24 - The Blue Oath

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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.)
[00:03] Tsuru
    He guarded a noble in the palace?
[00:05] Old Nagakura
    Yes. Although I had it secondhand,
    so I don't know all the details.
[00:11] Boy A
    Head!
[00:12] Boy B
    I bet you're bored of
    Gramps's long stories, too!
[00:18] Old Nagakura
    We knew the river of time
    was flowing fiercer.
[00:24] Old Nagakura
    For the Miburo...
[00:27] Old Nagakura
    those days may have been a turning point.
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
SIGN    Blue Miburo
[02:09] Anegakoji
    I hear the Miburo are a band of swordsmen.
[02:12] Hajime
    So what if we are?
[02:14] Anegakoji
    Do you keep guns or cannons in reserve?
[02:17] Hajime
    Huh? Of course not.
[02:19] Anegakoji
    I see.
[02:21] Anegakoji
    You may wish to consider doing so.
[02:28] Anegakoji
    My life is under threat because
    I have had a change of heart.
[02:34] Anegakoji
    A naval commissioner, Katsu Kaishu,
    convinced me of the value of sea power.
[02:40] Anegakoji
    I no longer favor expulsion at any cost.
[02:44] Anegakoji
    The hardliners of the anti-foreign movement
     must view that as a betrayal.
[02:50] Anegakoji
    Politics demands ceaseless vigilance.
[02:54] Anegakoji
    One always finds oneself
    in an awkward position.
[02:57] Anegakoji
    He who defends me today
    may come for my life tomorrow.
[03:04] Anegakoji
    Why did you agree to guard me so readily?
[03:08] Hajime
    None of that crap matters.
[03:12] Hajime
    I did it because you really did seem scared.
[03:16] Hajime
    If samurai don't protect the weak, who will?
[03:21] Anegakoji
    I see Iroha was right to turn to you.
[03:25] Anegakoji
    Still...
[03:27] Anegakoji
    Hold on to notions like that,
    and the tide will leave you behind.
[03:31] Hajime
    What tide?
[03:32] Anegakoji
    The tide of time.
[03:35] Anegakoji
    Or will you rebel against
    the age we live in?
[03:42] Anegakoji
    If so, men like that fellow,
    who strive to push us forward,
[03:48] Anegakoji
    may one day become your greatest foes.
[03:52] Hajime
    What "fellow"? Who do you mean?
[03:56] Anegakoji
    The ronin Sakamoto Ryoma, formerly of Tosa.
[04:01] Hajime
    Never heard of him.
[04:03] Assassin A
    Anegakoji!
[04:05] Assassin A
    Prepare to die!
[04:06] Guard A
    We're under attack!
[04:07] Guard B
    What?
[04:13] Guard A
    After him! Don't let him escape!
[04:15] Guard B
    Halt!
[04:18] Anegakoji
    You're formidable! Formidable indeed!
[04:22] Hajime
    You think I'd let that loser beat me?
[04:28] Anegakoji
    And confident! Hajime, you intrigue me.
[04:33] Todo
    How's Nio doing?
[04:35] Taro
    Not good. He won't leave his room.
[04:38] Todo
    But I thought his fever went down.
    Is something still affecting him?
[04:43] Nagakura
    A matter of the heart, no doubt.
[04:45] Harada
    I don't get it.
[04:47] Harada
    I mean, what's done is done, right?
[04:50] Okita
    Sometimes, Sanosuke-san,
    you cut right to the heart of things.
[04:54] Harada
    Huh? How do you mean?
[04:56] Taro
    Nio...
[04:58] Todo
    Nio might be out of commission for a while.
[05:03] Harada
    And Serizawa?
[05:04] Nagakura
    He's given over the room to Nio.
[05:07] (Flashback) Serizawa
    Let him use it until he's feeling better.
[05:11] Nagakura
    Even he has his good points.
[05:13] Todo
    Hajime's out, Gen-san's working the fields,
    and Yamanami-san's writing something.
[05:30] Anegakoji
    You served well, Hajime.
[05:32] Anegakoji
    Farewell!
[05:34] Iroha
    See you, Hajime-chan!
[05:37] Hajime
    I don't need you to see me off.
[05:40] Hajime
    Damn it.
[05:43] Old Nagakura
    And so, Hajime completed
    his guard duty in safety.
[05:48] Old Nagakura
    However...
[05:50] Old Nagakura
    That night, three assassins
    claimed Anegakoji's life.
[05:56] Old Nagakura
    It would come to be known as
    the "Incident Outside Sakuhei Gate."
[06:03] Harada
    A court noble got killed?
[06:06] Todo
    The killer dropped his scabbard.
