A/N This is my San-centric oneshot, umm, not much to say here. I was vaguely inspired by some fan art. Yeah.
Studio ghibli owns Princess Mononoke, not me!
~X~
Years after the death of life, it was a more peaceful time than there had been in all of my time in this place. I had been able to smile without worries for days. The spirits were gone, but the kodama appeared every day now. The forces around me were getting stronger. The ape clan kept planting their seeds, and the trees grow strong. My wolf brethren left the land in pursuit of a place where they would find their own sort of peace. They reminded me as they left, that they would come back some time, once they had found their place. I haven't doubted them.
Ashitaka comes to visit me every day now, as he had promised. The only time he has not was when he had gotten sick, and couldn't walk. That day a younger human came and told me, saying that 'the man wouldn't stop trying to get up until they sent him'. A simple growl sent the boy skittering away as if I were the great deer spirit himself. I had worried, but I don't like it when other humans come traipsing around my forest.
That had happened a while ago, and he is here now. He's sitting behind me, arms around my waist and chin on top of my head. I probably would have bitten his hand off even after the death of the great deer spirit if he had touched me at all, but now I don't fight him. I guess with him around me so much, I haven't felt the need to fight.
"San?" he asks suddenly. I open one eye.
"Hmm?" I respond.
"People in Iron Town have been spreading rumors about us," he says quietly, but in a conversational tone.
"Have they been saying bad things?" I inquire equally as quiet, as if speaking any louder would disturb the trees. Perhaps it would.
"No, well… Not really," he replies, and I can feel him remove his chin from my head and glance around.
"Why should it bother us then?" I murmur lazily.
"They've been saying things about being in love, and it's made me think."
I open my other eye and turn my head to peer at him.
"About what?" I question. I'm not sure where this is headed, but I don't like it.
"Well, is this love? Are we in love?" he asks, looking down at me owlishly with a light blush spreading across his cheeks. I swear that sometimes he's nothing more than a small boy. I open my mouth to speak, but falter. I don't actually know.
I glance around me, between the trees and the dappled sun lit ground, as if something would tell me what to say. Now it's my turn to blush, turning back to look at the man who has his arms around me. I shake my head, shrugging my shoulders. This is bewildering.
I turn around and lean back up against him, and he puts his chin back on top of my head, although neither of us are as calm as before. Suddenly, his laughter rings through the air, and I can feel it against my back.
"Ashitaka?" I ask, surprised at the sudden outburst.
"I-it's just- oh, kami-sama above," he manages to say between fits of laughter. I find myself laughing with him, completely unsure as to why. We untangle from each other to get a look at our faces, and laugh harder, until we're both laying on our backs side by side, wheezing and sore stomached.
"What was so funny?" I question hoarsely once I regain my breath. He shakes his head and smiles at me, managing a quick chuckle. I could feel another giggle bubbling in my throat, but fight it back, barely. We both lapse into a stretch of giggles, and finally Ashitaka finds words.
"We're just grown up, we've been through more than any normal person ever will, and we're still acting like children," he murmurs, taking my hand. I'm still too out of breath to say anything, but I nod my agreement.
"Maybe it's okay to act like children."
~X~
A/N, I'm pretty proud of this! Please tell me what you think of this