Chapter two! I actually have much more of the chapters written, it's just a pain to get them up because I have other things going on in a day… and not a whole lot of people read this yet so it's like I have a huge , angry fan base if I don't hurry. Enjoy anyway!
I do not own the characters.
In a distant mountain range, kept far away from the rest of the world and its troubles sat a temple. It had been placed on the mountain range which was told in legends was directly under the home of the gods. The air in the mountains was crisp and cool, and the atmosphere calming to the mind and soul.
One man sat in the garden of the temple alone, a cup of cooling tea in his hands. The monks knew very little about this man but he was very powerful and had knowledge of the gods that they had never yet heard of. He was always welcome at the temple, but they sensed an unrest within him. He would constantly be caught staring at the sky during meditations and even mid conversation, like he was doing now. His eyes were fixed skyward.
The man enjoyed the temple because it was the closest thing he could get to his old home, which he missed desperately but seemed to have no way of getting back to. As the young man continued to stare into the clouds drifting lazily, he let out a sigh. He had come to this place in search of a very old friend, but had yet to locate their whereabouts. No one could help him in his task either because he refused to describe what it was he was looking for.
The man himself was young and beautiful and had golden hair, something that was rare if not completely unseen in this land. He carried with him only a sword and a flute which he was very skilled at playing and often did, but the only tunes he would play were sad and lonely sorts. Upon his head he wore n headdress in the shape of an eagle with a veiled back designed like wings. His kimono was pink in color and he also wore purple hakama giving him an overall effeminate look. He usually wore a smile but it wasn't a happy smile.
The man continued to stare at the sky, spinning the cup of now cold tea in his hands. He longed for a sign, anything of his friend. Even to know that the unthinkable scenario of death may have worked its way into his search would put him at ease. He would know where to look for the dead, although it would not be pleasant nor fulfilling. He marveled at how one cloud in particular looked so familiar to him in the shape of a long lost friend that his heart skipped for a moment… no, it wasn't the cloud. Something in the air was different, he could sense it. He felt the presence of an aura that he had nearly forgotten, it was close by.
Without a second thought, he jumped to his feet, spilling his tea on the ground. He ran through the garden as quickly as he could, there wasn't a second to waste. After all this time, he may have found what he had searched so long and hard for.
The next day, Issun was asleep in the tree, his body rocking dangerously from one side to the next from the branch where he was perched. A loud bark suddenly woke him and he did fall, only to catch himself on a branch below him. His heart beating fast from adrenaline, he only barely noticed the lack of weight at his hip at the thud on the ground. He noticed that he had dropped Denkomaru in his fall and, to his horror, a white wolf was sniffing at it.
"Don't touch that, you mutt!" Issun shouted, trying to pull himself up onto the branch again. The wolf looked up at him briefly, then snatched his sword and ran. Issun let out a terrible sort of noise and dropped himself from the tree to pursue the lupine thief.
"Give it back, ya stupid dog!" Issun chased after the wolf. He found it even more aggravating that the wolf only had to lope slowly to keep in front of him. How dare it mock the Great Issun?
"I'M GUNNA SKIN YOU, WOLF!" Issun shrieked.
Just then, the unthinkable happened. Just when Issun was without a weapon, an ambush. There were nasty imps everywhere. Imps are common monsters resembling large monkeys. They carry instruments which, when played, can paralyze a human soul, and they wear paper masks with strange designs on them.
Surrounded by now, Issun felt nervous. No weapon, no prayer and he was sure they wouldn't let him go if he painted their portrait. As the ghoulish creatures closed in, Issun braced himself. One of the imps let out a shriek of pain and Issun opened his eyes. The Imp lay on the grass, its arm severed from its body and the wolf standing over it, Denkomaru in its maw. Issun watched as the wolf wielded his sword to dispel the enemies in the area one by one. How in the world could a wolf even fight monsters with a sword, anyway?
A quick slash to the neck, a stab to the heart, The wolf fought almost poetically. It made killing look like an art, somehow. Issun watched as the remaining wounded fled for their lives from the wolf. The wolf stood still for a moment, then walked over to Issun with the sword, dropping it at his feet, and wagging its tail.
"…Nice wolfy…" Issun said slowly as he reached down to grab his sword. The wolf looked up at him expectantly so he put out a very careful hand. The wolf stuck its head into his palm instantly and he petted its beautiful coat. The wolf seemed happy.
