Inuyasha Manga: 356 Evil Presence

Do you ever get that feeling in your gut, when you first meet someone or they're pointed out to you, that you REALLY don't want to be around that person? Just something about them immediately sets you on edge and there's no reasoning yourself out of the immediate dislike? I've never really believed in "evil" per se, but I have had a couple of those experiences where I seemed to know immediately that I didn't want to be around someone, being that something about them was just OFF. I won't go into detail, due to the semi-traumatic nature of both these instances, but suffice it to say, I was correct 100% of the time, and I had to suffer the consequences of ignoring the little voice inside my head that told me this person was bad news. 

If Kikyou had listened to her own gut, or at least her sister's, none of this shit would have been a problem. 

As Kanna stares blankly over the infant she's holding, Kikyou thinks about how he was tracking a completely DIFFERENT presence all the way here. She clearly isn't going to let this opportunity go to waste, aiming an arrow at Kanna and the baby. But she shoots a glance into her periphery just as a strike comes down from the sky and explodes the earth at her feet, forcing her to leap away. 

Gee, I wonder where YOU'VE been all this time. 

Kikyou identifies Moryoumaru as the one she'd been tracking to begin with, the evil presence that guided her here, and points her arrow at HIM instead. Moryoumaru sees this and his body breaks up into curls of disconnected flesh so the arrow sails straight through it. Kikyou notices that there are spheres that the flesh is rotating around, and recognizes them as haku after a moment's squint. 

A coordinated swarm of the flesh slams into the ground, and again, Kikyou has to jump backward. While she draws another arrow, she sees Kanna's form fleeing the scene through a cloud of dust. She yells at Kanna that she won't get away, firing the arrow. 

Oops! Infants can survive a fall from a cliff, right? 

Kikyou curses and runs to the edge of the cliff, as Kanna is caught by one of the pieces of flesh from Moryoumaru's cloud. By the time she kneels to peer down into the chasm below, Kanna and the infant have disappeared. She notes that not only has she lost sight of those two, but the evil presence as well. Observant as she is, Kikyou recalls the jewel that the infant was carrying when she saw him, and what Inuyasha related to her about Naraku getting ahold of a stone that erases youki. She puts two and two together, identifying that stone as the Fuuyouheki, but she does wonder if she just came across the heart that was supposed to be protected by the stone's youki-erasing powers by accident. It DOES seem awfully coincidental, doesn't it? 

Cut to Kaede's village, long time, no see. Kaede enters her home announcing that she's boiled some herbs.

I'd say it'll leave some nasty scars, but I don't know if RT could remember them at all beyond this point, let alone draw them with any consistency when relevant. 

Kaede asks Sango in the background how Miroku is doing, and Sango tears her eyes away from him to confirm that he doesn't seem to have shaken off the Saimyoushou poison quite yet. Inuyasha being missing, Kagome asks where he is, and Kaede looks over toward the mat hanging over her door, saying that he seems to be brooding sullenly about something out there. It's not clear if they can see him sitting hunched on the fence from where they are, but we're shown the image anyway.

Shippou suggests that Inuyasha might be worried about how he lost to the corruption of the Shikon shard, which looks like it's news to KAEDE, because she's shocked by this information. Wow, you guys told her damn near NOTHING, huh? Kagome admits this is the case, but adds that they were all saved because of it. Shippou corrects the oversimplification, crediting Kagome with jumping in to purify the fragment so Inuyasha didn't turn full youkai and lose himself. She hangs her head in melancholy as she acknowledges this is true. 

What would you know about it? What are you, like six? 

Inuyasha doesn't even bother with the sarcastic response that I would go for, opting instead for his usual whack to Shippou's head as he requests Kagome come out and hang with him a bit. She makes a confused noise, but it's not long before they're outside and Kagome is asking him what's up.

Oh, that won't matter a lick to the foot fetishists now drooling over this chapter.

Kagome doesn't answer his question, just says his name. He sighs and hangs his head, admitting the very thing that he hit Shippou for saying earlier: he has a long way to go. Toward what goal, I'm not certain, but there seems to be some agreement here that the journey is long. Inuyasha apologizes to Kagome for causing her to have a painful memory, if not the literal pain in her feet. It's a straightforward sorry, which is more than a lot of internet personalities are capable of, anyway. 

But Kagome assures him that this isn't true at all, and that it was because he was there that any of them survived at all. Of course, they wouldn't have been IN the oni stomach to begin with if he weren't there either, but we'll gloss over that. Kagome adds that she was actually really happy in the moment that he asked for her support for just a little longer, because she was glad to be by his side. It's Inuyasha's turn to say her name in a trailing statement. 

Awwwww! So sweet! 

Isn't this SO MUCH BETTER than watching them have the same fight over and over again???

Cut to yet another remote building perched precariously on the side of a mountain. This one looks a bit bigger than the one Hakudoushi was hanging out in, and stands out against the bare rock, not a tree or bush in sight. Inside, Kagura is descending a set of L-shaped stairs, a healthy distance between her and Naraku. He seems to be leading her somewhere, and on some sparse information, because after a moody pause she asks him what this "important job" he's mentioned to her is. 

Naraku looks up over his shoulder at her, accusing her in no uncertain terms of poking around too much, and asking her what it is she's even looking for. OH SHIT, no more coy bullshit, he's just flat out telling her he's noticed her sticking her nose where he doesn't want it. Though the exclamation point in her speech bubble implies that she's shocked, her expression remains on the more irritated and defiant side. Inside, she's freaking out in disbelief that he might have noticed she's searching for his heart. NO, YOU THINK??? 

She's not saying anything out loud, though, so he continues without her answer, suggesting that she just wants to find things out because she doesn't know anything. Typical harmless curiosity, no biggie. He says this is why he'll put some IMPORTANT work in front of her. He's led her into a dark dungeon built into the side of the mountain, where metal grate is set into an opening leading into another roughly carved chamber off to the side. Sweatdropping, Kagura recognizes the same Rakan statues that were on Goryoumaru's temple grounds sitting outside the grate. 

So he's not in a grave anymore, and not out there flying around as Moryoumaru. What's the DEAL with this dude?

Kagura is SURE that Goryoumaru's head was cut off, but here he is, head still attached and laying there in a cell. 

My dude, did you think this would make her LESS curious?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Well here we are! Right at the point where the first anime ended, having caught up to the manga yet again and not being prepared to produce even more filler content while canon material built back up. This was quite the place to do that, because this arc has been difficult to parse, and I think a lot of viewers of the show might have been left scratching their heads rather than anticipating a possible sequel series. It's a cliffhanger, but in more a confusing, frustrating way. Not only has the series itself become more repetitive and homogenized, but there's this sense that no explanation for the latest events will be truly satisfying because the pieces just don't make a lot of sense altogether. 

For example, the supposedly human and totally innocent of knowing shit about Naraku Goryoumaru showing up in a prison with his head attached firmly to his body, no new scar to speak of, just increases my bafflement. Trying to reconcile that with the state he was in before and the information we had at that time is futile in my case. That's not to say that a good explanation CAN'T exist, but if it does, it's extremely opaque. That alone might persuade a lot of viewers against coming back if things are going to be so oddly murky. 

It also brings up some questions that seem to be glossed over within the chapter. For instance, how long has Kikyou been following around Moryoumaru? Has she been at it for this whole arc? Is that why she and Moryoumaru have been sort of MIA this whole time? Otherwise I would have expected Kikyou to be drawn instead to that creepy temple and Goryoumaru. And yet, there is no indication from Naraku or Hakudoushi that Moryoumaru (and thus Kanna and the infant) was being pursued by Kikyou. In fact, the only concern that they discuss is how Kagura is being a nosy Parker and how to deal with that. 

