Yasha Kisouden Vol.1 Ver1 by Nakagawa Katsumi ISBN 4-04-924722-4 translation by Janet Losey - http://moonreading.lunarpages.com Do not alter this document. ** indicate lines not spoken // indicate lines not spoken in the vernacular [] indicate lines in handwriting {} indicate translator notes () indicate descriptions Inside flap: Nakagawa Katsumi Profile Nagagawa Katsumi. Born February 15th, Aquarius, A blood type. From Shizuoka Prefecture. Debut work: "Yasha Kisou -Kourenka-" ('89) Hobbies are piano and daydreaming. Likes pretty and mysterious things. Also, purfume, skulls, and 100% fur blankets. Dislikes bugs and shots. I sure would like to go back to the days when I'd spend at least a month absorbed in a game...... And my model kit is still in progress too...... P.3 Kunue: (This evening's moon was surely meant for the phrase, 'invited by the moon'. As are the sakura-----) [Wa---ah, wa---ah] Kunue: (A child......!?) [Wa---ah, wa---ah] P.5 Yasha Kisouden P.7 [Wa---ah, wa---ah] P.8 [Fujimine: Wa---ah, wa---ah] Kunue: (Why is a child here at this time of night... Perhaps it is an ayakashi...?!) Kunue: [Careful, careful] Here... Child... What is the matter...? Kunue: (A human child...I think...) Kunue: U...m... Fujimine: ...... Kunue: A...Are upset because you're lost? Kunue: (Such large eyes...) Fujimine: [?] P.9 Kunue: Are you lost? ...Hm? Fujimine: ............ Kunue: I see, you are lost. Fujimine: Mm-hm... because I didn't listen to what Hozumi told me... Kunue: This place is practically my garden, so you needn't worry. Fujimine: Do you... know my home...? Kunue: If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there be a large lake near your mansion? Then, it is without fail in this direction. Fujimine: ...You're amazing... P.10 Kunue: You ought to be more reserved about going outside alone so late at night as this. Fujimine: Mm-hm, Hozumi said so too, "because at night, the chimimooyo come out". Kunue: (That must be the chimimyouryou...) [Ha, ha, ha] {Evil spirits of the earth.} Fujimine: ? Fujimine: But the moon and the sakura falling like snow were too pretty! Kunue: ...It was the same for me. And so I snuck out of my mansion. [It's a secret.] Fujimine: Wa-! Just like me! P.11 Fujimine: Ah... Kunue: ...What's wrong... Kunue: ......Hey! What's wrong?!! Fujimine: ......I'm sorry... Kunue: It's fine. Since you are small, you aren't a burden. Fujimine: I... have had a weak body ever since I was born... I'm recouperating here in Yoshino. P.12 Fujimine: My mother died, and I can't remember her face. And father is busy, and doesn't come to see me very often. Fujimine: ...So I'm always lonely. Kunue: I... never knew my mother's face. ...When I became aware, I had no one except my two servants. Kunue: To know a parent's warmth and then live apart from it as you have must be almost too much to bear. Fujimine: ......... Fujimine: That's so sad... Kunue: (-----!) Fujimine: It's so sad that you don't know your father and mother. Kunue: Thank you. Kunue: (...He is a good child.) Kunue: I didn't know them them from the start, so it's not so sad. P.13 Kunue: Look, isn't is that mansion? I can see the lights. Fujimine: ...It really is... Kunue: You went out without telling anyone, didn't you? Go home quietly. Fujimine: ...Can we...... Fujimine: Will you...talk with me...again...? P.14 Kunue: (Pleading eyes, which study the faces of others for any response. He is so small, and yet...) Kunue: (Who could turn her away?) Kunue: ...At any rate, would you like me to give you a name? Fujimine: ......Yeah!! Kunue: Then, what should I call you... Fujimine: [?] Kunue: ...Of course! P.15 Kunue: Since I met you on the night of a beautiful moon, I suppose I should call you Tsukuyomi no Kimi. Fujimine: Tsukuyomi no...Kimi...? Kunue: Well then, what will you call me? Fujimine: U...m... Fujimine: ...Ah!! Kunue no Kimi!! {Kunue is lavender.} Fujimine: I smelled the scent of kunue on your underrobes! Kunue: Haha, that's perfect. P.16 Kunue: Well then, let's meet on the night of the next beautiful, unclouded moon. I will certainly come to see you. Kunue: We shall certainly meet before the sakura blossoms fall away. Fujimine: ...... Fujimine: (Then.........) Fujimine: (I can see him again soon while the sakura flowers are in bloom!) Kunue: You mustn't go out alone at night until then, alright? Fujimine: Yes!! P.17 Fujimine: (He will surely come to see me.) Fujimine: (Kunue no Kimi...... What a lovely person he is.) Kashiwabe: Waka. Kunue: ...mm----...... Kashiwabe: Are you still asleep? P.18 Kunue: ...I have no official duties to deal with like the two of you do. You shouldn't mind how long I sleep... Kashiwabe: Waka. Kunue: Mm----...? Kashiwabe: Where did you go last night? Kunue: !! Kashiwabe: I expect the sakura and the best place to view them are beautiful. [Look, flower petals.] Kunue: Ah, they were! Kunue: (The child who cried under the sakura.) P.19 Kunue: (He had such gentle, honest eyes.) Fujimine: *That's so sad.* Fujimine: *Will you talk with me again?* Kunue: (I never tire of looking at them.) Kawashibe: Smiling while remebering something is no small thing. [Kunue: Ah!] Kawashibe: Did you encounter a princess under the beautiful sakura? Kunue: (A princess......?) Kunue: (Was he...? Surely not, and yet......) Kunue: (In this circumstance, it doesn't matter. He is still a child.) P.20 The Imperial Palace Courtiers: His Highness has returned early. Courtiers: Prepare a change clothes. His Higness has returned early. P.21 The Reigning Emperor, Youzei Courtier: Your Higness, how were the sakura of Katano? Emperor: They were beautiful enough to steal ones eyes. P.22 Emperor: I wanted to show you all, but the sakura may have looked poor in comparsion. Coutiers: My, Your Highness. How clever! Nurse: Your Highness, I have brought Touguu-sama. Emperor: Ah, my prince. Were you lonely while your father was away? Voice: (Father.........) P.23 Voice: (Father.........!!) Emperor: ! Nurse: Your Highness? Is anything the matter? Emperor: ...No, but I am slightly tired. It is nothing to worry over. Nurse: Come, this way, Touguu-sama. His Higness your father is tired. [Touguu: Ah---...] P.24 Coutiers: We would like to go and see the sakura. Courtiers: Going outside as the lords do is a hardship for women; nothing can be done. Courtiers: Ah, but speaking of sakura, there's Yoshino! The entire mountain is the color of plums. I wish I could go. P.25 Kunue: Tsukuyomi no Kimi...hm... Kunue: (I wonder if it will be clear tonight.) Kunue: The sakura are doing fine. Kunue: (I only met her last night, and yet the day feels very long. It must be the anticipation that keeps my heart from growing calm.) Kunue: (That is not unpleasant, however it may be called-----) Kunue: ...Ugh...! P.26 Kunue: Another...... Kunue: (Lately the pains in my head have become intense...... I wonder if something is wrong......) Kunue: (Tsukuyomi no Kimi......) Kunue: ............ Kunue: (A beautiful moonlit night before the sakura scatter.) Kunue: (That is all I......) Homura: Waka. Are you unwell? Kunue: Homura... No... it's nothing. P.27 Homura: I heard about last night from Washikabe. I cannot say that night outings are wrong, but there are bandits and other such terrible things abroad. Please take care. Kunue: ......I understand. [Damn...] Kunue: (That Washikabe...) Homura: If you wish for a beautiful lady, please tell us at any time. You've reached that age. Kunue: No!! Kunue: I didn't mean that... Only, the moon was so beautiful, it called to me. Homura: ...... Homura: (-----While the young master is of such noble birth,) Kunue: How could I have interest in women... these creatures I have never seen...? Homura: (There is no part of him possesing tact.) P.28 Homura: -----I have said something improper. Please do not let it offend you. Kunue: Such a showman. At any rate, isn't it time for you to be off? Aren't there many waiting for you? Homura: Being that there is no healer in this region, I have already volunteered. Kunue: [Puh] I'm grateful. Kunue: Ah... yes. I have one request. Could you prepare a medicine for me? Homura: Of course... So there _is_ something... Kunue: No... not for me. The truth is, the child I met last night seems ill. Homura: ......A child? P.29 Kunue: Since it must be too late today, tomorrow will be fine. Thank you. Kunue: Don't say anything to Washikabe. He will drive me to my wit's end. Homura: Ah, shoud I have your hair arranged----- Kunue: No, it's fine. Homura: Yes. Homura: (A child...... is it......?) P.30 Kunue: I don't believe it... A clouded moon... Kunue: Tsukuyomi no Kimi probably will not come... But... A clouded moon's different charms are no less beautiful. I suppose I will have a look. P.31 Kunue: Ah... Kunue: (He... He came...!!) Kunue: (He was not an illusion!) Fujimine: Kunue no Kimi!! I've missed you! P.32 Kunue: Tonight is a clouded moon. Why have you......? Fujimine: I thought you would surely be coming, because the clouded moon is pretty too. You came thinking the same, didn't you, Kunue no Kimi? Kunue: (I have never seen anyone other than Washikabe and Homura. It was the first time I had been touched by "someone" in this way.) Kunue: You weren't caught by the people of your house? Fujimine: Well, today everyone went a long way flower-viewing. They're tired and are fast asleep. P.33 Fujimine: It really is wonderful-- the sakura at night!! I feel so alive!! Kunue: Though, surrounded by the sakura, I can't quite feel calm. There is something terrible in too much beauty. Fujimine: ...Terrible...? Kunue: You see, I-- Kunue: Ah, yes. My servant works as a healer, and I requested that he prepare a medicine for you. Would you tell me where you are ill? P.34 Fujimine: ...... Rath... Fujimine: Rather than medicine, I thought it would be better if I could see you... Kunue: ......! Kunue: ......... For you, seeing me is good medicine, is it...? Fujimine: Uh... Mm-hm... Kunue: Haha. Kunue: (Warm and gentle-- a small, certain heartbeat.) P.35 Kunue: (How precious...!!) [Crack] Kunue: Uwa!! P.36 [Crack] Homura: What...?! [Crack] [Crack] [Crack] Imperial Palace - Shishiiden Hall [Puff] P.37 Fujimine: Kunue no Kimi?! [Throb] Kunue: Ah... [Throb throb] Ugh...! [Throb] Fujimine: What's wrong?! Fujimine: Kunue no Kimi...!! Kunue: My head... hurts, terribly... Fujimine: Kunue no Kimi!! Kunue: ......... Kunue: I will... see you again. For tonight... this is farewell... P.38 Fujimine: Kunue no Kimi...! ... Fujimine: Ah... Wa--...h... Wa--...h... P.39 Homura: This is...... Impossible...!! [Collapse!] Washikabe: ! Washikabe: ...Waka?! What is wrong?!! Kunue: Washikabe...... ...it hurts... Washikabe: Waka...... Washikabe: This is...!! P.40 Kunue: Washikabe...!! It hurts...! Washikabe: Waka...! Kunue: My body... my head hurts...! It hurts...!! Washikabe: (It can't be...) Kunue: It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!! [Throb] [Throb] The pain, the pain... the pain...!! [Throb] [Throb] Kunue: Help... me... [Thump thump thump] P.41 One spring night, the Emperor's throne alone was consumed in a flame of mysterious origins. The current Emperor, Youzei, believeing it the work of a vengeful ghost, kept constant incantation and prayer. The Imperial Family and the nobility shook with fear at those things they could not see. This year, a great number of fires at palaces, raging illnesses, bandits, and other calamities continued, and the scent of poppies for burnt offerings in incantations has never ceased. P.43 Woman: Did you hear? There are oni about! {Oni = terrible demons. Somehow in shoujo manga they always end up rediculously beautiful, though folklore has them as hideous to look upon.} Woman: Frightening, aren't they? These mountains. Woman: Even if you call them oni that won't change them. They're bandits!! Fujimine: ...... Fujimine: (Bandits...) Bandit: Hey, over here! P.44 Bandit: It's that mansion by the big lake. Bandit: Will we really get a reward just for killing them? Bandit: Yeah, from the nobles themselves. We'll wrangle a lot out of them. But it's shame, since it's a mansion filled only with women. Bandit: We can kill them after we rape them!! Bandit: That we can. It's perfect, with the rumor that oni have come out spreading around. Bandit: The murders aren't us. It will be the work of oni. Bandit: It's all the oni!! P.45 Bandit: Oy! Look!! Bandit: A woman!! Fujimine: [Shock!] (These men... The rumored bandits...?) Bandit: Well, imagine meeting a beautiful princess so deep in the mountains. Bandit: Say, princess. Wouldn't you play with us a bit? Fujimine: You don't mean playing with Hina dolls...I imagine... {Hina festival, also known as Girl's Day, takes place in March. Fujimine is playing on the similarity of hiina-asobi, playing with dolls, and hime-asobi, playing with princesses.} P.46 Bandit: Obviously!! What's the fun in playing with dolls?! Bandit: We won't kill you. We only want to play with you a little, Princess. Isn't seeing or touching men this far in the mountains inconvenient? I'm telling you we'll be your company. Fujimine: Alas, but... I am not in such want of men-- [Sigh....] Bandits: !! Fujimine: that I would play with the likes of you. Bandit: You bitch!! P.47 Bandit: Guh...... Agh...... Fujimine: ......? Bandit: [Guhn......] White-haired Man: So you are the inelegant fools who disturbed my pleasant nap. Bandit: Eeeeee!! Fujimine: ...... P.48 [Cr-Crack!!] White-haired Man: ...So frail... [Twitch twitch] White-haired Man: [Hmph] [Thump] Bandit: Wa...ah... Ee... White-haired Man: Pray. Though it will not save you. Bandit: [Ugee!] P.49 [Crack crack] Fujimine: !! [Silence] Fujimine: ............ Fujimine: (Next will be...me... But, that white hair... Is he a god borrowing human form?) Fujimine: (Or perhaps a wicked god, beautiful in appearance?) White-haired Man: Oy. P.50 [Startle!!] White-haired Man: Hurry on. Do you want to meet their end? Fujimine: (He is a wicked god!!) Shounagon, Hozumi: Fujimine-sama...! Where are you? P.51 Fujimine: (To come here is dangerous...!!) Fujimine: Shounagon...!! {An old term for a lady-in-waiting.} Hozumi: Fujimine-sama...! Thank the gods!! Shounagon: Fujimine-sama...!! Hozumi: What will we do with you..?! We told you, you mustn't to go outside like this without bringing a servant!! Fujimine: ......... Hozumi: There are rumors that bandits have appeared in the area!! Fujimine: .........? Hozumi: Besides, your body is weak, Fujimine-sama, so please hold yourself from wandering far!! Fujimine: (--He is gone...?!) P.52 Hozumi: Are you listening?! Fujimine: (How......?) Fujimine: Ah... Yes... Hozumi: Come, we're going home!! Fujimine: Yes, yes. White-haired Man: Hmmm... Fujimine...was it? P.53 White-haired Man: He was male......? P.54 Mizuha: Hey!! What are you grinning about?! White-haired Man: Mizuha-hime, is it? ...I was hardly grinning. Mizuha: I saw it, that lustful face!! It was shameful!! White-haired Man: ...When did you arrive? Mizuha: At the start!! White-haired Man: You were hiding in my sleeves again... Mizuha: Silence!! Mizuha: Two women, one young man!! Why do you not grasp that?! You're a fool if you think I'll overlook it, right under my nose!! P.55 White-haired Man: ............ ............ Mizuha: [Haa... haa...] White-haired Man: Really... Hozumi: ......... Fujimine: ......... P.56 Fujimine: I'm sorry I did it. Hozumi: ......... Fujimine: So don't make such a scarey face. Hozumi: Scarey...... Is it...? Hozumi: Who was it who occasioned such a face?! I asked you to withhold from going outside alone like that, didn't I?! I turn away for a moment and you go off on your own...! If something happened to you, I, your shounagon, couldn't go on!! Please, have some concept of your own weakness!! If you go outside without a servant again, I, your shounagon will harden my heart and give you a harsh punishment!! _Do you understand?!_ Fujimine: ...... [Sizzle] Fujimine: (What had it been?) P.57 Fujimine: (Those two men... they must be dead. Why did the white-haired man let me go?) Fujimine: (White hair... but I can't see it as aged... A wizard...? Was he human...? Or forgiegn... probably not a man of Tang.) {Tang was a fourishing Chinese dynasy during the Heian period.} Fujimine: (His left eye... was blue.) Fujimine: (The sound of a neck snapping, the features of a dying man...) Fujimine: (Sickening. Sickening.) Fujimine: (I... at least would prefer a peaceful moment of death.) P.58 [Clatter] Fujimine: (Should I not let the shonagon know about this?) White-haired Man: *Hurry on.* Fujimine: (I think... he is a bad person.) Fujimine: (The ones killed were a pair of ruffians. It doesn't make it right because they were ruffians, but......) Fujimine: (He was terribly frightening, but... but he was beautiful.) P.59 Fujimine: (It was the first time I'd ever seen someone so beautiful.) Servant: Hime-sama...!!! Are you alright, hime-sama?! P.60 Rokujou Servant: Someone...!! Help------!! Courtiers: Did you hear? They say this this time, it was the second daughter of the Rokujou Minister! Courtiers: I hear that she was left with her eyes gouged out. Courtiers: How terrible. The work of vengeful spirits yet again? How these barbaric acts continue, in our civilized capital... Courtiers: According to the footmen at Rokujou, a young nobleman dressed in noushi snuck into the princess's chamber. {Noushi = non-ceremonial clothes for the nobility.} Courtiers: Noushi? He is a courtier, then? {I translated denjoubito, or one given permission to attend in the Imperial Court, as courtier.} Courtiers: After the man departed at dawn, that atrocious act was discovered...! Courtiers: Then he may be here in the palace! Courtiers: Everyone is feeling enpassioned. If something had happened to our beloved princesses, it would be too late now. Courtiers: From now on even men who attend court must be vigilant. P.61 Shikigami: ............ Shikigami: Master. Master: Ah, my shiki. P.62 Master: Have the foolish nobles of the capital begun watching for me? Shikigami: Yes. Master: If we cannot maintain this for a little while, it will be troublesome much later. Shikigami: Yes. Master: Well done. Shikigami: Yes. Master: [Sigh...] Master: Shall I change locations, then? P.63 Hozumi: Fujimine-sama! A doctor from the capital has honored us with a visit! Hozumi: He is a very wise and well-known doctor. It seems he would like to stay here for a little while. Fujimine: ...From the capital? P.65 White-haired Man: Very soon...... P.66 White-haired Man: Shortly you will be filled with beautiful blood, as is worthy of you. Just a little more patience. P.67 Fujimine: A doctor... from the capital? Hozumi: I was feeling unsure about only having medicine from the capital...... Now this puts me at ease. Your father honors us by sending him. Fujimine: ...My father did...? Kusushi: I am pleased to meet you, Fujimine-sama. P.68 Fujimine: (Wow......) Kusushi: ......... P.69 Kusushi: Here is an herbal infusion. We must get you beck to normal health. Fujimine: It... It looks bitter... Kusushi: It's an herbal infusion, after all. Fujimine: Somehow... this all seems strange. Kusushi: What does? Fujimine: I... have met very few people other than my nurses, you see... Kusushi: ......... Fujimine: Having an unknown person near me... makes me nervous. P.70 Kusushi: ...Do you dislike it? Fujimine: No! It's not that! Fujimine: ...I'm just not used to it. Kusushi: ...You are modest. It is nothing to be ashamed of. You must not forget your modesty when you become accustomed to people. Fujimine: (Even among the footmen and the messengers from the capital, there are none as beautiful as him. Like a prince, stepped out of a storybook.) Fujimine: (Messengers wear makeup, which isn't very beautiful... And they burn too much scent into their clothes, and kind of stink...) P.71 Fujimine: (Scent... Which reminds me, Kusushi-sama's scent is...) Fujimine: (Kunue.) Kusushi: ...... Is anything the matter? Fujimine: Eh? No! Nothing...! Kusushi: Have you drank it? Fujimine: ......Yes... Fujimine: (He couldn't be......) Kusushi: You will be drinking it every day before meals, so please get used to the bitterness. Fujimine: Kusushi-sama, are you... Um... P.72 Fujimine: (It isn't possible. Kunue no Kimi should know my mansion.) Kusushi: What is the matter? Fujimine: (Even though the scent of kunue is burnt into his robes...) Fujimine: It's nothing...... Kusushi: Please speak. It will become harder for you if you conceal it. Fujimine: (It's already so hard.) Fujimine: Really... it's nothing. Fujimine: (Already...) Kusushi: Is that so? Then I shall prepare you a more bitter medicine from tonight on. Fujimine: Eeh?! Fujimine: Ku...Kusushi-sama, you're really mean-spirited, aren't you?! Kusushi: At any rate, many illnesses come from the weaknesses and wounds of the heart. P.73 Kusushi: I am your kusushi. Please trust me. Fujimine: ............ Kusushi: ...... Is that so. Fujimine: Please keep it a secret from the others, alright......? P.74 Fujimine: It was ten years ago now, but even now I could never forget it. I don't remember his face very well any more, but I remember that he was very kind. Kusushi: And since I have the scent of kunue burned into my robes, you wondered if I was he? Fujimine: It was the first time I had encountered someone other than my nursemaids. Kunue: *Tsukuyomi no Kimi.* Fujimine: But suddenly he vanished, and would no longer come even to the tree where we made our promise. P.75 Fujimine: I especially remember the sakura season when I met Kunue no Kimi... and the nights when the moon was so beautiful. How I long to see him again. Fujimine: ...But I was afraid. Fujimine: For I do not know... when the day when this body will fail me will come. Kusushi: ...! Fujimine: But since I've lived on ten years since then, I won't resign myself to that. Kusushi: Can you have such powerful memories of a person you had met so seldom...? P.76 Fujimine: ............ Kusushi: ...A wind has come up. Let us return to the mansion. Fujimine: Wah... Fujimine: Ku...Kusushi-sama...?! Fujimine: I am alright! I can walk on my own! Please let me go! Kusushi: Please behave. Fujimine: (Am... am I feeling flushed...?) Kusushi: No excuse will hold up before your nursemaids if you were to catch a cold while I am here. P.77 Kusushi: If that happens they will force me out. Which means my wife and child will not escape starvation. Fujimine: Eh... You have a.... Fujimine: I...I'm sorry. Fujimine: (He has a wife...) Fujimine: I will behave... Kusushi: ......That is most helpful. Kusushi: I would have preferred that you had calmed down from the start. Lies that I would rather not tell hurt me too. Fujimine: ...What? Kusushi: I lied about having a wife and child. Fujimine: !! P.78 Fujimine: (Goodness...!!) [Sizzle...] Fujimine: (What a frustrating person!! I don't know if he is kind or cruel!!) Fujimine: (Even though I behaved like he asked, he made me drink a more bitter medicine!! I'm glad he's not Kunue no Kimi!!) Kusushi: *Can you have such powerful memories of a person you had met so seldom...?* P.79 Fujimine: (To me, my meeting with Kunue no Kimi were precious things. Perhaps Kusushi-sama has no one whom he thinks of so. Or perhaps I am just strange...) Fujimine: (I miss you, Kunue no Kimi.) P.80 Shishiiden Seiryouden {The Emperor's personal quarters.} Attendants: The Kokiden Lady has arrived. {The Kokiden was the residence of the Emperor's primary wife. The Emperor's wives were often identified by their residences.} P.81 Attendants: The Kokiden Lady is beautiful as usual. A beauty that has shone on even after giving birth to Touguu-sama. Attendants: His Highness only loves her more. Attendants: Soon, she will be Kokumo. How enviable. {Kokumo = Emperess Dowager. Literally Mother of the Country.} Emperor: Ah, Kokiden. Welcome. Emperor: I have something important to discuss with you. P.82 Kokiden: Is it Touguu-sama's... Coming of Age Ceremony...? Emperor: Touguu will be twelve this coming new years. I think that soon it will be a favorable time. I think I shall have an auspicious day divined, and officially initiate him as Touguu. {While the character is known to us as Touguu, it is a title meaning crown prince.} Kokiden: Your Highness... Emperor: I have no other sons. The burden on Touguu may be heavy, but I pray that he will become a splendid emperor in my stead. Emperor: Soon you too shall be Kokumo {Lit. Mother of the Counrty}. Carry out your duties faithfully, so that you may be the mother of the country, as in your title. Do you understand? P.83 Kokiden: I shall engrave Your Highness' words faithfully in my heart. Emperor: I am counting on you. Emperor: ......... Emperor: (A maple leaf...) Emperor: (No doubt the mountains of Yoshino are dyed red now.) Emperor: (Yoshino is so terribly distant...) P.84 [Sizzle... sizz...] Hozumi: It's about time to refill the oil. Shounagon: After all, Fujimine-sama dislikes dark places. Attendant: But my picture-tale was finally getting interesting...... Hozumi: Good night, I'll see you tomorrow. Shounagon: But Hozumi-dono, what happines it would be to be wooed desperately by a man like the one in the tales! Shounagon: If we lived in the capital, I could have a wonderful romance like that... Hozumi: ......... Shounagon: Oh... oh my... Shounagon: B...but the wonderful Kusushi-sama has seen fit to come, and life here has its own charm, doesn't it?! I...in the capital there are so many beauties, and I would truely, truely have no chance of finding love! Hozumi: I will be back soon. P.85 Hozumi: (Love.) Hozumi: (I would be a lie to say I have not thought if it, but to me Fujimine-sama is most important.) Hozumi: (His happiness is so fleeting... if I cannot make him happy, then surely I will not be happy myself.) [Squeek] [Thud] {door sliding shut} Shounagon: Hozumi-dono? Shounagon: You're back soo---- P.86 Shounagon: Oh... oh my! Kusushi-sama...! Do you require anything? It's so late... Kusushi: A picture-tale? Shounagon: Ah... Oh, no... I don't...! Kusushi: It is not anything to be ashamed of. Being inthralled with romance is a natural thing. Particularly for a beautiful lady such as you... Kusushi: Would I suffice as your lover? Shounagon: Ku...kusushi-sama... I couldn't possibly... Kusushi: Leave everything to me... P.87 Hozumi(?): Morning cleaning, everyone awake! Morning cleaning, everyone awake! Shounagon: Oh dear... I fell asleep still dressed, didn't I? How awful. P.88 Shounagon: (Perhaps it due to the picture-tale last night...) Shounagon: (That I had such a shocking, indecent dream...) Kusushi: Fujimine-sama, are you awake? Fujimine: I woke before I was called, so as not to be made to drink bitter medicine. Kusushi: My goodness. [chuckle] I am not so mean-spirited as to make you drink biter medicine just because you are a late-riser. Fujimine: (I doubt that.) Kusushi: Here is your medicine. P.89 Fujimine: ! Fujimine: It's sweet! I could drink a lot more of this! Kusushi: Ha ha, you needn't drink a lot more of it, though. Fujimine: I awoke very well today, even though my head usually feels very heavy. At least your skill at mixing medicine is certain. Kusushi: ..."At least"? Perhaps you mean "also"? Fujimine: No, "at least". Kusushi: I understand, if you like bitter medicine that much, I will... Fujimine: Waaah! I was lieing! I'm sorry!! Hozumi: My, you are spirited this morning. P.90 Fujimine: Hozumi. Hozumi: Come use your wash