Yay! I'm back! And i've got another chapter! (okay, i'm not really back, just wait another week or so. But i do have a chapter ready, so...)

Celia: We do not own Okami. Desi, however, does own me by soulbinding contract.

Thanks for that, Senom!

Chapter 1-The start of the adventure

"…happiness to my heart!" I was able to make out through the pounding of my head and the ringing in my ears.

"Oh! Who is this?" The same voice said. The words were a bit clearer than before.

"Ugh…" I slowly opened my eyes, and my first sight was a white wolf with crimson markings and a disk of fire on her back. I gasped and jumped back. Then I noticed that I felt different. I turned my head…and saw silver fur with purple markings! I yelped in surprise. I was…a wolf?

"What am I doing here? Wh-who are you?" I asked.

The white wolf yawned and put her head on her paws. Wait a second, that looked familiar…and then realization hit me. It was Amaterasu. I glanced at the women and noticed she sort of resembled Sakuya.

I felt sick. I had to be dreaming! But, I didn't want to be. I was in a video game, for (Amaterasu's) sake! Who wouldn't want that to happen?

"I am Sakuya, a wood sprite." She looked at the other wolf again, as if I didn't matter…well, I guess I didn't, but that's not the point! "Amaterasu, gaze above you and take in the condition of the sky. Since your untimely departure from out midst, the world has succumbed to devious and vicious beasts. They have ravaged out fine and beautiful country of Nippon…but never have the circumstances been worse than they are at this very moment. Please use your powers to banish the darkness and punish those who would do us harm."

"Am I invisible here?" I muttered.

"Hm?" Sakuya said, and I cringed, thinking she had heard me. Luckily she hadn't. "Eh? What is this? Has something stolen its way into my robe?" She began to laugh, and then something flew out of her robe. "Phew! What on earth? You again?" She asked with disdain in her voice.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! Are you nuts?" The thing said, waking up. Amaterasu instantly got up and growled at the stranger. I simply sighed. "Boy, for a little thing, you sure make a big fuss!" You're calling us little, Bug? "I was just trying to make the conversation a bit more interesting, that's all!" Indeed you did, Issun.

"Were you napping in my cloths again, bug?" Sakuya questioned.

"Bug? I told you a thousand times not to call me that! I'm a wandering artist. The name's Issun! I'll show you just how great I am and it won't be long until you're bowing before my great brush!" Sure, Issun. Suuuure…

He put a picture on Amaterasu's face, then mine. I just shook it off my nose.

"Well, whaddya think? Even cuter than the real thing, no?" He bounced up to Amaterasu and jumped on her nose. She gave him a look of slight disgust. "What's with you Furball? You look kinds familiar…Got it! You look just like that statue of Shiranui!" Amaterasu had apparently had enough of Issun's antics and ate him. Too bad she spit him out. He was glowing red at that point.

"Whoa! Whaddya think you're doin'? Are you crazy? A handsome guy like me should never be covered in dog slobber! You'll regret messin' with the great Issun!" He stopped bounding and I saw a tiny sword slash the air in front of him. "Don't make me use my prized sword, Denkomaru against you!" There was a giant tremor and a growl after that.

"Jeez, Issun, what the heck did you do?" I asked.

"Nothing! I swear!" He jumped back onto Amaterasu's nose. "What's that growling sound, anyways? And why's it so dark?"
"O, great god Amaterasu…" Sakuya said, glowing pink. "I've used almost all the power I have to protect Kamiki Village. The village lives on. Their spirits lie encased in my fruit. Cut it free and the village will be reborn!" She finally acknowledged me again."O, great Celia," Hey, cool, I'm great!...somehow. "I use the last of my power to give you this." A divine instrument appeared in her hands. It looked like a small, flat, purple tornado. It had a few shards of darker purple crystals in it, all spinning in a circle. It landed on my back, and I smiled. It felt almost natural. I looked back at Sakuya, who was disappearing. "I trust in you both. I know you will lead us down the right path." I giant tree appeared in front of us.

