Inuyasha Manga: 204 Day Break

A little late, isn't it? I've been checking my watch impatiently for MONTHS now, thinking that the night HAS to be over soon, all while I keep getting a sucker punch from a new angle every five seconds. Since it's dark, it's impossible to tell where these hooks and jabs are coming from, so I can't duck or brace myself. What makes this all the worse is that there are a lot of other people getting even MORE sucker punches than I am, and asking even more desperately for a little light on the fucking horizon so we can fight back already. 

But I have a feeling that relief is a bit further in the future for us than it is for Inuyasha, and not just because we're living in nightmare year 2020.

Insurrection always looks easy to privileged jerkwads who've never had a jackboot on their necks before. Or been sucker punched in the dark.

Kouga shouts from Kirara's back that Kagura's smell is coming closer as they continue to head in her direction. He surprises the hell out of Kagome and a little out of Inuyasha by leaping right over Kirara's head and sprinting ahead. He at least takes a moment to twist and give Kagome his thanks before saying that he's officially ditching them. Kagome starts to protest, referencing his wounds, but Kouga brags that they're already healed because he's a REAL youkai, unlike some dope he refuses to name. Inuyasha bristles, because he's not dopey enough to miss that Kouga is talking about him, and starts screaming like a hyper toddler about who the actual loser is here. Delivery aside, though, Kouga IS the one that got his ass handed to him by Kagura just a couple of chapters ago, so...

Miroku ignores Inuyasha's crowing and suggests to Sango as he runs up behind Kagome's bike that it would practically be a miracle for Kouga to turn around and defeat Kagura after losing so badly to her before. Sango agrees, then turns to demand that Kirara drop Inuyasha. The great saber-tooth cat shakes its back so Inuyasha slips off sideways in a mild confusion, right along with Shippou. When he hits the ground, he yells at Kirara in offense as Sango hops into the spot he just vacated. Sango twists around, advising him to be quieter, but Inuyasha insists that he's coming with and that she stop kidding around. Right before he gets Miroku's staff to the back of his head, knocking him silly. Miroku chastises the dazed Inuyasha for being so impatient; his patronizing way of saying that the very human Inuyasha ain't going NOWHERE.

Overhead, a couple of giant wasps are spotted, Kagome identifying them as the Saimyoushou. Miroku says Naraku seems to be making a move, and that it'll be very bad if Inuyasha is seen in his current form. 

My sentiments these days exactly, Kagura.

She leaps back from the oncoming boomerang to avoid it, then lands in a crouch on the ground, only to see Kouga standing a short distance away. He looks pretty mad, cracking his knuckles and calling her a bitch. Kagura sardonically asks if there's something else he wants. You know, other than another ass-whooping, presumably. He yells at her to shut up, because he's there to take back the Shikon shards she stole. She fails to look intimidated, smirking that this must be why he brought Inuyasha's crew, for reinforcements. Kagura holds up the very Shikon fragments to which he's referring, asking if he's really so afraid to fight alone without them. 

Kouga seems to be distracted from her mocking by demanding Sango not get in the way, though, snapping at her as she continues to fly on Kirara at his back. Sango responds with indignant disbelief, but Kouga tells her not to forget he has claws and fangs, in a panel where he is drawn distinctly without claws. Oops. Anyway, Kouga claims he's going to crush Kagura, who dares him to just try it, lifting her fan for the attack. 

Maybe I'm just not strategically savvy, but it really doesn't look like this guy is doing ANYTHING different than he was when Kagura beat him up a few minutes ago. In fact, he's immediately driven back by several wind blades, groaning in his renewed failure. He admits silently that just dodging her blades is taking everything he has, and he can't get close enough to Kagura. Untouched and annoyed, Kagura tells him to hurry up and drop dead, then lets loose a particularly aggressive slash when she yells that she doesn't have time to waste on him. Kouga has to leap to the side to avoid it, cursing. 

Kagura is still dwelling on Sesshoumaru's advice to use the shards herself to defeat Naraku if she wants to be free, to which she finally responds with a mental scoff and the claim that she knows. That using the shards herself is her only option? That she wants to be free? Not clear. As Kouga staggers to his feet in the rubble her hail of wind blades has created, and Sango continues to hover in the background, suggesting that this has become a one-sided battle, Kagura considers using the Shikon fragments clutched in her fist. 

Sango looks around at a dark cloud growing in the sky behind her, which happens to be another of Naraku's youkai hordes, much to Kagura's surprise. Sango also identifies them with some shock, but Kagura is practically frozen at the mention of Naraku, his name echoing in her head. As Sango curses and swings her Hiraikotsu to slash through a few of them on their way toward her, Kagura's mind races with the question of whether Naraku has noticed she's trying to betray him yet, or perhaps is making another move altogether. 

Kouga lunges at her, demanding to know what's got her staring vacantly like that. 

Not that he's above taking advantage of the opportunity vacant stares afford him, of course. 

As she was hit, the Shikon shards flew from her hand, letting out a high-pitched ring as they fell to the ground. Kouga recognizes them and makes a grab for them where they landed, but Kagura is quick to respond with one of her whirlwind flicks of her fan. Kouga's hand is shredded while he's reaching for the fragments, and he is flung away from them by the multiplying tornadoes as Kagome and Inuyasha show up on her bike accompanied by Miroku on foot. 

They peek out from some nearby forest to find Kouga struggling, and Inuyasha is quick to point out Kouga can't begin to compete. Kagome is afraid that if they let him continue to fight alone, he'll die, so Inuyasha steps forward and tells a wide-eyed Miroku not to stop him this time. Kagome says his name in concern, and Miroku asks Inuyasha if he plans on saving Kouga, clearly not keen on repeating his knock-out strategy before. Probably would have to contend with me creating a GIF of Archer ranting about how bad being knocked unconscious is for you.

Yeah, I'm stoked for a new season of Archer. Sue me.

Inuyasha tells Miroku to get real, and that he's just going to retrieve those Shikon shards, because if Kouga is thrown out of the ring, Kagura is just going to run off with them again. He insists he won't just stand by and watch that happen as he runs onto the scene. All-Seeing-Sango happens to glance behind her again and see Inuyasha heading into the fray, saying his name apprehensively. 

But wait! He's not COMPLETELY out of his mind! REALLY.

He's just cutting it stupidly close, that's all. It's a wonder the kid managed to live THIS long, sheesh.

Kouga groans, sprawled on the ground and bleeding fresh. Kagura emerges from the cloud of settling dust to mockingly call him a sore loser. She slashes down through the air with her closed fan, telling Kouga to go to his final resting place, as though he can just get up and walk to wherever he wants to rot once she kills him. It's a weird phrase, is what I'm saying. Another whirlwind forms out of the air, its point jabs down at Kouga, shredding the ground and flinging debris everywhere when it touches down. Smiling, Kagura assumes she got Kouga. 

