Yuki-on'na

The was a yōkai that possessed the spirit of Koyuki. She lured young men and returned them the next day frozen.

History
Miroku and Sango came across a frozen man who was being looked after by some villagers. He was covered in snow and had been bewitched by a yōkai. Miroku decided to investigate the area for the yōkai and had Sango alert the others. As She was about to go, she overheard the villagers explain that the yōkai was a beautiful woman who seduced men. Sango decided to go after Miroku instead.

Sango found Miroku frozen. She tries to approach him, but gets trapped by the sudden appearance of snow. The Yuki-on'na suddenly arrived. She had the same appearance as the woman who previously saved Miroku seven yeas ago. Miroku asked if she would bear his child, but the woman claimed him that she already birth his child. Miroku is left astonished and hypnotized. He followed her to her home. Sango shouted at Miroku to stop, but he did not hear her. Miroku soon realized that the woman was not human, but still proceeded to follow her. He entered her house and was approached by many children. She had Miroku tend to all of them until he became exhausted. Miroku asked her if all the children were his. She explained that a lot of them were orphaned children that she had raised by herself because they deserved a happy life.

Inuyasha and the rest of the group found Miroku after they heard his voice. They saw that he was actually taking care of a pile of snow that he believed was his child. They realized that he was under a spell and tried to rescue him, but they were stopped by the Yuki-on'na. She warned them to turn back. She then sensed the Sacred Jewel shards that Kagome was carrying. She summoned her Snow leopard in order the take the jewel shards. Inuyasha and the others had trouble fighting it due to its ability to quickly regenerate its body.

The Yuki-on'na returned to Miroku. Miroku heard a the fighting outside and asked her what it was. She claimed that it was just some stray dogs. The Snow leopard threw Inuyasha into the roof of the house. He came crashing down near Miroku. The hole on the roof let in sunlight that broke the spell placed on Miroku. He saw that all the children he was tending to were actually just piles of snow. The Yuki-on'na suddenly shot a burst of ice from her mouth at Miroku and claimed they he would not escape from her. Miroku said she resembled someone he knew before. He threw one of his sacred sutras at her. This revealed her true appearance. Inuyasha returned to fight the Snow leopard. Miroku confronted the Yuki-on'na. She broke down in sorrow and exclaimed that she hated this world. Miroku shattered her body with his staff and it turned to snow. Her soul and other souls left the piles of snow. They all entered the body of the Snow leopard. Ir grew a lot after absorbing the souls. Miroku explained that the Snow leopard's weakness was fire. Shippō tried to use his Foxfire on it, but it had no effect. Kagome then rode Kirara until she was high enough to launch a gourd at the Snow leopard. It contained medicine for hypothermia. Sango shattered the gourd with Hiraikotsu so the medicine would be doused on the beast. Kagome then fired her sacred arrow with one of her fireworks attached to it. That combined with the medicine caused the beast's body to be caught on fire. Inuyasha finished off with the Kaze no Kizu.

After the beast was destroyed, the spirit of a woman appeared before them. Inuyasha was prepared to destroy it, but Miroku told him not to since the spirit was now free to rest in peace. The all gathered around the grave of the woman who's spirit was possessed by the yōkai. It was revealed that she lost her life to war and her spirit was taking care to the spirits of children who also died from war. Miroku revealed that he purposefully let himself be under the Yuki-on'na's spell in order to free the soul of the woman.

Powers & Abilities

 * Hypnosis: The Yuki-on'na is able to hypnotize young men. After having hypnotized a man, she makes them believe that the children she tends to are his children. She freeze and leaves the man at the foot of the mountains when she is done with them.
 * Barrier: The Yuki-on'na is capable of creating a barrier around her home, but it is no match for Inuyasha's Red Tessaiga.
 * Ice Breath: She can shoot breaths of ice.
 * Summoning a Snow Leopard: She is able to summon a Snow leopard. It is able to regenerate its body if damaged. Her spirit can be merged with the beast when her body is destroyed.

Trivia

 * The has been a part of  since the . She has been described as a beautiful woman with long black hair and pale skin. It was rumoured that she could strike terror in the hearts of mortal men. There are many stories about her existence and origin. One popular story was by . It was about two woodcutters named Minokichi and Mosaku. Minokichi is young and Mosaku is old. They took shelter from a snowstorm in a hut. Minokichi falls asleep, only to awaken to see a beautiful pale woman with frightening eyes. Her breath causes Mosaku to freeze. She tells the Minokichi she will spare his life so long as he never tells anyone about her. She vanishes, and he finds Mosaku frozen to death. There year after, Minokichi meets a young pale woman, and takes her as a wife. She remains beautiful even after bearing him ten children. One day he makes the mistake of alluding to his ghostly encounter - at which his wife transforms back into the Yuki-onna she was all along. She decides to spare him for the sake of their children. She then melts and is never seen again.
 * Her seiyū, who is the same as Koyuki's, also voiced Hazuki from Rumiko Takahashi's anthology series .