[06:09] Todo
    Rumor has it the deed was done by
    Tanaka Shinbei, an assassin from Satsuma.
[06:13] Yamanami
    Aizu seems frantic to track him down.
[06:20] Granny
    What a shame.
[06:22] Granny
    A crying shame.
[06:25] Granny
    Iroha sent this. It's a letter for you.
[06:38] Iroha
    "Hiya, Hajime-chan!"
[06:41] Iroha
    "It's your favorite girl, Iroha!
    How have you been?"
[06:47] Iroha
    "I bet you're down in the dumps,
    and I thought maybe I could cheer you up."
[06:52] Iroha
    "Oh, about Anegakoji-sama..."
[06:56] Iroha
    "He adopted a son the other day."
[06:59] Iroha
    "A little boy. Just four years old."
[07:03] Iroha
    "The day after you drove off those ruffians,"
[07:06] Iroha
    "they played kemari together
    for the first time."
[07:10] Iroha
    "Anegakoji-sama was over the moon."
[07:15] Iroha
    I'd like to think helping him live
    even one extra day counted for something.
[07:29] Hajime
    Tanaka Shinbei.
[07:39] Sakura
    Nio-kun, Nagi-san was worried about you.
[07:45] Sakura
    She thought you'd be even more hurt
    if she died without saying anything.
[07:50] Sakura
    That's why she lashed out
    at you so fiercely.
[07:54] Sakuhei
    She was treating you as an adult.
[08:00] Gatekeeper A
    You want to catch Tanaka Shinbei?
[08:03] Gatekeeper A
    Forget it, kid.
     Shinbei the Killer is no joke.
[08:08] Gatekeeper A
    He's a Jigen School swordsman.
[08:10] Fujita
    You can tell him.
[08:12] Gatekeeper A
    Fujita-san.
[08:15] Fujita
    Saito-san, I would like your assistance.
[08:20] Hajime
    Try to keep up, Fujita.
[08:23] Fujita
    Yes, sir!
[08:27] Taro
    You know, I don't think
    you did anything wrong.
[08:33] Taro
    Maybe you weren't quite tough
    enough to see it through, but still.
[08:37] Taro
    Before I joined the Miburo, I'd given up.
    I figured that was just life.
[08:45] Taro
    But you told me we have souls, remember?
[08:52] Taro
    It sucks how things turned out this time,
[08:57] Taro
    and I don't know what
    to say to you about it,
[09:01] Taro
    but what can any of us do except
    keep chasing our... "ideals," I guess?
[09:08] Taro
    Even if it goes wrong,
    no matter how many times we fail,
[09:15] Taro
    what else can we do?
[09:24] Taro
    Damn it. What the hell is your problem?
[09:30] Hijikata
    Well said, Taro.
[09:34] Hijikata
    I agree.
[09:41] Aizu Samurai A
    That's Shinbei's hideout.
[09:44] Fujita
    We'll go in from the front.
[09:46] Fujita
    The rest of you cover the back door.
[09:49] Fujita
    Don't let him see you.
[09:50] Aizu Samurai A
    Yes, sir.
[09:53] Fujita
    We'll wait until he settles
    down for the evening.
[10:06] Yamanami
    Excuse me.
[10:07] Nio
    Yamanami-san.
[10:09] Yamanami
    You could use a haircut.
[10:22] Nio
    I got it all wrong.
[10:28] Nio
    I ran in blindly, just waving
    my ideals around and stirring up trouble.
[10:35] Nio
    Things only worked out by chance,
    because I got help from the people around me.
[10:41] Fujita
    Tanaka Shinbei, you're under arrest.
[10:44] Shinbei
    Says who?
[10:46] Yamanami
    What's so wrong with having ideals?
[10:49] Nio
    But even my ideals
    turned out to be nebulous.
[10:53] Nio
    They weren't worth preaching about.
[10:59] Yamanami
    Human beings progress
    through ideals and philosophy.
[11:04] Yamanami
    Isn't that what makes us
     beautiful and noble?
[11:07] Yamanami
    Results and outcomes are no more than that.
[11:10] Yamanami
    We are not animals.
[11:13] Yamanami
    We have a dream we call "hope."
[11:16] Yamanami
    Your attitude and actions in pursuit of it
     shape your individual humanity.
[11:23] Yamanami
    Never forget: You did it.
[11:28] Yamanami
    You should be proud.
[11:30] Yamanami
    Don't stop in your tracks.
[11:34] Yamanami
    That's what it means
    to have an exalted soul.
[11:51] Nio
    Nagi-san.
[11:57] Nio
    Yotaro-san. Naozumi-san.
