Now that Spooky Month is underway, I'm getting cozy. I've got my cauldron-shaped coffee cup, I've got my witchy knit conical hat and cloak out for business now that there's been a drop in temperature, I've got my blanket with the first page of "Hound of the Baskervilles" printed on it, and I've got a whole stack of scary movies ready for the watching. I've also been learning how to make origami bats, and am planning a couple of other crafts for the season. I've already busted out the decorations, curiously motivated to get the place looking as festive as possible, though normally I'm not much of a homemaker.
It's definitely NOT to keep myself away from the internet and all the horrible fucking news coming from it every single day. Why would you suggest such a thing?Welcome to the club, pal.
Inuyasha shouts up at the mountain monster that he's already said he doesn't know, and that they're looking for Naraku too. Miroku steps forward and references what the mountain monster said about Naraku stealing his "protecting stone", asking what it is. It is at this point that the mountain monster gives his name, Gakusanjin, which I'm told by the wiki means "Mountain Mortal". That "mortal" part of the name strikes me as... foreboding.
Anyway, Gakusanjin says the protecting stone he's referring to allows him to remain and sleep as a mountain, calling it "fuyouheki", or "demon-sealing stone". A storm of new words coming at us today, friends. It's new to Kagura as well, who is apparently floating out of sight of Inuyasha and company, but no doubt this thundering conversation isn't difficult to eavesdrop on from a respectable distance.
Miroku asks if the stone allows Gakusanjin to rest, and he elaborates that it erases his youki and repels his enemies, protecting him from unnecessary trouble. No need to swat at flies all day when you're just trying to get some shut-eye.
The significance of this is clearly not lost on these two.Kagome voices just that significance, that the stone could erase even Naraku's youki in his hands, with just a touch of disbelief. Sango adds her own suggestion that this would effectively hide him from them. Inuyasha shouts up at Gakusanjin a stream of questions, asking what shape the fuyouheki thing is, what color it is, and whether it has a scent. Gakusanjin asks in turn what Inuyasha will do if he has that information, and Inuyasha spells out that they're going to get the stone back for him. This evokes a chuckle from Gakusanjin, who asserts he can't trust words like that, and reminds Inuyasha that he said he didn't know where Naraku was, so he's just an eyesore to the grumpy old hunk of rock.
As he leaps out of the way of this blow, Inuyasha comments on how bad a mood Gakusanjin has on his waking. It's also entirely possible that this is just his personality, so there's that. Anyway, Inuyasha unleashes a Kaze no Kizu, shocking the hell out of Gakusanjin, and causing Kagome and Miroku to shout in alarm. Once the smoke clears from the attack and Inuyasha and Gakusanjin are done regarding each other in suspicion, Inuyasha puts away Tessaiga, bidding his team to walk away from this interaction since it doesn't look to him like they can talk anymore.
Kagura further notes that it was only the mountain in FRONT of Gakusanjin that was blown away, wondering what in the world that jerk Inuyasha is even up to. As if his notoriously terrible aim isn't still a solid explanation. Gakusanjin asks out loud to this brat why he didn't cut him, even though he should have been cut. Kagome has to restrain him with a nervous smile as Inuyasha turns, asking if Gakusanjin WANTS to be cut, hand at the ready on Tessaiga once again.Miroku steps forward again to inform Gakusanjin that Inuyasha didn't cut him because there's no point in them attacking him, because their one and only enemy is Naraku. He promises the living mountain that they'll restore the fuyouheki to him if they come across it while they're going after Naraku, asking if that satisfies him.
After a pause, Gakusanjin raises a fist, much to the alarm of the still tense ant-like people below. Inuyasha is still ready to draw Tessaiga again, complaining that the bastard Gakusanjin is still spoiling for a fight.
But ANY movement of a giant can seem threatening at first.
Sweet, everybody loves a shiny rock.
Inuyasha makes a confused noise as Gakusanjin says that just one should be enough, and only after Miroku asks what these are exactly does he elaborate that they are his crystalized youki. Holding one in his palm, Miroku acknowledges that he can feel a strong youki coming off it. Gakusanjin says that the youki in the crystal will vanish when they get close to the fuyouheki, and it will appear to return when they get farther away from the stone. No color indicator is mentioned because I can only imagine how difficult that might be to show in a normally black and white comic.
