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.

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.

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.

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.

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.