San lay half-awake staring at the bright yellow moon hanging in the midnight sky. One hand brushed back her hair, which she had cut short earlier in the day, causing her to look like she did five years ago. The forest was near silent, the way it had been for the past five nights. It wasn't right; she should have been hearing crickets chirping, bats fluttering out of caves, and nocturnal creatures scampering through bushes. Instead, the demons, spirits, ghosts, whatever it was that had come to the forest had caused the animals to remain within their dens and burrows. San had been hoping that whatever these things were, they would have passed after a few more days. They did not seem to be fading. Instead they only seemed to manifest in increasing succession. With each encounter she had with one of the spirits, they became stranger in appearance. Earlier in the day, she had stopped to rest at a tree when she heard laughing. She glanced upwards and saw that the tree bore fruit resembling the faces of humans, each one of them laughing quietly or smiling silently. She immediately left, not wanting one of them to fall into her lap. She longed for her brothers' company.
San's eyes began to flutter from fatigue before shooting open. The sound of a biwa was playing in the distance. She had memorized the sound of the instrument in Irontown, when it was occasionally exhibited during a gathering in what had once been the ironworks. But she was too far from Irontown to be able to hear the vibrations of its strings being plucked, even with her heightened senses. Actively listening, she could tell that it was coming from somewhere else in the forest, not in the direction of Irontown. She knew that that human and his two henchmen were in the forest, though she didn't think they could play the biwa. She became curious. She stood and picked up her spear and dagger. She continued listening to the strings being played as she climbed down the side of the den.
San kept a tight grip on her spear as she wandered in the direction of the music. Its hypnotizing melody traveled with the wind. Curiously, the music did not echo in the forest. San didn't notice; the music had become enticing and filled her with a strange sense of ecstasy. She wished to be closer, closer to the music so she could listen with greater clarity. She climbed over rocks and hopped over logs as she began to make her way up a steep hill. She could now see where the music was coming from: a small shack built upon a stony foundation on the side of the mountain. The sight of the shack broke her trance, as she could not remember there being one before. She had been to this part of the forest only days before she visited Ashitaka.
The shack was made of old, splintery wood. The thatch roof had a large hole towards the front. It appeared abandoned, though she could clearly hear the sound of a biwa being played from within. The ground around the shack was mostly dirt with little grass. When she came around to the other side of the dwelling, she saw that there was no door. She peeked her head in and caught glimpse of a young woman masterfully strumming a red biwa in her hands as she sat cross-legged on the floor. The woman was not much older than San, perhaps twenty-six or twenty-seven. Her skin was as pale as snow and her lips were cherry red. Her obsidian-black hair was perfectly straight and her bangs covered her forehead. She was covered by a black silk kimono adorned by a white floral design. The woman was barefoot, though a
"Ah, I was wondering when I would attract a visitor," She said, "though you are not somebody who I have been... anticipating."
"Who are you?" San asked bluntly.
"That depends on who you ask, dear," San mouthed "what" at the woman's response, prompting the mysterious lady to giggle. "Why not stay and listen? It's been a long time since I've had a woman come and enjoy my music."
"I want to know who you are and how you got here. This hut wasn't here a few weeks ago."
The woman simply continued smiling. She stood from the floor, still playing her biwa, and moved closer to San. San drew her dagger, feeling it was better suited for closed spaces than her spear, and prepared to jump at the woman. The woman stopped several feet before San and continued to strum the instrument. San kept her knife in a reverse grip, waiting for the woman to say or do something.
"Don't you want to relax?" The woman asked in a soft voice, "Why not remove that troublesome dress you have on and relax with me?" She suggested as she motioned to a pile of pillows in the corner of the room. San stood firm as the woman continued to move closer. She began to play her biwa again. The music soothed San, making her lower her arm as the notes resonated through the air. "See? Was that so bad?"
San's arms dropped to her side as the woman moved behind her. The instinct to defend herself had been lost in the sound of the woman's music. The woman laid her head on San's shoulder's, though she was barely paying attention to anything but the music. She failed to notice a pair of fangs grow from the woman's mouth along with two pairs of extra arms extrude from her kimono.
