7 of 11
The One Without A Face—Part One: Nightmares
Prologue
Silently but surely, a shadowed figure crept through the heavy forest. Using a blue-clad arm, the figure swept branches from his path without making a sound. His walk, deceptively awkward-looking, struck a balance between silence and speed, his booted feet deftly stepping around each twig, each branch on the ground that should give away his presence. The man—no, the warrior—crouched behind a tree as his quarry looked back his way.
Ashitaka, former prince of the Emishi, drew an arrow from the quiver he carried on his back slowly, and holding the wooden shaft between his teeth, looped one end of the bowstring over the other end of the bow he carried, knotting it tightly. Testing its tension, Ashitaka plucked the string with his index finger. A jolt of pain shot up his arm as he did so, but the young man did not cry out. He was a hunter, and doing so would alert his prey to his whereabouts.
The hunter decided that the string must have been too taut for it to flick him like that, and loosened the knot. After all, if the string was too tight, the arrow might fly off in an unpredictable direction. On the other hand, if it were loose, the arrow would not be able to perform correctly. To achieve the perfect balance—not loose, but not too tense—was difficult for a learner, but Ashitaka normally had no problem with it. Stroking the wire again, Ashitaka nodded to himself and fitted the slitted end of the arrow, which he had still been holding, onto the bowstring.
Looking up, the young man saw his prey, an old buck, had not moved, its head still lowered to drink from the nearby stream. Raising the bow to a ready position, Ashitaka pulled back the string—and halted. He had forgotten the prayer to Shishigami, the forest god, god of all things living.
Ashitaka frowned to himself. First he had made the bowstring too taut to be used properly, and now the prayer to Shishigami had been forgotten, a thing that was as familiar to him as his own name. Something was odd. And, looking around at the forest, muted light casting flickering shadows through the verdant canopy of leaves, Ashitaka felt a vague feeling of disconcertment…but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Then it hit him. There was none of the rich sound that was normally in the Sacred Forest. No birds chirping, no crackling of twigs and leaves as other animals lumbered or flitted through the trees could be heard, only the gurgle of the nearby stream. In fact, even though Ashitaka could clearly see the trees blowing in the face of the winds that blew over the mountain, he could not hear the familiar moan of the gusts.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized once more that nothing was amiss. He was merely too deep into the woods to hear the wind blow, that was all. And while the brook served Ashitaka's purposes by blanketing his noises to his quarry, it was a double-edged sword, hushing other sounds to his ears.
Ashitaka focused once more on the task at hand. He whispered quietly, so that the buck would not hear him. "Shishigami, forgive me for taking the lives of one of your creatures. He dies to support the lives of others, as the way of nature decrees. Guard his spirit in the otherworld." The former prince of the Emishi snapped the bow up, and pulled back on the string.
It was at that moment that an incredible pain seared his right arm, sending clouds of pain into his vision. Ashitaka managed to hold in an outburst, but the stricken arm convulsed uncontrollably, letting go of the string. The arrow whistled through the air in a path far to the left of its intended course, and embedded itself deeply in the trunk of an old, gnarled tree. Hearing the noise, the old buck looked up startled, seeing Ashitaka for the first time, and quickly cantered away.
Ashitaka's bow fell to the ground, forgotten, as the young man's left hand tried to stop the shaking of his right arm. He pulled away the cloth of his tunic that covered it, only to stop and stare in silent horror. Instead of gazing at the faded scar mark of the curse that Naga, the Tatari God had bestowed on him, Ashitaka saw that the hideous browns, grays, and blacks that had swirled together in a mottled blend which marked the curse were back. Even as he watched, the mark of the curse was spreading, along his wrist, covering his hand.
Everywhere the curse mark touched, a new point of agony blossomed in Ashitaka's mind. It felt as if his soul was being forcibly torn from his body, one body part at a time. Fighting against the deadly pain, the warrior tried to hold in all sounds, but failed as a gasp shook his body. One thought shot through his pain-crazed mind, and he spoke it unintentionally. "San…I've got to…find…San…"
Even as he spoke those words, he knew that they were of no use. The curse mark had spread to his chest now, and every breath was a labor, the harsh rasp sounding a million times louder in his ears. I am a warrior…If this is the fate that Shishigami has chosen for me; I will meet it…with eyes unclouded by hate. I am Ashitaka, prince of the…strange, he couldn't remember. Oh well, it wouldn't matter soon, anyway. However, there was something that he knew he couldn't leave behind. Something…
I am Ashitaka…I am not afraid. I am not angry with Shishigami for taking my life.
Oh, but he wanted to be. He wanted to be angry, resentful, and furious at the Forest God for choosing him to die. However, as much as he tried, he could not seem to be mad. Instead, there was merely a wistful sadness and feeling that he had forgotten something…And then, to Ashitaka's surprise, he saw someone in front of him. A young girl, about his age, she was wearing a simple white tunic over a black dress, with a cloak of some white fur. A necklace made of animal teeth clasped the cloak together. Large, saucerlike earrings hung from below her mossy-green hair, tied with a black headband, and her beautiful face was adorned with three red triangles, which Ashitaka recognized as war paint. "San…" he breathed, reaching out to her. But his fingers passed through her, and the vision wavered and dissolved in a burst of pain. "San…" I never told her how I felt…
However, the vision of San was soon replaced by something else. Ashitaka felt himself being yanked from his body, and he was soon in another place. A place of fire, a place of darkness…darkness that extended as far as he could see. There was one figure, a dark silhouette, who apparently was not affected by the flames licking at his body. And then the figure turned, and Ashitaka, warrior, former prince of the Emishi, would have quaked with fear had he still been with his body. The figure wore no clothing, his body made of the very fabric of the heavens, a viscous fluid that contained the stars. However, that was not what unnerved Ashitaka so.
The mysterious person had no face…where his face should have been, there was just a blackness, an infinite blackness, that threatened to suck Ashitaka in. Quite obviously, he was a god. As the hole that was the god's face drew Ashitaka closer, masses of writhing worms leapt from its flesh, coating it in a scarlet mantle in a few seconds. It was then when the former prince knew that this was no god, it was a demon. The tentacles of the demon-god receded along its head, and this time it had a face. The face that stared back at Ashitaka was his own.
Then, one final jolt of pain shook Ashitaka's body, as the curse scar swept over his head, and this was more terrible than anything he had ever experienced. And now the demon-god's face that was his own shattered, once more revealing the endless blackness within, and Ashitaka was plunged into the infinite darkness. As he fell, he could have sworn that he heard someone laughing coldly…but then, that became the least of his worries.
In the middle of the forest, Ashitaka shook violently. One final word found itself on his lips: "San…" and then his knees gave out from beneath him, and he collapsed.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
To be continued…
(Author's Note): What do you guys think? It's my first piece of Princess Mononoke fanfiction, and I would LOVE to get some feedback, positive or not. I would have to ask everyone who reads this to try and actually review, pointing out strong spots and/or weak spots that I could try and brush up on. Don't worry, there will be more to this! Even I can't wait to see what happens next! :o) ^_^ Ja ne!