"Crack" (決蔑) is the fifth episode of the anime series. The ending theme for the episode is once more again.
Plot[]
A mysterious man appears and offers Takeru the drug Line, which he takes. The man then vanishes. After waking and finding neither Rin nor Akira with him, Keisuke runs off to look for them. Akira is attacked and injured by a Line influenced group, only escaping (with a tag) when the leader of the group starts screaming in agony and collapses after he licks Akira's blood. Shiki meets with Arbitro, and the former gives the latter a black case full with what appears to be enhanced Line. After Motomi saves Akira from trouble with the Executioners, the two decide to go to the hotel, where they meet up with Rin and Keisuke. Akira, irritated by the way Keisuke always makes light of the situation and puts himself down, yells at Keisuke, who, feeling useless, runs away.
Synopsis[]
The fifth episode begins in a hotel at night. The sound of something breaking is heard before a shirtless Takeru runs from a room. The shadows on the wall and the brief images shown are meant to imply Takeru posed as a prostitute and stabbed the man after he took off his clothes, with the goal of stealing his tags. The man curses Takeru and warns him the Executioners won’t ignore his actions. Takeru jumps out a window and takes off down the alley. On the roof, Nano watches Takeru run. Takeru rests by a dumpster and checks out the tags he stole, cursing that they’re just pigs and punching a wall as he wonders why he isn’t getting anywhere.
Nano, who appears to be glowing in the moonlight, approaches Takeru. His voiceover states: “Irritation and impatience are the anguishes of the weak.” Takeru notices Nano standing before him, and looks shocked at the sight.
Nano's calm eyes
Close shots of Nano’s solemn eye and Takeru’s wide and twitching eye are shown, as Nano’s voiceover continues: “At the same time, they still desire the right to either change themselves…” Nano raises his hand, which contains an ampoule of Line. “…seek strength… or abandon their weaknesses.” He tosses the ampoule at Takeru, who catches it and looks down at it. “In the meanwhile, they remain plastered… in the color of lies.” Takeru stands, now alone in the alley, and stares at the place Nano once stood.
In the next scene, Rin is standing near some of the corpses slain by Shiki. He clicks his tongue and comments, “That guy just doesn’t sit still. He really doesn’t waste his time.” He grinds a tag beneath his foot. Some men approach. Rin calls them hyenas. They tell Rin to leave the tags and laugh when Rin draws a blade. He decides that if they’re going to distract him, then he’ll “play.” Screams are heard, followed by a gush of blood.
The "Orphanage"
On the rooftop, Keisuke sits alone. A flashback shows their past at the orphanage. A young Keisuke calls for Akira, looks around for him, and finds Akira sitting alone by fence. Keisuke tries to offer an adhesive bandage like the one on his own face, but Akira rejects it, saying his wound will heal by itself.
Keisuke says Akira was hurt protecting him from bullies. Akira says it’s not a big deal because he didn’t like them. Keisuke apologizes and says this is all he can do for Akira. He looks up to find Akira walking away. He shouts Akira’s name and asks him to wait as the flashback fades into white. Back on the roof, Keisuke opens his eyes and calls for Akira twice. His face falls, and he rushes off.
Elsewhere, Akira flashes back to his fight with Shiki in the previous episode. He sighs, and eventually begins walking, then running as he notices something around. A man with a knife attacks Akira, and Akira subdues him. Two more men run up behind him and curse Akira. Akira turns, and the first man gets up and throws sand at Akira’s face. He rubs his eyes, and the man kicks him and mocks him. The man’s companions hold Akira as he picks up his fallen knife. He taunts Akira, pulls his face up by his bangs, and taps his knife against Akira’s cheek. He comments that Akira is fierce, and licks his cheek. One of his friends says that he should teach Akira what pain is, so he stabs Akira in the arm. Then he licks the blood off of his knife.
Suddenly, the man starts to choke and falls to his knees. The man holding Akira loosens his grip as he asks what’s wrong, and Akira kicks him. Akira pushes the convulsing man on his back and takes his tag before running off.
The next scene begins with a shot of the Palace, still at night. Kau rests his cheek against Arbitro’s knee. A box is tossed onto the table before them, and Kau reacts to the noise. Arbitro soothes him, and tells Kau to wait somewhere else. Arbitro uncrosses his legs and stands. He opens the box to reveal ampoules of red liquid, and says it looks right. He closes the box to revealShiki standing before him. They talk business.
