Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 113 Stealth in the Night!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, READERS! This is my absolute favorite holiday, and has been ever since I was a child, for a combination of various reasons. I have many positive memories around this time of year. I love fall in its entirety, with its mild days and cool nights. I love the iconography, the symbols, that encourage one to reflect on one's mortality and the more frightening aspects of life. I love the ability to face those symbols by becoming one of them, by putting on a mask and stepping into those shoes to explore the darker side of our psyches.

And, of course, I love walking around in the night, blending with the shadows while I search for adventure and fun.

Honda is searching for something quite different, though.

 

Not that there isn't adventure in a prison break. 

Bandit Keith lurks behind another dark corner, and I wonder how he catches sight of Honda running by when he's still wearing his stupid sunglasses, let alone identifies him as one of Yuugi's friends. Regardless of how he's seeing at all, Keith wonders what Honda is doing wandering the castle so late at night. He takes off his sunglasses (and here I was supposing they must have been fused to his skull) and chuckles, admitting that he's not really one to talk. 

Meanwhile, Honda has flattened himself against a wall to look around a nearby corner, and silently curses at the guards he sees standing on either side of a stone archway leading into what looks like a spiral staircase. Still, he figures this must be the place, or else they wouldn't be there. Honda also figures that they saw him when both of them call out, asking who's there. 

But they're actually talking to a confused-looking Bakura scratching the back of his head, demanding to know what the hell he's doing there. He haltingly says that he was looking for a bathroom, and Honda grinds his teeth from around his corner, wondering what Bakura is doing up so late. Uh, didn't he just say he was looking for a bathroom? One of the guards shout at Bakura to use the bathroom that's in his room, and as he's muttering his apologies, the other guard tells him to get out of there. He wishes them a good night as he walks past them toward Honda.

Bakura breathes a sigh of relief and asks Honda what he's doing here, in a new bubble I can only assume indicates whispers. At least, for now. Honda says he should be asking Bakura the same thing. The both of them look back out in the direction of the guards to the stairs, and Bakura assumes that this is the Kaiba rescue Honda was alluding to during dinner, which Honda confirms. Bakura asks if Honda wants him to tag along, but Honda turns down the offer adamantly, insisting he'll be fine by himself. Honda DOES request that the harmless-looking Bakura distract the guards for him again, though.

After Honda has crossed behind a pillar adjacent to the corner, he gives Bakura a thumbs-up and Bakura nods. He calls out, asking if there's anyone there, and the guards come running. They are more than a little peeved that it's him again, and he claims that he's forgotten where his room is. As one of the guards irritably points out the direction, Honda runs behind him and toward the stairs. You guys realize there was a reason Pegasus stationed TWO of you at the door, right? Stupid guards...

Bakura apologizes to them once more while Honda heads down the stairs, finding a set of barred cells at the bottom. He doesn't have to go very far to find one of the people he's looking for.

Honda shouts at Mokuba to wake up, because I guess he forgot he should have continued to be quiet. Mokuba doesn't answer, staring at his knees without expression. The next panel is super weird, what with one of the bars being faded out so that we can see Honda's face through it, and a blank speech bubble covering his fist holding onto the next bar over. Remember, this is the official translation folks! They worked SO HARD on it!

Anyway, Honda mutters that he doesn't think he can open the barred door without a key as he looks down at the lock. He gulps when he hears a gun cocking behind him, and one of the Secret Service Servants joking about not inviting a rat down there. Uhhhh, rats are rarely invited places, SSS guy. That was a pretty lame attempt at a cool and clever one-liner, dude.

We get a shot of the outside of the castle, then head back inside to where Keith is walking down the hall upstairs. He identifies a room that he's pretty sure belongs to someone who will be useful to him, and recalls the information he just learned about needing two cards to participate in the tournament going forward, otherwise he won't be able to win the prize. He's thinking specifically of the Honor of the King's Right Hand card, and internally chuckles, because Bandit Keith always gets his prize by any means necessary.

I like the added detail of Jonouchi sleeping with the lamps on, given that we know he doesn't like the dark. It's small, but reaffirming that helps to solidify character.

Keith thinks Jonouchi looks like a moron when he's asleep. I wouldn't be too smug, because I'm pretty sure EVERYONE looks dumb when they sleep. Keith starts digging through Jonouchi's pockets in the jacket hanging next to the bed, wondering where that card is. He grins when he finds it and prepares to leave, but Jonouchi freezes him with a declaration that he said he'd beat that jerk as he turns over in his sleep. Keith looks over his shoulder tensely to see that Jonouchi indeed still has his eyes closed and is chuckling in his slumber. Keith curses him for talking in the middle of a REM cycle and being so loud about it to boot.

He opens the door, thinking that since he's done there, he'd better skedaddle. As he's closing the door again in the hallway, though, he's frozen yet again by another voice behind him.

Miraculously, this works, and Yuugi mutters a half-asleep good night as he retreats back into his room. Once the door closes, Keith sighs again, grinning as he thinks what a close one that was.

Whoops, relaxed too soon, didn't you, Keith?

Yuugi identifies him correctly and demands to know what he's doing in front of Jonouchi's room. Keith grabs him by the sleeve, cursing him and telling him to shut up. Keith pulls back a fist to hit Yuugi.

I love how these characters start out so very quiet, and then decide to blow it by making a racket. Great idea you morons.

Yuugi stutters at Keith to wait as he stands, which Keith is pretty surprised about. He grabs hold of Yuugi yet again, fist at the ready should Yuugi continue to refuse to go back to bed and he has to beat the dueling spirit right out of him. In fact, he's not even going to give Yuugi a chance to go back to bed, getting ready to shut the little guy up with another face-full of Keith fist.

Surprise! All this nonsense woke him up too, Keith. You're not really upholding the "stealth" part of the title, are you?

Jonouchi is PISSED that Keith thinks he can hit his friend Yuugi. Keith also thinks he can hit Jonouchi, and with a chuckle takes a swing. Jonouchi ducks, headbutts Keith, breaking his nose, and then knees him in the stomach until Keith collapses onto his hands and knees. Jonouchi tells him that he may be good at cards, but Jonouchi is pretty good at physical fights. Keith groans through his hand trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose and IT'S AWESOME.

However, there's a reason Jonouchi didn't use his fists on Keith in the last few seconds. He wants to save them for drawing the cards that'll beat Keith tomorrow. This causes Keith to grin, because he knows he's got Jonouchi's honor card, and he won't be able to duel anyway, making Keith the winner by default. Jonouchi doesn't notice this, having knelt beside Yuugi to ask if he's okay. Yuugi tells him all's well as Anzu opens her adjacent door to ask him and Jonouchi what's happening out there. Jonouchi tells her to get the first-aid kit she supposedly has to take care of Yuugi's face.

