In Time, Death

By Alesyira

Summary: Shippo was right; things did look different by the light of morning, although Kagome wouldn't be certain if it was for better or worse until much later. Or the one where new details come to light, and a surprise visit leads to a hasty retreat.

Author's Note: This chapter has been in pieces and in progress for many months. Sorry about the delay in updates lately. Creative slump had me down. Xbox lifted me up.

the messenger

The sun crept slowly closer to the horizon, banishing the deep darkness where quiet thoughts roamed free, unruffled by the normal interruptions of daylight hours (like human sensibilities). He knew the others wouldn't sleep forever, but he savored whatever remained of his time in peaceful contemplation of the scents curling through his home away from home. After thinking so long about the path his life had taken, he was certain he wanted things to go back to normal, the way things had been before this strange insanity of struggling against Kagome's weird magic began to plague their lives.

He stretched across Kagome to gently touch his fingers to the skin of Hiei's temple, careful to not disturb his broken rest as he compared the surface temperature against what he'd felt over the last few hours. It had swung wildly from hot to cold and back again, and he hated not knowing whether this was normal for him. He'd known enough elementals to understand that if something went wrong and Hiei lost control, his temperature could quickly reach dangerous levels that might harm others in his vicinity (like the girl sleeping inches away from him).

One lid cracked open to reveal a crimson eye streaked with even more grey. The iris flexed wide in the low light as he focused on Shippo's withdrawing hand.

Hiei wasn't sure how he'd ended up on a futon curled under a blanket, his side tucked against Kagome. The last thing he could remember was sitting beside her with their fingers twined as she'd asked about the dragon.

Odd snippets of dreams from the night lingered at the edge of his memories. Someone unfamiliar spoke foreign words, crowds of strangers gathered together, and excitement thrummed as some great glory approached from a vast distance.

He didn't often dream. Strange. Perhaps it had been a premonition of some sort? Stray thoughts or memories picked up from someone nearby?

He heard a tiny tap-tap against the glass nearby. As he recognized the tingle of its magic, he closed his eyes and relaxed against the pillow, intent on ignoring the disturbance as he curled the fingers of one hand into the warm fabric along Kagome's torso. He felt a little weird, chilled, like he'd lost some of his signature heat. He pulled his face deeper into the covers in a futile attempt to compensate by absorbing some extra warmth from the girl at his side. The messenger could wait until he was damned well ready.

Shippo lazily rolled onto his back and arched in a ridiculous stretch before he tipped his head back to squint upside down at the tiny black bird peering in at them. It hopped from side to side, quirking its head inquisitively as it studied him. Tap-tap, it pecked insistently at the glass. Kagome, missing the warmth at her back, rolled closer to Hiei and slid an arm around him with a quiet, sleepy murmur.

Curious about their odd little visitor, Shippo rolled to his feet and opened the door. The bird hopped past his foot and fluttered the last few feet to quietly perch on Hiei's face.

Shippo's eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs at the daring behavior.

"Is that paper?" he asked, peering down at the tiny creature that had decided to groom Hiei's hair with its beak.

Hiei's eyes cracked open to glare at the messenger bird. He slowly reached up and plucked it from his face, flicking his fingers to release the magic that held the bird together. The creased paper popped open to reveal several lines of neat script. His gaze skimmed the text twice and Shippo heard a very clear sigh.

From this angle, the language was almost recognizable, but the sentence structure was some style of code that he'd need a few minutes to decipher. His curiosity piqued, he bit his lip and refused to contemplate the dozen methods he could employ to get a longer look. Hiei might be able to pluck his secrets right out of his skull, but he'd be damned if he started being extra nosey just to get on similar informational footing.

With a hand rubbing the back of his neck, he turned his gaze to the brightening horizon. "Geez, if that bird could find you here, aren't you worried that just anyone could be barging in at any moment?"

Hiei rolled onto his side to face Kagome, her relaxed arm curling across his hip as he slid further into her space. *The few messengers entrusted with those birds understand that to follow one to my location is to invite a quick death.*

Shippo snorted and pushed the door shut before walking quietly to the sink, intent on washing the clothes from the night before. All was silent for a few minutes as he scrubbed gently at food stains.

