AWESOME. :Db (And yeah, Haru was in the fandom with me for a while, and I usually moaned at her that THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE so ... essentially, half of her tactics fic is my fault. *g*)
ANYWAY. We'll start with Haruka's backstory! Note that certain characters that were rather oneshot in the anime (Father Edwards and Ayame, notably) are actually a LOT more signifigant in the manga.
One of the key differences (other than Suzu not being in the manga) is that from the beginning, there's been someone skulking around the happy happy Ichinomiya household; the story with Mai and Miyabi (the twins performing the divination ceremony for their village) has a very different ending: when Mai attacks Haruka, the creature she thinks is Taizanfukun attacks her instead, which makes her furious; she demands to know why she can't kill this man, why not -- Kantarou addresses the figure: "I don't know what you've told this girl, but--" and is surprised when the thing goes after him directly; Haruka defeats it, but it turns out to just be a shikigami. The scene with the praying mantis eating the butterfly shows up, but mentions that there's an "ill-feeling called 'premonition'," and in the next volume, Raikou is introduced.
One thing the anime never brings up (since Haruka never actually met her directly) is that Ayame, Hasumi's student, who seemed so one-shot? She's actually Raikou's little sister. She also looks exactly like Haruka's old master, way back from the Heian period (when the original historical Minamoto-no-Raikou was alive and active). Haruka's relationship with his old master (Fuji) was ... right, less than pleasant; it's highly implied (to me, at least) that she was basically abusing the name-bond for sex. [There's a scene where Haruka meets Ayame, has a bad flashback, and scares the crap out of her. While she's demanding to know why he's there, get out before she calls for someone, he says, "That's right ... at times like this, if I do that, then--" and grabs and kisses her. "Isn't this what you always told me to do, Fuji?" Ayame is Not Pleased.) Haruka ends up talking with Watanabe at one point, and mentions that the one thing he does remember is "that woman" betrayed him.
And as it turns out, Fuji was a female onmyouji who caught and named the Oni-Eater (she named him "Rin"), and who was in love with him. However, Rin was very dismissive of her feelings, touting the same "youkai and humans aren't compatible" speech that's so common in the series present-day. Fuji, doubtful and unhappy (this is also implied, but I think it's a safe assumption) ends up making a deal with the oni Shuten Douji, master of one Ibaragi Douji and the greatest rival/enemy of the Oni-Eater. She may or may not have been the one to seal him in the manga; his last memory is seeing her with Shuten Douji's aura flaring behind her.
Years later, Raikou and Ibaragi have struck a deal: he wants the purification of Japan, and she wants the ressurrection of her master Shuten. Fuji has been reincarnated as the Minamoto cat, but through the use of some very black magic-looking spells by Edward, using Rosalie and Ayame as conduits, it looks like Fuji's spirit is going to be able to take over Ayame's body as her own. Kantarou's been poisoned, and Raikou has given Haruka an ultimatum: meet with Fuji-hime, face to face, or let Kantarou die a very slow and painful death.
AND THAT IS ALL THERE IS SO FAR. :Db I WANT V10 SO BADLY. I wanna see what you dreeeeeew. I like drawing, because I can't do it myself. :D
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Date: 2007-08-30 09:10 pm (UTC)ANYWAY. We'll start with Haruka's backstory! Note that certain characters that were rather oneshot in the anime (Father Edwards and Ayame, notably) are actually a LOT more signifigant in the manga.
One of the key differences (other than Suzu not being in the manga) is that from the beginning, there's been someone skulking around the happy happy Ichinomiya household; the story with Mai and Miyabi (the twins performing the divination ceremony for their village) has a very different ending: when Mai attacks Haruka, the creature she thinks is Taizanfukun attacks her instead, which makes her furious; she demands to know why she can't kill this man, why not -- Kantarou addresses the figure: "I don't know what you've told this girl, but--" and is surprised when the thing goes after him directly; Haruka defeats it, but it turns out to just be a shikigami. The scene with the praying mantis eating the butterfly shows up, but mentions that there's an "ill-feeling called 'premonition'," and in the next volume, Raikou is introduced.
One thing the anime never brings up (since Haruka never actually met her directly) is that Ayame, Hasumi's student, who seemed so one-shot? She's actually Raikou's little sister. She also looks exactly like Haruka's old master, way back from the Heian period (when the original historical Minamoto-no-Raikou was alive and active). Haruka's relationship with his old master (Fuji) was ... right, less than pleasant; it's highly implied (to me, at least) that she was basically abusing the name-bond for sex. [There's a scene where Haruka meets Ayame, has a bad flashback, and scares the crap out of her. While she's demanding to know why he's there, get out before she calls for someone, he says, "That's right ... at times like this, if I do that, then--" and grabs and kisses her. "Isn't this what you always told me to do, Fuji?" Ayame is Not Pleased.) Haruka ends up talking with Watanabe at one point, and mentions that the one thing he does remember is "that woman" betrayed him.
And as it turns out, Fuji was a female onmyouji who caught and named the Oni-Eater (she named him "Rin"), and who was in love with him. However, Rin was very dismissive of her feelings, touting the same "youkai and humans aren't compatible" speech that's so common in the series present-day. Fuji, doubtful and unhappy (this is also implied, but I think it's a safe assumption) ends up making a deal with the oni Shuten Douji, master of one Ibaragi Douji and the greatest rival/enemy of the Oni-Eater. She may or may not have been the one to seal him in the manga; his last memory is seeing her with Shuten Douji's aura flaring behind her.
Years later, Raikou and Ibaragi have struck a deal: he wants the purification of Japan, and she wants the ressurrection of her master Shuten. Fuji has been reincarnated as the Minamoto cat, but through the use of some very black magic-looking spells by Edward, using Rosalie and Ayame as conduits, it looks like Fuji's spirit is going to be able to take over Ayame's body as her own. Kantarou's been poisoned, and Raikou has given Haruka an ultimatum: meet with Fuji-hime, face to face, or let Kantarou die a very slow and painful death.
AND THAT IS ALL THERE IS SO FAR. :Db I WANT V10 SO BADLY.
I wanna see what you dreeeeeew. I like drawing, because I can't do it myself. :D