10Yo, peoples. I'm going to describe the area, but you won't fully know what it looks like unless you've played the game. (I'm assuming all you people out there –wave- have played it, or else you wouldn't be looking at this in the first place, unless you found it on my profile or something) Oh, and here is y'all overdue chapter. (If you can guess what state I live in, you win a free coupon on a rib-eye steak at your nearest participating WalMart or Walgreens.)
Some of you may have noticed that it said that the fic was updated. Actually, chapter one was. I noticed two mistakes from just glancing at it and had to fix it. x.x
PART ONE: Rebirth of the Goddess
Golden Rays
Chapter Two: Descendant of Nagi II
Without turning back to see if the scroll—which Issun called 'Demon Scrolls'—was after her, she quickly scampered into Hana Valley.
o
The sky above Hana Valley was a dark, ugly brown color with black wisps that resembled clouds floating through it. Bone-chilling winds blew constantly throughout the area, stirring the white goddess' fur with each violent breeze. The gurgling of the nearby river was replaced by the nasty sludge-sliding sound and coated every leaf in a thick mess of brown-gray muck. Ammy looked around the area with large blue eyes, scanning the valley for any signs of green imps or any other monster that dared venture out of the shadows.
The place itself was rather large and was surrounded by large hills and mini-mountains on all sides. The path she walked upon was narrow and had a small trail of tiny pebbles and sand cutting through it that served as a pathway for travelers who dared to venture in the area. Issun shivered as another cold wind sliced through the air and chilled him to the bone. Pulling up a few bits of Ammy's hair to use as a blanket, he peered up from her snowy white pelt and looked around the area with big eyes.
Ammy walked along the path, hugging close to the edge of the canyon wall and came upon a small wooden bridge that was made up by three logs tied loosely together. She lightly stepped over them and padded over onto a much higher ledge. She ran up a small incline…and that's when she saw them. A group of around five green imps—two of them with a banjo—were all dancing and eating rice cakes and sipping on sake around a fire.
The golden light of the fire flickered by itself outside the mouth of another cave—a much, much darker cave. The white wolf watched them for a few moments before she decided to move in. As she crept up behind the imps and suddenly lunged at them, they all flew up a few feet in the air, shocked and confused. Each imp grabbed their flute or banjo and immediately whipped around.
Ammy, using the element of surprise, quickly raced up upon one imp that had failed to turn around quick enough. She lunged for the back of his neck and quickly snapped it and sprang off him and looked around, eyes flashing dangerously. One imp struck out at her with his flute and knocked her in the rib cage. She quickly spun around and latched onto it, growling angrily and pulling back. She drew one quick brushstroke along its stomach and sliced it in two.
She flung out her weapon with a nimble twist her of her back and knocked another imp in the head. It flew back into the red ring and stood up dizzily, clutching his flute with unsteady hands. Ammy let a wolfish smirk cross her face and wheeled around…only to come head-first into the end of one of the larger imp's banjo. She unsteadily walked backwards, her world spinning before her. Issun pulled tightly on fur and urged her to her paws, and she shakily stood up, growling and crouched low to the ground. Ammy lunged forward at the imp and snapped her jaws shut on its masked face and heard the sound of bones crunching.
She quickly drew a single line across it, and with another shink, the banjo-wielding imp fell in two pieces and disappeared in a rain of cherry blossom flowers. The ring quickly vanished into the musky air, taking the imps with it.
A sound that sounded close to a flute came from the nearby stream, and with perked-up ears, Ammy raced over to the side of the ledge and peered down it to see fountains of blue water shoot up and go back into the murky and sludgy water. Leaf-green lily pads formed on top of the water and started to float away daintily downstream…only to disappear along with the newly-found clean water. It quickly faded away to the dark brown substance with black lines weaving through it. The smell of death and decay quickly returned to the cold and chilling breeze that blew throughout the valley, and to stop from shivering, Ammy fluffed up her pelt against the chilling winds.
She watched with forlorn and solemn eyes as the last hint of green completely disappeared, sighing in a wolfish fashion. "Huh?" Issun asked, leaning over her left brow to peer down closer at the murky and tainted water. "We got rid of the monsters, so why did the gods' power disappear? Guess the curse on the gods of these lands must be really strong," he sighed. "They can't intervene until we do something about this stagnant air."
With quiet pawsteps, Ammy took a right to face the large cave before her. It was more of a tunnel than a cave and was held up by wooden supports with evidence of rot forming deep and hollow gashes in parts of the boards. She padded through the dark tunnel, lightly stepping over bent and split nails, and breathed in the musky scent of the thick and humid air.
She passed by two lit torches on the other end of the tunnel and stepped out of the darkness to find herself standing on a large cliff that towered over a large pond filled with water. Ammy trotted along the sandy dirt path with blades of grass poking up in it and came to a halt when she noticed something.
There was a tree in front of her a few away with gnarled and twisted branches. Dead leaves, dark brown and sickly green in color, hung off the very end of the branches and swayed with the movement of the odd tree. The tree's branches moved on its own, though, and that was the most outstanding feature. Ammy cocked her head to the side and gazed at it curiously.
"Hey! Check out that tree! It's moving!" Issun called out excitedly. The sickly-looking tree seemed to stare straight at them. "Better be careful, Ammy…" he added in a low whisper.
Ammy had started to take a single step forward when all of a sudden the tree turned a dark shade of brown and pushed its branches together. Twirling around, it conjured up a large pink bud and flung it at the goddess. Ammy dodged out of the bud's path and quickly drew a single brushstroke across it. The bud went flying back at the tree and hit it right in the middle of its trunk, stunning it.