*How long have I been asleep?*

"Ten hours. Had a nightmare or something around midnight."

Hiei hummed quietly, very much awake now as he rolled the contents of the note around in his thoughts. Knowing that Reikai had somehow gotten involved with the troubles in Makai gave him reason to pause. The bigger this issue seemed to get, the more he began to suspect that something greater was at play behind the scenes. What were they missing?

He was so deep in his thoughts that he only barely registered when Shippo asked his next question. "Your temperature has been all over the place. Is that normal for you?"

Hiei didn't bother to reply.

for better or worse

She could tell it was still early, but someone was up and being very careful to not make much noise. The quiet splashing and gentle clicks of buttons in the sink was a dead giveaway that Shippo was probably making good on his promise from the night before. Her arm was draped over the person curled into her side, but when she cracked an eye open to peek, all she could see was black.

She blinked twice and pulled back a little, realizing her vision had been obscured by soft black hair. He'd tucked his head under her chin, and his dangerous-looking spike fluffs caressed her face, inviting her to curl right back into her previous spot.

His voice slipped into her thoughts like they'd been there all along, and the sound of it lulled her further into relaxation.

*Your fox stands watch to guard you from dreams, does he not?*

She hummed in agreement, curling her cool fingers into the fabric beneath her hand.

There was a long moment of silence before he continued. *Are all of your dreams bad?*

She paused, considering her answer as she fought to stay awake. A yawn crept over her and she stretched a little, loathe to move more than an inch.

"Not all of them," she whispered. "But they've been a little intense since I came back from Makai." But Hiei probably knew much of that already, so his question seemed less like new information for him and more like an invitation to discuss something else. Her sleepiness vanished as the potential to learn more about him became apparent.

"Do you dream?" Her voice was the barest of whispers. He was quiet for a while, and she assumed he hadn't meant to open the floor for discussion.

*No.*

She couldn't help but wilt a little. However, being curled around the quiet elemental in the early morning hours made it hard to feel disappointed for very long. He was a lean, compact package of deadly potential, but she felt completely at ease like this, curled around him like she was his shield from the things that went bump in the night.

*It is very rare that I have visions while I rest,* he clarified after a moment. *I did last night, and I think your fox may have guarded me as well.*

She smiled at the thought that he'd been watching out for them both. "Was it a nightmare?"

His shoulder rolled slightly. *There were many people that I did not recognize. I felt drawn to a presence, something nearby but also very far away. It made little sense.*

"They rarely do… like that one where I was running away from a rabid beast attempting to devour a bowl of ramen that had been superglued to my hair. Shippo guessed it was a representation of Inuyasha's endless hunger for modern packaged foods."

She felt him twitch beneath her arm, a silent flinch of muscles and exhalation of breath that was either a suppressed laugh or a mental facepalm.

A few minutes passed in relative silence. As she shifted, her nose brushed a soft clump of his hair, and she repressed the urge to bury her face against his head like an affectionate cat. Her breath left her in a soft sigh of resignation. Maybe cuddling and sleeping with someone she'd only known a handful of weeks was moving a bit too quickly. "Most of the people I know would consider this sleeping arrangement to be a little weird."

*Humans sleep together.*

"Do you?" There was a long pause before he pulled back to blink up at her. She was briefly transfixed by the rapidly diminishing crimson of his eyes, and then she noticed how cold he felt beneath her fingertips. She tugged the blanket around them both more firmly. He hadn't answered, so she clarified. "You know, sleep? With anyone?"

His only reply was a slow blink.

She bit her lip and looked away with a light blush. "Like this. Not in the intimate sense."

His gaze flicked over her shoulder to the kitsune at the sink. He'd been eavesdropping, but his thoughts bounced between what they were talking about and bits of what seemed like nonsense. A long string of numbers, indecision, and such a strong curiosity about mismatched mysteries that reading his mind felt vaguely like drowning in congealed blood. He pulled free from the other male's thoughts and gave himself a mental shake to refocus on her features.

Shippo flicked the water from his fingers and slipped out the balcony door with a small pile of damp clothes tossed over his arm.

Hiei's attention slid from her eyes to the light dusting of freckles across her nose. A little scar graced her cheek, and a lock of hair curled along the edge of her mouth. He licked his lips and answered quietly, "Trust is hard to come by."

