Yamikagishi Volume 2

003
Backpack: Coming in.
Gonzou: You're pretty much soaked.
Backpack: Yeah. I'm so out of luck.

004-005
9th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (1).

006
Table of Contents

9th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (1).............3
10th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (2).............29
11th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (3).............53
12th Tale: A Mother's Silhouette on the New Year's Eve (1)..........81
13th Tale: A Mother's Silhouette on the New Year's Eve (2)..........105
14th: Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (1).............129
15th Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (2).............153
16th Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (3).............177

007
Backpack: I thought we'd have little more than a couple of droplets, but it didn't take long to turn into this. Even my loincloth is dripping wet.
*crunch*
Gonzou: For my part, I've been seeing it coming for quite some time.
Backpack: You're talking about predicting the weather.*crunch*
Backpack: What is it, old man? I can't let you have your way with my trading goods just because there's some water on them.
Gonzou: Your goods?
Backpack: Vegetables. It's gonna be bad for business if they're nibbled on.

008
Gonzou: Does this look like a pickle to you?/You're as good as blind, then.
Backpack: Say what?
Gonzou: I'll let you have a look at the contents of this bucket. What do you see?//Look.
Backpack: !

009
*crunch*
Gonzou: If your eyes are so bad, I reckon you don't need them.

010
Backpack: WWAAAAH.
Gonzou: I'll be taking these eyeballs of yours.
Backpack: Help!!

011
*VLAM*
*swish swish*
Gonzou: !

012
Gonzou: Urrggghh.//!

013
Jou: Old man. You were the "Eye-Catcher" people were talking about, I see.[tn: "Old man" is said in a way that conveys a note of respect due to the elderly./The pun about eyes is very much intentional, as it is present in the Japanese text.]
Gonzou: I couldn't care less for whatever name they call me.//What I do know is that I am immortal. Gifted with eternal life.
Jou: That life is demonic in nature. You have more than outlived your time as a human.

014
Gonzou: You have pretty eyes./Why don't you let me have a bite at them?

015
Gonzou: They will most certainly be a delight.
Jou: When the darkness in people's hearts finds its way out, they are submerged by Evil./A "Dooring" consists in sealing that Evil within a lock./I'm going to shut you away.

016
Pickles: AAAAAARRRGH.
Crier: Here we are. Here we are. The Eye-Catcher strikes again!/A sundries peddler has been assaulted as he took shelter from the rain in a run-down temple!//He was barely able to escape back home with his life. Find out the full story here!

017
Crier: The Eye-Catcher./The Ear-Chopper.//The Tongue Cutter.//Look closely./These are the most famous Three Demons of Edo.
Woman: Killing off people just to cut off their eyes, ears or tongues. So gross.
Woman: No man would ever do such a thing.

018
Crier: Spot on./That is the purview of monsters!//And before that, those dead women who were found in chains./Well, monsters were also behind the deed!
Domon: Enough of this farce.
Crier: ?
Side note: *Hacchoubori... A town magistrate who oversees a district (Edo period).

019
Domon: The Three Demons of Edo, my foot./There are no such things as fiends or goblins.
Crier: Master Hacchoubori*!!
Domon: Whoever committed those crimes, they're human./Men prey upon other men, and they do it as men. Such is our world.

020
Domon: As of you and your newspaper. Don't think you're gonna make money by taking advantage of people's weakness, cur.
Crier: Certainly not. That wasn't my intention.
Chuuji: Master Domon!!

021
Domon: What is it, Chuuji?
Chuuji: We've found the locksmith's residence.

022
Jou: Naumaku semanda bazara dan kan.[tn: Probably sutra or Holy incantations of some sort.]//..........
Domon: Working hard, aren't we, locksmith?
Jou: !

023
Jou: And you are?
Domon: The magistrate in charge of the Northern part of town. Domon the doushin*.[tn: See side note.]/Jounosuke, that's it? If you have a minute, there's a couple of things I'd like to ask you.
Jou: What do you want with me?
Domon: Have you heard the rumor about the Eye-Catcher?
Side note: *Doushin... An official who carries out police duties.

