The President of FogBlue (the Togakushi Village's surface-world organization, which Fuuma Kotarou told us about back in ep. 5) --a trim, black-haired lady in a tailored business suit--walks into her
group's office to tell them proudly that she's just accepted a job with a contract price of one billion, the largest they've ever signed. Not only that, but it's not from the surface world, it's from within Nabari itself.
The group is jubilant and can't wait to begin, but she says that only she and Katou (the anxious young aide who's carrying
her stack of documents) will be working on this job, and that they'll be working alongside another organization. The group protests: but Katou's so new here, are you sure he's the best for the job?
(Katou, dismayed and nervous, likewise questions her here). And why another group, why not use our own people?
She tells them "sorry, that's all I can say right now" and orders Katou to go and buy them plane tickets to Banten Village.
Team Banten is having dinner at Miharu's family restaurant. Thobari presses Miharu to talk about his kidnapping, but
he insists nothing happened. ("You don't have to believe me." "I don't believe you. Did they forbid you to talk?") Don't you trust me?--pleads sensei, but Miharu pulls his
innocent-little-devil act and begs Thobari to stop bullying him, walking off with a smirk as he collapses and the others sigh over sensei's density. ==[Tracking note: in the manga, his parting conversation with Yoite is seen here as a flashback, whereas in the anime we saw it last episode in real time.]
==As they leave, Miharu's aunt tells him to walk Kumohira-sensei out to the main road, as
he seems to be worrying about something
("probably something you did, right?").
Miharu catches up to him as he leans on the wall having a cigarette. Thobari says that he doesn't feel right in going
home and leaving Miharu here,
but he doesn't want to curtail the boy's freedom, and they can't let his aunt know anything is going on.
(Shiratama the cat, having joined them, rubs Miharu's ankles affectionately, and he picks her up as sensei talks.)
In the end, he says, my determination isn't enough.
Then just stay by my side, Miharu says; you did make a contract to protect me. I thought you were angry with that,
says Thobari in surprise; he admits that protecting Miharu in reality is much harder that it seemed when he promised
it, and adds that he knows that sounds naive.
It's OK if you're naive, says Miharu. Besides, for the time being the Kairoushuu won't be coming after me, so it'll be all right. How do you know, sensei asks, and he hesitates just a second before replying, "Yoite told me." Thobari grabs his shoulder; so you are hiding something!
I may not be much help, but can't you trust me even a little? Miharu frankly tells him that "the more you think, the less
you're able to handle". [Poor Thobari, all three kids have his number by now.]--Miharu starts back up the stairs,
turns and says cryptically, "to destroy the hijutsu and become king,
or to take control of it and become king...no one knows what I will do when that time comes." There's a strange look in his eye...he waves goodnight and walks off.
Next day at school, Kouichi is trying to give an update on what's known about the whereabouts of the scrolls, but everyone is in their own little worlds. Miharu plays with his cat (at school, even?) while Thobari broods over their conversation, wondering if Miharu plans on bearing the entire burden himself,
and thinking that it would be so much easier if he'd open up to them.--To his astonishment, a voice suddenly says out loud just what he was thinking: "If you understood his feelings it would be a lot easier, right?" It's the FogBlue president and her aide. She greets them with a cool smile:
good afternoon, she says, Kumohira-sensei and fellow Banten villagers. They all get to their feet as she strolls up to them, answering sensei's unspoken question that what she does could indeed be called reading others' thoughts. You all have secrets of your own, she adds as she looks around,
saying that Kouichi pretends to be calm and innocent while Raimei is struggling to crush her hatred. Looking Miharu in the eye as she greets him by name, she adds in a whisper that she can see he wants to tell everyone about it, but can't say a word to them; and more deeply, that important memories from his childhood are vague and
wavering in his mind. But the one with the most problems is--Thobari has his kunai dagger at her throat before she can finish. You knew I'd stop, he says to her (she's not the least bit unsettled by the sudden attack), and she replies that she's already heard he has a naive ninja spirit, and refuses to kill. She hands them her business card,
introducing herself as both the leader of Togakushi Village and President of FogBlue Employment Agency: Oda Yae.
Inside, Yae's aide introduces himself to the group as Katou Sorou, Assistant Director of Public Relations. He explains that
in August, a big environmental summit meeting is being held in Tokyo. It's actually just a front for major corporations to raise their popularity and appeal (--presumably by trumpeting all the things they intend to do to become more "green".) So what, Raimei asks, and Yae says "not so fast, Ms. self-proclaimed samurai". She holds up the brochure:
this man, Eugene Frosty (in some scanslations "Flossetti"), will be there, she says, and we'd like you to assassinate him. Why him?--asks Kouichi. He's the CEO of Frost Company, a major international concern, which on the surface specializes in energy development and chemical research. In reality, she says, they use their so-called research to steal from Third World governments, causing
conflict and running illegal arms traffic. Furthermore (and now she's getting angry) in these countries they develop new weapons and test chemicals on human beings! --Yae collects herself, saying sorry; it should be no surprise that such a man is the target of assassins. He's always surrounded by bodyguards and may even have a special team of them for his trip to Japan.
In fact, she suspects he'll hire the Kairoushuu.--Thobari protests that even if he's an evil man, this judgment seems
excessive; but then Katou shows them what they'll be paid for the job: the Togakushi kinjutsu scroll, Izunashingan. [literally "Izuna's Mind's Eye"]-- Of course this is only a replica, he says, but the offer is serious. And they'll even throw in some special FogBlue stickers! =) If they know that both the Fuuma and Kairoushuu are collecting
the scrolls, asks Thobari, why are they willing to give away something so important? Yae tells them the Togakushi no longer have the willpower to oppose any other village,
especially if it involves the shinrabanshou. Besides, even if we give up our kinjutsu scroll--she points to her own eye--I'll still be able to use my own Izunashingan.
