02x04 - Bungo Stray Dog

[bunniefuu]

Good night, Kosuke.

Good night. Katsumi.

Good night. You.

Good night. Shinji.

Good night. Sakura.

Rest in peace.

I'll be off.

I'd like to start by thanking you for coming here today.

To reiterate, this meeting will be off the record.

I appreciate your invitation. How does it feel

to be back at your original post?

I'll ask you not to torment our

junior staff member, if you would.

That all right with you, Mr. Boss? Man?

My darling Elise wanted me to bring

back some ice cream for her.

Any good suggestions? As a government employee? Chief Tanida.

Now you're making me feel all warm and toasty.

That reminds me. Actually, I should bring something back for our people.

Something they'd really appreciate. Like your head on a silver platter.

If we may, I'd like to proceed

with the negotiations of Mr. Mori.

The Gifted Operations Division has two requests.

To begin with, the Port Mafia will

yield any interest in myself and will not harm my person.

And secondly, they will dispose of the gifted

organization Mimic who has illegally entered our country.

I have no qualms regarding the first request.

The second one is a bit more difficult, however.

After all, they certainly are quite a terrifying bunch.

Well, can you make it worth our while?

OTA Saku.

I know what you're thinking right now, but you can't do it.

Even if you did, it wouldn't bring the kids back.

That's what you were going to say, right?

They still rival us in terms of sheer numbers.

And then their location makes them.

You don't have to tell me. I already

know. They sent me an invitation.

Listen to me. The boss had a

meeting with the Gifted Operations division.

I'm not sure what it was about,

but I have a feeling there's more going on here..

That has nothing to do with me anymore.

I'm finished with all this. Go to..

School. I know this is the last

thing you want to hear, but now more than ever.

Go find a new purpose. Anything at all.

Find something to pursue and follow where it goes.

I know there's more out there for you.

Hey, did I ever tell you why

I joined the Port mafia in the first place?

I had hoped it would help me find my purpose.

Death and carnage. Hope and despair. I wanted

a way to observe humanity's true nature.

And there's no better place than a b*ttlefield at will to live.

And I thought that being around it would

help me find my own flute. My dream was to become a writer.

I was afraid that if I ever

k*lled again, I'd lose that future forever.

That's why I stopped Otosaka. But that

dream is gone. Don't go, please.

There's only one thing left that I want..

To suck you.. Up.

One. Forget that. My heaven. Jack Tick, tick, tick.

Hey, what's the big idea? Huh? You should take a moment to

look where you're going next time.

You gonna damage these precious detective tools of mine.

Detective? Huh? Not any detective. I'm a genius.

And soon there won't be anybody in

Japan who doesn't know my name.

I am the best detective the world has ever known. Sorry.

You'll take me seriously once you experience my ability.

Don't be writing me off just yet. Let's see.

I know the two of us have only just met,

but it's very unwise to go where you're headed right now.

You should reconsider.

If you go there, you'll die.

Yeah.

I know.

Do you want me to end it? Yes. k*ll me.

Do you have any last words? Thank you for a glorious battle.

Our leader is still up ahead. Please

save him as well from this nightmare. All right. I will.

Well, if it isn't Darci. How rare of you to come visit?

Boss. I'd like to request permission to organize

a gifted squad to save Otokojuku.

Very well. Permission granted. But first, may

I ask why you're doing this?

Even as we speak, he's out there all alone,

fighting against Mimic at their headquarters.

If we do nothing, we will surely lose a valuable, gifted agent.

I understand what you're saying, but I very

much doubt ODA has any intention of being saved by anyone.

I don't believe you disagree.

Listen, Darci, as the leader here, I am both

the pinnacle of this organization as well

as its servant for the sake of our survival.

I must make whatever sacrifices are necessary, no matter the cost.

Wait. That envelope.

I see. I get it now.

Where do you think you're going? To save Otosaka.

Verily. Verily, I say unto you, unless a kernel

of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abideth alone.

But if it dies, But if it..

Dies, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Gospel of John Chapter , verse .

You are better read than you look. Sakunosuke.

I deeply apologize for the children, but

it seems to have yielded results.

Your eyes are like mine now. You

look like a man who has forsaken

this mortal coil just like us.

You finally come to our world. I bid you welcome.

It appears there's no progress to be made this way.

It would seem not.

Well, then, guess

we'll just have to fight without our predictive abilities.

Indeed, you're absolutely right, Sakunosuke. You truly are a perfect specimen.

Our conversation isn't over yet. Stay a while.

I've been mulling things over for a while.

The relationship between the Port Mafia mimic and the special Black Ops,

or, to be more precise, the gifted Special Operations Division.

It always felt like this conflict was being controlled by someone.

Such a bold and intricate design could have

only been attributed to your handiwork.

That black envelope there was your reward

for that brilliant piece of engineering.

No matter how powerful the Port mafia may become,

we will always exist with the weight

of the gifted Special Operations Division bearing

down on us in perpetual fear of inciting their ire.

So you made a deal to wipe Mimmick off the map,

and in return, they would agree to issue this permit to you.

Our organization would benefit immensely with this

in your possession. The Gifted Business permit.

Sokolowski. You're exquisite. I'll accompany you to your end.

What?

Is this the ability singularity that Mongo mentioned?

This is the future I sought to realize.

