Chapter 13

A Mother's Face is the 13th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Summary

 * Inuyasha tries to save his mother from Sesshōmaru.
 * Kagome notices that Inuyasha's mother's face does not have a reflection.

Synopsis

 * Kagome wonders how this can be possible, since Inuyasha told her only moments ago that his mother had died. Suddenly, the carriage that was carrying who appeared to Inuyasha's mother, is crushed by the fist of a giant ogre demon. Inuyasha rushes to save his mother, but is blocked by a stream of fire from Jaken's Nintōjō. Inuyasha looks up at the white blur on the giant ogre's shoulder. "Is that you... Sesshōmaru?!" Sesshōmaru is flattered that Inuyasha, his dear little brother, remembers him. Kagome is cowering behind Inuyasha, and Sesshōmaru finds this amusing. "A human girl? How fitting that you should be dallying with humans. You, with your mortal bitch for a mother. You seek your own level at last." While infuriating Inuyasha, this confirms what Kagome thought; Inuyasha's mother was a human and his father was a demon.
 * Inuyasha asks his older brother if he came all this way just to insult him. Sesshōmaru says he doesn't have such time to waste. He asks Inuyasha where their father's grave is. Inuyasha realizes that 13manga.jpgōmaru is the one Myōga warned him about, the one who's trying to rob his father's grave. Inuyasha says he has no idea where the grave is. "Well then, I guess your mother's suffering will have to convince you." Sesshōmaru has the ogre squeeze harder, but Inuyasha says he isn't going to be fooled by this trick, because his mother's been dead for years. Sesshōmaru says that with all his power, he has the ability to bring dead souls back from the netherworld and even find them flesh. It's no trick. Then Inuyasha's Mother finally speaks, telling her son not to trouble himself since she died once already. Inuyasha, now wondering if it really is his mother, uses his claws to cut off the ogre's arm and save her. He tells Kagome to flee with her, but Sesshōmaru dashes down to stop them, saying he won't allow it. Then, Inuyasha's mother holds up a bright orb of energy that flashes and lights up the area.
 * Inuyasha wakes up in a marshy area and sees his mother. She says they're at the crossroads between the worlds, and she brought him here so they could say goodbye. She also says that he's grown up splendidly and she's sorry for not being there when he was younger, as she died when he was very little. Kagome wakes up and sees the two of them talking, but she's unable to move or speak. When she looks down into the marsh water she notices that Inuyasha's mother's face has no reflection. So whoever it is, it isn't his mother.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Kagome
 * Inuyasha
 * Nothing Woman (Disguised as Izayoi)
 * Sesshōmaru
 * Jaken

Trivia

 * In hindsight, when Sesshōmaru says that he has the ability to bring people back from the dead, we learn in later chapters that he actually has this ability due to the Tenseiga.