Chapter 4: Hai, Shippo-dono (Yes, Master Shippo)

"So, the criminal finally returns to the scene of the crime…"Inuyasha growled menacingly as Miroku stepped through the door.

"Whaa?" Miroku spluttered, gazing in mouth-gaping-shock at his friends who he had thought kidnapped, and all with glares attempting to shish-kabob him with ice. He immediately assumed (having missed Inuyasha's comment), that his friends had managed to escape and possibly defeat the youkai on their own and were angry at him for not rescuing them because of her beauty.

"Look, I am sorry, but you know that I can't change who I am…When beauty comes my way, I can't help but be swayed by it!" Miroku attempted to appease their anger, thinking that it was founded on his failure to save them, unwittingly making his case all the worse in his friend's eyes.

Suki, observing in the form of a fly on the wall, had a difficult time stifling her giggles as the fun began.

"Say that again, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled in outrage, pinning Miroku against the wall in his anger. How dare Miroku blame Kagome's looks for his actions! He tightened his hold on the lecher all the more as he smelled Kagome's guilt and shame. The monk would not be getting away this time, not after daring to say such a thing on top of everything else.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing-?!" Miroku gasped, stunned at his friend's violent reaction, before being cut off by an equally furious Sango.

"How dare you say such a thing?! After what you did earlier, I'm surprised you have the courage to come into our presence, let alone say such things about her!" Sango yelled. Most of her passion stemmed from her own hurt feelings and jealousy, but her anger at the treatment of Kagome-chan was strong as well, and only burning the higher for the shame she sees Miroku's words have caused her friend.

Kagome meanwhile slumped to the floor as soon as Miroku let out his 'apology'. She was overcome with guilt, shame, humiliation ….the list went on and on, but none was good. She couldn't even look at Miroku-sama, she was so upset.

Miroku, noticing Kagome's odd behavior, finally began to realize just how wrong everything about this situation was. His actions and words of apology, while in no ways deserving of praise or even indifference, should never have received such a violent and passionate response. Something is definitely not right here. He thinks carefully, trying to figure out what was going on. Unable to explain the situation, he returned to his own self-defense, although he was still pondering the meaning behind his comrade's reactions.

"I hope you know that I never even met the youkai, and that I was searching for her, and yourselves the entire day. I would have continued, except that the wily creature managed to lead me back into the village around sunset! I only returned here for supplies, I would have searched until I had found you, I swear it!" Miroku hurriedly attempted to explain himself and quell their anger yet again.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Inuyasha yelled. He would have continued, but Sango's icy voice cut him off.

"So." Sango's tone was not accusatory, nor was it furious like Inuyasha's, nor upset like Kagome's soft moans. It was flat, and empty; and even Inuyasha couldn't help but shiver in apprehension. "You mean to say that you were gone the entire day, looking for us because you thought we were with the youkai; that you were also searching for her; and that you just got back now."

She stated it simply, plainly, with no emotion evident from her tone. Her eyes almost looked dead, and as he met her blank stare, Miroku felt as if his very heart died along with her gaze. Where was his fiery Sango, full of jealousy and anger, but love as well? Where was her passion, her dagger-glare, her fierce blush even as she yelled herself hoarse at him? Her apathy scared him. He didn't know what to think now. He hesitantly, not knowing what else to say, answered the question that had been a statement.

"Well….Yes."

"I see. So you do not even have the courage to admit to your actions and beg forgiveness. Instead you make up this pathetic lie and think that we will believe you. You pretend none of it ever happened. You even act as if none of it ever happened. Do you really think that we will forget what you said and did to Kagome-chan? Or is it that you cannot face it yourself?"

Sango's words formed a question, but her face was as bare and her gaze as dry of emotion as a desert. She was not asking; she already knew the answer: that was what her expression said. Miroku could not help but physically cringe. He had no idea what Sango meant, but he did not dare to speak for several moments, thinking over his words very carefully. He had never seen her in such a state, and he had no idea how she would react from one moment to the next. He did know one thing however; something had happened while he was gone, something that was desperately wrong, something that he needed to fix as soon as possible, before the consequences became permanent.

