Inuyasha Manga: 349 Corpse Swarm

Gross. I mean, sure, frightening too. There is something naturally horrifying by having to face a murderous enemy that you can't kill because, well, it's already dead. Everything from zombies to puppet corpses are supposed to be scary for being totally immune to those vulnerabilities that living humans have, an active and engaged brain as well as a pulse. But I suppose I find myself more disgusted by this concept than scared, which might have something to do with the first thing that comes to mind being a hurricane made entirely of dead bodies. Viscera and loose flesh flying around... Creepy, but ultimately just a giant cloud of miasma and disease. Not that getting sick isn't a fear behind that too, but if I can be safely behind glass during this like good ol' Roderick Usher, I think a lot of the fear is mitigated. 

Or behind a screen; a much preferable distance to the up-close and personal seat our heroes at this accursed temple have. 

I'd be surprised if they didn't recognize this move.

The youkai corpses lunge toward the group and Inuyasha lets off a Kaze no Kizu in response, which shreds their bodies even further, as expected. But once the dust clears from the Inuyasha's defensive move, the youkai corpses launch a fresh attack. Shippou shouts from a gaping Kagome's shoulder that it's no good, persistent as their aggressors are, and Inuyasha curses over how there seems to be no point in further cutting up dead bodies. Unless they're shredded down small enough to be effectively useless, of course, but I don't know if that would be particularly gratifying for either him OR the reader. 

It's not long before the saimyoushou arrive to threaten Miroku's Kazaana with their venom, and Sango calls for him to stop using it in a panic. This would be boring under any other circumstances, but what their presence says on one side of this conflict or the other MAKES certain interpretations, so Kagome and Inuyasha both conclude that the one manipulating the youkai corpses has to be Kagura with her Corpse Dance move. 

Kagura indeed hovers some distance above and away on her feather, flapping her fan to continue controlling her dead puppets, scoffing in her amusement. Pieces of youkai slap against the paper screen doors on the temple, but don't appear to be strong enough to get through.

He's not looking fit for a fight. 

Cut back to Kagura, who's determined to find out if Shnooky is here right now. Never mind that the saimyoushou appear to be helping her, which would put a doubt or two in MY mind. She pulls out the crystalized youki that she pilfered, noting that it's not clearing up at the moment. Knowing that the fuyouheki was likely given to the baby for his protection, the next logical conclusion would be that the youki would disappear from the crystal once she had found the stone AND Shnooky. She's real lucky her premise is correct. 

Again, we cut back to Goryoumaru, who is trying to prop himself up on his remaining wrist, thinking that this situation is bad. Yeah, no shit. 

At least he has the pots if he really needs to defend himself. Might be able to fire them from the floor. 

Outside, Sango's Hiraikotsu tears through some youkai corpses, but when the boomerang returns to her, she complains that there's no end to them even when their bodies are smashed apart. Miroku agrees, saying they have to attack the source in order to find some relief in this siege. Inuyasha curses, then leaps off onto the wall enclosing the temple compound. Miroku calls after him, and he shouts that he's going outside the temple, as he wonders just what is going on here. He's questioning whether Goryoumaru is part of Naraku's crew if Kagura is attacking. It's really convenient if that's the case...

Kagome is alarmed by the group of Goryoumaru's little child soldiers running behind her as she reaches for an arrow. She yells at them that they should stay inside, but they assure her that it's fine as long as they can get to their little pot weapons. Miroku says they shouldn't let the corpses get near the children, as if this were a novel idea. Sango says she KNOWS, although the chaos ensures that the additional task might be easier said than done.

Or not. The kids pretty much immediately get to Goryoumaru's room and burst inside calling out to him, to his mild alarm. They grab their pots and fire them at the youkai corpses in the air, yelling at them to take that. They break apart, and the kids THINK they got them...

This is what happens when you just bust in on a battle with no idea what's going on, kiddoes.

An arrow passes through the youkai remains, purifying some of them, and Kagome runs up to the boys to inform them that their pots aren't actually any good in this particular battle. She catches sight of the collapsed Goryoumaru in the room, with kids surrounding him and calling his name. Kagome rushes into the room, asking what happened, and the answer given her by the children is that he never can move after he puts the "light" into those pots. 

Sango swings by the door on Kirara, warning Kagome not to let the kids come out, to which she replies with stuttering agreement, shutting the door on the messy battle outside. She glances over her shoulder at the sweating incapacitated Goryoumaru on the floor, noting how pale he is, and concluding that he REALLY can't move. 

