::Day One Alone::

"Houshi . . ." Sango said. Miroku looked up, and gulped.

"I take it you're not happy, Lady Sango?" he said. She glared.

"No, houshi-sama, I'm overjoyed at the prospect of spending a week alone with you and those hands of yours!"

Miroku gave her a hurt look. "Why? Kagome –"

"– forgot to make you promise!"

"What if I promised to keep my hands to myself?"

"Nani?"

--FLASHBACK--

"What's this?"

"It's a chess board. The kings," Kagome held up the small white and black pieces, "will represent your hearts." She tossed the black king into the box. Miroku blinked.

"Aren't I black?" he asked. Kagome nodded.

"Then why don't I have a heart?"

The younger girl sighed. "You don't get a heart, Miroku-domo, because I would not be sitting out here at midnight teaching you chess when I could be at home cuddling Inuyasha if Sango didn't already have yours."

The monk blinked. Kagome moved on.

"The queens," she held up the pieces, "represent honesty, because they are the most powerful pieces, and that is the most powerful thing. It can move any direction, any amount of spaces."

She continued holding out pieces, telling him what they were, and their powers.

"So . . . what do they represent?"

"Well, Sango's represent her defenses against you, and yours are the ones you hold against her."

"But I don't defend myself from her! Except if she's trying to hit me," he amended.

Kagome grinned. "Then why haven't you told her how you feel?"

"I . . . hn," Miroku said, getting the point. Kagome giggled, and pushed pieces around the board.

"See these pawns?" she asked, pointing to the two little pieces in the middle of the board. He nodded.

"That's your lechery. It's her first defence against loving you, that you're a womanizing creep who'll bed her and leave her."

Miroku ducked his head. "Not her, not ever," he muttered. Kagome patted his shoulder.

"I know that, but you have to prove it. Promise her that you'll keep all unwanted looks and touches to yourself."

Miroku smiled. "I can do that."

--END FLASHBACK--

Miroku nodded. "I promise to keep all unwanted looks and touches to myself," he said, putting his hand over his heart.

Unwanted . . . that was the key. By the end of the week, his advances would no longer be 'unwanted'.

Sango looked at him warily, but agreed.

"Hai, houshi. I'll take your offer. But be warned, if you do try anything, I'll stuff you into that hole in your hand!"

Miroku gulped.

Sango sat down and began to make a fire; there wasn't really anything to do until they heard a rumor. Miroku sat next to her, a little closer than normal -- within groping distance. She shot him a look, and he smiled sweetly at her.

'Damn,' she thought, 'it's hard to be cross with him when he looks at me like that. It's hard to be mad at him period if he's not being a lecher. Why did he promise that? What's he up to?'

"Sango?"

She looked up, thoughts disturbed. Kirara was sitting complacently on Miroku's lap, purring. He looked at the neko's owner, confused.

"What's she doing?"

Sango looked closely at the small demon. "Sleeping," she said, equally puzzled. Kirara usually ostracized the monk, sensing her master's feelings towards him. This day was getting to weird for her. Much too weird.

Lunch was ready in a few minutes, and Miroku chewed thoughtfully on his fish. He may have promised to keep his hands to himself, but he had nothing to make Sango certain of his change of heart. Except to put himself in situations where he could have touched her, but didn't. As he finished his food, he touched her arm gently. She flinched at his touch, and he cringed inwardly, pulling his hand away.

"Gomen," he muttered. Louder, he asked:

"Do you want me to clean up?"

Sango shook her head. "I'm okay," she said, but Miroku grabbed the bucket to put out the fire before she did.

"I insist," he said, "you made lunch, let me clean up."

His companion sighed, and rolled her eyes. Kirara hopped off his lap, and allowed him to get up. He walked towards the river. Now, his move was over. He had to wait.

