> You're absolutely right on this point; but it goes further than that. The effect is mutual. Inuyasha enhances Kagome's powers as well. There are numerous canon incidents that reinforce this.
- I agree. It is a mutual effect. I didn't mention it earlier, because I was more focusing on an alternative to Kagome's effect on Inuyasha being a power, persay, but you are absolutely right. It is a two way street, as far as enhancing each others abilities is concerned.
1) When Kikyo was first reawakened, she shot Inuyasha with a sacred arrow. It would certainly have destroyed him totally. But the comatose Kagome heard his scream of distress, roused her powers & took her soul back from Kikyo, thus saving him (much like he awakened when she was in danger from Mistress Centipede).
2) When the bound & paralyzed Kagome saw Kikyo dragging Inuyasha to hell, she again roused & drove Kikyo's "borrowed" souls away, thus breaking Kikyo's hold over both "victims". This allowed her to use her voice to break Inuyasha's spell. What is interesting here is that Kikyo was so powerful she could incapacitate Kagome with just a touch; but when Kagome's power was invoked, it was much stronger.
- I think even Kikyo realizes that this is true of Kagome's power, later in the anime. SPOILER - I know this isn't a canon episode, but in the episode "Kikyo and Kagome Alone in a Cave," Kikyo would have just given up and (for lack of a better word) died in the priestess sealer's stomach; even when Kagome was determined to save both of them, Kikyo thought it was a useless venture and was amazed when Kagome had enough power to defeat the priester sealer and escape. - END SPOILER Now, I know this isn't canon, but I do think it reinforces the idea that Kagome is more powerful than Kikyo and that Kikyo may be cognisant of this.
The 2nd movie kiss, however, is non-canon fan service. So we can't rely on that for proof of anything. It's purpose in the story was to give Inuyasha a stronger reason to stay a half-demon than to become a full one.
-Thats a good point. I actually only mentioned it to give me something to compare with the what we see in the spoiler, but I concur. It definitely doesn't constitute proof.
However, Inuyasha & Kagome are definitely depicted as two halves of a greater whole. Each one reinforces & enhances the other.
Contrast this with Inuyasha's relationship with Kikyo. Each one diminished the other. She lost her power and devolved into an ordinary human. He was about to sacrifice all of his power to become an ordinary human, as well.
This is purely a personal opinion; but they were about to destroy themselves anyway, without Naraku's help. Don't you think that, after a little while, Inuyasha was going to wind up hating Kikyo for doing that to him? And once she no longer had a miko's obligations, she would not be so lonely & would suddenly have nothing in common with him, an uncouth, rude, violent, street kid with no social skills?
- I agree, it very well could have been a self-destructive relationship. Of course all we can do is speculate, because this never has the chance to happen, but personally I could see that relationship ending tragicly even without Naraku's interference. I don't think that Inuyasha would have resented Kikyo for turning him into a human, because it is clear that he genuinely wants to use the jewel to become human and be with Kikyo, who he truly does love, but he could end up hating her for talking him into giving up his heritage for a relationship that could very well fall apart. Now, I also should mention that I feel Kikyo truly loves Inuyasha as well.
She would most likely stay with Inuyasha for a long time, and try to change him into the good person she sees that he has the potential to be; she wants to do for him what Kagome ends up doing for Inuyasha. As Kikyo herself says, "If I had lived, I would have been the one to heal his heart." However, we all know how frustrated Kagome can become while trying to change Inuyasha for the better! How many times has she gone home to her own time out of frustration? Kikyo would have lived in the same time as Inuyasha, and there would be nowhere for her to go, no place to cool down and vent for an extented period. This could very well have led to them breaking up.
Their powers defined their lives and were the cause of the loneliness that drove them together. Their relationship was based only on their loneliness, nothing else. Without that, they had no reason to be together. (This whole topic deserves its own post.) <
-Great way of putting this! Very well said. I agree, also, that their loneliness brought them together. I won't delve into this too much, since at present it would be off topic, but it definitely could be its own, in depth post.
> Good point. We really don't know for sure; but here is a SUPER spoiler, SUPER SPOILER - Kagome's powers are bound, much like Inuyasha was for 50 years. She has been that way since birth. That implies she may have that power once she is unbound & trained. - END SUPER SPOILER Right now, it works with Inuyasha because of the bond between them. <
- Oh, ok! That is very interesting, and I can definitely see where you're coming from with your theory (without going into any spoiler event-specific details) that Kagome could very well be able to do this with other demons, which would be indictative of a shared power with Midoriko as opposed to being an example of the bond with Inuyasha. Without knowing what will happen when this state is reversed, we are left tantilizingly close to having a definite answer.
You have a very good theory here, although it wouldn't hold up to the scientific method, I'm afraid, because there is no repeatable result, as of yet (the repeatable result in this case would be Kagome repeating this action with a demon other than Inuyasha.) Its comparable to Einstein's theory of relativity, before that fateful solar eclipse. It could be a legitimate power, and the super spoiler certainly lends a great deal of merit to that effect, but it could still be a one time occurence with Inuyasha. I'm kind of on the fence right now, I could go either way. I think both options are very possible, especially given what you just told me, and at the moment, its just too close to call either way, for me.
