Terror of the Faceless Man

[ ACT I ]

Modern Japan. KAG's class is taking a math test. KAG is doing her test with a determined look.

Teacher: Time's up!

Cut to KAG walking along the corridor.

KAG:  (dejected, thinking) I studied when I was in the other dimension. And despite Inuyasha's complaints, I came back here.

Yuka and Eri tap KAG over the shoulder.

Yuka: How did it go?

KAG:  Terrible.

The three of them sigh.

Ayumi: (comes running, happy) Hey, hey! Wasn't today's test easy?

Eri & Yuka: (pinch Ayumi's cheeks) D-Don't say that!

KAG grimaces and sighs.

[ Title screen: Terror of the Faceless Man ]

At WacDnalds. KAG, Eri and Yuka eat listlessly. Ayumi tries to break the tension.

Ayumi: Well, Kagome… How's your guy?

KAG:  (blushes) Guy?

Eri:   (perks up) Yeah, right!

Yuka: (perks up) The delinquent!

KAG:  (sighs) He's not a delinquent.

Yuka: The two-timing one!

KAG:  H-He's not actually two-timing…

Yuka: How would you describe him then?

KAG:  Pla…tonic?

Yuka: Platonic?

Ayumi: He's a platonic two-timer?

KAG:  Don't say that! (punches the table lightly)

Yuka: But Kagome… I've long wanted to tell you.

KAG:  What?

Yuka: He's no good for you.

Eri:   I agree!

KAG:  What's with you guys?

Yuka: He's no good.

Eri:   He's bad!

Ayumi: Is he really bad?

KAG:  (defensive) What do you mean?

Yuka: He's spoiled and rough, right?

KAG:  Well… Yeah…

Yuka: And jealous, right? Does he know about Hojo?

KAG:  Well… I don't think so.

Eri:   Then who is he jealous about?

KAG:  Maybe Koga.

All:   (shocked) Koga?!

KAG:  (waves her hands) There's nothing between me and Koga! Nothing.

Yuka: Then why's he so jealous?

KAG:  (scratches her head) Well… Because Koga said he's in love with me.

Yuka and Eri shriek.

Ayumi: Kagome, are you two-timing, too?!

KAG:  No! I don't feel anything for Koga… I don't like or dislike him.

Eri:   I didn't have a clue… That you're so popular outside of school.

KAG:  I'm not. It's all one-sided on Koga's part.

Yuka: But he declared his love.

Eri:   I wish someone would tell me he loves me!

Eri looks up, blushing and imagining things. Fade to image of KOG on a mountain, in mountain climbing clothes, shouting to Mount Fuji.

KOG:  I'm in…love with you!

KOG's voice echoes through the valley. Fade to present, Ayumi is blushing and has a soft romantic look about her.

Ayumi: (gushing) It's so wonderful, Kagome!

KAG:  Well, I guess it's nice. Actually, I've been asked to bear a child, too.

Eri and Ayumi hug each, shrieking again.

Eri:   By whom?

Yuka: Koga?

Ayumi: Or the delinquent one?

KAG:  Neither.

Eri:   A third guy?!

Yuka: Who? It has to be an older man who'd ask such a thing!

KAG:  Well, naturally. But I think he already has someone he likes.

Yuka: It's illicit then?!

Eri:   Don't get involved, Kagome!

KAG:  It's nothing. He says that to every young woman he meets.

Eri & Yuka: What do you mean?! (look up and imagines)

Fade to image of MIR in a suit, sitting suavely on a couch. Two pretty women behind next to him, one pouring red wine into his glass, the other fawning over him.

MIR:   (smoothly) Please bear my child.

A glitter appears over MIR's teeth. Fade to present. Eri and Yuka shriek even louder.

KAG:  (exasperated) Come on! It means nothing! (slams the table)

Yuka and Eri are shocked at KAG's outburst. They grimace and sit back down.

Ayumi: But, Kagome… How do you meet these guys, anyway?

Yuka: Yeah! Even this current guy seems like a delinquent.

Eri:   And this Koga seems pretty pushy, too.

Yuka: Hojo doesn't have a chance!

Eri:   I guess you like the strong type, Kagome?

KAG:  It's not that! It just happens…

Yuka: I just know you're going to have problems with men!

Eri:   (frowns) She'll be unhappy in marriage…!

KAG:  Don't say such things!

Ayumi: And how is it going lately with your delinquent honey?

KAG:  What do you mean?

Ayumi: Things going smoothly with him?

KAG:  Well… There's been… No particular problem.

Yuka: So it's going well.

Eri:   She must like him, after all.

KAG:  Let's change the subject.

Eri:   We shouldn't have worried.

Yuka: You're right. Just go about your business.

