//I don't own Naruto or Princess Mononoke//

In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, for ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods.

Back then, man a beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed.

Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts….

..who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit,

…for those were the days of gods…

…and of demons.

The day was barely started. The sun still rose high in the sky, shining in all it's glory. The vegetation was plentiful and most villagers were out gathering herbs or tending to their crops. To the youthful and foolish eyes of some, it seemed to be a peaceful day. But to those whom had a deeper sense of connection with the nature around them, like Sasuke did, it seemed as though something was out of place. Perhaps that was why Sarutobi had ordered everyone back to the village. Sasuke sighed as he mounted his large red elk, whom he named Yakul. His sister, Kiya, and her friends had not returned home yet. Being the responsible and worried brother he was, he decided to go out and look for them. Surely they had heard the loud clanging of the bell. It was a signal to return home. Sasuke sighed once more, pushing some of his hair back from his face and gave the red elk a small tap on the hide. He quickly headed up the trail, knowing almost by instinct where it's master wanted to go. Sasuke smiled kindly down at the creature whom he grew up with before gazing at the small patch of woods they had to go through. Beyond it was the fields and a look out tower, where old Jisan watched. The elk trotted down the path that it had known all it's life, though Sasuke noticed something a bit strange about his surroundings. The air seemed too thick with tension and there were no chirps from birds or even the usual sighting of a rabbit or two. Yes, there must have been something very wrong. He gave the elk another small kick, causing it to gallop on ahead.

Keeping his dark onyx eyes peeled for anything, the raven sighed when they reached the outer rim of the woods. It was then that he spotted his sister and her friends. They were easy to pick out with their large straw hats and dark purple kimono tops with pink or red underneath. He himself wore a light blue kimono top, held together with a darker shade of blue belt. Even though it was very hot out, being the mid of summer, he still wore his usual tan riding pants and arm covers. The sword on his waist never left his side, nor did the pouch that was strapped to the other side of him, crimson in color. It kept a few rations inside. The last thing he actually carried was his bow, extra wire and arrows in the quiver on his back. Lean and slightly muscular, he'd look puny compared to most of the older men. They had body builder muscle while his was hidden. He was skinny with no trace of fat on his body, yet there was still a strong sense of respect about him.

Either way, he now called out to the trio, whom had also seen him, and now ran ove. "Girls!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Kiya greeted him, running over to the side of the elk to hug at her older brother's leg.

Really, he was the best person in the world to her and someone she really looked up to. Yet now, Sasuke could see the frightened and tense features that were rare. "We just came from Jisan!" She told him, out of breath from running.

"Did he see something?" he questioned, a brow raising.
He honestly didn't need to ask that question, but he wanted to know if Jisan had any idea of what it was. But alas, the girls didn't give him the answer he wanted.

"Yes, in the forest! Something's wrong!"

He had been right. There was something terribly wrong. The other two girls also commented how they had seen no birds nor animals. It hadn't just been him. Sasuke felt his blood pulse quicken. Nothing usually disturbed their peaceful little village. So why now? Shaking his head, he knew he had other matters to attend to. "I'll go to the watch tower and check with Jisan. Now you three, hurry home and be quick about it." He added, nudging Yakul to move up the path.

He didn't glance over his shoulder as his sister yelled for him to be careful. She was such a thoughtful child and he knew that she would go straight home. Making his way to the watch tower, he quickly grabbed onto the ladder and began to climb. He needed to scale two of them to actually get to the platform. However, as he turned to reach for the second one, his eyes caught something.

The bushes shifted and for a moment, he swore he saw a tint of purple. Sasuke bit his lip, trying to see better, but nothing more happened. "Something's there.." He decided, climbing up the rest of the way and crouching by the old man. Jisan had a full white beard, his eyes still sharp as a hawk and one of the wisest in the village. It was these qualities that made everyone in the village comfortable with having him watch for any signs of disturbance. "Jisan…did you see it too?" Sasuke asked as he kneeled, his eyes glancing over at the wrinkled old face.

