Disclaimer: Persona 4 and Okami do not belong to us. They belong to ATLUS and Clover respectively.


Chapter 11: Welcome to…

Mariko entered the hut slowly, holding another jug of water in her arms.

"Is he awake?" she asked. The Old Hag looked up at her.

"Ah, you're back. Did you get the spring water?"

She adjusted the jog firmly, nodding.

"Duh. Is he awake?"

The Hag took a breath of her pipe slowly, something that she knew the Hag was doing to irritate her.

"Such impatience. Though tis to be expected from one so young," the Hag said. She rolled her eyes.

"Y'know what? Forget it. I'll go check myself."

Before the Hag could speak up, she stormed off. Carefully though. She didn't want to trudge all the way back to the spring for some more water. Making her way into the hallway, she awkwardly opened the shogi with her foot. Yu looked up at the sound. She adjusted the jug self-conciously, looking down at Souji.

"He hasn't woken up yet, has he?"

Yu looked down, not meeting her guilty eyes.

"No, he hasn't…"

She pursed her lips tight, not sure what to say. She wasn't good with kids, but apparently demons were since the Red Imp started to pat Yu's back with a hairy paw. Mariko still wasn't sure about letting the Imp near any of them, but Yu told her that the Imp had helped drag them out of the ruins and into the hut. As she stared thoughtfully at the Imp, she saw a pair of red eyes glaring at her, hiding behind Yu. She glared as well, and a moment later they disappeared. She sighed and placed the jug onto the floor, next to Souji's unconscious form.

Souji hadn't woken up since they had left the ruins. At first he had ran a high fever, and although it had subsided, he still hadn't woken. Ugly bruises colored his pale flesh, and long red scars marred it, the most prominent of which were two puncture wounds. He just laid there on there on the futon, silent as a grave. She knelt and replaced the cloth on his forehead, placing another wet cloth on it. His skin was warm and clammy. Which was much better than cold and waxy. She shuddered and forced the thought out of her head, standing up and walking towards the shogi.

"Where are you going?" Yu asked. She paused for a moment.

"I'm going to do something," she finally said.

"There's got to be something we can do!" she yelled, glaring at the Hag.

"For now, we can only give him medicine and the spring water," the Hag said calmly.

"What's so great about this crummy spring water anyway!?"

"The water from Hitoshi Spring has many special properties. As long as we feed the boy water from the spring, his recovery should speed up," the Hag looked at her with one eye.

"You seem to care an awful lot."

She blinked and felt her face heat up.

"W-Why shouldn't I!? I'm just trying to keep the idiot alive!" she retorted.

"It's alright," the Hag said placatingly, taking another smoke from her pipe, "Young girls like you are supposed to be tripping over their feet, falling in love with dashing young men." Her face heated up even more.

"FirstofallI'mnotsomestupidgirlmakingmooneyesatsomeguy!"

She breathed heavily and the Hag raised an eyebrow.

"You'll need to slow down child," the Hag said plainly.

She tried to calm herself.

"L-Look, I'm just trying to help him."

"And why's that?"

"Because it's the right thing to do?"

Even to her own ears, it sounded like a question, a pitiful attempt to deflect. The Hag stared at her for a moment.

"Girl, let me tell you something."

She waited, but the Hag took a moment to smoke her pipe.

"It's a good thing that you want to help a random stranger. But it's better to speak the truth, and if not to others, then at least to yourself."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I want to help him…Because he promised to help me."

"Ah. Ensuring that you get what you want."

"No!"

"I was kidding."

She fumed for a bit while the Hag looked into thin air.

"Grab another jug of spring water," the Hag said.

She scowled.

"How much do we need?"

"This should be enough. He'll wake up today," the Hag said firmly.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a prediction?" The Hag said nothing, staring at her. She sighed and grabbed another jug.

"I hope this works, old hag."

"It will."


Sunny was waiting for her outside the Hag's hut and Marie paused. Ever since they had returned from the ruins, Sunny had ran off into the forest and hadn't returned since. Sometimes, she had seen a flash of white while going to and from the spring, the hut, and the village. But whenever she had tried to go towards it, it disappeared. As soon as she saw the white wolf, she narrowed her eyes and stormed towards her.

"Hey, Mari-chan! How's it goi-"

"Where in Yomi were you two?!" Sunny flinched back, and the Beetle's next words sounded nervous.

"Uh, you seem pretty mad-"

"Mad!? You two just straight up left us when we needed you! Souji's hasn't woken up since we fought that joromungo, and what have you been doing!"

