Inuyasha tells that proto-boomer to shut it, because this is exactly why he's asking how he can make the Tessaiga lighter. While digging a pinkie finger into his ear idly no less, Toutousai tells Inuyasha to work at it himself in no uncertain terms, but Inuyasha snaps back that he's in a hurry. He hangs his head and admits that he doesn't want to transform anymore. Toutousai makes a noise like he's intrigued, but it's hard to tell when his eyes are popping out of his skull in permanent surprise like that.
As he recalls the small-fry who drove him to the brink and the way he batted the heads of the bandits off their shoulders, Inuyasha talks about how he shamefully lost all reason. He says he's had it with all that, and it gives him the creeps. Toutousai nods along with the story, humming in understanding, but doesn't offer a solution like Inuyasha had come there for. He doesn't notice, though, because he's busy glaring down his cheek before pulling away his forelock of hair to reveal a feeding Myouga the flea, whom he greets with a flat expression. Myouga pulls out (well if THAT isn't the euphemism of the century right there) to offer his insistence that he's so glad Inuyasha is alright, but Inuyasha cuts him off with slap to his neck, flattening Myouga right out. As he flutters down into Inuyasha's withdrawn hand again like a piece of paper confetti, he says that he was worried about Inuyasha, but Inuyasha scoffs and accuses him of just sheltering from danger under Toutousai's roof.
And that's not the ONLY thing Inuyasha is pissed about. He asks Myouga how he DARED hiding it from him. Myouga stammers a denial, a stuttering question on what Inuyasha could be talking about, and Inuyasha yells at him not to play dumb, clarifying he's referring to the connection between Tessaiga and his monster transformations. He says that Kagome told him about it instead, recalling how she broke it to him with that same sad expression she had in the last chapter that Tessaiga suppresses his youkai blood, and when it was broken, that blood was awakened. She said that this is why, from now on, he shouldn't relinquish Tessaiga, to avoid any future instances where his body will transform to protect itself.
Which I guess works well even when its poisoned to the point of literally melting. Extraordinarily well, in fact.
In Inuyasha's recollection, Kagome apologizes for not telling him before, because if he'd know maybe this whole mess wouldn't have happened. She trails off in this speculation, but there's no doubt that she's bearing some heavy guilt about the might-have-beens here. But presently, Inuyasha is sure that even if he HAD known, he's just not strong enough to be able to keep Tessaiga in his hands. He leaves the consequences of him not being able to use Tessaiga hanging, but there's a LOT of implications hanging onto the end of that supposition.
So Toutousai scoffs himself, and asks for confirmation that Inuyasha that his experience has made him sure he never wants to transform again. Inyasha hangs his head in a nod; affirmative. Toutousai looks to the ceiling and hums, saying there's no help for it.
No one has to be confused for long, though. The explanation is that Ryuukossei is a youkai Inuyasha's father fought and sealed. While Inuyasha walks through a remote forest, he remembers Toutousai asking why he thinks Tessaiga is so heavy. It's apparently because the fang of Inuyasha's that is now binding the pieces of the sword after it broke isn't nearly as strong as the original one from his father. Inuyasha surmises that this means, in theory, that he can surpass his father's strength if he can rip apart the youkai his father couldn't. Seems logical. Kind of.
Myouga is hanging with Inuyasha during this journey through the woods, and says that there will be no need for ripping anything apart. Otherwise Myouga wouldn't be there, obvi. He tells Inuyasha that just piercing Ryuukossei's heart while it sleeps is sufficient. Inuyasha asks Myouga if he won't be actually FIGHTING the thing, then, and Myouga snaps at him not to be ridiculous. He lectures the pouting, surly Inuyasha that the inu-daddy couldn't finish off Ryuukossei even when he sealed it. Inuyasha mumbles that Myouga's suggested solution is essentially just killing someone in their sleep, hardly an honorable or STRONG action to take.
While Myouga threatens not to show Inuyasha the way if he keeps complaining, and Inuyasha barks back a question of who Myouga thinks he's talking to, a familiar wasp-like insect buzzes on a nearby branch, watching the duo argue. It rises into the air and flies away, no doubt in the direction of Naraku to offer some intel.