Wow, Kagura, how did you miss this screaming idiot launching himself onto the scene? Not just him, either, but Miroku, who appears to have dragged Kouga out of the tornado's direct path. Both Kouga and Kagura stare from opposite sides of Inuyasha's transformation in disbelief as his hair lightens, teeth sharpen, and ears become pointed and migrate higher on his head. The last of the black is quickly fading from his head when he addresses Kagura, betting it was pretty boring to knock around that wimpy wolf behind him. 

Took you long enough, didn't it?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm kind of torn on what to think about the reckless actions of most of the characters at the forefront of this chapter. From Kouga rushing into another fight with Kagura clearly without having thought of a strategy to get close enough for a melee advantage, to Inuyasha rushing to grab those shards despite sunrise being close enough to hang back for less of a chance of his human form being discovered, to Kagura's sudden laser focus (after daydreaming for the first part of the fight) on toying with Kouga and utterly failing to notice anything else happening, including Inuyasha's arrival with an interesting appearance, it seems like everyone was written a bit dumb here. This is another installment that strikes me like an idea that RT couldn't abandon due to time constraints, despite the characters not really fitting into the roles required, so she just forced them into the mold and carried on with it regardless.

It's also giving me the STRONG impression that RT is just avoiding writing genuine strategy into her battles. This is one of the things that I feel makes Inuyasha a poor fit as a shounen title. RT is clearly not good at weighing advantages and disadvantages of opponents in battle scenes - just creating an obvious underdog that has ALL the disadvantages and an obvious antagonist who has all the advantages. This can work well when the protagonist has a clever way to counter and win in the end, but not when the underdog is so mismatched that they have to be pulled out of the fight, TWICE. Kouga was so ridiculously incompetent in this fight that Kagura had her head half in the clouds the whole time and he still got his ass kicked. It wasn't fun to see play out, just a little sad and unsatisfying. I want to see Kouga come up with a plan to counter and come back out on top, but he has to lose again just as bad this time to justify Inuyasha stepping in to save the day. 

Which isn't to make Inuyasha appear heroic so much as impulsive and antsy. He's been portrayed as genuinely savvy in the past, but lately I'm beginning to think RT is actually trying to make him out to be actually stupid. Yes, it was a valid point that Kagura would have run away with the Shikon shards the moment Kouga was out for the count, but why it had to be HIM that went in to retrieve the shards when Miroku was right there and able until Inuyasha was could show himself without risk is murky. It comes across as a contrived justification to get the image of Inuyasha changing from human to hanyou before Kagura's eyes on the page and create the tension of an enemy perhaps knowing Inuyasha's secret. 

Much like in the Tsubaki arc, RT seems either unable or unwilling to put in the work necessary for properly justifying the actions of her characters, and this is getting worryingly common. I'm beginning to wonder if I've managed to ignore this clunky writing to preserve my love of these characters for literal years. 

Oops.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 262 As a Friend

Oh no, poor Kaiba. He had to end the previous chapter in a PTSD-induced ramble about how his hatred won't subside and he wants desperately to just destroy all his traumatic past, and now Yami is going to break the news that he's friend-zoned too? Kaiba doesn't even LIKE friendship, either, barely even able to wrap his "genius" brain around the concept, so that's going to be a double insult. Imagine your hate-crush coming up to you and telling you the like you as a friend, and you don't even know what that IS.

I do not envy this kid. Not at ALL.

A double-whammy! But surely it couldn't stand up to the triple threat of the fused Sinatras?

Fist raised in a frankly confusing gesture, Yami says he knew Kaiba would use Monster Reborn to get all three Blue Eyes White Dragons back out and for the ultimate dragon between them, so he used Double Magic to steal Kaiba's spell and bring out HIS ultimate monster too. Kaiba admits that this is indeed the case, mighty big of him to do so, but he states the Ultimate Blue Eyes has 4500 attack points and asks if the Dark Magician with a sword can stand up to that. Yami in turn admits that the Dark Paladin only has 2900 attack points, but vagues that it also has Buster Blader's special effect. Because they all have secret powers the minute these kids need them. Kaiba grimaces in worry at the notion. If that sounds like an odd expression to you, you are not wrong.

Yami confirms that the special effect exists, one that increases Dark Paladin's attack power for every dragon out and about. He counts two whole dragons - Red-Eyes and Kaiba's Ultimate Blue Eyes. That powers up Yami's Dark Paladin to a whopping 3900 points. It would be impressive if Kaiba's monster weren't a whole 600 points stronger, but at least it's not an unmanageable gap anymore. 

Kaiba makes a sound like he's stuffing a baked good in his gob that I guess is supposed to be a scoff. He wonders if Yami really thinks he was liable to fall for this, given Yami still has two unknown face down cards hanging out in plain sight on the other end of the platform. This is a guy who has been known not only to ignore face down cards when attacking, but imply worrying at all about what they are is weakness and cowardice, so I don't know why he thinks it's an uncharitable assumption to make now. As Yami glares at him from across the platform, Kaiba says he expects Yami already knows that fusion monsters aren't allowed to attack during the turn they're summoned, so he's good to go with his turn now. Funny how Kaiba managed to explain that little rule even though he thought his opponent was already savvy; it's almost as if there's an audience he's talking to or something...

Yami agrees that it's his turn, draws a card dramatically, as you do, and reiterates silently that his face down Magic Formula card increases his spellcaster's attack by 500 points. Acknowledging that's just a tad too little to defeat Kaiba's dragon, he opts to bet on a new card that I assume he plays face down, because there's no announcement of what it is.

Well, if that wasn't the shortest, least agonized-over turn with the most abrupt end I've ever seen in this whole damn comic! 

Kaiba no doubt realizes he's lifted his hand much too high to actually draw a card, so he lowers it to snatch a card from his Duel Disk like he's ripping stolen property from a thief's hands, and finds it's Absorb Spell. His thumb is in the way, so I can't make out anything about the card's effect except that it's a trap activated when the opponent uses a spell to increase attack points. Ah, dramatic irony. Kaiba does his dorky laugh, plays that card face down with a haughty announcement, then points at Yami and tells him to get ready to be buried along with the detestable past. He suggests Yami make peace with himself, while internally making smug proclamations that he'll surpass everything, become the lone king of duelists, and ascend to a higher plane of being. This kid actually thinks winning this tournament would be a spiritual experience for him. How high can his expectations BE??

