Episode 20 (Hanyō no Yashahime)

The Hidden Village for Half-Demons is the twentieth episode of Hanyō no Yashahime.

Synopsis

 * 1) Setsuna tells Towa about the hanyō village she grew up in, led by the bat hanyō Shiori.

Summary
At Sunset, Setsuna heads down to a far away valley in the mountains on Kirara with Towa following her. Towa asks Setsuna what are they up to today and where was she taking her this far away. Setsuna tells Towa that she didn't take her anywhere as she's the one who came along. Towa asks Setsuna where is this. Setsuna orders Kirara to quickly fly to the ground. Towa tells Setsuna to watch it as she'll fall off. Setsuna thinks to herself this is her. Towa and Setsuna are walking in the mountains with Kirara resting on Setsuna's shoulder. Towa asks Setsuna why are they this far into the mountains and wonders was she going for a walk. Setsuna tells Towa that she's just making her rounds and that's why she said she didn't have to come. Towa asks Setsuna what on earth is here anyway. Setsuna stops walking as Towa accidentally bumps into her. Setsuna tells Towa there’s nothing here and that’s how it’s supposed to be. Setsuna sits down on a rock as Kirara rests on her lap. Towa becomes confused and asks Setsuna what does that mean. Setsuna explains to Towa the earliest memory she has is the view of a burnt-up forest. Towa becomes shocked and questions Setsuna that she means the one they were in. Towa realizes it’s a memory from after she and Setsuna got separated as she remembers. Setsuna tells Towa after that she lived here for awhile. Towa questions Setsuna that was when they were around 4 years old and apologizes as she didn't know anything and she before she tries to hug her. Setsuna stops Towa from hugging her. Setsuna tells Towa that she wasn't alone as she had Miss Shiori and there were other children as well. Towa questions Setsuna about Shiori and wonders who was she. Towa and Setsuna look at a cave for a moment. Setsuna tells Towa this place is a hidden village for hanyōs that Shiori made. Towa questions Setsuna about a hidden village. Setsuna explains to Towa after the fire she couldn’t do anything as she just sat by the ruins but someone came for her. In a flashback, a 4 year old Setsuna is sitting alone in the burnt-up forest. Setsuna hears a male voice call out to her before A-Un lands near her. Setsuna becomes surprised for a moment. Jaken secretly calls out for Setsuna to hop on A-Un. Jaken asks Setsuna what is it as she need not fear him and come now jump on. Setsuna stands up. Setsuna explains to Towa that she was led by a voice that she couldn't quite place and she was taken to the mountain. Setsuna rides on A-Un to the mountains before he places her in the forest. In the mountains, Setsuna carries a cloth of items and looks around before she sees A-Un fly away. Jaken tells Setsuna to survive and live as he and A-Un leave. As Setsuna walks forward, she noticed a barrier. Fūta asks Setsuna who was she. Raita agrees with Fūta and asks Setsuna who was she. Setsuna notices Raita and Fūta on a rock. Fūta tells Setsuna no humans allowed. Raita tells Setsuna no demons allowed. Setsuna silently looks at Raita and Fūta. Fūta tells Setsuna to say something. Raita agrees with Fūta and tells Setsuna to say something. Setsuna continues to silently look at Raita and Fūta. Raita and Fūta appeared next to Setsuna. Fūta asks Setsuna if she's a hanyō. Raita tells Setsuna that she's probably a hanyō. Setsuna questions Raita and Fūta about hanyōs. Shiori asks Setsuna what's the matter. Raita, Fūta, and Setsuna notice Shiori appearing. Raita and Fūta call out to Shiori. Shiori notices Setsuna before she kneels down to her. Shiori asks Setsuna what's wrong and wonders was she okay. Setsuna holds up the cloth bag and tells Shiori that she was told to give her it. Shiori takes the cloth bag from Setsuna and opens it to reveal a gold ingot and a wooden note that said 'please look after her'. Shiori tells Setsuna that she seems to be tied to a strange destiny before she stands up. Shiori welcomes Setsuna into the Hidden Hanyō Village before she offers her hand. Setsuna hesitantly accepts Shiori's hand. Raita, Shiori, Fūta, and Setsuna walked into the Hidden Hanyō Village. Setsuna tells Towa that Shiori invited her into a hidden village inhabited by hanyō children and Shiori was a hanyō from the Demon Bat Tribe with the power to create barriers and she used her barrier to protect the peace of the village. Raita and Fūta introduce themselves to Setsuna. Fūta asks Setsuna what happened to her parents. Raita agrees with Fūta and asks Setsuna what happened. Setsuna tells Raita and Fūta that she doesn’t know. Raita tells Setsuna that's a little sad. Setsuna looks at Raita and Fūta curiously. Fūta tells Setsuna that her parents were killed by humans. Raita tells Setsuna that his parents were killed by demons. Setsuna becomes surprised. Fūta tells Setsuna that if she doesn't know then it’s kind of a big deal. Setsuna tells Fūta and Raita oh.

