Sorry it's been a while. I wrote half of this ages ago and then lost it because my computer is a bit on the broken side.

I'm afraid i also have some very bad news. This site is no longer compatible on my home or work computer. I had to use a friend's laptop to update. I've informed ff about the problem but i doubt if they'll bother to help. This means updates may be slow. sorry people!

Oki blinked in the morning glow, which suddenly seemed overwhelming after the shadows that had ruled Agata. Despite the stinging as the light hit his eyes, he smiled in relief. Night has lasted forever, and even in his wolf form with his enhanced senses he'd struggled in the black maze of the forest. Several times he'd thought he'd lost Amaterasu for good, but she had always darted back to find him, usually pouncing on him and licking his face when she did.

And it was beginning to annoy him.

Humans shouldn't act this way or, more to the point, beautiful naked ladies shouldn't act this way. It wouldn't be so bad if she'd wear the dress. Every time her naked body was pressed against him he wanted to…

Gods, did she not understand what she was doing? He had a feeling she did. In the dozen times she'd pinned him before nightfall he'd noted the amusement on her face.

On top of how he felt about her, he hated the fact that she could always outstalk him. No matter how hard he'd tried, he'd never once been able to stop her from pinning him. The fight with the imps was also circling his mind. Amaterasu could fight better than he could. She didn't need him and he felt useless.

And he was exhausted. As he stood in his human form looking down into Taka Pass, he felt how much his legs ached. He didn't know if he could take another step. They'd travelled all day and all night, and he was covered in scratches and splinters that irritated every part of him. Amaterasu was also covered in marks, but they didn't seem to bother her.

Still seemingly bursting with happy energy, she bounded well ahead of him, but suddenly she stopped. Tilting her head back, she looked as if she was sniffing the air. Oki massaged his legs and grimaced for a moment before dragging himself over to her. Now as well as feeling useless, he also felt a mess.

Motionless, Amaterasu sniffed hard at the air.

"You're a human. Smells aren't as vivid any more," said Oki, knowing she was having a trouble. "You'll have to use your eyes instead. Are we looking for the Moon Tribe?"

She glanced at him and frowned before turning her attention to her surroundings. She tilted her head, as if she was listening for something.

Oki felt his annoyance growing. "Why won't you speak? I know you can. What are we looking for exactly?"

She suddenly erupted into a run. It was amazing how she did it. There seemed to be no transition between her standing still and running as fast as she could. Already she was out of sight around a curve in the muddy track. Oki groaned as he took after her. Why wouldn't she speak? He wondered if she was only letting him follow her so that she could pounce on him whenever she got bored.

Running as hard as he could, he glimpsed her hair streaming behind her just before she turned into a tunnel on the left that led through the rock. She didn't hesitate, so Oki assumed it was safe. Before running into the imps in the forest, he'd worried about her safety but there was no need for that now. She could protect herself better than he ever could. Again though he felt useless.

The damp tunnel opened up into a mossy cavern. Oki paused as he glanced around for Amaterasu. She was at the top of a wooden walkway. He grimaced. He didn't know if his legs could take any more…

Finally he emerged from the cave into the painful sunlight. He was in a higher part of Taka Pass where the slopes were too steep to be climbed without the use of the tunnel. The air tasted different to what it had when he'd first entered the pass. It was heavy with the sweetness of blossoms and somehow it seemed to immediately banish the tight irritation that had been plaguing him all night.

Amaterasu stood a few steps in front of him. She was motionless with her hand tight around Waka's flute. Oki looked at her face. As always, his eyes lowered away from her of their own accord, but not before he'd seen the hardness in every part of her expression. The red markings on her body suddenly seemed more vibrant: the colour of fresh blood.

Just ahead was an enormous cherry blossom, similar to the one that grew in Kamui. At its base were two silver boats whose hulls gleamed blindingly in the sunlight. They were similar to the old Ark of Yamato, only much, much smaller and brighter. The masts were bare, but Oki knew sails would fold from the air as soon as the boats moved; the same thing had happened when the ark had left Lake Laochi.

Two men sat side by side on the bow of one of the ships. Golden hair ran down their backs stretching almost to their knees. The Moon Tribe.

Oki grabbed his sword, but Amaterasu was already away. Her long bounds carried her to the boats in an instant. Roaring furiously, she lashed out with the beads, knocking both men from the boat. As they lay dazed at her feet, Oki saw Amaterasu draw Waka's green sword. Her face was filled with anger and her eyes seemed to have turned black. She raised the sword.

Oki ran, but he knew he'd never reach her before she killed them. Just as she seemed to be about to bring the sword down, one of the Moon Tribers managed to raise a whistle to his mouth. A shriek pierced the air. It was so loud it made Oki cringe. Even Amaterasu let out a sound of pain as she covered her ears and backed away.

