CHAPTER TWO

Mr. Orange Appears

I was falling, breaking through cloud. Wind whipped around my ears, and I twisted around again to face the oncoming earth. My body screamed towards the ground at top speed. A dirt path appeared beneath me, which was coming at me at an alarming rate. My heart beat in my ears, and at the last second before I would have slammed into the ground: I performed a holy eagle, propelling myself up a little bit and coming down much softer than if I hadn't. My paws still touched the ground with a hard thump, sending out a wave of divine energy as the protective item I'd been carrying sheltered me from full impact. I let out a breath of relief, feeling the earth between my pads. 'Ah, everything's so far according to plan… Now I just need to make sure I'm where I'm supposed to be…' I opened my eyes, and saw I was in a large field with an expanse of grass before me, and a red torii behind me. The charm that had saved me left a mark in the path, shaped like a sun and glimmering with remaining energy, a mark that would remain there for quite some time.

As I walked forward, I saw where the Moon Cave used to be down the cliff, and a dojo to my left. I was sure now, I had landed in Shinshu Field. I picked up my pace to a trot and started my way downhill. I crossed a bridge above a stream leading into the lake, and saw eagles soaring overhead- or were they hawks? I couldn't tell from this distance.

The trail turned off to the left and I followed it, crossing another bridge past a few wooden buildings. I saw a grand tree covered in pink flowers stationed in the middle of the field, and ran up to the great guardian sapling. 'It doesn't look like a sapling to me!' I thought to myself as I stared up at the branches- It was twice as big as the one planted in the celestial plains. I turned around, and took in the whole area. The field seemed to be in pretty good shape, and as I looked around the area, peering above the hills, I saw an absolutely GIGANTIC tree. 'Konahana!' My tail wagged: I had to get a closer look! I started running, tail flying behind me like an ink-strewn flag. As I made my way along the path, a strange feeling came over me. Like there was a chill in the air. 'But that couldn't be...It's summer here...'

I stopped, ears flicking. I heard something above me, It was a whispering- carried seemingly by the wind… Something wasn't right. I looked up. There, above my head, perched on a cleft of the cliff-face: three green imps looked down at me. I recognized them from the bestiary and my mother's descriptions of imps. Covered in green, bumpy skin, they resembled over-large monkeys. They wore ragged clothes, carried long wooden flute-weapons, and paper masks with a red symbol on them. As soon as they realized that I'd seen them, they all jumped down from their perch, and a fiery fighting ring appeared around us. I sank into a fighting stance, 'Now, I get to test my skills in real battle!' I thought to myself. No more dummies, no more mock-fights, these were real demons, and I was ready.

I had a reflector on my back, one of the matching two my mother had given to my brother and I as pups. I'd named mine 'Divine Insurgence'. I lunged at the first imp, the reflector slicing into it and taking away some of its demonic energy as it stumbled backwards. It recovered quickly, and raised its hand -ready to slam me into the ground- but I danced away from its blow. I slashed at it again with my weapon, flames swirling around the disk. Empowered with gold dust, two well-placed strikes were enough to get rid of the imp, and it fell to the ground. As it turned into flowers I had to dodge an attack from its comrade, who tried to attack me from behind. I snarled as it tried to hit me again, then I gave it a good whack with my reflector in a full-on blow, and sliced it in half with a well-aimed power-slash.

As I turned to the third one, it attacked. I side-stepped its flute attack and smashed the wood into pieces with my weapon. Then I slammed the imp with my reflector twice, sending it to the ground. It burst into flowers, and left some yen behind.

I dashed through the evaporating barrier, still determined to see the legendary village. I ran towards a cleft in the hills, passed through a gate, bloomed all the withered trees and charged into the village. Although I had faced my first true monsters, I really had no idea yet of what sort of adventure I had started.

༄༄༄༄༄༄

The sweet smell of cherry blossoms in full bloom greeted my nose, and I took a deep breath, briefly closing my eyes. A fat merchant sat to my right, his hair was gray and his face was wrinkled, and although he had no customers, he looked happy just to be sitting outside and enjoying the flowers. For a moment I considered stopping and buying something, but then I shook my head and walked into the village. Immediately to my right, I saw the house of Susano, 'the Great Worrier'. I chuckled at the old sign outside his house with the worn-out -or possibly vandalized- word. 'Get a move on!' I berated myself, 'Don't forget what you came here for! Do you want to see Konohana up close or not?'