She spluttered for a moment, before glaring at Sunny.

"Some goddess you are."

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down there babe-"

"Stop calling me that!"

Before she could say anything else, Sunny growled, staring straight at her. She stared back and refused to back down. Even in the face of an Okami.

Sunny stopped growling, tilting her head and looking at her with unreadable black eyes. Before barking.

"Are you sure, furball?"

Sunny barked again.

"Well, alright."

"Hey, I'm still here-!"

Sunny lunged towards her, throwing her into the air. There was a brief moment of stunned weightlessness, and then she fell onto soft fur hiding strong muscles. She unconsciously gripped tufts of fur- And then she was hanging on for dear life as the forest blurred around her, the wind whipping her hair. Sunny's loped easily, running over treacherous roots and vines, jumping over wide rivers using lily pads. She wasn't even sure if her paws were touching the ground.

"Look, whatever you do, don't let go!"

She looked through blurred vision to see Issun standing in front of her. Specifically, her chest. She fumed for a moment, raising a hand to slap the Beetle. Sunny immediately leapt through the air, soaring across a waterfall. Sunny landed on the opposite shore, and she glared down at Issun while keeping both arms firmly looped around Sunny's neck.

"Told you not to let go."

"Where the heck are you taking me?!"

"Well, you asked us what we were doing, right? Take a look around you."

"What do you mean-"

But then she saw. She couldn't remember much of anything. But in what precious little memories she had, Agata Forest never had looked so…Pristine. Verdant trees grew to the sky, blooming flowers painting color amongst the leaves. The sun shone brightly in a clear sky, warming the land below. Birdsong rang out in a symphony, and as Sunny leapt over another stream she saw flashes of silver as fish swam. Sunny hit the ground running again, though this time amidst a family of deer that scattered, running side by side with the white wolf for a moment before Sunny left the buck eating her dust.

"It's all so…"

"Peaceful? This is Amy's job babe. Shielding the land and exorcising it of evil."

She blinked.

"I can't sense any demons."

"Yeah, well that's what took us a bit. Turns out the Spider Queen had a lot of minions imprisoned with her."

"Spider Queen?"

"The joromungo."

Issun's glow dulled for a moment.

"It took as a long time to find her escaped spiderlings…"

She suddenly remembered Madame Fawn making medicine for Souji, telling her about two missing villagers. Her stomach felt queasy.

"You found them though, right?"

"Oh, definitely! Do you thing this forest would be so calm if we hadn't?"

She was silent for a moment.

"Okay, I guess you were busy. But that still doesn't explain where you're taking me!"

"Hehehe! You'll see soon!" Sunny dashed behind a waterfall, the roar deafening her ears and the spray chilling her to the bone. And then they were running through a winding cave, a breeze carrying the scent of cherry blossoms on it.

"Don't you worry babe, we're going to get Souji up and running in no time!"


"No matter how long you play, I never grow tired of it."

He paused, lifting his mouth from Pillowtalk and grinning at Sakuya.

"Ah, mon belle fleur. You flatter me so much."

Sakuya snorted, and pushed him away.

"I said I could listen to your music forever. I said nothing about your voice."

"Ah, you wound me! La belle dame sans merci, you are much too harsh!"

Sakuya giggled.

"Then perhaps you should go back to your mistress, my samurai. Perhaps she can warm your heart!"

"…"

Suddenly he didn't feel like playing music.

"Waka…? What's-" Sakuya gasped, "-Oh, I-I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, mon petit princesse!"

He smiled.

"See?"

"…Waka? Why don't you-?"

"I can't."

He and Sakuya stared at each other for a moment. Sakuya frowned, opening her mouth. Before suddenly freezing.

"What is it?"

"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Tu ne mens pas, si'l vous plait."

"Er…"

There was a harsh caw, and a white crow flew into the cave. An ugly scar covered an eye, and the crow was puffing an enormous pipe. But it's rough appearance could not cover the intricate black tatoo's.

Yatagatsuru hovered in the air, flapping heavily to balance his three legs.

"Ah, just thought I'd warn you that Mother Amaterasu is heading this way," the crow said gruffly.

He and Sakuya stood there for a moment, frozen. And then Sakuya suddenly pushed him into her branches.

"Hide, hide now!" He didn't say anything, too surprised, and Sakuya's branches curled around him and pulled him into the thicket of the Guardian Sapling. He could only smell cherry blossoms at first. But then the familiar smell of a warm day hit him, and a moment later Okami Amaterasu rushed into the chamber.


