(don't worry, i just had to replace this heinous error i had in the earlier version...damn, i shouldn't let myself stay awake until 2 o'clock in the morning!!)
What do you mean, the plotting's over? (Tessadragon looks innocent)
My thanks to: Meatballheadedprincess14, kon-chan, shippousangoffe, InuGoddess715, Sayuri-Chan 16, premierarchange, Question the Majority, and Silver Wolf Pups.
Tessadragon
Chapter 5
"Koga!" Sango shouted as Kirara landed at the top of the waterfall. Shaking raindrops from her hands, Sango wrung out her sleek and now wet ponytail, then approached the lair that was hidden in the craggy tunnels behind the roaring waterfall. Walking through the misty cloud that surrounded it, she took a sharp step back as a spear narrowly missed her throat. She cleared her throat and blinked at the sentry, "Hakkaku, isn't it?"
"You're that demon slayer," the wolf demon said, his eyes narrowed, and moved to block her way. "I'm sorry but no demon slayers are allowed near Lord Kouga and his mate at this time. He'll kill you later."
"What are you talking about?" Sango demanded and rapped her fist against his skull, "I'm not here to slay Koga! I need to talk to him."
"Come back later," a groggy voice called from deeper in the cave.
"You heard him," Hakkaku said threateningly, raising the spear in both hands again. Then he gave Sango a sheepish look, more like himself again. "Koga and Ayame are busy."
Sango went red and automatically took a step back.
"They've been at it for hours," Hakkaku said, beginning to enjoy the extremely embarrassed look on Sango's face.
"That's enough," Sango said hurriedly.
"They've been at it like rabbits," Hakkaku confided, "And in fact, you don't want to know what they did with the rabbits they had for lunch…"
She looked murderous enough to punch him, but instead she turned on her heel and ran back to Kirara, who stood patiently in the rain, her flame tail whipping in a playful way, her eyes observing how her flames transformed the rain into an arc of steam. Shuddering, Sango climbed onto Kirara, "C'mon, let's get back before we catch colds. I hope Miroku's come up with more ideas." Squinting through the rainclouds, she was glad when the village lurched into view. Kirara echoed that with an agreeing growl and hastily came to land with a splash in the drenched mud. Smoke drifted in a lonely spiral from the travellers' hut, and Sango ran towards it, her arms over her head in a futile attempt to shield herself from the downpour.
"Sango!" Kagome got up, startled, from the fire and hurried to pull a towel out of one of her backpacks. She draped the towel over Sango's shoulders as the demon slayer swallowed a sneeze and silently cursed Miroku.
"Where were you? What were you doing, going out in that filthy weather!" Kagome demanded, rounding on Sango: "I was worried sick, you were gone for hours! What were you doing?"
Sango was blushing painfully. A calculating expression fleeted over Kagome's face, "Fine!" she said after a moment and went to the hut door. "Miroku!" she yelled out into the torrential downpour. "Your Sango's got pneumonia!"
"What?" the monk bellowed.
"Your Sango's got—"
"I heard you!" the monk yelled, his eyes wide with terror as he came crashing into their hut, already dripping wet with that short run. He threw himself to his knees in front of Sango, "My dearest! Are you alright? Shall I massage you?" Then he turned to Kagome briefly, "What is pneumonia, anyway?"
"Illness," Kagome said shortly, then left Sango to suffer under Miroku's groping hands.
"Keh," Inuyasha growled, as Kagome entered Kaede's hut, where he was hiding from Sango and Miroku. "What took you so long!"
"Just making sure that Miroku doesn't get suspicious," Kagome said airily, "He'll be too busy trying to look after Sango, and Sango will be too busy making sure that he doesn't grope her."
Inuyasha smirked, "Alright."
Shippo watched the pair of them warily, as Kagome sat down by Inuyasha. If only Sango and Miroku knew what Kagome and Inuyasha have planned for them…
"So Koga's with Ayame, now?" Miroku said thoughtfully. "That's a pity. We can't get him to pretend to flirt with Kagome?"
"No," Sango said sternly, then muffled a sneeze. "I'm not going back out in that weather, and we're not messing in Koga and Ayame's relationship."
"At least we can fool with Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship," Miroku said somewhat cheerfully.
"At least this will stop Miroku trying to mess with my head about this marriage stuff," Inuyasha growled, getting up. "Alright, Kagome. But please, don't make me watch."
"I promise he'll never put flowers on your branch ever again," Kagome said solemnly, then smiled and kissed Inuyasha. "Until next time, my love."