Cut to Inuyasha outside the temple walls, demanding to the sky that Kagura come out, because he KNOWS she's nearby. A voice from above asks what his connection is with this temple, and he seems surprised, despite his prior shouts. 

Maybe he's just surprised that she didn't bother hiding.

Inuyasha asks why she's attacking the temple, and if it means Goryoumaru is Naraku's enemy. Kagura supposes the unfamiliar name belongs to the guy from earlier, then begins to conclude that she HASN'T caught up with Shnooky like she had at first thought. With the belief that there's no point in talking further, she swings her fan at him in a wide arc, yelling at him to stand aside. He leaps up out of the way of a massive wind blade, and while he's distracted with that, Kagura flies for the wall to go over it. 

In frustration, Inuyasha yells at her to come back, but she only responds with a taunt that he's an idiot who came to confront her too easily, so now her task is much simpler. While Inuyasha gapes in disbelief, she holds up her youki crystal, determined to search the whole temple. I thought she was under the impression she hadn't come across the infant after all? I guess she's just thorough. 

Inside the temple, Kagome kneels next to Goryoumaru, reaching for him and asking if he's alright. An oily atmosphere suddenly occurs to her. 

Well THAT'S new. 

Goryoumaru has opened his eyes, but it's hard to read his expression, until he goes wide-eyed when his youkai graft pulses in a way that seems to rattle him. The children surrounding him call his name again in alarm, but he actually sits up, marveling at how the power in it is returning rapidly to him. Shippou (news to me that he's here too, lol) nervously clings to Kagome's shoulder as she asserts that the arm is reacting to the Shikon shard beneath her collar. 

She and the children turn to look at the door when a racket sounds on the other side. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara all pause in their battle efforts to stare in horror at the wall around the temple, a fresh wave of corpses streaming over it, Kagura floating above it and yelling yet again for the opposition to stand aside. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's not really interested in hurting anyone, even as a byproduct of her main objective.

Inside the room again, the kids are in a confused horror themselves, asking broken questions about what's happening. Kagome moves for the door, telling the children to stand aside, no doubt on her way to assist in the renewed fight. But a hand on her around her neck and shoulder yanks her backward. 

I don't like THIS one bit. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The good work at muddying the waters for the parties involved, keeping it unclear whether Moryoumaru and his little operation are working for or against Naraku's interests, is continued in this installment. One thing that I really appreciate is that neither Inuyasha nor Kagura seem to be taking things at face value. They've both experienced Naraku's manipulations and are aware that things may or may NOT be exactly how they seem, so they're holding onto their suspicions of Moryoumaru until they have absolute confirmation. What that looks like for Kagura is pretty straightforward - how the crystalized youki reacts as she goes through the temple will tell her if she's on the right track. For Inuyasha, it's a bit murkier. I don't know if there is anything that will ever dissolve his distrust for Moryoumaru, because he's just not a very trustworthy guy, even if he's NOT working for Naraku.

I've criticized in the past all the changes of POV and abrupt cuts to different characters, but here I think it works. The whiplash it causes goes well with all the confusion the characters experience, and the chaos of this confrontation. There are a lot of different moving pieces here, which means that the presentation was never going to be tidy, so I'm glad to see that RT has leaned in a bit to the messiness. May as well portray just how weird and confusing all this is for everyone. 

Sadly, Kagome seems to be in the position of hostage again. Girl just has the WORST luck with that shit. 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 049 The Last Gamble!!

Bullshit. There's ALWAYS another gamble. ALWAYS another avenue for risking everything for the big payout. This is why gambling can be so incredibly addictive, because even though the chances of a win are slim, sometimes BECAUSE the chances are so slim, the anticipation of pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat is so enticing as to keep a gambler putting everything they have into yet another gamble. The economy is currently in the thrall of all kinds of creepy gambling markets that create the exact kinds of bets on EVERYTHING that Tarukane has constructed here among his "friends". Already, people have lost damn near everything and still manage to put up another bet. Whether by borrowing, stealing, or financing, they find a way to support the habit. 

The bright side is that this is the very mechanism that keeps us going in shitty circumstances where there seems to be almost no hope left. We push forward and try to pull ourselves out of the quagmire all the harder when we have nothing left to lose. Yusuke wouldn't even be here in this position if not for this grand gambling spirit of his, so it's not ALL bleak. 

