First Day of the End (Rei no Kaado)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Issun had still been hopping madly when he felt something change in the air currents around him. He wheeled around just in time to have the large paper cup come down on top of him. Issun continued to yell from within the cup. By this time, Souji had come out from behind the counter and was staring down at the cup.

"What on Earth...?" Souji asked. Suddenly, there was the sound of a sword being unsheathed and the bottom part of the paper cup separated into several pieces of styrofoam.

"Hah! That was a taste of my trusty sword Denkomaru for ya!" Issun said. He brandished the miniature blade.

Souji gave Issun a flat look as he continued. "For a buncha gods, you guys are kinda a bunch of jerks. Ain't nothin' like Ammy."

"While that's great and all, we really don't appreciate you jumping into our patrons' breasts. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Souji stated.

Issun glared up at Atem and Souji. Who did these guys think they were, anyways?

[mugenginga]

The woman gave a quick screech as the cup was not only sliced into, but the preying mantis had begun to talk. She'd jumped to preying mantis because the woman didn't know insects, the thing was green at least some of the time, and the blade was... well, she didn't know bugs. In any case, the scream was cut short because the woman then fainted. It was all very overdramatic, but at least she crumpled into her chair instead of hurting herself.

Atem didn't know all that much about Japanese culture, so he couldn't have placed the sword had it even been possible. However, the word was quite clearly Japanese and the "bug" for lack of a better word seemed to be speaking Japanese. Seemed, because while Atem could catch some of it a lot of what was being said was relying on Island translation. The best Atem could figure was that the language being used was an archaic form of Japanese.

There was also the issue of "gods". It would have been one thing had he addressed Souji as such, if the creature could sense Izanagi that would explain things. It was still Souji on the surface, Atem could tell by way of speaking and tone. However, the only reason anyone would refer to him as such is if they both knew of his role in Ancient Egypt and believed the "god in mortal form" theory in regards to the Pharaoh.

It was only when Issun looked up towards the two of them that he caught that it wasn't a bug. It looked human of all things, albeit very small. He returned Issun's glare with a flat stare. During that relatively short amount of time, Yuugi had come up from behind the counter and checked on the condition of the woman who had fainted. She seemed well enough, so he looked up at Atem after a quick glance in Issun's direction.

"Atem, what's going on?"

(OOC: Fun potential for chaos! Since no one really KNOWS how to pronounce Ancient Egyptian, and Atem is an accepted romanization for the god Atum/Temu/Atem/etc, Issun's confusion could deepen. It all depends on where in Ancient Egypt's mythology you base him from, but his most common version is as a world creator god (lol in regards to Izanagi, btw) - He's also commonly seen as the "evening" aspect of the sun and Ra.)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Issun continued to fume as Yuugi approached, only looking up once the spiky-haired teen spoke up. Issun frowned at Yuugi's appearance before seeming to come to a decision.

"You guys twins or something?" Issun asked. "And what's with that name, anyways? ...Oh, I get it. You're one of them 'foreign gods', ain't ya? Y'know, one of them gods not from Nippon."

Souji was getting more and more confused as Issun continued. He looked toward Yuugi. "This... really tiny person keeps going on about gods and I'm really not sure what he's going on about..."

"I've got a name, you know!" Issun retorted. "It's Issun! The Celestial Envoy! Speaking of which, wanna buy a painting of the origin of all that is good herself, Amaterasu?"

Souji suddenly felt Izanagi tense up.

What? What is it?

It would seem... we have encountered my daughter's Celestial Envoy... rather rude one he is, too. Which means she can't be far behind...

Souji inwardly groaned. More Shinto godesses. Just what he needed.

[mugenginga]

Yuugi looked like he'd swallowed a bug as Issun asked his question. Okay, they did look alike, but it was still embarassing. Couldn't people tell from their skin tone? Or their height even! Atem was noticably taller than him, although still short. His cheeks flushed a bit in addition to the odd expression. He heard Souji, but considering everything that had been going on, was someone that knew about gods all that odd?

