And now that you know I spent the past couple of weeks holding my sleeve over my nose in fear I'd catch something, let's check in with Inuyasha and company, shall we?
Inuyasha confirms this, and the old woman says that she thought that was the case, all while Jinenji sits folded up in the hut next to them, FAR too big for the place. No wonder he'd rather be futzing around in the garden. She points out that Inuyasha's appearance is "half-transformed" though his face is pretty enough. Inuyasha doesn't look flattered in the slightest by the compliment, although that might be because Kagome doesn't leave room for him to do so before yanking on one of his ears and asking if they're what the old woman means by "half-transformed". And she was wondering why Inuyasha wasn't ECSTATIC to be alone with her in the last chapter.
While Inuyasha glares with annoyance at Kagome's grabbiness, the old woman says that half-youkai is a good guess where he's concerned. She refers to the folded and uncomfortable-looking Jinenji as a half-youkai as well, and cites it as the reason that the villagers treat them so badly. Kagome asks with a look of sympathy if Jinenji is being picked-on, but the old woman says it's more like attempted murder than bullying a lot of the time.
Jinenji apologizes to her for being the reason she's going through all this trouble, but her hard look softens when she looks at him and asks him what he's saying. She tells him he's done nothing wrong, and that his father was a wonderful and kind youkai. Inuyasha and Kagome lean in, eyes wide as the old woman begins to reminisce with her eyes closed about a time when she was about Kagome's age. Kagome points at herself like there's anyone ELSE the old woman could be referring to.
Anyway, the old woman launches into a flashback in which a much younger her is leaning on a hillside with an injured ankle. She's being approached by a glowing, light-haired dude carrying a staff, who is Jinenji's father, saving her.
Kagome hunches, blushing at the brazen nature of the story. Inuyasha just wears a sweatdrop while he asks the old woman for some clarification on a particular detail: that means she's the human parent, right? She asks him what else he was thinking with a nasty glare, while Kagome thinks that she can't be a mountain witch, heart pounding and sweatdropping like crazy.
Outside, Jinenji stands stooped over the garden, still towering over Kagome and Inuyasha next to him like the giant he is. He plucks a plant and holds it out to his guests in the palm of his hands, saying that it's the antidote and is safe to drink if the leaves are boiled. Kagome looks at Jinenji with gratitude as she accepts the plant. Jinenji's mother tells them to get out of here now that they have what they came for, before they get caught up in the whole rotten mess.
Inuyasha and Kagome stand and stare. In the next panel, they're walking on the outskirts of the village, Kagome asking if he really thinks they should just leave Jinenji like that. Inuyasha asks Kagome what she means, and glares out of his periphery in her direction while she lays out the situation plainly - the villagers are all but convinced that Jinenji is eating people, but she thinks he's kind despite his size. Inuyasha scoffs, snapping that Jinenji is being taken advantage of by the villagers. Kagome utters a questioning noise, but Inuyasha doesn't have time to elaborate before they overhear someone saying that they've brought every spear and sword they have.
Kagome runs over to the villagers, demanding they hold on a moment. One of the villagers recognizes them from before, glowering at Kagome while she asks if they're planning on attacking Jinenji. The villager says that OF COURSE they are, because that's apparently what RATIONAL people do when they suspect their neighbor of being a bloodthirsty monster. Kagome protests that there's no evidence that Jinenji is killing anyone, but the villager shouts that it has to be him.
But no, see, this HAS to be the retaliation of a mother and son who despise the villagers! It's the only explanation! Inuyasha calls them all bastards for picking on Jinenji, presumably so much that they realize that there would be a reason for retaliation in the first place. Regardless, they act stupid at the accusation. Kagome says Inuyasha's name, but he's not paying much attention, busy telling the villagers that whatever's going on they have to get the real culprit behind these killings.
The villagers ask if Inuyasha is saying he'll catch whoever is behind the murders. They aren't answered outright, because Kagome turns to Inuyasha and volunteers to return to Jinenji's field. Inuyasha says her name like a question, as she addresses the villagers again with the plea not to attack Jinenji before Inuyasha comes back from his sleuthing. She promises that Inuyasha will bust up the whole village if she's injured in an attack. Inuyasha blushes, looking indignantly at her for her assumption. She asks if he WOULDN'T run rampant at her injury, and he stutters that he MIGHT. All the while, the villagers whisper that this Inuyasha fellow seems a bit unreliable and wishy-washy.
