Inuyasha Manga: 298 Jewel Wizard (Housenki)

There's a rock shop near my house that creates some pretty interesting pieces of jewelry from their stones. Some spiral rings and wire-wrap pendants that are intricate and fun. They also stock a number of cute pagan and witchy products that center around gem magic, so this all paints an overall enchanted picture when you walk inside. I like to think of this place belonging to a jewel wizard too, but I very much doubt I could find anything in there that would take me to a border between the worlds. 

But Inuyasha has the benefit of knowing through experience that this thing is possible, and is perhaps on his way to a shop like the one near me? He's riding on the flying transformed Kirara's back by himself on the title page.

I thought the guy who lived here just made swords, but I suppose it's a good place to start looking for a jeweler. 

Inuyasha charges in there, demanding to know if Toutousai is there, finding him sitting with a blade in a pair of tongs, and lick of fire issuing from his mouth as he asks what this visit is about all of a sudden. Inuyasha starts patting Toutousai down, snapping that he has no business with THIS old man - he's actually looking for Myouga the flea. Toutousai comments about how rude Inuyasha is, as per usual. 

When Myouga appears, it's on the tip of Inuyasha's nose, and he wastes no time taking a drink from it. Once he's finished, he says Inuyasha must be in some trouble to go out of his way to this place. Inuyasha face-palms for the singular purpose of flattening Myouga, even though he claps himself good in the mug. 

This must have settled their score, as the next panel shows Myouga sitting on Inuyasha's finger asking for clarification that Inuyasha wants to visit his father's grave. Inuyasha tells Myouga to show him the way there, since there's something he has to make sure of. Myouga seems dissatisfied with this vague reason for the visit, asking if that's all Inuyasha can say.

Meanwhile:

She describes the odd portal that opened in front of them that connected to the grave, but the black pearl disappeared the moment they got back to the world of the living. I suppose RT is STILL not willing to elaborate on the method for them getting back, huh? Didn't have enough time to think of it in a couple hundred chapters? Okay. 

Anyway, we're back to Inuyasha interrogating Myouga, accusing him of trying to keep that black pearl he needs hidden, after a question of what happened to it. Myouga asks how Inuyasha can bad-mouth him like that, while Toutousai looks on like he could use some popcorn. Myouga explains haughtily that the black pearl completed its purpose of letting Inuyasha through, and therefore disappeared. Inuyasha repeats this proclamation as another question, just to make sure I guess, and Myouga affirms this with certainty. 

Toutousai interjects with his own question about WHY Inuyasha is so interested in going to pay his respects now. Inuyasha scoffs and says that's not what he wants to do, and presumably tells Toutousai about the Shikon shard that's there, if his next question about such is any indication. Inuyasha says that, yeah, there might be one in that world, and Toutousai strokes his chin in a pensive way for a silent moment.

And by "no way", we actually mean "any way we can imagine because this story is not bound by logic or rules".

Inuyasha knocks Toutousai over the head, asking who exactly in this situation is the moron in irritation, but Toutousai tells him to think about this for a moment. He tells Inuyasha that the youkai graveyard he went to before is another world entirely that requires a specific path to get there (though getting back is apparently cake), and asks Inuyasha how he thinks a Shikon fragment would end up getting over there in the first place. From Toutousai's shoulder, Myouga adds that Kagome was there with Inuyasha the first time they went over there, accompanied by a recollection of her standing next to the platform Tessaiga in which Tessaiga was embedded while they were in the Inu-dad's stomach. Myouga says that Kagome didn't feel the presence of a Shikon shard when they were there. Sweatdropping, Inuyasha says that was before, but Myouga states his belief that it would be the same way now, bouncing back toward Inuyasha's face.

Catching and pinching Myouga between his fingers, Inuyasha yells at him to shut it - he's clearly not interested in being patronized to, still wanting someone to show him how to get back there. Myouga stutters that Inuyasha has to go see the jewel wizard Housenki in order to get back to that place, trying to hold Inuyasha's fingers away from him with his many arms. Inuyasha asks who the heck Housenki is, Myouga answering that he's an old friend of Inuyasha's father. Inu-dad was a real friendly dude, huh?

He "raises" them? What, like some sort of stone rancher? Sounds fun.

Cut to Inuyasha and Co. traveling in their usual way: Kagome riding on Inuyasha's back and the rest of them riding on Kirara's. Kagome expresses some curiosity over the pearl that was in Inuyasha's eye, asking if it was from this same source mentioned above, and Myouga, bouncing on Inuyasha's head, confirms that Inuyasha's father indeed got it from Housenki. Myouga is still a bit uneasy about this errand, saying that the youkai graveyard is a place for the dead to rest, not really a great place for the living to hang out. Inuyasha scoffs at this, and refuses to let Naraku to get to the Shikon shard before they do, so the place is still worth checking out to him. 

They arrive at a large lake in the valley between several forested peaks, and warily walk up to the shore. Myouga just blurts out a question to Housenki if he's there, though.

Don't expect Venus to pop out of there or anything. It cracks open to show a pair of eyes with vertical cat-like pupils, and a voice comes from it asking who is there and cut off any requests for jewels right away by saying there are none right off the bat. Kagome makes a confused noise, while Myouga jumps up and down on Inuyasha's shoulder, telling Housenki it's him. The owner of the eyes seems intrigued, recognizing the name, and the clam cracks open all the wider to show a pair of branching horns and a mustache-like pair of tendrils hanging over his mouth. He informs them that he's actually Housenki's SON, and his father recently died. An alarmed Inuyasha repeats the news like a question, clearly thinking this might have been murder.

Thankfully, he's wrong.

This guy is MASSIVE. Got a sweet house too. 

Kagome steers the conversation back to how Housenki Jr. said before that there were no jewels leading to the graveyard, and he confirms that this is true. Housenki Jr. says his dad used up all the jewels and then died, which seems oddly deliberate. Jr. over here just breezes past the obvious question of WHY and right to the fact that he's in the process of making new jewels. Inuyasha immediately demands that he be given one when they're done, and Myouga asks him if he didn't mean to tack a "please" on that request anywhere. 

Housenki Jr. hangs his head, saying it's not as though he WON'T give them one, but he does warn them that they'd have to wait a good while for it. Kagome promises eagerly that they'll wait, and Inuyasha asks how long it will take, only for Jr. to state that the wait-time is 100 years, sending both of them on  their ears. Inuyasha recovers fast to yell in Jr.'s face, demanding to know what's up with that. Housenki Jr. responds plainly that he's still in the middle of training and all, so it's implied that there's still a bit of a learning curve. From the edge of the clam, Sango comments on how youkai have a rather long-term view on things, while Miroku makes the disappointed remark that it was a waste of time coming here after all.

Inuyasha glares at his lap, cursing and wondering out loud if this is really the only way. Well, if it was, at least you wouldn't have to worry about Naraku getting the damn thing first. But Inuyasha is somehow under the impression that Naraku or Hakudoushi could be snagging that fragment before they can. 

Narrow sky transition panel!

