Inuyasha Manga: 222 The Suggestion to Kohaku

Oh, no, this kid is already taking way too many suggestions. He's already killed most of his family, acted as bait for his sister to steal and betray her friends, attempted MORE murder on those friends, not to mention all the murder he's done on village randos. All this at the whim of a sickly dickbag who just wants to mess with him and the people connected to him. Time to stop up that suggestion box, little man. Gotta close that damn bureau already, because all these incoming propositions ain't working.

Especially when every single slip in the box is from THIS weirdo:

Least convincing brush-off of one's own beat-down EVER.

Inuyasha asserts to that bastard Naraku that THIS TIME he's not getting away. Clearly someone hasn't read the over 500-chapter script. He then leaps forward with Tessaiga raised, telling Naraku to prepare to die, but Sesshoumaru rushes ahead of him to slash at Naraku first, claiming that Naraku is HIS prey. Girls, girls... try not to dub a guy you're not going to eat, not least of all because he would taste like mouthful of bitter incel poison, as "prey". It makes you look like a twat. 

Naraku bends in the force of Sesshoumaru's stroke, and then releases a giant cloud of miasma at the brothers, who brace against it as it swirls up into the sky, carrying Naraku with it. Sesshoumaru's aura expands and stirs, Inuyasha giving him a wary glance. He sure doesn't look HAPPY.

EXACT face I make when I wake up in the middle of the night with neck pain. Same SFX too. Seems that Sesshoumaru and I have more in common than I thought. 

The miasma cloud chuckles at Sesshoumaru darkly, advising him to run to find his little girl instead of transforming to chase him. Sesshoumaru does indeed pause, leaving Inuyasha study him, wondering what in the world this "little girl" business is about. From his cloud, Naraku says Rin is currently in Kohaku's company, and Inuyasha sweatdrops at the familiar name. In fact, as the cloud fades into nothing, Naraku suggests that Inuyasha should know the ominous meaning of this circumstance. 

Dammit! Didn't take the suggestion box down soon enough. Rats.

Inuyasha recalls that Kohaku is being controlled by Naraku through the Shikon fragment in his back, as pictured above. You know, just in case this is the first chapter of Inuyasha you stumbled across and you wanted to ask what the fuck a Shikon fragment was instead of how precisely this kid was being controlled. Inuyasha puts away Tessaiga as he muses on the fact that Kohaku would kill anyone Naraku ordered him to, no matter who they were. He glances at Sesshoumaru out of his periphery, asking if even his untouchable brother can be held hostage.

Said untouchable brother is just kind of... staring into space. He seems to have just realized that kidnapping Rin was all in service to buying Naraku time to run away, silently complaining about what an underhanded guy Naraku is. Yeah, if he wanted to be a REAL great youkai, like a certain someone he was trying to emulate, he should have foregone the contingency plan to make a quick getaway in case of emergency altogether and just gotten his sorry ass handed to him. JUST LIKE A REAL WINNER.

Sesshoumaru rises into the sky on his weird furry shoulder-pillow/mane thing, the end of which splits into several, making it even weirder. Inuyasha protests his exit, as if he actually expected the withdrawn Sesshoumaru to just sit down and patiently explain how a little baby human is following him around now because he couldn't keep his magical life-giving sword in his pants. Sheath. Whatever. Meanwhile, Jaken pops out from around a stone he hid behind while the danger was big, chasing Sesshoumaru's figure receding into the sky, begging not to be left behind. He's flattened onto his belly by Inuyasha's foot, so Inuyasha can pick him up by the back of his collar and give him a sardonic greeting. Jaken addresses HIM in panic. 

Inuyasha demands that Jaken tell him what happened between Sesshoumaru and Naraku, and Jaken at first refuses to talk to some measly hanyou. Bad move. 

Yeah, not sure how Jaken thought mouthing off to the surprise badass in this fight was a good idea. Maybe the rock was big enough to hide all the context of the situation after all.

Back on the remote forest hillside, the horde of youkai that were milling around Kohaku and Rin's hiding place are now actively lunging and flying at Inuyasha's friends. Shippou cries from a crouched Kagome's arms that the horde is coming this way, as Sango and Miroku brace themselves to fight. Sango throws Hiraikotsu, calling its name, as you do, taking out a whole line of the damn things. Miroku whacks one with his staff as he grunts that this bunch is OF COURSE here to keep them from getting to the building beyond. 

While Miroku and Sango smash all these damn youkai, Kagome spots a couple of figures running from the building. 

He just wants to avoid the embarrassment of having to correct his sister's gushing assumptions that his new buddy is a girlfriend. 

But Sango has definitely noticed her little brother getting out of there, calling to him. A fresh wave of youkai tries to flank her, though, and she smacks them around with her Hiraikotsu, screaming at them for being in the way. Because Sango is all tied up in the battle, Kagome moves to get up, mumbling that she's gotta go after him. Shippou clings to her arm, crying out to her in warning, and the both of them end up cringing from the two youkai who are heading straight for them. Miroku yells to Kagome, but he's a bit preoccupied holding off a wave of his own to defend her. 

Kagome, where is your DAMN BOW???

It's conveniently gone so Inuyasha can leap out of nowhere heroically and rip apart the flying snakes going after his girl with his claws. And a declaration of Sankontessou for style. Kagome barely shield's Shippou with an arm as she gapes at Inuyasha. She drops to her knees again, stuttering his name, while he shouts over his shoulder, asking if Kohaku wasn't just around. Kagome says they can still make it, since the Shikon shard she's sensing from him isn't far away. Sango now notices Inuyasha from her position on Kirara in the air, and as Inuyasha hoists Kagome up on his back, he calls to her that they're going on ahead - it seems to him that time is short.

