Listen Chapter, no one forbids me from anything. While a good portion of my temperament comes in the form of stolid practicality, there is also a minor part of it that is a rooted stubborn nature. I'm my father's daughter, after all, and if someone tells me that I'm not allowed to go somewhere without giving me a good reason, I very suddenly get an almost uncontrollable urge to go, just because I can. It might also be because of bull-headed American culture - as a people we are notorious for defying any and all orders, even if they are for our own good. It's mellowed out in my old age, but there is still an adolescent impulse deep within me that automatically responds to a "forbidden" label with a simmering annoyance that anyone would dare to tell me what to do. Knock that off, you're not my real dad, and I don't even listen to THAT guy!
"For the last time, a late-night dispute over whose turn it is to do the dishes is NOT an emergency. Please let me sleep."
I'm joking, it's not THAT silly. Just an eerie light that came from the sky, according to the man leading Kaede up the stairs there when she asks for some clarification on what they were investigating. Still silly, of course, but not quite as absurd as my own scenario. Kaede does still appear concerned, her remaining eye widening at the confirmation that it was seen near her late sister's shrine, as if there could be any OTHER reason they were headed up there.
Indeed, when they reach the top of the stairs, there's a glow off to the left of the shrine.
Hey, I recognize them!
Silently, they lift off and zoom into the sky at speed, and the older man behind Kaede starts to try to identify the ethereal children, but Kaede assures him that they are not youkai, suggesting instead that they're somebody's "Shikigami". I had to look this one up - in the simplest terms I could find, a "Shikigami" appears to be a conjured spirit brought forth by a magician's ceremony, so I assume that they're sort of similar to a "homunculus" in alchemy. Kaede is sure she didn't feel any evil aura coming off them, which I'm guessing is the main reason she jumped to a shikingami explanation instead.
The younger man with her has knelt beside the small shrine at which the children were standing, pointing out the marks on the ground from where dirt has been scooped up. Well, that's the jars justified anyway. After Kaede exclaims her disbelief, the two men recall that time BEFORE when Kiykou's bones and burial soil were taken away as well, uncomfortable that this should happen again. Kaede inclines her head, trying to think WHO would do that now, what with Urasue being dead and everything.
Elsewhere, Inuyasha and company look up at a foreboding and dark sky in alarm.
Miroku suggests that it feels like these youkai are searching for something, and Sango adds that it's perhaps for Hijiri-sama's location, which gets her a sidelong glance from Inuyasha. But he agrees, saying that this person IS an obstacle to Naraku. Kagome somehow seems assume that Naraku has noticed that Hijiri may be Kikyou as well, and his intention may be to locate and kill her again, even though Hijiri has caused him quite a lot of trouble even if it WEREN'T Kikyou. Not that I don't believe that Naraku has concluded the obvious like everyone else, but it's not the only reason he would have to go after Hijiri, girl.
Cut to another hillside forest, where someone is hesitantly confirming that they've heard rumors about this Hijiri-sama, but they don't seem to have any concrete information. Not even when Miroku tells the woodsmen he's speaking to that the person should have passed through this area. A man with an ax hitched on his shoulder says he doesn't know, but he suggests that maybe something strange that happened before dawn is some sort of sign of Hijiri-sama. He tells Miroku and Inuyasha about two glowing streaks in the sky.
Miroku turns to Inuyasha and asks if they should check it out, and Inuyasha half-heartedly agrees, arguing that they don't really have any other clues to follow. Later, as they're heading for the "Forbidden" Mountain, Kagome on Inuyasha's back and the rest of them on Kirara's, and all looking a little moody, Shippou looks up at Sango and asks her if we're still searching for the nest of vampire birds. Sango hums at him in question, so he elaborates that it seems to him that the objective seems to have shifted pretty blatantly to trying to meet this Hijiri person. Rather than answering, Miroku advises Shippou not to say this kind of thing around Kagome, though Sango adds that Kagome has probably already noticed a long time ago. Awkward-sauce.
ZOOM TO THE WATERFALL, where our two flying toddlers are standing placidly by the pool at its base, pouring the dirt they collected at the Kikyou shrine into the water. It's a seriously weird-looking exercise. They both look up at a sound in the sky above, seeing the small-fry youkai writhing in the air that Inuyasha's group just did, and coming to the same conclusion that they're searching for Hijiri-sama.
Speaking of Inuyasha and crew, Miroku at Kirara's tail calls up to Inuyasha up front, asking if he's noticed something. Inuyasha confirms that he's also taken note of the undulating Naraku horde above, and wonders aloud if its following them, or something else that he trails away from. Probably the equally likely possibility that they're all just zeroing in on the same location for Hijiri. Being unusually observant today, Shippou points out that the number of the youkai is increasing steadily, and Sango adds that they're aiming for the forbidden mountain as well, at any rate. Kagome's one-track mind has already latched onto the idea that this means that Kikyou is there. She is downright OBSESSED.
