level_act44side_st02

Tessai-san has been inside for quite a while. I'm starting to get worried...

Don't worry about him. The Old Man at his forge is like you singing on stage, Hoshiguma punching someone, or me at a pachinko machine.

Are you really good at pachinko?

Ah—hehe...

Trying to change the subject, Kichisei takes a cookie from the plate in front of her and puts it in her mouth.

Uh oh, I've almost eaten all the cookies.

Why are all the cookies here Ninomiya's classic cystymilk flavor? Is it Tessai-san's favorite?

Tetsuya used to like it.

If Tetsuya realized what kind of man Kinbee was...

He would have realized it a long time ago if he could.

To be fair, Tetsuya following Kinbee around is really just the effect. The root cause goes back to Old Man Tessai—

If only Tessai had half your wisdom, Kichisei-san.

Kinbee?!

Go inside, Momoka! I'll hold him off!

Let's not rush to a fight, kiddo.

My, my. How honored I am, to be welcomed by the oyabun himself.

Where is Hoshiguma?

She is enjoying the hospitality of my people, and is unable to help you.

Despicable scum!

Blame yourself. I was trying to bait her with Moriuchi, but she bit the hook before I even had time to set the bait.

But I don't like to kill unless I have to. These are more civilized times.

I'm here to extend a sincere invitation to Chairman Tessai to attend my accession ceremony.

Your what?

You heard me.

If Chairman Tessai will not hand over Kajimachi whatsoever, then I must take the small liberty of taking over the leadership of the Kinsekikai. After all, the position is already little more than a figurehead.

If you are too embarrassed to attend, you can simply hand over Hannya, and the ceremony can take place without you.

Hannya is not the symbol of succession, never was!

It is if everyone believes it is.

You favored Hoshiguma too much. You never even realized it, did you?

Or did you choose to give Hannya to Hoshiguma before she went to Lungmen for the sole purpose of snubbing me? What did she have that I didn't, that you would detest me so?

You think too highly of yourself.

Yes! That's what I wanted to hear!

It's not that I think too highly of myself, Old Man. You look down on everyone except for your beloved Hoshiguma!

Standing alone at the door, Mifune laughs.

Momoka and Kichisei slowly move back behind Tessai.

Perhaps your son would not have turned against you if I told you this sooner.

Why bring up Tetsuya? Did you think I opposed you in order to pass leadership onto that kid? He's not made for it.

I know. He's another one you look down on.

Enough talk. I may not be able to beat you, but it's not so hard to stall you until Hoshiguma gets back. This is my house, after all.

Also, it'll be a good chance to try out the reforged Hannya.

Tameshigiri? Wonderful.

I have something to show you before that, though.

Mifune reaches into his clothes.

Tessai keeps a careful eye on his movements, but all Mifune does is take out a few photos, casually tossing them to the floor.

Tessai catches a glimpse of one of the photos, which falls face-up in front of him—

Tetsuya?!

Tetsuya.

Such a good boy. He did everything I asked of him to the limits of his ability, whether he could ultimately handle it or not.

For example, he really did find the Northern Court spy... himself.

Why—you?!

I was surprised when I first saw the photos, but then it started to make sense.

Tetsuya's mother may have missed her family in the north, but she steadfastly refused any approach to become a spy.

Yet the mark of Hoashi was on all the weapons that we, the Kinsekikai, procured in secret.

My fault, I suppose. The Kinsekikai's TV station wasn't as powerful as it is now, and those who wanted a piece of the Kinsekikai would have set upon the news like hungry beasts.

Eventually, I helped you find a place for the weapons, but you had to take care of the aftermath. You were forced to place the blame on Tetsuya's mother, as you once placed it on Hoshiguma.

To you, the Kinsekikai is the King on the shogi board.

You will preserve it at all costs, never hesitating to cut other pieces loose, be it a Queen like Hoshiguma, or Promoted Rooks like me that you look down on.

I'm curious myself... what does Tetsuya mean to you?

Is he a Rook? A Bishop? Or is he so incompetent that you see him as a Pawn you wouldn't mind losing?

If that was really so, we would have to have a fight here and now. But he isn't, is he?

