Inuyasha Manga: 342 Stolen Item

Make that plural. There are several items that disappear all the time around my house, and reappear in a couple of predictable corners at the back. No need for any detectives, since it's pretty obvious who the criminals are. The little creatures are always taking a fancy to wristbands, bracelets, pens, and lengths of string, which they carry off without so much as a second thought to where they actually belong. Then they gnaw and chew and scratch until the things are marred or destroyed outright in their misguided attempts to "play" with them. 

Look at these little monsters. Acting all innocent. But that's just the ones in MY house.

And ripping mine apart would be a bit of an overreaction. Not to mention quite upsetting.

Hakudoushi scoffs that Inuyasha's threat is only doable if he's able to use the full force of Tessaiga's power, a hard fact Inuyasha has no response to but a resentful glare. Kagome calls to him out of concern from the sidelines, Miroku also commenting on the worrisome situation of Inuyasha being almost swallowed up by the pieces of Mouryoumaru. Regardless of this and the sweat dripping at his temple, Inuyasha summons all the cockiness he can to yell at Mouryoumaru and his creator that they can just TRY to swallow him up, striking a solid wide stance with Tessaiga held out in front of him at the ready. 

This is probably the least surprising thing Inuyasha has ever done. Come on, Hakudoushi. 

Cut to little Kanna sitting on what looks like a set of stalagmites in a dark cave, cradling her mirror in her arms while the infant lays next to her with a dark orb sitting in its little hands. It glowers into the darkness, silently. However, there seems to be SOME kind of communication between it and Hakudoushi, because when we cut back to Hakudoushi, an exclamation point appears next to his impassive face, and he leaps off of Mouryoumaru between him at the incoming volley of diamond spears. Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou all gape in shock. 

Woooooow, what a BRAVE sacrifice. *eyeroll*

Despite how little it costs this heartless little bastard to get torn apart and congeal back together like a gelatinous mold, the peanut gallery seems quite shocked that Hakudoushi protected Mouryoumaru. Meanwhile, Inuyasha expresses alarm at the shredded flesh clinging to him loosening around his shoulders. It leaps off him and darts straight for Kagome, to the horror of Miroku and Kouga, whose reaction times are less than ideal in these circumstances. Inuyasha lurches toward Kagome as well, calling her name. 

But it turns out they were heading for a different target: Kouga, who leaps out of the way before they can slam into the ground where his jewel-enhanced ankles just were. Oh good, I was just wondering why the flesh strips were going for Kagome anyway. Kouga complains that Mouryoumaru's flesh is persistent in going after his Shikon shards. It's not like they're a couple of the ONLY ones left or anything. Wait...

Kagome aims an arrow at an oncoming swarm of flesh. 

You'd think after having to deal with shit like this for so long, they'd have come up with a viable strategy to counteract it by now. Oh, hang on, I forgot that RT wants us to believe it's all brand new or something.

Inuyasha calls her an idiot and shields her with his body while pushing her out of the way of the still advancing flesh strips. Kagome has a clear view over Inuyasha's shoulder, and no doubt is concerned HE'S going to get a blow in the back, but Miroku grunts and throws himself in between them and the onslaught, his staff raised to intercept it with a crackling energy. Another tendril of flesh slithers up from the ground and jabs him straight in the chest for his trouble.

That's gotta sting. Sango calls to Miroku and rushes to him, Inuyasha and Kagome asking if he's been stabbed through. I think you'd see a LOT of blood if that were the case, but I've also got the benefit of having read this comic before.

The flesh tendrils draw away from Miroku lying prone, and Hakudoushi's floating head chuckles darkly as all the scattered flesh flies back toward Mouryoumaru high in the sky. Kouga mumbles that the villains ran away, he and his underlings peering upward at where they had disappeared. Inuyasha and company are far more concerned with Miroku, all of them gathering around his fallen form and shouting his name for a response.

At first he just groans, but he soon sits up and assures them he's fine, since the tendril was soft when it struck him. Kagome asks WHY it would do that, which is a good question, considering that would have been a great opportunity to kill the pesky old priest. Miroku, however, asserts that their antagonist got them good, informing a shocked Inuyasha and Kagome that his crystal youki fragment was taken. Shitballs, Hakudoushi and Mouryoumaru KNEW about that???

Cut to the unnaturally jagged mouth of a cave.

This can't be the best environment in which to raise a baby.

Said baby holds the fuyouheki stone between its little hands quietly, eyes closed. Hakudoushi is still reconstituting himself, but he's reconstructed enough of his arm to hold out the youki crystal he stole to the infant, delivering it just like the little guy told him to, apparently. The baby silently opens his eyes, looking over at Hakudoushi, who is wordless as he looks down at the crystal until he notes that its youki color is disappearing. 