"You… uh… are very skilled at fighting…" Issun said awkwardly. In all of his years of traveling, he had never seen something like this ever before. The wolf let out a bark and then scratched its own ear with its foot.
"I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like you, wolf. Where did you come from?" Issun asked. He realized that it was stupid to ask a wolf a question, wolves don't talk. There was something about this one, though, that just seemed… higher than other wolves.
The wolf wandered off in no particular direction. Issun felt this overwhelming need to follow it, for reasons unknown.
"Where are you going, wolf?" Issun asked, walking beside it as it sniffed the ground, then a sign along the side of the road. The wolf went in the direction that the sign had advised, to a monastery in the area. Has it really known where it was going?
"You know, you might not be welcome there. They might think you're a monster." Issun said. Come to think of it, why did Issun trust it? Wolves were wild animals and no amount of animal experience that he had would change that.
The wolf walked down the path like any person would, its tail swinging merrily behind it. It seemed eager about something. Issun smiled at the beast, its manners were quite good for an animal. He decided ultimately to tag along, this wolf was interesting enough for a traveler to remain entertained for a time.
It was nearly nightfall again when they arrived at the monastery. Issun looked around, the place seemed empty and quiet. This seemed to unnerve the wolf as well. It looked around and growled softly at the building.
"I'm not liking this, furball. An oath of silence is one thing… and this ain't it." Issun frowned.
The wolf trotted up to the entrance anyway and scratched at the door, unable to open it. Issun obliged and let them both in. The inside of the building looked even worse than the outside. It was dark, musty, and empty. Like the place was abandoned.
"I'm really not liking this…" Issun repeated.
The wolf let out a soft whine and trotted into the darkness without Issun. He instantly felt the weight of loneliness and fear, not necessarily his own. There was something seriously wrong with this place and he didn't like it one bit. There was some kind of aura emanating from the walls, one he didn't trust…
Issun became aware of a light tugging on his cloak. He looked down to see the wolf trying to get him to follow.
"I'm coming, don't worry." Issun said, following the wolf blindly into the darkness. The wolf let Issun rest his hand on its head so they wouldn't get separated in the gloom.
The pair stopped when they could no longer hear their footfalls echoing in the hall, assuming they must be in a room. Issun looked around, hoping for a crack of light that might betray the location of a window.
When one was located, he spoke to the wolf. "Hang tight, okay? I'll ne right back."
Issun crossed the floor while the wolf waited, seeming ill at ease about something. Issun could hear it shifting as he walked. Just then, he stumbled over something and nearly fell.
"AH! …dammit!" He cursed as he tried to regain his balance for a second. The wolf let out a bark.
"Its okay, I'm not hurt… I just stumbled." Issun said. The steady brushing of a tail against wood flooring met his ears as he finally reached the window, no worse for wear. He swung it open and a gruesome sight met their eyes.
Bodies of decapitated priests lay in a dried stain of their own blood. There were at least eight. They had also been dead for a while, at least a week. The wolf immediately stood and took an offensive position, the fur on its back standing on end as it growled.
Issun covered his nose with his cloak. "That explains the smell…"
The wolf continued to stare, transfixed at the corpses, its eyes glowing with hate. Could wolves display hatred in their eyes?
"Its okay, calm down, furball. They're already dead. There's nothing we can do." Issun stepped over the bodies and petted the wolf carefully. It seemed to calm down a bit. Once it stopped growling, it walked over to a dead body and very gently moved it out of the way of something.
"Oh-ho! A trap door!" Issun exclaimed. "This should be interesting."
He pulled the trap door open with some difficulty, it was heavier than it looked. The instant it was open far enough, the wolf slipped through and disappeared.
"Hey, wait up!" Issun called after it, sliding in himself.
He found himself in a cavern, lit distantly by candles. He could see the form of the wolf trotting down the dimly lit cove. Issun followed quickly to catch up. They walked together in the near darkness for what seemed like ages until the wolf grew excited and ran ahead.
"I can't keep up with you if you run, slow down!" Issun shouted, running to keep up. Before he knew it, he was inside a huge internal cave room lit by hundreds of candles. The wolf stood, wagging its tail and a small group of surviving monks and priests. They looked back at the unlikely duo in surprise. Then, the oldest and obviously the head of them all smiled at the wolf.
"Welcome, Amaterasu."