Inuyasha had withdrawn as soon as Sango had begun, realizing that she held jurisdiction in this court. He couldn't help but feel some small bit of pity for Miroku, although he would have never admitted to it. It all disappeared however, as soon as Miroku began to defend himself yet again.

"Sango, please hear me out. I don't know what happened here or what you saw with me and Kagome-sama, but I must stress that whatever did transpire, it had nothing to do with me. It is possible that Hachi is impersonating me again, or that someone else is doing it, but they are the ones at fault. I have been gone all day. When I woke up, none of you were here, and the headman said that the youkai had kidnapped you. I immediately went in search of you all and her. The headman directed me towards the southern forest, and I felt her youki as soon as I entered it, and I was led around by it for the entire day, finally being led to the outside of the village around sunset. I then returned here for supplies to find that you were all fine." He paused, then began again as another thought occurred to him, mentally slapping himself for not noticing it sooner. "In fact, it was probably the youkai of this village that impersonated me, as well as keeping me out of the way the entire day. You have to believe me!" He added, panicked at their unchanging expressions. "Why would I lie about something like this? Think about it, this makes no sense!" He begged them to understand, slowly turning from each of them, looking deeply into their eyes for understanding.

Inuyasha and Kagome looked startled, as if on the edge of believing him. But their expressions turned all the harder at Sango's next words.

"It was you Miroku." Sango said in the same flat almost disembodied tone as before. The monk cringed at this uncharacteristic use of his name. Sango only used it on rare occasions, and it made her words all the more devastating.

"I learned the difference between you and Hachi the first time he impersonated you- and besides, Inuyasha can smell the difference. Even if this village's youkai was clever enough to change her scent, she doesn't know anything about us. We would've sensed her presence if she had been observing us and no one could have just made up everything so well on her own. There's no other explanation. If you choose to maintain this charade so be it, but know that it will do you no good. Also know that until this is resolved, I will only be speaking to you when it is absolutely necessary. I cannot count such an insensitive selfish cowardly dishonest lecher among my friends." Sango then slowly and purposefully turned around, heading for the partitioned side of the room where she and Kagome slept. She got out a quick 'good night' to Kagome (dinner entirely forgotten) before going to sleep.

Miroku stood there stunned. He felt as if Sango's words had been physical weapons, and each one had inflicted its own wound, still smarting as her words continued to ring in his ears. He finally recognized the emotion in her voice, faint but still discernible, especially in her last speech; it was disgust. Sango, his heart's desire, was utterly disgusted by him. He would be lucky if she didn't loathe him aswell he thought dispassionately.

Kagome and Inuyasha quietly left, not even acknowledging his presence with a good night. They left him huddled on the floor, contemplating his fate. He truly was pitiful to behold, but only Kagome could really feel any it; his actions had done too much to allow for pity from the other two, and even Kagome did not feel enough to stay and try to speak with him. She knew that Sango was right, and the thought that he could lie about such a painful incident made even Kagome's warm heart turn cold.

Miroku spent the rest of the night alone; even Inuyasha had chosen to abandon him in favor of the stars outside, and the girls, Shippo, and Kirara were silent behind their screen. The monk meditated for the rest of the night on how he could rectify such a situation when all his best efforts to explain himself were thrown back at him. He truly had been framed wonderfully, and he couldn't help but allow himself some grudging admiration for this impersonator's skill. Convinced that it had to be the village's youkai (how else could he have been led on a wild goose chase so conveniently?) he decided that the only way to solve his problems was to find her and make her confess to the others. He decided to set out at dawn- there was no way any would miss him- and not stop until he had either caught her or the sun had set. He would return in the evening of course, but continue his search the next day if unsuccessful. That way they would all get a day to calm down if he was unable to prove his innocence, and he would be able to fix this all as soon as possible. He didn't know how long he could bear Sango's indifference; and worse yet her disgust.