"Wow." I said.

"Only your power can restore life to this world."

"The tree's returned to normal, huh? That Sakuya girl sure said some weird stuff. The villagers' spirits are being kept inside the fruit…that fruit!" I noticed a giant peach hanging from one of the branches of the giant tree. "That girl said that if you cut it down, the village will be restored. But it's awfully high up there. If you don't use some kind of special power, there's no way you're gonna reach it."

"Then let's go find that power." Amaterasu stated.

"And hopefully get out of this darkness." I added.

"This darkness is really getting' to me, too. A lot can happen when you're taking a nap."

I exchanged glances with Amaterasu.

"Come on." She said simply, and walked into a portal at the base of the tree.

"Well, here goes nothing." I ran into the portal after my partner.

All the noise from the wind was gone, and to be quite honest, the quiet was nearly deafening. We were on some small islands, as far as I could tell, that were connected by bridges. Small trees dotted the small amount of land there was, and where there wasn't land, fog was slowly moving forward. It was all in all a beautiful place.

"Where are we?" Issun asked. "It got awfully quiet all of a sudden. I don't remember any place like this in the village. Well, we getter keep our eyes peeled. Boy, you two look really helpless. You sure you're gonna be okay?"

I growled. "We're not helpless! We are wolves. You are a bug. We should be worrying about you!"

"I'm not a bug!" Issun jumped onto my nose. "And you better not call me that again!" He went back to Amaterasu as she walked forwards.

"Sure thing, bug." I said as soon as he was out of earshot.

Of corse, this being in the beginning of the game, Issun would stop us a lot in this area.

Exhibit A was proven right then.

"Hold on!" Issun said as soon as we were about to cross the first bridge.

"Ugh, what now?" I growled.

"That's an orgin mirror! They say once your reflection appears on its surface…your memories will be stored in the mirror for all eternity!"

"Whoop-te-do. Can we get going now?" I asked, pointing my purple-streaked tail across the bridge.

"We should try the mirror out first." Amaterasu stated. "Just in case."

"Fine." We both stood on it at the same time. It glowed a little, then I jumped off. "Can we go now?"

"Someone's in a hurry." Issun scoffed.

"It's not my fault the world is ending." I replied, running farther away from my companions.

"Hey! You wanna come back here, Fluffy? You can sometimes find useful things in these pots!" I stopped and looked back. He was right; there were tons of pots behind me. I came back, giving Amaterasu and Issun a slightly guilty smile.

"You're rushing too much." Amaterasu told me. I hung my head in shame. I didn't care if Issun said it, but those words coming from Ammy hurt a little. "Take your time. We're not in a hurry." I nodded, looking up again. Ammy gave me a comforting smile. "You'll learn." I couldn't help but smile back.

"Dash into the pots to break them." Issun said. I instantly ran over to a pot and hit it with my head. It cracked upon impact. Yen fell out of it, and I smiled again.

"Money!" Issun cheered. "All right! Just keep doin' that, Fluffy, and we'll be rich in no time!" Amaterasu and I broke all the pots, then continued forward. Issun stopped us yet again to tell us more stuff.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, Furball! Get a load of that! That chest looks mighty tempting. Let's go check it out. Getting up that high oughtta be a piece of cake. Just jump off the wall." Amaterasu did what Issun said and got to the top of the cliff with ease, but I was petrified. Issun was talking to Amaterasu when they realized I wasn't with them.

"Are you okay?" She asked me.

"I-I can't make it!" I cowered in fear. "I can't jump off the wall!"

"C'mon! You can do it, Silver!" Issun tried to cheer me on.

"Silver?" I asked.

"Yeah. Your name is too hard to pronounce. Sela?"

"Celia, not Sela."

"Well, I'mma call you Silver from now on." I rolled my eyes.

"Nicknames aside, how am I going to get up there?"

