Inuyasha kills Hiten with the Tessaiga, but blames himself for not being able to protect Kagome and Shippō.
Kagome & Shippō didn't die; Inuyasha then gets embarrassed because he revealed how he actually cares for Kagome.
Summary[]
Hiten uses Manten's powers to 'kill' Kagome & Shippō.
Inuyasha sweats, because Tessaiga's sheath, (the only thing protecting him from Hiten's lightning attack), is starting to crack. Hiten scowls. "You are brave, half-breed. And for that I loathe you." Myōga yells at Inuyasha that no matter what, he can't discard the scabbard, because it's the only thing that can protect him right now. Meanwhile, Kagome is watching the fight and she thinks to herself that Inuyasha won't survive if the battle goes on much longer. She looks over at Manten's body, where the Tessaiga is still impaled. She decides that she has to go get Inuyasha's sword and bring it back to him so he has a fair shot in the fight. Shippō volunteers to go get it, running over to retrieve the sword, and Kagome yells at the fox-child not to dash around, because if Hiten sees him he'll be killed. Just as she thought, Hiten sees the girl and the fox running by, and he scowls at them unamusedly. He opens his mouth and an electrical charge starts to build. This alarms Inuyasha: "His brother's lightning power?" The half-demon shouts at Kagome to run, but it's too late: Kagome & Shippō get caught in the blast. When Inuyasha looks over at where his friends had been a moment ago, all that remains is a crater where they once stood. Hiten mocks Inuyasha further, taunting "A toast to you, halfling!" The dog-demon growls, in a rage over his friends being killed. Hiten scoffs and says that Inuyasha's friends prove a valuable point: "Courage against me means only death!" Inuyasha then overpowers Hiten, pushing closer towards his enemy. Hiten only grins and says that Inuyasha is speeding up his own death, as the Thunder-pike slices further into the Tessaiga's scabbard. With another mean growl, Inuyasha headbutts into Hiten, making him bleed in the forehead.
Hiten's death.
This attack catches Hiten off guard and he starts to get nervous, thinking to himself "In all my years, never have I met even a full-demon who would stand against me with such ferocity... What manner of creature is this?" Inuyasha declares that Hiten can kill him if he wants, but he'll make sure to take the thunder-demon down with him and avenge his friends. With a laugh, Hiten regains his composure, saying that the half-demon acts much too dramatic over his wench being killed. The thunder-demon swings the Thunder-pike yet again and Inuyasha parries it with the Tessaiga's sheathe, but the scabbard starts to crack once again, this time even more severely. Suddenly the Tessaiga itself flies over to the scabbard as if drawn, and Inuyasha grabs it. Myōga is surprised by the fact that the scabbard was able to call the sword. Before Hiten even realizes this, Inuyasha swings his blade, cutting Hiten in half, killing him. Hiten's last thoughts are that he can't believe he was defeated by a half-breed. He then disintegrates into dust.
Myōga congratulates Inuyasha on his victory, but he tells the flea to shut up because he wasn't able to save Kagome. Then, Inuyasha sees Kagome and Shippō enveloped in flames. Myōga says that they're the spirits of the two, coming to say their final farewell. Kagome thanks Inuyasha for everything, and Shippō does the same, saying his father's soul can finally rest in peace. Inuyasha shouts at them not to go, reaching out and grabbing Kagome by the hand. He becomes surprised when the flames that enveloped her disappear and he now stands simply holding her hand; she's still alive. "What did you mean, 'don't go'...?" Inuyasha blushes. Shippō then smiles and thinks to himself "My father... he shielded us with his fox-fire." Myōga coyly says he knew Kagome & Shippō were alive the whole time, adding that he was just testing Inuyasha. This response greatly annoys the half-demon. Inuyasha tosses Kagome's hand away with a blush, saying he's surrounded by idiots. The fox says Inuyasha shouldn't be so mopey, because they got a lot of jewel shards in the battle.
The way that Hiten is defeated in this chapter very much resembles the way that Bankotsu is defeated in chapter 276: Both have strengthened powers that they inherit from their comrades (Hiten from his brother, Bankotsu from the other Band-of-Seven's shards), both face Inuyasha alone to avenge their fallen comrade(s), and both are cut in half by the Tessaiga in a surprise attack.
