Why am I uploading another chapter in the same day? Well, the truth is, I have up to chapter fifteen done already… but on a slideshow so I can put pictures and music on it with cool graphics that only I'll ever end up seeing… BUT! I felt bad for going so long without uploading a chapter, I figured that I'd bribe my less than a handful of fans back into my favor by spoiling them! Enjoy! Not to beg for reviews, but I really thrive on feedback. Doesn't matter if you're telling me that I'm awesome or if I suck, I just need to know that there is a point to continue doing this stuff. Professional people have money that tells them "wow, I made over a million dollars today for these new Ouran High School Host Club t-shirts, the fans must really enjoy the show" but I'm hardly professional on a FANFICTION SITE where everything is stolen from a greater mind that made it up first… ahem, point is, I need feedback. Please don't be stingy. Do it for the hungry orphans.
While Amaterasu walked along the shoreline, looking for the cove that Madame Fawn mentioned, Issun sat (brooding and obviously permanently scarred from the encounter) on her back. He shivered when he thought about Madame Fawn's face and gagged a bit. This might actually be it, Issun figured that there would be no way he could ever look at a woman ever again. Madame Fawn had driven him to the impossible, swearing off women for good. Issun never thought he would ever make that decision, but he also never thought that he would be sexually harassed by an old woman either.
"How yah doing, Ammy?" Issun asked, trying to get his mind off of the rut he was in.
Amaterasu grunted and stopped, looking around at the curse zone from the safe ledge on the lake that they followed to get to Madame Fawn's home.
"Not so great, huh?" Issun sighed, looking around at the curse zone.
"Hidden by the curse, she said…" Issun muttered. "All that's here is a curse! Look, even that waterfall's water is cursed."
Issun pointed to a waterfall that fell from the cliff wall into the Agata Forest lake. The water was a grey-green color and it foamed at the bottom of the falls in an unhealthy way.
"Its just discussing." Issun turned up his nose. While he moved his head, his eye caught something. There was an unnatural shadow behind the falls. "Hold on. What's that?"
Amaterasu ran over to the waterfall and they noticed a slippery rock path that lead behind the putrid water that cascaded from above. The path lead to the entrance of another cave.
"A cove hidden by the curse, this might be it! But watch your step, it looks slippery and I doubt this slimy water has done anything to improve that." Issun warned Amaterasu.
Amaterasu took a careful step forward, testing the slipperiness of the rocks. If she stepped a certain way, the chances of slipping would be much smaller… but there was something about the rocks that her instincts just told her not to trust. With a second, stiff step Amaterasu made her way across the stacked stones to the cove. Her instincts suddenly told her not to move so she froze.
"What's the matter, furball?" Issun asked, looking down at her.
Amaterasu nudged a large rock that was directly in her path with her foot. The rock slipped and then tumbled into the swirling current created by the falls.
"Whoa! Glad you caught that one or we might have been goners." Issun grimaced at the thundering water that slammed into the rocks and lake.
They didn't have any more trouble now that Amaterasu was more alert and looking for possible threats. She quickly changed course slightly to avoid any of the other loose rocks and soon they were safe on the solid ground of the cove.
It was dark and smelled faintly of decaying plant matter.
"Do you smell that…?" Issun asked, sniffing the air. "Smells like dead plant. What's up with dead plants, or any plants in a cave?"
Amaterasu sniffed the air and cocked her head. The smell was vaguely familiar like she knew what it was but couldn't quite remember where it came from or what its importance was. She walked forward, curious about the smell.
All Issun had to do was follow the sound of Amaterasu's sniffing until they saw a light in the distance.
"You think this leads outside of Agata?" Issun wondered aloud.
Suddenly, Issun and Amaterasu walked right into something very hard. Amaterasu yelped loudly at the pain on her nose and Issun cursed once.
"What the heck is going on here?" Issun exclaimed, the light was still so far away. He put his hand out in front of him and felt a very large rock blocking their path. He moved his hand up higher to the small crack where the light was coming from. What they had thought was an exit in the distance was really just a sliver of light between a rock and the ceiling.
Amaterasu pawed at the rock helplessly. She could still smell the scent through the crack and wanted very much to get through.
Amaterasu whined in response.
"In the legend when you fell, you must have hit your head or something because I have never seen anyone or anything as spacy as you." Issun sighed. "Stand back and let a master work."
Amaterasu took a few quick steps back. Issun was almost blind in the near nonexistent light but luckily, Amaterasu's eyes could cope with the dark so she could watch everything that Issun was doing. She sat a few feet away and wagged her tail expectantly. For a moment, she seemed to have a case of déjà vu as she watched Issun prepare for what he was about to do. It was like she knew what was going to happen somehow without being consciously aware of it. She shook the feeling by shaking her head and switching where she sat. Maybe it would be better to see what Issun was about to do from this angle. She swiftly forgot about the moment of insight she just experienced and began to wag her tail slowly again.
