A/N: Well, it's almost over, folks. One more chapter after this one…and it makes me sad. I love writing this story because it's so silly and fun. I'm sad to let it go…perhaps a short sequel may follow if I get the energy, but I really can't promise anything!
Well, now we get to see how Inuyasha takes rejection. Read on.
"A Match Made in Heaven"Chapter 7: Conspiracy Theory
Sango leaned over so she could see through her office doorway. Someone was in the waiting room. What a god-awful hour on a Monday for anybody to be considering dating. Shouldn't sleep should rather be on their mind? Maybe it was becoming an epidemic- after all, the whole ordeal with Kagome had started out with an early morning visit. What new adventures would disrupt their company today?
She sighed, setting down the folders she had been filing, and moved over the rough carpet of the inner office. Before she reached the door, her eye quickly caught who was there, and it made her start in surprise. Miroku was here already!
Not really understanding why, she glanced into the mirror on the wall for a second, puffing up her bangs before she turned to open the door.
Oh God, Sango…don't act so silly…she admonished herself.
Miroku looked pleased to see her when she opened the door, and his smile was as infectious as ever. Sango moved to shake his hand, but he shrugged off the formality with a boyish grin. "It's fine, Sango. I'm not here on business…am I?" He stood up, his hands shoved in his pockets, and his stance casual and inviting.
She shook her head wryly in response, as she gestured for him to follow her into her office.
"How are you doing?" she asked, courteously.
Miroku didn't seem to notice the question, as he didn't answer for a few seconds- he was obviously distracted by something very different. Sango stopped walking for a moment, and whipped around to find Miroku's eyes trailing on her back end. His shining eyes met hers, startled, and he gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, what were you saying…?"
Sango gave him an odd stare, not feeling as much violated as annoyed. "Never mind," she grumbled, crossly. It was too early in the morning to be offended by anything.
He settled himself into the chair across from her desk, resting and ankle across his thigh in the practiced art of comfort. "So why did you call me here? Decided you couldn't live without me?"
She struggled not to let her mouth twitch in a smile. "No, it's about your friend…."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Speaking of the devil, Inuyasha was not having a very good day of his own. Make that utterly miserable. What had promised to be a fantastic weekend had quickly turned dark. He noted that it hadn't been his choice to call a dating service in the first place, and it was a reminder of epic proportions NEVER to let anyone named Miroku handle your love life. He should have known, anyway, not to trust a service like that. After all her promises, the girl had not even show up, let alone bothered to contact Inuyasha to tell him why.
He hunched over the mahogany top of his desk, his eyes not really focused on the pages in front of him, but more interested in burning holes into the wood. Of course, he would never have admitted it aloud, but most of his anger was stemming from disappointment. It was the first time in a long while he had attempted to take a date seriously- and what did he have to show for it? And empty seat next to him at a restaurant, and another dinner eaten alone.
He wasn't one for leaving his desk early under any circumstances, but Inuyasha had begun fervently wishing that there existed some kind excuse for missing work filed under the title of "the wiles of women," or perhaps "the stupidity of your best friend." He smirked bitterly to himself. He was sure some of the interns would be grateful for a new change in policy, if their frat-party hangovers ever got out of control.
"Uh….Mr. Tanaka?"
His secretary had poked her head in warily to ask Inuyasha a question, and now she looked as if she were very much regretting her decision to do so.
He snapped his head up, and she looked frightened for a moment. "I wanted to ask if you wanted any coffee…I…um…" His glare was unwavering, and she fingered the doorknob nervously. "Er..never mind." She shut the door carefully behind her with a nervous squeak.
Inuyasha shook himself after a moment, sighing when he realized he must have scared the girl half to death. He made a mental note to give her a bonus. He, of course, was the king of wild mood swings, and the girl had weathered them all in the past year or so.
He pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes for a moment, before glancing at the clock. This day promised to be never-ending.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Miroku raised his eyebrows. "About Inuyasha?"
"Inuyasha- that's his name?"
Miroku nodded. "Yeah- last I heard he had invited that girl of his out to dinner…then, when I called him the other night, he said it hadn't worked out. I didn't ask much, because he certainly didn't seem in the mood to talk about it. Seems like she did a number on him, poor guy."
