Yoshitake Shiraishi/Story

Overview
**Story**
Gallery

## Background

Shiraishi was born in Southern Kanto region. As a baby, he was abandoned in a temple, which was old and ran by a single priest. While still a kid, Shiraishi ran away from the temple and lived on his own. In his youth, Shiraishi was first arrested for robbery and was put into juvenile prisons but broke out of them multiple times. After he had turned 20, he was sent to Kabato Prison where the guards kept a careful watch on him. While at Kabato Prison, he was put into a communal cell with Chouan Kumagishi and Zenjirou Shibukawa.

One day, the guards called out all the prisoners to show them the body of a prisoner who had killed a guard and attempted to escape. Shiraishi comments that only a moron would break out during outside labor, which the guard hears. He berates Shiraishi and orders him to take off his clothes for a strip search. A dung beetle comes out of his armpit and when inquired about it, he says that it is his conversation partner and threatens to escape while the guard is on duty, when he tries to step on it.

Back in his cell, as he putting his clothes back on, Kumagishi asked him why he said that, to which Shiraishi says that it would be easier for the guards to capture any prisoners that tries to flee in the day, and that escape must be done at night. Kumagishi asks him to take him with him when he flees and Shiraishi asks what he can offer for him. He says that he is a good artist and draws him a shunga picture of a nun known as Sister Miyazawa.

At first Shiraishi is not impressed with the quality of the drawing, but keeps it close to him for comfort and also to masturbate. On one such occasion, he was caught by his cellmate Shibukawa who asks him if he knows why the prisoners are put into each cells in odd numbers. He replies that it would be easier to make escape plans with only two people, but Shibukawa says it is to stop them from raping each other.

He wanted to know more about Sister Miyazawa so he made his plans to escape with Kumagawa and help from other prisoners and were able to make a copy of the key to the prisons. However, the guards barged into his cell saying that they had received a report that he was hiding a key and after a strip search managed to find it beneath his tongue. As a result, he was sent to the Black Room where he spots a stag beetle on the wall. Inside, he reveals that the key the guards had was a fake, that he had hidden the real key inside his anus, that he had asked another prisoner to make the report and that he had planned to escape without Kumagishi. He then decides to wait around for a stormy night to cover up the sounds of his escape.

During his stay in the Black Rooms, he is stripped down by the guards numerous times and on at least one occasion was submitted to an anal cavity search, where he had previously hidden his key. The guards search every corner of his room for any tools that he may use to escape, and one of them notices the stag beetle sitting on the wall. Shiraishi tells them not to kill it and threatens to escape on their watch if they do. The truth was that he had hollowed out the stag beetle's body and stored the key inside it. With this, a stormy night eventually came, and Shiraishi successfully made his escape.

Immediately after breaking out of Kabato Prison, Shiraishi went to a gambling hall where he asked some of the recently released yakuza members for information about Sister Miyazawa. One of them directs him to Maebashi Prison in Gunma prefecture. However the guard recognizes him and have him thrown in. He is unable to find any information about the sister but a guard did tell him about a sister at Kanazawa Prison in Ishikawa prefecture. With that, he starves himself so that he is skinny enough to break out and heads to Kanazawa Prison where he is thrown in again due to a tip off by the Maebashi guards. He broke out once more and went to Akita Prison and Kyoto Prison. He broke out of every prisons that he has became known as the "Escape King".

After being caught stealing vegetables by a farmer, he was turned in over to the police and sent to Abashiri Prison. At Abashiri, he became cellmates with Tetsuzou Nihei and Kazuo Henmi. He asked them about Sister Miyazawa, but they came up with nothing. One day, he along with Nihei, Henmi, and Gotou were being escorted by a guard when he spotted nun heading inside a building. Thanks to Henmi tackling their guard, he was able to meet and confirm that the nun is Sister Miyazawa. However, upon seeing her face, he saw that the drawing was an exact likeness of her appearance and he gave up on chasing her.

## Plot

### Escape King Arc

Shiraishi first meets Asirpa and Sugimoto when he gets caught in one of their traps set in the forest. Once they have tied up Shiraishi to the tree, Asirpa starts copying his tattoo on paper while Sugimoto tries to interrogate him. Shiraishi keeps silent, and Sugimoto sarcastically wonders if the trap crashed his windpipe. Shiraishi attempts to taunt Asirpa by calling her Sugimoto's pet dog, which infuriates Sugimoto and makes him squeeze his face and threaten to break his jaw. Asirpa stops Sugimoto and tells him that she is used to hearing such things so she isn't bothered. Sugimoto lets go off Shiraishi but thinks to himself that one doesn't have to get used to being berated.

Asirpa alerts Sugimoto that she's found a hare. While the two are busy catching the hare, Shiraishi manages to break out of his bonds. He is revealed to be the legendary Escape King and genius at breaking out of any confinement. Shiraishi spits out a razor blade wrapped in waterproof oil paper and tied up to his tooth with a horsehair, then uses his amazing agility to cut the ropes and set himself free.

Asirpa sees Shiraishi escape and warns Sugimoto, who immediately chases after him. Sugimoto pursues Shiraishi to a cliff, which Shiraishi tries to climb down. Sugimoto draws his gun, saying he will shoot Shiraishi unless he goes back, but Shiraishi tells him to just shoot, since getting shot or later makes no difference for him. The two men are interrupted by a loud sound, which Sugimoto assumes is gunfire. However, it's *nipus hum*, "the sound of trees splitting", a phenomena where a sudden drop in temperature causes the sap in the trees to freeze and the trunk to split open. The sound of the wave of cold produces an avalanche, and Sugimoto and Shiraishi try to escape it. However, the snow under their feet starts breaking, and the two fall down into the cold river.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi fall into the icy water, and both of them start panicking, fearing of dying of hypothermia. As they get out of water, Sugimoto tells Shiraishi to go gather *sitat*, but Shiraishi doesn't understand him. Sugimoto tries to light up the matches he has on him, but it doesn't work. Dazed from freezing, Shiraishi attempts to rub wood together to start a fire, but to no avail. It dawns on Sugimoto that he can use a rifle and its bullets to start a fire. Unfortunately, his rifle is out of reach, and the ammo pouch has no bullets inside. Sugimoto stubbornly refuses to give up and declares himself Sugimoto the Immortal once more before entering the water again. Shiraishi is confused, but Sugimoto tells him to search for cartridges with him unless he wants to die.

