Chapter 78: Tōtōsai's Rigid Training
It's about mid-morning in Sengoku Edo, the early dew drops still glistening on the grass blades, as three young travelers start their trek back to an old, mysterious well...
"Alright, time to head back and update on home."
"Yep..."
As they steadily trug along, Coraline and her brothers spot Shippo hopping after a grasshopper, having little worry in the world. They smile at his childish antics, before waving off:
"See ya later, Shippo!" "Catch ya later, kiddo!"
"We'll be back in a day or two!"
"Bye! Come back soon, and don't forget our yummy ninja treats, okay, Freeman?"
As that twin calls back,
"Of course," Coraline looks around and notices someone missing:
"Hm...Say, Shippo: You wouldn't have happened to see where Inuyasha's gotten to, have you?"
"Huh? Yeah: He took Kilala and left first thing this morning."
Sango and Miroku catch up as the former chimes,
"I think he was going somewhere far away," and Miroku adds in an afterthought,
"There's only one place he could be headin'..." Coraline asks,
"And that would be...?"
"There is only one man who understands Tessaiga's true power and that is the man who forged it."
Sango immediately knew who the monk was referring to:
"Oh, you mean Tōtōsai? Inuyasha must be planning to break through Naraku's barrier."
Besa hms and replies,
"That makes sense," while Coraline wonders,
"But is there anything more the old man can provide? I mean, given what he's said already regarding the Backlash Wave..."
Freeman shrugs and says nonchalantly,
"I guess we'll find out when Inuyasha's back."
I just hope the swordsmith doesn't drive him so far up the wall that he'll decapitate Tessaiga's creator.
Scene Shift: Tōtōsai's Lair
As Mōmō the three-eyed cow ate some grass outside the old volcanic cave covered by a demon's skull, with Kilala hanging around with her, inside, Tōtōsai was hammering away at a piece of metal for a new weapon while Inuyasha sat near, trying to talk to the other about finding a way to bypass Naraku's new power:
"Tōtōsai, you must know a way that I can break through any barrier no matter how strong it is."
The swordsmith pauses his work and ponders the thought:
"A technique to break through any strength...It's not like there isn't a way, more like there is a way."
"Which is it?! I have to get stronger while Naraku's laid out and out of commission!"
Tōtōsai hms and scratches his head, but his thoughts were drifting to other priorities:
Oooh, it itches! That's right: I haven't bathed in over a week...
Inuyasha watches the swordsmith, his thoughts more focused:
Knowing this old fart, he probably won't just come out and tell me the answer...I gotta be patient and pry it out.
"You gotta help!"
Meanwhile, Tōtōsai had shifted to scratching himself all over:
Oh, dear, I'm itchy! My back is itchy too!
Inuyasha continues his persistence, trying to remain as cool as he could:
"Tōtōsai, I need you to teach me how to bust through Naraku's barrier!"
Oooh, the itch! I need a bath!
"Isn't there something I can do as training?!"
A bath...I'll need a few things to get ready...
"Oooh, but I'll need so much water..." Inuyasha raises a brow at the mutter:
"Water?"
It's so much hard work...
Inuyasha continues to look confused, as Tōtōsai kept thinking within and aloud,
"There needs to be enough water from the bottom of the valley to fill the tub, then the wood out back has to be cut into small pieces of kindling for the fire!"
Aah, humbug: Preparing a bath is so much work for one person...
Not aware of what the old swordsmith was really talking about, Inuyasha moves to a stand with eagerness of getting started on 'training':
"Cut the wood? Is that my training?"
"Training?"
"...Master!"
"Hm?" "Huh?"
Tōtōsai and Inuyasha then hear a young man calling from outside, and go out to see a small lynx demon kowtowing in front of the entrance, to which the former would recognize:
"You again. What is it this time?"
"I'm not goin' away 'til you help me."
Getting a better look, this young demon had tan-coloured fur all over his body and dark brown hair cut short on his head, small cat ears, whiskers, a short bushy tail, black eyes, paws for hands and feet, and wore a dark blue kimono with an aqua green undershirt and dull blue pants.
Inuyasha asks causally,
"Hey, who's the little fox demon?"
"I'm no fox! I'm a lynx! And I've asked Master Tōtōsai to train me."
"Oh yeah?"
"He's gonna teach me all the techniques I need to break through a demonic barrier!"
