YuYu Hakusho Manga - 006 The Lonely Journey

Call me crazy, but that sounds kind of... nice to me right now? These days, I'm spending a LOT of time at home, and when I go out, I'm enmeshed in social encounters that I just don't have the skill to maintain for more than a few minutes anymore. I'm out of practice being around others, but I'm so sick of hanging out in my house a majority of the time, so the idea of a long trip all by myself is strangely appealing. There's a BIG national park near me, and I keep thinking about how relaxing it would be to just disappear inside it for a few days. Or weeks.

At least your antics kept them on their toes, Yusuke. 

Botan picks out who she's looking for below, a bent old man with stark cheekbones, great heavy eyebrows, and a sour expression. He's standing by a fence, at which he meets a neighbor, a woman holding a large pot and wearing a huge smile, asking him if he likes stew - she says she made a lot and thought she would share. The old man appears to stick a finger in the pot to take a taste from it, smacking his lips thoughtfully for a moment, as the neighbor woman asks him if he thinks it's good. He responds with a gag and turns around, muttering that he'd rather eat dog food. Well fuck you too, buddy!

The neighbor stands sweadropping in shock for a moment, spluttering about the dog food comment the old guy made, then she starts flailing, incensed that he would insult her best dish like that when all she wanted was to do him a little favor, since he lives alone and all. Another two neighbor women approach the first, asking if she's okay. She whines that she's DYING of mortification from that old grouch's horrible comment. One of them seems to immediately reflect the irritation of the first, supposing that she tried to be nice to the old guy. The other advises her not to bother, as he's so sour on everything. She explains that he lost his family in an accident six months ago.

SIX MONTHS AGO??? Uh, yeah, never mind, I kind of get the attitude now...

Anyway, apparently the neighborhood tried to help out the guy since they felt so bad for his loss, but he's not accepting any spontaneous kindness.

Yeah, REALLY understanding the attitude now. 

One of the other women says that she still goes over to check on him every once in a while, but he treats her like a burglar when she does. Suddenly, a cup hits her on the back of the head, and all three of them are forced to flee when the old man starts throwing all kinds of household items at them, yelling at them to take their yammering elsewhere. He scoffs in frustration at them while they shout back at him that they're GOING already, telling them to STAY gone, because he can take care of himself. 

Yusuke wonders at this energetic response to neighborly concern, and asks Botan if she's SURE that the old dude is just days from death. Botan admits that she is kind of wondering herself at this point. Then she draws Yusuke's attention to the local wildlife, which you don't often see in cities anymore; a fat tanuki is creeping around the corner of the fence. Yusuke asks what it's doing here, so Botan suggests they inquire. 

She descends to its level and, startling it a little, asks it what's up. Rather than running off, the tanuki stares at them, which leads Yusuke to question if it can see them. Botan says that animals have a very keen sixth sense.

Uhhhh, sure. I'll take your word for it, Botan.

The tanuki pulls a photo from... somewhere, and Yusuke observes that it's of the old man while Botan makes a noise indicating her recognition as well. It's clear this creature can't talk, but it does seem to transfer its memory of the old man telepathically to Botan and Yusuke. At an unspecified point in the past, the old man and a small boy named Shinji are walking in the woods, the latter pointing out something in front of him and the former asking Shinji what's up. It's the tanuki, a bit smaller than before, with it's leg caught in a miniature bear trap. I say miniature, because if it had been regular-sized, the poor thing's leg would surely have been snapped right off. 

The old man identifies the baby tanuki, and kneels in front of it with the intention to free it, while he rambles about how people who set these traps ought to be lynched. A little extreme, but an understandable sentiment. At the very least, these people might benefit from being scared shitless by Yusuke. Apparently, a bit of branch stopped the trap from closing all the way, and that's probably what saved the little tanuki's leg. Once the creature is freed, and the old man has bandaged its leg up all nice, the tanuki limps off, looking around at the Shinji kid advising it to watch out for traps before it disappears entirely. 

Back in the present, the tanuki is sniffling with a happy tear in its eye, Botan declaring that the old man saved its life while Yusuke expresses some surprise that an old crotchety jerk like that did something nice. 

This little thing is so goofy-looking. 

Yusuke scratches his cheek in thought, saying that there's only a few days left to go now, and he can't imagine what the tanuki can do other than cook the old guy his last meal. Donning a mischievous kitty face, Yusuke suggests a nice tanuki stew, and Botan punches the back of his head, telling him that's not even a REMOTELY funny joke. Yusuke retorts that he's not trying to be funny so much as impress upon the creature that it's pointless. Over a peek inside the house below, where the old man is eating a spare dinner and coughing a little, Yusuke says he won't let anyone do anything for him, and the tanuki may as well bang its head against a brick wall, because it'll have just as much chance breaking through the old man's obstinacy. 

At first, the tanuki stares in contemplation of this idea, then the Shinji kid appears in its speech bubble and it points at it. Botan asks if it's asking what happened to the boy, and sadly explains that he and his parents went out for a drive and there was an accident, which left the old man bitter. The old man is sitting in front of a memorial shrine as she says this, with a picture of Shinji and his parents on it. Botan suggests that things might have been different if his grandson had survived the accident. 

Both Botan and Yusuke look at the tanuki in confusion as it takes out a little leaf, draws the kid's face on it, somehow, smacks the leaf on its forehead with the picture showing, then does a little flip.

Oh that's REALLY creepy. I kind of hate it, not gonna lie.

Botan is enthused, though, and exclaims that it's cute. We are just going to have to disagree. She says it's the first time she's seen a transformation. Yusuke is less impressed, pointing out to the newbie that its tail is showing, but Botan assures him that normal folks shouldn't be able to see it. Besides, if they do, they can just write it off as a little weirdo cosplayer. That's usually the assumption when this stuff happens in these kinds of comics, anyway. 

Yusuke kneels in front of the tanuki-boy and asks for confirmation that its plan is to impersonate the old man's dead grandson to get on his good side, to which the answer is a nod. This seems like a VERY BAD PLAN to me, but for other reasons than Yusuke gives, which is essentially that the old fucker is too far gone, got no good side left, and will shove the little troublemaker in a stewpot if he finds out what it really is. Yusuke, if ANYONE is going to be making the argument that somebody is too bad-to-the-bone based on a narrow observation of their somewhat shitty behavior, you should be the very LAST ONE. 

Anyway, the tanuki just stares silently, and eventually Yusuke comes to the conclusion that none of that matters to the creature, who nods again in affirmation. While Botan warns the newbie to remember that its assumed form will only last during the nighttime, while the moon's power is the strongest, Yusuke wonders aloud why the creature is wearing a blush on its illusory cheeks. Artist error, perhaps?

Anyway, as the night wears on, and the old man lies in his house coughing up a storm, he complains silently that his coughing and wheezing is worse at night, and that he can't sleep, but his strength is fading. He sits up at another violent coughing fit.

I would shit my soul. But, once again, I seem to be the only one creeped out the smiling illusory face of the dead grandson. The old man is crying tears of relief and joy at seeing it again, sobbing that it's really his precious boy. He hugs the illusion, and cries that it has no idea how lonely he's been, and just as Botan said, he fails to notice the tanuki tail poking out the back of the kid's trousers. Eventually the creature is patting the old man's back to ease the coughing and hacking, but while he expresses his gratitude and how good the action feels, the old man is still weeping.