Kouichi and Raimei both inwardly guess that this means the jutsu the scroll gives is the power to read minds, and she tells them they're correct. I already know all your deepest secrets, Yae says: to accept willingly or unwillingly, which do you prefer? Thobari agonizes. Kouichi draws his kunai dagger behind his back, but Yae tells him that's perfectly obvious to her, and that if she
dies on this mission her associates have orders to destroy the scroll. Then we should just take you as a hostage, he retorts. She looks him straight in the eye: even if your secret is exposed? I wouldn't care, says Aizawa Kouichi; I'm not sure how the others feel, but my secret is nothing special. Not true, says Yae, but you certainly are a good liar. Raimei draws her sword:
I feel the same as Kouichi, she says. Since you have no qualms about invading minds, I won't hold back either.
Katou, uneasy, says they weren't expected to react like this. Stop panicking, she snaps, and leans over Thobari's desk.
Are you still thinking about what will happen if you reject this offer? Would it be all right if I revealed the
circumstances behind Asahi-san's death?==
His eyes widen with horror. He glances over at Miharu, who's still reading the book on the history of the shinrabanshou that he got in the Fuuma village, and Yae follows his gaze. A person who doesn't share his thoughts with others, and carries the burden by himself... Stop it, says Thobari, but she's zeroed in on Miharu. A person who in his heart is always alone,
who's afraid of being hated by anyone...why have you become like this? She and he are seen standing in a mindspace where the character/letters of the shinrabanshou swirl. After my mother died, he says, I became so sad, as if my heart had died. Is that why you don't want to lose anything else? she asks, and he says, "now, I have to not care."
The shinrabanshou might help you
regain those lost memories, she suggests; he clenches his teeth, and the lights in the room buzz and flicker. Yae smiles. Your other self is shouting, she says. I don't need it, says Miharu: light crackles around him, and in the inner space the female manifestation of the hijutsu apears, closing her talons around Yae. Shut up, she/it says; Miharu will soon call for me.
Yae clamps her hands to her face, screaming;
Katou starts to her side and Thobari throws him to the ground. Raimei begins to charge, but Thobari reins in
everyone and says, understood; I accept your offer.
[VERY interesting revelation in the manga at this point: Yukimi and his sister talking; Kazuho says uneasily that though she knows their assignment is to remove the hijutsu from Miharu's body and place it in Hattori's (!!!),
she's not sure the leader's body can handle the strain. Yukimi asks if she's really OK with saying this to the boss's face, and we see Hattori sitting there smiling, saying he understands the risk. Kazuho says that when all human memory has been erased
all people will truly be equal,
and she'll give all her strength to help the leader realize this awesome dream. Whew!]
We see Katou and Yae walking through the airport. Katou is saying "I wondered how that would turn out" when Yae suddenly falls to her knees. He helps her to a seat, asking worriedly if she overused the hijutsu; she'll kill herself if she does.
[--hmm, so do all hijutsu users pay such a high price?] I'm no good, she says, I'm such an unreliable president... Katou imagines romantically that he wants to be her strength, holding her in his arms and promising to always be by her side.
She says she appreciates the thought, but she doesn't feel the same way for him. [It must be awfully tough to have a crush on a telepath.=) ] The poor kid cringes in embarrassment and runs off to get her some water; when he returns, she says somberly that she's heard those who gain this technique often lose the trust of those around them.
He says that he knows for certain she has the support of her people. --They see an announcement that Eugene Frosty will be the Guest of Honor at the environmental converence, and she says, let's go. As they walk away she looks at a photo she has stored in her cell phone: a dark-haired little girl sitting on a swing, smiling.
Team Banten has arrived at the conference. Kouichi tries to tell them how much fun this will be, but Thobari says he's too tired from walking all the way to Tokyo, and Miharu for once backs him up.
Frosty's car pulls up and his bodyguards escort him in, speaking English with awful accents. Thobari guesses they're Kairoshuu but Oda-san, suddenly appearing, says they aren't. In fact, there don't seem to be any here at all. Did she read for them? he asks, and she replies that she can't use the Izunashingan further than three metres from her target.
As they walk into the conference center, Miharu glances up and sees a familiar hat walking away on the upper level. Yoite, he says...
Yoite and Yukimi present themselves in Mr. Frosty's suite; Frosty's primary flunky, Nowake Hideo, says "you're the ninjas Hattori sent?" He's not impressed. Yukimi is incensed, Yoite impassive.
As the speeches begin, Thobari leaves Kouichi in charge of the hall and takes Miharu to meet with Yae and Katou, noting that security is very tight.
[Amusing moment in the manga here: we'd already learned that Tarou Zaemon, Fuuma-dono's 'crazy old man' morph, holds an important government job as a "cultural and science consultant"; here he's asked to speak a few words at the opening of the conference,
but is too busy flirting with girls in the stands to bother.]
Katou suggests attacking Frosty just as he enters his car; Thobari says that would be their last resort, as he'd like to risk bystanders' safety as little as possible. The rest should
take Miharu to the parking area and wait on standby. Miharu tries to tell him that the Kairoushuu are here, but a security guy spots them, and all scatter.
...go on to next episode.
Raimei gets a phone call from Saraba saying there's news of her brother, and sensei says it's all right if she wants to return to Fuuma; Miharu adds that if she let this chance slip she might regret it.
For your own sake I want you to go, he says dead earnestly, because Raimei's happiness is my happiness. Thobari and Kouichi fluster spectacularly, while Raimei, overjoyed, thanks him as her soulmate and hugs him. (Of course I might get killed without you around, but it's fine, he adds in devil-child mode. She, however, doesn't fall for this.)
..go back to Episode Guide mainpage.