Setsuna continues her story that she got used to living in the Hidden Hanyō Village pretty quickly as during the day they went out to gather food and at night they hid and she learned numbers and how to read and write. In a cave, Shiori teaches Setsuna how to grind herbs. 2 hanyō children called out to Shiori and tells her about the food they've collected. Shiori tells the 2 hanyō children that's amazing as they all worked so hard. Raita calls out to Shiori as he and Fūta carry a dead boar. Fūta tells Shiori that she brought the boar down. Raita tells Shiori that he caught the boar. Shiori tells Raita and Fūta that both of them are amazing. Setsuna continues her story that at times she would receive items addressed to her. Setsuna picks up 2 items. Fūta asks Setsuna what's that. Raita agrees with Fūta and asks Setsuna what is it. Setsuna reveals it's a sheathed small knife and a wooden note that said ‘cut the wind’. Setsuna says cut the wind. Setsuna continues her story that for some reason she trained following those orders. Later, Setsuna trained herself to cut the wind with her small knife. Some time later, Setsuna receives a wooden note that said ‘cut water’. Setsuna says cut water. Fūta questions Setsuna about cutting the water. Raita asks Setsuna could water be cut though. Later, Setsuna tries continuously to cut the water. Fūta questions Setsuna it's impossible. Raita tells Setsuna it's impossible. When Setsuna cuts the water, she notices her progress before she successfully cuts the water. Raita and Fūta become surprised. Setsuna becomes happy at successfully cutting the water. Setsuna continues her story that humans would never stray this far into the mountain but sometimes demons would make their way there and most of them would give up and leave barred by Shiori's barrier and the really persistent ones would wait for them to emerge and with those demons they worked together to take them down. At night, two lizard yōkais that attempted to break into Shiori's barrier as Raita, Shiori, Fūta, and Setsuna emerged. Fūta tells the 2 lizard yōkais to eat this before she uses a ‘wind scythe’ attack with a fan. Raita tells the 2 lizard yōkais to eat this before he uses a ‘thunder’ attack with a trident. Setsuna uses her mini scourge of swallows. The 2 lizard yōkais were killed as Raita, Fūta, and Setsuna were happy that they did it. Setsuna continues her story that they all worked well together but. After rejoicing, Setsuna took notice that Shiori was sad. Setsuna continues her story that Shiori always seemed sad and she understood that they had to kill those enemies but deep down she thinks Shiori wished for the world to be different. One night, Shiori was communicating with the bats when Setsuna arrived. Shiori holds a bat as she communicates with it. Shiori says in a forest in the east a hanyō child is suffering all alone. Shiori then used some kind of language between her and the bat before she sent it off. Shiori tells Setsuna that she’d love it if they decided to come to the village. Shiori and Setsuna look up at the full moon. Setsuna continues her story that she had been living here for 6 years when a certain letter arrived. In the cave, Shiori and Setsuna are sitting as Shiori reads a wooden letter that said 'the village where you were born' before she puts it down. Shiori informs Setsuna that it says here that she was to return where she was born and she’ll be living there from now on. Setsuna tells Shiori 'no' as she likes it at the Hidden Hanyō Village. Shiori tells Setsuna that hanyōs are able to live among humans as well and if she has a place to live a life and it’s not a bad idea to get to know human society as well and to go and live in the village where she was born. Setsuna nods.

