Mononoke-hime Continuation
By Mikazuki Yuriko
Chapter Twenty-One
Ashitaka emerged from the inn he was staying at with Takiko, rubbing tired eyes that hadn't known any sleep the night before. Washed and dress in clean clothes—the comfortable crimson haori and white hakama Takiko bought yesterday, he should have felt a little fresher than he really did. He might have, had he not felt like he was rotting on the inside and on fire at the same time.
'The demon's curse never really went away,' he thought numbly. 'It's only been asleep inside of me.' It was spreading out from where the arrow struck him; he'd puzzled over it for some time. He couldn't see how there could be anything particularly special about that wound—it was made by a human arrow. There was nothing supernatural about it. But it was as if his body was a water bag with a hole punched through it, and now the angry, purplish-red mark was leaking out. It was creeping down his ribs and over his chest. The haori covered it, but Ashitaka was keenly aware every moment that it was there. The pain it caused flared every now and then; Ashitaka had begun to realize that it was when he particularly missed San or worried about her. Or whenever he thought about Asano, and the havoc he was wreaking in Iron Town.
He was still troubled by his dreams. Was San battling against Asano? Was she hurt? Or killed? The distance between them was too great for his demon-given powers to sense her; for all he knew she could have been killed the day after he left. She was reckless enough to try to attack Asano and his entire army with nothing but her bare hands. Ashitaka prayed she was safe. A lance of pain ripped through his chest again.
No sooner had it dimmed when he heard a soft shuffling sound behind him, getting closer. He didn't need to turn his head to know it was Takiko coming down the stairs, her pace hindered by the silk kimono she had wrapped around her. Ashitaka remained in the inn's doorway, gazing out at the packed, busy streets as she joined him.
"Good morning, Ashitaka," she said quietly. Her voice was heavy, like the flowery perfume she was wearing, and came out in a dejected sigh.
Ashitaka didn't respond except to say emotionlessly,
"Let's go."
He trod into the noisy outside with the young woman on his heels. He shifted the weight of the saddlebags on his shoulders and headed towards the stable where Yakkuru already had his nose stuck into a trough of hay. The smells of horses and feed and dung were strong in his nose. The dirty little boy he'd charged to look after him was scratching the elk's broad forehead, smiling. Ashitaka cleared his throat loudly, and the boy jumped with surprise, looking like he feared a reprimand. Ashitaka let his dour mood dissolve enough to give him a reassuring smile.
"Yakkuru looks quite content," Ashitaka said, settling the bags on the ground as he reached for the animal's saddle and bridle hanging up on a peg over the stall.
"He sure likes to eat a lot," the grungy boy replied.
"That he does." Ashitaka patted Yakkuru's back fondly. "I hope he eats up as much as he can, but not so much he gets lazy. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Ashitaka put saddle and bridle on Yakkuru himself while the boy patted the red elk's nose. Checking the saddle girth, he fastened their bags to the leather loops, making sure they were secure.
The boy stood back as Ashitaka led Yakkuru out of the stall. Before they were clear of the stable, he caught sight of Takiko in the corner of his eye, slipping the boy another fat gold coin and making a "be quiet" gesture, finger pressed to her lips. He thought his standoffishness towards her this morning was starting to erode a little. But just a little. He had too much else to worry about to trouble himself with her. He was still rather unsettled by last night.
Takiko had come into their room after washing the past weeks' grime and dust off in the inn's bath. She almost appeared to be a completely different person. He hadn't seen her cleaned up and well-dressed since he left Iron Town. It seemed like just yesterday she was in his house making an offering of herself. And then again, it felt like years had passed over their long, difficult journey. She wasn't quite the same woman she had been then.
After the lamps were blown out and they lay down for the night on plump, soft futons, Ashitaka stared at the ceiling, his mind buzzing too noisily to fall asleep any time soon. His hectic thoughts just added to the growing headache already beginning to pound inside his skull. He shouldn't have drunk so much sake, he thought in retrospect. Whether the fanciful illusions in his head were from the wine or his own tiredness, he couldn't say. Many of his wine-induced thoughts lingered on San, some of them making his already flushed cheeks turn pinker.
The room was quiet except for the soft breathing coming from the futon next to his. Takiko hadn't drunk as much as he had, but he wondered if her head, hurt, too. He vaguely recalled the time he had brought San to Iron Town for the day, and how funny she'd acted with her first taste of wine. Oh, how he missed her.
The searing pain in his chest lasted only moment, but felt like lightning.
"Ashitaka?" came a still voice as soon as the sensation passed.
"Hm?"
"Thank you," Takiko whispered. "For everything."
Ashitaka closed his eyes and replied just as softly,
"You're welcome."
"Ashitaka?" she interrupted his thoughts again.
"Yes?" he called over to the futon next to his.
She paused for a moment before asking him,
"Are you afraid?"
"Of what?"
Takiko responded,
"Of failing."
Ashitaka tried not to concentrate too much on it, truthfully. With a heavy sigh he told her,
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't," he admitted. "If we cannot reach a peaceful solution to Asano's presence in Iron Town with the Emperor, then it will mean resisting with force, if Eboshi hasn't already begun forming an army." An army of women, most likely. And how many of them would be hurt, or killed, perhaps needlessly?
"Everything will be alright, won't it?"
He didn't dare tell her about his dreams. Something deep inside—his demon powers perhaps?—told him they were more than just nightly fancies. He had the dreadful feeling they were a foreshadowing of what might be.
"I hope so" was all he could say. The pain surging throughout his chest made him grunt softly. He heard a note of concern enter into Takiko's tone.
"The wound again? Are you sure you don't want a doctor? I cleaned it up as best I could and put a poultice on it, but—"
"There's no helping it," Ashitaka told her. "This wound isn't normal." Would it heal again this time, he wondered? Or would the demon's hatred and fear buried in him claim his life? "At any rate, it doesn't matter. I have to get back to Iron Town quickly. Whether the Emperor will help us or not." He said this through gritted teeth. If the Emperor wouldn't listen…..well, he would be back to San as soon as possible to fight alongside her. He would not abandon her again. His fingers touched the crystal dagger around his neck. It belonged with her, and his heart ached to return it and seek her forgiveness.
"Ashitaka," Takiko said with awe, "you take so much upon yourself. I don't know how you do it. You are more than a mere man, but you're not invincible. You mustn't push yourself too much, or you'll break down."
