Good Bye? No Way!
A Tearful Farewell?
Episode Twenty-one begins with Momiji peering at the empty pages
of her diary and realizing that she hasn't written in it since she met
Kusanagi. Just as she is thinking about him, she senses him confronting
Murakumo, Kaede and Susano-oh. Thus the showdown between Murakumo and Kusanagi
begins, and they begin fighting as Kaede and Susano-oh leave for the last
iwatto. Trouble by what she is witnessing second hand, Momiji calls to
her sister, and her voice echoes out, heard by everyone, including
Murakumo. The fact that they can all hear her, puzzles Momiji, but it is
soon forgotten as her sister tells her that she is going to turn Japan back to
the way it should be. Momiji's vision fades, and she mumbles,
"Kusanagi, please promise me that everything will be all right if we do
our best..." Not understanding why her sister persists in her
mission, Momiji begins crying.
The story then switches to Kunikida and Ryoko who are still
looking for the iwatto. Grandma meets them and shows them the Cave of
Restoration - the same cave we see at the beginning when Momiji is purifying
herself, and Kunikida realizes that this must be the last iwatto. And
Kunikida knows that he must guard the iwatto - that Susano-oh and Kaede will
be coming there. He sends Ryoko and Momiji on a mission to search for
Susano-oh, hoping to find them before they make it to Izumo, and Momiji
promises to try and find him before he finds the iwatto and she uses her
mitama to try and track Susano-oh.
The story again switches to Murakumo and Kusanagi who
continue to fight. Murakumo disdains Kusanagi's fighting ability,
telling him that he should just give up because there is no way he can
win. But Kusanagi refuses to stop fighting, telling him he's not the
same as he used to be. As they continue to fight, Kunikida is back in
Izumo, loading his gun, and contemplating his daughter, Kaede, wondering if,
when the time comes, he will be able to pull the trigger. At the same
time, Moe is dressing herself in her priestess' robes. She too is
saddened by the upcoming meeting with the daughter she hasn't seen in 15
years, not wanting them to have to meet this way.
By now, Murakumo and Kusanagi have arrived at a lake and
Murakumo drops a mitama into the water, spawning a giant Plant with a solar
mirror in it's center. Kaede has arrived in Izumo with Susano-oh and
they take out the Self Defense Force soldiers who are threatening them.
And Moe has tried to further impede Kaede and Susano-oh by forming a barrier
in front of the iwatto with a trail of her blood.
The scene once again switches to Ryoko and Momiji in the
car. They are chasing Kusanagi, although Momiji doesn't realize it,
until she envisions the giant mirror and then realizes that Susano-oh is in
the opposite direction, and that Kusanagi is fighting with Murakumo. She
calls his name, and he tells her to return to Izumo. She wants to argue
with him, but he tells her that she must stop Kaede and Susano-oh from
completing their ritual.
Back in Izumo, Kaede confronts her father and her mother,
saying that the nature of their meeting was inevitable. The barrier that
Moe has formed with her blood does very little to stop her daughter and she
and Susano-oh step over it after but a moment of hesitation. Momiji
arrives in Izumo next and she too tries to reason with her sister, trying to
talk her out of contiuing with her plans of turning all humans into plants,
but she halts in the middle, sensing Kusanagi in terrible trouble. She
starts screaming for Murakumo to leave Kusanagi alone, and suddenly she is
flying, rushing towards their battle, knowing that she must get there quickly.
Murakumo and Kusanagi are fighting a very fierce battle,
one in which Kusanagi is losing. Murakumo manages to cut off Kusanagi's
arm and then pin him down with his tentacle like vines, trying to strangle him
to death. Again Momiji calls out to Kusanagi, and Murakumo is distracted
by her, amazed to see her flying. This gives Kusanagi enough time to
break free and head towards the mirror: his intent, to smash it. He
manages to land one blow to the surface and crack it, but before he can finish
the job, Murakumo impales Kusanagi with his sword, cutting him in two.
Momiji arrives at the lakeside in time to witness the Kusanagi's plummit into
the lake and the the sun striking the solar mirror, signaling the end to
Susaon-oh's ritual.
The iwatto in Izumo is filled with an intense, bright light
and then caves in. Kaede and Susano-oh are no longer there. And
grandmother tells Kunikida to go back to Tokyo. The episode ends with
Momiji falling to her knees into the water in shock. She calls
Kusanagi's name and begins to cry.
