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Episode 1: The Girl Who Overcame Time And The Boy Who Was Just Overcome:
When the episode begins, we get a completely unexplained run-through of a scene 50 years in Inuyasha's past. To put things in perspective so that I don't have to repeat the same scene over and over again, a bad guy that we meet in future episodes has used a youkai [demon] power to change himself into Inuyasha's likeness. This evil person, Onigumo, had a dirty sort of jealousy driving him to great lengths. The priestess, Kikyou, and Inuyasha, had fallen in love. And Naraku (what this evil man turned into), changed his form into Inuyasha's. When Kikyou went to give the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] to Inuyasha in a field near their village in order to turn him into a human (so that he and she could marry), the fake Inuyasha ran up behind her, mortally wounded her, and stole the Shikon no Tama, insulting her as she writhed on the ground. After running off, the fake Inuyasha put the Shikon no Tama back in its place inside the town's temple. Then Naraku changed into Kikyou's likeness, and shot at Inuyasha, who was still on his way to meet her in the field. Kikyou, who now knew a deep hatred due to Inuyasha's supposed betrayal, sought Inuyasha out to shoot him with her bow and arrows. The real Inuyasha, also feeling betrayed at being shot at by the woman whom he thought loved him, decided to get revenge by stealing the Shikon no Tama and becoming a full demon. This is what we see at the beginning of the episode. Inuyasha and Kikyou, once in love (and feeling the pain of betrayal), were tricked into killing one another. Kikyou used the last of her strength to seal Inuyasha to a tree, and he slept there for the next 50 years.
Kagome, in present-day Japan, gives us a run-down of her life, and informs us that it's her fifteenth birthday. On her way to school, she tries to help her brother, Souta, find their cat, Buyo, and is pulled into the temple's covered well by mukadejourou [centipede woman], who is drawn to the reincarnated Shikon no Tama inside Kagome's body. Kagome, as it turns out, is Kikyou's reincarnation. The well is the portal between the present and feudal Japan. When Kagome fights off the demon and pulls herself out of the well, she doesn't see her brother, but forest area. Kagome finds her way to the tree where Inuyasha is sealed, and after squeaking his ears for a bit, is caught by the local townspeople, who bring her to Kaede (Kikyou's little sister, now over 50 years old). For being in the Inuyasha Forest, Kaede comes to take a look at her, and slowly realizes as the episode progresses that Kagome is her sister's reincarnation.
After dinner, the same centipede demon, still looking for the Shikon no Tama inside Kagome, attacks the town. Kagome, realizing she's the target, runs to the forest to draw away the monster. And (this part is cool) as she yells out in sheer panic for someone to help her, we see that Inuyasha, with a pulsating beat of demonic blood, awakens from Kikyou's seal. Kagome eventually runs back to the tree, surprised to see him awake. Inuyasha still cannot escape from the tree (the arrow is still stuck in his chest), but he eventually convinces Kagome to pull it out (after the centipede attacks for several moments, ripping the Shikon no Tama from Kagome's side, and endangering the people from town who have followed her). After Kagome virtually disintegrates the arrow, Inuyasha proceeds to kick the centipede's butt. The day is saved, but Inuyasha (still very resentful of Kikyou's betrayal, and taking it out on Kagome, whom he mistook for Kikyou for a few minutes), demands the Shikon no Tama from Kagome.
Episode 2: The Seekers Of The Sacred Jewel:
Picking up where Episode 1 left off, Inuyasha is still trying to get the Shikon no Tama from Kagome. He comes close to seriously hurting her twice before Kaede uses her priestess powers to put a rosary around Inuyasha's neck. Telling Kagome to recite a binding spell, Kagome eventually comes up with 'osuwari,' which means 'sit.' She uses it to stop him from taking the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] and sends him plunging into the river. The next day, he more calmly demands the jewel, realizing that the rosary won't come off. After having an initial conversation with Inuyasha, Kagome goes to sleep worrying about her family. We then see the newest enemy, an ugly crow demon.
The next morning, Kagome leaves by herself to check out the well that she came through, hoping to find a way to get back. Don't worry, this is one of the few dumb things she has done. Kagome is actually pretty smart. In the forest, she's grabbed by some common bandits, who bring her to their leader. To be brief, the crow demon is nesting inside the leader's heart (the leader is obviously dead) and using the body to try to get the Shikon no Tama, but since its control of the body is not that great, it makes for a bit of comedy when the leader randomly slashes his sword about the room. Inuyasha comes to save the day, of course, but only because he's concerned about the Shikon no Tama. However, the crow demon manages to get the Shikon no Tama and swallows it.
Inuyasha follows the bird on foot, doing his samurai run with Kagome on his back, and stops to give her a bow and arrows. At first, Kagome is not great at shooting arrows and misses the crow demon when she tries to shoot it as Inuyasha runs below it (she gets much better at shooting later). She misses terribly the first two times, and Inuyasha dumps her on the ground, leaving her behind. She follows by herself, and has to dive into the river to save a child who fell in after Inuyasha sliced up the crow demon, which had picked up the child as a snack. Kagome successfully saves the child, but the crow demon regenerates and begins to fly away again. However, there is still part of the demon's foot clinging to the child's back, which tries to return to the original body. Kagome, using someone's bow and arrow, attaches the foot to the arrow, and shoots, causing the arrow to hit the demon directly. Unfortunately, the Shikon no Tama is also hit, and shatters into lots of little pieces in a great white light. Inuyasha is really mad now...
Episode 3: Down The Rabbit Hole And Back Again:
At the beginning of this episode, Kagome is taking a cold bath and remembering the conversation with Kaede and Inuyasha that night before. Kaede insists that it will take both Inuyasha and Kagome together to restore the shattered Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls]. Then after Inuyasha peeps on Kagome as she wades up from the lake, she yells "osuwari!" While her clothes dry, she's wearing a miko outfit, which makes her look almost exactly like Kikyou, and it about drives Inuyasha nuts. He brushes it off by saying that he doesn't need Kagome's help after Kaede is called away, and Kagome, in a huff, declares that she's leaving for home, and takes the Shikon shard with her.
Kaede, upon reaching the house where a villager's daughter has become strangely ill, finds that the daughter is actually being controlled by tiny strands of hair (as odd as that may sound, it's actually used in Trigun, too). The daughter attacks Kaede, and then the scene cuts to Kagome, who is too scared to go into the Bone-Gobbling Well since the centipede woman's bones are inside. She's pausing to collect herself when the hair demon, surprised but undaunted that Kagome can see the strands of hair, decides to attack her. Meanwhile, Inuyasha, thinking about what Kagome said about going home, passes through the village. The village girls attack him, but he easily fights them off. Kaede, seriously wounded, shows up to stop Inuyasha from hurting them. Inuyasha battles for a bit, then runs off with Kaede on his back. She tells him to get Kagome since she can see the strands of hair.
Kagome, after waking up from her fall into the well (the demon had slashed at her with a sword, nearly chopping her head off), is found by her brother and grandfather. She's quite relieved, and decides to take a hot bath. Inuyasha, after hiding Kaede under some dirt and leaves, runs off to find her. We're left with a cliffhanger!
Episode 4: Yura Of The Demon Hair:
Inuyasha, jumping without hesitation into the well, travels to Kagome's world, where she's definitely not expecting him to come. Surprising her at dinner, he demands that she return. When Kagome turns to argue with him, she spots one of the hair demon's strands of hair, which Inuyasha can't see. Kagome, seeing that it's still moving, runs to the well to find that a lot of the hair is trying to come through. She helps Inuyasha cut the controlling strand, and then tells herself that she must go back in order to keep her mother, grandfather, and brother safe from demons. Inuyasha gives her his cool red coat (made from fire rat's fur) so that her skin is safe from the lone hairs that can easily cut her skin.
Kaede, from her hole in the ground, looks funny with just her face sticking out. She encourages them even though she's not with them. Inuyasha and Kagome, who picks up a bow and arrows along the way, find the hair demon. After a bit of fighting, Kagome shoots an arrow, barely missing Inuyasha, but which hits the ball of hair that is the demon's hideout. The purity arrow starts to ruin the ball's magical powers a bit, to the dismay of the hair demon. Yura then uses fire to try to kill Kagome, who is still wearing Inuyasha's fire rat coat. Kagome survives because the coat is good at repelling fire, and while Yura is fighting with Inuyasha, Kagome sees the red skull from which Yura draws her power.
