MAO

One things' for sure, Shiranui sure is one petty @#%^. It's been a long effort on Shiranui's part to get Mao all to himself but he finally has him. Ironically Shiranui wouldn't even be alive without Mao, as he was likely to have died in an initiation ritual in a cave if Mao hadn't wandered into the cave and Shiranui followed him out. It earned Mao the attention of the master and an invite as an outside, while Shiranui was seen as nothing but a failure. So Shiranui always resented Mao for having the master's favor...and especially for apparently having slain the master before Shiranui could. That's right, as far as Shiranui is aware, Mao DID kill their master...and stole the Taizanfukun spell. That's all Shiranui cares about. The gang's all here! But if Mao thought he would get answers about Sana from Shiranui, he's not going to get them. Would Sana have really gone through with helping Shiranui facilitate this twisted successor to the Goko Clan? Though the implications that she is causes Mao to unleash ALL his rage at Shiranui! Ah, so Byoki Mode Mao tore through Shiranui's legs, so not only is he walking around with a Shikigami's legs but he can never leave the water as a result. But neither can Mao enter INTO the water if he doesn't want to bite it...so Shiranui escapes again. Yurako is in tears over Mao seeing her...and Hakubi isn't really in the mood of consoling her. If anything he just sees her as another monster. Lady Sana isn't there, but Nanoka is, and she's more than willing to offer her blood to help Nao...which is as intimate as you would expect. She earned that piggyback ride, especially as Mao realizes how much he's come to appreciate Nanoka. Mao jealous of Shiranui, Nanoka jealous of Sana...lot of relationship drama going on right now. But yeah, unless Sana had terrible taste in men, there's no way she was in love with Shiranui. Nanoka and Mao can't do ANYTHING without Byoki catching wind of it, but this might actually be useful for Nanoka getting the deets on Sana from her former pet. Of how she could see how curses, how she could somehow project curses in her sleep, and how the Goko clan would then unleash those curses. Did she know? What did Sana really think of her father and the clan? Oof. That's one brutal massacre, but one familiar to Hyakka because it happened to a farming village he was in during one of his odd jobs...where they were attacked by metal scarecrows. Metal scarecrows that now attack Mao and Hyakka, courtesy of Hakubi!

Mao came out of the cave as if it were nothing. Yeah, he really was born with talent. This is the first time Mao raised his voice like that. He really must've loved Sana. Too bad it was one-sided... Or was it? Yurako seems obsessed with him. Which does make me wonder if it's really Sana. Either way, I don't expect her fate to end well. So, Mao got his signature scar from Shiranui? Interesting. Tho he took his legs, which is far worse. Nanoka shared her blood with Mao again. Yeah, it's been obvious for a while now that she's in love with him. It's too bad that Mao doesn't seem to notice it. Neither does Nanoka. Wonder what she actually feels about Sana/Yurako. Atp it doesn't seem like she's jealous like Kagome was in the Inuyasha anime. It's more like she's concerned about Mao, which is understandable and more mature. Either way, we're back to a classic Rumic love triangle now. Byoki actually seems pretty chill. I don't get why Mao was so hellbent on killing him now. He just needed to hear him out. But I guess Sana's death really clouded his judgment of him.