I am absolutely suffering from a total creative block right now. This sort of came out of nowhere while I was replaying Okami and was supposed to be saving Kamui… but I decided to wander and go treasure hunting and fishing instead.

Inspiration music from Okami OST: The Eight Canine Warriors, Northern Country Kamui I and II, Uepeker I and II.

Summary: As Ume traveled with his young master across Nippon, he watched the slow, but sure, progression of the boy growing up. Ume and Kokari-centric.

Disclaimer: I do not own Okami.

Journey

Ears flattening slightly from his master's shocked cry, Ume sunk down into a crouch from the sudden blast of icy air gusting in from the exit of the tunnel. His master ducked low as well, pulling his traveling cloak tighter around his body and shivering from the frozen onslaught. Ume snorted from his nostrils, seeing the cloudy breath fleetingly before it was swept off with the indifferent snowflakes.

His master had been determined, when he said his goodbyes to his father, that he would travel Nippon and see many things that he could only dream about and bring back many stories to tell. The start of the journey had been calm excluding the encounters with monsters and demons that seemed to crawl out from the shadows and prowl around in broad daylight. At first, his master was frightened from the sudden appearances of the demons; afraid of their hissing and barking cries, of their talons and rows of sharpened teeth and of their drunken state in their own blood-lust to kill, whether strong or weak.

Despite his hardships in the forest, he had still been a boy. Old enough to learn the basic skills of survival passed on from his father, but still too young to know how to deal with life outside of the forest and villages.

With each harrowing encounter, Ume had stood between his master and the threat that wished to spill blood, human or beast alike. Afterwards, making sure that the said threat was no more was becoming routine, more for the sake of his master. Ume would stalk a deliberately slow and cautious circle around the corpse, looking for any signs of a feint. Ears lowered, muscled bunched and tail unmoving, before a pink tongue lolled out between jaws and the former Canine Warrior would trot towards the boy, tail wagging to silently tell him it was all right.

Time passed the boy became less afraid, taking one small step towards becoming a man.

Though, as Ume observed from his master's shivering form, the boy still had a long way to go. Edging forward in a crouch, Ume pressed his cold nose onto the boy's side, nudging him forward. A shaky hand reached out and petted the warrior on the head but he continued to nudge until his master stood back up.

"Yikes! It's really cold out here, Ume…!" Kokari kept his cloak drawn tight, starting to move from foot to foot to keep his blood moving. "W-we better find a place to camp and fast…! I hope there's f-fishing unless the water has b-been frozen…!"

Offering a sharp bark in reply, Ume jumped up and wagged his tail, following his young master in the slow pace into the snow covered land of Kamui. The bite of the wind worsened once they stepped outside from the tunnel and the snow soon swallowed his master's moccasins as they continued to tread onward. A few times the wind pushed so strongly that the Ume had to push his master forward, through a brief tunnel then back into the open where the wind threatened to throw them both into the snow drifts and finally they found a spot to rest.

The mountain to their backs lessened the onslaught from the blowing snow and wind and the pair were both thankful for it as Kokari set up their tent. He had some trouble as the animal hide caught in a sudden gust but soon the tent was set and the boy and canine companion crawled inside. Ume sat on his haunches, watching as his master sat on the stretched animal hide flooring he had laid out over the snow.

"This place is really different, huh, Ume?" Kokari asked, rubbing his cold hands slightly. "This is going to take some getting used to. Guess we need a fire first of all then we can sort out what we have left for supper. You stay here for a minute, boy; I'm going to find some dry wood for a fire."

Giving his dog another pat on the head, the boy left Ume with their belongings and disappeared back into the winter air. Ume stretched as much as the space would permit and allowed himself to lie down on the ground, hearing the snow under the hide flooring crunch.

Kokari let out a sudden whoop and the warrior's battle sense kicked in, immediately standing and ears forward, listening for danger as he charged through the untied flap of the tent.

"Look, Ume! There's water! And fish!" Kokari jumped for joy, kicking up snow in his wake. "We're eating fish tonight! Yahoo!"

Tail wagging again, Ume watched as his master raced back for his fishing gear inside their tent—including the fishing rod that his father gave him as a parting gift. The boy was giddy with excitement despite the aching cold, talking aloud to his companion about how he was going to catch some ice water fish and how it might taste after cooking over a fire.

"This is how a real man lives, Ume!" Kokari beamed as he readied the fishing rod and sat on the snow covered ground. "Out in the wild where you can depend on nothing but yourself and your trusty dog! And fishing where no man has fished before…!"

Taking his young master's side once again, Ume waited patiently as the other sat in barely contained excitement.

"What kind of fish do you think are here, Ume? Do you think it's too cold for river crab or crawfish? Though they would be kind of hard to cook… Hmm… Hey, maybe trout! How does trout sound for supper, boy?" Kokari grinned and was nearly bouncing in place.

Giving an excited yip, Ume lay down close to the other on the snow, watching the water for any signs of curious fish.

Deciding silently to himself, as always, his master Kokari was still young and had much of his childhood to go but Ume had a feeling that when his master finally did become a man, he would still retain his childlike excitement for traveling and fishing.

He hoped he never lost his joy for fishing… Ume rather enjoyed cooked fish for dinner.