Kanna informs him that the crystal is a clue to finding that fuyouheki stone the infant is holding, making the youki of both vanish. After a pause, Hakudoushi draws the conclusion that Inuyasha and crew will no longer be able to chase the baby now that they've lost it. Yeah, it's not like there's a whole pile of those youki crystals just lying on the ground in the hills or anything. 

Back at the former site of battle, Kouga is wishing Kagome farewell, holding her hands in his as he expresses some worry about leaving her, though. Kagome gives him a forced smile, Inuyasha seething behind her about how LONG this goodbye is lasting. Finally, he gets impatient and takes a swipe at Kouga, who jumps out of the way in time to avoid a earth-shattering blow to the ground on which he stood. 

Kouga takes off in his typical whirlwind fashion, Kagome waving to his dust and Inuyasha crouched in sullen irritation. He looks up at her and tries to tell her what she shouldn't be doing, much like Kouga's lengthy hand-holding sessions, but Kagome cuts off his lecture by saying his name and he questions what she's stopping him to say. Red. Flag.

Swerve. I thought Inuyasha was about to get his face smashed into the ground again. From Miroku's shoulder, Shippou expresses some confusion that Kagome and Inuyasha aren't fighting right now, but Miroku shushes him, and Sango characterizes this as a "let sleeping dogs lie" kinda thing. No need to ENCOURAGE that bad blood, kiddo, GEEEEEEZ. 

Sango changes the subject with deliberate abruptness, saying this Mouryoumaru thing worries her. Miroku agrees, pointing out that Hakudoushi sacrificed his body to protect him. About as much of a sacrifice as going to the hair dresser for a light trim, in my opinion. But his assumption that Hakudoushi couldn't afford for Mouryoumaru to be destroyed is a fair one regardless. 

Meanwhile, a fully-restored Hakudoushi stands at the mouth of the jagged cave, announcing that he's leaving Mouryoumaru here, and Kanna can do whatever she wants with him. The infant peers up at the massive figure crouched next to him, and Kanna picks him up before addressing Mouryoumaru. 

"Wanna little snackie?" 

She tells Mouryoumaru that she'll give him a soul, but surely she's not referring to that of the baby? I don't know, this comic is weird. Mouryoumaru looks down at Kanna wordlessly, because, no doubt, he doesn't have opinions or a voice without a soul yet. 

Narrow sky transition panel to Sesshoumaru on a grassy overlook, gazing up at the sky, appearing contemplative. Probably had a fresh puff of something psychedelic. Jaken approaches from where the Two-Headed Dragon lays on the grass and asks what's up with his master, and Sesshoumaru briefly informs him that something is coming. Jaken barely makes a confused noise before a heavy wind knocks him off his feet. 

My girl Kagura has arrived, casually greeting Sesshoumaru with a single word. He remains stoic and silent, as always.

What an offer. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? As has become somewhat usual, sadly, I'm a little annoyed with how Inuyasha and company handled this battle. My disappointment comes mostly from how familiar this all seems to Naraku's general M.O., and how they haven't really come up with a viable strategy against it by now. The botched outcome of this, from Inuyasha getting covered in absorbing flesh to Kouga getting chased around the field to Miroku losing their youki crystal, might have worked earlier in the series, but being almost 350 chapters in, I expect to see them perform a bit more competently than this. Rather than this seeming like terrible misfortune, it strikes me as unsatisfying. 

I think it comes down to the fact that, rather than RT making Inuyasha and his team stronger and learning genuine lessons from their fights, she's begun to give Tessaiga simple upgrades. Maybe these are meant to make visible how Inuyasha himself is growing, but HE isn't really changing at all, and that's only part of the reason why it comes across as more cheap than anything. Inuyasha HIMSELF could be figuring out how to fight Naraku and his minions, but instead he's fighting with KAGOME about her behavior in regards to another guy. 

And while I appreciate that Kagome decided to do the pragmatic thing and cut off their argument at the end by just thanking Inuyasha for his prompt action at the end of the battle, it's also just a tad problematic. He really needs to learn that criticizing Kagome for appeasing Kouga isn't the answer to their relationship issues, and he's in no real position to put himself in the patronizing position of telling her how she handles this weirdo she barely has to interact with anyway. Granted, there are a LOT of problems with Kagome swinging from sullen rage to cute appeasement with ALL of the boys vying for her affection, and this is actually one of the points - how is Inuyasha SUPPOSED to understand that his little lectures don't help if she rewards him with dropping the subject every time he does something nice?

It's a setup for a very unhealthy dynamic, where Kagome nurses a quiet resentment, and Inuyasha starts pointing out Kagome's flaws whenever that resentment explodes out of her. A far cry from that surprisingly adult conversation they had ages ago about their genuine feelings about the situation between each of them and Kikyou. Can we go back to that, please? I really want to like these two as a couple, but there's some red flags growing to a worrying size here. 

Anyway, Sesshoumaru's back. I don't know why I'm always taken-aback by reminders that he EXISTS, but there he is. Existing. 

Happy 2026, friends!