Inuyasha Manga: 219 Kidnapped Rin

That's right, this manga comes with an Amber Alert chapter. Though, I'm sorry to say, I haven't been out enough to even have information on the REAL lost kiddos, let alone a fictional one. The only place I go on the road for these days is the grocery store and work, both of which have been blessedly devoid of kidnappers. Though I may be able to widen my purview very soon - I just got my first dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine, and the second dose is already scheduled. Once that's done and I take a couple of days to recover (they say that second shot kinda knocks you on your ass), I'll be ready to... not spot any kidnappers ever, because I've never seen the vehicles those alerts warn you to watch out for anyway. I don't know whether to be happy or anxious about that, honestly.

As for this particular fictional kidnapped tot, wasn't there supposed to be someone watching her? A tall, pale, silent type who has taken up the symbolic mantle of guardian through sword life magic, perhaps?

Oh good GODS, he made Jaken do it instead. What? He couldn't find time in his busy schedule consisting of NOTHING to watch this tiny baby child himself?

Apparently daddy dearest told Rin to go make herself a sandwich find food for herself by herself, and she agreed, but a surly Jaken is hanging out there anyway despite the independence exercise. He thinks about how he's had to preside over this field plunder many a time by now because Sesshoumaru said that. Oh, so somewhere along the line, Sesshoumaru DID realize this kid needs supervision, and put a babysitter on duty. I mean... the nanny pool IS pretty limited...

... But Kagura is absolutely, 100% right here. Sesshoumaru is super irresponsible, and I'm judging him too.

Especially when we see he's been busy just STARING AT THE NIGHT SKY this entire time, thinking about how the wind has vaguely changed. What kind of wizard-wannabe shit is this? Anyway, he tears his gaze away from the twinkle-show above when Jaken calls out to him in a panic. As he runs up to Sesshoumaru, Jaken pants that Rin has been taken away, and Sesshoumaru looks a little annoyed by this news. Guess it didn't occur to him that Jaken wouldn't be the greatest person to fight off an attacker. Don't know WHY, because it seemed pretty obvious to me. 

Jaken trails in his rushed explanation that the woman named Kagura, offspring of Naraku (just in case we forgot), appeared and made off with the little girl. Sesshoumaru remains silent, even when someone off-panel tells him not to worry. It's the baboon-cloaked Naraku, surrounded by hovering saimyoushou. He promises that Rin will be safely returned if Sesshoumaru grants him a request, at which statement Jaken stutters in affront. Sesshoumaru just gives Naraku calm acknowledgment and asks casually what he's up to this time. Maybe when he's done they could hang out, or...?

Naraku says that it's really nothing special - just plotting Inuyasha's death through his homicidal brother. Sesshoumaru smirks about how Naraku went to all this trouble for something so simple. What trouble is that, exactly? Abducting a little girl who's minimally guarded by a weak little imp in less than a second? Yeah, seems like a pretty easy task for what Naraku expects out of you, honestly.
 

Oh come on, dude, you know that's not going to do anything.

As expected, the head of the baboon suit sizzles and dissolves as it rolls away, and Jaken notes with a stutter and cringe the wooden kugutsu doll amidst a pile of dirt with a hair wrapped around it. Sesshoumaru dismisses with an unruffled expression the ludicrous notion that he could be made to do whatever Naraku wanted for the sake of a single human girl. Sweatdropping, Jaken asks if this means that Sesshoumaru is abandoning Rin, and calls after Sesshoumaru when he just starts walking away, questioning where the hell he's going. Where else? He's going to where he can do something DIFFERENT than what Naraku wants for the sake of a single human girl. 

That'll show Naraku that he's not the boss of you for SURE, Sesshoumaru. 

The Saimyoushou are still hanging around, through which Naraku is watching Sesshoumaru by way of Kanna's little personal TV mirror; he sits looking rather pleased with himself, certain that Sesshoumaru is indeed falling for his little trap. Little reverse psychology works wonders for getting that jerkass in the grocery store ranting about his freedom to put on a fucking mask too, incidentally. 

A good omen! RT actually remembered Inuyasha's sense of smell in this one!

Inuyasha snarls that THIS time he'll find that bastard Naraku and rip him apart, but Kagome tells him to wait a moment urgently. He looks over his shoulder at her, gaping, as she explains she feels the faint but definite aura of a Shikon shard emanating from somewhere in a cluster of small tree-covered mountains in the distance. As an audience, we get the privilege of zooming in real close to where Kagome is indicating before they even get the chance to set off in that direction. On the hillside sits a cozy little building on the edge of the lip of a small cliff. 

Inside, little Rin is laying on the floor with her arm curled around a melon she took on the road with her while she was being kidnapped, apparently. Girl must have been super hungry to hold that tight to it. She groans as she comes to from a little doze, then shoots up into a sitting position, trying to work out what this is in a trailing panicked statement. She glances over her shoulder in her survey of her surroundings, and who should be sitting against the wall by a series of windows looking outside but Kohaku! 

I love it when the kiddos get to play together.

Still holding her melon close, Rin timidly asks who Kohaku is, and he just replies by commenting that she's awake. Perfectly lucid, by the way; his eyes have fully conscious highlights as opposed to the shaded flat look of when he's possessed. Rin recalls at this moment that she was abducted by that Kagura person, who apparently dangled her along over the side of her feather by Rin's obi like a little sack of potatoes. Big yikes. Kagura's a worse babysitter than Jaken, it seems. 