It's just redirecting that impulse into places that matter that's the tricky part...

This isn't just a title page with a little preview of what's to come, oh no. The boys are LITERALLY finished fighting Gokumonki in the FIRST PANEL. Short and trivial as the battles with the other two ogres were, we at least got a cursory introduction to them. I suppose it might have gotten into some dicey legal territory if we got to see any of Gokumonki's personality, if he's supposed to be a spoof from another popular series...

He falls back, semi-conscious, and the boys each prop a foot on his chest as they announce they've defeated all three ogres, and Tarukane's time is up. Gokumonki makes the exact complaint that I highlight above, that he didn't get to introduce himself. Probably for the best, my guy. 

Tarukane responds to the boys' declaration within his isolated monitor room with a strangled noise, then a frustrated growl, and at last an outburst cursing his intruders. He has to admit silently to himself that he had NO IDEA they would be this powerful. The Bezos-type rubs it in by saying with some amusement that the Ogre Triad was taken down in no time flat. At first, the winner of this and the last bet remains demure and silent. At first.

With another stream of cigarette smoke issuing from between Sakyo's lips, he reminds Tarukane that this is a seventy billion loss for him in all, and suggests he cuts his losses right here. It's not bad advice, because Tarukane is clearly NOT good at this. The Bezos-type calls for Sakyo to hold on, because while he's been cleaning Tarukane's clock here, the rest of them have been losing too. Or, at least, they've been missing out on the wins anyway. The Reagan-type says that they want in on Sakyo's action this time, and asks Tarukane if he's down for one more round. 

Tarukane sweats. A LOT. Then he hesitantly says he's saved the best for last. He announces that the final match-up is the Toguro brothers vs the intruders, the tall Toguro beside him, again having removed his coat to reveal his moderate muscles at this point. He hasn't pumped them up a fraction of the way yet. Tarukane sweats some more as he tells Sakyo to make his selection, but he seems to have regained some confidence. Internally, he DARES Sakyo to bet the farm on the intruders this time, because Tarukane expects to recoup all his losses with this one. He's got all the trust in those Toguros. 

Sakyo pauses yet again. Then proposes a bet of sixty-six trillion two hundred billion. Once Tarukane recovers from a speechless gape, he asks haltingly for Sakyo to repeat himself. Sakyo complies, confirming that indeed he said he's putting SIXTY-SIX TRILLION TWO HUNDRED BILLION on the intruders. 

You REALLY should have cut your losses, dude. 

If Sakyo's number sounds weirdly specific, that's because it is. Tarukane exclaims that it's the entire budget for the Japanese government, and refuses to believe Sakyo is serious at first. But Sakyo assures his host he's QUITE serious, claiming that the extreme number will make this contest particularly interesting. I don't know why it's so interesting to put an amount of money that runs a whole country for a year (I presume) on these kiddoes, but maybe it's just because I'm not a rich asshole.

Tarukane's virtual guests say there's no backing down for him now, because he started this little game and the BBC (lol) rules dictate that he FINISH it. The gamblers are content to just sit back and watch in the meantime, one of them sighing in satisfaction, because there's nothing more pleasing to him than the misfortunes of others. 

Tarukane is swimming in sweat, and huffing like he's just run twenty miles. He thinks Sakyo is insane, but then wonders if he knows something about the Tears of Ice Tarukane is peddling. Immediately the idea is dismissed, because Tarukane is SURE he's kept their source an airtight secret. And at last, all this panicked cloud of chaotic thought terminates in the fundamental idea that makes the gambler tick: that if he wins this all that money would be his. It would be his ultimate gamble. WILL be, because he's already locked in anyway, and he really has no choice when he levels a shaking finger at the monitors and says the game is on, declaring the contest begun. The hubris is potent with this one. 

The tall Toguro mutters that he's FINALLY allowed to get his fight on, having been standing there listening to this deliberation the WHOLE TIME. I can't really blame him; watching his boss hang himself is probably not all that interesting to a guy who's already foreseen his sticky end. 

Tarukane commands his butler Sakashita to bring Yukina here, and make sure the BBC (*giggle*) doesn't find out. Uhhhh, aren't they going to see her? I know the monitors haven't been one-way this whole time, because they've seen the map AND the boys showing off on the security cameras. I'm destined to remain confused, because Tarukane breezes right past this and instructs Sakashita to ward Yukina sufficiently so she can't escape. 

