Inuyasha Manga: 183 The Secret of the Transformation

Uhhhh, is somebody spilling tea over here? I'm not sure I want to be a part of this. In the first place, I just generally don't like gossip. I just spend the whole time I hear it wondering what the person eagerly vomiting other peoples' secrets in my direction says about ME the moment my back is turned. More than that, though, gossip in Inuyasha tends to happen primarily between youkai, and that would put us in some pretty dangerous territory. You know what they say; two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

And I would DEFINITELY end up the dead one in this scenario.

... Unless there are other, tinier, more vulnerable creatures around in a REMOTE FOREST WHERE NO ONE WILL EVER FIND THEM. Run, Rin and Jaken! Run!

To amp up the horror film vibes, a voice floats out of nowhere to say the owner has been expecting Sesshoumaru to come visit them soon. Rin looks up, bewildered that this voice seems to be coming out of the sky. Jaken also looks around, concluding that there appears to be nothing here. These poor little bastards aren't going to last very long if this turns out to be a slasher.

Sesshoumaru refers to the voice as "Bokusenou" and asks it if it knows why he's here. He's looking up at a large-ish tree in front of him, as the disembodied voice guesses that Sesshoumaru's visit could only mean that he wants to discuss some swords.

AAAAaaaahhhh... oh. Hm.

Yeah, I expected something a bit more intimidating, but now that I think of it, Sesshoumaru going into the woods to meet with a TREE makes all of the sense.

While Rin shouts in alarm about the tree spirit, Jaken asks Sesshoumaru who the hell this tree is. Sesshoumaru explains plainly that Bokusenou is a 2000-year-old magnolia tree. That... is actually pretty dope. Props. Jaken asks if that's really the case, and Bokusenou confirms it, along with the fun little factoid that the scabbards for both Tenseiga and Tessaiga were carved from his branches. I hope they fell off naturally first, because it seems like a thoroughly unpleasant thing to have your limbs hacked off so your apparent FRIEND can have some nice sword accessories.

Jaken looks impressed by the sheath trivia, regardless. While he's done demanding to know who Sesshoumaru is speaking to, Sesshoumaru takes this opportunity to suggest that Bokusenou would know the connection between Inuyasha and Tessaiga. Bokusenou recalls that Inuyasha is Sesshoumaru's younger brother in the oldest way possible, as Sesshoumaru recounts the two instances of his particular concern; the first was when Tessaiga was bitten in half by an ogre, and the second was when Inuyasha lost Tessaiga in a battle with him.

Sesshoumaru elaborates that Inuyasha's blood smelled not like a hanyou's but a full-ass youkai like the blood of himself and their father. Bokusenou grows a gnarled tree hand JUST to stroke his gnarled tree chin in a ponderous way, humming that he wonders about if it can really be characterized as the "same". Sesshoumaru asks him what he means.

Sudden and abrupt cut to Kagome walking her bike with Shippou hanging out in the basket, beaming about the fact that she can now see a village. No doubt because Inuyasha is getting his sulk on a short distance away, an old man hoisted on his back who sighs contentedly that he is officially saved. A boy walking next to them cheerfully reiterates that they're almost home.

When they reach the village, the old man expresses how grateful he is that they came by and helped him after he sprained his ankle and couldn't walk home. Kagome tells both the old man and the boy to take care, and they both offer polite thanks to her again. The boy reaches under his collar for something to offer Inuyasha, whom he refers to as, ahem, "Monster-Dog Onii-Chan". This of course pisses Inuyasha off. He raises a shaking fist, veins popping on his head as he repeats the first part of that phrase furiously. Kagome tries to sooth his rage with a hand on him arm and a tight smile while she says his name, which apparently works, because he's just devolved into bewilderment when the boy comes over and deposits a treasure into his palm as payment for his kindness. The  old man and boy walk into the village, the latter twisting to offer a final happy wave to their saviors.

What happened to that twisted ankle, old dude?

Yeah, so lucky the SNAKE didn't even want it.

Later, as the group continues ramblin' on, Inuyasha is still complaining about how they don't have TIME to futz around helping people. Because he clearly has much better things to do with his time, like walking in the same direction as those he helped ANYWAY, as Kagome suggests when she claims that they were just walking with the duo. Miroku points out a pattern he's noticed; Inuyasha always gets sullen when he helps people. Inuyasha scoffs in response.

Then he freezes, his nose picking up something concerning. Kagome calls to him in question, noticing his sudden serious expression, and Inuyasha says he smells the blood of an awful lot of people, fire and smoke. Miroku and Sango stop and stare at him too, while Inuyasha comes to the realization that these smells are from the direction of the village at which he dropped off the old fart and kid. And yes, he does actually call the old guy a "fart" because this is still Inuyasha; even when he's being good, he's not good.

Anyway, Inuyasha concludes with some disbelief that the village was attacked by something. WHAT ARE THE ODDS??

We switch back just as suddenly as before to Sesshoumaru standing before Bokusenou, rapt attention on the tree telling him that Inuyasha is a hanyou born of the union between a youkai and a human. Thankfully, Bokusenou stops his explanation there, because if he launched into a full discussion of the birds and the bees, I'm pretty sure the poor old fool would have ended up chopped the fuck down. Instead, Bokusenou states unequivocally that because he is a melding of the two kinds, Inuyasha CANNOT become a true youkai.

Oh, Bokusenou knows how to play it, doesn't he? Using that "perfect" descriptor for this spoiled prince's pedigree. Buttering him up.

Bokusenou tells Sesshoumaru to consider the example of whenever he's in battle, and observe the fact that no matter how pressed he became, his mind was always cool. He asks if Sesshoumaru can think of a time he ever lost himself. Sesshoumaru scoffs and snobs that he's never EVER been pressed. Give it time, darlin'. Bokusenou chuckles at this whippersnapper, nine-foot tall and bulletproof as he is, and agrees that he may never have been stressed out in a fight, but Inuyasha is different. When pushed to the point where his life is in serious danger, Inuyasha's youkai blood takes over and transforms his body to give him a boost of power and protect him. Sesshoumaru thinks back to the sight of Inuyasha's intimidating, crouched form with glowing eyes and acknowledges this must have been what was going on.

