The Beachside Hut and Andvara Falls Episode 5 Part 2

Narration starts off here as it talks about Inohanadake, otherwise known as Mt. Ashigara. It is in the land of Kazamatsuri, where a gathering place for ninja exists in the valley of Kazama. They serve the Hojo clan, whose name was known far and wide during the Sengoku period.

Something happened since the Kazama Fuuma’s first clan leader’s time, and again to a further degree in the fifth clan leader’s time. It was an ordinary battle, one you could see anywhere during the times. Only that time, the clan they served was annihilated as was the place they lived in.

In the distant past, after the Hojo clan that prided themselves on their glory and representation of the Originator, the Fuuma ninja corp was buried underneath the ridicule that they were no more than bandits. The memories of their ruin was cast away until they one day arrived in Tokyo. Yet even where they landed was a land of warring figures where evil nature spirits ran amok.

Now that the clan had no one to serve, the clan head uses the ninja arts to survive and provide food for his underlings. But whenever he is alone, the wind blows through the cracks in his heart. Normally this anguish is hidden as per the ninja code, yet through his talks with the memory inheritor of the rogue Iga ninja, it resurfaced. He ended up remembering the agony of being an memory inheritor for someone who is already gone.

The Hojo clan, gone. The Kazamatsuri village, far away. All the clan head is now is a System that inherited the dead Fuumas and extends their lives. And in which case, the boy’s body is just another part of that system. Should he die, the memories would likely find someone else to take them on.

He has resolved himself since long ago, and his fear has been already conquered. But what lies for that resolution and fear beyond the endless loops? The Fuuma are already gone. There isn’t supposed to be an after. No one will answer if you ask. Only the wind blowing through the heart.

Camera then tunes back to the present as Kotarou spaces out, and you try to talk to him. He snaps back to it and asks what’s happening. He sees everyone is almost done with their warm ups and apologizes for not paying attention. You ask if he’s tired and can say he’s still a kid if you want.

Kotarou laughs about you worrying over him and thanks you. He then says he’s supposed to be the one protecting you, though he quickly corrects that to mean all the customers rather than just you.

Hanuman asks Behemoth if he’s gotten stronger, then shows off his water guns when he starts going all out. Behemoth has a little smug laugh about exercising the energy away so he can move around more easily. His huge body disturbs the water as he closes in on Hanuman.

Ziz tries telling Behemoth to not go at it too hard but she ends up hit by a wave he sets off. Agyou does too. Behemoth apologizes and swims back more carefully to check on the two of them. Ziz says she’s okay but it’s hard to keep balance with her feathers in the water. Agyou says he just let his guard down, then says the swim tool is amazing.

Touji says the swim tool is a revolutionary invention, and Goemon adds that even with his memory inheritance he can tell the thing isn’t an ordinary tool. Kotarou says a lot of effort went into its development, but its workings are still a trade secret.

On a different note he asks if people feel used to the water yet and suggests getting on the boat to go to the actual dive spot. Everyone agrees excitedly, and on the way the ninjas help everyone get ready to dive. Kotarou suggests splitting into the same groups as before. You, Goemon, Hanuman, and Kijimuna will be going with him. Tadatomo will be taking Shirou, Touji, Agyou, Ziz, and Behemoth.

Kotarou warns everyone to not let the oxygen absorption tool that will allow them to talk fall out. A conversable if you will. If you do lose it, never mind not being able to talk, you won’t be able to breathe. You say you understand, and Hanuman says he’ll show his mastery of it as he calls Kotarou sensei. Kijimuna thinks Kotarou being called sensei makes him a teacher and therefore someone amazing.

Kotarou is happy everyone is quick to join in on things, then says it’s time to dive as he makes his own sound effect. Hanuman follows suit, and you do too. Narration says the ninja instructors lead the way as you guys dive towards the ocean floor. Goemon is surprised about what being underwater in the sea is like, saying it’d be easy to forget you are underwater. He compares it to being lost in a mysterious world.

Hanuman calls the thing an adventure and says you’ll soon be at the ocean’s darkness. Kijimuna says it’s different from the ocean he swam in and points at the fish he’s never seen before. You either think of things as fun or a little scary.

Kotarou agrees that it does seem scary as it gets darker the further down you go. But having said that, he suggests going deeper anyways since you’re already this far in. Narration says Kotarou explains the things you guys see as you dive deeper and look around. He’s about to start talking about the change in scenery from the shallow part of the ocean when Hanuman interrupts points out some big fish in the rock, exasperating him.

Kijimuna invites Kotarou to swim with them and the fishies because that would be more fun, and Goemon adds his support too. Kotarou turns it down as him being on the clock, but you try to get him to join too. He sighs but decides to give in since he shouldn’t just blow off an invite from someone he knows without a thought. You say you are more a friend than just someone he knows, or you say you’re his SO.

Going A, Kotarou shrugs and goes along with the label, laughing. Hanuman asks what you guys are whispering about and says he thinks of Kotarou as a friend too. Kijimuna decides that makes him a friend too as he asks to play tag again. Goemon says he’ll help if anything happens and says they should have fun. Kotarou finally decides to say yes to the invites then.

Before anything else can happen though, Kotarou notices something happening, too late to do anything about it. His preoccupation or tiredness did not factor into it. He simply did not notice until it was too late. Kijimuna asks what’s wrong, so Kotarou says it feels like the calm before the storm. He wonders how long ago all the fish left, but throws the thought aside and tells everyone to swim up because an ocean current may be coming soon. But it is already there before he gets it all out.

