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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rumiko Takahashi characters named here, nor do I own Charlie's Angels. I also do not own any item that is pale rose-colored silk with lace trim.
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"There you are! Inu-Yasha, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
He caught Kagome by the arm as they pushed away from the crowd and pulled her into a hug. "Sorry," Inu-Yasha apologized as he led her towards a secluded path. "I had to go help with crowd control at the swimsuit competition. They had some kind of a riot going and nobody can find our Director of Security."
"You mean Sango? She didn't show up for work today?" Kagome asked him worriedly. "Do you know if she's all right?"
Inu-Yasha tugged on a strand of his hair while trying to come up with a good answer. Better to just come clean, he decided. "Kagome, we had a few – problems – and Sango's really upset with me. I can't say I blame her too much," he added. "I completely ruined her laundry this morning and she's taking it really hard."
"So hard that she's missing work? What did you do?" Kagome wanted to know.
"I washed her clothes with my dark blue shirt and it bled all over everything. But even though she's mad, I don't think that's the real reason she's missing work."
"So what is the real reason? And why were you doing her laundry, anyway?" Kagome asked him.
"They're kind of connected. Sango got completely trashed on whiskey last night over at Sesshomaru's. Not that I was sober, because I was playing that stupid drinking game with her, but at least I wasn't throwing up all over the place. I was trying to help by washing the vomit off of our clothes, which is why I was doing the laundry," Inu-Yasha explained.
"So you're telling me that Sango's too hungover to work?" asked Kagome. "That's not like her at all."
"That's good to know," Inu-Yasha said with relief. "Because she was still acting kind of drunk this morning and I wondered if maybe she had a problem with alcohol."
Kagome thought for a moment. "No," she said finally, "I haven't witnessed any other symptoms of alcoholic behavior from her. I think I'd recognize them if I had." She noticed his concerned glance. "My best friend has been in and out of rehab several times," she told him softly. "She doesn't see what she's doing to herself and everyone around her."
Inu-Yasha's face tightened and he stared unseeingly into the distance. "Addicts are in a living hell, and they take their loved ones to that hell with them," he said at last. He reached for Kagome's hand, needing to feel her warm touch.
Kagome curled her hand inside of his and leaned into him. "You've lived through this, then." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She knew, somehow she knew, he realized.
"Yeah," Inu-Yasha said. He worked his jaw a few times. "My wife was addicted to drugs. She used one thing to soothe her soul, and then she would use something else to keep from feeling completely numb. In the end, she just used them to escape, because I certainly couldn't make her happy."
Kagome was silent as they walked, and he could tell she was searching for words to say. "You can't make someone else be happy, Inu-Yasha," she said at last. "Ultimately, you can't be responsible for how people react to the things that happen in their lives."
He grimaced. "I guess so. I don't know." He stroked the soft skin of her hand with his thumb. "I guess I should have told you I was married before. I just didn't really know how to bring it up."
"We haven't had a lot of time to talk about these kinds of things," Kagome pointed out. "So how long were the two of you married?" she continued.
"We got married when we were seventeen. She died two years ago," he answered. "She drowned while surfing. The toxicology reports showed she was high as a kite while she was dying, so maybe she didn't suffer." He gave a bitter laugh.
"Seventeen? That's awfully young," Kagome said. "When I was seventeen, the only thing I was concerned about was passing high school exams."
"We were really into the 'let's live our lives together on the beach' kind of thing," Inu-Yasha told her. "We'd both run away from our homes and I guess we kind of just fell into a relationship with each other."
They continued down the pathway in silence and sat down on a bench overlooking a pond. "Inu-Yasha, does it make you uncomfortable to talk about her with me?" Kagome finally asked. "If it's not too painful, I'd really like to discuss these things." She squeezed his hand. "We can't just pretend the two of you were never together."
Inu-Yasha placed his arm around her shoulders and rested his head against her soft hair. Her light perfume teased his nose, and he wanted to drink in the scent of her like water. "It's okay I guess," he spoke. "If the subject comes up, we won't avoid it."
Kagome turned her face up to him and kissed him. "Okay, since I've been making you talk about yourself, you can get even by asking me anything you want," she promised.
"Okay. Let's see…" He whispered something in her ear and she blushed.
"Inu-Yasha! I can't believe you asked me that!" she exclaimed.
"You said I could ask you anything," he grinned wickedly. "Now answer me."
Kagome's face turned a brighter shade of red. "They're pale rose-colored silk with lace trim," she told him. "And no, I'm not answering any more questions! I thought Miroku was bad!"
He laughed and kissed her. She was adorable, she was smiling, and she was smiling at him. He felt a blazing warmth spread through his chest and fill the lonely cold corners of his heart.
Kagome was responding to him, tasting his mouth hungrily. He felt her hands slide underneath his shirt and caress the tight skin of his stomach and chest. Inu-Yasha gasped and pulled her closer, wishing like hell there were no barriers such as clothing between them.
