Fire & Ice IV




Chapter 10 : The Final Battle




" What’s happening, Hiei?" 
The fire demon kept his eyes on the pulsating pod of vines. " Unless I am very 
mistaken, she’s turning into a dragon." Only Hiei could have made that statement 
in such a deadpanned way. 
" A *what* ?" Yuusuke choked. 
" Nuryko is an ice dragon spirit trapped in a body of an ice demon. I saw her 
true form in the reflection of her looking-glass." 
" Then, I suggest we leave." 
Hiei’s expression was implacable. " It’s too late for that - we would never make 
it out of this wasteland with a dragon pursuing us." The glowing aura 
surrounding Nuryko’s vegetative prison shifted to a shearing white colour. 
" DUCK!" Kurama shouted, the instant before the pod erupted upwards and 
outwards, sending pieces of plant puree and deadly shards of ice in every 
direction. 
From the ruins of his creation, rose a creature of legend - one of breath-taking 
beauty and awe-inspiring fear. Its long, white sinewy neck lifted until it 
touched the roof of the cavernous hall. With a roar Ryu-Nuryko sent a deadly 
blast of ice in their direction, freezing whatever was in its way into chunks of 
solid ice. 
" That was close," Yuusuke panted, breaking away some of the frost that clung to 
his partially frozen coat. " Is it my imagination or does she always pick on 
me?" 
Reaching into his cloak, Hiei drew out his katana. " Fire and ice. That is our 
only choice. Jaou Ensatsu Ken!" Dark, flickering flames enveloped his sword and 
part of his hand. 
Taking a flying leap, Hiei blurred out of sight, darting back and forth faster 
than the ice dragon could strike. Disappearing just as the dragon’s claw 
descended on him, he reappeared in front of the one place on its body that was 
not covered by the impenetrable scales and plunged his katana into Ryu-Nuryko’s 
right eye. 
With an enraged roar, it swiped Hiei away from its face as if he were nothing 
more than a pesky insect. Kurama cried out in alarm as the fire demon hit the 
ice-covered floor, bounced twice and lay there - momentarily stunned. 
" Do you think this little toothpick can hurt me?" Nuryko’s voice emerged from 
the dragon’s maw. " How dare you turn against me? Now you will have to die, 
along with the others." 
" Great move, Hiei, I think you pissed her off." Yuusuke stepped forward. " My 
turn." 
" Aim for her head," Kurama whispered. 
Summoning every last drop of reiki possible, Yuusuke concentrated it on a point 
at the tip of his trigger-finger and nodded to the youko in front of him. 
" Nuryko," Kurama called out sweetly. 
It turned towards them, eyes blazing. " Haven’t you died yet?" 
Jaws parted, Ryu-Nuryko surged down at the seemingly vulnerable youko. At the 
very last moment, Kurama dove aside, leaving Yuusuke standing in his place. 
" Rei-GAN!" 
Newton’s Law prevented Ryu-Nuryko from turning away. A burst of concentrated 
reiki hit it, straight between the eyes, with enough force to send its head 
snapping backwards. 
With a thunderous scream, it rose to its full height, cracking open the ice dome 
roof. 
" Definitely *not* good." 
Hiei got to his feet, still a little unsteady. Kurama noticed that he had 
removed the warding bandages covering the black dragon tattoo on his arm. The 
Kokuryuha stirred uneasily, twisting around but held in check by his will. 
" You don’t have enough youki for this, Hiei," Kurama warned. 
The fire demon gave him a familiar look that told him, quite clearly, he was to 
stay out of this. 
" Better to die in battle, than to die defeated." His eyes darkened. " I’ll give 
you a head start. Yukina is outside - keep her safe." 
For one brief irrational moment, Kurama considered beating some sense into him. 
But knowing Hiei, he would probably set the Kokuryuha on *him* . 
" I’m staying with you. Yuusuke can get Yukina out by himself." 
Seeing no way to argue the suggestion, Yuusuke nodded and quickly ducked out the 
entrance. 
" I’m not going to let you die alone." He watched as the fire demon’s face 
softened into a rare smile. 
" Baka," he murmured gently, making it sound like more of an endearment than an 
insult. 
" Look out!" They were both flung to one side as Ryu-Nuryko’s claw slammed into 
the floor, flinging up great slates of ice. The youko muttered something 
distinctly uncomplimentary under his breath. " Doesn’t that lizard have any 
respect for a tender moment?" 
" This ends now. No more." Hiei lifted his arm, the Kokuryuha twisted and 
writhed, eager to be free to consume and destroy. 
" JAOU ENSATSU KOKURYUHA!" 
He had not been sure that it would work…whether or not he had enough youki left 
to summon the Kokuryuha and control it. As the black dragon surged upwards, 
tearing itself away from his arm and draining his youki away, Hiei knew he could 
not hold on to the Kokuryuha. 
Kurama caught him before he hit the ground. 




