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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 don't have split ends, either.
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"Thanks, Noby! We definitely owe you one!" Sesshomaru heard Yura call out as she hopped out of the small plane onto the tarmac. He watched her blow a kiss to Nobunaga before lengthening her stride to catch up to him. Even though he was burdened with Rin's sleeping form, Yura practically had to jog to keep up with his long legs.
Koga intercepted them inside the terminal. "Is she all right?" he asked with a concerned look at Rin. He laid a gentle hand on the slumbering girl's head and ruffled the hair of the child he had come to think of as a niece.
Sesshomaru tightened his hold on his daughter. "The Coast Guard found her sitting on a dock pigging out on chocolate and orange soda pop. Other than a violent tummy ache, they said she's going to be just fine. I, on the other hand," he continued tiredly, "have aged about twenty years." He kissed Rin's sticky cheek and shuddered as he thought of how close he'd come to losing his entire world.
Yura stepped between them and put out her hand. "I'm Yura," she introduced herself to Koga. "Sesshy's old partner," she explained, her hand automatically straying towards Koga's long ponytail. "So pretty!" Yura exclaimed as she began to pet his hair. "And no split ends – Sesshy must be taking good care of you."
Koga eyed her nervously and backed away, causing Yura to laugh aloud. "Oh don't worry, sweetie," she purred. "I don't bite – unless you like that sort of thing," she leered. Koga moved back another step.
"Any word on Kagura?" Koga asked them.
"The Coast Guard was still searching when we left," Sesshomaru answered. "Someone called in a report saying they'd spotted a woman going overboard a small boat outside the Maui harbor." Sesshomaru's mouth twisted in pain. "Rin said she hasn't seen Kagura since early this evening. Apparently her captors told her Kagura 'went swimming and hasn't come back yet'."
Yura placed a comforting arm around Sesshomaru's shoulders. "Hey Sesshy, she'll be all right! Anyone who's tough enough to put up with you can't be killed that easily! She's probably sitting in some bar drinking Mai Tai's as we speak."
"Knowing her, it would be Bloody Mary's," Sesshomaru said wryly. "As soon as we get Rin under guard, I'm headed back to Maui to help with the search. Nobunaga said he'd stay on call until he heard from us."
"Daddy? Where's Miss Kagura? Is she back from swimming yet?" Rin had awakened and was twisting around in his arms, trying to find her beloved Nanny. "Daddy, those men didn't know how to play any games the right way," she said sleepily. "I want Miss Kagura." Rin rested her head back against Sesshomaru's shoulder.
Sesshomaru swallowed hard and hugged his daughter tightly. "I want Miss Kagura, too," he whispered as he blinked back the moisture in his eyes. He couldn't break down here, not in front of Rin, but he was sick with worry.
Koga's cell phone began to ring. "Koga," he answered. As he stood listening, Koga's face lit up. "They found Kagura," he mouthed at Sesshomaru, who leaned close in to hear the conversation. "How is she doing? Yeah, I understand. We'll meet you there."
"Come on," Koga said the Sesshomaru and Yura as he hung up the phone. "That was Kagome. The local hospital just called and said some guy brought Kagura into the emergency room. Except for being dehydrated from throwing up nonstop, she's okay. They said Kagura was conscious and asking for us."
The trio ran towards the rental car and piled in. "How the hell did she wind up back here on Oahu?" asked Sesshomaru as Koga shoved the car into gear and peeled from the parking lot. "She was reported missing overboard near Maui!"
"Damned if I know, Sesshomaru!" Koga responded as he turned into the traffic. "But nothing surprises me with that woman anymore! Do you realize that if you keep hanging around Kagura your life is going to be one never-ending series of trouble? You'd better marry her just so you won't have to testify against her in court someday."
"Daddy, are you and Miss Kagura getting married?" Rin squealed from the back seat where she was buckled next to Yura. She was clearly awake and back in her usual spirits. "Can she be my Mommy? My friend Kokichi has a Mommy and a Daddy and a brother and three sisters! Can I have brothers and sisters too, Daddy? When are you getting married Daddy?"
"Yeah," Koga smirked at his partner's obvious discomfort. "When are you getting married Sesshomaru? I agree with Rin, she needs lots of brothers and sisters!"
"When, Daddy?"
"Just as soon as I convince her she can't live without me," Sesshomaru said calmly.
"That could take years!" Yura snorted. She was busy combing Rin's tangled hair and braiding ribbons into it.
"Probably," said Sesshomaru as he looked out the window of the speeding car. "But I can dangle Rin in front of her as bait."
"Or you could always threaten her with another boat outing if she doesn't agree," offered Koga.
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Suikotsu walked casually past the hospital's reception area, giving a familiar nod to a couple of the other doctors and the receptionist. They knew him well here, even though he'd moved his practice to the other side of town. Since the move, he'd made a point of stopping in to do consultations on a regular basis. The reward for his years of ass-kissing was unlimited roaming rights. He could walk into any room in the hospital and never be questioned. That came in handy when practicing medicine, but it came in even handier when practicing murder.
He had to hurry before anyone else arrived. VD had called as soon as their local hospital informant had reported Kagura's registration. He patted the syringe in his pocket. It was a shame to kill someone so pretty and young, he thought. It never bothered him to kill the rich old ones; they left behind such grateful heirs.
Her hospital bed was empty. He stared, trying to comprehend what was wrong. Suikotsu picked up the chart on the stand and read the name at the top. Kagura. She was supposed to be in here…where was she? Frowning, he kept reading the chart as he walked to the hallway to question the nurse.
The door opened inwards, hitting him square in the face. Giving a grunt of surprise, he sank to the floor clutching his nose. Something warm and sticky was trickling between his fingers. Blood, he realized. Blood. It was all over his hands.
