Skip to main content

E21 - Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Act Zero Part Two

Source: Crunchyroll
Translator:
Editor:
Timer:
QC:
(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.)
[00:01] ---
    This one is an outstanding swordsman
    even among our experts.
[00:06] ---
    His price is quite high. Can you pay it?
[00:10] ---
    Hmph!
[00:16] ---
    This is smallpox virus.
[00:20] ---
    Smallpox.
[00:22] ---
    In Japanese, it is known
    as ten'nento, hoso, and toso.

[00:25] ---
    It is an infectious disease
    caused by the smallpox virus.

[00:30] ---
    It is very infectious among humans
    and was feared as a lethal disease.

[00:38] ---
    If I spread this in the streets
    and create patients,
[00:41] ---
    I can make as much money as I want.
[00:44] ---
    No matter how high his price is,
    there are no problems whatsoever.
[00:50] ---
    Well, all right.
[00:51] ---
    Hate to say this after all that, but...
[00:54] ---
    it's a part of my job to be well aware
[00:57] ---
    that low-quality medicine
    is completely useless.
[01:00] ---
    The same can be said for bodyguards.
[01:05] ---
    I'm going to spend a large sum of money.
    I would like to check his qualities.
[01:10] ---
    Hmph. All that will do
    is make your bodyguard useless.
[01:17] ---
    Oh?
[01:20] ---
    That sword has quite a unique shape.
[01:25] ---
    Look here!
[01:27] ---
    You think you can win
    against my metal club
[01:31] ---
    with such a wispy little stick?
[01:33] ---
    I'll teach you a lesson!
[01:40] ---
    Oh!
[01:43] ---
    What the hell just happened?
[01:46] ---
    Eastern katana or Western sword,
    which is stronger?
[01:52] ---
    Time for a showdown, Hitokiri Battosai!
[03:26] ---
    EPISODE 21:
    MEIJI SWORDSMAN
    ROMANTIC STORY,
    ACT ZERO
    PART TWO
[03:31] ---
    In any case...
[03:33] ---
    I was surprised that you were a lady
    in a man's clothing, that I was.
[03:38] ---
    This isn't just limited to doctors.
[03:41] ---
    In the world
    of male-dominated occupations,
[03:44] ---
    women are almost never trusted,
    regardless of how skilled they are.
[03:49] ---
    In reality, nurses and helpers
    are trusted a lot more in my case.
[03:55] ---
    Even in the West, that is?
[03:57] ---
    Yes.
[03:59] ---
    That is why I decided to wear
    platform shoes and a derby hat,
[04:03] ---
    fabricate a voice and mannerisms,
    and put a mask over my face.
[04:07] ---
    I was surprised at your change in guise,
[04:11] ---
    but a voice isn't something
    that can easily change.
[04:14] ---
    You must have done
    quite a bit of training, that you did.
[04:16] ---
    I've always been good at stuff like this.
[04:19] ---
    Back in my homeland,
    I often did one-man shows.
[04:23] ---
    O Romeo...
[04:25] ---
    Juliet!
[04:26] ---
    Wherefore art thou Romeo?
[04:28] ---
    Whoa!
[04:33] ---
    But still...
[04:36] ---
    A mask?
[04:36] ---
    Mysterious.
[04:38] ---
    Is he really a doctor?
[04:40] ---
    Better to stay out of this.
[04:43] ---
    This is a tale of hardship, that it is.
[04:45] ---
    Now that you are dressing like a man,
[04:48] ---
    you end up being treated
    as some mysterious person.
[04:50] ---
    It's fine.
[04:52] ---
    This is how I chose to live my life.
[04:56] ---
    If there is a world behind this mask
    where everyone can live in good health...
[05:03] ---
    Oh, that sounds a bit too grandiose.
[05:06] ---
    No.
[05:08] ---
    That was unnecessary scrutiny,
    that it was.
[05:10] ---
    I will take my leave now, that I will.
[05:13] ---
    Huh?
[05:14] ---
    I can't possibly stay here now that
    I know you are a lady, that I can't.
[05:19] ---
    Miss Elder.
[05:20] ---
    Yes?
[05:22] ---
    Mr. Dankichi has quite a bit
    of trust in you.
[05:26] ---
    And that mother and child is sure to be
    happy about what you did, that they will.
[05:32] ---
    The way you chose to live is most likely
    not a mistake, that it isn't.
[05:37] ---
    See you.
[05:48] ---
    Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu,
    I had heard about it before...

[05:54] ---
    but I didn't think it actually existed.
[05:58] ---
    Have you ever slain men
    with this Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu?

