Summary: The city of the Moon is attacked, setting off a chain of events that reach far beyond its source. One of the survivors journeys across Nippon, trying to stop what his people have released.

Disclaimer: I do not own Okami, it belongs to Capcom and Clover. Okamiden also belongs to Capcom.

Last chapter, Obieta recalls a relevant detail about Ninetails and beads, while the mysterious wind entity (from back in Chapter 24) resurfaces. Shin contacts Kabegami, possibly alerting Issun and Chibiterasu to something going on… Also, Shin consults with Kyokugami, and decrypts a message sent to the ruins that proves Tsukuyomi has gone a little bit insane.

(Note: Sorry, this chapter and the next might be a bit lower in quality.)


A pure wind whistled through Kusa Village, scattering flower petals in speckled streams of pale pink across the night sky. There were no sounds, save for the rush of the wind and the occasional keening creaks of the distant windmills. Only dim candles flickered futilely against the darkness. The village slumbered, all except for one. He had tried to sleep, but found it did not come easily. So instead, Waka looked silently out, from one of the many bridges, at the village that had taken him in.

He still remembered the night he had arrived. The half-awake villagers had regarded him with confusion. He had asked them for help, the injured Moegami in his arms. He remembered the panic slipping into his voice. Someone had helped him carry the bird to a room to identify the injuries. As the villagers had returned to sleep, Waka had stayed to watch over Moegami. And then, in a bout of fear, he had cut off his hair and burned the remains, rubbing the ashes into the rest. In the morning, he had accepted plain clothes from a friendly villager. The only out-of-place things about him now might be his sword, his shoes (which he had decided to keep), and—if one looked close enough—blue eyes.

I suppose it's time to reset, Waka thought. Time to start over again. So he stood, and waited for the dawn.

Moegami had not awoken. The bird still lay, completely unconscious, in the room where he was being tended to. He had kept thinking over all of the strange things he had heard, from Tsukuyomi—turning it over in his mind, he was certain now it had been her—and from Moegami… What had the brush god meant when he said he was on an island? Why would Tsukuyomi turn against her own people?

From the glowing horizon in the east, the sun began to rise, spilling rays of light onto the village, lighting the world with splashes of color. Waka watched the sky, only looking away when the pale outline of the Moon had vanished completely into the blue of the brightening sky. When his sense of security returned, he turned and headed back along the paths.

The first task Waka gave himself was to become more familiar with the village, while most of the other villagers were still asleep. Once the other awoke, he would join them in their daily tasks: usually tending the gardens or clearing parts of Taka Pass's rockslide. Sightings of demons had grown increasingly rare, especially compared to the last time he had been around—before Yami had been defeated. It was fortunate for the villagers, he supposed, but it made him uneasy to see civilians walking around the pass at night without fear. He was too used to demon scrolls lurking in every shadow. And sometimes, on the rare occasions when he would sleep, they ambushed him from the darkness of his mind.

Enough thinking about that. It would just make the episodes return. They had grown fewer as years had passed, as he had found ways to calm himself, but sometimes he would still feel the panic creep into the edges of his mind. Waka turned his attention instead to the clearing of the village. Out of curiosity, he headed down a different pathway. The path turned to a bridge, which wound down the side of the mountain, open on all other sides to a view of the distant sky. It reached its end at a single quaint house in a small clearing of bamboo. Quietly, he stepped into the clearing, looking around. Must be one of the villagers' homes…

"Oh, hello there." Waka nearly jumped as one bamboo plant in the thicket turned, revealing an old man with said plant balanced across on his hunched back. "Is there something you're looking for?"

"I'm… I'm just looking around. I'm new to this village." He looked down, feeling awkward. "I hadn't thought anyone would be awake…"

"Not many are." The man offered a friendly smile. "I'm Mr. Bamboo, and my craft is bamboo ware. I usually set up shop over in Sasa Sanctuary—luckily that wasn't blocked off by the rockslide! As for why I would be awake so early…" His gaze turned distant, almost sad. "I like to watch the moon. It reminds me of my granddaughter, Kaguya." Kaguya… The name sounded vaguely familiar, but from when or where Waka couldn't recall. "She's up there, somewhere…"

"She… went to the moon?" Could that be possible? Mr. Bamboo nodded, and Waka thought. After all, there had been those pods, sent off so long ago in that evacuation from Orochi… Perhaps one of them had, after many years of stasis in space, reached the planet safely. And then, years later, this Kaguya had found her pod again...

"It's been almost a year since then. But I'm sure she'll return home. Someday." Waka thought of Tsukuyomi. She would be on the Moon. And the pod would have been programmed with a return course, straight back to its hangar there…

Pray I do not find you. He didn't have the heart to mention any of this. Instead, he nodded and excused himself; it was about time to work. As he walked back, he silently regretted the loss of what may have been the only other living member of the Moon Tribe. Waka wished he had been able to meet her.

He desperately hoped he was wrong about Tsukuyomi.


