hehehe Sesshomaru's girl power;0  

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And Inuyasha gets decked…  

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Ouch, that was a blow below the belt for Sesshoumaru.  

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That is rare. We don't get to hear Sesshoumaru's thoughts very often…
I'm rather excited how the story develops.

Cheers
Kaze  

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Oh no! I hope she doesn't kill him off! Poor Rin. I think I'm gonna cry  

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If Sesshoumaru goes to hell, I'm going to go AHAHAHAHA and then wonder what will happen next, because I will simply ASSUME that Sesshoumaru is going to come back.

And if he doesn't, then I'll cry. In my head.  

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Not sure why the characters are just assuming the Tensaiga powers were "unneeded." Maybe they were just too much power in one sword.

Do you think it's possible for Sesshy to get caught up in one of the Midou, only to be sent to Hell and meet his father? It'd be an interesting twist…  

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Sesshoumaru really seems to have gotten shafted. I wish we heard more about their dad cause it seems impossible to know what his intentions were.  

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Rule 42: When Sesshoumaru-sama gets pissed everyone suffers!

Perhaps Shishinki should go talk to – oh I can't remember his name – the guy who bad-mouthed Kagura and ended up with Sessy breaking his sword in the attack. Anyway – that was a good lesson on why NOT to piss off Sessy.  

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>> 1559

But Sesshy didn't even scratch Mory, and ended up nearly dead and sword-less. Sesshy also was majorly pissed at Inuyasha once upon a time, and lost his arm for it.

Pissed off Sesshy doesn't have a good track record.

I'm just relieved Sesshy didn't attack Inu, which I think says a lot about his character development.  

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…and by 'attack' I mean full-fledged attack.  

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Well, looks like Sesshoumaru's getting screwed in this deal… although considering the source of this information is his father's enemy the whole "Your daddy didn't love you" thing is questionable.

Come to think of it, why the heck is Shishinki confronting Sesshoumaru if he "knows" that Sessh can never perfect the technique to begin with? (I mean, besides his role as the guy who leads to Sesshoumaru ultimately perfecting the meidou, because if that course I took on the universal structure of heroic stories has anything to say about it, that's where this is leading.) What's Shishinki's motivation?  

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>>1563

Actually, Sesshoumaru's Tokijin not only scratched Menoyomaru (Sp?), but he practically got to the jewel shards barried under his armour. If his sword had not broken under the strain, Sesshomaru would have taken them out. Menoyomaru was already so seriously wounded he had to run away after that. Also, about the arm cuting thing, he just underestimated his little brother, that's all. Don't rag on my Sesshy, his track record is too good to be brought down by a few small details…:)

>>1547
I think Inuyasha deserved it. This was his brother's fight, he was just making things worse for an already screwed-up Sessho. He probably didn't even have to save him, since as far as I can remember, Sessho knows how to move really fast out of the way of any attack.

I thought this was a good chapter, the thing is I don't understand why everyone is so quick to believe Shishinki. This guy is EVIL people! He won't think twice about lying or manipulating the hearts of others! I think he's playing with Sessho's head, already playing that inner inferiority complex Sessho has in his inner most heart because he doesn't understand why he was given Tenseiga and not Tessaiga. Shishinki is making Sessho feel even worse on purpose, making my Sesshy easier to beat.

I think my theory about the original Tessaiga being too powerful, and therefore then further being divided in half into two equal swords: Tenseiga & 2nd Tessaiga, is starting to look even more correct all the time…  

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The bittorrent link doesn't work !
http://weedy.1.vg:8395/torrents/Inuyasha_v50_ch491_%5BFreelance%5D.zip.torrent  

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Irene: Myoga is offering some corroboration, that's why. But I'm with you: folks are way too quick to assume Tensaiga was the "crap leftovers." Uh, it can save 100 ppl in one stroke, and can open up a portal to hell. That's some leftovers.

I also think InuTaisho thought those powers, coupled with Tensaiga, were just far too dangerous to be contained in one sword.

Still, if Sesshy does discard the sword after all, Inuyasha will have his complete "final form" Tessaiga after all.  