She warmed at the sound of his voice.

"I'm glad you can trust someone," she whispered.

Hiei hummed and slid his fingers over her cheek to push the hair from her face.

Her lips curled into a smile as she leaned forward to brush her mouth against his.

something's wrong

Shippo efficiently pinned the damp laundry to a drying line and glanced once over his shoulder at the two still lounging on the bedding. She'd likely keep him very occupied for the next few minutes, which was about how much time he'd need without interruptions.

Sliding the door closed behind him, he pulled his phone from a pocket.

An irritatingly polite voice answered after two rings. ‟Hello?"

Shippo walked quietly to the far corner of the balcony. ‟We need to talk."

Silence met his demand.

‟It's about your friend."

The silence stretched longer, and Shippo swore he heard lips curling into a wide smirk.

‟Is he still turning down your advances? You might need to try harder, little cousin."

Shippo rolled his eyes. ‟It's nothing like that. I think he's broken."

There was a short, dismissive sound. ‟He was just fine when I saw him less than two days ago."

Shippo chewed his lip, thinking hard about how much to reveal. ‟We didn't notice anything was weird until yesterday." More silence. ‟Hiei's eyes ever change color? Or his hair?"

‟Not that I'm aware." The response was quick and casual, and didn't sound even the slightest bit concerned.

Shippo clenched his teeth in irritation as he stared up at the early morning sky. He should have known that pulling any answers out of Kurama would be nearly impossible. He wasn't sure why he'd even tried.

‟Why do you think I would know what's wrong with him?"

Shippo pressed his fingertips to the bridge of his nose. His patience was running thin, and he wanted answers before something unexpected happened. He sighed a bit ruefully. ‟You know him well enough to have fucked him, and as much as I know you enjoy your rolls in the hay with pretty things, that doesn't seem like something you'd do with someone that strong without knowing a little bit about their temperaments. Last thing I'd want to do is intimately connect with someone who thinks I'd make a better trophy on the wall than a notch on the bedpost."

Kurama's response was cool and unruffled. ‟And what makes you think I've done such a thing?"

Shippo choked on a laugh. He had spent a fair number of his adult years with his cousin, and neither were strangers to sharing more details than were absolutely necessary when it came to mischief and adventures both in and out of the bedroom.

He peeked over his shoulder to make sure the other two were still paying attention to each other and not what he was about to reveal, and then threw all caution to the wind. ‟Hiei replayed the whole damned memory in Kagome's head. I've never seen anyone orgasm so hard while just holding hands."

Judging by the sudden crunch of metal and glass, Shippo guessed the phone had been dropped. He smirked at the tiny muffled curse as Kurama scrambled to collect his device and maintain his composure.

‟So. He's behaving out of character and sharing intimate details with someone he met only a few weeks ago. And you know this how? Are you spying on them?"

‟He's doing this shit in front of me. I don't know what's wrong with him. He lost his temper yesterday and bit the shit out of my arm." Shippo threaded his free hand through his hair. ‟His temperature is all over the place and there have been some other strange occurrences. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like it. I just don't want to get any nasty surprises like he's a week away from some stupid youkai thing I've never heard of that'll put her life in danger. I need to know if this is something we should be worried about."

He paused, turning his back to the balcony to peer in the window. His voice dropped as he stared at the two on the floor. Kagome had pinned the little fire youkai beneath her and had her head propped up on her palms as she looked down into his face with a smile. ‟Something's wrong with her, too. We haven't been able to figure it out, yet."

‟Oh?" Kurama sounded strangely out of breath.

‟Reikai hasn't been able to figure it out, either. My regular contacts in the community aren't available right now. Something big is on the horizon, and I'm running out of resources."

Kurama didn't bother to hide the smug lilt to his voice. ‟Are you asking for help?"

Shippo rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation. ‟Maybe. I don't know. Maybe you know someone I don't that can help. They're all shutting me out, and I don't know what the fuck's going on right now."

‟Are you no longer at the shrine?"

Shippo paused and glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Kagome's home. ‟What?"

‟Never mind," came his muttered reply a minute later.

