23 - Ties

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:02] Nagi
    I lost my parents soon after I was born.
[00:05] Nagi
    In a fire, I was told.
[00:08] Nagi
    I was passed around between relatives,
[00:13] Nagi
    and only barely held on
    doing maid's work at an inn.
[00:18] Nagi
    My only joy was taking the boat downriver
    when I delivered to good customers.
[00:26] Nagi
    I was always alone.
[00:29] Nagi
    Until the day I met Yotaro-san.
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[02:19] Granny
    Try to calm down. The next wave's on its way.
[02:23] Sakura
    You'll be fine, Nagi-san.
    Take a deep breath in, then let it out.
[02:27] Granny
    Once your head is clear,
    the rest is easy. Let yourself relax.
[02:30] Granny
    Babies want to come out.
[02:35] Granny
    Nio, the bathwater's gone cold.
[02:37] Granny
    It'll shock the baby. Add more hot water.
[02:40] Nio
    R-Right.
[02:47] Granny
    That's the way. Slow and steady.
[02:55] Nagi
    I had no blood ties...
[02:58] Nagi
    anywhere in this life.
[03:05] (Flashback) Child A
    She's like a doll.
[03:07] (Flashback) Child B
    Get angry at something, why don't you?
[03:09] (Flashback) Child C
    Talk about creepy. She's hollow inside.
SIGN    Hollow
[03:16] Nagi
    Hollow?
[03:19] Nagi
    Empty?
[03:21] Nagi
    Of course I was.
[03:23] Nagi
    I had nothing in my past or future.
[03:27] Nagi
    I had no desires. I didn't resist.
[03:30] Nagi
    I let the current take me and kept calm.
[03:33] Nagi
    That's how I would survive.
[03:36] Nagi
    Yet despite that...
[03:39] (Flashback) Yotaro
    Fancy meeting you again.
[03:44] (Flashback) Yotaro
    I'm off to give a home lesson.
[03:46] (Flashback) Yotaro
    Do you like the river?
[03:49] (Flashback) Nagi
    What?
[03:49] (Flashback) Yotaro
    Oh, it's just, you're always looking at it.
[03:57] Nagi
    Fate had a surprise in store for me.
[04:03] (Flashback) Woman A
    Wasn't she a serving girl?
[04:05] (Flashback) Woman B
    How can she marry a samurai?
[04:08] (Flashback) Man A
    She ought to know her place.
[04:11] (Flashback) Man B
    What a mismatch.
[04:12] (Flashback) Man C
    Shh. They'll hear you.
[04:15] (Flashback) Yotaro
    Nagi-san. Nagi-san.
[04:19] (Flashback) Yotaro
    Don't worry.
[04:25] Nagi
    I wasn't a fit match for him.
[04:28] Nagi
    But my mother-in-law said to me...
[04:32] (Flashback) Asa
    Delicious. I can really
    taste that Kyoto flavor.
[04:37] (Flashback) Nagi
    I learned at an inn.
[04:39] (Flashback) Asa
    I was a farmer's daughter, too.
[04:41] (Flashback) Nagi
    Huh?
[04:42] (Flashback) Asa
    And I'm a second wife.
[04:44] (Flashback) Nagi
    What?
[04:45] (Flashback) Nagi
    So Yotaro-san and his older brother
     who left home aren't...
[04:49] (Flashback) Asa
    We have no blood ties.
[04:51] (Flashback) Asa
    None at all.
[04:53] (Flashback) Asa
    But between husband and wife,
    or mother and daughter...
[05:01] (Flashback) Asa
    what matters is keeping the family safe.
[05:10] Nagi
    Why did I go along with Yotaro-san's brother?
    Why did I come to this house?
[05:15] Sakura
    There's so much blood.
[05:17] Granny
    Put your back into it!
[05:21] Nagi
    It was all so I could have this child.
[05:24] Granny
    That's the spirit. Out it comes.
[05:26] Nio
    Hang in there, Nagi-san!
