Must be nice to even HAVE sacred ground at this point. Where I'm standing, there are literally no boundaries that people won't cross these days. Sometimes you even have to avoid actively SETTING your boundaries, or stating outright what they are, because you'll get a swarm of contrarians knocking at your door trying to lecture you as to why you're wrong about putting your boundary where it is. And what's worse? It's a lecture you've heard about a million times and it's not even all that compelling. But you have to listen to it, because these invaders won't get the hell up out of your SPACE!
Ahem. Sorry, I've been having to respond to an awful lot of failed debate-bros these days. It's gotten to me.
And the debate-bros aren't the only ones getting repetitive. How many times have we seen THIS before?
Inuyasha and Bankotsu cross swords and neither one budges with the pressure from the other. Miroku exclaims that they're locked together in combat, Sango in disbelief that they seem to be equal in strength. Kouga stands to the side with a bored expression - he clearly cannot give two shits about this. Renkotsu speeds at the peanut gallery from the flank of his Ginkotsu tank, asking why they're standing there making observations so carefree. Renkotsu and I agree that no one should be standing around doing nothing during a fight? Just for that, I'm going to look up his name's meaning real quick.
The "Ren" character means to "metalwork, shape something over a fire". Not exactly a pun, but not super lame either, and fitting in that he seems to have metalworked his own "silver" teammate. I'll take it.
Ginkotsu gurgles and fires his back guns, forcing Miroku and Sango to lunge out of the way. Inuyasha looks over his shoulder, calling out to Kagome in panic at the explosion in her direction. Bankotsu slams him with his giant sword, putting him on the defensive while advising him to just worry about himself. Inuyasha holds Tessaiga up to shield against to blow, grunting with the effort.
Well, except for the fact that you're treating her like her legs are broken. That probz stings a little.
While reassuring himself silently that Kagome is okay, Inuyasha threatens Kouga that he might compliment him for saving Kagome. Cruel and unusual, for sure. Once Kagome is safely on her feet again, Kouga yells back not to talk down to him like that. He then turns back to Kagome and urges her to go hide somewhere, citing the Shikon shards in his legs as what the Shichinin-tai are really after. She stutters out a protest, focusing in on Renkotsu, who she remembers taking the small vial of Shikon fragments she had before her near-death experience. She blurts that he still has them, which was a BAD idea.
Renkotsu realizes that Kagome can see the shards he stole from her gleaming from beneath his breastplate. He curses, knowing that Bankotsu wouldn't let him off lightly when he finds out that he's been keeping them to himself. Unless he kills the witness, of course. Renkotsu is poised to fire that cannon right at Kagome again when Kouga speeds toward him, announcing his intention not to let "Baldy" fire.
Miroku observes that Renkotsu is off the cannon now, rushing toward him, Kagome insisting that they have to get those fragments back. But Miroku doesn't get very far before Suikotsu takes a swipe at him with his not!Wolverine claws, driving him back. As Miroku holds up his staff across his chest defensively, Suikotsu announces he'll be Miroku's opponent this afternoon, like a good host should. He takes another swing at Miroku with his claws, admitting that he's always hated doctors and priests. Miroku points out that Suikotsu IS a doctor, but Suikotsu doesn't seem to give a shit about the facts of the matter. Big surprise there.
Meanwhile, Jakotsu is looking disappointed with his sword propped on his shoulder, complaining that everyone is already doing what THEY want and leaving him with a mere... Sango. Sango sarcastically asks for forgiveness for being left-overs, a statement that's a little overdue in my opinion. Jakotsu continues to whine, this time that it's not worth it to take his time against a woman.
We DON'T cut to Kagome holding Shippou awkwardly in the middle of this fight, without a sparring partner but unable to just kind of LEAVE, and I think it's a missed comedic opportunity.
Inuyasha and Bankotsu are grinding their swords again, and it's not nearly as homoerotic as its should be. Bankotsu says that Inuyasha is, as expected, much tougher than a human, but he does wonder aloud why Naraku couldn't defeat Inuyasha. He asks snidely if this is all Inuyasha's got, but instead of bristling at the insult, he focuses in on the "Naraku" mention. He asks again what Bankotsu knows of Naraku's location, but Bankotsu just smiles enigmatically.
Back at Mt. Hakurei, in the misty atmosphere...
EVERYTHING is big to you, tiny person.
And yes, those are Jaken and the two-headed dragon laying on the ground there, Jaken groaning about pain in the next panel. Rin turns and asks him what's wrong, having been too busy marveling at the grand mountain that she totally overlooked Jaken's pissing and moaning, apparently. Squinting, Jaken indicates that this is sacred ground, so he's convinced that a lump of evil like Naraku can't possibly be in a place like this, and wonders why Sesshoumaru is checking this area out.
