YuYu Hakusho Manga: 008 The Temporary Resurrection (Part 1)

Temporary? No, that won't do! The powers that be are already dangling life in front of Yusuke like he's a salivating dog, it just seems cruel to give him a taste of it only to yank him back on a chain again. I hope there's a fair reason for putting him back in his body temporarily, and it's not just another sneaky test. Although, if I'm honest, it wouldn't surprise me if it were a little of both. That seems to be the main M.O. of the Spirit World at this point. Giving him a straightforward task that promises to be one thing, but it serves a somewhat secret, secondary purpose. 

Oh good, is she actually IN this chapter? LOL.

Her friends implore her to go "blimp out" with them, hitting me over the skull with the teenage-girl-overly-concerned-about-weight-even-if-she-is-rejecting-dieting trope. Then one of them guesses that Keiko is going over to Urameshi's place again, and she casually affirms this, much to the friends' concern. While the tall one makes a pitying sound at her, the bespectacled one prepares to give her some advice that might seem harsh, but intends it to be friendly nonetheless. Pigtails picks up this thread and runs with it, lecturing about how terrible, and yet PERMANENT it is when people we care about die. Spectacles clarifies that they're not saying that Keiko should forget about Yusuke, but she should acknowledge that she has a life and a future to engage with. They're talking like she's walking around in rumpled clothes, letting her grades decline, and moping around sighing all the time, but this is CLEARLY not the case.

Wait a moment, do they still think he's dead? It looks like Keiko is about to tell them this pretty BIG detail she hasn't mentioned yet, but stops before it comes out, kind of bewildering her friends. She mentally criticizes her dumb ass for almost letting the fact that Yusuke is still alive slip, even though only she and Atsuko can know about it. Why? Well, for now, there's no real answer. Pigtails suggests that Keiko was GOING to say that Yusuke is still in her heart, and Spectacles bows her head and mumbles about how beautiful that is. At last, they agree that it's good enough for them if Keiko loves Yusuke THAT much, and after Keiko utters a harried "thank you" for an end to their concern-trolling, they suggest she meets them later at their usual coffee shop, to which condition she gives her first agreement. 

As she's striding along on the way to his home, Keiko recaps in her head the lay of the situation: Yusuke's soul and body separated, he's alive but not conscious, and one day he'll wake up when his spirit comes back into his body. Very concise, thanks kiddo. When she arrives at the house, she finds a note from Atsuko that says she had to go away for a week or so, and Yusuke is fine, sleeping like the dead, hardy-har. With an added comment about ramen being in the cupboards if Yusuke DOES wake up, the note ends, and Keiko grumbles that it's no wonder Yusuke was such a mess with a feather-brained mother like her. Fuckin' wrecked. 

After a frustrated sigh, Keiko looks over with a sad expression at the slumbering Yusuke.

Would that he could, but all he can do at THIS moment is piss and moan about how BORED he is. He's floating cross-legged in the air and asking the open air how he's supposed to come back to life just doing exactly that all damn day. He's already decided that this is the day that Botan is going to answer his questions, and everything seems to depend on those answers to him. 

Just then, Botan zooms over on her oar, excited to deliver some apparently CRAZY news. Irritated as usual, he repeats the adage about speaking of the devil.

Well. It's not answers.

Yusuke is understandably caught off-guard, and haltingly asks for confirmation that this means he can go back, putting him in an uncharacteristically deferential voice. Botan asks him if he has a problem with this, weirdly combative, coming from her, and Yusuke is even more flustered, initially saying YES and having to walk that back and say NO. Ultimately he has to admit that he doesn't get it, because he hasn't DONE anything yet. Asking once more if he can ACTUALLY go back, Botan confirms that it's the truth, but adds that it's only for a day. Yusuke topples over in exasperation and complains that there's always a catch.

Botan explains in turn what was explained to her by Koenma, that it's necessary maintenance for the body, because it might ACTUALLY die if it stays soullessly inert for too long a period. Koenma said that the soul needs to return to the body once a month to recharge the body's vitality, and asks the audience if they remember him while he's at it, for good measure. Thanks for busting that fourth wall like the Kool Aid Man, dude. Appreciate it.

Suddenly dressed like a battery, Yusuke tentatively compares his body to a Walkman and his soul as the batteries. Ooof, that is a painfully DATED analogy. My knees and back hurt now, and I can't explain it. Botan laughs that this is more-or-less what she's getting at, and warns him that he's still in the midst of his weird test, so he's not allowed to talk to his mom or Keiko due to the strict rules of the underworld. If he breaks THIS one, he and his body are separated for good. Yusuke asks for confirmation that if he slips up and says anything he's a goner, and Botan, chipper as ever, says that he doesn't come back, his body will run down next month, and it's all over.

That's going to be a SERIOUS problem if Keiko is hanging around the house then, ISN'T IT? But Botan asserts that even if he managed to avoid THAT upon getting up, he'll still not want to walk around town like a zombie, so she advises him that it's best to just sleep while his body recharges. Sweatdropping, Yusuke is less-than-enthusiastic about the prospect of coming back to life for a day just to lie there like a lump, wondering what the point is of THAT. Risky situations make for some great reading material, that's the point.

As he sits there pondering, Botan beckons for him to come along, and the next thing anyone knows, we're outside Yusuke's place.

Impulsive as he is, Yusuke jumps up out of bed and hoots and hollers about being resurrected, saying hello to his limbs, expounding upon how much he's missed them. Outside the door, he hears the tap of footsteps and balks, hopping back under his covers to pretend to be in his coma again. The steps pass and recede, and Yusuke opens his eyes, sighing that it must have just been one of the neighbors. 

He finds the note Atsuko left for Keiko and is stoked to find that she's off with some new boyfriend or something, because to him, this means all he has to do is avoid Keiko. He stands with the note in his hand for a ponderous moment, presumably remembering the warning from Botan, but he is not one to ponder long. He literally throws off his pajamas, with a declaration that he's not going to waste this day away by sleeping it away. 

Yeah, there's no doubt why THIS is a two-parter. 

Honestly, I'm surprised there's clean clothes for this coma-child to wear out and about. 

Yusuke turns and stares at the guy who bumped into him, who readjusts his glasses on his face and asks what the problem is, since he already apologized. With some giddy giggles, Yusuke points at his own wacky grin and asks if the guy can ACTUALLY see him. The guy is mystified and a little annoyed as Yusuke gushes about how fantastic it is to be able to touch and talk to people. Walking off, the stranger turns to look suspiciously back at what he assumes aloud to be some sort of idiot. 

While Yusuke continues to beam with happiness, he's hailed by two OTHER guys, whose smirks and slicked hair speak to a more sinister purpose than the other guy just walking along. They ask if Yusuke has any cash on him, and that they "lost their wallets" wink-wink. They're still playing the weird innocent angle as they tell Yusuke that he should help those in need, and that they need ALL the cash he has. Yusuke in turn points at his own face again, asking if they're talking to/looking at him. Again, he's mystified his would-be attackers, who questions why they SHOULDN'T be. Sighing in his unique bliss, Yusuke talks of how great it is to be alive, one of the muggers calling him a space case. 

In his frustration, the other mugger gets in Yusuke's face and tells him that he shouldn't mess with the school they represent - Kasanegafuchi Junior High School. Hey, isn't that the school that Kuwabara's gang pissed off at the beginning of the last chapter? This must be some turf war these schools have going on... Anyway, the guy demands all of Yusuke's money again, this time much more explicitly. 

Yusuke thinks that this bunch has gotten a bit arrogant since he's been gone, and the thought must have shown on his face, because the two other kids ask him what is with his mean expression and if he's going to give them trouble. The goofy grin is back on Yusuke's face in a second, and he waves them off with a chuckle, saying that it's lucky they found him in a good mood. He tells them to take off, but on his way past them, one of the punks grabs his shoulder and starts to ask who this scrawny little guy thinks he is. 

This is, of course, a mistake. 

Yusuke throws the guy backward. As the punk is coughing on the ground, his partner in crime goes to his side and asks if he's alright, and Yusuke walks off with a casual goodbye. The humiliated punk growls insults at Yusuke's back and prepares to get to his feet to confront their lost bank again, but the other one holds up staying hands, telling him to forget about the weird kid. He tells his friend that there will be consequences if they're late to their appointment with someone named "Dai", and invites him to let this go so they can get their asses over there.

Hm. Interesting. I wonder if we're about to meet "Dai"...

