Double-episodes are the bane of my existence as a blogger. Especially on the weekend when things are crazy as-is. I have no idea why Mao was off last week but I did miss it. It’s never the best show in any given week (or at least very rarely) but it’s insanely consistent. And it scratches an itch nothing else on the schedule does. It’s just a Rumiko thing – she’s much-imitated, never equalled. I don’t love everything she does but her signature style(s) are quite particular to her.

I tell you what, the Goko Clan sounds more messed up the more you hear about it. The latest revelation is that one of it’s “selection” (read, ranks-thinning) rituals was the lead the acolytes into a cavernous maze called White Bone Cave, leaving them to try and find their way out. Shiranui was one of them, and only made it out alive because he spotted a young Mao, who seemed to know his way around, and followed him out (after three days). The Master forever disdained him for surviving that way, and rather than feeling any gratitude to Mao for saving his life felt only resentment. Much compounded when Mao killed the Master (supposedly), because that robbed him of the chance to do so himself.

Shiranui has other reasons for loathing Mao too – namely that it was Mao that took his legs, though he remembers none of it. Like everyone else he’s after the Taizanfukun spell now, and Mao is smart enough to withhold the information that he doesn’t actually know it. In exchange Mao tries to extract the truth about Lady Sana/Yurako’s situation, but Shiranui will only offer than she’s working for him by choice. Eventually – following the trail picked up by the Sword of Hagunsei – Nanoka, Hyakka, and Kamon arrive to support him. This standoff ends as just that, a standoff, and Shiranui escapes.

Nanoka once more shares her blood with Mao in order to heal him, despite his admonitions to the contrary. And once she returns home, it’s seemingly because of this that Byouki is able to appear before her again. His role continues to be one of the most interesting elements of the story. He reiterates that Nanoka has nothing to fear from him, and eventually the pair of them have an actual conversation. She asks about Sana (yeah, she’s obsessed) but Byouki only states that she’s definitely dead. He also tells Nanoka that every time a noble came in secret to curse a rival, the Master would appear in Sana’s room at night and extract a curse (probably) from her in the form of black vapor.

With that we shift gears, and it’s Hakubi who commands center stage. He was an important figure in the Goko Clan (unlike Shiranui). Hakubi was one of the Master’s most trusted onmyouji, often tasked with filling the curse orders as they came in. And he’s deeply connected to the core group, being the one responsible for Hyakka losing his eye. That was paid back in full though – he lost an arm and sustained burns on his face during that encounter (which, to be fair, he instigated). In the “present” he’s responsible for massacring a village using his metal scarecrows, in a successful attempt to lure Mao out (Hyakka is an uninvited guest).

The role of the Byouki continues to get more and more hazy. Hakubi laughs at the idea that his merger with Mao is a curse; he defines it as protection. It seems cats are special creatures (well, duh). They’re outside the five elements and thus, immune from attack using onmyoudou. It was the Master’s plan to create the Byouki through the kudoku process using Haimaru. With a cat shikigami at his disposal he would be unbeatable – that was the plan, anyway. Villain, antagonist, victim, ally – just what is the Byouki in the end? He might be some part of all those things, at least in turn.

The battle of the three disciples boils down to another standoff. Hakubi captures Hyakka despite fire’s natural advantage against metal. Mao goes into beast mode, and is in deep trouble before Ootoya frees Hyakka using a hair and Hyakka is able to push Hakubi back. The latter decides to cede the field for the day, much to Hyakka’s frustration.The overall impression here is that everyone’s take on what happened that fateful day is wrong, each in a different way. That makes the truth of it an incredibly elusive thing.