No, none of those nasty wasps are bringing a Shikon shard, thank goodness. Hakudoushi appears to listen to the buzzing of one of the Saimyoushou that flies up to him (at a good third of his size, these things are NIGHTMARE huge, I can't get over it), and he responds with a generic "I see". Apparently, the information he got out of all that buzz was that there's currently only one way to get to the border between this world and the next - to force open the gateway. Hakudoushi is intrigued by this, for some reason. Doesn't seem any more interesting than an image of some guy using a battering ram to break down a door to me, but I'm sure I just don't know what I'm talking about.

Back with Inuyasha and crew, who sit around a campfire at night, Inuyasha is asking Myouga if he's SURE the nonexistent jewels are the only way to get where they want to go. Myouga says it's the only way HE knows of in any case. Another voice from the sky asks them if they'd like to be told how else to get in, and a massive gust of wind blow back Inuyasha and Kagome's hair as they stare in alarm at the descending informant. 

Inuyasha's selective nose fails them yet again.

Kagura wastes NO time in waiting for them to say they want her to spill, and tells them that Hakudoushi is headed for the mountains in the flame country, where there's a gateway between the worlds. Sounds close to Toutousai's place - he didn't mention he was neighbors with the graveyard, the stingy old jerk, lol! Inuyasha and Myouga both seem a little stunned by this insformation, the former repeating the location of this gateway as a question.

Miroku steps forward to demand an explanation of what this is, and why Kagura is telling them this. Kagura plucks a feather from her hair and drawls that she has no clue, suggesting he should ask Hakudoushi about that. Then she's off into the sky again, rapidly shrinking upward. Kagome is in some disbelief that Hakudoushi apparently told Kagura to let them in on this info. Miroku states the obvious that this might very well be a trap. 

Inuyasha scoffs, indicating that he doesn't much care if it's a trap or not, prompting Myouga to hop up and down in his hair and tell him he mustn't go. He insists the flame country isn't safe, even with the whole team. So I guess this ISN'T close to Toutousai's place? Inuyasha gives Myouga an exasperated look, deducing from how upset he's getting that this talk of a gateway isn't just a rumor, then smiles and says they'll just have to go in that case, no matter what Hakudoushi might be planning. Myouga is clearly even more alarmed at how he's managed to CONVINCE Inuyasha to go exactly where he's been told not to. Clearly he has no experience in dealing with teenage brats.

Cut back to Hakudoushi cruising along on Entei's back (his head collection missing from the giant horse's hindquarters), Kagura on her feather next to him.

Wow, this is the first instance where I'm seeing someone in this comic offer forgiveness to an enemy. Usually people declare that they WON'T forgive so-and-so. Sure, it looks like forgiveness comes at a hefty cost, but that's still something.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? There's something funny and intriguing about how Inuyasha is butting heads with Myouga and Toutousai over whether he even NEEDS to check the youkai graveyard. Reminds me strongly of how, in general, older generations will actively refuse to listen to the younger ones on various issues because they insist that they know better. Myouga and Toutousai are so SURE that there's no possible way for a Shikon shard to make it over there that they won't entertain the idea, and call Inuyasha a moron for doing so himself. Inuyasha himself probably didn't have the patience to explain why he was willing to believe it himself (Naraku and Hakudoushi wouldn't be going to this much trouble to get there themselves if there wasn't a good chance a shard was there), and I have to say, at this point, I've reached that point as well. With some of the older folks in my life, I don't bother saying anything about most of the progressive and leftist causes I have a hand in, because it's not worth the energy I'd waste arguing about it. Good for Inuyasha, honestly.

I am mildly surprised that Myouga didn't have a THING to say about the very suspicious information they received from Housenki Jr. - Housenki using up the entire stock of portal jewels right before dying sounds a lot like he didn't want anyone to FOLLOW HIM. That's really the only reason that makes sense as to why anyone would basically seal the door shut behind them like that. With that bit of info ALONE, I am really surprised that not ONE of these characters had an epiphany about HOW that Shikon fragment ended up in the borderline between worlds in the first place, because that would explain it entirely. Guy's a jewel wizard, as the title said, he's unlikely to just ignore something like the Shikon No Tama falling into his lap. 

But hey, this is Inuyasha, where if characters don't magically divine the correct conclusion without any of the necessary information, they completely fail to deduce anything from a wealth of information they DO have instead. It's Opposite Day every day in here.

Inuyasha Manga: 297 The Borderline Between This World and the Next

I feel like I'm on the border between two worlds myself. Very similar worlds, mind you, with what looks like minimal adjustment, but separate worlds nonetheless. I recently started a new job with a new company in the same industry as my previous one, and they do things a bit differently; until I can get some consistent training and all my systems set up properly, I'm going to be stuck in limbo for a minute. Of course, I'm planning on making that full transition into that next world, whereas that would be a bit of a bummer for our protagonists. They definitely DON'T want to cross over into their inevitable future just yet!

It took you guys a while to give chase, didn't it? What happened, did you have to wash your hair and put on your fancy youkai-murder suits?

Kagome repeats the bit about the youkai with no head with worry, as if they weren't looking for just that, Shippou asking in turn if they're talking about Kanta's dad. Kanta himself stutters that this isn't good, an understatement if I've ever seen one. Because EVERYONE apparently has to speak on this matter, Sango reminds everybody how Kanta said he wouldn't be able to revive his father if the body was cut down, and Miroku calls to Inuyasha to hurry. Inuyasha agrees and assures them that the scent isn't too far off, but at this point he's picking up the scent of a conceited moron. About TIME you noticed.

They book it to the spot Inuyasha smells Kanta's father, over some jagged rocks up a hill, and see Kant's dad's body lying with several spears sticking out of its back in front of good ol' Sesshoumaru. Kagome gasps at the reveal, and Miroku identifies Inuyasha's brother, because they all needed the refresher? Sesshoumaru glares in their direction, his contemplation of a headless corpse interrupted so rudely. 

Of course, Shippou and Kanta are much more concerned by Kanta's father's body lying on the ground, the former making an alarmed noise from Inuyasha's back, and Kanta shrieks to his father in horror. He immediately jumps down from his ride and rushes over to tell his dad's severed neck to hang in there. It's Shippou who brings over the head, which he reminds Kanta of gently. Kanta struggles with the knot on the bindle in his panic. 

Miroku asks if it's no good, and Shippou stares at a watery-eyed Kanta clinging to his father's unresponsive nose. His wailing to his father begins anew, and Sesshoumaru awkwardly stands in silence for a moment to glance down at the agonized little creature. Then he turns to just walk off. What an asshole.

Inuyasha glares at his back for a moment before calling to him to ask why the hell he's even here, because Inuyasha says he's NOT going to believe that he was just passing by. Sesshoumaru pauses, looking over his shoulder to snobbishly remark that he has nothing to tell to the likes of Inuyasha. Kagome, who is now sitting with the kiddos next to Kanta's dad's body, calls out to Sesshoumaru too, in short order referring to his sword. Whoops, that's a... touchy topic at the moment, and not just because of the accidental SessKag suggestiveness, lol. She stands to run up next to Inuyasha, reciting the ability of Tenseiga to restore life, or "link" life, as the translator put it. Kagome pleads with Sesshoumaru to use Tenseiga to save Kanta's father. 

Sesshoumaru says it's not his concern, but he also doesn't move to leave again. This gives a trembling Shippou the opening to rush over in front of him on his tiny short legs, stuttering the whole way.

Asking a murderous stoner to save someone while also worrying that you might also end up a corpse has got to be the most stressful thing in the WORLD.

