Winds of Thyme

By Sakura Takanouchi

~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Nineteen: Requirements for Lovers ~*~

Disclaimer: I know, I stole the title of this chapter from a YYH episode (I think) but never fear! My creative genius is still here! Also, I own absolutely nothing, as stated in all of my previous disclaimers. So… nyah!

~*~ At Sakura's fight ~*~

"Kurama!!!" She yelled as she jumped into the air in an attempt to catch him. She reached him in time and was about to grab his hand when he disappeared. She fell to the ground and rolled several feet before standing up.

"Tell me what you've done with him!" She yelled.

"Well, you were right, that one was a hologram, but how about these?" Rando waved his hands and suddenly dozens of Kuramas began flying out of the forest, forming a shield in front of Rando.

"Which one is real, you ask? You'll have to destroy them to know. And maybe you'll hurt the real one." Rando licked his lips. "Then you'd have no more reason to live in this pathetic ningenkai. You'd better figure out what to do, because I don't care how hurt you are!" He charged at Sakura, and she ran, rolling up the sleeve of her right shoulder. Although her small jagan's power was fading, she needed to use it to see through Rando's spell. She closed her eyes and concentrated extremely hard and felt the jagan's power coursing through her veins. It reached her eyes, and then she opened them. Every single Kurama surrounding Rando was only a simple paper spell.

"OMAE O KOROSU!!!!!" Sakura yelled as she threw every shuriken and dagger she had on her body away from her, and used her spirit energy to make sure she hit her target.

She sat breathing hard, on the ground for several minutes. She could not feel Rando's youki, but he could be hiding from her.

She glanced around. Shuriken were all over the place, and all of them were through a paper spell. Sakura retrieved the shuriken and put them back. She saw Rando. A dagger had pierced his heart.

Sakura pulled the dagger out and cleaned it on his shirt. She put it back into her boot, and found another one that had gone right through Rando embedded in a tree. She took it out and put it back in her other boot.

She left, going through the forest. She had a feeling Kurama was somewhere near. And he was in trouble.

~*~ At Kurama's Fight ~*~

"Sakura!" Kurama yelled as he reached her just before Yoshiko's ravens did. Then, Sakura disappeared, and all that was left in her place was a paper spell. Kurama jumped and narrowly avoided the ravens.

"What did you do to her?" he asked in an angry tone.

"I did nothing to her. I just hired a friend of mine to kill her," Yoshiko answered. "Now we can fight with no obstructions."

Upon realizing the supposed truth that Yoshiko had told him, Kurama sank to the ground. "You…You didn't kill her," Kurama said.

"Yes, I did kill her," Yoshiko said. "You're just too sad to believe it. Fight me and maybe you'll win. Don't, and you come with me."

Kurama stood up. His body glowed red, as if his anger towards her had boosted his youki.

Yoshiko threw several more paper spells at him, and he slashed through every one, coming closer to Yoshiko.

"That's it," she breathed. "I want to see your true power."

"You'll die before you do," Kurama was about to slash her when she drew a whip of her own at the last second.

"You are quite mistaken in your underestimating." Yoshiko jumped back and returned her whip. She then pulled out different kinds of spell cards. She threw them at Kurama, and he slashed them before he even knew what they were. Some were fire, and they burned through his rose whip. Some were regular ravens, and they transformed back into paper. And one was Sakura, which fell to the ground but retained her shape, bloody and unconscious.

"Sakura!!" Kurama yelled, and sank down to the ground as he examined her. He had slashed her in a fatal place. If she was not a paper spell, then she would die. But Kurama thought she was real.

"I still can't believe you are throwing your life away for a ningen like her," Yoshiko said cruelly. "She has no real skills, and even isn't that much to look at."

Kurama checked Sakura's pulse. Nothing. He stood up, tears freely falling down his face. 'I killed her,' he thought. 'Dammit… I'll never be able to live with myself now.'

"Oh, don't get all upset over her,' Yoshiko said. "I would've killed her anyway, but it was much more fun watching you do it."

~*~ In the forest ~*~

Sakura ran through the forest, and she finally saw the park. She also saw a strangely beautiful woman laughing. She looked down. Kurama was crying! 'I wonder why?' she thought. She then saw a paper spell. Words on it read Sakura Takanouchi. 'So my jagan's power still hasn't faded!' She thought. She knew that she could only watch. It was Kurama's fight.

