AN: Hey ^_^ dragon fire onna again. Sorry for such the LONG delay, but let's just say I needed a small break from this fic. It shouldn't take me that long to type another chapter again. Not six months at least ^^;;
Thanks to those who reviewed, by the way. I'm going to start leaving comments to individual people who reviewed the chapter before.
**************************************************
Operation Switching Bodies
By: dragon fire onna
Chapter 3: Sit, Inuyasha! Sit!
"Sango…" Miroku liked the way her name rolled off of his tongue, so he said it again. Sango turned to him and blinked. "Sango…" Miroku repeated, not even looking at her.
"What?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "You've been saying my name nonstop for the past five minutes!" However, Miroku wasn't even paying attention to her, as he said her name again. Sango glared at him. "And now you're not even listening to me!! What is your problem?"
"Sango…and Miroku…I like the sound of that. Miroku and Sango," Miroku whispered to 'himself'. Sango sighed slightly in despair. It was no use trying to get through to him. A 'Sango and Miroku' couple was never going to happen, not now, and not even if a million years went by. His lecherous ways were just too much for her to handle, though she despised the thought of not being with him.
"Come on, Houshi. Kirara went this way…" And she left him, trudging through a few bushes, heavy with thorns. There was no clear trail, at least none that had come into view, so they were forced to make their own, slashing away at anything that stood in their path.
"Hey Sango?" Miroku called after her when he was losing her. Sango didn't bother turning around this time, giving Miroku no choice but to catch up with her. He leaped over to her. "Is my presence that much of an annoyance to you?" Sango frowned deeply and didn't answer. "Sango, I'm talking to you." Miroku pouted playfully.
"You mean you're actually going to say something besides my name?" she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes to herself. Miroku quirked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He innocently questioned. Sango sighed and picked up her pace to try and get away from Miroku, but he followed with the same swiftness as she did. The rest of the way on their walk, they were silent, neither saying a word to the other.
"Never mind, let's just get this over with." Sango halted at the base of a long rope bridge, seemingly put up over a hundred years ago. Moss was wedged into all the little cracks of the twine. Sango was a little afraid to cross old rope bridges because they swayed and creaked as you walked across them, but she gathered all the courage within her. She shivered, willing herself to cross it and not look down. Below was a river, but it ran smoothly without any interruption from jagged rocks.
"What's wrong?" Miroku asked, with genuine concern for her in his voice. However, Sango missed the concern deep within his response.
"Nothing," she replied, taking a deep breath as she started across the bridge. The bridge was suddenly much longer than she remembered it being, and she found herself glancing down more often than she liked. They were already high up, but the large river below them seemed so tiny that it only made the bridge feel as though it was far above the ground.
Sango gulped and the hue of her skin left her.
"Sango! Go, hurry! I can sense something…" Miroku warily glanced back where they had just been walking. There was something headed their way, from both sides of the bridge, and whether it was friend or foe, he wasn't sure. The only thing he did know was that if they needed to fight, the bridge was definitely not the place to do so.
"Houshi-sama, what's wrong," Sango couldn't get rid of the shaking in her voice. She unconsciously gripped the slimy ropes and peered into the forest ahead of her, dreading Miroku's next words.
"It's too late. They're here," Miroku stated with little hope. Sango and Miroku came back to back to each other, each taking a side of the skinny, but deathly long bridge. They were caught right in the middle.
"Ar-are these the ones holding the jewel shard?" Sango asked, reaching back for her weapon, the Katana.
"I don't think so, but I'm not sure," he answered, holding his staff out in front of him. "Be careful when swinging that thing or you might accidentally cut the ropes." Sango glared at him, but decided to put the Katana away for now. "Better safe than sorry."
"If Kagome was here, she'd be able to tell us," Sango mentioned, only insinuating slightly Miroku's uselessness at that moment.
"Don't worry, I don't think they'll give us too much trouble. It's the bridge that worries me. I don't think it can stand a whole battle." Just as he finished his sentence, a pack of wolf demons appeared at both ends of the bridge. They growled and bared their sharp and bloody fangs at the two. Slowly the mutts advanced on them, snarling for all they were worth, going in pairs down towards them.
"If we die, it's your fault," Sango yelled accusingly as the wolves were only yards away.
"Mine?" Miroku protested in surprise, "Who do you think you'd be safer with anyway? Kagome or I?" Miroku smirked.
"Safer from what? You or the wolves?" Sango softly laughed as her stance deepened.
"Very funny." Miroku said hurtfully and looked back. "You seem to have overcome your fear of heights and this bridge."
"Who said I ever feared them?" Sango asked with an inflated ego. Then, as if one mass, together all the wolves sprang at them. Sango managed to knock a few away from her and the monk, sending them flying off into the river below. She used her Katana as a shield. Miroku's luck was not as good as Sango's, however.
Suddenly, they all backed off and Miroku and Sango looked at each other, sharing a knowing look; their pack leader was close by. A tall man, most likely the head of the horde, stepped forth from the shadowy trees. He reminded them of Kouga a little, but was a bit rounder in face and the stomach. He wore the same type of clothing and had long brown hair tied back in a low ponytail.
"Do you think he's part of Kouga's tribe?" Sango whispered lowly so the demon wouldn't hear her.
"I don't think so…" Miroku responded, his eyes watching every movement the man-demon made. Miroku was startled when he grinned at them, a knife glinting in his hand, and cut one side of the rope.
"Houshi!" Sango screamed as the bridge tilted to one side. She clung to Miroku's legs as he was the only one that was still holding onto the bridge.
