Niji-iro Tougarashi (Rainbow-colored Peppers) Translation by Wei-Hwa Huang (whuang@ugcs.caltech.edu) Book 11, Version 0 7/21/97- Originally published in Shonen Sunday Heisei year 4 (1992), week 9? to week 19? p100.1 ------------- PART 100 ------------- p100.2 p100.3 HMPH! and i thought you ran away again! ...good morning. it's not morning, and it's certainly not good! i CAN'T believe it. you did it AGAIN! what? last night. i'm not very clear on what HAPPENED, but... p100.4 she deserves an EXPLANATION. let's see, "my sister says all sorts of wild things when she drinks, so..." drinks? DRINKS? don't you remember a THING you told poor emi last night? um... SHICHIMI! come help! eh? p100.5 emi slipped in the FOREST and twisted her ANKLE! eh? EMI! p100.6 fell from the crape myrtle boulder? what were you DOING there? kinda embarrassing, really... i thought i could use some more training for my show... oh! shichimi! here... cook it in water and let natane drink it. my dad ALWAYS used this remedy. you must still have a HEADACHE after getting drunk last night, right? huh? you mean... you did this because... p100.7 nahh, don't worry. it's just a sprained ankle. ... no bones broken. but, she shouldn't walk around for two or three days. WHAT?! oh, dear. large groups of tourists have been coming in since this morning! there'll be an UPROAR once they find out that main attraction's been canceled... don't worry! i'll just, ungh, make myself... hey! HEY! don't you have a SUBSTITUTE? un-uhh. no NORMAL girl could do... p100.8 well, onii-san? don't you have ANYONE in mind? huh? oh! yes, of course! there's an ABNORMAL girl right... ow! well, onisan, you better cook these then; i still have a HEADACHE, you know. natane! leave it to me! i'll put on the BEST performance EVER! p100.9 ick! what a NASTY color. looks very effective... tastes very bitter! what just happened? is... what? mm... i feel better ALREADY! ... p100.10 THE NINJA HOUSE rumble chatter chatter chatter p100.11 so, that's basically how the story goes. i see. SCRIPT as long as you go along with it, it should be fine; the other ninja are all veteran actors, so they'll be able to glide through any of your mistakes. nice to meet you all... no; for us, it's NICE to see you. the swords aren't real, either. p100.12 got it? although you're only a temporary substitute, do your best! think of emi! alright, alright! i get the idea! ow! p100.13 hey! don't keep us waiting! p100.14 ooh! wow. impressive! she's shichimi's sister, all right! considering it's COMPLETELY unchoreographed, this level of skill is amazing! actually, she's better than she looks... ...haven't you noticed that the other ninjas seem a bit more aggressive than usual? hm...now that you MENTION it... p100.15 eeek! excuse me, sir... oh? throw doen your blade, kunoichi! huh? i don't remember this scene... aren't you going to LISTEN to the man? p100.16 MY sword, and HIS sword... are real. if you don't go along, your brother's head will be rolling on the ground. you'd better give up. YOU...! p100.17 we've captured the kunoichi! retreat! whoa! p100.18 wow! they disappeared! beautiful! so...now what happens? shichimi, you're BLEEDING. eh? p101.1 ------------ PART 101 ----------- p101.2 wow! wow! p101.3 well, what's going on? is that it? slap MURDER!! all of the ninja ACTORS are... p101.4 what the...? could it be that EXPLOSION? IDIOTS! are your eyes blind? each one of them died from a single sword stroke; and, they've been dead at least twelve hours. but that's IMPOSSIBLE! those ninja in the show... ...are the killers! p101.5 find them! they MUST be in THIS house! with spectators all around, there's NO way they could escape without notice... no... ...this house was a ??? there's a secret tunnel leading to the outside. ... p101.6 this means... natane... you IDIOTS! don't worry! she's just been kidnapped. oh? have you found some clues? indeed... p101.7 shichimi! what are you doing? i'm going to chase AFTER them and bring natane BACK! chase after...where? i don't know! i just hope i guess right!! SHICHIMI!! p101.8 