Meanwhile, the boys are running once again along the corridor, and Kuwabara says he doesn't detect any demons around. He suggests they find his ice maiden and beat the shit out of Tarukane, but then pauses in alarm. 

Kuwabara realizes he can try to make psychic contact with her, but he seems to realize for the first time that he doesn't know her name. Kid has been going so fast, he forgot the basics. Yusuke tells him her name is Yukina, and when Kuwabara asks indignantly how he knows that, he says he watched the video until the end. DUH.

Kuwabara calls into the ether for Yukina, asking her to say something if she's getting his message. She indeed responds, telepathic communication I suppose is probably a talent of all demon/spirit creatures, asking who he is. He introduces himself as a "Demon-Trouncer", and says he's here to rescue her. I guess he doesn't expect her to count herself among the demons he trounces. Yukina sends him right over on his head when she refuses his help and tells him to go away. Yusuke looks at him in question, but doesn't interrupt. 

Yukina has identified Kuwabara correctly as human, and insists that he has NO chance to beat the Brokers of Darkness. He grins as he thinks at her that she shouldn't sweat it, because they've already beaten those guys and their next step is to free her. Yukina responds that this is impossible, because the Brokers, whom she knows as the Toguro brothers, are right there in front of her, leading her and a few other escorts to where Tarukane wants her. Kuwabara considers them no threat at all, because he can't catch a whiff of a powerful aura there at all. She does NOT look convinced, but leaves enough of a pause in her argument for Kuwabara to say that since she's outside those oppressive wards that he knows where she is, and she's getting rescued, ready or not. He's already charging forward again, on his way. 

Kuwabara leads Yusuke along the trail of Yukina's aura he can sense, which goes down into the basement. On their way through, Yusuke makes a disgusted note on the guts splattered all over the giant glass cage they pass, but Kuwabara says he doesn't give a shit what that's about, and presses on. They didn't notice all the LIVING abominations lining the walls? 

They eventually come to a pair of double doors, on their way to closing, and Kuwabara demands they rush through before they click shut. 

Tarukane had an entire arena built in his basement this WHOLE TIME??

Neither of the boys look particularly surprised by the trap sprung on them, Yusuke supposing blandly that the guy in the room with them is the last of those Brokers, while Kuwabara is incensed by the bastards on the monitors watching all this. Behind the window, Tarukane roots for Toguro tensely, admitting he's counting on him. Yukina stands behind him, flanked by guards holding her by her arms. I guess Kuwabara can see her, because he grins and telepathically communicates to her that it's only a matter of time. Again, she is silent in response, no doubt not daring to let herself hope. 

Toguro almost PLAYFULLY welcomes them to the arena, expressing hopes they'll go easy on him. It's a DRY joke. Kuwabara reiterates with a scoff that this doof has ZERO demonic aura, so he expects this battle to be cake. Yusuke, on the other hand, gapes silently at the tall Toguro for a moment before he disagrees. He's got a hunch that this guy is bad news, but when Kuwabara asks for more particulars about WHY he feels this way, Yusuke can only argue that it's a creepy feeling telling him to watch out.

No doubt he's about to find out the reasons he's got that feeling. The shoulder Toguro whips off his encompassing cloak, and his figure is much the same as ANYONE who does so in this comic: muscular and shirtless. He climbs up and and jumps off of his taller brother's extended arm, then stretches his own arms back and over his head like he's preparing for a grueling workout, though he continues to crouch.  His flesh begins to twist and writhe, reforming into a long point at what were once arms and three shorter ones where his knees and feel used to be. This transformation comes with a lot of bone crunches and crackles that clearly disturb the boys, who grimace at the little guy's scrunching up to such an extreme degree. 

... I'm sorry man, that looks dumb as hell. 

As for the tall/younger Toguro, he bulks up again in a hurry, his muscles expanding to a good five times their original size. Both boys are in more awe than horror, which makes sense. Toguro says that he provides the muscle to this operation, and lots of it, forgetting to mention that he also seems to have all the vocal cords between them. He calls he and his brother a single unit, and by the way he carries his older sibling around all the time, I've never doubted it. 

There is a wave of energy that crashes out from Toguro, and Kuwabara at last perceives the incredible aura there, Yusuke comparing it to being hit by a hurricane. 

This promises to be a little trickier than Kuwabara anticipated. 

