Oh wow! How can I keep my sanity till then! Ah your asking for the impossible!
Hopefully we might be seeing Sesshoumaru's mom soon! ^^  

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Ohh man! This is going to be really hard … I mean, of course they're going to make it in the end … *is actually trying to convince self*
I like the sort of fighting mentality Sesshoumaru has. He's not all "I don't care who kills Inuyasha as long as he dies" – his death won't mean anything unless he is the one who kills him.
Of course if he did kill him I'd die a little inside, haha.
I wonder if somehow they'll combine their youkai in order to both get out alive?  

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…………..another cliff hanger.  

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At least the swords are one now, and we can get on with our lives. I'm curious though, did Sesshoumaru intend to give Inuyasha tenseiga here? It looked like it to me. He said he has his answer and warns Inuyasha to ready himself. And, this battle lasted one whole swing. Maybe I'm reading to much into his actions though.  

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Yup. Inuyasha's gonna pull another "Deus Ex Machina"…  

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Untitled document Its Time For Inuyasha & Sessho To Go Into Hell And Finally Meet Thier Faher…   

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its more likely that inuyasha is gonna pull some new uber-powerful attack out of his ass.  

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wah? tenseiga broke!?!?!  

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Im wondering if maybe they both go into hell and somehow meet there father, then both of them come out of hell with new levels of respect for each other.  

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That would be nice.  

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Last time he was in hell, Sess opened a meido and passed back into the real world. I'm thinking something like that will happen in 504.  

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I wish, Tango, but like that old saying goes, "if wishes were horses, then beggers would ride". It would be nice to finally see Inupapa in the manga.

AND NO CHAPTER NEXT WEEK? OMG STARKS WHATEVER WILL I DO?? SOMEONE HOLD ME!!

Giggled at the joke page. Kept thinking of those old Saturday Night Live commercials about "Oops, I Crapped My Pants!" adult disposable diapers.

Also giggled at the first panel on page 17. Score another one for Inuyasha's severe case of penis compensation. XD

Also, those spikes in Inu's back…I'd call a doctor. That's got to hurt.  

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I agree David, Inu's "black" sword looks just like the MZ has been painted on Tessaiga. The actual script behind the escape remains to be seen. I hope, fingers crossed, that it is a surprise of some kind. It is unlikely but I can always hope.

Starks and patches, thanks for the scans.  

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Sorrel: I am hoping they get out of hell nice and quickly, reunite with their "families", and discuss what happened (either together or after the groups seperate). While I have enjoyed this arc, I am ready to move on to the next one. I also want to see what Kohaku does. I am curious as to which group he joins, as it could dictate weather Sesshoumaru stays in the manga or exits now.  

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I can't keep my sanity until then!!
I'm going to explode by Tuesday!  

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My meidouzangetsuha is pastede on yey.

I'm just so glad IY's back to normal. And it's good for him that those giant spikes missed his spinal cord, but barely. Hanyou or no, that would have killed him instantly. I cringed when that happened.  

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Inuyasha has two major problems. One he and Sesshoumaru are about to be sucked into hell. And the second what about the shouki Inuyasha was poisoned by?
Somehow when Kohaku was poisoned by the shouki snakes, Sesshoumaru managed to heal him and Jaken.
Is Sesshoumaru going to have to 'heal' Inuyasha and if he does will that be a symbol of him letting go of his hatred for Inuyasha?
Just a theory I wanted to share! ^^
Thanks for the scans!  

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Anonymous: I don't know how he could, as he doesn't have tenseiga.

Actually I don't think the shouki has yet actually entered InuYasha's body, so he might be okay. Same happened with Kohaku. Or as long as it's not a heavy dose, it might just slow the heal of his wounds like Sesshoumaru's poison did when Iy got gutted.

Or best yet, maybe Kagome will purify him. *.*  

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Interesting theory, definitely a possibility. In the past, Inuyasha has shown the ability to recover from Naraku's miasma on his own. We'll see though.  

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Finally, some resolution! I'm nursing a rat with a sinus infection right now, he's on my shoulder sneezing, so I apologize for the typos.

Like David said, I think Sesshoumaru definitely gave Tenseiga to Inuyasha – he used Naraku to get the answer to the question of succession that he needed, not to try and destroy Inuyasha. He could have done that part on his own. Which shows his journey of maturing has pretty much completed – he not only willingly disgarded the sword, but willingly bequeathed it to his brother (And in doing so perhaps discreetly protected Inuyasha from Naraku?)

It's a sudden return to the level of maturity we were seeing in the Sessmom arc. (Damn, I miss her.) All the complaint about Sessh 'losing his development' was really just him regressing in the face of psychological stress – a well-documented phenomenon in real psych studies.

Now, here's my question regarding the actuality of papa's 'successor', because it can go one of three ways: One, possession of Tessaiga indicates that Inuyasha is Papa's successor, as the manga is leading us to believe. Pretty straightforward, and we all know by now RT doesn't do straightforward.
Two, Sesshoumaru's ability to let go of standing in his father's shadow means that he is papa's 'heir', whatever that means – as a hanyou, Inuyasha must always rely on Daddy's strength to protect him (Not that that's a bad thing, just a fact of his nature.), while Sessh can rely on his own strength – Tenseiga has been training him for this. Once the boys are out of Hell, Sesshoumaru will exit stage left to go off and do whatever Papa's heir is supposed to do – conquer countries or open an orphanage or make snowcones or whatever.
Thirdly, and this is the one I favor, both of the boys are heirs equally – papa's taken so much effort to help protect and educate both of his sons from beyond the grave that it makes little sense to favor one over the other. At least now Toutousai's around to set the record straight once the time comes.

Lastly, did anyone else see a thematic tie between the end of Tenseiga and the destruction of Toukijin?
Sessh had two swords, the destruction of each signalled a major shift in his character. Once I'm done with my term papers maybe I'll think it through some more and maybe I'll come up with something cool. Or I'll come up with some over-complicated B.S., it always seems to be a toss-up.

All in all I'm rather pleased with how this arc has turned out – it was complex enough to keep all of us guessing and still managed enough twists to stay interesting. It'll be nifty to see how it all turns out.  

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Oh yeah, and Sesshoumaru's expression when Tenseiga snapped? One of my top ten 'awww… see, now I feel bad for you…' moments in this manga. Poor guy, losing the only physical reminder he had of his dad. Always knew it had sentimental value for him, he'd never admit it but deep down Sessh really has an uncontrollable tendency to get deeply emotionally attached to things.  

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Yeah, since Sesshoumaru already knows that when the two swords touch, tessaiga takes back some of its power, he attacked knowing this and the outcome was probably just what he wanted.

Wow…that wasn't really exciting, but at least the ending is near (then end of the sword conflict at least).

I'm not too happy about Inuyasha'a upgrade though, does he really need another one? At this rate tessaige may just become as cheap as the sharingan has in Naruto (but that's completely off topic). What weakenesses does Inuyasha have now, as Totosai said a while back, tessaiga is the strongest sword in the world right now and as long as Inuyasha has it he can't die. Seriously we need a balance of power here, and not in the form of another Naraku upgrade. -_-  

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Mental_Butterfly: Completely agree about Sesshoumaru and his development. I didn't notice the parallels to tokijin, I'm glad you pointed that out.

Two Interesting things to note as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru get sucked into hell.

If they go all the way in, as Sess did earlier, what happens to Inuyahsa? Last time we saw someone with human blood go in, she died. And while Inuyasha is only half human, will going into hell have some adverse effect on him, especially coupled with the miasma Naraku shot at him? It may be that Sesshoumaru must save a wounded and incapacitated Inuyasha.

Second, did anybody else notice that Kohaku was nowhere near his sister. As Inuyasha's group stood to one side of the crater, Kohaku lingered with Rin and Jaken. Maybe this means he will choose to remain with Sesshoumaru and (more importantly) Rin when the two groups go there seperate ways. I have been wondering about this since Kohaku and Sango were reunited. It had not seemed like a happy reunion to me. While this proves nothing, I may be reading to much into it, I do not believe the siblings are ready to travel together yet.