But Bokusenou isn't done. He says that the blood of a greater youkai like Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father is WAY too strong for a hanyou. Sesshoumaru is curious enough to prompt Bokusenou to go oooooooon, which earns him the information that Inuyasha's mind would eventually be EATEN AWAY by the too powerful blood of his father.

... Metal.

But also thoroughly unpleasant, and obvi not something Inuyasha's dad wanted for him. So, Bokusenou reveals that Tessaiga was given to Inuyasha as a sword of protection for HIM as much as any human he's the muscle for.

More abrupt scene changes! Inuyasha and company come to a halt back outside the village, appalled to see the young boy they had dropped off only a short while ago stumbling toward them with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Kagome identifies him with shock while Inuyasha just makes a groaning noise. The boy falls into Kagome's arms when she kneels down in front of him, and she shouts at him to hang in there. Sweating and half-conscious, the boy manages to get out a plea to help his grandfather.

Inuyasha is already on his way down the path the boy took to get to them, yelling back over his shoulder at Kagome to take care of the kid. She haltingly gives her affirmation as Miroku turns to Sango and charges her in turn with protecting Kagome. Sango snaps at him that SHE KNOWS, dipshit. He's too distracted to note her sass, running to Inuyasha's side at his invitation to get into that village. No doubt to kick all of the child-shooting ass.

I'm always amazed at how this comic feels like a strange mashing of two different genres to me: westerns and fantasy. I know that my own cultural perception is informing this feeling, because the historical periods on which we base our separate genres in the west are distinct centuries, and Japan kind of had the wild west and a feudal structure all wrapped up in a nice enigmatic bow at once... But it's still a super strange sensation.

Anyway, one of these here outlaws says he likes this village, and the other he's talking to suggests that they stay until they've eaten all the food. Wow, I've never seen anyone revel so much in being a literal parasite. Most of those have the decency to at least PRETEND they contribute something. Mostly they just say it's something nebulous like "jobs" or something, but at least they try. Someone else refers to a huddle of women already gathered on the ground nearby, scuffed and cowering, instructing his fellows to gather all of them in that one area and kill any that try to run. I shudder to think how many times they've done this exact thing to small animals too. And yes, I'm willing to bet that the REASON they gathered the women is the same for those hypothetical animals.

Inuyasha and Miroku arrive, the latter concluding the obvious - bandits. Screaming at those bastards, Inuyasha draws Tessaiga and swings down, producing a jagged line of destruction that looks an awful lot like Kaze no Kizu. It can't be, though, because it just kind of frightens one dude's horse as it breaks up the ground near its hooves, and Kaze no Kizu is established to only work when a swirl of YOUKI comes in contact with the surrounding air. Shitty people notwithstanding, they don't look like anything but humans. And yet... it did look an AWFUL lot like Kaze no Kizu...

After the man on the horse nearly voids his bowels in alarm and confusion over the weird blast of power from the sword, because no doubt THAT is the weirdest thing he's seen in a world full of strange monsters, Inuyasha states he's saving the small-fry for later and demands to be taken to their leader. Next he's going to claim this planet in the name of Mars. Miroku begins to elucidate a little something he's noticed among the bandits, but Inuyasha reminds him that he's got a super-sniffer. He's aware that there's a youkai in the bunch of bandits.

Ew. Hair.

Inuyasha confirms that this is indeed the youkai, which is pretty plain to see just at a glance, no super-sniffer needed. Yet the bandits in the background are all kinds of confused, surprised by the accusation and wondering out loud just what the heck Inuyasha is on about. Not the sharpest tools in the shed are they? And make no mistake; they are ALL tools.

The leader of the bandits demands that the brat Inuyasha hand over his sword, and now it's Inuyasha's turn to act confused, asking what he's gibbering about. Miroku warns Inuyasha not to get careless, to which Inuyasha indignantly asks if Miroku really thinks he would LOSE to this dude.

Depends on what kind of contest you're getting into. Let's face it, Inuyasha, you ain't got nothing on this guy's eyeliner game.

So what did I think of this chapter overall? Here RT goes again, just tossing us between multiple locations to observe simultaneous events with little to no real transition. And yet, there's something about this instance that works where it didn't in the others. The oddly well-timed exposition Sesshoumaru is getting in one place nicely contrasts the beginning of the action in which it will be relevant in the other, and it helps that we're not asked to follow two high-stakes events at the same time here. Again, the exposition is very convenient, given we're fresh out of an arc revolving around anyone other than our titular character, giving us the fresh opportunity to see this information in action. But I'm willing to overlook that here for how it teases relevance rather than out-and-out shoves it in your face, with the final lines of Inuyasha and Miroku in the chapter providing some foreboding with the literal question of whether Inuyasha should be cautious. This guy he's facing doesn't LOOK like much, but with Miroku's warning, we're not only wondering what HE sees that Inuyasha doesn't, but we're also fresh from Bokusenou's vivid description of what can happen to Inuyasha if he's pushed too far now.

I'm LIVING for Sesshoumaru doing research and investigating what was happening to Inuyasha, making the connection between the transformations he's observed and Inuyasha being separated from Tessaiga. A little because we get a new trait (curiosity) added to the mostly boring list he had before (snobbery and dispassion), which at least gives him a little more dimension. But mostly, learning the more "technical" side of what is happening to Inuyasha when he's going through those those fits of full-demoic tantrums. His whole SELF is being overridden and taken over by the youkai half of his "DNA" so to speak, and his body literally cannot handle the strain anymore than his mind can. Sesshoumaru's youkai blood is in a youkai body, and therefore he's in no danger of losing control of himSELF. His personality, no matter how white-bread boring it is, will remain intact, as well as his faculties.

