"Ease" (Kyū-kei, 休) is the fourth episode of the anime series. The ending theme for the episode is toge.
Plot[]
Rin finds Akira after he was dragged off by Takeru. They encounter Tomoyuki, who is revealed to be someone from Rin's past whom Rin "betrayed." Akira and Rin have a short conversation as they get back to the hotel and meet up with Motomi. There, Keisuke sees Akira and is happy to see he is okay. They all eat and chat on the roof of a building, with a view of the city in the sunset. At nighttime, Shiki appears and slays a group of Line addicts. One person yells that Shiki has been spotted near a neutral zone and panic soon ensues. Rin jumps at hearing that Shiki is near and runs to confront him. Akira runs after Rin but instead encounters Shiki in a nearby alley. They have a short fight, which Shiki easily dominates.
Synopsis[]
The episode begins with Rin running. He leaps a fence, runs down an escalator, and leaves a building, only to hide because he sees the Executioners prowling around. As he scans the area, Gunji calls, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Kiriwar hits him with his pipe and says to walk faster. Gunji complains about how that hurt. He curses the “old man” and calls Kiriwar boring. Kiriwar checks the pillar Rin originally ducked behind and taps it with his pipe before moving on. Rin is shown to be hiding in another spot.
Nano’s voiceover says: “Colors.” A group of worn-looking people the roadside raise their heads as Keisuke approaches. “The world has many colors. New colors are created…” Keisuke looks around with a troubled expression, and Akira is first seen from behind. “…when the old stain, dye, and blend. Some colors overlap and melt together. Some colors continue to sink deep.” Akira looks around as well, and the sun is shown setting over Toshima.
In the next scene, Akira is sitting in an alley. He hears footsteps and stands as he sees a shadow approaching, which turns out to be Rin. Rin points as he calls out that he’s found Akira. He runs up to Akira and crouches over to catch his breath. Akira asks if Rin was looking for him. Rin explains that he didn’t think Akira was coming back, and asks if everything is okay. Then Rin chastises Akira for getting involved in something that would make the Executioners chase him. Rin explains that they’re going to a neutral zone: the Hotel. Rin showed Keisuke the Hotel, but Keisuke wanted to look for Akira himself. Rin drags Akira along by the arm.
They stop as they see a crowd of men gathered. One man points them out to a red-haired man, who turns around as they identify Rin. He walks over, and Rin glares and says his name: Tomoyuki. He greets Rin with, “Yo. Been a while, hasn’t it, Rin?” and says Akira must be Rin’s new partner. His smirk turns to surprise as he looks at Akira’s face, which Akira remarks upon.
Tomoyuki says, “Ain’t he pretty? Well, well, you can be friends with me, too.” He steps toward Akira, but Rin blocks him and glares. Tomoyuki comments that Rin is usually much more hyper, and tells him, “That shit ain’t cute.” Rin tells him to shut up.
Rin walks past Tomoyuki, and Akira follows. Tomoyuki looks affronted, and yells that Rin shouldn’t act proud since he sold out his friends and ran away. Akira looks over his shoulder, but Rin doesn’t. Tomoyuki’s group parts to let them both pass.
Elsewhere, Keisuke leans against a wall and looks up at the Hotel.
Rin stops walking and apologizes to Akira. Akira asks if he means about what happened with Tomoyuki, and brushes it off as no problem. Rin asks if Akira’s not going to ask about it, and isn’t surprised when Akira says he won’t. Akira looks over his shoulder and tells Rin: “If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t.” Rin looks surprised, then rubs the back of his head ruefully and puts his hands on his hips. He calls himself lame.
In the Hotel, Motomi sits at one of the couches. He looks over as Rin tells Akira that Keisuke will go bald from stress if they don’t hurry. Motomi says Keisuke wanted to do one more run around the area. Akira turns around to go look for him, and Motomi shares how Keisuke was very worried. Motomi notices Keisuke entering the Hotel. Keisuke brightens when he sees Akira and runs towards him. He almost puts his hands on Akira and backs off at the last second. Akira walks away as Keisuke asks if Akira is hurt. Keisuke mentions he was surprised about Akira being pulled away by Takeru, and Akira tells him that Rin already told him. Keisuke apologizes, and Akira asks what he’s apologizing about. Keisuke regrets not finding Akira himself. Akira tells Keisuke not to be hard on himself.