Meanwhile, someone is addressing Toutousai, who seems to have made the trek down from his volcano into the regular old woods too.
Toutousai continues to make excuses by claiming that even if Inuyasha could use Tessaiga easily, he wouldn't master it. Gee, that sure is a higher priority than Inuyasha's sentience and the LIVES of everyone around him for sure. Would Toutousai be one of those ghouls asking people to get sick and die for the sake of the economy in the middle of a fucking pandemic in real life? Say it ain't so, my dude. Kagome offers not righteous indignation in the face of his blathering so much as depressed protest when she says that Inuyasha is suffering a LOT though. Miroku explains that Inuyasha killed humans, even if they were of the bandit variety. Toutousai scoffs, and says this is exactly why he told Inuyasha in the beginning that anyone okay with killing humans isn't qualified to carry Tessaiga.
... Are you trying to pass this off as some sort of hint? A little nugget of fucking wisdom that Inuyasha could have interpreted and extrapolated? Proto-boomer indeed...
Atop a rocky outcrop opposite a sheer cliff surrounded by a whistling wind, Inuyasha stares in the direction the bouncing Myouga on his shoulder dictates. A shape stands out against the cliffside through the mists, and Myouga says THIS is Ryuukossei.
Anyway, Myouga tells Inuyasha that that big-ass
Naraku doesn't say a damn word as he kneels to place a gentle palm on the claw, which begins to melt away from the miasma of his touch. It rapidly decays out from under him and he jumps into the air rather than fall into what I assume is a canyon below. Naraku seems to disappear just as suddenly as he came onto the scene, and the claw keeps melting away as Inuyasha and Myouga look on, the latter fretting about the seal. Yeah dude, it's going, going, GONE.
Naraku is now on top of the cliff above Ryuukossei's head, giggling evilly. He refers to Inuyasha as the son of the hated man who sealed Ryuukossei, and tells it to fight to its heart's content, as though it's one of Naraku's underlings. I'm surprised it didn't turn around and bitch-slap the shit out of him for acting like he's the boss of its two faces. Inuyasha gapes as rock debris falls down all around him, still in some shock, I guess.
Myouga is freaking out, urging Inuyasha to flee with him to safety, but Inuyasha has gotten over his alarm and asks what Myouga is blithering on about. Inuyasha was never comfortable with the prospect of stabbing someone who can't fight back.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Man did Toutousai tick me off in this one. Perhaps I'm just really OVER old dudes refusing to take responsibility for hiding a very serious threat from the people who could be hurt by it, but I'm far less impressed with him than I usually am this time around. He's acting like Inuyasha just wants to take the most expedient route to mastering his sword even though it's been explained to him by multiple people at this point that Inuyasha's situation is pretty dire, making him rather hard to stomach right now. Of course, that makes Inuyasha all the more sympathetic, because what kid reading this HASN'T had valuable information withheld from them by an authority who thought that they just weren't ready for it, or didn't need to know? It's actually a pretty common issue among children and teens, even the so-called "mature" ones like I was deemed. You kind of get the impression it's because the adult in the situation wants to hold a little something over your head to always make sure you need them for something when it happens, and those are the kinds of vibes Toutousai is giving off at the moment.
Then again, you can't blame an old fuck for consistently underestimating the kid who always rushes headlong into conflicts and only tries to strategize when bum rushing an opponent doesn't work.
I was very taken aback by how similar Ryuukossei's sealing looked to Inuyasha's. We're almost 200 chapters into this series by now, so it's not like the reuse of imagery and the like is out of the question; Sesshoumaru practically had a CLONE in Gatenmaru in the previous arc, as far as motives and attitude went. And yet, there's something odd about Inuyasha having to overcome a foe that was sealed in much the same way he was, while the sealer, much like Kikyou, died very shortly after the encounter. Toutousai mentioned earlier in the chapter that the reason Tessaiga was so heavy was because his own fang, his own lagging strength, is weighing it down, literally. Could the parallel between Inuyasha and Ryuukossei be another symbol pointing toward Inuyasha's struggle against himself to live up to the legacy of his father?
Or am I reading too much into this?
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