Ayumi: But it's really great! (laughs)

Fade to image of INU's backview. He is wearing a worker suit, like those that the Japanese hell-riders wear.

INU:   (turns around, eyebrows twitching) Keh!

Eri & Yuka: (frown) I wonder… (look down)

Ayumi continually sipping her drink hopefully.

Night time in the Higurashi residence. Mama is frying croquette in the kitchen. KAG is reading in the adjacent living room.

Sota: 82 on my arithmetic test!

Mama: (smiles) You studied hard, didn't you?

Sota: (runs to KAG) Sis, 82 marks!

KAG:  (grabs Sota and strangles him) Yes! Good job!

Buyo looks on in horror.

Sota: (struggling) What're you doing?!

KAG:  (spiteful) Next time, go for a perfect score!

Sota: Y-You're choking me…!

Mama: Okay, settle down. Time for dinner.

KAG:  All right! (drops Sota)

Sota: Okay!

Cut to the dinner table.

KAG:  Let's eat! (eats a croquette) It's so tasty!

Mama: You do eat when you're on the other side, don't you?

KAG:  Vegetables and mountain roots. But, nothing like this.

Mama: Eat as much as you like then!

Sota: When are you going back?

KAG:  (happy) When my test is over. I'll get a good night's sleep and go to class tomorrow again. Maybe after that.

Mama: How'd you do on your test?

KAG:  (frowns) Don't even ask.

GRA:  Can't be helped. You've got a lot to handle.

KAG:  (eats another croquette) This is heaven!

Cut to KAG in the bathtub.

KAG:  (shaking her legs happily) Simply heaven…

Cut to KAG plopping herself onto her bed.

KAG:  It's so wonderful! I wonder how everyone's doing? Forget it… (pulls her blanket over her) I'm so fortunate!

[ End of ACT I: 7min 52sec ]

[ ACT II ]

Night time. The rest of INU-gang are seated around a campfire, barbequing fish on sticks.

SHI:   It's lonely without Kagome.

INU:   Is that so? I don't notice anything.

SHI:   Liar! I know. You go into a daze once in a while. You're really missing Kagome.

INU thumps SHI on the head.

SHI:   Hey! What're you doing?!

SAN:  When did Kagome say she's returning?

INU:   Let's see… One…two…three… Tomorrow.

SHI:   (excited) She's coming back tomorrow? We'd better go back to the village and be there to greet her!

INU:   But we've been here and there…with no success.

MIR:   Without Kagome, we can't get any leads on the Sacred Jewel.

SAN:  And there was no sign of Naraku either.

INU:   If only I had a scent of him, I'd get on his track immediately.

NAR and KAN stand on the edge of a cliff. His right arm jerks and raise up involuntarily. Purple flesh start to bulge out of his arm.

NAR:   Want to come out? I'll fulfil your wish!

The purple flesh reaches to his fingers and bulges. It throbs and finally detaches itself from NAR and fall into the valley below.

KAN:  (looking down) Who was that? My younger brother?

NAR:   He's different from you all. (turns around) Let's go.

Below, the flesh moves away.

A group of bandits gather in the open field around a campfire.

Bandit 1: Hey, Boss! Which village will be hit next?

Boss: Some places with lots of women and sake!

Bandit 2: Sounds great! (eats)

Bandit 3: What's that?

Bandit 1: Boss, come over here!

Boss: What's up?

The bandits and the boss gather around the purple flesh.

Boss: What is that?

Bandit 5: It's alive!

Boss: Creepy thing! Kill it!

The bandits thrust their swords into the flesh. Suddenly a hand reaches out of the flesh and grabs one of the swords.

Bandit 2: What? A hand…?

A naked man emerges out of the purple flesh. He has a spider burn mark on his back.

Bandit 3: (backing away) What is he?!

Boss: H-He…doesn't have a face!

Cut to front view of the naked man, who doesn't have any facial features. The man kills the bandits savagely. He then looks to the sky and yells in frustration.

Faceless Man: (feels his face) Who am I?!

* Faceless Man abbreviated as FAC from now onwards *

Daytime. INU-gang, minus KAG, walk along a path in the forest.

MIR:   Are you sure, Inuyasha?

INU:   Who can mistake this scent?! This way! It reeks of Naraku! Naraku and the smell of human blood!

At the campsite of the slaughtered bandits. All the corpses are facing the ground.

SHI:   They've been slaughtered.

INU:   They're bandits… (grabs one of the bandits to turn him around and is shocked) H-His…!

MIR:   What's the matter?

INU:   (horrified) His face has been carved out!

SAN:  This one, too!

MIR:   What? This one, too. (faces)

INU:   Every one of them…all without faces.

SHI:   How frightening!

MIR:   This isn't normal.

SAN:  It's Naraku's doing.