There was the unmistakeable screech of imps. They suddenly came from everywhere; scuttling up and down the walls of Taka Pass carrying instruments and flaming skulls. As they bounded on to the grass, they moved determinedly towards Amaterasu.

Oki ran to her. Standing by her side, he held his sword ready. "I've never seen so many imps," he said.

Amaterasu's eyes narrowed as she watched the imps creeping closer, but she didn't seem concerned. She even gave Oki a small smile as she held Waka's flute ready. Green light fizzed from the end as the blade appeared.

The crowd of imps halted just out of reach of Amaterasu's rosary. Oki watched them as they held their weapons ready. He could see their stick-like limbs tensing in preparation.

Behind Amaterasu, the two Moon Tribers had managed to get to their feet and were running for one of the boats. Amaterasu turned and lashed out with her beaded rosary to stop them, but suddenly the imps pounced and she was forced to let them go.

Oki swung his sword frantically. There were so many that he couldn't see. He swung and swung, trusting his instincts and skills to keep him from being killed. He couldn't see what Amaterasu was doing, but he could the tearing sound of her rosary as it ripped into the imps and feel the way Waka's sword made the air crackle.

And she was using her powers. There was wind. Lightning. Fire. Water. Oki heard imps screaming and swearing as they fell.

But then Amaterasu cried out. It was a sound of pain and Oki felt it tearing through every part of him.

"Amaterasu!" He swung his sword harder, desperately trying to clear a path to her. He couldn't see anything. Every time there was a break in the imp onslaught it was quickly filled with an instrument, flaming skull or ugly leering imp.

Oki roared as he slid into his beast form. For one tiny moment he was vulnerable as he changed and he groaned as several lutes sliced across his skin, but as soon as the transformation as complete he could move faster. Growling and snarling, he clawed and bit his way through the imps, all the time searching for Amaterasu. Every now and then he saw a flash of white or Waka's green sword cutting through an imp, and he knew she was still fighting, but he could smell blood. And lots of it.

The air also stank of imp blood, which was putrid enough to make Oki gag, especially with the enhanced sense of smell that came from being a beast. His head was beginning to feel light.

But the imps were beginning to thin. Finally Oki could see Amaterasu, or he could at least see the black light of her aura, which was all that was ever visible to him when he looked at her in his beast form. The imps were definitely targeting her rather than him. They were all over her, completely ignoring Oki. She was screaming as she lashed out with her rosary, her glaive and Waka's sword. Around her the air was constantly bursting in to flowers as she killed imp after imp. She was covered in blood. Oki could smell it. Some was the black slime that came from an imp's veins but most of it seemed to be her own.

Oki growled as he leapt forward to help her, but suddenly something sliced into him. He gasped as he was knocked to the ground. The blow had felt like a sword, but he wasn't bleeding. He didn't even seem to be injured. Changing into his human form, he glanced at Amaterasu. Briefly she glanced at him and he saw the anger covering her face. It was enough to make him freeze. He'd never seen a more dangerous expression. This was her fight.

A fireball unfolded from the air, engulfing the imps that still swarmed around her. Oki winced as he heard the frantic cries from the imps as the flames licked at their bodies. He'd seen Amaterasu's power before but he didn't think she'd ever drawn a fireball that powerful before. He could feel the heat of it scraping his face, even though he was a fair distance from her.

The remaining imps – now only half a dozen or so – stared at the scene around them. Amaterasu's flowers covered the ground, but there were also several imp bodies bleeding across the grass that Oki knew he must have killed. He was slightly disappointed by how few he'd managed to slay.

One of the imps seemed to yelp in fright. Holding his flute high in the air, he bounced up and down on the air. "Would you look at that! That's wolf god girl is insane! That's most of our species turned to pansies! What a cruel, cruel fate! I don't wanna be a pansy!" He dropped his lute and bounded to the nearest wall. Quickly he began to climb.

The other imps glanced at one another.

"The Moon Tribe said we'd regret it if we didn't fight…"

"I don't care. That weird wolf girl is scarier. She bit Kuz's head off!"

As one, the rest of the imps suddenly threw their instruments across the grass. Shrieking frantically, they ran. Behind them though, Amaterasu's face was still dark with fury. She lashed out with the rosary. The beads arched towards the imps, ready to tear open their backs.

"Amaterasu, let them go!" said Oki.

He leapt at her, knocking her to the ground. She screamed angrily at him and then bit his arm. Oki gasped as he fought not to cry out. Her teeth were still as sharp as a wolf's.

"Amaterasu… what's gotten in to you?" he panted.

Her face seemed to clear, once again filling with its usual benevolence. Quickly she released his arm and began licking it urgently.