Shippo looked down at the street and disconnected the call with a grimace. Kurama strolled along the sidewalk, realized Shippo was no longer on the line, and glanced around. He leaned back against the wall of his apartment balcony, realizing his crafty cousin had somehow managed to track them down. He wasn't going to reach over the edge and wave to draw attention to his exact location, but it wouldn't be much longer.

Well. That went differently than I had expected.

He peeked briefly through the apartment windows before he rushed around the side of the building and sprang easily up the stairs to the roof. He peered over the edge at his meddling cousin with a scowl, contemplating distractions or misdirections. Maybe he should incapacitate him in the middle of the sidewalk and drag him somewhere far, far away.

Kurama's fingers brushed one of the potted trees in front of his apartment complex. He stilled, listening, then peered up the line of windows. ‟Fucking blabbing plants…" he muttered, glaring down at Kurama's polite smile.

Kurama nonchalantly strolled around the building into the alley, then used the fire escape to quickly scale the side of the building.

Shippo was hard pressed to not grab his cousin by the shirt and shake him. He couldn't believe his audacity to just show up. ‟You can't fuckin' stay here," he whispered angrily. ‟I have no idea how you managed to find us, but you can't."

‟Hmm," he replied, running the tip of his thumb along his lip. ‟Is it because this is your territory?" Kurama turned his curious gaze to the empty rooftop and the disaster left behind after Hiei had gone crazy the afternoon before, but Shippo knew he was reaching with his magic to determine what (and who) might be nearby.

Shippo rolled his eyes. ‟No, it's because she doesn't trust you yet, and there's more shit that you don't know about."

‟So, enlighten me," came his easy reply.

‟It's not that simple!"

‟It must be. Hiei is here."

‟Something happened between them. He knows everything already. Hell, he probably knows more than I do. He can pluck everything right outta our heads if we aren't careful."

I'm still not sure if he's a liability.

‟And what would you do, I wonder, if you discovered I am a liability?"

Shippo whirled with a gasp, not expecting the male to be standing right behind him. Hiei stepped into his space and stared up at him with a curious tilt to his head. It felt like the warmth was draining right out of his chest into the shorter male.

Shippo shivered in the sudden chill. ‟Something's wrong with you," he frowned down at him.

Hiei shrugged and glanced at his teammate. ‟The curiosity was just killing you, was it?"

Kurama's gaze flicked over Hiei's appearance with growing alarm. He had heard Shippo's concerns over the phone, but he hadn't realized Hiei had changed so much in such a short amount of time. The unmistakable shift in his coloring made him look strange, but the newly crooked nature of his energy made him feel like a completely different person. He'd need a closer look to be certain what exactly had changed.

‟I admit I was a little curious. I had planned to keep my distance, but," he glanced at Shippo. ‟There were some concerns."

‟Nothing to think about. I feel great. Go away. We have a miko to entertain, and while I'm certain some girls can handle it, three is beyond her capacity at this time." Hiei snagged the collar of Shippo's shirt to drag him toward the stairs.

Shippo shot a surprised look down at the hand gripping his clothes and then stared in bewilderment as Kurama's mouth fell open. He planted his heels and leaned back, his feet scuffing along the cracked and broken tiles as Hiei dragged him away. Shippo grabbed hold of a pipe extending from the roof to temporarily delay being pulled off the edge and choked on a nervous laugh. ‟Whoa whoa, whoa. Um, that's…something I would say. Hiei, what the hell is going on with you?"

Hiei tilted his head, staring with sudden intensity at the floor just beneath them, where Kagome's light raced impossibly fast across the apartment. He released Shippo's shirt and followed her with his eyes, wondering at the strange bounce in her aura between mild panic and surprise. He searched for anyone else nearby, but it was just the three of them on the roof. The entire building was otherwise empty.

She was in the bathroom for the smallest of moments, and then she wasn't.

He froze, staring in disbelief. He shut his eyes and pushed out far with his focus, searching buildings within the closest few miles.

She was gone.

The others forgotten, he flashed back into the apartment and stopped in the doorway of the empty bathroom. The pajamas she'd been wearing just minutes ago were folded in a neat pile on the countertop. There was a small dusting of sand on the floor with a clear imprint of her shoe. Her magic buzzed faintly in the air, fizzling out until the space was cold and devoid entirely of her presence.

