I had to check the spelling of this title two or three times, and I'm still not sure if I've got it right. While romanization of Japanese has to be approximate in a lot of cases, and there are a couple of different ways it can be done, I don't doubt there are certain folks out there who would criticize my spelling of the above word no matter what, so there shouldn't be any reason to worry about it. Still, as a detail-oriented individual who winces every time she finds a typo in her previous entries on this blog (I'm almost constantly wincing at this point), I balk at the prospect of being criticized for careless transcription of a word I don't even know the meaning of.
Yet.
You were forced to retreat for a second time in a row. Probably a good chunk of why you feel like shit right now, if I had to guess.
Bankotsu looks up to find himself in a bright and ornate fenced passage, a large pillar standing near him. There are more pillars faded into mist, where a couple of short silhouettes emerge from between them. It's Kohaku and Kanna again, the former greeting Bankotsu as if casually meeting him at the park. Bankotsu recalls their names as he stands, asking where they are and repeating that it feels fucking horrible in here. Kohaku says it's the inside of the barrier, trailing a "so" in what I'm interpreting to be a slightly sarcastic manner. I get the distinct impression this kid is rather irritated with the company he's keeping these days...
Kanna kneels to pick up something next to Bankotsu, who hums in askance. It's the dokko, at which Bankotsu glares out of his periphery, remembering how he was enveloped in its blinding light just before he saw he was here. Kanna turns and brings it to an altar a short distance away, a figure sitting atop it with emaciated arms crossed over its chest. She sets the dokko on a little stand in front of the railing of the altar, Bankotsu ambling up behind her to ask who this guy is, then deduces for himself that it must be the Hakushin-Shounin Inuyasha and crew were blathering about.
Doesn't look a day over... eternity.
We get a shot of the sheer side of the mountain, that Inuyasha and crew are looking at from a distance. Inuyasha asks for confirmation that Naraku is there, inside the barrier. Miroku doesn't exactly give him an affirmative, but he DOES say that Hakushin-Shounin was definitely the one who erected the barrier. Sango adds with some morose that Hakushin-Shounin protected Bankotsu, an agent of Naraku. Kagome says in no uncertain terms that this means Hakushin-Shounin is on Naraku's side. Both the girls hold an incapacitated Kirara and Shippou respectively, since they're hanging so close to the barrier at the moment.
Only if he didn't have the damn thing built around him.
Miroku invites Inuyasha to think of it thusly: once Naraku is inside the barrier, there's no safer place for him. He gives a couple examples of youkai chasing Naraku that can't touch him while he's in there, including Inuyasha as well. In fact, he adds afterward a fact that they observed firsthand: Kikyou can't get into the barrier either. Inuyasha wears a rather sharp look at this statement, but it changes to bewilderment when Sango suggests to Miroku that she and he get going. Kagome also makes a noise of confusion at Sango's invitation.
Miroku explains that they're going to check out Mt. Hakurei, Sango asking Inuyasha and Kagome to wait for them. Yeah, this makes sense, but they just... made these plans without the rest of the group's input or knowledge? WHEN? Kagome stutters out a question if it'll be okay with just the two of them, and Sango doesn't answer, stepping forward instead to deposit Kirara into Kagome's arms and requests that she take good care of the two-tailed creature while she's gone. Kagome sweatdrops, repeating Sango's name with trepidation. Miroku tells her there's no need to worry, because he won't have time to caress Sango's ass... said while caressing Sango's ass. Guess he wanted to get one last one in before he doesn't have half a second during their hike? Sango growls at him not to say that AS he's doing the damn thing, and Kagome of course protests that this wasn't what she was worried about. Because who the fuck gives a SHIT about whether Miroku cops a feel? None of them so much as told him it wasn't a funny joke before this moment, and spoilers: they never do.
As Miroku and Sango recede into the mists of the barrier, Kagome and Inuyasha stare after them with concern. Kagome wonders out loud if they'll be okay, cradling both Shippou and Kirara in her arms now, and Inuyasha says they'll just have to trust their abilities to handle themselves for now.
Narrow sky transition panel!! Someone asks Kikyou if she's really going no matter what they say - she's kneeling in front of the gaggle of children Suikotsu's shitty personality abandoned, apologizing because she says she wanted to stay with them a bit longer, trailing a "but". One of the girls tries the guilt-trip route, recalling that Suikotsu has already left them, and now Kikyou.
Over the backdrop of the mountain, Kikyou thinks about how she's lost track of Suikotsu because of the barrier around it, and the barrier has only gotten stronger since then. Apparently, she's already at the limit of how close she can get to the damn thing, and has left the children to, I assume, just patrol around the edge of the barrier until she bumps into the dude. Great plan, my girl.
Narrow sky transition panel the second!! Kouga is running with a few wolves following along, evidently carrying out the same impotent strategy as Kikyou. He bumps up against the barrier again, and grunts as the dangerous energy crackles around his grimacing face.
Or he's looking for a crack in it at the very least.
