SUGAYA
Natsu! Are you okay?
Jinta...
P-please don't, Jinya.
That demon... he's my father!
You ain't winning like that.
Sorry, but it's time for me to end this.
What a bum deal. It feels awful killing someone I saw turn demon.
I'm sure he's got things under control, but I better hurry to help anyways.
'Cuz if I don't... it might leave a bad taste in my mouth later.
Dammit.
Jinta...
I'm so pathetic.
After all the people that I've killed and devoured in becoming a demon,
I thought I'd toughened up. At least a little bit.
But now, I'm struggling due to the human part of my heart I couldn't relinquish.
Why am I always so... spineless?
I'm just... tired...
Perhaps I could find peace if I simply stopped fighting back.
You and I are truly birds of a feather.
When all's said and done,
we can't help but prioritize how we live our lives over who we live them with.
YUKI-NO-NAGORI
Father, no! Stay way!
J-Jinya...?
That made for a decent shot in the arm.
But it really is too weak.
Guess that's only natural for a sake meant to evoke rage.
God, I hate it.
This damn cowardly heart. My father turns into a demon and suddenly it wants me to give up the fight.
I hate it so much!
Your wife was raped by a demon and lost her life to the demonic spawn that she birthed after.
Then your son disappeared alongside that she-devil.
And finally, you ended up turning demon, too.
The irony is staggering.
I need not ask your name.
My duty has bound me to slay demons...
and so, I shall!
Brawn.
The best parting gift I can offer you... is a swift end.
Jinta...
There will be no room for you to suffer. Just instant death.
I wanted to be stronger.
Because I thought that would enable me to protect everything.
But if the fates deem otherwise...
Then...
I'll end it myself. All of it!
Jinta!
Goodbye, Father.
Natsu?
What the hell is this?
It's all over now. I'm glad you're okay.
Stay away from me.
My father...
You killed my father!
Get away, you FREAK!
Hey, Jinya!
Looks like you took down a real nasty one.
Honestly... I wish I would've just died fighting instead.
At least then, I don't lose anything.
Hmm. It must've been a pretty damn bleak situation to make you talk like that.
But hey, if you're still standing, then it's over and done with, right?
Yeah. It's finished.
Now we just need to uproot the source of the problem.
W-whoa, hold your horses! Can't ya walk just a wee bit slower?
You're the one who said we needed to hurry, remember?
Okay, fair point. But we've been walkin' continuously for days now.
And I'm just a regular guy, ya know?
You can't expect me to keep up with you.
Night will fall before we get there.
C'mon, don't harp on me like that.
Besides, we're headin' for the capital of spooksville.
Darkness fits the mood better, ya know?
Speakin' of which, I've been itching to ask...
What?
Well, you've already got a good idea of what Yuki-no-Nagori really is, don'tcha?
See, I knew it! My gut has been tellin' me as much.
Ya gonna fill me in or what?
Let's start with the basics: How is sake brewed?
Hm? Well, ya just make koji mold outta steamed rice and then chuck it in some water. Right?
That's an incredibly rough summary, but yes.
Now let's take it a step further and assume that Yuki-no-Nagori was made the same way.
Oh, please! Don't start clownin' around.
How's anybody supposed to get a spring of sake outta that?
Chucking some koji mold in a fountain ain't gonna make squat!
Then chuck in something other than koji mold.
There's such a thing as "flavored" liquors.
It involves letting fruits, spices, or herbs soak in the brew so that their flavors become infused in it.
Ah, I get it now.
So, basically, you're saying this stuff was infused with somethin' that can turn humans into demons.
And the one responsible for that is the golden-haired lady.
Yes.
I'm betting the remains of someone who met with an untimely demise are sitting at the bottom of the spring.
Ugh, no more! I'm freezing, hungry, and it's pitch black!
I'm starting to wonder why I even bothered taggin' along.
You explicitly made the trip from Kyoto in search of the truth behind Yuki-no-Nagori, didn't you?
Well, yeah, but I didn't think it would be this much of an ordeal!