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Hey, I just noticed something: In the panel where Sessh is having a flashback to when he first tried holding Tessaiga, he is MISSING his left arm. But when he first tried holding Tessaiga, Inu hadn't lopped his arm off yet.

Or am I just looking at that panel wrong?  

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>>1581

No, He still has it. You can see his left hand behind the sparky lightining.

And what does Myoga have to do with anything?  

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love you guys, reading it now   

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Hey Shesshy has already been in hell, so if Shishinki send him to tere again He can open the Meidou from inside and can escape as before and can continue te fight. I think it would better if he forge a brend new sword and not to use Tenseiga. But his only chance to steal Shishinki's Moon rod and use it or transfered it into Tenseiga and whouala Tenseiga's Meidou compleated!  

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I don't like this chapter. Takahashi is playing tricks, not only to Sesshoumaru but also to the readers. Even Myouga thoughts didn't confront Shishinki words, leaving Kagome the only one that doubts him.

I think this is preparation for an "amazing new development" in the next chapter;) I suspect that Sesshoumaru would try to take the staff from Shishinki and check if the weapon is really the flaw.  

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Shishinki states the obvious which nobody wants to say – I mean, about the Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru's thoughts were the same, ne?
So that's when I get more susupicous about all this – I totally agree with Irene (again^^) about Shishinki's trying to make Sesshoumaru feel even worse.
I don't think Tenseiga is only a useless.. eh… thing, though I guess we know Sesshoumaru enough to know he feels this way – right now. But I do hope he'll overcome it and will try to think straight – Shishinki only using his feelings, so I bet if Sesshoumaru were calm enough (like most of the time), he wouldn't believe so easily in his words. It's just his father and the heirlooms are touchy objects for him^^"

What do you think?  

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>>1605

He'd rather die than live with the fact that his father held almost zero respect for him and heavily favored Inuyasha. But I doubt Sesshoumaru would simply just die in the next few chapters. It would be a complete back step in his character development and he'd be only thinking about himself and ignoring how Rin, Jaken, Kohaku, and Ah-Un would react if he were to die.  

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I thought it was obvious that Shishinki was putting it like that (the 'unneeded' bit, etc.) on purpose, as he was trying to get to Sesshoumaru and perhaps make him feel humiliated – which he certainly managed to do, not that it is very hard in the first place. Why everyone else seems to believe him is what I don't really get.

The whole thing about Tenseiga never being able to produce a full meidou because it is a 'copy' also seems to me to be part of Shishinki's plan to get Sesshoumaru to give up on Tenseiga – he clearly doesn't want someone else using his power and mastering it, particularly not his enemy's son. It saddens me that Sesshoumaru falls into that sort of silly trap so easily, but I guess his character has still got some growing up to do.

About him going to hell through one of the meidous Shishinki fires at him…well, the last time he went to hell he had Tenseiga with him – now he doesn't. I actually doubt Takahashi-sama's going to kill him off now, like this…it seems anticlimactic to me. Although meeting his father would be really cool   

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I have wondered for long which the real hell is, the smoky white cliffs with the yokai graveyards, or the pitch-black dump-site. If they are actually one, just different parts of the nether-world, then where is Inu no Taisho? It is only his gigantic skeleton at the grave, not his talk bits.

> 1611

It may not be Sessho-maru has fallen into the sword-discarding trap. His personality, the self-respect and arrogance of a royal daiyokai, would generally ignite his reactions that way to deny doubts about his true power. He may just want by-standers to observe his greatness in its own rights.  

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1605 – Ironic, isn't it, that the stoicist of the bunch is the one who ends up having his emotions manipulated so easily. With any luck at some point Sesshoumaru'll learn how to feel and think at the same time, but somehow I don't think now is that time.  

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>>1605

Thanks!

I also had another wild thought. What if…Shishinki's been lying all the time?! What were the real circumstances surrounding the transferance of the Miedo Z.? Did Inutaisho really steal the ability? Because I mean, though he doesn't have a full circle, Sessho's attacks are much bigger. If he ever did make a full circle, he would be way more unstoppable than Shishinki.

I think there is something big that half-face isn't telling us…

(and of course we can't really trust Myoga, he gets his facts confused almost all the time. Who we really need to appear on the scene is Totosai. He has the most knowledge about the swords and we need alot of that right now.)  

