Inuyasha Manga: 125 Toutousai

I'm not looking forward to impending old age. Sure, I'm only turning 30 today, but I'm not exactly short on reminders of the raw deal my golden years are going to afford me. Last week I woke up with pain shooting from my left shoulder up my neck. No injury, I hadn't been doing anything strenuous, but that didn't stop the pain from developing into screaming agony by the next morning. Two doctors and a hospital visit later, I'm popping muscle relaxers and hardcore ibuprofen, unsure as to if the pain would EVER go away.

Surely I can look forward to SOME benefits, or at least a fair few eccentricities that people have to put up with.

Living here would be a pretty boss eccentricity. It's pissing Jaken off something fierce. He's hopping along the hot ground trying to keep his contact with it as brief as possible. Reminds me of how I have to walk on the sand at the beach. Sweating, he complains that this unbearable place's ground is cooked. He calls out to Toutousai, asking if he's here, which happens to be a giant fish skull? Maybe? Not sure, but it doesn't appear to have bony limbs that have been preserved, so we'll go with that. The spine and ribs recede into the mountain behind it, bits of what looks like leather slapped haphazardly over it.

Jaken asks if a requested sword has been completed, since it's the day it was promised. Yes, Saturdays are always when I complete MY swords. When Jaken enters the gaping skeletal mouth, the inside of which is littered with various smelting tools, he comes upon a note carved into the wall, which says the carver has moved. No doubt to a cooler climate that doesn't smell of sulfur.

By the next panel, Jaken has met with Sesshoumaru in a grassy area, no longer having to play hopscotch over a scorching landscape. Sesshoumaru presumes that Toutousai has skipped town. Jaken bows before Sesshoumaru, apologizing profusely. He says that Toutousai is a picky swordsmith, not fulfilling the orders of people he doesn't personally like.

Sesshoumaru doesn't like to be reminded that he's an unlikeable snot, apparently.

Elsewhere, Inuyasha tells Kagome to stop worrying about something. He says everyone is safe, and they can find more Shikon shards. Despite his command, Kagome hangs her head, apologizing and clearly STILL worrying about it. Behind them, Sango whispers to Miroku that it's very unlike Inuyasha to be so understanding, and Miroku whispers back that it's probably because the fragment stolen was taken by Kikyou. Shippou unnecessarily brings up that Inuyasha and Kikyou have a previous relationship that might have something to do with his greater range of forgiveness in this instance. Inuyasha and Kagome keep walking along, though both of them look pretty exasperated by the obvious topic of conversation behind them.

Kagome looks over at Inuyasha, and after a stuttered question about what she's staring for, he asks if she also thinks he's covering up for Kikyou's crime. She plainly asks if he's not, and he hunches defensively, getting quite irritated with everyone's assumptions. He hears a noise from the sky, though, and looks quizzical before picking up seizing Kagome by the waist and jumping out of the way of a bolt of lightning. Kagome's bike goes flying from the blast.

One of MANY inquiries, I'm sure.

The old guy identifies himself as Toutousai, and before any of those other questions can be asked, he tells Inuyasha to draw his sword, calling him by name. Inuyasha pauses to consider the weird fact that this old guy knows his name, and the impatient geezer leaps right off his three-eyed cow wielding a long-handled mallet, prepared to come at Inuyasha if Inuyasha is unwilling to draw the Tessaiga. Inuyasha pulls out the sword, telling Kagome to get back.

The peanut gallery is full today, isn't it?

Toutousai is repelled back and lands on his haunches with way more grace than someone that old has any right to. He claims that the sound from the reverberating sword still hasn't "matured", whatever that means. Inuyasha is dumbfounded at first, but then charges at Toutousai, sword raised, demanding to know what he's after. Toutousai doesn't answer, instead pulling a long piece of leather from beneath his collar and sticking out his ABNORMALLY LONG, THIN TONGUE TO LICK IT.

