Disclaimer: I do not, sadly, own InuYasha or its characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Nor do I own Cardcaptor Sakura or its characters, I just love them more than life itself, they belong to the wonderful ladies at CLAMP.
~~Chapter 5~~
Sakura woke up the next morning feeling perfectly fine, though she'd slept the entire afternoon and night. Inuyasha was nowhere to be found, as he'd gone hunting as soon as the sun had begun to rise. Syaoran had already returned from training in the clearing that morning earlier than usual, Kagome was training with Kaede outside on how to control her abilities as a miko, Miroku was out watching Meiling and Renaku as they were still out training, Shippo was coloring while lying on the floor, Kilala was laying next to Sango who was cleaning her Hiraikotsu, Tomoyo was working on a new kimono for Sakura with fabrics they'd obtained from another town, Yukito, Eriol, and Nakuru were sitting and talking about random things.
"Ohayo" Sakura said as she sat up on the futon, getting to her feet, she looked around and found Kero still sleeping and shook her head, leaving him be as she stepped over to Yukito, Eriol, and Nakuru, "Ne, Yukito, I need to speak with Yue." she said quietly.
Yukito blinked, he had no idea how to switch at will, Yue usually took over whenever he felt like it. Before he could say anything, his eyes closed as he floated upward, wings appeared encircling him, Clow's circle appearing on the ground. When the wings unfurled Yue stood where Yukito once had been, "What is wrong, Mistress?" Yue asked, with his typical bored expression on his face.
Sakura bit her lip, then steeled her resolve, "I would like you to train me. I need to get stronger so I can save the cards."
Yue looked surprised for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face, "Then I will do as you ask." he said.
Sakura beamed her usual smile at him, before turning and looking at Syaoran, "Ne Syaoran will you help me as well?"
Syaoran looked up from where he had been sitting, staring at the cooking fire in thought, "Eh? What could I do?"
Sakura smiled, "I can't always just rely on the cards, Kero, Yue, and everyone to protect me. I need to be able to do more."
Syaoran frowned for a moment but shrugged, getting up, "I guess I could try and help." he said.
"When would you like to begin?" Yue asked.
"I could help you as well, Sakura." Sango spoke up, "I couldn't help with magic or anything like it, but I could help teach you some fighting skills."
Sakura smiled brightly at Sango, stunning the older girl for a moment before she returned the smile, "Thank you, Sango-san." Sakura spoke, her tone filled with nothing but gratitude, "I don't think we have time today, considering we'll be leaving again, but how about when we stop to camp tonight?"
"I will return then." Yue said before switching back to Yukito, who stood there blinking and only slightly confused.
Syaoran opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Inuyasha entered the hut carrying a bunch of skinned rabbits, "Where's the hag?" he demanded.
Sakura blinked, "Uhh.."
"Lady Kaede went with Kagome this morning to work on her training at the shrine." Sango replied, "They should be back soon."
Inuyasha deflated a bit, not going to complain that Kagome was training for once. He put the rabbit on a cloth near the fire before taking up his usual spot against a wall. As he sat down, Miroku, Meiling, and Renaku came in. Miroku sporting a few bruises and a lump on the head. Apparently when Meiling had been knocked down by Renaku in their sparring, Miroku 'helped' her up and did what he usually did.
He'd tried once with Sakura as well, only to be met with Syaoran's sword and a transformed Kero pinning him to the ground. He hadn't tried again as he valued his life quite a bit.
"Feh, can't keep your hands to yourself can you Monk." Inuyasha said noticing how Miroku looked pretty beat up.
Meiling glared at Miroku as she went and sat down next to Tomoyo, Renaku glaring at the rather lecherous monk as well as he sat down by Eriol and Nakuru.
"So what are our plans today?" Renaku asked.
"We're going to the village of the demon slayers." Inuyasha stated, "Sango wants to get you guys actual weapons, remember."
Renaku just nodded as the door covering moved once more and Kaede and Kagome came in. Kaede started working immediately on the stew for them to eat, "Eriol, will you be so kind as to get me some water for the stew?" she asked politely.
Eriol smiled politely at her and nodded, getting up and retrieving the bucket before leaving. Tomoyo looked up at the ceiling in thought before smiling wide, "Sango, do we have any of that pink fabric left?" she asks.
"Yes, why do you ask?" Sango asked, knowing that they'd had to almost pry most of the fabrics they'd received as payment from Tomoyo's hands so they could sell it and have money to buy food when needed.
"I need it." Tomoyo replied, going outside to the store house where they stashed the things that wouldn't fit in Kaede's hut with all of them there.
No one questioned Tomoyo anymore, becoming used to her strange desire to make clothes for Sakura. She had even started in on Meiling and Kagome too.
******XOXOXOXOX******
Once the stew was finished being cooked and everyone ate their fill, they bid farewell to Kaede and started off in the direction of Sango's old village. The trip took a full day, the group mostly chattering about needless things as they traveled, when they broke for lunch, Syaoran and Sango started Sakura's combat training so that the evenings could be about her magic.
The sun was setting as they reached the village. Sango going to the graves of the villagers and her father first.