The humiliated punk yells after Yusuke that he won't forget this, but Yusuke isn't listening, too busy planning out what he's going to do first while he's out and about. What a shame - he might have picked up some valuable info if he'd kept one ear on them. Meanwhile, Botan is hovering nearby and fretting visibly about his insistence on tempting fate. She knows he'd do better to just stay quiet, but tries to convince herself that MAYBE he won't do anything stupid in the next 24 hours. Yeah, fat chance. 

Not so much fickle as stacked against him deliberately in order to insert tension in the story.

While Keiko and her friends are absorbed in a conversation in which Spectacles is making what seems to be a dicey claim, the two punks who tried to get at Yusuke earlier are walking in the opposite direction, the more angry one grumbling a bit. He's massaging at his neck and damning that absurdly happy bastard, vowing to kill him next time they cross paths. The other one pensively claims that there's something familiar about him. Didn't get a good look at him when his hand was on your throat, dude?

As Spectacles is swearing up and down that you can hear the word "senpai" in the middle of some song, and you have to listen close, Grumpy and his friend draw level with her and they bump into her as she's facing her friends in the opposite direction. Grumpy lets out a little "ow" as if it actually hurt him to gently brush past a little slip of a girl, and Spectacles immediately starts apologizing. He grimaces down at her and asks her HOW sorry she is, and understandably flustered, she says she's REALLY really sorry, starting to acknowledge that she wasn't looking where she was going.

Grumpy cuts her off, ranting about how she was not looking where she was going, flapping her gums, and getting in everyone's way. He calls her an UGLY COW, then kicks her hard as he yells at her to get her four-eyed face out of the street. Poor thing is sitting on the ground, her friends crouched next to her and asking if she's alright (And joy beyond joys, Keiko calls her Natsuko, so we have a NAME!), while she lets out a genuine "ow". 

The two punks are on their way again, Grumpy still surly after his tantrum and making caveman noises or something. Keiko is PISSED, yelling at these dudes to hold it, and reminding them in her mounting anger that her friend apologized. Grumpy screams back at her that no one cares, asking if she's got a problem, which, uh, should be obvious. Not too bright this one. His partner sneers at Keiko that she caught Grumpy on a bad day, so it's best not to piss him off right now. Keiko straight-up tells them that her mood is even WORSE than his could be, and demands that they come back and apologize to Natsuko. Grumpy does come back, but only to pucker his lips at her after asking what she's going to do otherwise, threatening to steal a smooch off her and cop a feel instead. 

This guy is 0 for 2 today. I don't know if he's unlucky right now or is just THIS terrible at being a punk, but I would hazard a guess that HE was the one that went to the hospital in the last chapter.

Not far off, Kuwabara's crew is discussing when Kuwabara is going to be joining them, which is apparently after he finishes his homework. It's clear that he's already taken a shine to putting in an effort at school! The fair-haired one asks what the deal is - the test is over - and the mid-sized one jokes that Kuwabara has gotten a little taste of studying, and now he's hooked. They speculate on him being in touch with his inner scholar, tongue-in-cheek the whole way, when that mid-sized kid observes ahead of them some girls, ones that he asks for confirmation that they go to their school. 

It is, as you have no doubt guessed, Keiko with her friends behind her, and she's yelling that Grumpy deserved it after Grumpy's friend alternates between asking Grumpy if he's alright and calling Keiko crazy. Grumpy sits on the ground, blood spraying from his nose like he's in a goofy British comedy. Grumpy's friend pulls back his fist to hit Keiko, telling her SHE asked for what he's winding up for, but a shoe flies at him and clocks him right in the back of the head. 

I think there's an emerging problem of having way too many characters squaring off at once...

Our two nameless punks, one still spewing blood from his nose (is he going to have to go to the hospital again for a hemorrhage or what???), identify the trio that just showed up as from the Sarayashiki Junior High School with a groan. Kuwabara's mid-sized friend addresses the girls, encouraging them to take off while they handle this, and Pigtails is only too eager to take this advice with a hurried thanks. She urges Keiko to come along, though Keiko is protesting that the punks haven't apologized yet. Natsuko insists that she doesn't need an apology, and tries to shove Keiko away from the scene.

Meanwhile, the three minus Kuwabara advance, the mid-sized one calling the punks scum from Kasane Junior High, because I'd shorten that nightmare of a tongue-twister school name too. Okubo suggests that they deserve some payback for the hell Kuwabara got last week. As they seize collars and prepare to do some damage on the protesting punks, a figure walks up behind them and utters a simple "hey". The three of them turn to see someone who is clearly an intimidating figure before THEY'RE the ones laid out on the pavement, groaning and defeated. The girls, still in the visual vicinity, are in tense alarm at the very quick end of the confrontation.

A guy with a VERY square head that is very large in proportion to his body, and a haircut much like Kuwabara's, says he's been wondering what was keeping his goons, asking if the three that just showed up were picking on them. Of course, the punks identify this guy as their appointment, Dai. He gets a little bio, in which it is specified that 15" of his 5' 5" is his face, which I appreciate, because I wasn't sure if it was just me or what. He dislikes waiting, likes lecturing people, his hobby is karaoke, and has the added detail of "type of girl" he likes, which is apparently Yuki Kudo from the movie "Snow Falling on Cedars". 

This is... totally pertinent information. For sure. 

Anyway, now he's kicking around Kuwabara's friends some more, complaining that he doesn't like to wait and implying that waiting might shave whole YEARS off his life. Bit dramatic, isn't he? Keiko, against the protests of her friends, strides forward while Dai is kicking and kicking, demanding to know what they're going to do about it. Yelling at him to stop that, but Dai is not paying any attention whatsoever, calling the boys he's abusing little powderpuffs. So Keiko repeats herself, with a little physical attention-grabber. 

Knocking the SHIT out of motherfuckers should have been listed as one of Keiko's hobbies, huh?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The scene is pretty cluttered with characters at the end there, especially when most of them don't have known names. It is one of the unfortunate side-effects of these kinds of comics that a good majority of the characters end up with nothing but commentary to do on the sidelines after a certain point, but I didn't expect it to happen so SOON in this one. And because I'm familiar with this flaw, the scene is coming across as less tense and more awkward. There's a significant chance that the next chapter is going to be very tiresome to recap, lol!

But other than that, this re-entry into corporeal form for Yusuke does make a certain amount of sense. The idea that the body wouldn't be able to carry on without a soul occupying it has some merit, because you can sort of imagine, in a cosmology like this, that a spiritual atrophy would develop without that connection being re-established. Plus, it doesn't hurt to avoid ACTUAL atrophy, which Yusuke absolutely would suffer laying in a coma for months on end. 

This inevitability is also part of the reason Yusuke's encounter with the punks is a little unbelievable to me. I'm no doctor, so I don't know how soon full atrophy would set in, but I'm not exactly sold that Yusuke would be able to choke a guy after a month of inactivity. At the very least he should be a bit stiff and physically awkward. 

Still, it's an interesting way to set up this strange debacle. Yusuke, in an indirect way, is the cause of this confrontation Keiko and the others are facing. If he hadn't taken that punk by the throat, he wouldn't have been in such a bad mood as to start shit with Keiko's friends. That makes him somewhat responsible for the impending dilemma where he'll either have to jump in and save them all (greater risking communication with Keiko in the process), or having to keep back and let someone like Kuwabara handle it. The consequences of his actions in the risk of going out and having fun are literally CREATING the very situation that he was warned about. 

This isn't tempting fate so much as sculpting it out of the finest of bad decisions.

Inuyasha Manga: 307 The Forbidden Mountain

Listen Chapter, no one forbids me from anything. While a good portion of my temperament comes in the form of stolid practicality, there is also a minor part of it that is a rooted stubborn nature. I'm my father's daughter, after all, and if someone tells me that I'm not allowed to go somewhere without giving me a good reason, I very suddenly get an almost uncontrollable urge to go, just because I can. It might also be because of bull-headed American culture - as a people we are notorious for defying any and all orders, even if they are for our own good. It's mellowed out in my old age, but there is still an adolescent impulse deep within me that automatically responds to a "forbidden" label with a simmering annoyance that anyone would dare to tell me what to do. Knock that off, you're not my real dad, and I don't even listen to THAT guy!

"For the last time, a late-night dispute over whose turn it is to do the dishes is NOT an emergency. Please let me sleep."

I'm joking, it's not THAT silly. Just an eerie light that came from the sky, according to the man leading Kaede up the stairs there when she asks for some clarification on what they were investigating. Still silly, of course, but not quite as absurd as my own scenario. Kaede does still appear concerned, her remaining eye widening at the confirmation that it was seen near her late sister's shrine, as if there could be any OTHER reason they were headed up there. 

Indeed, when they reach the top of the stairs, there's a glow off to the left of the shrine.

