Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or In the End by Linkin Park but that does not mean I can't toy with them.

Summary: Showdown between Naraku and Inuyasha, but please do not flit over this thinking it's yet another of those boring fics where the good guys win and walk off into the sunset because this story has a tragic ending.

AN Please enjoy.

In the end

One thing / I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on / but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to
Watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I tried
so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
One thing / I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me
In the end
You kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

Normal POV

It came down to this, the last arrow from Kagome. Sango lay bleeding, shoved aside like a broken doll her body still shielding Kohaku her hirakotsu broken, one half either side of her. All that was left of Miroku was a huge crater, the side of his wind tunnel had been cut and he had insisted on using it. Shippo had been thrown into Miroku when he had tried to defend Kagome from one of Naraku's attacks. Kirara was knocked against a wall, covered in bloody gouges, one fang broken,bright eyes, glassy.

Kouga's battered form was in the middle of Miroku's crater his wolf pack scattered around him in grotesque shapes with various fatal wounds. Kagura had collapsed next to Naraku; he had killed her, crushed her proud heart, when she tried to turn on him. Kanna was defenceless; her mirror had been shattered by one of Kagome's arrows.

Kagome thought how it had happened.

Flashback

They were running through the forest, Kagome was apologizing to Inuyasha for sitting him earlier and ignoring Kouga who was flirting with her.

As they came round a corner a giant castle loomed over them.

"Finally, Naraku's castle," Sango breathed. Everyone stared in awe at having finally reached the elusive castle.

Inuyasha broke the silence, "Stop gawkin' lets get up there and kill Naraku." Surprisingly he seemed to get a bit edgy as they enter the court yard and when questioned about it, he just said something doesn't smell right, like a trap.

End Flashback

As Kagome blinked blood out of her eyes and looked at Inuyasha, who had a deep, bloody scratch down his face starting at his left temple and stretched all the way down to the right of his chin and his right ear hanging by a thread, she thought about how right he had been, but she still nodded, suddenly she saw another shadowy figure standing next to him holding a bow, it was Kikyo.

Kagome and Kikyo looked at each other and came to a silent truce. They fired their arrows simultaneously, a second later Inuyasha used his backlash wave. The blue wave with gold streaks crashed into Naraku and Kanna and engulfed them.

"Yes! We did it!" Kagome hugged Kikyo and Inuyasha round the neck. Slowly grip loosened and she stiffened.

"What's wrong Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, concerned. A deep chuckling answered his question.

Inuyasha and Kikyo turned round, Naraku was standing behind them.

"Damn, the other one must have been a decoy." Inuyasha followed this with a few more choice curses.

Inuyasha whispered something in Kagome's ear. Kagome looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. Goodbye she said silently in her head and she ran off.

Inuyasha started hacking at Naraku who impaled him and Kikyo on one of his root like legs. He turned his back and left them to die.

Kikyo took an arrow out of her quiver and shot at Naraku, at the same time Inuyasha used his backlash wave. This time the amount blue and gold was the same, the colours wrapped around each other and shot straight through Naraku who looked at his torso and exploded.

Coughing, Inuyasha staggered over to Kikyo who was removing the large chunk of the Shikon jewel out the remnants of Naraku. Once this was done Kikyo collapsed, Inuyasha bent down.

"Is it time?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper, as he too collapsed.

"Yes." Kikyo replied that one word draining her of nearly all her strength, but she held on through pure strength of will, "What… d .. did …you … s ..ay … t.. to… K.. kag … om ..e?"

"I told," Inuyasha stopped breathing heavily. "Come back tomorrow to," again Inuyasha stopped to breath. "Collect the shard, and it was time to go, so she should not waste her wish on reviving me."

When he had finished, Inuyasha stopped breathing, Kikyo followed a few seconds later, a smile on her face, the spirits leaving her body, creating a glowing blue halo around the scattered bodies and slowly melted into ash.

The miko could finally rest in peace.

Meanwhile

Kagome ran, the direction didn't matter, branches scratched her face and roots made her stumble, she had been running for the past half hour, she finally slowed to an exhausted jog. She had found her way unconsciously to the God tree. She staggered to it and sat under its leafy branches, the trunk supporting her back, her chest heaving as it tried to get as much oxygen to her lungs as possible.

Ironic she thought here was were I met him, and I'm saying goodbye in the same place.

She knew that when he whispered for her to run it would be the last time she would see him, so she had said her own silent farewell.

As Kagome remembered his last words and the time when they had been chasing Naraku, tears started falling, first as one or two drops but soon it became a torrent.

Flashback

"Quickly, we've almost got him."

"Who are you chasing mutt?" Kouga appeared out of the bushes.

"What's it to you?" Inuyasha had retorted

"Well, I don't want you putting my woman in danger."

At this point Kagome decided to step in. "Kouga, I'm not your woman."

"See you mangy wolf, Kagome herself doesn't like you."

"Inuyasha could you at least be polite?"

Inuyasha muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "he started it"

"What did you just say?"

To stop what would probably be the start of another argument. "We're chasing Naraku, we have him on the run, if you join us we might be able to beat him."

"Naraku, eh? I think I can put up with that mangy mutt until we beat him, then I will rescue you from him and make you my mate."

Kagome halted the ominous growling with Inuyasha's least favourite word.

"Sit!"

When Inuyasha finally extracted himself from the ground, he started yelling "What did you do that for?"

"To stop the inevitable argument that you would have started if you weren't sopped."

Inuyasha picked Kagome and put her on his back in a icy silence. Then they set off, after Naraku.

End Flashback

While Kagome wept an unseen being lurked in the shadows, he had seen everything. The a patch of moonlight made his face look even more icy than usual. He mourned the loss of brother as the loss of one of his clan and realised he was the last of dog demon lords. Jaken and Rin stood, near him, heads bowed in respect to the departed. A single clear tear dropped from the chin of Rin and left a dark mark on the earth. The demon lord finally turned away and left the grieving girl on her own in the shadows of the God Tree.

AN Did you like that? Please Review. However if you flame, I will send my minions after you