As said swordsmith scratches an area on his, (cough) rear, he thinks to himself,
It really itches...Wait: I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth!
He then clear his throat and says more seriously,
"I want you two to fetch some water and chop up the firewood."
Inuyasha got enthusiastic:
"I knew it! That's my special training!"
"Nawwh, don'tcha know anything?!"
"Hm?"
He looks down with an annoyed glare at the lynx demon, who states matter-of-factually,
"The fetching of water builds up essential muscles, and the cutting of the wood improves your swing while fighting. Every single tack has a special significance."
Inuyasha's eyebrow twitches, as the lynx proudly adds,
"Father told me that's been a tradition on the continent for four thousand years."
"Oh yeah? (Looks to Tōtōsai) So I finally worn ya down and you're gonna teach me how to break the barrier!"
"No, I simply wanted you to help me wi-"
Inuyasha slaps the swordsmith's back a bit hard while adding without listening,
"Why didn't ya come out and tell me from the start?"
"Hm?"
"Oooh, so I guess in order to learn this special technique of yours, I gotta build up my strength first."
Inuyasha folds his arms with a determined smile:
"Fine then: I'll stay here and train with ya!"
"Hold on!"
Attention is turned back to the lynx demon, as he points to a shabby-looking hut and says,
"I've been staying in that hut for ten days waitin' for him to teach me, makin' me senior apprentice!"
"You, senior?"
"Don'tcha know anything? In the world of humans, there's a whole system of apprentices: The one who came first is a senior brother. Now quit your dawdling and follow me, junior!"
With that, the lynx demon begins heading off to start on the 'training', leaving Inuyasha to fume:
"Junior?!"
"Now hurry up, little brother!"
"Feh, this is ridiculous..."
"(Distant) What's takin' ya?!"
Though somewhat frustrated, Inuyasha begins to head off to catch up, calling back,
"I'm coming, ya little pest!"
Tōtōsai watches them go with an incredulous expression:
They seem to be under the wrong impression...(Smile) but I'm gonna get my bath!
Inuyasha's POV
I took off without sayin' a word to Coraline and the others, and learning this skill from Tōtōsai might take longer than I thought...
I'm now sitting on a rock by the river in the lower valley below the old man's cave, watching as the little lynx tries to carry a pail of water that was obviously too big for him...
"Hey, kitty! That's too heavy for a little guy like you!"
"Don't call me 'kitty', the name's Bunza!"
I hear something in his back pop, so I know he's definitely pushing it. I calmly call to him,
"Careful you don't hurt yourself, Bunza."
"Mind your own business! I'm gonna train real hard and Master Tōtōsai will teach me the method first!"
...He's got the determination, I'll give him that.
"Yeah, whatever you say. How come you're so desperate, anyway?"
...He doesn't answer my question, and a few seconds later, Bunza falls face-first to the ground, the water spilling from the pail on him...I sigh a bit tiredly, before deciding to cut the kid some slack and give him a hand.
...I'm now walking up the path back to Tōtōsai's, with three pails of water on a pole slung over my right shoulder...plus the stubborn lynx:
"Hey, let me down! Let me down now, junior! You listenin'?! This won't get me anywhere! Put me down at once! Don't you make me angry! Are you even listening?!"
I hear him slip out of the pail harness and try to climb the pail to reach me, but pulls another muscle in his back. I look to him and chide,
"Look, I told ya, you're going to hurt yourself."
"Whatever it takes to learn the skill!"
...Sheesh...He's like a mix of myself and Shippo.
As soon as we made it back to the cave and dropped off the water, we got started on chopping the firewood. Of course, I had an easier time in wielding an axe than Bunza, who could barely lift his up. At one point, he almost cuts me, but I scrambled back in time:
"Hey, watch what you're doin', you fool!"
I notice how exhausted Bunza was, and while my tone suggested annoyance, I just didn't want him killing himself:
"Go sit somewhere out of trouble!"
"No! I gotta keep up the training..."
He tries to lift the axe again, but the weight ends up making him stumble backwards, before the axe drops and pivots the little lynx into the air!
"Waaah!"
"Oh no!"
I drop my axe, and speed over to catch Bunza in time...
"How many times do I gotta tell ya? You're gonna get hurt!...Huh?"
It was then I notice how flushed and sickly he looked...
"Hey kid...you're burnin' up!"
