(A/N: Hello. As promised I'm back with an all new story. This time featuring 'Princess Mononoke'. I just loved the movie so much, but I was a little disappointed in the ending, not that I didn't like it. So, I have begun a fic that will continue after the movie left off. This first chapter is mostly a recap on what happened in the movie and the new stuff will begin next chapter, though there is part of the actual story near the end of this chapter. So enjoy the story and I'll talk to you more later.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Princess Mononoke or anything relating to it.
"MONONOKE FOREVER"
Chapter 1: Remembering and Rebuilding
Iron Town, which wasn't so iron anymore, was nearing completion. After it had been destroyed 2 months ago by Shishi-Gami, the Forest Spirit, the citizens had been working hard to rebuild their home. Just as their leader, Lady Eboshi, had said, they were starting over completely, making a much better town. This time, Iron Town didn't depend on iron, constantly unleash large amounts of pollution, or require to have its machinery worked 24/7. In fact, Iron Town had became more of a farming area.
There were several reasons for the change, the biggest probably being so another war with the spirits and gods of the forest wouldn't begin again. In the past, when Iron Town first started, the townsfolk had been cutting down large amounts of the forest daily and polluting the land. This angered the spirits, who began fighting for their home. The fighting had been brutal, but finally a truce was struck.
It was hard to believe that just 2 months ago, there had been nothing left of either Iron Town or the forest, but each had their help. The forest, after having been destroyed began to regrow at a supernatural pace, thanks to the now deceased Forest Spirit, who used the last of his power to allow the forest to regrow.
The citizens of Iron Town had their own supernatural help, coming from a young man who arrived at Iron Town just before the battle between the humans and the gods of the forest reached its climax. In fact, it was this young man who was the one that allowed a truce to be possible, for his love for all things living was what eventually brought peace. It was just a shame that he had to suffer so much for it.
The story of the young man was a tragic one. His name was Ashitaka, and he was once the prince of the Emishi. Sadly, he was forced to leave his village and never to return. It happened when a demon attacked his village. The demon had formerly been the guardian boar god, Nago. While protecting the forest from the humans, he was shot by Eboshi. The bullet burned within him, causing him great pain and suffering. This pain caused great anger and hatred, which eventually consumed the boar god, turning him into a demon.
And Nago had fled from the forest, causing destruction everywhere he went until he arrived at Ashitaka's village. Ashitaka pleaded with the former god to leave his village in peace, but Nago was so consumed by anger that he was unaware of his intentions. Ashitaka had no choice but to kill the former god or watch his village, and everyone in it, be destroyed. Nago died that day, but not before cursing Ashitaka with all his pain and fury.
And so began Asitaka's journey to Iron Town. The wise woman of his village had told him that he might be able to lift his curse if he traveled to the boar god's home. Sadly, leaving his village would mean to never return. It was for the safety of his village that no one knew that the Emishi people, which were believed to have been extinct. Ashitaka had no choice but to leave, or face the painful agonizing death of Nago's curse. So packing up all he could, he left on his trusty red elk, Yakul. As a parting gift, his sister, Kaya, gave him a crystal dagger to remember her by. And so Ashitaka bid a farewell to his former life and left, never to return.
On his travels, Ashitaka discovered a few advantages to his curse. It gave him the strength of 10 men, which really came in handy at times. The strength he was given was meant to make killing easier, but Ashitaka did his best to keep it under control. Anytime he felt anger or any other negative emotion, his cursed arm would react with the intent to kill and the curse would spread.
Several days after having left home, Ashitaka had met the traveling monk, Jigo. The monk told him of the dwelling place of the great Forest Spirit. He said that here Ashitaka might find a way to remove his curse.
Ashitaka left the next day in search for the Forest Spirit. What he discovered in the forest was something he never would have expected. First he discovered two wounded men, who claimed that they had been attacked by the wolf god, Moro. Ashitaka tended to their wounds and, guided by the Kodoma, which were little spirits born from the forest, led them through the forest to Iron Town.
On the way, he saw the wolf god that the injured men had spoke of. Moro was an enormous white wolf, capable of swallowing a man in one gulp. She had two wolf pups by her side, which Ashitaka assumed were her children. He was surprised to see that the wolf god had a terrible wound in her breast, which was due to a gunshot by Eboshi. He was even more surprised to see a beautiful young woman cleaning the wound.
