A/N: Just a big thanks to DeadTired and InuheartKag4eva for your helpful reviews. I appricate all reviews of course, but suggestion reviews always receive extra kudos.

Chapter 2: The Plan

Night had fallen upon the forest. Four members of the group were fast asleep, but Kagome and Inuyasha were still wide awake. Inuyasha had first watch, as usual, and Kagome had chosen to stay awake long enough to explain her matchmaking scheme to the thick-headed half-breed.

"So, that's my plan. What do you think?" Kagome finished.

"You and Miroku? Are you crazy?" Inuyasha yelled in bewilderment.

"I'm not really attracted to Miroku. It's just going to be a ruse to get Sango to admit she loves him, or vice-versa. Either will work." Kagome explained again. "And don't yell! You wake everyone up!"

Inuyasha acted as if nothing had been said. "You and Miroku? Are you crazy?" he yelled again.

"It would only be for a couple of days, and I promise I won't do anything." Kagome pleaded, hoping Inuyasha would keep his jealousy on a low. If Inuyasha blew his fuse, she wouldn't be able to carry out her 'mission'.

"You and Miroku? Are you crazy?" Inuyasha repeated once more.

"Please? It's for a good cause. One of them will finally admit they love the other!" Kagome continued her attempt to reason with him.

"They don't love each other!" Inuyasha replied as if the thought of Miroku and Sango being in love was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Miroku is a lecherous pervert who will flirt with anything female, and Sango gets pissed by it. Just because she gets angry when he flirts doesn't mean she loves him. If she did, she wouldn't get so angry when he gropes her. And Miroku, the word love is probably not even his vocabulary." Inuyasha argued.

"But they are in love. Just let me!" Kagome begged.

"Fine, but it won't get you anywhere. I don't get why you're so desperate to play matchmaker between those two. Just because we happen to be in love doesn't mean they are." Inuyasha snorted.

"Just because we what now?" Kagome asked; shocked at what she thought she had just heard.

"Listen when I speak wench! I said just because-"Fortunately, Inuyasha realized his slip up right before he repeated it. He attempted to recover by inaudibly mumbling the remainder of his sentence.

"What was that?"

"I said I don't repeat myself woman!" Inuyasha shot back. "You should've listened if you wanted to hear what I had to say."

"Did you say that we were in love?" Kagome continued to interrogate Inuyasha.

"Feh!" was his only response.

"You did, didn't you?" Kagome said, her hopes rising.

"Of course I didn't! Why would I say something like that?" Inuyasha asked, as if he had been accused of some horrible felony.

"But I could've sworn you-"

"No." Inuyasha cut her off. "Trust me. I could do a lot better." That comment replaced Kagome's hope with fury.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you referring to Kikyo?" the angry priestess growled.

"Could be. What do you think?" Inuyasha replied in an attempt to make Kagome angrier. He didn't know, however, that he was going too far with that one.

"Sit you insensitive clod! I ought to sit you so many times you'll fall right through to America! Sit, sit, and sit!" she yelled back at him, making a lovely Inuyasha-shaped crater in the earth. She leaned back against a tree and went to sleep, leaving poor Inuyasha to ponder what he had said, and to nurse his bloody nose.

Miroku awoke that morning to the unpleasant feeling of a fist connecting with his head. "Wake up you lazy monk! We're leaving! The sun is already high in the sky." the irritable Inuyasha shouted at him.

"Just five more minutes." Miroku mumbled. Inuyasha was about to bop him over the head again, but he was sat before he could do so.

"Sorry about that Miroku." Kagome apologized. "You know Inuyasha isn't exactly a morning person. You can rest a few more minutes."

"Thank you." Miroku said dozily.

"Why are you letting him sleep in? You said I had to get up!" Shippo complained.

"Just thought he might be able to use it." Kagome answered simply. Soon afterwards the group was on the move. After a half-hour of hiking Kagome fell back to the rear of the marching order with Miroku. "Miroku, may I ask you a question?" Kagome asked, using her innocent tone.

"Of course Lady Kagome. Ask away. I will answer to the best of my abilities." Miroku replied cheerily.

"You remember back when you met me and Inuyasha, and you asked me to bear you a child?"

"Of course I remember. What about it?" Miroku said.

"Does the offer still stand?" When Kagome asked that, Miroku choked on air and Sango, who was walking only slightly ahead of them, stopped dead in her tracks. Before Miroku had a chance to answer her, Sango cut into their conversation.

"Miroku, may I borrow Kagome for a minute?" Sango ground out through clenched teeth.

"Sure. What's wrong?" Miroku inquired.

"Nothing." Sango assured him. "You and Inuyasha just go on ahead. We'll catch up."

Miroku shrugged. "If you say so." He jogged ahead to catch up with Inuyasha. Once she was sure both males were out of ear shot, Sango spoke.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Did I just hear you ask Miroku if his offer to give you a child still stood?" Sango spat out angrily.

"I knew this one would get to her." Kagome said to herself silently. "So what if I did? You said only yesterday that if I was attracted to Miroku you wouldn't stop me from making a move." Kagome replied perkily.

"I know. But you said you didn't like him that way." Sango hissed.

"Well, I lied." Kagome said impudently.

"B-but what about Inuyasha? You two were so meant to be together." Sango protested, ready to use every excuse at her disposal and make Kagome reconsider.

Kagome saddened a bit. "If Inuyasha and I were meant to be together I wouldn't be a reincarnation of the woman he loved. I'd be the real deal."

"But Kikyo wouldn't have died if she was made for Inuyasha!" Sango continued to argue.

"And she wouldn't have been brought back if she wasn't. I've thought about this and I really think Miroku might be good for me." Kagome lied

"You have to reconsider! We're talking Miroku here!" Sango yelled as she began to panic.

"The only thing that would make me reconsider was if he was in love with someone else. Or if someone was in love with him, I guess I'd give them their fair chance before I tried anything." Kagome said with an obvious hint in her voice. Sango wasn't about to say she loved the hopeless pervert.

"If you say so, but bearing his child? Isn't that going a bit far?" Sango asked, worry and fear clear in her tone.

"Maybe, but if we don't defeat Naraku soon it'll be too late." Kagome logically explained.

"What if were close to Naraku? You'd be making such a huge mistake!"

"What if Miroku's wind tunnel devours him tomorrow? What then?" Kagome countered.

"Inuyasha will kill Miroku! You know how jealous he gets!"

Kagome humph-ed. "Inuyasha only gets jealous when other guys want me. Not the other way around. Besides, he has Kikyo. He doesn't care enough to go through any real trouble." Sango racked her brain, trying to think of anything she might be able to use as an excuse but to no avail. She decided to resign and began walking again to catch up with the others. When they caught up with Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome resumed their conversation.

Sango was oblivious to everything around her though. She was busy trying to pull herself together and put her thoughts into place. "I guess I can live with this. Besides, if I really love him, I should be able to let him go."

"No!" the other side of her mind told her. "If you really loved him you would've told Kagome so. If you really loved him you wouldn't give up so easily. It's not too late to fess up. Just tell Kagome you were lying!"

"You're wrong." Sango told the voice inside her head. "He's about to say yes. I blew it but I can't turn back time. It is too late."