"Hey, Keiko!" Kai called. Keiko stirred slightly. She rubbed her eyes, and turned to the voice. "It's time for the Volcanic Incantation!" Keiko smiled. The Volcanic Incantation was by far her favourite time of the year. She loved meeting everyone at Lake Laochi. She quickly got into her kimono, and rushed to the lake.
She tore up to the lake, and gave a backflip, turning into her human form. Most of the villagers smiled at her appearance, before turning to Lika. Lika cast her Volcanic Incantation. Keiko smiled for a second, before shivering. This year was much colder than the others. She resumed her wolf form, and quietly left.
"Hey," a young male said. Keiko wagged her tail. She stirred from her rest, and stood up. She gave a short bark.
(Hello, Naoko,) she said. A small smirk reached her lips. Naoko did a backflip, and turned into his own wolf. A dark black wolf to counter Keiko's snow white.
(Keiko? Why did you walk off?)
(I was cold. The Volcanic Incantation ceremony has never been this cold before.)
(I never expected you to leave the Volcanic Incantation. You love that.)
(I'm sorry. You wanted to see me?)
(I always want to see you.)
(Aww…)
(I have an idea. How 'bout we race through Yoshpet? It'll warm you up.)
(Isn't that dangerous?)
(Nah. Didn't that white wolf from a while ago go through it?)
(Wasn't she a goddess?)
(It doesn't matter. God, dog, okami, she still went through it. Kai went through it too.)
(Wow! That really helped!) Keiko cheered.
(Nice one. But… where are we? I don't feel any sense of foreboding…)
(And… what is this place?) Keiko sniffed at the tree stump. A wooden ornament shivered and jumped up. Naoko shifted into human form, and inspected the ornament.
"It's a hammer…"
(It looks more like a mallet.)
"Whatever. But… I've never seen a mallet leap around like this. What kind of mallet is this?"
(Hey, why don't you try it out?)
"I dunno… I don't want to try out anything that acts on its own."
(Hey, I didn't want to do this race. You can try out a funny mallet.)
"OK… I'll try…" Naoko waved the mallet. Sparkles waved onto Keiko. She turned into a golden orb, and flew into the tree stump.
(What is this place?) Keiko asked. She walked paw by paw across the leafy catwalks, searching for an explanation. She came up to one of the doors, and scratched at it, the leafy doors not budging as she scratched. But it did open when someone swiped it away.
"Oh, hello, little wolf. Who might you be?"
(Oh… my name is Keiko. I'm an Oina woman.)
"Hello, Keiko. My name is Miya. I'm a Poncle who has been taught the ways of a Celestial Envoy. …Actually, I'm more than just an envoy. I have writings from the past envoy that make me different."
(Celestial Envoy? I've never heard of the name.)
"Really? The last wolf to come by Ponc'tan had one. My …friend, Issun."
(Well… can I come in and rest a while?)
"Sure."
"Miya? Did you bring in an Oina?"
"Yes. She deserved it. She was so warm… and caring… I can tell. Both the sixth and seventh Celestial Envoys roamed the earth on the backs of a wolf. Who's to say the eighth won't?"
"That was different. That wolf was the great goddess Amaterasu. Our duty is to help the gods and goddesses. You can't wonder around on the back of some random wolf-girl."
"…Ishaku… I'm leaving this village as the eighth Celestial Envoy. Whether you like it or not. I believe in doing my job. I won't be stopped by some old Poncle."
Keiko stirred. She rose as Miya walked in.
"Keiko. We have to leave."
(W-why?)
"Just do it." She hopped on Keiko's back. Without urging, Keiko left the village of Ponc'tan.
"What? Demons? Already?" Miya asked. They hadn't even left the clearing with Ponc'tan's stump.
(Relax, Miya! I can take on a few beings… at least solid ones.) Keiko jumped into action, savaging the demons with a ferocity that was about equal with some of the great Oina warriors until there was only a single demon left. He managed to get a lucky blow, and struck Keiko squarely on the head.
"Owowowowow! Not so tough, Keiko!"
(You got hit by that? Ouch.)
"That's not the bad part."
(What could possibly be worse than getting squished by something a million times your size?)
"My book was broken."
(Your… book? I'm sorry, I must've misheard. Book?)
"It's not just any book. It has all of Issun's writings. In other words, these are instructions on the thirteen brush techniques."
(Brush techniques? I'm sorry, but what exactly is all this business?)
"Brush techniques are powerful abilities able to be wielded by the goddess herself. Like this one!" Miya leaped at the last demon, splitting it in half. "That was Power Slash. It's the only one I've mastered."
(Wait a second… if these are so good, why have you only mastered the one?)
"I… was… uh… it… it was hard to master those techniques, alright? Issun could only produce a single flower, while Amaterasu could bloom entire trees in one stroke!"
(Keep your headdress on, Miya. I'll help you find Issun's scrolls. They can't have blown too far away…)
So... Okami. Didn't think I'd make one of these. But the vestiges of an idea occurred to me during Welcome to Mother3 world. I always get the ideas for new stories during current ones. I hate it when it does that. I find that I put more effort into stories when I have no sequel planned.
Anyway, young Keiko is setting out on the adventure to find the thirteen Scrolls of Issun... yeah, that name is too epic for the items themselves.
Next time, we learn what has happened to Naoko, the Lucky Mallet, and the first of Issun's brush techniques.
...Strange. Funny. Heartrending.
...Couldn't resist a Mother 3 signout, on the grounds that Okami doesn't really... have... one...