"I know that," he retorted, then regretted it instantly as the irritation and frustration he felt manifested itself physically throughout his body. He thought he felt the burning pain spreading an inch further down his arm. He clenched his teeth again and hastily schooled his thoughts, mentally reciting a Buddhist sutra. Takiko's covers rustled a bit, and he sensed more than saw a shape loom over him.
"You're not alone," Takiko's cool, serene voice said. "I'm still here. You don't have to carry those burdens all by yourself. Let some of the weight of the world off your shoulders."
Ashitaka sighed again. 'Easier said than done,' he thought.
"You could just forget about it all," she continued. "No one asked you risk your life, coming out here. No one asked you to be their savior." Was she thinking that perhaps she wouldn't be here either, if he had not driven her away, and later found her out in the wilderness? "We could just stay here in Kyoto, or in any of the smaller villages we passed on the way, if you prefer. There wouldn't be any war or oppression or cruelty. Just a quiet, peaceful existence."
"Running away from the problem won't solve anything, Takiko," Ashitaka objected. Times are perilous. The entire country is brimming with discontent and strife. They plant the seeds of anger and hatred and blossom into fighting. There isn't any place that will be safe for long unless people like us try to change that destiny."
"Change that destiny….." Takiko said, marveling. "Am I in control of my own destiny, Ashitaka?"
"Of course you are," he answered. "'The butterfly flapping its wings in China brings the monsoon winds to Kyushu.' Just look at the people who came to Iron Town. They worked hard to make their lives better, and they succeeded. I want to protect that. No one has the right to take it away."
Takiko shifted on the floor, next to him.
"Some things written in my destiny I can't change, it seems," she said, disheartened. "I've been ruined and dishonored." He heard her fingers gently pat her cheek. "And I can never make you love me, can I? No matter how hard I try, or how sincere I am."
Ashitaka considered his words carefully, though anything he said would have been a knife in her heart.
"I belong to San," he said softly. "And I always will." He silently added, 'Even though she hates me.'
He didn't have much time to linger on those negative thoughts. Before he knew it, Takiko descended on him. His wine-dulled reflexes were slow, and he was an instant too late to keep her from covering his mouth with hers. Her arms wrapped around him as much as was possible lying down. The kiss lasted no longer than a couple of heartbeats before Ashitaka pushed her off of him--none to gently but not so rough to hurt her, and sat up, even though moving tore a little at the wound in his left breast.
"I'm sorry!" Takiko gasped quickly, bowled over backwards. She righted herself and abased herself on hands and knees. She sounded like she was on the brink of tears. "I just wanted one last time to taste what I'll never be able to have. I know you don't love me, Ashitaka, but…..I love you so much! I love you! I love you!" She began weeping, repeating those sentiments, but it sounded like an awful dirge of a heart truly breaking. Seeing her this dismal made Ashitaka recall the flash of anger he felt just then.
"Takiko," he said, as gently as possible, trying to override his anger at her actions.
"Please, don't talk to me like that," the young woman sobbed. "I can't bear your kindness. It just makes it hurt worse. You're the best man I've ever known, Ashitaka, and there will never be another one like you. I won't ever stop loving you, but don't make it hurt more!" Her body shook as she cried, releasing what must have been emotion long pent up. Ashitaka pitied her. But he didn't tell her that. Honestly, he didn't know what to tell her. He just wanted to get back to San at that moment, more than anything else in the world. Eboshi and Iron Town—even Kaya—were nothing beside that wish.
He fell on his back, head hitting the plump, down-stuffed pillow. Takiko's continuous moaning made a terrible lullaby. He could already tell the night would be long and restless.
'Good night, Takiko,' he said to her in his mind. He felt like such a liar. 'Sleep well.'
The air in the city of Kyoto was cool with the coming autumn. The sun pierced the cloud-filled sky at occasional intervals, but for the most part the shops and buildings—taller than any Ashitaka had seen elsewhere except for the great forge in Iron Town—kept the streets in shade until the burning orb was almost directly overhead. It took nearly that long for them to press through the crowds to reach the walled compound of the palace. Ashitaka, masked and on the lookout for cutpurses and any other problem that might hamper his mission, glowered down from his perch in Yakkuru's saddle. Several people gawked at the red elk; perhaps they weren't common on this side of the country. Or maybe it was an elk carrying riders that was strange to see. Ashitaka didn't care one whit what they thought, so long as they stayed out of his way. The never-quiet pulsing of the arrow wound in his chest and the dull burn of the cursed mark filled him with a sense of urgency.
He hardly spoke to Takiko or to anyone, except to warn men with bulging sacks on their backs and women trying to keep a hold on scampering children to stay out from underfoot. He didn't really need to caution them—the streets were teeming with people on foot and on horseback coming from both directions, and there was so much yelling. The air was full of noise. Shopkeepers called out to prospective customers to sample fruit just come into season, inspect silver and copper jewelry, select fabrics of all colors and materials, and buy anything—everything!—from needles to shoes and toys to cast-iron pots. The sleazier side of city life was apparent also. Kyoto's prison was a large brick structure that looked like a dark fortress, visible in the distance from the street, near the courthouse. And Ashitaka counted no less than half a dozen brothels—and twice as many drinking houses!—on the street they traveled on alone! It was a long, straight road—Kyoto was laid out in more or less of a grid, streets pointing towards the heart of the city, the Imperial Palace, like arrows, lined every inch with shops and stands. Lampposts like pikes were spread every fifty or so feet. It must take all day just to light all the lamps in this city!
Inns with colored, tiled roofs—not thatch like he was familiar with—made impressive sights along the ways. Large and small, with names like "Thunder God" and "Frog in the Pond" and "The Winepress" lured people in like rat traps for their money with a drink and a game of dice. He peered into the open doorway of one of the more prosperous ones as they passed by and caught sight of a geisha dancing atop a table. He thought his face might go up in flames. Pretty as she was, it was a very indecent dance, and she wasn't any more than half-clothed! There were many geisha out in the streets. A handful sang or played instruments on street corners, but most just wandered along the streets aimlessly, dressed in silks like nobles with the heavy white makeup on, napes of their necks exposed to attract attention. Ashitaka paid them little heed. He had other things to worry about.
