Chapter 13: Awakening Part 2

Inuyasha grumbled beneath his breath as he stalked ahead. The wench was beginning to grate on his nerves. Again! Not only had she kept spouting nonsense, she would not. shut. up.

"And she's not useless…"

He stopped abruptly, surprised by what he said. While he knew she wasn't, for him to acknowledge it was…bizarre. He shook his head. At least no one heard him. Forcing himself to redirect his attention back to what he was doing, he took quick note of the different scents in the surrounding area and decided which direction to travel. With that decision in the forefront of his mind, he returned to the others.

Upon his arrival, he noticed the return of the miko and her wolf. Great, they were back; now they could leave.

"Let's go."

"Fine. Lead the way, oh, Patient One."

He sent a scowl in the wench's direction, something that did little to diminish the sassy smirk dancing upon her lips. He scoffed but began walking in the direction he had chosen. He had to grit his teeth together when he heard her quiet snicker from behind him. Inuyasha had a momentary break from noise as they continued their travels before the miko and wench began discussing their plans for training when they stopped for the evening.

"So, where we gonna train tonight? There likely won't be a spiritual waterfall where we stop."

He heard the miko chuckle. "We shall cross that path when we get there. I sense it will not be much longer before you can begin accessing your powers."

The statement caught his attention. Saya couldn't access her powers? How the hell could she use the sacred arrow then?! Or anything else for that matter? On the other hand, that would explain why she was still mildly useless. Well, he mentally corrected himself, she was still a lot better than Kagome had ever been. She could at least hit most of her targets. He was brought out of his thoughts when Saya responded.

"Really? Because that would be great. I'm getting tired of just sitting around not making any progress."

A quiet trill of laughter filled the air. "It has only been two sessions, Saya. Give yourself some credit. Most with your level of training would not even be able to find their power. The fact that you have, is quite impressive."

"Really? You're not just saying that, are you?" Inuyasha heard the suspicion in her voice as she asked the question.

Another laugh. "Of course not. If you were being unsatisfactory, I would not hesitate to tell you."

"Of course, you wouldn't…"

The miko's laughter filled the air once again, this time accompanied by Sango's. The females continued their chatter, but Inuyasha tuned them out. The rest of their conversation did not pique his interest. He refocused his attention on the area surrounding them.

When nothing alerted his senses, he contented himself to allow his mind to wander. It was annoying Totosai hadn't been home when he went to collect his sword earlier that morning. There hadn't even been a sign of the old man when he had arrived. He had better get his sword back soon, or there would be hell to pay. He would make sure of it.

There wasn't a disturbance in the area—even when they paused for lunch. The group went about their regular activities for setting up. When Inuyasha placed wood next to the females, Hiyori stood and set to work boiling the water that Sango and Shippo had collected. Inuyasha allowed his eyes to pass from the miko to Saya, who sat with an amused smile while giving Yue pieced of shriveled…things. He had no idea how those things could be considered even remotely tasty, but the kit gobbled them down like it was the best thing on earth. To each their own, he supposed.

Saya must have noticed his staring (though he surely hadn't meant to) because she sent an amused smile his way. "It's fruit. Dried, so they won't go bad as quickly."

None of those things looked like any kind of fruit that he had ever seen. His incredulous thoughts must have shown on his face because she laughed. "Here, try one." He made a face.

"Oh, please. I'm not gonna poison you with it. Yue is eating them, and she's fine!" When he still didn't move, she rolled her eyes before grabbing two identical pieces of the shriveled things and popping one into her mouth. He stared at her. When he realized nothing had happened to her, she raised an amused eyebrow and offered the other one to him.

"If you don't like it, I won't offer it to you again. In fact, I won't use any of them in your food. I'll save them specifically for Yue. Deal?"

He hesitated a moment longer before stepping forward to accept her offering. Unknown to him, everyone at camp was watching their exchange with varying reactions: amusement among the most popular. He picked up the small, wrinkled offering and stared at it for a moment. It was a dark, misshaped oval. Hesitating for another moment, he glanced back at Saya. She gave him an encouraging smile. Taking a breath, he popped the thing into his mouth.

Flavor exploded on his taste buds. It was dry, there was no doubt about that, but it still held flavor. It was nothing like he was expecting. Turning a surprised expression at Saya, she grinned at him.

"Those are raisins—dried grapes. There are other fruits and veggies here too, if you would like to try some more. My favorites are the banana chips and the dried strawberries."

