Inuyasha Manga: 329 Weakening Spirit Tree

Don't @ me, Chapter. Sure, my occasional tree visualization of root and branch isn't what it used to be, but I have a lot on my mind lately! My meditation sessions have been a struggle to focus for a while now, because of all the shit going on in my own life, the lives of my loved ones, and in the world at large. It feels like my head is overflowing, and instead of all the excess stuff that I have no personal power over/can't act on spilling out, it seems to have colonized my brain and pushed all actionable things right out. I need to find a way to banish the invaders, or my breath will continue to be harder and harder to follow in the future...

Still thankful I don't have the mental load THIS kid has, though. 

With a pained expression, Sango tells Kohaku that every village they passed was completely eaten by rats, as new ones continue to pour from the box. Sango hangs her head, mumbling that she didn't want to get involved with Kohaku yet again, Kohaku watching her and sweatdropping. He says plainly, if not a little hesitantly, that he can't disobey orders. When Sango's head snaps up, her eyes are brimming with tears, and she yells Kohaku's name. Then she leaps from Kirara's back with Hiraikotsu extended above her head, ready to swing the weapon, seemingly at the alarmed Kohaku. 

Oh good, she was just going for the box. At least she gave him an excuse to close the thing, if nothing else. 

Of course the end of the rat stream explodes into a knot on Hiraikotsu's elbow from where it fell and smashed a few rodents. Miroku calls for Sango to stop, reminding her of what she herself had told him only a couple of chapters ago, but she swings Hiraikotsu to throw off the vermin, yelling at Miroku to just suck the damn things up. 

Kohaku runs off toward an incline up a nearby hill, fleeing between a few buzzing Saimyoushou, which is probably preventing Miroku from doing what Sango ordered him. She groans in frustration as she runs after her brother, announcing her intention to smash the zushi, at the very least. Miroku looks over his shoulder at the rats still streaming off into the distance, and determines that even if he uses the Kazaana, the rats are too focused on going forward that they won't even look around. Not sure why he would care about the rats looking at him when he's vacuuming them into oblivion, but it's clear that he's wondering if the mayose charm drawing them is really THAT powerful at least. 

It's definitely BIG, that's for sure. 

As Shippou gapes up in wonder at the tree, he asks what happens to the rats that reach the sky, and Kagome answers that they get purified, most likely. She's looking a little worried here with her contracted brows and sweatdrop, and the silent Inuyasha isn't looking too much different. He notes that nowhere around the base of this massive tree is Kikyou in sight. Whether it's disappointment or concern isn't quite clear either.

Suddenly, a voice from the sky complains about how annoying a woman Kikyou is, for having setting this giant rodent trap up and then fucking off. A swirl of evil aura appears in the sky, and at its center, what looks like thick boneless appendages come worming their way out. 

Oh great, it's not tentacles, just... more fucking pests, lol!

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou all gape in alarm, the latter voicing the reality that they're looking at monstrous slugs. Standing on the side of one of these is Hakudoushi, STILL pissing and moaning about how he thought he'd finally dragged Kiykou out into the open. That's what you get when you devastate an area WAY too large to monitor where any one person may show up, kiddo. 

Inuyasha calls to Hakudoushi in a none-too-friendly way, accusing him rightly of being the bastard who unleashed all these fucking rats. Hakudoushi chuckles that Inuyasha shouldn't even need to ask, implying he's the only one depraved enough for a shitty plan like this. Which, you know... fair enough. 

At the edges of one the slugs' undersides sticking to the tree, the bark and wood crack under the slime breaking it down. Kagome cries that the mayose tree is being corroded by the slugs, and Shippou adds that the tree will be destroyed if they don't do something fast. Inuyasha grunts and yanks Tessaiga from its sheath as he leaps toward the tree. Hakudoushi mockingly asks if he'll cut him at the monsters, and Kagome calls to him, Shippou warning him not to use the Kaze no Kizu; he'll just be doing what Hakudoushi wants if he cuts down the tree along with the slugs. Inuyasha yells over his shoulder to the mouthy little brat that he KNOWS this, and continues his ascent up the tree with slug platforms to aid him. Shippou grumbles that Inuyasha's expression shows he doesn't understand, as if the ONLY reason Inuyasha could be going up the tree is to use Kaze no Kizu. 

