Yay, I finished another chapter! Sorry this one took longer, I had already written the others and had decided to upload them. What can I say, it's a lot easier to write in a burst of inspiration and post a bunch of chapters than it is to write one and post it on minor writer's block.

Thanks again to Pinkdesi101 for being my ONLY reviewer! ^-^

Disclaimer: I do not own Okami. Just Jenna.

Jenna: *.*

(Author's notes end)

Amaterasu turned to the exit, moved forwards and used Power Slash to easily chop through the thick wood bars of the gate. She padded out and down the steps followed closely by Jenna, who was busy inspecting the feathers. She drew one out again, and watched it lengthen. She noted its weight.

Issun was bouncing on her arm. "I just can't understand why Tachigami gave you those things-" he said.

"You've said that twice now."

"Well I-"

Red and blue exploded all around, and an arena formed. Black kanji signs swirled around the walls, and green monsters appeared, bearing flutes.

"What the-! Where'd they come from?" exclaimed Issun. "Whatever. Draw first, ask questions later, am I right?"

Jenna stared at the creatures. She knew what they were. "Green Imps!" she cried. As one stretched out its flute to try to hit her, she jumped aside. Instinctually, she looked around for a way to fight. Across the arena, Amaterasu was fighting furiously with her Reflector and Power Slash. Evidently, Jenna was being left out of her access of the Canvas, because she never saw Amaterasu's brush. But she got an idea from her.

Jenna called her brush to hand, calling up the Canvas. Immediately everything paused, including the ferocious fighting of Amaterasu and the eager bouncing of Issun (who was hiding in the space behind Amaterasu's head, between her shoulderblades). Jenna took a deep breath, glad for the magic of the Canvas.

She raised her brush and drew a straight line across the attacking imp. After another moment appreciating the relief from the fear and adrenaline of battle, she allowed the world to resume-

And her brush stroke did nothing.

Jenna gasped and avoided another blow. Why didn't it work? she thought frantically. She froze the world again with another use of the Canvas, and stared at the now-blackened imp.

Suddenly, something occurred to her. She called forth the pouch of feathers Tachigami had given her, and it appeared in her hand. She withdrew one, and then, wincing with anticipation, dropped the Canvas. The imp struck out wildly, trying in vain to make contact with its foe.

Jenna stepped out of the way of one such blow, and then, threw the feather at the imp, ninja-style. The feather buried itself in the imp's side and began to steam. The imp howled with pain and shook off the ink. It turned to her. Jenna pulled out another feather, and paused while she the imp stared at each other. It was a short game of feints, then finally the imp made a move. Jenna dodged, and thus defended she threw another feather.

It hit its mark with a satisfying thunk, piercing its target's armor. Jenna grinned. She could fight. The feathers actually did substantial damage, more than she thought, and after three more hits she had finished off her enemy. Amaterasu had done the same. As they were defeated, the imps turned into flowers. "What on earth?" said Jenna, finally noticing this after the battle was over.

"Hey, good job, furball!" said Issun. "Monsters like this usually have some things on them..." He jumped forwards and into the nearest patch of flowers, tossing out assorted bits and bobs such as ink pots and small orbs which seemed to contain fire. Jenna picked up one of the small red Holy Globes and offered it to Amaterasu. "Do you need this?" Ammy shook her head. "No?"

"Alright!" declared Issun. "Jackpot! I got some yen, and look here! A demon fang."

"Good for you," said Jenna dryly, who didn't know what to think of taking items from flowers that happened to be the remains of living creatures.

"Aw, don't use that tone, sweetie. This yen was probably taken from an innocent passersby. And this is the only way to get these fangs. The aristocrats love 'em as a symbol of wealth... 'cause they'll pay high prices to get 'em. Heh heh heh!"

Jenna shrugged. "Oh yeah, and..." Issun commented, "Good job with those feather things."

"Thanks."

They walked for just a bit before a question occured to Issun.

"Hey, did I hear you yelling about these monsters? What do you know about 'em?" asked Issun curiously.

"Well, they're Green Imps, they harass people by attacking them or causing disease, etcetera etcetera."

"Oh. You fought 'em before?"

"No."

"Heard about 'em?"

"No."

"Then, how on earth do you know about 'em?" cried Issun, bouncing up and down agitatedly.

"No idea."

Issun wasn't satisfied with this answer, and so kept pestering Jenna as they walked down another flight of stairs. Jenna just ignored him. Eventually, he shut up as they fought more Green Imps. The battle was mostly uneventful. Issun nabbed more Demon Fangs and yen.

