Yukina smiled at Kurama, grateful that the older demon was going with Hiei. She knew the redhead wouldn't let anything happen to Hiei. Healed or not, Hiei still hadn't gotten enough rest to have the use of the jagan and against a fresh opponent he would be hard pressed to win when he was so tired. She turned back to the other occupants of the room once the pair had disappeared into the forest surrounding the temple. She had some explaining to do and she figured she had better start with the one who was most likely the most confused by everything. "Kazuma-kun." She said meekly, "I know this must be a lot for you to take in...can I help explain anything at all?" She asked with a gentle smile. She really liked Kazuma, even if he was a bit dense. She was hoping he'd still like her now that he knew who her brother was.

Hiei moved through the woods around Genkai's temple slow enough that Kurama shouldn't have had any trouble keeping up and without much purpose. He was looking for any sign of danger but he didn't really expect to find any. Finally his weariness got the better of him and he flopped down against the base of a large tree, leaning back against the rough bark and staring out at nothing. His eyes landed on his redheaded shadow and he suddenly needed to talk. This was an urge that rarely struck Hiei but most often it seemed to happen when he was in Kurama's presence. "How did she know?" He wondered out loud. "Do you think the ferry girl let it slip?" His eyes took on a not entirely friendly gleam at the idea that Botan may have tipped Yukina off.

Kuwabara watched the other two leave and glanced at Taykayo for a second before turning towards Yukina with a smile. "Nah, I think I'm good for now." He said not unkindly as he sat back and adopted a thoughtful look. "I'd always wondered why everyone kept me out of the loop. When I'd first heard that Hiei had a sister no one would tell me who she was." He looked at Yukina. "They should give me more credit. I may not be the smartest person around, but I have more sense than that. If I'd known, I'd have thought about letting it slip immediately, but you know, this is the sort of thing that can really only be sorted out by the person holding the secret to begin with." He said and smiled at her. "It's really not so surprising now that I look back on it." He said quietly before sighing. He smiled at her again. "So don't worry about it, Yukina, my love. I'm still gonna be here for you no matter what."

Yukina's worried look vanished and her face lit up at the sweet boy's words. "Thank you, Kazuma-kun. I'm sorry I didn't share my suspicions with you earlier. I didn't want anyone to know, in case I was wrong." She blushed. That wasn't the real reason she hadn't told anyone, she really had been very afraid that Hiei would reject her. She knelt next to the orange-haired boy and smiled sweetly at him. "You really are very kind, Kazuma-kun. I know you don't like Oniichan very much, but maybe you two could try to get along, for my sake. He's really not so bad once you get past his guard." The last part was said in a conspiratorial whisper and she leaned in close to his ear to say it.

'I wonder if he already knows I'm a demon, and that's why he was trying to get a feel of my energy.' Katsumi pondered as she explored the dojo's hallway in search of the meditation room Hiro spoke of. When off on her own, she couldn't seem shake off a feeling she'd felt ever since her nightmares first woke her in Spirit World's ironic infirmary a few hours earlier. The demon girl paused briefly to wipe away any lingering condensation from her eyes. Her head throbbed painfully the moment they shut. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Kat pried her eyes back open, wincing in silence. That feeling again. It flared up every time she prolonged a blink or shut her eyes. It was as if something ominous was simply waiting for her inside of her own head, hiding until her eyes closed and she was forced to confront it. "But what..?" Kat mumbled, glancing over her shoulder. An involuntary shiver spread throughout her body and she rubbed her arms to rid herself of the passing fear. 'I must be going crazy. There's no one here but Hiro and myself. If something was here, I would've felt its energy already. The whole thing has to be a result of lack of sleep or something..' Katsumi crossed her arms across her chest and nodded to reassure herself, "Yeah, it has to be.."

Kuwabara smiled, "It's okay, Yukina, there's nothing you need to apologize for." He said easily as he knew it was true. He thought for a moment, still smiling at the ice demon. "I suppose I can try to get along with... Hiei. I can't guarantee anything he'll do, but I'll try." He said, reaching out with his hand to gently caress her cheek.