Sango sat by the fire, waiting for Miroku to return with the water. Minutes passed. He didn't return. She didn't worry about it until Kirara began mewing and edging towards the forest. It was at that point that she got up and went to find the errant monk.

Miroku sat by the river, dangling his feet, He had jumped in and gotten out again, all being part of his 'clever' plan. When he heard Sango come through the brush, he scooped up the bucket, and began walking toward where he suspected she would be coming.

Sango moved through the forest quickly, not worrying about noise. If that monk was in trouble, her noise level wouldn't be an issue. Saving him would be. Suddenly, she ran into something hard and wet. She topped over backwards, and the thing came down on top of her. When she gathered her thoughts, the thing had already gotten up, and was holding a hand out to her. That 'thing' happened to be the houshi she was looking for.

She felt herself flush. She hadn't known before her brief physical contact that he was so . . . solid. The loose robes he wore apparently belied his physical form beneath them.

Still shocked and red, she took his hand cautiously, wary of any moves from his happy hand. He released her as she stood, and smiled.

"Arigato," she whispered.

"Why are you out here?" he asked. The taiji-ya blinked, and told him of her search. He looked down, seemingly embarrassed.

"I sort of, rather, fell in," he said. Sango smothered a giggle.

"Oh," she whispered in a choked voice. "Well then, bouzu, let's refill that bucket there and get back."

He handed her he bucket, and she kept a wary eye on him as she bent to get the water. Neither his eyes nor his hands wandered to her bottom, which was well within his reach. She wasn't sure what was going on. Was he truly going to keep to his promise? He had never really kept to the vows of monk-hood, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't kept to this promise. She even hesitated a moment before straightening. Still no move.

She stood up, and began to walk back to camp. He fell into step with her. As they returned to camp, Kirara jumped up onto the monk's shoulder. He smiled, and pat her back.

"Hello, Kirara. Were you worried too?"

Sango gave a bare gasp. "I wasn't worried," she scoffed, tossing the water onto the fire, "I wanted to put the fire out, and you were taking your sweet time."

She didn't believe herself. Miroku didn't either.

That night, she opened her mat a little closer to Miroku's than usual.

"It's cold," she explained, not meeting his eyes, "we should preserve body heat."

He nodded, and unrolled his own mat. When he was certain she was sleeping, he left to the bone-eater's well. Kagome was waiting for him.

"So?" she asked impatiently, tapping her foot. In response, Miroku leaned down to the chess board that was already set up, and knocked out two pawns.

"Hentai? What do you mean, Hentai?" he said wickedly, and Kagome smiled.

"Good. Now come on, I'll explain the next part."

Miroku sat down, as did Kagome. She pointed to the two knights that were set up right behind where the pawns had been and Miroku's knights now sat.

"Those knights represent her past . . ."

---

Wow . . . another chapter done. I can't believe the response I got! Thank you all! For every 10 reviews I get for this, I'll write a little individual thank-you section at the end of the chapter for those ten. Now please not, we don't exactly follow the 'move to a move' philosophy in regular games here. The chess Kagome and Miroku are playing . . . only black moves. It's just Miroku trying to get under Sango's defenses, so White doesn't really move much. Unless Miroku screws up. But that's another author's note entirely ^^ Now, VOCAB! Note: I may not use all words in all chapters; this is just a generalized list.

Vocab:

Hai: Yes

Nani: What

Gomen (nasai): Sorry

Arigato: Thanks/Thank you

Onegai: Please

Hentai: Pervert

Houshi: Low-level monk

Bouzu: Disrespectful term for low-level monk

Taiji-ya: (Demon) Exterminator

Hiraikotsu: Flying bone (Sango's boomerang)

Hanyou: Half-demon

Youkai: Demon

Miko: Priestess

Ramen: Instant noodles

Kitsune: Fox

Neko: Cat-Demon

Kazaana: Air Void (Miroku's Wind Tunnel)

Shakujo: Miroku's staff with the rings (it has little blades on it, I'm serious)