Standard Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. =)

This is a crossover of Okami (video game) and TRC, and it follows the storyline of Okami with some alterations. It starts after the death of Orochi, which means a lot of events have already taken place, but, for those not familiar with Okami, everything that needs to be will be explained in good time.

-o-o-o-o-

Present, Ryoshima Coast

The barren soil beneath his feet hummed as blossoms erupted and spread across the mountainside in a wave of green life. Tree sprouts broke through the hard ground and grew abnormally fast until they stretched and touched the sky. The darkness that clung to the land grew weak against the powerful spell until it dissipated entirely and the villagers and animals that were trapped inside its curse were freed from their stone prisons to breathe fresh air once more. The mountainside which had been dry and crumbling only moments before was now lush and blooming, replacing the quiet deadness with sounds of activity and being.

As the sharp smell of flowers met his nose, Kurogane realized that he never grew tired of seeing this rebirth. He watched with satisfaction as the stone-statues-turned-villagers gathered around Princess Tomoyo to thank her for freeing them of the curse. Behind her, a large cherry tree stood in full blossom and, as the wind blew gently through its branches, Kurogane was reminded of his home in Kamiki which was also protected by a powerful cherry tree – the mother, in fact, to the one Tomoyo had just restored.

"It is nice to see that Sakura's reach has stretched this far."

Kurogane looked down with a smirk at the princess who had moved to his side. She smiled at him before holding out her hand to catch a falling petal.

"I would not have been able to revive this land without the help or power of her sapling," Tomoyo said softly, closing her fingers around the petal and pulling it close to her chest. "I can feel it. We are getting close to freeing all people of Orochi's curse."

A sour look crossed Kurogane's face at the mention of the beast's name and he grumbled, "Even in death, that monster…"

"I can also feel," Tomoyo continued, "that he will not be the last to strike at us. There is another, very close to here, that wishes to bring harm to the people of this land."

Kurogane showed no surprise at this. He, too, felt the oppressive darkness that still hung quietly in the air. Most of his subordinates attributed the pressure of evil to the demonic gates that had withstood Tomoyo's revival spell – gates that opened the path between the living and the dead. Kurogane, however, had been present at the Moon Cave when Sorata delivered the killing strike to Orochi and amid the beast's death a strange, malevolent power had fled into the night sky. It was a tingling of that power that Kurogane felt at all times, like a bad taste that refused to leave his mouth.

"Yeah, I know," Kurogane murmured in response, and then lifted a hand as though to wave away the topic. He gave the princess a determined look. "Where are we headed to now? The City?"

The uneasy expression on Tomoyo's face disappeared immediately and she smiled slyly at Kurogane. "Well, about that… Souma-san thinks it would be best if only a small group of us entered Sei'an City. Because your social skills leave much to be desired, you will stay behind with your men to assist this village with any oni lurking about the seaside."

"What?" Kurogane ran to catch up with the princess, as she had walked off during her explanation. "I am not sitting on this beach to babysit the villagers. Besides," he huffed, "you need me – you need the brush."

"It is true that the abilities you have gained through the celestial brush and the hidden scrolls are more than helpful, but Sei'an City is in a delicate situation. It is rumored that the Emperor has imprisoned Kaguya of the Moon and is refusing to release her. Kurogane, this particular task will take much finesse." She again turned her kind smile toward the ninja. "I also believe that you will enjoy yourself more here than trapped inside the palace."

Kurogane was tempted to point out that Souma had about as much finesse as a bagged cat. "Enjoy myself? By doing what? The only threat that remains here are the demon scrolls and maybe a gate, both of which can be handled by any foot soldier with passable skills."

Tomoyo bowed her head at this, an amused, secretive smile on her face.

"What is it?" Kurogane demanded. "Did you have a dream?"

Rather than answer, Tomoyo paused in their walk to face the ocean spread out beside them. Kurogane followed her gaze and in the distance he could see the broken masts of a shipping vessel rising from the water. He vaguely remembered hearing rumor of a great and powerful water dragon that had gone mad from Orochi's curse, destroying anything and anyone who entered its ocean. Tomoyo stared at the sunken ship sadly.

"You are needed here, Kurogane," she said finally, and with one last, kind smile she moved to where Souma and her attendants were waiting.

