Of Demons and Roses

Chapter 13: Nobara vs. Kokuei

"Well well. Another foxy eh? This makes thing so much more interesting... and more fun!" said Kokuei. Nobara just kept her death glare locked on her enemy.

Nobara was the first to strike. She moved so fast that Kokuei couldn't keep up with her movements. She came in and landed a hard punch on his face, which plummeted him into the ground. Hiei and Kurama watched their daughter fight in awe. Somehow, they weren't as worried as they were before.

Kokuei got up, blood dripping from his mouth. He and Nobara looked each other in the eyes for a minute before returning to the fight. This time it was Kokuei who went on the attack. He had found his axe and was using it to strike a blow at Nobara. Nobara raised her staff and prepared for Kokuei's giant axe. Kokuei lifted his axe as he raced towards Nobara. He swung it at the fox demon standing before him, expecting it to slice her in half. But that's not what happened.

Nobara struck at the axe coming at her. A huge power struggle had begun. The two weapons remained clashed against each other for a few seemingly endless moments. Then, Nobara turned the tide by channeling her spirit energy through her staff to make it more powerful. This became too much for Kokuei's axe and it shattered. Large chunks went flying in different directions.

Before Kokuei could realize it, Nobara was charging right for him through the broken axe pieces. She swung her staff at the shadow demon. One of the staff's sharp ends went into Kokuei's right shoulder, rendering that arm useless. Nobara then put some distance between them, leaving Kokuei in shock. Blood trickled from Kokuei's open wound.

"Heh... I guess I underestimated you. But just because you won this round doesn't mean you've won. This is far from over," Kokuei said, getting angrier with every word.

Kokuei knew that he couldn't use his right arm much anymore. he also knew that at the moment, Nobara had the advantage. He didn't have his axe and his shadow bomb wouldn't be nearly as powerful with his left hand. But he knew his shadow bomb would be his best bet for now.

Kokuei lifted his left arm up into the air. He gathered his spirit energy there. Nobara caught on quickly to what he was doing. She had to think of a counter attack, and fast!

"I believe you recognize this, foxy," Kokuei said as the bomb began to form in his hand. That was when Nobara had an idea.

//I won't be able to outrun it. And I can't take a hit from it. What if I try to break it apart with one of my spirit arrows? Worth a try.//

Nobara held her staff in her left hand like an archer would a bow. She took an archery stance and formed an arrow with her spirit energy. Just as Kokuei released his shadow bomb, Nobara fired her arrow. The two raced towards each other.

When they hit, there was a huge explosion. The two forces had cancelled each other out in that explosion. It knocked both Nobara and Kokuei off their feet. Hiei held Kurama close to him in a protective manor. The explosion caused a blinding light and no one could see for a couple minutes.

Then it was over, there wasn't anybody standing. The first to stir was Kurama. This caused Hiei to stir as well.

"Nobara..." whispered Kurama, looking for his daughter.

Hiei stood up and scanned the battle field. The warehouse was totally destroyed. All that was left was a huge pile of rubble. At one end, Kokuei emerged from a pile of rocks. And at the other Nobara pushed a rock off her leg. Hiei and Kurama let out a sigh of relief seeing that Nobara survived the blast.

Kokuei was able to get to his feet, but Nobara had some problems. A large rock had caused her left leg to be extremely weak. The best she could do was kneel.

"Well Nobara, it looks like we're even," said Kokuei. He looked as though he was about to charge at Nobara.

"Nobara! Let me fight him!" yell Hiei from the sidelines.

"NO! This is my fight!" yelled Nobara back, breathing heavily. Nobara knew that this was going to be the last strike. The one that would decide the victor.

Hiei didn't want to argue. He knew that there was no changing her mind. So, he went back to Kurama's side to see how this fight played out. Kurama took Hiei's hand. He was nervous again. Hiei just held Kurama's hand and didn't say anything.

"Fine by me," said Kokuei as he prepared to strike.

Nobara kneeled on her right leg, leaving her left outstretched. It hurt her to bend it too much, and it helped her keep her balance. She helped herself get to the position by using her staff as a balancing stick. She then took her archery pose.

Kokuei just smiled and started to charge. Nobara did something a little different than last time. Instead of forming just one arrow, she was able to form three equally powerful ones. She placed them on the string she made with her spirit energy and fired them. They hit Kokuei before he could get to Nobara.

He was shot back into the pile of rubble as the arrows exploded while inside his body. When the explosion died own, Kokuei was barely alive. Nobara used her staff to get herself standing up.

"Kokuei," she called to her dying enemy. He looked over to her. "There were three arrows for a reason. One was for my Kasan. One was for my Otosan. And the left was for Niji," she said as she limped over to Kokuei. "This fight is over!"

As she said that, Nobara took her staff and drove it into Kokuei, ending the shadow demon's life. Hiei immediately rushed over to Nobara as she started to fall over, changing back into her normal form. he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Otosan..." said Nobara smiling. Kurama limped over to join the rest of the family. "Kasan..."

"Let's get those wounds healed Nobara," said Kurama. Nobara nodded her head and smiled some more.