Flowers? In the middle of winter?
What's the matter?
Shirayuki poppies...
Huh? Shira-what now?
Somegoro. The first time I tried Yuki-no-Nagori,
it tasted weak to me.
Yet at the same time...
I felt a sense of nostalgia.
Nostalgia?
I just assumed that was natural for a sake born of hatred.
However, the reality may be very different...
Yuki-no-Nagori is remorse from beyond the grave.
It's born from emotions left by the departed.
Feelings strong enough to turn humans into demons? That's just unsettling.
How much of a grudge did they die with for that to happen?
Don't look at it that way.
Although it ultimately became a sake that spawned demons,
that's not what the corpse originally intended.
What's that smell?
Somegoro...
I'm out! I'm gonna stay here and rest.
My legs are killing me.
But...
The rest of the journey isn't meant for feeble humans like me.
Thanks.
You wanted me to find you here, huh?
You were just waiting.
Goading the hatred inside of people and letting it fester to the point they became demons...
Because you believed that a demon slayer would eventually come to put a stop to it.
I had no idea.
So even your body was stolen from you?
Yet in spite of what you've been reduced to...
...you still wish me by your side.
That goes without saying, Jinta.
I'm sorry. I ended up causing you great pain.
I'm a sentinel. It's only customary that I wield my blade in service to the Itsukihime, right?
Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
Well, so long... Jinta.
Yeah.
Good night, Shirayuki.
Ever since we came back, all the hubbub around demons and crazy drunks has died down.
I suppose that means this case is closed.
But after ya got rid of the source, all the Yuki-no-Nagori left in Edo became plain water and caused quite the fuss.
Is that why so many people in Edo seem agitated?
Nah. That's cuz of the political climate.
A lotta bigwigs from our government have been brown-nosin' with foreign nations lately
and it's got everybody strung out.
But isolationism ain't a policy that can last forever.
The most that you and I can do is slay demons.
There ain't no pushing back against the march of time, ya know?
You're right.
What's wrong? You look glum.
It's nothing.
I was just thinking about that blonde woman.
Ah, the evil mastermind.
Ya worried she's plottin' something else?
Yes.
Well, there's no sense broodin' over it.
Thanks for the food! I'm leavin' my payment here.
Alrighty, time for me to hit the road.
I've gotta get back before my disciple starts frettin'.
Later, Jinya.
Pay me a visit if ya ever find yourself in Kyoto.
Just tell folks you're lookin' for Somegoro Akitsu and they'll point'cha in the right direction.
Sure. If the occasion ever arises.
Well, toodle-oo!
Oh, Jinya-kun! It's been a while!
Hey! Good to see ya, pal!
You took an extra long break from swinging by here for soba, eh?
Yeah. Things got hectic.
We've actually been going through a drought of customers lately.
So it's great to see you again.
Miura-sama has been stopping by here for lunch as usual,
but we haven't seen Natsu-san or Zenji-san.
And considering that you haven't been around, we've just been sitting here twiddling our thumbs.
Order up, one kake-soba!
Okay!
Thank you for waiting.
Chef.
What's on yer mind?
Have you changed your recipe?
Huh?
The broth seems less flavorful.
Uh, well, I made it the same way that I always have...
I see.
Then it must just be my imagination.
Here, my payment.
Right.
Ah. Could you wait a minute, Jinya-kun?
What for?
Allow me to join you for part of your walk home.
Shall we go?
It's gotten chilly.
Yeah.
Are you doing okay?
Why do you ask?
You said things were hectic.
Sorry. Did that make you worry?
A little. You're one of our few regulars, after all.
This is where we part ways.
Okay.
Jinya-kun?
Do you remember about the winter daphnes?
I remember them.
Flowers that bloom after surviving the chill of winter.
The harbingers of spring.
Honestly... where would I be without you?
The snow dyes everything pure white.
Without exception.
Even after it melts and disappears from view,
the frozen chill that it leaves behind is engrained.
Strongly and deeply!
Much akin to hatred.
Your body actually proved to be useful after all.
Good night...
...Princess.