My second story based on a comic I wrote! It's pretty random, full of plot holes, but it's a good read, at least in my opinion. Kind of serious, kind of comedy. I know it probably won't get a ton of reviews since Okami needs more love, but if you read it and like it make sure to review! Takes place after Okami, before Okamiden (which I am really psyched for!)
Also, Chibiterasu's gender is as vague as Ammy's so I just went with boy for some reason.
"My name is Oki. As you are aware, you have been called to perform a certain duty…"
The blue and red wolf flattened his ears nervously. He had never been in charge of addressing a large group like this. The position he was in made him feel awkward and nervous. He felt extremely hot under his fur. Whether that was from the anxiety of speaking in front of so many people or the warm weather of Taka Pass, he didn't know. He wasn't used to any of it.
Yet, the strangest thing was he wasn't addressing people. Maybe it would have been easier if that were the case. No, he was addressing a bunch of dogs. Eight of them to be exact, all extraordinarily different from one another. Each gazed at him with calm, blank eyes. They all wore colorful bandanas, each with a Japanese character on them.
The largest of the dogs, a scarred hound with a yellow bandana, lifted his snout into the air to address Oki. "We are the eight canine warriors." He spoke in a deep voice that rattled slightly, "We shall hear your words and fulfill any task you require. Now, speak."
Oki searched for something to say. After a long pause, the skin around his nose wrinkled up into a grimace. "…Orochi has returned." He growled quite bluntly. There was no other way to put it. A collective gasp spread through the group.
A husky wearing a blue bandana looked around, unimpressed. "So what? He pulls this stunt every Thursday. Why's it any different now?" The other canines looked slightly ruffled, but calmed down at his words. Oki narrowed his eyes at the husky's sarcastic exaggeration. Yes, Orochi was always finding a way to crawl out of plot holes and such. Every time he managed to come back from the dead, he was always finished off before he could breathe even a puff of smoke. Amaterasu had already fought him four times this month.
Yet, this wolf of the Oina tribe knew what they were dealing with this time around. He narrowed his eyes. "Because Amaterasu isn't going to be the one fighting him. You are." He stated bluntly. The dogs tilted their heads, looking confused and not nearly as serious as they were moments ago.
Oki could feel his face turn red under his fur. "Excuse me for a moment." He said, trying to be dignified as he turned to pad towards two other wolves nearby. One was a beautiful white wolf with elegant markings and a long mane. A swirling mass of fire floated on her back. The end of her tail was tipped with a rich black that shimmered under the sun. The other wolf was almost an exact replica of her, only much smaller. Instead of a mane or colorful weapon, it had a much simpler appearance. Both turned their heads curiously as Oki approached.
The wolf puppy immediately fell into a playful position, his butt in the air, waggling excitedly. He spanked the ground with his paws, inviting the newcomer for a romp. A small green bug hopped into view.
"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" Oki groaned upon arrival.
"Wow. You're really not too thrilled with this plan, are you?" The bug-like creature, Issun, questioned. "Well, Furball here is going to take Mini-Furball on a quest to train for the big sequel."
"Woof!" Chibiterasu confirmed.
"And," Issun continued, "Since Waka is watching over the heavens, Susano is busy with his kid, and I'm going with Ammy, it's up to you to train the canine warriors to defeat Orochi."
Oki sweatdropped. "But why? I can handle Orochi by m-!"
Issun interrupted him with a derisive laugh. "Oh please! We all remember what happened the LAST time you tried to fight Orochi!" Issun screwed up his face and said in a loud, stupid-sounding voice, "Hrrghhh…maybe if I kill everything in sight I'll open the heavens and save the world! Yo Orochi! Come get some! ZAP!" Issun pretended to fall over, holding back sniggers.
"That's not what happened!" Oki barked irritably.
"Yeah, yeah, but you get the basic idea, right? That's why you need to train these mutts!" He waved an arm in the direction of the canine warriors. "And don't even get me started on your epic fail with Nechku…"
With a high-pitched growl, Chibiterasu leaped forward and fixed his tiny jaws around Issun. His mother looked on in amusement, but after a second, nudged him and growled slightly. Chibiterasu opened his mouth and Issun flew back out angrily. "Yuck! Wolf spit!" They had to endure the little bug's complaints for a few more minutes before Issun finally calmed down enough to get back to the point.