Shiki glances at Kau, who is hiding in a corner, and narrows his eyes. Arbitro asks if there’s something wrong with his “magnum opus.” Shiki says he’s disgusted. Arbitro tells him to leave if that’s all, because he and Kau (called “that child”) need to sleep. Shiki asks if he’s confusing sleep with torture, and strides away.
Arbitro sits in his chair again, expresses his annoyance with Shiki. Kau quickly moves back to put his head on Arbitro’s knee. He pets Kau as he dwells on Shiki. They both stand and walk into Arbitro’s “showroom” of his creations. Arbitro’s drops his jacket on the floor as he declares: “I will never understand what strange people think.” He pulls off his tie and smiles.
Elsewhere, Akira is running through the back alleys and streets. He stops to catch his breath, and looks again at the tag he took as a flashback shows the man convulsing. Akira closes his eyes and pockets the tag. He reasons that the fight did meet the rules of Igura. Akira looks at the blood on his arm, then his eyes widen and he hides. The Executioners cross the street ahead. Gunji sings about being dyed in the color of misery as Kiriwar drags the man Akira fought. Akira steps back and jostles a piece of wood. One of Gunji’s eyes appears among his bangs as he stops and turns to look. Gunji wonders if the sound was a kitty, and both Executioners head towards Akira.
A hand covers Akira’s mouth before he’s pulled back into the shadows by Motomi. Akira draws his knife, before Motomi warns him that they’ll get caught if he makes a sound. Gunji calls for the kitty, and expresses surprise at seeing Motomi standing there. He looks around for the kitty again, and Kiriwar punches his head. Gunji complains that hurt and circles Kiriwar threateningly as Kiriwar talks to Motomi. They begin to leave, but Gunji stops. It briefly appears he’s noticed Akira’s hiding spot, but Gunji only points out that Kiriwar and Motomi are around the same age, so they should get along. Kiriwar drops his corpse to hit Gunji with the pipe. He say Gunji has to carry the man back to the Palace. Gunji grabs the man and curses Kiriwar for the way he “randomly” hits Gunji in the head.
In his hiding place, Akira recalls in another flashback how the man fought him and licked the blood off of his knife. Akira wonders: “Did I do that to him?”
The Hotel lobby is full of Igura participants talking about their exploits. Keisuke stands among the crowd, and wonders if Akira is okay. He clenches the tag around his neck and thinks about how he’ll go home together with Akira. He walks out of the lobby.
Back in the alley, Motomi tells Akira to be more careful of the Executioners. Akira asks why Motomi is there, and he explains that Shiki was in the area so he came to look. He notices Akira’s bleeding arm, and that Akira is alone, too. They head back to the Hotel.
The full emergency kit and tags
In front of the Hotel, Keisuke is looking around. He meets Rin, who asks if he’s alone, before Akira and Motomi appear as well. Rin rushes forward to greet Akira, and Keisuke hesitates before following. Keisuke notices that Akira is injured and rushes back into the Hotel to get him some supplies. Keisuke drops a tags while trying to trade, and Rin steps up and trades for an entire first aid kit with a large number of tags.
Keisuke stares down at the four tags in his hand, and Rin slides the kit over. Rin waves his hand as he tells Keisuke to go to Akira.
On the couch, Motomi examines Akira’s wound and asks if it hurts. Akira denies feeling much pain, but Keisuke appears and insists it might get infected if untreated. Akira accuses Keisuke of overreacting. Motomi opens the kit to deal with Akira as they talk. Rin sits on the couch nearby.
Keisuke says he’s concerned because Akira has been withdrawn, and Akira says Keisuke should leave him alone. Keisuke shouts that he can’t do that because Akira doesn’t take care of himself. Akira asks if Keisuke understands his situation, and pulls out the tag he took earlier. Keisuke congratulates Akira on the win, and they fight. Akira calls Keisuke dishonest as Keisuke tries to qualify that he’s relieved as long as Akira is alive. Akira pushes Keisuke to address the murder inherent to Igura, and says Keisuke never changes and never understands anything. He slams the tag onto the table before them, and asks if Keisuke thought he’d feel better by making light of the situation. Akira says he’s irritated by the sight of Keisuke. Keisuke apologizes and runs away.