Goemon sees Kotarou focusing on you, so he volunteers to grab Hanuman and Kijimuna. They happen to be relatively closer to his position anyways, and after he gets a hold of them he starts climbing back up. As Kotarou swims over to get you, you notice a rock flow towards him. He’s unable to react to it in time, so you help him to narrowly avoid it. Unfortunately this knocks away your mouthpiece.

You lose your sense of positioning as your consciousness slips. Before you do black out, you realize you can breathe again as you open your eyes to see Kotarou sticking his mouthpiece into your mouth. You try to object to it, but he says it’ll be okay as he won’t let you die here. He says he’s fine and that he was prepared for this, ever since he inherited the Fuuma clan head memories. The episode battle starts as he casts his water jutsu, and the story continues after.

After the battle, Kotarou thinks to himself about how you guys manages to get out of the riptide or whatever, but he is starting to fade out himself. He asks Orochimaru to save you at least as he summons him with the last of his power. At death’s door, he basically shrugs and goes “oh well, good enough.” You however object to this turn of events, so you grab him and give him back his mouthpiece. Orochimaru then brings you guys to the surface as you hold on to Kotarou.

You cough up water after you get there, and Kotarou tries to get you to wake up. It takes a moment, but you do tune in well enough to see you guys are safe and above the water. Kotarou mentions Orochimaru was pissed at having to carry two people since that was heavy for it and that you passed out upon getting back up. He starts talking about him waking up first when Orochimaru rises from behind him and hisses.

Kotarou understands that Orochimaru said something to him about his dying here first would go against his promise. He laughs and says he has to thank him as his ally, though he suggests cohort might be more accurate. You start asking Kotarou if he’s hurt or anything and are shocked he’d try to sacrifice himself.

Kotarou laughs and says it’s okay. If anything did happen to him the successor has already been prepared. He tries saying he’s been ready five times over for whatever happens, but then is surprised when he realizes he’s shaking and crying. He talks about how his body is still afraid and chalks it up to it having little life experience. It’ll pass with some time he says. You can then either pat him on the head, grab his hand, or hug him.

Going A, things skip ahead a bit as Kotarou starts talking to you about something. He says he’s feeling a bit tired and thanks you for saving him. He also says it’s been some time since he’s felt afraid and that someone comforted him. Without his master’s orders he’s been leading the ninjas himself, so neither he nor the other heads have experienced this much.

Kotarou then suggests that he might not be suited for leading, that he might find it comforting having someone lead above him. He starts referring to this hypothetical person as his master or liege, the same word Hakumen uses to refer to you.

After a moment, Kotarou then asks if you’d hypothetically enter a contract with him. You ask if he means that in the master and servant definition or the summoning definition. He starts to tell you about his crest and shows it to you, but stops when someone calls out to you two. You’re happy someone’s come to help but are confused by Kotarou’s reaction. He pretends like nothing is wrong.

Scene skips a bit later back to the boat as Touji is relieved you guys are okay. Tadatomo notices something different about Kotarou and asks him about it. Kotarou notes how sharp he is but claims it’s nothing as he turns to you. He then changes the subject and says he’s glad everyone is okay since he was worried about how it’d turn out for a while.

Goemon asks what happened since he thought it was supposed to be safe. Tadatomo says it’s not Tokyo Bay out there and hasn’t been for a while. Goemon then freaks out and asks if you guys were almost dragged into an overworld shift. You guys look into the water, and the depth and color of the sea looks completely different. Hanuman uses the words profoundly mysterious to describe it.

Kotarou confirms that an overworld shift probably happened while you guys were diving, which set off a bunch of sea currents. In the ocean at large, local irregularities show up sometimes. Some ocean currents probably ran into each other and caused what happened. It’s all just a guess though.

Shirou says nothing like that happened with their group and is a little depressed about what happened to you guys. Behemoth says everyone got out alright so it’s good for now. Tadatomo then asks what Kotarou intends to do since there still is some time to go diving. Hanuman votes to go in since the overworld is right there. You have some reservations about the idea.

Kotarou says it’s okay since his underlings just reported their investigations to him and says it’s safe. You either are shocked and ask when or say their performance is too good.

Going A, Kotarou says you have it backwards. When the shift started up, the ninjas moved out to check on it. He tells you it’ll be fine since he won’t let things happen again as he calls you his future something. He then changes the subject and asks what everyone else thinks of taking a look.

Agyou says if it’s safe then he wants to go see it. Kijimuna agrees and says he’s not done swimming yet. Everyone else voices their support of the idea and start jumping in. Kotarou says he’ll be your instructor again and invites you to come along. You either agree or ask what he meant by things earlier.

Going with the latter, Kotarou says he wasn’t joking. He takes you by the hand and leads you to the overworld, then laughs and says you’d first have to become his master for real. Narration says his smile seems different from usual.

Time skips and scene shifts over to Andvari as he notes that you have your stamp card filled, glad you worked so hard.  His portable computer buzzed as it starts rattling off a weather report, which says a storm is coming soon.

Elsewhere, Alberich says the preparations outside are finally complete, and that once again the treasure room will be accepting outsiders. He says there was a mistake when That Thief was called over. But this time...this time, he called over everyone. The time to satisfy his greed has come! And so the episode ends.