Which SHOULD give him a pretty good reason not to want to take Tessaiga away from Inuyasha anymore. He's just learned it's not so much a sword as it is an elaborate mechanism to keep Inuyasha's disability in check; medication and a crutch all in one, if you will. Being snobbish as he is (rooted thoroughly in his racism and ableism, ironic for a guy missing an arm), Sesshoumaru should be inclined to dismiss the sword just as much as he dismisses Inuyasha himself from now on. Furthermore, he should WANT Inuyasha to have it if they're fighting in the future, as it wouldn't be sporting to murder Inuyasha while he's unaware of what's happening. Or, at least that's what he'll tell himself. We should see a marked shift from Sesshoumaru constantly going after Tessaiga now, to him being more focused on defeating Inuyasha himself, IF he's even really interested in such a thing of course. I've pointed out before how Sesshoumaru just... wanders off at the moment when he could easily win or give chase a lot of the time. The only reason Inuyasha was on his radar in the first place was because of Tessaiga, so he's probably going to go back to ignoring Inuyasha as much as possible at this point.

Anyway, can we talk about the miniature Kaze no Kizu in this chapter? I don't recall this happening before, because it's established that Inuyasha has to sense the place where the air and youki collide in order for it to come out. And the fact that it happened in the direction of a human is doubly mystifying, since the "youki" part of that formula would be missing there. I guess since he can barely swing that sword right now, due to how heavy it is, you could argue that Inuyasha accidentally found the youkai bandit's youki and produced a LITTLE bit of power with the weak-ass follow-through, but that's a bit of a stretch. I feel like RT might have just forgotten her own rules there for a moment.

Understandable, of course. We are almost 200 chapters into this massive story, so...

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 241 Choose Your Adversary!!

Gracious, how much more choosing needs to be DONE here? These indecisive little goblins better not have changed their minds in the middle of this non-load-bearing duel. If they make the match longer for a bit of extra waffling I might just scream. And then when the cops are called because someone was nervous there was a domestic dispute in my apartment, and I have to explain to those HOGS why I was really upset, I'll be even more cross. Which is going to be quite the peak of anger after fishtailing around in the snow for the last two hours in my desperation to get home.

The point is, kiddos better make up their damn minds and get on with it! I'm low on patience!

Kaiba goads other!Marik, telling him he's lost points and that his pod is about to go up. As it goes up. Why he felt the need to state the obvious here, I'll never know, up there stealing HONDA'S job. Other!Marik glares ahead with his 3300 remaining points while he zooms upward, and Kaiba chuckles at his retreating pod. It's at times like these that I remember Jonouchi used to be a rather rough, violent sort, and it might not be such a bad thing to go back to that just for Kaiba's benefit.

Anyway, Jonouchi notes when other!Marik's pod parks on the same level as his own that he's got the same number of points as well, much like Kaiba and Yami have the same points. Kaiba thinks that if this continues, and he keeps focusing his attacks on other!Marik and Jonouchi, he should get exactly what he wants. He makes glarey eyes at Yami to his left, reiterating that Yami should know that what he wants is a battle between his Slifer and Obelisk. I would have guessed entirely different desires, but okay. Yami just looks back at him with an impassive mug.

Jonouchi shouts the beginning of his turn and takes stock of what he has in his hand, which includes not a single monster card. He draws a card, begging *something* to come out of this simple act. He looks at his newly-pulled card with a mild surprise, that his prayers to the duel gods were answered apparently. Jonouchi plays Gear Freed in attack, which looks splendid in dark armor and and a giant blade strapped to its ball-jointed arm.

But at this point Jonouchi pauses, wondering who to attack. He recalls that Yami caused other!Marik and Kaiba to use their trap cards, and that leaves no monsters and an empty field between all of them.

Well, can't hurt to bat other!Marik further up the rail, right? Especially if you want to face him for Mai's life in your next duel.

On the other hand that guy who has been doing literally nothing but letting garbage fall out of his mouth since this duel started is practically GLOWING he's so hittable. And just like that, Jonouchi declares with a grin that his target is acquired, and that he's on his way. Gear Freed turns to Kaiba as Jonouchi says he's going for him, and Kaiba suddenly, MIRACULOUSLY, has nothing caustic to say, grunting in his alarm and widening his eyes instead. Yami looks over at Kaiba, thinking that there's no way for Kaiba to escape, and Yami don't you dare pull anything here! Kaiba needs to collect his dues, dammit!

Thankfully, Yami doesn't interfere with Jonouchi asking Gear Freed to chop Kaiba up for him, and Gear Freed lunging to do just that.

I don't know, Kaiba, considering you're prone to restless obsession and endless nightmares about anyone who defeats you in this game, I'd say this is the ONLY place to hurt you.

As Kaiba's car climbs, Jonouchi shouts up at him that this just proves the "loser dog" can send him straight to the top if he wanted. Sass-Master Jonouchi over here ends his turn on a grin. Yami ponders the fact that Jonouchi targeted Kaiba instead of other!Marik, and wonders if that means Jonouchi ultimately wants to end up matched with other!Marik in the finals. If that's the case, he probably should have tried NOT to end up stuck with other!Marik smack dab in between Kaiba and Yami. Now it's more likely either of them will end up dueling Kaiba or Yami instead.

Instead of making some grand observation, it looks like Yami was just reading the script, because in the very next panel, Jonouchi's thoughts are filled with how there are only 14 hours to beat other!Marik and save Mai left. Other!Marik just glares ahead, slightly cross-eyed. He's keeping a stash of weed on him at all times, I swear.

Kaiba shouts that it's his turn, no doubt both because he's pissy AND because it might be difficult for the people below him to hear at this point. He glares over at other!Marik, clenching his teeth and affirming that other!Marik and "Trash-Boy" are his targets. I guess since Jonouchi reclaimed his dog insults, Kaiba can't use them anymore. Kaiba thinks that if he can get rid of the other two, he can face Yami in his next duel. Sounds like the plot to a Lifetime movie.

Drawing a card violently and holding it up to glare past it dramatically, Kaiba sets two cards face down, then brings Blade Knight out in attack, looking pretty much exactly how you'd expect a knight to look. Don't know why it had to be specified that the knight has a BLADE when that's kind of the default, unless... Does this game have a GUN Knight? Because that's freaking DOPE. Anyway, Kaiba decides he'll deal with Jonouchi later, and announces that his totally normal knight is attacking other!Marik. He looks about as unconcerned as it is possible to be.

I sure hope this pattern of attacking the person with the turn after yours continues, because no doubt Yami feels a little left out all all the way down at the bottom. If all the rest of these guys keep up this triangle of competition to see who gets to face Yami, he's going to have to start focusing on himself.