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>1615

It's kinda his trademark, huh? When he's just happening by, he wastes everyone all cool-like… But if he has any emotional stake in the matter, he completely loses focus and gets roughed up bad. Inu over tessaiga, Mory over Kagura, Shishi over daddy's love…  

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1615, Mental_Butterfly >> Yeah, I think it's in his personality – I mean we all know how arrogant he is (and have all the right to be, ne? xD), and because his pride was wounded PLUS the fact that it seems, his father didn't love him / respect him (w/e you want to use), he snapped… as most of us suspected at the end of the last chapter.

1610, Starks >> I agree with you about Sesshoumaru rather die than to bear with this, but I also think that his pride this time help him to overcome this.

1618, Irene >> I won't say it again…!!!
…
okay-okay, I totally agree with you – again xD
Afterall, Shishinki WAS one of Inutaishou's enemy, and has the same attack, the Meidou no Zangetsuha…
And I had a really crazy idea… what if it was the other way around and Shishinki stole Meidou no Zangetsuha from Inutaishou?^^"
… hmmm… maybe not -.-'

PS.: I just saw a picture a few days ago, a fanart about Inutaishou and his love for Sesshoumaru! It's a funny pic, I really liked it… let's see…
hmm…
Here's the link

Sorry, I couldn't help, it just came into mind when I read this chapter xD
Enjoy!   

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>1605 Arvel,
I tend to agree with you. Probably this chapter shows what Shishinki have and Sesshoumaru lacks. Shishinki is very good at understanding the pain of his opponent. And he uses this to maximum advantage.  

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I'm still not buying that Tenseiga is just some weak sword that's a cast-off from the Tessaiga. Or that Sesshy was "unloved". I still subscribe to the theory that the boys' father had a reason for bestowing upon them the swords that he chose as if to teach them both a lesson since he knew he wouldn't be there for them physically. You know, sort of like those old After School Specials. =:3

Perhaps this is just Takahashi's way of giving us some more soap opera drama before she gives us the real story behind the swords…and also expect some sort of power upgrade for Tenseiga (whoo hoo!).

Oh, and someone mentioned the different set of hells…if I remember correctly, in Buddhism (which in Japan, funerals and beliefs in hell tend to follow the Buddhist beliefs; Shinto for weddings and Buddhism for funerals, as I've always heard) there are eight hells with all different amounts of suffering (because to reach Nirvana — Heaven — you have to achieve enlightenment…I think…it's been a while since I studied Eastern religions).  

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>>1623

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! But I thought maybe it would sound too outrageous. Yet, what if…Shishinki was the one who stole the technique? Not Inutaisho? Bears thinking about…

>>1626

I mean, yeah! Inutaisho had alot planned out before his death. They've already esablished that one reason why Inutaisho gave each son a particular sword was to keep either one from killing the other, and so Inuyasha could have some means to protect his human mother. Sesshomaru, already a full yokai, didn't need the extra-boost, however, he did need a boost in his personality and soul. There's some plan in this, Inutaisho always seams to have a plan…  

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I bet Rumiko has some weird "surprising" chapter in store for us next…

Wouldn't it be weird if Inuyasha got in the way and nothing happened to Sessh? That'd be awfully disappointing.  

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Yeah – I remember that – each son was given a sword to keep them from killing each other. I have to wonder if, when Tenseiga "absorbed" the meido ability it cancelled out its powers and the sword was useless until the meido was removed. The Tenseiga was a sword of earth that absorbed a power not of the earth, but the other world. The two powers couldn't co-exist.

Anyway – that's my story and I'm sticking to it… Until next week… Then I'll have a different story…  

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Anyway, whether or not Sesshoumaru dies or joins the group, this arc has to be the last power up arc. There is absolutely no way Rumiko can justify Tessaiga not receiving the Meidou Zangetsuha and then going immediately into a Tessaiga upgrade after this (Rumiko is crazy enough to pull such a stunt though). This has to be it. It's now or never… Because if Inuyasha doesn't get an upgrade now, Rumiko will have discarded the promise by Yourei Taisei that Tessaiga still lacked its final attack.