> Any well thought out point of view is welcome! That is how we learn & understand better. No offense will ever be taken for something like that. 
<
- I agree. Its good to know that you see it that way as well. Truth be told, I'm somewhat of a philosopher; I have always enjoyed studying religions, mythology, science, psychology ( I actually took enough courses in psychology in college to complete a minor in it) and a myriad of other topics, and find myself delving into each, and I do a lot of in depth analysis and observation (as you've no doubt noticed, lol 
). I've found, though, that some people find a detailed response to what they've written or said to be an assault on what they believe, so I'll often let people know that I'm not trying to be confrontational. (I was almost one hundred percent certain that you wouldn't think I was disrepecting your views, but you never can be entirely sure how an individual will see something until after the fact, and it's always better safe than sorry.)
> Unfortunately, the alternative is also true. The evil inside the jewel can also affect Kagome. (See spoiler above.) <
- Indeed. Everyone has the capacity for both good and evil, and Kagome is only human. A certain infant (and I won't go into any further detail because this is far in the future) was able to prove that this was true, in a certain way. (Sorry to be so cryptic, but those who have seen the episode will understand this but those who haven't don't have any real information that could spoil it for them.) So yes, Kagome can be affected by evil in the jewel as well. Most of the time though, the part touched by Midoriko pervails.
> I thought about that, too. Then I realized that the jewel is made up of soul. It can be absorbed into the body in the same way that the demons who swallowed it were able to absorb it (carrion crow, for example). The proximity of the centipede demon & Inuyasha are probably what re-crystallized it in the first episode. (Or maybe, its own will did that once it got back to Sengoku Jidai.) Anyway, it would probably be invisible under those circumstances. That is also why I think the something "extra" that Kagome has over merely being Kikyo's reincarnation came from Midoriko. <
- Lol, I was just making a joke about it. I didn't really give it any serious thought.
It is interesting observation though. I'm not sure that the jewel would be invisible to a machine. When it is absorbed by demons who swallow it or otherwise add the jewel to their body, it does dissapear from a human's view. When we see the shards embedded in a demon as Kagome sees them though, they seem to be in a crystallized form even before being removed and recollected. It could be that in the manga and anime they are just drawing the jewel shard in the place where it has been absorbed for our benefit, but if Kagome does see them as a solid object inside the host body, it would seem like a machine that can see inside a human would be able to see the shard or jewel as well. Also, though it isn't canon, SPOILER - in the end of "Tragic Love Song of Destiny" part 2, we see Kagome as a new born, and you catch a quick glimse of the Shikon no Tama inside her. Then again, the anime also shows us Kirara by Midoriko's side, and that probably is something that shouldn't and can't bee taken at face value either. - END SPOILER
- This makes Midoriko perhaps the only case where it is possible to have a reincarnation without having the entire soul of the predessor be relocated into the reincarnate's body. After considering what was pointed out in the post I'm now replying to, I'd like to ammend what I said earlier to say that in most cases, a soul would have to move to the reincarnate's body, but this is the exception to the rule, because as you said, doxie, Midoriko's soul was "fractured" when she created the jewel, which would explain her presence in the jewel itself (doing battle against the demon soul), her ability to maintain the barrier, her existence inside Kagome as part of the jewel itself, and the way that many characters in the story seem to embody her traits. Perhaps a good way of thinking about those people who seem to have parts of Midoriko's soul in theirs is that they are 'partial reincarnations' of Midoriko. By this I mean that while they were most likely not Midoriko in a past life and don't possess her entire soul as most true reincarnations do, they have part of her spirit living within them, guiding them and, when they meet up with others that likewise reflect different aspects of Midoriko's soul, allowing them to complete each other and work in harmony as a whole.
> You're on the right track. SPOILER: In the manga, Kikyo goes to Midoriko to absorb her soul because she can no longer exist otherwise. So, the last piece of Midoriko's soul goes into Kikyo. I won't detail the circumstances. SPOILER <
Also, the timing from Midoriko's to Inuyasha's time is between 700 & 300 years. 500 years is right in the middle & is equal to the amount of time it took for Kikyo's soul to return. The manga says that Inuyasha's father was an aging demon (i.e., past his prime). If (and I say IF) he ever met Midoriko, it would have been either as a young demon or during his prime, and definitely before Sesshomaru was born. Therefore, we have no living memory or record of those events. However, there are so many coincidences here that this speculation is as valid as any.
It would explain Father's sentiments. It would explain his almost psychic prescience about his children's futures. And it would possibly explain his ability to hold on to his domain. A benevolent ruler would attract many willing followers.
- I agree; it would explain Inutaisho's sentiments, and with so many coincidences, it's almost as easy as reading between the lines. It is not a stretch either, becuase we know how many allusions Takahashi uses in the story. Inuyasha is rich with symbolism, forshadowing, and literary allusions; there is no way to deny that it is a story with many layers and with ample references to and use of mythology and religion. It is not at all hard to imagine her leaving something for the readers to find that is not explisitly mentioned!
Well, It might explain some things, but it is not canon.
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