Chapter 12: Getting Distracted
Iris stood at the entrance to the cave as, once again, the magic of the Guardian Sapling transformed Agata Forest into a paradise. While the effect never failed to cheer her up, this time she couldn't stop thinking about what that man from a while ago had said. Who in the world was Ayame? And why did those guys think Iris was her?
"Hey, you okay, girly?" Issun asked when Amaterasu stepped out, a string of beads floating around her neck. Iris frowned.
"…Hey, you guys can go and explore Agata Forest without me," she said. "I need to think. …" She looked at them. "Did you even notice I was gone?"
"You were gone?" Issun asked, and Amaterasu ate him, spitting him out before barking and jumping onto Iris, licking her face.
"Ha ha! Okay, I get it! Thank you, Ammy!" Iris said. The wolf jumped down. "I'll catch up with you and Issun later, alright? I need to think." The wolf nodded, and scooped Issun back up before running off, leaving Iris at the mouth of the cave behind the waterfall.
Iris stood there for several minutes, gazing at the cascading water, before finally standing up and walking around to where she had spotted another cave. She stepped into the cave's entrance, and followed the tunnel until she reached the end – a large clearing surrounded by stone, with a small pond and a… hut?
"Hello?" Iris frowned as she entered the house – creepy was a good word to describe it. A small woman sat at the end, in front of a crystal ball.
"Ah, there you are, deary. I was expecting you," the woman said. "Sit down, sit down." Iris sat at the small chair on the opposite side of the table. "I've been seeing you in the crystal for quite some time. Would you care to hear what I've seen?"
"Well, I-"
"I've seen a monstrous creature, deary, with nine long necks and strange painted-on faces. I saw you facing this creature," she said, "with nothing but your blade and a little scrap of paper. You are miss Ayame, yes?"
"Actually, my name is-"
"Oh, that's right, you aren't her yet. You still need to become Ayame," the woman said, "and for that, you need to figure out the best way to accomplish it. Come, look into the crystal."
Iris leaned towards the crystal ball, and watched the purple smoke twist and turn into different shapes. It finally showed her something clear as the colors changed – a long, black-handled blade with gold symbols carved into the handle, glowing a soft yellow and circled by a spiral of what looked like a gold parchment ribbon, with the same symbols sketching in ink. The tip of the sword emanated gold fire, with a symbol she recognized in black hovering in the flame – heaven, it said. A heavenly sword – hah.
The sword faded, and the smoke twisted again, this time taking the shape of a small hair comb, with a yellow glass flower at the top – of all things, and iris flower. Fate has a sense of humor, Iris thought as it changed again. The third image was a shadow, large and threatening, with nine long necks extending from its body.
Iris was knocked back out of the chair when the shape let out a fierce roar, and landed on her back.
"You see deary, you have a job to do. That thing isn't going to slay itself, you know." The woman said. "Now, off with you! You need to get to work!"
"Wait a minute, what was that?"
"Go!" Iris suddenly found herself standing outside the cave. How did that happen? She shook her head. Weird. And what's the comb for?
It was then that flute music filled the air again.