"Oh, Dr. Suikotsu, are you all right?" the sweet voice of Nurse Kasume spoke in his ear. "I'm so sorry. Oh my, look at all this blood!"
She was helping him to his feet. Suikotsu felt his shoulders hunch and began making gurgling sounds in his throat. "No," he grasped his throat. "No, stay away!"
"Oh Doctor, you really mustn't claw at your face that way! You're making it bleed even more, see?" She held the blood drenched towel so he could see the damage. "Here, let's clean this up."
"Kill, kill, kill!" the physician burbled. He grabbed the syringe from his pocket and began stabbing wildly at Kasume. He must kill her, must make her bleed!
"Now Doctor, you mustn't be trying to use that while you're hurt," said Kasume. "You can hardly see with all this blood running down your face!" She held his wrist and took away the needle while he howled and scratched.
"Let's get you to the nurse's station," Kasume patted his hand and ignored his ranting. "Come along, Doctor!" she said, tugging on his hand and dragging his protesting form towards the door.
The door burst open again, sending him sprawling to the floor once more. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" said the attractive brunette who had run into him. She grabbed his arm and tried to help him stand. "Ew! Look at all this blood!"
"Hey Kagome, what's going on?" the door pushed into them again, sending Suikotsu to the floor with the girl and Kasume on top of him. In another moment, two more pairs of feet had tripped and were lying on top as well.
Suikotsu was beginning to find it difficult to breathe.
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"Listen, you dumb bitch! You'd better release me from this place right now or I'll tear your head off and feed it to the sharks! Do – you – understand – the – words – that – are – coming – out – of – my - mouth?"
Sesshomaru could hear Kagura yelling all the way from the reception area. He motioned to the others to stay put and walked back to the source of the commotion. A security guard was headed in the same direction, and Sesshomaru flashed his badge. "I'll handle this," he told the guard. The guard looked incredulously at Sesshomaru's emerald green evening dress and matching heels and then shrugged his shoulders.
Kagura was banging on the registration clerk's plexiglass window with her fist and threatening to jump over the barrier. She was still screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs. "I have to go find Rin! Do you understand me? She's out there on a boat with two lunatics and she needs my help! I don't care what orders the doctor gave, I'm leaving this place with or without your permission! Now hand over my clothes!"
"These hospital gowns really are quite revealing from this angle," Sesshomaru said when she paused for breath. "Your tattoo's showing," he pointed.
Kagura squeaked and pulled the back of the gown together. "Sesshomaru!" she cried hysterically. "They've got Rin!"
"They have no one," Sesshomaru told her as he removed his trench coat and wrapped it around her. He took her in his arms. "Rin's out in the reception area, safe and sound. I'll warn you, though, she's pretty sugared up. Do you have any idea how many orange sodas that child can drink in one sitting?" He pulled her tightly against him. "I see you're as looking as beautiful as ever," he said between kisses.
In truth, she looked like hell. Spending a lot of time in the ocean wasn't good for anyone's complexion, and she had dark hollow circles around her eyes from dehydration. It would take Yura a week to restore her hair back to some semblance of normal, and she was covered with numerous scratches and bruises. He sniffed. Kagura needed a bath as well, she smelled like a herring with all that salt water covering her.
So how come she was still so damn sexy that he wanted to make love to her right there on the hospital floor? She aroused such a fierce need in him, the desire to protect her and keep her from somehow shattering combined with a desire to start kissing her ears and not stop until he reached her toes. Kagura was pressing against him as he kissed her, clinging to him as if she was scared he would evaporate into thin air.
Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Inu-Yasha chose that moment to barge in from the lobby, preventing the clerk from having to call security in to remove the lust-crazed couple. Koga, Rin and Yura were close on their heels. Everyone began speaking to Kagura at once, and anything Sesshomaru had to say was drowned out in the noise.
After a few minutes, Sesshomaru noticed Kagura was starting to get a dazed look across her face. Her eyes were blinking oddly, as if she were trying to focus. Brushing the others away, he scooped her into his arms and began walking out of the hospital with her. Behind him, he could hear the clerk shouting something about signing release forms. He waved at Koga to take care of the matter and continued out the door, ignoring the stares directed their way. You'd think they'd never seen a woman carried out of a hospital in the arms of a man wearing a designer dress before, Sesshomaru thought in amusement.
"Miss Kagura, when am I going to get a brother or sister?" Rin's clear voice rose above the others momentarily. She was hanging on to Sesshomaru's purse strap and staring rapturously up at Kagura.
"Sesshomaru?" Kagura mumbled as her eyes closed. "What is she talking about?"
"I'll explain it to you when we get back to the resort," Sesshomaru answered. "Better yet," he whispered wickedly in her ear, "I'll demonstrate."
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A/N: Yay! I finally found a spot for Kasume in this fic. *readers groan at introduction of yet another cameo role* I just love Kasume; she's so calm and unflappable about everything - even murderous schizoid doctors. :)
By the way, the reason there is so much Kagura/Sess interaction is because my collaborator, Sophie-chan, is such a huge fan of this pairing *begs Sophie-chan to put the gun down* I'm trying to be nice to her because a bad floppy diskette just caused her to lose an entire chapter she wrote for one of her fics. = (
A couple of answers:
Asteria: Hojo???!!!! No way, although I do think he's just a little tooooo nice to be trusted. Try reading Chevalier Mal Fet's Expect the Unexpected for a good "Hojo as Villian" piece.
trixie-trix: I write late at night, although anything I write after 2 am is usually not pretty – or were you asking about my typing speed?
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm having so much fun with this fic!
