Chapter 12

Half Breed is the 12th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Synopsis

 * Sesshōmaru learns that his half-brother Inuyasha was finally released from the spell that bound him to the sacred tree.
 * Kagome learns about Inuyasha's family.
 * Inuyasha sees his dead mother in a floating carriage.

Plot

 * 12.2.jpg A group of samurai celebrate their latest victory with a feast, and their boastful leader says he will tear off his opponent's head like he just did to the boar they're eating. The leader gets his own head pulled off by a mysterious figure − the dog demon [[Sesshōmaru]], who is Inuyasha's older brother. They share the same demon father, but unlike Inuyasha, Sesshōmaru is a full demon. Sesshōmaru orders the little men to run away, and tells his servant, Jaken, to test The Staff of Two Heads. The woman's head on the staff speaks, and Jaken translates it means this place isn't the grave they're looking for. The remaining samurai ask the two demons who they are, and Sesshōmaru is surprised the humans are still hanging around. When the humans get out their weapons, Sesshōmaru calls them barbaric and tells Jaken to take care of them. The kappa uses the male head on the staff, incinerating all of the samurai using its ability to spew flames. Later at a river, Jaken asks his lord if Inuyasha would know where the grave is. The mention of his younger half brother makes Sesshōmaru angry and he holds Jaken underwater, saying to never remind him of "that vile half-breed." In any case, Sesshōmaru says, Inuyasha was put under a spell by a priestess, so they wouldn't be able to ask him anyway. Jaken reveals that the spell was recently broken.
 * Myōga the flea has been traveling for days to try and reach Inuyasha, but he is run over by Kagome while she rides her bicycle. Kagome has brought back first aid from the modern era in order to tend to Inuyasha's wounds from their battle with Yūra of the hair. Inuyasha is relaxing in a tree when she arrives, and he stubbornly says he doesn't need any medical treatment. Kagome asks again nicely, but when he still refuses to come down, she tells him to sit. Kaede is walking by and sees Kagome trying to take off Inuyasha's clothes (so she can tend to his wounds). The elderly priestess says that the two of them are getting along much better than she had originally thought, causing the two of them to blush and scamper away from each other. Inuyasha takes off his shirt and shows Kagome the spot where he was cut, explaining that his body is special - his wounds have already completely healed. Kagome wonders if this is because he's "Half-Demon," and then wonders what's his other half?
 * Myōga, who is revealed to be Inuyasha's vassal, is swatted after attempting to suck the half demon's blood. The flea reveals that someone is trying to rob Inuyasha's father's grave. Kaede mentions that she has heard stories about Inuyasha's father. He was a great dog demon who ruled the western lands as his domain. Myōga recalls him as the most glorious and powerful of all demons who have ever lived, also mentioning he had very tasty blood. Kagome asks about Inuyasha's mother, and Myōga starts to say she was a woman who surpassed all others in beauty. Inuyasha is quick to shut him up, squishing the flea and telling both him and Kagome to shut up, because his mother died a long time ago. He then angrily storms out of the hut. Kagome starts to think that if Inuyasha's father was a demon, and Inuyasha himself is a half demon, then his mother must have been human. So Inuyasha is half human, too. Kagome looks up at the tree where Inuyasha is wistfully staring at the moon and then gets a strange feeling in her stomach.
 * Inuyasha and Kagome look up in the sky and see a floating carriage. Inuyasha sees a woman inside and says, "Mother...?"

Trivia

 * This is the first chapter in which Myōga's body's ability to withstand being squished is shown. This becomes a comic relief tool in future chapters as well.