They continued through the River of Heavens to the cliff without any talking, then as they passed by several pots Jenna pulled out her throwing feathers and threw one at each. The pots shattered effortlessly. "Awesome," said Issun.

"Thanks."

"How'd your aim get so good?"

"I have absolutely no idea! But I love it!"

Unnecessary epicness done, they moved out through the portal and back out into the maelstrom, which seemed to have gotten stronger. They stared up at the fruit, and Amaterasu seemed to be taking her time about using her brush.

"Well, cut it down!" exclaimed Jenna. "This place feels like it's going to fall apart!"

Amaterasu huffed at her and cut down the fruit with a Power Slash. Immediately a wave of light and greenery rushed outwards from where they were. Jenna gasped as she watched trees sprouting, water splashing blue and bright, and flower petals of many colors starting to fall through the air. She tried to catch some. They drifted past her hands, and she couldn't catch a single one, but she had great fun trying. Amaterasu watched this with a wolfish smile.

"Wow! The village's been restored! Sakuya came through big time! She really was protecting the village," said Issun. "But I sure wish I coulda spent more time in her kimono, if ya know what I mean!" He laughed. Jenna got annoyed and flicked him with a finger. He fell onto the ground. "Hey!"

"That's what you get," said Jenna, "for being a pervert."

Issun had no reply to this, so he jumped back onto Ammy's head without comment. "But seriously, with the monsters running around and all, the village could still be in danger. Let's go see how they're all doing down there."

They walked away from the great tree and through an archway, beginning the descent down the hill. Jenna looked around. Everything had a vibrant green tint to it. It all looked very alive, but Jenna wondered why the light was green. She looked up at the sky and shivered as a sudden chill rose up her spine. No sun... she thought. Something was wrong.

She had fallen behind, and moved to catch up with them. The path split, one way going downhill and the other going uphill. Amaterasu had stopped in front of a statue and was sniffing it curiously.

"What in the world?" said Issun. "I don't remember there being a statue here... Well, whatever. Let's go talk to the villagers!"

Amaterasu rushed off. Jenna bit her lip nervously. She had a sneaking suspicion that this statue was a villager.

She jogged after them. Issun was examining a lady standing in a field when she arrived. She picked up on him saying "-like the villagers have turned to stone or something..." and she heard a sudden and loud roar. Her eyes widened with fear and she was pushed onto the ground by the evil power that blasted through her. It stopped after a moment.

"Jenna?" cried Issun in momentary concern. She stood back up, shakily. "That's not one of those smaller monsters that's lurking about. A roar like that's got to belong to something much bigger."

"Yeah." said Issun. "Well, anyways, let's hurry up and find somebody with a pulse around here!"

Issun and Amaterasu found a statue of a little boy as Jenna glanced around for another villager. "No good. This one's not moving. What about your end, Jenna?"

Jenna saw another statue and ran to it- a girl working in a rice field sat cold and still. "Nix; nothing here," she called.

"Everyone here was perfectly fine just a few hours ago! The village is back, but what's up with this dark sky?" Issun was starting to panic. "Maybe it's dark outside the village too! Let's find some high ground so we can take a look!"

Jenna pointed back up the hill. "The other path!" she exclaimed. "Yeah!" shouted Issun. Jenna started running, followed by Ammy, who seemed to be deliberately matching her pace so as not to pass her. They passed the frozen villager and ran up the higher path. They spotted a viewing platform.

As they ran to it and stopped at its rails, Issun said, "This is bad. The sun's not even shining. It's as black as night as far as the eye can see. And not a single villager can move a muscle... Is it some kind of curse? Did a monster do this? It's not gonna stay like this forever, is it? If only the sun were out to light our way... If we could draw a circle in the sky, we'd have ourselves a sun! But I guess that'd be impossible, even for a god like Ammy. Maybe we'd better seek out another brush god for help."

Jenna looked at Ammy curiously. Amaterasu looked back at her and then up at the sky. Her brush appeared and drew a circle. And just as simply as that, a ring of fire blazed and the sun appeared.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" cried Issun.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Jenna.

"Hm, come to think of it, your name IS Amaterasu..." said Issun. "That's the name of the sun god! So, it'd follow that you had the Sunrise technique from the start. With it, you could even turn night into day..." His glow turned pure white. "Wow! You're no run-of-the mill god, that's for sure!"

He paused, then said, "The flowing brush is like music from the heavens. That's a line from one of my grandfather's poems. He felt a skilled artist was like a musician of shape and color. Since you're such a great artist yourself, why don't we name your brushwork after that poem of his? It's called Celestial Brush!"

