Showa 11, February.
The rumor that a panther had escaped from Ueno Zoo was making the townspeople restless.
In actual fact, that panther was caught before it ever reached the city.
But thinking back on that February, it's entirely possible we saw it...
...amidst the snow that was falling all around us.
Tokyo City, Sokuritsu Ward
Sorry! Did that hit you?
No, it didn't.
The weather really has turned colder, hasn't it.
I had heard Manchurian winters weren't so cold...
What do you think, Mr. Kishida?
Or would you prefer "Iha Kazura"?
You must have noticed that you've been under surveillance from time to time.
You're with the military police?
You see, we'd appreciate your help with something.
We're concerned with two infantry units here, namely the first Akasaka and the third Asabu home units.
Watching those young officers' actions, you get the feeling they're trying to set something in motion.
I'm sure you remember that incident, some years ago, when Navy Minister Imu was assassinated by some young naval officers.
I'm wondering whether something even bigger might not be happening here.
However, since we still don't have any hard evidence, we can't get the military authorities to lift a finger.
You attended the officers' academy at one point, correct?
Some of those young officers will be former classmates of yours.
You must have spent every day with them during basic training, am I right?
There are plenty of other people you could go to who have connections like that.
Experienced spies aren't all that common. Spies who wield strange abilities, even less so.
Won't you lend us those abilities of yours?
You don't want to see your dear friends turn into traitors, do you now?
I refuse.
Hey, you're forgetting something.
The Crab Ship
You should know better than to read something like that. The police could easily take you in for this, you know.
Do you expect a childish threat like that to work on me?
We have adult-sized threats if you'd prefer them.
Fukushima Prefecture, Adachigun
I'm sorry you've had to come all the way out here to a hut like this...
Please don't try to get up.
This is the Kichizous' youngest daughter.
My name is Takachiho.
These belong to your family.
I should have brought you them sooner.
Well, the same goes for us.
I kept thinking we should go and fetch them... but the days went by, and I never got a chance.
May we open it?
I heard you went abroad to Manchuria with the pioneers.
Being able to see you in person is quite something.
There was a garden...
A very beautiful garden.
I see, so the belongings will go to his younger brother.
Yes, that's right. He's the third of my older brothers.
He's serving in the third Asabu regiment right now.
Was this among the belongings?
I really am sorry for making such a bold request, but there's no way we can get to Asabu...
It's all right. I'll make sure to hand this over to him.
Is this a charm?
Yes... There was a five thousand douka coin inside.
A five thousand...
You need change?
Yes.
A Japanese five thousand douka coin?
Please excuse me.
The hotel exchange has run out of coins, so if you happen to have one with you...
Oh! There's a cart coming!
Give it some room.
If we don't hurry, we won't be in time to get on the train.
With the slump caused by the depression and the competition for our agricultural community...
...people have no options left, short of selling their own daughters into bondage.
The sole responsibility for this situation lies with our corrupt authorities.
Rotten senior statesmen, military figures and bureaucrats. That fact is beyond question.
I agree!
As long as they keep playing at a return to the days of the feudal lords, there is no way peace will ever be restored.
We don't have forever to plan our uprising.
Soon our platoon will be dispatched to Manchuria.
Before that happens...
Everyone, I want you to look at this.
If any of you has anything to add, please say so.
This is a draft of our agenda.
Does that mean the date for the uprising has been decided...?
Twenty-five days from now.
The 26th of February.
Company, right face!
Commander is present. Move out!
Sekihan Ward Kai Block - First Infantry Regiment
No soldiers from the first or third unit on guard duty. These guys certainly keep a low profile.
I want hard evidence of their actions.
What kind of evidence?
Either a jointly signed document, or a pamphlet calling for rebellion.
People planning to cause an incident tend to distribute that sort of thing.
Why don't you just have the police raid the place?
We can only act openly once we're absolutely certain.
Even you should know that the military police can't go against our countrymen without the leave of the military leadership.
