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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 have never turned a load of laundry green (I turned it purple instead).
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"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Kagome threw the socks she was matching into the basket. "I can't believe Naraku is being like this! Oh wait, yes I can! After all, he's the one who regularly accepts jobs from politicians, con artists and hardened criminals!"
Inu-Yasha watched her from his seat on the couch where he was folding clothes. "Interesting that you put those three in the same category, Kagome. What are you so pissed about, anyway?" he asked her. "One phone call and suddenly Miss Sunshine wants to rip the heart out of her boss."
Kagome hesitated before answering. She still hadn't told Inu-Yasha the truth about his brother, and she really didn't want to get into that situation at the moment. "Naraku thinks we're wasting our time looking at anybody but Sesshomaru as a suspect in our search for Vicious Dragon," she finally admitted.
Inu-Yasha's look was one of disbelief. "Sesshomaru? You're kidding, right? I know he can be a bit of a cold bastard, but an assassin? That's stupid. Besides, he was with me the night our father was murdered. I already told you about that."
"Yes, and I tried to tell Naraku that as well. But he's like that, Inu-Yasha," Kagome said exasperatedly. "He gets an idea in his head and you can't remove it with a stick of dynamite. He's convinced Sesshomaru is VD, and won't believe otherwise until we send the real Vicious Dragon to prison."
"You make it sound like this is a regular occurrence," Inu-Yasha commented. "Why do you guys work for him, anyway? You think he's an idiot, Sango thinks he's the chintziest bastard on the planet, and Kagura absolutely loathes him. Not exactly Boss of the Year material, is he?"
"We stay because he practically owns us," Kagome responded bitterly. "Sango can't get work elsewhere that pays decent because of her criminal record, and Kagura's afraid to lose her job because she's the sole support for her psychotic sister Kanna, who will probably be in a mental institution for the rest of her life."
"And why do you stay?" he asked.
She tossed the next pair of socks into the basket. "I stay because I can't get work anywhere else. Inu-Yasha, there's something I haven't told you about." Kagome stared at her hands, not wanting to see disappointment or suspicion in Inu-Yasha's eyes.
"Hey you, come here." Inu-Yasha placed the clean clothes in the laundry basket and set it aside, then pulled Kagome into his lap. "You know there's nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, you could tell me that would change how I felt about you, right? Unless maybe you were going to tell me you had a crush on my brother or Ranma," he added quickly.
As he expected, Kagome laughed. "Stop it, Inu-Yasha! I'm trying to be angry and serious, and you're making me smile." She kissed the tip of his nose and began to play with his hair. "Inu-Yasha, what if I told you I almost went to prison because they thought I was a jewel thief?"
"I'd say they'd got the wrong girl," Inu-Yasha replied. "You're still working for a living, so you obviously didn't steal any valuable jewels." He kissed her neck and then nipped her lightly above the collarbone. Her delicate scent was as delicious as ever, and he was having trouble paying attention to what she was saying.
"Well, I was accused of stealing this really valuable necklace from a shrine. I didn't do it of course, but they only dropped the case because they didn't have any evidence, not because they believed I was innocent. This has followed me forever! Every time I've ever applied for work, somehow they find out about that incident and I don't get the job. Naraku's the only one who would hire me."
"I'd hire you in a heartbeat," Inu-Yasha told her. "Seriously. You'd be a great addition to my company, and I'm not just saying that because I want to get in your pants."
"Oh, so you don't want to get in my pants, then?" she arched an eyebrow.
Inu-Yasha felt himself blushing. She always flustered him like this, and it left him feeling like he was back in high school on his first date and didn't know quite where to put his hands.
Kagome cupped his face and gave him a long, slow kiss. "You're so cute when you turn beet red," she told him. She wound her fingers through his silver hair and traced his jaw with her lips.
