Okay this is the last of our lovely Youko for a while, this whole scene took a lot longer to write but I love it and a lot got explained. Youko will be back, do not worry! But like Jin and Touya he will not be involved in the love triangle!

The Dream: Chapter 21

Youko stood there, unmoving, his arms crossed in front of his body, his eyes closed, and his head slightly tilted downward. A picture frozen in time as his subconscious left the scene before him and he reached back into the shared connection. "Kurama?" But the younger mind was nowhere to be seen. Strange. Youko wondered around their shared connection until he found the mind he was looking for, a representation of Kurama was sitting in the dark corners of their mind with his knees pulled to his chest and his face hidden away.

"What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Get up." Kurama did not move Youko could feel he was truly not thinking about anything, just soaking in the silence. After years of this kind of behavior seen in himself, Youko knew it would not be healthy for either of them if he continued. "Boy I said get up!" Kurama lifted his head to meet Youko's gaze, he stood increasingly taller than Kurama as he was on the ground. "What are you doing?" Kurama looked away, a scowl growing across his face; he did not want to tell Youko his true feelings, but he knew he had too. "She would rather have you." his voice was small and weak, almost breaking. A bark of laughter came from the taller man, a true laugh that Kurama had only heard a hand full of times. "Naïve Kurama. Can you not see her true meaning behind her words?" "You are stronger and more ruthless, it is true. I've had to have you help me through so many things I could not handle on my own. What good would I be to her?" "She worries she will hurt you? Though it makes little sense considering we share the same body. That seems to make no difference to her." "She will ask Hiei if you say no. So do whatever you want."

His irritation with the younger demon was growing with every passing word, he hated when Kurama forced him into acting like a strong father the young boy always needed. "Boy get on your feet and face me when you speak." His voice was like knifes, cutting into Kurama so deep that he slowly stood and faced the fox. "She is in love with you, can you not see that?" "But…" "No. She is. I feel she is in love with Hiei too but for much different reasons. I am nothing to her, but an altered version of you. A version she cannot possibly connect with." He waited for the words to sink in and when they finally did, he took Kurama by the hand and led him back to the forefront of their shared connect so he could watch what happened next.

Youko's eyes flittered open and he looked up through his lashes at the young girl standing only a few feet in front of him with terror written across her face. Her eyes connected with his and for the first time he was watching her cry, not out of sadness but out of fear. Before he could speak her eyes flashed to his right and then down to his feet. He followed the same path and saw while he was gone inside his own mind, the plant had fed off his energy and increased its own self. Now instead of one mouth, there stood six and the acid droll was had pooled and was an inch from his feet; slowly he stepped to the left, but when he looked back at the girl her eyes were only looking at her own feet. The acid droll was less than an inch away and she feared the pain.

"Well well. I see while I was gone my plant started to have some real fun. Now you must show me your powers." Without moving her lips too much she asked one more time, "Teach me?" "Yes!"

Lilly's eyes drained of all fear and she stared at him with such intensity it made his arm hair stand on end, "Now little flower, show me!"

She closed her eyes and fell into a state of meditation, in this state the drool had connected with her feet but she did not move. When she finally opened her eyes they were a piercing red. Good. Very good.

She took a step backwards to draw the plants attention, however this time their movements were almost like a dance. She focused on the source of the plants energy and less of its strikes, her left leg had been hit with some acid and started to gush blood down her left. She continued her dance until she jumped far enough away that the plant would have to take some time to get to her. She closed her eyes again and outstretched her arms; her fingers curled and her eyes snapped back open, she was focused only on the plant and nothing else. Slowly she started to pull her arms back towards her body, as she did the plant started to thrive around, twisting around itself. Unlike in the forest though, she felt no pain coming from the deadly plant just its energy being pulled back to its source.

Once she had a hold of the plants energy to bend as she wished, it only took a matter of seconds for the six heads to dissolve back to one and from there the plants shrank until only a seed was left on the ground. She let her arms drop to her side and looked up into Youko's eyes, her vision started to blur and she could feel herself starting to fall.

Youko lunged forward catching her with easy and picked up the drained girl around her back and underneath her bleeding legs. "Take her to Yukina. She will heal her." "Alright little one."

As they walked back through the temple, Youko sensed Yukina was in the kitchen. "Pregnancy cravings." "Does Hiei know yet?" "I'm not sure if anyone does."

Before they got to the kitchen Lilly's eyes opened and she called out his name, "Kur..a..ma?" "Goodbye for now little one, you are needed." Lilly could fell a sudden drop as Youko's body turned back into Kurama's (Kurama is still shorter than Youko) and his eyes changed back to their emerald green. "Hello Lilly, you will be okay." Her arms wrapped around his neck tighter as her face found its way into the crook of his neck and he could feel hot fresh tears starting to run.

"Yukina." "Hello Kurama…oh my goodness what happened?" "Could you please heal her for me?" "Of course."