water. Fujimine: (Now that I think of it, I've let Kusushi-sama see my unwashed face first thing in the morning. Argh!) Kusushi: The morning meal is soft boiled rice with light salt. Hozumi: Then the dried fish should... Fujimine: (Seeing them like this, they really seem to suit each other - Kusushi-sama and Hozumi. And formally speaking, Hozumi is 25 years old...) Fujimine: (And the other attendants too...) Fujimine: (It is a shame they can't marry because they serve me--) Hozumi: Fujimine-sama! P.91 Hozumi: From today on, I will prepare you food that will be good for your health! I've heard many things from Kusushi-sama! Leave it to me! Fujimine: (Kind Hozumi.) Fujimine: ...Alright. Fujimine: (The kinder Hozumi is... the more my heart aches.) P.92 Fujimine: (How many times have I met the autumn like this?) Fujimine: (The spring sakura, the fresh leaves of summer, the crimson maples of autumn, the winter snow - beauty that no one could tire of passes by me.) Fujimine: (Will I live here in Yoshino forever?) Fujimine: (What sort of a place is the capital - the capital in which father dwells?) Fujimine: (The capital is too distant. Father comes here to visit only once a year - the father who so kindly deserted me.) Fujimine: (This place is frightening. And dreadful bandits appear.) Fujimine: (And terrible...) P.93 Fujimine: (Beautiful people are here as well.) Fujimine: (The white-haired, blue-eyed man who saved me and let me go...) Fujimine: (I wonder, what is he doing now?) P.94 Hozumi(?): Another cold day, isn't it? Shounagon(?): Soon it will be time for snow to fall. Hozumi: Though Fujimine-sama always catches a cold this time of year, his health has been so good since Kusushi-sama came... Hozumi: When they are together like that, they look like brothers, don't they? They get along so well. P.95 Shounagon: Brothers...? Look very closely... Hozumi: Eh...? Shounagon: ...See? Hozumi: ...you're right. Not to suggest I hadn't noticed, though... Kusushi: Discussing secrets, ladies? [Suprise!!] Hozumi, Shounagon: !! Kusushi: Hm? Fujimine: ? Shounagon: Oh heavens, Kusushi-sama! Shounagon: (I can't say it! I can't say they looked like lovers!!) P.96 Hozumi: I would prefer that Fujimine-sama was slightly more masculine... It seems we had unintentionally forgotten it... Shounagon: But we've been so full of cheer. Fujimine-sama too. Hozumi: Yes, he laughs so much. He has been so cheerful. Hozumi: If things go on like this, he may pass a healthy winter without catching a cold. Shounagon: Yes!! And then get his strength back, and be able to return to the capital! Hozumi: ............ Hozumi: (Even if Fujimine-sama was able to go back, he...) P.97 Residence of the Minister of the Left Lady of the Left: Today I happened to overhear a rumor that the Emperor's messenger is bound for Yoshino. What is the meaning of this? Lady of the Left: Does it mean we were successful? The ones who dirtied their hands should have claimed thier prize. Am I mistaken? Official: .........That is... P.98 Lady of the Left: ......What...? ...You may have failed...? Lady of the Left: What are your retainers doing?! Official: I have no excuse...! Official: And as for my servants, the bandits became suspicious because they had received information. I intended to hand over the reward if they were successful...! Lady of the Left: ......After His Highness' messenger returns to Kyou, you yourselves will go forth to Yoshino. If the child lives, kill it, whether male or female. You shall witness this yourselves. Come bearing evidence. You may not return with any less. Lady of the Left: Tell His Highness that you are going into seclusion. If you are successful it will mean your promotion - I will put in a strong reccomendation to His Highness. Official: ...... Yes! P.99 Lady of the Left: ...Loathsome...... Lady of the Left: I cannot permit it...... If that woman's child is alive...!! P.100 Shounagon: My, what wonderful materials......!! Shounagon: Fujimine-sama is a fortunate person. His father is always providing for him so well... Shounagon: And double-thread weaves for us, too! Hozumi: We must use them gratefully. Shounagon: Oh, Hozumi-dono? Where are you going? P.101 Hozumi: (What... What on earth...?!!) Shounagon: It's started to pile up. Though it is cold, the snowy scenery is exceptional, isn't it? Fujimine: Hozumi!! The snow is gathering!! P.102 Hozumi: Don't!! You mustn't go outside!! Servant: (...There's the one...!! A girl, then...!!) P.103 Fujimine: Wah! A snowball! Kusushi: It's a present. I made it while I was out collecting tree shoots. Fujimine: It's so pretty...... Fujimine: It's cold - it feels nice. Kusushi: ......... Hozumi: Fujimine-sama! P.104 Fujimine: Hozumi... What is wrong? Hozumi: Please put on girl's clothing... without asking any questions... Fujimine: .............................. Fujimine: Yes? Servant: My master caught a glimpse of the beautiful 13 or 14 year-old princess here, and his heart was captivated. His message is that though he would much prefer to acquaint himself with her, for the time being, he will only send gifts. Kusushi: (That man...!) P.106 Shounagon: My...... Shounagon: All these goods for the _princess_? Kusushi: (That man... Earlier he was spying on the manor through the gate...) Servant: My master charged me with seeing that they were handed over without fail. P.107 Hozumi: Th--...... Hozumi: The princess here is not accustomed to the world, you see...! It is such that she will answer all of his letters and such with refusals...!! Kusushi: (That's how they intend to disguise him as a princess...? He is little changed from his usual appearance.) Servant: Worry not! As he does not care how you use the gifts. I will be off. Hozumi: S...sir! You put us in a difficult situation! Servant: My, here the snow is exceptionally beautiful, isn't it? P.108 Servant: Perhaps you would like to go outside, and make a snow mound? You would enjoy it. Shounagon: Though it was rather suspicious, the gifts are of beautiful cloth. Fujimine: I am so embarrased I want to die, being mistaken for a girl!! Shounagon: Makeup suits you very well, hime-sama! P.109 Fujimine: Damn it all! Fujimine: "A princess in all but name"?! Fujimine: Argh!! But this face, it has no reply!! Kusushi: Hime-sama. Fujimine: ! Fujimine: Kusushi-sama, you too?!! You're making me angry!! Kusushi: My, my, such behavior from a high-born princess... Fujimine: Kusushi-sama, mind that you too could get mistaken for a princess!! P.110 Kusushi: Not I-- not at my height. Kusushi: Now, take off your makeup. It will roughen your skin. Fujimine: ......... Fujimine: Please don't tease me... Fujimine: If you were to tease we, Kusushi-sama... I... Kusushi: ......Excuse me... P.111 Official: Look, it has gotten dark. The princess still will not come out? Servant: Please wait a little longer... Servant: ......Ah...! She came out...! Servant; It's the princess, alone! P.112 Official: Hurry and kill her!! Do not fail!! Servant: Yes! Servant: I am sorry, hime-sama... I do not resent you... but there are those would be troubled if you are alive, you see... P.113 [Thunk] P.114 Official: You hit her!! Servant: I did it!! Official: We are successful! P.115 Official: Wh............!! Official: What...?! What is that...?!! P.116 Kusushi: What did you strike? Official: Hi... Hii...! Kusushi: You. I am asking you. Kusushi: This one speaks no more. P.117 Kusushi: Answer. Official: ...Ah... Kusushi: I do not have much patience. Official: ...hi... Fujimine: Kusushi-sama is very late... I wonder if he will be much longer... Hozumi: Fujimine-sama... Do you have any desire to practice...? Hozumi: ...Since Kusushi-sama came here, you have gained so much vitality. First your health, and now lately you often lift your voice and laugh... P.118 Hozumi: Your Hozumi is glad as if she were speaking of herself... Fujimine: Wait... Hozumi...? Fujimine: (What is the matter, Hozumi...?) Fujimine: (Kusushi-sama is so late... His medicine box is here, so I think it is unlikely that he has gone back to the capital.) Fujimine: (---------Ah.) P.119 Fujimine: ( This feeling... I had fogotten it. The feeling of waiting for someone.) Fujimine: (I wait for those who will not come, no matter how much I wait.) Kunue: *I will certainly come to see you.* Youzei: *I will come again, so be a good child.* Fujimine: (Those that still do not come, though I wait and wait for them. When is "again" for Kunue no Kimi and father? Waiting for the day when I see them again should not have been difficult...) P.120 Fujimine: (I wonder, when did it become difficult? And when did I forget that very difficulty?) P.121 Kusushi: *Speak. What did you hit? _Who_ did you hit?* P.122 Official: *Th... that person is...... The... the Mikado's... first child......!! I was asked......!!* [Drip] Kusushi: (It should have been what I wanted to know more than anything. Then why did I falter, even for a second? Why...?) P.123 Kusushi: (I let my anger rule me, and killed a human. What on earth was that anger......?) Kusushi: (Be calm. Do not lose sight of yourself.) Kusushi: (For what purpose did I set out for that manor? It was all for him...) Kusushi: (What have I been doing? This is only a moments stagnation because of that half-hearted lifestyle. I need only cast it aside, like usual.) Kusushi: (Cast those foolish humans, who are like constant spring... as if they do not know the relentless cold of winter, aside.) P.124 Kusushi: (Do not involve yourself any further. Cast your unnecessary emotions away.) Kusushi: (If I do not, I---------) P.125 Fujimine: So the snow has stopped... Fujimine: (What has happened to me, that I think nights when Kusushi-sama is absent are frightening? He has not even been here very long...) P.126 Fujimine: (Oh, no... Nights that are too quiet are terrible now.) Fujimine: (I will remember things that I do not want to remember. The retreating figure of Kunue no Kimi going into the distance. The retreating figure of father going into the distance.) Fujimine: (No matter how much I weep or cry out, my wishes never reach them.) Fujimine: *Don't go!! Don't leave me alone!!* Fujimine: *No!! I can't stand being left here any more!!* Fujimine: (Weeping is meaningless. All it leaves is emptiness.* Fujimine: (Now... I miss those days when I was young and I could be honest with myself and cry. Those days when I could say "don't go". P.127 Fujimine: (Now speaking those simple words is terrifying.) Fujimine: (If I do not seek wishes that will not come true, I have nothing to suffer from. If I do not seek them from the start......) Lucy: (...Is that alright? Is that really enough...?) Fujimine: ...Wh...... ...Who is it...? Lucy: (Half of me is you.) Fujimine: ...Eh...? Lucy: (Ah, how inflexible you are! Poor child.) P.128 Fujimine: M......Mother......? Lucy: (...No, but half of me is you. Because you are here, I was loved.) Lucy: (You cannot let it end yet. Don't be afraid. Don't give up. You cannot let him end it alone.) Fujimine: (Feathers...? Bird's feathers......?) P.129 Fujimine: (They disappeared......) Fujimine: (What was that... just now...?) Lucy: *"Don't give up." "Don't be afraid."* Fujimine: ............ Fujimine: (You know something about my... what?) Fujimine: (Do not confuse me with your kind voice! If I sought them... if I chased after them, it would only inconvenience others after all...) Lucy: *You cannot let him end it alone.* Fujimine: (And yet, truely...) Fujimine: (I------) Kusushi: Excuse me, I was late! I ran across a small embankment along the way......! Fujimine: !! P.130 Kusushi: Since my uchigi was soiled, I returned to the guest house to change my clothes. Goodness, what a bother. It is so dark and so cold... Kusushi: ...Fujimine-sama...? Kusushi: ............ Kusushi(?): ! Fujimine: You were missing... without any warning... Fujimine: So... P.131 [Thump] Kusushi: ........................ Kusushi: !! P.132 Kusushi: (My hitaiin has...?!) Fujimine: !! Kusushi...sama...!? Kusushi: (Why?!! Surely... I do not... not this child...) Fujimine: What's...?! Kusushi: (It can't be!!) Kusushi: (It can't be!! It should not...!!) P.133 Kusushi: (It should not...) Fujimine: [Kya...!!] Kusushi: (It should not at all be possible!!) P.134 Kusushi: (And yet, indeed...) Kusushi: (This child... this child, the son of the Mikado---) Kusushi: (I desired him.) P.136 Silver-haired Man: At last you have found it. Well done. Silver-haired Man: I have been awaiting you. P.137 Silver-haired Man: My Homura. P.138 Silver-haired Man: At long last...The time has come... Kusushi --> Homura: Yes. {From now on I'll call Homura by his proper name, as Kunue no Kimi called him in the beginning of the volume.} Homura: (A collection of many parts of beautiful humans... a clump of flesh.) Homura: (Beautiful above all others......) P.139 Homura: (Beautiful blood......) Homura: (Beautiful blood, pure above all others.) Homura: (With this------) Silver-haired Man: ......... Homura: Please keep your wish clearly in mind, Ue-sama, so that it will take shape accordingly... {Ue-sama = master.