He is incompetent, but he's not a shogi piece. He's your precious son, not to be placed on the board—

Shut up!

Clearly on edge, the old man seems ready to charge at Mifune with shield raised at any moment.

But Mifune can see Hannya trembling in his hands.

His mother's name will never be cleared. If the same fate befalls your only remaining child...

I said, SHUT UP!

You're hesitating. You're contemplating whether there's a chance the reforged Hannya will allow you to neutralize me in one blow, and bargain my life for Tetsuya's.

Chance. What an obnoxious word.

Are you scared?

Unfortunately for you, there is more than one person who carries out my will.

I'm not claiming strength in numbers, but the moment you swing Hannya at me, a button will be pressed, and these photos will show up on Kinseki Channel.

And you'll be free, once and for all, when Tetsuya realizes that he was right, and his father never cared about him, just as his father never cared about his mother.

What do you say, Old Man?

What do you say, Old Man?

What...?

No, it's not true! It can't be!

Tell me this isn't real!

Tetsuya frantically shakes the shoulders of the ninja who brought him here, but he cannot even tell if the ninja is looking at him.

After so many years, you have finally delivered Hannya into the hands of its true master.

Unfortunately, I still have to complete certain task entrusted to me. Where is the deed to Kajimachi? No rush, the one who gave me the task wanted it done cleanly. For now, you can simply follow me.

Those two...

The girls? I'm certainly willing to do you a favor, since you've been cooperative so far. Come quietly, and I'll spare their lives.

You can go to hell, Kinbee! I'll cut your tail off and make a belt out of it—

Kichisei!

His father's angry voice comes through the TV's speakers somewhat distorted, giving the scene a sense of surrealness.

Papa... Papa!

Where are you taking him? Let him go! You want to get me, come for me! Why him? Why?!

Mio-san. Where is the Ao-Oni?

Mifune-san's orders were to let her go when the time is right, and allow her to return to Kajimachi.

What of the boy? When do we let him go? Or are there other plans?

I don't know. The orders from upstairs were to keep him in the room, and don't let him break anything in it. I wasn't told anything else.

I see.

Mio-san... see, I'm not sure how long I'll have to watch him, and I was up all night last night... I'm very tired, to tell the truth...

You can go.

Arigatou!

What's on the TV?

Let me go.

I asked a question.

Let me go!

Mifune-san's orders are that you are not to leave this room.

My father's gone with your people! He's yielded! What else do you want?!

I'm simply following orders.

The young Oni draws his bokutou, but the ethereal hand emerging from behind the Liberi easily brings him to the ground.

Don't waste your energy.

Won't you say something, Chairman Tessai?

Have you decided to stay silent for now? Suit yourself, as long as you speak when I tell you to.

The camera follows Tessai.

Tetsuya sees his father leave the manor and enter a car stopped in front of its gate.

After a short while, the door of the car opens. Through an unremarkable door is a splendorous meeting hall.

What's this place?

Auction hall.

Auctioning what? Kajimachi? You don't mean my father's...?

No.

The next item for auction is not listed in the catalog. It was added at the last minute.

I present... the very first ever TV set manufactured by the Kinseki Group!

Starting at... s-seven million!

A TV set that looks so unremarkable, yet starting at the remarkable price of two thousand ryou... there must be something extraordinary about it!

Seven million, five hundred thousand.

Kouhei Mifune san? Are you serious?

Of course.

I doubt I'm the only one who recognizes its value.

A-Are you sure?

Regardless... we have a bid for seven million, five hundred thousand from Kouhei Mifune-san!

Seven million five hundred thousand going once... seven million five hundred thousand going twice...

...Ten million.

In the middle of the screen, the aging Oni slowly raises the paddle in his hand.

His old, feeble voice comes through the TV speakers.

That's... Chairman Tessai of the Kinsekikai?!

What did Mifune say... fifteen million? He's still raising the bid? What is he trying to do, kill my father by putting him into debt?

The Liberi says nothing, but the young man sees a hint of pity in her eyes that goes a little further than what the number 'fifteen million' should elicit.

Two hundred million?! You are bidding two hundred million, Tessai-san?!

Two...

Two hundred million?!

Two hundred million going once... two hundred million going twice... Last chance at two hundred million... sold.

