Chapter 2
Drifter In The City
Mana:(Narrating) Jeremy Stanfill is a swordsman with no destination, a drifter who's currently staying at my dojo. But once, he was one of the revolutionary warriors who slashed open the new age…The legendary, incomparable warrior…Soul Samurai himself. (Jeremy bumps into sumo wrestler) Or so he says…..Why is he a drifter…While all the other revolutionaries threw away their swords…And have now taken positions of power and glory in the Meiji government…?
Jeremy:You have a question in your eyes.
Mana:(Flashback) We all have things in our pasts we don't want to talk about. (Out of flashback Starts hitting Jeremy ) IT'S NOTHING! AND DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO CARRY A SWORD!
Jeremy:Calm down! Just two years ago lots of people carried swords. No one's really bothered by it, are they?
Mana:WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE POLICE SPOT YOU LIKE LAST TIME! THEY'LL ARREST YOU EVEN IF IT IS A SAKABATO!
Jeremy:It worked out last time, didn't it?
Mana:Rrrrg. Let's just get our shopping done. You get the miso, salt, and soy sauce.
Jeremy:Always the heavy things.
Mana:NO COMPLAINING! (A carriage appears behind Mana)
Man:Please pardon our rudeness. (Mana looks jumpy) We must ask directions. Is this the correct road to the police station?
Mana:Uhhh…Yes. Take a right onto the main street when you hit the end.
Man:Thank you. Let us hurry. (Rides off)
Mana:Scared me…I wonder who he is. I think I would have noticed…Gah. I have to finish shopping!
(Scene switches to inside the carriage)
Man:Are you here? Are you truly in this city…Soul Samurai?
Mana:(While buying a radish) What's the commotion? What happened?
Guy:The police caught some guy violating the sword-banning act! (Mana looks surprised and accidentally breaks the radish in two)
Policemen: YOU GAVE US A GOOD CHASE—BUT NOW YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE TO RUN!
Jeremy:Hmm…So persistent. What can one do but surrender?
Voice:MOVE! LET THE SWORD CORPS THROUGH…OR OUT BLADES WILL MOVE YOU!
Policeman: Lieutenant Ujiki...
Ujiki:Good job. We will take care of it. You are dismissed.
Policeman: But the man hasn't drawn his sword, and we have him surrounded. There's really no need for the sword corps to…
Ujiki:(Slams the hilt of his sword into the policeman's face) A 3rd lieutenant would tell a veteran from Satsuma what to do? When I tell you to leave, you leave. (Spots Jeremy) What is this? Such a gentle-looking man. (Swiftly pulls out sword and stops it in front of Jeremy's face) Draw your sword, gentle man. You must be confident to be carrying a sword here.
Jeremy:(Pushes Ujiki's sword aside) This one does not carry a sword…Merely to flaunt it as a symbol of undeserved power.
Ujiki:Hmph.
Mana:(Running to Jeremy) JEREMY!
Ujiki:She…Is with him?
Jeremy:Mana-dono, stay away!
Mana:Huh? (Two SC members pull out there swords and swing right above her head)
Ujiki:It will be more embarrassing when we cut her kimono. I'll say it again—Draw your sword.
Jeremy:Are you…Really a policeman?
Ujiki:An officer. Permitted to carry a sword. A swordsman who can kill people legally…What's the matter? You aren't going to draw? (The two SC members put there swords to Mana's neck)
Crowd:YOU TYRANT! YOU AREN'T A GOD! GO BACK TO SATSUMA!
Ujiki: Courage in numbers, hm? This is now a case of obstruction of justice. Discipline every one of them. Dray your swords!
Crowd:...!
Ujiki:If any resist…Kill. (All the SC members charge the crowd)
Jeremy:Do not lay a single blade…on any of these citizens. (Jeremy now has his sword unsheathed) This one is your opponent. If you want death, come forward.
Ujiki:At last, he takes the bait. Whatever I do now is clearly self-defense. TO STAY IN PRACTICE I NEED TO KILL SOMEONE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE!
(Scene switches to the police station)
Man:Then it was a hoax…?
Police Chief: Yes.
Man:I was delayed by the mopping up of the Seinan war. But had I thought it out, I'd have realized that Stanfill would never use his sword in such a mad way. It is true that he killed many in earning the name "Soul Samurai"…But never once did he wield his sword in self-interest. All he did, he did for the emperor and the new era. He saved the lives of may of our warriors. Without him, the revolution would not have succeeded.
Police Chief: Well...We found the culprits of the hoax tied up in front of police headquarters early one morning...We don't know who arrested them. But…When we interrogated the culprits, they said "The real one got us."
Man:What…!
Police Chief: Of course, it's probably a lie, but still…
Policeman: CHIEF! THERE'S AN INCIDENT!
Police Chief: I'M IN A MEETING, FOOL! AT LEAST KNOCK!