} P.140 Homura: Here. This is beautiful blood for you. Please drink it. [Suck] [Slurp...] [slurp..] [slurp] Silver-haired Man: (Come back to me.) Silver-haired Man: ......... Silver-haired Man: (Return to my side.) P.141 Silver-haired Man: (I will take them back-- those joy-filled days...!!) P.142 Silver-haired Man: The formation has begun... P.143 Homura: !! P.144 Homura: (Male...?!) Homura: (This is the form ue-sama wished for...?! It looks uncannily like Fujimine...!!) P.145 Homura: (Male...?!) Homura: (Why?! Ue-sama's lover should be female... and besides...) P.146 Homura: (That face... is the living image of Fujimine...!!) P.147 Mizuha: He is a tremendous fool!! Rin: Mizuha-hime... Mizuha: He still hasn't forgotten that girl?!! [Puff puff] Mizuha: And Homura is Homura, killing who knows how many beautiful humans to make that doll!! I was told not a thing about it!! P.148 Mizuha: Why am I unsuitable for him...? Because unlike others, I do not have two eyes? Because my body is small? Rin: ...Because of you, Ue-sama has been able to live until now with a happy heart. Please have confidence in yourself. Mizuha: But... Now he has no use of me... Mizuha: You too may laugh at me, Rin... Rin: I would never...... Mizuha: Well of course not! You if really did laugh at me, I would tear you limb from limb!! P.149 Homura: (At last we have completed it.) Homura: (A collection of flesh given life without receicing the benevolence of the gods; a vessel, merely beautiful, that merely resembles Lucy.) Homura: (Yet even that may console Ue-sama's heart.) Homura: (Features that resemble Fujimine...) P.150 Homura: (Is it my imagination...?) Homura: (Does it only seem that way because I am attached to Fujimine...?) Fujimine: *Kusushi-sama...?* Homura: (No... From the first time I met Fujimine, I thought he resembled Lucy. Only the color of their hair and eyes differ.) Homura: (I...) Homura: ...... Homura: (......The first human toward whom I felt desire.) Fujimine: *You were missing... without any warning...* Homura: (Why? Why did my hitaiin appear then? Does it mean I hold him dear?) P.151 Homura: (A human, who knows only hate...?!!) Raider: *We've trapped a oni cheiftain!* Raider: *His head!!* Raider: *Take his head!!* Homura: [!] Homura: *(...Mikado...!!)* Homura: *Stop!! The Mikado does not wish to fight!!* P.152 Ayakashi Empress: *Homura.* Homura: *!* Homura: *O... Okata-sama...* Ayakashi Empress: *I appears that the Spring is ended. I knew this day would come.* Ayakashi Empress: *I resolved within my heart that when it came, I too would meet my end with him.* Ayakashi Empress: *So that the lord with whom I, a human, am bound would not seem pitiable.* Ayakashi Empress: *My one regret is the offspring of our love.* Homura: *......* Ayakashi Empress: *...I leave him in your care.* P.153 Ayakashi Empress: *I have a request of you. Just as you alone treated me with kindness, please do not curse humans. That indeed is the will of the Mikado. The humans simply do not understand. They are ignorant of your kind.* P.154 Ayakashi Empress: *But now I am a wife and mother before I am a human. I cannot ignore those who would trample upon the happiness of my husband and child. I must make them see that.* Homura: (Beautiful, gentle Okata-sama. I witnessed your last, blood-stained moments, your once beautiful hair and face, your pale, slender limbs...) Homura: (I was shown all, and yet you tell me not to curse humans, not to hate them?!!) P.155 Homura: *(Mikado.........)* Homura: *(It is beyond me... I cannot do it.)* P.156 Kunue: *Homura... Everyone has fallen down. Nobody comes, even when I call.* Homura: *Waka...* Homura: *(He does not even know "death" yet......)* Homura: *(What would you have us do now, leaving Waka behind at such a tender age?)* P.157 Homura: *(What are we to do......)* Rin: Homura-sama. Homura: !! Rin: Forgive me for disturbing your sleep... I have something important to discuss... Homura: Rin? ...What is it? Rin: ...I have a premonition. Uncanny creatures other than ourselves have begun to act. P.158 Homura: ...... Then there is a group of survivors besides us...... Homura: Now... Whose side are they on...? P.159 Hozumi(?): The path of the clouds has become suspicious. Shall we close the shutters? Hozumi: I wonder if it won't warm up soon? Shounagon: Today it is chillier than before. Let's request the footmen to fetch a bit more firewood. Shounagon: Even so... Since Kusushi-sama returned to the capital, Fujimine-sama really has kept to his bed, hasn't he... Fujimine: [cough...] P.160 Fujimine: [Sigh...] Homura: *I must return to the capital. Though it troubles my heart to leave you in this state......* Fujimine: (Kusushi-sama...) Fujimine: (Surely I cannot see you anymore.) Fujimine: (You didn't say that you would come again. You didn't say that we would meet again.) Fujimine: (How kind you are.) Homura: *I am your Kusushi.* Fujimine: (Now I can go on without waiting.) Homura: *Please trust me.* Fujimine: (And yet, my heart aches so... It shouldn't be painful at all!! I should be able to move on with a light heart!!) P.161 Fujimine: (------It is a lie.) Fujimine: (I know it. The more I lie to myself, the more I am entrapped by those lies-- and I become empty.) Fujimine: ......... Fujimine: (My neck...... it's hot.) P.162 Fujimine: (My chest grows hot, and it aches within when I think of Kusushi-sama...) Fujimine: (Even when I think of Kunue no Kimi or father, I have never... felt this feeling.) Fujimine: (What is this?) P.163 Children [kya ha ha...] [rustle-rustle...] [rustle..] [rustle-rustle...] P.164 Girl: Ni-chan, Wait! ...Ni-chan...? Boy: ...ead. Boy: ...She's...dead... She's _dead_...! Children [Waaaaaa...] Hozumi: Let all of the footmen inside! Shounagon: Are all the locks in place?! P.165 Shounagon: Ah...!! How dreadful...!! Shounagon: Who would have thought bandits would come out...?! Shounagon: According to children from the village, the left arm was torn off... Shounagon: Ah, it's terrifying... Shounagon: From tonight on, we shall sleep in an order and alternate. Hozumi: If nothing else... we must protect Fujimine-sama, no matter what happens...! Shounagon: ...Yes!! Shounagon: We shall even take up longswords to protect him...!! P.166 Fujimine: ......... Fujimine: (Bandits......?!) Fujimine: (When I ran across bandits before I was not afraid of death. But...) P.167 Fujimine: (Now I am afraid... For there is someone I long to meet...!!) Silver-haired Man: *Hurry on.* Fujimine: (Before, the silver-haired man saved me... but I cannot believe that he is a good person. He, who strangled the bandits to death...) Fujimine: (With Kusushi-sama gone, what am I to do......?!) P.168 Homura: ...An ugly color... A group of lesser demons, then... P.169 Homura: (Rumors of bandits are circulating in the villages. For us, it is a good concealment, but... from this color, it is our opposition. This will be troublesome.) Mizuha: Here, Homura!! Homura: ! Mizuha: Play with me!! Homura: Mizuha-hime... Where is Rin? Mizuha: Rin is caring for the doll!! Homura: (If about half of Mizuha-hime's character---) Mizuha: Everyone cares only for the doll!! They think of me not a whit!! _I hate being alone!!