Mao (2026) s01e08 Episode Script

Miss Nanoka,
NANOKA KIBA
were you able to meet the shikigami
OTOYA
Master Mao sent over on the other side?
Yes.
And I took some time
to think things through.
Mao, where are you taking us?
Ryounkaku.
Also known as the Asakusa Tower.
Ryounkaku?
We passed by it when we arrived
at the Imperial Capital.
It was a magnificent building.
This is Ryounkaku?
MAO
It's in shambles.
MAO
Otoya.
Yes, sir.
Was that a light?
Master Mao.
It's a cursed object
to attract ayakashi.
Huh?
Those things
are from the earthquake!
Otoya!
These are
I knew you'd be coming to kill me!
I don't care who comes for me.
I'll strike them down!
MAO
HYAKKA
I didn't think it was possible
But are you
Hyakka, the senior apprentice?
HYAKKA
Hyakka, the senior apprentice?
You look a little different, but
Aren't you
Mao, the traitor?!
Traitor?!
Because of you, we!
They're coming!
Hyakka, tell me what happened.
That sword
Is that the Sword of Hagunsei?
It is.
It was given to me by our Master.
MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN
This sword symbolizes
MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN
that you are my successor.
that you are my successor.
Mao
I am entrusting you
with all the secret scrolls passed down
through the generations.
Me? His successor?
But This sword is
Mao, are you happy to have
received that sword?
Lady Sana.
SANA
No. You are not that foolish, are you?
I am aware.
Receiving the Sword of Hagunsei
is no cause for celebration.
It's a blade of ill omen.
I had no idea
that the Sword of Hagunsei
was such a formidable blade
and that it could even deflect
the attacks of the Great Hyakka.
I've never seen someone
give themselves a title before.
I've lived in this world a long time,
but that may be a first, even for me.
That cursed sword
is wasted in your hands!
I'm not done yet!
It's mine!
Hyakka!
You mustn't touch that sword!
Oh, that's right!
If anyone other than Mao
or myself touches that sword,
the poison of the Byouki's blood
will enter their body.
Hyakka!
He's dead.
What? He's dead?!
Mao! Come here!
Come straight toward me.
Yes, Hyakka.
Oh It's so obvious he buried
something there.
It's probably a cursed object.
What's the matter?
Just walk straight toward me.
He wants me to step on it?
Alright. I'm coming.
How was that?
Pretty awesome, right, Mao?
Truly impressive, Hyakka.
Darn right! It's impressive.
Oh, no!
Put out the fire!
Hyakka!
You imbecile!
- Ouch!
He’s in for a scolding
It's always you!
- Sorry!
He was your senior apprentice?
Yes.
His appearance has changed a bit,
but his demeanor and techniques
are just as they were back then.
It's definitely Hyakka.
Why was he living in these times?
Is he really dead?
Yes. He drew his last breath.
I had so many questions for him
It's unfortunate.
Master Mao, what should
we do with the body?
Should we bury him?
What?!
Otoya! That would be
abandonment of a corpse!
Abandonment of a corpse?
Yes! It's absolutely wrong to do that!
I thought I was done for!
Want a towel?
Yeah.
He's got such a big attitude.
But he's so short.
So you're Mao's senior apprentice.
But aren't you younger than him?
What of it?
Hyakka started his training
ten days before I did.
That makes me his senior!
Oh, I get it.
Just like in comedy,
whoever started first is senior, right?
There goes her bizarre
interpretations again.
So
You've been alive
all this time like Mao?
I've nearly died plenty of times.
But here I am, still alive.
Why can't you die?
Wait
When he touched
the Sword of Hagunsei earlier,
Hyakka clearly died.
Unlike me, who merged
with the Byouki's body,
something is different.
You know, Mao
You think the Master
favored you, don't you?
Huh?
Have you ever seen
the Master's face?
His face?
The right side of the Master's face
was always hidden by a mask.
Whether it was an injury
or the scars of some illness
he never once removed it.
I saw it.
It was shortly after
he named you the successor.
He summoned several
other senior apprentices and me
to the Goshikido near
the outskirts of the compound.
The Goshikido has five walls,
each with its own entrance.
