Chapter Text
Originally posted on 06/24/13 - 01/26/14 at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9422559/1/Ponyo-In-The-Sky
“PONYO IN THE SKY ”
Chapter 1: The Sea Wizard and the Sky Goddess
Fujimoto was a nervous wreck. He knew this day was coming, had known it for several years now. Perhaps it was his eternal lifespan that had allowed him to ignore it. When you lived forever, time seemed to stop having meaning. Days, weeks, months, years, these were mere words used in the timeframe of forever. But now the day was actually here, the one agreed upon by him and her centuries ago.
“Must hurry, must hurry,” he kept repeating to himself as he ran around his magic underwater ship.
In a large bubble of water, his daughters watched their father scurry about with concerned looks on their faces. They weren’t the type of offspring one would expect from a human. They appeared to be strange red fish with human faces. That was because they were technically demigods; the children of Fujimoto and a sea goddess.
But one was missing, and had been missing for several years now. It was for this reason that Fujimoto was such a nervous wreck. His eldest daughter was supposed to be here with him for this, but due to certain… unexpected occurrences, she was not.
Fujimoto had gone over the upcoming conversation in his head countless times, and while it sounded good in rehearsal, the real thing was putting him on edge. He hurried over to his elixirs and began drinking different potions. If things went bad, and there was a good chance they would, he would need plenty of magic at his disposal, which he gained from his elixirs.
He suddenly sensed it, an overwhelming magical presence coming his way. Panicking, he gulped down the rest of the potion, just as the magic air bubble that surrounded his ship was penetrated. Up from the surface, a powerful gust of wind filled the bubble, the hole that had been made to allow it to enter immediately closing right afterwards.
Dropping the empty vials, Fujimoto rushed into the next room where he sensed the powerful presence. He came to a halt as he stared at a beautiful woman looking at his daughters. Though the woman was mostly human in appearance, she was entirely otherworldly. She was dressed in a sky blue gown that dissolved into a mist down by her feet, giving her a ghostly look. Hair of the purest white, looking as if it came from a cloud, flowed down her back, moving around gently as if caught in a light breeze. And growing out of the sides of her head were a pair of large angel wings, pale gold in color, that nearly touched the floor.
Upon his entrance, the woman turned to Fujimoto. Her face was divine perfection. In the middle of her forehead was a silver charm that seemed to be attached to her incredibly pale skin. She had very large eyes, and instead of an actual eye color, the clear blue sky with a few white clouds surrounded pupils that reflected the starry night sky.
She gave him a friendly smile, but it still sent a chill down his spin. She may be ok now, but he knew that this woman’s mood could change just as quickly and as fiercely as the weather she controlled.
“Fujimoto,” she said in an angelic voice, “it’s been a while.”
The sea wizard gulped as he struggled to find his voice. “K-Kazehime, it’s been a while.”
He immediately cursed himself when he realized that he simply repeated what she had just said, but the woman just chuckled.
“It seems you’re a little nervous,” she replied kindly. “There’s no reason to be so anxious; we’re all friends here.”
‘Maybe for now,’ Fujimoto thought worriedly. “Um, can I get you anything?”
Kazehime shook her head. “No, thank you. I won’t be staying long. Water is not my element. Just as water falls to escape the sky, air rises to escape the water.”
Fujimoto was glad to hear that her visit would be brief. The same way Granmammare was a sea goddess, Kazehime was a sky goddess. Though there was no ill will between them, neither enjoyed being in the other’s territory. Usually, sea and sky didn’t mix, though there had been a few exceptions over time. Kazehime was currently here in hopes of bringing forth one of those exceptions.
“I’m just here to fulfill our bargain,” Kazehime continued. “The date we agreed upon has come, so here I am.” She looked back at Fujimoto’s daughters. “You have quite a few children. They must be a handful. Then again, most beings of the sea do reproduce in large numbers at a time, quite unlike those of the sky. Yet among all your little ones, I do not see your eldest among them. Tell me, where is Brunhilda? I expected her to be here to meet me.”
Fujimoto gulped. “She’s… um, not here.”
The clouds in Kazehime’s eyes blew around for a moment as if the wind had picked up, then calmed as she chuckled. “Of course, you had her grow at a mortal’s rate. She would be too big for this bubble now. Silly me. So where is she?”
Nervously, Fujimoto tapped his index fingers together. “She’s… not… here…”
The clouds in the goddess’ eyes began swirling around again, and her hair began to blow around more wildly as well. “She’s not? Well, that is very rude. I would have expected better manners from her. She should be here to greet her future mother-in-law. Where could she possibly be that’s more important?”
She was already getting moody; that was not a good sign. “Well, first of all, her name is not Brunhilda anymore, it’s Ponyo.”
Kazehime raised an eyebrow. “Really? She’s taken on another name so soon? We divine have had many names throughout eternity. I myself have had more than I can remember. But only 16 and she’s already received another name? Seems like she’s gaining quite a reputation. Sounds like she’ll have many worshippers.” She crossed her arms. “So, Ponyo, is it? It sounds so… squishy.” She snickered. “Well, where is she?”
It was the moment of truth. “In… in order to explain that, I need to tell you the full story.”
Taking a deep breath, he began to explain. He started with how, in her curiosity, Ponyo had snuck out one day and was found/rescued/captured by a human boy, and that it was from him that she received the name Ponyo.
Kazehime interrupted him. “That was very careless of you, Fujimoto. What if she had been harmed?” She thought for a moment. “This boy, Sosuke, he gave her the name Ponyo. I should have known; humans are always coming up with such unusual names for us. The Romans even renamed the Greek gods after the planets.” She waved it off. “No matter, I’m sure she’ll have many more much better names. Proceed with your story. I assume that you went after her once she snuck out.”
Of course he had gone after her. He had feared for his daughter’s life, especially when she was in the hands of a human. Unexpectedly, however, both Ponyo and Sosuke had grown too deeply care for each other during their short time together. Even worse, before Fujimoto had managed to rescue her, she had tasted human blood from a cut on the boy’s hand, which later enabled her to transform into a human and run away from him again after he retrieved her.
Kazehime sighed at this part of the story. “Can you not even control your own daughter?”
Fujimoto winced, feeling like he himself was a child being scolded by a parent.
“Then again,” the sky goddess continued, “she is a demigod, and you are merely a human sea wizard. Her power far outstrips your own.”
While that may have been true, the way she said it left Fujimoto feeling rather insulted. “I’m afraid I was rather distracted at the time. Her escape accidentally caused a certain… project I had been working on to go wrong, and it caused a massive typhoon.”
“Ah,” Kazehime replied. “I assume you’re talking about that one from 11 years ago. Yes, I felt magic in that storm, and it clouded my view of the land.”
Which explained why she didn’t know what had become of Ponyo. She would not have been happy once she found out. Nor will she be when she finds out in a little bit.
Fujimoto returned to his story. He told how Ponyo had found her way back to the boy and how he had summoned Granmammare to help undo the damage their daughter had caused. But instead, Granmammare had decided to give Ponyo the opportunity to become human permanently by testing Sosuke’s love for her.
At this, Kazehime’s hair began blowing around wildly and the blue sky in her eyes grew darker. “She actually decided to do this? If the boy’s love was not genuine and pure, your daughter would have turned into cloud vapor.”
Fujimoto cleared his throat. “Actually, she was of the sea, so she would have turned to sea foam instead.” Just as she would have turned to stone if she had been of the earth instead, but it was best not to get too technical right now.
Kazehime merely waved this off. “Death is death, regardless of what method or form it comes in. I’m just astounded that Granmammare would be willing to risk her daughter’s life on the feelings of as mere human.”
Insults against him he could deal with, but Fujimoto wouldn’t stand to hear Granmammare insulted, and he immediately rose to the sea goddess’ defense. “It’s what our daughter wanted, and Granmammare wouldn’t play with her life so carelessly. She read my mind and saw how the boy really felt. That’s why she trusted him enough to put his love to the test.”
The sky goddess glared at him. “Then let me see what she saw.”
She held up her hand and a strong wind suction pulled Fujimoto over to her. He felt her enter his mind, and he was powerless to stop it. He had been fine with it when Granmammare had done it, she was his wife, and he trusted her completely, but Kazehime had no right to do this; it was a massive invasion of his privacy.
When she had obtained the knowledge she wanted, she released him. “So you actually went through with it. Your daughter is now human and living with the boy.”
Fujimoto could feel it, the calm before the storm, literally. “Yes, she’s been human for 11 years now.”
The dark blue of the goddess’ eyes was now nearly black, and the clouds had turned a dark gray, swirling around violently as her hair blew about as if caught in a heavy wind. “And what of my son? He is now without a bride. Your daughter was to wed him after her 16th birthday.”
He could feel the angry vibrations of her magic radiating through the entire ship. “Yes, but she chose Sosuke. The boy’s mother and Granmammare decided on it. The two of them are to wed. They’ve been unofficially engaged since Sosuke passed the test of love.”
“And she was officially engaged to my son long before she was even born.” Kazehime replied. “It seems your puny human mind has forgotten our arrangement. Against my better judgment, I came to you when you were nothing more than an ordinary human pinning away for the goddess that saved your life at sea. I taught you magic and allowed you to meet with your goddess once again. If it weren’t for me, you would have remained a heartbroken fool for the rest of your miserable life. In return, your first born daughter was to marry my son to form a union of the sky and the sea.”
She was wrong; Fujimoto hadn’t forgotten anything. Back when he had been just another human, he had been the last sole survivor on a ship that had begun sinking after it had been attacked by pirates. Granmammare had appeared to him and saved his life by bringing him to shore before disappearing again. After that, Fujimoto had become completely enamored by the sea goddess. For the next several years, he had searched for her unsuccessfully, though his feelings never wavered.
As a sky goddess, Kazehime witnessed everything that went on beneath the sky. She decided to give Fujimoto a chance after seeing his determination over the years. So she appeared to him, taught him some magic, gave him great knowledge, and even provided him a way to see his sea goddess once more. This was how he had gained his position as a sea wizard, and his job of taking care of the ocean.
Over the years, Fujimoto learned much and became quite powerful, even learning how to brew a potion that would prevent him from aging. This gave him plenty of time to woe Granmammare, and he was eventually able to win her heart.
Of course, he owed it all to Kazehime, leaving him in her debt. If it hadn’t been for her, he never would have been reunited with his beloved sea goddess. And as payment for his debt, Kazehime asked to have Fujimoto and Granmammare’s first born daughter to marry her son in order to create a union between the sea and the sky.
That had been centuries ago. Things had been different back then in regards to women, not to mention that such arranged marriages were quite common. Besides, at the time the bargain was struck, Fujimoto didn’t even know if he and Granmammare would even have children, or if any of them would even be girls if and when they did. And when the time finally came and they did have children, how was he to know that Granmammare would give birth to so many at once, or that, thanks to his agreement with Kazehime, they would have all girls.
Ponyo had been the first to hatch, so it would be her that would wed Kazehime’s son. To reach maturity faster, she aged as a mortal would, making her grow much faster than her sisters. So Fujimoto had begun training her how to use magic at a much earlier age than what was recommended, and everyone knew how that turned out.
“So,” Kazehime continued angrily, “what makes you think you can just go back on our agreement?”
“It wasn’t intentional!” Fujimoto told her defensively. “How was I supposed to know that she would fall for a human?”
“Bah!” the sky goddess scoffed. “Fall for, you say. How utterly ridiculous! She would have been five years old in human years at the time. What does one so young know about falling in love? It simply does not happen.”
“Indeed,” Fujimoto agreed, “it’s not the mature kind of love that adults feel for each other, but a deep, innocent, and pure love that will eventually become the mature romantic kind as they grow. That was when they were young, but they have grown up, and now they share the proper kind of love.”
Lightning flashed across the sky in the goddess’ eyes. “If it were with another god or a spirit, I would understand, but not with a miserable human. Humans are such fickle creatures. They’re naive, greedy, corruptible, and destructive. And as for the so-called love that humans feel for each other…” She shook her head. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the love two humans share for each other fade away.”
“That’s not true!” Fujimoto objected, wondering why he was defending the humans when he too hated them so much. “Yes, I’ll admit that there are times when love fades away, but there are also many times when it does. Having watched over them from up above, you must have known this.”
The sky goddess gave no indication that she even heard him. “Human hearts change too much. Love does not always last with them. And you would actually entrust your daughter to one of them? The magic and the human race don’t belong together.”
Fujimoto saw an opportunity. “How can you say that?” Just a few years ago, you attended the wedding of the spirit of the Kohaku River and a human girl. And what of the wolf god, Moro, adopting a human child as her own. And does not Totoro always appear to human children?”
Kazehime simply waved this off. “You speak of unique cases. And, more importantly, none of them involved my son. But this, this is an outrageous insult. You’ve broken an agreement we’ve had for hundreds of years and have given my son’s betroth to another man based on a five year old’s whim. And to add to the insult, it was a human that you saw more fit for your daughter than my own beloved son.”
Her hair and clothes whipped around her in a frenzy as her anger escalated. “I will not accept this! We had a bargain, and you shall honor it, whether your daughter agrees to it or not. I should have known better than to trust a human to keep their word, even if you are a sea wizard. Now I have to fix your mistake. Just stay out of my way, Fujimoto. You’ve messed up quite enough.”
A tornado appeared around her body, the heavy wind blowing around the contents in the room. Then she was gone, and a powerful gust of wind flew through the ship and into the water, creating a large bubble that shot towards the surface.
Fujimoto was left in the room buried under the mess the sky goddess had left behind. Things had gone bad; he’d known they would. Not as bad as they could have gone, but still bad enough. It was just as he feared; Kazehime was not going to let this go. She was going after his daughter. And Granmammare was currently in the Spirit World where he couldn’t get word to her about whatever the sky goddess was planning.
“This is not good,” he muttered. “Not good as all.”
Notes:
(A/N: That's the end of the first chapter. It looks like trouble is blowing Ponyo's way, literally. And a bunch of you are probably a little ticked off at Fujimoto for making that deal. Kazehime is probably an unlikeable character too. But don't worry, there's a lot you don't know yet. So who likes it so far?)
Chapter 2: Life On Land
Notes:
(A/N: Yay, a good start. 11 reviews already. I love hearing from my fans. Now, this chapter revolves around Ponyo and Sosuke. Lets see how the kiddies are. Oh wait, they're not kids anymore.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 2: Life On Land
“Sosuke! Sosuke, get up now, or you’re going to be late!”
The 16 year old boy groaned at his mother’s impatient cries. Instead of doing what she said, he simply rolled over and pulled the covers up over his head. He didn’t know why he even bothered since he knew what was coming anyway.
Less than a minute later, it happened. The door to his room burst open and an energetic redhead rushed in. “Wake up, Sosuke!”
He bounced on his mattress as the intruder jumped on his bed. This had been a daily routine for a few years now. After the redhead jumped on his bed, he would then have his covers yanked off, exposing him to the cold morning air.
Yup, just like that. Sosuke’s blanket was pulled away, and he mumbled sleepily in protest. With a tired groan, his eyes cracked open to see the source of his disturbance. A girl the same age as him with somewhat messy near shoulder-length red hair stared down at him with a big smile on her face.
“Time for school!” she announced happily, but the boy just groaned again and closed his eyes again. The girl pouted at that, looking slightly annoyed. “Sosuke!”
“Need… more… sleep…” he replied.
The girl continued pouting for a few seconds before a smirk crept up her face. It looked like it was going to be one of those mornings, the ones where he just didn’t want to get up. Well, it was a good thing she knew what to do at such times.
Leaning down, she pressed her lips against his, kissing him hard. After a few moments, she began to get a reaction. He began struggling as the need to breathe took over. He finally managed to pry her off him and take a much needed breath of air, now wide awake.
“Ponyo!” he complained.
The girl giggled. “Good morning, Sosuke. Glad to see you’re up. Come one, Lisa has been calling you for the past ten minutes.”
With that said, she hopped off the bed and rushed out the door. Sosuke sighed. He still wasn’t entirely sure if her method of waking him up was a good thing or a bad thing. Actually, truth be told, he still wasn’t sure about a lot of things when it came to Ponyo. Even after living together for all these years, she was still a mystery to him.
One thing he was sure of though, was that she was right; his mother had been calling him for a while now, and if he didn’t get a move on, he really would be late.
After a speedy morning, he met his mother and Ponyo outside by the car. It was just the three of them since his father, Kouichi, was currently once again working out at sea. So, fortunately, having only one car was enough for them. At least until they both got their licenses. Currently, both he and Ponyo only had their driver’s permits.
“Hey,” Sosuke cried, seeing Ponyo in the driver’s seat, “it’s my turn to drive.”
Ponyo just grinned. “Then you should have been ready on time.”
“Mom!” Sosuke complained.
Lisa poked her head out of the passenger’s seat. “Sosuke, just get in the back, we’re late enough as it is.”
Sosuke sighed and threw his stuff in the backseat before climbing in himself. He spotted Ponyo sticking her tongue out at him in the mirror and rolled his eyes. It didn’t really bother him anyway. But what did bother him was the drive.
“Ok,” said Ponyo, “we’re later than usual, so we’ll really have to step on it.”
Sosuke gulped. Lisa was a bit of a crazy driver. While she never had an accident, many would call her reckless. When Sosuke had been a child, he hadn’t realized just how scary his mother was behind the wheel. And she hadn’t been a very good teacher since Ponyo was just as bad as she was. Strangely enough, she too never had a single incident. Somehow, both Ponyo and his mother seemed to be professional drivers that were capable of handling any and all driving situations.
Of course, that didn’t stop Sosuke from desperately gripping the back seat as they sped down the road.
In record time, they made it to their high school. Ponyo hopped out and Lisa took the driver’s seat. After wishing the two of them a good day at school, she sped off, leaving a dust cloud behind. Sosuke was just relieved that they had made it in one piece. Sometimes he wondered if the reason they never crashed was because Ponyo’s mother was giving her a blessing of protection or something.
“What a beautiful day!” Ponyo announced to the sky.
“Yes,” Sosuke agreed, “and I’m glad to still be alive to enjoy it.”
Ponyo slapped him on the back, a little too hard. “Come on, where’s the fearless boy that bravely ventured out on a toy boat.”
He cut his eyes at her. “That boat wasn’t going 80 miles an hour down a twisted road.”
“I was not going 80 miles an hour. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Before he could reply, a powerful gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere. Ponyo yelped as she held down her skirt on her school uniform. Strangely, the wind only seemed to be hitting her, and it was strong enough to send her stumbling away from Sosuke as she tried to stay balanced.
“Ponyo?” he asked, watching her curiously as she fought a losing battle against the wind, getting pushed further and further away. “What are you doing?”
“Good morning, Sosuke.”
He turned to the speaker, finding another girl his age waving to him. “Oh, Kumiko, good morning.”
His fellow classmate smiled at him. “I see you survived another crazy car ride.”
Sosuke grinned sheepishly. “Yup, still in one piece. My mom and Ponyo may be crazy drivers, but there’s no doubt that they’re good ones.”
She gave him a knowing look. “Too bad you live way out on that hill; the bus doesn’t go out there, and it’s too far to walk.” A light blush stained her cheeks. “It would be nice if we could walk home together.”
Ponyo suddenly returned, having finally escaped from the wind, and latched onto Sosuke’s arm possessively. “Sorry, but that privilege is mine alone. Right, Sosuke?”
Kumiko frowned in disapproval. “Don’t be so clingy,” she said, grabbing Sosuke’s other arm and pulling him away from the redhead. “Guys don’t like clingy girls.”
Ponyo refused to let go, but she too now had a similar look of disapproval on her face. “Then you should take your own advice.” She pulled harder, bringing Sosuke closer to her again.
Kumiko pulled back. “And you should learn to share.”
“I do share, but Sosuke is not a thing to be shared.” Pull.
“He’s not something to be hogged either.” Pull.
Sosuke groaned. They were fighting over him again. It was a common occurrence, both wanting his attention. “Girls, we should really be getting to class.”
The two girls glared daggers at each other, the tension so strong it was almost visible. They reluctantly stopped their game of tug-of-war, but refused to release his arms, and so the three of them entered the school together, both girls still clinging to him.
“Let go!”
“You let go!”
As they walked inside, a pair of stormy sky blue eyes watched them.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
“It’s ham!” Ponyo announced happily.
Sosuke rolled his eyes as Ponyo opened her lunch. Even after all these years, ham was still her favorite food. Most likely because it was the first human food she ever tasted, introducing her taste-buds to a whole new world of flavor. Sometimes he wondered that if she had eaten the bread he had first offered her back then that it would be her favorite food instead and she would joyfully cry out “It’s bread!”
The thought made him chuckle as he opened his own lunch. The two of them always ate together on the roof like this. Occasionally, they would be joined by their friends, and sometimes by some other random students, but it was nice when it was just the two of them like right now.
The door to the roof opened, and the two turned to the person. A scowl immediately appeared on Ponyo’s face when she saw who it was.
“Sosuke, can I eat lunch with you?” Kumiko asked, smiling expectantly.
Sosuke glanced nervously at Ponyo, who stubbornly looked away without answering. “Um, sure, Kumiko. The more the merrier.”
“Hmpf!” Ponyo muttered irritably, taking a bite of her sandwich.
Kumiko sat down beside Sosuke, exchanging a quick glare with Ponyo before opening her bento. “I made a bit too much. Want to share with me, Sosuke?”
Ponyo’s eyebrow began to twitch. How cliché. “He has his own lunch.”
Kumiko didn’t back down. “Well, a growing boy has gotta eat.”
Sosuke laughed nervously. “Thanks, Kumiko, but I’m good.”
She looked slightly put out. “Fine, then at least let me help.”
Taking his chopsticks, she gathered up some rice from his bento and held it up to him. Sosuke stared at the offered rice, looking uneasy. “Um, I can feed myself.”
“Now don’t be that way. Come on, say ‘aah’.”
Ponyo’s eyebrow twitched again. She abandoned her own lunch and wrapped her arms around Sosuke, moving in front of him as if to shield him from Kumiko. “He doesn’t want it!”
Kumiko glared at her. “Why do you always have to get in the way?”
“You’re the one who’s always getting in the way. Sosuke is mine!”
Kumiko placed her hands on her hips. “He is not yours!”
Ponyo just hugged him tighter. “Is too! We’re getting married once we’re old enough.”
Kumiko threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Not that nonsense again! You’ve got a serious brother complex. How can you stand it, Sosuke?”
He wisely chose to remain silent. Getting involved with this age-old argument would not bode well for him. Truthfully, he wouldn’t even know what to say. As far as everyone knew, aside from those up at the senior center, Ponyo had been adopted by his family after her parents, some vacationing foreigners, had been killed in the massive storm 11 years ago. That was the story they had come up with since no one would believe the truth.
Aside from that, Sosuke still wasn’t completely sure how to define his relationship with Ponyo. What were they exactly? Non-blood related siblings? Childhood friends? Fiancé and fiancée? Unofficially engaged? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Housemates? Sweethearts? All of the above? It was just easier not to use labels.
