Episode 19 Synopsis
Spirit Stone
(Original Airdate: June 4, 2000)
Yuusuke lies on the hospital bed, with no signal coming from the EKG machine. Tsubaki rushes in with several other doctors and nurses, who attempt to save Yuusuke. Tsubaki tells one nurse to get an oxygen mask on the patient, while he begins CPR. The room is buzzing with life-saving activity, in the midst of which Tsubaki leans over Yuusuke: “You idiot. This is no time to die.” He calls for the defibrillator... (Thanks to both Brian Manning and James S. for providing me with the term "defibrillator"...I work at a hospital; you'd think I know.)
Opening Credits
In Shinjuku the police have blocked the streets around where the most recent victims were attacked. Ichijou briefs them on the plan, and tells them not to get too close to Number 26 should they encounter it. The detectives disperse, and as they do one says to his partner, “Number 4 didn’t show up.” “That’s what I heard,” replies the partner, “I wonder what happened.” Ichijou hears the conversation, but refrains from responding. He gets into his vehicle, and sits for a few moments with much on his minds. Soon Sasayama calls over the radio that the latest information indicates the Number 26 is likely near Okuma 3-chome(?).
Tsubaki gels the contacts and calls for the staff to clear the body, then applies the electric shock. The nurse replies that there is no change. Tsubaki quickly starts CPR again.
At her office Sakurako is hard at work. It is an ominously windy day. A stray wind makes it way into the office, and blows a mask off the wall; it is the mask Yuusuke brought back with him from Indonesia (see episode 1). The twine it had been hanging from it had snapped. Sakurako looks worriedly at the mask. “Godai-kun,” she says.
A second shock has also failed to get a pulse from the patient. “One more time,” yells Tsubaki, and the tech tells him the defibrillator is still charging. He starts CPR yet again. His emotions surface again, and he yells at the immobile Yuusuke, “What happens if you die? You’re the one who’s always saying ‘It’s alright’! Hey! Hey!!” Despite Tsubaki’s chiding, Yuusuke fails to respond, and the EKG signal fades from weak to nonexistent; Yuusuke has flat-lined. The time is 6:55 p.m.
Minori is watching TV at the Wakaba School with one of her young charges, who is waiting for his mother to pick him up. A new alert flashes on the screen that says the police managed to injure Number 26 but it escaped and warns people to stay away from the area. “An unidentified creature?” ponders the boy, and says that his mother works near Shinjuku. Just then Keiko arrives, and says the boys mother is tied up in traffic. “Isn’t she coming?” he asks. “Don’t worry, she’s coming. It’s dangerous where she is right now, and she just has to wait for the police to catch the unidentified creature.” “Why isn’t Number 4 coming? He always has before.” Minori reassures him: “He’ll be here, just like always.”
Some time has passed at the hospital, but Tsubaki has persisted in trying to revive Yuusuke. “Sensei,” pleads one of the techs, as Tsubaki finally is forced to acknowledge the facts. He is hunched over from exhaustion. He checks Yuusuke’s pupils one last time to confirm. He turns to the rest of the team: “I’ll take it from here. Thank you.” They leave, and Tsubaki stares down at Yuusuke, noting the omamoris by his head.
8:16 p.m. Shinjuku. The police are sweeping the area. They come across a cardboard box, which houses a mysterious grunting entity under a dirty blanket. They approach cautiously. After surrounding the suspicious figure with rifles aimed and masks on, Ichijou pulls back the blanket quickly. He ends up surprising the homeless man inside, who recoils in fear on seeing the rifles pointed at him. Ichijou pulls of his mask. “A homeless man,” he says, then to the poor guy he apologizes and says, “This area is dangerous. You should get somewhere where you’ll be safe.” He and Sakurai bow quickly and leave with the rest of the squad.
Tsubaki is in his office, tired and pensive. He holds the omamoris in his hand.