It was built in a way that each of us
could enter without seeing each other.
I don't know who else was summoned
because the inside
was partitioned by walls.
As you are already aware,
the many secret arts passed down
through the Goko Clan
trace their lineage back to
the traditions of Jugondo,
a form of jujutsu sorcery forbidden
in the present age.
They include not only killing spells,
but resurrection spells to summon
back the spirits of the dead,
and secret spells
to manipulate lifespans at will.
I have decided to bestow them all on Mao.
Is there anyone who objects?
W-Why?
Why
Why Mao?
Wasn't it because he was talented?
Hardly, he never took it seriously.
He could barely cast a single spell.
I see.
I never cared much for curses.
If any among you believe you are worthy
of inheriting the secret arts
then curse Mao to death.
The five gathered here
shall battle one another
for the right to inherit the secret arts.
Whoever survives in the end
shall be the true successor.
If you lack the resolve to do that
then die right here!
Thus have the secret arts of Jugondo
been passed down through the generations.
I, too, survived
a battle of deadly curses
and was the last one standing.
Mao is being offered to all
of you as a sacrifice.
MAO
Mao is being offered to all
of you as a sacrifice.
I was meant to be a sacrifice?
The five senior apprentices
were supposed to curse Mao,
and whoever killed him first
would win?
That's horrible!
I was the lowest-ranking
among his many apprentices,
and I'd trained far less
than the others.
Yet the Master was strangely fond of you.
But you could barely use
even the most basic jujutsu.
Mao
I entrust to you all the secret scrolls
passed down through the generations.
Why Mao?
He's not worthy.
Jealousy and resentment
Negative emotions swirled all around me.
Master said it himself.
To inherit the many secret curses,
it is essential for one to possess
the energy born from dark emotions.
From the very start, the Master probably
intended for you to be a sacrifice.
You probably just didn't know it.
So that was the reason why
the Master bestowed the Sword
of Hagunsei upon me.
What do you mean?
Surely Hyakka already knows, but
Huh?!
TONRO, KOMON, ROKUSON, MONGOKU
Hagunsei is the seventh star of the Big Dipper.
RENCHO, MUGOKU, HAGUN
Hagunsei is the seventh star of the Big Dipper.
RENCHO, MUGOKU, HAGUN
A sinister star that is said to bring misfortune
TONRO, KOMON, ROKUSON, MONGOKU
in every direction it points.
RENCHO, MUGOKU, HAGUN
Oh
So when I was given this sword,
I wondered, why entrust me
with something so ill-omened?
I see.
Yeah, the Hagunsei
Totally knew about that.
This guy had no clue.
Is that why?!
You realized you'd been cursed, and before
the rest of us could curse you to death,
you joined forces with Byouki?!
Joined forces?
Huh?!
That is a misunderstanding.
Mao, can it be that you don't know?
We were framed.
Both you and I.
Hyakka
Mao, as far as I'm concerned,
I don't give a damn that
our crazy Master died
or that the compound was destroyed.
But
Why did you have
to kill Lady Sana, too?!
That's the one thing I cannot forgive!
Lady Sana
Lady Sana?
Who's that?
You're saying Master Mao killed her?
That's what the senior apprentices said.
I don't ever want to see
your face again.
I'm done with you!
I killed Lady Sana?
Um
Who is Lady Sana?
She was the Master's daughter.
He killed her?
Did Mao really kill that woman?
What did I do on that day?
I can't remember anything.
Mao.
Only two rice balls each.
I heard that another
young girl disappeared.
Maybe she moved to another shelter?
No, the rumor is
The son of Lord Ibaraki,
the man letting us stay on these grounds,
is responsible for those incidents.
I heard those rumors, too.
Even before the earthquake,
they said he was always causing trouble
and the family was covering it up.
TANEHIKO IBARAKI
Kuchinawa.
My, my.
Master Tanehiko.
KUCHINAWA
You’ve gone and done it again.
It's quite the talk of the town.
Despite all the chaos
of the big earthquake.
Oh, don't worry about it.
I make sure to choose girls
with no family ties.
That girl said it was the first time she
had filled her belly with white rice.
She looked so delighted.
I'm sure she died
completely satisfied.
