Chapter 72: Meeting in the Forest (Beginning)

Sanosuke (trudging through the forest): Damn. Where the hell is Kyoto? Better yet, where the hell am I? (thinking) Wonder if Kenshin's already reached Kyoto? The girl and Yahiko are probably on their way... I wonder how Megumi's doing with her patients... That jerk Saitou is on his way to Kyoto too... (grrr). (aloud) Something about this place looks familiar. Or is it just me?

(His stomach growls fiercely.)

Sanosuke: Damn. You get mad, you get hungry. (He unwraps a bean jam bun from his pack.) Last one. After this I'll probably have to start catching frogs to eat. (tossing it in his mouth) Oh well.

(The ground rumbles under his feet. Sanosuke stumbles, and the bun hits the ground. He looks at it sadly for a long minute. Then he stuffs it in his mouth anyway.)

Sanosuke (bursting into the clearing up ahead): Hey, where are you! Who do you think you are, messing around with people's meals?

(A man is sitting cross-legged inside a ring of statues. He chants, and strikes the ground with his sword. The statues rattle.)

Sanosuke (thinking): A monk training in esoteric Buddhism? But what is this, some kinda charm? (Praying for good crops?)

(The man chants and strikes the ground again; each statue bursts into tiny fragments. Noticing Sanosuke's presence, he stands up.)

Sanosuke: That was amazing. I've heard of the monks who train to be able to borrow the power of the Buddha, but this is the first time I've seen real houriki.

Monk (his name is Anji): Are you lost?

Sanosuke: Yeah. Sorry, but could you show me the way? And if you have any food, give it here.

Anji: That's no way to ask for people's things.

(A little later. Frogs and wild mushrooms are roasting over a fire.)

Anji: I see. So it was the fault of my training that your bean jam bun fell in the mud? I'm sorry.

Sanosuke: That's okay. Thanks to you I got a hot meal. And houriki isn't something you see every day.

Anji: That was not houriki. Houriki is just a rumor to build up people's faith. I myself have never seen such a thing. And even if it really did exist, it wouldn't be something I could use.

Sanosuke: You're... a fallen monk?

Anji: Yes. Fallen monk (Hakaizou)--A monk who has fallen into shame by breaking the Buddha's ordained prohibitions (against the taking of life, giving into desire, etc) Sanosuke: I see. I thought that was a pretty evil face for a regular monk.

Anji: You can speak about such things?

Sanosuke: But if you've abandoned your faith, what're you doing training?

Anji: I have thrown away my faith, but not my desire to save this world. And this cannot be done with the Buddha's hands. To be able to save this world with human hands and a human heart. I am training to gain that power. For this I need strength that surpasses that of the Buddha.