Kagome and Inuyasha say Shippou's name in pity, while Shippou continues to plead to Sesshoumaru, explaining that Kanta will be all alone if his father dies. I think Sesshoumaru is probably acquainted with the concept of a dead parent, Shippou. Sesshoumaru tells Shippou to move, but his eyebrows aren't drawn down in a glare; his expression seems strangely soft. Kagome comes to kneel down at Shippou's side and situate her arms in preparation to pick him up, trying to coax him away, but Shippou starts to protest.

Inuyasha tells him it's pointless, but Shippou does have his sympathies, because Sesshoumaru isn't exactly a caring do-gooder who goes around saving people, despite how frikkin' awesome that would be. He even speculates that the Tenseiga is useless scrap to his emotionless brother, who just glowers over his shoulder at Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango appear to recall that indeed, one without a caring heart shouldn't be able to use Tenseiga at all, and Sesshoumaru actually appears to confirm this assumption, saying it's just as Inuyasha says. What a liar. 

Suddenly, a pulse emanates from Tenseiga at his hip and he turns his glare to it instead, in time for it to pulse again, and crackle with some kind of energy that only he can sense, maybe. He silently complains yet again that Tenseiga is disturbed, and wonders why it seems to be urging him to help the strange otter youkai. He doesn't wait for an answer, probably because it's something to do in his perpetual boredom.

"Alright, I guess I can stand to NOT be a piece of shit. Because my sword told me to."

How's THAT for an innuendo?

Inuyasha somehow ended up behind Kagome and Shippou, and they all three look in question at Sesshoumaru. Much like with Shippou, Sesshoumaru tells Kanta to move, with the same soft expression. Eyes still streaming, Kanta looks up at Sesshoumaru with confusion. He must have backed off, because the next panel shows Sesshoumaru's unfocused, dreamy gaze on Kanta's dad's body, with which he can see the little imp-creatures from the other world crawling over it and prodding it with mini-spears. The ACTUAL spears aren't there, interestingly enough.

Sesshoumaru swings Tenseiga through all of the little creatures in one swipe, and the dissolve into nothing, as is the habit of everything truly dead in Inuyasha. Miroku gives this display a critical look, as does Sango in the back, and they wonder if he CUT something they can't see. For a moment, Kanta's dad looks just as dead as ever. 

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!! Just call Sesshoumaru Dr. Frankenstein. 

Kagome and Shippou look on completely astounded, gaping as a noise of disbelief comes from Kagome's mouth, but Kanta is just so overjoyed that his father is alive that his tears have returned as happy ones. Later, Kanta's sitting in his father's lap as the old guy is pulling spears and arrows from his body, expressing relief since he didn't think he would be able to come back at all. Miroku awkwardly asks him where he went, exactly, with Inuyasha peering at the resurrected otter next to him. He paints the picture of a world shrouded in white mist, jagged outcrops poking out from beneath it, much like Hakudoushi's own description of it. It was just his head floating around, as well as a whole host of other scary youkai heads too. Inuyasha suggests this was the other youkai beheaded by Hakudoushi, but this is ignored by Kanta's father, who wouldn't know who that is anyway. With Kagome still gaping at him, he says he dove beneath the mist and saw...

Don't worry, we don't stay with this little snot for a long time. By the next panel, we're right back with Kagome, Inuyasha and Kanta's dad, the former of which asks the latter about those giant skeletons. Kanta's dad confirms this, and adds that there were a great many of them. He wonders out loud if that's what they call the "next world", but switches to talking about how grateful he is that they saved him. 

Kagome perks up at this, suddenly remembering that Sesshoumaru is a person who exists, and turns to thank him too, but he's already walking away. Stuck around long enough to hear about the important bits, though. Sango absently reiterates that he's left, as if any of them should give a damn. I know I don't. As he's strolling off, Sesshoumaru thinks about Tenseiga and what it could possibly have been trying to tell him with THAT. He can't seem to imagine why he might bother with the place he just heard about. I mean, fair, it doesn't really hold GOOD memories for the guy. Lost his arm there and everything.

Hey, anyone know what happened to those villagers that were going to come up and murder the headless youkai they were so intent on getting? Did they get lost or give up or something?

Cut to Kanta saying his goodbyes to Shippou, and Shippou chirping that he's happy everything worked out for the best. Kanta's dad pats him on his little bewildered head. 

Awww, look at this comic being all wholesome and shit.

The girls stand and watch this scene with must be the warm fuzzies, and Kagome thinks this whole thing must have reminded little Shippou of his own dad. Well, at least it wasn't in a way that was refreshing his trauma.

The otters swim off in the body of water next to the farewell spot, and as Inuyasha and Co. start strolling off, Miroku brings up the things that Kanta's dad saw in his brief afterlife, saying that it's very likely Hakudoushi knows about these things too by now. Inuyasha agrees, looking serious. Sango asks what in the world that place could be, and Inuyasha admits after a pause that he thinks he might have been there before. Weird that he didn't include Kagome in this statement, but fine. Miroku seems surprised, asking if Inuyasha knows how they get there, and Inuyasha just affirms he does, not elaborating a bit. He just hangs his head, no doubt knowing how much of a pain in the ass this is going to be.

Kagome looks sideways at him, thinking he's had the same idea she did - white mist and giant skeletons, the borderline between this world and the next, it all points to one place that the reader has probably been screaming at them from beyond the fourth wall for several chapters now.

Can't wait to see the elaborate way they get in there and NOT the way they get out again, lol.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I like how this and the last one bring Shippou and his feelings about his father's passing to the forefront. Because he doesn't have a lot to contribute to most of the arcs in the main story, he all too often fades into the background, or even becomes an annoying commentator on the events to fill unused space. But this small arc helps to remind us not just that he exists, but he has serious trauma around his father's death, and helping another kid in a similar situation was a good way to help him resolve it, or produce a different, better outcome. Shippou is portrayed as empathetic and predisposed to helping others avoid his own situation.

Which is something that particularly struck me when he said to Sesshoumaru that Kanta would be all alone if he lost his father. Shippou ISN'T all alone, he's part of a group that cares about him and his well-being, but I got the impression there was a note of personal loneliness in there all the same. The Inuyasha group is NOT his father, nor the greatest replacement for him, given how much danger Shippou is in on the regular. There's a clear implication that while Shippou is grateful for his friends and how much they've done for him post-tragedy (he did gave some serious praise to Inuyasha's strength in the last chapter), he is still mourning the loss of his father that no one can really fill in for, and he hasn't had much of an opportunity to express that until now. 

Strange, since literally EVERYONE in this group has lost their father at some point, and in some pretty horrible ways. Even Kagome's father is absent, though the manga never goes into where he is. It's kind of a miracle the topic never came up between them, really.

Inuyasha Manga: 296 The Youkai With No Head

Chapter's going to have to be more specific. Judging by the size of the pile of stolen heads Hakudoushi had built on Entei's back at the end of the last installment, there's an awful lot of Youkai now walking around without a head. And without faces attached to them, literally, it's going to be kind of hard to tell them apart. But I suppose that it should be something of a challenge for our protagonists to follow one around in particular, given how dense they were acting in the previous chapter. Hopefully they can find another brain cell to help them out with the task!