Between him and Takiko, they only had to fend off a few pickpockets hiding in the masses. Ashitaka cracked the head of a young man who had been eyeing the round bags on Yakkuru's saddle with a walking stave he borrowed from a passing Shinto priest. The old priest looked surprised when Ashitaka snatched his stick right out of his hand, whacked the nimble fingered man on Yakkuru's other side, then replaced it back in his hand, all in a single, fluid motion.
After the second or third such attempted theft—with the third nearly succeeding and making it nearly half a block before Ashitaka could run him down and tackle him to get the gold back—he had Takiko carry it in her arms. She did so without complaint, still cowed.
Following the straight course of the street, making a couple of turns to adjust the direction, they found themselves before the walled palace. It was a brick and stone edifice leafed in gold in places, isolated from everything else in the city; like a world in itself, it was quite marvelous with its high, sloping roofs and carved walkways ringing it. It was surrounded by a wide moat beyond the wall that looked more like it belonged in a garden, with a maze of even more high stone walls laid out around it to strategically frustrate an enemy attack. The whole place had the look of Paradise.
Immediately outside the palace walls there were a few guards in blue and purple-lacquered samurai armor. Ashitaka and Takiko rode Yakkuru down the straight gravel path that led up to the wide, arch-shaped portal of the outermost wall. Through it they could see the stout, towering pillars supporting the gigantic roof of the Palace. Yakkuru trotted energetically down the path lined with stone statues on pedestals, heading for the opening. They passed under the arch. On the other side was a wide courtyard, with another similar wall ahead. A loose cluster of samurai were walking towards the palace, and servants scurried like mice in an open field under a hawk's gaze on various errands, carrying things like jugs and baskets and gardening tools. The hawk could have been the looming castle casting almost no shadow in the noon-day heat. It seemed to emanate a feel of power and authority. The palace of the Emperor, descendant of the Sun Goddess and ruler of all Japan.
"It's incredible," Takiko said breathlessly, looking up at it.
"Well, here we go," Ashitaka said. It was more to steady his nerves. He hoped this would all go smoothly.
He nudged Yakkuru on with his knees, and they passed through the second gate. In the inner courtyard there were a few more people, most of them servants, with even more samurai patrolling the premises. Ashitaka had expected to see more commoners about, petitioning to see the Emperor like they were. But there was hardly anybody in common clothes. They were nearly across the gravel courtyard and to the threshold of the palace when they were stopped by a group of samurai on foot. They had seen him coming and hurried out to meet him—not running, but they were definitely not casual about it. They stopped a few paces away from Yakkuru and pointed long-hafted spears at them. Yakkuru snorted and pawed the ground uneasily, tossing his big-horned head at them.
"Easy, Yakkuru!" Ashitaka soothed the elk. He looked down at the faces beneath the blue and purple helmets. One of them grunted,
"State your business!"
Ashitaka drew up in his saddle, sitting straight and tall.
"I wish to speak with the Emperor. I have a favor to request of Him."
The samurai guards looked astounded and exchanged dubious looks amongst each other. The one who had spoken stared up at Ashitaka, a mocking smile spread on his jaw.
"You're joking, right? What would a couple of nicely dressed peasants want an audience with the Emperor for?"
"We're here on behalf of our village," he explained formally. He had to convince them to let them pass. He had no time for games!
"You country bumpkins came all the way here to bother the Emperor about some pathetic little village?" He laughed coarsely. "Go home and take care of your vegetable patches."
Ashitaka's hands tightened on the reins, and he had to quickly quell the flare of irritation he felt.
"I need to see the Emperor now," he said firmly. "And I will not leave until I do."
"Well, well, aren't we bold?" another of the guards snickered. "Keep that uppity attitude up, and the only person you'll be seein' is the warden at the jailhouse, and your pretty silks won't impress him any more than they do us. You probably stole them!"
"That's outrageous!" Takiko cried indignantly. "We paid for them fairly!" She hefted the sack of gold in her arms, making the coins inside jingle. "And we're not peasants! We're here to pay tribute to the Emperor, so let us through!"
The guards' eyes widened at the size of the sack of gold. Asihtaka groaned inwardly, but at least the samurai might take them a little more seriously now, he thought.
"You can leave the tribute here with us. And if you have some gripe to settle, see the shogun. Maybe he'll lend a kind ear to your woes." The samurai burst into laughter at that, as if their leader had made a great joke. Ashitaka scowled.
"Let us through," he commanded them. "It is imperative that I see the Emperor, and no one else. I am Prince Ashitaka, and I come from Iron Town, to the West."
"A prince, eh? Hmph." The first guard's grip on his spear didn't waver an eyelash. He kept the point right in Ashitaka's face. "Don't hear of too many princes around, nowadays," he said in a harsh, grating manner. "They've all been defeated, all that will stand against the army of the shogun! The shogun has been responsible for bringing peace to the nation, and he acts in the name of the Emperor. Whoever you say you are—and I seriously doubt you're a prince, by the looks of you--he's the one to deal with, so take your scar-faced broad and beat it, kid."
"No. I will see the Emperor. Whether you like it, or not!" Ashitaka punctuated his words by pounding his heels into Yakkuru's sides. The elk reared up, squealing, lashing out with his front legs. One hoof smacked the lead guard square on the head, and he collapsed like a sack of beans. Ashitaka drew his short sword and batted away the other spears barring his way. Yakkuru leaped forward, over the downed samurai's unconscious form, and sped off, hooves kicking up gravel.
"Stop them!" he heard a man shout behind them. He was thankful when he had noticed none of them were carrying bows. "Stop those intruders!"
Out of the corners of his eyes Ashitaka glimpsed more samurai in purple and blue seeming to appear from out of nowhere, wielding swords and spears. Ashitaka glanced up at the trees and rooftops of smaller buildings dotting the courtyard, in case any ambush should come from above. He drummed Yakkuru's flank, with Takiko yelling in his ear to go faster.
A towering door in the large hall up ahead, closed and guarded by two spearmen in blue and purple armor, drew his attention. He saw the pair step forward to see what the commotion was in the courtyard, and they readied their spears for an attack. Ashitaka kept his focus on them. He was prepared to break through the door, if need be, though he knew it to be a purely foolish idea. The desire was there, though.
His body felt like it was on fire. The demon mark was throbbing fit to shake him out of the saddle. He felt a sensation, like being branded with white-hot iron, spreading down his arms, past his elbows, to his fingers. Had his determination been a whisker less, he thought he might have passed out. The pain was overwhelming, fed by his fury. He could almost see tentacles of the demon god's hatred and rage sprouting from his arms and torso. He prayed it was only his imagination.
