The Larva yōkai (幼虫妖怪) was an insectoid yōkai who was killing humans while the hanyō Jinenji took the blame.
History[]
The larva yōkai's family.
This yōkai killed a woman in the forest. The villagers believed that the hanyō Jinenji was responsible. Inuyasha went looking for it after he and Kagome learned that the villagers were planning to attack Jinenji's home. Inuyasha was searching across the forest until he came across its underground nest. He discovered eggs that recently hatched.
The yōkai and its offspring attacked the villagers at Jinenji's home at night when they were planning to kill Jinenji. Kagome retrieved her bow and arrow from the hut. She shot the yōkai with her sacred arrow, but she didn't kill it. The yōkai attacked Kagome and left her briefly unconscious. It was about to kill her with its tongue when Jinenji saved her by punching through the yōkai's mouth. It then began to choke Jinenji with its tail.
The villagers were being overwhelmed by the offspring until Inuyasha arrived to save them. He destroyed offspring with his Sankon Tessō. Kagome awoke and saw that Jinenji was protecting her. He told her to run away. She asked Inuyasha to help Jinenji, but his mother told him not to and said that Jinenji had to stand up for himself. Inuyasha forced the fleeing villagers to watch Jinenji's true strength. Jinenji began to glow a blue aura and destroyed the yōkai with his strength.
Manga vs. anime[]
- In the manga, this yōkai speaks when it confronts Jinenji and the others. In the anime, it just screeches.