Wrapped in long cloaks, the ikkou trudges through a snowy mountain pass. Goku and Gojyo gripe about the cold, and Hakkai reminds them that this wasn't his idea: a villager told them the only way west was over this mountain. Gojyo hopefully asks if there might be a village or an inn on the way. Hakkai doubts anyone lives up here-- but then a flight of arrows zings into the snow at their feet. Go home! get off this mountain! yells a young, angry voice, and we see the archers are a gang of little kids. People from the village aren't supposed to come up here, they say, and Gojyo's attempt to explain that they aren't villagers is just met with more arrows. Ignore them, growls Sanzo, and the ikkou takes off at a gallop through the blinding snow--and runs right off the path, landing in a heap (not too far) below.
A tall figure, dressed for the weather and muffled up in scarf and goggles, finds the unconscious foursome...
We see a pot of soup bubbling over the fire. Sanzo's eyes slowly open; he sees a youkai bending over him and in a flash has the demon by the collar, pistol at his head--but we can see that this youkai is the one who rescued them. Wow, you're fast, says the stranger mildly, and then Hakkai and Gojyo chime in to assure their leader that the demon, whose camp they're in, is their benefactor. Quite a greeting, says the big guy, amused; you're pretty violent for a monk. [He has a nice smile, dark hair and grey eyes; a deep voice and a steady, calm presence.] Sanzo snorts; so, a youkai not affected by the Minus Wave, he says. --Something like that. --The youkai passes Sanzo a bowl of soup. Gojyo adds with tipsy happiness that there's sake' in it, and Goku is already sound asleep by the fire =). Sanzo accepts the bowl with poor grace and irritatedly asks why the group is so relaxed. Hakkai replies that there's not much more they can do right now, as the snowstorm has turned into a blizzard. The big youkai [I'll go ahead and say that his name is Yakumo] adds that it'll likely snow all night, so they should make themselves comfortable, and he's sorry his kids attacked them earlier.
The troop of archer children enters the tarpaulin-sealed cave, and Gojyo splutters, you're saying all these are your kids?! The youkai chuckles that he's a respectable bachelor, and tells the kids to apologize, whereupon they bow and offer an in-unison "gomen nasai".
Sanzo and Hakkai both note that all the kids are youkai. Yakumo explains that when the area's demons went berserk, a few adults and most children (as the ikkou has noted elsewhere) kept their sanity--maybe just because they weren't yet mature. All of these youngsters have lost their parents to the Minus Wave, and he's the only remaining adult youkai in the area, so he's taken them in to raise them himself. So that's why you live up here in the mountains, says Hakkai. (Gojyo, always a pushover for little ones, is already making friends, though Goku objects to being clambered on.=)==Learning of the ikkou's mission, Yakumo says thoughtfully that finding the source of the Minus Wave might help to reverse its effects, but whether or not that would solve everything... (we see an ominous-looking party of men hiking up into the pass, armed with farm tools.) What do you mean? asks Hakkai, and the big demon somberly replies, do you think they'll forgive the youkai for everything they've done? The humans feel so much fear and distrust; I don't think it'll be resolved that easily.--Sanzo, smoking, watches him narrowly as he speaks.==
The kids continue to bounce on and torment Goku, and even braid Gojyo's hair (he retorts to Goku's teasing that he's fine with taking care of 'future hot ladies'=), until Sanzo deals out some ferocious fan wallops, yelling for them all to shush. Gojyo dryly remarks that Sanzo's the loudest one there, and Hakkai apologizes to Yakumo for his rowdy friends. He chuckles, but then adds, cautiously, that it's unusual to see humans and demons traveling together these days. Hakkai's face turns so cold that it's startling; "Yakumo-san," he says in sharp reproof--
and then Sanzo and Gojyo snap alert at the crunch of footsteps in the snow outside. ==Yakumo picks up his gun and orders the kids back into the cave, but before anyone can move the tarp is ripped open, and there are the intruders, three human men. We've finally found you, one says; to think that you're hiding all these demon children up here, Yakumo. --the ikkou get to their feet; tiny, scared youkai cling to Gojyo and Goku.
