Sorry I haven't been active, guys! I went a little too quickly on my re-playthrough of the game in relation to my story, so I had to use other sources for research. And it was a major pain, so my writing slowed, and then I met writer's block, and urrrrrrrrrghhhh it sucked so bad.
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Every single one! Yes, if you've reviewed, then I do know your name and I do know you've reviewed. So thanks!
DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything, Capcom does, parody is free speech, etc etc.
(Author's notes end)
Jenna walked with Amaterasu across the bridge in the middle of the village. Issun bounced atop Ammy's head. "So, where are we going to go, Jen?"
Jenna shrugged. "I was thinking we could ask with Mr. and Mrs. Orange where we could stay the night."
Issun stopped bouncing for a moment. "Huh... Yeah, I guess that sounds right."
They approached the Orange house. Jenna paused for a moment to look at the giant orange on top of the house in the rapidly fading sunlight. "Wow. They are obsessed." Issun commented, "Well they're old, they can afford to be crazy and senile."
Jenna frowned. "I wouldn't call them senile-"
"Aw, come off it, Jen, they're loony as bats."
Jenna sighed. She went up and knocked on the door. Mrs. Orange answered. She smiled at Jenna. "Hello, dear. Came for the Cherry Cakes, did you?" Jenna shook her head and began to mention that they were trying to find a place to stay, but Issun interrupted. "Food? There's food? Sure, let's have some!"
Mrs. Orange laughed. "Well come in, dears, I was just about to make them." Jenna sighed and glanced at Issun, who made no attempt to defend himself. Ammy seemed fairly happy to see Mrs. Orange in the first place, and when she saw Mr. Orange she seemed even happier.
Mrs. Orange moved slowly to the oven after telling Jenna to sit down. Issun bounced from Ammy's head to Jenna's shoulder to watch, and Amaterasu seemed busy with the food already cooked on the stove. Mr. Orange gave her a swift whack with his cane.
Mrs. Orange paused in front of the stove, exclaimed, "Hiiiiiiiii-YA!" and pounded a piece of dough. Issun froze and Jenna did the same, and the two of them exchanged glances. Mrs. Orange picked up the dough, and holding a little kitchen knife, abruptly threw the dough into the air. She sliced it faster than the eye could follow and it fell onto a pan she held. Issun and Jenna both stared at her with open mouths. Mrs. Orange smiled sweetly at them and put the dough into the oven, then slowly walked back to her chair like all her ninja skills didn't exist.
"There, they need to cook for a little now. So, tell me, dears, what brings you here? Other than the food, of course. Need somewhere to room for the night?"
"Yes, exactly," said Jenna, relieved that she didn't have to bring it up herself.
"Well that's fine, dears! We ourselves have a guest room for just such an occasion." Mrs. Orange nodded, then glanced at the stove. "Oh, they're almost done. They cook very fast." She pushed herself up. "Upsy-daisy..."
Jenna watched her closely as Mrs. Orange pulled out the cakes and decorated them with a bit of pinkish sauce. No further strangeness happened. She approached with a tray full of puffy cakes. "Here you are, dears. They're best when they're fresh!"
Jenna took a cake and sampled it. It was delicious, hot and moist. The dough tasted a little of cherries already, but the sweet syrup on top made it. "Comon, Jen, lemme have some!" exclaimed Issun, bouncing impatiently on her shoulder. "Okay, okay!" She held it towards him, and he bounced up and with a quick slice of his sword pulled off a bit for him to have.
"You might want the syrup, it really makes it," she said. Issun considered, then picked up some with his piece and proceeded to ignore her. Jenna took another bite, and heard Ammy whine a little. She looked up from her cake. Ammy was staring at her, panting hungrily and drooling a little. "Mrs. Orange? Give some to that girl there, she's hungry," laughed Jenna. Ammy got her cake and devoured it. Jenna examined the leaf atop the thing, and muttered to Issun, "Uh, when did she put these on the cakes?"
"What have I told you, Jen?" muttered Issun back, sounding like his mouth was full. "I'll have it if you don't want it." Having said this, he jumped up and snatched the leaf from the top. Jenna rolled her eyes and ate her cake, pausing for a moment to question why Issun was eating a leaf- no wait, don't question it. She sighed.
When they were full, it was then a little late, and the resident sun goddess looked to tire quickly at nighttime. During the day, too, actually, thought Jenna ruefully. Mrs. Orange showed them to their room. There was a pallet on the floor, which Jenna claimed for herself. Issun, meanwhile, said he didn't need a bed of any kind. Ammy just sort of walked in and curled up on the floor.
Jenna wasn't entirely sure what to do with her yukata. She was wearing another layer beneath it, so she took off the outer robe and sash and started figuring out how her hair was built.
She took off her little headband and pulled out the pin of her bun, and just like that, her hair rolled down. There were no other pins. Maybe the single one was magic or something. She shook out her long yellow hair and examined it. It hadn't tangled much, to her surprise. Great, her hair was magic now too.
