Inuyasha Manga: 309 Choice

I'm personally feeling a little better about my choices nowadays. For a while there, it looked like I would have to hold my nose and take a bite of a shit-sandwich to avoid my home being flooded with toxic waste again, but now I'm a little more optimistic. Sure, the shit-sandwich has been swapped out for a questionable Kraft mac n' cheese, but at least it seems edible. I'm even kind of looking forward to it, in a weird way. There's a lot to like about it, despite its shortcomings, and the youth is really enthused, so you can't go wrong with that. I would be a little more happy if the mac n' cheese weren't a fucking COP, but if I've learned anything in this life, it's that you should count you're blessings when you're not forced to eat a shit-sandwich.

Totes not talking about anything in particular, by the way...

She's looking real damp right now. I hope her glaze isn't cracked.

The child shikigami reiterate the event immediately following the collapse of Mt. Hakurei, when Kikyou's chest was pierced by Naraku's poisonous tentacles, and she was shoved off the cliff into a river of miasma. According to them, it was specifically BECAUSE her body is made from holy bones and burial soil that it didn't dissolve in the miasma, but the miasma permeated her body through the wounds inflicted by Naraku's tentacles, and it continues to decay as her wounds remain open. An illustration of her in the pool, but with miasma pouring from a deep crack in her chest and shoulder, is shown, though that seems to be giving a visual element to something that was invisible in the previous panels. 

Dispassionately, the shikigami tell Kagome that the only one who can save Kikyou is her.

This is even weirder when you remember that they share a soul, essentially.

Kagome thinks she understands now why the shikigami children asked her to choose, and so she haltingly asks how she should go about saving Kikyou. Oddly, the kiddos are speechless for a moment, one of them asking for confirmation that this means Kagome is agreeing to save Kikyou. Kagome stutters that this should be obvious - if it's the case that only she can save Kikyou, she's ready to do it. The shikigami children say that Kagome's touch alone is enough to purify the miasma, so Kagome takes off her backpack to set it aside with an affirmation, and lowers her legs into the pool. She's immediately struck by how PAINFUL the water is. That... can't be good.

The second thing she notices is that on closer inspection, she can see miasma leaking out from under Kikyou's collar. As she moves to touch the place where it's seeping into the surrounding water, Kagome is pitched into the water with Kikyou. 

This pool seems a lot deeper than it did a moment ago. And that's not all - Kagome looks around and finds that a dark, oily substance has saturated the water around them, and Kagome thinks this might be miasma dissolved in the pool. This is exactly the reason why pools are chlorinated these days. Kagome is in a little disbelief that all of this could have come from Kikyou's body. Looking back at Kikyou and seeing the trickle of miasma still leaking out from under her collar, Kagome mentally apologizes to her before pushing aside the cloth to get a better look at the damage. 

You think the pity is why Kikyou might have been a little hesitant to ask for help directly?

They appear to be sinking even further into what is starting to strike me as a hammer-space of a pool, because it's completely dark in the next panel. It's this darkness that appears to allow Kagome to see the sparkle of something light above them and look up, reaching out a hand in confusion for an advancing cloud of something descending through the water toward her. She catches it in her hand, and before she can guess what it is for herself, the shikigami on the edge of the pool explain that this is Kikyou's burial soil, and Kagome's hand has at this moment purified it. Must have been fairly mica-rich soil in order to be sparkling that way before it touched Kagome, then...

Kagome has been holding her breath for an AWFULLY long time, hasn't she??

Anyway, the Shikigami, somehow communicating perfectly clearly through the water at Kagome, instruct her to press the purified soil into the wound in Kikyou's chest. Kagome affirms her understanding of this command and proceeds to push the clump of soil in her hand into Kikyou's cracked flesh. It's not as easy as it sounds.

Encountering a little resistance there.

Kagome notes that the miasma in Kikyou's body is being pushed out by the burial soil she's cramming in the wound, but she squeezes her eyes shut, experiencing some more pain herself. She opens her eyes again to find, to her surprise somehow, that the wound she was filling with soil has almost closed up as the miasma continues to be forced out of Kikyou's unconscious form. This visible result of her efforts inspires Kagome to push all the harder, encouraging herself to go for it, until there is no more poison or wound to heal. 

