The Battle of Karasumori

The Battle of Karasumori (烏森の激戦, Karasumori no Gekisen) is the 44th episode of the Kekkaishi anime adapted by Sunrise.

Summary
"Though the Kokuboro appeared to have retreated, in fact, their desire to take over the Karasumori site was far from dead."

- English dubbed narration

The Night Troop stands ready for Kokuboro's arrival at Karasumori. Odo creates a massive fireball, which Todoroki launches into the dark clouds that conceal Kokuboro's army, causing a massive explosion. Masamori Sumimura shouts encouragement to his troops, after which the first wave of Ayakashi descends from the clouds. The Night Troop meets the attack head-on, destroying many Ayakashi. Yoshimori fights as well, but his focus remains on finding and defeating Kaguro the whole time.

At the Sumimura Home, Shigemori Sumimura, Shuji Sumimura, and Toshimori Sumimura watch the battle unfold. Toshimori is concerned about Yoshimori and his friends, but Shigemori says to have faith in them, though he is also worried. Shuji, however, has faith that Yoshimori and Masamori will be fine.

Tokine is attacked by an Ayakashi weak against shadows. Yoshimori intervenes, forcing the Ayakashi into the rooftop's shadows so he can trap it with a Kekkai. He demands to know where Kaguro is. The Ayakashi recalls seeing Kaguro, but can't recall where, so Yoshimori destroys it in frustration and goes to look for Kaguro himself.

Byaku informs Princess that Sakon is leading the attack on Karasumori. Princess says she doesn't like Sakon because she can't tell what he's thinking. Byaku admits Sakon's ambitions are dangerous, but assures her that anything can be useful once it is understood.

Sakon watches the battle from afar, but is unimpressed with the Night Troop. Masamori realizes that the attack isn't strong enough to be Kokuboro's main army, suggesting that they either have another goal, or are holding back the bulk of the army. Sen Kagemiya, Shu Akitsu, and Dai Yaegashi watch the battle from the sidelines. Sen sees Yoshimori and realizes he is searching for something, but can't tell what.

One of Sakon's servants suggests that he should join the battle, since so many of his subordinates being destroyed. Sakon immediately kills him, annoyed that a servant would tell him what to do, but does decide to join the battle. Sakon descends on Karasumori in a gigantic tornado. Yoshimori is shocked that Sakon's aura is so much more evil than Gagin's. Sakon introduces himself and states his intention to conquer Karasumori. The Night Troop attacks at once, but Sakon repels all attacks with his tornadoes.

Yoshimori prepares to attack Sakon, but Madarao stops him, saying he's found the scent of the human skin that Kaguro was wearing. Madarao warns him not to leave the Night Troop to face Sakon by themselves, but Yoshimori is determined to defeat Kaguro, and trusts that Masamori will handle things. Yoshimori orders Madarao to take him to Kaguro, and when Tokine tries to stop him, he tells her not to follow him. Tokine follows despite this, and so does Sen, even more curious about Yoshimori's plans.

Sakon demands to face the Kekkaishi, since he considers the Night Troop to be weaklings. He says they are no stronger than the child that Gagin killed, which infuriates Atora Hanashima. Yaichi and Tsukinojou attack Sakon, but even with the rest of the Night Troop's held, Sakon remains unharmed. Masamori orders them to retreat and challenges Sakon himself.

Madarao leads Yoshimori to the Ayakashi in the human skin disguise, but it turns out to be Shion instead of Kaguro. Shion admits she wore it to draw out the Kekkaishi. Her spider goons attack Yoshimori, but he stops them easily. Shion explains she has been ordered to capture a Kekkaishi, and seeing this as his chance to find Kaguro, Yoshimori agrees to become her prisoner. Madarao tries to stop this, so Shion knocks him away. Shion binds Yoshimori with webbing, then does the same to Sen when she senses him watching. Shion recalls that Byaku actually ordered her to catch two Kekkaishi, and decides to try and pass Sen off as the second.

Tokine and Hakubi are still chasing after Yoshimori, but Hakubi loses the human skin disguise's scent. They manage to find Madarao, who is still stunned from Shion's attack. Tokine forces him to wake up, and he tells her that Yoshimori has been taken away.

Princess is disappointed to learn that Byaku's goal was to capture Kekkaishi, instead of conquering Karasumori. Byaku assures her that by using Kekkaishi, they will be able to save their dimension. He plans to force them into this by using his worms. Princess asks what he will do about Sakon. Byaku is unconcerned: if Sakon is able to capture Karasumori, they can deal with it later.

Sakon captures Atora and uses her as a hostage, to prevent Masamori from attacking and convince him to surrender. From the Sumimura Home, Toshimori notices that while some of the black clouds are leaving (Shion, her goons, and her captives), a large cloud remains (Sakon's army). Shigemori is confused by this as well.

Tokine continues to chase Shion's cloud, and spots an Ayakashi flying nearby. She captures it with a Nenshi, jumps on its back, and forces it to follow Shion. Madarao and Hakubi are unable to leave Karasumori, so Tokine leaves them behind.

Differences from Manga

 * In the manga, both Tokine and Madarao return to the Sumimura Home to inform the Sumimura family that Yoshimori was kidnapped, and Tokine does not go after Shion.
 * In the manga, Sakon does not appear. Instead, Gagin (having survived the previous attack on Karasumori) battles Masamori.