A throat cleared and they broke apart quickly. Ranma Saotome stood before them, dressed in a pair of sweats and an unbuttoned shirt. His black pigtail was coming loose, as if he had been awakened from sleep. "Your office called, Inu-Yasha," he told them. "They said it was an emergency and I needed to hunt you down. Sorry 'bout this." He left them quickly.
"Inu-Yasha," Kagome muttered into his chest, "when you get back tonight, you'd better be minus one roommate. Ranma has got to go."
"Why can't we go to your place?" Inu-Yasha asked, trying to regain his equilibrium. Kagome's touch made him delirious.
"Because P-chan is there. I don't want to kiss you in front of a pig!"
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"Higurashi speaking," Kagome answered her phone.
"This is Sesshomaru. Don't speak just yet. Is my brother in the room with you? If so, just say 'yes'."
"I'm all by myself, Agent 007," Kagome told him sarcastically. "Inu-Yasha was called downtown to his office. What is it?"
"When Kagura and I talked about last night, how much of our conversation did you hear?" Sesshomaru asked her.
"Um, all of it," Kagome replied. "It would be a little hard not to, seeing how you were in my bathroom."
"You haven't repeated any of this to Inu-Yasha, have you?"
"Well, no. We only saw each other briefly today, and we were caught up talking about other things. Why?" she asked.
"I don't want him to know anything about this. Koga kept his fat mouth shut for once and didn't tell him what was going on last night. It will make my job a lot easier if you would do the same," Sesshomaru requested.
"Sesshomaru, I don't like the idea of keeping secrets from your brother. We're, um, kind of close these days," Kagome responded. "He already knows about me and the other two girls working for Naraku, so what would be the harm in telling him the rest?"
"Listen to me carefully, Kagome," Sesshomaru said calmly. "You have a job to do, and so do I. As long as we cooperate with each other, we should have no problems whatsoever. Step in my path, however, and I will squash you flat. It will hurt so bad, your ancestors will feel it."
"Don't threaten me, you overgrown boa," Kagome said just as calmly. "I'm on to you, you big softie, and you don't scare me a bit. Now I agree we have to work together, but don't forget my main job is to protect Lazy Panda."
"You can best protect Lazy Panda by helping me place him in official custody," said Sesshomaru. "And we can both protect him better if we capture Vicious Dragon. The hell with this counterfeiter, Kagome, I want VD. And you know I always get what I want." He softened his tone slightly before continuing. "Listen, it's safer for all of us if Inu-Yasha doesn't know what I do for a living. That way he can't accidentally screw things up. Get his help with your end of this job if you need it, but keep him away from mine."
"Well, okay. I won't say anything for now. But I'm not promising it will stay that way," Kagome agreed.
"Fair enough. Listen, can you do without Kagura this afternoon? I need her to do something for me."
"Sure. What's going on?" Kagome inquired.
"I want Rin out of here. I didn't mind having her around when we were just doing surveillance, but with an assassin in the picture…" he refrained from speaking the thought aloud. "Anyway, I'd like Kagura to take her over to a friend's place on Maui. As her Nanny, it will look less suspicious if she takes Rin instead of me."
"I can understand that," said Kagome. "But that will leave Kagura without a cover. How's she going to be an au pair without a child to watch?"
"We'll figure that out later. Maybe she can tend the bar or something," Sesshomaru replied. "So you won't tell Inu-Yasha about this, then?"
"I guess not. Not right now, anyway," Kagome said reluctantly.
"Good," Sesshomaru replied. "As far as my brother is concerned, I'm just your average cross-dresser."
"Oh no, Sesshomaru. You are much more than average," Kagome informed him. "You positively outshine the others. Except for Ranma, of course."
"Um, thanks. I think."
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Vicious Dragon listened to Kagome and Sesshomaru hang up their respective phones. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he hummed. Why do professionals make such stupid mistakes? Assuming their phone is secure – hah!
He'd known the Feds were here. He'd recognized Sesshomaru the moment he saw him. There was no mistaking that silver hair, so like his father's. The girls were a surprise, though. Naraku had his agents here to protect Lazy Panda? The idea was laughable.
Lazy Panda must have found out he was next on the disposal list and enlisted Naraku's aid. No matter. This wouldn't set his plans back a bit. He stroked his favorite knife, feeling the thin line of blood spring up from the blade's edge.
He pondered his options. First item of business would be to get those damn FBI agents off his back. He needed a distraction, something to completely take away their focus. Especially Sesshomaru's attention; Koga presented little threat to him by himself.
The sound of a child laughing while playing on the beach nearby drew his attention. A smile stretched across his face as he thought of the perfect distraction. It would work, he was sure of it. His plan would get Sesshomaru off his back and off the island of Oahu for awhile.
Rin, he breathed.
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A/N: *squeals with excitement* I see you guys have been updating your fics! Yay! I love reading everybody else's stuff…
no one in particular(): You ask for Inu/Kag fluff, I give you Inu/Kag fluff. See how easy I am to get along with? Personally, I much prefer to make everyone in the story SUFFER. (Builds character)
Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! *throws chocolate* Lavender
