Chapter 30

The Crush is the 30th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Summary

 * Kagome tricks Hiten and Manten by telling them that Inuyasha is in love with her.
 * Inuyasha and Shippō arrive at the valley of the Thunder Brothers, greeted by Hiten and Manten.
 * Inuyasha begins his battle with the Thunder Brothers.

Synopsis

 * InuyashaChapter30HitenMeetsInuyasha.jpg the castle of the Thunder Bros., Hiten is surprised when he hears from Manten that the son of the Fox Demon they killed possesses some of the Shikon shards. Manten asks his older brother if they're going after him, and Hiten says "What else would we do, fool?" Manten says he has to do something real quick before they depart; he raises a giant butcher knife to try and cut Kagome in half, but the girl jumps out of the way just in time. Kagome asks him what he's doing, and the demon says he has to go on an errand, so he's killing her so that she can't run away. "I must have my hair-growth potion, you see." Kagome stutters to find her words, trying to come up with a reason why not to kill her. She finally gets something "If you kill me, you'll never find the shards of the jewel!" Kagome goes on to ask the Thunder Brothers if they've heard of Inuyasha, 'the strong, handsome warrior'. Hiten says he has heard of Inuyasha, but then derisively states that Inuyasha is only a half-demon. Kagome defends Inuyasha, saying he's strong and he already has most of the sacred jewel shards. This piques the brothers' interest. Kagome then says that Inuyasha is madly in love with her, and if they offer her to him, he'll hand over the jewel shards without a second thought. Manten gets the feeling that the girl is lying, but Hiten thinks she's telling the truth. The elder brother grabs Kagome's face and says they'll take her to Inyasha to exchange for the shards, but if they find out that she's lying, she'll end up with a hole in her face just like the Vixen did.
 * InuyashaChapter30LoversWuuuut.jpgō, stuttering with fear, tells Inuyasha that they're almost at the valley where the Thunder Brothers reside. The young fox asks the half-demon if he thinks he can win; the evil brothers have grown even stronger after taking Shippō's father's shard. Inuyasha scoffs confidently, saying it'll just make the battle that much more interesting. Myōga then appears on Inuyasha's shoulder, saying he's worried about Kagome's safety. There are rumors that pretty girls don't last long at the Thunder Brother's castle, because eventually the two brothers devour the beauties alive. Shippō almost starts to cry, thinking the girl has been devoured alive. Inuyasha snaps at the child. "Idiot. Why should Kagome worry if they only eat desirable women?"The fox asks Inuyasha if he has holes for eyes, "Of course Kagome is desirable!" Myōga agrees, saying Kagome is what he would call "desirable'. Scratching his head in panic, Shippō curses himself, thinking the Thunder brothers are probably picking their teeth clean of Kagome's flesh as they speak. Suddenly the sky flashes up and Inuyasha grabs the fox, dashing across a small hill. Hiten appears in the sky, grinning cockily. "So... you managed to dodge one. I'm impressed. Is this the one? The bastard halfling called Inuyasha?"
 * InuyashaChapter30TheBattleBegins.jpgōga whispers into Inuyasha's ear that the one who just spoke was Hiten, the elder of the two. Shippō asks what happened to Kagome, and Manten appears on his flying cloud, Kagome held as his captive. Inuyasha looks up at her, glad that she's safe. Hiten nods, saying that the expression on Inuyasha's face proves that the girl was telling the truth. "Give me all of your Shikon shards, and your love will live!" The half-demon stands in complete disbelief. He asks who this 'lover' is, and Kagome shouts at him not to be shy. Manten snickers, believing it to be a lie all along. Inuyasha asks what kind of fool would give up shards to save a single mortal girl, and Kagome snaps back that he can't just leave her to die. "How can I 'leave' you, if we've never been together?!" Hiten is amused by the exchange, but satiated in the fact that at least Inuyasha does possess the shards. Hiten dashes toward the half-demon with his Thunder-pike in hand, and Inuyasha draws his Tessaiga, the battle between the two of them beginning. Hiten's speed proves formidable, and Inuyasha holds off the demon's pike with the Tessaiga. He pushes Hiten off with a thrust, and the thunder demon is impressed once again at Inuyasha's strength, but remarks that he has no style in battle. Inuyasha sweats, thinking. "This battle... is not going to be easy."

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Hiten
 * Manten
 * Kagome
 * Shippō
 * Inuyasha
 * Myōga