Cut to Kagome standing off to the side while the old woman weeds some plants. It seems she understands that the villagers are out to get them, like always, so she's unimpressed with the news. Kagome is determined to help the old woman in any way she can until Jinenji's name is cleared, though. The old woman glares over her shoulder at Kagome for a moment, then tells Kagome she can do as she pleases.
So, Kagome kneels in the dirt next to Jinenji, asking if it's alright if she pulls out the weeds. Jinenji is taken aback, but it doesn't look like it's by the stupidity of the question. He tells her that it's fine, then goes back to weeding himself busily. Kagome is very conspicuous in staring at the scars running the length of his arm, wondering if they were made by the villagers. Thankfully, she's not SO rude as to ask this out loud, instead opting for the question as to whether or not Jinenji has ever thought about leaving this cruel place.
He says that it's nice there, though, because his father left him the land. Kagome is muted when she says she sees but Jinenji's heart is thumping wildly. He's floored by the fact that he's actually having a conversation for the first time since he was born, with a girl no less. Suddenly, Kagome's chill is broken when she shrieks, startling Jinenji. She stutters about an earth worm, which Jinenji looks at with a small sound of understanding. The old woman, on the other hand, is in disbelief that Kagome's afraid of an earth worm, but not Jinenji.
Yeah, that's pretty unbelievable. Seems to me that Kagome has no business being scared of ANYTHING after she blew away Naraku, but...
Meanwhile, unaware that Jinenji is beginning to get IDEAS about Kagome, Inuyasha has his nose to the ground in the forest. He shuffles around on his hands and knees, knowing that what he's looking for is around here somewhere. Finally, he lays his hand on a spot that that surprises him at first, being directly in the ground. He punches the spot, and the ground around it crumbles away so he slides down into a hidden hole.
From the light through the opening he made, Inuyasha can see a smattering of bones lying scattered on the cave floor, which he assumes is a youkai nest. A slight glow shines in front of him, and he squints at it with curious caution. It's some sort of nasty goop hanging from the back wall of the cave. He approaches and touches it, drawing away a sticky string of the stuff as he withdraws his hand. He concludes that they're eggs with alarm, and recently hatched at that. Looking around, Inuyasha realizes that there's no sign of the babies that must have come from the eggs, and he wonders if they'd been thrown out. He quickly understands that this is not the case, though.
Of course, the villagers were impatient and are approaching Jinenji and his mother's hut with torches. One of them asks the lead dickwad if they're going to kill Jinenji, and the lead dickwad confirms this, insisting that Jinenji is the only possible culprit. While they close in on the quiet hut, he asks how one can rely on a youkai brat anyway.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Jinenji and his mother are such a cute little family. You really get the feeling that they're all each other has in the world. Jinenji is the first half-youkai we've seen since Inuyasha, and he's very interesting for how UNLIKE Inuyasha he is. Instead of developing this scoffing and prickly personality, he's taken the opposite route and hidden behind his mother's skirts. It makes me wonder if Inuyasha would have been in danger of the same retreating disposition if his mother had lived.
And speaking of living mothers, how about Jinenji's mom, eh? Speaking so frankly about a steamy love affair in her youth! Hot damn! The old women people usually put in stories are the prim and proper type, sometimes wise women, but basically sexless. They never mention old flames, never talk about love, act as if they've never even been attracted to anyone. I feel like it's the general "ew" feeling people jump to when thinking about old people having sex, but for me it's refreshing to see an old lady with a latent sexuality.
Gives me a sense of hope, so to speak.
I feel I'm way more stoked than I should be that Inuyasha is solving a mystery right now. The case didn't last as long as I would have liked, and it didn't have any red herrings or twists to it, but it's a mystery nonetheless. I'm a sucker for mysteries, or maybe just Sherlock Holmes references. Inuyasha dressed in the full stereotypical Sherlock Holmes getup, deerstalker cap and all, is running around in my head right now, but until I'm able to put it to paper, I suppose this will have to do:
No comments:
Post a Comment