024
Jou: Yes./There's been a series of disturbing kills recently.
Domon: People murdered, their eyes gouged out. Not something a normal human would do./Then, we have more of those mentals coming out the woodwork, like the Ear-Chopper and the Tongue-Cutter.
Jou: The Three Demons of Edo.
Domon: Not again!//You'd be well-advised not to speak of those things with such a self-important look./If anyone hates it when people stick crimes on God knows what monster's back, that's me.
Jou: ........
Domon: Demons and the like do not exist. Whatever crimes are committed in the human world, they are perpetrated by human beings.

025
Domon: If demons do exist anywhere/that'd be within people's hearts.
Jou: You are correct.
Domon: Take the Eye-Catcher. His true identity was that of an unremarkable old man.
Jou: Indeed.
Domon: Gonzou, a glasses maker in the Migishima district./He wasn't bad, but he was a bit of an eccentric, so he didn't have much of a social life./Rumor has it his looks had turned rather strange, recently.//When we investigated his absence, we found more corpses than I dare to count, buried under the floor in his house.

026
Domon: We set out to chase him immediately./We found a peddler attacked by Gonzou in a wayside shrine near Sugamo.//Thinking that's where our man was, we rushed towards the place.
Jou: And once again, you didn't find him.
Domon: Exactly. So what do you think? Would you happen to know something? Anything?
Jou: Me?
Domon: Yeah. You.
Jou: Well, I did pay a visit to the Princedom Avatar yesterday./And I passed through Sugamo on my way back. Unfortunately, it started to rain suddenly. It was so awful I couldn't even see three ken* ahead./So whatever happened after that, I can't tell.
Side note: *3 ken = 54 meters.[tn: Roughly 48, 6 yards.]

027
Domon: You're one damn fast talker alright.//Put differently, it also means if anyone saw you, they could have been mistaken because of the rain.
Jou: I didn't mean to.
Domon: And if I told you someone did see you coming out of the shrine where Gonzou was. What do you make of that?
Jou: Please tell them this./The rain yesterday was really awful.//...........

028
Domon: Alright. Make sure you remember this. We magistrates are the ones officially in charge of punishing criminals.//I don't care if you act out of righteous anger or what-have-you. If townspeople like you start killing people, I won't think twice before arresting them.//No exceptions. Even if the victim is a murderer./That is the Bludgeon-Carriers' job.[tn: In the Edo period, Okappiki (or here Jittemochi, the Bludgeon-Carriers) was the name of the secret police, or detectives.][/End

029
10th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (2).

030
Kin: Jou-san. I have it.//The Tiger's direction.[tn: East-Northeast.]/You'll find three Jizou aligned there.[tn: Buddha statue, protecting travelers.] It can't be too far from there.//But I'd let it go if I were you.//I've seen the sign for fetters in your luck.

031
Kin: You told me the doushin came by yesterday, didn't you?
Jou: You mean Domon, the magistrate in charge of the northern district?//We have a Hacchoubori with a clue, for once. I wasn't expecting that.
Kin: Jou-san. He must have set his eyes upon you. This could be dangerous.
Jou: ........//O-Kin. Take care of the place while I'm off.
Kin: Wait. Jou-san, I said wait!

032
Jou: Dooring is my job./I can't just stop doing it.
Kin: ........

033
*sob sob*
Traveler: What's wrong my boy? What are you doing here? Did you lose your mom?
Boy: .......
Traveler: I can't make out what you say if you're crying. Are you alone?/Where's your home?

034
Traveler: ?//I didn't think there'd be a village in such a place.
Boy: Booo-hoo!
Traveler: Don't cry./Come on. Let me carry you there.

035
Traveler: Uh?//How strange. Doesn't look like anybody's actually living there./Are you really sure it's here, boy?
Boy: Nice ears, you got there.
Traveler: Eh?
*slurp slurp*

036
Traveler: That tickles./Stop it, will you?//Ow!
Boy: Let me have your ears.

037
Traveler: AUUUUUUGH.//HIIIIIIC.

038
Jou: This is the end for you, Ear-Chopper!!
Ear-Chopper: !!

039
Ear-Chopper: I knew someone was coming.//I have no idea what your business is./But a human like you can't possibly expect to defeat me?

040
Jou: This isn't about victory or defeat./I'm merely going to seal you into this lock. That's all.
Ear-Chopper: BOLLOCKS!

