02x14 - Dying for Love

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

[man singing rock song in Japanese]

[music ends]

[machine whirring]

[computers beeping]

[air hisses]

[whirring]

[man] Okay. Thanks for your patience.

[Baki sighs wearily]

We're all done now.

Better safe than sorry.

Huh?

Listen, after surviving a fight

with the strongest human
in the history of the planet,

a full physical was in order.

As a matter of fact,
considering the kind of life you lead,

someone should have run
these tests on you long before now.

Not even professional fighters
have incurred

the type of damage to their bodies
that you have.

Medically speaking, that all makes sense,

but the thing is,

I can't change the way I live

even if you find something wrong.

No, I don't suppose you can.

If you don't hear from me,
you can assume everything's all right.

[Baki] Okay, thanks.

[shocked gasp, worried gasping]

[phone keypad beeping]

[outgoing call tone]

It's me.

Get over here! Right now!

No, it can't wait!

There are 60 million more women
where that one came from!

Now, get over here!

[breathing shakily]

It's unbelievable!

[door opens]

[man 2] This better be important.

Mogi, look at this.

There may be sixty million women out there
eager to meet you.

But someone like me?

I'll be lucky if there's six of 'em.

Shut up. Come here.

Huh?

[shocked gasping]

Is that a brain? But from who? Or what?

Definitely hominid.

It's the cerebrum
of an 18-year-old Japanese male.

But... but those folds and creases...

It's not possible.

No way...

[gasps]

So now you can see why I called you here.

I wanted the opinion
of the country's foremost neuroscientist.

I've had a little experience
in the field, too,

though nothing like yours, of course.

But I know that the folds of the brain
aren't related to character.

That's just a given.

But still,

compared to any normal human brain,

this one has all the signs
of being demonic.

Tell me, Mogi,

are we sure that the folds of the brain
have no relation to a person's character?

[Mogi] Mm.

- Kureha...
- Hm?

The only thing that we know for sure

is that we know
almost nothing about the brain.

It's an incredible thing, the human brain.

The most awesome organ of all!

But in all my experience,
I've never seen anything

even remotely as incredible as this!

Uh, yes, sorry.

Where were we?

As to your question,

I have to choose my words very judiciously
and very carefully here,

being a neuroscientist.

Of course you do.

[Mogi] While it generally
has been accepted

that the folds of the brain
and character are unrelated,

in this case, Kureha,

there's no doubt the person
that this brain belongs to is a demon!

Mogi.

I do believe you're right.

[Mogi] I never would have believed
I'd actually be saying it!

[narrator] That same evening,
in a certain part of Tokyo...

[chittering]

[man] My God!

- [woman screams]
- [man] Watch out!

...there was a brief article
in the newspaper the next day

about a surging mob of panicking rats.

No mention was made
of what caused the rats to panic

because no one could have known
that the cause was a lone young man

who had happened to walk
through that same park

just a few moments later.

[wailing sobs]

[Kozue] That face...

It was hard to believe.

That face so handsome,
so brimming with self-confidence.

To think that
that face would turn into this,

when everything behind it
had been stripped away.

All the pretense,
arrogance, false courage,

self-importance, pride, and ego.

His tears,

his snot,

his saliva...

The liquid comprised
of them all mixed together.

[wailing sobs continue]

[Kozue] It was beautiful.

[man sobbing]

[Kozue] Was it wrong of me?

- No.
- [man sobbing]

[Kozue] I wonder how long
we remained there like that.

Long enough for my clothes
to become heavy with his tears.

Thank you

for all that you've given me.

Thank you.

Mm. Mm-mm.

[grunts]

- Can I ask you something?
- Huh?

What did that mean just now?
Why did you hold me for so long?

You held me with such warmth
and emotion. Such passion.

I can't really explain it well.

But if your mother were here,

I'm sure she would have done the same.

Then it wasn't like I was your lover?

No, but it was love.

[confused gasp]

How can you say that it was love

when you just said yourself
I wasn't your lover?

There's no need of romantic love
in an act of love.

[gasps]

Your mother can love you

without her having to be in love with you.

Uh...

I fell in love
with an incredible woman, didn't I?

I can really see now,

I'm just an amateur when it comes to love.

Hmm.

