The Switch: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

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In case you forgot: When I say Miroku, I mean Miroku in Inuyasha's body.

When I say Inuyasha, I mean Inuyasha in Miroku's body.

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Miroku's heart beat faster as he heard someone racing towards the group. A whirlwind of dust let him know that Koga was coming. A few seconds later, the demon appeared.

"You're still letting that dog turd hang around with you, Kagome?" Koga said with a sneer.

"Like she'd want to stay with a mangy wolf like you?" Miroku shot back. He had been racking his brain for Inuyasha's insults from previous fights with the wolf demon. This was definitely not one of his areas of expertise.

"Heh, at least I'm a full demon."

"Yeah but she likes me more anyway." Miroku shot a glance at Kagome, who was pursing her lips. She's either mad or trying not to laugh, he realized. "You'd better leave, flea breath, we're looking for shards and I see two right in front of me."

"Ooh, does the little puppy want to fight?"

No, I definitely do not. "Feh, I'd be wasting my time on you."

"Oh, so you're not even gonna take out your sword?"

Luckily for Miroku, Kagome chose that moment to interrupt. "Koga, if you don't have anything important to tell us, we're busy, like Inuyasha said."

"You just don't want to see your weak little doggie get beat up."

Miroku knew he was probably committing suicide unless Kagome stopped the fight soon. "You might as well just run back to your hole to hide now."

"Flea-bitten mongrel."

Oh good, he'd rather call names than fight. But Miroku was running out of insults"Damn wolf" was the best he could come up with. Or maybe not, Miroku decided asKoga's fist came flying at him. He dodged the blow and held his fists defensively in front of him. Come on, Kagome, come on. Miroku was glad he hadn't taken Tetsaiga out, he was a little better at fist-fighting than he was at sword fighting.

"Inuyahsa, SIT!" When he heard the words, Miroku would have jumped up and down in glee if his face hadn't been in the dirt.

"You must be in a bad mood from having to deal with Inuyasha," Koga said sympathetically. "I'll be back for you later, Kagome." With that, he turned and left, small cyclones billowing out behind him.

For most of the morning, Sango had been thinking. Miroku would never say anything like that to me. I mean more than that to him. Or to anyone else in the group, of course. Right. Anyway he's been acting strangely lately. Koga's arrival offered the perfect opportunity for the demon slayer to speak with him, if only Shippo would leave.

"Houshi? I know you really want to watch them kill each other right now but I want to talk to you." When he didn't respond, Sango tapped him on the shoulder. "Lord Monk?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha reluctantly tore his eyes away from the battle, having nearly forgetten his new name. That idiot better not lay a finger on her. "Get outta here, brat," he said, using his staff to shoo Shippo away. Grumbling, the little kitsune moved closer to the 'battle.'

"It's not like it's any different than last time," Sango remarked at Inuyasha's reluctance to talk to her. There is something wrong. Miroku's never treated Shippo like that, no matter how annoying he is.

What? Is she saying my fights with Koga are the same every time? Inuyasha gave a fake grin, that was what she expected. He knew he could think about it later. "Right. So, what do you want to talk about?" The smile faded.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, putting her hand on his forehead (everyone seems to be doing that today).

Inuyasha could feel his heart beating faster. "Yea-yes, I'm fine," he replied cautiously.

"You've been acting strangely lately," she continued, ignoring what he just said.

"You know, Sango, I really haven't felt like myself lately," Inuyasha confessed honestly.

"Houshi, you know you can talk to me. Or Kagome, of course," she added quickly.

"What about m- I mean, Inuyasha?"

Sango giggled. "Is that what this is about? You need to talk to a man about it?"

Feeling his face growing red in embarrassment, Inuyasha defended himself. "No, no. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Not wanting (or being able) to talk about it, he walked over to Kagome, Shippo and Miroku, the dust settling around them.

Since he turned away, Inuyasha didn't see the determined look in Sango's eyes. No matter what he says, he is not fine. I'd better keep an eye on him. A sudden, terrible thought occurred to her. What if he's found another girl? Wait, what am I saying, another? Oh yes, along with the thousands of others, of course. I didn't mean me. It wouldn't bother me if he were. Really, it wouldn't. Well, he wouldn't talk like that just because of another woman. He's up to something, he's acting like Inuyasha. But why?

Sango followed him back to the rest of the group, watching all of them silently when a large rat demon (well it was large for a rat) leapt out of a bush towards Kagome and Shippo. Without hesitating, Shippo shouted "FOXFIRE" and the creature was engulfed in blue flames.

"It looks like your skills are improving, Shippo," Miroku commented.

"Thanks, Inuyasha," the kitsune said happily. He leapt to Miroku's shoulder where he basked in the glow of 'Inuyasha's' compliment. Even Inuyasha thinks I'm getting strong. "Inuyasha? Do you think I could help in the next battle?" he asked excitedly.

"You are the youngest, Shippo so you just help as much as you can without getting hurt, like you usually do." Shippo beamed.

"Don't inflate his head too much, Inuyasha," Inuyasha warned, figuring Miroku didn't realize what he was doing."

"Hey!" Shippo said, getting annoyed that his praise was being interrupted.

"Oh, right." Miroku plucked the kitsune off his shoulder by the tail, as he'd seen Inuyasha do countless times. He's only a child, I don't want to drop him, Miroku thought, horrified at what he'd been about to do. Carefully, he lowered Shippo to the ground as Inuyasha never had.

Shippo's eyes grew large at this unexpected kindness. With a wicked grin, Shippo put a charm on his toy snake and sent it chasing after Inuyasha.

Perfect, Sango thought. "Well, it's getting late, the sun will be setting in a few hours anyway. I might as well go take a bath," she said loudly to make sure Inuyasha and Miroku both heard her.

"Okay, I'll see if I can find some dinner and firewood," Kagome said, wondering why the demon slayer was advertising the fact that she was going to the hot springs.

This is perfect, Miroku thought a few minutes after Kagome and Sango had left. Inuyasha was still fending off the possessed snake and Shippo was laughing hysterically as he fought with it. With a pleased grin, he set off quietly after Sango, slipping into the woods after her.

Once he arrived at the hot spring the girls had found the day before, Miroku looked around confusedly. Hidden behind some rocks, he had a clear view of the warm water but Sango was nowhere in sight. Just then he heard rustling behind him, so he turned around.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with the real Inuyasha?" Sango asked, amazed that she had been able to sneak up on the hanyou.

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A/N: Sorry, I know it wasn't that funny. But I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing, even if they're not compliments!