~*~ Kurama's Fight ~*~

Kurama took a fighting stance in front of Sakura. "Oh, so you're still going to stand by her even if she's dead," Yoshiko said. "That's so sweet."

She threw two handfuls of paper spells at Kurama. He threw his hands up, and a red youki shot from them to the grass all around them. Then, the grass flew up and went flying towards both Yoshiko's spells and herself.

He could her cries of pain as the grass cut through her skin.

Then, Yoshiko disappeared, and in her place was a paper spell. Suddenly, something slammed into Kurama, knocking him back several feet. It was Hiei!

"Hiei?" Kurama asked in surprise. He immediately assumed a fighting stance. Hiei could be real or an illusion. Hiei then pulled out his katana. Yoshiko appeared again from behind a tree.

"Yes, Hiei. He's a friend of yours, I presume? I'll also bet you're wondering if he's real or not. Why don't you find out!" Yoshiko laughed as Hiei charged with his katana. Kurama defended with his rose whip just in time. Hiei kept swinging his katana. Kurama noticed that the swings had no form or style at all, and it just seemed like Hiei was programmed to do one thing: kill Kurama by his katana. This made it easy for Kurama to realize that this was merely a paper spell. Kurama left himself open purposefully, and when Hiei swung, Kurama slashed through him. But Hiei's sword did make contact with Kurama's shoulder. A paper spell fluttered to the ground and Kurama fell down from the pain in his shoulder.

"You'll never win, do you know that?" Yoshiko said. "You're merely putting off the inevitable. I have paper spells for all of your worst opponents and your worst nightmares." She threw another paper spell, which transformed into a figure that Kurama knew well but hated with a very high intensity. It transformed into a crow called Karasu.

"Hello, Kurama. Been faring well without me?' Karasu asked.

"Hello, Karasu. How has hell been treating you?" Kurama asked.

"That wasn't very nice," Karasu said. "Now I finally get my chance to kill you, and I won't pass this one up." Karasu charged, and Kurama jumped back. His body glowed red, and when he raised his arms, grass shot out from the ground and headed towards Karasu. Some pierced his clothes, and for the others he simply reached his hand out and they exploded.

Yoshiko frowned. She threw several more paper spells to the ground, and they transformed into Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Here's more for you to play with," she called.

Yusuke and Kuwabara walked up behind Karasu, grinning stupidly and looking like they were ready for a gang fight. Kurama pulled a rose from his hair and transformed it into a whip.

"I love it when you do that," Karasu said as he pulled several bombs from who-knows-where.

"Less talk and more fighting," Yusuke said as he pulled his fists up.

"Right," Kuwabara added.

The three of them charged Kurama. He dodged the bombs, but Yusuke's right fist came in contact with his left arm and his rose whip blocked Kuwabara's spirit sword. But he was totally unaware when Yusuke's fist came in contact with his face and a bomb sent Kurama flying back several feet.

~*~ At Sakura's Hiding Place ~*~

'Come on, Kurama, I know you can do it! Just Concentrate and you'll kick their tails!' Sakura thought. She also knew that if Yoshiko was getting anywhere near her then she would be all over her.

~*~ Kurama's Fight ~*~

'They're only illusions,' Kurama thought to himself as he dodged blow after blow. He swung his rose whip at Kuwabara, cutting off his right arm. That would delay him for a while. He had also planted a death seed in Karasu, but he couldn't activate it for several more minutes.

~*~ Several More Minutes ~*~

Kurama was pretty badly injured now, but the two minutes were up and he activated the death seed. Karasu fell over and became a paper spell once more—Except it was covered in pretty flowers.

He had knocked off Kuwabara's left leg, but he stil kept on coming at him, which was pretty freaky. Maybe Kuwabara's human trait of not giving up had passed onto the paper.

He slashed through Kuwabara, turning him back to paper, but he wasn't paying attention to Yusuke. Yusuke's punch sent him back several feet. Blood started coming from his mouth. Kurama wiped it off, and started to slash at Yusuke, but he dodged every single time.

The rose whip finally made contact with Yusuke's knee, which made him double over. But Yusuke raised his hands and yelled, "Spirit gun!" He fired a blast of spirit energy at Kurama. Kurama flew back and hit a wall of a nearby building. He was still conscious, but he didn't want to waste his energy getting up at the moment.

