Poor bastard; got his face stolen because it was just so hot. I remember I was a little indignant when I found out that the guy who took my senior picture started using it on his website for advertising soon after, but at least he didn't yank my face right off my head. My anonymous image online selling someone else's considerable skill is infinitely less painful than Musou's fate, and I doubt the faceless man what took Musou's pretty cheeks is going to profit off of it. I mean, he technically raided a couple of villages after putting on his fresh mask, but I think he would have done that anyway. No pretty smile required.
The faceless man has to remind Inuyasha he already said he doesn't remember, because apparently Inuyasha's got a really poor short-term memory. Lifting his chin thoughtfully, he puts forward quite the idea; he can be called Musou. He tells Inuyasha he got his face from the priest by that name, stroking the chin of said face proudly. Old school hardcore identity theft.
Inuyasha growls that this really is the guy who's been going around peeling off people's faces, as if he didn't really have faith in his own senses before the confession. Did Miroku's denial of the possibility that this was the guy put doubt in his head after all? Kagome should bring a squirt bottle to discourage Miroku from being a know-it-all twerp for these occasions.
Anyway, Musou-by-combat over there on the horse asks Inuyasha what's up with his face, and says he doesn't like it. He peers at Inuyasha a little longer and confirms that he just can't STAND that face. I guess Inuyasha is only interested in posturing over lame insults from Kouga, showing a surprisingly thick-skin when he just addresses Miroku behind him that it would be useless to ask any more questions of this guy. Musou smells like Naraku and kills innocents, and that's enough for Inuyasha. He rips Tessaiga from its sheath, threatening to rip Musou apart.
Musou, of course, welcomes Inuyasha to try, pulling his own comparatively less impressive sword and spurring his horse forward.
I'd make fun of Inuyasha's aim again, but honestly, I'd prefer he avoid the horsie. Horsie good.
Musou stares at the exploding chunks of his arm with... mild confusion? I would probably be screaming in horror, because arms aren't supposed to do that, even when sliced by swords. Also, it's my limb. But Musou seems to care about as little as possible here. Shippou clings to Kagome's shoulder and issues another of his regular cautiously hopeful suggestions that Inuyasha got 'im. Which of course means the exact opposite. A dark mass appears in the sky, a cloud of Naraku's Saimyoushou, hissing and buzzing straight for Musou, much to Inuyasha's alarm as he just watches them.
Serious issues with proportion and perspective here, but Shippou, Kagome and Sango are all more concerned with the fact that the insects formed themselves into a mostly okay replacement arm for Musou. Understandable for folks who would have to deal with that replacement arm swinging at them, I guess. It looks like it fits him a bit better by the next panel when he pulls it in to have an amazed look, in an in the kind of wide-eyed wonder that is akin to watching a man swallow a fiery poker on a circus stage. Definitely... off.
Inuyasha rushes forward, Tessaiga raised for a fresh slash, calling Musou a bastard in a rage. Seemingly without his explicit command, judging by his expression of mild shock, Musou's new arm splits and twists into fleshy pointed tentacles. This is made comical by the sound effects that translate lovingly into "stab stab stab". I don't know if I'm meant to be laughing, but boy am I. They do actually do some stabbing, though, right into Inuyasha's chest and throat. The assault takes him off his feet and he collapses to the ground on his belly, his hand at his neck to stem the flow of blood from the wound.
Kagome yells his name, running to him, but after an alarmed twist to see her coming over his shoulder, he warns her to stay away. Musou glances over to where Inuyasha is screaming, barely interested. At first.
TFW when you remember some other person's name before you remember your own.
Musou also remembers, haltingly, that he really wanted that woman. He lost his memory before he could hit the "purchase" button, though. His wacky inflatable tubeman arm acts with a bit more purpose this time, stretching out to wrap multiple branches around each of Kagome's wrists, much to her gaping horror. Inuyasha forces himself to his feet with a groan, tendrils of air wrapping around the blade of Tessaiga. He brings a Kaze no Kizu down on Musou's creepy tentacles to sever them right in front of Kagome, who winces and recoils from the blow behind her raised hands, falling backward. Not sure about the angle on this one, because in the next panel Musou himself is being broken apart by Kaze no Kizu as though he was in the direct line of the blast, though it probably should have been perpendicular to him to just sever the extended arm.
Anyway...
The plot thickens? In the way your cream of wheat does when you let it sit on the stove without stirring it and it gets all lumpy and shit, I guess.
When the dust settles and the Kaze no Kizu dissipates, Inuyasha and Kagome stare a moment down the giant scars left in the ground from Inuyasha's attack. Kagome in particular looks disturbed, in disbelief that Musou mistook her for Kikyou. Come on, kiddo, someone seems to do that every week. Annoying, yes. Surprising, no. Inuyasha wonders aloud why the guy knew Kikyou's name, on the other hand. THIS is a fair question, and Inuyasha seems to be working out the answer himself when Miroku interrupts to blurt out that he's Onigumo perhaps. We get it, Miroku, you're super smart, can you go five seconds without trying to come to a conclusion before everyone else please?
I'm really the only one annoyed by this; Inuyasha contemplates Onigumo's name, sweatdropping nervously. Both he and Miroku have already learned about how Kikyou hid Onigumo in a cave and treated his wounds, from Kaede, an image of which serves as the background for the panel. Miroku recalls in particular that Onigumo had burns covering his entire body, on his face especially.
Or at least, he probably WISHED he had no face instead of the one he had. How nice of Naraku to grant that wish. Not such a bad guy when you think about it.
Inuyasha also remembers that while Kikyou was looking after him, Onigumo had some pretty nasty thoughts about her in his heart. It was that heart that remained in Naraku, even after Onigumo submitted the rest of his body to the amalgamation of youkai that transformed into Naraku. Inuyasha turns this all over in his mind, arriving at the present moment when it appears that Onigumo has gained a physical form and come out separate from Naraku. He looks again at the long trenches in the earth left by his Kaze no Kizu and wonders if Onigumo's heart is dead now. Kagome's thoughts are very much in line with Inuyasha's, and she thinks that with a direct hit like that, Musou/Onigumo should be dead as a doornail.
Still, she's not convinced. It seems a bit too easy. She must have read the script.
Or realized her life had become identical to a drawn-out drama in which NOTHING is as simple as it should be.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I actually really enjoy reading Musou's psychopathic narcissism, because his cavalier attitude is so fun in how weird it is. He just doesn't react to things in a normal way, and it has the same essential "wrongness" to it as all of RT's monster designs. Since his first instinct is to behave like a murderous lunatic with a very mild, laid-back personality, the implication is that this was his natural state back when he had his memories too. The parallel between actual demon creatures and this human man's core identity is striking.
I was a bit unimpressed with the art in this installment, though. I pointed out the most egregious example above, but things were just kind of wonky all around in this one as far as appearances go. It's a shame, because this one had the potential for some good memorable panels, but they just didn't come out right. Must have been a bit of a rough week for RT.
In any case, we'll see if she can make something of her allusion to Kagome and Kikyou's similar appearances in the next couple of chapters. Fingers crossed.
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