Instead of having dark brown and ugly bark, the stunned mutated plant turned a striking shade of golden-brown and dropped its branches to its sides. "Ammy!" Issun stood up. "Did you just do what I think you did?" he asked incredulously, looking at the stunned and confused tree. "Did you use Power Slash to hit the tree's fruit right back at it? Heh heh…" he laughed. "It's wearing taste of its own medicine! Let's pass on by this creepy old tree while we can," he suggested.
Ammy nodded and left the tree behind her. She continued to follow the path that hugged the canyon wall when she came upon another one of the trees nestled amongst a few regular pines and oaks. The monstrous tree did the same as the other and reeled back to throw a bud at her, and Ammy, being quick with her brush, slashed the bud back at it and raced on ahead.
There was another part to the area that was separated by a large space and was loosely connected by a wooden plank bridge. Ammy uneasily stepped on the first board, the bridge groaning and moving beneath her weight. The ropes that acted as support rails had gaping holes through them, allowing for anyone to easily slip through them and go crashing into the far-off water below them.
With a surge of determination clearly etched across her white-furred face, the wolf goddess took off across the old and creaky bridge and skidded to a halt once she reached the other side. She shook out tiny bits of dirt from her blazing fur and stopped before she could veer to the left. A large patch of dead grass and rotten bones were lying on the ground, flies and maggots accumulating on top of the carrion.
Ammy wrinkled up her nose in disgust and walked off the patch and continued along the path. She found herself loping up a large incline with towering trees on both sides of her and stopped when she rounded the corner and came face-to-face with one of the mutant trees. She growled lowly and slashed it before it could even start to throw the bud at her.
Instead, she was focused on a small statue right beside it with weeds springing up all around it and moss growing in the indentions of the object. She could have sworn she saw a person as the figure, but she wasn't sure. "The statue's all dirty…" Issun murmured, leaning over her brow again. "Kind of feel sorry for it standing in a place like this."
Ammy shook her head as if in agreement and turned away from the old statue. She sped off up the hill at a face-paced traced and skidded to a halt at the top, bits of dirt and grass becoming dislodged from beneath her claws. Ammy paused beneath another one of the wooden red structures and walked slowly to the left. She carefully avoided the steep ledge on her right and walked out onto a stone platform that jutted out from the original path. She stood directly in front of a picture-like stone slab on the canyon wall.
Instead of being just a simple gray color, the slab was decorated with numerous symbols and designs. Though instead of having elaborate stones and gems embedded in it, a swirling mass of red and black covered it, blocking it from all who dared look at it. Ammy shook her head and trotted on, passing through a large clearing. Instead she focused her pretty azure eyes on what lay at the opposite end of the clearing. Knitting her brows together and squinting her eyes, she could clearly see Susano using all his might trying to move a wall ten times his size.
Ammy's ear pricked forward, and just as she was about to take a step forward, two green imps in tattered clothing jumped down from seperate boulders. They danced from toe to toe, instruments held up to their mouths, and before Ammy could lunge at them, a new type of enemy came darting forward from beneath the ground. It circled the small clearing for a few seconds until it popped out of the ground in one big motion. Instead of being green like its counterparts, the new imp was yellow and held on tightly to a large drum. The yellow imp held up to large drumsticks and beat down on the drum heavily before disappearing beneath the ground once more.
Another red ring formed around the four, springing up from the ground and forming a tight arena around them. The two green imps rushed at the wolf goddess immediately and Ammy, not wasting any time, quickly dispatched them with a single stroke of her Celestial Brush. Issun clung onto the fur between her ears for dear life as she twisted and turned and dodged her new enemy's attacks.
The burrowing imp made dead beelines for her and occasionally sprung out of the ground from time to time, sending showers of dirt raining upon the wolf. One time, though, he stayed up. Ammy raced forward at him with bared fangs and her Divine Retribution spinning madly, the flames snaking in between each single hair on her pelt. Before she could lunge at the imp, he reared back with his hands and came smashing down against his drum. A long earthquake-like trail of dirt came straight at the goddess. Leaping in the air, Ammy narrowly dodged it.
She fell to the ground panting and glared daggers at the yellow imp. With rage seething off of her, she raced forward blindly and lashed out at the golden-colored imp. Her weapon crashed into both of his sides, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Issun yelled something at her above the roaring and snarling, but his words were quickly lost in the onslaught of fur and fangs. Paw against head, Ammy sank her teeth into the imp's shoulder and smashed his head against her spinning disc-like weapon. A deafening crack rippled throughout the area as the imp's head was smashed in.
Ammy did a backflip back and landed nimbly on her paws and, with a growl, gave the imp a quick slash, and within record time, his body started to disappear. Ammy stopped crouching low to the ground and stood straight up, shook her fur out, and looked back at the slab on the wall. The red and black swirls lit up to a bright yellow color and then disappeared in a flash, revealing the designs behind them to be three stages of a tree's life, an empty spot in the upper right-hand corner, a giant orb on a pedestal in front of the sun's rays, and three people walking towards the sphere.
...Though one thing was missing: the sun itself. Instead of there being a large golden orb hanging in the sky, it was just a gray space with little lines coming out from it which were obviously its rays.
With a sigh, Ammy turned around and looked to the far end of the cavern where Susano was, and with a short-lived grin, she trotted up to his side and looked up at him. "Hm? What's all that racket?" Susano growled, wiping a thin line of sweat off his forehead. He gave a short glance behind him and then turned around, but before he could put his hands back on the wall, he whipped around. "Oh, it's you, mutt!" he exclaimed irritably. "What're you doing here?" When Ammy nor Issun didn't reply, he added, "Go home! I already told you that I'm not looking for apprentices. Anyway, Hana Valley is no place for a mutt like you."