Botan and Yusuke hang out above the house, just silently watching the place. Once dawn breaks, the old man blinks his eyes open and sits up, finding himself alone. He calls out for Shinji, who does not answer, so he starts to wonder if the whole thing was just a wishful dream. But then, he catches sight of a tray with a nice breakfast prepared on it, and he grins happily at the confirmation that it WASN'T just his imagination. 

I mean, I'm mystified too, but probably for different reasons. 

Botan says on this fifth night that she's thinking that this is it - the old guy's last night alive. Yusuke admits that he's still not certain about all this, even though it's been working out for the last few nights. Sweatdropping a bit, he asks Botan if there's not some risk of the the tanuki having given the old man some attachment to this world, thereby making it extra difficult for him to die and rest in peace as he should. Botan laughs that he's actually THOUGHT about those things, and Yusuke responds indignantly that he hasn't been half-dead this whole time for nothing. I guess he's not as stupid as even the afterworld presumed he was at the beginning of the story, huh?

But Botan assures him that he doesn't have to worry about all that "attachment to life" business, because the old man is way ahead of him on that matter. I mean, the guy HAS to realize that this isn't really his dead grandson, right? 

On this particular night, the old man calls to "Shinji" while he lies under a blanket on his futon. The illusory grandson is already sitting next to him dutifully, ready to wait on him and fulfill his every want. The old man only has one last request though, since it's late, and it's almost his time: he wants "Shinji" to remain with him through the night and into the morning this time. The tanuki remembers Botan's warning that it can only maintain its illusory form during the night, but the old man says he really doesn't want to be left alone in his last hours. 

Well, the carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin regardless, so why not go all in?

As they lay side by side during the night, the old man says that this kind of reminds him of when they went to camp in the mountains. He reminds "Shinji" of the tanuki he found in the trap up there, and how they freed it. "Shinji" sweatdrops a bit as the old man admits he often wondered what happened to the little creature after that. Obviously, the speechless tanuki cannot answer, and just gapes in response. 

Birds start chirping outside, and furry little ears pop up on the tanuki's illusory head, causing it to let out a squeak of distress. In a panic, it throws back the blanket to flee, the dismayed old man asking what it's doing, and reminding it that it promised him to stay, ending with another plea to remain. It struggles to maintain its form with the coming sun, panting, but a gleam surrounds it.

The transformation back was so strained that it took off half its foot!

The Tanuki's little heart hammers and it has its arms thrown over its head as it anticipates the old man's explosion of anger at it pretending to be his grandson and trying to deceive him, imagining the old guy calling it a monster. Meanwhile, the old man stares in silence for a moment at the tanuki's back as it sidles along the wall toward the door in shame. Eventually, he tells the tanuki not to try and sneak away, and to come back over to him. When it turns back around, the old man is smiling. He chuckles and confesses that he already knows - apparently tanuki transformations are a lot harder to hide from people who are as close to death as he is, and a couple of days ago he spotted something that gave it away. He doesn't say what, but he says he's a stubborn old man and he didn't want to say anything.

The crying tanuki nods while the old man observes that it's full grown now, asking if its leg is alright now, and if it came to help him as a form of thanks. Still smiling, the old guy states that he's on his way to seeing Shinji for real now, because his tanuki friend freed his soul from the bitterness that trapped it before. He reaches out, asking to hold the little creature just a little while longer. It returns to the old man's side under the covers and they hug, the old guy muttering that it's so warm, soft, and sweet, the tanuki silently crying through it all. At last, the old man's soul rises up out of his body, offering a final farewell and thanks to the creature that made his last days so much better.

Later, I'm guessing after Botan carted the old guy off to the afterlife as her job dictates, she and Yusuke hover over the house and she expresses some pity for the poor Tanuki and its tough ordeal for a little buddy just starting out. She says she hopes that it'll be okay, but Yusuke asserts after a small pause that it'll be fine. 

To be fair, Yusuke, that's a pretty low bar to clear. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This one made me sightly uncomfortable at first, because I couldn't help thinking if I were confronted with the image of a dead relative like this, I personally would be very upset, not to mention terrified. It wouldn't feel any better for me learning that this was a supernatural force imitating this relative, and I can't be certain that it would make much of a difference knowing that this force was thanking me for a kindness I had done it in the past. It seemed to me multiple levels of mind-fuckery that I was not vibing with. 

But, I didn't spend a lifetime in Japan with undertones of Shintoism present throughout my existence. My culture's undertones are distinctly Christian, even though I don't subscribe to that particular belief system, and as such, I have a cultural predisposition to knee-jerk interpret an event such as this in an almost sinister, demonic way. Since this is the context in which I live and have grown up, it's not always easy to spot, so it didn't occur to me at first that the old man would appreciate this creature's care for him in the form of his beloved grandson for an embarrassing amount of time. 

By the last few pages, however, I had gained a little insight not just into the characters of the old man and the tanuki, but also the cultural context that surrounds an event such as this, how it can be soothing and even a relief especially in a man's final days. No one wants to die alone, and since the people the old man loved most were all gone ahead of him, it was a scary time for him to have to come to terms with his mortality by himself. That new perspective allowed me to see how the tanuki coming to take care of him out of pure love and respect would soothe an old man's soul that had been so jaded at the actions of his fellow humans. 

And yeah, I cried a little at the end there, what of it? XD

However, it continues to be a source of endless frustration for me that these characters just aren't given names. On the one hand, I think it's really cool and masterful how YT creates these deeply emotional narratives for characters that don't even have a name for a majority or whole of the story. On the other hand, the epithets I have to come up to give a little variety with in these recaps are killing me!

Inuyasha Manga: 305 The Discarded Arrow

Maybe it just couldn't be found. I imagine that with projectiles like arrows, you try to collect as many of them as possible after shooting them, but sometimes they're bound to get away from you. Especially when you're actually targeting an enemy, there might be complications in the retrieval of your ammo, in particular if you didn't manage to kill your enemy or there are many enemies that might target you in turn if you get too close. I mean, in this comic, there isn't a lot of room dedicated to practice shots. Kagome could tell you that one for free.

Damn, they just DESTROYED that pass. Ain't nobody getting over that thing now.

Hakudoushi tells Inuyasha and crew to just sit back and watch as the humans around them get turned into birdfeed, one of the cowering migrants behind them letting out a fearful noise. Inuyasha is in no way about to give up, though, and he scoffs at Hakudoushi's measly barrier as a red tint starts clouding into Tessaiga. He declares that he'll just cut right through it while he swings down, sending a new Kaze no Kizu at the bubble in the sky. It bends and twists around the barrier, Shippou identifying that barrier-cutting red Tessaiga that we all totally remember, and Kagome wonders aloud if it worked or not. 

The visual noise of Inuyasha's attack clears to reveal...

Of COURSE it is. Heaven forbid that these attacks aren't completely defunct by the time they would really come in handy.

I seem to be the only one who isn't surprised here, though. Inuyasha trails an unfinished question in disbelief, Sango stutters her shock, and Miroku appears completely flabbergasted that even Red Tessaiga couldn't pop the bubble. I can't be too hard on them, though. I have read this exact event four times now, so I have the benefit of foresight, hindsight, AND disillusionment. 

Kagura is less shocked, but still looking a tad disappointed that even Inuyasha couldn't cut Hakudoushi, silently cursing in her frustration as she hovers on her feather outside the barrier. She turns a nasty glower on Hakudoushi and wonders just what it will take to kill this brat. As is tradition with most insufferable little jerks - something EXTREMELY obvious.

Speaking of, something speeds through the air toward the barrier from behind! What could it beeeee?

