Shadow Skill TV Anime Series Episode 5 – Synopsis Cast of Characters: Elle Ragu - 59th sevalle of Kuruda Gau Ban – her adoptive brother Folli Brazmetizer – Sui Reme Kyo Ruu – Septia Platoon of Kuruda veteran mercenaries Teaser: Narrator describes how Kuruda, located to the south of the Holy Kingdom of Ashlianna, is a land that had given birth to a large number of mercenaries. Mercenaries who accomplish missions, no matter how difficult, using the Kuruda Style Annihalation Technique. Some say their prowess is more comparable to a demon than a human. This is one tale concerning the honor of those mercenaries. The visuals over the narration show a huge tropical rain forest type of scene, under a bright day. Inside the forest, someone is slinking around by a river, staring at a bright-eyed bird. The person plunges his hand into the water, saying “I already know you’re in there” – a snake slithers through the water, and it starts to churn and bubble, startling the bird into flight. The peace of the forest is shattered by a loud explosion and a cloud of dust rises from the spot, throwing flocks of birds into flight with cries of panic. (Opening Credits) Act 1 “One thousand silvers!” yells a shocked Elle. Kyo adds, “That’s not all, when I went to the Center, they told me…” Flashback. It appears that Kyo is in debt. It seems that since the Septia clan she used belong to has died, the contract they held with the Center is considered to be violated. Responsibility for paying the fine belongs to the survivor – in this case, it’s Kyo. In addition, the Phantom Unit contracted for three cases that were still pending at the time of their annhilation, so therefore, an additional amount of eight hundred silvers is due for the unfinished business. As Kyo realizes the extent of the money that she owes, and all of it due by the next week, she falls into a faint. In the present, Kyo is still in a state of shock over the extent of the debt. Faury points out that 1800 silvers is not something that can be paid out of Kyo’s earnings at the restaurant; and while she feels sorry for Feorina, they have to find a job that pays big cash – and fast. Kyo cries out that it’s not a matter that should concern them, and Elle says that Kyo’s debt belongs to all of them, in the same way that all of them share in Elle’s debt, and therefore Kyo shouldn’t worry about things. Gau remonstrates that *he* doesn’t have any debts, so he’s definitely got the short end of the bargain! The foursome meet at the Center, and are told to go to the Forest of Jura. It is located close to the border of Suluothan. A platoon of the Kuruda army is stationed there, not surprisingly because the area is known for its squabbles with Suluothan. The platoon is in need of someone to bring in supplies. This job will pay them 2000 silvers for the delivery of food and water, enough to cover Kyo’s debt and a little extra. Elle immediately agrees to give the job a try. In the forest, the mysterious person we saw slinking around in the teaser is still at it, peering out from behind a tree at the quiet landscape. A rustling in the trees brings out his snake into play, and the reptile spits out something that looks like a rock, which explodes on contact with the ground. He tries to draw another bead on his target with the snake, but has little more than a fleeting shadow to aim at. He grunts, “So fast. It’s expected from Kuruda.” Another set of fleeting shadows, a startled bird, and then trees start falling on our villain, missing him by mere inches. The villain mutters, “One to be feared. A Kuruda mercenary.” The camera pulls back to give us a view of the broken trees on either side of the river. Farther away, Elle is walking at point position, with Faury close behind. Gau, as usual acting as the pack beast, moans an inquiry to know if they are anywhere near their destination. Faury and Elle turn to look at him, and we see Gau *loaded* with the platoon’s supplies. Faury checks her directions and informs Gau that they aren’t even halfway there – and should arrive by the next day. This bit of information does not make Gau very happy, as expected. Elle observes that Kyo is taking her time, and wonders where the young septia is. Faury agrees, and after a second’s pause, we hear Kyo’s voice urgently calling for Elle. We see Kyo running in full flight from a huge beast, even as she calls out that she’s got it. Gau gets out of the way double-quick, and Elle answers, “Idiot! You call this capturing?” “It’s a little to big for me to make it obey my orders!” cries Kyo, and she’s not kidding, the thing is huge. “What are we going to do!” Elle sighs in exasperation as Kyo dashes past her, and sticks out her foot in the path of the beast. This causes it to crash headlong into the boulders behind Elle, which knocks it out, if not kills it outright. In awe, Kyo declares, “I didn’t know there was such technique to capture