Ammy, with a bored sigh, sat down on her haunches while Issun jumped up and down angrily between her ears.
"Beyond this point lies my secret training ground," he said proudly, crossing his arms. "It's the perfect place to hide..." he said lowly in a tiny whisper. Ammy easily caught what he said and pricked her ears. "Er... I mean to train!" He stood up straight. "Now scoot! Be off with ya!" he yelled. Susano quickly grabbed his sword and lashed out at Ammy. The goddess dodged his swing by doing a nimble backflip backwards. She landed neatly on the ground, growling.
Susano turned around irritably and walked back over to the wall and started pushing on it, more sweat building up on his forehead. Ammy rolled her eyes and walked back over to the painting that was missing a sun. Stepping in front of it, Issun said, "Wow; check out that wall painting." Issun's eyes widened as he pointed up at the painting. "It's said that a crystal sphere that makes trees grow is enshrined somewhere around here," he explained. "Based on the painting here, I'd say the rumor must be true. Still, something's not right..." Issun edged closer to the end of Ammy's nose and pointed up at the missing spot on the painting. "Don't you think there's something missing from the painting?"
With a thoughtful nod, Ammy took a few steps back, whipped out her Celestial Brush, and drew a large circle in the upper right corner of the picture. A beam of orange and white surrounded the painting for a few seconds, and when it dissipated, an orange lineart-like sun was left behind, glowing brightly in contrast to the dull and boring brown-gray of the rest of the painting.
The new rays from the newly-painted sun made their way over to the wall that Susano, who had since given up and was now standing beneath a candle, had been pushing on. A faint white ring made an imprint on it, and in a bright flash, the wall exploded in a shower of rocks, pebbles, and dust. Sludgy water came gushing out of the stream that was behind the wall and joined its brethren at the base of the waterfall, and Ammy, with a happy expression, trotted over to Susano.
"What in heaven's name!? How did that happen?" he asked, staring in disbelief at the new corridor that had opened up. "Well, now I can go hide-er... I mean now I can go train!" he proclaimed loudly. And in a flash, Susano took off down the hallway.
o
Ammy waited behind, listening intently as Susano's footsteps soon disappeared. Once she could no longer hear him, she bounded off after him through the new corridor, racing through the darkened hallway with another murky stream on her right side. Ammy halted to a stop once she came face-to-face with a small ledge. Growling, she leaned back on her hindlegs and, with a mighty leap, scrambled onto the top of the ledge. She loped through the rest of the hall for about twenty yards until she had to stop again.
A large room-larger than the one from before-opened up before her. A broken trail of stones and rocks led to an object in the middle of the room that was surrounded by two large mounds. A little green plant with a single leaf bounced up and down, and as Ammy peered in closer, she could see an empty fountain-like object shaped like a bowl. Tiny white wisps floated through the air, and a small breeze blew throughout the new room, parting the clouds above and giving the wolf goddess a clear view of the night sky, each individual star twinkling brightly.
Padding in reluctantly, Ammy sniffed the ground cautiously and padded up to the small indention in the ground behind the plant. It was like a puddle and was filled with sky-blue water, and as she sniffed it, tiny ripples danced off the end of her whiskers. "What a strange place," Issun said, sitting on the end of her muzzle. "Is this really the secret training ground Susano mentioned? Speaking of which..." Issun stood up tall and looked around the room. "...Where'd pops go, anyway?"
The blinding white she-wolf walked up to the plant and sniffed it. "What's up with this tiny sapling?" he asked. "Hm? I smell a faint scent like Sakuya's coming from this sapling!" he proclaimed happily. Ammy rolled her eyes, shook her head, and turned left. Before she could go any further, though, five large, wooden stakes were in the ground, acting as a makeshift gate. Ammy drew a quick slash across the five boards, and in no time, the pieces of them lay scattered all over.
With speedy pawsteps, the white goddess took off into the new place that lay ahead. It was a pathway that hugged close to the sides of canyon, small trees and grass on her left side blocking out the view of the cursed lands of Shinshu Fields. She loped her way down the stone and brick trail for a few minutes until a strong scent hit her nostrils. Slowing down to a walk, another room lay in front of her. She cautiously padded inside, flicking her ears all around and surveying her new surroundings.
Susano stood in the middle of the room, his sword held out in front of him, and numerous torches aligned up in a circle. The most peculiar thing, though, was the animal inside the room besides herself. A large, brown bear was heavily asleep on top of a large cerulean orb, a tiny leaf on top of its head that swayed with the bear's movements. Loud snores came from the bear's barely opened lips, and its massive paws were limb at its side.
Susano let out a human-like roar and moved his sword into position. "What now?" Issun sighed, bouncing up and down on Ammy's head.
"You..." Susano's voice faltered as he prepared to swing his sword down. "You foul beast!" he cried out. "How did you get in here!?"
"Foul beast?" Issun loosely echoed.
"You have some nerve sneaking into my private training ground," Susano growled, throwing his sword up on his shoulders. "Now you shall get a taste of my new secret technique!"
"Your 'foul beast' looks like an ordinary sleepy bear, pops," Issun pointed out thoughtfully.
"Enough talk!" Susano snapped. "My blade thirsts for battle. Here goes nothing!" he exclaimed loudly, taking a mighty step backwards. "Susano-style... Susano!" In an instant, Susano rushed at one of the lit torches and lashed out at it with his sword. Right before his blade could touch it, Ammy hurriedly drew a quick slash across it. He ran after four more torches, and by the time he finished, Ammy's tail hung limply at her side. Susano backed up between the Poncle and Ammy, held his sword back, and said slowly, "Now for Susano-Style..." He paused for dramatic effect. "...Exploding Implosion!" he yelled out.
