"Last Rendezvous" 「胎動弐場 Taidō niba」 is the second episode of Basilisk.
Summary[]
Gennosuke Kōga patiently waits for Oboro at Toki Pass, who arrives shortly. Oboro looks at Gennosuke and runs towards him, tripping on the root of a tree and breaking her sandal. Gennosuke grabs her and saves her from falling. She tells him how she had a feeling of foreboding, unaware of the Kōga Iga War. Gennosuke assures her that the hatred between their clans was now history. He notices her broken sandal and decides to carry her on his back and the two head out. While they walk, Oboro tells Gennosuke about her lack of skills as a ninja, even though she was born into a shinobi house. Gennosuke tells her that it did not matter as such skills would not be needed in the world they were heading into, referring to his marriage with her which was supposed to strengthen the bond between the Kōga and the Iga.
Elsewhere, Jōsuke Udono notices Ogen's hawk carrying the scroll it was carrying. Intrigued, he attacks the hawk and the scroll falls. Before he could retrieve it, he is attacked by a cleaver thrown at him. Rōsai Azuki appears before him and asks him to hand over the scroll as the hawk that was carrying it belonged to the leader of his clan. Jōsuke retrieves the scroll and tells Rōsai that although they had been bitter rivals, they were constricted by the Anti-War Pact. He, however, suggests that they play a "ninpō game" as friends, angering Rōsai even further. Jōsuke then runs off and Rōsai pursues him. Using his ninpō, Elasticity, he catches up to Jōsuke and attacks him. Jōsuke uses his rubber body and flies off and Rōsai catches up him later. The two then fight head-on with each other. Jōsuke manages to escape Rōsai in the end. Elsewhere, Shōgen Kazamachi hurries and reaches an abandoned village. He stops by a river to quench his thirst and scares off some wolves. He resolves to exterminate the Iga in a single night and win the war.
At Danjō Kōga's Mansion, Jūbei Jimushi reads Danjō and Shōgen's stars and tells the other Kōga ninja that he has a strong presage. Gyōbu Kasumi begins to leave when Jūbei tells him that he would go instead. At an unknown location in the mountains, Oboro rests comfortably on Gennosuke's shoulder before she wakes up and apologizes to Gennosuke. Gennosuke assures her that it was alright and they begin to leave for Iga Tsubagakure. Oboro asks him about her practice that they were supposed to have, but Gennosuke tells her that they could do it any other time.
The next morning, as Gennosuke and Oboro traverse the forest and make their way to Tsubagakure, Gennosuke notices the presence of someone following them and they turn back to find Akeginu, Nenki Mino, Jingorō Amayo and Hotarubi, who came looking for Oboro because of her prolonged absence from Tsubagakure. Oboro apologizes for not returning any sooner and Nenki asks Oboro if she had seen Rōsai in the forest as he left upon spotting something in the sky. Jōsuke, still running away from Rōsai, ends up rolling in front of the Iga ninjas and Gennosuke. He looks directly at Oboro's eyes, which causes him to lose control of his ninpō. He begs Gennosuke to ask Oboro to look away from her because of her ninpō which she had been using unintentionally on him. Gennosuke explains that Oboro was born with a specific ninpō that allowed her to break down any ninpō by simply looking at it. Rōsai arrives and orders the other Iga ninjas to retrieve Ogen's scroll from Jōsuke that he had stolen. Gennosuke confronts Jōsuke and retrieves the scroll from him and hands it to Oboro. Before she could open it, Jingorō stops her and asks her not to open the scroll in the Kōga's presence. Although Oboro argues, Gennosuke decides to leave and takes Jōsuke with him. Angered, Oboro throws the scroll at Jingorō and follows them. The other five ninja read the scroll and are shocked to learn the revocation of the Anti-War Pact. They begin plotting immediately and lie to Oboro that relations between the Kōga and the Iga had improved at Sunpu when she asks what the scroll said. Nenki invites Gennosuke to Tsubagakure and Oboro asks for him too. Gennosuke accepts the invitation, but Jōsuke deems the decision reckless. Akeginu seduces Jōsuke into coming to Tsubagakure along with Gennosuke, Oboro and her and the four of them leave.
The remaining four Iga ninja leave to inform Tenzen Yakushiji, their second-in-command, about the situation. To Koshirō Chikuma's dismay, he notices Ogen and Danjō's name striked out in the scroll and assesses that both of them were dead, killed likely by the other's hand. Tenzen is overjoyed to learn the annulment of the Anti-War Pact and the group begin planning their next move.