A/N: Ah, Chapter 2 is up! I'm feeling particularly accomplished today. Just to warn you, Amaterasu does not speak outright in this story. I imagine her as being able to communicate through body language, which Waka and the Brush Gods can understand because they are not quite mortal beings. I hope you can understand what she "says" based on Waka and others' reactions and replies to her, but if it's too confusing, let me know. Also, I have the Brush Gods speak in italics to show that their voices are heard telepathically. Quotes mean the speaker is speaking out loud, which is how Waka and the Celestials speak.
Phew, that's about it, so I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Sun Goddess
Well, thought Waka, as he tried to flick the hair out of his eyes. I suppose this goes to show that things in the junkyard are there for a reason.
The pod had been doing well for some time, but despite all signs of proficiency, it was still a piece of junk. The circuits had decided to stop working, and he was steadily losing air. Waka tapped the flickering buttons as fast as he could, swearing as he became aware of the Celestial Plain zooming closer and closer to the unstable pod. DANGER! DANGER! The control panel flashed at him.
"Why thank you, I am aware of that," he said irritably, frantically trying to slow the pod down before they both became part of the Celestial Plain's topography. The pod managed to slow a little, but it was already too late; their falling velocity was too high, and with a final tug of the steering wheel, Waka pulled them upright before crashing into the ground. Panting, he stepped out of the steaming pod and assessed the damage. The little pod had traveled quite far from the initial crater it made when it landed, leaving a long, ugly gash of brown dirt over the golden-white topsoil. He winced. Not the best way to create a good impression, was it?
He glanced around. Luckily no one had been around to watch. He was about to jump away from the scene of the crime when he turned and found himself face to face with a fearsome snake.
The only snake Waka had ever seen was Orochi, but this one looked strikingly similar—the only differences being that it had one head instead of eight and its body glowed with a porcelain sheen instead of a consuming black. Its face was broad and sprouted with whiskers, tapering down to a thin snout at the end. In each of its four hands it held glowing orbs, one yellow, one red, one purple, one green. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about this snake was its tail, which was partially embedded in a giant scroll. The snake's intelligent eyes flashed as it observed him, and for the first time Waka understood what it would have felt like to see Orochi out of its chains. It would have been terrifying.
"Bonjour," he said pleasantly.
The snake said nothing. It narrowed its eyes and swooped past him, focusing its attention on the gash. It studied the mar for a few moments, weighing the orbs in each of its hands. Then, with a precise sweep of an arm, it brushed the yellow orb over the soil, immediately returning the ground to how it had been before and leaving behind nothing but a faint golden sparkle in the air where it happened. Finally, the snake turned back to him.
Get that away, it ordered, extending a curved nail at the ruined pod. With one final, disdainful glare, the snake coiled and leapt into the sky, gliding to the west. Waka felt like it had meant to say something more before it left. He shrugged and examined the pod, wondering what he could do with it anyway. He knew it was poor manners to leave his trash around, and he had already gotten on one god's bad side before he even started. But somehow he got the feeling that he would have made a poor impression no matter how he made his entrance. He was of the Moon Tribe, after all. He had no place here.
"I would gladly dispose of this for you, Monsieur Snake, if only you'd tell me where I can do so!" he called into the distance, even though the snake was no longer in sight. He turned to the pod. "You won't go anywhere and stir up trouble, would you?" He waited politely for it to answer. "What, are you implying moi is one to cause trouble? What a tongue you have, for a piece of junk! Now stay put like a good boy. There," he said, patting it affectionately. "I'll come back after I know what to do with you."
He turned around, about to head west to follow the flying snake, and found a striking white wolf with crimson markings sitting lightly on the grass, staring intently at him with intelligent black eyes. On the wolf's back was a divine instrument—a red disk that looked exactly like the sun, engulfed in crimson and azure flame that flowed down the wolf's back and did not make a single mar on its pure white pelt. The wolf cocked its head, its steady eyes running up and down his body until they finally came to a rest on his face. The amusement in its eyes told him that it had witnessed his conversation with the inanimate pod, and he cursed both the wolf and his own stupidity. Well now, don't I look like a fool.
He smiled in an attempt to recover his dignity. "My dear lady Amaterasu, if you don't know what I am, all you need to do is ask."
The wolf snorted.
"Forgive me, of course you are aware that I am of the Moon Tribe. However, perhaps you were unaware that we are so advanced, we can communicate with our own inventions, hm?"
The sun goddess snorted again, although this time it sounded much more like a "Ha!"
Amaterasu! Waka glanced around, searching for the owner of the voice that had just called out. The wolf goddess was staring at a spot in the grass, and when he followed her gaze he saw a tiny, white mouse god. Amaterasu! What are you doing here! Yomigami warned us that a Moon Tribesman had arrived on our sacred plains! The mouse paused in its tirade to glare at Waka. You shouldn't be talking to him!
There was something rather irritating about being looked down upon by a creature less than one-hundredth his size, but Waka calmly shook the feeling away. He was here on a peace mission, after all. Patience was vital.
"I apologize, Monsieur Mouse, but I assure you I am not here to harm the sun goddess or the Celestials. I was sent here by Princess Kaguya, fifth princess to reign on the moon, in order to make peace with the Celestials and their gods, including you and the great sun goddess Amaterasu, of course."
The mouse god sniffed, still appearing suspicious.
He's too flowery, Amaterasu, he said. I don't trust him.
Waka sighed. Did they prefer him to be blunt and rude, then? He was a court boy—they practically ate flowers there.
Amaterasu stared at Waka again, considering him carefully. She was obviously his ticket to gaining the trust of the other gods, and if she agreed with the mouse that he was suspicious and untrustworthy, then it would be au revoir to Celestial Plains for him.
He waited for a few tense, nerve-wracking minutes, but then something passed in Amaterasu's eyes, and he knew she had accepted him.
A-Are you sure about this, Amaterasu? the mouse asked. When he saw the resolution in her black eyes, he sighed and addressed Waka. Amaterasu has accepted you, he said. Therefore I will as well. My name is Tachigami, and I am the god of the brush technique, power slash. Come with me. I'll show you the Celestial Plain and its people.
Tachigami scurried through the grass, to the west. Waka turned to Amaterasu, who was still sitting where she had been when he first saw her, staring at him intently.
"Merci, Amaterasu," he said sincerely, bowing. "Thank you."
She nodded, then pointed her nose after Tachigami. Follow him, was what she was telling him.
"You aren't coming, my dear Amaterasu?"
Her eyes glinted and she wagged her tail slightly. He smiled.
"Then I shall see you again soon. Ah, Monsieur Mouse! Please wait for me!" he called, chasing after the tiny brush god. The sun goddess watched them leave, remaining still and silent as a statue, the tiniest glimmer of amusement in her deep, black eyes.