One thing's for certain - they won't find that extra brain cell here. Sesshoumaru appears to be committing the exact same stupidity as Inuyasha, the brothers more alike than they would ever admit. But I chalk this up to Sesshoumaru wandering off on his perpetual high more than anything. 

Jaken broods in irritation about how Sesshoumaru has always been a bit reticent, but claims that ever since that moment Sesshoumaru failed to beat Naraku at Mt. Hakurei, watching the giant fart recede into the sky, he's just gotten more withdrawn. I don't exactly see how THAT would be possible, but if you say so, Jaken. When Jaken lets out a long, drawn-out sigh, thinking that Sesshoumaru could AT LEAST say where he's going we he slips off for a little him-time, Rin informs him that long sighs chase happiness away. Thanks for the tip, kid.

Elsewhere, and possibly another time (not sure if Jaken and Rin's campfire was at nighttime or if the forest was just too dense for much daylight to get through), Sesshoumaru stands on a hillside casting a somewhat irritated look into the mountainous distance. He silently complains that the sword is disturbed. Don't know why you're being pissy about it when you could just go off and have a wank somewhere like EVERYONE ELSE. 

Narrow solid white transition panel, and we're back with the Inuyasha group, headed by Miroku who is listening to the complaints of a couple village men with bandages wrapped around their heads. They tell him that they wish SOMETHING would stop rampaging around everywhere, and that it's fucking scary. Miroku asks for confirmation that the youkai they're talking about had no head, and they affirm as much, then tell him that they knew the man-eater was living up on the mountain before it's head got severed. Their words about not knowing who did the deed and pissed it off so bad, but it sure took out its rage by beating a lot of the villagers to death, are superimposed over the next panel showing a trail of felled trees in the forest.

Inuyasha and Co. stand at the edge of the forest where the trees are all broken and splintered, and Inuyasha says he doesn't need its scent to know where it went, the path it took being obvious to anyone. You think?? In fact, a hulking shape starts rushing at them from behind the few trees it DIDN'T break in half yet.

Inuyasha cracks his knuckles as he holds his claws up, commenting on how quick this sucker was to jump out at them. Still don't know HOW it could possibly tell they're there - vibrations or something? 

Before Inuyasha can actually put the thing out of its misery, a voice yells for him to stop.

While Kagome makes a noise like it's taking her a minute to process this new little creature, Shippou identifies it as a tanuki youkai cub. Uhhhh, are you sure there, buddy? A fist from the "tanuki's" supposed dad starts to descend on him, his eyes watering in anticipation of his impending messy death, when Inuyasha bolts in and scoops him out of harm's way just before the fist can connect. 

Inuyasha's good deed is of course accompanied with a bad mood, and he addresses what he ALSO seems to think is a tanuki with irritation, the object of his ire correcting him with the fact that he's actually an OTTER. Inuyasha brushes off his mistake to point out that the otter kiddo's supposed dad doesn't seem to look a thing like him. After all, even if there's no facial features to go by, the giant headless youkai is a different shade, furless, and pretty ridiculously large. On the prompted second look, the otter kiddo agrees that indeed it's someone else altogether with some alarm. Inuyasha says he's not sure how the kiddo could possibly mix them up, though he and Shippou are ones to talk, what with mixing up OTTERS and TANUKIS, and charges at the rampaging youkai with the promise that they'll talk about it all when he takes down the immediate threat. He then proceeds to rip through it like a slab of hamburger. 

After that's taken care of, the otter kiddo introduces himself as Kanta, and reminds them that they should probably be able to see he's an otter. I guess he doesn't trust them to keep this information straight. Kagome asks him about how he said earlier that the youkai they killed was his dad, and he answers by opening up the big bundle on his back.

Oh. Well, that's... Uhhhhhhhh....

Kanta flashes back to a river and waterfall where he and his father catching fish BEFORE his head ended up in a bindle on his child's back. Said child tells of someone showing up on a massive horse, a white kid perched on top with a naginata. Though Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou all repeat this description in alarm, they don't name Hakudoushi just yet. They let Kanta continue to tell the tale of his father's head getting severed and landing in the water while he hid behind some rocks in fear. Kanta says that his dad's head got swept away by the river and over another waterfall, but the kid on the horse just cursed and left, clearly too lazy to be bothered with retrieving it for his growing collection on the horse's back. Kanta had gone all the way down the bank to get his dad's head himself, but by the time he'd made it back to the spot, the body had gone missing. Shippou watches a tearful Kanta hug his dad's head with an open stare. 

Sango begins the statement of who has been lopping off youkai heads and leaves it for Miroku to finish, who concludes that there can be no doubt it's Hakudoushi. Kagome asks haltingly why, so Miroku recalls that Hakudoushi's baby form went around killing priests and monks in his search for the border between worlds, and suggests he might be doing the same thing now too. Kagome presents the use of youkai heads for the same end as a question, at the same time remembering herself that this is the guy who can look into peoples' hearts from the time he did the same to her. Inuyasha says that this seems possible, given that youkai are a bit hardier than humans and don't die as easily. I don't know, they die pretty easily when you tear through their guts with your claws, my dude. 

In the forested mountains, with Entei hanging out outside what looks like an abandoned temple somewhere (how many of these things ARE there anyway??), Kagura is perched on the railing along the porch. She looks over her shoulder to peer into the building where a pile a wheezing youkai heads are gathered on the floor.

Good luck making good on that threat, lol.

By the next panel, Hakudoushi has dropped this head back on the floor and stomped his little foot on its temple, telling it to shut up. Kagura asks in casual conversation if Hakudoushi saw anything, and he responds that they all look very similar, thinking on the world of white mist he's envisioned, with something scattered below that mist. 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and crew are still conversing with little Kanta, with Inuyasha clarifying that the kid's idea is to find his dad's body and reattach his head. Kanta affirms that this is the plan, if they can make it in time, of course. Miroku makes an intrigued noise at this, and Sango asks if this means Kanta's dad will come back to life, with Miroku adding that this father of his must be pretty strong. Tearful again, Kanta hangs his head and says it's already been three days, and he won't be able to save his father if he's further cut down and dismembered. 

Inuyasha and Kagome look on with wide eyes, and then Shippou pipes up, telling Kanta not to worry because Inuyasha will go and save his dad. Inuyasha hums in question at this assertion while Shippou continues, vouching for Inuyasha's strength and that time when he helped to avenge Shippou's own father's death. Inuyasha actually appears to flush a little at the praise, and Kagome says Shippou's name in happy encouragement. Kanta seems skeptical though, asking if Inuyasha is REALLY that strong, and Shippou excitedly says that Inuyasha HAS to be, just to make up for how dumb and childish he is. 

This understandably earns him a whack to the top of his head, a vein popping in Inuyasha's fist. Kanta doesn't seem to really notice this, only just now going back to acknowledge that Shippou said his own father was dead. He grabs the smarting Shippou's hand to suggest that they be friends, calling Shippou a tanuki in the process. Oh, so it's just a THING that no one can tell the difference between a tanuki and other animals? Shippou snaps back that he's a fox with some irritation, no doubt building on his bad mood at being hit earlier. I mean, I don't know what he expected, really.

Narrow sky transition panel to a couple of women with their laundry at the side of a river. They look over in the direction of a splash. 

Now THIS looks more like little Kanta. 