She fell off Sunny's back with an oof, lying there for a moment. At least the grass in this cave was soft…Wait. Grass? She stood up dizzily, Sunny supporting her. The room was surprisingly bright for a cave. Then she noticed the enormous cherry tree in the middle of the chamber. The cherry tree dominated the room, healthy even though there was absolutely no hint of sunlight. The cherry tree was so healthy in fact that it glowed. It let out a soft light that illuminated the soft blanket of grass growing from the ground, the small flowers wet with dew from the shallow ring of water encircling the tree. But she knew it wasn't any tree. This was-

"A Guardian Sapling?"

Sunny sat down next to her.

"Yup, this here is a genuine Konohana Guardian!" Beetle said.

"Pretty impressive, eh?"

"It's beautiful."

"Hehehe! You should see the real Konohana then! In fact, I can take y- What's wrong furball?"

Sunny was sniffing around, scrunching her snout.

"Furball?"

Bark

"What do ya mean, familiar?"

Growl!

"Ah! Okami Amaterasu, Mother to us all and all that is holy and good!"

She squinted and blinked as cherry blossoms flew and a woman appeared in a flash of light, a halo of light surrounding her. She was heavenly beautiful, with smooth skin and long black hair. And a figure that she flaunted very well with a two piece outfit. The woman gave a nervous smile, tucking some hair behind her ears.

"Ah, what brings you here?"

Sunny peered at the woman suspiciously, but Beetle leapt towards her first.

"Ah, Sakuya!"

There was a gust of wind, and Issun was blown away.

"Please stay away from me, my dear bug."

"I told you not to call me a bug!"

Sakuya glared at Beetle for a moment, before turning her gaze on Sunny.

"Mother Amaterasu, you have once again freed the land from the tyranny of evil! However, evil still roams the land, growing stronger every second. But I know you can defeat it! You will always have my blessing!"

Sunny wagged her tail, barking. The woman smiled, before noticing her.

"Hmm? Who are you?"

She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry.

"M-My name is Mariko, Divine Konohana."

She bowed respectfully, but Sunny pushed her out of it. She glanced at Sunny in shock, only to see a huge yawn.

"Mariko…"

She snapped her head towards the kami, ready to apologize.

Konohana Sakuya was blushing from head to toe, grinning.

"Normally people do not praise me so much outside of Kamiki! Thank you so much, Mariko!"

"…O-Of course!"

Sakuya seemed giddy for a moment, before Beetle showed up again.

"This is nice and all, but we have a problem!"

Sakuya looked at Beetle in irritation.

"What now?"

"Souji's in trouble."

"What?!"

"The kid fought against that freaky Spider Queen, and he hasn't woken up since."

"Really?"

She blinked in surprise. Konohana Sakuya seemed to be worried for Souji.

"Uh huh. And Mari here demanded that we help her do something."

Suddenly Sakuya was only a foot away from her, staring intently.

"Is this true? Are you one of Souji Seta's friends?"

"Y-Yes! I am…Can you help him?"

Sakuya looked at her for a long moment, before standing up and sighing.

"The poison has been purified from his body, yes?"

Sunny rolled her eyes.

Bark.

"Ah, forgive me Amaterasu. Of course you did!"

"There's something else you should know too, Sakuya."

"What?"

"Well…" Issun glanced at Sunny.

Bark.

"Is that indeed true? Not that I am doubting you, Amaterasu! But still…"

Bark.

Sakuya nodded, though she still looked troubled.

"In that case…Mariko. I give you any blessing you will have. Name your wish."

She blinked, stunned.

"Me?"

"Indeed. Not many know of me outside of Kamiki. You are one of the few. Name your blessing."

"…Any blessing?"

She was still confused at the sudden change in subject. Sakuya nodded.

"If it is within my power."

She hesitated. Any blessing…

The space in her head where she should have had memories throbbed emptily. She bit the bottom of her lip.

I have no memories.

She opened her mouth, though no noise came out.

I can only remember the past few days, and I have nothing.

Her goal stood in front of her, just within reach.

I just thought…Maybe this place really does hold the key to my past.

Sunny, Sakuya, and Beetle just stared at her silently.

She made up her mind.

"Give me a way to wake up Souji Seta."

Konohana Sakuya looked at her sternly.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes! Just give it to me already!"

"Very well."

Konohana Sakuya closed her eyes and lifted her arms ceiling-ward. A moment later a bright flash of light filled the room, ghostly cherry blossoms flying through the air. The perfume of cherry blossoms almost overwhelmed her, and she threw her arms over her face as the Guardian Sapling glowed brighter than the sun. The light faded and she slowly lowered her arms. From one of the branches, a jumbo peach the size of her head hung heavily, ripe skin gold and iridescent. The branch shook, and the peach fell from its precarious position and towards her. She caught it with an 'oof'.