The male human's voice rang about the hollow room in joyous laughter as Ammy gave the bear a quick slash across its stomach, leaving Susano to think he'd done it himself. The bear, on the other hand, snapped awake, a shocked and frightened expression plastered across its face. Rubbing one of its eyes sleepily, the bear allowed the sphere to roll away and let itself fall on its back.
Susano peered closer and said, "Hm?" After it became apparent the bear wasn't going to stand back up, he burst out into laughter, clutching his stomach furiously as he gasped for breath. Ammy and Issun both watched him with flat looks, their eyes dull and void of all emotion. "That'll teach you, you foolish beast!" he said once he was done laughing out his lungs. "You're no match for my new secret technique!"
"..." Issun stared at Susano's hunched-over form.
Ammy walked forward and stared up at Susano with wide blue eyes. Susano, clearly shocked, let out a small cough and straightened up. "Um...uh..." he stuttered, trying to find the correct words. "Rest in peace, foul beast," he said lowly, bowing his head half-heartedly. "The great warrior Susano condemns the offense, not the offender. Anyway, there are other monsters I must deal with," he added, yawning. And with that, Susano took off out the room, laughing his head off the whole way.
Issun and Ammy stayed behind for a while, Ammy flicking her ears in confusion and watching the small swirls of dust die down. Once the duo were both positive Susano was gone, Ammy trotted over to the blue-green sphere and peered down at it curiously. "This crystal sphere is filled with leaves," Issun said, looking down closer at it from the tip of the goddess' nose. "Is this the sphere used in a ritual for a good harvest or something? Hey, didn't that wall painting have a sphere-like object in it?" he said.
Ammy's thoughts quickly flashed back to the painting with the sun shining down upon an orb and its rays being reflected onto a young sapling that steadily grew into a tree. Shaking away the memory, she looked at the orb and nodded. Pushing it with her head, she guided the aqua-colored sphere out of the empty room and onto the path. She quietly rolled it back into the room with the tiny leaf-green sapling in it, and pushing it around on the ramp-like inclines behind it, she set the sphere on top of the puddle.
Once the orb touched the surface of the puddle, a tiny stream of water came up, making the sphere bounce up and down. "Wow!" Issun exclaimed. "Someone had a lot of time on their hands to think all this up. So this was that sphere in that wall painting!" Ammy's thoughts flickered back to the painting that showed the sun shining down upon the sphere and the sphere reflecting the rays at the sapling, causing it to grow into a majestic tree. "I bet this sphere is magic or something!"
Walking to the end of the platform behind the bouncing orb, Ammy looked up at the darkened night sky. She drew a quick circle in it, and within moments, a bright, fiery orange and yellow sun appeared, the clouds and shadows soon disappearing. The blinding white and light yellow rays came down directly at the aqua sphere, and in return, the orb reflected the sun's light onto the sapling.
The young tree gave a few jerks to left and to the right, and as if on cue, it slowly started to grow upwards, the very tip of it curling over. The light green base of the sapling thickened out dramatically, turned a dark brown color, and hard bark started to grow on its edges. Massive roots took hold in the ground, breaking through the concrete bricks and sending cracks through the rocks and boulders in the area. Ammy and Issun watched from a safe distance, awe in Issun's wide, beady brown eyes.
"Hey, is this a Guardian Sapling? It's still withered like the others." Issun bounced up and down on the tip of Ammy's ebony-colored nose. Shaking her head from side to side, he became dislodged and quickly sought out refuge between her ears. It was as he was about to sit down that the sky turned a dark blue-black color once again. Ammy's eyes immediately turned skyward, and she soon spied tiny white sparles floating down from the newly-revealed stars along with small shafts of moonlight. "What the?" Issun muttered. "Who turned out the lights? Oh..." Realization soon struck Issun like a lightning bolt. "It's another constellation, Ammy!" he cheered.
The wolf's eyes rested upon a constellation with three stars, and upon looking closer, she could faintly make out the outline of some type of animal. Two stars were obviously missing on the nearly-vertical line of stars, and with a raised tail, she quickly put two dots in their needed place. It took about five seconds until the god behind the constellation revealed itself to be a monkey. With blazing ivory fur, it came spinning out of the beautiful night sky with a golden object in its right paw.
Ammy, Issun, and the monkey god were soon in the off-yellow-brown world again, Ammy sitting back on her haunches and watching the monkey balance in front of her on one leg as if it were bowing before her. The god soon sat down, too, and said, "Ah... Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all... My gratitude for releasing my body from its slumber. Please accept my humble thanks in return for your kindness. I am Sakigami, one of the triumvirate of flora gods known as the Hanagami. My brethren and I have been entrusted with the brush techniques known collectively as Greensprout. I now grant my humble power to you. Use it wisely," Sakigami finished with, bowing once again.
Sakigami took the golden object in his hands and proceeded to call forth another Japanese character, and with a smile, sent it towards the wolf goddess.
With another bow, he quick disappeared, as did the spiritual-like world they were previously in.
o
"That was Sakigami, one of the gods of flora!" Issun exclaimed once they were back in Hana Valley. "Apparently the bloom brush technique can make flowers blossom simply by drawing a circle on a withered tree," he added, poking Ammy above her left eye, dropping an obvious hint. "Hey! Maybe it'll make the withered Guardian Saplings blossom, too!"
Ammy didn't waste any more time than needed.