While they're heading in the direction Kagome's Shikon-sense is leading them, it appears Inuyasha is catching her up on what he learned from Jaken. He confirms for her that the little girl she saw was hanging with Sesshoumaru originally. Though it's a bit unbelievable to Inuyasha that a guy who thinks of humans as mere bugs would take a human child along on his travels for funsies, he knows that whatever is happening here is a bad combination. He reasons that Naraku planted a suggestion in Kohaku to kill the hostage, and Sesshoumaru wouldn't be very likely to spare Naraku's subordinate, because of the nasty sport Naraku made of him back at the castle. Coming from a guy who doesn't know Sesshoumaru has made a precedent of sparing one of Naraku's subordinates before, of course. He's sure Sesshoumaru will kill Kohaku. 

Kagome begins to put two-and-two together, which is easy despite her struggles with math back in her timeline. She works out that this little scheme sets up Inuyasha's brother to murder Sango's brother, which Inuyasha rightly assesses as a BAD TIME for everyone. Kagome suggests that they can curb this disaster by getting to Kohaku before Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha agrees, asserting that no one will be able to stop Sesshoumaru but him. 

In the forest ahead, Kohaku and Rin have ditched their snake-dragon ride and Kohaku is pulling Rin along by the hand on foot. Rin asks him why they ran away to this place, and if the wasn't someone outside their hideout when they left, and where they're going now. Kohaku remains quiet, despite Rin continuing to address him. His head is rather preoccupied at the moment.

Preoccupied with MURDER THOUGHTS.

He raises his sickle, pulling Rin almost level with him and looking at her blankly. The all-encompassing order to kill her echoes in his head again as she just stares up at him, looking somewhat confused. A slicing sound effect later, Rin has fallen to her backside, having just avoided his monotonous attempt to behead her. She stutters his name in question, but he only answers with another swing of the sickle that she dodges with her hands over her head and a scream. She tries to crawl away, but simultaneously looks over her shoulder to ask what's happened innocently. Still keeping him in her periphery, Rin gets to her feet and begins to run, thinking his expression has changed. I wouldn't say "changed" so much as disappeared completely.

Rin's flight is cut short when the weighted chain on the handle of Kohaku's sickle wraps around her angle and drags her down, and she falls right on her face. It's somewhat... hilarious? Her fingers on her hands are splayed out and there's a splat sound effect and everything. Not sure this is the appropriate moment for slapstick depictions of falling, RT, but okaaaaaay... Kohaku kneels next to Rin and turns her over; she appears to have been knocked unconscious. He raises the sickle again, but he pauses a beat. 

I hope so too, because I think I've had my fill of graphic child death in this comic, thanks. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The end of the battle was a little abrupt, but that wasn't awful. It makes sense that once it hit Naraku that he wasn't going to be able to follow through with his scheme now that Inuyasha was there, he'd definitely want to make a quick exit. I think Sesshoumaru was a little TOO quickly convinced that he needed to forego pursuing Naraku in order to go after Rin instead, especially when there wasn't any indication that he had picked up on her scent or otherwise knew where she was now. Then again, the guy IS known for just wandering away from fights on his own with the flimsiest of excuses, so that angle might lend a little legitimacy to the situation.

Kagome's missing bow was totally illegitimate, though, and it was annoying that she had to be rendered helpless - whether it was because Inuyasha had to rescue her for some inexplicable reason, or because she had to be free from battle to tag along with Inuyasha running to stop Sesshoumaru, it's a very glaring omission. As conscious as RT seems to be in making her female characters strong and capable, it's moments like these that have me scratching my head, because it seems to kind of move that progressive coding back a little. 

Maybe most of the effort here went into showing the audience the multifaceted nature of Naraku's planning because that was the really solid part of the chapter. Not only did Naraku foresee the possibility that his scheme won't necessarily go the way he wants (more than the minimal to ZERO planning our heroes do on the regular), but it also gives us the indirect impression of just how much research Naraku had to do. In all that spying on Sesshoumaru, and Rin's field raids for the opportunity to snatch her, he was doing, clearly he understood how little of an eye he was keeping on Inuyasha or other enemies in the meantime. And he had to have known that if anyone else showed up while he was entertaining Sesshoumaru, there was no way he'd be able to survive a split in his attention. It was a very simple diversion he set up so he could escape from such a situation, but it's refreshing to see a villain with a basic "tactical" mindset that takes into accounts all those uncontrollable angles. Usually the villain starts and ends their planning with whatever they know and the things they didn't even consider is what gets them defeated in the end, so this is a little more engaging as far as how the villain is thwarted goes. 

Can we also take a moment to appreciate how innocently Rin views Kohaku's sudden violent attacks on her? She automatically assumes something's happened, and isn't jaded or bitter enough to believe the nice boy she's been bonding with all night would hurt her unless something was wrong. This kid is such a precious cinnamon roll and while she absolutely doesn't deserve this shit, she's just the kind of friend someone like Kohaku needs; someone who intuitively understands that he's not what Naraku makes him do.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 280 A Sleepless Night

The struggle is real. A lot of my nights were sleepless over the past month, and not just because I had to coordinate my schedule to get that vaccine, or there have been a lot of challenging changes at work to navigate through all at once. I have occasional pinched nerve in my neck, and it makes sleeping a very complicated process, and therefore makes HEALING nearly impossible. I had a rather long bout of this issue during April, so there were a lot of nights when I was laying there trying not to tweak my neck anymore while also trying to just relax. It was a largely fruitless exercise, but at least I got a lot of reading done. I'm almost through this whole anthology of H.P. Lovecraft's most notable stories, so that's something.

... Gracious was that guy wordy. And racist. 

Yuugi's spending HIS insomnia hours staring at the box his Millennium Puzzle came in, which is just as useful a use of time, honestly.