Kurama shadowed the smaller demon silently. He was extremely grateful that the rain seemed to have died down to a light mist as it would have been quite awkward for him to return soaking wet in a white yukata. Kurama was also grateful that Hiei seemed to be taking things slow for him. He wasn't quite sure though if the smaller demon was just too tired to move more quickly or if he was doing it only for his sake.

When Hiei flopped down at the base of a tree, Kurama likewise sat down in the area left dry by the branches high above. He didn't sit right next to the other demon however as he wished to give his friend the space he seemed to desire when they left the dojo. He was a bit surprised when the other spoke up but he didn't mind. Kurama quite enjoyed the little talks they had on occasion, given some time alone.

Kurama mulled over Hiei's question. He had asked himself the same thing earlier but had not yet come to a conclusion on the matter. After a brief pause, Kurama answered, "I don't think it's out of the question however I'm not sure if that's the case..." Kurama pictured Yukina in his mind, the ice demon's quiet composure. It was sometimes difficult for him to imagine the workings of the female demon's mind, which almost seemed like a steel trap. Was it possible she had found out on her own? Yukina was by no means a stupid girl...

Yusuke tossed and turned hopelessly in his sleep. His perfectly rational fear of confronting Keiko after he'd left her at the movies somehow seeped into his dreams and made for quite a nightmare.'Ahh, Keiko, c'mon don't be mad! You know I didn't ditch ya on purpose! Keiko, hey, what the--OW!' As Keiko's hand made contact with his face within his dream, Yusuke's physical body somehow managed to roll completely off his bed and onto the floor. One brown eye blinked open as the teen reached up and rubbed the assumed place of impact on his cheek. "Urgh, geez Keiko. I didn't mean t--" As his other eye opened, Yusuke suddenly realized that it wasn't his girlfriend's retreating back he was staring at...but his own ceiling? "Ehh...Why am I on the floor?" The spirit detective sat up and blinked like a total moron, looking around his bedroom in surprise. "Was I dreaming that whole fight? Huh.. Well, at least I got a little practice before that really happens! Haha!" He chuckled obnoxiously, that is, until he caught sight of his alarm clock. "FIVE THIRTY!? What the hell! TOO EARLY!" He exclaimed, leaping back onto his bed and closing his eyes. "Damn Keiko..waking me up...five thirty in the morning...even in my dreams...such a pain..."

Yukina smiled and briefly leaned her head into the touch. "Thank you Kazuma-kun. That means a lot to me." She hesitated before broaching more serious topics. "Kazuma-kun, can you sense anything strange about Hiei when he's having these dreams? I mean, what if it isn't some sort of prophetic vision? What if its something affecting him from the outside that the rest of us just can't see?" Her tone was very worried and her eyes were troubled as she pondered the possibilites.

Hiei thought about Kurama's answer for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I don't think so either. Yukina is smarter than I gave her credit for." His muscles protested as he stretched and his mind was drawn back to the other problem at hand. He replayed all three dreams in his mind, along with the vision he'd seen in Tay's head. Something wasn't right about them, beyond the obvious fact that his dreams shouldn't be manifesting real injuries. Then it struck him. "I don't think these dreams are prophetic." He said thoughtfully. "Other than Tay's, that is. His may very well be." He hesitated to explain his reasons, not really wanting to admit that Yukina had not been the damsel in distress in the last dream. He wasn't sure how Kurama would feel about his role in Hiei's nightmare.

Kuwabara smiled but then sighed as he shook his head. "Nah, I haven't been able to sense squat since the Dark Tournament. I think my powers are outta wack. I can't do anything with my spirit energy." He said. "I wish I had answers, but honestly, I don't know what's going on." He looked down at Taykayo who was sleeping deeply on the floor.