Before Issun could blink, a quick circle was drawn around the very top of the naked tree. A low whistling sound carried around the area on a light wind, and the next thing the Poncle and wolf knew, cherry blossom petals were dancing around the area. Each petal was a light pink color with tiny white flecks on it, and they surrounded the entire area, masking the floor in a sweet scent. Ammy snapped at a few petals and leaves that came near her happily.
The duo both watched in glee as Hana Valley was restored. A strong breeze quickly formed and blew the fresh petals across and throughout the valley, restoring the sludgy river that flowed through the place into a rushing river of light blue. The wilted trees and grass quickly turned green again, and even the diseased smell of the area turned sweet and light again. Tall grass sprung up around the guardian sapling's roots along with pretty yellow, pink, purple, white, orange, blue, and red flowers.
"Wow!" Issun exclaimed breathlessly. "Look at how everything grew back so quick! Sakuya wasn't kidding about the power of the Guardian Saplings!" Issun smiled happily and took a proud look around. "So this is what Hana Valley's supposed to look like... Seems Sakuya's Guardian Sapling has lifted the evil curse. I'm not sure how weak the gods have become lately... But it must have taken some wickedly strong power to suppress this magnificent Guardian Sapling!" Issun paused briefly. "Even if you are Shiranui reborn, we might be up for more than we bargained for. ...Hey, Ammy! What about that withered Guardian Sapling outside? I bet you could revive it like you did this one! And by bringing that Guardian Sapling back to life, we might be able to lift the curse there, too! What are we waiting for? Leap before you think, right!?"
Issun grinned like a madman.
Ammy let out a happy bark in agreement and walked away from the tree, a small mote of water having built up around it. The water was moist and ice-cold and felt good beneath her sore paws, and with Issun holding on, Ammy raced out of the room happily. She raced through the narrow hallway, the river now flowing freely and the water now a sky-blue color. Leaping over the small ledge and continuing on, she skidded to a halt in the room with the painting in it.
Another one of the red rings quickly sprung up around her and two greens imps and a yellow imp appeared again. Ammy dropped low to the ground and let loose a loud snarl, and without wasting any time, she lunged for the two green imps first. She quickly dispatched the first one with a blow to the head from her weapon, and she turned around and caught the other one with her fangs and hindpaws.
Swinging him around like a ragdoll, she threw him into the stone-like wall of the arena. Meanwhile, the yellow imp was busily looking around for her, a confused expression across his dirty face. Ammy crept up behind him and delivered a quick blow to the side of his head, bringing him out of the ground. She tried to give him a slash across the drum, but instead of drawing a line, it ended up coming out crooked and just coated him in ink.
The imp took to blindly swinging out at her with his drumsticks, one of them striking her in the side. Ammy snarled in anger and brought her Divine Retribution crashing into his side again and again. Once he fell down backwards, she finally delivered the fatal strike across him. The imp quickly disappeared in a mess of flora, and within no time, the red ring quickly dissipated.
In place of the former arena, a fresh blanket of grass and flowers sprung up from the ground, and a little family of warthogs and two piglets were left behind, digging up the grass and searching around for bugs. Ammy continued loping down the path and came back to the part of Hana Valley where the cursed trees were, the steep canyon sides still on her left with a large waterfall dumping thousands of gallons of water to form a pool at the bottom.
"That creepy old tree just won't give up," Issun said, watching the blackened tree 'watch' them. "...I've got an idea, Ammy! Maybe you could hit its fruit back at it, and while it's stunned, you could use Bloom to rid it of its evil!" he suggested excitedly.
Taking Issun's suggestion, Ammy walked up boldly to the tree and stood in front of it. The cursed plant reared back, spun around, and threw a newly-formed bud at the wolf goddess. Ammy quickly drew a single line across it and sent it flying back at the tree. As it hit it, Ammy trotted forward eagerly and drew a circle around the tree while it was dazed.
It worked.
The tree turned a lovely shade of brown and it quickly grew leaves and flowers. Three apples dropped out of it, and Ammy raced forward and threw one on her back to Issun. "Whoa, Ammy; hold on!" Issun called out before Ammy could cross the bridge. The same cursed patch of land with the rotting bones and flesh on it was still there, still giving off a putrid and vile scent. "Hana Valley looks so much better now, but... What about this gloomy patch of grass? You could use the power of Bloom to fill it in," he suggested. "Just fill it with your brush, and Bloom will take care of it!"
Ammy whipped out her Celestial Brush and started painting all over the ground, filling in the patch of dead grass and carrion with a large coating of black ink. Stepping back to admire her handiwork, she let out a happy bark when the paint disappeared and fresh grass and flowers were left behind. Issun looked above her ears and spied something. Bringing Ammy in closer, a folded up brown scroll with a tan edge was laying amongst the grass with a red bow holding it together. Peering closer, the words 'Greensprout Tips' were engraved in it.
"There was a scroll here, too, eh? Ammy, this looks like the travel guide! It's an ancient record of pilgrimage across the land. If this were the real thing, it'd normally be worth a fortune, but with all the copies out there, you probably wouldn't get much for it. At any rate, if you ever wanna read it, just ask." (1) "It may sound rather preachy, but it should at least help you in your travels."
Ammy gave a wolfish nod and turned back to the creaky and broken old bridge. She ran along it, crossing over the enormous pool of water below her, and arrived on the other side.
o
There was a short encounter with more imps dancing and singing around the previous fire...except for the fact that these were drunk off their instruments. Ammy quickly dispatched them and continued on her way, ignoring the monkeys that had taken over the area where the fire used to be. The white goddess raced down the three loosely-tied logs and placed her paws on the newly restored land, and with a sharp intake of the cool air around her, she darted back into the cursed area of Shinshu Field.
o
"Okay, that's a new brush technique in the bag!" Issun happily exclaimed. "Now, Ammy, before you get all excited and forget what you're supposed to do, remember that you can always take a look inside your journal. Also remember, first things first! Okay, let's get going!" Ammy nodded and took a flying leap over the calm stream, now blue instead of the murky brown-purple color. She noticed a human-shaped figure standing right beside the axman's log house.