Sesshoumaru is irrelevant right now. All that matters is that all of the essential cast has assembled (first time since Kikyou died) and I am quite certain that both groups won't part ways again. The manner in which events in this arc have transpired thus far have actually lead me to lower my speculative number of total chapters from 535 to 515. This of course, is assuming that it's a straight shot to the end from here on after this arc. It pretty much has to be. Rumiko said that she was finishing in 2007, she has 40 more chapters to deliver on that promise (52 weeks – 6 weeks into the year – 6 double issues of Shounen Sunday each year) and I am generously placing her on the lower end of the spectrum. There aren't gonna be anymore Fluffette-level plot twists anymore. She has nothing left to spring on us, it's time to end the story.

P.S. No disrespect to Sesshoumaru if Shishinki kills him. Shishinki is a daiyoukai (much like Ryukotsusei, Housenki, and Tekkei) who fought the Inu no Taishou and lived to tell about it. He had to have been hella powerful.  

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Ah…I'm late^^; I've been so busy these days…
Well well it looks like Sesshy lost his temper finally And really, where's the kid? Still flying in the sky? kuku…. Hey, I want to see your cute(…) face more, won't you come out again? hahaha…
Thanks for the chapter^^

>>Snow, Starks
Thanks for the kind explanations about Torrent^-^

>>Arvael, Irene
Yes, I'm Korean and living in Korea. Well…Strictly speaking, 'South Korea' will be quite right. My parents are all Koreans, too. I've learned English from Elementary school, and second foreign language(Chinese) in high school. I learned Chinese just 1 year(this year) and can speak just a little sentences
[Ooops...my age is almost revealed^-^;; Yeah, I'm high school student^-^.]
But I don't learn Chinese anymore because I chose mechanic area-means not literary area(I don't know how to explain in English;;). So I learn science, math deeply and more,/and don't learn second foreign language and another social subjects in school. No, I don't wanna be mechanic-wanna be a doctor if can.
I wonder if you can understand my explanations…^^;

>Irene
It will be easy for you(&English-users) to learn Chinese. Chinese and English are similar in pronunciation and grammar. But English and Japanese are a lot different…(and, like Chinese&English, Korean&Japanese are similar.) And also, I feel excited when meet foreigners on the Internet^-^

>Arvael
I envy your English ability^^ Still, I can't speak English so well…But someday I wanna speak or write it freely like you^-^ Sometimes, when I write my comments in this and Maki sites, I feel very tired of searching right English words at dictionary…

Maybe you might not know Korea at all. Korea is above Japan, beside China. If you saw Inuyasha Animations, you will know 4th ending song, 'Every Heart' sung by BoA. BoA is Korean, too. Of course, I've never met her haha…wanna see her^^. She can speak Korean, Japanese, and also English.

Anyway, Glad to meet you all^-^  

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>>1646

Korea is cool, Kaze. I hope you continue in your quest to learn english, like I am continuing with chinese. I'm finding that writing the characters is easy to me as well as speaking it, its recognising them that's the hard part.

I don't know how your schools go in your country, but I hope you become an excellent doctor. Any particular feild? I'm studying to one day become a doctor myself, but a Ph.D rather than a MD. I want to go into research and work with deadly diseases and viruses, like with the CDC or something. I'm a microbiology major right now.

And last but not least, Kaze, don't feel bad about not having a big English vocabulary. Many Americans don't know proper English either and have small vocabs. It just takes time, that's all.

>>1643
I think you're having some problems identifing the right swords, cause you did this before. But that's okay, I got them confused too when I first heard of the two.
Remember,
Tenseiga–Sesshoumaru's Sword–The Sword of Heaven
Tessaiga–Inuyasha's Sword–The Sword of Earth

>>1644
Starks, no desrespect or anything, but don't talk about my Sesshy like he's of no importance. Sessho is one othe key characters to this series and RT know's better than to even try to kill him of…
Also, As for Shishinki being a daiyokai, that hasn't been confirmed, yet, it HAS been confirmed that Sesshoumaru IS a daiyokai.

Don't downplay his greatness.  

