YuYu Hakusho Manga: 014 Into the Inferno...!!

You know, I made fun of Yu-Gi-Oh for its somewhat dramatic use of punctuation in its titles, but I take that back right now. An ellipse followed immediately by two exclamation points in a title is bordering on unhinged. YT is a man on the edge, it is clear. The CUTTING EDGE of dramatic title punctuation. I can't even say that this is unwarranted - Yusuke's unconscious body is currently stuck in a burning building and Keiko has doused herself in water to dive in there to his aid. This is about as dramatic as it gets.

Double tragedy or double heroism can only result. The stakes are HIGH.

She shields her face with an arm against the heat with a raised arm, yelling Yusuke's name as though he'll... respond. Flames at her heels, hair singing despite the water she poured over her head a few seconds ago, she runs farther into the house. Yusuke, in spirit form, flies after her, calling her an idiot that will succumb to the smoke, and yelling ineffectually at her to forget about his body and get the hell out of there. 

Sayaka points out in alarm that he won't be able to return to life if his body is gone, but he snaps that there's no point in coming back to life if Keiko is dead. As he continues to try to get Keiko to listen to his commands for her to scram, Sayaka flushes up and gapes, taken aback by Yusuke's admission that his life and happiness is tied intrinsically to Keiko's. 

Yusuke is frustrated by how the fire has already filled the doorway, the people outside screaming about how the girl won't be able to get out, declaring her dead on the spot. Botan circles over the flaming house on her oar, in despair over how fast the fire is spreading. When she gets inside to where Yusuke and Sayaka are, she reports that she reached Kuwabara, and her hopeless comment is finished by Yusuke barking that it's too little, too late. 

Unaware of ALL this, Keiko yells Yusuke's name again, and is alarmed when she reaches the doorway where his futon is rolled out.

She flings the burning blanket off of Yusuke's body and helps him to sit up by confirming with relief that he's still breathing. She drags him up by his arm around her shoulder and grunts that they have to get out of there, but she soon discovers what Yusuke in spirit form already has - her escape is blocked by a wall of fire. They're surrounded by roaring flames, trapped, as she puts it, the smoke and heat consuming the house at a rapid pace. 

Yusuke asks in desperation if there isn't ANYTHING they can do, but Botan hesitantly says that she doesn't know if she has that kind of power. At this moment, a pair of stubby little legs appear hovering just above and behind them, and they twist around in shock when their owner tells them never to fear. It's toddler prince Koenma, announcing in perfect calm that he knows what can save them. Yusuke and Botan address him in their respective rude familiarity and reverence, as Koenma offers to lend a helping hand if they'd like. Observing Keiko bowing under his dead weight in the flesh, Yusuke urges Koenma to go ahead and LEND his hand. Koenma tries to warn him of something he should know, but Yusuke accepts that there are conditions, as there always are, but he appears not to give a shit what they are at the moment, yelling at Koenma get off his butt and save Keiko and leave the payment for later. 

Koenma gives a bit of a verbal shrug and says that the blunt rudeness is a bit refreshing actually. He's lifted a hand and held it near Yusuke's chest, appearing to draw a ball of light out of it, much to all of the observers' shock. 

Looks super fancy.

Wow, form AND function. You don't get that too often these days. 

The people gathered outside the house are shocked and amazed as Keiko emerges from the doorway that was previously consumed by fire, dragging Yusuke's unconscious body with her. They are universally ecstatic that she made it, calling it a miracle. Y'all have NO idea. 

At the back of the crowd, Kuwabara has arrived, seemingly alarmed that whatever vision or premonition Botan gave him was all for real. He had thought the weird voice in his head telling him Yusuke was in danger was just his imagination. Suddenly Kuwabara sees something that makes him shout in further surprise, and push his way through the crowd ahead of him until he sees Keiko and greets her with concern. She calls back to him, and confirms that she pulled Yusuke from the fire without so many words when he recognizes the Urameshi's limp form hanging off her shoulder, without so many words. 

Someone next to her announces that the fire truck has FINALLY arrived. Kuwabara suggests, in the cacophony of the fire siren, that they had better get out of there before people start getting curious and look too close. In a daze, Keiko agrees, and wonders how she's going to explain all this to her family in despair as Kuwabara points out that she's looking a real mess, the panel showing the hem of her singed skirt and shoes. Kuwabara offers to take her and Yusuke to his own house, where his sister has some clothes she can borrow. Keiko stutters her thanks while Yusuke and Koenma look down on the scene. Yusuke slumps and expresses his relief that Keiko is safe. 

Felicia, we can't keep saying goodbye like this!

