01x26 - Yurako no Sekai

[bunniefuu]

Where am I?

No doubt about it.

You're the one who
was with Mao, aren't you?

Yurako?!

I've wanted to see him
for so, so long.

Ever since Mao disappeared
from the Goko Clan.

The Goko Clan?

Those 900 years were so long.

But I finally got to see him again.

So does that mean Yurako has
been alive since the Heian period?

Who are you?

Mao only ever had eyes for Sana.

Is Mao concerned about me
because of this face?

I think so...

Why do you have the same face
as Lady Sana?

This is...

My face!

I'm not Sana.

I am Yurako.

YURAKO'S WORLD

NANOKA KIBA

NANOKA KIBA
What are you going to do to me?

YURAKO
Tell me, Nanoka.

How do I appear to you?

These ayakashi are the curses
cast upon the Goko Clan.

The Goko Clan was a family
of curse practitioners descended

from the Jugondo tradition.

Nobles would hire the Goko Clan,

and the onmyoji would cast
curses on their behalf.

But...

If their targets were protected
by skilled onmyoji,

they would retaliate
with counterspells.

And curses would also
come from other onmyoji

who resented the Goko Clan's existence.

Huh?

I've heard this story somewhere before.

That's right.

Byouki heard it from Lady Sana.

And yet, every one of those curses
disappears above the compound.

No, that's not quite right.

They simply become invisible.

How does Yurako know about that?

I lived in...

...complete darkness, surrounded
by boulders and cursed talismans.

The curses cast at the Goko Clan

were caught midair by
the power of the talismans

and then came to me.

My role was to serve as a vessel
to absorb those curses into my body.

A vessel for curses...

I never questioned any of it.

I never felt deprived

because that was
the only life I'd ever known.

The only person who ever came to see me
was the head of the Goko Clan.

The one who gave Yurako her name...

And Mao's master...

MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN

Listen, Yurako.

This is a mantra for binding curses
cast by our enemies

and turning them into
servitor spirits under our command.

The one thing that was a little painful

was that these were inscribed
on me little by little as I grew.

Tattoos?!

They're not just on my hands.

They're on my legs and my back, too.

That's so cruel.

It went on for years...

Then one day,
I awoke from my sleep,

and for some reason,
the door was open.

I felt the ayakashi inside me
begin to stir.

As if they were pushing me forward.

For the first time in my life,

I learned that there was a world outside.

The ayakashi were trying to escape.

And somehow I couldn't resist them.

The breeze felt so wonderful.

The moon and the stars
were so beautiful.

Then...

I don't know where I flew
or how I got there.

The next thing I knew...

That was when I saw my own
face for the first time.

It had been d*sfigured
by the ayakashi,

but I didn't even know
whether I looked hideous or not.

d*sfigured by ayakashi?

Does that mean her face
was different from what it is now?

And that's when I met Mao.

Are you alright?

MAO

And that was when
my true sorrow began.

Mao was the first person from
the outside world I'd ever seen,

aside from the head of the Goko Clan.

I was told that a swarm
of ayakashi had fled this way

and ordered to come investigate.

Were you abducted by
the ayakashi and brought here?

I didn't know what
I should do, but...

Are you hurt anywhere?

How did you get these?

Are you alright?

SENGOKU-DAYU

Master Sengoku-Dayu!

Now this is one hell of a monster.

Master Dayu, surely you can see
this girl is human!

Shut up!

Listen to me, Mao.

Forget everything you saw here.

After that...

I was taken back underground
to where I had been before.

This is disastrous.

All of the servitor spirits
have escaped.

And then, just as I had always done,

I went back to absorbing
the curses every day.

But...

Are you alright?

Mao...

Mao...

I could not forget
that face and that voice.

Eventually, I learned to command
the curses I'd absorbed to look outside.

There was no one else like me
in the outside world.

I was different from everyone else.

Are you alright?

I began to understand
the meaning of his words.

Those were words of kindness,

and his voice was so gentle.

Mao...

I wanted to see him again so badly.

SEVERAL YEARS LATER
As if my prayers had been heard,

SEVERAL YEARS LATER
a few years later,

Mao came to the Goko Clan.

But I had no way of letting him know
about my existence.

And then, I realized...

Wherever Mao's gaze fell...

Haimaru, wait.

HAIMARU - SANA
Sana was always there.

HAIMARU - SANA

Mao...

I'm right here...

Even so...

Because Mao was there,
I was able to keep on living.

She finally got to see Mao again,
only for him to fall in love with Lady Sana...

That's too heartbreaking.

Um...

Why are you telling me all this?

Well...

I'm with Shiranui now, but...

I have no reason to hurt Mao.

I wanted you to know that.

Me...?

Nanoka!

Mao?

A barrier?

Mao is here, isn't he?