He's put the god cards Yami fought so hard for in Battle City in there, because apparently he's not concerned about keeping them in a reasonably secure place. It's not like they're one-of-a-kind power cards that people would likely do anything to get their mitts on or anything. Yuugi is sure they're a piece of the puzzle in the search for Yami's memories, demonstrating just how much he and his associative humor/thinking deserve to be on this blog. Well done, my precious boy.

Yuugi picks up the box, with the assertion that he and his friends are going to the museum tomorrow, to see the stone slab from an Egyptian temple on display there, apparently. He either couldn't or wouldn't peek in on Yami's outing with Anzu, because he hasn't seen the tablet, and only knows that there's an image of the pharaoh carved in that that looks like Yami. Thinking on the god cards and that mysterious tablet, he vows to his other self that he'll find his memories soon, wearing his classic poop-face.

Ah, all we need now is Yami to put on his shit-eating murder-grin, and we're back in business!

Sugoroku peeks around the cracked door to Yuugi's room, calling his name in question, catching Yuugi by surprise a little. His grandfather laughs a little and steps into the room, asking if he's still up, considering it's 1:00 am. Yuugi says he couldn't get to sleep, so Sugoroku cheekily asks if, since he's already up, he would show "them" to his old grandpa one more time. Sugoroku winks, claiming HE can't get to sleep without getting a glimpse. Exasperated, Yuugi complains that Sugoroku is asking again, since he's seen them 10 times by this point. Sugoroku asks Yuugi to just humor him, and Yuugi gives in. 

You may as well draw a giant target on yourself, old man. 

Yuugi refuses, AGAIN, by the sound of it, but not because of how obviously dangerous it would be for anyone involved. He claims Sugoroku just doesn't know how hard it was, the life or death duels his other self had to go through in Battle City to get those damn cards. Sugoroku hums in curiosity over Yuugi's wording, noticing he referred to the "other him". Yuugi balks and backtracks, waving his palms at Sugoroku while trying to claim he meant it BOTHERED him - Sugoroku apparently hasn't met Yami.

Huh.... I guess he hasn't. I had COMPLETELY overlooked that fact until this moment.

Sugoroku, looking serious all of a sudden, asks if Yuugi is talking about the pharaoh's soul. Yuugi shouts in utter disbelief, trailing the question of how Sugoroku KNEW. Sugoroku wears a sober frown, silent for a moment, as he contemplates how he had guessed the pharaoh's soul had taken up residence in his grandson, who had solved the Millennium Puzzle. He recalls seeing the specter of Yami (though he was never properly acquainted with him as YAMI) reaching to kindly pull him from the abyss beside the path in the tomb, and thinks there may well be another realm beyond the maze in the tomb where no one has ever set foot - the trials for the person who solves the Millennium Puzzle. 

He glares at the golden box sitting by Yuugi's elbow on the desk, and puts a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. Sugoroku says the only thing he knows is that whoever solves that puzzle inherits the pharaoh's will, and will be continuously tested. Yuugi stares at his grandfather in alarm.

Despite this ominous note, Yuugi suddenly smiles, nods, and assures Sugoroku he knows. Well, that's that then!

Just as suddenly as he had become grim before, Sugoroku grins and chuckles his signature chuckle, mussing up Yuugi's spiky hair, while Yuugi scrunches his face in displeasure. Sugoroku turns to trot from the room, declaring it's time for bed and wishing Yuugi a good night. Yuugi offers him the same parting phrase, though his expression has fallen somewhat. If the question mark above his head is any indication, he's wondering about Sugoroku's uncanny ability to swing wildly from one expressive extreme to the other. 

Outside the game shop, an flash of lightning illuminates the shoe and pantleg of a mysterious late-night visitor. 

We're not quite done watching Yuugi be restless, though, so back inside we go. KT immediately puts us in Yuugi's room again, where the lights are off now and he's laying in bed, but his head is propped up by his arms behind it, and he's staring at the ceiling wakefully. He's thinking about what his grandfather said, that "fate of the chosen one" line, wondering why Sugoroku said that. THEN he remembers asshole!Bakura saying something about how the duty of the one chosen by the Millennium Puzzle is to awaken the pharaoh's memories. Yuugi considers the term "memories", before he tries to dismiss the thoughts with the self-assurance that they'll all find out something at the museum the next day. But the dismissal doesn't work and he continues to feel so restless it almost hurts. The RELATABILITY almost hurts to me.

And we're not the only ones all too familiar with Brainwontshutthefuckupitis.

Yuugi's life is complicated. There's an Egyptian ghost haunting his whole life all the time, and that's NOT the reason why he can't sleep.

No, the reason is that he thinks they might get Yami's memories back tomorrow, or rather, after the museum opens up, since it's already tomorrow by this point. Yuugi gushes about how long Yami has wanted those memories back, even though that can't have been too terribly long at all. I remember when he was debating finding those memories or just keeping the status quo forever for fear that he might not like what he found. Regardless, Yuugi exclaims that he's too excited to sleep, and Yami smiles placidly at him. 

We get a good look at the puzzle hanging from around his neck, the spectral double of the one on Yuugi. Yami admits to his partner that he knows he's the pharaoh's soul sealed in that puzzle. He begins to muse aloud about how he met Yuugi when Yuugi became his partner in finding his memories, listing off the friends like Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda that he's met along the way too. Yuugi gives him an encouraging affirmation, so Yami goes on to get around to the point - that he's made NEW memories now, those ones of being with his friends. He assures Yuugi that no matter what happens to him, those memories will always be there.

Yuugi hangs his head, considering the words Yami is using. Kind of a red flag when your bud starts talking like something irreparable might happen to him, after all. He's still going, too, talking about how his memories of friends are an eternal treasure to him. Yuugi frowns at his lap, holding the Millennium Puzzle as he repeats these words in his head too, trying to work out what it means that what's ahead is eternal. 