_ P.170 Homura: (Was in Fujimine as well......) Homura: Very well, Homura shall be your company! How shall we play? Mizuha: Argh, don't treat me as if I were a child!! My form may be small, but my heart is an adult's!! Homura: (When we parted, I thought he would cling to me, crying. Even... standing in breifly for his longed-for "Kunue no Kimi" was good.) Homura: Saying things like "I hate being alone" will not convince people. Homura: (Is he in fear... because of the rumors of bandits...?) Homura: (Yes, children should cry when they need to. They should make selfish requests...) Homura: ("Kunue no Kimi"---was it?) Oni Youth: Anija. {An odd form of address along the lines of onii-san and aniki.} P.171 Oni Youth: I smell something. Oni Youth: Your senses are sharp, as usual. Oni Youth: The smell of blood? Odder that you should not smell it. Oni Youth: I smell something other than human blood. Oni Youth: Ah, they are there. P.172 Oni Youth: Ones besides us... *Yasha Kisouden 1* End P.173 Yasha Kisouden R ~Re Born~ Nakagawa Katsumi R It's been about 4 years since I could send out Yasha Kisouden like this. (Actually) It sometimes feels like it was a long time, but really it was pretty short. I left Koudehansha and took this work, and now I'm able to start it over again at Kadokawa Shoten. I'm so happy!! I am truely grateful to all of you who have been waiting for so long. And I'm just as deeply grateful to all of you who are picking it up for the first time. The comics that were released before are immature and did not agree, and this book is the real story. The old story was a work in progress. Now's my chance. Those who remember the old story, please forget it... [I'm overcome...] Well then. The birth of this "Yasha Kisouden" is over 10 years distant... It was a work I drew for use as a reader submission. I had many people read it as a doujinshi, and then it was serialized in a commercial magazine and released in comics. A blank space of 4 years passed as it was serialised with Kadokawa and then released as comics. In that period it was made into a drama CD, and I quarreled with the people in compiling, and a lot of things...... happened...... [Am I...... a problem child?! I can't deny it, but......] However. It had been a half year since "Yasha" went into serialization, and I hadn't had any fun. I was very reserved about karaoke and sake. Even my concert trips, which I went to absurdly often, fell off...... My concert clothes are crying...... [Enamel and lace two piece... Long see-through black jacket... See-through black asym skirt...] My one salvation was a sushi shop near my apartment house. (Kitakatsu Sushi) So tasty!! Ookami-san: I'm cooking up the scallops now, okay? [shuuuu] (Cooking noises) Boss-lady Boss Daishou: Yo! Did you get your work done? Nakagawa: Well...... not yet...... Oh, can I get sea urchin and fatty tuna? The Daishou and the Ookami-san were a big help when I strained my back...... Thanks so much! Nakagawa: [It's like they're my dad and mom......] P.174 Well. Since we're talking about the Heian period, we must talk kimono. Yes, kimono. Twelve-layered robes and noushi. They're easy to draw.... easy but bo----ring!! Big, loose clothing is fun, but I want to draw things like enamel, leather pants, hyougara, lace, jackets that hug your hips re----al tight, and see-through clothes after all!! Nakagawa: It makes me want to draw something like "Suima-kun" again...... (Sometimes.) Nakagawa: [This pose is really nice...] [This makeup is fantastic! I should draw this next time.] [God, Hakuei is so cool!] This is how my art is born. Nakagawa: But there are so many just like it... I could finish it without thinking too hard... But they're nothing but good looks... Hakuei-san of Pennicillin Music magazines become my source material, so I've been buying most of them. I've had a weakness for long-haired men who look good in makeup for a long time. Nakagawa: Hey, hey, Look, look!! I'm a big fan of this person!! Showing them seperately. Papa: Hold on, Is that a woman? Mama: Again, Chiho-chan (real name) has a crush on someone who looks like a devil... I keep hearing thing like "looks like a woman", "looks like a devil"... Nakagawa: ........ [wind whistling] "There aren't men like that even in manga". By the way, my little brother likes Izam-san from Shazna. {Super effeminate front man of a visual-kei rock band.} Otouto: Well, he *is* cute. ...that's true, but... I want to study Izam-san's makeup. P.175 Nakagawa: Whew...... [Sigh] Nakagawa: Drawing Hakuei on the prior page wore me out...... I put too much love into it...... Gou Shiira-sensei! Did you like Hakuei-san? Thank you very much for the flowers on my birthday! Thanks to Hiura Itsuki-chan too! {Gou Shiira is a yaoi novelist. Hiura Itsuki on the other hand, I have no idea.} At any rate, my lone assistant and I finished up {this volume of} "Yasha" together. She is about to make her solo debut, so from here on it's going to be difficult again... so I'm looking to recruit a new assistant. As usual. Eru-pyon Nakagawa: Will you design a youkai for me? Eru: What kind? Nakagawa: One with claws, and horns too, and big eyes, and narrow, sharp wings like Spawn's cape, and------- Eru: ......okay...... Nakagawa: [I'm counting on you!] But it's my manga, so I want to draw as much of it as I can myself. (...even though it's kind of impossible......) It's been a while since I drew for monthly serialization and I'm still not used to it yet, so I'm freaking out as usual. Even my manager is struggling with stomach pains....... I got 2 "Eva" video games from Eru-pyon!! Alright! I'm going out to buy a Saturn!! Now it can go head-to-head with my PS and PC-FX!! After that there's the 64 and GB I bet...... Nakagawa: I haven't played any games or worked on any models...... I guess I really am a manga otaku now...... Even if I work hard I won't be able to relax... I'm always busy... Box: Eva model in construction Box: Evangelion *I still haven't broken the seal. A Perfect Version Eva model I got from my manager, (It's big!) Games I haven't played. Nakagawa: I spend so much time indoors... What an otaku... But I get to draw "Yasha Kisouden", and I like that more than anything, so I'm happy after all. I'm going to study more and do my best, so please continue your support!! Forever a student. I look forward to seeing you again in volume 2!! See you later, be well!! Everyone at F.C. Drakkar, I love you the most! You've saved me. Special Thanx Sugai Eru-pyon (Sorry, as always) Kano Fujimaru-sensei (Thanks for comming from so far away to help me!! Let's go out and karaoke again sometime!!) {Boys love doujinshika.} My manager @jima-san (My first disciple) Comics manager Terada Murasaki-san (I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry) & My family, friends, and all of my readers. Yasha Kisouden R * End Back cover: The age is the Heian period. While rumors of the appearance of oni are on the rise in Yoshino, Fujimine, who is attacked bandits, is saved by a terribly cruel, excessivly beautiful man who is like a god---!! First volume of the dark fantasy romance!!