A/N: Reviews are definitely dropping off... which makes me very sad. Make me happy again!... Anyway... More fighting! Yay! Um, if you haven't figured it out yet, everyone in the story gets one big battle (sometimes in conjunction with other characters). So don't worry, Inu and the others will have their chance too.

Golden Fire
Chapter 15: The Ice Queen

"You know him? I thought you said no one knew who Black Death was!" Inuyasha yelled at Yuki. She just ignored him and stared at the man she called Ryu.

It was Black Death who answered his question. "I'm much different than Yuki remembers me, but I am her Ryu and she can't deny that." He continued to grin and his red eyes flashed. "How are you, my love?"

His words seemed to shake Yuki out of her shock. "Don't you dare call me that!" she hissed.

"Well, now. I don't remember you being so against it, or any other pet name I called you when we were married."

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and growled, but not at Ryu, as I expected. His cold amber eyes were turned to Yuki and shining with anger. "Married? You engaged in such a human act? With this scum?"

Ryu laughed. "She didn't tell you, Sesshoumaru?" He cracked his knuckles and leered at Yuki, but continued to speak to the Western Lord. "I suppose she didn't tell you that I was a human either."

"Shut up," Yuki whispered.

But Ryu continued as if he didn't hear her. "And she didn't tell you that she was pregnant? With a hanyou? A half-breed?"

A choking sound came from Yuki. Her face was contorted in anguish and then, in a flash, it transformed to an expression of anger. "Yes, I was pregnant. With a hanyou, no less. And you killed your own child for that!" Her voice cracked with emotion.

It was Ryu's turn to have his face twist in anger. "You expected to lie and get away with it? For years I didn't know that you were a demon and then you decide to tell me when you're pregnant with a monster? An abomination? I couldn't let it live, but you escaped punishment. For the past ten years I've been training so I could punish you for your lies and deceit."

"And losing my child wasn't enough?" screamed Yuki. "You didn't even give the baby a chance!"

I frowned and watched Yuki put her hand on her abdomen. "Oh gods," I whispered. "He shot her womb and killed the baby."

Yuki turned her eyes to me. They seemed unusually large and soulful. "I told you that love nearly killed me once. I felt so guilty for not telling him what I was, but when I did, he betrayed me and our child." She laughed coldly, surprising us all, and turned back to Ryu. "It's ironic, Ryu, that you are now the very thing you hated most."

Ryu sneered in return. "So you figured it out, finally? That I am a hanyou now? I admit it. Naraku came to me on the eve of my revenge and told me to wait. He told me that I could never defeat you as the human Black Death, but that I could torture you as a hanyou. I would then become his closest advisor. He gave me one of the demons that had possessed his own body. What a glorious gift!" He lifted his arms and looked briefly to the sky. "I had never dreamed of such power."

"You're insane," whispered Yuki. "You're doubly insane if you think that Naraku will ever share power. He is using you to kill us. You're expendable."

"As are you," he answered, as he drew out a gun similar to the one Yuki held in her own hand. Ryu grinned. "But I think I want to have a little more fun with you yet." He quickly swung his arm, pointed the gun at me and Shippou, and pulled the trigger.

I closed my eyes as I heard Yuki and Inuyasha scream in protest. A split second passed and I yet I didn't feel any pain. Shippou was still clinging to my shoulder. Slowly I opened my eyes to see a translucent wall in front of me. A bullet was suspended in the center of it. I reached out and found that the wall was cold. It was made of ice; it was a seven-foot thick wall of ice.

I turned to look at Yuki, who had her hand stretched out towards me. She looked as shocked as I was.

Ryu sputtered in annoyance. "What the hell is this, Yuki? You yourself told me you didn't have any snow demon powers. And this sure as hell isn't an illusion." He pointed the gun towards Yuki.

She finally tore her eyes from her hand and straightened up. "Kagome," she murmured, "you and the others get behind me."

