Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Mononoke or any characters thereof. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are the proud owners of the fantastic film, while I am just a High School student and am writing this for my own amusement and because I'm shocked that no one else had come up with the idea before me. I only own any possible changes I make to the plot of this movie, the dialogue of this movie, and/or any other things that I can't think of right now.

The Forbidden Forest

They hadn't even gotten close to being half finished with their journey, and San was already beginning to regret her kindness.

It wasn't that she wanted the men to die. No, in fact, it was the exact opposite. It was just that Kohroku wouldn't stop mumbling about the Kodama's leading them to a certain death, and that the man she was carrying was much too heavy for her, even with all her warriors training. The fact that she was forced to carry him up a steep hill covered in slippery moss while attempting not to accidentally fall backwards or step on any Kodama didn't help matters much either.

Had she not been so busy focusing on not tripping and just making it to the top of the hill, San would have taken the time to enjoy the lush green forest surrounding her. Kohroku sure wasn't, considering the fact that he was too busy being terrified of the forest.

"Uh, miss?"

"Yes, Kohroku?"

"You remember the river back there? There's a lovely trail right across-"

"The current is too strong." San interrupted him immediately, upon realizing where the conversation was headed. "And if we don't get this man back to your home as soon as possible, he doesn't have a chance."

"It was just a suggestion." Kohroku mumbled to himself, before adding in a louder voice, "But, uh, did I mention that there hasn't been a single human being to leave this forest alive?"

"Well," San muttered. "There are about to be three of them." Her eyes flicked towards a Kodama running with a slow pace a foot ahead of her, every so often glancing behind itself to look at her, and allowed herself to smile. The moment they had set foot in the forest, hundreds of the little Spirits had appeared. They had swarmed around the humans and the elk, clicking out of curiosity, and when the journey had started, San had been slightly surprised when the Kodama's followed, running around her feet and Yakuul's hooves, leaping around excitedly. There were more watching from the tree branches above. "Hey, there," San said to the Kodama ahead of her, watching in amusement as it maneuvered through the tree roots covering the ground. "Are you helping us find our way, or just getting us more lost?"

The Kodama stopped running for a moment, looked back at her and stopped briefly, before beginning to run again. A few seconds later, San finally reached the top of the hill, and had to stop to catch her breath. "Please, Ma'am!You don't really think they're actually helping us get home, do you? Oh my god, there's thousands of them!" She heard Kohroku say from behind. If she hadn't been so exhausted, she would have smiled upon hearing him whimper the last part. Sweat was beading at her forehead and trickling down the side of her face and the back of her neck. The sweat forming on her face only caused her hair to stick to her skin, and this was very irritating for San, who had always hated anything covering or sticking to her face in any way and was now unable to push her hair back.

San looked up a bit, and noticed that, out of all the Kodama passing by her, there were quite a few who were carrying others of their own in the same way that she was carrying the unconscious man. She smiled a bit at the sight, and it gave her the motivation she needed. If Kodama can do it, she thought, repositioning the man on her back slightly, then so can I. With that, she continued to walk along the forest trail.

As they walked further into the forest, San noticed a trail of Kodama's slowly parting from their side, and dissolving into the side of a tall, beautiful tree. "This must be their mother. She's a wonderful tree." She said respectfully before walking past. Behind her, as Yakuul passed by with Kohroku on his back, Kohroku gave the tree a nervous glance and a whimper, leaning away slightly.

When the travellers stepped into a clearing, San gasped in amazement. They were staring at a large, beautiful marsh in the middle of the forest. There were small ponds everywhere, grass covered ground, and large trees that towered over them all.

Beautiful. This place is magical. San thought in amazement. They walked further into the marsh, and San marvelled at everything, staring up at the treetops in amazement. It was only when she felt something under her foot shift slightly did she look down, and see the pawprints imprinted in the grass. They were wolf tracks. While a few of them were slightly larger than her hand, there was one trail of tracks that were bigger than her head. There were also foot shaped tracks that were obviously human. "The tracks of those wolves and the boy with them." She murmured, staring at them thoughtfully. "This must be where the four of them live." She glanced up, looking around in apprehension, remembering the look the boy had given her.