one!” Elle replies somewhat tartly, “Really? And you call yourself a septia?” Suddenly Elle sees from a hole in Kyo’s sleeve that the girl wears bandages on her arm. Kyo, on realizing what Elle is looking at, gets completely flustered and tries to dismiss it as nothing. Elle presses, “But those bandages! They are nothing?” Kyo abruptly calls for everyone to keep moving, and hurries ahead, one hand clutching the tell-tale hole in her sleeve. Elle wonders if she says something that she should not have, and Faury isn’t sure. Act 2 Night. The four friends have made camp. Faury is busy with taking an inventory of the supplies, augmented by the hide and meat of the beast they have just dispatched. Elle, quietly drinking, complains about the smoke coming from the meat that Gau is preserving; Faury admonishes Elle that if she’s not going to help with the work, the least she could do is to stop complaining. Faury points out that preserved food is still the best thing to bring to the soldiers who have spent so long fighting in the forest, so if Elle could just grin and bear it… Elle smarts under the rebuke, and then after taking a swig from her bottle, realizes that Kyo is missing. Gau informs them that she went to get some water, and Elle grows thoughtful. We follow a moonlit path to see Kyo at the edge of the river. Her trembling gaze is fixed on her arm, and she starts as Elle’s voice behind her asks if she shouldn’t take the arm guard and bandages off. As Kyo turns to look, Elle continues, “it would be easier…for collecting water.” Kyo apologizes and turns away, and Elle looks sober but kind, wondering what the mystery is. After a moment, she smiles kindly at the girl’s hunched figure and moves to stand beside her at the water’s edge. She tells Kyo that the septia has been acting weird lately, and asks what’s wrong – if it’s something to do with the bandages. Then in a shift of mood, Elle goes from serious to a chuckle, and says, “If you’d rather not say, then it’s all right.” Faury and Gau arrive at the scene just as Kyo is saying, “That’s not it. Well…it’s isn’t that big a deal, really…” and starts to unwind the bandages. Gau rushes up calling out for her to wait, that they don’t really care about any of that, so she doesn’t have to show them. Kyo replies that it’s all right, she wants all of them to know. Removing the bandages, she reveals that her arms are marked with deep scars. With an embarrassed sort of laugh, she claims that she’s “…so heavy-handed. That’s when I first captured a demon beast using chering. The string tangled on my arm. And it was all my fault, too. But still I’m ashamed of it. It’s not like I was trying to keep a secret, but when I think that it will be here for the rest of my life…it just…it sort of makes me sad.” “Don’t be ridiculous!” huffs Elle, much to Kyo’s surprise. “What’s there to be ashamed of? Now listen, Kyo…you got your wound in the field of battle, right? In other words, it’s like a badge of honor that symbolizes your courage upon that field of battle. Be proud of it! I will personally pulverize anyone who laughs at your wounds!!” The tearful Kyo looks up into Elle’s fierce green-eyed expression, which changes as the young sevalle smiles down at her. Kyo’s blue eyes soften and become tender, and then suddenly, Elle is scratching her head and making a hasty exit, saying that she spoke too much, the alcohol is getting to her head: “I’ll go cool off my head in the night breeze.” As the camera keeps close on Kyo’s thankful expression we hear Gau say, “Yeah, yeah, she’s probably just embarrassed,” and Faury, “Well, that’s the Elle that *I* know…” Morning at the Forest of Jura, and the peace is totally shattered by Elle’s voice calling for the platoon to come and get their supplies. Faury pounces on Elle hushing her with a hand over her mouth: “What do you think you’re doing, you muscle-bound moron? This area is a disputed territory between Kuruda and Suluothan! You never know where the enemy might be lurking in the forest!” The truth of Faury’s words is proven as a suspicious rustling in the bushes catches their attention. Elle makes a headlong dash for the source of the sound, leaps into the air and lands with arm outstretched into some bushes… Only to discover a little old man! He has a good grip on Elle’s arm, and there is a moment of humor as he caresses Elle’s arm guard, and mutters, “Now isn’t that strange? It’s been so long since I’ve felt a young woman’s body and yet it doesn’t stimulate me at all!” Elle, recovering from the shock, looks up in time to see three older men emerge from the vegetation. One of them observes, “How long do you intend holding on to her arm, then?” “For crying out loud Sergeant!” says the other. “Don’t you ever learn?” says the third. Thoroughly abashed, the Sergeant snaps to attention and apologizes, and Elle spots the Kuruda badge on the uniforms they are wearing. In shock, she