042
Ear-Chopper: Nothing can save you now.

043
Ear-Chopper: I'll be taking your ears.

044
Ear-Chopper: AAAARGH.
Jou: This is made out of a special material. Demons like yourself can't so much as touch it.

045
Jou: Ear-Chopper. I'm going to lock you away.
Ear-Chopper: Wa... WAIT!//Let me goooo./I won't do bad things any more.
Jou: I don't want to listen to a guy who lops off people's ears.

046
Lantern: Official Business.
Cop: Chuuji-san. What's that?
Chuuji: !//That's the same light I saw on that rainy day!

047
Chuuji: Everyone follow me!/The criminal's inside.//Police!//.........

048
Chuuji: What is that thing? Ack. Bad mojo.//.........//Search the house!/He can't be far!
Jou: ......./(How did they find out about this place?)

049
Jou: It can't be!//!!
Domon: So it was you after all, locksmith.

050-051
Domon: You are largely outnumbered. Be reasonable, Jounosuke.
Jou: Master Domon...
Domon: The moon is full tonight. Seeing 3 ken or even 10 ken ahead shouldn't pose any problem./No fooling around this time.

052
Jou: ........
Kin: Ouch!/........//No way. Something's happening to Jou-san![/end

053
11th Tale: Bludgeons and Locks (3).
Chuuji: Spit it out already! We know you've killed them!/What happened to the Eye-Catcher and the Ear-Chopper?!

054
Jou: ...........
Chuuji: Persistent son of a bitch!*Haa. Haa.*
Chuuji: Master Domon!

055
Domon: Chuuji. You damned fool!//Who told you to put him through questioning?!
Chuuji: I can't figure this bastard out. We should throw him in jail as soon as possible. Master.

056
Domon: Has he confessed to any of the crimes?
Chuuji: No. Not yet.
Domon: I take it he was carrying these.
Chuuji: Yes.
Domon: That's a fairly elaborate thing to be walking around with./The decoration on the lock is in very bad taste, don't you think?
Chuuji: I have some misgivings about the thing myself.

057
Domon: Careful, you bloody idiot.
Chuuji: Forgive me. It slipped out of my hands.

058
Domon: ...........//!//Jounosuke./What's this?
Jou: A storehouse key.//I poke a hole into a wall and use this to unbolt the door from the inside./The mechanism allows me to alter it depending on the wall's length and thickness.

059
Domon: And this is how I think you'd be using it.
Jou: ........
Domon: You'd have little trouble bashing the old glasses maker's head in with this.
Jou: Even a carpenter's tools would look like instruments of murder in your eyes.
Domon: Don't you dare address me with such impudence!

060
Domon: The Eye-Catcher and the Ear-Chopper's traces disappeared suddenly after they made contact with you./You did them in.
Jou: How did you know I'd be there?
Domon: Chuuji's been sticking to you like glue.
Jou: .........

061
Domon: Maybe you're presumptuous enough to think you can hunt criminals. But that's the authorities' job./If the townsfolk start doing as they please, it will only help build more grudges and resentment.//That resentment is for the Bludgeon-Carriers to take./Do you have the kind of resolve that entails?
Jou: For now, I just want to go seal the Tongue-Cutter away. That's about it.

062
Domon: I was wondering if you'd care to grace me with a few more of your witty comebacks.
Jou: I know what you feel./But there are things in this world that you just can't see.//That lock of mine, with the monstrous face./There's a demon sealed in it.//That's a "Dooring", and that's my job.
Domon: That again?

063
Jou: If you don't believe me, why don't you have Chuuji-san inspect it?
Domon: Chuuji?
Jou: Do it, and you'll find out whether I'm telling the truth or not immediately.
Chuuji: Don't tell me you're going to believe anything coming out of this bastard's mouth.

064
Jou: Dooring is a job that requires one to pay careful attention. That man you've set on my trail is no ordinary human.
Domon: Chuuji!
Chuuji: What's wrong?
Domon: I'm eager to put an end to this senseless babble.
Chuuji: But.
Domon: Come on. Just take it!