He looks back up eventually to tell Yami this is just like when he put the Millennium Puzzle together; he declares it's Yami's turn to put the pieces of his memories together. That... was an abrupt return to a more "comfortable" topic. Yami's eyes are wide in alarm regarding Yuugi, as Yuugi promises that he'll be Yami's partner as long as is needed, grin right back in place. Yami smiles too in agreement. A more subdued gesture, but it seems genuine.

More lightning flashes outside and thunder rumbles as the mysterious figure we saw before shimmies on the roof, up to the side of Yuugi's window. Shards or broken glass fall down beside the golden box still sitting plain as day on the desk where Yuugi left it. Yuugi, who's FINALLY fallen asleep, fails to notice the window breaking or the shadow sitting outside it, and snoozes away. Lousy time for the circadian rhythm to kick in so well. The mysterious figure leans over the window, keeping a close eye on Yuugi's sleeping form as they lower their hand through the hole in the glass they've made. 

And a whole-ass GOLD box, too. You know you should have gotten a safe for BOTH the damn things.

The stranger jumps from the roof, and it's not a height to scoff at if I recall fairly. Yuugi growls as he yanks his jacket over his shoulders, silently grousing that Yami NEEDS those cards. Spectral Yami appears at his side and offers to handle this, but Yuugi refuses, claiming that it was HIS duty to protect those cards. Maybe if you were going to leave the god cards in a valuable box right out in the open under a window, you shouldn't take on heavy responsibilities like that, kiddo.

Yuugi skids to a stop at a cross-street, and spotting the shadowy thief at running in the opposite direction he initially faced. He makes a frustrated noise and takes off after the stranger again, yelling at him to stop. The thief looks over his shoulder and grits his teeth at Yuugi, pushing to speed ahead. Yuugi, with his shorter legs, eventually loses track of the stranger and has to pause, panting and looking around, wondering where he went. As if in answer, someone yells from an alleyway to his right, and though Yuugi is startled and disturbed by the sound, he runs toward it. 

Ahead of him, a figure stands over the stranger's crumpled form in clutching the puzzle box to his gut. The figure stoops to pull the box away from the thief while Yuugi stares in shock at the long pale hair and fanned out duster jacket.

Of all the people who could lecture you about keeping shit safe, it's BAKURA. BAKURA, Yuugi. 

 
Anyway, Yuugi is just alarmed as all hell by asshole!Bakura showing up. Asshole!Bakura scoffs and starts complaining that he can't leave Yuugi's careless ass alone for a single moment, tossing him the box and demanding he make sure all those important cards are there. Yuugi takes the lid off the box to glance inside and confirm that indeed, the cards are all safely in there. Somebody give asshole!Bakura a podium, because he's deep in the lecture now, reminding Yuugi that every duelist in the world knows he won the rarest cards Pegasus left behind in death. Doesn't mention his part in that death, but I suppose it doesn't come up, so...

Yuugi haltingly thanks asshole!Bakura for helping him to get the cards back, gratitude that asshole!Bakura seems to mock with a scoff. There's a reason I give him that epithet, after all. Yuugi points out that asshole!Bakura's wearing that THING, though, giving him something of a suspicious glare. Asshole!Bakura chuckles and holds up the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck, asking sardonically if this is what Yuugi is referring to. Grinning, he asserts that the Millennium Ring belongs to HIM, even though he's certain that regular Bakura's theft of it on the blimp must have caused some distress to Yuugi at the time. Yuugi just stares in response, speechless but with his brows drawn down. 

Asshole!Bakura tells him not to worry, because he knows Yuugi will eventually need all the Millennium Items and he's prepared to hand his over when that time comes - no sooner than that. But he does offer Yuugi something ELSE to tide him over in the meantime. He holds up the Millennium Eye up over his own, sticking his tongue out cheekily at the utterly flabbergasted Yuugi, who identifies the item with pure shock. 

I don't know, dude. I don't feel like you should get to define the terms under which Yuugi can trust you. Not after all the shit YOU'VE pulled in the past. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It started out interesting, with the little tidbits here and there indicating that he actually is not present during the moment Yami was acquainted with the tablet in the museum. That in itself isn't new; we've known that there are times when Yuugi just blacks out when Yami is in charge, and times when, later in the chapter, they appear to be simultaneously experiencing events and are more or less SHARING the body. But they do seem to be working off of a sort of "etiquette" rather than "rules" in these more recent circumstances, as opposed to earlier in the manga. 

Here we see that Yami is able to kind of come out and hang in Yuugi's room while he thinks he's sleeping, which indicates he's more free than he seemed to be in the puzzle. He also comes out momentarily to offer to take over for Yuugi when Yuugi is chasing the thief, so clearly his autonomy is very flexible. It suggests, though does not explicitly state, that Yuugi COULD have done the same, poked his head in on Yami and Anzu's outing, but chose not to invade in that moment out of respect. All in all, it draws attention to how their relationship has evolved over the course of the story, from a clumsy and somewhat aggressive involuntary binary between the dual souls, to a cooperative and respectful partnership that allows each of them to share equitably. It's been a long road from one to the other, and I barely even noticed the evolution take place, but that's what makes it so compelling and relatable. 

Continuing on that note, the discussion Yuugi and Yami had in the middle kind of highlights the nature of their relationship being this strange balance of two seemingly opposing concepts - privacy within an intimate space. Their conversation seems strained, because neither one of them wants to be direct, even though they are both painfully aware of what this final quest for Yami's memories will mean. Yuugi is desperately trying to be positive and upbeat about it, even as he subtly tries to assure Yami he will be there with him as long as possible. Yami is trying to express just how likely it is that they will be separated soon, but how he will always treasure the time they had together, while softening the blow of this reality. It's a push and pull of the boundaries of what they want to say to one another, and trying not to be blunt, even though they know by virtue of how close they are what this will mean for the both of them. And, in some ways more importantly, what it will mean for them as a UNIT.