Suki saw the monk leave at dawn. Surprise and joy filled her at her good fortune; judging by the supplies he had grabbed, he planned to be gone at least the entire day. She didn't have to employ one of her many side schemes to get him out of the way this time, or one to explain his leaving and then return to his friends as none of them were yet awake. As far as they knew, he had never left. She decided to start as soon as the monk had gotten out of sight (and scent), grinning in anticipation as she lifted that faithful little leaf to her temples yet again. Her disguise complete, she slowly sat where the Houshi had been only moments before, and closed her eyes in an imitation of his meditation. Now all she had to wait for was the Hanyou to wake up. She just managed to maintain her glee as she imagined getting revenge on the worst of Shippo's tormentors. This would be a prank to remember; Shippo would have to love her after this was over (and after he knew it was her).

True to Suki's predictions, Inuyasha was the first to wake. She had noticed as she observed them that it was almost always he who rose earliest and went to sleep latest. She figured that it was part of the strength he gained as a hanyou, and had decided to take advantage of his waking before the others. In this instance, it meant that she could get time alone with the hanyou without the girls knowing. Those poor things wouldn't know what had happened to him when she was through…

Just as Inuyasha's eyes began to crack open, Miroku/Suki moved in his direction, gesturing for his silence and for him to join him/her outside. Confused, but hoping for Miroku to finally stop being such an idiot and apologize, Inuyasha slowly followed the monk outside into the garden.

"Are you finally ready to apologize for what you did to Kagome, bastard?" Inuyasha asked softly.

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about…"Miroku began intently, but not apologetically, Inuyasha noted.

"What do you mean what you wanted to talk to me about? What's to talk about, you violated her, hurt her, made her think you were in love with her, that it was all her fault, and that Sango and I would never forgive her! And after all that, you had the nerve to pretend you'd done nothing and come up with some ridiculous lie about being impersonated, and worse yet think we'd believe you! You had Kagome sobbing, damn you!"

Unbeknownst even to himself, Inuyasha's voice got louder and angrier with every accusation, until he was practically yelling, his hands clenching and unclenching as he resisted the urge to wring Miroku's neck right then and there.

"What more could you possibly say?! Own up to your actions and apologize!" Inuyasha finally finished, out of breath from his rant.

"See that's the thing…I treated her as I do pretty much every beautiful young lady I meet. You've seen me do many similar things in the past, some even worse if I do say so myself, but you never reacted like this before." Miroku, oblivious to Inuyasha's desire to rip him limb from limb, continued his dangerous musings.

"I understand that Sango reacted that way because of her feelings for me, and the fact that she and Kagome-sama are like sisters. It was only natural for Sango to feel threatened and jealous if she truly cared; in fact I would have been touched by her response if I hadn't been so surprised; until this point I'd had no idea she felt so strongly about me…"

Inuyasha, still clueless as to where this was all going, but curious all the same, remained silent. At the very least the monk had stopped with that pitiful lie about being gone…All he had to do now was apologize properly and he would be forgiven (eventually; Inuyasha personally didn't think he could forgive Miroku for a couple of years at least but he would stop planning the monk's murder immediately). He stopped grinding his teeth and tightening his fists, and listened intently, waiting for the apology that had better be in this whole monologue somewhere.

"But your reaction surprised me even more…Sango has done certain things in the past to encourage my hopes that she might care for me, but you….It never occurred to me, with the way you two fight, that you might harbor such cares for Kagome-sama…"

At that Inuyasha's eyes bulged so that the whites could be seen all around his pupils. It would have been comical if Suki hadn't been so worried that the hanyou would attack her immediately. This was the most dangerous phase of this prank, and she had to be careful about what she said next. Before she could continue however, Shippo popped out of nowhere; she and Inuyasha had been too distracted by their conversation to notice his scent, and Suki's heart pounded in apprehension, not knowing how much the kit had heard. 'Shippo!' she screamed silently, trying to get him to understand with her expression. 'I'm on the verge of avenging you Shippo- please don't ruin this!'

