Original subtitles

Well, well. You folks must be the Miburo,

who've been "borrowing" from merchants like a bunch of robbers.

We're bodyguards who've been paid to fight for what's right.

If you don't wanna get hurt, turn tail and run back to your village.

Wimps.

Let 'em have it.

Charge!

Take everything valuable!

Whoa.

They can handle this fine without us.

Yeah, looks like it.

Why did you hesitate?

I don't need cowards.

You think you can defend Japan with that attitude?

No, sir.

We're sorry.

We stand for loyalty and patriotism.

We're the toughest band there has ever been. And don't you forget it.

Blue Miburo

I hear those three guys from earlier skipped town.

Cowards.

May I have a word?

Oh, Taro. What is it?

Excuse me.

Serizawa-sensei, I'd like to have a serious talk with you.

Please give me a job so I can make myself useful.

I don't need weaklings.

I know that I'm weak.

I'll do anything.

If you'll keep me at your side,

I'll even clean cesspits or whatever you want.

Take it.

What's this?

Poison.

Give it to Nio.

His nose is too keen for comfort. It's made him a nuisance.

So make sure he swallows that.

That's a job you can do.

I... I can't do it.

What?

P-Please, I'll do anything but that.

Then I don't need you.

Never come near me again.

But—

Get out.

Serizawa-sensei!

I said, get out!

M-Man, you sure surprised me.

You had that poison all ready to go.

It's just herbal medicine.

You want sword lessons?

From me?

I have no objections to instructing you.

Still, I hate to ask, but did Serizawa give you that bruise?

All right. We'll start with your stance.

L-Like this?

Your grip is backwards.

Now?

The tip is drooping.

Learn to hold that stance for half a watch.

Now, practice swings.

Does he wish to learn how to use a sword to get even with Serizawa?

Strike here.

Hell could freeze over and he'd still never manage it.

You wouldn't cut an eggplant like that.

Numbskull.

Finished?

D-Don't count me out yet!

Then put some spirit into it.

I...

I hate his guts, but I owe him.

Was I wrong?

Taro, are you trying to earn a place at Serizawa's side?

Why would you push yourself so hard for him?

Even the place I was born didn't want me.

The place I apprenticed at treated me as less than human.

But Serizawa-san?

He...

Tanaka Taro.

Call yourself that from now on.

He made me a person.

I'm weak now, but I'll get stronger!

I'll make myself useful!

I'll...

Even if I'm the only one...

I'll stand by Serizawa-sensei to the bitter end!

Enough.

Wh-What gives? Don't call the whole thing off now.

I'll teach you properly.

We'll need a bamboo thicket away from prying eyes.

What are we gonna do there?

I will impart to you...

the Swallow.

Okiku, you're it!

Aw, I lost.

C'mon, hide!

Can I start now?

We're all ready.

I'll find you for sure.

My family, the Yagis, have some samurai called the Miburo staying with us.

Coming through! Are you in here?

People say they're scary...

Okay.

Oh, sorry.

You bad girl, you! I've got you now!

...but they're fun and nice and they play with me sometimes.

I got dango. Want some?

You bet.

Too bad.

What?

And they're brave men who protect the city from bad guys.

New kitty!

We have more cats lately, too.

That's because of this guy, Kondo-san.

He's intense even when he's not talking. Actually, I'm kind of scared of him.

Sorry for all the noise, Okiku-chan.

I like Hijikata-san.

Did you get your nap today?

He looks like an actor, and he's popular with the women.

Tell me again if you get hurt.

Okay.

I think he used to sell medicine.

Tamesaburo and Yu-bo? No, I haven't seen them.

Thanks.

They must be over that way, then.

But the one us kids like best...

There!

...has gotta be Okita-san.

He's always smiling, and he plays hide-and-seek with us at Mibu Temple.

Aw, you got me!

I win again.

Found you, Tame-nii!

Oh, poo.

Were you playing hide-and-seek?

Yamanami-san is calm,

and Inoue-san's a hard worker who doesn't say much.

What about your studies?

Nagakura-san is serious.

Skipping lessons, huh?

Sanosuke is too loud.

Todo-san is...

One's hiding in the outhouse.

...like a kid.

Found you, Yuu-nii.

Ya got me!

That just leaves our neighbor, Shintaro.

That reminds me. There are three kids in the Miburo.

Nio-kun seems busy these days.

He says he's an "in-speck-ter" who gathers "in-telly-jens."

Taro-chan helps out around the house.

Hajime-chan mostly fiddles with his sword.

I found everybody!

Darn it.

That was fast.

Now it's my turn to hide!

Hey, you'd better not leave Mibu!

Where should I hide?

I've come far enough that...

Serizawa-san!

Oh, it's you, little lady.

Should you be out here all alone?

This guy is Serizawa-san.

Wild dogs will gobble up a shrimp like you.