How appointing her Goryoumaru's warden is supposed to solve this problem, I have no idea. I feel like Naraku is losing his touch a bit. 

I will say that it was nice to see Inuyasha and Kagome at last able to have a conversation that isn't dripping with resentment and jealousy. No doubt that's because Kikyou wasn't involved in this incident, so it was a little easier for Inuyasha and Kagome to talk about what happened without slinging blame around. On the contrary, Inuyasha puts all the blame on himself for the incident, which isn't exactly WRONG, given he led them into the situation in the first place. Of course, since none of the rest of the group challenged his reckless leadership and asked for a slow-down so they could think for a second whether it was really the best idea to fly into a giant mouth is an important factor in this as well...

Inuyasha taking responsibility for this incident isn't necessarily bad, but I do worry about his and Shippou's statements that "he has a long way to go". In the context, the implication is that the goal is for Inuyasha to be stong and capable enough to single-handedly get them out of any emergency situation. That's an awful lot of pressure to put on a SINGLE member of their team, and kind of goes against what he's been learning about the benefits of having friends this whole time. 

Which is why I hope he's listening closely to Kagome when she says she was happy to be able to offer him support. She's not just saying that it was a pleasure to help. It was a pleasure to be there so that he could draw on her strength where his was lacking. That's the point of having relationships, because NO ONE can do everything themselves and they are going to need help when the gaps in their abilities show up. 

Inuyasha has spent a long time believing that he had to do everything for himself and refuse reliance on others, so his habit is to assume that if he wasn't able to solve a problem alone, he's still not good enough. There's probably also an element in there of the guilt over Kikyou's death, seeing it as his failure to save her from Naraku. It's helpful to have Kagome around, demonstrating support, reliability, trust, and respect, so that he can slowly start to understand personal strength can always be supplemented by great connections and teamwork. 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 056 Blood-Stained Flowers!!

The established pattern of using two exclamation points at the end of every title can be a bit discordant at times. I feel like the imagery this title is evoking is more somber than the punctuation would suggest, unless it's coming as a horrible surprise, and even then I'm not certain this would be the best presentation. Of course, I'm not a comic artist myself, so who knows what decision I would make if I were drawing/writing something to do with blood-stained flowers, and to be fair, I'm thinking of a bouquet splattered with viscera and someone stumbling upon it when they come over for a visit. This is most certainly NOT the context, so we'll see what it really is and if my irritation with the exclamation points is at all warranted. 

Maybe a bloody bouquet is just something winners get as part of their prize in this tournament. XD

Kurama, looking so much more invested in this than Hiei, puts forth his own awed commentary that both opponents took clean hits, and this match could end in a draw. But Koto only get to the count of two when her attention is drawn to the edge of the ring, where a set of fingers grip from below the edge. It's Rinku who pulls himself up, grunting, and leaps back onto the platform. His shirt has a rip in it where Kuwabara pierced it with his Aura Sword, but there's no visible wound there in the flesh beneath. It would probably be distasteful to show the child bleeding out. 

The crowd cheers that Rinku is back up, and declares that the Jolly Devil Six will be winning this one. Rinku puts his hands over his smarting belly, complaining that he had a LOT more trouble with this battle than he had anticipated, and he has to focus his aura now on patching himself up. 

Kuwabara stumbles to his feet, still off the platform, but he's still causing Rinku some anxiety with his tenacity. Rinku can't help but yelp about Kuwabara being back on his feet, asking what the hell this guy is MADE OF. Throwing out a hand toward Kuwabara, Rinku grunts in effort again, and Kuwabara is confused at first. 

Well, that's that.

But Kuwabara is having trouble accepting it. He asks who cares, roaring that he can still fight and straining against his yo-yo bonds. Rinku recoils, shivering as he thinks that he BELIEVES Kuwabara, because he's never seen anyone so stubborn in his life. Meanwhile, Kurama is praising Rinku for being so masterful as to be able to control his yo-yos even when he's not connected to them. Hiei scoffs that they lost by the rules, seemingly only really concerned with the outcome. 

The scoreboard announces both in print and by speaker that the first round goes to Team Jolly Devil Six. Finally free of the yo-yos Kuwabara points to Rinku and vows that they'll finish this later, though Rinku grumbles that it's not likely. 

Kurama volunteers to go next, and his opponent, a guy with short hair standing at a spiked angle and black scleras, says straight up that he's not an honest fighter like Rinku. He prefers the EASY WAY. 

Kuwabara's act must be easy AND difficult to follow at the same time. 

Hiei calls out to Kurama, and when he looks back, tells him not to pull any punches out there because the opposite team have got to start thinking twice when fighting them in the future. Kurama assures him that he knows. Kuwabara appears to be standing tall and perfectly well again when he says to his remaining teammates that there's something he's been wondering about; where Kurama keeps his Rose Whip. Hiei says that it's contained in a simple little rosebud, and smirks as he exposits that ANY plant is a weapon in Kurama's hands, a simple weed on the street liable to turn into a razor sharp blade stronger than steel. When are they going to make out?

The match between Kurama and his black-eyed opponent Roto is begun, and Roto IMMEDIATELY starts in with some trash-talk. He sneers about hearing that Kurama lives with a human, and says that's hard for him to figure, asking if it's some sort of "family" thing with a chuckle. Not sure what he's getting at there, and perhaps Kurama isn't either, because he just... doesn't say anything, looking off to the side. Probably a smart move. 

For a single panel, we go to the stands, where Shizuru drawls that the long-haired kid isn't a human, and Keiko seems amazed that she can tell. Wait, hasn't she MET Kurama before? At LEAST when he was in the midst of training Kuwabara for a couple of months? I have a hard time believing that this is an assessment she's made just in the past SECOND. 

Anyway, Roto leans down, bracing one hand on the ground while he curls the other out behind him, the middle finger of which stretches and morphs into a long scythe-like extension. He asks if Kurama would be real sad if the human he lived with died, but Kurama just mutters that Roto is a weasel with a sickle. 

Roto swings and swings that blade-like finger, Kurama continuing to dodge and leap out of its way. Hiei says this is all a waste of time because Kurama is WAY ahead, and tells Kuwabara that luck was just against him. Well that's... uncharacteristically nice of him, lol. Kuwabara thrusts his thumb in his own direction and asserts that he would have taken his opponent out best out of three. Sure you would have, buddy. Sure. 

Kurama zips behind Roto and murmurs to him that he's adequate, but not much better than that, and he'll end this whole thing quickly. Roto's bewildered expression flips back to a smirk when he tells "Suichi Minamino" that his mother's life is in his enemy's hands. Kurama freezes in his chopping motion at the back of Roto's neck in alarm, then leaps backward once more as Roto swings the finger-scythe back toward him. He hasn't escaped - he looks up again with a thin gash dripping blood down his cheek. Hiei looks up at this with mild surprise, but Kuwabara clenches his teeth in his tension, asking through them why Kurama has slowed down. 

Oh wow, no easier strategy than extortion. 

Roto suggests that Kurama wouldn't like this development, given he's such a devoted "son" and all. He really did his research, huh? Kurama drops his defensive stance and just STANDS there silently, looking a bit put out. Roto chuckles, retracting that massive scythe-like claw, because he thinks he sees what that silence means. He darts over to Kurama and punches him square in the face, voicing his interpretation as Kurama the HUMAN LOVER picking up what he's putting down. 