"Well since I'm finally done wiping wolf slobber off me, I guess it's time we left…oh! One more word of advice…stay in wolf form! Something tells me these mutts won't take well to the fact that you're half human."
Oki sighed deeply. "Very well." He stared at Amaterasu for a long minute. Then he moved forward and touched his nose to hers. "Have a safe journey." He murmured. She blinked at him sweetly. Then she turned and padded away, her paw prints dotted with flowers. Chibiterasu trotted alongside her, his paw prints scuffing up flower petals. Oki watched them until they disappeared over a ridge.
"Okay, they're gone. Cut the act." Someone whispered from behind him. He turned around, eyes wide, wondering if he had misheard something.
"Act?" He questioned aloud.
"Yeah. Obviously." The husky from earlier said with narrowed eyes. Oki felt a twinge of dislike, but pushed it aside.
Another dog, a boxer, lifted his head from between his paws and yawned. "It would be tiring to act so respectful all the time."
Oki was amazed. The dogs that had been sitting there so dignified a minute ago were suddenly relaxed and not nearly as dignified. The boxer laid his head back onto his paws and closed his eyes. The husky followed suite, but a hyper-looking Shiba Inu pounced onto him playfully and licked the top of his head. Meanwhile a small, white, fluffy dog (a Japanese Spitz) was staring at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.
"Well…er…before we start, I'd like to get to know you so if you don't mind…." Oki said slowly, not quite sure of where to start.
"Of course." A large, scarred hound stepped forward. He was a Japanese Fighting dog. The tips of his muzzle, ears, and paws were gray with age, but his body still looked muscular and powerful. His right eye was missing, covered by a white scar. The tip of one of his ears was also slightly torn. He wore a yellow bandana. "My name is Tei. I am the first canine warrior as well as the leader of this noble group, and of course, the best fighter."
Maybe they were joking about the acting… Oki thought hopefully, they certainly seem noble to me…yes, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.
The dogs, as if on cue, burst into laughter. Tei silenced them with a glare. Oki ignored them, and went to address Tei. "Well Tei, we won't need your leadership here. I'm going to be the one issuing orders."
"Besides," The Shiba Inu piped up, "We all know I'm the best fighter!"
It was then that Tei snapped, completely without warning. "WHAT?" He snarled, rounding on the orange dog, baring his teeth, "I'll kill you! Is this a challenge for the position of Alpha in my pack? WELL? Is it?" The orange dog shrunk away as the angry hound loomed over him. Oki stepped forward, sensing danger. Tei saw him. "I'll take you both on!" He barked furiously.
Oki raised his sword carefully. "Stop fighting and get back in line," He warned, "I'm the one training you to save the world so I'm in charge."
Tei immediately calmed down. "Fine." He growled going to sit back with the other dogs. "I'm still the best!" The Shiba Inu taunted quietly. Taking note of Tei's anger management, Oki moved on with the introductions.
"I'm Rei." A pointer with green markings panted, "I'm the second canine warrior. Do you have any food?"
"I'm Shin." The sleepy boxer said at the same time, "I'm the third canine w…zzz…" He fell asleep without warning.
"Umm…no…" Oki said, looking at the two newly introduced warriors uncertainly.
"Oh! Don't forget me!" The little white dog with the pink bandana exclaimed, prancing over to the blue wolf. "I'm Chi, the fourth canine warrior and the only girl of the group. Aren't I adorable?" She sidled up to Oki, looking suddenly shy. She poked at him with a snow-white paw, "Actually…I had one really important question…" She took a deep breath. "Are you and Amaterasu a couple, is Chibiterasu yours, why did you get together with her, will you dump her for me, can I have your puppies, do you think I'm pretty, why is your fur blue, do you like chicken, do you like that you like chicken, why aren't you answering any of my questions?"
Oki's jaw nearly dropped. He searched his mind for an answer, but came up with nothing. As he figured out some way to deal with this crazy Japanese Spitz, he felt something prodding into his rear end. He turned around to see a fluffy collie sticking his nose up his…butt.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Oki cried out in surprise, pulling away from the collie. The collie sat back on his haunches, tilting his head to the side comically.
"What do you mean what am I doing?" He asked sincerely. He looked at Oki like he was crazy. "He's so weird." Chi whispered under her breath, feeling put out.