[05:27] Nio
    You're almost done!
[05:32] (Flashback) Asa
    Sometimes, family ties without blood
     can be stronger than those with it.
[05:41] Nagi
    I'll pass something on.
    I'll desire something.
[05:45] Nagi
    If I can leave something behind,
    it means I'm not hollow.
[05:49] Nagi
    I'll leave behind...
[05:54] (Flashback) Asa
    Nagi-san, take care of this family.
[06:01] Nagi
    ...proof that I lived!
[06:09] Granny
    It's out!
[06:13] Sakura
    You did it! Way to go, Nagi-san!
[06:16] Nio
    Yes! The baby's born!
[06:19] Granny
    Wait.
[06:21] Granny
    It's not crying.
[06:28] Granny
    Is something caught in its throat?
[06:30] Nio
    N-No.
[06:33] Nagi
    Give it here!
[06:35] Nagi
    How?
[06:36] Nagi
    Why?
[06:38] Nagi
    Please...
[06:45] Nagi
    Please...
[06:49] Nagi
    Cry.
[06:52] Nagi
    Cry!
[06:55] Nagi
    Please...
[06:57] Nagi
    tie us together!
[07:12] Sakura
    It's crying.
[07:21] Nagi
    My treasure.
[07:24] Nagi
    Ah.
[07:26] Nagi
    You're so soft and so warm.
[07:31] Nagi
    Yotaro-san.
[07:34] Nagi
    Father. Mother.
[07:36] Nagi
    I did it.
[07:39] Harada
    She had the baby?
[07:40] Nagakura
    She must have.
[07:44] Nio
    Thank goodness. Thank goodness!
[07:50] Nagi
    I did it.
[08:17] Taro
    The baby's been born?
[08:18] Taro
    Really? Is it a boy or a girl?
[08:21] Maid A
    My, how adorable.
[08:23] Maid B
    Let me hold it, too.
[08:25] Taro
    Lemme see! Lemme take a look, too!
[08:29] Maids
    My, my.
[08:35] Taro
    Talk about cute.
[08:40] Taro
    Hang on. Where's Nio?
[08:42] Taro
    Isn't he back yet?
[08:46] Taro
    Nagi-san must be over the moon.
[08:48] Taro
    We oughta throw a party.
[08:53] Taro
    Um...
[08:57] Hajime
    She's dead.
[09:01] Taro
    Huh?
[09:17] Kondo
    I see. This will be
    a hard ending for Nio to bear.
[09:21] Hijikata
    What's done is done.
[09:24] Hijikata
    Still...
[09:27] Hijikata
    If you ask me, the only kind of person
     who can really save anyone...
[09:33] Hijikata
    is one who suffers
    from the bottom of his heart.
[09:39] Hijikata
    One who has known heartache.
[09:49] Sakura
    It's been a whole day since then.
[09:52] Sakura
    I can't keep crying forever.
[09:54] Sakura
    The doctor even said to us...
[09:57] Sakura
    there was nothing we could've done.
[10:03] Sakura
    Anyway, I've got to cheer up Nio-kun.
[10:07] Nio
    Oh, Sakura-san!
[10:09] Sakura
    Huh?
[10:10] Nio
    Good morning.
[10:12] Nio
    Are you checking
    everyone's swords again today?
[10:15] Nio
    Thanks for coming so early.
[10:17] Sakura
    H-Huh?
[10:19] Hijikata
    Oh, Sakura. Perfect timing.
[10:22] Sakura
    Hijikata-san.
[10:24] Hijikata
    I tried to hammer a bent sword into shape,
    and it came out like an ear of rice.
[10:30] Sakura
    What did you do to it?!
[10:35] Harada
    Nio! I'm hungry!
[10:38] Nio
    It's breakfast time.
[10:39] Nio
    I'll go help.
[10:42] Sakura
    How do you think Nio-kun's feeling?
[10:45] Taro
    B-Beats me.