"Ashitaka, look out above!" shrieked Takiko shrilly in his ear. Ashitaka jerked his head up towards the roof of the hall. He'd let the seething pain of the curse distract him from oncoming danger. Black-clothed figures, covered from head to toe, were scurrying along the roof toward their position. Ashitaka had no idea what they were, but he caught a glint of something metallic flashing in the sunlight, being drawn from one of the figure's clothes. A knife or something. And there were more samurai, behind and before them.
"Out of my way!" he yelled fiercely, his voice rising above the crunching of elk's hooves in the gravel and the shouting of men around him. No sooner had the words left his mouth when something miraculous occurred. The roof beneath the black-clad mens' feet was torn up right under them. No, it exploded. As if Ashitaka's voice had been one of Eboshi's devious land mines exploding right in their faces. The would-be assassins fell in a cloud of debri and dust to the ground.
The blast, as loud as a thunderclap, was powerful enough to crack the massive pillars on either side of the tall double doors. They did not break, but they looked as if giant hands had broken them like sticks; they were bent at an odd angle. The two samurai guarding the door were also thrown back by the impact, smashing into the very door they'd been guarding. They slid limply to the floor. One rose up, weak and trembling, on his elbows and stared at Ashitaka in astonishment. The other lay prone where he fell.
"What just happened?" Takiko screeched in terror, clamping onto his midsection even more tightly with her head trying to bury itself between his shoulder blades. Ashitaka had no answer to give her. But somehow, he thought he was responsible. The demon power was surging through him, like a tidal wave of anguish and pain and anger all crashing down on him. He had felt it fill him when the blast ripped off the section of roof. He had felt the same when he tore up beams of the forge roof in Iron Town to defend San, and when he lifted the main gate that weighed tons to escape with her, even as his blood poured out from the gunshot wound he sustained from one of the townspeople. But it had never been this strong before.
His heart pounded like a deep drum in his test, and he felt demon's curse throbbing to the same beat. They made a strange music together. Ashitaka's body was wracked with pain, but he couldn't afford to pay it any mind. Too much was depending on him. He was so close.
"He's a monster! Destroy him!" he heard.
"Protect the Emperor!" screamed other voices. Several of them.
Ashitaka focused on the doors, and the same inexplicable force he'd exerted just seconds before shattered them into splinters. So it had been him. He only hoped he could keep this power under control—he'd seen what it had done to the palace exterior.
Even as the dust was still clearing, Ashitaka rode his mount through the ruined doors, Yakkuru nimbly jumping over debris of wrecked wood and stone that had fallen in the path. Yakkuru's hooves clicked noisily on the wooden floor as they charged down the wide corridor. Ashitaka had little idea where he'd find the Emperor; he just knew that he must. He rounded corners and pillars, nearly running down frightened, bewildered servants who were confused by all the chaos. More guards filled the palace, but surprisingly few concentrated on him. A couple even threw down their swords at the sight of him then raced the other direction. Ashitaka was glad to see none of the black figures popping out from behind corners, but the samurai in the castle still posed a threat. The ones that weren't deterred when he pulled out a wooden pillar out from its holdings and threw it at them fell to his short sword. His determination felt like molten rock boiling in his veins. As screaming and the sound of steel on steel and running footsteps echoed off the castle walls, Ashitaka vaguely wondered, 'Was this how Nago felt, before he died?'
"Ashitaka!" Takiko yelped after he struck down a tall samurai with a thick mustache covering his lip, "Stop this!"
Ashitaka wiped his sword clean on his shirtsleeve before sheathing it. She was right. He had to stop wasting time fighting. If he didn't get killed by the samurai, very likely the curse would overwhelm him completely, if he let his anxiety and frustration get in the way.
There weren't any men left to fight in this hall anyway. Limbs and still bodies littered the floor, staining it with dark red blood. Servants investigating the commotion fled the scene shrieking, and one completely passed out. Through the windows Ashitaka caught a glimpse of a group of armored guards darting down the walkways just outside the hall they were in. Not coming in to fight him. Heading somewhere else. Ashitaka thumped Yakkuru's flanks and followed after them.
He followed the sounds of shouting and the snatches of blue and purple he saw ahead of him. Cries of "Protect the Emperor!" resounded through the halls, leading him right on track. The ride came at last to a halt before another pair of thick, tall doors. Carved with vines and birds and flowers, they looked like a garden etched in wood. And guarded by easily a hundred men.
Ashitaka stared. The bunch of them were huddled together like a flock of sheep, and looking just as petrified in sight of the shearer. Each and every one of them had a weapon drawn—mostly swords, but with some spears and short swords and daggers as well. The looks on their faces—some older, some not much younger-looking than himself—were a mixture of fear, astonishment, and anger. Some of the younger men's lips were moving silently as if they were saying their last prayers. Strangely, a hush fell over the hall, interrupted only by heaving breathing and shifting blades. Ashitaka realized, somewhat incredulously, that he was the one who would have to tip the tense balance.
"Get out of my way, all of you, or I'll kill you." He didn't have the fury and the fear that had filled his heart earlier. He didn't want to kill anymore. Heaven burn his soul, he didn't want to kill anymore! "I am a demon god from the West, and I have come to see the Emperor." The guards all looked at each other uncertainly, weapons quivering in their hands. He raised his voice even louder and bellowed, "Move aside!"
A young samurai with a pale face and deep black hair was the first to drop his sword. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. He stood poised, staring at Ashitaka with wide, fearful eyes. Then in one motion, he dropped to the floor as well, forehead pressed to the ground in a humble bow. He was shaking visibly from head to toe. Only moments later, nearly every other samurai there was imitating him, abandoning spear and sword and abasing himself at Yakkuru's feet. The few left standing held on to their weapons with a slack grip and mouths dropped open in awe. Two of them looked at each other and stepped over their comrades to open the doors for him. Ashitaka, relieved to avoid battle but nevertheless astounded, too, looked down at the carpet of blue and violet backs before him. Awkwardly he cleared his throat, and half a second later, the bowing samurai scuttled back, pressing against the wall, leaving their weapons on the floor.
"Thank you," Ashitaka told them uncomfortably as he walked Yakkuru past the ranks on either side. He entered the next chamber.