This is probably one of the deepest and most complex relationships I've ever read in fiction. KT really has a lot to say about these two and the wild dynamics of them in so few words, I'm really digging it.

I was a little flummoxed by the second half of the chapter, though - it seemed a tad forced in how it played out. From Yuugi not at least putting the box away in a drawer to make sure it wasn't fully on display under his window to asshole!Bakura just kind of SHOWING UP to stop the thief, it all seemed to be leading to his specific meeting with asshole!Bakura so they could form a tenuous alliance. I suppose asshole!Bakura COULD have compelled the thief to visit Yuugi to teach him a bit of a lesson, and that would definitely go a long way to explain how he was hanging around in the right place at the right time (perhaps the next chapter will contain an explicit statement of such). Still, that doesn't really explain how asshole!Bakura even KNEW that Yuugi wasn't being as careful with the cards as he could have been.

OR, for that matter, why Yuugi is so careless with guarding those cards in the first place. It could be argued that Yuugi kind of left them in an obvious place ON PURPOSE, due to how apprehensive he's been in the past about the impending separation of him and Yami, wanting to avoid that by "accidentally" losing one of the keys to finding Yami's memories. It could even be argued further that his subsequent discussion with Yami, and his promise to be helpful and a partner to him as long as possible put some guilt in Yuugi about trying to deliberately get the cards stolen, and so he was more serious and pushing hard to get them back. But none of that was even slightly indicated in the narrative, so I'm hesitant to make that assertion.

It's an alternative to what was given, though. So, you know. Headcanon.

Inuyasha Manga: 221 Cut the Barrier

RT didn't take long getting us to the payoff for the previous arc, did she? In no time at all Inuyasha is cutting right through that pesky Naraku's barrier. And here my stupid ass is, prepared to make this rush-order my 500th review on this blog. That's right - I've officially written roasting recaps and analyses for 500 total chapters of two manga here, which might be the most batshit thing I've ever done. If not batshit, it's putting way more effort into this content than RT spent creating it in the first place. And if that isn't an argument for reader-response criticism, I don't know what is.

... The miasma is still detectable outside the barrier? Or is that just the remnant of Naraku's scent before it disappears behind the barrier? 

Either way, Inuyasha lets out a primal yell as he slashes that barrier like it's an offensive jello mold. The castle wobbles into view, Inuyasha noting it with nervous triumph and the smallest of sweatdrops. Naraku's not looking the most comfortable either.

A close-up shows Naraku's slack-jawed alarm while he wonders who the party-crasher is. Whoever it is, they can damage his barrier from the outside, and clearly that upsets poor sensitive Naraku a bit. He turns toward the stilted building, yelling at Kagura to get her ass over to the disturbance, her responding with a little surprise of her own. I guess she was rather absorbed in watching the showdown in front of her. 

Sesshoumaru has worked out that Naraku has a visitor, and snarks that he feels sorry for whoever it is, being unable to meet him alive after coming all this way. He punctuates the last part of his statement with another swing of his sword, which sends more pieces of Naraku's body flying, raining down around Sesshoumaru himself. Naraku seems to have momentarily forgotten his barrier being busted into, gleeful in his assessment that it'll only take a bit more. He thinks at Sesshoumaru that he'll soon be eaten up by the flesh building around him, and become a part of it. 

Meanwhile, Kagura floats toward the breach in the barrier on her enlarged feather. 

No, she's not taken-aback by his strange ballet pose and how it's not even clear that he's on the ground at all - she's noticed that Tessaiga is red now. 

As Kagura touches down in front of Inuyasha, he acknowledges her with a combative shout. She asks for confirmation that he was the one who cut the barrier, and Inuyasha sarcastically fires back that she should be able to tell by looking. Then he declares her incapable of standing up against him now, so he barks that she'd better stand aside if she understands that much, because otherwise he'll rip her apart. He's still got a sweatdrop going there, though. 

Kagura has one too, though, and considers him as he is now; someone who may actually be able to kill Naraku. She extrapolates her freedom from such an outcome, too. But she notices there are some Saimyoushou hovering in her periphery, silently cursing them. Kagura flips open her fan, telling Inuyasha that she can't step aside because she's being watched, a statement that seems to surprise Inuyasha a little. 

Sure hope those wasps aren't Naraku's EARS as well, otherwise you just played yourself, girl.

The wind blades Kagura shoots at Inuyasha ricochet off the flat of Tessaiga's blade, and Inuyasha gapes in disbelief. He feels there's no murderous intent in the attack at all, something that MIGHT have been strange if she hadn't just outright declared she was pretending to fight. Not that he has any reason to take her at her word, a default stance that probably should have been considered a couple of arcs ago instead of being shoehorned in here, but I digress...

More movement out of the corner of Kagura's eye catches her attention; there's a whole swarm of generic youkai on their way to back her up. Or keep her honest, rather. 

... Not really doing their job well, are they?

Kagura wordlessly rises back up into the air on her feather above the carnage. Naraku becomes momentarily distracted again as he glances to the side, knowing whatever has broken through is getting closer. He's bitter that damn Kagura failed to kill whatever the hell it is, glowering off beyond the courtyard. Sesshoumaru, no doubt feeling neglected, points out that Naraku's concerns seem to be elsewhere, and Naraku admits that he won't be able to have a leisurely battle with him like he originally intended - he's gotta spring for that perfect youkai power he's got his eye on immediately.