[10:48] Taro
    He didn't say much yesterday,
    understandably. But now?
[10:51] Sakura
    Does he get over things quickly
    because he's young?
[10:54] Sakura
    Was he able to process it
    because of who he is?
[11:01] Nio
    Please make way! Coming through!
[11:05] Sakura
    Even after that big job,
    this place hasn't changed a bit.
[11:10] Todo
    Everyone changes.
[11:13] Sakura
    T-Todo-san?
[11:15] Nagakura
    Todo.
[11:17] Nagakura
    Don't step on the edge of the tatami.
[11:19] Sakura
    U-Um, who are you again?
[11:23] Harada
    It's Shinpachi! Shinpachi's lost it!
[11:26] Nagakura
    A samurai must be proper
     in everything he does.
[11:31] Sakura
    You shaved off your mustache?
[11:33] Nagakura
    I've stopped pretending to be someone
    I'm not. A samurai should act like one.
[11:36] Kondo
    Magnificent.
[11:38] Okita
    A real dramatic shift, huh?
[11:40] Yamanami
    I know how he feels.
[11:42] Yamanami
    That battle left a bad taste in our mouths.
[11:45] Harada
    Don't sympathize! Move on!
[11:47] Harada
    Like Nio has.
[11:49] Nio
    I finished wiping the floors.
[11:51] Nio
    Oh, I'd better go wash the vegetables.
[11:58] Hirama
    You killed the ringleader
    and ended the threat?
[12:00] Hirama
    That's our Serizawa-sensei.
[12:02] Hirama
    The greatest man alive.
[12:04] Serizawa
    Don't stand in my way.
[12:09] Hirayama
    Can you believe Hirama? No tact at all.
[12:12] Serizawa
    Don't stare at me.
[12:14] Hirayama
    I can't even look?
[12:19] Harada
    Serizawa's in a rotten mood.
[12:22] Niimi
    I'm supposed to write a report on all this
    to wrap it up as neatly as possible.
[12:27] Nio
    I'll get you paper and
    an inkstone right away.
[12:31] Sakura
    Do you think, maybe...
[12:34] Sakura
    Nio-kun's trying to avoid hearing
     much about what happened?
[12:39] Todo
    Well, I bet he'd rather not.
[12:42] Harada
    Still, he'll forget in three days,
    if he eats and sleeps right.
[12:45] Nagakura
    These things need to be done properly.
[12:47] Okita
    It all comes down to his feelings. 
    How he thinks about it.
[12:52] Inoue
    Maybe tilling a field
    will take his mind off it.
[12:54] Hajime
    Leave him be.
[12:56] Sakura
    H-Hijikata-san.
[13:00] Hijikata
    Kondo-san, can I leave Nio to you?
[13:04] Kondo
    Yes.
[13:07] Kondo
    This calls for swords. Nothing else will do.
[13:13] Kondo
    Nio. Time to train!
[13:14] Nio
    What?
[13:16] Nio
    Huh? Kondo-san?
[13:19] Harada
    Is he okay?
[13:20] Nio
    Wait, what?
[13:20] Todo
    I'm more worried about him.
[13:23] Hijikata
    It's better not to think
    too much at times like these.
[13:33] Nio
    So, um, you want me to attack you?
[13:35] Kondo
    Yes. With all your might.
[13:43] Kondo
    Keep going. Don't rest.
[13:45] Nio
    Yes, sir!
[13:48] Kondo
    Keep it up.
[13:49] Nio
    Yes, sir!
[13:50] Kondo
    More.
[13:51] Nio
    Yes, sir!
[13:52] Kondo
    Come at me!
[13:53] Kondo
    Keep it up!
[13:54] Todo
    They're really just training.
[13:55] Kondo
    Come on!
[14:02] Kondo
    Nagi-dono was buried at a temple
    for the destitute without family.
[14:09] Kondo
    She had no relatives of her own,
[14:11] Kondo
    and she was divorced
    just before this business.
[14:15] Kondo
    There was nothing else to be done.
