Ashitaka had hoped that the four murderer's executions would be private. He feared that a public execution would only cause hatred and rage to spread throughout the town. It was understandable why they would be angry, he knew, but that didn't mean it would be better for them to fan the flames of their fury. Just one quick slash of the sword and it would be over with. If it were to be made public, there would be so much more. The four would be brought out, tied in ropes, and exhibited to the enraged townsfolk who had gathered to watch the condemned be punished. A spectacle of their deaths would be made, and cheers would erupt as the first head rolled, then the second, then the third, and finally the fourth. This is why when Lady Eboshi informed Irontown that the impending execution would be in three weeks and held in the middle of the town, he was disheartened.
In the middle of the second week, Ashitaka visited Lady Eboshi to see if she would redact her decision. He knocked on her door and was greeted by Gonza. The big man led Ashitaka to Lady Eboshi. She was writing out the details of a trade offer on some wooden blocks. Gonza returned downstairs so he could keep track of which guards were checking in and out of their shifts. Lady Eboshi set down the block and paint brush on table of cherry wood. She and Ashitaka greeted each other. After a few minutes of idle chatter, she asked Ashitaka what it was he wanted to speak about.
"It's regarding the execution that's taking place in a few days," Ashitaka answered, "The one for those men who killed Kenji."
"If you're concerned about how they're to be killed, they are to be decapitated," She said, "It may seem brutal to you, but it is custom. I could have had them cut in half at the waist, hung, burned, even boiled to death. Believe me when I say that having your head cut off is a merciful death."
"How they die isn't my concern. I wanted to ask you if you would make it so that their executions weren't on display for the town to see."
Eboshi, with her unfading smile, sighed. Ashitaka had only ever heard of the methods of execution carried throughout the various domains in Japan. What she was doing would be tame to what a daimyo like Lord Asano would have done. The criminals would have been paraded around the town, humiliated, tortured, and then finally put to death. Even after they had been executed, their heads would be placed atop spikes for the birds. She planned to simply have the thugs' heads cut off and burn their corpses. No trace of them would remain as their ashes were buried into the snow and returned to the earth. "I assure you that their deaths will not be treated as a celebration or a party. It will be quick and over with in a short matter of time."
"Still, do you honestly believe that having them killed in front of everybody else would be best? What purpose does that serve?"
"The purpose which it serves is that of a warning. Life is hard, Ashitaka, and it sometimes takes the support of another to get through it. These men took away a man who served as that to his wife. I doubt that any of the townspeople would commit the same crimes as these men, but word would spread that we don't treat highwaymen very well."
"Is fear truly the best means of doing so? It seems like all it will do is make us sound ruthless."
"That is the point." Eboshi shook her head, somewhat amused at she and Ashitaka's conflicting philosophies. She admired his intentions, but believed that it would be far too impractical to pursue them. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that the people had witnessed a public execution. The women had seen men put to death while they lived in the larger cities in Japan. The men who had lived in Irontown before Eboshi took power had seen a few each year. "Ashitaka, I'm going ahead with the public execution. You need not attend." Eboshi's grin widened and her eyes narrowed as she said, "I'm sure the Wolf Girl would love to watch, though."
Ashitaka flinched; Eboshi knew exactly how to make him back down. He didn't want to drag this down to a pointless argument. He thanked Lady Eboshi for her time and left. As he was returning home, he was debating on watching the execution. He knew that going would not do him any favors. He was curious, though, to see how everybody else would react. When he arrived back home, he talked to San about the matter.
"It seems like those humans are getting what they deserve," San remarked, "I would go if I could."
Ashitaka had expected an answer like that from San. "Why is it you would go if you already knew what would happen to these men?" He asked, "I don't see any benefit."
"I suppose it serves as a lesson to not commit the crimes that those humans did. You may hear about what happened as they died, but that is nothing compared being there yourself."
"Do you think I should go?"
San shrugged her shoulders and answered, "I can't answer for you. If you're curious, then I suppose. Maybe you'll understand why these people gather to watch their own kind die. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can leave without looking back."
Ashitaka nodded and was beginning to think he should go. Over the next few days, he gradually decided that he would arrive, if only for the crowd. He wondered who would be there and what they would think of the event. Toki said she would be there, as did Kohroku and Takahiro. Ashitaka even overheard Koji talking to his father about it.