Dude doesn't look thrilled, and I can't blame him. Getting eaten up by Naraku appears to be a rather... squishy process.

Almost simultaneously, Inuyasha leaps into the scene from above, screaming at Naraku. Naraku glares up at him as he asks for confirmation that this is his real form. Not that Naraku's going to have the time or patience to repeat the delicate "work-in-progress" phrasing he presented to Sesshoumaru. A better angle at Naraku's expression shows he's a bit more on the disbelieving side than the annoyed one while he beholds that it's INUYASHA who's broken into his palace. Inuyasha gives him no room to recover from the initial surprise, offering him a quick Kaze no Kizu as a gift. 

He's gotta bring SOMETHING, especially since he wasn't invited to this particular party. 

Accepted with the kind of grace we've come to expect from the gross bug-tentacle-man. He is just so utterly mystified by his bubble being popped twice as his torso falls to the ground. 

The first thing Kagura notices as she flies over the scene is that Sesshoumaru has been covered in the sentient pieces of Naraku; where he stood is now a big mound of flesh, but not for long. The mound splits before Inuyasha, and crumbles away to reveal a totally unscathed Sesshoumaru, having wrapped his sword arm over his head and knelt in the thick of the swarm of flesh. Seriously, the guy doesn't have so much as a SCRATCH. Clearly there wasn't much time for the digestion to kick in.

Inuyasha gapes at his brother emerging from the pile of muck, who stands and suggests it's rather ironic that the flesh Naraku meant to consume him with actually ended up protecting him against Kaze no Kizu. He's looking far more smug than he has any right to right now, considering Naraku would have had him dead-to-rights if he'd have been uninterrupted. 

As it stands, though...

He picked the wrong week to pause spying on Inuyasha and take up spying on Sesshoumaru instead.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This one had a better pace than the last few, for sure. The action moves as fast as it should, and I don't ever feel like scratching my head over something taking longer than it should, or happening in in a flash if it should have been drawn out a bit. I think part of it is the good decision of RT not to cut over to the Sango and Kohaku drama she's developing elsewhere, but most of it is entirely organic. Not only did everything that was happening in the chapter feel like it was happening in a nice smooth procession and at a believable rate, but we get a good excuse to move away from the repetitive hack and slash when following Kagura to meet Inuyasha at the edge of the barrier. It felt natural, and their interaction was much more interesting than the sterile overture between Sesshoumaru and Naraku. As "negative" and mistrustful as it is, Inuyasha and Kagura have something of a rapport with one another, a bit of colorful interaction to act as a base for Kagura to acknowledge that Inuyasha seems to have gotten to a point where he can have a shot at Naraku, and Inuyasha can notice that her fighting doesn't have the heart (heh) behind it that it usually does.

Naraku and Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, haven't fought each other before, and their banter is more on the level of distant disdain. Both of them have this cold, sarcastic tone with the other, and their motions they go through seem a bit mechanical. Sesshoumaru is reacting to Naraku as the classic snob he is - he's clearly disgusted and annoyed with Naraku, and this was obviously not how he wanted to spend his evening, so of course he wouldn't be very into this fight. But Naraku's timbre has a similar bent, even though it's not obscure that the only reason he's "invited" Sesshoumaru over is because he admires and covets his power. On the inside, he's practically over the moon at the prospect of taking that power, but on the outside, he's adopted a lot of Sesshoumaru's affectations and attitude, almost as if he's wanting to pick up a bit of the regal identity of his prey and not just the nifty powers...

I don't know if it reads like that in the original Japanese, though. In any case it certainly contrasts a bit with the more casual association Inuyasha and Kagura seem to have developed.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 279 The Millennium Treasure

I'm only familiar with the millennial kind of treasure these days. My most recent acquisition was a gift my mother sent me for my birthday - a giant 8-quart pressure cooker that can also saute, dehydrate, and air fry. It's crazy exciting because I so often find myself without the time to properly prepare things like dried beans, which normally have to soak for quite a bit before they can be cooked, but this device can cook them up real well in only a half-hour, no soak required. And that's just ONE example! It's practically a whole time-traveling kitchen all by itself, but there is one small issue...

There's no space in the apartment for it. 

*SIIIIIIGH*

Is it just me, or does this adrenaline junkie look familiar?

Our next panel explains over a basic map of the relevant part of Egypt that the Valley of the Kings in a valley graveyard near Luxor, the final resting place of Egypt's New Kingdom pharaohs, between 1550 and 1070 BC. One of young!Sugoroku's guides tells him that over 60 tombs have been discovered in the area nestled west of the Nile, most of them thoroughly ransacked. But the guide says he's heard rumors that not one person has stepped foot in a particular grave for 3,000 years, the other specifying that neither thieves nor archaeologists have found it. The second guide goes on to relay another rumor - that a member of the British Archaeological Society's last words were "the shadow games" at the beginning of the century. Oooooooh, spooky. 

Young!Sugoroku adjusts his hat jauntily, thinking on this phrase about shadow games with a smirk. Because he missed the part where the guy talking about shadow games DIED, I suppose. His first guide continues to lecture, stating for his information that only the one who wins those games will be able to get to the golden treasure hidden beyond them. He jabs a finger in young!Sugoroku's direction, saying that in no uncertain terms were he and the other guy fools who would throw away their lives for a game. They would lead him to the ENTRANCE to the royal tomb, and after that, it's young!Sugoroku's job to put his neck on the line to get them through to the treasure. Young!Sugoroku says he knows, and that he's not interested in treasure. The second guide eyes him silently, then suggests that they wait for sunset because grave-robbing is something best done at night... apparently. 