065
Chuuji: AAAAARGH.
Domon: !!

066
Domon: Chuuji. Are you alright?!/Hang in there.
Chuuji: Shut up.

067
Domon: Uuh... That hurt.
Chuuji: Your tongue./Why don't you show it to me?

069
Domon: !!/(WHAT'S GOING ON?!!)

070
Chuuji: I'm gonna have to pull it out, then.[tn: Special font for the "man", please.]
Jou: Agh.

071
Chuuji: Let me eat your tongue.

072
Chuuji: UUUURGH.
Jou: Master. A demon cannot be killed by a normal blade!

073
Domon: What!
Jou: Anyway, take these stones off quickly.
Domon: How come Chuuji's turned into a monster?
Jou: His heart and soul have been eaten away.//The Demon Realm's denizens come here./And they feed off human hearts.//They're particularly fond of negative emotions like greed or fear, and pride is the icing on the cake./When a human being succumbs to their own greed, their heart is eaten away, and the door to darkness opens.

074
Jou: Then, that darkness takes up residence within their body./And they start devouring other human beings.
Domon: Why was Chuuji so desperate to capture you?
Jou: He probably wanted to have me tied up and thrown in jail, in order to escape the Dooring.
Chuuji: It's all your fault, master.
Domon: !
Chuuji: For appointing me into the Okappiki.

075
Domon: Bastard!
Chuuji: Arresting bad guys and have them confess their crimes./No matter how scary the fellow could be, you'd put him through so much pain he'd spill the beans like there was no tomorrow. Tongues move about, pretty much as living creatures in their own right.//Some day, I thought something that moves this much on its own must be delicious. That I'd like to try it./I couldn't help myself.
Jou: !
Chuuji: ........

076
Jou: Master. Stand aside./I'll start the Dooring.

077
Domon: ........//So all those locks are demons you've sealed?
Jou: Yes.

078
Domon: To think that many demons existed here in our world.
Jou: They did. And I hate to say it, but there are just as many of them out there.
Domon: That'd make Edo a real demon town.
Jou: People like me are here to make sure it doesn't happen.
Domon: ..........
Jou: Initially, Edo was created by Ieyasu-kimi for the purpose of demon sealing.[tn: Prince Ieyasu.]
Domon: Never heard that one before.

079
Jou: You don't have to believe me./If the town magistrate is the one in charge of protecting Edo from criminals, we are those who protect it from demons.//Just like samuraidom, this duty has been passed on, from one generation to another./Those demon sealers are here in town, lying in silent wait.
Domon: Which is to say samurai alone don't suffice.
Jou: You protect Edo during daylight, master./And we do the same come nightfall.
Domon: I understand.

080
Domon: But it's not easy for me to swallow all of this at once.//If it is indeed as you say./Then front and back, and indeed day and night will probably overlap someday.//When it happens, we will meet again.
*tilt*[/end

081
Jou: It's done.
12th Tale: A Mother's Silhouette on the New Year's Eve (1).

082
Oumiya: Those lock decorations are splendid.
Jou: And here's the keyhole.
Oumiya: Beneath the dragon's scales? I recognize your stylishness in this, Jounosuke. Now I can welcome the new year in a good disposition.

083
Oumiya: This is for you.
Jou: This is too much.
Oumiya: I've been monopolizing Edo's best locksmith until the end of the year./This is old Oumiya's appreciation. Please don't embarrass him.
Jou: I'll take this along with your appreciation, then.

084
Kin: (Jou-san!//Who did he buy this for?)//........

085
Jou: Are you alright?
Kid: Yes. I'm fine.
Jou: This child.........

086
Jou: Excuse me.//Anyone?//.........

087
Woman: Eh, O-Sayo-chan. Back from work?
Sayo: Indeed.
Woman: Did you get used to your job as a hairdresser?
Sayo: I'm doing good enough. And there's no shortage of customers.//I'll be going, ma'am. Takichi's alone and he's waiting for me.
Woman: Must be hard to be providing for your little brother.
Sayo: I'm back.

088
Sayo: !!//It's him!/He put those things there.

089
Sayo: It's you, isn't it? You're the one who's been sneaking around, leaving money behind!
Jou: .........
Sayo: I don't know what your intentions are, but I don't need money from you.
Jou: So you've started to work as a hairdresser?
Sayo: Yeah. That's right. My little brother has something to eat, thanks to me./But even when I was jobless, as soon as I found out the money came from you I didn't use a single mon of it![tn: As a reminder, a mon is a monetary division in Ancient Japan.]

090
Sayo: I want no money from my mother's murderer.
Jou: !!
Sayo: Never come back again. I wouldn't want to see your face if you were the last man left on Earth./Next time I see you, I'll call the police!
Jou: ........

