Hi! I'm doing author's notes for the first time~ Yay~
I'm glad that I already seem to have found a few fans... It's good for inspiration, doncha know. Thanks Pinkdesi101, for being my first reviewer! ... Ever!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Okami Amaterasu, Issun, or any other aspect of the game Okami.
... uh... I can't think of anything else I want to say, so, let's get on with it!
(Author's notes end)
She screamed all the way down, and then, with an impact only as hard as falling from a standing position, landed on her bottom against something hard. She stood, brushing herself off, and looked around. She was standing next to a huge tree. Beyond the tree's roots were a cliff, which Jenna decided to keep well clear of. She looked around at the lovely blue sky-
A shockwave ripped through her, and she heard an accompanying roar. She staggered, tripped over a root and fell. Her head smashed against something hard and she fainted.
(LINE BREAK)
What has happened to bring on such calamity?
This is just like the ancient prophecy of doom.
My power has diminished over the years I've spent protecting this area.
Amaterasu, now is the time.
We have never needed your power more.
Shine your divine light upon this broken and polluted world.
Let your heavenly rays become our hope as you guide us all!
(LINE BREAK)
"Hey, furball, look at this girl!" Jenna heard an annoying, squeaking voice talking nearby. She stirred slightly. "C'mon, babe. Wake up," said the voice. A dog barked and panted. Jenna felt a nudge. A dog licked her hand, and whined. "Hey, WAKE UP!" yelled the squeaking voice. She sat up abruptly and with shock. "Oh, hey, it worked! The babe's awake!" She turned to look at an odd sight. A white wolf was standing in front of her, covered in swirling red markings. On her back was a rotating green disc surrounded by fire. The wolf's eyes were blazing with red and gold but were filled with kindness. There was something obviously feminine about her.
And bouncing on her forehead was a person-shaped bug thing of diminutive stature, surrounded in a green glow and with a beetle-like hat... or maybe he was a beetle and that was his chitin.
"Hey, girlie!" exclaimed the squeaky voice. She assumed it belonged to the bug."What happened to you?"
"I... I was..." She assumed it was best to cut out the part about her game, after all the wolf in front of her looked exactly like the one on the cover of the game case. "I felt a huge shockwave and cracked my head on a rock..." she muttered, rubbing her head.
"Ooh, babe, that sounds bad. Hm. Lemme check you out... er, give you a check-up..." said the bug, and jumped off the wolf's head and onto her stomach. He jumped up and landed on her chest. He jumped onto her shoulder and then atop her head. She felt him drop onto miniature arms and legs; he seemed to be peering at the side of her head. He stood and headed forwards, dropping past her face onto her chest again. "Hmm, nothing wrong here... eheh..." he said, sounding far too comfortable. "Get off," said Jenna in annoyance. "Huh? Oh, fine..." said the tiny person grumpily. Jenna had by now decided that he had to be a tiny person. No bug would be able to speak... and no bug would be so offensive.
Several minutes later, they were standing in front of the tree. "What's happened here?" asked Jenna. "Dunno," said the bouncing green glow. "Darkness all around... A friend of ours, Sakuya, told us to cut down that fruit there... and the village would be restored. By the way, my name's Issun, and this here's Amaterasu."
"My name is Jenna," she replied.
"Nice to meet ya, honey," said Issun absently. (Jenna was amazed at how he seemed to be hitting on her without even trying.) "How are we supposed to cut it down? It's impossible to get up there..."
"What about that glowing place, there by the tree?" asked Jenna.
"Good idea, let's check that out," said Issun.
Amaterasu rushed straight into the glowing light; meanwhile Jenna paused to take in the condition of the surrounding area. Rocks, branches, and other debris whirled around in a maelstrom of dark wind, a wind she could see. She looked up at the barren, yet still majestic tree, and sighed. She was surprised it wasn't knocked down in this wind, although this area did seem to be mysteriously protected from the onslaught of the gale. Looking forward, she stepped into the glowing light.
Once through, she considered her surroundings. Amaterasu was sniffing around a green field. "Wow..." Jenna said quietly. She walked away from the gate, to the side, and soon discovered that they were actually on a platform. She scrambled away from the edge rapidly, to the accompaniment of Issun's laughter. She gave him a glare and he subsided into giggles. Both she and Amaterasu focused their attention on the glowing disc of light shining on a pedestal.
"Hold on!" exclaimed Issun, suddenly recognizing what they were looking at. "That's an Origin Mirror! They say once your reflection appears on its surface, your memories will be stored in the mirror for all eternity!"
