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Disclaimer:  I do not own any of the Rumiko Takahashi characters named here, nor do I own Charlie's Angels, YuYu Hakusho or Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.  Heck, I don't even own a pair of ballet slippers.

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Chapter 35

Swan Song

"I thought that jewel would look lovely around your neck."

Even though she was now wide awake, Kagome hadn't heard him enter the control room.  "Naraku?" she asked hesitantly as she faced the man.  "What are you doing here?  I didn't know you were in Hawaii."  She looked at her boss, unable to comprehend the reason for his presence.

Naraku clasped Kagome's hands in his and gently pulled her out of her chair and into his arms.  "I had to see you again."  He cupped her chin softly.  "I was worried about you.  Do you like your necklace?" he continued, fingering the jewel lovingly.

Okay, this is too weird.  He's hitting on me?  "It's beautiful, Naraku.  Were you the one who placed it in my purse?"  Kagome swallowed nervously and tried to keep her discomfort from her voice.

"Oh yes," Naraku breathed.  "I didn't want the others to see it.  It's special, just like you.  The Shikon no Tama is yours.  It belongs to you, just as you belong…to me."  Naraku's arm became like steel around her shoulders.  "You weren't thinking of leaving me, were you?"  His eyes held a dangerous gleam.

Shikon no Tama?  This was the Shikon jewel?  But it had been stolen, and she'd been accused…horrified, she realized Naraku was connected to the theft.  And the mentally unbalanced man standing before her was probably going to kill her if she so much as looked at him sideways.  Shit.

"Um, uh, you know, this is really, um, unexpected, Naraku," Kagome stammered as she squirmed in his embrace.  "I, uh, didn't realize you had these kinds of feelings for me.  But hey, we don't have to rush everything, do we?" she asked fearfully as her brain tried to comprehend what was happening.  My boss is a psycho!  My boss is a psycho!

Naraku brought his hand up to caress her face and then slapped her, hard.  "Kikyo," he hissed, "you really should have learned by now.  You belong to me, Kikyo.  I won't let you go with Inu-Yasha."  Naraku gripped the back of Kagome's neck and yanked her hair around his fist.  "I've given you the jewel, Kikyo.  I've given you everything.  Now promise me we'll stay together."

Kikyo?  He thought she was Inu-Yasha's dead wife?  Kagome tried to keep her involuntary tears from spilling onto her cheeks.  He's insane, she thought wildly.  Get away, get away, get away!!  She went slack in his embrace, hoping he would loosen his grip, but Naraku wasn't fooled.  He tightened his hold even further, squeezing her painfully.

"I guess you've already made your decision," Naraku said.  He sounded both happy and disappointed at the same time.  "I'll just be taking this back, then."  Naraku grabbed the jewel and began forcefully twisting the chain, pulling it tight around her neck and cutting off her breath.  "You will give me back the necklace, Kikyo.  It's the least you can do."

Kagome felt the choking sensation closing around her windpipe and struggled not to panic.  She wanted to punch and kick, but her vision was already turning dark.  It had happened too suddenly, and shock was overcoming any coherent thoughts she might have had.

"He went this way!" a voice shouted from the outer hallway.

A squealing sound rang in Kagome's ears, and Kurama and the rest of his crew ran into the room, chasing P-chan.  Naraku's hand went slack in surprise, and Kagome broke away from him.  She ran from the room, scooping the little black piglet up and carrying him with her.

Her throat was killing her, and her breath came raw and short.  Kagome shuddered as she realized how close she'd come to being garroted with a necklace.  P-chan was squealing loudly and making oinking noises as he nuzzled her neck.  Kagome tucked him closer and ran towards the theatre.  If I can just find the others…

"Give me back the Shikon no Tama, slut!" she could hear Naraku yelling behind her.  "I'll see you in Hell, Kikyo!  You and that jewel belong to me!  Inu-Yasha will never have you!"

He was closing the distance between them.  Kagome yanked open the side door of the theatre and raced backstage, searching for someone, anyone, who could help her.  No one seemed to be around except the producer, who was still lying on the floor sobbing.

