Chapter 3: Within the Tree, or Making Friends with the Goddess of the Sun

"Whoa…" Iris stopped to gaze at the clear night sky as her eyes adjusted to the world around her. Stars twinkled above her head, and a soft breeze seemed to hang in the air. Even the grass and trees seemed more alive here, and Iris felt an almost overpowering urge to just fall into the perfect green and roll around like a small child. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the sight of Amaterasu and Issun up ahead, running across a bridge and leaving a trail of small flowers where Amaterasu's paws hit the ground.

Iris followed quietly, maintaining a distance of a few feet behind the large wolf as she (Iris was guessing from Sakuya calling her the "mother" of them all that Amaterasu was female) walked through the cool grass. It wasn't easy to avoid being noticed, and Iris found herself freezing in place every time the wolf would stick her nose in the air and take a curious whiff. What will they do if they notice me? Will Amaterasu attack me? How do I get home? Oh, the sky sure is pretty… focus!

Iris wasn't sure how she managed to climb up that cliff without calling attention to herself, or remain quiet when Amaterasu used her tail to paint a constellation in the sky and summon a white dragon, which said something about Rejuvenation – Iris couldn't hear from where she hid, crouched behind the large stone at the bottom of a hill. She held her breath as she watched Amaterasu run back down the hill after the dragon vanished, and used her tail to restore what looked like a river made of stars. Iris waited until Amaterasu had crossed the river and reached the glowing gate before she tried to slip in, without calling any attention to herself…

SPLASH!

Iris cringed as starlight-water splashed around her, only sighing with relief when he realized that the wolf was already gone. She swam across the river with some difficulty – the "water" was thick and kept trying to pull her bag down – and shook some remaining sparkles off of her jeans and blouse after she climbed out. After taking another moment to check if she'd lost anything in her back (She didn't), Iris ran to the gate up ahead and walked through, allowing herself to be swallowed by the light.

The forest on the other side of the gate looked like something out of a storybook, with trees that climbed to the sky and reached for the stars with their branches, which were clad in perfect leaves. The river looked cleaner than any water Iris had ever seen, and even the rocks were flawless. It was incredible…

Focus, Iris, focus! Iris walked down the path and across a couple of bridges until she reached a hill, which Amaterasu had already scaled. She walked up after the wolf, making sure to remain quiet as she went.

What's that noise? Iris thought as she heard something up ahead. Sounds like… no, wait! Iris dashed as the gate ahead of her sealed the entrance to the cave at the top of the hill, but it was already shut by the time she got to it. Darn it!

Issun was talking again, and Iris watched through the bars as Amaterasu painted a large sword into the hands of a statue. There was a bright flash as something above them shone down, and a mouse with a sword was suddenly in front of them. This day just keeps getting weirder!

Iris quickly ran behind a tree as Amaterasu turned from the statue to face the bars of the gate, and she had to clamp her hand over her mouth as they were suddenly sliced in half. The wolf walked out, and Iris froze until she had passed the tree.

That was close-

"Eek!" Iris yelped in shock as Amaterasu suddenly pounced her, pinning the girl to the ground. She covered her face with her arms, bracing herself for razor-fanged death…

Iris opened one eye when she realized that Amaterasu wasn't attacking her, and laughed as the wolf niffed her arms and face before licking her, tail wagging back and forth. Amaterasu backed off of Iris, allowing her to sit up as Issun began bouncing up and down.

"Hey, who're you? You're dressed pretty weird…" Issun asked as the wolf continued wagging her tail. "Nice catch, Ammy, I didn't even notice her."

"I… I'm Iris." Iris slowly stood up. "I saw Sakuya – that's her name, right?" The wolf nodded. "Sakuya brought Amaterasu back from being a statue, and I followed you in here and… I have no idea where I am." It was an awkward explanation, but what else could she say? That a magic mist brought her to Nippon?

"Hm… sounds fishy if you ask me. Why were you following us?" Issun asked, and Amaterasu tilted her head to one side in agreement.

"Well, for one thing, I was trying to get out of the storm… and you don't exactly see a white wolf burst into flames every day, do you?" Iris responded after a moment, and Amaterasu wagged her tail.

"If you say so… what do you think, Ammy? Can we trust her?" Issun asked, and the wolf let out a sharp, short bark. "That's a yes, for now. I don't think humans are supposed to be here, though…" Issun stopped jumping for a moment. "…How about you come back to the village with us, and we'll help you figure out what to do from there?"

"Sure!" Iris quickly responded with a nod, and the wolf barked again before taking off. "Hey, wait for me!" Iris called as she ran after Ammy, who had gotten halfway down the hill already.

"So, where are you from, Iris?" Issun asked as she caught up with them at the bottom of the hill.

"Not here… what country are we in?"

"Nippon! Where else would you be?" Issun responded.

"…San Francisco."

"Where?"

"Yep, I'm a long way from home," Iris muttered as they kept walking. "I've never even heard of Nippon… unless, of course, this could be Japan…"

"Japan? Never heard of it," Issun responded. "So if you don't know where we are, do you at least know how you got here?" They reached a bridge, and Iris frowned as they crossed it.

"There was a mist… I was taking a walk when it appeared, and it got so thick that I couldn't see anything, and when it cleared, I was in the middle of that storm out there." She stumbled over a rock as they continued towards the gate. "I don't even remember anything weird happening… I just walked."

"Hm… I have heard of people being summoned like that. I guess somebody tried to call you here from… San Francisco." Issun said as they reached the gate. Ammy walked through, and Iris followed a moment later.

"But why?" Iris asked after stepping through to the other side of the gate, shaking light off of herself. "Why me? I'm just 24-year-old poet without a day job – why would anybody want me?"

"Well, Ammy was brought here because she's the reincarnation of a legendary wolf that killed Orochi… maybe you're the reborn hero of some ancient legend?" Iris shook her head.

"I don't think so. The most legendary thing I've ever accomplished is winning a poetry contest in the sixth grade."

"What?"

"Never mind." Iris waded into the starlight river behind Ammy, who doggy-paddled. She caught up when the wolf stopped to shake herself off, and the two continued in silence as they reached the entrance of the ethereal cave, and stepped outside.