Yuugi didn't say anything to Souji. Atem's flat expression had become a little annoyed as Issun implied he was that Atum. Although it wasn't uncommon for that deity to be used as a direct representation of the Pharaoh the way Atum-Ra was. He was opening his mouth to give an answer when Issun snapped back at Souji. Yuugi paused when Issun mentioned Ameterasu, looking up from the woman he'd gone back to checking.

"Wait, doesn't legend say Ameterasu is Izanagi's daughter?" He looked towards Souji with a questioning look.

Atem looked away from Issun after Yuugi spoke, also focusing on Souji, "Does he know anything about this?"

(OOC: WANK TIEMS! I figure that Celestial Envoys are needed when a god either doesn't have an avatar or the avatar isn't human. This allows Izanagi AND Ameterasu to be explained. Izanami has an avatar too, even if she is undead now thanks to the goddess she is connected to. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji looked at Issun, who suddenly seemed a lot more interested at Yuugi and Atem's comments before nodding toward Atem. "Yeah. He says... that this Celestial Envoy thing is a person who goes out and attempts to get people to believe in the gods again. The Celestial Envoys tend to have a connection to Amaterasu... And apparently the last one Izanagi ran into was traveling with Amaterasu too. He really doesn't remember too much about it, though."

It wasn't like Izanagi really could. His avatar back then had never awakened. And neither had Izanami's. It had ended with Nagi and Nami falling in love. Oh, the irony. Because neither Nagi or Nami had awakened, they'd managed to live happily. There was something involving Nagi and Amaterasu Izanagi could remember, but he couldn't really remember the specifics of that, either...

"Hey? Whatcha guys mumblin' about? Izanagi? You don't mean the hero Nagi, do ya?" Issun said as he hopped up and down. He hopped over and landed on top of Yuugi's head.

"Nagi?" Souji asked.

Izanagi facepalmed. That's the name of my last avatar in Issun's world. I haven't made one there since.

Why? Souji asked back.

Because the last one fell in love with Izanami's avatar.

Oh. That was a pretty compelling reason to Souji. He turned to Issun. "Sort of."

"What, you talkin' with his ghost, then?" Issun asked. Souji sighed. For all of his supposed knowledge about gods, Issun didn't seem to know much. And Souji still hadn't asked the most pressing question, which was why Issun seemed to think they were gods.

[mugenginga]

Atem only gave the slightest nod to Souji as he spoke. So the Celestial Envoy acted a go between of sorts between the gods and man. In a sense, that had been the role assigned to the Pharaoh as well, although in his time he'd been seen more as a mortal incarnation of Osiris himself. There was a reason that god was represented by the three phantom gods, after all. He turned back to Issun as the the small figure spoke. He was hopping up and down with rather impressive height considering his stature.

Atem tensed a bit as Issun angled in one leap. Yuugi jumped as the small person landed in his hair, just behind his blond bangs. He tried to get a look at Issun, but he just ended up making himself go crosseyed. Atem gave him a look of obvious disapproval but said nothing. Whatever Issun was, he seemed to have a very solid connection with Izanagi. Atem was not one to immediately accept the presence of the gods, but he'd seen enough in regards to Izanagi and Izanami to accept their presence. And he believed more or less in the gods of his own world. In his own way, Abel had shown that they all existed in one form or another.

"Souji-kun is..." Yuugi stopped and looked worried. He glanced towards Souji, "Um, if he represents Ameterasu, don't you think you should tell him...?"

"Is everything alright out there?"

Atem turned as another one of the cleaning staff came out. She glanced at the unconscious woman with a worried expression. Atem nodded, "Go get a cold compress. She got scared by a bug and passed out, but she seems fine other than that."

He waited for the woman to comply before turning to Issun, "I'm not nor have I ever been a god, but I assume you have a reason for jumping to that conclusion?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji wasn't sure. It wasn't like he expected Issun to react sanely to that fact, especially with the comment about "Nagi" being some great hero or something like that before.