While Anzu is grabbing that kit, Yuugi asks Jonouchi what Keith was doing outside his room. Jonouchi figures that Keith was just half asleep and went to the wrong door. Keith, meanwhile, is slinking back down the hall chuckling.

It's 3:20 am.

Stop being a baby about it, Yuugi. He cries out at Anzu's application of antiseptic and she contends that it can't hurt THAT much, bringing up the fact that he's a boy again. Yeah, because that's totally relevant to how much something hurts. Jonouchi hangs out until the patching up looks to be well under way and then lifts a hand to wish them a good night, because he's headed back to bed. Anzu and Yuugi say goodbye while he leaves.

Once Anzu is all finished, Yuugi says his thanks, but admits that he's embarrassed by how much he's always being helped by her, Jonouchi and his other self. Anzu is rendered speechless by this confession, allowing Yuugi to continue. He recalls how Anzu told him that he's fine the way he is the previous night, and she looks kind of surprised he remembered.

Yuugi says that despite what Anzu shared, he can't stay the way he is, because he's unable to protect her that way. WHY is this an issue? Anzu didn't even NEED protecting tonight. What caused this protection urge to be brought up in the first place? She doesn't ask any of these questions, just staring as Yuugi vows to get stronger so that he can beat his other self one day. Anzu nods silently and Yuugi looks determined as he looks up and out of the window next to the bed.

Yeah, it's pretty pathetic that you didn't think to keep your damn mouth shut once you got down there. You didn't really do the title justice either. But at least your predicament allowed us to go back in time a bit. That's pretty cool.

Suddenly, the guard who put Honda in his cell collapses on the floor in front of him, much to Honda's bewilderment. A shadowy figure approaches, prompting Honda to stand and demand who's there. It's Bakura, sporting his hard, possessed look and holding up a set of keys, asking if Honda needs a hand. Also, one of the bars is faded so his face is showing as well. That's just so weird. Honda wonders if it's really his FRIEND Bakura, or someone else.

Once dawn breaks...

Great! Let's get this show on the road! I've got candy to hand out!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Is it weird that I've MISSED the brawling that Jonouchi was known for in the beginning of the story? I have to say that it was kind of enjoyable to see Jonouchi back in his element after such a long time. We've been following this tournament for such a while that Jonouchi's unique set of physical skills were somewhat forgotten, lost in all the card-game-shuffle. Being reminded that Jonouchi's background consists of street brawling and having him give one of our antagonists a well-deserved nosebleed with it made my day.

It was also reminiscent of how he beat the guy who stole Yuugi's puzzle at the arcade right before Death-T. Right down to not using his hands in the fight, it was a nice little throwback to that one time Jonouchi engaged in his own clever defeat of an enemy in a game. I feel like it was an important point to go back to, because with all of Jonouchi's hard work keeping up with Yami in this arc, a reader can sort of forget that he has a whole host of developments in a different area. This helps to even out how we see Jonouchi nowadays.

You know what else I thought might have been important to this chapter, but DIDN'T happen? Panel planning. Those bars could easily have been moved over to accommodate most of a character's face instead of cutting it right down the middle, OR KT could have gotten a tad creative and not centered the character's face in the panel. There were two instances where this would have been a viable solution, but unfortunately, he chose neither, and decided to fade a bar going down the middle of a panel to show a character's mug. That is just lazy as shit and looks like he didn't give a fuck.

To be fair, we're 113 chapters into this manga. His ability to give a fuck has probably waned somewhat by this point.

Inuyasha Manga: 054 The Cursed Hand

Well yeah, Miroku's hand is so cursed that it LITERALLY sucks, but he's at least making the best of it. Most curses only come with negatives like bad luck and always getting sick at the park. Miroku, on the other hand, has managed to turn his sucky hand into a weapon that works in his favor, which makes it just a tad less METAPHORICALLY sucky. There's not much visible downside to being able to vacuum up your enemies. At least not yet.

Also, she was probably tired of standing and watching you not get SHIT done in this fight.

Over a shot of Miroku laying there with his eyes closed, Kagome says she's pretty sure he's someone they should be able to talk it out with. His beaded wrist and hand twitches.

Not really the best way to show gratitude for your defense, buddy. In fact, Kagome has switched sides and is now totally cool with Inuyasha killing Miroku on further consideration, clinging defensively to Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha himself shakes a still reverted Tessaiga at Miroku while calling him a crummy priest. Miroku raises his hands in surrender and calmly bids everyone to slow down and talk things out.

Miroku begins by laying out the reason he's trying to collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama; to seek out and destroy a particular youkai known as Naraku. Inuyasha and Kagome sit and listen to him beneath a tree in which Shippou hangs out, attention span too short for serious conversations. Kagome repeats Naraku's name as a question, and Miroku responds by telling her that Naraku placed the Kazaana in his right hand as a curse, raising it up to show her.

Kagome asks what kind of youkai this Naraku is, but all Miroku really knows about this youkai is that it has a strong evil aura that consumes people. Kagome is surprised that he knows so little, and begins to ask how he plans to find it. It turns out that Miroku DOES have a tad more information than just that, though.

Rather than interest being piqued by this story coinciding with the spat between Inuyasha and Kikyou, Kagome is more interested in the fact that this demon borrowed appearances.

Miroku says that during the last battle between this creature and his grandfather, it appeared as a beautiful woman. Though his grandfather was quite the priest, he had a weakness. Kagome flatly suggests that this grandfather of his was a lecher just like him, and Miroku confirms this, not needing to ask how she might have figured.

Before Naraku escaped, however, it stopped to tell Miroku's dear old granddad that the Kazaana he has in his hand now would eventually consume him and his entire line if he has any children, being a heritable curse and all that. Inuyasha and Kagome sit silent at the end of this tale, staring curiously at Miroku. He tells them that his Kazaana grows in power and size every year as he's looking at his covered palm. Balling his hand into a fist, Miroku says that if he fails to kill Naraku, he'll be devoured in several years time as well.

This is all well and good, but when did that outright HOLE turn into that weird Kazaana thing anyway? Furthermore, how did your grandfather figure out how to cover it up so he could go about his daily life groping people without sucking them and everything in existence up?

So many questions that Kagome doesn't ask, just gazing at Miroku with pity. She's moved by the implication that he'll die if he doesn't succeed in his quest, and he confirms this stoically as well. He claims he doesn't mind if it happens, if that's his destiny, but somehow he's not really RESIGNED to sit around until it happens, and wants to get Naraku good before he goes. Since the Shikon no Tama has reappeared in the world after its supposed destruction, and in pieces no less, Miroku surmises that Naraku will also be collecting pieces to gain more power. He's pretty sure this is the case, because fifty years before their little conversation, Naraku almost got his hands on the jewel when he killed the priestess who protected it.

This remark understandably causes Inuyasha some eye-widening stress.