Inu-Yasha shifted her position on his lap so she was facing him and captured her mouth, tasting her deeply. I could die right now and be happy, he thought as Kagome began to unbutton his shirt. He could practically hear his heart knocking against his ribs as she placed her soft hands against his bare chest and nuzzled her face into his neck.
The knocking wasn't against his ribs, it was against the door. "Hey, Inu-Yasha! Let me in, I forgot my key!" yelled a masculine voice.
"Ranma," Kagome sighed. "I thought you were going to get rid of him, Inu-Yasha."
"I tried, but he started crying again. I have a better idea. You get rid of the pig at your place," Inu-Yasha suggested.
"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Kagome asked as she climbed off his lap.
"One word. Bacon."
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Vicious Dragon slammed his fist down on the desk in disgust. Letting the Nanny and the Brat get away, how could they be so stupid! Trust these idiots to mess everything up. If you want the job done right, you have to go and do it yourself…
He took a deep breath to calm himself. None of this mattered. He would get his lovely, his heart's desire, and he would get her right out from under their noses. It would be more difficult, but the challenge was worth the prize.
He would hold her, caress her and tell her how sorry he was they had been separated for so long. How she must have suffered while away from him. Suffered in the rough, incompetent hands of that untried boy! She needed a real man to hold her and love her.
She would be his, and the time to act was now. He opened a secret compartment within his desk and brought out his favorite set of lock picks. They were old, but solidly built for mischief. Vicious Dragon saved them for special occasions; times when finesse was more important than speed.
As he drove downtown, a feeling of joy burst through him. So near, he was so near. She was his Lady waiting to be freed from the tower, and he was the Brave General who would rescue her.
*******
"You don't think she followed us here, do you?" Sango wrapped herself in Miroku's jacket and shivered. They were standing outside Inu-Yasha's door, trying to get either him or Ranma to open it.
Miroku was still breathing hard. He'd had no idea that crazy Chinese girl could run so fast, but they'd managed to lose her in the end. He moved closer to Sango protectively. The last place he wanted to be was here, but they needed help.
Inu-Yasha opened the door and looked at them warily. "You're not here to break my head open, are you?" he asked.
"We need sanctuary," Sango told him. "We're being stalked by some lunatic who thinks Miroku's hot."
"Tell me something new," Inu-Yasha retorted.
Kagome peeked over Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "Hey!" she smiled at them. "Come on in! You're too late, though, we're just finishing up."
Sango coughed. "Um, maybe we should just go somewhere else," she suggested to Miroku. "We could always come back later."
"Don't be silly, Sango! What are friends for, anyway?" Kagome chided her. "Come on in so your stalker or whoever doesn't find you." She dragged them into the room just as the telephone started to ring.
"Kagome! It's Ms. Fluffy!" Ranma's voice came from the other room. "He says it's important!" Kagome left the room to take the call.
Miroku and Sango sat down gingerly on the couch and looked at Inu-Yasha. His brow was furrowed in concentration. He jumped when Miroku cleared his throat.
"Oh. Sorry. I just keep thinking I forgot to do something important. But Kagome would have told me if I skipped a step…" he trailed off as he tried to think. His eyes suddenly widened. "Pockets!" he shouted in horror.
"Dammit, Inu-Yasha!" Ranma's shouted as he stormed into the room, holding a green lace camisole and thong. His face was as red as his hair, and he shook a petite fist in Inu-Yasha's face. "I can not believe you screwed this up again! How many times are you going to have to do this before you get it right?"
"Hey, at least I'm trying! If you don't like the results then do it yourself, why don't you!" Inu-Yasha yelled back defensively. "And anyway, you and Kagome were there with me – why didn't you make sure I wasn't doing something stupid!"
"She and I can't watch you every second!" Ranma said angrily. "You know, I'm starting to really feel sorry for the person you eventually marry! Don't ever, ever come near my underwear again, do you hear me?" He hurled the items at Inu-Yasha and stomped from the room.