Hearing it, Shiraishi offers Sugimoto a deal: he will help him if he lets him go. Sugimoto yells that it's not the time to make a deal as they might die if they don't start the fire soon. Shiraishi counters him, claiming he will die no matter what and he'd rather see Sugimoto freeze to death first. Sugimoto continues to frantically search for the bullets but tells Shiraishi that if he really wanted he would have killed him and skinned him earlier; they only wanted to hold him captive until they find the gold. Shiraishi asks Sugimoto one more time if he is taking the deal, and Sugimoto finally agrees.

Shiraishi spits out a cartridge that he has had on him but only remembered about some moments ago. The two put the cartridge in a split log with birch tree shavings and Sugimoto hits it with a bayonet and a rock. As they see that they've managed to make a fire, overjoyed Sugimoto and Shiraishi put their arms around each other. Later, while their clothes is drying, Shiraishi tells Sugimoto what he knows about Abashiri Convicts. He reveals that there are a total of 24 prisoners, although it is unknown how many are still alive. Shiraishi claims to not know anything about Noppera-bou's friends, saying only their leader who took charge of escape does. Sugimoto asks who was that man, and Shiraishi responds that they thought he was just an old quiet man, a political prisoner. However, it was merely a façade: during the prisoners' escape, their leader pulled a sword away from one soldier and killed three of them in the blink of an eye. Shiraishi says that it might be a rumor, but the prisoner is actually the merciless Vice-Commander of Shinsengumi Hijikata Toshizou, who was thought to be dead.

Before Shiraishi leaves, he shares another thing with Sugimoto: Noppera-bou told all convicts to head to Otaru. Sugimoto threatens Shiraishi that he next time he meets him he will take his tattoo. He then warns him to forget about the gold and adds that there are more people who are after it, like the 7th Division who are seasoned war veterans. Shiraishi looks back at Sugimoto and tells him that whatever the situation, he will always escape since he is the Escape King.

Shiraishi is next seen when Asirpa and Retar go to Otaru searching for Sugimoto. After picking up the scent, Retar points to a building where Sugimoto is supposed to be. Asirpa and Retar get inside, and Retar finds a sleeping man there. Asirpa takes out the *sutu* and hits the man, assuming it's Sugimoto, but after lighting the *cinoyetat* she sees Yoshitake Shiraishi before her, who she calls "excrement king". Asirpa wonders why Retar would take her to Shiraishi since he wouldn't follow the wrong scent. Shiraishi says he is there on his own, and Asirpa explains that she gave Sugimoto's sock to Retar to follow its scent. Shiraishi realizes that he and Sugimoto must have mixed up their socks after they dried their clothes. Asirpa makes a disgusted face and calls it gross. Shiraishi wonders if Sugimoto double-crossed Asirpa and left with taking all the tattooed skins they gathered. He then reveals that he heard a rumor of a some guy in a military cap starting a fight in the red-light district and then being taken to the 7th Division home base. Asirpa points her arrow at Shiraishi, demanding he take her to the 7th Division's base.

Shiraishi reluctantly agrees but says he needs to wash his face first. Asirpa thinks of how she knew something bad would happen to Sugimoto. She is then alerted by Retar and notices that Shiraishi is running away. The Escape King climbs the roofs and digs a tunnel under a fence, but he is caught by Retar. Asirpa claims that Shiraishi can try running all he wants, but he will never escape the tracking ability of a *Horkew Kamuy*.

Asirpa and Shiraishi arrive to the 7th Division]] barracks. Shiraishi says that there's about 30 soldiers at any given time; he mentions that the building used to be a store and that's why the windows have bars on them. Shiraishi tells Asirpa that the 7th Division are too dangerous to go against and they might already be too late. Asirpa remains confident that Sugimoto is still alive. She claims that Sugimoto is a man who is hard to kill and that he never lets his fear of death control him. Asirpa reminisces of Sugimoto fighting a bear and jumping into its den, saying that no one but her father would be able to do that. Shiraishi climbs to the window of Sugimoto's cell and sees that the fight between Sugimoto and the Nikaidou twins is stopped by the soldiers who heard the ruckus. Lt. Tsurumi orders to keep the twins away from Sugimoto, and the soldiers tie up Sugimoto while commenting on how he was able to fight even with his hands and feet restrained. Shiraishi goes back to Asirpa and tells her that Sugimoto is alive, which cheers her up. Shiraishi comes up with an escape plan and strikes a deal with Asirpa: he is willing to bet it all on Asirpa and Sugimoto and rescue the soldier but in return he wants part of the gold. Asirpa agrees and says that she doesn't care about the gold so Shiraishi and Sugimoto can just split it between each other.

Shiraishi explains the plan to Asirpa: they must tie a long rope to the four corners of the metal bars on the window, then Shiraishi sneaks into Sugimoto's cell and signals Asirpa. In her turn, Asirpa will have to tie a rope to one of the horses in advance and then make it run when Shiraishi gives the signal. The horse will yank the bars off, making it possible for Shiraishi and Sugimoto escape. Shiraishi asks if Asirpa has soap so he can lather up his body to slip through the bars easier. Asirpa says that she has none; however, she has some bear grease for cooking.

Sugimoto is lying in his cell when he is spooked by Shiraishi who he assumes is a monster. Shiraishi reminds him that he is the Escape King and explains that he came to rescue Sugimoto for an Ainu girl who threatened to shoot him with a poison arrow if he didn't help. When Shiraishi tries to undo Sugimoto's handcuffs, someone approaches the door to Sugimoto's cell. It turns out to be the Nikaidou twins who came to take their revenge. Shiraishi hides in the room and keeps low. When Sugimoto attacks and kills Youhei, Shiraishi becomes an unwitting witness.

