DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.

The OtherSide

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

A Little Faith

"I can't believe you're buying this, Shiro." Eiji growled under his breath, sparing a not-so heated glare at the object of his ire. "It's a wolf, nothing more than that!"

It was only because of the wolf's nearby presence that prevented the normally pacif Shiro from smacking his adopted brother upside the head for his lack of respect. "She is no mere wolf! If you'd just stop and look at her…"

"All I see is a wolf with a loud little flea for a travel companion!" snarled Eiji. Thankfully, said little companion was asleep alongside the wolf in the darkness of the cave that had become their shelter for the night.

"That flea is who Issun was named for and you know that!" Shiro whispered harshly. "You acknowledge that we're in the past, that there are true demons of old roaming about, but you're not willing to accept who and what she is?"

Eiji didn't respond to the question, instead getting to his feet and exiting the cave. "I'm going for a walk."

"Little Brother!" Shiro sighed tiredly and shook his head. His eyes glowed faintly with mana and he bowed his neck slightly. "I apologize for him, My Lady. The world we lived in was harsh for all of us, a world where even I had doubts of you…"

The White Wolf stood gazing silently into the darkness, she looked once more to Shiro before giving something of a smile on her muzzle as she trotted off after Eiji. Shiro watched her go, the little ponticle snoring loudly behind him.

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"What does Shiro know? Goddess my foot…" Eiji stood pacing in the darkness of the bamboo forest, ignoring the curious wildlife that stared at him from the shadows. He ignored them not because they were of no threat, they were mere animals not vicious demons, but more because they proved Shiro's point. The wolf was something else, yes he'd admit that much, if it was –is– willing to feed what could be its own dinner as well as competition for the prey. The fact that the animals just fawned after the wolf when it fed them was just plain eerie.

Then there was the plants…

Eiji had seen patches of dirt and rock suddenly burst into blooming flowers, trees bare as meatless skeletons suddenly gain fresh life in hues of green and had even seen new life sprout from the ground in a manner of minutes instead of years. He had seen magic thanks to Midoriko and though he held no favor towards it, Eiji was willing to acknowledge its existence in life but this… this was something else entirely.

He had watched life be renewed, the broken healed to beyond what they once were, had watched water and fire flow through the air with intricate grace, the blackness become filled with stars and the moon shining once more in the sky. He had seen demons and monsters of a mythical time be cut down and banished to the ether by means he couldn't, wouldn't see for himself. He had seen an ancient demon lord rise up from the darkness and for the first time for as long as he could remember, Eiji felt fear in his heart.

All thanks to that wolf.

He turned and wasn't surprised to find her sitting there calm as can be, watching him in a way that reminded him of his nearly forgotten childhood. She cocked her head, curious but not angry with him as he believed her to be. He growled, made angrier by the wolf's behavior.

"You're a wolf, damn it! A magical one, I'll give you that much, but nothing else beyond that! You can't be anything else!" He blinked harshly, tears falling from embered eyes. "You can't be…"

She sat there, silently watching. A gust of wind blew high above them, shifting the clouds until the moon was shown in all its glory, shining creamy white light down upon the forest glade. Eiji stood in the dark, eyes staring as the light seemed to twist and flow around the wolf, fur falling in soft strokes by an unseen hand. A child's laughter and the moon seemed to shine brighter and for just the briefest of moments, Eiji unknowingly allowed the tiniest bit of belief into his heart.

It was enough for him to See.

Embered orbs widened in the black as red lines spread like warpaint along the wolf's face and body, creating intricately beautiful designs that were impossible in the natural world. The beads that hung lifelessly from her neck sudden moved and flowed in a tight circle, no longer held together by ordinary string but by an unseen force. A disk alight with the sun's fire floated on her back, doing lazy circles as it burned in the air but did the wolf no obvious harm.

Eiji couldn't help but gape openly at the sight. He closed his suddenly dry mouth and swallowed. Did he dare to say her name? The wolf barked happily, her tongue lolling out between glistening fangs in a pure doggy grin but for a moment… he could have sworn he had seen not a wolf but a woman the likes of which he had never seen, never believed to exist for her beauty could not be compared to anything mortal. This was who Shiro spoke of so reverently, the one person that Eiji couldn't bring himself to believe in for her absence in his world.

'But this isn't my world,' he realized. 'She wasn't there when we needed her but… she's here now… Can I really forgive her… or myself…? Can I put my trust in someone I've never trusted to begin with…?'

For a long moment, there was silence between them.

Slowly, Eiji kneeled down before the wolf, his right hand clutched in a fist over his heart as he bowed his head. "Okami Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all… I, Eiji Kusanagi, swear myself to thee. Call when you have need of me; ask what you will of me. My power, my service, is yours. All I ask is your forgiveness for my lack of… faith…"

A hand placed itself firmly upon his shoulder and he saw warm eyes like the sun and the moon in gentle unity in a face pale as milk framed by hair colored of freshly fallen snow with the markings of kami burning a gentle red on her flesh. A warm but sad smile grew like a blooming flower on her face as her hand rose to gently grasp his chin. She leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his forehead and was wolf once more in his eyes but the mark, the feelings, were still there and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Eiji wept.

To Be Continued...

A/N Inspiration:

Okami has been a favorite video game of mine for some time now and while realistically, I'd never make such a crossover, a friend of mine brought to my attention how Shiro was the only one of the Daikaiju Riders who still had his faith and I wanted to give even just little bit of it back to Eiji, who had no real reason to believe in the first place. Besides that, it is a bit of a teaser in a way, for those familiar with Shinto and the legend of the Yamata no Orochi.

Next Reflection...

"A Leaf on the Wind"