She held out a hard, thin wafer of a banana and a shrunken, withered looking thing that he could barely define as a strawberry. Hesitantly, he took both and tried the wafer first. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. It was extremely potent. Taking a bite, he found it tasted about the same. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Trying the strawberry next, he found that one to be much more appetizing. He blinked in surprise.

"See, not too bad, are they?"

"Keh" was his only response, but he saw her smile widen. "Well, good news: the water is done boiling and the steeping time is finished. The ramen's done. Here." She handed one to him before passing the rest out amongst their comrades.

Everyone was quiet as they ate their food. Yue was the only one finished eating and made sure Saya knew it. The young pup ran around behind her, and for a moment she thought the kit was going to climb up her back to take her place across her shoulders. However, once behind her, it was clear that was not the case. The pup stretched on Saya's back to reach her hair held in its low ponytail and began to bat at it. It was horribly distracting—and highly amusing. Saya sat there attempting to keep from quaking with laughter as Yue continued to play with her hair. It seemed that the pup was getting more and more energetic as time passed. She was going to have to create a toy for her soon, lest Yue turn her hair into a permanent one. Sango caught attention of what was happening relatively quickly and began to chuckle for Saya.

"She's quite the energetic little thing, isn't she?" Saya saw the others glance over out of the corner of her eye.

"I gave her a bath this morning, and I think it affected her brain." She could no longer keep the laughter back and was soon trembling with it. Yue didn't seem to notice.

"You bathed her?"

"Yeah, I took one when I got up this morning, and when Yue noticed I wasn't in bed, she came looking for me. She found me, and I decided that I would just give her a bath while I was already there. She was a good girl. Well, she tolerated it, at least. She also stood there while I finished up. She even let me blow dry her."

"You blew her dry? That would take a while."

Saya laughed. "No, there's a device that takes in air and blows it out hotter and faster than anyone could do themselves. It's a really handy device to have at times."

"I would imagine."

Saya was thankfully able to finish her food quickly enough that Yue didn't turn her hair into a completely knotted mess. She grabbed onto the pup and pulled her in front of herself. That will be a pain to brush out later, she thought with a sigh. Quickly searching for something in her bag that would distract the energetic pup, she found the brush she packed for Yue and began to use it. The kit quickly settled down and laid there happily.

"At least I found a way to calm her down…"

Sango chuckled.

The group began packing shortly after. They resumed their journey immediately after finishing. Saya was thinking of items that she could use as a toy for Yue when she noticed Inuyasha pause. Distantly, she noticed as everyone began to become alerted for any potential dangers. Saya placed her bags and Yue on the ground. Standing, she pulled her bow off her back, retrieved her bags, and went to pick Yue back up—but found she was no longer there. Frantically searching the area, she relaxed when she saw the young pup laying atop of Hiro. At least she'd be safe should anything happen. She also noticed Shippo running over to Hiro as well. Kirara jumped down from Sango's shoulder to stand before her. Immediately engulfed in flames, Kirara stood before the group in her larger form a moment later. She saw Hiyori approach Sango.

"Would you like me to erect a barrier, so you could change?"

Sango blinked. "Uh, yeah. That would be great."

Saya glanced around to their surroundings. There wasn't anywhere Sango could safely change without fear that someone could see her. No cluster of trees—not even a large clump of tall weeds. It was thoughtful that Hiyori thought to do that for Sango. The demon hunter changed quickly, and the group was ready for whatever they would encounter. Saya approached Inuyasha.

"What was it that tipped you off there could be trouble?"

He spared her a quick glance before focusing his attention back toward the town that lie before them. "Demon youki."

Saya nodded. Now that he said something, she noticed the mildly constricting feel of the air that usually accompanied a demon's energy. As far as she could tell, it wasn't a strong demon, but she wanted to make sure.

"Anything you think we should be worried about?"

He shook his head. "Just stay alert."

"Okie dokie!" With that, she went back to Hiyori and Miroku. She was going to stay with them. Inuyasha and Sango went first. Miroku was in the middle while Hiyori, Saya, and the animals (plus Shippo) brought up the rear. They began their slow and cautious journey into the village.

It wasn't long before they found the source of the youki: a demon that took the entire village ransom. Inuyasha reached for his sword, only to find it not there. He cursed Totosai for not being there with his sword when he went to pick it up that morning. He supposed he would just have to make do with his fists and claws. It was then the demon noticed the group's appearance.