Ichijou gets a call as he arrives at his car. Tsubaki passes the news onto him (although we don’t hear the first part of the conversation, we can tell by watching what he is being told): “He was declared dead at 7:44 p.m.” The camera cuts back and forth between Ichijou and Tsubaki several times. “Someone needs to tell his sister,” says Tsubaki, which Ichijou takes responsibility for. “I’ll leave it to you, then,” says Tsubaki, and hangs up. Shortly Sugita arrives and knocks on Ichijou’s window. Ichijou gets out of the car. “What did Dr. Enokida have to say?” asks Ichijou. “She says it’s likely that Number 26 won’t be active for a while because it needs to get its temperature up to recover. We got a good hit on him. The team here can finish up. We’ve been ordered back to HQ to get an update.” “I’ll meet you there in a little bit. I have something I have to take care of first that make take a while,” says Ichijou. Sugita agrees, and Ichijou gets back in his car. But Sugita sees something is up. “Ichijou…has something happened?” he asks. “No, not really,” lies Ichijou. “Is it Number 4?” presses Sugita. Ichijou remains silent, but the truth is written on his face. “Well, we still have to do the best we can, with or without him,” Sugita says, trying to encourage Ichijou. “Right,” he says, then closes his car door.
Tsubaki is waiting at his desk, still deep in thought. The phone rings, and he answers: “Yes, this is Tsubaki. Thanks. Yes, I was just about to call you. The truth is…” he begins.
Sakurako listens silently, staring at the mask, which she has placed next to her monitor. Then she responds: “Even so, I still trust him. I saw him put the belt on in Nagano. I didn’t believe him, but he was right. Since then he has never let me down, and I know he won’t this time either.” As Tsubaki listens, he holds the omamoris. There is a brief pause, and then Sakurako continues. “I need to ask you something.” “What is it?” replies Tsubaki. She tells him there is a character in one of the lines that she has no good translation for. “It might be nothing,” she says, “but it might be a clue to help Yuusuke.” He asks her how the line reads. She reads it off to him, and their discussion reveals that Yuusuke, through the power of the stone in his body, is in a state of suspension. “So he’ll come back to life,” says a rather surprised Tsubaki.
Xu Gouma Gu, Rose, and Garima are in a confab in front of a neon sign. “Ginoga has beaten Kuuga,” snarls a confidant Garima. Rose reminds her that Kuuga is not beaten, but is in fact quite strong. Garima is unimpressed, however, sensing the demise of their nemesis
Me Ginoga De is resting in what appears to be some sort of man-made onsen (there is a small set of stone steps with steaming water pouring down it, and some small shrubs). He rocks from side to side, holding his side, in obvious pain.
Break
Nana stands at the window of the Porepore staring out at the rain. Oyassan is worried: “How long are you going to stand there?” “As long as I do,” she replies despondently. “It’s getting late,” he says. She’s upset because he had said he was going to be right back, and he didn’t return. Oya-san her to stop being childish, and that what Yuusuke does is his own business. He says he was like that, something about adventures in Nepal, and something about phoning. He walks away. Nana is dejected. “He was going to teach me ‘stomping,’” she says to herself, and then walks for the door, whacking the “Welcome” sign in the process.
Ichijou is speaking with Minori at the front door of the Wakaba School. He has obviously already told her the bad news. However, her reaction is somewhat surprising: “Still, I’m sure my brother will be back. He’s never let me down before.” Ichijou is puzzled, thoughtful, at a loss for words. “And he’s never let you down, either, has he, Ichijou-san?” she continues. “And besides, he’s Kuuga…” Ichijou’s brain is obviously trying to take it all in. He can think of no proper response to make.
Tsubaki comes to examine Yuusuke’s body in the darkened room. He touches his cheek, and is surprised. “Your temperature’s rising!” He pulls back the sheet and feels Yuusuke’s stomach. Then the phone rings. It’s Sakurako, with more information on the hint she had mentioned earlier. As they are speaking, Tsubaki is checking Yuusuke for signs of life, wondering what will happen. To his surprise, he finds that Yuusuke’s body temperature is still rising, and he tells this to Sakurako. They finish speaking, and Tsubaki continues his examanition. Satisfied that Yuusuke will survive, he leaves the room, but before he does he speaks to Yuusuke: “You don’t know what death is, do you?.” He shuts off the lights and heads out.
