02x10 - Master and Student

[bunniefuu]

Master, will you keep
teaching—no, I mean...

Master, I humbly request that you
continue teaching me to use a sword.

Of course.

Now that this guy's here, we'll be okay.

After all, I owe Shion-san my life,
and he taught me to use a sword.

Ow!

Not even these circumstances can stop
you from acting like my teacher.

I'm actually kind of relieved.

You underestimate me.

I told you, I'm used to that.

Tenza!

The one who takes cannot understand.

But their victim never forgets.

A faint flower was blooming
unnoticed by anyone

Not a burning red,
but flickering serenely in red

I've been pausing for a long time
dragging my past at my feet

If I break free from this ambivalence,

will I be able to bloom by its side?

The future is slipping away
between my fingers

What mistake did I make
to pay this price?

Always hurting myself

and hesitant even to a small joy

I want to stop now

The flower just bloomed in dignity

and that was all I needed to be happy

I just wanted to protect this one flower

Wishing to be strong, I

picked up the vulnerability
I had once cast away

Can't break free from the ambivalence

In ambivalence, I become myself

Like rooting strongly into the soil

like swaying ephemerally to the wind

I'm slowly loosening myself to bloom

He's exhausted their tao
by continuously striking

the moment they start to regenerate.

The wounds aren't fatal, but
their regeneration has slowed a lot,

and their appearance seems to be aging.

They shouldn't be able to do much now.

Inanimate objects can be controlled
with the slightest amount of tao.

Die, human!

I'll take this opportunity to recover.

He's exhausted as well.

The repeated tao attacks
are shortening his own life.

Sensei!

A childish trick. This is pointless.

Tameshi Itto-ryu: Autumn Rains.

He can't reach my tanden.

Clink?

You're on the brink of death, too.

What's wrong with you?

Stay away!

Sen—

What's wrong with you?

You'd shorten your own life
for someone who died?

Why do all of this?

I haven't done anything yet.

I can't mourn him or feel sadness yet.

I can't even be angry
while you're still alive.

I'll do it all once I've k*lled you.

The despair and sadness
can wait until after that.

Now, how many more times
do I have to cut you to k*ll you?

This is bad. Really, really bad.

I have to do something.

Somehow...

Don't panic.

Tao doesn't recover quickly.

Did you think you were close?

Don't underestimate me, human.

One of my kind was always
both male and female,

circulating their energies
by themselves to train.

I copied that.

It's hard to maintain both sexes at once,
but I have no choice now.

Besides...

I knew it. I thought that was the case.

If I can change part of myself,

I must be able to do the same
with my transformation.

Now, how many hundreds more
times shall we continue?

I swear I'll settle this.

I'm used to your little stunts now.

Stunts.

Call them what you want.

This is who I am.

I was scarred by my mother,
a traveling entertainer.

Our act was a blind child dodging
customer's strikes with a wooden sword.

"Behold the blade master's son
who predicts attacks without seeing."

Both my mother and I were
desperate to survive.

The scars were part of the act,
but I was born blind.

As one who'd perceived the world
through waves of tao, it was a simple act.

A high-ranking kengyo heard about me

and welcomed me into
the Todoza guild for the blind.

Through them, I knocked
on the Yamada clan's doors.

For a couple of poor entertainers,
it was a golden opportunity.

Your child's skill with a sword
makes it hard to believe he's blind.

Where did he get those scars?

This boy's father is famed
for his skill with a blade.

Blessed with talent, he was
wounded in battle at a young age.

Every time we were asked,
my mother told the same lie.

So did I.

Unable to retract that explanation
and ruin my mother's name,

I spent my days as a Yamada
student hiding my past.

I was ashamed.

It's not like the past matters.

What's important is,
you know, the present.

That's not what I meant.

I warned you to act
like a Yamada student.

I am, and I wish you'd look at me,
not my upbringing.

Tenza-kun and Shugen-san
are fighting again.

It's amusing. Leave them be.

I envied Tenza's openness
and fearlessness.

As I saw others accept him
for who he was, I felt potential.

You're incredible with a sword, sir.

I look up to you.

No, I look up to you.

I will k*ll you with my own hands,
even if it costs me my life!

I can use my Kishikai form
while recovering.

You cannot win any—

Silence.

Both your appearance and
flashy abilities are empty threats.

You're just focusing what little power
you have left on putting on an act.

Soon, you'll have only
as much tao as a human.

Your terrible acting can't fool me.