After Sugimoto successfully escapes from Tsurumi, the First Lieutenant goes back to the 7th Division barracks and one of the soldiers reports that someone set fire to the barracks. Tsurumi looks at the building on fire and comments that maybe the 7th Division should leave finding the tattooed skins to Sugimoto and his accomplices as they seem to be somewhat more competent than them. Another soldier tells Tsurumi that they were unable to retrieve the tattooed skin from the First Lieutenant's personal quarters. Tsurumi replies that they don't have to worry about it and unbuttons his jacket, demonstrating a shirt made from the tattooed skin. Shiraishi, who has disguised himself as one of the soldiers, notes that this is why he couldn't find the skin.

After getting away from the 7th Division, Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi, have to decide what to do with the horse. Sugimoto wants to keep it, but Shiraishi disagrees, claiming the horse will stand out and that disposing of it will be the best option. Asirpa says that she wants to give Retar a reward for helping them, so Shiraishi concludes its decided and shoots the horse while Sugimoto watches it with sadness in his eyes. After killing the horse, Shiraishi proposes they make sakura nabe, a dish made of horse meat. Shiraishi leaves to a nearby farm to get some eggs, and Asirpa and Sugimoto stay alone.

Shiraishi returns with a lot of food that he received from farmers, which he believes is attributed to the army uniform he is wearing. The group goes to one of the hunting huts and get to cooking. However, the atmosphere is tense, and Shiraishi notices it, saying they should eat some tasty food and make up. When the nabe is ready, Shiraishi and Sugimoto proceed to eating it. Before Asirpa takes a bite, she hears Shiraishi say that there's miso in the nabe. She looks disgusted and asks Sugimoto if there's really *osoma* in the food. Sugimoto confesses that miso is an integral part of sakura nabe. Shiraishi is confused by Asirpa's reaction, and Sugimoto explains that Asirpa thinks that miso is poop; Shiraishi laughs it off as cultural differences between the Japanese and the Ainu. Sugimoto apologizes and promises he will make the nabe again without miso. However, Asirpa forces herself to eat the nabe and actually finds the *osoma* delicious.

On another day, Asirpa asks Sugimoto where's the Excrement King, and Sugimoto replies that Shiraishi went to town to gather intel.

### Legendary Hunter Arc

Shiraishi returns from town and waits for Sugimoto and Asirpa in the hut. He presents them a bottle of sake, and the trio proceed to cook the deer meat. Asirpa feeds Shiraishi some brain while Sugimoto eats raw lungs. She then announces they're going to make *citatap* from deer's windpipe, *sewri*. Shiraishi starts chopping the windpipe but seems disappointed as he wanted to eat some actual meat. Asirpa, who's already drunk some sake, yells at Shiraishi for not saying *citatap* out loud. She calls Shiraishi and Sugimoto pathetic little city boys for not being able to enjoy raw meat and agrees to cook loin meat, even roasting it using salt.

The trio enjoys their meal and drinks, getting progressively more drunk. When Sugimoto says he is already full and can't finish his food, Asirpa gets mad and slaps Shiraishi, then passionately delivers a speech on honoring one's prey and remembering it after death. Asirpa starts crying and begs Sugimoto to not die. Sugimoto says he is immortal, and Shiraishi feeds Asirpa another spoon of *citatap* to comfort her. Asirpa shouts that *citatap* is wonderful and jumps, breaking through the roof of their hunting hut. Meanwhile, Shiraishi tells Sugimoto that he's managed to get some info about a tattooed convict from a fur trader. The prisoner is Tetsuzou Nihei.

Sugimoto asks Shiraishi about Nihei, and Shiraishi describes him as an older man with graying hair, carrying a Type 18 single shot rifle, and accompanied by a brown Ainu hunting dog. Sugimoto realizes that this matches the appearance of the man he and Asirpa saw earlier. Shiraishi then reveals that the fur trader in town told him that Nihei asked about the money he'd get for the pelt of a white wolf. Asirpa is shocked to hear it: Tanigaki was hunting for Retar and not her. Next morning, Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi set out to find Nihei and Tanigaki to protect Retar.

Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi notice the smoke rising in the distance. Asirpa says it's rising from the place where they killed the deer yesterday. They reach the place Sugimoto and Shiraishi spot Nihei, but Shiraishi can't confirm his identity unless he sees his face. Sugimoto tells Asirpa to stay put and use her bow as a back-up while he and Shiraishi get closer to Nihei who is preparing an ambush to catch Retar. After Asirpa scares Retar away and Sugimoto confronts Nihei, he asks Shiraishi to confirm Nihei's identity, which makes Nihei realize that the two men came after his tattoo.

Nihei and Sugimoto get into a fight, Sugimoto shouts at Shiraishi to get his gun but Shiraishi is stopped by Nihei's dog Ryu. While Nihei and Sugimoto face off each other in a deadly match, Shiraishi attempts to wrestle Ryu to retrieve the gun. Once armed, Shiraishi draws the gun at Nihei and warns the hunter. Tanigaki takes Asirpa hostage and orders Shiraishi and Sugimoto to drop their weapons. Shiraishi calls out to Tanigaki, saying he should be ashamed of using an innocent child as a hostage. Tanigaki doesn't budge and claims that the last time he saw Asirpa she was carrying a tattooed skin so they shouldn't pretend she has nothing to do with the situation.

Asirpa tries to reason with Tanigaki, telling him that her life isn't worth much to Shiraishi and he will start shooting. She says there's no need for them to shed blood and it's better to calm down and stop fighting. Tanigaki shouts that he doesn't care whether Asirpa gets hurt in the process, and Sugimoto gives in, telling Shiraishi to drop the gun. Sugimoto then asks Nihei to take Asirpa away so she wouldn't see them being killed. Nihei agrees and asks Tanigaki to get him some ropes to tie Sugimoto and Shiraishi up. Sugimoto and Shiraishi exchange looks, silently coming up with an escape plan. Nihei proceeds to bandage his injured hand while Tanigaki takes Asirpa away, much to her protest. Distracted by a sudden memory of his daughter, Nihei doesn't notice that Shiraishi and Sugimoto managed to flee. Nihei alerts Tanigaki of the two men escaping.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi find Asirpa and see Retar and another wolf near deadly injured Nihei. Lastly, Tanigaki joins the others to say his goodbye to Nihei. Asirpa insists they take Tanigaki and Ryu with them to the Ainu village. Shiraishi, who's been carrying Tanigaki on the stretcher, takes a break and says he is going to rest until Sugimoto catches up.