A piercing shriek caused San's trance to break once more. She was pushed to the ground by the six armed woman. "Go away!" She hissed, "This one is mine!"
San looked up to see a what she thought was a pale branch that had fallen through the hole in the roof. When her vision refocused, she saw that it was an unrealistically long neck. The six-armed woman was glaring up at the long-necked woman. "Begone, whore-spider!" The long-necked woman spat, "You may go to the town in the west and play your music there. I cannot enter; they have forbidden outsiders from passing their walls."
San still had her dagger gripped in her right hand. She thought of attacking the bickering women, though she instead shuffled to the wall behind her and waited to see what they would do. She carefully brushed up against the wall until she was on her feet. Neither woman seemed to notice her.
"You are being unfair," The long-necked woman declared, "you can lure men out from that town while I must walk before their guards. It is I who should have this girl!"
"I found her first, therefore she is my prey!" The six-armed woman rebutted, "If you cannot enter the town, that is your own problem."
"Don't think I'm not above eating you, insect."
The six-legged woman hissed once more as she threw off her kimono and latched on to the neck of the other woman. San stared as her smooth, pearl-colored skin began to change to a rough, obsidian-like hide. Her legs and six arms morphed into arachnoid legs as she began to bite into the now-retracting neck of her adversary. San took this moment to sprint out of the hut, grabbing her spear as she raced out of the front door. Before she returned to her home, she first wanted to rid the forest of the two demons she encountered. She dashed towards where the woman's neck had been protruding from and eventually came upon a skirmish between the spider-woman and the long-necked woman. They were fighting on a slight slope in the mountainside; the long-necked woman held the high ground. The long-necked woman wielded a sharp tanto blade. The spider-woman carried no weapon, though she was able to spin webs at tremendous speed.
The struggle between the two was a quick encounter. The spider-woman was quick to bind her enemy's legs in webbing. The long-necked woman, however, was able to drive her blade into the underside of the spider-woman, reminding San of what she had done to Kumo over four years ago. The spider dropped to the ground, her eight legs twitching. The long-necked woman smiled gleefully as she cut herself out of the webbing and began to stab the spider-woman's body. Up her dagger went into the night sky, a silver blade in the dark, before it was plunged into the obsidian carcass of the spider. Again and again she pierced the soft belly of the demon. San stealthily approached the long-necked woman as she cheerfully marred the spider-woman's body. After thirty-seven strikes, San thrust her spear into the heart of the long-necked woman. The woman's blade slipped out of her raised hand and clinked against the rocky ground below. San's spear slid smoothly out of the demon's body. It fell over to the side as two puddles of blood congregated into one large pool. The spider woman's body was no longer twitching.
San rubbed her left eye with one hand as she stared at the two bodies. She wished that she had something to start a fire with so she could ensure that neither "woman" would rise. She sighed and continued back to the den. Her feet pained her with every step. It was the one reason she often avoided the mountain: her cloth shoes would be torn by small rocks and her feet would become scratched and blistered. Fortunately, there was a river nearby where she could rest her feet. She was able to guide herself there with the light of the moon. The river was the only sound in the forest. She sighed as she threw off her tattered shoes and dipped her feet into the water. The river was cool, soothing the aching. She laid her weapons close to her in case she encountered another demon. She kept staring down in the water in fear of something grabbing her legs, only looking up at moments when she heard noise coming from the forest. Repeatedly, the noises amounted to nothing. She felt like she was becoming paranoid.
Just as San stood to return to her den, she heard a loud splash from further down the stream. She pulled her legs out of the river and glanced towards where she heard the splash. Ripples were still vanishing from the water's surface. It was too dark for her to be able to see below the water's surface, even though it was normally as clear as glass during the day. She picked up her spear and backed away from the river.
