The Light of a Flashing Sword (きらめく剣の光 Hikari no Tenmetsuno Ken) is the ninth episode of the anime Hakuouki: Reimeiroku (Demon of the Fleeting Blossom: Dawn of the Shinsengumi). It aired on September 3, 2012.
Plot
Ryuunosuke and Kosuzu eating dango
Ryuunosuke eats dango with Kosuzu complaining it is too sweet, and she jokingly tells him off for his manners saying that it would be better to use an excuse like "Dango taste remarkably different when I am with a cute maiko like you". He bluntly admits that he hates lying, and she asks whether it is a lie, so he has to quickly correct his wording and which makes her chuckle. They exchange remarks about Serizawa, and Ryuunosuke informs Kosuzu that Shimabara is going to be quiet for some time as the commander is departing to Osaka. Kosuzu is worried about the geisha and maiko in Osaka but Ryuunosuke promises to make sure Serizawa does not go too rough on them.
Ryuunosuke and Yamazaki fighting
Sharing life stories
As Kosuzu leaves, Ryuunosuke stumbles upon Yamazaki who reprimands him for his behavior asking him whether he has only come to flirt with a geisha. He demands that Ryuunosuke decided whether he is staying or leaving expressing his annoyance with Ryuunosuke's unclear position: not a member but still tags along. As the kid attempts to blame Serizawa for staying, Yamazaki harshly interrupts him and accuses him of not being able to act on his own volition. He goes as far as to call him a pet dog, and Ryuunosule punches him in the face claiming that the Rōshigumi is behind the times pretending to be samurai. Yamazaki punches him back, and they keep fighting.
When the argument is over, Yamazaki shares his story as a son of an acupuncturist who pretended to be a rogue samurai because of dreaming to be a real warrior. After he joined the Rōshigumi and heard Hijikata saying that everyone is going to be treated as a warrior regardless of their upbringing, Yamazaki thought he could become a samurai. In return, Ryuunosuke shares his own life story as he was born into a high-class samurai family but his father was broke so he sold the family armor and died leaving a debt. His mother always judged him for being inept as a warrior, but Ryuunosuke tried to work in order to bring some food to the table.
Serizawa making a scene
Later, as Serizawa goes drinking in Osaka, he forces Shinpachi to accompany him, who, in turn, invites Ryuunosuke. Remembering his promise to Kosuzu, Ryuunosuke agrees. As expected, Serizawa gets drunk and demands a geisha to undress and dance naked, and when she refuses he makes a scene. Unable to stop him, Shinpachi tells Ryuunosuke to bring Kondou, who soon arrives along with Hijikata. As Serizawa demands to cut off the geisha's hair as punishment for such an insult, Ryuunosuke tries to reason with him explaining that he was the first to ask them to strip, but drunk Serizawa punches him hard in the face and demands him to cut the hair instead. When Ryuunosuke refuses, he jokes that if he does it himself he might inadvertently cut off their heads instead. To stop the conflict, Hijikata suggests severing the geisha's chignon and offers to do it himself. The geisha cries and asks for forgiveness but Hijikata does not have a choice.
Ryuunosuke about to draw his sword
A few days later, the news from Osaka has travelled to Kyoto, and all the locals seem to hate the Rōshigumi even more. Ryuunosuke is seen talking to Heisuke, Shinpachi and Saitou, so the locals start whispering that he is their ally. It starts to drive him crazy and he runs away encountering Kosuzu accompanied by two other women who hastily take her away preventing her from talking to Ryuunosuke. Frustrated and aggravated, he marches into Serizawa's room and accuses him of soiling the warrior pride, but the commander is unfazed and brushes off the comment bringing up Ryuunosuke's lowly background. Ryuunosuke is about to draw his sword but hesitates, and Serizawa finds it amusing so he dares him to do it. However, Ryuunosuke keeps having second thoughts mostly due to fear for his life, and Serizawa seems to know exactly why Ryuunosuke is upset as he voices his feelings correctly. He also mentions that Ryuunosuke cannot form the resolve to die since he cannot even form the resolve to live, and his life has no value as he has nothing to dedicate it to being a lowly cur idling away in peace. Niimi interrupts them, and Ryuunosuke runs away. Serizawa is first shown to experience signs of his illness such as dizziness, so he decides to go out drinking again.
Sano and Ryuunosuke having a sincere conversation
As Ryuunosuke is sulking looking at the comb for Kosuzu he bought earlier, Sano finds him and asks about the seriousness of his motives. The kid confesses that he has never felt anything similar for anyone before, but Sano quickly brings him back to earth by reminding him that Kosuzu works in the Red-Light district which means it will cost a fortune to buy her freedom, and the other option would be to stay her patron and turn a blind eye on her pleasing other men. Sano also makes it clear that Ryuunosuke has to have enough resolve to go through with it because otherwise he will only make her cry.
Sasaki and his lady friend right before getting killed
The next scene is with Serizawa, Niimi and Sannan questioning one of the Rōshigumi members named Saiki. Having decided that he has broken the Rules of Conduct, they order him to commit seppuku, and when he starts to beg for forgiveness they offer him a choice between death and drinking Ochimizu. The new Rasetsu seems to have kept his sanity as he acknowledges new powers flowing in him but then he punches Niimi in the stomach and runs away screaming that he does not want to die. While all the captains are looking for Saiki, Sasaki is walking his woman home when they encounter the escaped Rasetsu attacking someone in a dark alley. As they approach to see what is happening, the Rasetsu jumps at them, and they both scream. Next morning Hijikata declares them both dead. He elaborates that the culprit is Saiki since the locals heard animal growling, and the bodies were drained of blood. The Rōshigumi make it their goal to find Saiki in the evening.
Souji kills the Rasetsu
As the night draws to an end and the Rasetsu has not been found, Yamazaki arrives with the news that Saiki has been spotted in Shimabara. Ryuunosuke overhears it and follows Okita there to protect Kosuzu. They quickly find him, and after a few non-lethal strikes Ryuunosuke throws a few wooden buckets at the monster to distract his attention while Okita pieces through his heart. As others arrive, Hijikata dispatches them to make sure nobody comes close and scolds Ryuunosuke for coming, but Okita claims that he was not completely useless and leaves. Hijikata commends Ryuunosuke and sends him back.
Back at the headquarters, Okita asks Sannan whether he sent him to the most dangerous location on purpose, to which Sannan answers affirmatively and calls Souji the Sword of the Rōshigumi.