When Ashitaka asked them if had reached the home of the Forest Spirit, the young woman, whose name he later learned was San, coldly told him to go away, and then she and the wolves disappeared into the woods.
When Ashitaka brought the wounded men back to their home in Iron Town, he was welcomed with open arms. The people there were very grateful and kind, some more than others. At first Ashitaka was happy to be with these people, but then he learned of their involvement with the gods of the forest. He learned from Eboshi of her intentions to destroy the Forest Spirit and tear down the entire forest in order to harvest the iron in the ground. Ashitaka was outraged by this, and apparently so was his curse, which attempted to kill Eboshi until Ashitaka stopped it, knowing that in killing Eboshi he would only cause more anger and hatred.
For the time being, Ashitaka stayed in Iron Town, learning about the war between the humans and the gods of the forest. This was when he learned of San, whom the people of Iron Town called Princess Mononoke, or the wolf-girl. They believed that San had her soul stolen and was forced to do the bidding of the gods of the forest, which Ashitaka later learned was not true.
Shortly after learning this, San and her wolves attacked. Knowing that Eboshi was the leader of Iron Town, San attempted to assassinate her, even at the cost of her own life, in order to save the forest. Ashitaka begged her to return to the forest, but San refused to retreat. Her attempted assassination nearly resulted in her death, had it not been for Ashitaka stepping in to save both her and Eboshi.
Ashitaka attempted to return San to the forest, but the townsfolk were outraged by his betrayal and shot him. The bullet wound would have killed Ashitaka had it not been for the power of his curse, which at that moment seemed to be a blessing.
Once San was safely reunited with her wolves, Ashitaka collapsed as death started to creep over him. When San demanded to know why he had stopped her from killing Eboshi, he told her that he didn't want the people of Iron Town to kill her, knowing that they would if the assassination had been a success. Then he surprised her by giving her the first compliment she ever heard from another human.
"You're beautiful."
For reasons that San wasn't certain of, she did something that she never would have even considered doing before. She brought the dying Ashitaka to the pool of the Forest Spirit, asking the mighty ruler of the forest to spare his life. The Forest Spirit appeared before the fallen boy and healed the bullet wound, sparing his life. However, he did not remove Nago's curse, knowing that Ashitaka wound need the benefits of it later.
While Ashitaka was recovering, San spoke with Yakul and learned a great deal about him, enough to know that he was not like the other humans that she had been brought up hating. She tended to Ashitaka and nursed him back to health, just as the boar gods, led by Lord Okkoto, arrived at the forest to have a showdown with the humans. Their first intention was to kill Ashitaka, but San and Moro defended him. When Okkoto learned of Nago's fate, he thanked Ashitaka for ending his fellow boar's suffering but warned him that at their next meeting he would kill him.
Moro tried to reason with the boars, to make them understand that an all out battle against the humans was suicide, but the boars were a stubborn and proud race, determine to fight even though they knew it would mean their deaths.
As Ashitaka recovered, he spoke with Moro and learned what truly happen in San's past. Her parents, who were defiling the forest, threw San at the wolf god's feet as they ran for their lives. Instead of eating San, Moro had adopted her and raised her as her own child. Perhaps being betrayed by her parents was the main reason San hated humans so much. Ashitaka begged Moro to let San go to live among the humans again, but Moro was stubborn. She said that San's fate would be the same as all of those that lived in the forest, and that was to die when the forest died.
Ashitaka proceeded to beg Moro to let San go, saying that he would take care of her. When Moro asked if Ashitaka would join them to fight the humans, he refused, saying that it would only cause more hatred. Moro told him to leave by morning and she would kill him if he ever returned. Ashitaka did as he was told and left the next day. He gave the crystal dagger to one of San's wolf brothers to give to her in thanks before leaving.
As Moro and her children watched as the boars prepared for battle, she decided to give San the chance to choose her path. She told her daughter that she could still have a life away from all this, a life with Ashitaka. But San was too loyal to the forest to abandon it, and she and her brothers went to join the battle with the boars.
The citizens in Iron Town were having their own troubles. As it turned out, the traveling Monk, Jigo, had been on his way to Iron Town himself to have Eboshi fulfill a debt she owed him. According to legend, whoever possessed the head of the Forest Spirit would have eternal life. Whether the legend was true or not, nobody knew, but the emperor was offering a large amount of gold to whoever delivered to him the head of the Forest Spirit. This was what Jigo was requesting of Eboshi, to get him the head of the Forest Spirit.