Hey, I recognize them!

Silently, they lift off and zoom into the sky at speed, and the older man behind Kaede starts to try to identify the ethereal children, but Kaede assures him that they are not youkai, suggesting instead that they're somebody's "Shikigami". I had to look this one up - in the simplest terms I could find, a "Shikigami" appears to be a conjured spirit brought forth by a magician's ceremony, so I assume that they're sort of similar to a "homunculus" in alchemy. Kaede is sure she didn't feel any evil aura coming off them, which I'm guessing is the main reason she jumped to a shikingami explanation instead. 

The younger man with her has knelt beside the small shrine at which the children were standing, pointing out the marks on the ground from where dirt has been scooped up. Well, that's the jars justified anyway. After Kaede exclaims her disbelief, the two men recall that time BEFORE when Kiykou's bones and burial soil were taken away as well, uncomfortable that this should happen again. Kaede inclines her head, trying to think WHO would do that now, what with Urasue being dead and everything.

Elsewhere, Inuyasha and company look up at a foreboding and dark sky in alarm. 

Is there anywhere he doesn't have his flunkies hovering around?

Miroku suggests that it feels like these youkai are searching for something, and Sango adds that it's perhaps for Hijiri-sama's location, which gets her a sidelong glance from Inuyasha. But he agrees, saying that this person IS an obstacle to Naraku. Kagome somehow seems assume that Naraku has noticed that Hijiri may be Kikyou as well, and his intention may be to locate and kill her again, even though Hijiri has caused him quite a lot of trouble even if it WEREN'T Kikyou. Not that I don't believe that Naraku has concluded the obvious like everyone else, but it's not the only reason he would have to go after Hijiri, girl.

Cut to another hillside forest, where someone is hesitantly confirming that they've heard rumors about this Hijiri-sama, but they don't seem to have any concrete information. Not even when Miroku tells the woodsmen he's speaking to that the person should have passed through this area. A man with an ax hitched on his shoulder says he doesn't know, but he suggests that maybe something strange that happened before dawn is some sort of sign of Hijiri-sama. He tells Miroku and Inuyasha about two glowing streaks in the sky. 

How many holy mountains that won't admit anyone but the virtuous can there POSSIBLY be? We just blew up one of those in the big arc only a few chapters back!

Miroku turns to Inuyasha and asks if they should check it out, and Inuyasha half-heartedly agrees, arguing that they don't really have any other clues to follow. Later, as they're heading for the "Forbidden" Mountain, Kagome on Inuyasha's back and the rest of them on Kirara's, and all looking a little moody, Shippou looks up at Sango and asks her if we're still searching for the nest of vampire birds. Sango hums at him in question, so he elaborates that it seems to him that the objective seems to have shifted pretty blatantly to trying to meet this Hijiri person. Rather than answering, Miroku advises Shippou not to say this kind of thing around Kagome, though Sango adds that Kagome has probably already noticed a long time ago. Awkward-sauce.

ZOOM TO THE WATERFALL, where our two flying toddlers are standing placidly by the pool at its base, pouring the dirt they collected at the Kikyou shrine into the water. It's a seriously weird-looking exercise. They both look up at a sound in the sky above, seeing the small-fry youkai writhing in the air that Inuyasha's group just did, and coming to the same conclusion that they're searching for Hijiri-sama. 

Speaking of Inuyasha and crew, Miroku at Kirara's tail calls up to Inuyasha up front, asking if he's noticed something. Inuyasha confirms that he's also taken note of the undulating Naraku horde above, and wonders aloud if its following them, or something else that he trails away from. Probably the equally likely possibility that they're all just zeroing in on the same location for Hijiri. Being unusually observant today, Shippou points out that the number of the youkai is increasing steadily, and Sango adds that they're aiming for the forbidden mountain as well, at any rate. Kagome's one-track mind has already latched onto the idea that this means that Kikyou is there. She is downright OBSESSED. 

The horde on its way to the mountain is about to get a nasty surprise. 

Miroku immediately identifies this as a purification arrow, with Sango concluding that Hijri is DEFINITELY on the mountain. Inuyasha picks up the pace, urging along the rest of the group as they sprint toward Hijiri's admittedly poor hiding place. 

Another wave of youkai is dissolved right out of the air by yet another arrow, streaking over the trees and Inuyasha and Kagome's heads. 

Don't know what Naraku thinks these creepy-crawlies will do to Kikyou except maybe annoy her, but sure, invade the mountain in another vague evil plan, see if I care. 

Sango swings around Kirara and throws Hiraikotsu at the oncoming youkai ground troops, while Inuyasha tears through them with his claws, Kagome cringing against the gore on his back. There's a rising wave of the creatures behind him, though, and he's already mentally complaining about what a fucking pain this is. I don't blame him; I also would never be in the mood to mess around with this. 

He gets level with Kirara to tell Miroku and Sango to take care of Kagome for him. Sango makes an unsure noise, but Inuyasha is already putting Kagome on the already overburdened sabertoothed cat, ordering them all to go ahead. Kagome is saying his name in protest, like that matters. Miroku begins what seems like would be a chastising statement to him, and Inuyasha cuts him off, a hand on the hilt of Tessaiga as he yells at Miroku that it should be obvious to everyone what he's about to do. He lunges toward the horde, promising to catch up once he's taken care of it, and in the meantime the rest of the group can look for Hijiri. 

Kagome looks taken-aback by this, and as Kirara takes her away, she thinks on him in amazement, Miroku running alongside and wondering if it's really alright if THEY meet this person before Inuyasha does. Turns out he's avoiding it, if his next internal question about what he'll do if Hijiri is Kikyou is any indication. 

This one swing, as usual, does the trick, blowing apart the flock of youkai in an explosion of mismatched parts. While he watches the viscera rain down from his attack, he concludes that he HAS to meet Hijiri and find out. Inuyasha turns around, putting away Tessaiga to continue moving on ahead, but he stops suddenly again in alarm. 

Yes, Inuyasha. It's so incredibly obvious. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm intrigued by these "shikigami" that Kikyou has made, given how versatile they seem. She clearly just conjured up a couple of little servants to attend to her every need, which raises a lot of questions about how that's possible. Has she always been capable of something like this? If not, how did she get to the point where she could? Especially considering she fell into a river of corrosive miasma, which SHOULD have disabled her pretty severely, it seems unlikely that she should be able to create and maintain these beings in a weakened state. And yet, here they are, flying around and getting her grave dirt, throwing up powerful barriers, etc. It's almost the strongest argument AGAINST Hijiri being Kikyou that Hijiri is this powerful when Kikyou should have been so incredibly out of pocket this soon after being dissolved in Naraku's personal stank. 

But come on, I knew it was her the FIRST time I read this, so that's entirely moot. 

Once again, where RT's talent comes in is with her expressions of Inuyasha and Kagome's feelings surrounding this "possibility" of Hijiri being Kikyou. Kagome finds herself entirely preoccupied with the notion, to the point where she's finding confirmation in just about every tiny little thing. It's clear she's trying to mentally prepare herself for the turmoil Kikyou presenting herself is going to cause between her and Inuyasha, but she's literally just obsessing about something she can't control. And given her little speech to Inuyasha about how inevitable it is that he'll go after rumors of Kikyou/Kikyou, and how inevitable it is that she'll be devastated by it, she's entirely aware of this. It's a really awkward position to be in, trying to be sanguine about something that hurts you, because it does no one any good to freak out about it, but you can't help feeling like shit anyway. 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha is treading carefully, and not JUST because of Kagome's feelings, although that does seem to be a pretty big factor. He's deferring to her a lot, and tries to make it obvious that everything he's doing is above board. But more than that, he's also just as preoccupied as she is. Even when he's faced with a wall of youkai, he's trying to untangle how he feels about what it would mean if Hijiri IS Kikyou, and he can't figure it out. Granted, they're not really threatening youkai, and are easy to dispatch, but all the same, he took that moment to pass Kagome off to his friends; presumably it was just as much to have a moment to think on this without Kagome literally looking over his shoulder as it was that he needed free movement of his body. 

In both cases, we're back to the Kikyou drama again. Yay. Doesn't help that such a contrivance as a horde of youkai is used to separate Inuyasha from the rest of the group. It couldn't have been more than a minute between the crew departing and him turning to find Hijiri on the horse behind him, he took out those monsters so fast. It just seems unlikely that the group shouldn't have seen Hijiri first, but fine. Why not add teleportation to the list of new OP junk Kikyou is capable of?

Are we sure Naraku's miasma didn't make her STRONGER? Like nuclear/radioactive waste in a superhero comic??

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 007 The Promise!