"It seems more have heard of my greatness and come to challenge the Great and Powerful Tiryu." The demon was a cocky little bastard, for sure. Judging by his youki, the little punk was a weakling. Inuyasha had no idea how the Great and Powerful Tiryu had manage to take over the town, let alone keep everyone in the state of fear that they were all in. Surprise attack was his best guess.

"Keh, we didn't hear about you. Anyone with eyes would know that you're not as great and powerful as you claim to be."

The comment sparked annoyance in Tiryu. "Such high and mighty talk from someone as low on the food chain as yourself. What, you couldn't find others of our kind to put up with you, so you went to the humans? Such a poor example."

Inuyasha grit his teeth together in annoyance. This guy seemed to be all talk. The sooner he dealt with this, the better. He wasn't sure how much longer he could deal with his annoying voice, anyway.

Saya seemed to be on the same page as him because she spoke up. "That's a load of bull. If anyone here is a poor example of being a demon, it's you! I could barely even sense you. You can't be as great and powerful as you claim. I would have realized you were here long before I had, if you were."

Tiryu narrowed his eyes at Saya. "You are the most pathetic one here. Do you even have any worth to that group of yours? Or are you just the entertainment?"

Inuyasha smelled Saya's ire spike and growled in anger. "She ain't entertainment! And the only one here that's useless, is you!" He rushed forward, claws at the ready, but was stopped short when a bolt of lightning struck down between Inuyasha and Tiryu. Totosai appeared atop his bovine.

"About time you showed up, old man! Give me my sword!"

Totosai tossed Tessaiga to Inuyasha without comment, something that would have elicited surprise from him had he the moment to do so. Inuyasha easily caught his sword, putting the sheath in its proper place as he withdrew the sword. The sword dropped to the ground in an instant.

"What the hell did you do to my sword, old man?" he grit out.

"What are you talking about? Lift your sword, Inuyasha. The enemy approaches."

Inuyasha ground his teeth as he was forced to dodge the attack. Lift the sword, my ass, Inuyasha thought irritably. It's gotten super heavy.

"What's wrong, little man? All bark and no bite after all?"

Inuyasha grit his teeth together as he struggled to wield his sword with any amount of decency. What the hell had Totosai done to his sword?!

"Shut the hell up! I can kick your ass no matter what."

"Then show me. Prove to the Great and Powerful Tiryu that you are not just all talk. I'll even give you a free swing—seeing as how you are having so much trouble with that sword of yours." Tiryu laughed.

Saya watched as Inuyasha struggled with his sword. "Do you think he needs help?"

"He'll be fine." Totosai sipped from his cup of tea.

"If you say so…" She turned to Hiyori. "Would you help me cook soup for dinner tonight? That is, if we stop early enough."

Hiyori spared her a glance and smiled. "Sure." She returned her attention to the battle. "Oh, Inuyasha is finished now."

Inuyasha released the transformation with a sigh. He was lucky he managed to find the Wind Scar quickly. The battle was beginning to wear on him. He replaced Tessaiga in its sheath and jumped over to Totosai. He gifted the old man with a strong thump to the head.

"What the hell did you do to my sword, old man? I can barely pick it up anymore!"

"I didn't do anything to it. Maybe you've just gotten weaker." Another blow to the head. "As I was saying, before Tessaiga broke, it was made entirely of your father's fang. Now, it has your own, albeit puny, fang. Before, you were relying on your father's strength to keep you safe. Now, you must rely on your own."

"How do you suggest that I fix it?" Inuyasha saw the look Totosai gave him as he opened his mouth. "You're not about to suggest that I get stronger, are you?" Silence was his answer. Inuyasha hit him over the head again.

The group resumed their journey after the village gave their thanks. The monk managed to swindle coin from several of the villagers, as well as other items for their journey. Miroku was counting the money happily until Saya reached over and grabbed it from him. The look of incredulous shock that washed over his features brought a smirk to Inuyasha's.

"I think I'll hold onto the money for now. Kami knows we don't want you spending it on women when we could be using it for something much more productive for our journey."

Miroku's face did not change from his shock for a moment before his shoulders slumped. He nodded. He had given in without a fight. That was odd. Inuyasha was left to his thoughts after that. He was still annoyed with the old man about the changes to his sword. How the hell was he supposed to fight with a sword he could barely lift?!

