PocketSnails does not own Okami or Spice and Wolf.
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狼と他の女神
Ōkami to hoka no Megami
Wolf and other Goddess
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I gasped for air as I woke up, Chloe holding me down so that I wouldn't sit up.
"Calm down Amaterasu, you're alive, okay? You'll be fine."
I look down, noticing that I was shirtless, Holo tending to my wounds. I could see the sun rising just over the horizon; I could also see Lawrence and Nora sitting on the edge of the lake – it was clear that they were crying for some reason.
…And so was Holo.
"Wh-what happened?" I asked slowly
Holo sighed. "After Yami beat you in the duel, he took Norah with him into a temple that rose from the lake. Lawrence and I quickly got you up into the back of the cart, and Nora and Chloe managed to stabilize your condition while I searched around for some natural medicines to help you. Once everything calmed down, Lawrence and Nora went over to the lake, and Chloe and I have been here with you."
I bit my lip, deciding that now was as good a time as any. "I can understand Nora crying, but why are you and Lawrence?"
"Like I said before, the two of us took care of Norah for a while…almost like she was our child. We…we don't like it if she gets hurt or put in danger…"
"Oh…I…I can understand how you feel…" I replied.
"Really? How?"
"Because, I have a son. Every day that I've been here I've been worrying about him. I know he's capable enough to handle himself if something happened, but still…"
"Oh. I didn't know you had son…Who's the father?"
I swallowed a little.
"Let's um…not talk about that, please?"
"Oh, uh...okay. Sure."
In the silence that followed, Holo finished patching up my wounds, wrapping a bandage around my torso to help seal the wounds.
"Unfortunately, we're in a pretty cold area, and it's the dead of winter. So, there's not that many herbs around with which Chloe and I would be able to make painkillers with." Holo told me.
"That's fine," I replied, "I'll be fine." I started to sit up, getting out of the cart after putting my clothes back on, walking towards the lake, and a very large temple now in the center of it.
"Amaterasu, what are you doing?!" I heard Chloe asking.
"Doesn't it seem obvious? I'm going to enter that temple, stop Yami, and save Norah."
"You idiot, are you so insane that you would dare fight him again after almost being killed?!" Holo began yelling at me. It was the first time I'd heard her angry.
"Holo, but-"
"Look, Amaterasu, I don't care how strong you are – you can't stop him! You needed help from Nora to defeat Orochi, and as I've already mentioned, Yami almost killed you! Do you really think you can fight him again?!"
"Well what do you want me to do? Just let him kill Norah and wreak havoc on your world? If I don't stop him in that temple, then this is just the beginning of his atrocities!"
"I, but…"
"Look, Holo, I know you're worried about me and possibly one of you getting hurt, but I'll tell you this – Yami won't defeat me. On top of that – he's not even who I'll fight inside that temple."
"Wh-what?! How do you know?"
"Remember when Nora and I defeated Orochi, and a dark, evil force emerged from his body, flying off in all directions?"
"Y-yes…I do. What does that have to do with anything?"
I paused for a moment, biting my lip.
"The force splitting apart – the different parts of it are all demonic disciples to Yami, generals in his dark army."
"Wh-what makes you say that?"
"The same thing happened when I defeated Orochi a few years ago – my journey took me all over Nippon to rid it of the darkness, and wherever I went, I encountered Yami's forces, all being led by a new and terrifying foe."
"Oh…wh-which one do you think you're going to fight here, in this temple?"
"Well, if there's any pattern to how I'm fighting these things, this is about as far north as we can go in this land…and when I went to the far north in Nippon…Holo, has it been uncharacteristically cold lately?"
"Now that you mention it – yes, it has been. We've been encountering a lot more blizzards then we should. Almost as if it's being generated by something…"
"Then I know who it is. The two demon twins – Lechku and Nechku."
"T-two of them…demon twins?!" Holo sounded very surprised and scared at my description of the two.
"Yes, twins. They were the last of Yami's generals I faced before going up against him. They were also two of the strongest. If you want to stay out here while I go inside…"
"No! We'll go inside with you – all of us. If they're as strong as you say they are, you'll need help when fighting them. And frankly, Nora could be very useful, given her love for Norah. You might not even have to step in."
"Ha! That's a nice compliment Holo, but it might take her and my combined powers to take the twins down."
"Hehe, alright. Anyways, I'll go speak to Lawrence and Nora and inform them of the plan. You and Chloe make sure the two of you are ready."
"Right. See you in a moment Holo."
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Holo approached her husband and friend. Both had stopped crying, and were now just staring at the temple looming in the distance.
"Lawrence…Nora…how are the two of you now?" She asked, careful to pick her words. Lawrence sighed at the question.