San led Yakuul over to the edge of a pond and set the unconscious man down on the grass as Kohroku spoke up. "Miss, now for sure it's dangerous!" Kohroku said nervously. "This is the place where Gods and Demons roam! It isn't safe here!"

"We'll be fine." San said calmly, pulling her red bowl from her pack and taking a few short steps towards the side of the pond, and crouched down next to the water. She swished water around in her bowl for a moment, before a flash of blue caught her attention. San looked up, and saw a small island of moss a foot away from her. Blue butterflies with shimmering wings fluttered around it, apparently attracted by something. It was only when she looked closer did she see what the insects were attracted to. At first glance, it was barely noticeable, but if you looked closer you would have seen that it was, in fact, a footprint. A footprint with three hoof marks, about the size of her hand.

San raised an eyebrow as she leaned in slightly. "A footprint?" She glanced downwards into the water, and spotted another footprint just the same imprinted in the mud. Still fresh… whatever made these, made them recently.

She began looking around, dark eyes scanning her surroundings as she searched for any creature that might have been nearby. The forest pond was peaceful - in appearance, and appearances could be deceiving.

After a moment of looking around, San still hadn't seen anything.

But then she did.

Far off, to her right, a golden glow of sunlight was streaming through a gap between two of the trees. A herd of deer were slowly walking by, completely silent. San's eyes grew wide as the last deer, this one much larger than any of the others, appeared. From what San could see, it had many, many antlers coming out of its head, sticking straight up almost like tree stalks. The last deer didn't keep walking like the others had. No, it stopped, dead in its tracks, and turned its head and faced San. Its face was hidden in the shadows, so she could see nothing but its outline in the golden glow.

San's mouth opened slightly in shock, before a sharp gasp of pain escaped. Her right arm felt like it was on fire. She looked down, and was horrified to see the cursed arm was pulsing and writhing about just as it had in the massacred village.

"Miss, what's happening?" Kohroku yelled from behind her. "Are you alright?"

Ignoring him, the girl grabbed ahold of her right arm with her left one, attempting to control her limb as best she could. Without really thinking, San plunged her arm into the waters, hoping the water would extinguish the pain. She clutched the moss tightly, strangling it with her grip as the sound of her own blood pumping filled her ears.

Finally, the great deer turned away and disappeared, and the golden glow disappeared, leaving behind the shadows of the forest. San let out another gasp, nearly crying in relief as the pain slowly disappeared - no, it didn't disappear, San realized. The pain was constant. It was always there, all the time. It dulled, it didn't disappear.

Releasing the moss from her hand, she slowly filled her bowl with water, and she stood, returning to the side of the unconscious man.

"Uh, miss?" Kohroku spoke up nervously. "What just happened? You look like you've seen a ghost. I warned you about this place."

San merely sighed, looking up at the man tiredly. "Did you see anything just now?"

"Like what?"

"Like…" San paused, searching for the words to describe what she saw. "Nothing. Forget about it."

"Miss-"

"It doesn't matter." San said shortly, before looking back down at the bandaged man. He let out a small groan and shifted slightly, and San realized that he had temporarily awoken from his unconscious state. A compassionate expression passed over her features, and she gently lifted his head with her hand, lifting the bowl of water to his lips with the other, letting him drink. "Hang on just a little longer. You've done very well so far." She said, giving a small smile.

The man sucked in a breath, before letting out, "Thank you, stranger," In a rush.

San turned back to the area where the creature had been. There was still no golden glow, just several trees, and no animals. "It's gone." She said softly.

The four of them rested for a while longer, before San got to her feet, saying it was time to keep walking.

They had only been walking for a few minutes, before San had realized something.

He doesn't feel heavy at all...

Behind her, Kohroku had realized something as well. "My arm, it- it doesn't hurt!" He pulled it out of its sling and raised it into the sky triumphantly. "It's healed!" This was followed by the sound of something cracking, and the man let out a groan and clutched his arm again. "Nope, it's still broken!"