Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction ❯ Princess Mononoke Rebirth ❯ Encounter ( Chapter 19 )

Encounter

 

The wind blew strong in the dark morning of another mysterious day. Motoko slept restless within her sleep, as if she was having another nightmare of her father's death, or that she sensed something was coming. She gasped a heap of breath as she woke up, looking out to the navy sky with the crescent moon still distinct to see. Motoko rose up from her cool blankets of pelt and felt the impatient wind blew brawnier around and pass her body. She then suddenly saw a white mist passing by the house; she grew curious by this mysterious haze of snow float by. She walked slowly but closer to the miasma, and saw it taking the shapes of an animal; quite gigantic, a sort of deer-like character, but with a human face.

“Oh my God!” she gasped at this amazing creature. She then turned her head to the side and saw more specters leisurely walking by, both beasts and humans; with animals as large as the boar gods of the past, and humans dressed in armor and badges to prove of their worthiness. She turned her head another way and saw Sasuke staring back at her.

“They shouldn't be here.” He stated firmly at Motoko. “They are ghosts; from the old world when there was a war between humans and animal gods who served the Forest Spirit.”

“The Forest Spirit?”

“He used to own the entire forest here, but he was then killed by humans.” Motoko then walked up to him.

“Why shouldn't they be here?”

“The living and the dead live in two different worlds; swapping into each other's territory can bring a horrible conflict between them, we mustn't make contact with them whatsoever.”

“Are you saying they are summoned?”

“No, they are pulled here. I believe someone very powerful must have brought them here.”

“Could it be that the person who brought them here wants them to stay?”

“Souls can only stay here for a certain period of time otherwise they disappear completely. They need a body to sustain their stay. It's the same with the living if they commence into spirit world.”

“This person, could he or she must be sear-

“Searching for one soul.” Sasuke interrupted Motoko's statement. “Even if you can bring a soul back and return it back into its original body, some must not come back, demons for example.” Motoko looked at Sasuke with worry.

“Do you know who brought them here?”

“That's what I'm trying to find out.” Ashitaka and San then came up to Motoko and Sasuke and looked out to the path of the deceased.

“Why are they here?” Ashitaka asked.

“Someone brought them back.” Motoko answered his question.

“We should let them be.” Sasuke intervened, as then San stared out to the lifeless crowned. She then saw a gigantic white wolf that pressed its gigantic paws into the earth with every step it took.

“It's my Mother, she survived.” San suddenly enlightened. “Mother! Mother over here!” She waved her arms in the air to catch the wolf's attention. Motoko then walked up to her in guilt.

“San…” She then turned to Motoko. “…she's a ghost.” San's smile slowly turned down and worried with her eye pupils growing small, she then turned back to the great wolf god.

“Mother!” said forced out her calling, the wolf then looked down at the young princess.

“San? Are you dead?” She softly grunted at her, as then San shook her head with franticness. “I must be in the wrong place then. You must help us all get back.”

“But I don't want you to get back!”

“And the man, there was a man. He used some sort of magic to bring us here. Blonde hair, black clothes, I heard his name was Keirtoro.” Ashitaka and Sasuke then grew familiar with the name. “I think…there must be another immortal that can bring us back into our world.” Ashitaka then looked at Sasuke as he thought that he could be the answer to send the ghosts back.

“No! I will bring you back!” San yelled out as she stumbled back into the house to grab her spear, she then raced back out and pointed her spear out. “Take my spear!” But the great wolf god just walked passed it with the blade running through her transparent body, with mist coming off from the blade.

“I'm so proud of you San. Ashitaka...” He then looked at the beast. “…take care of her.
“Mother, the spear! Take the spear!” No matter how much San reached out, her mother refused to take hold of it, as the wolf god walked away from San at about a quite near distant from her. San then dropped the spear and ran towards her mother.

“SHE MUST NOT MAKE CONTACT!” Sasuke growled out ferociously as the other chased San to stop her from meeting her possible fate.