it was all my fault... it was all my fault!! p101.9 p101.10 goma-nisan, asajirou-nisan, keshi-nisan, chinpi, sanshou... ...please forgive me... p101.11 edo -- on the other side of the mountain... p101.12 shichimi? ne'er heard of 'im. oh, but, ... he's related to the fire chief... I'M the fire chief, 'n i've ne'er heard of any "shichimi"! are you new? WHAT?! arseholes! i've been fire chief for TWENNY YEARS! one more insult like that and yer DEAD! now git out! OUT! p101.13 funny. edo city, 47th district fire department, right? i don't get it. p101.14 whoo whoo you won't get any money by kidnapping me! p101.15 oh? I thought there was a 500 ryou PRICE for your head. in fact, one for all SEVEN of you. don't worry... as i once said, i won't kill you... ...you're going to be my woman. ha! yup. i've made my decision. p101.16 i dare you to touch one finger to me. i'll bite off my tongue. (committing suicide) you can't be serious. oh, really? i'm patient i'll make you change your mind... first, let's see how long you can stand being tied up there! p101.17 we're going THIS way to the kuro-ryuukoku hideout, right? where? let me see! hey! are you still wearing that STUPID disguise? oh. sorry... p101.18 ... p102.1 --------- PART 102 -------- p102.2 whoo whoo snore snore p102.3 quick! leave! p102.4 long time no see, hanzo. and after i've been waiting for you so long... ...it's a shame we have to part so soon. p102.5 master shougo! p102.6 i won't let ANYONE take you away from me. finish him off. yes, boss! ...master shougo! p102.7 don't let him escape! after him! don't bother. he hasn't escaped. he's just hiding his body; the last skill a true ninja ever uses. don't worry. he's dead. p102.8 the sun's coming up! get ready to leave! yessir! cheep cheep p102.9 p102.10 coo p102.11 shichimi isn't back yet? nope. the WAY he just ran out, there's no WAY he'll be able to find them! p102.12 those were no ordinary people... block off all exits to the village and let's search the place! although, i DOUBT we'll find anything... the way things are going, shichimi's probably dead by now. shichimi... p102.13 you IDIOT! just rushing OUT like that without THINKING! i HATE you... where ARE you...? NATANE!! p102.14 p102.15 coo? HAHAHA! we finally captured the pigeon! boss, i know we're HUNGRY, but don't you think... we're not going to EAT it, stupid! this is one of the fuuga clan's MESSENGER pigeons! oh? hehehe... p102.16 let's READ it! eh? "to mister shichimi of the nikou-edo village..." "natane is hidden in a secret lair in kuro-ryuukoku. hanzo." i KNEW it was hanzo! kuro-ryuukoku, eh? must be shougo. looks like he captured the sister. give me the note! finally, i'll be rich! let me destroy the note! y'know, this is awfully SLOPPY handwriting... sloppy HANDWRITING?? hanzo's calligraphy is FAMOUS for its clarity... ah! there's more stuff on the back. p102.17 boy! this is MUCH easier to read. "stars in the sky! faith in mankind! return to the earth!" "return to the earth"?? what does THAT mean? could it be...? p102.18 don't be NERVOUS. i'll change your mind. i'll keep you with me, forever. hahaha.... p103.1 --------- PART 103 --------- p103.2 hanzo of the fuuga clan... ...is DEAD? yes, definitely. a true ninja dies gallantly, and each of us holds a special piece of paper for our final words. when we're ready to accept death, we send out a last letter on it, like this. p103.3 see, i have one too. "oh no! save me! i don't wanna die!!" ... hanzo is dead... hanzo... master akamaru... p103.4 hanzo wrote this letter as he lay dying... you know, if i burned this letter, he'd roll over in his grave. master... so THERE! ROLL, hanzo, ROLL!! hahahaha!! p103.5 looky looky! uh... now NO ONE will EVER know that this natane girl has been taken to kuro-ryuukoku!! kuro-ryuukoku? yeah, it's on the north side of that mountain. p103.6 kuro-ryuukoku, eh? hi-yoh! what the... maybe it was hanzo... ...his spirit... DAMMIT! now I'M rolling over in MY grave! uh, you're not dead yet, boss... p103.7 ... p103.8 ... p103.9 ... p103.10 ... p103.11 KARAKURI