This chapter's epigraph comes from Hiroshige's speech at the end of the previous chapter, in which he says that he wishes he had been a better keeper. He says that if he had not been a good keeper, he would have been sent away to a rehabilitation center for high-drug users. He also says that the cold-turkey method of administering medicine can cause abnormalities in the blood, and that the amount of medicine given to him is too small to cause such problems. He asks how he knew the amount to administer, and zeroichi says he knows the amount better than anyone else. He adds that the moment he thought that he was dying, half lost his mind what was this . He is sick of getting them mixed up in his problems, and being pulled around, they both care for each other but they only care about each other. If they leave each other, they will never find each other again. He tells gaido to stay alive with him, and asks that he be allowed to continue being his keeper.