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The translation below is provided by Sanada of Hana-mi.net
PMK 18
53
Chapter 18
Dormant
54
Souji: Ahhh!!
SFX: *stretch*
Souji: Booring...
Souji: I've been writing for two or three pages now!
Souji: Can't you write your own new year's cards, Hijikata-san?
Hijikata: Shut up! I'm only doing this because Kondou-san asked me to.
Hijikata: Move your hands, not your mouth! These have to be finished by today!
Tetsu: Um... Fukutaicho, if it's okay with you, I can help write too!
SFX: *blunt*
Hijikata: Absolutely not. Your handwriting is terrible.
55
Tetsu: ......
SFX: *whimper*
SFX: *huff*
Souji: Look what you've done! You made Tetsu-kun cry!
Souji handwritten text: [Hijikata-san is a meanie!]
Hijikata: ...He cries over something like that?
Souji: Hey...
SFX: *pull*
Hijikata: The ink is drying up!! Come on, get to work!
SFX: *chirp*
Hijikata: ...The second year of Keiou.
Hijikata: The first day of the new year.
SFX: *swish*
Souji: Quitting already?
Souji: Is that you last one?
Hijikata: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
56
Souji: ......!
Souji: Finally, no more playing secretary! Now I can write what I want to write...
SFX: *glance*
Souji: [He used to be so small, but he'll be 17 this year.
Souji: [It's not something you can measure every day, but he's really grown up.]
Souji: [Even though his brother worries about him all the time, lately Tetsu-kun has seemed so lonely.]
Souji: ...Ah...
Souji: But will the Ichimura brothers know what I mean?
Souji: .....*sigh*
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Souji: [Kondou-san and the others are still in Hiroshima.]
Souji: [How far will they go to serve the shogun?]
Souji: [Yamazaki-san will be a doctor when he returns.]
Souji: [It seems I'll be needing him as a doctor more and more...]
Hijikata: Kondou-san isn't even here...
Souji handwritten text: Oh no...
Souji: [Nagakura-san and Harada-san are as much fun as ever.]
Souji: [But lately they've seemed a little more reserved... maybe because they're missing someone.]
58
Souji: [With the shogun in Kyoto, we're all acting as bodyguards.]
Souji: [But the Toudou-san who used to grumble about that kind of work is now so quiet and unresponsive.]
Souji: ......
SFX: *click*
Souji: ......
SFX: *chirp chirp*
Souji: ...I'm no good at writing.
59
Man: That's Sakamoto-dono for you!
SFX: *open*
Man: Always one step ahead of the police...
Man: But with respect, Katsura-sensei, if Sakamoto is ever arrested...
Man: He might reveal that you and I are hiding out in Kyoto...
SFX: *punch*
Man: ...!!
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Katsura: H... how could you do such a thing!?
SFX: *racing heartbeat*
Katsura: After all this time...
Katsura: You would frighten me like that!?
SFX: *trembling*
SFX: *panic*
SFX: *heartbeat*
SFX: *surprising revelation*
Text box: Katsura Kogorou
Ryouma: Awww, Katsura-san, you haven't changed... you're still so nervous and CUUUUTE!!
Ryouma: Like a little puppy!!
SFX: *squeeze*
Katsura: WHAT...
Katsura: What...!? Don't say such things!! I'm pouring my heart into this country...!!!
Akesato: ......
Ryouma: Aww, don't cry...
Katsura: This is why I hate people who are bigger than me!! Why do they always say that I'm cute!?
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Katsura: Now act your age and let me go!!
SFX: *molest*
Akesato: Ryouma...
SFX: *hmm?*
Akesato: Is this actually Katsura Kogorou?
Akesato: ...He looks like a little kid.
Akesato: If Saigou sees him, that's it. It's over.
Katsura: ......!!
Katsura handwritten text: [To the secret escape passage...!!!]
SFX: *grab and drag*
Ryouma: Katsura-san!! Katsura-san, she's just a friend of mine!! Calm down!!
Akesato: .....
Katsura: !!
Katsura: Is she an American!?
SFX: *tremble*
Katsura: Then... you...