INU:   But…why their faces?!

FAC kneel by a river. A horse is tied around a tree nearby. FAC looks at his reflection in the water. It is the face of the bandit boss. FAC frowns, and tears the face off. He tries on another bandit face. He is not satisfied and throws it into the river. There are a lot of faces in the river. FAC sighs. A handsome monk and his disciple walk up to him.

Monk: Are you the source of evil, spectre?

FAC turns around.

Disciple: (backing away) What…?! He's faceless! Master Musou…

Musou: Stay back.

Disciple: Yes. (runs)

Musou: Spectre… where are you from?

FAC:  Where? I don't know.

Musou: Why have you done such a cruel thing?

FAC:  (walks to the monk) Give me…your face.

Musou: My face? You killed people because you want a face? You evil spectre!

FAC:  A face…

Disciple: (peeps out from a boulder, worried) Master Musou…!

Musou: Evil spectres like you… (raises his staff) Must be destroyed!

FAC:  Give…!

The monk hits the faceless man on the head with his staff.

Disciple: He did it!

FAC flexes his fingers and grabs the monk's face. He presses his face towards the monk's threateningly. The horse whinnies. The disciple cries in terror and runs off. Cut to FAC walking up to the river. He looks at his reflection, and now has the monk's face.

FAC:  (laughs) My face! I have a face!

Cut to FAC sitting by a path. He is wearing the robe and hat of Monk Musou. A warrior walks past him.

FAC:  (stands up and looks to the warrior) Do you like my face?

Warrior: (reaches for his sword) Impudent! I'll slay you!

FAC:  Now that I have a fine face, I want a fine sword. Your sword looks pretty nice.

Warrior: Why…! (slashes the faceless man's hat into two)

FAC:  (chuckles) Yes, it's a fine sword, all right.

Warrior: (horrified) You! Just who are you?!

Cut to FAC riding away on a horse, in the warrior's clothes and with his sword, laughing.

FAC rides into a village. Cut to the fire bell ringing. The village is on fire. FAC slaughters the villagers viciously. He laughs as he kills.

FAC sits down on the grass, examining the loot he plundered from the village. He feels a length of silk, laughs, then sighs. Cut to FAC lying on his side, playing with a bag of jewels listlessly. Cut to FAC throwing a pot onto a rock, breaking it.

FAC:  Why?! It's not enough! (looks at his loot) I want more, more… What else…?

Cut to FAC riding up to a cliff, overlooking a village.

FAC:  Maybe I'll go to that village next.

Suddenly, something inside FAC throbs.

FAC:  (thinking) That village?

Images of KAE's village flashes across the screen: KAE's hut, the sacred tree and the cave where KIK hid Onigumo.

FAC:  (confused) What's this?

FAC rides towards the village swiftly. Midway, INU runs out and blocks his way.

INU:   Hold it right there!

FAC:  (halts the horse) Who are you?!

INU:   I've finally found you, bastard!

[ End of ACT II: 15min 55sec ]

[ ACT III ]

At the Higurashi Dry Well. KAG walks down the steps towards the Well. GRA, Mama and Sota ook on.

KAG:  I'm off.

Sota: Bye bye!

Mama: Be careful on your way!

GRA:  Do your best!

KAG jumps into the well.

Mama: It never ceases to amaze me.

Sota: Why can only Sis go through?

GRA:  It's Kagome's fate. That's the only explanation.

Mama: Oh yes… (walks out) I'd better go shopping so I can stock up on food for her when she returns.

Sota: I'll go, too. (follows)

GRA:  And so shall I. (walks out)

Back with INU and FAC.

INU:   (puts a hand on TET) Where's Naraku?!

FAC:  Naraku?

INU:   Don't act stupid! You're another one of his offshoots! You reek with his smell!

FAC:  You know about me? Well, tell me who I am.

INU:   Shut up!

SAN:  (appears next to INU) Inuyasha, I think he's the one behind all the killings, not Naraku.

INU:   One thing's certain… He has the same smell as Naraku.

MIR:   (runs up with SHI on his shoulder) Are you the one who killed the bandits and stole their faces?

FAC:  Yeah, I was the one. But they were all so ugly, I couldn't use them. (touches his face) But, this one is pretty nice, isn't it?

INU:   Did you steal that face, too?

FAC:  Yes. I wanted a handsome face. And money, women… I wanted it all. And I stole them all. But it's not enough. There's something missing. Tell me…what is it I crave?

INU:   Why, you…!

SAN:  He's not joking.

SHI:   He doesn't even know who he is… He's definitely unlike the others Naraku has borne.

A poison insect hovers high above them.

In NAR's castle. KAN holds up her mirror to NAR.

