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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 Lina Inverse and Xellos (Slayer's Next).

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Chapter 31

Brothers

"Why are we stopping here?" Koga asked.

Kagome pulled the car onto the side of the road and slammed on the brakes.  She switched off the ignition and dropped the keys down the front of her blouse before stomping to the rear of the car and yanking the arguing Sesshomaru and Inu-Yasha out onto the ground.  "Listen up, you two!  I want to know what the problem is, and I want to know right now!" Kagome shouted.  "This car isn't going any further until I get some cooperation!"

The two brothers stayed sitting on the ground, refusing to look at Kagome or each other.  Finally, Inu-Yasha spoke.  "Ask him what his problem is.  All I know is that I only got one thing from Father and Sesshomaru can't stand not to have it."  He glared at his elder brother.

"You got that sword by stealing it!" Sesshomaru snapped in response.  "Did you even wait until his body was cold?"

"For the last time, I didn't steal it!  Toto-sai gave it to me, stupid!"

"The last time I laid eyes on that katana, it was resting in Father's coffin!  I didn't even know it was missing until we exhumed his body!" Sesshomaru exclaimed.  "Are you trying to tell me Toto-sai removed it from his grave?  That old man can barely walk, let alone rob a gravesite!"

"Wait a minute, what do you mean you didn't know it was missing until you exhumed his body?  Just what were you doing digging Father up in the first place?" Inu-Yasha demanded.  "It seems to me that you're the tomb raider here!"

Sesshomaru looked uncomfortable.  "We were looking for something specific that wasn't picked up during the autopsy," he said finally in a pained voice.  "Something related to the murder that I was certain had been overlooked.  And I will be honest, Inu-Yasha," Sesshomaru continued reluctantly.  "I was also planning to retrieve Tetsusaiga at the same time."

"Who is this 'we' you're talking about?" asked Inu-Yasha suspiciously.

"The FBI," Kagome answered for Sesshomaru.  "Your brother is a federal agent, Inu-Yasha.  He and Koga are here in Hawaii working on a case."

Inu-Yasha digested this new information.  "So what's this got to do with Father's death?" he turned and asked Sesshomaru.  "He was murdered by some psycho, but that doesn't mean the government gets involved."

Sesshomaru began tracing a pattern in the dirt with his fingernail.  "His death was a deliberate assassination, Inu-Yasha.  Father was just one of several people killed by Vicious Dragon.  The FBI is involved not only because of the assassinations, but because of VD's ties to money laundering and securities fraud across state lines."

"And that's the case you're working on right now?  Father's death?"

"Well, no, not initially," Sesshomaru replied.  "Koga and I were sent here for an entirely different matter, but it turns out the two cases are connected."  He rested his head against the car door and closed his eyes.  "One thing is certain.  Vicious Dragon is here in Hawaii, and it seems he's after Tetsusaiga on top of everything else."

"And it's just pure dumb luck that he doesn't have it," said Koga.  He opened the trunk and removed the rusty sword.  "It doesn't look very special," Koga continued.  "Look at all these nicks and dents in it.  What makes this thing so valuable?"

"By itself, it isn't," Sesshomaru told him.  "If it were sold on the collector's market as a single blade, it wouldn't garner much.  As you noted, it's in terrible condition.  However, if you pair it with its twin, Tensaiga, then you have an entirely different situation.  Because of their unique history, those two swords, if sold together, would bring in a ridiculous amount of money."

"But you'd have to have Tensaiga in order to make it worth owning Tetsusaiga," Kagome said.  She eyed Sesshomaru.  "You do have Tensaiga," she accused.  "How long have you had it?"

"Father bought it a month before his death and gave it to me for my birthday.  Unfortunately, he didn't bother to tell me about the combined value of the swords, otherwise I would never have allowed Tetsusaiga to be buried with him.  I stumbled across the information about a year later when I was pursuing some leads on his murder case."  Sesshomaru looked glum.  "That sword was literally buried treasure."

"That's so…so grisly," Kagome shuddered.

"It's damn mercenary, is what it is," Inu-Yasha growled.  "Well, you can forget about getting Tetsusaiga, Sesshomaru.  I've got it and I ain't giving it up.  And don't think I'm going to overlook this," he pointed to his bandaged nose as he climbed back into the car.

Sesshomaru threw himself in the backseat next to his brother and scowled.  "You're still just as clueless as ever, little brother," he said to Inu-Yasha as Kagome put the car back into traffic.  "How long do you think it's going to take Vicious Dragon to come to the resort looking for Tetsusaiga?  You and Ranma had better plan on sleeping with both eyes open."

"And VD has the advantage," Kagome observed, "because we still don't know what he looks like!  It's too bad Lum didn't get a better look at him before she started zapping away."

"Finding him should be easy," said Koga.  "Grab the first person you see that's covered with electrical burns."

"With my luck these days, it would turn out to be Jakotsu," Inu-Yasha groaned.

*******

Jakotsu was uncharacteristically nervous.  He'd done this kind of thing before, so he'd thought it would be no problem to do it again.  But then, he hadn't done something like this since leaving prison.  And if he were caught, they'd slap him back behind bars so fast he'd break the sound barrier.  It wouldn't be Vicious Dragon that took the fall.

He didn't want to go back.  Too boring, being locked up like that.  And having to wear those orange jumpsuits…he shuddered.  It was inhumane, that's what it was.