[14:17] Nio
    Wh-Why tell me that now?
[14:19] Kondo
    Continue.
[14:22] Kondo
    Weak.
[14:27] Kondo
    I cut down Yotaro-dono.
[14:30] Kondo
    I killed him.
[14:34] Kondo
    I never could have stopped him
    without killing him.
[14:38] Kondo
    Serizawa-san slew Naozumi.
[14:40] Nio
    Please stop.
[14:42] Kondo
    Their bodies will be
    disposed of as criminals.
[14:46] Nio
    Please just stop.
[14:49] Kondo
    The Kyohachi house and dojo both lie in ruins.
[14:53] Kondo
    The line will be abolished,
    including cadet branches.
[14:56] Nio
    Please stop it!
[15:06] Nio
    I know.
[15:08] Nio
    I know all of that.
[15:12] Nio
    It's because I fell short.
[15:18] Nio
    Because I didn't notice back then.
[15:21] Nio
    Because I failed.
[15:24] Nio
    Because I was weak.
[15:31] Nio
    It's all...
[15:35] Nio
    my fault.
[15:42] Kondo
    Giving birth always comes
     with the risk of death.
[15:45] Kondo
    The newborn has been left
    with trustworthy people.
[15:50] Kondo
    Now you know what happened.
[15:54] Okita
    Do you think he can handle it?
[15:56] Sakura
    Maybe he should be less blunt.
[15:58] Hijikata
    No, this is for the best.
[16:00] Hijikata
    He can't move forward
    until he accepts reality.
[16:08] Sakura
    Nio-kun!
[16:13] Sakura
    He's burning up.
[16:15] Todo; Taro
    What?
[16:16] Sakura
    Why didn't anyone notice?
[16:18] Sakura
    You idiots worked him too hard!
[16:20] Kondo
    Awkward.
[16:33] Taro
    Hajime, what should we do?
[16:35] Hajime
    He's just exhausted.
    Sleep will fix his body.
[16:39] Taro
    J-Just his body?
[16:41] Taro
    What else should we be worried about?
[16:44] Taro
    Hey, where are you going?
[16:46] Hajime
    I have business.
[16:46] Taro
    What? Our buddy's in pain here.
[16:49] Taro
    Have a heart!
[16:52] Taro
    Man, Nio...
[16:56] Granny
    Is that so?
[16:58] Granny
    Thanks for letting me know about Nio.
[17:01] Hajime
    So what did you want with me?
[17:04] Granny
    I want you to meet somebody, Hajime.
[17:07] Hajime
    Huh?
[17:09] Iroha
    Granny! Long time no see!
[17:13] Granny
    Look at you, dressed up all fancy.
[17:15] Hajime
    Wh-Who's this?
[17:17] Iroha
    You must be Hajime-chan.
[17:19] Hajime
    Hajime... "chan"?
[17:23] Iroha
    I'm Iroha. Nice to meet you.
[17:25] Hajime
    And she is?
[17:27] Granny
    Nio's sister.
[17:28] Hajime
    His sister? The one that noble family took in?
[17:35] Iroha
    I know all about you and
    the Miburo from Granny's letters.
[17:41] Iroha
    I want to ask you for a favor.
[17:44] Hajime
    Yeah? What favor? You'd better not
    ask me to play games with you.
[17:49] Hajime
    Anyway, it's not safe for a kid
     to go out alone at night.
[17:54] Iroha
    He's just like the letters said.
[17:56] Granny
    Isn't he just?
[17:57] Hajime
    Hey! What did you say about me?
[17:59] Iroha
    I'm not alone, of course.
[18:02] Hajime
    Huh?
[18:09] Anegakoji
    Behold. My ball never falls.
    Such is my mastery of kemari.
[18:16] Hajime
    Wh-Who's this guy?
[18:18] Iroha
    Hajime-chan.
[18:19] Iroha
    This is the great and noble Anegakoji-sama.
