May 26, 2008

Summary: Arakure (Wild Ones), Vol 4, Chp 19

This chapter begins with a flashback back to when Igarashi and Sachie knew each other as children. The narration reads, "We (I? -- I'm not sure) made a precious vow." And on to the yakuza household ... All the yakuza underlings are concerned about whether Igarashi will return with Sachie on the last train. Raizo assures them all that he's sure Igarashi will return with Sachie on the last train. Meanwhile back to Igarashi and Sachie. Igarashi is still holding a stunned Sachie by the wrist and caressing her hair, when the train announcer comes on announcing the next stop. That's when they realize they got on the same train that Igarashi came in and that they are traveling further away from Tokyo towards Kobe. The mood is broken and Sachie jumps up and suggests that they exit at the next stop.

At the next stop they exit. The guy at the ticket booth informs them that they were on the last train for the day. Sachie desperately asks about other options like the bus, but is informed that they are not running because of the holiday. Sachie then suggests that they head to Nagoya. Igarashi asks Sachie how much money she has. She says she has enough for transportation. Igarashi is in the same situation, so going to Nagoya would be pointless. They also can't get a hotel room because they are minors. Sachie, realizing the situation they are in, understands that they will be camping out until the first train comes in the morning. This is very upsetting to her. Igarashi is not that concerned though and calls back home to let them know the situation. The yakuza inform him that Raizo is sharpening his sword and if anything happens to Sachie, that sword will be used to remove one of his fingers. Igarashi puts on a good face for Sachie after the phone call. Sachie then realizes that it's just the two them and freaks out. Igarashi grabs her hand and leads the way. Meanwhile Sachie is thinking about how happy she is that Igarashi unexpectedly came to get her and how she does not know how to express her feelings. She's feeling ashamed of her desire for this situation to happen. While she's in deep thought, she begins to ask Igarashi a question. He then asks what he can do for her. He is smiling at her with his pleasant, but distant, fake smile. Sachie thinks back on things and thinks that on the train Igarashi seemed like a totally different person. She then says, "Nevermind" and they continue on. Suddenly Sachie remembers that they are Kobe and asks about all the different tourist traps. Igarashi tells her that they are nowhere near all that stuff. As they continue to walk, Sachie stubs her toe (she is wearing sandals) and falls into Igarashi's awaiting arms. Igarashi asks if she's okay and then apologizes for the situation saying that she must be tired and that they will find a store soon so they can rest. Meanwhile, Sachie has become self conscious of her sweatiness due to the day's walking and running. Embarrassed, by her funk, she pushes Igarashi away. Suddenly behind her, a lady from a bathhouse yells at them and asks if they want to enter before she closes up for the night.

While Sachie is cleaning up, she is worrying over why her heart is racing. Meanwhile, Igarashi is looking at the hand that was hugging her before he was pushed away. When Sachie exits, she finds that Igarashi has already left according to the bath house lady. Sachie panics and thinks that Igarashi is mad because he went out of his way to pick-up Sachie only to have her push him away. She wonders if he's become tired of her. She really wanted him to know that she is very happy to be with him now. As she leaves the bath house in a panic, she runs into Igarashi, who is returning from somewhere. Sachie is upset and in tears so Igarashi asks what's wrong, whether she feels bad, and whether she was able to bathe. He starts explaining how he found a bench when suddenly Sachie can't contain her emotions any longer and rushes head first into his chest for a hug. She explains that she got scared because he left and that she thought he came to get her because she was being selfish. She says that she thought that he couldn't care less about her. Igarashi stops her mid-sentence and yells that is not the reason he came. (Both of them, now are very emotional.) Sachie lets go and she raises her hand to her forehead in relief while still bawling. "Thank goodness," she says and continues by saying something about him loosing a finger (I'm not too sure about this part.)

Sachie then accidentally kicks over a bucket Igarashi has brought. It is a bucket full of little fireworks and sparklers. Igarashi says he bought them at a nearby convenience store to fulfill their promise. They play with them and talk about how pretty they are and so on. After they are done, Igarashi leaves Sachie on the bench while he goes to find a trash can. As he is walking off, Sachie thinks about how Igarashi's multiple faces are all him. When Igarashi comes back, Sachie starts dozing off while saying, "I ... more I want to ... "(literally, "with respect to Igarashi, more I .." -- it doesn't translate well into English. ) And then she's out, leaving Igarashi to wonder what she was trying to say. Sachie falls asleep with a big smile on her face. She is dreaming of her first love and remarking how much he seems like Igarashi. Meanwhile Igarashi is thinking about Kou and how he said he wanted Sachie. Igarashi then leans down and kisses the sleeping Sachie. In the background it reads that Sachie wants to know more about Igarashi while in the waking world Igarashi is making it clear to himself what he wants.

And so day breaks and they return home on the first train. It turns out that the yakuza waited at the train station all night for them. And then it's back to life as usual. Igarashi is, as always, the handsome, intelligent, and athletic class president who is surrounded by girl asking for help with their homework. Meanwhile Azuma is a bitter bystander and remarks about how Igarashi has entered the lion's den and dug himself a grave. The end narration says something like, "with which face shall we show" (This is a guess based on the flow of the page and the pictures. I don't know what "Higa" is and I can't find it in any of my dictionaries. I hope I'm not too far off.)

-End of Chapter-

Note: the next chapter looks like filler between story arcs. I may not do a detailed summary in favor of writing up something short since it appears that the next chapter is not pertinent to the story as a whole. The last chapter of volume 4 starts of a very cute story arc which includes Igarashi coming down with a cold and his Christmas gift to Sachie. Please look forward to it :).