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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 forgot to mention that I also don't own the movie Rush Hour 2, from which I took one of Kagura's lines in the last chapter.
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"Oooh, I need some serious amounts of sleep," Kagome groaned. "Let me get my purse off your coffee table and get back to my room."
Inu-Yasha wearily opened the door to his rooms. "Can this night be any longer?" he griped at Kagome. "Kidnappings, hospitals, that Yura chick attacking me with her comb…" he trailed off as he saw Ranma standing in the bathroom doorway, clutching the frame for support.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" asked Inu-Yasha. Ranma's black hair was pulled back into a loose knot, surrounding a face that closely resembled a pale shade of green.
"It's nothing," Ranma mumbled as he staggered back into the bathroom and doubled over the toilet. "I'll be all right," he choked.
"Ew," said Kagome as she followed him into the bathroom and grabbed a cool washcloth for the retching boy. "Ranma, how long have you been like this? Have you been throwing up all night? You seemed to be feeling fine when we left." Her cell phone was ringing inside her purse. "Inu-Yasha, can you answer that?" she called out. "It's probably Naraku; he'd be the only one calling at this hour."
Kagome returned her attention to the shaking boy in front of her. She placed a hand on Ranma's forehead. "You're not running a fever," she remarked. "Do you have any food allergies?"
Inu-Yasha reappeared in the doorway. "Naraku said he'd call you back later," he told Kagome. He looked at Ranma, who was now lying curled up on the floor.
"Let's get him to his bed," Inu-Yasha suggested as he lifted Ranma's limp form. Kagome put her arm under Ranma's other shoulder and they carried him into the bedroom.
"Really, I'll be okay," Ranma muttered. "I just ate something I shouldn't have," he groaned as they laid him down.
"Food poisoning?" Kagome asked. "What did you eat?"
Ranma pointed towards a plate of food resting on the bedside table. "Akane's cooking," he groaned.
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The program was going to take forever to compile. Ataru typed in a few more commands, trying to stifle his yawns. Inu-Yasha should be here working on this, he thought resentfully. His boss had been spending too much time over at the resort 'working'. Judging by the way Inu-Yasha was walking around smirking the last few days, the 'work' was probably all horizontal, he thought with envy.
Meanwhile, stuff was piling up at the office and one of the vendors was howling for the software update they'd promised two weeks ago. Ataru turned out the overhead lights and rested his head on the desk. Might as well catch some sleep until he was finished compiling. At least these late hours are keeping Lum far away, was his last grateful thought as he closed his eyes.
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"Myoga." Naraku knew his employee could hear him as clearly as if he were speaking in the same room.
"Y-yes, Naraku?"
Naraku heard the stammer in Myoga's voice. Good. The more this idiot feared him, the better. Myoga was easy to keep in line, unlike those damn girls.
"Why haven't I been getting regular reports, Myoga? This behavior from the Angels is - unexpected."
Myoga began blathering something about the girls being busy. "Myoga," Naraku continued in a chilled, soft voice. "Remind those bitches just who it is they work for. Not the government. Not the police. They work for me, and they had better straighten up or I will have them off of Oahu so fast even Kagura won't have time to get motion sickness."
A small squeak was heard from Myoga. "They are working for you, Naraku. It's just that things here have been a little crazy, and with Kagura being taken hostage…"
"I will deal with that particular matter on my own, Myoga. You fail to see the real problem, even though it's right under your tiny nose. It's man trouble, Myoga. Those stupid women have let themselves get close to the opposite sex and it's creating some complications." Naraku placed a steel tone in his voice. "Who is Kagome involved with? And don't lie to me, Myoga, because a man answered her personal cell phone just half an hour ago. This is most unusual behavior from my little rocket scientist, and I want to know what's going on."
"His name is Inu-Yasha," Myoga told him. "I don't know much about him, other than that - "
"That will do," Naraku interrupted him. "Give the Angels a message for me, Myoga. It's just three simple words, so even their hormone-laden brains ought to be able to comprehend it. The message is 'Kanna, Kohaku and Shikon', got that?" Naraku disconnected the call before the hapless Myoga could respond.
Inu-Yasha. Naraku clenched his fists as jealous rage coursed through him. Kikyo had chosen that ignorant boy instead of him, the man who could give her everything. He would have taken care of her and ensured she never left his side. Naraku's shoulders shook and he closed his eyes, picturing the beautiful Kikyo as she was that day when she told him to go to hell.
Now Inu-Yasha was once again trying to grab what wasn't his. Naraku's eyes snapped open. He was going to have to tighten the screws on his wandering Angel. Kagome belonged to him and him alone, and before the week was out she would be on her knees begging him to take her back.
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Click.
