This is my first Fanfic that I ever wrote, so I hope that you like it. This is a pretty light 'teen' rating; it's just teen because its Inu-Yasha.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inu-Yasha, Takahashi-senei does.

Silent Tears

Inu-Yasha watched from a far as the man in dark robes read from a small book. It started to rain. How appropriate, Thought Inu-Yasha. How did this all start? He asked himself as the rain started to pick up. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the rain. He thought back to several days ago, everything seemed so simple and easy back then. His mind stopped at a point in time that he had forgotten about. It had only been yesterday morning. He and Kagome had had a stupid fight over her cooking or something. Whatever it had been, Kagome had gotten so frustrated that she stormed of to her own time.

She was there most of the day, and when she had returned at dusk, the stage had been set. Everything was on fire; she could hear the screams of the villagers even from the well. A sharp sting of panic ran through her when she sensed the aura of a sacred jewel shard… and the familiar presence of the disconnected souls of the dead. It was Kikyo, and with the distinct loom of blood in the air, Kagome needed to find her, and quick. She traced the jewel shard's aura to the sacred tree. There, she found Inu-Yasha sitting by the tree; his head was held upright, staring into Kikyo's eyes. Kikyo herself was a few yards away, ready to strike him with her arrow, sending them both into Hell forever.

"NO!" screamed Kagome as Kikyo let go of the bow string, sending an arrow flying toward Inu-Yasha. Kagome leapt into the line of fire, taking the arrow through her shoulder. Inu-Yasha turned away from Kikyo to stare, dumbfounded at Kagome. There was a slight bit of fear in his eyes, as if he knew what Kagome was about to do.

"Fool!" cried Kikyo. "This does not concern you!"

"If you're trying to hurt Inu-Yasha, then it does!" Kagome yelled back.

Rain started to fall as Kikyo reached for another arrow. But Kagome was faster. She had only her bow with her, so she yanked the arrow from her shoulder, loaded and fired it at Kikyo. The power of her sacred arrow broke Kikyo's spell, causing her clay body to shatter. The dead souls that were imprisoned by the clay shell, scattered everywhere, and flew into the night sky. Kagome turned to look Inu-Yasha; a chill ran down her spine when she saw his face. His eyes and expression were full of hatred and loathing. Inu-Yasha moved his lips, but no words came out. He looked too angry to tell what he was going to do next.

She didn't know what else to do but run. Kagome was terrified. For the life of her, she couldn't recall a single moment when she had seen Inu-Yasha more full of rage. The rain continued to fall as she stumbled through the night. She didn't care where she was headed, as long as it was away from Inu-Yasha. The grass was slippery from the constant rain and the top soil had turned to mud. Kagome slipped and fell in the woods near the clearing with the well. She was on her hands and knees, which were now covered in mud. The string that held her shikon shard had broken, and her shard now lay in front of her, drowning in a small puddle that was accumulating around it. Kagome then realized what Inu-Yasha has been trying to say. She knew that she had ruined his chances of being with Kikyo in death. Sorrow burned into Kagome's heart the more she thought about it. She now knew that she and Inu-Yasha could never be together. In her blind rage, she picked up the shikon shard, and threw it away mindlessly. It made a small clinking noise as it hit the well. She stood up and went through the well, leaving her jewel shard behind.

It was raining fairly hard by now. Inu-Yasha could hear the group of people that were watching the man in dark robes talk, open their umbrellas. Inu-Yasha didn't bother taking cover from the rain, he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.

When Kagome had returned to her time, it was raining there too. Kagome fell once again to her knees. She let her tears fall freely down her face. She started to sob, then wail into the night. She had loved Inu-Yasha more than anyone else, and the moment that she had shot Kikyo down, was the moment that she had lost his love. The harder it rained, the more it felt like boiling water pressing down on her skin. Kagome rubbed her face; she didn't remember that there was mud on her hands; she had coated her face with mud. Kagome whipped her eyes and stared up into the night sky. She closed her eyes and let the rain wash the mud off her face.

