At the beginning of the story,
You might say, âf*ck you, OP. It was the smell of the blood of the woman who killed him.â And true, Inuyasha does say that.
But Iâd say, no, it wasnât the smell of the blood of the woman who killed him (KikyĆ wasnt even there). It was something else.
But first, letâs set the scene. We all know the story: Naraku, wily villain that he is, tricks Inuyasha and KikyĆ intro betraying each other over the jewel. Inu steals the jewel and Kik, with her dying breath, retaliates by shooting him with a sacred sealing arrow, effectively pinning him to the Goshinboku for all of eternity. Or, at least that was KikyĆâs plan.
50 years pass. Enter this girl:
From 500 years in the future, Kagome Higurashi. Sheâs pulled down the old dry well at her familyâs shrine by a centipede creature. After she seemingly defeats this monster and re-emerges, our little Dorothy realizes sheâs not in Kansas anymore.
Luckily, thereâs something familiar in her foreign surroundings: the Goshinboku. She races there to find - fate? destiny? - oh, itâs a boy.
While fondling said dog boyâs ears, Kagome is discovered by priestess Kaede and some villagers who shoot arrows at her. They escort her back to their village. As things finally start settling down for this poor girl, the centipede from earlier reappears, seeking vengeance and the jewel.
Once Kagome figures out that Mistress Centipede is after her, she quickly offers to lead the demon away from the village and back to the well; the villagers think they can trap the centipede in it.
So Kagome runs back to Inuyashaâs forest. Panic starts rising within her as she realizes.. umm, a giant centipede demon is chasing her in some unknown land and sheâs utterly defenseless. Maybe she didnât think this through completely. She starts imploring someone, anyone, for help:
Boom b*tch. (D-Koom, b*tch?)
*extends pointer, smacks tip on panel* notice the overlaid panel solely depicting one of Inuyashaâs ears.
Hereâs the subsequent full manga panel, where Inuyasha awakens and makes those comments about âthe blood of the woman who killed me.â Rumiko overlaid Kagomeâs cry for help with Inuyasha awakening, so I think itâs fair to say those events happened at the same time.
Which brings me back to my theory:
Kagomeâs voice awakens Inuyasha.
Why didnât her voice awaken Inuyasha earlier, then, when she first happened upon him? Simple - Kagome wasnât in any danger at that time and she didnât call for help. Sure, the villagers shot at her, but they didnât shoot with the intent to kill her; they meant to trap/ subdue her. If they wanted to shoot to kill, they wouldâve easily done so.
Well, what about Inuyashaâs comments about smelling the blood of the woman who killed him? Sure, he confuses KikyĆâs scent with Kagomeâs at first. Their scents are likely similar considering their connection through reincarnation. But heâs able to distinguish between the two once Kagome is closer to him. So, heâs smelling Kagomeâs blood all along.
To grant credibility to my claim, letâs look at the manga. Other examples are provided regarding the unique ability of Kagomeâs voice to reach Inuyasha in dark places.
- Chapter 77: KikyĆâs attempting to drag Inuyasha to hell with her and Kagome calls out to him. This is the second time Inuyasha breaks through a spell of KikyĆâs when hearing Kagomeâs voice, I might add.
- Chapter 474. The KaĆ arc. Inuyashaâs been placed under an illusion where heâs asleep and sees Kik beckoning him to join her in hell. Heâs crying tears of blood, people. Kagome is in agony watching this, powerless to help him. She screams Inuyashaâs name; he wakes up. They exchange this dialogue shortly after KaĆ is defeated:
- Chapter 539: Inside Naraku, Magatsuhi has possessed Inuyasha. Inu strikes Kagome, cutting her, and is attacking Sesshomaru. She yells at Inuyasha, telling him to fight Magatsuhi. When she tries to get Tetsusaiga back to him, she falls. Both her voice and smell of her blood penetrate through Magatsuhiâs control to reach Inuyashaâs senses. He catches her before she lands and says this:
But Inuyasha had feelings for Kagome those times her voice penetrated any barrier between them. True, but letâs not forget this:
Inuyasha and Kagome are soulmates. Theyâre bound by a red thread of fate; their connection transcends time and space. In other words, an inherent, instinctual part of Inuyasha recognized this connection to Kagome before he actually met her. This is proven by Inuyasha responding to her voice when she calls for help. He hears her; he wakes up to protect her life.
Is it Inuyashaâs power or Kagomeâs power that breaks these spells, etc.? I think this question is irrelevant. Ultimately, itâs their love for one another thatâs the power behind these acts <3