The snow in the town's center had been shoveled aside so the wooden platform could rest on a flat surface. It was a simple, one foot high box where the condemned would sit on their knees and await the executioner's blade. Blood would spill of the sides and into the ground. Because Irontown lacked pavement, the blood would be absorbed into the earth. This same blood would christen the newly carved platform.
Ashitaka was one of the last to arrive. He spotted Toki and Kohroku in the middle of the crowd. Takahiro was standing towards the far right of the crowd. Hiroyo, Kenji's widow, stood at the very front of the crowd. One hand rested on her pregnant stomach. Her expression was bleak, as if this was something she had been expecting to occur some time ago. Ashitaka greeted back those who said hello to him as he made his way to Takahiro.
"I'm surprised you arrived," The isha remarked, "You don't seem like the type who would enjoy something like this."
"I'm not here for entertainment," Ashitaka said, "You don't seem like you're here for fun, either."
"You're correct. I don't have much of a reason for being here other than the fact that I'm interested in seeing how clean of a cut Gonza will make."
"Gonza is the executioner?"
"Yes, because he's the only one who will do it. Being an executioner isn't a job that earns you favors, largely because it deals with death. Even an isha such as I is often marked as one to avoid because of those who die under my care. Lady Eboshi doesn't believe in such things."
"Is your daughter here?"
"Yes; she's here because she wants to watch these men die for killing Kenji. She's a good friend of Hiroyo."
At last, the four men were presented to the gathered crowd. They were led unbound, flanked by masked men carrying spears. Gonza brought up the rear, holding his naginata in one hand. Lady Eboshi followed close behind him with her hat tilted down. The only visible parts of her face were her crimson, smiling lips. Gonza scowled at the four condemned men as he ordered them to stop a few feet behind the platform. The people in the crowd muttered and whispered amongst one another.
"I hope they draw it out," One woman said.
"Those monsters deserve to be thrown into the forest with their legs broken," One man remarked.
"Do you think Gonza's going to miss the neck and strike somewhere else?" One girl asked her friend.
"Who cares, just as long as they're dead, it doesn't make a difference to me," The man replied.
Ashitaka kept silent as the murmuring began to grow. The volume began to subside when Lady Eboshi called for attention.
"These four men are here because they have murdered one of our own," She began, "These four men, Goro, Kin, Takumi, and Hideki, are the men responsible for Kenji's death."
A wave of jeers erupted from the crowd. Insults were thrown at the four men, who stood with solemn faces. Hiroyo stood glaring at all four men with cold eyes.
"Today, they are to be punished in accordance for their crimes. Today, they will face the edge of a blade." Gonza held up a nodachi, a two-handed sword which resembled a giant katana. Roars of approval echoed from the crowd at the sight of the steel blade. Gonza twirled the sword in his hands for a few seconds, eliciting even more cheers from the crowd. Ashitaka remained silent.
One of the masked men who accompanied Eboshi and Gonza took Hideki by the arm and led him to the platform. Hideki was the archer whose hand had been pierced by Ashitaka's arrow. Long hair hung at the young man's shoulders as he took his place at the platform. Eboshi offered the man last words, but he said nothing. With a nod from Eboshi, Gonza twice tapped the side of the platform with the nodachi's blade. Hideki sat with his hands resting on his thighs as Gonza raised the blade to the sky and swung down. A loud cheer exploded out of the crowd as Hideki's black locks were cut and his head dropped to the ground. His blood leaked off of the platform, staining the wood red.
Ashitaka recoiled at the sight but managed to keep his eyes on what was going on. Gonza kicked Hideki's body onto the ground and ordered Goro to come up to the platform. He was a handsome man with short black hair and a faded scar above his right eye.
"Place my head above your town's gates," He asked, "I have a rather nice face."
With these as his last words, the blade swept through Goro's neck. Ashitaka rubbed his eyes but forced himself to look on.
Takumi was next. Ashitaka was astounded at the highwayman's youth. He was no older than Ashitaka, perhaps even a year younger. Regret shone in his tear-filled eyes as he took his place at the platform.
"I'm sorry for my role in whatever grief I may have brought upon any of you," He stammered, "You need not forgive me, as I wouldn't do so."
The downward strike from the nodachi cut through Takumi's ponytail and sent his head rolling to the side. The tumult from the crowd was just as loud as before. Ashitaka was looking down and covering his eyes with one hand. He regretted this decision.
Just one more, He thought, One more and you can leave.
The last man, Kin, had a wrinkled face marred by time. His arm was missing, courtesy of Ashitaka. His bald head could almost reflect the blade that hung above it.
