~ A Recap ~

Issun said nothing for a moment, simply jumped out of her kimono and bounced a little closer to the unmoving shape. "...It's okay, Ammy. You did what you had to do."

She nodded slightly and wiped at her eyes. "I just don't understand…what happened here? That girl, this fog…Something's going on here and we need to figure out what."

The Poncle nodded and bounced back into her kimono. "Right-O! Let's look around the village some more to see if we can figure this out."

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

"Man, this stuff just gets worse and worse!" Issun complained audibly as Amaterasu began following the path that led through Kamiki.

"I know…it's bizarre," She replied as she squinted slightly to see farther. Her wooden sandals scuffed against the ground as she walked past the sake brewery and the rice field; from what she could tell, the place was deserted. She took a breath as she walked up the rickety wooden steps that led to the door.

"These steps seem like they haven't been used for years," She observed as she pushed the door open and looked around as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.

Issun hopped out of her kimono and bounced to the middle of the room. "Ammy, I don't think there's anyone here," He said. "Pity…I could've used a few drinks of Kamiki's world-class sake…"

Amaterasu ignored this statement as she crossed the room to where the mill stood, untouched. Slowly the Goddess lifted her hand and ran her palm along the rough wood surface, and it creaked a little as it began moving.

"This is so odd…" She mumbled as she removed her hand and watched it spin slowly. "It seems like no one's been here in ages. I would've thought the generations after Kushi would continue making sake…"

Issun bounced over and onto her shoulder. "Aw, man! So there's no sake!"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Issun. Come on, let's keep exploring."

The floor creaked even louder as Ammy exited the sake house, and looked around; the fog had let up a little bit, and she could see the Elder's house, and the turnip field. She walked over, her feet kicking up loose, dusty soil as she stepped onto the edge.

"It's…full of weeds…" She said as memories of digging up turnips with Hayabusa flashed through her mind. Her lip trembled slightly as she felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes.

"This place has changed so much." She said bluntly, her voice monotone. "Whatever happened here, it's obvious that the villagers have been affected. What I don't understand is, why that girl was the only one here…"

Issun bounced off her shoulder and around the small area of weeds and rocks. "Well whatever happened to the others, I doubt that girl was acting that way willingly. She seemed like she was possessed or something."

Amaterasu nodded once. "Yes, but by what…?"

They sat in silence for a moment as the Okami pondered this; if that girl had been possessed by something, that meant it could be a malicious spirit of some sort. But if that was the case, why had she been the only one there? Wouldn't there be others being controlled?

Amaterasu closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "This makes no sense. Come on, let's go look around the surrounding areas; if we can find evidence that something is haunting this area, we'll be one step closer to finding it."

Issun nodded and bounced back into her kimono. "Good thinking, furball. To Shinshu Field~!"

( Waka's P.O.V. )

It was still eerily quiet as the Tao Master made his way through the gate that led to the vast icy surface of Laochi Lake; the legendary Ark that had once been the birthplace of all evil was gone, having floated back to the Heavens on the day that Amaterasu had defeated the Dark Lord.

Waka stopped and listened; Voices… He thought as he perked his ears for the direction of the sound. Slowly, he began spanning the circular snow-covered path that led around the edge of the lake to the Oina Shaman's house and the gates to Wawku Shrine. As he continued, he couldn't help but notice a warm glow coming from a sort of cave that was carved out of the rocky Cliffside on the other side of the lake. Travelers, maybe..? He pondered as he picked up his pace.

When the blonde finally reached the location of the glow, he slowly made his way into the carved-out cave, his guess being correct; three travelers, tightly wrapped in winter clothing, huddled around a small fire.

"Hello, friend," One of them said; a male, probably in his twenties or thirties, with dark brown hair and tan skin. Waka nodded his greeting and took a seat next to the fire.

"Why are you three out here?" He asked curiously. "You know there's a village nearby, right?"

Another of the travelers, also a male but younger-looking, spoke up. "You mean the Oina? They died out years ago."

The Tao Master leaned forward when he heard this. "What do you mean? Do you know what happened?"

The first who had spoken adjusted his position, then looked at Waka. "You mean you haven't heard? The Oina are gone. They've been gone since before I was born."

The second one nodded. "Yeah, my folks used to tell me stories about 'em when I was a kid…"

The Prophet's brow furrowed. "What happened?"

"The story goes like this: long ago, about 100 years back, there was a mysterious Ark that sat here in the middle of Laochi Lake. Then one day, it just…vanished. Some say it soared for the Heavens," He paused to cup his hands around his mouth to warm them. "On that day, there was a Solar Eclipse, and a girl known as Little Lika performed the Volcanic Incantation that was said to make the twin volcanoes known as Ezofuji erupt. Every time the eclipse shrouded Kamui in darkness, that Incantation was performed so that the Oina could survive until the Sun came again."

