Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (るろうに剣心 追憶編)

This program is a work of fiction.

Any original characters or characters in the history are fictional.

Due to Graphic Violence, Parental Discretion is advised.

Act I: The Man of the Slashing Sword

They are afflicted, the times and the mind of man.

The world edges closer to destruction day by day.

Even if a man of incredible strength were to arise,

He would not be able to stop it.

Please, spare the child, I beg you!

Don't look!

Sister, at least protect him...

Shinta! Shinta! You are just a child.

You have not chosen your life, as we have been able to.

You cannot die now. You must live.

Live a full life for the sake of those who died here tonight.

Shinta, please live.

Live, Shinta.

Live for me.

Who the hell are you?

You are about to die, so knowing my name is useless to you.

I suppose it was fate that led me in this direction tonight.

You have been avenged.

Bearing a grudge against these men will not bring your loved ones back.

Revel in the fact that you survived.

It no longer surprises me.

The smell of blood and the smell of white plums...

It's a living hell where mankind is slaughtered by bandits.

And it's also a hell where they are sold into slavery.

Yes, it happens every day.

In the past, and in the future.

My sword is guided by the teachings of Hiten-Mitsurugi.

Yet, too often, I cannot use it to save even one person's life.

Not one living soul.

The only thing I can do is to bury the corpses.

I notice you've made graves for the bandits as well as your family.

They were slave traders, not my family.

I was sold to them after my parents died of cholera.

After they died, there were no bandits or slave traders.

Just dead bodies.

What are these stones for?

Kasumi, Akane, Sakura.

I only met them yesterday, but I wanted to protect them.

I was the only boy in the group,

But they tried to protect me. They said, "Please spare the child."

I was too young to help.

I wanted them to have special graves, so I wanted good stones.

Those are the only ones I could find. I don't even have flowers to put on them.

It is unfortunate to enter Nirvana without having tasted good Sake,

So this is my tribute to them.

Thank you, um...

I am Seijuro Hiko. A wandering swordsman.

Swordsman?

My boy, you failed to protect something very delicate.

You were entrusted with those three lives.

Your tiny hands will remember how heavy their bodies were,

But you will carry the far heavier weight of their lives with you forever.

You have already carried them.

Now, you must acquire the strength to support yourself, and protect others.

Then, you will be able to live your life, and defend cherished lives.

Defend cherished lives?

What's your name, boy?

Shinta.

Much too delicate a name for a swordsman.

From now on your name will be Kenshin.

Kenshin...

I am going to teach you, boy. Teach you my forte!

Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku-Hen

1864 (Genji I)

I'm sorry, we're running late. We should hurry up now.

-- I've heard the good news, Kiyosato. -- Oh?

You're to be married next month.

Yes...

Your lovely childhood sweetheart will soon be your wife.

You're a very lucky man.

Thank you. I feel badly about it, though.

If so many people are miserable, why should I be this happy?

What are you talking about?

The world is always in a terrible condition.

That shouldn't stop a man from being happy, should it?

I will return no later than next Spring.

We must try to be patient, both of us.

Let's buy a ground cherry on the way home.

You are Jubei Shigekura of the Kyoto Shoshidai, are you not?

I have come to mete the divine punishment you deserve, old man.

Assassin!

You think you can change the world with the cut of your sword?

Who are you?

Answer me!

Get away! You must not die now!

Master Shigekura!

I must not die. I do not want to die.

Surrender.

I will not!

I cannot die. I cannot die yet!

I do not want to die. I will not.

I refuse to die!

I do not want to die.

Not yet. Not now.

Do not let me die.

Tomoe...

Himura, are you hurt?

Not seriously.

I can't believe someone was actually able to mark you.

He must have had great skill.

No.

Just stubborn.

Iizuka, clean this up if you please.

Hey!

Now, attack me! Faster!

He will grow stronger.

No one can improve his skill with a sword

Without desiring to become stronger as well.

This boy desires nothing more than to increase his capacity.

He is pure.

Yes, he is so pure that I would almost call him a simpleton.

The principle of Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu states:

"The sword of Mitsurugi should be wielded for the people of the world."

"For the protection of the weak."

It's been a long time.

Someone was actually able to hurt you, were they?

It was due to my carelessness.

Iizuka, who was this swordsman?

A bodyguard of Jubei Shigekura of the Kyoto Shoshidai.

I don't know his name, though.

Is something wrong?

No. Actually, I will be attending a meeting tonight.

Toshimaro and Miyabe will be there, too.

Important matters of our clans' policies will be discussed.

You want me as your bodyguard?

No, I want you to attend this meeting as my adjunct.

Oh, good for you.

-- No, I decline. -- Eh?

I am your assassin. That is the only way I can serve you.

If there is nothing else, I will excuse myself.

Come back here!

Excuse us, Sir!

What an obstinate attitude!

How dare he repay your kindness with that kind of response?

Kihei-tai?

Yes, these will be all the bullets we will need, Katsura.

They are the best. They often exhibit extreme power.

This is what we will use to smash the Shogunate at last.

Certainly more appealing than tired, old samurai, but can you be sure?

You're always so reticent.

Next!

What's that boy doing down there?

The "ki" in "kihei" is the same as "ki" in "kibatsu" (eccentric).

How about that? Not bad, eh?

Takasugi...

I know you saw him with those wide-open eyes of yours.

That boy...

I want him to come to Kyoto with me.

I cannot allow you to leave this mountain.

Master!

While we discuss philosophy,

Scores of people are being crushed by the disturbance each day.

We must use our power now!

Mitsurugi swordsmanship must be used to protect the innocent, right?

You contemptuous whelp!

What will you do after you lend your arm to this disturbance?

If you want to affect a change in the current crisis,

You will have to join one side or the other.

Therefore, you will also be used by those who hold the power down there.

I did not teach Mitsurugi swordsmanship to you

So you could tarnish it that way.

You should not pay any attention to these external distractions.

Concentrate on your training!

People are being oppressed all around us.

They are suffering.

I cannot just turn my back on them! I will not!

Mitsurugi is the most powerful form of sword technique.

It is the black ship of absolute power that sails the land.

That's why we should use it now!

To protect the people from these painful times!

That is the purpose of the Mitsurugi technique!

Swordsmanship is a method of murder, do you hear me?

You can decorate it with all sorts of pretty words, but that is what it is.

Kill some people in order to protect others.

Murder some to save all.

That is the final principle of all sword technique.

As you know, I have murdered hundreds of evil men,

But they were all human beings, too.

They were merely trying to live their lives

The only way they knew how.

If you leave this mountain, you will live a life of murder

Under the direction of men who write their own justice.

If you throw your lot in with them,

Mitsurugi swordsmanship will make you a mass murderer.

You may be right,

But I want to rescue with my own hands those who are suffering!

Countless lives, as many as I can!

I want to be their savior!

I must leave in order to do so!

Master!

I am wasting my breath on a simpleton like you!

Go! Go wherever you want to go!

Thank you for everything.

That half-witted pup!

He has decided to live according to his own principles.

Because he is so pure,