Warning: Despite being rated T, this fic does contain somewhat explicit mentions of gore. I will up the rating to M if I feel it gets too bad or if I have been requested to do so. You have been warned.


She was aware of a lot of things before she was aware that she was awake. She was aware of the feel of grass, for instance, and she was aware of the sound of the wind howling around her, and the leaves rustling as they were whipped from their resting spots. She opened her eyes, slowly and blearily, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep. She certainly felt like it. It was only as she sat up that she realized she should not feel grass, nor hear the wind or the leaves, and she should certainly not be seeing a black sky, devoid of stars or moon. She should be in bed, at home, buried under three blankets as she suffered through the harsh cold of Chicago winters. But she was not, and some part of her was aware that she should be panicking, at the very least. But she was simply too tired, stuck in the middle of waking up, to really process anything other than "Oh."

"Ah, you're awake now... Hello there."

She craned her head backwards to look at the unexpected speaker. She was a very pretty woman, bending over to properly look at her face, with hair that she could only describe as ink black, pinned up into a bun while two long locks of hair hung freely on either sides of her face. Her face seemed to be made of porcelain, with a curious marking on her forehead. She couldn't tell what kind of expression the woman had, but maybe that was because she was still sort of asleep. There was an odd purple mist swirling around her, which she really should have noticed sooner, but didn't, for some reason.

"Hello," she replied quietly.

The woman seemed to look almost troubled for a moment— but whatever had flashed onto her face was gone too quickly to tell. "Would you like to stand up?"

"Okay." She obliged, slowly, as if she was in a dream. Perhaps she was. Perhaps eventually she'd be woken up by the feeling of her mother gently shaking her awake, as she always was.

They stood there, facing each other, each seeming to wait for the other to break the silence. She took a moment to appreciate the woman's dress— she had never seen anything like it— while the woman seemed to examine her in return.

"My name is Ellie," she finally said. The other woman looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected her to speak. She gave her a gentle smile. "Hello, Ellie. My name is Sakuya."

Sakuya. That name seemed familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"I am sure you are wondering where you are, and why you are here," Sakuya ventured.

Ellie blinked, looking around, really taking in the sky and the wind, and the enormous tree standing before her. Despite wearing thick pajama pants and a hoodie, she suddenly felt cold. "I… I know this place… This is…"

Sakuya waited a moment before speaking. "You are standing in front of the sacred tree, Konohana, on the mountain that overlooks the village Kamiki."

Ellie inhaled— really inhaled, a big, long breath of sharp cold air— and now she was awake. She did know this— this was the opening scene to a game called Okami, a game she treasured and replayed over and over in the confines of her room at absurd hours in the night. She brightened, looking around for the statue of the wolf that would bring out the sun goddess herself. But for some reason, it was already gone— the pedestal lay bare.

"The statue that once housed the great Sun Goddess Amaterasu, Mother to us all," Sakuya spoke, following Ellie's line of sight. "Truly, her magnificence was a sight to behold. I had hoped that after all this time, she would have had enough strength to rid us of this plague… But alas."

"You… you talk about her in past tense," Ellie commented, more than a little confused.

"Yes," Sakuya acknowledged. "Which brings us to our current predicament." She hesitated, seeming to contemplate her steepled fingertips. At long last, she sighed. "… I won't put this lightly. Nippon, our land, is in trouble. We are plagued, almost overrun, by demons that bring nothing but darkness and destruction. Some months ago, I revived the great Amaterasu, and sent her off with a companion to relieve us of this evil. Having slumbered in that statue for 100 years, I had expected her to have enough power to sufficiently handle the problem.

"However, our opponents seemed to have outsmarted us. Not two weeks ago, Amaterasu was attacked in the early stages of her journey by demons of the highest caliber. She was no match for them, and she lost the battle. Kidnapped, or… or killed, I do not know her fate— I only know that she is missing, and as she is the only Brush God capable of wielding all 13 Powers, we cannot send another. The other Gods refuse to send a human on this journey that does not have the Divine Blood within them, and my power is too weak. I have already used most of it to encase the village in my fruit, for their protection."