Other!Marik summons Dark Jelloid, which is reminiscent of a headless centaur, but instead of a horse's body, it's a tangle of six human-ish limbs growing out from a crooked spine? Also the arms on the torso are vaguely INhuman and clawlike. As usual, other!Marik has provided me with another terrible inhabitant of my nightmares, which take place on a dying or dead planet ever since we all learned that we have a decade before climate change royally fucks us.

Also as usual, other!Marik grins about his monster's special ability, as if there are any he has that don't come with some weird side-benefit. This one's is that once it's been summoned, it can lower any other monster's attack to 800. Looking between all his opponents' monsters, he deliberates over which one to pick for this honor. Go ahead, take a little longer, other!Marik. It's not like literally ALL of you are dying to get to the part where you head to a duel that actually fucking MATTERS or anything. While he ponders away, Kaiba silently hopes for the attack to come at HIM, and for other!Marik to fall into the trap he's set up. Destruction Ring is one of his face down cards, and it would take a significant portion of other!Marik's life points if he were to go for Kaiba. Other!Marik peers at Kaiba out of his periphery and scoffs softly, aware of said trap. I can't tell if he's actually reading Kaiba's mind with Millennium powers or if Kaiba is just that obvious - could be BOTH frankly.

Either way, other!Marik directs a small sadistic smile at the target he decides on instead; he shouts the name of Jonouchi's monster, Gear Freed, while Jonouchi groans and thinks he KNEW it would be him. Other!Marik announces the attack decrease on Gear Freed, and all that attack seems to dissipate from it as a horrified Jonouchi watches.

Ohhhh, the torso IS the head. I think.

Jonouchi pulls a Yami, suddenly changing his expression to imply he was bluffing, despite indicating with his very THOUGHTS earlier that he was screwed. He grins and says it's just too bad he disagrees with other!Marik, whose confusion is summed up with an ellipse while Jonouchi reveals a face down card, Shield and Sword. He explains that this switches his monster's attack and defense, leaving other!Marik utterly dumbfounded by the play. Yami grins, exclaiming his excitement, and Kaiba just glowers at the scene.

Gear Freed powers back up to 1600, as Jonouchi expresses his insincere condolences again, declaring he will now attack other!Marik's horror creature. But when he actually shouts for Gear Freed to attack, both other!Marik and he are quite alarmed. Jonouchi's eyes practically POPPING as he yells his disbelief. What's got him in a tizzy? Gear Freed has shrunk down to a tiny size next to him, inexplicably. Yami looks over on his opposite side, to where Kaiba is having a laugh riot.

He's activated his Shrink magic card, which he says decreases Gear Freed's attack by half. Jonouchi is flabbergasted by his new miniature warrior, his hands splayed as though he's not sure what to do with them in this holographic crisis. It's kind of adorable. Other!Marik smirks and commands his Dark Jelloid to finish what it started and pulverize Gear Freed. Instead, it emits some sort of beam from its weird torso mouth, which I assume just vaporizes Gear Freed. Not sure though, because we only see Jonouchi flinching behind a raised arm against the blast, cursing Kaiba. He clenches his teeth, glaring across at Kaiba to silently promise that he will NOT lose.

I don't know man, depending on what you want out of this, losing may be the best thing for you.

As if he wasn't JUST getting his ass handed to him by Jonouchi just a few pages ago, Kaiba begins lecturing him on how all enemies of Kaiba have their uses, and Kaiba is just screwing Jonouchi over to win. Too bad Kaiba's DIALOG can't be useful too.

Poetic end at the beginning? Or ineffective cliffhanger? YOU DECIDE!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Not bad pacing this time; I was pleasantly surprised that the chapter title didn't indicate any more agonizing over the big choice of who everyone wanted to face in the next duel. Little ponderings here and there, but nothing that interrupted the flow of the duel, which was going pretty fast for the most part. The players want to get to the next stage of this thing, and it finally shows.

One of the odd things I noted in this chapter was that other!Marik seems to be a little bit of a pushover lately. It's clear that he's way more relaxed than the others for this one, which may be a reflection of his initial apathy toward the situation. He DID say that it didn't matter who he ended up paired with in his next duel... but he also said later that he was going to work to face Yami, since destroying him was LITERALLY his raison d'etre. If that was the case though, you'd think his last attack in this chapter would have been on Yami, to bring him up closer to the area where he could be in the running to duel with him next. Currently they're sitting on opposite ends of the ranks, so it's not exactly ideal for that goal. Perhaps he's gone back to not giving a shit who's against him in the next duel, if he assumes that they're eventually going to be matched up in the final game anyhow, counting on them both to beat their respective opponents before that.

It's a shitty assumption, though, considering how garbage he is at playing right now, though. Either way you see it, other!Marik has been coming across as just less of a threat in this one, and that could overall impact the tension of the arc. If your main villain starts to feel more passive, especially toward the end of his campaign of terror, I'm going to start wondering why our heroes were having such a hard time with him before. Even with Jonouchi alluding to the fact that Mai might die if he's not defeated in the next few hours, other!Marik hasn't done anything recently that really helps to sustain FEAR of him. In fact, his newly-acquired laid-back attitude seems entirely unthreatening, making the times where he gets bested in this chapter stand out that much more.

Especially in contrast to Kaiba, who has shown time and time again how much of a failure he can be at this game, but his energy and confidence carry him so he seems a bit more formidable than he actually is. In fact, he just gets more incompetent as time goes on, and is more incomprehensible the more he talks, to the point that I think he might be having a stroke. If there's one thing we've all learned from certain rich assholes over the years, though, it's that no matter how utterly contrary to reality the things they say and do are, people will still believe that they're successful and smart if they play pretend hard enough.

And Kaiba plays pretend to WIN.

Inuyasha Manga: 182 Unfading Face

Sounds normal to me, since it's a general rule that faces don't tend to fade so much as warp and wrinkle. In fact, I'd be a little put off if someone's face DID start fading. What kind of inter-dimensional creature phases in and out of existence like that? Probably a deadly agent of Naraku, that's what! Or at the very least someone who probably gets a LOT of questions when they disappear on the reg.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, and may your faces never fade. To avoid the questions.

