Issun woke the next day feeling even more tired than he did before. He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned as he sat up. He couldn't remember his entire dream, but he felt like it had been a big one. It nagged in the back of his mind; he knew it was important for some reason…
Amaterasu rolled over right on top of him.
"AH! Furball, get off…! You're crushing me…!" Issun gasped for air. He tried to pull himself out from under Amaterasu's huge body but had no luck. He started to pound his fist on her desperately. "I… can't breathe!"
Amaterasu yawned lazily and stretched, taking her sweet time before waking up. She didn't look like she had gotten a very good night's sleep either. She stood up sleepily and hobbled over to the tree to stare at it blankly.
Once freed from Amaterasu's body weight, Issun gasped for air, clutching his chest. He rolled over onto his stomach and put his face in the ground, being overdramatic about what he was sure was a near-death experience. Just then, something caught his eyes. He sat up and picked up a necklace of strange beads with carvings in each one. They read as "dream, sleep, etc..."
"Hey, Ammy! Look at this." Issun held the beads out for her to look at.
Amaterasu wandered back over to Issun and sniffed the beads in his hands. After a long pause, Amaterasu licked the beads up into her mouth.
"BAD WOLF!" Issun gave her a smart smack on the head.
Amaterasu swiftly dropped the beads on the ground and hunched over in submission.
Issun picked the beads up with his thumb and pointer finger carefully. The drool coating the beads was not enticing in the least. He wiped the beads off on the leg of his pants and held them up again.
"I bet these are the Dream Beads that half-baked prophet kept talking about." Issun said, looking at them again.
As Issun stared into the carvings on the beads, something in his mind turned. He had a flash back to his dream from that night for only a fraction of a second and then it was gone. He saw Amaterasu, the horrible creature, and the unknown figure shrouded in darkness.
"Hey, Ammy… Did you have a really freakish dream last night?" Issun asked, looking back up at her.
She whined in response.
"So did I. I bet these things let me share your dream with you!" Issun said. He was happy to have part of the puzzle solved, but he paused. "…what was that dream about, Ammy?"
Amaterasu whimpered and scooted away, looking sad.
"Alright, I won't bring it up." Issun patted her gently. "It must be really hard for you to go through everything that you did. I'd have nightmares too if I had to battle the evil that you had to."
Amaterasu licked his cheek quickly.
"…it was just a dream, wasn't it?" Issun asked.
Amaterasu stood up and trotted down the path, eager to explore Taka Pass now that it was morning.
"Stop walking away when I'm trying to talk to you! What I have to say is important-don't ignore me!" Issun ran after her. Before he did, he grabbed the Astral Pouch and put the Dream Beads around his neck. He didn't want to upset Amaterasu anymore, but he had to know what was going on with her mind and what happened in her past. Since she didn't talk, he figured using the Dream Beads would be the easiest alternative.
Once Issun caught up, he jumped safely onto her back and let her take over and go where she felt like first. She had a good time exploring the area like a dog. She sniffed the rocks and trees happily, giving Issun time to plan their next move.
Of course, they should go to Kusa Village and see what they could do to help. On the other hand, Kusa Village had its own shrine and priests; they should be fine on their own for a while. Taka Pass was an interesting place that lead to even more interesting places. He wanted to do a bit of exploring, and he wanted to be sure that everything was back to normal before going on. He figured that it would be bad for a goddess to shirk even a sliver of her responsibilities. He wouldn't admit that he cared for the wellbeing of the people; he was supposed to hate people. Caring was for the women.
"You know? I'm hungry. Remember that little road-side restaurant that we saw in the cursed zone? I bet that would be a great place to stop for some breakfast. Maybe we can get a free meal out of it too since we got rid of the cursed zone. It's just right over there." Issun said. He pointed Amaterasu in the direction of the small building alongside the road below them. Smoke was billowing merrily out of the chimney, proving that they were back in business.
Amaterasu barked in agreement and turned towards the edge of the drop-off.
"Whoa, where are you going, furball?" Issun asked nervously as she started to run towards the wooden guard rail that protected people from falling to their death about twenty or thirty feet below. Amaterasu didn't seem to be listening as of yet. "Turn around; we're going to go over the fence! TURN AROOOOUU-!"