Cut to a guy who's climbed an alarm tower to bang on a bell, shouting that it's a youkai attack. Other men rush along with weapons bundled in their arms, ready for distribution, yelling about the youkai with no head. This youkai only staggers a bit up the lane, not committing any kind of violence, but looking pretty intimidating and scary anyway. Spears and arrows start to fly at him, a couple of projectiles landing firmly in his chest and shoulder. Instead of attacking, he turns around unsteadily and starts moving in the opposite direction, knowing when he's not wanted, clearly. A man with a bow notes with some confusion that the youkai is retreating, but another man stutters an order to go after him, for some inexplicable reason. 

Inuyasha is leading his group down a steep rocky hill, carrying Kagome and Shippou on his back as Miroku and Sango follow on Kirara as usual, when he catches a scent with a curious sound. Kagome leans over his shoulder, having picked up on Inuyasha's reaction, asking if he's located Kanta's father. From this angle you can see Kanta and his father's head are also riding on Inuyasha's back. Inuyasha just affirms he's locked on in a serious tone, and Kanta is immediately excited. Inuyasha keeps to himself that the father's scent is mixed with that of blood, worried that someone injured his body, and questioning if they'll make it in time. 

He totally FAILS to mention quite another familiar scent he should be picking up too.

Kanta's dad managed to locate the ONE GUY who is 99% equipped to help him. Without the benefit of a HEAD. That's talent right there.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm not sure I quite GET the joke about everyone mistaking everyone else for a tanuki - there must be some context I'm missing here, because otherwise it seems oddly emphasized here. It might be playing off the joke that Kanta can't recognize his own father, but I always gave him a little leeway for that because the guy doesn't have a HEAD anymore, you know? The part of the body we always pay the most attention to when identifying a person? Whereas confusing an otter or fox with a tanuki just suggests that you need glasses. Apples and oranges, really. 

But I will say, I thought the part with Shippou extolling Inuyasha's virtue of strength and willingness to help a little youkai in need was exceedingly cute. I think this is really the first time he's acknowledged Inuyasha gave him a bit of vengeance for his father's murder, and it's not difficult for him. He doesn't hesitate or stutter or make any kind of excuse, just gives a pure and honest account of Inuyasha's admirable power and tenacity. Granted, he also says Inuyasha is very stupid, but that's just part of his open opinion on the guy, because he clearly didn't mean it as an insult. He presents this as a matter of fact, the whole truth on how Inuyasha HAS to be powerful or else wouldn't have made it as far as he has. 

Of course, Shippou is WRONG. Inuyasha is not dumb, or at least not as dumb as he's framed to be. But because these characters have flattened out a little over time, there has to be an archetypal smart and dumb one. 

I hope that Sesshoumaru isn't just here to be here again. I like him a lot, but he comes across as somewhat irritating when he's shoehorned into plotlines that shouldn't include him. Diminishes his mystique a bit. Thankfully, I don't have too much reason to side-eye this inclusion, since this IS a life-and-death kind of trajectory, the perfect little project for Tenseiga. Still, I'll keep a respectable skepticism. Sesshoumaru tends to be a victim of his own popularity, after all.

Inuyasha Manga: 295 White Child

Oh no, this is a trap and a half. The new kid is definitely monochromatic, on the light side, but there's hardly anything else we know about him. I mean, sure, he's a bit demanding, a bit entitled, considering how he ordered Kagura around. And yeah, he's also got that smirking, overly pleased-with-himself kind of look about him that you tend to associate with privileged little shits in public who know they can get away with anything. And of course there's the immediate acquisition of a huge flunkie to do his more brawn-based bidding. 

But I'm not drawing any conclusions until it's shown that he has no rhythm DAMMIT!

We're not going to mention all the dudes he killed in the process, then? Okay.

Miroku says that the ones who broke the seals (and committed the murders that we apparently don't care about) are Kagura and the baby, and Sango follows up with the information they received from before about the baby apparently being destroyed by the spiritual power of the last priest they offed. The kid on the horse scoffs that a mere human priest's spiritual power could never destroy him, and at last Inuyasha blurts out the conclusion that this kid and the bastard baby are the same person. Must have beat Miroku to the punch on that obvious announcement. 

The kid introduces himself as Hakudoushi, which is a relief, because my "Shnooky" name for him doesn't quite work anymore as a joke. Also, he characterizes himself as "the discarded white child of Naraku", which is just a bizarre description I can't make heads or tails of. Miroku addresses Hakudoushi with what he heard from the disciples about the kid searching for the border between this world and the next, and bluntly asks what is there that he wants, exactly. After a short pause, Hakudoushi chuckles that they should be looking for it too, implying that there's a Shikon shard there. Inuyasha parrots the part about the Shikon fragment while Kagura cruises up on her feather. 

She asks Hakudoushi if he should really be revealing their hand and this information like that, but Hakudoushi asks in turn if this is something they really need to hide. He says that it's "the more the merrier" in this little treasure hunt, and tells Inuyasha and crew that they should be thanking him for giving them a clue about it. When Miroku says that the rumor about the Shikon fragment appears to be true at least, Inuyasha scoffs again. He bares his fangs and admits he has no idea about the next world or whatever, but if there is a shard there...

Roaring away like a piece of junk rolling copious amounts of coal. Inuyasha yells at the brat to wait up, but the protective bubble pops out of sight in no time, and Miroku lamely states that they've escaped as Inuyasha curses in frustration. 

Though Inuyasha's group can't follow, we get a view of the massive horse with the small child astride it and Kagura riding on her feather next to them, where the latter asks what they're going to do now, specifically if they're going to keep killing priests or what. Hakudoushi tells her that's over, because apparently humans just aren't able to provide the information he needs. He recalls that just before he was cut in half, he saw some scenery of some jagged peaks poking up out of thick mist, and wonders if that could be the border between worlds he's been looking for. He wants to gather more knowledge about that world shrouded in white mist, and he thinks he needs a different tactic to gather it. 

Or rather, a different set of victims. 

After a narrow sky transition panel, there's a rustle among the trees in a forest, where a man with a basket on his back is running Scooby-Doo style from what looks like a bipedal boar with a skull necklace and a naginata spear, losing his hat along the way. The boar laughs as he chases him and the man shrieks about a youkai, right before the naginata slices from collarbone all the way to opposite underarm. The boar picks up the man's head and shoulder with another laugh, no doubt intending to add the skull to his pretty collection around his neck, when something whooshes above him and he looks up in confusion and alarm. A giant flaming hoof comes crashing down on his head and crushes it underfoot.

Kagura sees the naginata stuck blade-down in the dirt and grabs it to throw to Hakudoushi. I like to think that she hoped he'd miss and it would stab him good.

Too bad for her, he's at least coordinated enough to avoid a slice from this thing.

When they're flying again, Kagura asks him if he's sure that he can use that thing, and he snaps at her not to make fun of him. He then says he'd like to get used to this new body of his quickly. I guess Naraku passed his penchant for transmogrifying himself to the kid. Kagura makes a vague noise of false interest, while she really thinks that the brat isn't bothered by doing his own dirty work, unlike Naraku. I guess that's KIND OF a compliment? Not sure.