Shippo appeared behind him a moment later, cursing loudly. "Damn that fox! This is all his fault, I bet!"

"Surely not," Kurama dismissed with a casual wave of his hand, leaning against the balcony entrance. "I've had little to do with your ridiculous adventures in over a century." His curious green gaze flicked quickly around the apartment, absorbing the little details with thinly veiled interest.

Shippo turned and glared at him over his shoulder. "If you aren't going to be helpful, then go the hell away."

Hiei knelt and pinched some of the sand between his fingertips with a thoughtful expression. "When will she return?"

Shippo slumped against the bathroom wall, looking around at the evidence of her hasty departure. "If she's gone on another mission, maybe an hour. If it's something else, maybe longer." He sighed in irritation before stalking back into the kitchen.

He shouldn't have called Kurama. Would he have had reason to find them so quickly if he'd remained quiet and just tried to figure shit out on his own? He grimaced and rubbed his hand down his face.

*This wasn't your doing. He's been tracking me down since I returned to this realm. I just left him a very annoying path to traverse.*

Man, you really are busted. Why would you lead him here?

Hiei had figured his friend would eventually track down his location. He'd assumed that they'd still be on the shrine grounds, which was the real reason he'd left him any trail to follow. He frowned at the missed opportunity to singe some of those shining silver tails the old kitsune spirit cherished so much. *Call it a test of resolve.*

Well, let's resolve to get him to go away already. He can't be here when she gets back.

Hiei glanced through the doorway at the back of the grumbling male's head. *Keeping her secret is just as important as gathering worthy allies in the face of the unknown.*

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered. "I called him to ask for help." Shippo glared at Kurama as he toed off his shoes at the door and perched on the edge of the couch. "I didn't invite him in, though," he growled.

Kurama hid his brief flash of amusement behind a hand before pushing his hair over a shoulder.

Shippo blew out a sigh and put a tea kettle on the stove. He'd be damned if he didn't try to at least pretend to be a good host. He'd throw out the intruder after getting a few answers and observing the niceties.

"Your arrival has opened a door of possibility," Hiei said. The other two watched as he pulled the messenger's note from his pocket and tossed it in Shippo's direction, who snatched it out of the air with bright interest. Kurama was at his side in a moment, peering over his shoulder at the neat lines of coded script. It took them a few moments to skim through the note's contents.

The group was spotted conspiring with a low-level employee from Reikai who claimed to have obtained the blood of the harbinger. Ritualistic consumption of the blood was observed. The team was authorized to pass along an anonymous tip to Reikai. When the thief was arrested, they made repeated use of a single threat, death is coming. Group's numbers seem to be growing daily. No additional details at this time. Monitoring continues. Reikai may have further information regarding the theft.

Shippo tilted his head in curiosity. "Blood of the harbinger, stolen from Reikai? That sounds both ominous and creepy."

"No doubt another item of power or some half-understood relic they failed to secure properly," Kurama said, touching a hand to his chin.

Hiei leaned against the wall and stared out the balcony windows. ‟There has been some trouble going on very recently in Makai. A strange illness that causes madness." He glanced at Shippo with a frown. ‟One of the afflicted tried to kill their family and had no recollection of it." Hiei nodded at Kurama. "The note talks about a group in Makai. You'll recall me telling you about them going on about the solar eclipse and one of those old power reclamation myths."

Shippo's mouth pressed into a thin line. ‟This is something new? Did anyone get hurt?"

Hiei shook his head. ‟They were stopped in time. We don't have much information, but we have people assigned to follow some leads. I don't know if this is all related." His gaze drifted back to the window. ‟It's terribly coincidental, though."

Shippo pushed away from the stove, ignoring the rattling tea kettle. ‟Maybe it is related. Her magic could have easily killed someone else in my place. And half of what she experienced was like a black void of nothing. No memory of what happened. And then you…"

Hiei cut him off with a scowl. ‟How can these two problems be related at all? Kagome has not come in contact with any of the afflicted in Makai, and she was strange before I returned. I could not have brought the madness to her."

Kurama folded his arms across his chest. "Perhaps these issues, while similar in nature, are unrelated. I will go to Reikai to unravel a few loose threads."

Shippo brightened.