Which meant that the cleaning staff's opportune arrival was a, pardon the pun, godsend for Souji. It meant that he didn't have to decide how he was going to react to Issun quite yet. Atem's handling of the situation and subsequent question he asked Issun changed the topic quite well for now, too.

"Well, this is the Celestial Plain, ain't it? This place is a big floatin' island. And only gods and Celestials are supposed to live here. And last I checked, all the Celestials are d-e-d, dead," Issun said. "So obviously you guys are gods."

Well, that certainly explained Issun's confusion.

"We're not gods," Souji said, well aware of the possible hypocrisy of that statement. "I think you're confused as to where you are."

A lot of things happened after Souji said that. Issun gave Souji a confused look to retort, but stopped short when he saw something in the doorway. Izanagi had been beginning to warn Souji about something, but was too late as Souji spotted a white shape suddenly barrel him over. This ended with Souji on the ground, with a white not!wolf on top of him, licking him all over.

"Ammy!" Issun jumped off of Yuugi's head and landed on top of the wolf, who was still standing on top of a very stunned Souji. The wolf turned her attention from Souji to Issun.

"Thought I'd never see ya again, Ammy!" Issun said. The wolf gave a satisfied whine.

It's good to see you too, Issun, Amaterasu said.

"Someone please explain to me what just happened...?" Souji mumbled out. He still had a wolf on top of him, after all.

[mugenginga]

Atem gave a quick glance towards Souji as he said they weren't gods. He understood that Souji didn't consider himself a god, and even agreed with the distinction, but there were those that wouldn't. Issun was striking him as one who wouldn't given the apparent opinion the gods had towards avatars. Yuugi almost nodded as Souji spoke, but had a bit of a jarred look as he stopped himself. He didn't want to shake Issun up. Both Atem and Yuugi looked up as the white wolf came into the doorway and proceeded to barrel Souji over.

Yuugi blinked, and even Atem looked a bit confused. The former Pharaoh looked towards Souji and found no understanding on his face. Yuugi jumped back as Issun jumped off with a shout of something like a slurred "Ami" before running over to Souji.

"Souji-kun, are you okay!? Could you get off him, girl?"

Well, Issun seemed to recognize the wolf, and she certainly wasn't doing Souji any direct harm. She was on the small side of things, and seemed an odd color. Taking the evidence so far he tried to carefully push the canine off Souji. As for calling her a girl, Issun had called her something close to Ami, which was a girl's name.

(OOC: Ammy, based on teh Japanese pronunciation of the letter "a", would sound a bit like Ami, hence Yuugi's confusion. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Amaterasu shook herself before looking at Yuugi, tilting her head, and finally stepping off of Souji. She barked something before remembering that the only one here who would really be able to understand her would be Issun, and maybe Souji, though he hadn't seemed to comprehend her before.

Issun, on the other hand, seemed to have been a tad been offended by Yuugi's attempt to get Amaterasu to move, and turned red before hopping up and down. "Hey! Ammy ain't your average wolf! She's a god! And not just any god, she's Amaterasu!" He seemed to calm down a bit as he heard Amaterasu whine something. "Huh? What was that, Ammy?"

Do you remember Nagi? Amaterasu asked.

"'Course I remember him! He fought alongside ya to fight Orochi, after all!" Issun stated. By this point Souji had stood up again, and was still staring at the wolf that had barrelled him over.

"Amaterasu's a wolf...?" Souji asked out loud.

No, it's just her avatar. In the world she originates from, it is easier for the gods to manifest animal avatars than human avatars. This is part of why the human avatar I manifested there never truly awakened, Izanagi said. Souji still didn't really believe it, but she had apparently recognized him somehow. Still...

In truth, Nagi was a manifestation of the god Izanagi... my father. And that man with the silver hair, he is the same as Nagi was, Amaterasu explained. Issun's jaw pretty well dropped.

