A Simple What If

His shoulders were stiff and his back hurt, but other than that he was fine. Looking up, he saw the cliff that he had fallen from, reaching towards the clouds. The hanyou would have thanked the gods for his luck had he not been so incredibly stubborn.

They were crying. His ears twitched; yes, he could hear Shippou's wails and Miroku's solemn words. They grated against his nerves. For a moment, he hung back, wondering if he could just stay here and never be bothered by them again. He could search for the shards on his own.

Inuyasha smelled Kagome's tears then and decided against it.