Ellie almost couldn't process this."So— so, um, Amaterasu's been kidnapped— or killed, whatever— and, and now there's no one to do the job."

Sakuya nodded.

"Okay. So— so what do I have to do with this, then? I'm. I'm a human, I don't— I don't even live here." She stared up at Sakuya.

Sakuya stared pointedly back.

Something in her mind clicked. "Wait, you're not— are you saying I've got Divine Blood?"

Sakuya raised her eyebrows. "You would not be here otherwise."

"But, I'm— I…" She struggled for words, waving her hands around wildly.

Sakuya's eyebrows flew into her hairline.

"… Okay," Ellie said quietly. "So I've got divine blood. I'm your hero." She looked at Sakuya. "What now? What do you want me to do? I'm not… I don't know how to fight. I don't— I don't even have a guide. Am I just supposed to follow Amm— Amaterasu's path?"

Sakuya stepped closer and cupped Ellie's face, gently lifting it up so she was looking directly at Sakuya. "I want you," she began softly, "to do the best you can. No one is expecting you to be perfect. I cannot teach you to defend yourself— this is something you must learn on your own, as you go on your journey. The Power of the Brush will help you, at the very least. And as for guides…" She pressed a soft kiss to Ellie's forehead. "The spirit of the land will help light the way."

Ellie swallowed, nodding. She hadn't really registered it before, but she realized that the entire time she was talking to her, Sakuya's feet had been firmly planted on the ground. It was an oddly comforting gesture.

Sakuya stepped back, clasping her hands together. "I'd suggest your first step to be retrieving the first Brush Powers and cutting down the fruit," she said, gesturing to a massive peach hanging above them.

Ellie nodded, taking a deep breath and readying herself to go through the glowing portal that had faded into existence behind Sakuya. She took a few steps forward, but was stopped by Sakuya's hand on her arm. She turned just in time to see Sakuya pulling out Divine Retribution from somewhere in her billowing sleeves and holding it out to her.

"You'll need this," she said simply.

Ellie carefully— delicately— took the mirror. On one side it was completely smooth, with no blemishes at all. The other side was covered with intricate carvings, looking almost like a labyrinth. When she looked up to thank Sakuya, she was gone. She turned to stare contemplatively at the rippling surface of the Konohana portal.

So Amaterasu was gone and so was Issun, apparently, and she was chosen to take their place. She took a deep breath, bouncing in place to get her blood pumping. She could do this. She could totally do this. It would be an adventure! She would have Brush Powers and the Holy Mirror and she would kick demon ass! The only reason Ammy got kidnapped (she wouldn't think about the possibility of death, that was far too pessimistic) was because demons had overpowered her, and anyway Sakuya had said they were "of the highest caliber", which meant that they were probably sent intentionally because she knew for a fact strong demons did not appear in Shinshu and stuff.

She hadn't said where Ammy had been defeated, though. And though Ellie had never had a lucid dream before, everything felt pretty real. And if all of this was really real, by that logic that meant that the world might not follow the game's rules.

But it also might, she firmly told herself, and with a final nod, she took a running start and leaped through the golden glow.

Almost instantly, her feet landed with a solid thud on the ground, and already she felt the difference between the two sides of the portal. Where the grass in front of Konohana had been somewhat tall and a little hard (sort of like most people's lawns, actually), the grass on this side was thin and long and impossibly soft, the kind of grass found in forests and fields that was softer than any other grass and made one want to lie down and roll around in it.

Which is exactly what she did, setting the mirror to one side and taking off her hoodie so she could properly feel the grass on her arms. When she had gotten her fill, she just lay there for a while, staring up at the sky that, contrary to the sky outside at Konohana, was covered with stars. She almost forgot about why she was there, simply having fun trying to find constellations and making them up when she couldn't see any familiar ones. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen so many stars like this. The Chicago skyline dominated the sky, usually, and the light pollution was just enough so that the few stars you could see were small, faint little things.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of what she could only describe as a forest-y kind of smell. Sitting up, she picked the mirror up again, tied her hoodie around her waist (the temperature was nice, in here, warm and soft and inviting), and brushed her clothes off before setting off down the path. It really wasn't a path, not in the usual "dirt road" sense. Everything was covered in grass and wildflowers, and though she could see red fences in the distance, they were too far away for a trip there and back to be really worth it. No, instead the path was simply grass that had been beaten down from use, though she couldn't imagine from what. There were no animals here at all, and if the game's lore was the same as it was here, humans didn't come here much.