Waka nodded, urging him to go on. He paused as he changed his position, then continued; "The Elder at the time, Kemu, passed on this Incantation to Lika, but the following winter he passed on. Next time the eclipse came, Lika got sick and couldn't perform the Incantation, and so the Oina tribe came here to Laochi to try and hold out until the eclipse was over. But the days turned to nights, and they eventually all froze to death. No one ever figured out why the eclipse lasted so long."

The Tao Master said nothing, his brow furrowed, his thoughts deeply disturbed; the Oina had been gone for almost 100 years? But why? Why had Kamui stayed in darkness for so long?

Finally, Waka stood up and began to make his way out. "Thank you for sharing the story," He said to the traveler. "I'll be going now."

"Take care out there," The first traveler said. "I hear there's another storm coming in."

The blonde nodded and left the cave, taking off into the freezing air as soon as he was out of sight. Seems that things are far worse than I thought…

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

A cool breeze blew against Amaterasu's face as she walked through the gates of Kamiki and into Shinshu field, the most beautiful in all of Nippon…or at least, it was supposed to be. She could see Konohana from where she stood; Sakuya's leaves were withered, her branches drooping. She sighed softly at the sad sight.

"Sakuya's really let herself go!" Issun said when he saw what Ammy was looking at.

"It's not her fault, Issun. Nippon's in dark times right now." She replied. Everywhere she had gone so far seemed more barren and eerie than the last time she had been there; it made her realize just how dire the situation was, and that Waka's prediction was indeed correct.

As Amaterasu advanced into the fields, she noticed a lone merchant sitting near the Guardian Sapling; from where she stood, it didn't look like he had much to sell, but she approached him anyway.

"Hello merchant," She said kindly. He blinked and looked up at her from where he sat.

"Oh, hello young lady. How is this day treating you? Care to buy anything?"

She checked her purse to find only a few Yen. "A map would be nice, if you have one," She said apologetically. "I'm afraid this is all I have."

She dumped the coins into her hand; only 200 Yen. The merchant nodded and pulled out a hand-painted scroll.

"Since you're the only business I've had all day, I'll give you a discount. 150 Yen," He said, eyeing the coins in her hand. She nodded and handed him all of the money, reaching for the scroll in exchange.

"Thank you," She said. "Keep the change."

"No, thank you," The merchant said. "It's always a pleasure to do business with travelers."

Amaterasu opened the scroll and took a look at the map; it was artfully made, and was quite accurate from what she could tell.

"So you don't get much business, huh?" She said curiously. The merchant shook his head.

"Nope. Not since the disappearances starting occurring in Kamiki. I would always get business with tourists, travelers, you name it. Now there's no one left to sell things to."

Amaterasu's brow furrowed. "Do you recall hearing any rumors about how and when the disappearances started?"

He rubbed his chin with his hand as he thought. "Now that you mention it, I did hear something from a few travelers who had recently been there. One of them claimed to have seen someone walking down to the Shinto Temple down by Harami Lake," He pointed south as he said this. "Said they were walking slowly, like a zombie or something. I didn't believe them, but since then more and more have gone missing."

"How strange…" The Goddess mumbled. "Are there currently any Shinto Priests there?"

The merchant shrugged. "No one's been there in ages; everyone's too afraid. Last time anyone saw a Priest come out of there was about a year ago, when the disappearances first started happening."

Amaterasu nodded. "Well thank you for all of your help."

He smiled at her. "Come back anytime."

As she walked away, Issun poked his head out of her kimono. "Y'know, I bet the reason that this place is in such bad shape is because of Sakuya. I mean, look at that Guardian Sapling! Sure it has a few leaves, but it's so withered! I say we march back into Kamiki and chew her out for not giving us anything to work with."

She rolled her eyes a little. "Sakuya's weaker than ever right now. She barely has enough energy to keep the Saplings strong, let alone herself. I don't blame her for not giving me any useful information."

Issun mumbled irritably for a moment before speaking again. "Well, whatever. More importantly, do you have any other Brush Techniques besides Power Slash?"

Amaterasu slowed as she thought. "I only have a few; Sunrise, Power Slash, Bloom, and Cherry Bomb. Looks like I have work to do." She looked around the seemingly deserted field before continuing. "But before that, let's go check out the Temple down there. Seems pretty sketchy to me."

Issun nodded. "Yeah, but you may wanna give that Sapling a hand first. It ain't lookin' so good."

The Goddess turned to face the withering Tree, and drew a big circle in the air around it, watching as only a few blossoms appeared on the branches.

"What's going on? That was weak!" Issun spouted as Ammy examined her brush.

"My power's weakened…" She said. "Whatever's causing all of this is strong. Really strong."