I'm the weird one? Oki thought angrily, Oh right, they don't know I'm half human. I need to calm down and be more…doglike. He silently vowed that he would never stick his nose up another dog's butt. "Never mind, who might you be?" He asked the collie calmly.
The collie grinned, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. "I'm Ko! I'm the…uh…uh…" He counted silently in his head. "I'm the fifth canine warrior!" Ko wore a purple bandana and had a colorful pelt that was a mix of brown, white, and gold.
"And what are your names?" Oki asked, turning to the last three.
An odd breed, a Kai Ken, also known as a tiger dog, raised a paw to speak. "Umm…that really depends."
"Do you want the names we go by or our warrior names?" The husky finished for him.
"The ones you go by will be fine." Oki started to say, but Tei suddenly flared up.
"NO! You're going to go by your true pack names like all the rest of us! Not by some wimpy crap human name!"
"Whatever, you're not leader now." The husky said with a cold smile, "My name is Take, given to me by my sparrow owner. I am the sixth canine warrior. My other name is Gi."
But Tei wasn't done. "Take? Bamboo? What kind of name is Bamboo? You stupid housepets! You don't deserve to be canine warriors! I'll kill you all!" He started foaming at the mouth slightly.
"Don't bother, Tei." Take said in a bored voice, looking unphased, "You may be leader, but all three of us "housepets" could take you on."
"Tei likes to pick fights." The brown dog with black stripes said helpfully, "That's how he got all those scars. Anyways, my name is Hayabusa. It's a long story of how I got that name, but my other name is Chu. I'm the seventh canine warrior. I'm also the hole-digging king of Kamiki Village for digging up turnips…watch this!" His paws moved quickly, scraping at the ground. He dug a hole extremely quickly, then reached in and pulled a pathetic-looking turnip almost out of nowhere.
"Nice!" Ko said, looking on with wide eyes.
"That's, uh, a strange turnip." Take said, refusing to be impressed.
"Is it edible?" Rei asked, licking his lips and drooling. Hayabusa nodded it and Rei ate it in one quick gulp.
"If you're all very well finished I'd like to begin." Oki said, scanning the crowd, making sure he hadn't missed anyone.
"What about Ume?" Hayabusa spoke up.
"Who?"
"Y'know…Ume. Plum. Jin. The last warrior." Hayabusa said, rattling off the different things you could call the Shiba Inu, who had mysteriously disappeared.
Shoot! Oki thought, looking around wildly, There's supposed to be eight! Where's the last one?
"Oh great," The dogs murmured among themselves, "He probably ran off and got eaten. Again." "Probably. Remember that huge spider?" "And let's not forget that ginormous fish."
Oki ignored this and pushed his nose into the ground, sniffing carefully. The canine warriors just watched. "Don't just sit there! Help me find his scent!" Oki growled, nostrils flaring impatiently.
"What's a scent?" Rei asked, "Shouldn't we be looking for Ume?"
Oki stood there, dumbfounded. "Use your nose!" He said, his respect beginning to drain for these dogs that called themselves warriors.
"A nose?" Ko wondered out loud. He looked cross-eyed at the large, pink tongue that was hanging out of his mouth. "So that's what these pink things are called!"
Oki tried really hard to resist the temptation to run to the nearest stalk of bamboo and bash his head into it repeatedly. "Everyone shut up and listen!" He growled, "Does anyone know a place in this pass where a dog would be in danger of being eaten?"
Every last dog gasped, their eyes as wide as dinner plates. Oki looked at each one of them in turn, waiting for some explanation. They all exchanged a nervous glance, and Tei stepped forward.
"Most say they crawled out of a hole that opened up in the ground…" He began in a deep, rattled voice.
"But no one can be sure, because those who go into their house never come back!" Chi finished for him in a scared, high-pitched squeak.
"They'll eat anything, including dogs." Rei shivered and let loose a whimper.
"When they sleep, they dream of blood." Shin added.
"And they're well-known for cutting the noses off song sparrows!" Ko burst out.
"He means tongues." Take sighed.
"In short, they're pure evil." Hayabusa finished.
"Who are they?" Oki asked, feeling a sense of dread steal over him.
Hayabusa's eyes narrowed. He hesitated for a long moment. Then he opened his snout to whisper hoarsely:
"Mr. and Mrs. Cutter."