He never seen such a troubled look in this man's eye before, so it made him very uneasy to see it now. "I did. It isn't human." Jisan grunted, glaring out at the stone hedge that lined off the next section of forest.

They had forbidden anyone to enter beyond that point, as to not disturb the gods.

Sasuke watched for a few moments, bring his bow up in front of him before glancing over his shoulder. "The wise man, Sarutobi-sensei is calling everyone back to the village." He informed the elder.

Before he could suggest that they head back, Jisan gave a hushed shout. "There! Look!" He growled under his breath.

Sasuke's eyes focused in on the woods before he drew an arrow from the quiver and notched it on his bow string. Taking aim, he suddenly felt the world around him grow cold. It was almost as if the life were being sucked out of everything around him.

The low stone wall suddenly trembled with what looked like thousands of purple and red worms. They squirmed over the wall before the whole thing was suddenly broken through. A huge beast, seemed to be made up of these worms, crashed through like the stones were made of twigs and nothing more. Sasuke's eyes widened and his breath hitched at the sight. The trees and grass around the creature died within seconds. It's red eyes were the only thing that could be made out of the mass of squirming worms. It headed towards them, and Jisan finally found his voice. "It's some kind of demon!" He cried out.

Sasuke just looked on in disbelief. "A-a demon?"

Stopping for a brief moment, the monster gave out a raged and pained cry. The worms suddenly retreated and flew up as a mass in the sky, revealing a gigantic boar. Scratched and cut up, it looked as though it had been through a battle. This wasn't the work of those worm like creatures. Speaking of which, the mass flew back down on the boar, causing another scream of pain. Seeming to suddenly stable itself, the beast headed straight for the watch tower…and Yakul.

Sasuke forgot everything else and screamed for his animal friend to run, though the elk seemed frozen in fear where it was. Frustrated, Sasuke took aim at the post and shot into it, right by Yakul's face. Seconds before being engulfed, the elk managed to dash away, woken from it's trance by the thud beside it. However, the watch tower wasn't so lucky. The malice from the slimy substance that was covering the boar, made the posts old and brittle, soon to cause it to collapse. Sasuke grunted, grabbed up Jisan with one arm and made a desperate jump into the trees. They were lucky enough that the large woods were near and caused little damage as they fell. He groaned as his back connected with a strong branch, but he stopped Jisan from being hurt.

Not worried about the little scratches from their fall, Sasuke's bewildered eyes gazed up to look at the demon that now descended into the woods, heading for the village. "I've got to stop it!", the raven screamed, jumping from the tree and heading up to the edge of the wood to call Yakul.

He barely heard the warning from Jisan. "Prince Sasuke! Wait! That thing is cursed! Don't let it touch you!"

'I'm not worried about that right now!' Sasuke grumbled in his head, whistling for his elk. As it ran by, he snagged onto the large antlers and hoisted himself up. Down they plunged, jumping most of the way because of the paths steepness. Sasuke's eyes were peeled for the beast as they pushed forward, though it suddenly cut off behind them. The startle caused Yakul to move faster on instinct, and Sasuke did all he could to try and hang on. "Calm your furry, oh mighty lord! Whatever you may be! God or demon, please leave us in peace!" He begged, though it fell on deaf ears. The clearing came, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard giggles. Laughter that fell silent at the sight of the ugly beast. His younger sister and her two friends looked on in horror at the thing that chased Kiya's brother, though not for long. Sensing the presence of the girls, the demon stopped and turned, glaring at them before suddenly charging. "Come on!" Kiya screamed to the others, running towards the gates.

Behind her, she heard her brother scream for the tainted animal to leave them alone. It was usually frowned upon to hurt a god or demon, because their wrath would come back to haunt you. However, when Kisa fell and Kiya had drawn her sword to keep her friend safe, Sasuke could bare it any longer. His sister couldn't fight that thing with a sword. They'd all be killed if something wasn't done. Grabbing an arrow, he took aim at one of the red jewels that glared at the girls. Letting his arrow fly, he hit the target with ease. The beast wailed and stopped, shaking it's head. "RUN!" He screamed to his sister, whom had already picked up the injured girl and began down the trail.

