Korinden

See also: Drama CDs

## Story Summary from Theria.net and Cara F's Translation

### Stage I.

Seiji finishes teaching an elementary kendo class and dwells on how he doesn’t feel at peace following the long battles with Arago. He hears giggling and the sound of a temari (fancy string winding) ball. With clear stress and panic in his voice, he calls out, asking if someone is there. He wonders if it’s his younger sister teasing him and has a flash of deja-vu, thinking the vision of the little girl he sees is familiar but not his sister.

The girl turns out to be Reiko, the daughter Youko, a former student of the dojo whom Seiji addresses as “Youko-sempai”. She teases Seiji while asking about Seiji’s grandfather, who is visiting a shrine with his mother. He offers to take her to the shrine and they leave the dojo.

Youko jokes with Seiji about dates and asks if he keeps in touch with his friends. He demurs, saying that the friends she’s referencing are not ones he should keep up with once everything is finished. In truth, he is afraid to meet them because of the battles that come with them.

Reiko’s ball rolls into the street and a motorcycle roars towards her. Seiji calls out a warning and pushes her out of the way, getting run over in the process. Reiko cries while voice call to Seiji, who passes out as an ambulance siren approaches.

### Stage II.

Voices scream in pain and while others shout at Seiji to hold on as he is brought to a hospital. He hears the voices of the medical professionals talking about how badly he’s injured, saying they had to revive him. Seiji is hallucinating, however, that he is performing a Noh dance, something he has never learned. Seiji is panicking and fears he’ll dance himself to death, saying he’s in pain and that he can’t breathe. The music stops suddenly and a strange sound is heard.

### Stage III.

Seiji sees the girl and wants her to stay. He cycles through being able to breathe and struggling to do so. Shuu’s voice asks Seiji what’s going on.

In the hospital, Seiji is being prepped for surgery while he continues to cry out in pain.

His hallucinations shift to a battlefield where he is unarmed and not wearing his armor. The others surround him, protecting him. He’s afraid of the battle that has followed their arrival and continues to struggle to breathe. Shuu takes a hit protecting him. Touma tells him to hang in there and that “This isn’t like you.” Ryo falls and Seiji is distressed that the others continue to fight and get hurt. He wants them to run away, saying they can’t win and to let him die.

Seiji has a seizure on the operating table while the medical practitioners try to calm him down.

### Stage IV.

The girl is with Seiji again in the strange limbo state he keeps moving in and out of. He is distressed that he recognizes her but doesn’t know who she is. In the operating room, Seiji is struggling to breathe while the doctor shouts and a woman screams his name.

In his hallucination, Seiji is pulled to the surface of a body of water by Shin, who chuckles and comments, “I didn’t know you couldn’t swim.” Seiji insistes he can and declares something is in the water before he gets pulled under by an enemy. Shin rescues him and says his controlling virtue of Shin (trust)  reacted to Seiji, then tells Seiji he has to trust his feelings. Shin continues to protect him despite Seiji’s protests and insists that helping him is more important than finishing off the enemy. He passes Seiji along to Shuu and leaves to fight the enemy again.

Seiji and Shuu flee but are attacked again. Shuu is cocky about being a strong fighter and he assures Seiji that he’ll handle the enemy here. When Seiji protests, Shuu tells him the other Troopers will beat him up if anything happens to Seiji. Seiji reflects on Shuu’s powers and how he fights and realizes he can sense Shuu’s virtue of Gi (justice). Shuu insists Seiji jump and get away from the enemy, then knocks him into the wind when he protests.

Seiji lands and is trapped by a tornado-like wind-demon before being saved by Touma. Korin’s sword begins to glow and Seiji realizes his powers are returning. He tries to provoke the monsters into fighting him but Touma scolds him that his virtue is Rei (grace), not “charge in fighting”. Seiji asks Touma to laugh at his cowardice then realizes he wasn’t avoiding the others because he was afraid of meeting them, but because of something that doesn’t exist.

Touma assures him that everyone feels fear. The wind-demons return and Touma tells Seiji to run while. Seiji falls and is attacked by crows while fire burns around him. He chokes on and finds himself blinded by smoke. He apologizes to everyone that he can’t make it even with their help.

Ryo appears, launching his surekill. He tells Seiji he’s been waiting for him and Seiji marvels at how warm Ryo is and how warm the others are inside. He has survived surgery. Ryo and Seiji banter about him being kid like but Ryo then adds that Seiji can now fight by himself.

Seiji says he received a gift from everyone’s heart in the form of their armors’ virtues. Ryo tells him he needs to continue on by himself. Seiji feels empowered by the others and their virtues, which he uses to channel his ballistic surekill.

### Stage V.

Seiji speaks with the girl who assures him he’ll know who she is soon. He asks her to come into his chest where his heart is, then wakes up.

The doctor, Doctor Tokida, tells him what happened and mentions Seiji’s family. He asks about Reiko and is assured she is fine. Tokida then chuckles and says Reiko reminds him of how Seiji’s family dressed him growing up. Seiji ends up laughing when he realizes the girl he’s been seeing was himself fifteen years earlier. He falls asleep and hears the girl again, then his friends calling his name. Instead of the fear from earlier, he thinks hearing them call for him feels good.

## Korinden Gallery

Korinden coverFront of the CDBack of the CDCover back
## Sources

1. ↑ Korinden Summary By Caroline Pearce w/ additions by Nina, Theria.net  https://theria.net/archive-top.html. Accessed June 20, 2022.<
2. ↑ Samurai Troopers - Kourinden Drama CD Translations by Cara F https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZfCQZmMlondsFNXlQT88itL6ahLSk0Ty. Accessed June 20, 2022.