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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rumiko Takahashi characters named here, nor do I own the rights to Charlie's Angels. I also do not own the music or lyrics to Schoolhouse Rock's "Conjunction Junction", so if you get stuck on it all day it's your own darn fault :D
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"Ranma?"
Inu-Yasha knocked gently on the door of Kagome's bedroom and opened it. Ranma was sitting upright on the edge of the bed, looking groggy. Inu-Yasha noticed he'd managed to change into his dress. Ranma's hair was red again, and the curvy chest was back as well. Amazing, thought Inu-Yasha. The guy had talent beyond compare.
"You've been awake long enough," Inu-Yasha said. "You should be able to go back to your rooms and sleep now. How do you feel?"
"You know that goop you scrape off the bottom of your shoes?" asked Ranma. "If I felt like that, it'd be an improvement." He stood up shakily. "Tell Kagome I said thanks for everything. She even washed my clothes."
"Actually, she made me do the laundry," Inu-Yasha admitted sheepishly. "Sorry I turned your underwear pink. I'm not very good at this stuff."
"S'okay," mumbled Ranma. "It's nothing Akane hasn't done to me before." He took a few steps and staggered, leaning against the wall for support.
"Let me give you a hand," Inu-Yasha said in exasperation. "You're never going to make it to your rooms on your own." He placed a supporting arm around Ranma and helped him outside.
*******
"Of all the stupid, incompetent, rookie mistakes!" Sesshomaru growled under his breath at Koga. "Could you possibly have acted any more obvious?" He stormed angrily towards their rooms with Koga on his heels.
"Relax, Sesshomaru. So I flirted a bit with Kagome - what's the harm?" Koga asked.
"You're supposed to gay, dammit! It's not like I'm enjoying this assignment either, you know!"
"Could have fooled me," Koga muttered.
"What did you say?" Sesshomaru spun around angrily.
Koga smirked. "You've been enjoying Kagura's company every chance you get. How convenient she's staying under the same roof."
"My feelings towards her are strictly professional! She's my daughter's au pair!"
"Yeah, so how come I saw you tucking her in bed last night?"
Sesshomaru flushed. "When we came home I went to check on my daughter and found Kagura and Rin both sleeping in the same bed. She was probably up late with Rin's nightmares again. All I did was tuck the blanket around her so she wouldn't be cold."
"You kissed her too, you liar. I didn't see your hands, so I don't know if you were feeling her up as well-" Koga was silenced by a hand over his mouth as Sesshomaru pulled him behind a column in the walkway.
"What's going on?" Koga whispered.
Sesshomaru motioned for silence. "That's Inu-Yasha coming out of that room over there." He gestured towards a suite. "He's with Ranma Saotome!"
They watched in silence as Inu-Yasha placed an arm around the shoulders of the redhead and walked off. Ranma was leaning against Inu-Yasha, his head on Inu-Yasha's shoulder.
"That's the second one of our suspects you've seen your brother with," stated Koga. "Hell, Sesshomaru, you don't think he's connected to Lazy Panda, do you?"
"I never thought I'd say this," was Sesshomaru's heartfelt response, "but I really hope my brother's just out getting some action…even if it is with a bunch of cross-dressers."
*******
"Conjunction Junction, what's your function…"
"Rin, could you stop singing for a moment, please?" Kagura begged. "I'm trying to remember something."
I've definitely seen that guy somewhere before, thought Kagura. She had spotted the man with Mr. Ailuropoda, the pageant's primary sponsor, as they were walking through the central shopping district. Kagura probably wouldn't have paid any attention to the pair if she hadn't heard the phrase 'Lazy Panda' being spoken quietly as they walked past them.
"Miss Kagura, why are you staring at that strange man? Is he your boyfriend too? Miss Kagura-"
Kagura placed a finger to Rin's lips and hushed the child. "Let's play a game for a minute, okay?" she told the girl. "It's called The Watching Game. We're going to watch that man across the street without letting him know we're watching him. We have to be really quiet and pretend to look in this store window."
"Okay," Rin whispered with wide eyes. She peered into the store window. "Miss Kagura, how do we look at the window and the man at the same time? I can't see anything but the window."
"Look in the window's reflection," Kagura whispered back. "It's like a mirror, see?"
Ryukossei. His name was Ryukossei, Kagura remembered. She frowned. Mr. Ryukossei was an antiques dealer who specialized in ancient weapons and clothing. Why was he here in Hawaii hanging out with the sponsor of a cross-dressing beauty pageant?
Maybe she was mistaken. Kagura had been in Ryukossei's shop only once, dragged inside by a wealthy boyfriend with a passion for old swords. Nothing in the store interested Kagura until she had spotted the fan. Simply designed in red and white with feathers, it appeared to have lain in a dusty corner unnoticed by the regular customers for years. Kagura had fallen in love with it immediately, and left the store with a tissue wrapped package and a considerably lightened bank account. She had carried the fan everywhere with her since that day.