"It's all right, I've had worse," said Oki. "Just promise me you won't get like that again. I don't like seeing you that angry and that full of hate."

She stared at him. Oki held her gaze for as long as he could. Something was wrong with her, but he couldn't decide what. He'd had a feeling something was wrong the first time he'd met her in her human form. Why was her aura black? People only had black auras if they had malevolent natures…

She'd been so gentle as a wolf. Why was it different now she was human?

She began licking his arm again and Oki suddenly realised that he was laying on top of her. Just like with the ditch in Agata, he suddenly felt unbearably hot. He looked at the way she busily licked the blood from his arm. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to kiss her…

But as soon as he'd pictured it in his mind, he felt himself pulling away from her as he stood. His body seemed to be moving of its own accord. As hard as he tried, he couldn't stop himself.

Was this how it was supposed to be? He could barely touch her. And now he realised he couldn't even think about what it would be like to press his lips…

He shook himself. Of course it was meant to be like this. She was a god. He was a mortal. He had to get a grip.

Sitting up, Amaterasu began licking her own wounds. She was covered in gashes.

"Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe we should find a village where you can rest," he said.

"No." She stood and gazed up at the sky. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. Her fingers gripped Waka's flute hard.

Oki followed her gaze. A silver boat was gliding through the air, growing smaller and smaller as it drifted further away. Amaterasu gave a low growl, seemingly without even realising it.

But beside the giant cherry tree was the second boat. Amaterasu smiled as she burst in to a run, but Oki frowned. The Moon Tribe weren't idiots. They wouldn't just leave a boat…

"This is a trap," he said.

Amaterasu glanced back at him.

"Don't you think this is too easy?" Oki pressed. "I think they want you to follow them. You shouldn't go."

Amaterasu stared at Waka's flute.

"I know you want to save him and Issun, but… but it's too dangerous. Do you think they'd want you to risk yourself to save them?"

She still stared at Waka's flute. Oki watched the way she carefully played with it between her fingers. He glanced at her eyes. There was longing in her expression. Oki paused. Finally some pieces of the puzzle were sliding together. Amaterasu had obviously been human before, which meant she'd probably been human around Waka on the Celestial Plain. He also remembered the way she'd hugged him in the Moon Cave. He'd been barely alive with the poison running through him, but he'd never forget the slight pang he'd felt as Amaterasu had leapt in to Waka's arms…

He should have put this together a long time ago.

"I don't think Waka would ever forgive himself if anything happened to you," he said softly, ignoring the ache that suddenly filled him.

Amaterasu froze. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if she was remembering something. Oki watched her face. There were many emotions in her eyes. Pain. Longing. And… anger? He couldn't be sure because, as usual, he was forced to look away quickly. Even so, he had a feeling there was a lot more happening between Waka and Amaterasu than he yet realised. Was Amaterasu angry with him for something?

Well, Oki couldn't blame her. He was the most irritating man in existence.

Amaterasu suddenly shook herself. She leapt on to the deck of the boat and then stood with her arms folded looking down at Oki.

He sighed. Of course she was going after the Moon Tribe. Waka would probably never forgive himself if anything happened to her, but Amaterasu would probably also never forgive herself if anything to Waka, or Issun, for that matter.

Oki climbed up on to the boat beside her. "All right, but I'm coming with you."

She'd get herself in to trouble without him, especially if she got angry again. When she was angry, he had no doubt that she could be the most dangerous thing in the world.

Finally Issun was able to see what the moon looked like, and he was a little unnerved to say the least. It was the most barren place he'd ever come across, and he had a feeling that it hadn't always been like this.

The palace exterior was pretty; there were gardens full of weird, glowing flowers that Issun had never seen before and there was a path that sloped up to some dazzling cliffs that looked as if they had been carved from quartz.

To the north, there was a city that looked as if it sprawled for miles, but it was creepily dark. Waka had said that the sun didn't shine on the moon the way it did on earth. The sun could be seen in the sky but the light it cast was faded, giving the impression that the moon was bathed in perpetual twilight. It was a little odd, but there was something soothing about it that Issun liked.

To make up for the lack of light, lamp posts surrounded the palace and bordered the long road that led to the city. However, the city itself seemed dark and murky in the twilight. Issun could only pick out half a dozen lights and they made him uneasy. There was something… empty about the place.

Trying to push the feeling aside, he bounced along after Waka. Escape had been easy, Waka had disabled the security and then climbed out of the window on to the roof of the palace. Now, they moved along the roof tiles cautiously. Every few steps Waka stopped and looked round. Issun knew he wasn't happy, and it wasn;t just because their escape had been far too easy.

