Gate Keepers 21

So, I was thinking... Yeah, I'm listening.

It's next week, right?

You serious? Nobody told me.

I heard from Eriko that we really shouldn't.

You know, it's a pain, r...?

Hello?

Wh-What?

- Come. - To our... - Come.

Come to our world.

N...No...

No!!

Oh, brother. Not small ones again.

Hmm...?

Oh, well.

NO!

U-Um, hey...

Excuse me, um...

Hello?

Hurry up and go home.

I-I will!

May, 2001

Hey, hey. Do you feel hungry?

- Yeah, I do. - Okay...

- I know a great place! - What, really?

Everywhere I go, nothing but people.

Noisy cars.

Trains going clickity-clack.

The city is just a bunch of gray boxes.

What little sky that can be seen is anything but blue.

I was born in this city, and this city is where I live.

It's full of nothing but people and noise.

Sometimes I feel suffocated.

That's why...

...I decided I wanted to do something more interesting.

Fukai yoru no haneoto wa... The sound of wings in deep night...

Tooi shoujo no hibi no... Is the echo of distant days...

...kodama. ...of young girlhood.

Tsuki no fune wa sotto... The boat of the moon...

...namida kobosu yo. ...softly drops a tear.

Yonde yo... Call me...

...harukana natsu no namae. ...the name of faraway summer.

Toki wa nagarete... Time passes...

Daremo inakute... Everyone is gone...

Kanashii hodo ni kireina... It is sad-the pretty...

...yoake. ...Dawn.

And about next Sunday...

But I have a date with my little sister.

What?

Episode 1 "ENCOUNTER"

Episode 1 "ENCOUNTER" Oh, my sister draws characters for video games.

Episode 1 "ENCOUNTER" I'm afraid I have to go help her with a convention on Sunday.

I'm afraid I have to go help her with a convention on Sunday.

Hey, we're a couple, so you don't have to be formal with me.

Huh? What are you talking about?

You know...

Think of what you were doing just a little while ago.

Hey, Wai...

Damn...

Hey, where did you go?

Hey!!

What's her problem?

Geez, she even turned off her cell phone. The phone you are trying to reach...

... or has lost battery power.

Found you.

Tategami High School

Manager of the soccer team?

You actually want to do that?

Yeah. I signed up for it.

Aren't you just after someone on the team?

SOCCER TEAM MANAGER WANTED

SOCCER TEAM MANAGER WANTED Oh, you're totally wrong. I thought it looked fun, that's all.

SOCCER TEAM MANAGER WANTED Manager, huh? Hey, Chinami. Why don't we join her?

Huh...?

Your beloved lhara from Home Room A is on the team.

Still...

Let's all sign up. I'm sure it would be a blast.

And, you could make moves on all the guys.

- Hmm? - Huh?

Excuse me, but what do you mean by that?

You should ignore her.

Huh?

That's Ayane Isuzu from Home Room D. She's a real weirdo.

They say she sticks out in class big time, too.

- Let's go. - Uh, yeah.

Miu Manazuru, Grade 11 Home Room B.

Who imagined there would be one so nearby?

A real Gate Keeper.

What we now call the pine or bell cricket...

...are generic names for the grasshoppers.

Pay close attention to that part.

Now, the next poem.

This is spoken in alternating lines of 5 and 7 syllables.

It is written by a monk of Ganko-Temple...

Who will interpret this poem?

Isuzu! Seat number 3, Ayane Isuzu!

Can you interpret this section into modern terms?

- What is she doing? - It happens all the time.

"A rice flour dumpling does not know or need to know man."

"Though ignorant, it does not need to know or to be told."

The rice flour dumpling is a pearl. It represents talent and effort.

So, in modern terms:

"Its ability is unknown to man."

"It doesn't matter if the world does not know."

"As long as you are aware of your own ability." That's all.

Th-That's right. Good job paying attention in class.

You may take your seat.

Yikes, she creeps me out.

She can't help it. Studying is the only thing she's good at.

- It's kind of eerie, isn't it? - I hear she's a girl nerd.

- What does she do? - Probably computers or something.

You mean she sits in a dark room at home?

- Sounds like it. - Ew, yuck!

Inspector Hashimoto!

The investigation team will arrive from forensics soon.

S-Sir, you can't go in without permission!

Don't lecture me about permission! Eight people died in this accident.

Just as I thought: It's the same.

However, it's unusual it maintained its original form to this extent.

What the...!

Damn! Just like always. This is getting us nowhere.

How can we get anywhere when the culprit keeps disappearing?

- It looks like you found one. - Probably.

- So, can you use her? - I don't know yet.

Pure keepers are valuable. Don't let her get away.

Right.

They have been becoming active in the past few years.

A big one may appear in the near future.

A keeper will make a capable pawn.

You mean, like me?

You...

...are not a pawn.

- Really? - Of course.

And here's this week's.

Good work.

I see... There's a lot in here.

Only, don't work yourself too hard.

Roger.

This is a resistance operation nobody will ever know about.

It's been 30 years since our society was taken over by Invaders.

Their numbers are increasing. We no longer have time to spare.

You'll have to work harder than ever before.

You're contradicting yourself.

You just told me not to work too hard.

Oh, yeah. That's true.

Well, I'm off to capture a pawn.

I'm counting on you.

- Want to try this next? - It's Geba!

- Ge-ba, Geba, Geba. - Whoa, a wristwatch!

Forget it. Those machines are impossible to beat.

I'm going to give this a shot!

Awe...

Farewell, Geba.

Do you want to try that one next?

- The dancing game? - I'm good at that one!

I hope I can make it all the way today.

Which song are you going to do?

"Thusly, she subconsciously draws men to her." Check.

- Hey... - Her again!

- Uh, excuse me... - Hey, you!

Naoko?