Rin stands, at last abandoning her melon, to trot to the door. Kohaku makes a discouraging noise, warning her it's no good going outside, but Rin insists she has to go back to where she came from shoving open the door. 

Well, those yikes keep getting bigger, don't they?

Rin snaps the door shut again wordlessly and sits directly next to Kohaku, pouting, as Kohaku confirms she understands that she'll be torn apart if she goes out there. Lots of talk about tearing people apart in this one I see. Rin looks sideways at Kohaku, humming before asking him if it could be that he was kidnapped as well, suggesting that they escape together if that's the case. He tells her he's her guard flatly.

I can't even tell you how cute this is. Just look at the babies! They're adorable!

Rin turns to her guard and asks his name, giving her own. She follows this up with a battery of other questions, like how old he is, why he's doing this job, and if he's a friend to youkai. He responds with the observation that she talks a fair bit. Rin draws her knees farther up to her chest and rests her chin against them, admitting that she's a bit scared of being quiet. Kohaku studies her with curiosity silently while she wonders if Sesshoumaru will come to save her. 

A narrow sky transition panel brings us back to the man... dog monster himself, walking quietly through the grass, Jaken following along behind asking what on Earth Sesshoumaru is DOING. He looks sharply ahead and informs that Naraku's castle is here, to which statement Jaken responds with some confusion. He's looking out over a mountainous and forested expanse, saying that he can't see anything like a castle, but he's surprised to find that the landscape is warping and dissolving before his eyes. Jaken scampers back a bit as the whole area in front of them swirls and the illusory lines blend, but Sesshoumaru don't give a shit. He just stands there like he just rung the doorbell and he's waiting for someone to answer, with an annoyed expression to boot. Jaken questions if the barrier has opened. Given that the trees and mountains have been replaced with buildings and a watchtower, I'd say that's a safe bet, Jaken.

It's true, Sesshoumaru needs a reason to accept the invitation too.

You know, like murder.

Naraku is hanging out crouched under his iconic baboon pelt on his porch, and he informs Sesshoumaru that the little girl is naturally not here, since she wouldn't be able to breathe in that concentration of miasma for a second. He assures the glaring Sesshoumaru that she's in remote custody outside the castle, urging him not to worry about the girl for the moment. Sesshoumaru tells Naraku that he should realize this visit isn't in service to saving Rin. Because he TOTALLY would have given half a shit that Naraku was leaking his scent if Rin was still hanging out with him. Totally. 

Sesshoumaru's rejection of Rin as a purpose for him being here comes as no surprise to Naraku, because Sesshoumaru is genuinely easy to figure out. Naraku says he knows Sesshoumaru doesn't like taking instructions from others, so he wouldn't go to kill Inuyasha, OR rescue the girl. That Sesshoumaru's first aim in this fiasco would be to come and kill him is abundantly clear to Naraku, as he states casually from his front stoop. Sesshoumaru scoffs that it's equally clear Naraku wanted to lure him out.

Honestly, Naraku, you should have this one in the bag. Prideful fucker would have to admit he's let his ego walk him right into an impossible situation to get out of it, which will NEVER happen.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Inuyasha is picking back up steam again with this one. While I really liked the previous arc with Shiori and her story, and it ended on a significant note, I also felt like what brought us into it was a bit contrived by giving Tessaiga a convenient power out of nowhere. This one, however, feels solidly built in what we already understand about the characters - Sesshoumaru and Naraku already have a history, short as it is. Naraku has tried to persuade Sesshoumaru to kill Inuyasha for him before, so it's entirely believable to Sesshoumaru that he would try again, even if it's with the stick instead of the carrot now. And now that Sesshoumaru isn't even INTERESTED in the carrot anymore, what with Tessaiga being more of a crutch for Inuyasha than anything, Naraku had to be aware that suggesting Tessaiga as the ultimate prize for killing Inuyasha wasn't going to appeal to Sesshoumaru anymore. It also makes sense that Naraku would have picked up on how Sesshoumaru operates mostly on pride; he listened to Naraku before because he was being offered some compensation for his cooperation, but abducting one of Sesshoumaru's companions as collateral was more a demand for his cooperation, and that's a bid for control over him that Sesshoumaru cannot abide. Since Naraku is the big schemer in this story, it's no surprise he managed to funnel Sesshoumaru's options right into his domain, where he's been experimenting with many components of his composite body, adding and subtracting them at will. No points for guessing why he would want Sesshoumaru there too. 

And I wasn't exaggerating about how excited I am that Rin and Kohaku get to interact. They both have intensely tragic backstories, but are surrounded by adults who don't really understand their pain. Being able to interact with another orphan like themselves, closer to their age, is EXTREMELY interesting, especially regarding what it does for little Rin's character. Her comment that being quiet frightens her is rather profound, referring back to how she was mute back when she met Sesshoumaru. She's essentially admitting here that she's afraid to be rendered voiceless again, unable to express herself. Deep for a tiny child, but the poor thing HAS been through quite a lot. 

Gracious, can you imagine if this moment totally went over someone's head to the point that they rendered Rin not only mute again but also immobile and unconscious for the sake of a shitty fanfiction meant to sell shitty merch?

Yeah. Me neither.