Inuyasha Manga: 066 The Mark of Evil

Apologies to any potentially staunch Christian readers, but the title here does not, in fact, refer to the mark of the beast or the number 666. Then again, I don't know if there are any really fundamentalist Christians who would much care for this series, on account of the fact that it features and encourages empathy for demonic characters. Any Christians who are fans are probably the liberal types who aren't much interested in end-times prophecies or other such fringe interpretations of their holy text. If I'm wrong, I hope a person who IS will let me know how their cognitive dissonance is so incredibly sturdy.

Inuyasha doesn't appear to really be listening to the heads-up, busy finishing his thought about how the Naraku who trapped he and Kikyou fifty years before is a youkai. He doesn't do the splits or fall on his face, though, so I assume he didn't need it anyway. He wonders if there could be a connection between Onigumo and Naraku as he and his companions walk further into the fissure, glancing around.

Looking at the ground, Miroku calls Kaede's attention to an alarming fact; there's a spot there, about the length of a human man, where grass and moss don't grow at all. Kaede immediately recognizes it as the place where the immobile Onigumo used to lay, shocking Miroku and Inuyasha as much as herself. Glaring at the spot, Miroku says he's heard of places where a youkai has left a remnant of intense evil not being able to sustain the smallest amount of vegetation. Kaede trails off in a statement about what that would mean, and Miroku finishes it, saying that Onigumo was likely possessed by a youkai here.

Inuyasha twitches, starting to sense a swirling atmosphere. He covers his nose, asking what the scent he's picking up is, prompting Miroku and Kaede to twist and give him questioning glances. Inuyasha says that it smells a bit like overly sweet incense, just before a silhouette starts to emerge out of the dark back of the cave. All three spelunkers' eyes widen at the sight.

Nightmares. Kikyou is giving them to me.

Inuyasha stutters out Kikyou's name while Kaede addresses her too in shock. Kikyou says that if it hadn't been for Inuyasha, she would not have had to die, wearing the tiniest of smirks. Inuyasha looks horrified as he hears Kikyou dispassionately encourage him to come to Hell soon too.

I don't think I'm alone in the nightmare thing.

Turns out Miroku dispelled the meaningless deception of Kikyou's image by smashing a lizard on a nearby rock, which he says was crafted by putting the incense into the belly of the creature. Kaede surmises that Naraku must have assumed they would come there, and Miroku says it certainly looks that way. Inuyasha goes from being flabbergasted to groaning in anger, then leaping toward the cave entrance with an irate yell about this roundabout harassment, shocking Kaede even further.

Inuyasha shouts for Naraku to come out, asking why he won't face him directly. Inuyasha curses when the field leading up to the cave remains empty but for him, but thinks Naraku has to be nearby regardless.

"A" for effort, though, Shippou.

He wonders if he really isn't ever going to see Kagome again, and becomes angry once more when he remembers Inuyasha's callous statement that he won't be able to focus on battle if she's around. This selfish action has Shippou furious, and he vows to never speak to that lowlife Inuyasha ever again. From behind him, someone else says Inuyasha's name.

I'd be shitting my pants too, kid.

Kaede, Inuyasha and Miroku crest a hill after leaving the cave, Kaede having come to the conclusion that there's not doubt about it now; Onigumo's evil heart and Naraku are connected. She reiterates that Kikyou had to die in order for the villain to get a hold of the Shikon no Tama while Inuyasha looks pained and sweats. A strange rustling ahead of them gives the whole party pause as they try to parse what it is.

It's Shippou, who shouts Inuyasha's name as he flees a pack of ravenous-looking wolves giving chase. Inuyasha calls to Shippou too in alarm, and just as Shippou is about to be chomped on, he leaps into action with a groan. His Sankon Tessou beheads the wolves, but his midsection is wracked with a great throb. Shippou grabbed onto Inuyasha as he came to the rescue, and pulls a hand away from Inuyasha's robe to find a smear of blood on it. He shows it to Inuyasha, who growls in frustration and pain. Internally, he curses the reopening of his stomach wound.

Do you really need to ask? It's not like Shippou wasn't just LOUDLY identifying Inuyasha. I assume it's because of this that Inuyasha doesn't bother to answer, instead asking the far more prudent question of who this new jerkwad is. The giant bipedal wolf declares himself to be the Wolf of Hell, known as Rouyakan. Then he opens his mouth with a warning that the final blow is coming, and VOMITS A WHOLE NEW PACK OF THREE-EYED DEMON WOLVES AT INUYASHA.

I'm halfway between amused and grossed-out, but Inuyasha seems unfazed, repeating "the final blow" like a question. Miroku jumps into action, pulling the beads from his right hand as he realizes that Rouyakan knew that Inuyasha was injured and shouts at Inuyasha to get back.

That seems to be the initial reaction of a lot of villains toward Miroku's Kazaana - until they start freaking out about being sucked in, like Rouyakan here. Miroku closes up his Kazaana just before Rouyakan got his nose caught in there, the end of a tail the last remnant of the new pack Rouyakan hacked up. He demands to know who sent Rouyakan, telling him that speaking honestly will ensure his safety, but being dishonest will mean he faces punishment right here. Rouyakan is sweating, but he still has the defiance to say they'll see about that.

A couple more wolves jump in from the right, surprising Inuyasha and Miroku. Inuyasha manages to behead them with his claws anyway, moaning that it's just more of this shit again. When Inuyasha and Miroku look back to Rouyakan, they're further surprised that he's nowhere to be found. Miroku says he ran away in disbelief, while Kaede asks if Rouyakan was an agent of Naraku. Miroku has no doubt of that, no matter the angle from which he's examining it.

He's certainly not keeping to himself, is he?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The confirmation of the group's suspicions was done in a very deliberate way, to be sure. Naraku set up the illusion in the cave to get to Inuyasha, sure, but he also had to have been aware that the illusion wouldn't continue to have its impact, especially knowing that Miroku would likely be there to detect the origin of it. Disturbing Inuyasha with an image of Kiykou was only part of the bigger picture: disturbing Inuyasha by letting him know his every move was being calculated ahead of time and every step he's taking is being predicted.

It's also worth noting that, in order to accomplish this mind-fuckery, Naraku gave away his origins. Inuyasha and company are now aware of why Naraku is after him, and how they're connected, because Naraku offered up the confirmation for free. It's not clear if he's convinced this information can't be used against him, or if it seems like a fair risk to take in exchange for waging an effective psychological warfare against Inuyasha.

Abrupt change of topic - I LOVE Rouyakan's character design. His gigantic head and eyes, set on the very broad face produces an incredibly eerie grin-like expression, which makes him super creepy. Also, the fact that he produces minions by vomiting them up is... different. I don't know what to think of it, honestly, but it IS unique, so I can at least give it that.