"He was just another casualty," He said about Kenji. Gonza shook his head and raised the blade high into the air. The force of this swing was greater than that of the previous three. Kin's head rolled away from its body and towards the crowd. Not one person stepped back. Instead, the delight of the crowd grew. They gave on ovation for what they had just witnessed.
Only a few were not partaking in the applause. Hiroyo instead simply smiled and returned home. Takahiro was standing in silence amongst the roars of approval. Toki and Kohroku were both off-put by what they had seen. They had been involved in fighting before and had seen many die. However, during those times, they were behind the walls and using rifles to keep their distance. They had never seen a man die up close in such a manner. Ashitaka felt sick in his stomach as he returned home.
"What's wrong?" San asked as Ashitaka stumbled through the door while clutching his stomach, "Did something happen?"
"No, everything went as planned," Ashitaka replied. He felt nauseated as he made his way to his room to lie down. "I don't want to talk about it. I'd rather forget what I saw."
Ashitaka thrashed and turned throughout the night. His squirming had woken up San. Initially, she thought he had brushed against her while turning onto his side. When it happened four more times in less than a minute, she opened her eyes to see if he was okay. He was repeatedly shifting, rolling, and shaking. She thought he had been possessed by some demon.
"Ashitaka," She hissed, "Ashitaka, wake up!" She tried to restrain him, but he continued to rattle in her grip. She had to sit atop his stomach and hold down both of his arms to stop him from flailing around in his sleep. The weight of San's body is what finally caused Ashitaka to wake up. His eyes shot open to see San's eyes glaring down at him. The sweat on his skin had been made cold by the winter night's air.
"San, you're alive?" Ashitaka asked in bewilderment. San shifted off of Ashitaka's body as he sat up. "Oh, thank goodness; it was only a dream."
"Dream? What dream?"
Ashitaka had experienced not one, but three separate dreams. He described each one to San as well as he could, as he couldn't remember them well. In the first, he was helplessly watching as Lord Asano broke through the walls of Irontown. He could remember seeing houses set aflame and pillars of smoke rising towards the sky. The dream either abruptly ended or Ashitaka couldn't remember what happened next. He then jumped to the next dream, where he was standing in the town's center again. Like earlier in the day, the townspeople had formed a crowd before a platform. This time, he was further back and couldn't see over the others. He made his way through the crowd and stopped when he was at the front. When he broke through the last row of people, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw San standing before the platform.
"Get on with it!" One man cried.
"Skin her alive, first!" A woman called, "That monster doesn't deserve mercy!"
Ashitaka shut his eyes before he could see what happened next. When he opened them, he saw that he was now facing the crowd. San either awoke him before the dream could continue, or he forgot the latter parts of this nightmare.
"I knew that going to that execution would be a bad idea," Ashitaka muttered, "I can't get the images of those men out of my head."
Ashitaka's gaze turned from San towards the ground as the scene replayed in his head. He could still here the sickening chop that the blade made as it cut through each man's neck. He tugged at his hair as he struggled to erase the memory. They began to bring up those of the samurai he killed while on his way to Irontown. The same regret he felt then began to creep into his heart.
As San sat in silence next to Ashitaka, she could feel her chest begin to swell, as if she could feel his pain. Not wanting to see him hurt like this, she wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder. Even though a few tears silently rolled down his cheeks, he was smiling as he returned the embrace. San, too, was smiling as she pulled away to wipe the tears off his face.
"I'll be here for you," She whispered to him, "I'll help support you."
"I know, San, and thank you," Ashitaka said, "But you'll be returning to the forest soon. I won't be able to see you as often."
San knew that Ashitaka was right. She knew that it would only be a few weeks more before she went home. She couldn't visit Ashitaka in Irontown; too many people hated her for that to work out. He was too wrapped up in all of his duties to visit her very often, but maybe they could speak for a few minutes while he was on patrol.
Something Ashitaka said a few weeks ago came back to her. After they had their scuffle and reconciled a couple days later, he told her about how his kind viewed love. He said that if two humans truly loved each other, they would want to live with each other until death.
"Ashitaka?"
"Yes, San?"
"I know that you and I have had our discrepancies in the past, and we still have a great deal of differences between us, but that doesn't change how I feel about you." San sighed. She wasn't used to being this emotional. "I want to stay with you, to spend my life with you." San gazed into Ashitaka's bewildered eyes as she laid both hands on his shoulders.
"San, are you saying..."
"Ashitaka... I love you."