Yami says Kaiba's name, again trying to explain to him that even if he manages to beat his hated rival here, he'll only find an endless chain of hatred on the other side of that victory. Patronizing to the MAX, Yami insists that until Kaiba listens to his repeated lectures, he'll never escape the darkness. Kaiba just scoffs and says that hatred and anger give HIM the power to dominate everything, so Yami challenges him to strike with all his hatred if he really thinks that's going to defeat him.
 

Kaiba is both unimpressed with Yami's usage of the title, even though Yami gets a little golf-clap from me, and not impacted at all by the assertion that Yami is his friend, which usually sends him into a fit of pure confusion and pissiness. Then again, there's really no way of telling if Yami said any of that friendly shit about exorcising Kaiba's hate demons out loud or not, as usual. Kaiba DOES grin and wrinkle his nose like a growling dog, though, and permits Yami to say whatever he wants. Heartfelt speeches spoken aloud or not, Kaiba insists he's going to win this thing, RIGHT NOW. He shouts that this is it and commands his ultimate dragon to do an ultimate attack.

Yami grits his teeth as the giant fireball advances, a little bit offset from the dragons' mouths, strangely, so it kind of looks like the attack is heading towards them instead. Anyway, Yami reveals his Magic Formula card as he had planned, but Kaiba retorts with a cheeky grin that he knew Yami would try that. As Yami's eyes grow wide and his jaw locks in alarm, Kaiba flings out his arm and declares the trigger of his Absorb Spell card. In addition to the whole of the card's text being visible now, Kaiba offers another pompous and unnecessary explanation of its effect; transferring the point increase on Yami's monster over to his own. Yami is in utter shock that Ultimate Blue Eyes gets yet another 500 points added to its attack power, but my jaded ass is skeptical as hell that he's ACTUALLY taken off guard this late in the game. 

Kaiba laughs like the maniac he is as his dragon's heads charge up for another laser blast? I'm confused, what happened to the first Ultimate Burst above? Is Kaiba just getting a do-over to retroactively attack with 5000 points instead of 4500? How unfair is THAT?

But I guess when you're up against the magical spirit protagonist, you need all the unfair advantages you can get, to be.... fair. 

Kaiba shouts over the sound of dragon-fire searing through the air that the intended savior Dark Paladin and Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon will be shattered into many many pieces. Again, the blast approaches with agonizing slowness, providing an apocalyptic backlighting to Yami and his monsters. It also affords plenty of time for Kaiba to think he's won, but Yami to smile and challenge that idea smugly. How else but with yet another lecture? Blissfully short this time, trailing a statement about the precarious "strength" of piling hatred upon hatred. 

If anyone reading this is genuinely surprised by this development: welcome to the comic and blog, newbie. Don't know why you decided to start your Yu-Gi-Oh experience here, but we'll have you rolling you eyes at this oft-used cheap trick in no time, friend.

Sinatra, Sinatra Jr, and Michael Buble all separate out into their individual dragon selves, and Yami wastes absolutely NO time in noting the increase in dragons on the field from two to four, and the subsequent increase in Dark Paladin's attack to 4900. Kaiba is in full disbelief, but Yami hasn't even finished his clap-back yet. He wants to finish up by playing a spell card from his hand, never mind that I have to question if he's allowed to do that on someone else's turn, called Diffusion Wave Motion. Kaiba does the usual thing of thinking the name of the card in a nervous manner while Yami explains the effect: he pays 1000 of his life points to transform his attack of his spellcaster from a line to a wave, thus wiping out all of Kaiba's monsters at once instead of one at a time. Gotta wrap this sucker up.

So, with only 500 life points left and without any indication that Kaiba's turn is actually OVER yet like is usual, Yami demands that his paladin strike the dragons down. Dark Paladin raises its big spiky blade and conjures a ball of dark crackling energy while Kaiba growls and frets on the other end of the platform and Yami threatens to tear apart his darkness. 

And just like that, dragon steaks. 

Does dragon soup taste anything like turtle soup? Asking for a hungry friend.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? For the conclusion to the penultimate duel in this massive tournament arc, it was extremely predictable. Yami did his impossibly convincing poker face trick again to fake-out the audience, which was all the more disappointing and cheap after we got the real deal earlier in the match. Kaiba getting to fire another shot after he stole Yami's magical power-up was also a bit wonky. Also, once Yami started talking about the Dark Paladin's inherited special effect of gaining attack for every dragon on the field, it was EXTREMELY obvious that the ultimate dragon was getting un-fused by the end of the chapter, so Yami's final move kind of fell flat for me. 

I would LIKE to say I'm moved by Yami's rhetoric about exorcising Kaiba's madness and defeating his hatred and darkness as a fellow duelist and friend, but I'm still totally and completely convinced that Yami is responsible for the more recent issues Kaiba's dealing with. Even if I had by this point forgotten that Kaiba designed his madness-inducing Duel Boxes to closely imitate the experience Yami had given him at the end of their first match, Kaiba reminded me in the previous chapter that to him, Yami is the newest representation of his abominable past that he wants to destroy. That's not coming from nowhere. Yami talks in this chapter like Kaiba's hatred for all the shitty things and people in his past is a result of this self-inflicted well of hatred that has sprung up for no reason. Kaiba absolutely needs to take some initiative in healing himself and his mindset instead of just desperately trying to cut himself off from his traumatic past, granted, but getting his ass beat AGAIN by Yami isn't going to negate his hatred any more than winning would have. Yami, as a key source of some of Kaiba's more recent trauma, needs to take responsibility for that and APOLOGIZE if he's actually interested in helping Kaiba work through the pain like he insists here. You know? Like a FRIEND would do?

I suppose there's always the next chapter for those difficult conversations, but something tells me that the "resolution" to Kaiba's trauma arc is "blah blah blah true duelist friendship stop being a hater magically blah blah blah". That or Kaiba was cured of hatred by their rivalry being solved with fate and a sufficiently honorable fight. 

Does it smell like toxic masculinity in here or what?

Inuyasha Manga: 203 Escape

Gonna need a damn SPACESHIP for that at this point. Global warming has officially heated the Earth one degree Celsius, so no place on the planet is safe anymore. When the coldest place on the planet is melting, where can anyone go to escape the fires? I'm currently sitting in a haze of smoke that is wafting over from the next STATE, and my fight or flight response is screaming at me day and night, but my frontal lobe is telling me there's no option either way. There's nowhere to flee, and I can't exactly get to the rich, powerful system that allowed this to happen in the first place. Not by myself anyway, and not without a fleet of guillotines.

Is it bad that the guillotine jokes are seeming less and less like jokes these days?

As Kagura passes through the marbled atmosphere of the barrier, she contemplates how it appears to slackening. Then she has an epiphany, remembering that Naraku isn't here, and looking down at the two Shikon shards in her palm. You know what they say: when Naraku's away, the incarnations will play. Or, at least Kagura will get some dangerous ideas.