091
Kin: That was no way to treat such a nice hairpin.
Jou: O-Kin!
Kin: Who is she?
Jou: O-Sayo. She'll be about... 15 on the New Year.
Kin: And you've "Doored" her mother?
Jou: No. She was killed by a demon.
Kin: Didn't she say you did it?!

092
Narrator!Jou: It was about 4 years ago.
Mom: O-Sayo. Run away, quick!
Sayo: ........//AAAAAAH!

093
Jou: ........ I'm too late!//I'm going to shut you away.

094
Sayo: !//..........

095
Jou: Somehow in the girl's mind, it became my fault.
Takichi: Let me go.//I said let me go!
Man: Hold him fast./We're gonna teach him never to do that again. Physically.

096
Man: !!//Who the hell are you?
Jou: He's just a child.
Man: Look.

097
Man: The darn kid cut off the ropes that were suspended there./Now we can't ring the bell for the New Year.[tn: A ceremony on the New Year that involves striking a gong (or apparently ringing a bell) 108 times to chase evil spirits away.]//... Blast it. I mean, there's a limit to pranking./We need to hurt him some, or he'll never understand.
Takichi: Let me go!
Men: Wah.

098
Takichi: Out of my way!//Move!//!

099
Takichi: I didn't mean to.
Jou: .......//Take a good look.
Takichi: ........
Jou: What do you think? It hurts you too, doesn't it?
*tilt*
Jou: When you hurt others, your own heart starts to bleed as well./Make sure you remember that pain.

100
Priest: Well well well. That was a beautiful lecture.
Man: Sire Priest!//We've just captured him, and we were about to leave.
Priest: Yes, I know. I heard the child.//Let the gentleman here deal with him. We have until tonight to fix the ropes.//Is your wound going to be alright?
Jou: Forgive me for defiling your premises with my blood.[tn: In Buddhism, anything pertaining to flesh and blood is deemed unclean. For example, the Japanese didn't consume meat at all.]

101
Priest: ........//Shedding your blood has allowed you to amend the child.//Such a thing is well beyond the purview of even a priest.
Jou: !
Priest: Namu Amida Butsu. Namu Amida Butsu.[tn: Buddhist prayer.]
Jou: ...........

102
Kin: Why did you pull such a prank?/Going as far as to carry a knife around.
Takichi: I don't want them to ring the bells.
Kin: But we can't celebrate the New Year in those conditions.
Takichi: If only mummy was there. For me. And O-Sayo-nee-chan.
Jou: So you're O-Sayo's brother?
Kin: But their mother died 4 years ago.

103
Takichi: Mummy./Just a little more and mummy will disappear!//If they ring the bell for the new year, it will hurt mummy from inside the mirror!
Kin: ...........?!

104
Sayo: Mummy.
Mummy: .........[/end

105
13th Tale: A Mother's Silhouette on the New Year's Eve (2).
Kin: It is just as you said, Jou-san.

106
Kin: A hand mirror with peony-shaped patterns.//She hid it away immediately, though.
Jou: O-Sayo-chan's mother's hand mirror. I knew it.//It was there when the demon attacked her.
Kin: How come the supposedly dead mother can appear inside the mirror?

107
Jou: Probably a reflection of her regrets.
Kin: .........
Jou: Frequently, when a human being is killed by a demon, their face appears on my Evil-Sealing Locks./Sometimes , as chance would have it, their regrets and other feelings are imprinted into the Locks' demon-sealing powers.[tn: Indeed. Such a thing happens in the very first episode of the series.]//Some other times, when a mirror is nearby, this is what happens.
Kin: And what about the mother's image becoming weaker each year with the ringing of the bells?

108
Jou: The New Year's bells are there to clear away people's earthly desires./Maybe the dead's feelings of regret go away as well.
Kin: So when the bells have been rung tonight, the mother's image will disappear completely?
Jou: Probably, yes.
Kin: Jou-san. Can you do anything about it?
Jou: I have a job I need to take care of first.
Kin: The priest at the Sanshoku Temple, yes?