Mafu Ward Shinryuudo Block - Third Infantry Regiment
Natsume's little brother?
Yes. I came here to give him something I was asked to deliver,
but apparently he's involved in a maneuver at the moment.
I see.
So, what are you doing right now?
I've started up a little photo studio.
It seems that line of work doesn't really suit me, though.
You made a good job of it in Shanghai.
That's because I let Aoi handle the customers.
It seemed like the only way he could make himself useful.
What a cruel thing to say.
Have you seen Aoi since then?
No.
If...
If he'd returned to Japan, I wonder what he'd be doing now.
Me too.
Knowing him, he'd be living his life boldly, no matter what he chose to do.
I see the plum tree has already started blooming, even though it's still so cold.
Come to think of it, there are all those cherry trees around the regiment building, aren't there?
They, too, will be in full bloom before April comes calling.
I see.
No matter how you live your life,
the seasons will always pass you by without changing.
Don't mind me, I'm just making conversation.
You won't think about giving me your address after all?
We already had this conversation coming back from the mainland.
It's better for all of us if we're not involved with each other anymore.
If anything should happen, please don't hesitate to come and find me.
Daimoku Shrine
Murasawa?
It is Murasawa, isn't it?
Kishida?
Kishida Takuma, is that really you?
I see you still remember me.
Of course!
How could I forget an old classmate of mine?
But then, you never did go into the army in the end, did you?
I had thought it was a matter of course, since you'd made it as far as the officers' academy.
My illness got the better of me back then.
Illness?
So that's what was holding you back.
But you're looking quite well now.
Yes... I grew out of it.
Welcome home.
Oh, you've brought a guest?
Yes, one of my old academy classmates.
I see. Please do come in.
My name is Kishida.
Come inside.
I'm sorry we can't offer you something better.
Don't worry about it. It's my fault for dropping in on you so suddenly.
You have a daughter?
Yes, her name is Hatsuse.
And you? Still unmarried?
Yes.
I see.
I used to think I was the kind of man who'd have no trouble laying down his life at any moment...
but it seems my love for this cutie trumps everything else.
It's not shameful to value one's life.
Never thought I'd hear something like that from a guy like you.
Maybe I've already got too accustomed to civilian life.
No.
There's nothing wrong with being like that.
But when the greater good is at stake, soldiers will take a stand in the end.
"The greater good"...?
Yes, the greater good. Something you'd be willing to sacrifice everything for.
A soldier doesn't give his life for the army; he gives it for the greater good.
Sorry, that probably sounded a bit eccentric.
Well? Did he tell you anything?
There can be no doubt that they've got something planned.
We already know that!
It seems the rebellion is not far off, though.
You're certain? Do you have proof?
No.
Then get some! Sneak in there and get your hands on something!
That kind of work is your specialty, isn't it?
I'll need to know the room assignments. I hope you've at least investigated those?
You'll have the plans tomorrow morning.
Are you sure you don't want anything else?
If you found yourself in need of funds... I'm sure something could be arranged.
Uprising agenda;
to be handled with discretion.
Our allegiance is to our divine homeland alone, under the supreme command of His Majesty the Emperor, who shall rule for all time.
We believe that our nation can finally evolve, and emerge as a single unified whole.
Our nation faces a truly great crisis within its borders, as well as without.
If you wish to prevent the destruction that even now strikes at the heart of our nation,
then your duty is to take up our cause and join us at our meeting.
Such is the last command of Her Majesty the Empress.
For the greater good, huh?
I found a pamphlet calling for a rebellion.
Very good! Get it to us as soon as-
I don't have it with me.
What? You didn't think to bring it back with you?!
Once they found out it was missing, they would have changed their plans accordingly.
That's just common sense in that situation.
More importantly, the young officers will be gathering on the 25th, at eleven o'clock in the evening.
If you can seize them there and then, this whole affair will be over with.
Where's the gathering going to happen?
