Disclaimer: the only thing I can say I own is a turtleneck sweater. But that'd be a lie.

Authors note: well, my third Ammy/Issun ficklit. Its good to see that my efforts to make IssunXAmmy more appreciated has paid off, and now I have some wonderful allies in my quest, slowly expanding the Banner that is the OTPness of IssunXAmmy. Soon you'll ALL be believers! Even that one person! You know him… his name… start's with a R… gah, I'll think of it later.

Whatev. Anyway, enjoy the fick, and Review, if you please. I kinda like this, but I've hesitated to submit it cause I'm not sure it'll make sense. ^_^;

~A Sun Made of Stone~

When the tiny bouncing artist first arrived in town, a good share of the townsfolk were curious. They had never seen a Ponicle before, and bombarded the tiny fellow with questions.

"Who are you?"

"Why are you here?"

"What do you do?"

All of these questions, and many more, were eagerly answered by the sprite, who soaked in the attention like a dry sponge.

"Issun's my name!"

"I go only where the wind takes me, sugar!"

"I'm a traveling artist! Behold my works!"

…

"I'M NOT A BUG!"

And after ecstatically exposing his elegant works to the curious bystanders, he was a instant hit in the tiny burg. He was treated like a honored guest, befriended by all (or rather, most) and was accepted cheerfully into the community. Charmed by the town and the people who inhabited it, the artist Issun decided to stay, despite the constant blowing of winds in other directions. He was happy here, gently nuzzled in the bosom of a flower spirit.

But something caught his eye in this town, something that seemed to stand out. A statue. Of a wolf.

Now it was his turn to ask the questions.

"Why do you have a statue of a wolf in your town?"

"Is it that legendary one? Shin-whatever?"

"How long has it been here?"

Normally the Ponicle was never this inquisitive, but something about this statue made him curious. He longed to know more about it, and the legendary wolf that it represented. He was drawn to it. It was like a magnet, and he found himself sketching the stone wolf whenever he wasn't enjoying the wood-sprites company or meandering around town. But no matter what he was doing, talking or resting, a small part of his mind was on that statue.

As if it was a part of him.

He was destined to meet it.

Maybe that statue was the reason he was drawn to this town in the first place, or it's the reason he decided to stay. He couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that he felt a sort of kinship with the inanimate, carved rock. Like it was always looking back at him when he stared into its vacant eyes.

You can only imagine the surprise he got when one day he awoke to find the statue was no longer there… but rather a full-fleshed wolf, virgin snow fur and crimson streaks dying its once grey body, a gentle wavy texture to its once hard exterior. Warm breath flowed out of its wide mouth, a slippery wet mucus covered the nose, and its previously vacant eyes now filled with expression and life.

But when the insect went in to investigate the wolf that was previously a statue, he was struck by a detail that most missed. While the white wolf outwardly looked surprised to see Issun, its eyes… in its eyes glinted recognition, which said to the bug "I remember you."

The eyes remembered him.

And in that moment, the artist felt an urge. An urge to teach this creature. A longing to be with this wolf and lead it, direct it, aid it, in any way he could. Like it was his calling. A greater being was giving him this command, and he felt obligated to go through with it. He couldn't tell you where this urge came from, but he could tell you that thanks to his perhaps ill-chosen motto, "leap before you think" he was obligated to leap into the destiny set out before him.

Later, when the realization of the wolf's divinity struck him, when the goddess of the sun Amaterasu made her presence known to Issun, there was the obvious shock and surprise that would come with such a realization, but there was also a understanding. A bit of knowledge made clear to the insect now, that he couldn't understand before.

This goddess, for all the awesome power she possessed… was still a statue. A figurine, who lacked the knowledge to live up to its full potential. A stone representation of a greater power. An Avatar. She was nothing yet. He had to chip away at the statue and reveal the true goddess underneath the exterior of ignorance and weakness. It would be up to him to guide her to her destination, to her destiny, as destiny had guided him to her. It would be up to him to teach her, to speak for her, to turn the concrete sun hanging in the sky into a powerful, gleaming flame to shine over all life once more.

But Issun was never one to obey the commands of his superiors. No sir. He was a free spirit, and artist of the roads. He had to have a good reason, a BETTER reason, to stay with this mangy old wolf instead of seeking his own path, the destiny he chose for himself.

Sure, with such a cute wolf, he would probably run into some cute girls. And he defiantly would be able to learn the other celestial brush strokes… but it wasn't so much those things that kept the bug on the wolf's back as she strode majestically through the cursed planes of Nippon.

No… it was those eyes.

There was something in those eyes… whenever he looked into her eyes, he always could see it, as clear as day.

"I want to help you."

He knew, as she knew, that it was not his job to teach her the ways of the world, nor was it her job to help him achieve his destiny, but rather, he was brought to her because they needed each other. Him to guide her, be her voice, and her encouragement, while she would play the role of his protector, his mother, and would spearhead his growth as a person. They weren't complete without the other. She was the stone sun, waiting for an artist to chip away at the earth covering her light, and he is the artist, looking for stone to carve into a masterpiece.

They completed each other.

They were one in the same.

And both of them knew, from the words that could only be expressed in their eyes, that their fate was linked together forever now.

Perhaps it was not the townsfolk, or the sake, or the forest spirit that tied the little Ponicle to the village he once lived in… rather, it was that he fell in love with a stone sun.

And now it was his eternal duty to chip it into a masterpiece.

~End~