Y/N sat on the bank of the water, carving new markings into the wooden statue that she had retrieved from the den. She had sat there for most of the night, watching the boy silently as she made a few adjustments to his carving. There was only so much she could remember from her dream. And as she sat there, her toes relaxing just beneath the surface of the water, she started to hum.
One by one, the Kodama emerged from their places in the branches and in the knots of the trees, skipping and hopping over to Y/N's peaceful form. One brave little spirit clambered up onto one of her knees and sat there, watching as she moved her knife carefully along the wood. It clicked its head back and forth, as if commenting on her carving. Y/N smiled at the little spirit.
"Do you like it?"
Another series of clicks.
Y/N smiled. "Maybe I'll make one of you then."
After another few clicks, the Kodama disappeared. And Y/N was left to the peace of the forest, and the few Kodama in the trees who stayed to watch as she gently shaped the wood into the boy that she had brought into the heart of the forest.
It was well into the afternoon when Y/N looked up from her completed sculpture. She held it up to the light of the forest sun, turning it to the right and then to the left. The sun illuminated each little carve and each little accidental nick. Y/N smiled and tucked both her knife and her carving into her small pouch. She would give it to the boy if the forest spirit wished for him to live.
As she thought of the boy, she lifted her gaze. To her surprise, she was met with the strange face of the forest spirit. She slowly got to her feet, keeping her eyes on the deer-like creature all the while. Once she was on her feet, it nodded to her before turning and walking off to the other side of the isolated island, leaving behind a trail of decay.
Y/N slowly slipped into the water, swimming across the small lake to the island. Ashitaka had sunk beneath the water. And as she dove down beneath the surface, she was overjoyed to see that the gunshot wound had been healed by the forest spirit. No longer did blood spill from his side, staining the water around him. She took the boy into her arms and pulled him to the shore on the opposite side of the lake. There, she lay him out in the sun before leaving to get him some food from her stash in her den.
* * *
Ashitaka woke to the sunlight gently warming his cheeks. As always, Yakul stood by his side, peacefully grazing on the grass that grew around the lake. Birds chirped as they fluttered overhead, enjoying the afternoon sun, and little dragonflies fluttered about, buzzing happily as they greeted their little dragonfly friends.
He moved his hand to the spot in his chest where the bullet wound had been, and to his surprise, he found that the spot had healed completely. He quickly sat up and peered at the hole in his tunic. There wasn't even a scar. Exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell back against the moss and grass, his eyes fluttering shut once more.
Even in his exhaustion, Ashitaka could feel Yakul gently nipping at his shoulder. It was the serow's way of showing Ashitaka that he was happy that he was alive. He smiled and gently raised his hand to pet the beast on the side of his muzzle, thanking Yakul for remaining with him even as he faced death.
But to his horror, while the god of the forests had healed his wounds, the mark of the demon still sat on his arm, bigger than it had been when he had fallen unconscious. "The mark's still there," he whispered, glaring at his hand. He sighed and allowed his eyes to flutter shut once more. What would he do now? The god had not healed him from the mark. He hadn't then and he wouldn't now. So was he supposed to just accept fate? Was he supposed to accept his death?
A shadow suddenly fell over him and his eyes fluttered open. One of the Wolf Princesses was standing beside him, a shy smile on her face as she fell to her knees beside him.
"You're awake," she said in a quiet voice. Ashitaka felt a tremor run over his body. Her voice suited her perfectly. It sounded like the chime of bells in the wind, like the coo of a dove in the morning, and like a fresh rainfall after a drought.
Ashitaka stared at the girl, watching as she pulled out a strip of dried meat for him. She lifted it to her lips and tore off a small bit before dropping it into her hand and slipping it between his lips. Ashitaka tried to chew the meat but found that all of his strength had left him. He sighed and the meat went slack between his teeth. He wouldn't be able to eat this.
Y/N bit her lip. He needed to eat. But if he wasn't strong enough yet to eat by himself, then how would she get him to eat? She thought of what Moro had done for her when she and Sen were still babies, unable to eat anything that the rest of the wolves ate. Moro had taken the time to chew the food for her daughters before feeding them. Y/N smiled. If her mother could do it for her, surely she could do it for the boy, right? She took the piece of meat and slipped it between her lips before taking another bite of the meat in her hands. It was a struggle to chew and not swallow, but she managed. Once she was sure it was chewed enough, she bent down and placed her lips on Ashitaka's.
Ashitaka's eyes flew open and he tensed. What was she doing?! But he relaxed when he felt the meat slipping from her mouth into his, already chewed. He swallowed it and sighed when Y/N pulled herself away. He tried not to pull her back. As much as it had come as a shock for him, he liked the feeling of her lips on his.
Y/N repeated this a few more times until she felt that Ashitaka had eaten as much as he would be able to in such a weakened state. Then, she sat quietly by him, her legs crossed as she sat on the mossy forest floor, gazing at the wound beneath his eye. It had left a scar. Her blade had left a scar on his face. She felt terrible.
"I'm sorry," she said after a moment.
Ashitaka turned towards her, though his eyes remained closed. "What do you mean?"
Y/N lifted her hand so the tips of her fingers ghosted over the wound. "I cut you."
