Winds Of Thyme

By Sakura Takanouchi

~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Twenty-two: The fight to end all fights ~*~

Disclaimer: … DON"T YOU PEOPLE GET IT BY NOW???? Or are you just trying to provoke me by making me restate myself twenty-two times? Hm…. I don't know.

Kakomi raised her hand, directing a blast of wind at Sakura, who jumped back several feet to avoid it. Kakomi kept on blasting Sakura, who kept on jumping to avoid it.

'Hey, this is fun… just like Dance Dance Revolution!' She thought. 'Time for some close combat!' She put a hand over her right leg, ready to draw her dagger. She jumped up to the tree branch in which Kakomi was standing on. She drew her dagger and thrust it at Kakomi.

"Did she get her?" Yusuke asked.

"I doubt it," said Hiei who was sitting in a tree and sulking.

"Let's hope she does," Kurama said worriedly.

Kakomi blocked her attack at the last second with a rapier of her own. She then pushed Sakura back. She landed on an opposite tree branch. Kakomi then proceeded to pull out another rapier. She got into a fighting stance.

"Alright… two can play at that game," Sakura said. She pulled out her other dagger and charged. They then started sword fighting in the trees, jumping from tree to tree and attacking each other in between.

"They're really going pretty fast," Kuwabara remarked as they jumped from tree to tree.

Sakura was doing fine, managing to block every one of Kakomi's attacks. But the same was for Kakomi. They were on even grounds.

They both jumped to the space in-between the two trees they were standing on. Sakura knew that she would land first because of Kakomi's cape, so she concentrated to shift her weight so she would fall faster. Kakomi swung with her left rapier, but Sakura had already reached the ground.

Kakomi fell, and her heel had just touched the ground when Sakura kicked her with her right boot. She flew back and slammed into a tree.

"All Right Sakura!" Yusuke cheered, and Kurama smiled. Hiei hn'd.

Sakura leaned against another tree to rest her breath. She expected that Kakomi would be uninjured from that kick. And she was right. Kakomi came stumbling back five seconds later.

"It will take much more then that to defeat me," Kakomi said. "I hope you realize that."

Sakura tightened the grip on her daggers. "Tell me something I don't know," she retorted. Kakomi charged, and they started sword fighting again. Kakomi was forcing Sakura back into a grove of trees where she would have no where to go. Sakura realized this at the last minute, and jumped into a tree before Kakomi could land a fatal blow. But then she raised her hand and a gust of wind shot out of it, knocking Sakura to the ground.

Sakura didn't waste her energy getting up. She just waited long enough to get Kakomi's guard down a little, and then she threw several shuriken. Kakomi easily used her wind powers to blow the shuriken away and into a nearby tree. She laughed. "I was hoping for a challenge," she complained.

"Well, you're just going to have to fight it out with little old me," Sakura said, "Whether you like it or not!" She then thrust her daggers into her boots and charged Kakomi. Kakomi flung her rapiers into the air and they started fist fighting, each of them blocking each other's attacks.

"They are eerily evenly matched," Kurama commented.

"Hn," Hiei said, "I would have killed the old witch by now if I was the one chosen." He still seemed angry with this.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Kakomi were still fighting. Sakura got tired of this after awhile, and jumped up into a tree. Kakomi did the same.

Sakura threw one of her daggers at Kakomi. Kakomi saw it coming, but didn't use her wind powers. Instead, she caught it and threw it back to Sakura, using the wind to make it go faster. Sakura caught it with only a little difficulty, and flung it right back. That started an intense game of catch that they played for several minutes.

"This do-everything-at-my-skill-level attitude of yours is really getting annoying," Kakomi said as she jumped up from her tree branch and punched Sakura in the face. She fell to the ground.

"This I'm-so-much-better-than-you-are look on your face is starting to tick me off too," Sakura said. She retrieved her dagger and pulled out her other one, assuming a fighting stance.

"Not this again," Kakomi said. But she still pulled out her rapiers and they started sword fighting again. "Why don't I add a fun little twist to this game?" She asked.

"Fine with me. I was getting a little bored, anyway," Sakura answered.

Kakomi raised her hands in the air, and suddenly every leaf on the tree next to her suddenly came loose and was flying at Sakura. She dodged and back flipped and threw shuriken, but some still managed to cut through her shirt and skin. 'Dammit,' she thought. 'I'm going to get beaten if this keeps up.'

Sakura then got an idea that she thought might break through Kakomi's wind barriers and give her a fighting chance. She jumped into the air, and as she expected, she felt Kakomi's wind at work, trying to pull her down.

"The winds of Change are blowing on my side now," Sakura yelled, "So try this on for size!" Her body started to glow purple. She flung four shuriken into the air, and then concentrated with all her might.

"That same old thing again?" Kakomi asked. "I'm disappointed, Sakura." She raised her hand to stop the shuriken from advancing, but she had overseen one major flaw.

Sakura had infused the shuriken with her chi, and was using that to go right through the wind! They all hit Kakomi, causing her to fall backwards.

"Good job, Sakura!" Yusuke jumped into the air, and Kuwabara cheered. Kurama managed a grateful smile.

"And now that I know something works," Sakura continued, "I'm going to use it to the extreme!" She then flung every shuriken her chi could support and made them go straight for Kakomi, who was injured and bleeding on the ground.

"No…It just can't be!" Kakomi raised a weak hand in defense, but it was of no use. Sakura's shuriken all struck her, and she closed her eyes. She was either unconscious or dead. Either way, Sakura had won the fight.

The cyclone surrounding the tantei disappeared, and Kurama ran up to Sakura for a congratulation hug.

"You did wonderfully," Kurama said as they pulled out of the embrace.

"Let's go back to ningenkai, what do you say?" Sakura asked, and hand in hand, Sakura and Kurama walked back home.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked confused, and Hiei hn'd, and then disappeared into the sky.

~A/N~

Just two more! Just two more! And then all will be happy! Because I have marching band camp starting first thing tomorrow. Arghies.

Make me happy and review, while I make you happy and write,

Sakura Takanouchi