Summary: Usagi returns to his home village. On the way, he encounters ninja who have kidnapped a child. Usagi fights them off. They disappear as the villagers approach. The child is Jotaro, son of Mariko and Kenichi. Usagi remembers a romantic afternoon long ago with Mariko.

Usagi learns of his father's death. He was killed by Lord Hikiji for refusing to submit shortly before the battle of Adachigahara Plain. Hikiji then made Kenichi the new magistrate, and Kenichi surrendered and gave Hikiji supplies.

Kenichi and Usagi were once playmates and rivals. Kenichi harbors ill toward Usagi still. He finds Usagi unwelcome.

Usagi learns the village has recently been plagued by the Mogura Ninja. It is isolated and far from help. The Mogura took much of their needed supplies and kidnapped Jotaro as insurance.

The Mogura return to attack Jotaro again. Usagi rescues Jotaro, but the ninja again make off with supplies. Usagi deduces they came from the mountains and agrees to join an expedition. He remembers a cave full of lizards Kenichi had once been scared by when they were children.

They battle the Mogura ninja in the caves, finding bright fire is hard on the ninja's unadjusted eyes. Usagi and Kenichi end up each saving the other.

Usagi decides it's best if he does not stay. He speaks with Mariko by the grave of his father. He asks if she is happy and if she would ever leave Kenichi. She would not as it is not honorable. They recall the time they traded tokens of remembrance (a lock of her hair and Usagi's knife) and remark on what silly children they once were...

Thoughts: I and others have already commented on Circles as being one of the first great Usagi stories. In many ways, this is the story that sets up Circles, introducing the major elements, characters and conflicts. On its own merits, Homecoming is among the best stories we've seen so far. Part of its importance lies in laying the groundwork for Circles.

We learn that Hikiji himself killed Usagi's father. This is the second time we see Hikiji, except that this time we don't really see him. He is in his armor and in shadow. Hard to even tell what type of creature he is. Something about the scene strikes me as off. In part it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because establishing a rivalry between hero and villain because the villain killed his father is common, but more importantly easy, and feels cheap. (On the other hand, Stan Sakai is trying to homage a genre in which revenge stories are common) This has bothered me ever since superhero movies felt the need to establish rivalries this way. By having Joker kill Batman's parents. Or Kingpin kill Daredevil's father. Or Sandman kill Uncle Ben. Or... it has come to equate with lazy writing in my mind. (But this was years before any of those films.) What is especially odd here though is that this fact almost seems to get forgotten. Stories of vengeance surround Usagi. We will often get told "one cannot sleep under the same sky as his father's killer". Yet Usagi never mentions this again. He dislikes Hikiji, and often comes into conflict with the dark lord. But his driving motivation always seems to be his loyalty to his late lord or his friendship with the Geishu lord or simply what is best for the balance of power in Japan. I wonder if this is another detail of the early issues Stan has thought better of and purposefully swept under the rug. The scene is a very good one. Both for the bravery of Usagi's father and establishing something about Kenichi. But I think it would ring truer if the slayer were one of Hikiji's samurai rather than Hikiji himself. And if Usagi seemed more concerned with avenging his father.

We have already met the Neko (cat) ninja. We now meet the Mogura (mole) ninja. The fact that they can burrow is used as their unique power. The first time traits of the animal have come into play in Usagi's universe. So far, all the animals could merely have been funny-looking humans, having little in common with their species save appearance. The moles are different. They burrow like moles. This works effectively as a stand-in for whatever unique ninja tricks a human group may possess.

On the whole, this does a lot to round out Usagi's past, adding a lost love in Mariko. Kenichi is also a strong addition, a character who at first seems a jerk, but whom you grow to understand. In the end, he is a good magistrate and can set aside his feelings for what is right.

The ending of the story I find beautiful, and perfectly realized by Stan Sakai. Parallel panels unfolding to the climactic reveal, humorous and touching. I find it perfect.

Notes:

• Introduces the Mogura Ninja
• We learn Usagi's lord was Lord Mifune. Mifune is named for the great Japanese actor appearing in many Kurosawa and Inagaki films.