Kurogane watched Tomoyo go, wanting to protest more but knowing it would be pointless. Souma could protect the princess, and Kurogane trusted no one but her to take care of Tomoyo in his place, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being left behind like a useless old dog, despite Tomoyo's indication that the seaside was still in danger of an unknown menace.

When Tomoyo's small group on its way to Sei'an City finally disappeared from sight, Kurogane decided to get a start on splitting his men into units to comb the beach for any remaining demons. He had noticed a shrine at the highest point of the small, seaside village earlier and figured it the optimal location for setting up camp. It gave a clear view of the beach below and even the trees farther up shore, and its high walls provided good defense in case of attack.

If something was threatening Ryoshima coast, he wasn't going to be caught unaware.

-o-o-o-o-

The sticky-wet air coming off the ocean made the heat of the sun ten times worse. Most of Kurogane's men had taken to hiding in what little shade they could find around the shrine during the hottest parts of the day, and Kurogane himself wasn't eager to trek down to the coast. Not to mention, most of the demons along the beach were protected by blazing halos of fire; being caught with them in the barrier rings created by the cursed scrolls a couple times a day was more than enough to zap the strength of even his toughest soldiers.

But that was why there were here.

With a scowl, Kurogane stuffed his bag with sufficient rations of food to last him a couple of nights. He wondered how Souma and the princess were doing, and if they had arrived at Sei'an City yet. In the heat, he couldn't imagine them traveling far, but they had already been gone for three days. Kurogane and his men had barely moved down the coast, finding more cursed scrolls than Kurogane originally expected. They had even crossed upon a demon lair with a spider queen (always unpleasant).

Once he finished packing, Kurogane made way to the front of the shrine, stopping by one of his napping captains at the entrance who was supposed to be keeping guard.

"Oi," Kurogane growled, jabbing at the captain with the tip of his boot. The soldier looked lazily up at him and then jumped to attention upon realizing who he was. Kurogane glared but it was too hot to yell at the man. "I'm going on ahead. Pack up and move out this evening. The demon scrolls are more active at night anyway."

"Yes sir!"

Kurogane looked down the hillside that the shrine sat upon. In the distance he could still see the sunken ship and the open beach along the coastline. He pointed to the trees at the top of the beach. "Stop at the edge of the trees for a day and I'll meet up with you there. If I don't show, just keep pushing on until you reach the gates of Sei'an City."

"Yes sir!" the captain acknowledged with a quick bow.

With one last firm glare at the drowsy captain, Kurogane started his hike down to the coast.

-o-o-o-o-

"And that's the best place to see the ship from?"

"I suppose, but the thing is awfully high and older than anyone I know. It'd probably crumble out from under you." The fisherman scratched the back of his neck with a frown. "If you got up there, I bet you could see pretty far, but that's the biggest problem. Getting up there, I mean. No one's ever been up there, far as I know."

Kurogane grunted and studied the lookout platform at the end of the small peninsula. It did indeed look old and brittle. He mumbled his thanks to the fisherman and began walking to it. He needed a high place to look across the ocean. From the beach he could see the masts and even the top cabin of the sunken ship, but the water, despite being as clear as it was, obscured all else.

An annoyance grew in Kurogane as he got closer to the platform. It was definitely going to be too high for him to reach and it would be a pain to drag something tall enough to reach it across the beach and down the peninsula. The platform sat atop a single, thick column and was more than twice as tall as him. The peninsula itself provided a bit of height, allowing him to see the rest of the ship touching the ocean floor, but it was still too bad of an angle to get a good look and there appeared to be something on the ocean floor around the ship.

Lifting a foot, Kurogane gave the column under the platform a strong shove. Surprisingly, the old wood, though creaky, was solid. Kurogane stepped back from the column and looked up again at the platform, squinting against the sun.

Only to see another person staring down at him.

"Gaaah!"

Kurogane lost his footing on the uneven, muddy surface of the peninsula as he automatically backed up in surprise. He fell embarrassingly on his backside, as his hands had gone for the sword hanging at his side out of reflex, and his head hit the ground from the force of it all, only saved from severe injury by the soft dirt and grass.