Yeah, that almost TOO-PERFECT reveal only ONE ARC after your encounter with a resurrected Kikyou laid that out pretty nice, didn't it?

Inuyasha grabs Miroku by his collar and demands to know what form Naraku is supposed to be borrowing now. Miroku gives him a "bitch, please" look as he answers that if he knew, he would found Naraku and killed it already. Inuyasha keeps going over this bombshell Miroku dropped on him in his head, that the creature who turned Kikyou and himself against one another is still alive and looking to collect the Shikon no Tama. Gritting his teeth and glaring at the ground, Inuyasha vows to root out Kikyou's enemy and make that fucker pay.

Kagome stares at him speechlessly for a moment, lifting the fragment of the jewel on the chain around her neck and looking down at it. She says that they're bound to run into Naraku eventually if they keep collecting fragments of the jewel while Miroku gapes at her and wonders how she managed to lift that fragment she has off him again. HAHA, probably the same way you did, SUCKER! Kagome is crafty!

Instead of answering his question, she proposes that they all collect the shards together. Miroku is mystified with this request, so Kagome explains that Inuyasha will really have no intention of handing over the jewel (to which Inuyasha interjects a "damn straight"). She asks Miroku what he thinks of the idea while Miroku scratches his head contemplatively. He looks away, though, saying that he really doesn't like getting involved with other people. Kagome reminds him that he'll die soon if he doesn't get Naraku, putting back on her look of pity, and this prompts Miroku to ask if she's worried about him. She looks like she's not really willing to go quite as far as saying that when Miroku grabs both her hands and gets REAL CLOSE to request something. Inuyasha looks around at the two of them at the exact right moment.

Said like someone who doesn't have to worry about nine months of HELL.

Inuyasha is trembling with rage as he glares at Miroku over this comment, and Kagome is flatly questioning WHY she should ever do such a thing. Apparently, her level of sarcasm isn't high enough, because Miroku apparently thinks she's actually considering this, sighing dramatically while he explains that he'll need an heir to continue his fight if he dies before he can get to Naraku. Inuyasha barges in between Miroku and Kagome to ask for a fucking BREAK from this thin facade of lechery from the lecherous monk. An annoyed Miroku reminds Inuyasha that he's actually a PRIEST, thank you much.

I wonder what the difference is...

Inuyasha tells Miroku not to bother Kagome with his weird requests again, and Kagome is agape at his defense of her. Miroku apologizes for his intrusion, because he thought she was just Inuyasha's companion, but it seems clear to him now that Inuyasha has fallen in love with Kagome. Inuyasha is wobbling and unsteady again at Miroku's words while Miroku apologizes again. Inuyasha's temper takes over and he shouts at Miroku that he's only using Kagome as a jewel detector. Kagome scoffs as she crosses her arms and turns her nose up at the insult, snottily saying that it's true Inuyasha has someone ELSE he cares about. Inuyasha looks taken aback and Miroku widens his eyes at the juicy gossip Kagome just dropped.

"I prefer to be only SUBTLY objectified rather than outright, Inuyasha! If you're going to do it, do it RIGHT!"

Serious conversations tend to degenerate into nothing when they're between stupid teenagers, kid. Don't worry, you'll get there too, one day.

But what's going on over here??

Why are soldiers always wandering around with their eyes on the clouds? Shouldn't they be focused more on the ground?

It's not like looking at the sky is going to do them any good either.

Is that a three-eyed horse right next to cyclops horse? If they breed, do they produce a normal horse?

Burning questions.

Anyway, the foot soldiers all scream at the oncoming cloud of youkai, and the next time we see them, they all lay bloody and dead as Inuyasha and company approach. Kagome screams, and Miroku comments on the atrociousness of the scene. The exposed rib cages cleaned out of all their bowels suggests to Miroku that this wasn't your everyday battle. Kagome asks if it was a youkai, and Inuyasha says it certainly looks that way. Miroku raises his right hand vertically and closes his eyes in prayer, bidding them to rest in peace.

Once he's lowered his hand again, he suspects that this isn't the work of low-level youkai, but rather one that has a Shikon shard. Inuyasha thinks about how he doesn't just smell blood on the scene, but also an abundance of something it takes him a little while to identify as ink.

He turns to Miroku to tell him that he has no intention of cooperating with him or handing over the Shikon shards. Miroku smirks, supposing this means they're in a race to pick up the shards separately. Let the marathon begin!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I felt like it was too soon and too easy for Inuyasha to start getting information on who his and Kikyou's betrayer was fifty years ago. Or, maybe it was too late. After all, if a random Buddhist priest was walking around having heard this rumor, why hadn't Inuyasha heard it yet? At the very least, Kaede should have caught wind of it by now. Fifty years have gone by, and Miroku is the only one who managed to catch wind of the fact that Naraku was behind Kikyou's death?

How did HE hear about this? I'm guessing by way of his father and grandfather, but that brings up another question about how THEY found out, and why they chose to pass down this information. It doesn't appear that Miroku's grandfather pursued Naraku after he got cursed, and neither did his father, because Naraku was so good at concealing his identity. Miroku is the only one in fifty years who has had an avenue to drawing out Naraku in an effort to destroy him, or at least that's how he made it sound, because this is the first time in that period that the Shikon no Tama has been available to rotten demon creatures again. Did Miroku's grandfather pass down this information, gotten from his many encounters with Naraku, in anticipation of the Shikon no Tama showing back up again and being the avenue by which one of his progeny can lure out Naraku?

It's just strange that word of this particular part of the story wouldn't get back to Kaede and the village Kikyou lived in at some point before this. Miroku's family must have an uncanny ability to keep secrets for YEARS, because I don't know if I believe that there's a possibility that the subject wouldn't have been brought up at SOME POINT in SOME WAY in as long a time as fifty years. The fact that Inuyasha was unsealed and working with Kagome only took a few days to spread around to Yura.

Maybe that's one of the major differences between powerful youkai and priests; priests know how to keep their mouths shut.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 112 The Eve of Battle

On this, the eve of our glory, we raise our glass to all those that will be lost on the morrow! Fear not death, for you shall be honored upon your fall on the battlefield in the hereafter, and your story will be sung by all generations to come. They will sing of your courage, your bravery, your conviction in the face of the enemy, and will praise you for your great sacrifice! The sacrifice of your precious monster cards for FREEDOM!

Besides, they'll probably be brought back with Monster Reborn or something anyway.

AND see my previous reviews for details on why Shadi is a little piss-ant that sucks forever.

Jonouchi wants to know what that painting of Shadi is doing in this castle, but Yami and Bakura are silent, because how the fuck are THEY supposed to know? Bakura doesn't even know who Shadi is, saying he looks a bit Egyptian. How do you figure he looks specifically EGYPTIAN? How does one identify another's NATIONALITY from a picture? Stop being dumb, Bakura.

