~ A Recap ~

"Hello?" She called; as she continued to advance inside, she saw that there appeared to be no one there.

"Just a moment~"

Amaterasu sighed a little in relief when she heard a male's voice from deeper inside the Shrine. She stood in the center of the room and waited patiently until a few moments later, a surprisingly young man of about thirty emerged from behind a thick curtain.

"Hello," He said, giving her a smile as he approached her. "What can I do for you?"

The Goddess folded her hands in the long sleeves of her kimono and gave him a bow. "I just came here…looking for someone."

The Priest raised his eyebrows as if urging her to go on. She took a breath before continuing. "I'm looking for a Priest who until recently lived in Shinshu Field. Do you by any chance know where I could find him?"

Ammy watched as the Priest furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin with his hand. After a few shakes of his head, he spoke again. "No, no…you can't see him."

The Goddess was a bit taken aback. "May I ask why?"

"That Priest died about six months ago," He answered after a moment, his dark eyes piercing hers. "I'm sorry, but you've wasted your time coming here."

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

Amaterasu felt a wave of panic wash over her. "W-what do you mean, he's dead?"

The Priest bowed his head slightly for a moment, then moved toward a tatami mat in the middle of the floor. "Come," He said, beckoning for her to join him as he sat down with his legs crossed. "I'll explain."

Amaterasu took a moment to calm her whirling thoughts before taking a seat across from him. She focused her dark eyes on his face, her attention completely focused on him, urging him to begin.

"His name was Masato," He began, his eyes on the floor in front of him. "Up until about a year ago, he kept the Shrine in Shinshu Field in order.

"He watched over Shinshu and kept the demons at bay, and was very dedicated to what he did," The Priest said. "But…all of that changed, very suddenly."

He paused, and Amaterasu leaned forward slightly until a moment later, he continued. "It was a very dark time for Eastern Nippon. Masato was summoned to this shrine to do some business. He sent a prayer to the gods to protect the shrine in his absence, and left."

"Shortly after that, we received word from a traveling merchant that people had started disappearing from Shinshu and the surrounding areas. Masato wanted to go back, but he had fallen deathly ill, so all we could do was pray that the gods could do something about it…" The Goddess could hear the emotion in the Priest's voice as he recounted this. "Pretty soon people from Kamiki stopped passing through here, and we didn't hear anything else. Masato died of weakness shortly after that."

"I see…" Ammy said simply, her eyes beginning to brim with emotion. So he had cared…

"I don't know what your purpose was to seek out Masato," The Priest said. "But I'd be happy to do all I can to help you."

Amaterasu nodded and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, that means a lot. Is there anywhere where we can pay our respects to Masato?"

The Priest nodded and stood, beckoning for her to follow him. He ducked through the curtain he had first emerged out of and once she had trailed after him, pointed to a back door that led out to the small cemetery.

"I buried him out there," He said. "There wasn't any other option, really."

"I understand," Ammy replied, stepping through the door. "Thank you for your help."

As the Priest closed the door, she knelt down in front of an ornate headstone surrounded by slightly wilted flowers that read "Masato".

"I never knew you," She said to the stone, her head bowed. "But thank you for watching over Shinshu in my place. I'm sure you were a brave and benevolent man, and I have failed in carrying on the protection you ensured to the people and the land."

Suddenly Amaterasu felt a Divine presence above her, and she looked up to see the spirit of a middle-aged man hovering in the air.

"Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all…" The spirit began. "I am Masato, a Shinto Priest who resided in Shinshu Field. For the majority of my life I studied Shinto legend, and kept the monsters at bay with my prayers.

"But the world has changed. Darkness has leaked into the most sacred of places, and I regret not being there to drive it back. Kamiki has been severely depopulated, and the few that are left in Shinshu Field have lost all faith in you."

Amaterasu bowed her head sadly. "I know. I have weakened immensely, and fear that I'm hardly stronger than a regular human now."

"Yes. But, there are ways to restore faith in the gods…" Masato said. "But first, you must rid Eastern Nippon of evil. Please, Amaterasu, slay the monsters I was too weak to slay."

"Of course, but…how?" Ammy pondered. "The evil inside the Shrine was too strong, that's why I came looking for you."

Masato bowed his head understandingly. "It is quite a predicament when evil invades a holy place. Here," He reached into his semi-transparent silken robes and pulled out a set of three scrolls. "Take these, and may they assist you during your journey."

He held out the scrolls, and Amaterasu took them, studying their titles. "Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru?" She said. "I see. Thank you for your help, Master Masato." She gave him a bow, which he returned.

"May the three spirits of Sanbiki no Saru guide you in your battle against evil…"

With a small burst of light, Masato vanished, leaving Amaterasu alone with the three scrolls.

( Issun's P.O.V. )

The bouncing ball of green light that was Issun hopped angrily back toward Kusa Village, his fumes almost visible as he steamed. "That ungrateful mutt…after all I've done for her~!"

The Poncle continued to rant angrily, not noticing when, with the sound of a flute, Waka appeared in a shower of sparkles.

"Bonjour, my little-"

"Not now, Blondie! Man, is she gonna get a divine ass-whooping next time I see her…"

Waka looked taken aback. "Excusez-moi? Where is Amaterasu?"

Issun stopped ranting for a moment to explain. "Oh, she's off with her new stupid mutt friend and she left me behind! Can you believe she would do something like that!"

"Well, you've had it coming…" The blonde muttered.

"What was that!"

Waka looked toward him and laughed nonchalantly. "Nothing, nothing, mon amie! But we should really try to find her."

The Poncle crossed his arms over his tiny chest. "Why should I waste my time trying to find her when it's obvious she didn't want me around in the first place?"

"Oh come on, my little bouncing friend~! You know you want to find her."

