DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OKAMI OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. :3
Chapter 2
Issun watched the sun rise as he sat on top of a leaf at the tallest tree he could find surrounding Ponc'tan. The beautiful oranges, reds and pinks mingled perfectly together. The sun always reminded him of Okami Amaterasu, the great sun goddess he had met all those years ago and traveled with, eventually bringing peace back into the land of Nippon.
Of course, that was years ago. Ammy was now on the Celestial Plain with the half-baked prophet and her son. Issun had stayed in Nippon, spreading the word and faith of his friend to restore her power and make her as great as her former self, Shiranui.
All these thoughts were interrupted as a voice spoke loudly into Issun's ear. "Issun! It's really you!"
"You must be Miya," Issun muttered as he turned to see the bright yellow Poncle smiling widely at him. Her hair was tucked under a butterfly-patterned cap, and she wore a loosely fitting belt around her waist that held a sword/brush on one end.
"I remember you from when I was little. You and the white wolf, Amaterasu."
Issun only nodded, and then hopped up, eager to get started on the long journey. "You have a sword and a brush?" he asked, not caring if he seemed oblivious to the one obviously hanging from Miya's belt.
"Sure do!" she smugly said as she drew the gleaming needle from the belt. The metal shone brightly in the new sunlight. "This here is Daichi, my trusty blade given to me by Ishaku himself."
Issun tried not to hear the name of his dying grandfather, and instead thought of fulfilling his last wish. "Well, c'mon then, let's go. We've got a long way to go and a short day to get there!" he called as he leaped off the leaf and down below. Miya squealed as she jumped down after him, bursting with energy.
Issun had already begun his long tread towards Wep'keer when he heard the familiar squeak of a little pink Poncle behind him. He turned to see Miyo grasping onto her mother, tears in her eyes.
"Don't go, mummy! Pwease!" Miyo cried. Miya comforted her daughter with a pat on the head and a warm smile.
"I'll be back soon, I promise. Issun here is going to teach me how to be an Envoy, like him." Miya grinned at Issun. Issun grunted.
Miyo let go of her mother and walked slowly towards Issun. "You promise you'll bring her back?" she whimpered.
Issun opened his mouth, glanced up at Miya, and then nodded. "Of course."
Miyo smiled and ran to give her mother one last hug, before finally running back towards the village. Issun recognized the blue glow of the one girl Poncle waiting for the little pink glow at the entrance.
Issun shook his head slowly as he tried to clear it. So many promises to keep…
/
"WAKA! HAVE YOU SEEN MY DIVINE HAIR BRUSH?"
"MA CHERIE, I TOLD YOU! IT'S ON THE DIVINE DRESSER IN THE DIVINE BEDROOM RIGHT NEXT TO THE DIVINE CANOPY BED!"
"FOUND IT! BUT IT WASN'T ON THE DIVINE DRESSER; IT WAS ON THE DIVINE RUG ON THE DIVINE FLOOR IN THE DIVINE BEDROOM!"
"HUH, I MUST'VE USED IT FOR BRUSHING OUT MY HAIR AFTER LAST NIGHT."
"THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE GOLDEN HAIR IN IT!"
"SORRY 'BOUT THAT."
Chibi could stand it no longer. His parents had been yelling like this for several hours now, all over their divine home on the Celestial Plain. Chibi had hid in his room and was practicing his brush techniques on a canvas on the wall. He loved his parents, but it was kind of hard to perfect Thunderstorm when all you could hear were screaming voices.
Lately, his painting skills had been off due to all that was on his mind. He wondered what Nara was doing…
Chibiterasu shook the thought away. He knew he was forbidden to see her… but it was so tempting… No, Chibi thought. I promised my parents.
He tried to focus on painting and decided to stop the Brush Techniques for a while, and instead just freeform paint. Let's see… blue… and red… oh, maybe some brown would be excellent too…
Chibi guided the brush on the canvas to outline the shape of a pair of wolf ears, and added long red hair surrounding them. He stroked blue in the texture of fur and added two green dots for eyes.
Suddenly, he realized what he was doing. Stepping away from his masterpiece, he realized he had painted Nara's perfect face. Rage began to boil in him. "Myself-dammit!" he shouted and cherry bombed at the easel, blowing the painting to bits.
"Aww, crap…" Chibi muttered as he realized that paint had flown everywhere, and there was a dent in the Divine floor from the explosion. His parents were gonna kill him, most likely by power-slash.
"CHIBI!" Ammy was right on cue. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS TIME?" The sun goddess stomped into the room, her amber eyes widening at the sight of the mess.
Chibiterasu shrugged. "I was… practicing cherry bomb…" his high pitched voice squeaked. There was no fooling Amaterasu. She exploded on sight, even louder than any bomb could ever bear to.
"CHIBITERASU IF YOU DON'T CLEAN THIS UP RIGHT NOW AND GET EVERY SINGLE SPOT OF INK OFF EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF DIVINE FURNITURE I WILL THROW YOU OFF THE CELESTIAL PLAIN MYSELF AND LET THE IMPS HAVE AT YOU!"
Waka carefully poked his head in. "I'd listen to your mother, son…" he warily said.
Poor Chibi spent the next few hours scrubbing his room, annihilating every drop of paint as his mother had ordere- uh, strongly suggested – him to do.
Chibi was on his knees, reaching under his Divine nightstand to get some of the last remaining drops when his eyes landed on the locked drawer of the nightstand.
"No," he commanded himself. "I promised." And he continued scrubbing.
As he finally finished cleaning, his eyes once again moved to the drawer. Slowly, his hand moved to his neck, where hidden under his shirt hung a small golden key on a metal chain.
"NO!" he growled and tore his hand away from the chain. Chibi felt the familiar wild sensation in his chest. Quickly he pulled off his shirt and sped out the door.
He ran past Amaterasu, scaring the life out of her, out the door and into the open. Soon, Chibi heard the sound of ripping fabric as his pants stretched to fit the new form of his legs. His jaws clamped shut as sharp teeth sprouted from the flat ones he usually had. A tail swung out from behind him, decorated in black markings. The poofy white hair that sat on his head now surrounded his entire body.
"Chibiterasu! What on the Celestial Plain do you think you're doing!" Chibi could hear his mother's voice scream from behind him. He didn't care. He felt wild and young, and loved the feeling of his Divine blood pumping through his wolf form. It made him feel important. It made him truly feel like what he was – a god.
He heard Ammy's footsteps pounding towards him. He had little time. Chibi glanced over to the edge of what he knew as home. Clouds blocked the view of the land below. Nippon.
Amaterasu had just reached the spot where Chibi had stood, but by the time she glanced up all she saw was a teenage wolf disappearing into the clouds, and falling down below to the land of Nippon.