Mohawk and Two-Tone are jogging, begging out of breath for Kouga to wait up, even though he's already standing still. When they're finally level with Kouga, Mohawk complains that they've been checking around the mountain for several days now, Two-Tone following up with the assessment that there is no way through or around this barrier. Kouga yells at them to shut up, vowing to find a way to get to those Shichinin-tai shits that disappeared through it.
At that moment, a flash erupts in front of them, leaving them dumbstruck. Then the ground explodes at Kouga's feet, blowing him and a couple wolves back in alarm and disbelief. His legs are clearing shedding flecks of blood as he tumbles to the ground, groaning. Two-Tone and Mohawk are bleeding and stuttering as well, staring in shock at where the debris and explosion originated.
Damn near.
Behind Kouga, Mohawk is just flabbergasted, and Two-Tone vocalizes the confusion over how Renkotsu and Ginkotsu just appeared out of nowhere. Either that mist is super thick, or youkai can't even SEE through the fucking thing. Whichever it is, Kouga grumbles about Renkotsu/Ginkotsu hiding in the barrier, and Renkotsu chuckles that they've been there for a while now, right in front of Kouga's very nose. Ginkotsu gurgles in agreement.
Kouga scoffs that going around the base of the whole mountain wasn't in vain after all, since the bastards he was looking for came out after all. Oh, it was in vain alright. You're just lucky Renkotsu is even more vain than you are. And covetous of those Shikon shards in your legs, as is the reason he gives for popping out on Kouga in particular while firing another shot at his face. Kouga can see this one coming, though, and leaps up out of its way, his followers scrambling out of the way with hollers of fear. Two-Tone stutters Kouga's name in worry, but Kouga yells back at him to get away from there. His legs give a throb of pain, and he realizes with a curse that this is bad; his legs got real messed up from the very first blow. He thinks his only chance is to finish this battle up quickly.
Cowering behind the crest of a small hillock in the back, Mohawk says Kouga's name, wondering aloud if their leader can defeat that metal monster thing. Two-Tone says THAT is also a zombie.
Gotta find them first, and if you thought it was hard seeing whole PEOPLE behind that barrier, buddy...
Despite his pain, Kouga rushes for Renkotsu and Ginkotsu, promising to turn them back into skeletons. Or, rather, a skeleton and 1/8? I don't know how much of Ginkotsu's bones are left hanging out in his tank body. Renkotsu welcomes his attempt, firing yet another shot, but Kouga leaps over it as it explodes in the dirt. Next, Renkotsu calls Kouga a fool, throwing his fiery wires at him from his fingertips. They wrap around Kouga and set him ablaze, to his astonishment, Mohawk and Two-Tone in dismay over him getting caught.
Is that fire even hot? Or is Kouga wearing Fire Rat fur like Inuyasha? You'd think he'd be loathe to have any wardrobe in common with Inuyasha, but...
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm suddenly struck by how many corpses with autonomy are accumulating in this arc. Kikyou is the OG, of course, but between her, the Shichinin-tai, and now this Hakushin-Shonin guy, whose body is a conduit for producing the barrier in service to his new buddy Naraku, this comic is laden with the conscious dead. I'm not making any value judgments here, mind you, I don't think this is necessarily good or bad, but it is slightly weird. I don't think I've ever read a story, outside of outright zombie apocalypses with hordes of non-characters, with as many undead people coming back and exerting influence on the world. It kind of makes me wonder what was happening in RT's head when she kept adding new zombies to the mix; is it just because she's trying to maintain the horror elements and corpses are scary, or is she... SAYING something with this? Something about the unnatural extension of the working life of characters who would be better off getting some eternal rest?
Are you OKAY, RT? Can... can I HELP you?
Shifting gears, I thought the tension in our protagonists splitting up was conveyed well. The last time they were separated, in some capacity, a lot of them were poisoned and almost died, so it's understandable that the prospect might make them all a bit nervous. Nervous enough perhaps for the ones planning the separation to discuss the matter among themselves first before they broached it to the rest of the group. Miroku and Sango would no doubt feel better having their resolve concrete before telling Inuyasha and Kagome about it. I'm not sure when they would have had the TIME for this, or would have appreciated a little hint as to their conference before they broke the news when they did, but otherwise all of this has a genuine ring to me. No doubt all of them are very uncomfortable with this arrangement, but they know the absolute necessity of finding out the nature of this big wall surrounding the mountain. If there's a chance that those human among them can remove the obstacle, that's a chance worth taking, even though recent experiences make the idea rather worrisome.
As for Kouga's fledgling battle with Renkotsu and Ginkotsu, handicapping Kouga's Shikon-powered legs doesn't seem to be manifesting much at all right now, considering it's still early. He DOES have a lot of disadvantages in this fight, though, because even if his legs hold out as long as needed, Renkotsu could slip back behind the barrier and continue long-ranged attacks from there at any time, so he'll essentially be fighting blind. Also, Renkotsu has some pretty strong motivations to get those shards out of Kouga's legs. He just got caught hoarding some a couple chapters ago, and he's been given a warning about trying to do it again. There's something of a desperation to his actions now, knowing the danger of trying to commit his coup just got so much bigger.
The obstacles to Kouga keeping his Shikon fragments are looking pretty formidable, is all I'm saying. I certainly don't envy the guy.
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