Humans? asks Gojyo. They're humans from the village below, Yakumo tells his guests; they're after us youkai. Of course we are, you're demons, retorts the ringleader. --Leave us alone, demands Yakumo, we've done nothing to harm you, especially these children. That may be so, they say, but we still can't rest easy knowing there are demons living so close by. Who knows when you'll go berserk like the others did, and attack our village? Even you can't guarantee that won't happen!
Yakumo looks stricken--clearly that's his worst nightmare--and Gojyo and Goku likewise react in shock at a touch to this very raw nerve. Hey, protests Goku, you should listen to their side too! But the humans growl that outsiders have no say in this, and raise their tools menacingly, saying that if Yakumo won't leave they'll kill him. The big youkai aims his rifle, and the kids cower in fear--
But Sanzo lays his hand on the rifle and stares down the intruders. You're human? why is a human monk traveling with demons? they ask in surprise.
You're right, replies Sanzo (over Goku's protest); considering your future safety, this is the wisest course of action. But even so: besides Yakumo, all the youkai here are children, not so different from the human children in your village. And if knowing that, you're still able to kill these children [his voice is a fierce rasp of utter authority and judgment, the voice of the Law; a tremendous performance by Hoshi-san]--then you bastards are neither demon nor human.
There's nearly ten seconds of stunned silence before one of the men replies 'but co-existing with demons isn't possible!' [--If these guys knew Hakkai, they'd take one look at him right now and shut the hell up.] We're not backing down until you leave our land, they say defiantly; we'll keep coming back until you do. And they walk off into the snow.
Yakumo hugs Ryo, the little one who's hiding behind Gojyo, and promises to protect them all, wondering bitterly why they can't be left alone.
The next day: blue skies over fresh snow. Yakumo teaches Goku how to chop wood for kindling, saying that no one can eat who doesn't work. As G&G squabble, Sanzo sits smoking, grumbling at the noise (--Hakkai scoops up an armload of firewood, saying sweetly that they're still better than someone who isn't helping at all. Go, 'Kai. =).== Yakumo apologizes to Sanzo for last night's episode. What you said was true, says the monk; even if we find the source of the Minus Wave, it's probably too late for things to return to the way they were. Their host admits that he has no idea when he might lose himself; and isn't it the same for Sanzo's friends?
And Sanzo--for the first time ever--doesn't auto-reply that they aren't his friends; he watches their snowball fight for a moment, then says quietly, "Yeah."
[Wow.]
The big youkai adds--almost lightly--that maybe he went crazy a long time ago. Sanzo gives him a keen glance. ==The kids are pestering Yakumo to join their snowball battle, but across the snowfield, Goku has found something. A row of heavy stones, set as markers in the snow, each one with a flower lying by it. These are--
--Graves, supplies Yakumo, of all the children who've come here and died. He manages a smile; it's because these are here that I truly don't want to leave this land.
==Died? asks Goku? Did they get sick? No; they were killed.==Sanzo's gaze hasn't shifted.==Killed by who? the humans? asks Goku.==A look of pain and regret crosses the youkai's face. The piercing purple eye does not miss it. It's so silent, except for the happy squeals of the kids playing in the snow, and Yakumo smiles.
It's snowing again. Hakkai observes that mountain weather changes quickly, and Yakumo says that it'll be sunny in the morning; they should be able to reach the next village west of here if they leave early. Sanzo is watching him like a hawk.
One of the children enters in tears, telling Yakumo that Ryo is missing. In this blizzard?--exclaims Gojyo. The little girl says that Ryo'd begun acting weird as soon as the humans left, all zoned out and scary. Yakumo, looking pale, picks up his rifle and puts on his scarf. I'll go and look for him, he says. Goku at once volunteers the ikkou's help, but Yakumo says he'll go alone, and when Goku presses, he orders them all to stay. But as soon as he leaves Hakkai asks for Sanzo's decision, and he says, we'll go; something's bothering me. Besides Ryo? asks Goku.--Yes.