The images were vague, blurry, as they always were, nothing made sense. All he could make out was the cavernous walls around him, there was a small lake in the middle of the cavernous room. He remembered that lake, remembered what he always saw, hovering above the water as if suspended in air. It felt different than before, not as eerie, though the dark hole was forming, but the demons weren't there yet, hadn't realized there was a breach. Taykayo slowly sat up, using what little strength he had to get off the cold stone floor and look around. Things were getting clearer, and he knew that this dream was very different from the usual. There was nothing save for some kind of music as background noise. Was this really a dream, or a vision of the future? "Hello?" He called out, hoping to find someone. As he gazed over at the lake again, he saw something, someone was tied up in a boat, but he couldn't get a clear look at who it was. Taykayo tried to walk forward but the black hole seemed to grow bigger simply as he got closer. "No, please no." He whispered as the demons began creeping forward, reaching out to the person in the boat, and some of them with their eyes set on him. "No." It came out in a whisper though he was deep into his dream.

Yukina smiled sadly, "I'm sorry to hear that, Kazuma-kun. I'm sure they'll come back in time." She said hopefully. "I'm glad you are here anyway. I feel very safe with you around." If it was possible, the little ice demoness would have been blushing but her cold physiology prevented it.

Kurama nodded sagely; that was likely the case. "I think the two of you are more alike than you think Hiei..." Kurama said slowly, gauging his words. Then, when Hiei failed to reply, Kurama continued with his silent streak, allowing Hiei the time he needed to think.

His own thoughts wandered as he located and tested vague sources of energy in the area. None of them felt threatening but Kurama knew better than to be overconfident, especially after hearing Katsumi's tragic story. When Hiei spoke again, Kurama sensed something strange. Hiei was always one to be vague but this time something felt just a bit off. He had grown accustomed to Hiei and the slight sensations of his subtle emotions but wasn't quite able to place what the fire demon was feeling at the moment.

The fox turned to study his counterpart through the darkness. Not prophetic? Was this just Hiei's wishful thinking or had Hiei discovered something during this last dream? Taykayo had implied that it was Jagan eye that allowed Hiei the power of clairvoyance. But in his current weakened state, was it possible for the Jagan to even pick up on such things? After a few moments, the redhead replied very softly, "What are you thinking Hiei?" Unfortunately Kurama didn't posses the power of the Jagan eye so he would have to reply on more conventional means of discovering the truth.

Hiei looked away from the fox and hesitated briefly before he spoke, "The last dream didn't match up with the others. Yukina wasn't in it." He said flatly. It was a half truth, but the fox was good at reading when Hiei was hiding something and the shorter demon knew it so he pressed on. "I was trying to rescue you." He finished with a blush that he hadn't even been aware he was capable of.

Kurama was visibly stunned by Hiei's response. Turning to face forward once again, he hoped that Hiei wouldn't notice his shock. Hiei had always been overly protective of his sibling and so Kurama could understand her haunting the demon in his dreams, especially given the amount of time Hiei spent each day watching over her. What had caused his own appearance in the other demon's dreams? Kurama felt his heartbeat quicken but couldn't guess as to the cause of his body's response to the information. Trying to hide his distress Kurama asked, "How does that make you believe these dreams aren't prophetic?" Kurama didn't exactly see the correlation, unless again it had to do with wishful thinking on Hiei's part...

((EDIT: That would be correlation, NOT coloration. Stupid spellchecker. T_T))

Kuwabara smiled warmly when Yukina said that she felt safe with him around. That was one of the things he had hoped she would feel, because he cared about her. He wanted nothing more than to protect her and make her happy. "I'm glad you feel that way, cause I would never let anyone or anything hurt you." He said.

As he tried to move even closer to the strange lake, the entire scenery shifted around him. It blurred and turned dark before light finally began to spread over a new scene. There was a little boy, walking hand-in-hand with his father down a busy street. The place didn't look familiar, yet it seemed so familiar anyway. "Tay, why don't we stop somewhere to practice your powers?" An older man's voice asked. "Daddy, are you sure?" A soft, sweet voice replied. It didn't sound anything like a boy. "Yeah, let's practice so you can become a first class demon hunter." The older voice said. Taykayo remembered this, remembered it so well it was almost ridiculous. He followed the two to a wide open clearing. "Alright, Tay, start forming the orb. Try making it bigger this time." He said firmly and the child nodded, closing his eyes and holding his hands out parallel to one another, palms facing inward. Pure energy began channeling through the small body, forming an orb between the hands.