"Freaky..." he murmured as Issun and Ammy drew close to him. "It looks like the river suddenly cleared up. I did see Susano whizzing past here a little while ago... But surely it wasn't him who cleared up the river, was it? Nah... That wouldn't make any sense." The man sighed heavily and dropped his arms to his side, shaking his head while watching small minnows boldly venture to the surface.
Ammy ignored the man's muttering and started trotting off to the large bare tree in the very middle of the field, the tree itself just mere inches away from the cursed zone. She stood about fifteen yards away from the withered formerly-magnificent tree, and with a quick circle around the very top of it, another shower of petals came spiraling to the ground. Each little pink and white petal lightly floated to the ground, and with the slightest touch, numerous flowers and stalks of grass sprang up.
The duo both watched in amazement and glee as the ground and soil, once black and vile-smelling, became a rich dusty-brown color. All the trees in the area sprang back to the life with perky green leaves, the hills and large slopes became covered in vegetation, sparrows and robins started darting throughout the air, doing nose dives and singing their pretty songs, and rabbits, hogs, horses, and the occasional piglet all found their former places in the newly-restored field.
The salty and churning waves of the ocean turned a loving shade of blue, seagulls took to circling and dancing throughout the air, and the sun, in all its golden glory, revealed itself from behind the mask of soft and white, fluffy clouds that concealed it. The broken and weathered stone building that sat atop the largest hill of them all was outlined in a striking white in contrast to the pale blue of the sky.
Ammy and Issun both inhaled deeply, quickly letting the new and fresh scents of Shinshu Field wash over them. The black mask that the land quickly washed away, and in the next few minutes, Shinshu Field was restored to its former glory. Ammy inhaled once again and scanned the area for the slightest sign of a constellation, and, when seeing that there wasn't one, she flattened her ears.
"Wow!" Issun gasped. "That nasty cursed zone is completely gone! The plants and animals are back, and just feel that fresh breeze! Now, that's what I call Great Divine Intervention," he said with a smile. "If you keep on dispelling the evil curse like this, I bet the gods of nature will lend you their powers!"
Ammy looked around the area, and as her eyes traveled over one of the many cliffs that surrounded the field, she spied a tiny plant off in the distance at the very top of one of the cliffs that overlooked Hana Valley. It gave three small jerks, and as soon as Ammy's eyes rested upon it, it slowly grew into a strong and amazing large tree. Instead of having flowers like the others, the new tree was covered in a thick blanket of emerald-green leaves.
"Hey, that's..." Issun trailed off, staring up at the tree in pure amazement. "That's Sakuya's tree, isn't it? Maybe she perked up 'cause you revived a Guardian Sapling? Well, we can stop by and see her later. I mean, we're kinda on a roll here. How about we take a look around Shinshu Field first? You've been gone one-hundred years, right? A good run around the place will do ya good!"
Ammy nodded in a careless manner and walked around the Guardian Sapling, being extra careful not to step on one of the dainty and small leaves. A small black chest with gold edges and a golden lock sat nestled between two large roots, and numerous poppies and daffodils surrounded it. Ammy headbutted the chest. A few flakes of rust fell off the old lock, and carefully undoing it with her sharp and pointed canine teeth, a traveler's charm rested at the bottom, age evident across its dusty and faded surface.
The wolf goddess carefully picked up the sheet of paper lightly in her jaws and stood up tall, her azure gaze surveying the area. Beyond the small river that ran behind the Guardian Sapling was another path that slowly made an incline up towards a loose wooden bridge. Ammy shrugged and jumped in the smoothly-flowing stream and jumped out on the other side. Shaking out all the water droplets in her stunning white fur, she trotted forward to see a man struggling to stand up on the ground, a small stick in his hand with a yellow package tied to the end of it.
He was a very frail and thin man who was clad in purple clothing with a sweatband tied tightly across his forehead. His messy black hair was cut close to his scalp, and the sandals he wore were nearly worn down to the sole. The man's skin was tanned from weeks of being in the sun, his clothes were tattered and thorns stuck out of them, his hands were blistered, and he reeked of sweat.
Ammy curled her lips up in disgust and looked away from him and started to turn around, but froze when he said, "Ow, ow, ow... What's going on? Ida of the Dangan Express never trips up!" Ida struggled to get to his feet once more. "I've fallen and I can't get up! Must be a curse..." he muttered. "I don't have time for fallin' over! People are waitin' for mail! Those monsters must have set some kinda of trap for me as a joke... Darn it!" Ida cursed. "I knew I should have bought a traveler's charm!"
Issun lightly clutched the faded blue traveler's charm with orange markings on it in his hand.
"Hey, pooch! That's a traveler's charm you've got there, isn't it?" Ida asked happily, weakly pointing to the charm. Issun nodded slowly and handed it over. In a flash, Ida was back up on his feet. "Oh, yes!" he cried out joyously. "I feel so light! My body feels as light as a feather!" he yelled and started jogging in place. "Thanks, pooch! You saved me! Can't hang about; gotta catch up on my deliveries!" Ida didn't waste anymore time than needed, and with a final salute to the wolf and Issun, he took off up the steady incline.