We see some more ighting, but just as Yura is about to kill Inuyasha and Kagome, Kagome drives one of her purity arrows into the head of the red skull, breaking the comb inside in half. The comb, used to comb the hair of dead people before they were buried, was the real identity of the hair demon. Kagome gives Inuyasha his coat back, retrieves the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard, and asks Inuyasha how long it will take to collect them all. Inuyasha, not paying attention, says that it's time to go, and uses Kagome's name for the first time. And Kaede, still buried in hiding, wonders when Inuyasha will come to get her out!
Episode 5: Aristocratic Assasin, Sesshomaru:
This episode premieres the arrival of Inuyasha's brother. We see Sesshoumaru and his servant, Jaken, approach a grave, looking for what Sesshoumaru calls 'the fang.' We later learn that it is Inuyasha's inheritence, a guardian sword, Tessaiga, which was made from a fang donated by his father. Sesshoumaru wants it. Using Nintoujou [Staff of Heads], Jaken tests the grave to see if it is indeed the grave of his and Inuyasha's father. It isn't! As Sesshoumaru simply walks away, we see Myouga, an old flea, who is riding on one of the wolves that had tried to attack Sesshoumaru. He's headed to see Inuyasha to report the incident. Around a fire, Kagome, Inuyasha, Kaede, and Myouga discuss Inuyasha's father and the location of his grave. When the topic turns to his mother, Inuyasha leaves in a huff. Kagome follows, concerned that he's upset, and wonders if he hates his mother because she's human.
As if on cue, a carriage, holding Inuyasha's mother, who looks very much alive, flies overhead, astounding Kagome and Inuyasha. Then an oni [ogre] grabs the carriage and crushes it! Holding Inuyasha's mother in his huge hand, the oni holds her hostage, and Inuyasha takes the bait. Jaken, using the staff, stands on the ogre's forearm and throws fire at Inuyasha as he jumps to attack the ogre. However, he misses, and Sesshoumaru (from his seat on the Rent-A-Demon's shoulder) tells Jaken to stop until after he has spoken with Inuyasha. Inuyasha recognizes his older brother easily. Sesshoumaru cuts to the chase and asks about the location of the grave, and Inuyasha yells that he doesn't know. Then Sesshoumaru recites a riddle, probably hoping that Inuyasha knows its meaning: 'Where one can see but cannot be seen. The place where its own cannot look upon.' (We find out the answer in the next episode.)
After some fighting, Inuyasha's mother somehow transports herself, Inuyasha, and Kagome to what seems to be a safe place. She calls it the boundary between the mortal world and the dead world. Kagome looks to be asleep (or unconscious), and Inuyasha and his mother walk away a short distance. Kagome then wakes up to find that she can't move. 'Behind' Inuyasha's vision, little demons are holding Kagome down with chains. Kagome, looking at the reflection of Inuyasha's mother in the lake, sees that the reflection has no face. Kagome realizes that something's very wrong (i.e.-that's not Inuyasha's mother!), and tries to warn Inuyasha, only to discover that she can't speak, either!
Episode 6: Tetsusaiga, The Phantom Sword:
Inuyasha's mother, saying that she has to return to the world of the dead soon, tells Inuyasha to look at the surface of the lake. He then sees a flashback of a time when he was a child. She reminds him of how she used to hold him as a child, and then hugs him herself. Inuyasha, seeming dazed and vulnerable, doesn't realize that his 'mother' has started to absorb him. Kagome, quite alarmed, wakes up from the illusion, and is galvanized to move when Myouga bites into her cheek.
Jaken then arrives to where the muonna [non-woman] is beginning to absorb Inuyasha: muonna is made up of the scorned souls of unfortunate mothers who have lost their children to wars. Jaken reminds her of her task to find the location of the father's grave, and she uses her powers of suggestion to look into Inuyasha's heart, where she sees the black pearl, which is hidden in Inuyasha's right eye (there's the answer to the riddle). The black pearl is a portal to Inuyasha's father's grave. In actuality, his father's bones are sort of just sitting in the middle of a wasteland, not really buried.
Kagome saves Inuyasha by destroying the muonna's reflection on the surface of the lake. Then Sesshoumaru arrives, and grabs Inuyasha by the neck...he has realized the answer to the riddle. Using one of his powers (eh, I'm not sure how he does this), Sesshoumaru pulls the black pearl from Inuyasha's right eye and then tries to kill Inuyasha, but the muonna protects him...mothers always protect their children. Using Nintoujou [Staff of Heads, Sesshoumaru decides to just leave and opens the gate to his father's grave. He goes in first, but Kagome and Inuyasha follow. The bones of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father are huge! They fly into the rib cage to find Sesshoumaru hasn't been able to take the sword from where it's stuck in an altar (remind anyone of the King Arthur story?). Inuyasha is coerced by Myouga to try, and though the barrier spell on the sword accepts Inuyasha, he cannot pull it out because the sword only "performs" if the wielder is saving human life (or has mercy for humans in their heart).
Sesshoumaru then declares "playtime" to be over and tries to kill Inuyasha (again) with his pretty cool poison claw attacks. Kagome beats up on Jaken (yeah!) when he tries to use his staff on Inuyasha. When Jaken knocks her down, she reaches up to grab Tessaiga to hoist herself up, and sees Sesshoumaru about to deal a heavy blow to Inuyasha. Wanting to save his life and being a human, she yells his name and starts to run at Sesshoumaru: so naturally the sword easily slips out of the altar. Shocked beyond belief, everyone in the room stops what they're doing.
Episode 7: Showdown! Inuyasha vs Sesshomaru:
Sesshoumaru, quite intrigued, approaches Kagome, wondering who she is that she can take out the sword. When Inuyasha tells him to leave her alone, Sesshoumaru gives a speech about the weak blood of humans, and turns to kill Kagome with Dokkasou [Toxic Flower Claw] attack (I actually consider his attacks to be acidic more than poisonous). When it looks like Kagome has been melted away, Sesshoumaru tries to kill Inuyasha (again), claiming that a hanyou [half-demon] has dirty blood flowing through him. In the middle of their fight, Kagome emerges from the remains of the melted bones around her. Inuyasha is just astounded (and happy, of course). Kagome then gives him the sword. However, Sesshoumaru takes off the kid gloves and transforms into his demon form...a huge white dog. He breathes out a poisonous gas, forcing Kagome and Myouga to climb up the wall of the rib cage and escape the fumes. Inuyasha is forced to fight with his brother for a few moments.
When Kagome tries to encourage him, Inuyasha jokingly says that she should be hiding because she could get killed at any time. Disheartened, Kagome is on the verge of tears, which jolts Inuyasha into admitting that he'll protect her, so she shouldn't cry. Then, Inuyasha goes to face his brother's demon form. As Inuyasha approaches Sesshoumaru, Tessaiga pulsates. Sesshoumaru jumps high to pound down onto Inuyasha, but Inuyasha uses the sword, which grows into huge fang, to slice Sesshoumaru's left arm off (ouch). After receiving a couple more slices from Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru falls away from the side of his father's stomach, returning to his human form, which, as a ball of light, leaves the area. Kagome and Inuyasha, with the cowardly Myouga, go back through the gate, and the black pearl returns to its place inside Inuyasha's right eye.
Back at the village, Kagome and Myouga retell what happened to Kaede, and figure out how Inuyasha uses his sword (having mercy for humans makes Tessaiga "perform"). Kagome goes to ask Inuyasha if he wants to know how to use the sword, but asks him to promise to always protect her in return. Inuyasha, full of himself now, tells her that he'll use the sword to become a taiyoukai [Demon Lord], not to protect her. Kagome gets her revenge by making him stand over a wooden bridge, and yelling 'osuwari' [sit], thus crashing him through the bridge and into the river below.
Episode 8: The Toad Who Would Be Prince:
In this episode, Kagome and Inuyasha meet Nobunaga, whose pet monkey stole Kagome's clothes while she was swimming in a small pond, thinking that they contained food. Kagome retrieved her clothes, but gave Nobunaga some potato chips to eat. They follow Nobunaga on his business, and learn of a local lord being "possessed" by a vengeful spirit. Inuyasha, certain that the possessed lord must have a Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard, helps Nobunaga and Kagome get inside the castle, where everyone is asleep under a spell. Nobunaga finds the princess he's been looking for, Tsuyu, and tells her that he was ordered by her father to bring her back. Poor Nobunaga loves Tsuyu, but she only has friendly feelings for him.
