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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rumiko Takahashi characters named here, nor do I own Charlie's Angels. In order to avoid spoiling your plot before dinner, I have placed a further disclaimer at the end of this chapter.
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"I am Sheriff Rin-chan! And Mister Ginta, you are – you are a sneaky, dirt-eating, low-lying sheep-stealing thief!" Rin paused and turned to Hakkaku. "Do you want to be one of the bad guys, too?" she asked him.
"No, I'll be the judge when you bring him to trial," Hakkaku offered quickly, scooting away from the pair.
"Do I have to be tied up?" Ginta asked wearily as he shifted to accommodate the shoelaces Rin had tied around his ankles and wrists. "Why can't I be the Sheriff?"
Rin gave an exasperated sigh. "You don't know how to play anything," she shook her head at him sadly. "Don't you know you're supposed to take turns? I get to be Sheriff and capture you, and then you get to be Sheriff."
"So you captured me," Ginta moaned. "Now it's my turn. Untie me, dammit!"
"Uh-oh, Mister Ginta, you used a naughty word! Daddy says you can only use that word when you're watching football or doing car repairs!" Rin crowed. "I'm going to have to wash your mouth out with soap!"
Hakkaku stood quickly before Rin could locate the soap. "Okay, time for a game break! Want a snack?" he asked Rin. "We have orange soda pop in there," he pointed to the galley.
She clapped her hands in delight. "Can I really have a soda pop before bedtime? Daddy never lets me drink soda pop at night. He says the sugar will rot my teeth out. Do you have rotten teeth, Mr. Hakkaku? Smile and let me see." She stood on tiptoe, trying to peer into his mouth.
"My teeth are just fine," growled Hakkaku. "Go get your soda before I change my mind. Your Daddy's right, you don't need the sugar!"
Rin dashed into the galley and could be heard rummaging through the cabinets. "Ooh, Mr. Hakkaku, you have chocolate! I didn't know you had chocolate! Can I have some?"
"Knock yourself out, kid!" Hakkaku hollered. "You can eat anything you want in there!"
"Hakkaku?" Ginta held out his hands to be untied.
Hakkaku struggled for a moment with the laces. "She tied these in a knot that sailors would envy," he commented, pulling out his pocketknife. "Hold still while I cut the laces."
"My last pair of shoelaces," Ginta said glumly. "And she's probably eating all the chocolate as well."
"Hey, at least she's being quiet while she's stuffing her face. I've never heard a kid rattle on like that one! Do you think she ever shuts up, or do you suppose she talks in her sleep as well?"
"Hakkaku?" Ginta said hesitantly. "You know, I've been thinking. I've never asked for anything out of our friendship. I was with you when we robbed that house only to find out it belonged to a pit bull breeder, I put up with you that time we got conned out of all our cash by that sweet looking little old lady, and I was even able to laugh it off that time we hid out in the caves and discovered they were already occupied by a wolf pack. But a body can only take so much, Hakkaku, and I just can't take anymore. Now I'm sorry we're not gonna collect the money Suikotsu has promised us, but we have got to let this kid go or I'm gonna wind up in the loony bin."
"To tell you the truth, Ginta," said Hakkaku, "darling Rin-chan has somewhat got on my nerves too. It's no small wonder her Nanny threw herself overboard; let's head to the harbor and unload this kid onto the nearest dock before I'm tempted to do the same."
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"What do you mean, Rin and Kagura never showed up?" Sesshomaru gripped the telephone so tightly his knuckles cracked. "Never showed up at the dock or never showed up at your house?"
"They didn't even show up at the dock, Sesshomaru. I checked with the harbor-master and there's no record of that boat you chartered even entering the harbor!" Yura told him. "I waited a couple of hours because I figured they might have gotten a late start, but when it got dark I decided to check into it. I've already contacted the Coast Guard; do you want me to notify the local authorities as well?"
"No," Sesshomaru told his friend and former coworker. "There's no point in raising the alarm just yet, and they'd just accuse us of being on their turf. Let's find that boat first. I'll be over as soon as I can get a flight."
