Author's Note: Hello, my lovely readers! I just thought I would warn you that there may be a bit of Ammy x Waka coming up in the near future. So this is a fair warning, if you don't like AmmyxWaka I suggest you either stop reading or don't complain about it.

~ With love, Haachi ~

~ A Recap ~

"Allow me to introduce myself properly," He continued as they finished bowing. "I am Emperor Konoe, heir to the throne and rightful ruler of Sei-an city. And this," He beckoned to his right, where Ammy saw a flash of blonde hair as the screen came up more. "Is one of my most trusted advisors, Waka."

Amaterasu's eyes widened in shock as, sure enough, Waka waved at the two and blew them a kiss. "Bonjour, ladies," He said in that dramatic tone of his. "Good to see you again, mah cherie."

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

This isn't happening… Ammy thought to herself as she watched Waka walk and stand beside the Emperor. Just looking at that signature smirk made Amaterasu want to abandon her values as a goddess and slug him. But as angry as she was for him not telling her that he was the Emperor's advisor, she couldn't.

As if she felt the aggravation rolling off of Ammy in waves, Kaede leaned over and whispered, "Who's that?"

"Oh, just an old friend," Ammy said through clenched teeth. She calmed herself and in a second her contorted features went back to their serene expression.

"Forgive me, Your Excellency," She said with a slight curtsy. "But we have a favor to ask."

"Of course," Konoe said, followed by a violent coughing fit. "Waka has told me much about you and your quest. I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

Even though she could still feel her irritation with Waka boiling inside of her, Ammy couldn't help but admire Konoe's gracious and dignified demeanor. His wife, Tamamo, was surely a lucky woman to stand by the side of such a respected man.

"Oh, wait," Konoe said before Ammy could continue speaking. "If you're Amaterasu, where's your Celestial Envoy?"

"In here!" came the muffled response. A moment later, Issun was wriggling out of the folds of Ammy's obi, and bounced onto the floor in front of them.

"Whew, was it hot in there!" Issun said as he brushed his tiny chest off. "No offense, furball, but you may wanna lay off the holy bones."

After earning a scowl from Amaterasu, Issun turned to face the Emperor. "So you're the Emperor, eh?"

Konoe blinked in mild surprise as he adjusted himself on the cushion he sat on, his hands folded into the long sleeves of his kimono. Waka's teasing face hardened as he stepped in front of the Emperor protectively.

"That will be enough, bug," He said. "Show some proper respect, hm?"

"Anyway," Ammy stepped in, knowing that if this wasn't stopped those two would get into an all-out brawl. "Emperor Konoe, as you very well know dark forces are wreaking havoc through Nippon. The East was almost taken over completely," She said, earning a surprised look from him. "But this is not the worst of my fears. Ninetails, the dreaded demon lord of Oni Island, slayer of our dearly departed Queen Himiko and Priestess Rao, has returned. My comrade, Kaede, is living proof."

With this, she beckoned for Kaede to lift her veil and reveal just how bad her injury had been. With reluctance, she lifted the gold piece of material, exposing her bad eye. It was merely a closed, empty socket, but this wasn't what made it stand out; a deep red scar ran across the whole length of her eye that clearly spelt out the Kanji for "curse".

"Oh my…" The Emperor exclaimed, as his body convulsed into another coughing fit. This time Ammy could see a few dark red droplets appear on the floor next to him. Waka put a helpful hand on his back, the concern clear in his eyes.

"Your Excellency, shall I send them away?"

"No," He rasped, his rich, deep voice now hoarse and wet-sounding. "I will not leave this matter to be dismissed. It's my duty as Emperor and assistant to the Goddess, no matter how ill I am."

Waka backed off submissively, and Konoe straightened up. "My apologies," He said with a sheepish smile. "My illness has only gotten worse since the disappearance of my wife."

"Your wife? Lady Tamamo?" Kaede said.

He nodded, and Ammy could see a deep sadness in his dark eyes. "Yes, my beloved wife Tamamo. Many argued that she was the smartest and most enlightened woman in all of Nippon. I would have believed it too. Oh, how incredibly wise she was…"

"What happened to her?" Amaterasu dared to take a few steps closer to the Emperor.

"I honestly don't know," He said, his eyes lost in the past. "I thought she could help me with this sickness, that she could find a cure for me. But when I got some very interesting news from one of my physicians, she just…up and vanished."

"What news?"

He coughed a few more times, even more blood leaving him this time. The hand he used to cover his mouth was dirty, his fingernails crusted with dried blood. He took a moment to take control of the pain before continuing. "One of Sei-an's best physicians was called here to perform a religious ceremony on me, to call on the gods to protect me and cure me of my ailments," He said, his voice reduced to a wet whisper as more blood threatened to gurgle up his windpipe. "But he told me that…Tamamo was the reason I had gotten sick. That she was somehow causing me to get worse and worse in my condition."

How interesting… Ammy pondered. So the rumors did seem to be true.

Suddenly Issun piped up. "Wait, so you mean all those crazy stories we were hearing in the taverns were true!"

Konoe nodded stoically. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I was shocked to find this out myself. Right around that time was when my lovely Tamamo vanished."

"I see…" Ammy said. There was a moment of silence, and Kaede nudged her lightly.

"Oh, yes," She continued. "But we've come up with a solution to this crisis, Your Excellency," She said. "You see, I am very…lacking, in my power at the moment. As you know, this because of peoples' lack of faith in the gods. So, we have come up with a solution: a festival in honor of the gods."

Konoe seemed to debate this for a moment. "Well, it only makes sense that you wouldn't be able to face Ninetails with only a fraction of your power," He contemplated. "What do you think, Waka?"