Yusuke gives the spot where Koenma disappeared a critical look, then turns to Botan to ask her to lay on him what exactly it was he agreed to. Botan is hesitant to begin speaking, saying that Koenma's intervention doesn't come cheap, and it cost Yusuke his "virtue". This, of course, just prompts a repeat of the word as a question, because aside from a dictionary definition, there's no way of knowing quite what that means. 

Botan explains that it's what he accrued through his good thoughts and deeds as he was striving to return to life, but this is still rather abstract, and Yusuke has to encourage her to go on. She further pontificates on how virtue is behind many miracles and coincidences in the turning of fate in the living world - when people say that the good things that happen are in return for the good the person receiving it has done, that's virtue, and Koenma had to tap into that in order to act just now. 

And we all know that good things only happen to good people in the world, right? RIGHT???

Anyway, Yusuke still doesn't fucking get it, trying to get her to use plainer language, flowers sprouting out of his ears and a tiny smoking volcano/Japanese flag on top of his head. I'm guessing this is some sort of deprecating joke for the Japanese, but I'm scratching my head at it. Botan at last puts this into the most direct way relating to HIM specifically; that saving Keiko required all the virtue he's been saving up for his resurrection, so he's back to square one. 

He LAUGHS at this, asking if that's really all, because he thought this was SERIOUS. He asserts that he would give his virtue for Keiko any day, and he doesn't think it's a big deal that his own life is on hold for a while longer. Botan smiles at him, and little Sayaka looks contemplative. Yusuke admits his one frustration was with his ghost body, for the first time. He broods about how he'll be a wreck if he has to keep watching her just charge into danger like that, mumbling it would have been better if he had leaped into the fire himself. With a little chuckle, Botan thinks this is typical of him - she's starting to recognize what he's really about outside of her little pamphlet on his life, I guess. 

Oh my dear sweet baby child... no one cares. XD

Yusuke hums in question, and Sayaka says that she was all set to judge his relationship with Keiko, but is bored with how perfect they are for each other. What a little weirdo, lol. She further states that they were so desperate to save one another that there was no possible way she could have butt into that. With an uncomfortable expression, Yusuke scratches his cheek and admits to having forgotten all about that nonsense. 

Sayaka says it's just as well, because she won't have to worry about Yusuke anymore, because she's decided she's had her fun and she's moving on to Heaven now. She's rendered Yusuke speechless as she crosses her arms and declares that she's got way better things to do than cling to some other girl's guy, and expresses confidence that she'll find someone cool in Heaven. Maybe try going for someone closer to your own age this time, eh? When an irritated Yusuke tells her to go ahead and do that, she expresses an opinion that little Koenma was pretty cute, and she might try asking him out. I'm sharing Yusuke's opinion that she is absolutely out of her MIND. 

Taking a leaf out of RT's book, the comic gives us a narrow sky transition panel that shows us night has fallen. Sayaka sits on Botan's oar behind her, reminding Yusuke that he'll have to answer to her if he makes Keiko cry. Standing on the roof of a building below, he agrees flippantly, fuming mentally. Sayaka tells him there's one more thing, and when he whines a question about what it is she could POSSIBLY want in addition to all she's said, she gives him the ultimatum that he's not to cross over until he and Keiko have two boys and two girls. Fed up, Yusuke yells at her that this is enough and she should get going already. She laughs and waves her goodbyes. 

When she and Botan finally recede into the night, and Yusuke mutters irritably under his breath, his hair is stood on end and he whips around in alarm by Koenma appearing right behind him and giving a short greeting. Koenma immediately dives into business, saying that Botan is a fine guide, but isn't much of a detail person. Yusuke demands to know what Botan missed that Koenma had to pop up behind him like that. With a sinister look in his little narrowed eye, Koenma tells him it's just that Keiko owes him something herself for making him meddle in their world. Yusuke sweatdrops, requesting clarification in his anxiety at first, and then yells at Koenma that he can't he won't allow that. 

Koenma says that he's not asking for anything so ephemeral as virtue or anything like that, but he collecting a valuable BODY PART instead. What the FUCK, dude??? Yusuke flies off, presumably in Keiko's direction, demanding to know why Koenma didn't tell him, and Koenma reminds him of his "leave that crap for later" comment earlier. 

For REAL??? Oh, what an asshole joke, Koenma, you should be ashamed of yourself and your family!!!

Keiko is chatting with Kuwabara, who assures her that Urameshi can stay in his room for a while, because his parents like to keep their noses out of stuff like this. Like WHAT, Kuwabara? You been keeping unconscious dudes in your room in the past? Because you speak like this has happened before... But Keiko doesn't acknowledge this, thanking him simply. 

