He froze suddenly, his feet refusing to take another step for the moment as Kurama's eyes rose slowly toward the sky line somewhere ahead of him. He could practically see the energy crackling in the air, could nearly smell it. It took several moments for him to realize that the overwhelming force was actually that of two demons in very close proximity to each other, and from the violent feel of them it was about to be quite a battle.

The feeling of urgency returned, demanding that he move toward the fight that he knew was coming, a fight that his more rational thoughts were telling him to avoid at all costs, but his instincts, whatever force had been leading him before screamed over them, demanded that he see what was happening, that he find the source. Kurama consoled himself with the knowledge that once he found the demons preparing to kill one another he would at least know for sure that Kagome wasn't with them. He worried for a moment as he started forward that perhaps the fight would be over before he got there.

XXXXX

His eyes met hers and sent a chill down her spine. She'd never imagined seeing Hiei so… angry. Whenever she'd been around him his eyes had been carefully guarded, or at the most filled with some kind of flickering annoyance or amusement, something warm but still almost detached. Now the crimson depths she'd come to know over the last week were filled with what could only be described as rage, and it burned her just to look upon the fury of that emotion. For a moment she almost wondered what she'd done, but then he'd moved.

A hand grasped her chin forcefully, nearly hard enough to hurt as it forced her head up and to the side, revealing her neck, and the bruise that she knew would already be showing to his gaze. Kagome swallowed, preparing to explain, hoping that there would be a way to calm him. She didn't expect his hand to suddenly be wrenched away, throwing her off balance for a moment, or to look up and find long clawed fingers curled around a wrist that was smaller than the striped one the hand was connected to. Standing this close she could feel the wind bursts of their energy spiraling around her, saw how it buffeted Hiei's black hair, ruffled Sesshomaru's silver bangs. Their eyes locked in a frigid stare that sent shivers slowly over her, and the malice suddenly surrounding them both sent any trace of moisture running from her mouth and any thought of speech away from her brain, effectively freezing her in a way their icy eyes couldn't manage. This was going to be bad.

XXXXX

He closed the door with more force than was necessary, though he didn't actively admit taking out his frustrations on the apartment's doors and furniture, as far as Yusuke was concerned as long as he wasn't putting his fist through the wall the inanimate space should have considered itself lucky. Right now he had more important things to worry about than a broken couch leg and a bent doorframe.

Frustrated he turned away from her room that he had found empty after a careful search that included standing in the center of the room spinning in a circle and nearly shouting her name. Somewhere, she had to be somewhere, but then why couldn't he find her? Was this how Hiei had felt when Yukina had been missing? It was a wonder that the demon had accomplished anything at all in the time he hadn't been able to find her. Ever second was an eternity of panic and worry. Where was she? If she'd just been taking a walk he wouldn't have cared, but the alley… the body of that demon had been demolished in a way even he hadn't seen often, and Kurama said she was there… and making mistakes wasn't something that Kurama did often, if he claimed she'd been there when the demon died then she was there. Then where was she now? Wandering in shock because of what had happened? Or had something happened to her as well? What would he do if something had? Find it and kick its ass, that was a given, but what about Kagome?

"Yusuke calm down." Keiko grabbed his arm, keeping him from storming off to another room in search of his still missing sister, "You've already looked through every room, she isn't here."

"Then where the hell did she go? She was on her way here right? It's been hours since she left the arcade."

"I know Yusuke; maybe… maybe we should call the police or something?"

"Yeah what are we going to tell them? That a demon was killed and we think she was there? Yeah, that'll go over really well won't it?" Fuming still he began to pace the room again, waving his arms to himself as he ranted, "Hello Officer, I think my sister was attacked by a rabid demon, and possibly killed by whatever killed it…"

"Don't say that!" Keiko's shout stopped him suddenly, bringing his eyes to her, "She isn't dead."

"I didn't mean it like that Keiko." He glared at the floor by her feet, hating himself for saying the thought he'd been avoiding thinking, which he knew they were all avoiding as well. Kagome may not have been there long, may not have known all about their little group, but she got along with them all so well it was almost like she'd always been there, she wasn't just his sister, she was part of the group now. Hell, even Hiei seemed to like her a little, and that was nearly a sign of the apocalypse as far as he was concerned.

"We'd know if she was dead…" Keiko looked down, her eyes filled with unshed tears, "Botan… Botan is the grim reaper right? She knows Kagome; if something had happened to her she would have let us know."

"Yeah, you're right Keiko." He murmured because he didn't want to upset her, although he knew it didn't always work that way. Botan wasn't the only one after all, and if she was busy consoling or escorting Kagome's spirit they probably wouldn't hear about it right away. But it was a comforting thought.

"I know I am. So Kagome's just out there walking somewhere, and soon she'll be back and everything will be fine again." Keiko tried to smile, but it faltered on her lips before settling weakly into place.

"Hey… Urameshi…"

He jumped at the voice, having forgotten that they weren't alone since their friend had been so quiet, "Huh? What is it Kuwabara?"

"Do… Don't you feel that?"

XXXXX

They moved so quickly she couldn't really follow them, could only make out where they were once they had stopped for a split second, and even then she could only make out the briefest images before they were on the move again. The glass tinkled as their feet touched the splinters, only for them to easily be on the opposite side of the surprisingly large room before she'd fully heard the sound. Kagome cringed back from the air rushing around her, found that breathing was nearly impossible with how heavy the air had become around her, pushing with such force she was surprised the walls hadn't cracked yet.