Hopefully IY and Sess don't spend to long in hell. I'm hoping Totosai can give a speech, a nice little bow is tied on this arc, and chapter 505 can be the begining of something new. While I enjoyed this arc it's time to move on.  

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No, David, you're not reading into this too much. Sango and Kohaku are definitely more distant. It must be awkward for them, Kohaku having to face his sister after running all this time, then being told that he's weak in body and mind, and even Sango having to tell Kohaku that to his face and see the pain that he's endured. I'm sure that it hurts her to know that he doesn't want to travel with her after she's fought so hard to get him back. They need to have a one-on-one heart-to-heart.  

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Mental Butterfly: I hope your rat feels better! *loves rats*

Karin: I have been sick of upgrades since kongousouha, which is the last IY upgrade I liked. I agree with IY's invincibility and it's bugging me a lot. At this rate, I want tessaiga destroyed in the final battle if he has to use all those blinged up attacks.

David: I don't think IY has ever been directly infused with shouki though. Someone might be able to prove me wrong, but I think although he's encountered it, it's not entered his body.

On Kohaku and Sango, I think it has nothing to do with who he wants to be with better. I think he's still just avoidant of Sango, because in a somewhat misguided manner, he doesn't want to hurt her.  

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In other words, Sango and Kohaku really need to talk. :  

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Haro: I brought the shouki up as a possibility. I think it is something that may effect next chapter, though there is an equal chance it won't. Same with entering hell. There is every chance Inuyasha is as unaffected by hell as Sesshoumaru is. They might not even make it that far, they could just overwhelm the meido itself. Lot's of possibilities for the next chapter.

With Kohaku it just may be me over analyzing things. Sango had mentioned that the death of their father and comrades remained between them, and would remain until Naraku died. If they do remain apart it would be a combination of that and Kohaku not wanting to leave in Rin.  

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David: Oh I was replying to your comment about the miasma, where you said he could recover from it, not the shouki one. I meant to say has he ever been directly infused with miasma? Of course that will be a good indicator of how the shouki will influence him. He should definitely be more affected than Sesshoumaru by hell, especially with the enormous wounds in his back right now. But probably not to an extreme level. I mean Kohaku was just fine.

I don't think you're overanalyzing Sango & Kohaku. I do think it comes down to Kohaku's avoidance though, for fear of hurting Sango. It's similar to what Miroku is doing regarding his condition right now. I feel bad for Sango. The men in her life need to be more honest. :\  

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Kohaku and Sango definitely need some family therapy. All their problems would have been solved if they'd have just explained things to each other when Kohaku got his memory back, but as usual they had to make things complicated. Maybe that's what the next arc will cover. (One more thing to cover before, say, moving on to the final battle, maybe? Maybe? Yeah, I'm dreaming on this one, I know.)
Anything to avoid another power-up arc. Inuyasha's two steps away from omniscience as it is.

And Haro, thanks for the rat-sympathy. I'm worried about my little buddy, he's on medication, but from experience I know that upper-respiratory issues can turn fatal on rats so quickly it's scary.  

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Kohaku should be more diligent when it comes to changing Toutousai's diapers  

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Before seeing the chapter : Nice timing it is that there's no chapter next week. I have an exam that term. I wonder whether I must be happy or not…   

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After seeing the chapter : This chapter was a little bloody…Naraku is quite smart(well, though he is, Inu&Sesshy will escape well soon in Rumiko-sang's way ) Maybe Sesshy'll do something to get out of Meidou With Inuyasha, hm?^^  

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I laugh when I'm nervous.

That said, I think I could have died of laughter reading the last page. The idea of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha being stuck together in Hell is faaar too amusing to pass up. Yes?

I am sorry, but does anyone else get reminded of Bleach when they heard about the Black Tessaiga?

A good chapter though. Thanks, Starks and Patches! Can't wait for the next one…  

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"That said, I think I could have died of laughter reading the last page. The idea of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha being stuck together in Hell is faaar too amusing to pass up. Yes?"

They could spend the rest of eternity playing Dungeons and Dragons.  

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This chapter pretty much went as I expected it to.  I deffianitly can be patient and wait for the next one.   

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I don't see miasma being a problem, seems the focus is just getting out of hell.Sesshoumaru didn't have a problem last time, true but he didn't stay there long.His mother pointed out, when speaking to Jaken, that he too would die if he remained.The period of time isn't currently defined, that Sess can survive in hell. Inu has yet to be tried.I do see the possiblity of Sess's mother coming to the rescue. Only because she may know more about Inu-papa's "training" then she actually told Jaken.  This arc may be part of it.(Shrugs) You just never know what RT is going to do.  I would perfer it remained between the brothers, you just never know.  

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It would be awkward if sess's mom came to the rescue, even is seems she clearly could.  It would be nice if Sess and Inu had to somehow team up and with their combined efforts get out of hell. 
I look forward to Totusai's full explanation (hopefully) of the father's intentions.
 
   

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Hee – looks like everyone travelled over here!
I really loved this chapter, I think I can only describe Sess's expressions as mostly very "accepting" and a little saddened (I think RT is awesome at giving very subtle hints of his feelings with a slightly altered eyebrow or eye shape). I agree with you all that he knew what was going to happen. It was important that it was *he* who did it, and not Naraku. Like that scene in mice of men when the guy should've shot his own dog (sorry pun).
Perhaps the fact that Inu's out of super-youkai mode and means we'll get to see more of his awesome "underdog yet I win dammit" behaviour from him. My hope is that it's a situation where Sess figures what to do to get them out, complication arises, then Inu uses his willpower to get them out of there via Tessaiga. So they work together, but Inu puts on a damn good show. I dunno how I'd feel if it was anything else, like Sess showing "mercy" or whatever.
On a second note, I think Inupapa's "legacy" is extremely skewed at this point. I think we all, including Sesshomaru, have been taken under the illusion that Tessaiga = inheritance/successorship. Note that nothing has been said on the matter apart from Sesshomaru's assumption that Tessaiga = It. I mean, Tessaiga was created to protect Inu's mother and rightly so their son. This suggests Inupapa didn't think anyone else in his family needed that protection, and so he left it to Inu for the specific purpose of giving him a good chance in life, nothing else. Sesshomaru wouldn't have understood this at the beginning. He just saw "Ohh look daddy left his powerful sword behind – I guess it belongs to me because I'm awesome lol". So I think it's as Inu himself assumed, Tessaiga is a "gift", and it doesn't carry any ties other than that. I mean, I wouldn't want Inu to have *any* obligation to Inupapa, who he never even knew. After they defeat Naraku I'd like Inu to have as much freedom as possible to live with Kagome wherever and however they want. I want him to just be known as Inuyasha not "Inuyasha, son of Inupapa"! That sort of thing is more suited to Sess, someone truly embedded in the feudal age with nothing to do but roam lol.
Anyway the fact that Tessaiga was the only thing Inupapa left behind makes me believe his true legacy is something non-tangiable – the values that he held when he was alive that made him a great lord. I think this legacy is what he left Sess by giving him Tenseiga to train and then lose. Inupapa built his own strength, and he expects Sess, who as a daiyoukai has the same potential as he did, to do the same. But he was also compassionate, and knew there came responsibility when wielding that power. All these things Sesshomaru has begun to learn simply because he was forced to train Tenseiga.
Also we got to see Jaken <3  

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I have this strange feeling that Sesshoumaru will rescue Inuyasha from hell. I think RT will take this opportunity to have Sess take pity on IY, and show him mercy and compassion. Tototosai can then tell them that this was his fathers last test.  

