Maybe it's just the time of year, but this title is giving "horror story about a waitress at a restaurant who gets the impression that a long-time customer is asking for human meat". Or even "soldier is gaslit into thinking that an unlawful abusive order is fine and carries it out, only to be prosecuted for it later". Come to think of it, I think I might have to take a crack at writing these myself if I haven't seen them already around before. 'Tis the season, after all, and I've got a ton of fun creepy ideas swirling in my noggin. The true topic of the chapter promises to be creepy enough, though.
Some arrows sail forth and take out a few of the "birds" too, fired by a line of archers who are told not to let the monsters near the bedroom, and to protect the young master at all costs. So Kohaku's purposes are aligned with the other staff of the castle so far, at least. As Kohaku slaughters more of the flock, he wonders if they came here specifically because they know that the baby is holed up in the castle.
This train of suspicion is interrupted by Kohaku tripping over the head of a desiccated corpse on the ground, causing him to fall. Just as he's about to get the same treatment as that corpse, the "birds" are sliced and diced by someone else, a man with a spear who turns and demands to know what he's doing here. Kohaku doesn't answer, just gets to his feet while the men defending the castle assume he's the child of a servant, and tell him to hide himself. He offers what comes across as a somewhat resentful assent, but as he's running away, he acknowledges that the men protected him.
Blurry sky transition panel!
Kagome says that there's just one Shikon shard there, so she thinks it's likely. Sango goes quiet, pondering the question of Kohaku being on orders from Naraku again, and what he's planning this time. Inuyasha instructs Sango to go straight to where Kohaku is when they get to the castle, which elicits a confused noise from her.
But who's going to "cleaR" them up while you're doing whatever the hell that is, Inuyasha?
Good as his word, the moment they clear the wall around the castle, Inuyasha tells Sango to go, and she thanks him before she and Kirara (other passengers having disembarked, I assume) rush to search the castle with Kohaku at the forefront of the former's mind. Inuyasha let's off a Kaze no Kizu with little hesitation at the flock streaming in. It tears through the "birds", but bends around some invisible obstruction in behind them, and he is SOMEHOW surprised by this, if the exclamation mark in the corner of the panel is anything to judge by.
Here's a lady who thinks SHE'S the main character.
Inuyasha calls her a bitch, so RUDE, and asks if she hasn't learned her lesson yet. Abi isn't paying any attention, pondering instead the halberd Naraku gave her that created the barrier around her, thinking of it as the one and only benefit to working with him. After acknowledging this, she addresses Inuyasha at last, asking in turn if he isn't Naraku's enemy, because it seems to HER that he's protecting his castle. Inuyasha expresses frustrated confusion at first, but Miroku appears to have picked up what she's putting down just a moment sooner. By the next panel, though, Inuyasha has cottoned on, and asks about Naraku's supposed involvement with the castle.
Abi scoffs, telling them that this is precisely what she's trying to figure out, but admits that the only ones offering any resistance so far are the humans. Inuyasha is still somewhat confused, asking her if SHE'S not the one working with Naraku, what the meaning of all this is. Abi denies any real involvement with Naraku, him being the one to approach her of his own accord, and that's it. This gives Inuyasha the impression that Abi has broken ties with Naraku, so he tells her not to get involved any further, because he and his crew plan to be the ones to waste that slimeball.
Enraged at being told what to do by a hanyou, Abi declares Inuyasha just as much of an eyesore as Naraku, and dives with the halberd extended toward Inuyasha with the resolve to finish HIM off first. Inuyasha directs another Kaze no Kizu at her, because that worked so well the last time. As usual, the halberd puts up the barrier around her, and she scoffs her appreciation for Naraku's protection, even if she doesn't appreciate Naraku himself.
Inuyasha's sleeve sizzles from the miasma issuing from the halberd. While Inuyasha's friends call out to him in concern, Abi smirks in smug approval of this new ability of the halberd she's just discovered. It's funny that she's only finding all this out after she's decided Naraku is a scrub who doesn't do a single thing for her. She lunges again with the halberd pointed at Inuyasha, threatening to make mincemeat of him, and Inuyasha charges for her too, Tessaiga raised, calling her impudent. Come on, son, you can come up with a better comeback than THAT.
