Chapter 007: The Bone-Gobbling Well
As the girls from the village loom closer to him, Kaede repeats that he musn't harm them. InuYasha tells her that she isn't making sense because these girls were the ones who put Kaede in her current state. She tells InuYasha that he has to kill the one who's manipulating them. Annoyed, he instead begins to attack the girl who began lunging after him; Kaede tells him to sever the hair that she's connected to, but he doesn't see any. His arm is suddenly caught by the hair and just as three of the village girls make their way to attack him, he swings his body, thereby swinging the girls into a circle and making them stop. Getting an idea, he tries to pull the hair, that he still can't see, in a feeble attempt to get the manipulator. Instead, he ends up falling down. From a distance, Yura laughs at his attempts because the hair can grow. Creating something like a cat's cradle and then pulling tight, Yura is able to trap InuYasha against a tree. Though the tree is cut in numerous places by the razor-like hair, InuYasha pulls out of it unharmed, making Yura angry that his neck wasn't severed. The men of the village are now being manipulated, and are beginning to make their way toward Kaede and InuYasha. Seeing that it's a losing battle, InuYasha takes Kaede and flees. Yura, seeing that he's leaving, tails him.
Lying her down on the forest floor, InuYasha demands that Kaede tell him where the hair leads to. Kaede meekly tells him that because she's been injured and her poor eyesight, it's impossible for her to tell him where the hair's origin is. If he wants to beat the one who's doing this, he must go and find Kagome.
At the bottom of the well, Kagome slowly opens her eyes. She looks around at the scatterd bones around and remembers that just when Yura was attacking her, she fell in. She suddenly hears voices from above. One of them telling another that he saw his sister fall in the well. Her grandfather flashes a light into the well, and surprised to see them there, Kagome yells out their names.
Walking slowly around the shrine, Kagome wonders if she's back home. Seeing the concerned look on her brother and grandfather's faces and the fact that Souta is wondering why she's wearing priestess clothes, makes her believe she's finally home. She lunges at her grandfather, telling him she was scared, but he just hugs her confused.
InuYasha digs a hole quickly so he can bury Kaede. Kaede looks over at him, telling him that she's not dead yet. He explains that she can hide in the hole and he'll dig her out later...if he doesn't forget. Kaede tells him that he better not. Leaving her behind, InuYasha wonders what Kagome is doing at a time like this.
Kagome sits peacefully in a warm hot bath. In the dining room, Kagome's mother questions the validity of her daughter's story. Souta tells the two that it's true because he witnessed the centipede demon coming out of the well and taking her down. Grandfather ponders, thinking that the legend of the bone-gobbling well says that the remains of mononoke vanish somewhere within. He then wonders if 'somewhere' is actually the flow of time. Coming to this conclusion he announces that there's no time to waste. He quickly boards the well shut and seals it tight with ofudas.
Coming out of the bath, her grandfather explains the powerful barrier he has created. He then adds that the well shall never be opened again. Kagome is surprised to hear this. She goes to the well and stares at it sadly. Though the events that happened to her feel like a dream, she still can't help but wonder if the others are okay.
Tracking her scent, InuYasha makes his way to the well. He spots her school outfit, sitting neatly by the well. Sniffing the well, he realizes that she ran away through the well and jumps in.
Kagome continues to stare at the well, thinking of her grandfather's words: The well's seal can never be broken...