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David: I share that feeling, though I would prefer it otherwise   

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Soldat: I think I would prefer it that way. If Inuyasha saves Sesshoumaru it risks a very hallmarky moment. At the least it will mean that Sesshoumaru has to think (maybe even say) how his brother really isn't worthless. While I don't mind that sentiment, it really would be awful if it were said out loud. And if not, it would be petty of Sesshoumaru, and the character growth that is supposed to come out of this arc would be incomplete. I could see the brothers being forced to work together, but that seems unnecessary. They don't need to be allies for Sess to grow up. Besides they tried that in movie three, and I thought it was only partially successful. If you have Sesshoumaru save Inuyasha, he will have shown mercy and pity for his brother for the first time. Sess can grow up, but doen't need to express it himself.  Let Totosai and Kagome wrap a bow on this arc. There better at those type of things then emotionally stunted dogs.  

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Sesshoumaru probably won't be saving Inuyasha– as far as I can tell, this is just a lead up to more gratuitous swordplot. Inuyasha now has the Meidou, but usually has to learn to use his new upgrades— they don't just fall into his lap. Sesshoumaru knows how to use the Meidou, but I believe he's unable to touch Tessaiga. He'll be unable to give anything except advice.If Inuyasha can open up a Meidou, they can leave Hell. So this is probably just about Inuyasha learning to use the Meidou. We can only hope that a pittance of character development or a surprise visit with someone dead will be tagged on as a grudging supplement to the critical Sword Upgrade #400.5 that awaits.I think that the author has forgotten what is interesting to readers, or somehow convinced herself that the story has always been about the weapons, and should never stray far from the subject of weapons ever again.  

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That was an amazing ending, I like how Sessho inadverdantly saved Inuyasha's life from Naraku, and then he broke the sword knowing it would be absorbed. He had a sad but knowing look on his face.
Naraku should have known by now that Sessho was not trying to kill his brother. He had put him to the test and Inuyasha passed. However, both brothers are getting sucked into the Hell. Will we see someone from their past? What wil Sesshomaru do now that he has no weapon? I mean he was cool even before he started using a sword, but not having one certianly put's him at a disadvantage.  

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Irene: Sesshoumaru meidou'ed Inuyasha and essentially killed him. Naraku was right in assuming Sess would kill him. I guess I don't understand how it's being argued whether Sess was willing to kill his brother or not. He did. However, to Sess, it could only be him fighting IY, because he abhors Naraku. 
David: That being said, on the idea of Sesshoumaru saving InuYasha. My problem, is, what purpose would it serve? There's no need to make InuYasha realize Sesshoumaru's 'not so bad,' because he's not the person who needs development regarding this relationship. At the same time IY saving Sess doesn't work that well either. I'm not too big on either option to be honest.  

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I think Sesshoumaru's going to be the one getting the boys out hell, it'd be the very last step in his path of maturation – he's rejected relying on his father's strength by throwing away Tenseiga, accepted that Inuyasha is destined to have the Meidou by breaking Tenseiga, now he has to prove that he has surpassed his father as Toutousai said he would. (Perhaps by saving Inuyasha, as his father would have. But he wouldn't do it in a grandiose Lifetime-movie kind of way, more in the way he protected Inu from Naraku without looking like he did.)
This whole arc hasn't been about Inuyasha doing anything. He really hasn't contributed anything to it, everything that's transgressed  - Sesshoumaru's mental roller-coaster, Naraku's attempted insidious plot, etc. – has been happening around him and affecting him indirectly. It's not time for him to figure the Meidou out yet, not as long as Sessh still has one more thing to work out.  

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I agree with Mental_Butterfly. Good points. As I said, Sesshoumaru doesn't need to discover Inuyasha's worth. By absorbing tenseiga, Sess has seen what he needs to see in regards to that.  What he has never showed Inuyasha is mercy and pity. If Sess is the one to lead them out of hell, that will be accomplished.  I'm not saying other scenarios are wrong. The way this chapter ended it is impossible to predict what's going to happen next. This is my preferred scenario though.  

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Mental butterfly,  I wouldn't say that  Inu has been affected  "indirectly"  considering he is in hell right now,  and has two nasty looking shards embeded in his back .Perhaps if you say that he doesn't seem as active in the battle, I would agree. Even though he was overcoming the MZ,  in the oddest of ways,  he wasn' t jumping around to do it.  It doesn't quite make him inactive, but  to me it  does almost  " feel "  like he is just setting there waiting for the events to seek him out. No,  I am  not one of the ppl that like this arc. I am not fond of sword arcs for the most part to begin with,  esp when it involves such a unneeded upgrade.  I do like the character of  Sesshoumaru,  just not as much as some do.I do see this arc as the end of his character in the manga, outside of that I see no other point  in having the brothers clash this close to the end.  

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Damn R.I.P. Tensaiga.  Sess's face in that panel said it all so I don't need to comment any further on that.
And Inuyasha gets impaled….yet again, for the 1,000,000th time.  This time he has mutiple spikes in his back and he's still up and running, despite the fact there's shouki coming out of them. That Inuyasha XD.    

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Jeez…How much damage can Inuyasha take?  Not just this time but the countless times in the past.  After being impaled by spikes I doubt you should be able to lift your sword.  He is basically immortal.  
Also I think that one of the appealing things about Inu is that he is a hanyou, who seems to always be the underdog.  I hate the multiple sword upgrades as well, because not only are they incredibly redundant…(now he can thrust foes into hell, and I assume since it absorbed tensaiga's powers bring back the dead?) it detracts from his underdog status. 
Oh yeah, I agree that Sess showing compassion or mercy on his brother should be what happens to end this arc.  This arc is all about Sess, so this needs to happen.  

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I don´t understand why so many people are complaining about the "yet another powerup of the mighty Tessaiga". This arc is not about Inuyasha getting hold of the Meidou power! The whole point of this arc is of Sess letting go his power, willingly. Knowingly. And not in pro of someone random, but his "lowly" hanyou brother. However prepared he could have been to settle the matter of succesion, Naraku was offering him one last chance to hold onto the Meidou. It would have been so easy to be a little bit late in grabbing the sword… and adieu our little hanyou. But Sess – hell, he wasn´t late, he stopped Naraku and he gave up his power because he would not see his brother dead. One hell of a decision (for Sess anyway, he-he). Bet THIS is the reason behind his rather ill tempered remark about being away form unwanted distractions some chapters ago. Couldn´t stand the idea of anyone else bear witness to this. After all, even though he did save Inuyasha in the past, it never cost him anything. Now, it cost him EVERYTHING. I feel half the people are not giving him the credit he deserves.
So, the arc NOT being about Inuyasha getting a powerup, just stop complaining about that. Complain if you think SessAngst is boring (I don´t). And the swords… As I see this - the story can still perfectly develop so the technique is "shared" once again and Sess ends up owning it for good now he has passed the test. After all, 1- Inuyasha is not needing it at, 2 - like Sess said it is the technique HE perfected, 3 – give Takahashi some credit, people!!!! She is NOT doing things without a reason (mostly). Sess is in character again pretty quickly, and so many people whined she was loosing her grip on him. And – the number of reviews and their "heatedness" is incredible of late – a couple of times over a hundred. So complain all you want – you like it and you are itching for more!
Like I am. LOL  

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Sess is letting go of his sword, but the underlying effect of letting go is Inuyasha getting yet another upgrade.  One can't help but to complain about that because regardless, it's an upgrade.
I never thought Sess's character plummeted.  The way he acted when he learned he had to give up the Tensaiga was quite natural for his character, actually.  He had to give up a sword which was the only thing he had left of his father, to his "lowly" younger brother.  But like everyone else has to eventually do, Sess came to accept the inevitable.  However before he could accept it, he had to put Inuyasha to the test, as well as his father's legacy.
The reason why many think his development went backwards was because during the Hell arc, he was ready to just give up mastering Tensaiga when he saw that Rin was dead.  Then all of a sudden, he has to give up Tensaiga to Inuyasha, and he starts obsessing over why his father didn't choose him to be the successor of Tessaiga.  I think his anger was quite justified but at times he did react without thinking things through.  But I guess that happens sometimes, when anger and rage takes over.  

