You know you're an adult when your three-day weekend is filled with plans to do chores. Can't just fill all my free time with writing and crafting and all that other witchery like some ancient Greek noble, because it turns out that free time isn't free, and when it is, you're usually too exhausted from daily obligations to do anything productive with it. Better than having a host of slaves who do all of your adulting for you while you lie around coming up with shitty nonsensical ideas, though. SOMEBODY always has to do the real work, whether it's cooking dinner, or MAKING dinner of the mistress's enemies while she inflicts agonizing curses on people who resemble her former rival.
At least it gets a good meal out of this arrangement, even if I think menial chores might be more dignified. But I suppose those big clumsy paws wouldn't have the dexterity needed to pull off most housework.
Probably would have been better off with the birdlike talons it had in the last chapter.
Inuyasha curses this damn small-fry, and thinks that if Kagome's life wasn't in Tsubaki's hands, he could kill it with one blow. Kagome leans on Sango, sweating and grimacing as the Shikon shards in her neck pulse with evil energy, and Sango asks in alarm if she's in pain. Apparently the prior clues were not enough. Miroku deduces that Tsubaki must be intending to kill Kagome after she's taken care of Inuyasha, so Sango asks him if there's not any way to break the curse, since he's so smart and observant after all.
As a matter of fact, Miroku DOES seem to have an idea. He recalls Kagome saying she'd been bitten by something before she collapsed, which he asserts must be the dark miko's shikigami. The snake coiled around Tsubaki's shoulders struck him as the shikigami, a medium for the curse, so he lunges forward, reaching under his collar. Sango calls out to him in concern, but he's focused on killing that snake. Miroku throws his paper charms straight out at it from a distance, and Tsubaki recognizes the slips as exorcism ofuda with a scowl.
And he makes fun of Inuyasha for being impulsive and rash.
Tsubaki scoffs as she lifts a big bell sleeve to intercept the paper charm and reduce it to burning ash before it can reach her snake, telling them that it's useless and her curse cannot be broken with a self-satisfied smirk. Inuyasha has to push Miroku out of the way as a gigantic paw comes crashing toward them, driving a trench into the ground where they were just standing. A gigantic disappointing PAW instead of a cool bird talon. Sorry, I don't think I'm going to get over this.
Holding up the corrupted Shikon no Tama like it's an hors d'oeuvre at a fancy party, Tsubaki tells those fools that they're ensuring that Kagome's suffering will be drawn out. Oh, shifting the blame for one's horrible actions and pretending that better treatment depends upon their caving to unreasonable demands is such a power move, expertly done... until she squeezes her fingers closed over the jewel and admits that she does indeed have the option to just kill Kagome sooner rather than later. Inconsistent ownership of power is inconsistent.
Or perhaps she's just grasping at a level of control she knows deep down she doesn't really have. An arrow flies toward her and embeds itself in the stair just slightly behind her and to the right.
Man is Tsubaki LUCKY that arrow didn't land - she should ask her good buddy Naraku how one of those things feels when it actually hits you.
Inuyasha looks back at Kagome, shouting her name in concern as she groans in pain. Tsubaki asks how she can still be moving, simply LIVID that Kagome has any energy at all to fight back right now. Kagome draws another arrow, and retorts by questioning the strength of Tsubaki's powers of concentration. Haltingly, of course, considering the effort involved. Tsubaki returns to her mild annoyed glare at Kagome, concluding that this little recovery of defiance came in the split second when she was distracted by Miroku's paper charm, and admitting that it was no lie that Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. But she smirks again and says that if Kagome were the REAL Kikyou, that arrow would have hit her, so Kagome seems to her a pale shadow of her former incarnation.
Kagome's hackles are raised now, glaring daggers at Tsubaki and practically spitting in anger as she begins her rebuttal.
"And 'Kagome' has unfortunately picked up a bit of her boyfriend's bad aim!!"
Tsubaki yells at Kagome that she's speeding up her own demise, holding out the blackened jewel.
Shit, no wonder Kagome was so disturbed by that initial bite next to the well; that thing took a TON of blood!
