At least the literal fairy tale in which I lose myself isn't advertising itself as fact.
Anyway, as he and his friends stand in the hills of shattered rock and earth where Naraku's fake castle once stood, Miroku is stating the obvious; Kagura's aim was to make Inuyasha and Kouga fight until one of them died and she could take on the weakened survivor, since whomever it was wouldn't be uninjured. Her ultimate goal was undoubtedly to take the Shikon shards in each of Kouga's legs. You know, in case anyone hadn't figured THAT much out.
Speaking of Kouga, his whole arm is purple and pulsing with poison at this point, while he lays on his side in the crater he made whaling on Inuyasha. Shippou peers at him, noting that the color of Kouga's skin has changed, and that the poison has spread quite a bit. I see that it's "State the Obvious" time again in the Inuyasha manga. If I were Kouga, I would be rather upset that I had to endure watching others waste their breath like this in my final moments. Afford the guy some dignity and knock that shit off, will you?
Kagome is concerned that Kouga will die at this rate, but Inuyasha scoffs that it's better that way. He's all in favor of letting the guy die so he can't fuck with them anymore, and also so they can score a couple of Shikon fragments. Kagome asks if Inuyasha is suggesting they abandon Kouga, looking only slightly ruffled rather than offended, and Inuyasha says he means that they have no obligation to save Kouga. Clearly more distressed now, Kagome argues that Kouga was ALSO tricked by Naraku, and it's worth it to keep him alive, implying that it might stick in Naraku's craw that he didn't even get one of his targets.
At great effort, Inuyasha stands, and Kagome says his name with concern. He repeats her phrase "as long as he's alive" and says that there's a way to make that happen, while pulling Tessaiga, sheath and all, from his belt with his uninjured arm. He then holds the sheath between his teeth in order to draw the sword again. It's kind of cool.
Kouga groans and looks out of his periphery at the looming Inuyasha, too weak to protest. Kagome's own protests are weak, because as Shippou states beside her, it's the only way. He reminds her that the miasma was too strong for even her abilities to aid her in pulling the shard out, and the word "miasma" gives her a bit of an epiphany. She shoots to her feet and shouts at Inuyasha to stop, reaching for an arrow from her quiver.
Shippou follows her into the crater where Inuyasha wears a look of consternation as he continues to hold Tessaiga over his head, steady, staring down at Kagome. She's got an arrow in her fist, pointing it down at Kouga's purple arm. She says that her arrows can erase Naraku's miasma, and sticks the point of the arrow into Kouga's wrist, trailing her new argument that surely it will do the same in this case.
The air around them crackles and Kouga groans.
Starting to push himself up, Kouga mockingly says too bad to Inuyasha for how he wasn't able to kill him. Inuyasha flatly says that SOMEONE is spirited all of a sudden, then lunges forward with sword raised shouting that he won't hold back if this is the case, determined to settle this feud once and for all. Kouga jumps back out of the crater and refuses to comply RIGHT now, claiming that it would be no fun to kill a dog who had only a few minutes ago nearly dropped dead. He, graciously, declares he's going to leave things here for today.
Inuyasha starts to complain that this should be HIS line, but Kouga is already kicking up a whirlwind in his retreat, leaving Inuyasha speechless in his wake. Speechless except in the case of a single swear, anyway. Miroku comments that, as usual, Kouga is fast when running away. As Kouga flees the area, he promises to waste those who killed his wolf brethren, Kagura and this mysterious Naraku.
Bringing us to a REAL castle of in some undisclosed location, where Naraku sits in a room listening to the buzz from his demon wasps and staring at a couple of jars set in a dark corner.