Back on the ground, Kagome kneels next to Kouga's injured leg, first aid tackle in hand, opining about the the horrible gashes in his calves. Mohawk and Two-Tone hover closer to Kouga's shoulder, the former asking in alarm if the Shikon fragments have been taken. Kouga responds with a pained groan. At the sound of a command to leave that bastard who can't even die properly alone, Kagome twists to look behind her, Kouga wincing in the voice's direction too.

That is correct! I would also have accepted answers, "... an idiot," and "... possibly suicidal?"

Inuyasha loftily calls Kouga pathetic for losing to that measly Kagura, and when Kouga suggests he could say the same about the wimpy form he's appeared in, Inuyasha says nothing in response. Two-Tone whispers to Mohawk that he had thought Inuyasha was a hanyou, and Mohawk whispers back that it looks like his suspicions are confirmed. Kouga looks pretty annoyed with this at first, until he smirks at Inuyasha and begins to reference some rumors he's heard about hanyou - being a gossip-prone youkai, after all. His expression becomes a snarl when he says that those hanyou who value their lives are said to never show their enemies their human forms. Kouga accuses a scoffing Inuyasha that he's got some nerve showing up like that. 

I thought Inuyasha was smiling because he was about to deliver a scathing insult about how he didn't consider Kouga even a fraction of a threat to him. But instead he closes his eyes, admits Kouga has a point, and proceeds to pull out the currently untransformed and useless Tessaiga to declare he'll have to finish Kouga right here for knowing his secret. That's... almost a come-back. If you squint and tilt your head. Kouga yells at Inuyasha to bring it on, still sitting because it's clear he can't stand yet, and Kagome blithely asks if they weren't going to go get those stolen Shikon shards. Or maybe anything ELSE than engage in an impotent pissing contest. 

One narrow sky-transition panel later, Inuyasha and Shippou are sitting behind Kouga on the bounding Kirara, as Kagome pedals her bike next to the giant cat, Sango perched on it at her back. Inuyasha draws attention to the very stark fact that there is no indication as to how he agreed to sit so near Kouga when he asks why Kouga is coming with them anyway. Kouga responds that he's not handing his Shikon fragments over to Inuyasha and company, but I still have SO MANY more questions about this scene. 

One of which is answered when Miroku pops into the next frame on the other side of the bike, asking if Kagura isn't going back to the castle. Kagome confirms this, but more than that, the Shikon shards she's following seem to be moving away from Naraku's failing barrier. For once, Miroku can't make sense of this, and wonders what it means. Mr. Knowitall doesn't have a smart answer for something? Get outta town!

"He can get his own damn shards if he wants them so badly. He's got his own working limbs and everything!"

Kagura thinks this may be the time for her to escape, but she remembers the important fact that Naraku quite literally holds her heart in the palm of his hand. Being chained to the wall would be an easier restraint to slip. As she wonders what she's going to do about this, we get yet another sky-strip transition back to Inuyasha and company, because there's no doubt they have still more important things to say.

Inuyasha is addressing Miroku from his backseat on Kirara, asking for confirmation from Miroku that Kagura is running away with the Shikon fragments. Miroku, having jogged over to the other side of the bike to get within better range, shouts that this is possible, then asks if Inuyasha thinks the barrier is a bit strange as well. Inuyasha looks a bit taken-aback when Miroku poses the query of why he and Kouga are able to smell the location of Naraku's castle when they weren't able before. Considering Naraku sitting within his shifting atmosphere of miasma, Miroku elaborates that the barrier has weakened, suggesting that for the moment, Naraku's power has withered. Inuyasha begins to realize how similar that sounds when Kagome completes his thought - Naraku is a hanyou as well. As Inuyasha fully realizes the implication of this with one of those epiphany-starbursts, Kagome thinks about how Naraku might share Inuyasha's new moon human state. 

That was totally worth the whiplash of rapid scene change RT is playing with here. 

She keeps it up with the next page by switching abruptly to a new speaker trying out the Naraku topic as well, asking if that isn't the charlatan who was so disrespectful of Sesshoumaru in the past. No prizes for guessing this is Jaken, I'm afraid, tugging along the two-headed dragon thing that shows up every once in a while when it's convenient. It's acting as a bed to little sleeping Rin, snoring a little on its saddle. Sesshoumaru stands on the edge of a semi-steep embankment looking up at the sky as his strange entourage approaches from behind, saying that he detects this Naraku's scent. Jaken asks if Naraku's nearby, but Sesshoumaru answers with silence, no doubt fully aware he wouldn't have time to finish a sentence.

But man, if Rin isn't living the dream. I don't know a single kid who wouldn't have been stoked to fall out of a literal dragon bed and wake to a surreal fairy tale land with cool magical people surrounding them. Inner-child = JEALOUS.

Kagura smiles at Sesshoumaru, asking if he also smelled Naraku and headed over. Jaken looks between Sesshoumaru and Kagura rapidly, babbling at the former that Kagura is an offspring of Naraku, because his brain has been rattled by his fall and he can't think of anything to say other than already established information. After a pause, Sesshoumaru identifies her as Kagura the wind-user and grips the Toukijin she said he could have at their last meeting. Kagura says she's glad he remembered her, and bids him to let go of his weapon, because she didn't come over to fight. 

She's shopping for an assassin at a discount, apparently. Kagura holds up her open palm to display the Shikon shard she stole, asking for confirmation that Sesshoumaru knows what they are - it's less patronizing than it sounds. Or, maybe it's not. I could be missing some cultural subtleties, and it's more than possible Sesshoumaru might consider it disrespectful either way. Anyway, Kagura offers him these two shards if he helps her to get out from under Naraku's thumb by murdering his face. She is no longer smiling, just to hammer home the seriousness of the request. As Sesshoumaru gives her an extended stare, Jaken and Rin sit watching this exchange with interest and a little mystification, at least on Jaken's part. Rin looks like she'd be shoveling popcorn into her mouth if she had any. 

At last, Sesshoumaru speaks, stating plainly that she's betraying Naraku. I can't tell if he needed the pause to figure that out or if he's just being judgey. Possibly both. Kagura scoffs and protests that she's not exactly obeying Naraku because she likes it. She asks again, saying that she thinks this deal of hers would be advantageous to him. Those TWO WHOLE Shikon fragments will absolutely change his life for sure./sarcasm

Sesshoumaru tells her that, unfortunately for her, he has no interest in the Shikon no Tama, which seems to surprise the hell out of Kagura. I guess it didn't occur to her that this boy who considers himself the epitome of awesome wouldn't consider augmentation of his powers. Sesshoumaru suggests to her that she go ahead and use the fragments herself if she wants to be free. Kagura, in immediate defensiveness, tries to shame Sesshoumaru by implying that he's scared of Naraku, but Sesshoumaru says he just has no obligation to rescue her. He tells her that if she's not prepared to do it herself, she shouldn't even be considering betraying Naraku. Kagura is of course quite affronted by this dismissal.