Another sky transition panel leads us to Miroku and Sango riding on Kirara through the sky. Sango is talking about how it's weird that they haven't heard of any more shrines or temples being attacked since Hakudoushi fucked off, and Miroku agrees, but adds that he's been feeling some strange energy spots since then as well, and quite a few of them. Apparently, this is the first time Sango is hearing about this, and repeats it to him in question format, asking for elaboration. I happen to think it's also weird that Miroku hasn't mentioned this before now. Seems like the weird is penetrating every level of this mystery. 

Miroku does indeed elaborate, though, saying that none of these feelings was particularly strong, but he's puzzled by the odd way in which they move. Like they're wandering around aimlessly or something. 

The two most vulnerable members of the group hanging out by themselves again? Why do these little snots NEVER learn their frikkin' lesson??

Point of fact, Shippou outwardly wonders where Inuyasha has gone off to, because apparently he just ran off without telling anyone why. Kagome does not find this the least bit objectionable, SOMEHOW, and says he just couldn't sit still for a while. Uhhh, sounds fake, but okay... Cut to Inuyasha, who's leaping through the forest cursing up a storm. He's pissy because there's no sign of that Hakudoushi brat, and also vexed by this vague business about the borderline between this world and the next. Irritated that running around through the woods with no leads whatsoever is not yielding any clues, he just seems to have a indefinable SOMETHING leading him on - you know, restlessness. 

Suddenly he catches a scent which he appears alarmed by. Then we cut back to Kagome and Shippou, because three guesses as to why, and the first two don't count. They hear a noise in the trees and Shippou hums in question while Kagome calls out to Inuyasha, assuming it's him. Then the trees splinter. 

Why didn't any of you see this coming from a mile away??? You should have at least been able to HEAR the damn thing!

Shippou shrieks, as usual, and Kagome jumps up (with a "STAND" statement right next to her just in case you were confused by her movements here or something) in alarmed confusion. Kagome has Shippou in her arms as he wails her name, ducking a close blow from the headless villain. Amazing this thing that has no eyesight, sense of smell OR hearing was able to get SO CLOSE to splattering Kagome all over the forest floor. Inuyasha, what's your excuse, buddy?

Inuyasha comes leaping out of the trees yelling for Kagome, and she calls back to him over her shoulder as she continues to sprint away from the headless ogre. Inuyasha rips more than halfway into its torso with his claws, and it goes down without any more fight. 

f

Wanders around without a head, but it takes one swipe to tear it in half? Am I or am I not supposed to have viewed this thing as a threat?

Inuyasha turns to ask Kagome if she's okay, and is immediately smacked in the forehead by an angry Shippou, who demands to know where the heck he went off to, leaving them there by themselves. A fair question that goes unanswered; Shippou rants about what might have happened with Kagome if he hadn't been around (implying he did a SINGLE thing other than scream) while Inuyasha holds him out by his tail, Inuyasha tells Kagome he's sorry about that whole fucking off into the woods thing, and Kagome says it's okay. Clearly she's not as concerned with Inuyasha's bad habit of just wandering off as she is curious in a horrified kind of way what this thing is and why it doesn't have a head. 

Sango and Miroku dive out of the sky on Kirara to the camp, the former calling out to Kagome, having completely missed the action. Somehow. Miroku is eventually asking for confirmation that this youkai didn't have a head to begin with, and Kagome responds in the affirmative. Sango asks Miroku if this could be that wandering evil energy Miroku was talking about before, Miroku saying that it's probz at least one of them. Yeah, you think? Inuyasha examines what's left of the youkai's neck, and comments of how it looks like it was cut with some kind of blade, but by a really sloppy guy. He sure is one to talk. 

Cut to the silhouette of tiny Hakudoushi perched on his massive steed and Kagura flying on her feather next to them. There's a mound of something highlighted toward Entei's rump.

What? Can't a kid have a collection? Some choose stamps or buttons, he's chosen demon heads. Seems legit.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Our entire cast of protagonists just took a whole bottle of stupid pills this time, didn't they? Between Miroku sensing odd youki and keeping it to himself, to Inuyasha leaving Kagome and Shippou by themselves, to the former shrugging this off despite a very RECENT history of being kidnapped and abused when Inuyasha disappears, there doesn't appear to be a single brain cell to share between them. Clearly, RT really needed this chapter to happen the way it did, to rob her characters of ALL their sense and make them perform the most idiotic actions in order to make it so, but I can't for the life of me think WHY. She could easily have written Miroku informing all of them of the strange energies he was feeling, led the team to the areas he was sensing them at, maybe with the aid of Inuyasha's nose smelling youkai blood on the decapitated menaces, and had a semi-surprise of two headless demons converging on the spot to keep it a little more exciting. That would have been so simple and LOGICAL, but RT went with this instead. 

I don't know why people ask her the most inane questions in interviews. I would be asking where her head was at when she wrote THIS nonsense. Goodness, what a train wreck. 

But at least I got to see that boar demon get stomped by a giant horse hoof. Kinda funny.

Inuyasha Manga: 294 Entei

Another character? Hope this one is interesting enough to stick around this time. Perhaps RT was right to be a little hasty in sending Shnooky on his way, because my attention has indeed wandered elsewhere. I've been absolutely OBSESSED with the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes games now, and been playing Chapter One every free moment I can. It's made me want to read the original ACD stories again, because while I really like Frogwares' interpretation, I miss the canon Holmes. 

So I'm back on my Sherlock Holmes bullshit, and focusing on anything else is hard for me right now. You think RT was ever on some similar "bullshit" that distracted her from the writing on her comic and causes her to slip up by including uninteresting characters that go nowhere in the story?

Sango asks what this is all about, and Miroku promptly answers with an admission that he'd THOUGHT the purpose of Kagura and Shnooky's murder tour was to break all the youkai seals in the area, but says that it seems this was not all they were after. Seriously, Miroku, you're supposed to be "the smart one", and you couldn't draw a better conclusion from what you ALREADY know about Shnooky and his whole deal? Why would that kid JUST go around setting other youkai free when he had a specific objective before? What is this dude even good for at this point?

Kagome wonders if there's something at the border between worlds that they don't know about, when a deep rumble vibrates through the temple, making the already wary Inuyasha and Miroku even warier, if the Dutch angle is any way to judge. The disciples are shook by the sound and are worried about the seal on their very own youkai that they must have failed to remember until that very moment. 

The next panel shows them confirming Inuyasha's question as to whether they're going behind the mountain while they run toward the scene. One of them informs in that their deceased priest sealed the "Youba Entei" there with his spiritual power. Miroku conversationally asks if it's a horse youkai, like they're discussing the weather or something, and this is also confirmed, accompanied by an explanation that one of them gives about the previous owner of the horse before it was sealed away being a man-eating demon or whatever. Cool story, bro. 

When they reach the sheer mountain face, it's cracking and crumbling before their eyes. Inuyasha watches with mouth agape as light escapes from the cracks in front of him.

Calling all horse-girls, this is your time!

There's a spray of something that hits the group sidelong like a driving rain, and Sango holds her mask to her face, warning the others to be careful because it's miasma. Of course, they're already holding their arms up to protect their heads and faces, Inuyasha with a fire-rat robed arm around Kagome to shield her from the blast of poison too. Shit straight up strips the leaves off nearby trees, too, so it's nothing to scoff at. With one last trail of fire disappearing into a dark swirling cloud, the glimpse of the demon horse is gone. Inuyasha comments blandly that the horse dun ran away, but Miroku calls for them to go after the damn thing, no doubt hoping to stop it from committing any atrocities on nearby towns. 

