Hey everyone! So, the first part of my story is finally done :D! I hope you enjoy it, and please rate and review with your honest opinions so that I may improve my stories. This is my very first one, and oh, there are spoilers for the end of the game in here—well, kinda. Please tell me if there are any errors in it and whatever I can do to make it better. In case you couldn't tell, this story is from the 1st-person viewpoint of Amaterasu.

Prologue

Onboard the legendary Ark of Yamato, now purified of all evil, Waka and I were traveling to the Celestial Plain—our home. It was a long journey, so to pass the time, Waka—a long-time companion of mine since before I could remember, and possibly something more—decided to play his flute for me. The soothing, familiar melody brought back a glimpse of a memory that had long been forgotten. It was of me frolicking in the scenic fields of the Celestial Plain. Those were easier times, simpler times . . . Before . . .

Waka stopped playing, and I snapped back to reality. "Look," Waka said. "There is the Celestial Plain, right over there." He pointed to a small spot in the distance that was rapidly growing closer. He smiled at me. "We are finally back, ma chérie. Back home." Now the Celestial Plain was clearly in my sight, and my tail started wagging for the joy I felt to finally be back once more. The island itself had an ethereal glow, and majestic mountains sprouted from it like spring flowers. Seeing my old home, memories came flooding back like a wave washing over me.

But suddenly, the ground shook, as if in an earthquake. The fleeting memories fled from my mind like startled birds. I looked around frantically, trying to figure out what was happening.

"We are under attack!" Waka exclaimed. "Brace yourself, Amaterasu!" The entire ark was now quaking violently, as if it would break apart. I peered out the window to see who—or what—was attacking. My heart sunk at the mere sight of it.

Large tendrils of darkness lashed out at us, each blacker than midnight. Once again, they struck the ark, this time nearly shattering it. The floor heaved out from under my feet, and I started tumbling down towards the ark's depths.

"Amaterasu! No!" Waka cried. He reached out with his hand, trying to save me from the long drop below me. But I was just out of his reach, my paws just brushing his fingertips, and I continued to fall. I heard Waka shout my name once more before I crashed into the walls of the ark, the world going dark.

o~*~o

I slowly regained consciousness, and soon realized that I was pinned. The Ark of Yamato had not survived the attack, and it had crash-landed in Shinshu Field. It was now nothing more than a heap of twisted metal. Part of the wreckage had trapped me beneath it. I looked over to see that Waka survived the crash, and was doing much better than I was. He ran over to where I lay, and tried to lift the wreckage off me without much success. Frustrated at this, Waka brought out his flute, which doubled as his sword, Pillowtalk. He slashed at the wreckage until I became free. He then asked, "Are you all right, ma chérie?" It quickly became apparent that I was not all right.

When the wreck came down on top of me, I sustained many severe injuries from the heavy pieces of metal, and I was painfully aware of each. Many of my bones were shattered, and the pain was so great, I could not even bear to move. As I lay there, crippled and helpless, in searing pain, I started to fear that I might not live much longer. Waka looked at me with deep concern in his eyes. Gently, he took me in his arms. He sat in silence for a while, holding me close to him, before he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear. "I'm so sorry!" His grip around me tightened. "I let this happen to you . . . If only . . . if only I'd been able to protect you!" Did he think that this was his fault?

I looked up at him. Never before had I seen him like this. To me, he had always been my fortress—strong and unyielding. He always kept a level head, keeping his cool in even the direst of situations. But now, devastated at the thought of losing me . . . I could now see that there were tears in his eyes. Lifting my head, I licked his face, to comfort him and to let him know that I did not blame him for anything.

"Amaterasu . . . ma chérie . . ." Waka held me even tighter as the tears in his eyes began to spill over. I could feel my strength fade with each passing moment. Now, unable to keep my head up, I laid it on Waka's chest. I could feel his warm tears on my fur as he continued to hold me ever so close. Again, I tried lifting my head in an attempt to lick him. But, failing to do even that, I just whined piteously. I knew my condition was worsening, and that my worst fears were soon to be confirmed.

Right then, I heard a voice from behind us that was all too familiar. It was Issun, a tiny Poncle whom had accompanied me on my long journey prior to this disastrous day.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" he questioned, immediately suspicious. "Did something happen . . . ?" His question was left unanswered, as Waka was still too emotional to talk. Issun saw this as the perfect chance to get back at him. You see, Issun never really took a liking to Waka. So he teased, "What's the matter, pretty boy? Cat got your tongue?" Seeing that Issun did not realize the severity of the situation, Waka gently set me down to show Issun what happened.

For the first time in his life, Issun was speechless. He just stared at my broken body in disbelief. When he finally found words, he said, "A-Ammy's not going to . . . die, right?" Even as he spoke, I could feel my life slipping away. All I could do was watch him as he bounced toward my nose, so close to my eyes that I could see his face. He, too had tears in his eyes as he shouted at me, "C'mon, ya big furball! You can't let this get the best of you . . . you can't! 'Cause if you do, I . . . I . . .—" and he could no longer speak as emotion overcame him. Unable to bear the thought of losing his best friend, Issun started to cry; something I'd never seen him do before.

It pained me to see the two people I care most about suffer so. I desperately wished that I could help them, comfort them. But alas, I couldn't even do anything to help myself. I could barely keep my eyes open, I was so weak. I could hear the sadness and despair in Issun's voice as he cried, "No! Ammy, don't go!" But hard as I tried, I ultimately resigned to my fate and closed my eyes, prepared to pass into the next life.

And so, once again, I fell into a dark, cold, slumber . . .