Neither of us can strike a k*lling blow,
so we'll drag each other through the mud.

An ugly and deadly battle of endurance.

Are you ready?

Sensei!

Nurugai.

Stay back. I'll handle the rest.

What?

It's about to get dangerous.

Damn you!

With no ability to hinder them,
I can only hope to exhaust them.

So how can I expend
my own tao efficiently?

You don't have to cut
them hundreds of times.

Wouldn't it be easier
to skewer them with your sword?

True.

That should be physically possible.

The Tensen's tanden seem to be
ovules within their bodies.

Skewering would be efficient
for exhausting their tao

through continuous regeneration.

Sever their limbs, or perhaps...

extract only the ovule and skewer it.

Since we're familiar with the practice
of Hiemontori, it should be easy.

The question is whether
you can keep them skewered.

Oh, right.

Just imagining it grosses me out.
I could never.

Regenerate. Vines grow.

Pull sword out.

Stop you even if you hold in place.

Enter you.

Sensei!

They're weaker than I imagined.

Is it because I exhausted their tao?

I told you it'd be a battle of endurance.

Who will exhaust themselves first,
you or me?

I'm here to settle the score.

If we both die, then I win!

This pain is nothing compared
to his final moments...

Sensei, stop!

If you keep going, you'll die!

Stay away!

If I keep fighting, I can take
the monster down with me.

You should get out of here
and find the others.

I will remain here.

That doesn't make sense.

You're smart.

You think things through.

You know how to make the right choice.

This isn't like you!

In that moment, I instantly
understood his scream.

He knew we couldn't win
and wanted some of us to survive.

I understood his intentions
and acted instantly.

It was the right choice.

Why did I have to make the right choice?

Even if it was foolish,
why couldn't I have gone to him?

He must've spent his final moments
drowning in regret and pain.

And all I could do was run.
I can't forgive myself.

Even while losing someone I loved,
I made the right choice.

I can't forgive myself.

These eyes can't even shed tears,
so at the very least...

Sensei!

Let me handle this and go to the others.

But... that's not...

Hurry!

Hurry!

He's like I was back then.

I lost the people I loved
and couldn't forgive myself.

He doesn't know if he
should live or die, like me.

I'm the sole survivor.
Everyone else died because of me.

I don't get it.

I'm asking if you want to die.

Yeah, that's right.

Until you explain it to me...

Until I understand it, I... I'm not...

Ten... Tenza...

I, um... um, Sensei is... I...

Then there's only one thing to do.

Yeah.

Until you explain it to me...

Until I understand it, I'm not leaving.

I can't hear anything anymore.

I don't know how much time has passed
or how much more I can take.

The only thing I can feel is my life
slowly and clearly being eaten away.

Slowly means skewering them
was effective.

Tenza, finally...

Nuru...

What are you doing?

Holding you so your tao will recover.

This isn't the time.

Girls should be more cautious
about who they hold.

You shouldn't be doing that
for all kinds of reasons.

Now you're starting
to sound like yourself.

Look.

They're not dead,
but their regeneration has slowed.

It'll take a day for them to recover.

So we should k*ll them now.

No, so we should leave it be.

They'll stab you with vines
if you get close again.

If you keep going, you'll die.

Let's go join the others.

I can't do that.

Tenza won't be avenged
until they stop breathing.

His suffering...

You're wrong.

He didn't suffer or die with regrets.

I'm wrong?

When you carried me away, I saw him.

He smiled.

He saw us running away and smiled.

You've been suffering
because you didn't know that.

It's because you had to
carry me. I'm sorry.

It was a nice smile.

Sad but cool.

So you don't have to avenge him, Sensei.

We haven't talked much about Tenza
because we've been focused on revenge.

Tell me. I want to know more about him.

We should talk more
once we leave this place alive.

You're right.

Let's end this.
I won't take this too far.

Let's join the others.

Yeah.

Thank you, Nurugai.

You've given me life.

I should be calling you sensei.

You opened my eyes.

You can't hear me, can you?

They got Zhu Jin.

Shion-dono...

Won't you reconsider?

We'll both just keep
losing people we care about.

It's too sad to continue.

Please.

On the other side, even today

Someone is unraveling,
yet they still stand

A stab to the chest, this loneliness

Points and lines,
breaking off and vanishing

My shattered mask

It's more than I can bear

But I must keep on living

Tomorrow awaits to greet me

It's endless

And so fragile

Is it better to believe
hearts don't exist at all?

Radiant and soft

Was the hand

I squeezed back on that day