With the knowledge that the water is cleaned and the miasma purified, Kagome thanks goodness before literally PASSING OUT in the pool, still underwater. Luckily for her, this is the moment Kikyou opens HER eyes, and she doesn't have the burden of lungs in this situation. 

Cut to a view of treetops and sky from the ground, and Kagomer blearily opening her eyes, groaning. She's lying supine in the dirt, a short distance from her backpack, dazed. She recovers her wits enough to prop herself on her elbows and look around, to see Kikyou standing with her back turned, between her little shikigami. Kagome calls out to her, and she looks over her shoulder.

Lol, wut?

Kagome has a similar reaction to the question, asking hesitantly if KIKYOU wasn't the one who lead her here. She's giving her double the benefit of the doubt here, assuming that Kikyou somehow thinks she just stumbled across her and has some unfathomable motivations for curing her. Kikyou admits indirectly that she DID indeed summon Kagome, but says that Kagome should have made a choice herself whether to help her or not. I wouldn't call that a choice so much as a moral test... In lieu of a response from Kagome, Kikyou says she won't thank Kagome, since it was entirely her own choice.

Understandably, this increases Kagome's confusion, and adds to it a hefty amount of indignity. Fuming and already done with this shit, Kagome thinks that Kikyou has already regained her characteristic "directness". Yeah, she's got LOADS of direct ways to make you feel like garbage, clearly.

Kikyou announces that Inuyasha will be arriving soon, looking for Kagome, then starts walking off to yet another confused noise from Kagome. Kagome regains her tongue again to demand to know where Kikyou is headed, asking if she's not going to meet with Inuyasha. Kikyou says that she's going to stay in hiding for just a bit longer, given she has to build back up her power. Odd that this is a requirement before meeting with Inuyasha, isn't it? All Kagome can think is that Inuyasha wants to meet with Kikyou regardless, and how annoying that is. 

Meanwhile, as she and her shikigami amble off, Kikyou muses on how there was no doubt at all in Kagome's heart, knowing that because the crack in her body would not have been mended if doubt had been present. 

Can Kikyou produce her own body heat? Or is she perpetually cold, being ceramic in composition?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's really a wonder Kagome didn't drown being under water as long as she was, and nasty toxic water to boot. But I'm willing to chalk that up to magic, given that the pool seemed to vary in depth - it rather struck me as more of a different dimension that slowed the worsening of Kikyou's condition. It looked as though it kept her in a sort of stasis and immobile so she wasn't overtaxing her injured body.

Which again just makes me conscious of the total lack of discussion on HOW MUCH power these stunts require. If the twin shikigami are relatively low-energy magics, which Joseph pointed out on the previous chapter's recap and review (go and check out that short discussion in the comments if you've got a moment), creating a stasis pool for oneself HAS to be a bit more complex. Kikyou expresses the need to build up her power again at the end of the chapter, so perhaps she burned through her reserves fairly quickly in order to sustain herself until help arrived, but I'm not entirely sure how viable that hypothesis is. We just don't have a good idea how much power anything Kikyou does takes. 

Speaking of the help Kikyou was waiting for, way to bite the hand that feeds you, girl! Kikyou's mild hostility is frustrating here, because she could have asked a much more relevant question about what led Kagome to be so sure of helping her, considering her thoughts on the last page. She could have asked instead about why Kagome had no doubt. As we have discussed on the blog before, the current entity that we call "Kikyou" is actually the collection of negative and hateful feelings she had for Inuyasha at the moment of her death. She tries to get beyond those, but her development in that regard is limited, given that time does not have an effect on her, either physically or mentally. To some extent, it's expected that she would have a hard time understanding Kagome's sense of compassion and empathy for her, because she just... DOESN'T feel those things and CAN'T.

But focusing on this "choice" aspect doesn't give that impression. Kikyou refusing to thank Kagome because of her "choice" to help just makes Kikyou seem petulant and aggrieved rather than genuinely perplexed about the motivations behind her rescue. It makes the whole thing little more than a play on this "love triangle" angle that seems to play well with the audience rather than the more nuanced and interesting conversation that COULD be had between these characters about their experiences or motivations. 

At least Kikyou bowing out before Inuyasha arrives makes a bit of sense to me. Again, Kikyou's emotions regarding Inuyasha are very negative, though she has awareness that Naraku is really to blame for her death. Her instinct WOULD be to hide away and grow her power before confronting someone that she will always, to some degree, be suspicious of. She's still trying to play that long game, even if she necessarily views an ally as an enemy in a lot of respects.

