In Time, Death

By Alesyira

Summary: Meanwhile, Hiei had something he actually needed to do, like investigating odd rumors and catching up with a meddling friend.


Elsewhere

When Kagome vanished down the well into the beckoning flicker of light, Shippo said one thing that made a chill run down the back of Hiei's neck. ‟I never thought I'd see her leave like this again." The fox had suffered her absence for five long centuries. How mad must he be to risk letting her go again?

Shippo tilted his head and peered at him with a tiny smirk. ‟You really have some task to do or are you just trying to escape my clutches?"

‟Do you actually want me to stay without her around to act as a buffer for your irritating behavior?" He fingered the hilt of his sword in contemplation. The fox could probably survive the loss of an arm until she returned to help him reattach it.

He shrugged with a knowing smile. ‟Your choice. She might not be gone very long if the only thing she's gotta do is give that guy some energy."

Hiei tilted his head, staring down at the well in consideration. When Koenma had tried to feign ignorance in Reikai, he'd seen enough mysterious images in the demigod's thoughts to know that Kagome had more than a few things to accomplish before she came back again. Seeing her leave this morning had rung a very familiar bell, and those odd memories had started to come together to form a picture spanning the centuries.

He turned to leave. He'd return soon enough. Shippo caught his sleeve and he turned back to glare at the fox and his annoyingly massive grin. ‟I promised her I'd kiss you goodbye. You gonna make a liar out of me?"

Hiei ground his teeth together and flicked his gaze down to the kitsune's lips. He should bite him to teach him a lesson that one should never joke about kissing, but then again, he'd probably enjoy it. He ripped his sleeve free and vanished from sight, heading away from the vexing fox and his irritating laughter.

He didn't make it far enough to miss the teasing voice that shouted across the courtyard. ‟I get it, you wanted me to make the first move! Next time ~!"


He'd been in the mortal realm for barely a week, so he was somewhat surprised to discover that the previous rumors floating around Makai about a ghostly miko had been replaced with entirely new ones about some crazy death cult. A messenger dropped off a fresh stack of reports for Mukuro to peruse as Hiei stared out the window, monitoring a training session in progress dozens of feet below.

‟Why do these new rumors concern us?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

‟Three people have been kidnapped. We aren't sure yet if this is going to require a direct intervention, but we're monitoring for changes."

‟And the kidnapped people, have they been rescued?"

‟Yes, but shortly after they were returned to their homes, they began exhibiting strange symptoms of an undocumented illness. One attempted to kill a family member and couldn't remember doing anything later when questioned about it. They were all sent to a medical facility for observation."

‟Does this require my presence?"

Mukuro turned her gaze toward the lands beyond the great window. Hiei's wandering attention hadn't escaped her notice, and she was amused that he'd found something to fixate on other than his wayward sister. ‟No. Things are not so dire that your presence or absence will make any difference. We know how to reach you. Enjoy the peace while it lasts."

Ominous. Perhaps he should look into this death cult before he returned to the mortal realm. ‟I have some time. I will make inquiries before I leave again."

‟Suit yourself," she murmured with a grin.

The death cult turned out to be nothing more than small groups of idiots wearing cheap black cloaks, gathering around fires and speaking in animated whispers about some god that had vanished hundreds of years ago but was—for sure this timedestined to return for the solar eclipse to retake his rightful throne.

He rolled his eyes. He'd heard a dozen of these 'return to power' myths before. If they weren't complete bullshit, then they were usually about a weakling that had fallen from grace and needed either some ridiculous magical item stolen from a mysterious forgotten treasure vault or thousands of followers doing something moronic (or both) to have a chance of regaining even a fraction of whatever they'd lost.

One of the groups he found had an odd detail that stood out, perhaps worth further examination. Most of this group's members seemed to gravitate toward a few that had similarly unique appearances. Magical creatures inherently had features in a wide variety of colors like a living rainbow, but something about these few seemed strangely amiss: they were leeched of all color, like corpses warmed over.

He'd seen grey youkai before, but something about this was unnatural.

He took note of the group's current location and where they planned on heading next before returning to Mukuro with the information he'd collected. She assigned spies to follow the group and promised to send word if something changed, but she agreed it was probably nothing.