"Don't worry Sango, I'm not going to let you fall!" Miroku reached down with one strong arm and pulled her up next to him. He put one arm around her, peering over to the man.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sango loudly cursed, angered by the sight of him. The demon just smiled again and nodded, directing their eyes to the other end of the bridge.
"Hold on Sango…this isn't going to be pleasant," he began, narrowing his eyes on the other wolf demon at the other side. They both placed their knives dangerously close to the only other rope still attached to the posts
Miroku wrapped his arm around Sango and held her close to him…and they fell.
******* With Inuyasha and Kagome (Souta)
"Hey Kagome, do ya mind?" Inuyasha growled from above. He was in a tall tree and 'Kagome' was trying to climb up there with him, without much luck. The last time Souta had fallen he had accidentally grabbed Inuyasha's foot and brought him down with him. Now Inuyasha sat with his legs tucked into his chest and up on a higher branch, completely out of his reach.
"Well, can you help me get up then?" Souta asked grudgingly. Inuyasha smirked. There was no way that he was going to let the girl up in the tree with him. Souta glared menacingly at him. "I just want to sit down and talk—" Souta never got to finish his sentence because Inuyasha fell from the tree, snapping the branch in half.
Souta watched Inuyasha with confusion (and slight amusement). Inuyasha's face was planted into the ground. 'Ouch…that's gotta hurt.'
After about twelve seconds, Inuyasha lifted himself from the ground.
"Wha'd ya do that for!!" Inuyasha growled, picking Souta up by his shirt. The young 'boy' clutched Inuyasha's hand and tried to pull it from him. Eventually he persuaded him to put him gently down.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't make you fall from the tree, dummy! Don't blame me because you're lame!" Souta turned his back on the hanyou. Becoming annoyed, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and willed himself not to do anything that he might end up regretting later.
"You know exactly what you did, wench—" Souta cringed "—so don't play it off like you have no idea!"
"All I said was I wanted to sit an—" Souta watched as the prayer beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed violently and pulled him down once again. This time when Inuyasha was free again, he had a mouthful of dirt. "Oh…" was all he said. Inuyasha snarled and lunged at him, but Souta dodged him with the speed of someone running for their life.
"You stupid—"
"SIT!" Souta's (or more like Kagome's) voice rang out into the afternoon air. This time he didn't wait around to see the hanyou's reaction to it. After all, Inuyasha was half demon and could rip him to shreds if he was pushed far enough.
'So that's how Kagome stays in control of him. It's a good thing she has that word though, or I don't know how long she'd last here in the feudal era.'
Souta ran through the wooded areas encountering few to no open spots. He slowed when he reached the end. Traveling uphill on a mountain wasn't easy in his sister's body. Perhaps she needed to work out a bit more; she was getting kind of chubby. Souta made a mental note to tell her so if she let him live after this little escapade.
"Kagome!" The hanyou was catching up quickly, following her with his demon senses and thirst for revenge.
"Shh!" Souta hissed at him when he came to a halt beside him. Inuyasha's anger depleted from his body all at once.
"What is it?" he asked, impatiently.
"I think I see something glowing…it's over there in that cave…I just saw something move." Souta crouched behind a small bush and looked over to Inuyasha. "What should we do?"
"WE—" Inuyasha stressed the we "—ain't gonna do anything." Souta frowned at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked hotly.
"I mean that you're going to tell me where the shard is located in his body and then I'm going to go retrieve it. Got it?" Inuyasha waited for Kagome to tell him where the shard was. When he didn't get an answer, he glanced at her and noticed a stubborn, determined look on her face. "Well?" he asked, agitated.
"You forget that one of those demons has the antidote from our friend! I'm not going to trust you alone with it! You'll probably just slice through it on accident with your sword."
Inuyasha gave up with a sigh. He knew he wasn't going to win this. Once she had an idea, Kagome always stuck to it, no matter what. However, little did Inuyasha know that determination just happened to run in the family.
"Why do you always have to argue?" Souta questioned half-heartedly. "I'm coming and that's final!" Souta finished with the air of someone who had accomplished something.
"Feh!" Inuyasha muttered to himself; this was going to be a long day. "Just get on my back already!" The half-ling placed his arms behind him to hold her up.
"I'm ready…"
----------------------- To the Reviewers
Jupiter's Light: Thanks a bunch ^_^ I'm really sorry for the long time update, but hopefully I don't disappoint you again.
Soya: *sweatdropped* um…I told you at school? *shrugs* And of course you thought that village idiot comment was funny…I thought of it! *inside joke*
^-^Miko^-^: worried at first? Hmm…I hope I don't worry you again.
Sammy V.: updated! Sorry for the delay, Sammy. Glad you like this fic.
The Random Queen: I thought this idea was really cute too ^^;; I hope you're enjoying this just as much as me.
ShadowCrawler: Thanks for the compliment! It means a lot!!
Little Brat: Sorry for the long update. Hoped you found this to your liking.
chichibean: lol, well this was kind of a slow chapter…maybe. Inuyasha and Souta haven't begun to fight yet, and Miroku and Sango are falling to their doom because of some wolf demons…yep. It's a slow chapter.
Rin the Kitsune: I've always loved Souta ^_^ though he doesn't act like this in the anime, I figured this was a nice way to portray him.
Ameneko: lol, glad you liked it ^_^
BC1: Thanks a lot J! I'm glad you love this ^_^
**************************************************
AN: Okay, thanks again peeps ^_^ PLEASE review…you have no idea how much it keeps me writing half the time and gives me the confidence to continue. If you like this story, then please review. If you don't, then if you could tell me why, that would be greatly appreciated. I might become a better writer for it anyways.
