After the interview, Ame went home feeling rather proud of herself.
Until Kid greeted her with a slap to the face. Metaphorically, of course.
"Hello, Ame," he smiled at her. She froze. He marched toward her, pinning her against the wall. He was livid. "What the hell is wrong with you? You were supposed to meet us in the Death Room!"
"They called last night," Ame replied feebly. "They wanted to interview me privately."
"Dammit, Ame! What if they asked you something about your madness disorder?! What would they have thought then? Don't you understand anything?! They could've taken you away!"
"I… I didn't think that…."
"You never do!" Kid yelled, pushing off the wall and turning his back on her. His voice was quiet when he spoke again. "Why can't you just listen to me?"
"I'm not your pet," Ame growled, suddenly angered. "This chain you've latched around my soul means nothing to me. If they won't take me away, then I'm leaving."
Kid turned around to look at her. She was standing tall, her chin held high as she glared at him. He was silent; he couldn't tell if she was bluffing or if she was serious. She was suddenly in her wolf form, staring at him in that same way. The Solar Flare on her back trembled slightly, the water and flames emitted from it flowing off of it in waves. Ame turned and bolted out the door.
Kid sighed. "She'll come back when she's hungry."
However, even as he started preparing dinner that evening, he started to doubt if she actually would.
A Lover's Argument: Will Ame Come Back for Dinner?
Ame walked in the forest alone. The animals, overjoyed at her presence, swarmed around her. After a moment of her ignoring them, they soon resumed what they had been doing previously as if she were just another wolf. She thought about what she had said to Kid. She was tired of him treating her like a fragile child that couldn't take care of herself. He coddled her. Sometimes it was nice, but other times….
"These things are just annoying."
Shut up! These conventions are just annoying!
Ame continued to walk. Farther and farther from her home.
You only praise me after I've said something lovely. Think you could stop that? Hmm?
She's been filled with so much rage that she hadn't even noticed another's presence. She stopped and looked up.
"Hello, Okami Amaterasu," a voice leered. She immediately lunged at the voice, her jaws wrapping around a soft, but strong neck. The creature struggled with her for a moment until she was able to pin it down in the darkness of the brush. The glow of her Solar Flare lit the area with brilliance, allowing her to see the large, white Akita dog beneath her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked with disgust. "Ichigo?"
"It's Inuyasha to you," he snorted, shoving her off and getting to his feet. "And for your information, I came here to warn you, so don't kill me for doing an old friend a good deed."
"How are you even alive?!"
"I'm immortal," the dog demon Inuyasha said. "I may have corrupted into a Kishin, but I still have the body of a god. If you kill me, I just come back. I'm like the ocean tide that way."
"I was your mother, your master!" Ame snarled furiously. "And you just so happened to get me in a bad mood, so you'd better make this quick."
"I know you found where Sidoh is breaking free," Inuyasha began, taking his sweet time just to annoy her. "I saw you there. I'll have you know that at the next full moon, he'll break through for good."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ame demanded.
"Well, you have the other gods to be your helpers, Lord Death has meisters and weapons. I just decided I might become a helper for evil, you dig?" Inuyasha explained, lazily stretching and scratching behind his ear.
"You're disgusting," Ame sneered. "And why would I trust you after what you did to us?"
"Us, huh?" Inuyasha asked. "I noticed you didn't declare you and Sonny an item on national television today." Ame wasn't amused. He sighed. "Look, I'm just giving you an upper hand. If you and Kid didn't swoop in to save the day, the world would always be enslaved by that freak show. I'm just here to keep things balanced."
"Well, thanks for your patronage," Ame sniffed, backing away from him.
"Oh, and by the way," Inuyasha prompted. "I actually came here to kill you, so I'm gonna have to rough you up and say I tried, okay?"
"You traitor—!"
A sharp bark cut through the forest. Birds scattered away from the trees, cawing madly in their wake. Other animals began to flee from the harsh sound as well. Ame and Inuyasha were fighting this alone.
When Ame returned that evening, it was late. Kid was just about to retire to his room when he heard the front door open. He turned into the foyer.
"Do you have any idea what time it…?" he trailed off when he saw Ame leaning against the doorframe, blood dripping on the tile floor by her feet. "Ame!"
He rushed forward to catch her as she began sliding down the frame, leaving streaks of blood on the wall as she did. Kid wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her upright.
"Who did this to you?" he asked. "Ame, who did this to you?"
"It was him," Ame whispered, her half-lidded eyes wheeling around the room. "Ichigo's back."
Kid's blood ran cold.
Soul Eater
"Are you sure it was him?" Lord Death asked for the hundredth time. He had come to Gallows for a cup of tea once he heard what had happened.
In his own guilt, Kid had set up the living room as a healing den for Ame. Pillows, blankets, food, tea, movies, manga, you name it. Ame was sitting like a princess among the pillows he'd put on the couch for her. Kid handed Ame another glass of tea.