This room was bigger than any he'd ever seen. Iron Town's forge could have fit inside of it. It had a long gold and violet carpet leading up to a dais that contained only a large, plump cushion. The pillars supporting the high roof overhead were carved with leaves and dragons and birds, gilded in gold and silver. A smoky sort of scent—pleasant, but heavy—filled the air. The walls were painted with scenes of battles and nature. Ashitaka looked up towards the platform at the end of the long carpet. On it sat the Emperor, dressed in billowing robes of gold and a green and gold cap on his head. He might have looked complacent and peaceful if not for his face. It was as hard as a rock, and from a distance Ashitaka could feel his eyes boring into his flesh.
More penetrating than the Emperor's gaze, though, was the sight of nearly eight times as many samurai between him and the throne. They looked even burlier than the men outside the room. And even more displeased at seeing him. This lot had more than just swords and spears—crossbows nestled in some of their arms, and small knives for throwing were already resting between fingers, ready to fly. Ashitaka glanced around. There were windows in this room, but too far for him to escape out of should it become necessary. He felt the firm pressure of Takiko's arms around his midriff. He wished he hadn't brought her. He should never have gotten her mixed up in all of this. He just hoped this obsessive mission of his didn't get her killed as well. He didn't need one more woman—not to mention several men he'd killed—haunting his dreams.
"Do not attack unless We command it," came an old voice—old, but strong—from atop the cushioned dais. The Emperor stared straight ahead and asked, voice bouncing off the walls so that Ashitaka could hear it with perfect clarity, "What do you want?"
Some of the samurai were positioning their feet, preparing to lunge. Hardly a dozen paces separated them from Ashitaka. He could see some of them looking him over, and many of them smirked. Ashitaka supposed he didn't look like much, in his stained clothes and on an elk's back with a woman. Others of the guards looked past him, and saw the samurai outside the hall still folded in half, prostrate. Their expressions were completely dumbfounded, and they switched to Ashitaka again, reassessing him. Ashitaka didn't waste any time with smugness. All of his concentration settled on the robed man sitting cross-legged on the wide cushion ahead of him, and he dismounted, bowing himself to the floor just like the guards behind him.
"Your Excellency," Ashitaka began, then paused to swallow hard. He mustn't fail, he reminded himself. Too much was at stake. He thought he could almost hear the gunshots ringing out over Iron Town and the sorrowful howling of wolves over the death of their princess. That would be the consequence. He knew it. "My name is Ashitaka, Your Excellency. I've come from Iron Town in the West, and I beg of you to hear my plea!"
"Our men report that you have destroyed a portion of the palace and killed some of Our bodyguards. You are a demon in human guise. Is this true?"
Ashitaka froze. He wondered if the samurai outside could hear. Probably. The door was wide open. But he could not lie to the Emperor.
"I am just a man, but I carry the curse of a demon god which gives me my powers," he answered. "I have no intention of harming Your Excellency in any way. I only wish to speak."
The Emperor paused for a long moment that made Ashitaka wonder if the figure in robes had forgotten he was even there.
"Then speak."
Ashitaka twitched at the words then gathered his thoughts together.
"Your Excellency, Lord Asano has come to Iron Town on your authority and is ravaging our land. He has brought thousands of mercenaries with him, and they are starving us out of house and home, forcing us to pay unjust taxes, and setting down harsh laws against my people." They were his people. His life. "He is destroying the land and invoking the wrath of the beast gods who live in the surrounding mountains." He gulped down a lungful of air. "He and his men are exploiting the people of Iron Town, and I have come before Your Excellency to beg you to please help us! If he is not stopped, we will all be chattel, or destroyed! On behalf of Lady Eboshi, who has been usurped, and all of the citizens of Iron Town, I beg Your Excellency to please have mercy on us!"
His words rang out through the hall. Not a single samurai wavered a hair, and all eyes were on him. The Emperor was peering down at him like a bird surveying a worm. Endless minutes seemed to pass before he delivered his judgment.
"I sense you have an honest heart, young man, but We have given to Lord Asano any lands he chooses, within sensible bounds, as a gift for his service to Us. His character is not unknown to Us, and though his methods have been at times unsavory, he has proved helpful in maintaining the integrity of the empire."
Ashitaka flinched. Surely the Emperor could not be condoning Asano's actions! He held his breath, half wondering if he would need to fight his way out of the palace, just to reach home in time to fight alongside San in the inevitable battle that would erupt between the people of Iron Town and the warlord's armies.
"However," the Emperor resumed, "despite what Lord Asano believes, all of these islands, from the tip of the highest volcano to the tiniest sprout emerging from the ground belong to Us. We are the ruler of the Land of the Rising Sun, descendant of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Lord Asano may have stewardship over your homelands, but he is not allowed to abuse that which has been graciously bestowed upon him. Especially not at the expense of Our other subjects."
Ashitaka's breath left him in a rush, and he lifted hopeful eyes to the Emperor's pedestal.
"Your Excellency?"
The man's features were still stony, but he thought he saw a slight smile tugging on his lips.
"Just between Us and you, young man," he continued. "We watched the Lady Eboshi grow up in this court. We…..I…..," he amended, "…..was rather fond of her. I very much hope for her happiness."
Ashitaka was hardly aware of the tears pouring down his cheeks, spotting the fine carpet. He felt like he could fly, he was so full of joy. The scathing pain of the curse was fading, even, in its wake.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" he cried out. "On behalf of all the people of Iron Town, thank you!"
The world suddenly went dark and Ashitaka felt nothing more.
Ashitaka opened his eyes, feeling as though he was awakening from a week-long sleep. His eyes met dim golden light coming from a lamp hanging on a peg against a painted wall. Slowly lifting his head, he tried to recognize his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was conversing with the Emperor in the Imperial Palace. By the looks of things, he was in an inn—a very fine one. It certainly wasn't the same as the one he and Takiko had stayed in before.
Sitting up—he was lying on a soft, plump futon in the middle of a small but lavishly decorated room—he knuckled his dully aching head and wondered where the girl was. And where he was. And how had he gotten here?
The pond scenes and lotus plants on the wall slid aside and Takiko entered not much later. She was delicately holding a rolled up piece of parchment in her hand, and she gave a start when she saw him.
"Oh, you're awake! They way you've been sleeping, I almost thought you were dead."
"I feel like it," Ashitaka stated, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "What happened?"