The underground ruins were abandoned now. Torn open by the blast of Akuro's power, they lay exposed, the circuits broken by the gaping hole sparking ever-fainter as the ruins' power drained from it. The air, if anyone had been there to feel it, buzzed softly with static. No one came there anymore, though. After Akuro, people stayed away from that part of Ryoshima Coast. The scientists said they had studied all that they could. What was left of the place was truly ruins.

It was then that the shuttle came. At first it was just a white trail on the horizon, indistinguishable from the clouds. Only when it had neared the ruins had it descended from the midday sky, growing from a small dark spot to the rocket that it was. It slowly neared the ground, small bursts of thrusters maneuvering it to touch down inside the hollow of the ruins. The door unsealed with a hiss, letting the warm, heavy atmosphere rush inside. Its occupant nearly choked. It had been centuries, perhaps millennia, since her lungs had known air. For a moment, the only sound besides the stuttered crackles of sparking wires was the muffled, unsteady breaths from inside the shuttle.

The door opened fully, and Takefutsu emerged from the rocket. For a moment she just looked around silently, taking in the sight of the destroyed ruins. A grin tugged at her face.

It seems I won't have to destroy it myself. But the hint of a smile vanished as soon as it had appeared. There was a reason she had chosen to land here. Now, where is it…? Takefutsu's footsteps echoed down the darkening corridors, the blue veins of light flickering ever softer. She reached a console, and with barely a flicker of the brush in her hand its dim screen fizzled to life. It only took a few moments for her to find the information she sought.

Thunder Edge is no longer within Earthbase 1. She gritted her teeth. The console exploded in sparks. The air buzzed alive with electricity, ready to surge forth at a single brushstroke.

Of course. The humans. They had stolen it, she knew it. Completely oblivious to its true value… Takefutsu went to another console. I need to find it… She faltered for a moment, remembering her purpose, remembering the origin of that sword. It was hers. It was Amanozako's sword…

Nearest major human settlement: Sei'An City. The console blinked with a map of the surrounding area. Takefutsu turned on her heel, heading back towards the entrance. As she went, the last vestiges of power were pulled from the ruins' circuitry, charging the air around her. She reached her rocket again, closing its door and jolting it briefly to keep it shut. The electricity of the ruins gathered around her, waiting.

She released it. It seared through the ruins' circuits, concentrated enough to melt them into uselessness. In moments, all that remained of the Moon Tribe's base was a metal husk of a cave and the smell of ozone. Her work complete, Takefutsu began to climb up the ripped sides of the ruins, avoiding the near-melting wiring. She winced as the sunlight struck her, squinting as she oriented herself.

I will find it. She started down the path towards the city. The sword was there. She would get it back. I will bring her back. And if she found any other remnants of the civilization that she had created… I will cleanse the world of the plague I wrought. The plague that I destroyed her to create...


I stood outside the hollow, looking out at the restless waves. Arcs of moonlight flickered erratically across their shifting surfaces. Would they ever become still? Still and light and cold, like that memorable dream, as though I could walk right across...

Within the breeze, I thought I heard a voice whisper. Ears pricked, I looked around. No one… The shards of light on the water began to blur and distort around the faint outline of a shape. It looked almost human, though I could hardly see clearly…

Hello again, little spirit. I stiffened and took a step back. You've been busy since we last met. It was right up there on that tower, wasn't it?

"You're the voice…" And the voice only giggled, in the same airy tones that echoed around inside my head. "You pushed me off the tower." The laughter only continued. I crept backwards carefully, away from anywhere that its gusts might be able to push me into. "W-what do you want?" The figure shifted in the air, changing shapes.

Now, now, there's no need to act like that. I only want what's best for you, dearest. I didn't move, crouching further. I know what you seek, and I know where to find it. That gave me pause. Yes, that's right. I know where those beads are—the ones that belonged to that fox you care so much about.

I didn't know what to say. Was it telling the truth? Could I trust something that had… That had taken my home away from me forever? That had taken me from Mama?

Oh, I wouldn't lie to you—Well, this time I'm not. The voice seemed to giggle at some private joke. Think it over, little spirit. But you know that you need me… It paused for a moment. And don't even think about telling your "friend" about me. He'd never cooperate willingly. And you wouldn't want him to suffer, hmm? I shivered at the wind's audible glee. The outline was becoming fainter, warping into swirls. And of course, if you don't accept my offer, you might regret it… The last echoes of laughter drifted away, swept off with the wind. There was nothing left again but the silence and the ripples of the waves. Looking down at the water, I didn't feel like fishing anymore.

What do I do…? Should I tell Shin? But that would upset the wind, or whatever creature it carried… I realized that I knew frighteningly little—about what to do, about what this was... It was the wind; it was everywhere. It knew what I was doing, maybe even what I was thinking... Who knew what other powers it might have? And I'm alone… I'm all alone…

Staying silent, I headed back inside.