It's just a shame that Kagome has to be left standing there feeling like shit on all sides at the end of this.

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 009 The Temporary Resurrection (Part 2)

Friend Blue Magic brought it to my attention in the last YuYu Hakusho post that I was missing the final page of chapter 8 in my recap - somehow it was missing from VIZ's posting of the chapter! I'm debating whether or not to alert them to this, as perhaps I might be putting myself in an, ahem, precarious position if they don't quite like what I'm doing here on the blog. It SHOULD fall under fair use, but there's no guarantee someone might not serve me a cease and desist anyway. 

While I'm deliberating with myself, I'll quickly recap the final page of the previous chapter, just to catch us all up properly with the beginning of this one: Dai glares threateningly at Keiko, then grabs her by her chin, squishing her face in as he chuckles that she's got some guts in her and he thinks he LIKES her now. Ugh, the only thing worse than a douchebag being angry with you is one LIKING you *shiver*. Keiko's friends are horrified and wonder what they should do now. 

Meanwhile, Yusuke is sitting at what looks like a pachinko machine, concentrating on fiddling with it while his over-eager neighbor asks him where he's been for the long period in which he hasn't seen him, Yusuke answering absently that he was in another world. According to a couple of exposition blurbs, Yusuke is trying to fill himself with enough worldly pleasures to last him the next month, and thinks he is doing nothing wrong. I can confirm he's doing nothing wrong. 

Now, with that out of the way...

That's... not subtle, is it? XD

It's down in this half-dead hole that there's a whole cast of shady characters, sitting and crouching in a graffitied room - the walls have all kinds of goofy shit scratched into them. Clearly the place isn't actually in business, but the punk occupants have created an atmosphere with a boombox playing on the floor, at least. When the door opens and someone steps inside, the occupants turn to greet the arrival, Dai, and one of them asks who the Sarayashiki Junior High girl is. Turns out that in addition to his two flunkies, one of whom is developing a nasty swelling on his face, Dai has steered Keiko into the dungeon as well. He tells the rabble that they have to be respectful to "his girl", and offers them the chance to express their approval on his choice, which makes me throw up in my mouth a little. At least now I kind of get the "ideal girl" category in his bio in the last chapter. Explains a lot. 

One of the hooligans scoffs that she doesn't look like she's ready to give up on life just yet, implying that any girl who agrees to get with Dai has done so. Shit, dude got wrecked. But Dai doesn't seem to notice, arguing that ANY girl is his once he turns on the charm. He looks over at a glowering Keiko for confirmation, but she's remembering that he threatened to "take her two friends" instead if she decided to back out of his courtship. She mutters that this sure was a pick-up line, yessiree, while he leans over to urge her to buck up, insisting they're here to party and have fun. Call me crazy, but hanging out in a rat-hole doesn't sound particularly FUN to me. 

Keiko slaps Dai's hand away from her shoulder and snaps at him to get his paws off her, and his response is to seize her by her sailor ascot and drag her closer to his massive face, informing her that if he says she's his girl then that is the end of the conversation, just in case she hasn't quite realized the situation she's in. And just in case us READERS missed it, there's a recap of the previous chapter giving us all the details of Yusuke's temporary resurrection, the confrontations with Dai's underlings, and then Dai himself, all presented by an unconcerned and smiling Keiko sitting on the floor in a dark dress, as if presenting the conclusion to this two-parter. It's very dissonant. 

Elsewhere, someone is exclaims Dai's name in high distress. It's Kuwabara, who has at last made it onto the scene where his friends are collapsed on the ground against a wall, and Keiko's friends are informing him that the guy who took Keiko had a REALLY big head. Mid-Sized Friend asks Kuwabara if he KNOWS this creep Dai, halting in pain through the short question. Kuwabara affirms that he's heard of Daisuke Motomoto, who is a new kid to the area, though he still has a pretty tough reputation, and the word on the street is the guy ALREADY rules the 8th grade at Kasane Junior High with an iron fist. Pigtails worriedly reiterates that Dai insisted Keiko go with him, and Mid-Sized Friend begins to explain that they TRIED to stop the guy, but trails off. I mean, the result is obvious enough. 

Kuwabara declares that the only place Dai could have gone with Keiko is Cafe Half-Dead, and a serious den of trouble it is too. 

