Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again

From InuYasha

Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again is the third episode of the InuYasha anime. It first aired in Japan on October 30th, 2000.

[edit] Summary

While bathing in a lake, Kagome remembers a conversation with Kaede in which Kaede told Kagome and Inuyasha to work together as a team and find the Shards of the Sacred Jewel (see episode 2). After Kagome's bath, Kaede reiterates what she said before about Inuyasha and Kagome teaming up. Inuyasha complains about working with Kagome, who thinks he hates her because of her resemblance to Kikyo. Meanwhile, Yura is combing hair on a skull and talking to herself about the Shikon no Tama. Back with Kagome, a woman asks Kaede for some help. Kaede leaves Inuyasha and Kagome to help the woman (whose daughter suddenly feels ill). Inuyasha tells Kagome to change back into her school girl clothes. Kagome assumes it's because she looks like Kikyo. She then tells him that if he keeps being so mean there's no way that they will be able to work together. Inuyasha doesn't care because he thinks he can do it on his own. Kagome tells Inuyasha that she's going back home since he doesn't need her. In the village, as Kaede tends to the woman's daughter. Kaede notices hair controlling the girl as she suddenly rises. With a knife in hand, the girl attacks Kaede! In the woods, Kagome arrives at the well. She eventually sees that strands of hair are surrounding the well! Then Yura appears and is surprised that Kagome can see the hair. Inuyasha arrives at the village and sees the girls with knives. Inuyasha takes it has a challenge. Back with Kagome, Yura introduces herself as she uses her hair to control the girls. Yura uses a strand of hair to retrieve the pouch with the Shikon shard from Kagome! Yura is shocked to find just a shard! Yura attacks Kagome, who in an attempt to dodge Yura, falls into the well. Yura can't find Kagome anywhere in the well and wonders where she went…

Back at the village, Inuyasha concludes that the village girls have decided to kill him. Suddenly an injured Kaede tells Inuyasha not to touch the girls. Inuyasha wonders how Kaede got hurt. Kaede soon learns that Kagome returned home. Kaede then tells Inuyasha that the girls are being controlled, so he shouldn't harm them. In the distance, Yura controls the hair and wraps Inuyasha in the hair. When the village men (who are also being controlled) appear, Kaede tells Inuyasha that he has to retreat, so he does. As Yura is gathering her strands she notices one of Inuyasha's silver hair strands and decides that she wants more. In the present, Kagome is delighted to be home again. Back in the past, Inuyasha is partially burying Kaede, so she can hide. Inuyasha tells her that he'll come back for her. Inuyasha runs off to find Kagome. As Inuyasha searches for Kagome, he's being followed by Yura's hair… Meanwhile, back in the present, Kagome is enjoying a nice refreshing bath.

[edit] Notes

• After Kagome's face was cut by Yura's hair, her cut seems to have disappeared for the rest of the episode.

• Kaede explains to Inuyasha and Kagome that it wasn't Kagome or her arrow that shattered the Sacred Jewel, but rather the Crow Demon's foot that she tied to the arrow that shattered it.

• Some fans wondered how Yura's hair could go through the well while Sota was unable to in episode 11. The reasonible explanation would be that since Yura briefly had the shard that it allowed her to send her hair through the well. This still dosn't answer why Miroku, Sango, and Shippo didn't try this method in future episodes, though it's possible that Inuyasha didn't want them to and forbidded them from having any shards.

InuYasha Episode Navigation
Preceded by	Episode 3 Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again	Succeeded by
Episode 2 Seekers of the Sacred Jewel		Episode 4 Yura Of The Demon Hair