Hakudoushi can't help but question just what that was. Just in case we were unclear about what just happened, while Shippou on her shoulder and Miroku in the background gape in continued shock, Kagome exclaims that the barrier has been popped. Inuyasha grunts and jumps into action, sending Hakudoushi another Kaze no Kizu in short order. 

ENTEI DOWN! The horse has exited the hospital!

With a mix of confidence and lingering shock, Miroku declares Hakudoushi GOT, with Kagome and Shippou staring up at the carnage with open mouths. Hakudoushi's head is all that remains of him intact, and it groans in agony before yelling at the nearby Kagura to pull him up. She's nothing if not prompt, because Inuyasha is soon shielding his face from the updraft she creates as she grabs Hakudoushi's head and rockets up on the wind, out of range. Sango observes that they got away, and Miroku says only Entei died. A little victory, but a victory nonetheless. 

Meanwhile, Kagome is wondering what the thing that broke Hakudoushi's barrier was, and she seems do have an idea, though is reluctant to consider it. She turns to Inuyasha, who's staring up at the cliff-face where something is sticking out of the rock. He jumps up to examine it more closely, identifying it as an arrow before twisting to look over his shoulder toward where it must have come from, but he sees no one there. 

Indeed, it appears that the figure on horseback and their child attendant have already headed off down the road.

Enjoy that advantage of anonymity and a presumed death while you can, lady.

Narrow sky transition panel to a remote tree-covered mountain, on the side of which is perched a lone building on a rock outcrop. Kagura is inside, sitting against the door as she watches the pieces of Hakudoushi swirl around in a new barrier. He's mentally cursing whoever the fuck broke his barrier while his disparate parts knit back together. Kagura is merely sour about what a tough little brat he is. Soon, his torso begins to re-form, and Kagura notices something on his back that causes her some surprise. 

Though I suppose it's technically something under that familiar scar on his back - she at first wonders if her eyes deceived her for a moment, but her certainty only solidifies when she thinks that though there was the sound of a heartbeat coming from him, the inside of his chest was actually empty. She staggers to her feet, his almost whole body still curled within his bubble, as she concludes that his heart is actually elsewhere. 

Back at the absolutely ruined pass, Inuyasha's whole group is standing in front of him, examining the arrow he's retrieved from the cliff above. Kagome in particular looks crestfallen at it while they acknowledge that the arrow broke Hakudoushi's barrier where Inuyasha's Red Tessaiga couldn't. We're still utterly flabbergasted that Red Tessaiga has been rendered useless, I guess. That wasn't predictable at all. Miroku, Sango and Shippou also appear to be drawing a certain conclusion of where the arrow must have come from if it could do that. Inuyasha hangs his head in moody contemplation. 

No disguise can hide it.

Except Inuyasha doesn't think so - in fact, he states outright that it's NOT her, much to his friends' collective surprise. Miroku points out that none of them SAID anything about it being Kikyou, but Inuyasha bets that they were all pretty much thinking it. I mean, it is the OBVIOUS conclusion to come to, after all. As Kagome looks on with concern, Inuyasha admits that he was thinking it too, at first, but he says there's none of Kikyou's scent on the arrow he's holding at all. It's some other kind of scent, one he's smelled before, but not Kikyou's. 

Sango asks if it's not someone they know, just before Miroku has decided to chip in that the power he felt at the time when the arrow was fired didn't feel as strong as Kikyou's to him either, as though Inuyasha's certainty gave him the "courage" to doubt it was Kikyou too. Joke's on you guys, then. Kagome is looking real melancholy as she wonders whose arrow it could have been that saved Inuyasha, then.

A few migrants come forward to suggest that it was Hijiri-sama's divine protection, and oh yeah, these guys exist! Kagome looks over her shoulder, appearing sadder than ever while she ponders this Hijiri person, which just goes to show that she is not buying a SINGLE BIT of this "not Kikyou" narrative RT is trying to spin. Miroku meanwhile urges everyone to hurry on to Hijiri-sama's town in order to intercept the large flock of vampire monsters headed over there, no doubt suddenly reminded of this by the interjection of the migrants. 

Elsewhere, the "mysterious" Hijiri is galloping on their horse, their little helper child flying beside them at top speed, telling them that they've almost reached the town.

"... I mean, we are PRETTY late, what with stopping to help out your ex-lover or whatever."

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I actually CHEERED when Entei bit it. That horse was overly large and it made Hakudoushi look even weirder than he already does, like a little fly on this massive creature's hide. It wasn't exactly intimidating, so I think Hakudoushi's image could only improve now that Entei is out of the picture.

But otherwise I'm not much of a fan of how RT is trying to lead me in this one. She's attempting to play off Red Tessaiga's impotence as some sort of shocking development, as opposed to the inevitable power-creep it is. I think she might have shot herself in the foot, too, because while this is a legitimate setback to Inuyasha's race to catch up to Naraku in power in order to be able to defeat him in the long run, it also sets a precedent. A more critical look seems to indicate a pattern of seeking out increasingly oddly-specified tools and tricks to shortcut his way to being on equal footing power-wise. That's going to be a real big problem later on, and cause some ridiculous twisting/justification to get it set on the right track again. I'm sure anyone who's read this one before too can see what I'm talking about, but suffice it to say for now, Red Tessaiga represents the beginning of a long and frustrating trend. 

Also, the weak-ass reasons that Inuyasha and Miroku have for NOT believing that this arrow came from Kikyou are just kind of insulting. We already know that Naraku's scent has been disguised before with a lot of flowers and water, and that guy is stank-as-hell. Also, a reduction in power is EASILY explained by injuries/illness due to falling in that poison river. I feel like RT realizes her audience has already figured out this is Kikyou, especially since it LOOKS like Kikyou under the bee-keeper getup, but she's really trying to preserve whatever surprise reveal she had planned anyway. She needs to cut her losses with this one, because the way she set this up was not subtle, and it's honestly embarrassing that she's over here insisting there are reasons for the characters not to believe it's Kikyou. 

Girl. Come on.

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 005 Her First Christmas!

Oops, I'm a few months late on this one, it seems. Just try to ignore that spring is in full swing right now, okay? I mean, the sun is coming up sooner and sooner, my seedlings are in their planters, and the birds are waking me up with all their chirping in the morning, but we can pretend right? I'll put on some carols and look at pictures of Santa Claus, and try to imagine snow on the increasingly dry landscape outside. The fact that I don't have to put on a hundred layers still kind of breaks the immersion for me, unfortunately. 

I feel like being a guide to the afterlife would make religion... unnecessary.

Botan doesn't answer, of course, but mostly because she suddenly tenses up from what she identifies as a spirit energy that is not at ALL Christmasy. Yusuke repeats the phrase "spirit energy" back to her as a question, so she explains that it's the aura that souls give out when they can't rest in peace, and it's one of the more difficult aspects of her job as a "Grim Reaper", because it's made up of resolving the spirit's conflicts so they can get off to Heaven. Yeah, human conflict? It turns out that's not easy to work through. Go figure.

Botan identifies the spirit as a depressed-looking young lady, in a jacket over a frilly shirt with a high collar accented by some sort of brooch. Yusuke lounges in the air behind Botan, looking curious but not overly invested, but Botan is immediately put-off; she says this one is a "fixated" ghost, meaning she is fixed in a certain spot by strong emotions, and those tend to be SUPER stubborn. She is, indeed, seated on the very edge of a bench in a long pleated skirt, and she's looking around at the people bustling around her, but doesn't appear to be ready to move. 

She looks like she perceives Botan just as Botan swoops in on her oar.

Oh, it looks like she ditched the oar, never mind.