At a local inn - the Meisui.
Can we trust this information?
Whether you trust it or not is up to you.
February 25th
Are they still there?
Yes, they're still on watch.
We don't have time. If the military police have found out about us, then-
Wait.
They're withdrawing.
Meisui
Honkyou Ward, Shinse Block
Down there...?
Hand over your gun.
What are you still doing here?!
This man was trying to divert our attention from the rebel forces.
Return to your designated watchpoints at once!
As for you, traitor...
I didn't do any of this because of you.
I just wanted to understand their motivation...
Aoi?
Let's stay here until things calm down.
Don't look so nervous. I'm not a ghost or anything.
I just lost my way for a while after pushing my powers to the limit like that.
I was stuck lying there, totally exhausted, until some of the locals came to rescue me.
I ended up unable to walk for a few months, so I couldn't come after you.
Well, we'd already begun to drift apart back then...
But what made you show up here today?
Maybe we should move further into the zoo?
Once I got back to Japan, I was interested to see what you guys had been doing.
I finally get to meet you again, and I find you caught up in something so dangerous... that's just like you.
But going up against the military police, in the middle of the capital...
What made you do something so dramatic?
I saw a panther sitting in this zoo, once...
A panther?
When I looked at it, confined to that cage with no spark left in his eyes,
I couldn't help thinking perhaps I looked a bit like that myself.
Ever since my return, I've been searching for the right path to follow.
And did you find it?
Tonight, not long from now, a group of young officers with a common cause are going to rise up.
Uprising agenda
To be handled with discretion.
"Rise up"? Are you talking about some kind of... rebellion?
I believe they have accepted that following their cause will seal their fate as traitors.
Even with that knowledge, they perceive the need for action.
All of you have families, relatives and people in your hometowns who are facing poverty and suffering.
We have been told it is our duty to respect the military and obey our superiors' commands.
But we have gathered here with the will to rise up on behalf of all those who suffer.
They are trying to escape the shadow of this so-called "army", in the name of the greater good.
Whether that places them on the government's side or their own is a different question altogether.
As if you have any idea how genuine this "greater good" of theirs is.
Enough! This is something you could never understand!
Here we are, reunited after all this time, and this is what we end up doing?
So? Are you planning on going along?
Seems like you really never change.
After everything you've been through, you're still chasing after Takachiho Isao's shadow?
Still tying yourself to people who try to accomplish their goals through pure force?
How does it look?
They appear to have left.
The park's surroundings have fallen completely silent.
Then I'll take my leave.
Wait... there's something I would like you to take with you.
This is the charm I tried to deliver to Natsume's younger brother.
He's supposed to be in the same regiment, so I want you to give it to him if the two of you ever meet.
The five thousand douka coin I gave Natsume in Manchuria is in there.
Keep this as a good-luck charm, will you?
It's a five thousand douka coin, so I'm sure it will prevail even in the face of death.
Yes.
Even in the face of death, huh?
Natsume's warm feelings towards his brother... they're still there in this charm.
"Value your honor"...
Kazura, I think Natsume would want you to share those same feelings if he were here.
I understand.
Well then, I need to get going too.
There are tons of things I'd like to chat with you about, but it would be a real pain if she started getting jealous.
"She"?
That is...
I'm sorry to say she doesn't remember you anymore, or that the two of you met in Manchuria.
Now, that's been quite the experience. Seducing a lady from step one again, when you already know her so well...
Where do you intend to go from here?
That's a good question. But I've found what's important to me, too.
I'll figure out the rest when the time comes.
Showa 11, February the 26th
The rebellion those young officers started that day would later be known as the 2/26 Incident.
The panther was brought from an office building to the Ueno Zoo in May of that year...
...two and a half months after the incident.
I wonder what it could have been that Kazura saw.
He was not listed among the dead, nor among those arrested.
So I remained, still ignorant of Kazura's real name.
Special Episode
The Panther in the Snow