realizes that the “old geezers” are their clients, even as the commander thanks them for coming on such a long journey: “Did it surprise you to see a platoon of old men like us?” In a rare moment, Elle is shocked speechless. Act 3 Quiet reigns in the forest for the moment. The sound of chopping wood breaks the silence of the little camp where the vetarans make their base. The one chopping wood observes that Kuruda is throwing away good money to provide them with supplies. Another adds that they are completely self-sufficient in the forest. When Faury asks if perhaps the enemy won’t find them by the smoke of their campfire, the little sergeant says it’s actually a trap. That they are trying to lure the enemy out, and besides, one cannot fight on an empty stomach. The commander says they have received all the food and water that they can use. Rain clouds gather and drops start to fall over someone’s laundry hanging out on the line. The sentries remain at their posts, waterlogged though they are. Warm and dry in the treehouse base, Gau exclaims at finding out that the platoon has been at their post for the last 28 years. The commander wonders aloud if it has really been that long, the sergeant reckons the years between the birth of someone’s grandchild and some, and confirms it. Faury is impressed that they have been there for so long, and the commander explains: “We’ve returned to Kuruda once or twice, but how shall I say it? We’ve become used to this forest. There’s always plenty to eat around here, and the air is fresh…disputes won’t end unless one of the countries gives up its claim or the geography changes. So there’s work to be done here.” The sergeant is on the floor sharing a bottle with Elle. He says, “If that’s the case, then there’s no reason for returning into the city.” “Is that so, now?” asks Elle, and the sergeant continues, “It may sound like a really boring place for young folks like you, but for us it’s a naturally beautiful paradise. We even see beauties like you, sometimes.” The commander admits that the idea of their battlefield being like a paradise does sound odd. But the place is strangely suited for carrying out war with their neighboring enemy country. The fact is, Suluothan is becoming more active; the sergeant asks them if they had seen the fallen trees on the way in (visual of trees from the close of the teaser) and remarks that the enemy had never come so far in before, but definitely sent in one of their Hu Reme (beast magician) into the forest. Faury, a Sui Reme, asks, “You mean one? You mean, not a whole army?” The commander agrees. One opponent, but a formidable one. Kyo asks if he broke those trees alone, and the sergeant says it was the Kuruda mercenaries that brought them down. Startled, Kyo exclaims, “You did that, Grandpa?” “So now we’re grandpa…” chuckles the sergeant, and Elle admonishes Kyo, “Kyo, they’re still on active duty, so don’t start calling them grandpas, right, gramps…I mean, Sergeant! Yeah, Sergeant!” Out in the rain, the sentries continue their watch. The Hu Reme sneaks about the trees of the base camp, and with a grin, sights up the ladder that leads to the treehouse. He gets his snake beast at the ready, a smile of malice across his face as the snake bares its fangs for the strike… Warmed by the wine, Elle asks the sergeant if he really is a Kuruda mercenary. The old man replies that he was born and bred in Kuruda. Elle plies him with wine and agrees loudly that the 57th sevalle (Scarface) was admirable, but perhaps he was forgetting another one…the incredible one? The sergeant names the 55th sevalle (Hawkeye) as truly incredible, and the 56th sevalle (Kai Shinks) had nice skill. Elle, obviously not content, is insistently leading on the sergeant to name the 59th sevalle, but all the adjectives aren’t ringing any bells in his head, much to her frustration. The sergeant starts counting down from 56, 57, 58 – and gets stuck there. It’s too much for Elle, who cries out, “I’m talking about the 59th, old man!” An explosion erupts at the base of the tree, and the cry of “enemy attack!” is met with calm by the commander. As the tree is blasted into destruction, one veteran clutches Kyo like a sack of potatoes under one arm, saying, “Leave this place!” And Elle adamantly exclaims, “There’s no way I’m going back wet out in this rain!” The sergeant chuckles, “Oh-ho, we’ve got a lady tiger here!” And Gau, eyes flashing, declares, “Sergeant, she may not look like much, but Elle is the 59th sevalle!” “She’s WHAT!” Elle smiles over at Gau and asks, “What do you mean, I don’t look like much?” “But why do a simple delivery job?” “I’ve got my own problems.” They all land lightly on their feet, Elle just missing the blast of the Hu Reme’s snake beast. The sergeant executes a Kuruda Style Annihilation Technique that cuts through the beast and gets the Hu Reme running with the complaint, “Does that mean