Fruits Basket/ Okami crossover. My friend and I were discussing what would happen if the FB characters had the powers of their respective brush gods in Okami in 3rd period (the birth place of many random conversations) and it sparked the idea for this fanfic.
There are some manga spoilers in this, mostly involving Akito and a few manga-only characters. If you've only seen the anime, some parts will probably confuse you (like the identities of the last two zodiac members)
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Shigure groaned slightly as he felt himself being torn out what seemed a hundred years of sleep. He'd received a surprise visit from his muse late last night and, in exchange for the hours of sleep needed to keep him from mimicking Yuki in the morning, managed to finish up the last few chapters of his latest manuscript well before he'd originally planned. The novelist smiled to himself. Now he had time to think of even more ways to torment his high-strung editor when the deadline came around.
He yawned again and stretched, finally realizing from his posture that at some point in time he had transformed. Perhaps he'd stayed up too long and changed out of exhaustion before the sandman took over, or maybe Tohru was secretly a sleepwalker and gave hugs to whomever she came across. The former was more likely, although the latter was more preferable.
Putting the conundrum aside momentarily, Shigure stood and hunted around for his clothes, noticing that he was no longer in his study, but outside, sheltered at the base of a great tree. It was night, but the darkest, deadest, dreariest night he'd ever experienced. Gathering a proper footing, Shigure once again noticed something, a strange weight on his back. He investigated, surprised to discover a large, disc-like object securely adhered to his self. A strange substance, fiery in appearance, though not in nature, surrounded it, rolling wildly along his black fur.
"So you've finally awakened," called a female voice. Recognizing it, Shigure turned, only to be met with the surrounding darkness. "Up here."
He looked. Hovering in the air, surrounded by a spiritual aura was Akito, dressed in a kimono far more flattering to her feminine build than what she normally wore. It was pink, but decorated with leaves and flowers that appeared to be alive and thriving, not just mere trinkets.
A canine jaw dropped, far more impressed that Akito actually looked female, and stunning no less, than by the fact that she was floating several feet off the ground.
"Akito you-" Shigure stopped himself. Why were his words coming out as barks?
"You've been slumbering for a century Amaterasu, so you must have a lot to say, but now's not the time."
Amaterasu? Was she referring to him? Last Shigure checked, Amaterasu was the sun goddess, and he was no goddess, or god for that matter. And what was all this about a hundred years? He was only 27!
"I'm Akito, the successor to Sakuya, who watched over Kamiki in your time."
"Huh?" Shigure tilted his head in confusion. Sakuya? Kamiki?
Akito didn't notice and kept talking. "After you defeated Yami, his dark spirit found its way into a human host, where he has been slowly regaining his power during your absence. Now he has unleashed his vengeful might upon the world." Akito gestured to their surroundings: the lack of life, the blackness of the sky, and the general atmosphere of eeriness. "Only you can fix this, Amaterasu, just as you have in the past."
Shigure blinked. He truly had no clue what was going on. He was in dog form with a weird shield on his back, in some unknown land instead of at home annoying Kyo, being called Amaterasu, and, the most shocking of all, Akito was embracing her true gender! It had to be dream!
Akito cocked her head slightly. "You don't remember?"
He stared back, fully convinced he was dreaming and would be awoken at any second by the sounds of feuding teenage boys.
Akito sighed. "I was afraid of this. The last time you were reborn, you had completely lost your memory, which is why I brought some assistance." She waved her hand in a 'come hither' gesture and held out the other palm. Soon, something small, blue and glowing hopped out from behind the tree and landed in Akito's outstretched hands. Shigure leapt back out of surprise, almost thrown of balance by the weight of the reflector. He couldn't tell, but from what he saw, it looked like some giant, enchanted flea.
"Yes" it asked in a voice all too familiar to Shigure, bouncingly continuously in place.
"Amaterasu needs your aid," Akito said.
"Amaterasu?! The same Amaterasu that the elders told us stories about?"
"Yes, and as a poncle, it's your job to guide the gods."
"But I'm an editor, not a celestial envoy." Now Shigure was positive.
"Mii-chan?" It was definitely her voice, which furthered his giant flea theory (He never could get her off his back).
"Do you want to go back to Poc'tan?" Akito asked. Mitsuru shivered, her glowing aura paling ever so slightly. "Then go!" she ordered and tossed the glowing speck at Shigure. She landed neatly on the tip of his nose.
"Amaterasu, my power can only do so much, in this weakened state. Protect Kamiki from the evil." Akito gave her passing instructions before her body was encased in a whirlwind of sakura petals and she disappeared into the giant tree.
Mitsuru's renewed bouncing, now on his nose, caught Shigure's attention.
"The village is in danger?!" the sprite exclaimed. "We have to do something!"