Granted, there's no denying how RT loves making Inuyasha do the dumbest things...

Kagome holds up her bow and retrieves an arrow from her quiver, asserting that they have to protect the tree regardless. At least there are none of those arrows this time that will deliver a shock if she's trying use it in a way Kikyou doesn't like, lol! She nocks it and says that she's certain she can purify the youkai slugs. 

Shippou is congratulatory over her hitting the slug, but Kagome reminds him that they're pretty big targets. Gotta hand it to the girl, she stays humble. 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha is still hopping from slug-platform to slug-platform, demanding that the little bastard Hakudoushi stay right where he is above him. In his defense, he doesn't appear to be preparing to move at all. Inuyasha attempts to lecture him, asking how many villages he thinks had to parish just so he could draw out Kikyou, as if that's going to move the little psychopath. In fact, Hakudoushi's smirk remains firmly in place, asking Inuyasha in turn if he's really angry about that. It's at this point that Hakudoushi leaps from his perch just as Inuyasha is coming up to him, passing him in midair. Inuyasha swings away at Hakudoushi with a Kaze no Kizu.

See Shippou? He didn't aim at the fucking TRUNK, did he?

Hakudoushi's head smugly chuckles above what's left of his blown-away body, and as Inuyasha growls in anger and frustration, he begins to disappear into a vortex of swirling aura. Before he vanishes, he tells Inuyasha to give Kikyou a message if he sees her: As long as she continues to evade and run from Naraku, this same kind of catastrophe will continue to crop up endlessly. 

Or until the islands run out of villages to wipe out, of course. 

Inuyasha growls out a curse again, looking up at the slug above him and the sizzling trunk underneath it. On the ground, Shippou observes the rats with some concern, stuttering to Kagome that they're acting strange. Kagome lowers another arrow a bit with a noise of question, and Shippou explains that until now, they've been aiming themselves for the tree without hesitation, but now...

There's a joke in here somewhere about edging, but I'm not sure I'm the one to make it. XD

Kagome calls for Inuyasha to handle the slugs further up the tree, and Inuyasha responds he's already on it, clawing through another of the gooey youkai pests. Kagome concentrates on blasting another to oblivion with her arrow. Hopefully there aren't so many that she runs out of arrows. 

Back at the source site for the rats, Kohaku is leaping along with the zushi strapped to his back, but his escape is cut off by Hiraikotsu spinning out of the air from over his head and into the ground just in front of him. Or, maybe it just grazed the ground, because it returns to Sango's hand behind him, Kohaku following its path over his shoulder with his gaze. He turns and grunts as he throws his sickle at her, but she deflects the half-hearted resistance with Hiraikotsu's broad side, yelling his name in both warning and pleading. She insists that he HAS to break free of Naraku's grasp. Oh, if she knew he already has, it would absolutely SHATTER her at this point.

Kohaku contemplates her with some hesitation a moment. 

Scant meal as you are, I suppose you're better than the nothing they were heading for. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Hakudoushi's lack of concern with not being able to actually confront Kikyou is just more evidence that he pulled this youkai rat stunt because he thought it was FUN, and trapping Kikyou was just an minor excuse. This is something that we already know, though. What's particularly interesting about this, however, is how Hakudoushi is not treating this like a failure. Naraku gave him the task of drawing out Kikyou, and while it did have that effect, he created a mess big enough for her to slip out of and back into hiding without him catching her. It further emphasizes Naraku's habits to let a lot SLIDE when it comes to the failures of those in his service, something that I'm only now coming to recognize. We've only really seen him PUNISH Kagura, because she's outwardly antagonistic toward him, but the rest of his incarnations and "servants" are hardly ever given so much as an admonition for screwing up in their missions. It all just rolls off him like water off a duck's back.