She went down the beaten grass road for a few minutes before she came across a bridge. There was nothing notable about it— just a bridge— but it was the first new thing she had seen that wasn't grass or fences. She peered over the edge, looking down into the rather large river that flowed underneath her feet. Though… flowed wasn't quite the right word— it was moving rather quickly. She watched it for another minute or so before she turned and continued on her way. Almost as soon as the bridge ended, clay pots appeared, lining the path on both sides and evenly spaced apart. She peered inside one of them, and then, when she couldn't see much, stuck her hand in. Feeling multiple somethings, she grabbed a handful and pulled it back out, opening her fist to reveal several pieces of what she supposed was Yen. She did the same for a few other pots, all of them yielding the same result— Yen coins. She didn't have anywhere to put them, though, as much as she wanted to keep them— her pajama pants had not pockets, and her hoodie pocket wasn't exactly usable at the moment. She dropped the Yen back into a random pot, and decided that once she got pockets, or a bag, or something similar, she would return to get them.

She had a while to walk, again, and because she had nothing better to do, she looked around. There wasn't much to look at, but it somehow managed to be breathtakingly beautiful anyway. The area was covered with nothing but the soft grass, with wildflowers scattered here and there and a tree occasionally dotting the landscape. No matter where she walked, the air always smelled… indescribable. The most she was able to say was that it was clean and crisp and sweet, and it made her feel comfortable and, somehow, at home. The oddest thing about the area was that it had its ends, just like it did in the original Okami— or was this the original?—, but instead of abruptly ending into black nothingness, it faded into water that was impossibly clear, reflecting the starry sky so perfectly it seemed it never ended.

She was coming up on a cliff, now. It wasn't terribly high, but it would require a fair amount of effort to climb up. On her left, the ground sloped up at a decent rate, but it was right next to the water, and she didn't want to risk slipping and falling in. Gut feeling said she should avoid the water at all costs. She stared up the cliff face for a bit, simultaneously working up the courage to climb it and looking for any defined foot-and-handholds that would make her ascent easier. She raised her hands to begin climbing when she realized that she was still holding the mirror. She had no way to securely carry it, and she didn't want to throw it up there for fear of breaking it somehow, despite the fact that it was a goddess' weapon and it was probably designed to be extremely sturdy. She examined it, looking to see if there was a strap or something she could put her wrist through to hold it, but there was nothing. It was then that she remembered that Amaterasu always had it floating on her back. …She was a goddess, though, wolf or not. But, Sakuya had said that Ellie had divine blood, so maybe it was worth a shot? She had no idea how to go about it, though. Was she supposed to just… imagine the mirror floating above her back?

Her back would be kind of an impractical place to keep it, though— how would she get it if she needed it in battle? She'd leave herself wide open. Maybe her arm would be an easier spot. It would act as a good shield, too, and wasn't that supposed to be one of the secondary actions of the Holy Mirrors?

She held the mirror up to her arm and stared intensely, first imagining it to hover there and, when that didn't work, willing it. To her astonishment, after a minute of willing it, it did move to her arm, and hovered a few inches above the back of her forearm. She cautiously moved her hand away, prepared for it to fall, but nothing happened. She grinned proudly, fistpumped and did a little victory dance, and then climbed up the cliff with renewed determination.

It was a tiring climb, helped in no way by the fact that she rarely exercised (she had some pudge to show for it), but eventually she hauled herself onto flat ground again, the path instantly picking up where it left off. She could see that she didn't have long to go, however— a short distance away, the path forked, the left branch leading to a stone obelisk with writing that she couldn't read and a bridgeless river, while the right branch led up a fairly large hill. When she came to the fork itself, she noticed that the river wasn't actually a river; it was just… void. There was nothing. She could see stars, yes, but there was also empty space, and she suspected that if she fell she would never stop falling. She walked down the other path.