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I'm not sure I translated Miroku's first line in the initial frame of this chapter correctly.  It's incidental dialogue, regardless, so it's not that big a deal, but it's been bothering me this whole time.  Blame Japanese's obsession with not defining its subjects.
The original line was something like "are kara zuibun tatsu ga…", which is literally "From that quite a lot was taken…"  I'd originally thought it referenced "From that (hole in the ground) quite a lot (of ground) was taken…", but looking at it again, I think it's more like "From that (time they disappeared) quite a lot (of time) was taken…".  So now I'm thinking his line might have been more like "It's been quite a while since they disappeared…"  It just seems like a more sensible thing to say than, "Whoa, that's a big hole."  

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Haha, yeah, that does make more sense, but the way you put it like, "Whoa, dude.  Big freakin' hole in the ground!" makes me laugh.  Slap happy tonight, I guess.  That, and I can totally hear Kirby Morrow saying that in a surfer-type voice.  Yikes. Woot!  Smilies!  

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And now I noticed that they don't seem to work?  Eh?  

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yay only another 6 or 7 sword upgrade archs and maybe we'll be near the end of the series! woot  

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*sigh*  Talk about suspenseful agony…  

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D: LOL, God I hope not.I hope this next chapter ties up the loose ends, as suggested by many,  and we can get on with the main story again.  

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>>Mental_Butterfly
I totally agree with you; spoken like a true Sessho-fan! I think that Sessho and Inu will have to work together to get out of hell. I mean, Sessho wouldn't have gone in there if there was no possible way he could get out. Also, what does Sessho get in return after this? He can't be doddling around the story like he was when we first met him. He's gone through too much and developed too much to be left with nothing.  

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Sorrel: Yeah, when I said Inu's only been affected indirectly, I meant that none of the drama's actually been about him. Obviously, he hasn't exactly been offstage while people talk about him. He's got the big freakin' sharp things in his back to prove it.
As for the other debate going on, if Sessh ends up being the one to get the duo out of the Meidou, I'm not sure if it'll be because of any sense of mercy towards Inuyasha – it might be out of a sense of duty to his father. That's why he prevented Naraku from attacking Inuyasha, to make sure that his father's wishes went through to their completion. (He may not be thrilled about it, but he did it.) It would be more Sesshoumaru-ish for him to save Inuyasha out of a sense of duty to his father than out of pity, I think. Although granted that inside the Meidou is where he learned the meaning of the word to begin with. It was the mercy he showed to the dead souls, not the Meidou, that got him out of Hell the last time, maybe something similar will happen again. (I don't think the Meidou works both ways – it's a one-way bubble to Hell. I think Sessh's compassion for the dead created a reverse-opening last time. If getting out was that easy, he could have just swung the sword after finding out Rin was dead and saved himself some trouble.)
I'm rather glad there's no chapter next week – nothing to distract me from my papers on Chaucer, Shelley, and 19th century women's sentimental literature (Which is cooler stuff than you'd think). Soon as this semester is over I'm grabbing my Lord of the Rings and my Silmarillion and retreating into a cave until the pain goes away.  

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Irene: What are we going to do with our 'Share Sesshoumaru Club' if he leaves after this arc?
I suppose we could start a 'Share Prince Zuko Club', after all half the time I want to sit that kid down on my couch, too, but it just wouldn't be the same. (Uncle Iroh = Awesomeness!)  

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Mental_Butterfly: It is possible that it is his pity for (a possibly wounded) Inuyasha that could allow a way out of hell to be found.  

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p.s. Have you read the new Tolkien yet? I still haven't, but will soon!  

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Woah, Woah, Woah…what new Tolkien? I must know.
   

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It's called Children of Hurin. Christopher Tolkien went through all of his fathers old manuscripts and edited the middle section of the Silmarillion into a novel. It will be more like Lord of the Rings, a narrative, and in J.R. Tolkiens own words. It starts with Hurin and Huor in Gondolin, and ends with the death of Turin. It came out last week.  

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David: I think that if getting the boys out of hell is going to involve Sessh feeling pity towards Inuyasha, then a new version of the 'saving 100 souls scene' may happen. I think it'd be hard for RT to pull that kind of thing off without a Hallmark moment, which is why I personally would prefer he not have a big emotional epiphany-type moment, but it's possible. No matter what, I don't see Sesshoumaru giving any obvious signs of exactly why he'd be saving Inuyasha if it came to that. We'll see what happens, and then people will start arguing about it.
I got a copy of Hurin's Children, the cool version with Alan Lee illustrations, but I'm waiting until semester's end to crack it open. (Two and a half weeks. AUGHHH!) I hope Christopher did a good job on it, since his Dad was so attached to Hurin and his story. I wonder if it'll add anything new to the Tolkien conversation – not that there isn't already a lot there to talk about. Of course, now the 'canon/not canon' fight will start all over again.  

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Oh yes, and although I respect the films as an artistic interpretation of the books I'm still pissed at Jackson for changing the end of ROTK. And I shall never forgive.  

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Children of Hurin will be canon. Unlike the Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien did not alter or add anything of his fathers. He just edited the manuscripts into a seamless narrative. Theres so many different versions of each story, it's hard to define things as canon with Tolkien.  

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I love the Narn i hin Hurin…I think it was what it was called in the Silmarillion…I could have it wrong though. This is very exciting. I've been so busy at school, I haven't kept up with what Chris Tolkien has been doing. I will be buying this with my upcoming paycheck for sure. I am still partial to the Lay of Leithian thought.  

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Elise: Yeah, that's the right name. I agree Lay of Leithian is my favorite part. But may not be enough material to form a proper book out of that part. Same goes for the Fall of Gondolin. There is still a chance for a full trilogy though.  

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So much for waiting…I just bought it off amazon. Thanks, guys…once again…I spend money at a not so plentiful time…oh well, I am sure it will be worth it! I can't believe I didn't know about this. I plan on going to graduate school in Elegiac/Medieval studies and Tolkien is the reason for that. And no better nod to Beowulf or any other elegy than the story of Turin Turambar.
Sorry, I realize we are meant to talk about Inuyasha here…I'm done.   

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Elise: Make sure to read the Kalivala (if you haven't already). It is also a major source for the Children of Hurin, as well as the Lord of the Rings proper.  

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That's a scandinavian folk tale isn't it? I hear there is a figure very much like Gandalf in there. I read that in some scholarly article I think. I'll check it out sooner or later. Thanks, David!  

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Hmmm… Back to the Inu / Sess predicament and the people who suggested Sess could save Inu, and do it out of pity. What an impossible and harmful wish! Out of respect – yes please. Out of duty – OK. But pity? It´s unbecoming of both brothers. Humilliating for Inuyasha (who is not weak) and backwards development for Sess for such thinking is pure arrogance.
My guesses/wishes for what´s to come: some talking – more than 2 words, none of them being DIE. As far as I remember that would be a first. Some reluctant cooperation, which does not need to come with a lenghty declaration of intent or a love confession. And equal worth for both participants – this is a brotherly closure, for screaming out loud.  

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Starshine: Keep in mind that Inuyasha may be effected by hell. Not only is he half human, but he's been injected with Naraku's shouki. He may not be dying per say, but he may be injured enough that it falls to Sesshoumaru. Sess may be forced to save Inuyasha in the same way that Inuyahsa has saved Miroku in the past. That would push Sesshoumaru's character forward, not "reluctant cooperation".   

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>>Mental_Butterfly
I will not give up on my Sessho-chan, but a Prince Zuko Club would be great too. All this waiting for season 3 has me stircrazy. I don't think Zuko is truely on the side of evil, however if he has denied all the character development they gave him this past season, I'm going to abandon him. Only the greatest fool would be that stupid.
>>David & Sunshine
I think both of you are right in a way. Inu's been through worse injuries, but he's never experienced hell. This will put him at a disadvantage. I think Sessho will help him, not lovingly or anything, but more of "if I don't Naraku will win and I won't stand for that" kind of stance. I think the two will have a talk as well, and Inuyasha will use what strength he has to cooperate with his bro and get out of hell.  