Honestly, you would have been better off simply staying at the pachinko machine, buddy. 

Yusuke wonders what he should do, what with Keiko involved, repeating quietly the name of the place Kuwabara said they took her. He doesn't think Kuwabara stands a CHANCE, but that's just a cover for a literally sketchy fantasy in his head where he knocks out all the bad guys and explains everything to Keiko about how he got his body back for a day, while she gushes about how he's her hero, cool and great. Instead of realizing how unrealistic just about EVERY ASPECT of this daydream is, he just concludes nervously that it would probably count as talking to her. As it should. Because it would be. 

He's convinced he has to save her without her knowing that it's him, and seems to have an epiphany as he looks down at the sacks in his arms, prizes he got from his day at the pachinko parlor. He rummages through it until he finds something suitable for his purpose, and I'm very VERY nervous to find out what cheap toy he could have gotten out of that bag that could disguise him sufficiently. Or insufficiently. 

I genuinely envy that "Forces of Evil" shirt, and I kind of want one...

Keiko sits on a ratty sofa, quiet and uncomfortable, while one of the original two hooligans whispers to Dai around the corner. He suggests that they all "get down" with his new girl, and receives a nasty backhand and an insult in response. Dai towers over his apologizing lackey, saying that they aren't a bunch of animals and that they do things with CLASS around here. I would say that's rich coming from the guy who basically KIDNAPPED her in the first place, but he turns to Keiko and declares that all this "class" and superiority to other animals is code for "Dai first". Calling dibs is the classiest shit, guys, for real.

Dai and his underlings all converge on Keiko, Dai himself suggesting a game of "peek-a-boo" in which she lifts her skirt a little more for them. She jumps to her feet and refuses emphatically, threatening to scream if any of them come nearer. Dai points out that there's no one around to hear her, and continues to pressure her, imploring her not to be shy, though his face is wooden and cruel. In his drunken loss of inhibition (according to the small text printed over his mask of a massive face, he closes in on her with hands held up in a grabbing gesture, telling her to leave it to him. He... DOES know her skirt is way lower than that, doesn't he?

She shrieks, and to my queasy chagrin, Dai seems to be very much correct. There really isn't anyone to hear her, save a kid on the stairs who just sits there comments blandly on how it really seems to be HAPPENING down there in the "cafe". Yeah, SHITTY things are happening down there. Thankfully, this snot's head is kicked so hard that blood spurts from his nose, and he's down for the count in a second, his assailant descends the stairs coolly. 

I really wish he had been sooner. 

This chapter is kind of ruining my day, not gonna lie. 

With a few new scratches on his face, Dai complains about how he didn't mean to hit the little wildcat as hard as he did, but she's knocked out now regardless. The shitbird who suggested they "have fun" with Keiko to begin with NOW tells Dai this just makes it easier for them to have their fun now, and there are no WORDS for how infuriated I am, for real.

In another fucking fake-out, Dai seems to be shocked at the suggestion of taking advantage of an unconscious girl at first, but he says that it's a good idea, as if it just hadn't occurred to him before. The FUCK are these BEASTS in here???? His lackeys seem to fall over sweatdropping in exasperation as Dai kneels next to Keiko. I hope our disguised avenger rips his fucking dick off. 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear - said avenger kicks open the door into the broken-down "cafe", and Dai looks over, demanding to know who that is. It's someone in a cheap mask with round cheeks, a kind of bloated stereotype, who says he's just passing through. The underlings laugh HARD at the mask, calling its wearer a dope, but he surveys the scene before him and is shocked to find all the hooligans gathered around an unresponsive Keiko. He identifies her breathlessly and asks what they did to her, and a grinning Dai tells him that they haven't done anything YET, he just shut her up because she wouldn't quiet down earlier when they were gearing up to assault her. 

Oh, is THAT all? 

The avenger observes that she's been knocked cold, so he grasps the mask on his face to discard it since he doesn't need it anymore. He tosses it to reveal... a pair of joke glasses attached to a false nose/mustache. The auxiliary disguise practically sends the whole gang on their heads in shock. It doesn't last long either, though.

Does it matter? Fuck 'em ALL up.

