Inuyasha Manga: 062 Snatch the Arm

Oh good, someone has FINALLY noticed that Sesshoumaru's left arm hasn't just grown back. Limbs don't really do that, so I don't know why no one wouldn't have figured he was wearing someone else's right off the bat. Although, I guess no one really knows what he's capable of, considering he rarely lets anyone get away from him alive. Maybe Inuyasha just assumed this is one of those things that ultra-powerful demons like the one he wants to become are able to do. You would think he might have learned that there was probably a trick behind it much like when Sesshoumaru brought his "mother" back from the dead.

Of course, BOTH of these parlor tricks will turn out to be perfectly within Sesshoumaru's actual abilities further down the line, but we'll ignore THAT for the time being...

"Girl, you come down HERE and say that!!"

Kagome, of course, saw the Shikon shard glowing under Sesshoumaru's sleeve and in his bicep, information which gives Sesshoumaru's glare a shocked quality. Kagome fires another arrow, silently telling it to hit, but Sesshoumaru easily leans out of the way. She nocks another arrow, stuttering that it's bound to hit this time, while Inuyasha shouts at her in a panic not to do it and to run away.

It's FAR too late for Kagome to stop suppressing her first instincts and run away screaming like she did when Sesshoumaru first arrived. Inuyasha still groans and yells for all this to stop, though, as he's leaping like lightning to the rescue.

Another line that Sesshoumaru seems to think is more funny than painful. Smirking, he says that Inuyasha is awfully quick when Kagome is involved. Inuyasha doesn't have anything to say to this as Kagome peeks around his shoulder in curiosity, wondering if that's really true. Nothing quicker than stepping between you and a blow that's literally inches from your face. Inuyasha shouts at Sesshoumaru to cut his useless chatter, dismissing Kagome with a patronizing comment about that being enough from her. She doesn't argue, stuttering an agreement as she trots off in the opposite direction.

Inuyasha tells Sesshoumaru that he's figured out how a demon like his brother can be holding Tessaiga, asking for confirmation that his left arm is that of a human, bonded with a Shikon fragment. Cracking the knuckles on his claws, Inuyasha says that Sesshoumaru won't be able to hold the sword anymore if he rips off the arm, AND he'll get a Shikon fragment out of the deal as well. Inuyasha charges, determined to kill two birds with one stone, but Sesshoumaru smirks as he tells Inuyasha he'll have to actually TOUCH his left arm in the first place. Inuyasha's crappy aim ALONE is likely to fuck this one up for him. Sesshoumaru easily leans back, and Inuyasha's strike whizzes right past him.

Note that this is the start of a tradition. Nearly every single time these brothers meet after this, Sesshoumaru will punch Inuyasha in the face. This time, Sesshoumaru claims with a smirk that it's punishment for Inuyasha's wounding of HIS face. From the VERY deep track Inuyasha's body just dug in the rock below him, he notes that Sesshoumaru isn't using Tessaiga against him, meaning that Kagome's arrow must still be affecting it. He realizes he's got to get Sesshoumaru's arm before Tessaiga transforms again. Hopefully that's a wide window.

Meanwhile, Miroku is still interrogating Jaken next to the pile of minced oni flesh. He's gripping Jaken by the collar, demanding to know who gave him and Sesshoumaru the wasps nest. Jaken says he doesn't know who the guy is, because he was hiding his face with a baboon mask. However, Jaken DOES drop the tidbit that the stranger called himself Naraku, a name that is unsurprisingly all too familiar to Miroku. Shippou recalls that this is the guy Miroku is chasing after while Miroku shakes Jaken and demands to know where Naraku has gone. Jaken scoffs, saying that even if he knew, the information would be of no use to a dying Miroku. He's absorbed so much of the poison that Jaken estimates it shouldn't be long before Miroku succumbs.

Miroku glares while Shippou lets out a sad noise. Shippou asks if he's in pain when Miroku hangs his head. Miroku whines about how annoying it is he's such a frail human, which prompts Jaken to dish out a neener neener response. A wordless smirk from Miroku later...

I think that outburst was only TOO warranted, Jaken.

Kagome comes running up with her backpack hoisted on her shoulder, asking if Shippou is okay. When she sits down next to him, he jumps in her lap and begins to tell her of Miroku's poor condition. She leans over him, wondering out loud what she'll do, hand lifted to her mouth in shock. Kagome pulls a plethora of different packages from her first aid kit that she lifted from her open bag. She asks Shippou if he thinks all this medicine will work, and Shippou asks her why HE would know.

Probably not sure why she consulted Shippou in the first place, she doesn't answer. She leans over Miroku, telling him to hang in there and asking him if he can drink some medicine. Miroku wheezes that he should be able to if it's administered mouth to mouth. Kagome is not even hesitant in agreeing, something an astonished Shippou will come to understand soon enough.

In good spirits OR in desperate want of a kiss before he bites the dust. Either one.

Peeking over the crest of the hill, Kagome begs Inuyasha to do his best as he curses another of his missed attacks and Sesshoumaru leaps out of the way with ease. Inuyasha shouts that Sesshoumaru won't get away, yet another of his blows dodged in midair by a still smirking Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru holds up his own claws, claiming he's getting a little tired of this toying with his little brother. He shoves a Dokkasou attack right past Inuyasha's left shoulder, the poison steaming off his hand and into Inuyasha's collar. Kagome gapes while she nocks another arrow.

What is your armor made of, Sesshoumaru? Sculpey clay?

Shippou congratulates Kagome on breaking Sesshoumaru's armor, but Kagome admits she was aiming for his left arm. Still pretty close, though. Sesshoumaru glares at her, thinking about how freaking annoying she is when he gets Inuyasha's fist right in his gut, a look of shock and pain on his face. Who's form is open now?

Sesshoumaru has recovered from the hit by the next panel, though there is a small smudge of blood on his lip as he smirks and calls both Inuyasha AND Kagome pains in his ass. He grabs Inuyasha by his neck, causing him to grunt in surprise and pain when Sesshoumaru releases more of that caustic poison on him. Then, Inuyasha is HURLED toward a wide-eyed Kagome.

Let me repeat that: Sesshoumaru just THREW INUYASHA AT KAGOME.

It's been a while since I read this chapter, so I had forgotten this happened and... I'm crying.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE funny!Sesshoumaru? He's like my favorite person!

Inuyasha skids to a stop along the ground, presumably on top of Kagome, and sits up coughing. He turns to look beneath him, and finds Kagome groaning, but seemingly unconscious. He leans down close, turning her scratched cheek to assess the damage wordlessly, though with worry all over his face. I only feel SLIGHTLY bad for laughing.

I don't know if Sesshoumaru really cares, Inuyasha.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's another example of how RT uses metaphorical time bombs to manipulate the pace of the situation. Inuyasha realizes he only has until the Tessaiga regains the ability to transform to take it away from Sesshoumaru, and not knowing how long that will be adds all the more urgency to the scene. This makes the events seem all the more animated and desperate, despite the still images and the interruption of Miroku's information interlude.

And that was far from uninteresting or a screeching halt in the narrative. Things slow down, but they provide an intrigue that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's unsubtle fight doesn't, and you have to admit that his beating of Jaken was a little cathartic. The added humor of him joking about wanting Kagome to give him mouth-to-mouth allows the audience to come up for some air, too, because when things seem a bit too dire, we need as much of a little break from the drama as much as the characters do.

Which is why I appreciate Sesshoumaru's joking around so much too. He's losing some ground in this fight, but he just gets more and more jovial about it. And people say he's humorless and cold. Pshaw!