"Oh, I love a good party, wouldn't you agree, Your Excellency? I think it could be quite fun."

"Hmm, yes…I suppose it could be fun," He said with a small smile. After a moment, he turned his dark gaze back on Ammy. "I shall grant your request," He said. "Do with the city what you will. However, I would advise that you take Waka with you, so that he may supervise activities."

As if on cue, Waka floated down to stand beside Amaterasu with a flip of his long blonde hair. "Don't you worry about a thing, Your Excellency," He said. "Amaterasu and I go way back, don't we mon cherie? Oh, what fun this will be!"

Ammy faked a smile, while Kaede and Issun remained silent. Yes, this will be fun, won't it…

After another, lighter coughing fit, the Emperor gave the four of them a tired smile. "It's settled then," He said. "I will attend if I feel fit enough, so until then," He smiled at Amaterasu. "Good luck, Amaterasu. I truly believe that faith in you will be restored to the people."

With that, the four of them kowtowed and left the audience chamber.

The mid-morning sun shone brightly as the four of them emerged from the Emperor's palace and stopped in the middle of the Aristocrats Quarter.

"So, Mr. Advisor," Ammy said, turning to Waka. "How long did you plan on waiting before telling me that you were Konoe's right-hand man?"

Waka shrugged, his eyes glittering mischievously. "I didn't think it that important."

"Whaddya mean, 'not that important'?" Issun snarled. "You coulda made things so much easier on Ammy, but no, you have to maintain your mysterious image! That's it, isn't it? Isn't it?"

Waka's irritating smirk melted into a look of seriousness. "I didn't want Amaterasu becoming distracted by what was happening in the city," He said quietly. As Ammy heard this, she felt some of her anger with him melt away. "She was having a hard enough time with the East. I thought I could at least help out a little by putting matters of the city into my own hands."

For once, Issun shut up. Ammy looked at Waka, for once seeing him in a whole new light: he wasn't just doing what he was doing for his own benefit, but for hers too. She would even go far enough to say that he cared for her.

"You have a big enough burden to bear, Amaterasu," He said, his voice clear and strong now, his crystal blue gaze fixed on her. "Do not worry about me. I am more capable than you may think."

With that, he lifted off the ground and hovered in the air for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers, before flying off to who-knows-where.

( Kaede's P.O.V. )

A few hours had passed since Amaterasu and this Waka character had had their little episode. As the three of them now sat in the main bar area of the Konohana Inn, Kaede could see it clearly on Amaterasu's face that she was bothered by what had happened. As for Issun, he remained silent, sitting on top of an overturned bowl, watching as they planned out festival activities.

"For decorations, we can have Mr. Chic-" Ammy cut off of what she was saying when she noticed Kaede staring at her, worry cast deep in her visible eye. Kaede quickly looked away, but it was too late for that.

"What is it, Kaede?" Amaterasu prodded. Kaede looked up, her face apologetic.

"It's nothing, just…are you upset about what happened with the Emperor's advisor?"

Kaede instantly saw the happiness that came into Amaterasu's eyes to see that someone cared. "I'm fine," She said. "Just a little…shaken."

Kaede nodded, not pushing it any farther. Instead, she decided to direct the conversation back to the festival. "So, about the decorations…?"

Amaterasu must have seen what she was trying to do, so she went along with it. "We can use some supplies over at the kimono shop and make paper lanterns to hang in the shops' windows."

Kaede nodded and smiled. "Great idea," She said. "And we can get little ceramic statues of the Brush Gods to sell as souvenirs."

Amaterasu smiled at this idea and jotted it down on a small scroll, which was already cluttered with ideas.

"What about a lantern ceremony?" Issun commented, speaking for the first time since he confronted Waka. "And a parade to honor the gods and our ancestors."

"Good idea, Issun," Amaterasu said as she wrote both of those down. There was a moment of silence in which the Goddess seemed to be focusing very hard on coming up with more ideas, when Issun spoke again.

"Listen, Ammy," He said hesitantly. Amaterasu didn't look up. "I'm…really sorry that Waka's getting to you the way he is."

She looked up at this, but he held up a miniscule hand to stop her. "Don't argue with me. I can see it in your face. These old eyes may not be the greatest anymore, but I know my furball enough to know when she's upset."

Kaede scooted back a little to give her some room. She didn't say anything, just stared intently at her notes, her brow furrowed.

"Don't fool yourself into thinking that Waka's doing what he's doing to help us," He continued. "You and I both know he's doing this for his own gain. That's just who he is."

There was a moment of silence. "You're wrong," Kaede heard Amaterasu say quietly after a moment. "You're wrong about him, Issun."

Issun's aura dulled in surprise. "Waka's been there for us since the beginning," She said, her voice a little stronger. "He may not show it in the right way, but he cares about Nippon just as much as I do."

"But, Ammy, he-"

"No," She said, cutting Issun off. "No matter what happens, I know he's here to help us, to help me. You weren't there the night I fought Yami. He sacrificed everything for me…"

She stopped, her eyes staring unfocused at the wooden surface of the bar. "Waka would have died for me that night, I know it. He almost did. Would he even be here with us this time around if he didn't care? No. I don't want to hear anybody talking badly about him anymore, especially you, Issun."

Issun didn't say anything to this, simply sat down on his bowl and dulled his green aura to almost nothing. There was an awkward silence, and Kaede felt extremely uncomfortable. Just as she was about to get up and leave, Amaterasu beat her to it. She stood and, without a word, left the inn, the wooden door creaking as she shut it behind her.