Inuyasha Manga: 070 Reunion

Ugh, as long as it's not with those people from high school. Not that I particularly hated any of them, mind you. I went to three high schools in four years, and seeing as how I didn't get to know many people except close friends from those years, I didn't have to deal with a lot of drama. People didn't really pay much attention to the new girl, as she was quite the wallflower in most instances. And that's exactly why it's a party I wouldn't much care for; I wouldn't be able to name anyone there, and they wouldn't be able to name me.

As long as the reunion doesn't involve trying to reacquaint myself with people I never had much time to get to know in the first place, I'm down with it.

Oh, come on, Miroku! You remember Kagome! She was the prom queen!

Sweating, Inuyasha starts to dash out of the fight, shouting that it's definitely her, and trailing a question of WHY. Rouyakan gives chase, telling Inuyasha that he won't get away.

Inuyasha don't have time for your BULLSHIT, Rouyakan. He falls back, bleeding profusely from the chest wound Inuyasha just dealt him, while Kaede and Miroku marvel with mouths ajar at the fact that Inuyasha suddenly got all kinds of strong to be able to do that. Rouyakan isn't dead though, and starts to crawl along the ground, to Miroku's surprise. Miroku calls out to Inuyasha to at least finish Rouyakan off before he leaves, but Inuyasha doesn't even turn around, yelling that he'll clean up later.That's exactly what I say after dinner every night, and I always end up regretting it.

Continuing his mad run for the well, Inuyasha wonders why Kagome came back. Inside the well, Kagome and Shippou hold each other as they gape up at the three-eyed wolf that is still trying to crawl in there with them between the well wall and the tree. Kagome asks what the hell is happening, and Shippou informs her in a panic that Inuyasha's wounds haven't healed yet. Heart hammering, she realizes she was right and that he really is in danger.

Kagome begins to stand, telling Shippou that they're headed outside. However, when she approaches the boughs of the tree to try and climb it, a snarling wolf pops out of the leaves, making her and Shippou recoil and scream.

Before the wolf can chow on their faces, the tree it's tangled in is yanked back up and out, so that the astonished Kagome and Shippou can see the entrance and sky beyond. They cower in the bottom a little longer, though, Kagome shielding the small Shippou in case anything else pops up at them. Inuyasha groans as he holds the tree he shoved in the well before, with the wolf twisted toward him in the branches.

Well that's ONE way to tell someone to eat it.

Rouyakan's eyes roll again as he falls backwards, again in a daze. Inuyasha grunts when he looks over his shoulder at the well Kagome is pulling herself out of. She calls out his name, running toward him. He only manages to get out the beginnings of his stern diatribe calling her a fool and asking why she came back when he told her not to.

Does that give you a clue?

Kagome clings to Inuyasha's fire-rat robe as she admits she was afraid he might have died when he didn't come back for her. Inuyasha can only only stand stock still with his eyes wide for a moment, but eventually regains his irritability in a small measure to call her an idiot. He did, after all, tell Kagome not to come there again. He thinks even now that he didn't care where she was, he just wanted Kagome to be safe.

Inuyasha pulls back from Kagome's embrace and asks why she came back in spite of what he said and she shouts BECAUSE. That's a reason if there ever was one. Luckily for Inuyasha, she elaborates, saying that she couldn't help it, because she just wanted to see him. Inuyasha's eyes are wide again, and his mouth is agape as he tries to process this statement from her, at first in his head and then out loud. Kagome asks him what's up with his expression, because she's been worried for such a long time, and now that she's finally back, he's looking at her weird. With tears in her angry eyes, she asks if he didn't want to see her at all. Inuyasha looks taken aback and horrified at this suggestion and her tears.

He hunches over defensively and tries to tell her in a panic that it's not like that and she should stop crying. Kagome denies that she IS crying, even with tears leaping from her eyes by the shaking of her head. Shippou has switched to clinging to Miroku's shoulder, whose back is turned to the spectacle, observing that Inuyasha and Kagome are fighting again. Miroku loftily states that they're getting on just fine.

Kaede asks Miroku if he thinks something's a little strange, and Miroku asks her in turn what she's speaking of. She points out that all the wasps from earlier have disappeared, and Miroku takes notice of this as well, both of them glancing around. From beyond the trees, someone else is observing the scene. Naraku is hanging out back behind another tree and taking special notice of Kagome, whom he has never seen before.

Naraku immediately walks back that thought, because he knows that Kikyou died fifty years before while carrying the Shikon no Tama. He questions why even he can't see through her powers though. Could you be a bit clearer, Naraku?

Naraku's x-ray vision may be on the fritz, Kagome's seems to be working just fine. Or maybe she just saw Naraku leaning around a tree like an idiot trying to get a better look at her. Seriously, you don't deserve that exclamation point above your head when your baboon-clad ass is hanging out there for everyone to see, Naraku.

Kagome alerts Inuyasha and Miroku that there's someone over where she's staring that has a Shikon fragment, surprising them for a split second. Naraku makes an impatient noise and tries to turn and flee, but inuyasha leaps ahead of him, cutting off his escape. Inuyasha says that he knew Naraku would be close by, identifying him correctly without so much as a word of confirmation from Naraku. Naraku scoffs.

Miroku approaches Naraku from behind, causing Naraku to acknowledge his presence with a turn. Miroku's eyes are wide when he thinks about the guy in front of him. Inuyasha draws Naraku's attention back to him with a crack of his knuckles, and says that he'd like to ask a question before he kills Naraku. Inuyasha questions what kind of grudge Naraku has against him.

OOH! Gather round, kiddies! It's story time!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Starting with the obvious, it's clear that Inuyasha's sudden surge of strength is due to Kagome coming back, even if it's never explicitly said. It doesn't need to be, and not least of all because Sesshoumaru already did. No need to rehash what a guy who has probably never given two shits about anyone else before can plainly see and comment on.

What's really interesting here is the fact that Kagome never actually sees this. Her first glimpse of Inuyasha is him being angry that she came back when he told her not to, so she's not exactly reuniting with him under the impression that he wants her there. In that context, it's understandable that she would get upset at the fact that it SEEMS he really didn't want to see her, even when she wanted to see him. It's made even worse when he continues to stay silent about the real reason he told her not to come back; he was trying to ensure her safety, even if it meant never seeing her again, but he can't bring himself to actually say it. From Kagome's perspective, he's just saying he doesn't want her around.

At least, this is what I tell myself to curb my annoyance that she's picking a fight with Inuyasha moments after seeing him again. Even with that immediate perspective, Kagome has plenty of evidence that Inuyasha in fact LOVES having her around through past experience. There's no reason she shouldn't be able to glean why he pushed her away and tried to prevent her from coming back, because she's not nearly as emotionally repressed as Inuyasha and has an intimate knowledge of how he IS.

But, she's fifteen. What are you gonna do?

Naraku's first glimpse of her is interesting, because I'd forgotten that he hadn't seen her before. He seems a bit more shocked at her being there than it seems he SHOULD be, though. He's been keeping an eye on Inuyasha since before Inuyasha forced her to leave, and even if he hadn't been, the rumors about Inuyasha INCLUDE Kagome. Even YURA knew about the priestess that Inuyasha traveled with, so I fail to see how Naraku wouldn't have known about her or that she was a reincarnation of Kikyou. Everyone knows everything ELSE about their little team, why wouldn't everyone know THAT by now?