At least Kagura's REALLY bad attempts at deflection are entertaining for those little bastards over there. 

In a thorough huff, Kagura picks another feather from her hair and snaps that she underestimated Sesshoumaru, then sends his hair flying with the updraft when she launches into the air. Sesshoumaru watches her impassively, while she pouts that he's a damn jerk on her flight out of there. Jaken and Rin join Sesshoumaru staring after her, the former wondering if Kagura was really there to become a Sesshoumaru fan supporter, and the latter musing that Sesshoumaru is pretty strong. Assuming that's in reference to him refusing the Shikon shards, because she doesn't spell it out for me.

At the castle again, through a trapdoor and down a ladder, a gooey, bubbly mess oozes beneath a discarded kimono, insect legs twitching in the background. 

Ugh! And I thought that Noh mask was Cronenberged to hell - it's like an orgy of exploded abominations! 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and crew are still on the chase, Miroku announcing that they've caught up and Kagura is nearby. I wonder how HE would know that, considering Kagome and her Shikon-sense are leading this party and he looks as though he's bringing up the rear. Back to being a know-it-all, I see. That didn't take long. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Good gracious golly, did RT go crazy on the scene changes. It's honestly a little alarming how poorly this chapter was constructed - SEVEN whole transitions, some with her favorite narrow sky panels, some more abrupt, but most of them highly unnecessary and even sloppy. It's clear that RT hasn't stopped struggling with flow when she's also trying to get across simultaneous plot points, but more than that, in this instance, she just didn't organize the conversation well at all. She wouldn't have had to cut back to Miroku drawing attention to the fact that Naraku was probably also suffering his monthly wane of youkai powers if she had just introduced that conversation earlier, perhaps as a lead-in to Kouga's lackeys coming to them for help in the prior chapter. And shifting the focus over to Kagura for so brief a moment of her contemplating what she was going to do if not flee was just a waste. 

Perhaps the most infuriating transition to me was the one between Inuyasha and Kouga beginning to bicker with one another in their weakened states and the one where they're riding Kirara together. I understand that it was supposed to be a joke, but it presupposes a lot of incredibly ridiculous actions on the parts of the characters. RT is basically stating here that Inuyasha and Kouga stopped sniping at each other long enough to discuss the logistics of following Kagura, make arrangements, get onto or be lifted (in Kouga's case) onto Kirara's back, and start on Kagura's trail before Inuyasha ever thought to question why Kouga was coming with them? Or even question it AT ALL? He's well aware of how important those Shikon shards are to Kouga, since he's seen their effectiveness in helping Kouga in battle. Even as a snide sarcastic remark, it doesn't work well, because it's not making a comment on Kouga's weakness in the situation. In fact, it's drawing attention to his strength in not just sitting back and counting on them to get his shards back for him despite his injuries. And just exactly whose idea was it to have Inuyasha sitting on Kirara with Kouga ANYWAY? Could Miroku not have done so instead to minimize conflict? What even IS this scene??? There's not one part of it that makes any sense; it's just a really ugly lampshade on the fact that RT couldn't think of a plausible way she could get her confrontational wolf and dog sharing a ride to a fight, so she just kind of... ignored it. 

The only part of this hot mess that worked was the conversation between Sesshoumaru and Kagura. The contrasts of their personalities really helps to further characterize both of them, but Kagura in particular. It brings how headstrong and easy to bristle she is, as well as how little she understands about actual freedom. She thinks she can simply hire someone to do the job of throwing off Naraku's yoke for her, but it doesn't occur to her that the passivity of this idea is antithetical to actual freedom. But Sesshoumaru, to my utter shock, disillusions her as to her shallow definition of the concept. He not only lets her know that no one else is obligated to help her, but if she isn't willing to take the risks herself, there's no point. Freedom isn't about doing whatever you want whenever you want and answering to no one. Freedom is about expressing autonomy, weighing risk to reward, and harnessing control of one's own life. Sesshoumaru seems annoyed that Kagura is betraying Naraku at first, but his dialog reveals it's not the betrayal part he's irritated with, but her unwillingness to establish HERSELF as a separate entity from Naraku before planning to assassinate the guy, and gives her a well-deserved, if a little short, lecture about it.

So, Sesshoumaru has good points now. And that's the best part of this chapter.

I'm not sure how to feel about that, so I guess I'll just be confused.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 261 Beyond Hatred

Usually the titles are pretty straightforward, occasionally mysterious only due to the information in the chapter we don't know yet. This one is mysterious due to the potential fork in meaning. Have our characters moved past hatred to a new understanding of each other? Or have they moved instead onto pure LOATHING? Can't be sure, but I know which way this phrase would describe my feelings toward this cursed year. 

It's definitely not the former way. 

That last turn robbed Kaiba of his usual bite I see. He settles for dryly stating that Yami has two monsters on his side, and that he must be planning on playing out the rest of the duel in defense since the Blue Eyes White Dragons across from those monsters have superior attack. Kaiba does manage a smug little thought about cutting off Yami's escape with his next card, though, right before he plays two cards face down and ends his turn in a rush. Maybe if he's fast enough, the obvious trap will pass over Yami's poor slow head. 

Or maybe he'll glare more critically than ever at Kaiba and murmur that it's his turn instead, a small sweatdrop rolling down his cheek. He draws a card with the customary exclamation, which he peers at but we're not really given a good look at it. Yami notes that he's only got two cards in his hand as he adds his new one to the one already there, while keeping his glower directly on Kaiba. He wonders what Kaiba's next move will be, as though the loudmouth didn't just give him a pretty big clue already. Kaiba is done talking for now, though, eyeing him with a little smirk. 

Yami also plays two face down cards, but moves to switch the Red-Eyes into defense. Kaiba's smile widens into a creepy grin and breaks into mental giggles, thinking Yami can't run now. He reveals a face down card with splayed fingers, and somehow, some way, Yami seems alarmed that this was a trap. 

I know KT just discovered the magic of giving his main character struggle and a challenge, but someone should tell him that it doesn't really count if it's this obvious. 

Kaiba explains this is a permanent trap called Final Attack Orders, which compels all monsters to attack the opposing ones without restraint. Oh, and they also have to choose three cards from their decks and place the all the others in the graveyard. No, not hands, DECKS. Does that seem a bit extreme? It sure does to Yami, who stares at the Duel Disk locked on his wrist as he ponders discarding the entire rest of his deck in disbelief. 