However, the demon wasn't done yet. Worms formed a large arm like stream and reached out to touch the prince. Kicking Yakul in the side, he fled but the malice mass snagged and held onto his arm. Grunting, he pulled it away, a large quantity of those tainted creatures still wiggling on his arm. Very much alive. Sasuke winced in pain, grabbed another arrow and turned his red elk around. Taking aim, he noticed that the worms had chased him so far, that it left the boars head exposed. He shot for it's brain and heard a sickening crack, speeding past quickly. However, he grabbed another arrow, notching it on in case. To his relief, the squirming creatures collapsed on the ground and stopped chasing him, inches away from where Yakul would have been moments ago. The boar itself, fell to its side, the worms disappearing and staining the earth brown and crimson red from where they had been. The malice on Sasuke's arm burned and turned to liquid, causing him to wince in extreme pain before actually falling off Yakul. The brown liquid like acid burned like hell's fire and actually made his arm guard partially denigrate. He heard cries from the village and looked up to see his sister running for him full speed along with some of the other men. "Sasuke! Sasuke, are you alright?" Kiya whimpered as she fell beside her brother, tears in her eyes.

"Kiya, don't touch it…this wound is evil.." He whimpered, grabbing some of the dirt beside him and smothering his arm.

It would soak up whatever poison that wasn't in his skin already. His sister proceeded to do this until Sarutobi had appeared. "Keep away from him, all of you! Everyone stay back!" He commanded, making his way over with a large jug urn.

"What should we do?" Kiya cried out, leaving her brother's side to wait instruction.

"Take this and pour it over his wound child, slowly." He added, before walking over to the fallen boar which hung on the brink of death.

Kiya drenched Sasuke's arm with holy liquid, that let off steam as soon as it touched his arm. He could feel his skin prickling and starting to redden with anger.

Sasuke glanced up as he heard Sarutobi talk to the god whom began to slowly die. The village elder pleaded for the boar to pass on in peace and to bear them no hatred. A few were shocked when the boar actually replied. "Disgusting little creatures…soon all of you will feel my hate…and suffer as I have suffered!" He hissed, suddenly disincarnating into nothing but bone and the soil drenched in blood that pooled around before the enormous body.

Sasuke closed his eyes, sighing. He had brought this fate upon his village, though they seemed more concern with his wound then anything. With the help of his elk and a few villagers, he was lifted back onto Yakul and carried home. Placed in Sarutobi's hut, the prince was cared for by him until the mid of the night. Wrapping up his arm, Sarutobi sighed and called for a meeting. The elders of the village and those that were head of their family came, sitting to the side while Sasuke sat in the middle of the room. Sarutobi began to search for answers by using his stones and board of wisdom. Throwing a shiny red pebble, the air was thick with need of answers. Was Sasuke going to die? Where had that boar come from and why? Sarutobi sighed as he watched the rock fall into place. "I'm afraid this is very bad…the stones tell me that the boar god came far to the west. He had some kind of poison inside him, driving him mad. A poisonous hatred…that consumed his heart and flesh and turned him into a demon monster…Prince Sasuke?"
Sasuke straightened up when he heard his name being called, snapped out of a daze. He could still hear the god squeal with pain. "Yes?" He finally muttered, shivering.

"Show everyone your right arm." He commanded.

Sasuke unraveled the wrap, showing off his arm which had patches of sickly purple and black up and down his forearm. "My prince…are you prepared to learn what fate the stones have foretold you?" Sarutobi asked, his eyes narrowing with sorrow.

Like he had a choice in the matter. Sasuke nodded, his voice low as he responded. "Yes, I was prepared the very moment that I let my arrow fly…"

"The infection will spread out through your whole body, bone and flesh alike….it will cause you great pain…and then kill you."

All at once, the men and elders cried out from the side. "Is there no way we can stop it?"

"The prince got that wound by defending our village and saving our lives!"
"Do we just sit here…and watch him die?"