Inuyasha grinned, Oh, you're so in for it, Miroku.
"You do realise that Inuyasha will kill you at the end of this?" Sango said, once they'd whittled down their options on Operation: Matchmaker.
"It's worth it."
"And I will kill you if you take this any further than you need to," Sango said. "Don't hurt Kagome."
Miroku gave Sango a solemn look, "She's my friend as well, my dear. And she's certainly not the one for me." He gave Sango a look that promised that she was the one for him, not Kagome. Sango's cheeks flamed, "Oh, go on, get out of here, monk…" she hesitated, then added, more softly, "Good luck."
The rain was slowing. Standing on the threshold of Kaede's hut, Kagome breathed in the clearing air, and then forgot to breathe as the slowing rain revealed a rainbow in its midst, its mirage of hues cast over the Forest of Inuyasha. She smiled, entranced.
"It is beautiful," Miroku said solemnly, coming out of the travellers' hut. He didn't go too near Kagome, he kept a safe distance.
"I'm thinking of going home for a while," Kagome said quietly. "Will you stop Inuyasha from coming after me?"
"So you haven't resolved the matter with him?" Miroku asked concernedly.
"We have," Kagome said succinctly, her eyes dark with emotion. "That's why I want to go home for a while. To be alone."
"Don't let Inuyasha chase you from here," the monk came to her, and touched her hand lightly. Kagome twitched, suddenly nervous. "Miroku…"
Then he lightly touched her shoulder, as though about to rest his hand there reassuringly, but drew away with flirting perfection.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth and comforted himself by silently imagining twisting Miroku's lecherous fingers one by one from their joints.
Sango 'hmph'ed and pretended it didn't bother her, by going to polish her hirikotsu until it started creaking and threatening to crack, at which point she let go of it like a hot potato and reluctantly went to watch as Miroku continued his gradual flirting with Kagome.
"How about a walk," he suggested smoothly, "To make your mind off your troubles? I would of course accompany you if you would be agreeable to that. I would never rest easy otherwise, for fear of you getting attacked."
Kagome hesitated then nodded, and then laid her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Miroku."
Then it clicked for Sango. Kagome would never flirt with Miroku…knowing that I like him. She'd punch him. She sat back, relieved, and waited for the sparks to fly.
Inuyasha got up and silently followed the monk and his fiancée. "Is that really a good idea?" Shippo called after him in a low voice, scared.
"No," the half demon acknowledged sourly, "But neither is letting Kagome go alone with that pervert."
"Be calm, Inuyasha," Kaede advised, smiling. "Kagome would never betray you. It isn't in her heart to do such a thing."
"Unlike you," Shippo muttered, thinking of the number of times Inuyasha had gone to see Kikyo. Inuyasha thumped the demon fox cub.
"Ow!" Shippo yelled, "I was speaking the truth!"
"Inuyasha, quell your temper," Kaede ordered, "Just because you are frustrated with Miroku and Kagome does not give you the excuse to take it out on Shippo."
A low growl went up Inuyasha's throat, but knowing Kaede was right, he went to the corner and sulked like a terrier. Then he got up and began pacing the hut. After a few moments, Kaede sensed that he'd worn a path through her hut, and sharply told him to either sit still or pace outside. "Fine," he said crossly and went outside to kick his way through the sodden mud.
The air in the hut seemed to clear, when Inuyasha left: there was less of a desperate atsmosphere, and it even made Kaede chuckle. Then Shippo's ears twitched, "Kaede, isn't it a little too quiet?" he asked nervously, and padded over to the doorway, peeked outside. "Yeep!"
"He must have gone after Kagome," Kaede said ruefully.
"Kaede," Shippo said earnestly, looking up at the wizened priestess. "I have a feeling something bad's going to happen. Should we go after him?"
"Perhaps," Kaede acknowledged after a moment, and shuffled towards the doorway, her head bowed in thought.
Miroku's been gone a long time, Sango thought, getting up before she'd even realised she was doing so. Her eyes blinked and readjusted to the darkness...she'd not realised that the cooking fire had died down to dead embers. As she emerged from the hut, she saw Kaede and Shippo heading into the forest. Immediately she grabbed a small katana and slid it into its sheath on her hip. Thus armed, she went after them.
Well ahead of them, Inuyasha followed Miroku and Kagome's scent avidly, then skidded to a screeching halt as he was just in time to see Miroku's hand gliding over Kagome's butt. And Kagome wasn't objecting.