[12:04] Nagi
    Thanks for everything.
[12:14] Old Nagakura
    Tanaka Shinbei was captured
    and accused of Anegakoji's murder.
[12:20] Old Nagakura
    Confronted with the evidence of the scabbard,
    he took his own life on the spot.
[12:25] Old Nagakura
    Blame extended to Satsuma,
    and the domain lost influence at court.
[12:33] Old Nagakura
    The truth remains a mystery to this day.
[12:48] Taro
    P-Please forgive me, sir!
[12:50] Taro
    I dozed off and—
[12:53] Nio
    I'll get stronger. So strong,
    no one can argue with me.
[12:58] Nio
    So strong, no one can complain.
[13:01] Taro
    N-Nio.
[13:05] Nio
    Sorry for worrying you.
[13:08] Nio
    Thank you. I'm fine now.
[13:12] Taro
    Nio!
[13:16] Taro
    Thank goodness!
[13:20] Taro
    I was worried sick about you, jackass!
[13:21] Nio
    I'll start with one tatami's worth.
[13:28] Okita
    Man, you must be so relieved.
[13:30] Hijikata
    I... I was never worried!
[13:32] Kondo
    Aren't you glad?
[13:34] Hajime
    Damn, that hurts.
[13:41] Iroha
    "P.S. Hajime-chan..."
[13:44] Iroha
    "I know my brother will be fine."
[13:47] Nio
    Hey!
[13:48] Iroha
    "I'm not worried about him."
[13:51] Nio
    Hajime-kun!
[13:53] Taro
    Where the hell have you been?
[13:58] Nio
    They say our coats are finally ready!
    The Miburo uniforms we ordered!
[14:03] Iroha
    "After all..."
[14:05] Taro
    Hey, how come you're walking funny?
[14:06] Iroha
    "...he has people like you by his side."
[14:08] Taro
    And you look beat to hell.
[14:10] Hajime
    Shove it.
[14:11] Hajime
    Now, let's go get those coats.
[14:12] Nio
    Not that way, Hajime-kun. It's this way.
[14:15] Hajime
    I know that!
[14:17] Old Nagakura
    In May of 1863, the Choshu domain
    convinced Shogun Iemochi
[14:24] Old Nagakura
    to swear to "expel the barbarians"
    in the Emperor's presence.
[14:28] Old Nagakura
    Hearing his promise, Choshu bombarded
    foreign ships in the Bakan Straits.
[14:35] Old Nagakura
    They dealt a devastating blow.
[14:38] Old Nagakura
    And those chaotic times moved ever faster.
[14:44] Kikuchiyo
    So you would have me return to Edo?
[14:47] Vassal A
    Yes, my lord. War with
    foreign powers is now inevitable.
[14:51] Vassal A
    What could be more vital than returning
     to Edo to oversee defense of the bay?
[14:57] Kikuchiyo
    Very well. Let us do that.
[15:00] Vassals
    Yes, my lord.
[15:02] Vassal A
    Whew. Good thing he didn't make a fuss.
[15:06] Vassal A
    He sure has matured.
[15:11] Kikuchiyo
    Kagemaru.
[15:12] Kagemaru
    Here, my lord.
[15:13] Kikuchiyo
    So, what, they're done with me now?!
[15:15] Kikuchiyo
    Damn Choshu!
[15:17] Kikuchiyo
    The jackasses actually went and did it!
[15:20] Kagemaru
    My lord, calm yourself.
[15:22] Kikuchiyo
    Brainless nobles! Stupid emperor!
[15:28] Kikuchiyo
    It's the money.
[15:30] Kagemaru
    Money, my lord?
[15:32] Kikuchiyo
    Choshu will obviously lose!
[15:35] Kikuchiyo
    And the victors will demand reparations!
[15:37] Kikuchiyo
    But Choshu won't be able to pay!
[15:40] Kikuchiyo
    The Shogunate will be forced
    to shoulder their debts!
[15:44] Kikuchiyo
    Well, that's part of what I'm here for.
[15:48] Kikuchiyo
    But my one regret is for this city of Kyoto.
[15:52] Kikuchiyo
    Anegakoji has been murdered.
[15:55] Kikuchiyo
    More and more factions will use
    violence to press their claims now.
[16:00] Kikuchiyo
    Tragedies will become ever more common.
[16:03] Kagemaru
    On that point,
    I think you need have no fear.
[16:10] Kikuchiyo
    What?
[16:16] Taro
    Hey, Nio!
[16:18] Taro
    We have those manju to snack on.
    Let's eat 'em already.
[16:20] Taro
    What? You're still going at it?
[16:23] Okita
    I told him to take a breather,
    but look at him go.