Tetsuya watches as Tessai rises from his seat and walks past rows of well-dressed buyers, towards the TV set that should have belonged to him to begin with.

Tessai-san, there is still paperwork to be done...

Tessai ignores the auctioneer and gently lifts the TV set, the way he did when he marketed it to potential buyers, one-at-a-time, many years ago.

Tetsuya raises his bokutou again.

He charges at Mio in desperation, but is once again thrown easily to the floor.

Again, and again...

The TV set continues to mercilessly send distorted sounds into the room.

The sound of camera shutters, of people giving a show of applauding, of footsteps, of the rustling of pen on paper, of car doors shutting, of car engines rumbling.

The now-unfamiliar sound of the door to his father's manor.

Tetsuya has lost count of how many times he has gotten back up after being thrown to the ground by Mio. He charges futilely again, when he hears the voices behind him.

One, like a ghost; the other, like a man-eating Akki.

Voices that hardly even seem human anymore.

Now, give me the deed.

Sign here, stamp your handprint, and all will be done.

You still can't do it, can you?

But you understand that none of it is over, until you've put your palm to the page.

And what happens when I do?

The deed to Kajimachi will become the collateral on a loan in the amount of two hundred million. The TV set is yours, once you give the payment to the auction house—

It's Tetsuya that I'm talking about!

Him? Same as always. Those photos of him will be sealed away forever.

You'll never be able to pay back the debt. We can keep this secret together, and he'll be none the wiser.

The two people in the room with the TV both freeze.

Even the Liberi, who should have seen plenty of such things, takes an involuntary step backward.

You liar!

He's a liar! Mifune is a liar! Don't do it! No!

I know. It's not easy, choosing between abandoning your son and a crushing debt.

Money? I don't care about money...

Money. Business. Titles. Land. None of that matters anymore.

But only this... bowing my head to rotten scum like you...

And yet bow you will.

Bow you will, for the Tetsuya you failed to save from the rampaging Akki, and for the other Tetsuya you almost made a traitor out of.

Promise me. You won't kill Tetsuya, or Hoshiguma, or those two girls.

I won't.

He tricked me! He tricked me! Don't let him trick you!

You're the oyabun of the Kinsekikai! You're Tessai the Kingpin! You're my father! Papa! Papa!

This isn't supposed to happen! This isn't who you are!

You're the villain who can turn Mitsukue's yakuza upside-down with a wave of your hand! You're the steel-hearted murderer who killed my mother! This isn't who you are!

Papa—

As the old man places his hand on the inkpad, then leaves his red handprint on the paper, it seems like all life has been sucked out of him.

Good. Very good.

By the way, your son just saw everything that happened, from beginning to end. I'm sure he'll be grateful to you. No need to thank me.

You—how dare you?!

Your son thought he was the same as me. He thought you always looked down on him as you looked down on me, thinking of him as a worthless substitute.

I hope he learned his lesson, and stops thinking of himself as the most pitiable man under Heaven.

How lucky he is, to have someone willing to trample the last vestige of his own dignity for him.

A wave of the fan, and the hand-printed sheet is cut in half, but Mifune continues to sneer.

The image on the TV starts shaking. Something seems to have moved the camera.

Here's the camera.

You... you deceived me? You let Tetsuya know about all this... you never meant to spare him?

Why? Why would you deceive Hoshiguma, deceive me, deceive Tetsuya?!

'Deceive' is such a strong word.

Hoshiguma learned that her choice was only ever wishful thinking.

Tetsuya learned that you did love him, after all.

And you—you understand now, don't you?

Mitsukue no longer needs you or the hypocrisy of the Kinsekikai. Everything you've done was to fool yourself—

A loud noise comes through the speakers as the camera is smashed. The screen goes dark, but the speakers continue to mercilessly communicate the sound.

The sound of Tessai's fan clashing with Mifune's sword.

The sound of labored footsteps.

The sound of blade impaling flesh.

...Papa?

The sound of blood dripping.

Papa—

The sound of a body hitting the floor.

Papa!!!

Die on the battlefield... or... or die fighting cops, die to my vengeful blade! Don't die like this—

Don't—

Don't die for me like this—humiliated... trampled beneath another man's feet...

