Arrows are generally pretty dependable, as far as projectiles go. As long as you've got a bow, you should be able to fire them off at will, and it's a skill issue as to whether or not they strike the target. Unless we're talking about one that is made out of brittle materials, has a tip that's made of rubber or something. Hopefully the whole thing isn't completely flaccid, but if it is, there might be a few additional problems to address. Problems that are pretty inconvenient to pop up at this critical moment.
Inuyasha, always such a delightful young man.
Housenki invites Inuyasha to TRY and take the Shikon shard out of him while a darkness spreading through his diamond body, as Sango observes. Miroku says that the corruption from the fragment must be spreading, likely the conclusion that they're all coming to. Myouga begs Inuyasha to hold back on Housenki, given that he's a friend of Inuyasha's father, and he's not a bad youkai. My father's friends weren't "bad guys" either, but that didn't stop a couple of them from being assholes to my sister and I.
Inuyasha raises Tessaiga again in preparation for attack, saying that if he could beat the guy by holding back, he absolutely would. He swings, letting loose a Kaze no Kizu.
The bystanders (by-fliers?) gape at the smoke and mist shrouded scene - it's impossible to see exactly how the attach landed at first, even for Inuyasha, who questions from his perch on the back of his skele-bird whether he got him. But as the smoke clears, another of those glares from the diamond armor of Housenki flashes at him.
It's shocking to Sango, Miroku, and Shippou that Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu had no effect whatsoever, per Sango's outburst expressing as much and the agreeing gapes from the others. I guess Myouga wasn't kidding about that "hardest jewel in the world" thing. Inuyasha grunts as he sets down on Housenki, continuing to avoid diamond spears thrusting out of his new perch. He manages to look up just in time to see a set bearing down on him from above, and lunges out of the way before they crash into Housenki's own body. With his initial momentum, Inuyasha makes for Housenki's head and body, thinking he has to get near that fragment somewhere in there. He was going to need some luck to begin with, considering Kagome is going to have trouble directing him to it from that distance, but Housenki's mouth is filling once more with diamond spikes, aimed straight at Inuyasha.
Sango throws her Hiraikotsu in aid, blocking some of the onslaught of spears from reaching Inuyasha before it returns to her. Hovering nearby, Kagome is thinking that they have to do something to stop Housenki's attacks, and when she sees the dark glow indicating the corrupted fragment just behind Housenki's head, she determines that it might be helpful for her to try and purify that Shikon shard. She nocks an arrow and aims, convinced she can probably do it through this means, and fires striking precisely where she had seen the fragment with an impressive flash of light. Inuyasha ducks to avoid the wind and diamond fragments flying in all directions.
Kagome is taken-aback by how her arrow DIDN'T purify the shard she shot. Sango cries that the arrow didn't reach the Shikon fragment, and Miroku is in awe of how that body of Housenki's is like armor. Worse than that, it's LITERALLY armor. Myouga pipes up from Kagome's shoulder again, saying that it's actually more problematic than they're aware; Housenki is a greater youkai who lived to an advanced age, so Kagome's spiritual power is actually LOSING to his experienced youki.
After a short pause, Kagome suggests to Myouga that she just has to increase the spiritual power. She begins to draw the arrow Kikyou gave her from her quiver with the intent to use Kikyou's power combined with hers.
Inuyasha gapes up at her in surprise as she cradles her hand to her chest and questions why that would happen. With some disbelief, he thinks that Kikyou's arrow rejected her. Inuyasha recalls how Kikyou told him to hand the arrow to Kagome, saying that it was up to Kagome whether she used it well or not.
Inuyasha wonders what this means, if it's impossible for Kagome to use the arrow, and is at last interrupted in this wild speculation by Housenki vomiting more diamond spears at him. He groans, holding up his arm against the onslaught, which makes that fire-rat robe of his so much more impressive if it can block that kind of attack. While he's glaring at Housenki, he notices that more diamond spears are growing out of the spot where Kagome's arrow struck, at angles to cover over the area.
His reasoning? While Kagome's first arrow didn't reach the Shikon shard by itself, it's not like it had NO effect. So when Kagome fires her second, non-Kikyou, arrow into the same spot as before, a few sparks of purification winking off the diamond armor, Inuyasha leaps at it with Tessaiga raised over his head with the express intent of striking there as well.
The peanut gallery collectively gapes at the spikes having broken, while Inuyasha himself quickly observes that he's got his chance to grab the Shikon fragment out Housenki's back. Housenki drawls that they're all a bunch of fools, and proceeds to whack Inuyasha with a diamond-studded arm. It looks like it REALLY hurts. Inuyasha flies backward, groaning, his face bloodied and eye winced shut.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'd like to start by addressing some science here, interestingly enough. Yes, diamonds are hard, in the sense that they are very resistant to being warped or changed in their crystalline shape, but they're not exactly tough. They can be broken very easily along their cleavage points. This is why having a diamond hammer wouldn't work super well, but diamond saws or other cutting implements are extremely useful. That makes this chapter somewhat compliant with the science, though it may be in an accidental way. You can see that Inuyasha's last attack does manage to shatter the diamond spikes covering the Shikon fragment's location when Kagome fires on that place to mark it, demonstrating the brittle nature of the stone - whether that is meant to convey the actual physical behavior of diamonds or if it's supposed to show how strong Kagome and Inuyasha can be in their combined attacks isn't clear, but I'm choosing to go with the former interpretation to satisfy my own knowledge of geology, lol!
Kikyou's arrow preventing Kagome from drawing it was both annoying and somewhat logical, if the contradiction makes sense. Kikyou told Inuyasha that the arrow's tip was coated in Onigumo's grave dirt like always, so it's clear she MEANT it to be used specifically against HIM at the right time, not anyone else. Using the arrow here would be an awful waste, considering who it was optimized against. STILL, Kikyou did say that it was up to Kagome whether she would use it to greatest effect, and that can't be true if it's repelling her hand whenever she tries to use it in a way that Kikyou wouldn't want her to. The line about it being up to Kagome was more cryptic and dramatic, but it was literally a LIE, and she should have told Inuyasha straight up that the ARROW would determine when it was best used, and not Kagome. Now the poor girl is feeling more confused and inadequate than ever, and I'm lamenting yet again how Kikyou is being written in a way that is FAR beneath her dignity as a character. All to further push a boring rivalry that doesn't need to be a thing.
The girls do not need to be fighting! Why are we doing this???
Finally, this is, to my memory, the second time Myouga has mentioned AGE as a multiplier on youkai power, the first being way back when they faced that toad youkai who possessed that lord of the castle. I really would like to know more about this, because Myouga and Toutousai have both cited relationships with Inuyasha's father, so they are also fairly old. Toutousai has already proven that he can kick some ass when the occasion calls for it, but I am wondering about Myouga. The little flea has been arousing my suspicious for some time, because he really does seem to know more than he's letting on like... 90% of the time. Are there some devastating powers he's hiding somewhere about his tiny person?
He's getting ALL the side-eyes from me. I don't care if the narrative never takes it in that direction.
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