← Previous Chapter |
Next Chapter →
Back to the game page
Ghosts of the Past
Atsu: Someone’s here. Jubei? You came home.
Jubei: I should have been here to help you bury them.
Atsu: You’re here now. I thought you died that night.
Young Atsu: (Laboured breathing)
Young Jubei: (Laboured breathing) (Startled cry)
Young Atsu: Jubei!
Young Jubei: Atsu! (Crying gasp) Where’s Mother…? Where’s Mother? (Sobbing)
Young Atsu: She’s with Father now.
Young Jubei: (Pained sobbing)
Young Atsu: It’s okay.
The Dragon: Save the tears.
Young Atsu: Why are you doing this?
The Spider: All of this screaming is giving me a headache! (Grumbles) (Scornful groan)
The Dragon: Let’s get it over with!
Young Jubei: (Scream)
Young Atsu: No! (Whimper of disbelief)
The Spider: Aw. What a brave brother you had.
Young Atsu: Jubei… Jubei! (Sobbing)
Atsu: They dragged me back here. Stabbed me to this tree… Then the Oni set it on fire.
Jubei: And an onryō was born. I’ve never talked to anyone about that night… But we should.
Atsu: If not for ourselves, then for Mother and Father.
Jubei: Walk with me.
Jubei: Father’s forge… He died where he was most alive.
Atsu: After I cut the Oni’s face, I remember — for the briefest moment — thinking we were safe.
Jubei: But the nightmare had only just begun.
Jubei: The tree survived the fire.
Atsu: After they separated us, Saito made me watch as he hung Mother from that branch. I like to think her spirit protected the tree somehow.
Jubei: I was so scared, I ran away…
Atsu: I ran, too. With Mother gone… I broke away from the Kitsune.
Jubei: It’s a miracle we found each other.
Jubei: I’ve had so many nightmares about this place.
Atsu: Even now, I remember the Dragon and Spider hunting us down. The way you fell…
Jubei: We can’t let them win, Atsu. There were good times here, too.
Atsu: Our house was always full of laughter.
Jubei: (Inhales sharply) Strange for something to be so familiar and yet unrecognisable. Is that…?
Atsu: Mother’s zeni hajiki board. You want to play?
Jubei: As long as you don’t mind losing. You start. I insist.
Atsu: Giving up the advantage? Tsk. Tsk.
Jubei: I don’t want to hear any excuses when I win.
Atsu: This game is mine.
Jubei: Never thought about it before, but zeni hajiki is for gamblers — not mothers and children.
Atsu: She learned the winter we were born. They needed money — and the local gambling den thought a proper lady like her would be harmless.
Jubei: They were wrong.
Atsu: She cleared them out. (Soft chuckle)
Jubei: Have you ever thought about having a family?
Atsu: The path I’m on has no place for a child.
Jubei: And when that past ends?
Atsu: I don’t know.
Jubei: Atsu, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you —
Oyuki: I didn’t expect you to have company.
Jubei: Who is this?
Atsu: Oyuki. A friend. This is Jubei… My brother.
Oyuki: You grew up… and became samurai.
Jubei: I feel I would remember if we’ve met.
Oyuki: You knew me as the Kitsune.
Jubei: Is she serious?
Atsu: We crossed paths in Teshio Ridge. Oyuki helped me cut down the man who replaced her — Saito’s spymaster.
Jubei: You invited a member of the Yōtei Six to our home?
Atsu: She’s not with them. Not anymore.
Jubei: You were willing to sacrifice anything and everyone to kill the Oni. How has this woman — who murdered our parents — earned the onryō’s mercy?
Atsu: She saved my life.
Jubei: That’s not enough.
Atsu: Jubei —
Oyuki: You’re right. It’s not enough. What I have taken from you cannot be given back. But what I can give to you is knowledge. Saito and his sons are gathering forces near the Oshima Coast.
Jubei: They’re planning to attack Castle Matsumae. My home…
Atsu: We’ll come with you —
Jubei: No. It’s hard enough for me to defend you to my clan. I will not defend her.
Atsu: (Frustrated sigh)
Oyuki: He needs time, Atsu.
Atsu: He has until we reach the Oshima Coast.