My thanks to: kon-chan, shippousangoffe, premierarchange, Question the Majority, Silver Wolf Pups, Tife L. Strife, and Sayuri-chan 16 for all your reviews!

Tessadragon

Disclaimer: Inuyasha isn't mine unless he gets amnesia.

Chapter 4

Sango had to admit, she'd never seen Miroku so enthused as he discussed how to make sparks fly between Kagome and Inuyasha. "You're sure Inuyasha didn't see you put flowers on his branch or Kagome's pillow?"

"Of course not," Miroku said smugly. "Why?"

"Well, if he saw you put flowers on Kagome's pillow, he'd kill you for making a move on her," Sango said practically, "And if he saw you put flowers on his branch, he'd kill you for making a move on him."

Miroku gulped. "I'm quite certain he didn't see."

"We'll find out by tonight," Shippo said innocently, his eyes gleaming.

"How sweet of you both," Miroku said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest, "Can we now get back to the point in question? We have to make Inuyasha and Kagome fall in love all over again."

"Alright, I can see your eyes glowing with ideas," Sango said coolly, "So tell us, oh wise and perverted monk, what's your big plan?"

"Jealousy," Miroku said smugly, and crossing his arms, he sat back against the wall of the hut.

"And how are you going to find someone to make Inuyasha jealous enough to go for Kagome?" Sango asked, arching an eyebrow, but Shippo was grinning: "Koga, of course!"

"We'd have to find him," Sango pointed out.

Miroku gave her an innocent smile, "Good thing you've got a demon cat who's ever so fast—"

Kirara mewed from the corner where she'd been gnawing her fish dinner, and gave the monk a quizzical look.

"But I might be away days trying to find him!" Sango said, her eyes wide. Still, she settled down to thinking about it. "I suppose, now that Naraku's dead, he'd have gone back to his territory. I could check there…"

"Thank you, Sango," Miroku said with a grave smile. "Kagome and Inuyasha will be grateful."

"Once Inuyasha's finished hacking you to pieces," Shippo muttered. Miroku pretended not to hear that, and instead concentrated on finalising the plan. "Shippo, would you gather flowers for Koga to give to Kagome? I'll check on Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango, good luck—"

The demon slayer was already out of the door, her hirikotsu on her shoulder and Kirara in her arms. Moments later, she was gone.

"Do you really think this will work?" Shippo asked the monk earnestly, and Miroku nodded, then pumped his fist, a grin growing on his face, "Shippo, I have utter faith in this plan!"

"That's funny," Shippo said, looking up at the monk. "Why don't you say something like 'since when have my plans ever not worked'?"

"Because I'm not inviting comment or criticism. Now I must find Inuyasha and Kagome and assess the situation."

"Why are you so set on doing this?" Shippo called after him. "This matchmaking stuff? You don't usually. Usually you just sit back and enjoy the show when those two argue!"

Miroku went red, "Just trying to help our friend."

"Yeah right, lecher." Shippo hadn't ever called the monk a lecher before, but he'd heard it enough times to understand it. "C'mon! Tell! Tell!" His face went all determined and he jumped onto the monk's shoulder, tugged at his topknot. "C'mon! Tell! Why are you doing all this romantic stuff!"

"I have no reason!" Miroku said, going bright red. Shippo began reeling off reasons, "Are you hoping to make Kagome fall in love with you?"

"Of course not!" Miroku gasped, scandalised.

"You've got a bet on with Kaede?"

"No! Though…that's not a bad idea…" His cheeks still bright red, he ran for it. Shippo popped into his pink balloon shape and chased him mercilessly, pelting him with that question over and over again, "Why are you doing this?"

"What is the commotion?" Kaede gasped, shuffling from her hut. "Monk, Shippo, have respect! You'll wake up the dead with all your noise!"

"Sorry," Shippo mumbled and popped back into his normal shape.

"But why are you doing this?" Kaede queried.

Miroku's cheeks were so red that robins would have been jealous. "No reason," he mumbled.

"We'll find out soon enough," Kaede guessed.

"Find out what?" Kagome emerged from Kaede's hut, her hands stained with the pungent smell of the herbs she'd been helping to chop.

"Nothing!" Shippo waved his hands, then covered his nose, "Are you trying to keep Inuyasha from coming near you?"

Kagome went red, "Of course not! I'm just helping!" She wasn't even sure if Inuyasha had come back to the village: she'd seen him earlier that morning, heading off to the forest, his Tetsusaiga over his shoulder.