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David and Elise: Do either of you know of a good translation of the Kalevala that doesn't cost a lot? I've looked at the Penguin and Everyman translations, and they seem subpar, but the most readable translations I've found that are also recommended as being faithful to the work itself are forty or fifty dollars. I'm also looking to enter medieval lit studies in grad school, after I get a second Bachelor's in Classical Literature to go with my literary studies degree. I will be paying student loans even after my retirement account comes to maturity. 
On that note, to anyone on this board who's still in high school, enjoy your social life while you're young, because if you intend on suceeding on college it'll be all downhill after the high school cap and gown come off.
Not that I have a lot of time to read medieval stuff right now – I'm into Dumas again lately, gotta love the swords and damsels thing, then I think I'll cool off with some P.G. Wodehouse before hitting the Tolkien again. (Scheduling my leisure reading. Man, but I'm a nerd.) Can't wait for this semester to be over, it's reslly getting to me right now.  

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As far as any translations go…yeah, it may cost an arm and a leg…but gernally I find a little extra here and there is really worth it. I have not read the Kalevala yet, although I've read plenty of criticism on it. Wish I could help you there, but I am currently still ignorant…but, not for long…not for long.
And MB…I will also be paying my student loans into my fifties…but hey, it will be worth it too? If I can't have the job I love then none of it matters. I'll be fine paying monthly payments if that means all I have to do all day is read, write, and talk about great literature, especially if it involves Tolkien.
Dumas, Dumas. I happen to be in Modern American right now. I've been working on W.Carlos Williams paper all friggin day long. I wish I could just read or watch Anime/Manga instead though. It relaxes me.
I'm just ready for the sword arc to be done. I'm just itching for some Naraku butt kicking as well as Miroku resolution (not to mention Inuyasha/Kagome closure).  

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming out soon! Yeah!  

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Shadow Dragon: I reserved my copy of DH as soon as the drop date was announced. I wanna find out what's up with the crazy Department of Mysteries veil thing! I just hope Rowling's managed to tie up all the loose ends she's presented. That, and I want Lucius Malfoy to show up again. That man is fabulous.  

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Hey, does anyone know when the spoiler for chapter 504 will be out? I know there will be no chapter next week .
ELISE, I agree with you. I can't wait for the whole sword problem to be solved. I mean, it's interesting, but I would like to see Kagome and Inuyasha together.  

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Nina  On the other website IIFJ, starks posted an untranslated version of what he thinks was the spoiler, from what I could get out of it (with the help from google), Inuyasha  and Sesshoumaru  escape (at least I think they escape), and  Sesshoumaru isn't aware but it's time to obtain his own weapon.      So if google and me are right we're heading into a new weapon arc…     

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I don't think it's an issue of "if" Inuyasha is affected by hell; it's "when" he'll die.  We've already been told that Inu, as a hanyou, would be destroyed be hell; that why Sessho, a full demon, was responsible/tricked w/ powering up the Meidou on Inu's behalf.I really think Inu is going to die, and that Sessho will somehow revive him.  This is completely Sessho's fault; you can't consort with Naraku and not expect him to play dirty; and Sessho was so selfishly consumed with his angst that he never even seemed to seriously consider the consequences of teaming up with Naraku. I also think Sessho-Mama is going to enter the picture.  There's still plenty of material for her; rememeber how everyone was wondering how she'd react to Inu?  Well, here's our chance to see that, as well as learn a little more about Inu-Papa.  And we know she has a key to open up a gateway to/form hell.   

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>>Shadow dragon, Mental_Butterfly
I'm a very big fan of Harry Potter, too! I'd like to read that final Vol.7! But actually, I couldn't read 6th book all yet… And though it releases, I must wait about 6 months to be translated&published in my country.(sigh)
 
Maybe or not this would be my last comments in this week. See you later~^^(My exam starts a few days later as I wrote)
 
PS. I found it out some changes. It's nice, Starks^^  

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PS. Ah, wait, Starks. The emoticons are not come in sight.  

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If the anonymous is right (and I see no reason not to believe), and Sess is getting his own sword. Hopefully they will wait an arc. We can get a Kagome arc before Totosai offers to forge the sword, and maybe a Miroku arc while Totosai is forging the sword.  

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God please, no more upgrade arcs.  

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Starks: I really think if this goes into another sword arc, that might be the last straw for me. I won't drop the manga as a whole, but I'm at least going to put it down for a while.
I'm tired of Sesshoumaru and his effing sword, InuYasha's too. It's like they embody all that's gone downhill about the manga. Plus… what has Sesshoumaru done to deserve his own sword? Certainly his one tiny redeeming moment towards InuYasha in the last chapter doesn't cut it after everything before. But RT is if anything, a little overly forgiving of her characters' misdeeds. Forgiveness is great, but you shouldn't reward a character for 90% bad and 10% good.   

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It just goes to show you that Rumiko's lack of forethought is catching up to her. It's almost as if she messed up a detail in the last 25 or so chapters and she's now feverishly trying to correct it.

It also annoys me that Rumiko had a prime opportunity to resolve Kohaku's shard around chapter 500 and decided to simply waste it  

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 Haro! Good grief! This is Sesshoumaru we're talking about! This is probably as good as he's going to get  with him staying in character.  In fact when you think about it Sesshoumaru's not that bad. He could have killed Inuyasha plenty of times.  We have never seen Seshoumaru kill innocent villagers. His biggest problem is his selfish jerky  uncaring attitude.  And Sesshoumaru might not want to get another sword, for all he knows Totosai might add a gimmick  in the sword that once he perfects it , it goes to Inuyasha, plus Sesshoumaru might not want to have a gap in his mouth for the rest of his life.   I do agree with you RT is too forgiving of her characters, why on earth is Kouga considered a 'good' guy when he slaughtered an entire village?       

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I'm still feeling like Kohaku's situation won't be resolved until the very end. I think that the final arc will revolve around Naraku's trap to corrupt and seize Kohaku's shard. Hopefully it will be a long arc, finally leading to the last battle, with Kohaku's life hanging in the balance.The subplot surrounding Kohaku (as well as Miroku) have the most emotional substance of any sub plot left in the story.  And since Kohaku's shard is the final one, it has strategic value to Naraku.   

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Anonymous:  Completely agree.  I'm not expecting Sess to do a complete 180 and change into a nice, caring person towards Inuyasha.  There will always be a heavy rivalry between the two, even though Sess is the main instigator of it.
But NOOOOOOO not another freakin' sword arc.  I can give two shits about Sess getting his own sword.  Shit the best thing for RT to do is write this dude out of the story, to save this from going downhill.  What happened to Kagome?  To Miroku (the one that really needs some spotlight because he really hasn't had any except for maybe one chapter in Sango's upgrade arc)?  I'm not even going to mention Kohaku because Naraku should've had his shard already before Sango even came to the scene.  Out of all the upgrades we've seen in the last 1000 chapters, (yes I'm exaggerating because it seems like so) the only ones that I found even remotely interesting were Sango's, Kagome's, and the Sess hell arc.  In that order, that's it.  The rest have sent this literally to hell.  I can only take so much from the story focusing on one character through 30 some-odd chapters.
PS: Sorry for the language but where ever RT's taking this is just too frustrating.  Get back to resolving the major issues already and stop teasing us with stupid shit (there I go again) like Sess picking a fight with Inuyasha, Inuyasha getting the Meidou in the process, and Sess getting his own sword.  

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…NO CLOSURE? Cripes It's like being forced to ride a lame rollercoaster over and over with RT as the insane controller, shouting "Here we go again!" before pressing the button.
 
I can only assume that RT really wants to get this sword stuff (whatever she wants to do with it) out of the way so it isn't mentioned or focused upon afterwards… meaning we could be in for an awesome sword-less ending to the series.
 
