-1"What the hell do you think you're doing here!?" Issun demanded again, sunlight gleaming on the tiny blade of his sword. "Answer me now, damnit!"

'Silence, Issun!'

Amaterasu drew her lips back into a snarl, slamming one paw down on the ground in front of him, causing the poncle fall silent immediately, more shocked than obedient. She growled at him, the sound rumbling from low in her throat, and glared at him through narrowed amber eyes that gleamed gold in the sunlight. Issun hastily sheathed his weapon.

'Issun, do you remember what happened last night?'

Isuun opened his mouth to reply, but no words cam out. Choosing to forget his anger for a moment, the poncle furrowed his brow, thinking carefully. "I… I don't think so… No…"

'Look at the Sapling, Issun.'

Even after six years, following the calm, yet firm commands of the telepathic voice was something the poncle obliged to, feeling natural, familiar, even. Without thinking, Issun turned his head to face the highest ridge, where the Guardian Sapling had stood only hours before.

And as his mouth dropped open in shock, the images flooded back into him. He could still recall the strange, surreal darkness, the purple markings and the inky black flames. The tall, proud tree, burning to the ground as though it were little more than a twig. And there were the eyes. Issun felt he could never forget those eyes, the vivid, acid green tone, the incredible brightness, and the pure feeling of death that had pierced him whilst looking into them. The vision was still fresh in his mind, as real and horrifying as it had been the night before.

And only then, after forcing the memories to the back of his mind, did Issun truly see what was left of the tree. The blackened, collapsed trunk had fallen at some stage, all the branches burnt into grey and white dust. Some of the embers still smoked, sending thin plumes of smoke into the air. Ash, cinders, all of it. Nothing more than a pile of charcoal, quickly being buried in a delicate layer of snow. That caused Issun to blink; clearly, it had snowed after he passed out last night. Winter was here at last. But now, that wasn't as important. Slowly, Issun turned back around to face Amaterasu, gazing blankly up into her eyes.

She looked back at him, ears flattened slightly. Her yellow gaze was steady, yet he could almost feel the waves of anxiousness rolling off her pelt.

'Well?'

"…I remember… of course I remember…"

Her head tilted to the side, and she nodded at him. Issun blinked. That clearly meant something along the lines of 'continue'. Didn't she know what had taken place here, only hours ago? Hadn't she seen?

It then dawned on the poncle that the wolf had no idea whatsoever what had happened. And here she was, asking for an account of it all. From him, of all people.

Fury washed over Issun again, and he glared defiantly into those golden orbs. "What, you want me to tell you what happened last night?" He snorted mirthlessly. "I'm not your slave, Amaterasu. I thought you were a god, shouldn't you just know these things?" With a roll of his eyes, Issun continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Wow, you just do all of your duties so well. Deity my a-"

He was cut off by a furious bark.

'Issun, how dare you!' her telepathic voice nearly shrieked. 'This is important, can you not see?! I must know what happened! Something must be done!'

Issun glowered at her, still locked in that blazing yellow gaze. "Fuck you, Amaterasu." he replied flatly, breaking the eye contact and turning away, aware at how she was bristling with rage. "Go and do something then, if that's what you want. I don't really care."

And, with his aura glowing a vivid orange, Issun stormed back into Yoshpet. Behind him, he heard a rush of pawsteps as the she-wolf bounded after him, and he heard her snarls, both telepathic and physical. He did not care, only moving faster.

'Issun, get back here ­­right now!'

He didn't think he'd ever heard her sound so angry. And so, he threw a rather rude hand gesture over his shoulder, not slowing his pace and he hopped into the shadows of the trees. She growled again, even more threatening than before. And for a moment, he thought she'd given up; certainly, the steady thud of her paws ceased.

And then, Issun felt the breath shoved quite forcefully out of his lungs, as a heavy paw crashed into his back, pinning him against the leaf-littered ground. His face was pressed into the cold earth, and he spat out a mouthful of dirt and snow. Gasping for breath, he felt himself be rolled over, limp as a ragdoll, until he was once again looking into Amaterasu's eyes. Quite audibly, Issun gulped. He recalled the thought of never hearing the wolf so angry; the tone of her voice now paled in comparison to the raw fury in her expression.

Pressing her muzzle right into the poncle's face, she opened her mouth, purposely exposing her gleaming white fangs. Her voice reverberated inside his head, and he for the first time in his life, he flinched away from her, honestly afraid.

'Now, Issun, here is what will happen. I will hold you here, beneath tooth and claw, until you speak. I do not care how long it takes you, but you will tell me what happened last night… do you hear me?'

"Why is it so important?" he asked, still trying to avoid looking at her face. It didn't work so well when she was close enough for him to feel her breath on his face. Just being so close to her made him mad again. Goddamn wolf "Why can't you just leave me alone? If you really care so much, go and ask fuckin' Ishako!"

He was looking straight at Amaterasu now, struggling slightly beneath her heavy paw. But now, a blank look of confusion spread across her features. He felt the blunt claw that had been digging into his chest shift, the weight of her foot lightening.

'Ishako? Ishako was with you?'

He raised one brow at her. "Of course he was. Geez, you're worse at this than I thought you were."

'Where is he now, Issun!?'

He'd never heard her sound so frightened, either. Talk about mood swings, he thought dully. But all the same, her fear made him anxious. Amaterasu was a goddess, was she not? Things should be afraid of her, not the other way around. And yet, her expression was desperate, her eyes dull and wide with fear. Grunting with effort, he manages to haul himself out of her loosened grip, bouncing to his feet and shaking the dust from his clothes. Amaterasu barely noticed.