"You got nice hair, Jen," commented Issun lazily from his spot by the wall. "I ain't seen anyone with gold hair before."
Jenna paused at this. Now that she focused on it, she hadn't seen anyone else around with blond hair either. They all had black hair, like in Japan. Well, she was obviously somewhere that was related to Japan, duh. She was maybe even in Japan, some huge amount of time before her years. But you'd think- nevermind it. "Thanks, Issun."
"Yeah," said Issun. "M' gonna go to sleep now." Jenna nodded, set down the pin from her hair, and slipped into her pallet. She didn't know when exactly she fell asleep, but it was fast.
Morning came with an energetic dog. Jenna woke up to hot breath on her arm, and opening her eyes she saw Ammy laying close next to her, wagging her tail and panting. "Good morning, Ammy," she yawned. Ammy barked. "Ow. That hurt my ears. Don't do that, Ammy. Still tired."
"Tell me about it," muttered Issun, evidently still trying to sleep.
Ammy nudged Jenna's arm.
"Fine, I'm getting up."
Jenna dressed back in her yukata and shoes and rolled up her hair, sticking the little purple lily in at the bottom of the bun. Yep, it stayed, just like that- whyyyyy.
Ammy was poking Issun with a paw. "No way, furball, I'm sleeping," he muttered, remaining obstinately still until suddenly-
"EW! Furball, was that necessary?" Issun jumped to his feet, shaking off spit from Ammy's lick. "Dog slobber- yeuck!" As Issun jumped around making general sounds of discomfort, Jenna stared at herself in the mirror. Supposedly, when you have a really weird dream, you're supposed to wake up when you fall asleep- but she didn't really believe she was dreaming anymore. At all.
She sighed and glanced at the others. Issun was trying to clean himself off. She heard "Ew, ew, ew," coming from him and snorted. Well, if she had to not be dreaming anyplace, here seemed like a decent one.
They eventually exited the house. Jenna marveled at the fact that because they didn't really have any luggage, they could just kind of leave. The Oranges gave them cheery "good morning!"s as they appeared(or really, Mrs. Orange did), and waved them out the door(again, Mrs. Orange).
They checked the front of the village first thing. "Boulder's still there," commented Issun dryly.
"Duh, Issun," scoffed Jenna. "Obvious much?"
"Shut up, Jen."
They went to seek out Susano, and found him behind his house. Jenna stared at him, and Issun shook his head hopelessly. He was lying on the ground, drinking sake. As they approached, he began to stare into the jar. "I can't believe I've run out at a time like this!" he exclaimed, and threw away the jar.
"Yo, what are you doing?!" asked Issun. "You said you'd help!"
"What?!" Susano jumped to his feet. "Oh. It's you." He scowled at them. "I can't do it, obviously."
"I thought you had a legendary ancestor?" said Jenna pointedly.
Susano floundered and coughed. He folded his arms. "Er, what I mean is... I can't train without... er... sake! Yes! I need sake to boost my power. And I've just run out. So, you see, I can't do it."
"If we get you sake, will you at least try to help?" asked Issun, with a glance at Jenna.
Susano gave them a suspicious look. "...I suppose...?"
Issun and Jenna exchanged glances, nodded, and sauntered off. "Jen, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Issun conspiratorially.
"Are you thinking we should go get the lazybones some sake?"
"Yeah."
"Then yes, I am. Let's go."
Kushi, being grateful to them for somehow fixing her water wheel, was more than happy to present them with a sake she called the Vista of the Gods. Jenna carried it with a smirk back to Susano. Before she even reached him, he jumped to his feet. "That smell!"
He snatched the jug from her. "Is this Kushi's homemade sake?" He stared at it with wide eyes. "A man without drink is like a warrior without his trusty sword! Kushi's sake is the best!" He drank it down. "Ah, yes! It's all so clear! I can do this!"
He lunged at a training dummy. For a moment it seemed like nothing happened, then suddenly the dummy was cut and fell apart. Startled, Jenna exchanged glances with Issun, then suddenly her attention was drawn to Ammy. Ammy looked at her and wagged her tail. "Did you-" Jenna started to whisper, and then her attention was diverted by Susano's next attack. Again, the dummy was cut in half by his wooden sword.
"Take this! Susano-style... EXPLODING IMPLOSION!" exclaimed Susano. Jenna stared at him with huge eyes as he attempted to cut a rock... and succeeded. Susano stared at it for a moment, then screamed, "YEAH!" and sprinted off. They followed him to the front of the village, where he proceeded to slice the boulder completely in half.
"That's AMAZING!" exclaimed the merchant. "You cut it straight in half!"
"Good job, pops!" said Issun. "Pops?" asked Jenna. "What?" Issun shrugged.