"Are you stupid Miroku?! Of course Inuyasha cares about Kagome like that! It's been obvious to me since the day I met them! No matter how much he tries to hide it, it's obvious! I can't believe you didn't notice till now! You might be good with the ladies, but you really can't tell when other guys might be involved, can you?" Shippo snickered, not realizing, yet again, those moments when he should just shut his mouth and keep his thoughts to himself.

Inspiration hit Suki at his words…She could get her prank out after all, and this promised to be an even better one than the original!

Kagome and Sango woke to a very strange scene…In fact, it was so strange, both of the girls pinched themselves at first thinking it was a dream. Still unconvinced, even when they felt the pain and the images remained, Sango broke the silence.

"Kagome-chan…Do you see what I see?" Sango whispered, still not daring to believe her eyes.

"If you see Inuyasha serving Shippo his breakfast on bended knee, then I see it too." Kagome answered. "You do see that, don't you?" she added, worried still that it was some dream or demonic illusion.

"Yes…That is what I see as well…" Sango could say nothing else; there were no words for her shock.

Kagome was the first to dare to probe these visions. Hoping desperately that this was some kind of joke on Shippo's part, that he'd changed the form of some friend of his or something like that, she dared to query: "Shippo, what exactly is going on?"

"I'm eating breakfast Kagome. What did you think was going on?" Shippo answered her matter-of-factly, completely aware of how humiliated Inuyasha was and relishing every moment of it.

"Oh, nothing much. Well, actually, I was wondering what Inuyasha was doing more…What are you doing Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, taken aback at the normalcy of Shippo's attitude.

Inuyasha cringed, and did not answer. What could he say? That he was being blackmailed into servitude to this stupid kid? He chose silence instead.

"Inuyasha," Shippo said imperiously. "I believe Kagome here asked you a question. Answer her. It's impolite to leave people waiting." Shippo could barely contain his glee at his newfound role as Inuyasha's master.This was too good to be true! To think that he had been angry at Miroku yesterday and thought the monk stupid only this morning; how wrong he had been!

"I'm bringing the stupid kid his breakfast." Inuyasha muttered. He might have been forced to answer, but he was not going to go down without a fight.

"Inuyasha, where are your manners?" Shippo asked, apparently not angry in the slightest, to Sango and Kagome's surprise. "Now answer Kagome politely, and show your master the respect he deserves."

"No. Effing. Way." They might have made him serve the brat breakfast, but there was no way they could make him call Shippo 'master'!

"Inuyasha, would you like to explain to Kagome what is going on here? Or shall I?" Shippo masked his threat in a sickly sweet tone that made Inuyasha want to throw up.

Looking up into Shippo's eyes, Inuyasha realized the reality of the threat, and caved in.

"Kagome," he began, swallowing his pride as best he could. He had no choice in the matter after all. "I'm bringing Shippo-dono here his breakfast." A little bit of him died even as he said it, he was sure. But his ordeal was not over yet.

"Is that anyway to treat a lady? Give her the same respect you would give me!" Shippo tried, and failed, to hide his pleasure at subjugating Inuyasha to his will. If only Osuwari worked with him as well he sighed,but you can't have everything.

Inuyasha growled, but he knew his options. He had chosen his response to all of Shippo's orders and requests earlier that morning. He prayed to any listening that this torture could end soon.

"Kagome-sama," he said deliberately, to make sure that Shippo didn't force him to repeat it. "I was bringing Shippo-dono his breakfast."

Inuyasha cringed from the shock and confusion on the girls' faces. It wasn't that he didn't respect Kagome; quite the opposite in fact. But this was absolutely disgusting; if Kagome ever did come to care for him the way he did her, the last thing he wanted was for her to fall for someone he wasn't.