"This won't do," Miroku muttered, wrinkling his nose at the herb smell that wafted from Kagome's hands. If it made him feel this sick, he couldn't bear to imagine how much distance Inuyasha would insist on keeping from Kagome.

"What won't do?"

"How about going to the hot spring?" Miroku said smoothly, and patted her on the shoulder, "I can see you've been working so hard…you look so tired, Kagome!"

"I'm fine," Kagome objected.

He played the trump card. "What about washing the herb juice from your hair? I hate to imagine how many split ends it might cause."

Kagome stiffened, then her eyes narrowed, "Since when do you know anything about a girl's hair?"

"Uh oh," Shippo said in a stage whisper to Kaede. "He's dead. We're gonna end up scraping him off the ground."

Miroku stood his ground. I have to get Kagome to go clean herself up…how can we make Inuyasha jealous enough to go crazy over her if he can't stand to be within twenty metres of her? Then his face twitched. "Alright," he said smoothly, "I have to go. Bye!" Then he ran for it.

"Baby," Shippo said in disgust.

Kagome loomed up in his face, a very suspicious look on her face. "Alright, Shippo. You know what's going on. You are going to tell me what's going on."

Shippo gulped and shrank back. Kagome's scary! "Miroku and Sango are trying to get you and Inuyasha back together."

"Oh are they?" a small smile tugged at Kagome's lips. She crouched and looked the kit in the eyes. "I'd like you to tell me exactly what Miroku's planning."

Quivering, Shippo told her all about Sango going off to try and find Koga, and how Miroku had probably gone to spy on Inuyasha.

"Alright," Kagome said grimly and took off at a run towards the forest.

"Wah!" Shippo yelled, "Miroku's gonna kill me! And when Inuyasha finds out, he'll kill me too!"

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Kaede smiled stoically and went back inside her hut. Shippo followed her at a run, "Kaede, can I hide here?" his voice could be heard plaintively.

"Alright, child, but I'm certain it'll work out alright."

Meanwhile...

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called in a loud whisper, ducking beneath a forest branch.

"Windscar!"

"Figures," Kagome muttered, "He's gone to destroy something anew."

"I heard that!" Panting, Inuyasha spun to face her, the Tetsusaiga heavy in his hands, his mouth forming a smug smile: "And I'll have you know, I did eight windscars in a row."

"So we don't need to call this a forest any more," Kagome said lightly, eyeing the row of destroyed trees. "Good to know we can sleep safe at night."

"If you must know, it's cos otherwise I'll kill that blasted perverted monk!"

Kagome smirked, "So you found out?"

"Found out? The bastard put flowers on my branch when I was sleeping! I fell off sneezing with the freaking smell of them!"

"He must have been trying to make you think I'd give you flowers," Kagome swiftly guessed. "Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango are trying to play tricks on us, to make us be romantic."

Inuyasha scowled, "That's ridiculous! A waste of time!"

Kagome stiffened, disappointed. I guess he thinks our relationship's a waste of time?

The half demon sighed and thrust Tetsusaiga back into its sheath, then grabbed Kagome by the shoulders, shook her lightly, "C'mon, Kagome. Don't take me so seriously. You know what I mean! We don't need help."

"No, you only want us to have a cooling-off phase!"

"A what?" Now Inuyasha was confused. Was Kagome talking about the river? "Did you want to go for a swim?"

"Argh! No!" Kagome actually stamped her foot in frustration, and started pacing, "No, Inuyasha. What I mean is, you…I mean, we agreed we wanted to…stop thinking about being together, right?"

"I never agreed to that," Inuyasha said in a low voice, "It's a time to think, whether you really want this. And for me to think if I can do well enough."

"As if that's ever been an issue, dough-head!" She threw her arms around him in a hug, "See? I'm already going crazy, just one night after not having you around! That's what love is! Love makes us do well together!"

Now Inuyasha felt very confused. In fact, he wasn't even sure he could properly remember why they'd…split up. Was splitting up the right word for what they'd done? Maybe it's just the marriage thing that puts a bad taste in my mouth, he thought bitterly. He really didn't feel like learning words to say to Kagome. Why couldn't he just talk naturally to her, like he always did?

"Then tell me what we're doing!" Kagome said, and Inuyasha couldn't help but kiss her, and kiss her again, and again. "Right now," he said a moment later, pausing to take breath, "Right now I'm just kissing you." So that my ears can stop rattling! He thought, a headache starting up again. He threw himself back into kissing Kagome…yes, that made him forget the headache.