After San took only a few steps back, a creature broke the surface of the water. Standing near the bank of the river was a creature shaped like a human, though its reptilian skin, webbed hands and feet, strong odor of fish, carapace, beak, and what appeared to be a plate atop its head quickly proved it was something San had never encountered.
"What kind of demon are you?" San asked.
"Demon? I am no demon!" The creature retorted, "I am what your kind calls a kappa." San recognized the creature's name; on one rare occasion, she joined Ashitaka during one of Irontown's weekly gatherings and overhead a group of humans tell various tales about kappa. None of their tales were pleasant. "A spirit of the river, if you will."
"I've heard of your sort. The humans say that you drown them, rape their women, and steal away children."
"Oh, but those are merely exaggerated tales. We are merely curious and, admittedly, mischievous. The most harmful thing I've ever done is knock a man out with my gas." The creature let out a low, rattling chuckle.
San narrowed her eyes towards the creature. "Prove to me you're not evil. Greet me like a human would."
"That's it? Why, you only needed to ask." The kappa decided upon a traditional bow. He bowed deeply and titled his head. The water on the plate atop his head spilled out onto the ground. The kappa's eyes opened wide as he muttered, "Uh oh."
"I also overhead them mention your kind's weaknesses." San said as she approached with her spear pointed towards the kappa. "I didn't think you would be that easy to fool."
"Wait! Don't kill me! I can help you!" The kappa pleaded. His pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears as San continued to advance towards him. "Please! If you refill my bowl, I can serve you! Do anything you want!"
"Can you rid this forest of demons?"
"Eh... I can't kill them. But! I know where they're coming from."
San at first did not believe the creature. However, he could have been telling the truth. She debated killing him on the spot or allowing him to live in exchange for telling her where the demons were coming from. She decided upon the latter and lowered her spear. "Tell me where I can find whatever land these monsters are coming from. After that, I'll refill that thing on your head."
"Yes! Yes! Thank you, woman! Yes... yes, the spirits. They come far from the northeast, a journey that is at least four weeks by foot. There is a temple, long forgotten by the Shinto priests, and a gate that is said to lead to the world of spirits, both good and evil, the place where all go after death. Go there and destroy the gate which leads to the temple. Then the spirits will have no way to enter your world. The temple is about four days away from a city. The city adorns its banners with the three dragon scales. Yes, a four day trip after the city, continuing northeast, and you will find the gate."
San nodded and walked over to the river, intent on keeping her promise. She bent down and cupped her hands to fill them with water. Just as she lifted her hands from the river, a loud bang erupted throughout the forest. The kappa croaked as an iron bullet pierced through its skull, causing the creature to fall flat on its face.
"You idiot!" The voice of the monk roared from somewhere in the forest, his voice echoing with the ringing of the bullet, "You weren't supposed to fire! No! Don't give me that! Do you have any idea how many... crap."
San quickly picked up her spear and raced back towards home. She didn't care if she was barefoot; she wanted to get as far away from that human and his friends. As she was hurrying back to the den, she saw spirits clouded in green smoke, specters engulfed in spiraling flames, and luminescent phantoms surrounded by balls of light. They ignored her and instead blurred past her, towards the origin of the gunshot. The amount of wraiths passing by her was staggering; she couldn't even count the number of horrific demons passing by her. She thought she was going insane. She no longer felt like she was in her home, in the forest she had grown up in.
When she finally returned to the den, her heart was like a horse in full gallop. She quickly climbed into the cave. She did her best to look ahead, having no desire to lay eyes upon the demons that she had earlier encountered. She sat for seven minutes, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Strands of her hair stuck against her face. She kept her eyes towards the ground, fearing what she might see if she looked up.
"I can't stay here," She told herself, "I'll go insane if I do, like Nago and Okkoto." San finally looked up and was relieved to see that there was no daunting figure standing before her. She knew that there was only one other place she could go, even if she loathed it. She took her mask and headdress, pulling both over her matted hair as she climbed down the side of the den. Clouds overhead had passed, making it easier for her to see. Following the light of the moon and the stars, she moved at a brisk pace towards Irontown.