Botan lays it on real thick with a big kitty grin and by pointing to her own face with both hands, introducing herself as a guide to the underworld, and saying that she's pleased to meet the spirit. Yusuke looks disgusted with this display and tells her to stop with the chipper intro already. The spirit says she knows who Botan is and why she's there, since a couple of other guides tried. She already told those others that she's waiting here on this bench for someone, so she doesn't really want to leave, thanks. 

Botan begins to inform her about her, *ahem*, condition, but the girl cuts her off to tell her that she KNOWS, but she's wanting to wait there all the same. Yusuke also takes on a kitty-face, but a significantly more mischievous one, and raises a thumb to ask if whoever she's waiting for is the Tarzan to her Jane. The note under this panel explains that this thumbs-up gesture is used when referring to someone's boyfriend, so I guess that makes sense, but that face Yusuke is using makes me think there's a little more to the euphemism than that. Feel free to comment if you've got a little more info!

While Botan tells Yusuke he's NO Mr. Sensitive, the girl tells them that the person she's waiting for is named Kenji, over a tinted panel with a boy giving a peace sign. The girl ghost says that they agreed to meet at this spot last year to spend Christmas together, but she fell REALLY ill on the day. She wanted to call him, but she didn't have much of a chance, seeing as she went into a coma and never woke up again. Botan wears a concerned expression as she reiterates the meaning of this - that the girl's desire to see Kenji intensified in her death and bound her to the place they were to meet. The girl says she STOOD HIM UP WITH NO EXPLANATION and wanted to apologize. 

... I guess she COULD conceivably argue that she literally ghosted him.  

Hang on, gotta go to pun jail for a sec.

Botan makes a sad noise, but Yusuke is incredulous. He asks her who would POSSIBLY expect an apology for getting sick and dying, telling her to let it go. I agree with him, because who'd even WANT to apologize to that kind of person anyway? The girl says he might be right, but she's content to wait anyway, and she likes sitting here, watching the people bustle by, daydreaming. 

I mean, it's a toss-up. If the trauma around this place and day are too much to handle right now...

Sweatdropping, Yusuke turns to Botan and asks if this is possible, and Botan says Christmas isn't her department, so she doesn't really know. There's a Christmas DEPARTMENT? And Botan, with all her gushing about the warm-fuzzies of the season, doesn't get to be a part of it??? INJUSTICE. Over a clock which shows the time as a quarter to twelve, Botan asks politely what time the girl and her beau were planning to meet last year, and the answer is noon. Botan advises the girl to take it as a sign that it's time to move on if he doesn't show, because it would do her no good to hang out here for the rest of eternity. The girl responds with silence.

The silence stretches to the next panel, which shows the clock at 1:30 now, and either Yusuke or Botan comments on that fact. Botan shrugs and says she really doesn't think the dude is coming. Yusuke is sitting next to the girl on the bench now, man-spreading for maximum comfort during the long wait, no doubt. The girl says that Kenji was usually a half hour or more late as if this is an explanation, prompting Yusuke to grimace and remark with disbelief that anyone who made him wait more than fifteen minutes got their lights put out. Seems like a disproportionate response, Yusuke, but okay. 

The girl admits hesitantly that she LOVES the moment he shows up at last, saying he's sorry he's late, as he's trotting toward her. Dude is sounding more and more like a major flake the more she tells us about him, huh? Yusuke jabs at his own forehead and says he just doesn't get it, and he's not the only one. I am just flabbergasted. 

After a while more watching the crowd, the girl recognizes a figure glancing over toward her among the throngs of people. All three of them stare, identifying the boy that's milling around the place as Kenji in shock. Yusuke turns toward Botan again, slowly beginning to voice what this means, before Botan interrupts him to excitedly declare that God granted the girl's wish. Kenji looks again in the girl's direction and starts heading straight over. 

Uh, can he actually SEE her...?

... Guess not. 

Kenji leans a knee on the bench right next to our original girl to talk to the flesh-and-blood one over the backs of the benches, apologizing again and giving the excuse that he overslept. What, slept until NOON, dude? I don't buy it. The other girl sits with her arms crossed and her back to him, informing him she's been there for half-an-hour and that she was about to take off. She should do that anyway, this guy is the flakiest MF in the universe. Get you a man who don't suck.

Kenji clams up for a second, looking off to the side contemplatively, then tells the other girl that she reminded him of something. They're facing each other now, her asking him what it was, though she still looks pretty peeved. He confesses that he used to go out with a girl who would wait for HOURS for him without complaining. Kenji says with absolutely NO remorse that he bet a buddy last year that this chick would wait for him at this very spot for FIVE HOURS, but the little prissy-pants (his words, not mine) didn't show and he lost 10,000 Yen. Oh, the injustice of it all. The other girl asks what happened to this first girl, and Kenji says he just doesn't know, and that they haven't talked since. 

How... how do you NOT KNOW? You didn't hear about her death through the grapevine AT ALL??? 

Anyway, Kenji says she was nothing special anyway, just someone to kill time with. Or deliberately kill HER time, anyway. Meanwhile, Yusuke is once again trying to punch the shit out of a corporeal target with incorporeal fists - he's pretty angry at this dude. Kenji says he's got another like her RIGHT NOW, and somehow this other girl and he laugh about this notion, despite the CLEAR INSULT this is on her. Just totally fails to realize that he's calling her nothing special to kill time with. She seems none too bright, unfortunately. 

Veins popping in rage, Yusuke asks Botan how he can clobber this clown, but she says he's not going to be able to do that in his current state. The original girl is sitting quietly, tears forming in her eyes. Trembling, she stutters that she would have waited those five hours if she hadn't gotten sick, and that she's stupid that way, a humorless laugh escaping her. The more painful irony being that she ended up waiting A LOT more than five hours because she got sick. She buries her face in her hands, Botan kneeling in front of her to try and persuade her not to cry, that it's better knowing all this than continuing to wait. Yusuke is still staring off in the direction Kenji and his new mark fucked off.

That's not unusual for you, though, kiddo.

Yusuke turns to the girl with his teeth still clenched in his not-at-all contained fury and yells at her to forget Kenji and erase him from her memory, never giving him another thought again for eternity. Recoiling, she meekly tries to tell him that she can't just DO that, but Yusuke growls in rage that "can't" means "won't" and she just "won't" if she keeps on sitting there on the bench like that. He seizes her by the back of her collar and DRAGS her off her seat of an entire year, ignoring Botan's impotent protests, and the more insistent ones from the girl, declaring that there's only one way to forget that good-for-nothing POS, and that's them going to party. 

Well, you know what they say. You've got to fight. For your right.

To party.

After all that crazy fun, Yusuke walks ahead of the girl, who staggers a bit, saying she can barely walk anymore. Why not just fly, since you're a ghost and all? Anyway, she exclaims that was the most fun she'd ever had in her life, if you'll pardon the inaccurate expression. Yusuke says it's too bad they couldn't have scored some beer, but the girl says she's not complaining, smiling wide. Pointing at her, Yusuke comments on this smile, and casually states that she's really cute when she does that. She blushes and covers her mouth in embarrassment, and Yusuke asks what's wrong, insisting he meant what he said. As she bashfully tucks in her chin, he goads her into looking at him, and when that doesn't work, he starts making his faces at her to try and get her to give him another smile. She relents and laughs that he's a big goof. The girl recalls in the moment thinking about it that Kenji never told her she looked cute, and Yusuke says it's Kenji's loss. It's all painfully adorable.