He came looking for you.

Go.

Mao.

Nanoka, are you alright?

Yurako?

She's gone.

This evil aura...

Nanoka!

I was with Yurako.

Did she do anything to you?!

No.

She just talked to me.

Let's go home.

Kagari?

I should remove the needles.

Thanks for bringing me here.

You can move now.

You'll pay for this!

Next time we meet, I'll...

Right.

But the next time you use
the puppet needle, be more careful.

OTOYA
I'm glad you're safe, Miss Nanoka.

Mao came to rescue me.

I was so happy I could've cried, but...

Because Mao was there,
I was able to keep on living.

Compared to how Yurako feels
about Mao, my feelings are nothing.

I wonder if it's okay for me
to stay by Mao's side...

What's going on with Nanoka?

Yurako spent all those years

being a vessel for the curses
sent to the Goko Clan.

Mao was the first person in her life
to ever speak kindly to her.

Are you alright?

She's been in love with Mao for 900 years.

The centuries of longing,

and the depth and weight
of her feelings...

I can't compete with that.

Mao and I may both
be cursed by Byouki, but...

Maybe I shouldn't fall for him
any more than I already have.

Oh, welcome back, Miss Nanoka.

Okay. Shall we get going?

Huh? Go where?

Oh, that's right.

So much has happened that

we still haven't celebrated
my entrance into high school.

Could he mean we're going now?

No, no, no.

I'm not in the mood
to celebrate right now.

Things have certainly
taken a strange turn.

Yurako, who's supposed to be
the enemy, is madly in love with Mao.

Ah... So it was just a meeting.

KAMON
How does that make you feel, Mao?

I don't know what to say.

To be honest...

I'd forgotten all about it
until Nanoka told me.

Half her face had been
d*sfigured by evil energy

and her body was covered
in mystical tattoos.

I could tell she'd been forced
to take on some dreadful duty.

But...

I never saw her again
after that day.

And it certainly never occurred to me
that she might be Yurako.

He'd forgotten all about her...

Don't you feel sorry for her?

After hearing what she went through,
of course, I feel sorry for her.

Yeah, figures.

Which brings us to you, Nanoka.

Huh? Yes?

Now we get to the important part.

Why does Yurako have
the same face as Lady Sana?

She didn't tell me.

Then why is she with Shiranui?

Huh?

She didn't tell me that, either.

Why did Yurako go to all the
trouble of bringing you there?

What was her motive?

Maybe she wanted to say that
she wasn't Mao's enemy?

Nanoka, are you sure
all you did was talk?

Yes.

Master Mao is worried about you.

He says you haven't been yourself
ever since you were released.

I mean...

After hearing a story like that, I just...

Okay then, Nanoka. Why don't
we take a stroll in the garden?

Huh?

Kamon...

You stay here, Mao.
You'll just be in the way.

Um...

Just to make sure.

Nanoka...

You're in love with Mao, aren't you?

What?!

Eww! What is wrong with you?!

You're such a creep!

I won't tell Mao!

Hey, that hurts!

Stop it!

What I'm saying, Nanoka...

Yurako put a curse on you.

What?

I don't think Yurako's story
about her past is a lie.

The Goko Clan was the kind of place

where something like that
could easily have happened.

But that story painted
a picture of a tragic woman,

who despite her harsh circumstances,

spent all those years longing
for Mao and no one else.

And it really got to you, didn't it?

Y-Yes... But...

How is that a curse?

You were in her way, because
you're the one by Mao's side.

But if she hurt or k*lled you,
Mao would never forgive her.

R-Right...

Yurako could've k*lled me
if she'd wanted to.

By telling you her story,
she drove a stake into your heart.

Words themselves...
Or the spirit within words can be a curse.

Words are a curse?

Exactly.

By putting your feelings into words
and conveying them to someone,

you can bind their heart.

H-He's right...

Um...

So what am I supposed to do about it?

Now that you know how the trick works,
just don't let it bother you.

What?! That's it?!

It's just a matter of perspective, Nanoka.

I lifted the curse, just in case.

Nanoka.

What were you and Kamon talking about?

Nothing...

Something you can't tell me?

Nanoka...

You're in love with Mao, aren't you?

No way I could tell him that!

Leave me alone!

It's something I have to
work out for myself!

You can't expect me not
to worry about you.

Huh?

As long as you're feeling better,
that's all that matters to me.

I can't help it!
That makes me happy!

Oh...

Nanoka, I completely forgot...

SWEETS SHOP

So you really did forget about
my high school celebration.

I'm happy you remembered, though.

Yes. So cheer up.

Let's eat!

Mmm, delicious!

I'm glad.

I can't forget what Yurako told me.

But even so, I...

SWEETS SHOP

Master Mao, perhaps you should
have ordered the mitsumame.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!