:53:02
We went there so that the
child could be adopted.
:53:05
Instead of growing up in a merchant's
house like mine, it would be better...
:53:08
...for him to be raised in the house of a
physician with samurai connections.
:53:13
That was what we... the child's
mother and I... concluded.
:53:19
But, when young Niiro turned
13, the physician was...
:53:23
...transferred to a country fief
within his Lord's domain...
:53:26
...where, later, he contracted
an illness and died.
:53:30
That happened when
Sir Niiro was 22.
:53:34
However, he had no desire to succeed
his physician "father."
:53:39
Together with his mother, he
left for Edo, in search of me.
:53:44
He said that he had no intention
of becoming a physician...
:53:47
...but instead wanted to become
a samurai of rank.
:53:50
I myself believe that nothing is
impossible, at least in spirit...
:53:54
...so, after discussing
it with his mother...
:53:56
...we let him study at a dojo
in Ichigaya Yarai, under...
:53:59
...Sir Todo Tatewaki, a master
of the Jigen-lchi Style.
:54:02
As for academics, we sent him to
Sir Miura Ansai's seminary...
:54:05
...in Yanaka-Oiwakekata
Village.
:54:09
For the next seven
years...
:54:12
...Sir Niiro was a young
man, full of hope...
:54:16
...who immersed himself in the worlds
of academics and swordsmanship.
:54:19
His mother and I both looked
forward to his success...
:54:23
...and bright future, with
pride in our hearts.
:54:26
This anticipation was not at all
a dream... It was no fantasy.
:54:32
I knew that Sir Niiro's real father, an
important Shogunate official...
:54:36
...also took an interest
in his future.
:54:42
When the time came, when Sir
Niiro could live on his own...
:54:45
...on the day when he became a
respectable, deserving man...
:54:49
...we had secretly arranged for
a very special event to occur.
:54:55
But... like they say, "Nothing
ever goes as planned."
:54:58
An unexpected incident
took place...