Eboshi did not like the idea of hunting down the Forest Spirit, but she had made a promise to Jigo and was determine to fulfill it. So taking the men of Iron Town, she, along with several of Jigo's men, went in search of the Forest Spirit.
Unknown to them, there was someone who had been waiting for this opportunity to attack Iron Town, and it was not one of the gods of the forest. No, this was a man by the name of Lord Asano. He'd had his eye on Iron Town and its iron for quite some time now. And now that the town was currently guarded by only the women, the elderly, the sick, and the wounded, he had his samurai attack.
When Ashitaka arrived at Iron Town, he saw the chaos Asano's men were causing. He then learned that Eboshi had left to hunt down the Forest Spirit. Ashitaka quickly went to both stop her from killing the Forest Spirit and to bring her back to help her people. On his search, he came across the aftermath of the battle of the boars and humans. Among the many dead bodies, he found one of San's brothers, who, miraculously, was still alive. He had the wolf lead him to where San was.
As it turned out, San was guiding a severally injured Okkoto to the pool of the Forest Spirit. Okkoto was overcome by grief and rage and he was consumed by it. As he slowly became a demon, San desperately tried to stop the transformation, getting caught in it herself. She tried to escape, but was unable to as Okkoto's rage came to life and took hold of her.
Led by San's brother, Ashitaka arrived at the pool of the Forest Spirit before San to find Moro dying from the bullet buried in her breast. It was at that moment that the demon form of Okkoto arrived with San trapped within his rage. Ashitaka tried desperately to save her, but Okkoto threw him off.
Using the last of her strength, Moro, who claimed to have been saving her energy to kill Eboshi, fought demon-Okkoto for San. She asked Ashitaka if he could save the woman he loved and Ashitaka immediately went to her rescue with Moro entrusting her daughter's life to him.
And then the Forest Spirit showed up. He had seen the suffering Moro and Okkoto were going through and ended it by taking their lives. As day became night, the Forest Spirit began his transformation, becoming the Night Walker. It was then that Eboshi attacked while the Forest Spirit was vulnerable in mid-transformation, blowing the deer god's head clean off his body.
What happened next was as unpredictable as it was terrifying. The Forest Spirit was a kind and gentle being that appreciated all life, but he was finally pushed too far when his head was stolen. He began sucking the life from everything around him in order to sustain himself as he searched for his head.
Eboshi made well on her promise and delivered the head of the Forest Spirit to Jigo, but not before Moro, using the last bit of life within her, bit off her arm.
San watched, feeling a sense of betrayal, as Ashitaka attempted to save Eboshi's life. Ashitaka begged San for help, but San consumed with grief, refused. She, as Moro had said, was ready to die with the forest, which was indeed dying as the half-dead Forest Spirit chased after Jigo to retrieve his head.
Ashitaka refused to give up on San as he told her that the two of them were still alive and that this was not the end, if they chose for it not to be. With renewed determination, he and San went after Jigo to recover the Forest Spirit's head.
As Jigo fled, the Forest Spirit slowly gained on him, sucking the life out of all in his path. Many of Asano's samurai were cornered by the Forest Spirit and met their end that night. The people of Iron Town fled as the Forest Spirit approached, getting to a safe place as they watched the Forest Spirit chase Jigo.
But it was San and Ashitaka that reached Jigo first, demanding that he hand over the Forest Spirit's head. The monk refused until he became cornered by the Forest Spirit. Together, San and Ashitaka returned the Forest Spirit his head, allowing the mighty god to pass on to the afterlife in peace. The Forest Spirit took back his head and finally collapsed, falling right on Iron Town. But with his last bit of strength, he gave the now dead forest the power to regrow itself. And regrow itself it did, at a speed that should have taken over 100 years. But this was not the only parting gift the Forest Spirit left behind. He also removed Ashitaka's curse, leaving him with only a small scar and his demonic strength.
As Eboshi told her people that they were going to start over, San and Ashitaka had a serious talk themselves. San confessed her feelings to Ashitaka but regrettably told him that she could not forgive the humans for what they did. Ashitaka understood and told her that he would go help rebuild Iron Town and come to visit her often. They would always be close.
And so that is how things have gone for the past 2 months. The forest regrew back to its original glory and Iron Town was nearing completion, thanks to Ashitaka. Due to his demon strength, he could do a great deal more work than anyone else and Iron Town was rebuilt very quickly.
