Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction ❯ The Chronicles of Princess Mononoke ❯ A New Adventure Binary ( Chapter 12 )

A New Adventure Binary

 

“Ashitaka…she's not going to come back.”

Motoko stood behind the silent Ashitaka who sculptured himself right by the side of the river; he didn't sleep a wink since he saw the kidnap of his sister.

“We saw the blood on Little Kaya hands…”

“It could have been anyone's…” he frostily whispered back to her.

“Ashitaka—

`No. I'm not going to give up on her…I'M NOT!” but then his voice stifled when a sudden rush of sirens screeched through his brain. The clamor made his teeth grit and his throat burn as he gripped onto his head tightly and bent low. Then an impulsive electric charge of unnatural colors spurred into his eyes.

 

Two days left by the hunter's moon…

…don't be late.

 

“I can't go!” Ashitaka yelled out to the anonymous voice, as the surgical pain dashed through and out again.

“Ashitaka what's the matter?!”

“Not now! I need to find her!” His eyes were broadened with an uncertain ache in his head which was too distorted to tell what it was. “I can't go!”

“You have to go.” Then Sasuke's immediately stopped the hesitation, as Ashitaka sharply turned his head to him.

“What?”
“You have to go; they will force you to go. I tried to escape…once…”

 

A flashback suddenly occurred into Sasuke's mind.

 

He saw himself running through a set of different woods, deeper, stranger. The mist was so thick you could almost choke on its bulky flesh. He kept running, but running from what? What gave him that spark of terror which made him pound his feet to the ground with every step? Just what? He saw himself reached the peak of spreading himself out into the open. It was still cloudy, yet clearer in way. He felt the silent wind speckle its particles pass his cheeks; the sweat cooled him down only by the slightest, as his heart was still pumping violently.

Abruptly, a faint quick whisper dashed behind him; he quickly turned around but nothing was there. Another hollow utter, but again, nothing there. His heart continued to thump away. He didn't know that something was behind him at that point. He slowly turned around; then realizing someone was looking at him. The figure was distorted, shady. He couldn't tell who he or she was. The figure then crashed a fist upon his face, which made Sasuke knocked out, unconscious.

Hours later, he woke up, only to be stared at with many inhumane eyes.

“Welcome Kira, it's a shame we had to drag you here.” Sasuke scoffed back out of callous. “Now Kira we don't want an attitude like that; you know what happens when you act like that don't you…?” The voice gradually turned sinister when that question was spoken of, and that made Sasuke turned to complete silence…

 

“But…they can't do that to you if you had a good reason!”
“When you turn, you devote your body and soul to the holy spirits; you live forever only to serve.”
“Serve who?!”

“Many royal essences of the elements…such as…the forest spirit.” Ashitaka gasped at that moment.

“Man and Beast lived in harmony once…you mean, humans were once immortals?”
“No. Humans were born into this world as the blood lines slowly faded away; they then forgot the meaning of immortals. That's why we live in secret; to not make contact with humans.”

“But…you…” Sasuke lifted his head slightly with his long fringe covering parts of his face like thick strings dangling down.

“No, I'm not part of the blood lines…I am the first artificial immortal man has made, both success…and a failure.” He then shifted his body to the side of the river and crossed his arms.

“Failure?”

“Meaning I killed them for god sake. They should have chosen wisely one WHO they should have unleashed power upon. When the call first heard of me, I had so many people then, they didn't want me to be part of it, and I agreed with them. But then that fucking chief decided to `make use out of me', like a tool. And if you don't do your service…”
“What?” Ashitaka then lifted his body and stared at him for a moment at Sasuke's back, as he saw him hunch slightly. “Answer me Sasuke! What do they do to you?!” He grasped on of his hands onto Sasuke's shoulder, and flung him round so he could see his face. But then, the only ominous trace he saw, was that his eyes weren't normal like they were at most time; the pupils were slit like a venomous reptile would have.

“There are moments when I'm not the most lethal being around; those moments you should look out for.”
“What do you mean?!” there was silence for a moment.

“If you don't do your service, they transfer you.”

“Transfer? Transfer you where?” Another cold, creepy silence froze the air, until Sasuke's lips moved slowly as the tone of voice gradually utter out from his mouth, and whispered…

 

“…The Underworld.”

 

Ashitaka turned pale soundless from the whisper of the Underworld; a place where condemned souls of vindictive crimes were exiled, and left there to suffer. Not to be bound or tied in any physical torture, but loneliness; a punishment more sore and more sickly tender than physical pain.

