"Kohroku, can you pass me the nails?" Toki asked.

"Yes, dear, just let me…" Kohroku said as he looked around him for the bucket of nails they needed to finish up the house they were working on.

"Seriously? How could you misplace those? They were right at your feet! What if somebody steps-"

"Don't worry, Toki, I have them," Ashitaka said as he revealed the bucket from behind one of the already completed walls. "I put them over here when I picked them up."

"Oh, that's alright." Toki said with a smile as she took the heavy bucket of iron nails from Ashitaka. "Come on, you dolt, if you work hard enough, we may be able to finish this up before nighttime comes."

It had been close to two months since the death of the Forest Spirit. The progress made in Irontown had been faster than expected. Then again, most of the townspeople forgot that the lepers had been cured by the Forest Spirit and were able to help with much more tedious tasks. So far, about half of the homes had been rebuilt; Ashitaka even had his own house near the town's gate. He asked for his house to be placed there so he could go to the forest faster to meet with San. He had kept his promise with her, visiting her as often as he could, though with the amount of work needed in Irontown, it was not much.

"So, Ashitaka, how are things going with you and the Wolf Girl?" Toki asked as they readied a beam to be hammered in.

"Things are going well, I suppose." Ashitaka replied. He didn't expect Toki to ask such a question. Many of the townspeople didn't speak about her. The few times they did, there were few kinds words in their speech. He thought it best to keep quiet about San. "I haven't seen her for a while, though."

Ashitaka had not seen her for the past two weeks because a good deal of the townsfolk had caught a bad illness and couldn't work for that time. Every day he worked, she was the only thing on his mind. The two of them were still having trouble on finding a way to make their relationship work out, but Ashitaka believed it would be easier once Irontown had been completely rebuilt.

The house the three of them worked on was completed seconds before the sun disappeared below the hills, just as Toki predicted. As soon as the last nail was hammered into place, Ashitaka went to the stables and got Yakul. He petted his beloved red elk before he placed his saddle on him. The wound Yakul received from the Samurai had only healed recently. Now would be the first time he brought Yakul for a visit with him. He led Yakul out from the stables and leapt atop the elk. He pulled the bottom part of his mask over his face and rode off into the Forbidden Forest to meet with San.

Ashitaka followed the out of place rocks and tree carvings that made a path to where San was. It was dark, but he was able to see them clearly in the moonlight. Eventually, the path led to the cave where San and her two brothers lived. He dismounted Yakul and left him at the foot of the hill. He did not bother to tie Yakul's reins, as he knew that he wouldn't wander off. He climbed up the rocks and reached the mouth of the cave. When he got there, however, there was nobody to be found. He assumed that San was still out hunting with her brothers and decided to wait.

It wasn't long before he heard the familiar panting of San's wolf brothers. He stood from the stony floor and ran to the mouth of the cave to meet them. San's brothers, Okami and Urufu, were the first ones up. They greeted their "brother", who greeted them back. He saw one of San's hands as she grabbed the stone floor to pull herself up. Ashitaka took her hand and helped her up. When San got on her feet, she saw Ashitaka. Smiling with joy, she gave him several licks to his face, something which unnerved him the first few times she did it, but he grew used to it. Ashitaka returned her licking by kissing her.

"It's great to see you, San." Ashitaka said.

"It's great to see you, too." She said. She didn't sound very angry. In fact, she sounded happy to see him. "Where have you been? I thought you had gotten hurt or become sick."

"I wasn't sick, but there were a lot of villagers with a terrible sickness, so Lady Eboshi made me stay to try and help keep up with the repairs around Irontown."

"That's odd; many of the beasts of the forests have also become ill. I don't know what it is, but it's greatly affected the Ape Tribe."

This made Ashitaka curious. He found it hard to believe that the Ape Tribe would have become sick the same time that more than half of the townsfolk in Irontown also fell ill, especially since the apes never seemed to venture close to Irontown. "Are they doing okay?"

"They're faring well; most of their sick are now better." San turned her gaze from Ashitaka's eyes and to the scar on his arm.

"It doesn't hurt, not even a tingle." Ashitaka told her when he looked to where her eyes were drawn. San smiled and hugged Ashitaka, who held her closely. "I wish we were able to meet in the day and not always at night."

"Why not just take the day off? Surely they won't miss having one person gone."