While Kurama's face remains snapped to the side by the hit, he flicks something at Roto's face, that seems to bounce off quite harmlessly. He looks over at where it's landed on the grid drawn on the platform, identifying it as a pebble, the most modest show of defiance from Kurama. Roto raises the fist holding his precious extortion button to make it as visible as possible, and declares that Kurama won't show even a pebble's worth of defiance anymore. He demands that Kurama clasp his hands behind his back and act as his punching bag. 

Dude wants to push the button so bad that he's hallucinating defiant behavior. Even Kuwabara recognizes that Kurama is leaving himself wide open and wonders with horror just WHAT it is he's doing. The crowd erupts in cheers for Roto's supposed hypnotizing of Kurama, and calls for him to torture and tear up the compliant opponent. 

Roto's smirk is a sharp, jagged gash in his own face. He chuckles that Kurama WON'T fight, because he's such a good little mama's boy. He gets right up in Kurama's turned-away face to suggest he COULD sever his arm with his Rose Whip, but the fingers on that arm might twitch just enough to get the job done on dear mommy. He outright laughs, hitting Kurama in the gut.

Kurama lets out a muffled grunt, but that's all. It's enough for Roto to declare he likes, though, and Roto continues hitting Kurama, this time across the face, saying beating on a guy who can't fight back is what he really calls fun. Can't relate, but I'm someone who likes a bit of a constructive challenge in my leisure activities. 

Roto suddenly pauses, frowning, calling Kurama scum. That was a real heel-face turn, huh? He re-extends the finger-scythe to poke at Kurama's cheek and complains about not liking the LOOK in his eye. He demands that Kurama look SCARED, but I don't know how THAT'S going to be any more satisfying. 

Great, now he just looks like another popular anime character. Good job, dipshit. 

Roto finishes the slash so hard that Kurama's face is whipped to the side again, demanding that Kurama stop LOOKING at him like that. Like what? Like he's been scrolling through Netflix for 20 minutes without finding a single thing to watch? Though Roto's smirk is back, he says he's in a real bad mood now, and is putting the responsibility of doing something about that on Kurama. He's just being a stereotypical abusive boyfriend at this point. How lame. 

Lifting his foot demonstratively, Roto commands Kurama to bow down and lick his shoe. He offers to cut Kurama's head clean off once it's clean, and then maybe he WON'T press that button. It's a wonder to me that Kurama's eyes don't roll straight out of his head when Roto asks jokingly if he can refuse, and then answers himself in the negative, because Kurama's precious mommy's life is on the line. 

But the answer that comes from Kurama is the opposite - he absolutely DOES refuse. After a pause, Roto asks for him to repeat that, and as he dusts off his jacket casually, Kurama says that's enough, and gives Roto permission to go ahead and push the button. Sounds to me like Kurama has some INSURANCE now that he didn't before, but Roto interprets this differently. He giggles madly that if he heard Kurama correctly, his hypocritical ass told him to press the button, and that makes him not any different than any of the OTHER low-down bloodthirsty demons in this stadium, if being asked to lick a boot is all it takes for him to go demonic again. Kurama just coldly repeats his dare to push the button. 

So Roto agrees to push the button, given that they're all death-hungry demons here anyway. 

Your lips are still eternally flapping though. SADLY. 

While Kurama snatches the button out of Roto's immobile hand, he prepares to repeat what he, apparently has said so often before: if something seems like an EASY course of action, it's usually the most DANGEROUS. I don't remember him saying this at ALL before this moment, but it IS real rich coming from the guy whose introduction was his quest to trade his life for his mother's health in the simplest little bargain with a hand-mirror ever. 

Kurama explains that he countered the coercion that Roto had tried on him by planting a DEADLY VETCH seed on him. I don't know what that is, but it sounds pretty bad when Kurama further exposits that its roots have spread through Roto's body and immobilized him. Roto strains to look down at his chest, where a red bump has raised on the left side of it, just beneath the lapel of his jacket. He recalls the pebble bouncing off his face and realizes it was a distraction from Kurama planting the seed. Always keep them watching your left hand while your right does the real work, as they say. 

That isn't even the whole deal. Kurama says that he can say a certain word that will make the plant grow at an EXPLOSIVE rate, no doubt much like how cyclospora is currently affecting a chunk of American colons right now. Kurama says he LIKES facing low-lives like Roto, because then he gets to be as brutal as he wants. And apparently he wants to be REALLY BRUTAL. Roto cries for him NOT to sink to his level, that he LIKES nice guys, and he was just a kid. Already referring to himself in the past tense? That's fucking BLEAK. 

Kurama just says "DIE" in response.

Cliche as it is, remind me not to get on this guy's bad side. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Before I get to the proper analysis, I have to say I was a little preoccupied by the resemblance between Kurama here and another very popular manga/anime character. I won't be actually STATING that name here, partly because I'm sure everyone reading this knows which character and story I'm talking about given the aforementioned popularity, but also because I refuse to support even in the smallest way the artist behind that character, even by having the name of the work here on my blog where it can be scraped by Google and other search engines. The reasons for this should be clear, but if anyone happening upon this somehow hasn't heard of the controversy behind this person, I would just steel yourself if you're liable to try and look it up. It's not pretty. 

ANYWHO, my curiosity about this resemblance I consider to be suspiciously close was piqued, and I decided to look up known influences between the two serializations. So, having done that, allow me to correct my previous statement that Kurama now resembles that character; this depiction of Kurama with the X-shaped scar on his cheek actually PREDATES that character by about two years. The artist actually stated his character was modeled after Kurama. My bad, lol. 

Now that we've gotten past THAT, Kurama is showing a MUCH scarier side to him than he has before this point. He's been mild-mannered, demure, and occasionally on the cheeky side, but he's always struck me as containing whole OCEANS of patience and empathy. Case in point, he trained Kuwabara, and that COULDN'T have been an easy task for someone who was any less than perfectly zen most of the time. 

But here he is downright MENACING, and while that quiet, patient quality to him carries him through the abuse intended to humiliate him throughout the match, he is only TOO eager to dispatch Roto when it's possible to do so. I'm surprised he even bothered to explain himself beforehand, though I suppose if he didn't, the audience wouldn't have much of a clue as to what happened there. Of course, he DID allow Roto some final groveling, which does speak to the pleasure he implied when he said he gets to be as brutal as he wants. Clearly Roto made an emotional impact on Kurama with his abuse, even if Kurama was VERY good at refusing to show it. Dude wanted Roto to SUFFER. 

Really puts into perspective Hiei's little gloat at the beginning about how Kurama can turn any plant into a deadly weapon into sharper perspective. Because anyone dumb enough to piss him off wouldn't even see that shit coming. Spooky. 

Inuyasha Manga: 355 Using the Fragment

All I seem to have these days are fragments, of TIME anyway. My day is chopped into odd little pieces here and there to try and get tasks done, but they're never quite enough to complete to satisfaction. While it's not as bad as it COULD be, I've been struggling to keep up with things lately, because there are new things cropping up all the time that need to be fit into the schedule, and that takes little bites out of what's already allocated. Thankfully, most of those things cropping up are good and fun with new friends, but I'm going to need some chemical assistance before long just to be able to cram more action into less time. 

Not SO unlike our protagonist here. 

There is a Saimyoushou still hovering in the oni's stomach viewing Inuyasha from a distance, so that Naraku can get a view of what's going on in there. Having fully reconstituted his body again by this point, Naraku chuckles darkly about how Inuyasha's going to use the Shikon shard they have. Judging by the little smug smile he's wearing, he counted on this very thing. 

