OKAMI: Princess of the Moon

Chapter 1

Prologue: Melody of Sorrow and Hope

I stared out the window, my sapphire eyes glittering against the roaring flames. I watched my entire Kingdom burn. The screams of innocent lives echoed through the battered ruins of my room and the endless, terrifying roars of demonic beings shattered the air. I rested my hand on the burnt, charcoal window frame, my knee leaning on the sill. My lips were parted in a dis-believing expression as I stared, without blinking, out into the sabotage and debris that was once known as the Moon Kingdom. The sky was completely covered in black smoke where dark clouds already hovered. I let my gaze lower to the streets which lay cracked and torn, bits of buildings strewn everywhere. Fire glowing against the concrete and spatters of blood were everywhere possible. Other buildings elsewhere had long since fallen and crumpled into pieces. From beneath a fallen structure, there was a stream of blood slowly trickling down the pavement.

I raised my hand and brought my fingers to my lips staying like that for minutes. I don't know how long I was standing there gazing in sheer terror at what that eight headed serpent had done. The Demon's roars of triumph and malevolence ringed in my ears. But one thought remained dominant in my mind. I let my gaze drop to the window sill I knelt on, my eyes forever faded into a dim, light blue.

"I failed to protect them… my people," I let myself fall completely on the sill, my back leaning against the wall. "I, the Queen, just stood back and watched as Orochi killed everyone…"

My mind went blank, thinking of nothing but the true horror at what was happening. What was is that my mother had once said?

"When you become Queen, you must protect everyone in our Tribe… Yumi…" my mother lifted me up to sit on her lap, I was but four years old, the day before my birthday; the day before she died. "There will come a time in your life when you will have to be brave. When you will have to risk your life to save someone close to you… when you will protect your Kingdom against the onslaught in the future…" I reached up and poked at the bell tied into her long white hair. She smiled down at me and gave me a loving hug. The next day, she was dead…

"Why is it… that I could not comprehend the truth behind those words…? The truth that one day Orochi would attack this Kingdom… and yet... I have done nothing to stop him…" I muttered into my chest, strands of my hair fell around my cheeks. I gripped at the soft fabric beneath me cursing myself for all I was worth. I wasn't a Queen… I wasn't even royalty, what I was…. Was a stupid, pathetic, teenage girl who couldn't save anyone or anything? Tears rolled down my cheeks but I managed to keep most in.

I sat there like that for what seemed forever, thinking over what Orochi had done; what I had done.

People expect Princesses to be slim and fragile, a body with curves and personality of pure graciousness. I wasn't any of this. There were people who called me adventurous, bold, stubborn and small (Which I hated.) Blue, hair framed my pale face and lips, a fringe hung over my forehead. I was wearing my usual clothing, a white kimono that exposed my collar bone and shoulders with a blue sash wrapped around my waist. The sleeves were much to long in my view as they trailed along the ground; but my advisor (and teacher) Shojo insisted on me wearing it. With it, I wore white sandals and in my ears were two crescent moon, blue diamonds with a matching necklace around my neck. Of course, I wouldn't classify myself as weak but not very strong either. I knew martial arts and also how to use a sword. Shojo reprimanded me saying 'Princesses shouldn't practice sword-fighting or martial arts. That's a man's job.' I thought that was absolutely stupid and rather sexist of him. Still though, after pestering him to some degree, Shojo gave me classes daily ever since I was six; which was eight years ago now. At the age of fourteen I succeeded the throne as Queen and not even a week later Orochi attacked. It was like hell broke loose on the Kingdom; The Moon Tribe. People were slaughtered by the second, innocent lives taken. Buildings were set alight with black and orange fire alike. I even glimpsed the shadow of a nine-tailed beast ripping apart the inner-city as well as a ghastly samurai ghost with death-threatening sword skills.

Why had it come to this? We were a well-civilised people with great technology and hopes for the future and yet… the dreams we once had were destroyed in a simple instant by the demon I know to be called Yamato-no-Orochi. An eight headed serpent that had powers beyond belief as the legend goes. With snarling jaws and teeth sharper than shark's, eyes even worse than death and a scaly body tougher then solid stone.

The way I saw it, I saw no hope for the miserable civilisation before me, the civilisation who had thrived since this fateful day.