"This divine peach shall heal your friend's malady as long as he eats all of it."

"All of it?"

"Every last scrap."

She looked down at the golden peach. A distorted reflection of her face met her.

"Mariko."

"Huh?"

She looked up to see Konohana Sakuya sitting down in front of her, Sunny lying her head down in her lap.

"Mariko…That was a kind thing you did."

"What?"

"You will eventually get your memories back."

"Why should I care about that? C'mon Sunny, let's go!"

She stood up, holding the peach close to her chest. Sunny looked up at her for a moment, before getting up with a huff. Konohana Sakuya waved at the sun goddess, before disappearing in a flash of cherry petals.

"Well? Let's get going!"

"You okay babe?"

"I'm fine! And don't call me babe!"

"Whatever you say. Hang on Mari! Let's go furball!"


He watched her, only a few feet away. He watched her search, looking around suspiciously. And he watched her leave, running out of the cave. The branches receded, and he fell to the ground.

"Ushiwaka…?"

"…Heh. I'm fine, mon petit fleur."

And he lifted Pillowtalk to his mouth, and he played.


Thou Art I, I Art Thou. Thou Art The One That Opens The Door…

He woke up on the ground. As this was not a good place, he stood up. Fog extended into the distance in every direction. He turned in a circle, trying to find something in the endless foggy expanse.

"Greetings."

He looked at the figure in front of him. A humanoid figure loomed above him, yellow eyes glaring down at him. He looked up at the figure.

"Should we really be able to talk to each other?"

"I don't see why not."

"But this is technically talking to myself. Next thing I know, an ambulance is going to zoom out of this fog and a nice pair of paramedics are going to give me a lovely jacket."

"Is talking to yourself really the thing that would qualify us for insanity?"

"…Nothing to say to that. Where are we?"

"If you do not know, how do you expect me to know."

"In other words, everything I know, you know."

"Everything we know, we know."

"That's nice, but it make's conversation a bit difficult."

"…"

"See?"

"What shall we do when we wake up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Issun-Boshi and Okami Amaterasu saw us fight of the joromungo. What do we tell them?"

"Well, we'd tell them about you obviously."

"Yes. But our name is famous, remember?"

"…Oh."

"Indeed."

"Well, we have to tell them something."

"Perhaps we can simply give a different name?"

"Like what?"

"Nakajima?"

"…We're going to tell them the truth."

"Very well. But we might want to get comfortable in that jacket."

He opened his mouth to retort. And a car horn dissolved the world into black.


"W…e…p…Wa…Plea….Wake up!"

He really didn't want to though. His entire body felt like a huge bruise, his head throbbed, his eyes stung, and someone was playing some godawful lute music.

"Someone shut off that music…!"

The music stopped, and her heard an annoyed huff and receding footsteps.

"He's awake!"

He groaned, sitting up and smacking his mouth. For some reason, it tasted strongly of peaches. Not that he minded though. The first thing he saw was Yu.

"Hey Yu," he slurred, before shaking his head.

"Here, drink this."

He opened one eye and saw Yu handing him a cup of something. He looked into the cup to see an odd cream colored liquid. He hesitated for a moment.

"Just drink it. It'll help you."

He shrugged, and chugged it down. The taste of peaches increased, and he felt monumentally better.

"This is very good. And…Wait, where am I?"

Because the dim wooden room he was in right now was definitely not the dim ruins he almost died in.

Huh. It was odd to think about it like that. He had just brushed with death.

…He concentrated on his brother. And noticed the bags under his eyes.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Souji…"

"Look at you, you look exhausted!"

"Souji!"

"What?"

"You've been asleep for…days."

He stared at Yu, stunned.

"When the doors to the ruins opened, Amaterasu dragged you outside, and I thought-"

Yu became silent. He stood up and hugged his brother. Or at least he tried. It was really more trying to stand and falling on top of him.

"Jeez, what are you trying to do, crush me?" He ignored Yu and kept the hug for a good moment, before letting go. Yu looked understandably embarrassed. He smiled. The smile soon slowly fell of his face.

"Wait, the joromungo! What about the other? Amy, Issun, Marie-"

For some reason, the idea of the joromungo getting to Marie made his heart cold.

"I'm right here."

He looked to the door of the shogi to see Marie holding a jug of water. Her face was unreadable.

