Part 217: Two in Black (End)

Aoshi: It should be a little easier for you to talk now. Where is Kamiya Kaoru?

(Gein hops up to sit on the tree branch.)

Gein (thinking): Impertinent... but not to be taken lightly! Fortunately there's some distance between us... At this distance he can't afford to make a careless move. If I use this to find a way to attack...

(Aoshi steps up to the trunk of the tree.)

Oniwabanshu Kodachi Two-sword style Succession technique Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren!

(The six blows cut down the tree. It crashes to the ground. Aoshi steps over it; wire remains wrapped around the branch, but there's no sign of Gein.)

(Gein is leaping from tree to tree.)

Gein (thinking): I knew he was strong, but this... He's like a completely different person from the man I saw at Shishio's headquarters. So this is his true strength... If he's this good, than when he said he'd use his strength to banish me to darkness, that was no idle threat. But I won't give up my corpse-doll.

(He draws out a flask and soaks the spools of wire in liquid.)

Gein (thinking): The functional beauty of the Iwanbou series and the artificial beauty of my corpse-doll... The quest for the ultimate beauty that combines the two--that is what I'm waiting for!

(Aoshi steps forward into the clearing, to see Gein sitting in the trunk of a tree.)

Aoshi: Are you done playing tag?

Gein: Any more struggle would only be wasted effort. But my corpse doll is hard to give up. I propose a trade. As you wish, I'll tell you where Kamiya Kaoru is. But in exchange, you tell me where you've hidden the corpse doll. Well?

(Aoshi is silent.)

Gein: I won't lie to you. I've already broken with Enishi, so I have no reason to protect him. For instance, I could easily tell you that his base is below a warehouse owned by Heishin on the west bank of the Arakawa river.

Aoshi:... Done.

Gein: Hm? Can you come closer? My old ears are going bad.

(Aoshi slowly takes two steps forward.)

Gein: I've caught you, Shinomori Aoshi!

(He pulls, and a spiderweb of wire rises around Aoshi, dripping with liquid.)

Gein: You can't take a step to attack. Your powers of mobility are cut off. (He holds up a burning fuse.) This is the coup de grace. When used in mechanism, the wires are soaked in high-quality oil. One spark and boom! You can't lie when your life hangs in the balance. Tell me, where have you hidden my corpse-doll?

Aoshi: I burnt it. I thought it was pitiable that the dead should be resurrected at your will, so I cremated it that it might never be seen again.

(Gein raises the fuse to the wires.)

Oniwabanshu Kodachi Two-sword style Onmyou Hasshi

(Aoshi strikes the back of one kodachi with the other to propel it forward. It hits Gein in the shoulder just as the web of wire bursts into flame.)

Gein: A fruitless struggle. Die quietly, you fool--

(He turns to go, but can't. A strand of his wire has been attached to Aoshi's kodachi.)

Aoshi: You left your wire behind. I thought I'd make use of it.

Gein (desperately): Wait, wait! All right! I give in! I'll forget about the corpse-doll! Just wait!

Aoshi: No... For the Oniwabanshu, our missions are absolute. And I already told you... I will consign to darkness this shadowy villainy by my shadow arts... This is the final work of the Oniwabanshu Okashira!

(He pulls on the sword, and Gein falls into the sea of flames.)

(The next morning. Saitou and his officers are examining the scene of the fire.)

Officer: Inspector Saitou! This was found in the woods.

(He hands him the bottom half of the mask.)

Saitou: I see. Partial proof of the deceased's identity. Unfortunately the deceased himself is a blackened skull... That was the corpse found at Kamiya Kaoru's gravesite. And the opponent he fought...

(Aoshi shoulders his way out of the remains of the fire.)

Saitou: So it was you.

Aoshi: I know where Yukishiro Enishi's Tokyo base is. It was quicker to tell you here than return to town.

Saitou: That's good of you. And you managed not to burn to death.

Aoshi (indicating the empty grave and the spade): The ground had recently been disturbed. I made use of the empty grave. It wasn't very difficult.

Saitou: You had no wish to become a blackened skull?

Aoshi: Of course not. I still have a job to do. And there's someone waiting for my return.

(At the dojo, Misao has fallen asleep on the porch.)

Misao (talking in her sleep): Eh heh heh heh... Lord Aoshi...

Yahiko: Talk about a fool's paradise.