109
Jou: Those eyes of his, when he saw the blood.//There can be no mistake.
Narrator: Sanshoku Temple.

110
Sayo: Excuse me./Is the resident priest here?
Priest: That's me. What can I do for you?
Sayo: My brother did something really terrible. I've come to apoligise.
Priest: Aah. For today.
Sayo: I'm really sorry.
Priest: This is what you've come all the way here for? At this time of night?
Sayo I had to wait for my little brother to fall asleep.

111
Sayo: Consider this a small compensation for the ropes he's cut off./It's not much, but please accept it.
Priest: I can't take it.
Sayo: But this is my way of begging forgiveness.
Priest: Use the money to buy some treat for yourself and your little brother.
Sayo: I can't do that.

112
Priest: If you really feel that way/why don't you consider turning to Buddha?//You'd be doing an act of piety.
Sayo: Certainly. Please show me the way.
Priest: Follow me.

113
Kin: Jou-san. I have grave news. I saw O-Sayo-chan while working my divination on the priest!
Jou: WHAT?!

114
Sayo: Sire Priest. You have my thanks./Now I can greet the New Year with a good disposition.
Priest: .........
Sayo: Sire Priest?
Priest: A young man shed a lot of blood on this stone, but it's a bit too late now.[tn: In keeping with the previous note about Buddhism, a priest with a taste for blood is not just disturbing. It's downright blasphemous.]

115
Priest: Why don't you share some of your fresh blood with me?
Sayo: Pardon?
Priest: Behold.
Sayo: .........

116
Sayo: AAAAAAAH
*GOOOOONNG*
Priest: They say the New Year's bells wash impure desires away when stricken 108 times./But when I hear them, every fiber of my body burns with a fierce appetite that just won't fade away.[tn: That pic is the coolest thing evah: :yay:]

117
Sayo: Hic.//NOOOOOO.
Priest: Please help me slake my thirst.

118
Priest: Argh.
Sayo: !!

119
Jou: O-Kin. Take care of the girl.
Priest: You're the one from earlier today!
Jou: Sire Priest. You have succumbed to your impure desires, enough so to become a demon./I'm going to shut you away!

120
Jou: Are you hurt?
Sayo: Don't think I'm going to thank you of all people just because you saved my life.
Jou: You don't have to./I didn't make it in time, and your mother paid the price. That's why at least I had to save you.
Sayo: ........//... I knew./You didn't kill my mother. The monster did.//But I couldn't admit it./The likes of monsters do not exist. And you can't hate something that isn't there.

121
Sayo: That's why I settled for hating you instead./I couldn't keep on living otherwise.//I'm sorry./I knew exactly what happened..........
Jou: It's alright.

122
Jou: You're alive, and that's what counts./It's a good thing you're alive.
Sayo: *SOB*
Jou: Come on, let's hurry. Before they're done ringing the bells.
Sayo: Where to?
Jou: Isn't it obvious? To your mother, of course!
Sayo: ?

123
Sayo: Like this?
Jou: Take a few steps aside.
Takichi: ?!

124-125
Takichi&Sayo: Mummy.

127
Takichi&Sayo: Mummy!

128
Jou: Your mother's memories won't disappear anymore./Now you can always be together.
Kin: Jou-san, look.//It's the New Year's sunrise.[/end

130-131
14th Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (1).

132
Tetsujuu: ........

133
Jou: If that's not concentration, I don't know what is.
Tetsu: That you, Jounosuke? So you were here?
Jou: That's so much like you, Tetsujuu. When you strike on those locks, you can't see anything else.

134
Tetsu: That's the kind of concentration it takes to make your Evil-consuming Locks.//In the old days, this stock would have lasted an entire year. But recently, that's barely enough locks for half the same time.
Jou: The world is starting to crack open. The kekkai on Edo must be weakening.[tn: Mystical barrier.]

135
Jou: Maybe a fissure is beginning to form somewhere./From there, Evil would be spreading into the world.
Tetsu: If you say so./I'm just the smith. My job is to forge the locks.

136
Tetsu: Bringing the final touches and turning them into Evil-Sealing Locks viable for Doorings is yours.//The weather's a lot calmer now.//Wait a minute, Jounosuke. I'm going to pick up some clams for breakfast.

137
Girl: Look, big brother. Yesterday's storm brought in lots of strange stuff.
Boy: Forget that and pick up those clams already.
Girl: ........./That looks funny.

138-139
Girl: !!//Brother, over there! There's a big problem![tn: OMFG Fanservice!!]
Boy: Stop it. Don't pull me around!//!

