"Hmm?"

"How long have I been asleep?"

No answer.

"Kurama-sa ... " he turned over on his back to stare back up at a woman ... Kagayaku. "What the ... " he was off the bed and on the floor before she could react.

"My! You're a quick one," Kagayaku smiled to him sweetly.

"Where's Kurama?" he growled, reaching slowly back to the hilt of his katana.

"The woman? She's out with that other man ... Yusuke, it was." She hopped off the bed and began toward him. She reached her hand out to the side as Hiei backed up ... a flowerpot surged to life, the plant reaching quickly out for him ... but he was quicker. He dissolved into the air, landing a few feet off from her. The pot fell in several pieces from Hiei's unsheathed katana. He raised the weapon to her, threatening her.

"HAH! You think you can defeat me with metal?"

"Damn," Hiei remembered how easily she dispensed with the sword before ... and he leapt in a surge of black wind, disappearing from view. A fraction of a second later, the window shattered across the room as he made his escape.

Botan heard Koenma's frantic screams ... followed by Kuwabara blowing up sections of the garden and Yusuke's blasts from the rei-gan. She flew around, following the last course she thought the yell was coming from . "KOENMA-SAMA!!!!" she yelled, searching down the labyrinth of hedges.

She reeled around a corner to a horrific sight ... Koenma laying spread-eagle tied to the ground with the yosei on top of him in a very compromising position, neither one in a shred of clothing. She screamed as loud as she could ...more in alarm to the sight ... freaking the yosei who disappeared into the air ... and Koenma's bonds were released. He quickly rolled over to one side, his shirt hanging loosely off his back and arms, trying to catch his breath.

Botan leapt off the oar and met clumsily with the ground, running over and flinging herself down at Koenma. "Oh, Koenma!!! What in the name of Meikai was she doing to you?"

"Take wild guess," he spat, tugging his pants back up in disgust, shuttering under her weight. He pulled a hand up and cupped it over the bite wound in his neck, trying to keep it from bleeding any more than it had to.

A snarl came from behind Botan and she stood quickly, being stared down by the yosei that had raped Koenma. "The man is mine, woman!"

Botan gathered her courage. "No!" she yelled, stepping forward.

The yosei snarled, but didn't move. Botan stepped forward again, surprised to see the fairy stumble back away from her as sheadvanced. She took a deep breath and waved her hands through the air. "Go on! Git! Get out of hear!" she yelled, as if scurrying off a stray cat. She looked on dumbfound as the fairy took to the air in a deep growl and fled.

Botan looked on for a minute, making sure the fairy was gone. That was quite odd behavior for a woman who had managed to get the best of Koenma. She turned slowly, leaning back down to Koenma, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Koenma ... are you okay?" she looked down to his face

"NO, I'm not okay!!!" he snapped, sinking his head down into his hands. Botan leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him rest his head on her shoulder. She leaned her head down and cradled him in her arms, rocking him back and forth like a small child.

A single tear escaped his mysterious, black eyes and rolled off his face onto Botan's shoulder.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stood back to back, surrounded on all sides by the fairies. The yosei had managed to isolate them from Kurama, herding them away and into the depths of the garden.

"Think I'm being paranoid now, Urameshi-san?"

"Just stick to the matter at hand!"

Kurama stood calmly smiling in the circle of fairies as they kept their distance. Occasionally one would dart in and he'd toss his brilliant hair at them, causing them to scamper back. They had made no threats to harm him ... yet.

"Woman, you interfere. Begone!"

Kurama smiled, gently smelling a single, perfect rose that seemed to battle his streaming red hair. "No."

A chorus of hissing soon followed, and he laughed, quite amused at their fear of him.

A swift wind blew his hair about his face and Hiei burst into sight, katana and temper flaring.

Off from the circle, he heard Yusuke and Kuwabara yell, and watched in awe as they were hoisted up into the air by a vine and launched across the courtyard. "By the gods ... "

Kurama looked back down to the fairies, feeling his demon side begin to tug at his conscious. Aside from him, Hiei verbalized his eagerness to fight with a deep, throated growl.