NAR:   (thinking) So they've come face to face. He's the most abominable creation of my flesh. Inuyasha…for you, too. Now, then…

Back to INU-gang and FAC.

MIR:   You attacked the village and set it afire, too?!

FAC:  Yeah. I felt if I slaughtered some people, I'd remember something… But it didn't work. Although it was fun.

INU:   Just what are you?!

FAC:  I told you, I can't recall. I know! (gasps) How about Musou? My name's Musou. It's not bad, is it? It's the name of the bonze who gave me this face.

* FAC is now known as MSO (Musou) from now onwards *

INU:   (angry) "Gave"? Didn't you kill him?!

MSO:  Why that look? I don't like it.

INU:   And I don't like YOU!

MSO:  You know… I really don't like your face. Tell me, have we met before?

INU:   It's no use talking to you!

MIR:   Inuyasha!

INU:   Someone who smells exactly like Naraku is killing people senselessly! You deserve to die!

MSO:  Just try it! (raises his sword and rides towards INU)

INU:   Die!

INU leaps and slashes off MSO's arm. MSO looks shocked and falls off the horse. The horse runs away.

SHI:   He did it!

SAN:  Not yet!

MSO gets up. His arm doesn't bleed and he doesn't seem to be in pain.

MIR:   What's his body made of?! It's like clay or something.

A buzzing sound is heard. The group looks up to the sky. A drove of poison insects appear.

INU:   Naraku's Poison Insects!

The insects fly into the wound on MSO's arm and reconstructs his arm.

SAN:  His arm…!

MIR:   His absorbing the Poison Insects into his body! My Wind Tunnel is useless!

MSO:  (flexes his fingers) This is amazing! (pointing to KAE's village) So what's in that village?

INU:   What're you talking about?

MSO:  That village is calling me. If I slaughter the villagers, I might remember something this time.

INU:   (runs towards MSO with raised TET) Why, you…!

MSO's right arm transforms into a brown whip and hits INU, who blocks with TET.

SHI:   What?!

MSO then hits MIR, who blocks with his staff, but SHI is whipped off.

MSO:  (looks at his arm-whip, surprised) You're pretty good!

MSO hits INU on the face.

SAN:  (jumps and throws HIR) Hiraikotsu!

MSO:  There! (whips HIR away)

MIR:   He's formidable! We must be careful.

SAN:  Yes! He's made from Naraku, after all.

INU:   That's not a big deal!

INU sprints and leaps in MSO's direction, whose whip splits into three and strikes INU's throat. INU yells in pain. MSO throws him to the ground and retracts his arm-whip.

MIR:   Inuyasha!

MSO:  How's that?!

INU:   (struggles up) You…!

KAG:  (background) Inuyasha!

INU:   (gasps and turns back) Kagome!

Cut to KAG running towards the group happily with her big haversack.

KAG:  Inuyasha!

SHI:   Kagome!

KAG:  Sorry I'm late!

INU:   (yells) Don't come, Kagome!

MSO:  (gasps) That woman…!

Cut to flashback of KIK tending to Onigumo in the cave. Cut to present.

MSO:  (shocked) What did I just feel?

INU:   He's an offshoot of Naraku. Stay back!

KAG agrees and stays with SHI a distance away.

MSO:  (gapes at KAG) Who is she…?

INU:   Don't just stand there in a daze! Die! (slashes off part of MSO's arm-whip)

SHI:   He did it! It's working!

MSO:  (walking backwards) What is it? What is this?! Woman? (gasps) Yeah… It's that woman!

INU:   What're you babbling about? I'll finish you off…! (sprints)

MSO's arm-whip suddenly grows back and hits INU aside.

MSO:  (yells) The woman! Move! (runs towards KAG) Woman!

SAN:  Why, you! (throws HIR at MSO who dodges)

MIR:   Damn it! (chases MSO)

MSO:  I got it! (stretches his whip towards KAG while running)

INU:   (yells) Run!

KAG starts to run but MSO grabs her.

MIR:   Kagome!

SAN:  Kagome!

MSO:  (raises KAG high up in the air, laughing) You're the one!

KAG:  W-Who is he? What does he want?!

MSO:  I've wanted this…woman! (laughs)

INU-gang looks on, worried.

[ End of ACT III: 22min 9sec ]

[ End of episode 69: Terror of the Faceless Man ]

[ Preview for next episode ]

What the hell?! This guy is obviously Naraku's detachment, but he doesn't know Naraku?!

Kagura suddenly appears and tell Inuyasha of Musou's whereabouts. He is in the cave where Kikyo hid Onigumo fifty years ago.

This might be a trap! But we might be able to learn something if we go there.

At this time, Naraku attempts to kill Kikyo…! Next on Inuyasha: "Onigumo's Memories Restored".

The feud of fifty years ago… must be resolved today!