"Marie-"

"Your awake. Good." Marie walked towards them, face impassive.

"Marie-?"

He was greeted by a jug of spring water to the face.

"Youstupidjerk! Howcouldyouletusworryaboutyouliekthat!? Whatkindaassholeareyou!? You! You!...Grrrr!"

As he tried to decipher that sentence, Marie took the jug of water and stormed out of the room.

"Uh…"

Yu looked about as surprised as he felt. He sighed, not sure what just happened.

"Look. Go get some sleep. I'll be fine."

Yu looked at him hesitantly, before standing up and walking towards the door.

"…You look like a drowned cat," Yu said before leaving.

He sighed, lifted a damp piece of hair. This was less then optimal.

Bark.

He turned towards the door to see Amaterasu panting. She padded up to him, sniffing curiously.

"Hey there. Guess I got you to thank for saving me."

Ammy looked at him, before licking his face and wagging her tail.

"Ha!...In all seriousness though, I am grateful for you saving my life."

The goddess looked up at him in confusion. He smiled and hugged her.

"Thank you."

For a moment, Amy's coat felt warmer than a summer day, and her markings glowed. Then the moment ended and she fell on his lap.

"Oof. Jeez, how much have you eaten?"

Ammy huffed. He absentmindedly petted her, and by the thumping of a tail on the floorboards she didn't seem to mind.

"…Marie's mad at me. You wouldn't happen to know any reason why, would you?"

Ammy continued to wag her tail, but looked at him with one eye. He sighed.

"I don't know what did, but I'll talk to her latter."

Bark.

He hesitated for a moment.

"You will have to tell them something…"

He took a deep breath.

"Amaterasu."

Ammy perked one ear.

"What if I were to tell you what happened during the joromungo fight?"

He had Amaterasu's full attention now. He looked down at the wolf in front of him, trying to think of what to say.

"…It all begins with a phrase. 'Thou Art I, I Art Thou'."


Amaterasu had left after he told her. She had looked thoughtful while doing so though, which put him at ease. He sat back on the futon, thinking.

"Youstupidjerk!"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had to do something. With a wince, he stood up wishing he could tap into his persona. He stumbled towards the shogi, slowly regaining his legs. And then he noticed the pice of paper. It was just lying there, next to the shogi. He bent to pick it up. Ink was scrawled on it in flowery handwriting.

Divine blossom princess, sits at the bass of the tree. Petals fall from her eyes. As do tears from mine. "Why do blossoms bloom, when they are destined to wither?" You ask. The princess smiles sadly, and gives a flower. Before withering too, petals flying into the breeze, lost forever and becoming nothing but memories.

He read and reread it, before pocketing it.

"Ah, you're standing on your own two feet."

Madame Fawn looked at him as left the room.

"Ah, yes. Er, where is-?"

"Your brother's sleep. Amaterasu has left. And Marie is right outside the cave."

"…How did you-?"

"Are you really going to ask me, or are you going to go towards her?" Madame Fawn looked at him steadily. He nodded after a moment, before running towards the edge of the cave.


As Madame Fawn said, Marie was standing outside the cave staring at…Well, just the forest. He walked towards her slowly.

"Hey."

Marie whirled around surprised, before seeing him.

"Oh…Hey."

He stood next to her, and they pointedly didn't look at each other for a good moment.

"Look I apologize-" "Hey-" They spoke at the same time.

"…"

"…You first," Marie said tersely.

"Very well. I'm sorry if I worried anyone."

"Worried? Worried? You almost died! What would happen to your brother after that!? What would have happened to m-!"

Marie stopped and turned away.

"…I apologize for worrying you. But I wouldn't have done anything different."

"Why? Don't you get it? You can't fight against monsters like this with just a sword and little skill!"

"But if I don't, then who will?"

Marie stared at him for a moment.

"You're a dumbass."

"That I am."

They were silent for another moment.

"I promise everyone that I'll be more careful in the future. Besides, I'm standing here right now, right? And I guess I have you to thank for that."

Marie didn't say anything. He thought about the poem.

"Is this yours?"

"Wha-? Where did you get that!?"

The poem was snatched from his hands, and he watched as Marie's face grew redder and redder.

"Wha-Wh-? Youstupidejerk! Whatkindajerkreadsotherpeople'sstuff! A-AndbesidesIdidn'twritethis!"

Marie breathed heavily, and glared daggers at him.

"Marie-"

"Youass-"

"Thank you. For everything. I swear I'll help you find your memories."