It seems to me she is taking a long road writing something that, with planning, could have been said easily already, or in combination with previous arcs. Man, I have the utmost respect and admiration for RT, but I think her lack of planning really lets her down as a writer. Writing on the fly plot-wise works well with lum, ranma and even maison because they're episodic in nature, but with a narrative story like IY you really can't be adding the odd arc here and there without breaking the flow and causing question marks. Plot-wise you need to know where you're going and how you're going to get there. :/  

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Anonymous: He had plenty of opportunities to kill InuYasha? He DID kill InuYasha in this arc. He thought he was dead, and he dealt the killing blow. There was no remorse over it. It was only by a near impossible twist (and the fact that he is the main character) that IY miraculously lived. He also 'killed' Kagome early series, having no concern for her life and in fact taunting IY over it. Once again, it was only through tessaiga's unexpected power that she lived. Sesshoumaru has dealt killing blows to InuYasha at several points. He could have killed him at several points. He only didn't because he lost the battles.
While we have not 'seen him' kill innocent villagers, he has killed people extremely ruthlessly. (And Kagome was certainly innocent, as was InuYasha). The anime took out a scene in volume fourteen where killed a den of thieves, but if you think being thieves is punishable by death. Well… it's not. They weren't called 'plundering murderous thieves' or anything. They just had some stolen statues. Miroku's a thief too. He's also killed at least one amry of men in the series (volume two), none of which were shown doing anything 'bad,' just resting before heading to their assigned post on the battlefield. Not to mention he slaughtered many seemingly innocent youkai living in the mountains (they seemed to be leaving the villagers alone) to perfect his attack, which ironically he supposedly gained due to compassion.
Kouga killing a village is certainly not 'good,' but it's also not near on the same level. He didn't kill the villagers out of cold blood or so he could have a place to lick his wounds. His wolves did it because that is their natural food. It is the same thing as humans hunting, back when they were hunter/gatherers.
If this is all the development Sess is capable of, he shouldn't receive a new blade in the timespan of the series. Simple as that.
RT is really floundering. If Sess is not written out of the series right now, it can only go downhill. I hope the summary is not the correct one.   

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However, Kouga is not like his wolves.  His wolves act based on instinct.  Kouga has the ability to think through his actions, unlike his wolves.  He could've easily had his wolves not attack the village, but he did.  That makes his stiuation not so much different than Sess's because he had his wolves kill an entire village of humans without remorse.  And what really makes it bad is that the humans didn't even provoke the wolves to meet such an end.  Thankfully Kouga redeemed himself, and in many ways, became the most developed side character besides Kagura.
 
Also, just because Sess THOUGHT he killed Inuyasha doesn't mean that he killed him.  Am I saying that Sess didn't have intention to kill Inu? No.  If Inuyasha couldn't overcome the Meidou Sess threw at him, then it was over for him.  If Inu could overcome it, then Sess would finally acknowledge him as the true sucessor.  Inu was able to nearly overcome the Meidou, until Naraku interfered.  However, as long as Inuyasha didn't get sucked in he wasn't dead.  

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Also remember, nobody said Sesshoumaru has to be an Eagle Scout to get his inheritance. The point of giving him tenseiga was to give him something to care for (Rin), and cultivate the meido for Inuyasha and acknowledge him as the true successor to the tesseiga. This was the fathers way of preventing his elder son from turning into a Naraku like character, someone obsessed with power and domination. Additionally by acknowledging Inuyasha as successor, it eliminates the chief source of conflict between the brothers. Now, while Sesshoumaru does not have to like or love his brother, there is a good chance he will not come back and try and kill him again. I am assuming Inu no Taishou left instructions about this with Totosai. Now that these goals have been accomplished, Totosai is free to make a sword from Sesshoumaru's fang. It is to much to ask for Sess to be a perfect person. All of the characters have glaring faults, many of which will probably be unresolved at the end of the manag. But, Sessoumaru has developed enough that he will be responsible with his new sword.  

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NP: You missed my last comparison. I said that it is comparable to a hunter/gatherer society. They were certainly conscious of their actions. To Kouga at that point in the series, a human was no different than they would consider a herd of bison. And why should it be? Him being conscious of his actions doesn't change anything, so are people, and they still do it. Humans are the prey of his wolves, and he let them have their prey. It is not as if Is it different because humans are more conscious sentinent beings? That's debatable, but all this was is a case of predator/prey. Would you rather Kouga have had a farm where he raised humans for his wolves to eat or something? I am not saying it's necessarily 'good,' and I am glad he came to learn about humans and become, imho the most developed side character in the series (far more than Kagura, love her I do, she is my favorite side character- and of course more than Sess). But to say it's worse than Sess is imho really out there.
Sess killed for no reason. Because the people were 'in his way' or because he had some kind of personal grudge against them that they did nothing to earn, or because he wanted to 'test things out.' Their deaths were a waste. No one was fed, it was part of no natural order. It was pure coldhearted murder.  
Sess believing that he had killed Inu and being okay with it is proof that he WAS willing to kill him (because he wasn't strong enough at that), and that genuine intent is enough. I am not saying he's even close to as bad, but imho that is like saying that because Naraku has not actually killed IY and he could 'do it easily,' means he really doesn't want to. Of course he does. No one will succeed in killing IY because he is the main character. However, the intent is more than enough. Sess has definitely had that intent at more than one point.   

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Sesshoumaru has held back when killing Inuyasha, its not just the fact that he lost. When he had the human arm and Tessaiga, he could have easily ripped out Inuyasha's heart as opposed to putting a giant hole in his chest. Even when extracting the black pearl, Sesshoumaru could have killed Inuyasha immediately after, then went after Tessaiga. It wasn't about Inuyasha, it was about Tessaiga and being right. The time prior to Inuyasha's sealing was an ample amount of time to kill Inuyasha, he had no knowledge of the black pearl being in Inuyasha's eye. He could have even done so when during the night of the new moon, I'm pretty sure that if he could smell the change in Inuyasha's blood when he became a demon, he could figure out when he became a human. Sesshoumaru's crafty, he could have come up with some ingenious plan.
Even befor the battle he could have sent Inuyasha to hell, but he has some honor left. He wanted to prove that he had been right about Inuyasha all along. All his past attempts were just to get Inuyasha to regret what he is, feel weak and worhtless as a hanyo, and admit it. However, Inuyasha accepted himself as a hanyo, fought back, and never once admitted to Sesshoumaru that he was weaker or inferior to him because he was a hanyo. When he could force Inuyasha such a poor lot in life, then he would truly kill him, until then all of his attempts were just to get Inuyasha to admit it, but Inuyasha fought back each time and was spared because of it. Remember in the past when Inuyasha went on a rampage and Sesshoumaru stopped him, he did not kill him, why? Because as he said, he would not kill something that didn't know " <b>who or what it even is</b>" and from Sesshoumaru's mindset he saw hanyo's to be weak and worthless, but Inuyasha didn't, therefore he wouldn't kill him until In uyasha <b>knew </b>it.
It's more about whose right or wrong rather than who deserves what sword. If Inuyasha proved himself to be right, then Sesshoumaru, a "perfect" demon, would have been wrong from  the very beginning and made a mistake; this is the ultimate blow to his Daiyokai pride and arrogance. Inuyasha proved that he was worthy of living, despite being a hanyo, so Sesshoumaru decided that he wasn't fit to live if he wasn't worthy of being Tessaiga's successor. He was quite sure that Inuyasha couldn't prove himself, and if he didn't then Sesshoumaru could be right and prove both the hanyo and his father wrong, which is why he sent the meido, to be sure that he was right. Sesshoumaru's reasons changed. Rather than kill Inuyasha because he was a hanyo, he would kill him because he was unable to prove himself worthy of Tessaiga. From my point of view, I see this as Sesshoumaru's second test, and plan to kill Inuyasha that ultimately failed.
Sesshoumaru only kills with a reason he sees fit, and if someone dies because they were in the way of his attack, then it is their fault, since he doesn't see the need to hold back out of compassion. So yes, he does have a reason to kill, and if others don't deem it reasonable, then that doesn't change the fact that he has his own reasons, he doesn't need to follow anyone elses standards other than his own. To him their deaths weren't a waste, since he gained something out of it.  