He's the most important samurai in the Miburo.

I'll be fine now.

People say to stay away from him 'cause he's rowdy, and mean things like that.

Dogs won't come near me with you around.

But I know the truth.

He's really a nice guy who likes animals.

Where have you been?

Working.

But you've got sake with you.

I've been working.

Really? Did you get rid of bad guys?

You bet!

It was a big fight! Wham! Bam!

I taught the whole rotten bunch a lesson!

Wow!

Oh, listen, Serizawa-san! You know goldfish?

I saw some at a festival the other day.

They were all shiny and really cute.

I'll buy you one the next time I see a goldfish seller.

Make do with this for today.

Wow! What a great drawing!

It's no big deal.

Whoops.

Be careful.

R-Right.

Did you trip, little lady?

You're the one who oughta be careful.

C'mere.

We're playing hide-and-seek. You can't tell anyone I'm here.

Okay. I won't breathe a word.

Promise.

I promise.

Oh, did you know you get amazing fireflies around here after dark?

Fireflies? I wanna see them!

If you're a good girl, I'll take you out tonight.

Promise!

Sure. Fine.

Still, it sure is hot.

Must be full summer now.

My brothers'll never find me here.

It's so hot.

Huh?

I can't move.

Ready to call it quits?

I'm done playing.

Have you seen Okiku?

She went toward the Maekawa place.

I've had enough.

What? She hasn't come home?

Look outside! Leave no stone unturned!

Hey!

Say something!

Find her?

She's not over here.

Then look on the other side!

Found her!

Serizawa-sensei!

What's all the racket?

Well, it seems the Yagis' little girl didn't come home last night.

They found her dead in a rice paddy.

How?

How could this happen?

It appears it was an accident.

Her feet got stuck in the mud, and this scorching weather did the rest.

Allow us to handle the funeral guests.

It's the least we can do.

Yagi Family

I hear she fell in a paddy.

Poor Okiku-chan.

She wasn't even five years old.

What a crying shame.

My own daughter is two.

Okiku was almost five.

She had so many of life's joys ahead of her.

The registry's about finished, and we've got time to kill.

Draw a funny picture or something.

It was a truly tragic accident.

We see people die all the time.

No point fussing about it now.

No, this time is different.

How is one kid different?

She was probably just playing hide-and-seek or something.

Serizawa-san, how do you know that?

What?

When we searched last night,

Tamesaburo and Yunosuke said they had been playing hide-and-seek.

But you were already asleep by then.

Who cares?

No one else is coming, anyway.

Better not, Nio.

Hijikata-san.

No words of condolence will reach her now.

Leave her be.

Right.

I would've played with her a lot more if I'd known this was coming.

Ah, I can't work up the will to do anything.

I could bear it if it were one of us. We're prepared for the worst.

But this? I don't know.

I can only call it absurd. But...

There may be no means of confronting that fact.

It can happen to anyone at any time.

Hijikata.

It's hardest on the people left behind.

All they can do is endure.

What happens to people when they die?

You die, and that's it.

There's nothing else?

Well, what do you think happens?

I think it would be nice if Okiku-chan's soul

could return and be Okiku-chan again.

What are you, a preacher?

Don't make me laugh.

Sorry. Forget I said anything.

Fireflies?

You know, I've heard the souls of the departed live on in fireflies.

Are you trying to say Okiku-chan's come back?

I don't like that kind of make-believe.

Some say that fireflies shine right before they die.

Ever since I heard that, firefly glows always appear sorrowful to me.

They look encouraging to me.

Like the lights are saying they'll live no matter what.

Everyone sees things in their own way.

I wonder what Okiku-chan would have said.

Okiku threw tantrums when she couldn't take a nap.

She liked flowers and animals.

Her mother scolded her for eating pickled daikon without chewing.

Living isn't about length.

She lived to the fullest.

We ought to remember her glow.

Yes, we should.

Even I can't muster much appetite today.

So, where's Serizawa-sensei?

He hates the gloomy mood. I guess he went into town to drink.

Noguchi, where's Taro gotten to?

He went out just now.

Training, huh?

He's been weirdly hung up on it lately.

Nio-kun, a moment.

Yamazaki-san?

It looks like...

the tall geta prints are under all the others.

That means they were there before we found the body.

The only person in Mibu who wears tall geta...

is Serizawa-san.

This was lying nearby.

I can't prove Serizawa drew it,

but his silence makes me wonder.

Fireflies? I wanna see them!

Promise!

I... I...

Little lady...

Firefly Glow

Next time

It's me, Okita Soji.

Looks like our new recruits have gotten used to life in the Miburo.

But now they've split into factions backing Kondo-san and Serizawa-san,

and something's starting to stink, you know?

Hm? Speaking of which, what's that smell?

Could it be a fire?

And is that who I think it is in the flames?

Next time: "Discord."

Discord