Marie stopped, still breathing heavily, and looked at him in the eyes. He smiled.

"…Whatever," Marie huffed and turned away. He turned to look at what she was looking at. The sunset on the forest.

"…Thank you."

"I should be thanking you."

"You're still a jerk though. Never read my stuff again. Ever."


"Kokari? What are you doing here?"

Yu ran ahead towards the forest boy and the plum pink dog next to him.

"Huh? Yu!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well…" Kokari puffed his chest out, "I-I'm a man now! I can't just run from adventure anymore, right Ume?"

Ume barked, wagging his tail.

"So, I've finally decided to fix the bridge to Taka Pass!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I would have done it earlier, but with the demon attacks on the village…"

Kokari looked at him hesitantly.

"Is he suspecting you?" He only twitched slightly when Pixie spoke in his head telepathically.

"Er, you didn't do anything, did you-?"

"That jerk! He probably told people about us!"

"No!"

Much to his relief, Kokari seemed to believe him.

"I knew it. And, uh, I didn't tell anyone else about your p-powers."

He sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

"Nice moxie, kid!" Issun leaped onto his shoulder.

"Oh great, him again."

Kokari's puffed his chest out more.

"Y-Yeah! I'm taking your advice!"

"Hehehe! Good on ya kid! Now are ya ready to build that bridge?"

Kokari faltered for a moment.

"Uh, right now?"

"Well duh." Amatersu walked up to him looking at Kokari, and Kokari glanced at Ume before nodding vigorously.

"Yeah!"

"That's the spirit kid!"

"Yeah! Let's go! C'mon Ume!"

Ume barked, and Kokari and Ume ran off. He quickly made to follow them, and after a moment he heard his brother talk to Mariko behind him.

"Ume is a dog?"


"How exactly did you plan on fixing the bridge?".

He stood next to Kokari as they stood at the shattered bridge. Souji and Mariko were staring at the white frothing rapids, while Amy looked out to the other side pensively. He was the only one who could see Kokari shiver.

"W-Well, first I gotta get to the other side."

"How the heck are you going to get to the other shore?" Souji muttered, staring at the rapids. Kokari looked green for a moment, and he shook his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?". Kokari started, before nodding and taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine…And as for how I'm going to get to the other side," Kokari said louder, turning to Ume.

Ume barked, before giving Kokari a large fishing rod with a thick woven rope attached.

"My dad's fishing pole," Kokari explained, before concentrating. Then with a cry, he whipped the pole, and the rope flew through the air, lassoing itself to the other end of the broken bridge. Kokari tugged the rod with a grunt, and the rope held.

"Look! I lassoed onto the other end."

He put a hand on Koakri's shoulder, smiling.

"Nice. Though…Now what?"

Kokari opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a below upstream.

"Hey, you there! Get that rope out of the way!" Everyone whirled towards up the stream in time to see a massive log flying over the bend, rushing towards them at breakneck speed. And on the log was a man with a large sword dressed in purple clothes, hanging on for dear life.

"Is that-?" Issun began.

"-Susano-o?" Souji finished.

"Hey, pops! What the heck are you doing!?"

"My new secret technique, Imploding Barrel Flying Monkeys, was a flop! I ended up washing downstream on this log! Get outta the way!"

He glanced at Kokari, who had frozen up in shock.

"Kid, hang onto that fishing pole!".

Kokari hesitated, before nodding and increasing his grip on the pole. He whirled towards Issun.

"Are you crazy!?"

The log hurtled towards them like a train.

"Uh, no, wait! Amy, grab the kid and get him away from the edge!"

Amaterasu and Souji clamped onto Kokari, and they pulled. At the same time, the log slammed into the rope, and with a resounding snap, the log hurtled downriver, away from them. And taking his brother, Kokari, and Amaterasu with it.

"Ah, crud!"


"Do you have to cause such a racket?"

He paused, removing Pillowtalk from his mouth and looking up to see Yatagarasu perched on a branch.

"Ah, you have come back. What news do you bring, Yata?"

Yatagarasu gave a harsh crow, and took a deep breath of his pipe.

"I told you not to call me that! Hmph!"

He let the grouch take a smoke, watching the river rush below them.

"Mother Amaterasu defeated the Queen of joromungo inside the ruins," Yata said after a while.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you sound so grave?"

"It was a close thing. She had to save those two humans in the middle of the fight." He swore, scoring a slash into the trunk of the tree.

"I knew that those two would merely slow her down! I should have removed them!"

"Easy there. Mother Amaterasu still defeated the Joromungo. Even after Daimyo Kamiki empowered her."

