Episode 57

Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part I is the fifty-seventh episode of the InuYasha anime.

Synopsis

 * 1) Soon after Sango returns to her village to repair Hiraikotsu, Inuyasha and the others see strange "human faced" fruit.
 * 2) They soon find that a sage named Tōkajin has been feeding humans to a yōkai tree called Ninmenka, and is responsible for the human faced fruit.
 * 3) Kagome, Miroku and Shippō come across a box with many tiny men inhabiting it; soon they are shrunken as well and are trapped in the box themselves.
 * 4) Inuyasha is shrunken as well and is trapped inside Tōkajin's gourd, and is in his human form; Inuyasha manages to escape using Tessaiga's scabbard to summon it, cutting a hole in the gourd.
 * 5) Inuyasha fights with Tōkajin again but is quickly overpowered by Tōkajin who had stolen Kagome's Shikon no Tama shards, transforming his body into a wrecking ball.

Summary
Kagome's in school taking a test, She finds out that these question are so simple that she gets an A, so her friends congratulates her. Kagome says "This isn't a dream. It's really happening," before waking up with a math book on top of her face, and realizing that it was dream. Half awake she sees the moon as an old crescent and falls back to sleep. The next day Kagome tells everyone that she has to go back home (to her own time) to study for a test which is in three days. It gives Sango a chance to go back to her village so she can fix her weapon that cracked from her previous battle with a female Coyote demon. Inuyasha lets her go, and Sango hops on Kirara's back and they head back. Kagome's shocked that Inuyasha's willingly letting her go and Inuyasha asks her what's wrong with her, but she says nothing. The rest of the group then head back to Kaede's Village.

In the deep mist of the mountains a man is running, but crashes into a larger man who is twice the size of him. The big man asks him where he was going. The small man tells him that he had enough of the big man to train him to become a sage like himself. The big man gets his gourd and sucks him in then walks back into the fog. Inuyasha and his friends get into the mist as well. Shippō finds a creepy fruit and shows it to Miroku. Miroku tells them that it's a human fruit from a demon tree named Ninmenka. After seeing a lot of them floating down the stream he assumes that the tree is huge. Kagome wants to check it out. Inuyasha reminds her that she wanted to go back to her time, but she says she still has three days until her test.

As the sun begins to set, Inuyasha sees the fruit falling from the top of a tall cliff. He climbs up the cliff and he doesn't waste anytime. Shippō witnesses his behavior and tells Kagome and Miroku that tonight is the night of the New Moon. Kagome is surprised that she almost forgot about it. On top of the cliff, the sage waters the Ninmenka from his gourd and out comes a human fruit. He picks and eats, and he's getting tired of it. Inuyasha gets on the edge and asks if the sage is the one who has been doing this. Inuyasha draws his Tessaiga and notices that the man reeks of sick men. He attacks the sage's belly but it bounces off. The sage introduces himself as [Tōkajin] the sage of Togenkyo. He pops out the gourd in front of Inuyasha. Inuyasha thinks it gets bigger, but Tōkajin tells him that he's shrinking and Inuyasha sees his sword is bigger than him. Tōkajin sucks Inuyasha in and realizes that demons are great fertilizer for the demon tree.

Kagome and Miroku float on Shippō as he tries to get them to the top. Kagome knows what the night of the New Moon does to Inuyasha... it transforms him into a human. Shippō is out of energy from getting them to the top and Miroku gets Kagome to the opening on the cliff. Kagome finds a room with a box with real humans in it. She finds her jewel shards are getting bigger, and Miroku tells them that they're getting smaller as they fall into the box village, leaving the jewels to the side of it. Kagome find the men meditating under a tree. She asks them what's going on and one of them tells her that they have to meditate to become sages like Tōkajin. Miroku tells them to stop, but if they do they'll become fertilizer for Ninmenka.

The sun is almost gone and Tōkajin, with a few monkeys massaging his back, tries to figure out Tessaiga's power, but decides to go into the room where the box village is. Meanwhile inside the gourd Inuyasha realizes he's getting weak since he doesn't have his sword with him, and is transforming into a demon. His coat begins to dissolve. He tries to use his claws to get out but all he can leave are scratch marks. The sun sets and Inuyasha transforms into his human form. Tōkajin leaves the Tessaiga with other weapons and finds Kagome's jewel shards. It shows that he already has one in his belly and he puts Kagome's in there and claims that his body will be a plate of armor. Inuyasha finds the liquid is rising and tries to get to higher up.

Kagome and Shippō think the men will become sages, but Miroku finds it harder than they're already doing. On the other side of a rock a Samurai agrees with him. He tells them Tōkajin trains them to become better fertilizer for the Demon tree. He witnessed it before he was thrown into the box village. Kagome, Shippō and Miroku are surprised to hear about it. Kagome hopes for Inuyasha to be okay.

Inuyasha uses his sheath to break the wall, but slips into the liquid, and since he's a human he can feel the pain. He then finds his sheath pulses, and thinks that his sword is close by. He tells his sword to come to him. Outside of the gourd the Tessaiga floats in midair and rams into the spot where the sheath called. Tōkajin pulls out the sword leaves a hole, and Inuyasha jumps out and returns to his normal size. Tōkajin shows the shards in his belly, but Inuyasha is certain he can beat him. Tōkajin turns into a stone monster and hits Inuyasha hard, knocking him unconscious. Meanwhile, Kagome continues to try to find a way to get out of there while Miroku and Shippō tell her that there has to be a way out. Kagome screams for she believes she's in a nightmare.