Bronze 6: Volume 23
translated from Japanese by Awaresa 7/22/2000

5
For what reason do I grow my hair?
To hide my face.

6
Do you know the meaning of this ring?
I've given up my heart to it. It is everything I am and all that I say as a man.
VOLUME 23 liar

7
I'm so...
I'm so sorry...
You are... Your kindness...
Your wings shattered into thousands of fragments, slivers of pain flying through me...
Your gaze blew me away... I spent my entire summer trying to win it for myself.
Forever... For all of eternity...
Wait here... wait for me to come back...

9
The Nanjo estate dojo; Hirose is seated polishing his katana. His wife kneels outside the garden entrance. Kurauchi stands by the house entrance.

Wife:
Darling...
You'll catch a cold... Please, let's shut the door.

10
Hirose:
No...
I prefer the dojo like this.
The air is crisp... The moon's soft rays are magnificent...
It would be a shame to block their beauty.

11
Wife:
of course...
It's beautiful
Hirose:
Once, the silvered blue edge of this sword drank in the crimson dyes of it's victims' blood. It was magnificent to behold.

12
Wife:
My... What a scary man you are!
Hirose:
I am, aren't I?
It's time you went to bed. The hour's grown late.
It's important for you to watch your health. The cool night hair won't help it.
(*) Rumor has that from this line we know that she is pregnant and expecting their second child. All Hirose says is for her to take care of her body (litterally). The next occassion I see my Japanese sensei I will be asking her if this is a more "polite" way to refer to her pregnancy. From the text itself, it can only be inferred that they want a second child; it is not stated they are expecting one.
Hirose:
Kurauchi
Kurauchi:
Yes.
Hirose:
If you would be so kind as to escort her to her room; you may retire as well.
Our second child should be a splendid baby boy.
Wife:
Oh...
Then you wouldn't like a girl?
~would like a pretty little girl~

13
Hirose:
Our second child must be a boy and not a girl. There's no other way things may be.
You simply have to give birth to a boy first. Does this trouble you?
Wife:
*giggle*
Oh! But why?
Hirose:
Our second son can be anything, depending on his brother's kindness.
The third son never accomplishes anything; he's worthless from birth.
Wife:
And the eldest son is?
Hirose:
The first light to darken...

14
Wife:
I understand perfectly.

Kurauchi and Hirose's wife exit

Hirose:
Now...

15
Hirose:
I come from a time before miracles where feelings and love are nothing more than heresy...
*sigh of the wind*
*rustling from the brush*
Hirose:
You're finally here. I let you enter freely, and you try to catch me unaware.
This mansion is enclosed by a high fence; it's comings and goings are all known to me. However... your motives...
(*) Here, the "fence" refers to Hirose's zaibatsu network, and is meant to show that Hirose can find out anything about Koji anywhere. An intimidation tactic, since Koji values Izumi, and Izumi values his privacy above all else.
16
Hirose:
This is where I escape to - for as long as it's been here... do you remember...?
*footsteps on grass*
Hirose:
Koji

17
Hirose:
I'll be blunt.
Would you care to tell me how goes your search? I could be interested in employing you myself; it could be a mutally beneficial situation.
Koji:
I guess I came at the right time.

18
*sound of the shoes against the wooden floor*
Hirose:
Please be so kind as to remove your shoes.

19
Koji:
There's no need.
Hirose:
Then I'll stand.

The Nanjo driveway; Akihito has just arrived home

Akihito:
This has got to be the 10,000 time I've come home... This 500SL has got guts!
~God... Breakfast gave me food poisoning... What a drag! Tonight sucks!~

The dojo; Hirose and Koji stand facing each other

Hirose:
What business is bringing you here then? I see...

20
Hirose:
Yes... I see.
Ah... And won't all of this be bringing up a rather severe penalty for breaching your contract with Shibuya?
But then, given the various formalities involved in renunciating such a successful career... In the end, won't you reconsider?
Akihito, passing by the house entrance to the dojo:
Huh?
Hirose... What's he doing still up at this hour?
Koji:
What's this...
You're certainly full of yourself, Aniki.