But it was true that Ponyo was his fiancée. Well, unofficial fiancée. It was an arrangement between his and Ponyo’s mother. Though both he and Ponyo wanted it, he still had yet to actually put a ring on her finger.
“Sosuke!”
He blinked, so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized that Kumiko had been talking to him. “Huh? Sorry, what?”
“Oh, forget it!”
As Kumiko angrily stormed off, he gave Ponyo a confused look. “Um, what just happened?”
She maneuvered into his lap. “You really need to do something about her.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s been crushing on you for years, and she keeps trying to take you away from me.”
Sosuke chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. “Oh, Ponyo. No one will ever take me away from you. Kumiko and I are just friends.”
“No, you are just friends with her,” Ponyo argued back, “but she has had something more than friendship on her mind for years, and you know it.” She sighed. “I know you’re friends and you don’t want to hurt her, but if you don’t make things clear with her, you’ll just give her false hope and end up hurting her even more in the end.”
He remained silent, letting her words sink in. He knew that Ponyo was right, but he and Kumiko had been friends for as long as he could remember. Yes, he knew that she liked him as more than a friend, but he was afraid of breaking her heart and ruining their friendship.
Ponyo frowned. “Maybe you prefer her to me.”
Sosuke looked shocked. “How could you even think that? You know I love you, Ponyo. You’re everything to me.”
She gave him a cheeky smile. “Yeah, I know.”
Then she closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Sosuke blushed, looking around nervously. Unlike Ponyo, who was very open to public affection, he was more shy about it.
Once he confirmed that there was no one else around, he moved in to kiss her, his eyes closing as well. At the halfway point, Ponyo cracked open an eye. Seeing him leaning in, she suddenly tackled him, bringing them both down as she rained kisses all across his face.
The wind howled loudly as if it were angry.
Notes:
(A/N: I hope you liked it. Whenever I picture an older Ponyo, I always see her as a tomboyish character, and always energetic and friendly. And it seems she and Sosuke have a nice comfortable relationship, though the 'wind' seems to disagree. It also looks like Ponyo has a bit of a love rival. It was plainly obvious in the movie that Kumiko had a thing for Sosuke, or at least really wanted his attention. Now that everyone has grown up, lets see where that leads.)
Chapter 3: Bad Dreams, Good Mornings
Notes:
(A/N: Ok, based on reviews, it looks like I'm doing good. I'm glad. A few people were asking me what was up with the wind. Here's a hint, Kazehime is a sky goddess who can control the weather, including the wind. Her name even means 'Wind Princess'. So lets see where things go from here.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 3: Bad Dreams, Good Mornings
It was late at night when Ponyo woke up. She’d been dreaming of when she had been a fish, swimming freely through the ocean. Her parents and sisters had been there with her, accompanied by numerous sea creatures. After a while, she had begun to rise up. She left the sea and began flying up in the air. When she reached the clouds, she was greeted by a person. She couldn’t tell who they were with sun shining behind them like that, only allowing her to make out their outline. The glare blocked out their features, but she could tell that it was a boy, and it wasn’t Sosuke, or anyone else she knew.
Whoever they were, she was getting closer to him, and he held out his hand to her. Ponyo felt obligated to take it, but something didn’t feel right. This didn’t feel like it was an ordinary dream. It felt like someone had planted this vision in her head, rather than it being a part of her subconscious, as if this was something someone else wanted her to see.
That was when she woke up. What an unusual dream. It felt so strange. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that it felt as if there had been some magic involved.
‘Weird,’ she told herself, then closed her eyes and went back to sleep, deciding not to worry about it.
But as she laid there, she began to shift around uncomfortably. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She tried to ignore it, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.
Rolling over, she opened her eyes. Standing in the middle of her room, watching her closely, was the ghostly image of a woman with angel-like wings growing from her head.
“Brunhilda,” the woman whispered.
It took a few seconds for her sleepy brain to comprehend what she was seeing, but when it finally registered to her, she screamed loudly.
A gust of wind blew through the room, but Ponyo barely noticed it. A few seconds later, the door burst open and Sosuke rushed into the room, followed closely by Lisa a few moments later.
“Ponyo, what’s wrong?” Sosuke asked worriedly. “What happened?”
“Did you have a bad dream?” Lisa asked.
Ponyo shook her head. “No, there was someone in my room!”
“What?” both mother and son cried.
They looked around the room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Lisa checked the windows, but they were locked, and there was no sign of anyone outside.
“Ponyo, there’s nothing here,” she told her.
“There was!” the redhead insisted.
“A peeping tom?” Sosuke asked, the very thought of someone peeping on Ponyo infuriating him.
“No!” Ponyo cried, pointing to where she’d seen the woman. “She was right there!”
Sosuke blinked. “It was a girl? She was in your room?”
“It was nothing,” Lisa assured them both, going over to Ponyo’s bedside. “It’s all right, there was no one in your room.”
“But I saw her!” Ponyo insisted.
“If there was anyone in your room, we would have seen them. They couldn’t have gotten past us. Your windows are locked, and there’s no sign of forced entry. You must have been dreaming.”
Ponyo shook her head. “It wasn’t a dream. I’d already woken up from a dream. Then it felt like someone was watching me. I rolled over, and there she was.”
“Sounds like it was a double-dream.”
Ponyo blinked. “A what?”
“A double-dream. You know, a dream within a dream. You had a dream that you woke up from a dream and saw that woman, and that’s when you really woke up. That’s happened to me a few times. I think they even made a moving in America with that type of plot.”
Ponyo hesitated. Was that what happened? Had the whole thing been just a dream, even the part about waking up before she saw the woman?
Brunhilda. The woman had called her by her old name. No one outside of her actual family and her adoptive family knew that name, though only her father still dared to call her that from time to time, even though she hated it.
And what about those wings? The woman had clearly had large angel wings hanging down her body. That was definitely not normal. A winged woman that knew her by her old name when no one else should couldn’t possibly be real. It must have been a dream after all, no matter how real it had seemed.
She let out a relieved breath. “I guess… Yeah, it must have been a dream. Sorry I woke you.”
Lisa smiled and ruffled her hair. “You’re a good girl, Ponyo. Now go back to sleep. Kouichi is coming home in a few days, then we’ll all be together again.”
She pressed a kiss to Ponyo’s forehead before making to leave the room, pausing by her son’s side. “Go back to bed, Sosuke; it’s hard enough getting you up in the morning already.”
“Ok, Mom,” Sosuke replied, but he waited for her to leave before going over to Ponyo. “You sure you’re ok?”
She chuckled and gave him a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just feel a little silly that I got so freaked out from a dream.”
Susuke returned the smile and gave her a hug. “Anyone would be freaked out if they woke up to find someone watching them sleep. I know I would be.” He tucked the blanket around her and kissed her forehead. “I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me.”
He got up to leave.
“Sosuke.”
“Hmm?”
When he turned to face her again, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply. Sosuke’s eyes widened in surprise as she pulled him on top of her, bringing them both down on the bed.
The redhead chuckled, her eyes shining as she stared up at him, refusing to let go. “Sleep here with me, Sosuke.”
He blinked, then laughed nervously. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t.”
She pouted. “We used to sleep together all the time when we were kids, we even took baths together.”
Sosuke blushed deeply. “Yeah, when we were kids,” he pointed out. “Things are… different now. Something might… happen. I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold myself back.”
She smiled mischievously. “I don’t mind, as long as it’s with you.”
He chose to ignore that. “Besides, Mom would totally kill me if she found out, and I don’t even want to think about what your father would do to me.”
He sighed, closing his eyes, while Ponyo’s own eyes shined with playfulness. She suddenly surprised him by nipping him on the nose.
“Hey!” he yelped.
Ponyo chuckled. “Come on, just this once. Your mom will never find out.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Lisa stuck her head in the room. “Sosuke, get your butt in your own bed right this instant!”
Sosuke jumped up. “Yes, ma’am!”
Ponyo pouted once more as he hurried away. Flopping back down, she pulled the covers over her head, mumbling irritably. It wasn’t long before she began to feel like she was being watched once more. Only this time, she didn’t look.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
“Ponyo, Sosuke, get up now!”
As usual, Sosuke’s eyes cracked open and he groaned. He was about to roll over and fall asleep again when he realized something different about his mother’s wake up call. She’d included Ponyo in her demand to get up. But Ponyo was always up before him.
Getting out of bed, he peeked into Ponyo’s room. Sure enough, she was all wrapped up in her covers. “Hey, Ponyo, you feeling ok?”
A tired moan came from beneath the covers as Ponyo stuck her head out, her hair a total mess. “I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Sorry, but come on, we gotta go.”
“You go.” She flopped back down. “I’m going back to sleep.”
Now this was a switch; him getting her up. “We’re going to be late.”
She simply rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head. Sosuke couldn’t help but smile at the irony. Today he would get to have his revenge by making her get out of bed.
Grabbing the blanket, he yanked it off the bed entirely, and Ponyo groaned in protest as the cool air hit her. “Sosuke!” she whined loudly.
He smiled; revenge was sweet. “Come on, normally you’re the one getting me up.”
She threw her pillow at him. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“How tragic,” he teased. “But we still have to go.”
She glared at him, looking like she was going to complain, then a mischievous smile crept up her face. “I think you should wake me up with a kiss.”
Sosuke sighed and rolled his eyes. As he leaned in to kiss her, Ponyo immediately wrapped her arms around his head, holding him to her tightly as she attacked his lips. It was practically the same way she woke him up every morning. He struggled to pull away, his arms flailing, but, like always, she refused to let him up until the need for air became too great for her.
When she finally released him, he was breathing heavily, sucking down the cool air. She looked up at him, her eyes shining and her cheeks flushed. She certainly didn’t look tired anymore.
Sosuke had to admit, it was a rather affective way of waking someone up.
Notes:
(A/N: A little shorter than I would have liked, but it turned out I well, I think. Who noticed the mention of "Inception"? That was just a joke. Of course, we all know that it wasn't a dream. Someone is watching Ponyo. Gee, I wonder who? That was sarcasm. Next chapter begins some drama, so I hope you like drama.)
Chapter 4: Just Friends
Notes:
(A/N: Ok, I promised you guys some drama, so here's some drama. As you probably guessed, it involves the love triangle between Ponyo, Sosuke, and Kumiko.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 4: Just Friends
“Hey, Sosuke, wait up!”
Ponyo groaned as Kumiko ran up to the two of them. “Hi, Kumiko, how are you?” she asked in a false friendly tone while wearing an equally phony smile on her face.
Kumiko returned the fake smile. “Fine, thanks for asking,” she replied, her sweet words holding just as much hostility, before turning back to her long time love interest. “Sosuke, want to eat lunch together again?”
Ponyo tightened her grip on Sosuke’s arm. “You mean like when you stormed off last time in the middle of it? Forget it. That’s our time.”
Kumiko glared at her. “He’s your brother. You spend all your time together anyway. Go spend some time with your own friends and leave Sosuke to his. Unless, of course, you don’t have any friends.”
“I have a lots of friends. And Sosuke and I may spend a lot of time together, but rooftop lunch time is our special private time.”
“You live together! You get plenty of private time! Let me spend some time with him. He needs some friendship time!” She looked at Sosuke hopefully. “We are friends, aren’t we?”
Sosuke looked uncomfortable. “Of course we are.” He glanced at the redhead hanging on his arm. “Come on, Ponyo. There’s no need for us to fight. We can all have lunch together.”
Sadness and anger flashed across her face. “Sosuke, you’re an idiot!”
Much to his surprise, she took off running before he could say anything. “Ponyo!”
Well, that hadn’t gone well. Perhaps she was cranky from not sleeping well last night, then he’d gone and said the wrong thing. He’d only wanted to keep the peace, but instead he’d gone and upset her. He should have known better; Ponyo was very possessive of him, always had been.
Kumiko took Sosuke’s other arm. “Don’t worry about her, she can take care of herself. The two of you can clear things up later.”
Sosuke looked at Ponyo’s retreating figure once more. “Yeah, I guess.”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Ponyo stormed angrily through the school after having left Sosuke and Kumiko on the roof. She was fuming irritably, silently swearing at the two of them as her mind shifted the blame back and forth between the two.
‘Stupid Sosuke, getting all lovey-dovey with Kumiko! No, it’s her fault for hanging all over him like that. Actually, it’s his fault for not making it clear to her where they stand. Oh, but he’s just trying to be nice since they’re childhood friends, and he doesn’t want to hurt her. But that’s no excuse! If they really are such good friends, he’d do the right thing and let her down gently. Wait, she knows he’s with me, but she wants him anyway. She’s trying to steal him from me! Then again, she’s a girl in love, just like me, and she still thinks she stands a chance since Sosuke hasn’t actually turned her down yet. But she’s such a meanie about it, and is deliberately getting in our way.’
As the blame kept switching from one to the other, it became too much for her to keep it all bottled up inside. “Ah, they’re both idiots!” she shouted, punching a locker. “Stupid Kumiko! Stupid Sosuke!”
Several people heard her angry rampage. Everyone knew to stay clear of her when she was in a bad mood. True, she was almost always cheerful and carefree, but when she did get irritable, watch out!
Of course, some people couldn’t take a hint. They were either brave enough or foolish enough to approach her while she was in one of her moods. One of her many admires was close by, and rather than seeing this as a threat, they saw it as an opportunity.
Casually walking up to her, the student strategically planned how to deal with her while she was upset like this. “Is everything all right?”
Ponyo turned around, eyeing him suspiciously. She recognized him right away. His name was Shin Yamaguchi, and he was well known as the school playboy. “I’m fine. I just want to be alone right now.”
He got closer, entering her comfort zone. “Care to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Talking helps.”
Ponyo’s eyebrow twitched irritably. “Yamaguchi, I don’t want to talk. Just go away.”
He ignored her. “It sounds like you had a fight with your brother.”
She glared at him. “He’s not my brother! There’s no blood relation whatsoever. And it’s none of your business anyway. Please, just leave me alone for now.”
He got closer instead, resting his hands on her shoulders in what seemed to be a comforting gesture if it hadn’t had been for that lecherous look in his eye. “Come on, I’ll make you feel better.”
Ponyo’s fist clenched. She was debating on whether she should hit him or not when the window suddenly burst open. A powerful gust of wind rushed in and Shin was pushed away from her.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he cried. “Someone close the window!”
The wind kept pushing him down the hall and away from Ponyo, even blowing him around the corner and into an open janitor’s closet. Once he was inside, the wind blew the door shut behind him, and finally died down. A few seconds later, Shin began knocking on the door, which had locked on him, demanding to be let out.
Ponyo blinked and looked at the open window. “Ok…”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Kumiko was chatting away happily, but Sosuke barely heard her. His thoughts were on Ponyo. He didn’t like having her angry with him. And it was his fault. He knew that she was jealous and upset with his decision to let Kumiko join them for lunch. But Kumiko was his friend. He wanted her and Ponyo to get along, so he reluctantly plaid the role of peacekeeper. The way he saw it, he’d simply been letting a friend join them for lunch.
But that wasn’t how Ponyo saw it. No matter what he told her, in her eyes, she saw her love rival coming between them, and he was allowing it. She had nothing against his friends, not even his female friends, but Kumiko was different. She had feelings for Sosuke, he knew this, and Ponyo felt like she was trying to steal him from her.
He sighed in resignation. Deep down, he knew that this was coming. He would have to make things clear to Kumiko, even if it meant losing his childhood friend.
“I love octopus shaped hotdogs, don’t you?” she was saying. “I think they’re just adorable!”
Sosuke heard her talking and saw her lips moving, but he was so lost in thought that nothing she was saying registered. Ponyo was right; it was way past time for him to make things clear between them.
“Here, Sosuke,” said Kumiko, holding up one of the hotdogs cut into the shape of an octopus. “Say ‘aah’.”
She was trying that tactic again, but instead of taking it, Sosuke’s hand came up and gently grabbed her wrist, lowering it back down to her lap. “Kumiko, we have to stop this.”
She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. We’re friends, Kumiko, but that’s all we are, and that’s all we’ll ever be. You can’t keep doing this; it’s hurting Ponyo.”
“We’re just having lunch together.”
“Stop it!” he snapped, talking harsher now. “Don’t play innocent. You know what you’re doing, and I want you to stop. We’ve been friends for a long time, Kumiko, I’d hate to see that come to an end.”
Kumiko angrily threw down her chopsticks. “Why her? Why always her? If she never came around, you’d be mine!”
“Kumiko-”
“And she’s your sister! It’s weird! How can you even consider being with your sister in that way?
“She’s not really my sister,” Sosuke told her. “There’s no blood relation between us at all.”
Kumiko shook her head. “It’s still weird. This isn’t some shoujo manga. You may not be blood related, but you’ve still been living as brother and sister for years.”
“Actually, we haven’t. We may have been living together, yes, but we’ve never thought of or saw each other as brother and sister. Technically, my parents are only Ponyo’s guardians. When we refer to each other as brother and sister, it’s really just a technicality for public display.”
Kumiko was quiet for a while. She looked down with a blank expression on her face. “So… you really feel… that way about her?”
Sosuke nodded. “Yes.”
A few more seconds of silence passed. “And you really only see me as a friend?”
He looked away. “I’m sorry. You’re an important friend to me, Kumiko, but that’s it.”
She fell silent again. Long seconds passed before she sighed. “I guess I always knew that it would come to this, but I still held out hope for… something. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “But it seems I can’t compete with her. She really is something.”
Sosuke couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, she is.”
Returning the smile, Kumiko shooed him away. “Better go make up with her. Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I won’t get in the way anymore.” She gave him a hopeful look. “But we can still be friends, right?”
He winked at her. “We’ll always be friends. Thanks a lot, Kumiko.”
He stood up and ran after Ponyo. Kumiko waved him off with a smile on her face. Once he was out of sight, she broke down and cried.
Notes:
(A/N: I think she took it rather well. I mean, I feel bad, sure, but in a love triangle, someone is going to get hurt. Unrequited love is really painful. And as Kumiko pointed out, I feel like I got a little shoujo manga there, but it couldn't be helped. I hope you guys weren't expecting too much from the love triangle that is just a minor part of the story. The real plot deals with Kazehime and her plans. As you can see, she's kind of possessive of Ponyo. But so is Sosuke. Wait until you see what happens with him.)
Chapter 5: When the Wind Blows
Notes:
(A/N: I meant to have this up yesterday, but, well, things happen. It's here now, so lets look at the aftermath of the drama that unfolded the previous chapter.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 5: When the Wind Blows
Sosuke was making his way down the hall, looking for Ponyo, when he heard it. The school playboy was talking with his friends about what had just happened not too long ago. Ordinarily, Sosuke wouldn’t pay any mind to such a group, but a certain name caught his attention as he walked by.
“That Ponyo-chick must’ve really let you have it. I can’t believe she actually locked you in the closet.”
“It wasn’t like that!” Shin objected. “It was like a tornado suddenly blew in through then window and carried me into the closet.”
“Yeah, sure,” one of his friends teased. “You’re just making up some story to hide the fact that a girl actually rejected you.”
“Guess not even the great Shin can get the school idol,” another boy added. “Not surprising though; that hottie is so obsessed with her brother that no other guy even exists to her.”
“Total brother complex,” the last boy agreed. “And the one time you actually catch her away from him, you blow it. She’ll be back to clinging to her brother’s side like a sick little puppy again in no time.”
Sosuke’s nails dug into his palms as he listened to the four boys talk about Ponyo. He could care less about anything they said about him, but how dare they badmouth Ponyo.
“Whatever,” Shin grumbled. “All I know is that if it weren’t for that freak wind storm, I’d have gotten that chick into an empty classroom and made her forget that she even had a brother. She’d be clawing at my back and screaming my name so loudly that-”
The next thing he knew, Shin was being pinned up against the wall. He grunted in pain as the wind was knocked out of him from the collision, his feet dangling off the floor.
“What gives?” he growled. Looking down at his attacking, his eyebrows rose up in surprise. “Oh, it’s Sosuke. Looking for your sister?”
“What did you do to her?” Sosuke demanded furiously.
Shin just shrugged. “Nothing really. We just talked a bit.” He winked at his friends. “Guess you can say that I was blown away by her presence.”
His friends chuckled, and it only made Sosuke angrier. “Shut up! And don’t you ever go near her again, or so help me, I swear I’ll…”
Shin smacked his hands away. “You’ll do what? What are you gonna do?”
Sosuke decided to leave the threat hanging. “Just stay away from her.”
He turned to leave, but Shin wasn’t done goading him yet. “If you don’t want to lose her, maybe you should put a leash on her. I bet she’d love it if it were you doing it.”
Sosuke didn’t even think, he just reacted. One moment he was walking away, the next his fist was colliding with Shin’s jaw.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Ponyo had decided to unleash her frustration by running some laps. She loved both running and swimming, and was the star on both school teams. But this time it wasn’t for fun, now she was just trying to burn off her aggravation. Another lap or two, and then she’d head over to the pool to cool off.
Today was turning out to be a very off day. First she sleeps in after having a very realistic dream, then Kumiko had to go and ruin her lunch period, next she and Sosuke have a fight, and then he just disappears for the rest of the day. Was he avoiding her now?
“Time!” a fellow track team member told her as she crossed the finish line. “Wow! You broke your record by 0.06 seconds!”
Ponyo huffed and puffed. “T-That’s… great…”
“Great? It’s amazing! You’re really incredible, Ponyo! You’re the fastest runner, and the fastest swimming in the entire school!”
Ponyo couldn’t help but smile. She was the fastest swimming because she used to be a fish, and she was the fastest runner because she spent the first five years of her life without legs, and now that she had them, she loved to use them. Her hobbies gave her a very athletic figure.
“Yeah…” she breathed, “I just… love to run… and swim…”
“Gee, I wonder why; especially for the second one.”
Ponyo turned to glare at the speaker, but her anger instantly evaporated when she saw the state he was in. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn, he was covered in a few scraps, and his lip was bleeding.
“Sosuke!” she cried, hurrying over to him. “What happened? You look like you were in a fight.”
He grinned with a guilty look on his face. “Yeah, that’s why I wasn’t in class.”
“You mean you were?” She couldn’t recall Sosuke ever getting to even a verbal fight, let alone a physical one.
“Spent some time in the nurses office because of it, then the rest of the day in the principal’s office.”
Worriedly, she began looking him over. “Who was it? Why would anyone want to fight with you?”
He just waved it off. “Don’t worry about it; it’s not your concern.”
“Yes it is!” She examined his face. “It looks like you’re going to get a black eye.”
He chuckled. “You should see the other guys.”
“What? Guys? As in more than one? Just how many?”
“Um… four.”
“Four? You fought with four people at once? Why? Who?”
He shrugged. “Just Yamaguchi and a few of his friends. Don’t worry, it was for a good cause.”
It didn’t take long for her to figure out what caused the fight, and she couldn’t help but smile when she did. “You do realize that your mother is going to kill you.”