When the possessed lord finds them, Myouga warns Inuyasha that it's a taiyoukai [Demon Lord], Tsukumo no Gama--he shouldn't underestimate him! Inuyasha tries to kill the demon, but Nobunaga tells him not to when they realize that the real lord's mind has been preserved inside the demon. Inuyasha sits down in a huff when Nobunaga places himself between Tessaiga and the demon. But then the demon's control returns, and he wounds Nobunaga. Inuyasha does nothing, claiming that if he interferes, the lord will die. Kagome and Tsuyu run, but Tsukumo no Gama catches up when Tsuyu falls down, pulling Kagome with her. This is when Nobunaga's monkey, after hearing Myouga's suggestion to use fire to drive out the demon, returns with a tiny flame. Just as the demon arrives to "devour" Kagome and Tsuyu, Inuyasha comes to protect them. He's about to kill the demon, no matter if the lord is still inside or not, when Kagome sits him and shoots her hair spray through the little flame, making a huge ball of flame.
The demon is driven out and Inuyasha quickly slays it, grabbing up a Shikon shard. The lord is saved, and Tsuyu is happy to see him back, much to the dismay of Nobunaga. The episode ends with Inuyasha and Kagome discussing how it was a good thing that a human life was saved.
Episode 9: Shippo And The Thunder Brothers:
As the episode starts out, Inuyasha is eating some of Kagome's food (in an old battlefield, to boot), when it suddenly becomes dark, and a strange blue fire appears. It's a magic trick of a fox demon; so we finally meet Shippou, a very young fox demon who has recently lost his father. Shippou tries to intimidate Inuyasha and Kagome into giving him the shards of the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] that they have, but his huge pink balloon form is definitely not intimidating. They hear his story about the murder of his father, and then the scene cuts to two opposing armies about to battle each other. Two thunder & lightning demons (Hiten and Manten, brothers) come along on a group of dark clouds, and kill one of the armies for fun. Then, when the other army confusedly asks themselves if the demons are on their side, Hiten and Manten kill them off as well. As they fly off, enjoying themselves and bragging to each other about the Shikon shards they stole from a fox demon that they recently killed, we see that Manten is wearing Shippou's father's pelt as a stole.
In the next scene, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou are traveling along a well-trodden road when Shippou decides to insult Inuyasha. Then when Inuyasha hits Shippou over the head a few times, Shippou gets his revenge by place a heavy stone over Inuyasha's hands, pinning him to the ground. He places a scroll on the statue, making it immobile. Then he grabs the Shikon shards from Kagome, who then angrily grabs up her bow and arrows, running after the fleeing Shippou. Leaving Inuyasha to his own devices, Shippou loses Kagome in some tall brush, but surprisingly comes upon Manten (who has issues about the few hairs on his head). Manten shows off the fox pelt, getting Shippou very angry, but Manten then finds out that Shippou has Shikon shards, and demands that Shippou give them to him. Kagome comes along, shooting Manten in the nose with an arrow in an attempt to save Shippou. When Manten doesn't give up his demand to have the Shikon shards, Kagome shoots again, clipping off most of the hairs left on his head. In a rage, Manten releases an awful lot of his thunder powers. Kagome and Shippou get barely far enough away to avoid being killed, but Kagome is knocked unconscious, and a frightened Shippou runs off, leaving Kagome to be kidnapped by Manten, who thinks she's very pretty (eww!).
Shippou runs back to get Inuyasha's help (and has to beg him to go save Kagome, though I'm sure Inuyasha would've gone anyway). They arrive at the brothers' hideout, and the brothers are ready for them. Kagome, to stall them from killing her, told them that Inuyasha would give up the Shikon shards he had for her because he was in love with her. They decide to believe her, but when Inuyasha is confronted with this story, he's incredulous, and makes Kagome think that he's entirely insensitive (actually, he was secretly quite relieved to see her still alive). The brothers know he has the shards anyway, though, and the older brother, Hiten, immediately begins to fight with Inuyasha. Powered up by Shikon shards and using Raijekijin [Blade of Lightning], the brother is going to be a hard foe to defeat. We're left with another cliffhanger
Episode 10: Phantom Showdown:
We pick up where we left off, and Inuyasha battles it out with Hiten. Kagome pushes Manten out of his floating cloud (and Manten hits the ground hard), but his floating cloud at once dissipates. Kagome falls to the ground, but she's saved from broken bones by landing on Manten. Kagome thinks she'll be okay, but then sees that Manten is still alive! Shippou comes to save the day, and his Tsubushi Goma [Smashing Top] attack clips off the last hair on Manten's head. Now that Manten is super mad, Shippou and Kagome run for it. They try to trick Manten by having Shippou pose as Kagome, but it doesn't quite work. Inuyasha, distracted by Kagome's predicament, is hit in the shoulder by Hiten's Raijekijin [Blade of Lightning]. Inuyasha decides that he must solve the Manten problem before he can fight Hiten. Meanwhile, Shippou has latched onto Manten's throat with his teeth, and, though he must be in a lot of pain, doesn't let go even as Manten hits him pretty hard on the head. With the other hand, Manten holds Kagome by the throat, attempting to choke her.
Inuyasha, making like he's throwing his Tesseiga at Hiten, hits Manten instead, and Manten is annihilated. Kagome retrieves the pelt of Shippou's father and takes Tessaiga out of Manten's body, but is unable to get it to Inuyasha before Hiten knocks her away with his lightning attacks. Manten dies in his brother's arms, and Hiten, very mad, consumes the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shards that were in his brother's forehead.
Inuyasha is struggling in his fight with Hiten now that the lightning demon has five Shikon shards, but at least his scabbard for Tessaiga is able to block some of Hiten's attacks. Since Hiten can fly freely with his 'fire wheels,' Kagome uses the arrow she pulled from Manten's nose earlier and fires her bow at Hiten's fire wheels, shattering one. Inuyasha takes the opportunity to punch Hiten. Now Hiten is bursting with anger, and comes at Inuyasha, who blocks with his scabbard. The scabbard starts to crack, and the others are desperate to help him. Kagome sees Tessaiga near Manten's body, but Shippou beats her to the punch. Hiten sees Kagome (still holding the fur of Shippou's father) and Shippou going for the sword, and (still pressing his Raigekijin down on Inuyasha) uses his brother's thunder attack (via the mouth) to attack Shippou and Kagome.
Inuyasha, quite alarmed and angry, still wants to fight Hiten (who obliges). The sheath is about to crack when the scabbard calls the sword to it and Inuyasha is able to use Tessaiga against Hiten. With one swipe, he breaks Raigekijin and kills Hiten. The five shards drop to the ground as Hiten disintegrates. Inuyasha, saddened by Kagome's death (and Shippou's, too, I suppose), turns to see what looks like Kagome and Shippou's ghosts, pausing to say thank you. They are surrounded by a blue fire, and then look as if their spirits are leaving. Inuyasha yells for them to wait, and grabs Kagome by the arm. The blue fire rises up into the air, and Inuyasha yells Kagome's name (how sweet!), but he looks down to see that Kagome is still standing there with Shippou (uhh, guess they didn't die...hehe). The blue fire was the fox fire of Shippou's father's pelt, which protected Kagome and Shippou from Hiten's attack. Inuyasha fakes being angry since he's embarrassed about his emotional outburst. As they travel away at the end of the episode, Inuyasha pesters Shippou about leaving (he's not leaving since the poor kid has no parents now), and Kagome makes him stop by sitting him.
Episode 11: Terror Of The Ancient Noh Mask:
Kagome, who has tests soon, leaves feudal Japan to go home, taking with her the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shards that she has so far and leaving them on the desk in her room. At school, she receives health sandals from Houjou-kun, a male classmate who seems to be interested in her. Because of Jii-chan's outrageous lies, given in order to make excuses for Kagome's absences, Houjou-kun thinks that Kagome had gout! Back at the house, Jii-chan finds a fire in one of the storehouses! He sees that the Nikuzuki no Men [Mask of Flesh] has broken the scrolls that were an attempt to seal it when a Nou actor gave the mask to Jii-chan's great-great-grandfather to exorcise it. The mask chants that it wants a body (a living body) and darts around the room randomly as it searches. Jii-chan tries to stop it, but the fire spreads quickly and a rafter of the storehouse breaks, falling on top of him.