Distract him with the necklace…Kagome quickly yanked the jewel from around her neck and hooked it onto P-chan's scarf.  "Run, P-chan!" she yelled at the pig, turning him loose.  "Get the jewel to safety!"

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Sesshomaru tried to mentally place himself away from the crowded theatre as his feet traced the dance steps.  Just pretend you're fencing, one two and one and two, try not to think about the fact that you're dancing in a ballerina outfit, one two, thank heavens Father isn't alive to witness any of this, and one, twirl, smile, I'll kill Inu-Yasha if he breathes a word to anyone, step one and two -  what the hell?

His eyes widened as another costumed individual danced onto the stage.  Jakotsu?  This isn't part of my number, Sesshomaru thought as he observed the young man.  He looked at Jakotsu uncertainly as the man daintily stepped his way over to where Sesshomaru was dancing.

"Guess who?" Jakotsu murmured in his ear as he grasped him from behind.  Sesshomaru could feel a sharp blade pressing against the back of his neck.  "You know what you're problem is, Sesshomaru?  You're almost as cute as your brother."

"What are you doing?" Sesshomaru whispered angrily.  Jakotsu was dancing with him, keeping one arm wrapped around Sesshomaru's waist.  The hand holding the knife to Sesshomaru's neck was firm.

"I'm going down, Sesshomaru.  At least it's for a good cause," Jakotsu said softly.  "I'll have the pleasure of knowing I got rid of your adorable brother.  He looked so sweet as he lay dying in my arms.  I wonder if you'll look half as good."

Sesshomaru felt rage and shock coursing through him at Jakotsu's words.  "You – you bastard!" he said, missing a step.  Jakotsu's knife pricked his skin, causing a droplet of blood to form on his neck.  Sesshomaru tried to wrench himself from the other man's grasp, but Jakotsu proved to be too strong.

"I'm going to kill you right here in front of everybody, Sesshomaru.  Won't that be wonderful?  They'll all get to witness your swan song," Jakotsu whispered as he spun around with Sesshomaru held tightly in front of him.  "Of course, they'll just think your death is part of the scene."

"Don't you think the blood on the stage might cause a little concern?" Sesshomaru asked him.  This guy is completely whacked…I'm about to be killed right here in front of everybody…oh shit, Inu-Yasha, you'd better still be alive!  "Why aren't you trying to get away?  Why come after me so publicly?"

"I can't get away," Jakotsu explained calmly.  "Vicious Dragon will kill me just as soon as I leave this building.  I knew that when I accepted the assignment, Sesshomaru."  The pitch of his voice went oddly higher.  "I can't run.  Nobody gets away from VD, Sesshomaru.  Nobody," he repeated.

"Then why?" Sesshomaru asked quietly as he struggled within Jakotsu's embrace.  The knife dug deeper into his neck, just a hair's breadth away from Sesshomaru's jugular vein.  "Why did you kill my brother?" he asked in a pained voice.

Jakotsu danced them towards the center of the stage.  "If I can't have Inu-Yasha, then no one gets him," he told Sesshomaru.  "Now that he's gone, he can't hurt me anymore.  He'll love me, not someone else who doesn't deserve him!"

"You're sick," Sesshomaru gasped hoarsely.  He felt numb.  This can't be real.  I'm not dancing on stage with a knife pressed to my neck.  I'm going to wake up any moment now.  The knife cut further.  Hell!  That hurts, you son of a bitch!  Okay, got to get away without getting sliced…

"Heads up," Jakotsu giggled in his ear.  "It's time for your grand finale!"

Sesshomaru felt something slam into his legs.  Looking down, he saw a small black pig wearing a jewel.  Astonished, he tripped, bringing Jakotsu down on top of him.  Sesshomaru slammed his head back against Jakotsu's face, feeling intense pain as the knife blade raked across his throat.  Catching the other man's hand, Sesshomaru was able to knock the knife away.  It clattered to the floor and spun towards the corner of the stage.