Yami says that Shadi also possesses a Millennium Item, which seems to come as a shock to Bakura despite the fact that you can clearly see said item in the picture. Anzu has to point out to him that the gigantic, gaudy Ankh-key hanging around his neck IS the Millennium Item, and has the power to get him into people's minds to control them. Bakura contemplates this new item with awe.

Anzu says that just thinking about that night gives her chills, because Shadi almost murdered her face, as well as taking control of her, of which Jonouchi reminds her. He turns to Bakura and lets him know that Shadi was just like the spirit of his ring in that he wanted to find out the secret of Yuugi's puzzle, if Bakura doesn't mind him bringing it up. Bakura assures him that he won't let the spirit of the ring take over his mind anymore, which had nothing to do with what Jonouchi was saying, but okay, Bakura.

He thinks that this picture proves his hypothesis that this island holds the secret of the Millennium Items, and Yami agrees that it does seem to look that way. At the very least, Yami says that Pegasus's Millennium Eye has to have something to do with Shadi, and his Millennium Puzzle as well. However, he's still under the impression that his puzzle isn't part of what made Pegasus call him to the island, believing that Pegasus still wants to defeat him as well as Kaiba for the purpose of taking over Kaiba Corp alone. Whatever helps you sleep at night, honey.

Whoever she is, she needs to lay off of bows. One is enough, sweetie, GEEZ.

Mr. Croquet decides to step forward and tell them that the portraits were painted by Pegasus himself, but Pegasus doesn't like to discuss them, so they shouldn't expect an explanation. That's how I KNOW they're going to get an explanation at some point. Yami glares as Croquet directs them to their seats, telling them that their soup will get cold if they continue to admire Pegasus's art. Jonouchi had forgotten about the food, which only shows how much of a traumatizing shitbird Shadi was to make him do so. He saunters over to the table to take his seat.

Mai encourages them to sit too, because she's been waiting politely for them to join her at the table before starting her own meal. Jonouchi apologizes, his bad for being reminded of past trauma. Croquet directs Jonouchi and Yami to specific seats, looking around to see if the last one, Mr. Keith, has arrived yet. Not seeing him, he shrugs it off and welcomes them to eat and celebrate on behalf of Pegasus. Jonouchi seconds that blessing, and they all start to dig in.

Well, all except Honda, who stares at his bowl contemplatively. Yami and Jonouchi notice this quickly, and Jonouchi asks what's wrong. Honda looks up and asks if Yami can save the Kaiba brothers. Yami doesn't look at all surprised by this question, but Anzu and Jonouchi stare with their mouths agape at Honda. Honda begins to explain that even though the things they did to them were sickening, he still owes Mokuba for saving his life back there in Death-T. Yami thinks Honda's name, glaring in his usual way.

Jonouchi scoffs, leaning his head on his hand and saying that the Kaiba brothers got what they deserved, so there's no need to help them. Honda shouts that Kaiba was fighting to save his little brother, and asks if that doesn't remind Jonouchi of someone. It's YOU, Jonouchi, fighting for your sister. Jonouchi doesn't say anything, but frowns across the table as Honda continues, reminding him (and me, unfortunately) of his weird and bratty nephew whom he would still protect if he had to, no matter what.

Bakura admits he knows nothing about Death-T or what Kaiba did to his friends, having never met him before getting to the island, and also that Kaiba seems arrogant, selfish and difficult to get close to. Still, he thinks if Kaiba risked his life to save Mokuba, he can't be ALL bad. Jonouchi shouts that Bakura doesn't know what Kaiba is REALLY like, and Bakura holds up his hands in apology. Yami busts in on their argument to say that if Kaiba and Mokuba's souls can be broken out from the cards Pegasus sealed them inside, there's a chance. Honda smiles gratefully at him, though Yami further elaborates that he can only help free their souls, and can't do anything if their bodies are also locked up somewhere. Honda silently tells Yami to leave retrieving their bodies to him, and concentrate on saving Kaiba SOULS.

Yami thinks that though he and Kaiba may be enemies forever, he promises to save him and Mokuba, without fail.

Oh, delicious.

Jonouchi's a bit less stoic about it, though.

Seriously, Mai? It was all the way in your mouth before you noticed it?

Pegasus greets them jovially and asks them how they like his favorite soup. That depends on what the favorite part of the soup is. Eye or broth? Yami does NOT look amused as he glares at Pegasus's screen. Jonouchi sarcastically thanks Pegasus for the meal while holding up the little Millennium Eye replica, and then starts ranting about how he knew it was poison as well as how they ALWAYS say it isn't poison. One day Jonouchi will learn not to eat shit that his enemies offer him, huh?

Pegasus acts like he's only just remembered that he put those there, and informs them the eyes are part of the main dish. He calls it "The Heart-Pounding Tournament Entree Bingo Game", most of the mouthful of a name Mai leaves out when she's repeating it in indignant disbelief. While noting that ONE of his finalists isn't there, all of them should have received a replica Millennium Eye. He says "Millennium Eye" regardless of the fact Mai wouldn't know what the fuck that even means, given she's not far enough in the cozy main-character-fold to be in on that information. She doesn't bother to ask what he's talking about in favor of the comic focusing on Jonouchi's disturbed face as he holds up HIS replica eye. HILARIOUS.

Their host instructs them to crack open their replica eyes like a plastic Easter egg, Jonouchi expressing some surprise that they come apart as he finds the seam and pops his open. He finds a piece of paper inside with the letter "D" written on it. Mai says that hers says "B", and Yami looks at his paper with "A" written on it. Pegasus's screen switches to a diagram matching up the letters in the order of play for the following day, A and B dueling, C and D doing the same, the winners from those dueling each other, leaving the winner of THAT duel free to face Pegasus.

Stupendous observation, Jonouchi.

Mai rests the tips of her index and middle fingers on her lips and winks when she says that she gets to face Yami in the first round. I guess she's not curious about Pegasus's unfamiliar terminology because she too does stupid inexplicable things. Yami doesn't say anything while he glares, arms crossed. Jonouchi shouts that he's been waiting for a match with Bandit Keith anyway, and he's prepared to accept it.

Pegasus announces that this is it, because the soup doesn't lie. The soup... doesn't lie... I think I found a character I want to punch even more than Seto Kaiba, just from that one line. He disappears off the screen, bidding them a plus tard, and his image is replaced by a nice landscape picture. Croquet tells them shortly thereafter that it's about time to call it a night and offers to show them all to their rooms. Jonouchi pisses and moans that they only get soup for dinner, which is certainly a fair complaint, but my question is whether or not the stowaways will get rooms too, or will have to sleep out in the parlor. After all, there weren't rooms for all of the duelists in the tournament on the way to the island.