“They leave you down below until you beg and surrender to fight. Even if you have your reasons, the call will not circumvent your absence. I tried it before and I've been through hell and back; even as I despise to say this, there's no escape.” Ashitaka's eye pupils slowly enlarged with fear and small vapors of sweat.
“What kind of sick system do immortals live in?” Ashitaka whispered in the frosty atmosphere.

“The kind you don't want to get involved in. But like it or not, we have to go.”
“But I thought you weren't going.”
“You know me Ashitaka, I admit; I'm stubborn. However, to avoid something much worse, we have to go to the call.” Ashitaka sighed out noiselessly, and stared depressingly at the ground.

“Is there no other choice?” Sasuke looked quite meaningful at the prince as he stared at him bleakly.

“No.” He simply stated. San was listening in secret behind the camouflage of the trees; the shadow covered her eyes and her fingers twitched and felt the skin upon her. She kept as silent as the dust that freely floated in the lucent air that roamed in and out from her lungs. She then gritted her teeth quite intensively; showing her canines of the wolf she was, and then she made a noiseless dash away from the scene.

“Sasuke is this true? Must you go?” Motoko softly questioned him behind his back, as he slowly stared behind her and gave a look of eeriness, when he nodded his head in a cool sense. Motoko sighed deeply and stared at the ground coldly. “If it's for the best then fine.” She lowly spoke in return, and then walked a melancholy into the trapping branches of the forest back to the house.

“Alright Sasuke…” The Kira then looked back down at Ashitaka's low head as it slowly rose back up firmly, looking directly into each others eyes. “…I'll go.”

 

The driving a blade was rapidly heard from the scraping of San's dagger, as the fist that she carried her little instrument of death in ragingly and rabidly slammed the knife through the bark of the tree whilst splinters speared out of place, sending it soaring into the atmosphere only landing head on through the soil. Her fire spoilt her insides when her wolf teeth bore out deeply and her fists clenched tightly, as she continuously drags her dagger out, and constantly. On one immense pierce, she compressed her left hand so hard; her nails dug deep inside her palms and made her bleed droplets of blood onto the ground, with the other getting rashes from the handle of her dagger.

“Why am I feeling like this?! I should be feeling sorry for Ashitaka! And his sister of a human! I feel so angry, like my insides will burst out from my stomach…why? Why?!”

Then moments later, her face and body heat gradually cooled down to a sub-level of black emotions. She loosened the grip on her dagger, and left the blade ragged into the bark. Her sighs were deep and arctic.

“I know what to do know…this isn't about Princess Mononoke now…it's about Ashitaka. I owe him. A lot.”

 

She then saw Motoko rubbing her arms from the cold feeling that crawled down her spine, clenching her fingertips with every shiver same into contact with. San looked away for a second, but then began to walk up to her.

“Hey…Motoko…?”

 

Ashitaka dressed himself to his usual warrior self; the blue kimono, the Emishi sword, the red mask, along with his bow and stone arrow heads. He then brushed his fringe back with his fingertips to wipe away the sweat from the tension this morning. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to go to the call. But he had no choice. Stay to find Kaya, or face a sentence in the Underworld. What kind of compulsive society did these immortals live in? Either way, there was more likely the chance that his sister is already dead. Maybe she was thumped, raped; a victim maybe, of someone's sick thrills of enjoying the dark pleasures from 15 year-old girl. How revolting it sounded. But it could be the truth.

“Ashitaka, I want to talk to you.” San voice made him turn his weak eyes towards her, with no smile to brightly show to her that day.

“Yes San?”
“Well…maybe…” she sighed as she rubbed her waist and clenched her muscles close together. “…no.” Ashitaka then turned his full body towards her.

“What is it?” San struggled a little at that point, but then, she stomped her right foot harshly onto the ground, clenched her fists, and hung her head low so the shade covered her eyes.

“I will find Kaya for you.” Ashitaka gasped as his eyes bulged out slightly. “It will be too late when you're finished with the call. You need someone else to find her…before she's dead. I will find her for you.” San's head was still hung low, the shade covering her eyes of guilt and hate, until, Ashitaka came crashing into her and caressed her tightly in his arms. San stared at the sky for the moment with her head tilted up slightly and her arms trapped in the prince's embrace.

“Thank you…thank you so much.” He breathed in her ear and lowered his head closer to San's neck to smell her dewy scent, before he must go.

“I'll try my best.” She whispered back. They then released each other slightly and gazed in their eyes, before they then enfolded once more into their enthralling desire of a deep kiss.

 

I'm going with San to help find Kaya.” Motoko's speech made him lit up slightly and stared behind her, before he turned his full body towards her.

