In Time, Death
By Alesyira
Summary: All the best things eventually fall to pieces.
Too Good To Last
When Shippo had stripped (and Hiei had most definitely not been watching) he'd removed not only his sodden clothes but also the charm he kept tucked away in one of his pockets. He'd poked around in the kitsune's head as the others slept, forming a more complete picture of the mess he'd stumbled into upon his return.
He saw their failed efforts to help Kagome understand and overcome her newly discovered weakness. A literal madness.
He puzzled over their skewed approach and was not terribly surprised that they'd failed to reach any useful conclusions.
She claimed to be more aware during their sessions if she kept her defenses up before the attack, but from Shippo's perspective, her reactions had been getting markedly worse with each new attempt.
The kitsune had found himself torn, tempted to indulge by giving in to her surprisingly creative demands, yet held back by the deep-rooted sense of honor and respect he'd built up for this girl.
He froze as he found the moment when she'd overwhelmed Shippo with her magic. The physical response to that had been a lust so deep that Hiei was profoundly thankful she was fast asleep, because his reaction was immediate and very real. He swallowed, took a calming breath and pulled himself together.
He was impressed Shippo had managed to stop himself. Perhaps running away had been his best course of action.
The stories she'd relayed over their last few days seemed stilted, shortened, missing vital clues and great chunks of content. She hadn't mentioned any dealings with the shady little ruler of Reikai, Koenma, not to mention his proclivity to kiss first and ask questions later. Hiei was certain that she'd experienced at least one of those episodes he'd witnessed in Koenma's memories.
And that mysterious little bastard in the desert? He narrowed his eyes in contemplation, examining the extent of her wound through Shippo's memories. He slid careful fingers to the blanket over her shoulder and tugged it down to peer at the still-healing marks. It was very peculiar that the two tiny cuts had bled so much.
She had given the device, her vesper, to that odd little technician, Greg, some days prior. Hiei had little care for advances in technology, but whatever more they learned about what she might be able (or required) to do seemed ominous. How many times would she be called away to help with some ancient bit of history? He tugged the blanket back up over her neck and pursed his lips in contemplation. Perhaps he could see to it that the device met an untimely end. The Reikai's little toys tended to be woefully fragile.
He rested, caught somewhere between peaceful reverie and the oblivion of sleep. His two charges, the depressed little fox and the unsure little priestess, slept soundly nestled against him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so relaxed.
The early morning hours passed faster than they should have, and he startled into awareness when she stirred under his arm, curling into his body with the familiarity of a hundred nights together. She knew nothing more than the warmth and comfort around her. He realized a bare, muscular arm had draped over his shoulder at some point during the night, and sharp claws rested dangerously against the pale skin of Kagome's throat.
A single twitch could destroy her neck and kill her within moments. He stared down at Shippo's hand in lethargic disbelief. Not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined such a juxtaposition of danger with safety. Still mostly asleep as she curled closer, she absently hummed as those claws slid over her skin, like she enjoyed it.
He sucked in a sharp breath as she nuzzled her head under his chin and pressed herself closer, her arm creeping over his side. The warmth at his back shifted with a quiet hum, and he felt the fox bury his nose in his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to believe this moment could last.
Nothing was required other than togetherness.
No sign of danger, no underhanded dealings, no hidden motives.
Just this idyllic tranquility.
He'd witnessed enough shit to understand that anything too good to be true was either fake or one of life's cruel jokes before everything fell apart. With a tiny sigh of resignation, he dared to hope this would be an exception to the rule.
He was on the verge of dozing off again when something in her demeanor changed. She froze in his arms with a short intake of air. Perhaps she'd just realized who she was curled up against.
It wouldn't do for her to fret about his presence in her bed. They'd done nothing to be ashamed of and she was safe.
He pulled warm fingers down her back, mimicking an action he'd seen Yusuke do to his girlfriend. It had seemed to put Keiko at ease. Maybe it was a girl thing.
A tiny sound of pleasure escaped her throat as she relaxed under the touch and eventually fell back asleep.
He hadn't intended to sleep, but the next time he awoke, he realized he'd been mistaken in thinking he'd be able to resist the draw of so much comfort. He blinked in the silence, listening to the breaths of the others around him with quiet contemplation.
They would have much to do that day, but first, he'd need to find out why the idea of this new weakness was so terrifying that Shippo insisted on finding a remedy as soon as possible. Surely there was some aspect one or the other had blown a little bit out of proportion.
Kagome stirred slightly as she woke and he felt Shippo sigh at his back. He was pretty certain no one wanted to get up just yet. Fingers twitched at his waist, and he realized the fox had settled his hand there like it belonged. Removing the limb required more effort than he was willing to expend, so he ignored it. For now.
