Just a heads up, after this chapter is posted, I won't be posting again until around December because I have several projects going on at the moment.

Ashitaka sat on a bench nearby Lady Eboshi's house as he awaited Jigo's return. He was hoping that San was wrong about Jigo, that she either mistook him with whoever it was she saw or that it was a major misunderstanding. Still, Jigo was not a predictable man. He could have attacked San as revenge for her and Ashitaka stopping him from taking the Forest Spirit's head back to the Emperor. He wasn't sure if the monk was even going to return. He was sure that Lady Eboshi would have only released Jigo if he was truly needed and trusted her judgment. He was the only one in Irontown who knew a great deal about demons, spirits, and other unworldly beings. Seeing as to how he approached these beings with confidence, he was the best choice for discovering what was happening around Irontown.

After nearly two hours of waiting, Ashitaka caught a glimpse of Jigo going to a noodle shop. Accompanying him were two of his hunters, one slim and one of a slightly heavier build. As far as Ashitaka knew, they were the only hunters left in the town; the rest were either dead or had left and gone somewhere else. The two who remained now worked as guards.

Ashitaka approached the three as Jigo sat down and ordered his meal. The two hunters saw Ashitaka and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jigo asked as they left. He felt somebody tap him on the shoulder and turned to see Ashitaka, who did not seem pleased. Jigo studied the young man for a short while and guessed why. "That girl of yours told you that I had something to do with that gash on her side, didn't she?"

Ashitaka nodded. "She said that she saw you and her hunters before one of you shot her."

Jigo sighed and said, "Well, she isn't lying. I'll admit that it was one of my hunters who fired, but I didn't give the command. The boy who shot her did so by impulse. You see, we were out there searching for any demons, like the one that made you and about ten others sick. There are many types of things we could run into: Onryō, ikiryō, hihi... there are far too many of these creatures for me to list and they all have a different power. For example, I saw a woman sitting on a rooftop licking her hand while it was raining. That spirit actually has a name; she's called Ameonna and she brings rain. She isn't particularly malevolent and is sometimes relied upon to bring rain to crops. Still, I don't think anybody in this town called for her because when I asked if anybody knew her name, not one person said 'yes'. I believe that what makes this area such a hotbed for spirits and demons is because of the amount of fighting that as gone on here."

"If all of the violence is what has caused spirits to arrive here, are they common in other places?"

"Far from it; I'm willing to bet that the fact several forest gods have died around here is one reason they're so attracted to Irontown, which is some bad hindsight in my part... then again, I was sure I would be sitting on a hill of gold at this point. Anyway, some spirits come back after dying in battle and seek vengeance for their death. Do you know what that means?"

Ashitaka thought for a moment before replying, "That those who died in the struggle between Irontown and the forest could come back?"

"Yes, but they wouldn't be themselves. They'd be much more malevolent and wouldn't give a damn about who or what killed them. What makes it worse is that they don't always appear human; some appear as hands, small balls of fire, and I even know of a type of demon that disguises itself as a wall! On occasion, they have unworldly physical forms; think blue skin with horns."

"What exactly would they want with Irontown?"
Jigo slurped some noodles and shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. Demons and spirits aren't exactly mindless, but they don't seem to have much variety in what they do. They're like animals, except animals barely think when they are looking for prey. Spirits often wait, sometimes for months, before they act. They're a pain to get rid of too, some more than others. Some traders I met up north are experts in dealing with demons, just not the type we know of."

"What kind of demons do they deal with, then?"

"I don't know. They're from some far away land. They're the ones who introduced us to gunpowder, so I'm willing to bet they know what they're talking about. Anyway, they won't be of much help but I just wanted to show you how many types of monsters there are. While me and my friends were up there, we were on our toes the entire time. Those two are skittish, so whenever we heard even the slightest sound, they would turn and notch their arrows. When we ran into that crazy girl, our first thought was that she was a demon since we were told that nobody was supposed to leave Irontown. The fog out there was thick, so the only thing we saw was that pelt of hers."

Jigo sighed and ate some more of his soup before continuing, "When you were off looking for that wolf a few years ago, what did you feel? Were you shaking? Scared? Paranoid? I'll be honest with you, boy, I was none of those things when I was in that fog." Jigo had a big grin on his face that made Ashitaka feel like the monk wasn't being truthful. "My friends, however, are not me and scare like rabbits. So do you see why we, or rather they, mistook her for a demon?"

Ashitaka understood and nodded. Still, he felt like Jigo was more at fault than the two hunters. He bowed his head and returned home to San and Kaya. While he was walking back, he noticed that there were fewer people outside than there usually was. He attributed this to Lady Eboshi's decree which prohibited people from exiting town for the time being. He wondered how San got around the decree. One thought was that she sneaked out of Irontown. Another, and the one he thought most plausible, was that she didn't view herself as one of Irontown's residents and simply left. In truth, even he didn't see her as one of the townspeople. In essence she was an outsider but that didn't mean he didn't love her.