Policeman: MY APOLOGIES, SIR…BUT THE SWORD CORPS IS…
Police Chief: Ujiki, is he causing trouble again!
Man:Sword Corps? I haven't heard of this.
Police Chief: We formed them to handle this "Soul Samurai" incident…But they are all brutal men, and the captain is a revolutionary warrior from Satsuma. It's too much for me to handle.
Man:Indeed. A hero from Satsuma must show off, mustn't he?
Police Chief: So what did he do this time?
Policeman: Well…Umm…They're getting beaten. By just one swordsman.
Police Chief: (Shocked) WHAT? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THEY'RE THE FINEST SWORDSMEN IN OUR DEPARTMENT!
Policeman: BUT IT'S TRUE!
Police Chief: Unbelievable…Who is this man?
Policeman: We don't know. He's short…Skinny…Young-looking…But his sword's faster than the eye can see…and his sword seems to glow! (Man looks like he's seen a ghost)
(Scene switches to the battlefield)
Man:(Runs out of carriage) STANFILL…!
Jeremy:(Fighting and defeating all the SC)
Man:OH…!
Jeremy:One left.
Ujiki:Rrr….
Jeremy:Swear that you will not tyrannize your people any longer. Then we can end this. And you may arrest this one for violating the sword-banning act.
Ujiki:SILENCE! I CANNOT BOW TO YOU! (Holds sword with both hands and vertically above his head and to the right)
Mana:(Thinking) His stance…! (Ujiki charges) HE'S A MASTER OF JIGEN-RYU!
Police Chief: UJIKI, STOP! YOU'RE—
Man:A dead fool. Jigen-ryu is a style of unmatched power. Except… (Ujiki swings, misses, and Jeremy jumps into the air and strikes him in the back) In the face of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. (Ujiki falls)
Mana:(Runs towards Jeremy) Jeremy!
Jeremy:Are you all right? (The crowd floods them) Oro!
Crowd:GOOD JOB, MAN! WHERE ARE YOU FROM! LET'S GO GRAB A DRINK!
Man:Stanfill. (Catches Jeremy's attention and the crowd moves out of the way) I've finally found you. For ten years I've sought you…
Jeremy:You've grown a mustache, Yamagata-san.
Yamagata: Chief, please have the people move along.
Police Chief: Right!
Mana:(Thinking) the Yamagata…? Really…?
Policemen: Move along, move along.
Crowd:Tyrants! Hey, man. Beat these guys, too!
Mana:(Still thinking) General of the revolutionary army's "Kiheitai"…Now general of the army's ground troops…The revolutionary warrior, Yamagata Aritomo!
Yamagata: I have a carriage waiting. Many of your comrades await your return. Come! (Mana gets a sad look)
Jeremy:My apologies, but…Not one strand of hair on my body wishes to spend the rest of my life as a solder.
Yamagata: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING! YES, YOU KILLED—BUT IT WAS ALL FOR THE REVOLUTION! YOUR SOUL BEARS NO BURDEN! ONLY COWARDS AND FOOLS WOULD DENOUNCE YOU AS A MURDERER! BUT I WILL—
Jeremy:…Silence them with your power? (Yamagata becomes shocked at himself) It's such thinking that creates men like him. (Looks at Ujiki) It was to create a world of peace…Not to win positions or power…That we raised our swords and killed. If we forget that, we are no revolutionaries after all. (Jeremy and Mana start walking away)
Yamagata: JEREMY! (Jeremy and Mana turn around) TIMES HAVE CHANGED! THIS IS THE AGE OF MEIJI! SWORDS HAVE BEEN BANNED—AND THE SAMURAI HAVE FALLEN! THIS IS THE AGE OF BAKUMATSU NO LONGER! THIS IS AN AGE OF LAW! YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH NOTHING WITH A SWORD!
Jeremy:(Puts hand on Mana's shoulder. Mana blushes) With a sword, the people within my sight…Can as least be protected. This one is no different now from before. Except that he is now a drifter and not a warrior. (Mana and Jeremy turn around and walk away)
Yamagata: Chief…I know. It's clear who was at fault here. And a sword worn openly is safer than concealed.
Police Chief: I won't pursue this. After that hoax I thought that Soul Samurai…Was a dangerous figure. But now… (Scene switches to Jeremy and Mana walking back to the dojo with groceries) Now I know the truth is different.
Jeremy:My apologies, Mana-dono.
Police Chief: (Voice in background) I think I understand…
Mana:What about?
Jeremy:You were put at risk today because of me.
Police Chief: At least a little more. He wants to protect people, without being tied to anyone.
Mana:Don't worry about it. You can just do some extra housework!
Police Chief: A drifter, a hero. But free in spirit.
Jeremy:Carrying all this isn't enough? Did you really have to buy it all at once?
Mana:Maybe not.
End Chapter