Chapter 3: An Unexpected Detour
Morning came cold and grey. Aki, Kokari, Ume, and Issun spent the majority of the previous night packing provisions and basic necessities, and trudged through the snow until they collapsed in a tunnel that Issun swore would lead them out of Kamiki. It was a good thing they left when they did, too—the snow had fallen fast and heavy during the night, and now barely an inch of light seeped from under the top of the cave entrance. Aki had to admit, the cave was much warmer than being out in the snow, although it was hardly comfortable to sleep on rock.
"It shouldn't be too far," Issun said, rallying the troops. "And at least it'll be warm."
Aki couldn't wait to see Nippon for himself, but Kokari and Issun seemed to hold more reservations. Last night's greater demon seemed to have made them more anxious than excited about what lay in store. Kokari twisted and turned in his sleep all night, and Aki heard Issun muttering something about his mother. "Where are you, Ammy?" he asked, again and again. If Amaterasu heard, she never answered.
He pulled the copper bird out of his pouch. He didn't know what impulse led him to bring it along. It was old and useless and broken, besides. But it reminded him of Toi, and he felt closer to her with it near. Kokari was packing up, so he tucked the bird back into his pouch and stretched his aching legs.
The rock tunnel turned to stone, and for a moment Aki thought they would find themselves at the tower again. When they climbed the steps, however, they emerged from a round observatory overlooking a vast, green plain.
Issun and Kokari let go of the breath they had been holding. Aki relished the cool of the breeze and the warmth of the sun on his fur. A Guardian Sapling bloomed magnificently in the center of the field, and a river leading into the sea cut behind it.
"Looks like Shinshu Field hasn't been touched," Kokari said brightly. "That has to be a good sign, right?"
"I wouldn't be so sure, kid," said Issun. When Kokari's face fell, he added, "but that's just me bein' a pessimist!"
The four of them made their way down the hill, Aki and Issun jumping down without a problem, but Kokari had to be more careful with Ume in his arms. The dog was too old to jump, and the landing would have snapped his legs. Aki took a deep breath of the warm, fresh air, and a sudden urge to race across the wide open grass overcame him. The grass was soft and cool against his paws, unlike the crunchy cold of snow.
Wait for me! Ume barked. Kokari laughed.
So this is the power of the sun, Aki thought, barking happily back at the old Canine Warrior. Everyone seemed to be much more at ease.
Kokari led them to the river that would take them to Agata Forest, but stopped abruptly when he saw its condition. The riverbed was long since dried out, and where a cave entrance had once been heavy rocks filled its place. A sign next to the dock read, Ferry Out of Service. The boat in question was lying upside down in the mud, half caked into the riverbed. Kokari shook his head in disbelief and said something, but Aki didn't hear. As soon as he had walked up to the abandoned dock, he felt something tugging at the edges of his mind. He wasn't supposed to be here. Someone was calling him, calling his name, calling for the sun god…
"Aki?" he heard Issun say, but his voice sounded muffled and far away, and the tugging was growing more urgent. He raced across Shinshu Field to answer the summons, vaguely aware of the Poncle leaping onto his back.
"—materasu…"
He was closer now.
"…please…"
The tug ebbed away and slowly the fog clouding his eyes and ears did as well.
"Oh Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all…"
Aki shook the remaining cloudiness away and bumped into a statue. Amaterasu, the summoner had said. He blinked, still a little disoriented. That was his mother's name, not his. Yet when he heard it, somehow he responded.
"…hear my plea and return to us from the heavens…"
Issun dropped from Aki's head and bounced out from behind the statue, which Aki saw was in the likeness of a wolf poised to attack. "S…Sakuya?"
The summoner squeaked in surprise and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my…but it can't be…Issun?"
"The one and only!" Issun said, puffing up. Aki peered around the statue to get a better look at the summoner Issun called Sakuya. When she saw him, she gasped and exclaimed, "Amaterasu! You've answered my prayers! You—" She frowned slightly and peered closer. "You seem to have gotten smaller. Not that it's my place to question what form you choose to arrive in, of course. To be honest, I'm relieved to see your face again, after these long ten years. Much has gone amiss, and I'm afraid there's much we need to discuss concerning—"
"Hold it, babe, that's not Ammy," Issun interrupted. "Aki, this here's Sakuya, the tree sprite of Konohana, Kamiki's famous Guardian Sapling. I've told you about Kamiki before, right? The place where the legend of Orochi began." Aki nodded, still baffled and confused. "Now Sakuya, before ya go off on your rants, you've gotta know who you're talkin' to. This isn't Ammy, but her son Akihiko."