Sounds like an excuse for a save game function, thought Jenna. Amaterasu stood before the mirror, on the small pedestal. She panted, looking at it, then turned and started walking away. Jenna approached, staring into the mirror. She heard mysterious music, echoing and distant. How can you see a reflection when it's emitting light? she wondered. But she suddenly noticed that the light was changing. Behind it, her own puzzled image appeared, looking back at her. Jenna gasped. "I can see it! I see my reflection!" Issun jumped over to next to her, jumping up her arm and onto her chest. "Well, whaddya know," he said cheerfully. Jenna suddenly noticed where he was. "Get off," she said in annoyance. "I'll flick you."
"Geez, fine."
They walked over a bridge and to a small cliff. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there, furball! Look at that!" said Issun. Jenna looked up. A treasure chest sat on the edge. "That chest looks mighty tempting. Let's go check it out. Getting up that high oughtta be a piece of cake. Jump up there!" said Issun. Amaterasu did so, jumping up and off the wall. A wall jump, thought Jenna. Like Mario! Then she realized that Issun was talking to Amaterasu and she was still down below with no way of getting up.
"Hey!" exclaimed Jenna. "What about me? Huh?"
"Right," said Issun. "We can't forget the ba-uh- Jenna." Amaterasu jumped back down from the cliff and then crouched in an obvious "get on." Jenna stood in doubt. "What about the fire thing?" Said 'fire thing' moved forwards and hovered above Amaterasu's head. She smiled gratefully and balanced herself upon Amaterasu's back. Amaterasu leapt upwards, and Jenna screamed with the shock. "Hey, girlie, in case you haven't noticed, we're up," said Issun. Jenna opened her eyes. "Oh." She slid off Amaterasu's back and they kept walking. "This place is beautiful," said Jenna with a soft delight. "Yeah, whatever," said Issun. She could almost see the little midget rolling his eyes.
They came to a broken bridge. Issun paused reflectively, and then started bouncing, an indication that he was about to start talking.
"Looks like the bridge is out. This shouldn't be so hard, um... Amaterasu, was it? That's kinda long. Mind if I call ya 'Ammy?'" Amaterasu tilted her head. "Why do I even have to ask? Listen, Ammy... Ever heard of the spirits of the brush?"
Jenna commented dryly, "I haven't."
"Well, this'll help you, too. Good brushwork has its own soul, 'least that's what they say. Just watch. It'd take all day to explain... A picture's worth a thousand words, right?"
The world became sepiatone. Issun held out a tiny arm with a tiny object in it, and painted a scribble in the air. The bridge acquired a 3D scribble that arced with its proper shape. The world regained its rainbows, and the bridge appeared, fully repaired. "Whoa!" exclaimed Jenna. "How'd you do that?"
"Nice, huh? Just a little technique I've mastered called Rejuvenation. It's one of many brush techniques that use divine power. It's a brush god power that can restore broken or missing things. I've practiced really hard just to master this one technique. But there are 13! Each one is a power of one of the 13 brush gods. Originally, all 13 were a single powerful deity. When the deity died, its power was split into 13 separate gods. The gods now dwell within objects all around us, but... God or no god, how could anyone have the power to master all 13!"
Jenna nodded in agreement. "I think it's amazing that you can do that in the first place." Issun's glow turned pink. "Well, it took me a really long time and all that..."
They continued over the bridge and to a large chasm. A large puddle of sparkling, glittering water glowed beside it. "Wow!" exclaimed Jenna. Her attention was immediately captured by the water which glinted with a thousand diamonds. She rushed over to the pool and dipped her hands in it. Where she touched it, the water emitted even more glowing sparks. As she removed her hands from the water they glittered with little stars as well. She heard Issun talking.
"The River of the Heavens? They mean the fabled stardust river? But I sure don't see anything like that around here. It couldn't be that little puddle over there, could it?"
Jenna looked up. "This puddle? It supposed to be a river or something?"
"I dunno," said Issun, bounding over to her. "It's beyond me."
Amaterasu was proceeding up a nearby hillside. Issun bounced next to Jenna for a moment and then followed her. Jenna regretfully shook the stardust off her hands and followed also.
"Wow! Look at the stars twinkle! I haven't seen such a beautiful nighttime sky in ages," said Issun as she arrived. "Hey, look! Are those stars forming a pattern, or is it just me?"
"Yeah, there's some weird zigzag going on there," agreed Jenna. "Hmm... there's one missing..." Issun observed.