Which one, chapter? I've made an awful lot of promises, including of late, and they can be a little difficult to honor, especially if they're the ones I make to myself. In fact, those are the ones that are usually the first to go if I have a conflict, which is fairly often these days. Trying to learn the piano has fallen by the wayside, because there's always something going on with the house in the evening when I used to do it now. It's also a toss-up whether I can get any writing done when I have to clear the overgrown blackberry brambles around the house to prevent them from completely overtaking the yard. That work takes an absurd amount of work, too, because they are extraordinarily tenacious things and just grow right back where they were almost immediately. 

Anyway, all I'm saying is that I don't mean to keep reneging on my personal oaths, so don't call me out YYH!

Keiko? At the school Yusuke and she are both enrolled? How unusual... /sarcasm

There's a pause as Yusuke regards her in the crowd of students below for a moment, before Botan reminds him that he's not allowed to talk to her until he's gotten back on his physical feet again, so to speak. When Yusuke tells her that he knows this, she goes on to say that even LOOKING at Keiko is probably not the greatest idea, and Yusuke has to be the one to remind HER with considerable annoyance that SHE is the one who pointed Keiko out in the first place. Sheesh, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she was the one who suggested they check out his school as well. Botan, why you trying to sabotage our boy? You know he's perfectly capable of sabotaging himself!

Yusuke dares to look anyhow, because that's just the kind of risk-taker he is, and with a note of her smile and laughter, thinks that she seems to be doing alright. The next page is the title page, which a happy Keiko takes up the majority of and, with Yusuke hovering over her, confidently announces to the audience that she will NOT be in this chapter. 

Okay, genuinely that made me snort a little. 

Oh, so these dudes don't EXCLUSIVELY get their asses beat? Could have fooled me.

I recognize this teacher and his skeletal face, but I don't know if he was given a name before. Knowing this manga's habits, I would say the chances are pretty high he hasn't. Anyway, he says all this fighting has gotten SUPER out of hand, and asks Kuwabara, being the leader of this little gang, what he has to say for himself. Kuwabara just mutters in annoyance that those kids over at the other school started it, and complains that when they whine about it, it's him and his crew who get in trouble. Yeah, every kid knows what it's like to defend oneself and get the shaft for it, so I believe it for sure.

Skeletor over here says he observes no remorse, and says they leave him no choice for what he's about to do. He addresses one Okubo, the stocky, heavier boy among them, who answers with his head lowered, but respectfully. Skeletor flips through a thick bound stack of paper and hums about how it says there that the school gave him permission to hold a part-time job, to which Okubo responds with a somewhat confused affirmative. It's wild enough to me that the SCHOOL is the one giving permission for this teenager to work part-time, but I'm absolutely appalled by Skeletor saying that he's revoking that permission right here and now, and he'll be informing Okubo's employer. Sorry, shouldn't there be some, I don't know, conference among other teachers about this? How can ONE teacher have so much power over a kid's employment??? 

Okubo stutters out his objection to Mr. Akashi (NAMES! I'm so relieved these characters are getting NAMES!) that he NEEDS the job, and it would be awful if he lost it. Kuwabara leans toward the teacher he's already towering over to ask why he thinks he has to do that, because in his mind, working and fighting are two entirely different matters. Akashi begs to differ, suggesting that Okubo might cause trouble at work, making his employer, the school, AND his advisor look bad. There's also a little editor note here informing us that Japanese high schools often forbid working on the basis that it interferes with academics. Fuck poor kids, am I right? 

Akashi glares over at Okubo and says they can't have any of those ADULTS looking bad, and Okubo sweats, beginning another objection. He begs for this to be overlooked just this once, promising not to get into any more fights, and explaining that his single mom and little siblings REALLY need his income. He's bowing his head in deference, pleading with Akashi to reconsider, and Akashi cruelly grins as he pretends to mull this over for a moment or two longer. 

Kuwabara jumps back in to assert that Okubo doesn't really fight with them, just gets beat up. Boy, he's one to talk, huh? XD He says that if anyone here does any actual fighting, it's him, essentially arguing that HE should be the one punished. With an even creepier smirk, Akashi meanders his way into claiming he can see their way into letting this matter go, IF Kuwabara agrees to two things. Kuwabara repeats the phrase in curiosity.

... Deceptively easy...?

The other two members of the little gang don't seem to think it's easy at all. They bring up the real possibility that the kids from the other school might jump them again, asking if they're just supposed run away like chickens, and suggest instead a moratorium on fighting for a maximum of two HOURS. Wow, how many enemies who want to beat your faces in do you HAVE, boys??? 

But Kuwabara appears to be seriously considering the one week proposition, his other two friends asking if he really thinks it's possible after he mumbles the phrase aloud, while thinking that it was Kuwabara himself they were mainly concerned about the ability to pull this off. Smirking, Akashi firmly says that one week is the deal. He adds mentally that he doesn't believe Kuwabara could go one day without fighting. It may be more likely than you being able to go a day without being a dickbag to a student under your care. 

Yusuke is watching the boys leave Akashi's office, the fair-haired one sliding the door shut behind them with his foot. He marvels about how interesting things have gotten around here since he died. Back in his office, Akashi chuckles at what a bunch of morons all those kids are if they can really think they have a snowball's chance in Hell at succeeding in this challenge. Yusuke hovers behind him in indignation while Akashi muses on how Kuwabara is the biggest idiot since Urameshi he's ever seen, with a hair-trigger temper as well. Akashi has a little devil tail extending up from behind him in his seat and everything while he eagerly anticipates when Kuwabara snaps, mutual restraint going down the drain, and the trust between the group members dissolving so all of them will be easier to keep in line. He considers this pipe dream to be a nice feather in his cap. If it comes to pass anyway. That last part is a bit shaky, honestly. 

Outside the school, the boys are lounging down the walk, complaining about how much it blows now that Urameshi, the guy who kept the majority of the teachers distracted with his antics, is gone. Now the teachers are coming down on them all the more. Okubo says he realizes that this task of not fighting will be a bit tough, but he asks for their patience for the mere week ahead. He worries over his mother, who hasn't been feeling well and can't get to work every day, assuring his friends that he's not exaggerating when he says his wages are all that's keeping the family afloat. 

Botan and Yusuke are hovering a little behind them, and Yusuke expresses his surprise to learn that Okubo, or "the fat one" as he refers to him, had it so rough. Botan points out that Yusuke also lived in a single-parent household, and asked how his mother paid the bills. Yusuke admits he doesn't know, but he DID see her extorting money from a certain cop a few times. Damn, wonder what dirt she had on THAT guy. 0.0

He says that the main thing is to avoid those guys from the other school, so he advises all the rest of them to stick close to home as well. The kid with the buzz cut seems amazed that Kuwabara is really going to do this "not fighting" thing, and the fair-haired one says there's no sense hanging around then. They separate, presumably to make a hasty retreat home, and when Kuwabara is alone, we're shown a sneaky Akashi dogging him from around the corner of a building, thinking he'll catch him in the act. 

Of course, Yusuke and Botan are still following him as well. Botan comments on how much Kuwabara cares about his friends, but Yusuke scoffs that it's all an act, insisting that this guy couldn't avoid a fight if his life depended on it. In the very next panel, Kuwabara crosses paths with three tall youths, all of which have bandaged and battered faces. One of them confronts Kuwabara on the "unfinished business" they have with him, suggesting they go for a "walk". Kuwabara agrees to this, Yusuke triumphantly inviting Botan to behold the fundamental inability of Kuwabara not to fight. 

Well, it's the only option left to him, I guess. 

His enemies all look REALLY weirded out by this proposition, mumbling that he's talking crazy. Yusuke is just perplexed while Botan enthuses about how COOL this is of Kuwabara, and Akashi cranes his neck from around the corner of the nearest building and admits this isn't how this whole thing was supposed to go down in frustrated confusion. 

We don't see the beating, little blessing that this is - the next panel just shows the outside of the school the next day where someone is asking Kuwabara in shock what happened to him. He's lumpier than usual, bruised and battered, but smiling good-naturedly as he tells his wincing buddies that the gang from the other school used him for a punching bag is all. He doesn't seem all that concerned about it, but Okubo in particular is very disturbed by this, no doubt under the impression that this is HIS fault. He's really rather sweet, and I like him a lot. 