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1647, Irene >> EXACTLY!!! Though he is my Sesshoumaru, not yours!!! (went to fangirl-mode @.@)
Ahem. I think RT will have to hire bodyguards if she kills Sesshoumaru, don't you think??? o.O I'm sure fans will never forgive her T_T
1628, Irene >> Umm… yeah. So I first thought about it, but after I wrote it, I began having second thoughts -.-'
Anyway, it would be a HUGE suprise if it was the case, ne? xD

It's true, Inutaishou planned out a lot of things before his death – we all have seen it. Maybe this is the final "exam" for both of his sons? :S

1646, Kaze >> Hey! You're Korean??? That's cool!^^ At the University, which I attend, we also have Korean as a major/minor^^ I'm thinking about choosing as a minor, but I'm not quite sure… still undecided. But if you say Korean & Japanese have some similiarities (sp???) in them, maybe I'll try it After all, my major is Japanese language & culture… though it's mysterious how Hungarian and Japanese sometimes shockingly similar in grammar o.O …
Oh, and I know what you mean about the school, we have the same umm… parts? here in Hungarian… ummm… they're called here… ~pulls out dictionary [...] then another~ err… humanities (which mine) and… eeeer… (natural) sciences (which is yours).
My experience is (about English) that first it's quite easy. Then after you've started to learn more and more about the language itself… (around Intermediate level) then it becomes more and more difficult (I'm still not sure why there is 12 tenses – we only have 3 in Hungarian… o.O Japanese has only 2!!! @.@), but after you've broken throught the… umm… "intermediate obstacle" it becomes more easier! At least this happened to me…
Though I know what you mean – the first times it was really bothering to search most of the words in the dictionary, but after a time -if you use it frequently- you remember them I suggest you reading fanfictions in English – I'm doing it since I left highschool, one, because there's no other way I can save my English (literally o.O) or improve it, and two, because it's fun^^"

Oops… sorry for the lenght^^" Sometimes words just spill out of my mou…fingers xD  

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1647, 1657>> Wow, I would have thought that Sesshoumaru was… Sesshoumaru's Sesshoumaru… you know?

Ah well. None of my business anyhow. I just like to make fun of him because I like him… and because he's so incredibly easy to make fun of!
—

I enjoy meeting people who originally speak different languages as well! Both Arvael and Kaze are either much smarter than I am, or they are more dedicated to their foreign language skills. I began learning French, but I couldn't really committ….
—

As for this chapter, have we ever seen Sesshoumaru so upset as this?

I agree with Irene, personally. I don't think Sesshoumaru's importance should be downsized. We've seen what he can do, and though Shishinki is one of his father's enemies, and therefore has a bit of seniority, Sesshoumaru is powerful as well. Not all mature or grow wiser from their experiences, and Shishinki just HAPPENS to be missing a good chunk of the left hemisphere of his brain…. (though that doesn't seem to have effected him much as of yet….)

Besides, have a little faith in the elder brother. After all, INUYASHA fought one of his father's enemies and won. Sesshoumaru has just as much potential to kick Shishinki's backside as Inuyasha did Ryukotsusei.

Next week's preview, "Can nothing be done??", also makes me believe that something CAN be done, because no reference would be made if the answer would not be in the affirmative. At least… that's the experience I've had with things like this.  

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Aloha, it's nice to be back!

In response to comment #1644:
Secchan irrevelant? Nay, I say! I believe that it is precisely because of Sesshoumaru's importance to the main plot as the reason why he has persevered thus far, and the 50% of the raison d'etre (Inu/Tessaiga being the other 50%, of course) of this particular story arc. I do agree that things are winding up quickly for The Final Battle, but I feel that the two groups will separate again, especially since Sesshy embarrassed himself (in believing Shishinki's drivel, even to the point of attacking without Tenseiga), but that will be their last parting. There's no way out of this, except to slay Shishinki… And Inuyasha will not be able to take Naraku down without Sesshoumaru's assistance.

Irene's comment (#1647):
Yes. Shishinki killing Sesshoumaru? No way in Naraku.  

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>>1657
Sessho's mine, hon!
But anyway, You talked about english having 12 tenses. Beleive it or not, I don't speak or write in all those tenses, and I'm from an english-speaking country. Mainly there's just the past, present, and future, and sometimes, if we feel like it, we'll toss in the past-present, the future-past, infinative, and all the other tenses I totally forgot the name of. You see, I can speak them, I can't particularly remember what they're called. We learn it in school, but we forget as soon as we leave.