TENEMENTS p103.12 funny... so, where did shichimi fight fire, anyway? oh well. let's say hello to landlord hiro. hello? anyone here? p103.13 welcome back, sirs! uh, why the kowtow all of a sudden? p103.14 i take it everyone had a safe trip? p103.15 eh? that blue-eyed youth... could it be that cute american girl... eh? where's natane? and shichimi? p103.16 calm down and THINK, shichimi. you are one, and they are many. what do you DO? c'mon, figure it OUT! p103.17 p103.18 "if anything happens to natane, i won't FORGIVE you!" shichimi-nisan... p104.1 ------------ PART 104 ----------- p104.2 p104.3 you're all alone, shichimi. what are you going to do? p104.4 you must be HUNGRY. here, eat! i GUARANTEE it's good food; after all, i captured the BEST chefs in the area and forced them to cook this. but...perhaps i've put some SLEEPING POWDER in it, eh? p104.5 so that i won't worry about you biting off your tongue while you're fast ASLEEP? ... hahaha! don't worry. see? it's fine. still not giving up, eh? i can SEE it in your face. what are you waiting for? someone to RESCUE you? eh? p104.6 how, pray tell, would they FIND us? and how, pray tell, would they FIGHT us? there's only ONE path leading into this valley... ...and we can see it QUITE clearly from the observation tower. a large army? only a mere HANDFUL could get through at a time. and the other side of the mountains are just cliffs leading nowhere... but, if they DO come, ... hmmm. somehow, i feel something's about to happen. p104.7 the WIND'S picking up. smack! hic! pay attention and WATCH! oh! yes, sir! p104.8 eh? what's THAT? and THAT? eh? fi... p104.9 p104.10 FIRE!! PUT IT OUT!! we CAN'T! the wind's blowing it EVERYWHERE! p104.11 who...was that? what? i thought i saw someone run into the FIRE! ya IDIOT! who the hell would be so STUPID? the important thing is to stop the fire! someone get some water! don't just STAND there! p104.12 you heard me! get MOVING! who...are you? p104.13 p104.14 in the blink of an eye, all the buildings go up in flames... ...but, what else should i expect from someone so experienced with fire"? p104.15 NATANE! where ARE YOU?? p104.16 p104.17 watch your feet. p104.18 there's a stairway up ahead. p105.1 --------- PART 105 -------- p105.2 don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of. p105.3 one thing. you have to hold your breath until i give the word. huh? p105.4 if you want to live to see your self-appointed rescuers, that is. they're not this timid towards everyone, you know. just me. i know. okay. stop breathing, NOW! p105.5 walk forward, like that. ... now, up the steps! p105.6 good. you can breathe now. from here on up, follow my steps exactly. huh? understand? EXACTLY. p105.7 first, right; then, middle. right. right. middle. left. middle. middle. left. good. we'll wait here. p105.8 why...? a poisonous gas, called "dragon smoke." poisonous...? heavier than air, odorless, transparent. most people can't survive three minutes in it. only those dogs can. and only i can survive the dogs. heheh. p105.8 p105.9 hah! yaah! yii! crack! p105.10 yow! p105.11 unh! dammit! whoa! YAAAA....! p105.12 they're STILL quite hungry, you know. p105.13 what are YOU doing here? you're past your curfew; i'm here to take you back. well, i'm not GOING back. i'm spending the rest of my life with him. oh? look! he's so rich! but that money is stolen! p105.14 so what? don't the local magistrates do the same thing? they collect money, for which the citizens toil and bleed for, all without shedding a drop of sweat. what's the difference? it's still not right, even if lots of other people do it. if lots of other people do it, what's one more going to matter? "what's one more going to matter..." if everyone thought that, we'd have problem with population, waste disposal, and enviromental pollution. chinpi said that once. shut UP! p105.15 okay, i'm staying because this man truly LOVES me! right? right. believe me, i'll do anything for her... ...as long as she's by my side. she's your sister; don't you want to let her decide? of course, i'd let