An enormous roar ripped through the skies and instantly I snapped my head up to look out the window into the distance. Eight, long necks soared into the sky, whipping around the place. The soldiers, one by one, succumbed to their bloody deaths as they desperately attempted to stop the beast's onslaught. It was foolish… nothing could be done. The soldiers fell, and defence systems were demolished by strikes of lighting from above.

Real fear seized my body when, in one split second, Orochi's fire emblem head rose and his malicious, beaming white eyes caught my blue ones. A wave of distraught swept through me as I slowly leaned backwards. The monster's eyes lingered on mine and he growled in delight. He snapped his jaws once, still looking at me. Another two heads, lightning and darkness joined him and soon all three pairs of eyes bored into mine. I was terrified; the once stubborn and adventurous side of me had vanished. In its place was a scared child staring into the eyes of the Devil himself. I couldn't break the gaze and my breathing grew raspy. Then, the three heads reared their heads back growling in triumph; they lunged towards me.

I shut my eyes; waiting… waiting for some sort of crippling pain I was about to experience… But there was a horrific roar far in front of me followed by a shout and a ripping of scales. There was another loud roar but this one faded away into the distance.

Nothing came…

Slowly, I let my eyes creep open and I blinked as I saw nothing but thin, empty air in front of me. Orochi had vanished…?

"Princesse…?" (1)

I fell backwards leaving out a surprised shriek when the voice sounded from straight in front of me. For some reason my brain thought it was Orochi's menacing voice rather than a person's. As an act of instinct (regarding the situation I was already in) I scooted away from the window and looked up at the person who had landed in front of me.

"Are you hurt…? Yumi?" the man called to me again, his voice was a little softer this time. I looked hard at him and examined his features. He had called me by my name and not Princess. My eyes widened as I realised who he was. His blonde fringe stuck out underneath his hawk-like helmet and his sword was slung at his waist. Gripped in his right hand was a green energy blade. He peered down at me with his black eyes.

Third person P.O.V

Yumi stumbled up, a smile overcoming her pale face, "Waka!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him down to her level. He gave a little grunt as he fell down from the window sill to stand on the floor in front of the blue haired Princess. A total feeling of joy filled Yumi's heart as she rested her head on his chest. The soft pulse of his heart beat gently against her ear as they stood there in silence for a couple of minutes. However, Waka wasn't sure what to do. He held his arms out away from her and leaned backwards taken aback by the situation. This, of course, wasn't the first time she hugged him but there was something different this time. He was a prophet after all; knowing certain things or events was his priority. He held his energy blade, Pillowtalk he called it, out away from Yumi to not harm her.

He sighed and the energy blade reduced back to its ordinary form, a wooden flute. He was quick to pack away the wooden instrument and he grabbed Yumi by the shoulders, pushing her back at bit. Yumi stared up at him; her lips parted slightly, a mixture of confusion and joy written on her face.

"I fear for you mon Princesse," (2) he said to her seriously, "There will be a horrific roar of fire and death, and thus a white light shall engulf us all…. And with this comes great horror and death…" Waka gripped her shoulders harder making her look down at his hands but back up at his face. The line he had just spoken was another of his famous prophecies. Waka was a prophet and was very straight forward person. He also had a very pretentious attitude. Of course, he sense of style was unique; being clad in baggy purple pants and pink, long-sleeved shirt with red, puffy buttons. He also had that habit of using French terms in sentences. Waka was a Tao Master, very skilled in sword fighting and martial arts.

"I don't know what this means mon Princesse… but I know that you must leave this world onboard the Ark of Yamato… I've already sent platoons of my men into the Ark; we await your arrival…"

Yumi didn't know what to think. Waka was never like this, he was never this serious… the look in his eyes, what was it telling her? By the sounds of it, she had gathered that Waka had collected however many survivors he could and loaded them onto the Ark of Yamato along with his troops. Now, he was asking for her to go with him.

"We must hurry,"a voice called from the doorway behind her, "This place is about to be destroyed completely. If we dawdle, we too shall perish. The Moon will be no more…."Shahira stood in the doorway, her majestic, white coat burning brightly against the darkness the room held. Blue swirls, like brush-strokes, decorated her body and blue flames spewed forth from her paws. Her ears were perked up on her head in high alert. She knew what was happening more than anyone here; even Waka.