“I won't leave you Mother! Please stay!” San ran but was then caught by Ashitaka as he clutched his arms around her waist and pulled her away from the wolf god. “Let me go! I won't leave you! Don't go away!” She screamed out with tears pouring out from her eyes. “No! No! NO!” Ashitaka then turned her body away from the ghost as she planted her face onto his chest. Ashitaka caressed her head and stroked her back for comfort. Sasuke and Motoko looked at them both with depression as Ashitaka looked at Sasuke.

“Is there a way?” Sasuke then shook his head slowly and looked at him with quite sad eyes.

“We must leave them at peace.” He quietly answered back. Ashitaka then looked down at San and pressed his face with hers, with Sasuke and Motoko looking at them both.

“They must have had some extraordinary experiences together in the past.” Motoko implied.

“The way Ashitaka behaves around San, he must love her dearly, along with San loving him. Why else would their relationship be so strong?” Sasuke then asked her a rhetorical question which leaded her into deeper thoughts.

But suddenly, as the spirits had passed them, Sasuke then sense something vicious lurking ahead.

“What is it Sasuke?” Motoko asked, but then Sasuke swiveled behind her and embraced her in his arms.

“Don't move!” Sasuke whispered in her ear. But was suddenly then pulled back by some supernatural force and was then in the hands with some stranger, holding a knife to his throat. Ashitaka was then too pulled away from San and was then hold a knife to his throat too. San and Motoko wondered around to see what was going on. They moved in closer to each other for their protection, and then turned behind their back to see the black clothes; Keirtoro.

“So…one of you two must be the body?”

“The body?” Sasuke whispered.

“The body of what?!” Ashitaka question angrily, as then the stranger bounding him pressed the knife closer to his esophagus. Keirtoro then looked at Ashitaka.

“The body that holds the soul of Sakura.” San then twitched when he heard the name, and Motoko looked away from Keirtoro. San suddenly narrowed her eyes and pressed her hands onto her head.

“Please don't say that name!” San screeched out.

“San what's wrong?” Ashitaka panicked. But then the stranger gripped onto his chocolate feather hair and pushed the dagger closer to his neck.

“Silence!” The stranger whispered to him spitefully.

“You were the one who brought the spirits into this world aren't you?” Sasuke quietly asked Keirtoro.

“You damn right, Kira. For a while I've been trying to find the one soul that will end humanity for good.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it makes us rich.” Another voice came in. A man in heavily resistant samurai armor came into the situation, and it turned about to be the commander of all Samurai: Lord Asano.

“What are you doing here?!” Motoko snarled at him.

“Oh, I am at ease with the good gentlemen here, as he helps me pay my wages to settle my target; to be rid of the people of Irontown.”

“But all the people of Irontown are dead.” Motoko entwined.

“All but one.” Motoko then looked down to the floor and wondered who this “one” is?

“Kaya?!”

“Excellent! You must be a very clever girl!” Asano choked out with sarcasm.

“But she's your daughter!”

“Do you think that matters to me?” Then all of them looked at this callous beast of a human being.

“How can you say such a thing?” Ashitaka asked him with disgust.

“Speaking of which…where is she?” Sasuke then asked with worry.

“You're right; we haven't seen her for a couple of days now.” Ashitaka intervened. The out of the blue, came in a small little creature from behind Ashitaka; it had a round head, translucent color, and clicked it's head every time it moved.

“Kodama!” He silently gasped behind him, but then the man holding him pulled his hair even further in. Then, another kodama came from behind, and then another and they came right into the circle of the whole scenario.

“What is that?” One of the strangers questioned with a small bit of fear.

“Don't be afraid, fool! It's just a harmless little weakling.” Asano chuckled. Except, another bunch of kodamas coming in from the bushes, and then even more, and more, and more. The horde won't stop coming in, the four warriors became astonished of how many kodamas there were swarming in calmly; they even started to climb around and over their bodies.

“Now what is this?” Other stranger became frantic, and grew more tension inside he pressed the blade even further into Sasuke's flesh.
The horde of kodamas the slowly climbed on top one another, the layers of lucid skin lapsed upon each other. Then the kodamas didn't take the original forms, they then grew some kind of fur on their flesh, their bodies merged into each other, and then they took a form in one. It then grew a massive canine body, with two strong back and front legs, a large narrow head, prickly ears, a long snout with a button nose, with a mouth with razors for teeth inside, then it grew eyes with an evil glow within them. All of the people shuddered in fear and shock. This…wolf like kodama looked down upon Asano and Keirtoro, and gave them a low but startling growl.