Sasuke felt himself lifted a bit by their need and want to protect him, even now after this curse had been placed on him. They could all be killed by it and yet, they didn't seem to care. However, Sarutobi only shook his head. "You cannot alter your fate, my prince. However, you can rise to meet it if you choose. Look at this." He said, taking something that looked like a small walnut out of his pocket. However, it made a large thud as it fell to the ground beside the elder. "This iron ball was found in the boar's body…this is what hurt him so. It shattered his bones and burned it's way deep inside him. This is what turned him into a demon…"

Sasuke tensed, knowing that this iron ball had to be made from some kinda human weapon. Sarutobi sighed and then seemed to have decided on what to do. "There is evil at work in the land of the west, Prince Sasuke. It's your fate to go there and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate…you may find a way to lift the curse… you understand?"

Sasuke's heart felt a small jolt at the chance to live. "Yes." He said, bowing his head.

He also knew that this meant that he wasn't able to come back to his village. As he prepared to leave mentally, just taking a look at the faces he'd never see, one of the elders spoke up. "We are the last of the Emishi. It's five hundred years since the emperor destroyed our tribe…and drove the remnants of our people to the east… Some managed to survive after all these years, but the blood of our tribe has gotten thinner and weaker with each generation. Now our last prince must leave us, never to return? Sometimes I think the gods are laughing at us."

Sasuke bowed his head, looking at the older man with sorrow. He understood his despair, but there was nothing that could be done now. "Our laws forbid us from watching you go, Sasuke. Whatever comes to pass now, you are dead to us forever….Farwell."

Sasuke sighed and got up, walking out and quickly gathering his straw cloak and a red head mask that kept his nose and down from being seen. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the stalls and pulled Yakul away from the straw he had been eating. The creature seemed to sense it's masters distress and didn't cause him any problems. Getting on the saddle, he began to walk out of the village when a shadow darted toward him and grabbed his ankle. "Kiya! What are you doing here? You know it's forbidden." He scolded.

Deep down, he was glad that she had come to watch him leave. Her eyes filled with tears as she glared up at him with her stubbornness. "Do you think I care about that? I came to give you this so you won't forget your little sister…" She hissed, holding up a dagger made of crystal that was hung on a iron chain. "Your crystal dagger…Kiya, I can't take this."

She had always been so proud of it and never took it off. Yet now, she was demanding that he have it? "Please, keep it with you, brother, to protect you….You must take it with you. Please, I want you to have it…so you won't…forget." She whispered, tears flowing freely now.

Sasuke pulled down his mask and shook his head, putting the dagger on. "Kiya, you know I could never forget you." He whispered, patting her head before taking off without another thought.

And so Sasuke's journey for the west began. He crossed beautiful open fields and rigorous mountain passes, with the help of Yakul of course. The elk didn't seem bothered by it's long ride. In fact, it was peaceful out in the wilderness. Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about the mark on his arm, though it hadn't pained him at all. A few times he would wince at a jab of pain, but other than that, he usually almost completely forgot it was there. Well, not exactly, since it was the reason he had to leave his people. His father, he had been crying when Sasuke left the hut. He could only hope the best for his sister, though the girl was strong and he knew it. She would make a fine wife one day. Brushing the thought aside, he blinked when he saw smoke in the distance. Up ahead was a small village, though as he approached from the side, he could see soldiers running inside the huts and burning them, killing the villagers. "A battle…?" He questioned, but there were no other soldiers to defend these villagers.

Sasuke's voice hitched. "No…a massacre." He realized.

However, it had been too late. He heard voices behind him, on the road below. "Look up on the hill! It's a warrior!"

'Damn it!' Sasuke cursed, hitting Yakul in the sides for him to go. Pulling up his mask, he growled when he saw one of the samurai slicing at a woman. Pulling out an arrow, he scream. "You! Stop!"

However, his arm suddenly flexed up, power running through the muscle as he let go of the bow string. The arrow fixed itself into the hilt of the blade, stabbing it into the bark of a tree, yet took of the man's arms from him by the sheer force. Sasuke's eyes widened as he grabbed his forearm. "W-what's happening to me?"