"I'm…we're fine, for the most part. Just still heartbroken at Norah being captured. What is it that you want?"
"That's, what I wanted to talk about. Amaterasu said that she'll go inside and save Norah. She won't be fighting Yami – she'll be going against two demon twins, named Lechku and Nechku."
"Does she really think she can take on two demons by herself?"
"She said that she did it before. But, she'd really appreciate Nora's help in the battle."
"If she wants my help I'll offer it. Anything to save my girlfriend." Nora said, standing up quickly.
"Lawrence, what about you? Do you want to come in with us, or stay out here?"
"Of course I'll go inside. I don't want anything to happen to you and me not be there to save you."
"Hehe, figured you'd say that."
Holo turned around, waving over towards Amaterasu and Chloe.
"Hey, we're all ready to go over here! You two coming?" She called out.
"Yeah, we're on our way!" Was the reply she received from Amaterasu.
"Alright! Now let's go and save Norah!"
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We'd been navigating the temple for what seemed like hours at this point. Not only was the place made out of solid ice, it wasn't just like it was back in the day, when I only worried about making sure that myself and more or less Issun successfully made it through.
No, I was worrying about three mortals and another deity in her human form. Oh, and of course I in my human form, a lot harder to do so then if I were a wolf.
Regardless though, through all of our tribulations, we made it to the end – standing before a large, frozen door, an infinity symbol in the center. I knew what to do.
"Alright, this has got to be the room that Norah is in – and where we'll find Lechku, Nechku, and most likely Yami. If either of you want to leave, now is the time." I told everyone, turning around to address them.
There were no objections.
"Good. Now everyone, stand back – it's fixing to get a little warm in here."
I took out my Celestial Brush, and where the infinity symbol was, I drew another over it, utilizing my Fireburst technique that I had learned from Moegami. A flame erupted on the ice and the door, and in seconds, it was completely melted away. I pushed the door open, the five of us entering the chamber.
In the air, hanging from the ceiling, were two 'statues' – in reality, they were Lechku and Nechku, their gold and silver plating reflecting fire from the torches set up across the large, circular room. And on the opposite side of said room, Yami was sitting upon a throne – at his feet, Norah, a sword piercing through her body, pinning her to the throne. Blood was all around her, and I came to the conclusion that Yami must've been keeping her alive with his own abilities.
"NORAH!" I heard Holo scream behind me, and she tried to run forwards; I gripped the back of her cloak and threw her back behind me, into Lawrence's arms.
"None of you move." I said sternly as I walked slowly towards Yami.
I made it about halfway across the room before I heard his evil voice pierce the air.
"Stop right there Sun goddess, or else the demi-god stops receiving my healing magic!"
Demi-god? Did he mean Norah…what the hell? I looked around – I was exactly equidistance between Lechku and Nechku, no way it wasn't a trap.
"Yami, this is your last chance! Let Norah go, or I will be forced to use all of my power against you! You do not want that!"
"Hah! You are very resourceful Amaterasu! Managing to stay alive even after the injury I left you! Unfortunately, I cannot let this demi-god though – she is a great bargaining chip against the wheat goddess!"
"Why do you keep referring to her as a demi-god? She's human!"
"Ah, but that's where you are wrong! Did the deity and her husband not tell you? Oh, and I was sure that her lover would have!" With that, Yami reached down and ripped off Norah's cloak…
…revealing wolf ears and tail.
"So," I thought to myself, "Holo and Lawrence were so worried about her because she's their daughter! I should've known…"
"…Look Yami, regardless of what she is, you better let her go! Or else!"
"Hahaha! Or else what, you worthless deity?!" With that insult, I heard chains snapping – when I looked, Lechku and Nechku had fallen to the floor.
The gold and silver plating that disguised the two demons as statues began to crack and splinter, and in seconds, their true gold and silver bodies were reflecting the fire, as they flew up and began circling me.
"Let's just see how well you do against these two, when you don't have Shiranui or that bumbling Oki to help you out!"
Suddenly, the two owls quit circling, ready to strike me.
But I wasn't going to let them.
I quickly drew my sword and rushed towards Lechku, using my Waterspout ability to draw a watery platform from a puddle on the ground that shot me into the air. I hurtled towards the owl, intent on ending this fight quickly.
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YES! I KNOW! Last time I updated this was in June and I left with a cliffhanger! I KNOW THAT! Sorry! I have no excuse for you, other than damn it, I have a lot to do! You people are lucky I'm unemployed, or you wouldn't ever get an update! But anyways, yes, I'm finally back with an update for this. On the bright side, next semester, I'll start taking Economics, so maybe I can actually put a bit of focus on the latter half of this crossover.
PocketSnails signing off.