Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Ice pinwheeled from her fingertips. It lanced out in deadly shards, stabbing painfully into flesh and bone. Creatures of all kinds recoiled from her, shrinking away from the freezing blasts of pure demonic energy.
Her arms ached, and she longed to lower them, but then her powers would wane even more and she would surely be consumed by the tide. Kurama fought at her back, Rose Whip keeping most of their opponents away, and Yukina wondered hysterically for a moment why it was just the two of them. By all rights, Kuwabara and Yuusuke should have been here to help them. Even Botan could have provided much-needed assistance by flying them out on her oar.
But no, the others were busy fighting in their own battles - and could she really begrudge them that? Of course not. She'd have to learn to protect herself sometime; she couldn't always rely on Kuwabara to save her. And anyway, she had Kurama - he was loyal enough, at least, to watch her back, even if secretly she didn't quite trust him - but then, he was a fox, and if legends had taught her anything, it was that foxes were never to be trusted.
She felt something break deep inside her, a glacier cracking in two, and moaned at the rush of power. Her control cracked, and sparkling tears sprung over her eyelids. The ice encasing her enemies hardened almost to diamond.
A scream bubbled up from her throat as sharp thorns bit into her waist. Blood stained her pastel kimono, and her attacks faltered as she glanced down and stared in wonder at the perfect crimson rose locking Kurama's Rose Whip around her. Her breath leaked out as it squeezed tighter, and she looked around faintly. The battleground resembled a garden of crystal statues, the few remaining demons - the only ones quick or smart enough to evade her - hunkering behind their icy counterparts.
She turned around. There was Kurama, Rose Whip in hand, holding it so tightly that his hand bled. "Yukina," he murmured, voice hoarse and tense under the weight of her reiki. "Yukina, stop it. Now, or the city'll..." He trailed off, glancing behind him in the direction of Tokyo, where Kuwabara and Yuusuke still battled hordes of minion youkai. If Yukina kept this up, her latent power would explode, and the city would be decimated.
Yukina's face was pale, her eyes wide. "Please," she whispered, her voice crackling and low. "Please, Kurama. I can't stop. Stop me before I..." Her gaze returned to the battlefield. "Stop me before I hurt someone." Kurama shook his head.
"You've done that already. You need to stop this yourself. Get a hold on your power, and pull it in. Slowly..." Yukina shook her head jerkily.
"I can't. There's too much of it. Please, Kurama, please..." Her voice dropped to such a low pitch that Kurama had to step closer to hear her, and even then her words were too muffled to make out their meaning over the roar of the blizzard Yukina had created. He stepped closer still.
"...kill me." Kurama's eyes widened, then narrowed as he watched her, considering her plea. She had too much power and not enough control over it. She was going to break soon, he could tell, and he didn't have the reiki left to keep the damage contained. She would kill them all, and die herself if he didn't -
"Alright." She gave him a grateful look, eyes wide and scared, as he pulled her closer. Hands at her temples, mouth set in a grim line, straining to make out her last words.
"Thank you."
The blizzard stopped.