I crossed a red bridge into the more crowded part of Kamiki, I saw a young man whistling for his dog -who promptly ran up to him and almost tackled him-, a teenage girl who watched them and giggled, and a skinny gray dog gnawing a bone beneath a house- otherwise the village was peaceful and empty. The trees here were in fine condition, unlike the ones outside, which were withered by demonic presences. I sneezed as a petal landed on my nose.

I walked up the stone steps near the back of the village, and took the trail to the left. I looked out across the water to the left of the path, vast and blue- with an island near the shore. Within moments I came upon the great sacred tree; it was at least a hundred feet tall! I passed under the gate and everything suddenly took on a strange green tint, all except the tree. Clouds graced the tree's branches, and every single flower was in bloom on the magnificent tree. I was in awe, but as my gaze traveled down the trunk, I saw a little bouncing dot standing on a basket- and it seemed to be talking to the tree.

"Come back out Sakuya! Take a look at my newest masterpiece!" The poncle bounced up and down, yelling at the tree; he was glowing red with rage. "I know you can hear me! Come out!"

"Issun?" I asked tentatively, padding closer. My heart lifted in hope, Issun had visited the Celestial Plains when I was a pup- I hadn't seen him in years, and it would be nice to see him again. "What?" The poncle exclaimed, turning around. "I'm not Issun!" He said indigently, starting to glow an even brighter red. "I'm-" But he suddenly cut off, because behind him the trunk of the tree started to glow. A young woman appeared from within the tree, she had long, jet-black hair and a pink bikini on.

"Such a pristine and beautiful white coat!" She said. "That divine instrument on your back and crimson markings decorating your body can only mean one thing: you are a wild god of the heavens!" I nodded respectfully to her. "I presume you are a child of the benevolent Amaterasu?" She asked. Before I could respond, the little -now orange- poncle cut in. "What?!" The poncle exclaimed. "This furball here is a god? Ha!" He laughed. I flattened my ears and growled quietly. "Her? Come on Sakuya, she's just a normal run-of-the-mill wolf! Hah, a god- I didn't know you made jokes." I didn't know if he couldn't see my markings, or was just trying to antagonize me, but I thrashed my tail in agitation and summoned a sudden wind to blow him over- and that it did. "Oowf!" The poncle said as he fell head-over-heels backwards off the basket as it capsized. He rubbed his head in the area beneath his beetle-hat and looked around in surprise. "Where'd that come from?" He said from between spilled peaches and cherries and I glared at him. He met my gaze and said, shocked: "Wait... Was that you? Are you, really...a...?" I nodded. "Yes, I am." I said sharply, and while the poncle was momentarily speechless, I looked back at Sakuya- who was beginning to look a little impatient. She continued, barely missing a step in her speech. "Long has it been since I have gazed upon a god, a decade at least. I am honored by your divine presence." She bowed in the air.

"Aw don't brown-nose, Sakuya! It doesn't become you!" The poncle said, looking upset that he'd been pushed aside by the tree-sprite, even though he'd been there first. Not paying him any attention, the wood spirit carried on: "I'm glad you are here, oh powerful goddess, what name may I call you?"

"My name is Akimeterasu." I said, sitting down. Sakuya raised her bare arms. "A great evil has begun to stir, demons become more courageous, and dare roam the village at night. People are disappearing and rivers drying, please- help us!"

"Gladly!" I said, wagging my tail. Sakuya looked a bit surprised at my abrupt and informal speech. "That's why I came here, after all!" I smiled and wagged my tail. "Oh- splendid." The wood sprite said more lamely than before, but quickly regained her regal stance.

"Now that you're both quite done…" The poncle said, crossing his arms. "I'll show you my new work, -Sakuya- whether you want me to or not!" He pulled out a full-size piece of paper from his pouch and unrolled it. I wondered how it managed to fit in there, but I walked forward to see the drawing nonetheless- and I was stunned.

"Pretty good right?" The poncle said with pride. "It took me two weeks to finish this one, but it turned out well, if I do say so myself!"