140
Tetsu: Care to tell me the reason for all this ruckus?
Girl: Mister Tetsujuu, there's trouble!//That way. Over there!

141
Ukiha: Jirouta-sama!//Aaaah.

142
Ukiha: AAAARGH.

143
Tetsu: Come to your senses?
Ukiha: ........//Hic.
Tetsu: Is anything wrong?
Kin: Pffft.

144
Kin: You need not worry. I took care of you./The men didn't see anything.//Oh. And he's making a ghoulish face, but I think I know why.
Ukiha: ........
Tetsu: I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you.

145
Jou: Even a Goliath like Tetsujuu is helpless before a woman.
Tetsu: Goliath, ghoulish face. That's no way to talk about someone.
Ukiha: Umm./Where am I?
Kin: This is Tetsujuu-san's house./Well, as much as one can call this a house.
Tetsu: That's enough, O-Kin! Nobody asked for your opinion about my place.

146
Tetsu: Here's some clam soup. Warm up your body some.
Ukiha: It's delicious.
Tetsu: Of course.

147
Kin: Hisa much better cook that what his looks let on.
Tetsu: O-KIN!!
Ukiha: And... What happened exactly?
Tetsu: We found you unconscious on the nearby shore.
Kin: You've been sleeping for half a day. But you've woken up, thanks to God.
Tetsu: Your family must be worried sick./Tell us about them, so we can go have look around.
Ukiha: ......... Family?

148
Jou: Maybe you can't for some reason?
Ukiha: I don't know.//..........//I can't remember anything!

149
Jou: Can I have a look at her possessions?
Kin: She didn't have anything.//I didn't notice anything when I changed her clothes./She didn't have a purse, or anything that would help us know her identity.
Tetsu: She did have a mamorigatana.[tn: A small blade for protection, as the name suggests.]//I took it with me when I found her.

150
Jou: ........//!//This is no mamorigatana./It's a key.[tn: No shit, Sherlock!]

151
Tetsu: And a fairly elaborate one, at that.
Jou: Does it remind you of something?
Ukiha: .........
Jou: That key's not something you see every day.//It should help give us a clue as to what your identity is./Can you remember something?
Ukiha: ..........
*TODOM*

152
*DUDUM*
Ukiha: RAARRGH
Kin: Oh no! Hang in there![/end

153
15th Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (2).
Kin: She's calmed down at last.

154
Kin: I'm quite bothered by her lack of memories, though.
Tetsu: O-Kin. Why don't we leave her at your place?
Kin: Uuuuuuuuuh?//You're the one who picked her up, Tetsu-san. You should see your responsibilities through to the end.//In addition, it's a bad idea to move somebody around when they're wounded, isn't it?
Tetsu: ..........
Jou: I guess this is our only lead.[tn: Captain Obvious!]

155
Jou: I reckon we should try some divination. Something good might come of it.//...........

156
Kin: Daimaru!!

157
Tetsu: You can't mean the draperies store?
Kin: Nothing else comes to mind.
Jou: .........
Tetsu: What does that great store have to do with anything?!
Narrator: Daimaru, Oodenma District.

158
Kin: I have nothing.
Jou: Same here. Nothing about a young woman who's disappeared recently.
Kin: Let's investigate a bit more.
Jou: Yeah. I'm really worried about this.

159
Ninja: !!

161
Ukiha: A dream?!

162
Ukiha: ........./Tetsujuu-san?//!
Tetsu: Ooh. I see you're awake.
Ukiha: Tetsujuu-san. What are you doing outside?

163
Ukiha: Aaaah.[tn: YAAAAAYYYY!!]
Tetsu: You'll... You'll probably rest better if you're left alone.//If you're really want to help, maybe you should start a bar inside the house.
Ukiha: Hey.

164
Tetsu: ?!
Ukiha: See. It's so cold out here.
Tetsu: I'll be fine./I even have a campfire.
Ukiha: ....... That won't do./I can't leave the man who saved my life like that.

165
Tetsu: UH.
Ukiha: You're going to ruin your health./I beg you to come inside.//Come on.
Tetsu: ........

166
Tetsu: .........//I guess I'll be going back outside.
Ukiha: Why? Isn't this your house?
Tetsu: But the two of us, all alone...........
Ukiha: Oh no. Could you be the kind of person who'd try anything on a sick woman?
Tetsu: No. Of course not. I never would!
Ukiha: So you can come rest next to me.
Tetsu: But
Ukiha: Let's find an arrangement, then.