Shoot! He must've reached his limit!
I rush him to the old shack and lay him down on a pile of straw, covering him up with a blanket before heading out to grab a basin of water and cloth to help bring his temperature down. As we sit in the hut now, he tells me something that shocks me:
"Are you serious?! You mean to tell me you haven't eaten for days?!"
I put the cold cloth on his forehead, and he replies with a weak voice,
"...Thanks. Sorry 'bout this."
"Kuh, and you stayed in this drafty old hut for ten days, huh? Well it's no wonder you've come down with a fever."
"But I didn't have any choice. I have to learn how to break the barrier..."
"First, you gotta get better. I'll bring you somethin' good to eat later, okay?"
As I begin heading back outside, I hear Bunza ask,
"I don't get it...So how come you're being so nice to me?"
I pause...before replying simply,
"Who knows...Maybe it's because one of my friends is the same age as you are."
With that, I leave to let the kid rest...
At the same time, in Kaede's Hut, No POV...
"Ah-ah-achoo!"
Shippo suddenly lets out a sneeze as he sits with Sango and Miroku in front of a fire inside Kaede's Hut, prompting the demon slayer to ask,
"What's the matter, Shippo?"
"I think I'm getting a cold." Miroku makes another suggestion:
"Either that, or someone is talking about you behind your back."
Shippo rubs his nose while looking up in thought...
Back to Tōtōsai's
While Bunza was sleeping off his fever, Inuyasha continued his 'training', he now fueling up a kiln outside the cave with firewood and using a bamboo tube to blow on the flames:
(Fooooo...Foooooo...)
"Great idea, Tōtōsai! This'll build up the strength in my lungs!"
At the top of the kiln, said swordsmith was relaxing in a large tub of the hot water:
"Haaah, what a fine bath..."
"Old man: Just holler if there's anything else I can do for my training! The faster I master this technique, the better!"
Tōtōsai looks down at the dog demon in confusion:
"Training?"
It was then that another elder demon came hopping by:
"Hey, hold on here!"
"Hm?"
The swordsmith looks down, and sees Myoga addressing him from atop the tub rim:
"I hear you're making Master Inuyasha train; is it true?"
"Well, actually, I only wished for some help in preparing my bath. Fetching water is such a chore for an old man. It's not my fault if he thinks this is some kind of training..."
They look down at the 'hard-at-work' Inuyasha as Tōtōsai adds,
"He's the one who's jumping to all of the wrong conclusions..."
Myoga watches the dog demon and comments with some nerves,
"I've never seen Master Inuyasha working so hard. (Turns to Tōtōsai) Do you have any idea what'll happen if he learns the truth?"
Both elders envision such a scenario, the outcome being rather, violent...
"The mere thought of it is making me shake with fear!" Tōtōsai was just as nervous as Myoga:
"Oooh, and it's giving me goosebumps!"
It was then that Inuyasha comes up to check on the old swordsmith:
"Huh? I came to scrub your back, but you look cold. (Turns back) I'll go back and stoke the fire."
As the dog demon heads back down, both elder demons look to one another nervously...
Small Time Skip
As evening rolls in, we find Inuyasha and Bunza eating together in the old shack, the latter eating his share of fish and rice rather ravenously (though given how long he's gone without eating, it's understandable why he'd be scarfing it all down...). Inuyasha watches the lynx eat, before he decides to give him his own fish:
"Here. Have mine too."
"Hm? You sure?"
"You're sick. Just take it, okay?"
"Thanks."
As Bunza starts digging into the second fish, Inuyasha decides to pose that earlier question:
"...How come you wanna train so bad?"
The young lynx pauses, looking a bit unsure of telling his story, which Inuyasha would notice:
"Aw, forget it. You don't hafta talk about it if it's that hard for ya."
...But then Bunza places the half-eaten fish down, and forms a serious expression before complying with answering:
"A demon by name of Nanafushi took over the mountains where me and my lynx tribe live."
Flashback
We see several lynx cats being attacked by a giant demon with the resemblance to that of a praying mantis...
Zooming out, the mountain is now clouded with a massive barrier with the cats standing outside it, gazing at the landscape helplessly...
"He blocked off the mountain with a barrier, so we couldn't even gather food. We were totally disrupted."
The lynx tribe is then seen having a meeting led by a larger anthropomorphic lynx Bunza was standing by...
