YuYu Hakusho Manga: 003 Time for Departure!!

Wait a minute, I thought the goal was to stick around the living world, but we're leaving? Where to??? I hope it's not back to that crowded office full of bustling ogres directed around by a precocious toddler. Whether to hang out or intern, I feel like Yusuke would just be pissed off being cooped up in there, and that CANNOT be good for the vibe feeding his egg. It would be akin to an act of sabotage, because there's no possible way Koenma could not predict the massive attitude Yusuke would cop when forced to hang with him in the spirit realm. 

Yeah, I just hope wherever the destination is, it's somewhere CHILL. 

I mean, I guess he IS sleeping. NOW. 

Atsuko, strangely nose-less, chuckles that the doctor's baffled and says it shouldn't be possible, but here Yusuke is, sure enough. NOT in a hospital. According to Atsuko, for all the doctor could tell, Yusuke IS just sleeping and he could wake up at any time, but apparently it's also possible that Yusuke will just stay like this and not wake up ever again. Yeah, did the doctor happen to also advise you to put Yusuke in a medical facility to make sure he's able to get nutrients and fluids while he's in this Sleeping Beauty phase, so he doesn't STARVE to death in the interim?? No word on that - Atsuko just talks about how she BELIEVES her son will wake up, she KNOWS he will, mentioning that he did after all make the effort to visit Keiko in her dreams while his mom was completely trashed. 

Keiko is silent for a moment, before she starts to express doubt that it was a genuine message from Yusuke, admitting that it COULD have just been a dream. But Atsuko says that it was too much of a coincidence that Keiko was told in her "dream" to look for the evidence that she just happened to stumble upon at the same time. Keiko still looks a little doubtful, but she agrees after a pause. As she leaves the house, Yusuke floats with Botan behind her, a bit miffed. He's annoyed that she's questioning his personal message to her, and says that he might just have to visit her again to make the reality of his presence sink in. 

Botan asks if he'll have his "last words" ready for this communication he's talking about, and he begins to confirm that he'll make a believer of her yet, but as Botan gives him an affirmation and begins scribbling in a notebook, the phrase "last words" finally hits him with full force and he has to ask her to repeat herself. 

The inference of what you actually DID say might be enough to stop a weakly beating heart regardless, Botan.

Yusuke questions this sudden reference to "rules" and Botan confirms in a huff that he's not allowed to continuously communicate with people he's close to while he's taking the test, but this rule isn't effective until tomorrow. Yusuke's attitude is palpable when he suggests to Botan that she bring up these little details SOONER, but she's dismissive. She thinks (with some smugness) that she knows how he works now, and he wouldn't have gotten around to this until the last minute anyway. Suuuuure, I totes believe that this wasn't just a contrived rule made up at the last minute to impose some tension on the plot...

Yusuke asks how he should go about the message this time, asking if he should just wait until Keiko is asleep again. Botan says she doesn't see much sense in it, considering Keiko might just think it was a dream again. She suggests instead that this time around, he BORROW SOMEONE'S BODY to actually talk to her. She even does it with a little grin, as if possession isn't an ethical nightmare for someone in Yusuke's position. Yusuke, of course, doesn't see any red flags with this, even reiterating what Botan is suggesting to show that he follows, and even asks if it could be ANYONE. Botan tells him no, that the rules again dictate some strict perimeters, and asks Yusuke if he knows anyone who has a really strong sixth sense. Yusuke sweatdrops as he considers the question. 

This is a PERFECT reaction picture. I can just see the versatility.

Kuwabara's friends turn to regard him when they notice that he's stopped in his tracks and they're leaving him behind, asking him what's up. He tells them that he feels a chill, to which one of them inquires incredulously if he's caught a cold, but another of his small gang asks if it's THAT again. Quivering and shaking from that chill apparently still passing through him, Kuwabara answers in the affirmative, stating that nothing good ever happens when he feels like this. He lists all the things that he's experienced - will-o'-the-wisps, sleep paralysis, getting chased by ghosts - all of which are recreated in his imagination in... less-than-terrifying detail. The first friend simply says he doesn't get it, but the second whispers to him that Kuwabara has a really intense sixth sense, and receives an exclamation of disbelief in response. 

There's more disbelief from the Yusuke hovering nearby, but it's more the kind of "is this some sort of joke" disbelief. He mutters about how this is really TOO much, and as if in response, Kuwabara proclaims in all seriousness that he feels a ghost behind him right this very moment, which is of course a mildly annoyed Yusuke. When Kuwabara suggests that the ghost he's feeling is probably one of a lower life form like a racoon or monkey, Yusuke lashes out and tries to punch him in the back of the head, which of course doesn't work. 