"YOU'RE NAGI?!" Issun said, whirling around and pointing at Souji. He thought about something for a moment."Nah, can't be. You're too skinny and weak lookin' to be Nagi. But if the boss says so... I guess it must be true." Issun seemed to be assessing Souji.

"It's not like that..." Souji said. This was awkward.

[mugenginga]

Yuugi blinked at Issun's reaction, and looked towards the wolf as she barked. That was Ameterasu? It wasn't that Yuugi didn't believe or disbelieve in the gods. He believed in Izanagi, Izanami, and Nyx. It was more the acceptance of the possibility than an active belief. He glanced at Souji and thought back to Ryoji, a moment of pain passing on his face. So, it was possible a god would take the form of an animal, but he was just having trouble with it. In any case, he'd stepped back. He realized he was staring and quickly looked away from the wolf.

Atem didn't seem to be quite as surprised. If she was a goddess, that would explain a few things. Yuugi had said that Ameterasu was Izanagi's daughter, so it explained quite a few things indeed. He looked a bit pained as he saw Yuugi's pained expression, but refocused on Issun as he responded to something. He glanced back at Ameterasu and realized for the first time that there were some very faint red (really, pink for how pale they were) markings on the canine. There seemed to be something on her back as well, but it was ill defined. Before he could say anything to Issun, the little person freaked over Souji being "Nagi". Once Souji muttered, he spoke. It would see a bit cold, as if he wasn't paying attention to Souji's issue.

"Does Ameterasu appear different under different circumstances?" he asked to Issun. He had turned away from the wolf again.

"He's no one but Souji-kun!" Yuugi said.

Atem did turn a that. He seemed to approve of something and turned towards Issun with his serious expression resumed, "My Partner is right. Souji is Souji."

"........Holy crap the wolf's on fire!!"

.....said the employee who had come out with a rag. Well, at least someone could see things clearly. Yuugi and Atem had both turned as she ran forward, but the panic seemed to fade as she came forward. She was walking a bit slowly by the time she got to where the group was standing. She'd noticed the fire wasn't doing any harm.

"You're... not a wolf, are you?" She looked at the group, "Um..?"

(OOC: NPC, feel free to control her. Seeing Ameterasu as she is just proves her belief in gods. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji jumped as Yuugi suddenly spoke up. He gave a small grateful smile. Souji really wished gods would stop treating him like a shell. Izanami had finally managed to stop doing that, but he really didn't want to think of why that was the case. There was a rather sour expression on Souji's face as he thought that.

Souji was grateful when that other employee came in and yelled that the wolf was on fire, though Souji wasn't really sure what she was seeing before he looked back toward Amaterasu. He hadn't realized it was there before, but yep, that wolf was on fire. How had he missed that?

You couldn't see her true form before because you didn't believe she could actually be a god, Izanagi said with a chuckle.

"She's the goddess Amaterasu," Souji explained.

Issun seemed rather surprised at how the employee had reacted to Amaterasu. "Woah! You can see Ammy's true form?!" The employee nodded.

Amaterasu noted how Yuugi and Atem had spoken up to defend their friend. Perhaps this had an impact in why Izanagi was allowing his avatar's initial personality to remain. These friends of Souji's did not believe he was really just Izanagi's shell. And obviously there was nothing like blind worship going on.

"Well, anyways, Ammy came to talk to this Souji guy 'bout something 'bout the world ending and some goddess called... Izanami? She your sister or something or... Oh, I get it..." Issun chuckled.

"...Get what?" Souji asked hesitantly. Ammy suddenly had a feeling this situation was about to possibly get hostile.

"You and Izanami are kinda like Nagi and Nami used to be, sneaking off after the festival and--"

Amaterasu took the initiative once she saw Souji's face getting red, reached up, and grabbed Issun in her mouth with one swift movement. She had acted a tad bit too slowly, though, as Souji suddenly slammed his hand down on the table and started yelling.

"I have nothing to do with her!" Souji yelled. Looked like Issun had hit on whatever was bothering Souji lately.