"My father's the tribe leader, and he said that Tōtōsai is the only one who can make a weapon strong enough to break the barrier, and that Tōtōsai would know the technique to do it. But the old man's eccentric and refuses to teach just anyone. Well, that's what father told us..."
With that thought in mind, some of the lynx demons decide to fare elsewhere, not having confidence in Bunza's father...
"People are starting to doubt and turn their backs on Dad..."
End of Flashback
By this point, Bunza was fighting not to cry tears of frustration:
"It's, maddening! I want everyone to look to father as their leader again!"
Inuyasha listened to the lynx demon's tale from start to finish without interrupting, and Bunza wipes his eyes before adding determinedly,
"And that's why I have to learn how to break down the barrier, for my father's sake!"
He then goes back to eating the fish...only to pause, when he hears a mewing coming from outside:
"Who's there?"
He rushes outside, and finds an orange tabby-furred lynx laying on the ground unconscious:
"Torako! Torako, is that you?!"
Bunza brings the tabby lynx inside the hut, and offers the fish to his exhausted companion before asking,
"What're you doin' way out here, Torako?"
Torako doesn't reply in people speech, instead meowing four times anxiously, which Bunza would understand:
"That's terrible!"
"Hm? What'd she say, Bunza?" He replies to Inuyasha,
"My father's gone to attack Nanafushi!" The dog demon widens his eyes, and Bunza adds,
"Even though he doesn't know how to break the barrier, he went inside to take back the mountain for the lynx tribe..."
He grits his teeth while forming a fiercely determined expression, before taking off from the hut, much to Inuyasha's protest:
"Wait, Bunza!"
But the young lynx's mind was fixed on one person:
"(Pant, pant) Father...Father!"
He runs up past Tōtōsai's cave, before he spots a particularly sharp sword among an array of new weapons...Meanwhile, the swordsmith was sleeping outside on top a large wooden table, when the sound of Bunza running past with the sword in hand stirs him awake:
"Hm? Huh? (Looks around) I could've sworn I sensed somethin' just now..."
Myoga peers around and asks,
"You did? Like what?"
"...Old man!"
It was then Inuyasha runs up to Tōtōsai (with Torako in his arms) to ask,
"Did Bunza come around this way?"
"Huh? (Widens eyes) Oh! Maybe that's who it was!"
"Which way did he go?"
"Guh, that way?"
Inuyasha begins running in the direction Tōtōsai was pointing, muttering to himself,
"Crazy kid," leaving the swordsmith blissfully unaware of the situation, his mind on the bath he had earlier:
Aaah, that feels much better...
Inuyasha's POV
Thinking fast, I get on board Kilala with Torako to search for Bunza from the air...I ask Torako,
"Is this the way?"
She meows in confirmation, and we eventually find a line in the trail down below that had been drawn into the dirt thanks to the large sword Bunza was dragging along:
"Huh? There he is!"
Oh for god's sa-He's seriously trying to use a blade that large?!
"Bunza! Bunza!"
I have Kilala fly down so I could scoop up the lynx, much to his surprise:
"Inuyasha!"
We're now all flying along to where the lynx demon tribe's mountain is, and I call back to Bunza,
"I'll help you save your father!"
"...No thanks."
"How come?"
"He's my father! I'll rescue him! It's got nothin' to do with you, it's not your responsibility!"
I growl in exasperation at this kid's stubbornness before I shout,
"Spare me!"
I hear him make a sound of anxiety, before I add a bit more calmly but sternly,
"You were the one who said we were brothers. Senior and Junior brothers...Isn't that enough?"
...I hear no response, so I make a fist a him and bark,
"I'm still waiting!"
He then nods several times quickly...Eventually, we made it to where the huge barrier was, with the rest of Bunza's tribe hanging around outside.
As we land, I notice one lynx demon that was inside the barrier, but had fainted:
...That must be Bunza's old man.
"Father!"
"No, wait: He's trapped inside the barrier!"
Bunza stops and looks at me with disbelief, before looking back and replying,
"You're right! Still, how'd he get inside there?"
One of the other lynx demons walks up to Bunza and explains what happened, he translating for my ears:
"Nanafushi wanted to kill father, so he opened the barrier to let him inside...Father knew it was a trap, but he went inside to save the rest of the tribe! (Raises the sword) My father put his life in jeopardy and chose to fight as the brave leader of the lynx tribe!"