"Just run at it." Amaterasu instructed me. "Your instinct will do the rest."
"O-okay…" I took a deep breath, then jumped. MY claws dug into the rocky wall and before I knew what had happened I was at the top.

"Well done." Ammy praised.

"I knew you could do it." Issun added.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's break some pottery!" I yelled enthusiastically, breaking all the pots I could see. I even broke a horse manikin. "So, how do we open the chest?" Ammy ran into it and the top flipped over. A small bone came out. "Awesome!" Issun bounced over and grabbed it, then it disappeared. "Hey, where'd it go?" I barked in surprise.

"Into our inventory. You can take it out and use it whenever you need it." Issun informed.

"Weird…" I said. We all continued onward, but the bridge was missing.

"Looks like the bridge is out. This shouldn't be too hard, um…Amaterasu, was it? That's kinda long. Mind if I call ya Ammy?"

"I don't think I have much say in the matter, do I?" She looked at me, and we shared a small laugh.

"Listen, Ammy, Silver…Ever heard of the spirits of the brush? Good brushwork has its own soul, 'least that's what they say. Just watch. It'd take all day to explain. A picture's worth a thousand words, right?" Right before our eyes, the bridge was fixed. "Nice, uh? Just a little technique I've mastered called Rejuvenation. It's a brush god power that can restore broken or missing things. I've practiced really hard to master this one technique. But there are 13! Each one is a power of one of the 13 brush gods. Originally, all 13 were a single powerful deity. When the deity died, its power was split into 13 separate gods. The gods now dwell within objects around us, but…god or no god, how could anyone have the power to master all 13?"

"Pure luck, I guess." I gave a wolf shrug then crossed over the newly made bridge. And we were stopped again. Who saw that coming?

"The River of Heavens? They mean the fabled stardust river? But I sure don't see anything like that around here." Issun mused. "It couldn't be that little buddle over there, could it?"

After breaking a couple pots, I went over to the water. "Hmm…Issun, do you think you can use Rejuvenation on this?" I asked.

"Smart idea." Ammy commented.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"I don't think so." Issun said. "Something like that would require more practice than I've had with my brush." I sighed.

"Well then, it looks like we'll have to find another path." Ammy announced, following a small incline.

"It's a dead end." I pointed out once we got to the top of the hill.

"But wow! Look at the stars twinkle!" I looked up and saw four starts in a pattern. "I haven't seen such a beautiful nighttime sky in ages. Hey…are those stars forming a constellation, or is it just me?" He was quiet for a minute while staring at the sky. "Hmm…there's one missing…guess I'll just have to draw in the missing star!" A leaf came out of nowhere and gently floated to the ground, and Issun mumbled some words I'd rather not repeat. "Bah…looks like I'm just not ready to draw missing stars. Do you think you can use your brushes to make a star and finish the constellation?"

"Issun, we're wolves. We don't carry paintbrushes." I said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh. Well then…use your tails!"

"…our tails? Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Point them at the sky and imagine a star there."

"Okay…" Ammy beat me to the punch, though. A star appeared in the sky, the constellation started to glow, and a giant dragon flew out of it. My jaw dropped. Then I realized that the scenery had changed too. Everything was gold. Pretty.

"Ah…Why if it isn't mother Amaterasu. And you, Celia." The dragon said. Wait, how the heck did it know my name?...creepy stalker of a brush god. "I apologize for not contacting you after these long years. Having never forgotten you, I, Yomigami, god of restoration, have eagerly awaited this day when we could again meet. While you were away, the 13 spirits of the brush that you once possessed, including myself, have been scattered across this land of men, and now lie in disarray. I became a constellation and managed to survive until now. The time has come for you to seek out and reunite all the techniques. Your power is what is needed to restore the dried riverbed of the heavens and renew the flow of stardust. "Yomigami turned into a small, colorful sphere with a kanji on it and flew into both me and Ammy. The background changed and we were back on the hilltop.

"Wow! That was Yomigami, the god of Rejuvenation! Wait…so you two have the power of rejuvenation now? Can you use it to restore the River of Heavens?"

