There's a rock shop near my house that creates some pretty interesting pieces of jewelry from their stones. Some spiral rings and wire-wrap pendants that are intricate and fun. They also stock a number of cute pagan and witchy products that center around gem magic, so this all paints an overall enchanted picture when you walk inside. I like to think of this place belonging to a jewel wizard too, but I very much doubt I could find anything in there that would take me to a border between the worlds.
But Inuyasha has the benefit of knowing through experience that this thing is possible, and is perhaps on his way to a shop like the one near me? He's riding on the flying transformed Kirara's back by himself on the title page.
I thought the guy who lived here just made swords, but I suppose it's a good place to start looking for a jeweler.
Inuyasha charges in there, demanding to know if Toutousai is there, finding him sitting with a blade in a pair of tongs, and lick of fire issuing from his mouth as he asks what this visit is about all of a sudden. Inuyasha starts patting Toutousai down, snapping that he has no business with THIS old man - he's actually looking for Myouga the flea. Toutousai comments about how rude Inuyasha is, as per usual.
When Myouga appears, it's on the tip of Inuyasha's nose, and he wastes no time taking a drink from it. Once he's finished, he says Inuyasha must be in some trouble to go out of his way to this place. Inuyasha face-palms for the singular purpose of flattening Myouga, even though he claps himself good in the mug.
This must have settled their score, as the next panel shows Myouga sitting on Inuyasha's finger asking for clarification that Inuyasha wants to visit his father's grave. Inuyasha tells Myouga to show him the way there, since there's something he has to make sure of. Myouga seems dissatisfied with this vague reason for the visit, asking if that's all Inuyasha can say.
Meanwhile:
Anyway, we're back to Inuyasha interrogating Myouga, accusing him of trying to keep that black pearl he needs hidden, after a question of what happened to it. Myouga asks how Inuyasha can bad-mouth him like that, while Toutousai looks on like he could use some popcorn. Myouga explains haughtily that the black pearl completed its purpose of letting Inuyasha through, and therefore disappeared. Inuyasha repeats this proclamation as another question, just to make sure I guess, and Myouga affirms this with certainty.
Toutousai interjects with his own question about WHY Inuyasha is so interested in going to pay his respects now. Inuyasha scoffs and says that's not what he wants to do, and presumably tells Toutousai about the Shikon shard that's there, if his next question about such is any indication. Inuyasha says that, yeah, there might be one in that world, and Toutousai strokes his chin in a pensive way for a silent moment.
Inuyasha knocks Toutousai over the head, asking who exactly in this situation is the moron in irritation, but Toutousai tells him to think about this for a moment. He tells Inuyasha that the youkai graveyard he went to before is another world entirely that requires a specific path to get there (though getting back is apparently cake), and asks Inuyasha how he thinks a Shikon fragment would end up getting over there in the first place. From Toutousai's shoulder, Myouga adds that Kagome was there with Inuyasha the first time they went over there, accompanied by a recollection of her standing next to the platform Tessaiga in which Tessaiga was embedded while they were in the Inu-dad's stomach. Myouga says that Kagome didn't feel the presence of a Shikon shard when they were there. Sweatdropping, Inuyasha says that was before, but Myouga states his belief that it would be the same way now, bouncing back toward Inuyasha's face.
Catching and pinching Myouga between his fingers, Inuyasha yells at him to shut it - he's clearly not interested in being patronized to, still wanting someone to show him how to get back there. Myouga stutters that Inuyasha has to go see the jewel wizard Housenki in order to get back to that place, trying to hold Inuyasha's fingers away from him with his many arms. Inuyasha asks who the heck Housenki is, Myouga answering that he's an old friend of Inuyasha's father. Inu-dad was a real friendly dude, huh?
He "raises" them? What, like some sort of stone rancher? Sounds fun.
Cut to Inuyasha and Co. traveling in their usual way: Kagome riding on Inuyasha's back and the rest of them riding on Kirara's. Kagome expresses some curiosity over the pearl that was in Inuyasha's eye, asking if it was from this same source mentioned above, and Myouga, bouncing on Inuyasha's head, confirms that Inuyasha's father indeed got it from Housenki. Myouga is still a bit uneasy about this errand, saying that the youkai graveyard is a place for the dead to rest, not really a great place for the living to hang out. Inuyasha scoffs at this, and refuses to let Naraku to get to the Shikon shard before they do, so the place is still worth checking out to him.
They arrive at a large lake in the valley between several forested peaks, and warily walk up to the shore. Myouga just blurts out a question to Housenki if he's there, though.
Don't expect Venus to pop out of there or anything. It cracks open to show a pair of eyes with vertical cat-like pupils, and a voice comes from it asking who is there and cut off any requests for jewels right away by saying there are none right off the bat. Kagome makes a confused noise, while Myouga jumps up and down on Inuyasha's shoulder, telling Housenki it's him. The owner of the eyes seems intrigued, recognizing the name, and the clam cracks open all the wider to show a pair of branching horns and a mustache-like pair of tendrils hanging over his mouth. He informs them that he's actually Housenki's SON, and his father recently died. An alarmed Inuyasha repeats the news like a question, clearly thinking this might have been murder.
Thankfully, he's wrong.
Kagome steers the conversation back to how Housenki Jr. said before that there were no jewels leading to the graveyard, and he confirms that this is true. Housenki Jr. says his dad used up all the jewels and then died, which seems oddly deliberate. Jr. over here just breezes past the obvious question of WHY and right to the fact that he's in the process of making new jewels. Inuyasha immediately demands that he be given one when they're done, and Myouga asks him if he didn't mean to tack a "please" on that request anywhere.