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Kouga and Sess are youkai and not human, and RT has made it obvious by now that there are "human traits" that youkai do not possess or are ignorant of (either naturally or through their upbringing), such as compassion, pity or mercy.
 
Kouga doesn't have any personal beef with humans, his kind eating them is just a part of his youkai way of life. Thus humans have their reasons for killing youkai, and youkai have theirs. It's a necessity thing. This doesn't mean he can't like or be friends with a human, but there are facts you can't get away from. It's like you owning a dog as a companion yet accepting there are still people who eat dogs out there because they don't have any other food. Or chickens. Chickens are cute but you'd still eat em, right? And if you don't you're considered very "humane".
 
Sess on the other hand (at the beginning) was very much the reverse of Kouga. He had personal issues with humans because he viewed them as inferior and unnecessary. He killed them if they got in his way or annoyed him and even used them to hurt or ridicule Inuyasha. He refused (and still does) to see them even as "food", which is very different to Kouga's more realistic approach to the relationship. This is yet another view that a lot of youkai seem to have, but Sess tends to embody. The difference is, however, that Sess doesn't seek them out to kill or use. He totally ignores them until they get in his way or have some use. He'd prefer if they didn't exist, whereas Kouga knows it's more reciprocal than that. The significance of Rin was that it made Sess challenge this view.
 
What I'm saying is that the reasons for youkai like Sess and Kouga killing people prior to their last few arcs have nothing to do with them being "good" or not. It's based on the fact that they're youkai and their concepts of "right, wrong, good, bad" are going to be largely different to that of ANY human or hanyou living with their human parent.
 
However I fail to see how this has much to do with Sess's reasons for "killing" Inu in this most recent battle. This was an entirely different matter, and especially not about Sess being a "bad" or "good" guy.
 
For a swordsman, to show mercy in a one-on-one duel is the hugest insult you can ever give to the person you're fighting. Unlike previous battles where Sess has underestimated Inu (and lost), backed out, walked away or even held back, Sess made it clear that THIS time he wasn't going to insult Inuyasha, Tessaiga or his father by not fighting seriously. This meant Sess was prepared to give his all – meaning he planned to use the meidou – meaning that if Inu couldn't defend himself then he was OBVIOUSLY going to die from it. That was what Sess meant by "if you are weak I will kill you." It was a severe warning to make Inu fight at his very best.
 
Yes, the fight was untimely and on the surface unfair (even Totosai didn't expect it to happen so soon). But the way Sess saw it, it didn't matter if it happened now or later on. I mean, from his point of view, he had noted many many times that Inu had been upgrading Tessaiga's power but not his own skill or knowledge as a swordsman (I'm talking stance, form, technique here), so what was the point in waiting? He knows Inu is a capable fighter, but without Tessaiga not capable of defeating someone like Sess. Thus either Inuyasha could make Tessaiga – a blade more than capable of defeating Sess – choose, protect and work with him or he couldn't. Either Inu was capable of making Tessaiga accept Tenseiga now, or never. The fact that he obtained Kanna's shards merely meant an unmissable opportunity. Taking away Tessaiga's powers was the perfect handicap to let Sess see if Inu could do that very thing. That was what the battle was about, and the point where Sess entered the meidou was when he knew the outcome.  

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p.s: This doesn't mean Sess isn't still a total jerk, however. ¬_¬  

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Good points Soldat. I also felt that Sesshoumaru went into this expecting Inuyasha to win. As the true successor to the sword, he could not be killed by his own powers. Since Inuyasha could not overwhelm the meidou due to Naraku's influence, Sess intervened in his brothers favor, more proof that he does not want to see Inuaysha dead.  

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Yeah he's still a jerk. XD
But think about it, Sesshoumaru's truly been hurt for the second time (the first being Rin's death). It takes a lot to hurt a guy like Sesshoumaru, emotionally, and the Inu no Taisho really did it. Out of all the demons Sesshoumaru has encountered he has shown the utmost reverence and respect for his father, he is one of the only demons that Sesshoumaru will ever outwardly praise. He's even hit Inuyasha just for disrespecting father's grave, and curses him for the fact that he has tainted his father's pure blood. For Sesshoumaru his father represents a higher standard of daiyokai, a goal that he, Sesshoumaru, must achieve. More than anything the Inu no Taisho is the one demon that Sesshoumaru has sought acknowledgement from and Tensaiga was his only form of acknowledgement. Aside from that, it seemed as though all the Inu no Taisho has done is mock Sesshoumaru and humiliate him from beyond the grave. Sesshoumaru actually knew his father, he was the first and eldest son, however, the great Inu no Taisho chose to acknowledge his less than worthy, hanyo son by giving him the greater sword. This cut deep for Sesshoumaru, how could his father who he respects, give Inuyasha the greater inheritence, especially when he had done nothing to deserve it. He may have had Tensaiga, which eased part of his anger (being that he slowly began to accept it) but this was soon taken from him as well and given to the lesser brother. Its not about Sesshoumaru needing the sword, its about him getting it just because he is the greater and elder demon. Sesshoumaru just wants acknowledgement. He couldn't grasp the fact that his father even cared for the hanyo which is why he wanted to prove Inuyasha unfit for Tessaiga, Tensaiga, and life; he wanted to be right, he WAS right by his own standards. However, Inuyasha and his father proved him wrong, which was another great blow to his ego and pride. Killing Inuyasha this time, meant that he was finally right which is why there was nothing to lose in this battle. It was a final test, but also a final chance at having the last laugh (figure of speech) which he couldn't obtain.
So yes, Sesshoumaru's true intentions may have been to test Inuyasha, but behind them lied the intent of giving it one last chance to make his father eat his words.  

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Well said, Anonymous.  By the way, if he is provoked by humans who are virtually powerless against Sess, does that mean he should hold back?  While it would be nicer or more compassionate to let it fly, or just scare them away it isn't exactly wrong to defend yourself.  Yes, Sess is not some warm compassionate nice guy, but he isn't a true villian like Naraku…he is complex with good and bad qualities.  However he has definitely grown quite a bit since the beginning, and should continue to as time goes on.  He shouldn't be written out of the series, since he has tracked Naraku for so long he should play some sort of role in the final battle.  Don't forget he comes with the loveable Jaken and Rin as well.
Concerning Kouga, if you are justifying his actions, then you must feel the same way about all the generic demons we've seen destroying villages and eating people only to be stopped by Inu and co.  
The bottom line as has been mentioned before, it all depends on how you feel about the character.  The actions of this current arc have been interpreted really two ways, either Sess is doing this to test Inu and doesn't really want to kill him just prove to himself that Inu is the true succesor, or that Sess is enraged and jealous and wants to kill Inu.  Those who like Sess will always go with the former, those who don't will always go with the latter.  After all we can't read Sess's mind can we?   

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I don't personally think this last arc was about showing up his father and brother. I think this arc was about Sesshoumaru acknowledging his fathers wishes. But, he was the one who cultivated and cared for tenseiga, so he was going to be damn sure that Inuyasha was worthy of wielding it's power. Having proved this, he intervened to save Inuyasha from Naraku, and passed on the full power of the sword.My feeling is that while Sesshoumaru was staring at the sea, he was coming to grips with his fathers legacy. And he was looking ahead, thinking of what his father intended for him after the swords. He has not been disenfranchised by his father. Tesseiga and it's splinter were for Inuyasha. The power of tesseiga raises Inuyasha's station from hanyou to daiyoukai (or there about). Sesshoumaru will get a sword made from his own fang. Where as Inuyasha borrows his fathers power,  Sesshoumaru can realize his own. Besides, does anybody believe Totosai would make Sesshoumaru a sword if the father had not willed it. Do not make the mistake to think that Sesshoumaru's character is tied to the sword. If anything the swords have held him back. Rather then relying on himself, he has relied on his father. Now he can develop his own power.  