21
Hirose:
*swish of the blade slicing the air*
Once... There was a time when this blade used to taste human flesh, asking it's victims which of their possessions they had attempted to love.
However... Now this katana has become revered as a national treasure... Just hearing that sounds sacrilegious, doesn't it?
(*) When Hirose refers to the katana, he uses a pronoun that has a "bastard" connotation. This is to emphasize the irony that a murderous killer is now a national treasure. However, it doesn't sound quite right saying "This bastard sword is now a national treasure." ^^
22
Hirose:
I've been going in circles. Rather like a virgin lost in sensation...
*swipes the katana downwards*

23
Hirose:
His body is like a whip; his muscles hard with futile straining.
His skin glowing from drinking in the light of the sun... His indomitable spirit... That wonderful abundence of spirit and physical beauty was absolutely captivating.
Now the frown appears... Didn't you want this relationship? This wasn't how you wanted things to be?
~giggle~
Koji:
*cry of surprise*

24
*thudding of bodies colliding*

25
*small splatter of blood dropping to the floor*

26
Akihito (entering):
Hiroseee... Before you quit for the night I need Shinagawa's number...
*doubletake*
Hi... Hirose...!?
Hirose:
You're making a fuss... Akihito!!
(*) ^^;;; Hirose uses this several times. It should have a more desperate tone to it, but I couldn't come up with a better English equivalent. It isn't an order telling him to silence, but a descriptive cry describing Akihito's reaction. "You're flipping out!" just didn't fit in Hirose's vocab, but it has that general connotation, only stated in a more formal and polite way.
27
Hirose:
What is it...
"I don't know what to do." What if it hadn't been for me...?
... It would be simple to kill me.
But your affairs... Supposing I do die... do you think you're prepared to deal with the murder investigation that will follow?
You've spent you entire life searching for a way out of this prison...

28
Hirose:
That would be a very prominent legal issue... are you sure you want to go there?
*dripping of blood to the ground*
Koji:
No.
All your affairs are done this way. But I won't have that kind of publicity.
The Joutou company President was originally a performer until he was stabbed by his younger brother. The embarrassment never went away did it.
Hirose:
Indeed...
Koji:
It was on purpose. It's always been a sore spot with you hasn't it?
Hirose:
Was?
Is this the end? Was that boy's body so cheap?
*sound of tearing flesh and spurting blood*
(*) For those who missed it, Koji's stabbing Hirose was the "price" of Izumi's rape. When Hirose makes the "cheap" comment, Koji raised the price by turning the knife while it was embedded in Hirose's abdomen.
29
Hirose:
*grabbing knife and trembling violently*
Koji:
You didn't think I was going to pull it out just like that did you!
I'm an adult, you're bleeding all over, you're obsessed, and this is BORING!! We're gay, and the last thing we need to deal with is more suffering and regret over how shittily things are being done!
Akihito:
*catches Hirose*
Hirose
*picks up sword*
Hirose!!
Hirose:
You're... making... a fuss...
Akihito:
Hirose! Damn you bastard!!

30
Akihito:
Asshole...
*pushing back bukuro (cloth bag katana are kept in)*
Hirose:
Akihito!
Akihito:
What do you mean by coming here bastard!! This house makes no sense!!
Attacking things without reason!!
(*) Akihito actually refers to Koji's actions as those of a mad dog (rabid); which is to say attacking everything in its path even when those things are harmless. Akihito, of course, knows nothing about what happened, and neither of his brothers deign to clue him in. ^^
Akihito:
Until you came this house was peaceful!! We were!! We were all happy!!
Then you came and everything went to Hell!!

31
Akihito:
Before you came here...
What were you thinking in coming here?! What da Hell did you expect to find!!
Forgiveness?! Did you expect Hirose to give you that...
I'LL KILL YOU!!