"Sounds good to me," Jenna cut in. "After all, your brush did bring out the sun, and it's made of stars."

Issun nodded. "Well, let's head back to the village! We gotta see if everyone's back to normal now."

Then: "Hm? Who are you?" said a very old-sounding voice.

Jenna turned. The first thing she saw, at head height, was a bouncing orange.

She started, and then saw the true source of the voice; an old man was standing behind them bouncing an orange on his head. She shook her head as words forced their way in.

Village Elder- Mr. Orange

"A white wolf! Not the one who fought that terrible creature with Nagi! You couldn't possibly be the legendary Shiranui!" He looked at Jenna. "Now could she?"

Jenna blinked in surprise. "Uhhh... I don't know... uh.. sir."

Mr. Orange shook his head. "No, it couldn't be..." Amaterasu sat and looked at him. "That story is 100 years old. Still, you look a lot like that statue of Shiranui. On the other hand, you don't look quite as smart..." Amaterasu took offense, growling and dipping low into a hostile posture. "Wh-wh-whoa! No need to growl like that," said Mr. Orange, punching the air in front of him in an attempt to defend himself from the potential attack of Ammy. "Can she really understand me?" he asked, looking at Jenna. "Well, I'm not one to mince words. I just state the facts!"

Yeah right, thought Jenna. You're just trying to defend yourself from the wolf that can possibly understand you.

"Can't you keep her under control?" he demanded. Jenna said, "What?" and looked at Ammy, who paused and looked back at her. "Well, she's your pet, isn't she?"

"Uhh..."

Just then a dark colored wind started to blow. Jenna spotted three Green Imps in a line on the peak of the hill behind Mr. Orange. He paused. "Hm? What's this sudden chill down my spine?"

"Here they come..." said Issun. The imps leapt forwards, attempting an attack. Amaterasu grabbed Mr. Orange by the collar of his robe and used him like a bat, knocking the imps away. She swung him back down, and there was a moment of DRAMATIC REATTATCHMENT as the orange collided with his head, then she tossed him away and out of danger. She growled at the imps and leapt into the fray.

There were three imps this time, but they were no more challenging than three. "Hah," Jenna said, dispatching one with several quick shots of feathers. "Say, I'm getting better at this..."

"I'll say," said Issun. "You're not nearly as uncertain as before."

"It's 'cause I know how to fight."

The next Imp that Jenna faced (along with Amaterasu, who had finished off her imp) was suddenly covered with ink, and Issun swore from his place atop Jenna's head. The imp flailed around wildly.

"Send somebody stronger next time!" taunted Jenna. The imp lunged in the direction of her voice, and Jenna leapt away as Amaterasu jumped forwards with her Divine Instrument and struck the Imp. It collapsed and vanished into flowers as the others had.

Amaterasu growled for a moment. Jenna looked at her to see her staring at her shoulder, which was stained with blood. Jenna moved to one of the flowers and scooped up a Holy Globe to give to Amaterasu. She took it in her teeth and crunched it like it was a dog treat, and the blood vanished.

The arena had vanished by now, and a dried pond they had seen on the way to the viewing platform suddenly filled with water and grass and trees sprouted in the surrounding area. Jenna's eyes widened.

Praise floated from the spring and into Jenna and Amaterasu. "Hey!" exclaimed Issun. "More Praise! Nice. And look! See how that dried-up spring began flowing again? That's because ridding an area of monsters restores the gods' power to the land. People call it Divine Intervention. The more you restore the land to its natural beauty, the more Praise you'll get. It's the source of the gods' power. Few people believe in the gods these days, and that may weaken you, but if you try hard, your true power might shine through! But boy, there's sure been a lotta monsters around lately. And that Mr. Orange you tossed around up on the sacred deck... looks like he thinks you're a regular wolf. Seems the gods have grown so weak people can't see them anymore." He paused, and muttered to himself. Jenna stared at him. "Oh, uh..."

"Anyway, I'll show you around the village. I have a feeling we're in for an epic adventure! This should be fun!"

(Chapter ends)

Yay. Finally, I get to stop doing so much blatant story-following and get to explore a little! Ahhh, feels good. *stretch*

Next chapter... uhhh... Kamiki Village! Kushi! Susano! FOOD!

Sorry for the absence of Jenna and Issun, they're arguing backstage. Oh! No, they aren't now, Amaterasu's yelling at the both of them now. Never tick off the sun god.

Jenna and Issun: Q^Q