With Yusuke's uniform jacket already slashed by the close call, both he and Kuwabara are in active recoil from the attack, the latter in awe at how fast Toguro is. Kuwabara kneels and grunts as he produces his Aura Sword, just in time to intercept another lighting attack with the elder Toguro brother's sword body that was BARELY perceivable as a blur the moment before it came down. Trembling under the enormous pressure between the crossed blades, Kuwabara groans. 

Toguro scoffs, then swings his free fists at a completely arrested Kuwabara. 

Kuwabara coughs and heaves, his very bones cracking, barely managing to stand in a half-crouch. According to Toguro, Kuwabara had leapt back at the last second to avoid what would have been a FATAL impact, and Toguro warrants that the kid is smarter than the poor beast was, at least. Feels like a low bar to clear. 

Toguro is alarmed by movement in his periphery, and turns to find Yusuke pointing his Reigun finger at him, claiming it's his turn as the tip of it shines. Yusuke lets off a great shot, hitting Toguro point blank. Letting out a short laugh, Yusuke talks about the close-range aura bullet like it was a gift for Toguro, and assumes it was successful, what with how it got him square in his face. 

But soon it's clear that Toguro is still standing, even as his neck, head, and right arm are obscured by the smoke from the Reigun's shot. When it clears, Yusuke let's out an exclamation about how the sword Toguro had been holding was now wrapped around his forearm in a cuff-like shield. 

Apparently he's also just completely invulnerable to the Reigun where his younger brother isn't. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Absolutely hilarious that Gokumonki got ONE line complaining about how little he got to share about himself, peak comedy. The Ogre Triad's progressive failure to live up to any level of interest with every member defeated speaks to how impatient both creator and audience are impatient to get to the confrontation between the Toguros and the boys. By the end there, it's clear that YT was questioning why he even bothered to insert this spacer between his protagonists and their REAL opponents, because they were just breezing past the spacer anyway. Best to get on with it, for sure. 

I found it a little confusing that Sakyo's bet amount was said to be the Japanese Government's budget in this version; I seem to recall that it was Tarukane's entire fortune in the anime, which makes a little more sense as far as why it would mean so much to HIM specifically. If he's threatened with utter destitution for his failure at this little game, that gives way more personal weight to his taking the bet. Not that I don't believe he does have as much money as the Japanese Government for a year, since lots of rich people meet and exceed the GDPs of many a country these days. Besides, Tarukane seems to suspect that Sakyo has some knowledge of his secret source of income, which IMPLIES the number he gave was highly personalized. It just wasn't said, which was a little strange. 

Very little about the beginning of the fight at the end was shocking. Since we've seen a bit of the elder Toguro's powers before, it follows that he would be able to transform his whole body at will. He reminds me a little of the flexibility and dexterity of an octopus, which is pretty cool. Although, the weird fleshy sword he turned into did not look even a little intimidating, as I said above. It's probably helpful for inspiring one's opponent to underestimate one, though, so there's an advantage there. 

The ONLY think that surprised me was the existence of an arena. Did Tarukane have it built to host fights between his little genetic splice creatures or something? Awfully convenient for this specific situation.

Inuyasha Manga: 348 Grotesque Arm

You think that's why Goryoumaru sits in the dark all the time? Because people describe his arm as "grotesque"? It would certainly bother me, and I don't think it's the nicest thing for our heroes to be so hung up on the appearance of a limb. Maybe instead of getting in a twist over whether or not someone's a youkai, or if he's got a funky arm, they should be focusing on the other VERY suspicious things floating around the temple. Like the silently screaming monks between the spikey crystals. The child-army this guy has accrued. The similarity of his name to another they've heard very recently. 

I'm just saying, the arm? Not the most problematic thing about him by a MILE.

Meh. Inuyasha can take out these guys in no time. 

The horde of youkai charge at the group below out of the sky, and Goryoumaru's arm flowers open at several points, producing the same kind of bubbling light that the kids' pots did. Inuyasha's gang stares,  Kagome gasping and Miroku giving voice to the observation that this is identical to what they've seen so far. It shoots forward to meet the attacking youkai, shredding them all, except Kagura hanging out in the back of the line, making a confused noise. 

I have SOME idea of what he is...

Did I say that Goryoumaru's light-emitting laser arm shredded ALL the youkai? My bad, there are still quite a few left, so many in fact that Kagome claims that their numbers haven't decreased AT ALL, hugging a cowering Shippou to her tightly. Miroku asserts that there are too many of them, and Inuyasha curses that it looks like he'll have to be the one to take care of them, holding out Tessaiga, with a tendril of wind wrapping around the blade. The children stare in awe of him as he lets loose a Kaze no Kizu and disintegrates the horde. Kagura recognizes the move from her perch, again, just out of range. 