167
Ukiha: Now there should be nothing to worry about.
Tetsu: Because of that string?
Ukiha: I've created a barrier.

168
Tetsu: Barrier?
Ukiha: What's so funny?
Tetsu: It's just that "barrier" is such a fancy word.[tn: She actually says "kekkai".]
Ukiha: Anyway, things should be fine now./The string will protect me.
Tetsu: .......... Any memories of Daimaru?
Ukiha: Eh?

169
Tetsu: One of the most prominent draperies store in Edo. They even receive orders from the Imperial Household Purveyors.
Ukiha: Anything to do with me?
Tetsu: We haven't found out yet./Probably the key you had with you comes from there.
Ukiha: How did you come to that conclusion?
Tetsu: Erm./Jounosuke is probably the best or second best locksmith in Edo.
Ukiha: Then that makes you the best or second best blacksmith in Edo when it comes to locks.
Tetsu: Uh.

170
Ukiha: You're the one who forges those locks for Jounosuke, aren't you?
Tetsu: Well, I'm but a simple smith./Nothing to write home about.
Ukiha: And a very shy person.
*GASP*
*snicker*
Tetsu: ........//Enough. Time to sleep already!

172
Jou: So many storehouses. Daimaru is really something else.//...........

173
Jou: HIM?!!

174
Jou: The head of the Iga ninjas. Hattori Shinzou.//What is the leader of the shinobi doing here?!

175
Ukiha: .........

176
*GASP*[/end

177
16th Tale: Mysteries of the Secret Locks (3).

178
Ukiha: AAAARGH
Tetsu: !

179
Ninja: !!
Tetsu: Hh!*SNAP*

180
Ukiha: Hic.
Tetsu: This is bad!

181
Tetsu: Humph!//Who the hell are you?![tn: This man reeks of badass! I am pretty sure there are a few biologists and physicians crying somewhere, though...]

182
Ninja: ........
Tetsu: Tsk.

184
Tetsu: !

185
Ukiha: Tetsujuu-san!
Tetsu: Don't mind me./Run away, quickly!//!

186
Ninja: Where's Jirouta-sama?/What happened to him?!
Ukiha: ........
Ninja: Tsk./What are you whining about?
Ukiha: .......
Ninja: Come on, take it!

187
Ninja: I'll let you deal with him.
Tetsu: ?!//...
Ninja: ? What's wrong?/This isn't the behavior of a master shinobi like you.
Ukiha: Shino....... bi.

188
Ukiha: .........
Jirouta: !//There it is. I have it!//It's ours at last.
Ukiha: Indeed, Jirouta-sama.

189
Jirouta: You have no small merit in this, Ukiha.
Ukiha: This is more praise than I deserve.
*TODOM*

190
*TODOM*
Ninja: What's wrong?!
Ukiha: My. My head!//ARGH.
Ninja: Tsk./No more use for her, I take it.//Time to finish you!

191
Tetsu: !

192
Tetsu: Jounosuke!

193
Jou: Are you alright, Tetsujuu?
Tetsu: Hmph./The good man always comes to the rescue in good time.

194
Jou: Don't bother./No blade can cut through this material.
Tetsu: Jounosuke. Don't let him get away.//I have a loooot of questions for him.

195
Tetsu: Humph.

196
Tetsu: Cough cough.
Jou&Tetsu: !!
Tetsu: He's gone!

197
Tetsu: !//And the girl's gone with him!
Jou: Wait!
Tetsu: They can't be far away from here.
Jou: Stop it. Don't go too far after them./We're dealing with shinobi, here./If we're not careful about this, we won't come out unscathed.

198
Tetsu: .........
Flashback!Ukiha: I've created a barrier.
Tetsu: A kekkai, eh?/I knew this wasn't the kind a word a run-of-the-mill town girl would employ.
Jou: Don't tell me she was one of them?
Tetsu: .........

199
Jou: !//Who's there?!

200
Jou: ......
Shinzou: Not quite the warm welcome I was hoping for. Doorman.
Jou: Hattori-sama!
Yamikagishi 2. The End.[/end