So, then,

I'm guessing it's not a mother's love
that you feel for Baki Hanma.

I lost the fight.

And I lost my love.

But thanks again

for even loving me at all.

Do I feel like a loser?

[chuckles] Not at all.

Baki Hanma didn't even
have to compete for it.

How can I be a loser

when I was never even in the running?

[door opens]

[Kozue] See you later.

[footsteps approaching]

[Baki] Oh.

Hmm.

It's been a while
since we've seen each other, hasn't it?

Yeah, I've been... pretty busy.

[Baki] Oh yeah? Doing what?

Having a great time.

That's what I figured

Huh?

[grunts angrily]

- [Baki] Hey!
- I was kidding, you idiot!

[laughing]

[Baki] I just want you to be happy, Kozue.

It doesn't have to be with me.

Yeah, right.

There's no way
I can be that detached about it.

I still want us to be together.

At least a little longer.

[grunting]

[man] You want some more?

Hmm?

Hand over your wallet.

- Yo, Kure.
- [Kure] Hmm?

Why not cut him up?

[Kure] Hmm...

Yeah, why not?

[suspenseful music playing]

[confused muttering]

[narrator] To a thug like this,

a clear assessment of his prey's strength
can be a matter of life and death.

The young thug would later recall

that a strange thing happened
at that moment.

The knife he held in his hand

suddenly started to shrink.

It shrank and shrank

until it was as small
and useless as a peanut.

- [gasping]
- [man] Really, my boy?

Picking on such a pair of weaklings?

[gasps]

[Baki] Mr. Kuriyagawa!

[Kuriyagawa] You ought to thank me
for intervening, young man.

If I'd arrived a moment later,

goodness knows what
you'd be dealing with now.

A shattered kneecap, a broken jaw,

a fractured skull,
a punctured lung, a concussion...

Need I go on,

or are you starting to get the picture?

[th*gs whimpering]

- [Kuriyagawa] Get out of here.
- [th*gs whimpering]

[rapid footsteps fleeing]

It's good to see you again.

You're looking well.

[Kuriyagawa] It won't be long now.

It'll be the greatest fight
the world's ever seen.

The final battle between father and son.

[slurps]

[sighs]

It's not that big of a deal.

It's just a simple fight.

Avenging your mother.

There's nothing simple about that.

No, I know that.

[solemn music playing]

[Baki] It's been five years since then.

[mother] Baki.

[shouting] Go on, now!
Make your father happy!

[determined grunting] Here I come, Father!

[Yujiro grunts, cackles]

[Baki] Trust me.

I have questioned myself

many, many times.

[Kuriyagawa] Hmm.

Do I actually hate him...

this man that I'm supposed to despise?

I wonder, Mr. Kuriyagawa,

is my father the only one

who deserves to pay for my mother's death?

'Cause I'm not so sure.

What makes you ask that, Baki?

Well, my mother,

she wasn't your ordinary mother,
now, was she?

[applause]

[narrator] Emi Akezawa.

By marrying Eiichi Akezawa,

the head of a wealthy
and internationally renowned family,

she had secured herself
a life of magnificent comfort.

[dark suspenseful music playing]

- But then...
- [Emi gasps]

[narrator] She met
the strongest man in the world.

- [gasps]
- [narrator] That changed everything.

[Yujiro] Hi-yah!

[man wailing painfully]

[narrator] She saw a man injured,
crushed, k*lled,

and realized she enjoyed seeing it.

She wanted to see more.

There was a cruelty
lying dormant within her,

and Yujiro recognized it at once.

[Emi whimpering]

[Emi gasping]

I know what you want.

I knew it right away.

You like seeing blood.

You want it more
than anything else in the world.

Look at your face in a mirror.

[chuckles] You're smiling.

You're the woman I've been looking for.

You will give birth to my child.

[Emi moans sensually]

[narrator] No,
she was not an ordinary mother.

As the one responsible for raising Baki,

she gave him a place to live
and money to live on.

She also saw to it that he had
the best coaches and training facilities.

She raised her son to be an elite fighter.

[grunting with effort]

[narrator] She did all of this
to gain the love of Yujiro Hanma,

the strongest man of all men.

The ultimate male.

Just one more week.

His son will be ready for him then.