Her eyes were glowing blue, so we obeyed, except for Sesshoumaru who hesitated a moment. As soon as he joined us, Yuki waved her hand and another wall of ice sprung up to block us from the inevitable battle. We pressed ourselves up to the ice, to see what was happening.

Ryu shot a series of bullets at her, but she froze them all and they fell to the ground.

"You're going to have to do better than that, 'lover'," she spat. Her voice had acquired a metallic ring, making her sound mechanized. Blue lightening crackled over her skin. She held her hand out to the side of her and the wall that held the first bullet split apart into hundreds of lethal-looking icicles. "I always had better aim that you." She flicked her hand forward and the icicles shot towards Ryu.

He dropped his gun and made a movement that seemed like he was pitching a baseball. My eyes widened when I realized he had thrown a fireball toward the ice daggers. They melted just feet from him.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha tackled me and pushed me to the ground as the unstoppable fireball blasted through the ice wall right where I had been standing. It exploded thirty feet behind us.

"Thank you," I breathed, blushing slightly when I realized our close contact.

He frowned. "Stupid girl. Watch out next time." He stood up and resumed watching the battle through the three-foot hole in the wall. His fists were clenched tightly and I realized he wanted to go and kill Ryu himself. He had murdered his own child for being a hanyou.

Yuki growled as she surveyed the damage and then faced Ryu again. "So, you are half fire demon."

"And you're a frosty bitch," answered Ryu. "What's your point?" He threw another fireball at her.

She didn't even flinch, just waved her arm and froze it. The ice sphere fell to the ground and shattered.

Ryu raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. Too bad our child didn't inherit those powers." He leaned forward a little. "By the way, the doctor called that morning. It was a boy."

He probably expected her to cry or at least choke on her own breath again. But she didn't. She stared at him for a moment and then she changed. I watched in horror as the life in her eyes died. An ice-cold wind rushed through the clearing. Frost tipped her eyelashes and claws, and her eyes glowed blue again. She leapt and swiped at him.

Blue ribbons of light trailed behind her and sliced Ryu's arm as he jumped away. His face was serious as she landed and spun to face him again. She was snarling and flexing her claws.

He threw fireball after fireball at her. She froze every one and soon their steps crunched on the broken ice.

I ran to Sesshoumaru. "She's turned into an animal!" I cried. "Stop her from hurting herself!"

He snorted. "She's not a pathetic half-breed. She will be fine."

"Oh, really?" I put my hands on my hips and watched Yuki attack Ryu again. "And you're so in control when you're a big evil puppy dog, right?"

His eyes flashed to me and quickly back to the battle.

"She has a point, Sesshoumaru," spoke up Inuyasha. "This isn't normal fighting for her. He brought so much grief to her that she can't think straight. She would have killed him by now if she was. And when she does pin him down, she'll torture him."

"So what if she does? She is an assassin, little brother. Death is her calling." He crossed his arms and watched the two fight beyond the ice wall.

"But Yuki loved Ryu at one time!" I protested.

He growled back at me. "She does not love him now."

"You always love them," I whispered, as I turned to watch the fight again. "Even when they hurt you."

Ryu and Yuki passed each other again, swiping with their deadly claws. Ryu's wounds were considerable and they all had ice in them. His skin was turning blue and he shook from the cold. Yuki only sported a couple scratches. She smiled wickedly at him. "I'm getting bored, dear husband."

"Why don't you just die, then? I guarantee your boredom would end," he spat back, his teeth chattering. "Maybe you'd get lucky and see the kid."

"Man," I muttered, "it's like he wants to die."

"No," answered Inuyasha, "I smell guilt. He hates Yuki for lying, but regrets killing his child. He can't get it off his mind."

I stared at him for a moment, amazed at his insight. "Well, I think he's going to have to face his child's spirit long before Yuki."

"Yeah. Look." He pointed to Yuki, who was standing with that deadened expression on her face.

Ryu had picked up his gun again and was pointing it at her heart.

"Why are you trying? You know I can stop the bullet," she said coldly.

"One of us will die today, Yuki," he replied.