TWO narrow sky transition panels later, we're looking at a few OTHER sheer mountain faces, the few bushes that have managed to grow on rare level ground rustling. 

She clarifies with a flashback to Shnooky splitting in two and another of Kanna telling her to protect her half of the baby like some biblical parable just what it's been three days since. She looks back farther into the cave, where she's deposited the half-infant unceremoniously. No doubt this is an awfully long time to stand vigil over a kid that didn't even have a name. She wonders aloud what she should do with this part, because it's not like it's breathing or anything. As, you know, is typical of dead bodies.

As if in answer, the bundle rolls and shifts a little, and Kagura gives it a critical glare. She goes to kneel next to it, asking it if it's come back to life or something, because the bundle is very noticeably squirming now. A heartbeat-like thump issues from it as well. This is the part of the horror movie where you remove your ass from the situation, Kagura. But no, she just stares down at the bundle, not really looking as amazed as her thought of awe that he's actually alive might suggest. Mostly, she just looks suspicious. 

A crop of light-colored hair grows from the top of the bundle as the heart inside continues to beat.

He's pretty weird, no doubt. 

A whooshing transition panel takes us to Inuyasha and company in typical formation with Kagome riding on Inuyasha's back while Shippou, Sango and Miroku ride on Kirara's. They're hot on the demon-horse's scent, per Miroku's suggestion, and Inuyasha confirms that it's nearby. They head down a hill toward segmented rice paddies and a watchtower beyond, a village that somehow seems to surprise whoever points out its existence, because there's a question mark accompanying that exclamation point. 

When they reach the actual village, it's a wreck, to the inu-crew's shock. Kagome notes with horror that everything from people to whole houses have been trampled. Shippou hides behind Inuyasha's ballooned pant-leg as he observes rather large and deep horseshoe prints, though Inuyasha himself seems to regard them more casually. Sango also comments on how big the hoof prints they're seeing are. Miroku invites them anxiously to continue following it, as it can't be far now. They must have JUST missed it.

Cut to Kagura flying on her feather, cursing that little brat that emerged from the half-baby. Apparently, it had pretty much immediately demanded she go and get it some new clothes, and she's annoyed that the kid wakes up bossing her around. Suddenly, she perceives a big flaming SOMETHING in her periphery.

I guess Kagura is not one of the aforementioned horse girls, but I suppose that makes sense. Why would she need to be, with ready transportation at her fingertips?

And we're back with Inuyasha, who has something like a lightning bolt to the nose to indicate a sudden sensory input there. Kagome notices and asks after him over his shoulder and he answers that it's Kagura's scent he's picking up. At the same time, Miroku warns everyone to be careful, because judging by the dark ominous clouds roiling over their path, there's an evil energy closing in. A few light shafts break through the cloud cover and Inuyasha's crew pauses to stare tensely up at the sky, where the clouds have formed a smooth swirling backdrop for an equine figure floating with flaming feet, much like Kirara. The giant monster horse spits fire at the ground, LITERALLY, and Inuyasha has to dodge a massive fire bomb, Kagome shrieking as they avoid the flames narrowly. The group has made it to relative safety (with a few flaming pieces of debris quite close at their feet) when they turn to identify Entei.

It didn't come at you though? That fiery projectile vomit was a ranged attack, bro. 

Inuyasha quickly pulls and utilizes Tessaiga to throw a Kaze no Kizu at the horse, but a bubble barrier surrounds it and bends the attack around it. Hmmm, looks AWFULLY familiar. Miroku has an expression of pure shock that there's a barrier involved here, even though Inuyasha JUST mentioned that Kagura's scent was hanging around - he must not have been listening or something.

Seemingly from the horse at first, we get a chuckle, and a question if that was a flying greeting for it. Inuyasha just gapes stupidly in response, and Kagome asks who the FUCK is riding that horse, because on closer inspection, there is a small, childlike figure riding astride it. The figure laughs again that this monster horse seems to have chosen it to ride it. I can feel the horse girls I summoned earlier getting SUPER jealous that this kid is living their dream.

A pretty good guess. I think the LEAST I'd offer someone is a ride after they broke me out of the clink. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Once again, I feel like there are far too many transitions and a lot more switching between Kagura and Inuyasha's group than necessary - at the very least a couple of these scenes could have been combined into more coherent ones and the chapter would have seemed less fragmented and disjointed. As it stands, like with a lot of RT's quick-switch style, I just have a bit of whiplash.

But otherwise I thought it was interesting how RT decided to use the corpse of her inherently uninteresting Naraku-baby to birth a new, more active one. I make fun of RT and her love of hanging lampshades all over her poorer writing decisions, but I have to congratulate her on doing something actually CREATIVE with this one. Shnooky's death wasn't just brushed off with a few odd comments about how short his existence was, but it was a springboard into the creation of what looks to be a much more challenging villain. At least one that can walk, anyway.

The "th-thump" sound effects in the rebirth scene brings up something that I didn't really think of before, but now it's gnawing away at the back of my brain: is this an indication that Kagura got the left half of the Shnooky? OR, is this the right half that grew its own heart and the left and "hearted" part of Shnooky is getting its own resurrection with Kanna? Because, mild spoiler, we do see our infant friend return eventually, and the heart is probably the most contentious part of him for a while. I don't know if it matters too much, but I am somewhat curious if there's a connection between which half Kagura was told to pick up and what bossy little brat she got.

Finally, Miroku seems to be bugging me a LOT in this one? He's not even at his peak of annoying for me, but every time he got a line I rolled my eyes. I don't know if he's coming across as more irritating because RT didn't bother to instill him with the small amount of imagination it would have taken him to figure that Kagura and Shnooky were doing more than just causing mayhem. It might also be because I'm still sore about his and Sango's very disappointing romantic comedy bullshit recently. One thing is for sure, he hasn't dropped off the shitlist like he usually does, so I'm bristling every time he says a WORD. 

Dude has turned into one of those itchy clothing tags that you can't get rid of. 

Inuyasha Manga: 293 Division

Not interested, Chapter. I'm disenchanted with math in fiction ever since I picked up a book at the store expecting math to factor into the plot when it was mentioned on the jacket that the protagonist was a math genius, and it had nothing to do with anything whatsoever. So disappointing. Besides, I don't come to Inuyasha for MATH. I come to Inuyasha because I am incredibly easy to entertain. Always have been, ever since I was a baby and could keep myself occupied for hours with a set of plastic keys. 

In case anyone wanted the simplest explanation as to why my tastes are like this. 

If they're going to lock up youkai like that, maybe the priests should figure out a more permanent solution than a seal that will just dissolve when they kick the bucket.

Anyway, the wreckage of this place has a swirling vortex of sus energy behind it, and Inuyasha notes that he can smell them - or as the translator put it: he can "feel" the scent of nothing but a few small fry youkai. An odd way to phrase that, but okay. Miroku says these youkai are hiding, but almost immediately a rumble issues from the wrecked shrine and three giant serpentine heads with hair down the length of them burst out from it, hissing at Inuyasha, who has drawn Tessaiga.

Well. That's that done, then. Cross it off the list of boring chores for the day.