### Immortal Beast Arc

After the ordeal with the bears and the yakuza, Shiraishi listens on as Kiroranke states that Asirpa's great-aunt would be glad to see her daughter's clothing again. When Dun takes out a book from a chest he had, Shiraishi reacted with horror to see that the book was made out of a human face skin. (70) They return to Huci's sister's kotan, and he along with Kiroranke heads out to capture some fishes while Sugimoto and Asirpa harvests some plants. Upon returning, they proclaim to Sugimoto and Asirpa that they were able to catch some Masu salmon, and Shirashi notes that Sugimoto had eaten some butterbur leaves to which Sugimoto points out that he had done the same. Shiraishi then turns his attention to Asirpa and sees that she had eaten too much, and so they laugh in amusement.

Back inside the kotan, they are enjoying a hot pot of Icaniw ohaw. After Asirpa falls asleep, he asks Sugimoto what the stuff on his face was and he says it's just medicine to help his scars heal. He says that Sugimoto may be popular with the ladies and wonders if he has a woman back home, but Kiroranke tells him to lay off him. Eventually, Shiraishi falls asleep next to Asirpa and is woken up the next morning when she hits him in disgust. The group then leaves Huci's sister's kotan and sets out for Abashiri.

### Edogai Arc

In the town of Yubari, when Asirpa tries to sell the bear's gall bladder, the buyer attempts to scam her only to get threatened by Sugimoto and Kiroranke. Shiraishi tries to calm the situation down, saying that the two men are war veterans and that they don't have restraints. To this, Sugimoto just hits him and continues to intimidate the man. Despite being constantly hit by Sugimoto, Shiraishi just acts nonchalantly, talking to the buyer. Later, the group heads to a river, where they play around and catches some lamprey. Shiraishi fails to catch one, resulting in Kiroranke telling him to go play with Asirpa, who had been catching some brook lamprey with her foot. When Sugimoto attempts to catch one too, he grabs Shiraishi's toe, which causes him to fall over. As Shiraishi got up, Asirpa points out a lamprey that had gotten itself stuck on Shiraishi's head, and Kiroranke suggests that they should get to cooking.

Huddled around a campfire as Kiroranke prepares the meal, Shiraishi gives some cooking instructions to him for some unaju made with lamprey. When Shiraishi comments that lamprey are made of nothing but bones, Kiroranke tells them of an Ainu legend in which a bear was struck down and killed by a god, and its intestines became the lamprey. Hearing this, Asirpa makes a joke about Shiraishi's flexibility and how he was originally the bear's penis, much to Shiraishi's annoyance.

Back in Yubari, Shiraishi is scouting around town with Sugimoto when they spot a soldier of the 7th Division and decides to tail him. They see him enter and leave a store in a hurry and Sugimoto decides to investigate the store. Inside, Shiraishi spots a dead body as well as several puppets at a table. At this, he spots Hyakunosuke Ogata with a gun telling him to be quiet and that he had heard about him from Hijikata. Ogata intimidates Shiraishi to get Sugimoto to leave the store and get in Tsukishima's way. They then head around town to look for the soldier when they see him rolling by in a mine cart. Sugimoto tells Shiraishi that they're going after them and that they should find a mine cart.

Shiraishi and Sugimoto chases after Tsukishima and Edogai into the Yubari mines. As Sugimoto and Tsukishima exchange gunfire, Shiraishi is hit by some rocks that Edogai throws at them. They were able to catch up Tsukishima and Edogai and tries to board their cart but Tsukishima triggers a switch that causes them to go separate ways. They are then caught in a big explosion as a result of the gas mixing with the dynamite explosives. This explosion causes a windblast which causes yet another blast. As a result, Shiraishi got knocked out and Sugimoto was forced to carry his body. However, due to the gas in the air, Sugimoto collapses to the ground with Shiraishi on his back.

Sugimoto carries Shiraishi to a boarded exit and he attempts to break it down with his rifle. Upon making a small opening, he takes Shiraishi's head and puts it to the hole in order to supply him with clean air. However, Ushiyama was able to break through the barricade and carries the both of them out from the mine. He was able to regain consciousness and received some clean water to drink. When Ogata comes out from the mines, he offered to take the group back to Edogai store where he revealed Tsurumi's plan to use fake tattooed skins. Hijikata then appears carrying a cat and a tattooed skin, saying that they must discern whether the skin is real or not.

### Con Artists Arc

When Sugimoto questions Hijikata if they've met before, Shiraishi begins to panic and is worried that if Sugimoto finds out he's been leaking information to Hijikata, that he might kill him without any hesitation. As the atmosphere grows heavier and with Nagakura inside the room as well, Shiraishi only grows more frantic. The heavy mood is dispersed by Asirpa's stomach loudly grumbling and Ienaga pops in to suggest that they eat and continue the conversation over dinner. At the table, Shiraishi asks Ienaga if the nanko nabe she made is really safe to eat, and Ienaga tells him that it is made from horse intestines, which makes Kiroranke spit out his food due to his policy of not eating horse meat.

When Sugimoto and Ogata gets into an argument, Shiraishi asks them not to fight while they are eating. As Hijikata is showing concern about how they can distinguish the fake skins from the real ones, Ienaga says she might know someone who could help them, a man named Chouan Kumagishi. Hearing his name, Shiraishi comments that he was arrested for making counterfeit money. Later on, Shiraishi heads to the mines along with Kiroranke and Nagakura in order to find Sergeant Tsukishima's body, but a miner there tells them they haven't found any uniformed corpses.

Shiraishi and Kiroranke heads to another area where Shiraishi attempts to pull out a lily bulb but fails as he had not made any preparations. The two then regroup with Hijikata, Nagakura and Ienaga and when Kiroranke and Ienaga questions how they can privately meet Kumagishi, Shiraishi boasts that he had been thrown into every prisons and broken out of them all. But Hijikata says that there would be no need for that as Nagakura has some connections at Kabato Prison and can arrange a private meeting with Kumagishi.

