(A/N) Heya, I'm back! ^_^;; I'm sorry for the long update wait. School and the like. But I'm still alive, heh heh. *Sweatdrops* You can put down the threathing knife now...

I still don't own Okami. Drats.

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Chapter Two

Épreuve de force de ville de Sei-an! (Sei-an city Showdown!)

After Issun returned with clothing for Amaterasu, she retreated to behind the nearby tree so she could clothe herself. It was then she realized she had somehow kept a few of her wolf attributes; her ears and tail. Her ears sprouted from the top of her head, almost looking like tuffs of hair at a first glance. Her tail hung limp, as usual, but with an easy will of movement, it moved elegantly as it did when she used it for her Celestial Brushwork. This caused a spark of curiosity in her mind…

"Heh?" Issun asked, surprised a little. "So you wonder if you can still use your brush techniques?"

"That's right." Ammy nodded, leaning against a nearby rock. She found it very difficult to balance on two legs at first, but after a few minutes of practice she had the hang of it. She could even run. "I know how to use them as a wolf, but I'm not sure if it works the same way as a human." She tugged at the sleeves of her outfit, a cropped red hakama with a white kimono underneath. It was slightly similar to the outfit of Kamiki Village's sake brewer, Kushi, except her Godly powers had changed a few of the features – Her markings glowed through the fabric and her 'wings' became part of the hakama.

Issun pondered for a moment, contemplating what this meant. "Well, it's true you're pretty worthless without your brushwork " – Ammy twitched – "And if you can't use your divine powers, we're in trouble if we run into - … Ammy?"

Ammy cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"…Where's your Divine Instrument?"

She glanced behind herself, and what should've been there – a large, dark green, discus-like weapon with magic fire surrounding it – wasn't there. Her eyes widened with shock as she franticly scanned left and right for her tool of battle. Issun bounced around in distraught concern, but wasn't being very helpful.

"Oh man! This is terrible, furball! Without the Divine Instrument, the only thing we can do is lie on our backs when we go against those imps!" He said, his voice's pitch near maniacal.

Ammy shouted, "Issun! Calm down! We're not dead yet, and we're going to find my Divine Instrument, no matter who or what has it!"

"… Yeah, but how can we look for it if we don't know where it could be?"

"Wolf Sun Goddess, remember?" She pointed at herself. She inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in the nearby scents.

Salty ocean wind from the ocean…

Sakura from the Guardian Sapling…

Fresh fish from the seafood restaurant…

And a mix of fire, water, plants, and imp's blood.

"Bingo." She grinned triumphantly. "C'mon, Issun! We're getting my weapon back!" She sprinted toward the border gate.

000ooo000

"Get back here, you thief!" One of Sei-an City's residents shouted at the man she was chasing. In his hands was her coin pouch, which he was currently stealing.

"In your dreams, lady!" He laughed. "With Hayazo gone, the title for 'Master of Thieves' is up for grabs!" The aspiring thief grinned to himself. "And that's gonna be my title now!" 'After all, this is my second act of thievery today! I don't know if it's a giant plate or what, but the Gods must've been on my side when I found this treasure!' He pulled out Amaterasu's Divine Instrument. 'This beauty will make me rich!'

000At the front of the city000

"It's here! I know it's here!" Ammy clenched her fists as she walked through the gates of Sei-an City. "Hurry up, Issun! You're so slow!"

The green-glowing sprite bounced after her. "Hey, it's not my fault! It was easier getting around when I was riding on your nose. … … Hey, Ammy, I just thought of something. Since you –" Ammy was already running. "Hey! Don't ignore me, furball!"

Amaterasu still ignored him. She charged forward, head lowered with a determined look on her face. Her Divine Instrument's scent was getting stronger and stronger with each step, and she prepared herself to get it back – by force.

"Thief! Thief!" Her sensitive wolf ears heard a woman's call from the front of the Carpenter's Shop. Her eyes glinted; teeth bared, and fists clenched so hard the knuckles turned white. Turning a corner, she spotted the woman that had proclaimed thief. Ahead of her was a man in dark-green garb – and a Divine Instrument in his hands.

Without a second to think, she leapt forward into a flying kick, screeching a battle cry. The thief looked up in surprise. He was even more surprised when a woman's shoe collided with his face. He slid backwards from the surprisingly strong impact, leaving a trail of dust and dropping the Instrument. Amaterasu walked over to the instrument, picked it up, and slung it over her shoulder as the magic flames revived. "This belongs to me." She spat at the thief.

The thief, holding his head, staggered up and muttered a curse under his breath. "I'll teach you to mess with me, wench!" He withdrew a dagger from beneath his jacket.

"Watch out, Ammy!" Issun shouted, catching up in time to see the sparks flying. "This guy means business!"

Amaterasu glared at the thief threateningly, growling in warning for him to back down. Apparently her wolf-threats didn't work as a human, for he lunged forward in attempt to stab her. She slid to her right, dodging the attack, and roundhouse-kicked him. After recovering from the counter attack, he ran to a nearby wall and lumped off it, flying into the air and throwing the knife at her. She moved in a backwards handspring and landed squarely on her feet.

"Offense Ammy, offense!!" Issun coached. "Attack him! Use the Divine Instrument!"

'Maybe I would if I knew HOW!' Ammy fret, racking her mind for an idea of what to do. 'Think, think! How can I use it?!'