... And jokes are no longer appropriate. Ever.

As Sango makes her silent apologies to Kohaku, her tears fall onto a wide-eyed, listless Kohaku. I actually can't tell if he's totally unmoved or if I'm reading into the little upturn of his brows because I REALLY want him to come to his senses. Which, I suppose, is the entire point.

Before Sango can make good on her threat...

Just in time. I guess Kohaku gets to stay alive.

Sango's sword flips off and sticks in the ground some ways away, and while Sango's guard has lifted a bit, Kohaku also flips out from underneath her and sticks his landing too. Don't know how it happened with Sango still mostly hovering over him, but it was good visual harmony. Sango stutters Inuyasha's name, glaring into her periphery at him, but leaning on her hip instead of rising to go after Kohaku again. All the same, she barks at Inuyasha not to stop her, new tears spilling out of her eyes. Inuyasha calls her a dumb jerk, pointing out that murdering her own brother would only delight Naraku. I mean, fair, but could you maybe NOT call Sango names during a really shitty, emotionally-charged situation? I doubt that's particularly helpful in her current state of mind.

By this point, Kohaku has gotten on his feet and started running away. Inuyasha charges after him, fist raised, wanting to lecture HIM on his bullshit as well.

Again, I don't really know how helpful you're being right now, Inuyasha. At least this violent attack allows the Shikon shards Kohaku stole from Kagome to fall out of his grasp. He reaches for them again, but Inuyasha stomps on his hand before he can pick them up. Then Inuyasha drags Kohaku up by his collar, shouting in his face to remember. Kohaku's head is turned away, because even in his listless state, he recognizes serious halitosis.

What? I said jokes weren't APPROPRIATE anymore. Not that they were IMPOSSIBLE. What do you expect from me, the perpetually inappropriate Writch?

Sango continues to sit on the ground and look questioningly at the scene, while Kagome, Shippou and a still severely sick Miroku roll up on Kirara. Kagome doesn't appear as confused, addressing Inuyasha softly. He's not likely to be hearing her, because he's still up in Kohaku's face, yelling at him to remember everything if he wants to live. An Arnold Schwarzenegger offer this is not. Kohaku just looks like he's about to fall asleep.

Kagome calls Inuyasha's name again, this time in question form, while Sango stares silently at the spectacle. Inuyasha recalls what Naraku had said before about why Kohaku had lost his memory in the first place; he himself was refusing to remember that his body and weapon slew his father and fellow exterminators. Presently, Inuyasha worries over Kohaku refusing to face his memories, allowing his mind to be captured by Naraku, and his fate of certain death if the Shikon fragment in his back is taken. As bleak as these thoughts are, Inuyasha still uses the optimistic term "if" to denote the timing of this event, as though it's not an inevitability. Oh Inuyasha, you sweet naive child.

A voice from above shouts at Inuyasha not to phrase it like that, before a crescent blade hurtles down at him, forcing him to leap out of the way. A powerful upward draft catches the alarmed Kagome and Sango's hairs as they look up at the culprit.

Somehow I'm not convinced she actually gives half a shit. Maybe it's because I've spent my entire life listening to politicians giving empty speeches about how nicely we should treat our veterans of war while they simultaneously deny them and the rest of my country's population even basic access to comprehensive healthcare, and this just looks an AWFUL lot like that. Just a lot more blatant in the "no intention of getting folks help" department.

Kagura goes on to claim that letting Kohaku die without having the burden of those pesky memories would be a kindness to him. Can't he do that very thing by surviving to be extremely old and getting Alzheimer's instead? I mean, that's not exactly ideal either, but it's a hell of a lot better than what you're suggesting.

She recedes into the stratosphere with Kohaku on her feather while Inuyasha and Sango, who has finally stood up and made an ineffectual dash closer, stare up at them. Sango says Kohaku's name, then collapses to her knees again, punching the ground and cursing the fact that he's gone away. Again. Kagome approaches her, with another soft call of her name, because this is apparently all Kagome does in this one. In despair, Sango predicts that they'll go through all of this trouble again now.

Inuyasha scoffs at her, calling her and Kohaku tiring siblings. Just imagine what it's like to BE them. Fuck, it's a wonder they're not constantly asleep from the constant energy-draining drama. As he tosses the vial of Shikon fragments up in the air and catches them again, Inuyasha offers to tell Sango something NOW, so she won't act up again later. I think Inuyasha is the LAST person who should put himself in charge of policing peoples' behavior, but I guess we can hear him out.

He tells the shell-shocked girls that Naraku ordered Kohaku to kill Kagome and steal the Shikon shards off her. No surprises so far.

Good plan!

... How are you going to DO that?

No need to get into the specifics; just leave Inuyasha on that weird combination of snippy and hopeful as we cut to Kohaku's slouched form propped on his knees in front of Naraku, who sits at the roots of a tree weaving in and out of the rocks beneath him. He's shed his baboon disguise to the waist, which makes sense, because he's got on his full Kagewaki kimono on under that thing. He must be DYING in that getup.

Naraku asks Kohaku why he failed to kill Kagome, and of course Kohaku stays mute. Uhhh, dude, I think you forgot to turn off puppet-mode. He asks Kohaku if he wants back his human mind even now, which is less of a question and more of a threat, because he places his hand on top of Kohaku's head and tells him to go ahead, just TRY to remember everything. Through Naraku's touch comes a pulse of power straight through Kohaku, and it's not a pick-me-up.

Yeah, if you wanna call THAT living.

Kohaku gives Naraku an obedient affirmation, but he does retain one shred of a memory - the image of a tearful woman whose face just doesn't fade from his mind like the rest. It's too bad that Kohaku's only memory of his sister has to be her poised to murder him. Just more misery heaped upon this poor mentally fucked baby child.

Elsewhere, Sango sits next to Miroku laid out on a mat in what looks like a barn of some sort. Yet another unoccupied building nearby in which Inuyasha and company can squat, I suppose. Sango is apologizing for the fact that Miroku chose to suck up the Saimyoushou's poison for the sake of her and her brother. Seems like the appropriate response to something like that is gratitude instead of an apology for a decision that was out of your hands, Sango, but hey, you do you, girl.

