Take a Walk

A/N: I've played the entirety of the game Okami and I am currently playing Okamiden; both are fantastic. I've been fascinated with Okami for years now, actually, just because it's gorgeous, the plot is great, and it's got history to it (which is evident in the usage of characters from Japanese myths and folklore, such as Waka, based off of one of the most respected warriors in Japanese mythology, Yoshitsune, another being Issun, based off of Issun-Boshi, which is basically the story of Tom Thumb but way cooler).

It's got humor, as well, part of it being just the title alone. Ookami is one form of the word Okami, which is the title; Okami meaning god, and Ookami meaning wolf; thus, Amaterasu, who is spectacled to be a true god in Japanese mythology (Amaterasu Omikami), takes the physical form of a wolf god in the game, along with, much later, Chibiterasu, her son. Thus, the title of the game itself is basically a pun.

Sorry for the long A/N:. I just wanted to put in an explanation for my sudden fascination with not writing anything for my current works; I was revisiting my old memories of the game and thought of the moment when Amaterasu enters the Ark of Yamato, and I couldn't help but type this up.

…

Amaterasu watches the world around her disappear with slipping paws. Even as the Ark's massive door begins to fold up as though the ship is swallowing her, the god struggles to remain in view of the world she knows. Sliding down the sleek metal material of the door against her will, she hears the hollow click that resounds as the wall of the Ark locks back into place. There is no escape, and for once, Amaterasu can't find it in her to not care.

The floor is cold against her paws as she treads on, and it isn't long- perhaps a minute or two of just walking opposite the door down the hall- before she notices a semi-transparent figure hovering above her, intently studying her like one would a painting at a museum. The god knows this figure's name, and it rolls off of her tongue smoothly but leaves behind a taste of ashes and grit. Instead of her voice, though, she hears a dull bark and it takes her a moment to remember that she isn't back in the wide fields that she remembers, basking in the sun's glow and striding through fields of gold. The deity takes a moment to ignore the figure's- Marco's, she corrects herself wearily- spray of words that fly in one ear and out the other and nod her head once at his imploring look.

It bothers Amaterasu, quite a bit, that she knows the name of a being that she's sure she's never met before. However, she ignores the bitter taste of the words she knows she wants to speak because Marco would certainly be offended, and wouldn't it be a waste of her breath, anyway? Nobody understands a wolf. So, the sun god gazes tiredly at the wares that Marco so proudly displays to her, and after shaking her head to tell him that she doesn't need anything, she stands once more and continues her slow stride down the hallway.

Within moments, Amaterasu can see the large etchings in the walls above each door; she observes them quietly, and the Divine Retribution on her back hums as though to agree with Amaterasu's silent observation that the Moon Tribe people were either geniuses or madmen. After yawning slightly, a high-pitched whine escaping the god's throat as she pops a joint in her arms while bending forward a bit, she tries to play herself off as casual while she tries to calm the arrhythmia that takes over her heart and seems to bend her very soul. The wolf god's blood pounds in her ears and, before stepping into the darkness of the entrance to the room with the Spider Queen etched into the metal above the doorway, she recounts yet another Celestial's name as the winged woman's spirit appears before her.

The woman's name is Hakuba, Amaterasu knows, and she barks out the name without a thought. At the confused expression the woman wears after the short, questioning bark, the god clams shut and decides not to make her thoughts (or recollections, more like) vocal to the Celestials anymore. Hakuba tells a long monologue of the Ark of Yamato's history and the genocide that took place within, making sure to point out the extreme importance of every Celestial having perished. Amaterasu pointedly ignores her, instead delving down back into her thoughts, and when she thinks that she sees Issun bouncing on her nose, her tail begins wagging; however, when she doesn't feel the familiar weight of the inch-tall artist, her gaze falls and she stares into the darkness of the room reserved for the Spider Queen.

With a tremble residing in the very marrow of her bones, Amaterasu remembers Issun always telling her to "Leap before you think, Ammy!" and enters the dark without a second thought.

XXX

Less than ten minutes later, Amaterasu whispers a brief "I'm sorry" to the last eye of the Spider Queen, and she doesn't miss the tremble in the being's legs before swishing her tail again, the eye falling before her on top of the Spider Queen's flowering corpse. Black eyes avert to the floor and an ink-dipped tail lowers in a brief show of respect, but by then, the creature's body has already disappeared and has been replaced by a small garden of flowers. For the first time in what she believes to be a long time, Amaterasu doesn't stay to watch the flowers dissipate in a halo of holy light; she is halfway out the door and doesn't dare look back.

XXX

Within twenty minutes, the god is murmuring apologies to Crimson Helm's broken-down skeleton as the last wind that she paints dies out, the beast's armor tossed by his side haphazardly and the bones that made up his body strewn about wildly in a pile of broken pieces, like smashed pottery. There are no tears rimming her vision, but her black eyes are steady and apologetic, and as Crimson Helm gives one final nod, nothing more but a pile of ashes and burnt armor, Amaterasu knows that the beast has accepted his death; he will not return, she knows, and she feels a little bit sick at the thought that she is worshiped for this.

XXX

Orochi doesn't take long to defeat; a measly twenty-five minutes is all that Amaterasu needs to bring the hulking creature's eight serpentine heads to the ground. His body reeks of alcohol and all sorts of foul scents that Amaterasu would rather not be aware of, and yet, she bends down over the Fire head and hastens to mutter an ireless quote to the drunken monster.