"I would have to ask Lady Eboshi. I doubt she would let me go, even if it was only for a day so I could see you. She doesn't have any sort of grudge against you, but she is still the stern woman she's always been."

Although Ashitaka couldn't see it, the two wolf brothers sensed that something was troubling San. They had both been very wary of Ashitaka the first few times he had come to visit, though he eventually earned their trust. Up until recently, they had only tolerated his presence because it made San happy (something neither of them had thought possible, their sister infatuated with a human). They both did their best to keep San in high spirits ever since their mother died. For a long time, she had been distraught even when Ashitaka was visiting. She improved after a week or so and was back to being the same sister the two wolves cared for so much. Ashitaka was a big help in this, so when he failed to show for half a month, the two wolves worried that San would have become aloof. The elder brother believed that if he ever truly did abandon her, she would become dispirited. He could think of only one way to help the two with their budding relationship.

"San, can I speak with you for a moment?" Her older brother, Okami, said suddenly. He walked outside of the cave and asked San to follow him. "I would like to speak with her in private, brother."

Okami jumped to the roof of the cave with San close behind him. After she successfully climbed on top, he began to speak.

"San," He said, "do you truly wish to make this boy your mate? The one who you want to spend the rest of your life with? The one who will be the father of your children?"

"Yes," She replied, "I told you this before, you even seemed fine with the idea."

"I have no objections to your relationship with Ashitaka. He is a good man, even if he is a human. But I am your brother, and I must ask this: do you feel happy not knowing how he is, what he is doing, or where he is?"

"I…" San began.

"I do not mean to ask you to stalk the boy, but I would ask if you wish to see him more often."

"Of course."

"You were unable to see him for half a month and you were worried something happened. Well, something did happen, but fortunately, it did not seem to harm your mate. You even seemed unhappy until he arrived tonight. I doubt you will be able to keep this up forever."

"Are you saying that this won't work?" San growled.

"I'm saying this, sister: I want you to be able to spend more time with Ashitaka. If he is going to be your life-mate, you must be with him more often than you are now. That is why I am going to ask you to leave the forest for a week to live with the humans."

Ashitaka moved a bit further into the cave. It was not at all deep, so he simply sat against the back wall. He looked down at the floor as he waited for San to come back. After a few moments, he heard San shout "What?!" very loudly outside. Ashitaka quickly raised his head and accidentally hit the wall. As he rubbed the back of his head, Okami returned with San behind him. Ashitaka noticed San had a less than pleased look on her face.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Ashitaka," Okami said, "Before I continue, I must know if you and San truly wish to become life-mates."

"Of course I do." Ashitaka replied, but Okami's question made him wonder if San was beginning to have second thoughts. He knew he wasn't able to see her as much as either of them would have liked, but he believed there was plenty of time to find a way to make their relationship work out.

"Good. San feels the same way about you, but at the rate you two are able to see each other, I have my doubts it can work. That is why I am asking, no, telling San to leave the forest for a week and live with you, and the other humans, in Irontown."

San grimaced even more when her brother finished. Ashitaka looked to San, who was looking at the floor, and back to Okami.

"I think that would be a great idea," He said, "but if San doesn't want to-"

"No. If you both want to be able to make this work, this must happen. All I ask is that you keep her safe and that you protect her if any of the villagers tries to hurt her."

"I can take care of myself." San muttered. Ashitaka didn't like seeing her this way. He went over to her and took her hands. San looked up to his face and gazed into his eyes.

"I promise that if you can get through the week in Irontown, I'll come with you and stay for the forest for at least a month." Ashitaka smiled. San couldn't help but smile back and nodded. The two hugged tightly before Ashitaka said he would talk to Lady Eboshi about it. "I'll come back tomorrow with her response. If she says yes, we can go once you have your things ready."

San nodded again and licked Ashitaka's face. The two then kissed deeply before saying their goodbyes. Ashitaka jumped off the cave and onto the forest floor, making sure not to fall over like he did last time, and mounted Yakul. He looked back up to the cave before he rode back to Irontown. His mind began to wonder how San would react to the townsfolk. He then wondered what he would do if Eboshi forbade San entering the town, though he was sure she would allow it, seeing as how she wanted to show that she was a different woman now. When he got back to Irontown, he led Yakul back to the stables and took off the saddle. He then went to his house and changed into his nightclothes before falling asleep on the futon in his bedroom. It took several hours for him to fall asleep, mostly because of the things running through his mind.