Chapter 7: Cherry Blossom Shower
We made it safely back to Kamiki Village, but my nerves were still on edge. Even with only a brief glimpse of it, I was certain that what I saw was Oni Island, a demonic island that used to be the stronghold of evil. Emphasis on used to, as it had disintegrated after being cleansed of evil.
But, in that instant, I knew it couldn't be anything else. In that moment, I looked right at the island, the island that had the face of a demon.
"Snowflake! Stop staring into space and come over here!" Kiyoko called. I forced the gloomy thoughts of that place away, running over to Kiyoko and the others.
"Good, you're here. Look around you, Snowflake." She spun around with her arms out wide, emphasizing her words. "The village is returning to normal!"
Doing what she said, the village did seem to be doing better than before, when the powers of the Guardian Tree had faded. A fresh breeze drifted by, bringing with it a sense of renewal. The cherry blossom trees stood proud and tall in a perpetual shower of flower petals. The sacred tree itself has also recovered, if not somewhat, with new leaves sprouting on its majestic branches.
Kiyoko gazed steadily at the tree, a steely look of determination in her violet eyes. Now that I think about it, she did mention something about having the ability to rejuvenate Konohana. You could almost feel her impatience and anticipation as she hurried up to the sacred deck, the rest of us close behind.
She took her place at the center, facing the great Guardian Tree. We were skeptic as to whether she could revive it, at least without my help, but still we watched to see what would happen. Kiyoko started to dance, and I held my brush at the ready in the case that her actions had no effect. That was the case with old Mr. Orange, he danced to revive Konohana as well, but I had to assist him with my Celestial Brush. I figured it would be the same with Kiyoko, or so I thought.
None of us could believe our eyes as she went through the steps of the elaborate dance with extraordinary grace, sharply contrasting her usual clumsiness. Her movements flowed like water, seeming to move and bend with the breeze. It was a sight to see as she moved as if she was a part of nature itself, matching its natural rhythm.
And, to our collective amazement, Konohana had been touched by her pure spirit, cherry blossoms beginning to bloom. Within the next minute, Kiyoko finished her dance with a flourish, and the Guardian Tree was restored in a flurry of blossoms. Her power alone was enough reach the spirit of the sacred tree. She had been right when she said her spiritual power was great. Having been through all that, she retired to one of the tree's branches, one of her favorite spots to relax. It seemed like she was always hanging out there, just resting that same tree branch all the time.
Kamiki Village was back to normal, and although I should have been happy and all, I felt anything but. My thoughts had snapped back to Oni Island, and I could feel nothing but dread. I was sure that our enemy lay in wait for us there, for why else would the cursed island return? My anxiety grew at the thought of having to face this new, stronger enemy until I could no longer bear it. It overtook me, nearly driving me mad.
In a desperate attempt to catch the others' attention, I acted out, barking wildly and spinning in circles, doing just about anything to draw attention. Naturally, the others noticed and came over. Each of them had expressions of concern on their faces, obviously worried about me.
"What's wrong with ya, Ammy?" Issun asked. "You're acting really weird . . ."
"Yes, you are," Waka agreed. "Please, let us know what is the matter, ma chérie." From the look on his face, I knew that he was more concerned than anyone else here.
But it wasn't like I could just tell them what's wrong, since I was a wolf and they were not. And as far as I knew, wolves couldn't talk to humans, and vice versa. Or maybe they can . . . I'd never actually tried to before, but then again, I never had a reason to. And since I am a goddess, it's very possible that I could communicate with them on a psychic level. Waka and Issun may actually hear me, and maybe even Kiyoko, what with her strong faith in the gods. Well, I'll never know until I try.
"Um . . . guys?" I started timidly, unsure of what to say. "Can . . . can you hear me?" They might have heard me, because they looked around, appearing slightly confused. This time with more confidence, I shouted, "Hey! Can you hear me now?" From the looks of bewilderment aimed in my direction, I took that as a 'yes.'
"Y-You can talk, Ammy?" said Issun, infamous for stating the obvious.
"What do you think?" I replied sarcastically.
"But, I mean . . . how come ya never talked before?"
I winked, a somewhat strange gesture from a wolf. "Never had a reason to."
"Wow, I never thought a wolf could talk!" Kiyoko exclaimed.
"You can hear me, too?" I was caught by surprise. Yes, I had entertained the notion of her actually being able to understand me, but I never really expected her to.
"Of course I can hear you! Why wouldn't I? Your voice is clear as day!" Truth be told, I shouldn't have been too shocked by this since she had already shown that her spiritual power was strong. It makes sense for her to be able to hear the voice of a god.