"Much better Inuyasha! Now, I'm sure that these girls are hungry as well. Why don't you go get their food too?" Shippo broke the silence with glee. He didn't know how long this arrangement would last, but he was going to enjoy every minute of it!

"Hai, Shippo-dono." Inuyasha responded miserably. At least he got the chance to get out of the kitsune's presence for a while. Getting up to leave, he decided to not come back till dinner time. He couldn't be ordered around if his 'master' couldn't find him. Unfortunately for him, Shippo anticipated his thoughts perfectly.

"And don't take too long, or else I'll be forced to explain everything to-" Shippo began, but stopped, smiling smugly at the panicked look on Inuyasha's face.

"Of course, Shippo-dono, I won't take more than a few minutes." Inuyasha hurriedly assured him as he left the room.

Inwardly fuming, Inuyasha reflected upon the circumstances that had led to his servitude, desperate to find some loophole, some way to get out of this…humiliating experience.

FLASHBACK

"Well, is that so Shippo?" Miroku/Suki asked innocently, barely managing to hide her anger as Inuyasha lunged for the poor kit.

"If you don't shut up, I'll kill you…" Inuyasha growled at the kit suspended upside-down from Inuyasha's grip on his tail. "And the same goes for you, monk! What I think about Kagome is my own damn business!" He added quickly, turning to glare at the Houshi as well.

"Hmmm, I hate to say it Inuyasha, but I don't think a threat is going to be able to keep me quiet about this..." Miroku began.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Inuyasha menaced, a little worried.

"It means that you saying your going to kill me isn't going to keep my mouth shut about your feelings for Kagome-sama." Miroku answered calmly. "If you do end up killing me, it would only happen after I'd told her, and she would anticipate your anger and protect me. Given your feelings she of course would be able to stop you, and I would escape unscathed. Therefore, that threat means nothing to me."

"You bastard…." Inuyasha could think of nothing else to say. The Houshi was right, damn him. "What do you want?"

"Now we're getting somewhere." Miroku smiled slightly. "I'm glad you understand my logic. Now what do I want? Hmmm…" Miroku/Suki pretended to ponder the question, although she had decided upon the answer right after Shippo's interjections regarding the monk's stupidity and Inuyasha's reactions thereof. He/She eyed the curious kit hanging from Inuyasha's grip, seemingly forgotten; but never forgotten by Suki.

"There's no way you could get me pretty girls better than I could myself, or keep Sango from knowing about it. You're already going to kill Naraku if I can't (and maybe if I can) so there's no way you could help me getting revenge for my father and grandfather…" Miroku mused. Suki was careful to try and make it seem that it was really Miroku's idea, knowing how uncharacteristic this request would be and not wishing to alert Inuyasha to the presence of an imposter.

"Hmmm…" She thought out loud, relishing the power she had over the hanyou, and Inuyasha's own uncharacteristically apprehensive face. She hoped that Shippo would remember who had tamed the crazy half-demon, the worst of his bullies.

"Just tell me already dammit!" Inuyasha lost control, unable to wait any longer to hear the terms of his punishment. Even as he said it, he unconsciously squeezed the kit's tail so hard it Shippo cried out in pain.

That clinched it. Suki could wait no more while her dear Shippo was being abused! Barely remembering to act like the monk, she answered in a hiss: "I'm tired of how you abuse and bully Shippo all the time, and seeing as there's nothing else you can do for me, I will extract my payment for not telling Kagome-sama about your feelings for her in the following way: You will be Shippo's humble and loyal servant for the entire day. That means that you will have to do anything he asks of you that you are capable of, and do it all with the utmost humility and respect. Got that?"

"You have to be kidding me. You want me to be this brat's servant?!" Inuyasha contested heatedly, not daring to believe his ears. Even as he said it he joggled Shippo up and down with his gestures, making both kits flinch.