Ryouma: Not quite, Katsura-san!
Ryouma: She's a 3rd-generation kid who returned to Japan.
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Akesato: ......Hm.
Akesato: It's not exactly my choice, but for now I'm working as his bodyguard.
Akesato: So I guess that makes me your bodyguard too, while you're in Kyoto.
Akesato: You can call me "Sarah."
Akesato: Pleased to meet you.
SFX: *tremble*
Katsura: Ah...
Katsura: Ahh...
SFX: *whimper*
SFX: *tremble*
Sarah/Akesato: ...Ugh.
SFX: *pet*
Katsura: Hmph.
Ryouma: Sarah!! Don't act like a child, you're as bad as he is!!
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Ryouma: FOr the sake of his country, he's come alone into enemy territory...
Ryouma: To continue his information gathering, he must rely on the kindness of others as he flees from the authorities...
SFX: *shake*
SFX: *whimper*
Sign: "Free to Good Home"
Ryouma: He's like a poor little stray puppy left under a bridge, hoping for a kind person to take him home!! (traditionally, you leave pets and children that you don't want under a bridge so someone else will pick them up.)
Katsura: I'm not a puppy! I'm a patriot!!! (There's a pun here - Ryouma says "sute inu", "stray dog", and Katsura says "sute mi", "risking my life", but that doesn't translate into
that's English well.)
Ryouma: [He's so cute that you just want to lure him out with some food, catch him, and take him home to cuddle!]
SFX: *roll*
Katsura: [Th... that's not right!! I have a girlfriend, Ikumatsu!!]
Servant: S... sensei!!
Servant: It's dangerous to speak so loudly!!
SFX: *angry noises(
Katsura: Ah... yes...
SFX: *shaking head*
Katsura: Ah... are you sure there aren't any suspicious people nearby?
SFX: *tremble*
Katsura: I mean, given the way I look... you really can't blame me for worrying about being seen...
Ryouma: Then I've got just the thing! I brought you a disguise, Katsura-san!!
SFX: Yeah!!
Ryouma: I found the perfect thing...
64
Ryouma: ......*heart*
SFX: *tadaaa*
Katsura: .......
SFX: *shake*
SFX: *shake*
SFX: *dramatic impact*
Katsura: .....!!
Ryouma: ......!!
SFX: *Ryouma getting the shit beaten out of him*
Servant: Sensei...
Servant handwritten text: Ah... ah...
Sarah: Quit it, Ryouma.
Sarah: You can tell he's unsure of himself as it is.
Sarah: Don't be careless or you'll get caught.
Servant: Ah!?
Katsura: .....?
Ryouma: Unsure!?
65
Ryouma: ......
Ryouma: No, that won't do...
Ryouma: This meeting is going to change this country's future.
Ryouma: I want to thank Katsura-san again...
Ryouma: For even associating with a ronin like me.
66
Ryouma: You don't know him, so you can't say he's a coward or a deserter.
Ryouma: If you really knew him, you'd see that Katsura-san is totally devoted to his cause!
SFX: *tremble*
Katsura: ...Can we stop this now?
Ryouma: He gets a lot of disrespect.
Ryouma: But this really isn't the best place to talk. There's not much security, so anybody could sneak in.
Ryouma: Honestly, it's best to stay underground.
Ryouma: But I'm not in Kyoto because I'm really aiding the Satsuma resistance.
Ryouma: Maybe I'm just a decoy.
Ryouma: I'm not one of the really important people.
67
Ryouma: I'm Sakamoto Ryouma, the Peacemaker...
Ryouma: And I'll risk my life for a Satsuma-Choushuu alliance!!
SFX: *running*
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Old servant: ...Your boat is ready, sir.
Servant: Ah, thank you for your help.
Old servant: ...There's one snag.
Old servant: We have intruders...
Katsura: The Shinsengumi...!?
Katsura: And I thought we were alone...
SFX: *shaking*
Sarah: ...They were probably hiding in the boathouse next door...
69
Katsura: ...Then it's hopeless.
Katsura: I guess all we can do is stay here and hope they go away...
Ryouma: That won't work.