Chapter 11 : Endings




Fire met ice. 
In a titanic struggle older than time itself, these two opposing elements came 
together in a shower of steam and flames. The Kokuryuha entwined its burning 
black form around that of the ice dragon - both struggling to defeat the other 
in sheer strength.
As they took to the air, destroying what remained of the roof, Kurama lifted 
Hiei into his arms and ran out, nimbly dodging crumbling boulders of ice. 
He did not look back as he made his way through the fortress. However, he did 
quicken his steps when he heard an ominous rumbling that shook the castle to its 
foundations. As he emerged outside, the painfully bright sunlight blinded him 
momentarily. 
" Kurama!" he heard Yuusuke’s voice. Turning his head in the direction it had 
come from, he spotted Yuusuke’s dark head and the gleam of Yukina’s blue hair. 
" Come on," the young man called out. " I think half the mountain is going to 
slide down this slope." 
In the sky, Ryu-Nuryko and the Kokuryuha did battle - inflicting terrible wounds 
on both the landscape and each other. Looking up as he settled Hiei on a 
sheltered ledge, safe from the combatants and the threatening avalanche, he saw 
the black and white entwining forms of both dragons within the storm of fire and 
ice. 
A single scream pierced the air - Ryu-Nuryko’s final cry was cut off in a dying 
gurgle as the Kokuryuha sank its fangs into its throat. Twisting sharply, it 
ripped out a chunk of Ryu-Nuryko’s neck. As its body plummeted towards the 
ground, the Kokuryuha - still entangled with the ice dragon, seemed to 
fade…finally dissipating into a few tendrils of black flame. 
In his arms, Hiei moaned in pain. 
The ice dragon struck the ground with a force that knocked Yuusuke off his feet 
and tipped over the already unstable mountain top. A mixture of dirty ice and 
rubble flooded down the slope, destroying everything in its path, including what 
remained of Nuryko’s fortress. As it reached the foot of the slope, it spread 
out across the ice plains, burying the ice dragon’s body and sealing it forever 
in a frozen tomb. 
" Is it over?" Yukina murmured when all was quiet again. 
" Yes, it’s finally over." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

They made camp on that sheltered ledge. With Nuryko’s death, the oppressive 
chill that shrouded her territory had been lifted. Despite the setting sun, it 
was almost pleasantly warm - like a cool, spring morning. 
Kurama was worried about Hiei despite Yukina’s assurances that her twin was 
sleeping peacefully. The black dragon tattoo on his arm had yet to reappear even 
though the Kokuryuha was no longer about. Meanwhile, Yuusuke was seated in front 
of their small camp fire, warming his hands. 
" Are you *sure* there’s nothing wrong with him?" the youko asked for about the 
tenth time in the last five minutes. 
Yukina looked up, infinitely patient. Kurama was not fooling anyone about the 
depth of his feelings for her brother. She had been surprised, but glad, when 
she first guessed how he felt - Hiei needed someone to love him. 
" Yes, Kurama-san." 
He sighed, his furry ears flattening ruefully. " I guess…" A chill breeze lifted 
the hairs at the back of his neck. Surging to his feet, he drew out his rose 
whip. On the other side of their camp, Yuusuke assumed his battle stance. 
A little girl appeared before them, dressed in a white kimono. Where did she 
come from? At first, Kurama did not recognise her - she bore but a slight 
resemblance to the mad ice demon who had enchanted Hiei. 
" Nuryko…" 
The child smiled at them and extended her hand to Yukina. Stepping forward, 
Yukina took it into her own. Staring into those pale blue eyes, she suddenly 
gasped and gripped the small hand tightly. Then, little Nuryko reached forward 
and embraced her. 
Later, Kurama could have sworn he saw the glittering tear gems in child’s eyes 
just before she disappeared into the darkness… 
" Was that who I thought it was?" 
" Nuryko is dead. We saw her die." He looked out into the night, in the general 
direction of where the ice dragon was buried. 
Yukina slowly sank to her knees. " That was the *true* Nuryko - her spirit. She 
died a very long time ago." She reached out to smooth back her twin’s spiky 
black hair, her touch lingering on the white star burst. The images she had seen 
when Nuryko had permitted her to look into her soul were disturbing. 
" Once, Nuryko was an ice demon. While she and her clan were travelling north 
for the summer, they stopped here where they unknowingly awakened an ice dragon 
from its centuries-old slumber. It paid them back by slaughtering the clan to 
its last child. Unable to survive in the heat, it stole the body of one of the 
children as she lay dying. 
A part of Nuryko’s soul remained in her body even after the dragon had possessed 
it. However, the dragon’s spirit twisted it until it became the creature you 
knew as Nuryko. She craved the warmth of all those she enchanted because, I 
think that deep down inside, she remembered what it was like to be warm…alive. 
When the Kokuryuha defeated Ryu-Nuryko, that part of her rejoined with her 
spirit. She came back to thank us and to say…good bye."
A single tear gem fell from her cheek and bounced lightly off Hiei’s chest.
His crimson eyes flickered open. " Yukina…why are you crying?"
She hugged him. 
" Because I’m so happy." 