The pick slid into the lock and Vicious Dragon laughed softly. Faster than an ice cube across an oil slick, he thought to himself smugly. These computer geeks were all alike. They installed all kinds of security measures to protect their precious data, and then put a standard lock on the door to their building.
Once inside, Vicious Dragon paused to check for any security devices. His previous reconnaissance had shown none, but who knows what went through Surfer Boy's head these days. Inu-Yasha might be picking up some of his elder brother's paranoid habits. Assuring himself that nothing had changed, he had crossed the room and started to open the door to the inner office when a sound made him jump.
It took but a second for him to become completely motionless. The parking lot was empty and he'd assumed the building was unoccupied. He cursed. Didn't these people ever go home?
Vicious Dragon heard the sound again and relaxed as he recognized it. Snoring, someone was snoring. He moved cautiously towards the outer office and peeked around the doorway. One of the techno-dweebs had been pulling an all-nighter. A cruel smile crossed his face as he grabbed a heavy paperweight from a nearby table and walked up to the sleeping figure.
"Hey," Vicious Dragon stood behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Wake up, you."
The young man sat up blearily and Vicious Dragon whacked him across the head with the full force of the paperweight. Giving a malicious laugh, Vicious Dragon stepped aside to avoid the slumping body.
"Sweet dreams," he whispered to the unconscious form as he left the office. He'd slain the single knight guarding the castle and it was now time to rescue his Princess. Vicious Dragon felt a thrill run through him at the thought of her waiting for him in the next room.
He crossed the hallway to Inu-Yasha's office, shivering in anticipation as he picked the door lock. She was in here, hanging in a display rack behind Inu-Yasha's desk, where Vicious Dragon had seen her just a couple of days ago. After all his searching, she was right out in plain sight. She wanted him to take her!
The door lock popped and he slowly opened the door. Just a few more steps and she would be in his arms. In just another moment, he would be able to caress her cool steel with his hands. His fingers trembled at the thought.
Vicious Dragon stopped abruptly and stared at the wall behind the desk in disbelief. She wasn't there. His precious katana, his lovely, his dearest was…gone.
He whirled around angrily, scanning the room for the sword, but his eyes confirmed what his heart already knew. Tetsusaiga, his dearest Tetsusaiga, wasn't anywhere in the office. Where was she? What had that bastard done with his beloved?
Storming from the office, he crossed the hallway again and grabbed the neck of the man slumped over the desk. Vicious Dragon shook him roughly, trying to rouse him. "Wake up, dammit! What have you done to her?" he shouted. "Where is she?"
The boy's eyes opened and gazed at him glassily. "Huh?" he slurred. "She's right behind you," the boy pointed. Vicious Dragon hit him across the face a couple of times and threw him to the floor.
As he turned around, he felt an electric jolt run through him. A green-haired woman with horns and a fur bikini grabbed him by the hair. "What have you done to Darling?" she screeched in his ear. Vicious Dragon tore himself from her grasp and jumped out of the way as she sent another zap of electricity towards him.
This was one hell of a security system – he'd never talk bad about the nerds again.
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"Suikotsu, why did you choose to kidnap one of my girls? I find that to be an extraordinary action coming from an old acquaintance such as you."
Dr. Suikotsu felt his blood chill at the sound of Naraku's voice. "Naraku, I was acting under orders to get the kid. We didn't know the woman was one of yours!" Sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
"And just whose orders were you acting upon?" Naraku asked him in a silky tone.
"It's not worth my life to tell you that," Suikotsu answered hesitantly. "But you have to believe me, it was the girl we wanted, not the Nanny! Anyway, they're both okay now, so can't you overlook this?"
He could hear Naraku's steady breathing over the phone. "Suikotsu," Naraku finally spoke again. "I'm fairly certain that I know who it is you are working for, so let me give you a warning for old time's sake. Stay away from this. Far away."
"Or you'll do what?" the physician asked. "Don't forget, Naraku, I know as much about you as you do about me. If I go down, I'll take you with me."
"My dear doctor," Naraku's laughter came through the line. "Have you forgotten who made you? If it weren't for me, you'd still be practicing at the Colonic Temple of Herbal Enema Therapy. I can send you back there with a single phone call, Suikotsu. Now be a good boy and step away from all of this."
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A/N: You know that little voice inside of your head that tells you not to take on yet another project when you're already really, really busy?
For some reason, I don't ever hear that voice. Which is why I'm in the middle of a huge remodeling project that's taking away my valuable computer playtime. I might be forced to start going more than one day without updating until I get things under control.
Just kidding! I'll probably do without sleep instead. That's how I usually handle these situations :D
Anyway, thanks so much to all of you for reading and reviewing! You're the greatest! Lavender