Again, samurai tried to block his path, being on horses this time. "Let me pass, I'm warning you!" Sasuke growled, taking out another arrow. His only reply was an arrow shot at him. Ducking, he let his own go. Again, he was astonished when the man's whole head came clean off. Galloping past, Sasuke closed his eyes tightly and felt his arm burn with need. Almost as if it had a will of it's own.

They hadn't stopped to rest until reaching the mid-woodland once again. Only then did the Emishi descendent decide it was safe enough to take a small break. Poor Yakul needed one as well. Hopping of the elk's back, the raven haired boy lead her over to the running stream before deciding to check out his wound. Leaving Yakul and walking over a few paces to his left, he sat down and sighed. His arm seemed to have calmed down by now. What was he saying? It almost sounded like as if he were implying it being a creature of it's own. Well, who could say now? Pushing the arm guard down, his eyes widened at the sight. The mark had spread from just a few patches on his arm, to covering most of the upper forearm and wrist. "It's getting bigger…" He whispered to Yakul, whom looked over.

He blinked when the elk lowered it's muzzle onto his shoulder, almost as if he understood. Sasuke didn't doubt that he didn't. Yakul was a smart animal. Taking some of the rations out of his pouch, which happened to be seeds and a few berries, he took a handful and eat. Feeding Yakul a small amount as well, the raven decided it was best to carry on. They still had a long run ahead of them. Standing up, he mounted Yakul and nudged him forward. There had to be a village nearby.

As the day progressed, Sasuke did end up finding a small village. He needed to restock on rice for the trip, since he had been eating nothing but berries and small herbs he had found in the grasslands. Pulling up his mask, he hopped down off of Yakul and began to look for a merchant. Eyes glanced at him and soon, he could feel the crowd starting to follow him. If there was one thing Sasuke didn't like, it was people. However, the prince had more pride then to turn around and demand that they stay away from him. No, Sasuke was more of a gentleman then that. Back to the task at hand, his dark eyes found what he was looking for. A young woman sat under an umbrella and as he approached, quickly filled a bag. The girl almost seemed fearful, but that was no matter to him. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a small lump of gold. One of few that he had. "Will this be enough?" He asked, though he knew it had to be.

It was gold for god sakes. However, as he turned to leave, the woman growled. "Hey there! What are you trying to pull!? This isn't money! Give me back my rice ya' little thief."

Sasuke sighed, and went to hook the sack of rice off his belt when someone stepped in front of him. "Excuse me…but might I inspect that?"

The man was dressed in red and white robes and had a large pack on his back. Sasuke wanted to tell the man to not waste his time, but the man had already spoken once more. "My god! But this is a lump of pure gold you silly woman!" he said laughing.

The girl didn't look impressed and sneered at short and plump guy. For a monk, he had to live well. "If it's money you want, I'll take this nugget off your hands and pay for it myself." He offered, turning around to the crowd, obviously wanting to make a scene. "My good people, is there a money changer who could tell us how much this is worth?"

Before anyone could get a word in though the man went on. "No? Alright! I'm just a monk but I'd say…three bags of rice at least. That's right! Maybe even more!" he replied to the gasping crowd.

Sasuke was unimpressed, and he merely bowed to the woman for giving him the rice and began to walk off. Starting down the road, he sighed when he hear the monk run up beside him. "Hey! You can't just rush off now! We've only just met."

Sasuke turned and looked at the chubby monk. "Can I help you?"

"We have got your rice and everything is fine. You're a man of few words. I understand. Well, don't you even think of thanking me, it was my pleasure. In fact! I should be thanking you really! You see I was caught in that battle…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head as the monk babbled on. Than he noticed more people following them. They didn't look to friendly, but they stayed back quite a ways. His eyes switched back to the said monk when he also noticed them. "Ahh, I see you noticed we're being followed. That's what we get for waving that gold nugget around.."

"You're the one-"

"They'll wait till we're asleep and then they'll silt our throats….how about we give them a little demonstration on how fast we can run huh?"