"It certainly did." I added. It was a painting of the whole of Shinshu field. You could almost feel the wind, nearly smell the blossoms from the guardian sapling. "Wow, this is really amazing!" I said. "Like I said." The poncle said, waving his hands like a bow at my praise. "Now, I'll just put this back before you drool on it." Then he whipped it away. I frowned, he was obviously very prickly- much like I remember Issun had been. "By the way wolf… God, person- I'm Hiraku, student of the talented celestial envoy Issun, I'm sure you've heard of him?" I nodded, then lifted my paw and put a claw in his tiny outstretched hand. "Yes, I met Issun when he visited the plains several years ago. He used to help me practice my brush skills, and tell tales of Nippon! My name is Akimeterasu, daughter of the sun goddess Amaterasu. It's-" A small cough drew our attention, Sakuya looked at us impatiently. "Akimeterasu, since you have so graciously accepted to help me protect the land of Nippon, I'm sure Hiraku could show you around the village if you wished-."

"Oh, okay. Follow me furball!" He said, speaking before she could finish. "...But first we clean up these fruit." Then he gestured to the scattered fruit. I helped him clean up, rolling them back into the basket with my nose. Sakuya bade us farewell, and then disappeared back into the trunk of the great tree. "Aww, I was hoping to spend more time with her." Hiraku said disappointedly. "You know how your mother met my mentor right?" The little poncle said with a sly grin, and I rolled my eyes. "Yes." He laughed at my un-amused response. He did seem a little sharp-tongued… And a little bit perverted like Issun, yet I couldn't help but smile. He seemed like he could be a fun companion.

When we were done, I picked the full basket up in my jaws. Then he bounced along besides me as we went down the path away from Konahana, "So, Akimeterasu… I think we might have started off on the wrong foot, let's start this over. I'm Hiraku. Extremely handsome, talented, vigilante warrior, and wandering artist." He professed, then looked to me expectantly. "I'm Akime." I said, dipping my head. "Professional goddess, trained master of a deadly paintbrush, and an overall very modest wolf." I proclaimed, matching his joking, light-hearted tone. "Oh yeah, I can tell." Hiraku said, snickering. "I was wondering: whether or not your powers are limited to blowing over poncles. If not- what is their extent?" He asked, rather nonchalantly. "Well… I'm not quite as powerful as my mother, but if there's ever an annoying flea you need to do a summersault off a basket, or shelves repaired, or powerful demons fumigated- I'm your goddess." I said with a mischievous grin. "Relaxed with your powers, I see. Not like some uptight deities I know." He replied, I could hear a smile playing on his lips. "I think I'm going to like you."

"Yes, well, as long as you keep perverted jokes to a minimum, I think we'll get along fine." I said, only half-joking.

"You misjudge me, Akime!" He exclaimed in mock-hurt. "I can be a gentleman if I want to. Buut you're stuck with me anyway until I finish showing you around! Ha!" He said evilly, and I snorted. "...Which I should probably be getting to right about now-" He cleared his throat and said importantly: "As you know, this is Kamiki Village-" Bouncing from the ground onto my nose, he gestured around- his tiny arms spread wide. "A peaceful, seemingly ordinary hamlet with a disturbing past of virgin-centered violence. Also featuring this house, that house, and that house with the orange on top. Not to mention a rice farm and the laziest ex-warrior to ever roam the land."

"Right." I said, dipping my head slightly and trotting forward into the village with him bouncing on my nose. I found that even though my eyes were focused on him, I could dodge trees and houses and other things out of the corner of my eyes, but then- "Oomph!" I collided with someone who was in my poncle-blindspot. It was a middle-aged woman with slightly graying short hair that resembled a comb. "What was that?" She exclaimed, straightening up. "Geez, do you need glasses Furball?" Hiraku muttered grumpily, and stood up, since he'd been knocked down by the collision. "Oh! Hello Wolfie!" she said, bending down to pet me, as I sat -dazed- among the yet again scattered peaches and cherries.

I discovered in that instant that I liked being pet, and lifted my leg to scratch a non-existent itch. "You remind me of that god-wolf that visited us years ago." She said to herself, leaning away for a second. "I remember there was a pup too. Are you that pup I wonder? All grown up?"