He grinned again. “Yeah, but it was worth it.”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Fujimoto had finally made it to his daughter’s house. Unfortunately, no one was home. Lisa was at work at the senior center, Kouchi was on another one of his shifts, and Ponyo and Sosuke were at school.
He had two choices; he could stay and wait for them to come back to warn them about Kazehime, or he could go out after them. The latter was very unappealing since it meant that he would have to leave the water.
But the sky goddess was after his daughter. He didn’t have any time to waste. So he filled his tank with water and began his journey. Everywhere he stepped, he sprayed water to wet the ground, allowing him to travel on land. As a sea wizard, he would dry out if he left the water, and so his water tank was necessary to bring with him.
He hoped his water supply would last long enough for him to make the trip. Hopefully, he would find a place to replenish his water supply along the way. Even a simply water fountain would work. It was too bad it wasn’t raining, then he would have been able to get around without any trouble.
From out of nowhere, lightning suddenly struck right in front of him, making him jumped back in surprise. The wind suddenly picked up, stronger than a level five tornado on the Fujita scale. Fujimoto cried out as he was lifted high in the air and carried through the sky and across the town.
The next thing he knew, he was in the water again. He blinked in surprise, noticing how dark it was all of a sudden. The next thing he noticed was that there was a wall surrounding him on all sides in a circle, only giving him about three feet of room to move. Looking up, he saw the clear blue sky, and the exit. He realized right away that he had been dropped down a well. Even worse, the container he kept his supply of water in was gone.
The wind howled, and Kazehime materialized at the top of the well, looking down at him. “Hello, again, Fujimoto. You’re looking… well.”
Fujimoto didn’t find her pun amusing. “You put me down here?” That much was obvious. “Why?”
“You forced my hand,” she told him. “I warned you to stay out of my way, but you didn’t listen.”
“You went after my daughter!”
She glared down at him. “And you betrayed my son and I when you went back on our agreement. You willingly gave up your daughter to my son when you made that bargain with me all those years ago. And you should know that you don’t ever break a promise with a god. It was decided that your daughter would wed my son, and that deal still stands. You chose to get in my way, so I have removed you from the picture for the time being.” She smirked mockingly. “You could always climb out of there on your own if you want, even use a little magic to help you, but then you’d dry out and die before you reach another water supply; I’ve seen to that.”
Fujimoto’s fists clenched, his desire to protect his daughter surpassing his fear of angering the goddess. “I demand that you release me at once!”
“SILENCE!!!” she bellowed, a powerful gust of wind blowing down the well from her cry. “I am a god! How dare you give me an order, you useless human! Be grateful that I haven’t just killed you.”
Fujimoto winced, knowing she could very well carry out that threat. He’d stepped out of line, now he needed a different approach. “Forgive me, I’m simply a father worried for the wellbeing of his daughter. As a parent yourself, I’m sure you can understand that.”
His tactic seemed to have worked as Kazehime’s face softened. “Yes, I understand your concern. But do not fear, your daughter is in good hands. It is an honor and a privilege to marry my son. She will want for nothing. You’ll see soon enough. Now, I’ll just collect her, and be on my way.”
“Wait, please!” Fujimoto cried desperately.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you down there. Once I have your daughter, I’ll send a rainstorm so you can travel around without drying out.”
Before he could say anything else, the wind picked up, and she was gone.
Notes:
(A/N: Trouble is blowing Sosuke and Ponyo's way, pun intended, and Fujimoto is in a bit of a bind. I always saw Ponyo as the athletic type when she grew up, into track and field, and other such sports. Running because she loves to use her legs since she never used to have them as a fish, and swimming for… well, pretty obvious reasons. Not that any of those skills are going to be much use against an angry goddess.)
Chapter 6: Taken
Notes:
(A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter. But before we get to that, I had someone ask me what others stories I plan to write in the future. Well, if you take a look at my profile, you'll find a list of my stories in my bio along with details and links to them. At the very bottom, you'll find a list of stories I'm brainstorming ideas about that I plan to write. When I'll get to them is anyone's guess. For now, just enjoy the next chapter.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 6: Taken
Ponyo and Sosuke were on their way to the senior center. They always walked there after school to meet Lisa, and then they would all drive home together after pitching in to help the seniors.
Sadly, not all of the seniors that were present at the sacred test of love 11 years ago were still alive, but most of them were. If any of them spoke of what had happened back then, it was assumed that they had just been delusional at the time due to the trauma of being caught up in a powerful storm. Of course, Lisa and the other caretakers that had been there as well knew better than to think it was just a delusion, but they knew to remain silent. After all, who would believe them, even if it was the truth?
As Ponyo and Sosuke entered the center, Sosuke called out to his mother. “Mom, we’re here!”
Lisa poked her head out of a room down the hall. “Ok, I’ll be there in a minute.”
From this far away, she must not have noticed Sosuke’s torn clothes. But there was no stopping the inevitable. So, rather than wait, Sosuke and Ponyo went to help. They saw that Lisa was currently helping Toki get into bed for a nap. The old woman saw the two of them and waved them over.
“Sosuke, fish-girl, how are you?”
Ponyo grimaced at the name. She wasn’t all that fond of it, but she knew that the old woman hadn’t meant any offense.
“Hello, Toki,” Sosuke replied. “We’re fine, how are you?”
“Still kickin’,” she declared. Her gaze shifted to Ponyo. “And how’s life on landing treating you?”
Ponyo gave her a smile. “Very good, same as always.”
“Just don’t be causin’ no more tsunamis.”
Ponyo resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No tsunamis, got it.”
Toki smiled. “You’re a good girl, for a fish.”
“Sosuke!” Lisa cried, noticing his state. “What happened to you?”
Sosuke winced. “Oh, nothing much. Just a little incident.”
“Got in a fight, did you?” Toki asked. “Well, I hope you gave it to them good.”
Lisa looked shocked. “Toki!”
“What? The boy’s gotta know how to defend himself. And if Sosuke was fightin’ someone, then those hooligans must have had it comin’ to them.” She narrowed her eyes. “Unless you were the one startin’ trouble.”
Sosuke quickly shook his head. “No, of course not!”
“Good, cause the last thing you need is to be pickin’ fights with the wrong sort of people. Someone might pull a knife on you one day.”
“It was nothing like that. Some guys were being mean to Ponyo.”
The old woman pounded her fist on the bed. “Then you did right to suck it to them.”
“Ok,” said Lisa loudly, “can we change the topic?”
“What for?” Toki demanded irritably. “The boy stood up against some bully. A man’s meant to defend his girl, not harass her.” She gave Sosuke a hard look. “You got a good girl there, sonny. She’s a little ray of sunshine, so don’t you dare break her heart. Wouldn’t want her turnin’ to sea foam.”
“The test is over,” Ponyo reminded her. “I’m not going to turn to sea foam, no matter what happens in the future.”
“Ok,” Lisa interrupted, wanting to put an end to this conversation, “we’ve got you all tucked in. Is there anything else you need before I go?”
“Yeah,” Toki grumbled, “shut them blinds. I can’t sleep with the sun shinin’ right in my eyes.”
“I got it,” Sosuke told her, pulling the blinds closed.
“And promise you’ll wear your seatbelts when you leave,” she added. “With the way your mother and fish-girl drive, it’s no wonder you haven’t gone flyin’ through the windshield yet.”
They ignored the old woman’s rude harsh tone. She may come across as mean and grouchy, but she was a good person and meant well, but in her old age, she wasn’t the best at expressing it, and most of the time, the things she said ended up sounding bitter, even if that wasn’t her intent.
Lisa was quick to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Toki, we always wear our seatbelts, no matter who is driver is. But if it’ll make you feel better, we promise to put them on all the time. Now, say goodbye, kids.”
“Bye, Toki,” Sosuke and Ponyo echoed, bowing formally.
“Yeah, yeah, go on, get out of here before I need somethin’ else from you.”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
The ride home was nothing out of the ordinary. The three of them shared stories of what they did during the day as they rode along. Of course, both Ponyo and Sosuke left out the little incident that happened with Kumiko. Unfortunately, Lisa brought up the fight that had occurred, making it very clear that she was less than pleased.
“Sosuke, this isn’t like you. You should know better; you can’t go around starting fights.”
“But, Mom,” he protested, “you should have heard what they were saying about Ponyo! They were talking about her like… like… like she was a piece of meat!”
“I believe him,” Ponyo added. “I know that Yamaguchi. He’s a real womanizer, and he loves to brag about his conquests to his friends.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Lisa scolded them. “There will always be people that will say and do things that you’re not going to like. Some people in this world are jerks, but you can’t go around picking fights with them.” A few seconds of silence passed. “But… I’m glad you won.”
Sosuke couldn’t help but smile. He felt something on his little finger and looked down to see that Ponyo’s pinky had curled around his own. While his eyes were downcast, she took the opportunity to place a kiss on his cheek.
Lisa watched them in the rearview mirror, a smile grazing her face. When she brought her eyes to the road again, they widened in surprise. There was someone standing in the middle of the road!
Lisa veered to the right, narrowly missing the person, who made no attempt to move out of the way. Unfortunately, this brought the car right in the path of a guardrail. She shut her eyes, and slammed on the brakes, bracing herself for impact.
None came. The wind had suddenly pickled up, swirling around the car with great force. The entire car was lifted a good 10 feet in the air, a miniature tornado spinning beneath it. Slowly, the tornado began shrinking as the wind died down, gently bringing the car back down. When it was safely on the ground again, Lisa cracked open her eyes, shocked to discover that they hadn’t crashed.
Her attention immediately went to the two teens in the backseat. “Are you guys ok?”
Sosuke was pale, his fingers digging into the seat cushion, and he had a stunned-horrified look on his face. Ponyo was clinging to him tightly, her arms wrapped around his neck and her eyes shut tight. When she heard Lisa speak, she slowly opened her eyes.
“Are we alive?” she asked.
Lisa let out a sigh of relief, glad they were unharmed. Now that she knew they were all right, her fear went out to the person she’d seen standing in the road. Were they all right too?
“Stay in the car,” she told them, then got out to check on the other person.
It was a woman, she saw that now, and she was in the same spot as before, watching them. Lisa hurried to see if she was hurt. “Hey, are you all right?”
The woman, who seemed to be dressed in a strange cosplay uniform with large wings on her head, simply looked at her curiously. “I am well.”
Lisa sighed. No one had been hurt. But now that the initial fear had passed, her anger at the situation was setting in. “What were you doing standing in the middle of the road like that? Did you want someone to hit you?”
The woman merely raised an eyebrow. She slowly reached out and placed her hand on Lisa’s forehead. A glazed look appeared in Lisa’s eyes, and she collapsed to the ground.
“Mom/Lisa!” Sosuke and Ponyo screamed as they watched her fall.
Jumping out of the car, they rushed over to the woman. “What did you do?” Sosuke demanded worriedly.
The woman turned her attention to them. “She is fine; I merely put her to sleep so she wouldn’t interfere.”
“Interfere with what?”
“With a bargain that needs to be fulfilled.”
She turned her sky-blue eyes on Ponyo. The redhead took a step back. She recognized the woman; she was the one that had appeared in her room last night. It hadn’t been a dream, the winged woman was real.
A smile grazed the woman’s lips. “It is good to see you again, Brunhilda. You’ve certainly grown.”
Ponyo blinked, surprised not just because this woman knew her old name, but because she implied that they’d met when she was little. But as far as Ponyo could remember, she’d never seen this woman before last night. “How do you know me?”
The woman opened her arms, as if to embrace her. “I am known as Kazehime, and I have known you since you were a small fish.” Her smile widened at Ponyo’s surprised look. “Oh, yes, I know from where you originate, demigod. I also know how you foolishly gave all that up to become human.”
Once Ponyo got over her shock, she shook her head. “I didn’t give up anything I wasn’t willing to do without, and I gained so much more for it.”
Kazehime frowned. “So young, so foolish. If only you’d been older before choosing to give up magic.” She shook her head sadly. “No matter. I’m here to fix a mistake, and fulfill a bargain.” She held out her hand. “Come to me, Brunhilda, my son awaits.”
Ponyo stood her ground, looking frustrated. “Don’t call me that! My name is not Brunhilda, it’s Ponyo; it will always be Ponyo, and I’m not going anywhere with you.”
The sky in the goddess’ eyes darkened. “Do not test my patience, child. I said, come here!”
Ponyo’s entire body stiffened, and she found herself frozen to the spot. Then she began drifting over to Kazehime by an unseen force.
“Hey!” Sosuke cried, grabbing hold of her.
“Back off, boy,” the goddess seethed.
Powerful wind picked up, blowing Sosuke back and away from Ponyo. The paralyzed redhead kept drifting over to the sky goddess, who wrapped an arm around her. The paralysis went away, and Ponyo could move again.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she shouted. “Let me go!”
Just as she had done with Lisa, Kazehime placed her hand over Ponyo’s head, causing her to fall asleep.
Sosuke was immediately on his feet, running towards the goddess. “Let her go!”
Another blast of wind threw him back even farther than before. Kazehime glared at him with narrowed eyes as he struggled to get up. “Stay back, boy. She is no longer your concern.”
Sosuke managed to stand up. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s not for you. She was never for you. Your interference as caused enough trouble. Now I must make up for lost time.”
She began floating up in the air, taking Ponyo with her. Sosuke’s eyes widened as she drifted up beyond his reach. “Where are you going? Bring her back! Bring her back right now!”
“You should just forget about her, boy,” Kazehime told him. “She will soon forget about you.”
The wind picked up again, and she was gone, taking Ponyo with her. Sosuke dropped to his knees, his eyes still fixed to the spot where they had disappeared. An anguished cry escaped his lips as he pounded his fists on the ground.
Thunder rumbled, and it began to rain.
Notes:
(A/N: Ponyo has been kidnapped! Oh no, what to do. But you should remember from last chapter what the rain means for Fujimoto. Guess it's too late to stop Kazehime though. I just had to include Toki. She was a real laugh. Yeah, she came across mean, but she meant well. So, next chapter will be the aftermath of the kidnapping. Look forward to it.)
Chapter 7: Up In The Sky
Notes:
(A/N: I wanted to have this up yesterday, but I was celebrating my grandfather's 90th birthday. That's right, the big 90. Ah, what do you care? You want the next chapter. We last left off with Kazehime kidnapping Ponyo. Here comes the aftermath.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 7: Up In The Sky
Sosuke didn’t know what to do. Ponyo was gone, and his mother wouldn’t wake up. He could do nothing for Ponyo, but for now, he simply brought his mother home. He considered taking her to the hospital, but what could anyone do for someone that was magically put to sleep? Not that anyone would believe what happened anyway.
He decided to just let her be for now and hope she just woke up on her own, but if she was still asleep after a few hours… well, he was still thinking about that. Just as he was still thinking what to do about Ponyo.
The woman that took him was clearly magical, but he had no idea who she was. So he did the only thing he could think of, he turned to the internet for answers. The woman had said her name was Kazehime, but the only information he found were some anime and manga references.
Letting out a frustrated cry, he began pacing around restlessly. What could he do? The only ones who could possibly help him were Ponyo’s mother and father, but he had no idea how to reach them. Whenever they wanted to visit their daughter, they simply showed up. He had no way to get in contact with them. Who cared if they were a goddess and a sea wizard; why couldn’t they just have a cell phone like every other person in the world?
A groan came from the couch his mother was sleeping on, and Sosuke was instantly at her side. Lisa’s eyes slowly cracked open to find her son starring down at her worriedly. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, looking around curiously.
“Sosuke?” she asked, disorientated. “What happened? When did we get home?” Instead of a reply, Sosuke gave her a big hug. Lisa looked down at him in surprise, patting his head affectionately. “Hey, what’s up with you?”
Sosuke rubbed his face in her lap like he did as a child when he was upset. “I was so worried.”
“Worried? Worried about what? Who drove us home? And where’s Ponyo?”
Sosuke looked up at her. “Ponyo was taken.”
Now Lisa was wide-awake. “Taken? What do you mean, taken?”
“You don’t remember? That woman with the wings on her head took her.”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Wait, the one I almost hit? I thought that was a dream. It was real? And she took Ponyo?”
Sosuke buried his face in her lap again. “I tried to stop her, but she used some kind of magic. She took Ponyo away. She took her away from me! I don’t know what to do!”
Lisa shook him. “Get a hold of yourself, Sosuke! This is no time to lose your head.” Although this news just about had her in hysterics as well. “We’ll never be able to help Ponyo if we don’t stay focused. Ok, now tell me exactly what happened.”
As the rain continued to pour outside, Sosuke proceeded to tell her everything that happened after she was put to sleep. When he was finished, Lisa had no doubt that he was right; there was magic involved.
“She just disappeared? Just like that?”
Sosuke nodded. “We have to get her back, Mom. We have to!”
Lisa nodded in agreement. “Yes, we will, but this is out of our league. We’re going to need help. Magical help from the sound of it. First let’s try and figure this out.” She was silent for a moment. “If this woman knew Ponyo’s origin, then maybe this kidnapping is to get to her parents.”
“She mentioned something about having a son,” Sosuke recalled. “I think she said that he was waiting for them.”
“So it’s more than just this woman that’s involved. That’s just great. But what could they want with Ponyo.”
Sosuke tried to recall what Kazehime had said. “She called Ponyo foolish for giving up magic, and she said she was there to fix a mistake and fulfill a bargain, but she didn’t say what it was.”
“Fulfill a bargain?” Lisa repeated. “I wonder what bargain that was.”
The front door suddenly burst open. Fujimoto appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily, as if he had run a long distance. “A bargain she made with me,” he told them.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
She felt like she was floating. Maybes that’s because she was, but she didn’t know that until she opened her eyes. When she did, it appeared as if she were floating up in the clouds. She sat up quickly, looking around in confusion. Clouds were everywhere, seeming to take shape into familiar objects.
Waving the puffy white vapor aside, she carefully took a step. Her foot sank through the cloud before hitting something solid. Yet there was nothing there. It was as if she were standing on an invisible floor in the sky.
‘Where am I?’ she wondered.
She took several careful steps, making sure she could still seemingly walk on thin air. She slowly became bolder with each step until she was sure that she wouldn’t go falling from the sky. She briefly wondered if she was dead and this was Heaven. It certainly resembled the type of place many humans envisioned Heaven too be like, an endless city of clouds. But she didn’t remember dying.
Actually, now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember much of anything, not even her own name.
Grabbing handfuls of her red hair, she pulled on it in frustration. “What’s going on? What is this place?”
“Hush, child, you are safe.”
She turned around to find a stunningly beautiful woman standing behind her. Something about her was familiar, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing her before. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled. “I am the sky goddess, Kazehime, and I welcome you to my home, Brunhilda.”
She blinked. “Brunhilda?”
“That is your name.”
She blinked again. Her name was Brunhilda. She said the name out loud a few times. It didn’t feel right. It sounded familiar, as if she heard the name before, but it didn’t feel like it suited her. “Are you sure?”
“Quite sure. I’ve known you since you were very small.”
She studied the woman for a moment. Could she trust her? She didn’t even know her. Of course, she didn’t know anything. She tried to remember, but she just got a blank nothingness. It was very frustrating, and she grabbed her head and shook it. “Why can’t I remember anything?”
The woman frowned. “I am sorry for that. There was a… traumatizing experiencing in your life. You were separated from your family for quite a while. But I found you and saved you. Unfortunately, you were greatly affected by what happened while you were away. All your memories are gone.”
“Gone? Why? How?”
“Magic. Your memories are gone because of magic. But do not fear, they were memories of a time spent in a cold cruel world. You’ll be glad to be rid of them.”
She tried to remember, but it was all a blank slate to her. Had she really gotten lost somewhere? Had this woman really saved her? Was her name really even Brunhilda?
‘Well, it’s all I’ve got, so I guess Brunhilda it is.’ It still felt and sounded wrong. ‘For now anyway.’ She looked back up at Kazehime. “You said I got lost. How did I get lost?”
The sky in the goddess’ eyes turned stormy. “You were a child, curious about a world that was not your own. One day you went out exploring and got caught by a human. It took a long time, but I managed to find and save you from that human.”
Brunhilda thought about this. She couldn’t remember anything, but that story did sound familiar. Maybe what the woman was saying was true. “Are you my mother?”
Kazehime laughed. “Close, but no, I’m not. I am your soon to be mother-in-law.”
Brunhilda’s eyes narrowed as she tried to comprehend this. She knew what a mother-in-law was, she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. A mother was a woman who gave birth. She wasn’t her mother, but her future mother-in-law. That meant she was a mother to someone else, someone who would be something to her that would relate her and Kazehime in some way, like an adoptive sibling, or a spouse.
That was it! A mother-in-law was the mother of a person’s spouse. And if Kazehime was her soon to be mother-in-law, that meant…
“You mean I’m getting married?” she cried.
“Oh my,” Kazehime chuckled, “that was quick. It seems you’re picking up pieces of things you already know about. And to answer your question, yes, you’re getting married to my son.”
A fiancé? She had a fiancé? Wait, where’d that word even come from? It just occurred to her all of a sudden. A fiancé was the term used for the person she was engaged to be married too. She couldn’t remember being engaged, but it did sound familiar.
“Married…” she said. “I’m getting married to… S-Sosuke…”
The name just came to her, like it was connected to the person who was her fiancé, just like the term mother-in-law was connected to the mother of a spouse.
Kazehime frowned in disapproval. “No, you’re getting mixed up. This Sosuke person is just someone you knew a long time ago. Put the name out of your mind; it’s not important.” She smiled again and held out her hand. “Come, I’ll take you to your real future husband.”
Brunhilda hesitated before placing her hand in the sky goddess’. Suddenly they were speeding though the sky. Brunhilda got a feeling of déjà vu, as if she had done this before, only it felt like she should have been underwater instead of in the air.
They slowed down to a stop, and Kazehime released her hand. “My son, I have brought you your bride.”
From out of the clouds came a man. Brunhilda was shocked to discover that he was practically naked, clothed only in a toga. He didn’t appear to be much older than her, and he was certainly very handsome. He was very tall and very muscular, his entire body language displaying power and confidence. For the most part, he resembled a normal person, but he was divided into two colors. The front half of his body was a golden color while the back was black, and his skin seemed to shine as if he had just had a full-body oil massage. He didn’t have any actual hair, but instead, long white feathers hung down from his head, to serve as hair. They were flimsy like ribbons, nearly reaching his thighs, and towards the bottom, they transitioned from white into the colors of the rainbow. The man studied Brunhilda curiously with blue within blue eyes.
“Brunhilda,” said Kazehime, “this is my son, Eclipser, your future husband.”
Notes:
(A/N: Ponyo hasn't just been kidnapped, she's had her memory wiped. She's more or less a blank slate, but I'll explain more about her condition later. For now, she's being introduced to her 'fiancé'. But Fujimoto has made it to Sosuke's house. Can he help? Many questions will be answered next chapter.)
Chapter 8: Fujimoto's Tale
Notes:
(A/N: Ok, I've been waiting to write this chapter. I'm sure that most of you see Kazehime as cold-hearted, selfish, and maybe even cruel. I would too if I weren't writing this. But this chapter will give you more of a backstory to her and help you understand the way she is. Hopefully you won't think as badly of her as you do now by the end.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 8: Fujimoto’s Tale
Fujimoto sat in the living room with his feet in two buckets of water to keep him from drying out. He was devastated to hear that Ponyo had been taken and demanded to know everything. Sosuke repeated to him the same story he’d told his mother about Ponyo’s abduction. When he was finished, Fujimoto fell forward with his face in his hands.
“This is all my fault,” he grumbled. “I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
“Who is she?” Sosuke demanded. “Why would she take Ponyo? And what was that bargain you were talking about?”
Fujimoto pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, to answer your first question, she is a sky goddess.”
“A sky goddess?” Sosuke and Lisa echoed.
“The same as Granmammare is a sea goddess, Kazehime is a sky goddess. She tends to the sky, the weather, the wind, stuff like that.”
Which explained the strange wind occurrences that kept happening around them. “And why would a sky goddess want to kidnap Ponyo?”
Fujimoto looked uncomfortable. “Well, you see, from her point of view, it’s not really kidnapping, but more like…” He sighed, shaking his head. “Ok, let me start at the beginning. Just don’t think too badly of me when you hear what I have to say.”
“No promises,” Lisa muttered irritably. From some of the sea wizard’s behavior in the past, she didn’t agree with a lot of his methods.
Fujimoto took a deep breath. “I wasn’t always a sea wizard, you know. Many, many years ago, I was an ordinary human, just like you. At the time, I worked as a simple fisherman on a sea vessel.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “You were a fisherman?” she asked in surprise. “Mr. Never-Harm-A-Scale-On-A-Sea-Creature’s-Head actually made a living catching fish?” It was very ironic.
“I was a different person back then!” he defended aggressively. “I was young and naïve, ignorant to the world of magic, much like you were.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, one day, the ship I was working on was attacked by pirates. They raided our ship, then left us on board to die as they watched it sink. And after hours of treading water, only I was left alive. All the rest of the crew had drowned.”
“I’m sorry,” Sosuke told him.
Fujimoto just shrugged. “Like I said, it was a long time ago. But I would have died along with everyone else if Granmammare hadn’t been passing by at that moment. She took pity on me and brought me safely to shore.” His eyes shined, as if recalling a fond memory. “The moment my eyes fell upon her, I was in love.”
Neither Lisa or Sosuke said anything, both wondering what had happened next. There were plenty of myths and legends about mortals falling in love with gods, and vice versa; now they were hearing one from a direct source.
Fujimoro sighed again. “Sadly though, she left me after she made sure I was safely on land. But I never forgot her. I knew that she was the only woman I would ever love, so I set out to find her, no matter what it took.”
“This is very romantic,” Lisa told him, “but I don’t see what any of this has to do with Ponyo being kidnapped.”
“Just listen!” Fujimoto snapped impatiently. “I spent several years searching for Granmammare, following any and all leads I heard of her, but it wasn’t until I met Kazehime that my journey showed promise.”
Sosuke sat up a little straighter, hoping Fujimoto was about to reveal the home base of Ponyo’s kidnapper.
“As a sky goddess, Kazehime has a view of everything that goes on beneath the sky. After a few years into my search, she took an interest in me, finding my quest ‘cute and amusing’, as she called it. But as the years went by, she began to wonder at my potential at being a consort to a divine being. There have been cases where spirits or gods have become romantically involved with humans. So she appeared before me, willing to give me a chance to prove my worth.”
“So that’s how the two of you met,” Sosuke acknowledged.
Fujimoto nodded. “She taught me many things. She gave me great knowledge and taught me some magic, showing me a world I never knew of. With this door open to me, I was able to experience things few mortals ever see. Once she got me on my feet, so to speak, I learned a great deal of magic. Eventually, I was able to reunite with Granmammare. But in order to be with her, I had to give up being human, so I became a sea wizard, aiding her in tending to the ocean and its inhabitants.”
“And eventually Ponyo and her sisters came along,” Lisa concluded. “That’s a nice story, but it still doesn’t explain why Ponyo was taken.”
Fujimoto looked uncomfortable again. “Yes, well, you see… I, uh, mentioned before that I made a deal with Kazehime. That deal is what put this whole thing in motion. You see, Kazehime isn’t exactly all that fond of humans; in fact, many gods and spirits dislike them for the way they treat the planet. Kazehime wasn’t willing to help me unless there was something in it or her.”
He was stalling, and Sosuke was quickly losing patience. “And that was?”
Fujimoto scratched the back on his head. “A union between the sea and the sky.” At their confused looks, he explained, “Kazehime has a son, a powerful sky god, who will one day take over for her. In exchange for aiding me, when the time came for Granmammare and I to have children, we were to have a daughter, and she would wed Kazehime’s son. I agreed to the deal.”
“What?” mother and son cried.
“You sold away your unborn daughter?” Lisa demanded furiously. “Forget unborn, she wasn’t even conceived.”
“I asked you not to think too badly of me for it.”
“You’re despicable!”
Fujimoto winced. “I’m aware that what I did was wrong, but as I said, it was a long time ago; I was a different person back then. And it was during a time period where women were really looked down upon and viewed only as breeders and such. Political and arranged marriages were very common at the time. Besides, I didn’t even know if I would even get to be with Granmammare, let alone if we would even have children if I did somehow manage to capture her heart the same way she captured mine. Nor did I know how I would feel when I saw my children with my own eyes. When I made that deal, all I knew was the love I felt for Granmammare, not the love I had for my daughters when they were born.”
Lisa wasn’t satisfied with that. “Still, you sold your daughter!”
“I already told you that thing were different back then. Society was different, and had very low opinions of women. But society and its opinions have changed over time, as have mine. I no longer feel that way, and I hate myself for making that deal, but I did, and nothing could change that.”
He took a deep calming breath. “Things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to anyway. Since Ponyo was born first, she was the one who would be wed off to Kazehime’s son. So I had her age at the same rate a human would and taught her magic.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I miscalculated though. I taught her too much too fast, and then I made the mistake of isolating her from the outside world. It only made her curious. So she got out one day, and that’s when she met you, Sosuke. The rest you know.”
Sosuke sat back, taking all this in. It explained a lot, but it still left some questions. “Why didn’t Ponyo ever mention Kazehime or her son?”
“She didn’t know,” Fujimoto replied. “I hadn’t told her yet. She was only five when she snuck out. I was going to wait until she was a little older before explaining to her that she had a fiancé.”
“And what did Granmammare have to say about any of this?” Lisa demanded.
Fujimoto shifted uncomfortably. “She didn’t exactly know either. I mean, I didn’t lie to her or anything, and I brought up the possibility of such a marriage. I also informed her that it’s what Kazehime wanted as well. She agreed that it was a good idea and would like to see it done, but she never flat out said that it would be.” He hung his head. “I was too ashamed of myself for making that deal that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I’d hoped that Ponyo would simply marry Kazehime’s son as intended, and no one would have to know my dirty little secret.”
“But you hadn’t counted on me messing that up,” Sosuke guessed.
Fujimoto nodded. “Granmammare cares more for Ponyo’s happiness than the benefits any arranged marriage would bring. I do too, that’s why I consented with her to let Ponyo be with you. I had planned on dealing with Kazehime’s wrath for breaking our deal myself. It was my burden to bear, and no one else’s.”
Lisa crossed her arms. “So I’m guessing that Kazehime wasn’t exactly agreeable. Is that why she took Ponyo?”
Fujimoto nodded again. “She said that regardless of what happened, our original bargain would be fulfilled.”
Sosuke became angry. “Doesn’t she care about Ponyo’s feelings at all? Is she that cold-hearted?”
Fujimoto recoiled from the boy’s anger. “Well, yes and no. It’s a bit more complicated than that. After all, I have other daughters. One of them could wed her son in Ponyo’s place. It’s the fact that Granmammare and I decided that a human mortal was more fit for our daughter than her only son. She said that if Ponyo had fallen for another divine being, we would have made other arrangements. It’s the fact that you’re a human that she was so angry.”
“What’s me being human have to do with it?”
“Everything!” Fujimoto cried. “Kazehime greatly holds humans in contempt, perhaps more so than any other god or spirit.”
“What’d we ever do to her?” Lisa asked.
Fujimoto sighed in aggravation. “It’s your ignorant, selfish, and destructive ways. Just look at what you humans are doing to the earth. Polluting it, cutting down trees, digging up its minerals, building your homes everywhere. That’s why many spirits hate humans. Even I grew to hate them after spending years of having them pollute the sea as Granmammare and I worked hard to tend to it.” He rubbed his forehead. “But Kazehime, her hatred runs deeper. Not only are humans polluting the earth, but they’re polluting the sky as well. Do you have any idea how much pollution is released into the air every day, how many gases, poison chemicals, and smoke is just left pouring into the sky.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you’ve heard of that hole that’s in the ozone layer. You humans caused that, and Kazehime is working tirelessly to close it once again while many humans deny that it’s even there at all. You won’t even take responsibility for your actions.”
Both Sosuke and Lisa looked uncomfortable. It wasn’t that hard to imagine. They pictured people coming by and turning their house into a dumping ground for their garbage and then denying that they did it at all. Anyone would be furious.
“And there’s also the fact that she feels like humans are invading her territory,” Fujimoto continued. He noticed their confused looks. “Airplanes, satellites, spaceships. They’re all going up into the sky, and it feels like an invasion to her.”
A terrible thought occurred to Sosuke. “Does Granmammare feel that way about people like my dad and others at sea?”
It was a relief when Fujimoto shook his head. “Life originated from the sea. In a way, it will always be home to all living things. But the sky is different. Humans and other life adapted to live in the sky when they didn’t before. It’s not in Kazehime’s nature to have other life forms in her domain. She was the one who drove the people of Laputa from the skies. She was the one who cursed the famous Porco Rosso with the face of a pig when he flew in her air space.”
“You lost me with that last bit,” Lisa told him. She took a deep breath. “Ok, so we’ve given her reason to dislike us, I get it.”
Fujimoto chuckled humorlessly. “It’s worse than you know. Even before the polluting and the invading started, Kazehime looked down on your race. She sees you as violent, selfish, and foolish.” He nodded to the TV. “You hear things on the news and read things in the paper of all the awful things that happen in the world. Well, those are just a small fraction of what’s going on, not to mention it’s the watered-down version that the media is releasing. Kazehime has seen it all with her own eyes for tens of thousands of years. She sees across the entire planet, and she’s watched you humans die and kill each other off due to war and famine over some of the most ridiculous things.”
He was making good points, but Sosuke felt the need to defend his race. “But we’re not all bad. There’s a great deal of good too.”
The sea wizard nodded in agreement. “Yes, there is much goodness in humans too, but people, even the divine, tend to dwell more on the bad. Think about it; if you read in the paper that someone built a shelter for the homeless, yet the next article is about a shootout, which one is going to affect you more? Which one will you end up remembering and dwelling on?” He received no answer, but their silence was answer enough. “Kazehime thinks and feels all these things about humans, and then her son’s intended choosing a human over her own child, even giving up magic and becoming one herself, well, she wasn’t happy about it. She feels insulted, betrayed, cheated. Not to mention she feels as if she’s lost her daughter-in-law to the humans along with everything else. She wouldn’t let the insult lie, and she attempted to get back something she feels the humans took from her. That’s why she kidnapped Ponyo.”
Sosuke stood up. “Well, I don’t care! I feel bad for her, I really do, but none of that justifies kidnapping.” A realization hit him. “She’s going to make Ponyo marry her son, isn’t she?”
Fujimoto was silent for a moment before closing his eyes. “Yes.”
Sosuke’s fists clenched. “She can’t do that!”
“And why would she want to?” Lisa asked. “Ponyo gave up magic and became human. She’d be marrying her son off to one of those humans she hates so much.”
Fujimoto shook his head. “Not necessarily. Ponyo may have given up magic, but her demigod status is still a part of her. It’s imprinted in her very DNA. Even though she’s a powerless human mortal, that will never change. As a goddess, Kazehime can resurrect that power within her and make her a divine being once more.”
Sosuke shook his head. “Ponyo wouldn’t want that. She’d just give up her magic again and come back to me.”
“She may not even remember you,” Fujimoto told him sadly. “I have no doubt that Kazehime will have taken away Ponyo’s memories when she restores her demigod status. She will have no memory of you, her life as a human, or anything else.”
Sosuke began to panic. “No, she can’t do that! Can’t you do something? You’re magic.”
“I am a mere wizard. Kazehime is a goddess. I have no power over her. My magic is but a single grain of sand in the vast desert of her divinity.”
“Then why are you even here?”
Fujimoto’s eyes narrowed. “I came to warn you, but she stopped me.”
“What about Granmammare?” Lisa asked. “She’s a goddess too? Can’t she do anything?”
Fujimoto nodded. “Yes, if she were here, she could. But she’s not. She’s been using a lot of magic to try and prevent the polar icecaps from melting, and it’s drained her strength. She’s gone to the spirit world to relax and rejuvenate. She’s beyond my reach there.”
“What’s the spirit world?” Sosuke asked. “Like where people go when they die? Is that where Kazehime took Ponyo? Can we get there to save her?”
Fujimoto waved it off. “You’re misunderstanding. The spirit world is different than the land of the dead you’re thinking of. Where souls go is a whole different realm entirely. The spirit world is a world right next to this one, like two sides of the same coin. That’s where most spirits live. Yes, it is possible for a human to get there, but the odds are not in our favor. And it’ll be too late by the time Granmammare comes back. Ponyo will have already married Kazehime’s son.”
“Do you even know where Ponyo is?” Lisa asked.
Fujimoto wobbled his hand in a ‘sort of’ kind of way. “Somewhat. It’s like knowing where a location is on a map, but it doesn’t mean you know how to get there. Besides, it’s Kazehime’s domain, and she’d never let us enter.”
“So there’s nothing we can do?” Sosuke asked, sounding desperate now.
“I didn’t say that,” Fujimoto told them. “We may not be able to do anything, but someone else can.”
Sosuke felt a spark of hope. “How? Do you know a spirit that can help?”
“A spirit?” Fujimoto chuckled. “Kazehime is a sky goddess. No spirit can just waltz into her realm. No, we’re going to need the help from a god.”
“Which god?”
“In this world, there are three divine beings that are more powerful than any other. You know Kazehime as the goddess of the sky, and Granmammare as the goddess of the sea.” He smirked. “We’re going to need help from the god of the earth.”
Notes:
(A/N: I hope this chapter makes you see Kazehime in a different light. Yes, what's she's done is still wrong, but look at things from her point of view based on how Fujimoto described the situation. I at least hope you'll think a little better of her. But she's still the cause for what's going on. Now they're going to need help from another divine being. That is, if they are willing to help. By the way, who caught my Ghibili references? Did they bring a smile to your face? The next chapter will. I'll be going for a more comedic style.)
Chapter 9: Pangaea
Notes:
(A/N: Here's the next chapter. After all the drama from the last few chapters, I thought we could all use a few laughs, so I brought in a comedic character. We're also going to get into some mythology.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 9: Pangaea
Brunhilda walked along through the sky with her future husband. She was no longer afraid of falling. Eclipser had explained to her that there was no invisible floor, but that it would be as if something solid were actually there if they simply desired it so. She had experimented with this claim a bit, walking through air as if going up stairs, then walking through the same spot as if nothing were there. This applied to anything, and she had had fun trying out imaginary tables, chairs, beds, and the like.
Eclipser watched her with a slight smile grazing his handsome face. “You are an interesting one, Brunhilda. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met you.”
Brunhilda grimaced. “Uch, I really hate that name! What kind of name is Brunhilda?”
“It is the name of a shield maiden and Valkyrie in Norse mythology.”
She blinked. “Oh… well, I still don’t like it. It sounds weird, and it doesn’t seem to suit me.”
“So choose a new name. We divine obtain many names over time.”
Brunhilda thought about it. “Hmm, a new name. Let’s see, what name do I want…?” It came to her out of the blue. “Ah, I know! Ponyo! That’ll be my name!”
Eclipser raised an eyebrow. “Very well then. From now one I shall call you Ponyo.” He studied her for a moment. “But why Ponyo?”
The newly named girl shrugged, smiling. “I don’t know, but I feel like it really suits me. So Ponyo it is!” She glanced at Eclipser. “How many names have you had?”
“Not nearly as many as my mother, or your mother.”
Ponyo frowned. “My mother, you said her name is Granmammare, I can’t even remember her.”
“So I was told.” His own mother had informed him to keep her lost memories from resurfacing. He wondered why, but did not question it.
“I can’t remember my father either. He was a sea wizard, wasn’t he? He was also the one that agreed to our marriage.”
“Along with my mother.”
“Tell me, Eclipser, if we never met before today, why are we getting married?”
“Because it is our parents’ desire.”
“What about you? Do you want to marry me?”
Eclipser was silent as he pondered this. He’d been told all his life that he would be wed to one of the sea that he eventually just accepted it and never thought up his own opinion. “I have not considered it much, but from what I have seen of you, you would make a fine mate.”
“Thanks, I think. I guess you would make a good one too. It’s strange though, I don’t have any memory of you, but I must have been ok with this wedding since we’ve been engaged for hundreds of years and I’ve never broken it off.”
Eclipser was about to tell her that she was only 16 when he remembered that he was not to bring up things from her old life. “And how do you feel now?”
“Now? No idea. I don’t know what I do or don’t feel. I don’t know anything at all. It’s really frustrating. I’m supposed to be magic, but I don’t know how to do anything.”
He considered this. “Perhaps I could teach you.”
Her face lit up. “Really? That’d be great!”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Fujimoto had brought them to an open field, far from the eyes of any onlookers. With a new water canister, he sprayed the ground to allow him to travel as they made their way onto the field. Lisa and Sosuke followed right behind them, wondering what they were doing.
“Why’d you bring us all the way out here?” Sosuke asked.
“When you’re going to summon a god,” the wizard replied, “it’s best to do it in a large secluded area.” He looked around. “Here should be good.”
Getting down, he began to draw some ruins on the ground. Lisa and Sosuke watched curiously as he worked. The ruins were different from anything they’d seen before, not that either of them had much knowledge of such things.
“Ok,” he said once he was finished, “here we go.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a needle and pricked his index finger. A small drop of blood beaded on his fingertip. He held his hand over it, and the droplet floated up with the air. His hand glowed with magic, and the drop of blood grew larger until it was the size of an orange, at which point Fujimoto gently blew on it, causing the floating red liquid ball to begin glowing and changing colors.
“What are you doing?” Lisa asked curiously.
“A summoning spell for the divine,” he replied. He glanced at them over his shoulder. “You may want to stand back some.”
He sent the glowing ball out into the field, where it fell to the ground with a small splash, dissolving into light that flashed across the field. Lisa and Sosuke decided to take his advice and took a step back, holding onto each other as they braced themselves for the appearance of the earth god.
From the spot where the glowing ball had fell onto the field, the ground began to shift. A moment later, a furry head popped up from the dirt. It was a groundhog, and it began looking around curiously before looking at them. Both Sosuke and Lisa stared at it, dumbfounded. The earth god was a groundhog? Well, Granmammare was fish-like, and Kazehime was bird-like, so they supposed it made sense.
Lisa raised an eyebrow at Fujimoto. “I expected him to be a bit more… well, more.”
Fujimoto chuckled. “That’s not him. That was just a coincidence.” Just then, the ground began shaking. “Ah, here he comes.”
The groundhog quickly dropped back into its hole as the tremors got worse. Then, from out of nowhere, a giant hand, each finger longer than a person’s entire body, burst up out of the ground. This was followed by another hand of equal size. They pressed palms-down on the ground, and pushed up more of the body. First came the head, followed by a large torso, and final the legs. The creature was massive in size, its entire body made of rock, as if it were a mountain that had come to life. The head was shaped like a pyramid, with one large gold eye to see with, which gazed down at the humans beneath him.
“There he is,” said Fujimoto, seemingly not intimidated in the least by the large creature. “This is the earth god.”
“Fujimoto,” the giant boomed, revealing large teeth that were actual diamonds.
The color had drained from the faces of both Lisa and Sosuke as they stared up at the enormous creature. But Fujimoto fearlessly took a step closer.
“Thank you for coming, mighty lord,” he said to the beast. “My friends and I have come seeking your aid.” He glanced at the other two. They looked close to fainting, and there was no time for that. He quickly turned back to the giant. “Um, it seems they’re a bit… intimidated by you. Would you mind terribly taking on your human form for them?”
The giant grunted in response. All at once, his entire body dissolved into sand and fell to the ground in a large pile. The pile then seemed to implode on itself, getting smaller and smaller as it appeared to condense down. Once the pile was small enough, it took the shape of a person, then took form.
“Better?” the newly transformed god asked.
Lisa and Sosuke were left speechless. The giant rock monster had just turned into a boy who couldn’t be older than 14. Spiky hair of grass covered his head, serving as hair, and his eyes looked like lava rocks, black with bright orange cracks all over them.
The boy raised an eyebrow at their staring. “What, am I still too scary?”
Lisa found her voice first, saying the first random thought that came to mind. “You’re… all sparkly.”
The god blinked and looked at his diamond-like skin before grinning. “Yeah, I noticed. Bet’cha all those Twilight fan-girls would go crazy if they saw me.” He casually strolled over to the three of them. “Nice to meet you. Name’s Pangaea. How ya doin’?”
Sosuke blinked, recognizing the name. “Pangaea? You were named after the supercontinent that broke up into the current seven?”
The boy threw back his head and laughed. “Course not. It was named after me. Of course, that was before I broke it apart.”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “You broke it apart? Why?”
He shrugged. “I was bored, wanted to redecorate, see what would happen. Mother wasn’t too happy about it though.”
“And who was you’re mother?”
He sighed. “So many names to choose from. But I suppose the one you would be the most familiar with is Gaia.”
“Gaia? You’re one of her children?”
Now he was frowning. “Let me guess, you never heard of me as being one of her children. That’s because I was naughty and broke the planet apart. Mother disowned me after that and has refused to recognize me as one of her children until I can put the planet back together again. Without magic too! And here’s the real kicker, I wasn’t allowed to just push them back together again. I have to push them all the way apart until they meet up again. You humans call it continental drift, but do you have any idea how hard it is to push a continent? Trust me, it wasn’t worth the fun of breaking them apart. I can only move them about 2-10 centimeters a year. And after about 200 million years of pushing, I’m only about halfway done. It’ll take me about another 250 million years before I finish. And you know what? I get no appreciation for any of it. The closest bit of recognition I’ve gotten for it was in the form of a Pokémon that supposedly does my job. Can you believe that? I do all this work, and a made up creature for a kids show gets more recognition for my job than I do!”
Sosuke and Lisa were left speechless, having gotten lost in the god’s ranting. Fujimoto cleared his throat to get their attention. “Yes, we understand that you’re very busy and are under-appreciated, and we feel really bad for interrupting your work, but we really need your help.”
Pangaea casually twirled his grass hair with a finger. “Let me guess, you need me to help you get your daughter back from the current sky goddess.” He noted their surprised looks. “I’ve been the god of the earth since mother retired; I know everything that happens on land.”
“Then we don’t have to explain ourselves.”
“Lucky you.” He fell back, landing on a rock-like couch that suddenly burst up from the ground to catch him. “But tell me something? Why should I help humans? They’ve been polluting the earth for years. Do you have any idea what it feels like when people just throw their trash on top of you? It’s nasty! Humans are disgusting!”
“Hey,” snapped Lisa, “there are a lot of people trying to clean up the world.”
Pangaea crossed his arms. “Yeah, from a mess that they made. Besides, you’re supposed to clean up after yourself. And the few that are doing it are only doing it because the mess has become so noticeable that it’s affecting them. And then they wonder why we spirits don’t like them.” He grinned. “I’d be able to help clean things up, but I’m busy moving continents that I broke apart. We all have clean up our own mess. Don’t you agree, Fujimoto?”
The sea wizard answered without thinking. “Yes, we do.”
“And this situation with Kazehime is your mess. So why should I help you clean it up when I don’t get any help from you?”
Fujimoto tried to find something to say. “I… that is… I mean…” He regained his composure. “I’m not a god! I can’t move continents! And my time is completely filled with helping Granmammare run the ocean. Besides, I’m a sea wizard. I have no power over the land; so I couldn’t help you anyway.”
“Excuses, excuses.” Pangaea muttered. “Stop with the excuses. It’s a simple exchange. If I’m going to do something for you, then you have to do something for me.”
Fujimoto sighed. “Fine, then. What do you want?”
The god grinned. “I want some help from the ocean in pushing the continents. I really need a break. If you have Granmammare make the seas push the continents for the next 10,000 years, then I’ll help your daughter.”
Fujimoto considered this. “Well, I can promise to try to convince Granmammare to help you, but I can’t make her help you. I’ll be sure to vouch for you and let her know what you’ve done for our daughter.”
Pangaea looked slightly disappointed. “What a let-down, but I guess that’ll have to do.” He hopped to his feet. “Just know one thing before we finalize anything. I can get you into Kazehime’s domain, but once we’re there, I can no longer assist you. The sky is beyond my reach.”
Fujimoto had figured as much. “I understand.”
The earth god nodded. “Very well then. We have a deal.”
Notes:
(A/N: Hope I brought some smiles to your faces. I wanted to include a character with a real sense of humor. But how will Pangaea be able to help them? He doesn't seem that reliable. But Ponyo has made a connection to her past. Not much, but it's a start. It may start taking me longer to update since my work is now picking up. You know how it is, busy, busy, busy.)
Chapter 10: Above Sea Level
Notes:
(A/N: It took a little longer than I wanted, and it's not as long as I hoped it would be. Well, next chapter will be longer. I really like this chapter title. You'll understand why once you read it.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 10: Above Sea Level
Kazehime was pleased to see her son and his intended getting along so well. Currently, he was teaching her how to use magic. That was good; she needed the practice since she had spent the last several years without any.
Being a child of the sea goddess, Brunhilda’s power was mostly limited to water magic. So Eclipser was instructing her on manipulating the water in the clouds. It was a beginner’s level of magic use, but they had to start somewhere. Curse Fujimoto for letting her give up magic and become human.
Appearing beside the two, the sky goddess greeted them warmly. “You two seem to be getting along nicely.”
Ponyo looked up at her, beaming happily. “Eclipser is showing me how to control water.”
The sky god nodded. “I draw my power from the sun and moon, so I have a pull on water as well, though not as strong as her.”
Kazehime rested a hand on her son’s shoulder and smiled. “Brunhilda is of the sea. Her power will always reign supreme there.”
Ponyo frowned at the name. “I don’t like Brunhilda. I decided to change my name.”
Kazehime raised an eyebrow. “Oh? To what?”
“Ponyo!”
The clouds in Kazehime’s eyes turned a light gray and swirled around for a moment. “You don’t say. Any particular reason you chose such a name?”
Ponyo thought about it and shrugged. “I just like it. It sounds fitting for me. Maybe it’s a name I had from before I lost my memories. I think a boy gave me the name. Who was it though? Hmm, I can’t remember, but he seems familiar.”
“It was just a common mortal,” Kazehime replied quickly. “Those humans are always coming up with new names for us. Don’t dwell on it; it’s nothing to concern yourself over. And don’t worry about the humans. There’s so many of them that there’s no point fussing over a certain individual.”
Ponyo blinked, surprised at how quickly the sky goddess had dismissed the subject, especially after having been the one to ask about it. “Um, ok then.”
Eclipser gave the sky goddess a curious look. “Mother…?”
Kazehime ignored him. “Well, you two go back to what you were doing. I have a lot of work to do.”
She turned and walked away, a scowl appearing on her face. She tried not to let it get to her. So the girl had remembered her name. It wasn’t that surprising. Close personal memories normally slipped through the spell she had used to suppress the girl’s memories. It was a good thing she had stopped the girl’s train of thought. As long as she didn’t make a connection between her name and the boy who gave it to her, she wouldn’t remember anything more about him unless she encountered something else familiar. If she just dismissed the boy as a simply being another common mortal, she wouldn’t remember anything about him.
But what was really concerning was how fast the memory had surfaced. It was most likely because she was a demigod. Perhaps it would be better to move up the wedding date. Once her son and Ponyo were married, it wouldn’t matter if the girl remembered the boy. It would be too late for her to go back.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Sosuke wasn’t sure where they were going. After Pangaea had agreed to help them, he had ordered everyone back into Fujimoto’s boat and had been directing them where to go ever since. They were currently in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.
“Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?” Lisa asked the sea wizard. “For a god, he seems kind of…”
“Off?” Sosuke suggested.
Fujimoto sighed. “Yes, I know. But he is the god of the earth.”
“That’s the thing,” Lisa replied. “He’s a god of the earth. Ponyo is in the sky. How can he know where he is?”
Pangaea emerged from below deck. “First of all, it’s rude to talk behind someone’s back. And second of all, oh yeh of such little faith, don’t you know that even though they’re separate, the sea, the sky, and the earth are all connected? I may not know where your little Ponyo is, but I know how we can get to her. Have some patience.”
“So says the person with immortality,” Sosuke muttered irritably.
Pangaea grinned. “Fair point, young mortal. But no god or goddess tend to help those without faith in them.”
Sosuke sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just really worried about Ponyo.”
Fujimoto placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her back.”
“That’s not what worries me,” Sosuke grumbled. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. I’m, more concerned about what you said about her losing her memory.”
“Oh, that. Yes, that will be rather problematic. But then again, perhaps losing her memory wouldn’t be the best way to put it. Having her memory suppressed would be a more accurate way of describing it. Worst case scenario, we won’t be able to get her to remember and we’ll have to wait for Granmammare to remove the spell when she gets back from the Spirit World.”
Sosuke looked up at him. “So how can we get her to remember if her memories are suppressed?”
Fujimoto tapped his chin. “Well, the best way to explain it would be to imagine Ponyo’s memory as a puzzle that has been broken apart. Her closest most personal memories are the most familiar pieces that she’ll be able to pick up. From there, she’ll be able to connect the pieces, like following a trail of breadcrumbs, or connecting the dots. Once she pieces enough of them together, she’ll be able to see the big picture and break the spell entirely.”
“So she does know us,” said Lisa. “She just doesn’t know that she knows us, and needs to figure out where she knows us from.”
“More or less. The real problem is that with this spell, fake memories can be planted in her head, which can lead her on a false trail, or put the wrong pieces of the puzzle together if we go back to our example. Of course, her real memories are stronger, and she’ll be drawn more to them due to their familiarity, but she can still be misled, especially if the truth is mixed up with lies. It’ll be up to Ponyo, to figure out which memories are real. But I’m sure Kazehime will use this to her advantage to get Ponyo to wed her son.”
Sosuke felt a rush of panic. “So you mean that even though Ponyo is engaged to me, Kazehime will get her to think that she’s engaged to her son, not just by telling her, but by implanting fake memories?”
Fujimoto nodded. “I’m afraid so. Ponyo will remember that she has a fiancé, but she will need to figure out who it really is, you or Kazehime’s son. She must decide which memories are real and which ones are false. As of right now, she probably thinks that Kazehime’s son is her intended. That is why we must tell her the truth, to make her doubt the false memory and pick up the pieces of her real one. She’ll be free from the spell once she remembers enough. Oh, I have no doubt that she’ll figure out the truth eventually, but that will be irrelevant once they’re wed.”
“Couldn’t she just divorce him once she figures out that she was tricked?” Lisa asked.
Fujimoto humphed. “You humans and your concepts. Things work differently with the spiritual and the divine. Once wed, Ponyo and Kazehime’s son will be bound together forever.”
Sosuke slammed his fist against the wall. “All the more reason to hurry. We have to save her before it’s too late.”
They fell silent for the rest of the trip. The next time someone spoke, it was Pangaea announcing that they had arrived.
But arrived where? They were still in the middle of the ocean. There was no one and nothing in sight but endless blue.
“Where are we?” Sosuke asked impatiently. “There’s nothing here.”
Pangaea sighed. “I told you to have some faith. And did you actually expect to find the sky realm on the ground? Now hold on tight, this can get bumpy.” He cracked his knuckles and shook out his hands. “This is going to take a lot of magic.”
Taking a deep breath, he crouched down and raised his hands above his head as if he were holding up something heavy. Sweat beaded across his forehead as he struggled with whatever task he was performing.
Minutes tricked by with the earth god remaining in his strange pose. Finally, the water began to bubble and ripple. A few seconds later, an entire mountain rose out of the water. It was only the tip, but looking down, they could see that the mountain had emerged from down in the abyss, rising above sea level as it grew.
Pangaea relaxed, breathing heavily as he wiped his forehead. “Ok… everybody… climb on…”
Fujimoto stared at the mountain, looking horrified. “You grew this from out of the ocean floor?”
Pangaea seemed to have already recovered. “From about four and a half miles down. It was tough making sure it didn’t affect the mainland.”
The sea wizard grabbed his hair. “Ah! Do you have any idea how much that’s disrupted the sea floor?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll return the whole thing back to the earth once we’re done with it. It’ll be like it was never there at all.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about! Do you know how many sea creatures you’ve chased away from here? How many coral reefs you’ve destroyed? How much of the ocean environment has been disturbed? How much sand and other things on the sea floor have been shifted around?”
Pangaea just shrugged. “Hey, dealing with the sea is not my job. I deal with the earth, as in everything above sea level. Now, do you want to save your daughter, or not?”
Still grumbling, Fujimoto stepped onto the mountaintop, not needing to bring his water canister with him since the mountain was wet from rising out of the water. Sosuke and Lisa climbed on next, followed shortly by Pangaea.
“All right, everyone hang on to something,” the earth god told them. “We’re movin’ on up.”
Crouching down and raising his arms once more, he commanded the mountain to grow further, and it began rising up into the sky again as Fujimoto began complaining once more about disrupting the sea floor.
Notes:
(A/N: They're on their way, but it's not going to be such a simple journey. Some very big problems are coming their way. You'll see what I mean next time.)
Chapter 11: The Sky Guardians
Notes:
(A/N: This chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but when I realized how long it was going to be, I decided to split it into two different ones so I could update sooner.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 11: The Sky Guardians
Neither Sosuke or Lisa were afraid of heights, but being at the very tippy-top of a mountain that was still growing was making them both very nervous. They were so high up that Fujimoto’s ship had long since vanished from sight as they continued rising in the air.
The sea wizard himself was currently in a fetal position as he sat in a small puddle of water that had gathered in an area from when the mountain had rose out of the ocean. Up this high, the wind had long since dried the moisture clinging to the mountain.
As for Pangaea, he stood at the highest point at the top of the mountain, his face beet red as he struggled with the effort it took to continue making the mountain grow. “I’ll bet geologists are having a field day with the readings they’re getting from this,” he remarked. “Not to mention those people that are watching the data readings from the satellites.”
Which reminded Sosuke. “Wouldn’t Kazehime know that we’re coming since we’re in the sky?”
Pangaea grinned. “Very perceptive of you. Yes, she would know if I hadn’t been masking our presence. She just senses four life forms invading her territory. She’ll probably just dismiss it as a few birds or something.” He frowned. “But once we enter her realm, not even I will be able to hide us from her. She’ll know exactly who we are and where we are.”
“But we’ll still be ok, right?” Lisa asked nervously. “I mean, you and her are both gods, so you’re equal in power, right?”
The earth god laughed. “Equal in power? Oh my, you really don’t know anything, do you? We may be equal in power, yes, but I’m the god of the earth. That’s where my power dwells. That’s where I reign supreme. But this is the sky. Kazehime is the sky goddess. This is her realm. I’m almost powerless against her here.” He gave them serious looks. “I told you before, once we enter her realm, I won’t be able to help you. There’s no land here. If a fight breaks out, the only way I’ll be of much help would be if a meteor falls past us.”
“Great,” Lisa muttered, “now I feel a whole lot better.”
Pangaea shrugged. “Don’t ask question you’re not sure you want the answers to.” He cocked his head to the side. “Still want to go?”
“Of course we’re still going!” Sosuke snapped. “I’ll go by myself if I have to.”
“Brave boy. Let’s hope your courage holds out, cause we’re here. Thank you for taking the mountain express. Please remain seated until the mountain has come to a complete stop.”
As the mountain entered a large cloud, it stopped growing as Pangaea relaxed. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he hopped off the mountain and onto the cloud as if it were a solid surface. Then he looked back at Lisa and Sosuke, both who were staring at him with open mouths.
“Don’t worry, you can walk. And close your mouths before you swallow a bug.”
Both Lisa and Sosuke shut their mouths, but neither moved. Fujimoto got up from his puddle and stepped onto the cloud as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lisa eyed the sea wizard’s feet as he stood on the cloud without falling through it. “Don’t you need water?”
Fujimoto blinked and looked down at his feet before looking back to her. “Clouds are filled with water. I can move around just fine here without drying out.”
Sosuke stared at the cloud uncertainly. It didn’t look the least bit solid, yet the other two were standing just fine. But they were a god and a sea wizard. He really didn’t want to go out onto it, but then he thought about just how close he was to Ponyo.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and jumped onto the cloud. He heard his mother call his name and thought he had fallen through, but then he felt his feet hit solid ground. Cracking open an eye, he looked down and saw that his feet were actually resting on the cloud. He stomped down a few times to test it out, then turned to give his mother a smile.
“It’s ok, Mom, you won’t fall.”
Lisa hesitated, still seeming unsure. She continued holding onto the mountain as she stretched out her leg and tapped the cloud with her foot before quickly pulling her leg back. She repeated this three more times before Pangaea sighed impatiently.
“Let’s just move this along.”
He mimed pushing something downward, and the mountain sank beneath the clouds, leaving Lisa behind on the surface. Cautiously feeling around, she slowly got to her feet. On shaking legs, she turned to the others and gave them a nervous smile.
“Are we all good?” Pangaea asked. He didn’t even wait for an answer. “Ok then, let’s get a move on. And put your thinking caps on, you’ll be needing them to fool the giants.”
Sosuke did a double-take. “Whoa, whoa, back. Fool the what?”
Pangaea looked surprised. “Oh, didn’t I mention it? The entrance to the sky realm is guarded by giants.”
“No,” Lisa cried, “you conveniently left that out!”
“Oh, well, now you know.”
“In many religions, legends, myths, and stories, the heavens are guarded by one or more giants,” Fujimoto told them. “It’s actually the sky realm that has them. I’m sorry, I should have told you. I guess it was just so obvious to me since I’ve known about it for so long that it never occurred to me that you might not know.”
“Wonderful,” Lisa muttered miserably. “Just how big are they?”
“We’ll be smaller than borrowers compared to them,” Pangaea replied.
Sosuke and his mother shared a confused look. “What are borrowers?” Sosuke asked.
“Miniature people that live among humans without their knowledge. You may have some in your house and not even know it.”
Mother and son shared another confused look before deciding not to ask. “So, these giants, what are they like?” Lisa asked.
“Really big. Over 1,000 feet tall. Genderless. Very strict. Easy to anger. Got a taste for human flesh. Know to be-”
“Ok, that’s enough,” Lisa interrupted, not wanting to know anymore.
“And how many are there?” Sosuke asked.
“Just four.”
Lisa groaned. “Just four giants, each over 1,000 feet that would love to eat us. Sounds peachy.” She cut her eyes at the earth god. “And by any chance would you happen to know how to get past them?”
“Oh, that’s easy. You need to tell them riddles.”
Both Lisa and Sosuke stared at him. “Riddles?” the latter asked in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Yup. You gotta beat them in a game of riddles. Fool them and they let you pass. But if they fool you, then they’ll eat you.”
“I thought that was sphinxes,” Lisa wondered out loud.
Pangaea sighed before turning to Fujimoto. “You see! This is what happens when the human world is kept separate from the magic and spirit world. All the facts get mixed up.” He turned back to the other two. “Let me guess, you probably think that giants are big dumb creatures like in most stories. Well, they’re not. They’re very smart. I mean, just look at the size of their brains. It’s not going to be easy to outsmart them.”
“And they’ll eat us if we guess wrong,” Sosuke muttered.
“Well, they’ll eat you,” Pangaea replied nonchalantly. “I’m a god. They wouldn’t dare to try to eat me under any circumstances. But you three are fair game.”
“This just gets better and better,” Lisa complained. “So we just ask them anything? Like, why did the chicken cross the road?”
The earth god shook his head. “No, they have to be riddles. Jokes or plain old questions won’t be accepted. They won’t let you pass. So get your riddles ready. Brainteasers work especially well against them.”
“You know, it would have been better if you had given us a more advanced warning so we could have had more time to think about what to ask.”
“Time waits for no one, not even us gods, so let’s get a move on.”
He led them deeper into the cloud, as strange as that sounded. Sosuke wondered how even a god knew where to go in here since he couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of his face. But eventually, it began to clear enough for them to be able to see.
And that’s when the giants appeared. Sosuke immediately felt his stomach drop as he looked at them. Over 1,000 feet tall Pangaea had said. That was an understatement. These guys were huge. Compared to them, they were about the size of fleas.
At least the number of them was accurate. There were only four of them, and each one was built as differently as could be. Ironically, there was a blonde, a brunette, a redhead, and a black haired one. The redhead was ghostly pale with green eyes and was bone thin. The black haired one had dark brown skin with hazel eyes and was incredibly obese. The brunette had skin that was neither too dark nor to light with brown eyes and had an average body type. And the blonde one had perfectly tanned skin with blue eyes and was layer upon layer of pure muscle. They all appeared to be male, but Pangaea had claimed that they were genderless, and Sosuke decided to take his word for it.
“T-Th-These are the giants?” Lisa asked fearfully.
“That’s them,” Pangaea replied, not looking the least bit intimidated. “Their names are from an old ancient language that you wouldn’t understand, so I won’t bother telling you, but they would translate to Beta, Gemma, Alpha, and Omega.”
“Seriously?” Lisa asked. “That’s their names. If anything, I would have thought they were Fee, Fi, Fo, and Fum.”
Pangaea snickered. “That’s a good one, but you should reframe from saying that around them. I told you that they’re quick to anger.”
“Which is which?” Sosuke asked.
“Ah, well, it’s interesting that you would bring that up. Truthfully, I don’t know. They actually trade off names, taking turns at them. I haven’t been paying attention to whose turn it is, so I don’t know.” He gave them a smile. “Well, shall we go say hi?”
Notes:
(A/N: So who likes riddles? I don't mind them, but I'm no good at them. So I asked my friends and family for a few. I almost feel like I'm ripping off "Jack the Giant Slayer" and the riddle scene with Bilbo and Gollum in "The Hobbit" with this and next chapter, though that wasn't my intention. Either way, I hope you liked it. Oh, and who caught my "Arrietty" reference? Gotta keep a look out for my Ghibli references, they appear in all my Ghibili based stories.)
Chapter 12: Riddles in the Sky
Notes:
(A/N: Ok, this chapter and last chapter were originally going to be one, but I decided to split them into two after seeing how long it would be and how long it was taking me to finish. So, here's what would have been the second part of last chapter. If you like riddles, try and solve them before you read the answers. And thanks to those who contributed their own riddles, cause I'm not too good at them.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 12: Riddles in the Sky
“Humans!” declared the redheaded giant. “Humans have come!”
“Three humans and a god!” the brunette corrected.
Pangaea stood before the colossal creatures fearlessly, even waving up at them in a friendly manner. “Greetings, comrades. We are here to request entrance into the sky realm.”
“None may pass!” the blonde declared. “Not unless-”
“Yeah, yeah, the riddle thing. And yes, we know what will happen if we lose. Look, we haven’t got all day, so let’s just get to it.”
The black haired giant glared down at him. “Cheeky god! Very well! We shall take turns in the asking, yet any may answer! The first group that fools the other shall be the victor!”
Pangaea shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“Then I shall begin!” the brunette replied. “We’ll start you off with something easy to see how you do! This one is fairly common among mortals! Here it comes! As I was going to Saint Ives, I met a man with seven wives! Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, every cat had seven kittens! Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives, how many were going to Saint Ives?”
Fujimoto raised his hand. “I can figure this out. I’m a really good at math.”
He tapped his chin as he thought about the question. Pangaea stared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. “Um, Fujimoto…”
The sea wizard held up his hand to silence him. “Don’t distract me… Ok, there’s the husband and the seven wives… We don’t count the sacks because they’re not alive… There’s 49 cats per wife… seven kittens per cat…” He snapped his fingers. “The answer is 2,573.”
“Is that your answer?” the brunette asked.
“No!” Pangaea exclaimed. He patted Fujimoto on the back. “Those are some good math skills, but it’s a trick. The man with the wives, sacks, cats, and kittens is just meant to distract you from the real question. He said, ‘as I was going to Saint Ives’. Meaning only the narrator is going there. So the answer is one.”
“You are correct!” the brunette declared. “Now, present your riddle!”
Pangaea looked back at Fujimoto. “Want to make up for the mistake?”
Fujimoto blinked. “Um, sure. Uh… Do riddles have to rhyme?”
“Not necessarily,” the earth god told him.
“All right, just making sure. My riddle is, if you have it you want to share it, but if you share it, you haven’t got it. What is it?”
Lisa, Sosuke, and Pangaea all smacked their foreheads. “Seriously?” Lisa asked. “That’s the oldest one in the book.”
“And the answer is a secret!” the blonde replied. “Once you share a secret, it is no longer a secret! Now, my question for you! What deadly snake lacks venom and strikes without biting?”
“Oh that’s obvious,” Fujimoto replied. “It’s either a boa constrictor, a python, or an anaconda.”
“Never mind him,” Pangaea told the giants, “he’s been hanging out in the ocean too long.” He looked back at Fujimoto. “Those snakes may coil around their prey, but they still bite them. It’s not an actual snake he’s referring to.” He turned back to the brunette. “The answer is lightning. It strikes without biting, and it lacks venom, but is still deadly.”
“Correct!” said the blonde. “Yet we are still only getting started. Present your riddle!”
Pangaea looked at the others. “Anyone willing to go next?”
Sosuke hesitated. “Um, I guess I will.” He wracked his brain for a riddle. “Ok, um, what’s always in front of you, but never seen?”
The black haired giant laughed. “Such a simple answer! The future!”
“And the question is inaccurate,” declared the redhead, “for there are those that can see the future! Now, I shall go next! What grow thinner the more it eats?”
“I know this one!” Fujimoto declared. “It’s acid!” He noted the confused looks from the others. “You see, acid eats through things, but the more it dissolves-”
“We’re all aware of how acid works,” Pangaea interrupted. “And you’re being far too technical with your answers. The correct answer is the moon. The more of itself it devours, the thinner it gets.”
“The moon it is!” the blonde acknowledged. “Who shall be next?”
Pangaea sighed. “Want me to handle this?”
“No!” Lisa stepped forward. “I’ve got one for them. They’ll never solve this one. Why is a raven like a writing desk?”
All four giants burst out laughing. “Foolish human!” exclaimed the redhead. “You try to deceive us with a riddle that has no true answer!”
“The writer of that riddle, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the fictitious name Lewis Carroll, never actually meant for it to have answer!” said the brunette.
“Though many of your kind have made up multiple answers for it!” added the black haired giant. “We do not accept it! Choose another one!”
Lisa hesitated. “Um… ok…”
Now she wished she had allowed Pangaea to go next. She thought hard for a new one that would be good, but still came up empty.
‘What was it Pangaea said? Brainteasers work well on them.’ This brought on inspiration as she was reminded of a joke she once heard. But Pangaea said that they would not take jokes, so she quickly reworded it to turn it into a riddle. “Ok, four animals come across a coconut tree. The group is made up of a lion, a giraffe, a monkey, and a squirrel. Each believes that with their unique abilities that they are superior to the other, whether that skill is speed, strength, height, or intelligence. To solve this, they decide to have a contest to see who can get a banana from the tree first. Who would win, the lion, the giraffe, the monkey, or the squirrel?”
This was followed by more laughter from the giants. “You are trying to trick us again!” said the blonde. “The contest was to obtain a banana, but the four animals came across a coconut tree!”
“Therefore, the answer is none of the above!” the redhead concluded.
Lisa’s shoulders sank. “Yeah… that’s right.”
Pangaea rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “I know what you were trying to do with that one. It was a good attempt. Most people think about which animal would get the banana without realizing that there isn’t one.”
“It is my turn now!” the black haired giant declared. “When does 21 immediately come after 17?”
“Oh, that’s simple enough,” said Fujimoto. “There are three times. It’s when you have 38 minus 17, or 4 plus 17, or 357 divided by 17. The answer to each problem is 21, which you would write right after the equation.”
“We’re not doing math!” Pangaea snapped at him impatiently. “It’s when the letter Q is used.”
Lisa looked confused. “How do you figure that?”
“Simple. The letter U is always used after the letter Q. Since Q is the 17th letter in the alphabet and the letter U is the 21st, that’s when 21 immediately comes after 17.” He turned to the giants. “Ok, now it’s my turn. What hangs on top, clinging tight, and out of reach of something that might?”
“Ha, ha!” the redhead barked. “Such an obvious question. We expected more from a god! The answer is a stalactite!”
Pangaea looked bummed. “Yeah, you got it.”
“I don’t,” Sosuke replied.
Pangaea raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never heard that a stalactite clings tight to the cave ceiling while a stalagmite someday might reach the ceiling? Geez, what are they teaching you kids these days?”
“It is my turn once more!” said the brunette. “Use the left then right markers to plot out this rhyme, what’s boiling and freezing at the same time?”
Pangaea’s eyes widened. “Oh, getting really complex here.”
“But this one I know!” said Fujimoto. “It’s liquid nitrogen.” He received confused stares from the others. “You see, liquid nitrogen is a freezing liquid, yet it always bubbles as if it’s boiling, so-”
Pangaea slapped a hand over the sea wizard’s mouth. “Just do us all a favor and keep quiet until we’re done.” He looked back at the giants. “The answer is 100 degrees longitude by 32 degrees latitude.”
Now the giants were beginning to look irritated. “You are correct!” the brunette grumbled.
Lisa gave Pangaea a dumbfounded look. “How on earth did you figure that out? Wasn’t the question about temperature?”
Pangaea shook his head. “Not really. The boiling and freezing we’re degree markers. The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and the freezing point of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the latitude and longitude.”
“Um, ok, but how did you know which is which?”
“Because the highest degree latitude is only 90 degrees while the highest degree longitude is 180 degrees. That’s how to tell which is which.”
“But if the longitude only goes up to 180, then how did the 212 come to be 100?”
“By using the left then right markers. He’s talking about a thermometer. The left side is in Celsius and the right is Fahrenheit. The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius. He said us the left then the right markers to plot out the rhyme. He’s referring to a map. You plot out the points on a map using the degrees of latitude and longitude. The 100 degrees is the latitude and the 32 degrees is the longitude. The answer is where they intersect. It’s really very simple. First use the Celsius side to find the boiling point of water, then the Fahrenheit side to find the freezing point of water. Once you have your degree markers, that’s what you look for on the map.”
Lisa stared at him a moment before rubbing her head. “My brain feels fried right now.”
Pangaea grinned. “Since I’m the earth god, I can even give a further in depth answer. The closest estimation on the map would be located in Y001, Garzê, Sichuan, China.”
“All right, quit showing off,” Fujimoto complained. “I believe it’s my turn again.”
“No!” the other three shouted
“But it is!” said the blonde.
“The order was decided last round!” agreed the redhead.
“Come, sea wizard,” said the black haired giant, “present your riddle to us!”
Fujimoto gave the others a smile. “Don’t worry, I have a good one this time.” He turned back to the giants. “The words ‘hunger’ and ‘anger’ are two words ending in the letters N-G-E-R. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word?”
The giants looked annoyed. “This is no riddle!” the redhead complained. “You are simply asking a regular question!”
“And your question is flawed!” said the brunette. “There are more than just three. There’s stranger!”
“And danger!” added the blonde.
“Ranger!” included the black haired.
“Manger!” said the redhead.
“Hanger!”
“Challenger!”
“Avenger!”
“Banger!”
“Shall we go on?”
A smirk crept up Fujimoto’s face. “All good answers, yet all are wrong. The correct answer is ‘language’.”
“Huh?” Lisa and Sosuke echoed.
Fujimoto turned to them. “It’s kind of like the Saint Ives question. The N-G-E-R part is just meant to distract you. I clearly said that there are three words in ‘the English language’, and the question I asked was what the third word was. And the third word is ‘language’.”
The giants roared angrily. “Deceiver!” the blonde declared.
“You use words within words to mislead us!” bellowed the black haired giant.
“We will not accept this!” the redhead decreed.
As the three humans recoiled from the giants’ anger, but Pangaea fearlessly stood up to them. “You were bested fair and square. We have earned the right to pass.”
“We are the guardians!” the brunette snarled. “We decide who shall or shall not gain entrance! And should anyone defy us, they shall pay the price!”
His massive foot came down on the earth god. Lisa, Sosuke, and Fujimoto all cried out as Pangaea was flattened and the large foot began to grind him into the cloud flooring.
A few seconds passed and irritation crossed the giant’s face as his foot began to rise, but he wasn’t the one lifting it. Beneath him, Pangaea was growing at an alarming rate as he shifted to his massive rock giant form he had been in when he first appeared to the others. Though he was nowhere near the size of the giants, he was still able to push up the brunette’s enormous foot.
“Now I’m mad,” Pangaea seethed in his godly form.
He gave a push on the giant’s foot, and the brunette fell backwards and came crashing down. The other three giants came to their fallen comrades side, helping him up. They glared daggers at the earth god, looking ready to retaliate.
“Yes,” Pangaea thundered, “you are the guardians, and you do decide you shall or shall not pass. However, your positions were not given to you to deny entry to those that have rightfully gained it. I demand entrance into the sky realm for myself and my friends.”
“You are the god of the earth!” the blonde growled. “We are of the sky! You have no right to command us!”
“I earned that right when you were bested but still denied us entrance. You must perform your duties as they were given to you. It is the natural order of things. You can’t upset the balance merely due to your wounded pride. We’ve earned the right of passage, and you shall grant it to us, or else you shall face my wrath.”
The four giants grumbled their displeasure and backed away. With two going to the left and two going to the right, they bowed.
Pangaea shifted back to his humanoid form and turned to give the others a smile. “Shall we go?”
Lisa gave him a look of disbelief. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“A wise decision,” Pangaea told her, then turned and calmly walked past the four giants while the others cautiously followed. Sparkling fog began to obstruct their vision, getting thicker the further in they went.
“You will regret this, earth god!” the redhead snarled. “The sky goddess will cast you and your companions from the sky!”
“Pfft,” Pangaea muttered. “As if a little fall like that could hurt me.”
A cruel smile crept up the black haired giant’s face. “Perhaps, but your friends won’t survive!”
“That’s ok,” the earth god announced, waving to the giants over his shoulder, “cause I’ll be sure to catch them.”
Notes:
(A/N: Our game of riddles is at an end. Bet you didn't expect Fujimoto to be the one to fool him since he kept coming across as a comedic relief character in this chapter. Then again, maybe it was kind of obvious that I was building up to that. And thanks again to my riddle contributors. Anyone figure them all out? Only a certain amount? None? Let me know what you think.)
Chapter 13: Confrontation in the Clouds
Notes:
(A/N: After a series of riddles and a close call with some giants, our heroes have finally made it into the sky realm. That may not exactly be a good thing. Remember, Kazehime already hates people and animals flying around in her sky. How is she going to react to find humans in her actual home to steal her future daughter in law? It's not going to be good, that's for sure.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 13: Confrontation in the Clouds
Eclipser sensed them first. There were intruders in the sky realm. That was certainly rare. There hadn’t been any intruders in his home since… Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember anyone ever gaining entrance to the sky realm without his mother’s permission. In all of his 14,275 years, no one had ever gotten past the giants.
His senses shifted to his mother. Being the goddess of the sky was a very demanding job that required a great deal of work, and for that reason, she was currently distracted by her duties. But no matter how busy or how distracted she may be, if the intruders advanced much further, she would know that they were here.
And three of the intruders were human. One was magical, but the other two were normal mortals. His mother wouldn’t like that. But the last one was a god. Not a common spirit or a divine being, but a full-fledged god. That was certainly interesting.
“Eclipser?” Ponyo asked. “Is everything all right? You seem distracted.”
He gave her a friendly smile. “My mind is just elsewhere. It seems we have some uninvited guests. I should see to them before mother realizes that they are here. She’s not too fond of those that just show up unexpectedly.”
“Can I come?” Ponyo asked excitedly. “I don’t have any memory of any other people. It would be nice to see some new faces.”
In response, Eclipser held his hand out to her. Ponyo beamed happily and placed her hand in his, and the two disappeared.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
“How can you tell where we’re going?” Lisa asked. “It’s just one big maze of clouds.”
Pangaea sighed. “Humans and their limited senses. I really pity you. Maybe if you were more sensitive to things, you wouldn’t be so ignorant and destructive.”
Lisa glared at him. “You make it sound so bad. Humans are flawed, yes, but it’s through those flaws that we grow and better ourselves. I think humanity is doing very well. We’re learning and advancing more and more every day.”
“Yes,” Pangaea agreed, “your intelligence has grown exponentially over the centuries, but you rely far too much on your knowledge of things and not enough on your instincts. You’ve lost most of your intuitivity with the planet. That’s why animals instinctively know things while humans need to rely on technology to notice what you once knew instinctively. And by losing that instinct and becoming disconnected from the earth, you’ve become ignorant, which is why you take so much for granted and destroy what you feel is not important or needed without truly realizing what the consequences are.”
Lisa fell silent, feeling like a child that had received a proper scolding from a parent. Fujimoto on the other hand had been nodding along with what the earth god had been saying, but Sosuke was scowling at how Pangaea had been speaking to his mother.
“We understand that we’ve made mistakes,” he admitted, “but as you pointed out, it’s mostly due to ignorance. We don’t realize what we’re doing. And you of all people don’t have the right to put us down after you broke apart the entire planet simply because you were bored.”
Pangaea stared at him a moment. “Touché, Sosuke. But let me warn you, I can see the path that humanity is heading for. It may be thousands of years away, but at the rate things are going, nearly every human civilization in the world will fall, the planet will become polluted, a toxic jungle will spread all across the land, and giant insects will dominate the world while humanity is nearly entirely wiped out as its numbers drop by the billions. And it’ll take tens of thousands of years for the planet to recover from this catastrophe.” His eyes widened. “Oh, that’s convenient.”
“It doesn’t sound convenient to me!” Lisa cried, hoping desperately that the god’s disastrous prediction didn’t come true.
“No, not that,” he snapped impatiently. “That.”
He pointed to a wall of clouds, and a few seconds later, Ponyo and Eclipser walked out of the fog.
“Ponyo!” Sosuke shouted.
Without thinking, he rushed towards her, ready pull her into a hug. Eclipser raised his hand, and Sosuke was lifted into the air.
“Why are you here,” he asked, “and what do you want with my fiancée?”
“And how do you know me?” Ponyo added.
Sosuke felt a phantom pain in his heart. Fujimoto had been right; she had forgotten him. Even the sea wizard’s warning hadn’t helped the heartache he felt. But her memories were still there. He had to make her remember.
“I’ll ask you again,” Eclipser told him. “Why are you here, and what do you want with my fiancée?”
“She’s not your fiancée!” Sosuke shouted furiously. “She’s mine!”
Ponyo’s eyes widened. “What?” She placed a hand on Eclipser’s shoulder. “Let him down.”
The sky god raised an eyebrow, but did as she requested and set the human down. Ponyo cautiously went over to the boy and began studying him. She didn’t know who he was, but he did seem very familiar. And what was this pull on her heart she felt for him?
“Who are you?” she asked.
He looked her right in the eye. “Sosuke.”
At the sound of the name, an assault of distorted memories hit her and she stumbled back. She caught various glimpses of his face from childhood to his current age, but was unable to put the pieces together.
“Sosuke…” she repeated, massaging her head. “You… gave me my name?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah, back when you were still a fish. Do you remember?”
“It’s all jumbled up.” She gave him a disapproving look. “But what’s this about me being your fiancée?”
A blush stained Sosuke’s cheeks. “We’ve been… unofficially engaged since we were children.”
“Preposterous,” Eclipser cut in. “She has been engaged to me long since before she was born. She can’t have two fiancés at the same time.”
Fujimoto cleared his throat and stepped forward looking guilty. “I’m afraid that was my doing. I foolishly made some selfish and reckless decisions without thinking things through or considering the consequences.”
Ponyo turned to him. “And who are you?”
Fujimoto looked hurt. “It’s me, Ponyo. I’m your father.”
“My father?” More memories assaulted her, bringing a headache along with the massive amount of information that came flooding forth. She rubbed her temple to sooth the pain. “Yes, you kept me in a bubble with all my sisters, so I ran away.” Her gaze shifted back to Sosuke. “That’s when you captured me.”
Anger flashed across Eclipser’s face. “You were the one that captured her?” he demanded furiously.
“Not captured,” Sosuke objected. “Rescued and took care of. She even came back to me on her own after we got separated.” He looked desperately at Ponyo once more. “You have to remember. You gave up magic and your demigod status so you could become human and stay with me. We promised to love each other forever.”
Ponyo grabbed her head, feeling as if she were drowning in a whirlpool of memories. “It’s too much. Everything is too much.”
Eclipser placed his hands on her shoulders, using magic to ease her pounding head. “This is different from what I was told.”
“Dude,” Pangaea muttered, speaking for the first time, “you’re a god of the sky. Your mommy may be in charge right now, but you should still be able to see everything that goes on down there.”
“I’ve rarely bothered to look,” the sky god admitted. “Mother always took care of things and said I had nothing to worry about with what went on down below. She claimed that she didn’t want to expose me to the evils of the world, especially from the humans.”
“Lucky,” Pangaea muttered. “Your mother spoiled and pampered you. Do you have any idea how strict my mother is?”
Lisa cleared her throat. “In her defense, you did split the continents apart on a whim.”
“Your point?”
“Please,” Ponyo muttered, “slow down. I’m so confused right now.”
“That’s because Kazehime wiped your memory,” Pangaea told her. “She kidnapped you, took your memories, and planted new ones to try and make you believe something else.”
Eclipser crossed his arms. “That’s a very serious and bold accusation, even for a god. For what reason would my mother do such a thing?”
Pangaea simple gestured to Fujimoto. “It’s his fault.”
The sea wizard’s mouth literally dropped open. “I… that’s not… different times… and I…”
“Are you planning on completing any of those sentences?” The earth god shook his head, snickering. “Look, I’ll make this very simple. You,” he pointed at Ponyo, “were engaged to him,” he pointed at Eclipser, “because of a political marriage set up by him,” he pointed at Fujimoto, “and the sky goddess. But you,” he pointed back at Ponyo, “were never told about it because you were so young. You following me so far?”
“I think so,” Ponyo replied. “None of this sounds familiar though.”
“It wouldn’t if you never knew about it,” Eclipser pointed out.
“Just listen,” Pangaea told them. “One day, you,” he pointed at Ponyo again, “went looking for some adventure and met him.” He pointed at Sosuke. “Then you guys became all lovey dovey. So you,” he pointed at Ponyo, “gave up magic and became human, so you could be with him.” He pointed at Sosuke.
Fujimoto took over. “Your mother and I had decided to allow you to live your life as you wanted and to love who you chose to love. You chose Sosuke, even though you knew what it meant you would give up, and so it was agreed that the two of you would marry when you two grew up.”
Irritation crossed Eclipser’s face. “You did this even though she was already engaged to me?”
Fujimoto nervously scratched the back of him head, looking guilty and remorseful. “Yes, that’s my fault. I admit that I didn’t handle things properly, nor did I speak to your mother about breaking off the original engagement we agreed upon. I was rather… hesitant about bringing up then subject. Your mother is known to have a bit of a temper, and to be set off rather easily.”
“Excuse me,” Pangaea interrupted, “but are you almost done, cause I’m the one telling the story here.” He turned back to Ponyo and Eclipser. “Anyway, after a rather… ugly disagreement between your mom,” he pointed at Eclipser, “and this guy,” he pointed at Fujimoto, “the sky goddess decided that regardless of the situation, the original engagement would still stand. So she kidnapped you,” he pointed at Ponyo, “erased your memories, and brought you here, thinking that the problem was solved. So we,” he gestured to his group, “came here to get you back. Any questions?”
Ponyo was massaging her head again after having received another onslaught of memories. “I remember that part. We were driving and the sky goddess appeared. She put me to sleep, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up here without remembering anything about my past.”
“Then it’s all true?” Eclipser asked.
“Yes, it’s true,” an angry female voice declared, and Kazehime appeared a moment later.
Notes:
(A/N: It's about to get real. Things are about to get really messy. And Pangaea can't help them in the sky realm. But at least Ponyo's memories are beginning to come back. And speaking of Pangaea, who caught the "Nausicaä" reference in his prediction of the future. Terribly tragic. Not as tragic as things are going to become once Kazehime begins to rage. Wait and see how things turn out.)
Chapter 14: The Beginning of Armageddon
Notes:
(A/N: I meant to have this up yesterday, but had internet problems. Clearly they've been fixed or I wouldn't have this next chapter up, ha, ha… Please enjoy the fic.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 14: The Beginning of Armageddon
Kazehime was angry. Her hair and clothes whipped around her in a frenzy, and the clouds in her eyes were a dark gray, swirling around her pupils. Forget angry, she was downright furious.
“You have a lot of nerve coming here, humans,” she seethed. “I don’t know how you got past the giants, but you are not welcome here.”
“You kidnapped Ponyo!” Sosuke shouted. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come for her?”
Lightning flashed across the sky goddess’ eyes. “You must not value your life that much if you dare to speak to me like that.”
“I value Ponyo more! Return her memories and give her back!”
“She was never yours, boy. She always belonged to my son.”
“That’s not for you to decide, even if you are a god!”
Lightning flashed across Kazehime’s eyes again and the clouds in them grew darker. “I have had enough of your insolence. I should have wiped your memory as well. Be gone from here.”
She sent a blast of magic their way. Pangaea immediately stepped forward and held up his hand, blocking the magic.
Kazehime’s eyes flashed violently. “Keep out of this, earth god. It is of no concern to you.”
Pangaea tssked. “Yeah, about that. You see, I sort of made a deal with them. I said I would help them get the girl back, and… yeah, it’s kind of a magical oral contract, so… yeah, it really does concern me… yeah.”
The sky goddess scowled. “Do you really wish to oppose me? You, the disowned son of Gaia.”
“Hey, that was uncalled for. There’s no reason to rub salt in old wounds. And the real question is, do you wish to oppose me? I don’t care who you are, if you dare to harm any of my friends, I shall unleash my wrath upon your realm. I may not have any power here, but where I do have power can really affect you. Maybe I’ll create numerous massive volcanoes to pump smoke in the sky. Or perhaps I’ll cause a bunch of earthquakes to send up a bunch of dust. Hey, how does a whole bunch of natural gases spewing up from the earth sound? Do any of these seem appealing?”
Kazehime seemed to think this over. “You’re bluffing, earth god. Causing such events will cause many great disturbances across the planet. How do you think your mother will react for so greatly disturbing nature’s order? She still hasn’t forgiven you for breaking apart the continents.”
“So I got nothing to lose. She’s already ticked off at me and has disowned me until I fix the problem.”
“You’re still bluffing. Even if you don’t care what your mother thinks, your actions would kill many life forms. You won’t risk it.”
Pangaea shrugged. “I don’t know. I have been known to act irresponsible.”
Fujimoto placed a hand on the earth god’s shoulder. Thank you for all that you’ve done for us, but it is my responsibility to undo the wrong I have committed.”
“The wrong you committed was going back on our deal!”
“STOP IT!!!” Ponyo shouted. “I’ve had enough! Everyone stop trying to decide our lives for us! Only Eclipser and I should be able to decide who we’re going to be with.” She turned to the sky god. “You said before that you’ve been told all your life that you would marry the first daughter of the sea, that it was just something you came to accept as being a part of you lot in life. But, Eclipser, do you even want to marry me?”
The sky god stared back at her, seeming to really consider the question. “I guess I never realized I actually had a say in the matter. When you’re told something all your life, you eventually just accept it as something that’s going to happen, like growing up.” He looked at his mother, then turned back to Ponyo. “Indeed, I would like a family of my own one day. And, Ponyo, we have only known each other for a short time, but I have grown rather fond of you. I really like you and think we get along well.”
“You see!” Kazehime declared. “There are no downsides. And a union of the will benefit the world greatly. Now, I will have no more of you interferences.”
She pointed at the intruders, unleashing a blast of magic Pangaea braced himself to intercept the magic while Lisa and Fujimoto recoiled. But Sosuke stood fearlessly at the oncoming magic blast.
A wall of water sprung up in front of them. The blast of magic. struck the water and was absorbed into it.
Lightning struck across Kazehime’s eyes as she glared at the wall of water. “How dare you force your way into my realm!” she bellowed furiously.
The wall of water dispersed, and a new person appeared. It was another woman, rivaling Kazehime in unearthly beauty. Her skin seemed to glow with a golden light, and her long red hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, literally flowing as if it were the current of a slow moving river. Her actual body, including her sparkling light blue dress, was a liquid, giving her a slightly transparent and otherworldly look.
“Granmammare!” Fujimoto exclaimed. “You’re here!”
The sea goddess glanced at him and smiled. “But of course, dear. I will always be there when it concerns my family.”
“But how did you know? You were in the Spirit World.”
She chuckled. “You were not the only ones aware of what Kazehime had done. Local spirits entered the Spirit World and informed me of what was happening.”
“They had no right to interfere,” Kazehime seethed. “This matter does not concern them, nor does it concern you neither.”
Granmammare returned her attention to her fellow goddess. “It involves my daughter, so of course it involves me.”
Ponyo’s eyes widened in stunned wonder. “Mom?”
“It was an agreement decided between your mate and myself,” Kazehime argued back. “It is of no fault of mine that he chose not to tell you. You were not involved in our deal, therefore, you have no right to interfere. I am simply fulfilling our bargain.”
“Circumstances have changed since the agreement was made.”
“It is irrelevant.”
Fujimoto bravely decided to get in on the argument. “You said we would have made other arrangements if it was another god or a spirit Ponyo had been involved with, did you not?”
Kazehime rounded on him. “But it was not. It was a mere human. And to chose such a lesser being as a more suitable mate than my son is a grave insult.”
“And to consider my choice for my daughter’s mate as unsuitable or unworthy is a grave insult to me on your part,” Granmammare insisted. “It means you do not acknowledge my decisions and don’t trust my judgment.”
“He is a powerless human mortal!”
“I see beyond that. Sosuke is a kind, honest, courageous, and loving individual. Whether mortal, magic, or divine, he possesses all the qualities to make a suitable husband for my daughter. And, more importantly, it was her choice.”
The sky grew dark as Kazehime raged. “She was but a child of five when she chose him! She could not make such a decision like that at her age!”
Granmammare just smiled.” Even at that age, she still recognized the good qualities Sosuke possessed. And those qualities make him just as worthy as anyone else, even your son.”
“Silence!” The sky lit up with Kazehime’s cry. “You dare compare my son to a mortal? Take it back!”
Numerous bolts of lightning flew from her body. The bolts struck Granmammare, lighting her up and causing her body to steam.
“You lightning is useless against me,” she told the sky goddess. “I will absorb all you throw at me.”
A cunning smile crept up Kazehime’s face. “That may be true, but I have many other powers that can affect the flow of water.”
For the first time, a scowl crossed Granmammare’s beautiful face. “A battle of the gods? Do you really wish to bring forth such calamity?”
The sky goddess chuckled. “Did you forget that we are in the sky realm? This is my domain where I reign supreme. You have no real power over me.”
Granmammare didn’t seem intimidated in the least. “You are quite wrong. Just look around you, my element is everywhere.” And to prove her point, she raised her hand and summoned her power. Water was pulled from the clouds around them, gathering together above the sea goddess in abundance. “As you can see, I have plenty of power here.”
Kazehime glared at her. “So it seems, but now I shall return your question. Would you declare war on me? Would you risk causing Armageddon?”
“Direct attacks only,” Granmammare insisted. “We shall not affect the mortal realm. Unless you are unable to control your own power.”
Lightning flash across the sky goddess’ eyes. Summoning the power of the very sun, she unleashed a stream of fire at Granmammare, who immediately countered by shooting a powerful jet of water capable of tearing through solid rock from her body. The two elements collided together, dissolving into steam as they canceled each other out.
Kazehime’s body dissolved into vapor and rode the wind at top speed. Granmammare did the same, breaking down into water and flying towards the sky goddess. Water and wind collided and swirled together as the two goddesses battled. Occasionally, Kazehime would reform and unleash streams of fire, bolts of lightning, and mighty gusts of wind while Granmammare would reform and shoot powerful jets of water strong enough to tear through solid rock.
As agreed, they kept their power in check so they wouldn’t affect the human world, yet there were still repercussions. The sky above and the sea below churned angrily with the promise of a mighty storm that the world hadn’t seen for many millennia.
“This is bad,” Pangaea commented. “The shockwaves of their power are affecting the environment. If things get too carried away, they’ll create a massive worldwide hurricane that’ll tear the planet apart.”
“Can’t you do something?” Lisa asked fearfully. “You’re a god too. Can’t you help?”
Pangaea shook his head. “Not from here. There’s no earth. I’m out of my element. Even if I wasn’t, I have no power over the wind and the water.”
Sosuke growled and shifted his attention over to Ponyo and Eclipser. Both their gazes were fixated on the battling goddesses. Kazehime was as out of control as a raging storm and would not listen to anything they said, and Granmammare was using all her power to fight back against it. It was one form of Mother Nature against another. Only Ponyo and Eclipser could stop this now.
He ran towards them, calling Ponyo’s name. She turned to him, looking startled. Before he could say anything, Eclipser moved protectively in front of her. He held up his hand, his index finger extended, and a bolt of lightning shot out of his fingertip and struck Sosuke in the chest, knocking him off his feet.
Everything went black, and Sosuke knew no more.
Notes:
(A/N: A battle between 2 goddess, not a good thing. And it seems that Eclipser has stepped up to the plate. Poor Sosuke. Unless things are resolved soon, things are not going to end well for our heroes or for anyone one earth.)
Chapter 15: Remember Me
Notes:
(A/N: Well, it's been a months since I updated. I'm sorry, but November was just not a good month for me. First my uncle died, then my grandmother fell down and broke a bone in her neck so she needed neck surgery and my grandfather had to come stay with my family, I had to take care of their dogs, then there was Thanksgiving. I was exhausted and had no time to write. But I managed to pull this baby together. Enjoy.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 15: Remember Me
He was being shaken awake, and he didn’t like it. He felt sore all over, and his muscles tingled painfully. Why couldn’t whoever as bothering him just go away and leave him alone?
“Move aside,” said a familiar voice. “I’ll handle this. Hey, Sosuke, wake up!”
He felt a painful slap to his face and his eyes snapped open. Pangaea was standing over him, grinning.
“Hey, welcome back,” he said.
“Did you just slap me?”
“You’re welcome!”
Ignoring the obnoxious earth god, Sosuke forced himself to his feet and glanced at Eclipser. The sky god was standing beside Ponyo with his arm wrapped around her protectively. As for Ponyo, she had gone deathly pale at his sudden attack on Sosuke, but now looked relieved to see that he was all right.
“What was that for?” he demanded of the sky god.
Eclipser narrowed his eyes at him. “You attempted to steal my promised one. Be grateful that was all I did. Have you not heard of what became of the one who attempted to steal the wife of Hades?”
“I don’t know much Greek mythology.”
“Pirithous attempted to kidnap and take Persephone, the wife of Hades for his own,” Pangaea told him. “His punishment was that he was bound to a stone chair by snakes for all eternity.”
A shiver ran through Sosuke. Being struck by lightning didn’t seem so bad when compared to that punishment.
“I left no permanent damage,” Eclipser told him, also speaking to calm Ponyo’s obvious worry. “It was to serve as a warning for attempting to steal my bride.”
“She’s not your bride!” Sosuke shouted. “She’s my fiancée.”
“And was mine long before even your great grandparents were conceived.”
If this was the god’s attempt to use the first come first served excuse, Sosuke wasn’t going to accept it. “That may be, but that was chosen by your parents. But she chose me, and I chose her.” He looked at Ponyo desperately. “Please, Ponyo, you have to remember.”
The redheaded girl grabbed her head. “I can’t. I just can’t. Everything is all mixed up.”
“So just remove the spell,” Lisa suggested. “You, sky god boy, can’t you get rid of the memory spell so we can clear this up?”
Eclipser closed his eyes. “It is beyond me. I cannot undo a spell cast by my mother. Only she or a more powerful divine being can do that.”
Thunder rumbled loudly and lightning flashed across the sky as the two goddesses continued to battle. Wind and rain whipped around as nature was thrown further out of balance, the swirling storm threatening to bring countless disasters upon the world below.
“We have to stop this,” Fujimoto commented. He looked at his daughter and Eclipser. “This is all my doing. I never should have made such decisions. I had no right to choose my daughter’s partner, just as your mother had no right to choose yours. Do you not want to make the choice of your own free will?”
Eclipser was silent as he considered what the sea wizard said. “I never really questioned it. I just accepted that it was going to be a part of my life, just as all children accept that they must grow up. However…” he glanced at Ponyo, “I have become very fond of young Ponyo. If I were to choose a bride, I would want one such as her.”
“Then what about her?” Lisa demanded. “Let her decide.”
All attention turned to Ponyo. She looked very uncomfortable and even more confused than before. “I… I don’t know! I can’t just decide like that!” She looked at Eclipser. “I’ve only known you a short time, but you’ve been very nice to me, and I can tell you’d make a good husband. There’s also the fake memories your mother planted in my head that are confusing me further.” She looked at Sosuke. “I don’t know you, I can’t remember you, but I know that I know you. I feel something for you, but can’t quite identify what it is I feel. I… I just need time to sort this out and figure out what I really feel.”
“A logical and wise solution,” Fujimoto told her, “one I’m sure would have revealed the truth if given enough time. However,” he looked up at the battling goddesses, “we don’t have any time to waste. Kazehime is as wild and as unstoppable as a true hurricane right now, and Granmammare is as unrelenting as the angry sea. Neither will stop until the situation is resolved. I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury of time, not if life on earth is to survive.”
Ponyo messed up her hair in aggravation. “It’s all so confusing! I can’t tell what’s real!”
“Well,” said Pangaea, “your feelings for Sosuke must be very strong indeed if they’re able to seep through Kazehime’s spell this much. That alone shows us how much you love him if you can defy the will of the sky goddess.”
“Then let it be the deciding factor,” Eclipser replied. “If her love for the boy is strong enough, she will be able to break through my mother’s spell. Manage this, and I shall admit defeat.”
He stepped away from Ponyo, allowing Sosuke to approach. The young human stepped forward on shaking legs, his body still weak from being hit by Eclipser’s lightning. He reached out for her with pleading eyes, his love for her written all over his face.
“Ponyo…” he pleaded, “remember me. Remember our lives together. You gave up everything to be with me. I would do the same for you if I could. Please, remember.”
With her mind in turmoil, she looked at him sadly. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Tell her something,” Pangaea told him. “Something significant that she can use to pull her memories together.”
Something significant immediately came to mind. “Ham,” he told her. “You love ham. It’s your favorite food in the world. When you were younger, you would always insist on a ham sandwich for lunch.”
Ponyo’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember. “Yes, ham is my favorite. It was… the first human food I ever ate.”
“Right!” Sosuke cried happily. “You remember?”
“That ham is my favorite food? Yes, I remember. But what’s that have to do with anything.”
Sosuke felt his heart break. “I was the one that fed it to you.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You were?”
A memory of him feeding her emerged from the jumbled mess of her memories. She saw Sosuke as a young boy, first offering her a piece of bread, which she had uninterestingly turned away. Then he had been about to offer her a piece of ham, and, in her curiosity, she had grabbed the entire slice that had been sticking out of his sandwich. It was an explosion of flavor very different from the usual fish food her father had given her.
Yet even as this memory surfaced, another one appeared to counter it. It was equally as believable, and felt equally as real. Yet it also seemed somewhat foreign, as if it had been planted in her head, like the difference of being told a story in the greatest detail and actually having experienced it.
She tried to focus on the first memory, the one that Sosuke claimed was what actually happened, but the false memory insistently pushed it aside. The two memories seemed to battle one another, just as Kazehime and Granmammare fought in the sky above. The memory of what happened after eating the ham should have come next, but the two different versions of how she first tasted ham continued opposing each other, mixing up all her other memories, confusing her further and sending her mind into chaos.
Groaning as a massive migraine flashed through her head, she fell to her knees with her head between her legs. Trying to remember and distinguish the truth only made it worse. “I can’t. It’s all messed up.”
Fujimoto stepped forward. “We need something concrete to distinguish the real memories from the fake ones. Something that will allow her to put her real memories together.” He looked to Eclipser. “May I?”
The sky god hesitated, then nodded. Fujimoto summoned some water from the clouds to use his magic, then performed a summoning spell. Ponyo waited for something to happen, then her vision was suddenly obscured by something dropping on her head.
She yelped in surprise, then reached up to pull it off. In her hands, she now held a green bucket, the kind that a child would play with down at the beach.
“My old bucket?” Sosuke wondered. His eyes widened. “Yeah, my bucket! It’s what I kept you in when you were a fish.” His gaze softened as a look of longing appeared on his face. “When your father took you from me, I left it out overlooking the ocean so you would be able to find your way back.”
Ponyo stared at the bucket. “Find my way back…”
Her eyes shot wide open and a jolt went through her body. In the chaotic mess of her memories, a single one emerged. It was an essential piece of the puzzle, allowing her to see the entire picture and put the rest of it together. The false memories that had been implanted vanished as everything fell into place and her real memory came back to her in a rush.
“SOSUKE!!!” she yelled. She rushed towards him with tears in her eyes, launching herself into his arms and wrapping around him, much like she did when she had first appeared to him as a little girl. “Sosuke, Sosuke, Sosuke!”
“Ponyo,” Sosuke replied as struggled to remain standing with her climbing all over him. “Are you back? Do you remember?”
“Yes, yes, YES!!!” she shouted, rubbing her cheek against his. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! How could I have forgotten? Oh, you don’t know what it was like! Oh, Sosuke!”
He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s ok, Ponyo. You were under the spell of a goddess. The fact that you remembered anything about me is amazing. And you even managed to beat the spell.”
“Sosuke,” she wept, burying her face into his shirt. “I’ll never forget you again. I won’t ever let anyone separate us.” She looked over her shoulder at the sky god. “I’m sorry, Eclipser, but I can’t marry you. I love Sosuke. I always have. He’s my one true love.”
The sky goddess stared at the two of them for a moment before sighing. “I guess I lost,” he replied, looking both happy and disappointed at the same time. “Not even the power of the gods could keep you separated.”
Ponyo suddenly felt guilty. “I’m sorry, Eclipser. It’s nothing against you. You’re a good person. You’ll make a good husband some day, and a wonderful god.”
He gave her a smile, then frowned as he looked up at the clashing goddesses. “I may not have anything to rule over if we don’t stop this.”
The others looked up as well.
“Kazehime won’t stop,” Pangaea told them. “We need to give Granmammare the upper hand.”
“Easier said than done,” Lisa muttered.
“I’ll do it,” Ponyo declared. She received stares from the others. “Kazehime returned me to my demigod status. I will give it and my magic up to be a human mortal once again. But this time, I’ll give my power away instead of just leaving it behind.” She placed her hands over her heart. “Mother…”
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Up in the sky, the goddesses of the sea and sky continued their battle. But Granmammare’s strength was leaving her. There may be water in the clouds, but up here, in the sky realm, Kazehime reigned supreme. She wouldn’t be able to hold the enraged goddess off much longer.
“You should not have interfered!” the sky goddess raged, the lightning in her eyes swirling around so intensely that they resembled lightning spheres. She sent out gusts wind that sliced through the air like blades.
The invisible blades of wind cut straight through Granmammare’s liquid body. “Not interfere when my own daughter is being forced into an unwanted marriage?” she demanded, sending out a powerful stream of water.
Kazehime let out a puff of breath and the stream of water was met by a gust of wind so strong that it halted it in its path. “An arrangement agreed upon myself and her father.”
Summoning the power of the sun, she breathed a massive flame at the sea goddess. Granmammare’s liquid body evaporated, but the vapor immediately reverted back to water and reformed into the goddess.
“I don’t care what her father said!” Granmammare countered. “I have a say in who my daughter weds as well, as does she, regardless of any contract that was agreed upon without my knowledge.” She gave Fujimoto a slightly disapproving look. “And he had no right to make such a deal to begin with. He was young and naïve at the time,” her expression softened as her look of disapproval became one of understanding and love, “and he was a fool in love, desperate to be with his heart’s desire.” She turned back to her opponent. “Just as my daughter is now.”
“A fool for certain!” Kazehime shouted, throwing more lightning at Granmammare, who simply absorbed it into her liquid form. “A union between the sea and the sky will bring great prosperity. It’s for the good of the planet.”
“That is no longer why you’re insisting on this marriage!” the sea goddess snapped, unleashing a powerful jet of water before freezing it into an ice spear, which Kazehime easily dodged. “This has become personal to you. It’s no longer about the good of the earth, it’s about your wounded pride, and the fact that my daughter has chosen one of the humans you so despise to be her mate rather than your son.”
Lightning flashed across the sky as Kazehime’s temper soared. With fists clenched, she summoned up her wind powers. A massive tornado appeared around her and the sea goddess, more intense than anything the world had ever seen before. It swirled around them with wind speed capable of tearing an entire mountain out of the ground as easily as picking up a stray pebble.
The two goddesses were trapped within the vortex, but while Kazehime had complete control, Granmammare was left to the sky goddess’ mercy as she was swept up in the heavy wind, her liquid body no longer able to hold its current form and beginning to swirl around the tornado.
“How dare you presume to know my heart!” Kazehime seethed in a cold fury. “How dare you presume to understand how I feel! You come into my realm and speak to me as such! You accuse me on acting on spite rather than honor and duty! HOW DARE YOU!!!”
The wind speed whipped around in a massive frenzy, the vortex moving so quickly it was capable of tearing apart any and all things that passed through it. Only Eclipser’s own power over the sky kept him and the others from falling prey to his mother’s wrath, while down below, the entire planet trembled as it threatened to crack in half.
Careful to remain inside the protective barrier Eclipser had created for them, Ponyo held up her hands to the swirling vortex Granmammare was trapped in. “MOTHER, I GIVE IT BACK!!! MY MAGIC, MY IMMORTALITY, I GIVE IT TO YOU!!! TAKE MY POWER!!!”
From her chest, right over her heart, a stream of golden water burst from her body. She could feel it happening, all her magic, her immortality, her demigod status, was torn from her very being, leaving her as a plain human mortal once again.
The stream of golden water flew up into the tornado. It mixed with her mother’s liquid essence that was swirling around in the vortex. Granmammare felt her daughter’s power flow within her, and she tore herself free. The water that made up her body ripped away from Kazehime’s tornado, and she reformed outside the vortex. The sky goddess turned to her in shock at seeing her having broken free.
Using the addition of her daughter’s power, Granmammare raised her hand, summoning all the surrounding water. The entire cloud kingdom vanished as all the moisture was summoned to the sea goddess. Not a cloud was left in the sky for as far as the eye could see, but it was now as if the very ocean itself were in the sky.
Granmammare directed the gathered water towards the sky goddess. It was all sucked up into the massive tornado, turning it into a waterspout. Lightning flew from Kazehime’s eyes as she raged furiously, right before Granmammare caused the water to freeze over, trapping the sky goddess in a prison of ice.
Notes:
(A/N: Ponyo has finally regained her memories and is human once more, and thanks to her daughter, Granmammare has managed to gain the upper hand in the battle. So who liked me using the bucket for the catalyst that broke the spell? In a way, Sosuke was right, seeing the bucket did lead her back home. Did anyone see that coming? Tell me what you think.)
Chapter 16: Reconciliation
Notes:
(A/N: I'm sorry. Things just haven't been going my way. I've been helping to find an assistant living home for my grandparents and then moving them out, I've just had no time to write. And now I've caught a cold on top of it all. Yeesh, things just aren't going my way. But I did manage to pull this together. So enjoy.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 16: Reconciliation
Breathing heavily, Granmammare floated down to the others, leaving the sky goddess frozen in the vortex of ice. Struggling to find words through her exhaustion, she pleaded to them, “Hurry… run away…”
Lisa was frozen in place, having refused to move since the clouds had vanished when Granmammare took the water from them. “I’d like to, but I have no idea where to step. We’re not even standing on anything, how are we still up here?”
Granmammare ignored the question. “You must… go… I don’t think… I can stop her… again… Not in her realm…”
Distressed at seeing her mother looking so drained, Ponyo seemingly ran across the sky itself and hugged her. “Oh, Mother, I’m so sorry.”
The sea goddess stroked her daughter’s cheek. “Not… your fault… my child… Now go… quickly…”
Sosuke looked up at the frozen goddess. “But you already stopped her.”
Granmammare shook her head. “No, that won’t… hold her… for long…” She took a deep breath, regaining her composure, pulling in the energy from the remaining moisture around her. “She’ll get out soon enough. You must get as far away from here as you can. When she does break free, I’ll distract her for as long as I can.”
“Aren’t you stronger than her now?” Sosuke asked. “Since Ponyo gave you her power.”
Again, she shook her head in the negative. “Not in the sky realm. It took all my power plus what my daughter gave me to break free of her storm and take her by surprise. Whatever power I received from my daughter was used up, and I cannot recover or regenerate power that was not my own.”
“Right,” Sosuke replied, not really understanding, but not willing to waste anymore time. He turned to Pangaea. “Hurry, get us out of here?”
The earth god bit his lower lip uncomfortably. “Yeah… about that… See there isn’t any land up here, so I really can do anything.” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his grass-covered head. “Gee, I guess we didn’t really think this through.”
Sosuke stared at him, dumbfounded. “You’re kidding! Then how are we supposed to-”
He was cut off by a massive explosion of wind. The icy vortex Kazehime was trapped in shattered, and something very large appeared in the sky in her place. It was a giant bird of colossal size, larger than even the four giants. Its body was a sky blue that it would have blended in perfectly with the sky on a sunny day. Six wings made of fire stretched out wide like a blanket of flames covering the sky. Its belly seemed to be pure magma, as if the sun itself were residing in the bird’s gut. Lightning in the shape of bird feet hung down from the its torso to serve as legs, and it had a tail that was an actual rainbow that stretched out as far as the eye could see, vanishing upon the horizon, never actually ending, but simply fading out. An enormous cloud that served as hair flowed down the bird’s head, moving as if being blown by the wind, and it had a beak that looked as if someone had taken a chunk out of the starry night sky and shaped it into a beak. Every breath she took caused a tornado to emit from her nostril in her beak for a few seconds before it faded away. And her eyes, they were made of pure electricity that didn’t quite stay in the bird’s eye sockets when it moved its head around, like a trail left behind by a flame when rapidly waved around.
This was Kazehime in her godly form, at her most powerful. Her starry night sky beak opened and unleashed a screech that sounded like thunder as she turned her electric eyes on those that had dared to oppose her.
“Yeah, this isn’t good,” Pangaea muttered. He looked at the humans. “At this point, you’re probably better off jumping back down to earth and hoping you’ll survive the fall.”
“Interlopers!” the sky goddess thundered, her voice echoing around them from all directions rather than from her actual mouth. “You shall pay for this with your lives! And you two, god of the earth, goddess of the sea, my wrath shall reign down upon you and both your realms! I will tear down the very moon itself from the sky and crash it into your precious planet! This is war! And it shall be the lives of the humans and animals that you so cherish that shall suffer for your misdeeds!”
The wind picked up, creating a windstorm stronger than any hurricane could ever hope to make. Lightning swirled around them, posed and ready to strike like massive deadly snakes. They were all suddenly caged in by numerous tornados swirling around them as freezing rain and hail poured down on them hard enough to leave bruises, the wind strong enough to peel the flesh from their bones if it weren’t for Granmammare and Pangaea’s magic protection.
Kazehime screeched loudly, her wings outstretched. Summoning the power of the sun, she unleashed a ray of concentrated solar energy powerful enough to vaporize anything in its path. There was no getting around it, and no running away from it as it sped towards them at the speed of light.
A hand shot up, and the sunbeam seemed to slam into an invisible wall a mere inch in front of the risen hand. Eclipser lowered his hand and looked up at his mother, his eyes flashing.
“That is enough!” he shouted.
Then he was gone, and something enormous appeared, rivaling Kazehime in size. Eclipser had appeared in his god form. He was still humanoid in appearance, but his entire body was a massive cloud in the shape of a man. From his waist down, his cloud body was formless, leaving him with no legs, but a large shapeless cloud that stretched across the sky. His facial features were absent, containing only indentations in the cloud portion that made up his head to serve as eyes and a mouth. From within these indentations, beams of light protruded, like the sun shining through open areas of a cloud.
In his angered state, his body was a dark storm cloud that light up with lightning on the inside, and he rippled and shifted as if a heavy wind were distorting his form, yet he still held his shape. Angle-like wings made entirely out of lightning protruded from his back, stretching out far across the sky in opposite directions.
Kazehime screeched loudly at the interference. The fact that this was her son standing in her way was the only thing that kept her from striking him down. “What is this?” she demanded. “Eclipser, why do you stand in my way?”
“Cease this pointless battle!” he demanded, his very voice coming out as thunder forming words. “You have gone too far!”
Kazehime screeched again. “These insolent humans must be punished for defying the gods! They dare to go back on our legal and binding agreement! And now that their attempts to steal you bride have failed, they use the power of the sea goddess against me! Such actions cannot be ignored! They will all pay for this insult!”
When she made to move around him, Eclipser’s body expanded twice its size, cutting off her path. “This trouble is a result of the marriage agreement between Ponyo and myself! I shall put a stop to it now! As the intended groom, I hereby cancel the engagement and dissolve the contract!”
Kazehime’s eyes widened. She seemed to be stunned into passivity. “What is this nonsense you speak of?”
“Calm yourself, mother! Pull back your power and we will talk! All of us!”
The sky goddess remained hovering in the air for a few moments, then, in a flash of light, she reverted to her humanoid form. The massive storm she had created subsided and the forces of nature she had summoned dispersed.
Eclipser took a calming breath, and his body changed from a dark storm cloud to a white calm fluff. Then he too took on his human form and appeared in front of the others, placing himself between them and his mother.
Though she was much calmer, the lightning in Kazehime’s eyes still swirled around, revealing her anger. “What is this about?”
Eclipser looked at her with a no-nonsense expression on his face. “Just as I said, mother. I am breaking off the engagement between Ponyo and myself. That was the issue, was it not? Ponyo and her family wanted out of the agreement, but you did not. Well now I am telling you that I am ending it.”
The sky goddess scowled. “Why would you do this? You wanted this wedding, did you not?”
“I did,” Eclipser confessed, “but not enough to deprive these two of their love.”
“Their feelings for each other do not matter in regards to the contract.”
“Regardless of the contract, I am still cancelling the engagement.”
Kazehime’s hair and clothes whipped around her in a frenzy. “You would do this for a mere mortal? That boy is not worthy of the daughter of a goddess! Why would you give up what you want for him?”
The long feathers that served as Eclipser’s hair flew around him in a similar fashion. “What makes you think I want this?”
The statement shocked the anger right out of the sky goddess. The heavy wind around her was reduced to a mere breeze as she stared at her son in surprise. “What do you mean? You’ve never spoke against it, and did you not just tell me that you wanted this wedding?”
Eclipser shut his eyes. “Truth be told, I never took into consideration if I wanted this wedding to take place or not. All my life, you told me that one day I would wed a daughter of the sea. I eventually just accepted it as something that was going to happen and had no opinion on it. Just as I’ve come to expect the sun to set every day and view it as something that is just going to happen, this was eventually how I came to see my future wedding.”
Kazehime was silent as she considered this. “And now?”
The sky god considered his words carefully. “I’ve thought about it, and someday, yes, I would like to marry. And, if possible, I would want my partner to be someone like Ponyo.”
That seemed to be enough for Kazehime. “Then there is no reason to put things off. Take your bride, as is your right. The fact that she has feelings for a human is irrelevant.”
“Mother, you’re not listening! I don’t want to marry Ponyo!” The wind whipped up again and he took a calming breath, glancing at the redhead. “I do like Ponyo, and had she chose me, I would have been thrilled, but I do not want to wed someone that does not want me.” He looked back at his mother. “Furthermore, I do not want to wed someone simply because it was an agreement between you and another person. It is our right to chose, not yours, or Fujimoto’s.”
The sea wizard flinched and moved back a few steps shamefully. Kazehime glanced at him before returning her attention to her son. “I just wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to have a suitable bride that you could spend eternity with. And a union of the sea and the sky would have been of great benefit to the planet.”
Eclipser sighed. He approached his mother and placed his hands on her shoulder. “I know you care for me mother. But perhaps you cared too much. You’ve always sheltered me from the world and taken on all the burdens upon yourself. I don’t need you to choose a bride for me. I want to choose one myself. And who says it wouldn’t form a union of the sky and sea. From what I’ve heard, Ponyo has quite a few sisters. I wouldn’t mind trying, what do the humans call it, ah, dating them to see if we, what’s the phrase, ‘hit it off’. If I connect well with one of them, then great. If not and the one for me is somewhere else, then the world will have to live without a union between the sky and sea; it’s done perfectly well without one until now.”
Pangaea hid a laugh behind a cough. “More like until a half hour ago.”
His statement was meant to be heard, and Kazehime turned her attention to the world down below. To the humans present, they saw nothing but clouds and blue sky, being up too high to see the ground, but the sky goddess’ divine vision allowed her to see all. She frowned in disapproval at what she saw. “Did I do that?”
Granmammare floated over to her side and looked down at the world below as well. “You are as unrelenting as a storm; it is in your nature. As it is in mine. It is a burden we divine beings must bear.”
“Yeah,” said Pangaea. “You just get stirred up more easily than we do. Granmammare has caused a few tsunamis and tidal waves in her days.” This earned him an angry glare from the sea goddess. “And have you ever seen the earthquakes my mother set off when she gets in a bad mood,” he quickly added. “Look, the point is, things happen. We cause it; we fix it. It’s not like we can’t undo the damage you caused. Everyone will get by; they’ve gotten through much worse storms than this. Rebuild a few houses, clean up some wreckage, it’ll be fine.”
Kazehime continued looking down at the destruction she had caused.
Eclipser rested a hand on her shoulder. “It seems that humans aren’t the only ones that damage the planet, nor are they the only ones so caught up in their own wants that they’re actions have consequences for others without them realizing it.”
Kazehime sighed. “It seems I have failed to fulfill my duty as the sky goddess for the past few days. It also seems that I have been blinded by my distaste for humanity that it has affected my perspective of the planet itself.” She reached up and covered her son’s hand on her shoulder with her own. “And it also seems that I have failed in my duty of raising you to be a proper heir.”
Eclipser gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You didn’t fail, Mother. You just… cared too much. Shielding me from the world and doing everything for me will not help me when my time to take over does arrive.”
“As opposed to my mother who leaves me to take care of everything.” Pangaea huffed, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Fujimoto.
Granmammare looked at the sky goddess. “Humans have a saying, to err is human. I do not believe that applies only to them.” She glanced at her daughter and smiled. “I too was new to motherhood once. I too made mistakes and had to learn as I went along. Sometimes we make decisions that we feel are in their best interest,” she glanced at her husband, “even though they may not be.”
This time Pangaea elbowed Fujimoto in the ribs, much harder than he did to him.
Granmammare looked back at Kazehime. “We act in our children’s best interest, whether what we decide is right or wrong. But there are some choices we have no right to make for them, and there comes a time where we can no longer protect them and must allow them to decide their own future.”
Kazehime was silent for a moment. “Yes… and perhaps sooner rather than later is best.” She turned to her son. “Eclipser, if you feel you are ready, how would you like to take over for a few centuries to see how it goes. Consider it a test run for when I truly retire and you rule the sky.”
Eclipser’s eyes widened, the he formerly bowed to her. “It would be an honor, Mother.”
She gave him a smile. “You are very wise and powerful, my son. I know you will do well. I expect to see a better world when I return. Perhaps you’ll manage to finish patching up that hole in the ozone I’ve been working on.”
“People are more aware of how we’re polluting the planet and are trying to fix it,” Lisa told her. “So that should help.”
A slightly disapproving frown appeared on the sky goddess’ face when she looked at the human woman. “See that it does. I will hope for the best.”
“But where will you go?” Ponyo asked.
Kazehime looked out on the horizon. “I will go to the Spirit World for a while. Perhaps being with my own kind will be good for me after being in my domain for so long. I hear there’s a lovely bath house where spirits go to replenish themselves.”
Pangaea tssked. “I don’t know. I heard that there’s a human girl working there now, and with you not liking humans-”
Both Sosuke and Lisa covered the earth god’s mouth.
Granmammare looked at him. “Speaking of the Spirit World, I ran into your mother while I was there. She’s aware of the deal you made with my husband.”
The earth god paled. “Oh, crap…”
She gave him a smile. “You didn’t need to make a deal. I would have aided you in moving the continents for the asking.”
Pangaea perked up at that. “Really? That’s awesome!”
“However, you mother strictly forbade me from offering my assistance in your punishment, deal or no deal. And since she is an earth goddess, I cannot go against her when it comes to matters of the land.”
Pangaea’s shoulders sank. “Bummer…”
A smile crept up Kazehime’s face. “Good old Gaia. Kind, but strict. It’ll be nice to see her again. Perhaps I shall seek out my own mother and father as well.” She turned back to her son and embraced him. “Goodbye for now, my sweet boy. I know you will do well; I have faith in you.” She glanced at Granmammare. “And I will hold out hope that you will find love among one of the children of the sea.”
Eclipser sighed, looking tired. “Perhaps.”
Next she went over to Granmammare. “I do not do apologies often, but it seems I have troubled you, and I hope there will be no hard feelings.”
Had Kazehime not been a goddess, Granmammare’s response would have been very different. “For the sake of the world, all is forgiven.”
Kazehime actually laughed at that. “How very like you!”
Pangaea cleared his throat. “I hope you have an apology for me as well.”
What he received was far less appealing as the sky goddess glared at him. “I have nothing to say to an incompetent earth god that sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong.” Her gaze shifted to Fujimoto. “Or to an impudent sea wizard that cannot control his own children.”
Neither Pangaea nor Fujimoto replied, though the former looked rather irritated.
“However,” Kazehime continued, “I do have something to say to you, Brunhilda.” She glanced at the redhead, who looked up at her with her chin held high and a stubborn look on her face. The sky goddess cleared her throat. “Pardon, I mean Ponyo.”
The girl smiled at the correct use is her name. “Yeah?”
Kazehime seemed to consider her words. “I still do not, understand why you would choose to be human, or why you would choose one for your mate…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I can never bring myself to approve of such a union, but all the same, I will accept it and your choice.”
Ponyo shrugged. “That’s fine. But I would have stayed with Sosuke anyway.”
“Yes, Sosuke.” Kazehime turned to him. “I believe I have made my opinion of humans clear, and of your relationship with this young girl. You still wish to pursue this relationship, even without my approval?”
Sosuke stood stiff as a board, the hostility in the sky goddess’ eyes keeping him frozen on the spot, yet he still managed to find his voice. “I would defy any god, goddess, witch, wizard, spirit, or mortal for her.”
Kazehime studied him. “I see. Well, know this, little human, as far as I’m concerned, I still find your union inappropriate, and I still consider it a grave insult for young Ponyo to choose you over my own son. Therefore, I fully expect for you to prove me wrong. Do you understand me? Though she is now human, she is still out of your league, and you are nowhere near worthy of her. So you are to spend the rest of your life proving your worth. Show me that she made the right decision, and prove to me that you are the better choice for her. Understood?”
Sosuke gulped; that had sounded like a threat. “Y-Yes, yes, ma’am. I will do whatever it takes to make Ponyo happy.”
“You better.”
The wind picked up and Kazehime was surrounded by a tornado. It lasted only a few seconds before disappearing, and when it did, the sky goddess was gone.
Notes:
(A/N: This chapter was going to be even longer, but I realized that with as much as still had left to write that I could split it into two chapters. It also allowed me to update earlier. I hope you all enjoyed the resolution of the conflict with Kazehime. I hope I made her somewhat redeemable, but hey, she's the strongest of the three gods there, they took what they could get. At least she's backed off and stepped aside. I hope I'll have the next chapter out sooner than this one. Yeah, I probably will now that my grandparents have finished moving. See you soon.)
Chapter 17: Down to Earth
Notes:
(A/N: This chapter and last were originally going to be one, but I realized the length it was turning out to be could be split into two. So here we go, the final chapter to my Ponyo fic.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 17: Down to Earth
Unsure if the Kazehime was still actually around, Sosuke glanced around nervously before Granmammare placed her hands on his shoulders. “Rest easy, child, she has gone.”
Sosuke let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Was she threatening me just then with the living up to her expectations thing?”
Granmammare chuckled. “An empty threat, as you and your family are under my protection.”
“And I would never let her harm any of you.” Eclipser replied.
“Not to mention,” Pangaea added, “that your many times over great grandchildren will be long dead by the time she comes back to this world.”
This earned a blush from both Sosuke and Pony while the others snickered at the two teens’ discomfort.
“Well,” said Lisa, “as exciting as this has been, I would really like to get home now.”
“And I have much work to do with my new role.” Eclipser added.
“As do we,” said Granmammare. “Especially if we are to clean up the mess our battle created.”
Pangaea scoffed at that. “Speak for yourself! The land was affected the most by miss sky goddess’ tantrum. Now I have to fix that and still push the continents. Talk about backbreaking work. Why do we have to clean up Kazehime’s mess while she gets to go live it up in the Spirit World?”
Ignoring the earth god, Eclipser walked over to Ponyo. “It was a real pleasure to meet you, Ponyo. I am just sorry things didn’t work out between us.”
Ponyo happily slapped his shoulder. “Hey, don’t sound so down. You’re a great guy, just not the one for me.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll be sure to put in a good word to my sisters about you.”
Eclipser chuckled, then turned to Sosuke. “You are a very lucky boy. Make sure you take real good care of her. Show me I did the right thing by letting her go.”
Sosuke wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to a god after that and simply said, “Um… sure.”
The sky god chuckled. “What, are you feeling intimidated by me now that the excitement has settled down?” He smirked. “Well, here’s a taste of my power!”
He snapped his fingers and clouds came rushing over, surrounding everyone except for him. The group was lifted up and then were being carried through the air, down away from Eclipser, who waved to them as they went.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
When the cloud finally reached land once again, it popped like a bubble, dropping its passengers. Eclipser had returned them to their hometown. Fortunately, it didn’t appear to have been hit that bad by Kazehime’s storm. Even their little house on the hill was still in tact, though a few of the windows were broken from the heavy wind and a bit of the roof had been torn off.
While Granmammare, Fujimoto, and Pangaea seemed perfectly all right, as if cloud-travel were the most natural thing in the world, the other four looked rather shaken up.
“That…” Ponyo muttered, “was… AWESOME!!! Did you see that? We were flying! Is that what it’s like inside an airplane?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Lisa replied shakily, “I’ve never flown before.”
Ponyo glanced at her. “Lisa, are you afraid of heights?”
The older woman gulped. “Heights? No. Being thousands of feet in the air with nothing but a cloud to prevent us from falling? Yes.”
Sosuke seemed to be recovering from the unnerving travel experience as well. “At least it was faster than getting there.”
“Thanks a lot,” Pangaea grumbled, glaring at him. “Next time you need a ride to the heavens, you can just get there on your own. Honestly, I get no appreciation around here.”
Granmammare chuckled. “You have my appreciation, and my gratitude for helping my daughter and future son-in-law. If not for your mother forbidding me to aid you, I would have been happy to help you move the continents.”
Pangaea sighed. “Thanks, I guess. But, geez, you’d think she’d cut me some slack. So I made a mistake a long time ago. She doesn’t have to be such a stick in the mud about it.”
At that moment, the ground trembled slightly. A surprised look crossed the earth god’s face and then he looked worried. Quickly, he turned to the others, grabbing and shaking each of their hands.
“Well, it was nice meeting you! Have to do it again some time! Bye!” Then he began melting into the ground, seeming to faze right through the street. “Sorry, Mom! I didn’t mean it!”
Granmammare simply shook her head, an amused smile on her face, then turned to Fujimoto. “Come, my love, we have much work to do too.”
“Yes, my darling,” Fujimoto replied, allowing the sea goddess to take him in her embrace.
“And,” she continued, “I think we need to have a talk about that deal you made with Kazehime regarding our daughter.”
Fujimoto paled, then glanced over his shoulder at the three humans. “Goodbye, for now. See you soon.”
Granmammare’s body reverted to pure water and launched into the sea, taking the sea wizard with her.
“Bye, Mommy, bye Dad!” Ponyo cried, as if such a thing were completely normal.
Lisa sighed, feeling the stress of the situation hitting her. “Well, this has been a very exciting day. I think I’ll go to bed now.”
Looking exhausted, she wondered into the house, leaving the two teenagers alone. Slowly, Ponyo’s hand reached out and grabbed Sosuke’s. When he looked her way, she pressed a kiss against his cheek.
“Thank you for coming after me, Sosuke. Eclipser was a nice guy, but you’re the only one for me.”
He gave her a smile. “Me too, Ponyo. I’ll never let you go.” He looked up at the sky. “I can’t believe we went through all that because of a silly arranged marriage. Your father should have tried to fix it long ago.”
“My dad can be an idiot sometimes.”
Sosuke chuckled. “So can mine. Speaking of which, what are we going to tell him when he gets back?”
“About what happened?” She shrugged. “Who says we have to tell him anything? As far as he and the rest of the world know, a freak storm occurred; nothing more.”
“Mom doesn’t like keeping secrets from Dad.”
“Then let her deal with it.” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, look at that sky! It’s beautiful!”
Sosuke rolled his eyes as she ran further up the hill. That was his Ponyo, so carefree. He made to follow after her, but a grip on his foot held him back. Looking down, he saw a hand made of dirt and stone gripping his ankle.
“What the…?” He stared at the hand. “Pangaea, is that you?”
Two eyes appeared next to the hand with a mouth underneath them. “Oh good, you noticed me.”
Sosuke motioned to his leg that the earth god was still gripping. “Kind of hard not to.”
The hand released him and sank beneath the ground. “Don’t tell the redhead I’m here. This is a surprise. I got something for you, if you want it.”
Sosuke eyed him suspiciously. “That depends, what is it?”
The earth god snickered. “It’s nothing strange. I just thought it was something you could use, since I’m such a nice guy.” The earth rumbled, and Pangaea’s eyes darted around nervously. “Sorry, Mother.” He looked back at Sosuke. “Ok, really I was going to use it to try and bribe more years of assistance in moving the continents from Granmammare, but since my mother has forbidden any assistance, you can just have it, otherwise it’ll go to waste.”
The stone hand reemerged from the ground again and tossed something at Sosuke. He caught it on reflex, realizing that it was a diamond ring.
“What’s this for?” he asked.
“That, my friend, is the most valuable, most perfect diamond ring to ever have been made. I should know, I made it myself from the most valuable particles of the earth. There’s no other like it, and that there diamond is one of a kind. It’d be worthy several millions if you sold it.”
Sosuke’s eyes widened. “M-Millions? Then why are you giving it to me?”
“Well, I’m not going to use it for anything. And I can always make another one if I meet the right person. Besides, I own all the riches of the earth; what’s one little ring? You could make use of it though.” His eyes darted over to Ponyo. “I made it in her size. Give it to her. Make your engagement official. Or sell it and buy a different ring with the money. Whatever you choose; it doesn’t matter to me. Just be sure to invite me to the wedding. Adios. I’ll be in touch.”
His eyes closed and the earth god was gone. Sosuke stared at the spot he had been before turning his attention back to the ring. He wasn’t a jeweler, but even he could see the value of it.
“Sosuke, what are you doing?” Ponyo called.
Sosuke’s gaze shifted to her. From up on the hill, with the sunlight hitting her just right, she was far more beautiful than any ring, and far more valuable to him than all the money in the world.
“I’m coming!” he cried, and hurried up the hill towards her.
Pangaea was right. It was time to make their engagement official.
THE END
Notes:
(A/N: I'm not entirely satisfied with the way the story ended. It just felt, I don't know, anticlimactic. But I hope you all enjoyed it just the same. It was a fun story to write, and I'd like to thank everyone that stuck with me. I'm not sure what I'm going to write next. I got a lot of ideas, now I've got to put them on paper, so to speak. I hope you'll look into my other stories, and thanks again for all your support.)
Riavi on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Aug 2019 04:47PM UTC
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moviefan_92 on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Aug 2019 07:53PM UTC
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Solei98 on Chapter 1 Tue 16 Feb 2021 08:30AM UTC
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dgefe (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 16 Apr 2021 12:25AM UTC
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ponyosupremacy on Chapter 1 Mon 27 Jun 2022 02:44AM UTC
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moviefan_92 on Chapter 1 Mon 27 Jun 2022 06:04PM UTC
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Solei98 on Chapter 4 Tue 16 Feb 2021 08:40AM UTC
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Solei98 on Chapter 10 Tue 16 Feb 2021 09:11AM UTC
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fungai (Guest) on Chapter 12 Fri 07 Jun 2024 12:18AM UTC
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Riavi on Chapter 17 Sat 10 Aug 2019 07:41PM UTC
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moviefan_92 on Chapter 17 Sat 10 Aug 2019 07:45PM UTC
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Solei98 on Chapter 17 Tue 16 Feb 2021 09:44AM UTC
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Lou Buggins (Guest) on Chapter 17 Thu 18 Feb 2021 01:11AM UTC
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moviefan_92 on Chapter 17 Thu 18 Feb 2021 02:39AM UTC
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ponyosupremacy on Chapter 17 Thu 30 Jun 2022 06:13AM UTC
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Djhago on Chapter 17 Tue 06 Dec 2022 04:56PM UTC
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moviefan_92 on Chapter 17 Tue 06 Dec 2022 09:35PM UTC
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