How very Zen of him. Of course, he probably also considers the rat incident just as amusing as Hakudoushi, so in his mind it's worth it just to wipe out a few villages. 

I don't know if I have much else to say on the subject of Sango and Kohaku's respective dilemmas. Kohaku did look like he wanted quite badly to admit to Sango that he WAS indeed broken from Naraku's control there for a second at the end, but again, that's a double-edged sword. If he tells her that he's conscious, then she HAS to judge his actions based on his own autonomy, and letting that box stand open doesn't exactly look GOOD on him, even considering his unique reasoning. Besides, it's at least fair reasoning that he needs to continue keeping up appearances for his plan to work out, and it would be majorly anticlimactic if he threw that away so soon after making such a weighty decision. 

SOMEBODY'S gotta stick to their guns in this thing! 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 029 Kaze-maru - Ninja!

I've been trying to cut down on my use of the em dash and en dash in my writing lately, because I hear that there's a tendency to ChatGPT and other LLMs to overuse these punctuation features, and I certainly don't want anyone to mistake my writing for that of so called "AI". As a result, I've become sensitive to the use of dashes everywhere I see them, and I can't help but flinch whenever I see them in other texts too, even ones that predate our current LLM issue by a long way. It's not their fault, but a filter's a filter. To make matters worse, the use of the hyphen in Kaze-maru has hardly been consistent when it's been used in previous chapters. In a single chapter, his name as been translated as Kaze-maru, Kazemaru, and Kaze Maru, and I've just stuck with the hyphenated spelling for consistency's sake. 

It might help if HUMANS could agree on how to spell names before they publish, instead of being so wild with them. 

Not a moment to recover? Is Genkai not vibing with Yusuke's punk persona and trying to get rid of him?

Yusuke complains that he just finished a match, and Genkai retorts that the order of the matches are set, which is a tough break for Yusuke. Uh, girl, the only one who's setting these rules is YOU. What's with the "I just work here" attitude you're adopting? Anyway, she's also sick of the fights in the dark, apparently, so she tells them they're also switching locales as she opens the massive door out of the abyss of a room.

Well, at least it'll be easier to for the audience to see the battles now too.

They climb a hill through the trees as a group this time, Yusuke bringing up the rear, huffing and puffing the whole way. Ah, the cigarettes are already taking their toll. He pisses and moans that his Reigun is all used up and he's a mass of bruises, not giving himself good odds for this round. Botan, who is slightly ahead of him on the trek, silently agrees, and adds that Kaze-maru might very well be Rando. They both peer at the backs of the two left besides Yusuke and Kuwabara, worrying and wondering which one it might be. 

The group emerges from the trees in a clearing with some tall grass that half-obscures Genkai, who announces that they've arrived. 

Genkai might be going for Yoda vibes here...

She states in all seriousness that ancient battles were fought here, and there's no more spiritual a spot on the whole mountain. It's her assertion that their powers will flower fully on this ground, swampy though it might be. Kaze-maru agrees with her, surrounded with spectral fire, saying that he feels the power surging through him. Botan turns to Yusuke and asks if HE feels anything while he examines his extended forefinger and thumb. He answers that he's getting SOME strength back, but not nearly enough for a decent shot, and he has some anxiety about being cooked if Kaze-maru is Rando with powers he hasn't shown yet. 

Wearing a smug smirk, Kaze-maru claims to sympathize with Yusuke being dealt a shit hand, and starts to lecture Yusuke on how you have to play the cards luck has given you in the real world. I wouldn't expect a guy like this to use gambling metaphors, but I guess it works for the target, so it's fine. Kaze-maru adds that Yusuke MAY prevail with enough spiritual energy, but rather than this being a hopeful note, it comes across as more mocking. Yusuke thinks that he'll only prevail by delivering one good counter punch, clenching his fist. It's no wonder his instinct is to fall back on his base brawling skills, as he doesn't appear to have much faith that he can get through this otherwise.