"It's... me, as a child." Taykayo said as he moved forward to watch this. If this was one of his forgotten powers, he wanted to learn it. To remember how to do it. Who knew when it would be useful?

Hiei shook his head. "If the dreams were prophetic, they should all show roughly the same scene, culminating with my death if I let them get that far. The first two and Tay's vision were all Yukina being held hostage. This one was you, the creature had knocked you out somehow..." He trailed off, not wanting to think about how the thought of losing Kurama was for some reason just as terrifying as the idea of losing his sister, but the thoughts came anyway. Who would he talk to, on these rare occasions when he needed to share his thoughts? Who would back him in a fight and heal his wounds afterward? Who would let him sleep in their room when it rained? Who would put up with his moods and buffer him from the others if the fox weren't around? He'd be back to the way he was before he'd met the redhead; utterly alone, angry, and miserable. He fought the urge to shudder at the thought but a small shiver escaped his control. Maybe he had grown soft, but he couldn't go back to that life. However he didn't dare say any of that to the fox, he wasn't sure what to think of his feelings and didn't want to risk losing his best friend over something that confused the heck out of him.

Yukina smiled at Kuwabara, "I know, Kazuma-kun." She suddenly realized how tired she was. "I think we had best get a little rest while we can, it is nearly morning. Kurama will make sure Hiei is alright." The last was added more to reassure herself than because she had any thought that Kuwabara might be worried over her brother. He'd promised he'd try to be civil, but friendships didn't develop in a moment.

Meditating alone in her room, Genkai sensed that something was a little off, but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. There were many things happening around her. She had sensed something truly off when there was a commotion in the other room, another dream with Hiei, she concluded. It seemed it had settled itself, but something else felt off. As she spread out what energy she had she felt the presence of a demon high into the mountains. It appeared to be living in a cave, but it felt like no real threat. No, she was trying to find something else, what was putting her on edge when she felt a small pulse of energy much closer, in the other room. Someone else was dreaming, not the same as what she had witnessed with Hiei, but somehow it felt a little bit creepy. She opened her eyes and stood up slowly, walking back to the main room where she sensed Kuwabara and Yukina at. As she walked into the room she saw what she felt, Taykayo was sleeping, but it felt like he was too immersed in his dream. She didn't want to alarm them, because she didn't feel that this was like anything that was happening to Hiei. No, this dream was more prophetic, with a more memory like feel to the visions. Strange that she could sense that, but she could, the boy was dreaming of the past, but she wasn't sure that was a good thing.

---

Shadow peered out of his cave, sensing that there were two people close to his home. From the feel of their energy though, he did not dare to venture any closer to them. Their power was near equal to his own, and surely he would not be able to feed off their energy if they defeated him. A slow grin spread across his face as he backed away into his cave. Surely some poor human hikers would wander in again, and he would have to feed on them instead. Though this opportunity was almost too good to let go, Shadow hissed lightly as he retreated into the darkness. It was not there yet, but he could sense the sun starting to rise. He did not like the light, it burned his eyes and kept him from the outside world.

Yukina spotted the old woman and hastily stood and bowed, feeling oddly self conscious about how close she had been leaning towards Kazuma-kun. "Genkai-sama. I thought you were sleeping. Did our talking wake you? I'm sorry. Can I make you some tea?" She was talking to fast, sounding guilty, and she forced herself to stop. She wondered at the feelings Kazuma stirred in her. They weren't feelings that most koorime ever got to experience and she wondered if her mother had felt something like it for the demon that had fathered Hiei and herself. Was it love that made her feel as if an intimate moment had just been interrupted, when all they had done was talk?

As Kurama listened to Hiei's explanation, he managed to gain control over his body once again and his heartbeat slowed to a more normal pace. It was possible that there was a future that involved both Yukina and himself however what Hiei said made sense and coupled with his earlier logic about the Jagan, Kurama decided it was the most believable version until more evidence produced itself. "That seems logical," he replied simply.

In the meantime however, that didn't explain why Hiei was having these dangerous dreams. Kurama was used to being able to find a logical explanation to most phenomenon but thus far, he had yet to make sense of the situation and it was bothering him greatly.

Through the darkness, the fox's keen eyes picked up on Hiei's shiver. Mistaking the sign, he stood and moved to sit just beside the other demon. Without giving it thought, Kurama hugged the other close to his body, careful of the recent wounds. Despite his slightly dampened clothes, Kurama hoped his body would be able to warm the other. As he did so, he felt his own heartbeat begin to race once again, what was it that kept causing this strange reaction within his body?

Hiei's mind ground to a screeching halt and he became as still as a stone when Kurama embraced him. He didn't know what to make of the taller demon's actions. The fox's skin was cool against Hiei's naturally high body temperature but for some reason it made the smaller demon feel warm anyway. After a few moments he found his tongue, unfortunately it was before his brain could catch up with it. "Kurama, do you think I'm going to die?" He asked quietly, sounding a little lost. Hiei wasn't used to having enemies that he couldn't fight. He suddenly wondered if Kurama would be upset at his death. "Will you miss me?" The words were out before he could stop them and he bit his tongue to keep from saying more. Already he was disgusted with himself for the weakness he had just admitted to and he wouldn't blame the redhead for being disgusted as well. He started to try to pull out of the fox's grasp, embarrassed by his own words and not sure how he felt about the warmth the embrace was stirring in him.

The orb of power continued to grow larger, as Taykayo drew closer to the scene. He could see something happening a distance away, and the fear began to set in again. Demons, a lot of them coming towards the two. Taykayo tried to shout, to warn the father and son pair, but couldn't find his voice. "Be careful, Tay. Keep your focus." It seemed that was all it needed for the young boy to lose focus. The demons were closing in and Taykayo couldn't do anything about it. He tried to run forward, to save them, but every step he took seemed to bring him farther away. "NO!" He called out. "Look out." Whispered in his sleep, Taykayo's breathing began to grow steadily faster.

The power pulsed once as it grew a bit bigger, but something was wrong, the little boy couldn't keep control. "Tay, look out, the demons are coming!" The father yelled out as he ran forward to grab his child. Taykayo tried to call out another warning, trying in vain to run forward to help. The orb pulsed again as a gasp escaped the lips of the child, his eyes opening wide. "No." The little voice spoke. The power pulsed, the orb's unstable power burst forth, spreading out in a two mile radius all around. Taykayo watched in horror as everything in the area became vaporized. The demons, trees, some buildings, even the father who had merely been trying to protect the little boy. "NOOOOOO!!" The scream erupted through his dreams. It was too much, he could feel the pain of the burns on his skin. Taykayo jumped awake, the scream died down as he looked at his arms where the subtle scars began to make sense. Burns from the past, an incident that resulted in the death of many, including his own father. Despite the horrifying dream, Taykayo's expression was mostly blank.

Kurama held the fire demon close and was surprised to find that Hiei was warming him more than he had expected. It had been quite riddiculous of him to believe that he could warm the other given his increased body temperature. Kurama couldn't place it exactly but something else had urged him to embrace the other demon, to be close to him. It didn't seem like Hiei minded much however as the smaller demon lay still against his body.

When Hiei let slip his first question, Kurama stiffened slightly, unused to the idea of the fire demon fearing death. It was not something Kurama would like to consider... The two demons had grown unusually close in their time together since breaking into Spirit World's vault and it pained him greatly to think of the other's passing. Since his first meeting with Hiei, Kurama had made other friends however none of them seemed to understand him as well as Hiei did.

A single tear began to streak down Kurama's face amidst the mist that had condensed there. He felt Hiei pulling away and almost panicked. Pulling the fire demon desperately closer he struggled to find the words to express himself. "I won't let you die Hiei," he said, the words catching in his throat, "I couldn't stand it if you did..." Kurama couldn't help but feel so weak. Despite his promise to protect Hiei, he couldn't imagine how he could save him if he continued having these dreams. He would do everything in his power to help the other, but what if it wasn't enough?

Yukina noticed Tay's distress and knelt beside him. "Are you okay? Was it a vision?" She checked for any sign of injury as she asked, wondering if Hiei's problem might be contagious afterall. Finding nothing like that, she was somewhat relieved but it didn't explain Tay's panicked expression.

Hiei froze when Kurama spoke. For some reason, even though he knew the promise was hollow, it made him feel more calm. He also realized that with the fox holding him so tightly, there was no way for him to pull free without hurting the redhead. He refused to do that so he relaxed and decided to enjoy the rare sensation. Hiei had never been held before and he could see why people did it. It was very pleasant. He wanted to say something about it to Kurama, but he wasn't sure how to word it. "I...This is..." He frowned thoughtfully. "Thank you, fox." He finally settled, though it wasn't quite what he meant. He wasn't sure what his emotions were regarding the redhead anymore and without knowing Kurama's feelings for him, Hiei wouldn't have said anything even if he had figured it out.

Taykayo shook his head, unable to find the words to describe what he'd seen in his dream. He took a few deep breaths before looking at Yukina. "I-I'm alright, it was just a dream." He said softly, lightly running his right hand over the subtle scars on his arm. "Sort of like... a memory." He whispered the last word as if afraid to look back at the dream.

As he held the fire demon tightly to his chest, Kurama struggled to regain his composure. The night had been both emotionally and physically tiring and Kurama was afraid that he was beginning to lose control of his emotions. When Hiei spoke up once again, Kurama lifted his head to look the fire demon in the eyes. Hiei didn't say much but Kurama knew better than to take them at face value. "I'd do anything to help you Hiei," he replied thoughtfully, mulling over what the fire demon had called him. Had anyone else referred to him as "fox," they would have likely found they had bitten off more than they could chew.

Kurama gently released his stronghold on the petite demon, blushing slightly. As he came more fully aware of his surroundings, more than just the demon beside him, he began to feel traces of other demonic energy nearby. It didn't seem threatening however, and it was not coming any closer. As much as Kurama felt comfort in being alone with Hiei, he wondered if they should return to the dojo soon as the others might be concerned by their prolonged absence. Still, he would allow Hiei to decide when the time was right, given no other dangers presented themselves before then.

As Kurama loosened his hold, Hiei reluctantly moved away. He stood slowly, exhausted but knowing that sleep could mean death. Hesitating only a moment, he offered his hand to help the redhead up. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it. Kurama was more than capable of getting up off the ground unaided. However, Hiei found himself upset by the loss of contact that standing up had necessitated. He wasn't sure if Kurama would even accept the gesture anyway. Human courting rituals and chivalry were rather foreign in Makai. The fire demon's mind short circuited, 'Courting?' He thought with a start. 'I...is that what this is? I feel this way because I l...' His mind stopped the words but he pondered the idea silently. Most of his knowledge of courting came from watching television in Kurama's room. Hiei rather suspected the fox had acquired the device for the lone purpose of keeping him entertained while the redhead did his homework, because Kurama never seemed to want to watch anything on it himself. Hiei was still a rather young demon and an introverted, emotionally scarred, standoffish one as well. It would be no surprise to anyone who knew him if they found out he'd never pursued a mate. He didn't have any idea how to go about it, nor did he know if fox demons had any customs of their own. Human ways would have to do. 'I'm an idiot.' He thought sourly, 'There's no way Kurama feels anything other than friendship for me. He could have any mate in the world.'

Yukina nodded and patted Tay's hand sympathetically. "Can I get you something, Tay-san? Some tea or something to eat?" She asked softly. He was obviously very upset by his dream and from the way he was staring at the scars on his arms, she guessed it was a lot more like a memory than a figment of his subconscious. The dreams that were true were always harder to shake off, she knew from experience. "Would you like to talk about it?" She offered with a small encouraging smile.