"We can try!" I barked enthusiastically.

"Of course, that would mean you were as good with a brush as yours truly. Nah…it couldn't be true. Who else could master this incredible god technique?"

"Me and Ammy!" I yelled, running down the hill. I was so excited I even jumped on top of the random archway. A minute later Ammy and Issun arrived. I had already filled in half of the river. Amaterasu then filled in the other half.

"Whoa!" Issun yelped in surprise. "A river of stardust! So this really must be the River of Heavens. But what I wanna know is who the heck drew the darned thing!"

"Are you serious?" I muttered, but then decided just to give up. I quickly crossed the river and head-bashed the closest thing to me, which happened to be a chest. A small pouch fell out of it. "What the heck…" I said, sniffing the object.

"Look what you found, Fluffy!" Issun piped up from behind me. "This Astral Pouch here's amazing."

"The Astral Pouch." I smiled, knowing what it was now.

"It can swallow up lots of food." Issun continued. "Then when it's full, it can revive its owner if he or she dies! Let's start feeding it with whatever food we can find around here." I stepped aside to let Ammy see it, and then started breaking all the pots I could see. Ammy and I were able to find an apple, a peach, and an orange.

"How many pieces of food do we need to find until it's full?" Ammy asked.

"Two hundred, I think." Issun replied.

"Great. We're one seventeenth there!" I said sarcastically.

"Stop being so pessimistic, Silver, and let's get goin'!" I just rolled my eyes and ran into the next portal.

We walked up the cobblestone path, looking around at the scenery. "Is there any place that isn't beautiful here?" I asked.

"I sure hope not." Issun replied. "This place is supposed to be perfect."

"It's good to know Orochi hasn't been able to destroy this area." Amaterasu commented, looking at a waterfall. WE soon found ourselves in a cave, but the entrance was blocked after we walked in.

"Anyone else finding this suspicious?" I asked.

"Wait." Of course, Issun ignored me. "Is this…is this the legendary shrine? We must be in the Cave of Nagi! The legendary hero Nagi is enshrined here! He vanquished evil 100 years ago with the help of the white wolf Shiranui!" Amaterasu let out a small whine, and I glanced over at her. But Issun didn't take any notice. "First the River of Heavens and now this place…where the heck are we, Furball?"

"You honestly think me or Ammy would know?" I pointed out.

"Okay, okay. Just asking a question, jeez! Hey, look at that sword. It's in really bad shape." Leave it to Issun to get off-topic fast. "The gods sure didn't do much to protect this place. Hey, Ammy, Silver, doesn't Nagi's broken blade bug you? There must be something you can do to fix it."

I figured it out quickly. "Het, Ammy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She glanced up at the broken sword one more time, and then her eyes glimmered for a second. "Rejuvenation."

"I'm on it!" I announced, filling in where the sword should've been. It was fixed in an instant.

"That really was your brushwork all this time!" Issun tried to keep the shock out of his voice. It wasn't working. "How'd you both get so good? Exactly who are you two, anyway?"

"She's Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and I'm Celia, a random girl caught up in saving all of Nippon." I answered. If I could see Issun's face, he would've been glaring at me.

"Hey, there's another constellation!" I stood back, letting Ammy get this one since I got to fix the sword. A mouse appeared this time, and the landscape turned to the golden one we had seen just minutes before. The mouse pulled out a huge, and I mean huge sword. She saved it around a few times, slicing the air, and then stood it upright and balanced on it. Wow, that must've been hard for a little mouse to do. I was impressed.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't mother Amaterasu…and the brave Celia." Wait, so now I was also brave? These people obviously didn't know me that well… "It's been a long time. But with all these monsters around, the only place I could hide was in this shrine dedicated to ancient heroes. If there is anything I can do to assist you in your endeavors, I'm at your service."

"Can we borrow that sword?" I asked. Tachigami laughed.

