Be prepared for that to be a prominent part of this chapter for sure.
Kagome shifts along her bench a little, thinking this is her chance to escape, but Manten tells his brother to wait while he holds a giant meat cleaver over Kagome. She scrambles out of the way as the blade comes down and hits the bench instead, demanding to know what Manten is doing. In a "duh" manner, Manten explains that he has to kill her so that she can't escape before she can become his precious hair potion. Kagome stutters that she can't be killed, trying to come up with a plausible reason on the spot. Manten glares at her, waiting to hear her logic, and she glares back, but without much more to offer than a hum in the absence of reason.
She comes up with something that could work and holds up a finger, claiming that they'll lose their chance to get the Shikon shards if they kill her. Both brothers continue to glare at her, disbelief written all over their faces. Kagome sweats as she asks them if they've heard of the strong Inuyasha, and Hiten asks in turn if it isn't true that Inuyasha is actually a hanyou, and therefore not strong at all. Kagome insists that he is, because he's already gathered most of the pieces of the jewel, and the brothers look a bit more interested in her excuse not to be killed now. Kagome internally congratulates herself on getting their attention.
Hiten sits down next to her and tells her that she had better not be yanking their chain. Kagome scoffs.
Manten thinks so too, telling Hiten that this is obviously a lie. Hiten, however, is liable to believe it. I'm going to blame all his dead girlfriend's fake orgasms. Hiten grabs Kagome's ascot and demands that she show them where Inuyasha is, but over a shot of that dead girlfriend threatens Kagome. He grabs her chin telling her that if she's lying she'll get the same treatment. Kagome recoils angrily in his grip, thinking that he means business. Also that he has a huge forehead.
Meanwhile, bangs blowing back in the wind, Shippou says that they're getting really close to the mountains where the Thunder Brothers live. Grinning, Inuyasha asks why Shippou sounds so upset, and encourages him to turn back if he's scared. Shippou is riding in the basket on the bicycle that Inuyasha has hoisted on his shoulder as he leaps on, and yelling at his pack mule substitute that he's going to get revenge for his father.
He leans over the side of the basket to peer at Inuyasha, asking him how strong he is, because the Thunder Brothers are super powerful with the Shikon shards boosting their strength. Inuyasha grins and says that the stronger the enemy, the better. Riding on one of Inuyasha's subjugation beads as always, Myouga is most worried about Kagome's safety, at which concern Inuyasha scoffs. He thinks the stubborn Kagome will be just fine, but Myouga can only hope, because he's heard rumors that attractive women carried off by the brothers end up lunch immediately. Inuyasha looks down at Myouga with wide eyes and a sweatdrop and Shippou starts freaking out, trembling, wondering what they're going to do, considering Kagome might already be eaten.
Inuyasha asks Shippou how he can see Kagome as attractive and Shippou yells that Inuyasha's eyes must not work. Myouga also weighs in on the "Kagome-is-pretty" side of the argument, and this just causes Shippou to clutch his head and scream that Kagome has been eaten for sure, her demise being all his fault. Inuyasha throws the bike down on the rocks below, telling his stupid companions to shut up already.
Thunder suddenly claps and a lightning bolt strikes the ground nearby. Inuyasha twists around from hovering over Shippou (preparing to hit him again, no doubt) to look at the sky with a curious expression.
Hiten is reading Inuyasha like a book when he says that judging by the look on Inuyasha's face, Kagome's story must be true. He demands that Inuyasha hand over the Shikon shards in order to save his beloved woman.
Inuyasha wobbles on his feet as he asks who the hell this "beloved woman" is. Kagome asks him why he's being so shy, trying desperately to get him to play along, but Manten isn't so gullible as to let her get away with that. He pats her on the head, saying that she lied after all, and Kagome looks sheepish in the face of the accusation. Inuyasha is beside himself, yelling that no one would throw away Shikon fragments for Kagome.
Kagome seems genuinely offended by Inuyasha's comment, shouting about him intending to just cast her aside. Inuyasha hates the way she says that like they're a loving couple or something. Well, you certainly do fight like one, don't you? While they bicker, Hiten guesses that at least the part about Inuyasha having jewel fragments is true and prepares to get him some.
Inuyasha is on the defensive, pushing back against arcs of lightning running every which way. Hiten wonders aloud how long Inuyasha can withstand his lightning, and Inuyasha responds by gritting his teeth with a grunt, following this up with a slash of the Tessaiga that flings Hiten back quite a ways. Hiten scoffs at Inuyasha's apparently massive brawn. Inuyasha isn't gloating, worried that beating this Thunder Beast scum is going to be a challenge.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Inuyasha's level of upset over Kagome's little bluff is another reminder of the immaturity of both parties here. When Kagome made the statement, she appeared to get carried away in the fantasy for a moment, like it wasn't just a bluff she was making, but a secret desire. She looked like she definitely WISHED it was true that Inuyasha loved her enough to give up the Shikon shards. Of course, she's not so deluded as to let that fantasy overtake the seriousness of the situation, but you can tell when her acting started taking on that wistful tone when the roses appeared on the fringes of the frame. She is, after all, still a teenage girl with very specific ideas of what someone expressing true love is supposed to look like.
Inuyasha's anger at hearing her claim is on multiple levels. He's become rather attached to Kagome, as demonstrated in the previous arc, but he's not ready to admit that out loud. When he hears the story, he kind of wobbles like he's been thrown off balance, because he HAS been. This is a claim that puts him into emotional disarray, being unprepared for a statement that challenges him to actually THINK about how he feels.
He becomes angry when he starts denying that Kagome is worth Shikon shards, and flat out refusing to play along with the notion that they're lovers. Not only does the bluff really hurt the image of "uncaring demon" that he's been trying to cultivate (damaging his veneer of machismo in front of the other dudes, so to speak), in the long run, it will mean that Kagome may be used against him again.
Which is why I'm leaning toward Inuyasha's side on this argument, because Kagome may have gotten herself out of a precarious situation by starting this "lovers with Inuyasha" rumor, but it might be a big burden to them in the future.
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