Yusuke turns to Botan to complain about the prospect of taking over the body of this goon, but Botan tells him that she didn't say he HAD to do it. True, it was just an idea, and one that it seems Yusuke was kind of depending upon. He growls in frustration at Botan, who after a pause asks in a chipper tone if he's gonna go for it. Kuwabara freezes unnaturally, his friends wondering what's going on with him now, but he's completely unresponsive to all of their concerned questions. Botan tells Yusuke that he can go on in now, but he only has about 30 minutes as she holds up three fingers, because it's all Kuwabara's body will be able to take. Yusuke looks over at the sinking sun and estimates he'll have until about sunset then. 

Me when I'm daydreaming but I suddenly hear my name in a Zoom meeting. 

Kuwabara's head turns side to side, where his friends hum in confusion and suppose he's back, they guess. All of a sudden, Kuwabara BOLTS, sprinting off while one of his friends calls out to him in utter confusion, and Yusuke from within thinks that she should be home right about now. No points for guessing who "she" is, of course. 

Cut to where Kuwabara('s body) is running up alongside the fence outside a building with a big placard on the outside written on in kanji, so I'm rather useless in reading it. But, when Kuwabara('s body) bursts in calling for Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura to ask if Keiko is there, a guy in the background almost chokes on the ramen he's slurping from his bowl, so it must be a ramen shop. The Mr. and Mrs. referred to sweatdrop at the unknown young man who has barged in, asking who he is after a moment of bewildered silence. Kuwabara('s mouth) says he's in a hurry, and again expresses his urgent need to know where Keiko is, and her mother hesitantly answers that she's not at home, and is out shopping. Her father asks the unknown boy if he's a friend of Keiko's from school, and Kuwabara('s mouth) replies in a hurry that yes, he's Yusuke Urameshi, and he wants to know what STORE Keiko's at. 

The name he gives at first receives a dumbfounded pause, and after that Keiko's father is up and shaking a whole-ass MEAT CLEAVER in Kuwabara's face, telling the greasy thug to hold it. Before long, Yusuke has Kuwabara high-tailing it out of there as both Keiko's mother and cleaver-wielding father chase him from the shop, yelling about the audacity of trying to pass his ugly self off as Yusuke, the boy who has passed from the world, something they think is an awfully insensitive trick to play. They are throwing knives and china at Kuwabara while Yusuke insists that it's not what it looks like, although he also acknowledges he doesn't have time to explain. 

Shortly, he's back on the street and looking around in desperation, wondering aloud if he's going to have to search every store in exasperation. You really should have thought a moment about what name you were going to use there, bud. A figure shuffles up to him with a sarcastic little surprised remark, and a guy who is very unremarkable looking compared to the strange gang-members hanging out behind him identifies Kuwabara as coming from Sarayashiki High School, and someone who's apparently been raising a lot of hell lately? If by "raising hell" they mean "wailing about the death of a dude he had a very complicated relationship with". 

Kuwabara('s mouth) says that he's NOT Kuwabara right now, and demands that this nameless thug get out of his way. The nameless thug tries to be intimidating by cocking his head in Kuwabara's face and saying he shouldn't be like that, because he might have to get his teeth knocked in. 

And that about does it for him. And two other groups of hooligans apparently - the next panel carries a label of "Three Fights Later", Kuwabara('s body) looking left and right while Yusuke complains about the waste of his time, and how Kuwabara hasn't been particularly choosy about his fights. As if HE'S one to talk. He spots the tall blonde girl and the bespectacled one that hang with Keiko some distance away, laughing together, and is stoked that he's finally found a lead to Keiko's whereabouts. The girls look over curiously when he calls out to them, then scream and run in terror when he comes running at them. He's frustrated once again, demanding that they not run away and asking what's wrong with them, because he hasn't seen the absolute MESS Kuwabara's face has become during the last few scuffles.

Kuwabara('s face) glares after the cloud of dust the girls left behind in their flight, growling. Yusuke notices the sun has sunk about halfway down the horizon, and curses that it's just no use, because even in the even he finds Keiko, there won't be any time to explain, let alone in a convincing way. Just as he gets done internally despairing of finding her, he hears a familiar voice wondering aloud where "they" went in a bewildered way behind him. Kuwabara('s body) turns to see Keiko looking puzzled, and in a TERRIBLE cardigan, no less. 

As Kuwabara sweatdrops, Yusuke is suddenly struck by the fact that he hadn't really thought about HOW he was going to convince Keiko it's him when he looks like someone else. The sun is pretty much set, and Yusuke knows his time is pretty much up, so he desperately tries to think of a way to clue Keiko in fast. 

Coincidentally, behind Kuwabara, a man sneaks up behind a woman he knows and covers her eyes, playfully asking her to guess who he is, and she guesses correctly. It's precisely the idea Yusuke needed, and he directs Kuwabara through the public crowd to position him behind Keiko, thinking it's the only way, that she knows he's the only one who could possibly have the AUDACITY. Oh boy. I think I know where THIS is going, and I'm pretty pissed about it, to be honest.