Later, Kagome comes home to find a crowd and the fire department. She learns of what happened, and her mother leaves to see Jii-chan at the hospital. Meanwhile, a fire fighter inside the now-soaked storehouse is caught off guard by the mask, which rises from a watery hole in the storehouse floor to latch onto his face (eww!). The mask, now with a body, then steals a fire truck and roams about the city, crashing into other cars and consuming the bodies of the passengers. The mask, attracted to the shards in Kagome's room, later returns to attack her home (Souta happens to be in the room, talking with her, when the mask attacks). Breaking the glass of her window, the mask doesn't have good control of its black gooey body, and Kagome is able to rescue the bottle of shards before grabbing her brother and racing out of the room. Souta is scared by the blood from the glass cuts on Kagome's hand, but Kagome continues to run. The mask attacks again from above once Kagome and Souta are outside, so Kagome has a chance to see the Shikon shard on its forehead. She tells Souta to go through the well and get Inuyasha before running off. Souta jumps into the well, but sadly hits hard (poor baby!) because he has no "link" to get there. As he cries for help, Inuyasha suddenly comes through the portal (looking rather cool, I must say).
What made him come through was the smell of Kagome's blood, which had dripped onto Souta's hand. Letting Souta tag along, Inuyasha seeks out Kagome. He saves her at a critical moment, and the mask has to take time to collect itself. This gives Inuyasha time to make Kagome apologize for sitting him earlier in the episode. She's entirely insincere when apologizing, but the mask interrupts, and gives us the reason why it has a Shikon shard. When the Shikon no Tama was shattered and shot off in different directions, one shard was buried in the trunk of a cinnamon tree, from which the mask was carved. We see a great fight sequence, and Inuyasha saves the day by pulling out his Tessaiga, which performs the way he wants since he's protecting Souta's life in the process of destroying the mask. Daylight suddenly pours over the area, and though Kagome takes a second to see how nice Inuyasha is finally being to her, she then realizes she still has tests to take (and has somehow missed a whole night of sleep). Running off, she leaves Inuyasha and Souta behind...Inuyasha feels a bit unappreciated, but at least Souta tells him that was cool.
Episode 12: The Soul Piper And The Mischeviouse Little Soul:
Kagome walks home with her friends after school, and takes a moment to seriously consider if a high school will accept her considering the way she's now living, but is distracted by a young girl playing a prank on some children. The young girl is surprised that Kagome can see her after Kagome tells her to stop with the pranks. The girl nevertheless tells Kagome to mind her own business and disappears in a burst of flames, which completely confuses Kagome. Meanwhile, Inuyasha is using hagane bachi [steel bees] to repair the crack in his scabbard. As he, Shippou, and Myouga wait for the wax to do its thing, they see the demon, Tatari Mokke, playing its flute and floating along the nearby river with the souls of dead children laughing around it. Myouga explains that Tatari Mokke was born from these souls, and plays with the souls of recently deceased children until they can pass onto the next world. Myouga then says that the demon is gentle, as long as it keeps its eyes closed (foreshadowing!).
Kagome later takes Souta to a hospital while her mother tends to other errands so that he can visit a friend, Satoru, who's still in a coma after being caught in a fire in the apartment that he, his mother, and his sister lived in. Sadly, the sister, Mayu, died in the fire. While they're visiting, the same girl that Kagome saw playing a prank reaches out from under Satoru's bed to yank on the line to his IV, crashing the unit to the floor. Kagome recognizes her and knows that she must not let the situation go on like it is! Kagome and Souta pass by the burnt apartment on their way home, and Mayu throws a pot at them to scare them away. Kagome confronts Mayu, but Mayu tells Kagome not to interfere, or she'll kill her as well. Mayu then becomes angry and de-roots nearby bushes and a tree, throwing them about to scare Kagome. Kagome hears a flute and turns to see the Tatari Mokke. Somehow, she garners something important from looking at the Tatari Mokke, and says out loud, "Until the eyes open." She goes to feudal Japan to ask Myouga for advice, and he tells her about the Tatari Mokke. He also tells her that children who can't pass on become evil spirits. Kagome wants to help Mayu now.
Here's Mayu's story: When Satoru became ill six months ago, Mayu's mother couldn't make it to Mayu's play, which got Mayu mad at her mom, so she ran off. She has actually run away before, but her mother was used to her coming back after a little while. Her mother had to leave to get groceries and medicine, so when Mayu came back, she hid in a closet, telling Satoru not to tell their mother that she was in there so that she could make her worry. Hanging her scarf above the furnace in his room, she didn't pay attention to Satoru when he told her that she should hang it elsewhere. It wasn't long until the apartment was on fire. The mother came back home, and--thinking Mayu was still away from the apartment--she grabbed only Satoru. Mayu, trapped inside the closet and thinking that her mom had abandoned her, died in the fire.
Inuyasha tells Kagome that helping Mayu is impossible since she's a ghost, not a demon. She leaves him babbling (at which point Shippou calls him an idiot...hehehe) to seek out Mayu and Satoru's mother to get the story about Mayu. After hearing it, they see that Satoru's room is under attack, and run to find Mayu making a mess. After knocking her mother out, Mayu throws Satoru's bed, with him on it, out the window, despite Kagome's attempt to reason with her. Thankfully, Inuyasha has come to help, so Satoru didn't meet an ugly end. (What a sweet guy!) However, he's still certain that there's nothing Kagome can do.
The Tatari Mokke appears behind Mayu, and opens its eyes almost to their fullest. Chains surround Mayu, and the Tatari Mokke tugs her along to take her spirit to hell, the portal of which is in the burnt apartment. Inuyasha still takes Kagome to the apartment even though he says it's no use, and tries to go into the apartment with her, but only full humans can pass beyond the boundary (remember, Inuyasha is half-demon). Kagome runs through the burning apartment (she has gone back to the time when it was burning...or it's a recreation...something like that), looking for Mayu. Mayu, chained inside the closet, is about to be pulled into hell when Kagome finally finds her. Grabbing her hand, Kagome saves the child's soul by helping her get past her anger and regret. At the hospital, Satoru has finally woken up. Mayu is able to make up with her mother, and thanks Kagome before she leaves (not to hell, thank goodness).
Episode 13: The Mystery of the New Moon: Black-Haired Inuyasha:
Kagome is trying to leave school to 'keep a promise' when she's waylaid by Houjou-kun, who wants to ask her on a date. Her friends encourage her, and Kagome decides to accept the date. Kagome and Inuyasha leave through the well in the next scene. Going along a river in a boat (with Shippou seasick), the Yasha gang is seeking another Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard. They pass under huge spider web strands going across the river's steep banks, and then see something shove a young woman off the cliff higher up. Inuyasha is gracious enough to catch her, and the girl, Nazuna, lets the Yasha gang know that the thing that pushed her was Kumogashira [Spider Demon Boss], and that he and his minions are terrorizing the local villages. They take her home, where they meet the monk who has assumed the position of her guardian after her parents' death.
They stay the night at the monk's insistence, and Inuyasha looks quite uncomfortable the whole time. After Kagome incorrectly assumes that he's scared of spiders, Inuyasha is about to go off to sleep alone, but sees that they were already surrounded by the spider demons..."his nose had already failed him." (Foreshadowing!) Kagome, Shippou, and Myouga wonder why Tessaiga hasn't transformed, and Nazuna finds the monk unconscious under a spider web. Inuyasha tries to fight for a bit, but is covered with spider webs. Shippou uses his Kitsune Bi [Fox Fire] attack to at least get them away. As they stop to rest, Kagome asks Inuyasha what's wrong, and pulls off the web over his head...to see that his hair is now black! His dog ears are gone, too. ...He's human!! Myouga explains that a hanyou [half-demon] lose his demonic powers once in a while; for Inuyasha, it's the first night of every month when the moon has disappeared (New Moon). Nazuna then shows up, asking them to save her guardian monk. It's at that moment that Kagome realizes the Shikon shards are still in her bag, which she left behind...so Inuyasha and Shippou go off to get them back, and hopefully help out the monk (Inuyasha leaves Tessaiga behind for Kagome in case they need it).