Kaze-maru takes a step forward, drawling about how interesting it is to meet someone like himself that can emit reiki in the same way he can, but acknowledges that it seems Yusuke's energy is spent. With this observation out of the way, he lunges for Yusuke and declares he could defeat the kid right now with his bare hands. To his horror, Yusuke's shoe gets stuck in the squishing mud and he's forced to watch Kaze-maru's fist sailing straight at the side of his face. 

That's going to hurt in the morning. Or now. 

It unsticks Yusuke from the ground, though, so that's good. He's left sprawled on the swamp some distance from Kaze-maru, having been flung through the force of the ninja's punches. Groaning, Yusuke pushes himself up as Kaze-maru strolls over, Kuwabara laments how beat Yusuke is to the point where he can't even hit back or dodge. 

Kaze-maru pulls back for another hit when he arrives at Yusuke's side, promising to make it a quick defeat for him. But Yusuke responds with an exclamation of "now!" and swings at Kaze-maru once he's close enough. Sweatdropping, Kaze-maru twitches back, so Yusuke's punch barely goes past his head. Yusuke complains that he missed, but blood spurts from a new cut on Kaze-maru's cheek, surprising him quite a bit. He leaps back some distance, and as Yusuke bares his teeth at him, Kaze-maru admits that Yusuke's not quite as spent as he thought, and he'll have to stay out of the tot's reach. 

Just thought I'd remind everyone that this is a grown man fighting a literal teenager. 

Well, the title DID emphasize that he's a ninja, after all. 

As the stars whizz toward him, Yusuke acknowledges that he's in pretty bad shape, but he should easily be able to dodge those. And in fact does, fairly easily. This doesn't appear to bother Kaze-maru, though, who stands with a neutral expression, arms crossed. Yusuke asks if he's got anything else, or if he plans to just stand there, but his attention is drawn by a growing whir behind him. To his alarm, it's the whole set of stars coming back around at his head. 

The stars slash Yusuke yet again on their third pass, causing Yusuke to cry out in pain. Kaze-maru lifts a finger from his crossed arms to wag it at Yusuke, calling these little missiles reiki-seeking throwing stars that Yusuke won't be able to escape. Over another shot of one spinning relentlessly in the air, Kaze-maru says they'll keep going until they hit their target. 

Yusuke takes a wide defensive stance in front of a tree, the stars steering toward him once again. At the last second, he leaps out from their path, and the moment one of them makes contact with the tree...

Really? They have to EXPLODE too??

Apparently. As Yusuke is thrown back by the force of blast, Kaze-maru lightly admits that his stars also explode when they're hit, so even a near miss can mess one up. Pointing in his supposed triumph, Kaze-maru declares that Yusuke out of options. Yusuke pushes himself again to his feet with more effort than ever, it seems, groaning while he thinks that he's toast if there's one more explosion like that. He staggers, and senses the turn in midair of the remaining stars as they steer for him once more, knowing that this is it. But he also knows he can't just STAND here if this guy is Rando.

Interlude by a sketch of Botan wishing everyone a happy New Year with best wishes and all that. Being as far as I can be from the New Year during my coverage of this chapter is a LITTLE amusing to me. 

Back in the chapter proper, Yusuke glances nervously over to Kuwabara, and laments how much it sucks, but...

He doesn't realize he's the new tree yet, does he?

Yusuke he's going straight into WHATEVER Kaze-maru has got, so that if HE goes down, so does Kaze-maru. Kaze-maru holds out his palm, which glows with building power, insisting (a little nervously, I might say) that Yusuke take his energy blast, because the fool cannot be allowed to get anywhere NEAR him. 

After a splash, Kaze-maru is left alone on the field, looking around and questioning where Yusuke disappeared to. He's incensed that Yusuke pulled off this impossible vanishing act, but his anger is quickly replaced with panic when his stars, in Yusuke's absence, start heading straight for him. He yells at them halting exclamations of discouragement and disbelief, as though they'll be moved not to attack their own master.

Maybe program them for that possibility next time, my dude. 