[mugenginga]

Atem had looked back at Ameterasu after seeing the woman was calming down and Issun gave his explanation. The pale pink from before was now a red that contrasted to the white the way the Japanese flag did. There was also a disc on her back. Issun's surprise confirmed what Atem had been thinking earlier. He turned towards where Issun had landed as he continued.

Yuugi had jumped in surprise as he turned back to Amaterasu. He'd done so after Souji explained what the wolf was, and just like that he saw what the woman had been talking about. While it was more sudden than a lot of them, it had come as a result of what Souji had said. If Yuugi had anything it was trust in his friends, after all. He just hadn't expected her appearance to be so different.

Atem's expression changed very subtley as Issun continued. It was in a manner most would miss. Yuugi caught it due to their bond, but it was likely no one else would. Souji was a bit rattled, after all. So Amaterasu had met Izanami. He stopped looking at the glowing green light (it really was hard to see much beyond that) as soon as Issun trailed off chuckling. He focused in on Souji, who looked like he was bordering on pissed. He saw Souji's expression shift, and it wasn't one of embarassment. He stepped back from the table just as Souji's hand slammed down on it. The reaction indicated far more than simple dislike at the suggestion... and a rather sore point at that.

"Souji-kun, calm down!" Yuugi said. It wasn't shouted as an order, but one of concern. Was there something going on with those two he didn't know about...? He just knew Souji hated Izanami, but no reasons had ever really been given other than her being involved with the events that some of their friend and Adachi had been involved in.

"We're trying to do a job here," Atem stated to Issun and Amaterasu. Issun would probably be annoyed at the complete lack of care at Amaterasu's divinity. Atem was actually being pretty polite about telling them it was time to leave.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Amaterasu spat Issun out once Atem was done talking. She got the hint. Now she had to make sure Issun did before Izanagi's avatar lost it on them. She had a feeling whatever had made Izanami regard Souji so highly was the same thing that Souji wasn't happy about. Issun made a few angry comments before Amaterasu began speaking to him.

Souji was still glaring at Amaterasu as she seemed to tell Issun something. Issun sighed and looked up at Atem, Yuugi, and Souji.

"Alright, alright. But the boss still wants to talk with you guys, so we'll see ya when you're not workin'!" Issun said as he hopped on top of Amaterasu's head and she walked out of the door.

That was tactless, Issun, Amaterasu stated.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know he'd react like that? Izanagi sure has got some issues," Issun said.

Souji didn't stop glaring at Amaterasu as she retreated out the door. It was only once she was out of sight that he finally stopped glaring at her.

[mugenginga]

The employee from before had paled and leapt back as Souji slammed his hand on the table. She'd gotten a bit lost as to everything that was going on. She hadn't heard of an "Amaterasu", but had chosen not to argue it. She did believe in gods, and it was possible the Amaterasu was from another world (in fact, she was just uneducated to the Shino pantheon). In any case, she'd walked over to the woman and put the rag on her forehead.

"Souji-kun, what was that all about...?" Yuugi said Souji dropped his glare.

"If it has to do with the Fall, you should at least let Minato-kun know," Atem stated. He didn't think it did, not Souji's reaction. Issun had mentioned the end of the world, but that was likely part of what they wanted to talk about later. He held up the apron he was wearing and scooped the bits of cup into it. He turned and spoke to Yuugi. No attempt was made to whisper, but it was clear who he was talking to, and was a bit low, "Let him be if he doesn't want to talk, Partner."

The woman who had passed out finally began to woke up.

"Maam, are you okay...?" asked the employee.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji sighed as Yuugi addressed him. He really didn't want to talk about it. Maybe they deserved to know. After all, part of it concerned them. But that was one thing he didn't want to talk about at all. He had a feeling it would come up if (when...) he saw Amaterasu and Issun again.

"I'll tell you guys later..." Souji said before walking back behind the counter to head back to work. He could tell them after work was over. They'd slacked off long enough, after all.