that I’ll be fighting old men like these?” The pursuit stops at the river, and as Elle wonders at this sudden end to the proceedings, the commander explains that they haven’t given up, nor will they ever. The rest of the platoon explains that the Hu Reme has been practising guerilla warfare on them, and that his skills involve water. The rain will work to his advantage. On the opposite bank their quarry is peering at them through the trees. Elle is fidgety, saying aloud that they can make short work of just one man, if only they can surround him. The commander knows that, but first, they have to find his exact location. Elle huffs that they just can’t sit still – and then Gau and Kyo come running up to them, breathless from the distance and speed. Faury arrives soon after, barely winded. Elle tells Kyo that she has a job, and the girl wonders if she’ll actually have a chance to be useful. Elle tells Kyo that a Hu Reme is a beast magician, which makes him almost akin to a beast. So perhaps to flush out the Hu Reme, Kyo’s skills as a septia are needed. Gau hotly declares that Elle is talking the impossible (maybe he senses that Elle is trying to push Kyo the way she sometimes pushes him), and Elle retorts, ignoring him and staring at Kyo’s doubtful eyes, “I know you boldly wear the insignia of a proud septia!” This startles Kyo, and Elle goes on, “The insignia that praises your courage.” Gau protests that there is no logic to what Elle is saying, but Elle, still looking directly at Kyo simply says, “I’m counting on you…” Act 4 The rain has stopped, it is another fine day. The commander deploys his men, and Kyo leads Elle through waist-high grasses and a rocky outcrop, using all her septia skill to track the Hu Reme – who is still sneaking about somewhere. Kyo begins to get discourages, but Elle urges her on, telling to always believe in her own ability. Kyo starts to doubt, then her hand falls on her bandaged arm. Elle gently reminds Kyo how she is the last hope for the Phantom squad, who died believing in her ability to be a septia. Elle asks Kyo not to let their deaths be in vain. A sudden wind catches Kyo’s attention, and she recognizes the truth of Elle’s words. She whirls and tells Elle that she understands – a Hu Reme has a scent that only a septia can recognize. Kyo has been trying to follow it, but couldn’t get a handle on it, and therefore she began to think she lost the ability to smell him out (meanwhile, a snake is moving through the tall grasses). However, the reason she couldn’t catch his scent was because he was always moving downwind to them, thus avoiding detection. Elle realizes that even as they speak, he could be… The snake beast lets loose with an explosive blast that hits near Elle’s feet, startling everyone. Elle’s voice snaps out to Faury and Gau to stop gaping, as the Hu Reme emerges from the middle of the river and reveals himself at last. He challenges the “senile old geezers of Kuruda” to come if they dare – the two snake beasts that come out of his arms suction water out of the river and the Hu Reme swells up like a water balloon as the platoon starts the face-off. Faury notes that it has gone beyond water absorption, and wonders if he intends to blow himself up with the pent up energy of the water inside. Elle tells the platoon to let her take care of the situation, and the commander refuses, saying that they have been entrusted with the defense of the area, no matter how dangerous the enemy might be. The honor and pride of the Kuruda mercenary must be upheld, regardless of the odds. The men intend to see the Hu Reme destroyed before he bursts apart, and their enemy vows to take them along with him. What follows is a powerful sequence of how the Kuruda Style Annihilation technique works when used by mercenaries as a team. Elle cries out to Faury to cover the platoon, and she releases a wind talisman to keep the Hu Reme distracted. The four veterans unleash the Kuruda Sword simultaneously at the Hu Reme as he releases the water from his snake beasts at them in powerful column-shaped jets. Elle goes into fighting mode, using the martial words to power the Shadow Skill Chainsaw, which slices the water snake into half. The water, released from the spell of the Hu Reme, falls down in a harmless shower over all of them, while the Hu Reme lies sliced in two in the flooding river. The river observes calmly that “the new sevalle isn’t half bad” – and as the water returns to its rightful place, the sunshine breaks through, making a rainbow over the battlefield. As they leave the Forest of Jura, we see the cheerful farewell scene as Gau observes, “I see why they paid 2000 silver pieces for ordinary deliveries like this.” Faury adds, “It was the price they paid for the honor of Kuruda’s mercenaries.” “2000 silver pieces?” A vision of the four veterans flashes through Elle’s head. “It was way too cheap.” (Closing Credits)