"But of course. Make good use of this sword, as it was designed to conquer evil." She gave her power to us much like Yomigami had. Then the landscape faded back to the Cave of Nagi.

"Het, that was the god Tachigami, master of the powerslash technique. Wait a minute…If you two are getting all these powers…then you're just like that Shiranui! You know, the wolf who fought and died alongside the great Nagi. When Shiranui died, the wolf's power was split into 13 brush gods. This is crazy. Shiranui and Nagi? It's just like in the legend. Well, anyway, I've never seen this powerslash technique myself. How 'bout showing your stuff on that boulder over there? Lemme see one of you slice it in half by drawing a single line! I won't believe it till I see it!"

I was even more psyched that the last time. Before I even knew what I was doing, the boulder was in two pieces.

"Wow!" Issun said. I could tell that he was impressed. I smiled a little. "I didn't think you had it in ya, Fluffy! I'm not even in the same league as you! Guess I really overestimated myself…hey, Furball, Fluffy…Er…I mean, Amaterasu and Sela."

"Celia!"

"Same thing. I've made up my mind! If you're Shiranui reborn…"

"And a random girl!"

"Then that means you can master all 13 brush techniques, right? In that case, I think I'll tag along until I'm as good as you two! Consider yourselves lucky!" Amaterasu shook Issun off her and gave a small whine. "Heh heh… It's no use tryin' to change my mind."

"Darn."

"There's no stoppin' me once I've made a decision! But enough about me! Now that you've mastered the powerslash technique, you can cut down that thing Sakuya was talking about."

"I believe it's called a fruit, Issun."

"Let's go back and give it a shot!"

I gave Ammy a guilty smile. "You can cut down the wood. I sorta got carried away at first." Ammy smiled back, and then cut down the wood blocking our way out of the cave.

Once we were outside, I saw a blinking red arrow in front of me. I looked at it skeptically.

"That better just be instinct…"

We walked down the path, but right when we passed the first gate, a red barrier surrounded us. I gasped and Ammy instantly got into a battle stance.

"What the? Where'd they come from? Ah, whatever. Draw first ask questions later, right? You know those divine instruments you have on your backs? Well, just use their power against those imps!"

"I take the one on the right, you get the one on the left." Ammy told me, then jumped at one of the imps. The other advanced on me, and I backed up until my tail hit the barrier. I whimpered, but then tried to get it together. Was I really afraid of one green imp?

I used powerslash, cutting away what I hoped was most of its life. It came closer to attack me, and that's when I used my weapon. It shot out to hit the imp, then came back to me. A few more hits and it was gone. I smiled, until I heard a 'look out!' and felt something pierce my shoulder. I yelped and turned to see Ammy finish off the last imp. She picked up a small red orb and set it down in front of me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A spirit globe." She answered. "Put it on your shoulder." I did as she said. The cut on my shoulder healed and the blood disappeared.

"Thanks." I said.

"Anytime."

As we walked through the forest, I kept going crazy with my newly acquired power slash. Hey, it got us food, so I didn't complain.

Oh, wait. I did.

I ran out of ink, and my divine instrument disappeared along with my markings.

"What the-" I gasped. Ammy looked back at me and tried to stifle a laugh. "It's not funny! I feel helpless!"

"Don't worry, Fluffy." Issun said between laughs. "It'll come back in a sec." Right when he said that, it did.

"Don't use up all your ink. Then that happens." Ammy advised. I nodded, then we all continued forward, me being more careful not to run out of ink. Oh, and I stopped us for a second to cross the small stream and found a stray bead. Hooray for being curious! We also had a fight with two more imps, but you can guess how that turned out. I quickly stepped onto the origin mirror before we left the beautiful area.

I told you the chapters would be long...wait, i did say that, didn't i? *checks last chapter* well, 4000 words is a lot for me. And, trust me, these chapters will get longer...i think XD Now, Celia?

Celia: No. Have someone else do it.

Issun?

Issun: ...fine. Read and review, please.