"You're wounds look like they've healed," he noted.
"Yeah, but I'm not done forgiving you yet," Ame snapped. She turned to Lord Death. "Of course it was him. You think after three billion years, I can't remember my own children?"
"What was he doing here?" Kid asked, sitting down on one of the chairs in the living room.
"He was warning us about Sidoh," Ame said. "He'll rise during the next full moon, guaranteed."
"Inuyasha," Kid sighed. "He's such a fickle bastard."
"Stop bad mouthing him," Ame scolded. "That's my job and you should be grateful he didn't kill me."
"Even if you died, you always come back," Lord Death interrupted, sighing at the drama. "Honestly, you two. What were you even fighting about?"
"That's irrelevant," Ame said. "Right now, we need to get to that hole and stop Inuyasha. The full moon is tomorrow! Kid, you need to get the members of Spartoi gathered in the morning, and Shinigami, you need to tell the humans what's going on. They need to take shelter."
"Will do," Lord Death nodded. "What will you do?"
"I'm going to get a head start on things," Ame said, drinking the rest of her tea and rising. "Just in case Inuyasha was lying to us."
So, they parted ways. Ame travelled with Nagi and Rin to Mexico, and the others did as they were instructed. The two-star meisters that had been summoned by Kid split up in two groups to meet up in Mexico with Ame.
Okay, so remember in the first book whenever they were about to go and fight a wicked boss, and I told you to play a certain song? Well, to those of you who are new here, you need to find Giving Kushi a Ride from OKAMI OST on YouTube and listen to it now! It's a perfect before-boss song, I tell you.
Kid and the others met Ame at the last ring of cliffs created around the steaming, flaming wasteland that once was Monterrey, Mexico. Ame got to her feet, still in her wolf form, keeping her eyes on the flames.
"That's crazy," Kilik said. "How are we going to get over there?"
"Ame will use her power over water and fire to escort you over to the water," Kid replied coolly. "Once on the water, it should be safe, for a time, if she solidifies it like ice. We must work quickly; if we screw this up, we're done for."
"Right."
"Ready to go, Ame?" Kid asked, summoning Beelzebub and gripping his weapons a little tighter. Ame nodded and watched as the others ran over the ravine. She used her brush powers to keep the lava and flames at a stable distance, whilst keeping the air around them pure. When they got to the ocean, Ame leapt over the water and the liquid froze for the others to keep going. They paused quickly, and Ame looked up. She saw it. The burial place of Sidoh.
Inuyasha was already there, standing on the edge of a bloody red witch circle on the water. Five or so more followers were on opposite ends, chanting in an ancient tongue that even Ame didn't understand. They had made an altar for sacrifice in the center of the circle. One of the followers turned to Ame and reached out to her, moving at such speed that Ame couldn't think to dodge it. The worshipper grabbed her by the neck, assisted by other worshipers. Inuyasha watched with joy.
"Still tried to stop me, eh?" he asked. "Well, at least let us have our fun first, geez. Wait a minute to save the world."
"Let her go!" Kid shouted from above, opening fire at the worshippers holding Ame down. The others charged in, fighting the demons. Ame began attacking them on her own. The worshipers, they could see now, were not actually human. They were merely entities of darkness that darted around like shadows. Ame shone her Solar Flare on them and they cowered away. Kid kept shooting, but every time a worshiper disintegrated, another rose from the ashes.
"This is no good," Maka said. "They're merely stalling until the moon rises. Ame, you can raise the sun, right? To postpone the darkness?"
"That will not work," Inuyasha said, suddenly appearing next to Maka and striking her down. "I control the sun, little girl. I have all the brush powers. Now that I've become my own man, I can do whatever I want."
"And you're using your powers for evil?!" Maka demanded, getting to her feet again and swinging her scythe as hard as she could. This guy deserved to die a few more times. Inuyasha slid across the ground before rising and rotating his shoulder a bit.
"Everything must be in balance," he said. "Whenever Ame decided to use her powers, the Demon Lord awoke, hence bringing forth madness and destruction."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Maka demanded. "This isn't her fault."
"Oh, it is," Inuyasha nodded, his gaze rendering Maka paralyzed. He struck her down again, throwing Soul across the battlefield, and knelt next to her. "Amaterasu was the key, you see? That's why Ikiru left! Without Ame as a stand-in for all things good, there will be no Demon Lord of ultimate evil."
"You're lying!" Maka snapped. "What about Kid?"
"Kid?" Inuyasha turned to see Kid being restrained over the altar, his blood spilling into the depths of Sidoh's prison. "I don't think he'll come to your rescue this time."
He began approaching Maka again.
CLIFFHANGER because I'm a bitch :P Just kidding, I'll have the next chapter up so soon you'll forget that this was even a cliffhanger. Wow, my inhibitions have lowered today. I just wanna run around saying crazy stuff. It's the kitten lying in my lap. Kittens are my Kryptonite.