“Keirtoro! We must leave now!” Asano panicked, and the two strangers quivered through their spines that quaked their murderous but tranquil minds. Keirtoro looked at the kodama wolf, not with fear, but with irritation, he mildly scolded at it, and then gripped onto San's arm, and clutched it so tightly, it bruised her arm slightly. The kodama wolf then pinned it vision on Keirtoro, and gave him the most fearsome and bone-chilling bark.

“Keirtoro! Let her go, in fact, let them all go!” Asano fretted in terror, and the strangers shakily did what they were told; they released their blades from Ashitaka and Sasuke and backed down into the darkness. However Keirtoro thought otherwise.

“Let her go! We can get them another time other than getting into trouble!” Keirtoro gave the kodama wolf an ailing look, and willing let go of San. She squeezed her arm to try to relieve the pain, and Keirtoro and Asano fled from the scene. Sasuke tried to follow them, but was held back by Ashitaka's arm.

“Not now Sasuke; another time.” Sasuke unwillingly obeyed him and stayed but. The kodama wolf then shattered into raindrops of little kodamas in their original forms, scattered back into the bushes and treetops. The four warriors then heard another noise from the bushes. They all turned to it with their hearts and eyes pouncing before themselves. Then suddenly, a white paw came out from the shadows, and then a chest with a snowy mane, and after that was a snout with a button nose, and then San could not believe what she saw.

“Brother?” she whispered to him, as the wolf came out more, she saw Kaya riding the back of him.

“Kaya?!” Sasuke and Motoko became astounded, but San was astounded even more. Kaya jumped off the wolf and ran into both Sasuke and Motoko. They both embraced Kaya and enfolded tightly.

“Where have you been?!” Motoko fretted a little.

“I saw a spirit walking by one day, so I decide to follow it. I found its body, and then he and the body merged together. We then had some time together and he told me about San, so we decided to go back to you guys and give you this big surprise.” Motoko looked at Sasuke but he looked stern.

“The spirits have been pulled here days ago. There's no wondering how long they will survive here.” Sasuke spoke quite lowly. Then Kaya interrupted.

“Hey, you two are like mummies and daddies. Sasuke being the dad, and Motoko being the mum. Are you two together?” They both stuttered and blushed at the same time.

“No we're not.” They both said, when they thought back to their intimate comfort on that night.

San was then embracing her brother in her arms and squeezed him tensely.

“I thought you died.” San whispered in his ear.

“I thought you died.” He replied back. San then moved away from him to see his face.

“Is the other…” The brother then looked down with sadness. San then felt what he was feeling too, and resumed her squeeze with him. Ashitaka stared out to what was happening around him, and looked at them with happiness, and despair.

“If only I had a family like them before.” He spoke to himself in sorrow, and looked back up to the beautiful view. Then, out from the mists, came another supernatural figure. It shaped into a human; a male one. With the same type of clothes Ashitaka was wearing, the same feathery he had, only in a pony tail, and the same grey eyes as well. It looked just like Ashitaka only older, about twenty-five years old I say - what? I'm just making this up as I go along- The mirror image then pranced out a red elk from its body as it soared into the sky.

“Yakul.” Ashitaka whispered to the flying elk. He then looked back to his doppelganger, as the spirit then opened his mouth with wind breathed out of it, and whispered…

“…My son.” Ashitaka gasped at the words that floated out from his mouth, he felt a pale adrenaline rush dashing through his veins and some sort of lightness that sparked his heart up.

“Father?” he silently whispered to him. The spirit then raised his left hand and slowly reached it out towards Ashitaka. With himself being hypnotized by the latest sighting of his father, he too, very slowly, reached out his hand towards him. Sasuke was enjoying the small reunion with Kaya, until he saw Ashitaka nearly touching the skin of a ghost. He grew shocked sprinted towards him.

“No!” He leaped on top of Ashitaka to stop his contact with his father, and the spirit disappeared into the air.

Ashitaka then viciously pushed Sasuke aside and looked at him angrily.

“What have you done?!”