[06:02] ---
    No.
[06:03] ---
    Then, do you think you can slay men?
[06:10] ---
    If there is a new era
    where everyone can live at ease...

[06:16] ---
    beyond my bloodstained blade
    and the lives of the victims...

[06:21] ---
    If there is a world behind this mask
    where everyone can live in good health...

[06:35] ---
    Oro?
[06:40] ---
    Doc! Dr. Elder!
[06:43] ---
    What is exactly the matter, Mr. Dankichi?
[06:46] ---
    Huh? I heard that you
    already received the message.
[06:50] ---
    Oh, well. Please come with me.
[06:54] ---
    An emergency call?
[06:55] ---
    No. They specified the time, so I
    don't think this is an emergency call.
[07:00] ---
    Specified the time? In the darkest
    of the night, right before dawn?
[07:06] ---
    This is strange.
[07:08] ---
    This is strange.
[07:09] ---
    Wait! There's someone
    in the middle of the road!
[07:12] ---
    Look out! Out of the way!
[07:20] ---
    The hell is that?
[07:21] ---
    What's he up to?
[07:23] ---
    Out of the way!
[07:24] ---
    Destornillador Sable Estillo...
[07:28] ---
    Tormenta Infierno!
[07:39] ---
    We didn't have to come out here to watch.
    That guy is amazing!
[07:43] ---
    It's important that I witness it
    with my own eyes.
[07:46] ---
    I don't trust anyone in this world.
[07:49] ---
    Not even you.
[07:51] ---
    Huh?
[07:52] ---
    Twisting his body to the limit
[07:54] ---
    and using the resulting spinning force
    to gain maximum power...
[07:59] ---
    that is what
    Destornillador Sable Estillo is about.
[08:05] ---
    Doc!
[08:06] ---
    Where is the samurai?
[08:08] ---
    Huh?
[08:08] ---
    That man with the cross-shaped scar.
[08:11] ---
    Let go of that hand.
[08:16] ---
    I forgot to hand Mr. Elder
    this message earlier.
[08:19] ---
    It took a bit of effort to have it
    translated into Japanese at the hotel.
[08:23] ---
    But it was a message
    to lure Mr. Elder out.
[08:26] ---
    Mr. Rurouni...
[08:29] ---
    A cross-shaped scar indeed.
[08:31] ---
    A samurai indeed.
[08:34] ---
    As men who have truly mastered
    swordsmanship, I challenge you to a duel.
[08:40] ---
    I want to know who is
    the superior swordsman.
[08:44] ---
    The legendary man said to be
    the strongest man ever!
[08:48] ---
    Hitokiri Battosai!
[08:52] ---
    Murdering many a leading figure
    as an assassin
[08:55] ---
    and fighting multiple veterans in the
    Bakumatsu Era as a mercenary swordsman!
[09:01] ---
    You are without a doubt one of
    the strongest samurai, Hitokiri Battosai!
[09:07] ---
    I did away with that name
    10 years ago, that I did.
[09:09] ---
    How absurd!
[09:11] ---
    You did away with your name?
    Then what is that katana on your waist?
[09:15] ---
    Now draw it!
[09:16] ---
    Draw it, and fight me!
[09:33] ---
    If you wish it that badly,
    I have no other choice.
[09:42] ---
    Apologies for the rough handling.
[09:49] ---
    I hear that a katana
    is the soul of a samurai.
[09:57] ---
    Now unleash that soul of yours!
[10:00] ---
    Before the days of the sword
    becomes completely extinct!
[10:04] ---
    Tormenta Infierno!
[10:08] ---
    That thrust!
[10:11] ---
    Don't take the blow!
[10:13] ---
    You'll spin around and get blown away!
[10:22] ---
    Tempestar Infierno!
[10:39] ---
    Hmph.
[10:41] ---
    That saber was altered for toughness,
[10:45] ---
    and Espiral trained his body
    to physically altered levels,
[10:49] ---
    but every technique unleashed was dodged
    perfectly within a paper-thin margin.
[10:52] ---
    I'd expect nothing less
    from the legendary manslayer.
[11:00] ---
    It seems we'll see the ultimate
    Destornillador Sable Estillo technique
[11:05] ---
    for the first time in a while.
[11:08] ---
    What the hell is that?
    His body is completely twisted!
[11:13] ---
    We are the final samurai
    and the final swordsman.
[11:17] ---
    Who will be the last one standing?
[11:20] ---
    Let us decide now!
[11:26] ---
    RUROUNI KENSHIN
[11:31] ---
    We are the final samurai
    and the final swordsman.
[11:36] ---
