The Curtain Falls (
Summary[]
The auction-goers are incredibly surprised at the sight of Kyora's corpse, shouting at the sight as well as Chihiro. Hakuri watches morosely onwards, Shiba seeing him and acknowledging Hakuri must be feeling incredibly conflicted on seeing his father's corpse. Another explosion suddenly resounds through the hall, alerting Shiba.
Leaving the hall are the two Kamunabi bidding team members, the female member concerned at the sound. Her partner muses that Hiyuki had begun a rampage, and would likely cause severe property damage. Auction-goers also see the building crumbling to pieces, and some also spot Magatsumi lying on-stage by Kyora's body. A crowd rapidly descend onto the stage, but Shiba teleports to Chihiro's side while carrying Hakuri, grabbing onto Chihiro.
Chihiro reaches out and grabs onto Magatsumi just as Shiba teleports the three outside the building and the inside crumbles. As Shiba lands outside, he abruptly notices Chihiro is not present. In fact, Chihiro had been transported by Tafuku into his room just before Shiba could teleport him away. Hiyuki leans a foot on Magatsumi, and reminds Chihiro that she had always planned on taking back both Enchanted Blades, briefly apologising to him.
Sometime after, Shiba and Hakuri watch as the Rakuzaichi building fully crumbles into pieces, Hiyuki and Tafuku emerging from the rubble, the latter carrying Chihiro on his back. Tafuku sets Chihiro down near Shiba, who helps Chihiro down, before Shiba notices Hiyuki holding Magatsumi, now completely covered in bandages. Shiba shouts at Hiyuki, asking why she has the blade, and she responds she and Chihiro had made a deal. Trusting in Chihiro, Shiba drops the issue.
Hakuri asks what Chihiro had talked about, Chihiro stating they had discussed what would happen next. Chihiro then questions Hakuri on what the latter would do, and Hakuri briefly recounts how Shiba had spared Enji and Tamaki after defeating them and convinced them to go back and look after the younger Sazanamis. Hakuri still believes he can't go home given his actions towards the Sazanami Clan and his father. Momentarily torn by grief, Hakuri briefly laments how despite Kyora's negligence towards him, Hakuri still looked up to him to guide his actions; but now, he was at a loss for what to do. Chihiro understands the feeling, having had a close relationship with his own father.
A shout from behind him prompts Hakuri to turn around and see Yuu reuniting with his sister, Chihiro telling Hakuri that he was the one who saved them. Inspired by the proof of hope in the world, and wanting no-one else to face the same fate the icy-skinned woman had, Hakuri asks Chihiro to keep fighting with him, wanting to continue proving his value. He then asks Chihiro what they will do next.
For over 200 years, people had been bought and sold at the Rakuzaichi, which stole the people's hopes and fueled the greed of criminals. After all those years, at that very moment, the curtain finally falls on the Rakuzaichi.
The Rakuzaichi ends.
Earlier in Tafuku's battle dimension, Chihiro tells Hiyuki how he hadn't wanted anyone else to have the Enchanted Blades, but after witnessing the horrific nature of Shinuchi's powers, his stance had changed. Internally, Chihiro wonders if the reason his father was so hesitant to talk about Shinuchi was because of that power. Therefore, in order to ensure Shinuchi was not used, Chihiro wants to hand it over to the Kamunabi to be sealed.
However, Chihiro vocalises the risks present if he hands Shinuchi over, mentioning how one of the Hishaku told him their goal was to use it, and how they had planned for the Kamunabi to acquire it. Hiyuki retorts that in order for it to be sealed, Shinuchi needed to be handed over to the Kamunabi, and they would defeat the Hishaku regards of their plans. Chihiro agrees with her mission statement, noting that their goal of not letting the blades be used for evil is the same.
After a moment of hesitation, Chihiro gives Shinuchi to Hiyuki, but tells her that he wishes to continue to be involved with the issue. Chihiro brings up that Hiyuki's mission would be complete if Enten was under their jurisdiction, and thus a solution that suited them both would be him joining the Kamunabi. Internally, Chihiro is resolute in his desire to uncover what his father was hiding, and decides to dig as deep as he can into the issue.
Quick References[]
Chapter Notes[]
- The audience reacts to Kyora's death and rush the stage in hopes of claiming Magatsumi.
- Hiyuki begins destroying the auction hall.
- Shiba grabs a distraught Hakuri and Chihiro and teleports out of the auction hall, but Chihiro is not present.
- Chihiro has been transported by Tafuku into his battle dimension, where Hiyuki prepares to claim Enten and Magatsumi from Chihiro.
- The building collapses and Chihiro, Hiyuki and Tafuku walk out, having negotiated regarding what was to happen next.
- Hiyuki is holding a heavily bandaged Magatsumi.
- Hakuri reveals that after defeating Enji and Tamaki, Shiba had spared them and urged them to focus on taking care of the rest of the family.
- Hakuri is initially unsure what to do next, but after seeing the proof of hope in Yuu and his sister's reunion he voices his desire to continue fighting alongside Chihiro.
- The Rakuzaichi building falls to pieces; the auction is over for good.
- The details of Hiyuki and Chihiro's conversation is revealed:
- Chihiro agrees that the Kamunabi should have Magatsumi in order to seal it once again.
- Chihiro reveals the Hishaku have planned to have the Kamunabi take possession of Magatsumi, and states his wish to join forces with the Kamunabi in order to oppose them. Through joining the Kamunabi, Enten would be placed under the Kamunabi's jurisdiction, hence completing Hiyuki's mission.
- This is the last chapter of the Rakuzaichi Arc.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Author's Comment[]
| Author Comment | |
 |
Takeru Hokazono |
| |