Episode 24

Enter Sango, the Demon Slayer is the twenty-fourth episode of the InuYasha anime. It first aired in Japan on April 23, 2001.

Synopsis

 * 1) A Demon Slayer named Sango is introduced; Sango, her brother Kohaku and their father go off on a mission to destroy a demon, as requested by a lord.
 * 2) The mission proves to be a trap, as the entire population of the demon slayer village is decimated by demons.
 * 3) In another layer of the trap, Kohaku is possessed by a spider demon and is forced to kill his father and comrades, and he injures Sango before he is killed himself.
 * 4) Naraku tells the surviving lord, Kagewaki Hitomi, that a half-demon named Inuyasha slaughtered the villagers in the demon slayer village; Sango overhears this and vows to destroy Inuyasha.

Summary
A village notices something approaching in the woods and are attacked by a monstrous giant centipede demon. A man calls a demon slayer named Sango, who quickly defeats the giant centipede and retrieves a Sacred Jewel fragment which she reveals to the village. After taking off her armor and preparing to leave, the village offers her a payment fee for slaying the monstrous centipede, but she refuses, accepting the Sacred Jewel fragment she retrieved from the centipede. Meanwhile, InuYasha, Shippo, Kagome and Miroku are resting in the forest by a fire that the group have set up, with Shippo wondering about how many stars there are. InuYasha reminds the group that Naraku is collecting Sacred Jewel fragments as they speak, with Shippo saying that the more and more fragments Naraku gathers, the stronger he gets and that if he manages to retrieve all the Sacred Jewel fragments it'll be too late for the group and the best strategy is to gather more Sacred Jewel fragments than Naraku. Just as Shippo and InuYasha are about to have yet another argument, Miroku reminds InuYasha that if he does manage to retrieve all the Sacred Jewel fragments and become a true full demon, it could potentially make him go crazy and turn against the group, reminding him that he wants to protect Kagome, but once he finally achieves his goal and becomes a full demon, he could potentially kill Kagome and Shippo.

The next morning, InuYasha and the group encounter people from the nearby village and discover that a woman had not only defeated a demon, but had retrieved a Sacred Jewel fragment. InuYasha explains that he previously did not know about this, as when he first discovered the Sacred Jewel, it was in the possession of Kikyo, and that he hadn't thought about the Jewel's origins.

Meanwhile, Sango returns to her home village and reveals that the latest demon she slain was a centipede and that a few pieces of legs and skin were all she could bring back. After explaining this, she is greeted by her pet nekomata, Kirara. After petting Kirara, Kohaku, Sango's younger brother comes and reminds her that her father wants to see her. After showing the Jewel fragment to her father, he performs a ritual in an attempt to suppress the evil inside the Jewel. Despite this, he expresses doubt of it working, explaining that 50 years prior it was in the possession of priestess who had unusual purification abilities, but was killed in a fight for control over the Jewel. Sango's father advises that the family watches over the Jewel fragment until they find someone who has the ability to purify the Jewel. Sango leaves to rest, while her father advises Kohaku to start battle training. Kohaku asks Sango if all demons spit toxins and breathe fire, who explains that some of them do, but that the ones they need to be most afraid of are ones that pretend to be human.

Later that night, Sango, Kohaku, and another group of demon slayers are hired with the task of killing a giant spider demon that has been terrorizing Kagewaki's castle every night and killing several people. The castle's keeper notices that Sango's younger brother Kohaku, and Sango's father claims that Sango and Kohaku are the Province's two top fighters, which is only true of Sango. After everyone is told to do their best at slaying the spider demon, the said monstrous creature appears from the clouds and attacks the group. Meanwhile, inside the castle, Nagasaki Hitomi tells Kagewaki that demon slayers have been hired and that the demon is responsible for his illness. Everyone at the castle is amazed by Sango's fighting skills, and the group easily takes down the monstrous demon. Upon noticing this, Sango rightfully suspects that the demon was a little too easy to slay and suspects that this one is trap. Sure enough a piece silk attaches to Kohaku and under its mind control he begins killing villagers, his father and even tries to attack Sango, who notices that the spider demon's silk thread leads to Kagewaki's castle and she quickly realizes that Nagasaki has been possessed. She tries to head to the castle and attack but she's injured by Kohaku who is shot with arrows from the castle guards and Sango is also shot. Kagewaki arrives and shows everyone that Nagasaki was actually possessed by the demon, explaining why he suddenly started acting strangely.

Meanwhile, Kagome and the rest of the group are navigating their way through the forest and are having a hard time finding the village of the demon slayers. Kagome is particularly interested in learning the origin of the Sacred Jewel. Soon, the group notices a hoard of demons flying overhead and realizes that they're after something. Meanwhile, back at Kagewaki's castle, Sango and Kohaku are presumed dead and buried, but Sango isn't willing to give up without a fight and because her grave is shallow and the dirt is easy to dig through, she easily escapes her shallow grave. Meanwhile, Naraku who is in his baboon mask witnesses attack on the village from a distance and immediately heads down to retrieve Sacred Jewel fragments.

Meanwhile, Kagome and the group, who have been following the demons for the night arrive at the village to find that the villagers are dead and the worst of the damage has already been done. Kagome also points out that she doesn't sense any Sacred Jewel fragments there, meaning that Naraku has already taken them. InuYasha suggests that they bury the dead villagers first before moving on to find the Jewel fragments. Before they can start however, Kagome is quick to notice something approaching them— it's revealed to be a giant nekomata who approaches them growling, until a voice tells her not attack and that they're not enemies. The voice is revealed to be none other than Myoga and the nekomata is revealed to Kirara. Myoga explains that for generations, the inhabitants of the village worked and trained to fight demons but were killed at an unusual time. Myoga also informs InuYasha that he followed rumors of the Sacred Jewel, which lead to them village and while trying to find the village and the group, he came a cross a white baboon, who InuYasha recognizes as Naraku.

Meanwhile, Sango overhears Naraku informing Nagasaki of the villages and destruction and framing InuYasha for do it. Believing InuYasha to be responsible for the death of the villagers, she retrieves her weapon and vows to kill InuYasha.