Kagome reluctantly holds the Shikon fragment in its little bottle out to Inuyasha from under his coat, saying his name warily. Inuyasha says a little silent prayer to it, asking it to PLEASE handle the remaining strength needed for their escape, and slaps the bottle to the side of Tessaiga, shattering it. The shard itself sticks to the sword and the steel pulses powerfully, causing Inuyasha's own body to reverberate too. 

Sango mumbles about Inuyasha putting the fragment onto TESSAIGA, and a hopeful Shippou pipes up about how it should make the sword powerful enough to cut out of the oni's stomach. But Kagome is still looking uncomfortable and unsure as she looks at Inuyasha. Maybe it's because THIS is how he looks:

Yeeeeaaaaah, something's not quite right here...

There's a cloudy, patchy effect over Inuyasha's hands gripping the sword, and he realizes that SOMETHING is flowing from Tessaiga into him. From her crouched position under the coat, Kagome adopts a horrified expression when she sees that the Shikon shard has darkened. 

Outside in his little bubble, Naraku chuckles again. He's aware that Inuyasha using the Shikon fragment means that it leaves Kagome's hands, and therefore it can't remain pure from her direct contact with it, succumbing instead to the evil atmosphere within the oni's stomach. Are digestive gases inherently evil, or is it JUST because they're in this evil oni? 

A combo for a straight-up bad time in this particular place. And it seems this has been noticed by the previously jubilant Shippou. He clings to Kagome, stuttering Inuyasha's name in fear, Kagome looking just as terrified as he is. 

Inuyasha's fangs lengthen, as well as his nails. 

A SLIGHT understatement. I would be spitting a string of at LEAST six curse words here.

Inuyasha sweats profusely with wasted effort, realizing that his body isn't obeying his commands, and that there's something up with his head too. He swings around to look at his friends, the terror of which become more prominent, Shippou stammering about him looking at them with his now monstrous face. He urges them to run away, though where they're supposed to run to, I couldn't hazard a single guess. 

Kagome jumps from under the protection of his coat and calls his name, running TOWARD him instead of away, against his advice. Shippou yells after her, but she ignores him, enduring the drips of acid from the ceiling that she can't quite do the same for, trying to shield her head with a raised arm. Her recklessness is only just beginning.

Bold move, even if it's just a choice between this and the acid as a method of death. 

Kagome holds onto Inuyasha tightly, sweating and her eyes screwed shut, silently begging him not to lose. Meanwhile, her ankles are sizzling in the pool of acid where she stands, Sango and Shippou calling out to her with concern. Inuyasha stands frozen with her arms around him, and as a point of light appears in the Shikon shard he'd slapped on Tessaiga, he seems to regain some of his control, at least enough to identify Kagome haltingly. 

That's an interesting new look you've got there, buddy. Like a rocker chick.

Kagomr looks up at him with a mixture of concern and pain, asking if he's okay. He turns in her arms, assuring her that he is indeed alright, but he needs her support a little longer. Arms now hooked up under his armpits and toward his shoulders from behind, she agrees, squeezing her eyes shut again and resting her cheek on his back. Once more, Tessaiga is encrusted in a jeweled shell as Inuyasha holds it outward, preparing for another swing. 

Outside, even the oni itself is looking down at its bulging stomach and grimacing at the light starting to emanate from it, and Naraku curses from within his floating bubble. He's clearly unhappy with the turn things have taken. Inuyasha lets off another volley of Kongoushouha, and the oni's stomach further inflates and glows with the white hot blast fired within. 

Even Taco Bell couldn't be more destructive. 

The oni's head has turned back to stone, and what would have been viscera raining down around the newly freed Inuyasha and Kagome is shards of rock. I hope none of those fall on their heads, because that might finish what the stomach acid started. Sango peeks from under Inuyasha's coat, noting that the acid has receded, Shippou stuttering in relief that they're saved. Miroku remains unconscious in between them. 

The puddle of acid Inuyasha and Kagome had been standing in has mostly disappeared, revealing their feet, all hatched over and mottled with burns, even while Kagome's remain in her shoes and socks. Kagome sighs in relief herself, but she appears feverish, still sweaty. Inuyasha spies the bubble barrier disappearing into the distant sky, and growls through his still elongated fangs and striped cheeks that Naraku fucking ran away AGAIN. Maybe Inuyasha can take some comfort in what it says that Naraku doesn't stick around to see if he can take on even the severely WEAKENED protagonists. 

In a rocky, desolate place, not unlike the one Inuyasha's group was just left in, Kanna is walking along with an escort of Saimyoushou buzzing around her. She pauses when a person in sandals and a long hem billowing around their ankles. 

Awkward switched homophones aside, I'm not sure the word "herd" fits here very well.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I appreciate how time has been respected in this particular chapter, and an emergency is truly treated as such. In the past, supposedly time-sensitive situations have been dragged out over an unrealistic period, and I felt like there was some time dilation going on so that it could be crammed with every possible interior and exterior reaction. Inuyasha is by no means the WORST offender in the over-bloated plot point department, to the point where what should take mere seconds seems to take an hour or more, but it HAS happened here. I'm just glad this isn't one of those instances, and things feel like they move along as quickly as they need to. 

The point about putting Inuyasha's group and the Shikon shard in a controlled atmosphere and separating Kagome from the fragment so it becomes corrupted easily are clever moves by Naraku, but I DO have questions about the apparatus. Did he FIND or CREATE the giant stone oni? If the former, what is the lore behind who or what is responsible for it being there? If the latter, did he use a similar method to the creation of the Rakan statues, the vague spell that Miroku mentioned? What makes the stone oni's stomach SO tough as to withstand volleys of diamond spears drilling into its lining? Without the setup necessary to really understand where this thing came from and why nothing unmodified by the Shikon shard can pierce it, the context for the cleverness is missing. The stone oni just kind of appeared in the story, just EXACTLY what Naraku required, no real effort needed. 

This is a perfect representation of the majority of the reason I'm so frustrated with Naraku right now, and I think others might feel the same. His plots have zero setup behind them anymore, and he basically has unlimited resources appear for them whenever necessary, so it doesn't seem to matter how many of them Inuyasha and company overcome. There's always going to be another one, at virtually NO cost to Naraku. They're not even wearing him down, just going through a string of meaningless trials over and over until at last the readership starts to wane and RT is told to wrap the thing up. 

There's a part of me that's a little surprised that Inuyasha's audience held out for as long as it did, because we're only really about two-thirds of the way through, and our protagonists are STILL being led around by the nose (LITERALLY) by a villain that doesn't seem CAPABLE of weakening in any meaningful way. Say what you want about Inuyasha fans, they really have an incredible amount of patience. 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 055 The Secret of Devil Yo-Yos!!

Wait, have I been thrust back into the Yu-Gi-Oh manga? Granted, yo-yos aren't exactly a GAME with RULES, but they feel like something that a chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh might be written around. A big collecting entertainment fad in the '90s that recalls my childhood nostalgia and simultaneously leaves the comic in which it's featured SEVERELY dated? Meets all the requirements. I feel like the only thing that HASN'T come up in these stories is Pogs.

But let's face it, Pogs were acknowledged as lame even at the time. 

I wouldn't say pretending to suck hardcore is a "psychological" tactic. 

Grinning, Kuwabara admits he was outwitted, but the kick didn't kill him, so he reckons the kid isn't SO tough. Rinku just smiles back silently before sticking his hand into the drawstring pouch slung across his chest, saying he understands now why Kuwabara and the rest of the team were invited as guests to the tournament. Since Kuwabara withstood his direct attack, he promises to use more underhanded demonic tricks, holding up a small star-stamped disk he appears to have picked from the pouch. 

Is there any other kind? 