In the village, Kaede was walking to her hut until she sees a 10 year old Setsuna, surprising her. Setsuna continues her story that she ended up in the village where Priestess Kaede lived but not for very long as there was something she realized after beating some bandits who were pillaging the area. 2 bandits were battling Setsuna. One of the bandits curses Setsuna as he tries to attack her but she dodges and strikes him. One of the bandits holds his arm and tells the other one that Setsuna's a monster and to run for it. The 2 bandits run away. Setsuna runs after the 2 bandits to kill them. Kaede appears and tells Setsuna that's enough. Setsuna prepares to strike. Kaede calls out to Setsuna. Setsuna cuts off one of the 2 bandits hair. One of the bandits yelled help him. The 2 bandits leave scared. Kaede appears near Setsuna and tells her to stop it. Setsuna tells Kaede if they don't kill the bandits then they'll just come again. Kaede holds Setsuna's hands and tells her that she doesn't want her to go through such things when she's still so young. Setsuna places her hands on Kaede's and tells her that she is a hanyō. Setsuna pulls away from Kaede and sheathes her knife. Kaede calls out to Setsuna in confusion. Setsuna walks away and tells Kaede that she's returning to the Hidden Hanyō Village. This led Setsuna to leave the village. Setsuna tells Towa that Shiori welcomed her back to the Hidden Hanyō Village without asking any questions and her friends were happy that she was back as well. Setsuna pets Kirara. Setsuna tells Towa that she returned to her peaceful days at the Hidden Hanyō Village and she thought she would stay there for the rest of her life but Shiori is also hanyō and there are times where she loses her demon powers and in other words her barrier disappears as a demon named Gaga Gozen planned for the day and appeared before them. Towa questions Setsuna about Gaga Gozen. Setsuna tells Towa this happened 3 years ago. In the flashback, Shiori and Setsuna are standing on an edge. Shiori calls out to Setsuna. Setsuna asks Shiori yes. Shiori tells Setsuna that soon she’ll lose her demon powers and she only hopes that nothing happens. Fūta calls out to Shiori. Fūta informs Shiori that some samurai are here. Raita agrees with Fūta and informs Shiori that some samurai are here. Shiori questions about samurai. In the mountains, Gaga Gozen and his few demon samurais are approaching the Hidden Hanyō Village. One of the demon samurais asks Gaga Gozen is it this mountains. Gaga Gozen confirms this as there are many hanyōs here. One of the demon samurais says that's what he heard and many demons have come here searching for hanyōs but they either couldn't find them or have been taken down. Gaga Gozen questions the demon samurais just who do they think he was as they couldn't find them because they're all a horde of brainless idiots as he's looked into it though and wonders all the demons that got taken down that they weren't strong enough. Gaga Gozen almost hits one of the demon samurais with his Kanemitsu no Tomoe, shocking him. Gaga Gozen says he's eaten a 100 samurai and he's grown tired of eating them as it's time to stuff his belly full of delicious hanyōs. Gaga Gozen and his few demon samurais continued towards the Hidden Hanyō Village. Miroku and Hachiemon are secretly spying on Gaga Gozen and his few demon samurais behind a boulder. Hachiemon tells Miroku that they can’t defeat those demons with just the 2 of them and they should go back and get help as Gaga Gozen's bad news. Miroku tells Hachiemon that Gaga Gozen has already eaten a hundred samurai and they'll look for an opening and slay him as quickly as possible before he walks forward. Hachiemon tells Miroku that they can never see eye to eye before he follows him. Raita, Fūta, and Setsuna are also spying on Gaga Gozen and the demon samurais. Setsuna tells Raita and Fūta that they look like samurai but they're all demons. Fūta questions Setsuna that she can tell. Setsuna tells Raita and Fūta that her nose works better than theirs and they all smell like demons. Raita asks Setsuna what should they do. Setsuna tells Raita and Fūta that if demons come here then it's to eat or kill them hanyōs. Raita tells Setsuna that Shiori won't be able to use her demon powers. Fūta tells Setsuna this is bad. Setsuna tells Raita and Fūta if Gaga Gozen and his few demon samurais knew that and came here and that's pretty annoying.