Bakura stands and asks Yami if he can have his Millennium Eye replica. Not sure if he ever got it, because the next panel shows him still sitting with his arms crossed as Mai cheerily asks for a fair fight tomorrow. Yami smiles and agrees, Jonouchi watching her wave to them as she leaves the room. He's wearing a kind of weird face while he does so, too.

"Mmmm... she got a FINE booty."

Jonouchi declares that it's about time they all get some sleep too, but how much you want to bet he's just ready to retire for some private masturbation time?

Croquet leads them down a hallway toward their rooms, and Bandit Keith is shown lurking around a corner in the foreground. It looks like the stowaways DO get their own rooms, because Honda and Bakura are shown entering separate doors while they wish the rest of their friends goodnight. Jonouchi looks at another door, guessing it's his room, and turns to Yami as he's opening it. He wants to get those honors with Yami tomorrow, and Yami smiles, agreeing. Jonouchi says a short goodbye, and Anzu bids him good evening.

Anzu heads toward another door and opens it, telling Yami to have a good night as well. He repeats the sentiments to her, but she pauses a moment later to plead with him to win the next day. Yami winks at her, assuring her that he will.

But the night isn't over yet, at least not for SOME people.

Better be fast about it, Honda. You only have a few hours to search a freaking CASTLE.

He's not the only one wandering around, either.

What's the deal with your arm, Asshole Bakura? Is it making that weird zhu zhu sound?

And last, but certainly not least...

Geez kid, at least Honda and Bakura don't have duels to win tomorrow. Get your stupid ass in bed.

Yami glares up at the sky while he holds his card deck, then looks down at it contemplatively. There's only one more step to get within reach of Pegasus and the power of his Millennium Eye. He has to admit he STILL hasn't thought of a way to overcome that little obstacle, but his strategy as of yet will just have to be trusting those cards clutched in his fist. Staring out over the horizon, he vows once again that he'll save his grandfather and defeat Pegasus.

Meanwhile...

It's so weird that he's the only one who appears to have any fucking sense right now.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The characters' discovery of Shadi's portrait was very well-done. Having such a history with Shadi makes their focus on the portrait MORE than understandable. Now that they're facing another individual who holds a Millennium Item, and can confirm a connection between them. Of course, they can't say WHAT that connection is quite yet, and Yami's being particularly dense by holding stubbornly onto the idea that he's only there because Pegasus wants Kaiba's company, but it's still a handy little reveal to the characters anyway to make them stop to discuss the peculiarity of their new enemy having something in common with the protagonist.

I also think it's interesting that during this exchange, Bakura was genuinely without a clue on who Shadi was and what his introduction to the other characters was, and that was contrasted with Other Bakura showing recognition for Shadi under his portrait at the end of the chapter. Shadi and the ring have clearly crossed paths before, and long before Bakura got a hold of it as well. It raises the question of when, and under what circumstances, just as much as the question of what the connection between Shadi and Pegasus is.

Another question this raises is how Bakura let the spirit of the ring take him over YET AGAIN when he had no good reason to be wearing that fucking ring anymore. Take it off and keep it off, you douchenozzle!

Inuyasha Manga: 053 Kazaana

Much like other chapter titles left untranslated by me, I feel like this attack name deserves to be pronounced in the original Japanese. That "Kazaana" sounds pretty cool is only part of the reason, the other part being that the other names sound just dumb to me. "Wind Tunnel" reminds me of vacuum cleaners, and "Air Rip" sounds like a frat boy breaking wind. Not the the former of those examples isn't actually fitting - after all, Miroku's power operates very much like a vacuum, as it were.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

Is it just me, or is Miroku's description of himself eerily similar to that of a character sheet in Dungeons and Dragons? It's like he's aware he's in a role-playing universe and filling the character of the cleric on the team...

Oh. Oh wow. Miroku KNOWS. He's seen through the fictional veneer of his existence and continues as a meta, fourth-wall-breaking ghost in the machine! It's a hint to the reader that they are viewing a reality star within a world that isn't real! It's...

... Whoops, sorry, I took too big a drag on that joint. Where were we?

Miroku says that Inuyasha will allow him to keep the Shikon no Tama for his own good, holding it up cockily. Inuyasha notes that Miroku said his name, and asks how it is Miroku knows him. Miroku says he doesn't, but that's what the beautiful young lady he travels with called him. Kagome is pleased with being called beautiful, flattered straight into postulating that maybe Miroku isn't so bad a guy after all. Shippou tells her to get a grip, because the guy's a thief.

Inuyasha lifts his sword, threatening to make it so that Miroku won't crack another joke ever again. He slashes down on Miroku, but Miroku continues to protect himself with his staff and Inuyasha can't get a cut in. Miroku compliments him on his strength, but Inuyasha can only mentally curse him for deflecting all his strikes.

The staff sticks in the dirt some ways away and Miroku curses as Inuyasha still barrels toward him. Inuyasha doesn't strike again right away, giving Miroku one last chance to hand over the jewel quietly, unless he WANTS to die. Miroku glares silently, then turns tail to run in the opposite direction. Inuyasha shouts about his cowardly ass running away again, but Miroku yells over his shoulder to the surrounding townspeople, urging them to leave the area as fast as they can so their lives won't be in danger.

The villagers, accompanied by Kagome and Shippou, mutter in confusion. Miroku stops and whips around to face Inuyasha abruptly, who tells him he's lost and to give it up with Tessaiga resting on his shoulder. In response, Miroku hooks out his right arm, smirking. Inuyasha notes this while Miroku yells that despite his serene appearance, he really does HATE to lose. He rips the beads around his hand off and opens his fist, and Inuyasha immediately has to stick the tip of Tessaiga into the ground in front of him to guard against the powerful wind pulling him toward Miroku's palm. A nearby barn housing horses is ripped apart and the horses pulled by the force.

Awwwww... poor horsies...

It's... shrinking? I guess RT didn't want to think about how a full-sized horse could fit into this guy's palm, huh?

Inuyasha grunts behind a Tessaiga that's being pulled toward the hand too, and Miroku tells him that he won't be able to endure for very long. The villagers shout as they flee the scene, worried that they'll be sucked to their deaths. I thought that was a GOOD way for guys to die? Don't know if worth it?

Meanwhile, Kagome is standing behind a wall already leaning in Miroku's direction, peeking out at him as his crazy hand continues to devour everything in front of it. Kagome says it's way beyond houriki, and more like a black hole. If Miroku's hand pulled in everything atom by atom, I could maybe see that comparison working, but the whole SHRINKING thing has me confused on that AND the vacuum hypothesis. It's not really striking me as very much like either one, to be honest.

Shippou jumps up onto Kagome's arm, urging her to run too, but Kagome insists that they have to stop this instead. She surmises that Miroku isn't really a bad person to a dumbfounded Shippou, citing that he ran and told the villagers to leave in order to prevent their being sucked into his hand.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha continues to resist the pull of Miroku's hand while Miroku tells him to give up, because once you're in there, there's no getting back out again.