The two men had entered a restaurant across the street. "Okay, game's over. Let's get some lunch!" Kagura grabbed Rin's hand and followed her quarry. She automatically gave a good luck pat to the fan resting in her purse. "Now we're going to play a new game, Rin! It's called The Listening Game, and you have to try to hear what someone at a nearby table is saying…"
*******
"Did Ranma make it back to his rooms all right?"
"Sort of. I practically had to carry him the last few feet. I wish he'd go see a real doctor and not just that acupuncturist Tofu. He's got to have at least three broken ribs." Inu-Yasha opened the carry-out lunch bag and passed one of the boxes to Kagome. Sitting down at the nearby table, he flipped open his laptop and started to check his email while eating his sandwich.
"Yo. You're getting crumbs in your keyboard," Kagome flicked a piece of lettuce at him and grinned as it hit his laptop screen.
"That's what these little pressurized cans of air are for, wench." Inu-Yasha grabbed one and spritzed air on the nape of her neck, watching her giggle. Her laughter delighted him, spreading a warm glow from his heart. He wanted to catch her to him and never let go, and the realization struck him to the core. How had she become so important to him in such a short amount of time?
"Sango finally showed up," Kagome was telling him. "She stopped by a few minutes ago to tell me she was back."
"Is everything okay?" Inu-Yasha asked. "You were pretty worried about her this morning." He finished his lunch and threw his crumpled napkin towards the wastebasket.
Kagome laughed as his shot missed by three feet. "Sango didn't have time to tell me what happened, but she said they'd had a few misadventures." She grabbed the napkin from the floor and banked the shot perfectly.
"Misadventures?" Inu-Yasha snorted. "I've never heard it called that before. What, did Miroku forget to pay for the drinks?"
"Inu-Yasha," Kagome scolded, "if they were up to any hanky panky they could have stayed here and done it in their own rooms. Besides, you don't know Sango like I do. Trouble follows her like a lost puppy."
Inu-Yasha frowned as a question occurred to him. "How do you know her so well, anyway?" he asked. "Have you worked with each other before?"
"Yes, we've worked on projects like this together before," Kagome answered him quickly.
Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. She looked…uncomfortable, like she was trying to hide something. Inu-Yasha was all too familiar with that look – Kikyo had used it constantly. Of course, Kikyo had been hiding drug use and Kagome would never…would she? He cursed the uncertainty and suspicion entering his mind. Kagome was not Kikyo; she was completely different.
*******
His migraine was back, with sharp teeth this time. Sesshomaru grunted and started rummaging through his bags. Where had he put that prescription? I need a new job. A job that doesn't require me to spy on my own brother and possibly send him to prison.
Finding the bottle, he popped a couple of pills and waited for them to take effect. He could deal with the pain, but the tunnel vision and nausea were terrible. He curled into a fetal position on the bed, searching for a dark place under his pillow. Maybe it's time to quit, The Job is killing me.
Sesshomaru allowed himself to fantasize about a normal life, one where he didn't have to work nutty hours and wear strange outfits. He would walk in the door every evening, and Rin would squeal excitedly and jump into his arms. The smell of something wonderful would be coming from the kitchen, where he'd find Kagura cooking dinner. He'd wrap his arms around her and nuzzle her neck. The baby would be jabbering in the highchair and the other children would cling to his legs, begging to be picked up as well…
What the hell? When did his fantasies start becoming so - domestic? Sesshomaru groaned and sat up. The nausea on his periphery was starting to take center stage. He stumbled into the bathroom.
When he'd finished heaving, Sesshomaru rested his head on the cool rim of the bathtub. He couldn't look at the tub without seeing Kagura sitting so forlorn and ragged. She'd looked terrible, with sand and salt and seaweed all over her. His thoughts drifted to her beautiful curves and the spider tattoo on her backside.
Something about that tattoo pricked his memory. He tried to catch the thought, in spite of the effort it took to concentrate through his headache. It was something from this morning, something to do with Kagome…
Sesshomaru blinked. No, it couldn't be, Kagome couldn't possibly have the same spider tattoo as Kagura. But he'd rubbed sunscreen on her back this morning at the beach, and her barely-there bikini had moved, showing the small tattoo. He hadn't paid attention at the time; so many young girls had tattoos these days. It had to be a coincidence, he told himself as he doubled over the toilet again.
Quit lying to yourself, Sesshomaru. You know they both have the same damn tattoo. And he was suddenly willing to bet his last tube of mascara that Sango had the same tattoo. Who were these women?
*******
A/N: Okay, time to stop torturing them so much and move the plot along a little. I certainly am slandering Kikyo, though. Poor girl…
CassidyJewell: Sorry, Rin can't have the piggy. I have other plans for him bwahahahaha
Thanks to all my reviewers! You're the greatest! :D Lavender