Ashitaka smiled. "It's all right. It's just a scratch."
It didn't make Y/N feel any better.
"Y/N."
The girl quickly got to her feet upon hearing her sister's voice. Moro and her siblings emerged from the underbrush and stood at the edge of the clearing.
The earth rumbled beneath Y/N's feet and she turned to see the boar clan emerging from the other side of the forest, standing before the wolf tribe. Y/N stepped around to the other side of Ashitaka's body and rested her hand on the hilt of Ashitaka's blade, which was strapped to her side. She would not let the boars take this boy.
"We are here to kill the humans and save the forest," a large black boar grunted. "Why are the humans here, Moro?"
"Humans are everywhere these days," Moro answered. "Go back to your own land. Kill them there. The girls are San and Y/N. My daughters."
The boars wouldn't take no for an answer. "We will kill them here, we will save this forest." They turned to the boy who lay behind Y/N. "What is that other human doing here?"
San glanced over at her sister, wondering if she would speak.
"His own people shot him," Y/N said in a soft voice. "I brought him here and the Great Spirit healed his wounds and gave his life back to him. He is not our enemy."
"The Forest Spirit saved him?! He saved the life of that loathsome runt? Why didn't he save Nago? Is he not the guardian of the forest?! Why?"
Moro now spoke for her daughter. "The Forest Spirit gives life and takes life away. Life and death are his alone, or have you boars forgotten that?"
"You lie! You must have begged the Forest Spirit to save his life! But you did not beg for Nago, did you?"
The great wolf god was growing bored with this conversation. "Nago was afraid to die. I carried within my breast a poisoned human bullet, and though the bullet is gone, the poison remains. Nago fled, and the darkness took him. I remain and contemplate my death."
Y/N's heart sank. She had managed to pull out the bullet, but she had not been able to cleanse the wound soon enough. The poison had already bled into her mother's blood and would soon drive her to her death, just as it had Nago.
"Mother," she whispered, daring to turn for a moment and forget Ashitaka. "I am sorry."
"It is not your fault, daughter," Moro said kindly. "You did what you could. I am not afraid of death. I have lived long enough. Soon the Forest Spirit will let me rest forever." She walked over to her daughter and gently liked her cheek before setting her head atop Y/N's. "You do not have to fear for me, Y/N. I know what my future has in store for me."
"You are not fooling us! Nago was beautiful and strong. He would not have run from anything! You wolves must have eaten him!"
"QUIET," San growled. "Watch what you say, you filthy pig."
"Gods of the mountain, please listen to me." Y/N turned away from her mother's soft embrace and knelt beside Ashitaka as he spoke. "Nago died far from here, and I was the one who killed him. He had become some kind of demon. One day, he attacked our village. If you want proof, look at my hand where he touched me." Ashitaka gathered what strength he had and undid the wrappings around his hand. He pulled them off and Y/N scrambled back when she saw the black and purple stain on Ashitaka's hand. She recognised a curse when she saw one. "I came here to beg the Forest Spirit to lift Nago's curse from me. He healed the bullet wound in my side, but the demon mark remains. First it will tear my soul apart, and then it will kill me."
Suddenly, a shadow of white moved in the corner of Y/N's vision and she looked up to see a large white boar slowly walking into the clearing.
"Okkoto," her mother said. "Finally a boar who will listen to reason."
San rushed forward and stood in front of Ashitaka. "No, Lord Okkoto, wait! Please, you mustn't eat him."
Y/N got to her feet and stood beside her sister as Okkoto turned to them.
"Ah. You are Moro's human children, aren't you? I have heard of you." He snorted at the girls as if smelling them.
"You're blind," San whispered with realisation.
"Stand back," the boar ordered, though not unkindly. "I will not eat him."
Y/N felt a gentle touch on her ankle and glanced down. Ashitaka was smiling at her with closed eyes. "It's all right, Y/N." Y/N hesitantly moved away from Ashitaka, though she remained close.
"My Lord Okkoto, what I said about Nago's death is the truth." The boy lifted his hand and the boar neared his arm, inhaling his scent. He knew that what the boy said was true.
"I believe you, and I thank you for it, young one. I am only grieved and ashamed that such a demon has come from our tribe."
"Oh mighty lord, is there a way to lift Nago's curse from me?"
Okkoto paused for a moment. "Leave this forest. For the next time we meet, I will have to kill you."
"You will not win in a war against the humans," Moro said. "Their guns will destroy you all."
"Look on my tribe, Moro. We grow small and we grow stupid. We will soon be nothing but squealing game that humans hunt for their meat."
"You'd risk everything on one last battle? That's just what the humans want."
"I do not ask for the help of the wolf tribe. Even if every one of us dies, it will be a battle the humans will never forget."
Y/N watched silently as the boars left, leaving the clearing and the safety of the grove to ready themselves for the battle. She sank to the ground beside Ashitaka and folded her legs together, watching him as her mother and wolf siblings returned to their den in the mountains. San, however, remained.
"The Forest Sprit."
The girls turned and watched as a deer-like creature drank from the surface of the lake. He seemed to realise that the girls were watching him, for he turned to them, stared at them in return for a moment, before turning and prancing away, never once causing a splash in the water.