my SISTER decide if she wants to go with someone else... ...but the girl i LOVE... ...that's another matter. p105.16 a girl i love so much, i'd give up my OWN life, to save her. a..aren't you siblings? natane, believe me, ever since you disappeared,... i haven't eaten, or drunk. p105.17 COME BACK WITH ME! NATANE! shichimi... NO! there's a poisonous gas down there! p105.18 let's see now, with so many gaping jaws staring at you, how long will you hold out? ...when just a SINGLE breath will leave you PARALYZED...? p106.1 ------- PART 106 ------- p106.2 a fire has lots of smoke... ...so, firemen are trained to hold their breath. it won't matter. p106.3 howl! howl! p106.4 SHICHIMI! hey! careful, you'll fall off. p106.5 howl howl howl p106.6 heh...i don't believe it. unnh... don't panic. don't panic. you're the first person who's ever survived...THIS far... eh? p106.7 SHICHIMI! p106.8 gasp! cough! cough! p106.9 that's... ...HE'S still alive? p106.10 NO! the stairs are trapped! p106.11 first, right! then, middle! right! right! middle! left! oof! i suggest you make your OWN decisions. p106.12 middle. middle. left! HAHAHA! BEAUTIFUL! i suppose it would have been even more impressive... ...if the stairway actually WAS trapped. p106.13 actually... ...it's the PLATFORM at the TOP that's trapped! now, DIE! p106.14 NOW i have you! well, you're more alive than i figured. thanks to you! p106.15 take natane and LEAVE! don't you want the 500 ryou rewards? p106.16 in front of all this, who cares about 500 ryou? i see. natane! HEY! i suggest you pay attention to the fight! shichimi... p106.17 then, we'll be going. good! natane...you must live happily...! p106.18 ONII-SAN!! p107.1 --------------- PART 107 ----------- p107.2 p107.3 "onii-san"? your family is more complicated than it seems! what are you talking about? don't bother covering it up. i saw that look on your face. p107.4 don't get in the way! shichimi! take her away! natane's missing brother... "HE'S one of the seven..." p107.5 p107.6 my, i've been around, but... ...i've never seen such skill. i surrender. spare my life, and you can have the money. you gave up too early. the outcome is evident. p107.7 i see. it must have taken a long time to collect this much... i can get more. from the weak and worthless... p107.8 you never really intended to give up. p107.9 absolutely correct. p107.10 now do you understand? i'm just a simple killer. i HAVE no relatives. if you're natane's brother... ...then you're MY brother. somehow, you and natane got mixed up. p107.11 natane and i have different mothers; and, natane and i have different fathers; but, OUR father the same person, the SHOGUN! WHAT are you saying? right? from the first moment i met you, i felt that we had some connection. i bet you felt the same, right? stop chattering and LEAVE! p107.12 i HAVE no relatives! never! ...natane... good...stay right there... ...i won't let ANYONE take you away from me... p107.13 p107.14 p107.15 remember... ...i HAVE no relatives. natane, ... you must...live...happily... o... p107.16 ONII-SAN!! p108.1 --------- PART 108 --------- p108.2 waah waah waah waah waah p108.3 what? really? a boy? really? really? haha! haha! a cause for celebration! that captain pan, what a man! i didn't even realize that he and his "madame butterfly"... hahaha! p108.4 sorry... nahh, it's good NEWS! thought of a name yet? no, not yet... well, how about... pan, JUNIOR! you're pan senior, so that'll be PERFECT! forgive me. that was just a joke. a child is an uncomparable treasure, and as such, one cannot just name him anything. i suggest you give this some heavy thought. p108.5 i've been married three times on that planet... but i've always been childless... somehow... ...only now do i... p108.6 p108.7 p108.8 see? yes, yessir! no earthquake, volcano eruption, or tsunami. with the power of my one little finger, that island is destroyed. impressive! unbelievable! with this much power, i'm not fit to be a mere daimyo, right? yes, sir! yes, indeed! p108.9 hohoho... YEEEK! what's the commotion? a...a wasp! when