Shiraishi asks Nagakura to give him his regards, which Nagakura questions if they've met before. Shiraishi then begins to tell them about his past at Kabato Prison and how he knew Kumagishi. After finishing his story, Ienaga and Kiroranke had fallen asleep and Nagakura begins to recall the day that he met with Hijikata once more. Shiraishi eventually fell asleep and let out a fart while the elderly men were reminiscing. They woke up and made their way towards the town of Tsukigata. Upon entering Tsukigata, Nagakura and Ienaga went to meet with the warden and came back with the news that Kumagishi had died trying to escape during outside labour. Upon hearing this, Shiraishi laments and says that he had told him not to do that. They then decide to make their way to Abashiri Prison.

They settle at an inn in Tsukigata where they talk about the tattooed skins and how they would be able to distinguish them now that Kumagishi is dead. Nagakura says that they have no other choice but to depend on Shiraishi, who is goofing around. He says that he has to go the bathroom and heads downstairs to meet Sugimoto who beckons hims outside. Sugimoto says that he realized that Shiraishi had been working Hijikata which he denies and tries to run. However, Sugimoto takes out his sword and stabs him in the back as he screams Sugimoto's name. He wakes up to see that it was a nightmare and attempts to escape, fearful of what Sugimoto would do. Outside, he comes face to face with a troop of military soldiers who recognizes him as he realizes he is in an even more complicated situation.

Shiraishi attempts to flee from the 7th Division as they chase him throughout town. After climbing to the top of a roof and jumping from houses to houses and landing on the ground, he finds himself held up by multiple rifles aimed at his head. He resigns himself to them and is led away by the 7th Division with a worried look on his face.

As Shiraishi was being led to Asahikawa for imprisonment, Kiroranke and Hijikata attempted multiple times to create situation that would've allowed him to easily escaped but he continued to act nonchalantly such as hitting on a local girl or asking a soldier for food. In the village of Fukagawa, Shiraishi was able to ask the soldiers for permission to get bean snacks from a nearby merchant. However, he is surprised to see that it is Hijikata who passed him a paper with the message "kamuy kotan" and "rope bridge" on it.

Eventually in the midst of rainfall, the 7th Division approached a bridge that crosses over a river, and upon seeing it, he wonders what Hijikata is planning. Just then, they are stopped in the middle of the bridge by Hijikata wearing a hood to cloak his face. To their bewilderment, he draws his blade and points it at them.

Hijikata then cuts the ropes of the bridge they are on, sending them all falling into the Ishikari River. With his hands bounded, Shiraishi struggled to stay afloat as he floated down the river screaming for help. He hears Kiroranke yelling out his name, and he yells his name back as he sees him. Kiroranke thrusts his oar at Shiraishi, but he is unable to grab it due to his hands being tied together. When Kiroranke attempted to grab Shiraishi, he remembers the nightmare he had and pulls back, floating away from Kiroranke as he grabs onto a log. He was able to reach dry land, exhausted and surrounded by soldiers and is then taken away to Asahikawa.

### Journey to Karafuto Arc

Kiroranke's group comes to a Russian village where Kiroranke and Ogata decides to do some scouting in the area while Shiraishi invites Asirpa for some tea in a nearby building. Unbeknownst to them, they were followed by Maiharu Gansoku who immediately recognized Shiraishi as a fellow tattooed convict. Inside, Shiraishi tries to console Asirpa and says that he thinks Sugimoto is alive, but Asirpa tells him that Sugimoto cannot be dead for he is "Sugimoto the Immortal" after all. Kiroranke's group tries to find the Abashiri convict in the village but are unable to do so and leaves for their next destination.

They find some sea lions off of the coast of Karafuto so they decided to hunt them. While Ogata shoots them, Kiroranke rows the boat and shouts alerts to Asirpa, who finishes the animal off, Shiraishi contributed absolutely nothing to the hunt. Despite that, he was given some of the meat which he says taste really gamey.

### Youichirou the Manslayer Arc

Once they'd had finished their hunt and skinned the sea lion, Shiraishi held onto it while asking what they will do with it. Asirpa tells him that they can make a long leather strap called a *torar* which they can use to bind or tie up various things, to which Shiraishi responded that she really doesn't let anything go to waste. They ended up selling the skin to a Karafuto Ainu man who told them of a location that would buy their meats and innards as Shiraishi noted that they needed money.

With the Karafuto Ainu man's information, they come to a fox breeding facility where they are greeted by the owner. Shiraishi then tries to haggle with the owner to buy their meat for a higher price and complains that he makes too much money from the farm. He is however, informed by the owner that while he does make a tidy profit, he or the foxes may not be around in ten years time.

Kiroranke's group heads out to hunt some musk deers and Shiraishi stood by as Ogata shoots one down which Kiroranke and Asirpa carves up to get its musk gland. When Kiroranke notes that the musk gland can be turned into perfume and that he is popular with the ladies regardless of whether he uses the perfume or not, Shiraishi makes a comment that his whole body is musk. Afterwards, he silently watched as Kiroranke and Asirpa talks about her father.

### Karafuto Circus Arc

Some time during their journey, Shiraishi relieved himself in the wilderness, which Asirpa quickly found and became excited over, thinking that a huge prey was nearby.

### Border Crossing Arc

Asirpa's group hires a couple of Karafuto Ainu men who takes them to Shisuka (modern day Poronaysk) and then walks through a nearby forest, with Shiraishi suggesting that they hunt some sables for money. They come across a casket which Kiroranke says belonged to the Orok people. Kiroranke then began to talk about the Oroks and their customs, which Shiraishi says is interesting. They are interrupted by a gunshot, which was fired by Ogata who claims he saw an Ezo deer.

They find that it is not an Ezo deer but a reindeer with a collar on it, which Asirpa takes and puts on Shiraishi, causing him to get hurt. Shiraishi notes that since the reindeer had a collar, it must belongs to someone and they see an Orok man nearby calling for the reindeer. The group then teases Ogata for killing the reindeer, with Shiraishi saying that the Oroks will get mad at Ogata but it won't have anything to do with him.

