~ A Recap ~

Amaterasu chuckled and stroked his long, soft ginger fur. "So who was it you were looking for?" She asked curiously. The collie let his tongue loll out of his mouth as he thought.

"Ama…Ame…"

"Amaterasu?"

"Yeah, that's it!" He said happily. "Amata…"

Ammy giggled and patted his head. "It's okay, just call me Ammy."

His pretty brown eyes brightened as she said this. "You're the one I'm looking for?" He said. "Cool! Now the other dogs won't yell at me again!"

They both stood, and Yin clamped his jaws lightly around the sleeve of her kimono. "Come on!" He urged, his words muffled by the fabric. "Princess Aya needs to see you!"

She chuckled and let him lead her back out the front entrance, where Issun still sat with the winded sparrow. "C'mon, Issun," She said, snatching him up as they walked by.

"H-hey, wait a second-" Issun stammered as he looked back at the now-sleeping sparrow.

"No time," Ammy said. "He just needs to catch his breath. Besides, we have someone who wants to visit us."

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

"Come on, this way!"

Ammy hurried to keep up with Yin as he scampered happily through the village, stopping to play with children every few minutes. As cute as Yin was, Amaterasu couldn't help but start to become annoyed with the pup.

"Right up here!" Yin called to them in his cute, high-pitched bark. Amaterasu followed, with a still very confused Issun sitting on her shoulder.

"Where's this mutt takin' us?" He said. Yin turned back and growled at him.

"Hey, I heard that! And I'm not a mutt!"

"Yeah, whatever. Why don't you just go and chase your tail or something?"

Amaterasu shot Issun a glare. "Quiet," She growled at him. "Pay no mind to him, Yin. He's an old fart."

She giggled when the Poncle stood and began trying to beat on her cheek. "That's it, furball! You're gonna get it now!"

Ammy smirked and flicked him gently with her finger. "Suurreee."

Yin gave an impatient little yip. "Come onnnn! Princess Aya wants to see you!"

She turned her attention away from Issun and jogged to catch up with the collie, and ran alongside him until they reached the top of the hill, where the original Kusa Village still stood. Because of the higher elevation, the wind blew harder here, causing Ammy's hair to whip across her face obnoxiously. She grumbled to herself and followed Yin through the once-tiny village, up the hill and across the bridge to where she guessed, this Princess Aya lived.

Once they had arrived, Yin ran too fast up the stairs and tripped over his own feet. "I'm okay!" He said, hopping up and beckoning with his tail for Amaterasu to follow him inside. She giggled and pushed the wooden door open.

"Welcome," She heard a serene voice say once she was inside. She looked around; throughout the long room sat seven dogs, with a beautiful woman positioned at the head of the room.

"I brought her!" Yin yelped excitedly as he took his spot among the other warriors. "Ama…Amata…"

"Amaterasu," The Goddess corrected. "And really, just call me Ammy."

The collie's fluffy tail thumped happily on the wood floor. "Yeah, that!"

"Well done, Yin," Princess Aya said, throwing a piece of meat in front of him. He licked his lips and began to devour it, his tail wagging back and forth happily as he ate.

"I apologize if he caused any trouble," Aya continued. "He's still just a puppy, and a very naïve one at that."

Ammy dipped her head graciously. "He was no trouble at all," She said, eyeing him. He shot her a look that said "Thanks for not busting me."

Aya clapped, and the other seven dogs stood, their tails wagging slightly as they examined her.

"Allow me to introduce my warriors," She said. "This is Fuu, the leader of the pack."

She indicated to a large German Shepard, who dipped his head to Amaterasu. "It's a pleasure to serve you, Amaterasu," He said, his voice rumbling. He sat back on his haunches and looked to Aya so that she could continue.

"The others are Dai, Kei, Tsu, Chen, Gin, Mai, and of course, you've already met Yin."

Princess Aya indicated the seven other dogs, all of which stood at the same time; a black lab, a Dalmatian, a chowchow, a hound dog, an Irish setter, and a Siberian husky all bowed onto their front legs simultaneously.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Amaterasu said, returning the bow. "So why did you wish to see me?"

"We received a request from a friend of yours," Aya replied. "He was kind of a strange fellow; blonde hair, and an unusual outfit. He said you would know who he was."

Ammy nodded in silent comprehension. "Waka, that crazy prophet," Issun said. "But at least he's not just watching us from the sidelines this time."

The Goddess ignored him as she pondered this. "But why would Waka…?"

"Bah, there's no use in trying to figure out where that guy's head is at," Issun cut her off. "But Ammy, I say we get all the help we can get here."

She blinked and looked to the side at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

He sighed and leaned against the side of her head. "We need to find someone, right? And we have no idea where he is. We should put these dogs' noses to work for our benefit!"

Princess Aya and the warriors remained silent as they watched this hushed back and forth between the two, their faces slightly questioning. "Is there anything we can do to help you..?" Aya asked timidly.

