Kikyo and Kagome: Alone in the Cave (洞窟には桔梗とかごめの二人だけ) is the ninety-eighth episode of the InuYasha anime.
Synopsis
- Kikyō and Kagome are lured into the belly of a demon, disguised as a cave, that devours mikos and disables their powers.
- Kikyō becomes injured and close to death inside the demon because she is cut off from her Shinidamachū; Kagome resolves that she will help Kikyō, since Inuyasha would be heartbroken if anything happened to her.
- Using the Shikon no Tama shards in her possession, Kagome puts them on her sacred arrow and is able to destroy the demon's heart, thus saving Kikyō and herself.
Summary
The episode begins with Kikyō being tricked by a demon posing as a young child lost in the forest and trapping her inside the demon as it appears to be a cave.
The following day Kagome gets angry at Inuyasha because he refused to eat her home made food even though she made it especially for him, even sweetening it so it wouldn't be too hot for him. She uses the sit command on him six times and angrily storms off to take a "walk", as the others watch in fear (Shippō, in particular).
While out, she senses a jewel shard and follows the sense to the same cave that entrapped Kikyō. She hears the same child's cry as she approaches and enters the cave on her own. She finds Kikyō who is on the verge of death (because she'd nearly exhausted all her souls). Kikyō reveals the cave is actually the belly of a demon that only allows priestesses (or at least people who possess the power of a priestess) inside it and lures them into it to drain them of their power. She then insists that she leave her behind to save herself, but Kagome refuses to leave her behind, much to Kikyō's confusion. The two then team up to find a way out.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha is anxiously waiting for Kagome to return, while the others wonder why he just won't apologize and tease him that maybe something happened to her to provoke him into looking for her. During this, Kagome and Kikyō are still trapped in the cave. Kagome remembers when Kikyō and Inuyasha kissed in front of her, while Inuyasha was under Kikyō's spell. Soon they encounter demons, but Kagome successfully manages to fight them off. They then approach the central core of cave/demon and Kikyō reveals to her that it is the demon's heart. Kagome fires an arrow, but nothing happens; sparking her realization that her spiritual power has been weakened during her time of being inside the cave. Kikyō begs her to escape and save herself while she still can, but Kagome refuses to leave Kikyō and insists they'll both find a way out. But then the exit to the cave then closes.
Back at camp, Inuyasha's patience for Kagome's return runs out and he goes out to search for her, even though he insists that he is simply going for a walk, and is not going to search for Kagome. Kagome meanwhile inside the cave desperately thinks of how she can shatter the demon's heart and decides to combine a jewel shard with one of her arrows and shoots it, but it has no effect. Kagome then gives the remaining shards to Kikyō, who uses their combined power to fuse the shards together into one. With the new shard, combined with an arrow, Kagome successfully kills the demon, which dissolves into nothing but light. Now standing in a meadow where the demon was, Kagome recovers the shards while Kikyō's Soul Collectors come to aid her recovery, healing her.
As Kagome begins to leave, Kikyō asks Kagome why she didn't give up on her and how she could trust her. Kagome then says she couldn't answer her since she "doesn't understand it herself." Kikyō then asks why she would save her, "a dead person." Kagome then says, because "a certain guy they both know would be heartbroken if she (Kikyō) weren't around." As Kagome then leaves, Kikyō muses with a small smile, "Same for you." Indicating she is aware of Inuyasha's feelings for Kagome.
Kagome then finds Inuyasha leaning against a tree and happily greets him, surprising him due to their earlier argument. She asks, "You, uh, came looking for me?" To which he blushes before saying they should get going. As they begin to walk Kagome begins to say something, but Inuyasha ignores her. Kagome then thinks back to her time with Kikyō and then wraps her arm around Inuyasha's arm surprising him again, but he does nothing and they continue to walk with her arm around his own as the episode ends.
Characters in Order of Appearance
Notes
- During the walk scene, Inuyasha had his arms crossed. In the next shot, however, his arms are down.
- The episode also shows one of the rare times Kagome and Kikyō team up together and one of the times Kagome saves Kikyō's life.
- This is the last episode to be hand-drawn.
- This episode also helps with correcting the number of jewel shards to what they have before the next major story arc; Kikyo and Kagome manage to fuse the three that Inuyasha's group had, and Kikyo gives hers to Kagome.