The two original punks recognize Yusuke from their encounter on the street earlier, with some SERIOUS asperity. They have a bone to pick, no doubt, but what else is new. The guy Yusuke almost turned to into mincemeat promises to rip Yusuke's head off, pointing accusingly at him. Yusuke reacts with his own mild recognition and quietly kicks the guy's face in. He continues beating the shit out of the guy while the rest of the hooligans nervously watch. The comic doesn't have a panel on Dai, though, so that makes me SLIGHTLY nervous. 

After Yusuke is all done, holding the pulverized dude onto his knees by the collar, he asks his punk audience if anyone else wants some, because he's prepared to do the same to ALL of them. Suddenly, each and every one of them grows a spine all at once, after one of them expresses doubt that he could take ALL of them. With a rallying cry, they attack together.

It's no surprise to anyone that this is an all-out brawl. Some guy hits Yusuke over the head with a bottle and instead of passing out, he just gets angrier, turning to send the guy flying with a powerful punch, yelling that it hurt. It seems it was filled with something too, because he's dripping and complaining about how cold the beverage is. He also laments how it was such a waste, because apparently it was a high-quality brew as well, possibly able to taste whatever it is as it drips down his head and into his mouth. Yusuke suggests they all stick to EMPTY bottles from now on, for goodness sake. 

In an attempt to make lemonade, so to speak, Yusuke resolves to slick his hair back into his signature style with the drink he's wearing. It causes that spark of recognition to return to the original two punks he met on the street, one of which repeats that he KNEW Yusuke was familiar. Granted, Yusuke's hair is not perfectly slicked, but sticking out in spiky cowlicks every which way, a few stray locks still hovering over his forehead. He bets with a little grin that he looks a fright while there's a confirmation that he's indeed the infamous Urameshi. There's a cry of disbelief, that they heard he was DEAD, that it has to be a look-alike, or a twin brother or something. 

Yusuke has his thumb pointed toward himself with his tongue out, and I'm not sure if he's making a childish face or licking his thumb or something. Anyway, Dai has reappeared, claiming not to care if it's a doppelganger or whatever. He admits to punching Keiko, asking what it is to Yusuke-or-otherwise. Keiko appears to be stirring on the floor behind Yusuke, and he grumbles, several veins popping on his head as he says to Dai that he was just curious as to who had the death-wish. He explains that Kuwabara is the only one in the area stupid enough to pick a fight with him, and that must make Dai either dumber than Kuwabara, or VERY new. I think it's been established that he's new, but Dai doesn't make much of an argument either way. He just tells Yusuke to shut up and bring it. 

An affirmation later, Yusuke lunges forward, much faster than Dai expected, clearly. Dai does not get out of the way in time, and Yusuke plants a headbutt right in the middle of his skull, which already hurts Dai enough to make him stumble and cry out in pain. But Yusuke is already pulling back for a punch, his fist making an audible arc in the air. 

Forget a glass jaw, this guy has a glass HEAD.

The hooligans are FREAKING OUT about Yusuke taking out Dai with just two blows, acknowledging that this HAS to be the fabled Urameshi after all, back from the dead. That's ONE way to make yourself into an urban legend. The hooligans all scram in a hurry, whether afraid of a beating themselves, the ghost they're facing, or both. 

As Yusuke mumbles about what a bunch of morons they are, Keiko sits up with a groan, hand on her bruised cheek. She looks around in Yusuke's direction and utters an exclamation, which causes Yusuke to turn and face her as well. They stare at one another, Keiko raising a finger to point, and Yusuke covers his own gape with his hand, in horror over her seeing him. 

Keiko charges PAST Yusuke, grabbing a nearby piece of something to try and smother the flames, and raving that she has to put it out before it spreads. Once she's done this job, she mutters that she's done the good work of putting the fire out, and then collapses onto her side again, seemingly passed out once more. I say SEEMINGLY, because that's a complicated set of actions to perform in a dead sleepwalk, but go off chapter.

Yusuke sighs in relief at the close call he had with almost having to TALK to Keiko. This is SUCH a weird rule... 

Meanwhile, Kuwabara has at long last arrived outside "Cafe Half-Dead", stuttering that he's outside the enemy stronghold. He's wearing a sash tied around his forehead and has a big stick in his hand, but he hesitates, realizing there's probz a lot of enemies in there. Fair, this ain't no video game, after all. He also thinks about how they'll all play for keeps, the fight won't be easy, and he nervously worries that he might not make it, heart pounding in mounting fear. But then he smiles, comforted by the new notion that if he DOESN'T make it, he can take on Urameshi again in Hell. A strange silver lining, but whatever gets you through it. 