Kaze-maru arcs back with the force of the self-inflicted explosion, exclaiming haltingly that he just doesn't get it, then thumps on the ground, defeated. But Kuwabara seems more interested in the fact that, as he and the others advance on the battlefield, Yususke really appears to have vanished into thin air. Botan's attention is drawn by a glubbing in the swamp, and then an arm extends from the muddy water, waving, and she points out the spot in excitement. Kuwabara drags Yusuke out of the bog, mocking him for being so desperate as to hide in there, but Yusuke coughs that he WASN'T hiding; he just FELL IN. He and I both seem to be in disbelief that it turned out to be the right move anyway, lol. 

Smiling, Genkai says that it would seem it was, telling Yusuke that his sudden disappearance threw Kaze-maru off his timing, and though it was accidental, it's still Yusuke's win. She asserts that Lady Luck was smiling on him this time. Still not the biggest miracle she pulled off for him in this story though! XD

Kaze-maru, still conscious, though immobile on the ground, whines that he can't believe it, and Yusuke agrees. Botan can say for certain now that Kaze-maru is down for the count and is not giving off any subconscious demonic aura that she can detect, he's NOT Rando. With this affirmation, Yusuke concludes that the only one it could possibly be is the guy Kuwabara is now going to face in the second semi-finals match that Genkai is yelling at them to prepare for. The guy who Kuwabara is currently thinking should be a cinch to beat. 

Yeeeaaaaah, definitely should have struck us as more obvious...

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I may have been somewhat torn on the re-frame of Yusuke's bad habits in the previous chapter, but my opinion of the content of this one is less difficult to parse. I definitely appreciate the element of luck being emphasized in this one, because it's just not covered in most stories that I come across. Skill and work are subordinate to opportunity in my experience, and the former just don't matter much without the latter coming around first. Without a little luck, Yusuke wouldn't have been in any position to win this one, because he just wasn't in any physical condition to continue to perform at capacity. 

And it looked to me that Genkai, smiling like she was, appreciated Yusuke's luck here too. One might have expected her to be a little frustrated that fortune had played so big a role in the outcome of this match as opposed to the skill and power of the two fighters. But she appeared almost pleased with the winner. It's possible, because she had already decided on the order of the matches, that she had been hoping the old swamp would provide a bit more of a leveling effect on the playing field, with its power-boosting properties as well as its environmental advantages. Because she's expressed her intention to go with whoever won in her trials no matter what, she would be interested in making things as fair as possible, and to make up for her personal hand in the matter as much as possible. I don't doubt she's aware that her own decisions are affecting the scales in various subtle ways, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was trying to mitigate that as much as possible. If adding a little luck into the process for anyone to grasp and take advantage of is the result, then that's all the better. 

And no doubt a spiritual adept like herself is partial to the idea of seeming randomness like luck provides an avenue for Providence to act for the best too. XD
 

Inuyasha Manga: 328 Mayose

I've never been much good at cleaning. I get a little grossed out by it, and the sensations that come with touching/scrubbing grime. Because of this, I tend to put off cleaning up, and have had to come up with all kinds of strategies to motivate me to overlook my sensory disgust at the cleaning act. This week, I'm going to have to employ EVERY SINGLE ONE, and maybe come up with a few more, in order to avoid being completely mortified by a visitor swinging by. Thankfully, my husband isn't nearly as grossed-out by the process of cleaning as I am, so he's able to help me quite a bit, but it's going to take both of us to make the kitchen and dining area presentable, because there are corners there that are quite neglected. Lots of dust, lots of clutter, and a few stains that I've mostly forgotten about. 

It's going to take a LOT more effort than a more functional adult would have to spend on the task.

Better than the herculean effort it's going to take to clean up THIS mess, though. 

Sango and Miroku fly over the countryside on Kirara, the former commenting on how EVERYTHING has been covered by rats. Miroku reminds Sango of how she said that the rats only increase when cut, and she affirms this, expressing frustration that they increased so damn much that they can't tell where their source is. Miroku guesses that she means the zushi box, to which Sango responds that she's HEARD the rats will disappear if the box is destroyed. That sure is an uncertain statement as solution to a REALLY big problem.