Chapter 12 : Epilogue




They had a party to celebrate Hiei’s homecoming, his rescuers’ triumphant return 
and just to have some fun. 
Kuwabara was still a bit miffed about being left behind and burning up with 
jealousy that Yukina had cared for Hiei enough to pursue him into the heart of 
Nuryko’s territory, regardless of threat to life and limb. All night, he had 
been staring daggers into the fire demon’s unsuspecting back. 
" Umm…Yukina?" They were sitting on the same bench under a tree, quite secluded 
from the main body of the party. 
" Yes, Kuwabara-san?" 
He fidgeted uncomfortably for a few moments before blurting the one thing that 
had been on his mind all night. 
" Do you *love* Hiei?" 
" Of course I do." 
Kuwabara’s already fragile heart shattered like a pile of cheap pottery. 
As he slowly bleed to death from his broken heart, Yukina, still totally unaware 
of the havoc she had wrecked, continued, " After all, he *is* my brother."
What she said passed over his head completely, except for that all important 
word ‘brother’. As his mind struggled with the implications of it, he knew only 
of his ecstatic joy…even if he would have to tolerate Hiei’s presence in his 
beloved’s life.
" Oh, Yukina!" He threw his arms around the ice demon’s shoulders and crushed 
her against his chest. " I’m *so* happy that he’s your brother!"
The cold prick of steel against his neck sobered him up pretty quickly.
" Unhand my sister, you big oaf," Hiei told him in a deadly voice. " Now."
" Heh…heh…it isn’t what you think." He let his arms drop to his sides and slid 
hurriedly away from Yukina. 
" Really?" The fire demon settled the sharp tip of his katana against the bench. 
He definitely did *not* look amused. " And you were holding my sister for what 
reason?" 
Kuwabara paled. " For no particular reason," he mumbled. 
" So…you were trying to take advantage of Yukina?" 
" No…no!" 
Hiei turned to his twin - he was enjoying Kuwabara’s discomfort immensely. " 
Yukina, do you mind if I talk to Kuwabara *alone* for awhile? We need to discuss 
certain rules of conduct…"
As soon as Yukina was out of sight, Hiei turned to Kuwabara and gave the 
wan-looking human a truly evil smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It was not easy, but Kurama managed track down where Hiei was hiding to get away 
from the festivities. The fire demon was nursing a half-full cup of sake, 
perched on a convenient roof-top with his eyes fixed on the starry heavens 
above. 
" Hiei." He drew a bloom from his hair. " A rose for your thoughts." 
" Hn." 
" Did you have fun terrorising Kuwabara?" he asked, settling down beside him. " 
I saw the look on his face when you were done with him." 
Hiei made a disgusted sound. " I can’t believe it. He *really* likes Yukina." 
Kurama laughed and inched closer. " So…why aren’t you upset about losing the 
Kokuryuha?" 
The question caught Hiei by surprise. It was true he had barely felt a tweak at 
the lost of his most powerful weapon, but he had not realised that anyone had 
noticed. Who was he fooling? This was Kurama. Even for a youko, he was damned 
perceptive. 
" Does it matter? It’s gone, moaning about it wouldn’t bring it back." 
" You *have* changed, Hiei," he murmured. " When we first met, the Kokuryuha 
meant everything to you." 
He shrugged. " When we first met, I wanted to be the best, the strongest….I 
*still* want to be the best, the strongest but I don’t mind waiting. At least I 
have Yukina and…," he coughed, embarrassed at being caught admitting he had 
feelings, "…all of you." 
" That’s nice." Kurama sidled right up to Hiei. " What would you say if I told 
you I don’t want us to be just friends?" 
The hurt cut in quick and deep - his crimson eyes narrowed, defensively. Shoving 
the half-human aside, Hiei got to his feet. Oh, he was definitely angry… 
" I’m not finished." Kurama swung his foot out in a wide arc, sweeping the fire 
demon off his feet and flat on his back. Rolling on top of him, he whispered 
sweetly, " Don’t you want to know why I don’t want to be *just* friends?" 
" I don’t c…" Whatever he was going to say was lost as Kurama bent down and 
kissed him, as he had dreamt of kissing him ever since that day they had first 
met so many years ago. Hiei lay stiffly in his arms, not kissing him back, but 
then again, not pushing him away either. 
" Kurama…?" He looked stunned, as if Kurama had clobbered him instead. 
Because his mouth was still open, Kurama kissed him again - this time with all 
the finesse and style of a centuries-old youko. A definite improvement, Hiei was 
slightly more enthusiastic… 
" Well, Hiei, what do you think?" 
He blinked, still slightly poleaxed by the entire situation. Shock and lust had 
a way of doing that to some people. Regretfully, he would probably require some 
time to recover. Always the gentleman, Kurama sighed theatrically and got to his 
feet. 
" Well, I guess I’ll be going back to the party. Someone must be missing me." 
Looking down at Hiei, he smiled pleasantly, like they had just been discussing 
the weather. " Be seeing you again, Hiei." 
A week, he thought as he strolled away, Hiei would not last more than a week. He 
knew his prey all too well and had baited the trap perfectly. This was probably 
one of the greatest exits he had ever made in his life, human or youko. 
A week - if he had been in his youko form, his tail would have been wagging. 
Life was good. 
*Finis*