Asirpa's group meets the Orok man who asks them to join him on a wild reindeer hunt, much to the annoyance of both Shiraishi and Ogata. As they prepare for the hunt, one of the domesticated reindeers turns around and bites Shiraishi's head, causing him to get angry and say that they should've ran away instead of apologizing for Ogata's mistake. However, Kiroranke says that in order to continue on from Shisuka, they'd have no choice but to make contact with the Oroks.

Once the hunt had began, Shiraishi watched as Ogata single-handedly took out the entire reindeer herd and voiced his amazement at the feat. They returned to the Orok men's village where they ate the wild reindeer's meat as well as food made by the Orok women, which Shiraishi enjoyed. When he had finished eating, Shiraishi asked Kiroranke what his reason for meeting up with the Oroks was.

Kiroranke tells everyone that due to their complicated background, they cannot freely enter Russia and so will have to sneak in by posing as the Oroks who have permission to cross the borders. Sometime later, disguising themselves as the Oroks, Asirpa's group attempts to enter Russia, but one of the Orok men is shot by a sniper due to a leak from Tsurumi, which shocks everyone present as Ogata states that they are dealing with an experienced sniper.

As they are attacked by the Russian sniper, Shiraishi is perplexed about what is happening and wonders if they are bandits. Ogata replies that they must be Russian border guards, which causes Shiraishi to panic that their plan had been found out by the Russians. After musing that the Russians are being awfully violent, Ogata tells Shiraishi to get his Type-38 rifle, but Shiraishi refuses to do it.

Kiroranke tells Shiraishi to move the sled so that they can hide in the woods nearby but as the reindeers are shot and killed, Shiraishi continues to panic. Kiroranke tells him that they have no other option and to get the reindeers moving, which Shiraishi does. When Kiroranke suddenly gets up to rescue the fallen Orok man, everyone is surprised by his action, including the Russians. This allows Ogata to shoot the Russian spotter, which gave Asirpa's group an opprtunity to escape into the forest.

Within the woods, Shiraishi tends to the reindeers as the others examine the Orok man who had survived being shot due to his large hat. When Shiraishi asked Kiroranke what he was thinking when he saved the Orok man, Kiroranke replied it was thanks to the gods. However, Ogata says it was thanks to him and that everything that happens has a reason behind them, including why they were attacked. Kiroranke continues to remain silent as Ogata prepares to fight the Russians for answers, saying that the war with Russia isn't quite over yet.

While Ogata separates from the group to confront the Russians, the rest of Asirpa's group makes their way through the woods when they hear a loud noise caused by a trap that Kiroranke had set down, killing one of the Russians and severely wounding the other. Asirpa's group eventually finds Ilya, the Russian spotter whom Ogata shot earlier and he speaks in Russian to Kiroranke. Ilya takes out a wanted poster of Kiroranke, which shocks both Shiraishi and Asirpa, and says that Russia hasn't forgotten about Kiroranke.

Once Ilya had succumbed to his wounds, Asirpa and Shiraishi questioned Kiroranke about his wanted poster and Kiroranke revealed his past to them. After finding out that Kiroranke and Asirpa's father Wilk, were involved in the Russian emperor's death, Shiraishi realized why the Russians were after them. Some time later, Shiraishi expressed concerns about Ogata and if they should help him, but Kiroranke tells him that Ogata wanted to be alone and that they should trust Ogata's abilities. As they continued to wait, they hear the sound of several rounds being fired as Ogata fought with Vasily.

Looking through her binoculars, Asirpa sees that Ogata has finished his sniper duel and is returning to them. However, they find that he is suffering from a high fever and Shiraishi suggests that he drinks some hot water. They head to an Orok settlement where Ogata and the elder Orok man can recuperate. Shiraishi then leaves the tent, saying that he has to relieve himself but motions Asirpa to come out too.

Outside, Shiraishi asks Asirpa to run away together since Ogata is ill now, saying that Kiroranke is too dangerous to be around with. Asirpa declines much to Shiraishi's surprise and they are joined by Kiroranke who explains more about his and Wilk's background and their motives. Asirpa says she wants to know more about her father and why he became Noppera-Bou.

As Ogata slept in order to recover from his fever, the Oroks gave Asirpa's group some *sewa* figurines and Shiraishi was given one for his groin which he thought was for his visits to the pleasure district. However, Asirpa and Kiroranke says that it was due to the dirty look on his face and that he had been staring at a woman breastfeeding the whole time. Shiraishi is offended by their statement, but steals a glance at the breastfeeding woman again.

An Orok man begins to carve out a reindeer bone as Kiroranke explains that the Orok will divine the future for them. Shiraishi is nervous about the result and finds out that somebody is coming from behind them, to which he expresses concern if it's an unlucky sign. Kiroranke tells him that an unlucky sign would be one in an "n" shape which means that somebody will die. Hearing this, Shiraishi is relieved that they haven't received a crack like that.

Sometime later, when Ogata has fully recovered from his fever, Asirpa's group prepares to leave the Orok settlement. Kiroranke apologizes to the Oroks for the Russian ordeal and turns to Shiraishi, saying that they should part ways here. Shiraishi admits that he can't do much if he's dead and that his goals are different from Asirpa's. As Asirpa's group departs without him, Shiraishi ponders if he should make a deal with Tsurumi but remembers Sugimoto's words to him.

Shiraishi begins to take chase after Asirpa's group and falls over as he catches up to them. He comes up with an excuse that if he goes with them, he will be able to meet blonde Russian girls that he can have some fun with, which Kiroranke is not amused by. Asirpa just laughs, saying that if his groin begins to hurts again, that would be his problem. Shiraishi responds saying that he will be fine so long as he has the Orok charm with him.

### Akou Prison Break Arc

As they travelled, Asirpa finds some tracks belonging to a lynx, calling it a *meko*. Shiraishi asks what a *meko* is and Asirpa explains that it is a cat and that the name comes from *meekot* which means "something that can die in the cold", causing Shiraishi to question if the Ainu can't give cuter names to the animal. Kiroranke tells Asirpa stories about her father as well as their former leader Sofia Golden Hand, which Shiraishi is surprised to find out is a woman. The four of them then makes their way to Akou to meet Sofia.