Akashi walks up casually and admits to Kuwabara directly that he's shown some laudable restraint. Kuwabara tells him that he's just sticking to their deal. Kid's got integrity, so you'd think a teacher who WASN'T a piece of shit would latch onto this as a trait to encourage and reward with some protection and help of some sort. Instead, he sneers and reminds Kuwabara that he actually mentioned TWO requirements for him to let Okubo keep his job. Oh fuck, he DID do that. I completely forgot. Akashi says that at the end of this week-long grace period in which they can't fight, he's giving a major science test, and each of the friends has to score ABOVE a 50%. Lots of conveniently NOT sharing helpful info with characters until the last possible second in this comic...

Turning to walk away, Akashi assures him with some sarcasm that it shouldn't be a problem if they all stay home and study for it. He does realize that would absolutely reduce the chances that these kids would get in a fight between now and then, right? I can't tell if this guy is actually trying to HELP them or if he's just REALLY incompetent at being a nuisance. In fact, the buzz-cut kid is pretty confident that he can manage it if he studies a little, since he scored 45% on the last test. The fair-haired one says he's got him beat already, since he got a 52%. All he really has to do is maintain that score. They asks Okubo, and he says he got 39%, so he looks less confident, but suggests if he really knuckles down he might be able to improve. Fair-hair asks Kuwabara, and he answers in a blunt, unembarrassed manner that he got 7% on the last test. YIKES.

His friends all look horrified, and while Kuwabara asks what's with those expressions, Yusuke's specter laughs heartily in the balcony seat. He yuks that even HE did better than Kuwabara on those tests, and when Botan asks what he scored on it, with a grin he says 12%. Not MUCH better, but he brags that the science tests were mostly multiple choice, so it was his best subject. He even adds that it was AMAZING the results he was able to achieve through intuition alone. Yeah. Amazing, lol. Botan refuses to ask what he scored in his OTHER subjects, and that's probably a good idea. 

He's really positive about it, I love that for him!

We get a view of his friends' backs as they walk off down the hall, marveling at how serious he actually seems about this, and speculating that if he pulls all-nighters studying on top of getting his ass beat every day, he's going to die. They even suggest that "rat-face" Akashi cooked this whole thing up just to set up a trap for Kuwabara. Like I said, he's REAL incompetent about it, though... He's even hiding around a corner again, sneering about how the kids can think what they want, but he's CERTAIN Kuwabara will never get a passing grade at this test. Looks real pleased with himself.

Like, bro, you ever tried getting a hobby? 

Then there's a panel featuring a picture of Keiko looking vaguely concerned? It states her name, birthday, age, blood type, and, go figure, HOBBIES, which are cooking and cleaning. This is a VERY strange extension of the joke on the title page that she's not actually in the chapter. Kind of makes it seem like YT is a little preoccupied with her, even if he can't write about her in this one. It's just real weird, and didn't make me snort at all. 

After this odd single-panel digression, we get another that's a time skip to several days later, and someone crying that Kuwabara's killing himself. His face is swollen, bloodied, and tissues are sticking out of his ears, because he must have been bleeding from them at some point. It's really a wonder that he can SEE the Science 2 booklet he's holding open. Then again, maybe he doesn't and he's just delirious from sustained brain injury. Okubo is literally SOBBING over how Kuwabara is looking after his constant study in the midst of ambushes, even saying that his job doesn't matter THIS much. This contrived dichotomy has got Okubo claiming that his family's survival isn't important. Terrible.

Okubo suggests that they go and kick all their butts, but Kuwabara tells him to cool it, that this isn't all that bad. He smirks, saying he got WAY worse from Yusuke when he wasn't even trying all that hard, and advises them to just stick to their studying. His friends are speechless, and still quite distressed by his appearance by the looks on their faces. Especially Okubo, who is clearly holding back outright WAILS. 

Kuwabara is still flipping through his textbook, muttering the contents out loud, while Yusuke floats over him with a curious amazement. He then notices a couple of nearby thugs, one of whom nods to Kuwabara passing and says that word is he's gone soft. After half a moment's consideration, he says it sure looks like it, and his companion says they should go have some fun at his expense. 

Being a ghost comes in real handy. Yusuke is even able to perch on the back of Kuwabara's chair while he's passed out at his desk from a full night of studying to quiz him in his sleep about what the agent is in blood that makes it red (hemoglobin). Botan isn't even HERE, so she didn't have to goad him into it or anything. He's just doing Kuwabara a good turn. 

The day of the test arrives, and surrounded by other students scribbling silently on their test sheets, Kuwabara scratches his head, bent over his own exam in concentration. Yusuke hovers outside the window, peering in at Kuwabara as he continues to itch furiously at his head, mumbling about how he knew something. After it's all over with, he brags in the corridor to Okubo about how he's SURE he got over 50% on the test. Okubo asks if it's true, and Kuwabara grins smugly as he explains that he went over the points multiple times and it came out to 53% - this being the ones he KNEW cold, including the last question which nearly put him in tears when he realized he was so sure about the answer. Okubo really IS in tears in the background, sobbing into his sleeve in relief, while their other two friends whisper to each other about how doubtful they were that Kuwabara got the points calculated. 

But when we cut to the faculty offices and Akashi holding Kuwabara's test, we see that Akashi is in sweaty, angry disbelief that Kuwabara indeed got over 50% on the test. Instead of being elated like an actual educator would be at this RADICAL transformation, and trying to think of ways to nurture the trend WITHOUT weird threats to his friend's employment, Akashi keeps scanning the test for ONE MORE WRONG ANSWER. He's reminding himself that he's written the point values for each question already, and is just flabbergasted, because this was not how this whole scenario was supposed to go down.

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO ALLOW HIM TO GET A TEENAGER FIRED. 

NO KAREN HAS EVER WANTED TO GET A TEENAGER FIRED MORE THAN THIS MAN, I JUST CAN'T EVEN...

Takenaka just happens to be strolling through the office behind Akashi as he is evilly admiring his handiwork, but he doesn't really DO anything. Just kinda gives him a questioning look. 

A transition panel showing us a sliver of hallway gives way to a shocked expression on Kuwabara's face as he looks down at his test with a 48 written at the top. Akashi tells him it was a good try, but a deal's a deal. I guess he'll be calling up Okubo's employer now, since he's so inexplicably on fire to do so. After a speechless pause, Kuwabara insists that this isn't possible - he checked and rechecked his answers, and added up the score over and over, Yusuke looking curiously in from the window. Kuwabara KNOWS he got a 53%. He scans the paper again and notices something missing, swearing up and down that he wrote down an answer to the last question, and then comes to the realization that Akashi ERASED it. 

He must have wandered off from Akashi, because he turns and runs toward the grown-ass bully, yelling that he's a bastard. Akashi squeaks in fear as Kuwabara grabs him by the lapel, Yusuke and Botan looking on in shock and horror. Kuwabara pulls his fist back to deck this MFer, but Yusuke's spirit yells at him not to do it, grasping Kuwabara's fist with his spectral hand. With some alarm, Kuwabara freezes, though he no doubt has no idea why. 

I mean, technically, Akashi could still have a claim on assault for Kuwabara grabbing him, depending on the local laws...

Kuwabara stands there with his fist raised, but not actually swinging. Takenaka jogs onto the scene, telling Kuwabara to calm his shit, and Akashi tries to goad him into actually following through on the punch, though Akashi is clearly shaking like a leaf as he does so. Without a word, Kuwabara slowly lowers his fist and releases Akashi, who skitters off along the wall like the little bug he is while Kuwabara turns away from him. 

Akashi chuckles in relief, pointing a trembling finger at Kuwabara and informing him that it would have been the last nail in his coffin if he had hit him, and it wouldn't have changed that 48% one tiny little bit. As Akashi straightens out his terrible suit, Takenaka walks up and asks if he's alright, Akashi responding that he's just a little rumpled. But he doesn't lose the chance to whine about how VIOLENT Kuwabara is. 

Takenaka leans over in a strangely intimate way and says that what Akashi did to Kuwabara's test was in its own way equally violent. Seems like SOMEONE has been reading foundational communist theory. Akashi looks like he accidentally drank a whole glass full of lemon juice, bug-eyed and grimacing, then tries to stutter out an explanation. Takenaka takes this as an admission that Akashi indeed falsified Kuwabara's test score, and holds a forefinger right up in Akashi's cringing, sweating face, admitting that he'd like to take a swing himself right now, but it wouldn't do justice to the fact that Kuwabara held back. He suggests that Akashi puts back things the way they should be, because Takenaka is a total fucking KING. 

His king shit ain't over either.

Poor Kuwabara, he is so bewildered. 

