Author's Note:
Spoiler: It seems some of you thought that I had "killed" Inuyasha... Shame on you! (Just kidding.) Truly now, I don't think I could ever do such a thing...
As for your questions in reviews... Since I am so awful at remembering names, I would be a good idea to email me whenever you will want to ask a specific question that drives you nuts! Otherwise you can wait till I update to see if I answered yours...
Yes, I am going to use MS Word after all to correct any grammar/spelling errors, begining from Chapter 1...

Chapter 13
Heedeth not thy hurt heart...
Pain must thou now thwart...

Miroku felt he had to gather his thoughts, for Sango was awfully shocked, apparently unable to react to what had just happened. She would mumble something like "Waht of the poor babies?", but she wasn't making any move.

'Let me think... Kouga snaps at Inuyasha. They are about to get on with their fight when Kouga just HAD to have this plan of faking him hurting Kagome, making Inuyasha drop his defences in order to protect her...' The monk winced unknowingly, his almost unwavering mask of no feelings whatsoever failing for just a moment. 'Concentrate, Miroku, this is not going to help you figure out how to help them all... They cannot help themselves, and Sango-sama might as well be having a flashback of the masacre in her village!' He could not help himself casting a weary in the taijiya's direction, his lips curling bitterly all the while. He could not put his finger on it, but he felt he wasn't completely off-target.

Thinking once again of the more important issues at hand, he patted Sango lightly on the shoulder, a weak, innocent smile grazing his features. "Sango-sama, do you think you could be able to go and take Shippou-chan with you to the village to inform Kaede-sama? I'll take care of everything else, you should stay there for a while. I will try my best to help Kagome under control of the tragedy that has befallen her... You can come when you feel ready to help her."

Sango was very startled at the monk's reaction to the whole incident, some voice deep in her mind douibting her sanity for supposedly hallucinating, while another seemed more than eager to make the first one shut up and her do what Miroku had so naturally suggested. Shaking her head in frustration, she reluctantly walked along the field and wrapped her arms around Shippou, absentmindedly picking him off the ground to rest his head on her left shoulder, driven only by instincts. Turning her back to the dreaded clearing, she cast an exhausted glance of her own at Miroku. Getting nearer to the monk, she hugged him with one arm, tears spilling of her eyes as she spoke in a dry whisper. "Arigato, Houshi-sama..." And with those words she let him go, leaning over to kiss his right cheek, then left for Kaede's hut. To let her mind drift...

Miroku's now wide eyes followed her slightly swaying form until she was finally gone, raising his clothe-wrapped right hand to touch the tingling mount of flesh... Taking his mind off any thoughts of him and Sango being together almost painfully, looking once again at the mess that his friends had come to, Miroku's facade could not hold any longer. His lower lip hang low, trembling at the thought of what might have befallen them, wanting nothing more than to make sure they were alright...

But how could they ever be? Inuyasha's temple must have caved in after the hit that had been dealt, an injury none could overcome. Even if he survived, Buddha knows how, would he still be the same? Or would he become deranged in whatever way fate reserved for him? No, he would not survive such a punch. However painful it was to accept it, Inuyasha had certainly perished...

Leaving a problem he could not solve alone to get done with things he could, he paced over to where Kagome slumped on the ground. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, cold, annoying sweat, its reek making him want to leave everything behind and run the hell out of this wreched place... Controling himself, he knelt beside Kagome and produced a waterskin from somewhere in his robes, screwing off the lid and resting his friends head on a small stack of soft, green leaves and wet grass... 'Guess you will have to shower afterwards...' was his bitter, nonsensical thought. Lowering the skin to her lips, he dropped a little water on her tongue to moisten her mouth, then springled a few drops on her closed eyelids and forehead, shaking her of her stupor. He run the back of his "gloved" hand over his face to wipe out the sweat that covered it.

"Ungh!" Looking at Miroku, then turning around to make sure everything was just a dream, only to have her hopes shuttered to pieces, Kagome lifted her body off the grass, her legs ready to buckle. But she used all of her will power to get off the ground and to Inuyasha's side... She stumbled all the way there, Miroku helping her all the while, supporting her weight as much as he could. When they reached the fallen hanyou, Kagome knelt next to him, raising his rigth hand to her lips and kissing it, then grinding it to her cheek or squeesing it to her cheast, or running her free hand through his silver mane, tears flowing freely down her face and staining them and her clothes, mumbling whatever... Finally she lowered her head, closing on his own, locking her mouth to his, letting all of her agony out in this desperate need to feel him again... When she broke the one-sided kiss, she raised her head, her forehead touching his chin as she once again lowered her head, while the rest of her remained still. When she finally seemed to realise he was dead, she snapped her eyes shut, sobbing so awfully that Miroku averted his gaze...