Why did you want this? Why did

you decide to abstain from k*lling?

My dream was to become a writer.

A man told me long ago that was my true calling.

He gave me a very rare book.

It was the conclusion to a series

that I was never able to find.

The man told me it was completely uninspired.

And what was your impression of it?

I thought. It was an absolutely wonderful story.

Boss. You were the one who helped mimic enter this country illegally.

You invited them to Yokohama in order

to prompt the ministry's gifted operations division to finally take action.

Correct. As a result, we now possess this very coveted permit.

This practically legalizes a great many of our activities,

giving our people a safe haven while

odor tidies up the loose ends at the cost of his life.

This is a true victory. You're telling

by your face you don't seem to be happy about it.

Those orphans that Otis Saku worked so hard to take care of,

You told Mimic about them, didn't you?

You needed the cooperation of the only

person who could be a match for their

leader. That's why you manipulated him.

Just a moment.

You're not leaving quite yet.

Explain yourself. What possible benefit is there

in going to his aid now?

There are two things that I wish to say to you, boss.

First off, you won't have your men g*n me down,

nor will you do the job yourself.

What makes you so certain you .. Gain nothing by doing so?

In the same fashion, I believe you have

nothing to gain by defying me and rushing to his side.

That brings me to my second item.

There may be no political gain to be had.

Even so, I do have a reason to leave.

Because Otosaka is my friend.

Oh.

Oh, me?

Did you just enjoy? The last book in the series was

magnificent, but there was one issue.

Several pages had been cut out near the end of it.

Then why don't you.. Write it

just before the missing section in question? There was the following paragraph.

People live only to save themselves. You will

understand this at the moment of your own death.

As I think back on that day,

I'm almost certain the man who gave

me that book knew I was a hit man.

I think his intention from the beginning was

to persuade me to stop k*lling. When the two of us first met,

he introduced himself and told me his

name. I had long forgotten it,

but I finally was able to remember after all this time.

Just who are you anyway? Who am I? My name is Susaki Natsumi.

That's right. He had the same name

as the author of the story I love.

I was once considered a hero. I fought to protect my home,

considering it, my God given duty to uphold.

In the last great w*r, my squad of defeated an army of

who were holed up in a fortress. But the truth was, all of it

was a setup by our allies.

At the time, our country was already entering peace talks.

We were used to seize an enemy

transit network after negotiations had concluded.

In response, our actions were deemed a w*r crime.

We were seen as t*rrorists by those we once considered colleagues.

Some of my men resorted to taking their own lives.

But there were those of us who would

not meet our end so easily.

We not only lost our homeland, but our honor as well.

We became cursed to wander a barren

wasteland in the hopes of finding a worthy battle.

Could you really not have saved yourself

by changing your way of life? I swore an oath to my men

that I would die as the soldier

I am. I can't be anything else.

No. Perhaps you're right, Sakunosuke. In some other life,

I may have been able to reshape

myself into someone who wasn't a soldier.

Just like how you became a man who didn't k*ll.

I do have one thing which I regret.

I never got to say goodbye to someone.

In this dark world. He was the only

person I would consider my friend.

But he seemed tired of this existence

and was waiting for the end.

Was he in search of death like me?

A way to escape this place.

Not quite. His search was different.

Sakunosuke.

You were perfect. Even your very last sh*t was sublime.

A Sukkot.

Ha ha

ha. I can't.. Believe you. You're such an.. Idiot. Yeah.

Why did you give him what he wanted?

Da. Sorry. I have something I need to tell you.

You can't. Not like this. You can tell me about it later.

You're going to make it so don't talk like you're.

Listen. Remember how you told me you subjected

yourself to v*olence and bloodshed because it might

help you find some reason to exist?

Yeah, I did. But who cares about that now?

You're not gonna find it. Deep down, you know it's true.

Whether you're on the side, who kills people

or on the side that protects them.

You won't find what you're seeking.

Nothing in this world will be able

to fill the loneliness inside you.

Try as you might, the darkness will always be there.

Who? A soccer. Tell me what I should do.

Be someone that protects people. If both sides

are the same to you, then become a good man.

Protect the vulnerable. Help out some orphans.

I know that the concept of good

and evil doesn't mean much to you,

but at least it would make your

world a little more beautiful. You can't know that.

Of course I can. I'm certain of it because

I know my friends better than anyone.

All right, I'll do it. That's funny.

The story I read said people live only to save themselves.

It's true. I understand that now.

I never thought I'd find such an

important figure from the ministry here.

All by yourself in a cheap bar. How very lonely.

Wait, are.. You well now have a drink.

I heard rumors that you disappeared and

had gone underground for a while.

I guess you could say I'm back on the job market.

I was hoping you might have heard of some good openings.

I could offer you a job with us. Would that interest you?

I'm afraid that wouldn't work for me.

I don't care much for workplaces that have a lot of rules.

Then what exactly are you looking for?

Somewhere I'd be able to help people.

I wish I could tell you I'd help you out,

but you have a very sordid history.

You'll need another two years underground for a clean slate.

But after that, I just may have

a lead that would interest you.

Well, let's hear it then.

I happen to know of an armed organization of gifted

individuals that take on cases residing in a legal gray area.

The president of the company is a great man of integrity.

I have a feeling you'd like him.

Will I be able to save people?