I knew what Bunza was planning on doing next, so I step up to do the work for the kid:
"Hold it. I'm gonna go in."
"No! He's my father, and it's a son's duty to save his own father!"
Keh, maybe...but I can name a certain girl who would argue it can be the other way around too...
"Then I'm goin' in as your junior! (Smile) Is that alright, big brother?"
"(...Smile) Sure thing, junior."
So with that decided, Bunza and I walk up to the barrier to enter together. I tell him reassuringly,
"Your father is going to be alright. I'm sure we can make it in time to save him."
Next thing I knew, the kid leaps up in the air with a war-cry to attack the barrier with the sword he took from Tōtōsai's!
"Stop, Bunza!"
(Swing, Bzzzt)
"Aa-aa-aaaah!"
Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to break the barrier, so the energy threw him back onto the ground.
I run to his side and scold him for his recklessness:
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"It didn't work...I couldn't do it! I wasn't strong enough to save my father!"
It pained me a bit to see his heartbroken expression, but I chide back encouragingly,
"Don't be so sure. (Looks at the barrier with a smirk) I think your attack has left Nanafushi pretty worried..."
...And inside, I see some trees rustle, and an owl flies out while screeching nervously, while something big skulks in the shadows...
"That's him!"
A pair of red eyes leers menacingly from between the tree trunks, and Bunza adds more nervously,
"Here he comes..."
"Yeah, that's right..."
The beast finally pokes his face out, their guise being an ugly-looking giant mantis, and I holler out tauntingly,
"Why don'tcha quit hidin' like a coward and come out and fight us?"
Nanafushi takes the bait and shows himself fully...
"That's more like it, mantis!"
The demon then tries to hit us with a miasma of sorts, so I use my fire rat robes to shield Bunza and I, before snatching up the kid to leap out of firing range...I cover my nose from the strong scent and grumble,
"Some nerve. Fightin' from behind the barrier..."
I then pull out my Tessaiga and call,
"You're done, coward!" Bunza was in awe at my blade:
"Whoa! Look at that!"
As Nanafushi growls at us, I say to the kid,
"We weren't in training with Tōtōsai for long, but now's as good a time as any, to start roping the rewards. This guy's gonna be my guinea pig. We only trained for that one day...I'm puttin' everything we learned into this sword!"
"Yeah! You show 'im, junior!"
"Watch this..."
I begin building power into my Tessaiga, before unleashing it all on this bug-eyed creep:
"Wind Scar!"
(SLASH)
My attack travels up the entire barrier...before it dissipates completely! Bunza cheers in victory, but the fight wasn't over yet, on account that Nanafushi was still standing...
The monster leaps at us, and I charge back, before hacking one of his legs off!
...But upon landing on the ground, I turn around and see that the mantis was not gonna go down without a fight, as his leg grows right back!
"Kuh, you wanna another go at me? Fine!"
I charge at him, and he tries to claw me with one of his arms, to which I'd dodge, before bringing the Tessaiga on him again:
"Hrrraaaaaahhhh!"
(SLICE)
...This time, I got him right down the middle, and his body disintegrates flesh and bone into nothing...
"That was amazing...Hey, junior: Master Tōtōsai taught us more than I realized!"
I move to a stand and smile at the kid while replying,
"Looks like. Ya know, Bunza, I do feel an awful lot stronger than I did before."
Time Skip, No POV
Come the next morning, Inuyasha would ready on Kilala to head back to Tōtōsai's, with the lynx demon tribe seeing them off from a cliff poking out from the mountain forest, including Bunza:
"Keep up with your training!"
"Same with you, Bunza! You saved your father; now you must become the tribe leader one day!"
"I'll see you again, right?"
"Definitely!"
With that, Inuyasha and Kilala fly off, while Bunza runs to the cliff edge to call out once more,
"Come back and see me sometime...okay, brother?"
Eventually, the dog demon and twin-tailed cat demon make it back to the swordsmith's volcanic cave safely...
"Where have you been, Inuyasha?"
"Uh, just out. Anyway, I have to thank you. That training of yours was great! I'm alot stronger than I was before I came."
Tōtōsai gapes at Inuyasha...before forming an apologetic expression:
"Stronger...mmh...I shouldn't have made you do those things."
"What're you talkin' about?"