Housenki Jr. hangs his head, saying it's not as though he WON'T give them one, but he does warn them that they'd have to wait a good while for it. Kagome promises eagerly that they'll wait, and Inuyasha asks how long it will take, only for Jr. to state that the wait-time is 100 years, sending both of them on their ears. Inuyasha recovers fast to yell in Jr.'s face, demanding to know what's up with that. Housenki Jr. responds plainly that he's still in the middle of training and all, so it's implied that there's still a bit of a learning curve. From the edge of the clam, Sango comments on how youkai have a rather long-term view on things, while Miroku makes the disappointed remark that it was a waste of time coming here after all.
Inuyasha glares at his lap, cursing and wondering out loud if this is really the only way. Well, if it was, at least you wouldn't have to worry about Naraku getting the damn thing first. But Inuyasha is somehow under the impression that Naraku or Hakudoushi could be snagging that fragment before they can.
Narrow sky transition panel!
No, none of those nasty wasps are bringing a Shikon shard, thank goodness. Hakudoushi appears to listen to the buzzing of one of the Saimyoushou that flies up to him (at a good third of his size, these things are NIGHTMARE huge, I can't get over it), and he responds with a generic "I see". Apparently, the information he got out of all that buzz was that there's currently only one way to get to the border between this world and the next - to force open the gateway. Hakudoushi is intrigued by this, for some reason. Doesn't seem any more interesting than an image of some guy using a battering ram to break down a door to me, but I'm sure I just don't know what I'm talking about.
Back with Inuyasha and crew, who sit around a campfire at night, Inuyasha is asking Myouga if he's SURE the nonexistent jewels are the only way to get where they want to go. Myouga says it's the only way HE knows of in any case. Another voice from the sky asks them if they'd like to be told how else to get in, and a massive gust of wind blow back Inuyasha and Kagome's hair as they stare in alarm at the descending informant.
Inuyasha's selective nose fails them yet again.
Kagura wastes NO time in waiting for them to say they want her to spill, and tells them that Hakudoushi is headed for the mountains in the flame country, where there's a gateway between the worlds. Sounds close to Toutousai's place - he didn't mention he was neighbors with the graveyard, the stingy old jerk, lol! Inuyasha and Myouga both seem a little stunned by this insformation, the former repeating the location of this gateway as a question.
Miroku steps forward to demand an explanation of what this is, and why Kagura is telling them this. Kagura plucks a feather from her hair and drawls that she has no clue, suggesting he should ask Hakudoushi about that. Then she's off into the sky again, rapidly shrinking upward. Kagome is in some disbelief that Hakudoushi apparently told Kagura to let them in on this info. Miroku states the obvious that this might very well be a trap.
Inuyasha scoffs, indicating that he doesn't much care if it's a trap or not, prompting Myouga to hop up and down in his hair and tell him he mustn't go. He insists the flame country isn't safe, even with the whole team. So I guess this ISN'T close to Toutousai's place? Inuyasha gives Myouga an exasperated look, deducing from how upset he's getting that this talk of a gateway isn't just a rumor, then smiles and says they'll just have to go in that case, no matter what Hakudoushi might be planning. Myouga is clearly even more alarmed at how he's managed to CONVINCE Inuyasha to go exactly where he's been told not to. Clearly he has no experience in dealing with teenage brats.
Cut back to Hakudoushi cruising along on Entei's back (his head collection missing from the giant horse's hindquarters), Kagura on her feather next to him.
Wow, this is the first instance where I'm seeing someone in this comic offer forgiveness to an enemy. Usually people declare that they WON'T forgive so-and-so. Sure, it looks like forgiveness comes at a hefty cost, but that's still something.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? There's something funny and intriguing about how Inuyasha is butting heads with Myouga and Toutousai over whether he even NEEDS to check the youkai graveyard. Reminds me strongly of how, in general, older generations will actively refuse to listen to the younger ones on various issues because they insist that they know better. Myouga and Toutousai are so SURE that there's no possible way for a Shikon shard to make it over there that they won't entertain the idea, and call Inuyasha a moron for doing so himself. Inuyasha himself probably didn't have the patience to explain why he was willing to believe it himself (Naraku and Hakudoushi wouldn't be going to this much trouble to get there themselves if there wasn't a good chance a shard was there), and I have to say, at this point, I've reached that point as well. With some of the older folks in my life, I don't bother saying anything about most of the progressive and leftist causes I have a hand in, because it's not worth the energy I'd waste arguing about it. Good for Inuyasha, honestly.
I am mildly surprised that Myouga didn't have a THING to say about the very suspicious information they received from Housenki Jr. - Housenki using up the entire stock of portal jewels right before dying sounds a lot like he didn't want anyone to FOLLOW HIM. That's really the only reason that makes sense as to why anyone would basically seal the door shut behind them like that. With that bit of info ALONE, I am really surprised that not ONE of these characters had an epiphany about HOW that Shikon fragment ended up in the borderline between worlds in the first place, because that would explain it entirely. Guy's a jewel wizard, as the title said, he's unlikely to just ignore something like the Shikon No Tama falling into his lap.
But hey, this is Inuyasha, where if characters don't magically divine the correct conclusion without any of the necessary information, they completely fail to deduce anything from a wealth of information they DO have instead. It's Opposite Day every day in here.
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