"Look, Ammy killing you is just rubbish," said Issun. "I mean, sure you're annoying and everyone wants to give you a good slap, but I don't think Ammy would kill you. Maybe bite you if ever you made a move on her because I know how much you want her and all, but I don't think she'd kill you."

And she liked him. Issun hadn't forgotten how worried she'd been about him when she first arrived in Nippon again, or how she'd hugged him in the Moon Cave. She wouldn't hurt him.

Waka didn't answer. His face was expressionless but Issun could sense his misery flooding the air. It was weird seeing Waka like that. He'd always been so smug in Nippon. Issun actually felt sorry for him.

"Sheesh, you really need to stop moping. I bet even the air feels suicidal with the depressing vibes you're giving off. She won't kill you."

Waka turned. "You have no idea, Issun! Gods are not supposed to be in human form. Gods are passionate which means they get angry very easily, and being angry when you have the power to destroy everything is very dangerous."

"But-"

"You're still thinking of her as a wolf! She's human now with human feelings."

"But why would she get angry with you?"

"I don't know. I just know she ends up hating me!"

Wow, this was really getting to Waka. Issun had never heard so many unhappy exclamation marks in his voice before. It was a pretty nasty situation though. Waka loved Ammy and somehow she was going to kill him…

"What happened between you on the Celestial Plain?" said Issun.

"I told you. I turned her down."

"I bet she turned you down."

Waka laughed. Issun studied his face for a moment. "Are you being serious? Did you really turn her down?"

"This conversation is getting very boring, my little bouncing friend. Now be quiet before someone hears that high-pitched voice of yours."

Issun glanced below them at the palace gardens and then at the barren road leading to the city. "Who the heck is gonna hear us? There's no one here! No guards… no one! The moon isn't a very happening place is it?"

"Because most of the Moon Tribe are dead."

Issun paused. Now he felt bad… "Really?"

"Vel usurped the royal family and began playing with monsters. He can create them or summon them from alternate worlds. When the Moon Tribe tried to stop him he summoned Orochi and Yami. They wiped out almost everyone. Vel then sent Orochi to the Celestial Plain."

There was only one word for a man like that. "What a bastard!" said Issun.

"See those lights over there? That's Moon City. The only city on the moon. There's, oh, maybe thirty Moon Tribers living there? And that was over two hundred years ago. There's probably less now."

"Unless they've been breeding."

Waka laughed. "Children are rare in the Moon Tribe. It's the same for all species that are immortal. Otherwise we'd be overrun."

"So immortality backfires then when half your species is wiped out? Harsh."

Issun was about to ask something else until he realised what Waka was doing. Waka never willingly gave information. He was only telling Issun about the Moon Tribe so that they stopped talking about Ammy. Oh no. Issun didn't let go that easy. The Moon Tribe were interesting, but any gossip concerning Ammy and Waka was better.

"So, you and Ammy…"

Waka took a deep breath. He clenched his hand in to a fist and closed his eyes. "A sweet golden flower trapped in the darkness crying."

Issun felt his mouth gaping. "You really are half-baked aren't you?"

"It was a prophecy," said Waka softly.

"You're prophesising now?!"

"It just popped in to my head now. It happens sometimes."

"Gods, why are your prophecies so rubbish? And you're just changing the subject so we're not talking about Ammy."

"Oui, but it's also true. Come on, my little bouncing friend. We're not leaving this palace yet. There's a princess in a dungeon. We need to rescue her."

"Your majesty, the prophet has escaped," said Raik. He stood close to the doorway of the Moon King's study, ready to dive in to the corridor if anything sharp was thrown at him. The Moon King had told him Waka would escape – had even wanted him to escape – but that didn't mean he wouldn't change his mind.

Sitting behind his desk at the back of the room, the Moon King smiled. "Good. Follow him as best you can, and as carefully as you can. Amaterasu will be on her way here now. You remember what to say?"

"Yes." Raik paused. "Will it work?" It sounded dubious to him… and he was worried about Waka chopping his head off… or Amaterasu biting his head off. Neither would be pleasant.

"Yes. Lock them up separately and then bring Amaterasu to me. I'm looking forward to meeting her. She'll be exquisite in her human form."

"As you wish." Raik turned to leave, but the Moon King called him back.

"While you're at it, Raik, have some men prepare a boat for the journey to the Celestial Plain. It's not as if Amaterasu will ever set foot there again. We may as well take advantage of that. It'll be a better home for the entire Moon Tribe than this cursed rock. Don't you agree?"

Raik smiled. "Yes, your majesty."

By the way, has everyone read The Long Howl? You really should read it. It's an okami/harry potter fic. Brilliant. Do a search (if your search on it and read it. Now!!!!!

Thanks for the reviews as well! : )

lol, I know this fic is cheesy in place. That's why it's so fun to write!