The hill wasn't steep, but the walk was getting to her and going uphill was not helping any. She was outright panting by the time the hill began to curve back down, and she took this moment to sit down and regain her breath.

She knew this spot. It wasn't hard to recognize. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out Yomigami's constellation. Perhaps it was because it wasn't as defined, or maybe she just didn't know what she was looking for. Either way, constellations were hard. She peered at the stars for a while, trying to make a pattern out of them, and it was only when she thought she might have found it that she realized, with a sudden stab of panic and what might have been fear, that she didn't have a brush. Even if she had the constellation, even if she knew which star to fill in, she had no way of completing it. For several seconds, all she could do was stare at the sky with a growing sense of horror. She was literally stuck. She couldn't go forwards, and backwards would achieve nothing. She was doomed to failure from the start.

She pressed her palms against her eyes, taking deep breaths and trying very hard not to cry. It was okay, it would be okay, she could just… maybe she could go back and talk to Sakuya, and ask her to give her a brush? But she looked so tired, and though she hadn't mentioned it, Ellie knew her power was only so much. But… it was worth a shot, at least.

She took a few more calming breaths, then removed her hands, wiping away unshed tears before she clapped her hands together and looked up.

The sky was gold.

The starry universe she had been surrounded by was gone, replaced by a soft sunrise glow. There was mist all around, limiting her vision to a few feet. The sky rippled, and the mists parted to reveal a great dragon, coiling and twisting and turning his long body as he gracefully made his way down to her, stopping only when he was low to the ground. There was a low rumbling sound, and it took her a moment to realize that it was the dragon laughing.

"My dear Ellie," he said— except it wasn't like he was really talking. She heard the voice in her head, but his mouth didn't move and there were no sounds other than their breathing. "How wonderful it is to see you. I am sorry that we would have to meet under such circumstances."

She was too shocked to do anything but sit there with her mouth slightly open.

The dragon rumble-laughed again. "I am Yomigami, god of Restoration, one of the 13 Brush Powers. I grant my gift to you, in the hopes that it may ease your journey."

"W-wait!" She hurriedly stood up, wobbling slightly. "I don't… I don't have a brush, I— I can't use the Brush Powers!" Another thought suddenly occurred to her as she said this. "And— I didn't fill in the— the star, the constellation, how did you…?"

Yomigami leaned down, nudging her forehead (though with his size, it was more like he nudged her entire body). "Mother Amaterasu did manage to complete some portion of her journey before she disappeared. And do not worry, young one. You have the Divine Blood within you— you do not require a tool. You may simply channel the power of the Brush through your fingertips."

"But how do I do that?"

He puffed a breath of air across her face, which somehow calmed her. "You must believe." He retreated slightly, resuming his original position. He exhaled again, though this time it seemed sad. "… You are much too young, to go on a quest such as this. I wish it did not have to be this way." He began to fade, his form shimmering and compacting into a small orb. "Take care, dear Ellie. May you have good fortune on your travels."

The orb floated into her chest, and she felt a sudden rush of warmth spread throughout her body. The light faded and the mist dispersed, once again leaving her standing on top of a hill surrounded by endless stars.

She couldn't help the laughter that burst from her chest, and she began jumping up and down, too excited to do anything else. She could use the brush! She wasn't stuck! She turned and ran down the hill, still grinning. Her energy seemed to be restored, as well— she shot down the path with ease, only slowing to a stop when the river abyss came into view. Now that she was closer to the edge, she could see that there was a small trickle running along the edge, just the barest hint of gold and stars. She watched it for a moment, then furrowed her brows in thought.

Yomigami had said to believe, but that was horribly vague. Should she just believe that she could use the brush? Imagine that she could use her fingers? Just act?

She held up her hand, unsure of how she should go about it. Eventually, she ended up pointing two fingers at the empty river and moving her arm from side to side, as if she was filling in the river with ink.

Nothing happened.

She tried again, this time imagining the ink spreading across the empty space.

Still no results.

Beginning to get frustrated, she raised her arm again, not just imagining the ink there but believing that the river was being refilled, ink turning into flowing water.