And besides, Kuchinawa
I can rest easy knowing
you'll clean everything up for me.
Yes, Master Tanehiko.
Before the big earthquake,
this was a splendid greenhouse.
I'm sorry.
You deserve a more
beautiful resting place.
You mean you don't know, Uozumi?
Not even about Lady Sana?
NANOKA'S GRANDPA
I was created much later.
FUNA UOZUMI
I don't know anything about
Master Mao's younger days.
Sorry to keep you waiting, Shiraha.
SHIRAHA
Oh, not at all!
Your room has a cute, retro vibe.
Think so? Thanks.
I wanted to ask you about Jugondo.
Right. Jugondo
Broadly speaking
It was a medical art that used
jujutsu to protect people
from evil energies
believed to cause illness.
A medical art?
Back in the Nara period,
under the Ritsuryo system of government,
there was a medical bureau
called the Tenyakuryo.
Practitioners known as Jugon sorcerers
served there as government officials.
While they employed jujutsu
for treating illnesses,
they could also use kodoku,
which utilizes poisonous creatures,
and Enmi, which uses
cursed dolls to kill people.
How were they connected to onmyoji?
Separate from the Tenyakuryo,
there was also the Onmyoryo bureau.
It was a specialized institution devoted
to astronomy and the calendar.
But in the Heian period,
belief in curses caused by
vengeful spirits and demons,
known as Goryo Shinko,
became widespread,
leading to the use of Onmyodo spells to
ward off disasters and seal away evil spirits.
Meanwhile, Jugondo came to be
seen as dangerous
due to repeated incidents involving
Enmi and kodoku.
TENYAKURYO: JUGON DIVISION
So the Tenyakuryo was absorbed
(MEDICAL JUJUTSU, KILLING SPELLS)
into the Onmyoryo
ONMYORYO: ONMYO, CALENDAR, ASTRONOMY,
and the Jugon system was abolished.
AND WATER CLOCK DIVISIONS
and the Jugon system was abolished.
Absorbed by the Onmyoryo
And about the Goko Clan
you mentioned
No matter how much I searched,
I couldn't find anything.
It might not be the right time
to ask Mao about this.
Why did you have to kill
Lady Sana, too?!
Mao looked more shaken than usual.
Who was Lady Sana to him?
I have no idea why she's making me
research all this stuff.
Oh, but
Kiba's room sure smells nice.
Haimaru.
Come down.
Lady Sana!
I'll bring him down.
Hyakka.
HAIMARU
Come, Haimaru.
Haimaru! Stop that!
Please allow me.
Come.
Oh, my.
Haimaru hates being touched by
anyone but me.
Haimaru, do you like Mao?
Lady Sana
Now that I think about it,
was I being targeted
from the very beginning?
Oh, they've cleaned up a bit.
The clinic survived the fires.
Oh, Miss Nanoka.
Everyone has been so helpful.
I feel awkward talking to him.
Nanoka.
You're not afraid of me?
Afraid of you?
Although I don't have
any recollection
I may have killed
the Master's daughter.
I may have killed Lady Sana.
Well, when you put it that way,
I suppose I am afraid, but
Say
What is it?
Were you two
a couple?
Huh?
If you are to inherit
all of the secret scrolls
that means you will
become my husband.
Lady Sana, is that acceptable to you?
I will obey my father's wishes.
But Lady Sana
Did I ask something
I shouldn't have?
Young lady
It's dangerous to be walking around
alone in a place like this.
Why don't you hop in?
TENKO
No, thank you.
I'm looking for someone.
A fellow waitress went to check on
relatives living nearby
and she never returned.
There have been rumors
that several young women have
disappeared in this area,
so I became worried.
Is that so?
Well now, what a fine-looking woman.
Guess the trip out here was worth it,
after all.
NEXT TIME
A number of young women have gone missing.
A number of young women have gone missing.
I'm positive that man
is the one responsible.
Are you here to kill me?
If Mao is still alive, then the other
senior apprentices might also be
Nanoka, please come over here.
Why should I?
Those giant frogs don’t even have navels,
and the staff’s too short!
I'm scared! It's gross!
I can't do it! No way!
Next time: "Kamon."