Yusuke comments on how hard it is to see beautiful things like this from a stupid street bench, and after a pause, she agrees. Referring to the city lights below, Yusuke suggests that the guy she'd waited a year for was down there somewhere, and she should give him a piece of her mind. She places a hand on her chest as she takes a short breath... then yells out over the city her thanks to Kenji for everything, and her goodbye wish that he'll be happy. What a cinnamon roll! I could eat her up!

Yusuke is literally turned on his head by this, and questions these well-wishes of hers, suggesting that she tell him to go to Hell, at the very least. She refuses, because, in her mind, if he hadn't done what he'd done, she never would have met Yusuke and had the best day of her... not-life is left off the end of the sentence, of course. Yusuke gives her a curious look, rendered mostly speechless. 

The next panel shows that Botan has rejoined them, and the girl is sitting right behind her on the flying oar. Botan asks if the girl is ready to go, who answers in the affirmative. Addressing Yusuke, Botan says she'll see the girl to the entrance of Heaven. He's standing astride a roof as he gives his blessing, so to speak, and offers the girl a parting haiku poem: "Don't let stupid jerks rag you around in life or the afterlife, okay?" He acknowledges that there's one extra syllable in there with consternation, before wishing her good luck. While the girl agrees to this sentiment with some sadness, Botan nervously laughs that Yusuke makes quite the point. 

The girl looks even more melancholy when she thanks Yusuke for everything, and she means EVERYTHING. No one has ever pushed her into actually enjoying herself before, I guess. Yusuke reminds her that he told her she's at her best when she smiles, and tries to persuade her to do so again, putting one of his shoes on his head to act like a goofball again. Nevertheless, her eyes are filled with tears.

Careful, Yusuke, your tough-guy persona is suffering. 

After the girl disappears in a flash of light in the sky, Yusuke's expression turns to a strange mix of quizzical and serious, and he makes a trailing comment hinting that he's got some new plans to be getting on with. 

Cut to what looks like an apartment building, where Kenji and the other girl he met at the bench are lounging on a sofa, the latter draped across the former's lap while he holds a phone to his ear. He says it's almost time to go see if his girl is still waiting for him, betting he wins this year with a laugh. Ah, I guess he WASN'T referring to the other girl hanging out with him when he said he has another just like our original girl - he must have literally meant that he was stringing another random chick along that we've never seen. What is WITH this guy???

Kenji is confused when he hears a click and a tone on the phone he was speaking into, then shocked when a new menacing voice floats through it giggling, asking how he can dare make a game of loyalty and trust. Shrieking, Kenji drops the phone on the floor, upsetting the position of the girl over her lap so she has to sit up in alarm as he draws his feet up to crouch on the sofa. The hand that was holding the phone is trembling, and he can't help but ask who THAT was. 

Another yell as knocking and tapping starts surrounding them, then more maniacal giggling. Kenji demands, unconvincingly, that whoever is doing this stop fooling around, but the voice says it's really just begun. Kenji starts trying to guess who the voice/strange happenings belong to, listing off a list of female names. The girl next to him suddenly questions just how many others he's been seeing and deceiving in this way, as if it's only JUST occurred to her that this might be problematic behavior. But Kenji is too busy fleeing to the door to try and get out of there to answer. It's stuck at first, but just as it opens and he can express a little relief that he's able to escape...

I mean why SHOULDN'T Kenji get a little Ebenezer Scrooge treatment? 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It was cute on its face, and it was unmistakably a good deed to help this girl have a good time to allow her to let go of her attachment to a very unworthy fellow. As a woman who has experienced the pain of being led on and made a fool of by a couple of guys back in her day, this one DID tickle my vicarious revenge bone a little. But honestly, ANY situation in which a bully buddies up to you to humiliate you in some way is applicable here - doesn't have to be in a romantic way. If only they would all get the shit frightened out of them by ghosts for treating the pain of others as entertainment. 

I did cringe a LITTLE when Yusuke commented on the girl's cute smile and tried to coax another from her. This is a peeve for a lot of women, including myself, because it indicates a certain level of entitlement to women performing pleasantries for them. BUT, in this situation, she was already really happy, smiled because of that, and only stopped because she was bashful over Yusuke's comment and became self-conscious, so he was just encouraging her to go ahead and express her joy in the moment. My cringe was really more of a reflex, and when I had a thought about it, I was relieved to be able to honestly conclude that it was about as unproblematic as any manifestation of this could get.

Kenji not knowing WHAT happened to our girl is still mystifying to me, though. I realize they're in a city, and there probably isn't a lot of opportunity to hear about these things without social media around yet, but really? Not one INKLING that something was up? Did he not have ANY friends or acquaintances in common with her that he could potentially hear the news of her death through? At the very least he should have had SOME curiosity about why this girl who so obediently waited hours at a time for him suddenly up and disappeared without a trace. I'm almost tempted to think that he DID know and he didn't want to seem like even MORE of an unfeeling asshole to his legit squeeze, in case disrespect for the dead was a hard line for her, but I think that might have been communicated in some way in the text. 

In any case, the only REAL problem I have with this chapter is that we just... never learn the name of our girl, but we learn the name of her tormentor pretty early on. We almost didn't learn the name of the little boy in the last chapter either, so I feel like this might be an emerging pattern with this comic, and a somewhat annoying one to me. It's not inherently bad not to name one-offs that won't be coming back, but it DOES make my job as recapper and analyst a little more difficult.

Inuyasha Manga: 304 Hijiri-Sama's Town

Wait a minute, haven't I seen this name before? At first I thought I was confusing the current reading with all my prior readings of this story, but when I went to check if there were multiple instances of "Hijiri" in Inuyasha's canon, nope. It's not my imagination, the island with all the flowers on it back in the Shichinin-tai arc is called Hijiri too! Well that's awkward. RT must have really been running out of ideas at this point to overlook the reuse of this one. From what I understand, it means "holy", but there must be some synonyms somewhere in the language for her to have chosen from. Or something punny. Remember when this comic was a little more punny? 

Those were the days.

With the door knocked in and everything. Not suspicious at all.

This is being discussed by a couple of women with naginatas appearing to patrol the outside of this castle, adding that though they're happy the mistress and her newborn son are okay, they wonder if it was a youkai's work. More like an ASSHOLE'S work. Inside, the mistress is still laying on her futon while her husband is cradling the baby by her side, who tells her not to worry, because he's fortified the guards all around the grounds. He expresses some relief that they were blessed with a successor, which suggests they may have had trouble with this in the past. I guess Naraku may have just taken advantage of an issue he observed after all instead of creating it, making him MARGINALLY less of a douchebag. Marginally. The master of the castle promises to protect his son with his life, as Shnooky 2.0 snoozes quietly in his arms. 

Meanwhile, his "mother" is questioning if this is REALLY the baby she gave birth to. She has a hazy memory of Kanna, and has apparently tried to chalk her up to her own imagination, but that's a rather vivid imagination she has, if so. Still, she's confused and uncertain about the whole thing, and the trauma of not only losing the child as well as a number of people around her, ON TOP of the trauma of childbirth, is probably not doing her memory any favors. 

Narrow blank transition panel! Inuyasha and company are moving through the forest, Kagome and Shippou on his back, and the rest of the team on Kirara's. Inuyasha is cursing up a storm, while Miroku acknowledges that they're stuck and don't have a single clue. Sango, in her extermination expertise, says that the nest of these flying vampire creatures would obviously be up on a high, rocky mountain, but she trails off. Kagome picks up the thread by adding that if Abi is protected by Naraku's barrier, then the nest would undoubtedly be so as well. Inuyasha scoffs that he'll rip the barrier apart with nary a thought to HOW.