Kuwabara manifests an Aura Sword in both fists, crossing the blades and calling "batter up" as only a staunch baseball fan can. 

Rinku springs into the air, arms crossed until he flings one of them out with a cry of "shot", the yo-yos on all his fingers released. As they fly toward him, Kuwabara says splitting the toys apart should be a cinch, but then he appears to see something else that changes his attitude entirely. 

The most impressive part is how they don't look to be getting all tangled up. I can't play with ONE yo-yo without it tangling up with itself eventually. let alone one on each finger. Koto is also impressed, calling this a stylish move, describing it as a real good fake-out on Kuwabara's butt. Seems like most of this kid's moves require a bit of a fake-out.

Rinku walks the dog with a handful of yo-yos at once, casually asking what he considers his moronic opponent if he really thought he was just going to play around. I mean, you ARE a kid and your weapons ARE playthings... But the yo-yos spinning from his fingers tear up the ring floor as he explains that he sends his aura directly into the toys from his fingers and this allows him to control them all individually. To demonstrate, he throws his arms out and the yo-yos wriggle around on their strings, calling up the image of a coiled snake in the background again. 

Kuwabara recoils and has lost some of his cockiness in the face of this threat display. Rinku mocks that Kuwabara's dull old Aura Swords won't even be able to cut the string, and then extends his yo-yos' walk toward Kuwabara rapidly, who notices how they're digging up the very ground beneath them as they go. He's lucky they didn't do that to his flesh while making contact with him earlier, I reckon. 

Kuwabara's dodge buys him mere seconds before that swing around they do in the panel above comes back on him and whack him straight in the back and stomach at the same time, and it looks like they knock the wind out of him. From his spectator position at the edge of the ring, Zeru muses about how Rinku's powers work best through weapons, his yo-yos making up for his small size. Kurama is alarmed at how the toys go wherever Rinku wills, Hiei just kind of side-eyeing the action beside him. 

To Kuwabara's disbelief, the yo-yos start wrapping their strings around his wrists and ankles, and he is lifted off the ground at these points, angled to face his new puppet master. Koto announces just how she sees it, just before Rinku declares an "Around the World" trick. Kuwabara BARELY has a moment to express his alarm. 

Oof. If he wasn't so used to taking a beating from Yusuke to begin with, this MIGHT actually be fatal to him.

A many-eyed demon in the stands calls for blood, and another with NO eyes demands that Kuwabara be whipped around again. How does he know that's what's happening? Does he feel the vibrations/wind currents or something? Regardless of how this guy is perceiving the battle, he gets his wish, and Kuwabara is smacked into the floor of the ring again. On the sidelines, Hiei tells Kurama that he can't really say much for his coaching abilities, considering how his student is being laid the FUCK out right now. After an awkward pause, Kurama haltingly responds that he admits they haven't really seen much yet. Whatever THAT'S supposed to mean. 

Kuwabara is still getting dragged around, and STILL has the energy and vitality to complain while it's happening. He lifts his head from the ground, head, nose, and mouth bleeding, to threaten death upon the kid doing this to him. Rinku's smugness is dampened a bit when he acknowledges that Kuwabara is an awfully tough one to finish off, and this is just the first day of fighting. He muses that it's time to wrap this up. 

The ladies have only JUST entered the stadium at this point, Botan complaining that the tournament has already started, and Atsuko noting that the crowd is going wild. She wonders aloud who's winning when Botan points with distress at the ring below, drawing the rest of their attentions to Kuwabara floating at his child opponent's will in the air, like a kite tethered to many strings at the limbs. 

I'm sure the view is breathtaking. Kuwabara is speechless, but that appears to be out of tension rather than awe. 

Atsuko shades her eyes with a hand as they follow Kuwabara's progress upward, expressing some clueless alarm over the fact that if he falls now, he'll surely die, and that's too brutal. Koenma looks exasperated while he informs her that this is KINDA the point. Keiko's eyes are drawn DOWNWARD though, to where she spies Yusuke slumped unconscious against the edge of the ring, and she calls out his name. She starts shouting at him that his friend is in danger, criticizing his napping at this moment, and calling him a heartless creep, despite a call from the surrounding crowd to shut her trap. 

Oh look, it's the gatekeepers that EVERY event of a certain size seems to have, lol. 

Atsuko is not the least bit intimidated, no doubt due to her background relationship with shady organizations, and yells in the face of the guy on the right that her Yusuke is competing in this thing, so she's staying right here. His tongue wiggles out of his wide open mouth as he claims that her "hot and bothered" attitude is a point in favor of eating her (or, because we've tangled up our sexual euphemisms with food and eating, maybe doing OTHER things to her), but before he can make good on the threat a smoldering cigarette is put out on that protruding tongue. He turns and flees, crying about how much it hurts, as Shizuru placidly stares in the opposite direction. Botan comments on her novel method of exorcism, though it's not clear if she approves of it or not. 

Keiko screams down at Yusuke to wake up, and Atsuko, with her foot up on the back of Koenma's seat in front of her, yells at Kuwabara to stay up in the air and float like a butterfly. Koenma sweatdrops in annoyance, muttering that he's not with them. It's absolutely beautiful that these women are the loudest, most intense people in a stadium full of DEMONS. They are SQUAD GOALS. 

Koto is still commenting on the match, by the way, stating that Kuwabara is flying high, but it's a long way down. Kuwabara himself is yelling to be let down, the spectators in the stands calling for him to be dropped and gloating that he's dead now, and Rinku says to himself that this extreme height SHOULD do it. He declares that Kuwabara is going to go splat like an egg, and with a whir retracts his yo-yo strings from Kuwabara's limbs. 

Kuwabara screams as he goes down, Koto barking into the microphone that this is the end for him. But Kuwabara refuses that fate, commanding his Aura Sword to grow long out of his palm, pointing it directly at the ground. Rinku looks surprised at what comes next. 

He's battling with PHYSCIS today. 

Rinku is smiling again, though. He says it's a nice move, and Kuwabara is clever in a pinch, but his trajectory is sending him straight at the yo-yo slinging youth. Rinku is already throwing those toys right in his face again, per his stated intentions. Kuwabara reminds him that he has a SECOND sword, which at first Rinku isn't moved by, because a straight sword is easy to dodge. 

He is, once again, surprised. 

Why not? It's kinda like what YOU'RE doing. In fact, a smug Kuwabara claims as much, saying his sword is tracking Rinku much like Rinku is tracking Kuwabara with his yo-yos. It's apparently a technique Kurama taught him. So THAT'S what Kurama meant about not having seen much yet. 

Zeru calls with the first sign of emotion (concern) that he's ever shown to Rinku, telling him to jump back. Not that this advice would mean much when Kuwabara's sword can just grow to meet him. Rinku recognizes that as he watches the tip of the Aura Sword approach his chest. Kuwabara doesn't even seem to NOTICE the yo-yos closing in on his face, focused on stretching his aura that final amount and mentally encourage the runt he's targeting to ponder it in Hell. 

Cue the explosion of simultaneous blows - Rinku speared through the chest by the Aura Sword, and Kuwabara pummeled in the already hamburger face by a volley of supercharged yo-yos. Rinku utters an "uh-oh". Kuwabara stutters that he got the brat. Keiko holds her hands to her mouth in shock while Shizuru comments in deadpan how nice that final move was. Zeru is back to looking completely placid. Koto is in sweatdropping in shock. 