lord takamitsu is talking matter of global import, you are NOT allowed to create commotion over a mere WASP! IMBECILE! ...i'm very sorry! p108.10 it's just that when i was little, i saw a friend die from a wasp sting in front of my own eyes. ever since then, i've been DEATHLY afraid of wasps! HA! people don't DIE from wasp stings! they do! in fact, i've heard a BEAR dying from wasp strigs... HAHAHA! you BELIEVE in such FABRICATIONS? my grandfather used to tell that tale a lot! it's just a MYTH. maybe YEARS ago, some wasp landed on a dead bear, and the story was create when some jittery person noticed it. ...you really think so? p108.11 old people like putting one over on impressionable kids. hoho... even still, there's no need to FEAR anything you detest. in fact, i was JUST thinking of a plan to destroy ALL wasps, forever! anything that one hates must be KILLED. hullo! p108.12 really? so shichimi and natane made it back safely? i bet they were REALLY surprised after hearing about our relationship, eh? what did they say? he said... "oh. huh." is that ALL? um, no... he also said... "when i see him, i'll DECK him!" that's all. p108.13 in any case, if i'm going to be DECKED... ...they're going to have to live in the palace. when shall i bring them? as soon as possible. i feel a sense of impending disaster. oh? recently, i've been having NIGHTMARES... nightmares? of a world, OVERTURNED... ...a world where i'm dead... p108.14 what are you TALKING about, sir? certainly, it's a good thing that we're in peaceful times, and i don't mean to jinx that, ... but... i have this vision that soon, the citizenry will be caught in pain and suffering. ... every night, i have it; it's enough to unnerve even such a happy-go-lucky man as myself! i expect that tonight will be the same... p108.15 all the preparations are complete! every plan has been checked and rechecked! soon, my forces will change history!! hohoho... the scars i leave across the countryside will remain for eternity! p108.16 this era is MINE! HAHAHA... where's lord takamitsu? he's still walking in the garden. a wasp? p108.17 lord takamitsu! where is he? lord takamitsu! strange... LORD TAKAMITSU!! p108.18 p109.1 ------------ PART 109 ------------ (Note: 24 pages) no radios... no television... no automobiles, no airplanes, no electricity, no gas, no plumbing. all conveniences to us, yet nonexistent in this world. yet... p109.2 ...somehow, we still have all we need to raise a child. p109.3 p109.4 the sun shines, but without any harmful ultraviolet rays... we can breathe hard, but we won't get any smog in our lungs... rivers rife with fish that swim back and forth without a care. playing horse, ball, tug-o-war... children having fun... how ironic. p109.5 well, speaking of which... WAAH! yes, junior? hungry? you want your bottle? lord takamitsu just died...hello? waah! ... lord takamitsu? died of a WASP sting? p109.6 human life is so fragile... are you SURE, landlord hiro? master asajirou, please don't call be that anymore... ...just call be hiro. then don't call be "master", either! makes me feel strange. anyway, they've also established that his rebel son, shougo, is dead as well... since there's no successor, that's the end of that branch of the family. what a pity. asajirou, there's no reason to pity them...um. p109.7 nagoyama castletown is your birthplace, right? true. i suppose i might as well tell you... the shogun is seriously considering sending you to rule there, as daimyo... so, be prepared. um. you're kidding! absolutely NOT! hullo! is the "shogun" in? p109.8 grr! shut up already! being angry won't help. stinky or not, you're still the eldest son. thin or not, you're still the eldest son. chubby or not, you're still the eldest son. and that means ... you'll be the shogun. "hullo!" asa-nisan drew this years ago... at the time, it sure seemed incongruous, but now... asajirou must really have some precognitive powers. with a shogun like ME, the world will go to pot! p109.9 no... i don't think so. actually, you'd be perfect. the way you play shogi, you