With the wind knocked out of him and a rapidly growing headache, Kurogane gasped up at the calm, blue sky, his ears ringing and head spinning. As the ringing faded, he could hear gentle laughter floating down from the platform – laughter that was easy enough to recognize. He rolled to his side and craned his neck to see the top of the platform. "Not you again."

Amused blue eyes met his heated red glare.

"I thought I told you to quit following me, stupid mage!" he growled and angrily got to his feet.

The other gave one last shudder of laughter and then lowered his hand to reveal a bright, wide smile. "I'm sorry, Kuropon. I didn't mean to startle you, eh heh heh."

Kurogane could feel his face heating up (wounded pride) and did his best to ignore it – and to ignore the loathsome nickname (fighting a losing battle) and to ignore the fact that he could mostly see up the other's short, kimono-like outfit (the man had no shame).

"How the hell did you get up there anyway?"

"Up here?" The magic user motioned to the platform under his feet and then dropped so that he was sitting on the edge, swinging his legs like a child and making the small bell bracelets around his ankles chime. "I jumped."

"Bullshit."

If possible, the smile widened. "Kurorin doesn't believe me? But I am a good jumper. I'll show you."

"Oi! What-!" Kurogane's gut twisted as he watched the mage suddenly push off the side of the platform and he darted forward to catch the idiot. Instinctively, he braced for impact.

However, instead of landing abruptly in his arms, the mage's descent mysteriously slowed upon reaching Kurogane as though floating down instead of falling. The mage gently placed hands on the bewildered warrior's shoulders and Kurogane, blinking in wonder, unconsciously folded his arms around the mage's waist. Even more to his astonishment, he could not feel the weight or warmth of the mage despite firmly feeling the young man's cool body under his arms and against his chest, like a tangible apparition.

"Thank you for catching me," the magic user murmured. "Kurotan is such a gentleman."

The words broke Kurogane out of his shock and, remembering a similar situation in Agata Forest where the mage had hovered a few centimeters above the lake, he loosed his hold and the mage dropped to the ground. Rather than stumbling as Kurogane had, the mage nimbly gained footing on the sodden earth.

"You're using magic then," Kurogane snapped.

The mage smiled. "Of course! Won't you?"

Kurogane scoffed. "As if I know magic."

"You don't?" The mage tilted his head to one side, confused. "You used magic in your fight against me…?"

"That wasn't magic. That was summoning using paint and scrolls," Kurogane corrected. His eyebrow twitched as he remembered the mage attacking their convoy, himself specifically, in Agata Forest under the guise of testing their will to fight the beast Orochi – and attacking again in Taka Pass to test his "new fighting strength." Kurogane figured it all for lies, but there had been no attacking since and Princess Tomoyo seemed fond of the magic user.

"Summoning is a form of magic, Kuropii," the mage giggled, "and I was referring to the attack you used with your sword. That is definitely magic."

"Che, that's different," Kurogane snipped as he turned his gaze away, reluctant to be compliant with the fool.

The soft sound of bells and the mage was again in his personal space. "I can teach you," came the murmur and Kurogane felt a tug on the fabric of his hakama. He turned to frown down at the mage but quickly whipped his head back around to the ocean when he was met with too large, too close blue eyes. "The magic to get up there," the mage continued, "I can teach it to you."

Uncomfortable, Kurogane shrugged off the magic user's hand. He felt a crisp, unnatural cold where their skin touched and it sent an eerie chill through his body. From the corner of his eye he could see a sad smile on the mage's face, but when he turned to face the other completely, it was replaced with the regular wide grin.

"Or you could just ask the sensei to teach you~!" the mage chirped brightly and pointed to his left.

Kurogane's eyes narrowed on the mage as he searched for any sign of the brief melancholy but when he was still met with the fake grin, he finally relented and looked in the direction the mage was pointing. Far down the flat stretch of beach he could see an island a short distance from the shoreline. If he looked real hard he could barely make out some sort of structure on the island. A house, maybe?

"Who is this sensei?" Kurogane asked dubiously. He waited for a moment but when he received no response he made to face the mage again. "Hey, I asked-…"

The sly magic user had disappeared.

Kurogane searched all around, even back up at the platform, but quickly found that he was alone again.

