Episode 158 - A Stampede of Countless Demon Mice
Naraku suffers a setback as the result of his confrontation with Inuyasha and Kagome. While he and Hakudoshi recover at his mountain lair, Naraku recalls the last time Hakudoshi’s barrier was broken - it was pierced by an arrow from Kikyo. The damage to Hakudoshi indicates Kikyo is still alive and Naraku is eager to put an end to her once, and for all. He needs a plan to lure Kikyo out of hiding and kill her while (he believes) she is still weak and vulnerable from his last attack. But Naraku isn’t the only demon hatching a plot - outside the den Kagura reveals to Kohaku she wants Naraku dead. Kohaku shares her desire but wrestles with his conscience. Although Kohaku also wants to kill Naraku, he remains silent. Kohaku doesn’t dare reveal his intent: to do so would expose his regained memory and would mean certain death before destroying his evil master. Concerned about Kikyo, Inuyasha returns to the place of their last encounter. Disappointed but not surprised, Inuyasha finds no one - Kikyo has disappeared again. Elsewhere, Kagome plays the waiting game, trying to be nonchalant in front of the others. However, when Inuyasha rejoins the group, he receives a jealous interrogation from Kagome with the usual ground-slamming results’. Back at the villain’s retreat, Naraku completes his trap for Kikyo and prepares to implement the scheme. He dispatches Hakudoshi and Kohaku to steal the Zushi Nezumi (a demonic box containing vicious demon mice). Hakudoshi opens the zushi releasing a torrent of voracious mice that produce an endless swarm of death and destruction. Hakudoshi watches the hungry hoard, entertained by the carnage and anticipating Kikyo’s taking the bait. Inuyasha and the others don’t quite realize they’re headed for trouble until Shippou senses “something coming” on the path ahead of them. Suddenly, a horse streaks towards them bearing an old man and child. Pursuing the pair is a river of rapacious rodents. Inuyasha leaps to their defense, but, even as he strikes the first blow with Tetsusaiga, Sango warns him not to cut the mice. When Tetsusaiga slices through the wave of demon mice, they split and double in volume - cutting them only creates more! Miroku brings the situation under control by using his wind tunnel to vacuum up the swarm. The old man tells the group a horror story about the destruction of his village by the frenzied mice. Miroku and Sango take Kirara for aerial reconnaissance. While they track the progress of the mice Hakudoshi also watches the murderous march of the mice gleefully. Kohaku stands quietly, disgusted with Hakudoshi’s amusement. High on a mountain, Kikyo also observes the monstrous mice. Kikyo orders Kochou, one of her shinidama, to fetch a branch of the ‘oyadama’ tree for her. While Sango and Miroku check out the mice, Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo wait in the safety of a barrier-sealed cave on a mountainside. They notice Saimyoushou patrolling the area before Miroku and Sango return. The Saimyousho prove Naraku’s implication in the plague of uncontrollable mice. The gang wonders if the demon wasps were looking for them, but Miroku offers a different explanation - perhaps the Saimyoushou were sent to search for someone else - like Kikyo! Kochou, the shinidama, returns with Kikyo’s oyadama branch. Kikyo plants the branch and casts a spell that causes the branch to grow into an enormous tree. From their vantage point outside the cave, Inuyasha and company watch as the tide of rodents turns all their attention to one direction and stream away. Miroku wonders if someone is performing a “Mayose” ceremony - a ceremony that gathers demons together and destroys them. The ceremony requires great spiritual power and the only one they know who could perform the rite is Kikyo. Kagome suggests she and Inuyasha follow the mice to the Mayose while Sango and Miroku trace source of the mice and locate the zushi. Back at the zushi, Hakudoshi senses the Mayose, too, and leaves Kohaku in charge of the box while he goes to find Kikyo. Meanwhile, Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo arrive at the Mayose tree. They watch the mice race up its trunk into the clouds and disappear. There is no sign of Kikyo -- just her spell. With Hakudoshi gone, Kohaku debates whether or not to close the zushi and end the carnage. He hesitates, stopped by the arrival of the Saimyoushou; if he closes the zushi he’ll raise Naraku’s suspicions. As Kohaku stands with his hands on the zushi, and Sango and Miroku arrive. Spotting her brother with the zushi, Sango accuses Kohaku of unleashing the demon mice. Shaking rage and bitter disappointment, Sango attacks her beloved brother, unaware he struggles to keep a secret that might kill them both!