Issun's words dissolved into screams as Amaterasu simply jumped over the edge and fell towards the ground. He clung to her neck tightly, still screaming, while she enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing though her fur. She let her tongue dangle out of her mouth as she went.
Her landing was a bit rough but it looked graceful. Issun jolted into the back of Amaterasu's neck when they came in contact with the ground again. She continued to run as though nothing had happened. Issun remained clinging to her like a baby monkey, his eyes wide in fear. He didn't even notice that they had already made it to the restaurant and Amaterasu was standing outside the door, wagging her tail. IF there was one thing that Amaterasu would do anything for, it was food.
Issun slid off her back and landed on the ground on his own. "If you EVER do that again…"
"Oh, look! Customers!" A man poked his head through the door happily.
The man was very strange with an oddly shaped head and a pink kimono with dumpling decorations on it. He was very pleasant and cheerful, though. Issun sat up and looked at the man.
"I assume that you're here to have some breakfast." The man said cheerfully.
"Yeah, we are. Do you serve large wolves here?" Issun had to ask because Amaterasu was drooling all over the ground at the scent of food.
"Only if they can afford the meal!" The man laughed. Issun smiled. He was glad he wouldn't have to haul Amaterasu away now. He reached into the Astral Pouch and pulled out a coin purse. He withdrew plenty of money for the both of them to have a nice, big breakfast.
"Will this do?" Issun asked as he handed the money over.
"Certainly! I'll get right on it! Feel free to come inside and get confortable. If your wolf can't fit, you can move a table over to the door and I will serve it food through the doorway!" The man practically skipped inside.
He was too overly cheerful for Issun's liking, but they would only be here for a short bit. He'd have to sit through it. Besides, the smells floating on the air from the kitchen told him it would be worth it.
It wasn't long before the man came back out and gave them both heaping plates of delicious food. Amaterasu began devouring hers even before it was set on the ground. While Issun ate, the man sat at a table next to him and began to explain his life story. Issun didn't pay much attention.
"…and that's why I started out just selling tea here, but I decided to hire a cook because there is even more money to be had from selling food to hungry travelers such as yourself." He finished.
"Mmm." Issun replied with a mouthful of food.
"Actually, I have something to ask you two…" The man lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Not too long ago, I got this really nasty feeling in my heart, I felt like I was getting sick. Then this weird fog started to roll in from the Agata Forest and everything started to die! The next thing I knew, it was all gone. You wouldn't have happened to see what might have gotten rid of it, do you?"
Issun though for a moment. How could he word his answer to benefit them but keep their exploits low profile as well? "I think it might have been some divine intervention to clear off something as bad as what you say."
"The gods be praised!" The man said excitedly. The seconds he uttered this phrase, Amaterasu froze and a white light shone briefly from her. She shook herself off once she returned to normal and continued eating. The man didn't seem to notice, but Issun saw it. He also took note of the healthier glow of her coat and how much stronger she looked.
Issun quickly scooted over to Amaterasu and spoke to her in a low whisper.
"I figure you might already be aware of this… or maybe not because you're none too bright… but everyone here on earth is kinda leading their own lives without too much concern with the gods. They pretty much do whatever they want. That might account for some of the loss of your godly powers; people just don't praise or worship the gods anymore. The more good stuff you do for people, the happier they'll be. The happier people are, the more likely they will be to stop what they're doing to worship the gods. It's probably in your best interest to do some little things now and again alongside the obvious exorcism or land-cleansing." Issun explained to her.
Amaterasu wagged her tail. This wasn't a problem for her, she liked to help people. She liked people in general, actually.
Issun and Amaterasu finally finished their meal, paid the overly happy man, and went on their way down the path. The day was turning out to be simply beautiful. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and warming the earth, and every living thing was celebrating the absence of the curse. Issun sat lazily upon Amaterasu's back, looking over the map.
"Well there isn't too much out here settlement wise except for Kusa Village. That's down the road a ways and on the fork to the left. There is also a fabled mermaid spring near there too; we could check that out too. I won't bother with the history until you see one for yourself.
"The fork in the middle leads to the city checkpoint which will take us to the capital. We're going to want to go there eventually but we'll save that one for later. It's a bit of a walk and I'm not up to all that traveling quite yet. The fork to the right is supposed to lead to a secret sanctuary where only the purest of heart can enter and enjoy… needless to say; there aren't many people that can visit these days." Issun went on to say.
