But since I'm on social-distancing lockdown, MY list of entertainments have expanded to even some of the most menial things. He can sue me if he doesn't like it.
Kagome screams Inuyasha's name from the air, the only safe place to do so, I'm sure. Meanwhile, Ryuukossei's humanoid face is looking down at Inuyasha's prone form with mild surprise. A pulse is emanating from Inuyasha, youki Ryuukossei questions, given how different it is from before.
Then... JUMP SCARE.
From his perch on Kirara, Miroku observes the unfortunate fact that Inuyasha has gone feral again. Toutousai stares down at the scene silently, wondering what Inuyasha will do. He COULD fight Ryuukossei with his transformed claws and survive for the moment, but it won't make Tessaiga lighter. Nobody ever got good at baking cakes by chopping lettuce, after all.
Snarling, Inuyasha lunges, and Ryuukossei responds with a disgusted epithet, blasting Inuyasha again with his dragon-mouth fireball thing. Inuyasha leaps off to the side as it reaches him and holds up his lengthened claws to crack his knuckles threateningly. But he isn't just barking.
The force of this blow forces Ryuukossei to lose a little balance in his coil, unfurling backward slightly. Miroku, ever Captain Obvious, remarks in surprise that Inuyasha's attack knocked Ryuukossei back. After a moment, Toutousai replies with authority that they're all withdrawing. Kagome of course demands to know why they should do that, and Toutousai aks if she can't SEE Inuyasha fighting in his youkai form. Myouga literally jumps into frame, to Kagome's alarm, and arguing that if they stay where they are, Inuyasha may come and attack them after Ryuukossei, since his judgement is getting worse after every transformation. He warns Kagome, somewhat callously, that she will NOT be an exception. Kagome gives him a soft glare, and it's hard to tell if she's pissed at him or if she's slightly worried that he may be right.
Regardless, she doesn't make a fuss, just tells Myouga that she understands and advises HIM to run away. He makes a noise of disbelief as Kagome implores Toutousai to let her down on the ground so she can stay here. He begins to protest, but she cuts him off, insisting that she understands the reasons behind fleeing, however in her mind she knows that running away and leaving Inuyasha while he's fighting isn't something she can bring herself to do.
Inuyasha makes a low hissing noise while his youki-induced markings and blood red eyes recede. Ryuukossei rumbles still some distance away, clearly a bit wary of what this literal fucking insect is doing as he notes Inuyasha's youki is ebbing. Once we get a nice close-up of Inuyasha's normal eyes returned to normal, he begins to grumble disjointedly about how Ryuukossei thinks he's SO superior to someone's sword with his great big body. It's not like he's demonstrated how the sword doesn't quite cut it, or anything. I mean, if you'll pardon my pun.
Kagome's face splits into a grin as she says Inuyasha's name in joy and relief. Toutousai's eyes bug out, but it's hard to tell if it's out of surprise, since that's just how his eyes are. Ryuukossei expresses some amusement about the threat, finding the conditions of a dull blade and a weak form not very credible. Inuyasha yells at him to shut it, because it's useless for him to fight without the sword.
At that moment, Tessaiga gives off a powerful pulse. Inuyasha looks down at it with surprise; it's not his imagination that it's really getting lighter. Well wasn't THAT easy. Didn't even have to kill anybody.
Ryuukossei's blast throws more debris into the air when it hits the ground, and Inuyasha bursts from the dust cloud triumphantly, right in Ryuukossei's shocked face. Inuyasha's friends all gape, staring in shocked silence as Inuyasha strikes the spot where his father's claw was true, sliding the blade into the vulnerable unscaled spot not far below Ryuukossei's ajar dragon mouth. A spurt of blood flows from around the edges of Tessaiga.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Is there some sort of voice-activation mechanism in Tessaiga that responds to certain phrases? Because this happened way back when he first got the sword too, transformed by Inuyasha's resolution to protect Kagome. I didn't think too hard about it at that point, because it was Tessaiga's first appearance and EVERYTHING about it was new and strange. It wasn't really possible to point out one aspect, due to no "normal" being established yet. I focused more on the characters in my analysis at the time.
But now this second occurrence defines a pattern, a kind of silly mechanic that I have to wonder at. Is Tessaiga really reacting to Inuyasha's words, or the feelings behind them? I think that's the implication, but then why does the reaction only really happen after the words expressing existing feelings/intentions? In this particular case, Inuyasha's will to fight with Tessaiga was so strong that he overcame his own youkai blood that has been making him more and more irrational every time it takes over, so it's not like his commitment needed affirmation to make it real in this instance. Perhaps one could argue that Inuyasha is still so disconnected with his feelings that he needs to articulate them for them to be truly obvious to HIM, and therefore TESSAIGA by extension. It's not too much of a stretch, since he's been known to have a lot of trouble expressing himself in many different emotional issues. Then again, he's also been known to be surprisingly candid and fluid with his expression too, and there's not a lot to distinguish between one of these or the former instances.
All in all, this is a head-scratcher, even if it's one I won't lose sleep over. Not when it was so badass for Inuyasha to overcome what should have been his worst case of spontaneous bloodlust yet. This, at least, is understandable to me. It struck me as his knocked-out consciousness waking up in a similar way to how one might become lucid during a dream - he saw Tessaiga and recognized its distance from him as a sign that he'd entered an altered state. Those steps he took to recognize his loss of control and direct himself, stumbling in a dreamlike lack of coordination, were almost creepy in how they portrayed his internal struggle. It read like one of those nightmares where you can't move, or are moving too slowly, frustrated at your paralysis. Definitely bumped up my ability to relate to what's going on.
And yet, Kagome's inability to leave Inuyasha in this situation, no matter how dangerous it might be for her, was also so REAL. We know Kagome has her own stubbornness, and it has most often manifested in argumentative bursts, but this quiet resolution to stand in absolute support of Inuyasha gave this somewhat frustrating trait of hers so much dignity. I've never been in such a position myself, thank ALL THE GODS, but her devotion was still palpable enough to make me choke up a little. She loves him so much.
Although to be fair I might just be cracking under the pressure of lockdown.
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