Just as the girls started to charge towards each other, Aimi sent out a huge gust of ice that froze Chiyu and Kira in place but then Kira formed what looked like gauntlets made of earth on her hand used them to smash through the ice. As soon as Chiyu and Kira broke free, Kira instantly disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

"What happened!? Kira just disappeared!" I gasped.

"Oh yeah Kira has stealth magic!" Hikki said to me. I didn't want to look away from the fight, but I still listened to him. "Isn't it cool?!"

"Yeah." I responded quickly.

Aimi blasted out more ice, but Chiyu slammed her hands on her ground and created an earth wall. She used it to block the incoming ice, then smashed through it like a bulldozer. She started unleashing a dozen attacks. She tried landing many hits on Aimi, but she gracefully dodged them. 

Meanwhile. Misa sprouted up a whole load of twirling vines. She was using them to fight the invisible Kira. When finally she caught her within them. Kira turned back to visible. They bound up her limbs and waist like green ropes.

I wondered how she was gonna breakout. But to my amazement, she turned into a lynx and used her claws to slice through the vines. Misa unleashed some more, but Kira  managed to evade them with her nimble cat like movements. 

Just as Kira was about to strike Misa, she managed to jump back from her. Kira transformed back to a human. When she did, I noticed she had something in her hand. I saw that Kira had grabbed one of Misa vines she cut off from before. Then she did something unexpected, she swung it it back and cracked it just like a whip. She professional lashed it back and forth while moving in on Misa. Misa in retaliation, grew large flowers to block her path but beat them back with the vine whip. It was clever how Kira was using Misa's own magic against her.

Aimi transformed into a swan, flew up in the air and unleashed large icicles from her wings. They came at her like frozen torpedoes. But Chiyu shifted into a bear to dodge and bash them aside, with a fearless growl. Aimi then did a literal swan dive towards the she-bear. Chiyu readied herself to face the attack.

During that time,Kira was starting to close in on Misa. But Misa had one more trick up her sleeve. While Kira was fighting off the giant flowers, Misa snuck a single vine beneath Kira's leg and yanked her upside down like a snare trap. Before Kira could turn into a lynx again, Kira made sure to bind her body with even more vines, so that she couldn't move at all.

Aimi started spinning around like a propeller, unleashing a more concentrated ice blast before Chiyu could make an earth shield. This blizzard had a more chilly and blinding affect. When she tried to move, she found that the ice underneath her was extremely slippery. Her paws skidded and she fell over and bumped her head making her dizzy. Judging by the way she had fell I'm not sure if she would be able to get up. Aimi just landed softly in front of her and turned back into her beautiful human self.

"Alright time up!" Raiden shouted out. "Aimi and Misa are the winners of this battle!

Misa carefully dropped Kira back onto the floor and made all the plants disappear. Aimi did the same with her ice. She gently patted Chiyu on the head, making her back into a human and she regained her composure. Misa and Aimi kindly helped Kira and Chiyu back up and they were happy to accept their helping hands. 

Me and the boys all clapped and cheered. It was like I had just watched a theatre performance and I was blown away by the show they had delivered. But I was blown away by all of the guardians battles, they were all fantastic in their own spectacular way.

"Great techniques girls" Misa smiled.

"Oh no we should be the ones saying that." Kira responded kindly. 

"You're the winners afterall." Chiyu added.

"It doesn't matter who wins or loses, we all learn something at the end of the day. Right Aimi? She looked to the Snow White woman.

"Couldn't agree more." Aimi concurred.

"Wow you guys were Awesome!" I cheered, as the girls walked back over to us.

"Thanks! It's always great to get the chance to show off our skills."

"Nice to have a new little cheerleader too." Misa added while smiling at me. I blushed at the comment.

"I mean, all of you were fantastic!" I approved as I turned to face all of them. "How you used both your magic and your transformations like that! It was like crazy, but at the same time outstanding! All of your powers are incredible too!"

They couldn't help but feel flattered at my compliments.

"Of course this is just us turned down." Raiden mentioned. "At night we would be a lot more powerful and we would have our celestial looks aswell. This this is just a taste of what you're be learning in the days to come." He told me.

"Oh boy." 'If these what normal fights looked like, who knows how intense their real ones would be.' I thought to myself. 

"So I will be learning magic just like that too?" I presumed.

"Yes you will." Raiden confirmed.

"But how do I do that? I don't even know what kind of power I'll be trying to gain." I looked down at my hand. 

"Sakura, have you ever noticed any other abilities apart from your fox transformation?" I stared back up at him. "Was there ever a point in your life, where you experienced something unnatural? Even if it was small, or for just a brief amount of time" Raiden questioned.

I searched through my memories. Then after a minute, something immediately came to mind. "Yes! There was! It's only happened once or twice, but I remember creating very tiny flames."

"Hmm interesting....." Raiden mumbled. "Our powers are usually elemental or physical. They can relate to the animal aswell. "For example, since Hikki is a hare..." He guesterued towards the blonde haired boy. "... his power is super speed and hares are known for being super fast."
In your case, foxes are associated with fire. In folklore, there was a yokai called a Kitsune which resembled a fox . One of the best known abilities of that mystical being; is foxfire." He explained.