Someone calls out his name in exasperation that he FINALLY showed up, and Kuwabara's eyes fairly pop from his skull. It's Yusuke, climbing the stairs with Keiko draped over his back, complaining that Kuwabara took his sweet time. Kuwabara is... understandably shocked and confused, asking in quick succession why and how after yelling Urameshi's name in alarm. 

Then there's THIS panel:

Uhhhhhh... Is this just a "dude" thing I don't understand? Is it just meant to represent the chaos in his head, or...? What's with the weirdly happy lady?

Outside of Kuwabara's head, he's sweatdropping and freaking out, haltingly trying to get out a single question about what's going on while wondering aloud if Yusuke wasn't dead just like he thought. After pulling an RT (narrow sky transition panel!), Yusuke finishes explaining his WHOLE story so far to Kuwabara. They walk along, Keiko still hitched on Yusuke's back, Yusuke explaining that he can come back one day each month, but he's not allowed to talk to Keiko as a rule. Kuwabara is silent, no doubt still absorbing this shocking information.

Yusuke warns Kuwabara that it's better for Keiko not to know about all this stuff until he comes back for good. Still sweatdropping, but looking a little calmer, Kuwabara agrees that they don't want there to be a slip-up. Indicating Keiko with his thumb, Yusuke asks Kuwabara to let her think that HE'S the one who saved her this time, and as Kuwabara accepts this request as the least he can do after what he's been told, Keiko opens an eye surreptitiously. 

GIRL HAS BEEN AWAKE THIS WHOLE TIME!!!

Kuwabara adds that Yusuke owes HIM too - a cold one on his next return. Yusuke is struck by the simplicity of this return favor, offering to let him win their next fight as well, but Kuwabara turns that down flat, much more interested in beating Yusuke one day fair and square. 

Back at Yusuke's house...

She's gotcha beat there, kiddo.

In the stretching silence following his crawling back into bed, he's got his arms folded under his head and he struggles against a nervous energy. He wonders how long Keiko is going to be out, mentally complains about being bored, and has to remind himself not to dare get up. But eventually, he does start to get sleepy, and by the time Keiko sits up, he's passed out once more, snoring a bit. 

When he opens his eyes again, he's sitting cross-legged in the air next to Botan, just like before, expressing some initial confusion while Botan welcomes hims back with a "sleeping beauty" epithet. As if this isn't EXACTLY what he should have expected, he points at himself, incensed, and asks if he's back to being a ghost. Botan confirms that all his exercise must have worn him out, and he slept the rest of his time back in his body away. There's a note on the panel that it's actually the next evening. He starts tantruming about how he only got to spend like five or six hours goofing off, and Botan asks if that isn't enough for him. 

He gets a look at his body below and leans down toward it, wondering what he's seeing. Hanging upside-down, Botan happily informs him that Keiko sort of... left him a note of her own.

Well, it's a good thing that the afterlife is sticking to the letter of their rule instead of quibbling over semantics...

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It got really rough there for a few moments, and I'm not talking about Yusuke beating in hooligan faces. Sexual assault, attempted or otherwise, in stories of all stripes is a tricky subject to navigate. This attempt wasn't outright offensive like some have been, but it's not great either. Once again, this frankly terrifying experience of Keiko's centered on Yusuke's rescue of her instead, and that's just never going to make for the kind of gravity with which this subject should be treated. 

I was surprised that Kuwabara was so reluctant to go into the hooligan den and kick some ass, hesitating as long as he was. In the previous chapters, he almost gave me the impression of someone who had a THING for getting his ass kicked. Not sure if that fetish is for getting beaten up by Yusuke in particular, or if his recent stint in academics is giving him pause in deliberately seeking head injuries, but he seems to be a bit more discerning here. It almost seems out of character, though, considering his established values - I would have thought he'd be a bit quicker in going to defend a poor girl taken captive, despite the risks to himself. It's a toss-up, and I'd love to hear from readers on what you all think as well!