Again, a disturbing matter nagged the back of his mind, urging him to understand how had Kouga such a spell on him. 'Since it seems to be a spell of purely beneficial nature, he must have had it cast on him. The question is... the question is: who would ever help him? Kikyou has already been avenged and crumbled to dust... Naraku has gone to hell and should he had not, I doubt even that fool would have made a pact with him. Kouga does not seem to have any allies that would help him with strong magic such as this too...' Having a strange idea all of a sudden, he looked up at the sky, a thoughtful expression plastered on his face.

'What if Kouga simply asked someone acquainted with magic to help him? But who would ever help him in such a cause?' Really annoyed at these questions popping out of nowhere inside his mind, he tried to think of how could the damned- 'No, sealed!' he thought with a mental grin- youkai have convinced anyone, even the greatest moron of all, to carry out his request.

Until everything clicked into place.

'But of course! Houshi and miko can only read your thoughts, they cannot experience the facts first-hand... Had Kouga been absolutely sure- Like he wasn't!- that Kagome truly was his woman, the mind reader would believe the same thing!'

"Hafth thou reached any conclusions, Miroku?" Kaede stood beside the two.

"Kaede-sama, I am so glad you are here! Can you help me a little with..." He didn't end his phrase but nodded towards Kagome's weeping form. Kaede shook her head. "Time give her, then all right will she be... As much as one can be, that is."

Miroku nodded, still unsure of what way could she help her in. "Will you... inspect him? I am not sure, but I think he moved..."

At these words, Kagome raised her head to see in Miroku's eyes. "Y...you are telling the truth, right?! He has moved?" For the first time, her spirits seemed to lift somewhat; only to be squashed by reason. "But that's impossible! How... who could ever..." Kagome was lost, thoughts and denial jumbled together in a nauseating manner. "He could heal this, right? But no, he was hooked at the temple! Oh Gods!" Kagome had another fit of uncontrollable sobbing, as she looked at Inuyasha; blood had formed a small pond as it had flown from the side of his head. Clutching her stomach, Kagome rose to her feet. Excuse me, but I..." With this words, Kagome left the two and run out of the glade, crying non-stop.

As Kaede lowered her head in sympathy before walking over to Inuyasha, Miroku piped in. "Funny, didn't remember Kouga hurting his hand during the battle..."

Kaede shrugged it off. "That must be the claw Kagome has broken off his finger..."

But Miroku looked very curious about it. "I tell you this is not his broken claw; it's his... knuckles?" He sounded very excited about his last exclamation... Before Kaede had turned her back to him to look over Inuyasha, he had already run to his friend's side and moved Inuyasha's hair out of the way.

Loud laughter echoed throughout the forest. A relieved, yet jolting laughter...

What was the most surprising was the fact that it was coming out of the mouth of a monk that had what seemed to be one of his closest friends' dead body lieing down in front of him!

Kaede backed a step or two away from Miroku. "Hafth thou lost all sense, Houshi-sama?! Mourning Kagome was a while not ago, yet such despicable cries of joy thou let roll out of thy mouth!" Miroku tried his best and the hysterical laughter had finally subsided. "But how, can I not cry in joy, when that wolf, thank Buddha for not making him clever, had not hit Inuyasha DIRECTLY at the temple? He has punched him on the side of his head, making him lose a lot of blood as he cut the flesh in that part; it seems he lost consciousness. Inuyasha may actually live!"

I don't know if that makes sense, but this CAN be a severe case of concussion... Anyway, that particular area on the head has many vains and arteries running through it.

Replies to reviews:
1. Baklava?! ROFLMAO!!! Seriously, I prefer what we call galaktoboureko; it's like cheese-pie in concept, but instead of cheese it is stuffed with a cream of milk, eggs, butter, sugar and semolina, and you pour sirop all over it when it is done. Yum!
2. No, I really think you went rather far with your compliments, SilberEngel... I don't think I am that good, honestly... Thank you, though, for your kind words. The same goes for you, guys!

Oh, the knuckle-thingy has once occured to a close friend of mine: they were sparring (Kung Fu), and his opponent thrust his fist to my friend's forehead... only to break his fingers!

I would also be glad if you would suggest me any stories you like or have written. There are so many of them that you can't possibly find them all on your own... Not me, at least!