It's a puzzle, for sure. 

Goryoumaru's child soldiers gape in wonder at the youkai bits raining down from the sky, and someone also observes that the remainder of the horde is retreating. Goryoumaru himself takes a long silent look at Inuyasha in the wake of his swing of Tessaiga, then calls him a bastard, asking why he's killing youkai if he's a youkai himself. With the exact same "logic" he's been using aimed right back at him, Inuyasha complains that that's HIS line.

Before this exchange of suspicions can escalate, Miroku steps forward, asking for a confirmation that Goryoumaru is indeed who they're talking to and whether he's a youkai himself, as might be deduced from the arm. The child soldiers rush to surround their leader and shout at the strangers in his defense that he's a HUMAN and a great gyouja, thank you very much. Goryoumaru explains that while his arm is a youkai's, but it moves to HIS will, as they saw. He further elaborates that the youkai it belonged to tried to possess and eat him, but he used his Buddhist powers to twist and enslave it. Seems... fundamentally counter to the peaceful nature of Buddhism, but what the fuck do I know? Goryoumaru says that his real arm was eaten by the youkai, but he's satisfied with how well the new arm does at exterminating disgusting youkai. I feel SO BAD for Shippou and Kirara right now, having to listen to this. 

Poor kid. 

Inuyasha lectures Goryoumaru on handing the pots to a bunch of children so they could go around killing youkai at random, which is an entirely fair criticism even if Inuyasha isn't TOTALLY innocent of killing random youkai himself. He also accuses Goryoumaru of suggesting to those same kids that they should kill Gakusanjin. Goryoumaru repeats the name of the victim in question, as though he hasn't heard the name before. Miroku tells him that Gakusanjin was a youkai mountain that did not wish to fight, but continue sleeping as a mountain. He adds that Gakusanjin was only awake in the first place because his sleep was disturbed by a hanyou burglar, and he had been trying to pursue the thief. Miroku saves the name Naraku for last, looking rather critically at Goryoumaru, no doubt for a sign of recognition. 

Again, Goryoumaru repeats the new name, but shows no overt signs he has heard it before. Miroku comes to the point that he would like to know the reasons the innocent Gakusanjin was killed, so Goryoumaru turns to the three kids who did the deed for their defense. How... how did he know it was them specifically? There's a ton of little brats running around. How did he AUTOMATICALLY know which ones killed Gakusanjin? 

The three mutter that they have no way of knowing which youkai are good or bad. As if they haven't been speaking this entire time like they're convinced ALL youkai are bad. Kagome mulls over this denial of responsibility and the implication that it's unrelated to Naraku, and that Gakusanjin's murder was just a coincidence. She seems unconvinced. As she should be.

They haven't quite given up, I guess. 

The children wail about the returned youkai, but Goryoumaru tells them not to panic, saying it's likely the youkai will just sit and watch from a distance. How does he figure? He doesn't say, but he does tell Inuyasha that he and his group would likely be attacked on every side and ripped apart if they leave the temple now. Goryoumaru turns on his heel to take his leave, saying he'll allow them to stay on the temple grounds until the next morning. How magnanimous. And possibly convenient for him. 

Inuyasha yells at Goryoumaru's back that they're not finished talking, but Miroku suggests to him that they should just accept the offer. No point in further antagonizing a host who has graciously overlooked the fact that they basically just INVADED his home. Kagome says that she thought Moryoumaru would force them to leave, and Shippou ponders aloud if he's actually a good guy. "Good" is a relative term. Sango stands in the back of the group, silent.

When they're all sitting together on a set of stairs, in council over whether Goryoumaru's story is true or not, Miroku reminds them that he deliberately brought up Gakusanjin's and Naraku's names, but couldn't read their host's expression in response. Inuyasha scoffs that of COURSE he couldn't, asserting that Goryoumaru couldn't put on an act if he didn't have a good poker face. 

Their attention is drawn off-panel by someone addressing them. It's a couple of the kids, looking sullen, who tell them all to come with them and eat, because Moryoumaru said that they should have some food. Inuyasha and Kagome stare for a moment in mild surprise. 