Okubo cries in his relief and happiness that he gets to keep his job, with Kuwabara providing a silent, if not confused, support. Yusuke looks on from where he hovers just over the scene, confessing to Botan that he tried to stop Kuwabara before he remembered that he COULDN'T, not being physical and all, expressing surprise that Kuwabara was able to hear him anyway. Botan says that she doesn't think Kuwabara DID hear him, and when Yusuke makes a puzzled noise at her, she points out that his voice didn't actually reach him because it's insubstantial. Can't hear something that doesn't actually produce physical waves in the air, technically. 

But Botan suggests that Yusuke's FEELINGS got through to Kuwabara, and Yusuke's care for Kuwabara and his situation is what he "heard", which is fundamental to empathy. Yusuke immediately protests the notion that he CARES about Kuwabara, saying it grosses him out, but Botan insists she thinks it's sweet with a shrug. 

Meanwhile, Kuwabara is thinking about the "if" of him actually hitting Akashi. He turns on the spot, facing the spot where Yusuke is hovering, much to Yusuke's surprise. Yusuke turns back to Botan and asks if he could possibly see them, but Botan gives him a hard NO, reiterating that Kuwabara might be able to feel their presence or something like that, but since they're invisible and inaudible, that's feeling is pretty much all there could be. Indeed, getting a view of the area from Kuwabara's angle, we can see there's nothing there. 

And yet, after the protracted silence, Kuwabara gives thanks to the thin air. Yusuke stares in astonishment. Okubo asks who Kuwabara is talking to, and after another pause, he says it's nobody and starts to walk off, Okubo following dutifully, but with his own bewildered air now. Everyone is just so confused in this one, it's hilarious. 

He manages to communicate better than most people WITHOUT the advantages of a physical presence. How does THAT work??

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It was a very relatable chapter, if a bit exaggerated in places. I think there are very few students who didn't have THAT teacher, who seemed to have it out for them no matter WHAT. Hell, I was a prim, proper little girl growing up, who did damn near everything I was told by my teachers and was a fairly good student, but I had that teacher too! It's kind of an open secret that as many good teachers who actually got into their profession to help children develop into intelligent and curious adults exist, there are those that entered into teaching simply to be the bully themselves, and take advantage of a position of power to make miserable the students they don't like. 

Granted, Kuwabara and his friends are little punks, and it was entirely valid for them to be confronted by a teacher for PUTTING ANOTHER KID IN THE HOSPITAL. That shit might even have been grounds for a lawsuit? I'm not sure how it would have worked in Japan at this time. But the strange obsession Akashi had with Okubo losing a job he and his family absolutely needed was not an appropriate response, and it spoke of a deep vendetta against these kids that a healthy adult SHOULD NOT have regarding the children in his care.

The masculine urge to create economic distress for your students instead of getting therapy.

But it is absolutely hilarious how shitty Akashi is at actively trying to get these kids in trouble. In all that effort, he ends up proving beyond any doubt that they, and especially Kuwabara, are capable of INCREDIBLE academic and behavioral improvement, and under DURESS no less! And the whole time, Akashi is pissing and moaning that they weren't SUPPOSED to get better and show integrity, they were supposed to fail! Not once during one of these laments did he ever stop and reflect on why he was DISAPPOINTED by a child improving so remarkably, and that is the funniest part of all of it. The man is such a sad, pathetic piece of garbage that he's upset he SUCCEEDED in creating a marked improvement in his students. Just, absolutely fucking wild, I'm ROLLING. 

Finally, Kuwabara is such a wholesome kid, he deserves EVERYTHING. He is just DRIPPING with integrity, going to such lengths to help a friend is an enormously admirable thing, and something you wouldn't really expect from someone of that reputation. But that does seem to be the point of this whole series so far - the labels that society sticks on people, especially young people who might be a bit rough around the edges, don't speak to the depth of their characters. People are a lot more complex and have very intricate values that can come out in the most interesting of ways, so you never quite know what they're going to do. 

It does make you wonder. If Kuwabara died in the next chapter, would the afterlife have as much trouble placing him as they did Yusuke?

Inuyasha Manga: 306 The Town's Barrier

Yet another barrier. According to the wording though, this one seems belong to the TOWN rather than Naraku and his minions this time. It's about time someone else figured out they can take some defensive measures against him like he does against them, although, I must admit, I do still wince a little at the word "barrier" at this point. They pop up so often in this story, it's a wonder that everyone doesn't have their own little bubble of protection. 

I mean, at the very least, THESE guys should all have their own barrier by now. With how often Naraku messes with them in particular. 

Miroku plays the role of GPS, assuring the group that they've gotten over the pass, and should be arriving in Hijiri-sama's town soon. Kagome in particular is eager to get to the town, to learn a bit more about Hijiri-sama, brows drawn down in a rare expression of agitation. Clearly, she still has her suspicions as to the identity of this person who fired the arrow that broke Hakudoushi's barrier, but she doesn't voice them, even in her inner dialog. 

Cut to a village landscape over which a large cloud of flying vampire creatures is flocking. They descend on a certain spot, but are repelled in the air by a, surprise, BARRIER. 

A very Hitchcock vibe going on here.

With a mass of cringing villagers behind her, another little child, much like the one that was with "Hijiri" in the previous couple of chapters, dispassionately tells them all not to move from this cave. A stuttered affirmation is muttered among the crowd, but someone else also expresses their nervousness over Hijiri-sama not having returned yet. 

In the air, Abi scoffs at the barrier, calling it impudent. She smirks, observing that humans are sturdy in a group, so she suggests that they cause the individuals in the barrier to scatter. As per precedent, the vampire birds burst into flame, and start surrounding the barrier various points. The villagers inside, understandably, are very disturbed by the creatures being on fire and being surrounded by flames, and panic, convinced that they'll be roasted alive. A small group of men cry that they can't take this, spot a small spot where there aren't flames, and make a break for it with the intention of escaping the frying pan. The child at the head of the congregation delivers a toneless command not to leave the barrier, trailing in a statement of what will happen once they do. Probably because it pretty much immediately happened the moment these guys stepped outside. 

So much for that idea, I guess.

While a majority of the runners get instantly mummified by the blood being drained from them in record time, one man is still fleeing a couple of vampire birds in pursuit. Thankfully, he's saved by them being ripped apart by a speeding arrow, fired by the "mysterious" shrouded figure on horseback that is known as Hijiri-sama, galloping in to save the day. Those in the barrier express a little relief that Hijiri-sama is back, and plea for Hijiri to save them now that they have shown up. No time to relax; the work of a quasi-religious savior figure is never done. 

Hijiri-sama leans over their horse's neck in their urgency to reach the refugees in the cave, and Abi recognizes them as the person who put up this barrier. She points her vampire creatures toward Hijiri, commanding them to KILL. Hijiri wastes no time aiming another arrow up into the very heart of the flock.

TOTAL. ANNIHILATION. 

Abi is flabbergasted. The refugees stutter in their relief and shock that the vampires were destroyed, and they are saved. In growing petulant anger, Abi curses and wonders aloud what is going on here, realizing she's had no end of trouble since she got tangled up with Naraku. Hijiri is now aiming another arrow at her, and with another curse, she disappears in a flicker of flame. 

Now that they can see the threat has gone, and it's due to Hijiri's power, they bow and express their gratitude as Hijiri rides up at a much more leisurely pace. Hijiri says nothing (big surprise), looking up at the sky in silence. 

Narrow sky transition panel! Inuyasha and company are rolling into town, the town they have been heading for since their confrontation with Hakudoushi at the pass. The first thing they notice is the multitude of vampire creature parts littering the ground. 

"Or to save their tomato crop. Either way, works for us."

Anyway, they say they're real grateful, and add in a bit of a rapid change of subject that a single arrow took the whole flock out. The inuyasha group, with Kagome at the forefront, kind of stare speechlessly, the phrase about just one arrow looming in its thought bubble above them. Eventually, Kagome is the first to find her voice, asking haltingly where Hijiri-sama is, which seems to surprise Inuyasha a little as he looks around at her. The villagers they are talking to inform them that Hijiri has left the area, like this is the most obvious thing in the world. It seems, despite this place being Hijiri-sama's town, that Hijiri spends the minimal amount of time here possible, lol. 

Kagome makes a questioning noise, so the villagers elaborate with a quote from Hijiri about going to find the vampire nest and destroy it. Miroku says they must have JUST missed each other, and came close to even passing one another on the road. Kagome gives Inuyasha a bit of a side-eye, asking him if they should try to go after, and when Inuyasha asks if she means after Hijiri, she responds...

She is rather blunt, isn't she?