With what seems like great difficulty, Miroku haltingly says Sango's name. She asks what it is, and he tells her not to look so sad. How the fuck SHOULD she look, my dude? Some way that requires less consolation from you? To be fair, it really does seem like it takes him a lot of effort to give her the slightest smile and tell her that there is still hope for Kohaku, so she should smile instead. In order to make it easier for him to concentrate on recover rather than cheering her up, no doubt. Sango agrees and thanks Miroku, but the tears in her eyes don't subside, and she DOESN'T smile.

Turns out it's difficult to look happy on command. Go figure.

Miroku falls silent with a sigh and Sango addresses him out of sudden worry. When he doesn't respond, she leans over him, shaking his shoulder and stuttering for him to wait. She wants him to hang in there, but before she can get out the whole request for him to NOT fucking die on her, his hand moves right up onto her ass.

Miroku can just eat ALL of the shit.

Outside, Kagome is telling Inuyasha that he seems to have grown up, making him ask what she means. As they sit around next to a river, Kagome says, somewhat defensively, that she's praising him, and then explains her observation comes from her saving Kohaku. Inuyasha scoffs, arms crossed in his sleeves and a lofty expression on his face, retorting that he just wanted to annoy Naraku by getting Kohaku back alive eventually. Are... are you arguing that you're a patty child just to be contrary, Inuyasha? To his credit, it IS a pretty accurate and self-aware assessment, JUST based on the fact that he would do that in the first place. He also says that their retrieval of Kohaku with his life intact would be like DEATH to Naraku, which I think is a severe exaggeration.

Kagome just smiles at him and his ridiculously ridiculous need to respond with verbal abuse whenever someone tries to compliment him. Maybe that's actually not something you should be amused by, Kagome? Maybe it's actually a pretty bad habit that is not healthy for ANYONE involved? Hm? Anyway, Inuyasha adds a bit more softly that Kohaku DID leave Kagome alive. This seems to surprise Kagome, prompting her to ask if he was really worried. He snaps back that of COURSE he was worried. Kagome rubs just under the injury on her arm from the incident, admitting that she was also pretty worried, since he was pretty late coming to help.

Inuyasha puts an arm around her, a hand on her shoulder, pulling her close to his side. He apologizes for how much it must have hurt.

Awwwww! It's going to give me cavities!

Someone take notes for Miroku on how to properly comfort a woman in pain, please?

Inuyasha and Kagome sit quietly together for a while, Kagome's heart thumping as Inuyasha's baggy robe rustles in the wind. Oooooor, maybe that's Sango walking up behind them with Shippou on her shoulder, the two of them STARING at the couple like weirdos. Inuyasha and Kagome sure feel awkward, and in a moment jump apart out of embarrassment when Sango apologizes and said she thought she'd thank them. Inuyasha can only make a questioning noise as Kagome asks what the thanks if for in a panic.

Yeah, the explanation doesn't really work unless you say it out loud, Sango.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? An awful lot of things occurred to me throughout reading this one, as it was jam-packed with emotion at every turn. Small things like Inuyasha's fundamentally hopeful comment of "if" regarding the removal of Kohaku's life-sustaining Shikon shard. It wasn't a correction on the pessimism of "when", showing that he deep down he is holding out for a day when they can bring Kohaku home alive, even if they NEVER take out the shard. The implication of his value of the boy's life over the completion of the Shikon no Tama is enormous. Sango's low movement during Inuyasha's interference with her plan to kill Kohaku, not only because she obviously doesn't WANT to murder her brother, but also because she's already been sapped of energy due to all the emotional preamble. The lather she had to work herself into to get to the point of trying to kill Kohaku and then herself was quick to dissipate the moment Inuyasha batted her sword away, and she just looked EXHAUSTED after that. It was incredibly realistic and relatable.

The bigger theme of this chapter is a heavy one, and a tad oversimplified for my taste, but it does at least begin to address the issues of how we treat people with intense trauma. Kagura and Naraku's treatment of Kohaku is in the mindset of erasure - as long as he doesn't feel anything, he's better off. Naraku "medicates" away Kohaku's emotional response to the horrible things he's been made to do, and Kagura smugly tells Inuyasha's group that allowing him to die with this induced obliviousness is a kinder solution to the trauma than letting Kohaku feel it. They pretend benevolence, act like they're doing Kohaku a favor, even when they (or at least Naraku) openly admit that he's only useful to them when he and his emotional state are easier to control. Even then, he's worth more dead than alive, Naraku steering him into situations that should kill him. To Naraku and company, Kohaku is a grunt; a lifeless grenade you can throw into an enemy foxhole, much like any soldier on the battlefield, who must bury everything they are in order to function as a weapon of war for an uncaring evil cause.

While Sango was about to play into that very cause, in her genuine care thinking that the only way to take control back from Naraku was to take away his ability to USE Kohaku any longer, when Inuyasha stepped in with a rather radical idea. Naraku himself said that Kohaku was the one refusing to remember, and that of course implies that if Kohaku willingly took on that pain instead of suppressing it, he could break free from Naraku's control. Inuyasha wants Kohaku to take BACK his autonomy rather than handing it off to someone else in exchange for empty comfort. He wants Kohaku to take BACK his autonomy rather than dying to deprive someone else of the ability to control him.

And this intensely powerful sentiment is important, because it acknowledges how ignoring trauma DOESN'T HELP. In fact, it made Kohaku more vulnerable to further trauma, repetition of the same old issues that he could never deal with before. On the surface it does seem kinder and even more ethical to allow Kohaku to withdraw and disown the pain, but it's doing him and the people around him more harm in the long run. Inuyasha is absolutely right: if Kohaku wants to LIVE, truly live and not just perform prescribed actions in a daze until he's disposed of, he NEEDS to face that trauma and take back his life. Making peace with the horrible things that have happened can not only help to heal him, but also help him recognize when it's happening again, allowing him to fight back.

I very much doubt any of us reading this have trauma as large as Kohaku's, but we ALL have trauma of some sort, and I hope the analysis above can give us the strength to face our personal issues as well. I know I'm all the more aware of mine now, and there are a few people out there to whom, collectively, we should no longer be beholden. Spoiler alert, but Kohaku will eventually bust out of servitude, and I suggest we do the same, one painful step at a time.