Behind Keisuke, Rin carries a large paper bag into view and bumps Keisuke from behind. He puts the bag down, revealing it’s full of Solids and water bottles. Rin points out the desk to trade in tags to Keisuke. Rin sits down and asks if they can do something fun together.
The scene changes to Rin leading the group up some stairs. Keisuke uses the railing, but it breaks, causing him to stumble. Rin insists the stairs are sturdy and stomps a few times, making the wood crumble. Keisuke nervously says they understand. They climb to the roof and admire the view of the city at sunset. Rin explains he found the sight recently, and treats them all to Solids and water; Rin even got canned drinks for Motomi.
Keisuke finds an omelet rice flavor for Akira and shares how it’s probably Akira’s favorite since he eats it often. Rin teases Akira about his childish taste. Akira denies that flavor matters, but Rin insists it’s important to be picky and that his favorite is meat, especially barbeque. Rin asks if Keisuke favors green curry, and Akira comments on the strong smell. Keisuke apologizes and tries to eat quickly. Akira steals a bite, and says they all taste the same.
The passage of time is shown by the lavender moon in the night sky. Keisuke is asleep when Motomi lights a cigarette and thanks Rin for sharing before he leaves. Elsewhere, Shiki shakes blood off his katana and faces the last of many opponents. There is blood on Shiki’s face, too. The man’s hand shakes as he takes a hit of Line, but when the drug kicks in, he grabs a bunch of metal poles and tries to fight Skiki. Shiki’s blade slashes the man twice and he goes down.
Back on the rooftop, Rin is looking through his photos as Akira stares off into the distance. Rin asks Akira about Bl@ster. Akira participated as an individual, but Rin participated as a team because he wanted friends. He gets close to Akira, and announces that he loves Akira’s face before jumping on him. They freeze as Keisuke moves in his sleep, and Rin asks if Akira is feeling awkward. He says no and pushes him off, which makes Rin call him a killjoy. They wrestle.
Meanwhile, another man backs away from all the corpses, and eventually takes off running. Shiki looks over his shoulder. The man reaches the hotel and starts shouting about Shiki by name. Rin hears him, stands up. Rin runs from the roof. He reaches the stairs and skips most of the steps entirely by jumping from pole to wall to the ground. Akira chases after him. In the lobby, one man explains to another that Shiki appeared in district 6, which is close, but that Shiki won’t attack the Hotel. Akira runs through the lobby and heads in the direction other men are fleeing.
A bloody man comes stumbling out of a shadowed alley, and Akira draws his knife. Shiki emerges from the darkness, and calls Akira “that trash from before.” They fight, and Shiki’s katana pushes down against Akira’s knife. Shiki asks if that’s all for Akira’s strength, and he yells at Shiki not to screw with him before getting kicked into glass. Shiki embeds the katana in the ground. He picks up Akira by the neck and shoves him against a wall.
Shiki says: “You still brandish your sword though you know you can’t win.” Akira raises his knife, and Shiki’s other hand catches his wrist. “It seems as though you really want to die.” Shiki tightens his grip until Akira drops the knife. Shiki decides, “I’ll grant you that wish.” as he tightens the hand on Akira’s neck. Akira chokes, but then glares at Shiki and tells him: “J-just… kill me already.”
Shiki’s eyes narrow. He leans closer and asks if Akira is trying to be pushy even though he’s the loser. Shiki says, “Dogs should be like dogs and just bark.” Speaking into Akira’s ear, Shiki offers the possibility of changing his mind if Akira cries and begs for forgiveness. Shiki slams him into the wall again, and Akira uses his feet to kick Shiki off.
Akira falls forward, grabs his knife, and brandishes it against Shiki as he says he’ll never beg. Shiki steps closer and looks down at Akira for a moment before he declares he’ll play with Akira some another time. He grabs his sword and strides away. Akira pushes himself against the wall as he stands up, and says, “So that’s… Shiki…”