"What are you doing slinking around in the bushes?" asked a loud voice in his ear.  Jakotsu dropped the knife he was holding to the ground and frantically searched for an excuse.

"I'm spying on my boyfriend.  I think he's cheating," Jakotsu said quickly as he checked out the speaker and mentally gagged.  Bright red hair, huge shoulder guards, maroon tights…and a cape?  This was definitely a cry for help.  And the companion wasn't much better with that purple hair.

"Oh honey, your look needs some serious work," an appalled Jakotsu told the redhead.  "You'll never make it as a drag queen in that outfit.  And stuff some socks in that bra or something!  If you're going to pretend you look like a woman, you should at least make an attempt to be convincing."

"Lina, don't do it!" the purple-haired man shouted.

Fifteen minutes later, a battered Jakotsu regained consciousness and picked himself up off the ground.  For someone so short, that guy was incredibly scary, he thought as he spat blood from the cut on his lip.  Honestly, you try to help someone out by giving them a little fashion advice...

He heard Inu-Yasha's door open and moved just in time to see someone's foot enter the room as the door closed again.  It was time, Jakotsu decided as he left the bushes and went to Inu-Yasha's door.  He easily picked the lock and quietly entered the rooms.

The shower was running.  Jakotsu felt a thrill run through him and his heart raced at the thought of catching the man of his dreams in the nude.  He silently crept towards the bathroom, gripping the knife tightly in his hand.  Jakotsu gently turned the knob and opened the bathroom door.

"Ugh!" Jakotsu choked in disgust as the long-haired woman stepped from the shower.

"You!  Strange-looking woman with black stripes!  What you do with Ranma and Miroku?"  She launched herself at Jakotsu, sending his knife flying.  "You hide them!  You is obstacle!"

*******

"Sesshomaru, wait up!" Inu-Yasha said as they exited the car.

Sesshomaru ignored him and kept walking towards his rooms.  He wasn't going to fight with his brother in public, no matter how much he wanted to slug the little brat.  Just keep ignoring him; he'll go away eventually…

Inu-Yasha planted himself in front of Sesshomaru and put out his hands to block him.  "I asked you to wait, dammit!  Look, you owe me some answers!"

"Like what?" Sesshomaru asked coldly.

"Like, would you have exhumed Father's body if you hadn't been looking for new evidence?  Just to get Tetsusaiga, I mean?" Inu-Yasha asked him.

"Yes," Sesshomaru said quietly.  His brother was staring at him with his mouth agape.  "If you can't handle the answer, don't ask the question," Sesshomaru snapped.

"Why?" Inu-Yasha asked in confusion.

"For the money, why else?" Sesshomaru responded curtly, hoping his brother would just shut up.  Don't ask me anything else, Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru pleaded silently.  I don't want to tell you about this.  Keep your innocence, because I sure don't have any left.

"Listen, Inu-Yasha," Sesshomaru began.  "I buried Tetsusaiga with Father for purely sentimental reasons.  That was before I discovered that there's not a lot of room for sentiment in this world."  Sesshomaru pushed his younger brother aside and started walking as fast as his high heels allowed.

"Yeah, well that's a real funny statement coming from a man who held on to the puppy book from my childhood," Inu-Yasha responded as he grabbed Sesshomaru's arm and yanked him to a stop.  "Cut the crap, Sesshomaru, and tell me the truth for once."

Sesshomaru stared at his brother's hand on his arm and felt his resolve crack.  "Fine.  Here's the ugly truth, Inu-Yasha.  Everything had to be sold," he said bitterly.  "Everything that had any value, that is.  Father died completely broke, and the estate was leveraged to the hilt – literally," he grimaced.  "If I'd had those swords, I might have been able to save everything else."

Inu-Yasha was frozen with shock.  "How – how did this happen?" he asked Sesshomaru.  "He had a successful practice!  He had an inheritance from his own father!  We grew up in a freakin' mansion, Sesshomaru!"

"I don't know what happened," Sesshomaru answered tightly.  "Don't you think I'd like to know?  This entire thing hit me like a sledge-hammer when the lawyer told me about it.  I had no idea things were so bad!"

"Hells," Inu-Yasha was shaking his head.  He studied his brother.  "That painting Mother liked so much…"

"Was a Renoir.  If it had just been a copy, I'd have let you keep it."

"I'm sorry," Inu-Yasha said with genuine regret.  "You should have told me.  I wouldn't have been so angry if you had just said something."

"Right," Sesshomaru said sarcastically.  "You were a child, Inu-Yasha.  You wouldn't have understood it even if I had told you."  He shook his brother's hand off his arm.  "I don't want to discuss this anymore, because it doesn't make any difference.  The estate is gone, so whether the two swords are paired or not is irrelevant."  He started walking again.

"Hey Sesshomaru, wait up!" Inu-Yasha ran after him.

"Now what do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"Here."  Inu-Yasha smiled as he reached into the bag he was carrying and handed Sesshomaru a familiar looking pillow.  "You left your baby in the car.  You know, we ought to file charges - Ow!  Hey, don't hit me with your kid!  Watch the nose! Ow!"

*******

A/N:  Ah, some more silliness.  You'll have to bear with me through the upcoming serious parts, because I'm desperately trying to work in a plot here.  (And for the last time, Sophie-chan, yes I do have one!)

Stay tuned for the talent competition.  One hint:  Sesshomaru and Swan Lake!

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! *hugs Sesshy's baby – er, his pillow*  Lavender