There was a sudden roar of water and a distinctive splash, and abruptly, she was soaked to the bone. When she opened her eyes, the river was full of water, flowing at a gentle pace. The river was large, larger than she had initially imagined, making the other rivers she had crossed seem like mere streams. She wondered if it had a bottom, and if the current would be too strong. She could swim, but she wasn't fantastic at it.

She stuck a cautious foot into the water, relieved to feel that it was pleasantly warm. At least she wouldn't be shivering, then. She tentatively placed her foot down, feeling the muddy bank slide a little, and then began wading in. The river's current was a gentle press against her side, not pushing her but letting her know it was there. Eventually the water got to a point where she knew she had no other choice but to swim, and she pushed off the bank, swimming slow and steady and hoping she would make it to the other side before she got too tired and drowned.

At some point, as if the river was responding to her wishes, she noticed a boulder, not quite sticking above the water but close enough to the surface where she could comfortably sit on it and rest for a while. She swam over and shifted onto it. Her legs were still in the river, but her upper body was exposed to the air, and though the water was roughly the same temperature she still shivered.

Eventually she kept swimming, and eventually she reached the other side. She was breathing hard, practically dragging herself onto the dry grass. She was not looking forward to the swim back. She pushed herself upright and stumbled forward, continuing on despite her growing exhaustion. She was so tired, she almost didn't notice that her clothes were drying absurdly quickly, and water streamed off her skin like quicksilver. She admired the otherworldly actions of the water as she walked through a red gate— they were called Torii gates or something, weren't they?— and realizing that as soon as she had done so, the area changed. Instead of a field with a trampled grass path, now she was on a stone path on what looked like a mountain. To her left, the ground gave a sharp drop, and when she peered over the edge she could see the familiar starry water far below. When she looked behind her through the gate, the land behind it looked the same as the path in front of her.

Odd.

The grass was shorter here, she noted, but still just as soft, and trees were more plentiful. They leaned over the path like a canopy, and she could see a real river, with water as blue as the sky, running down to her right. The area began sloping upward, and the stone path turned into stone steps, which she was thankful for but still killed her legs.

At some point, she paused for breath, placing her hands on her legs as she bent over. She pulled them back when she felt a wet spot through her pajamas, and when she looked at them, there were large ink stains, right where her hands had been. And when she looked at her hands, she saw that her fingers were dripping ink. In fact, they had apparently been dripping ink this whole time, she realized, looking behind her and seeing ink drops on the stairs like footsteps. Had they been doing this since she filled in the river? She stared hard at them, willing the ink to stop, but no matter how hard she thought or how she went about it, they continued dripping. Now that she really looked at herself, she could see ink flecks here and there, on her shirt, pants, and hoodie. She wasn't really sure how to feel about this, and so she settled for sighing and continuing on her way.

It was several more flights of stairs before she reached the source of the river— a moderately-sized pool, with a bridge crossing over it and another sign she couldn't read. The pool branched into two directions, one becoming the river and the other falling over the edge. The pool was filled by another waterfall that fell extremely close to the bridge, splashing water over it and making the wooden planks wet. Truth be told, there was really nothing eventful— just the bridge and more stairs, though the passage was now walled on both sides. Though it wasn't a long walk, she still had some way to go before she finally reached the famed Cave of Nagi.

Her first thought was that, as glorified as the game made it seem, the cave was really just a cave, and it followed that the cave had a cave-like, damp sort of smell. Despite the hole in the ceiling that let in light, it was still pretty dark, and she could hear the faint sounds of dripping water. Staring up at the crumbled, mossy statue, she felt sort of sorry for it. Obviously it hadn't had any visitors for a while, as it was horribly dirty and plant life was growing all over it, and despite the fact that the sword was fixed, there were still a lot of sections of the statue that were cracked or already falling apart. She was roused from her thoughts by the sound of bells, which seemed to echo all around the cave. She looked up, noticing that the light was shining a little brighter, and as the sound continued, heavy mist rolled in, obscuring her vision once again. It took her a moment to realize that the surrounding area had become heavy with the sunrise glow for a second time. She heard a faint whistling sound, which grew louder and louder, until finally a great sword, as long as she was tall, landed with an alarming thunk not two feet in front of her. Almost immediately afterward, a mouse— larger than a normal mouse, but not quite as big as, say, a Rodent Of Unusual Size— landed delicately on top, somehow balancing on the tip of the sword's handle.