We hear Yakumo thinking, this is just a dream; we see the cloaked ikkou trudging through the snow. Goku asks Sanzo why they're following Yakumo instead of searching for Ryo, but he ignores the saru's voice, his face set and dark. They hear gunshots, and run toward the sound.
Yakumo is standing over Ryo and two of the intruder humans, all lying dead in the snow. He remembers Goku asking how the children died, and thinks: I killed them. Aloud he says that maybe he's the one who's dreaming, though he has no right to. We see the single neat bullet hole in Ryo's back; as Yakumo lifts his body from the snow, we see that the child's hands are bloody youkai claws. He went berserk?--asks Hakkai, aghast. [In the manga, the men have been gruesomely dismembered, making it all too clear how they died.] Goku can't understand, but Sanzo's face shows he'd already guessed the awful truth. ==I killed them, says Yakumo--his voice is quiet, and full of pain--before they could attack humans. The children who went berserk...I've killed them, again and again.
He walks off, carrying the little body, and Gojyo asks where he's going. Back there, he says; one of the humans got away, and they'll never let a thing like this go. The ikkou stands in the snow, watching him leave.
I know it's a contradiction, he thinks as he walks: taking them in, yet killing them when they go mad. I know, but...what else could I do? I only-- he steps into the cave--
--and finds the third man, standing over the bodies of the remaining youkai children. All of them.
We see the ikkou, silent as they walk back toward the cave. Why'd he have that look on his face, says Goku; he said he was dreaming, but why? that's how things ought to be! Why-- That's reality, replies Gojyo bitterly.
They hear a blood-curdling howl from the cave, and then the human's voice pleading: we didn't want to do this, but we had no choice! you were the only reason we couldn't live a peaceful--
then a scream, and awful noises. Goku stands stunned; Hakkai's eyes narrow; Gojyo recoils in grief and horror, eyes shut tight; Sanzo's face shows terrible resolve.
The sounds cease, and Yakumo steps out into the snow. There's blood on his mouth, and he grins at them. WHY?!--howls Goku.
We can see his fangs, his bloody talons. He throws Goku and Gojyo aside like toys, and heads for Sanzo, who cusses, draws and shoots, but only wounds his shoulder.
Yakumo, why? pleads Goku. Hakkai and Gojyo arm up and face the youkai. Hakkai says they should avoid a close-quarters battle; Gojyo agrees, but as they step forward Goku catches them both by the hoods of their cloaks. I know, says the saru, in anguish; I know, but--
I wonder how he felt, says Hakkai quietly; digging the graves for those children, one after another...
And Gojyo, just as quietly, in deep pity: Who's going to dig his grave?
Goku lets them go. Yakumo lets out a roar and charges. We see his smile; we hear the kids calling him to join the snowball fight...
--Sun on snow. The ikkou standing in the little graveyard, around a large, fresh stone. Sanzo turns and walks off; H&G follow, but Goku remains, looking at the grave.
-- Let's go, the monk says, less sharply than usual. Goku hesitates. Sanzo, he says; if I were to...
--Sanzo turns back. Hakkai and Gojyo look on, knowing his question, knowing either of them might ask the same.
--Nothing, forget it, says the saru; but Sanzo says, "I'd kill you." [Koroshite aru yo: 'Kill you...I'd do it.'] He says it almost tenderly, and with complete understanding. "I would."
Okay, Goku says.
And as they walk off, Gojyo complains that his feet itch, and Goku suggests it's frostbite, and when Sanzo grumbles that that's contagious Hakkai says he's thinking of athlete's foot--all, so obviously, just to be talking about something, anything, else.
==A great, great, heart-wrenching episode, dealing with something that must haunt all four of them night and day, and doing it so well.
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