When Inuyasha and Shippou arrive, they see that the monk is Kumogashira. Inuyasha can't do much as a human, and gets himself bitten. The poison starts to paralyze him and will soon kill him. Shippou, only able to rescue some of the shards before Kumogashira got the rest, is by himself now. However, Kagome and Nazuna come to the rescue. Kagome uses Tessaiga to free Inuyasha from the web that is holding him in place, crying as she does so, and pulls him into a room off to the side of the main hall. Placing Tessaiga on the door, they manage to seal the room off from Kumogashira and his minions so that they can recuperate. Myouga sucks out the blood, and in a seemingly well-placed bit of comic relief, says to the camera, "Nice to meet you. I'm Chubby Myouga." Inuyasha spends the night with his head on Kagome's lap and sleepily admits to Kagome that he "likes her scent," which definitely gets Kagome's heart beating).
About a moment before sunrise, Kumogashira crushes the building in his attempt to reach the last of the Shikon shards. He shakes them out of Shippou's pockets, and Nazuna tries to confront the spider boss with Tessaiga, but loses her will when she learns that there was no human monk at all...it was all a plan to draw out Inuyasha. She's picked up by Kumogashira, and lets Tessaiga drop from her hand. Inuyasha, looking quite refreshed (but still with black hair), plucks the sword out of the air. Kumogashira picks him up in three of his many hands (eww), still thinking Inuyasha is human, but the sun suddenly rises behind Inuyasha, and in a cool sequence, his demonic blood pulsates once again. His hair fades to white, and Inuyasha proceeds to kick Kumogashira's butt!
Afterwards, Kagome and Shippou find that the Shikon shards had fused inside of the spider demon's body, and the Shikon no Tama looks about halfway completed. They drop Nazuna off near a town, and head down the river again, with Shippou hanging off the side, seasick (poor baby!).
Episode 14: Kikyo's Stolen Ashes
At the beginning of this episode, we see a demon that looks like an old hag. She attacks Kaede's village, and steals the bones of her sister, Kikyou, for her own purposes. She identifies herself as Kijo Urasue before flying off into the night. In the next scene, Inuyasha wakes from a dream about Kikyou, and accidentally wakes up Kagome as he stares at her face in thought. They argue for a bit, but look up to see the old hag demon flying across the sky...and Inuyasha smells Kaede's blood on her. So they return to the village, and Kaede tells them what happened. Inuyasha doesn't want to get involved because of the hurt he still feels about Kikyou sealing him to the tree. We once again see the scenes from 50 years ago when Naraku tricked Inuyasha and Kikyou into hating each other. Kagome convinces him that he should go, and the Yasha gang (plus Kaede) go to retrieve Kikyou's bones.
That night, Kagome thinks about Inuyasha's feelings for Kikyou, and suspects that it's not all hate. The next morning, Kagome studies Inuyasha, and confirms at least one thing...he was in love with Kikyou. Kagome believes at the time that it was a one-sided love, which shows on her face, and makes Inuyasha curious about the pity in her eyes. We then see that Kijo Urasue has mixed Kikyou's bones and the earth from the grave, and baked them in the shape of a body. She also uses some of her magic, and from the clay has created a new body for Kikyou. Kijo Urasue wants Kikyou to collect all the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shards, and give them to her (she does have authority over Kikyou for giving her a new body, I guess). The body is empty, though, because Kikyou's soul has already been reincarnated (in Kagome), which gets Kijo Urasue very mad.
The Yasha gang (plus Kaede) reach Kijo Urasue's hideout, and are about to cross a long rickety bridge when the same clay dolls they saw earlier appear at each end, crack open to reveal run-of-the-mill warriors, and attack everyone. Kijo Urasue hears the racket Inuyasha makes, and sees that the Kikyou re-make is reacting to the proximity of the outsiders. She goes outside to check, and sees that Kagome looks just like Kikyou...seeing her chance at such a coincidence, she cuts the bridge in half with her sickle, and grabs up Kagome as the Yasha gang (plus Kaede) drop to the ravine below. She tells Kagome her plans (though I don't know why), and we're left with another cliffhanger!
Episode 15: The Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyo:
Inuyasha, Kaede, and Shippou land safely (relatively) at the bottom of the ravine, and Inuyasha takes time to slash at some more clay warriors with Tessaiga. When they've been defeated, the human souls inside that allowed them to move float away, and Kaede explains that Kijo Urasue must have stolen Kikyou's bones in order to attract her soul into a body that she made...then realizes that Kijo Urasue just kidnapped Kagome. Telling the rest of the Yasha gang that they must hurry, she says that they may now actually meet Kikyou (Inuyasha's shocked at this), and that Kijo Urasue will be a tough opponent.
Meanwhile, the old hag demon has placed Kagome in a tub of medical herbs meant to draw out Kagome's soul and allow the Kikyou re-make to absorb it. Kagome fights for as long as possible, but the herbs begin to work, and the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shards she has with her react to the process. As her soul leaves her body, it gives off a very bright light (Kagome has a very big soul...what that means, I don't know). Inuyasha, Kaede, and Shippou finally arrive to see the bright light, and the Kikyou re-make. We hear Kikyou's voice (coming from the bright light), saying not to speak her name, but of course, Inuyasha does. It seems to be the catalyst, and the soul finally leaves Kagome's body.
Kijo Urasue gloats over the success of her plan and tries to order Kikyou to kill the 'intruders,' but Kikyou kills Kijo Urasue instead (one point for Kikyou, I guess). Then Kikyou demands Inuyasha tell her why he betrayed her, and a red light re-creates the wound she had received before she died. Kaede asks Inuyasha why he doesn't remember the wound he gave her, and Inuyasha is clueless...he, of course, never hurt Kikyou at all...the fake Inuyasha (Naraku) did. A bit of the Kikyou-Inuyasha story I covered in the summary of episode one is revealed by their conversation.
Kikyou attacks Inuyasha, and when Kaede tries to stop her (she may be Kikyou's younger sister, but she's got a lot more experience that Kikyou now), she pushes her own sister away, pulling the bow and arrows from her as she shoves. She shoots an arrow at Inuyasha, missing, and Shippou has managed to pull Kagome's body out of the tub (remember, Shippou has loyalty only to Kagome). He asks what will happen to Kagome, and Kaede says that if Kikyou doesn't carry out her revenge, their soul will not settle down, and Kagome will remain asleep forever. Kikyou fires off another arrow, and though Inuyasha tries to block it with Tessaiga, the sword loses its transformation, and the arrow begins to penetrate Inuyasha's skin. As he cries out, Kagome's body stirs, and her eyes open. Of a sudden, the "parts" of Kagome's soul inside the re-make of Kikyou begin to leave the clay body. Kikyou is still able to move around, though, and Inuyasha wonders if Kikyou still has a part of the soul. However, the somehow-still-alive Kijo Urasue gladly explains that the only thing driving the clay body now is Kikyou's hatred of Inuyasha (I think it's more of a love/hatred, ying/yang sort of thing). The old hag disintegrates as she finishes, laughing maniacally.
Inuyasha runs in the direction that Kikyou left in, rescues her from falling down the cliff, and tells her that she should return the last part of the soul to Kagome, but Kikyou turns his words around to mean that he wants her to die (geez, she's messed up), and uses her holy powers to make him let her go. She falls down the cliff, and vanishes in the fog. Inuyasha angrily asks himself why it had to turn out like this, and has a brief flashback that reveals more of the story covered in the episode one summary. He then walks back to the others, in a lot of emotional and physical pain (poor baby!).
Episode 16: The Mystical Hand Of The Amourous Monk Miroku:
As the episode starts out, Kagome, Shippou, and Inuyasha reflect individually upon the events that occurred in episode fifteen. We then see Miroku, who is randomly traveling around, and he's trying to decide which path at a fork in the road he should take. Though he uses luck to decide, he overhears from a couple of villagers walking by that the teahouse down the other path has new girls, with 'white skin and round eyes.' So the lecherous Miroku changes his own luck and goes down the teahouse path. He's rewarded with girls that have white skin and round eyes, but round bodies as well. (This is just a good example of his licentiousness). He then overhears the same villager, who stopped at the teahouse, gossiping about a wealthy nobleman's daughter needing help due to an evil spirit possessing her body. All Miroku seems to hear is 'wealthy' and 'nobleman's daughter,' so he of course goes to the nobleman's house. The daughter, however, is almost as round as the teahouse girls. Miroku, as a monk, still senses the evil spirit, though. He vanquishes the weasel demon (who has a Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard) that has resided in a Buddha statue in the room, and manages to rob the rest of the room before disappearing, but not before leaving a positive impression on the naïve daughter.