How long had they been fighting, seconds? Hours? Kagome stared at them, trying to see evidence of the battle she knew was going on. The flashes of them that she could make out told her that much. Flashes of red, green, yellow, black, white, a trail of silver, a blue ball, the glint of a blade, her eyes blurred as she fought to clarify the images that vanished too quickly for her to fully make out. She watched as they dodged the blows of the others, Hiei's sword at Sesshomaru's throat even as the latter's glowing claws swiped at Hiei's, Sesshomaru's whip wrapped tightly around Hiei's sword as it was abandoned and a tight fist went for the former's midsection. How long had they been fighting now? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Breaths? Heartbeats? The moments ticked by, both hungering for blood that they seemed unable to spill, and all Kagome could do was wonder why? Why were they even fighting in the first place? Why hadn't there been an exchange of words, why did they rush at each other like this? Why had Sesshomaru ripped Hiei away from her? Why had Hiei come bursting in through the window like that? Could he possibly know what had happened? Then why would he be angry with Sesshomaru for saving her?

She froze again, her eyes no longer following the clash taking place all around her. There was no explanation except that Hiei didn't know what had happened. If he wasn't aware that something had he wouldn't have come looking for her, but if he thought that she was in trouble and that Sesshomaru was the one who did it then… maybe that could explain why her new friend, though she knew he wasn't likely to admit to being that, was attacking the demon that had in all actuality saved her life, for at least the second time. And as for Sesshomaru, he wasn't the type to let that sort of slight go; Hiei had challenged him by that overly dramatic entrance and was probably annoyed that he had been interrupted in the first place. So now that she had figured things out she was left with a new problem. How did she stop two bloodthirsty demons at least half bent on killing each other without getting killed in the process? Neither seemed like the type to welcome her intrusion in this.

Steeling her admittedly shaken courage Kagome straightened herself to her full height, which even compared to Hiei, who was a few inches shorter than her without his hair, was nothing impressive, and was of even less consequence when compared to Sesshomaru, who easily towered over her. Nearly holding her breath she moved toward the center of the room, hoping to gather their attention by moving away from the wall. The two seemed content to ignore her, flashing around still, coming within inches of her, but each attack miraculously missed her. For a moment she actually wondered if either of them was really serious about this, or if maybe they were holding back because of the number of people that were close to them. It was something neither of them would admit, would probably blatantly deny, but they wouldn't kill these people, at least not willingly, though she knew that Sesshomaru at least could cause far more mayhem than he seemed to be, and she suspected that Hiei was capable of similar destruction should the mood strike him. They could have easily leveled this building if they wished she was sure, but continued to simply punch and swipe at each other. She spun slowly in a circle, trying to follow them, her eyes searching for the spot where they would stop, but it was nearly impossible to pinpoint even which direction they were traveling in around the room.

Even she could detect the scent of blood, and the pungent sting of that poison wasn't something she was likely to forget. Kagome cringed a little and turned again, searching for the source only to find herself staring at a wall. Her eyes followed the warped, melting paint down, recognizing with horror that the red streaks mingled with it could only be blood. One of them had gotten hurt.

Maybe it was panic that called to her power, or maybe it was concern or fear, she didn't have time to analyze the response, to even think about it as the energy started to skitter over her skin, pooling in her palms momentarily before spreading over her again. She turned sharply, the world spinning and blurring with her momentum as she tried to find them. Hazarding a guess she threw herself forward, her eyes squeezed shut as she nearly prayed that she would come between them before someone was seriously injured.

The world stilled suddenly around her, the air seeming to fall dead around the room and energy that had been pushing on her vanished suddenly as she fell toward the ground. For a long moment she was stiff, waiting for what would happen, the stillness weighing mercilessly down on her until she could do nothing but crack her eyelids open.

Kagome gasped and recoiled, her eyes fixed on the glinting point of the sword barely an inch from her face. Her wide eyes remained glued to the blade for a long moment, blinded by the reflected light for a second before she fixed her attention to the wide red eyes staring at her from the end of the sword, then she followed his gaze to the arm curled past her, the hand closed around the blade, the gently trickling red liquid falling from his palm. Kagome gasped and turned to follow the arm to annoyed golden eyes, "Umm… are you okay?" She backed up barely a step as he withdrew his hand, considering the cut in his palm before glancing at her with obvious annoyance, a look that was echoed on Hiei's face when she turned to glance at him, "Um… I think there's been a little bit of a misunderstanding here…"

XXXXX

It was a hotel that he found himself staring up at, lights flickering on and off in the windows, but it was the one on the upper floor with the glass broken out that drew his attention. Whatever he had been sensing earlier was over now, and he marveled at everything that was left standing. Most fights he'd experienced that were anywhere near what had been happening here prior to his arrival had left at least a half leveled building, not just a broken window. He stood across the street where he could survey the building with more ease, his eyes sweeping the windows and exits for a sign of what could have caused the energy he'd been feeling.

"You're mad at me aren't you?"

The voice brought him quickly out of his thoughts and had his eyes dropping to the alley where two figures were appearing, two figures that he recognized in an instant even without their voices to aid him he would have known them.

"Oh, come on Hiei, it wasn't my fault." She was trailing behind by a few steps, her eyes glued to the demon pointedly looking away from her, "Come on, don't be mad. I already said I was sorry for not telling you sooner." She jogged a few steps forward, catching his arm even as they continued walking, "Hiei…"

"You are becoming far more trouble than you're worth." He grumbled suddenly, not bothering to pull his arm away from her.

"I know Hiei." She giggled a little and dropped his arm, "Oh… and thanks for coming to get me."

"It was nothing of the sort. I merely happened to be nearby."

"I know Hiei." She fell into step beside him, smiling a little, "Oh, and Hiei…"

"What is it now?"

"I told you we'd be friends."

Standing across the silent street Kurama stiffened further watching this little exchange, he waited for Hiei's biting retort, certain that he wouldn't accept hearing anyone tell him that. He was surprised when the fire demon merely stared at the girl with him, then turned away while rolling his eyes.

"Let's go."