They continued their travels for a while longer before Inuyasha announced they would break for the night. Everyone immediately began to set up camp. When the males had brought her wood for the fire and Inuyasha started it, Saya started making soup for everyone. She figured she would make a good meal before Hiyori took her to train some more. It was a little bit before the soup was finished, and while everyone was waiting, Saya noticed Inuyasha's ears twitch before he looked behind them. When he relaxed but looked mildly annoyed, Saya instantly knew it was a good thing she prepared a little extra food. Haruto was here. She snickered to herself. The name still made her giggle.

Haru appeared in a whirl of wind, almost extinguishing the camp fire. Saya sent a glare his way. He shrugged with a smile. She rolled her eyes. He walked up to her and plopped down.

"So, what are you making tonight?"

"Soup. I decided it would be a nice meal seeing as how we stopped early enough for me to make it." She sent a smile Inuyasha's way. "Thanks again for that, Inuyasha."

"Keh. I only did it, so you wouldn't complain."

"Still, thanks."

He looked away. Saya turned her attention back to Haru—who was giving her a suggestive smile. Her smile fell, and she gave him a blank look.

"For that, you don't get any soup. Inuyasha can have your share." She saw Inuyasha look at her out of the corner of her eye, but her attention was on Haru as he looked mortified.

"What?! But—but!"

"Should have thought of that before you acted."

He then started groveling. It took everything in her willpower not to show her amusement. In the end, she couldn't stay mad at him, so she relented with a laugh.

"I knew you couldn't stay mad at me. I'm simply too irresistible."

"Sure, let's go with that." Before he could comment further, Saya placed a bowl of soup before his face. "Soup's up, guys!" Everyone gathered around her to get their food, and the camp was quiet as they ate. Once everyone finished, Miroku volunteered himself and Haru to clean up while the females left to begin Saya's training.

"Ugh! It's been three days already, and I still haven't made any progress! Sure, I can find my power easy enough now, but once I'm there: Bam! It's like I'm hit with a brick wall. I just can't get through to it." Saya's shoulders slumped as she followed Hiyori and Sango to the place she would try to access her powers. Again! It irritated her to no end. Surely, she should have made some sort of progress by now, right?

"You will get there. You just have to be patient."

Saya groaned as Hiyori said the dreaded word: patient. She was not a patient person. Not really. Sure, she could be patient like everyone else when it came to some things, but by nature, patience was not one of her strong suits. Hiyori laughed at her plight. The rest of the trip was silent. When the trio arrived, Saya found herself at a clearing with a small pond. She hadn't had a pond to train with since the village. Shrugging, she changed into her miko robes, handed the Shikon shards to Hiyori, and stepped up to the water's edge. When she was about to take a step forward, Hiyori stopped her.

"This time, I would like you to reside by the water's edge. It is getting quite chilly, and I am sure you would not like to be sick."

Nodding thankfully, Saya sat down. She was aware of Hiyori, Sango, Hiro, and Yue all sitting down behind her as she closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them again and glanced around the rim of the pond. There was a tree on the other side she could recline against while she meditated. She moved there before resuming her meditation.

Closing her eyes, Saya found herself in the darkness of her subconscious once again. Quickly navigating it, she found herself staring at the orb of floating power. She reached her hand out to try and reach inside but was stopped short again. She let out a sigh of irritation. Why was her power resisting her? It was hers, dammit! It should listen to her! Taking a calming breath, she tried again. This time closing her eyes—even in her subconscious—she reached forward. She knew her power resembled a glass ball filled with colored liquid without need of actually seeing it, and touching the floating orb only solidified that similarity. A smooth, cool surface met her fingertips as they brushed against it. Frowning, she almost threw in the towel but hesitated for a moment.

What was the reason her power would not allow her access but for small bursts? There had to be a reason. Opening her eyes in her subconscious, she began to drift to the other side of the orb. She was surprised to feel as though she wasn't moving—at least, it looked like she wasn't. There were no identifiable markers on the orb that she could see. Nothing to indicate that she was moving. Frowning, Saya stared at it again. Narrowing her eyes, she stared for a moment. It appeared to almost have a sort of blemish she had missed the first thousand times. Blinking a few times to see if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, the blemish remained. Keeping her eyes on the blemish, Saya walked forward. Now that she was up on it, she could see that it wasn't a discoloration as she had originally thought, but an indent. Tentatively reaching out, she traced her finger along the spot. As the digit encountered the concaved surface, she was surprised when her finger slipped through.

Startled, she pulled back, clutching her hand to her chest. Her finger still pulsed with power where it pressed against her chest. Tentatively reaching forward, she pressed her hand slowly against the indentation. When it slipped through without resistance, Saya grinned.