[18:26] Hajime
    Never heard of him.
[18:27] Iroha
    Even the patriotic loyalists of Satsuma
     revere him as a leader.
[18:33] Iroha
    A trailblazer at 23 years of age,
    he leads the anti-foreigner faction at court.
[18:38] Iroha
    You stand before Anegakoji Kintomo-sama!
[18:44] Anegakoji
    Am I truly so impressive?
[18:47] Anegakoji
    You may fawn over me with reverence.
[18:50] Hajime
    Oh, okay. I get it.
[18:53] Hajime
    Now, do you mind if I sock this guy?
[18:56] Iroha
    What for?!
[18:57] Iroha
    Listen, I'd like you to guard
     Anegakoji-sama for me.
[19:04] Anegakoji
    I shall permit you to guard
    my person. Rejoice, Hajime.
[19:09] Iroha
    Only for three days, though.
[19:11] Iroha
    And not all day. Just from
    his house to the Imperial Palace.
[19:16] Hajime
    A guy like him must have
    lackeys and bodyguards.
[19:19] Iroha
    Well, you see, they went to
    an oyster festival and all took ill.
[19:24] Anegakoji
    And yet I was spared,
    for I am among the elect.
[19:28] Iroha
    I wanted to ask Nio, too,
    but it sounds like he has bigger problems.
[19:34] Iroha
    Hijikata-san and Okita-san would stand out,
[19:37] Iroha
    and asking the Miburo
    would make things complicated.
[19:41] Hajime
    "Complicated"? Why?
[19:44] Hajime
    Anyway, who's after this big shot? And why?
[19:56] Hajime
    Fine. Don't tell me if you don't want to.
[19:59] Hajime
    So I just need to keep you
     safe for three days?
[20:01] Anegakoji
    You'll do it, then?
[20:04] Hajime
    Yeah. I haven't got much choice.
[20:07] Hajime
    None of us do.
[20:09] Anegakoji
    "Us"?
[20:13] Iroha
    Thanks, Hajime-chan!
[20:15] Hajime
    Stop.
[20:16] Granny
    Hajime-chan!
[20:18] Hajime
    Stay back, old hag!
SIGN    m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
SIGN    The Palace
[20:25] Hajime
    You don't have far to go, right?
[20:27] Anegakoji
    Merely to His Majesty's council
    at the palace and back.
[20:31] Anegakoji
    You cannot have entered the grounds before.
    I'm impressed it doesn't show.
[20:37] Hajime
    Gawking would make people suspicious.
[20:43] Hajime
    A diary?
[20:45] Iroha
    Keeping daily records is one of
    a noble's most important duties.
[20:50] Iroha
    It comes in handy the next time
     they do something.
[20:54] Iroha
    They link past, present, and future.
[20:57] Iroha
    That's how they preserve traditions.
[21:00] Hajime
    I don't really get it,
    but it sounds like work.
[21:04] Hajime
    Anyway...
[21:05] Hajime
    Aren't you going to ask me about Nio?
[21:08] Iroha
    Huh?
[21:09] Hajime
    You must know some of what happened.
[21:13] Hajime
    You're his sister, right? Isn't worrying over
     every little thing what families do?
[21:21] Iroha
    You don't pick up on much,
    do you, Hajime-chan?
[21:25] Hajime
    What's that supposed to mean?
[21:29] Iroha
    Because we're family, I know.
[21:38] Iroha
    My brother must be...
SIGN    Ties
SIGN    Next time
[23:22] Old Nagakura
    The flow of the times grows fiercer.
[23:25] Old Nagakura
    Its chaos gains speed, and the Miburo
     hurtle toward a turning point.
[23:31] Old Nagakura
    As new leaves sprout,
    young wolves overcome sorrow and pain,
[23:40] Old Nagakura
    striving to discover their own truths.
[23:44] Old Nagakura
    Next time: "The Blue Oath."
SIGN    The Blue Oath
[23:47] Old Nagakura
    It won't disappoint.