Once it's dark out, and young!Sugoroku has been reclining on a rock with his hat drawn over his eyes as long as he cares to (decked out in full tuxedo, by the way), he asks the milling guides if it's time yet. The first hoists his bag on his shoulder as he affirms it is indeed time, and the second comments on how strange young!Sugoroku's attire is for this job as their client is adjusting his collar. Guard #2 smarms about the aspiring grave robber in his tux, and says it doesn't even suit him. Young!Sugoroku says such statements show how little Guard #2 knows; young!Sugoroku's whole life is games. He uses chess and cards as examples, talking about how he's spent pretty much all his time in gambling dens and on casino cruises, and he always does his best to treat his opponents with respect. With a grin clamping down on his cigarette, he vows that if he ever loses a game, he'll trade in his tux for overalls and collect years instead of chips. 

Oh. I guess I know where THIS is going.

Guard #2 grins back at him sideways, warning young!Sugoroku that he might lose more than the clothes on his back with this game, and advises him to be careful not to join the mummies. He urges young!Sugoroku to follow, with Guard #1 already hiking out of their rest-area for the day. 

As they head for the target tomb, young!Sugoroku muses on how he's traveled the world and defeating every opponent he's come across. His current quest is a legendary "game room" in the Valley of the Kings amongst game enthusiasts, and the untold honor that awaits the one who conquers the most dangerous tomb in all history. 

Call me crazy, but he is REALLY convincing me this is going to be super fun. I wanna go out there and find cool puzzles myself!

Thank goodness for geocaching.

In the depths of a deepish trench, an UN-coincidentally square hole in the end of it looms before the group, which one of the guards says is their place. Guard #2 tells Mr. Mutou to go in first, and he mumbles a preparatory phrase as he holds a torch out in front of him. As he walks a bit down a passage lined with hieroglyphics, someone says that the corridor stretches for 30 meters without any traps. Yet. Young!Sugoroku eyes the pictographs on the wall, and once he's reached a gaping doorway at the end, he asserts that this is the entrance to the first room and that there's a warning carved by the door. He looks closely at it the hieroglyphs, reading that beyond this point rests the great pharaoh, and a plea to beware those that disturb him, a cursed bunch whom the gods would punish with bodily rot and eternal darkness. Guard #2 seems just as surprised that young!Sugoroku can interpret hieroglyphics as I am, and young!Sugoroku responds that he can read THOSE ones anyway. 

There is no questioning of young!Sugoroku's implication that he is not, in fact, a linguist with several degrees, and just happens to have gained a momentary understanding of a complex writing system as if by pure magic. Not when they could be leaning their torches through the doorway ahead to see what they're in for.

Lovely. But that's just the entryway to this den of horrors. 

I mean, from this distance it DOES look a little less terrifying.

But the guides don't get our cool birds-eye view. Guide #1 starts freaking out about this being the place where people die, and suggesting they back the fuck outta there with their lives. Guide #2 whirls around and shouts at him to shut up, refusing their ability to back out now. When Guide #1 starts to protest, revealing that Guide #2 is his brother, Guide #2 lowers his voice to whisper that they're not in any danger; they'll let young!Sugoroku solve all the puzzles and then they'll take the treasure at the end. Easy peasy. Guide #2 also flashes the butt of a revolver from the mouth of his satchel, nervously chuckling that Guide #1 needn't worry, because he'll use it if he needs to. Guide #1 gulps and stutters his agreement NOT to run screaming from the joint. 

Meanwhile, young!Sugoroku has been pondering the labyrinth ahead, stroking his chin as he wonders what kind of puzzle this is, because it's obviously fatal to just charge ahead. Guide #2 reaches out to Sugoroku, urging him to hurry up, but before he can shove him into action, his step forward in on a small button in the floor that clicks ominously. A moment of confusion is replaced by horror when the doorway behind them is closed by a falling spiked block, with more spikes springing forward from the side facing them. More spikes ease out from the slats in the wall, and the whole wall starts moving toward the wannabe grave robbers, to their utter terror. No hanging back and waiting for young!Sugoroku to do the work for them, it seems. Guide #1 yelps while his brother snaps at young!Sugoroku to get moving. And the spikes inch ever closer. 

By sheer necessity, Mr. Mutou dashes onto the path in front of him with determination.

Ancient Egyptian robots? Legit.

The one before young!Sugoroku isn't a stiff mannequin either. It leans down to aim a smooth cross-slash at the intruder, who has to lean back precariously over the precipice past the edge of the path. He rights himself an takes a step back, exclaiming that the statues are attacking with swords. Young!Sugoroku sweats and grits his teeth, worrying that if he doesn't think of something soon, he and his guides will all die. 

It's implied that he dodges past the first statue, because in a future panel a statue is behind him, and leans away when the new ancient automaton in front of him pushes forward, whipping its swords around so fast that they're blurred. He complains that he can't dodge as many as are pressing in on him from the many branches ahead, and Guide #2 in turn complains that they're running out of room at the entrance, urging him to do something. Young!Sugoroku tells himself to think in his panic, and in the moment of concentration, he notices that the automaton has frozen again with disbelief. Mr. Mutou looks down at his feet, where his left foot is firmly standing in front of his right. He thinks it can't possibly be THIS, but when he looks back up at the still statue, he decides it has to be. 

So the "game" is on par with not stepping on the cracks or the floor is lava? Strangely juvenile...

Young!Sugoroku twists to instruct the guides to keep their left leg ahead when they walk on the path, warning them that the statues will attack if they lead with the right leg. While Guide #2 immediately steps onto the path, reminding himself carefully that it should be his left foot forward, his brother whines that he doesn't walk like that. Young!Sugoroku snaps that they should just do the damn thing, with the understanding that this game was designed to test the humility and wisdom of intruders. And also their balance, what with having to lean skirt around the edge of statues while always keeping their left leg in front of them just to get anywhere. 