32
Hirose:
Please stop

33
Akihito:
Wh... wh... why...!!
Hirose:
I was brought up the right way... It wasn't always easy...
And because of him the most I could be was a disgrace...
You're the second son of the Nanjo household...
(*) As second son, Akihito is more important than Koji as far as birthright is concerned. As far as their Father was concerned, nothing was more important than Koji, which is something Akihito and Hirose both realize. Hirose says it more as a token symbol of Akihito's worth and to deny Akihito's claim that he's nothing but a disgrace. Sort of a "You're a Nanjo and no Nanjo is a disgrace" type thing.
Koji:
And I'm the one who put you in the place you hold today.
As a matter of fact, that's the only thing I've done.

34
Koji:
I failed at everything and had a talent for sending all the adults around me into hysterical fits.
(*) enraged hysteria, not laughing hysteria. I couldn't think of a better English word.
Koji:
You never listened to understand my reasons. I stood there screaming... You thought it unpleasant. A disturbance in your peaceful lives.
He wanted perfection. He savored the taste of my misery. It's over now.
Because... It's as simple as that. All I heard was the call of my music.
Hirose:
This is the first I've heard of any of this... These are your "reasons"?
Akihito:
Hirose

35
Koji:
I learned budo only because that man made me. Everyday; always the same. We're the same.
Drudgery... I couldn't escape it even to complain.
You don't find fault in that we don't even know how many times we've been hit?
*slam*
Kurauchi:
Hirose-sama...!? Wha... What's going on here?
Hirose:
Please don't come in. Don't interfere.
Kurauchi:
Yes sir... You're bleeding...!!
Hirose:
Silence!!
Koji:
So you don't always listen to your husband huh...
But I would like you to please listen to my reasons now.
I couldn't even bear living in this hateful house. Those are my feelings.
Everyone around us feels that towards our name. I understood that then.

36
Koji:
That's right! I am what I am now! If you like this life and can bear those feelings then that's your case! Do whatever you like!
I was meant to meet him!! We were destined to live together!!
Hirose:
Confessions of love work best when said to the person himself.
Always... or almost always... Don't you think so?
It's always had great success in your past.

37
Hirose:
I understand where you're coming from. I was in that past as well, and I was the first casualty.
But, even with all that, I will still have my ending.
Koji:
I'm willing to be an accomplice to murder, so it would be in your best interests to concern yourselves now.
Hirose:
You love like the way of the sumo. Without grace and without substance.
(*) Sumo is THE sport in Japan. Sumo wrestlers put EVERYTHING second to the way of sumo. Love, money, fame, family; everything is second to sumo. This is a VERY powerful comparison which Hirose makes. He disparages it with his next comment - on pun on sumo since they are bulky and therefore lack grace - but the original metaphor shows that Koji will sacrifice any and everything in this world for his love.
Hirose:
Why do I find it hard to believe a boyfriend was able to cure you of your imbelicility.
(*) Reference to Koji's numerous affairs with women in the past.
Koji:
I was nothing but an idiot before now.
Hirose:
My... You still have that damn self-confidence...

38
Koji:
He's the most precious thing I own!!
But the person I have become thanks to him, is just as important!
I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him! I'll lay down my very life to protect him!! I see now, just how insignificant those words are!
So I'll simply kill that person.
(*) Koji - while not actually distinguishing the two - is now referring to himself as two different people. The idealistic lover, and the pragmatic singer. One simply wants to live happilly with Izumi and believes that this can be accomplished. The other realizes that he is a Nanjo, and will never be rid of that part of his life. So, he vows to kill himself. He isn't killing one or the other - he is killing both. He is killing the idealistic love which thought everything would work out fine, and he is killing the Nanjo's 3rd son who is the heir to the Kendo school. This would be INCREDIBLY ROMANTIC. He is severing ties with his family - NOTHING is more important than family in Japan - and sacrificing his own naive beliefs in order to better understand and love the one he loves.
39
Koji:
I'll just... kill myself.
For that person...
So... This makes us even.
Akihito:
!!
Koji:
*whips sword up*
Hirose... Akihito...