"This is quite enough!" Kurama boomed, his voice taking on an air of deadly force. He glared around the circle of fairies, eyes flashing gold from the brilliant green that once inhabited them. The air tensed ... His hair began to bleach out in shinning, silver strands picking up the golden glow of the noon-sun, kicking up in a stiff swirl around him. As the silver, fox hair swirled in a great tornado about him, his figure grew taller and slimmer, ears protruding from the whips of his silver hair...

Youko-Kurama stood in blazing glory before the yosei, joined closely by Hiei with an eager grin. He towered even taller than before, the fairies all slinking back once again, marveling and fearing the new figure before them.

Youko-Kurama raised a hand gently ... and the entire garden sparked to life. Trees and roots and plants reached out, grasping the groups of yosei with their own weapons, hoisting them high into the air. Those that escaped the marauding garden met their fate at the end of Hiei's blade as he leapt throughout the garden quicker than any of them could react. In great whispers of displaced air, Hiei made it back and forth from one end of the corner of the garden to another, his little body warping space and time around him.

With a simple flick of the youko's hand, the plants began to tear at the captured bodies of the yosei, a large, whine of pain and suffering rising up from them all. Youko-Kurama smiled brilliantly, tossing his hands about as dismembered arms and legs began flinging themselves throughout the garden.

Hiei gathered up his power, his body being surrounded by searing flames as he continued to chase down body after body, delighted to the point of playfulness as he fought easily.

Koenma withdrew his head from Botan's shoulder and looked around her. The screams of the yosei floated in and he felt Botan grip him harder. He reached up and hugged her tightly, grinning at the suffrage that floated to his ears. They deserved every bit if it!

He moved back and she released him.

"Botan ... " he whispered, staring down at her. He blinked his eyes and began a new train of thought. "We're going to need help getting out of here. Go back to Reikai and get Saotomei ... I'm sure he'll know what to do."

"But ... what about you?"

He faked a smile. "I'll be fine. Just go!"

She nodded carefully and stood, hopping up onto her oar.

The scene before Kuwabara and Yusuke laid riddled with the dead yosei as the man in black, Yo-mawari, carefully packed his katana into it's holster on his back. The shuriken's rolled along the ground and popped up into his hand, being pocketed easily.

Yo-mawari turned, extending a hand down to Yusuke, smiling in his offer of assistance.

He took it, but kept cautious eyes on the man as he struggled to his feet. Something in those eyes ... Kuwabara rushed over and let his friend lean his shoulders, breaking his train of thought, dumping all thought he had on the subject.

Another arm wrapped around his waist and hauled him up. Yusuke turned to see a battered Koenma sling his arm about his neck, the large, round gash on his neck still bleeding steadily.

"Koenma ... what happened to you?"

"Nothing," he grumbled, looking across to Yo-mawari.

Yo-mawari smiled. "Son of King Enma?"

Koenma nodded.

Youko-Kurama stood perfectly still as Hiei sped over and joined him at his side. The little youkai watched the face and features as the tall youko began to dissolve back into the beautiful human form, the silver hair bursting red once again, like a fiery sunset.

The two locked eyes and smiled, surveying the scene of death before them as the trees and plants settle back into an undisturbed position. Kurama tossed his lover a playful smile, winking an emerald-green eye.

"It's a good thing you two are on our side."

The two turned to see Koenma and Kuwabara join them, almost carrying poor Yusuke. Then came the man in black...

Before either could speak or move, Yo-mawari raised a hand. "No time for explanations." He pointed to the white tower behind the garden. A steady stream of the silver figures was pouring out in vast numbers. "You can not hope to defeat all of them in your present states. Come."

The man bent down and picked Yusuke up quickly from Kuwabara and Koenma's grip, cradling him like a new born. "Hang on."

Yusuke threw a bizarre look to the man and snorted. "I can walk on my own, you know. I don't need ANYONE to carry me."

"Is that so?"