Chapter 334

The Perfect Host is the 334th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Synopsis

 * The villagers attempt to kill Shippō, but are unsuccessful. Eventually Inuyasha frees the fox demon from the Parasitic Nymph's control.
 * The group finds a nest of Parasitic Nymphs and starts to wonder if Naraku is somehow involved in the huge number of insects roaming the countryside lately.

Summary

 * Angry villagers are out looking for Shippō, and Kagome has been unable to talk them out of their desire to kill the troublesome fox. When a blob that looks like Shippō's transformed state appears in the sky, the villagers fire arrows at it and Kagome gets concerned, but Inuyasha tells her not to fear, as he can tell it's a decoy by the scent. The two of them then see a suspicious looking Chicken, and after Inuyasha bonks it over the head, it turns out to be the possessed Shippō who says he thought he could "hide in plain sight". After Inuyasha tries to catch him, Shippō buts a propeller on Inuyasha's head and he flies away. Kagome runs after him.
 * Meanwhile, Miroku & Sango work their way out of Shippō's sticky rice trap. Miroku wonders how they can stop him, since they can't be too rough with him, he's just a child, but Inuyasha still insists on pounding the kid. Sango comes up with a solution. She brings out some of her exterminator equipment: They look like ordinary dumplings, but they're actually knock-out drugs, which will render Shippō immobile. The fox appears from out of the blue and gobbles up the drugs, believing it to be food. Being slowed down by the drugs, Inuyasha is able to get the upper hand and almost catch up with the little fox, but in an attempt to escape, Shippō spews out what appear to be little fleas. Eventually Inuyasha gets fed up with the games and draws his Tessaiga, and the possessed Shippō says "You bad man! You would attack your own friend?" to which Inuyasha responds that if Shippō thinks he'll go easy on him just because he's a kid, he's mistaken. InuyashaChapter334ShippoChicken.jpg
 * Out of fear, the Parasitic Nymph leaves Shippō's body and flies away. Kagome is relieved her friend is okay, but then Inuyasha beats the fox over the head for his tricks. Kagome defends him, saying it isn't his fault because he was possessed, but Inuyasha says Shippō must have been at least semi-conscious, otherwise how would the Nymph have known how to use all the different kinds of Fox Magic? This makes Shippō blush, silently confessing to the accusation of playing a part in the pranks.
 * Sango says they have to go after the Nymph that escaped. They eventually come upon a huge nest of the parasites crawling around. She concludes that the parasites must have infested a very large demon, and the demon must have died, leaving the insects with nothing to control. Regardless of how they got their, the group concludes they should be exterminated, so Miroku sucks up the Parasitic Nymphs with his wind tunnel.
 * On a cliffside, Kikyō kills two Parasitic Nymphs she finds flying across the sky. She wonders why she's been seeing so many of them lately, finding it strange.
 * Back at camp, Sango is worried about the Parasitic Nymphs, pondering on why their numbers were so large. Their host must have been huge, but the group didn't see any corpse or dead flesh, and Inuyasha didn't smell any. Miroku thinks that if the Host isn't dead, then something must have driven the parasites out of it. The group begins to wonder if Naraku is somehow involved.

Characters in Order of Appearance

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