Sesshoumaru himself appears to be a ways away from them, circling the mountain in the mist. He's not showing any physical signs of discomfort, but he does think about the holy barrier and how he can't get close. He had followed the underling Kohaku's scent here, but it looks like he's not getting to follow it to its source. What a shame.
We're back with Rin and Jaken after another narrow sky transition panel, as is tradition. Rin rocks to and fro on her backside, commenting on how late Sesshoumaru is in coming to get them. Jaken is just thinking about how much he'd love to get the hell out of here. In front of Rin, a human shape appears out of the fog.
Kohaku is SUPREMELY lucky that the only one who sees him skulking around is the harmless little girl who wants to be his friend.
Knowing that this is definitely Kohaku, Rin stands up and runs for him. Jaken notices this despite his agony and calls out to her, but he has to get up and follow her when she ignores him. He yells that she can't go off on her own, or Sesshoumaru will scold him, before getting what looks like an electric jolt to his outstretched arm. He falls back, sweating and heart thumping wildly, holding up his singed sleeve and stuttering that he got DANGEROUSLY close to being purified.
Rin has followed Kohaku into a spooky kind of cave, another thing she's failed to note, calling his name. Kohaku looks around in alarm, and turns to ask Rin what she thinks she's doing here, but she happily suggests that they can have another chat. Her expression falls when she admits that they parted on rather... strange terms the last time they saw each other, and it kind of bothered her. Proving once again her precious cinnamon roll status and further demonstrating why Sesshoumaru has taken her under his wing. Who WOULDN'T want to protect this adorable baby?
Kohaku urges her to go, tells her this isn't any place for her, then whirls around at a rustling noise behind him. Countless eyes and barely visible outlines that are definitely NOT human lurk farther in the cave, producing a strange rumble in their activity.
Shortest. Chat. Ever.
When we switch back to the castle where our mains (and Kouga) are still fighting the Shichinin-tai, there's a rustle sounding over it, which apparently isn't just the wind in the trees. It's a cloud of Saimyoushou, that Bankotsu pauses in hacking away at Inuyasha's sword to glare at over his shoulder. As the wasps approach even closer, Shippou points out from Kagome's arms that they're Naraku's, because we needed to check in on them to assure the audience that they're okay. Kouga also identifies the Saimyoushou as he dodges a shit-ton of fireballs from Renkotsu, who also pauses to look around at the insects. He can apparently understand them, silently questioning their order to withdraw and wondering if something has happened.
But Bankotsu tells the BEEEEEES to shut it, because he intends to finish off this bunch. As he lunges back at Inuyasha, he says he would have liked to have take his time a little, but as per his employer's demands, he tells Inuyasha to say his prayers.
That should have been your FIRST go-to, kid.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? While I'm glad that most of the team aren't bystanders in a battle between two guys like is so wont to happen in the bigger main groups, this pairing-off of opponents came off as awkward in a couple places. Kouga's defense of Kagome against Renkotsu was rather organic, as was Suikotsu cutting off Miroku from aiding Kouga's fight against the guy with the jewel shards. In addition, Suikotsu's joke about how he hates doctors and priests fueling his assault against Miroku, and Miroku's perplexed response was kind of funny. I also like the added implication that Suikotsu's murder personality resents peaceful authorities that might repress his homicidal impulses, including his more docile side.
But the joke regarding how Jakotsu is disappointed in not getting to fight the one he wants again, and that the only one left for him to fight is a woman to boot, chafes a little in an unexpected way. Sango is very often the most sidelined fighter of the group, and now RT seems to have made that into a punchline instead of fixing it. Yes, if she had been the one to heed Kagome and try to go after Renkotsu, being cut off by Suikotsu, there would have been fewer jokes to make, but it would feel less like an insult to one of our mains.
And can we talk about how Kagome seems to have been deliberately cut out of the action, and inconsistently drawn with and without arrows/a bow? This has happened a couple of times before, and it bugs me more every time. There's only one shot in this chapter, on the second to last page, where a bow is visible on her back, and intermittently throughout she has and does not have arrows. Drawing her at any point without these tools not only makes her look stupid, but it makes her a liability where she could easily have been an asset. There is no reason she couldn't have been taking cover and acting as a sniper to her team other than RT wanting to stick useless romantic drama between Inuyasha and Kouga in there. And then after that little joke fell flat on its face, Kagome is just standing around doing nothing, sometimes and sometimes not carrying arrows. Sure, the rest of the group is engaged with the fight, but Kagome being relegated to the sidelines so visibly, and inconsistently with her weapon as well, makes it all the more obvious that she COULD have been involved, but RT refused to LET her.
Harmless passive baby RIN had more to do in this chapter than Kagome, and that's not saying anything nice about how RT has delegated roles in this one. Not that I don't ADORE Rin trying to to restart a friendly interaction with Kohaku, but...
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