"Yes. And if you don't let your new master down soon, I'll have to start explaining everything to Kagome-sama, poor girl, just when her life is complicated enough with the fear of me being in love with her as well and Sango ending their friendship…"Miroku waxed sympathetic, knowing how the hanyou would react to such suggestions and reminders. True to his predictions, Inuyasha slowly lowered the kitsune down, cursing the entire time under his breath.

"Do we have an agreement then? I'm sure Shippo wouldn't mind keeping your secret as well if you would follow through." Miroku smiled that much-too-smooth-used-car-salesman-smile.

"Yeah, whatever, I'll be his servant for a day. But no more than that, hear me?" Inuyasha grumbled. "And if either of you do let anything slip, I don't care what you say or what Kagome does, I will haunt you for the rest of eternity." Inuyasha finished, unable to allow himself to appear as undermined as he was.

"Agreed."

END OF FLASHBACK

Inuyasha kept running the conversation over and over again in his mind, but there was no getting out of it. He was stuck in servitude to Shippo for the rest of the day. He didn't know how much more of this 'Shippo-dono' crap he could take, and sincerely hoped he didn't burst before sundown. He returned a few minutes later with everyone's breakfasts, being forced to bow and use honorific titles with even Kirara, and so he began his day in hell (or so he thought of it).

Throughout the day Inuyasha waited on them all hand and foot, curbed his swearing (as much as possible anyway), and even managed to appear somewhat humble. Sango and Kagome were impressed and a little scared of the change in their friend, but figured out soon enough that there was no way they could get him to explain it. They managed to miss his most of his specific humiliations throughout the day, but Shippo did not, and took full advantage of every opportunity he had to extract his vengeance. Suki could feel tears of pride and joy stinging her eyes as she observed throughout the day; truly this was the way her magnificent Shippo was meant to be, ruling over these lower beings as the scum they were for trying to bully him in the past. She almost lost her disguises as she watched; she was so consumed with admiration.

Inuyasha suffered through all the ridiculous titles (occasionally having to refer to flies on the wall as fly-sensei), the taunts and teases from Shippo, the giggles from Sango and Kagome as they watched. He limped through the bows and formalities he had ignored for so long, the humiliation of serving his 'master' on bended knee. Every time his pride did manage to rebel, Shippo was quick to remind him of his position, and he was forced to obey yet another pointless bit of stupidity for the kitsune's enjoyment. By the end of the day his back ached from the bows, his hands shook from the carrying and cleaning, his face was constantly tinged red from embarrassment, and he was ready to snap at a moment's notice. All day long he had been pushed, prodded, subdued, and ridiculed, and he was about to explode with fury. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of sunset, and the knowledge that he would have kept his secret safe.

While Shippo was obviously in some kind of heaven of sweet revenge, Kagome was very worried. She tried to explain her anxiety to Sango when they went to the onsen late that afternoon, hoping that her friend could reassure her.

"Sango-chan…" Kagome began as the two girls slipped into the warm water. "You noticed how strangely Inuyasha's been acting lately…Are you at all worried about it?"

"Hmmmm?" Sango looked up in surprise. "Well yes I noticed it, but I'm not worried about it. You saw how he reacted whenever Shippo threatened to explain it to us!" Sango laughed at the memory of Inuyasha's fear-stricken face, comical in its absurdity. "And you remember how we tried to ask him ourselves; he didn't budge in the slightest. I'm sure whatever it is it's something silly between Inuyasha and Shippo that Inuyasha is just too embarrassed to tell us about. You know how childish those two get sometimes."

"You're sure he's not being possessed or impersonated by some demon? I just can't imagine what knowledge Shippo could have that Inuyasha would want so desperately to keep between the two of them…" Kagome hesitantly replied, her fears still not wholly assuaged by her friends' assurances.