Meanwhile, the "birds" hovering over the castle have decided it's time to kick up the assault on the castle a bit, and have turned to their neat trick of lighting themselves on fire. The castle's defenders are in horrified disbelief that their attackers are on fire, and diving down to ignite the buildings in the compound like tinderboxes. The fire is already outside the lady of the castle's door, one of her servants looking out to assess the flames approaching, which look pretty dire. The lady stutters a question about what they should do when a flaming vampire "bird" comes swooping right at the woman at the door, who cringes back in alarm.
And then it is sliced through, its killer standing defensively behind its corpse with his sickle and chain still held at the ready.
Well, to be fair, the smoke will probably get her first.
She's a bit preoccupied with identifying Kohaku at first, but Kohaku insists that she hurry. She protests that there are monsters outside, and that she must protect their precious successor. With Naraku's words to protect the baby again echoing in his head, Kohaku assures her that it'll be alright, that he'll protect the infant even if it costs him his life. So much effort for Naraku's changeling...
Kohaku leads the group, Oku-gata-sama in the center of a knot of protective female warriors, through the burning building, killing burning "birds" along the way. The lady's maids complain about how painful it is to breathe, but she urges them to hang in there. Eventually, Kohaku knocks a door out of its track to get out of the castle, and immediately a group of the vampires dives to attack the emerging group. He easily slices through them as a group of castle defenders run up, calling to their lady and her newborn son. Kohaku assures them that the woman and her son behind him are safe.
Oku-gata-sama offers him her sincerest thanks, and Kohaku humbly accepts it. One of the castle guards says they need to get to a safe place, looking up at the sky in worry. Another turns to Kohaku and charges him with staying in front of the lady of the castle, maintaining his protection. Kohaku nods in acquiescence, and just like that, he's in a position of absolute trust. Can't IMAGINE how this can go wrong.
In the still burning castle, Kanna walks placidly into a courtyard full of desiccated corpses now acting as tinder. She notes that the lord of the castle has been killed by a bird, looks around, and determines that ultimately, the castle has fallen. It is at this point that the Shikon shard in Kohaku's back shines. The command echoing in Kohaku's head changes abruptly from just protecting the baby to GRABBING it and killing everyone else around him.
Things are all downhill from here, unfortunately.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? If I were Abi, I would be highly suspicious at the continued support of Naraku through the halberd, if indeed this castle were a place that was important to Naraku. At the very least, I'd be wondering how much longer these wonderful little perks of the halberd I was discovering would last once it became clear to Naraku that I was trying to attack him. Abi doesn't appear to consider any of this in her spat with Inuyasha, though, and is just delighted at all the lovely things Naraku's alliance affords her, despite denying outright the alliance when pressed on it, claiming that Naraku just approached her and that was it. She appears to view the halberd not as a conditional tool, but as an unconditional GIFT that Naraku cannot just withdraw whenever he pleases.
Abi is acting so conspicuously idiotic that it is all but a foregone conclusion that her role in the plot is to perform the dumbest actions possible so the story can move forward more easily. It's only too clear that if she were competent, this whole arc would have to last a LOT longer, and I'm starting to wonder if RT just didn't have enough time with this character. I'd be curious to learn if Abi and her vampire flock were under-performing in interest from readers, or if RT herself was a little bored of the character and wanted to move past her. Either way, it's not hard to see that Abi is being ushered off stage as quickly as possible.
As usual, I am simultaneously so proud of my boy Kohaku, and dreading his inevitable betrayal of the very trust he JUST gained within this new community. I cheer for him and his confident handling of the situation despite his age, proving that he is more than capable in an emergency at this point, a far cry from the frightened boy who was forced to kill his family when we first met him. But the heartbreak sets in at the end of the chapter when it's clear that history is about to repeat itself with his so newly found family. No matter how strong and confident and self-possessed a boy he's become, he is still under the yoke of Naraku, and that master's commands still override his will.
This poor kid just CANNOT catch a break.
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