Taboo of Tarot Page #4

---

You're crazy!

I'm joking.

Come back and see us yourself,

put this behind us.

No, I'm working late today.

You're making a mistake!

I'm with the militia!

I've asked the captains

to find out who's lost his dagger.

It isn't mine.

If it were yours,

I wouldn't be here.

I was informed this morning

that Hyozo Tashiro

isn't carrying a dagger

with his sword.

Hyozo Tashiro?

I see...

You're in a terrible spot.

He must think

you stole Sozaburo from him.

He sees you as his rival.

Jealousy among men

is a horrible thing.

Especially since Tashiro

was his first lover.

You dared steal him away.

I didn't steal anyone!

I know.

Tashiro was a foot soldier,

wasn't he?

Even less.

He was servant to a tenant farmer.

Perhaps he acquired

these practices there.

A samurai can be undone

by the love of men.

He must be Yuzawa's murderer.

One is tempted to take pity on him,

but we can't just let this go.

Let's kill him.

He's touched by a certain madness.

Who knows what problems

he can make for us.

Some would exploit this

to create divisions among us.

Hijikata, this must be kept secret.

But who will kill him?

Sozaburo Kano.

That's a little...

"cruel.

Can he manage alone?

Tashiro is his equal.

Yes, he can do it.

I'm not so sure.

He could be killed, in fact.

Go as observers.

You and Okita.

That should be enough.

me?

What a burden.

me? Kill Tashiro?

I'll do my best.

"What can he be feeling?

You'll be alone.

We'll be watching from afar.

But... if it goes wrong,

we won't be able to step in.

We can only watch. Understand?

Kano.

Why do you keep those locks?

No reason.

Cut them off.

Let me keep them a while.

Why?

I made a vow.

Right here is fine.

Why Sozaburo Kano?

Kondo decided.

Why?

I don't know.

Could he be in love with him?

He's not like that.

You know very well.

Still...

Still what?

He doesn't look at him

the way he looks at the others.

Neither do you.

me and Sozaburo?

Soji, could you be jealous

of Sozaburo?

I was brought up

by you and Commander Kondo.

I'm not jealous.

What about the two of you?

What do you mean?

There's a tacit understanding

no one comes between you.

The spirit of the militia.

Anyone who tries to step in,

or if Kondo makes a friend,

you nip it in the bud.

Soji, shut up!

I've just read a good book.

The doctor told me to rest

so I read

"Tale of the Rain and the moon",

including "A Vow Between Two men".

The story of a scholar

who takes care

of a samurai who'd fallen

ill while traveling.

After a while, they grow close

and take an oath

of everlasting friendship.

But the samurai

must return to his group.

Se he leaves,

promising he'll return

the following year, September 9th.

Time passes.

Chrysanthemum season comes around.

The morning of the 9th,

the scholar and his mother

prepare flowers, sake and fish.

But the samurai doesn't come.

The scholar's mother

tries to comfort him, in vain.

He comes outside his house.

The moon is behind the mountains.

All is dark.

He's about to go back inside

when he sees a man in the shadows.

The samurai has come.

He shows him inside.

The samurai seems strangely

sad and quiet.

He won't eat or drink.

Suddenly he says

he no longer belongs to this world.

On the journey home,

he'd been taken prisoner.

He couldn't escape.

So he killed himself

and kept his promise.

His spirit was carried on the wind.

Lovely.

Yes. And the moral is,

avoid frivolous people

and surround yourself

with friends you can count on.

I think the two men in the story

have feelings of love.

Otherwise, why kill yourself

in order to keep your word?

Even the title suggests it.

No...

What is it?

Nothing.

Soji,

could it be you're in love

with Sozaburo?

What?

You know I'm not like that.

Yes, but...

Why do you read that kind of book?

And why

do you think all this up?

I don't understand these people.

I hate them.

I hate Tashiro and Sozaburo.

I can't stand them.

The sound of their voices

gives me a chill.

But I love beautiful stories.

Don't you, Hijikata?

Here they are.

You betrayed me.

You murdered Yuzawa

and ambushed Sgt. Yamazaki.

There is proof.

The rules say you must die.

What proof do you have?

"Could we have been mistaken?

Sozaburo, you killed Yuzawa.

You stole my dagger

to implicate me.

Forgive me.

What did he say?

I couldn't hear.

Tashiro was completely thrown.

What did Sozaburo tell him?

Even if we heard,

we wouldn't have understood.

Perhaps they were words

shared by lovers.

I forgot something.

I must go back.

Soji...

You didn't love Sozaburo

but he loved you.

Destroy him.

Okita!

Sozaburo was too beautiful.

men took advantage of him.

He was possessed by evil.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes