White Rose Fox: thanks. I was kind of worried about it, actually.

Thank you to all who favourited. The YYH characters belong to their creator, the BORG belong to Gene Roddenbery, or whoever holds the rights to Star Trek. (yes, I am a Trekkie.)

I made it before Hiei. He was hanging back to watch my ass, I swear. Such a little pervert.

Kurama set his tea and book down extra carefully when I walked in. The air felt charged.

"Dude, I'm chill with your pixy dust, just so ya know. I got a few more months of memories back." I walked right past him to see what was left on the stove after the last meal cooked. I was in luck, the wok was about half full of Yusuke's special ramen supreme.

"That's good." Kurama said, then let out a very noisy breath.

I turned with two bowls of noodles. One for me, one for Hiei, of course. "You did what you had to, Foxy. At least nobody hit me." I grinned and sat across the table.

He smiled over the rim of his teacup. "Another day or two of sleep and rest should get you back to the present. You hungry or something?"

"Oh shut it, Hiei's on his way." I rolled my eyes.

Hiei chose that exact moment to walk in and sit beside me. "Thank you."

"No probs, darlin!" I gave my fire demon a broad grin. Then turned back to Kurama. "Whatcha readin? Is it any good?"

Kurama chuckled. "D'Aullaire's Book of Greek Mythology."

I nodded.

"Is it any good?" Hiei repeated my earlier question.

"Its ok." Kurama and I said at the same time.

Kurama raised his eyebrow at me.

"I read it for fun back in middle school, and again in high school. I thought it could have been written in a slightly more advanced manner, but hey, nothing's perfect." I shrugged.

Hiei looked at me like he was about to speak. But what he said was mind to mind. 'Your smiles are perfect.'

Kurama sputtered his tea. "The world is coming to an end, Hiei's being sweet."

I spotted Hiei's blush and got a little ticked. "Well, Hiei is almost always sweet to me." I stuck my tongue out at the fox. I never said I had gotten more mature.

"My point exactly." Kurama chuckled once more, then got serious. "Hiei told me you were having trouble sleeping."

I waved my hand to brush the concern away. "Its nothing too major."

Hiei didn't even look up at either of us. "Pyro, you stay awake and pace or write long after you think I'm asleep every damn night." If he had powered up, his noodles would have burst into flames.

"Its just a little insomnia, fairly common for me." I tried to keep my tone on the flippant side of things, so the boys wouldn't go into one of their overprotective hissy fits. They were already in one, didn't want to make it worse.

"Is it your dreams that keep you from sleep?" Kurama asked after a moment's pause.

Shit, my hand was gonna have to be shown. "More like someone else's memories on random." I stabbed the little bits of meat still in my bowl.

Hiei radiated alarm. Not that I hadn't already seen all of it anyway.

"Relax, lover, not yours." I rubbed his arm in an attempt at comfort. "Its that damn past self who won't accept death."

Kurama was also radiating alarm. He was doing a good job of keeping it down though. "And what of last night?"

"Oh, just my normal dreams in which everyone dies or gets..."

"Onna, please." Hiei interrupted me.

"You were peeking, don't deny it." I winked at the dragon.

Kurama sipped his tea again. "Hmm, I think containment may soon prove futile."

I made a wry face. "You will be assimilated, resistance is futile." I deadpanned like a Borg.

I didn't have to look up. I could FEEL the eye roll Kurama rewarded me with.

"So what next? I have what you all tell me is the best mental block system in the three worlds. If that fails, frankly, we're fucked." I managed to keep my voice calm at least.

"Keep it together. We're all scared enough as it is." Hiei hissed.

I shot him an apologetic look.

"We have too much emotional involvement now, so none of us would be able to, how did Koenma put it, put the bitch down." Kurama shrugged, and tried to seem nonchalant. "I believe we'd be left with running."

"No. You won't be left with that. I'll do the running. I couldn't watch that happen, not to you guys." I couldn't look up from my clasped hands in my lap. I had just started to feel comfortable here, with them.

Hiei's arms and smoky scent wound around me. "We'll find a way, we always do. I have yet to let these fools fail a mission."

Kurama snorted.

"Well, we better. I refuse to let her do you like she did Kurama, and I sure as hell won't be letting her mess with him again." I growled, then bolted before Hiei could tighten his grip. Their surprised yells followed me into the forest.

I didn't care where I was headed, nor that branches kept tearing at me. Damn Kurama for stealing my belladonna anyway. I was already listed as dead, so I really didn't have to worry about looking good for the casket.

::I will take over if you die.:: Lotus' overly sensual tones broke into my thoughts.

'What?' That was new.

::You die- fall off a cliff, poison yourself, piss off Kurama, whatever- I get free reign to fix what you broke and go do whatever the fuck I want.:: She sounded so smug.

'Fine, you wanna be stubborn about it, I can be just as stubborn. I'm takin off to somewhere you can't hurt anyone.'

I was lost, in the woods, somewhere in Japan, with a demented demon in my head and no idea how to speak the language properly. I learned most of my Japanese from Yusuke during fights, never got around to getting lessons from Kurama. My life was so full of fail.

I kept moving in a direction I hoped was away from people. I'd live in the damn woods if I had to. She shouldn't be allowed to be anywhere near people.

Hiei seemed to materialize in front of me. "Stop."

I tried to step around him. I nearly fell because of his sudden move to block my path. He held me tight in his arms to prevent my ass from having a violent meeting with the ground. "I told you to stop, onna."

"Just go back, Hiei. Let me make one last attempt at protecting as many people as I can before she totally eclipses me." I pushed against him, trying to break free.

He just held tighter. "Woman, stop fighting. I am not letting you go off on your own and get killed. I have put too much into protecting you."

"Look, Hiei, I know the bitch got out, attacks only happen when she gets out. I don't know who she hurt, or how badly she hurt them. But any hurt is unacceptable." I silently pleaded for him to just go back and say he lost me.

"You were getting ready to kill Yusuke, but you heard my voice and stopped." He cupped my cheek in his hand.

I nuzzled into his touch. "Hiei, I just... I can't..." I broke down crying.

Koenma was waiting for us when Hiei finally got me calm enough to return to the temple. "Kurama has informed me of the possibility of a situation. Since I can't have a hostile demon running lose in my Human World headquarters, I am going to have to send you back." The pacifiered god seemed almost reluctant.

I just nodded and squeezed Hiei's hand. If I opened my mouth, I would cry again, or worse, ask the annoying godlet to lock me up in Spirit World prison.

Hiei stepped forward slightly. "I will accompany her. She will still need protection, even if she is denied yours, Koenma."

The godlet chuckled. "Actually, Hiei, I was about to suggest you do just that."

We both stared at him like he'd grown a third head, never mind where the second one came from.

"You think I haven't noticed how close you two have gotten? Really, I AM a god you know." he crossed his arms and winked.

"Well, damn. When am I evicted?" I sighed.

"As soon as your things are packed. Botan's already started." Koenma gave me a look, like he wanted to say something else.

I just turned to help Botan throw me out of the temple.

"Oh, Pyro?" Koenma's voice followed me. "Just let your past life know, a soul can only wage war against its body for so long. And vice versa."

The blue haired reaper was sat before the wardrobe, folding clothes carefully and singing the only Japanese song I knew. It was a sad sounding song all about cherry blossoms called Sakura. I didn't say anything, just knelt beside her and joined in both the work and the song.

She looked at me with unspoken questions in her eyes. I just shrugged and went back to packing. Between the two of us, we finished pretty quickly.

Botan turned to me after the last zipper was zipped on the last bag and said, "I didn't know you could sing in Japanese like that."

"Only actual Japanese song I know." I grinned.

"Where did you learn it? I spent a cherry blossom festival with Kieko one year while Yusuke was away, and the festival we were at had it playing on repeat."

We started off down the hall. "I had this audio tape, for teaching kids Japanese through song. I remember Sakura, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." I laughed, because it was so completely useless.

We had almost reached the others when she turned to me with tears filling her pink eyes. "Promise me you'll be back."

I sighed. "Bo, I can't promise you that. If I manage to get the demon converted or gone, I'll come back. If not, well, I'll at least send Hiei to warn you."

"He'll never leave you, I hope you know that. So you'll be back." Botan shrugged and started off again. "I'll pop in from time to time and check on you."

"So you can be the first one to know of the impending apocalypse." I laughed at my own dark humour.

"Really, I don't see how you can joke at a time like this."

"Its how I deal, Bo. Its either laugh or cry, and I hate crying."

ok, that's it for this chapter. I was gonna close it a scene before that, but then I got all jazzed by a review from LostCause6661, so I added more. You should go thank her by reading her amazing stories and leaving reviews. Go on, I mean it.