The solar-eclipse takes effect and Shiori starts to transform from a hanyō into a human. The hanyō children are worried as the barrier starts to disappear. Shiori fully transforms into a human. Gaga Gozen and the demon samurais notice the solar-eclipse. Gaga Gozen tells the demon samurai behold as the one who produces the barrier around loses their demon powers during a solar eclipse. The barrier disappears. One of the demon samurais tells Gaga Gozen amazing as ever. The demon samurais prepare to attack. But before Gaga Gozen and his demon samurais could enter, Raita and Fūta stops them by using a ‘wind scythe’ and ‘thunder’ attack. The horse becomes scared and shakes Gaga Gozen off of himself before he runs away. Setsuna comes dashing towards Gaga Gozen and attempts to fight him with her small knife, but Gaga Gozen’s Kanemitsu no Tomoe breaks Setsuna’s knife. Setsuna becomes surprised. Gaga Gozen laughs before he tells Setsuna this naginata is the infamous Kanemitsu no Tomoe and her dull knife is no match for it. Gaga Gozen swings his Kanemitsu no Tomoe at Setsuna but Setsuna dodges all of his attacks. Goga Gozen asks Setsuna what's the matter. Gaga Gozen notices a sutra coming towards him and cuts in half with his Kanemitsu no Tomoe. Miroku appears and tells Gaga Gozen to steel himself. Miroku comes in to attack Gaga Gozen and both his staff and Gaga Gozen’s Kanemitsu no Tomoe cross each other. Shiori appears and watches from a distance as she recognizes who Miroku is. Raita tells the demon samurais to eat this before he uses 'thunder'. Fūta realizes that Gaga Gozen's the last one. Raita says to get Gaga Gozen. Gaga Gozen forcefully pushes Miroku back, making him hit a tree and fall down. Hachiemon hides behind a tree and tells Miroku see what did he told him. Fūta tells Setsuna to let's get Gaga Gozen. Raita agrees with Fūta and tells Setsuna to come on. Gaga Gozen curses at Raita, Fūta, and Setsuna before he blows a poison fog towards them. Raita and Fūta are being burned by Gaga Gozen’s poison fog. Shiori tells Raita, Fūta, and Setsuna to be over here and hurry. Raita and Fūta run over to Shiori. Shiori worriedly asks Raita and Fūta are they okay. Gaga Gozen laughs and wonders if they can stomach his poison fog. Setsuna holds her breath and easily runs through the poison fog and directly kicks Gaga Gozen. Gaga Gozen grunts in pain. Miroku weakly sees. Gaga Gozen curses at Setsuna before he entangles her with webs spewed from his mouth. Raita, Shiori, and Fūta worriedly call out to Setsuna. Setsuna is left on the ground and unable to move or speak. Gaga Gozen leaves Setsuna on the ground and walks towards Shiori, Raita, and Fūta to eat them. Gaga Gozen tells Setsuna to stay down as he'll save her for later. Gaga Gozen tells Raita, Shiori, and Fūta to look at themselves as they all look absolutely scrumptious. Raita and Fūta uses ‘thunder’ ‘wind scythe’ attacks on Gaga Gozen to protect Shiori but Gaga Gozen blocks their attacks. Gaga Gozen says such nonsense and wonders which one shall he eat first. Shiori tells Gaga Gozen to stop it as she covers Raita and Fūta to protect them. Gaga Gozen laughs and asks Shiori why doesn't he start with her then. Gaga Gozen notices Setsuna break free from the webs with her face completely changed indicating that her full-demon blood has taken over her body. Gaga Gozen is amused and questions Setsuna does she think she a mere hanyō can defeat him. Setsuna calls Gaga Gozen a cursed worm before she quickly silence and kills him with her claws. Fūta happily tells Setsuna that she did it. Raita calls out to Setsuna. Setsuna in her full yōkai form intensely gazes towards Raita, Shiori, and Fūta unable to think clearly, surprising them. Miroku tells Setsuna to wait. Setsuna looks at Miroku. Miroku tells Setsuna that her demon blood isn’t settling down and if she cannot quell it. Setsuna yells at Miroku to go away and repeatedly tells him to die as she fiercely attacks him over and over again with her claws while Miroku repeatedly blocks her attacks with his staff. Setsuna eventually separates Miroku from his staff. Miroku says oh no as he's unable to protect himself. Setsuna threatens to kill Miroku with her claws but before she was able to do so Shiori grabs and stops her from hurting Miroku. Shiori desperately begs Setsuna to stop and to calm down. Setsuna tries to calm down. Shiori tells Setsuna that's it and take deep breaths. But Setsuna rebels and knocks Shiori back. Raita and Fūta calls out to Shiori. Setsuna prepares to attack Shiori but Miroku comes in and catches Setsuna and presses a sedative against her mouth and nose to knock her out. Shiori repeatedly calls out to Setsuna as she goes towards her and Miroku. Shiori asks Setsuna was she okay. Shiori questions Miroku what he just used didn't kill Setsuna. Miroku tells Shiori it did not as this is a sedative used by demon slayers and it's especially effective for Setsuna with her keen sense of smell. Shiori says thank goodness. Finally, the solar-eclipse comes to an end and Shiori transforms back into her usual hanyō self. Later, Setsuna is laying down unconscious while Hachiemon, Raita, Shiori, and Fūta surrounds her. Miroku brings the Kanemitsu no Tomoe and lays it on top of Setsuna. Miroku says he'll apply a seal that will suppress Setsuna's demon blood and the naginata will act as the medium. Shiori takes Setsuna’s hand and makes her hold the Kanemitsu no Tomoe laying on top of her. Miroku says let's begin. Miroku chants the seal saying 'On meeting an arhat, slay the arhat; on meeting your parents, slay your parents. Know that the light to your path lies there'. After Miroku applies the seal, Setsuna’s face returns to normal. Miroku tells Shiori and the others this should be good for now as Setsuna has inherited demon blood that is too powerful for her hanyō body. Shiori reassuringly asks Miroku if it’s him after recognizing him earlier. Miroku confirms this to Shiori and tells her that he’s glad she's in good health and she grew up so beautifully as well but wonders if her mother Shizu is here as well. Shiori tells Miroku no as Shizu sadly passed away as an illness overtook her. Miroku responds to Shiori that such is the fate of humans as he's afraid as he prays. Setsuna continues her story that some time after Monk Miroku left Shiori told her to leave the Hidden Hanyō Village.