He looked up at Yata sharply.

"The Daimyo appeared?"

"A shadow of him, yes."

Yata looked at him curiously.

"You seem to have something on your mind?"he asked Yata.

Yata nodded.

"Yes. You said that they were normal humans."

He narrowed his eyes.

"They are."

Yata let out a harsh laugh.

"Coulda fooled me, how that boy flung about lightning, even with the joromungo's poison coursing through him."

"What?"

"The boy with the grey hair, the elder one. He channeled lighting while fighting the demon."

He became silent. Lighting was not a paltry force to be controlled.

"I mean," Yata continued, "He still got his butt kicked. But he put up a good fight. Good enough to let Mother Amaterasu regain her breath in time to finish the Queen."

He hummed, lost in though. First a yokai master, then lightning?

"What about the girl?"

Yata grunted.

"Nothing. She seems to be normal. Why do you ask?"

He grunted, leaning on the tree.

"I would be tres surprised if after all of this the girl is normal."

They remained silent for a moment.

"Either way, that fog still covers Taka Pass' Cursed Zone," Yata grunted.

He sighed.

"Well, we can only hope that ma Cherie will know what to do when she makes it to Taka Pass."

Yata looked at him angrily, probably for the 'ma Cherie', but he raised a hand before Yata could yell.

"Wait!"

Yata looked at him angrily.

"What?" he crowed.

A moment later, a log burdened with two men, a boy, and a goddess rushed past them.

"A log and big thrills," he muttered as Yata started to squawk in surprise. "I forgot to warn you about that, ma Cherie. Oops."


"What the heck do we do!" he yelled.

"Whaddya asking me for!?" Issun yelled back.

"You're the one that got them into this mess!"

Issun glowed red, but backed away as Pixie sparked and the Red Imp growled. He started pulling his hair.

"You killed them! They've probably been smashed amongst rocks, or fallen down a waterfall! I just got my brother back, and you killed him"

"Hey, they can handle themselves! Especially furball! Besides, how do you know there's a waterfall? The river might just smooth out."

"There's always a waterfall at the end of a rapids!" he screamed.

"Hey," Mariko started.

He blinked away sudden tears as he realized what had just happened.

"Dammit Souji…" he muttered, sinking to the ground.

Ume whined, and Pixie's sparking grew.

"Now look at what ye've done, ya daftie!"

"Me? I'm the one that told them to get away from the edge!"

"Guys…" Mariko said again.

"Look, the way I see it, it's yer fault my Master is sad. So know ye have to pay!"

"Like hell I do!"

"Guys!" Mariko yelled.

"What?!" Issun and Pixie exclaimed.

There was a moment of silence.

"Uh, boss?" the Pixie said in a quiet voice.

He sniffed, and looked up. The sun was blocked by an enormous log that crashed into the river, splashing water over them. Two men, a boy, and a goddess followed, falling from the sky onto the ground.

"Souji!"

"Furball!"

Bark!

Souji blinked, groaning, Yu and Mariko kneeling next to him.

"Are you okay?".

Souji was silent for a moment.

"Someone get the license plate of that log…".

He sighed and punched his brother's shoulder.

"Idiot."

Souji sat up, wheezing.

"No, I'm serious."

"You okay?" Mariko asked.

Souji nodded, and looked towards Amy, who was shaking her coat free from dirt and water as she stood up.

"Did…Did I do that?"

He turned to see Kokari sitting up groggily, looking at the log. The log that had coincidentally landed in the exact spot of the bridge, the thick vines wrapping around it trailing into the water. It made a perfect bridge.

"Sure did kid!".

Kokari blinked in surprise, and looked at him uncertainly. He paused for a moment…Before giving Kokari a thumbs up. He technically did do that, after all. Kokari gave a hesitant smile

"I-I made the bridge!".

Ume barked happily, wagging his tail.

"Yup, all by yourself!" Issun said, Amaterasu yawning.

"I don't know what was eating you kid, but…You'll never get anywhere in life running away from adventure. You should thank your doggie for teaching you that."

Kokari sniffled, and turned towards Ume.

"I couldn't have done that without you Ume! Thank you!" Kokari hugged Ume, you returned the hug with equal warmth, barking.

He smiled at Kokari's happiness. He was happy for him. Souji made a noise.

"Cute. What about Susano-o?"

He blinked, and looked around. The other man was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm. It'll take more than that to kill pops. He'll pop up again," Issun said dismissively, before turning towards the bridge.

"Now then, Taka Pass awaits!"