He takes a bath later, after selling what he stole, when he hears Kagome splashing around from another part of the pond (and gets a good glimpse of her nude O_o). He gets out of there pretty fast, and confirms that she has companions with her. He gets his raccoon friend, Hachiemon, to help him attack the Yasha gang the next morning, and get the Shikon shards from Kagome. The Yasha gang follows Miroku's scent into a village, where Inuyasha immediately starts a fight. Miroku tries to avoid fighting, but Inuyasha is persistent. Miroku blocks Tessaiga with his monk's staff, and says that he helps people with his Houriki [Power of Buddha]. Inuyasha manages to get the staff away from Miroku, but Miroku then runs to the outskirts of town, and uses his Kazaana [Wind Tunnel] on Inuyasha. His Houriki is a black hole, and Kagome says to herself that a black hole in no normal Houriki (makes me wonder what is normal, then). She lets herself be pulled toward the black hole in order to make Miroku seal it up to keep from sucking her in, saving Inuyasha from such a fate. Landing on Miroku, Kagome is unconscious for a bit, and Inuyasha rushes to her side.
Kagome tells him that she thinks Miroku must be a somewhat reasonable person, right before he cops a feel of her rear end. She's quite angry, of course, but Miroku takes a few moments to explain his situation. Here's his story: Naraku is the reason why Miroku is trying to find all of the Shikon shards. Naraku placed a curse on his grandfather to place the Kazaana in his right hand. His father also had it, and now he's cursed with it. Unfortunately, the bad part of the curse comes in when the Kazaana sucks Miroku inside of it as well. That's what happened to his father and grandfather. It's also why he's always asking pretty girls to 'bear his child'...he needs someone to carry on the family line in case he's sucked into his own Kazaana before he can kill Naraku and get the curse lifted.
During his story, he mentions a priestess, and we basically confirm that Naraku is the one who did the evil deeds of 50 years ago. (It's finally coming together!) Since Miroku and Inuyasha have the same goal (getting the Shikon no Tama and killing Naraku), they join forces. Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome get way off topic, though, when Miroku asks Kagome to bear his child (which brings out the green monster in Inuyasha)...ah, it's so sweet
Episode 17: The Cursed Ink Of The Hell Painter:
As this episode starts, we see a seedy-looking man running away from some people. He has a Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard in his ink case that allows his drawings of beasts, demons, and other nasty things to come to life and fight for him. So he uses this power to slaughter the men chasing him. When the Yasha gang views the carnage the next morning, the battle scene is odd...Inuyasha can't smell any blood. Miroku takes his leave of the Yasha gang, and after he's out of earshot, Inuyasha lets Kagome and Shippou know that he could smell a lot of ink on the battleground, and wants to follow the scent.
Meanwhile, the painter tries to lie to a mansion lord about his involvement in the battle of the night before to get a good position in the household, but he's caught at it. The mansion guards are beating him up when the hime [princess] of the mansion tells them not to be so harsh before sweeping away grandly. The painter, of course, gets a huge crush. The guards throw him into the river, and he gets out downstream, ranting off his plans like a lunatic. Just then, Inuyasha catches up to the smell he's been after and grabs the painter. The painter manages to wriggle away and let loose one of his monsters, an oni [ogre]. Inuyasha takes one slice at it, and kills it instantly with Tessaiga, releasing all of the ink inside, the smell of which is so strong that it knocks Inuyasha out (his sense of smell is too acute to take it).
Later that night, Miroku is trying to gain entrance into the same mansion for a night's sleep when the dreams of the painter make the ink move of its own will...thus, a bunch of mythic monsters attack the mansion. Though the mansion's guards had turned Miroku away for trying to con them into thinking that there was an evil omen over the house, the attack (withdrawn when the painter wakes up) gets Miroku into the mansion really easily. He's trying to con the mansion lord some more when Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou come by to collaborate with Miroku on the events of the past hour or so. It's during their conversation that Kagome reveals that she knows that Miroku has three Shikon shards, which impresses Miroku. However, the mansion guards overhear their conversation and tell the mansion lord, who decides that he wants the painter's shard, plus Miroku's shards.
That night, the guards attack Miroku, who left a fake pillow (or something) under his blanket...meaning, they didn't manage to kill him. He easily overtakes them and makes them tell him where the painter lives...the Yasha gang has run over by now to make sure he's okay. Miroku grabs Kagome's bike and high tails it to the painter's house, so Inuyasha has to carry Kagome and Shippou on his back and do a samurai run to catch up to Miroku. Meanwhile, the mansion lord has gathered his small army and is attacking the painter's house. Though we see Inuyasha and his posse arrive to save the mansion lord (even if he doesn't deserve it), we don't see Miroku anywhere. Note: It's kind of cool that Inuyasha can use Tessaiga and jump around hitting the ogre with it when he's got Kagome and Shippou on his back (hopefully holding on tight), but isn't that kind of unrealistic?
The smell of the ink and blood knocks Inuyasha out again, and as a random ogre approaches to attack, Miroku arrives to deal with it. He opens up his Kazaana and sucks in almost all the monsters (woohoo!), except he hasn't sucked in that much evil energy before, and it feels pretty nasty. Then a big, three-headed dragon thing bursts out of the painter's house with the painter riding on the middle head. Inuyasha asks Kagome where the shard is, and she points out the bamboo tube on his side. Inuyasha then hops onto the dragon thing, telling Miroku off as he goes. The painter unleashes some more monsters, and Inuyasha simply beats them off with his fists. In a really funny scene, Miroku asks Kagome what kind of sorcery it is that Inuyasha can beat them off, and Kagome replies that she thinks he's just beating the crap out of them.
Inuyasha then fights his way to the top of the dragon thing, and uses Tessaiga to slice the bamboo tube in half, rendering the ink monsters back into puddles of ink. The painter, desperate to save his ink, ends up doing something stupid...he invites his ink monsters to drink his own blood. So they oblige and end up killing him. Another funny scene occurs when the Yasha gang (plus Miroku) approach the huge puddle of ink, and Miroku says to himself that the evil coating the Shikon shard will keep anyone from touching it for a while. However, Kagome seems to have no problem picking it up, which shocks Miroku. The next day as they continue their travels, Miroku has decided to tag along (add Miroku to the Yasha gang!). Though Inuyasha walks in front, Kagome and Miroku discuss together how he really is a good person, since he didn't kill the painter himself.
Episode 18: Naraku And Sesshoamru Joun Forces:
As the title suggests, something bad is going to happen: Sesshoumaru and Naraku are going to make a deal (nooooo!). We see a quick recap of the events of 50 years ago. Then we see a group of thieves after they've just plundered a small village. They decide to attack Sesshoumaru, who's out and about, and who looks like a human. However, Sesshoumaru has a pretty new accessory...an ao-oni [blue ogre] arm to replace the one that Inuyasha hacked off. He kills the thieves with one swipe. However, he informs Jaken that the arm is far from suitable, and tells him to find a better one.
As if on cue, Naraku in his stupid-looking baboon coat shows up, saying how he hates Inuyasha just as Sesshoumaru does, and wants to give Sesshoumaru a human arm with a Shikon shard in it. He explains that the human arm will allow Sesshoumaru to hold Tessaiga (remember, only those with human blood...or a human arm I guess...can hold the sword), and that the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard will increase his own power. He also gives Sesshoumaru a hive of saimyoushou [Hell's Insects] that will prevent Miroku from using his Kazaana [Wind Tunnel] (Naraku is a smart jerk, isn't he?).
The Yasha gang has obtained lodging (through shady means) for the night and are about to go to bed when they feel the ground shake as if something large were coming their way. Kagome senses a Shikon shard, so of course Inuyasha and Miroku are itching to go get it. The big thing turns out to be another of Sesshoumaru's Rent-A-Demon's, and he is once again sitting on the ogre's shoulder. Inuyasha is ticked that his brother is there, and Sesshoumaru immediately begins to attack Inuyasha. He demands Tessaiga from Inuyasha, who isn't going to give it up, of course...Sesshoumaru just asks dumb questions sometimes. They fight for a bit, and it's obvious from Sesshoumaru's taunts that Tessaiga has a power that Inuyasha hasn't discovered yet...Kaze no Kizu [Wound of the Wind].
Sesshoumaru gets Tessaiga away from Inuyasha, and picks it up, much to the shock of everyone else. Sesshoumaru is then kind enough to demonstrate Kaze no Kizu, using his Rent-A-Demon to drive out the demons on the mountain near them. With one swing, he completely decimates about 100 demons, and most of the mountain. Miroku tries to help fight Sesshoumaru with his Kazaana, but Sesshoumaru throws out the hive of saimyoushou, and puts Miroku out of commission. Kagome goes to get antidote from her bag, and Inuyasha and Shippou kill of the rest of the evil bees. Inuyasha then hauls Miroku behind the ogre's head (who's now dead), but Sesshoumaru follows to throw another Kaze no Kizu at them.