I wonder how good Shishinki is at close combat? That could be his downfall, as Sesshomaru is good at both. Plus, Sessho has never lost a fight legally, except the one with Inuyasha, and that was in favor of the main character who is supposed to win. So whether or not Shishinki is going to lose is irrelevent, it's how long it's going to take him.  

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Anybody have any ideas as to why Shishinki even sought Sesshomaru out? Is there a method to his madness…  

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He likes to have his backside kicked around by exceedingly hot dog demons? Maybe it's a fettish.

That is a good question though. Maybe it's because he just wanted to get rid of Sesshoumaru. I mean, Sesshoumaru's meidou widened considerably in hell, so as the original master of the technique, perhaps Shishinki got wind of it somehow. Even though he says that Sesshoumaru's meidou will never become a full circle, you have to think that he's just a little nervous anyway. Why else would he go out of his way just to antagonize someone he doesn't even know?

Or perhaps despite his seniority over Sesshoumaru he's just as (if not more) immature as his opponent, and he simply wants to pick a fight. He could be a little sore for being beaten all those years ago and wants to take it out on SOMEONE. Of course, not even SESSHOUMARU picks on people for no reason….

OR… He could be trying to take his technique back. Though I don't know why he would do that except to make sure no one else can use it.  

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Maybe he's just itching for a good fight, in one of those cliche I-just-really-wanted-a-good-fight-even-if-it-means-I-die ways.  

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I have the strangest feeling he's somehow /there/ to get Sesshoumaru to perfect the sucker. Perhaps even… consciously there for that purpose. Like perhaps he's a former enemy of their father, later turned to an ally.

When The Kid first appeared, his wording made me think he was an ally. "Would you like to learn the secret of why the meidou is incomplete?"

…I half expect this to work out the same way as the arc with his mother did, from, "Oh shit, disaster!" to, "Ha ha, everything's okay, things were all under control from the start, and now you have a power up!"

Also, I was thinking on the subject of how Shishinki could function with half his brain missing…

Naraku gets blown into shreds of youkai-dough just about every time he appears, and has no problems from losing the functionality of all his organs. The series seems to imply that youkai-insides work in unique ways. For Inuyasha, having his whole chest pierced through is generally only a small inconvenience. Meanwhile for Naraku, all he /needs/ is his heart. Apparently Shishinki's life and the functioning of his body have not got a lot to do with whether his brain is intact.  

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Maybe Shishinki and Sesshoumaru's mom are working together. Also, Sesshoumaru seems to be acting more and more like Inuyasha. At least when it comes to charging head first into battle with almost no stragety whatsoever, and caring for humans. I want to see Rin sacrifice herself in order to save Sesshoumaru and Sesshoumaru not be able to bring her back. I'm sick and I know it. Mwah hah hah hah!!  

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Sesshomaru usually doesn't head in head first, he just knows right off how to handle opponents. Usually he so bored with them, that he doesn't bother even batting an eye.

However Shishinki's gotten under his skin by reopening old wounds that Sessho's been trying to heal. Sessho has a slight chip on his shoulder, and has been doubting himself ever since his father gave him Tenseiga. His self-assured pride is a facade that helps him to cope and not lose face; a defense mechanism as it were.

Sessho has had to learn lessons since day 1:

1) Don't underestimate your brother, just because of his genes.

2) You might be all that and a bag o'chip, but your not a god.

3) Life is precious, no matter whose it is (except Naraku's of course…). Look before you kill.

4)Emotions are not a bad thing.

5) When someone who's close to you's honor is wounded, YOUR honor is wounded as well…

6) There is more to life than power and strength.

7) Humans, though weaker physically, are very powerful emotionally. They can tame the hearts of some of the strongest of demons.

I guess #8 will soon be:
Daddy knows best, you are each according to your gifts, and just because it doesn't make sense to you, doesn't mean you weren't considered.  

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Give us a flashback of InuTaisho already!  

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Just finished reading Chapter 492, and all I can say is: Go Sesshoumaru!  

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