They really did do the funniest thing they absolutely could have in this situation!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Despite the SLIGHT feeling that this ending is anticlimactic, I have to admit it is somewhat fitting. Matching Kuwabara with a literal child and having them literally knock each other out in a draw makes a statement about Kuwabara's level of maturity in relation to his own teammates. It acknowledges that while he's resourceful and clever sometimes, he's more of a "big kid" than any of the rest of them, and he's still got a ways to go when it comes to taking this tournament seriously. I'm reminded of how Kuwabara has a code of fairness in fights, and he's liable to be VERY disappointed by the way this EXTREMELY unfair event is going to unfold. It's being presented and run by humans that amassed unthinkable amounts of wealth by trickery and exploitation, so his more childish conception of justice is going to be challenged at every turn. For now though, it's just kind of funny how he's pitted against a little kid as a peer. 

I really love how the ladies handled their demonic harassers, because every single woman on the planet has had this experience. Some jerk tries to intimidate you out of participating whatever social or hobby event he's at because deep down, he's got this fear of his interests being FEMINIZED by your very presence. In this instance, their objection is stated to be against "human" participation, but the two big, beefy male aggressors hovering over four diminutive women is STARK. Whether YT intended this or not, it IS pretty cathartic as a woman to see other women succeeding in getting literally demonic men to fuck off and let them have their fun. 

It's also pretty stark seeing Koenma sinking in his seat and disowning the enthusiasm of the women around him. He thinks they're embarrassing, because it's beneath him to scream and shout at a sporting event. He's probably going to be cringing a lot as this event crawls forward, lol. 

Inuyasha Manga: 354 Unbreakable Wall

They're all supposed to be SO unbreakable. The people who build them insist that you can't get through, but even if all of them haven't been busted through, they've at least been scaled or gone around. Within my lifetime alone, there have been many walls put up and taken down, but there doesn't seem to be much between one and the other. All it takes is a shift of mindset and the direction of effort to get from point A to point B. You know what they say - it's much easier to destroy than to create, and that aphorism applies to everyone whether they are on one side of a conflict or the other. 

I wonder how long it will be before his lunch starts to disagree with him. 

Naraku promises Inuyasha and company, whom he calls bastards, that not even their BONES will survive the digestive process of this giant oni, and they'll never get out. Inuyasha yells at him to shut up and swings down Tessaiga, letting off a Kaze no Kizu that Naraku easily rises up in his barrier bubble above. Miroku rips the beads off his right hand and points his Kazaana up at Naraku, assuring him he won't get away, which OF COURSE summons the Saimyoushou. Shippou has climbed his shoulder and warns him to be careful of the insects' poison, but Miroku insists he doesn't give a shit. Naraku looks on with mild surprise, if the exclamation mark in his speech bubble is any indication. 

The Saimyoushou fly into Miroku's hand without hesitation. 

Inuyasha calls Miroku a damn fool, which is a little rich coming from the guy who led them all into this situation so boldly in the first place. He rushes over and forces Miroku's fist closed and downward, commanding him to close the Kazaana and not to be SO quick to kill himself. As Inuyasha steps off and Miroku is obediently rewrapping his hand in the beads, Sango rushes over to fuss over Miroku, who stutters that he's fine. 

Inuyasha has gone back toward the center of the stomach where he'll have more room, holding the gleaming Tessaiga out in front of himself, the blade having taken on a jeweled, faceted shine. He declares that he's going to rip through Naraku and the oni's stomach in one go. He shouts the Kongousouha attack, the diamond spears shooting out at speed, absolutely SHREDDING the Saimyoushou.

None of us are that lucky. Though Naraku's shredded body falls away, his remaining head and shoulders chuckles evilly, and the diamond spears just lodge into the wall of the pulsing oni stomach. Miroku can only manage a noise of disbelief as Sango voices the question herself as to how Kongousouha didn't work on this massive ogre's belly. It's not convenient to the plot, that's how.

Naraku's severed hand still balances the corrupted Shikon no Tama in its palm while it floats around, waiting to be reabsorbed into Naraku. Kagome notices this, wondering if Naraku is using it to strengthen himself. She nocks an arrow and aims, muttering that she just has to purify it, but when the arrow flies, Naraku scoffs smugly.

What did you expect? He's smart enough to remember what happened the LAST time you caught his ass with an arrow. 

Outside, Kagura continues to hover by the formerly stone oni, wondering what happened to Inuyasha and company. Acknowledging that this is one of Naraku's traps, she realizes it was a good thing she didn't fly into the oni's mouth herself. 

... Maybe being inside a giant's stomach isn't SO bad after all.

Looking over her shoulder at the oh-so-familiar malevolent presence at her back, Kagura sweatdrops while Naraku chuckles about anticipating the lives of his enemies ending soon by being dissolved into the great oni's stomach. We get another view of that disembodied hand with the Shikon no Tama in its palm, though it looks rather clear this time around. Naraku estimates the Inuyasha group's power to be too deficient to ever escape this gruesome fate he's concocted for them. 

Hakudoushi rather POINTEDLY asks Naraku's floating head how Inuyasha and company even found this place in the first place, as if he didn't KNOW. Kagura sweats even HARDER, wondering if the little brat noticed that she invited Inuyasha's team here. When Naraku claims not to have any idea how Inuyasha ended up here and asks Kagura, again rather POINTEDLY, what she thinks, she unconvincingly says she doesn't know anything. If she had balls, she'd have sweated them off by now. 

You're damn right. 

Kagome and Shippou have crouched on a mound of flesh out of the pond of stomach acid in the pit of the stomach, the latter freaking out about the acid getting steadily stronger, and the former with her hand clasped over her mouth and complaining how difficult it is to breathe. Sango has dragged Miroku out of the acid herself, and has her mask secured around her nose and mouth, though she notes that the acid is coming out of the surrounding walls they're forced to huddle toward, and despairs of what this means at this rate. 

Inuyasha turns to ask Miroku if he's able to put up a barrier, and Miroku says he can, but they won't be able to leave once the barrier is up. Plus, he's not looking too terribly well right now, looking feverish and sweating. Inuyasha says he's fine with whatever he can do, as long as he takes care of everyone, but he's able to discern that the Saimyoushou's poison has really started to take effect and the situation isn't the best. Tessaiga's blade is encrusted with jewel-like faceting once more as Inuyasha thinks he can't afford to be cautious and it'll be this time for sure. Every reckless decision justifies an even more reckless decision in the future, I suppose.

With Miroku's arms protectively around the girls and young fox, holding his staff out in front of them to produce the small sphere of protection around them, Kagome calls out to Inuyasha in concern. He turns to earnestly tell her not to worry, then twists to let out another Kongousouha. The spears cluster into the pulsing stomach flesh wall. 

Okay, is there a plan B? A plan C? 

Who are we kidding, there wasn't even a plan A. 

Inuyasha curses in frustration, then looks around when the acid around his feet starts to bubble all the more, also noting how hard it's getting to breathe. It's signaled to him that the oni's miasma has started to fill the area, but I would just put it down to the natural gaseous byproduct of digestion. You're literally just smelling the beginnings of farts dude. All the undulating nodes on the walls and ceiling start to up their production of MORE acid, and as it sizzles on the barrier Miroku has erected, Sango calls his name in concern. He insists he's alright, despite the statement being halting, and his sweating, feverish appearance. Kagome even points out to him how he's BURNING UP. Internally, he BEGS Inuyasha to hurry up. 

A little acid burns through the weakening barrier and onto Sango's Hiraikotsu, both her and Kagome gaping in alarm and Kagome trailing a sentence about the state of the barrier. It starts to collapse when Miroku falls unconscious and drops the staff, whole sheets of acid raining down on what's left of it. Inuyasha rushes over, taking off his red fire-rat coat in the process with a groan. 