"Wow." I breathed.

"Our powers can also be tied to our emotions. Can you remember what you were feeling when you experienced that moment?" He asked me.

"Well, I remember I was getting picked on by some other kids. There was a moment where I got so angry, that all of a sudden some flames appeared at their feet." I recalled. "It freaked them out and they ran away. I didn't know why they appeared, I thought maybe it was just the hot weather that caused it to ignite. The flames died down shortly afterwards. I didn't really think about it again after that."

"Fire has always been associated with emotions such as anger. That was probably why you subconsciously activated it." He suggested.

"So are you saying, that I could possibly have fire magic?" I inquired.

"Exactly my point." He affirmed.

"That's awesome!" Hikki expressed. "Are you gonna start learning her to use fire then?!" He asked hopefully.

"Yes." Raiden answered him. "But she must remember what it means to embrace our powers." He spoke clearly. "You, see. We each have our own strengths to help us fight. Our abilities aren't just a gift, they're like an extension of who we are. To gain our full power, we must find our inner strength, and use it to grow stronger as both people and as guardians." He explained thoroughly. His knowledge and wisdom never ceased to enthrall me.

"In order to awaken 'your' inner guardian, you need to find your core." He stated.

"My core?" I repeated.

"Figure out what lights the fire inside of you." He pointed to my heart. "Why do you want to be a guardian? What's the goal you can focus on to help you move forward and strive towards it? What makes you who you are and proud to be yourself?" He asked me kindly.

I stared down at my feet. "I'm not really sure." I admitted sadly. I still felt unsure of myself. I felt out of place for most of my life, that I couldn't think about what I wanted to do.

"Well until you can figure that out, we we train you to grow and harness your power." He reassured.

"Okay" I replied.

"Don't worry. We will all help you. We'll each show you how we strengthen and control our abilities." 

They were all so kind and encouraging. 'I hope I can do it. No! I will do it!' I clenched my hand. 'I have to!'

"Now before we send you home, there is one last thing I'd like to show you. Right this way." Raiden spoke as gestured for us to follow him. To where? I wasn't sure.

"Where are we going?" I inquired.

"You'll see." Hikki answered.

We approached another room, which looked like a smaller shrine. The pleasant smell of incense filled the air. Pretty patterns and pictures were carved into the walls.

"This is the Celestial temple room." Raiden introduced. "This is where we worship and pray to the spirit of the moon, the past guardians and to all of our family members that we love and lost. We make sure to pray to them everyday, that we are thankful for these gifts and to guide us."

I smiled warmly. Despite being super busy and super powerful they also made time to honour those who they are grateful to. I admired their kindness and consideration.

Everyone then kneeled down on the floor to pray, I also did the same. This was just like how Mom and I would pray at my Dad's alter at home. A feeling of warmth washed over me. The atmosphere felt so calming, almost like the negative energy was being drained from my body. It was like I could feel the warmth of all the ones. I didn't know most of the Guardians families yet, but I prayed for them too. I also prayed that I would be able find my purpose and place among the guardians.

"Well Sakura it is now Sunset. I did promise your mother we'd have you home by then." Raiden pointed out.

"Oh yeah." I admitted sadly. It felt like today just flew by, I didn't even notice it was evening now. I was a little disappointed to leave, but then I remembered I will see them again tomorrow.

"We'll see you off." Hikki offered.

We all headed towards the warp room. "Thanks for today everyone, I cannot wait for tomorrow". I spoke gratefully.

"The feeling is mutual" Enyo smiled. The others all nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we look forward to have you training with us." Kira approved. "Have a nice evening!"

With that, I bid everyone goodbye as they waved me off. Raiden and Hikki warped me home. I ran up to my door with Raiden and Hikki in tow. "Mom I'm back!" I called as I stepped in the house.

"Sakura! How was it?" Mom approached me heartily.

"It was amazing! They showed me all their skills! You should've seen them they were awesome!" My eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Oh were they?" She looked to Raiden and Hikki.

Raiden cleared his throat. "Yes we demonstrated our abilities, so she could witness how we train and fight against monsters."

"Yeah I fought against Raiden! He still beat me but I'm sure he's getting a little rusty lately." Hikki smirked craftily, before earning a sharp elbow jab from Raiden.

"Ow!" Hikki rubbed his arm.

"We train constantly everyday and we are still improving. Tomorrow Sakura will start to learn those  skills so she can fight along with us and learn to harness her own special powers." Raiden explained.

"Very well, as long as you don't let her get hurt. I'm sure she would be happy to learn." My mom responded.

"I will!" I chirped. "Goodnight you guys! I'll see you tomorrow!" I waved to Raiden and Hikki.

"Sleep well Sakura and get plenty of rest. You're gonna need it." Raiden replied with a smile.

"See ya tomorrow foxy girl!" Hikki waved back. They immediately disappeared off back to the shrine.

To be honest I wasn't sure if I would be able to get any sleep tonight. I was far too excited. Tomorrow would be the day where my actual training would begin.