As the mud washed off, Kagome felt as though a burden the size of a planet had been lifted. The rain became cooler and all worries left her. Yet at the same time, a part of her died.

She walked into her house and took a shower. She went into her room to dry off. It had been about an hour and a half since she had left the feudal era, it was still raining. Kagome heard her window open and slowly she turned around. All she had on was a towel; she was holding it up so that it covered her front side. Inu-Yasha climbed in her window and looked away.

"Kagome, I… I'm sorry, but, it was the best chance I ever had with Kikyo!" Inu-Yasha shut his eyes and waited for Kagome to yell at him. When she didn't say anything, Inu-Yasha looked at her.

She was just standing there, not moving, she was barely holding up her towel. Her face was expressionless, and her blank eyes pressed into Inu-Yasha. He took a step backwards, not knowing what he should do. Kagome's blankness made her look like an empty shell. A soulless husk of a human being with nothing left to live for.

"Kagome…" Whispered Inu-Yasha.

"Please," Said Kagome at last. Inu-Yasha raised his head to look her in the eye; her dead eyes pierced through his gaze. "Please," she repeated. "Please just … just go away. I don't want to see you any more."

Inu-Yasha felt as though someone had driven a rusty stake through his heart. He knew he had been cruel to her, but these things usually blew over. He had apologized, and Kagome had never really needed that. She had always been so calm and understanding. Inu-Yasha felt as though he had pushed the limits too far. He had shattered the fragile relationship between him and Kagome.

Kagome started to speak again. Her words plowed through Inu-Yasha even though her voice remained calm and steady. "Please go away. My shikon shard is by the well in your time. What else do you want?"

"… You, Kagome… I want you to come back." Inu-Yasha's heart ached. Deep down he knew that Kagome would never come back; that this was their final farewell. He just wanted to keep her image in his mind. I can't forget you Kagome. Thought Inu-Yasha. You're all I have left. I have to tell you how… I…

"… I love you…" Said Inu-Yasha softly. He let a weak smile cross his face. But Kagome only continued to stand there. Then, as if she had grown tired of the conversation, she started to finish drying herself off. It didn't matter to her that Inu-Yasha was still standing there, that part of her was gone. She proceeded to put on her pajamas; she turned out the light, and lay down on her bed. She heard Inu-Yasha climb out her window and into the stormy night. Kagome stared at the cold, dark ceiling for a several moments, listening to the rain and thunder. She moved her hand up to her shoulder. She traced the jagged scar with her forefinger, her spiritual powers must have healed it already; she didn't remember any blood.

She lowered her hand and closed her eyes. She didn't understand why she hadn't said anything to Inu-Yasha; it had been what she had always wanted to hear. Tears ran down her cheeks as the remainder of her soul escaped into the night.

Inu-Yasha opened his eyes to watch the priest spread the cremated ashes around the tombstone. The priest's voice was distant and hallow when he asked the large group of people to bow their heads in respect. Inu-Yasha wasn't paying attention to the priest, though. He was thinking about last night in Kagome's bedroom, when he had told her that he was in love with her. Her expression hadn't changed, but she seemed more sad and lonely at that point. He felt like she had been trying to tell him something. But… He'd never know now. Everything seemed to go by so quickly. There were so many things that he had wanted to say… and to do. It's all too late now, Thought Inu-Yasha. I should've treated her better. I shouldn't have fought with her so much.

The rain continued to fall as thunder sounded and lighting flashed in the distance. The people started to leave one by one. Even after all the people had gone, Inu-Yasha stayed, not knowing what to do; he had no future. He came forward to stand in front of the marble tombstone. He stared at it, thinking about all that he had lost.

And as he stood there, gazing down at the ground near the bottom of the cold stone slab, Inu-Yasha let his silent tears fall.

The End