And without another word, the two were off. They lost the villagers and unfortunately, he hadn't lost the monk. Then again, he wasn't all that bad to have around. He gave Sasuke valuable information on the land. Where he could stop, where he could go for a place to rest, and many other things. By the time night fell, the two of them sat under a small cave near a abandoned village. There were no buildings standing, and it looked like the soil had perhaps covered most of the remains. The monk, whom introduced himself as Jigo offered to make them some soup and as they sat there, Sasuke began to open up slightly and tell him about the incident that led him here. "So…the demon monster turned out to be a boar huh?" Jigo asked, stirring the leak soup.

"I followed it's trail westward through the mountains but then…" Sasuke said, sighing at his loss. He really hadn't known where else to go.

"You lost it, that's life. You see this place here?" Jigo asked, pointing at the remains and sighing.

"When I came here last, a few years back, this used to be a lovely little village…but then there must have been a landslide or a fire…the only sure thing is that everybody is dead."

Sighing, the monk pulled over his large back and sighed, taking out a potato wrapped in paper. Cutting a few pierces and putting it into the soup, he shook his head. "These days… there are angry ghosts all around us, dead from war, sickness, and starvation; and nobody cares. So you say your under a curse? So what? So's the whole damn world."

Sasuke found a bit of sense in this, though guilt suddenly fled through him. "I was wrong to fight in that village…two men are dead because of me."

It wasn't the fact that they had died. It was the fact that he killed them. Grimacing, he looked back over as Jigo spoke. "Samurai thugs. You win some, you lose some." He said in a comforting tone, smiling slightly.

"Here hand me you're bowl." Jigo said when he saw that Sasuke still looked troubled. "My point is everybody dies, boy. From brothel girl to emperor." He said as Sasuke gave him the red dish.

It was hand made by his people and gave off a crimson shine. "You know, the emperor has promised an entire hill of gold, to anyone who can help him live forever." He chuckled.

"I'm not interested in money." Sasuke said flatly.

He didn't like it when Jigo started talking about things like that. It made him seem less of a monk and more of a greedy idiot. Filling it up, he handed the bowl back to Sasuke with a smirk. "Beautiful bowl. I've seen one other like it."

This caused Sasuke's eyes to widen. "Have you ever heard of the Emishi people? They're said to ride red elks. They also use stone arrow heads just like you." Jigo smirked, knowingly as Sasuke just ate his soup in silence. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone where you're from. Anyway, I've got much bigger fish to fry."

Sasuke paused before grabbing the small iron ball from his pocket and showing it to Jigo. This man knew so much, so perhaps he could tell him something about where that little trinket came from. "Have you ever come across anything like this before?"

Looking up from his meal, the monk studied the iron bit for a moment before shaking his head. "Never have."

"It came from the giant boar. It was inside him…and I'm sure it was that little ball of iron the killed him." He explained placing it back in his pouch. After giving it some thought, Jigo looked up from his meal again. "There is a place high in the mountains far to the west of here…It's where the spirit of the forest dwells and it's said to be a very dangerous place. To enter there is certain death."

Sasuke's eye brow rose at the sound of this. "The spirit of the forest?"

"I've been told that the beasts there are all giants. Just as they were in the dawn of time. Perhaps…?"

Sasuke nodded. "Thank you…I'll look into it."

The rest of the night, they exchanged a few stories, told a few legends and then slept. When dawn broke, Sasuke was the first up, laying against the rocks while Jigo sat under his umbrella. Stretching, he nodded to Yakul, whom laid in the grass a few yards away. The elk got up and lowered it's head for Sasuke to grab on the antlers. Pulling himself up, he nodded to Jigo's sleeping form and left. His destination? The forest where the legendary spirit lived. Perhaps he could find a cure there…..

(Alright! First chapter is done! How'd you like it? I don't own either of these shows, but I decided to put Naruto characters in the place of some of the cast and make things have different effects. Not much in here besides the fact that Sasuke was a bit snappier. Let me know how it was! I need two reviews to continue.)