Susano was staring at his sword with a bemused look. The merchant clapped him on the back. "Truly excellent! I didn't think anyone could do that!"
"Neither did I..." muttered Susano distantly, then jumped and covered with, "Well, of course I could! I am Susano, the greatest warrior ever!" He held his sword up in the air confidently.
"You weren't just bragging when you claimed to be descended from Nagi!" said the merchant happily. "Now I can set up business!"
"And we can get out!" said Issun with equal cheer.
"Watch out for monsters," warned the merchant. "Although, come to think of it- if they come anywhere near this warrior, they'll be diced, hm?" asked the merchant with a booming laugh. He nodded to Susano and walked away.
Susano held a terrible poker face, behind which was obviously nerves. "Yeah, monsters, right."
He cleared his throat. "Yes! I'll fight these monsters. Because I am the- Greatest. Warrior. Ever!" He sprinted from the town, laughing.
"He's nothing without us," scoffed Issun. "Really?" asked Jenna.
"You bet. All that swordwork was us." Ammy growled. "Okay, it was Ammy. Anyways, do you think he'll be okay? He just kind of went off there... Well, can we go?"
"Wait... Glorious Amaterasu..." A strong scent blew on the winds, bringing cherry blossoms raining around them. They turned. Before them appeared a woman floating in the air. She wore a pink and green long-sleeved kimono, and was wreathed in violet mist.
"Who are you?" asked Jenna, freaked out. "You just popped up!"
The fair face turned to regard her. "Hello, traveler. I am Sakuya, spirit of the great tree."
"What is it, babe?" asked Issun. Sakuya turned her head to Amaterasu. "Glorious Amaterasu... When you cleaved the boulder in half, my heart skipped a beat. To watch your skill with the brush is to bear witness to great art." Jenna kept herself from rolling her eyes. Reverence was great for a goddess, she supposed, but the flattering seemed a little over-the-top. Glancing over the sprite's outfit, she paused. Was that a peach pattern or was that... She pressed her lips together and kept a straight face.
"Do we get a reward?" asked Issun.
"I hardly think your participation had any impact, little bug," said Sakuya.
"It's ISSUN! Issun, Issun, Issun! Stop calling me a bug!" he cried, bouncing and glowing a furious red. "I'll crawl back into your kimono if you say that again!"
"My word!" exclaimed Sakuya, flinching.
"Aw, relax, lady. Furball here's more comfortable anyway." Ammy objected to this, quirking her head to try and look at him.
"In any case, I am afraid I cannot reward you at this time. I have not the strength. Though my body remains firmly here, in the village, my roots spread far and wide. They come to the surface, bloom and create a Guardian Sapling. They collect the praise and adoration that gives me strength. The recent evil has eroded and withered them. If this continues, I will wilt, and die, and the darkness will grow all the faster for it. Life as we know it... will be consumed utterly."
The atmosphere was very serious. "Aw man... this is getting heavy." That was Issun, just as aware of the dark mood.
"Great and powerful Amaterasu. Will you aid me? Will you restore the saplings and erase the evil blight?" She looked at Jenna. "Traveler... have you a map?"
Not even thinking too heavily about the concept of never having bought one, Jenna produced one from stars. Sakuya touched it once, and Jenna looked at the red marks that had appeared. "I have marked the locations of the saplings. Now, I have grown tired... I must withdraw."
She faded, sparks of light and flower blossoms shimmering around her incorporeal form. "May the fresh scent of flowers protect you always..." She was gone.
Issun bounced around on the ground. "Bah. I'm always itching for a good fight, but I sure don't wanna poke my nose into this mess!" He muttered something to himself. "Anyway, Ammy's a god and all... what could possibly go wrong?"
Jenna winced. "Don't say that. That's always bad luck. Just watch, now we're going to get pounded by all kinds of stupid things, just because you said that." Issun scoffed. "Yeah right. What makes you say that?"
"Hey... Hey! Furball! Did you hear any of that?" Issun began bouncing over to Amaterasu, who was curled up on the ground. She yawned and sat up. "You're joking," said Jenna. "You slept through all that?"
Ammy yawned again and wagged her tail.
"Wow," said Jenna, shaking her head despairingly. "If this is the goddess who's going to save the world... Well, the world had better not be in a hurry to end, then, huh? We're not exactly top-speed here."
"You betcha!"
Jenna sighed.
(Chapter ends)
Yeaaaaaah I did it! Once I managed to get it going, it went along swimmingly. I tried to deviate from exact dialogue and utilize my own twists as often as possible, but sometimes the game just nails things, so I use that.
Jenna: Hurray...
Pch. Jenna's tired because of all the storytelling that got done. She got used to vacation.
Jenna: You suck...
You're my character, Jenna, so I'll forgive you. But I don't remember authorizing you to give me lip. I don't pay you for that.
Jenna: You don't pay me at all!
Storytelling is it's own reward. Hmph.