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P.S. Anon, why can't it be both. He was testing Inuyasha. But at the end of the day if Inuyasha had failed the test and died, would Sesshoumaru have cried for him. Probably not. As has often been stated, Sesshoumaru is cold blooded and merciless by nature. It has only been through great pain that he has achieved what little bit of compassion he has, and he still has a long way to go before he is as caring as we are led to believe the father is.  

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Karin: I agree. You really got the feeling during the battle that it was really between Sess and Inupapa, and Inu was merely playing a role. I do think, however, for the reasons you said, Sess is under the illusion that Tessaiga is something more than what it is. Inupapa left it to Inu as an act of love, but for his protection, so he would be able to live how he wanted and not get owned by youkai like Sess, but I don't think it has much to do with Inupapa preferring either son – whereas Sess seems to think more along those lines. I mean Inupapa would have had no way of knowing how Inu would turn out, so what's to prefer? Anyway I honestly believe Inupapa is giving out some tough love to Sess through all this. Sess knew his father but his father also knew Sess, and by making him play the servant – cutting his ego down and showing him the importance of compassion, mercy, responsibility and independance is just as great a gift as any sword. …….perhaps Sess was a clingy child. XD (also see below about Sess getting back at dad)
 
David: I agree also. Whilst on one hand, as Karin said, Sess wanted to be proven right or wrong for the last time, it's also obvious that there was a part of him that still respected his dad enough to want his wish to take place. I mean, I think he was a little dissapointed when he threw Tenseiga away "I don't WANT a sword like this (that father didn't intend for me)" To me, this action says that he is still respecting his father's wishes. Naraku's interference made him realise the true outcome and that prompted him to act. If Inu was going to make a comeback and cut Tenseiga, Naraku shouldn't be anywhere near it and Sess should be the one weilding the sword.  

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Yeah, I'm sure that Inupapa loved both, I want to put the blame on him for not clarifying his position on his preferences in references to his sons, but he couldn't have known that Inuyasha would be a stubborn little scamp. :p
He respects his father, and respected him enough to go through with his wishes, but in his own way, where there would be two outcomes, one that appeased his father and one that appeased himself. Either way Sesshoumaru would have at least acknowledged his father's wishes, but had it gone his way, he would have also killed Inuyasha in the process and been proven right.
I'd hate to see how they weened Sesshoumaru off the bottle, and what if he had been breast fed? XD  

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Also I think Anon is right about the bottom line being whether you like Sess's character or not. RT has done a good job at making a character that is both unlikable and intriguing in his particular way, and I can't think of a character she has written before that is similar. I'm not saying he's a more complex character than any of the others in the series, in fact I think he's one of the more simpler ones. But all in all if you don't like his character, it's very easy to discount his precense and role from the story. I secretly think that's why RT made him so bishonen. At the very least fangrrls will like to look at him lol.
 
I find this whole Inufamily sword plot very interesting for those reasons, but as I said I don't think I can recall a previous work where she has tried something like this, and I think this is where RT's inexperience come through. I mean, I think the fact that her artwork tends to rise a few degrees in quality during Sess chapters shows she's actually interested and exploring the writing there and perhaps it's out of her comfort zone so she's trying harder. However, while she's clearly excellent at writing some things, these upgrade arcs seem to be hit and miss, one too many or not enough said, and that's why I think a lot of people are frustrated with them. They just don't flow AS well.   

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karin: lol! For some reason I can't see Sessmom breastfeeding, or anything motherly for that matter XD (probably why Sess is so screwed up) She probably made him go through a deadly obstacle course every morning just to get to a bowl of goat's milk. Oh noes!
 
Inu: My mom died
Sess: My mom throws me into deadly situations every time I see her.  

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Sessmom probably had  a wetnurse to do the breastfeeding.  Yeah it's fairly clear where Sess's cold personality comes from, seeing as father was probably off doing great deeds and fighting great battles much of the time the mother would of had a much greater influence on his personality.  Notice the ice personality and aristrocratic attitude of sessmom. 
By the way wouldn't it be interesting if sessmom got remarried…to Jaken?  (She seemed rather fond of him) Would Sess call Jaken…father?
   

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Jaken is waaaaaaay too sexy for her. Really, she'd be overwhelmed by his unbelievable sexiness. I'm pretty sure that he made her hot just by being near her. Now that's one sexy green beast. XD  

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Sessmom: (!!!) what's going on!!!

Jaken: (in her bedroom with Sango and Kagome) Relax there's more than enough Jaken to go around!  

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 Just testing…      

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I guess this is my computer's problem…Why emoticons don't appear?!    (testing again)     my dear….ha….  

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Starks : Maybe this is not your fault I'll check again after my exam ends.   

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Oh God XD!!  

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Sessmom and Jaken doing…yeah, that's giving me nightmares.  XD  

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Inuyasha is not goint to end up with Kagome. Which sucks because I have waited this whole time to see them get together. It is kind of like the Titus/Yuna effect from FFX. You wait to see them finally get together and it finally happens. As what happened in the chapter when Kagome's brother kept them from kissing.
It sucks because Inuyasha finally has control of the Meidu which means that he will eventually enter hell and retrieve his long lost love Kikyo. It sucks I know but just accept that it is going to happen. Eventually Inuyasha kills Naraku because the Tenseiga is the only weapon that can kill Naraku. As Kagura said before they all went into the demon world and Inuyasha got the Kongo Souha. The Tessaiga has the power of Tenseiga. Tessaiga has the power of Tenseiga now. Inuyasha beats Naraku.   

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Where in the hell are you getting that idea from?  I like traditional (read: angsty/dramatic) Japanese endings as much as the next person, but there's nothing in the manga pointing to this kind of ending.  

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Hell yes baby!  A long draught of boot-leggedness finally puts these two swords together woohoo!  now Inuyasha is gonna take out naraku alright! 
Inuyasha for president baby!  

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It sucks because Inuyasha finally has control of the Meidu which means that he will eventually enter hell and retrieve his long lost love Kikyo. It sucks I know but just accept that it is going to happen
 
Dasayles: …Are you serious? That is umm… not going to happen.  

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Haro, I hope for our sake that Rumiko doesn't read this blog for new ideas…  

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Haha!  Good lord, let's hope not since a lot of the talk lately has been how sexy Jaken is.  

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No worries Kikyo is not in hell, she went right into heaven (Nirvana).

BTW, am I the only one that thinks that by cleansing her soul with Pure Array, Kagome actually killed Kikyo. You know… it's the priestess malice that holds her in this world. Oops… no more malice… see ya..  

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Snow: Well Kikyou outright said in thought when Kagome expressed that she failed, 'Don't cry Kagome, it is my soul that has been saved.' So undoubtedly it's Kagome who canonically saved her soul. But… I don't really agree with her dying because she let go of the malice. It seems more like she was weakened and exhausted her powers on that final arrow, thus dying. Either way, Kagome remains in the dark as to what happened. It was kind of a peeve of mine that RT could have Kikyou say Kagome saved her out loud, but kept it to herself and thus left Kagome feeling like she'd failed- when she'd done just the opposite.

Starks: I heard that RT doesn't have a computer. Maybe that's a good thing. XD  

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this confirms what i sead all along that this fight comesdown to sesshomaru fighting his father who is now dead, notice when he pulled the mirror shard out and sead that the fight was between him and his half brother and that naroku had no longer any part in it. well that was what confirmed what i knew all along. the fight started when sesshomaru concluded that his father intended to give his nothing based on the information that he one day intended for the two swords to join as one remember. and that i has been the reason for their fighting all along. its odd though sesshomaru finnaly gets over his temperary insanity when he sees naroko atenps to kill inuyasha, mabey he stoped it because the fight was between the two brothers and stoped naroko from getting involved. he wanted to finish inuyasha off?  

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No, Sesshoumaru had seen enough at that moment, and had ample enough proof of Inuyasha's place of Tessaiga's successor. By then he had given up on trying to kill Inuyasha.  

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