"Nope, that was my brother!" I barked cheerfully, but she didn't understand. "I'll bet you are! You sure have grown!" I shook my head, looking up at Hiraku for guidance. "They can't understand wolf, Akime." He said, looking down at me. "Fortunately, I can translate. Hey-" He suddenly said, looking at the woman. "Oh, a poncle too!" She exclaimed, jumping back. "Is that you Hiraku?"

"You betcha, Kushi!" Said the orange poncle. "Sorry, I haven't been introduced to your wolf friend have I?" She said. "My name is Kushi, sake-brewer and wife of the great warrior Susano!" She did a small bow. "Well you already know me- but this here's Akime! She's new to this region. She's ah, related to that wolf-god that came here some years back."

"Really? She's related to Snowy-I mean- Amaterasu?" The sake-brewer said, with surprise in her voice. "Here, take this, I've been meaning to sell it, but I haven't had the time. It's an honor to meet another relative of Snowy, so I really hope you enjoy it!" She pulled something out of her pouch- it was some sake. I put it away in my travel pouch and barked a thanks to her, 'She's really nice!' I thought. "Goodbye Akime!" Kushi called as I walked away. "and Hiraku!" Hiraku stayed quiet, and didn't answer back- no doubt angry at being mentioned second again.

I walked over the red-brown wooden bridge and heard screeches, so I looked up. Two giant birds circled the sun above, then one suddenly dove down over the lake and pulled out a fish- making water splash around it like liquid wings. Then it rose again into the sky, and took off back to the cliffs to eat its quarry. Some white rabbits huddled in the tall green grass in the path leading out of the village, surrounded by flowers. People talked nearby, laughing and in high spirits. 'Kamiki sure is alive this time of year! And for all the demonic disturbance happening lately, Sakuya's done a good job protecting it.' I thought to myself, smiling.

I trotted along the path that headed out of the village when Hiraku stopped me. "Hold up furball, I need to sell these fruit! THEN we can go, ok?" He said. I shrugged, then walked up to the old smiling merchant along the cliff. We sold most of the basket, but Hiraku saved one peach for himself, and one for me. They were delicious, huge, tasty, and a perfect orange-pink mix. While we ate the juicy, sticky peaches, conversation began again. "So..." Hiraku said, wiping away some juice with his sleeve.

"That sake brewer, Kushi, said that a pup visited the village a few years ago that looked like you, do you know who it was?" He said, taking another bite. "Yes," I licked my lips. "My brother: Chibiterasu; or as he's sometimes known, Chibi. He actually helped inspire me to come down here, to use my powers for the well-being and protection of Nippon." I wiped my muzzle again. "I heard my mother talking about her adventures over and over again on the plains, but they were only stories to me- they all happened before I was alive. But when my brother came back, retelling his adventures with such great detail… That was the final strike that burst my lust for adventure into a flame." I swatted away my peach core with one paw. "So he's your inspiration huh? He must be a really good story teller to get you to want to come down here. With monsters, thieves, and a wide variety of other jerks roaming free." He said, leaning back on his hands. "I suppose so." I said. "Are you done?" I asked him. "Yeah." He replied, rolling the peach away. "Well, here's your chance for adventure Akime!" Hiraku said, springing onto my head. "Adventure, fame, glory… That sounds pretty good actually… Mind if I come along? You'll need someone who knows the land like I do!"

"Well, um, sure! Why not?" I said, looking back at the poncle, and he bounced up my leg and onto my head. 'It seems like I can trust him,' I thought to myself as I padded along the road and through the entrance of Shinshu field. The sun was just starting to approach the horizon in the distance. 'If he's really a student of Issun's, I should be able to… I just hope I can.'

(AN: Ah, don't you remember in Okami how it took FOREVER for Sakuya to stop praising you? I think those parts were the most boring ones in the game. And so Hiraku enters the storyline. He's not a complete replacement for Issun, (he'll come into the story later) and their personalities ARE different, slightly. Issun was his idol growing up though, that's why he became an artist and models himself after the green poncle. The actual adventure still has yet to commence D: but we're getting to it, hang in there! :D

To the next chapterr!~)