Briefly, as she turns and begins her tread back to the main hall, the wolf god wonders why she can't recall the voice that she knows doesn't belong to her when she voices her regretful sentiments to the beings that are supposed to be evil. However, the thought quickly vanishes from her mind when she strides past the last Celestial she met, Sato, and instead, she thinks of an island in the sky and fields of gold. Amaterasu tries to avoid thinking of the summer-battered society that she entered so long ago after becoming familiar with Ryoshima Coast, and she finds it impossible as her mind turns to the upcoming battle.

XXX

Blight fights like a dying man, Amaterasu thinks sadly as she attacks Goldnail one last time before the dented golden sword has the opportunity to glow green again. The god muses, in a harsh way, that it's perhaps because he's a disease. Blight puts everything he has on the line to kill her, and yet it's never enough; Goldnail is knocked down, his swords scattered about the battlefield like flower petals on Shinshu Field's soft rolling hills of grass. It only took fifteen minutes, roughly, to snap his swords and tear apart his armor, leaving Goldnail completely vulnerable, and Blight with no other object to possess.

Blight's very being, nothing but a suit of armor possessed by the diseased mist, is gone with one last Power Slash; there is nothing left of him other than the quickly blooming (and wilting) patch of flowers in place of his armor. Amaterasu is sad to have to say that Blight, though evil, never even had a corpse to begin with. The god can't help but feel for the dark, acrid mist that dies.

XXX

After another forty minutes, Ninetails' last Kitsune falls to her brush, and all that is left is the ugly form of the vengeful old Kyuubi that wanted nothing but power. As the fox demon raises its glaive to attack Amaterasu again, the god quickly summons a bolt of lightning to strike the sword, the electric shock traveling to Ninetails' body and leaving him in a stupor. Amaterasu stands at her full height as a wolf and meets Ninetails' gaze, looking up into the ash-gray eyes of the demon.

"You've died before," Ninetails states wearily after holding Amaterasu's gaze for a while, willing his eyes to stare a hole right through her beautiful skull. "Tell me, how did it go?" He lies his head down on his paws, closing his eyes in an attempt to relax in his last moments. He is all too aware of his comrades' failures; he's going to die as well. He sought power and he lost a battle that doomed him from the start; there will be more evil to replace him, in the end. For now, he'll rest and accept the waning warmth that the sun has to offer him.

"It was painful." Amaterasu's voice is soft, and Ninetails can't help but wonder how she can be so calm chatting to him about death as though they're discussing the weather. "To be honest, I almost hope that you won't go through the same pain as me; it's likely that you won't experience it, which is good." Ninetails' curiosity is piqued, and with the taste of iron strong on his tongue, the dying fox lifts his head once more and ruffles his ears. His right eye, closed as always, keeps his left eye squinting, but he manages to get a good look at the mighty sun god.

"Why was it painful? You died surrounded by people who loved you."

Amaterasu's voice runs cold, unfamiliarly bitter, and too dark to be the true voice of the god of the sun. Ninetails finds himself slightly panicked at the sudden change in tone. "Exactly that; I died knowing that I left a world that needed me behind. The world needs evil to stay in balance, but you were only a small part of it, so you will die with the world not ever having needed you." Her words are cruel and soothing at the same time. It brings a weight off of Ninetails' chest that he hadn't recognized existed, which had been placed at the moment that he was brought to his knees not even ten minutes previous.

As the god of the sun stands and swishes her tail, a Power Slash rendering Ninetails motionless, the demon fox's voice rings out once more against the walls of the Ark as he feels his life seeping away and out of his body; his last words, last sentiments, are accusatory. Amaterasu can't help but feel a hard pang in her chest, and she swallows her heart that has leapt up to her throat, pushing it down and reigning in her emotions, remaining calm.

(Amaterasu doesn't let Ninetails know, while he is on his deathbed, that the killing of the demons ails her; she figures that, by then, he is too busy dying to care. And, with a sour taste on her tongue, she begins to leave, shoving all negative thoughts aside.)

"This isn't divine intervention; this is mass murder."

She doesn't even stop on the way out; her voice is loud enough to resound throughout the entire Ark. The last thing Ninetails hears before he perishes and wastes away completely is Amaterasu's response to his own last words, soft and contemplating; they are words that sound like pain feels. Ninetails is only a little bit happy (perhaps a bit more; he will never know for sure, and Amaterasu will never feel his pain at her melancholy response) that the god is a small amount repentant at the thought of the brethren of his that she's killed.

"I know."

…

So, there you have it. Somewhat boring, I assume, and yet, I had quite a nice time writing this. I sat down with some hot chocolate and my computer, cracked down, and got to working on this last night while I couldn't sleep; I must say, I do enjoy this a lot more than I enjoy most one-shots. I would say that this is mostly Ninetails/Amaterasu-centric, however, Ninetails only comes in at the end; the ending is very long compared to the other scenes with the other four bosses on the Ark of Yamato.

I didn't do Yami for a reason; he's the dark lord. I think that I'd just butcher the angst theme that I was trying for with all of the battle scenes to describe. Also, there'd be too many lines, and Waka would be there to support Amaterasu; the point of this FanFiction is to accentuate the inner turmoil of Amaterasu and the angst between her and the five bosses before Yami. I'd assume that Amaterasu doesn't find merriment in slaughtering countless demons; it makes the game fun and interesting, but to be honest, I doubt that she could really kill that many demons and each of the five Ark of Yamato bosses twice without being a bit upset.

Until next time.

-Basse