Itabashi Ward. There’s a guy playing guitar and singing with his friends. Two slightly drunk salarymen are doubting the threat of the unidentified creatures when a blond-wigged figure sidles up behind them. He blows a breath, and the two collapse, choking. As Me Ginoga De heads up the steps the innocent pedestrians fall before him.
Ichijou is in a meeting at HQ with Sugita and Sakurai when Enokida calls to update him on the progress of the investigation on the ishi katamari. (She talks very fast, so I caught only tiny bits of what she says). She asks how the investigation on Number 26 is going, and Ichijou tells her they’re trying to reestablish its location. Just then Nozomi rushes into the room: “Sugita-san, Number 26 has been spotted in the Itabashi district!” The detectives rush out, but Enokida stops Ichijou before he hangs up. She encourages him to utilize the newly-developed bullets her lab has been working on since the villain has apparently gotten considerably stronger. He thanks her and hangs up as he runs out.
Yuusuke lies on the bed with the lights on. The camera zooms, and a heartbeat is heard. Strange sounds are heard as the nurse opens the door. She looks in, then freezes, dumbfounded.
The police have their hands full with a charged-up Me Ginoga De, whose head has now turned a bright red. They fire rifles, but the bullets, as usual, have no effect. Ichijou, Sugita, and Sakurai arrive on the scene with their high-powered rifles, and another detective hands them the new shells. “Let’s do this,” says a fired-up Sugita. The 3 detective fire on the villain, but the bullets have no effect. In fact, it seems that Me Ginoga De is rather smug: “These things won’t work,” he says in cocky Grongese. Then he blows a thick red smoke at the officers, and despite their masks, they fall victim to the gas. They retreat, but Me Ginoga De is right after them. Me Ginoga De continues to throw them around, including Sugita and Ichijou. The Grongi is about to blow another burst of smoke, then suddenly stops short, and looks up. A mirage is approaching. In his curious tongue, Me Ginoga De, “I don’t believe my eyes…it’s Kuuga.” A figure flashes past the police and tackles Me Ginoga De, knocking him over a police car. The police are watching the action. “It’s number 2,” says Sugita, surprised. “No,” says Ichijou, “it’s the white Number 4.” Kuuga Growing Form continues the battle with Me Ginoga De, throwing him into a police car window. They exchange blows, but Ginoga gets the advantage after throwing Kuuga into a squad car. Sugita yells, “Give Kuuga support,” and the group grab their pistols and fire on Ginoga, distracting him. Kuuga jumps up and tackles Ginoga, and the pair fall down the nearby slope, and resume the battle near small canal, where their tumble has left them several meters apart. Kuuga sees his chance, so he braces, then charges, jumping high in the air, somersaulting, landing a blow on Me Ginoga De’s chest. The Grongi falls down, and his chest starts glowing. Kuuga watches intently. However, Ginoga is able to subdue the power, and manages to get back to his feet, much to the chagrin of Kuuga and Ichijou, who is watching from atop the hill. Undeterred, Kuuga backs up several paces and charges again, following through with another kick. Ginoga goes down again, but then gets up again. Kuuga will not be stopped though. As he prepares to charge yet again, his feet crackle with electricity. Taking this as a sign, Kuuga charges harder than before, jumping high and landing a third kick to Me Ginoga De’s chest. Me Ginoga De falls to his knees, and this time he’s unable to stop the process. Crying out in disbelief, he explodes in a fireball, and bits of plant fly everywhere. Kuuga watches, foot smoking. Ichijou smiles, and Kuuga looks up at him. He gives the thumb’s-up, and reverts to Yuusuke. Ichijou, ever the hard guy, yells down to Yuusuke, “You’re late, Godai!” Yuusuke is puzzled. Ichijou walks away, and gives the thumb’s-up over his shoulder. Yuusuke sees it and snickers, then rushes to catch up to Ichijou, stumbling on the way up the hill.
Sakurako opens the window to a brighter day.
Minori is all smiles as Ichijou gives her the good news.
Yuusuke meets up with Ichijou at the top of the hill, and they’re both all smiles.
End of episode
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