After Miroku and Hachiemon left, Raita, Shiori, Fūta, and other hanyō children surround Setsuna, who is holding the Kanemitsu no Tomoe. Shiori tells Setsuna that she is no longer so weak that she has to live in hiding and to live in the outside world for her own sake. Setsuna nods. Fūta tells Setsuna to take care. Raita agrees with Fūta and tells Setsuna to take care. Shiori reminds Raita and Fūta that they will eventually have to leave the village too. Raita and Fūta become shocked. Shiori tells Raita and Fūta that Setsuna is just leaving a little earlier than everyone else. Raita and Fūta begin to shed tears and they tell Shiori that they don’t wanna leave. Shiori becomes nervous as she sighs. Shiori asks Setsuna if she ever meets a hanyō child who’s in trouble can she tell them about the Hidden Hanyō Village. Setsuna tells Shiori that she will. Shiori tells Setsuna okay and off she goes then. Setsuna tells Shiori all right before she leaves the Hidden Hanyō Village. At night, Setsuna tells Towa back at Priestess Kaede's village she was invited to join the demon slayers but she never knew that Monk Miroku was Hisui’s father as she pets Kirara. Towa questions Setsuna that naginata was a spoil from a battle. Setsuna tells Towa that it’s a human-made piece as she's been using it with appreciation and it's also her seal for her demon powers. Towa takes a seat next to Setsuna and teases her that she sure did a lot of talking today and wonders why. Setsuna teases Towa back saying that Shiori told her that if there was a troubled hanyō child that she's to tell them about the Hidden Hanyō Village. Towa questions Setsuna what does she mean as she's not troubled and she's not even a child. Setsuna giggles at Towa. Towa becomes annoyed. Setsuna suddenly senses two demons approaching the Hidden Hanyō Village and stands up. The 2 demons approach the Hidden Hanyō Village. One of the 2 demons says here it is as this is the mountain where hanyōs are said to be hiding. One of the 2 demons says they think they're so clever and let's just find them and eat them. Setsuna appears before she uses her Kanemitsu no Tomoe to cut a wing of one demon and cut the horns off the other one. The 2 demons scream out in pain. Setsuna tells the 2 demons that they think they're so clever and threatens if they ever approach the Hidden Hanyō Village again death will be a sweet thing. The 2 demons run away. Towa appears holding Kirara in her arms. Setsuna tells Towa that demons like them still manage to make their way the Hidden Hanyō Village and although she hopes things can quiet down a little. Towa asks Setsuna if she’s been doing this for a while. Setsuna tells Towa sometimes when she has time on her hands. Towa speculates to Setsuna that because to her this place is one of her precious homes. Setsuna calls upon Kirara to transform. Kirara hops from Towa's arms and transforms. Towa and Setsuna leave the Hidden Hanyō Village on Kirara. Shiori stands on a cliff from behind her demonic barrier as she sees Towa and Setsuna fly away on Kirara. Shiori tells Setsuna 'thank you'.

Trivia

 * This marks the return of Shiori who made a single appearance in Episodes 73 and 74. Her human mother had died some years ago, having succumbed to illness.
 * Setsuna's battle against Gaga Gozen is very similar to Inuyasha's fight against Gatenmaru in Episodes 51 and 52. Both Gaga Gozen and Gatenmaru are moth demons who paralyze both Hanyōs, but are nevertheless destroyed by their mindless transformations.
 * This is the first episode where Moroha doesn't appear nor is she referenced at all.
 * This is the first time in Yashahime a half-demon transforms into a human during a solar eclipse as opposed to a new moon.
 * The notion of Setsuna reaching for Shiori's hand was similar to what Towa did with Sōta when they met.
 * Hanyō longevity is seen again, with Shiori; despite nearly being 30, she still looks like a young woman just entering her 20s.
 * The system used for Setsuna's messages is based on the ancient Chinese writing media of Bamboo and Wooden Slips.
 * The two lizard yōkai that attempted to break into Shiori's barrier look very similar to the two lizard yōkai that previously appeared in the InuYasha anime and manga.

Episodi 20 (Hanyo no Yashahime)