Chapter 333

Cocooning is the 333rd chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Synopsis

 * Inuyasha and friends calm an angry fox spirit that had been terrorizing a village. Sango slays a bug that was holding onto the fox. She says it's called a "Parasitic Nymph".
 * Shippō becomes possessed by one of the Parasites and wreaks havoc on the village. (Though it's more like he's pulling pranks on them.)
 * After some majorly harmful pranks, the villagers decide to find the demon who's been doing this to them and hunt it down. Kagome declares that they have to find Shippō before the villagers do.

Summary

 * A giant fox-demon is destroying a village. Inuyasha & Friends stumble upon the scene, and Inuyasha says he can end the meddlesome demon with one swipe of his claws, but the villagers beg him not to, as the fox is actually the Animal Deity that watches over the village, but it's acting strange and destroying everything. Miroku uses his sacred sutras to electrify the Fox Deity, which causes a parasitic insect to flee from out of the fox's fur. When the bug tries to run away, Sango makes quick work of it with her Hiraikotsu. Miroku sees the fox spirit fly away and tells the villagers not to be alarmed and that it's returning to its shrine.
 * The gang spends the night in the very same village. Kagome has an odd feeling about the insect they saw fly from the fox deity, and after being asked if she knows anything about them, Sango reveals that they're called Sanagi, or "Parasitic Nymphs" (called a parasite chrysalis in the Anime). She explains that they infest demons larger than themselves and take over their bodies, but she's never heard of one possessing a guardian deity before. Miroku wonders if they should look into this disturbance, but Inuyasha says they should pass, because their main goal should be finding Naraku, not chasing after bugs.InuyashaChapter333ShippoPossessedByParasiteCrysalis.jpg
 * Later that night, everyone is asleep and Shippō wakes up because of some rustling and fluttering. He wonders if it's a bird, only to freak out when he sees the shadow of a Parasitic Nymph. Inuyasha comes from behind and asks if it's one of the same bugs as before. Shippō beats the Half-demon over the head for frightening him. After he knocks Shippō unconscious (in retribution for hitting him), Inuyasha chases after the Parasite and slays it with his Tessaiga. When he returns, Kagome tells him that she can't find Shippō, only to gasp when the fox appears in his pink ball form behind Inuyasha. Suddenly, Shippō grabs Sango's exterminator bombs and chews them up, breathing the strong demon-repelling scent onto Inuyasha, overwhelming his sense of smell. When the young fox turns around to run away, Sango sees that there's a Parasite Nymph attached to him. She says they have to stop him, because he'll most likely go on a rampage like the fox deity did. Miroku postulates that weaker demons must be more easy to possess. After a lengthy pursuit, they almost catch up to him, but Shippō pulls out one of his fox-magic tricks and then disappears completely.
 * Shippō starts to pull pranks all over the village. He uses his giant toy snake to frighten some villagers, he doodles mustaches and funny faces all over the temple of Buddha, and fills the farmer's fields with his crying mushrooms. Miroku and Sango run into the fox yet again, but he catches them in a sticky rice trap, immobilizing them and making his escape.
 * Kagome is taking care of Inuyasha, who is incapacitated after being attacked with the demon exterminator bombs. The Villagers storm in and say that another demon has come and that this one isn't a guardian spirit, it's a demon, so they're going to kill it. They rush off with spears and hoes, anxious to slay the troublesome demon. Kagome says they have to find Shippō soon before the villagers do first.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Inuyasha
 * Miroku
 * Sango
 * Kagome Higurashi
 * Shippō
 * Kirara

Trivia

 * The actual number of pranks that Shippō pulls on various villagers and his friends while possessed are few, (At least few of them are depicted.) The anime expands this and adds other pranks and more dialog between Shippō and the others.