Original subtitles

Dad?

It's better you don't look.

Let go of me!

Let go! I said let go of me!

Dad! Dad!

No! Dad!

YATAGARASU

The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Me? Sell Sagecap?

Don't even joke about that.

I want nothing to do with a drug that risky.

A courtesan died in Shimobara yesterday.

Stuck her head in a burning oven, I hear. In raven shape.

Ring any bells?

Now that you mention it, a woman did frequent the physician's place there.

Maybe she's your seller.

What kind of woman?

Kind of young. An "older sister" type.

Never got a good look at her face, though.

Oh, I know! She had moles.

Around here, I think.

Clear Mirror Temple

We have identified the body as Jihei's.

He was flayed alive before being strung him up.

He reaped what he sowed, but even so...

The Underground has always worked that way.

Basically, they played us for fools.

They used the court to smoke out Jihei,

then snatched him when he broke cover.

King Saku got one over on us.

And that letter?

It was found tied to the corpse.

They want us to take it from here, I suppose.

It's in Jihei's hand.

Are you certain Jihei wrote it?

Positive. We had his daughter identify the handwriting.

We will never get a chance to question Jihei now.

These are his final words.

My well ran dry.

That's how it all started.

I'd heard whispered rumors about water drying up on the central mountain,

but I never imagined it would happen to me.

Changing trades didn't work out.

Debt collectors took the kimono and valuables.

Then, my wife left us.

My little girl went out to work.

I started drinking,

and gambled my days away.

When I happened to luck into some money,

I bought an old well.

I trusted promises that it still had water.

I was grasping at straws.

No luck here, either?

God, please bring the water back.

You're a yatagarasu?

I'm in here.

Thanks for drink.

C-Can it be?

G-God?

Huh?

God? At the bottom of a well?

Well, you can call me what you like.

W-Will you please bring the water back?

Sorry. I can't do that.

But I'll give you a present by way of thanks.

Take it to a physician.

A physician?

If you want more, lower down some sake.

I'll come again when I smell it.

I didn't learn the name "Sagecap" until a while later.

Physician

I never doubted it was a divine blessing.

And I kept doing what the voice asked.

Wh-What did you say?

I smell something delicious on you. A young woman.

I want to eat her next.

Y-You can't.

Why not? Is she your wife? Your daughter?

Please! Anything but that!

You must really care for her.

Another woman will do.

I'll give you heaps more Sagecap.

Why not use it to make that woman who means so much to you happy?

It was then that I learned I hadn't been worshiping a god,

but a monstrous monkey that feeds on yatagarasu.

I didn't want my daughter to find out what I'd done.

Anyone but her.

"And then, one day..."

I've had a bright idea.

A way to snatch up a lot of prey all at once.

You won't need to hunt anymore.

From now on, just lead my friends to the hunting ground.

I made up my mind to cut ties with the monster.

But then, I hear rumors the Underground was looking for someone selling Sagecap.

Peddling goods to Sugou?

Why do I have to come, too?

I decided that after Sugou, I'd take my daughter and leave the Center.

And I put sleeping powder in the sake pots...

so that she'd never find out.

I thought I'd pulled it off until those two showed up.

Don't let your guard down.

Koume.

We have to run.

Wake up, Koume!

So when Nazukihiko and Yukiya landed in Sugou and slew the monkeys,

Jihei was left with no choice but to abandon Koume and flee.

Meanwhile, thanks to her drugged sleep,

Koume awoke in the Lord of Taruhi's home with no knowledge of the Sugou massacre.

Jihei must have expected death when he emerged from hiding.

Both the Underground and the court suspected his daughter. He sought to clear her name.

It was all Jihei's doing.

The thorough chronology, details only the culprit would know...

They all ring true.

This letter...

is Jihei's confession.

I might get drunk just smelling that stuff.

Will that thing really take the bait?

Who knows? It's what Jihei's letter said he did.

But should we really be doing this before the council meets?

Won't they have complaints again?

If I hold a council, the old men will demand we block up the well at once.

If we want to identify that voice, we must act now.

What did you think of that letter?

I have no sympathy for Jihei.

Loving his daughter doesn't excuse sacrificing yatagarasu to monsters.

And Koume never mentioned the two men who went with them to Sugou.

I know she wanted to shield her father, but—

Who's there?

First, who are you?

Oh, I see. You've found me out.

I liked this well, but that's life.

Are you the one who killed my brethren?

I killed those who attacked yatagarasu.

Even the children. Poor things.

You killed yatagarasu children in the villages you attacked.

I have a duty to defend my people.

I can't afford to be gentle with those who mean the yatagarasu harm.