spend just enough forces to fend off attacks, no more than necessary; you grin diplomatically when you're actually on the offensive... ...and those offensives are often unstoppable. besides, you win, too. i SUSPECT an ulterior motive in these compliments. well...can i be the royal taste-tester? IDIOT! if YOU become MY taste-tester, there won't be any food left for ME! besides, as a member of the royal family, you need a safety too. that job's only for palace security. but it's so DANGEROUS! p109.10 hey, kids! that toy you have there, looks very interesting! p109.11 my son, yuunosuke, would like to play with it. could i buy it from you? sorry, it's not for sale, sir. hahaha! you don't seem to understand the value of money! have you ever seen THIS much? look, THREE whole ryou! sorry! it's still in the testing phase. HOLD it, kids! do you know who i AM? i'm the tatewaki (swordbearing) magistrate chief of the southern district, komada fuminoshin! give that to me or else i'll throw you in jail! p109.12 oh! daddy! dada what? "daddy"? so YOU'RE their father, eh? you better teach 'em some respect! it's a grave offense to disobey... gulp... urk... p109.13 impudent thing! yes sir! yessir! had i know their were the shogun's children, i would NEVER have come! please forgive me! forgive me! idiot! the issue isn't whose children they are! you think that with your adult money and power, you can buy into the innocent world of children? shameless clod! please... forgive me... y-yuunosuke... apologize to the shogun's... p109.14 yuu... please forgive me... childhood innocence is precious, and must bepreserved. neither of us can be a perfect father... ...we can only protect them from a distance. there's no need to teach them out ignorances as well. ha...hahaha... yes...sir... p109.15 hullo! is billy here? don't you EVER get tired of coming here EVERY day? although, you sure switched quickly. didn't you used to ask for shichimi? WELL, we're siblings now. can't help that. p109.16 hello, miss! yo-ho! YOU aren't his sister, so why are you still hanging around? you better beat it! WHAT did you say? as all counts go, i'm a VICTIM of your scheming father! before i marry, i have a RIGHT to live here! she's still so stubborn... p109.17 those weapons we gave lord takamitsu? don't worry. no one's going to know how to use them. that man didn't trust ANYONE but himself. besides, we skimped on the quality... all of it will be junk in a month. doo! doo! but, humans will be humans, right? this planet's no different than the other one. and i doubt you'll start becoming a pleasure-seeker. p109.18 in a few centuries... ...it's going to happen all over again. no... THIS time, it'll be different. on THIS planet, there will be a man who will save the world! not you, i hope? hoho... no. pan junior, here. hee... ... p109.19 i dunno -- if i had to guess, i'd say he resembles his stupid father too much... ta ta! ...but i'll believe it when i see it. actually... ...my OWN child... OH, NO! p109.20 oh, no! natane! didn't i TELL you last night? i was planning to help out in the TEMPLE this morning! yeah. i heard you. p109.21 so why didn't you WAKE me? oh... ...remember THIS? the headband you wanted me to make a special trip to misaki-bridge store for. yeah, but that wasn't what i asked for. remember, it should be narrower, and... well, it was YOUR fault for drawing such a poor diagram! anyway, remember what you said... ...after i came back? okay, FINE! from now on, i'm not counting on you to do ANYTHING for me! oh... p109.22 ah. but those were words spoken in anger! well, weren't you worried at ALL when i slept all the way through NOON? like i CARE! well, in that case, you heartless girl, ... ... i'm taking THIS as retribution! hey! come back! that's for chinpi and sanshou! hey! come on! nyah nyah give it BACK! p109.23 those two AGAIN? they never get tired of bickering, do they? oho, what are you doing THERE? oh, when i saw them, i just felt like drawing something. that precognition thing kicking in again, eh? p109.24 maybe... ------------ THE EN