Haru grimaced. "I still don't know why we can't go and see how she's doing."

"Because," Miroku said with a bite of impatience, "That wolf is with them. He would hear if anyone came to spy on them."

"Are you saying this from experience?"

Miroku shuddered. "That wolf is not like anything I have ever experienced, and definitely not something that I wish to encounter again. Heed my warning."

Haru shrugged before glancing at Inuyasha. The hanyou was staring off in the direction the females had left, his ears twitching now and then as he tried to hear anything that was happening.

"Give it up, mutt. That miko probably put a barrier up to keep anyone from going near them, let alone hearing them. I can't hear anything, so I know you sure as hell can't."

Inuyasha turned a sharp glare in his direction. "Shut it, flea bag. Just because you can't hear anything doesn't mean there's nothing to hear. You just don't know what to listen for."

"And you do?"

Inuyasha scoffed and was about to respond when a sudden and large wave of energy stormed through camp. The males blinked in surprise. The energy was purification in origin, but it did not harm anyone in camp. At least Shippo and Haru weren't rolling around in agony. Inuyasha glanced at his hands. Still had claws. Huh…

"What the hell?! I can't smell or hear anything!" Inuyasha turned to Haru with a start. It seemed he was wrong.

"Stop exaggerating, Haru. I can hear just fine."

The wolf turned a sharp eye in Miroku's direction. "That's because you're a houshi. It won't affect you."

"On the contrary, I have been affected—just not like you two." He sighed. "And I was enjoying such a lovely imagination…"

Inuyasha held back a shudder. Leave it to the hentai of a monk to be enjoying that while with company. "What the hell was that?"

Miroku shook his head. "I don't know. It was most definitely a wave of purifying energy, but it seemed to mean us no harm. It is very strange. Perhaps it only dulled the senses of you demons to that of a human. It would certainly explain why Haru thought he couldn't hear anything. But the question is, where did it come from?"

Before anyone could comment, the thickets began rustling beside the camp. They turned, standing to prepare for an attack, when they saw a large wolf the size of a transformed Kirara walking into camp with an unconscious Saya draped across its back. Hiyori and Sango followed shortly behind. Sango walked with a mildly dazed expression upon her face, but otherwise, she appeared unharmed.

"What the hell happened?! You said you were training her, not trying to kill her!"

Hiyori stared at him for a moment before turning her attention to Saya as she groaned. When she responded, she still was watching Saya. "I did nothing to her. Sango can verify that. I am surprised you did not figure it out on your own. Surely you felt that wave of energy pass through here?"

Inuyasha stared at her blankly for a moment until Miroku spoke up.

"Surely, you do not mean to say that wave of energy came from our Saya?"

"She managed to unlock her powers tonight." She sounded quite proud of her pupil. "I fear she will be quite weak for a while, though. I did not realize she had so much potential. The release of that much energy has taken a toll on her body. She will likely be out for the rest of the night, as well as the following morning. Once she recovers, she can resume her training."

That wave was…? No, it couldn't be. Inuyasha looked at the prone form of Saya laying atop of the wolf. There was no other explanation. Saya was a lot more powerful than everyone originally assumed. Damn… Inuyasha was brought back to the present when Hiyori spoke once again.

"It would be wise for Haru, Inuyasha, and Shippo to stay away from Saya for the time being, however."

"And why the hell would we do that?"

Inuyasha turned to Haru as the wolf asked the question. It was the same question on his mind.

"Surely, you can see the remnants of her powers still coating her skin? If you three do not wish to become purified completely, I suggest you not touch her for the time being. Once she wakes, all her power will be brought back into herself. Until then, I would suggest giving her a wide girth."

Inuyasha was silent for a moment as his brain worked on processing the information he had been given. A thought occurred to him. "Where the hell did that wolf come from?"

"You mean Hiro? Surely you remember him."

"He never looked like that!"

"Ah, Hiro is a special wolf. He possesses the ability to transform—much like Kirara. However, his ability differs slightly from hers."

Hey guys! I finally updated! Wooooooooooo! I know. I'm sorry. In my defense, my computer died on me the first week of November, and I didn't get it back until some time in December. And I didn't get the three reviews that I had requested—demanded...whatever. -_- Either way, the chapter has been posted. Please, please, please, leave a review. I need to know what you all think of this. Please. Thank you.

Until next time loves,

~Saph