Elsewhere, in the craggy side of a mountain, a bubble of a barrier bulges out of the mouth of a cave, where Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou hang out and wait. Shippou complains about how Sango and Miroku are late, and Inuyasha bitterly questions why he has to hang out inside the barrier too. Shippou suggests it's because Inuyasha would easily become frustrated and start swinging his sword around, only to increase the population of rats. Inuyasha gripes at the little brat for calling him an idiot, before Kagome points out something to Inuyasha on the other side of their protective barrier. 

No surprise there. Kagome takes this as confirmation that Naraku was behind this Zushi Nezumi going out of control business, and Inuyasha scoffs that he always figured that was the case anyway. He adds that he didn't think Naraku would have died from the arrow, though there's a bit of a doubtful note at the end with a trailing "but".

Shippou announces that Sango and Miroku have returned upon spotting them outside the barrier, and once they're back inside, Miroku asks for confirmation that Kagome also saw they Saimyoushou. After she tells him she has, Shippou suggests that Naraku is searching for them to get revenge. Miroku is doubtful of this hypothesis, rather feeling that Naraku is pulling strings from behind the scenes in order to get someone to show themselves. Inuyasha asks what he means, as if there could be any doubt about it, and Miroku repeats that it should be obvious Miroku is trying to draw a certain someone out, they themselves being a possibility, but Miroku seems to pause before listing ANOTHER, more likely option. Inuyasha and Kikyou come to the conclusion to which Miroku is leading them at the same time: Kikyou. Kagome in particular lands pretty hard on the notion that Naraku's target is Kikyou. 

Well done, kiddos. 

And well done Naraku. As usual, he seems to be getting exactly what he wants. 

The little manufactured child by Kikyou's side draws her attention to the sky, where the other little child, called Kochou, was flying toward them. Once near the ground, Kochou extended a branch of the Ogatama Tree that she was apparently instructed to retrieve. With a determined look, Kikyou accepts the foliage, and tells Kochou and her twin Asuka that they're going down the mountain. 

What, to where the RATS are??

To where they WERE, anyway, a barren valley covered in abandoned wagons and skeletons that the rats had left behind them. Kikyou draws a perfect pentagram in the dirt with the tip of her bow, and sticks the branch she got from Kochou right in the center of it, like it's a miniature tree. Raising two fingers and concentrating on this little branch in the pentagram wordlessly, it starts to grow.

And boy DOES it grow in a hurry. 

The rats surging over the ground suddenly start turning their heads, and then their bodies in a single direction, something that Inuyasha and Miroku notice from a the peak of a bluff somewhere. Inuyasha in particular appears astonished by this sudden gathering of the disorganized hordes. Kagome and Sango aren't far behind them, the former commenting on how they all seem to be heading for the same place, the latter agreeing that the flow is becoming one steady stream of rodents. 

Miroku says hesitantly that somewhere a "mayose" could be being performed. Inuyasha repeats the term as a question, so Miroku explains that it's a way of bringing together and destroying youkai all at once, but it couldn't be done without a STRONG spiritual power. 

I'm continually perplexed at how weak we're supposed to THINK Kikyou is, when she's out here doing shit like THIS. In front of God and everybody, as my father would say. 

Kagome suggests to Inuyasha they go and check it out, with more than a TOUCH of irritation in her expression. Inuyasha says her name in response, as though about to argue, but Sango cuts in with her own plans to try and find out where the rats are coming from, and Kagome calls to her in curiosity. Sango elaborates that it's worrying her that the number of rats passing is increasing and the flow isn't stemming at ALL, meaning that the rats are still coming from their box. Miroku agrees with her implication that this won't be over until the source of the trouble is addressed. 

So Inuyasha is carrying Kagome over the flood of rats toward where they are heading, Shippou tagging along on Kagome's shoulder and asking with a sweatdrop if Naraku will show up ahead too, if Kikyou is really there. Kagome can only really respond with a nervous noise, only just remembering herself that Naraku is after Kikyou's life. She's really SO consumed with her own personal drama that she's forgotten WHY Kikyou had to come out of hiding in the first place. GIRL. 

