Hello, everyone! SO, SO, SO sorry for the late update! I guess I was just slacking--don't be mad at me! :(

~I do not own any rights to Kaze no Stigma~

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Kazuma looked down at Kenichi's furious face, trying to hold in his anger. "Because I'm smarter than you are," he said.

If it was possible for Kenichi to look any angrier than he already was, he was doing it. "You...you bastard!" he raged. "This isn't happening!"

"But it is," Kazuma said coolly, turning away. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll never do this again. Now get lost before I change my mind and kill you right now." Kazuma reached out to pick up Ayano, but he was suddenly thrown backwards out of the tree. He was just barely able to stop himself from landing on his back.

"No way are you leaving with her just yet!" Kenichi's eyes were hidden from sight by his hair. "There's a new step to winning this game."

Kazuma sighed, trying to hide his annoyance. If he'd found her, Kazuma could be relaxed about her safety, right? "I thought the game was 'Hide and Seek'. I don't remember there being anything else after finding the person."

The insane, wild boy laughed. "In my game there is!" he said.

Kazuma stood his ground and glared at him. "Care to fill me in on what it is?" he snapped.

Kenichi finally raised his head; revealing his crazed blue eyes. "You have to fight me to get to her. If you get past me, you need to be up and in the air with her to be safe, because I'll still try and stop you."

"Sounds easy enough," Kazuma said, sighing inwardly. The maniac really wasn't thinking clearly; it would be all too easy for Kazuma to distract him with a few wind magic attacks and get to Ayano.

"Does it?" Kenichi said with a cruel smile. "Because the same rules from the start apply here: any damage to me is damage to her. If you slice my arm, her's will be, too."

Rage boiled in Kazuma's stomach. Why was Kenichi so hell-bent on killing Ayano? Why did he enjoy killing people? What was the matter with him?!

"Then I'll have to try hard, won't I?" Kazuma snarled. He leaped into the air and headed for Ayano, hoping to be out of range for any attacks from Kenichi.

Suddenly, though, Kazuma was thrown backwards by an unexpected attack. As he stopped his fall again, he saw a dark mass engulfing the tree. A shadow magic user?!Kazuma thought in confusion.

Kenichi smiled. "Surprised, Kazuma?" he cackled.

Kazuma didn't answer. He flew at the barrier, slicing at it with some wind attacks. They would cut slits through the thick purple then immediately fill up again. Even if he were able to get an opening big enough, he wouldn't have a lot of time to get through it.

"How about you take Ayano out of the mix and fight like a man, you little brat?!" Kazuma yelled to him.

The boy just smiled nonchalantly in a rueful kind of way. "I wish I could; I'm such a selfish little boy."

A frontal attack blasted Kazuma back a few feet, but he remained standing upright in the air. This is just like when I had to save Ren, Kazuma thought angrily. Only that time, I had Ayano's fire magic to help. Of course, even though he hated to admit it, Ayano's backup would have made a hell of a difference in this situation.

Infuriated again, Kazuma summoned wind spirits, which quickly came to his aid. The wind slammed into the barrier of shadow surrounding the tree; blowing it away with a whoosh. Seeing his chance, Kazuma darted in, flying as fast as he could to try and beat the shadows.

The shadows sealed back together just as Kazuma arrived, stopping him and sending him flying backwards. Kazuma narrowly avoided landing on his back on the park concrete.

Kazuma rose into the air more and stared at Kenichi with cold hatred. I can do this, Kazuma thought in disgust. He's just an annoying little pest--nothing that should be too hard for me to handle.

Kazuma stopped and took a minute to call on the powers of the Contractor. Once done, he opened his eyes; revealing his blazing azure-blue irises. Winds of purification spiraled down from the sky, and Kazuma closed them in around the tree.

"Wait! No! Stop!" Kenichi screeched. "This isn't fair!"

"Well, life's a bitch, now, isn't it?" Kazuma said coolly.

"You can't do this!" the boy wailed. "I always win! Always!"

The shadow barrier was almost instantly affected by the purification winds. The dark-purple coloring slowly faded into a dull velvet which slowly melted away to become nothing more than the ordinary shadows cast by the moonlight. A breeze not caused by Kazuma gently swayed the branches of the cherry blossom tree back and forth. A couple of petals floated gently down to the ground to rest on the grass.

Kenichi shook with uncontrollable rage at his defeat. "You--you swine!" he snarled.

"Nice choice of words," Kazuma said as he headed lazily for the tree; trying not to show how worn out the Contractor powers had made him.

Kenichi started stomping his feet up and down, having a tantrum like a little toddler. "No, no, no, no, no!" he whined hysterically.

Kazuma lifted Ayano into his arms. "Tell you what, Kenichi," he said conversationally. "I'll have a real fight with you later. Only this time, Ayano can't be involved. Then you can actually win without stupid little rules helping you the whole damn way."

"Fine!" Kenichi snarled, trying hard to reel back his temper tantrum. "Tomorrow; same time!"

"Fine with me," Kazuma said in annoyance. He sailed away into the air; sure he would just barely make it back to the Kannagi estate before he collapsed from exhaustion.

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Once again, VERY sorry about the late update! And this chapter probably sucks because the fight scene wasn't all that great. But rest assured, another one is on the way! I swear, it will be a lot better! And if you have any suggestions on how you think I could improve the battle sequences (sorry; had to use the word ^-^), please feel free to offer them! Just be nice, please! Anyways, read and review! ^-^