PLEASE NOTE: I recently changed my username, MrsWaka, to MessengerFox because I am planning to do other fanfics instead of just Okami ones :D Sorry for any confusion!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OKAMI OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. ENJOY ;3


Chapter 4

"AHHHHH!" Issun screeched as he noticed that there was a green imp child above him, staring down at him with the expression on its mask.

Miya appeared, her sword drawn and her eyes wide. "Issun! What's wrong?"

Issun almost facepalmed. Um, hello? Was the imp hovering above him invisible? "The-the-the imp! There's an imp!"

"Huh…? OH!" Miya yelled as she finally realized the creature. She ran forward and jumped in front of Issun, and… began talking to the imp.

"Hey there, little fella. What are you doin' here, you poor thing? All alone and so little, huh?" Miya spoke to it. Issun thought she was crazy.

"What are you doing? It'll kill both of us!" he yelled as he snapped into action and grabbed his hat and drew Denkomaru.

Pushing Miya out of the way, he began slashing the air in front of the imp, yelling "Back, back! Get away, you vile thing!"

It tilted its head, unfazed by the little Poncle's squeaking insanity.

"Issun, stop! Stop stop stop!" Miya yelled as she shoved Issun to get him to halt. "You're scaring it!"

Issun's mouth dropped open. "Scaring it? That's what I'd like to do, it could kill us, Miya!"

Miya rolled her eyes and, putting away Daichi and thus her only defense, jumped up onto the green imp's head. And then, to Issun's utter amazement, she began petting it and talking to it again.

"Well aren't you the most adorable special little thing in the whole wide world, yes you are, yes you are!" Issun's jaw was on the ground as the imp began to respond to Miya, making these little noises of… of happiness. Like… like laughter, almost. Giggling.

"Alright, now, you cute little imp, why don't we go find you some food, eh?" Miya said as she jumped off its head and looked around until she spotted a small berry bush not too far off.

"Well paint me white and orange and call me a brush god…" Issun muttered as he watched as the baby imp followed Miya to the berry bush.

Miya plucked off a few berries and piled them in front of the imp. "There ya go, little impy."

The imp cocked its head, confused. Miya giggled and shook her head. "You eat them. You know, put them in your mouth?"

Still, it stared in confusion. Miya giggled again, unsheathed Daichi and stabbed one of the berries, lifting it up to the imp's mouth. "Open," she commanded.

Issun was blown out of the water as the imp did as she said and opened its mouth, allowing Miya to drop the berry in.

The imp chewed slowly, eventually picking up another berry and eating it. Finally, it filled its entire mouth with the berries, and seemingly it was satisfied.

Miya smiled at it, jumped back on its head and gave it a pat. "There, that should hold your stomach for a while."

"Ummmm, Miya…"

"Huh? Oh, Issun. I forgot you were there."

"Um, well you do realize you just befriended a VILE MONSTER WHO'S FIRST INSTINCT IS TO KILL… right?"

"Oh come on, does this cute little impy look like it would hurt anybody?"

"Yes."

"Pff, whatever. I like him, I think I'll call him Impy."

"Impy? Now you're naming it?"

"He could be a valuable help to us, for all you know!"

Issun shook his head in disgust. "Says the one who has never even fought a full grown imp."

"Well, what do you want me to do? Leave him here, all alone?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I want you to do!" Issun said, throwing his hands up in despair.

"You think he's some blood-thirsty monster who doesn't know anything but how to kill, don't you?"

"YES! That's exactly what I think! That's exactly what IT is!"

Miya stuck her chin up in stubbornness. "I don't care what you think or say. He's coming with us."

"Does she not hear me at all? Hello? Vile monster, blood-thirsty, killing-instinct!"

"C'mon Impy, let's get a move on. Issun, how much farther to Wep'keer?"

Issun was too busy facepalming to answer her question, but after a few minutes, he gave a sigh and waved for Miya and… Impy, to follow him.

/

Ammy woke with a jolt, sitting straight up in her bed. Something was terribly wrong.

"Ma cherie? Are you ok?" Waka's voice came from next to her in the bed.

Amaterasu slowly turned her head to see the prophet, shirtless and long hair let out, sitting up on the bed as well, a look of worry all across his face.

"Y-yes… I think…" Ammy muttered. But she and Waka both knew that wasn't true.

Waka shifted next to the sun goddess and enveloped her in his arms, stroking her long white hair out of her face. "We'll find him. The Ark lands in just a little while, and then I'll start my search."

"You'll start? I'm going too, Waka," Ammy protested.

"No, you're not. You know exactly why you can't go, I'm not putting you in harm's way."

"But but but-"

"No, ma cherie."

"Waka…"

"What is it, mi amour?"

"I feel light headed… and… and nau-"

The words weren't out of Ammy's mouth before she sprung up out of bed and ran towards the bathroom. Waka followed quickly, and held her hair as she threw up in the toilet.

/

Nara was picking up laundry from all around the house when she found it.

It was just a shirt. A plain white shirt. That Nara had hidden under her bed and had almost forgotten about until she pulled it out again three weeks later.

She stared at the fabric, dumbstruck on what to do with it. Slowly, unsurely, she pressed her face into it, smelling it, and almost collapsed at the heavenly scent.

And then tears filled her eyes, and all of a sudden she remembered that she could never see the owner of the shirt again.

Nara tucked the shirt into the bottom of her laundry basket and went outside to the river.

Wep'keer had become a welcoming place after the blizzards stopped and the sun began to shine once again. A beautiful river flowed gracefully nearby the village almost all year except in the winter when it froze over.

Nara kneeled down with her basket of laundry and began dunking each piece of clothing in the river, then hanging it up on the laundry line.

Finally, her hand hit the bottom of the laundry basket and she pulled out the white shirt. Tears filled Nara's eyes and she buried her face in the fabric, wishing with all her heart Chibi was here.

"Oh, please… please please please, I wish…"

"Nara! What do you think you're doing!" Oki's voice roared.

Nara winced and looked up at her father, marching towards her angrily. Since she was wearing her mask he couldn't see her tears.

"Um, hello Father…"

"Nara, what on earth do you think you're doing!"

"Um…" Nara looked down at the white shirt in her hands. "Nothing, I was just… doing laundry…"

"You're washing whites with colors!" Oki exclaimed, pointing at the white shirt and then at the colorful garments already hanging on the laundry line.

"Oh! Um… woops, sorry Father, I didn't notice." Nara wore a sad expression on her face; her father, once a great Oina warrior, was now soft and slightly insane, especially since… the incident.

"You better be sorry! We don't want that white shirt blue, now do we? Wait, who's shirt is that anyways…?"

Nara's eyes widened and her breath caught. "Um… I think… it's… ummm one of Mum's old shirts?"

"Oh…" Oki's tone softened and his head lowered a bit. "Right. Ok, um… Nara, I'm gonna go… go for a walk… Ask Lika if you need anything."

Nara only nodded and her expression under her mask became ever sadder.

Kai, Nara's mother and thus Oki's wife, had died a while back while trying to protect an injured Oki from a dark force trying to kill him.

Nara was crushed. Everything was so complicated and her heart ached for an ounce of love, for her poor mother, for her lost and deranged father, for Chibi…

"I wish…" Nara whispered into Chibi's shirt, her face buried in it once again.

And then she felt a nudge on her arm, from a wet wolf nose.


Thanks for reading! Sorry if it's kind of short, I'll try and update again very soon!