You wouldn't be their leader, would you?

I am the true kin'u.

I see. The true kin'u.

How nice to see you again.

Or should I say, nice to meet you?

What are you getting at?

Don't play its game.

I know.

Where did you come from? Are you a monkey?

If so, why can only you speak our language?

Why did you eat yatagarasu?

Don't be in such a rush.

I've lived a long time.

I've known you lot since you only knew how to caw.

You yatagarasu have survived by forgetting inconvenient truths.

But now, the bill has come due.

What do you mean?

I mean Yamauchi will crumble.

Can't you tell?

Put a hand on where your heart should be and think.

Wait!

Nazukihiko, no!

Your Highness!

Nazukihiko!

Cherry Blossom Palace

Koume, it's time you got ready.

Sunrise Palace

I know, I know.

Huh?

About Koume's future...

Someone offered to take her in, even knowing all that's happened.

She has no family, but we can't keep her in Cherry Blossom Palace.

We've been scratching our heads about that ourselves.

That offer sounds perfect, then.

But who's the generous benefactor?

Lady Hamayu, you don't mean...

Oh, yes, I do.

Lady Azusa of Taruhi called on me yesterday.

She asked to fetch Koume back from Cherry Blossom Palace as soon as she can.

What is my mother thinking?

Koume's father sold Taruhi to the monkeys.

All the more reason not to abandon her, according to Lady Azusa.

She said Koume shouldn't bear the burden of living as a criminal's child.

I'll speak with my mother.

Yukiya?

His Highness the Prince

This report from the town watch arrived this morning.

Koume's still hiding something.

I'll convince my mother to reconsider.

Hey!

Wait.

I doubt you could hold a decent conversation in your present state.

I'm quite calm.

Have you ever said that and actually been calm?

If you'll excuse me.

Don't go. That's an order.

Since when did I pledge my loyalty to you?!

Mansion of the Northern House

Koume.

Yukiya?

You begged my mother, didn't you?

What?

Don't come to Taruhi. I can't trust you.

I can't blame you for being angry.

I wasn't truthful, even though you all showed me so much sympathy and kindness.

When I heard you went to the Underground because of me,

I thought my heart would burst.

But Yukiya, I really didn't know.

Not about what happened in Sugou or what my father did.

I mean, he was so spineless.

I still can't believe it.

They say a woman sold Sagecap in Shimobara.

Shimobara?

Yes. A town on the road from the Center to Sugou.

She had a huge supply of Sagecap.

And although she took care to hide her face,

she had two moles under her left eye.

Just like you do.

Are you sure you didn't know what your father was doing?

That wasn't me.

Lying won't—

Is that you, Yukiya?

Mother.

My lady.

What brings you here?

What were you talking about?

Nothing, my lady.

I think I'd better excuse myself.

Wait.

I still have...

See you, Yukiya.

Mother, she's fooling you.

How so?

She's crafty. A schemer.

She spotted your kindness immediately and tried to take advantage of it.

What makes you think that?

She's laying all the blame on her father,

while she gets a nice, cushy new life for herself.

How could she ask to live in Taruhi, the very place the monkeys attacked?

I invited Koume to come to Taruhi,

but she just turned me down.

Huh?

I truly appreciate your kindness.

But I realize what my father did.

As his daughter, I can't escape responsibility just because I didn't know.

Koume, I don't think—

My father was kind to me, even if he was a hopeless good-for-nothing.

I probably won't see Yukiya again, so please give him my best.

Thank you so much.

Your mother can tell that anger is clouding your eyes right now.

Taking revenge on someone is not at all the same thing as making them atone.

You mustn't become so bitter that you lose sight of what's really happening.

Has Koume been found, Sumio?

Someone saw a girl like her board a basket out of the city.

Nazukihiko has the Yamauchi Guard out looking for her.

It's all my fault.

Well, now we know Koume was selling the stuff,

just like you suspected.

Was she really?

The moles aren't really enough to prove anything.

Even if Koume was selling Sagecap, she didn't need to run.

So why has she disappeared?

Don't tell me...

See you, Yukiya.

She wants me to chase her?

Is she counting on me suspecting her, and...

H-Hey!

Yukiya?

Your Highness, I may have overlooked something important.

Shimobara, the North

m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100

Bridge of Heaven Inn

Are you there, Hatsune?

Right here!

You have a visitor. Your little sister, maybe?

My sister?

Found you.

It's been a long time...

Mom.

Yukiya races through the skies in pursuit of Koume,

and the fate of the true kin'u comes to light.

Once Yukiya learns all, what path will he choose?

Next time: "The Golden Raven."

The Golden

Raven

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Illustration: Natsuki