Kagome collapses on her face in the grass, Sango yelling her name and reaching out an impotent and hovering hand. Inuyasha rushes toward her and sweeps her out of the way just as that giant dog/fox/not-bird thing slams its paw where she was just laying on the ground, forcing Sango to leap out of its way as well. As he carries her, Inuyasha calls Kagome's name again, in a panic on seeing her limp form in his arms. He's convinced that if things keep going the way they are, Kagome won't be able to stand this much more.
Well, it KIND OF looks like a talon again. I guess.
Inuyasha gets right in Kagome's face and asks desperately if she can hold on for just a little longer. After a short pause, she says yes, shards in her neck still glowing in dark malice. Inuyasha still hesitates to stare down at her in worry, but turns to face the advancing youkai, promising silently that he definitely won't let her be killed. He tells that wimpy dog/fox to get lost and tears through it with his claws alone, giving it the good ol' Sankon Tessou that breaks all its fangs and rips it all to shreds. The ground-up youkai flesh rains down upon Miroku and Sango as they regard Inuyasha with gapes and worried calls as he makes a bee-line for Tsubaki.
With an exclamation that this is it, Inuyasha swipes down with his already bloodied claws at Tsubaki, taking the head off of her creepy horned snake. Tsubaki stares wide-eyed at the headless snake, and Miroku praises Inuyasha's good work as he rushes toward the fallen snake's head with his staff at the ready. He stabs the end right in between the horns on the snake's head, and the thing sizzles like a sinister little delicacy in a pan. I'm actually not hungry, I don't know where that simile came from.
Inuyasha tells Tsubaki to give it up, still crouched and claws curled post-attack. Tsubaki gives him a LOOK in silence for a moment.
Of COURSE this disaster of a sub-plot refuses to be wrapped up easily. I shouldn't have let Miroku's position as the educated one with smart solutions give me hope that this mess is coming to a close. What was I thinking?
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Despite my salty comment preceding analysis, I was actually semi-PLEASED with this one. Finally, I'm able to see a kernel of meaningful narrative here that's not clouded with a bunch of contrived circumstance; the overarching point is Kagome being a distinct person from Kikyou, even as she's being tangled in Kikyou's prior issues and relationships. This situation emerges from an old enemy of Kikyou's targeting Kagome for nothing more than the spiritual association, but this is just a microcosm for Kagome's struggle over most of the story thus far.
Periodically up until this point, Kagome has been mistaken for Kikyou, been thrust into her old role, engaged with Kikyou's ex-lover in increasingly romantic ways, and every step of the way, there has been an undercurrent of expectation pertaining to her identity. Even when Kikyou is thrust back into the world and a direct contrast between her personality and Kagome's can be made, there are still characters who will bend over backwards to see them as the same. Tsubaki, for the sake of her burning hatred of Kikyou and desire to defeat her, is determined to merge the two individuals, regardless of the fact that she literally just ENCOUNTERED the actual Kikyou and didn't exactly defeat her this time either. In fact, that's the point. It suits her to cast Kagome as a weaker Kikyou so that she can get her revenge and win without nearly the effort or risk involved with confronting the real Kikyou. Just as it suits the purposes of everyone else who has seen Kagome as Kikyou-approximate up until now.
Kagome's struggle to get out from under Kikyou's shadow becomes a bit more defined in a literal fight to establish her identity here, instead of a vague background radiation in her life on the feudal side of the well. Before this point, Kagome seems to lead a mostly charmed existence, and her issues don't really extend past a tendency toward jealousy for Kikyou and falling ever behind in school. But this arc does manage to clarify Kagome's overarching problem; the drive to define herself outside the narrow perimeters set for her in this world, a problem 99% of the teenagers reading the series should be able to identify with right away. It's actually a fantastic metaphor for the adolescent finding themselves and striving for a way to express their unique perspective.
To be clear, my prior criticisms of this arc stand. While I'm impressed with the message emerging, part of that positive impression is the fact that it came out of such utter chaos and confusion. I mean, the point was so buried under convenient contrivances and forced positioning of the characters (I'm still scratching my head over the total absence of Inuyasha putting up a fight to be part of going to kill the baddie) that I'm surprised the whole point managed to come out at all.
And don't get me started again on the switch from talons to paws on that dog-thing. I LIKED the chicken feet, dammit.
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