"How'd you get that?" asked Jenna. "There's just four stars, how do you know where the fifth is supposed to be?"
"Just look at them!" exclaimed Issun. "Don't you sense it too?"
Jenna looked up to the sky. Sure enough, she got the sense of a zigzagging line, and thought that there should be another star at the end. "Guess I'll just have to draw the missing star!" exclaimed Issun. The world became monotone again and Issun poked a dot above him. Jenna looked up to see a similar dot floating up in the sky. But when the world unfroze, the ink just dripped down from the sky, and landed on Issun's head, covering him from head to toe in black.
"Bah... Looks like I'm just not ready to draw missing stars," said Issun, shaking off the ink and glaring back up at the sky like it was its fault. The world froze again, but this time, a starry brush the size of Ammy's head appeared and poked a dot. This time, the star stayed, and Jenna could suddenly see the outline of the constellation's shape.
The world turned yellow and black and a great white dragon holding four spheres of colored smoke and whose tail pierced a scroll swooped down from the heavens. He spoke with a deep and majestic voice.
"Ah... Why, if it isn't mother Amaterasu. I apologize for not contacting you sooner during these long years. Having never forgotten you, I, Yomigami, god of restoration, have eagerly awaited this day when we could again meet. While you were away, the 13 spirits of the brush that you once possessed, including myself, have been scattered across this land of men, and now lie in disarray. I became a constellation and managed to survive until now. The time has come for you to seek out and reunite all the techniques. Your power is what is needed to restore the dried riverbed of the heavens and renew the flow of stardust." The majestic head turned, and Jenna felt the weight of his gaze upon her. "Starseeker," he said respectfully, and nodded slowly. He slowly vanished and became a sphere of light with a kanji on it and flew around Amaterasu and finally into her chest.
"Wow!" exclaimed Issun. "That was Yomigami, the god of Rejuvenation! Wait... So you have the power of Rejuvenation now! Can you really use it to restore the River of the Heavens? That would mean you were as good with a brush as yours truly! Nah... it couldn't be true. Who else could master this incredible god technique!" exclaimed Issun. Jenna noticed that Issun either had forgotten, or hadn't noticed how Yomigami had regarded her.
Amaterasu ran down the hill, panting. As they approached the gate at the base of the hill, she leapt up, wall jumped off the top of the gate, and then over it. "Hey!" cried Jenna. "Why don't I get to be unnecessarily epic?"
"'cause you're not a wolf!" exclaimed Issun. They arrived next to the huge chasm.
"Wonder if drawing some stardust would get the river flowing again? Nah... it's one thing to fix a bridge, but fixing a starry river? There's no way you could pull off a stunt like that!"
The world froze and the starry brush appeared again. The river filled in with ink as the brush moved, and then as the world unfroze it was suddenly there, wide and flowing past them.
"Whoa! A river of stardust! So this really must be the River of the Heavens. But what I really wanna know is who drew the thing!" exclaimed Issun. Jenna decided that he must not see the odd sepiatone world the same way she did.
They swam across, Jenna reveling in the cool wetness of the water. She found that when she accidentally took in water through her mouth, it only seemed to be air. It must be impossible to drown in this river, she reflected. The current wasn't very strong and they swam across easily. Jenna noticed as she climbed out of the water that her clothes weren't soaked like she'd expected. She was dripping water; she was wet, but her clothes weren't clinging and cold like they should be. She did a wolflike shake, at the same time that Amaterasu did, and she found that that was all it took to become dry. Issun complained loudly, however.
They entered the glowing gate, and it occurred to Jenna that she had possessed a brush before arriving at the base of the great tree. As she thought about it, it was summoned to her hand. Amaterasu was walking ahead, with Issun hiding somewhere in her fur, and she called, "Hey, wait a sec." Amaterasu turned, and Issun bounced on her forehead. "What is it, babe?" "I have a brush," offered Jenna. "Could I learn how to do brushwork?" Issun bounced away from Amaterasu to contemplate the brush Jenna held out. "I guess so, yeah," said Issun.
"Would you teach me?" asked Jenna.
"Sure!"
(Chapter ends)
Well, now that's over with... Some godmod mechanics implemented as far as water+clothes, and Jenna finds a use for her brush... huzzah. Next chapter: Jenna actually learns the use of her brush and Issun speculates over the identity of Amaterasu!
Jenna: YAY I don't get soaked when I swim!
Meta: That's right! Issun? Anything you want to say?
Issun: Uh... no...
Well, whatever. He'll find something to say... OR ELSE...