San woke up. She saw Ashitaka still sleeping and thought 'I better go now. I just hope he'll go back to the humans. I can't let him get into a danger because of me'

"Where do you think you're going?" she heard voice

"Ashitaka…I…" she tried to say, sitting back down

"San, were you just going to leave? Why?"

"….I don't want you to get hurt in this war."

"San, do you really want this war?"

"No, but…The legend…"

"San, the fate is not everything. If it would be the fate, I wouldn't be here, because you wouldn't have come with me in the first place. You said you can't live without me. Well, I can't live without you either. I don't care if I'll get hurt, I want to help you." Ashitaka said as he pulled San to his embrace

"But Ashitaka……what are we going to do?"

"We can at least try to stop this war. Everyone must understand they could live without it too. San, let's do this. I'll go to the Tatara Ba, you'll go to the forest gods. If our ways don't cross before it, let's meet on the mountain in the midnight. Is this okay with you?"

"Yes. But what if another one of us dies? Or both?"

"Then, another one living will have to keep fighting for this. After this is over, that another can do whatever wants. If both of us die, then it just can't be helped"

"I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either, but this has to be done."

"Yes, I know." San said as she held her crystal dagger. They went out from the other side of the cave. Yakkuru was there, waiting. They went to him and Ashitaka climbed on his back.

"Take care of him now, okay?" San whispered to Yakkuru

"Be careful, San."

"You too."

With that, Ashitakarode away. San, maybe for the first time ever, felt really scared. She was afraid that she would never again see him alive. She had her god powers, but what about him? Would he survive through this. He had the curse, but…

There was so much she had wanted to say, so much she had wanted to ask…And now it might be too late. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and started running to Moro and her cubs.

Sometime before this, Eboshi and Jiko-Bou were leaving with every man and Ishibiya troops that were in condition good enough to fight.

"With this many men, it should be easy to kill the boars. And we have a lot of tricks for them" Jiko-Bou said as he walked with Eboshi out from the Tatara Ba.

"Don't take this too lightly. They have the Mononoke Hime on their side"

"Mononoke Hime? Don't tell me you still believe that old stupid legend"

"It's not just a legend. She's that younglady stranger you too have met. I asked her some questions from the legend, and there is no doubt it's her. The legend says 'Friendship and love is like no other between princess and the warrior'. And she is just like the legend says, strong, wild and nature-loving. She went to the forest a few days ago. I'm pretty sure she knows who she really is" Eboshi said to that.

"Well, strong or not, she'll die if the guns hit her. I think we can handle her too." Jiko-Bou said.