Amaterasu turned to face them and nodded her head once. "As you've heard, we need help finding someone;" She elaborated. "A certain Shinto priest who left the Shinshu Shrine a while ago and we have no idea where he could be. Could you help us, by any chance?"

Aya looked around at the Canine Warriors for a moment, then nodded once at the hound dog, Chen, who approached the two, his huge tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Chen has the best nose," Aya said. "He can probably find your man."

"Do you have a scent?" Chen said, looking up at Ammy with his big sad eyes. She nodded and pulled the prayer scroll out of the bag that hung around her hip.

"I'm not sure if it still has his scent on it though…" The Goddess said as Chen busily began sniffing it. He lifted his head, then stuck his nose to the ground and began searching for a trail.

"Yes! We have him," Issun cheered. "Follow that dog, Ammy!"

Amaterasu hurriedly turned and gave Princess Aya and the warriors a small bow before heading out the way she had come in. As she emerged outside, she saw Chen already running, his paws pounding the ground as he followed the scent trail. She took off running after him, and Issun hopped into her kimono for a better hold.

"Where do you think he's going?" Issun commented as Ammy ran, his little hands holding on for dear life to her kimono. She shrugged as they exited Kusa Village and ran back down to the Pass.

"This way," Chen called to them from his place ahead of them. His steps slowed, and he halted to wait for the Goddess to catch up.

"If only I were still a wolf right now…" Ammy huffed as she doubled over to catch her breath. Even though she hadn't been able to communicate with people as well as she could now, she still missed being able to run like the wind when she needed to.

"Man furball, you've really let yourself go," Issun said. "100 years of lying around really did a number on you."

Irritated, the Goddess reached into the depths of her cleavage and pulled out the little Poncle, holding him up to her face by his scruff. "You think your ride's too slow? You can walk then." She flicked him onto the ground and resumed following after Chen, who had taken off running again.

"Hey, wait! I won't be treated like this! This is Poncle abuse! I swear, when I get my hands on you-"

Issun's voice trailed away as Ammy left him behind, her focus on Chen as he swerved onto the main path and began heading for the City Checkpoint. Amaterasu hopped over various logs and even a few children, her energy renewed without that stupid little Issun always ragging on her…but she couldn't help feel a little guilty for leaving him behind.

He'll be fine… She convinced herself and with a shake of her head, turned back to focus all of her attention to Chen as they hurried toward the Checkpoint.

About ten minutes later, they finally reached the passage through the cliffs that would lead them to the City Checkpoint. Chen walked around in a circle and looked up at her, his chest heaving with the effort he had just put into sniffing out their man.

"Thank you so much," Amaterasu said gratefully as she knelt down to scratch Chen's ears. He gave her a lick on the cheek and lifted his paw to rest it on her knee.

"Oh, right." Ammy reached into her bag and brought out a feedbag of meat. He happily pounced on it and began lapping up the shreds of beef with his tongue.

"I'll stay with you for awhile," Chen said as he finished the meat and ran his tongue over his nose a few times. "Who knows, you may need me again."

The Okami nodded and proceeded to walk with the hound dog through the passage. The cliff walls rose around them as they walked, until it eventually leveled out to form the magnificent cliffs that formed the Sei-an City Checkpoint.

"Here we are," Chen barked, sniffing the air. Ammy took a deep breath as well, and picked up the smell of freshly brewed tea and smoke that wafted from the torches that were placed throughout.

Wow, this place has changed too… She thought as she looked around; the tea house that had been there to serve travelers had been built into a full-on inn. Next to that was a large well and some clotheslines. To the right was a small cemetery dedicated to those who had died while traveling, and nearby was what Amaterasu had been looking for: a Shinto shrine.

"Is that what we're looking for?" Ammy asked, consulting Chen, who stuck his nose to the ground again and resumed following the scent trail, all the way over to the wooden steps of the Shrine. She gave a nod of satisfaction and followed the warrior up the stairs, where the door stood propped open. The scent of incense drifted out to greet them, and she timidly took a step forward.

"Hello?" She called; as she continued to advance inside, she saw that there appeared to be no one there.

"Just a moment~"

Amaterasu sighed a little in relief when she heard a male's voice from deeper inside the Shrine. She stood in the center of the room and waited patiently until a few moments later, a surprisingly young man of about thirty emerged from behind a thick curtain.

"Hello," He said, giving her a smile as he approached her. "What can I do for you?"

The Goddess folded her hands in the long sleeves of her kimono and gave him a bow. "I just came here…looking for someone."

The Priest raised his eyebrows as if urging her to go on. She took a breath before continuing. "I'm looking for a Priest who until recently lived in Shinshu Field. Do you by any chance know where I could find him?"

Ammy watched as the Priest furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin with his hand. After a few shakes of his head, he spoke again. "No, no…you can't see him."

The Goddess was a bit taken aback. "May I ask why?"

"That Priest died about six months ago," He answered after a moment, his dark eyes piercing hers. "I'm sorry, but you've wasted your time coming here."