For years, Shahira had seen this coming. The Fateful day where the Moon Tribe would be wiped out and the Moon itself would cease to exist. Now, as the fox stood at the door, awaiting her Master to leave this place, she knew exactly what was going to happen. She let her ears drop slightly, taking her mind off Orochi's fierce bellows from outside and gazed into Yumi's eyes… searching.

Then something clicked in both their heads. Yumi and Shahira were one. Their thoughts were the same as too were their hearts and they stuck with one another until the end.

A soft breeze blew through the room as Yumi closed her eyes and let her head droop. Waka stood up straight, sensing something was wrong. He watched as Yumi raised both her hands and used them to slide his off her shoulders. She held them there, at his waist, her fingers intertwining with his. She looked up ad a soft smile came to her pale lips, her blue eyes twinkled like the stars. Immediately, Waka slowly shook his head realising what was happening.

"I'm sorry Waka…" Yumi suddenly spoke, her voice barely a whisper. She closed her eyes for a second and gripped his hands tighter before reopening them to look into his, "But I can't go with you…"

Waka's eyes widened, what was she saying? What was Yumi doing? He felt the grip on his hands loosen slightly as she took a step backwards. "I must stay here," she spoke calmly, her smile never leaving her lips, "I have to protect our Home… I must save the Moon from its destruction. It is my duty as the Queen…"

Waka shook his head more and gripped her hand making her stay where she was, "Non… Non!" (3) His voice grew and he clenched her hands tighter, "Yumi… s'il vous plait…" (4) His voice dropped then to a whisper, "Don't do this… please…"

Yumi looked up at him calmly, her smile fading. "No Waka… I'm sorry… I can't…"

Somehow, her eyes softened and turned a milky shade of blue, "I'm afraid this is goodbye…"

Once he heard that word, something inside Waka's heart twanged and a pain pulsed through him, his grip loosened on Yumi's hands and she pulled away from him, her arms dropping to her sides. She shook her head slowly as Waka left his hands hovering in the air; reaching out for her. Waka felt like he was on the border of light and darkness, and he was loosing Yumi to the darkness. He couldn't allow that. She was his best friend… the first friend he ever had. Without her, Waka would surely be long dead by now. It was because of Yumi's kind and generous heart did Waka achieve who he was today; grand Tao general of the Moon Tribe Forces. He left his left hand drop to his side but his other remained; reaching out for Yumi secretly hoping she would change her mind about what she was about to do.

"You don't have to do this Yumi…" Waka pleaded with her, "You don't… I can save you; I can save all of us… The Ark, It will-"

"No Waka, " Yumi cut him off the smile back on her lips as she gazed at him, "I want to thank you… for everything you've done. You are, truly, my best friend. If you had never come into my life I'm not sure what I would be like today… I can't imagine life without you. I care for you so much, and that is why I want you to leave now… there's not much time…"

"Yumi…" Waka stopped, lost for words, "Not without you ma Cherie…" (5)

Yumi shook her head, "you must… now go…"

"Yumi…"

"Go Waka!" the sudden rise in her voice made Waka flinch as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes were shut tight and Shahira gave the girl a small whimper as she nudged her hand. "Please, just go…" Yumi begged him. Waka let his hand drop to his side and he turned his body half way towards the window, his heart aching. Demonic screams filled the air outside still and Orochi's infuriated howls rang through the air.

"Go…" Yumi told him again. The tears rolled down her cheeks and she didn't even glance at him. She turned her back… as did he. Waka jumped up on the window sill and looked over his shoulder at Yumi. The white kimono trailed in a circle around her feet.

"I never wanted this mon Princesse…" Waka said barely audible as he jumped from the window sit to twirl and land expertly on the ground, he didn't stop but kept running dodging demons as he went. Orochi's heads slammed down on the ground and he narrowly avoided each one, flipping and rolling accordingly. He didn't look back, not even once. He didn't want to see her face again, to see her beautiful, everlasting, sapphire eyes, to see her tears.

The Ark of Yamato soon came into view and everyone was awaiting his arrival. Two soldiers cheered him as he boarded the ship through a hole in its bow. However, the soldiers noticed something.

"Capt. Waka?" One man said, he gave him a worried look, "where's the Princess?!"

Waka stopped then, right beside the soldier. He shook his head very faintly and continues walking inside without a single word. "Let's hurry mes amis!" (6)He called to them as the hole in the ship closed behind them and they made their way to the deck above, "we have to get out of here quickly!"

Waka reached the deck and looked out over the side of the ship towards the palace, primarily the window where he knew Yumi was. The Ark slowly lifted off the ground and made its way higher into the sky, the demons below were growling and snapping furiously at them.

Luckily, Orochi was busy readying himself to blow the entire Moon into pieces. He had no time to deal with the Ark. Then the prophet saw it… Yumi was sitting by the window sill gazing out at him with her blue eyes. She had a calm expression on her face. Shahira appeared beside her and looked out at him. The fox gave a whine to which he did not hear and Orochi's roar bellowed around them making everyone squirm and cower.

Eight heads rose into the sky, a ball of powerful aura generating at each one's open jaws. Each ball of energy matched each head's element and they were all pointed at the palace.

"I WILL RID THE HEAVENS OF THIS PATHETIC PLACE ONCE AND FOR ALL!!" Orochi bellowed into the sky but Yumi looked on at Waka. She tilted her head slightly and a small smile crept its way to her lips.

"Don't worry…"

There was a terrible flash of light as Orochi fired his great attack straight at Yumi and Shahira. Shahira growled the darkest Yumi had ever heard but the girl was unfazed. She blinked once and looked up at the blistering ball of death coming towards her. She took her flute out and put it to her lips.

"Shahira… go…" Shahira, obeying Yumi's commands, leapt from the window straight towards the beam. Time seemed to slow as Yumi began to play a soft melody on her white flute, Shahira's coat burned brighter at each passing second. It was true, time seemed to have stopped and all could be heard was the low tune Yumi was playing, it was soft and sad but with a flicker of hope; a melody of sorrow and hope…

"No…" Waka leaned over the edge and gazed down with horror as Shahira and Orochi's attack collided with one another in a terrible bang. From the collision, an enormous white light engulfed the entire moon and Waka had to block his eyes it was so bright. The white light didn't dim and the Ark got further and further away.

"Full speed towards the Celestial Plain!" someone called behind Waka, "That white light's going to hit us!"

In truth, the white light kept expanding until it was nearly engulfing the ship. The tall mast disappeared into the light as did the rest of the ship, peoples' screams filled the air as a shock went through the boat and the system malfunctioned causing the ship to spiral downwards out of control, plummeting through the air to the Celestial Plain below.

Waka's eyes widened considerably and he let out a grunt as gravity turned against him. He gazed upwards where the white light contracted. He gripped the rim of the ship and let out a roar "YUMI!!"

Finally, the Ark plunged through the dense clouds never to see the Moon again….

The Princess was dead…. And soon…. everyone else would be too….

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

And that is my new chapter, and new beginning, of this fanfic. I hope it's better than the original and sticks to the storyline. I really have no idea what I was thinking of in the first version! Anyways, I hope this is better and better written. In this chapter I wanted to outline Waka and Yumi's basic relationship and the distraught that has happened. I just pray Waka isn't OOC….TT

Please review!

Waka's French term explanations:

Princesse- French word for Princess. Just add an 'e' onto the original word.Pronounced- 'Princess.'

Mon Princesse- 'mon' means 'my' in French. So basically he's saying 'my Princess.' Pronounced-in 'mon' say it like 'on' but pronounced the 'O' (like 'Moe') like you would in the alphabet and then 'n' afterword and 'm' in front.

Non- Just means 'no.'Pronounced- Like 'mon' but with 'n' in front instead of 'm.'

S'il vous plait- French term for saying 'please.'Pronounced- See voo play.

Ma Cherie- I wasn't sure If I would put this in or not considering he calls Ammy this all the time. 'Ma' is another word for 'my' and 'cherie' means 'darling' or 'love.' It's basically an affectionate term.Pronounced- ma is like it is written (like 'MA-m.') 'Cherie' is simply saying 'cherry' only pronounce the 'ch' like 'shh.'

Mes amis- This mean's 'my friends.' Mes is the plural for 'my' in French where as 'amis' means 'friends.Pronunciation- Mays ammys.

Hope these pronunciations help you guys. xD