Y-You don't deserve to be my father. But I don't deserve to have you die for me like this!

Why would you do this for me? Why would you do this for a fool?!

Papa...

Mifune-san...?

Yes, I took over from the ninja.

His reaction...? I'm sure you can imagine.

You... you have no further use for him?

—Yes! What other orders do you have?

Yes, I will go to the place where Momoka is being held.

But was there not someone else? The woman by the name of Kichisei—

Mio, is it?

Mifune told you to kill me, didn't he?

He wants to wrap things up cleanly. He doesn't want any loose ends, does he?

Then do it. Kill me here and now.

Otherwise, I'll kill you with my tooth and nail, whatever it takes to get out of here.

Go.

...Go?

Go. Before I change my mind.

Never come back.

Has the sun set?

Tessai does not know.

He has lost track of time.

He remembers falling to Mifune's blade. He remembers Mifune grabbing his hand and leaving a bloody handprint on a new contract.

Then, the footsteps grow distant, and his vision grows grey and blurry.

He wants to be free of all this—

Uncle Tessai?!

The old man stands back up feebly as he hears the familiar voice, perhaps out of guilt, perhaps out of lingering sentiment, perhaps because he does not want Hoshiguma to see the true extent of his weakness.

...Hoshiguma?

Who did this? Kinbee?!

Hoshiguma... I couldn't protect Kajimachi... or Hannya...

Where's Momoka? Kichisei?

Kinbee was right about one thing... sitting in my chair... I started thinking of everything as shogi pieces...

Moving them... trading them... sacrificing them...

But I forgot... I'm no more than a shogi piece myself, in the eyes of others...

Run... you're no match for Kinbee... leave this forsaken place... go back... go back to Lungmen...

No, I won't!

Sit down, Uncle Tessai. I'll find a doctor—

*cough* *cough* Don't... bother...

Can't you see... I'm beyond help...?

Uncle Tessai—

I'm here, Uncle Tessai. I'm not going anywhere.

Sit down. We'll sit together for a little bit... just like old times.

Hoshiguma helps the dying old man sit down.

She casts her gaze toward the tall walls in the distance. There are lights flashing outside, and the sound of tracks rolling over the ground.

She does not care what it means. Kajimachi is dead, and she cares not what will become of it later.

All she knows is that she must stay with the dying man.

The old man's breathing grows weaker and weaker, but he begins to feel the rumbling of tracks too.

He looks up in terror, but his eyes can no longer see. The ground trembles beneath him.

Is that... a sound... I can't hear...?

What is it, Hoshiguma... what is it...?

It's—

Hoshiguma stops in mid-sentence, choking back tears.

After a while, she growls from the back of her throat—

It's the signal... to begin the fireworks show.

The fireworks... have begun?

Yes. They're getting ready. You hear the commotion, don't you?

Yes... Kajimachi hasn't been so lively... in a long time...

A smile appears on the old man's face.

An engineering vehicle rams through the manor's walls, causing the beams to shake violently.

Not too far away, the pachinko parlor's machines are crushed to pieces, sending tiny balls flying everywhere.

Do you hear... the fireworks...?

Yes...

The sound of fireworks going off, taiko drums rumbling, the noise of the crowd.

He feels the trembling of the ground again, its joyful dance.

He hears the faint sound of car horns, from vehicles caught in the traffic jam outside.

He senses his own heartbeat growing slower by the second.

No...

No... I can't...

In his final moments, his heart races once more, and hot blood flows swift through his veins, as the dying man gazes at the sunset, thinking that it is the rising sun—

The wrinkled hands fall weakly.

Found the body that the witness reported... and the suspect, matching the description of Hoshiguma!

Was this part of Kinbee's plan too?

Shut up and come with us.

Calling the police, letting you see me with Uncle Tessai as he draws his last breath, so that I'll once again be suspected of murder...

Was this part of Kinbee's plan too?

Did his people call you?

...I see.

Hoshiguma takes a leap and sees a familiar foe before the policeman says anything.

Yakuza. Ninja.

You're in league with each other?

The policeman looks down at his own feet—as Hoshiguma swings her unsheathed sword, trying to cut a path through the faint but inevitable dusk.