"Her son?" Sakuya covered her mouth again in shock. Her heart-shaped face was pale and smooth, framed by long black hair that curled out gracefully in two tails. Her pale pink kimono trailed down over her feet, which Aki was surprised to find out were not on the ground at all. Delicate and airy, the tree sprite hovered in the air beside her giant Guardian Sapling. If her pale face and the scant blossoms found on her tree could be anything to go by, she was not doing well.
"Akihiko," Sakuya said, tasting his name. "You're the son of Amaterasu?"
He looked at his paws. "I'm not really sure. I never met her to be certain."
"No. You are most definitely her son. I know those divine markings anywhere." She came forward, tracing the circular marking on his forehead. A smile crept across her face. "Oh, you're so adorable!" she said suddenly, squeezing him into a hug. He wagged his tail. She smelled nice, like nectar and peaches. "I can't believe Amaterasu had a son!"
"Tell me about it," said Issun. "I found the kid curled up in the snow one day in Kamui, and he's been living with the Oina ever since. Ya know, I didn't think Ammy had it in her to be a mom!" He chuckled.
Sakuya became sober, a sad shadow darkening her face. "Yes," she murmured. "But it's quite strange. I call upon Amaterasu, and yet her son answers. I wonder…" She lifted her eyes to the heavens, and shook her head. "No, it's bad luck to think such thoughts."
What thoughts? Aki wanted to ask, but he was afraid of the answer.
Issun seemed to think so too. Instead he asked, "So what's that you were sayin' to Aki when you thought he was Ammy? Something about something you needed to discuss?"
"Yes," Sakuya replied. "Akihiko, demons have been rising all across Nippon, even though Orochi and the Lord of Darkness were defeated just ten years ago. I have even felt some of my saplings fall under the curse, and I cannot help but think that evil is rising once again. You may see the extent of this curse from Konohana." She gazed sadly up at the pitiful blossoms. "And now even the great sun goddess herself won't return from the heavens…"
Aki looked at Issun. "That's not a coincidence, is it?"
Issun sighed. "I don't think so, kid."
"Akihiko, I know this is much to ask of you, as you are young and—"
Aki never heard the rest of her request, since she was abruptly cut off by a young boy trudging up the path to the shrine.
"I can't do it," the boy said miserably. He wiped at his eyes, which were hidden beneath a mop of unruly black hair, and sniffled. He looked up at the shrine gates and snorted. "Pray to the gods for strength, says Mom, but what've the gods ever done? I don't see them fighting demons!" Even so, the little boy stepped up to the base of Konohana and peered into the large gap at its base.
Issun muttered under his breath and then hopped out from behind the statue of the wolf. "Hey kid, that's no way to talk about the gods!"
The boy jumped around too quickly and landed on his backside, staring wide eyed at the fuming Poncle. "Did your parents ever tell ya about the great goddess Amaterasu? Or the Legend of Orochi? Who d'ya think you are, kid!"
The boy's cheeks reddened and he pouted, dusting off his pants and drawing himself up as tall as he could. "O-Of course I know the Legend of Orochi! My Pops slayed the demon himself just before I was born!" He drew a toy sword from his back, holding it high in the air. "I'm Kuni, descendent of Nagi and son of the greatest warrior ever, Susano!"
"Hold up. You—You're Susano's kid?"
"Kushi's my mom," Kuni added. "I've been practicing to kill demons, but I couldn't even cut a rock." He sniffed and turned away, ashamed. "She told me to come pray up here, but what's the point? The gods won't help me anyway. I won't believe in anything I can't do with my own strength!" He sprung forward and brought the sword down on a tiny sapling, cutting it clean in half. He looked up and spotted Aki from behind the statue. "WOAH! What're you doing here, Poochie?"
"That's Akihiko, son of Amaterasu," Issun told him as Aki sat down beside him to get a closer look at the warrior boy. "And I'm Issun, Celestial Envoy and accomplished artist extraordinaire!"
"Hello," Aki said, but the boy didn't seem to hear.
Kuni scoffed. "I've no time to play with dogs, and I don't care if you're a famous artist. Artists never saved the world, did they?"
"Why you—" Issun spluttered, glowing redder by the second.