Sango murmurs that it seems Gakusanjin has decided to trust them, and Miroku agrees, adding that this WILL be helpful in their search for Naraku. Kagome offers Gakusanjin a tentative thank you, but Gakusanjin dismisses them again, indicating he's had quite enough of them. Inuyasha is caught up in wondering why Naraku bothered to steal something like the fuyouheki in the first place, given how difficult it is for them to find Naraku ALREADY. He can't seem to imagine why Naraku might need to hide his youki even more.
But someone else riding a giant feather on the wind away from the scene can.
Shnooky! I should have known!Elsewhere, at the mouth of a cave in the side of a rocky cliff, Kanna is cradling just this infant, her mirror sitting propped on some boulders nearby so she can watch the image of Kikyou's two little shikigami flying around. Meanwhile, Kohaku is running at top speed with a couple of escort Saimyoushou leading him along his way. He's acting on orders from Hakudoushi, who apparently just told Kohaku about an order fresh from Naraku to protect Kanna.
Great! Now I just hope there's not some excuse for you NOT to act accordingly on this very good opportunity.
Kohaku of course recalls that Kagura said Naraku can be killed if the infant is found, information he seems to take entirely for granted. Suddenly, the Saimyoushou are buzzing in his ear and he looks up to see those same shikigami children flying straight over his head. He wears a strangely quizzical look as he lifts his sickle and repeats the insects' order to destroy the flying children, who are still holding the ribboned lock of Kikyou's hair.
As they float along, a single strand comes loose and starts to unwind the whole bundle, and the one holding it (with the ponytail) comments dryly on this fact. The other one (pigtails), says this indicates that something is nearby, just before they are flanked by a swarm of Saimyoushou. Kohaku's sickle also soars up to meet them.
Graphic child death? Not as graphic as it might seem. The still puzzled-looking Kohaku watches the paper dolls that really represent the two shikigami flutter down through the air, two cuts in their middles to indicate where Kohaku had sliced them. Before he can think on this much, an attack explodes the ground at his feet and he has to leap out of the way.
The paper dolls dive out of the air in a certain direction, not being directed by air currents at all, and into a hand held up to them with a familiar bell sleeve. Kikyou and Kohaku stare each other down, her arrow embedded in the ground between them. She begins to vocalize just what Kohaku must be to Naraku, while he stands there in silent confused nervousness.
Elsewhere, Kagome declares she senses a Shikon shard.
Always love it when RT busts out the paints.So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's a small detail, but the idea of crystallized youki is quite useful for the upcoming arc, and I think it was a phenomenal device to help the Inuyasha group get around Naraku's new setup. I can't help but marvel at how simple it is, and how much it can do for the plot despite that. One of RT's strengths is stuff like this, that puts forward a straightforward yet elegant answer to a villain's much more complex machinations, because there's always room for a loophole somewhere no matter how careful those plans are. It's this consideration and construction of those little loopholes that makes RT writing herself into a corner a rarer occurrence than with some other storytellers in this medium. It happens, but stuff like this keeps it to a minimum.
And, let's face it, it would be just a LITTLE funny if Naraku went so far in the name of security for his little hellspawn that it ended up making Shnooky even EASIER to find. I mean, between Kagura overhearing that perfect distillation of why Naraku might find the fuyouheki appealing (all because it's awfully difficult NOT to notice a mountain moving around), and Kohaku being ordered straight to the infant's side to protect it, he's liable to accomplish the exact opposite of his assumed purpose. Of course, the use of the term "assumed" is very purposeful here.
It was kind of sad how confused Gakusanjin was about the fact that Inuyasha didn't follow through on a fight with him. It's clear that he's been sleeping for so long because he was tired of constant fighting, and his immediate assumption upon waking was that anyone he crossed paths with was going to pick a fight with him. What must his existence have been like back when he was awake before, if his worldview is narrowed to one of pure violence? Frankly, if it was THAT bad, I don't blame him for wanting to sleep away the millennia, poor guy.
The color page at the end was something of a surprise, considering how little action there was to highlight there. It's a shame that lovely paint couldn't have been used to enhance a more dynamic scene.