Kagura shouts at him not to joke around with her, demanding that he admit he was testing her out. Remembering Kaze no Kizu, Kagura accuses Naraku of withholding information about Inuyasha's sword and its capabilities. Naraku examines the palm of his right hand, firing back at Kagura that SHE ran off without even collecting Kouga's Shikon shards. Then THIS happens:
Naraku mumbles that Kagura is nothing but mouth, and proceeds to squeeze the heart in his hand. Kagura falls to a knee, clutching at the left side of her chest and letting out a pained grunt. She continues to sink lower as Naraku reminds her that her heart is always in his grasp. She's leaning on her hip, facing the jars in the corner when Naraku also lets her know that reducing her to the raw meat that she was born from would be no trouble at all either. A closeup beyond the lip of one of the jars reveals it's filled to the brim with pulsing flesh.
Metal.
Naraku glares at Kagura as he tells her that she was born from himself, and she's merely a part of his body. Kagura stutters a curse, and I am reminded that some people just shouldn't have babies.
Night has fallen, and find Inuyasha and company sheltered in a small, disused building that seems to be falling apart a little. Someone is surprised at the suggestion that Kagura might have been born from Naraku. Unsurprisingly, it's Miroku who responds that this is certainly one way of putting his hypothesis (confirmed by dramatic irony). Kagome, pausing in applying bandages to Inuyasha, stutters out an incomplete protest, and Shippou asks bluntly what she cannot; how can a man give birth? C-Section?
Miroku explains that originally, Naraku is a conglomerate of many different youkai, so it might be better to think of Kagura as a detachment instead. Inuyasha side-eyes him, but Kagome seems to be getting the hang of what Miroku's proposing, because Kagura couldn't be Naraku shapeshifted himself, given she had no knowledge of them. Also, Miroku is pretty adamant that he would never want to ask a transformed Naraku to bear his child, no matter how pretty a girl he deigned to be. Inuyasha and Sango look irritated as Kagome informs him that she's sure Naraku wasn't into him that way either.
Now that we've determined how NOT GAY Miroku's attraction to Kagura is, Inuyasha wants to discuss something weird. Kagura was awfully strong for a woman, and he's worried about Naraku being able to produce opponents like her. Sango agrees, wondering out loud why he hasn't done this sort of thing before. Miroku suggests that it stands to reason Naraku has only come into this power recently. Sango looks on with worry, as Kagome contemplates the meaning of Naraku gaining a new ability, and why this could be.
Back at the castle, Kagura is back on her feet and looking down at Naraku still sitting next to the window. He paints her experience with Inuyasha and Tessaiga as having seen everything there is to see about this sword. No more surprises. He orders to go again.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It was a tad fast for Miroku to come to the right conclusion about Kagura, even with the comedic explanation being that he was just really uncomfortable with the idea that he could be attracted to Naraku himself. It smacks too much of characters reading the script, and no the other way around, which always throws me out of the story a little. I think RT could have waited a bit to reveal that relationship between Kagura and Naraku, considering this next part is the precursor to a revelation on that front, which I think would have been a far better clue as to the nature of where Kagura came from. Also, I just like more mystery in my horror, thanks.
In addition, call me cruel, but I kind of wish Kouga had lost that arm. Mutilation isn't a happy ending, but that's kind of the point. Saving his life would have had a bit more weight in sense that Naraku's control over the situation was so tight that the parties involved couldn't get away without some serious sacrifice. It would have made Naraku a more formidable villain, because someone we're familiar with, not just all his nameless buddies, had their life brutally altered by this event. It would have packed a much more emotional punch, and we couldn't sigh with relief at the end. Torture your darlings, and all that, RT.
Besides, that solution of Kagome's only seems clever if you don't think about it. Her arrow OBLITERATED Naraku the last time she got a shot in, and he's only half a youkai. Kouga is the whole thing, and it should have done some serious damage to him as well as dispersing Naraku's miasma. Even if the greater part of Kagome's arrow's power comes from the projectile part of the process, there's still a big youkai-opposing magic in there. Although, to be fair, none of the different classifications of powers, like youkai and spiritual, have really been defined very well, and the differences are only going to get murkier as the series continues.
And we already have one guy whose lost an arm, so I guess RT thought he was enough.
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