Inuyasha tells Shippou it would have been better for him to go with Miroku and Sango if he is so scared of meeting Naraku, but Shippou snaps back that he can't do that, because then who would be there to comfort Kagome when he and Kikyou meet and a weird mood develops? In his overinflated righteousness, Shippou calls Inuyasha a two-timing dog, and Inuyasha adopts a glower and warns the little guy that he's liable to be dropped right into the teeming rats if he says one more word. Probably best to hold that tongue until you're NOT relying on this guy to keep you from being devoured alive, kiddo.

Kagome and Shippou gape at what they judge SEEMS to be a tree, but Inuyasha adds that it's reaching straight up into the sky. The branches are disappearing far past the clouds, and the rats, as Kagome observes, follow those branches ALL the way up and vanish right along with the top of the tree. The shadow this thing casts must be absurdly large. It would block out the damn SUN.

Meanwhile, following the stream of rats back the opposite way, Sango and Miroku fly over an obliterated village that Miroku judges was devoured some time ago, but he's not more specific about how long he thinks that is. Sango agrees, adding that the rats have forced a path through it. The point is that they seem to be traveling back to earlier sites of the destruction. Miroku mutters about how terrible this is, and Sango urges Kirara to hurry. 

CONSCIOUSLY following orders just might be hitting different for Kohaku. He recalls Hakudoushi telling him that Kikyou has made a move, and as he's leaving to run and meet her, instructs Kohaku to stay here and watch over the zushi, warning him not to close the door on the little box. Kohaku even now puzzles over WHY the door should remain open when Kikyou has been lured out and its purpose is presumably fulfilled. It seems to be rhetorical, because he has already drawn the conclusion, with a look of disgust on his face, that Hakudoushi is ENJOYING the destruction of the rat horde. 

Give the boy a prize.

Kohaku leans on the box, his hand near the door, thinking on closing it to stop the rats, how even now it COULD save some lives. But he's aware of the saimyoushou hovering nearby, and notes with a sweatdrop that he's being watched. If he closes it, he's SURE that he'll let Naraku know that he's regained his memory and autonomy. Quite the dilemma he's created for himself.

Suddenly his name is called, and he looks up to find Sango and Miroku hovering on Kirara above him. 

And to top it all off, he just keeps breaking his sister's heart. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Kikyou's condition is very convenient to not interfere with the resolution of this rat problem. Miroku says himself that immense spiritual power is needed to create a "Mayose" charm, so I can't help but think, once again, that Kikyou can't be in THAT bad of shape right now. Perhaps it really IS just her physical condition that's still recovering from the corruption of Naraku's miasma river, but I should think even that would impact her ability to execute spiritual feats - I know that when I'M in extreme discomfort, I can't concentrate all that well on simple meditation. Granted, this is a pretty time-sensitive issue, and there's no one ELSE who can get rid of the sheer amount of rats that have been unleashed. 

I suppose I still think that if Kikyou's condition is as bad as we're supposed to believe, she should also be FORCED to seek help, primarily from Kagome, because she would be the only one who might be able to pull off what is needed here. It's an obvious literary avenue that is FAR more interesting than the contradictory path that RT is taking here.

Good thing Kohaku is here to make up for the confusion around Kikyou's state with his much crunchier complexity. His current situation is no easy puzzle, and forces the reader to ask a lot of anxiety-ridden questions. How far would you go to get your shot at eliminating ONE guy? How many people would you let die? How many would you kill on orders? How much evil is WORTH IT? And how many of us would have whatever it takes to make this continual decision? Because every second, Kohaku is having to reaffirm his commitment to his plan. In full consciousness, he has to ask himself these very questions - when it's enough and how many sacrifices are justified on the altar of killing Naraku - every moment. And I don't expect the reaffirmation to be any easier over time, especially when so much of his newly regained consciousness has to be dedicated to convincing himself that it's all worth it. 

It's true what they say.