Indeed, Kuwabara('s voice) calls to Keiko to guess who, and reaches around under her arms to squeeze her breasts. Keiko is ALSO very pissed, growls, and swings around, yelling. 

That's one hell of a reflex you Pavloved her into, Yusuke. 

When the red fades from Keiko's eyes, she is alarmed to find that she has smacked the shit out of someone other than the boy she should be aware is lying in his mother's house in a coma. It's real confusing. She stutters that it wasn't, but from Kuwabara's mouth, Yusuke chuckles dumbly that it is, in fact, him.

REAL CONFUSING.

Keiko is still haltingly asking if it's actually Yusuke in the next panel, so Yusuke points Kuwabara's finger at her and insists that it really is. I'm not sure if the boy he's in is shaking because of his strong emotion or if he's just fighting to stay in there at this point. He tells Keiko all about the kitchen knives he's dodged and all the fights (feuds that belong to another guy entirely) he got into to find her, so the least she could do is believe him. Keiko asks how she COULDN'T believe it's him, given that only HE could dare to be as big of a jerk as he just was. She also silently clocks the way he talks and his gestures to identify him, as Kuwabara('s finger) scratches nervously at his cheek and sweatdrops. Keiko starts to tear up, realizing that all these things point straight to the Yusuke she knows.

Kuwabara('s face) balks, and Yusuke holds up his hands in a gesture of discouragement, telling her to hold the waterworks until after he's gone. Keiko starts to question WHY he's... here, I suppose, and Yusuke hurriedly spits it's all the rules, for all the sense they make, that required him to use this guy's body or nothing else, then he starts panicking all the more at the sun's position being almost fully sunk below the horizon. He curses that he's got no time to explain, so Keiko's next question is if he's going somewhere. 

Yusuke begins by saying that of course he has to leave this body that's not his, to start, and then he's not allowed to talk to anyone he's close to, her and his mother, until he's back in his OWN body. He admits that he's just here now, behind Kuwabara's face, to emphasize what he already told her in her dream.

Keiko lets her tears flow now, agreeing to always wait for him. We get a zoomed-out view of her standing close in front of Kuwabara, indicating what the next panel confirms with Yusuke's spirit sitting in the sky above the scene, looking down at it with a distracted expression. Botan has appeared too, asking if he's all done, and he says he is after a short questioning hum. She says cheerfully that's it, and the rest is up to him now. 

Yusuke firmly responds that the promise he made to Keiko is one he's going to keep. He raises a fist and states that if he can come back to life, he could also start over and swear off all his vices, a resolution that has Botan staring in surprised silence for a moment.

Another link in the chain of confusion has been forged. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? On a level, this little rule that Botan drops on Yusuke makes some sense. When you're taking a test, there are always certain guidelines about what resources you can use while you're taking it. I can easily see how having unlimited contact with your loved-ones might be a little bit of a cheat for Yusuke, if he can so easily seek advice or prioritize focusing on their issues over those of strangers. Besides, spending all his time poking in on Keiko's dreams might be too great a distraction for Yusuke, whose first concern should be putting good vibes into that egg of his. 

But Botan not telling him until the last possible moment, making the excuse that he wouldn't have done anything with the information until then anyway, smacks of the author realizing a bit late that the character's trial needs some restrictions to be interesting and meaningful - specifically restrictions that will keep him from hovering too close to his mom and girlfriend. I don't think the beginning of this chapter was necessarily a terrible place to inform the AUDIENCE, but if it were me, I might have implied that Botan told Yusuke before, but he wasn't really paying attention at the time, so she had to put the fear of God in him by referring to the whole ritual as "final words" this time, so to speak. 

I thought giving Kuwabara some extrasensory perception powers added a little more dimension to him in the interest of contrast. It was clear from how he reacted to Yusuke's death that he was emotionally far more sensitive than you might have expected, but sensitivity to the supernatural/spirit realm helps to define him as more of an ally. After all, Yusuke said in this chapter that he's not able to communicate with Atsuko and Keiko, and there doesn't seem to be much of a reason why he couldn't communicate with the sensitive Kuwabara - they weren't depicted as particularly close before Yusuke's death, and Kuwabara's meltdown at the funeral kind of indicated a one-sided idealization to the rivalry. 

It's very touching the lengths Yusuke went to to ensure that Keiko was reassured that he would be returning, sooner or later. He acted like he was annoyed when she started to express doubt that her dream was a real message from him, but there wasn't nearly that level of irritation when he actually got in front of her. In fact, he expressed much more enjoyment at being able to speak to her directly, and any anxiety he was showing seemed to be more about the time-crunch than anything. Since he doesn't say anything to the effect, and there have been no incidents in that vein, I very much doubt he's particularly worried that she'll become interested in or be approached by another guy. His actions do seem to be driven purely by the fact that he hates seeing her upset and worried, especially over him.

But I suppose it doesn't hurt that she might spurn any outside advances until he gets back now. ;)