Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Mononoke. I am just a humble fanfic writer, like I'm sure many of you are. However, I DO have rights to all new characters contained within, especially Barimitsu, Daruga, and Tirinia. If, for some strange reason, you want to use any of my characters in a fic of your own, please ask first.
Author's Notes: Hmm, well, this is my first fic, so please be gentle. The introduction sets up the later chapters and the epilogue, but doesn't have much to do with the world of Ashitaka and San…yet. Hopefully I'll update every couple of weeks or so, maybe sooner if inspiration strikes.
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Normal font – Description.
Italic font – Character thoughts.
~~~ - Scene and/or perspective change.
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As my alarm blares, I reach out an arm and flail it about until I find my clock. Naturally, I knock it onto the ground. Groaning, I sit up in bed before reaching down to pick it up, turning that shrill alarm off, then setting it back on my night stand.
Oh great, another day of school. After a quick shower, I step into my closet and change into a sweatshirt and some khakis. As I brush my teeth, I begin to feel a little queasy. Not feeling so well…that's…odd. I'm usually fine in the mornings. Shrugging it off, I leave my room and head downstairs.
As I stumble down, I could hear my mom calling out something about a permission slip. "Permission slip?" I wonder aloud. Wait, that means there's a field trip today. But where to? And why can't I remember? I'm usually pretty good about these things. I head for the door and grab my backpack. Peering inside, I scan for the slip. There. Pulling it out, I read it carefully. What the hell? A construction site!? Then I remember a little. Our principal was on a whole 'diversity' and 'equal opportunity' bent. "We must give all our students the chance to excel in whatever field they choose," or some such like that. While that's all good and well, why oh why did we have to go to a construction site?
Sighing, I pick up the bag and walk out the door and towards the bus stop. Brendan and his two girlfriends are already there. Whatever their names were. I never kept track, since they change so quickly. Frowning, I walk up beside them and prepare to wait. I used to know him so well, wonder what happened? Now that I think about it, I don't know anyone anymore. They all seem so…foreign. Wait, why the hell am I thinking about this now?
The bus pulls up, and I can see that almost everyone inside looks excited. Sighing, I trudge up the stairs and take one of the only seats left, near the front. I have to wonder what they're happier about, missing a day of school or going to a construction site. No work for a day and heavy equipment. And then images of a firefighter and an Indian flash through my mind, causing an involuntary shudder.
The person next to me must have noticed my disturbed expression. "Hey there, buddy, you alright?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
We arrive at school only to debus for quick attendance. All those around me could barely contain their excitement. I glance around and I see many are talking animatedly in small knots. The nearest group is babbling on about some inane TV show they had been watching. Ah, to be so carefree. I wonder what happened to me… And I blink. What the hell HAD happened to me?
We board the buses again, this time organized by name, I assume. Thankfully, I manage to secure a seat way in the back, away from everyone else. All I wanted is a bit of quiet to think myself and be left alone. Closing my eyes, I begin to ponder today's beginning, trying to pinpoint the source of all this uneasiness and these strange thoughts. I couldn't find anything.
The construction site is bustling with activity. Yet, something didn't feel right here, but I still couldn't put my finger on it. Shrugging it off, I walk a few paces behind the group. But, as I approach the main area of the work site with the rest group, I could feel that uneasiness becoming more and more tangible.
We're standing at the base of the skeletal tower now, steel beams jutting out at right angles, a future testament to the power of man, or something equally as ludicrous. Our tour guide babbles on aimlessly on the function of the building and other various trivialities before leading everyone closer, into the shadow of the edifice. Something seems to drawing me higher, now, an insistent feeling. I gaze up, trying to discern the source. There. Wait, what is that? The glint of metal, seeming to grow bigger by the second? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Then, I knew. It's a swinging I-beam, improperly secured, descending ever so rapidly. Thankfully, there seemed to still be some restraint on it, as it's not accelerating nearly as fast as it could be.
My eyes widen, as everything seems to slow down. The beam's making a direct path towards the middle of our group. There's no way they can get out of the way in time, not that pace they're going! No one else seems to notice, there's gotta be something I can do…why do I think I'm going to regret this later?
Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, I dash forward. The beam would pass straight through the middle, leaving those in the front and back, including me, relatively unharmed. Still, I had to get them out of the way, or else they'd just be so much meat and blood lying on the ground. There's no way in hell that they'd stand a chance against that thing. Not like I did, either.
I slam into the back of the main group, trying to either knock them to the ground or push them forward. Succeeding more in the former than the latter, I stumble forward with the crowd until I hit a wall. Well, not quite. It's just John and Jesse, two of the biggest kids in school. And they were still in the beam's path.
Struggling, I bend over and lock my arms against them, trying to push with my feet. They seem to be either resisting or just standing there, so it's slow, but I'm managing to push them out of the path. Sucking in a small breath, I spare a glance left. Looks like I'm out of time… In pushing the group out of the way, I had placed myself in harm's way, and now I'm paying the price.
The beams impacts with my shoulder first, then my head, before tossing my body far to the right. In retrospect, it would probably have been better to yell a warning or something first to move them faster… As my eyelids droop, I wonder if I can get some sleep now.
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The doctor told his parents that he was very lucky. If he hadn't been hunched over pushing all those people, the beam would have impacted with his torse and crushed all his organs. As it stood, his shoulder was fractured and he had a little head trauma, but he was otherwise fine. Except for the coma. The doctor said there's no telling when he might wake up, if ever.
The teen's parents just held each other and continued crying.
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AN: Hope that was pretty enjoyable, don't worry, everything changes starting Chapter 1…
Please review me! I'm beggin' ya! I'd love to hear what y'all out there think…
Your choice, either review on FF.net, or e-mail me at Lord1Sephiroth@AOL.com