Sakura looked around, seeing all the burned and destroyed buildings made her sad when she remembered what Kagome had said happened here.
Kagome walked with Inuyasha to one of the huts they usually slept in when they came with Sango to the village, which didn't happen very often, "I guess we should get some firewood, we can eat ramen tonight." she said with a sigh before turning.
Inuyasha grunted in response, going with Kagome to help collect firewood, "So how'd training with Kaede go?"
Kagome shrugged "There's a lot to learn in controlling spiritual power, but I'll get there someday." she said, sounding confidant, smiling, before frowning as she pulled the sacred jewel shards out from under her shirt in the little glass jar attached to a chain, looking at them, "I wonder how how many shards are left…"
"Who knows, but we need to get back to looking for them. Finding shards will lead us straight to Naraku." Inuyasha said, crossing his arms.
Kagome nodded as she began gathering the firewood from a shed where they'd left plenty of logs previously.
As Kagome and Inuyasha returned with the firewood, they saw Sakura messing with her Star Key while looking towards Sango and Miroku at her the villagers' graves.
"Sakura?" Kagome called handing the firewood she was carrying to Inuyasha and going over to her cousin, "What's wrong?"
Sakura shook her head, "I just feel bad for Sango. Everyone she loved is gone." Sakura replied, before transfroming her key into a staff, she pulled a card out looking at it, "Surely just the one won't hurt." she said to herself "Card created by Clow, discard your old form and be reborn under the name of Sakura, your new Mistress. Flower!"
The card transformed easily, floating into Sakura's hand, "Flower, make me a bouquet of poppies." she said. The card began to glow and a couple dozen poppy flowers appeared floating down to Sakura.
Gathering all the poppies, Sakura walked over to Sango, "Sango? These are for your people."
Sango looked up at Sakura and smiled softly. There was sadness in her eyes, but not overwhelmingly so. "Thank you, Sakura." she said taking the poppies from her, laying one on each grave.
Sakura nodded and smiled at Sango gently before walking away. After the ramen was cooked, served, and eaten. Sakura went outside with Yue to begin her magic training.
******XOXOXOXO******
The next morning, Sango went into the village's storehouse and looked for a sword, naginata and chain scythe. She gave the sword to Syaoran, the naginata to Renaku, and the chain scythe to Meiling and spent the morning teaching them to properly use the weapons she'd given them. As well as teaching them about the different poisons and smokes that would drive weaker demons out of hiding or out of a village.
Inuyasha sat in a tree, bored, as they did all of this. He didn't complain as he knew teaching the teens these kinds of things made them more useful, and also increased their fighting force against some demons they faced. As he lazed in the tree, his ears twitching to any and all noises, he felt what was gradually becoming familiar to him, a surge of energy, not demonic but not that of a priestess either and jumped out of his tree, heading back into the village to check that there was no danger.
Upon arriving, Inuyasha stared blankly at the scene in front of him. Sakura was standing, looking as angry, something he'd never seen before, and holding a Myoga sized Miroku between two fingers.
"You annoying little lech" Sakura seethed, "Can't you keep your hands to yourself?!"
"What the hell did you do now Miroku?" Inuyasha asked as Sakura dropped the miniaturized monk in his hand.
"Aha ha ha, nothing my good friend. Nothing at all." Miroku protested, though it was hard to hear him, "By chance, can you ask the lovely Sakura if there is a way to undo this shrinking spell?"
Inuyasha snorted, and walked over to where Sango was teaching the others about the poisons and smokes her people used to slay demons, "Sango, you can deal with this." he said dropping Miroku into Sango's hand.
"Miroku?! What happened?!" Sango demanded, "Who did this?!"
"That would be Sakura-san. She, er, didn't appreciate me talking to Tomoyo-san." Miroku replied with a smile.
"Oh sure, talking. Did your hand wander as you spoke?" Sango asked bitterly.
"Its a curse I tell you." Miroku replied with a sigh.
Inuyasha hung back, listening as hard as he could as they spoke until a familiar scent filled his nostrils, "Oh for the love of...Li go get Sakura and have her turn that stupid Monk back to normal!" he called, drawing the Tetsusaiga.
Syaoran looked confused for a moment, before a woman landed on the ground from above them. Though she wasn't quite normal, her blood-red eyes and pointed ears gave her away as a demon, otherwise she could pass as human if she wanted. She wore a white and purple striped kimono with a yellow obi tying it closed in the front, at the woman's collar you could see the teal collar of her nagajuban and the dark blue collar with white stripes on it of her hiyoku. (A/N: I could have gotten the nagajuban and hiyoku mixed up, there are really a lot of layers to a traditional kimono. If I got them mixed up and you know the order better, please let me know. I'm always open to learning those kinds of things.) She wore her brown hair up in a bun with two feathers stuck in her hair and jade beads in a line with a small black tassel at the ends for earrings, and held a fan in her hand.
"She's pretty." Meiling commented looking at the woman, though considering Inuyasha's reaction to her presence, the woman probably wasn't a friend like Koga had sort-of been.
Syaoran nodded in agreement with Meiling before taking off to find Sakura.
"Well, well, Inuyasha. Naraku said you'd found some more humans to babysit." the woman said with a sneer.