Miroku tells Inuyasha it's pointless, because both he AND his sword will be sucked in. Suddenly, Miroku is distracted by something he sees beyond Inuyasha.

Inuyasha notices Kagome too and calls out her name, just as Miroku makes a fist again and quickly wraps it with his beads. He's not fast enough to avoid the collision, though.

Because flying! Duh!

Kagome pushes herself up, muttering about how much that hurt when Inuyasha rushes over to see if she's okay. She looks down at the beads wrapped around his fist and deduces that they seal his hand void thing, and that he did it on his own.

How are you defining "bad" here, Kagome?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? We got off to a rough start with a bit of bad dialogue from Miroku, unfortunately. Miroku's stock phrase of being a priest who helps people with his clerical powers was pretty painful to read, and what purpose it served was a little shady. Since it's pretty antithetical to what we as the audience has seen of him (HELPING being a rare occurrence with Miroku's powers), I'm a little unsure as to whether or not RT was trying to speak to the audience with it. More likely Miroku was trying to convince Inuyasha that he was more qualified to hold the jewel with his credentials, but I have my doubts Miroku would be naive enough to believe telling Inuyasha he's a priest would have made any kind of difference.

However, I DID enjoy the action in this chapter, given how simple and clean it was. Of course, the way the Kazaana works is a little obscure, but given it can be just chalked up to magic, I'm not worrying about the muddled comparisons you could make in trying to describe it. The thing is, it's NOT a vacuum or a black hole, but those are the best similes one can make regarding how it functions, at least from my limited perspective.

Also, this chapter did bring me to ask a question that's pretty important; I'm absolutely serious when I'm asking what the definition of "bad" and "good" are in the context of this world. Miroku doesn't want people to die in the midst of his fight, but he's not exactly a "good" person. He has genuine holy powers and is able to do exorcisms, but he's also someone who isn't very detached from the world or actively seeking to renounce any fleshly desires like most religious figures with that kind of power. Miroku appears to have one foot in both worlds, and straddles the line of sinful and devout in a strangely effective way.

He's a character that keeps you wondering if there IS actually a line in the first place.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 111 The Promise

Which one? There are an awful lot of them in this comic. We talking about the promise that Yuugi/Yami will beat Pegasus and save Sugoroku from having to live out the rest of his life in a video camera? The promise that Yuugi/Yami will face Mai in the tournament finals? The promise that Kaiba would save Mokuba from Pegasus? Well, that last one was a bust. Maybe there will be MORE promises?

I don't remember Kaiba looking quite so shocked at the end of the last chapter. He had said his goodbyes to Yuugi and his brother, looking pretty resigned. What's this noise, though?

He appears more calm on the next page, though he's still gritting his teeth and sweating. The jack in the box giggles at him while he groans, and he hangs his head. He still has life points, but since he ran out of cards, he lost. Pegasus patronizingly calls Kaiba smart, and he should know therefore what stakes are being played for, here. Uh, duh dude. Considering he's said goodbye to Yuugi, I'd say he's well aware of what he's about to lose.

Because Kaiba's not talking, though, Pegasus elaborates that losers in HIS game lose everything that they hold dear and even more than that; their souls. Kaiba growls as Pegasus holds up a card much like the one featuring Mokuba, except without a person behind the bars. Pegasus says he's been saving this Soul Prison just for Kaiba, so he can join in on his brother's fate.

At this point, KT is just twisting the knife in my gut.

Yuugi shouts Kaiba's name while the light that just burst from his chest swirls into the face of the card held in Pegasus's hand. It magically shows Kaiba behind its painted bars now, in profile view and hanging his head, looking stoic and resigned. Pegasus confirms that Kaiba's soul is now sealed in the card, doomed to walk in darkness for all eternity. Kaiba's body is hunched in its chair, his eyes staring and glassy. Aw man! He just got OUT of a coma, and now he's in ANOTHER one?

Guys, someone order him a "True Love's Kiss", because that shit seemed to work for the actual Sleeping Beauty.

Pegasus holds Kaiba and Mokuba's cards right next to each other, saying that they're so close, but they may as well be universes apart. He snarks that if they could have gone to heaven, they at least would have gotten to see each other again. It's amazing to me how good this man feels having stolen the souls of two boys and isolating them from each other.

Mokuba's eyes are leaking, despite their listlessness. Kaiba's just look blank. Pegasus tells Mr. Croquet to remove "the corpse", and Kaiba's body is dragged from his chair and out of sight.

Jonouchi grits his teeth as he observes Kaiba has been put in a card too. Very astute, young man. Yuugi stutters Kaiba's name, watching him being hauled off the stage. His teeth clench too, and he reiterates how Kaiba was risking his life in a duel to get Mokuba back, wanting to save someone close to him, and that making him no different than he and Jonouchi.

And yet when Yami drives Kaiba to madness and subsequently BREAKS him, you don't bat an eye? Clearly that's not NEARLY as bad, huh?

Pegasus stands up to praise for taking care of Kaiba from the shadowy Big Five in their observation window. They tell him all he has to do is beat Yuugi, and they'll sell him Kaiba Corp as planned. Pegasus assures them that there isn't a person alive that can beat him at cards.

Well joke's on you, fool, because Yami ISN'T alive! LOLZ

Pegasus appears to be considering this, because he thinks that the power of the Millennium Puzzle may reside in Yuugi, but it's powerless against the Millennium Eye. A flash of something grabs Pegasus's attention from above, and he looks up to see the Millennium Puzzle shining from around Yuugi's neck above. It looks like Yami has come back out, due to his narrowed eye design being visible even when his eyes are closed. A third Eye of Horus glows upon his forehead as well while Pegasus stares in surprise.

If it isn't Mr. Hypocrite himself, come to chastise Pegasus for being just as awful as he.

"Don't you know I'm the only one who gets to fuck around with people using magical ancient Egyptian artifacts? Don't be selfish, Pegasus!"

Pegasus wears a smirk when he identifies the OTHER Yuugi, and Yami promises to defeat him. Jonouchi lets out an exclamation like Yami's anger as at all surprising. Haven't you picked up on his annoying self-righteousness by NOW, kid?

Pegasus is super happy that Yami gives a shit, but reminds him that he'll have to win the tournament to earn the right to fight the king. Yami is well aware of that, thanks, but he warns Pegasus to get ready, because he won't be satisfied until he gets to destroy him. Pegasus just chuckles, then announces that the finals will take place tomorrow in the very arena in which he's still standing after having stolen Kaiba's soul there. Out of the four duelists, only one will face him in a duel.