"Of course he's not being impersonated or possessed! For starters, we both would have felt a different youki from him, secondly we would have noticed the difference between them in personality- no one could imitate him that well, and thirdly, there's no reason for anyone to be possessing or impersonating him to begin with! I know Shippo's enjoying it, but even he couldn't pull of something like this!" Sango explained.

"Oh you're right of course, I'm just being silly…" Kagome muttered. "I guess it just hurts that even though I've known him longer than any of you, he still refuses to open up to me…I saw him talking with Miroku and Shippo this morning, and while they didn't look all that happy, they were at least talking. Inuyasha won't even start to tell me what's wrong with him…" Kagome barely noticed as a tear slowly slid down her face, and her voice became rougher as she had difficulty breathing.

"I saw how humiliated he felt throughout the entire day and I worried about him! I tried to get him to explain it to me so that I could help him; I may not enjoy his fights with Shippo, but I prefer them to this pathetic arrangement! I felt embarrassed just watching him go through it all; it's so painful to watch!" Kagome sobbed through it all softly, seemingly unaware of the shock and worry filling Sango's eyes.

"Kagome-chan…"Sango began, unsure of what to say. "Are you worried that Inuyasha will stay like this forever: strange, and not willing to explain why?" Sango finally said, thinking she understood the root of her friend's pain. She found out how right she was in an instant when Kagome flung herself into her friend's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shhhh, everything's going to be ok, I'm sure he'll be back to normal by the morning." Sango cooed, holding her friend close. "You don't know that that's what Inuyasha was talking to Shippo and Miroku about- for all we know, he might have been trying to get that pervert to admit to what he did yesterday and apologize to you!" Sango continued encouragingly. "He probably just isn't telling you because he doesn't think it's something you'd care to know- he's protecting you from something maybe- you know how anal he gets when you're in danger." Sango meandered, not entirely sure of her own words or that Kagome was even listening to their meanings.

"You think so?" Kagome whispered, finally pulling away to look at Sango with hope finally showing through the tears.

All doubt quashed deep within in an effort to be comforting, Sango replied: "Of course. Inuyasha's much too set in his ways to go changing that much now, and much too fond of you to hide something of real importance. He probably just accidentally let Miroku get away this morning without apologizing properly and was too embarrassed to tell you and now Shippo is lording it over him." Sango finished, very pleased with this version of events.

"Thanks Sango-chan. You're like my sister, you know that?"

Sango blushed and smiled in response. "Yeah, I know. Just like you're mine. We'll always be there for one another."

"Always."

Inuyasha meanwhile, had been forced to bathe Shippo. It was terribly degrading, and angered the hanyou all the more seeing as he had received the order only minutes after Shippo had declared Inuyasha free to go. As he scrubbed Inuyasha muttered a constant string of obscenities, cursing the kit before him and the monk who'd gotten him into this ridiculous situation as easily as he drew breath. His anger and humiliation only increased as he was forced to massage the kit's feet, and then towel him off. He almost bolted altogether when he caught the scent of Kagome's salty tears and confusion wafting lazily by.

Shippo, seeing Inuyasha's head jerk up suddenly and the look in his eyes, was having none of it. Inuyasha was his servant, and would remain that way until Shippo went to bed that night!

"Inuyasha," he began self-importantly. "The day is not over yet. You will stay by my side until I give you permission to leave, or I go to sleep at day's end. As the sun hasn't even set and I still have things for you to do, you will not be leaving unless you really do want me to explain everything to Kagome."

"Damn you Shippo, can't you smell Kagome's tears?!" Inuyasha yelled at him, unwilling to wait another second to run to her, to comfort her. He was greeted with silence as Shippo stared at him in surprise, guilt washing over his face as he sensed it as well. Just as Inuyasha thought he would finally escape however…

"I did, but now they are gone. She smells happy now. Whatever was bothering her is gone, so she doesn't need any more comforting." Shippo said with a malicious grin. "It seems that now is the perfect time for you to fetch my dinner. Don't take too long, or else."