40
Koji:
Izumi...
Once again... I'm sure you're angry... but...
I'll be home... soon...

41
Koji:
What I said... I lied.
*shining light*

42
*medium splash against Hirose's face*
*large menacing splash on Akihito*

43
Akihito:
Hi...
*medium splash as the arm strikes the floor*

44
Koji:
Use it to decorate our kamidana.
(*) Kamidana is the name for the private Shinto shrines which traditional Japanese homes will all possess. These usually contain small memorials to the family line's most respected ancestors and daily prayers for the family's wellfare are said here. They protect the household and everyone within it from evil demons, illness, and misfortune. Placing Koji's arm there would essentially be to ward off Koji himself. Also, since Koji is a Nanjo, placing his arm there would be an even greater insult to the house. Since trophees are placed here, Koji's arm would essentially be a trophee of the Nanjo line's betrayal of him, which is a VERY big insult to the family honor.
49
Koji's apartment: Izumi lying peacefully asleep in bed, clutching Koji's hair in his bandaged hand

Can happiness... exist...?

50
A flashback to a conversation Katsumi and Koji once had

Katsumi:
Lessee... There's still a problem with that idea...
It's like that everywhere.
You try to experience happiness, but in the end all you can do is look towards the future.
Struggling to win in a constant battle with your own inner demons; it makes you stronger by opposing adversity and challenging it with your own hand.
~Go Japan!~
Katsumi:
Happiness only goes to those deserving it; those with the courage to seek it; those with the hope to never forget their wish...
Koji:
Did you say something?
Katsumi
Jeez... What kind of spell are you under?
Koji:
*snort*
Katsumi:
Hahahahaha
I said find happiness. Love too.
You have to work for it to come to you. You take people for granted. You can't do that if you want them to stay.

51
Katsumi:
How convenient it is for you to sit and watch your life go by by just raising the Japanese flag. You own anything and everything a person could want in their entire lifetime. Even people.
(*) Here Katsumi's referring to Koji's constant supporting of Izumi at his soccer games. The Japanese flag is a VERY patriotic symbol in Japan so you would wave it at sporting events to support your favorite team by showing that you think they represent the patriotic spirit of Japan.
Katsumi:
You would have suffered a broken heart long before now if not for the way you avoided falling in love.
What! It's convenient for you to just leave me out to dry!! What now!!
You're such a jerk!
You can only change the world you live in if you have the dedication, courage, and aspiration.
To have happiness... If you didn't put everything you had into achieving it, then how can you expect to succeed in being anything other than miserable? Don't you get it...
You can't expect everyone to be like him... To think of this life as the source of unconditional happiness... You can't restrict the way people feel. What happiness is and what misery is... They... can't be confined to just one definition.
Well... There are so many different patterns...
What do I feel? What do you desire?
Koji:
... What everyone needs I suppose. That is, to live their lives, however ideal they may be.

52
Katsumi:
Well, all I want is to stay faithful to my own desires in life, but...
How far are you willing to go? What kind of desires do you have?
Sometimes all I want to do is shudder when I look forward... What if things don't turn out the way you hope... Will you regret it?
Everything I measured myself by was blasted away, and I just stopped believing.
So... Find happiness any way you can. Find what you want.
Just don't ever let them judge you.
Koji:
I... want to be with Izumi...
(*) Interesting note. The verb Koji uses "au" has the connotation of a disasterous encounter. It follows the concept of "Zetsu ai", which was a love so powerful and consuming it destroys you. Koji knows this is the love he feels, but welcomes it even though he knows it will destroy him.
Koji:
I want that happiness...
Because I... I want that happiness... I want that... I never want to know what it feels like to lose him...
"Like it's always been there..."
Izumi makes me... happy.

53
Koji:
Izumi... I want to be with him...
Our happiness... It's as though I've had it forever...
Is it possible to feel such things for another human being...

Koji's vision of a blissfully smiling Izumi holding laughter in his hands; Koji himself is lying bleeding on the dojo floor

Izumi:
Koji...
Laugh...

54
Izumi:
Dummy...
For as long as you need me... For as long as you sing to me...

55
Koji:
*twitch*
Izumi:
I'll always be right here...
Koji:
... Thank God...

56
Koji:
Izumi's... laughing...
Thank God...
END

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