Jakotsu and Sesshomaru scrambled for the knife, Jakotsu reaching it first.  Sesshomaru kicked it away from him and tackled the struggling man, resisting the desire to strangle him on the spot.  He had to take Jakotsu alive, or they'd probably never locate Vicious Dragon.  He could hear the audience muttering, watching to see what happened next.

The music was still playing, and now someone else was dancing on stage.  Kagura had kicked off her shoes and was performing some fake ballet steps as she moved towards the wrestling pair.  She was waving what appeared to be an ancient fan in front of her face.  Dancing up behind Jakotsu, she snapped her fan closed and began to whack him across the head with it.

Another figure was sliding onstage, one Sesshomaru didn't immediately recognize.  The strange man's long, thick, wavy hair was partially hiding his features.  As the stranger attempted to catch the squealing pig, his hair moved away from his face, leaving Sesshomaru feeling like he'd been sucker-punched.  How many times had he sat at his desk and stared at the picture of the man who had left the scene of his father's murder?  And now this man was here on stage with him.  Leaving Jakotsu to Kagura's not-so-tender mercies, he launched himself toward the man formerly known as Onigumo.

Onigumo/Naraku had managed to catch hold of the pig and was trying to remove the jewel from the pig's neck.  The pig was kicking him with sharp little hooves and grunting loudly.  As Naraku tore the jewel away, the pig bit his hand, clamping down hard on the bone.

Naraku yelled and flung the pig away, losing his grip on the necklace in the process.  The round jewel rolled towards Sesshomaru, who reached down and picked it up.  As Sesshomaru straightened, he saw Kagome dance onto the stage and join them.  Sesshomaru tossed her the necklace into her outstretched hands and turned to attack Naraku.

With a graceful leap, Sesshomaru closed the distance between him and Naraku.  Before he could react, Naraku had twirled on his toes and kicked Sesshomaru's feet out from under him.  As Sesshomaru fell to the floor, Naraku vaulted over his head towards Kagome. 

Naraku never reached the girl.  Koga had pranced his way into the scene and caught him mid-stride, sending Naraku sprawling into Jakotsu.  Kagura stopped beating the now-unconscious Jakotsu long enough to poke Naraku in the eye with her fan handle, causing the man to release a blood curdling howl.

The music came to a finale, and the curtain fell.  Sesshomaru heard the crowd erupt in wild applause.  The whistles and cheers continued until the curtain rose again.  Limping, Sesshomaru managed to stand upright and bow along with Koga and Kagome.  Kagura remained where she was, pinning Naraku to the stage with her knee pressed into the back of his neck.

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Kasumi leaned over to Dr. Tofu.  "That certainly is an interesting interpretation of Swan Lake, don't you think?  It's so different from the original work."  She smiled at her date.  "I wonder how long it took them to set the choreography."

As the dancers answered the curtain call, Dr. Tofu clapped and nodded his head at Kasumi.  "And to think she's out there performing so soon after giving birth!" he responded in admiration, pointing to Sesshomaru.

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"Koga!  Take care of Naraku!  I have to find my brother!" Sesshomaru yelled at his partner as he ran from the stage.

Naraku was moaning something about police brutality and a lawsuit.  Koga knelt down next to the handcuffed man lying on the stage and grabbed his hair, yanking his head up so Naraku could see him.

"Don't worry, Naraku," Koga grinned wickedly.  "I'm not going to lay a finger on you."

"Really?" Naraku looked up hopefully.

"Really."  Koga gestured with his thumb towards the three women standing behind him.  Kagome, Sango and Kagura were glaring at Naraku and cracking their knuckles in anticipation.  "I'm going to let them take care of you."

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A/N:  Naraku and Jakotsu have been captured, but what about Vicious Dragon?  And poor Inu-Yasha?  And who will be crowned the winner of the Greater Honolulu 'Man I Feel Like A Woman' Pageant?

*Lavender is biting her nails with worry…oh wait, she already knows what's going to happen…never mind…*