The young folk would say they were cooked, but I'd say they WISH they were cooked before they ended up in a stomach like living sushi. 

Inuyasha looks up high on the wall where the stone spears from Tessaiga mark his first attempts at busting them out of there. Shippou clings to Kagome under Inuyasha's coat and complains to her that it's difficult to breathe, while she again holds her hand over her mouth and nose and agrees. 

Notice that Sango in the panel above has lost her mask? Turns out that wasn't an oversight on RT's part, because the next panel shows her carefully placing it over Miroku's face as he winces even in his unconsciousness. Inuyasha is once more thinking that there's now no time to waste, as if there was any BEFORE this point, and twists around to demand the Shikon fragment Kagome is carrying. 

Literally the last resort. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This is one of those that give me mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is probably the best action we've had since Inuyasha got the Kongosouha move to begin with, and it's accompanied by some real tension. Though we HAVE seen Inuyasha trapped in someone's belly before, and that particular situation was more dangerous to him INDIVIDUALLY, due to him being in human form at the time, in some ways this is worse. He has Tessaiga here, but even its newest most devastating barrier piercing attack isn't doing jack shit, and his entire team is in this belly. It's not just his neck on the line, and given his lingering guilt about Kikyou's death and what he sees to be his part in it, being responsible not only his own demise but those of his closest friends as well would be some devastating last thoughts for him. There's a lot more on the line at this point, so that amps up the stakes a bit. After 350 chapters, RT still has the ability to make me sweat for these characters. 

On the OTHER hand, the way we got here was EXTREMELY clumsy and there is still no proper explanation for the steps we took to this spot in the story. The Moryoumaru/Goryoumaru connection remains obscure, the spell to create the Rakan statues and the purpose of such is opaque, and original purpose of Naraku placing the infant in the temple with Goryoumaru in the first place is unexplored. Despite my enjoyment of the action and tension this chapter provides, I am a little frustrated that there's not a lot of lead-up to it that makes any amount of sense so far. Anyone who's been reading the blog for a while knows I love a good setup and payoff, but this seems like a whole lot of payoff to very little (if any) setup. It feels a little like my brain is preoccupied by its confusion over how we got here instead of being present in the stakes of the moment.

As a little side note, Naraku's teasing tone came dripping through the screen at me when he was "casually" wondering how Inuyasha and crew got here. Kagura has GOT to know at this point that she's in a bad place. Not that there's much of a way out of it. Much like Inuyasha's group, she's trapped inside Naraku's machinations, and her dissolution in its acidic output seems inevitable. We'll see if she can manage to wriggle free as the protagonists are expected to. 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 054 The Vanguard Battle Begins!!

Please forgive me if my writing is at all... confused right now. We got our cat Pooka spayed and her recovery has been a whole battle of its own. Upon coming home from the animal hospital, she immediately started trying to run and jump on everything, and she stayed awake for the first two days straight wired on her adrenaline and confusion and fear. Her strict regimen of meds to keep her calm doesn't always work and she's writhed her way out of two different recovery cones AND a body suit, so our sleep has been rather patchy for the last few days in our efforts to keep one eye open and on her at all times. What's more? Our other cat Grimalkin rejected her when she came home, hissing and swatting at her, because all the smells of the anesthesia, her new medical outfit, and her own terror masked her scent enough to make her somewhat unrecognizable. It's day five and we're FINALLY making progress on that last issue, Grimalkin no longer hissing at Pooka and cuddling with her a little. A relief, to be sure, because it was a complication we were unprepared for. 

The good news through all this is Pooka's incision wound is healing well and fast, so I'm hoping we can get her out of her hated cone and suit soon. Fingers crossed!

Bet SHE'S never had to wear a cone. 

Whatever medical indignities she has or has not endured, she declares the Dark Tournament open, though I still don't know WHO she is that empowers her to do so. We're shown a snapshot of a couple of men sitting in the VIP seats, another hefty cigar-sucker like Tarukane (except with some hair) and a slim lined middle-aged sort, both wearing suits. The former chuckles to his companion that this is the best part of selling one's soul to the dark side; the regular goody-two-shoes of world will NEVER know the thrill of being able to see Hell unleashed. Don't I WISH. 

The cheapo public seats are filled with demons calling for hitting, kicking, pokes in the eye, which is... pretty tame coming from literal malevolent spirits. Did they actually come here for a screening of some Three Stooges films? Anyway, they complain that they didn't do any of that preschool violence for weeks so they could come here, because bad deeds are restricted for prospective audience attendees to the event. 

Wait, so let me get this straight: if one wants to go to a bloodsport tournament between demon combatants that promises to end in death for a lot of them, the demons who want to come and watch have to be good little hellspawn and on their best behavior leading up to it? Like they're performing goodness for Santa Claus? 

It's kind of a wonder that ANY of those seats are filled, lol. 

Looks like demons have housing issues too.

Back in the VIP seats, we're shown a man with deep lines around his mouth right down to his large chin called Sukezo Gondowara, labeled the sponsor of the aforementioned Jolly Devil Six. A thoroughly unimpressed-looking Sakyo sits next to him, yet he asks him anyway what he thinks, calling his team "the dregs of the red light district" but with the potential to be legends. He in fact believes that the Jolly Devil Six are the REAL challenge to Toguro's team, since it's his opinion that Yusuke's team will be dispatched in short order. 

Said team emerges to jeers from the crowd, who perceive the guest team has arrived, and in the process note that Yusuke is still unconscious, one of his arms slung over Kuwabara's shoulder who drags him out upright. They mistake this for a dead faint, call Hiei and Kurama human-loving bastards/traitors, and yell that there's no WAY any of them are coming out of this alive. At least, the stated HOPE is that the the "legitimate" teams chew them up and spit them out. 

Kuwabara sweats and clenches his jaw, sarcastically calling the crowd a friendly bunch and supposing its members have to let loose on SOMEONE. Kurama question their use of the word "traitors", saying he'd be offended if they weren't such low lives. Clearly he's offended either way. 

The unnamed announcer lady calls the two teams to the center of the arena, and they comply. 

Uhhhh... I get that he didn't want to look like a toddler at this event, but this... This just makes him look like he's high on E at a rave. 

The ticket scalper balks, recognizing Koenma despite him being "all growed up" so to speak. The little goblin-like creature scratches the back of his head in nervousness, asking Koenma if he's here to watch the bloodbath. Koenma tells him an acquaintance of his is competing as a guest, which is a bit of a COLD way to refer to Yusuke. I mean, sure, they're not FRIENDS, but surely he's more than an acquaintance! I guess "child soldier" was a little on the nose. 

With an irritated expression, Koenma chatters to this random scalper about how he had THOUGHT about ending this whole bloody spectacle entirely, but he asserts that this event vents demon stress which reduces predations in the human world. What kind of terrible "The Purge" logic is this shit?? 

Absolutely fucking wild. 

The goblin scalper calls Koenma wise, calling this place a dark sanctuary where battle is the only language understood, the law is decided by the victor, and even the noble Koenma has no rank over any other spectator, unable to object if he saw his own parents murdered. Sounds like the "poetry" of half my mediocre middle school classmates. No WONDER he's scalping tickets for some extra cash. 

Koenma swings around to leave, muttering a thanks for the laughably edgy little screed. Nearby, Botan calls to him, accompanied by Keiko, Atsuko (as I was informed in the comments of the last chapter review, thankfully!), and Shizuka. She tells him that Yusuke's team is in the arena, and the goblin scalper is taken aback by what he assumes to be Koenma's substantial harem, calling him quite the ladies' man. Yeah, the pacifier brings all the girls to the yard - triggers that maternal training, I guess. Koenma corrects him with the simple statement that they're the friends and family of the guest combatant he mentioned earlier, adding that he HAD to bring them along due to Botan's loose lipped habits. She makes the excuse through nervous laughter that she was just trying to be nice. Still, the goblin remains kind of impressed in a shocked sort of way that THREE human women had the guts to come here. 