'Answer me, now!'

"I… I'm not sure…"

The wolf snarled at him, snapping her jaws a centimetre from his face. The poncle paled quite dramatically. 'Then help me find him, you fool! Are you truly so blind? This is important, and we are all in danger. Find him, because if you will not help me, then he will have to.'

"What are you talking about, Amaterasu?" Issun cried, hand brushing over the decorated hilt of his sword. He hesitated for a second, before tightening his grip around it. "What the hell is so dangerous?" The wolf's panic make him nervous, though the logical part of his mind reminded him that his blade would do very little if she did turn against him. Ah well, he thought numbly. Better than nothin'

But the she-wolf did not attack him, much to Issun's relief. She snarled at him again, but did little more than that before she began to pace, blunt claws ripping into the ground as she stamped her forepaws into the ground. Issun twitched, as he realised she was ignoring him. Traitor or not, she didn't have to be so annoying. And so, aura flashing orange again, he drew his blade and leapt onto the end of her muzzle with the ease of long practise.

The deja-vu that slammed into him then almost jolted him back to the ground. Issun flinched involuntarily, as memories swept back into his mind. Here was where he had stood the very first time he had met her. Where he had sat, chattering aimlessly, as they journeyed through Nippon. It was here, when he had seen her last, that he had stood, as the two of them made their way up the bridge into the Ark of Yamato.

That was when she had betrayed him. Left him, without a second thought, with no intention of ever coming back to him. He had watched her leave Nippon with that bastard of a prophet, after he saved her life, along with the whole damn world, without a word of thanks or of goodbye.

That was when he realised that she hadn't loved him at all.

But Issun was dragged quite forcefully back to the present by a rumbling telepathic growl, and he realised that he was staring into a pair of furious, amber eyes. Furious wolf eyes.

Eyes of which he was pointing a small but sharp sword towards.

Jumping, he steadied his grip on the blade, though he lowered it to his side. "Well, Amaterasu?" Issun ground out, attempting to sound as unintimidated as possible. He realised that he was probably failing miserably, but kept up the act all the same. "Are ya gonna explain this crap to me, or not?" He smirked a bit at that, voice heavy with sarcasm. "Or am I just too below you, too unworthy to hear such things?" He glared into those golden eyes, and felt as thought they were taunting him. "Well sorry, Amaterasu, but it's not my fault that I'm not a fuckin' goddess- "

'…Waka is dead.'

And the poncle's rather colourful rant came to an abrupt halt. "What?!"

Slowly, so slowly, the wolf lowered her muzzle to the ground, and Issun hopped off it without complaint. Amaterasu then pressed herself into the cold earth beside him, laying her head next to him, and, all in all, looking quite pathetic, and just downright miserable. Issun almost felt sorry for her, and tentatively took a seat beside her cheek fur, waiting patiently for the whole story. He knew, she would not tell it any faster if he remained angry, and forced himself to be calm for the time being.

And after what felt like years, she began to speak, telepathic voice soft, and slightly shaky.

'It was three nights ago, now, that it happened… Well, it was six years ago that he and I returned to the Celestial Plain. Though… I'm sure that your are already aware of that….'

Issun grunted a wordless note of confirmation.

'Yes… well, the plain was… not as expected. In the year that I travelled with you, Issun, it became a wasteland. The other gods had left it to rot, nearly all had abandoned it, and when we finally arrived back, there was little we could do to reverse it.

'Bloom would not heal the Sakura tree. The strongest of Galestorms could not blow the dust nor smoke out of the air. And not even my most powerful Sunrise could light the shadows. Our home had died whilst we were not there to keep it alive.

'But still, we had to live there, for we had no other choice. And for a whole year, we tried out hardest to reverse the effects of our initial leave. Each day, I would Bloom the Sakura, until I ran out of strength and ink. Waka would attempt to rid the darkness, and cleanse the water and grass.

'Our efforts were wasted. Everything, it was all in vain. The Plain only deteriorated as we stayed there, our presence no longer having any effect, for good or otherwise. We could not leave, but staying only caused more suffering.

'It was Waka's idea to do what we did, in the end. And… I believe that because of that, the one, single idea, all of this has begun. It was us who sentenced the world to this new doom. We acted before we thought, because we were too desperate to plan it out, or to consider the consequences… It is the reason I must set things right again, for this time it is my very own fault.'

And it was here that Issun threw his anger away, if only for a single moment, to lay a comforting hand on Amaterasu's maw. The wolf was trembling now, and he knew the next words would not be of any comfort. She squeezed her golden eyes shut, speaking in the gentlest of whispers.

'So we… we destroyed the Celestial Plain, Issun. Waka and I. By the time we were finished with it, it was completely and utterly gone.'

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A/N: Yeah, I'm a shitty updater. Live with it. TT

Rating had to go up with this chapter. xD And I promise, the next chapter will have some violence. In fact, the next chapter will probably be all violence and action, as Ammy still has a hell of a story to tell.

Anyway, here ya go. I've decided that each of my chapters will be around 2000 words, simply because it means I can have semi-regular updates. I'm on summer holidays now, so I'm attempting to get a chapter out every week or so. However, I'll have no internet for more than a week, starting on Monday, because I'm visiting my grandparents. I should be back around boxing day, and I promise to have at least one more chapter ready by then.

So, revieeewwwwww . Seriously, I NEED those things to keep writing. That, and if anyone has a good reference to all the gods and place names in Okami, PLEASE send me the link. I no longer own a copy of the game and I;m having one hell of a time trying to find the names of all the gods. So thanks again AF