Episode 11

Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask is the eleventh episode of the InuYasha anime. It first aired in Japan on January 15, 2001.

Plot
It begins when Kagome rides her bike as fast as she can trying to return home to study, but Inuyasha beats her to the well. He demands her to give him the shards they collected so, Kagome tells him that she has to take this test even though she had missed a lot of school ever since her time in the feudal Era. Inuyasha attempts to put a large rock over the well so that Kagome doesn't travel through. However, Kagome uses the sit spell so many times, making the boulder fall on Inuyasha's back and putting it out. Kagome tells him that she won't be back in three days, and warns him not to follow her and then she jumps into the well to modern Tokyo. On the other side of the Well Grandpa and Sota are there. Grandpa chants to get Kagome back. The chant has been passed down through Higurashi priests. When Kagome got there Grandpa dumps a bucket of Sake on her by accident. Since Grandpa believed his chant worked he wanted to teach Sota how to do it, but he wants to be a soccer player instead. Kagome yells at them to get her out of the well. At breakfast her mom got her new uniform and puts it in her room. Sota asks her where Inuyasha was. She tells him that she has better things to take care other than babysitting a half-demon. She tells us that she has been living at the Higurashi Shrine since she was born, in her family is her Grandpa, her mom, and her little brother Sota, her cat Buyo, and herself. Her shrine not only have the Bone-Eater's Well but also the Sacred Tree, which has the mark of where Inuyasha was sealed. Since Kagome brought the jewel shards along with her, they awaken the ancient Noh Mask. Kagome gets to school and finds her friends. Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka who are happy to see her. They've been told by her grandpa about what kind of accidents and illnesses she had recently. A boy named Hojo wanted to give her from his mother which happen to saddles. Her friends asked her if she was going out with him. She tells them that she doesn't have a guy, but her friend wanted to know what he'd be like for her. She tells them that he wouldn't be aggressive, not selfish, not easily mad, he'd be kind, and understanding, even bring her flowers and write poems. The exact opposite of Inuyasha. Her friends believe that she might still be sick.

Back at Kaede's place, Inuyasha's back is still out from the boulder that landed on him. Kaede wants him to get more information about the Sacred Jewel when Kagome gets back. Kagome's grandpa smells smoke which is coming from the shed. He goes in and finds that the seal has been destroyed releasing the Noh Mask. Grandpa pours himself with a liquid fluid to prevent him from it. The Noh Mask attacks Grandpa, setting the shed on fire in the process.

The fire department and police soon arrive. Kagome overhears a few skaters talking about the fire and rushes back to her home. Grandfather is sent to the hospital, although is not badly injured. While Kagome's mother stays at the hospital with Grandfather over night, Kagome is left in charge of her younger brother Sota. Meanwhile at the Store house some firefighters were looking around. One is attacked by the Noh Masked and it drives a fire truck like crazy. Kagome goes to the Hospital and her mom tells her that he's still unconscious, she then she her the talismans that he used to protect himself from the mask. he keeps saying "Beware of the ancient Noh Mask."

That night Kagome works on her homework and catch up on missing assignments from school. Sota comes in and asked her if he can sleep in her room. Kagome that he can sleep in his own, the other thing he should be worried about is the dust bunnies there. While the Noh Mask is on a hunt for human flesh, killing many police officers and one fire fighter while doing so, it barges into Kagome's house. Kagome flees to an empty construction site, after sending Sota to get Inuyasha. Unfortunately, Sota finds he is unable to get through, but, surprisingly, Inuyasha travels through the well, and goes in Kagome's aid.

Inuyasha takes Sota with him, and tells him that in his world that there are a lot of demons who'd love to have him for lunch. He catches Kagome's blood. Kagome is at the construction site where the Noh mask is about to kill her for the shards of the Sacred Jewel. Inuyasha uses his Iron Reaper Soul Stealer on the mask's body slices it in half. Inuyasha wants Kagome to apologize for the sit commands and putting his back. Kagome saying that she remembers that and she says she's sorry, but Inuyasha didn't buy it. Kagome informs him that he mask has a shard which changes his mind on that. It turns out that the Noh Mask was carved from a demon tree that had a fragment in it centuries ago for it consumes flesh of humans and wants one that's everlasting along with the shards. Inuyasha punches the mask with pulls him in. The mask charges a Kagome who has the bottle, she throws it to Sota. Sota gets to a dead end, Inuyasha slices through the gunk and kills the Noh Mask and the shard came out. Saving Sota, who from then on admires Inuyasha immensely, calling him his "hero". They collect the jewel shards from the destroyed mask, and Kagome, Morning and Inuyasha with a different tone asked for how was her hand? Seeing the sun rise, and realizing it is morning, rushes to her home to change her clothes and is then seen running to her school, while attempting to study for an important test that day.

Trivia

 * This is the only time a shard of the Shikon no Tama is recovered in the Modern Era.
 * At the end of the episode when Kagome is running for school, the instrumental of the first ending is played.
 * This the first time that Shippō and Myōga don't make appearances since their respective introductions.
 * This is one of the few episodes where Inuyasha is actually shown coming out of the well.
 * More of the Noh Mask's victims (including punks, a woman and a witness) were cut from the anime because the scenes in which they die in the manga were too violent.
 * In the manga version, this storyline happened first, then the storyline with Shippō and the Thunder Brothers. This might also explain why Shippō and Myōga don't appear in this episode and why Tessaiga's sheath isn't cracked even though Inuyasha doesn't repair it until the next episode.
 * Because the jewel shard in the Noh Mask was there for several hundred years, it means that that shard is 500 years older than the rest of the jewel. It also means that when Kagome wishes the jewel away in the Sengoku period, the one shard would continue to exist in the tree/mask until Kagome collects it 500 years later. It also means that that shard existed in two places at the same time for 15 years: in Kagome's body before the jewel was shattered, and in the Noh Mask from after the jewel was shattered.
 * It's unclear why Kagome having the Shikon shards at this point in time would awaken the Noh Mask when she had the entire jewel in her body for the first 15 years of her life.

Der Schrecken der alten Noh-Maske