Inuyasha just kind of looks down contemplatively, Miroku quietly waiting for the delicate conversation to develop, and Sango/Shippou hanging in the background thinking about poor Kagome. No one is giving much thought to Inuyasha, who is really turning this conundrum over in his head. He at first asserts that Naraku killed Kikyou, but when he really examines what he knows about the event, he has to admit that he didn't SEE it or Kikyou's remains. He just saw the broken bow on the ground. He does wonder why Kikyou wouldn't let him know if she WAS alive. I can think of a couple of reasons, but we'll just see where this goes. 

If you take too terribly much longer about this, kid, you're going to miss your window to follow Hijiri, no matter who the hell they are. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group sits around a fire and chills for a minute. Sango says that Kagome is very brave for saying what she said, and after asking for confirmation that she's talking about Kagome pointing out Hijiri could be Kikyou, Miroku makes the unconcerned statement that if it really IS Kikyou, they'll cross paths eventually. Since they're all searching for the vampire bird nest, it's more than likely. Wow, it's one of those rare moments these days where I can agree with Miroku and NOT be annoyed by him! How novel!

Sango also agrees, but admits to worrying about how "unsteady" Inuyasha will get if he meets up with Kikyou, presumably in regards to his relationship with Kagome. 15-year-olds gonna 15-year-old, I don't know what to tell you, girl. Sango says Kagome will forgive him if this happens, as she always does, but she briefly voices a fantasy of pushing him off a cliff and causing permanent injuries to his legs if she were in Kagome's place, which... is CONCERNING. Miroku sweatdrops, asking her not to say that with such a serious expression. In the spirit of the conversation of hypotheticals, if I were him, I would be VERY NERVOUS right now. 

Kagome and Inuyasha sit on the edge of a short cliff, so Sango may get her wish here. There's a little distance between them as Inuyasha asks Kagome if she's okay with this. Not that she has much of a choice. Facts are facts, after all, and when they find out Hijiri's identity, there won't be any room to disagree with it. At first, Kagome pretends not to know what he's talking about, but then turns his own question back on him, asking what he'll do if they discover Hijiri is Kikyou. After a pause, he says he doesn't know, turning his face away when Kagome looks over at him. She turns the opposite way as well, thinking that he's being rather blunt. She's certainly one to talk, isn't she?

Inuyasha does know one thing, though: that if Hijiri is Kikyou, then that means the bastard Naraku failed to take her life. Kagome stares at him in mild surprise. 

I mean, he's trying to kill ALL of you. Kikyou isn't really unique in that regard.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm glad that Abi is finally starting to realize that teaming up with Naraku might not have been the best move on her part. He really doesn't have a single thing to offer in this partnership, at least not anything that isn't there to simply counteract the consequences of his own interference. He promised her a bit more efficiency in her task, but really seems to have delivered LESS. If he were doing business today, his Google Reviews page would be FLOODED with negatives. I'm just surprised that it took Miss Abi so long to figure out that he is giving her absolutely NOTHING, because from the moment he showed up, he was already promising her very little. 

And, of course, the Kikyou drama has rekindled in full once again. Honestly, it's a shame, because I can kind of see why RT would have to bring Kikyou back in this instance - the thing that is still most effective against Naraku and his incarnations are her arrows covered in her own graveyard dirt. On the other hand, she can't bring Kikyou back without bringing back the tension that there is between her, Kagome, and Inuyasha. It's an unfortunate side-effect, because nobody really likes this drama. It's not a FUN kind of drama. It's the kind of drama where you just feel awkward and weird for all of the characters involved, especially when you're about the same age as them, and you can kind of see yourself in ALL of their positions. 

It doesn't help that this is proving to be very strangely written. At first, it seems like RT is trying to obscure the fact that Hijiri is Kikyou, despite how obvious that silhouette is under the cowl, so she has Inuyasha say he doesn't smell Kikyou on the arrow she leaves behind. Then in the very next installment, they've all pretty much come to terms with the fact that this is very likely Kikyou, so that small act of hiding it seems to be utterly useless. Like I said above, I can think of a few reasons why Kikyou MIGHT want to fly under the radar right now, since everyone thinking you're dead is excellent cover to continue sabotaging your enemy. If she told Inuyasha and company that she was still alive, it would only be a matter of time before Naraku found out too. After all, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. 

And yet, Kikyou as a character just isn't doing a good job staying on the down-low. She's doing such a BAD job that the reader has pretty much figured it out right away, and the characters very soon after. The secrecy ultimately did little but to fill space, and that my attitude toward it is evolving much the same way as Abi's attitude toward Naraku - it promised very little, and ultimately gave me disappointment.

YuYu Hakusho Manga - 006 The Lonely Journey

Call me crazy, but that sounds kind of... nice to me right now? These days, I'm spending a LOT of time at home, and when I go out, I'm enmeshed in social encounters that I just don't have the skill to maintain for more than a few minutes anymore. I'm out of practice being around others, but I'm so sick of hanging out in my house a majority of the time, so the idea of a long trip all by myself is strangely appealing. There's a BIG national park near me, and I keep thinking about how relaxing it would be to just disappear inside it for a few days. Or weeks.

At least your antics kept them on their toes, Yusuke. 

Botan picks out who she's looking for below, a bent old man with stark cheekbones, great heavy eyebrows, and a sour expression. He's standing by a fence, at which he meets a neighbor, a woman holding a large pot and wearing a huge smile, asking him if he likes stew - she says she made a lot and thought she would share. The old man appears to stick a finger in the pot to take a taste from it, smacking his lips thoughtfully for a moment, as the neighbor woman asks him if he thinks it's good. He responds with a gag and turns around, muttering that he'd rather eat dog food. Well fuck you too, buddy!

The neighbor stands sweadropping in shock for a moment, spluttering about the dog food comment the old guy made, then she starts flailing, incensed that he would insult her best dish like that when all she wanted was to do him a little favor, since he lives alone and all. Another two neighbor women approach the first, asking if she's okay. She whines that she's DYING of mortification from that old grouch's horrible comment. One of them seems to immediately reflect the irritation of the first, supposing that she tried to be nice to the old guy. The other advises her not to bother, as he's so sour on everything. She explains that he lost his family in an accident six months ago.

SIX MONTHS AGO??? Uh, yeah, never mind, I kind of get the attitude now...

Anyway, apparently the neighborhood tried to help out the guy since they felt so bad for his loss, but he's not accepting any spontaneous kindness.

Yeah, REALLY understanding the attitude now. 

One of the other women says that she still goes over to check on him every once in a while, but he treats her like a burglar when she does. Suddenly, a cup hits her on the back of the head, and all three of them are forced to flee when the old man starts throwing all kinds of household items at them, yelling at them to take their yammering elsewhere. He scoffs in frustration at them while they shout back at him that they're GOING already, telling them to STAY gone, because he can take care of himself. 

Yusuke wonders at this energetic response to neighborly concern, and asks Botan if she's SURE that the old dude is just days from death. Botan admits that she is kind of wondering herself at this point. Then she draws Yusuke's attention to the local wildlife, which you don't often see in cities anymore; a fat tanuki is creeping around the corner of the fence. Yusuke asks what it's doing here, so Botan suggests they inquire. 

She descends to its level and, startling it a little, asks it what's up. Rather than running off, the tanuki stares at them, which leads Yusuke to question if it can see them. Botan says that animals have a very keen sixth sense.

Uhhhh, sure. I'll take your word for it, Botan.

The tanuki pulls a photo from... somewhere, and Yusuke observes that it's of the old man while Botan makes a noise indicating her recognition as well. It's clear this creature can't talk, but it does seem to transfer its memory of the old man telepathically to Botan and Yusuke. At an unspecified point in the past, the old man and a small boy named Shinji are walking in the woods, the latter pointing out something in front of him and the former asking Shinji what's up. It's the tanuki, a bit smaller than before, with it's leg caught in a miniature bear trap. I say miniature, because if it had been regular-sized, the poor thing's leg would surely have been snapped right off. 

The old man identifies the baby tanuki, and kneels in front of it with the intention to free it, while he rambles about how people who set these traps ought to be lynched. A little extreme, but an understandable sentiment. At the very least, these people might benefit from being scared shitless by Yusuke. Apparently, a bit of branch stopped the trap from closing all the way, and that's probably what saved the little tanuki's leg. Once the creature is freed, and the old man has bandaged its leg up all nice, the tanuki limps off, looking around at the Shinji kid advising it to watch out for traps before it disappears entirely. 

Back in the present, the tanuki is sniffling with a happy tear in its eye, Botan declaring that the old man saved its life while Yusuke expresses some surprise that an old crotchety jerk like that did something nice. 

This little thing is so goofy-looking. 