    Who will be the last one standing?
[11:39] ---
    Let us decide now!
[11:41] ---
    Take this! My strongest,
    fastest, ultimate attack!
[11:45] ---
    Tornado Infierno!
[11:53] ---
    Mr. Rurouni!
[12:07] ---
    He did it!
[12:11] ---
    Oh, my.
[12:12] ---
    He took the force
    of Espiral's ultimate attack
[12:15] ---
    and added it to his own slashing attack
    to slam it back.
[12:27] ---
    The last one standing is the samurai.
[12:31] ---
    Ah, well, if someone of your caliber
[12:34] ---
    is going to slay me,
    I couldn't wish for more.
[12:38] ---
    Now give me the final blow.
[12:41] ---
    How scandalous.
[12:42] ---
    Look closely, that you should.
[12:45] ---
    This is my current katana.
[12:48] ---
    Sakabato?
[12:50] ---
    My Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu is a murderous
    sword that most certainly butchers men.
[12:56] ---
    That is, unless I use this creative katana
    to prevent me from murdering them.
[13:04] ---
    A katana is a samurai's soul.
[13:07] ---
    I see.
[13:09] ---
    So that is your current soul.
[13:13] ---
    A different caliber,
    in both skill and class!
[13:16] ---
    Damn it! Then at least—
[13:24] ---
    "Smallpox"!
[13:26] ---
    Whoa!
[13:27] ---
    That's smallpox virus!
    It's very dangerous!
[13:38] ---
    O smallpox!
[13:39] ---
    Ride the wind,
    and spread all over Yokohama!
[13:42] ---
    And amid all of the confusion,
    I will make a run for it!
[13:59] ---
    The score has been settled.
[14:00] ---
    Don't further tarnish my defeat.
[14:05] ---
    Ishizu, damn you!
[14:12] ---
    I am satisfied with being able
    to witness a great fight.
[14:15] ---
    I surrender.
[14:38] ---
    You saved me?
[14:41] ---
    All injured and sick
    are equal as my patients.
[14:44] ---
    Is that so?
[14:46] ---
    Yes.
[14:48] ---
    In an era where swords are going extinct,
[14:50] ---
    I sought to be the strongest
    at the sword.
[14:54] ---
    However...
[14:55] ---
    even that was smashed
    in front of an Eastern samurai.
[15:00] ---
    I have no reason to live,
    even if my wounds were to heal.
[15:06] ---
    Seeking to be the best
[15:08] ---
    despite being in an era where
    swordsmanship is meeting its end...
[15:12] ---
    I believe that is something
    to be proud of.
[15:15] ---
    However, when your goals are too large,
    you tend to get lost.
[15:22] ---
    Nobody would ever carry a map of Japan
    just to tour Yokohama, would they?
[15:28] ---
    I have gotten lost along the way?
[15:35] ---
    Indeed, that may be the case.
[15:41] ---
    Ishizu has been arrested,
[15:43] ---
    and the middleman
    has been deported, that is.
[15:46] ---
    Then we have peace of mind.
[15:49] ---
    From my eyes, this is far
    from peace of mind, that it is.
[15:54] ---
    It was an honor to fight you, Battosai.
[15:58] ---
    No, you said you had already
    rid yourself of that name.
[16:02] ---
    I am a rurouni.
[16:04] ---
    I am a traveling swordsman, that I am.
[16:06] ---
    I am Espiral.
[16:08] ---
    I felt despair at the closure
    of the era of swords.
[16:12] ---
    However, I realized when Dr. Elder told me
[16:15] ---
    that I would get lost using a map
    that was too broad...
[16:19] ---
    it's not bad to live with smaller hopes,
[16:23] ---
    instead of despairing
    over something as large as an era.
[16:27] ---
    Smaller hopes?
[16:30] ---
    As long as I continue to be a swordsman,
    the era of swords does not end for me.
[16:36] ---
    That's how I decided to think.
[16:39] ---
    And so...
[16:42] ---
    That sword...
[16:44] ---
    Just like how you switched to a sakabato
    from a man-slaying katana,
[16:48] ---
    I swapped out my twisted blade
    for a straight one.
[16:51] ---
    I chose to become a swordsman
    to protect Dr. Elder.
[16:55] ---
    Though I will be all right on my own.
[16:58] ---
    At the least, let me accompany you to your
    next port of call in the United States.
[17:03] ---
    I gave in to his persistence.
[17:05] ---
    I see.
[17:06] ---
    Yesterday's foe
    is today's ally, that it is.