The horde on its way to the mountain is about to get a nasty surprise.
Miroku immediately identifies this as a purification arrow, with Sango concluding that Hijri is DEFINITELY on the mountain. Inuyasha picks up the pace, urging along the rest of the group as they sprint toward Hijiri's admittedly poor hiding place.
Another wave of youkai is dissolved right out of the air by yet another arrow, streaking over the trees and Inuyasha and Kagome's heads.
Don't know what Naraku thinks these creepy-crawlies will do to Kikyou except maybe annoy her, but sure, invade the mountain in another vague evil plan, see if I care.
Sango swings around Kirara and throws Hiraikotsu at the oncoming youkai ground troops, while Inuyasha tears through them with his claws, Kagome cringing against the gore on his back. There's a rising wave of the creatures behind him, though, and he's already mentally complaining about what a fucking pain this is. I don't blame him; I also would never be in the mood to mess around with this.
He gets level with Kirara to tell Miroku and Sango to take care of Kagome for him. Sango makes an unsure noise, but Inuyasha is already putting Kagome on the already overburdened sabertoothed cat, ordering them all to go ahead. Kagome is saying his name in protest, like that matters. Miroku begins what seems like would be a chastising statement to him, and Inuyasha cuts him off, a hand on the hilt of Tessaiga as he yells at Miroku that it should be obvious to everyone what he's about to do. He lunges toward the horde, promising to catch up once he's taken care of it, and in the meantime the rest of the group can look for Hijiri.
Kagome looks taken-aback by this, and as Kirara takes her away, she thinks on him in amazement, Miroku running alongside and wondering if it's really alright if THEY meet this person before Inuyasha does. Turns out he's avoiding it, if his next internal question about what he'll do if Hijiri is Kikyou is any indication.
This one swing, as usual, does the trick, blowing apart the flock of youkai in an explosion of mismatched parts. While he watches the viscera rain down from his attack, he concludes that he HAS to meet Hijiri and find out. Inuyasha turns around, putting away Tessaiga to continue moving on ahead, but he stops suddenly again in alarm.
Yes, Inuyasha. It's so incredibly obvious.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm intrigued by these "shikigami" that Kikyou has made, given how versatile they seem. She clearly just conjured up a couple of little servants to attend to her every need, which raises a lot of questions about how that's possible. Has she always been capable of something like this? If not, how did she get to the point where she could? Especially considering she fell into a river of corrosive miasma, which SHOULD have disabled her pretty severely, it seems unlikely that she should be able to create and maintain these beings in a weakened state. And yet, here they are, flying around and getting her grave dirt, throwing up powerful barriers, etc. It's almost the strongest argument AGAINST Hijiri being Kikyou that Hijiri is this powerful when Kikyou should have been so incredibly out of pocket this soon after being dissolved in Naraku's personal stank.
But come on, I knew it was her the FIRST time I read this, so that's entirely moot.
Once again, where RT's talent comes in is with her expressions of Inuyasha and Kagome's feelings surrounding this "possibility" of Hijiri being Kikyou. Kagome finds herself entirely preoccupied with the notion, to the point where she's finding confirmation in just about every tiny little thing. It's clear she's trying to mentally prepare herself for the turmoil Kikyou presenting herself is going to cause between her and Inuyasha, but she's literally just obsessing about something she can't control. And given her little speech to Inuyasha about how inevitable it is that he'll go after rumors of Kikyou/Kikyou, and how inevitable it is that she'll be devastated by it, she's entirely aware of this. It's a really awkward position to be in, trying to be sanguine about something that hurts you, because it does no one any good to freak out about it, but you can't help feeling like shit anyway.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha is treading carefully, and not JUST because of Kagome's feelings, although that does seem to be a pretty big factor. He's deferring to her a lot, and tries to make it obvious that everything he's doing is above board. But more than that, he's also just as preoccupied as she is. Even when he's faced with a wall of youkai, he's trying to untangle how he feels about what it would mean if Hijiri IS Kikyou, and he can't figure it out. Granted, they're not really threatening youkai, and are easy to dispatch, but all the same, he took that moment to pass Kagome off to his friends; presumably it was just as much to have a moment to think on this without Kagome literally looking over his shoulder as it was that he needed free movement of his body.
In both cases, we're back to the Kikyou drama again. Yay. Doesn't help that such a contrivance as a horde of youkai is used to separate Inuyasha from the rest of the group. It couldn't have been more than a minute between the crew departing and him turning to find Hijiri on the horse behind him, he took out those monsters so fast. It just seems unlikely that the group shouldn't have seen Hijiri first, but fine. Why not add teleportation to the list of new OP junk Kikyou is capable of?
Are we sure Naraku's miasma didn't make her STRONGER? Like nuclear/radioactive waste in a superhero comic??