Impatient as ever, Kaiba claims he doesn't need another three turns to win, but he invites Yami to place his futile hopes in whatever three cards he chooses. How magnanimous. He urges Yami to make his choices with a patronizing prompt, and Yami groans, sweating, hand hovering over the rest of his card fanned out in his hand. Kaiba's of course already got his cards picked out, or the one for his ultimate combo at least - Monster Reborn. It's already in his right hand ready to play. He chuckles that Yami is finished this time. Yami ends his turn hesitantly. 

Down in the blimp, Jonouchi's eyes still look a bit droopy while everyone cheers around him. Honda gives him a rough hair-tousle, exclaiming he's alive. Shizuka tearfully thanks the heavens that he's okay, and she's the first one Jonouchi notices, saying her name in a drowsy half-conscious daze. Anzu and Ryuji look on happily from the foreground. Jonouchi takes a moment to remember that he was fighting other!Marik before taking his very concerning nap, before Honda seizes him by fistfuls of his t-shirt, shaking him. He raves that Jonouchi makes him so mad, hardly willing to believe that he's really awake and that he's not faking it... somehow. Shizuka cries that she thought she missed her big brother. 

Honda pulls back one of his fists so he can hide his tears behind a forearm, sobbing that Jonouchi is a big jerk and demanding that he never die again because they were so worried. It's almost too cute for me. Jonouchi ignores the saccharine reaction to him waking up and pulls all the little electrode pads off his belly with a series of pops, wondering what in all the world this is. It's only now that the largely forgotten and useless doctor expresses his disbelief that Jonouchi is up and at 'em. 

Jonouchi says he's fine and not to mind him; he's far more interested in where Yami is. Anzu informs him that Yami is dueling Kaiba at the moment, for which he starts shouting at them like a maniac, demanding to know why they aren't up on that damn tower cheering for Yami. Anzu asks indignantly if they were supposed to just leave him by himself, and that incompetent doctor doesn't speak up, because he knows he wouldn't count for so much as a sponge. She says this is Jonouchi's fault for almost dying. Which totally isn't an insensitive thing to say when virtually no time has passed between this moment and the trauma of almost dying, ANZU.

But Jonouchi takes it in stride. Frustrated, he dismisses the whole argument and suggests they get going, to which Honda wholeheartedly agrees.

Back up top, Kaiba announces his turn, while Yami wonders desperately what those last three cards in Kaiba's Duel Disk are. He notes that Kaiba hasn't played Monster Reborn in this duel yet. Or, not his OWN Monster Reborn yet. But Yami probably doesn't have time to reference that right now. He's pretty sure Kaiba's strategy depends on his three Blue Eyes White Dragons as always, but he's ALSO pretty sure that's not the ultimate plan. With the hope he's wrong, Yami thinks Kaiba probably has Monster Reborn and Polymerization.

This thought is cut off by Kaiba drawing a card, and giggling when he looks at it like the lame-o he is. He uses the Monster Reborn he was so eager to play a couple of pages ago, dreams really DO come true, which somehow surprises Yami, even though he was just speculating about it? Perhaps that hope he had was so convincing that it overrode his logic circuits. Kaiba reminds him smugly that he probably CAN guess which monster he's going to use it on, and proceeds to throw his third Blue Eyes White Dragon on his Duel Disk with a perfectly sinister laugh. Yami is still catching up? He looks on at the new/old dragon, gaping in the knowledge that Kaiba has all his crooners once more.

I

Someone should REALLY tell KT it doesn't count if it's THIS obvious.

The ultimate dragon heads all roar at Yami like the shiniest of hydras, and Yami is in terrified awe. He identifies it as the strongest monster in existence, with points that surpass even Obelisk's. No word yet on what the exact count is yet, though. Fists ready for triumphant pumping, Mokuba cheers that this duel is almost over, because even Yami can't beat the Ultimate Blue Eyes. Other!Marik seems to have fully recovered from his enraged confusion over the Millennium Rod's transfer of memories to the current competitors. He's got a smug smile on over the appearance of the ultimate dragon and muses that he never thought Kaiba would win. He supposes that it never really mattered, because he was planning to kill both of them anyway, regardless of who won. Kinda makes you wonder why the guy is going through the trouble of meandering through this tournament. We briefly visit the blimp again, where Ishizu is still looking through the window at the the top of the tower. She silently addresses Kaiba, who defeated her and became the master of his own fate, and who must now face the truth hidden in this battle, carved so many centuries ago.

The truth that they're all being manipulated by creepy cursed relics of ancient Egypt, I'm sure.

Kaiba announces he's about to beat Yami, and achieve something great. No, not simple revenge; that can't possibly be the motivation of such a COMPLEX character. I might be projecting right now, but Yami's expression looks just a tad exasperated by that pathetic denial. Kaiba's full-on monologuing now, rhetorically asking why he's been fixated on defeating Yami for so very long. He fought his way to the castle beyond the Goblin City through Battle City to find out, and now he thinks he's finally found the answer. I'm guessing it's NOT because you're an obsessive personality with addictive tendencies?

 

Yami recalls that recurring theme of answers Kaiba has brought up before. Kaiba now says the stone tablet shown to him by Ishizu was behind Battle City when the curtain rose on the tournament, and that's where the answer lies. He identifies Yami's struggle as one of pursuing the memories carved on that tablet, and condemns it as foolish, chasing a past that's gone. Yami contemplates Kaiba's mention of the past, but doesn't appear to do so too deeply. 

What is that thing people say? About protesting too much?

Kaiba thinks on Mokuba on the sideline, and the jerkwad adults who made them live in the living hell called an orphanage after losing their parents. Then, upon being adopted by Gozaburo, Seto himself was abused in the name of "education", and he does use that word ABUSED. He thinks of that monster of a father the only family he had, until he performed a hostile takeover, ousting Gozaburo as president of the company and becoming a master of the world of backstabbing and treachery. Kaiba Corp was born again out of the carnage, but Seto's revenge didn't satisfy him - he was still angry. Back in the present, Kaiba yells at Yami that his past is ALL hatred and anger, nothing like Yami's stupid little fantasy world. Said with an unhinged grin, by the way, because I guess we needed a reminder in the middle of Kaiba delving into his own trauma that THIS BOY HAS NO CHILL.

 

He's raving that he only cares about the future, and tramples over the past, because it means nothing. Never mind that he just admitted it means quite a lot. Ignore that. Kaiba accuses Yami of being a creature of the past, and threatens to destroy him along with the past he represents. Fists raised in determination, Kaiba insists that he will shine light down the apparently already bright corridors of his future and become the king of duelists. The metaphor got a little crazy there for a moment, but I think I get the point. Yami is glaring, contemplating Kaiba.