Issun drew Denkomaru from its hilt, shhhing…! The sound of the metal echoed over the cave walls, confusing Amaterasu momentarily. When the echoes died down, Issun took a wide stance and lowered his head in order to focus. There was a sudden explosive rise in the spirit energy that flowed in and out of his body and with nearly blinding speed, Issun slashed at the rock. At first, it appeared as though nothing had happened. The rock remained unscratched and intact for a few short seconds, but just as Issun looked up, the top of the rock slid off at a perfect angle. He had cut the stone cleanly in half with almost no effort at all. Amaterasu wagged her tail and barked excitedly at his display.
"Not too bad, eh?" Issun bragged, putting his sword back in the sheath. "What would you expect but perfection from the magnificent Issun?"
Amaterasu barked again and pawed the ground.
"That was called the Powerslash technique. My grandpa taught it to me and it was taught to him by one of the greatest swords masters of all time." Issun looked back at Amaterasu and the sword that still hovered just on her back. "Since you've forgotten how to use you divine powers and you have a sword, I could teach it to you."
Amaterasu barked excitedly and wagged her tail furiously, making Issun smile.
"All you have to do is focus your Chi, or life force. You should know about Chi considering that you're a god and all… but just in case, just think of a mist of power that hangs over you like guilt hangs over a first time thief."
Amaterasu paused and cocked her head.
"Then, focus that energy into your blade, and then force it through whatever you wish to attack. Its dead useful for lots of things other than removing rocks and fighting enemies. A real pro doesn't even have to make contact with the object and his blade."
Amaterasu looked back at her sword and then stood up.
"You thinking about giving it a try?" Issun asked, a pompous grin on his face. "Well, don't be too upset if you can't do it on the first try. It takes some people YEARS to master it."
The divine power that Amaterasu used to suspend her sword in mid air intensified as she stood on her hind legs, charging the energy around her into her blade. She then came down on all fours with enough power to create vibrations in the rocks all the way to Issun's feet. The glaive, still suspended in the air, slashed downwards. A shockwave of wind shot through the cave and sliced through the bottom, and most thick part of the rock Issun had cut in half. The rock sliced easily as if made of butter.
Issun stood stunned, his eyes wide, his hat askew and a few strands of his hair sticking out from the wind and the shock. He quickly fixed himself up and tried to look dignified despite his injured pride. He cleared his throat and tried to hide a foolish blush on his cheeks.
"Yes, well… it makes sense that you would do so well considering that you are a god and all…" Issun tried to sound smart like he knew this would happen all along.
Amaterasu, on the other hand, was completely clueless to Issun's embarrassment. The only things running through her head were along the lines of "I did good" and "I deserve praise". She looked over at Issun with an expectant and innocent expression that all dogs have when they perform a trick correctly and expect their masters to load praise on them. Despite his humiliation, Issun smiled a bit and gave her a quick pat on the head.
"You're pretty talented, furball. Maybe I'll stick around to pick up a technique or two." Issun said half jokingly.
The rock that Amaterasu and Issun cut began to glow in a calming light that seemed to also give them strength. From the rock burst forth the form of a large mouse, about the size of a large dog. It had the same patterns and swirls on its white and crimson coat as Amaterasu.
The mouse also had a sword tied to its belly. The mouse reached back and removed the sword, which was twice the length of its sheath, and swung it into the air once and then set the tip in the ground. It sat on the base of the hilt, balancing perfectly on the sword.
"Great goddess Amaterasu, greetings. I am Tachigami, the god of swordsmanship. I was once a part of you but, when you passed away from your battle, I and the other twelve gods and goddesses were separated from your body to preserve your divine abilities. Now that you are alive, you must retrieve them all or you will have no prayer in standing more than a minute against the forces of darkness. I will give you the power of Powerslash to use in your travels as you see fit. I wish you luck on your journey." The rat spoke before disappearing into the darkness.
"Tachigami, my grandpa told me about these gods like this. They were always rumored to be little parts of one whole. Now it makes more sense. You can't remember anything because nothing is in your furry head to remember. The more abilities we collect, more should come back to you." Issun said.
Amaterasu seemed to pause for a moment, as if trying to think which was quite profound for a wolf to do. The look in her eyes was one of faint concentration, as if she was trying to drag something out of the back of her memory.
"Hey, space case! Wake up. We have a job to do. We gotta check out this place and then head out to look for the rest of your techniques." Issun smacked her on the back of the head.
The hit to her skull seemed to rattle her for a moment, but then she just wagged her tail again.
"Maybe I should call you furBRAIN." Issun shook his head and hopped onto her back and they continued into a much lighter section of the cave. There were holes all over in the ceiling that let in the sunlight in patches that littered the flood and made rays in the musty air. Droplets of water could be heard hitting the floor and echoing through the cave. Despite the curse just outside, it was a quite peaceful place to be. There was something that troubled the two of them, though.
Amaterasu was a bit more distracted than she was usually. It was easy to tell that she wasn't taking in her surroundings like most natural predators would no matter the situation. She had a quick flash back to the crimson flower back in the forest but that was all the farther she could strain her mind to go.