"Do you remember Nobunaga, that pilot we used on that kidnapping case a few years ago?" Yura asked. "The one where that foreign princess was taken? Anyway, Nobunaga runs a puddle-jumper service through the islands these days. I figured you'd want to get over here, so I already called him. Grab a taxi and get to the airstrip, he's waiting for you."
"Thanks, Yura," Sesshomaru said fervently. "I'd be lost without you, you know that? When are you coming back to work for us?"
"When are you coming to work for me?" Yura gave a throaty laugh. "You'd do wonders for my business, Sesshy. All that lovely hair…"
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Kagura lay on the shore allowing the waves to crash over her, unable to move. Her mind kept drifting in and out of dreams, with the sound of the ocean and the feel of the salty spray punctuated only by quacking noises. Some vague part of her brain recognized that she was still alive, but that part was also the one that saw the duck with glasses, so she couldn't be entirely sure.
She hadn't heard the quacking in a while, and wondered if the duck had abandoned her. Kagura was about to attempt to move from the water when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunching across sand. She weakly tried to call towards the sound.
"Shampoo! Darling Shampoo!" Strong arms picked her up and carried her from the water. "Oh, Shampoo! I've got to get you to the hospital!"
He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his warm skin felt good against her cheek. Kagura opened her eyes and tried to bring her rescuer's face into focus. Long, straight black hair flowed loosely around a handsome manly face, and a pair of thick glasses was perched on top of his head. Droplets of water were running from his hair and clustering on his bare shoulders, as if he had just stepped out of a hot shower.
Now I'm really hallucinating, was Kagura's thought. What a hunk…
He was gazing into her face with a look of utter adoration. "Shampoo, I'll take care of you," he promised as tears streamed from his eyes. "We'll never be apart again!"
The glasses were making Kagura curious. She'd never seen such thick lenses before. She lifted up a shaking hand and brought the glasses down to his nose.
"Shampoo? Wait, who are you? Where's my Shampoo?" he asked the confused Kagura.
Shampoo? Great, all he cares about is his hair. Damn narcissist, was Kagura's last thought before falling into an exhausted sleep in his arms.
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"Hurry up, Ginta. This place is crawling with Coast Guard patrols," Hakkaku hissed.
"I'm tying off as fast as I can!" Ginta replied. "Don't worry about the Coast Guard, they're looking for the doctor's boat, remember? They won't have any reason to talk to us."
"Come on kid," Hakkaku said quietly to Rin. "It's time for you to leave." He lifted her over the edge and handed her to Ginta, who was waiting on the dock.
Rin glomped onto Ginta's leg. "I don't want to leave!" she wailed loudly. "I want to play Sheriff Rin-chan some more! You promised you would play the bad guy again, Mister Ginta!"
Ginta tried unsuccessfully to pull Rin off his leg. "Look, kid! Don't you want to go find your Daddy?"
"Daddy never lets me stay up this late and drink soda pop! I want to stay and play!" Rin's voice rose to a higher pitch, causing Ginta to look around in alarm. "Can't I stay? I'll let you be the Noble Lord and I'll be the Servant this time! Please? Please?"
"Hakkaku, help me get rid of her! If someone hears her, we're busted for sure!" Ginta exclaimed.
"Look kid," Hakkaku leaned over the railing and waved a large plastic sack at Rin. "Here's all the orange soda and chocolate on the boat. If we let you have it, will you let go of Ginta's leg?"
Rin pondered this for a moment. "All of the soda and the chocolate? You mean everything just for me?" she asked.
"Yeah kid, all of it just for you. You won't even have to share," Ginta promised.
"What about the peanut butter?" Rin asked. "Can I have that too?"
"I'll even throw in the jelly," Hakkaku answered. "Do we have a deal?"
"Okay!" Rin said joyfully as she grabbed the bag Hakkaku offered her. "Deal."
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Further Disclaimer: I also do not own The Ransom of Red Chief, that marvelous short story written by O. Henry, from which I took the idea for Rin's captivity and release. This was originally going to be a stand-alone one-shot fic, but it fit so well with Naraku's Angels I decided to put it in here instead.
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A/N: Ugh. Long, long, day for me. Too tired for responses, but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for Reading and Reviewing!