True to his word, he and Yakul visited San in the forest as often as they could. But what Ashitaka really looked forward to was the day he could final go live with San in the forest, once Iron Town was complete.
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"Ashitaka! Ashitaka! Help!"
Ashitaka looked up at his clumsy friend Kohroku and saw the klutz struggled to hold together two pieces of the roof together.
"I'm losing it! I'm losing it! Hurry!"
Trying not to laugh, Ashitaka moved quickly and easily held the roof together. Kohroku sighed and wiped his sweaty forehead.
"Thanks, I almost lost it." He said.
Ashitaka smiled as he secured the two pieces of the roof together. "I told you to just ask me if you needed help." He said.
Kohroku smiled nervously. "Well, I did ask. I just wanted to try to do it on my own first."
"You're such a useless lump." Came an irritated voice.
Kohroku gulped and looked down at his wife, Toki. "Now honeybunch, that's not fair. You know Ashitaka is much stronger than anyone else here."
Toki glared at her husband. "Don't make excuses! Look, everyone else can manage to put their roof together just fine! You're the only one that has trouble doing even the simplest of tasks! You can't even give me a child!"
Several people laughed as Kohroku turned beet red. "Dear, can we please have this conversation later?" He begged.
Toki crossed her arms. She had a habit of embarrassing her husband in public; it tended to get her what she wanted. "If you would do something right, we wouldn't need to have this discussion."
"I've been trying." Kohroku muttered.
Feeling sympathetic towards his friend, Ashitaka decided to help him out. "Ok Toki, I think he's got the point."
"No, I don't think he does." Toki replied.
Ashitaka couldn't help but snicker a little bit. "Maybe you two should wait until we finish Iron Town before having any children."
Toki turned to him, the irritation vanishing from her face to be replaced by a mischievous look. "What about you, Ashitaka? How are things going between you and the wolf-girl?"
"Her name is San." Ashitaka replied. He had been trying for a while now to get the people to see her as a person rather than a thing.
Toki smirked "Ok, how are things between you and San?"
Ashitaka turned away and went back to working on the roof. "That's none of your concern." He said with a smile.
Toki looked disappointed. "Oh come on, stop holding out on us."
Ashitaka sighed. He knew Toki wouldn't leave the subject alone. "I'm actually hoping to get back to her soon. I haven't seen her in awhile."
"Then you should go see her." came another voice.
Ashitaka turned to see Eboshi walking towards them, the sleeve her right arm once occupied blowing lightly in the breeze. Her bodyguard, Gonza, followed close behind.
Toki nodded in greeting. "Milady."
Eboshi nodded back before turning back to Ashitaka. "Go on. We can handle things on our own for a few days."
"Are you sure?" Ashitaka asked. He really wanted to see San, but he didn't want to abandon his friends when they needed his help.
Eboshi nodded. "Yes. We'll be fine. Besides, if you don't go to her, she may come here again. I'm sure Kohroku can handle the roof from here."
Kohroku immediately jumped at the opportunity to prove himself useful as he took over the securing of the roof. "Yeah, see, I got it."
Ashitaka smiled. "Thanks. I'll go prepare Yakul." He climbed down from the roof, and took a quick look around Iron Town before asking, "Hey Eboshi, when do you think Iron Town will be finished?"
Eboshi looked around, considering things. "If we keep going at this pace, I would say in about 2 weeks, give or take a day or two."
Ashitaka smiled. "That's good. I'll be back soon to help. Maybe we can finish a little earlier."
With that he headed off to retrieve his trusty red elk. Eboshi watched him leave, smiling slightly at the boy in love.
"Is it ok to let him go now?" Gonza asked. "The rebuilding will go faster if he stays."
Eboshi shook her head. "He's been away from his wolf-girl long enough." She replied. "Let him spend some time with her."
"Hey, I finished!" Kohroku cried happily. A moment later the whole roof collapsed with him still on it.
(A/N: I really loved how I ended this chapter with Kohroku falling through the roof. I couldn't stop laughing as I typed. As I said, this chapter was mostly a recap on what happened in the movie. Next chapter is when the real story begins. There will be lots of action, twists, and new characters. So leave me a review and I'll leave you a new chapter as soon as I can. I would be able to update sooner, but summer classes start tomorrow. Yippie-not!)