Mukuro is NOT that short, I refute you official materials, she's gonna be taller than Yomi when I draw her ( sharing this though because Hokushin's gleaming head made me LAUGH as a fellow bald man )
¡EL EQUIPO DE LA ESTRELLA YA ESTÁ COMPLETO!
Arte creado por: _cokypan_ (Instagram)
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Contrincantes del Primer Examen Chunin
I really do not understand the decisions made for YYH anime. Like in CB arc, Hiei easily dispatched of Hagiri. Hagiri wasn't even able to shoot at him. Hiei easily stabbed him with no explanations if he did it fatally or not. Also, Hiei's sword got bloody from a backstab.
In any case, I think Kamiya, Amanuma and Hagiri were always meant to be killed by the main characters. That's a human kill from Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei. Enough reason for reikai to persecute them after CB arc, leading them to makai with better reasoning. But Jump slapped Togashi's hand to not make YYH "heroes" too dark and to lessen how bad Sensui had gotten because he's meant to be a villain to "sympathize" with.
If these characters were killed without reviving them, the demon trio will have more emotional baggage in makai arc, or at least Kurama and Yusuke will. That will also explain better how Yusuke was able to just see humans as food supply while talking with Hokushin and eventually talk about forcing Raizen to eat people he kidnapped himself.
Togashi wanted to deconstruct these characters and flesh them out but he wasn't allowed to so maybe in CB arc, only Mitarai and Itsuki were meant to survive from Sensui's side.
'Her majesty queen Sota of Tourin is hereby formally inviting you to a sakura viewing party. There will be ample food, drink, and activities, so we hope you can join us!'
"Hokushin I know I shouldn't be too casual with these invitations, but they sound like wedding invites."
Hokushin: Please don’t say that I don't want your father getting the wrong idea.
fight / flight: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 (this is it!)
Alt text, full transcript and commentary continue below the cut.
A YYH North Bound story. This is “fight / flight" part 5 of 5 parts. This takes place after I Heard A Cicada Cry and Survive.
[page 32]
*A flame on a stand flickers in a room. A pair of hands wring out a piece of cloth. Hokushin, hair loose at his shoulders and upper body and arms bandaged, is sitting up in a simple floor-bed, his armour off to the side. Tomoe Gozen, her back to him, is just to his left with the cloth over a wooden pail.*
[page 33]
Hokushin: Lady Tomoe... Thank you, but… I cannot help but feel that your efforts with me are wasted.
Tomoe: Was it not you who told me you were commanded to seek out a master to serve long and well? Are you going to fail him now?
[page 34]
Hokushin: *Tomoe's words sink in, and his expression is devastated. He lowers his head, face in his hands* Ha... ha ha ha... ha ha... *he lowers his hands* Lady Tomoe, I owe you a great deal-
Tomoe: You owe me nothing. You have saved the lives of a number of our men, and of Lord Yoshinaka himself, enough times. This is the least I can do.
[page 35]
Tomoe: You may be a demon, but… *she gets up and walks over to Hokushin, cloth in hand, as he looks up soberly at her* I have seen the words your actions speak. And now you must go.
[page 36]
*Hokushin says nothing, only continues looking at her*
Tomoe: *closes her eyes and turns slightly away from him* I know what you are thinking. I heard what Enma Daioh’s emissary said. I will not leave.
Hokushin: It will likely be the path to your death.
Tomoe: Ha! You forget, rokurokubi. I am human. Every day I live is the path to my death. And what of you? Would you not have stayed with Semimaru till the end, had he not tricked you into leaving?*Hokushin looks devastated again*
Tomoe: *abashed* Ah, I did not mean-
[page 37]
Tomoe: *reaches/sits down and places both hands over Hokushin's hand* …but you understand my feelings. My place is here with Lord Yoshinaka. Fighting at his side is everything to me.
[page 38]
Hokushin: And what if he commands you to leave?
Tomoe: *looks stricken, then determined* Only if he commands so. And even if he does, I will still fight before I depart his side. *she gets back to her feet* As for you, you must go. So that you can find the master you are destined to meet.
*Hokushin nods*
[page 39]
*A horse paces restlessly. Hokushin, hair tied back again and in full armour, reins it in and turns to Tomoe Gozen who is seeing him off.*
Hokushin: Lady Tomoe. If our paths should cross again, may it never be as enemies. *He reaches his hand out to her*
Tomoe: *grasps his hand* May that be so.
*Hokushin rides off through the tall grass, into the distance*
*fight / flight end*
---
Happy New Year!! I dddiiiiiddd it!! This is the last (planned/that my conscious brain is aware of lol) flashback of the North Bound prequel!! We now return to main prequel time with Raizen and Hokushin and Seizan. Or we will once I get around to drawing the next story. Every year we inch ever closer to the climax! Inch inch inch.
I love the idea of Hokushin and Tomoe Gozen building a relationship from suspicion and survival to a deep, platonic understanding full of mutual respect and support, especially due to their like-minded roles as loyal retainers wholly devoted to the ones they love/serve. I didn’t realize till after I had firmed up the script, but Tomoe’s response to Hokushin that “Fighting at [Yoshinaka’s] side is everything to me” is exactly Hokushin’s answer to Yusuke on why he follows Raizen. It just fit perfectly, and makes so much sense to me as a narrative reference. In this universe and version of events, we can imagine Hokushin’s words to Yusuke are tied to his memory of this conversation…
Japanese history/culture buffs will probably notice that the irony(?) of Hokushin and Tomoe’s conversation is that Tomoe would soon find herself in pretty much the situation Hokushin warned her about. According to tradition, Kiso Yoshinaka refused to let Tomoe stay with him. Shortly before he died in his final stand at Awazu, he forced her to leave his side, saying her presence as a woman would only be a burden. Harsh words for such a trusted, valued warrior! Though by some accounts Tomoe was at the time pregnant with their child, which one can extrapolate would have been an influencing factor in Yoshinaka’s actions.
If you’re wondering what ultimately happens to Tomoe in this universe, there is a very big hint in the fic We Walked Through the Past, Carrying the Future when Yusuke, Keiko and Hokushin check out the museum. This is not the last you’ll see of Tomoe Gozen!! Assuming I get North Bound far enough...
EDIT: Sneak fixes as I realized after the fact I forgot to draw Hokushin's magatama necklace! It has no importance to this story, but is a detail I care a lot about...