So far.

The last thing he did before he left was dig his gods-forsaken communicator out of the trunk at the foot of his bed where he'd stuffed it some weeks beforehand.

He stared down at the battered, tarnished device. Kagome now had one of these. What had once been an object of endless annoyance was now an object of slight (very very slight) curiosity. And as he thought of the strange girl, he realized that she was also in possession of a ridiculous magical item that could potentially become a target for the moronic death cult followers.

No one was around to hear his deep sigh of resignation.

If he was overreacting about something that didn't end up being a thing, great. Otherwise, he looked forward to bloodying his blade while putting an end to another idiotic myth.


He wasn't sure why, but once he'd returned to the mortal realm, the first person he thought of seeing was Kurama. He landed lightly on the wide balcony outside of Kurama's living room and pushed open the sliding door without knocking. Kurama sat at a narrow kitchen table, his pencil flying across a binder of notes as he twisted a blood red leaf between his fingers.

Hiei almost didn't notice the bright blue curl of a young vine creeping toward his shoulder from one of the shelves by the window. He jerked out of its reach, hissing at his friend in shock. ‟What the fuck possessed you to bring one of those home?"

The kitsune chuckled lowly. ‟It likes me and wanted to stay with someone who would cherish it."

Hiei glared, briefly contemplating how long it would take to burn down this apartment.

Whatever. The kitsune and his strange obsessions were not his responsibility to monitor or correct.

He strode over to the table and slid into an empty seat. ‟What does this thing do?" He waved his beaten-up communicator under Kurama's nose.

‟It communicates," he replied with a bland expression.

‟And?"

‟…And what else are you hoping for?"

‟Can it be used to track someone else that has one?" Hiei wasn't sure how many of these little devices existed, but if Kagome continued to carry hers and could be found easily, it might prove to be problematic.

Kurama frowned. ‟Only the Reikai has that kind of capability."

‟And how do you call someone with it?"

Kurama stared in bewilderment. Hiei, wanting to contact someone? Narrowing his eyes, he said, ‟If their name is in the directory, you just tell the communicator to call the person in question."

Hiei turned the battered metal over in his hands, looking thoughtful before he tucked it away inside one of his pockets.

‟I'm guessing you didn't have it on you a few days ago," he mentioned offhandedly.

Hiei shrugged. ‟I had it put away."

‟Reikai sent out an alert about the upcoming solar eclipse."

‟I'm not surprised. There are some idiots running around in Makai gossiping about the eclipse and how it relates to one of those return to power myths."

‟I suppose we'll be called if anything comes of it." Kurama leaned back in his chair, feigning boredom as he twirled his pencil between his fingertips. ‟It's a shame I couldn't reach you to join us for lunch."

‟Lunch." Hiei glanced at him with a look of disgust.

‟Yes, the delightful meal that many humans take around midday. The girl we rescued called me to arrange our date."

Hiei quirked an unimpressed brow.

Kurama blinked lazily, leaning forward to prop his chin on his palm. ‟It's unfortunate that my little cousin insisted on tagging along. I could tell her thoughts lingered on how exciting it was to kiss me."

A very small muscle in Hiei's jaw twitched.

Kurama's gaze flicked over his friend's face with a slowly spreading smile. ‟If you're feeling such a strong need for attention that you'd chase after a human girl you've only just met, you know my door is always open."

‟Are you so starved for sex that you have to resort to asking me?" Hiei replied with a glare.

Kurama traced the tip of his thumb along his lip and leaned back with a nonchalant shrug. ‟Taking the edge off might help improve rational thinking when it comes to your fruitless chase." He tilted his head back to expose the long line of his throat and brushed his fingers through his hair, fanning the bright red locks. A rush of rose petal sweetness filled the air. ‟You behave as though you don't enjoy it."

Hiei had perfected the appearance of boredom.

Kurama sat up with sudden interest. ‟Maybe we can ask Reikai to find her for us, then?" He slid his fingers into a pocket and withdrew his own communicator. ‟Or even..." He eyed his friend with a hint of mischief glittering in his eyes. ‟Call Kagome."

