I do not own Princess Mononoke, Cardcaptor Sakura or any of the animes referenced in this story.
Princess Mononoke and Cardcaptor Sakura
Chapter 1: Cargo's Return
The sun shone brightly in the sky as Ashitaka made his way through the forest, riding his trusted elk, Yakul. Almost one month had passed since Lord Asano's defeat.
The night after the celebration, Ashitaka had asked San to be his mate, an offer she of course accepted. He smiled as he remembered the night of passion they'd shared. The only down side had been that the following few days were dominated by Kaya's teasing. Although he did admit, some of the innuendoes had been pretty funny.
"Hey, brother," called a voice.
Ashitaka looked over his shoulder to see Kaya darting towards him, her purple cape flapping in the wind. In her right hand she clasped a wooden sword. "Hey there, sister," he called.
"How were things in Iron Town," she asked, whilst stroking Yakul, who responded by nuzzling her neck.
"The usual," he replied.
Kaya laughed, "Brother, I keep telling you, I've only been to Iron Town once. I don't know what "The usual" is."
"Oh, well everyone seemed fine and…" he paused when Kaya suddenly jerked her head and started looking in virtually every possible direction. "Is something wrong" he asked, wondering if she had sensed Cargo's presence.
"No, everything's fine. Just let me listen."
'To what?' he thought to himself. The answer came a few moments later. San sprang out from behind a bush, swinging her wooden blade, which missed Kaya by the skin of her teeth.
To Ashitaka's relief, he saw that the two girls were using wooden swords whilst practising. They had originally been using there regular weapons, but had switched to non-lethal objects at Ashitaka's insistence. Both, however, had stated that it took most of the fun out of the game.
"You almost got me that time," Kaya smirked.
"Well you shouldn't let yourself get distracted," San smirked back.
The statement made Kaya giggle. "I'd say Ashitaka's more of a distraction to you, little wolf girl."
"Oh you are dead," laughed San.
"You'll have to catch me first," replied Kaya before turning and sprinting into the forest with San in hot pursuit.
Ashitaka watched them go and gave an anime-style mushroom sigh. "Those two," he muttered and was about to continue on his way to the den when he heard what seemed to be someone crying out in pain. He immediately dismounted Yakul and ran in the same direction the two girls had gone, hesitating only to tell his elk to continue to the den.
He soon found the source of the scream. Kaya was kneeling on the ground clutching her right arm, but he couldn't see her face due to her hat blocking his view. "What happened?" he asked.
"I… I'm not sure," San replied, a look of bewilderment on her face, "She just suddenly keeled over. I didn't see her get hit of anything."
Ashitaka noticed for the first time that Kaya's right arm was completely covered by bandages. He knelt down next to her and gently said, "Sister, let me see your wound."
"No!" Kaya snapped, pulling her arm away from his reach. "It's just sore."
"Kaya, I order you to show me your arm," Said Ashitaka more firmly.
"No really, its fine."
"Kaya, do you really think I haven't noticed that you keep covering more and more of your arm. An ordinary wound doesn't spread that way. Now show me what's wrong with your arm or I'll…" He stopped as Kaya finally pushed her straw hat away from her face, to reveal her bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks.
"I'm… I'm so sorry brother. I… I should have told you, but I just couldn't." Having said this she tore off the bandage that covered her arm.
The look of shock that appeared on Ashitaka and San's faces was almost indescribable as their eyes fell on the red and black mark of the demon's curse. "But how," said Ashitaka in disbelief.
"When the demon attacked on the day of the invasion, I… I cut through the demon worms but one… one fell onto my arm." Kaya managed to choke. "I know… I should have told you, but… there's no cure now… the forest spirit's gone. I just… didn't want it hanging over us and I hoped we could enjoy our last few months… together." She then let her tears fall, and began to quietly sob. Ashitaka wasn't sure what to say. So he didn't say anything and just pulled his sister into a comforting embrace.
"How very touching," said a sarcastic voice. The three tensed and slowly turned to see who had spoken, but they already knew. Who could forget his sickening voice? The green haired assassin smiled at them. "Did you miss me?" Cargo asked.
"But… How did…" San stuttered, unable to comprehend how Cargo managed to get so close without her hearing.
"I hope you don't mind, but I brought a few friends to our little reunion," Cargo sneered. At that moment ten of Asano's samurai emerged from behind the trees, along with a cloaked, white haired man, who clutched a staff with a black orb attached to the tip. He also wore a necklace that had what appeared to be a white emerald on it.
"That was a nice trick you pulled on us last time," said one of the samurai, "But it won't work this time."
His words, however, did not reach Kaya's ears. Her sadness from a moment ago was being replaced by hatred for the green haired man, fuelled by the demon's curse. She drew her sword and stepped forwards. "Cargo, I swear, you will pay for all the suffering you caused Cress" she screamed.
San and Ashitaka were both startled by the sudden change in Kaya's state. "Kaya don't let your anger get the better of you" said Ashitaka soothingly.
"You don't understand Ashitaka," Kaya yelled, "There were a few things Lady Eboshi never told us about Cress. The day I met him by the pool of the forest spirit he told me that along with the rest of his family, he also lost his five day old daughter. And that's the real reason he wanted revenge on San."