"Yes. One of us will die." She tilted her head. "Did you know that seventy percent of your body is made of water?" She flicked her hand and Ryu screamed in pain. His calves were suddenly covered in frost and I knew that she had frozen his very blood. The frost inched up his body. I hid my face from Yuki torturing him, but I couldn't stop hearing his screams. I finally gave up and turned back to the scene before us. Ryu was twisting and trying to move, but failing miserably. The ice had reached just above his waist.

He stopped struggling and lifted his gun again, but pointed it lower on her body. Towards her stomach. "Or maybe two of us will die," he whispered, staring at her abdomen.

The dead expression left her face in an instant. He pulled the trigger as she put up an ice wall to protect herself. Before the bullet hit the ice, he stiffened and shattered into pieces.

Yuki fell and curled into a ball. The ice walls melted instantly and I rushed to her side. "Oh gods, Yuki. Are you okay?"

She looked up at me with a pained face. Her body had broken out into a cold sweat and she was shaking, but at least her eyes had stopped glowing. "I lost it. If he hadn't threatened me like... like that again, I might not have snapped out of it. That power. It's overwhelming compared to my kitsune powers. Intoxicating. I let it take control of me."

Sesshoumaru walked up and knelt beside her. He sniffed a few times and arched an eyebrow at his mate. "You are not pregnant. You should have realized that. He only said that so you would kill him quickly. The coward did not want to endure any more pain or humiliation."

"Of course," she murmured while pressing her hand to her stomach. The frost on her lashes was melting, making her look as if she was crying, although I knew she would never do that in front of us. "I really should have known." Frowning, she asked, "Aren't you angry? That I loved and married a human? That I almost had a hanyou?"

The Western Lord paused and his lip curled in disgust. "Your actions appall me, but you are my mate. I must still protect you."

"Wow, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better," she responded, rolling her eyes. She turned to me and gave me a half smile. "Know what? No more secrets, Kagome. Every time I try to keep something from you, it tends to haunt me."

"Okay," I agreed, smiling. I hugged her briefly, but she stiffened. "Oh sorry," I said, blushing. "I forgot that you're still a big, tough demon."

"No, it's not that," she responded almost absentmindedly. "I smell something."

I looked up to see Inuyasha, Kouga and Sesshoumaru spinning around, trying to track the scent. Kouga growled. "It's that wind bitch."

Sure enough, Kagura settled on the ground a few feet away. She studied the remains of Ryu for a second before looking at us and smiling. "Oh good. He really was becoming such a pest. Kept on asking Naraku when he would get more power to kill the snow demon."

"So Naraku sent him to us, knowing that he wasn't near strong enough to defeat us," said Inuyasha. He tapped his foot impatiently. "Why doesn't your precious Naraku do his own dirty work for once?"

Kagura shrugged. "Who cares? That's not what I'm here to talk about, hanyou." She shifted her eyes to Sesshoumaru. "I'm actually here to talk to you, Sesshoumaru."

"That's 'Lord' Sesshoumaru to you!" cried Jaken.

Sesshoumaru silenced him with a glare, but didn't wipe away the angry gaze as he turned back to the wind sorceress. "For your sake, I hope you have come to announce Naraku's surrender and to deliver the jewel."

Kagura laughed. "Do you think he'll surrender, even in death? No, I haven't come to make a deal between you and Naraku." She grinned. "I have come to make a deal between you and myself."

A/N: Another cliffhanger. I know, I know. I spent a long time trying to figure out who should be under Black Death's mask. Finally, I decided that Yuki had to have a reason why she didn't hesitate to escape her time period. In case you didn't notice (or did notice and are like 'wtf?'), the battle was inspired by 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' when Willow (a witch) goes nuts. Just like Willow, Yuki will struggle with her awakened powers. Also, after I showed this chapter to a guy friend of mine, he informed me that Ryu is the name of a character in Street Fighter who also uses fireballs as his weapon. This is completely coincidental. I just like the name Ryu and thought it was appropriate.