"That brat," he grumbled and glared at the island that was at least half a day's walk away from the peninsula. If he went, it would be doing as the mage suggested, but his only other option was making a tall enough ladder out of who knew what since the grove of trees he sent his men to was even farther away than half a day. He heaved a jaded sigh. "Ahh, dammit."

-o-o-o-o-

The island was hardly a "short distance" from the shoreline as Kurogane originally believed, but this wasn't much of a problem. He dug in his pack to find the thin length of fabric he used to tie back the sleeves of his kimono. As he did so, the godly markings winding along his arms came into view. Removing the celestial brush from the waistline of his hakama, Kurogane stepped up to the water's edge, ready to perform the brush spells he had learned from the sacred scrolls.

With a large sweeping motion, Kurogane made as though he was painting a circle on top of the lapping waves. The godly markings began to glow red and the water bubbled until a giant lily pad began to form from the foam. When the last of the bubbles disappeared into the waves, Kurogane tentatively stepped onto the magic-enhanced plant.

Again using a large circular motion, Kurogane this time painted against the sky. At first, there was a slight tickling against his back until it grew into a powerful wind that pushed the lily pad toward the island against the weak ocean breeze and the force of the waves. The island was far enough that he had to summon the wind more than once but this was a definite improvement over painting multiple lily pads and having to jump across them like stepping stones (a tedious technique he used before discovering the scroll of Kazegami, the equestrian god of wind, in the Gale Shrine at Kusa Village).

When he finally reached the island and hiked up its steep, muddy banks to the house, he felt his stomach turn. This place looked all too familiar, but it was impossible. It had to be impossible. There was no way that torturous witch could be here, could she? The last time he had seen her was before he'd left with Sorata to fight Orochi.

"You're slow, Kurogane!"

Kurogane's eye twitched and he slowly turned to the distinct voice.

Yuuko, the evil witch herself, grinned mischievously back at him. "I felt that magic you used – absolutely pathetic! Have you been practicing at all?"

"You–! How did you manage to get here?" Kurogane demanded. "Weren't you cowering in that shack of yours back in Shinshu Field?"

"Don't be naïve," Yuuko laughed. She smirked at Kurogane's scowling expression. "As if my door opens to only one location. How foolish! Such is the way of my magic, my dear warrior."

Kurogane gripped the hilt of his sword subconsciously, irritated by the witch's conceit.

Yuuko wasn't the least bit fazed. "What bad manners you have, even after I taught you to use that sword before you pranced off to the Moon Cave. It must have been helpful, too, since you managed to defeat Orochi."

"Sorata defeated Orochi."

"Not all by himself," Yuuko said with a knowing smirk. "Your little brother may be responsible for killing Orochi's last head, but that was only after you defeated the seven others. And that wooden sword of his is useless without the moonlight your celestial brush can create."

"How do you know all that?" Kurogane didn't recall seeing the witch anywhere near the Moon Cave. If anything, everyone in Kamiki knew (or thought they knew) that she never left her home in Shinshu Field, a house that was identical the one in front of Kurogane now.

"You truly are naïve, Kurogane," she chided. "I am aware of much more than you think. I even knew that your friend Sorata was responsible for Orochi's rebirth."

Kurogane startled at this. "Wha… How could you have…" The shock was quickly replaced by anger and he stomped toward the witch. "If you knew, then why didn't you tell me? Not even Tomoyo knew that!"

"It's not my place to tell you," Yuuko replied evasively, and continued before Kurogane could yell at her again, "I'm not the only one, of course. Fai knew as well."

The mage's face flashed through Kurogane's mind and his eyes widened.

Yuuko's expression was one of secretive delight. "Oh? Are you surprised that I know him?"

"I shouldn't be," Kurogane snapped, his scowl having returned. "Not after all the bullshit you two have put me through. It only makes sense that you would be conspiring together."

"Not entirely correct, but amusing enough," Yuuko said with a laugh. "Now then, you've appeared in front of my doors because you want to reach someplace high, yes?"

This time, Kurogane didn't even bother being surprised. Magic existed, after all, for the sole purpose of torturing him.

-o-o-o-o-

This chapter had a lot of exposition in it. More KuroFai interaction in the next chapter and maybe some more action & adventure! What a snoozefest this first chapter is… ^_^