Finally, Keiko's move to pretend to be passed out is interesting, mostly because it's not exactly clear WHEN she truly regained consciousness. Was it at the moment she groaned just before Yusuke took out Dai? She could have recognized Yusuke's voice right then and made a conscious decision to stay silent until she could get a good look at him and determine what to do next. Was it just before she pointed out the fire, and she really was just groggy and right between conscious and unconscious at the time? That would make her misdirection to the fire behind Yusuke less calculated, and more about her not quite knowing what was real and what wasn't until she she was fully awake during Yusuke and Kuwabara's conversation on the way back to his house. Was it not UNTIL she was on Yusuke's back homeward bound when she woke up for real? Not sure, but these are all interesting possibilities. 

And let's just be real, the name of that "cafe" is just such a whack in the face when our main character is between worlds as he is - what an absurd self-referential goof! I love it.

Inuyasha Manga: 308 The Pool

Oh, it's been FOREVER since I've been swimming. There aren't any pools nearby where I live anymore, but that might change with a 24-hour fitness place being installed right up the road. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they have treadmills with fun game screens and a pool, but I might only be able to rely on the former - it's a pretty small building that they're utilizing for a gym, so my guess is that there won't really be room for a big concrete pit with water in it. 

But even if it does have one, there's really no telling if a membership to access this place is going to be super expensive yet. They usually are in my neighborhood. Last fitness center we looked into was $70 per month. 

It's okay, there's always the beach a few miles away.

Well, this is awkward.

Inuyasha wonders at the figure on horseback in front of him, asking silently if this is Kikyou, but he daren't do so out loud, it seems. He sweatdrops, noting that he's not picking up Kikyou's scent off this person, but this doesn't mean that he's completely convinced it's not her. At last, he speaks, demanding that the figure show him their face. Said figure does not react at first, presumably staring at him from under the gauze covering their features. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group is still moving up the hillside on and beside Kirara (the latter in Miroku's case. 

*Wincing at the familiar obsessive thinking*

Miroku looks up to find another horde of youkai descending on their position and calls to Sango to alert her. Dammit, Inuyasha, you had ONE JOB. As the swarm comes down on them, Miroku throws his paper charms to neutralize them, blowing a few apart. Sango has in the meantime deposited Kagome and Shippou at the roots of a large tree and is telling them to hang tight while she and Miroku take care of this. Kagome agrees, so Sango turns and immediately throws Hiraikotsu and it smashes a particularly large snake-dragon thing. 

While Kagome sits at the ready, an arrow nocked in her bow, Shippou stutters that he's there with her, his tiny arms outstretched to guard against oncoming youkai many times his size. She humors him, but she looks more amused than anything at his attempts to be brave. It's nice, because this is the first genuine amusement we seem to have gotten out of her in a long minute, but it's about to be shattered again. Shippou's eyes bulge in horror when he sees a glow through the trees and draws Kagome's attention to it in a panic. She aims her bow, but hesitates in firing. 

No trouble identifying what those are. Kagome gets up and runs off for them, calling out to her companions what she's seeing. Miroku shouts her name in protest, but Kagome insists she's going after them, though Miroku yells for her to wait and says she's being reckless. Suddenly, the forest seems to warp around her before she disappears, alarming little Shippou with the fact. Miroku suggests hesitantly that this was a barrier she vanished behind. Neither of them try to follow.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha is still standing before the figure on horseback, getting impatient for an answer to whether or not this person is Kikyou, and says so, bluntly. One of the little children flanking her speaks up, explaining that the miasma she fell into weakened her significantly, and her body won't return to its original form, which is a really weird way of saying that she can't heal. The other child adds that she's lost her voice. They tell him that only Kikyou's soul can fight, but as Inuyasha gapes, they also say that she's about drained of power at this point.

It's not really clear if Inuyasha is quite processing this information as it's being given to him. He's still stuck on the image he saw of Kikyou's snapped bow on the edge of the cliff, and the revelation that she didn't ACTUALLY die at that time. At last, he shouts her name, demanding confirmation that it really is her. 

OH SHIT!

Kikyou's face emerges from the hood as it falls, and Inuyasha screams her name, running to the bundle of robes and broken arrows into which she collapses on the ground. He kneels next to where her body SHOULD be, but finds to his astonishment (and likely relief), that there is no body underneath the fabric on which he places his palm. He spies a little flat human-shaped piece of paper on the ground next to a cloth fold and picks it up, unable to take anything from it except the resemblance to a person. 

He looks up at a voice from the sky grousing about not being able to figure out this Kikyou person.

It's my giiiiiiiiirl!