A second of pausing was all it took.

The icy cold that tore through her sleeve was soon replaced with hot, moist, sticky liquid. It trickled down her arm and stained her clothing dull crimson.

Her eyebrows pushed together as her teeth grinded and a snarl emerged from her throat. Her glare locked onto the man that attacked her. She crouched into a feral position, forewarning attack. When he didn't back down, she jumped forward in a spinning attack. He dodged by taking a jump back.

'Damn!' she hissed in her mind. 'That should've gotten him! Augh, I can't fight like this any longer! I need my Divine Powers!!'

In front of her was something impossible.

A thick black line was suspended in air, hovering as if being held by invisible hands. Curious, she touched it. In an instant it shot forward, stopping in front of the thief. Then there was the sound of a blade cutting through solid.

The man dropped his blade and fainted.

The scenery changed from Sei-an to a golden land, surrounded by clouds and mountains. A bright light shined as an oval-shaped portal appeared. Walking through the passage of light was a white mouse with the crimson markings of the gods, perched upon a blade six times it's size.

Tachigami, the God of Powerslash.

"Ah, Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all…" Tachigami greeted. "Even in this form, I know it is you. You have the signs of purity – hair like the snow, eyes like the light, and the markings of the gods. While I cannot say I know why this has happened, I do know you are confused. That you have regained the brush technique Powerslash is a sign of great recovery, and makes my heart soar! Use it to aid you in your travels!"

Tachigami returned through the portal, and the scene faded back to Sei-an.

"WOAH, Ammy!" Issun bounced on her raised arm. "I didn't think you could pull off a stunt like that! You remembered how to use Powerslash!" He turned to the thief being carried away by guards. "And you knocked that guy senseless, too!"

Amaterasu frowned. "Only because he had a low defense. I'm just as weak as when I first came here."

"Oh, lighten up furball!" Issun groaned. "You always to make the smallest celebration so dull."

"Hey, Miss! Are you all right?" A man's voice broke their conversation. They turned to a man with blue samurai garb, a tan jacket, and a purple ruffled collar. His black hair was tied back in a topknot ponytail with split bangs. The man looked familiar to Ammy, but she couldn't remember his name…

"Yeah, don't worry about Ammy, here." Issun told him. "A small rumble never harmed this stubborn old girl!"

Ammy flicked him off her hand.

"You're hurt." The samurai examined her arm.

"Just a little scratch, it'll heal." She said, monotone.

He shook his head. "That's more that a little scratch – Not by much, but still." He pulled out bandage tape and wrapped it around her torn kimono sleeve. She examined the work. The bandage covered the bloodstain and tear almost perfectly. It was pretty handy that he had it.

… Handy… handy… rhymes with candy.

She smiled. "Thank you, Samurai Dandy."

He flushed. "H-have we meet before?"

She nodded. "A while ago, during the trouble with the sea dragon?"

He turned a brighter red. "I-I think so…" After an awkward silence, he mumbled, "…I'd think I'd remember a pretty face like that, or someone with such plain clothing…"

Plain?

"Uh, well, I gotta go." He waved. "Bye."

Amaterasu stood frozen as she processed what he said. Plain?

"Oi! Furball!" Issun bounced back, rather pissed. "Who said you could do that?! That was totally uncalled for!" He jumped up to her face. "You may be a god, but you still need to show respect to others, 'specially your traveling companion!"

"Issun, he called me plain."

"… Wow, Ammy. I knew you were sensitive about insults, but I didn't expect you to take it THAT personally."

"That's not what I meant. He said my outfit was plain. Couldn't he see the markings? Or the wings??"

"Uh… Ammy?" Issun pointed at a nearby mirror.

Amaterasu turned to the mirror, wondering why he had pointed out such a thing. In the mirror's reflection was a young girl with fair skin, ivory-white hair and yellow eyes. She looked just like Ammy. But there were no markings or wolf ears. She sighed with realization.

"I don't get it. How come the water reflects the true you, but a mirror can't show even the slightest glow from your markings?" Issun questioned.

"Water is Nature's reflector – It shows truth." Amaterasu explained. "But mirrors are man-made creations – they show what humans want to see … I'm a God. But humans see me as one of their own. Ordinary." Her expression turned to sadness. "The god's power is still weak. Many still don't believe."

Issun was silent.

She closed her eyes, then opened them again, this time they were burning with determination. "We need to find out how this has happened. Even more, I need to find a way to turn back into a wolf." She turned to Issun. "Are you with me?"

Issun grinned. "Heh, just like I said before; Once I've made a decision, you can't stop me! And I've decided to stick with you, furball."

Amaterasu grinned.

"Besides, whoever had the power to change the form of a god must be even more powerful that you! I could steal their techniques too!"

Her smile changed to a frown.

"… I have five seconds to run, don't I?"

"Three, two, one!"

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(A/N) This chapter features my first-written fightscene (Which I FAIL at DX) and poor Ammy realizing that us pathetic humans still can't see her true divine form.

It's also got Tachigami in it :D

I tried to add some humor, even though this chapter has some intense moments in it, but I'll leave that for my lovely reviewers to decide (It's you, guys! You keep me motivated!). Please R&R, I'd love to hear what you think! But no Flames still!

… Sweets help with motivation & inspiration too. *Holds sign that says "Please Feed the Authoress!!!"*