Issun was less comforted in his thoughts. If Amaterasu couldn't remember any of her abilities, what else couldn't she remember? When this was all said and done, would she remember a home to go back to? He found this all very troubling. What would happen to her at the end? He couldn't help but think of the wolf's welfare, he felt connected to her somehow.
"Hey, Ammy. Can't you remember anything about your past, like where you come from?" Issun asked.
Amaterasu cocked her head in confusion, as if the question hadn't even registered. Issun sighed, maybe she was just stupid.
The duo finally made their way into a hole in the canyon. They were standing in a circular area that opened up to the sky about at the height of the cave ceiling. In the clearing was a small tree, its leaves withered and its branches dead. Some things had taken to living in its rotting core.
"Poor thing… looks like it went through quite an ordeal. I wonder what happened, trees just don't drop dead all of a sudden and the curse zone doesn't reach this far." Issun jumped off of her back looked around for the possible cause of death. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that this tree was special. He always listened to the back of his mind, his swordsman instincts were usually dead on.
Amaterasu sniffed the tree carefully from all angles.
"Maybe it had a parasite infestation…" Issun looked back at Amaterasu and, to his horror, she was lifting her leg at the tree.
"BAD WOLF!" Issun shouted at her.
Amaterasu put her leg down and scurried over to the far side of the natural room. She stuck her tail between her legs and laid as low as possible to display submission to Issun.
"Don't just wiz on it, this tree is special. I can feel it." Issun began to get a bit distant in thought, making Amaterasu think she wasn't in trouble anymore. She stood up slowly but Issun's glare shot at her again and she resumed her stance. "You're a girl wolf GODDESS, why in the world would you have to mark any territory?"
After a few minutes of scolding from Issun, she snuck back over to the tree as if she believed that Issun wouldn't notice her huge, white form disappear to the other side in order to hide from him.
"Humph…! Now… let me just figure this one out here…" Issun circled the tree, done yelling at Amaterasu, although she didn't know it. She skittered around to the other side whenever Issun came to close, neglecting to notice that he wasn't paying attention to her at all.
"What did that crazy old freak say again…?" Issun muttered.
Issun wracked his brain to remember the exact details. "Something about being a key… but what the heck does that mean?"
In his frustration, he leaned against the wall and glared at the tree. A tiny bit of the wall crumbled away, surprising Issun. He took a step back and noticed that, behind a small layer of dust, there was something carved into the wall. He used his hand to brush the dirt away and reveled a small mural that depicted a magnificent tree in a cove and a healthy forest. Strange runes of which Issun had never seen before surrounded the picture. He tilted his head to try and make sense of them but changing the angle of optics did not help.
"I wish I knew what this said…" Issun muttered. "Ammy, come here!"
Amaterasu looked up at him in a very alert fashion, determined to make him happy with her again. She trotted over to his side.
"Take a look at this… Since I'm an artist, I'm going to go ahead and guess that whoever made this is trying to convey that when this tree is healthy, the forest is healthy and strong although their style and vision is quite lacking. That might be why this entire area was cursed so easily, the tree is dead." Issun informed her.
Amaterasu licked the picture of the tree and then stared at it for a long time, as if expecting something to happen.
"Do you know anything about making things grow? Can you remember if that was in your arsenal of godly techniques?" Issun asked her.
Amaterasu whined and growled.
"Jeez… this is one heck of a riddle… what could possibly bring this tree to life?"
Amaterasu walked back over to the tree and sniffed it again.
"Don't do it, Furball…" Issun warned, thinking she was going to empty her bladder on the tree. Amaterasu did not. Instead, she sniffed the tree harder. She knew that smell. And for the first time in a while, she knew from where. Her tail wagged excitedly.
"What is it now?" Issun asked, looking back at her. "Do you have an idea?"
Amaterasu barked and went over to him, pawing at the ground excitedly as her whole body shook with her tail wagging.
"Well, lets see it." Issun said, climbing into her back. Amaterasu immediately shout off through the cave exit and down the lakeside path.
"Where do yah think you're going?" Issun shouted. He had to cling to his hat to keep it from blowing off of his head. "The tree is back that way!"
Amaterasu ignored Issun and kept running until they were on the path that snaked around the side of the canyon wall to the cave.
"Turn back, Ammy! You're going the wrong way!" Issun pulled on the fur of her back, trying to steer her back in the appropriate direction.
Amaterasu barked back at him.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Issun asked, looking down at her. Amaterasu let out a single resolute bark.
"…alright, I'll trust your judgment this time." Issun went back to clinging to his hat, letting Amaterasu run even faster than the wind through the cave and out into the open on the other side. Issun couldn't help but doubt Amaterasu's judgment. He didn't know what was going on in her head and their short time together had given him good reason not to trust her all the way through. It wasn't like he had a choice this time; he would just have to go along and pray (ironically) that everything would work.