I wonder which one it will be... /sarcasm

A Secret Service Servant holds up the two cards that were included in the original invitation Yuugi was showing off in the beginning, saying that they needed at least one of them to duel, and would be disqualified if they don't have them. Yami reaches into his jacket and pulls them out, identifying them as the Honor of the King's Right Hand, and Honor of the Kings Left Hand. Jonouchi stares down at them too with a horrified look, because his lack of formal participant status means he didn't get them.

Yeah, isn't it funny that HALF the finalists here were able to get in without invitation? Seems like Pegasus's Secret Service Servants were only doing their jobs HALF the time, huh?

Sure enough, Keith is looking at Yami's cards from afar too, cursing the fact that he snuck his way into the tournament without knowing that official duelists were given them. He decides quickly that he needs to find a way of getting his hands on one.

Pegasus gives his "fair" duelists a lackluster wave as he makes his exit, saying he'll meet them back there tomorrow. Jonouchi, Yami and Anzu all glare at him as he leaves. Mai starts walking away now too, saying that they're all enemies now and the time for friendship is over. She DOES wish a perplexed Jonouchi good luck on her way out, though. Yami looks back down at his cards.

While Jonouchi continues to freak about how he can't win without one of those precious cards, Yami ponders the Honor of the Kings Left Hand card and why it doesn't have text or a picture. He looks like he's had a revelation, working out that the four players entering the finals and the one that wins will get two honors in either hand, the prize money and presumably the right to duel Pegasus after everyone else is beaten.

I guess a card labeled SOUL PRISON with bars on it would have given away his game, huh?

Yami visualizes Pegasus on a throne, in the end holding both of the honor cards in his hand with the LEFT Hand card containing a trapped soul of the loser to bolster his status as king. Seriously, whatever happened to marking royalty with fucking crowns, Pegasus? That's a shit-ton easier and a lot less of a douchey thing to mark yourself with.Yami continues to stare at the card until he declares to Jonouchi that they HAVE to make it to the final round.

Jonouchi haltingly agrees, but he reminds Yami that he doesn't have a card that will qualify him for the finals. In turn, Yami reminds him that they split star chips between them in order for both of them to participate in the first part of the tournament.

Goodness gracious, isn't it just the most CONVENIENT thing that each person entering the tournament got TWO of the things they needed rather than just one?

After a pause, Jonouchi says he's cool with this, but wonders aloud what will happen if they're matched up in the first round. Yami replies that they'll just have to go up against each other, and an alarmed Jonouchi looks pretty surprised that Yami is so cavalier about this. That's either because he's always had a more healthy attitude about competition between friends than either Kaiba or Mai, OR because he read the script and isn't worried about that happening, knowing it won't.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! I LOVE Flippant Yami. That's HILARIOUS!

He acknowledges that Pegasus's eye is troublesome and he doesn't have a perfect solution, but that's not going to stop him from crushing that son of a bitch. Jonouchi is stoked at more of Yami's unbeatable spirit, just before Mr. Croquet interrupts their conversation to ask them to follow him. He informs them that a dinner party has been arranged for them, and as he's guiding them, Jonouchi shouts that he's stoked because of how famished he is.

They follow Croquet down a staircase and into a dining room wherein a long table is already set and Mai has already sat down, greeting them as she puts a napkin in her lap. Jonouchi drools at the nice spread of food he sees there, and is more than fine with letting Pegasus feed him tonight. I don't know, man, remember the last time an enemy invited you to dinner? Hands on her hips and looking disgruntled, mutters about how this is the first time they've been fed properly on the island.

Yami is shocked when he sees something up on the wall.

Honestly, I would have been surprised if Pegasus DIDN'T have some connection with that piece of garbage.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I know I keep harping on about Yami inflicting penalty games on Kaiba in the past, but I'm just bothered by the fact that the manga isn't ACKNOWLEDGING this. I would be perfectly fine with this as a flaw in the character, something that he had to recognize and accept as bad behavior on his part, but it's not like that at all. No one even SEES the parallel between what Pegasus has done to Kaiba now and what Yami has done to Kaiba in the past, acting like the former is wrong and the latter is right for no really EXPLORED reason. I suppose it could be said that Kaiba DESERVED that treatment way back when, because he wasn't fighting for anything except his wounded pride, given what Yuugi said about Kaiba not being any different than them this time around. Still, it bears exploring what right Yami has to fuck with peoples' heads the way he does, regardless of what bad things Kaiba or anyone else has done to him. If we're going to say that PEGASUS doesn't have a right to do it, we need to ask ourselves what right YAMI has to do it too, and if it's really that much different.

That's why Shadi's portrait being revealed to the main characters in this chapter is so important. Here's another guy who carelessly entered people's heads without their permission, toying with their autonomy and traumatizing them with his fiddling. The tools with which this is done, the Millennium Items, seem to give the wielders a sense of justification, like they feel they're entitled to do this to others on the basis of justice. Or, at least, half of them seem to. The spirit of the ring is just a dick. We'll see if Pegasus fits the justice mold later on.

All in all, I'm hoping there's a deeper exploration of what justice actually IS later on, and what it means to be a balanced judge of it. How does one decide what punishments are fair, and what even DESERVES punishment? And most of all, when one inevitably FUCKS UP in the judgement of an individual, how do you take responsibility for that? Because frankly, I'm still waiting for Yami to even realize that he was part of Kaiba's descent into madness after that first penalty game. Will that ever happen?

Signs point to no.

Inuyasha Manga: 052 Jewel Thief

Miroku's thinking a bit smaller for his next heist, because let's face it, stealing a tiny jewel is probably way easier than robbing a whole house while its owners stand right outside. It was no less masterfully done, though, which you have to hand to him. Not many people could pull off something like that, so there's no doubt this smaller job will be cake comparatively speaking. Inuyasha and company won't know what hit them... at least for a little while.

If you would promise to get him out of whatever jam you would be getting him INTO, maybe he wouldn't fret, hm?

At a sliding, scraping noise up on the side of the cliff their pass is rounding, Inuyasha and Kagome look up.

Lol at Inuyasha's face here.

"Did that boulder just call us bastards, or is there something crazy in my ear?"

Kagome, Shippou and the bike are shunted to the side while Inuyasha is hit full-on by the malicious rock. Somehow, Shippou is tumbling down the next to Inuyasha while he's trying to push back against the giant boulder. Weren't you beside Kagome a moment earlier? Maybe he bounced, or something...

Kagome peers over the edge of the pass, calling out to Inuyasha, but is pulled back suddenly by her collar. She screams as she's yanked into the lap of the quick Miroku, who is already pedaling lazily on her bike. He... learned how to ride a bike in a matter of seconds. You gotta be kidding me. It took ME a ton of consecutive weekends and quite a few tantrums to learn how, and I was a CHILD. I know being jealous of a fictional character is pathetic, but...

Fuck you, Miroku. Just fuck you.

