you will be missed
The monk was first to enter the battlefield. Before anything else he noticed the remnants of lesser demons, lizard demons and felines who had been reduced to mere bits and pieces and were emitting an awful stench that enveloped him in a revolting manner.
His eyes feel upon Sango afterward – the slayer that held his heart. She was hunched over a body, a small, female corpse – he didn't know whose. Cautious, almost as though his heart would burst if he didn't watch his steps, he approached the working woman. She seemed to be cleaning the body – perhaps a young girl fallen in battle? It appeared that way. How great was Sango's soul, indeed.
His legs threatened to collapse in that moment as his breath left him in a whoosh. Surely his eyes were betraying him, because it wasn't possible that Sango was holding the dead body of their friend. Kagome had to be…
… safe at home.
Inuyasha believed she was, Miroku realized, and to an even greater horror, he thought of how the hanyou would handle such a ghastly view. Torn between denying the obvious and helping Sango clean their friend, the monk could only stare… and let tears fall freely. Kagome, their Kagome, the lively girl that was so good at bringing smiles on their lips and cracking such poor jokes that even the most insensitive of people – or hanyou – would feel obliged to laugh at, was forever gone. The forest was quiet and Sango was, too. She wasn't crying, but Miroku could see a cavernous pain etched on her contorted features.
'She's trying not to…'
Realizing he should act more like a man himself, the monk gulped audibly and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, letting the staff drop to the ground loudly, making his presence known. Biting his lips, he pulled a cloth from his robes and cleaned Kagome's face. Realizing with a sickly shiver that the girl's eyes were still open, he closed them delicately. She deserved a graceful treatment.
Then he remembered vaguely that Shippou had been right behind him and stood up abruptly.
'He mustn't see this!'
Without a word, he left Sango to continue and met the still innocent fox demon halfway, conjuring a lie only to get him away from an obvious heartbreak. Questions about the smell of Kagome's blood and her absence for some time were deftly evaded as a young demon was tricked with sweets.