Kaze: Guardians

Snow

I'll admit: I was scared. This wasn't just her testing her skills. The mood that hung in the air made it very clear that this was a different kind of boss. She was charging up her first attack.
"Okay, but I expect you to give it your all!" I said. She seemed confused by my friendliness, but still attacked me. I dodged most of her attacks by a mere inch. I countered with my wind ability. She seemed borderline out of control, as every time she attacked, she looked shocked at something. It was as if her magic hadn't yet learned to work with her fighting style. Either way, she was a dangerous foe. I could die easily to magic attacks. It was my only weakness. I was terrified.
I countered her attacks as best I could. A maze built entirely of psychic energy appeared. I zipped through at full speed and attacked. She fell into the snow, but got back up and fired lasers at my face. I had no choice but to roll to the side. I jumped up and dodged another flying projectile. She summoned orbs that hung in the air and waited to be thrown. As they flew, I homing attacked them and got to Kasumi. I used a huge whirlwind to disorient her, but she shielded herself. I fell back and used my air cutter. She was a good dodger as well. I struggled to get in a single hit!
We dashed into each other as she changed fighting style. We were both tired from using magic, so we resorted to hand to hand combat similar to Juno's boss fight. I ran around her, but she was ready for me. That's when I realized: Of course she was harder! She had witnessed my attacked patterns from afar. She knew I was a speed fighter, so she was prepared for speedy attacks. I slowed and, though I had to adjust, went for a slow but powerful attack pattern.
She was throwing punches and kicks left and right, me blocking them as I adjusted to slowing down and focusing on breath and power. I threw a punch, sending her sprawling into the snow. I dashed on instinct. She stood and met my dash with a dash of her own. There was a power struggle. I decided to throw her off. "Open your heart, it's gonna be alright!" I sang with a smile. She attempted to throw me, but I moved my hips to adjust to the difference in balance. We sparred like this for a while. She was strong for her age.
She sat down and put her foot into my stomach. I didn't know what she was doing until I flew over her, getting a mouthful of snow. I rolled to the side of her foot and grabbed it. I twisted her leg, her balance compromised. She fell over and didn't get back up. I had won.
     We laid together in the snow, exhausted. We were both breathing heavily, sweating despite the chill in the air. I had taken off my jacket at some point and it now lay crumpled in the snow. I reached for it, but I knew it was hopeless. It was several feet out of my reach. I eventually gave up and looked at the sky. It had stopped snowing, and a fire-orange sky burned down on my cold, tired body. At that moment, I sat up and grabbed the Snow Bloods and my jacket in a rush.
"Kasumi! It's sunset! We gotta go if we're gonna get home in time for--!" She laid there, allowing the fading light to dance across her face. "Kasumi..." I suddenly realized what the loss had meant and why she had attacked me. I was the only person she thought she was able to beat. I had proven her very wrong. It suddenly didn't feel like a victory. "Hey, good job out there." She sat up and gazed at me. I walked a few steps. "You coming or what? Let's go!" I gave her a thumbs up and a helped her up.
The journey down the mountain wasn't done until nightfall. The full moon illuminated the town below. "I love this town, Kasumi. I love all of you. I hope it never ends!"
She suddenly tugged my jacket sleeve and pointed to the ocean beyond the tiny kingdom. A boat bearing torches and yelling warriors sailed closer to the port.
"Come on." I said, fingering the Fisherman's stone. It was cold in my hand. Kasumi gazed determinedly ahead and followed.
15 Minutes Before Disaster.