Yusuke scratches his cheek in thought, saying that there's only a few days left to go now, and he can't imagine what the tanuki can do other than cook the old guy his last meal. Donning a mischievous kitty face, Yusuke suggests a nice tanuki stew, and Botan punches the back of his head, telling him that's not even a REMOTELY funny joke. Yusuke retorts that he's not trying to be funny so much as impress upon the creature that it's pointless. Over a peek inside the house below, where the old man is eating a spare dinner and coughing a little, Yusuke says he won't let anyone do anything for him, and the tanuki may as well bang its head against a brick wall, because it'll have just as much chance breaking through the old man's obstinacy. 

At first, the tanuki stares in contemplation of this idea, then the Shinji kid appears in its speech bubble and it points at it. Botan asks if it's asking what happened to the boy, and sadly explains that he and his parents went out for a drive and there was an accident, which left the old man bitter. The old man is sitting in front of a memorial shrine as she says this, with a picture of Shinji and his parents on it. Botan suggests that things might have been different if his grandson had survived the accident. 

Both Botan and Yusuke look at the tanuki in confusion as it takes out a little leaf, draws the kid's face on it, somehow, smacks the leaf on its forehead with the picture showing, then does a little flip.

Oh that's REALLY creepy. I kind of hate it, not gonna lie.

Botan is enthused, though, and exclaims that it's cute. We are just going to have to disagree. She says it's the first time she's seen a transformation. Yusuke is less impressed, pointing out to the newbie that its tail is showing, but Botan assures him that normal folks shouldn't be able to see it. Besides, if they do, they can just write it off as a little weirdo cosplayer. That's usually the assumption when this stuff happens in these kinds of comics, anyway. 

Yusuke kneels in front of the tanuki-boy and asks for confirmation that its plan is to impersonate the old man's dead grandson to get on his good side, to which the answer is a nod. This seems like a VERY BAD PLAN to me, but for other reasons than Yusuke gives, which is essentially that the old fucker is too far gone, got no good side left, and will shove the little troublemaker in a stewpot if he finds out what it really is. Yusuke, if ANYONE is going to be making the argument that somebody is too bad-to-the-bone based on a narrow observation of their somewhat shitty behavior, you should be the very LAST ONE. 

Anyway, the tanuki just stares silently, and eventually Yusuke comes to the conclusion that none of that matters to the creature, who nods again in affirmation. While Botan warns the newbie to remember that its assumed form will only last during the nighttime, while the moon's power is the strongest, Yusuke wonders aloud why the creature is wearing a blush on its illusory cheeks. Artist error, perhaps?

Anyway, as the night wears on, and the old man lies in his house coughing up a storm, he complains silently that his coughing and wheezing is worse at night, and that he can't sleep, but his strength is fading. He sits up at another violent coughing fit.

I would shit my soul. But, once again, I seem to be the only one creeped out the smiling illusory face of the dead grandson. The old man is crying tears of relief and joy at seeing it again, sobbing that it's really his precious boy. He hugs the illusion, and cries that it has no idea how lonely he's been, and just as Botan said, he fails to notice the tanuki tail poking out the back of the kid's trousers. Eventually the creature is patting the old man's back to ease the coughing and hacking, but while he expresses his gratitude and how good the action feels, the old man is still weeping.

Botan and Yusuke hang out above the house, just silently watching the place. Once dawn breaks, the old man blinks his eyes open and sits up, finding himself alone. He calls out for Shinji, who does not answer, so he starts to wonder if the whole thing was just a wishful dream. But then, he catches sight of a tray with a nice breakfast prepared on it, and he grins happily at the confirmation that it WASN'T just his imagination. 

I mean, I'm mystified too, but probably for different reasons. 

Botan says on this fifth night that she's thinking that this is it - the old guy's last night alive. Yusuke admits that he's still not certain about all this, even though it's been working out for the last few nights. Sweatdropping a bit, he asks Botan if there's not some risk of the the tanuki having given the old man some attachment to this world, thereby making it extra difficult for him to die and rest in peace as he should. Botan laughs that he's actually THOUGHT about those things, and Yusuke responds indignantly that he hasn't been half-dead this whole time for nothing. I guess he's not as stupid as even the afterworld presumed he was at the beginning of the story, huh?

But Botan assures him that he doesn't have to worry about all that "attachment to life" business, because the old man is way ahead of him on that matter. I mean, the guy HAS to realize that this isn't really his dead grandson, right? 

On this particular night, the old man calls to "Shinji" while he lies under a blanket on his futon. The illusory grandson is already sitting next to him dutifully, ready to wait on him and fulfill his every want. The old man only has one last request though, since it's late, and it's almost his time: he wants "Shinji" to remain with him through the night and into the morning this time. The tanuki remembers Botan's warning that it can only maintain its illusory form during the night, but the old man says he really doesn't want to be left alone in his last hours. 

Well, the carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin regardless, so why not go all in?

As they lay side by side during the night, the old man says that this kind of reminds him of when they went to camp in the mountains. He reminds "Shinji" of the tanuki he found in the trap up there, and how they freed it. "Shinji" sweatdrops a bit as the old man admits he often wondered what happened to the little creature after that. Obviously, the speechless tanuki cannot answer, and just gapes in response. 

Birds start chirping outside, and furry little ears pop up on the tanuki's illusory head, causing it to let out a squeak of distress. In a panic, it throws back the blanket to flee, the dismayed old man asking what it's doing, and reminding it that it promised him to stay, ending with another plea to remain. It struggles to maintain its form with the coming sun, panting, but a gleam surrounds it.

The transformation back was so strained that it took off half its foot!

The Tanuki's little heart hammers and it has its arms thrown over its head as it anticipates the old man's explosion of anger at it pretending to be his grandson and trying to deceive him, imagining the old guy calling it a monster. Meanwhile, the old man stares in silence for a moment at the tanuki's back as it sidles along the wall toward the door in shame. Eventually, he tells the tanuki not to try and sneak away, and to come back over to him. When it turns back around, the old man is smiling. He chuckles and confesses that he already knows - apparently tanuki transformations are a lot harder to hide from people who are as close to death as he is, and a couple of days ago he spotted something that gave it away. He doesn't say what, but he says he's a stubborn old man and he didn't want to say anything.

The crying tanuki nods while the old man observes that it's full grown now, asking if its leg is alright now, and if it came to help him as a form of thanks. Still smiling, the old guy states that he's on his way to seeing Shinji for real now, because his tanuki friend freed his soul from the bitterness that trapped it before. He reaches out, asking to hold the little creature just a little while longer. It returns to the old man's side under the covers and they hug, the old guy muttering that it's so warm, soft, and sweet, the tanuki silently crying through it all. At last, the old man's soul rises up out of his body, offering a final farewell and thanks to the creature that made his last days so much better.

Later, I'm guessing after Botan carted the old guy off to the afterlife as her job dictates, she and Yusuke hover over the house and she expresses some pity for the poor Tanuki and its tough ordeal for a little buddy just starting out. She says she hopes that it'll be okay, but Yusuke asserts after a small pause that it'll be fine. 

To be fair, Yusuke, that's a pretty low bar to clear. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This one made me sightly uncomfortable at first, because I couldn't help thinking if I were confronted with the image of a dead relative like this, I personally would be very upset, not to mention terrified. It wouldn't feel any better for me learning that this was a supernatural force imitating this relative, and I can't be certain that it would make much of a difference knowing that this force was thanking me for a kindness I had done it in the past. It seemed to me multiple levels of mind-fuckery that I was not vibing with. 

But, I didn't spend a lifetime in Japan with undertones of Shintoism present throughout my existence. My culture's undertones are distinctly Christian, even though I don't subscribe to that particular belief system, and as such, I have a cultural predisposition to knee-jerk interpret an event such as this in an almost sinister, demonic way. Since this is the context in which I live and have grown up, it's not always easy to spot, so it didn't occur to me at first that the old man would appreciate this creature's care for him in the form of his beloved grandson for an embarrassing amount of time. 

By the last few pages, however, I had gained a little insight not just into the characters of the old man and the tanuki, but also the cultural context that surrounds an event such as this, how it can be soothing and even a relief especially in a man's final days. No one wants to die alone, and since the people the old man loved most were all gone ahead of him, it was a scary time for him to have to come to terms with his mortality by himself. That new perspective allowed me to see how the tanuki coming to take care of him out of pure love and respect would soothe an old man's soul that had been so jaded at the actions of his fellow humans. 

And yeah, I cried a little at the end there, what of it? XD

However, it continues to be a source of endless frustration for me that these characters just aren't given names. On the one hand, I think it's really cool and masterful how YT creates these deeply emotional narratives for characters that don't even have a name for a majority or whole of the story. On the other hand, the epithets I have to come up to give a little variety with in these recaps are killing me!