Kagome, however, discovered Shippo's fingers and could not ignore it as she sat up in sleepy disbelief. He frowned a little as half of the warmth surrounding him pulled away and fell off the bed with a muffled thump.
He frowned harder when Shippo put all of his weight against him to lean over the bed and joke at her.
He scowled and ground his teeth together, contemplating the fastest way to get the irritating male off of him without his weapon in reach. I can set the bed on fire, or… He blinked at the pale skin of his long torso and the waistband of soft pants riding low over his hips, then decisively reached out and pinched the edge of one cheek through the soft fabric.
Shippo squeaked like a mouse and jerked violently in response, falling off the bed in a haphazard pile beside Kagome.
"He pinched me!" he accused, staring as Hiei pulled the extra pillow to his face.
He hid from the sun, relaxing into the bedding with a quiet sigh.
Some time after the others went downstairs to greet her family for the day and eat breakfast, he sat up and stared around the room. Within a few moments of cutting her loose the night before, she'd managed to throw herself against him with enough force to leave a crack in her closet door.
Shippo had complained more than once that she didn't have enough room on her bed, but there was very little space to maneuver in her bedroom at all.
He eavesdropped in curiosity as they joked at the kitchen table. The mother would be gone much of the day, and wished her daughter safe travels if she needed to leave again unexpectedly. Aiko was a strange human mother.
He'd spent countless hours ignoring humans while lounging on empty rooftops or in the concealing branches of trees. Despite all that practice, he couldn't tune out every voice, every thought, every shouted warning from humans fretting over their children's safety while doing mundane things like crossing a street or talking to strangers.
And here was this odd woman, Aiko, sending her daughter off into places unknown to face enemies beyond her wildest nightmares. The only other humans he'd seen walk into dangers like these had parents that knew nothing about their lifestyles or cared little about their wellbeing.
He'd seen into her mind. She understood there were real dangers, but movie monsters and villains from horror movies were too cookie-cutter, black and white, good versus evil. She might have been less inclined to believe good would always prevail if she'd seen a fraction of what her daughter had struggled against.
He listened as her thoughts sang through a tiny prayer for her children to find happiness and good fortune. Simple wishes for a family so very far from simple.
The front door opened and closed as the brother left for school, followed shortly by the mother for her day of tasks. The eccentric grandfather muttered happily about ancient texts describing a ceremony to honor the sun as he shuffled around outside. A large crash accompanied his rummaging through old materials, but he cackled in delight instead of shouting in dismay, so Hiei didn't feel compelled to race to his aid.
The others were silent as they made their way back upstairs and stepped into the room.
Hiei took a deep breath and crossed his legs in a meditative pose. ‟I understand there is a problem."
The two exchanged a quick glance.
‟Shippo left his charm on the windowsill with his pants. I have most of the details he had already discovered or considered. Do you have anything you wish to add?" He opened his eyes to look intently at Kagome.
She squirmed in mild discomfort. She almost felt like she was being scolded by a parent.
He turned his attention to the sulking fox. Hiei could see him contemplating fetching his jeans from the windowsill to shut him out of his thoughts, but Hiei had placed himself directly in his path for that exact reason. He wanted no one hiding from this conversation. ‟You should have waited. Three days would have not made any noticeable difference." He paused and briefly glanced at Kagome. ‟Except that last night would not have occurred."
She flushed pink and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
‟Why would you rush to find a solution when your resources were so woefully limited?"
‟You saw what she was like. It's bad."
‟But under normal circumstances, such a thing might never come to pass."
Shippo scoffed. ‟Normal circumstances do not describe Kagome's life. She attracts trouble like I attract women." Kagome rolled her eyes and tugged him by the ear to sit with her across from Hiei.
He stared at the fox in quiet contemplation, watching as he shifted uneasily under the weight of that gaze. ‟Based on your previous attempts and what I picked up in her mind, I feel a change is in order."
They both looked at him with a desperate kind of hope that made him a little worried. He understood how maddening the experience was for Shippo, but did the struggle affect her so badly as well? ‟Our current goal is to find out what's wrong and fix it. If we cannot fix it, then we must find a way to control it."
‟Well, duh," Shippo muttered quietly, planting his chin on his palm with a scowl.
‟And what have you discovered about its cause?" Hiei asked, expectantly.
Shippo paused and looked a little embarrassed. ‟Nuthin," he grumbled with a pout.
‟Well," Kagome interjected, hoping to help him save a little bit of dignity. ‟We know for sure his suggestion magic does it. We suspect it might be more generic than that, but we haven't been able to check with any other type of magic. And we haven't been able to figure out why."
‟If your troubles have been solely due to experiences with them," he nodded at Shippo with a scowl, "then why not just purify the tail off the next one that dares come within ten feet of you?"
She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm too trusting," she admitted. "And kitsune are sneaky," she added on with a slightly accusing look.
