Episode 15: To the Limits of Mourning

To the Limits of Mourning is the 15th episode of Saiyuki Reload Gunlock.

Synopsis
A wedding is supposed to be the happiest day in a girl's life, right? Not so for Fumika. Attacked by demons on her special day, Fumika forever lost the man she loved. Appearing before the heartbroken Fumika was the man with the power to resurrect the dead, Hazel. Will tragedy beget further tragedy?

Plot
A typical scene: guys driving along, Goku hungry, Hakkai says "next village soon", and sure enough it looks like a thriving town. Goku's happy at the prospect of restaurants but unnerved by the passing-by of a hoe-carrying villager; Hakkai observes that this is unlike him and Goku admits that having had to fight resurrected humans has rattled him. Enemies are enemies, whether demon or human, says Sanzo. Yeah, but...we're youkai, so being told to kill other youkai or really anyone... --Doesn't feel right, does it? agrees Gojyo. [This translation has got to be messed up somehow, since the SI has been dusting youkai for thousands of miles and Goku has had no such issues, but I'm not bilingual enough to repair so leave as is. Perhaps he means "this talk of killing all youkai"? ]--As they've been talking, a woman has come walking over the hill; she now snarls 'youkai, prepare to die!'and charges them with drawn blade. She's not an experienced swordfighter, and Goku easily disarms her and is ready to kick butt when he realizes the woman's eyes aren't yellow. You're not a corpse?--he startles...

In a restaurant, we see the guys sitting at a table with their assailant and an older man. Please excuse my daughter-in-law's actions, he says, and she apologizes, saying she'd had no idea they were the famed Sanzo Party. Hakkai says it's fine and Goku happily chows down, but Sanzo = major misgivings; sure enough, the woman (her name's Fumika) then asks if Sanzo-sama will grant them the favor of killing a particular demon. In return, they can stay at the inn as long as they wish for free, she adds. Sanzo replies with a flat "Kotowaru" ('I refuse'), saying that they need to keep to their mission, which is not just to kill youkai. The guys think this harsh, and Hakkai asks the man to explain the request. Youkai killed my son, he says bitterly, and Fumika adds that it was on the very day she came here to be married. Flashback: youkai raiding the wedding ceremony, the groom (Taisho) bidding his father take care of Fumika as he held off the attackers. [But not before the little bride had grabbed the be-ribboned sword intended to cut the wedding cake and slashed a youkai's eye with it!] I hate the demons who took him from me, she cries; I'll make them pay, with my own two hands! Someone, give me the strength-- she flees the room in tears, her father-in-law running after.

The ikkou sits for a moment in unhappy silence. She was a bride for only one day, says Gojyo softly, and Hakkai quietly observes that it's not easy to get over the death of someone you loved, getting a sympathetic glance from Goku and a keen, sidelong look from Gojyo. --then there's a crash outside, and the street's full of rampaging youkai, led by the same redheaded dude --scarred across the eye from Fumika's blade--who headed the attack on the wedding party. He yells that he knows Sanzo's in there and he'd better bring out the sutra. The SI, definitely in a mood to kick some demon butt, arms up and charges into the fray. The demons, taken aback by their ferocity, retreat. --What are you waiting for? If you want this, come and get it, challenges Sanzo. ("Sanzo-sama sure is creepy when he's pissed off," approves Gojyo. =) The redheaded youkai bids all his followers charge the ikkou at once and runs off, pursued by Fumika, who throws the wedding blade into its path and then draws her dueling sword. I will avenge him!--she cries. The youkai jeers that she's trembling, grabs up a stick and tells her to bring it on.

Back at the street brawl, we see Hazel and Gato on a rooftop watching the SI in action. Sanzo-han surely does a fair share of the killin', observes Hazel; right impressive, don't you think, Gat? Gat asks what they should do, but Hazel says they're just observin' this round.--The last youkai falls. Goku proudly says his tally was 32, Gojyo counters that his is 33, and Hakkai regrets not having kept count as well. Sanzo, reloading, scoffs that there's no point in counting, as he's surely the winner; he fired forty bullets and didn't miss a single shot. Gojyo doubts this, but before they can quarrel, Fumika and the red-haired youkai run out of an alley. The redhead sees the carnage and beats a fast retreat before Goku can give chase, while Gojyo hurries to scoop up the girl, natch. =) Fumika angrily tells the hanyou "that was him!" Gojyo counsels her to forget her revenge, and is echoed by her father-in-law, who scolds her for taking such a foolish risk and says he couldn't live if anything happened to her. Give up this idea of fighting youkai and move on with your life, he says; that's the only path we humans can take.

But then, what--she sobs. Hakkai tells her--very, very gently-- that he knows it's hard to bear, but her loved one will never return, and taking revenge on his killers won't bring him back. [If only she knew what very hard-earned expert advice this is.] And we see Hazel calmly gathering the souls of the fallen youkai, to the SI's extreme distaste; and, of course, he proceeds to raise all the humans killed in the youkai rampage. One by one they get to their feet, yellow-eyed, and return to their cheering families. The ikkou squares off for a battle, but Fumika asks Hazel what just happened, and he explains that his life's work is reviving those murdered by demons. She tells him her sad tale, and Hazel asks what became of the young man's remains, only to learn that he was cremated. That's beyond my powers, he tells her regretfully; he's most sorry, but it's not possible to raise those whose forms have changed. Poor Fumika, her hope dashed, vows yet again to kill the murderer.

Back to the ikkou, now relaxing in an onsen [Gojyo in a little towel, yum =): Goku asks if Fumika is going to ask Hazel for help, and when Gojyo mutters that there's something wrong about that, Hakkai smilingly asks if he's jealous. [Oo, and mightn't we ask you that too, 'Kai-san? =)] --What?! sputters the redhead. Goku teases that the erogappa never changes, but as he rails at this, Fumika tiptoes in and searches through the heaps of their clothing, plainly not finding what she hoped for. --Sanzo arrives (preferring, no doubt, to bathe in privacy after the others) and she ducks around the corner, waiting until the now-dressed guys call to Sanzo that they're leaving (cold beer and ice cream are on the after-bath menu =). Minutes later, we see her running off down the road, having gotten what she came for: Sanzo's banishing gun.

Hazel, having a glass of wine in their inn room, recalls his first meeting with Gat (it's said to be about six years ago, but the Hazel who raises Gat from death in his flashback looks no older than 12 or so).==In the woods, Fumika confronts the scarred youkai; and the guys are happily enjoying their beer and treats when Sanzo charges in, furious, telling them the shoreijuu is gone. A gunshot rings out. --The forest! shouts Sanzo; Gojyo yanks on his jacket and the ikkou runs out the door.