When he's reached the other side, he notes the next door is overshadowed with an ornate statue of the pharaoh as Horus over it, the "opener of the way" as he puts it. Young!Sugoroku turns to shout at the guides to watch their step. Guide #1 is still flinching back from the frozen automatons around him, squealing in fear. He panics, claims he can't, then dashes forward, and is quickly skewered by a statue both in front and behind. Guide #2 calls out to his brother in horror at his fate, calling him Mushara. Good to know the guy actually had a name. Gives him a little dignity as he slumps over the swords sticking out of his chest and back.

Doesn't mean you have to be a dick about it. Dude just lost his BROTHER - have a little compassion. 

Then again, he IS waving a gun in your face...

Guide #2 demands he keep moving, gun still pointed at young!Sugoroku's face. So they head down another hieroglyphic-lined corridor, until young!Sugoroku pauses in front of a new threshold, labeling it as the second door. Guide #2 gulps as young!Sugoroku leans in to read another panel of explanation by the new passage. He reads flawlessly yet again, that the "ka" sealed in the stone would judge him, and the cowardly will be eaten by demons, while the courageous are shown the way. Upon stepping cautiously through the doorway, he notes that there are a line of stone slabs acting as another path over ANOTHER pit, because that is just how ancient Egypt DO, apparently. Love their bottomless pits, they do.

Young!Sugoroku also notes a glimmer across the room, excitedly pointing out to the guide behind him a light in the tomb. Guide #2 says it's the shine of the gold treasure sitting right there, then demands young!Sugoroku get going over that bridge and show him where it's safe to step. As young!Sugoroku makes his way down the path, he tells the guide over his shoulder to just not let his guard down. With a deranged grin, Guide #2 thinks Mr. Mutou should heed his own advice.

Young!Sugoroku walks slowly and carefully over the carvings, sweating the closer he gets to the other side. He considers the few steps he has left before he conquers the shadow games. It was ONE game, and barely even what I would call a game, but sure. You sure conquered them shadow games, bro. Gun still raised, Guide #2 observes with a grim smirk that it looks like young!Sugoroku is going to get across safely, and assumes there's nothing wrong with the bridge, that it must be completely safe. This conclusion convinces Guide #2 that he doesn't need young!Sugoroku anymore.

Oh shit! Sugoroku took a shot in the dark!!!!

Young!Sugoroku begins to topple over the edge of the path, and is able to grasp the edge of it with ONE HAND at the last moment. Guide #2 says he'll see him in Hell as he saunters on past the man he's essentially murdered toward that gold he's got such a hard-on for by the look on his face. Young!Sugoroku strains to hold his grip on the edge of the bridge, his eyes squeezed shut as his face is pressed against the ancient stone. 

Suddenly, a pulse sweeps through Guide #2, and the path around him starts issuing smoke, to his confusion. He asks the tomb what's going on in terror, a deep rumble emanating from beneath his feet. 

... No name for cowardly Guide #2.

It's not clear that young!Sugoroku noticed ANY of this, what with putting all his concentration into holding onto the path with his uninjured arm. And feeling sorry for himself for coming so far, wondering if this is the end for him. Suddenly, he's alarmed to see a shadowed figure in a cape looming over him on the path. It has familiar spiky hair. 

Oh hey, I recognize this guy too! But what the hell did he just call my boy Sugoroku? What is a "Siamun"?

Young!Sugoroku's eyes widen, and after a small blackout period, he wakes back up lying face-down on the stone bridge, somehow having escaped falling into the pit over the side. He groans pushing himself into a kneel and holds his wounded shoulder. He wonders who in the world - I'm guessing both in terms of who pulled him out of that mess, and/or who was the guy in the cape. He shuffles the rest of the way across the bridge with the torch that was lying next to him, conveniently still where his gobbled-up companion dropped it. Also conveniently didn't catch his fancy coat on fire. 

He approaches the stone pedestal at the end of the room, where a shining box is giving off a golden glow.

Yeah, okay, but what was all that about constantly being in gambling dens and casino cruises back in the day? I... kinda wanna hear more about THAT.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm kind of blown away by the fact that Sugoroku got a hold of the Millennium Puzzle in such an active capacity. Usually the older characters on the periphery of the younger mains aren't really given much of a backstory, and if they are, it's one that contributes to the main plot in a passive, unimpressive way. Not only does Sugoroku pull some badass stunts in this direct predecessor to the main story line, but he mentions himself that he's been a traveling gamer for years before this point, having all kinds of adventures that have NOTHING to do with what is going on outside of this flashback. To imply that Yuugi's grandfather spent his life before Yuugi was a gleam in his un-shown father's eye winning games around the world is refreshing, considering how the universe up until this point has revolved SOLELY around Yami and company. 

And it only now occurs to me that there were more hints than this one that Sugoroku was not just a collector and connoisseur of games, but messing around with some dangerous shit for a long time - he knew an awful lot about that dragon card game when Imori came to appraise it, so it's not as if that wasn't a sign that Sugoroku has seen some weird shit. But this chapter was the first blatant confirmation that Yuugi's grandfather has been in the very midst of that weird shit back in the day. You get the distinct impression now that he hasn't just heard the legends; he's lived them. I'm not kidding when I say I kinda want to see THAT manga, because it opens up a whole new set of possibilities for a story centered around games.

But concerning THIS manga, I am still VERY interested to learn what "Siamun" means. I doubt very much it's a translation issue, since professional translations rarely mangle names that badly. My guess it's some sort of title, or the name, of whomever Sugoroku is the reincarnation. After all, Yuugi and Kaiba can't be the ONLY ones with a spirit connection to Yami's lifetime in ancient Egypt - no doubt we'll see Sugoroku and a few other characters' likenesses show up in the near future. I think I remember that's how it was when I watched the show, anyway. 

It's been a while.