"We?" he questioned, making no attempts to move. Mitsuru hopped onto his head and tugged at the dog's black ears.
"Ow ow ow! Okay, okay, I give!" he whined and walked down the only path leading from the great tree, presumable to this 'Kamiki'.
He froze suddenly when a barrier presented itself before him. Startled, Shigure turned around, but unfortunately he was encircled by the strange force field. A strange swirl of energy manifested itself within the barrier and Shigure stared in horror as it began to take the form of a large, green, ape-like creature. It's face was hidden by a paper mask and it twirled a flute in his hands. The imp stared at the dog and screeched.
Shigure, now terrified, ran straight to the border of the energy wall, desperately trying to claw his way out.
"Amaterasu! Do something!" Mii-chan yelled.
"I am!" replied Shigure, continuing his futile attempts at escape as the enemy neared.
"No, fight it! Use your divine instrument!" She looked over her shoulder as the imp drew even closer. "Now!"
Divine instrument? He peered back at the mirror, paling as he noticed the ever-approaching imp. Screwing his eyes shut, Shigure turned around to face the monster. He jerked his body forward, as if by instinct, and the reflector shot out the imp. However, Shigure had not braced himself, so the large disk's momentum dragged him along for the ride.
The mirror managed to give the imp a concussion by hitting it in the face; Shigure finished it off when his whole body crashed into it.
"Did I win?" he mumbled dizzily, now lying in a patch of flowers. The barrier fizzled then dropped, allowing them to move on. He stood up and beamed, proud of his accomplishment.
"Well, that was rather clumsy."
Shigure's head dropped in exasperation.
"You really don't remember anything, do you?" Mitsuru asked. "The elders said last time you were reincarnated your memories were completely wiped, which means you probably lost your powers again too."
"I have powers?"
"They must've split into the thirteen brush gods again," she continued.
"Thirteen, huh? Sounds like the zodiac actually… plus Kyo," he observed.
"We should start with the Sunrise technique then, since it is your own. The sunlight should drive away this darkness. All you have to do is draw the sun in the sky."
Shigure stared down his nose at her. "Me. Draw the sun?" He laughed. "Oh that's a good one…wait, you're serious? How do your expect me to pull the sun out of thin air?"
"You have to do this Amaterasu!" she whined, sensing his skepticism. "Just hurry up and draw the sun before more imps attack!"
He looked at her, and then looked at the black sky, furrowing his brow. Shigure turned to her once more and the sky once more.
"Amaterasu!"
Shigure winced at the sudden volume. Mitsuru herself was dangling by her last few nerves. As much as he would've enjoyed pushing her well beyond her breaking point, Shigure didn't want anymore of those horrid beasts coming. Unfortunately, he had to 'draw' the sun, which was impossible without a brush, or hands to even hold one. He looked around, noticing that the tip of his tail was pure black, darker than his fur. In an odd way, it greatly resembled the brush he was looking for.
"I wonder." Unsure, Shigure turned his body to the sky, raising his tail to point at the heavens. It was a crazy idea, but it was worth a shot, right? Visualizing a canvas in his mind, the backdrop the very scene before his eyes, he looped his tail-turned-brush in the air, leaving a large circle in his tracks.
The black ink flickered with a gold light briefly, then reformed in the likeness of the sun, pushing away the darkness in favor of light.
Needless to say, Shigure was shocked.
"I knew you could do it!" Mitsuru cheered.
The sky suddenly went dark again, a sparkling light shining over their heads.
"I just fixed that!" Shigure complained.
"Amaterasu, look!" Accustomed to the name by now, Shigure looked up. Five stars twinkled in the sky and, for a brief second, Shigure thought he saw a faint image behind them.
"It's a constellation!"
As if responding to those words, the stars began to glow brighter and a definite image began to fade in, connecting the stars.
The sky exploded. The two looked around in shock as the scenery melted away and the sudden night turned back into day. Shigure was seated comfortably on… nothing. There was no ground below him, just endless sky, yet somehow he felt a solid surface below his paws. He didn't have time to think about it though, because the image in the constellation suddenly burst to life, revealing itself as a giant oriental dragon, and it was rushing straight towards him.
Shigure's eyes went wide. "If this is a dream, let me wake up now!"
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There are no items! I'm not dealing w/ all the items in this game. Shigure's stuck w/ Divine Retribution the entire time, just like Ammy is in all the cut scenes. (Solar Flare might, might, be added in at the end. I'll see how I feel about it)
Akito may be OOC, I was trying to capture her personality at the end of the manga. Actually, a few people might be OOC, so I apologize beforehand if they are. And if you haven't guessed by now, anything Shigure says is in italics, since none of the other characters can understand him.