[17:09] ---
    Yes.
[17:11] ---
    Mr. Elder, you and Mr. Espiral
    will be leaving the country now?
[17:16] ---
    - Yes.
    - Yeah.
[17:18] ---
    Fare you well.
[17:30] ---
    I will go through
    the embarking procedures.
[17:33] ---
    I'm happy that you will see us off.
[17:35] ---
    When someone sees me off,
[17:36] ---
    I feel like they will welcome me back
    the next time I drop by.
[17:41] ---
    It wasn't just me, that it wasn't.
[17:43] ---
    Huh?
[17:44] ---
    Doc! Dr. Elder!
[17:47] ---
    I heard it from Dankichi!
[17:49] ---
    You protected the settlement
    from that scum, Deian?
[17:52] ---
    Come by again!
[17:54] ---
    My mom is all better now!
[17:56] ---
    Thanks!
[17:58] ---
    Thank you very much!
[17:59] ---
    You'll have a lot of people
    welcoming you next time, that you will.
[18:03] ---
    Thank you so much!
[18:05] ---
    Everyone, please stay healthy!
[18:07] ---
    Whoa! What a hot lady!
[18:11] ---
    Fare you well. Please be of help
[18:14] ---
    to those who are ailing from injury
    or illness, that you should.
[18:18] ---
    Yes. I will do my best
[18:20] ---
    so that as many people as possible
    can live in good health.
[18:29] ---
    Such a large scar.
[18:30] ---
    It seems like an old sword cut,
[18:33] ---
    but it somehow looks
    like it was created recently.
[18:37] ---
    Your mind and your body are connected
[18:39] ---
    far more deeply and powerfully
    than you can imagine.
[18:43] ---
    I don't know what happened in your past.
[18:47] ---
    But if that past is linked to that scar...
[18:50] ---
    how about you move to a new land
    and start living a completely new life?
[18:56] ---
    It's called change-of-air therapy.
[18:58] ---
    Leaving an area
    that you're used to living in
[19:00] ---
    and putting yourself
    in a different environment
[19:02] ---
    will bring you peace of mind and healing.
[19:06] ---
    I appreciate your attentiveness.
[19:08] ---
    However, my past
    is something I chose for myself.
[19:13] ---
    I can't just let it go, that I can't.
[19:16] ---
    I will keep both the past
    and the scar as is.
[19:21] ---
    And at the very least, with this sword...
[19:23] ---
    I will protect as many people
    that catch my eye as I can, that I will.
[19:30] ---
    Indeed so.
[19:31] ---
    If a katana is a samurai's soul,
[19:34] ---
    for you, wielding that no-kill katana,
    that way of life is likely the best fit.
[21:13] ---
    And that was how the story went,
    that it was.
[21:15] ---
    Hey, Kenshin,
    just how long ago did that story happen?
[21:19] ---
    Let's see.
[21:21] ---
    I think it was about five days
[21:22] ---
    before I started living
    at Kamiya Dojo, that it was.
[21:25] ---
    Five days?
[21:26] ---
    So this story was that recent, huh?
[21:29] ---
    I totally thought it was
    a story from way in the past.
[21:33] ---
    I didn't say I was going
    to tell you an old tale, that I didn't.
[21:36] ---
    Well, that's true.
[21:38] ---
    But if so,
    there is something that bothers me.
[21:41] ---
    Oro?
[21:42] ---
    If you excuse me...
[21:48] ---
    Ken-san, you know...
[21:49] ---
    you said that you could smell
    the daphnes in the garden,
[21:52] ---
    but you couldn't smell the black tea.
[21:55] ---
    That is correct, that it is.
[21:57] ---
    But, Kenshin, you said right now
    that this tea was really tasty.
[22:03] ---
    Oh, that's right.
[22:05] ---
    Then you're fine.
[22:10] ---
    One last piece of advice as a doctor.
[22:14] ---
    No matter what the injury or illness,
    you need rest on top of treatment.
[22:20] ---
    It is important to settle down
    in one location
[22:22] ---
    and soothe your mind and body over time.
[22:26] ---
    If, in the future, you ever come across
    someone that calls for you...
[22:31] ---
    please do try
    and pause your journey at that time.
[22:38] ---
    All right.
[22:40] ---
    I will keep that in mind, that I will.
[22:45] ---
    NEXT EPISODE
    RESURRECTION OF THE WOLF
[22:46] ---
    Next episode, "Resurrection of the Wolf."