Takiko looked at him curiously. "You blacked out just after the Emperor received your petition. It caused quite a stir. If the Emperor hadn't ordered all those samurai to stay put, I think they would have attacked us. They looked like they'd slice up their own grandmothers. You were carried by some servants to this room to recover. We're still in the palace. Odd, but I thought I overhead one of the servants mention this room was used for visiting dignitaries. You must have made an impression on the Emperor after all."
"What else happened?" Ashitaka asked her. "Did the Emperor say anything else? Will he help us?"
Takiko's face fell, and with it, Ashitaka's confidence. She held out the small scroll for him to see.
"The Emperor had a scribe write this out, and he stamped it with the Imperial Seal. It's an order for Asano to withdraw from Iron Town and for Lady Eboshi to return to its leadership."
That news should have made them both elated, but Ashitaka could easily see the shortcoming.
"That's all?" he asked.
"Yes," Takiko said. "The Emperor won't provide Iron Town with any soldiers, should Asano resist being ousted. Too many confrontations to the north, he said. He can't spare the men or weaponry. If this does come to open fighting, we will have to do it ourselves."
Ashitaka nodded glumly, unable to tear his eyes away from the Emperor's mandate. Asano may or may not obey it. And knowing his character, Asano would not leave Iron Town peacefully. With all of his mercenaries, he could crush Iron Town, and the Emperor would never know differently. Even if neighboring villages eventually discovered Asano's treachery, word would never reach Kyoto except in rumors that would be beneath the Emperor's ears.
"How are you feeling?" Takiko inquired, interrupting his depressed thoughts. "Was it that curse that made you pass out?"
As if to prove he wasn't as weak as he'd displayed earlier, Ashitaka laboriously climbed to his feet. His balance was slightly off, but he managed to mask it.
"Maybe," he responded. "I think I'm a little better now that our mission is over." But in light of what he might be heading into next, Ashitaka doubted he was really better at all. He only hoped this journey to Kyoto wasn't a complete waste.
"Take off your shirt," Takiko told him. He looked at her with surprise, and a hint of warning in the set of his mouth, but she just stood there with her fists on her hips and explained, "I just want to see your wound—that's all--since you're so stubborn and won't let me find a doctor."
After a second he acquiesced, removing his haori to let her see his black-and-purple blotched chest. Her eyes enlarged slightly, but she kept quiet, gently probing the skin around his shoulder with cool, clean fingers.
"This looks bad," she said, then met his eyes. "There's no way to cure it?"
"If there is, I don't know it," Ashitaka replied. "The last time this happened, I was cured by the Deer God—the Great Forest Spirit." Maybe one of the other forest gods would know what to do. Maybe if he found San's wolf brothers—if he could manage it without San taking his head off. "If it spreads much more, it will kill me," he said. "That's why we have to get back to Iron Town, and quickly. Is Yakkuru being taken care of?"
"Yes," Takiko replied with a near emotionless voice that hardly matched the shock on her face. "A servant took him to the castle stables soon after you collapsed." She managed a shallow smile. "I must say, for all the damage you did—that was you, wasn't it, that smashed the roof of the palace?—the Emperor has been extremely merciful. I'm surprised he didn't just throw us both into jail, or kill us. I gave him that bag of gold. Well, I gave it to one of the servants to give to him, anyway. I said it was a gift from Lady Eboshi. At the very least maybe it will pay for some of the damage."
Ashitaka pulled away from her fingers and took his shirt from her. In truth he was deeply disappointed that a man as powerful as the Emperor couldn't aid them. He had tried. San and Iron Town both forgive him, he had tried. There was nothing for it now but to go home and help in whatever way he could, though, as he tied his belt around the haori and tightened it, feeling the sheath of his short sword, he was grimly accepting the reality that blood may be the only solution left to them.
Without any further sight of or word from the Emperor, Ashitaka and Takiko left the Imperial Palace. The servants and the samurai alike seemed quite glad to see their backs. Upon their exit, Ashitaka was able to get a good look at the damage he'd caused earlier on his rampage. He didn't think it looked quite that bad, although massive support pillars had given way, and the roof over the entrance looked about to cave in. There were stone rubble and hashed wooden planks strewn around the place, and Ashitaka tried to ignore some smears of blood on the remaining structure. His stomach sank when he recalled the fury that had driven him to the brink of such destructive madness, and he silently vowed never to allow it to happen again. If he could help it. He wouldn't risk unleashing that sort of power again. It was much too dangerous.
Ashitaka decided to take back roads away from the palace stables, avoiding as many eyes as possible. The commotion had been heard by some of the citizens, and they pressed into the streets towards the palace to see or hear what had happened. They still attracted some attention, but thankfully not so much now that their purse was empty. They traveled down the street towards the city gate, passing by the plain, shabby inn they'd stayed at the night before.
"Do you want to rest a bit before going back to Iron Town?" Takiko asked a bit loudly, to be heard over the clamor of commerce taking place in the open street.
He really did, Ashitaka thought, though he didn't know if his weariness was from physical exertion or simply the gloomy knowledge of what lay ahead of him.
"No," he answered. "We'll stop for supplies to see us through on the journey back, but we leave immediately."
"Um, Ashitaka, could we stop for just a moment?"
"Why?"
"Just stop, okay?"
Ashitaka, mildly puzzled, humored her, pulling off to the side of the street outside a seamstress' shop. He didn't bother to tie Yakkuru's reins to one of the wooden posts lining the street outside the shops—she'd said just a moment.
"What is it?" he asked Takiko.
Takiko fixed liquid black eyes on him, fingers briefly grazing the deep gash that marred her cheek.
"I don't want to go back. I ran away from there, and if I return, everyone will know my shame. It's better for me to stay here. The people are rude here, but not all of them. The lady who owns this shop is really nice. She even offered me a job as her assistant. I think I'm going to take it. I need a new start."
Ashitaka looked at her, slightly amazed at this unexpected announcement.
"But Takiko, your family…..your home is in Iron Town!"
Takiko shook her head sadly. "Not anymore. There's nothing there for me now. I realized that last night after I…..kissed you. I don't want to go back. I want to put my life back together again. I think this city would be a good place to do it. There's so much opportunity here, not like in Iron Town. And….." She trailed off hesitantly.
"Yes?" he prompted.
"…..I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of going back. Ashitaka, there's going to be a war, you know, if Asano doesn't leave. I know I'm a coward, but I….."