Shippou leans over his shoulder to point out that he can't CUT the barrier if he can't FIND it, and Inuyasha yells at him to shut up because he knows that much. 

I should think that would be a familiar feeling to you by now - Naraku is never NOT leading you losers by the nose!

Kagome calls for Inuyasha to look ahead, he and his two passengers staring wide-eyed at an old couple on a high hill path. The old woman is sitting on her knees and insists that her companion go on without her, because she's absolutely done. The old man tells her to hang in there, though, not letting go of her arm to pull her along. Inuyasha and company must have met up with them, because there's some disconnected dialog about how no one knows when they'll be attacked by the youkai vampire birds, and everyone in the area is fleeing at the moment in response to a question as to their awful situation. 

While Inuyasha complains about it all coming down to carrying the old woman, and Kagome pointing out that it's always this way, there's a group of small children riding on Kirara now as they pick their way along the trail. Miroku is asking the man if they have a destination down, and he responds that they're heading for a mountain town on the other end of the pass, wanting to ask a "Hijiri-sama" for help and possibly get some protection from the birds. Inuyasha and Kagome perk up in interest, the latter repeating the name with curiosity. 

Miroku asks if that's a Buddhist priest, and the man admits he doesn't know, but they've heard a lot of rumors about the person. From Inuyasha's back, the old woman adds that no one has seen this Hijiri-sama's face, so Inuyasha asks what she means. 

Suspiciouser and suspiciouser...

Inuyasha mutters about how pathetic he thinks it is for someone to relying so heavily on a rumor like that. Says the guy who almost lost his girl to the rumors of a LITERAL INFANT. Sango asks for confirmation that indeed EVERYONE is heading to this place after hearing the rumor, looking a bit worried. The man answers in the affirmative, so Sango throws Miroku a critical look, telling him that they need to hurry, and he agrees. With some trepidation, the man asks what the matter is, to which Inuyasha replies with urgency that the birds show up where a lot of people gather. He calls to Kagome to get on his back (balanced precariously next to the old woman, I guess) and she complies with only a small stutter. As the group speeds ahead now, the man starts to apologize, possibly for his gullibility, but Miroku cuts him off to assure him that they'll be dropped off somewhere safe.

Some distance ahead, the majority of the migrants are assured by one of their own that they'll get to Hijiri-sama's town just over this pass. A shame I have no idea who said it to be able to hand over that chapter title award this time. Darn. 

Ugh, it's THIS little asshole.

Kagura walks up behind Hakudoushi, and with the most disdain that it is possible for her to express in a single panel, asks what he's up to now. Hakudoushi scoffs, and tells Kagura to look at all that birdfeed down below. Kagura kneels next to him with a confused noise, so Hakudoushi clarifies that all the people currently clogging the pass will be contributing every drop of their blood toward a path to the boundary between this world and the next, but this just seems to perplex Kagura all the more. I'm sorry, did I say "Hakudoushi"? I meant Haku-DOUCHEY. 

First time that joke's ever been told. 

Anyway, the vampire birds appear in the sky as a distant cloud, rapidly approaching. An old man in a hat looks up at the motion out of the corner of his eye, and it looks like he's not the only one who noticed. A semi-toothless guy cries out that the birds are coming, barely before the birds are already bearing down on them. The man in the hat and yet another man cower against the rock wall bordering the pass, stammering for help. A splatter of blood covers the next panel, you know, for dramatic effect. 

Aw, we never expected anything less. Cut it damn close, though, as always.

Sango shreds some birds with her Hiraikotsu, and Miroku whacks one into oblivion that was going for a man and woman as well. At a whooshing sound above him, Inuyasha looks up, and has to hop out from under what he identifies as one of Kagura's crescent wind blades as it slams into the rock below. She's indeed hovering in the air on one of her feathers, the vampire birds and Entei suspended a bit beyond her. Atop Entei, Hakudoushi smarms that Inuyasha and company are wasting their efforts, because they basically have a shit-ton of dactyls. Those are my words - I don't know if Sengoku Japan has that kind of mock measurement for a bad thing. Kagome and Miroku react to Hakudoushi's presence with an alarmed shout. Perhaps they were expecting Abi herself.

Inuyasha demands to know what this little bastard Hakudoushi is here for, and Hakudoushi tells him not to waste his breath too, because while they're focusing on him and Kagura, the humans are liable to die. As if to illustrate this point, another couple of people are being targeted by the flying menacing for their blood, and Miroku manages to slice through the birds with his staff at the last moment before they reach their intended victims.

Honestly, I don't know if it makes too much difference if they move or not, but they may as well stay behind the defense force in any case.

Inuyasha lets off a Kaze no Kizu and destroys a clump of the vampire birds. Meanwhile, Shippou tells a shocked Kagome that he thinks Hakudoushi is trying to keep them from passing. She agrees, and turns to the rest of the team to remind them that there should be MANY more people gathered at this Hijiri person's settlement, passing on her alarm to Inuyasha in turn. Hakudoushi chuckles that they figured it out, and I'm not sure which is more insulting; that Hakudoushi implies it's a feat for these dumb kids to figure out such a basic plan, or that SHIPPOU was the one who essentially got it before everyone else.

But Hakudoushi says they're too late anyway...

They really DO have a shit-ton of those things, don't they???

Miroku groans in disgust, and accuses Hakudoushi of also spreading the Hijiri-sama rumors to desperate villagers, which is the first reasonable conclusion he's come to himself for a while, given historical precedent. However, Hakudoushi says he wouldn't go to that much trouble making up a savior for these people, and speculates that this Hijiri person is probably a bland-as-fuck exorcist. He further suggests that the cowardly humans put the ordinary Hijiri on a pedestal to relieve their fear and give them some hope, and clung together. Some humans on the ground gape up at him, and I wonder if they can really even hear him clearly, given his distance up in the air. Seems unlikely.

Anyway, Hakudoushi says they just happened to hear the rumor too, and that's why they're here taking advantage of the long train of blood supply. Inuyasha has heard enough, and with a scoff, yells at Hakudoushi to stop screwing around while throwing a Kaze no Kizu at him. As per usual, the barrier around Hakudoushi ripples and absorbs the tendrils of the attack. 

Hope there weren't any humans hanging out where you were standing. 

Hakudoushi chuckles that it's a trivial matter returning Kaze no Kizu to Inuyasha, to which Inuyasha just curses in frustration. 

On an adjacent ridge, what looks like a small child stands there looking across at the smoking hole in the pass that Inuyasha's rebounded attack created, and the flying creatures around the obnoxious bubble hanging in the air above it. The child speaks to a cloaked and shrouded figure on a horse behind her, asking Hijiri-sama if they see what she's seeing; it's the same vampire birds that attacked the town. Silently, a bandaged hand nocks an arrow in a bow. 

Gee. I wonder who THAT could be. *Insert eye-roll here*

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This is the first time in a while where I can say things seem to be progressing in an interesting way. It's been a minute since RT has had her unwieldy mass of characters fully utilize what resources are available to them at the moment, so I'm very pleased to see everyone at least behaving somewhat rationally. Our main group's speed in realizing that the migrants were in serious danger was believable, as was their revelation that the ones who had already made it over to the promised safe zone. Miroku's accusation that Hakudoushi had himself spread the rumor about Hijiri-sama was understandable, given how Hakudoushi's previous incarnation had fooled them all with a similar rumor in the past. It was also perfectly diabolical and calculating of Hakudoushi to spring on the opportunity the rumors of a safe place to move to afforded him. These are all really great actions and reactions, and blissfully, no one appears to be drawing conclusions they shouldn't be able to yet, or being excessively dense for the sake of plot. It's a miracle!