From Yusuke's perspective above, there's a fair-haired woman down below who asks for confirmation of Keiko's name, and if she would like to stay for a somewhat meager dinner. Keiko declines politely, telling her she has to do the shopping again and then get home. Yusuke fumes as he watches the conversation, but its content isn't his problem. He has realized what Koenma meant when he said he was taking an important part of Keiko's body. Koenma laughs, asking if Yusuke is surprised that it was her hair. 

Yusuke whips around, fists clenched, beginning to expound upon what he OUGHTA do, but Koenma disappears with a cheeky "later". Yusuke yells into the empty night that it's not fair for Koenma to just blip out of there after his little prank, demanding he come back there. Of course, he does no such thing.

The next panel puts us squarely in the next day, when one of Keiko's friends lets out an exclamation about her hair. She sheepishly acknowledges it, merely saying that she kinda HAD to do it, and asking if it looks funny. The two other girls assure her that it doesn't look funny at all, but do question what she meant by the statement that she had to. 

A nearby woman sees Keiko chatting with her friends and calls out to her. The same longer fair hair is framing a fairly standard female manga face, with a cigarette hanging from her lips, despite the label indicating that she is Kuwabara's sister - she doesn't look related to him at all, and a little chibi Keiko in the label appears to agree with this. A biography is included, stating that her name is Shizuru, she's 17 years old, an aspiring beautician, and that she has stronger psychic abilities than her brother. It also lists a couple of ideal men, but I don't give enough of a shit to list them, lol. 

She hums that Keiko's new hairdo looks alright, and Keiko says it's thanks to Shizuru, whose skills are considerable. She also promises to return Shizuru's clothes once she's washed them, but Shizuru suggests Keiko keep the clothes, and comments on how lucky she is that she only lost her hair. Keiko's friends stand by, mumbling about how Keiko has met some... interesting people lately. A little judgmental, aren't we girls?

Keiko and Shizuru are saying goodbye when Shizuru asks her to hang on a moment, and Keiko asks what's up. Shizuru points to where, nearby, she sees there's a ghost hovering, about Keiko's age, watching over her. She says he's a good guy despite his touch act, and asks if this rings a bell for her. After a moment of shock, Keiko smiles.

You could have worse guardian angels, for sure.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The concept of "virtue" as presented here kind of rubs me the wrong way, coming across as a bit victim blaming from a certain point of view. If this stuff of miracles is built up from the good deeds one has done, then that does suggest, in a manner of speaking, that the people who have bad things happen to them sort of deserved it by not having enough "karma" saved up in their bank. Even more directly, suggesting that people who have good things happen to them must have committed acts of virtue to earn the return from the universe is out-and-out ignoring how many terrible people tend to have a lot of great "luck". I put that in quotes, because we know that, statistically, wealth and power have a lot more to do with generating more of that and minimizing bad turns than any other factor. If you have money, you're more likely to be able to afford cutting edge medical care to beat cancer, you're more likely to have good connections and education, which allow you many more opportunities in life, more likely to be able to escape the consequences of anything bad you've done through power plays. "Virtue" rarely, if ever, comes into the equation, and here in reality we've gotten yet more evidence of that in the last few days.

It was a really low blow of Koenma to hint that he's taking something from Keiko and freaking Yusuke out only to reveal that she just had to cut her singed hair, and yet... it does indicate a strange sort of impulse from Koenma. He said he finds Yusuke's blunt rudeness refreshing, and this is probably because he's used to people bowing and scraping and kissing his ass. At first I thought the prank was a little bit of retribution for Yusuke's attitude, but thinking about it, it strikes me more as unpracticed ribbing. Since he isn't used to people treating him in such a casual manner, his attempts to do so in return, with a humorous bent, are a little clumsy. But in meeting Yusuke where he's at, it's still effective.

There is something very satisfying about how Yusuke and Keiko's efforts to save each other were in sync. The mutual sole focus on the other's safety really drives home, as Sayaka said, how perfectly matched they are. Neither one of these kids were content to face a possible future where the other wasn't in it, and fought tooth and nail to ensure the future in which they were both alive and together, even when things looked hopeless. 

And that is an inspiration to me after Tuesday's general election results. May the rest of us be as dedicated to protecting and preserving the lives of others in the coming days. 

To anyone reading this, now or in the future, take care of yourselves. Take care of your loved ones. And fight like HELL for a future in which we can all be together, even though it looks hopeless right now. Just remember: Unless all of us are free, NONE of us are free.