They survive it, thank goodness, and Inuyasha comes at Sesshoumaru, parrying Tessaiga with its scabbard. Meanwhile, Miroku is beating up Jaken (yeah!) in order to get some information out of him on the evil bees. He doesn't get his information, though, and Sesshoumaru is about to deal a heavy blow to Inuyasha when Kagome saves the day (YEAH!!!) by shooting Tessaiga's blade with one of her purity arrows, thus breaking its transformation. Though it doesn't show, Sesshoumaru and Miroku are impressed. Kagome has another arrow ready and aimed at Sesshoumaru's head when the episode ends.
Episode 19: G oBack To You're Own Time Kagome:
As we pick up where we left off, Kagome shoots again, but misses since Sesshomaru is just so fast. She had aimed for the Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard in Sesshoumaru's new human left arm, so Sesshoumaru decides to come after her. Inuyasha, quite alarmed, moves faster than usual in order to protect Kagome. Telling her that Sesshoumaru is a harder enemy than she thinks, Inuyasha tells her to take care of Miroku. Sesshoumaru is slightly amused over the de-transformation of Tessaiga, and it's then that Jaken points out for us that Sesshoumaru's face was scratched by Inuyasha's attack when Sesshoumaru went for Kagome. Jaken gets a smack upside the head by Miroku, who finally beats out the name of the person who gave the saimyoushou [Hell's Insects] to Sesshoumaru...Naraku, of course. Miroku then beats the crap out of Jaken, anyway. Kagome shows up to give the antidote to Miroku, and then pops out from behind the rocks that Miroku and Shippou were hiding behind to try to hit Sesshoumaru again since Inuyasha's fight with his older brother has been dragging on for a while.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha tells Sesshoumaru (though why he gives the surprise way is a mystery to me) that he's going to rip off his left arm, and Sesshoumaru replies that Inuyasha probably couldn't even touch it. He turns out to be right and lands a good punch on Inuyasha's face. While Sesshoumaru's distracted, Kagome's arrow breaks the armor on his left shoulder (so close!). To get her out of the way, Sesshoumaru attacks her with Kaze no Kizu [Wound of the Wind], so Inuyasha has to save her. He does a superb job, though Kagome does get knocked out. Sesshoumaru has finally gotten Tessaiga to transform again, and Inuyasha tells Miroku and Shippou to get Kagome out of there. He goes at Sesshoumaru to rip the arm off again, and manages to grab Sesshoumaru just as he is about to use Kaze no Kizu again. Though Sesshoumaru gives Inuyasha a really bad wound while Inuyasha's there, Inuyasha manages to come away with the sword.
Kagome wakes up in Miroku's arms as he flees the battle scene, and she tries to go back to help, but Miroku stops her. Inuyasha, badly hurt, has to take a knee to keep from falling unconscious, and has Tessaiga's blade outward towards Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru knows that he can't take a step closer to Inuyasha because he'd feel the full power of the sword...I think this means that Inuyasha's in a such a desperate state that he's close to being able to use Kaze no Kizu, which could, of course, kill Sesshoumaru. So Sesshoumaru leaves as if he's just tired of trying to get the blade (he can't pick it up anyway since the hand of his human arm's been ripped off). Kagome runs to help Inuyasha, who falls unconscious.
As Sesshoumaru leaves the area, saimyoushou follow to retrieve the Shikon shard still embedded in the remainder of the human arm, the skin of which is creeping up over Sesshoumaru's body (eww!). Sesshoumaru easily rips the old arm off, tossing the Shikon shard to the evil bees. Sesshoumaru follows the bees to their master, and confronts him (or rather, Jaken does the confronting) about the arm-skin-creeping-up-thing...Naraku says it was merely a way to get the shard back. Sesshoumaru then slashes the baboon coat, ripping Naraku's head off, but Sesshoumaru knows that Naraku was just using a kugutsu [puppet].
As the Yasha gang rides Hachiemon's squash form back to Kaede's village to recuperate, Kagome and Shippou decide not to tell Inuyasha about Naraku giving the arm or the saimyoushou to Sesshoumaru since it might make him want to go looking for Naraku despite his serious wound. When they arrive back to the village, Inuyasha takes Kagome to talk alone, and leads her to the Bone-Gobbling Well. He tells her that it'll be dangerous from now on, to which she replies that she's not scared, and that she wants to finish off that evil jerk, Naraku. This comment gets her a big hug from Inuyasha, right before he pockets the shards she was carrying and shoves her into the well. Miroku and Shippou, who've been spying on them, ask him why he did it, and he tells them that it's where she belongs (and looking like he's in more than physical pain). Kagome, in her time, tries to go back, but can't because there's no Shikon shard on her side. Cliffhanger!!!
Episode 20: Despicable Villan! The Mystery Of Onigumo:
As the title suggests, we learn a bit more about the origin of Naraku...the evil human who joined with hundreds of demons to form a hanyou is Onigumo...and how he came to meet Kikyou, Kaede, and even Inuyasha. After the subtitle, we see that Inuyasha has stuffed a tree down his end of the Bone-Gobbling Well to try to keep Kagome from coming back (as if it would help O_o). Shippou's mad at Inuyasha, of course, since he likes Kagome so much. Inuyasha explains angrily that he can't fight the way he wants to if Kagome is with him. Miroku asks Inuyasha if he has actually met Naraku, but of course Inuyasha hasn't...he's only seen one of Naraku's false forms (we then get some flashback scenes). Shippou's now crying on the tree trunk sticking up from the well, and Miroku suggests that perhaps it isn't Inuyasha who Naraku was targeting, but Kikyou (smart monk!). Meanwhile, Kagome is brooding about what happened while at school the next day (having to wear plain clothes since Inuyasha's wound bled all over her uniform).
Later, Inuyasha is getting treatment from Kaede, who tells Inuyasha and Miroku a theory she has had ever since Kikyou was resurrected. She recounts her memories of Onigumo: he was a mountain thief who was nearly burned to death, and broke both legs. Kikyou, as a priestess, took care of him since he could no longer move from where he lay in his little cave, which he called home. Kaede remembers Onigumo to be a twisted, evil man...who had a dirty lust for Kikyou (we now have the motive for Onigumo inviting demons to devour him, thus turning him into Naraku). The Yasha gang (minus Shippou, who's trying to get the tree out of the well) and Kaede go into the cave where Onigumo once lived to check it out.
Though Shippou can't move the tree, he's determined to fix it somehow (and gets himself mad at Inuyasha, even to the point where he yells Inuyasha's name). It's then that a group of wolves come upon Shippou, and the lead wolf demon menacingly growls Inuyasha's name. Shippou turns around in a very funny way to see that the wolf demon is very big. Meanwhile, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kaede enter the cave and see that the spot where Onigumo used to lay is devoid of foliage. Though I've told you how Onigumo became Naraku, the rest of the cast is confused as to why a human gives off the strong evil energy of a demon. They're left rubbing their chins when they hear Shippou calling for help. Inuyasha saves the day by killing off the wolves chasing Shippou, thus reopening his wound, but at least he has been introduced to Rouyakan, the wolf demon Shippou "met" earlier. Rouyakan, according to Kaede, is supposed to be the gentle protector of the forest.
He seems to regurgitate wolves at will, thus making it hard for the Yasha gang to fight them off since it's a never-ending supply. We then see, though, that the never-ending supply is due to a Shikon no Tama [Jewel of Four Souls] shard placed in Rouyakan's forehead by Naraku. Miroku manages to drive Rouyakan away by using his Kazaana [Wind Tunnel] a few times, saving Inuyasha some pain, but Rouyakan is sure to be back, so the gang heads back to the village. Meanwhile, Kagome is in gym class, wondering why Inuyasha hasn't come back for her after three days, when Houjou-kun comes by to talk to her about a date on Saturday. She accepts after some prodding from her friends, who think she has fallen in love with some other guy. Still angry with him for pushing her into the well, she later tries to go through again, but nothing happens.