"Oh yeah? Where's Naraku at Kagura? He can meet them himself." Inuyasha retorted.
"Who knows? He sent a message for me to pay a visit." Kagura replied with a shrug.
"Visit's paid, now tell me where Naraku's hiding!" Inuyasha shouted.
Sango had placed Miroku on the ground a few feet behind her and was standing holding the Hirakotsu, tensed in case a fight broke out, she let out a small breath she hadn't known she was holding when she heard an incantation coming from behind her, "Card created by Clow, discard your old form and be reborn, in the name of Sakura, your new Mistress! Big!"
A tall slender woman appeared behind Sango, wearing a white dress with a yellow star on the center of the chest, a green cape, a pink gem as its clasp and a double pointed hat with strips of white cloth hanging from the two points of the hat. She had green eyes and skin almost the same white as her dress and hair a platinum blonde.
"Big, return the Monk to his original size, please." Sakura requested, the woman bowing to her before walking over and nudging Miroku with her foot just slightly, growing him back to a normal size before she disappeared back into card form, flying into Sakura's hand.
Kagura watched, eyes narrowed, and sweeps her fan downward, calling out "Dance of Blades!" making white blades of wind appear slicing their way towards Sango, Miroku and Sakura. The three dived out of the way just before the blades of air hit the ground where they'd been standing.
Sango got ready to throw her Hirakotsu when Inuyasha shouted, "Wind Scar!"
Kagura jumped out of the way of Inuyasha's Wind Scar and slashed her fan out in front of her, "Dance of the Dragon!" she shouts as mini-tornadoes appeared heading straight towards Inuyasha and the others. Using her attack as cover, Kagura pulled out a feather, throwing it down as it turned giant and she flew off.
"What the hell was that about?!" Inuyasha demanded.
"I'm afraid Kagura was sent to see what our new friends were like, and is likely going back to Naraku to report about what Sakura-san can do." Miroku stated.
Without another word, Inuyasha took off, ignoring his friends' calls to wait. The group scrambled together and took off after him, hoping like hell Kagura led them back to Naraku. Sakura was thinking through which of her cards she could use to try and slow Kagura down, coming up with nothing. She was too high in the sky and far ahead of them to use Loop or Windy.
"We'll never catch her." Miroku stated as the group slowed, "Let us stop here and wait, Inuyasha will find us when he gives up the chase."
"Do you really think Kagura was coming to see about the others?" Sango asked, frowning now.
"Yes. And Sakura's abilities are now going to be known to Naraku. I'm sure he'll try and find a way to block her abilities." Miroku replied.
"Like hell." Syaoran growled, sheathing his new sword, "Whoever this Naraku is, he won't get close to Sakura."
"Dammit, we have no chance of fighting against demons like that!" Renaku raged, "Even with these new weapons!"
"If you hope to ever go home, you don't have much of a choice." Sango said grimly, "Chances are, Naraku is responsible for the barrier keeping you from getting to the well."
"I'm not so sure of that. We sensed Clow's presence from that barrier." Kero stated, crossing his little arms, "I've never met this Naraku, but I know what Clow's magic feels like."
After almost an hour, Inuyasha finally returned, looking irritated, "I lost her."
"How far did you follow and which direction was she headed?" Miroku asked.
"Not sure how far, but she kept switching up which way she was going, but always turned back East."
"Then we know which way to go still. Naraku is hiding somewhere in the East. We'll head that way once more, and this time we will find him."
Miroku sounded so sure of this that none of the others disagreed, for one they wanted the Monk to be right and for another, another nudge in that direction cemented their belief that Naraku was hiding out there.
Soon after, they found a small clearing near a hot spring, to camp out in. As everyone started setting up camp, Yue emerged and Sakura started once more on her training to strengthen her magic outside of just using the cards.
~END Chap. 5.~
Sorry for the long wait, and if this chapter isn't as good. I ended up losing internet (again) and moving (again), its so much fun living my life -_-. Anywho, I started Chapter 5 ages ago, like a day or two after posting Chapter 4. And didn't finish it until today. I have no idea where I was going with it originally, and kind of pulled the end of it out of my ass using The Big and The Little along with having already used the Flower prior to my lapse in writing. My kid chose The Big and The Little as the cards to use for this chapter. Before returning to writing I hadn't even remembered that I'd already used The Flower. My brain is mush.
Cards Turned During Previous Chapters
The Mirror
The Erase
The Sweet
The Cloud
The Rain
The Storm
The Silent
The Voice
The Twin
The Wood
The Fly
The Jump
The Sleep
The Time
The Shadow
The Loop
The Dash
The Libra
The Lock
The Wave
The Bubbles
The Change
The Return
The Float
The Maze
The Glow
Cards Turned In This Chapters
The Flower
The Little (not written just implied)
The Big
Cards That Still Need To Be Changed
The Song
The Sand
The Through
The Earthy
The Dream
The Snow
The Mist
The Firey
The Sword
The Power
The Windy
The Shield
The Create
The Move
The Watery
The Thunder
The Illusion
The Shot
The Fight
The Freeze
The Arrow
The Light
The Dark