Sango sighed, wondering again why she had decided to put herself in the situation of being mediator. She had yet to even talk to Kagome. She had been too angry the entire weekend to even think of calling her friend. She had remembered rather quickly, though, that Kagome's happiness was far more important than her own personal bitterness over being lied to."Well….here's the problem. The girl that your friend asked on a date? That was my partner, Kagome."
Miroku was quiet for a moment, and was as if Sango could see reality hitting him, and then logic striking him with an even harder blow that destroyed all possibility. "But, how is that possible? I was under the impression that you girls had matched him with another of your clients and not…well, not yourselves!"
Sango felt shame creeping up one, knowing that a situation like this shouldn't have happened. She supposed that she should have been glad that Miroku and her were friendly, otherwise this conversation would have been far more indicative of their company's failures. "Well, I'm not really quite sure how it happened. We had originally matched Inuyasha with a client, but somewhere along the line, Kagome took her place. I can't explain it just yet." She bit her lip, nervously.
Miroku's face withdrew of all its previous shock, and a playful smile formed on his lips. "But I thought you said I wasn't here on business…."
She nodded. "Yeah, I didn't…" she took a deep breath in, hoping that Miroku would accept what she had to propose. Wanting to forgive Kagome didn't mean she couldn't act deviously. That's where Miroku would come into play. She had witnessed that he was not exactly an amateur in setting up friends without their knowledge.
"I wanted to help our friends out. I know that what Kagome has done is wrong, but if I know her, she regrets ever getting into this situation. Even more importantly, I know the last thing she would ever want to do is hurt any of us." She met Miroku's eyes steadily. "And ...I can't speak for Inuyasha….but I believe that Kagome would have a hard time giving him up."
Miroku was silent for a few seconds, and he leaned back fully into his chair. "So, you want me to help you, I gather?"
She let the smile grow on her face. "I want us to help each other."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Kagome was having a day of a very similar sort to Inuyasha's.
She had felt lost all weekend, the full weight of her decision to write to Inuyasha falling upon her as she caught a taxi home on the night of their date. She had first had to get over the fact that the man she had fallen for was the same man she saw every morning on the elevator. Worse, she had realized with a shock that he didn't know that she was his date. Inuyasha probably believed that his pen pal had chosen to stand him up.
She had considered not coming to work at all, but she was the one who had gotten herself into this mess in the first place. She knew that moping at home wouldn't solve her problems. Plus, she didn't want to arouse the suspicions of her coworkers. No one had found out yet what had happened, and she was just as happy keeping it that way.
She decided against the elevator as she entered the building, knowing that if she were to meet Inuyasha she would be mortified. So, she was content to take the stairs- all fifteen flights of them- if it was to spare her self from further embarrassment.
Ten flights up, she realized her own mistake, and wondered why in the world matchmakers couldn't wear tennis shoes to the office.
Kagome reached the MatchMake office with little to no breath in her, and received concerned stares from the girls at the computers, as they watched their frazzled boss stumble in to the main room, gasping for air.
Kagome nodded a quick "hello" to them, but he chief goal was to get to her private office as quickly as possible. She had a feeling that, if Sango were to take one look at her face, she would know that something was wrong.
She tried to sneak quietly in front of Sango's open door, but her plan didn't work. Sango's head snapped up, hearing Kagome as she tried to speed to her office. She greeted Kagome sweetly. "Good Morning, Kagome. How are you?"
Kagome faked a smile, and could feel it wavering. "Just fine." What an outright lie.
"That's good."
Did Sango know? Could she read the thoughts that were running through her head right now? Kagome, you're acting paranoid. She quickly darted into her own office and shut the door behind her, leaning up against it in relief.
Watching Kagome slink away, Sango grinned deviously to herself.
Just you wait, Kagome…
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
A/N: I know, it was kinda short, but I hope you liked it. There will be one more chapter, but you'll discover exactly what evil Miroku and Sango are planning for their best friends, and what the reaction will be. Will Inuyasha forgive Kagome when he finds out what she'd done? Will Kagome be able to get over her embarrassment? Whatever the outcome, I say an angry Inuyasha will at least be better than a moping one….