"What?" San yelled, her eyes widening. "No, I swear, I would never…"
Shaking her head, Kaya continued. "I know you're innocent. You see I worked it out. Cress was so blinded by his anger that he just didn't consider that anyone who happened to be there that day could have plunged a blade into his daughter." Then in a rather disturbingly calm voice she said, "And that is precisely what you did, isn't it Cargo."
Cargo looked at her for a second, and then began to roar with laughter. "So you managed to work it out. May I ask what gave it away?"
"First of all, I doubt there are many other humans that would murder a baby lying in the arms of their unconscious father," Kaya yelled, desperately trying to control her rage. "But what really allowed me to figure it out was what you said to Cress when you killed him." She continued in a deeper more sinister voice to try and sound like Cargo. "'If you knew what I'd done in the past, you wouldn't have considered asking me for anything,'" and returning to her normal voice, "You didn't mean he'd be scared, did you. If Cress had known what really happened, he'd have wanted revenge on you!"
Beginning to laugh again, Cargo respond simply with the words, "I was wondering if anyone had noticed that clue I gave."
Even the samurai seemed a bit uneasy after the revelation that Cargo had killed a baby girl. A few were even wondering if his next order would be 'Fight them and die unless you want me to kill you.' The only person he didn't seem at all shaken was the white haired man, who just stood silently next to Cargo.
"You insane bastard," said Ashitaka, "Why would you kill a child?"
"Because it's fun," Cargo answered sadistically.
Ashitaka had to grab Kaya's arm to stop her from attacking Cargo there and then. "Let me go," she hissed.
"Kaya don't be a fool, he'll kill you," the Emishi prince hissed back.
"I have my demon strength."
"It won't be enough and you know it. He's just too fast."
Gesturing to the ten samurai, Cargo barked, "I didn't come here to talk. Kill them."
"But sir," one of the samurai said timidly, "They are supposed to be very skilled, and one has demon strength. I don't think we could handle that."
Cargo snorted, "And your point is? Fight them and die unless you want me to kill you."
The samurai looked at each other and, realising they had little choice, advanced on Ashitaka, San and Kaya. There's no real point in describing the battle, except for the fact that it didn't last long. The three made short work of nine of the samurai. The remaining soldier dropped his sword and backed away in terror. "Pathetic," sneered Cargo, as he sliced off the samurai's head. He then turned back to his enemy, an evil smile forming on his lips. "I must admit I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone improve so much in such a short time."
"We weren't sitting around all day just waiting for you to return," San yelled, "We've all be training non-stop."
"Yeah, and I haven't even begun to use my demon strength," Kaya added, "Truth is I'm only getting warmed up."
"Well if that's the case, then I suppose I'd better cool you down," Scoffed the mad assassin. He glanced at the cloaked man. "Thiazzi, show them your power," he ordered. Thiazzi nodded. Without saying a word, he raised his hand and the black orb on his staff began to glow.
At first nothing seemed to happen. Ashitaka, San and Kaya just looked at each other in confusion. Then suddenly Kaya's eyes widened and she fell on her knees clutching her cursed arm. "What's wrong" asked Ashitaka, unable to hide the panic in his voice. He glanced Thiazzi, wondering what this man was doing to cause his sister pain.
"I… I don't know," breathed Kaya through gritted teeth. "It… it burns."
"Hey look," San gasped, pointing at the curse mark.
"Am I not merciful" sniggered Cargo. Much to their astonishment, the mark was disappearing. When the mark had completely vanished, the black orb instantly stopped glowing, so it didn't take a genius to work out that Thiazzi was the one responsible.
"Well, when all this is over, at least I'll have something to thank Cargo for," Kaya muttered.
With a chuckle Cargo replied, "I should be honest and tell you I only removed the demon curse to insure it didn't kill you before I got the chance."
The three glared at Cargo. "I'm not one to run away," San began, backing away slowly, "But I'm not one for suicide either."
"For once we agree on something," said Kaya. The two princesses looked at Ashitaka, who nodded, and they turned and darted away into the forest. They were fully aware that any confrontation with Cargo would end in defeat.
"Should I stop them, Cargo," asked Thiazzi.
Watching his enemy flee, Cargo smiled. "No, we will deal with them soon enough." Then yelled at the top of his lungs, "Let them run away like cowards!"
A silence followed, with the two men just standing in the forest, not saying a word. "What are your orders," said Thiazzi, finally breaking the silence, he spoke with virtually no emotion.
"Father, you disappoint me. With all your magic and knowing me for so long, you still haven't realised that my next move is always the most fun."
"You and I have different opinions of the definition of fun, my son," replied Thiazzi, frowning. "But I assume then you want me to summon the Clow Cards, correct."
Cargo nodded, "Of course."
"Just remember, you cannot kill the cardcaptors. If you plan on using the Clow Cards we will need them alive."
A flicker of irritation went across Cargo's usually expressionless face. "What a shame, I was looking forward to slaughtering them, but oh well. It shouldn't take me long to find a way to use the Clow Cards myself, so I can wait a little while before killing them."
Thiazzi shook his head at his demented son, but nonetheless obeyed the order. He raised his hand and began to mutter under his breath. The white crystal that hung around his neck as well as the black orb, started to glow.
"Finally," laughed Cargo, "The Clow Cards will belong to me!"
To Be Continued…