"After I have tea," he amended, watching in amusement as Shippo's expression fell. "One shouldn't waste such effort to host a guest."

Hiei rolled his eyes.

return to sender

One moment she'd been leaning down to brush her nose against the cool cheek inches from her face, and the next, she found herself sprawled on the floor in a tangle of blankets, blinking in confusion at the empty pillow.

Had she done something wrong?

She looked around at the lonely apartment, wondering where either of the others had gone. The kitchen was completely empty, save for a single mug near the edge of the counter. It was a moment before she realized they were both on the roof. She scrambled to her knees and turned her gaze upwards in immediate concern. There was someone else up there, too...with vaguely familiar energy.

She froze in realization. Kurama. Images of his lithe body and wicked grin made her face burn scarlet. 'Oh my gosh, too soon.' She panicked and cast her gaze around the room, blindly searching for the exit. She should leave, right away, because she absolutely did not want to see that male with those memories so fresh in her thoughts.

She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. She would not run away. That was ridiculous, and anyways, if she tried walking out of the building, someone would follow and then she'd have to explain why she'd tried to escape in the first place.

Pacing, she bit her lip and considered her options. She could just think unsexy thoughts. She'd seen pretty males before. Shirtless males! Males in hot springs! This wasn't such a big deal! She pressed her fists to her eye sockets and groaned in misery. She'd fantasized a few times about intimacy with Inuyasha, but she felt like she'd experienced it firsthand with Kurama. She gripped her pajama shirt collar and fanned it roughly, turning panicked eyes to the roof once more.

She swallowed nervously.

If she saw him so soon after that… It might be ridiculously hard to turn down another request for a date or further attempts to gain her favor.

She winced, cursing internally. Hiei had meant to help, but he'd opened a floodgate of confusion about what she wanted.

She needed perspective. And time to think.

Time.

Something nearby played a quiet melody and buzzed against the countertop, and she turned in confusion to see what was demanding attention.

Her vesper.

She threw her hands over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Where the hell had it come from? Greg had been doing studies on it, and the last time someone had needed to get it from her they'd sent someone to pick it up. It shouldn't have just appeared on the table where it most definitely hadn't been a minute before.

She swallowed again and pulled her hands from her face, turning one last glance to the three energy signatures above her as the idea took root. She'd escape for a little while, sure, but she'd just be giving herself time to think about other things.

She'd be back before long.

Her fingers crept beneath her pajama shirt and peeled the seal free. It dissolved into dust as time splintered around her. She frowned for a moment, glancing down at her fingertips. She really needed to show them her broken time.

Later.

She dashed to the counter and plucked the vesper from the table, thumbing through the schedule of upcoming tasks. The year 1517 was highlighted in green with no additional details. She nodded in resolution. They'd been hoping the color coding indicated the difficulty, and she could really go for something easy right now.

She stripped quickly and folded her pajamas, threw on her bodysuit and miko garb, then grimaced at a huge smear of black across the front of the white coat. Crap. She shouldn't have packed without cleaning everything thoroughly.

She sighed in irritation. Whatever, she grumbled to herself. Priestesses weren't always perfectly clean.

She slung her pouch, bow, and quiver over a shoulder and stopped briefly to eye the roof overhead. Maybe she should leave a note.

Or maybe she would be back before they even noticed her sudden disappearance.

She wasn't going to waste time rummaging for a pen and paper. Trust is hard to come by. Would a sudden disappearance be considered a breach of that trust, or did that trust mean he'd understand why she had left and that she would come back?

She pressed the vesper to her chest and bowed her head for a very short moment before the device whisked her away.

Only time would tell.

End Note: So now that I've posted this chapter, here's a fun tidbit: the shared memory of Kurama from a few chapters back was originally written to be a vision of sex with Hiei where they didn't actually do anything, which then goes into this longer scene of threesome action right on the spot. One day (soonish) I'll post it to my outtakes on AO3, but it needs some revision because it's a nasty mess (and not in the fun way). It was rewritten to include Kurama instead, because I wanted a solid excuse for Kagome to make a hasty retreat to do more time hopping. (And Kurama wasn't getting nearly enough attention).

Anyways. Enjoy. Next chapter is mostly written and coming soon.