 

Below the platform, Mokuba has lost a bit of steam, and is in fact hanging his head in a clear depression. He ruminates on Kaiba's long statement that his motivation to beat Yami is rooted in his desire to forget their past. Mokuba picks up the locket pendant hanging around his neck and presses the button to open it, revealing a younger Seto smiling at him with chess piece in his hand. Mokuba wonders if his brother intends to also forget that smile he gave him then. 

 

Oh no, no no no, not this bullshit again! I won't make the mistake of having any level of empathy for these little shits ever again! They'll just do something unforgivable again right afterward, I KNOW IT!

 

Yeeeeeaaaaaah, scoffing is the natural reaction to the CEO of a giant successful company implying he's not ALREADY at the top. 

Cluelessly, Kaiba chuckles his surprise that Yami can laugh at this point. Yami responds that Kaiba is one of the few his high, high gatekeeping standards has deemed a duelist, but he says he's a bit disappointed in him. Kaiba is of course a little ruffled by this, a bit short when he expresses disbelief, and Yami offers to be blunt: hatred and anger aren't enough to beat him, no matter how much of either Kaiba has. 

Kaiba asks for clarification again, fuming. Yami explains that Kaiba's mind is like the tower they're on, standing tall in the rubble, piling hate on top of hate to try to reach the peak, but never quite getting there. Yami suggests that Kaiba won't ever achieve victory, just keep looking for the next thing to hate. Yami, on the other hand, wants to always fight for those who believe, like his friends, who are shown sprinting in his direction, and himself, who is represented as the specter of Yuugi lingering behind him wearing his best poop-face. Of course, Yami also fights to become a true duelist, because he totally didn't JUST stand there talking about the judgments he's made on others regarding their status in this regard.

Now it's Kaiba who's scoffing, and Yami on the defensive, yelling that he's going to show Kaiba what he means. He reveals his face down card, Double Spell, which says on its face that Yami can play whatever spell card his opponent has played this turn. Kaiba is in disbelief and freaked the fuck out by this, but there's very little he's NOT freaked the fuck out by, so that's no surprise. Yami reiterates that his card allows him to use Monster Reborn and Polymerization, the spell cards Kaiba just used. He brings Buster Blader out with Monster Reborn in all its angled-armored glory, and then uses Polymerization to fuse it with his Dark Magician in the center of a virtual windstorm so we don't have to see all the weird details of how this combination would happen. 

Is dueling Yami all it takes for someone to get all their hate wiped out? Because I can think of a few people who might benefit from that. Can they schedule appointments? 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Getting to see Jonouchi wake up and how relieved everyone is by him being conscious is a treasure. I think perhaps it was a little too short and punchy of a scene, and didn't fully explore the rich emotions that could have been expressed by all of the characters, but what we did get to see was pretty good. It was both hilarious and heartbreaking how Honda cast his joy at Jonouchi being alive in these aggressive, angry terms, only to genuinely cry. The fact that Shizuka, as Jonouchi's sister and kin, didn't get a comparable focus, and that Anzu and Ryuji just didn't get a focus on their emotions at all, is a bit of a disappointment to me. I think the chapter should have spent just a little longer on them.

Because it wasn't doing much more with the slower pace. Kaiba's core motivations seemed to be the center of this chapter, but I'm unimpressed. Yes, Kaiba's abuse and trauma provide a LOT of context and explanation as to why he basically wants to DESTROY his past at this point and not just run away from it. And it makes sense that Yami has become something of a representation of that traumatic past, not only in how Yami searches for knowledge of the past, but also in how Yami has actively broken Kaiba several ways before. I made fun, but I totally believe that this isn't just about revenge - it's about taking back control from the various forces in his life (of which Yami is the latest) that has damaged him and made him into the monster who stands at the top of the Duel Tower at present. This would be compelling...

... if it weren't also meant to stand as the reason Kaiba is meant to lose. Within the context of the whole tournament, these motivations are very weak. Not because they're bad or wrong; it's more than understandable when a character wants to beat their trauma and throw it into the void. But Jonouchi's motivations were (eventually) to save Mai, and Yami's are to regain his memories, and they're both trying to figure out who the hell they are, and these goals are intricately tied to winning the duels in the tournament. Yami is right, winning the duel, the tournament, will never give Kaiba victory over his past or his anger, and he'll always just be looking for the next thing to hate. There is NOTHING that winning this duel will do to help his condition, he'll get no real prize or satisfaction from it. So, he can lose without anything valuable being lost in the process; the same before and after. He's going to be okay no matter what.

Ultimately, I think Kaiba's stated motivations in this chapter, though incredibly relatable and accessible for such a normally INaccessible character, are a justification for his upcoming loss. It actually bothers me, because the horrible trauma Kaiba desperately wants to decouple from himself is dissonant in the relatively low stakes it represents, and his inability to change and evolve in the arc he's designed for himself. It's kind of ironically tragic, in that KT refuses to actually develop this character toward real healing, because Kaiba's painful struggle against past abuse both defines him and is constantly cast in the shadow of importance cast by the struggles of the other characters. 

Kaiba, I'm sorry man. You deserve a creator who would give you what you really need - THERAPY.

Inuyasha Manga: 202 Swirl of Bones

That sounds like the worst ice cream flavor ever. I kind of had a feeling that Ben & Jerry's was going a bit too far these days, but making a BONE SWIRL? I suppose it's well-timed, though. I saw every manner of ceramic jack o' lantern on display at Target when I was on my way to the pharmacy the other day. It's getting to be that time of the year again, and all the big companies are putting out their best products to drum up excitement for what will more than likely be a very disappointing Halloween for a lot of people. 

Keeping that in mind, a swirl of bones would probably be the least upsetting part of part of this All Hallows Eve.

Kagura is the only one I trust to create an entertaining Halloween product this year. Bring out those rattling bones, girl!

A wave of skeletal soldiers rushes at Kouga, skulls shattering on the arm he's holding up to shield his face. He swings the other out to crush another skull out of frame, scoffing that these are mere distractions. Kagura then starts throwing a battery of wind blades in his direction with a big sweep of her fan, and he calls her a fool for it. He leaps between two wind blades that destroy the skeleton soldiers on either side of them and swings an outstretched leg down at Kagura, to her mild surprise. When his kick lands, cratering the ground around it, a great updraft prompts Kouga to look up, finding Kagura had merely jumped up to avoid him. 

Kouga curses, as Kagura hovers there a moment, her still substantial skeleton army crowding around them ominously. She says she'll stop him from running, and snaps her fan shut, calling this move a Dance of the Dragon-Snakes.

Gothic. A close cousin of METAL.