Hiei jerked upright so quickly that he nearly fell from his chair, and he didn't disguise his curiosity as he leaned over to peer into the tiny screen at who answered the call.

A fuzzy green person tilted their head in surprise at the two youkai. Kurama had met this one some time ago and vaguely recalled his name. ‟Ah, hello, Gregory-san."

"Oh! Kurama-san... and Hiei-san! Sorry about the delay on Kagome-sama's device. I should have it back to her in the next day or two."

Hiei remained silent as Kurama nodded thoughtfully. It made sense that Reikai might have needed to make adjustments to such a new device.

"Please extend my apologies and deepest thanks."

Kurama stilled, a polite smile plastered to his face. "Of course." The technician wouldn't have asked them to apologize on his behalf unless he knew that one of them knew where to find the girl in question and would likely be seeing her soon.

The brief call disconnected and Hiei was torn between leaving immediately and revealing his hand, or staying to see if Kurama had already known more than he'd previously let on.

Kurama didn't even try to play coy. "So, you found her. Has my cousin been behaving, or has he been trying—and failing—to scare you away from his human?"

It was briefly tempting to rub his progress in the kitsune's face, but he held his secrets close. He enjoyed being in the girl's presence and wanted to see where it might lead, but he didn't want to turn gaining her attentions into a point of competition between them.

Shippo is a pain in the ass," Hiei muttered.

Kurama couldn't stop the smile that spread across his lips, and he brushed his hand across his mouth in a poor attempt to disguise his amusement. ‟Do you mean that figuratively or literally?"

‟What is it with all of you kitsune immediately jumping to whatever conclusion that has the best chance to end up discussing or participating in sex?"

Kurama watched his friend closely, quietly reveling in Hiei's growing discomfort. Oh, to be the focus of another flirting soul. He needed to get out more. The local girls were falling over themselves to tempt him into bed. If we settle for a local girl, though, they break really easily. Hiei, on the other hand, does not.

Hiei stood, eying his friend warily. He knew him too well.

Kurama couldn't help a bit of a pout. ‟Are you sure you don't want to stay for just a few hours?"

‟Not today," he said, walking back toward the balcony doors.

Kurama hummed in disappointment, calling back the vine he'd nudged in his direction. Bondage on another day, then.

He let his friend leave without further comment. His focus completely destroyed for the rest of the evening, he quietly put his work away before he slid out onto the balcony to do a little bit of healthy tracking.


Hiei leapt across three rooftops, heading in no particular direction. It was entirely possible that Kurama might decide to follow him, and he didn't want to give away his intended destination too easily. His lips quirked in amusement. Shippo and Kagome's barrier around the shrine might cause a bit of discomfort to someone that hadn't yet been welcomed on the family property, and he wondered what it might do to his curious friend.

Hiei frowned and dropped into a darkening alley, his nose wrinkling at the odors that assaulted his senses. If the technician had borrowed her device long enough ago to consider its return delayed… she must have been back for days by now. His gaze turned west where the shrine and its occupants awaited his return. He wondered briefly how much trouble she'd managed to get herself into while accomplishing her goals in the past.

Koenma's flighty thoughts had been a mess as he'd mentally scrambled to avoid giving away too many details to the girl who apparently knew nothing about her upcoming trips. No spoilers. What strange nonsense. He strolled into the next reeking alleyway alongside a bar that had just started admitting its evening patrons, a cruel smirk curling his lips as he thought about the trouble Kurama might have tracking him through these awful smells.

He leapt upwards and landed quietly in another three alleys before jumping a fence bordering an empty park. It was a shame that there would be no rain tonight. Hiei perched in silence on a wide branch, watching the sun as it drifted lower over the horizon.

He sighed and shook his head, starting his lengthy roundabout approach to the shrine. If Kurama really stuck out a tracking effort long enough to follow him all the way there, he'd deserve a fucking award.


Author's Note: shoutout to DD for pointing out a weird sentence in the last chap. I SUPER DUPER appreciate any callouts like that. It's terribly exhausting to locate all my own author mistakes and it's guaranteed I will miss some. I've marked it for consideration on how I can better word it!