Shippo nodded sagely. "Both are true."
"You seem to know much about it already, but one of my trips to the past I met two kitsune. A…" she paused. "A brother and sister, I think. The brother was the one that bit me. It was a small wound, but it bled for days. I couldn't get it to clot."
Shippo leaned back. "I had to use some magic to nudge it along. It was how we figured out that even the scary kind of suggestions can set her off, and not just the ones that are intentionally trying to get her into bed."
Hiei reached out and brushed his thumb along the slowly healing mark on her neck. "That is a very tender place to have someone's teeth," he commented. "Based on your state of mind last night, I can see how such a thing came to pass."
Kagome felt like she would be permanently pink.
Hiei did a quick tally of the magics both he and Shippo had at their disposal to test against her, and again eyed the woefully small size of her room.
‟I believe restraints were wise, given the lack of resources at hand, but moving forward it will be a poor choice. The experience of being trapped agitates the mind. Instead of fighting against everything, perhaps she should be fighting only against the haze that causes the loss of control."
Kagome tilted her head in thought. "Much of our struggle the last few days has been trying to not go overboard while working on exposure to the magic that's causing me such trouble. You're suggesting to just run with it?"
Shippo balked. Would Hiei be able to stop her from going too far? Would he want to?
Hiei narrowed his eyes at the fox that dared to second-guess his motives. *Unlike some people around here, she hasn't openly flaunted a burning desire to get in anyone's pants, so no, I won't let her make a fool of herself.*
Hiei turned his attention back to her. "With the two of us present to deflect you, I see no problem with it. It eventually worked well enough last night."
She looked away as Shippo shifted in discomfort.
He looked at Shippo from the corner of his eyes. "I can see a problem with you, however."
Shippo scowled, glaring down at his fists.
"If you're not going to tell her, I will. Your problem needs to be out in the open, now, if we're going to help her get over her problem."
Shippo growled in frustration and rubbed his hands down his face as he tucked his knees to his chest. He sighed and rolled his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Fine." He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his forehead briefly as he took a deep breath. "Miko magic turns me on."
Silence.
He dared to peek at her.
She was staring at him in disbelief with her mouth hanging open.
"Oh geez," he muttered, reaching over to push her jaw closed. "It's not that shocking. Look at it this way, now that you know the truth, you can feel free to just go all-out during combat practice. It doesn't hurt me. Just makes me uncomfortable." He cleared his throat and turned his face away, his cheeks pink. "That's why I ran last night. You played dirty and hit below the belt. I couldn't defend against that kind of attack and I…"
He looked down at his fingers, watching as they clenched into a tight fist. "It's really hard to fight against the drive to touch and play when every instinct, every sound, every scent is telling me it's what you want, and I know it's not what you really want. I'm sorry, Kagome."
She cleared her throat, turning scarlet at the idea that crossed her mind. "Um, maybe we can work on both issues, then."
Shippo laughed, his voice sounding harsh in the small room. "Now I'm convinced you lost your mind while out on your time adventures without me."
She stared down at her hands. "If you think exposure and learning how to control my reactions to whatever this thing is will help me, wouldn't the same work for you?"
He whined as he curled in on himself. "I can't do that," he whispered. His gaze flicked up to hers for the briefest amount of time. "Not to you."
Hiei glanced at Kagome, weighing her concern for her friend. "Shippo, if you are uncomfortable allowing her to use her magic in your presence to fight back against the haze, then I can contact Kurama to take your place."
Shippo flinched like he'd been slapped. He opened his eyes to protest and saw Kagome quietly shaking her head at Hiei in refusal. It cemented his resolve. Until she could accept Kurama's presence without being worried or cautious of his intentions, he couldn't allow him such an intimate place in her life.
But opening himself up to this torture…
He squeezed his eyes shut. They knew not what they asked of him. How far could he stretch his willpower before he snapped and did something they'd all regret?
She didn't want that. She didn't deserve it.
And surely she didn't want him to suffer needlessly.
A warm hand settled over his own. *You aren't alone.* Hiei leaned forward into Shippo's space and said aloud for them both to hear, "I will help."
Shippo's eyes popped open at the closeness of his voice. He stared down into the younger male's eyes, transfixed by the odd slivers of pale grey creeping into the normal glowing red.
Shippo tilted his head in concern at the strange sight. "Are you alright?"
Hiei smiled. "Yes."
Kagome and Shippo exchanged a worried glance, both thinking the same thing: What the hell?
Author's Note: Hiei smiling? v. ominous. Either someone's about to die or something's very wrong.
Also: Sorry about the delay. This chapter and the next ones that come after it are extra tricky. I'll be taking my time working through them until they feel right :) But, if you're enjoying what's going on, leaving a note to say so really really makes my entire day.