Amaterasu stopped in the middle of the road, looking off towards the right. The path led downwards, cutting through the earth as it sloped down quite a ways to an old and dilapidated house surrounded by a rotting fence and an archway. Issun peered down at the house too.
"Weird… it's not mentioned on the map. Let's go check it out." Issun said. He put the map back into the Astral Pouch while Amaterasu changed directions for the house. The closer they got the stranger Issun felt. He knew there was something wrong. As they passed under the arch, the air seemed heavier and even darker.
Amaterasu seemed to be feeling the effects too. Her ears lowered and she looked around more frequently. The air was full of a foreboding feeling, like something unseen was trying to warn them to stay away.
In front of the dilapidated, old house stood a hunched old woman. She didn't seem as much mean as some old women should, she leaked a feeling of evil, especially from the large woven basket she carried on her back. She wore an off pink kimono that seemed like she ever bothered to wash. There were some dark stains in her clothing that Issun didn't wish to think about. Her stringy white hair was tied back into a bun and held in place with what looked like a pair of scissors. Everything about the look of the place, to the rancid smell of the air, and the woman herself made Issun and Amaterasu highly on edge. They knew that there was something seriously wrong with this place.
At first the old woman didn't notice the intruders, she was too busy muttering and pacing about to see them. Soon, she looked up to see them and a dark grin spread across her face.
"Oh, look at this…" The old woman eyed Amaterasu with her tiny, evil eyes glinting in hunger. "What a very large and muscular beast."
"Yeah… uhm… is everything alright out here…?" Issun asked, now fully aware of the fact that they should not have come down to the house to investigate.
"We are fine… my husband and I are fine… but we are very hungry… He left to find us a meal. We haven't been eating well, lately… food seems to… escape our grasp sometimes… Imagine how happy he will be when he comes home to find a big, juicy wolf cooking in the stewpot." The old woman said with a malicious grin.
"What?" Issun exclaimed.
Amaterasu took a step backwards in fear, her fur bristling automatically.
The woman pulled a cleaver out from behind her back and raised it into the air. She ran at Amaterasu and Issun with a speed that no woman her age should possess naturally. Amaterasu yelped in fear and ran in the opposite direction. She ran back out onto the main road and kept going, not bothering to look back or slow down in case of what might happen if she did.
Once Amaterasu did stop, they were by the fork in the road that Issun had spoken of previously. Issun shifted on Amaterasu's back, his heart still racing as he checked to see if they had been followed. Nothing.
"I think we lost her…" Issun said slowly, clutching his chest. The two of them sat there, shaking, until the last of the adrenaline drained from their systems. Amaterasu whimpered once she caught her breath.
"What in the world was that about? She just pulled her knife out on us like she was going to gut us right then and there!" Issun shouted. His best coping mechanism with stress or fear was to react with anger.
Amaterasu lay down on the ground and rested for a moment. She hated that house, she hated the smell, and that woman was very evil. Unfortunately, she would have to return. She knew that the only way to bring the land back to the way it had been for years was to iradicate as much evil as she could, and there was nothing but evil back at that old place.
"Screw this; let's just head to Kusa Village now. I don't want to risk running into that crazy woman again." Issun said
Issun pointed to the fork to the left and Amaterasu walked along the road. The path went under an arch and then began to wind up the cliff wall to the village above them. Kusa Village was placed near the top of the cliffs so it could capture all of the wind with its windmill. The windmill served as not only as a landmark, but it was also made into a shrine because it did so much for the people of the village. The windmill pumped water and grinded grains, without it the village might die off.
That was what Amaterasu and Issun were headed for. They may not have known what they might find in the village but they went ahead anyway. Little did they know that it was in a worse state than they could have ever imagined.
Well, this is as far as I got before I lost interest. I hope someday that I might get it back because I REALLY liked this story and that game… the only problem is that, while editing this, there are plots that I don't remember what I was going to do with… so if I ever did come back, it probably would never be the same story because I'd have to come up with new things. I can only remember the big important things that I put a lot of thought into… and none of the filler details… shoooooooot… Oh well, I'll get to work on the summary as soon as I can. I'll try to make it a good, long summary that just narrates the events but doesn't go into too much detail. Thanks for trying to bear with me on this, I'm so sorry that I suck. I've never finished a project in my life…