"Mmm...This is hard to admit. You have in fact become stronger and I dunno what I'd have done if you'd been hurt if you confronted Naraku's barrier...Oooh, thank goodness you're okay..."
"I still don't know what you're talkin' about."
"There's no way you could've gotten any stronger..." That was when Inuyasha slowly clues in on the truth:
"You mean, that, training was...?!"
"What training? I simply wanted to take a bath."
Inuyasha's jaw drops, and Myoga hops onto his shoulder to chime,
"What a surprise...You jumped to the wrong conclusion."
Tōtōsai laughs nervously and says,
"You see, I haven't bathed in such a long time, heheheh..."
Inuyasha's expression (as accurately fantasized by the elder demons) grows dark and menacing:
"Old man...You're saying there's no method to breaking Naraku's barrier?"
"Daaah, i-it's not as though they're isn't, b-b-b-but it's not as though there is!"
(...BONK)
Luckily, the swordsmith would not be murdered today, and only received a bad bump on the head courtesy of a pissed off dog demon:
"That'll teach ya!"
He then walks out of the cave to board Kilala and head off back to the Goshinboku Village, grumbling,
"Useless old man...All that hard work for nothin'!"
With how vague and senile that fool is, I'm better off askin' that Yoshi character for training tips. From what Coraline and her brothers have told me...human or not, he may be more useful.
Back in the cave entrance, Tōtōsai watches the dog demon go while muttering,
"He's such a rash young man, and he left just when I was gonna tell him!"
Myoga asks,
"Tell him what?"
"He must be laboured so hard and persevered, so I thought I'd teach him the method in becoming stronger, thus enable him to break the barrier."
"Is it the method I'm thinking of?"
"Yes! You tell him for me, would ya?" Myoga nods:
"Count on it...(Smile) By the way, you're lucky you only got away with just one lump."
Small Time Skip
After a while of flying through the skies, Inuyasha and Kilala would close in on the Goshinboku Village, specifically, Kaede's Hut, with the dog demon thinking to himself,
I was away the whole night without telling everyone. They must be worried...
Once they land, Inuyasha pushes back the wicker door and calls cheerfully,
"Dry your tears everyone, 'cause I'm back!"
...But when he gets a better look inside, he sees that the others were digging into a large amount of ramen, potato chips, and various other treats! Miroku and Sango comment respectfully in jubilant tones,
"Ninja food is always so delicious!"
"There's nothing that even competes with this flavour!"
Coraline looks up at the approaching dog demon and smiles:
"Hey, Inuyasha. Welcome back!"
"(Rushes up eagerly) Ha! Where's mine?" Shippo replies,
"You weren't here, so I ate it."
"You what?!"
Freeman lightly scolds the fox demon:
"Shippo, you know better than to tease Inuyasha about food."
Coraline lightly shakes her head, before reaching behind her satchel to pull out two prepared cups of ramen, and two apples to give to the agitated dog demon before his temper could flare:
"Here: I had this gut feeling you'd be returning today, so I saved these for you."
Inuyasha stops glaring at Shippo, and turns with a look of surprise at the smiling redhead:
"You did?"
"Mhm."
"Um, (takes the offered food) thank you...Were you worried while I was gone?"
"A little, but I knew you'd come back...just like you know I'll always come back from my era."
Inuyasha sits down and looks at the food, then back up at Coraline, noticing her smile looked, brighter than usual:
"...What's with that little grin on your face? Somethin' good happen in your era?"
"May~be..."
"Keh, then spill it already."
"Alright: The reason there's a bigger spread of food than usual, is me celebrating getting an A+ on my Science Exam!"
Inuyasha cocks his head in confusion, and Coraline giggles a bit before adding,
"It's the highest mark you can get on an exam, which pretty much puts me among the best of the best in my schooling."
"Ooooh...Good for you."
She smiles and nods, before asking with a more curious expression,
"Sooo, how'd it go at Tōtōsai's, assuming that is where you headed off to yesterday? Did you find a way to strengthen Tessaiga's blade?"
Inuyasha makes a disgruntled expression and scoffs, prompting Coraline to ask with a sad smile,
"That bad, huh?"
"Oh where do I even start?"
Besa chimes,
"The beginning would be good..."
Inuyasha takes a couple bites from one of his ramen bowls, before obliging, and the rest of the morning would be filled with the story of Bunza and the mantis demon...