Back in feudal Japan, Inuyasha has been sealed into a room with Shippou using warding scrolls so that he can't leave (to keep him from reopening his wound). Shippou, trying to console Inuyasha, turns his form into Kagome's and tells him to please go to sleep. Inuyasha thinks it's her for a split second, but then Shippou (who still has his tail poking from underneath Kagome's skirt) asks Inuyasha if he wants to sleep with him (sleep only...) tonight, getting Inuyasha quite angry. Miroku and Kaede convince Inuyasha to cool it with the Naraku hunt until his wound heals, and later that night, Shippou and Inuyasha exchange a couple words about Kagome (and we hear a little of Inuyasha's worries about Kagome, though they're not spoken out loud).
Meanwhile, we see that Rouyakan is cowering in fear of Miroku's Kazaana, Naraku, and Inuyasha, but Naraku finds him, and "removes" his fear using another shard. Rouyakan, now only full of anger, seeks out Inuyasha once more. Miroku and Kaede, seated outside the small cottage where Inuyasha and Shippou are, have readied themselves to hide the house from any demons seeking it. They sense Rouyakan approaching, and put up a holy barrier. Naraku sees that they've put up the barrier (he can see it since he's not a full demon...another clue given to viewers) and sends a spear towards Kaede. Though he shouldn't move, Miroku blocks the spear with his staff, and the barrier is broken. Rouyakan then attacks the cottage, but it only releases Inuyasha from the warding scrolls that Miroku and Kaede put on the door and walls. He has brought out Tessaiga, and though his wound hasn't healed at all yet, proceeds to attack Rouyakan. He's not effective since his strength isn't back, and drops the shard that Kagome once held. Rouyakan's going for it when Shippou runs by and picks it up. Miroku tries to help, but Naraku releases the saimyoushou [Hell's Insects] to thwart Miroku's efforts. Inuyasha doesn't know what to do, and Shippou runs for his life. Cliffhanger!!!
episode 21: Narakus True Identity Unveiled
We get a long, great sequence of scenes about Kagome's feelings for Inuyasha, which are slowly developing into what may be love very soon. Kagome, however, is on a date with Houjou-kun today, probably trying to convince herself that she doesn't see Inuyasha as the guy for which she has 'soft feelings.' She stops by the well on her way out, and tells Inuyasha (or rather, the bottom of the well) that she's going on a date. O_o
Meanwhile, after Shippou's mad dash away from Rouyakan's summoned wolves as he flees with the Shikon no Tam [Jewel of Four Souls] shard that Inuyasha dropped, he makes it to the Bone-Gobbling Well, and uses his Bunshin [Divide] attack to get an opportunity to hide in the well. The tree is still stuck inside, but he manages to get to the bottom. The Shikon shard makes contact with the bottom of the well, and Kagome, on the other side, senses its presence. She runs back, thinking Inuyasha has come back for her. When she doesn't see anyone, she leaves for her date with Houjou-kun. Meanwhile, the Yasha gang is fighting Rouyakan, the saimyoushou [Hell's Insects], and Rouyakan's summoned wolves (wow). Inuyasha's doing poorly, and Kaede comes to the conclusion that it's not just his wound slowing him down, but also the fact that Kagome isn't there (huh?).
We change to Kagome's date with Houjou-kun. She's distracted by her thoughts of Inuyasha, and Houjou-kun thinks that she's too sick to be there with him (way off, buddy!). Kagome gets too worried about Inuyasha and his wounds to be helped, and she hastily parts with Houjou-kun to run back to the well. At the bottom, she can still feel the presence of a Shikon shard, and begins to dig through the dirt at the bottom. Suddenly, she comes through the time portal and finds the shard in her hand. Shippou, having woken up from his painful incident with a tree branch, sees that the summoned wolves have found him. Kagome, however, has come through the well, much to Shippou's joy and relief. Inuyasha picks up her scent almost instantly, and suddenly does a lot better at fighting. The Yasha gang meet up, and face Naraku!
Inuyasha asks Naraku about the grudges he holds against him, and we hear the story about Onigumo becoming Naraku, and about Onigumo's main motives. Inuyasha's now really ticked off, and asks Kagome how many shards Naraku has. She replies that he's got way more than twenty, and Inuyasha proceeds to attack Naraku. He slashes off the baboon coat that Naraku wears, but Naraku still hides his face. He creates a miasma using his shouki [noxious gas], so the rest of the Yasha gang runs for it. Inuyasha, however, has to land into the middle of it, and we get a partial view of Naraku's face. He thinks Inuyasha has been consumed by the noxious fumes, but Inuyasha whips out Tessaiga, surprising Naraku.
Naraku tries to walk away (an arrogant guy like him wouldn't run), and Inuyasha jumps at him from behind. Tessaiga slashes the clothing from Naraku's back to reveal a spider-shaped scar (reminiscent of Onigumo's burn scars). Naraku uses some mysterious power to get away, which gets Inuyasha even madder. Kagome and Shippou help poor Rouyakan take out the Shikon shards (eh, they at least got a couple shards away from Naraku). As the episode ends, Kagome stares at Inuyasha, concerned about him since he has just learned how Kikyou died. The scene fades with them gazing at each other.
Episode 22: An Evil Smile, Kikyou's Wandering Soul:
Miroku has obtained lodging for the Yasha gang for the night by promising a mansion lord to protect the soul of his dead daughter. Supposedly, a youkai has been stealing the souls of the dead (and we'll see this youkai a lot from now on). We find out that the re-make of Kikyou did not die in her fall from the cliff a few episodes ago...ohhhh, no. From afar, a monk by the name of Seikai has a bad feeling about the new priestess, Kikyou. He thinks she's a monster, and probably has the right to think so. Kikyou knows he's there, and tells him to come out. He feigns politeness, but then pretends to drop a sutra [a scroll meant to bring out the true form of demons]. He asks her to pfor him, and she does so without anything happening (she's not a demon, of course...just "undead"). When she hands back the sutra, though, the monk feels an awful shock inwardly (given to him by Kikyou), but outwardly, he looks fine. However, the sutra has been wiped clean (now, that's pretty cool).
We then see how Kikyou survived her fall, and the relationship she has with a little girl named Sayo. Meanwhile, the Yasha gang has not seen any action over at the mansion, so Miroku has gone to see the younger hime [princess], a very gushy touchy-feely kind of girl, who's all over Miroku. While he's away, the Soul-Snatching Youkai (or Shinidamachuu) tries to steal the soul of the deceased princess, and Inuyasha easily dispatches it. However, Kagome and Inuyasha see lots more outside, all carrying souls. Sayo, in her house in the village where Kikyou's living, wonders why Kikyou wasn't as cheerful as usual that day. Unable to sleep, she wanders out of the house, following Kikyou after seeing her walk by. When Kikyou approaches the riverside, Sayo watches as Kikyou takes in the souls captured by the Shinidamachuu, which scares the poor child. Seikai and his assistant have seen it, too, and Seikai confronts Kikyou. He uses his soul-binding magic to try to let Kikyou's soul (what's left of it) pass onto the other world, but Kikyou, suddenly angry (that temper!), breaks free, and the dragon body that came from Seikai's magic is burst into sharp pieces, one of which stabs Seikai in the neck, killing him.
Since Sayo saw everything, Kikyou cannot approach Sayo without scaring her, and Kikyou realizes she must leave the village that she wanted to live in peacefully. (Geez, she really needs to just stay dead...doesn't she know that?!) The next day, the Yasha gang has stopped by a river to eat lunch when they see the body of Seikai's assistant floating by. Kagome throws Inuyasha into the river to save the monk, and Miroku determines that the monk is only unconscious (whew...not dead is good). Since Kagome looks like Kikyou, the monk freaks out at first, then tells his story. Now Inuyasha's very much interested, and about to go through more emotional pain (damn that Kikyou!). They find out that Kikyou's the one controlling the Shinidamachuu.
Inuyasha goes off by himself, and the Yasha gang stays behind to wait for him. There, Kagome says that Inuyasha's probably still in love with Kikyou (I'd say that a definite yes)...and Kagome looks a bit sad here, too. Miroku sticks his foot in his mouth (not literally), and gets Kagome mad at Inuyasha. Suddenly, they see more Shinidamachuu fly by, and run to follow them. Kagome gets by a barrier, but Miroku and Shippou are blocked. Kagome doesn't realize she's alone until she's out of sight of Miroku and Shippou, but falls down a slippery hill before she can go back to get them. There, she finds Kikyou lounging in a tree with the Shinidamachuu surrounding her (what, is she taking a nap?!).