A narrow sky transition panel leads us into the gang crowded into a wide doorway, Miroku sitting and talking to what looks like your typical headman, given how many of them we've seen before, and a couple of village men loitering behind him. Miroku asks about the similar occurrences to this shrine decimation rumored to be happening elsewhere in the area, and the headman says that everyone is talking about how priests and monks are being murdered everywhere. Miroku begins to ask who in the world could do such a thing, and the headman interrupts him to say that's the weird thing - people say it's the work of a woman and a baby, of all things. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sango look alert at this, alarmed but not shocked by any means. Kagome in particular is thinking of the baby, and immediately fills in the gaps with Shnooky. Inuyasha also automatically deduces that the woman in this scenario has to be Kagura. That one was a gimme. 

Presumably that very night, we cut to another temple out in the woods. Inside, two disciples are kneeling on the floor worriedly asking another old priest standing with his back to them in the middle of the room whether this place will also be attacked in time. The priest answers that it won't be "in time" at all.

Is Miroku the only one of these guys allowed to have hair or WHAT??

A voice from outside among the trees hums that this priest seems to have a few more abilities going for him than the other ones before him. A bit more of a spiritual sense, so to speak. Then there's a volley of blades tearing through the open doorway, and the disciples yelp in fear, but the priest whips out a loop of beads as he acknowledges the youkai's presence. The beads appear to project a dome barrier around him that disperse the blades. 

A guy with all these extra abilities wouldn't just stand there and get whacked by wind blades, Kagura. Come on girl.

The priest scoffs that this must be the woman and baby he's heard so much about, adding silently that his spidey senses are telling him the baby is WAY worse than the woman. I generally find babies to be worse than damn near everything than most people. Except crying. They're experts at that. Shnooky chuckles, speculating that the priest might just know something about the border between this life and the next, at which the priest is quite alarmed, and his disciples cry out that the infant spoke. 

Kagura waves her fan a little, asking the priest if he'll be able to handle her next attack. She doesn't give him time to respond, just throwing out a "Dance of the Dragon Serpent" as she draws a wide circle with the fan in front of her. This produces a few whirling spirals of wind, the points of which aim straight for the priest. He raises the beads again to put up his personal barrier, but this and his groans of effort last a surprisingly short amount of time.

The spidey senses weren't enough.

As he goes down, the disciples peek out from behind a statue with their mouths agape at the fate that befell their priest. In the shadows just beyond his bleeding body, the sound effects indicate that Kagura steps forward, but dude's not dead yet. He grunts in the effort it takes him to reach up and under the collar of his robe. 

Shnooky informs the priest that he's going to take a teensy peek into his soul while Kagura holds him out and lowers him down onto the priest's gushing chest. It only takes Shnooky a moment to grimace at the revelation that something bad is about to happen to him, but it's also a moment too late; he's blasted right the FUCK off the priest's chest with an oddly vertical-looking slash through his little body, much to Kagura's alarm.

... You're probably not going to get any pay for this botched sitter job, Kagura. 

The priest holds up the weapon with which he dispatched Shnooky, a relic much like the butsugu on Hijiri Island, but with three prongs on each end instead of a single point. Then the priest gives out all at once, his arm falling as he dies. The cowardly disciples shiver from behind the statue, fretting over their honored priest, but not daring to go over and see if he can be at all helped by this point. It's probz because badass Kagura is still there, resting her fan on her shoulder as she regards the two halves of baby lying on the floor critically. She is clearly annoyed. 

Narrow sky transition panel with bonus trees! Inuyasha and crew are racing through the forest, Shippou, Sango, and Miroku on Kirara and Kagome on Inuyasha's back. Miroku asks about the blood smell Inuyasha is detecting, and Inuyasha tells him it's fresh. He adds that he also smells incense, so he's betting there's another tragedy at a temple. Not a half-bad deduction there, Sherlock.

They show up at the temple where the two disciples are at last kneeling next to their murdered priest, and recoil at MORE youkai coming in there. Miroku steps forward to declare them totes not suspicious people. Says the most suspicious of all of them. One look at the priest lying dead in a pool of his blood is enough for Sango to suggest that this is Kagura's doing while she comes into the building behind Inuyasha, and he confirms that he can smell her in here too. Or "feel" her smell in here, as the translator has put it again. 

Miroku is interrogating the disciples, asking if they're absolutely sure that the ones who did the priest in were a woman and a baby. As if there's anyone who could be mistaken about something so ludicrous. One of the disciples affirms their story, and spoke to how bravely the priest took on the weird duo. They brag on him for SOMEHOW managing to destroy the youkai's infant companion, because infants are notoriously difficult to kill. Inuyasha and Kagome both seem to perk up at this news.

Genuinely a relief to her, I'm sure.

The disciples insist that they are not mistaken, and the little baby was cut clean in half by their master's spiritual powers. Calm down, bros, I believe you. Of course, that doesn't mean the Inuyasha gang isn't still a little skeptical, as they're about to explain. Sango turns to Miroku, asking what he thinks, and Miroku slowly states that the baby was the monster heart of Naraku birthed in Mt. Hakurei, a part of him that he went out of his way to help escape when Mt. Hakurei was crumbling. Sango picks up what he's putting down, and says that this probz means the baby is vital to Naraku's plans, to which statement Miroku agrees. Kagome is also thinking that it's like this kid died WAY too quickly. 

Well, we ARE almost 300 chapters into this story with nary a sign of the plot ramping up to a climax, so I can see where she's coming from on that one. 

Meanwhile, Kagura is flying on her giant feather, a bundle still in her arms. I suppose leaving the infant corpse behind would have been a tactical disaster - don't want the enemy to reverse-engineer that baby! She notices the Saimyoushou hovering around her, and indicate a path to the ground where it looks like little Kanna is standing with her mirror all stoic-like. Landing in a kneel in front of Kanna, Kagura greets her and asks if Naraku told her to come here. Kanna nods in silent response. 

Kagura flings two separate bundles to the ground, each showing just a peek of half a baby face. Kagura drawls that this is just how it ended up, and asks if the reason Kanna was sent here was to scold her or something. Kanna kneels down to pick up one half of a baby, then starts to walk away. Kagura has picked up the other half again, demanding to know where Kanna is going, indicating the half she's dangling from her fingers to indicate that she's left it behind. Kanna pauses and turns to tell Kagura she should protect the half she's holding.

The little guy would have wanted it this way: retirement in the most violent manner possible. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm kind of amused, because this chapter felt like one big ol' lampshade. Between everyone having to be skeptical that a priest managed to kill a BABY, to Kagome admitting that it seemed a little too soon for a major cog in Naraku's new machine to eat it, to Kanna speculating that this could actually all be for the BEST really - it's like a giant signpost declaring that RT was already getting super bored with this kid. I mean, how many times can you reasonably write a baby being placed on a dying man's chest in a shounen comic? Shnooky was NOT a sustainable character, and it's just funny that RT had to actually put him in the story for a couple of chapters before she realized that a LITERAL INFANT wasn't going to rivet readers. 

Also, Kagura's flippancy in how she treated the bisected corpse of Shnooky made me laugh out loud at the end there. She's just flinging it around like she's living in a "dead baby joke" and it brings out the lulz. Kagura saving the content once again with her unique charm, we love to see it.