Oh, and Miroku's shallow bullshit about not looking sad and smiling, then taking advantage of their vulnerability, doesn't help anymore than erasing peoples' memories altogether. Suggesting that Sango's feelings are somehow illegitimate should have gotten him punched LONG before he touched her butt. He's not cute, he's not funny, and I wish he would fuck right off until he learns to be a decent person.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 240 Beckoning Attack! Pursuing Attack!

Ugh, have I accidentally stumbled onto some kind of criminal e-book? This chapter title sounds like a creepster's self-published guide to trapping and victimizing your local women and/or children. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that's exactly what it is, or going to become once other!Marik writes all his methods down for other Cenobite-wannabes. He's probably organizing the text in his head right now, with examples from this very tournament. No doubt that kind of content would be a hit on the darkweb.

I wish that were the joke it seems like.

This poor kid is just never going to understand friendship, is he? He's JUST as dense as Jonouchi here, who also looks over at Yami with alarm, which I'm sure is a comparison he wouldn't very much appreciate. But fuck him. In response to Jonouchi's expression specifically, Yami promises that he's going to make their plans to face each other come true. Though, once again, I can't really tell if this is spoken aloud or silent.

Either way, Kaiba mutters his displeasure once more while Jonouchi offers Yami a muted thanks. Yami knows that he has to reduce other!Marik and Kaiba's life points to zero in order to ensure he faces Jonouchi in his next match. He thinks at Kaiba that he can't let Jonouchi's life be destroyed. What about not facing you in a Battle City/Alcatraz duel is going to destroy Jonouchi's LIFE, Yami. Don't be so ridiculously...

Oh, oh wait, he's talking about Jonouchi's life POINTS, isn't he? Never mind, a perfectly reasonable reinforcing statement, then. Carry on.

Kaiba has a crisis of mental grammar as he insists that Yami is the only duelist he's destined to win against, their match being, say it again with feeling, his DESTINY. He plans to DRAG Yami to the dueling platform if need be. I suddenly got this vivid image of Kaiba conking Yami over the head with a classic caveman club and dragging him away from Jonouchi by his hair. It's probably what he would HAVE to do, quite honestly, because it has been demonstrated time and again that Kaiba just doesn't have the blessing of "Main Character Magic" on his side.

As they stand speechless in the wake of Yami's not-so-shocking move, Jonouchi studies him from his own perch. He thanks Yami again silently, sensing his devotion to their promise to face each other in the tournament. Jonouchi also wants to fight Yami, but... there is another. Jonouchi turns to look at other!Marik now, knowing that if he doesn't beat THIS guy, he can't save MAI'S life. He's still agonizing over what to do. Jonouchi, it's real simple - a measly promise, or the life of a friend who is also the buddy of the guy with whom you made the promise? I think Yami would understand your need to bail.

Why Yami doesn't ALREADY understand is a bit beyond me, since there could still be conflict in him trying to talk Jonouchi out of going up against the guy who is slowly turning said friend's brain to bug food. I guess KT just wanted to go the shallow route with this one.

Anyway, Jonouchi's musings are interrupted by Kaiba's scoff across from him. Kaiba giggles and says that he knew that Jonouchi would need Yami's protection here. Jonouchi fumes in disbelief as Kaiba goes on to proclaim that Jonouchi is a useless person and a weak duelist. Gee, Kaiba, you didn't seem to think so when you were all smiley over how you thought he'd become a decent duelist back in chapter 199. Yeah, that's right, I remember that shit. I don't remember much, but I remember THAT, especially when Kaiba contradicts it with a trash-talk-envy-tantrum.

Jonouchi demands that Kaiba stop talking shit, but Kaiba just continues to amp up his douchebaggery to eleven with... the most confusing sentence known to man.

... Lol wut?

Kaiba tells Jonouchi to think carefully, and that Yami can't save him. Jonouchi scoffs, glaring at Kaiba warily, becoming shocked and appalled once more in less than a second when Kaiba goes on to say that's the only way Jonouchi will make it up to the final duel platform. What's the only way? Yami's protection? A friendship duel? Fairies? Beats me, but no time to dwell on that when Kaiba has become much more comprehensible in his next panel.

He says there is ZERO chance Jonouchi will make it to the final duel, just as little to win against the others. Kaiba points out that even if they aren't taking into account Jonouchi's subpar skills here, there's still the fact that all THREE of the other duelists he's facing have god cards. It looks like Jonouchi didn't really consider that before this point, because he looks just a tad ill when he groans in response. Kaiba speculates that Yami knows this, and that's the whole reason he's itching to face Jonouchi in the next duel; he's a shoo-in for the final duel if Jonouchi is his opponent. He follows up with something about being too sympathetic toward your opponent will make them too pathetic or sad or something. I don't know, the kid has descended back into incomprehensible gibberish again.

Yami warns Kaiba he'll never be forgiven if he keeps running his mouth. Oh no, I'm sure Kaiba would just be fucking DEVASTATED if you never forgave him, Yami. Sarcasm aside, I'm pretty sure Kaiba hasn't really forgiven YOU for all the shit you've pulled in the past, so at least if you don't forgive him, you'll have taken a minuscule step in the direction of how he must deal. Yami yammers on about how Jonouchi is a real duelist and he got to this point by winning just like everybody else (and side note: getting struck by weird god-lightning NOT like everybody else), when Jonouchi tells him to shut it.

Yes, you read that right - JONOUCHI was the one to say that's enough to YAMI. What a twist. Though Yami protests, Jonouchi assures him that he has his own ideals telling him to keep going until the end and Kaiba's words won't be taken to heart. Not that nonsense like the above is difficult to forget. It was mostly just word-salad anyway.

Wait, I thought THIS was the determining battle right now, not the next one. Just how many duels are they all going to have before one actually COUNTS???