The only issue I have with this chapter is the appearance of our "mysterious" Hijiri-sama at the end here. It's no spoiler that it's Kikyou, no matter how hard the story tries to cast doubt on that fact for the next couple of chapters. I suppose it's a little ironic that a rumor confirmed Miss Kikyou's death a few chapters ago, and a rumor is now confirming that she is still alive. And I almost wish Hijiri really WAS Hakudoushi's fabrication, because the extent to which Kikyou's return here damages the dramatic nature of her demise after the destruction of Mt. Hakurei is pretty large. Death means even less now than it did before, if that's even possible.

And that panel of her above? The shadow that outlines her hair and face underneath the hood? FAR too small to fill out that whole outfit she's draped in. Or her head has shrunken in the miasma wash, and her arms have lengthened to an unnatural degree. She could almost pass for an internet cryptid. *shiver*

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 004 The Old Dog and the Boy

This one written by Hemingway or something? I'm reminded of all those classics still sitting on my nightstand waiting for me to pick them up and read them, along with the new novels that are scattered in stacks between. It's been slow going working my way down the list, but at least I've managed to schedule in some daily reading time recently. The biggest challenge was finding the time in between all the stuff I have to do for the stuff I WANT to do, of which sitting to read quietly is one tiny piece. 

Is it just me, or does adulthood get more hectic the older you get?

But I guess I don't have much to complain about compared to this whippersnapper without a body or anything to do but contemplate the suffering of other children in the world below. Sounds miserable, honestly. 

Yusuke is pondering the wails to "Jiro" on the ground, pleading for him not to die and leave the weeper all alone. It's a child who has flung himself dramatically over a dog lying just outside a doghouse, a woman hovering over them both with her arms crossed. The child is wearing a cardigan, glasses, and a simply AWFUL haircut, and is blubbering that if the dog dies, he'll die too. The dog, of course, simply looks a bit tired and run-down. 

The woman all of a sudden starts yelling at the kid, claiming to know he's upset, but telling him he can't just sit sobbing here all day long. She snaps that the dog isn't feeling well, he's old, that's just how it goes. I'm sorry, is your son's grief an inconvenience to you, lady? Clearly it is, because after he recoils from her completely over-the-top irritation with him, she ushers him out of the gate surrounding the house and demands he get to school, promising to call to explain why he's late. He runs off, sniffling and blubbering the whole way. 

Botan expresses sympathy for the poor boy whose beloved dog is dying and there's nothing that can be done, while Yusuke cynically comments on how broken up the kid is about the whole thing already, and wondering how bad his grief is going to be when the inevitable actually comes to pass. 

At the school, the kid is confronted by a couple of classmates, the bigger of them shoving him and asking what the deal is with him being so late. The other is dressed in a preppy shorts-and-blazer sort of outfit and demands who this kiddo thinks he is anyway. Are these brats seriously bullying a boy for COMING TO SCHOOL LATE? Well, I'll give them points for uniquely combining two normally opposing roles in these kinds of stories. The little preppy brat smarms about how he heard the kid's dog is about to croak, and with a smirk, the square-jawed brat sarcastically says this is sooooo sad. He then says it figures the kid would cry about a stupid dog, betting on said dog kicking the bucket as they speak. The preppy brat mockingly yells the word "die" a couple of times, laughing, and our original kid hiccups, threatening to burst into tears again. 

Yusuke's up outside and up a ways, but he hovers there in absolute fury because he can hear the taunting chants of "crybaby" and the wails of the kid with the sick dog. Botan placidly says that the sensitive ones like the kid below do seem to get picked on a lot, and that his dog is one of the few comforts he has in his life. With a mom and classmates like THAT, I'm certainly not surprised! Fuming, Yusuke growls in frustration and snaps that he's never seen something so pathetic in all his existence, having to walk back the word "life" for its inaccuracy at this point. He turns to Botan, asking why the kid doesn't just punch his bullies' lights out, and Botan replies simply that what works for him doesn't work for everybody. It ain't a one-size-fits-all kinda deal, this whole life thing. Yusuke scoffs and sticks his incorporeal nose in the air, saying the kid is better off dead, and Botan scribbles furiously in her gradebook to record that thoroughly unempathetic comment, sardonically calling it compassion. 

In an attempt to reiterate his position as a realistic one rather than overtly cruel, Yusuke argues that the dog's a goner, and there's no getting around it, he's old, it's his time to go. After a pause, Botan says that the dog is truthfully just on borrowed time as it is, his attachment to this world really the only thing keeping him here. 

Ah, the sorrows of our furry friends. 

Over an image of the kid running back home in a hurry, Botan says that by the time he gets there, Jiro will be gone. Indeed, the kid looks on in anguish at his mother standing over Jiro's body lying on its side. He calls the dog's name in question, and then returns to fresh terrible sobs. A bright ball streaks across the next panel. 

Don Bluth eat your heart out.

*Trigger warning for suicide discussion ahead* Yusuke asks about the kid, and if he would REALLY kill himself, and Botan answers that people usually take the path of least resistance out of all the many that exist. Then she jokes that there are also guys like himself that take no discernible path whatsoever, which kind of screws things up, and through a grimace Yusuke tells her not to remind him. Botan returns to a serious note when she looks back down at the house below and begins to speak on the path that seems the easiest for this particular boy, one that in all actuality is hard and terrible. 

He's sniffling and moaning as he's huddled under a blanket in utter misery as Botan and Yusuke hover over his house in silence a moment. The silence is broken by Yusuke, who suggests that they knock him down another path instead, or kick him down it, if they have to. Botan makes a confused noise, so Yusuke whispers his plan in her ear, as though there's anyone around to hear them. 

In the house, a door opens with a creak and the kid's mom looks through the crack into the dark room beyond. She turns to the father (I'm guessing), who asks how the boy is doing, and she answers that their son cried himself to sleep and it's best to leave him be. Certainly better than screaming at him for having inconvenient emotions, I should think. 

The boy lays in bed conked from emotional exhaustion, and hears barks in his dream. He's certain it's Jiro's barking, and wanders a wasteland full of stacks of stones calling out for his dog. The kid stops when he sees in the distance two figures, one humanoid and the other unmistakably canine. Shouting Jiro's name, the boy runs toward the figures with a fresh sob and the happy exclamation that his beloved dog is here. As he throws his arms around Jiro's neck and resumes his hiccups, the human beside them tells the brat to back off because he's in a hurry. 

It's Yusuke dressed in a cape and classic villain mustache, and it's absolutely hilarious. At least, from an audience standpoint. The kid is taking this very seriously, and jumps up, demanding to know who this stranger is and where he's taking Jiro, ultimately insisting that his dog be given back. Yusuke shoves him away with a command to shut up, and the kid flails backward. 

That mustache is TOO much, dude. And so is the sneer he wears in the next panel when he explains to the kid that what doesn't go up must go down, and he, the Lord of the Damned, is seeing to it personally. The kid looks horrified, repeating Yusuke's assertion that it was because of him in disbelief. Again, Yusuke's gleeful expression is quite hammed up when he says the boy catches on very quickly, and confirms it's indeed because of him. Grinning, he assures the kid that this dog will suffer eternally in Hell, his evil smile accompanied by an image of ogres milling around a big cauldron of human soup, judging by the arm sticking out of it. 