Inuyasha complied swiftly, hoping to see the girls on their return from the hotsprings as he made his way to retrieve his 'master's' supper. Well, he was hoping to see one of them anyway; desperately in fact. While Shippo might have been correct about the scent of her tears disappearing and her emotions becoming less confused, Inuyasha refused to believe that she was no longer in need of comforting. Denying him the right to even go to Kagome when she needed him was far worse than anything else that day, no matter how humiliating.Ironic, he thought. Just when I can't imagine how things could get any worse they do, and drastically, in a way that makes everything else seem so trivial in comparison…If Kagome isn't ok, I'm going to beat that little kid so bad he won't know right from left tomorrow! Inuyasha inwardly resolved

Luckily for Shippo, Kagome was laughing and smiling with Sango as Inuyasha entered their rooms with Shippo's food. Inuyasha felt a wave of relief come over him, and barely cared when he was forced to bow so low that his forehead touched the floor. His relief and sense of peace at her well-being was not to last long however.

"Inuyasha, why didn't you tell me the reason why you were doing everything for Shippo earlier? Something like that is so silly, why did you bother to go to such lengths to hide it?" She queried, curiosity and innocence radiating off of her. She had taken Sango's barely strung together words of comfort as fact, and believed with all her heart that the only thing he had been hiding from her was his failure to extract an apology from Miroku.

"What?" was all Inuyasha could manage as a response.

"I saw you talking with Miroku and Shippo this morning! I can't believe you'd think I'd get angry at you for something like that!" She laughed at his confusion, not noticing the fear that gripped him and the kitsune a few feet away.

Shippo was in danger of losing his servant before the day was even up, with plenty of menial chores and tasks still to be done! He had never dreamed that Kagome would figure it out, and had known that even Inuyasha's pride couldn't have gotten him to allow them to tell her. He decided to cut her off before it was too late, but he too was cut off as a tall robed figure entered the room hesitantly.

"Miroku…" Kagome said in surprise, then leapt back into her earlier discussion at once, apparently having forgiven him for his past actions, or too distracted to remember them. "I was just asking Inuyasha here why he didn't tell me about failing to get an apology from you! Can you believe that he's been acting as Shippo's servant the entire day to keep Shippo from telling me?"

Inuyasha, infinitely grateful that she thought the blackmail had been nothing more than his failure to get an apology out of Miroku, rounded immediately on the monk.

"Speaking of which, where is that apology? I kept your end of the bargain and acted as Shippo's servant the entire day, so start talking!" he menaced, silencing Shippo's silent protest that that had not been the deal at all with a glance that could've burned wood

"What are you talking about Inuyasha? I've been gone all day, searching for the youkai. I left when you were all still asleep!" Miroku answered hotly, though a bit worried that he was about to be framed for something else.

"What?! I talked to you just this morning, Shippo interrupted us, Kagome apparently saw us, and you deny it all?!" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"It's all true, we saw you!" Kagome and Shippo added, their faces turning hard as they sensed the onslaught of more lies.

"Kami save me not again…" Miroku groaned. This was going to be another long night of yelling and accusations, he could already tell. If I ever do catch this demon…

A/N: Well, I know it's not the best ending but it was just so long already; I couldn't write two blame-Miroku-for-everything scenes in the same chapter…Not that I'm saying that that's what happens next of course… Thank you to all who read, and especially reviewed, I hope that this chapter meets your standards. The next one is Kagome's so, as a warning, I still haven't made the final decision on the specifics of her prank (thank you Kougaismine4eva89 and keebler-elf10 for your suggestions) so I might not update as soon as I did this last time.

Which translates to:Send me any ideas, I don't care if you think they're stupid, send them anyway!

And,

REVIEW PLEASE???? Pretty please with a cherry on top? The button is right there, it's so easy, a one-liner can be enough (although more is appreciated of course)! Please?