*shudder*

Inuyasha swings down a blow, which is caught by the leather Toutousai has stretched out above him , much to Inuyasha's surprise. His entourage is pretty amazed by this as well, but Toutousai is just annoyed, complaining that Tessaiga's blade is all chipped and has been used too roughly. At this point Inuyasha is wearing the weirdest combination of consternation and confusion on his face that I have ever seen, wondering just what the hell this dude is. Luckily, Myouga hops up on his shoulder to greet Toutousai familiarly and get to explaining who he is before Inuyasha can get too much more turned around.

Myouga tells Inuyasha that Tessaiga was forged by the weird old swordsmith before him.

The only thing that amazes ME about this information is how Toutousai didn't think to give it freely right off the damn bat. Did the cat have his creepy long tongue or what?

Inuyasha asks what he's there for, doubting that Toutousai came here to sharpen the sword. Toutousai says that he came to help Inuyasha master Tessaiga appropriately, unless he doesn't qualify for its use. Terms and conditions apply, and if Inuyasha doesn't meet them, Toutousai plans to smash up the prize sword. Kagome lets out a long questioning noise, and Inuyasha asks if this bastard means to test him with a sharp glare.

Toutousai says he's guessed right. Bust out your number two pencil, boy. Toutousai begins with a doozy of a problem - someone is trying to kill him. Inuyasha and friends all stare wide-eyed at this old fart in disbelief. Toutousai puts the whole thing in context by quoting the villain, who told him to make a sword that rivals Tessaiga, or they would kill him. He considers this an absurd request from an idiot, and demands that Inuyasha protect him from said idiot. Inuyasha grabs Toutousai by the face and corrects his demand by suggesting it should be more of a request or at least contain the word "please".

Toutousai doesn't respond, looking past Inuyasha and announcing his would-be murderer's arrival.

Who else but the rotting corpses rising from their unmarked graves in the yard THIS GUY:

I've got to admit, this is a way better deal than that other thing.

Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku all cringe in recognition, while Sango is probably in the background shrugging wondering what the big deal is. Sesshoumaru jumps off the back of his cool dragon ride and lands gracefully on the ground in front of Inuyasha, Toutousai cowering behind the hanyou. Inuyasha gapes while saying his brother's name, and Sango indeed has to ask Miroku who the hell this guy is in order to get caught up with the rest of the class. Kagome, apparently ALSO has to take the remedial course, asking Toutousai if this is who he meant when he said that someone was after his life. Well, Toutousai only SAID that he was the guy when looking at him and saying "he's here" earlier, but sure, you can act like a moron, Kagome. No sweat.

Sesshoumaru is set against that marbled background, and you know what that means: he's seething. He asks why Inuyasha is with Toutousai, and Toutousai peeks out from around Inuyasha's shoulder to answer that Inuyasha is here to punish Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru raises his remaining hand, you know, because he's already been punished ONCE by Inuyasha, something he seems to have forgotten, and cracks his knuckles. He claims that someone seems to be in a rush to die, but Toutousai says that he COULD make a sword for him if he defeats Inuyasha. Kagome lets out an indignant cry and points out that this is quite a bit different than what he said earlier. Toutousai puts on a spaced face and asks if he said something different before after all.

OH! I get what the advantage of old age is!

Sesshoumaru smiles, and bids Toutousai not to forget what he just said. Dude, you were watching the last exchange, I know you were. Don't even BEGIN to believe that Toutousai won't flake on you in another two seconds. Sesshoumaru leaps at Inuyasha.

Let's be honest, Kagome, you just KNOW Inuyasha would have been in for a punch in the face the moment Sesshoumaru showed up, regardless of Toutousai's influence.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm always a fan of a chapter with Sesshoumaru in it, but he wasn't the one who stole the show. That honor goes to our new addition to the secondary cast, Toutousai. He made one hell of an entrance, and then shrunk into the act of a frail, forgetful old man. Don't know why he's even BOTHERING to act, either, considering he straight up TOLD Inuyasha that he was going to test how worthy he is of Tessaiga. There's no better test than to pit siblings against each other to see which one needs the stick they're fighting over more.

Which is why it's so easy to see why Kagome is pissed. The pretense is so brazen as to be insulting, and I'm not certain I wouldn't pop the asshole one if I were in her shoes. From my current vantage point, though, he's just funny.