Yami has clammed up, thankfully, giving Jonouchi his silent agreement. Meanwhile, Jonouchi mentally THANKS Kaiba for making his decision a lot easier now. Kaiba giggles away over in his little rail car, and whether to himself or aloud, advises Yami all the same to stop having so much sympathy for the loser-dog. He insists (with mixed speech bubbles again) that he'll battle Yami in the deciding duel. I suppose he's changed his mind about wanting to face him one-on-one? It's wildly unclear whether Yami is looking somewhat disturbed over how fickle Kaiba's affections are or the deranged grin Kaiba is directing at him. Maybe both.

Other!Marik has had enough of the meandering trash-talk and suggests they get this duel back on track, because it's his fucking turn! He recalls his decision to target Yami for his next duel, so he's got to get rid of the other two. He puts one card face down and summons Lord Poison in attack position, some kind of worm with arms and barbs all over it. Then he warns Kaiba to prepare himself as he sends Nyudoryuga after Blood Vors. It's got fewer attack points than its target, though. Kaiba looks a little too excited about this "interesting" development. Yami just deduces that the damn monster has a special ability that makes up for the low attack. He also looks much more concerned, and he's not even the guy getting attacked.

Maybe he DOES have a little too much sympathy for dog-losers, just not the ones Kaiba thinks.

Kaiba orders his Blood Vors to kill Nyudoryuga with its superior attack strength, which it easily does with a swipe of its naginata-looking dealie, reducing Nyudoryuga to a screaming cloud of virtual smoke. To no one's surprise, other!Marik giggles and calls out the activation of the special ability Yami predicted his monster had.

Oh, I'm sorry, did I say to NO ONE'S surprise? I meant no one's except Kaiba's. He looks askance at other!Marik with a touch of worry, who tells him that when Nyudoryuga is sent to the graveyard, he can take one monster on the field with him.

Oh Kaiba, you are CONSTANTLY eating crow.

That second "but" of other!Marik's is preceding his play of a magic card from his hand, the name of which I can't read because it hasn't been translated. No matter, whatever the cards effect, other!Marik directs it toward Jonouchi, as well as an index finger. Jonouchi cringes away from the gesture, but to no avail. His life points have reduced in the interim to 3300, and his car is the first to ascend its track after all. One of the spectators below narrates his loss of points as well as the rising car, as though we couldn't see that shit happening for ourselves.

Yami calls Jonouchi's name, along with Shizuka and Honda on the floor. Jonouchi also looks up, into the long shaft still stretching quite a ways above him, and curses the fact that he's the closest to the top. When he looks back down at the others, he also notes that he's the only one without a monster out there. He has not started well.

Other!Marik is already planning to sacrifice his monster to summon a higher-level one on his next turn. And if anyone tries to attack the one he has now? Well, he's pretty sure his face down card will take care of that. He ends his turn on this mysterious note.

Yami announces his turn, drawing his turn as he notices Kaiba's lack of a monster guarding his points and decides to attack him now while he's vulnerable. He sacrifices his Big Shield to summon the winged, armored, swole Gilfar Demon. Yami warns Kaiba that Gilfar is about to head on over to him, and Kaiba, after Gilfar prepares to launch itself in his direct, says bring it on.

The face down card is Attack Drawing Armor, which Yami identifies as a trap that can change the trajectory of an attack with some trepidation. Kaiba brags that Gilfar's attack will bounce off the armor, presumably to wherever he dictates. He doesn't explicitly say this, but when he trails off dramatically about the Gilfar's attack, and Yami glares nervous and speechless in an extreme closeup, I kinda figure I'm waiting for him to reveal who he's going to blast with the fireball he caught.

Kaiba pretends to deliberate, smirking the whole time. Finally, he points and announces he's reflecting Gilfar's attack at...

Not likely. Remember that face down card other!Marik was talking about earlier? He activates it, and it's the most obvious card ever: Mirror Force. And yet, here Kaiba is, staring in absolute disbelief at the card anyone else would have to TRY to overlook.

Other!Marik starts to offer fake sympathy for all of Kaiba's nonexistent monsters, but is cut off by Yami, who offers REAL smugness and another twist that has other!Marik shocked.

Yami's just got everybody's back up in here, doesn't he? Stringing all three of his boyfriends along is probably not going to get him anywhere.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's a little weird that the pacing here is almost exactly like the previous chapter; slow at the beginning with all the character deliberations, and then stomps on the gas at the end. I hope that's not going to be a pattern for the rest of this match, because I don't think it's very sustainable. We've probably reached a limit in how much deliberating the characters can do now that Jonouchi has at last made his decision about where he wants to end up in this duel. And in an unexpectedly mature way to boot. He's always been extremely easy to tease and provoke, due to his overwhelming need to prove himself. Jonouchi's background of constantly having to fight for respect and basic dignity has no doubt put him in the habit of getting really riled up in the midst of a good roasting. It's interesting to see him having matured enough to recognize that even if he doesn't meet Kaiba's definition of a good duelist, he has his own definition, and no amount of heckling from Kaiba can make him lose sight of his goals. My boy is growing up.

Speaking of Kaiba, THAT one seems to be regressing a bit. I joked before that he seems to be getting dumber, but that really seems to be the case. Every few seconds he's overlooking huge things that he would have noticed fifty chapters ago, and making a lot of impulsive moves like Jonouchi might have in the past, much as he likes to think of himself as "above" the level of Jonouchi. I can think of two possible reasons for this: the first is that Kaiba's eagerness is causing him to get ahead of himself. This current game doesn't affect his standing in the competition, and it's not a one-on-one with the person he's dying to face, so he's a little disengaged right now. His head is simply way in the future, where he gets to duel with Yami over their god cards. We've all been there - getting closer and closer to the destination, becoming more and more impatient with the preliminaries to it. Kaiba's been stuck in the car on a road trip for hours and now that the campsite is in sight, he's losing his shit. As Kaiba does.

The second reason is just that the plot kind of demands that Kaiba be dumb here. If he's as cautious and discerning as he should be, this four-way duel would take all the longer to get through. Kaiba's not the only one who's getting a little antsy for this thing to progress.

Not so anxious not to notice that other!Marik was referring to monsters that don't exist, though. The LACK of monsters in front of Kaiba was the whole reason Yami attacked him in the first place, after all. Unless other!Marik is referring to YAMI'S monster. Is anyone else totally confused by who might be addressed by which comment in this overly convoluted duel? Or is that just me?