[16:29] Nio
    I'll just keep swinging and swinging.
[16:32] Nio
    There's nothing else to do.
[16:35] Nio
    I know I'm soft.
[16:37] Nio
    And I know I've gotten away
    with things because I'm a kid.
[16:42] Nio
    For who? For what?
[16:45] Nio
    For me? For my own self-satisfaction?
[16:50] Nio
    That's good enough.
[16:52] Nio
    I'll take it all the way.
[16:56] Okita
    His swing changed.
[16:58] Okita
    Nio-kun—
[16:59] Todo
    Hey!
[17:01] Todo
    Lord Iemochi's going home to Edo.
[17:08] Harada
    What'll happen to us?
[17:10] Hajime
    Why should we care?
[17:12] Yamanami
    Because the Roshigumi originally
    came to Kyoto to guard the Shogun.
[17:19] Taro
    Huh? S-So you're gonna leave?
[17:21] Taro
    Wh-What'll happen to me?
[17:23] Todo
    What about Serizawa's bunch?
    Can we talk them round?
[17:29] Nagakura
    I suppose it would make sense
    for us to return to Edo as well.
[17:34] Hijikata
    No.
[17:36] Hijikata
    Guarding the Shogun is a pretext.
[17:39] Hijikata
    We follow our own path.
[17:51] Vassal A
    Make way for His Lordship, the Shogun!
[18:00] Townsfolk
    It's Lord Iemochi.
[18:01] Townsfolk
    That's him?
[18:02] Townsfolk
    He holds himself with
    all the dignity you'd expect.
[18:06] Townsfolk
    He's got some shady guy with him, though.
[18:09] Vassal A
    His Lordship certainly looks impressive.
[18:12] Vassal B
    Indeed.
[18:13] Townsman A
    His Lordship's leaving already?
[18:16] Townsman A
    Why did he even come here?
[18:20] Vassal A
    Such insolence! Who said that?
[18:24] Kikuchiyo
    No mind. Leave him be.
[18:26] Townsman A
    Ow, ow, ow!
[18:31] Serizawa
    You got a bit too carried away,
     don't you think?
[18:36] Nio
    Serizawa-san, we shouldn't spoil
    the Shogun's procession.
[18:40] Kikuchiyo
    Nio.
[18:43] Serizawa
    Next time we meet, you're dead.
[18:47] Vassal A
    Have no fear. He was no rebel,
    just a lowly nobody. Pay him no heed.
[19:07] (Flashback) Nio
    You picked this word, Kondo-san?
SIGN    Heart
SIGN    Superior
SIGN    Justice
SIGN    Stylish
SIGN    War
SIGN    Decisive
SIGN    Flame
SIGN    Loyalty
SIGN    Heaven
[19:10] (Flashback) Kondo
    Yes. I chose it from the ones you wrote.
[19:14] (Flashback) Kondo
    The times may twist,
    but our lives will go straight ahead.
[19:17] (Flashback) Kondo
    That's our way.
[19:21] (Flashback) Kondo
    And yours.
[19:24] Kagemaru
    They originally came to Kyoto
    to guard Your Lordship,
[19:28] Kagemaru
    but for the present, they aim
    to improve law and order here.
[19:34] Kagemaru
    Sure enough, they've chosen to remain.
    So this city, at least, will be safe.
[19:43] Kikuchiyo
    I see. They'll be here, then.
[19:47] Kagemaru
    Yes, my lord.
[19:52] (Flashback) Kikuchiyo
    What is the way of the sword to you?
[19:57] (Flashback) Kikuchiyo
    Tell me your answer when we meet again.
[20:02] Kikuchiyo
    Nio, is that your answer?
SIGN    Sincerity
[20:14] Taro
    He's changed.
[20:16] Taro
    I can't put my finger on it,
    but something seems different.
[20:21] Okita
    I can tell.
[20:22] Okita
    No doubt everyone can.
[20:25] Okita
    Even you.
[20:29] Okita
    And you.
[20:32] Okita
    And all of you.
[20:42] Boy A
    How do you like this?
[20:44] Boy B
    You'll never beat me!
[20:45] Boy A
    Ow!
[20:46] Boy A
    Don't hit for real!
[20:48] Boy B
    Aw, come on. Don't be a wimp.
[20:55] Old Nagakura
    When a boy loses something,
    he becomes a man.
[21:01] Old Nagakura
    He can only know that feeling by
    experiencing and overcoming it firsthand.
[21:23] Kikuchiyo
    I'm counting on you!
[21:27] Vassal A
    My lord?
SIGN    Sincerity
[21:41] Nio
    We won't let you down.
SIGN    The Blue Oath