"You don't have to explain," Ashitaka consoled her. "I understand."
Takiko bit her lower lip and cast down her eyes.
"…..And I don't think any less of you for wanting to stay." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Goodbye, Takiko, and good luck." He turned around and had his foot in the stirrup when he felt something tug on his sleeve, and he saw Takiko at his side, her hand balled up into a fist.
"Here," she said, discreetly slipping a small handful of gold coins into his sleeve. "Take this for the road. Just in case."
He looked at her questioningly, and as if predicting what he would say, Takiko stated firmly, with tears welling up in her eyes,
"The Emperor's the richest man in the world. He wouldn't have noticed anyway if a few coins went missing….."
Ashitaka smiled suddenly, lightened by her attitude.
"Thanks," he said, swinging his leg up over Yakkuru's back and settling into the saddle. "Take care of yourself, Takiko." Without a look back, he nudged Yakkuru to merge with the steady flow of people coursing through the streets, his sights set on the city gate and, far to the west, Iron Town.
Kaya twisted the sleeves of her kimono anxiously, hardly breathing in the dim coolness of one of the many secret tunnels dug beneath the edges of Iron Town. She was facing the tattered, reed-woven curtain that was the only thing blocking off the tunnel's entrance to the outside. There were other women in the small cavern—lit with a single candle—waiting with her. The tension was thick in the stale air, but none of them uttered a sound. All were just staring at the mat, poised and ready in case anyone should come through.
The mat twitched aside, and one woman let out a faint gasp that broke the silence as a veiled, scarf covered head poked through, followed by another and another. The completely cloth-covered shapes slunk into the cavern like the shadows running along the earthen walls, armed with knives and rifles and a varied array of weapons, whatever could be scrounged up and used. The figures stepped out of the tunnel and stood facing the loose knot of women, a few of whom were also armed. One woman—Kaya knew nothing more about her than that her name was Maru—let out a wail and ran towards the veiled people. One of them, in the center, dropped a rifle and swept Maru up into open arms, tearing away veil and scarf. Kaya recognized Kana, Maru's twin sister, and the two of them cried and hugged each other fiercely. The other women in the cavern were also greeting their friends and neighbors with hugs and kisses. There were only a couple of men among those wearing the veils that almost completely hid their faces. They embraced and kissed wives and children, and the cavern was alive with a joyous but hushed sound of laughter and prayers. Kaya's eyes began searching frantically from face to face, and her heartbeat quickened. Where was Kenshin!
One of the women bearing rifles strode past and patted her roughly on the back.
"Don't worry, Kaya," she said with a jovial smile. "He's bringing up the rear. Got a few scratches in the skirmish, but other than that, he's safe and sound."
Kaya stared at her, wide-eyed, and at the news, let out the breath she'd been holding. She thought she must have been blue in the face, she was so worried. True to the woman's word, the reed mat covering the entrance to the tunnel was swept aside and another person dressed in black and veiled with the same white cloth around his lower face as all the others. He shed the veil and stood staring wordlessly at Kaya. Kenshin hardly ever betrayed emotion, but she could tell by the slight softening of his eyes that he was glad to see her.
With a half-strangled laugh of relief she sprang forward like the others and leapt on him, binding him tightly in her arms. For days she'd been frantically worried that he might be hurt in the ambush on Asano's supply train. She could understand why Eboshi had wanted his fighting experience with the group, but she had been reluctant to let him go. It had been so strange going about her duties without her faithful shadow heeling her. She was just glad to have him back in one piece.
Not every woman and child gathered there shared the same glowing feeling.
"Where's Mitsuru?" asked one tubby woman, a newborn baby cradled in her arms.
"Kanosuke?" called another, slimmer one, without children but craning her neck as if trying to see if more of the black-clad figures were hiding behind those that had arrived safely. "Kanosuke?" Kaya was glad that Kenshin whisked her out of there as muffled sobs and tears began mixing in with the happy sounds of families and friends reuniting.
On their way back to report to Eboshi, Kaya interrogated Kenshin herself.
"Where are the others?" she inquired. "I know that Mitsuru and Umeko and Sakura were in this group. Did they--?"
"They're dead," Kenshin said bluntly. "As are Gomoe, Abe, Meiko, Jun, and Moriko. And another I don't know the name of. Asano's caravan guards were well armed and ready, almost as if they had been expecting an attack. We were lucky to get away with what we did. We buried the iron and the bodies we could recover, but it was not as clean an escape as I'd wished for."
Kaya shuddered. "Do they know, then?"
"It's quite likely. If I were Asano, I'd have suspected us from the beginning." He lifted the hem of his veil and let it drop again. "These may have helped throw him off the scent; warriors of Akita wear scarves and veils like these, but a warlord as seasoned as Asano won't be so easily tricked. It's just a matter of time before he uproots us."
"But the raid was successful, wasn't it?" It had cost lives, Kaya knew, but she was also certain that, had Asano's mercenaries been re-supplied, they'd be almost impossible to oust.
"Yes. Asano has nothing now to trade with, until more iron is made, and we killed nearly all of the train's guards, excepting one or two who escaped before we could bring them down. Asano will almost certainly know about this any minute now."
They climbed out of the earth-smelling, dark cavern up a rickety ladder that let out through a concealed door in Toki's root cellar. A few taps on the door and a sliding, grinding noise later, and the door was opened up by a brightly grinning Toki on the other side.
"Back already?" she said, holding up a lantern for them to see by as they climbed out. She gave them each a hand and helped hauled them out of the narrow hole; Kenshin didn't need much help, but Kaya had a tough time crawling around through tunnels and secret doors in her kimono. There were times when she fondly reminisced back to the days she worked in the fields back home in plain, efficient pants and shirts.
Toki wanted to hear the details from Kenshin, too, as they threaded their way up through Toki's house. It had had some sections added on to it since the resistance began. Just minor renovations to better plan the overthrowing of a tyrant. Kenshin was a little more tight-lipped with Toki. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; he just didn't like having to repeat himself all the time. He still had to make his report to Eboshi, who probably wouldn't be happy to be the last one to hear everything.