"My, if it isn't Ellie," he chittered. "It has been a very long time since I've last seen a human. I am Tachigami, God of the Blade. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Uh… you too," she said, a little off-put by the entire encounter.

Tachigami was silent for a long moment. "… I rather wish we did not have to meet at all. You should never have had to bear a burden such as this." He sighed, adjusting his position on his perch. "I grant you my ability, Powerslash. May it aid you in cutting down the evil that plagues us."

His form shimmered and condensed, much as Yomigami's had, until there was nothing but an orb of soft light where Tachigami had once been. Once again, she felt the familiar spread of warmth tingling across her entire body, and she felt like she could run a thousand miles and slay a thousand demons.

She turned around, heading back towards the entrance. When she had first come in, there had been no sound, no movement of any kind to indicate that she was trapped inside. But as the mouth of the cave came into view, she could see partial wooden poles sticking out from the top, as if they had once been whole and were cut in half. Seeing this made her wonder exactly how far Ammy had gotten through her journey.

For all her knowledge about the game, she had still forgotten that there were enemies she had to worry about. As she descended the steps and moved to cross the bridge, two green imps suddenly flew into her field of vision from seemingly nowhere, stopping her in her tracks. They screeched menacingly, and though they had masks covering their faces, she felt like they were leering at her. She took a deep breath, moving into what she hoped seemed like an offensive stance of some kind.

She would be fine. She had this. She was chosen to rescue Amaterasu, and she had Powerslash and Divine Retribution. She held up her arm, the Holy Mirror flaring to life, and moved forward, swinging at one imp and watching as Retribution flew from her arm in a wide arc.

She didn't have a chance to watch it return, her vision suddenly exploding into haziness and stars. She stumbled forward, then to the side as something bashed her again, this time in the side of the head. She threw out her arm blindly, willing the ink to become the path of a deadly blade. She heard a sickening noise that she couldn't describe, and suddenly she felt warm liquid spraying her body and face. She screamed, desperately scooting backwards, as she finally opened her eyes only to see the imp sliced in half, blood still spurting and its entrails sliding out of their former places in its body, reddish-pink flesh shifting to take the place of the missing organs. She forced herself to look away, her breathing becoming erratic and shaky. She pushed herself up, her whole body beginning to tremble violently. The second demon, enraged at the death of its brethren, came towards her, screeching with fury. For a split second, she froze, unsure of what to do— Powerslash, she thought, but she recalled the gruesome result she had witnessed only moments earlier, and instead she lashed out, throwing Retribution forward for the second time. This time, she was able to witness it make the hit and return, the disc nailing the demon in the face and completing its arc to smoothly rest at her arm again. She didn't think— she threw it forward, again and again, over and over, swinging her arm wildly, never stopping, she couldn't stop, she had to kill it—

She didn't know exactly when it died. At some point, it had just… stopped moving.

She stared down at the corpse, already beginning to rot but not at the instantaneous rate its virtual counterpart did. Abruptly, she turned, doubling over and heaving as her stomach emptied herself. She stood there for several minutes, shaking like a leaf through the entire ordeal. Eventually, she stood upright, wiping her mouth and spitting in an attempt to get rid of the foul taste that lingered.

She ran.

She ran, down the stairs, blood and ink drippings making it hard for her to keep her footing, sliding down the stairs at alarming rates and somehow never really tumbling, never breaking her neck. She ran, through the Torii gate, down to the riverbank, into the water, swimming like she had never swam before, through the river, never stopping, stumbling onto the mud on the other side. She ran, even when her legs were on fire, even when her sides had a thousand stitches and her vision was swimming and her lungs burned. She ran, even when two more imps leaped into her path, and she couldn't stop running, so she closed her eyes and swung her arm and imagined a blade. She ran and she leaped, over and through the blood spray and the carnage, and she kept running, feet flying down the trodden grass path. She ran, and she only stopped when she stumbled through the portal into Konohana and she fell and she did not get up.