While the kids stuff their faces, Inuyasha is the one to ask what about Goryoumaru, who isn't there to take his meal with them. One of the children explains that he's off putting the light into their goryou-pots, which comes from his own body, the youkai arm he bears, and it's pretty exhausting to do. He's shown surrounded with the little pots with the arm's "petals" open and the shining inside exposed in this exercise, though I doubt any of the kids have been allowed to see it. 

Kagome asks the children why THEY'RE here doing all this, and where their parents are. Take a wild guess, girl. The kids state matter-of-factly that they don't have parents, one of them saying their mom and dad were eaten by a youkai. Kagome asks if EVERYONE here has a story like this, and another of the kids snaps in a temper that they would have died in a gutter if Goryoumaru hadn't picked them up. It's the stated reason why they help Goryoumaru, to pay him back, in addition to exterminating the horrible youkai.

Sango turns to address Miroku, who says he doesn't think the children are lying, but his sentence trails, like there's still a few missing pieces. Inuyasha is, much like Kagome was earlier, questioning if this REALLY doesn't have anything to do with Naraku. 

They're showing an UNNATURAL amount of restraint here...

Kagura is out there among them, thinking that there's definitely something fishy about this temple. Ha, just wait until you learn about the guy who lives here. She observes that there's an incredible evil aura coming from the temple itself, which makes me wonder if MIROKU clocked that. She also notices something else around the temple, the groups of creepy monk carvings with their agonized expressions. Kagura recalls hesitantly that these are called "rakanzou", though they don't look much like lucky charms to her. I guess there's something in the meaning of the word that suggests that, but there's no explanation. 

It's also clear to Kagura that the youkai aren't trying to enter the temple, despite there being no barrier around it. All of these strange elements give her the impression that this is an opportunity to look for clues to the whereabouts of Shnooky, one that she shouldn't pass up. Kagura is less likely to question the connection between Gakusanjin's murder and Naraku without a contrary narrative in her head, I see. She pops open her fan and holds it out from her body, before swiping it through the air in front of her, promising to make an army of all the youkai outside the grounds. Her wind blades slash through them.

Inside the temple, Inuyasha's crew and the children all look around in alarm, Goryoumaru doing the same in his seclusion. The kids stutter about the youkai they presume are outside, asking each other what they'll do, since they still don't have their goryou pots to defend themselves. Inuyasha jumps to his feet, hand ready to draw Tessaiga at his side, and tells them all to stand back. He and the rest of the group run outside to defend the temple. 

It hasn't been SO long since you've seen this trick that you shouldn't be able to identify it.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? RT has done a pretty good job of constructing a suspicious situation while keeping the level of plausible deniability high. Goryoumaru seems to have a believable answer to every question Inuyasha and company asks, or at least someone else to BLAME for their complaints, but they can never quite set the weird vibes aside. Mostly this is because every response from Goryoumaru brings up MORE suspicions; his almost TOO rigid poker face, the fact that he seemed to know immediately which team of children killed Gakusanjin, his correct "assumption" that the youkai wouldn't attack them and just hang out to watch them. All extremely odd things that deserved further examination, but it's entirely possible that they flew just under the radar for our protagonists, grazing close enough to it that they can't quite articulate why they're causing uneasiness. 

I'm a little disappointed that Sango doesn't have MORE to say on this arrangement Goryoumaru has with these orphaned children. She touched on the fact that these kids appeared to be mostly untrained in the previous chapter, but hearing from them the specific reason they're here in this chapter didn't cause her to revisit and amplify her initial criticism. She and Kohaku grew up within a village that made their specialty out of this skilled profession, and she knows better than anyone what the risks there are even in a purely professional context. The fact that an adult seems to have groomed a whole brood of children without families to go around killing youkai not out of service to surrounding communities, but the sense that they OWE him and general vengeance is a whole GARDEN of red flags. These kids are liable to be hurt and killed in pursuit of this man's ends, even if everything ELSE about him is on the up-and-up. It's really disturbing. 

Also, that comment from Kagura about the evil aura coming DIRECTLY from the temple has me questioning why Miroku didn't have anything to say about this. He's the main energy-sensor in the group, so there's no doubt he picked up on it, but he's being pretty tight-lipped. There probably wasn't a lot of ROOM for the group to discuss Sango's and Miroku's individual concerns in this one, so I'm not too worried about it, but I hope I see them talking at least a little more about these things in the next couple of chapters. They would seem to be the most OVERT of the issues regarding the temple and its inmates.