"Oh, that's right!" I almost forgot the very reason I spoke up in the first place. "I have something important to tell you." First making sure everyone was listening to this, I then continued. "It's back. Oni Island has returned."
Waka and Issun were taken aback, but Kiyoko was completely clueless. There was no way she could have known that Oni Island had even existed, much less what it was. We quickly briefed her on the evil island and how it had disappeared many years ago. Now fully realizing the gravity of the situation, she, too, was left speechless.
"Well . . . If Oni Island has indeed returned," Waka said after the long silence, "then we should go there ourselves. The only problem is to find a way in . . ."
"Yes, but we should at least search the nearby area." I stated. "There may be a secret passageway or something we didn't see before."
"You are right. We shall leave immediately."
"Aw, we just got back!" Kiyoko whined, then suddenly had second thoughts. "But who's complaining? It'll be fun to have anotheradventure, so let's go!" It was truly amazing how she could manage to always look on the bright side of things.
Once again, we returned to North Ryoshima Coast via Mermaid Spring. I started to really dislike those then, as I was getting dizzy and disoriented from hopping from one location to another. Nothing seemed to have changed there. The area was still cursed, and Oni Island still lurked in the distance. I didn't think there was anything else to be found here when I caught the scent of something. It was unfamiliar to me, so I tracked the scent to its source. At first, I couldn't figure it out, as the trail seemed lead me absolutely nowhere. Upon closer examination, I discovered a tiny hole no bigger than the tip of my claw.
I called out to the others to alert them to what I found as I pawed at the ground, trying to make the hole a little bigger. When they came, none of them could even see it until I pointed it out, it was so small.
"What do you guys think this might be?" I asked them, hoping to shed some light as to what exactly that hole was.
"Hmm . . ." Issun considered the small hole. "Looks like a tunnel or something, but it's so small, you'd have to be as small as me to get in there!" That's impossible! I thought, but then I recalled a very handy tool.
Not really expecting it to come, I went ahead and attempted to summon the tool anyway. To my surprise, it actually came to me—even after so many years! The Lucky Mallet, a magical object with the ability to shrink things down to the size of a flea.
"Oh, yeah!" Issun said, having forgotten about it. "The mallet still came for ya after all these years! Talk about loyal!"
The sight of the mallet brought back memories of my previous journey, when I had to venture beyond the walls of the Imperial Palace back in the capital. But I won't go into that now.
"How's that mallet going to help us any?" asked Kiyoko, clueless as to what the mallet actually did.
I explained to her how the Lucky Mallet works, and how it can shrink people. "That sounds cool and all, but how can a mallet shrink people?" She examined the mallet curiously. "What do we do, bop them on the head with it?"
"Not exactly," I laughed. "But you're on the right track. It kind of hits you, but it doesn't hurt. You shrink before you even know it."
"Yeah? Then let's give this thing a try! Hammer away!" Again, I wonder where Kiyoko gets all that positivity, that upbeat and carefree personality.
With all that behind us, I figured it was about time to get back to business. Like last time, Issun lifted up the Lucky Mallet, holding it high above his head, ready to shrink us.
"Are you sure we should trust him with that?" Waka teased. "He might hurt someone with it, namely himself."
"If you don't shut up, you're gonna be the one that's getting hurt!" Issun snapped, his usually green glow turning red. And so they launched right into yet another battle of words. But now's not the time for that.
"Cut it out, you two!" I barked, interrupting them. "Seriously, can't you guys go three seconds without being at each others' throats?" Reluctantly, they both went quiet. "Now, shall we get back to the matter at hand?"
"All righty then," Issun said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, the Lucky Mallet." He picked up the mallet he had dropped earlier. "Mallet, do your thing!" he said as he brings the mallet down on us.
Next thing we know, we had shrunk down to about Issun's size. Kiyoko and Waka stared at Issun weirdly, like they didn't even recognize him. I look curiously at them wondering the reason for their reactions, then I realize only I have ever seen Issun up close like this before.
You see, Issun is the size of a dust bunny and no one else really knows what he actually looks like, as he is just a speck to most. And trust me, even I couldn't tell it was him the first time I shrunk down to his size, he looks so different.
Up close, you can see that he has pale green eyes, and he wears an odd-looking green helmet with bug-like antennae on it. You can also tell that his sword, Denkomaru, doubles as his brush. I have to admit, he's kind of cute.
"Ah ha ha! You should see the looks on your faces!" Issun laughed. "C'mon, you guys, let's do what we came here to do instead of standin' around like a bunch of idiots!" He had us there.
No point in arguing, so we leapt into the hole and the next step of our adventure . . .