The faint scent of cherry blossoms wafted in between them. "Don't get too angry at him, Issun," Sakuya murmured. She had disappeared when Kuni came, but now she floated down close to their ears so she could talk. "He's simply lost faith in the gods. Akihiko, perhaps you could help amend that."
"Me?" Aki said. "But what could I do?"
"What your mother did," she stated simply, leaving it at that. "Take him to the shrine of heroes through the roots of the Guardian Sapling. A little company surely wouldn't do him harm."
"Unless I slash him apart with Denkomaru, of course," Issun grumbled darkly, but Sakuya had already left. Aki took her advice and grabbed a mouthful of the boy's clothes.
"Hey stupid poochie, what're you doing?" Kuni cried as Aki threw him onto his back. Issun followed behind as Aki ran down the path underneath the roots of Konohana. He hoped Kuni was holding on tight.
"Woah, where'd you bring me, Poochie?" Kuni said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. The three of them were staring across an expanse of night sky on a lush, green field. "This isn't the shrine of heroes!"
"This is the River of Heavens," Issun said.
It doesn't look much like a river. The River of Heavens had become almost as dry as the port to Agata Forest, with only a puddle of stars twinkling by the banks. The rest of the river was filled by an empty night sky.
"That's weird…" mumbled Issun, but Aki felt another strange tug, pulling him away from the river and up a hill to the right.
"Hey, look at those stars!" Kuni said, pointing directly above them.
"Aki, that's a brush god constellation!" said Issun. "If I remember correctly, this one should be…But why is it still here…?"
Something was missing, Aki thought. The tugging feeling had become more of a tingling emptiness centered around a particular spot, so he dabbed at it with his brush and a star appeared, forming a long, snakelike constellation.
As soon as he finished, they were whisked into bright, swirling clouds. Two white seahorses reined in front of them, holding bright pots of ink.
Hail Akihiko, son of Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all, they said. We are the children of Yomigami, the god of Rejuvenation.
"Children?" said Issun, baffled. "Why are we meeting with Yomigami's children? Where's Yomigami?"
The dragon children looked sadly down at Issun. Our father has disappeared, and we do not know where he has gone, they explained. As his children, we are not nearly as strong, but we will do whatever it takes to aid you in your quest, Little Sun.
From the golden inkpots came a flurry of sparkling glitter that conjoined into a single, glowing white orb. It soared around the seahorses and disappeared into Aki's chest, filling him for a moment with a burst of power and warmth. The surge ebbed, but he felt strangely stronger than before.
Something is stirring, child of the sun, the dragon children said fretfully. That is why the demons have returned. That is why the River of Heavens has been stopped. The gods will not come down from heaven, so they send their children in their place. But we are too weak, and too powerless to stop the evil from spreading throughout the human world. Little Sun, we will be there for you when you need us. Use our power and restore Nippon!
"Wait, what do you mean they won't come down from heaven?"Aki asked. "Are they alright? Is my mother alright?"
The dragon children had already disappeared, however, along with the mountains and the clouds. They were standing where they had been before, on the grassy plain by the River of Heavens, underneath the dark night sky.
"Amaterasu," Aki whimpered. "Yomigami."
"What's wrong, Pooch?" Kuni said, peering into Aki's face. "You spaced out for a second. I've been saying we should go back, since we can't get across that puddle of a river anyway."
"We can now," Issun pointed out. "Aki's got the Rejuvenation brush power."
"The what?" Kuni said.
Aki filled in the river, and Kuni rubbed his eyes again. "What—How'd you—" He gave Aki a suspicious look, but he simply wagged his tail and threw the boy over his back. When they reached the opposite bank, Aki turned around to find Issun still musing on the other side. "Issun!" he called.
"What? Oh, I'll meet you outside!" the Poncle said.
Kuni scrambled off Aki's back and ran to the entrance of the cave. "C'mon, Poochie, I've gotta pray to the gods, remember?"
"Right," Aki said and followed the boy into the shrine.
A/N: In case any of you didn't notice, I drew heavily from my discontinued story, Dawn of the Little Sun for this chapter, since I've decided to use the plot for this story. I've also made Kuni different from how he is in the game based on my impression of him from Okamiden spoilers before the game came out (as I said this will be mostly based off my speculations from before I played Okamiden, so characters will be different, but I hope that doesn't turn you off the story).
Please review! :D
