You're up late, aren't you?
It's 4 a.m.
We set out tomorrow, you know.
Riyo... wh-what are you doing in my room?
When did you... and how...
My room's right above yours.
I heard all the moaning and groaning,
so I got worried and came in through the window.
The wi—
Right. Sorry.
But... she's on my bed...
Is it because of your hands?
They don't hurt as much when I've got the gloves on.
But I've still got to wash them now and then.
Those wounds look nasty.
They don't look exactly like burns...
You'd have to ask my asshole parents.
Parents give us a lot of things, don't they?
Good things...
and bad.
Looks like it might be a while yet.
Episode 9
"The City of Graffiti"
Anyway.
Since Rudo's full-face isn't done yet,
I'd like you to head out for the last of your prep first.
"Full-face"? Prep?
There's a thing we Cleaners are obligated to wear when we enter a No Man's Land.
This here.
Hey, I remember that.
We Cleaners have an artist in our ranks.
He makes our full-faces and our clothing.
But he freaks out if we give him a deadline, and his work quality suffers,
so we tend to just go at his pace.
He went off on Zanka for trying to rush him one time.
So in the meantime, you'll do the rest of your prep...
Well, phrased simply, you'll have a spell cast on you.
You never know what might happen in a No Man's Land.
You step on some innocuous trash, and boom.
Suddenly, you're trash beast food— it happens all the time.
To minimize that risk, we have a particular Giver cast—
or rather, draw—a spell on you.
Draw?
The boss gives him free rein, so he comes to draw here at Cleaner HQ sometimes too,
but we haven't seen him in a while.
I suppose he's busy.
I wish he were here. It'd save us a trip.
So what's going on? Where are we actually going?
The City of Graffiti, Canvas Town.
And the team who'll be coming to see the No Man's Land woman with us...
These guys.
From "Akuta," we've got Zanka, Riyo, and me.
From "Eager," we've got Delmon and Tamsy.
Then we've got supporters— Gris, Follo, and Tomme.
You typically want to run with teams of five supporters,
but when going into a No Man's Land, we minimize the number of unpowered supporters
and up the Giver count instead.
Rudo!
I heard your life story!
You've been through hell, kid!
I can't believe anyone would treat one of their own that way! Unforgivable!
I like people with passion like yours!
You should join Eager—
Lay off, Delmon.
Enjin recruited Rudo.
That means he's Akuta.
Sorry, Rudo.
He's really a good person.
That said...
I also like people with passion.
Since we've got Mr. Passion himself right here,
Delmon, how about one of your trademark speeches?
Let's get going to Canvas Town!
The road will be rocky and perilous!
However!
We shall never falter!
For we are the Cleaners!
Hey, watch it! You messed up my lines!
You're pissin' me off!
Sorry!
Are all cities on the Ground built like this?
Most of the big cities have the dome thing going on.
It protects them from Sphere litter.
Litter?
Yeah. Trash thrown from the Sphere.
Most people who can't make it in a city and have to live in the open
end up crushed by "trash rain."
Don't let it bother you, though.
It's the fault of the people who propagate that culture.
Huh? Huh?
What the heck?
What are you doing...
Well... it's just...
There's something weird about this city.
The door's open, but I can't go in.
No freaking w—
No way. What's going on here?
Don't worry, Rudo. Just walk on in.
So long as you're not planning any funny business,
you can come and go as you please.
So much art...
Yeah, it really is a sight, isn't it?
Plenty of people on the Ground like to paint,
but not everyone thinks highly of it.
So, legend has it, they made Canvas Town so they can make art wherever they like.
It gets even more painted every time I come.
Really is like the whole town's a canvas.
Corvus says they used to call it the City of Art.
Hey, Delmon, you've got paint on you.
Huh? Did we come here to look at art?
No.
We came to meet the artist Giver who's based out of here.
He's got the power to put a protective spell on anything he draws on.
A protective spell?
How to explain...
For instance, "Negate one attack on this wall."
He channels that kind of... feeling? Meaning? Into his drawing,
and it ends up applying to the wall.
Kind of like that.
Remember those two punks who couldn't enter the town?
It's because the Giver drew the spell
"Don't let people with bad intentions into the city" on the outside wall.
They probably had some nasty stuff planned.
It sounds like a flexible power.
Well, his vital instrument's a rare breed.
It's not actually his, per se.
It's handed down through—
Hey, there.
Sorry.
You okay?
You made that kid cry.
Enjin made a kid cry!
Ah, shit.
You're here earlier than expected, Cleaners.
Mr. Mayor?!
Thought we'd find you in your house like usual.
We came to ask Gob for some spells again.
Where can we find him today?
Gob?
I'm sorry to tell you...
He died this morning.
There's plenty more script I wanna tag.
Are you serious?
Body pollution.
Gob couldn't be satisfied in the safe zones.
He wanted to paint in the polluted zones too.
I'll bet he went maskless more than a few times, so focused on the joy of art...
After I warned him time and again to wear it.
Watch this one, Rudo.
That's Gob.
That's a guy who never deviates from what he wants to do.
Sorry. It's rotten news to have sprung on you.
Don't sweat it. We...
Seriously, don't let it bother you.
It's a common cause of death here on the Ground.
He already had his successor picked out.
The heir to his generational vital instrument.
The successor is always chosen by the previous user.
I don't know what standard they use,
whether it's drawing skill or something deeper.
But whoever inherits this pen always awakens powers as a Giver,
and takes on the job of spellcaster.
This child is Remlin Tysark,
the appointed spellcaster after Gob.
Inheriting this pen is a tremendous honor for any artist.
But for one so young...
The spellcaster is like the city's spokesperson.
Can someone so young withstand such pressure?
Yeah, there are people who can become Givers right away.
An object needs to be taken care of for a long time to become a vital instrument,
but those who already have high Giver potential,
even if they don't have their own object, can become a Giver
the moment they take an instrument in their hand.
Assuming the quality is high enough, of course.
Though, if Zanka's to be believed, there's aptitude involved there, too.
Aptitude aside,
the idea of passing on a vital instrument is a rare thing in itself.
True.
Passing on a vital instrument...
Enjin. I'm sorry to say, but this may take quite some time.
Seriously, don't worry about us.
There's no need to rush.
Remlin and Gob were close. Almost like siblings, I'd wager.
Then for this to strike... so suddenly...
Gob really did paint with so much joy.
You could tell how much he loved it, whether or not it was a request.
I'm not an artist myself, but I became the mayor here
because I wanted to protect that sight.
I get it.
He'd drop by the Cleaners whenever he wanted, paint what he wanted,
and leave when he wanted.
The way he'd grin when he ran off... Guess I'll never see it again.
Well, we'd better be going.
Yes. I'm truly sorry.
Remlin, was it?
We'll come hang out again.
Take care.
No more!
No more, no more, no more!
No more dark stuff!
Celebrate!
R-Remlin?
I had a thought.
It hurts that Gob died, and I feel sad about it.
But Gob can't enjoy his afterlife if we're all weepy out here.
So...
Because of that...
Let's party!
Let's celebrate his life with parties, painting, and joy.
I'm sorry, Enjin.
It looks like you won't get your spells for a while yet.
I figured.
This is Canvas Town,
the city of freedom and joy.