When he came home, Ashitaka saw San doing stretches while Kaya was playing with the toys that mesmerized her so.

"Are you sure you're not going to aggravate that lesion on your side?" He asked as he closed the door.

"I've had worse and still managed more strenuous activity," San remarked as she stretched one of her arms. Ashitaka noticed that they still had scars on them from they fought Hanto. Much like the mark Nago left on his arm, the scars never completely faded. "Did you talk to that human yet?"

Ashitaka nodded, "He told me that he didn't know that you were there and his hunters mistook you for a demon. They were searching for the demon that caused people in Irontown to become sick along with whatever spirits they could find."

"What other spirits could be around here?"

"Jigo told me that there are many possibilities. For one, he said that the woman you and I saw licking her hand during the storm was a spirit who brings rain. According to him, there are many varieties of spirits and demons and they all have a different ability. From what he gathered, the reason they're coming to Irontown is because they're attracted by the death and destruction, particularly the deaths of the forest gods."

"So you're telling me that somewhere in the forest or beyond is a host of spirits that are making a pilgrimage to this place? Why would they even come here?"

"I don't know what they would do here. Jigo said that they act somewhat upon instinct, or at least, that's what I gathered from him."

"What kind of demons did he mention?"

"He mentioned a few who I've never heard of before. He also said that some don't appear as humans do. He said they look like hands, balls of fire, and one looks like a wall. You can ask him-"

"No."

Kaya had already fallen asleep while San and Ashitaka lay awake. They felt tired but were unable to sleep for very long before waking up. They were listening to hear anything outside. Ashitaka wondered if it was going to rain. San was listening for anything outside the hut, particularly any of the demons or spirits that Ashitaka had mentioned. On occasion, her eyes drifted to the wall; she wished he had never brought up the ways a spirit could appear.

After what felt like several hours, the two heard some sort of commotion outside. It sounded like a scuffle but it was distant. San immediately hopped to her feet and rushed outside. Ashitaka followed after her to see what was going on.

Irontown was well lit at night by many paper lanterns hanging outside peoples' homes. Ashitaka and San were able to quickly find what was causing all of the noise. They saw Jigo fighting against a black haired man in white clothing. Ashitaka almost called for them to stop until he noticed two things about the man Jigo was battling against. For one, the man's hands were dangling at his wrists and did little more than flop when the man in white dodged one of the attacks Jigo was making with a spear. What stood out the most was a pair of orbs floating around the man in white. The orbs appeared to be made of fire and were colored green. Jigo noticed Ashitaka and San as he quickly stumbled away from a flail the man in white threw.

"Don't bother trying to help!" He shouted, "You wouldn't be able to harm this thing!"

Just then, the man in white paused and turned to face Ashitaka and San. He didn't turn his whole body; he rotated his head and neck, creating a cracking sound that sent a chill down Ashitaka and San's spine. The man's face was pale and covered in blood. The mouth seemed torn at the edges and revealed rows of sharp teeth as he grinned. Ashitaka took a step back and San gasped in horror. They knew that the thing was one of the demons Jigo had mentioned.

The monk took this opportunity to the spear he was carrying through the spirit. The pale faced monster's eyes went wide as it looked down to see the metal head of Jigo's spear poking out through its chest. The two will-o-wisps accompanying the demon began to faze away. The spirit itself began to blow away, its form tearing itself apart like paper. Soon, nothing of the monster remained. Jigo wiped the sweat off his forehead and stood before Ashitaka and San proudly.

"Well, I would say that ended well," He remarked, "I did what you two did to kill that wolf god and put water from that magic pond on my weapon. Didn't think it would strike the spirit at first but I'm thankful I'm wrong."

"What was that thing?" Ashitaka asked, looking towards the direction the shreds of the spirit had drifted off to.

"Basic spirit of a dead man, often called yurei or reikon where I come from. However, this one appeared to be a gaki or jikininki, a type of spirit that was greedy in life and is cursed in death with a craving for the flesh of human corpses... and feces."

Ashitaka was disgusted at both cravings. "Do they kill people?"

"I've never heard of a gaki killing anybody, they just take the meat off of already dead corpses. I can't say he'll stay gone but here's to hoping. Anyway, you two get back to whatever it is keeping you up at this hour."

Ashitaka nodded and bowed. San didn't say or do anything and followed Ashitaka back home.

"That thing was more horrifying than I imagined it would be." Ashitaka said.

"If there are more demons like it, there are probably ones that look even more terrifying." San commented.

"Well, they may look hideous but at least they don't harm people."

"That human said that the spirit he struck down didn't kill humans. He never said anything about the other types."

Ashitaka nodded and gulped. He had no idea what else they would encounter around Irontown. He also wondered why Jigo was fighting the spirit if it was supposedly harmless.