“San can't find her on her own; you're making the right decision.”
“I hope I am. And I hope that I'm not too late. Plus, I want to give you this.” She then softly clutched her fingertips behind her neck, and pulled over her head, a brown cotton string, with a gem as colorful and green as jade. She placed the necklace into the palm of her hand, and unhurriedly walked up to Sasuke; showing him the jade crystal shaped like an arrowhead attached to the string. “Wear this for me.”
“Motoko, I don't believe in this stuff.”
“Then believe in me. It will protect you from malevolence. And when we meet again, you can return it. When we meet again I will be back to protect you.” Because Sasuke wasn't fond of smiling, all he could do was the twitch of lip, which somehow satisfied Motoko. They entwined their fingers together and pressed their lips softly in their warmth, prior to Sasuke's departure.

“I don't want you to flee to despair Motoko.”
“I know…” She sighed in a reply, but Sasuke gently gripped onto her chin and stroked her cheek with his index finger.

“I mean it.” He then placed his whole hand on her cheek, and brought her forehead in contact with his. “No more despair…”

 

Motoko and San came together again as they prepared themselves for the manhunt of a young girl.

“Do you think she's still alive San?” Motoko turned to her as the wolf princess stared at the horizon of the sun's peak.

“No…I don't think…I know.” But then a creak came from behind her, as she twitched her head and saw the prowling paws of her wolf brother, and the small footsteps of Little Kaya.

“Kaya, what are you doing here?! You can't come with us, it's too dangerous!”

“Hey, I have been through worse and still survived. And I'm only eight!” the sweet courageous girl stood up. Motoko sighed and smiled down at her.

“Well, at least you're with us.”
“Brother, what are YOU doing here then?”
“Helping, what do YOU think?” his attitude made San tug on his ear quite harshly.

“Well hurry up if you are. Ashitaka will never forgive me if we're too late.”
“You can't mean that San.” Motoko pricked her head up and gave San a quite worrying look. Princess Mononoke looked away for the moment, and saw the sun's first stage of dying.

“Even if that is so…we can't let an innocent life get destroyed.” She then jumped onto her brother's back and pulled Little Kaya up with her. “Hop on.” Motoko took one tiny step back from the wolf.

“I-I don't know.”
“Motoko, he's my brother; he won't bite you without my say.”
“Unless she's heavy.” The wolf muttered under his musky voice, which made San kick him slightly.

“Hey, you're wither with us or not. The choice is yours.” Motoko stood still for the moment, until she decisively climbed onto the white wolf's back.

“Great! Only one question; where do we go?” Little Kaya sarcastically asked.

“The river of course.” Motoko implied.

“That would be excellent if wolves can swim (!)” Motoko shut herself up for that moment, until she noticed San's strange movement in her eyes, as if she was looking at something that wasn't there.

“Proceed straight.”
“What?”
“I can smell him! He's not far away.”
“Who?”
“The man who took Kaya.” The wolf then leaped his front hinds up in the air, and then slammed back down as he sprinted through the forest directing near to his scent.

 

Back with Ashitaka and Sasuke, they prepared themselves finally for their adventure to the call. The prince rounded his sister's elk, as she seemed to have built a fast relationship with him.

“We're going on that thing?”
“It's not a thing Sasuke. It's an elk. We have a breed of them in my village.”
“Oh.” Sasuke seemed a minor bit embarrassed as he was corrected by Ashitaka. No one corrects him, but because he knew Ashitaka, he let him off.

“Sasuke, this morning, I saw a shadow saying that we must head for the hunter's moon. What is a hunter's moon?”
“A hunter's moon is known as a moon so large and close you can almost touch it. It's very rare, but you do get it sometimes around here. The call might be there…but if this message tells us to go there, than we must.” Ashitaka then looked back on the recent dreams he had. The glossy moon almost coming into contact with a hill, the jade grass that swayed in harmony with the wind, and the carbon sheen black speckled with silver stars.

“Do you know where it is…the hunter's moon?”
“The only place where we can come into contact with it is in the north east. It's a long journey, but we can reach it there within a day…without stop.”
“Right.” Ashitaka then climbed onto the elk by grabbing onto her horns and yanking himself up. “Climb on.”

“It's not gonna kick is it?”
“Sasuke…”
“Fine.” He then climbed onto the elk behind Ashitaka, and reluctantly wrapped his arms round his waist to keep himself in balance.

“Just hold on. Let's go.” The elk then galloped fiercely through the wind, as she headed north east; where the hunter's moon withholds, and where the call may commence.