Ryouma: They'll probably stay in that boathouse all night, inspecting every corner of this area.
Sarah: ...It's the 8th unit.
Sarah: This isn't good...
Sarah: They'll recognise Ryouma and me.
Sarah: There's a man who knows our faces.
SFX: *dramatic noise*
70
Shinsengumi member: Captain Toudou, I've finished inspecting the cargo.
Heisuke: And there's nothing suspicious about the passengers.
Heisuke: Well, you're cleared to go. Have a safe trip.
Boatman: Yes, sir.
Shinsengumi member: Captain! Look...
Heisuke: .....?
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Heisuke: Saitani-ya, Satsuma clansmen and government trader.
Heisuke: Kimotsuki Kotarou and family.
Heisuke: Saitani is a strange name for a merchant from Sasshuu...
Servant: Oh... well five generations ago, my family moved from Higo...
SFX: *nervous laughter*
Servant: Thank goodness for these disguises...!!
Shinsengumi member: And whose katana are these?
Katsura: Those were a present from Daddy!! I was visiting him in Kyoto...
Above Katsura's head: Fantastic.
Ryouma: You're perfect, Katsura-san...!
Akesato: ......!
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Sarah: [If he sees my face or hears my voice, he'll know...]
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
SFX: *gulp*
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
Sarah: [What should I do...?]
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
Heisuke: ......
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
SFX: *pounding heartbeat*
Sarah: ......
73
Heisuke: !
SFX: *sudden motion*
SFX: *scratch*
Ryouma: Captain Toudou-san...
Ryouma: Can I have a minute alone with you?
Ryouma: There's somehting I want to say.
Heisuke: ......
74
Heisuke: ...The disguise doesn't make you look any less suspicious.
Heisuke: I recognised you even with the beard.
Ryouma: So I guess you're going to arrest me, huh?
Heisuke: Well, it was kind of embarassing to admit that I knew you in front of my men...
Ryouma: Sorry, I don't think so.
SFX: *click*
Ryouma: Hey, we're both students of the Hokushin Ittou sword school... kinda makes us brothers, huh?
Ryouma: How about we just pretend this never happened?
75
Heisuke: ......
Heisuke: ......
Itou: [Are you sure, Heisuke?]
Itou: You know Sakamoto Ryouma's face, don't you?
Itou: If you see him, you must approach him before any of the other soldiers do.
Itou: [...And then...]
Itou: [Don't let anyone else deal with him. Just let him escape.]
Itou: [...Understood?]
76
Heisuke: ...Fine. I don't care.
Heisuke: I don't have any particular interest in arresting you.
Ryouma: ......?
Heisuke: I...
Heisuke: I just don't want...
Heisuke: Anyone else to die.
77
SFX: *strong motion*
Shinsengumi member: ...Damn.
Shinsengumi member: However you look at it, something strange happened...
Shinsengumi member: But the captain gave us orders. There's nothing we can do.
78
Shinsengumi member: ?
Shinsengumi member: If he said that, maybe the captain is...
Ryouma: Ahhh!!
Ryouma: That was tense!!
Katsura: I can't believe we tricked them!
Ryouma: "Saitani-ya" is the name of my family's business back in Tosa.
Katsura: I thought I would scream and ruin the whole thing!
79
Ryouma: Oh no, Katsura-san, you were PERFECT! It was amazing!
Text: [Amazing.]
Katsura: I was, wasn't I!? Wearing a disguise wasn't as scary as I thought!
Sarah: ...But this place is still dangerous.
Sarah: I don't know how we slipped past them...
Sarah: I almost lost it in front of the captain, but you saved me.
Ryouma: ...Naaah...
Ryouma: [The Shinsengumi...]
Ryouma: [The Shinsengumi are falling apart...]
80
Ryouma: As soon as this alliance is done...
Ryouma: I want to come back here and set things right as soon as I can...
Text box: On the evening of January 21st, in the second year of Keiou (1866)...
Text box: Satsuma and Choushuu united in a military alliance with six provisions.
Text box: The Satsuma-Choushuu alliance would be the turning point in the war against the shogunate.
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