"You know, I really think we need to leave," Sango rose as Inu-Yasha slumped into a chair with his head in his hands. "You, uh, probably don't want to discuss this with us around."
Inu-Yasha was looking glumly at the green lingerie. "I can't believe I didn't check the pockets," he said. "How could I have forgotten?"
"Pockets?" Sango asked, curious in spite of herself. "Since when does a pair of thong underwear have pockets?"
"I left a green permanent marker in the pocket of my white shirt," Inu-Yasha explained. "The entire load is now this color. Counting your clothes, this is the third load I've ruined. Sango, I don't think I'm ever going to get this!" Inu-Yasha looked at the clothing in disgust.
"This is about…laundry?" Sango asked.
"Of course it's about laundry!" said Inu-Yasha. "What were you thinking it was about?"
"Oh, nothing," Sango said quickly as she looked at Miroku. He looked as flabbergasted as she was.
"That reminds me," said Inu-Yasha. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened at my brother's place," he told Sango. "My brother was kind of concerned about you."
"Concerned?" Sango asked nervously. "What would he be concerned about?"
"He's concerned about you drinking so much you puked up all over the place and then passed out," Inu-Yasha said bluntly. "He wanted to know if this was a habit with you. I told him I didn't know you well enough to answer that question or not."
"Of course it's not a habit!" Sango said hotly. "That was the first time I've ever done anything like that! Not that I remember anything I did," she added miserably.
"Besides throw up? You didn't do anything else, unless you count getting me and Koga involved in this escapade." Inu-Yasha told her. "Face it Sango, you're a boring drunk. You didn't even play strip poker, although Koga was trying his damnedest to convince you. Now he's the one you should be hitting with a golf club," Inu-Yasha warned Miroku.
Sango stared at the floor in embarrassment. "Tell your brother I'm really, really sorry," she replied quietly. "And, um, I'm also sorry about me and Miroku getting so upset with you."
"Aw, forget it," said Inu-Yasha. "But trust me, I don't care if you're down to your last bra, you're doing your own laundry from now on. You hear that, Kagome?" he asked as she entered the room.
He stopped speaking. Kagome was pale and shaking. "That was Sesshomaru," she said hoarsely. "He said Kagura and Rin are missing."
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A/N: I know my chapters are long - several of you have mentioned this. Sorry, but with this many characters and events, that's just the way it goes. Believe it or not, the chapters I post are usually half of what I write, and I put the other half into a new chapter. So yes, this means I crank out about two chapters every time I sit down. This all stems from when I worked for a small town weekly newspaper while in high school, where the phrase "We need 2000 words covering the local pet fair and the mayor's dog" would leap from my editor's mouth.
Actually, it's really just an obsession with me. Must…write…fanfics…
A few responses:
blazingnymph7: Jaken dying by Fluffy's claws…that does form an attractive mental picture, doesn't it? I'd rather keep him alive and make him suffer, though.
elementsofmine(): None of them are VD, although one or more may be in on the plot – not saying which one(s) *evil, evil author*
Cassidy Jewell: Thanks for the tuck in, but I fell asleep on the floor of my office, which thankfully, is in my own home. You know you're tired when the floor looks inviting…
insert catchy name here (amy the pyro): Yes, I can email you with updates :) I feel sorry for anyone having to read through five of my chapters at once!
ChristyKay: I get the courage to say where I live because Florida is a really big state with a large population. If we can't even find voters in Florida who know how to use the ballot cards properly, how in the world can anyone find me? *looks over her shoulder for stalkers*
Asteria: That particular phrase was taken straight from my father's mouth when I was about Rin's age. And believe me, when he was watching football or doing car repairs, a blue cloud hung in the air above his head…that man has cursing down to an art form.
Sandalwoods: No update anytime soon? *pouts* Oh well, I'll just have to go back and read some of your other stuff instead.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!! But you know what really inspires me? Reading YOUR writing! Update soon y'all! :D Lavender