Together with some people from the Nivkh tribe, Asirpa's Group hunts some beluga and Ogata is able to shoot and kill one. As Kiroranke and some of the Nivkh men carves up the dead animal, Shiraishi expresses fascination at the thought of eating whale meat and says that miso would be a nice compliment to it. Hearing this, Asirpa reveals that she has some of Sugimoto's miso which she had been holding for him all this time.

Asirpa's Group eats the whale soup together but they run out of Sugimoto's miso, much to Asirpa's disappointment. Shiraishi says that they could always buy some more when they return to Japan but Asirpa refuses, saying that she only wants miso that belongs to Sugimoto. When Ogata begins to say "hinna", Asirpa is shocked and turns to Shiraishi and Kiroranke, asking if they heard him but they only stare at her.

Shiraishi then turns to Kiroranke, asking how long they will be in Akou and he wonders if Kiroranke isn't going to just have a simple chat with Sofia Golden Hand. At Asirpa's request, Kiroranke tells them more about Sofia and that he plans to break her out of prison by having all 250 convicts of Akou Prison run free so that the guards won't be able to focus on Sofia.

Shiraishi asks how he plan to have every single one of the convicts all escape at once and Kiroranke explains that he will simultaneously blow up multiple different points alongside the outer walls. Still not convinced, Shiraishi asks how he is going to get his hands on that many explosives without being traced. Kiroranke points to a nearby lighthouse and reveals that explosives have been supplied there in case Japan were to invade Russia and that all they have to do is to wait for them to arrive.

Asirpa's Group then heads to a Nivkh village where they discuss how to break out Sofia and have her meet Asirpa. Kiroranke mentions that Sofia also has some underlings within the prison and Shiraishi notes that they would be on their side. Asirpa wonders if that would truly be for the good of the Ainu people and Kiroranke says that it would be for every ethnic minorities to be able to live their own way. Following their plan, Shiraishi disguises himself as an Akou prisoner so that he is able to slip by a prison guard and smuggle some items to some of Sofia's underlings before making his escape.

Kiroranke begins to tell Asirpa's Group about how he, Wilk, and Sofia first met a Japanese man named Kouichi Hasegawa and had him teach the three of them how to speak Japanese. When Kiroranke talks about Hasegawa's suspicions about them and their background leading up to the Russian Emperor's death, Shiraishi is confused about their intentions and Kiroranke confirms that he and Wilk had been using Sofia and the extremist group for the sake of ethnic minorities. Kiroranke also reveals that Hasegawa was a spy for the Japanese army.

Kiroranke finishes up the story, saying that they never saw Hasegawa again and that Sofia continued to blame herself for the death of Hasegawa's daughter. As he takes Asirpa's Group to a region with drift ice, he explains about the serfs, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the reason why he and Wilk joined Sofia's cause. He then begins to talk about their plan to meet some of Sofia's allies on the continent across the ice once they break her out.

Asirpa's Group hunts some seals together and Asirpa is able to capture and kill one with her *klaa* harpoon as Shiraishi and Ogata helps her drag the seal out of the water. Asirpa notices a reindeer nearby and wonders if it came from across the sea and Ogata says that it may have been chased by something. At night, Shiraishi helps Kiroranke drill some holes into the walls of Akou Prison and gathers the explosives from the abandoned lighthouse the next morning. They then go over their plan to initiate the breakout and have Asirpa meet Sofia. Once daybreak arrived, Asirpa's Group executes the plan, however only Kiroranke's explosives worked as Kiroranke wonders if they were not being preserved properly.

Ogata notices that not a single prisoner had come out of Kiroranke's hole, saying that it is strange and wonders if something had happened. Asirpa's Group decides to make another hole with the explosives, which was a success as Sofia and her men were able to make their escape. Upon meeting Sofia, Shiraishi is taken aback by Sofia's appearance and is alarmed when Kiroranke calls her a fine woman. Suddenly, Sofia slaps Kiroranke, apparently upset for what he had done to Wilk, which confuses Shiraishi and Asirpa.

Asirpa's Group is stunned about what had happened before Sofia turns around to leave. Afterwards, they walk over the drift ice as Shiraishi notes that their plan worked perfectly since their disguise helps them to blend in with the Nivkh fishermen who had come out to hunt. Asirpa asks Sofia about her father and with the help of Kiroranke translating, Sofia recounts her time with Wilk. Upon hearing about Wilk's dream to create a federation that would include Karafuto and Hokkaido, Shiraishi comments that Wilk was thinking big. As Sofia told Asirpa more about Wilk's past, Shiraishi went to look around the drift ice.

As Sofia finishes talking about Wilk, Shiraishi went to relieve himself when Kiroranke calls out to him to get moving but he is having difficulty due to the many layers of clothes he is wearing. Suddenly, the ice below him breaks and Shiraishi jumps over the water, looking back to see that the gap between him and the others is getting further apart. Kiroranke explains that drift ice is easily moved by the ocean currents and warns Shiraishi not to fall into the ocean. He tells Shiraishi to head west where they will regroup, however, Shiraishi is unable to see any connected paths and decides to head back to find one.

As Shiraishi runs back, he steps on an ice platform that breaks off and begins to fall into the ocean. Shiraishi takes his gloves off and attempts to claw at the ice but found it to be ineffective. He then remembers the charm around his neck, takes it off and stabs it into the ice. The charm is able to momentarily hold Shiraishi before breaking off and Shiraishi desperately claws at the ice for a holding to grab onto. Suddenly, Sugimoto pops out from the top of the collapsed ice and grabs Shiraishi's hand, greeting him. Back on stable footing, Shiraishi jumps onto Sugimoto, with tears and snot coming out of his face, proclaiming his joy upon seeing him again.

Sugimoto shakes Shiraishi, asking where Asirpa is and Shiraishi reassures him that she is with him and that she is just up ahead. Shiraishi reveals that Kiroranke and Ogata are also on the drift ice and that the latter had told both him and Asirpa that Sugimoto had died. Sugimoto reveals that it was Ogata who had shot both him and Asirpa's father and that Ogata and Kiroranke are accomplices, which startles Shiraishi. Sugimoto declares that they will get Asirpa back as Shiraishi just notices that Ryu is also with them.