The two watched in a still silence as Ida raced about the field screaming happily, and after a short while, Ammy shook her head and turned around. She loped down to the Hana Valley entrance and noticed an old and worn-out gate sitting by itself directly across the river. It was made of chipped concrete blocks and had a split wooden roof that was caked in moss and grime. Little green swirls floated around it, and Issun called out, "Whoa! What's up with this old gate? I don't like the looks of it..." he murmured lowly to the goddess. "It's just teeming with evil power; I can feel it! Still, you being a god and all, we can't just ignore it. Whaddya think, my furry friend? We going through it, or what?"
Ammy sighed loudly and trotted through the gate, her pawsteps heavy and slow.
Another one of the red rings quickly popped up in a circle around her, and one flute-playing imp along with two banjo ones sprung up, dancing wildly from foot to foot.
She unleashed a loud howl and sprang at the first green imp, slashed him once, and moved onto the other two. Ammy let loose a loud snarl and sank her teeth into the tiny throat of one of the banjo-wielding imps. Its partner lashed out with his weapon and struck Ammy in one of her hindlegs. She howled out in pain and whipped around and smashed her disc into its head, leaving the imp on the ground writhing in pain. She finished both of them off with a quick brushstroke, and instead of having the ring disappear like she expected, three more imps appeared out of thin air.
She quickly dispatched them like the previous three imps and prepared to see if another wave of the invaders would appear, and when they didn't, she straightened out her back and regained her cool and calm composure. Once the ring completely vanished, the gate went along with it, and in its place formed two medium-sized wooden shacks that were separated by a large gray boulder. One shack-the left one-was next to the outside wall of Hana Valley, and the other one on the right was placed between two stumps with a long, large log in front of it.
The left shack had a few wooden boards scattered around it in the front, and a tall tree grew behind it. A fire crackled in front of the right shack, and Ammy smiled when she heard a shocked gasp come from the axman.
"So that's it," Issun said. "These things are gateways to monster lairs! I've heard of such gates before; they're called Devil Gates," he explained. "Those monsters got a lotta nerve building things like that! Let's tear 'em down wherever we find 'em!"
Ammy leaped across the flowing river and padded up to the axman's side. "It's been ages since I've seen the river looking so healthy. That magical crystal ball must be working its mojo." The duo both left the axman to ponder the newly-restored field and cut across the field to the merchant who was sitting a few yards away from the Guardian Sapling.
"Now, let's see... What am I doing here again?" he wondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, yes. I took shelter under this Guardian Sapling when I heard that terrifying sound before like a monster growling. Well, this is perfect! It's fate! Why don't I set up shop here? You know where to come when you're sent shopping, right, pooch?" he asked, reaching out one arm to scratch Ammy behind her left ear. "Oh, yes. I don't know if you'll understand this, but here goes... I'd like to ask you a favor; it'll be a cinch with your nose. If you sniff out any nice bowls or dishes lying about, don't just leave them to rot away. Bring them to me, would you?" he asked politely. "If you turn up any treasures that are worth a bit, I'll pay you!"
"Treasures?" Issun loosely echoed. "Hmmm... You found anything like that, Ammy? If you did, you should sell it," he suggested. "I mean, what are you gonna do with pots and dishes?" He let out a short snicker. "It's hard to sell stuff you worked hard to get, but don't worry! All the treasures you collect will be catalogued in the journal!"
"What are you mumbling about?" the merchant asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "Have you got some things for me?" Ammy shook her head, yawned, and raced over back to behind the Guardian Sapling. Sitting on the opposite side of the river slightly below the cliff, in all its ugly glory, was another Devil Gate. Issun nudged the wolf behind her ears, urging her to go through it. Ammy leaped over the river in a single graceful leap and ran through the gate.
It didn't take her long at all to quickly dispatch the three banjo-wielding imps and the yellow one until the land where the gate once stood was restored. A single rock and numerous wildflowers sprang up from out of the ground with little cotton-white rabbits hopping around the area. Ammy trotted away from the area and loped up the hill behind the area. Standing on top of it, she surveyed the field below and quickly spied a patch of diseased land directly next to the canyon that separated Hana Valley from Kamiki Village.
Ammy took a flying leap off the cliff and landed neatly on the ground. As soon as her paws made contact with the land, she raced forward, eyes focused on the patch of dead grass. She smeared the area in a giant wad of black ink and stood back to admire her work. The thick purple haze that shrouded the area soon disappeared, and with its vanishing act, so did the dead and rotting grass. Four tiny boar piglets were left in its wake, each one of them turning up grass and sniffing out grubs beneath the roots of the new wildflowers. Ammy took a few moments to enjoy the little animals that were scrounging around for insects for a few minutes, and after deciding she'd had enough, she turned to her left and looked up.
The bridge that stretched out across the river between two large cliffs had a path that came winding down. The trail itself went right, then left, then right again until it came down to the main part of the field. Sitting on the second 'layer' on a big open part of land was another Devil Gate, this one sitting atop a bunch of odd white markings and symbols made of sand. She sighed with a sullen look and walked into the gate. Three green imps with flutes and three larger imps all appeared and were dispatched in record time. Once the ring dissipated, Ammy was left standing in the midst of four spike-like rocks that jutted out of the ground vertically. Another golden and black chest appeared, only this one was in the middle of the rocks.
Ammy headbutted the chest and found a light-blue vengeance slip inside. Picking it up, she headed up the path. The white wolf took a left, then a right, and instead of going left again, she stopped at the middle layer and walked all the way to the edge of it. A few yards below her and a few yards away from her was a small wooden house with a Devil Gate right beside it. An old rotten wood fence surrounded the house with a path made of sunken boulders acting as steps. Ammy ignored all this and focused her attention on the Devil Gate instead.
