Close-up of Kagome, with commanding expression; she holds up index finger of right hand in "sit" signal.

Upper body view of Inuyasha, with sad expression. In his left hand he holds the Shikon no Tama. With the right hand, he breaks the string of the rosary around his neck. Beads are flying from one end of the rosary.

Panorama of whole group. To the left, the companions—Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara—huddle together. A little to their right, Kagome, right arm still outstretched, is rising to one knee. Her left hand still rests on her bow. To the far right, Naraku still holds Kikyou by the hair with one hand, and raises the transformed Tetsusaiga with the other. Between these two groups, Inuyasha is now standing, facing toward Naraku and Kikyou, looking down at the Shikon no Tama cradled in both his hands.

Upper-body view of Inuyasha, with sad expression. He holds the Shikon no Tama between his hands.

View of Inuyasha’s hands, with visible claws, holding the Shikon no Tama, which is black and emits a dark glow.

View of the Shikon no Tama, which is black and seems to be pulsing with a dark glow.

View of Inuyasha’s hands—but they are now human, with normal fingernails—holding the Shikon no Tama, which is now completely white and emitting a bright white glow.

Upper-body view of Inuyasha, who is now human. He holds the Shikon no Tama between his hands, which are silhouetted before his body. The broken rosary is visible. The jewel now emits a blinding white glow; Inuyasha’s eyes are closed against the light.

Panorama of whole group. In the center, the Shikon no Tama floats in the air, emitting pulses of blinding white light; it seems to be exploding. To the left, the companions huddle together hiding their faces. To their right, Kagome seems to be dropping into a sit from a kneeling position. Her left arm covers her eyes; her bow seems to be falling from her right hand. At the far right, Kikyou kneels on the ground, her long hair shielding her face. Behind her, Naraku is crumbling to dust. Tetsusaiga, untransformed, hangs in the air where he was holding it. Below the Shikon no Tama, human Inuyasha falls backward, blown off his feet.

Panorama of whole group. The Shikon no Tama is gone. To the left, the companions kneel together, looking toward Kagome and Inuyasha to their right. At the far right, Kikyou kneels on the ground; her face is now visible, her expression surprised. Her eyes no longer have the "hooded" loo; she quite resembles Kagome. Behind her, where Naraku once stood, rises a thin column of smoke. Tetsusaiga lies untransformed on the ground. Kagome kneels on the ground, her bow to her right side, reaching out her hand toward Inuyasha, who lies still, face up, on the ground next to her; his black hair covers part of his face, but we can see his eyes are closed.

Upper-body shot of Miroku and Sango. Miroku holds up his right hand, which is uncovered and whole. The protective rosary swings free from his arm.

Full-length shot. The companions kneel together on the ground looking toward the foreground, where Kagome sits tenderly cradling Inuyasha’s head on her lap. Inuyasha’s eyes are closed, and his body obviously limp.

Three-quarter shot of Kikyou. Her expression is shocked, and she holds out her hands before her.

Full-length shot of the companions, who kneel together in the foreground, Kagome cradling the limp Inuyasha. In the background, Kikyou stares at them in horror, her arms outstretched.

Full figure shot of Kikyou, hair flying, running away from the group, who are clustered together in the background.

Full figure shot from behind the group of Miroku and Kagome, cradling the inert Inuyasha, watching Kikyou run away.

Close-up of Kagome cradling Inuyasha in her arms. Inuyasha’s eyes are closed.

Full figure shot of Kagome kneeling on the ground, cradling the human Inuyasha in her arms. Inuyasha is awake and smiling slightly, but his body seems to be limp.

Close-in shot of Kagome cradling Inuyasha in her arms. They are looking into one another’s eyes; tears are running down Kagome’s cheek.

Close-up shot from just behind Inuyasha of a smiling Inuyasha speaking to Kagome. They still look into one another’s eyes; tears are running down Kagome’s cheeks.

Close-in shot from just behind Kagome of Kagome cradling Inuyasha in her arms. Inuyasha speaks with a serious expression.

Close-in shot of Kagome cradling Inuyasha closely in her arms. Kagome is weeping. Inuyasha appears drowsy, his eyes half-closed.

Close-in shot of Kagome cradling Inuyasha closely in her arms. Kagome is weeping. Inuyasha lies still against Kagome’s breast, eyes closed.

Close-in shot of Miroku, Sango, and Shippou. All look sad; Sango and Shippou are weeping.

Full-length overhead shot of Kagome kneeling on the ground, cradling the limp body of Inuyasha in her arms.

Close-in shot of Miroku, Sango, and Shippou. Sango is weeping. She and Shippou look at Miroku; we have a sense that they are silently asking him to do something .

Close-in shot of Miroku speaking to Kagome, who cradles Inuyasha in her arms. Inuyasha is still, his eyes closed. Kagome is no longer weeping, but seems calm.

Text panel.

Close-in shot of Kagome holding Inuyasha in her arms. She looks down at him calmly and tenderly; his eyes are closed.

The top of the page incorporates three panels: two are essentially running text. The center panel is a full-figure overhead view of the funeral pyre of Inuyasha. Inuyasha’s body—human form—lies in the center of the panel, entirely engulfed by flames. He is dressed in a white kimono, closed right over left in the manner of a shroud; his hands rest on his chest with index fingers forming a triangle—just as Kikyou is shown holding the Shikon no Tama in her pyre scenes. His black hair is neatly combed and he is barefoot.

The left-hand panel consists of text, beginning with an illuminated capital letter, as well as a close-up picture of Kagome’s face. She seems to be standing in the dark, but with her face illuminated—presumably by the flames of the funeral pyre. Her expression is one of mute grief.

The right-hand panel continues the text. At the end of the panel, there is the bottom of a speech balloon, which ties all of this into the panel below (in other words, the text is being spoken by a character in the bottom panel).

Legend: Tokyo, 2009. Two young girls are dressed in the kimono of mikos—like Kikyou—but are otherwise obviously modern looking. The one on the left, who is perhaps a bit younger, holds in both hands several identical objects that we recognize from ’way back at the beginning of the series as the Higurashi shrine’s Shikon no Tama souvenir keychains. The one on the right—whose ear is decorated with a series of piercings—is reading aloud (the legend from the top panel) from a sheet of paper that says, in Japanese and English, "Higurashi Shrine" and "Shikon no Tama."