Inuyasha asks this "bitch" (according to the translation, anyway) what's going on, and she responds that SHE'S also curious as to what's happening here, and seems annoyed that she was sent here on a fool's errand. Inuyasha is still very much stuck on the miraculous fact that Kikyou is apparently ALIVE, and is now seeking confirmation of this from Kagura. She scoffs that this is what Naraku thinks, explaining that the arrow which pierced Hakudoushi's barrier a couple of chapters ago had soil from Onigumo's cave on the arrowhead. Inuyasha gapes at the revelation that THIS was the smell he couldn't quite place when he examined the arrow before. 

Kagura further explains that the soil on which Onigumo lay was suffused with Naraku's thoughts for Kikyou (before Naraku even existed - impressive), and she heard SOMEWHERE that the soil opposes Naraku and protects Kikyou. She's pretty certain that Kikyou is the only one who can use the soil, which again I'm sure she heard from some vague source. Inuyasha is still staring up at her with astonishment, all he can really think being that Kikyou is alive somewhere. 

As she shoots back up into the sky, Kagura says that it looks like they BOTH got jerked around by a fake either way, and bids him a casual farewell. She's pretty amused, though, thinking that Naraku's biggest threat being alive makes the whole situation pretty interesting. It's certainly one way to admit that you're easily amused. Inuyasha remains standing there in his general shock, observing in the haze of alarm that the two children have also vanished along with the body of the Kikyou/Hijiri double. 

Doing a little bouldering there, Kagome?

She's still tailing the Shinidamachuu, and they even pause to hover over the ground to wait for her as she makes it to the top of the slope she was climbing. It gives her the pretty clear impression that they're INVITING her farther along, and she's visibly nervous about this. It doesn't stop her from pushing on, and reaching the waterfall that the group had observed from down at the bottom of the small mountain. She looks into the pool at the bottom and gets a bit of a shock.

I would ask if she's drowning, but pottery doesn't generally need to breathe air, so I guess that's not a factor here. But Kagome observes Kikyou with shock and concern, kneeling down to take a closer look and wondering if Kikyou is still alive after all. A voice behind her responds to her anxious/maybe a little hopeful thought that Kikyou's life is starting to run out. Kagome looks around with a start at the two placid child figures that had only just disappeared from in front of Inuyasha in the previous scene. They are here to inform her that the miasma that Kikyou took a swim in at Mt. Hakurei is continuing to spread through her. 

Looks like these weirdo kids have some 'splaining to do...

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Kikyou is pretty lucky that Inuyasha's group, and specifically Kagome, subtly switched their objective to meeting her alias instead of continuing to look for the bird's nest like they were discussing before. It seems like she was very close to being discovered by Kagura there for a second, and if Inuyasha and crew hadn't been there, she might not have been able to throw Kagura off the track long enough to give them more time to find her. 

Then again, it looks like Kagura has fully removed her heart from supporting Naraku at this point, freely blabbing to Inuyasha about what precisely was on that arrow and what it means for Naraku if used. How she obtained this information is another question altogether, given what an adversarial relationship she has with Naraku. It's unlikely he would be straight-up TELLING her anything about the particulars of her missions. Either it's misinformation he's WILLING to feed indirectly to Inuyasha and company through Kagura, or she just eavesdropped carefully to get it. 

Either way, it's clear that FINDING Kikyou alive is not making things easier for Inuyasha or Kagome, emotion-wise. Inuyasha appeared to be struggling to process the fact for the entire chapter, and lagged several steps behind all the bad news Kikyou's little child minions gave him to cling desperately to the one bright spot in it all - Kikyou is alive. Meanwhile, Kagome is the only one Kikyou has admitted behind a barrier to behold her real body, neither illusion or double, and it's almost immediately sprung on her that Kikyou needs her help. 

It's reiterated over and over that Kikyou's situation is dire, but I still have my doubts. Again, she seems more powerful than ever, and able to maintain these Shikigami to speak for her while she remains submerged in water. By appearances alone, she certainly doesn't LOOK damaged in any way, shape, or form. This combined with the incredible luck it would take for Inuyasha's group to be looking for Hijiri here as Kagura is attacking, as I discussed above, leaves me extremely skeptical.

It's almost as if the situation isn't so desperate that she can't still play games with her only source of help, coming up with elaborate methods by which she can ask for help without ACTUALLY having to ask for help. Sketch as hell, if you ask me.

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??