Baki will be
the greatest gift I can give him.

[narrator] She cared little
about this boy who shared her blood.

She had chosen romantic love
over maternal love,

and Baki was nothing more
than a tool to help her get it.

[Baki sighs]

[narrator] But as for Yujiro Hanma,

the only thing he cared about

was that Baki be
strong enough to fight him.

That and nothing else.

The only purpose I ever had
for you was to raise my son.

[grunts sadly, gasps]

[Yujiro] I expect him
to be prepared for this fight,

and to meet all my expectations.

If he doesn't,

then you were never anything better
than a middle-aged prost*tute.

That's the extent of our relationship.

[gasps sadly]

[narrator] All she had wanted
was his love.

[Emi sobs]

Why can't I make him love me? Why?!

Because you're weak!

That's why!

You're weak. You're weak!

It's all because you're so weak!

Why did I have to have
such a weakling for a son?!

- Why?!
- [blows landing]

[Emi sobbing]

- [breathing heavily]
- [Baki] Mother.

Will you answer me one question?

If I win,

if I beat Yujiro,

do you think you'll love me then?

[breathing heavily]

[narrator] He, too, wanted love.

[Baki] I was barely conscious.

But I could see them.

My mother standing there,

being embraced by my father.

And I thought,

"You're hugging her too damn hard, Dad."

[pained crying]

[Baki] But she was hugging him back.

And she was crying.

[slurps]

[Kuriyagawa] Those tears,

I wonder what they were for.

Come on. Are you kidding?

No, I'm serious.

[Baki] Those were tears of happiness.

Huh?

Her deepest desires as a woman

were fulfilled in that moment.

Perhaps so.

But, Baki,

does that make what she did right?

So your mother
finally felt fulfilled as a woman.

Let's accept that as true.

She fulfilled what she saw
as the purpose of her life.

But what about your life, Baki?

[Baki sighs]

You have a life
and a purpose as well, son.

Your life is every bit
as important as hers was.

Yeah, I know that.

Do you, Baki?

It doesn't always seem like it.

Are you really that worried about me?

No, son.

I'm trying to talk sense into you.

You are only given
this one life to live, Baki.

You should not take it lightly.

[Baki sighs]

Living only to satisfy your mother,

living to earn the respect of your father.

You hoped to make her proud by doing well.

You hoped to win his approval

and make him see
that you have Hanma blood in you.

But none of that matters.

Baki,

you have to decide
where you want your life to go.

[Baki sighs]

[slurps]

[Baki] You must not have heard it.

[Kuriyagawa] What? Heard what?

Like the... voice of an angel.

That punch my father hit me with

showed me how far I was
from measuring up to him.

And that's when it happened.

My mom stood up
to the strongest man in the world.

[Emi] Stop, Yujiro!!

But she didn't just
stand up to the Great Brute.

No. She punched him right in the face.

And then she looked him
square in the eye and she said...

You're gonna have to fight me now!

You know what that means, right?

To go one-on-one
with a fighter like my father?

And you know what you'll get

for even so much as touching him,
let alone punching him.

So for my mother to stand there
and challenge him to fight one-on-one

meant that...

she was giving her life

to try and save mine.

Hearing those words was enough.

It more than made up for everything else.

[Kuriyagawa] Hmm.

I could die happy right now

because of what she did that day.

The reason I'm alive at all

is because of her.

Hearing her stand up to my father,

it made me strong.

Whatever strength I have

every last bit of it comes from

those words of hers.

I see now.

That's what's driving you,

not just to be stronger,

but to be the absolute strongest of all.

[Baki breathing shakily]

I don't know about all that, but maybe.

[Kuriyagawa] Hmm.

I heard her speak the same words you did.

And yet, I wasn't listening.

I'm the one who was wrong.

Forgive me, Baki!

Oh, uh...

It's okay.

[Kuriyagawa gasps]

[narrator] It was at that moment,

as he sat there with Mr. Kuriyagawa,

recollecting these memories from his past,

that Baki first began
to understand just what it was,

that indefinable feeling deep inside him
that compelled him into action.

His fierce desire to surpass his father,

to defeat his father...

It wasn't to avenge his mother.

It was to repay her love.

[theme music playing]

[music ends]