Yusuke snores on a glaring Kuwabara's shoulder as the three members at the forefront of the opposing team glares right back, though the little one notes that Yusuke is still asleep. The announcer informs the audience with her microphone that the team captains will decide the mode of battle and what constitutes a win. Apparently, if they're unable to agree, it falls to the house rules that stipulate one-on-one matches where the team with the most victories takes the win. 

The fair-haired guy, Zeru, stares unrelentingly at Yusuke's team while Kuwabara frets that their captain is still snoozing on his shoulder. Kurama tells him that it's HIS office then, to which he responds with bashful nervousness. He laughs that he's flattered, since it means that he's Yusuke's second, and verbally throws caution to the wind before squaring his shoulders and resolving seriously to show their opponents leadership, Hiei looking annoyed at his back. Meanwhile, Yusuke has DISAPPEARED. I assume in his eagerness that Kuwabara literally shrugged him off, and he's lying crumpled on the floor right now. 

Kuwabara walks right up to Zeru, hands in his pockets. Aural tension crackles between them. Zeru downplays the importance of his opinion (somehow the captain doesn't think it MATTERS what he says), but says he likes the one-on-one battles, given that it prolongs the fun. Kuwabara agrees wholeheartedly, asserting that this is a real man's way to fight. Fantastic, they agree. As Kurama hands Yusuke back over to Kuwabra, because I suppose HE just took Yusuke for the moment it took to agree, Kuwabara is stoked at how cool the non-existent negotiations were. 

Zeru's attention is on the sleeping Yusuke, his gaze flashing after a moment. 

The fuck? Is he starting the first match already?

Kuwabara complains that Zeru's aura is hot as an oven, and characterizes this swell of power as an attempted provocation of Yusuke. The masked member silently notes that this guy is out to kill, and Kurama wonders at the fact that he hangs out in the human word despite his icy eyes and fiery aura. The implication being that these attributes would be better utilized in the demon world, Kurama questions what demonkind has come to. 

I mean, YOU'RE hanging out in human world, dude...

Kuwabara hollers straight in Yusuke's face, yelling at him to rise and shine, but it's hopeless. The kid snoozes on. Observing that Yusuke still hasn't stirred, he wonders whether he's ill or just stupid. A little of column A, a little of column B. 

The announcer calls for the first contenders to get on the field. Little Rinku saunters forward with his hands clasped behind his head, the very PICTURE of relaxation as he bids his teammates later. With the crowd roaring and Kurama and Hiei looking on silently, Kuwabara grins and volunteers to take this one. The audience screams about Kuwabara being up, yelling for him to be killed. Rinku frowns in disappointment, mentally grousing about always getting the doofuses, and how the teasing he did yesterday didn't seem to scare his opponent like he'd intended. I'm sorry, kid, you're just not that intimidating. 

Anything goes in one-on-one battles, per the announcer, who also adds that a count of ten will determine out-of-bounds and knock-outs. Rinku smiles innocently, hands now behind his back as he expresses that he's as prepared as he's going to be, no anxiety to be found on his face. When the announcer begins the match, Kuwabara confidently invites the shrimp to bring it with a beckoning motion, and Rinku complies. 

You'd think the twerp were in a gymnastics competition. 

The announcer, who at LAST introduces herself as Koto, is impressed by Rinku's supreme agility, admitting she can BARELY follow him. At some point Rinku assumes that he's darted around enough so that Kuwabara can't see him properly, but when he comes close to Kuwabara, he sees the older boy pulling back his fist in preparation. 

He lost his hat and everything!

Up in the VIP seats, the team sponsor recoils, his expression a little like Rinku's above. The cheap seats murmur in disbelief at the hit to Rinku. Kuwabara pulls back for yet another punch, telling Rinku in no uncertain terms that the gloves are off. Rinku attempts to scramble away, but Kuwabara literally delivers a kick straight to his rump as he's turned away. Kuwabara is smugly holding up a fist again when Rinku turns back and rushes him in his indignation, delivering an uppercut to the tyke's chin and sending him flying. 

The crowd is now roaring with insults for Rinku, claiming they've never seen anything more pathetic, asking who sent the little runt into the ring anyway. From the sidelines, Kurama says evenly that Kuwabara can be surprising, and his love of fighting was apparent in the times he's spared with the tough. Hiei seems overall unimpressed, and asks Kurama what's with all the samurai posturing Kuwabara is doing, since he SHOULD have finished this with his aura sword by now. Uh, dude, weren't you listening? He LOVES fighting. Are you in the habit of rushing shit you love? 

Although, it does feel pretty scummy watching a huge teenager beating the shit out of a tiny baby child like this...

Rinku clutches his stomach and makes a noise like he's fighting back vomit. Kurama looks pleased, convinced Kuwabara has got the kid and this is it. As Rinku falls backward and Kuwabara dashes at him, Kuwabara says he's not into torture, so he's going to make this quick, promising Rinku he's going down for the count. 

But Rinku smirks slyly and flits away before Kuwabara can land a new punch. Kuwabara looks dumbfounded, and even more shocked when Rinku reappears behind him with the stated hope that Kuwabara enjoyed his moment. Kuwabara just begins to turn when... 

Oof, that sounds like it hurt. 

Kurama gapes in horror, the crowd drones in shock, and Zeru just... stares, as usual. Rinku once more clasps his hands behind his head and saunters off, a giant smug grin on his face. He's following up on his trailing comment earlier about hoping Kuwabara enjoyed his moment, declaring it now over with a laugh. He also asserts that he could have taken him out from the first moment, but asks where the fun is in that, echoing my point from before. Finally, he discourages the announcer from doing a count at all, because he's pretty certain he broke Kuwabara's neck back there and the teenager is well and truly dead. 

Hiei smiles creepily, thinking the little grease ball Rinku ALSO enjoys a fight it seems. The audience pumps fists and heaps praise upon the little dude who appears to have won. For a brief second, anyway.

Look whose moment is over NOW. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Forget Yusuke, poor Kuwabara has the weight of the WORLD on his shoulders throughout the whole beginning of this thing. He's forced to be interim team leader because Yusuke just CAN'T rise and shine, and that means negotiations that he was not all too prepared for, and then stepped in to take the very first round of the match. Sure, it seems to be going about as well as you might hope, but it all still looks ABSOLUTELY exhausting. Kurama is BARELY picking up any slack by taking Yusuke off Kuwabara's hands for a moment there, and Hiei is FULLY committed to being as hands-off as possible until his round starts. Granted, I expect it from Hiei given his character, but Kurama's refusal to take damn near ANY responsibility this situation is a little disappointing.

The background on this tournament we get through Koenma and the scalper's conversation is pure comedy. The suggestion that demons who value blood and destruction above all else can not only be expected to not partake in those things themselves just so they can vicariously watch others do it, but they actually DO IT? But it makes the reader question how much of this blood and destruction mentality is natural to them and how much is learned. If they can refrain, then it implies that it's not an intrinsic part of how they function. Between the necessity of eating SOULS for some of them and the ability to just NOT hurt humans, what IS the basic nature of these creatures? That might be as impossible a question to answer as what the basic nature of HUMANS is. 

And why shouldn't it be impossible to answer? We're the one's who invented "demons" after all.