Kagome recovers from a brief speechlessness to ask WHAT Miroku is doing and not HOW he's so damn gifted. He tells her to put her mind at rest, because since he's in service to Buddha, he can't POSSIBLY be a suspicious person. Not even when he's actively stealing and kidnapping, apparently. Sure, you TELLING Kagome that you're not suspicious will TOTALLY make her ignore how suspicious you're being, dude.

He says that Kagome just happened to come with the Shikon fragment he wanted to take. Well, if she wasn't convinced you were a sleazeball before, she is now, because she's fucking pissed at being talked about like she's some sort of add-on freebie. Down the cliff, Inuyasha strains against the boulder creature he finally managed to stop, and catches sight of the man riding away with Kagome on her own bike. He shouts out her name, wondering who the asshole who's spiriting her away is. Inuyasha shoves his fist into the surprisingly soft-looking face of the boulder creature, yelling at it to get out of his way.

Miroku looks back, seeing the racoon thing he abused transforming back into his racoon self and throwing his arms over his head, crying that he's going to be killed while the sword starts to come down.

For how often Inuyasha's face gets smashed into the ground through various means, I'm starting to ship them.

Kagome screams Inuyasha's name and elbows Miroku aside so she can run to him, which Miroku is cool with. She slides down the side of the pass next to where Inuyasha's legs stick out of the side of the hill perfectly perpendicular to it. A little later, once he's been set right again, he curses the strange houshi for doing that to him... whatever THAT happened to be. Inuyasha asks who the hell he was, and Kagome recounts how Miroku said something about being a servant to the Buddha. However, she's more concerned with what it was he managed to do with his hand back there, exposing his right palm in Inuyasha's direction and seeming to produce a strong pulling force from it. Inuyasha wonders the same thing from the other end; the strong wind that pulled him toward the strange man, and how he managed that from such a distance.

Kagome suddenly gasps and stands, exclaiming in displeasure and making Inuyasha look at her curiously. She complains that Miroku took off with her bike, which leaves Inuyasha speechless for a moment. He comes back at her with a note on her stupid priorities, because SHE was the one who was almost taken, calling her a bitch in the process. Inuyasha mutters bitterly that he can't take his eyes off her for two seconds as she stares off into the distance behind him. What are you doing, Inuyasha! You took your eyes off her again! Does irony mean NOTHING to you???

Kagome kneels next to him and apologizes, causing him a moment of flustered confusion wherein he denies being worried about her or anything like that. He was REALLY worried about the Shikon fragment she carries, and she sheepishly says that's WHY she's apologizing.

He is PISSED.

Sometime later, Inuyasha is leaping angrily past some dumbfounded villagers with Kagome and Shippou on his back as he screams that Miroku is making fucking fools of him and his posse. No, I didn't think that "leaping angrily" was possible either, but Inuyasha seemed to make it happen. He insists that their thief couldn't have gotten too far, because of how often the bike falls over. This prompts Kagome to ask if Inuyasha actually practiced riding it, and Inuyasha tells her to shut up.

See?? Inuyasha didn't learn how to ride it right away! I'm not sure if he EVER did, actually...

Imagine that. There are women in the world that don't fit his standard of beauty, but might very well be attractive to someone else. What a tragedy.

Fair warning, Miroku is going to bring out the WORST in my sarcasm, mark my words.

He's thinking that he should have brought the pretty-as-a-picture Kagome along after all, which would have involved him NOT respecting her shoving him away. He is the biggest piece of shit. Meanwhile, Kagome is actually pretty close by, asking Inuyasha if he's picked up any clues yet. Inuyasha yells at her to shut up, because he's confused by all these scents mixed together in the town. He's crouched on the ground, sniffing, while Kagome glances nervously at all the townspeople that have gathered around them, because they must look suspicious as all hell.

Inuyasha isn't paying a lick of attention, trying to catch that bastard's scent. A couple of men mutter about how weird it is that there's youkai in such a busy town, and a flustered Kagome hisses at Inuyasha that she's totally right. The men continue to mumble about how Inuyasha and Shippou look okay, but Kagome's weird clothes definitely put her into "youkai" category for them. She's shocked that they should think SHE'S the youkai here, and Inuyasha says this serves her right. Now she knows how it feels.

Still sniffing after all the negative attention has dispersed, Inuyasha is asked by Kagome if he really thinks their thief is hanging around in a place like this. She's begun to doubt that he would come to rest in a big town, but then spots her bike propped against a wall, being sniffed at by a dog. Inuyasha and Kagome stare for a moment before they go barging into the building, throwing open the door to call Miroku a bastard and bike thief, both of which are more than accurate descriptions.

I can't imagine MYSELF being very offended by Miroku walking away from me, but then again I've never been under the impression that I was some sort of irresistible beauty either. Maybe that would make a difference?

Inuyasha swipes at Miroku, shouting that his opponent is him, but Miroku deftly ducks. He pretends to be shocked at how violent Inuyasha is while the girls scream in the background. Grunting, Inuyasha shows off his claws again, and tells Miroku about his feeling that he's not going to give back the jewel very easily. Miroku holds up the fragment he stole from Kagome tauntingly, saying with a smirk that it shouldn't be in a youkai's hands. That doesn't make it any safer when it's in yours, man.

Inuyasha lunges toward Miroku with a curse, and Miroku hops over the railing that was lining the building, running into the road. Inuyasha follows, shouting at him to wait, but Miroku says he doesn't want to be drawn into a pointless fight. A couple of women stare in shock as they pass. Inuyasha draws Tessaiga, telling Miroku that he'll just have to die, then. Miroku glances over his shoulder in surprise at the sword.

Maybe not an ordinary human, but an all too ordinary douchebag.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I snarked about Miroku just telling Kagome that he wasn't suspicious above, even when he was doing rotten things, but it's not out of the question that saying he's a houshi does relieve suspicion at his expense a lot of the time. We're reminded here how his position as a Buddhist priest has put him in power over others, and he's used that power to steal before. This is a tactic used by actual real clergymen ALL THE TIME, too, in order to get away with all sorts of unscrupulous or reprehensible behavior. It's an element of realism, to be sure, but I'm not too crazy about it being made into a joke like this.

In the last chapter, the joke was okay because it was punching UP. The person he was stealing from was established to be an unscrupulous and underhanded asshole himself, not to mention incredibly privileged, so it felt justified. However, when he's GRABBING Kagome and telling her that it's all okay because he's a servant of Buddha? It has that sleazy implication that he's done this before, and gotten away with it. I'm pretty grossed out by the implication, but luckily, I'm not the only one. In the future, he WON'T be getting away with it, and he'll be called on that shit too, so I can take comfort in that at least.

Other than that, there's nice pacing around the fact that we haven't found out how Miroku's mysterious suction effect works yet. The question being extended into the next chapter builds anticipation for the reveal, and the other information that will come with it.