The boy is back on his feet, tugging on Yusuke's cape, begging him not to do that, because it's not fair and not Jiro's fault. He insists that he'll be strong and won't cry anymore from now on, but Yusuke just scoffs, pushing him over again and expressing skepticism. Yusuke says it's far too late, and empty promises don't cancel one-way tickets to Hell. Tears emerging again, the kid starts to protest, getting up to plead for another chance. Yusuke yells that the kid is wasting his time, and yanks on the leash to drag the mutt along with a shout to come along. Jiro whines pitifully, resisting, so Yusuke complains that he's had enough trouble from the dog too, and KICKS the poor thing. Yikes, even in a dream scenario that's not a great look. Jiro yelps, and the boy yells at Yusuke, grabbing hold of the cape yet again to insist he can't treat Jiro that way. After a small questioning noise, Yusuke shoves the kid over once more, telling him to get his hands off the cape. 

While the kid cowers on the ground, Yusuke turns up the drama some more and shouts that the dog is his now, and whether he kicks of eats the creature is his own business. To punctuate his point, Yusuke lays a few more kicks on Jiro, the boy watching in breathless horror. At first, he can only softly stutter for Yusuke to stop, and then...

Yeah, Yusuke, knock that shit off. 

The kid dashes forward and starts punching Yusuke in his fury, tearfully shouting that Jiro is a good dog who always made him feel better when he was sad, asking why he has to go to Hell, then asserting that Yusuke can't take him, offering to take Jiro's place if Yusuke has to take anyone. He doesn't really wait for an answer, though, and continues to land his little fists on Yusuke, who doesn't seem to react. He calls Yusuke a bastard and says he hates him, multiple times. Finally, the placid Yusuke smiles. 

Okay, that's genuinely adorable. 

Yusuke gets back to his feet and points at the kid, telling him that the next time he whines and breaks Jiro's focus on Heaven, he'll be back to drag Jiro to Hell again. Wait, are we not trying to make the kid feel a sense of agency by rescuing his dog? Are we trying instead to get him to push down his feelings and not express them anymore for fear that his friend will be tortured forever??

Considerably LESS cute, I gotta say.

The kid delivers a flying kick to Yusuke's chest, which seems to actually send him backward, while swearing not to whine anymore ever. He unleashes a fresh volley of punches on Yusuke, further asserting that he won't cry even when they pick on him, and that this villain will never ever get Jiro. Yusuke has to admit himself that this kid's hits are really starting to hurt. Who's whining now, jerk? 

The boy only stops and turns when a light shines from above him and a voice says that this is just what its owner was waiting for. He has to shield his eyes from the bright light, uttering a noise of awe as Yusuke sits behind him, squashed with lumps on his lumps. Another human figure next to the figure of Jiro assures little Shota that he's going to be fine. FINALLY! I was beginning to think this kid didn't have a name at all. 

It's Botan, of course. She says Jiro agrees, translating his canine thoughts into a message that he's content and can find peace in Heaven. Jiro's tongue lolls, his doggy grin looking absolutely sincere. Shota stares at him with a tear in his eye. 

At the very least, you know you're capable of defending yourself now, what with beating the shit out of the Lord of Darkness and everything.

The next thing the kid knows, he's standing up in the middle of his bed, tears still in his eyes, and making his dream promise in the waking world too. He looks out the window opposite him and thinks on his precious Jiro, who he imagines among the stars out there. Shota promises that though he'll miss Jiro, he'll do his best, so he asks the old dog not to worry and just keep watch over him from Heaven. 

Here I go again. 

Day has broken when Shota is asked if he's SURE about this, his dad and mom standing outside their home's gate as he's walking away, the latter telling him that he can stay home from school today. Oh, I'm glad she grew a bit of empathy over night and realized that her son probably needs a little room to mourn. But little Shota assures her that he'll be fine, and hesitantly tells her that he made a promise. His mom responds with puzzlement, so Shota explains that the promise was to Jiro, and that his bravely venturing to school today was equally for both their sakes. Mom sighs an "oh my", and lets him trot off determined to school.

He's still on his way when his name is called, and he turns to see his bullies from the day before grinning maliciously at him, chuckling and asking sarcastically how his old dog is doing. The little one says they have a great plan for when he dies, and the husky one says the plan is to chop Jiro up and put him in a dog stew. What's with everyone joking about eating this dog?? 

Shota is ignoring them, so the husky one reaches up to ruffle his victim's terrible hair, and Shota smacks the bully's hand away, much to said bully's shock. In the same motion, Shota grabs a fistful of the husky one's sweater and gets right up in his face, daring him to say that to him again, just one more time. All the dazed brat can do is make confused noises. 

That's right! Exchange tears for violence! That's healthy right?

The husky one just continues to gape and fails to form a response, but his friend shouts that they get it, a bit quicker on the uptake. A moment later, Shota is marching off once more, leaving his little bully to ask what just happened, and the husky one to wonder aloud why HE'S being asked. I'll tell you what happened, you pushed your victim a little too far this time, that's what happened. But they're kids and lack the breadth of experience to quite understand that yet. 

Yusuke and Botan hover overhead nearby, the latter looking at the other with pleasant surprise, expressing amazement at what just transpired. Yusuke says that the old shock treatment works every time, explaining that when you get thrown in the deep and it's sink or swim, you swim, stroking his chin in an exaggerated caricature of intellectualism. Botan sweatdrops, asking how that's the same thing, but immediately tells him to never mind, complimenting him instead on playing the villain to perfection. Yusuke puts on a weird kitty-face, saying he's been told that he's not all that likeable to begin with. Botan says that he's not THAT bad, but he laughs that flattery will get her nowhere. I suppose it won't since SHE'S not the one taking the life-saving test, and therefore has nothing to gain by buttering you up.

On the way to becoming as emotionally constipated as Yusuke, maybe.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Well, as you probably picked up from above, I'm not STOKED about the lesson they taught little Shota. I think it was a fine line to walk, and they crossed into less-than-ideal territory a couple of times. Showing the kid that he's actually strong enough to defend himself without Jiro around is good, showing him that defending Jiro and the other things that he loves is a necessary and important part of his life is better, but linking these things to refusing to cry? It's not awesome. There have been entire generations of men who have grown up believing that crying makes them weak and therefore consciously restrict their range of emotional expression to great detriment, both personally and in the societal sense. Shota should be able to shed tears AND be strong enough to stand up for the things he cares about in life, these are not mutually exclusive things.

On the other hand, I can see how Yusuke, as a character, would be sure to impart these values onto Shota, seeing as how he's the embodiment of them. He's got a "toughen up, don't show weakness" kind of attitude, specifically because of YEARS of having to win fights with gangs of hooligans, on his own a lot of the time, since his only friend and ally seems to be Keiko (so far). His statement about sinking or swimming seems like a hint to his own need to rise to the challenge that bullies were forcing on him or crumple under their abuse. And, as stated above, since whole generations of men have grown up seeing crying as a sign of weakness, even if you don't personally believe that, any enemies you have may use it as an excuse to lay even more blows on you if you are unwise enough to cry in front of them. It's a catch-22. 

And regardless, it does seem that all Shota needed to do was put his foot down in order to get his bullies to lay off. In fact, they appear to be trying to catch up with him in that last panel, probably even to hang with him. My hope is that Shota doesn't have to actually start hitting people to get his point across, and may even have made a couple of new friends as a result of just taking a stand. That would certainly be a nice epilogue. 

Random holiday posting: Happy St. Patrick's Day to those who celebrate!