He watched as Yu said goodbye to Kokari, smiling. It looked like his brother made a friend. Something nudged him, and he looked down to see a dog the color of pink plums looking up at him. He knelt down, putting a hand out. The dog stared at it suspiciously.

"You must be Ume, huh?"

The dog, Ume, nodded and barked.

"Yes, I remember…You were in the Spider Queen's chamber with me."

Ume growled.

"Neither of us were very helpful against her, were we?"

Ume whined.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Yu and Kokari waving their goodbyes.

"I don't know the full story of what happened, but…I think you'll do a good job keeping your owner safe."

Ume was silent for a moment, before nodding resolutely, as if saying the same to him.

"Hey, slowpokes! Whaddya waiting for? C'mon!"

He turned to see Issun jumping around impatiently while Marie attempted to climb onto the 'bridge'. Yu walked up to him, petting Ume, who whined happily.

"Said your goodbyes?" he asked. Yu nodded.

"Yeah. I guess we continue to follow Amaterasu?"

He nodded.

"Nothing else to do, really."

Yu was silent, and he bumped his brother's shoulder.

"Hey, we'll get home, okay?" Yu blinked and looked at him.

"Of course. What, were you worried?"

He snorted and stood up.

"Me, worrying? As if."

Yu rolled his eyes, and they made their way to the bridge, and out of Agata Forest.


The outside of Agata Forest was foggy. A thick fog that blanketed everything, turning the world into an opaque custard. They walked through the fog, going straight. And reaching nowhere. The fog had swallowed everything, revealing nothing. They kept walking. They walked until Issun got fed up.

"How long have we been walking!?" Issun yelled.

They stopped, and he watched as Issun glowed red, jumping on top of Amy angrily.

"We should be in Taka Pass by now!"

"We could already be there," Yu pointed out.

"No," the Pixie muttered from his brother's shoulder, "Something's not right with this here fog…"

The Red Imp had gone back into the glove. He rubbed his temples, feeling some sort of pressure in the air. Evidently, Amy could feel it too, because she was whining softly.

"Could this be a Cursed Zone?" he asked.

"Nope. I don't know what the heck this fog is, but it's definitely not a Cursed Zone.".

He tried to look through the fog. Nothing stretched into the distance.

"Should we go back?"

"Where's back?"

That was a very good point. Everyone was silent for a moment. The atmosphere muffled any sound that might've been made. There was no wind, no birdsong, no bug buzzing, nothing. The Pixie was right. Something wasn't right about this fog.

"Hey, what's that?"

Marie spoke up for the first time since they had entered the fog. He turned towards her. She was staring out into the distance, eyes focused.

"What's what?" Issun asked.

He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you see?"

"There's something out there, in the distance. Can't you see it?"

He looked to where Marie was pointing, and saw nothing but fog.

"No. Are you sure you can see something?"

"Yes!".

A second later she grabbed his hand and started to drag him. He allowed her to do so. It couldn't hurt to see what she was talking about, after all. They trudged through the fog, footsteps behind them, until Marie suddenly stopped.

"See!"

He looked over his shoulder, and saw…And old TV. The old fashioned cubes, with the antennae and everything. The age wasn't the issue, so much as the fact that there was a TV though.

"What the heck is that?" he heard Issun call.

Amy ran up to them, Yu on her back, and sniffed the TV, growling.

"Is that a TV?" Yu asked. He nodded, poking it. Solid.

"Looks like it."

"What's a tv?" Issun asked. He ignored the question, and stared into the screen. Black and white static buzzed back at him.

"Funny," he noted.

"What do you mean?" Marie asked, staring at the TV curiously.

"It currently on-"

"Even though it can't be plugged in," Yu finished, realization on his face.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Issun yelled.

He frowned, and placed a hand on the screen, remembering how he got into this mess in the first place. His hand sunk into the screen. He had just enough time to trade a startled glance with Yu before something tugged on his arm hard, almost pulling it out of its socket. And pulling him into the TV. The last thing he was aware of were hands grasping at him, trying to pull him back. And then the world whited out, and he fell onto the basement of his apartment building.


Yatagarasu is a familiar of Amaterasu in legend. A crow with three legs, he served as Amaterasu's animal represents Divine Guidance and intervention. And yes, he's important in this story. So say hi.

Marie and Souji continue to talk, Waka is being a mysterious fruit, Issun's still a perv, and Sakuya is just happy someone outside of Kamiki knows her.

This chapter was originally one, but was split into two due to length. So tune in next time for the next part of Fading Shadows, Rising Sun!