Issun, being the stubborn donkey he was, simply shook his head. Waka sighed and leaned down to pick him up by the scruff, much to Issun's further displeasure.

"Damnit, put me down, you two-bit son of a-"

"Yeah, whatever~" The Tao Master interrupted as he took off with Issun in hand. "Amaterasu, here we come!"

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

"That was interesting," Chen barked as Amaterasu walked back around to the front of the shrine. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Amaterasu looked down at the scrolls in her hands. "Not exactly," She replied, running her thumb along the smooth surface of the scrolls. "But I got something better. Thank you so much for all of your help, Chen."

The hound dog bowed his head to her, his long floppy ears brushing against the ground. "Glad I could be of service to Mother Amaterasu."

She smiled, and leaned down to pet his head. "You must have one extraordinary nose if you were able to sniff out the spirit of someone who died."

The Canine Warrior looked down bashfully, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "That's why Princess Aya sent me with you…"

The Goddess giggled a little and stood. Her eyes moved from the scrolls, up to the way they had just come from. "Ready to head back?" She asked, looking down at Chen. He nodded and, as soon as Ammy had put the scrolls somewhere safe, took off running faster than before.

As Ammy ran, she couldn't help but feel revitalized by the meeting with Masato, and the scrolls that were now safely tucked away in her satchel. A heavenly presence radiated out from the sacred scrolls, and a whole new energy Amaterasu had not felt in a long time filled her body, and she kept a steady pace with Chen as they made their way back to Kusa Village.

As the two emerged from the trees into the still-bustling Pass, Ammy looked up to see a figure flying toward her. There you are, Waka… She thought with a smile as he landed in his usual sparkle shower.

"Bonjour, Amaterasu," The Prophet said, giving her a courtly bow. "I think you dropped a little something in your hurry, no?"

The Okami watched as Waka drew out a struggling ball of anger that she identified as Issun.

"I said put me down! I'll kill you~!"

"Ohoho, feisty, aren't we?" Waka teased as he held him up level to Amaterasu's face.

Issun stopped struggling for a moment to look at Ammy. "Well, well. Come running back to me, eh?"

Ammy felt a small smile come to her face as she took the Poncle in her own hand. "Sorry about that, friend," She said. "But no more criticism from you, or you'll be walking a lot more often."

There was a moment of silence, as Issun turned his head away from her. Finally, he opened his little eyes and looked up at her, and his arms slackened a little.

"Fine…" He muttered quietly. "Sorry, Ammy."

Amaterasu nodded once in satisfaction, impressed with him. Even though his temper and tolerance hadn't changed much, he was still more mature than he had been all those years ago. The Goddess brought him over and plopped him down on her shoulder.

Waka's eyes moved from Amaterasu to Issun and back, and the corner of his mouth twitched irritably. "You're just going to let him push you around, Amaterasu?" He said, the slightest hint of dislike for Issun creeping into his normally-musical voice. "If you ask me, I think he should show a little more gratitude toward you."

"Let it go, Waka," Ammy said in defense. "Issun is who he is, so just drop it, okay?"

From his place on her shoulder, Issun sniggered a little and smirked conceitedly. "Yeah, Waka." He crossed his miniscule arms over his chest as he mocked the Prophet.

"That's enough out of you as well," Amaterasu snapped at him. "I swear, you two are so immature."

Waka quickly changed the subject. "So Amaterasu, did you find what you set out to find?"

Ammy took the scrolls out of her bag and held them out so the Tao Master could study them. "Ah, Sanbiki no Saru," He said as his blue eyes studied them. "Quite a useful ally to have, hmm?"

"Wait, what's Sanbiki no Saru?" Issun asked, craning his neck to get a better view of the artifacts.

Waka turned his gaze on the Poncle. "The Three Wise Monkeys," He explained. "A trio of benevolent beings whose followers taught the proverb 'See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil'. I studied them in my travels when I first became a Tao Master."

Issun nodded in comprehension. "I see. But how can they help us?"

Amaterasu shrugged slightly. "I guess we'll find out when the time comes."

As she said this, she looked at the two of them, then down to where Chen was rolling around on his back in the grass. "Chen," She said. He flipped over onto his stomach and looked up at her questioningly. "Will you go back and tell Princess Aya we headed back to Shinshu?"

The hound dog nodded, his tongue hanging out as he panted. "Also, tell her thank you." Ammy said. "And that we'll be back soon."

"Of course," Chen said. "Have a safe journey."

The three of them watched as the Canine Warrior turned and began running back toward Kusa Village, his large paws pounding the ground. Once he was out of sight, Amaterasu turned back to Waka.

"Back to Shinshu Field then?" The blonde said. Ammy nodded, and Waka looked out over the horizon as the sun began to set.

"I'll take you," He offered after a moment, holding out his hand to her. "Believe me, it's much faster than walking, mon cherie."

Amaterasu's eyes moved from Waka's outstretched hand to Issun, who shrugged.

"Why not, Ammy," He said. "You are pretty slow."

The Goddess rolled her eyes and without looking, placed her hand in Waka's. In an instant, she felt her feet lift off the ground and the air rush in around her.

"W-wahh!" She cried as she watched the features of the landscape grow smaller and smaller. Waka gave a musical laugh and did a few tricks in the air. "Amazing, no~?" He called to her, his voice loud to be heard over the wind.

"You're gonna kill us!" Issun cried as he clung to the silky cloth of Amaterasu's kimono for dear life. "Would ya slow down!"

Again, the Prophet only laughed as they made quick progress toward Shinshu Field. Ammy shut her eyes and clung to Waka tighter, but in spite of all the excitement she still couldn't help but notice a feeling of dread that clutched at her stomach and sent her heart into her throat.

Whatever's coming…I hope I'm strong enough to face it.