Suddenly, Yoshiko snapped her fingers and Yusuke transformed back into paper. "It's no fun unless I make you submit myself," she said.

Kurama raised his head. "I will never submit to you," he answered.

"Why stay? You have nothing left here. You even killed her with your own hands. Come with me, and your life will be easy," Yoshiko smiled.

Kurama did not answer. This angered Yoshiko.

"I will kill you if you-"

"Go ahead. I would rather be dead then live with the knowledge that I have killed the one I love," Kurama said sadly.

Yoshiko stopped. "You… You really do love her," She said, as if she just realized that.

"Of course I do," Kurama said. "Even if you defeat me, I will always love Sakura."

"I will make you suffer a thousand deaths!" She cried, and charged for Kurama with her spell-cards. He summoned the last of his strength, and prepared for a battle which he may not win.

~*~ At Sakura's Hiding Place ~*~

'Oh my gosh… he loves me,' Sakura thought. She wanted with all her strength to throw her shuriken at Yoshiko, but restrained herself, knowing that Kurama would defeat her. She then heard a cackle, and turned around.

"Who's there?' She asked, although she saw no one.

"You have fallen into my trap, little Sakura," the voice continued.

"Yeah, about your trap--- shut it," Sakura turned around again, but the voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"I merely wish to kill you, and then Kurama will be mine," thew voice cackled.

"Hey! You're Yoshiko, aren't you?' Sakura used the last of her jagan's power to sense where Yoshiko was hiding. She threw several shuriken at her.

"You are very skilled, but not good enough for him," Yoshiko appeared from where Sakura had thrown the shuriken, and she was holding them. Blood was running down her fingers where she was touching them, but she didn't seem to care. She threw them back at Sakura.

"Why don't you let him be the judge of that?' Sakura asked. She caught all of the shuriken without hurting herself and returned them to where she kept them. Yoshiko licked her finger, and then smiled evilly.

"I will kill you and then take Kurama for my own," She took out a sword from who-knows-where and assumed a fighting stance. Sakura took out a ninja-to (small ninja sword) and they started to sword-fight.

"Hey, you know what?' Sakura suddenly asked as they continued to fight.

"What is it?" Yoshiko asked impatiently, and as she said that, she let her guard down for a second as she asked. That was all the time Sakura needed. She swung her sword, cutting Yoshiko in half. She fell to the ground, but did not become a paper spell. This was the real Yoshiko.

~*~ Back at Kurama's Fight ~*~

Kurama shielded himself with his hands as he saw Yoshiko coming towards him. 'Sakura,' he thought, 'I'm so sorry!' He waited for the worst, but all that fell on him was a slip of paper. Yoshiko was gone. He stood up, amazed and confused. He then glanced down to where Sakura should have been. Nothing was there. He decided to walk back to Sakura's apartment complex to make sure she was ok.

~*~ In the Forest ~*~

Sakura stood up. She wasn't hurt that badly, just really sleepy and drained of almost all her energy. She made her way through the forest to Kurama's apartment. She wanted to make sure he was okay.

~*~ Somewhere in Between for the both of them ~*~

Kurama was limping along, and Sakura was just tired, dragging her feet as she walked. They both didn't realize each other's presence until they were yards away.

"Sakura?" he asked.

"Kurama?" she asked.

"You're alive?" They both asked.

Then, Sakura threw back her head and laughed. She ran into Kurama's arms and they stood there for several minutes, content.

"I thought you were dead!" They both told each other.

Then, Sakura noticed that Kurama was hurt. "I'll take you back to my apartment where you can heal," she said.

Kurama nodded, and then she put her arm around his shoulder to support his weight. They managed to get back to her apartment.

~*~ At Sakura's Apartment ~*~

Kurama lay asleep on the spare futon in Sakura's apartment. He was sleeping peacefully.

Sakura bent down and kissed his cheek. "I love you," she said. Then she got up and went back to her own room. But she left too early to hear Kurama's reply.

"I love you too, Sakura."

~A/N~

Wasn't that sweet? *Gets all starry-eyed* I love happy endings! Except, that wasn't the ending. I've got more in store on Winds of Thyme! Review and maybe I'll update faster!

… This is so stupid. I spend all my time writing this fic and nobody loves it. *cries* Well, someone, REVIEW and give me a reason to write it! Or else I'll… do something! Really, I will!

*Goes away to think up good threats*

Sakura Takanouchi