Three small green imps and two big yellow ones popped out of the ground and tried their luck at besting the goddess, but they failed completely. Ammy quickly dealt with them and watched with an expression filled with glee as the land right outside the house into a small, blue, beautiful pond with little red koi swimming around it. A small bridge-mainly for decoration-cut across the thinnest section of the mini-lake.
Issun and Ammy both walked across the bridge and stopped about twenty feet of the house. "Huh?" Issun murmured. "What a pretentious sign!" he called out, motioning towards a sign right outside the house. Ammy, however, was focused on the family of pigs snuffling around in the grass to her far left. "Ammy, this here's a dojo," he carried on with, not knowing she wasn't really paying attention. "It's where people come to learn sword-fighting and martial arts." He paused. "But who knows if they'll train you here... Maybe if you're a good wolfy, they'll teach ya a trick or two!" he suggested happily.
She nodded absently and padded in cautiously through the swinging doors, prepared to see what was waiting for her on the other side.
o
The dojo only had two rooms.
The first one was a small square with a single door at the very end of it...which was guarded by an old man well into his prime. The part of the room right beside the entrance was nothing but sand, and little stalks of green bamboo grew along the edges. The man stood on a wooden platform with a cane in his hand, his eyes cold and calculating.
Onigiri Sensei, as they called him, had a bent-over hunchback and he walked with a terrible limp. With a bent and gnarled cane in one hand, it was hard to believe that he could be a martial arts teacher. Clad in old gray and yellow clothes, he studied the ivory wolf before him carefully. "Well, what have we here?" he asked, rubbing his bald head and pulling on his long white mustache for a few seconds. "It looks like I have an adorable lupine visitor," he mused good-naturedly. "My name is Onigiri Sensei, and this is my dojo. What business could a wolf like yourself have at a dojo like this? Certainly you haven't come to study the fighting arts with yours truly!" He paused and looked at the wolf with a cold stare. Ammy whined softly. "Ha ha! I like the cut of your jib, my furry friend," he purred. "I'd very much like to wile away the hours at play with you, but I'm afraid that this place is far too dangerous for creatures like you."
Issun, along with Ammy, rolled his eyes.
"That is, of course, unless you can cover the training fee..." he said. Issun quickly produced ten thousand yen from one of his many pockets, flashed it in front of Onigiri Sensei, and grinned. "I'll be a monkey's uncle!" he exclaimed. "You've got the cash, have you? I see... I suppose I have no choice; I'll do as you wish and allow you to enroll in my dojo." The old man watched with greedy brown eyes, and handing over a scroll to Issun, the Poncle quickly put a mark through the technique called 'Fleetfoot.'
Despite his worn-out look and old age, the male human straightened out his back (which made a rather disgusting cracking sound) and tossed his cane casually to the wall. "Are you mentally prepared to handle the ultimate challenge?" he asked in a firm and young tone. "Step inside to test your might." The sensei opened up the doors behind him and allowed Ammy to enter the second room of the two-room dojo, and he quietly shuffled along after her.
o
The new room was much like the first, except for the tiny fact that four torches were placed in seperate corners of the room, and, unlike the first, the whole floor was wooden. More bamboo stalks grew along the outer edge of it, and it took Ammy and Issun both a few seconds to realize that the elaborately decorated room was Onigiri Sensei's training room. They stopped in the middle of the room and waited for him to appear, and once he did, he stood in front of them with a hard gaze.
"Let the lesson begin!" he called out sharply. "We'll practice the Fleetfoot god technique. Take these tips to heart and remember them as we train." The older male pulled out a small scroll from behind him and tossed it over to Issun casually. After waiting for a few minutes for him to finish reading it, he asked, "Well? Did you understand?" Issun and Ammy both nodded. "Well, I'll grant you this technique scroll. Check it when you forget what it means to be a warrior. This technique can only be mastered by the best; it is not something to be learned. You must have the innate ability. Train until your muscles ache... And then train some more!"
Ammy quickly went over the scroll in her head and tried to remember exactly what it said. Placing her paws firmly on the ground, she quickly jetted off to the side and spun around. Her claws made contact with the ground, and she ripped up a few pieces of wood. The sensei before her watched with a cold stare as he repeatedly tapped his left shoulder with his twisted cane. Ammy growled lightly and stood with her four legs stiffly on the ground. Sinking her curved and sharp claws into the fine and many grooves in the wooden floor, she raised her hackles and did a backflip back.
Her head nearly touched the ground, and once she felt her hindlegs reach the ground unharmed, she felt a massive wave of relief wash over her. Ammy did a couple more backflips and sidespins until she and Issun both decided they'd had enough. Prepared to bound for the exit, they heard the man say, "Had enough, eh? Listen, wolf. Gaining experience in a single skill is admirable, but you must never lose the drive for self-improvement! I pray that you do not forget that." He gave the wolf a short bow, and once Ammy had returned the gesture, she quickly exited the building and stepped back out into the refreshing air of Shinshu Field.
She allowed the cool and calm breeze to hit her face, and she decided to go with letting the soft wind ruffle up her stunning fur. The flames that weaved in and out each and every one of her hairs on her pelt touched her skin harmlessly, and Issun, with a tired yawn, loosely hung on to her by a few strands of fur. He curled up next to one of her ears and pulled up some fur for warmth.
Ammy smiled.
(1) Issun didn't really say 'if you wanna read it, just ask.' He actually said something else that involved opening up the fan menu, etc.
You may have noticed a difference in the way everything is later on in the chapter (i.e. the quotes, commas, etc.). That's because I had to reformat my computer and I didn't put micro word back on yet. :/ No idea when chapter four'll hit a fanfiction site near you.
HAPPY 2009 EVERYBODY!
-Tainted Lullaby
January 5th, 2009