A great tornado encompasses Kouga, not unlike the one he produces with his own speedy traveling style, completely obscuring him with the spiraling bones. Kagura drops to the ground while he grunts and groans within the creepy skull vortex, fists shattering every bone that gets a bit too close. The problem is, not only are his windmilling arms breaking up the bones into sharp little fragments, the SWORDS of the dead soldiers are swirling around in there too. He's basically in a "death by a thousand cuts" kind of situation.

Kagura yells at him to chose: he can either be chopped up by the skeletons in the tornado, or he can be minced up by her when he jumps out of there. Mohwak and Two-Tone peer at the vortex, the former asking what they can do, and the latter replying that it looks like there's NOTHING they can do. After one of RT's sky-view transitions, showing the stars twinkling, the next panel shows Kagome in shock over the news of Kouga and Kagura embroiled in battle. She stands next to Miroku, who sits by a roaring campfire, while Mohawk and Two-Tone sit on the other side, making their appeal. Two-Tone says the situation is KINDA bad. Bad enough for them to not even attempt to intervene themselves while they were already there, I guess.

But Inuyasha can't help but contemplate the meaning of why Kagura attacked Kouga to begin with; he thinks it must mean that Naraku's castle is in the area after all. This seems to clash with the fact that Naraku was supposed to have put up a powerful barrier to keep them from getting close in the first place, though, and Inuyasha can't help but be worried. 

Sango ties up her hair in the back of the 500th abandoned shrine building they've happened across thus far, in full slayer regalia. Inuyasha gives her a critical look as she explains that she's got to investigate, then encourages him to stay here with Kagome so he can keep his human form a secret. Guess what happens next.

Go on. Guess.

Right on the money. Easiest guess I've ever made.

Back with Kagura and Kouga, who is now represented by his tornado encasement, Kagura is smugly asking Kouga what's wrong, and if he's too scared to come out of there. She speculates that he might have already dropped dead inside there too, but nah. He's still swinging his arms wildly at each skull flying at him, now bleeding profusely and cursing. The skeletons whirl around him, bones and blades blending together in their windy assault. He realizes that, no matter how many of these skeletal soldiers he crushes, he's getting nowhere. He's also pretty sure even HE wouldn't survive trying to jump through the swords flying around in front of him. Though, Kouga DOES seem to have an idea, and looks up.

Meanwhile, Kagura supposes it might be about time to let him out of there, since it might be difficult to find the Shikon shards if Kouga's been all ground up. She hears a shout to stop her pathetic worrying before she stops the tornado, though. 

I guess powerful legs aren't JUST capable of running really fast. As he lunges toward Kagura from his height, trailing strings of blood from his wounds, Kouga tells her to prepare for death. She doesn't look the least intimidated, just scoffing that he's pretty tough. Or, at least this is what she says he wants her to say, because she's already duly familiar with men and their assumption that women find every mundane thing they do impressive. She pretty much immediately takes back her fulfillment of that expectation with another wave of her fan in Kouga's direction, which brings the swirling column of skeletons down on Kouga's unsuspecting back. Kagura grins, calling Kouga a fool, able to run and jump, but unable to escape her wind. 

She throws a couple more wind blades out to punctuate her point. 

The Shikon shards in his legs pop right out of his wounds - Kagura's a little TOO precise for someone who shouldn't be able to see the jewel pieces like Kagome or Kikyou. Odd. Anyway, Kouga notices the shards have separated from his legs immediately, but no sooner does he come to this realization than he's swept aside by another barrage of wind blades. With him out of her way, Kagura leans down to pluck them off the ground, gloating to the bleeding and groaning Kouga that she's taken both the fragments from him. As she holds them in her palm, she wears a smug little smile, telling him that he's just an ordinary youkai now. Imagine someone referring to a creepy supernatural creature as an ORDINARY creepy supernatural creature. Kagura gives no fucks about how ludicrous this sounds, though, she just figures it's time for her to finish Kouga off. 

Before she makes good on her threat (of a good time, by the sounds of things), Sango and Miroku come barrelling in there atop their flame-footed Kirara, yelling her name. Kagura freezes in her alarm at first, then plucks a feather from her hair with an annoyed expression and spits that Kouga managed to narrowly avoid death today. With that, and a massive updraft, she escapes high into the air. Miroku notes with alarm that she got away as he follows her retreating feather with his gaze, but Sango is more concerned with the scene on the ground, drawing his attention to Kouga's condition. Mohawk and Two-Tone are already kneeling at his side, the latter appalled at the state of his bloodied legs, which Kouga winces and groans at. Kagome is the first person to actually COMPLETE her statement that Kouga's Shikon shards were taken, and Shippou, hanging tight to Inuyasha's shoulder, asks with worry what they're going to do about this.

While you're still in human form? For the sake of a guy you hate?

Yeah, sounds legit.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm honestly having a hard time wrapping my brain around the actions of Kouga's subordinates. It's just odd to me that the first course of action they would take would be backtracking to find Inuyasha's group for help. The two of them plus all the regular-looking wolves automatically outnumber Kagura, so it seems weird that they wouldn't try to distract and rush her first. Wolves being pack animals in general, you would think they would have a flanking strategy or some such thing. 

Am I supposed to take from this that they're cowards? Incompetents? I suppose that would be a deeper characterization than just "slow" as we've been getting so far. But I would have appreciated some sort of setup, like Kouga complaining about how they're so opposed to fighting or don't pay attention to the plans he details to them. Perhaps Kouga didn't want them interfering in his particular fight? Again, that interpretation would have benefited from an actual mention of this wish by Kouga before this point. As it stands, I don't know what to think of this. Except, of course, that RT wanted a simple, clear one-on-one battle, and sent the spares off elsewhere so things wouldn't get over-complicated.  

And I'm not sure I buy Inuyasha being SO comfortable with Kouga and friends by this time as to want to reveal his vulnerable human form to them. But at least they've fought in tandem before; there's at least a small history of alliance, even if it was somewhat strained. It's clear Inuyasha doesn't really view Kouga as a physical threat, just a romantic one. 

Yet, I don't know how Inuyasha's usual anxiety around this vulnerable time of the month translates into an eagerness to get into the action now. He's fought in human form before, but those were times when he really had no choice. The best explanation I can come up with is that Inuyasha's worry that Kouga will get a shot at Naraku outweighs his worry of his human form being discovered. I suppose it makes a little sense - poor boy is entangled in a mesh of insecurities and the compensations he's built for them, and as someone who's had their share of THAT pathology, I can say I've RANKED my fears a fair few times before myself. 

So, I guess I'm just a bit confused on the whole. But Kagura's pretty straightforward. Nothing confusing about her, so there's one part of this that works well I suppose.