I don't own Princess Mononoke or any of the characters. I only own this story and the characters not in the movie.
A two year old Ashitaka raced through his village. His mother was chasing after him.
"Hurry up mommy. I want to go see daddy." called out Ashitaka.
"I'm coming Ashitaka. Slow down you could hurt yourself. It's not right for the future king to be seen running around." replied the queen.
Ashitaka always got excited when his father and the other men went out hunting with their bows and arrows while riding their red elk. It always made the young prince happy to hear about the things his father and the other men saw with the forest. For as long as he could remember Ashitaka was in love with the forest. He would probably live there if he had a say in anything.
Soon a herd of red elk being rode by the men of the Emishi came into sight of the village. Everyone cheered and welcomed back the men from the hunt. The hunting was so good than another hunt wouldn't be needed for two whole weeks, perhaps even longer.
The king demounted his red elk and hugged his wife and son. Ashitaka was exited to learn everything his father had seen in the forest.
"What did you see in the forest dad?" excitedly asked Ashitaka.
The king slightly laughed and put his son on his shoulders. The royal family began to walk to their hut.
"I'll tell you everything on the way home. So what would you like to hear about?" wondered the king.
"Everything!" replied Ashitaka.
The Emishi king tried to recall everything he had seen, heard, or even smelled when he was out hunting in the forest. Finally the king had everything straightened out.
"I saw the normal things you would expect to find in the forest. I saw plenty of trees, birds, bugs and even a few wild deer. It was like any other hunting expedition." told the king.
A small cute frown crossed Ashitaka's chubby baby fat face.
"There has to be something you saw dad." declared Ashitaka.
The king recalled something he had briefly forgotten about.
"Well I did see a kodama. You know what a kodama is right son?" asked the king.
Ashitaka vigorously shook his head.
"A kodama is a forest spirit." blurted out Ashitaka.
"That is correct son. Only there haven't been any kodama in these parts since well before my great grandfather was born. So why has one shown up now?" wondered the king.
"Perhaps you can ask Hii-sama about it. She is the village mediator after all." suggested the queen.
The king decided to look into it the next day. Right now all the Emishi ruler wanted to do was sleep.
The Emishi royal family finally made it to their hut. They went inside and fell into a deep sleep, all but the young prince Ashitaka. He stayed up a little longer than his parents and thought of life in the forest and the kodama his father saw.
Perhaps one day he would live in a forest all his own and have adventures and talk to animals. With thought of the forest dancing in his head the young Emishi prince drifted off into a peaceful sleep and dreamed of the day he would live in the forest.
Comment if you like the story.