However useless a person may be, their
life is still precious and irreplaceable.

We must wring every last bit of use out
of them until they're completely worn out,

or surely the Buddha would be angered.

Sir Kiyohara.

You need not be afraid anymore.

Leave everything to me,
and all will be well.

Now, slowly close your eyes.

That smile…

How it puts my heart at ease…

So much more…

than the Emperor…

MIMA SASAKI
VOICED BY NIINA HANAMIYA

- Let's go!

- EPISODE 21 [1335]: THE MAN
CALLED MASASHIGE KUSUNOKI