As the three of them runs around the drift ice, Sugimoto notes that they must hurry since the heavy snow and wind would be able to give them an opportunity to get closer to Asirpa's Group. Suddenly, the ice below Sugimoto breaks and Shiraishi jumps into him, warning him about the drift ice movement. They find that they are stuck on a small ice platform that is drifting away and Sugimoto tells Shiraishi to strip and jump into the water to push the ice but Shiraishi refuses, telling him to do it himself instead. However, Sugimoto utilizes the *hoparata* technique, which he learned from Asirpa to get them back onto the mainland. As they look for Asirpa, they hear a loud explosion and Sugimoto wonders what the sound was but Shiraishi just says that he has to pee.

The three of them are able to find Asirpa and as Sugimoto reunites with her, Shiraishi stays behind while holding Ryu's leash back so that they won't butt into their happy reunion. Suddenly, Sugimoto calls Shiraishi over and asks him to urinate on them since Asirpa's eyelid had gotten stuck on Sugimoto's frozen metal button. Initially, Shiraishi is confused by Sugimoto's request but reveals that his bladder is full so he complies and urinates all over the both of them. As he turns to Sugimoto, Shiraishi asks if he is crying but Sugimoto denies it, saying that the fluid is just his urine.

### Return to Karafuto Arc

Shiraishi, Asirpa, and Sugimoto, who carries an unconscious Ogata on his back, are able to find Kiroranke who had been defeated by Koito, Tsukishima, and Tanigaki. Shiraishi quietly says Kiroranke's name as Asirpa spends some final moments with Kiroranke, thanking him for getting her memories to return before he passes away. As Shiraishi buries Kiroranke, he recounts what Kiroranke had told him about the drift ice becoming water in his home, where he can be at rest. He puts his hand on Kiroranke's forehead and laments that he was a man too serious for his own good. When Sugimoto's Group prepares to return to Hokkaido, Shiraishi says his farewells to Kiroranke's grave.

Sugimoto's Group heads to a Nivkh settlement near Akou so that the soldiers can rest from their battle against Kiroranke. In a *to ryv*, a Nivkh winter home, Shiraishi and the others listen to Enonoka tell a Nivkh legend about a man who put charcoal on his buttocks in order to scare a monster away. Once Enonoka had finished, Shiraishi excuses himself in order to pee and began to sing about it. However, Shiraishi went to put markings on his buttocks and upon returning to the *to ryv*, attempts to emulate the story against the others but found that Sugimoto had also done the same thing.

Shiraishi sees Sugimoto and Asirpa experiencing the Nivkh culture and laughs when Sugimoto puts on a fish skin hat. Afterwards, some of the Nivkh women makes some of their *mos* dish for Sugimoto's Group and Shiraishi eats it, expressing his enjoyment of the food. When Sugimoto brings in a doctor to look at Tsukishima and Ogata's wounds, they find that Ogata's injuries are serious and needs to be transported to the doctor's hospital so Sugimoto's Group prepares to head out on the dog sled.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Sugimoto's Group waits patiently outside of the building while the doctor and his nurse operates on Ogata. The doctor steps outside to inform them that despite his best to save Ogata, he will die soon. When Sugimoto begins to head inside the hospital, Shiraishi calls out to him and Sugimoto says that he is going to ask the doctor if there is any other way that Ogata can be saved. Moments later, Sugimoto runs out of the hospital, screaming that Ogata has escaped and he tells Shiraishi and Tanigaki to go around the back to find Ogata.

As Shiraishi and Tanigaki searches for Ogata, Shiraishi spots some tracks and calls Tanigaki over to check them out. However, Tanigaki points out that the tracks belongs to Shiraishi and suggests that they look elsewhere. Unbeknownst to them, Ogata hears their voices and is able to make an escape, avoiding the both of them entirely.

### Return to Hokkaido Arc

With Ogata's escape, Sugimoto's Group heads across the national border as Shiraishi says his farewells to Russia. They stop by a Karafuto Ainu village where they are given some of "grandma's chewed dango" to eat, causing Shiraishi and Sugimoto to become drunk off of and they beg the elder lady to make some more for them. When Sugimoto laments that he lost his miso box, Shiraishi is confused about it before screaming that he wants some more chewed dango. Sugimoto complies by spitting the dango into his mouth, leading to Tanigaki calling them awful.

Once Shiraishi and Sugimoto had recovered from their stupor, Sugimoto's Group enters the town of Shizuka in order to shop for some necessities. When they are ready to set off, Asirpa notices that Sugimoto is gone so Shiraishi goes to look for him only to be suddenly shot in the leg, alarming the whole group. As Shiraishi lay crumpled on the ground behind a large bag for cover, Sugimoto's Group comes to the belief that the sniper who shot at them must be Hyakunosuke Ogata.

ATsukishima calls out to Shiraishi to figure out a way to get back to them so that he can be treated for his wound but he bandages it, saying that he has no intention of asking them for help. When Asirpa tries to get closer to Shiraishi to rescue him, he tells her to stay away before attempting to lure the sled dogs over to provide cover for him. However, Enonoka and her grandfather stops them from going over to him so Shiraishi decides to use the rice that he bought in order to lure the crows flying above to escape, hidden by them. Shiraishi's plan backfires as only the small birds were attracted by the rice as he grumbles about how cute they are.

When Sugimoto manages to defeat the sniper Vasily and brings him out, Shiraishi, now on crutches, begins to yell at Vasily for shooting before speaking. However, he balks when Vasily shows off his injury that he got from Ogata and immediately jumps on the dog sled, telling Vasily to go back to Russia. Sometime later as they head back to the lighthouse, Shiraishi notices Vasily following them on a horse. He wonders if Vasily still suspects them of also being involved in the Russian Emperor's death, but Asirpa notes that Vasily's sketch were on Kiroranke's torn up wanted poster. Shiraishi then suggests that Vasily thinks he might be able to have a rematch with Ogata if he stays with Sugimoto's Group.

In Toyohara, Shiraishi listens as Tsukishima and Koito tells Sugimoto's Group that Tsurumi will come to meet them in Odamari in two weeks time so they will stay in Toyohara until Tsurumi arrives in Karafuto.

## References

1. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook