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Chapter Text

Originally posted on 05/21/07 - 09/01/07 at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3550039/1/Mononoke-Forever

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: A Man to Wolf Talk

Ashitaka and Yakul made their way through the forest. Both the boy and the red elk were very familiar with the forest now, and even on the off chance that they did get lost, the little tree spirits, the Kodama, could always help them find the way. But they were both very familiar with the way to San’s cave, having gone there several times.

Ashitaka pulled for Yakul to stop. The elk obeyed as his master’s eyes roamed around the forest. Slowly he got off the elk’s back and walked a few feet away. He could have sworn that someone was watching him. In fact, they were still watching him. He searched around the area, using all five of his senses to pick up traces of the one watching him.

Almost to fast for the human eye to see, something jumped out from the bushes, attacking Ashitaka from behind. But the young prince reacted quickly, dodging his attacker and turning the tables by tackling his attack and pinning them to the ground.

Ashitaka smiled into the face of his so-called attacker. The beautiful face of the princess of the gods of the forest looked back up at him.

“I got you that time.” said Ashitaka, grinning.

San tried to look irritated but was unable to keep a straight face. “So you did. You’re getting better.”

“I learned from the best.”

A mischievous look came over San’s face. “True, but I didn’t teach you this.”

Before Ashitaka knew what was happening, San somehow got out from underneath him and reversed positions so now Ashitaka was the one pinned. San gave him a smug look. “Looks like I win.”

“You caught me off guard.”

“Always be on your guard.”

In response, Ashitaka used his demon strength to lift himself up as well as pick San off the ground.

San struggled in his grip but couldn’t escape. She may be faster and more advanced to living in the wilderness, but Ashitaka was much stronger than her.

“No fair!” she cried. “You’re using you demon strength.”

“Always be on your guard, sister.” Came a deep voice from behind the two of them. “You just told him that yourself.”

The two humans stopped their playful wrestling and turned to the source of the voice. Two large wolves with silvery white fur sat by Yakul, watching the couple interact. They both looked very amused, or as amused as wolves could look.

“No one asked you.” San snapped at the wolf who had spoken.

Ashitaka snickered then turned to the wolves, bowing to them in greeting. The wolves nodded back in return.

“It is good to see you again, Ashitaka.” Said the first wolf.

“And you.” Ashitaka replied.

It was hard to believe that just two months ago, these wolves had tried to kill him. Even after the end of the war, they had been a little hesitant to trust him. But now they got along rather well. Ashitaka had even gotten to know them enough to be able to tell them apart. The eldest, the one who had spoken, was Isamu and the younger one was Kenji.

Though they trusted Ashitaka, the two wolves, even San, still had trouble trusting the other humans in Iron Town. Not that he blamed them. It would take longer than two months to win the trust of those that had attempted to kill them and destroy their home. Anytime another human, other than Ashitaka, entered the forest, the wolves, and the other gods of the forest, would be on their guard; not that any other humans entered the forest all that much to begin with.

“I see that Eboshi woman finally let you have a some time off.” Kenji growled.

San’s eyes narrowed and she turned to Ashitaka. “Is she mistreating you?” she demanded.

Ashitaka gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head. “No, I’m helping them on my own free will. I just want the town to be finished.”

“Well you better hurry up and finish then.” San said. “Or else I’m going to have to come steal you away. If you hadn’t come today, I was going to go to you tomorrow.”

Ashitaka laughed. “San, nothing can keep me away from you.”

“Really?” That mischievous look crept up over her face again. “Then come and get me!”

With that she took off. Ashitaka quickly scrambled to his feet and ran after her. While he may e stronger, she was definitely faster.

“No fair, you had a head start!” he shouted after her.

“Too bad!” she called back, laughing.

Isamu and Kenji watched the two run off. They really found the behavior of their sister and Ashitaka amusing.

“They’re acting like a couple of young wolves during mating season.” Kenji muttered.

Isamu snickered. “I believe that mating season for humans is all year around.”

The amusement in the air suddenly vanished as serious looks came over the two wolves’ faces. They were slightly concerned with the relationship with the two of them. San was acting more and more like a wolf in heat, and Ashitaka… well, they weren’t so sure about him. They trusted him of course, but they were still uncertain of his intentions towards their sister.

“I think it’s time we spoke with Ashitaka.” Kenji growled.

Isamu nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right.”

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It was on the second night of Ashitaka’s stay when the wolf brothers decided to have their little talk with him. They crept up to San’s cave where the two humans were sleeping peacefully. Being very careful not to awake his sister, Kenji nudged Ashitaka until he awoke.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Ashitaka mumbled sleepily.

“Shh.” Kenji hissed. “Come with me, and do not wake San. My brother and I need to speak with you.”

Without another word, the younger of the wolf brothers exited the cave, leaving a confused and still half asleep Ashitaka behind. The young Emishi prince rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and left San to her dreams as he went outside. Both wolves were waiting patiently on top of the cave.

“Follow us.” Isamu said.

Ashitaka did as he was told without question. The wolves obviously didn’t want their sister to overhear their conversation. He followed them until the wolves decided it was safe enough to talk. They sat down and looked at Ashitaka, who preferred to remain standing.

All three of them were silent. The wolves seemed to be thinking about how to approach the subject they wanted to speak about.

Eventually Ashitaka broke the silence. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

The two wolves looked at each other then turned back to the human. “We want you to answer a few questions for us.” Kenji said.

“And we want the truth.” Isamu growled in warning.

Ashitaka nodded. “Ok, I’ll answer anything I am able to and I’ll be as truthful as possible.”

Isamu nodded. “Good. Now tell us, what are your intentions with our sister?”

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean exactly?”

Isamu sighed. “San is our sister, and we care about her very much. But she is still human, and it has always been our concern that she might return to the other humans.”

This news surprised Ashitaka. He would have thought San’s brothers would know her better than that. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. San would never abandon the forest.”

“We know.” Kenji replied. “But there always has been the smallest bit of fear that she would go over to the humans.”

“Or should we say that someone would bring her over to the humans.” Isamu growled.

Ah, so that’s what this was about. Truth be told, Ashitaka had been expecting San’s brothers to confront him much sooner than this.

“Isamu, Kenji, I have no intention what so ever of changing San.” Ashitaka said truthfully. “I love her very must, just the way she is. And to answer you question of my intentions, I hope that me and San can be together.”

The wolves snickered. “We are aware of your feelings for each other, but we care for our sister and don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I would never hurt San.” Ashitaka said. How could they think that he would ever do anything to hurt San?

“We know.” Isamu said. “But we don’t know everything about humans. We do know that some human men use women only for their bodies.”

Ashitaka’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think I’m like that?” he asked, sounding angry. “Those type of people disgust me. I am nothing like that.”

“Ashitaka, we don’t think of you like that.” Kenji said. “We are just looking at all the possibilities. We know you aren’t that type of person. Still, San does get jealous of the other women in Iron Town. She’s very protective of you.”

Ashitaka couldn’t help but smile when he thought about San being jealous. It was true that several women in town practically threw themselves at him, but Ashitaka only wanted to be with San, and he made that perfectly clear to the other women. They had respected his choice and stopped trying to win his affection, but they did still flirt with him; Ashitaka would just ignore it though.

“And we are still not entirely sure how humans choose their mates.” Kenji continued.

Ashitaka blushed. Mates?

“Are you aware that we mate for life?” Isamu asked.

The question caught Ashitaka off guard. “I hadn’t really thought about nonhuman marriages.”

Kenji blinked in confusion. “Marriages?”

Isamu turned to him. “I believe it is the term humans use when they choose their mates. Similar to our mating ritual.”

What was meant to be an interrogation was turning into a curiosity of the mating habits between the species.

“So you have a mating ritual?” Ashitaka asked.

The wolves looked insulted.

“Of course.” Kenji growled. “It’s an ancient ritual that we gods perform that forever bonds one with their mate. San is our sister, and she too will go through the same ritual.” His eyes narrowed at Ashitaka. “Are you willing to perform the ritual with her?”

Ashitaka didn’t even need to think about it. Married, mated, it made no difference to him, not as long as he was with San. “I am willing to do anything to be with San.”

The two wolves looked at each other then turned back to Ashitaka. “We have been talking about it for awhile now,” Isamu said, “and we approve of you being with our sister.”

“As does our mother.” Kenji added.

Joy filled Ashitaka’s heart as the wolves gave him their blessing. But what Kenji said confused him. “Moro approves of me?” he asked, not understanding how that was possible since Moro was dead.

“Yes.” Isamu replied. “She came to us in our sleep. She wished to discuss San’s future with us. She told us that she knows that you are the one San is meant to be with.

“However,” Kenji said, now smirking, “she told us to tell you that if you ever hurt her, when you enter the afterlife, she will tear out your throat a thousand times.”

Ashitaka felt a mixture of humor and fear at Moro’s threat from beyond the grave. Not that it mattered, for he would never hurt San. “I would rather die than see San hurt. Neither you or Moro has anything to worry about. I would love to be with San forever. But…” He hesitated to say what was on his mind. “I don’t know what San wants.”

It was true. He loved San more than anything, and he knew that she loved him, but did she want him as her life mate. He wasn’t sure.

“We know that San loves you very much.” Kenji told him.

“But does she want me as her mate?” Ashitaka asked.

Both wolves rolled their eyes at the same time, almost making Ashitaka laugh.

“Humans.” Isamu growled, shaking his head. “Always dancing around each other.”

Kenji snickered then turned back to Ashitaka. “We have given you our blessing. The rest is up to you. You may go now.”

Ashitaka bowed to them. “Thank you, and good night.”

The wolves nodded back. “Good night, Ashitaka.”

As Ashitaka left, the two wolves turned to each other. “The gods have been kind to our sister, giving her the perfect person for a mate.” Kenji growled.

Isamu nodded. “Indeed. Now Ashitaka must ask San. I know she’ll jump at the opportunity to be his mate. The question is when Ashitaka will work up the courage to ask.”

Kenji just shook his head. “Humans. They make everything so difficult.”

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Ashitaka returned to the cave. San was still asleep right were he left her. Or so he thought. When he sat down, San spoke to him.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

Ashitaka jumped. He hadn’t known she was awake. “Your brothers wanted to talk to me.” He told her. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

San’s eyes opened. “It’s alright. What did they want to talk to you about?”

Ashitaka snickered. “If they wanted you to know, they would have invited you along too.”

San growled. Ashitaka laughed at the disappointed look on her face. “Ok, they just wanted to talk to me about you.”

San’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What about me?” she asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about. They’re just being overprotective brothers.”

San growled again, but it wasn’t directed at Ashitaka. “Don’t let those two give you a hard time. They used to give me trouble when I was a pup.”

Ashitaka laughed. “And now you a big strong warrior.”

“So are you.” San replied. She reached up and gentle traced her finger over the scar under his left eye. She frowned. “I remember when I gave you that. Did I ever apologize?”

Ashitaka just smiled and took her hand. “You don’t have to apologize. You thought I was trying to hurt you and you were merely defending yourself. I don’t want you to worry about it; I’ve already forgiven you. Besides, I like to think of it as your mark on me.”

San smiled and snuggled against him. “Mine.” She said.

Ashitaka wrapped his arm around her. “Yes, yours.”

San gave his cheek an affectionate lick and soon fell asleep. Ashitaka held her close and kissed her forehead before falling asleep himself.

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It was on the fourth day that Ashitaka had to head back. He didn’t want to go, but he needed to help rebuild Iron Town. San was just as upset to see him leave.

“Ashitaka, must you go?” she asked.

“I’m afraid so.” Ashitaka replied, securing Yakul’s saddle. “I’ve gotta finish rebuilding.”

“But I don’t want you to go!”

Ashitaka gave her a sad smile. “I don’t want to go either.”

“Then stay here with me.” San practically begged.

“I want to,” he told her, “but they need me.”

“But I need you!”

Ashitaka stopped working on Yakul and turned to her. She looked really upset about him leaving. He slowly walked over to her and embraced her.

“I need you too San. I hate being away from you. But that’s one of the reasons I keep my visits so short. The faster I finish Iron Town, the faster I can come live in the forest with you.” He broke the hug and smiled at her. “Besides, Eboshi said that Iron Town should be finish in about two weeks.”

San’s face lit up. “Really?” Ashitaka nodded. “Then you better work extra fast.”

Ashitaka laughed. “I will. And then we’ll never be apart again.”

“Good.”

The clearing of a throat broke the mood. San and Ashitaka turned to find the wolf brothers watching them.

“Don’t mind us.” Isamu teased.

The two humans blushed.

“Really, continue.” Kenji added, joining in on the fun.

Finding his voice, Ashitaka said, “No, I have to go.” He gave San a quick peck on the lips and mounted Yakul. “See you soon. Let’s go, Yakul.”

The red elk headed back to Iron Town, taking the Emishi prince with him. San watched him go, still upset about him leaving. She knew he had duties to Iron Town, just like she had her duties to the forest. But soon he would be all hers, and she would never let him go.

San turned and found her brothers looking at her. “What?” she asked. She didn’t like the way they were staring at her. “Don’t give me that look!”

Kenji snickered. “Already missing your mate, huh?”

“Oh shut up!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Uninvited Guests

Ashitaka signaled to the guard at the gate, indicating that he wanted entrance.

“Hey, we’re back.” he called.

The guard waved back at him. “Sure, just give us a minute. We’ll let you in.”

Ashitaka dismounted Yakul. “That’s ok, I got it.” He said.

Using his demonic strength, Ashitaka lifted the gate. It was much easier to do without a bullet wound in the chest.

“Go on Yakul.”

Ashitaka held the gate open for the elk before entering the village himself. The gate slammed shut behind him, causing the guard to wince.

“No matter how many times you do that, I keep expecting the gate to slam into you when you drop it.” The guard said.

Ashitaka laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m careful.”

He led Yakul through the small town and received several ‘welcome backs’ from the citizens.

“Hey Ashitaka!”

The Emishi prince turned to find Kohroku hurry over to him with a cast over his leg. Ashitala sighed. What had the goof done now?

“Kohroku, what happened this time?”

Kohroku blinked. “Huh? Oh, you mean this?” He lifted up his leg. “Um, the roof I was working on sort of collapsed.”

He grinned sheepishly as Ashitaka shook his head and laughed. “Oh Kohroku. And I assume Toki gave you a hard time about it.”

“Uh… yeah.” Kohroku muttered. “She’s still a little mad because I put us behind schedule.”

“Kohroku!”

Kohroku tensed up at the sound of his name being called.

“Kohroku, where are you?” Toki stormed out from behind one of the houses. “There you are! Where have you been? You need to… oh, hi Ashitaka.”

Ashitaka nodded to her. “Hello, Toki. I see you’re giving Kohroku a hard time again.”

“Me giving him a hard time?” Toki cried, grabbing her husband by the ear. “He’s giving me a hard time. He needs to finish the house.”

“But my tree flower, I’m still in bad shape.” Kohroku complained.

“You’ll be in even worse shape if you don’t get to work.” Toki snapped. She turned to Ashitaka, the anger fading from her voice. “So Ashitaka, how was your stay in the forest?”

“Very enjoyable.” He replied.

“And how’s the wolf-girl- I mean San?”

Ashitaka smiled at Toki’s attempt to respect his wishes and addressing San by her name. “She’s doing fine. But she’s getting impatient with how long it’s taking to finish Iron Town.”

Toki laughed. “I can imagine. I think it’s really cute. You’ll make her a fine husband someday.” She turned back to Kohroku, looking mad again. “Unlike my useless lump of a man.”

“But sweet heart.”

“Quiet you!” Toki scolded him. She turned back to Ashitaka. “By the way, Lady Eboshi wanted me to tell you to come see her when you got back. You have a visitor.”

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow. “A visitor? For me? Who?”

Toki shook her head. “Sorry, they wanted to keep it a secret.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Ok, thank you Toki. And don’t be too hard on him.”

An evil smirk crept over Toki’s face. “Oh don’t worry. I won’t be too hard on him.”

Kohroku gulped before Toki began dragging him away. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Toki darling. Ow! My ear! Dear please.”

Laughing at his friends’ bickering, Ashitaka made his way to Eboshi’s house. He wondered who could be visiting him. Definitely not anyone from his village since he was ‘dead’ to them; not to mention none of the Emishi people knew he was here. He hadn’t made any friends while he had traveled here, although he did make a few enemies.

He knocked on Eboshi’s door and heard her give him permission to enter, so he did.

“Welcome back, Ashitaka.” Eboshi greeted him. “I trust you stay in the forest went well.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, everything was fine.”

Eboshi smiled. “That’s good. I glad to hear everything is going alright. I trust San and her brothers are doing well doing well too.”

“They’re all fine.” Ashitaka replied.

This time the person that answered was not Eboshi, but another person whom Ashitaka did not realize was there before. “So you managed to bring peace between the forest and Iron Town. I’m impressed.”

Ashitaka tensed. He knew that voice. Turning around, he faced the speaking. Standing behind him was a short chubby man with a nose so red that it made him appear drunk.

The man smiled at the Emishi prince. “Good to see you again, stranger.”

Ashitaka’s eyes narrowed. “Jigo, what are you doing here?” he demanded. He hadn’t seen the monk since he took the Forest Spirit’s head back from him. He hadn’t expected to see him again, and he wasn’t really happy to see him.

Jigo smirked. “Just passing through.” He said. “I arrived two days ago and decided to stay here awhile. But judging by your tone, it doesn’t seem that you’re all that happy to see me.”

Ashitaka crossed his arms. “The last time we met, you tried to kill me and San so you could make off with the Forest Spirit’s head.”

“Ah yes, how is the wolf-girl?” Jigo asked, as if Ashitaka’s statement didn’t matter.

“Her name is San!” Ashitaka snapped. “And she’s doing much better, no thanks to you.”

Jigo sighed. “Oh come on now, I didn’t know things were going to turn out the way the did. I just thought that we would go in, get the head, and that was it.”

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow. “I find it hard to believe that you thought that killing a god of life and death wouldn’t have consequences. And it’s not just that. I haven’t forgotten what your men did. Many boars and people were killed in that battle of yours.”

“Mine?” Jigo cried. “I hired them to defend Iron Town. They did the rest. Eboshi, back me up.”

Eboshi didn’t even look at him. “Don’t try to get any support from me, Jigo. I’m still not happy with the fact that your men used my people to lure out the boars.”

Jigo sighed. “I guess I’m out numbered here. Can anything I say make it better.”

“No.” the other two replied.

Jigo shrugged. “Then I won’t bother saying anything. But really, you need to cut me some slack. Things have changed. The forest is restored, Iron Town is looking better than ever, the war between the gods of the forest and us has stopped-”

“And countless individuals are dead because of you.” Ashitaka snapped.

Jigo cut his eyes at him. “I told you before, kid, everyone dies eventually; some sooner than others.”

In one quick motion, Ashitaka whipped out his sword and held it up to Jigo. “Then it shouldn’t matter if I kill you now.”

Jigo didn’t even flinch. “Well it would matter to me, but not to anyone else. But I know you won’t kill me. You don’t have murder in your heart. You’ll only kill to defend yourself and those you care for.”

He was right too. Ashitaka despised Jigo for using him, Eboshi, and the people of Iron Town, but Ashitaka did not kill in cold blood. He sheathed his sword and asked in a demanding voice.

“Why have you returned? The Forest Spirit is dead, Iron Town is no longer harvesting iron; so what are you doing here?”

Jigo gave him a nervous smile. “Would you believe me if I said that I would like to make amends for what I’ve done?”

“Not really.”

Jigo laughed. “No, I guess you wouldn’t. Ok, truth be told, I’m in a bit of trouble. You see, the men that I hired, the ones that survived, I owe them a debt. And without the money I was going to get from delivering the Forest Spirit’s head to the emperor… well, you can figure it out.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Ah, so you’re in hiding.”

Jigo gave him that nervous smile again. “Just laying low for awhile. Eboshi still owes me.”

Ashitaka turned to her. “But you got him the head of the Forest Spirit.”

Eboshi nodded. “Yes, that’s true. But I still owe him for defending Iron Town from against the boars.”

Ashitaka was outraged. His fingernails dug into his hands as he tried to keep his voice low. “He used our people as bait!”

Eboshi sighed. “Yes, and while I’m not happy with how he defended the town, if it weren’t for his men, we might all have been killed by the boars.”

Anger filled Ashitaka. Yes, Iron Town had been protected, but at what cost? Many of the women had been left without husbands, and even more people had been injured. And that’s only counting the humans. Nearly all the boars were killed, along with Kenji, Okkoto had become a demon and nearly took San with him, and who knows what else happened that Ashitaka didn’t know about. To him, it didn’t seem like they owed Jigo anything.

But Ashitaka had a kind heart. He would not be cruel to Jigo, even though the monk hadn’t been all that kind to him. Still, it would take a long time for Ashitaka to trust the monk again.

Turning to leave, Ashitaka said, “You’ll have to earn my respect back all over again, Jigo. Eboshi has already earned hers back; I suggest you start on yours.” He was just about to leave before stopping for one final word. “I suggest you stay away from the forest. I haven’t forgiven you, and San certainly hasn’t either.”

“It was never my intention to hurt anyone.” Jigo said. “I was just trying to do what needed to be done in order to get my reward.”

Ashitaka shook his head. “In the words of Moro, ‘typical, selfish, you think like a human’.”

“Hey, you’re human too!” Jigo objected, not really even sure what Ashitaka was getting at.

“Yes, I’m human,” Ashitaka replied, not even facing him, “but I’m the kind that cares for everyone; human or not.”

With that he left. Jigo stared at the empty door for a few moments before saying, “Well, that could have gone better.”

“Better?” Eboshi said. “I think you got off easy.”

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Ashitaka walked along the top of the wall looking longingly out into the forest.

“San.”

He missed her already. And seeing Jigo again didn’t exactly brighten his mood He wished he had been warned who his ‘visitor’ was, then he may have been better prepared. He was a kind person that was quick to forgive, but seeing the man that had done so much wrong doing to him and those he cared about wasn’t easy for even someone like him to do.

“If any of the gods find out he’s here, things may get a little rough.” He thought.

He was sure that the truce would remain, but having Jigo around certainly wasn’t good for either side.

“Best not to mention this to San. We can do without any hostility.”

He knew San would kill him, for didn’t kill in cold blood either, but she certainly wouldn’t be happy to see the monk again either. And her brothers, they would be even worse. He looked at the small scar on his hand.

“There’s been more than enough violence.” He muttered.

“What was that?”

Ashitaka turned to the speaking. “Nothing, Gonza, just thinking out loud.”

Gonza may be thickheaded, but he could be logical at times. “I assume you’re thinking about that traitorous monk.”

Ashitaka smirked. “Obviously.”

Gonza growled. “That miserable old goon. I would have strangled him if Lady Eboshi hadn’t stopped me.” He growled, clenching his fist. “I respect milady and trust her judgment, but I still don’t understand why she’s sticking up for him.”

Ashitaka sighed. “Everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what they’ve done. If Jigo is really willing to change, then I’m willing to give him a second chance.”

Gonza stared at Ashitaka in disbelief. “You forgive that two-timer? After everything he did to us? To your wolf-girl?”

Ignoring the ‘wolf-girl’ remark, Ashitaka turned his gaze to where Jigo was staying. “No, not yet. He’ll have to earn it. But I’m willing to give him that chance and to forgive him.”

Gonza snorted. “You’re one of a kind, Ashitaka. You always look for the best in people. Do you know how many people demanded that he be imprisoned when he came back?”

“We all have our own opinion, Gonza. I believe that every living thing, whether man or beast, is truly good at heart. Some go down the wrong path, but even they deserve life and a chance to start over. If they’re willing to ask for forgiveness, we should be willing to forgive. And if Jigo is really willing to ask for forgiveness and a chance to start over, I will give him that chance.”

His little speech surprised Gonza. He didn’t understand how the boy could be so forgiven and compassionate.

“Ashitaka, I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, but I will try to be more… more… of a goody two-shoes.” he said, trying to find the right words to say. “Oh, you know what I mean!”

Ashitaka laughed. “Thank you, Gonza. So no strangling Jigo?”

Gonza growled but nodded. “Yes, no strangling Jigo.”

The two fell silent. Ashitaka’s gaze returned back to the forest. Somewhere in there was his princess. He could still remember the first time he saw her. Even covered in blood, she had been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He longed to be with her again. It had been less than a day and he already missed her.

As the Emishi prince stared out into the forest, he failed to notice the dark figure sneaking out of the greenery just to the left of where he was looking. Luckily, Gonza wasn’t daydreaming and he spotted the rapidly approaching figure.

“Hey, Ashitaka, what’s that?”

Coming back to reality, Ashitaka turned to Gonza in confusion. “Huh? What’s what?”

Gonza pointed at the figure getting closer and closer to the town. “That. Is it one of the gods of the forest?”

Ashitaka tried to make out what it was, but it was dark, making it hard to see. But as the creature got closer, the light from Iron Town brightened its features. Ashitaka gasped when he saw it. This creature was no god, not anymore.

“Gonza, sound the alarm!” he cried. “That’s a demon!”

“A demon?”

“Gonza! The alarm!”

Gonza blinked. “Huh? Oh, right! Everyone to your positions! We’re under attack! Move it, now!”

People jumped in surprise as Gonza rang the bell, letting everyone know of the danger. Those meant to guard the town hurried to their positions, and not just the men, but the women too, using the guns Eboshi specifically had designed for them.

“Gonza, what’s going on?” asked one of the villagers.

“There’s a damn demon coming this way!” Gonza shouted to everyone in hearing distance.

Several people gasped, and a few of the guards retreated in fright. Most held their ground though as they prepared for the demon’s attack.

“Everyone ready!” Gonza shouted. Every armed man and woman took aim, Ashitaka using his bow and arrow, refusing to use a gun. “Fire!”

The guns started blazing. The demo jumped high in the air, avoiding the gunfire. This god obviously wasn’t driven to become a demon by physical pain like Okkoto and Nago. That made it even more dangerous.

The demon landed at the gate of Iron Town and crashed into the wall. The force of the impact along with the demon’s cursed body rotting away the wood allowed the creature to burst through the gate.

People cried out as the giant creature’s glowing red eyes scanned Iron Town and the people in it. Like all demons, its body was covered in blackish reddish tentacles, its rage in physical form, that moved around as if they had a life of their own. The demon opened its mouth and roared loudly, causing the entire town to shake.

“Shoot it! Shoot it!” Gonza shouted.

Gunfire erupted from the guns again. The demon howled in pain, or more than it already was in, as bullets slammed into its flesh. The demon charged at random, slamming into one of the houses. People ran screaming in all different directions. The demon’s red eyes settled on them.

Ashitaka watched in horror as the demon looked at all the possible victims. He suddenly had a flashback to when Nago attacked his village, destroying all in his path with his blind fury.

“No, not again!” he declared. “YAKUL!!!”

Among the chaos, the elk heard his masters call and quickly ran over to the gate. Ashitaka jumped down and mounted Yakul.

“We must hurry, Yakul!” he said, preparing another arrow.

The demon chose a target, thankfully it was no people, and went for it. It slammed into another house. Cries came from inside as, indicating at there were people in the collapsing structure.

Ashitaka fired his arrow. It slammed into the demon’s side. It roared as the arrow pierced its body. The tentacles wrapped around it and the arrow immediately rotted away. The demon turned to Ashitaka and roared again.

“Great god of the forest, please listen to me!” Ashitaka cried, thinking it would probably be better to refer to the creature as a god rather than a demon to avoid insulting it. Not that it mattered though since words hardly meant anything to demons. “Calm your fury. Please, leave us in peace. We have no intention to harm you, the forest, or anything in it. Please, we don’t want to fight.”

If the demon even understood what the Emishi prince said, it ignored him, deciding to go after him instead. As Ashitaka reached for another arrow, Yakul jumped back in fright, causing Ashitaka to fall off the elk’s back.

The demon’s mouth opened wide, revealing long sharp fangs, which were the only things not covered by the tentacles of rage. It could easily swallow Ashitaka whole and not even need to use its teeth. Ashitaka whipped out his sword and swung at the demon. Several tentacles fell away from its body, but more immediately grew in their place.

More gunfire was heard, this time coming from the right. The bullets slammed into the demon’s sighed, causing it to cry out in pain. Ashitaka spared a glance at the shooters. A few of the villagers stood a short distance away shooting.

“Ashitaka, get out of there!” Toki cried, being among the group of shooting the demon, along with her husband.

“This thing isn’t working.” Kohroku cried, constantly pulling the trigger on his rifle.

“Idiot, the safety is on!” Toki yelled at him.

“The safety?” Kohroku repeated. “You mean this thing?” Click! BANG!!! The bullet nearly hit Ashitaka. “Um, oops.”

“Aim you dimwit!” Toki yelled at him.

While the demon was distracted, Ashitaka quickly managed to get away. He didn’t have long though as the gunmen ran out of ammo.

“Reload!” one of the villagers cried.

The demon shook itself like a dog trying to get dry. It turned back to where Ashitaka had been and was furious to see that he was gone. The demon roared in anger at its prey’s escape. The tentacles on its body shot out in all different directions, very much the same way Nago had done to curse Ashitaka back at the Emishi village.

The groups of tentacles acted as whips, striking in all different directions. Houses and fortresses collapsed as they were struck by the demon’s cursed tentacles, rotting away the structures.

“It’s going to destroy the town!” a villager cried.

The demon turned its attention to those that had allowed Ashitaka to escape. Half of them coward in fear as the other half attempted to reload their weapons.

“No!” Ashitaka cried, grabbing another arrow. “Leave them along!”

“Stand aside!”

Eboshi had arrived, carrying a gun much larger than the others. Gonza was with her, helping to support the gun since it was difficult for Eboshi to do so with one arm.

“Eboshi!” Ashitaka cried.

She didn’t even look at him. “Just give me one clear shot.”

Gonza held up the front end of the gun, making sure to keep out of the bullet’s path, as Eboshi held the end. A sound of thunder was heard as the gun fired. The bullet hit the demon in the side with such force that it went straight through it, blowing a hole in the gate.

The demon roared and collapsed. It was on its feet again a mount later before charging. It didn’t head for anyone else though. Instead, it crashed into the gate, bursting straight through, and returning to the forest from whence in came.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Demon Investigation

Iron Town was in bad shape. The outer wall was practically falling apart, houses were destroyed, and town folk were injured. The demon attack had only lasted a few minutes, but damage was great.

“All our hard work, ruined!” someone cried, looking at the destruction.

“Nothing is ruined.” Eboshi said. “We’ve simply been put behind schedule.”

“Behind schedule?” Gonza cried. “Milady, look at the town!”

“The damage can be fixed, Gonza, just like last time.” She turned and looked in the direction the demon had run off in. “The real problem is that demon. Where did it come from?”

“The gods are going against the truce!” someone yelled angrily.

Ashitaka immediately rose to defend the gods of the forest. “The gods have not broken the truce! They don’t want a war anymore than we do. That demon is not in league with them. All demons are the same. Mindless, destructive creatures born from rage and pain. That demon is as much a threat to the forest as it is to us.”

No one questioned him, and for good reason. He was right. Whether man or beast, town or forest, a demon would destroy anything and everything.

Jigo, thinking it was safe, came out from his hiding place. “This was not the type of thing I wanted to run into while in hiding.”

“You!” Gonza growled. He moved fast and grabbed the monk by his shirt, lifting him off the ground. “This is your doing, isn’t it?”

Jigo struggled to get free. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s just like Okkoto!” Gonza accused. “You caused him to turn into a demon! Now you did the same thing to this god!”

“I did no such thing.” Jigo cried.

“Yeah right. You return and a demon just happens to show up. What kind of fool do you think I am?”

“Ok, first off, it was my men that caused Okkoto to turn into a demon, not me. And second, why and how would I alone turn another god into a demon? I had nothing to do with this.”

“Liar!”

Eboshi stepped forward. “Gonza, put him down. Jigo has had nothing to do with this.”

Gonza didn’t release the monk, but he did to turn Eboshi. “But, milady…”

“No one man can turn a god into a demon on their own. It takes the greatest pain and the greatest rage for such a thing to happen. Not even Jigo is capable of that.”

Gonza growled. He would much rather have blamed the whole thing on Jigo; it would give him a reason to be able to knock out a few of the monk’s teeth. Instead he just dropped him and went to rejoin Eboshi.

Glad that that was settled, Eboshi turned to the others. “We need to be prepared for another attack. It’s hard enough to kill a god, but demons are even worse. We have to stop it at all costs.”

Several people looked very uncomfortable about fighting a demon, but none dared argue with Eboshi. All except one that is. Ashitaka went up to Eboshi, ready to discuss what he was going to do.

“Eboshi, I can’t stay.” He said. “I have to warn San. She may not know of the demon yet.”

Eboshi considered him for a moment. “I would rather have you here. Your demon strength would be useful.” Ashitaka opened his mouth to argue, he hadn’t been asking for permission, but Eboshi held up her hand to stop him. “But I know that I would be foolish to think I could stop you from going to San.” She gave him a knowing smile. “Go to your princess. Do you what you need to do. See if you can maybe find out what type of god the demon originated from. That may help s fight it.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Thank you for understanding.”

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San’s hearing and sense of smell were better than that of the average human, having learned to use them to hunt and track, but they were nowhere as near as good as her brothers’. So it wasn’t surprising that it was Isamu noticed the person looking for them.

“There’s a human coming.” He said.

“A human?” San repeated, stopping to listen and smell. “It must be one of the town folk. But why would they be this deep in the forest?”

Isamu rolled his eyes. “It’s Ashitaka.”

“Ashitaka? I didn’t expect him back so soon.”

Kenji chuckled. “Aw, he misses his mate.”

“Quiet you!” San snapped.

“Yes, quiet.” Isamu growled seriously. “Here’s searching for you, San. Something’s wrong. There’s fear in his voice.”

Fear? It must be something serious. There weren’t many things that could scare Ashitaka. And with his demon strength, he could handle almost anything.

Then San heard him calling her name from a distance. He was still too far away for her to be able to tell if there was fear in his voice, but his call for here wasn’t simply him trying to locate her. There was desperation in his voice.

“Let’s go.” She said, hopping onto the younger wolf’s back.

The three of them rode towards Ashitaka’s cries. The closer they got, the more San could detect the desperation in his voice. Isamu was right. Something was very wrong.

“San!”

“Ashitaka!” she called back, trying to get his attention.

Ashitaka heard her and they met up a short while later. San hopped of her brother as Ashitaka dismounted Yakul.

“Ashitaka, what’s wrong?”

The Emishi prince wrapped his arms around her protectively. San could smell sweat and blood on him. Now she was beginning to worry.

“Thank the gods you’re alright.” He said.

“Of course I’m alright.” San replied. “What’s going on?”

Ashitaka broke them embrace, but kept his hands on her shoulders as he told her the reason for his distress. “San, Iron Town was just attacked by a demon.”

San’s eyes widened as his words sank in. “What?” she muttered.

“A demon?” Kenji growled. “Are you sure?”

Ashitaka turned to the younger wolf. “I have had more than enough experience with demons. Yes, I’m positive. It attacked Iron Town then ran back into the forest.”

The wolves looked at each other then turned back to the two humans. “What type of demon?” the eldest asked. “Did you see what type of god it used to be?”

Ashitaka shook his head. “It was too consumed by rage to make out its true form.”

Kenji growled. “This is bad. A demon is a threat to both the forest and to Iron Town. Ashitaka, my brother and I must inspect the attack sight. Maybe then we’ll be able to determine what this demon once was.”

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From a distance, the damage to Iron Town didn’t look too bad, but the closer they got, the more devastating the town looked.

“It did this?” Isamu growled.

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, it burst straight through the gate and started attacking. It will take some time to repair the damage.”

San growled as she realized that this destruction meant Iron Town falling behind schedule before it was completed, meaning she would have to wait even longer while Ashitaka had to rebuild. She shook her head as she scolded herself for being so selfish. There was a demon on the loss and all she could think about was how long it would be before Ashitaka could come live with her. First they would take care of the demon, then she would worry about her love life.

“Take us to a place that we’ll be able to pick up the demon’s scent.” Kenji growled.

Ashitaka nodded. “Ok, but first I better tell them you’re coming.”

“I thought we had a truce.” Said San.

“We do.” Ashitaka replied. “But they were just attacked by a demon; they’re a bit jumpy. Seeing your brothers might worry them.”

He rode Yakul over to the entrance, signaling to the guards.

“Back already?” the guard said.

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, and San and her brothers are with me.”

The look on the guard’s face clearly showed that he didn’t like the idea of having Iron Town’s former enemies arriving while they were vulnerable.

“The wolves? Why are they here?”

Ashitaka sighed. Why couldn’t the guard just believe that nothing bad would happen? “They are here to help. They’re going to see if they can find out what type of demon it was. Please let the others know.”

The guard nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Thank you. Oh, and make sure Jigo stays out of sight until they’re gone.”

As Ashitaka went to get San and her brothers, the guard quickly informed the people of the wolf tribe’s visit. Several people decided to simple stay away, but a few were curious about them now that the war was over.

“So this is where the demon entered from.” Isamu observed, looking at the hole in the gate the demon had burst through.

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, it came through here and ran out over there.” He said, to pointing to the second hole.

Isamu sniffed the rotting wood and immediately jumped away, rubbing his nose with the back of his paw and making gagging noises. Ashitaka, San, and Kenji felt bad for the poor god. Demons did not smell good, neither did their trail.

“Gross, how could you just sniff that?” San asked.

Isamu snorted a few times, trying to get the smell out of his nose. “I was hoping to find a trace of the demon’s god scent, but it’s too consumed by rage to make out. All I smell is death.”

“That’s all demons bring.”

They all turned to find Eboshi approaching. The wolves made a frustrated growling noises, but that was it. San glared at her, but she too did nothing.

“Hello San.” Eboshi greeted.

San frowned but nodded in greeting. “Eboshi.”

Ashitaka looked back and forth between the leader of Iron Town and the wolf tribe. He could sense the tension in the air. This was the first time they had met since Eboshi lost her arm.

Turning away from San, Eboshi approached Isamu, looking at the hole in the gate. “Do you have any idea what type of god this demon once was?” she asked the wolf.

“I just said that I couldn’t make out the scent.” He growled. “All I smell is demon essence.”

Eboshi sighed. “I was afraid of that. It would have been helpful to know what the demon once was.”

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” Kenji growled.

Eboshi turned to the younger wolf. “There is no need to be rude. We may not get along, but lets not make things more difficult.”

“Eboshi!” Ashitaka said warningly. The woman was asking for trouble.

“I am simple trying to prevent any hostility.” Eboshi stated. “There is no reason for us to fight. I am not asking for the gift of friendship, but I am hoping that we can get along.”

Isamu walked away from here to rejoin the other, muttering, “Not likely,” under his breath.

Overall, Ashitaka thought that the ‘reunion’ went rather well. The wolf tribe didn’t like being around Eboshi, but they did put up with her. San’s brothers did there best to try and find out what the demon once was, without much luck, as San questioned Eboshi and the other town folk. However, at one point someone managed to work up the courage to actually approach San.

Reaching as far over as he could, while still trying to keep as much distance between himself and the Princess Mononoke, Kohroku tapped o San’s shoulder to get her attention. When San turned to him, Kohroku jumped back as if she were about to attack him.

“Uh, hi Miss San, Mononoke, princess of the gods of the forest, wolf-girl, ma’am!” he said very quickly.

San blinked a few times and merely stared at him. “…Hi.” She said, confused by Kohroku’s actions.

Kohroku took a few deep breaths and gulped a couple of times before speaking again. “Um, my name is Kohroku. Ashitaka is a very good friend of mine, and since he trusts you I was hoping that perhaps we could get to know each other a bit and maybe sort of become friends or something. If you don’t want to that’s ok, just please don’t kill me.”

He had said all this in one breath. San barely managed to make out what he said and she didn’t really know how to respond.

A hand reached up and grabbed Kohroku’s ear. “Honestly Kohroku, that’s not a how you make a good impression on someone.” Toki said to her husband, keeping a firm grip o his ear. She turned to San. “Sorry for my husbands behavior. He came be a little strange at times.”

“A little?” San thought, but instead she just said, “Ok.”

Toki gave her a smile. “So San, may I call you San?” San nodded. “So San, I’m glad we can actually meet and not be at each others’ throats. I’m Toki, and this goof is my husband, Kohroku. As he said, we’re friends of Ashitaka’s.”

San just nodded. This was unexpected. She had been planning to come to Iron Town to identify the demon and then leave, not get to know the town folk. Apparently these two had other ideas. Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, she decided to change the topic.

“I’m afraid I don’t have time for pleasantries.” She said. “There is a demon on the loose and we need to stop it.”

Toki nodded. “Of course. We’ll see you later. Nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you.” Kohroku repeated right before his wife pulled on his ear, dragging him away. “Ow, ow, ow!”

San wasn’t sure how to feel about this unexpected development. She shook her head, deciding to put these thoughts aside for now and focusing on the matter at hand.

“Well you certainly wounded it pretty badly.” She said, looking at the pools of demon blood. “Too bad the blood is tainted, we can’t identify the scent.”

“It headed off in that direction.” Gonza pointed out.

Kenji glared at him. “We can see that! We’re not stupid!”

“I’m sure they can tell from the trail of death it left behind.” Eboshi said.

“Uh… right. Sorry milady.”

Eboshi smirked. “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to them.”

Gonza looked surprised by Eboshi’s order, as did San and her brothers. Ashitaka immediately perked up, seeing that Eboshi was making an attempt to get on the wolf tribe’s good side, although it would take a lot more than that.

Gonza clenched his teeth together as he tried to apologize to his former enemies. “I-I’m s-sor-ry.”

Kenji turned away. “Accepted.” He growled.

San walked over to the second hole in the wall that the demon had made in order to escape. “We should follow its trail.” She said. “It’s obvious that we will not be able to determine what the demon originally was, but whatever it was, it will just everything in its path just like any other demon. We have to stop it before any more damage occurs.”

Isamu nodded. “Agreed.”

San hopped onto his back and turned to Ashitaka hopefully. “Ashitaka, are you coming.”

He nodded. “Yes, let me grab Yakul.”

Kenji moved to block his path. “There is no need. I am more capable than the elk. You shall ride me.”

Ashitaka did not argue. He climbed onto Kenji’s back as if he had done it many times.

“Hey wait!” Gonza cried. “You can’t go after that demon on your own.”

Ashitaka smiled at him. “It’s alright, Gonza. We are capable of taking care of ourselves.”

“Have you gone mad?” Gonza yelled. “Do you not remember what that demon did?”

“My memory is fine, Gonza. But I trust San and her brothers with my life. We will be fine.”

“Perhaps it would be better to have some of our warriors go with you.” Eboshi suggested.

“There is no need.” Isamu said. “They will merely slow us down, and we cannot be troubled with their safety while dealing with a demon.”

“Besides, you’ll need all your warriors here in case it comes back.” San added.

With that, the wolves ran off after the demons trail with the two humans on their backs. Eboshi watched them go with a slight smile on her face.

“Well, it’s nice to know they care.” She said.

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Meanwhile, approaching Iron Town from the other side of the forest, a small army made their way closer to their intended target. That target was Iron Town. This wouldn’t be the first time that some of these men have been to Iron Town, having been sent there before to take it over by the warlord Asano. But these men had been chased away the rampaging Forest Spirit after it had its head blown off.

This time, Lord Asano himself was with his army of samurai to make sure Iron Town fell under his command. He was currently on horseback at the front of his men. He was rather old, around fifty. His gray hair grew only around just above his ears, going around the back of his head and leaving his top bald. His eyes held an evil glint in them as they stared forward. While his left eye was gray, his right eye was completely white with a scar going vertically across it, almost as if he had been slashed by a sword. His smug confident smile was that of a wicked man with evil intentions, and just below his smirk was a short gray beard hanging from his chin.

Walking by his side was another man clad in black armor from the neck down. His red hair, as red as his cape, was long enough to occasionally brush in front of his bottle green eyes. And in those eyes was a look of evil. This man’s features were cold and emotionless. He was a man that had no heart, no conscience of any kind. An evil being that will kill even an infant without hesitation. He was Asano’s right hand man and he was the perfect killing machine. Countless individuals met their end by him.

Hidden within the bushes, two gods of the forest watched these men trespass. But their sights were set upon the two leaders, Lord Asano and the empty shell of a heartless man that walked beside him. The first god was a fox, about the size of the horse that Lord Asano rode on, and the other was one of the apes that took care of the forest and planted new trees.

“These man creatures are not like the other man creatures of the Iron Town.” the ape grunted. “These men bad men. Very bad men. They have much darkness in their hearts.”

The fox growled. “Those men are just pawns. It’s that head man that’s in charge.”

The ape looked at Lord Asano. “Yes, that man creature is the big bad one.”

“He’s in charge.” Said the fox. “The others are merely hired hand. Without him, they will have no cause for being here.”

“These man creatures be bad for the forest and for the Iron Town. They will destroy all.”

The fox bared his fangs. “Not if I can help it.” He narrowed his eye at Lord Asano. “I’ll take out their head, then the rest will have no purpose and they will leave.”

“Fox must be careful.” The ape warned. “The boss man creature very dangerous.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about.” The fox replied. His eyes moved to the emotionless man beside Asano. “It’s the other one. The one in black.”

The ape actually took a step back. “That man an evil man. He have a heart of darkness.”

“I’ll deal with him later, if I must.” The fox growled. “But first their leader!”

The fox jumped out of his hiding place, ready to pounce on Lord Asano. The man beside him reacted before the fox had even jumped completely out of his hiding spot. In an instant, the man whipped out his sword, which had a blood red blade, as he jumped in the air. The fox didn’t even realize what was happening as the man struck him down with one swipe of his sword. The fox dropped to the ground whimpering in pain. The man landed beside him, switching his sword to a stabbing position and stabbed the fox in a way that not even a god could survive.

Without a second’s hesitation, the man immediately charged at the ape’s hiding place. The ape’s eyes widened as the black armored man’s sword swung through the air. The ape was dead with one swipe of the sword.

In less than 7 seconds, two gods of the forest lay dead on the ground. The sword in the man’s hand was covered in the gods’ blood, but it blended in perfectly with the red blade. The man swung his sword, sending blood flying and leaving the blade perfectly clean.

Jumping through the air, the man landed by Lord Asano, sheathing his sword before his feet even touched the ground, and continued walking as if nothing had happened. He hadn’t broken a sweat or even blinked.

Lord Asano chuckled, glancing at his bodyguard. “Very impressive, Teralis. You made nice work of those two.”

The man, Teralis didn’t show the slightest bit of emotion. “Those two? They were nothing. Merely insects flying in my field of vision for me to swat. They were a waste of my time.”

Asano sneered. “Not to worry, my friend. I’m sure you’ll find some ways to entertain yourself once we get to Iron Town.”

This time, the smallest bit of a smile appeared over Teralis’ face. But this smile was one of evil intentions. “Just give me someone to slay that’s worth my while and I shall be satisfied.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Lord Asano’s Threat

“Milady! Milady! Come quick!” the guard shouted.

Eboshi turned away from the people giving her a damage report to look at the guard. She immediately saw that something was wrong and for a minute feared that the demon had come back. Gonza, on the other hand, didn’t pick up on the guard’s panic.

“Go away!” he shouted. “Milady is very busy.”

Eboshi rested her hand on Gonza’s shoulder. “Calm yourself, Gonza.” She said. She turned back to the guard. “What’s the problem?”

The guard struggled to catch his breath. “Milady, Lord Asano and his samurai approach.”

Those seven words were enough to send a jolt pf fear into the fearless woman. Asano and his men? Coming here? No, not now; not when they were so vulnerable.

“WHAT?!?” Gonza cried, getting everyone’s attention.

The guard nodded. “They have us outnumbered.”

Gonza growled, his fingernails digging into his palms. “Damn it, where’s Ashitaka when we need him.” He turned to the town folk. “Everyone get ready for battle! We will defend Iron Town!”

“Gonza, relax.” Eboshi said, trying to appear calm. “Allow me to speak with him. Perhaps we can negotiate.”

Gonza didn’t like that idea. “But milady-”

Eboshi shook her head. “We are at too big of a disadvantage right now. I must do what I can, but be prepared to defend yourselves if necessary.”

“It’s that monk’s fault, isn’t it? He made a deal with those murderers!”

Jigo glared at him. “Will you stop blaming everything on me. Asano is as much my enemy as he is yours.”

“Enough!” Eboshi snapped impatiently. “This is not the time. I must speak with Lord Asano.”

Gonza growled. “Very well. I have your back.”

Reluctantly, Eboshi made her way to the gate and climbed the watchtower as she waited for her enemy to arrive.

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Asano smirked as he saw the guard run for the leader of Iron Town. So they were going to meet with him this time. Not that they had much of a choice considering the condition Iron Town was in. He wondered what had happened anyway.

“Not so arrogant now, are they?” he said to himself.

Teralis’ eyes shifted to his master. “Sir?”

Asano shook his head. “Nothing, it’s in the past. But these people can be very arrogant.” His eyes turned to the large hole in the gate. “But just as a precaution.”

Teralis followed Asano’s gaze to the hole. “Shall I?”

Asano nodded. Teralis was gone a moment later as if he had suddenly disappeared. Asano smirked evilly. He was more than confident with his right hand man’s skills. Anyone who got in his way would be dead before they even were aware of the danger.

He arrived as close to the gate as he dared to go. Eboshi was in the watchtower along with a few bodyguards. She only had one arm. Had she lost it when his samurai had last attacked or when she was hunting the Forest Spirit? Probably the latter.

“Eboshi!” he called.

The leader of Iron Town glared down at him. “Lord Asano, what brings you here?”

Asano closed his eyes and snickered. “What brings me here? Eboshi please, lets not beat around the bush. You know very well why I am here. I have come for the iron your town provides.”

Eboshi forced a smile. “Your vision must be going bad in your old age, or else you would notice that Iron Town no longer harvests iron.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed.” Asano replied. “A shame really. But there are enough peaceful towns like this. It should have remained the way it was before. It will take a very long time to return it to the way it once was.”

Eboshi shook her head. “Do you not know why we rebuilt the town this way? Do you not know why Iron Town was destroyed in the first place? Do you not know why nearly all of the men you sent to take over Iron Town were killed?”

Asano just laughed. “Oh, don’t try to pull that one on me.”

“I am not trying to pull anything on you, old man.”

Asano continued laughing. “You can’t fool me, Eboshi. I know that the great Forest Spirit is dead. And if the greatest of the gods of the forest can be killed, then so can the other weaker ones.”

“No, you fool!” Eboshi shouted. “The Forest Spirit could have destroyed us all. He decided to spare us once his head was returned! And the other gods are no pushovers! If it wasn’t for the truce, we would still be at war and-”

“Enough of your nonsense!” Asano snapped. “Iron Town will once again be famous for what it was named after. And I will be the one who gives the orders. I suggest you give into my demands, Eboshi. From the looks of things, you won’t stand much of a chance should I have my men attack.”

Eboshi glared at him. “You should be careful of what you say. We have our guns aimed right for you. All I have to do is give the order and-”

Eboshi stopped talking as the feeling of metal touched her neck.

“Don’t move.” The person that held the blade to her neck hissed. “Tell your men to stand down or I’ll slit your throat.”

“What the hell?!?” Gonza cried as he and Eboshi’s other bodyguards jumped back, startled by Teralis’ sudden appearance. They hadn’t seen or heard him coming at all. “Where the hell did he come from?”

Teralis pressed the blood red blade closer into Eboshi’s throat. “I suggest you do as my master says. If you don’t, I’ll kill you here and now, and his men will swarm Iron Town, killing every man, woman, and child.” A small smile displayed over his face. “I’m actually hoping for that, as is my master. He loves a good battle, and I love the feeling of steel passing through flesh.”

The sound of a gun being cocked came from behind him followed by, “Get away from milady or I’ll blow your head off!”

Teralis remained where he was, ignoring the woman’s orders. He had know that she would be the first one to attack, just as he had known that she would threaten to kill him before she actually did to give him a chance to live. The fool.

“You should know,” he said in an emotionless tone, “that if anyone should ever point a gun at me, that they should us it the very first chance they get.”

In a flash, Teralis had moved away from Eboshi and swung his sword faster then anyone could see. One moment he had his sword pressed against Eboshi’s neck, the next he was facing the woman who had a gun pointed at him with his sword the position of someone who had already struck.

The gun in the woman’s hand spilt in half from the perfect cut of Teralis’ sword. The woman gasped and began pulling the trigger, accomplishing nothing. She looked at Teralis fearfully.

“Because if you don’t,” he said, suddenly lunging forward and burying his sword in the woman’s gut, “you’ll be dead before you get another chance.”

The woman fell dead at his feet. There was a cry of as one of the men moved in to attack. Teralis dodged the weapon, after deliberately giving the man a chance to attack, and swung his sword. The man’s arm, containing the weapon, was cut clean off. The man cried out before Teralis struck again and his head joined his arm on the ground.

“Get him!” someone shouted.

Three more people charged at Teralis, who didn’t even blink. He ran right past them, swinging his sword faster then any of them could see. All three dropped dead.

More people made a move to attack, but Teralis pointed his sword at them and said, “Wait!” Everyone froze. “I can very easily kill every last one of you, something I will have no trouble doing, and is actually something I look forward to doing. But my master is willing to… negotiate. I suggest you do as he says. Otherwise his samurai will fill this town and kill you all. And with those large openings, you don’t have much of a defense. And even if by some miracle, you do manage to kill me, you will not survive my master’s attack. But I look forward to finding someone, anyone, worthy of my blade, ad I will cut down anyone in my path who isn’t. So please, continue your attack if you desire, but think carefully before you do.”

He fell silent. No one moved, nor did they make an attempt to put down their weapons. Finally Eboshi sighed.

“Put down your weapons.” She said.

The town folk looked at her, stunned. “But milady…” someone cried.

Eboshi shook her head. “I will not sacrifice you all.” She turned back to Lord Asano, who was smiling triumphantly. “Very well, Asano. You win,” then whispered real quietly, “for now.”

Asano closed his eyes and snickered. “I know.”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Five days had passed since San and Ashitaka had gone to search for the demon. Neither of them had any idea tat Lord Asano had taken over Iron Town. They followed the trail of contamination that the vile beast left behind. They never found the creature, only death. It was to be expected. Demons never ate or slept, they just kept going like unstoppable killing machines. Although they were gods, Isamu and Kenji needed to stop tracking from time to time to rest and eat. Every time they did, the demon would slip further and further away. It seemed as if the only way they would find the demon would be if it came to them, or if it became too weak from hunger and lack of sleep to continue its murderous rampage.

Today their tracking brought them to yet another scene of death left behind by the demon. Dead trees, animals, and gods lay dead all around them. The sight brought tears to their eyes.

“This must stop.” Kenji growled. “We have to find this demon before it can cause any more damage.”

“Easier said than done.” Isamu replied.

“What surprises me,” said Ashitaka, “is that the demon is able to continue on like this even after the damage the people of Iron Town inflicted upon it.”

“Then it must have been newly born.” Kenji said.

“I thought we had already established that.” Said San, looking at the damage.

“We should check for survivors.” Said Ashitaka. Not that he had expected to find many, or any at all.

As it turned out, there was only a single survivor. One of the few remaining boar gods was trapped beneath a large rotting tree. It was unconscious, but even if it wasn’t it would have been able to move the large tree off of itself.

“Hey, over here!” Kenji cried. “I found one!”

The others hurried over to him.

“Is he alive?” Ashitaka asked.

Isamu sniffed the boar. “Yes, he lives. But we must get this tree off of him.”

Using what little water Ashitaka had with him, he poured it over the boar’s face. The boar flinched at the contact of the cold liquid and opened his eyes.

“Can you move?” Isamu asked.

The boar struggled to speak. “Yes.”

“Hang on.” said San. “We’ll get you out, but we will need your help.”

The boar took a few deep breaths. “I will try.”

San, her brothers, and the boar attempted to move the tree, but without Ashitaka’s demon strength, they never would have been able to do it. The boar struggled to move out from under the large tree, which came crashing down when the others let go.

The boar forced himself to his feet, taking a few deep breaths before turning to his rescuers. “Thank you, wolf clan.” His gaze settled on Ashitaka. “You are the one that killed Nago.”

Ashitaka flinched. “I would prefer not to be known by such a title.” He said quietly.

San glared at the boar. “Ashitaka is not like the other humans. I expect you and everyone else to treat him the same way you would me or any other god.”

Ashitaka looked at San in surprise. Truly he was not worthy of such a title.

Seeming to know what he was thinking, San said, “Yes Ashitaka, you are worthy.”

“Indeed.” Isamu agreed.

Whether the boar agreed or not, he bowed his head and said, “Forgive me. And I thank you for helping me.”

“Who are you?” Kenji asked.

“My name is Kaiju.” The boar replied. “If you have come for the demon, I’m afraid you are too late. It attacked and left two days ago. I have been trapped beneath that tree ever since.”

Although the news was meant to be bad news, it was good for Ashitaka and the wolf tribe. That meant that they were catching up with the demon.

“Two days?” Ashitaka repeated. “Then we’re getting closer.”

“I’m going too!” Kaiju declared.

“You shouldn’t.” San said, observing the boar’s injuries. “You’re wounded.”

Kaiju glared at her. “I will not stand by and let a demon run free! My friends have lost their lives fighting this demon. I will fight!”

Kenji shook his head. “San, you should know hoe stubborn boar are.”

“What did you say, you miserable wolf?”

“Quiet!” Ashitaka snapped. “There is no reason for us to be fighting. It is the demon we should be concerned about. Let’s not waste time arguing.” He turned to the boar. “San is only concerned for your health. I agree that you should regain your strength.”

The boar shook his head. “I am going!” he cried, leaving no room for argument.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

As predicted, Kaiju did have to stop and rest quite a bit due to his injuries, much to the irritation of the two wolves. After stopping for the fourth time, Ashitaka suggested stopping for the night early to give Kaiju a chance to recover.

“Perhaps we could slip away.” Kenji suggested, watching the sleeping boar.

“He will still go after the demon and will most likely die.” Ashitaka replied.

“Is it our fault boars are so stubborn?” the wolf growled.

“I will not leave him to die.” Ashitaka said aggressively.

Kenji growled but didn’t press the matter further. San smirked at Ashitaka’s boldness. The fact that he appreciated all life was one of the many things that she loved about him so much.

“We’ll rest for tonight.” She said. “But tomorrow we have to keep going. We are losing the ground we’ve covered.”

Isamu nodded. “Agreed. Now lets sleep. We will need our strength.”

The wolves settled down with San resting against them. Ashitaka chose to sit under a tree, not sure if San’s brother would be comfortable with him sleeping with them. True, he would sleep besides San in her cave, although they didn’t do anything, and her brothers knew that, but he wasn’t sure if he should sleep with her right in front of them.

“Ashitaka? Why are you over there?” San asked.

Ashitaka was silent for a moment. “I am not sure if I should… intrude.”

San giggled. “Come to me.” She said, reaching out for him.

Ashitaka hesitated, his gaze shifting over to the two wolves. He caught both of them watching both him and San with one eye opened and amused looks on their faces before they pretended to be asleep.

Slowly, Ashitaka went over and laid by San against her brothers’ warm fur. San wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest with a satisfied sigh. Ashitaka smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: An Even Bigger Problem

A familiar scent tickled Isamu’s nose, bringing him out of his slumber. He nudged his companions awake.

“Isamu?” San muttered sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

The wolf growled. “There are humans nearby.”

“What?” Kenji cried, jumping up, knocking the two humans lying against him over.

“It’s probably just some of the citizens of Iron Town trying to hunt down the demon.” Ashitaka replied. “The fools. They don’t know what they’re up against.”

“Quiet.” Isamu growled. His ears twitched as he strained to listen. “They’re calling you.”

“Me?”

Isamu nodded. “You and San.”

San blinked. “Why would they want me?”

“Perhaps they found the demon.” Kenji suggested.

Isamu growled. “If so, they’re even bigger fools than I thought. Demons never sit still. It will have left before they could go for help.”

San stood up. “How many are there?”

“One moment.” Isamu sniffed the air.

“Will my scent interfere?” Ashitaka asked.

The older wolf shook his head. “No, you smell different from them.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Good.” San replied. “I like your scent.”

Ashitaka blushed as Isamu growled. “I am trying to concentrate here.” He sniffed the air for a few seconds. “I’m only picking up two.” He sniffed again. “I smell anxiety coming off them. They’re worried about something. Maybe they did find the demon.”

Kenji growled in annoyance. “I guess we better go see what the problem is.”

San and Ashitaka mounted the two wolves, as they were about to leave Kaiju woke up. “We’re are you going? You weren’t going to leave me behind, were you?”

San turned to him. “Go back to sleep. There are just some humans looking for us. We’ll go see what the problem is and then return.”

The boar got up. “I don’t trust humans. If they are in the forest, then it can’t be good.”

“We have a truce.” Kenji reminded.

“They damn near killed my entire tribe!” Kaiju shouted. “I’m not taking any chances. I’m going with you.”

San sighed. She turned to Ashitaka. “Will your friends behave?”

Ashitaka nodded. “They won’t try anything.”

San turned back to Kaiju. “Come with us if you wish. But you must behave too.”

The boar snorted. “Whatever.”

Isamu bared his fangs. “Boar, you will show our sister respect!”

“Let’s just go.”

“Not until you agree to behave.”

Ashitaka interrupted their argument. “It’s ok, I trust the town folk. And I trust him.”

“I’m flattered.” Said Kaiju sarcastically.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

“Ashitaka!” Toki called. “San! Where are you?”

Kohroku cautious followed her, constantly looking over his shoulder as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. “I still don’t know why we had to be the ones to come find them.”

Toki growled in irritation. “We were the only ones that made an attempt to get to know San, and we’re Ashitaka’s closest friends. The gods will be more likely to trust us than anyone else.”

Kohroku stepped on a twig and practically jumped into his wife. “Eboshi is a close friend of Ashitaka, and she too made an attempt to be friendly with San.”

Toki smacked her head. “Lady Eboshi is needed right now. Besides, do you think that sending the one that started war with the gods into their territory when we are still getting friendly with them is a good idea?”

“Uh… well… maybe they would, um… hmm…”

“Uch, you’re useless! Ashitaka, where are you!”

“Toki!”

Toki’s head snapped in the direction of Ashitaka’s voice. “Ashitaka? We’re over here!”

Toki wasn’t surprised to see San and her brothers arrive with him, but she didn’t expect to see a boar god. Apparently, neither did Kohroku, because he immediately clung to his wife’s arm, screaming in a high-pitched voice.

The two wolves winced at the high-pitched scream. “What the hell was that?” Kenji said.

Kohroku looked ashamed of himself. “Um, sorry. You startled me.”

Kenji rolled his eyes as Ashitaka chuckled on top of him. He turned to his human friends. “What’s happening? Isamu said that he could smell that something his wrong.”

Kohroku bravely, yet cautiously, patted the head of the wolf Ashitaka was riding on. “Wow, you’re a smart boy, aren’t you?” he said, trying not to let his voice tremble.

The wolf growled. “I am Kenji.”

Kohroku jumped back, looking embarrassed. “Oh, sorry. You both look the same.”

Kenji growled and Kohroku retreated behind his wife. Toki just rolled her eyes. “Ashitaka, Eboshi requests your presence.” She said. Her eyes scanned over San and her brothers. “There’s too.”

Isamu took a step forward, suddenly furious. “How dare that woman order us around! We are gods of the forest! Just because we have a truce does not mean we will be obedient dogs!”

Kohroku coward behind Toki and said, “S-She’s n-n-not-t ord-ordering you. She’s ask-k-king y-you.” he said in a shaky voice.

Toki groaned, trying not to let her irritation at her husband show. “Things have become much more serious than they are now.”

“How so?” Ashitaka asked. “There isn’t another demon, is there?”

“No, worse.”

“Ha!” Kaiju laughed. “What’s worse than a demon?” he asked, tempted to add ‘besides a human,’ at the end.

Toki glared at the boar. Even though Kaiju hadn’t said it, she knew what he was thinking. “Listen pig, I don’t know you, and I can tell that you don’t like humans. So just leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone.”

Kaiju’s eyes flashed with anger. “I am a boar god, you insolent human! How dare you speak you me in such a manner!”

“We don’t have time for this.” Isamu growled impatiently. “Just tell us what that woman wants with us.”

Toki took a calming breath. “Iron Town has been invaded by Lord Asano and his samurai.”

Ashitaka tensed up. “What? Why? The town isn’t harvesting iron anymore.”

“Yeah, he’s planning on changing that.” Said Kohroku. “He’s going to bring Iron Town back to the way it originally was.”

“Over his dead body!” Kenji barked, causing Kohroku to shrink back from his harsh tone.

“Who is this Lord Asano?” San demanded.

“Remember those people that wore the skins of Okkoto’s warriors?” Ashitaka asked.

“They did what to my kind?” Kaiju shouted.

“How could we forget those barbarians?” Isamu growled, ignoring the boar.

“They can be considered nice compared to the type of person Asano is.” Said Ashitaka. “I don’t know that much about him though, but he is a cruel man.”

“That’s only the half of it.” Said Toki. “He’s a ruthless murderer who gets his kicks out of commanding battles and watching the fighters kill each other.” She shook her head. “Lady Eboshi knows more about him then us. You’ll have to speak to her if you want more information on that creep.”

Isamu shook his head. “We must make the demon our top priority. This Asano will have to wait.”

“But he’s already kicked us out of Iron Town!” Kohroku cried desperately. “We have nowhere to go.”

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean he kicked you out of Iron Town?”

“Just what he said.” Toki replied. “Lady Eboshi surrendered and Asano kicked us out.”

Ashitaka found that very strange. Eboshi wasn’t really one to surrender. Apparently San thought so too because she said, “Eboshi has never seemed like the type to give up.” She said, sounding a little irritated.

Toki turned to her. “She’s not; not unless it’s in her best interest. With the condition Iron Town was in, we never would have survived had Asano sent his samurai to attack. One of his men already killed 12 people.”

Ashitaka felt his stomach dropped. “What, 12 people?” he cried in horror.

Toki nodded sadly. “Yes, single handedly. The guy even caught milady off guard; he had his sword to her throat. She negotiated with Asano afterwards. He let us leave with some supplies to survive. A few people tried to resist and that was when they were killed.”

Ashitaka was at a loss for words. Twelve people were dead. And from one man? How could this have happened? And why now when there was a demon on the loose.

“If your people were forced out of your town, where are they now?” Kenji asked.

Toki sighed. “In a secluded area of the forest.” She replied.

“What?” Kaiju bellowed. “There are more humans in our forest?”

Toki rolled her eyes. “Uh, yeah, where else would we go after being kicked out of town?”

Kaiju stomped his feet in aggravation. “More humans! More humans! I hate humans! Despicable selfish creatures!”

Ashitaka glared at him. “Surely all humans aren’t that bad.”

Kaiju stopped his tantrum. “Forgive me. I did not mean you or San. Neither of you are like that.”

“Nor are the people of Iron Town.” said Ashitaka. At Kaiju’s disbelieving look he added, “At least, not anymore.”

“It matters not.” Isamu said. “This Asano is apparently a problem for both our kinds. But the demon is troublesome too. Even more troublesome than this Asano.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure.” Toki replied. “Demons are bad, yes, but Asano has a whole army. They are already tearing down the forest and killing anything in the way. If you thought that we were bad, Asano and his men are ten times worse. I’m telling you, they’ll do far more damage than the demon.”

The others thought about this. They were conflicted. Not even Ashitaka knew enough about Asano to come to a conclusion of what should be done first. The demon or Asano?

“Tell us more about this Asano.” Said San.

Toki shrugged. “We don’t know much about him ourselves, besides the fact that he’s a murdering selfish bastard. You’ll have to speak to Lady Eboshi if you want to find out more about him.”

San thought about this. “As much as I despise speaking to that woman, I think it would be for the best to get what information she has about this Asano.”

“Yes.” Isamu agreed. “Perhaps then we can figure out what we should deal with first; the demon or Asano. Besides, the demon will get weaker by each day until it eventually dies. If we are lucky, it will be die on its own while we deal with Asano.”

Kenji didn’t like this plan. “Do you know how long it will take before a demon dies?”

Isamu shrugged, as best as he could for being on four legs. “Days, weeks maybe.”

“It will destroy the forest.”

“As will Asano. We must speak with the Eboshi woman to find out which is the bigger threat.”

“The demon will fall further beyond our reach.”

“It’s already beyond our reach.” Said San. “At this rate, our best bet at finding it will be by chance. We should speak with Eboshi.”

“I am not going into a nest of humans!” Kaiju cried.

Kenji turned to him. “I thought you wanted to come.”

“When there were only a couple of humans, not an entire town. Besides, if I see that damn woman, I may not be able to resist killing her. I will focus on the demon. You wolves do whatever you want.”

Ashitaka didn’t agree. “You’re still wounded. You shouldn’t go after a demon on your own.”

“Well I sure as hell am not going near anymore humans.” The boar growled. “Nor am I going to just sit around and do nothing while the forest is in danger. You will do what you feel is right, as will I.”

San sighed. “Fine, do as you wish.”

“I will.”

Kaiju stomped off, not even looking back. Ashitaka watched him go with a worried look on his face. “I don’t like the idea of letting him go off on his own in his condition.”

“There is nothing you can do.” Kenji growled. “Boars are stubborn and proud by nature.”

“Can we save this lesson for later?” Toki asked impatiently. “We have a bit of a situation here.”

“Yes, we should go.” Isamu agreed. Reluctantly he bent down. “Climb on.”

Both Toki and Kohroku were taken aback. “What?” the chorused.

Isamu growled impatiently. “We don’t have time to wait for you to run along side. This way will go faster.”

“But don’t get used to the idea.” Kenji warned. “We are not common pack mules, and we will not have us known as such.”

Toki nodded. “Understood. We’ll keep quiet.”

“I ride with Ashitaka!” Kohroku cried, wanting to ride with the person he felt he was safest with.

“Good, I wanted to ride with San.” Said Toki, climbing on top of Isamu.

San gave her a curious look. “Why with me?”

“Girl talk.” Toki replied happily.

It took about 2 minutes for Kohroku to work up the courage to attempt to climb up on Kenji and another 4 before he actually accomplished it. The moment he was on the wolf, he grabbed hold of Ashitaka so tight he cut off his circulation of blood.

“Kohroku, not so tight, please.” He begged.

“Oh… right. Sorry.”

He loosened his grip, but the moment Kenji started running he held on tighter then he had before. Toki on the other hand was a blast. She cried out in excitement as the wind rushed through her hair.

“This is not meant to be for your enjoyment.” Isamu growled beneath her.

“So what? This is great!” she cried. “San, I can’t believe you and Ashitaka do this all the time!”

“I’ve done this all my life.” San replied. Riding on her brothers was as natural to her as walking.

“Speaking of you and Ashitaka, how are things between you two?”

San wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”

Toki smirked. “You know what I mean. Has he asked you to marry him yet?”

San was unfamiliar with the word. “Um, marry?”

Toki realized her mistake. “Oh, right. I’ll put it in a way you’re familiar with. Has he asked you to be his mate yet?”

San turned beet red and she was sure she heard Isamu chuckle beneath her. “W-What?”

“You’re blushing!” Toki cried. “I never thought I would see the day that the Princess Mononoke would be blushing over a guy.” She giggled. “Then again, Ashitaka isn’t a normal guy, is he? A lot of women in town have their eye on him.”

San’s embarrassment was suddenly replaced with anger and jealousy. “Who has their eye on him?” she demanded. “Which women?”

Toki laughed. “Ooh, someone is jealous.” She teased. San growled in response. “It would probably be easier to tell you who doesn’t have their eye on him.”

San’s fists clenched together. Since she was holding onto her brother’s fur, she ended up pulling it, causing Isamu to growl.

“Who has their eye on him?” she asked again. Her eyes narrowed. “It’s not that damn woman, is it?”

Toki laughed. “Eboshi? No, don’t worry about her. She’s not the person to get into a relationship with anyone. But trust me, you don’t need to worry about the other women. You have Ashitaka’s heart locked away where it can never be touched by anyone. He loves you more than words can describe. No one stands even the slightest chance of getting him. He is all yours.”

San felt reassured, but she still had a scowl on her face. Even though Ashitaka was totally and completely hers, she did not like the idea of other woman trying to get her man. If anyone did anything like that when she was around, they would see the full extent of her wolf tendencies she learned from her mother and brothers.

“I can smell the other humans.” Isamu said, interrupting San’s protective thoughts.

They came across the area of the forest that the citizens of Iron Town were currently in. Ashitaka was shocked by what he saw. The people looked downright miserable. And the supplies that Asano had let them have, it looked like the people were only allowed to bring what they could carry, only enough for about half of the people to make it through the forest. Luckily, there weren’t many weapons, for when the wolves arrived, several people freaked out and looked like they were going to attack.

“Where is Eboshi?” San demanded of the first person they came across.

The man coward away from the wolves, looking absolutely terrified. Isamu growled in irritation. “For the love of the Forest Spirit, we are not going to attack!”

Ashitaka climbed off Kenji with Kohroku still clinging to him. “Eboshi called for us, now tell us where she is.”

“I am here.” The leader of Iron Town approached them. She looked awful. Terribly depressed. She looked… lost. Never had Ashitaka expected to see her like this. She hadn’t even been this upset when she lost her arm. “I’m glad you came. We have a bid problem.”

“Lord Asano, we know.” said Ashitaka.

“Tell us what you know.” Kenji demanded.

Eboshi nodded. “As you wish. Buts lets talk somewhere more privately.”

She led them to her residence, which at the moment was nothing more than a large tent. When they arrived, Kenji chuckled humorously.

“May I ask what you find so amusing?” said Eboshi coldly.

Kenji continued to chuckle. “Nothing. I just find it very ironic. Not too long ago you were invading our home, tearing it down and changing it to suit your benefit. You were forcing us from our home and killing those of us that defended it. Now it seems that the same thing is happening to you.”

Ashitaka closed his eyes, trying to remain patient. Why was Kenji trying to stir up trouble?

However, Eboshi seemed unaffected by the wolf’s statement. “True, we were cruel to you in the past. We did do you wrong. And now we are suffering the same fate. As you sow, so shall you reap. But, let me point out that while we were not right in our actions, it was indeed you gods that started the war when Nago attacked us.”

Kenji growled. “Nago was defending our home!” he cried defensively. “He was the guardian, it was his job!”

“And he saw it fit to begin a war in order to defend the forest.” Eboshi replied.

Ashitaka had enough of this. He didn’t like where this was going. “What are you getting at, Eboshi?” he demanded.

Enoshi turned to him. “I am just making a point. If they are going to continue to hold a grudge against us, then they must accept the error of their ways too. It was Nago that began the war.”

“And it was the town folk that provoked him into beginning it.” Ashitaka pointed out. “The blame rests with both sides. We can go round and round forever, or we can accept the fact that the past is behind us and move to a bright future.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “But at the moment, the future doesn’t look so bright with everything that is going on. So why don’t we stop pointing fingers and just focus on what needs to be done?”

He fell silent and no more was said. Ashitaka was a natural peacemaker. If it hadn’t been for him, the war would still be raging.

“Very well.” Eboshi replied. “You ask about Lord Asano?” She closed her eyes. “What can I say? He’s a ruthless tyrant who will stop nothing to get what he wants. He’s a warlord, and commanding a battle is what he loves. He finds nothing more enjoyable than sending people out to fight to the death.”

“What a bastard.” San muttered.

Eboshi smirked. “You don’t know the half of it. He’s very rich and powerful too. He has an army of samurai that will follow his every command can cause he can afford to buy their services. Now he has his sights set on Iron Town and this forest. He wants the iron. No doubt he plans on making a profit and using that money to cause further fighting.” She shook her head. “He kill hundreds, maybe thousands with the money he’ll make off this land. He’ll tear down the entire forest and kill everything in it. And he won’t be nice about it either.”

Asano was sounding worse and worse every minute. “What can we expect from him?” Ashitaka asked.

“To go after what he wants and to kill all those that oppose him.” Eboshi replied.

“Just like in the battle you helped in on your way to Iron Town.”

Ashitaka froze at the sound of that familiar voice. No, not now. Not when San and her brothers were here. Why did he have to come out? Turning to San and her brothers, he saw that they were already facing the speaking with looks of fury on their faces. Slowly Ashitaka turned to face him too. There, standing a few feet away, was Jigo.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Alliances and Strategies

“You!” San cried angrily, as her brothers growled. She took a step towards him, causing the monk to step back. “Why are you here? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

Jigo grinned innocently. “I come in peace.”

“Peace!” Kenji roared. “You were the one that made Eboshi kill the Forest Spirit! It was your men that killed the boar and skinned them! It was your men that nearly killed my brother, my sister, Ashitaka, and I! How dare you show your face around these parts! Get out of our forest!”

Jigo didn’t move. “And go where? I was forced out of Iron Town along with everyone else. I would have to go further into the forest in order to get out.”

Ashitaka groaned. This was not the time for sarcasm. Did Jigo think he was safe? Half the people in Iron Town wanted to kill him, and the gods of the forest wanted it even more.

“How dare you speak to us that way!” Isamu barked. “We are the gods of this forest! You played a major roll in its destruction! I advise you to keep your damn mouth shut before I tear your throat out and leave you unable to speak ever again.”

Eboshi looked worried, fearing that Isamu might just carry out that threat. “There is no need for that. We have all made mistakes in our past. It was a war, and we all played a part in it.” Her eyes shifted over to Jigo. “Some of us more than others.”

Jigo narrowed his eyes. He didn’t appreciate being put down like this. “Maybe you gods should have done a better job at protecting the forest.” He muttered.

Big mistake. He had crossed the line and he knew it; regretting what he said the minute the words left his mouth. San and her brothers were shocked by the monk’s remark, right before their anger kicked in.

“Jigo, shut up!” Ashitaka shouted.

Too late. San had moved quickly, attacking the short round man. Jigo found himself on his back, pinned to the ground by San’s knee and her spear aimed right at his throat, lightly grazing his skin.

“You bastard!” she shouted. “This was all your fault! I should kill you for what you’ve done! I should have killed you when you refused to give the Forest Spirit’s head back! But I spared you! And then you have the nerve to come back and speak to us like we are nothing!”

“San.” Ashitaka said calmly, yet in a warning voice. He knew that San wouldn’t kill Jigo, even if she didn’t know it herself. But they could really do without the hostility. Lord Asano and the demon were the problem. They did not need to be fighting amongst themselves. “Let him up. No one is going to kill anyone.”

San glared at him. “Did you know he was here?” she demanded.

The guilt flashed across Ashitaka’s face. He didn’t even bother trying to hide the truth. “I did.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was trying to avoid an encounter such as this!” he cried, referring to the way everyone was reacting in the presence of former enemies.

San growled. She couldn’t hold that against him. Ashitaka was a peacekeeper. If there was an option besides fighting, he would take it. She didn’t blame him for not telling her. Ignorance is bliss. But still, it angered her to know that this miserable monk had been so close without her knowing it.

Removing the spear from Jigo’s throat, San picked him up by his collar and held him eyelevel. “Listen to me, very carefully. I want you to stay away from us. Don’t talk to us, don’t look at use, don’t even be in our presence. If we go somewhere and you’re already there, you leave right away. Stay away from us. Understand?”

Jigo nodded. “Whatever you say.”

San threw him away in disgust. Jigo got up and dusted himself off before calmly walking away. Isamu growled and snapped his jaws at the monk, causing him to quickly scramble away.

“Miserable bastard.” He growled. “He’s got some nerve coming back.”

Eboshi nodded in agreement. “Yes, he does. I thought that one of you might kill him.”

Kenji snorted. “We don’t kill without cause. We despise him, but he is no threat.”

“Why is he here anyway?” Isamu demanded.

Eboshi smirked. “He’s hiding from some people he’s in trouble with. He came to Iron Town to lay low for awhile. As much as I hate to say it, we owe him enough to hide him.”

San turned to her in disbelief. “You owe him? You owe him? How do you we him? After everything he’s done, you owe him.”

“He protected me and my people.” Eboshi explained. “We are merely returning the favor, though we are not happy about it.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hand?” Ashitaka practically begged, wanting to avoid anything concerning Jigo. “Asano and the demon are the real problem.”

Eboshi nodded. “True, and as bad as a demon is, it is in our best interest to stop Asano first.”

Kenji growled at her. “Are you just saying that because he’s taken over your town?”

She shook her head. “No, it will be better for all of us. Asano’s men will destroy both Iron Town and the forest much faster than the demon. Many trees will be torn down daily as he tries to clear out the forest. Also, they have most of the weapons, equipment, and food. Once we defeat Asano and reclaim our town, we will have what is necessary to kill the demon. Right now we don’t have what is needed to fight a demon. Once we get rid of Asano, we’ll help you. We don’t want the forest to be destroyed either.”

She paused, waiting to see if San or her brothers had any objections to this. They didn’t, for it was indeed in their best interest to stop Asano first.

“So, are we or are we not in this together?” Eboshi asked. She held out her hand to San. “Allies?”

San growled at Eboshi’s outstretched hand, but she slowly took it. It was beyond obvious that the two women didn’t like each other, but they were willing to do what was necessary.

“Ok, so what do we do?” San asked. “You’re more familiar with this Asano than I am. How do we go about stopping him?”

Eboshi sighed and began pacing the room. “Asano is a formidable foe. He’s very rich and powerful. The men working for him are in it only for the money.”

Isamu snorted. “Men and their money!”

Eboshi turned to him. “The money will be the way to stopping them.”

“What do you mean?” San asked.

Eboshi smirked. “Right now, Asano’s men are risking their lives fighting us and you gods. But they are only doing it because Asano is paying them. Once Asano is gone, they will have no reason to stay. They won’t risk their lives if they’re not being paid for it.”

Kenji nodded. “So we kill him and be done with it.”

Ashitaka sighed. More killing? When would it end? Was it really so hard to live in peace?

“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.” Eboshi replied. “He has a new bodyguard. A very dangerous one.” She paused for a moment, looking from Ashitaka to the wolf tribe. “Have any of heard of a man named Teralis Vaemin?”

Ashitaka blinked at the unexpected question. Being brought up in the Emishi village, he and his people had been isolated from most of what was going on in the world. He shared a look with San and saw that she was just as clueless as he was.

“No, who is he?” Ashitaka asked.

Eboshi smiled slightly. “I didn’t think you would, being from where the two of you are from.”

“What does that mean?” San demanded.

Eboshi held up her hand. “Do not take offense. I am merely pointing out that the two of you may not be too intoned as to what goes on in the civilized-I mean, human world; outside of your village, Ashitaka; wherever it is.” She cleared her throat. “Teralis is the worlds most deadly assassin, and an expert swordmaster. He has killed countless individuals. Many, many people have died trying to fight him. He kills without remorse. He’s so dangerous that he is a wanted man, dead or alive; preferably dead. Only Lord Asano’s power is protecting him, hence the reason why he’s protecting the warlord. We’ll have to kill him too if we want to kill Asano.”

“So we kill him too.” said Isamu.

A snicker came from behind them. Jigo, regardless of San’s warning, had come back.

“That is easier said than done.” He told them.

“I thought I told you that I didn’t want you anywhere near us!” San shouted at him.

Jigo calmly smiled. “You’ll need all the help you can get if you’re even thinking about attacking Teralis. I know about him. I can help.”

“We don’t need your help!” San cried.

Ashitaka rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. “San, please. I don’t like Jigo anymore than you do, but if this Teralis is as dangerous as he and Eboshi are making him out to be, we’ll need to find out as much about him as we can.”

San growled, but knew he was right. “Fine! What do you know?”

Jigo smirked. “See, I bet you’re glad you didn’t kill me now.”

“Jigo!” Ashitaka snapped.

The monk snickered. “Just kidding. Just kidding. I’ll tell you what I know. The first thing I can tell you is that none of you are a match for him. I’m not saying this as an insult! It’s just the truth He has never lost a fight. Never! I can safely tell you that he is a perfect killing machine, perhaps even worse than a demon. In fact, some people think he is a demon. Some people even believe that he’s a god of death in the form of a man.”

“He is no god!” Isamu growled.

Jigo shrugged. “It’s just what people believe. He’s actually single-handedly killed gods and demons. I’m telling you now, if he decides to kill someone, there’s no stopping him. Even the emperor fears him.”

“Emperor?” San repeated. “What’s an emperor?”

“Think of him as the Forest Spirit of humans.” Eboshi answered.

“And this emperor fears this Teralis?”

Jigo nodded. “Yes, he even sent several men to kill him; 32 of his best men to kill him.” Jigo closed his eyes. “They attacked all together. Teralis killed them all without receiving some much as a single bruise or cut.”

“My god.” Ashitaka whispered. Could one man be that unstoppable?

Jigo nodded sadly. “Yes, this man is a monster. A truly evil being. It’s said that he has no heart, that he shows no emotion or conscience. Evil in the flesh, death on two legs.”

“Why don’t we just call him what he is?” Eboshi suggested impatiently. “A bad seed.”

San gave her a confused look. “What’s a bad seed?”

“A bad seed is someone born that has no sense of what is right and wrong.” Ashitaka explained. “Good and bad make no difference to those kind of people. Although I don’t believe that a person can be born evil like that.”

Jigo snorted. “You’ll think differently when you meet him. If you survive the encounter, that is. Teralis’ sword is blood red, and it’s believed that the very metal turned that color from all the people he’s killed.”

“Yes, thank you Jigo.” Eboshi said. “Now that we know what we are up against, we can work on a way to fight back. First we need to work on a peaceful solution.”

“A peaceful solution?” San repeated. “You just said that Asano is a ruthless tyrant that will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”

“That’s true.”

“Then why are we going to waste time coming up with a peaceful solution?”

Eboshi narrowed her eyes. “To avoid another war.”

Kenji snorted. “You weren’t so hesitant to avoid a war with us.”

“Can we please put the past behind us?” Eboshi asked impatiently. “Now just listen to me. I know how to handle this.”

“I doubt it.” Isamu snapped.

“If you just do as I say then everything will work out.” Eboshi insisted.

Ashitaka knew that Eboshi had made a mistake even before San retaliated. “So that’s how it is?” she cried. “Your idea of an alliance is to do whatever you say? What are you trying to pull?”

Ashitaka prayed that Eboshi would think before speaking. No such luck. “I am trying to do what is best.”

“For you, or for everyone? Because it sounds like you’re just trying to get us to do what you want!”

San angrily stormed off. Eboshi sighed in frustration and turned to San’s brothers. “Will you please bring her back?”

“Why?” Kenji asked aggressively. “I agree with her. An alliance with us does not mean that we obey your every command.”

Eboshi ignored his final remark, turning to Ashitaka. “Ashitaka, will you please bring her back?”

The Emishi prince glared at her. “Only if you promise to work with her. I’ll bring her back, but I too agree with her. And don’t think that I’ll do everything you say either. I am loyal to San first.”

With that he went after San, leaving an irritated Eboshi and two smirking wolves behind.

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San stormed angrily through the pathetic excuse of a camp the former citizens of Iron Town were residing in. How dare that Eboshi woman demand that they do what she wants. They had agreed to be allies, not servants. Did Eboshi really think that she could tell them what to do and have them obey? If so, she had another thing coming.

“San!”

The Princess Mononoke stopped when she heard her name being called. Ashitaka quickly caught up with her, looking worried.

“San, please don’t leave.” He begged.

San growled. “Ashitaka, you know that I will do what is necessary to save the forest; even work myself with that damn woman. But I will not roll over for my mother’s murderer whenever she commands it!”

“I’m not asking you to.” Ashitaka replied calmly.

San took a few calming breaths. “Ashitaka, will you help me to defend the forest?”

Ashitaka was surprised she even had to ask. “San, you know I will. I will do anything for you; even kill if I must, and you know how much I despise killing. My loyalty lies with you before anyone else.” He closed his eyes and prepared himself in case San got mad. “But I still think that you should at least hear what Eboshi has to say. Not go along with it, just hear her out. If there is a peaceful solution, I intend to take it. We can always fight afterwards if the peaceful action doesn’t work. So I’m asking you San, please just give her a chance.”

San didn’t reply right away. She was going through the options in her head. Did she want to avoid fighting and killing, yes. Did she want to rely on Eboshi, no. But she would, as Ashitaka requested, hear the woman’s plan. Like Ashitaka said, they could always fight if the peaceful solution didn’t work.

“Very well.” She said. “For you, I’ll go along with her plan.”

Ashitaka smiled and kissed her on the nose. “Thank you, San.”

He led her back to Eboshi, who was speaking to the two wolves. She looked up when the other two returned, looking a little smug. “So, you’re back.”

“Eboshi, enough!” Ashitaka snapped.

Eboshi ignored him, but didn’t push her luck. “I was just discussing my plan with your brothers.”

“As much as I hate to say it, she may be onto something.” Isamu growled, sounding very reluctant about giving Eboshi credit. “She plans on having a meeting with this Asano person with us accompanying her. She hopes he will reconsider his plans if we personally tell him of our alliance and threaten to attack with every god in the forest.”

Eboshi nodded. “It’s a long shot, but there’s still a chance. Asano is no fool. He loves a good battle, but he knows when to cut his losses. If he doesn’t surrender, perhaps we can at least get him to negotiate. That will buy us more time to come up with another strategy, or maybe give us a chance to assassinate him if it comes to it.”

San gave no indication of whether or not she liked or disliked the plan. She merely said real simply, “When do we leave?”

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“Milord, I think we have a problem.” One of Lord Asano’s samurai reported.

The warlord groaned and turned to his minion. “Yes, what is it?”

The samurai gulped, his eyes drifting over to Teralis, standing by Asano’s side. No one, save Asano, liked being in the assassin’s presence. Terais blinked once, and when his eyes opened again they were now settled on the samurai who tensed up.

“Hey!” Asano snapped his fingers in front of the samurai’s face. “You’re reporting to me. Now report!”

The samurai took a deep breath. “Yes sir, sorry sir. Anyway, we’ve been investigating the damage to Iron Town, and it appears that Lady Eboshi was indeed telling the truth. The destruction does seem to be the result of a demon attack.”

Lord Asano growled. “Damn it. Of all the times Eboshi has lied to me, why couldn’t this have been one of them?” He turned to Teralis. “Will you be able to kill it should it return?”

Teralis didn’t reply. Instead he went to observe one of the spots the demon had destroyed, surveying the damage. He lightly brushed some of the contaminated wood from the wall, observed the damage ratio in it, and the point of attack.

Coming to a conclusion, he turned back to his master. “Yes.”

Lord Asano smirked and nodded. “Good.”

He turned to leave, but the samurai stopped him. “Sir, are you sure he’s up to it? Killing a demon is no simple task. Perhaps he’s overconfident.”

If possible, the grin on Asano’s face got even wider. “Don’t ask me. Ask him.”

The samurai turned and found Teralis standing behind him, wearing his emotionless mask, with his eyes staring at the samurai hungrily.

“Ask him!” Asano ordered.

Trembling, the samurai asked in a shaky voice, “C-Can you-ou k-k-kill a de-de-de-demon-n?”

Teralis’ hand fell on his sword, causing the color to drain from the samurai’s face. “Ask my blade.” He said.

The samurai completely froze as Teralis’ sword sliced through the air. A few seconds past and the samurai’s clothes fell apart, completely cut to ribbons. The samurai was so surprised that he was alive that he didn’t even notice he was standing out in the open in rags.

“Does that help your doubt?” Teralis asked.

The samurai nodded, struggling to find his voice. “Y-Yes.”

“Good.”

A moment later, Teralis buried his sword up to the hilt in the samurai’s gut. A look of surprise came over the samurai’s face. Teralis removed his sword from the samurai’s body and gave it a quick swing to throw the blood off before sheathing it. A moment later, the samurai dropped dead.

Teralis turned to Lord Asano. “The demon will meet the same fate as him, along with ever other person that dares to defy you or me.”

Asano grinned evilly. “I like this guy.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Intense Negotiations

“I really hope your plan works, Eboshi.” Said Ashitaka.

Enoshi smiled sadly. “As do I. If it doesn’t, I have a backup.”

San glanced at her suspiciously. “And what exactly would that be?”

“That,” said Eboshi aggressively, not even looking at her, “I will keep to myself unless the time comes to put it into action.”

“Eboshi.” Ashitaka said warningly. “We agreed on what an alliance means, did we not? You are to tell us of your plans.”

“It may not come to that.” Eboshi replied. “And I hope it doesn’t. The backup plan will take awhile to put into motion. Much of the forest will be destroyed and Iron Town may need to be started over again from scratch before it works.”

“I don’t like that plan, whatever it is.” Kenji growled.

“Nor do I. Which is why I’m hoping it won’t come to that. So there is no point in telling you of a plan that we may not even need to use.”

“Be careful with what you do, Eboshi.” San warned. “Our trust in you is very minor. Don’t do anything the break the little bit you have left.”

“And remember,” said Ashitaka, “I am on San’s side.”

Eboshi smiled. “I am fully aware of where everyone stands. Lets try and see if we can negotiate with Asano before we even consider the other option.” She turned back to Iron Town. “I will go first. You wait here until I give you the ok. I don’t want them attacking you.”

“We didn’t know you cared.” Isamu remarked.

Eboshi gave the wolf a sly smile. “Whether you believe me or not, just know that I do care.”

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“Milord, we have a situation.”

Lord Asano turned to the samurai. “And what would that be?”

“Lady Eboshi is at the gates, demanding for a meeting with you.”

Lord Asano was surprised by this, but then he laughed. “Really? She’s back so soon. I would have thought that she was smarter than this. Send her away.”

The samurai looked nervous. “Um, sir, she claims to have the Princess Mononoke and two gods of the forest with her. They demand a meeting with you to negotiate.”

Surprised once again, Asano actually stopped to consider this. “The Princess Mononoke, eh? Very, very interesting. Eboshi has aligned herself with her former enemies. Yes, this is very interesting.”

Teralis stepped up beside his master. “Shall I kill them?”

Asano thought about this for a moment. A cruel smile crept up over his face. “No, not yet. This could be fun. Although I normally like being the one sending an army onto the battlefield, being a negotiator can be fun too. Besides, it’s not everyday that you get to negotiate with the princess of the gods and beasts of the forest, is it?”

Teralis nodded. “If you say so, sir.”

Asano laughed. “Oh, I do.” He turned back to the samurai. “Let them in.”

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“Look what they’ve done to this place.” Gonza growled as he, Eboshi, Ashitaka, San, and the wolves walked through Iron Town. “It’s been less than a week and they’ve already made a mess of all our hard work.”

“We will worry about that later.” Eboshi told him. “Once we get our town back.”

“I believe that that is up to me.” Came the voice of Lord Asano, as he approached his visitors. He sneered at the former leader of Iron Town. “Lady Eboshi, you’ve impressed me. Who would have thought that you would turn to the gods of the forest for help, so soon after ending a war with them. And Gonza, I’m not surprised to see you here.” His eyes drifted over to the wolf tribe. “So which one of you hounds is the Princess Mononoke?”

San tried to control her temper. She knew Asano was deliberately disrespectful. “I am.”

Asano snickered. “Well, you’re not much to look at.” He said, earning an irritating growl from her and her brothers. His gaze shifted over to Ashitaka, who was just as angry as the wolf tribe. “And who are you, boy?”

Ashitaka glared at him. “My name is Ashitaka.”

Eboshi smirked. “Consider him the bridge between us and the gods of the forest.”

Asano found this amusing. “Ah, so he’s the ambassador for both sides. I see.”

Eboshi nodded. “In a way. And I suggest that you be careful around him. He has the demonic strength of 20 men.”

Asano raised a bush eyebrow. “Really, 20 men? Very interesting. I have a special someone with me too.” He snapped his fingers and Teralis joined him by his side. “I’m sure you’ve all heard of Teralis Vaemin. Of course you have. Who hasn’t?”

Teralis eyed the visitors curiously. It didn’t long for him to decide that he could easily kill the 2 wolves. Now the Princess Mononoke and this Ashitaka, they were interesting specimen. Could one of them perhaps provide him with a bit of a challenge? A man with demon strength and a woman with the instincts of a wolf. Yes, this could be very interesting.

A hungry look appeared in the assassin’s eyes as he studied San. Not a hungry lustful look, but a hungry look that made him want to slice her in half. His fingers itched to grab his sword and cut the Princess Mononoke down. But no, he would wait. Why ruin the fun?

Then his gaze shifted over to Ashitaka and the same hungry look shined in his eyes. He wondered how this boy had obtained demon strength. This would be just as interesting as killing the wolf-girl. He would truly savor the moment when he could cut the two of them down.

Ashitaka felt Teralis’ eyes on him. True, many people were looking at him, but he felt the assassin really looking at him. Studying him, looking for the best way to end his life. This sent a shiver down the Emishi prince’s back and he locked eyes with Teralis. What he saw shocked him. He saw nothing in Teralis’ eyes that indicated that he was even remotely human. He felt like he was looking into the assassin’s soul. And what he saw was a never ending void of darkness. An evil too cruel to name. In that moment, Ashitaka knew that the stories about this man were true. He was exactly what Jigo said he was. Evil incarnated.

Then it hit him. A blinding unimaginable pain that he had thought and hoped to never feel again. And it was coming from his arm, the one that Nago had touched and placed a curse on. As his arm pulsed, Ashitaka felt like the blood within it had turned to acid. His bones felt like they were made of broken glass and his veins that his burning blood was flowing through felt like barbwire cutting into his flesh. Although his skin remained unharmed, it felt as if flesh was being skinned from his arm as well as being set on fire. Ashitaka cried out in pain and fell to his knees as his arm twitched violently.

San dropped by his side, holding onto him as he shook uncontrollably. “Ashitaka, what’s wrong?” she cried in concern.

Ashitaka clenched his teeth together, trying to fight down the pain. “My arm.” He managed to say.

As his friends fretted over him, Asano looked on the situation with a curious look while Teralis remained emotionless. “What’s his problem?” the warlord asked, not caring for the young man’s pain; only interested in filling his curiosity.

No one replied. They were too concerned about Ashitaka to worry about Asano. San held onto him tightly until the pain finally faded away, leaving the Emishi prince shaky, sweaty, and deadly pale.

“It’s ok.” He muttered. “I’m alright now.”

San didn’t look convinced. “Ashitaka…”

He gave her a forced smile. “I’m alright.”

“Then can we get this little meeting underway?” Asano asked impatiently. “I have things to do, and they don’t include humoring you. There’s a whole forest to destroy and a town to rebuild.”

With another reassuring nod from Ashitaka, San stood up and faced the warlord. “That is what we are here to talk about. You are not wanted here.”

Asano frowned. “Oh, I’m not?”

“No you’re not!” Kenji growled. “We want you out of Iron Town and out of our forest.”

Asano snickered. “Oh my, always about what you want.”

“We have made peace with these people.” Isamu told him. “Not you. You are cruel and uncaring and we want you out.”

Asano tapped his chin, pretending to consider this. “You do, do you? Well, that’s al fine and dandy, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to object. You see, this mountain is rich with iron. And this town is perfect for harvesting it; once a few renovations are made. So I’m sorry, but we’re staying right here.”

San stepped forward. “If you are going to stay, then you are going to put Eboshi back in charge and stop destroying the forest.”

Asano laughed. “That kind of defeats the purpose of taking the town over, does it not? Really, did you think that I would just give back the town just because you asked? I don’t think that being raised by wolves made you that smart, princess, even if they were gods.”

Kenji took a step forward. “Why you-”

He froze, because Teralis was suddenly in front of him with his sword right between his eyes.

“Give me a reason, please.” Teralis said in an emotionless voice.

The wolf didn’t move, his eyes remaining on the tip of the sword less than an inch away from his face. Carefully San rested a hand on her brother’s back. “Kenji, stay back.” She said.

The wolf growled and backed away, rejoining the others. Teralis sheathed his sword and went to stand by his master again. Asano smirked, nodding his approval to his bodyguard.

“I believe that this meeting is over.” He said, turning his back on them.

“Not yet.” Eboshi declared.

Asano stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. “And what else would you like to discuss, milady?” he asked smugly.

Eboshi sighed. “I hope it won’t come to this, but if you continue to keep things going the way they are going, you are going to start another war with the gods of the forest.”

“Oh, am I?”

“Yes you are!” San snapped. “We will defend our home. Keep this up, and you will face every god in the forest.”

“As well as the all my people.” Eboshi added.

Asano laughed. “A war with gods. How interesting. I’ve never been at war with gods. Sounds fun. I can’t wait.”

Everyone, save Eboshi, was surprised by Asano’s remark.

“You’re going to willingly start a war and let countless individuals on each side die?” Ashitaka cried in disbelief.

Asano sneered at him. “I would have thought that was obvious. I live for battle, and I don’t fear gods. Neither does my friend Teralis here. Why he killed two on our way over here without breaking a sweat.”

“What?” Ashitaka and the wolf tribe cried.

The warlord nodded. “Yes, he’s very good at what he does. And you’ll see how good he is unless you’re out of my town in five minutes.”

“You fool!” Isamu cried.

“You haven’t heard the last of us.” San warned.

“I hope not.” Asano said, laughing.

Eboshi turned away. “Lets go.”

San gave her a look of disbelief, surprised that she was giving up so easily. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Eboshi replied. “He’s not going to change his mind. Well talk about this in a more private place.”

No one argued with her when they realized that Asano’s samurai were indeed watching them. They left the town quickly, eager to get away from these evil men. Asano watched them go with an amused look on his face. Teralis stepped up beside him and gave him a look, silently asking him a question. Asano smirked and nodded.

With the ghost of a smile on his face, Teralis took off, racing over to the watchtower and climbing the ladder. Once at the top, he spotted his prey, eyeing them hungrily. He reached for a bow and arrow and took aim. His prey was already at the edge of the forest, where several other town folk wee waiting for them, hoping for good news.

Teralis took careful aim, wondering which one he should kill. He decided against taking out the one named Ashitaka and the Princess Mononoke. They would be more entertaining to kill face to face. Then there were the two wolves. Gods they may be, but he knew how to hit them with an arrow just right so not even they would survive. Next he looked at Eboshi, the leader of Iron Town and its people. Taking her out will greatly drop the town folk’s hopes of getting their town back. But Teralis wanted them to be at their best when he slayed them. On top of that, Asano wanted to amuse himself with Eboshi some more before killing her.

That was when Teralis’ bottle green eyes settled on Gonza, Eboshi’s personal bodyguard. Oh yes, he was perfect. He would provide no challenge in battle, and Eboshi didn’t really need a bodyguard. Yes, he would be perfect.

Taking aim, Teralis released the arrow. It soared through the air, almost too fast for anyone to see, heading straight for Gonza’s heart from behind.

But then something got in its path. One of the town folk unknowingly stepped into the arrow’s path as they went to great the others.

The arrow pierced the man’s shoulder and came out the other end, remaining stuck in the man’s shoulder and saving Gonza’s life. Teralis growled in irritation as the town folk realized the danger and retreated out of sight.

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“Kohroku! Are you alright?” Ashitaka cried.

Kohroku looked at the arrow in his shoulder. “I’m… I’m hit…”

“Kohroku!” Toki shouted, running to her husband’s side. “Oh god, Kohroku!”

Looking very pale, Kohroku gave his wife a smile. “Not to worry, dear. I doesn’t even hu-”

And he passed out. Toki caught him and laid him on the ground. “Kohroku! Don’t you dare die! You hear me, Kohroku! Don’t you even think about dying!”

She made an attempt to pull the arrow out, but Eboshi stopped her. “Leave it. He could bleed to death if you take it out. Wait until we get back to camp, then we’ll treat it.” She looked back at Iron Town. “Teralis, only he could hit us from here.”

“That bastard!” Gonza growled. “And he was aiming at me. Kohroku, I owe you my life.”

Toki examined the wound carefully. She turned to San’s brothers. “Can’t you gods do something?”

Isamu shook his head. “Not us. But…”

He trailed off, looking at his brother; a silent question passing between the two. They looked at San. She seemed to know what they were thinking. Coming to a decision, she nodded.

“Perhaps if we bring him to the pool of the Forest Spirit, he will heal.” She said.

Toki looked at her hopefully. “Oh San, you mean it?”

San was hesitant to answer. The pool of the Forest Spirit was sacred ground. Was she really going to bring these humans there?

“Yes, I mean it.”

Toki surprised her by jumping up and hugging her. “Oh thank you! Thank you!”

San didn’t know what to do as Toki continued to embrace her. She looked over at Ashitaka who was smiling.

“Then lets go, before he losses too much blood.” Said Eboshi.

As everyone headed out, San took one last look at Iron Town. She had thought that Eboshi was evil, but she didn’t know what true evil was until she saw Asano and Teralis. How dare they hurt her, dare she say it, friends. Yes, whether San wanted to admit it or not, she was becoming fond of Toki and Kohroku. Maybe they weren’t quite friends yet, but Toki and Kohroku were heading in the right way to get there. Toki was nice and Kohroku was good for a laugh. Maybe, maybe, when this was over, she would get to know the two of them better.

But she couldn’t do that if Kohroku died. San turned away and quickly went after the others.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Discussions and Disagreements

“Oh, it hurts! It hurts!”

“Oh Kohroku, stop being such a baby!” Toki scolded him.

“I have an arrow in my shoulder!”

“I see that. Now be quiet. Geez, when Ashitaka was shot he did even cry out once.” She turned to San. “Are you sure this pool is supposed to heal him?”

San nodded. “Yes, it was blessed by the Forest Spirit himself. Even though he’s dead, the pool still holds its power.”

“If you say so.” Toki turned back to her husband. “Ok, take a breath, you’re going under.”

Kohroku barely managed to suck in some air into his lungs before his wife forced him under the water; holding him down to make sure he couldn’t resurface.”

“You don’t need to drown him.” Kenji growled. “Just make him stay in the water a little.”

Toki nodded. “Ok, thanks.”

She allowed Kohroku to come up, and he gulped down the sweet air. “Geez woman, are you trying to kill me?”

Toki rolled her eyes. “Oh hold still.”

She snapped off the end of the arrow with the head and pulled the remainder of the arrow out of his shoulder, causing her husband to cry out.

“AHH!!! IT HURTS!!!”

Eboshi shook her head and turned away from the scene. She slowly approached San. “I would like to thank you for helping him.”

San glared at her. “I didn’t do it for you.” she said aggressively.

Eboshi smiled. “Nevertheless, you have my thanks.”

Wanting to keep up her uncaring act, San said, “We’re allies, are we not? Well need all the help we can get to defeat Asano.”

Seeing right through San’s act, Eboshi smirked. “If you say so.”

San growled at the retreating woman’s back. She didn’t like the smug look on Eboshi’s face. She did not want Eboshi to become comfortable around her. She wanted the woman to be nervous. San had no intention whatsoever to become friends with Eboshi. Once Asano and the demon were dealt with, she never wanted to see the leader of Iron Town again.

Isamu glanced over at San. There was something he needed to speak to her about. He went over to her, rubbing his face against her. San automatically scratched behind his ears.

“That damn woman is getting too comfortable around us.” She said.

Isamu glared at Eboshi. “Yes, she is. I hope she doesn’t think she can do whatever she pleases around us just because we are allies.”

“I don’t mind her trusting us, for we are trustworthy.” San explained. “But I want her to understand that she is not now, nor will she ever be our friend.”

“I don’t think that’s her intention.” Isamu growled. “She doesn’t like us very much either, but she does put up with us; just as we do her. Ashitaka is proud of the way you and her have been getting along.” His gaze shifted over to the Emishi prince. “And speaking of Ashitaka, have you noticed that he’s been a little… distant from everyone since we’ve spoken with Asano?”

San glanced at Ashitaka. “As a matter of fact, I have.”

“He seems concerned about something. Something other than the forest and Iron Town. Do you think it has something to do with what happened during the meeting with Asano?”

San considered this. “It might. He did behave rather strangely for a moment, almost like he was in pain.” A determine look came over her face. “I am going to find out what’s going on.” she said, heading over to the young prince.

Ashitaka was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice San approach him, and he jumped a mile when she spoke.

“Kohroku’s going to be ok.” She told him. “It will take some time for his wound to heal, but he’ll live.”

Ashitaka nodded. “That’s good to hear.” He said, not facing her. San raised an eyebrow, curious about his behavior. “Thank you for helping him, and for trusting the others enough to come here. I really appreciate it.”

San took a step closer. “I couldn’t just let him die. And I figured that if you trust them then they’re trustworthy.”

Still not facing her, Ashitaka smiled. “Thank you, San. That really means a lot to me.”

Narrowing her eyes, San took another step forward. “Ashitaka, what’s wrong? You have been behaving strangely since our meeting with Asano.”

Ashitaka visibly winced. “I’m just… concerned.”

San rolled her eyes. “I realize that. What’s bothering you? And don’t tell me it has to do with Asano or the demon, because you weren’t acting like this earlier.”

Ashitaka waited a few seconds before answering. “I’m just worried about Kohroku.”

Shaking her head, San said, “You’re lying. I can tell when you lie. Besides, I already told you that Kohroku would be alright. Come on Ashitaka, you know you can tell me anything.”

“I’m fine.” He insisted.

Now San was beginning to get irritated. “You can’t even look at me! Don’t tell me you’re fine!”

Slowly, Ashitaka turned to face her, giving her a very forced smile. “It’s ok, San. I’ll be alright.”

San narrowed her eyes; she didn’t believe him. “Let me see your arm.”

Ashitaka winced again. “Why?”

“Because I want to see it.” Ashitaka hesitated before slowly putting out his left arm. San growled impatiently. “Your other arm.”

“San-”

Not waiting any longer, San grabbed Ashitaka’s right arm. He had covered it in bandages and she impatiently ripped them off. What she saw made her blood run cold. It was a sight even more horrifying than finding her mother with a bullet wound in her chest. There on Ashitaka’s arm was a black demon mark. Not the scar that he had carried after returning the Forest Spirit back its head, but the mark of Nago’s demon curse.

“No…” she whispered, her eyes wide with fear. “It can’t be.”

Ashitaka sighed and pulled his arm back. “It came during our meeting with Asano, right after the pain hit me.”

San looked terrified. She had a feeling that when Ashitaka was overcome with pain that it had something to do with Nago’s curse; she had prayed that it wasn’t true. “I thought the Forest Spirit lifted the curse.”

Ashitaka nodded. “I thought so too, but apparently he had only neutralized it. That would explain why I still possessed my demon strength. The curse wasn’t lifted, it was just dormant.”

San was now slightly trembling. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ashitaka turned away. “There’s enough trouble going on. I didn’t want to worry you.”

Now San became angry. “Didn’t want to worry me?” she cried. “Ashitaka, I care about you! If something is wrong, I want to know.” She looked close to tears. “How could this happen? Why now? Why you? Why?”

Ashitaka rested a hand on her shoulder. “I think it has to do with Asano and his men arriving. The curse responds to negative emotions. Asano is certainly stirring up a lot of negative emotions. I think that awoken the curse.”

Unable to hold herself back any longer, San threw herself at Ashitaka and began weeping. “What are we going to do? I can’t lose you, Ashitaka! Not you! And without the Forest Spirit, how are we going to stop it this time?”

Ashitaka wrapped his arms around her, holding her close in a comforting embrace. “Shh, it will be ok. We’ll figure this out. I even have a theory.” San looked at him hopefully. “Maybe it wasn’t the Forest Spirit that stopped the curse. Maybe t was ending the war and bringing peace to the forest. Perhaps it was the start of a new war that activated it again. Maybe if we settle this thing with Asano, the curse will go away again, and we’ll just need to focus on keeping it dormant.”

A good theory, but one San didn’t really believe. She wished it would be that simple, but somehow she doubted it was.

“Ashitaka, you don’t really believe that, do you?” she asked quietly.

Ashitaka responded by holding her tighter. “I honestly don’t know, San. But I believe that if we have faith and work together, we can get through anything.”

San melted into his embrace, wanting desperately to believe that. She hung onto that bit of hope, for it was all she had.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It was some time later that Ashitaka, San, and her brothers approached Eboshi, who was amusing herself by watching the Kodomas rattle their heads and chasing each other. Ashitaka had managed to convince San to keep quiet about the return of his curse to all but her brothers. No one else, not even Eboshi was to know. But they did have other things to discuss with the former leader of Iron Town.

Eboshi looked up as they approached. “Ah, San, Ashitaka, how are you?” The wolves growled when Eboshi seemed to ignore them and she gave them an apologetic look. “Forgive me; and how are you, Isamu and Kenji?”

Isamu growled again. “We would be better had your plan worked better.”

“Your plan was a complete failure!” Kenji snapped.

Eboshi sighed. “Yes, my attempt to negotiate did not work. I had a feeling it wouldn’t.” She sighed again. “But I was hoping it would work.”

She looked away, back at the Kodama who had stopped playing to listen.

“So what now?” Ashitaka asked. “You said you had a backup plan. What is it?”

Eboshi turned back to them with a sad smile on her face. “My backup plan was something I was hoping to avoid. I don’t like it, and I know that neither of you will either.” She took a deep breath. “Unless we want to go to war with Asano, our only other option is to go see the emperor himself and see if he can give us back our town and stop the destruction of the forest.”

“The emperor?” San said. “How could he help?”

Eboshi looked amused by San’s lack of knowledge in the more civilized world. “Asano is a rich and powerful man, but the emperor has more authority than he ever could have. If we plead our case to him, and tell him of the risks of war, he may help us. The fact that Asano is hiding Teralis will be a good help for us. For that reason alone the emperor may help us.”

“So what’s the problem?” Kenji asked. “What is so bad about this plan? It doesn’t seem worse than your first one.”

Eboshi shook her head. “You don’t understand. Pleading our case to the emperor isn’t the problem. The hard part will be getting there. He lives very far away. It will take days to get to his palace, not to mention the return journey. On top of that, the emperor is a very busy man. It may take even longer for us to be able to see him than it does to get to his palace. The problem with this plan is time. Asano will have done much damage before we get him kicked out.”

As expected, San and her bothers didn’t like this plan. “You expect us to just sit back and let Asano destroy our home while we wait for this emperor to help?” Kenji roared.

“Trees are being cut down in vast amounts by the day!” Isamu growled.

“They’re right.” Ashitaka said, agreeing with the wolves. “We don’t have that kind of time.”

Eboshi looked uncomfortable with what she was going to say next. “Whatever damage is done can be repaired. It will be worth it if we don’t have to go to war.”

“You’re only thinking of your town!” San snapped. “Last time the Forest Spirit brought back the forest. But thanks to you, he’s dead now. We would have to wait for the damage to fix itself on its own. Do you know how long that will take?”

Eboshi gave her a sympathetic look. “I understand that there will be sacrifices, but it’s better this way.”

“Says you!” San yelled, startling the Kodama. “By the time your ‘plan’ comes through, it may be too late. To save both the forest and…” She trailed off, glancing at Ashitaka. If he was indeed correct, and that his curse would fall dormant once the forest was safe again, then the curse might kill him before Eboshi’s plan came through. “Why go through all this when we could just fight right now? We could save the forest, get you back your town. It will save time.”

“At what cost!” Eboshi cried. “Yes, you’re right. We could fight now, and possibly save our homes tomorrow, but would it be worth it?”

“I’m willing to fight to defend my home.” San said.

“As am I.” Isamu growled.

“Me too.” Kenji added.

Eboshi shook her head. “Ok, so you are willing to fight for what you believe in. I respect that, I really do. But trust me, this way is better. No sacrifices will be made.”

Kenji snorted. “This is a change. During our war, you came right out and attacked us.”

Eboshi raised an eyebrow. “Did I? Did I really? No, my friend, I fought strategically. I tried to avoid fighting at all costs. I knew that if I went into an all out war with you that many of my people would die. Instead I had my people slowly cut down the forest, weakening the Forest Spirit until it would be no trouble to kill it and the other gods. It was only when Jigo arrived that we actually had a real battle. And that was because I had made him a promise to deliver to him the head of the Forest Spirit and he had come to collect, so we had to fight at that time.”

Isamu growled. “That damn monk. He’s caused so much trouble.”

“I want to do this as peaceful as possible.” Eboshi concluded. “No matter how long it takes.”

“But why take that risk if there is another way?” San asked. “We can save both of our homes right away.”

Eboshi was losing her patience. “At what costs? Yes, with my plan, Iron Town will hardly be recognizable, and yes, much of the forest will be destroyed. But Iron Town can be rebuilt, the cut down trees will grow back. But our friends and family will not. Once they’re dead, they’re dead. Trees grow back, living beings don’t. Think of your mother.”

“Eboshi!” Ashitaka cried warningly. Brining up Moro was definitely not a good idea.

“No Ashitaka.” Eboshi snapped. “They need to hear this. They need to realize the consequences of a war.” She turned back to the wolf tribe. “Was Moro worth the loss? How about Okkoto and his tribe? They are dead. The forest grew back, but they have not, they can’t. Had there been a peaceful way to end our war, would you have taken it, or would you still have sacrificed those that were lost just because the peaceful solution would have taken longer?”

San was shaking with anger. “You… how dare you bring up our mother. It’s your fault she’s dead!”

“You’re going too far, Eboshi.” Ashitaka snapped.

“I am trying to make a point.” Eboshi replied. “San, let’s say we do have this war. What if you die, or one of your brothers, or Ashitaka? Would it be worth it if my plan could have worked? Would you sacrifice a few trees for those you love?”

The wolf tribe looked like they were ready to kill Eboshi. Ashitaka attempted to be the peacemaker again. “Eboshi, that’s enough. You’ve made your point, now stop.”

Eboshi looked at him. “You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? You agree with me?”

“I understand what you’re saying perfectly, as do San, Isamu, and Kenji. But no matter what we decide to do, there will be sacrifices. There should not be reason for us to even have to make these decisions! This is why war is so wrong. Everyone suffers. There is no reason for any of this. This is why I despise war. There is no reason anyone should ever have to go through this.”

Eboshi and the wolf tribe were silent as they listened to Ashitaka. He was right. There was no reason for any of this.

“But it has happened.” Eboshi said softly. “And we must deal with this. The question is how.” She turned to the wolf tribe. “What is your decision?”

San turned away. “Me and my brothers need to talk about this. Even if we agree with you, we do not speak for all the gods in the forest. Your people follow you and support you, that much is obvious, but me and my brothers have to consider the actions of the other gods.”

Eboshi nodded. “I can understand that. Very well, have your meeting. I will wait for an answer.”

San looked at Ashitaka. “Will you join us?”

Ashitaka nodded and followed her and her brothers to a more private area.

“So, what do you think?” San asked.

Kenji growled. “I hate to admit it, but that damn woman does make a good point.” He reluctantly admitted. “Trees grow back, we do not. But I still don’t like her plan.”

“But what choice do we have?” Isamu muttered. “Our war with Eboshi did not go so well for us, and this Asano is far worse than she is. If we decide to fight, there will be many losses. I may be willing to die for the forest, but I do not want anyone else to, not if there is another solution.”

San struggled to speak. “I really don’t like it… but I agree.”

Kenji snarled. “Damn it! I hate this! I am torn between losing our home and losing our family! Damn that Asano! Damn him to Hell! I swear if I ever see him again, I will crush his head in my jaws!”

San perked up. “Perhaps that’s the solution. Remember what Eboshi said. If we take out Asano, then his samurai will have no reason to stay.”

Ashitaka both agreed and disagreed with this. “Yes San, you’re right about that, but it will prove to be very difficult getting to him, even with the destruction Iron Town has gone through. And then there’s the matter of getting past Teralis. I assume you all felt what I did in his presence.”

Isamu growled. “Yes, that man is pure evil. Worse then anything I could have possibly imagined. He’s powerful too. I do not believe Asano was lying when he said that he killed two of the gods of the forest.”

San and Kenji nodded. “Yes, I felt it too.” San said. “And I thought that Eboshi was evil. But she’s an innocent child compared to him.”

“Well have to kill him too, then.” Kenji growled.

Ashitaka was reluctant to say what he was about to say. “As much as I hate killing, I have to admit that I will have no trouble killing that man. With his death, many lives will be saved. That man is a killer. He’s killed before and he will kill again, a lot; of that I am sure of.” He took a deep breath. “The problem is that I don’t think I will be able to kill him. He’s too good. Judging by what I’ve seen and what I’ve been told, I doubt I will stand much of a chance, even with my demon strength. But I will do what I can.”

San hung her head. “Your curse is one of the things that worries me. If we go with Eboshi’s plan, the curse may kill you before… before…” She shook her head, trying to control herself. “There may not be enough time.”

Ashitaka sighed. “San, if I have to die so others may live, I will gladly take the fall.”

“No!” San shouted. “Ashitaka, I am not going to lose you! I’ve lost too much. I can’t stand to lose you or anyone else.”

“Then our best chance is to go after Asano.” Isamu said. “Let Eboshi send her messenger. In the meantime, we will attempt to end Asano’s life. Hopefully then we will be able to save both the forest and Iron Town without sacrificing anyone in time for Ashitaka to survive his curse.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“Then it’s decided.” Said San. “We’ll go along with Eboshi’s plan, but still try to kill Asano.” Everyone nodded again. “Then lets go tell her.”

They turned to leave but suddenly realized that their private conversation wasn’t so private anymore. While they had been talking, several Kodama had gathered around them. Now that the meeting was over, the little spirits began rattling their heads, trying to communicate with them.

“What’s wrong little guys?” Ashitaka asked.

“They want us to follow them.” Isamu explained.

“What for?”

“Let’s find out.”

The little tree spirits led them away from the other humans, deeper into the forest. After some time of walking, the wolves began picking up a familiar scent.

“I smell Kaiju.” Kenji said. “And he’s not alone. There are other gods with him.”

“Is that why the Kodama are leading us here?” San asked.

“Where about to find out.”

They came into a clearing and saw that there was indeed a mass gathering of gods. Many of them looked angry. Kaiju was easy enough to be spotted among crowd due to his injuries. He noticed the newcomers and went to greet them.

“Welcome wolf tribe. How fare you?”

San sighed. “Not so good. Things are far worse than we feared.”

“We met this Asano person.” Isamu told the boar. “He is really going to be trouble.”

Kaiju growled. “Then I was right in what I did.”

San narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?” she asked suspiciously.

The boar snorted. “I had originally intended to go after the demon, but then I stumbled across the damage this Asano did to the forest in such a short time. I knew that human would more trouble than the demon. So I gathered other gods of the forest. We are going to fight!”

San’s eyes widened. “What? No, not now!”

“Why?”

“Because… because…” San didn’t want to tell the boar that Eboshi was planning on sending a messenger to the emperor and that they would try to kill Asano in the meantime. She knew that Kaiju, along with several other gods wouldn’t go along with that. It was still too soon.

“The humans, the ones that are on our side have a plan to end this without violence.” Kenji explained, breaking the ice. “And we plan to kill Asano while they do what they want.”

Kaiju narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And what is their plan?”

“It’s complicated.” San said, not wanting to get the boar further involved then he already was. She also withheld the information regarding Ashitaka’s curse. “It will take awhile to come through, but there will be no sacrifices.”

Kaiju reacted exactly the same way San and her brothers reacted when Eboshi told them of the plan. “And in the meantime the forest will be destroyed. You can’t trust those humans. They’re only thinking of themselves.”

“We are trying to save lives.” Isamu growled.

“You should be proud to die for the forest!” Kaiju declared.

“We are!” Kenji snapped. “But why die when there’s another option?” This was feeling like reverse déjà vu to him.

Kaiju stomped his feet. “Those humans are getting to you! How can you align yourselves with the one that killed the Forest Spirit?”

“Because we share a common enemy!” San snapped impatiently.

Keiju furiously shook his head. “We will not go along with this. You do as you wish. We will fight, and we will save the forest! You do things the way you see fit, and we will do things the way we see fit. But this battle is going to happen.”

He turned around and stormed back to the other gods of the forest his gone indicating that his mind would not be changed by them or anyone else.

“Stupid stubborn boar.” Isamu growled.

San sighed in defeat. “Now what?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: A Deadly Attack

Eboshi angrily slammed her fist against a tree, using the side of her hand rather than her knuckles so she would break the bones in her hand.

“It’s foolish!” she cried. “They’re going to get themselves killed, and us along with them.” She turned to Ashitaka and the wolf tribe. “And you’re certain that they can’t be persuaded otherwise?”

San nodded. “They are determined to fight, whether we’re with them or not.”

Gonza growled. “They’ll let us all killed! Those stupid bloodthirsty gods!” The wolves growled at him and Gonza realized his mistake. “Uh, present company excluded of course.”

“You can’t really blame them.” Ashitaka told Eboshi. “It is their natural instinct to defend their territory. Asano is threatening it, so they’re retaliating.”

Eboshi sighed. “I know, I know. I just hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. If I know Lord Asano, and I do, once those gods attack, he’ll send all his samurai to kill each and everyone of us.”

She looked worried, much to the concern of Gonza. He dared to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. “What do you plan to do, milady?”

Eboshi sighed again, appearing to be deep in thought. “There is no way we have time to send a messenger to the emperor before the gods attack Iron Town. It will be too late by then. And since we have made it clear to Asano that we have aligned ourselves with the gods, he will hold us just as responsible as them, even if we do nothing.” She closed her eyes, hating what she was about to say. “We have no choice. We will have to fight. Perhaps, with the gods’ help, we will be a match for Asano and his samurai. It is our only chance.” She turned back to San. “If we agree to fight, will the gods accept our help?”

San thought about it. “They won’t like having you around, but they might be willing to fight with you. I can’t say that all of them will want your help though. Some will find it insulting that we would need to rely on humans.”

Eboshi seemed unaffected by this. “That’s good enough for me.” She turned to the wolves. “Since I doubt that I will be allowed to attend any meetings that they might have, can I rely on you two to inform me on what happens?”

Isamu narrowed his eyes. “As long as you know that we are only doing this to save the forest, not because you tell us to.”

Eboshi nodded. “Understood. Now Gonza,” she turned to her body guard, “I’m going to need you to help me.”

“Yes, milady.” Gonza said. “What will you have me do?”

Smiling at Gonza’s desire to please, she replied, “I need you to gather up all those willing to fight. We will need as much help as possible.”

“Yes, milady.”

“I also need you to go around and find out-”

“Milady, milady!”

Eboshi stopped talking and turned to the woman running over to her. “Yes Melke, what is it?”

Gonza didn’t appear happy about the woman, Melke, interrupting Eboshi. “Go away! Milady is very busy right now. Come back lat-”

Eboshi held up her hand to silence him. “It’s fine, Gonza.” She said calmly. “Tell me what the problem is.”

Melke looked worried out of her mind. “I just found out that several of the men have gone to challenge Asano.”

Eboshi’s eyes widened. “What? When was this? Why wasn’t I notified?”

“I’ve only just found out.” Melke explained. “The attack on Kohroku angered them and they’ve gone to attack.”

“The fools! They’ll get themselves killed.” Gonza exclaimed.

“Please, milady, you have to help.” Melke begged. “My husband is among them.”

Eboshi paced around with worry. “Why did they have to do this now?” she asked herself out loud. “Now, when there is so much going on.” She stopped pacing and turned to Ashitaka and San. “I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality, but can you go bring them back. I fear we won’t reach them in time.”

Ashitaka turned the San. “San?”

San closed her eyes in frustration. She hadn’t planned on getting so involved with the humans. She had planned on getting rid of Asano and the demon, and then going back to the forest and letting the humans return to their town. But still, she couldn’t just let those men go off to their deaths, could she. One look at the pleading look on the woman’s face made her realize that she couldn’t just let those men die.

“Fine.” She said. “But make sure no one else tries something stupid like this.”

Eboshi nodded. “I will.” She turned back to Gonza. “From now on, I want everyone to report to before doing anything.”

“I hope that doesn’t include us.” Kenji muttered.

San mounted him. “We’ll talk about that later. We have to stop those men before they reach the town.”

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“Milord, it appears we have some visitors.” A samurai reported, not daring to look at the assassin by the warlord’s side.

Asano raised an eyebrow. “Eboshi again? Or the wolf-girl?”

The samurai shook his head. “No, sir. Just seven men.”

The warlord snickered. “Well, I’ve made it perfectly clear that I have no intention of negotiating or surrendering. They must be here to challenge me. How amusing. The fools don’t even realize that I could send out all my men to kill them and not even bother with them.”

The samurai didn’t answer the question, but instead replied with a question. “Shall I give the order to have them killed?”

Asano laughed. “And spoil all the fun?” He shook his head. “No, I want to see how this turns out.”

He headed for the gate and climbed the watchtower. Just the samurai had said, there were seven men approaching the gates witch pitchforks, swords, knives, and other weapons. When they got as close as they dared, one of them stepped forward.

“Lord Asano! You have taken our home and killed our people! We challenge your best men to fight for our home!”

Asano sneered at them. “My best men, eh?” He looked at Teralis, who got that hungry look in his eyes whenever the desire to kill came to him. It made the warlord chuckle in amusement. “Very well, but I’ll make it easier for you. You shall face only one man. And if you can beat him, my men and I will leave, never to return.” He turned to Teralis. “I am counting on you. Don’t let me down.”

Teralis looked at the seven men foolish enough to come here. It didn’t take long for him to decide that they would stand even the smallest chance against him. If he wanted to, he could kill all of them in less than five seconds.

“These men are not warriors.” He replied emotionlessly. “They won’t even be a challenge.”

Asano smirked, turning his back on the men who were about to go to their deaths. “Then it won’t be any surprise as to how this battle will turn out.”

Without waiting for Asano to even give the order, Teralis jumped off the watchtower, much to the surprise of the samurai and the town folk, and landed in a crouching position with his sword held out in front of him, pointing down. The town folk took a step back as Teralis’ cold cruel eyes looked them over.

“You were foolish to come here.” he said. “Foolish, or suicidal.”

And then he was at them, faster then any of them could react. His blood red sword swung through the air as he ran right past the 7 of them. He paused a short distance away and remained perfectly still, seeming to wait for something.

Out of the seven men, five of them recovered from the shock of Teralis moving so fast. The remaining too dropped dead.

“What the hell?” one of the men cried, spotting two of his comrades dead on the ground. A moment later, Teralis’ sword burst from his chest.

“You should not have taken your eyes off me.” The assassin whispered in the dying man’s ear.

A ripped his sword from the man and turned to face the others. Only four left, but the seemed hesitant to attack; as they should be.

“Kill him!” one of them yelled.

The four men ran forward. The one in the lead, wielding a pitchfork, stabbed forward. Teralis did a flip in the air, jumping over his attacker while swinging his sword, cutting the man from his rear up to his neck, severing the man’s spine, killing him instantly. From behind him, another one of the men attacked. Teralis jumped high in the air, landing behind whoever was attempting to stab him from behind. One clean swipe of his sword, and Teralis hacked the man’s head clean off his shoulders.

Five men lay dead. Teralis turned to the other two, each of them looking terrified. With one swing on his sword, Teralis cleaned in of the blood. “Who’s next?”

One of the men completely lost his nerve, dropping his weapon and turning to run. Teralis had other ideas though. Running right by the man brave enough to stay, he caught up with the retreating man in a matter of seconds. The man was dead before he even realized Teralis was after him.

There was only one man left, and Teralis turned to face him. The man shook with fear as Teralis slowly and calmly made his way over to him. There was no mercy on the assassin’s face as blood ran down his chin and dripped from his nose. Teralis didn’t seem to find that he was covered in gore in the least.

The man held out his sword in a pathetic attempt to keep the assassin at bay. A look of boredom crossed over Teralis’ face for a brief moment before he swung his sword, cutting through the man’s arm up to his elbow. The man cried out as his arm fell away, falling backwards and landing on his rear.

The pain was intense, but the fear made it barely noticeable as he stared up at Teralis. “P-Please. I-I have a wife.”

Terlis didn’t show the smallest bit of sympathy. “Then she’s about to become a widow.”

The man’s death was in Teralis’ eyes, but he couldn’t help but beg for his life. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come here.” Teralis raised his sword to deliver the killing blow, but suddenly stopped. He looked at the man curiously. “Funny, I thought I would have found someone who can actually challenge me by now.” He looked the bleeding man up and down. “You have no idea what I’m speaking of, do you?”

Trying his best to ignore his pain, the man held his bleeding stump, willing to keep Teralis talking to prolong his life as long as possible. “N-No.”

Taking his eyes off his prey, Teralis examined his sword. “I am 26 years old. For 12 years I have been a killer. Ever since I’ve started, there hasn’t been a single day that has gone by that I haven’t taken at least one life. My record is 217 lives in one day. People say that I have killed countless individuals, but I have counted each and every one. My life goal is to have a million kills before I die.” His gaze returned to the pathetic man at his feet. “Guess what number you are.”

Fear filled the wounded man. “No, please!”

Teralis swung his sword. The man shut his eyes, waiting for the impact of steel. It never came. Finally he dared to open his eyes. Teralis was walking away from him, heading back to Iron Town.

The man laughed in relief when he realized that he was still alive. But when he opened his mouth, blood poured out. It was then he realized that something was wrong. Teralis had struck him. The cut had been so quick and so clean that he hadn’t even felt it. A red line appeared across his stomach as his upper half joined the dead bodies around him.

Teralis stopped walking when heard the thud of the man’s body. The ghost of a smile appeared over his face as he revealed his kill count. “5,000.”

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Ashitaka and San burst out of the forest on the two wolves just in time to see Teralis make the final killing blow.

“No.” Ashitaka gasped in horror.

“Damn it, we’re too late.” San growled.

Kenji glared at the assassin. “It’s that Teralis person again. He killed them.”

Ashitaka’s gaze turned to Teralis. He clenched his fists in anger at seeing the assassin capable of walking away without the slightest bit of sympathy for those he just murdered in cold blood. How could anyone be so twisted and evil?

That’s when it hit him. The pain in his arm flared up. His flesh twisted and pulsed as if something was beneath his skin trying to get out. The blinding pain caused Ashitaka to cry out and shut his eyes as he tried to force down the agony.

“Ashitaka!” San cried, realizing he was in pain. “What’s wrong?”

Ashitaka struggled to speak through clenched teeth. It hurt too much to talk, but he managed it anyway. “It’s… my arm…” he managed to get out, before tumbling off Isamu.

San jumped off Kenji and hurried to Ashitaka’s side. His arm took on life of its own and seized San, wrapping his hand around her throat. The wolves jumped in surprise but did nothing, not knowing how to help.

“Ashi…taka…” San gasped.

The Emishi prince’s eyes opened and he saw what he was doing. He hadn’t even realized it. He couldn’t even feel his hand closed around her throat, only unbearable pain.

“NO!!!” he cried.

Using all of his strength, he released San. He moved into a crouching position and pinned his arm under his knee to keep it still.

San gasped from breath. Her brothers looked at her in concern.

“San, are you alright.” The elder wolf asked.

San nodded, looking back at Ashitaka attempting to control his arm. “Ashitaka!”

He managed to find the strength to look at her. “Stay away from me, San! My arm isn’t doing what I tell it to. I don’t want to hurt you, so please, stay back.”

San ignored him and knelt by him, much to the fear of her brothers.

“San!” Kenji cried. “Keep away! He’s not in control.”

San gave her brothers a sad yet confident look. “He won’t hurt me.” She said calmly, sounding very sure of herself.

She reached out and touched Ashitaka’s cursed arm, taking his hand in hers. His hand immediately closed around hers, a little too tightly, making her wince.

Ashitaka noticed that she was right by him. “San, get back!” he cried in alarm.

“No.” San said calmly, resting her other hand on top of their hands.

Ashitaka’s arm pulsed and squirmed as it tried to find something, anything, to kill. Its closet target was San, and it went for her, but Ashitaka wouldn’t allow it, which only made the pain increase.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the squirming stopped and the pain began to fade. Ashitaka gained enough control to stop squeezing San’s hand so hard. The pain had left him exhausted and breathing heavily, but it was over, for now.

Slowly he began to relax and he pulled San into a hug. She put her arms around him and held on tightly.

“Thank you, San.” He said, still out of breath.

San was close to tears. “I hate seeing you suffer like this. It’s not fair. You are the last person that deserves this.”

That made Ashitaka smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He assured her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… to…” He couldn’t say it. “How’s your hand?”

San smiled at his concern for her. “It’s fine. You didn’t break it or anything. And don’t even think about apologizing, because it wasn’t your fault.”

Isamu walked over to them and nudged them with his nose. “We cannot stay here. It’s not safe with Asano’s men so close.”

Reluctantly San pulled away, wiping the moisture from her eyes. “Yes, yes, you’re right. We have to get back.”

Ashitaka forced himself to his feet, still feeling disorientated. He pulled back the bandages covering the demon mark and saw that it had spread. But he was more concerned about how he was going to tell Melke that her husband was dead.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Assassination Attempt

When they returned to the others, Melke ran to greet them, hoping her husband was among them. Her hopeful look became one of worry when she saw that he wasn’t with them.

“Ashitaka, where is my husband?” she asked.

Ashitaka didn’t reply. How could he tell her that her husband was dead?

“Ashitaka?” A look of horror and heartbreak crossed over her face when he didn’t answer.

Closing his eyes, he broke the news to her as best as he could. “I so sorry, Melke. We… didn’t get to him in time.”

Several emotions crossed over the young woman’s face, all of them full of sadness. Tears formed in her eyes as she cried out in despair. “No! No, he can’t be dead! He can’t be dead!”

She buried her face into Ashitaka’s chest and began crying. San immediately tensed up as jealousy filled her when she saw how close the woman was to Ashitaka and the instinct to protect her territory kicked in.

Shaking her head, San immediately put those thoughts of jealousy aside. This woman wasn’t doing anything wrong. She had just lost her husband. San started scolding herself for being so insensitive. Here this woman was crying her eyes out from losing a loved one, and she was getting jealous.

San walked over to Melke and rested a hand on the crying woman’s shoulder. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save him. I really am.”

Melke looked up at the Princess Mononoke with red puffy eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for trying. I never thought that you would risk your life to help us. I don’t blame you for not getting to my husband in time. I just… I…”

She became too upset to talk anymore and, to San’s surprise, began crying against her just as she had done to Ashitaka moments ago.

“I better get Eboshi.” Ashitaka whispered to San.

San nodded as she awkwardly patted Melke’s back. This was an unexpected turn of events. Never would she have thought that she would be comforting one of her former enemies after they lost a husband.

“Melke.” Eboshi had arrived. “Ashitaka told me what happened. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Melke pulled away from San, and turned to Eboshi, still weeping. “T-Thank you, milady.”

Eboshi made a move to take the woman from San, who was happy to get out of this uncomfortable situation. “Come on, my dear. It will be alright.”

But before Melke went with Eboshi, she whispered something in San’s ear. “Take good care of Ashitaka. You two go very good together.”

With that she went to Eboshi, who led the woman away. San stood transfixed for a moment before looking at Ashitaka. What would she do if she lost him? The idea was unthinkable. San didn’t know what she would do without him. She didn’t think she could go on without him and didn’t want to.

San looked back in the direction that led to Iron Town. There were so many negative emotions in that town right now, and it was affecting Ashitaka’s curse, speeding up the process. If this wasn’t dealt with soon, Ashitaka would…

“No! I won’t let that happen!” San silently vowed. “He won’t be taken from me! I will put an end to this!”

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It was late during the night that a dark figure ran out of the woods, slowly approaching Iron Town. The figure got closer and closer to their destination, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows, not wanting to be spotted by any of Asano’s samurai.

San lifted her mask to get a better view of the town from where she was hiding. Somewhere in there was the one responsible for everything that had happened over the past several days. But once she killed him, everything would go back to normal, once the demon was dealt with that is.

But killing Asano was not going to be easy. Eboshi had been enough difficult to get to, but Asano had trained warriors defending him, not to mention that heartless monster, Teralis. Getting past him would be the most difficult part of this mission, especially on her own.

Yes, San was by herself right now. She had told no one of her plan to make an attempt on Asano’s life. None of the town folk would stand a remote chance at fighting Teralis. Ashitaka might, but San wasn’t going to risk brining him into a place filled with such negative emotions and having his curse spread any faster. And her brothers wouldn’t exactly be able to sneak through Iron Town undetected like she could. No, she had to do this on her own.

Creeping up to the hole in the gate, which was nearly repaired, San checked to see if the cost was clear. Predictably it wasn’t. But there weren’t many guards. Only a handful; everyone else was asleep.

Being as quiet as possible, and making sure to stay out of sight, San picked up a rock and threw it as far as she could behind the guards. They immediately reacted to the sound, turning to face the place the rock landed, giving San enough time to sneak in.

She hurried over to the first place she could hide, hoping the samurai hadn’t seen her. They hadn’t and San sighed in relief. She turned away from the guards and made her way through Iron Town. It wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be. Nearly everyone was asleep and there were only a few guards in a few random places. There would probably be some guarding Lord Asano; wherever he was staying. It didn’t take much effort to figure it out. The warlord would obviously stay in the best residence, which would belong to the leader of Iron Town, Eboshi.

Climbing to the top of a house, San made her way to her destination by hopping from rooftop to rooftop. This easily allowed her to avoid the guards, but she had to be extra quiet so she wouldn’t wake anyone sleeping in the houses she was running over.

Getting as close to Eboshi’s former residence as she could while still remaining on the roof. She spotted a window that looked like it was within jumping distance. The only problem was that it was closed and she wasn’t sure if it was locked. But that wouldn’t matter, she had her ways of getting in.

Taking a running start, San leapt from the roof and stabbed her spear into the wall, using it to remain hanging in the air. Keeping a tight grip on her spear, San tried the window and wasn’t all that surprised to find it locked. Taking out a flat knife she had gotten from one of the town folk, she slid it up the window, lifting the latch off the lock.

Being very careful not to let the window creek as she opened it, San climbed inside; making sure to keep a lookout for any guards, namely Teralis.

She quietly made her way through the house, searching for her target. She turned a corner and her eyes widened before she quickly retreated behind the corner again. There, not ten feet away, was Teralis.

Slowly peaking around the side, San got a good look at the assassin. He was sitting on the floor by a door, seemingly asleep. San listened carefully, before deciding that he really was asleep, based on the way he was breathing.

Being as quiet as possible, San made her way down the hall and walked past the sleeping man. San’s eyes narrowed as she picked up the scent of blood. Teralis had made a kill recently. San was tempted to kill the man and prevent him from killing anyone else. But she didn’t. She wouldn’t risk blowing this mission. Her goal was to kill Asano and end this senseless fighting.

San looked at the door Teralis was sitting by. Since Teralis was Asano’s bodyguard, logic suggested that Asano was probably asleep behind that door.

Carefully, so not to make a noise, San opened this door, constantly glancing at Teralis to make sure he was still asleep. Her heart was pounding so loudly that she thought the assassin might hear it, but he didn’t stir and his breathing remained calm and steady, indicating that he was still asleep.

She crept into the room and spotted Asano fast asleep. San narrowed her eyes as she recognized the evil warlord. As quiet as ever, she shut the door and crept over to him. Lifting up her mask, she stood over the bed, knife in hand, and glared at Asano with the deepest loathing.

“If only I could have done this before you caused so much suffering.” She thought, raising the knife. “It’s too late for the lives of those you destroyed, but I can at least stop you and your evil ways.”

She was about to plunge the knife into his black heart when Asano spoke. “So you’ve finally come.” San jumped back in surprise as Asano opened his eyes and smirked at her. “I wondered what took so long. I’ve been here over a week. I would have thought that you would have sooner.”

San recovered from her surprise and held the knife to the warlord’s throat. Asano didn’t even flinch, and his smug smile never left his face.

“Don’t move.” She said threateningly. “Don’t think I won’t kill you.”

Asano snickered. “Oh, I know you will. I told you that I even expected you to come sooner.”

San’s eyes narrowed as she glared at the warlord. “You should have listened to us earlier and left.”

Asano’s smile didn’t falter. “But it’s much more fun this way, wouldn’t you agree? The thrill of war is so exciting.”

San was outraged. “There is nothing fun about playing!” she seethed, making sure to keep her voice low. “What kind of a person are you?”

“The kind that enjoys a good battle.” Asano replied calmly, too calmly for someone with a knife held to their throat.

“You’re sick!” San whispered. “You’re almost as bad as that thing you have outside your door.”

Asano laughed. “Yes, Teralis really is one of a kind. There’s no other like him. He’s the best there is, without doubt. Once he’s decided to kill someone, they’re dead.”

San glared at him. “I’ll give you one last chance to leave. Go and never come back. Leave my forest and Iron Town alone. You’ll only invoke how wrath, and that will lead to war.”

“How exciting.”

San pressed the knife against Asano’s Adam’s apple. “You should be so confident. I could kill you right now, and your friend Teralis isn’t here to help you.”

The warlord just sneered at her. “You just don’t get it. No gets away or gets by him. Even when he sleeps, no one can get by him.”

“I managed to get by him just fine.”

An evil smile crept up over the warlord’s face. “Did you? Did you really? Are you sure he didn’t just let you get by.”

San didn’t like the look in his eyes or the smug smile on his face. He should be worried for his life. Not having a conversation with her like he was in control of the situation. That was when she noticed it. Asano wasn’t looking at her. He was looking over her should, behind her.

Fear and disbelief gripped her. No, it wasn’t possible. No human could sneak up on her, no one; except Ashitaka, but that was only because she taught him. No one else could possible get her from behind without her knowing.

Acting completely on instinct, San jumped as high as she could. Without making the slightest sound, a blood red blade soared beneath her, less than an inch away.

San landed only to have to dodge Teralis’ blade again. It was true, he had managed to sneak up on her. No one should be able to move like that. But he did, and he had her death in his eyes.

San continued to jump away from Teralis’ deadly blade, nearly getting cut in half each time. How could he be so fast, and while wearing a suit of armor no less? It was impossible, and he here he was, not even appearing tired, his movements a blur even to her eyes.

At one point San wasn’t fast enough to dodged and she caught his blade with the knife. The force of Teralis’ sword sent the knife flying out of her hand and landing several feet away.

Teralis stabbed forward and San just managed to jump over his head. Teralis instantly spun around, swinging his sword. It cut open the back of San’s shirt as she retreated, but luckily she managed to get away without getting cut, but just barely.

Knowing that she missed her chance at getting Asano, San made a run for it. There was no time to run through the house, so she just jumped straight through the window. After living her whole life in the forest, San was used to jumping from high places and she landed unharmed outside. Unfortunately, she was now out in the open, and the guards spotted her. To make matters worse, Teralis immediately jumped out the same window she did. San took off as Teralis landed and was already charging at her before his feet even completely touched the ground.

“It’s the wolf-girl!” a samurai shouted, waking the whole camp.

San swore as more of Asano’s became aware of her presence. Why hadn’t she just killed Asano and left? It had been clear that the warlord had been expecting her and set a trap, which she walked right into, but why hadn’t she just gone in, kill the man, and leave? Why had she let him distract her? And how did Teralis sneak up on her?

Speaking of Teralis, the assassin was quickly gaining on her. How could he be so fast? He was even faster than she was. Was that possible?

San ran for the hole in the gate, but was forced to change direction as to avoid Teralis’ blade. San jumped to the side and her eyes momentarily locked with his. What she saw in those eyes made her blood run cold. All her life, she had been a wolf, a predator, but she didn’t feel like that now. Right now she felt like prey. And that was when she realized it. She was the prey. His prey. This time, she wasn’t the wolf, he was.

Never had San ever been afraid of a human. Well that wasn’t exactly true. When they had first met, she had been afraid of Ashitaka, but for a different reason. He had stirred up emotions in her that she hadn’t thought she was capable of feeling for a human, and she had been afraid of that.

But with Teralis it was something else entirely. In the presence of this man, this monster, she feared for her life. She was afraid of him. She was afraid. This man was the first and only human to truly terrify her. She hadn’t thought it was possible for her to fear a human.

It was then that she realized just how afraid she really was. Never had she experienced fear like this, at least not for herself. When she looked into Teralis’ eyes, it sent a jolt of fear that scared her more than when she was surrounded by the angry town folk while fight Eboshi, more than when Okkoto had turned into a demon and she was trapped with his living rage, more than when the Forest Spirit had her surrounded and was sucking the life out of everything it touched. She had indeed feared for her life during those times, but right now, looking into those bottle green eyes, she felt more vulnerable and scared for her life then she ever had been.

All this ran through her mind for the briefest moment. Once Teralis broke eye contact with her, the fear left and she able to dodge his blade at the last second once again. San quickly realized that she had to leave now or Teralis would surely kill her. She knew now that she was no match for him and never would be. If it ever came to a fight, he would win. No matter how much she didn’t want to believe it, she had to admit the truth. Teralis was too good, and if she didn’t leave, now, he would kill her.

San ran for the exit, but several samurai moved to bloke her path. She swore and changed directions. There was another hole in the gate on the other side of the town. If she could just avoid Teralis until then she could get away… she hoped.

Thinking she had a better chance on higher ground, San quickly climbed up onto a roof again. Teralis was up there with her a moment later. The two ran across to rooftops, jumping to a different house ever so often. Teralis’ blade was getting closer and closer with each swing. San knew she couldn’t evade him much longer.

San jumped to another roof with Teralis right behind. He swung his sword right where she was about to land. San messed up her landing and fell off the roof, landing hard on the ground.

Groaning, San sat up. She looked up just in time to see Teralis jumping down towards her. She just barely managed to roll out of the way in time as Teralis’ sword buried into the ground up to the hilt right where she had been less than a second ago.

Taking the opportunity, San took off, hoping that having his sword stuck in the ground would slow the assassin down. No such luck. Teralis pulled his sword out of the ground with great ease and was after her once again.

San saw the second exit. There were no guards there at the moment for they had all rushed to where she had originally intended to escape. Unbeknownst to her, a samurai was aiming a gun right at her.

“Say goodbye, wolf-girl.” He sneered and fired.

He was right on target; the bullet soaring through the air, heading straight for San. But it never reached her, for a hand covered in black armor snatched the bullet from the air. The samurai gasped as he saw Teralis holding the bullet. The samurai wasn’t surprised that the bullet didn’t seem to hurt him since the assassin’s was wearing armor over his hand. No, what shocked him was that he was able to snatch the bullet out of the air. Was that even possible for any man to do?

Teralis’ eyes turned to the samurai that had attempted to shoot San. “She’s mine.” He hissed, before throwing the bullet at the samurai. It hit him in the chest, causing him to fall to his knees, clutching his chest in pain; that would definitely leave a nice big bruise. But if Teralis didn’t kill him, then he would gladly accept the bruise.

Teralis resumed his pursue of San, who was just managed to reach the whole in the gate and jumped through it, heading for the forest.

“You won’t escape.” He thought. “No one escapes me.”

“Teralis, let her go!”

The assassin came to a halt as heard his master’s order. Turning around he saw Lord Asano and several of his samurai approach. The warlord had an amused look on his face. Teralis’ grip on his sword tightened as Asano’s orders registered to him. He wouldn’t be able to kill the wolf-girl, not now anyway.

Noticing the angry look in his bodyguard’s eyes, Asano gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll get to kill her soon enough. But not yet. The game has only just begun. We wouldn’t want to take out one of the main characters so soon, would we?”

Teralis didn’t meet his master’s eyes. “No, we wouldn’t.”

He walked by the warlord, returning back to his residence. One of the samurai gave him an impressed smile.

“You’re really good.” He complemented.

Teralis’ response was to whip out his sword and slay the samurai. He may have been denied the right to kill the wolf-girl for now but he would have a kill.

Asano frowned as he watched Teralis kill yet another one of his men. This was beginning to become troublesome. It wasn’t that he cared if his samurai lived or died, but he needed men. And if Teralis kept killing all his samurai, that could prove to be a problem.

Asano realized that he may have underestimated the assassin. He had thought he could control him, but he realized that he couldn’t. Teralis had a bloodlust that couldn’t be satisfied, a never-ending desire to kill. The only reason Teralis was protecting Asano was because Asano was protecting him, and the only reason Teralis obeyed Asano was because most of Asano’s orders for Teralis was for him to kill. Teralis could not be controlled, made to obey maybe, but not controlled. And his bloodlust would never end. Teralis would kill until the day he died or until someone killed him; an impossible task.

“I’ll have to be more careful around him.” Asano thought.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Demon Attack

Ashitaka rode on Kenji’s back with Isamu following closely behind. They were worried sick about San. Ashitaka had awoken sometime during the night and noticed that San was no longer with him. After checking around the camp and not finding her, he had woken up San’s brothers to see if they could pick up her scent. It didn’t take long for them to realize that San was no more among them, nor did it take long for them to figure out where she had gone. Iron Town.

“San, please be alright.” Ashitaka silently prayed. “Please still be alive. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“She’s close!” Kenji announced. “She’s just up ahead!”

“Hurry!” Ashitaka urged them on.

A few seconds later, they found the Princess Mononoke, sweaty and exhausted as she made her way through the forest.

“San!” Ashitaka cried, jumping off the wolf and throwing his arms around the woman he loved.

San returned the embrace. “Ashitaka, I’m sorry.” She said breathlessly.

“What were you doing?” he asked, his voice filled with worry.

“Yes, what were you doing?” Isamu demanded harshly.

San looked at her brother. “I was trying to kill Asano. I failed. That man, Teralis, he stopped me. I don’t know where he learned to fight, but he is nothing like any human I’ve ever seen before.”

Ashitaka held her close. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going? I could have helped.”

San shook her head. “Those men are evil. And all that evil seems to cause you curse to spread faster. I didn’t want that.”

Ashitaka sighed. “Come on, let’s get back. We’ll figure this out.”

San suddenly looked very seriously. “Ashitaka, I don’t want you to fight that man.”

Ashitaka looked surprised. He had never heard San speak in this manner, with fear over someone. He had never thought it possible, and the fact that Teralis was worrying San was very unsettling.

“San-”

“I fought him.” San said. “He’s a dangerous evil man.”

“What is this?” Kenji growled. “San this doesn’t sound like you. What did those men do to you?”

“Besides trying to kill me, nothing. I know, I know this isn’t me. But there is something about that man that’s different from anything I’ve ever seen. Worse than a demon. At least they can’t control their bloodthirsty rampage.”

“Teralis put you in this condition?” Isamu exclaimed. “I am going to kill that man! I’ll tear out his throat!”

“Not if I get to him first.” Kenji growled.

“No one is doing anything right now.” Ashitaka told them. He didn’t want San doing anything in the condition she was in. She was tired and weak, not to mention scared to death; something he never thought he would see from her. What had that man done to her? The thought made Ashitaka’s blood boil.

A small prick of man in his cursed arm got his attention and he immediately put those negative thoughts aside, less he cause his curse to spread faster.

The two humans climbed on the wolves’ backs and they headed back to the camp. Along the way, San returned to her normal self, becoming the fearless warrior Ashitaka and her brothers always knew. When she told them of what had happened on her mission, her brothers vowed to kill Teralis, even when Asano was dealt with. Ashitaka had to fight hard to keep any negative emotions from filling him.

“I won’t rest until that man is dead.” Isamu growled. “Both him and Asano.” He looked at the Emishi prince riding on his brother’s back. “Ashitaka, you can’t deny that killing Teralis will do more good than bad.”

Ashitaka sighed. “I never thought that killing would ever be the answer to anything… but Teralis.”

“I don’t want you to fight him.” San said. “We can use one of Ebsohi’s guns. Killing him from a distance will be the only chance. A hand to hand fight is suicide.”

Ashitaka gave her a serious look. “San, I can promise that I won’t go looking for a fight. But if he comes after us, I will have no choice but to fight. Hopefully my demon strength will give me an advantage.”

San perked up a bit. She had forgotten about the only good part that came out of Nago’s curse. Yes, Ashitaka’s strength would definitely be a great help should he have to fight Teralis, but she still wanted to avoid such a confrontation if possible.

“There’s trouble ahead.” Kenji growled, bringing San out of her thoughts.

“Trouble?” Ashitaka repeated. “What kind of trouble?”

Kenji narrowed his eyes. “It’s the demon.”

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“Get the lepers and the wounded out of here!” Eboshi ordered. “Everyone to arms! We have to stop this thing!”

The demon roared as the town folk fought with whatever they had, from swords to rocks; Asano had not allowed them to take any guns. The demon easily shook off the pathetic attacks and continued its assault, destroying all in its path.

“Milady, our attacks aren’t working!” Gonza cried.

“We have no choice!” Eboshi shouted. “We have to hold it off long enough to get those unable to fight out of here!”

“What about you, milady?”

Though Ebshi had been right handed, she had trained herself to use her left, not that she had much of a choice. “I’m staying.” She declared, pulling out a sword.

“But milady!”

“Get everyone out!” she ordered, before charging into battle.

The demon was merciless, destroying everything in its reach. Several people held spears out before them to try and keep the demon at bay, very unsuccessfully. The tentacles of rage covering the demon lashed out, grabbing anyone who dared to attack it and throwing them in different directions.

“Don’t get too close!” Eboshi ordered.

“Nothing is working!” one of the men cried. “We don’t have any weapons that we can use to attack from the distance accept for spears.”

“Then use the spears!” Eboshi looked back at the demon and swore. She wished Ashitaka and the wolf tribe were here. Ashitaka had his arrows and his demon strength, San was a much better fighter then anyone else here, and the wolves had the best chance at fighting the demon than any of them.

One of the men threw a spear and it slammed into the demon’s side. It howled in pain as its tentacles caused the spear to rot away. Turning to the one that attacked it, the demon curled into a ball and several tentacles shot out in all different directions like evil evils of death.

“Fall back!” Eboshi ordered.

As the town folk retreated, the demon uncurled itself and stomped after them, its eyes on Eboshi who had caught its attention when she gave the order. Eboshi held her sword out in a defensive position as the demon got closer.

“This doesn’t look good.” She muttered.

At that moment, an arrow soared through the forest, almost too fast to see, and slams into the demon’s neck, going straight through and coming out the other end. The demon’s eyes widened in surprise, causing it to stumble. Eboshi used the opportunity to get away while looking for the one that shot the arrow. There was only one person that had enough strength to shoot an arrow with that much force.

“Eboshi!” Ashitaka cried, arriving with San and her brothers.

Eboshi glared at him. “Where have you been?”

He ignored the question. “Get everyone out of here!”

Eboshi took his advice as he and San dismounted the wolves. The demon turned to them and roared. The wolves growled back at it.

“So this is the demon that we’ve been searching for.” Isamu observed, trying to distinguish what the monster once was.

The demon charged at them. The two humans and Isamu fled but Kenji went on the attack, jumping on the demon’s back and sinking his teeth into the tentacles. The demon roared and tried to shake the wolf off its back, but Kenji refused to budge.

The tentacles began rapping around the wolf, holding him tightly while causing him great pain. Kenji howled and attempted to get away, but the tentacles held him tightly.

“Kenji!” the others shouted, moving in to help.

The tentacles came together to form one large whip, which lashed out at them. Isamu was able to jump high enough to avoid the whip, but it slammed into San and Ashitaka, sending them flying.

Isamu landed onto the demon, but was unable to stay on as the demon shook violently, knocking the older wolf away. The tentacles holding Kenji lifted him high into the air and threw him with great force right into a tree. Kenji yelped as he crashed into the tree, snapping it in two. He attempted to get up, but collapsed.

Ashitaka, recovered from the demon’s attack, stung another arrow, letting it fly. The demon leapt out of the way and Ashitaka’s arrow impaled a tree.

“Damn you!” Isamu roared, and ran at the demon.

The demon roared and charged back at the wolf. The tentacles around its mouth moved aside, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Isamu didn’t stop, not until several tentacles lashed out at him. Isamu jumped to the side, but wasn’t able to avoid the demon charging into him. The demon’s jaws closed over the wolf. Isamu howled in pain as the demon swung the wolf around and released him, sending him spinning into a tree.

Too weak to get up, Isamu could only lay there as the demon closed in on him.

“No, over here!” San shouted getting the demon’s attention.

It turned to her and growled. San pointed a spear at it and backed away as the demon approached.

“San!” Ashitaka cried, attempting to get to her.

One of the demons tentacles shot out and knocked Ashitaka backwards. The same tentacle flew at San. She attempted to stab it with her spear, but the tentacle wrapped around it and pulled it out of her hands.

Desperate for a weapon, San took the crystal dagger from around her neck and held it up defensively. She knew that the small dagger wouldn’t do her any good, but right now she was desperate for any form of defense.

The demon charged at her. San held up the dagger, knowing it would be useless. The tentacles around the demon’s mouth moved away, exposing its teeth once again, ready to chomp down on the Princess Mononoke.

“San, no!” Ashitaka shouted.

San was about to stab forward with the little dagger, but someone pushed her out of the way, and the demon’s jaws closed on them instead.

Sitting up, San looked at the person in the demon’s jaws who saved her life. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw Jigo crushed between the demon’s teeth, crying out in agony.

“San!” Ashitaka appeared by her side.

He noticed the stunned look of surprise on her face and noticed what she was looking at. His mouth dropped open as he saw the monk in the demon’s jaws. He recovered from his shock and realized he had to help him.

Jumping up onto the demon’s back, he buried a spear into the back of the demon’s neck. The demon howled in pain, dropping Jigo from his jaws as he shook his head violently. Ashitaka flew off the demon’s back, along with the spear.

Sputtering, the demon took off, disappearing into the forest from whence it came.

Once the demon was gone, Ashitaka hurried over to San to se if she was alright.

“I’m fine.” She insisted. “What about my brothers?”

“I’ve been worse.” Kenji insisted, limping over to them. “Isamu?”

The elder wolf struggled to his feet. “Nothing some time in the pool of the forest spirit won’t fix. I can’t say the same for the monk.”

They looked over to Jigo who was laying in a pool of his own blood. He was still alive, but based upon his injuries, he didn’t look like he would be much longer.

“Jigo. Jigo!”

The monk coughed and looked up at the two humans and wolves. “Hey guys.” He muttered. “Great job with that demon.”

“Why did you save me?” San asked.

Jigo forced himself to smile. “Hey, I told you, I’m not such a bad guy. Besides-” cough, cough, “-sort of owed you after the things I’ve done. Not to mention you’ll be better use at killing the demon than I am.” With great effort, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a grenade. “I managed to sneak this out of Iron Town. I came over to use it on the demon, but couldn’t with you so close to it. When I realized that you were in trouble, I did the only thing I could think of. Guess it didn’t work out so well for me.”

Eboshi walked over to them. “Jigo? What happened?”

“Never mind that now.” Said Ashitaka. He turned to San. “If we get him to the pool of the Forest Spirit, can we save him?”

Before San could answer, Jigo made a noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cough. “Oh please kid, you know I won’t last until then. Perhaps this my punishment for forcing Eboshi to kill the Forest Spirit.” He looked at the wolf tribe. “I know that what I did was wrong, but I am not a bad person. I made mistakes, who doesn’t. I don’t deny that I’m a greedy bastard, but I’m not like Asano.” He closed his eyes and winced in pain. “Not that it matters now. I have nothing left. Maybe that’s why I found it so easy to face the demon. After all, everyone dies… some sooner than others…”

He stopped speaking and lay motionless. Kenji leaned forward and sniffed him.

“He’s gone.” He growled. “At least he did something good with his life before he faces judgment.”

Ashitaka looked at the dead monk. He didn’t know what to think. Right now, the Jigo he saw before him was the kindhearted man that he had outrun thieves with, not the selfish hunter who had been willing to kill him so he could make a profit off the head of a god.

He looked up at San and saw that her expression was unreadable, very similar to the way he was feeling. He knew that she, like him and her brothers, was feeling both sorry and somewhat, for lack of a better word, satisfied that the monk was dead.

“Jigo, nothing can make me forgive you for what you’ve done,” he told the dead monk, “but you’ve earned back your respect from me.”

San continued to look at the dead monk, feeling obligated to say something. “Monk, you’ve… you’ve…” This was a lot harder for her to say then she thought it would be. “You’ve earned my thanks.”

She turned to her brothers. They remained silent, up until she glared at them.

Isamu growled, reluctantly feeling sympathy for the monk, just like the others. “And ours.”

“But we still don’t forgive you!” Kenji couldn’t resist adding, trying to find a reason to hold a grudge against the man.

“I don’t think he wanted forgiveness.” Eboshi replied.

Gonza came running up to them looking panicked. “Milady!”

“Not now.” Eboshi said, not even looking at him

“But milady, the demon is still here!”

All heads snapped to him.

“What?”

Gonza pointed in the direction he came in. “The demon, it never left!”

Cries could be heard from the other side of the camp. Gonza was right, the demon hadn’t left. It had been circling the camp like a shark preparing to attack. And now it was on the attack again, charging through the camp.

Ashitaka felt his anger rise as he saw the demon continuing to terrorize the town folk. His arm twitched painfully, but not bad enough to cripple him as it had before. This demon had to be stopped before it killed anyone else.

Hating what he had to resort to, but doing it anyway, he grabbed the grenade out of the dead monk’s hand.

“Everyone get behind me!” he ordered.

As the demon rapidly approached them, Eboshi, Gonza, and the wolf tribe did what Ashitaka ordered and moved behind him. Ashitaka threw the grenade, making sure everyone else was out of the way.

The grenade went off, catching the demon in the explosion, but not close enough to kill it. The blast blew off several of the tentacles covering the demon, and they all got a good look at what the creature once was.

Everyone gasped as they saw the type of god that became a rampaging monster. It was a wolf. A large black wolf with multiple injuries inflicted upon it.

“No, it can’t be.” San whispered in disbelief.

“A wolf!” Eboshi gasped. “Well I’ll be damned.”

The wolf god made a loud noise that was a cross between a roar and a howl as its rage took hold of it again. More tentacles of rage sprouted up over where others were blown off. It jumped through the air, soaring right over its intended preys’ heads, and disappeared into the woods; this time really leaving.

San and her brothers watched in disbelief as the demonic wolf god disappeared from sight. Ashitaka saw the denial on their faces. They didn’t want to believe what they had seen and Ashitaka couldn’t blame them. The demon was a wolf. To him, that would have been like finding out that one of his fellow Emishi tribe members was the demon. He didn’t want to think of how bad that would be.

“It was a wolf.” Gonza cried. “I can’t believe it.” He turned angrily to San and her brothers. “Did you know?” They didn’t answer. “Answer me, did you know?”

His loud voice brought at least one of them out of their trance. “No.” Isamu said, still sounding like he couldn’t believe what he saw. “We didn’t. And I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it for myself.”

“It can’t be.” San muttered, seeming to not even realize what was going on around her.

“How do we know you aren’t just saying that and weren’t trying to protect that… thing?” Gonza shouted.

“That is enough!” Eboshi snapped. “You know just as well as I do that they withheld no information. Stop trying to point fingers.”

“It can’t be.” San repeated.

Ashitaka rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry San. I know it was hard to see that, but-”

“NO!!!” she cried. “It can’t be! I don’t believe it!”

Ashitaka didn’t know what to do. Kenji nudged him with his nose, getting his attention. The wolf looked absolutely miserable. “Ashitaka, this situation is worse than you think.”

“How much worse can it be?” he asked, dreading the answer.

Isamu sighed. “That was just any wolf. That was Kahn; our father.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Moro Speaks

Those last two words hung in the air as they slowly registered to the Emishi prince. He looked at San with wide eyes. Their father. Their father! No wonder she and her brothers were so upset. This was more than having a fellow wolf becoming a demon. This was family.

Their father. Ashitaka actually hadn’t given much thought to who their father was. The thought had crossed his mind a few times though, but he had always thought that he had died before or during the war with the citizens of Iron Town. He had never brought it up because he didn’t want to stir up any painful memories for them so soon after losing their mother.

“Your… your father?” he muttered, not knowing what else to say. “How?”

Isamu sadly shook his head. “We don’t know. We haven’t seen our father in months.”

“No! It can’t be our father!” San cried in despair, unwilling to believe the truth. “It can’t be! It just can’t!”

Kenji rubbed his furry face against San in a comforting manner. “I don’t want to believe it either, San. But I know our father anywhere.”

“It’s a mistake!” she shouted. “A trick of Asano’s! Father could never! He wouldn’t allow himself to… to…”

She couldn’t speak anymore. She pulled away from her brother and took off.

“San, wait come back!” Isamu called after her.

San didn’t turn back, no matter how much they called after her.

“The demon could still be close by!” Kenji hollered, deliberately not calling the demon Father.

But whether San heard him or not, she kept running, and was gone.

“I’m going after her.” Ashitaka declared.

“So are we.” Isamu said, wincing in pain.

Ashitaka shook his head. “No, you guys are hurt. I’ll take care of her.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes, I too know the pain of losing a father.”

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San ran. She wanted to get away from it all. She wanted to run from the truth. The demon was her father? It just couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be true. Her father was strong, even stronger than her mother, and she hadn’t turned into a demon, so why did he.

Grief built up in her chest. It was all too much. So many things had happened all at once. In the past two months, she had lost her mother and the Forest Spirit, had her home taken from her then given back, found someone to share her heart with only to have a deadly curse inflicted upon him, had the war end only to have a new one begin, made allies out of her former enemies only to have worse enemies gained, and finally a new demon arrives that turns out to be her father. She just couldn’t take it. It was over whelming.

Tears ran down her cheeks as rain began pouring down coming down from the clouds as if the heavens themselves were crying for her. Soaking wet and filled with agony, San cried out loudly to release her pain. Moving under a tree, she began pounding her fists against the trunk. It wasn’t long before she exhausted herself and rested her head against the spot she had been pounding on.

“Why? Why is this happening?” she wept. “It’s not fair!”

She completely broke down. She may be a fearless warrior a majority of the time, but finally all her pain and anger was coming out. Seeing her father consumed with rage had been the final straw. The trigger to all her bottled up emotions. It felt good to finally let all this pain out, but it didn’t change the fact that her father was still a demon, Ashitaka might die, and that Asano might succeed in destroying the forest.

“San.”

She jumped at the sound of her name. She turned around to face an equally drenched Ashitaka, looking at her with the greatest sympathy. Unable to hold herself back, she threw her arms around him and held on tightly.

“Ashitaka, what are we going to do?” she cried. “How could this happen? Why is everyone I love being taken from me?”

Ashitaka held her close, letting her cry against his chest. He knew how painful this must be for her. He and Kaya had both lost their parents at such a young age. Kaya had wept, and Ashitaka comforted her. He knew he had to be strong for her, just like he had to be strong for San now.

“San, I don’t know why this is happening.” He told her. “But I promise that I’ll do whatever I can to make things right.”

“I’m losing everyone.” San said through her tears, holding him so tightly that it was almost painful.

“I know this is hard, San, but you still have me and your brothers.” He told her.

“But they’ve been hurt and your curse is back.”

“We’ll figure this out. The pool of the Forest Spirit can heal your brothers, and as for my curse…” He didn’t know what to say. “Just have faith, San. Everything will be alright.”

San buried her face into the nap of his neck. “Ashitaka, promise you won’t ever leave me. Promise you’ll stay with me forever.”

Ashitaka glanced at his cursed arm. “San, only death can take me from you. And even then I’ll wait for you. I’ll always be with you.”

San decided that that would have to be good enough, knowing that Ashitaka couldn’t promise her that he wouldn’t die. No one could promise that they wouldn’t die, especially during a time of war. As Jigo said, everyone dies, some sooner than others.

“I… I…” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Ashitaka.”

He tensed up at those three words. She had never told him that before. He knew she loved him, her actions told him, but she had never said it. Tears welled up in his eyes and he held her closer.

“Do you mean that, San?” he needed to hear it again.

She nodded against him. “Yes, I love so much.”

Regardless of how grim things were, joy welled up in Ashitaka’s heart.

“I love you too, San. More than anything.”

He kissed her wet hair. At the contact, San immediately lifted her head and her lips met his. Ashitaka was surprised as she took control of the kiss. San had been brought up to show her affection by licking. He had been teaching her how to kiss, and she was a very fast learner, but she had never been this demanding before. She was kissing and licking every inch of his face which he returned with just as much passion.

San pulled him closer, backing up until her back it the tree. She was passionately kissing and licking him in a desperate needy way as she slid down the tree trunk, taking Ashitaka down with her.

He returned her kisses, pouring all his love into her. He knew they should stop while they still could. This was neither the time nor the place. Besides, he wanted their first time to be a romantic and happy moment. Not during a war, not when she just learned that her father had become a demon. He would never take advantage of her like that.

With great effort, he pulled away. “No San, not now. This isn’t the right time.”

The passion slowly faded from San’s eyes and the despair she had been feeling earlier returned. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I was-”

He cut her off by placing his finger over her lips. “You don’t have to apologize, San. You were feeling very emotional just now. You have nothing to be sorry for. Ok?”

She nodded. “Can we stay here a while longer? I don’t want to go back yet.”

He nodded and she snuggled up against him. Even being wet from the rain, she was asleep with moments. Ashitaka didn’t blame her. She must be exhausted, especially after leaving in the middle of the night to try and kill Asano.

Moving some of her wet hair out of the way, he gazed down into her beautiful face. He bent down and kissed her forehead. He vowed to find some way to make this right. She deserved to be happy and free from war, and he would find a way to make that happen; even at the cost of his own life.

“Sleep well, my love.” He whispered, before closing his eyes and joining her in sleep.

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When he opened is eyes again, he was not in the same place he had fallen asleep. In fact, he wasn’t even in the forest anymore. He was in a meadow. He could se how far it went, because a thick fog was surrounding him, making it hard to see. But he wasn’t alone. San was still with him, fast asleep. Gently he shook her awake.

“San. San, wake up.”

Slowly her eyes opened. “Ashitaka? What’s wrong?” Then she noticed that they were no longer in the forest and she jumped to her feet. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

Ashitaka looked around. “I don’t know. I woke up here, the same as you. I have no idea where we are.”

San looked at him and noticed something. “Ashitaka, your curse is gone!”

Ashitaka looked at his arm and saw that the demon mark was indeed no longer there. It didn’t make any sense to him, not that he was complaining. “You’re right. But what’s going on?”

“Do not fear. You are safe.”

Both San and Ashitaka jumped at the unexpected speaker. They both turned in the direction the voice had come in, but saw nothing beyond the fog. That is, until the speaker approached them.

San’s eyes widened with recognition. “Mother!” she gasped.

Moro smiled at her. “Hello, my child. It is good to see you again.”

Tears ran down San’s cheeks; only this time they were tears of joy. “Mother!” She ran for the giant wolf with her arms outstretched.

Moro suddenly became fearful. “STOP!!!” she snarled. San froze, a look of confusion crossing over her face. Moro immediately sighed in relief. “Forgive me, San. But you cannot come any closer to me.”

“Why not?” San cried desperately.

A look of sorrow appeared over the wolves face. “This is the border to the spirit realm. If you attempt to enter in further, you will die and be unable to return to the land of the living. I cannot come any closer to you either.” She pawed the air and her paw came in contact with an invisible barrier. “I am sorry.”

San looked like she was about to cry again, so Ashitaka went up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t go any closer.” He told her, relieved when she nodded. He turned to Moro and made a small bow. “Hello Moro, it’s good to see you again.”

Moro nodded. “And you, young one. But I am afraid that I do not have long to speak with you. I have called you here for an important reason. It regards your father, San.”

“It’s not true, is it?” San cried desperately. “Father’s not a… not a…”

The sad look on Moro’s face answered her question before she even finished it. “I am sorry, San, but yes, it’s true. My beloved mate has indeed been overcome by rage.” She closed her eyes to hide to pain in them. “Kahn, I never thought it would happen to you.” she said, speaking more to herself.

“No.” San murmured, falling to her knees, repeating the word over and over again.

Ashitaka knelt down by her and pulled her in an embrace. “I’m sorry, San.”

Moro hung her head. “I’m afraid that what I’m going to ask won’t be easy for you to do.” She said. San looked up at her, worry written all over her face. Moro sighed and gave her request. “I hate to ask it of you, but I need you to kill him.”

San knew it had been coming, but still didn’t want to believe it. “What?”

“You must kill him, San.” Moro repeated. “It is the only way. End his suffering, free him from his rage, and he and I will be reunited.”

“I can’t!” San cried, shaking her head. “I can’t do it!”

“You must.” Moro said. “Your brothers can’t fight him in their current state. You’ll have to do it.”

“Stop it!” San shouted, covering her ears. “Mother, I can’t kill him. I already lost you, I can’t lose anyone else.”

Moro closed her eyes. “I was afraid of that.” She opened her eyes and looked at Ashitaka. “Ashitaka, I’m going to have to rely on you then.”

Ashitaka closed his eyes. “Moro, please don’t ask me to do that.” He whispered.

“I have to.” Moro replied. “San, Isamu, and Kenji can’t do it, and you are the only other one I trust. I know for a fact that my mate would want to die rather than go on in the state he is in. Please, do this for me as much as him. End his suffering.”

Ashitaka was silent for quite awhile, thinking this over. How could Moro ask him to do such a thing? She was asking him to kill the father of the woman he loved. For him, killing was hard enough, but killing Kahn, San’s father, even though he was a demon, was unthinkable.

“Moro, I don’t know if I am capable of doing such a thing.” He said. “But I will do what I must to protect San. If that includes killing Kahn, then so be it.”

Moro sighed. “I guess that will have to do. Promise me though, promise that you will protect my daughter.”

“I will.” he replied. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect San.”

“Good.” The wolf god said, suddenly sounding a little more harsh. “Because I meant what I said. I approve of you, but if you do anything to hurt San, I will tear your throat out 1,000 times after you die. I can do that here, you know.”

“I believe you. But I would sooner hurt myself then San.”

“I know, but I’m just warning you.” Moro said, as she and the foggy meadow began to fade. “You must go now. Take care of yourselves.”

“Mother, no!” San cried, attempting to get to her, but Ashitaka held her back.

Moro gave her a sad smile. “Do not fear, San. We will be reunited one day. Until then, know that I love you and miss you. Go now, my children. Go live and love.”

Everything faded to black. The last thing Ashitaka knew was the realization that Moro had just accepted him as her child.

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They woke up together, back in the forest, in exactly the same place they fell asleep in. San immediately jumped up and began looking around.

“Mother! Mother! MOTHER!!!”

It didn’t take long before she realized that Ashitaka was the only one with her. Once again she had lost her mother. The thought tore at her heart.

“She’s gone again.” she whispered. “She’s gone.” Thinking it may have been a dream, she turned to Ashitaka. “Did you…?”

He nodded. “Yes, I saw the same thing you did. I’m sorry, San.”

San wanted to cry some more, but found herself unable to. Then she caught sight of something that made her hopes come crashing down even further. “Ashitaka, your curse, it’s back.”

He looked at his arm and sighed. He had a feeling that it would be, but he had hoped it wouldn’t be.

“It’s ok.” He said. “I’ll be fine.” He looked at her again. “What about you?”

San turned away. “I’m… I’m…” She sighed and turned back to him. “I’ll fine. I’m alright.”

Ashitaka pulled her into a hug. She held him tightly.

“No, San, you’re not alright.” He thought. “You’re hurting right now. But you will be alright. Once this is over, everything truly will be alright once again.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: It’s Come To This

“Teralis, I need to speak with you.” Asano told his bodyguard.

The assassin’s eyes drifted over to the warlord. “As you wish.” he said emotionlessly.

Asano’s eyes narrowed. He was being very serious. “In the past several days, you have killed a few of my men.”

“They were bothering me.” Teralis replied. “Besides, you didn’t seem to care.”

“Yes, but I need my men in order to fight. If you want to kill someone, go find one of Eboshi’s people. No more killing my men, understand?”

Teralis stared at him for a moment, his face an emotionless mask. “I will kill who I want, when I want.”

Asano’s anger flared. Teralis had never been defiant of him before. “Now you listen to me! The only reason you aren’t in the emperor’s prison is because I’m keeping you out.”

Teralis actually turned to face him. “And the only reason you are alive is because I am here to protect you.”

“Now see here-”

“Do you honestly think any prison can hold me?” Teralis asked coldly. “Your protection is a luxury for me, not a necessity. I don’t need you. You need me. Had it not been for me, the Princess Mononoke would have killed you.”

“You will listen to me!” Asano said, poking the assassin in the chest.

Faster than lightning, Teralis’ hand grabbed Asano’s. The warlord gasped as Teralis held him in an escapable iron grip from which there was no escape. He cried out as Teralis crushed his hand, inflicting pain on him strong enough to bring him to his knees.

“Don’t think I am one of your samurai that will do anything you say.” Teralis told him, keeping a strong grip on the warlord’s hand. “The only reason I have obeyed you thus far is because it has worked in my favor.” He released him, and Asano pulled his hand back, breathing heavily. “You need me much more than I need you.”

Still panting, Asano glared up at the assassin. “You insolent little pest.”

Once again displaying incredible speed and strength, Teralis grabbed Asano by the throat and lifted him off the ground, slamming him against the wall. The warlord’s feet weren’t even touching the ground.

“No one orders me. I decide what I want to do. And if that just happens to be what you say, then it works in your favor.” He looked deeply into Asano’s eyes, causing fear to fill the warlord. “I could kill you right now, very easily. A flick of my wrist, and I’ll snap your neck.” He brought his face close so he could whisper in Asano’s ear. “Don’t attempt to tell me what I can or cannot do ever again or else I will kill you. That’s a promise.”

He dropped the warlord and turned around and stomped off, his metal boots thumping loudly on the floor. Asano watched the assassin leave. His heart was racing. He had never been so afraid in his life. He knew then that Teralis was someone that could not be tamed. He’d be better off controlling a demon, a rabid demon even. But not Teralis. Teralis was in a league of his own. And he knew that when the assassin had threatened to kill him, he had been dead serious.

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“How could mother ask such a thing?” Isamu growled, as he and his brother bathed in the pool of the Forest Spirit.

Ashitaka shrugged. “You two are hurt. So neither of you can’t do it. And San…” He looked at the Princess Mononoke. “It’s better this way.”

“You’ll get yourself killed!” Kenji growled. “Even with your demon strength, it’ll be unlikely that you can kill him.”

“Then what should I do?” he asked. “Just let your father suffer until his own rage kills him?”

Isamu growled. “When Kenji and I are back to full strength, we will deal with Father.”

“He’s right.” The younger wolf replied. “We’ll help deal with Asano while we heal, then focus on Father.”

“So you’re going to fight after all?”

They all turned and found Kaiju limping towards them.

“You’re not giving us much of a choice.” San told the boar.

Kaiju submerged himself in the pool of the Forest Spirit, sighing as the healing powers began to work their magic. “I’m glad you’ve decided to help us. We’re going into battle tomorrow, and we’ll need all the help we can get. These humans are not like the others. They’re bad, real bad.”

“Speaking of the other humans,” Kenji growled, “they’re going to help in the fight.”

Kaiju made a sound of protest and ended up swallowing a bunch of water. “We do not need nor want those humans’ to help.”

“Really?” San muttered. “Because you were just saying how you could use all the help you could get.”

“Not from humans!” Kaiju bellowed. “I don’t trust them.”

“They’re in this too.” Ashitaka told the boar. “Just like you, they are defending their home. And even if you don’t trust them, I do.”

Kaiju narrowed his eyes. “I’m not entirely sure that I completely trust you yet either.”

San angrily got to her feet. “Do you trust me?” she asked.

The boar gave her a disapproving look. “Yes.”

“Well I trust Ashitaka!” she declared. “And if you trust me, you trust him.”

“Ha! You’re blinded.” Kaiju declared. “You’re letting your love cloud your judgment. Don’t deny it! I know you love him. You’ve been blinded by love.”

The two wolves burst up from the water and surrounded Kaiju. “How dare you!” Isamu growled. “How dare you make such a claim! You have no right saying such things!”

“You will show both our sister and her mate respect!” Kenji added, causing both San and Ashitaka to blush. “If that is really how you see things, then you are the one who is blind!”

“He’s right.” San said. “You’re letting you’re hatred for the humans cloud your judgment. Believe me, I am not any happier about joining forces with the humans than you are. Especially with that Eboshi woman. She killed my mother, don’t forget. But I can tell that our former enemies are our allies in this case. It is our best interest, as well as theirs, that we fight together.”

Kaiju snorted in disapproval, but didn’t object further. Instead he rose out of the water and got back on dry land. “Well it seems as if you’ve made your decision. Fine, let the humans fight. They just better make it clear whose side they’re on during the fight or there may be some… accidents.”

With that he stormed off, leaving the four of them to work out what to do.

“Tomorrow.” Ashitaka said. “They’re going to fight tomorrow.”

“It’s too soon.” San said, looking at her brothers. “You guys are too injured to enter a battle. So is Kaiju. What’s he thinking, planning a battle so soon?”

“Stubborn boar.” Isamu growled. “Their damn pride will get them killed.”

“If the battle is going to be a battle tomorrow, we’ll have to tell Eboshi.” Ashitaka said. “It may take some time to prepare everyone.”

Kenji growled as he got out of the water. “Humans, always doing things the hard way.”

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“Tomorrow?” Eboshi cried. “You have got to be kidding me!”

Ashitaka shook his head. “I wish I was, but they want to save as much of the forest as possible.”

Eboshi sighed. “The fools. And they’re dragging us into it.”

“No one said you had to fight.” Kenji pointed out.

Eboshi glared at him. “We have an alliance. And I don’t abandoned those I align myself with.”

“How noble of you.” Isamu growled.

“Then it’s agreed.” Eboshi stated. She turned to her bodyguard. “Gonza, tell everyone the news. Tomorrow we’re going to war. And we’re going to fight side by side with the gods of the forest.”

Gonza gulped nervously but nodded. “Yes, milady.”

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Although no one would be able to tell based upon the expressionless look on his face, Teralis was getting very impatient. Lord Asano had annoyed him to no end. How dare that worthless warlord attempt to order him around. No one ordered him. And how dare he deny him the right to kill the wolf-girl. No one denied him a kill.

Teralis’ hand twitched, wanting to feel his sword in his hand as he sliced through living flesh. He needed to kill. After he had let the Princess Mononoke go, he had killed one of the samurai to feed his hunger. It hadn’t worked though. One kill was not as good as the other. He needed something more. He wanted the wolf-girl. Her and that boy with the demon strength. He wanted to kill someone worth his while.

Teralis got up from his sitting position. He glanced at the door from which the warlord slept in. He was very tempted to go in there and kill his so-called master. But no, he still needed him. Teralis was a wanted man, dead or alive. He may not need Asano, but the man did have his uses. But it was during times like these that Teralis thought he would be better off on his own. And the thing that really annoyed him was that Asano thought he was the boss of him. Oh how wrong he was. Teralis answered to no one, whether, human, god, or demon. And he had to remind the warlord of that.

He made his way outside. The moment he did, his eyes drifted over several samurai. His hand twitched wanting to grab his sword and kill one, or two, or all of them. But what would be the point. It had nothing to do with Asano ordering him to stop killing his men. No, the only reason he wasn’t killing each and every one of these miserable weaklings was because none of them were worth his time or effort.

That was when his gaze drifted to the forest. Teralis curiously cocked his head to the side. Perhaps he could find some descent pray in there. A god, or the demon, maybe, if he was lucky, he would even find the wolf-girl or the super strong boy.

He made his way to the gate, getting many fearful looks from the samurai. When he approached the guards by the gate, they literally shook with fear.

“As they should.” Teralis thought.

“S-Sir, shouldn’t you be guarding Lord Asano?” one of the guards asked.

Teralis’ eyes darted over to him, causing the guard to jump. Once again, he had to resist the urge to kill. “Open the gate.” He said emotionlessly.

The guard gulped. “But sir…”

Teralis whipped out his sword and held it eye-level with the guard. “Open the gate, now.”

The guard slowly backed away. “Y-Yes s-sir.”

Several samurai gathered around, each one terrified to be near the assassin, and opened the gate. Teralis calmly walked through it. The samurai were relieved when the gate shut behind him, glad to have the madman gone for now.

“Where do you think he’s going?” one of the guards asked.

“Don’t know.” another guard replied. “But hopefully the gods of the forest will kill him.”

The first guard shook his head. “I don’t think he can be killed.”

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Kaiju made his way to Iron Town. He wanted to take a look at how much the humans had repaired the wall. As it turned out, they had completely tore the old wall down and were building a new one. It wasn’t finished yet, which was good, but what was done looked stronger than the original one. And of course it was made out of the trees that they had destroyed.

Anger surged through the boar. Not even the former citizens of Iron Town had been this destructive when they were destroying the forest. And they were also destroying the town. When the first war had ended, the town folk had made a much better town. No pollution, no destruction. Kaiju, along with the other gods of the forest, had been satisfied with the way things had been.

But then these humans came. They were far worse than the others ever were. And this leader of there’s, what had the wolf tribe called him, Lord Asano, was ten times worse than Eboshi had ever been.

And then there was the matter of Asano’s assassin. Kaiju hadn’t seen him, but what the wolf tribe had told him let him no that that particular human was dangerous, although Kaiju couldn’t see why. If he saw this Teralis, he would kill him just as easily as any other human.

The sound of someone loudly storming through the forest caught the boar’s attention. He limped in the direction the noise was coming in and saw the very human he had just been thinking about.

“Speak of the devil.” He thought.

That had to be Teralis. He fit the description the wolf tribe gave to him. Bottle green eyes and red hair, clad in black armor from the waist down and wearing a blood red cape, and an emotionless expression on his face.

“So, this is the big bad assassin.” Kaiju thought. “Perfect. I’ll take him down now and that ill be one less problem.”

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Teralis was deliberately being noisy. He wanted to attract attention. If he had wanted to be quiet and sneak up on someone, he could do so very easily. But right now he was trying to draw attention to himself, hoping that one of the gods would come after him. Hopefully they would put up more of a fight than that fox god and that ape god.

The minute Kaiju arrived, Teralis knew, though he pretended he didn’t. He knew the boar was watching him. He could feel it. He knew exactly where he was. He knew the god was wounded to, which frustrated the assassin. That wouldn’t make it much of a challenge, but it was better than nothing, and it would certainly be a better challenge than those worthless samurai of Asano’s.

The moment Kaiju burst out of his hiding, Teralis unsheathed his sword. The boar was coming at him from behind. By the sound of Kaiju approaching, Teralis was able to time his movements exactly. He jumped in the air, swinging his sword as the boar ran by underneath him. His blade cut cleanly through, but he did not make a killing blow.

Kaiju squealed as he turned back to Teralis, now only with half an ear. Teralis gave the boar a smug look.

“So, you were the one foolish enough to try and come after me.” He said tonelessly.

Kaiju glared at him. “Disgusting human! You and all of your friends down there will meet the same sticky end.”

“They are not my friends.” Teralis replied. “I don’t care about any of them. I don’t care about the town, the iron, this forest. I don’t care about any of it. What I do care about, is finding someone worthy of my blade.” His eyes narrowed. “But it’s not you.”

He charged forward. Kaiju was surprised by his speed. The next thing he knew, he had a large cut across his snout and Teralis was on his back. Kaiju automatically rolled over. But Teralis had anticipated this and jumped off.

As Kaiju rolled back onto his stomach and attempted to get to his feet, Teralis struck again. Kaiju lost a leg and went down again squealing.

Teralis calmly turned back to the boar and breathed in the scent of blood, enjoying it. “Such a shame. I thought that I would actually find something that would provide me with some amusement in here. Instead I get you.”

Kaiju started laughing. It hurt to do so, but it was worth it.

Teralis was as expressionless as ever. “Is something funny? Most people don’t laugh when they’re about to die.”

Kaiju continued laughing. “If you want a challenge, just wait until tomorrow when the gods attack. Then you’ll be sorry.”

If the boar was expecting any reaction from Teralis, he got none. “Good.” The assassin replied Asano and I have been looking forward to this battle.” He raised his sword. “Your friends will join you in the land of the dead.”

He stabbed forward, and Kaiju was no longer among the living.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Prepare for Battle

“So it’s all settled then?” Eboshi asked.

Isamu nodded. “Yes. The other gods aren’t too thrilled about having to work with humans, but they’re willing to cooperate.”

“You can thank San for that.” Ashitaka told the leader of Iron Town.

San blushed at the praise. “Just make sure that they’ll be able to tell you apart from Asano’s men.”

Eboshi smirked. “That should be easy enough. Just attack everyone wearing a samurai suit. Gonza.”

“Yes, milady?”

“How is everyone?”

“Ready and willing to fight.”

Eboshi nodded. “Good.” She turned back to Ashitaka and the wolf tribe. “Going to war may be inevitable, but I’m still going to try and save as many lives as possible. Our primary target will be Asano.”

“I’m fine with that.” Kenji said.

“If there is one thing I know about Asano, it’s that he loves a battle, but he doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. While his samurai are fighting, he’ll sit back and watch from a safe distance. This may be our best opportunity to get him. Asano is also very arrogant. He’ll probably think he’s safe with only Teralis protecting him. If we manage to kill or get by him, Asano will be an easy target. He’s too old to be much of a challenge. San, Ashitaka, are you up to the challenge?”

Both San and Ashitaka were surprised by Eboshi’s request, San especially. “You’re going to trust me with something as important as killing Asano?” she asked, completely surprised.

Eboshi raised an eyebrow. “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

San didn’t really have a ready answer. “Well… we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye.”

That made Eboshi smile in amusement. “Ah, so you thought that I would be hesitant to trust you.” She shook her head. “San, you may not completely trust me, and I don’t blame you. We have indeed been former enemies, but I’ve put the past behind me and moved on. If you choose to hold past grudges and not trust me, that’s fine, I understand. But I trust you.”

San looked at her brothers. They too were shocked by Eboshi’s trust.

“I still can’t forgive you.” she said.

Eboshi shrugged. “And I don’t blame you, nor do I expect you to. Besides, I don’t want or deserve you forgiveness. But I do want you to trust me, at least until this war is over. Can you do that?”

San growled in irritation. “I’ll try.”

“Good. So, are you wiling to go after Asano?”

A look of determination came over San’s face. “Yes.”

“And will you follow my plan?”

“If it means I can get Asano, then yes. But I will only go along with what I feel comfortable with.”

Eboshi nodded. “Fair enough. Now then, as I was saying, I want you two to go after Asano. You’ll stand the best chance. I am confident that Asano will only have Teralis protecting him, but even that will be dangerous. Ashitaka, I’m hoping that with your demon strength you’ll be strong enough to at least distract Teralis while San kills Asano.”

The moment Eboshi mentioned that Ashitaka would have to face Teralis, she didn’t like the plan. “You expect me to leave Ashitaka to fight that monster on his own? Forget it Eboshi! I won’t leave him to fight that man on his own.”

Ashitaka rested his hand on her shoulder. “San, I have to. Eboshi has a point; my demon strength will indeed give me a much better chance against him.”

“But…”

Isamu rubbed his face against her. “Let him fight, San.”

“But Teralis is… he’s not a normal person. I fought him. He’s a monster!”

“Do you have another plan?” Eboshi asked. “I don’t like this plan any more than you do. If you have another plan, please, tell me.”

San growled. No she didn’t have another plan, but she wouldn’t admit it.

Ashitaka gave her a reassuring smile. “I don’t need to fight him long, San. I just need to keep him busy until you get Asano.”

“But… but…” San didn’t have any other option. “Fine! But I don’t like it!”

“Nor do I.” Eboshi replied. “But during times of war, we have take risks.” San glared at her and muttered something too quietly for Eboshi to hear. “I’ll take that as a yes. Good. Now the problem will be the timing. As much as I hate it, we’ll have to let the fighting go on for a while. I would say a half hour.”

“A half hour!” Ashitaka cried. “Do you know how many deaths there will be in that amount of time?”

Eboshi nodded sadly. “I told you I didn’t like this plan.”

“We can’t wait a half hour before taking Asano out! I won’t wait that long!”

Eboshi sighed. “Very well. Once the battle starts wait 15 minutes then go after Asano.”

Ashitaka shook his head. “It’s too long.”

“Damn it Ashitaka! I know there will be deaths, and I hate it! But Asano will need to be focused on the battle so he won’t notice you. I am doing the best I can.”

Ashitaka crossed his arms. “I won’t wait any longer than 5 minutes.”

Eboshi shook her head. “That’s too soon. Asano might notice you. We’re going to have t-”

“Milady!”

Eboshi closed her eyes, praying for patience. She slowly turned to face Gonza. “Now’s not a good time.”

Surprisingly, Gonza didn’t leave. “Forgive me, milady, but one of the gods are here.”

Now he had Eboshi’s attention. “Here? Now? What do they want?”

Gonza shrugged. “I’m not sure, milady, but they want to see the wolf tribe.”

Eboshi turned back to the wolf tribe and sighed. “Very well.” She said, not that she had a sat in the matter.

The god that had walked into their camp was a deer god. Not the kind like the Forest Spirit, just a regular deer god. And he was trying very hard to ignore the curious stares the humans were giving him. He was very relieved when the wolf tribe came to meet him.

“Those of Moro’s tribe, thank you for meeting me.” He said.

Ashitaka and the wolf tribe nodded in greeting. “Why do you wish to see us?” Kenji asked. “We are a little busy at the moment.”

The deer nodded in understanding. “Yes, forgive me for the intrusion. The other gods and I are wondering if you have seen the one that called us to fight, Kaiju. He went to observe our enemies and never returned.”

The others looked at each other, worry written over all their faces.

“You don’t think that Asano’s men…” San said.

“I can’t say that it’s not a possibility.” Ashitaka replied. He turned to the wolves. “Can you pick up his scent?”

Kenji snickered. “Must you even ask?”

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“And where have you been?” Asano demanded as Teralis calmly walked up to the warlord.

“Hunting.” He replied calmly.

Asano was about to scold him, but then he remembered the assassin’s threat. “Just tell me the next time you go out. I need you.”

“If you say so.” Teralis said emotionlessly. “But I have found out something that may interest you.”

“Oh?”

“The gods are planning on attacking tomorrow.”

Asano raised an eyebrow. “Really? How interesting. Are Eboshi’s people going to fight?”

“I don’t know, but I believe they will.”

Asano paced back and forth, thinking this over. He was, he admitted, a little worried, regardless of what he told Eboshi. He had gone to war with humans before, but never gods. Then there was the matter of the Princess Mononoke and the boy with the demon strength. Eboshi was no pushover either. The last time he had his samurai attack, Iron Town was only guarded by women and the injured, and they still managed to hold his men back. Eboshi was a very good leader.

“I do have to give Eboshi credit.” He thought. “Her people are very loyal to her, as are the gods to the Princess Mononoke. Those two are the leaders. Perhaps their armies will suffer with the loss of their leaders. Yes, this could work. And it will be so amusing to see their hope falter on the eve of battle.” The warlord smiled in amusement. “Teralis, the time has come for you to make the kills you’ve been looking forward to. Tomorrow, I want you to go into the forest, find Eboshi and the wolf-girl, and kill them.”

The smallest trace of a smile appeared on Teralis’ face. “With pleasure. For now I will sleep.”

He headed towards one of the huts. Asano smirked as he watched the assassin go. This was going to be fun. Just when his enemies are about to attack, their leaders will be killed, leaving them vulnerable. Then he will make his move.

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“I smell blood.” Kenji growled. “Blood and death.”

San was afraid of that. “Is it Kaiju?”

The wolf nodded. “Yes.”

“A human was here too.” Isamu added. “He was the one who killed Kaiju.”

“Who?” Ashitaka asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

Isamu growled angrily. “Guess.”

Ashitaka sighed. “Teralis.”

“Of course.”

“Damn him.” San muttered.

Kenji stopped walking. “We should head back. There’s nothing we can do. He’s already passed on.”

Feeling sorry for the poor boar, San nodded. “Yes, you and Isamu need to rest; you’re still hurt.”

“We will be fine.” Her brother assured her as they went back in the direction they came in.

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Several hours had passed since Ashitaka and the wolf tribe returned to the camp. It late at night and everyone was trying to get a good night sleep so they would be fully energized for the battle tomorrow. Tension was in the air, and a fair amount of people were still awake, nervous of what the next day would bring.

But Ashitaka and the wolf tribe slept soundly. Isamu and Kenji had fallen asleep almost immediately. They were very tired and they still needed to recover from the damage they gained from fighting the demon.

Ashitaka slept next to San and her brothers, no longer worried about intruding. He had slept by them the past few days, ever since the wolves had accepted him that night San invited him over to sleep with her and her brothers. That was the day they found Kaiju.

“Kaiju.” Ashitaka thought. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help you.”

He felt bad for the boar. He hadn’t deserved to die. No one deserved to die. He just couldn’t understand why people like Asano and Teralis were the way they were. Didn’t they know that they were hurting people, didn’t they care?

“Apparently not.” He thought. “And that’s what’s so sad. There is so much cruelty in the world. Why can’t everyone just live in peace? I just don’t understand it.”

He felt San get up and leave his side. Curious, he opened his eyes and saw her walk away. He wondered what was wrong. That was a stupid question. Everything was wrong. There was a major battle that was going to happen tomorrow, her brothers were injured, her father was a demon, his curse was spreading quickly, they had to face Teralis and Asano, Kaiju was dead, and Moro had asked him to kill the father of the woman he loved. Of course she would be troubled.

Ashitaka got up and followed her, keeping distance from her in case she wanted to be alone. He followed her until they reached the pool of the Forest Spirit. Her San stopped and sat down by the shore.

“I know you’re there.” She said. “I can smell you.”

Since there was no longer a reason to hide, Ashitaka went and sat down by the Princess Mononoke. The two of the just sat there quietly, watching the water. The sound of insects chirping and Kodama rattling their heads was the only sound that heard.

“This place has so many memories.” San said breaking the silence. “Both happy and painful.”

Ashitaka sighed sadly. “You shouldn’t have to go through these hard times. Shouldn’t have then and you shouldn’t have to now. But I promise to do whatever it takes to set things straight.”

San rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” she said.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Ashitaka replied, glancing at his arm and hoping that what he said wasn’t a lie.

San followed his gaze and frowned when she saw the demon mark. It had spread a lot, already taking over his entire arm. She lightly grazed the cursed flesh, afraid that touching it might cause him pain.

“Does it hurt?” she asked worriedly.

Ashitaka shook his head. “Not right now.”

“Good.” She wasn’t sure if she believed him. “We have to do something about.”

Ashitaka sighed. “There’s nothing we can do right now. But once the war is over-”

“What if it’s too late by then?” San cried loudly.

Ashitaka didn’t reply. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried, because he was. But he didn’t want San to worry anymore than she already was.

“San, we can only do so much at once.” he replied. “Right now we have to look at the bigger picture. Everyone else is in danger. The forest is in danger.”

“You mean more to me then any forest!” San cried. “And I care about you more then anyone else! If you die, I don’t know what I’ll do!”

Ashitaka was surprised by her sudden outburst and wasn’t really sure how to respond. Instead he just put his arm around her and held her close. “Don’t worry about it right now. We’ll worry about me once everyone else is safe.”

“But-”

“No buts, San. We’ll figure this out. But I want you to know that if this curse does kill me, I’ll still be glad that I got it, because it brought me to you. I don’t regret anything, and I’d go through it all again just to be here with you.”

San sighed against him and snuggled closer. “I love you so much. I can’t lose you. I won’t be able to live without you.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry about me, love. You just make sure you stay alive.”

San closed her eyes and held onto him tightly. “I can’t lose you.” she thought desperately, before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: The Demon Returns

A clicking noise slowly began to bring Ashitaka out of his slumber. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a Kodama sitting by him and San, who was resting against him with her arms around him possessively, which made him smile. The Kodama clicked its head again, trying to get Ashitaka’s attention.

“Shh, let her sleep.” Ashitaka said, looking into San’s peaceful face as she slept. “She’s exhausted.”

The Kodama remained where it was for a moment before fading away. Ashitaka smiled and kissed San’s forehead. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, holding him tighter.

But then the moment was ruined as a dozen more Kodama appeared, each one rattling their head. All the noise brought San out of her sleep. She looked around at all the little tree spirits with a look of concern on her face.

“San, what are they saying?” Ashitaka asked. He was unable to fully understand the way Kodomas communicated entirely, but San had been teaching him. Right now all he was able to make out from them was the message that there was danger.

“They say that death is approaching.” San said. Her eyes widened. “The war! The war is going to start! Ashitaka, our mission. We have to kill Asano.”

The two humans jumped up and began heading in the direction of Iron Town. But then several more Kodomas appear, blocking their path, each one rattling their heads in warning.

“What’s wrong with them now?” asked Ashitaka worriedly.

Ashitaka may not have understood what the Kodama were saying, but San did. Her gaze slowly returned to the path they were about to take back to Iron Town. Slowly coming down that path was her father, the demon.

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“Where are San and Ashitaka?” Kenji demanded.

Eboshi groaned in frustration and turned to the wolf. “For the fourth time, I do not know. They were gone when we awoke.”

Gonza cleared his throat. “Perhaps they went on ahead with their mission.”

Kenji shook his head. “No, their sent does not go that way.”

“How can you tell?” Kohroku asked. Kenji gave him a look and Kohroku grinned in embarrassment. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

Toki lightly hit her husband over the head. “Idiot.”

“I found their most recent scent.” Isamu reported from several yards away. “They seemed to have headed towards the pool of the Forest Spirit.”

Understanding dawned on Kenji’s face. “Ah, so they have gone to pray to the Forest Spirit.”

Kohroku scratched his head. “I thought he was dead.”

The wolves glared at him and Kohroku hid behind his wife. Kenji shook his head and looked up at the sun. “The other gods already march towards Iron Town. Time is short.”

“We are out of time.” Isamu corrected. “The others will not wait for us. If we are to strike, it must be now.”

Kenji looked hesitant. “What of San and Ashitaka?”

It was Eboshi that answered. “We cannot wait for them. Your brother is right; we are out of time. We have to move out and assist the other gods.”

“But what of the plan, milady?” Gonza asked.

Eboshi sighed. “We can only hope that they return in time to kill Asano. Kohroku.”

“Yes, milady.”

Eboshi turned to face the path that led to the pool of the Forest Spirit. “You are too wounded to be of much use in battle. Go to the pool of the Forest Spirit and bring San and Ashitaka back. They may have already left and are waiting for the battle to start so they may have a chance to kill Asano, but I want you to go and make sure.”

Kohroku nodded. “Yes, milady.” Several seconds passed, during which Kohroku remained where he was and the others just stared at him. Eventually Kohroku felt like he was missing something. “What, now?”

Toki smacked him again. “Idiot! Yes now!”

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San backed away from the demon as the Kodomas disappeared and reappeared at a safer distance.

“F-Father…” San whispered.

There was no sign of recognization in the demon’s eyes, only blinding rage and insanity. Kahn growled, exposing his fangs as his tentacles of rage wiggled around, ready to grab at anything that was foolish enough to come near it.

Ashitaka grabbed San’s arm. “That’s not your father, San.” He told her. “Your real father would never try to hurt you.”

Sadness shown in San’s eyes, but that sadness soon became anger. “Yes, this is not my father. This is a demon. A demon!”

Kahn roared and charged at them. San and Ashitaka jumped out of the way and Kahn crashed headfirst into a tree, knocking out several Kodama.

San charged forward and stabbed her spear straight through the demon’s leg. Kahn roared and kicked his wounded leg backwards, sending San flying. Turning to his fallen daughter, Kahn sent several tentacles towards her. Ashitaka moved fast and blocked San. The tentacles wrapped around him instead and pulled him towards the demon.

“Ashitaka!” San cried.

The Emishi prince winced as the tentacles held him to the demon’s body. “It burns.” He muttered, as the tentacles slithered over him.

San charged forward with her spear. “Leave him alone!” she shouted, stabbing Kahn in the side.

Kahn howled in pain and got up on his hide legs as he pawed the air. When he got down on all four again, San was beneath. She then proceeded to stab upward into the demon’s gut.

Several tentacles dropped down from the demon’s stomach and wrapped around San. She struggled to break free but was unable to escape from her father’s living rage.

Ashitaka was more fortunate. Using his demonic strength, he was able to tear his cursed arm free. From there he began ripping the tentacles off himself until he was able to break away from Kahn.

“San where are you?” he cried worriedly.

“Underneath him!”

Ashitaka’s eyes widened when he San trapped beneath her father. If Kahn decided to lay down, San would be crushed by his massive weight. Luckily demons didn’t think logically.

Ashitaka tried to get close enough to get to San, but Kahn’s snapping jaws and swinging tentacles prevented him from getting anywhere near.

“The hell with it!” Ashitaka decided, and ran straight at the demon.

Kahn’s jaws went to close over Ashitaka, but, using his demon strength, Ashitaka grabbed the demon’s mouth and held him back.

“Hold on, San!”

The snapped jaws were mere inches from him. If he lost his grip, Kahn would bit him in half. Even with his demon strength, holding Kahn back was difficult. He lifted the demon’s snapping jaws up over his head, ignoring the burning sensation the tentacles gave off as the wrapped around him.

Slowly Ashitaka let go with one hand and reached for San while his cursed arm continued to Kahn at bay. “San, take my hand.”

Pushing several tentacles aside, San reached for the Emishi prince. Her hands intertwined and Ashitaka began to pull San free. Kahn roared and a majority of the tentacles moved beneath him, completely covering the two humans. The tentacles threatened to tear them apart, but the San and Ashitaka held onto each other with all their strength.

Then the Kodama appeared. Dozens of them appeared all over Kahn and they began hammering the little fists against him. Kahn shook himself violently. The Kodomas’ puny fists didn’t hurt, but they were annoying. The little spirits weren’t even attempting to hurt the demon, only distract him. Several others appeared beneath the demon, grabbing onto the two humans and disappearing with them.

The Kodomas reappeared in the pool of the Forest Spirit with San and Ashitaka. The burning sensation the tentacles brought instantly left them as they held onto each other tightly.

Kahn roared as he realized that his prey had been taken away. It didn’t take long to spot them though. He growled and leapt into the pool of the Forest Spirit, causing a massive wave to rise up. San and Ashitaka were washed into deeper waters from the wave.

Kahn found his footing in the water and zeroed in on the two humans. He began waddling through the water over to them. Ashitaka noticed the danger first and pushed San behind him. His cursed arm pulsed painfully as Kahn approached, fangs barred.

“Stay back!” Ashitaka cried.

Using all his strength, he slammed his fist into Kahn’s snout. The demon’s head snapped to the side and he collapsed in the water. Ashitaka and San used this opportunity to get out of the pool, both of them breathing heavily.

“San… are you… alright?” Ashitaka said.

The Princess Mononoke nodded. “I’m fine… How are… how are you?”

Ashitaka opened his mouth to answer, but a loud voice spoke over him.

“San…”

San froze and looked into the pool of the Forest Spirit. Kahn was slowly rising from the water. Nearly all of his tentacles of rage were gone. He looked half starved, severally wounded, and very close to death. His eyes were no longer the glowing red eyes of a demon, but the yellow eyes of her father.

“San…” Kahn wheezed again. “My child…”

He struggled to his feet, only to fall down again. San made an attempt to get to him, but Ashitaka held her back. “No, he’s not himself.” he said.

San ignored him. “Father!”

“Stay back!” Kahn growled. “Do not come near me.”

A look of hurt came over San’s face, but she did not attempt to get any closer. “Father…” she whispered.

Ashitaka wrapped his arms around her protectively. He looked at the giant wolf with great sympathy. “Kahn, tell us how this happened to you. Maybe we can help.”

Kahn’s eyes turned to the Emishi prince and he growled, his eyes turning red. “Human!”

San immediately turned around and wrapped her arms around Ashitaka. “No, Father! He is not like the others! I love him!”

The red glow faded from the wolf’s eyes, turning them yellow again. “Forgive me… my child. I don’t want to… to hurt you. I can’t control… myself.” He was struggling to speak.

San turned back to her father, keeping hold of Ashitaka. “Tell us what happened.”

Kahn’s jaws trembled as he open and closed his mouth, trying to find his voice. Using the last of his strength, he told his tale. “It started when I went to help Lord Okkoto. His forest was being destroyed. I was asked to help fight the humans. By the time I had gotten to Okkoto’s forest, over half of it had been destroyed.

“For weeks I fought, trying to defend the forest of our fellow gods. But then Okkoto received word that Nago, the guarding of this forest, had been killed. Okkoto and his tribe decided that it was too late to save their forest, so they came to this one in an attempt to save it before too much damage was done.”

San and Ashitaka remembered that. When Okkoto’s tribe had arrived, Moro had told them to return from whence they came and to kill the humans there. But the boars had refused, insisting that they would save this forest. Now they knew why; the boars’ forest had been beyond saving.

“I remained behind.” Kahn continued. “I would not abandon the forest. Eventually the humans stopped destroying the forest, leaving a majority amount behind. I stayed to make sure that the forest would heal before I returned to my own.

“When I came back, I immediately knew something was wrong. The forest was not the same. There was a new one where the old one stood, and there weren’t as many Kodama as there had been before. On top of that, I learned that Okkoto and the Forest Spirit had been killed. And Moro, my mate, my love, she had been killed as well.

“I was angry, infuriated. Never had I felt such rage.” His voice began to rise and become angry. “It was the humans. They did this. My fury grew and grew. I was tired, weak, and gravely wounded. I could stop the rage. The next thing I knew, I was a demon, rampaging through this new forest that had replaced my home.” His eyes turned red again. “And it was the humans’ fault. They did this. It was them that did they. They killed Okkoto, they killed the Forest Spirit, they destroyed the forest, THEY KILLED MORO!!!”

His body began shaking violently. More tentacles of rage began sprouting up over his body.

“Father, NO!!!” San shouted.

“Lord Kahn, calm your fury!” Ashitaka cried.

But Kahn was too weak to fight the rage building up within him. The two humans’ pleas began to sound distorted as a red veil seemed to fall over his eyes, blinding him with rage.

“I’m burning!” he howled. “I’M BURNING!!!”

The demon returned as Kahn was consumed by rage once again. He tilted his head back and let out a deafening roar that should no wolf should have been capable of producing.

Kahn leapt out of the water. San ran left and Ashitaka ran right as the demon landed right where they had been standing. Several tentacles lashed out, striking trees and tearing them down. Two more groups of tentacles flew out at San and Ashitaka, hitting them at the same time and sending them flying.

Kahn leaned back and howled loudly before settling his gaze on San. The Princess Mononoke glared at the demon and threw her spear. Kahn caught it in his jaws and it in half. Several more tentacles lashed out at San. The Kodama came to her rescue again, grabbing her and teleporting her into a tree, out of harms way.

Growling, Kahn rammed the tree, causing the thing to shake. San and the Kodama held on tightly so they wouldn’t fall out.

“Get away from them!” Ashitaka cried.

He took up his sword and stabbed the demon’s leg. Kahn howled and several of the tentacles on its leg wrapped around the sword and Ashitaka’s arms. He was lifted into the air and tossed several feet away.

Kahn turned away from the tree and glared at the Emishi prince, who was getting to his feet. As the demon slowly approached, Ashitaka backed away with his sword held out in front of him defensively. He didn’t move to attack as Kahn got closer and closer.

“Ashitaka!” San cried, seeing that he wasn’t doing anything.

Ashitaka didn’t take his eyes off the approaching demon. “I won’t do it, San, not unless you give me permission!”

San gasped as she realized what he was saying. He would not kill her father, not unless she said he could because he didn’t want to hurt her. He would defend himself and her, but he wouldn’t kill the demon.

San shook as she realized that she had to choose between her father and the man she loved. She took a deep breath and said perhaps the hardest thing she ever had to say.

“ASHITAKA, KILL HIM!!!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth had the demon attacked. Ashitaka jumped high into the air as the demon’s jaws closed on the empty space Ashitaka had just left.

“Forgive me, San!” he cried.

Using his demon strength to the fullest, he brought his sword down over Kahn’s neck. He cut through with such for that the demon’s head flew clean off, landing somewhere nearby.

A strange gurgling sound came from the headless demon as its body remained standing for a few seconds before collapsing. The tentacles of rage stopped wiggling and melted into a foul smelling goo, mixing with Kahn’s blood. A few more seconds passed before the headless corpse melted away, leaving only its skeleton behind.

Ashitaka stared at the headless skeleton with a feeling of dread in his heart. He heard San jump down from the tree she was in and slowly walk up next to him. Ashitaka couldn’t bear to look at her. But after a few agonizing seconds of silence, he turned to her.

The expression on San’s face was unreadable. Ashitaka didn’t know what to do. How could he comfort her? What could he say? What could he do? His bloody sword dropped from his hand and he turned away from her.

“I’m sorry, San.” He said. “I didn’t want this. I wish none of this had happened. I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t know what to expect, but San’s arms encircling him was completely unexpected.

“Don’t be sorry, Ashitaka.” She said, her voice full of sadness but was strangely calm. “That was not my father. My real father never came back from Okkoto’s forest. My real father died the moment he became a demon. You just freed him from his suffering. He is now with my mother. I don’t blame you. I thank you.”

Ashitaka felt his heart rate increase as he listened to San. “I was afraid you would hate me.”

“Never.” San said, burrowing her face in the nap of his neck. “I could never hate you. I love you. You’re mine. Mine forever. Don’t ever forget or doubt that.”

Ashitaka turned to face her, resting his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what would happen after I…” He couldn’t say it.

San held onto him tightly. “I told you to kill him, and Mother personally asked you to end his pain. Not only did you do that, but you were willing to risk your life rather than kill him without my permission. Ashitaka, you are the most noble and honorable person I know, and I love you.”

Ashitaka wrapped his arms around her. The two of them just stood their holding each other. The little Kodama, some of which that had begun purifying the contamination the demon left behind, let them have a few moments to themselves. But after awhile, they gathered around them and began rattling their heads.

It took a few seconds for Ashitaka and San to realize that the Kodama were trying to communicate with them. They finally broke apart long enough for San to get the message. When she did she gasped loudly.

“San, what’s wrong?” Ashitaka asked.

San looked at him with worried eyes. “The war has started.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: Fighting Death

Kohroku made his way through the forest with much difficulty. It wasn’t until he was about halfway to the pool of the Forest Spirit that he realized that the demon was still out here somewhere and could attack him at any moment. After a brief panic attack, the Kodama managed to calm him down, after scaring him to death, and began leading him through the forest.

“You guys will warn me if that demon is coming, right?” he asked the Kodama he was holding tightly in his arms, receiving only a head rattle.

Unbeknownst to him, the demon had already been taken down by Ashitaka, who, at that moment, just sped by Kohroku along with San.

Kohroku did a double take as the Emishi prince and the Mononoke Princess flew by. “Ashitaka?”

Ashitaka and San skidded to a halt. “Kohroku?” Ashitaka exclaimed. “What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you two.” He replied. “Everyone’s gone to fight, and you guys-”

“Are late, we know. We ran into the demon.”

Kohroku paled. “You mean it’s right behind you?”

San flinched. “No… it’s dead…”

Kohroku sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“Kohroku!” Ashitaka snapped.

Kohroku covered his mouth as he saw a painful look appear over San’s face. “Oh San, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

San shook her head. “Forget it. I can mourn for my father later. We have to stop Asano.”

Kohroku looked relieved that he didn’t upset her too much, not knowing how much she really was hurting. “You guys better hurry. The battle won’t wait.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, we better go. Listen, Kohroku, go back to the camp and stay with the others. Let them know that…” he glanced at San, “…that the demon’s dead and there’s no longer any protection from it needed.”

Kohroku nodded. “You can count on me.”

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“So they come.” Asano observed, as he watched Eboshi’s forces and the gods that had decided to fight come out of the forest.

“What are your orders, sir?” asked one of his samurai.

Asano was silent for a moment. “Has Teralis returned?” he asked. He saw Eboshi among his enemies, but he didn’t see the Princess Mononoke or the boy with the demon strength. Perhaps Teralis was facing them.

The samurai shook his head. “Not yet, sir.”

Asano growled. He felt vulnerable without his personal bodyguard. No matter, he would get six of his best samurai to protect him.

“Sir, one of the gods approaches.”

Asano looked back at his enemies and saw an ape god approaching Iron Town, obviously coming for last minute negotiations. The fool.

The ape stood up and puffed out his chest. “Asano, Lord, big man, leader.”

Asano sneered at the god. “What do you want, you filthy animal?”

“We want you to go. You bad for forest, and bad for town of iron. You leave, or we fight. Many will die. You go, now.”

Asano just snickered. “Sorry, I like it here.”

He snapped his fingers and an arrow flew, followed by several others. The ape was dead moments later.

There were cries of fury from the gods. An army of man and beasts charged out of the forest, heading for Iron Town. And from out of Iron Town came an army of samurai.

The sight brought an evil smile to Asano’s lips. “Now it begins.”

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San and Ashitaka were about halfway to Iron Town, having already passed by the camp, when a familiar feeling came over the Emishi prince. It was his cursed arm. It began to pulse painfully with each beat of his heart. Something dark and sinister was nearby, and had it not been for his curse spreading due to the presence of whatever it was, he never would have known it was there. With a quick glance at San, he saw that she had she had no idea that it was there.

Without even stopping, he whipped out his sword. “San, get down!”

Without question, San immediately dropped to her knees as Ashitaka swung his sword right over her head. A moment later, a blood red blade made contact with his. Only his demon strength allowed Ashitaka to hold off the attacker.

San and Ashitaka jumped away from whoever had attempted to kill them and saw Teralis standing there, looking at them with a hungry look in his eye.

“You.” San hissed.

Teralis grinned evilly at her. “Hello, princess. So nice to see you again.” He pointed his sword at her. “Don’t bother running. The only reason you got away last was because Lord Asano asked me to spare you for the time being. I won’t let you go again.”

Ashitaka moved defensively n front of San with his sword held out defensively. “You’ll have to go through me if you want to get to San.”

Teralis’ eyes shifted over to him. “I plan to.”

“San, you go on ahead.” Ashitaka told her. “I’ll deal with this.”

San’s eyes widened. “What? No way. I am not leaving you here to face this monster on your own.”

“San-”

“Forget it! I’m not leaving!”

Teralis sneered at them. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll kill you both no matter what you do.”

“San, please.” Ashitaka begged. He remembered the fear he saw in San’s eyes the last time she had faced this madman. If Teralis was that dangerous, he wanted her as far away from him as possible. “I’ll deal with this. You have to do the mission.”

“No!”

“Think of your brothers!” Ashitaka cried. “They’re hurt. And all the other gods and humans, they’ll need help. They need you, San. Our only chance is to kill Asano. I have my demon strength. Please, San. Trust me. I’ll come back for you.”

San looked torn. She wanted to help her brothers and everyone else. She wanted to end this war and kill Asano. But she didn’t want to leave Ashitaka. She couldn’t take this.

“Please, San, I’ll be fine.”

San closed her eyes, trembling from head to foot. “DAMN IT!!! TERALIS, IF YOU HARM ONE HAIR ON HIS HEAD, I’LL PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND TEAR OUT YOUR THROAT!!!”

Using all her will power, she turned away and ran to Iron Town. Teralis watched her go, savoring the torment he was putting her through.

“That’s what I’m hoping for, princess.”

Ashitaka’s grip on his sword tightened. “Teralis, you will not go near her again!”

Teralis just laughed evilly. This surprised Ashitaka somewhat; it was the first time Teralis was ever showing any real emotion. It was just a shame that the emotion he was feeling was pleasure from San’s pain.

“Foolish boy. I’ll kill you first, then I’ll kill her.” He raised his sword. “No one can beat me.” His eyes scanned Ashitaka’s body. “And it looks like your curse has spread. I’m not even sure you’re in any condition to fight me.”

Ashitaka narrowed his eyes at the assassin. “Where San is concerned, I’m always in a condition to fight.”

Teralis smirked. “Good.”

With blinding speed, he charged at the Emishi prince, his blood red blade making contact with Ashitaka’s. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the whole forest as Teralis unleashed a full assault on Ashitaka.

Regardless of his demon strength, Ashitaka was the one backing away as he and the assassin continued to duel. Teralis backed him up against a tree and cornered him. Ashitaka jumped up and kicked off the tree, jumping over Teralis’ head, just as the assassin’s blade buried down to the hilt into the tree trunk.

Ashitaka landed behind the assassin and whirled around swinging his sword. But Teralis sliced straight through the tree his sword was buried in and met Ashitaka’s blow. The duel resumed, with Ashitaka once again on the defense. He now knew why San hadn’t wanted him to fight Teralis; it was suicide. His demon strength was the only reasons he was still alive. Had it not been for Nago’s curse, Ashitaka had no doubt that Teralis would have slain him right now. Ashitaka was very skilled with a sword, but Teralis was much better.

As the two crossed blades, Teralis aimed a kick, catching Ashitaka in the gut. The Emishi prince flew backwards, landing hard on the ground. Teralis jumped through the air, bringing his sword down. Ashitaka rolled out of the way, and quickly got into a crouching position as Teralis’ blade sliced into the ground. He jumped away as Teralis side swiped, attempting to slice the Emishi prince in half while he was still in a crouching position.

No sooner had Ashitaka found his footing again, did he have to dodge out of the way of Teralis’ blade again. How could the man move so fast, and while wearing that armor too? Ashitaka decided that he didn’t care, not as long as he got out of this alive. He jumped towards a tree and kicked off the truck, landing on a branch in the tree next to it. He jumped from branch to branch. Hoping to escape the assassin, or to at least have an advantage in the air.

No such luck. Teralis followed Ashitaka’s lead, making it into the tree with less jumps, and continued his assault. Ashitaka led Teralis through the thickest part of the tree, hoping the branches would slow the assassin down. But Teralis simple cut down anything in his path as he went after his prey. Eventually, Teralis somehow caught up with Ashitaka enough to reach the branch the Emishi prince was about to jump on. His sword sliced through the wood and the branch fell, taking Ashitaka with it. He managed to grab onto another branch to stop his fall, but he dropped his sword.

As Ashitaka attempted to climb back onto the tree branch, Teralis jumped down with the intention of burrowing his sword into the Emishi prince. But instead of climbing on the branch, Ashitaka kicked off of it and landed on the next closest branch. Teralis’ sword stabbed into the branch and came out the other end. He impatiently ripped it out and, seeing Ashitaka move to the other side of the tree, stabbed straight through the trunk.

Ashitaka gasped as the blood red blade burst through the tree trunk less than an inch from his face. He ducked underneath it and just managed to get out of the way as Teralis sliced downward before retracting his sword. Ashitaka quickly jumped to another tree and then another, trying to get away from the assassin. He hid behind a tree trunk and took a moment to catch his breath as he looked for his sword. Surely he had bought himself a few seconds before Teralis had found him again.

His arm pulsing painfully told him otherwise, indicating that Teralis was much closer than Ashitaka had thought. He quickly jumped away as Teralis’ blade cut the tree in half. The entire upper half of the tree went crashing to the ground. Ashitaka got caught in it and was brought down with it.

Knowing that he had no time to spare, Ashitaka pulled himself to his feet. Teralis immediately jumped down from what was left of the tree and went in for the kill. It was at that moment that Ashitaka spotted his sword a few feet away. He jumped out of the way of Teralis’ attack, and grabbed his sword. He knew that Teralis was right behind him. So, without even looking, he swung his sword behind him while jumping out of the way of Teralis’ next attack.

Landing a few feet away, Ashitaka turned to face Teralis again. But Teralis remained where he was, not moving. Ashitaka held up his sword, not trusting the assassin for a second. Slowly, Teralis got up from his crouching position and turned to face Ashitaka. He reached up and ran two fingers over his left cheek. When he brought his fingers away, Ashitaka saw a small cut, no more than two inches, on the assassin’s cheek.

Teralis looked at his now bloody fingers a small trail of blood ran down the cut on his cheek. Slowly his eyes made contact with Ashitaka’s. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen my own blood.” He said emotionlessly. “The last time was when I lost my last baby tooth. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to bleed.”

Ashitaka’s heart was pounding. “Maybe you should stop then.” He suggested hopefully.

An evil grin broke out over Teralis’ face. “No, I’m going to make you bleed. And when I do, it won’t be a small cut, but a fatal wound.”

He charged at Ashitaka again. But something had changed. Teralis moves were much more brutal. They were serious. Teralis was done playing. Now he was trying to kill.

Ashitaka was completely on the defense. His strength was good for blocking, but strength meant nothing against speed, and Ashitaka was barely managing to block Teralis’ attacks. Each time he caught Teralis’ blade, it was at the last moment.

His energy was running low. Teralis saw this. Ashitaka was getting tired. He wouldn’t last much longer. But Teralis wasn’t even breathing heavily. But even if he did kill the Ashitaka, the Emishi prince had done something that no one else had ever done. He had made Teralis Vaemin, the world’s most deadly assassin, bleed. No had ever done that before. Teralis had indeed forgotten what it felt like to bleed. But this small cut was nothing compared to what he would do to the Emishi prince.

Fear gripped Ashitaka. Teralis was too good. If he didn’t get out of this soon, Teralis would kill him, of that he was certain. But it was all he could do just to block Teralis’ attack. He wouldn’t last much longer. But it wasn’t the thought of death that Ashitaka feared, for everything died eventually, it was the thought of not being there for San, at leaving her to face this monster once again. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.

Teralis suddenly surprised Ashitaka by jumping over his head. As he did so, he kicked backwards and his heavy metal shoe made contact with the back of Ashitaka’s head.

Ashitaka collapsed to the ground unconscious as Teralis landed a few feet away, landing like a cat. He slowly stood up and turned to the fallen Emishi prince, walking calmly over to him. He kicked him over so he could look into his face.

“This is where you die.”

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Ashitaka opened his eyes. He felt better than he had in days. In fact, the last time he felt this good was the time when he…

Ashitaka quickly sat up and looked around. He saw that he was indeed once again at the border of the spirit realm. He examined his body and saw that his curse had vanished once again.

“Am I dead?” he asked out loud.

“Not yet.”

Ashitaka recognized Moro’s voice as the giant wolf once again came from out of the fog. She wasn’t alone this time. Two giant boar gods were with her. Ashitaka immediately recognized Okkoto and Nago. Both were looking younger and healthier than when he had last seen them.

Ashitaka immediately bowed to them. “Great god Nago, please forgive me for taking your life. Killing you was the last thing I wanted to do, but please understand that I was protecting my sister and my people.”

“Death was merciful compared to being a demon.” Nago said. “I would thank you for freeing me, but the fact that you did kill me sort of cancels out my gratitude.”

“I am still ashamed that you allowed yourself to become a demon.” Okkoto said, and Ashitaka noticed that the giant boar was no longer blind. “And I am equally ashamed that I allowed myself to become a demon as well.”

“It was not our fault.” Nago said, sounding irritable. “It was that Eboshi woman’s.”

As the two boars talked amongst themselves, Ashitaka tried to remember what had happened that brought him here. “I remember, I was fighting Teralis, and then…”

“He knocked you out.” Moro finished for him, ignoring the boars. “We have called you here to speak to you once again.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Is this about Kahn?”

Moro shook her head. “No, this is about your curse.”

Ashitaka was puzzled. “My curse?”

The two boars stopped their discussion. “Yes, your curse.” Okkoto said. “It will kill you very soon. Tomorrow perhaps.”

Dread crept through Ashitaka. “Tomorrow…” he whispered. Suddenly he got an idea. “Wait, this is the spirit realm. Can the Forest Spirit not help me?”

“He can.” Moro confirmed. “But we have other plans for your curse.”

“Other plans?”

Moro turned to Nago. The giant boar looked irritated, but he sighed. “Since our deaths, we have learned that not all humans are as bad as we thought; your parents being a good example.”

“You’ve seen my parents?” Ashitaka exclaimed.

Moro nodded. “Yes, and they are very proud of you. they have been keeping watch over you and your sister.”

“We have limited time, Moro.” Okkoto snapped.

Moro nodded again. “Yes, you’re right. Ashitaka, listen closely. Nago as agreed to remove your curse, but he will only do it on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I want Asano.” Nago said.

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow. “What exactly do you mean?”

Moro glared at the large boar. “Nago agrees that you are a good person and do not deserve the curse he placed upon you. Don’t you, Nago?”

Nago merely snorted, but that seemed good enough for Moro.

“He wants someone to feel his pain who deserves it. He wants Asano.”

Nago took over. “I want Asano.” He repeated. “I want to inflict my curse upon him. And with your help I can do it. Go to Asano, and then summon me, and I shall transfer my curse onto him, and he shall feel it tenfold.”

Ashitaka closed his eyes. “It seems so cruel. I wouldn’t wish the pain of this curse on anyone.”

“It is your choice.” Okkoto said. “Nago will not remove the curse otherwise. You can either suffer until the curse kills you, or you can give it to Asano.”

“Think about it, Ashitaka.” Moro said. “You can save everyone, you can save the forest and Iron Town. You can end this war. On top of that, you will be freed from your curse, for good this time. Or you can die, and perhaps Asano will survive the battle. Ashitaka, you don’t deserve this curse, Asano does, and much worse. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for San. It will break her to lose you. Don’t ruin her only chance for love and a family.”

That last part really got to Ashitaka. He didn’t want to inflict this curse upon anyone, but he couldn’t deny the truth to Moro’s words. He could end this war, save himself, and rid the world of an evil man all at the same time. But Ashitaka hated killing. That was the hardest part. But weren’t he and San going to assassinate Asano anyway.

It was a very hard decision, but he came to one. “I will do what I must.” He said.

Moro grinned as she and the other gods began to fade. “Good answer.” She said.

As the three gods faded, someone else became clearer. It was Teralis. Ashitaka could see him, even though he was still in the spirit realm. The assassin was raising his sword, ready to stab Ashitaka through the heart and send him to the spirit realm permanently. It was at that moment that Ashitaka came to.

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Ashitaka’s grip on his sword tightened. Teralis stabbed downward. Ashitaka’s eyes snapped open as he stabbed upward. The tip of Ashitaka’s blade slammed into the flat of Teralis’ blade. Due to Ashitaka’s demon strength, the impact of his sword hitting Teralis’, caused the blood red blade to snap in half.

Teralis’ eyes widened as he watched his sword break in half and saw Ashitaka’s sword make contact with his armor. But it didn’t stop there. Ashitaka’s sword broke straight through his armor and went into is chest before bursting through his back.

Time seemed to stop as everything that happened fell into place. Here was the world’s deadliest assassin, holding a blood red blade that was broken in half, with the sword of the last Emishi prince going into his gut and bursting out of his back.

The remainder of Teralis’ sword fell from his hand as reality settled in and time began moving again. “It can’t be.” He muttered.

Ashitaka pulled his sword out of Teralis’ chest and rolled away. Teralis collapsed to the ground as a pool of blood began to form around him. Ashitaka looked down at the assassin in pity. Regardless of how evil the man was, Ashitaka couldn’t help but feel bad for the dying man. His death would most likely not slow and painful. Ashitaka realized that he could end the assassin’s suffering.

He raised his sword, ready to grant Teralis a merciful death. He stood there for several seconds, listened to the assassin breath heavily. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he couldn’t do it, not like this. But he didn’t have time to help him, not while there was a battle going on. Every second counted.

“Teralis, listen to me.” He said. “Follow the path from which me and San came from. You will find the pool of the Forest Spirit. If the magic works, it will heal you. I’m sorry, but that is all I can do.”

He turned to leave, but Teralis spoke up. “It would be wiser for you to kill me. If what you say is true, then I will come back for you and the wolf-girl. It’s a real mistake letting me live.”

Ashitaka didn’t face him. “Perhaps it is, but I’m not like you. I don’t kill unless it’s absolutely necessary. Goodbye, Teralis.”

Without another word, he took off, leaving Teralis bloody and beaten on the forest floor.

A cruel smile crept up over Teralis’ face.” The fool, he muttered, before he began crawling in the direction on the pool of the Forest Spirit.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: War

San hadn’t wanted to leave Ashitaka behind. Turning away had been as hard as telling Ashitaka to kill her father, perhaps harder. But everyone was counting on her to kill Asano. If she could kill him, then she could end all of this senseless killing.

As she came upon Iron Town, she saw what her ears and nose had already told her. The battle had begun. Asano’s samurai outnumbered the citizens of Iron Town and the gods of the forest three to one. San was actually surprised that so few gods had come to fight.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Asano. It should be easier to kill him now that Teralis wasn’t guarding him. Which brought her back to her fear for Ashitaka. If Teralis did anything to Ashitaka, she would spend the rest of her life hunting down that madman until he was brought to justice.

It was then that San spotted Asano. He wasn’t even fighting. He was in one of the watchtowers, surrounded by six samurai, observing the battle with an amused look. He hardly ever did the actual fighting, he merely commanded his army, sending everyone out to their deaths. San clenched her fists. She had never taken pleasure in killing, but she had a feeling that this time she would enjoy it.

San made her way through around Iron town, planning to sneak up from behind. It wouldn’t be easy getting in from the back, but she had done it before. However, a painful howl from one of her brothers caught her attention. She looked upon the battlefield and saw Kenji with a spear in his side.

Rage filled San at the sight of her brother being hurt. She suddenly forgot about the mission and ran onto the battlefield to help. She dodged spears and swords as she made her way over to her brothers. She was at least relieved to see that the samurai weren’t using guns or explosives due to the hand to hand combat that they were forced into.

As the samurai that had speared Kenji proceeded to hold the giant wolf at bay, San jumped through the air and landed on his head. As the samurai stumbled, San jumped off and kicked him in the gut before retrieving the spear he dropped.

“Kenji, are you ok?” she asked her brother.

His only reply was, “Behind you!”

San turned and stabbed forward, spearing a samurai that had attempted to sneak up on here. A moment later, Isamu came and finished the samurai off.

Dropping the dead body, he turned to his sister. “San, what are you doing her? You’re supposed to be going after Asano.”

Isamu’s words took a moment to register to the Princess Mononoke. Now that she had helped her brother, her mission came back to her. “Damn it!” She looked up at Asano. “I was distracted.”

A samurai came from out of nowhere in an attempt to kill San. But someone moved in front of San and stabbed the samurai.

“Where’s Ashitaka?” Eboshi asked, pushing the samurai off her sword. “Is he going after Asano?”

“He got held up.” San replied.

“Held up how?” Eboshi demanded.

“Teralis.” Was San’s only reply.

“Damn.” She too looked up at Asano. “Hopefully he’ll survive.”

“He will!” San insisted. “And then he’ll kill Asano and end this.”

Eboshi killed another samurai. “I hope so. He’s our last hope.”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Asano watched the battle in amusement. This was what he lived for, leading an army and commanding a battle. As he observed the fighting, he spotted Eboshi and the Princess Mononoke by the two wolf gods.

“So, Teralis didn’t kill her yet.” He said.

He noticed that the boy with the demon strength wasn’t among them. He found this very curious. He would have thought that the boy would never leave the wolf-girl’s side. Unless… of course. Teralis must have gotten him. Well, at least he did one thing right. Although his orders had been to kill Eboshi and the Princess Mononoke.

Asano shivered as he remembered what Teralis had said about being ordered around. Perhaps the assassin had just decided to kill the boy first since he would most likely provided the biggest challenge. But Asano had no doubt that Teralis would be the victor in such a fight. But that still left the matter of Eboshi and the wolf-girl.

“Get me a gun.” He told the closet samurai.

“Sir?”

“A gun!” he snapped impatiently. “Get me a gun!”

“Yes, yes, sir.”

He handed the warlord his weapon. Asano took carefully aim, his sight set on San. An evil grin appeared over his face.

“Goodbye, princess.”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

“This battle is terrible.” Thought Eboshi. “Ashitaka better hurry up or else we won’t last much longer. Damn you to Hell, Asano!”

She looked up angrily at the warlord and saw him aiming a gun right at San. Eboshi’s eyes widened as she ran for San.

“San, look out!” she cried.

There was the sound of thunder as Asano fired. San shut her eyes, but the bullet never made contact. Instead she was splashed with blood. Eboshi’s blood.

“Milady!” several people cried as Eboshi dropped to the ground with a bullet wound in her side. At the sight of their fearless leader gravely wounded, they fought twice as hard as they had before.

San dropped down to Eboshi’s side as her brothers closed in around them protectively. “Eboshi?”

The leader of Iron Town winced in pain and looked up at San. “That really hurts. No wonder Nago became a demon.”

San looked completely bewildered. “Why?” She was confused. First Jigo, now Eboshi.

Eboshi just smiled. “Don’t look so surprised. We are allies, aren’t we?”

Isamu suddenly stumbled as he was overwhelmed by a group of samurai, bringing San and Eboshi back to the battle.

“We’ll discuss this later.” Eboshi suggested. If I live that long.” She thought.

San nodded. “Isamu, Kenji, be sure to keep her safe.” She said, surprising herself. Did she just tell her brothers to protect Eboshi, her former archenemy? She shook her head, deciding not to think of it now.

“Don’t worry about me.” Eboshi said. “Just keep yourself safe.”

“Eboshi, shut up!” San snapped impatiently. “For once just drop the act!”

Eboshi was surprised at first as she attempted to stop the wound from bleeding. But then she smiled to herself. “Something tells me that we’re going to be good friends in the future.”

San snorted. “Not even in your dreams.”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The battle was fierce. There were just too many samurai. Even the mighty gods of the forest were overwhelmed as Asano’s men boxed them and the citizens of Iron Town in, surrounding them on all sides.

It was at this time that Ashitaka came from out of the forest. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the battle before him. The bodies of humans and gods littered the ground as Asano’s samurai surrounded the survivors. Somewhere in the middle of them was San and her brothers trying to fight off the samurai.

Once again, Ashitaka’s arm pulsed painfully, but he hardly noticed it as a blinding rage, that didn’t seem to entirely be his, filled him. As his rage increased, he suddenly sensed another presence that seemed to be originating from his cursed arm and knew it was Nago, whose own rage was mixing with Ashitaka’s.

“ASANOOOOOOO!!!”

Ashitaka’s voice echoed through all of the forest and Iron Town. The trees themselves seemed to sway as though a mighty wind was blowing. And Ashitaka’s vice sounded unbelievable loud and inhuman, as if he wasn’t the only one screaming Asano’s name. He knew that Nago was joining him in his cry of rage.

The entire battle immediately came to a halt. All heads turned to the Emishi prince. They watched in awe and horror as tendrils of cursed energy seemed to crawls out of Ashitaka’s arm, covering him in an evil blue aura.

Slowly Ashitaka began making his way down the hill and towards the battle. After about thirty seconds of stunned silence, the group of samurai closest to Ashitaka made their way towards him, weapons raised.

Almost uncontrollable, Ashitaka’s hand closed over his sword and he unsheathed it. The blue aura spread over his sword as well.

“STAY AWAY!!!” he cried, his voice back to normal.

He swung his sword and several tendrils lashed out at the samurai. They were thrown backwards as though they had been hit by a train. After that, no other samurai approached him once they saw what he had done with one swipe of his sword. In fact, they all parted to allow him to pass, too afraid to get near him. Even the citizens of Iron Tow and the gods of the forest backed away fearfully. The only ones that didn’t move away were San and her brothers.

“Ashitaka…” San whispered as he passed.

Ashitaka stopped just for a moment to glance at her. His expression softened and he gave her a small smile. “It’s alright, San. It’s almost over.”

San nodded and Ashitaka turned back to Asano, his expression becoming angry once more.

“ASANO!!!” he called again.

The warlord watched the Emishi prince approach, his own anger growing. Why weren’t his samurai attacking? What did they think he was paying them for? Were they afraid of him? The fools.

“Sir?” one of his guards said.

Asano aggressively pushed the samurai away. “Damn cowards, I’ll deal with this my self.”

Ashitaka had reached the gates of Iron Town. His eyes narrowed as the gates began to open. Lord Asano was there, sword in hand, surrounded by about twenty samurai.

“Asano.” Ashitaka seethed.

The warlord just sneered at him. “Hello again, boy. I see you have managed to escape Teralis. Congratulations, that’s not something just anyone can do.”

Ashitaka glared at him. “I didn’t just escape him, I beat him.” There were shocked gasps all around, even Asano looked speechless. “If he is still alive, he won’t be in any condition to fight for awhile.”

Asano stared at Ashitaka as if he had never seen anything like him before. But then he got over his shock and he began laughing hysterically. “Very funny, boy. You defeated Teralis, I think not. Nice try though.”

“I didn’t come here to make jokes, Asano.” Ashitaka said as the aura pulsed around him. “I came here to kill you.”

Asano looked shocked again, but just like last time, he got over his shock and began laughing. “That’s a good one. Who do you think you’re fooling? If anyone is going to die, it will be you. Just take a look around. You’re surrounded by my men.”

“Men that you pay to do your bidding.” Ashitaka corrected. “Once you’re dead, you won’t be paying them anymore.”

Asano sneered at him. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you boy. Well you’ll have all the time you want to think once I kill you.”

“No, Asano!” Ashitaka snapped. “It is you that will die. You’ve committed terrible crimes against both the gods of the forest and humanity. The gods have demanded your life as punishment for your actions, and I am to be the one to take it.”

Asano just smirked and raised his sword. “I would like to see you try.”

Ashitaka closed his eyes. “As you wish.” He opened his eyes again and raised his cursed arm. The aura around him gathered around it. “Great god Nago,” he cried, “protector of the forest, it is time! Take your revenge and free us from this evil!”

The aura seemed to come to life. It flew at Asano, whose eyes widened in surprise, and engulfed him. Ashitaka suddenly felt his strength drained. The mark that had originated from his arm and had spread all over his body began shrinking until it was once again only on his arm. And even then it faded away until there was nothing left; the mark was completely gone. And soon the aura left his body, joining the rest of it that was surrounding Asano.

The warlord cried out as the pain of Nago’s curse hit him all at once. The demon mark immediately appeared over his body and began spreading at a rapid rate. It wasn’t long before his whole body was covered in the mark. The sword dropped from his hands as he held them up to look at them.

“What’s this?”

“That,” Ashitaka breathed, “is the wrath of the gods, and your punishment.” He raised his voice so everyone could hear his bluff. “And anyone else who attempts to destroy the forest will face the same fate!”

Asano cried out as his entire body pulsed painfully. A black smog emitted from his nose, ears, and mouth as his skin begun to crumble off until only a black skeleton remained. He collapsed to the ground and his skeleton melted into a foul smelling black goo.

Lord Asano was dead.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Aftermath       

The silence that followed was deafening, but Ashitaka didn’t notice as he dropped to his knees. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. But he eventually found the strength to look at his once cursed arm. The demon mark was gone completely. This time there wasn’t even a scar. The curse was truly gone now. And with it, his demon strength had vanished. But Ashitaka didn’t care. He was free. He had his life back. Nago’s curse no longer had an impact on him. It was over.

Slowly he started to get to his feet, struggling to do so. That is, until a pair of arms wrapped around him, helping him up. He smiled gratefully at San as she supported him. Everyone else looked terrified, the samurai especially.

“You’re a demon.” One of them said.

San growled at the samurai, but Ashitaka took control of the situation. “No, just a messenger for the gods.” He said. “And if they gave me the power to do that, just imagine what they can do themselves. This forest is to be left alone from this day forward. All those that refuse to leave the gods and this forest in peace will face their wrath, just as Asano has. Return to your homes, samurai. Without your master, you have nothing here. The gods do not want you here. Go back where you came from, and let it be known that this forest has been marked by the gods to remain undisturbed.”

It was an empty threat, but one that the samurai were hardly willing to test. No one, not even the emperor himself would dare harm the forest now.

The samurai fled, abandoning their wounded and their dead. They didn’t dare to enter the forest, so they went around it. Only the gods of the forest and the citizens of Iron Town remained on the battlefield among the pile of the deceased.

It was then that Isamu slowly approached the middle of the battlefield and tilted his head back, howling in victory. The remaining gods followed his cry and the word quickly spread through the forest in the language that only the gods could understand. Not long after the gods cried out their victory, did the citizens of Iron Town begin to cheer. The forest had been saved. Iron Town had been saved.

San held Ashitaka tightly. She had been terrified as well. But she wasn’t afraid of him, she was afraid for him. Seeing him consumed by that aura and knowing that it was Nago’s curse had really frightened her. She had thought the curse was about to kill him.

“Ashitaka, are you…”

He smiled at her. “I’m ok, San.” He assured her. “It’s over. The forest is safe, and Nago’s curse is gone; for good this time.”

“Thank the Forest Spirit.” San whispered. “How are you feeling?”

Ashitaka closed his eyes. “Fine, just tired.”

“You and me both.” Growled Kenji. “I’m done with wars for a long time.”

Isamu came over to join them. “After that little display of power, I doubt we’ll see another war for a very long time, if ever again.”

Ashitaka laughed. “Well don’t expect me to be disintegrating anyone else any time soon.” He frowned. “Besides, that was hard enough.”

San hugged him to her, licking his cheek. “He deserved it.” She said. “I know that sounds cruel, but if anyone deserved Nago’s curse, Asano did. Him or Teralis. Did you kill that bastard?”

Ashitaka shrugged. “Not sure. It all depends if he reaches the pool of the Forest Spirit or not in time to heal.”

Isamu snorted. “As if the pool’s magic would work on someone like him.”

“Ashitaka!”

San turned angrily to Gonza. “Not now!” she snapped. “He’s exhausted.”

Gonza ignored her. “Ashitaka, milady’s been wounded, badly!”

It took a moment for San to remember that Eboshi had willingly taken a bullet for her. In her concern for Ashitaka, she had forgotten that the leader of Iron Town was gravely wounded.

“She’s dying!” Gonza cried.

“How was she hurt?” Ashitaka asked.

“Bullet wound.”

“She took the bullet meant for me.” Said San. “Asano was aiming for me.”

Ashitaka gave Asano’s remains a dirty look before turning back to Gonza. “How bad is it?”

“I just told you, she’s dying! We got the bullet out, but she’s bleeding too much!”

Ashitaka sighed. He looked at San, silently asking a question. San was silent a moment before sighing. “Kenji, Isamu, can one of you take us to the pool of the Forest Spirit?”

Isamu growled. “I’ll do it. No offense, brother, but you’re in worse condition than I am.”

Kenji wasn’t complaining. He let himself drop to the ground. “I have no complaints. I’ll just rest her a bit.”

“As can all the other gods.” Said Gonza. The other four gave him a surprised look. “What, we’re neighbors now.”

Ashitaka smiled. As bad as this war had been, it seemed that at least one good thing came out of this.

“Help Eboshi onto my back.” Isamu growled, bending down.

Gonza quickly went to retrieve Eboshi. She was deathly pale and half conscious, the wound in her side was still bleeding. She gave Ashitaka a half-smile. “I see your curse is gone.” She said.

Ashitaka smiled back. “Just drop the fearless leader act for once.”

“That’s what I told her.” Said San as she helped Eboshi onto her brother’s back before climbing on herself and offering her hand to Ashitaka to help him.

“Can you carry all three of them?” asked Gonza.

Isamu cut his eyes at him. “I am a god.” He said before taking off.

As they ran through the crowd of wounded, Ashitaka saw that others would probably be in need for the pool’s healing powers as well, and not just humans. San seemed to come to the same conclusion.

“We may need to make several trips.” She said.

“I’m a god, not a wagon.” Isamu growled.

Eboshi was nearly unconscious by the time they reached the pool of the Forest Spirit. When she tried to climb off Isamu, she fell off. San and Ashitaka had to practically drag her into the water. Eboshi winced as the cool water made contact with her wound.

“I’m getting a sense of déjà vu.” Eboshi remarked. “Once again I’m being saved by you; although I don’t know why you bother.”

“Shut up, Eboshi.” San snapped. “Just shut up.” She turned to her brother. “Isamu, go back to Iron Town and help with the wounded. Well be fine here.”

Isamu nodded and turned to leave. Ashitaka made a move to go with him. “I should go and help t-”

San grabbed him and pulled him into the water. “You will do no such thing!” she snapped. “You are going to stay in this water and heal!”

Isamu snickered as he disappeared into the woods. Even Eboshi managed to smile through her pain. “It’s strange how much things have changed.” She commented. “Just two months ago we were trying to kill each other, now here you are saving me, again.”

San glared at her. “Eboshi, never will I be able to call you friend!” she snapped. But then her expression softened. But I can’t call you my enemy anymore either.”

Eboshi closed her eyes and smiled. “That’s more than what I could have ever hoped for coming from you, San.”

San pushed Eboshi into deeper waters. “Stop talking and focus on getting your strength back.”

“I feel better already.” Eboshi replied, and it was true too. “I’m actually surprised the pool’s powers are working on me.”

“The Forest Spirit is kind and forgiving.” Said Ashitaka, as he let the pool’s magic work on his soar body, which was slowly regaining its strength. “He values all life and cares for everyone and everything.”

San looked at him and gave him a smile. “Just like you.”

Eboshi snickered. “Ah, love. It’s a wonderful thing.”

This earned her a glare from San for ruining the moment. Eboshi just smiled and turned away. It was then that she saw the remains of Kahn. Kodama were walking all over it, purifying the demonic essence. Plants were already beginning to grow on it.

“I see you’ve killed the demon.” She said. She turned to San. “I am sorry for your loss.”

San looked at her father’s remains and then quickly turned away, her eyes shining with tears. “My… my father died long before today.” She said.

Ashitaka reached for her. “It’s ok to cry, San.” He said.

San shook her head. “No, not yet. We can mourn the dead later. Right now we have to help the wounded.”

That suddenly reminded Ashitaka of Teralis. Did the assassin make it? “San, is Teralis anywhere around here?”

San’s head snapped in his direction, her eyes wide. “What?”

Ashitaka sighed. “I stabbed him. His wound was fatal. He wound have a slow painful death.”

“He deserved worse.” Eboshi muttered.

Ashitaka ignored her. “I couldn’t just let him die like that; even someone as sick and twisted as him.”

San nodded in understanding. There wasn’t an ounce of darkness in Ashitaka’s heart, one of the many things she loved about him.

“I didn’t have time to stay and help him, so I told him to head for the pool of the Forest Spirit.”

San looked around. There was no sign that the assassin had been here at all. “He’s not here.”

“Obviously.” Eboshi muttered.

San glared at her and went to look around. It wasn’t long before she picked up the scent of blood, and it wasn’t coming from Eboshi. It was human though. But it smelled tainted, really foul. There was only one person, one creature, who could have blood that foul. That evil.

“I think I might have found him.” She said, as the scent of blood got stronger and the smell of death hit her nose.

“Is he alive?” asked Ashitaka.

“I don’t think so.” She pushed some bushes aside with her spear and made a sound of disgust. “Well his arm is over here. I still don’t see the rest of him.”

Ashitaka got out of the water and hurried over to her. “His arm?”

It was true. Laying on the ground was Teralis’s limb, sitting in a pool of blood. The black armor was cracked and the part that should have been attached to his torso looked torn and shredded.

Ashitaka’s heart began pounding. “San, I didn’t do this. All I did was stab him.”

San and Ashitaka exchanged a look. Something came crashing through the forest and came out into the opening. It was Kahn’s dismembered head. The tentacles of rage covered it and came together to form spider like legs to allow Kahn to crawl. In his jaws was what was left of a very dead Teralis.

San backed away shaking her head. “No, please no.”

But Ashitaka didn’t hear her. Instead, he was hearing what Eboshi had said two months ago. “Cut off a wolf’s head, and it still has the power to bite.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: It’s Not Over Yet

Kahn was literally on the verge of death. The last bit of his strength was rapidly draining. He was running on nothing more than pure spite. But it was enough to give him mobility. He would be dead very soon, but he still had enough life in him to do some damage; namely kill the three humans before him.

San backed away, still shaking her head. She had thought that the worst was over. She had thought that her father was dead and free from his demonic rage. She was wrong. Kahn was alive, barely, and he was coming for them.

Kahn spat out Teralis’ remains and charged at San and Ashitaka, moving slower since he was using his tentacles to push him along.

Ashitaka pushed San behind him as Kahn’s tentacles shot out. They wrapped around the Emishi prince, pulling him closer to his snapping jaws. As Ashitaka fought off the tentacles, with much greater difficulty since he no longer had his demon strength, San quickly jumped into the tree next to them before reaching down and pulling Ashitaka up in the branches too. The hardest part was getting the tentacles to let go, but using hands, teeth, and spear, San got the tentacles off the Emishi prince. The was no curse mark, to both of their relief. Did that mean that Kahn was, even now, fighting the rage building within him?

Kahn howled in rage and attempted to climb the tree; a failed attempt since he was merely a dismembered head. While his jaws snapped below the two humans, the tentacles wrapped around the tree trunk, rotting it to the core. The tree immediately began to shake, unable to hold its own weight. It wouldn’t stand much longer.

“San, get into the next tree.” Ashitaka ordered.

San didn’t need telling twice. She hopped over into the branches of the next closet tree, Ashitaka right behind her. The tree the demon was attacking collapsed a moment later. Kahn immediately turned to the tree his prey had entered and began repeating the same process.

 Eboshi looked on in horror as the demon tried to get to San and Ashitaka. Fighting against the pain in her side, and using hat was left of her strength, she forced herself out of the water, unsheathing her sword. Not caring about her own safety, she limped over to Kahn and plunged her sword in his cheek.

Kahn roared and shook himself furiously. Tentacles shot out from all over what was left of his body. Eboshi was pushed backwards and slammed into a tree. Kahn turned to her and began crawling in her direction, fangs bared.

Eboshi, half conscious, could only crawl backwards. There was great pain in her chest, indicating that she probably had a broken rib. But she couldn’t worry about that now. She had lost her sword during Kahn’s attack.

San glared at her father, no, not her father, the demon and took careful aim. She threw her spear. It soared through the aim and landed right in the back of its head. Kahn yelped and was thrown off balance since it was hard to crawl around on legs that were made out of a bunch of its tentacles working together. Eboshi used the opportunity to get away, causing Kahn to slam face first into the tree she had been leaning against. A moment later, a group of Kodama appeared and teleported Eboshi into a nearby tree.

Kahn shook furiously, trying to shake the spear buried in the back of, what was left of its neck, out. Unable to do so, the tentacles ripped it free and tossed it aside. The tentacles then twisted together, forming much thicker ones similar to that of an octopus. They lashed out, slamming into trees and tearing them down; one of them being in the one that San and Ashitaka were in.

Once on the ground, the tentacles went after the two humans as if they had minds of their own. San and Ashitaka quickly went for cover behind some trees that were still standing and the groups of tentacles crashed into the tree trunks, uprooting the trees some.

Eboshi winced at the loud crash of the tentacles slamming into the trees. She turned to one of the Kodama sitting next to her. It cocked its head to the side questioningly. “Can’t you do something?” she demanded. “You’re tree spirits. Fight back.”

The Kodama stared at her for a moment before rattling its head once. It turned to its fellow tree spirits and began rattling its head again. The other Kodama joined in.

Kahn growled at the sound of the tree spirits’ annoying rattling, at least annoying to him. He went after the tree Eboshi and the Kodama were in, ramming it. Eboshi held on tightly, but the Kodama deliberately fell down, some of them even jumping as they dog-piled on top oh Kahn. The demon shook himself furiously, trying to get the Kodama off. Its tentacles grabbed them, but the simple disappeared out of its grip.

San and Ashitaka peeked out from behind the trees they were using for cover. “The Kodama!” San cried.

“What are they doing?” Ashitaka exclaimed. “They’ll get themselves killed!”

Before either of them could do anything, another Kodama appeared beside them and rattled its head.

“Run?” said San, speaking to the Kodama. “What do you mean run?”

“We can’t leave Eboshi.” Said Ashitaka.

“Don’t worry about me!” Eboshi shouted. “Just go! You can’t stop this thing on your own! I’ll be fine, I have the Kodama!”

San and Ashitaka stared worriedly at the leader of Iron Town, just a few feet above Kahn who was continuing to fight off the Kodama.

San looked at the Emishi prince beside her. “Ashitaka?”

Ashitaka’s fists clenched. He didn’t want to leave Eboshi, but he knew that if they stayed then Kahn would most likely kill all of them. Without his demon strength, he would have to rely on his own skills. The only weapon he had was his sword, and San’s spear lay several feet away, beyond the demon.

“Damn it!” he swore. “Eboshi, we’ll be right back! Don’t go getting yourself killed!”

He and San turned to leave, but Kahn had heard Ashitaka shouting to Eboshi. Ignoring the Kodama, he lashed out with his tentacles, intent on grabbing the two humans.

“Behind you!” Eboshi shouted.

They turned to see the tentacles flying at them. Ashitaka quickly grabbed San and held her close, shielding her with his body as the tentacles grabbed them. The tentacles lifted them off the ground and pulled them back into the clearing, holding them over Kahn’s snapping jaws.

The Kodama attacked again in even greater numbers, completely burying Kahn beneath them. Abandoning his attempt to kill San and Ashitaka, he viciously threw them aside as the vast amount of Kodama crushed him with their combined weight.

San and Ashitaka got to their feet and stared at the pile of Kodama with wide eyes. Neither of them had ever seen Kodama behave this way. Just then, Ashitaka’s gaze fell on something just beyond the demon. San’s spear!

“San, take cover.” He said, making a run for the spear.

He ran right past Kahn and the Kodama, making a grab for the spear. A moment later, the Kodama went flying as Kahn burst up from underneath them, sending the little tree spirits flying, but they disappeared before they crashed into anything, appearing in a safer place.

Kahn’s tentacles, which had lashed out all at once to throw the Kodama off him, retracted as he roared in frustration. His red eyes fell upon San, who backed away.

“Stay away from her!” Ashitaka shouted.

He threw the spear as hard as he could, wishing he could have kept his demon strength a longer. It was effective nevertheless as the spear buried into Kahn’s eye. The demon howled in pain and turned to Ashitaka, going after him instead. He pulled out his sword and held it up defensively.

“Ashitaka!” San cried.

Kahn’s tentacles shot out, seizing the Emishi prince, right before he lunged. Held captive by the tentacles, Ashitaka couldn’t defend himself as Kahn’s jaws closed over him.

“Ashitaka!” San cried again.

Kahn and Ashitaka went right into the pool of the Forest Spirit, sinking below the surface.

“NO!!!”

San’s cries echoed throughout the forest as neither Ashitaka or Kahn resurfaced. As the echoes of San’s cry died down, a new sound took its place as all of the Kodama began rattling their heads simultaneously. San didn’t even notice the Kodama’s rattling as she wept for Ashitaka. She was so sure he was dead. Kahn’s jaws had closed over him. How could he have survived?

But as the Kodama continued to rattle their heads, a bright glow came from the pool of the Forest Spirit. It became so bright that even San noticed it through her closed teary eyes.

Bubbles began rising from the place Ashitaka and Kahn had vanished below the surface, which also happened to be the place the glow was brightest. Suddenly it was as if an explosion had happened underwater as the water burst upward. Kahn went flying out of the pool of the Forest Spirit, crashing on dry land.

San merely glanced at her father before turning her hopeful gaze back to the pool of the Forest Spirit. Something was rising out of the water. No, the water itself was rising and taking on a form. San’s eyes widened as the Forest Spirit, made entirely of water, rose up from his pool. On his back was Ashitaka. He looked unconscious but otherwise completely fine, not a scratch on him.

San looked in amazement at the Forest Spirit and the man she loved. Had the Forest Spirit saved him? How was the Forest Spirit even here; Eboshi had killed him? Well, technically he wasn’t really here since he was made of water, but it was still amazing. It was then that San realized that Ashitaka had been right; the Forest Spirit never did really leave his forest. He may have been dead, but he was still with them. But right now San didn’t care about the Forest Spirit. All she cared about was the man on his back.

“Ashitaka!” she cried.

At the sound of his name being called, Ashitaka stirred. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn’t dead. He was so sure he would be. He had felt Kahn’s teeth sink into his flesh. The next thing he knew, he had been underwater and then everything started glowing.

That was when he noticed that he was sitting on water that felt like it was solid. He suddenly realized that this water-like thing was in the shape of the Forest Spirit. It was the Forest Spirit.

“Forest Spirit.” He whispered. “You saved me again.”

“Ashitaka, are you alright?” San called.

He turned to her and waved. “I’m fine, thanks to the Forest Spirit!”

Their relief was cut short by a mighty roar from Kahn. The first thing he spotted was San. Growling like the demon he was, he charged at her.

“San, look out!” Ashitaka cried.

As had already spotted Kahn and was backing away.

“Forest Spirit, I beg you to help her!” Ashitaka cried.

Instead, the Forest Spirit nodded downwards. Something shiny was at the bottom of the pool. His sword!

Jumping off the Forest Spirit’s back, Ashitaka went under and came back up with his sword.

“San!” he shouted, throwing his sword to her.

It landed point first in the dirt. San quickly snatched it just as Kahn lunged. She jumped up, avoiding the demon’s snapping jaws, and landed on her head.

“I’m sorry, Father.” She said, and buried the sword to the hilt into her father’s forehead.

Kahn froze as the sword buried into his brain. His tentacles of rage twitched slightly before going limp and melting into a foul goo.

San held onto the sword with shaking hands, staring in disbelief at what she had just done.

“San…”

San blinked as the voice of her father brought her out of her daze as she looked into his familiar yellow eyes.

“F-Father.” She whispered.

A single tear rolled down Kahn’s cheek. “Thank you…” he whispered as his skin and fur disintegrated, leaving only his skull behind with Ashitaka’s sword buried right between his eyes.

Chapter Text

Chapter 21: Time To Live

San stood motionless on top of her Father’s skull, Ashitaka’s sword buried nearly to the hilt in between the wolf’s eyes. She had just killed her father, her last parent. True, he had already been on the verge of death and was probably only going to live another day at most, but she had struck the killing blow. This was different than telling Ashitaka to kill her father or from watching him be beheaded; she had just taken his life.

San’s hands trembled. She tried not to think of it that way. Her mother had asked for her to take Kahn’s life, and Kahn had even thanked her with his last breath. She had freed him from his pain, brought peace to her father and reunited him with her mother. But this attempt to make the situation seem less grim failed as she continued to look at the sword buried in his forehead and her hands holding onto the end, having been what forced the blade into his skull.

She was in shock. She neither moved nor wept. She simple stood perfectly still, staring at her death father with wide as and knuckles that were white from gripping the sword so tightly. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there trying to get over her initial shock, but final a pair of hands rested on top of hers and gently pried them off the sword. The owner of these hands slowly turned her around and brought her off the giant wolf skull before pulling her into a hug.

“Shh, it’s ok, San.” Ashitaka said soothingly. “It’s going to be ok. I’m here for you.”

San buried her face into Ashitaka’s chest, feeling the tears coming on. She didn’t want to cry, it made her feel weak, and weak was something she was not. She was San, the Princess Mononoke, a member of the wolf tribe, the daughter of Moro and Kahn. She was not weak. She was a strong fearless warrior, not some fragile little girl.

“The hell with it.” San thought. This wouldn’t be the first time she cried. She let the tears flow.

Ashitaka held her tightly, stroking her hair and whisper softly to her. “You did the right thing, San. He wanted to be free from the demon he became. You ended his pain.”

“I killed him.” San cried.

Ashitaka shook his head. “No, San. I killed him. He was already dead. What he just was now was nothing more than a creature on the verge of death running on pure hatred. He was dead whether you stabbed him or not.”

San continued to cry. Ashitaka continued to sooth her. He wished there was something he could do besides simply comfort her, but there was nothing; nothing that could be done.

No, that wasn’t exactly true. There was nothing he could do, but that didn’t mean nothing couldn’t be done.

“San, come with me.” He said quietly.

San didn’t have the strength to resist. She let Ashitaka lead her to wherever he wanted. When they stopped, and she finally found the strength to look up, she saw the Forest Spirit, still made of water, standing before them.

“Forest Spirit.” Said Ashitaka. “Great god of the forest, I beg you to give Kahn life once again. He has protected your forest for years and in return he was consumed by rage and became a demon. I ask you to give him life once again.”

The Forest Spirit stared at him and San, seeming deep in thought. Was he actually considering giving San back her father?

The Forest Spirit looked at Kahn’s skull, which now had Kodama busy purifying it, then turned back to San and Ashitaka. He surprised them a moment later by speaking. “No.”

Ashitaka’s widened as the Forest Spirit denied his request. “No? But why?”

“Kahn has lived his life.” The Forest Spirit replied. “He has had his fulfillment in this world. He is now at peace in the next. He is with his mate once again. Do not ask me to separate him from his mate for this world of violence once again. I cannot simple return to life all those that have perished because they have died before their time, even if they did protect my forest. That is not what my power over life and death are for.”

He looked at San and Ashitaka, perhaps daring them to question his decision. Neither did, for they both knew it would be useless. The Forest Spirit was a god with the power over life and death. Who were they to question his authority? But that did not mean that they were happy about his decision, San especially.

The Forest Spirit turned his attention to her. He knew that she was suffering the most and he hated to see that. “Do not fear, child. You will see both your mother and father again, when your time has come. Death is not the end, but the only the beginning. Your father is happy now, and he thanks you for freeing him. But his time in this world is over. You on the other hand, your life is just beginning. Listen to your mate.” He looked at Ashitaka, causing both humans to blush. “It is time for you to live.”

He had nothing more to say, but somehow it was enough for San. Not enough to take away the pain of her loss, for only time could do that, but enough so that she did not wallow in sorrow.

Turning away, the Forest Spirit headed back to the deepest part of his pool. He stopped a few moments later when someone called for him.

“Forest Spirit!”

The Forest Spirit turned to the speaker, who was none other than Eboshi, the very person that killed him. She was slowly limping over to the pool. When she reached the edge, she did something that neither San nor Ashitaka thought they would ever see. She bowed.

“Great Forest Spirit, I am Lady Eboshi of Iron Town.” she said, not daring to meet his eyes. “I am the one who took your life and stole your head.”

If she thought this would get any reaction from the Forest Spirit, she was wrong. He merely looked at her with a blank expression.

“Eboshi, what are you doing?” Ashitaka asked.

Eboshi gave him a small smile. “What I should have done long ago.” She turned back to the Forest Spirit. “I know you can never forgive me for what I have done, for I have done to you the worst thing possible. I was a different person then, however that does excuse my actions. I wish to make up for it. I have taken your life, and therefore offer you mine.”

“Eboshi!” Ashitaka cried as San gasped in surprise.

The leader of Iron Town ignored them. “My life is in your hands. Do with me what you will.”

The Forest Spirit continued to stare at her like a curious child. Finally he walked over to her. Eboshi remained on her knees, ready to accept whatever the Forest Spirit would do.

The Forest Spirit bent down until he was eyel-evel with her, their faces just a few inches apart. Then he let out a small puff of breath in Eboshi’s face. The sensation was indescribable. Eboshi felt better than she had ever felt.

Slowly the Forest Spirit turned away and walked back out into his pool. Here he dissolved back into water, vanishing from this world once again.

No one moved or spoke for the longest time. Finally Eboshi stood up to find herself completely healed, though her arm was still missing. She turned to San and Ashitaka, looking confused.

“I don’t understand.” She said. “Why did he not take my life? I offered it to him freely.”

“Perhaps that was enough.” Ashitaka replied.

“The Forest Spirit is kind and forgiving.” Said San. “He does not desire vengeance. He is a god of life and death. He values all life and sees death as a relief from the evils in the world of the living. Do not ask me why he does what he does; I cannot pretend to understand such a superior being.”

Eboshi thought long and hard about this as she examined her body, which did not even contain a scar. She still did not completely understand it, but, as San said, who was she to understand such a superior being.

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The next three days were very heard. They consisted of healing the wounded, burying and mourning the dead, and lots of trips to the pool of the Forest Spirit. Even Asano’s samurai that had been too wounded to flee with the others were treated before being sent on their way.

It was on this day that San and Ashitaka stood at the entrance to the forest with Isamu, Kenji, and Yakul, looking down at the half destroyed Iron Town. Now that the fighting was over, the rebuilding was going to begin. Unlike the forest, which would grow back on its own, Iron Town would need to be brought back to its former glory by the hands of humans.

“Looks like they’ll have to make a fresh start again.” Kenji growled.

“Just like last time.” Ashitaka replied. He smiled. “If you’re worried about them rebuilding Iron Town back to the way it was before the truce, you have nothing to worry about. I already spoke to Eboshi and the others about it. They were actually happier with the way things were before Asano’s samurai took over.”

Isamu grinned. “We’re not worried about that. Although I never believed I’d say it, I… trust them. That includes Eboshi.”

That was more than what Ashitaka could have hoped for. “Finally peace.” He said.

“Peace, not friendship.” Kenji growled.

That just made Ashitaka smile. “One step at a time.”

He glanced at his side at San. Unlike the others, she didn’t seem happy. She looked rather upset. But why? Was it because of her father? No, this was something different; Ashitaka could tell. But what was it?

“San, what’s wrong?”

She turned away. “Nothing.”

“Liar.” Said Ashitaka and her brothers.

“San, you should no that you can’t lie to us.” Kenji growled.

“You should also know that you can tell us anything.” Isamu added. He glanced at Ashitaka. “All of us.”

“I said it’s nothing.” San said more irritably.

Ashitaka sighed. What was so bad that she had to hide from him? “San, we can’t help if you don’t tell us what the problem is.”

San’s fists clenched in frustration. “It’s just that… now that it’s all over, and the rebuilding is starting again, you have to leave again, to go rebuild. Just like last time.”

Ashitaka blinked. Was that the problem? Was that why she was so upset? If it was, that was easily fixable. He had already made a decision on the matter.

He rested a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. “Actually San, I’ve decided not to go back.”

San turned to him quickly, eyes wide. “What?”

He smiled. “I’ve always intended to come live with you in the forest. I thought you knew that.”

San nodded. “I did, but you said you needed to help rebuild the town first.”

Ashitaka chuckled. “Yes, but I figured that if they built Iron Town from scratch once before, they could easily fix it up again. Besides, without my demon strength, it’s not like I would make much of a difference by helping.”

San’s response to this was to pounce on him, knocking them both to the ground as she squealed happily. Her brothers gave her a half amused half disapproving look.

“San, really, you’re acting like a pup.” Kenji growled.

“Oh shut up!”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)           

“Can you believe our luck?” Toki muttered. “It took us months to rebuild this town, just to have it torn down again.” she sighed. “Now what?”

“Now we start over again.” Eboshi replied. “Every time we rebuild our town turns up better. We learn from our mistakes, but we don’t give up because of them.”

Toki smirked. “Watch, just when we finish something is going to happen that will destroy the town again.”

Eboshi laughed. “No, I think our troubles are over.” She looked at the forest. “All of ours.”

Toki looked over to where Eboshi was looking. She saw San and Ashitaka with the two wolf gods and Yakul. She expected them to come over, but instead they turned and went into the forest.

“Hey, where are they going?” she asked.

Eboshi just smiled as she watched them leave. “Home.” She said. “Where they belong.”

Kohroku cocked his head to the side curiously. “Ashitaka is going with them?”

“He’s always belonged with them.” Eboshi replied.

Toki smiled sadly. She had always known he would eventually go with his wolf-girl, and she was happy for them, but Ashitaka had been a good friend and she was sad to see him go.

“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” she asked.

Eboshi chuckled. “Yes, I believe we’ll be seeing both of them a lot more in the future.”

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

A week passed since that day. It was on this night that San awoke to find Ashitaka gone from her side. He hadn’t gone far though. She spotted him at the entrance to their cave, bathed in the light of the full moon. He was staring at the forest, seemingly deep in thought.

San got up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Ashitaka, is everything alright?” she asked.

Ashitaka turned to her and smiled at her. “Yes, San, everything is fine. I was just enjoying the view.” He turned back to the forest. “The forest is so peaceful. It lacks all the evils of the human world. It’s beautiful.”

“I know.” San agreed.

“But nowhere near as beautiful as you.”

San blushed at his comment, but smiled against him. “You know, you were the first person to ever tell me that I was beautiful.” She said.

“It’s true, San. Don’t ever let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”

Willing the warmth out of her cheeks, San gave his hand a tug. “Come back to bed.” She said.

He let her lead him back into the cave, laying back down on the furs. Ashitaka kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

San smiled. “I love you too.”

He kissed her head again. When he moved away San grabbed him and pulled him back to her and began kissing and licking him with a fiery passion. Ashitaka was surprised, but didn’t complain as he poured all his love into her, wanting to kiss every inch of her body. He trailed light kisses along her jawbone to her earlobe, which he nibbled on causing San to sigh in pleasure, before repeated the trail and to the sensitive spot on her neck which he suck on lightly before moving back to her lips again. San licked his lips and the kiss deepened, their tongues intertwining as their hands began to explore. Eventually they had to come up for air. When they did they looked into each other’s eyes, seeing the love and desire in there for one another.

“San.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember that night a few days before Asano came, the one when your brothers spoke to me about us?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“They weren’t just being overprotective brothers. They wanted to give me their blessings, and tell me that your mother gave me them as well.”

San looked confused for a moment. “Gave you their bless…” She trailed of as she realized what he meant. “What are you saying?” she asked in a whisper, her eyes shined with love and hope.

Ashitaka took her hand. He kissed her open palm and each fingertip. “I love you, San. I want you to be my life mate. I want us to be together forever; if that is what you want.”

San began breathing heavily as what he was asking registered to her. But did he know what this meant? “Ashitaka, are you aware of what you’re asking?” she whispered.

He nodded. “Yes, your brothers explained it to me.”

San’s heart was pounding. “And you want to be with me, forever? Once we do the mating ritual you’ll be stuck with me forever.”

He nodded again. “I want forever. San. I want you, only you. Forever.”

Tears welled up in San’s eyes. But these were not the tears of sorrow she had shed over the casualties in the war. These were tears of the greatest joy.

“I never thought that I would ever find a mate.” She whispered. “I may have been a member of the wolf tribe, but I would always be human. Never did I think that I could find someone for me.”

The tears started running down her cheeks. Ashitaka wiped them away with his thumbs. But San wasn’t done talking yet. “But I was wrong. Not only did I find someone I wanted to be my mate, but I found someone who I love more than life itself. Yes, Ashitaka, I will be your mate. I’ve wanted to be for a long time now, but I think I was afraid to admit it.”

Ashitaka hugged her tightly, happier than he had ever been before.

“San.” Ashitaka whispered. “My San.”

“My Ashitaka.” San whispered back.

Chapter Text

Epilogue

The moon was full once again, though it has been full many times since the one Ashitaka had asked San to be his mate. Time truly did heal all wounds, both physically and emotionally. But people and gods weren’t the only things that had healed; the environment had healed as well.

Iron Town had been complete for some time now, and was now a more decent place to live than it ever had been. The forest had healed as well, not completely, for it would take quite some time to recover from the damage Asano and his samurai caused it. But things were definitely better than they ever had been for everyone, gods and humans alike. There was no more war, no more anger, and no more suffering. For the past three years, all had been well.

Except for tonight. Tonight someone was suffering; suffering terrible pain. But this kind of pain was special. It was the pain of giving birth. And that was what San had been doing for several hours now.

San had gone into labor early in the morning and was still in it now, over 21 hours later. She had refused to go to Iron Town to give birth, even though Iron Town and the forest now shared a friendship, because wanted their child to be born in the forest.

Since San was unwilling to go to Iron Town, Ashitaka brought Iron Town to San. He sent Kenji to go get someone for help while he stayed by San. Kenji returned very quickly with Toki, who kicked Ashitaka out of the cave while she dealt with San. The only thing the Emishi prince could do was anxiously pace back and forth as San yelled at him for causing her this pain from inside the cave.

“Don’t worry.” Toki told him. “It’s common for women to threaten to kill their husbands while giving birth. I shouted at Kohroku the whole time I gave birth. She doesn’t mean anything she’s saying.”

Ashitaka knew this. He remembered his own mother yelling at his father when Kaya was born. San’s insults didn’t bother him. He just hoped San and the baby would be ok.

“Be calm.” Isamu growled, forgetting how many times he told Ashitaka this. “It will be fine.”

Ashitaka ignored the wolf as he continued to pace back and forth. He would be calm when this was over.

“DAMN YOU, ASHITAKA!!!” came San’s voice from inside the cave.

Ashitaka winced at her angry cry as her brothers chuckled at the look on his face.

It was some time later that Toki finally let Ashitaka back in the cave. San was lying down, sweaty and exhausted, holding twins. A baby boy and girl. Ashitaka went over to his mate to get a look at his children.

“Aren’t they the most precious things you’ve ever seen?” said San, as tears of joy ran down her cheeks.

Ashitaka nodded. “They are.” He said, blinking back tears of his own.

They spent several long minutes holding one of the infants before switching and then repeating the process as they shared kisses every now and then, whispering words of love to each other.

Outside the cave, Toki was now the one pacing back and forth impatiently. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore and she marched into the cave.

“Don’t keep us in suspense!” she cried. “What are their names?”

Ashitaka chuckled. “Kahn and Moro.” He said. “After San’s parents.”

“And now we’re parents.” Said San happily.

Kenji poked his head inside. “May we see our niece and nephew?” he asked.

Toki left the cave, allowing the two wolves to enter. They looked at the twins and sniffed them curiously.

“They are healthy.” Isamu observed. “They’ll grow up to be big and strong, just like their parents.”

Ashitaka nodded. “Yes, and they will get to grow up in a time of peace. No wars and no fighting.”

Toki chuckled from outside. “Oh, don’t worry about that. You’re about to face something far more challenging than any war.”

“What’s that?” asked San, not taking her eyes off her beloved ‘pups’.

Toki’s grin widened. “Parenthood.”

THE END