At least, that's what I assume is going to happen in this chapter based on its name.
Sango throws her boomerang at him again, shouting that it's revenge for all the villagers. Inuyasha is even more confused now, asking Myouga what Sango is going on about. Myouga admits he doesn't have a clue just before Inuyasha dodges the second strike from the Hiraikotsu, flinching as debris from the ground pelt him. Kagome comments that something needs to be done about the boomerang and Miroku holds up his right fist, saying he's on it and yanking away the beads.
Kagome identifies the Saimyoushou, Shippou urging Miroku not to suck them in and avoid getting himself poisoned. Miroku has already wound his beads back around his hand and arm, wondering what the insects are doing there with some confused incredulity. Inuyasha appears more shocked than anything, eyes wide and mouth gaping. He immediately starts to put the pieces together, though his conclusions are colored with disbelief. But, sure enough...
Naraku chuckles, telling Inuyasha to resign himself and take punishment from Sango. Inuyasha's eyes narrow and he calls Naraku a bastard before charging at him with Tessaiga raised, proclaiming that this ends now. Naraku mutters to Sango to finish Inuyasha quickly because the effect of that shard he gave her won't last much longer, and Sango snaps that she knows already. Yeah, dude, stop NAGGING.
Sango throws Hiraikotsu again at the oncoming Inuyasha, but he just leaps right over it, launching himself straight at Naraku with his sword poised for a landing straight onto Naraku's Baboon-clad head. A slim chain wraps around Inuyasha's ankle and he's pulled down to start making out with the ground again. Sango is holding the other end of the chain, having pulled it from a secret compartment over her right elbow. I guess that padding wasn't just for Sango's eventual learning to ride Kagome's bicycle after all.
She insists SHE'S his opponent, and Inuyasha shoots back to his feet to call her a bitch again and threaten to kill her first if she doesn't step off. Myouga stutters Inuyasha's name in utter scandalized rebuke, but Sango isn't the least bit taken-aback, daring Inuyasha to just try as she leaps at him with her weapon raised.
Shippou has it all figured out, blurting that Sango thinks Inuyasha was the one who attacked her village, and Kagome follows this up with a statement that Sango has been deceived by Naraku. I don't know if anything more obvious has ever been said, Kagome, but okay. A moment later, Kagome gets a look at Sango from behind and is struck by a shocking fact. No, it's not that Sango's ass just won't quit, it's that she has a Shikon shard in her back. Though, both those things are true.
Meanwhile, Sango throws her boomerang at Inuyasha yet again, pushing back his blade yet again, against which onslaught he can only grunt. As the boomerang starts to turn back, Inuyasha lunges forward, intending to attack before it can return to Sango. However, Sango is one step ahead, throwing a pair of beads at Inuyasha that she calls poison dust. Inuyasha has to back off again when the beads explode at his feet into a cloud, and he covers his sensitive nose at the smell of a miasma in the cloud.
Sango, safe in her nice mask, chuckles. She says that guys with ears like his are generally weak to scent attacks. It's all part of the balance system of the really awesome RPG that this manga will NEVER GET. Inuyasha sweats and continues to hold a hand over his nose and mouth as he realizes he can't get close. Naraku is sitting off on the sidelines giggling about how Sango sure is a great youkai exterminator. A pair of familiar sandals step up to him and after a slight moment of surprise, Naraku greets the priest with sarcastic grace.
Because it's not today. Both Miroku and Inuyasha turn distracted from their respective battles to freak over Kagome being in danger. Miroku dashes to try and stop the disembodied hand's attack, but Inuyasha makes it there before him, throwing himself in front of Kagome and slicing Naraku's hand to bits with Tessaiga. He only has a moment to detect a sound above him, the whir of Hiraikotsu above him and Kagome, before he seizes Kagome and dodges the boomerang. It carves up the ground they were just standing on while they retreat, and Naraku's hand reforms and flies at them again. With its palm free of a sword, it manages to snatch at Kagome's collarbone, alarming her.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm always a fan of chapters with a ton of action that flows well and draws a reader through the chapter. This chapter definitely delivered on that for the most part, with fast panels not containing much, if any, dialogue. I always appreciate it when we don't have characters chatting for half the time when they could be in a fight for their lives, ESPECIALLY when the issue they're fighting over is a miscommunication like in this instance. The fact that Sango was tricked into thinking Inuyasha was the one who killed her village would only be undercut by constant dialogue between the two of them demonstrating they have all the ability to set the record straight.
Also Miroku learned from his mistake the last time and totally went after Naraku while Naraku was sitting on his ass watching Sango carry out his dirty work. Learning characters are always a plus.
What's a minus to this chapter is there being nothing but standing around for Kagome and Shippou to do. Action chapters, before this point, generally included something for ALL the characters to do, and it made the flow of the story feel smoother and the characters more real. When characters are ACTING, they're always more interesting and more relatable. Unfortunately, with nothing for Kagome and Shippou to do, they were relegated to an object status that only spurred action from the other characters. That will unfortunately become more of a problem the further in the series we delve.
Now, that's not to say that I have any suggestions that would have given Kagome or Shippou some actions that would have given their role in the battle more meaning. Unfortunately, with the character saturation of the chapter being as high as it is, and future chapters promising an even higher rate, there WILL be characters just standing around sometimes because there are no more tasks that need to be taken on. This is a risk that any author writing a story with a team of main characters is going to have to deal with, and it sucks.
But as far as how fun the chapter was to review on my birthday...
... Meh, it was okay.
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