The Council meeting upstairs in Toki's house was not very different from all the others. Eboshi sat in the circle with the women and two men—Gonza and Koroku—who made up the group. Kaya listened as everyone listed their progress in their areas of responsibilities over the past few days, all the while discreetly trying to read body language and facial expressions and hidden tones to try and uncover any perpetrators masking as comrades. She really didn't have very much skill in it, she thought. Kaya would have preferred to believe the best in people, not try to root out what may or may not be treason. Why Eboshi had asked her to spy on the other members of the Council, she had no idea. Many of them wore their concern plainly on their faces. After weeks of secretly following the members around, she came to realize that the person she trusted the least was herself. But then, there was the matter of Murasaki's disappearance. The witty lady who worked the forge hadn't been seen for days, and though she wasn't a member of the Council, she was entrusted with some of its plans, including the employment of the lepers to make weapons. If she had betrayed them, then their resistance wouldn't last any longer than it would take for Asano's thousands of mercenaries to sweep in and crush them all. Kaya had been worrying about that matter for quite some time. If she had failed to detect a turncoat, then they would all be doomed. And she would be to blame.
Gonza was speaking now. The men and women under his charge had slipped out enough tools and weapons to supply nearly their entire movement. He was hesitant as always to trust even the people working for him, although Yohko and Sonoko assured him all of his thieves were loyal citizens of Iron Town and Lady Eboshi. Additional iron from the forge was being snuck down regularly to the lepers, who were still pounding away in the hot, confining compartments underground, making rifles and bombs and even a few cannons. And a "surprise" which Gonza was not yet willing to announce, though surely Eboshi would know of it. Kaya itched with curiosity to know just what was going on amongst the lepers, deep underground.
Yohko and Sonoko by now had spread word of the resistance to every member of Iron Town they felt could be trusted to keep their mouths shut. Mainly those who had suffered grievances as Asano's hand, or his men's, and were simmering with resentment. They had had enough of the public demonstrations and taxes and forced labor in the mines and wood mills. Hardly a moment went by when Kaya didn't hear complaining on the street, carefully kept to low voices to avoid the notice of the red-and-white-clad strong-arms in Asano's hire.
Emi and Toki reported that the supply train bound for Kawashimo had been successfully deterred—but at a price. In all, nine men and women who should have returned from the guerrilla attack were buried out in the woods along with the iron they had raided. The train to Azo had more guards to it, and Eboshi deemed fit to allow it to complete its trip to Azo to pick up weapons and food and then attack as it passed through the forest—the trickier route that Princess Mononoke would also be watching. Whatever they could steal from that train would benefit their cause. A timid, big-eyed girl named Asako reported that enough food had been hidden away to provide for the fighters in the resistance for three or four days and more was being sneakily gathered, a little at a time. Everything else was in enemy clutches, and Asano's mercenaries now had commands to from their leader to begin searching houses and shops for any hidden supplies. Kaya was among those helping to stow it all underground and anywhere it could be hidden—in wells, beneath tatami mats, in haylofts, anywhere the searchers would be unlikely to find it.
"Has anything been discovered yet as to Murasaki's whereabouts?" asked Eboshi in a cool but gentle way. Kaya thought she must be feeling the urgency of finding the forge woman just as keenly as the rest of the Council. Kaya considered the pretty forge woman she'd met a while back, while coordinating with the lepers beneath the forge. She had seemed so nice and so funny. Surely she wouldn't turn them over to Asano's men…..would she?
"Nothing yet, my Lady," answered Toki. "Her husband doesn't know where she's gone, either, though he's so busy drinking with Asano's mercenaries that I doubt he cares where his wife has disappeared to." She ground her teeth with irritation.
"Keep an eye out, then, and continue asking questions," Eboshi instructed. "We must keep at it, in the meanwhile. Everything is nearly culminated to a head. We will soon be able to strike out at Asano and pay him back for all that he's done to us. Once the preparations are finished, perhaps two or three days more, we will begin. I will make an announcement to the people tomorrow night."
There were a few enthusiastic smiles around the circle seated on the floor in Toki's attic, but for the most part, the faces around Kaya reflected confused and worried expressions. 'Oh, Ashitaka, please be safe,' she said privately. As the meeting adjourned and the Council got to their feet, some waiting around before leaving so that a stream of men and women leaving Toki's house wouldn't be too suspicious, Kaya heard Eboshi call her name.
"I wish to borrow the services of your Kenshin again," Eboshi said, once Kaya drew near to her. The expression on her face was almost motherly. Kaya replied hesitantly,
"Are you sending him on another supply raid?" There was still the train to Azo to be dealt with. Further away than Kawashimo, it would take longer to return. Kaya nervously recalled how close to danger he'd been in that one. And Azo's had more guards with it.
"I may, but I do not think it will be necessary," Eboshi said. "I want him to take a short journey, that's all."
"A journey?" Kaya repeated wonderingly. What did she mean by that?
"Nothing too dangerous, I assure you. For you I have a somewhat more difficult task, I'm afraid."
Kaya blinked and resisted the urge to twist the fabric of her sleeves in agitation.
"Yes, my Lady?"
Eboshi presented her with a folded up piece of parchment.
"You are to be my link with Princess Mononoke throughout all this. She knows and trusts you, I take it, seeing as you are Ashitaka's sister. This paper contains instructions for you both. I highly doubt that savage little beast girl can read, so you will have to explain to her what I have in store. The forest is hardly free from peril. Asano's men are camped throughout it, and there are wild animals and beast gods to contend with. But I have faith that you will be able to rise to the task."
Kaya swallowed. Hard. She'd much rather continue her fruitless work as a spy than accept what Eboshi was putting before her! Wild animals and mercenaries! Heaven help her!
"Can't…...can't Kenshin come with me?" Kaya nearly whimpered.
Eboshi looked down on her with compassionate eyes.
"You do not have to go, if you choose not to. But I am asking you, Kaya. I need your help."
Kaya felt like she was swallowing a boulder, whole, as she answered with a wavering voice, wondering out just how talented Lady Eboshi was at persuading people to do what she wanted, and took the paper from her pale, slender hand.
"I will, my Lady."
Author's Notes:
Getting a bit closer now to the finale, finally. Sorry this chapter's so long. Had a lot to cover. I'm surprised I was able to finish in the amount of time I did, especially juggling a wedding and a couple other fanfics as well. The wedding part is taken care of at least (and my writing skills, such as they are, will be employed in making out thank you notes for a few weeks). School starts up again, for me, next week, so I may be a bit busy. I will, however, faithfully continue to write. My thanks to everyone for your support and for reading my story. It's come a long way from how I originally planned it years ago. Thanks for helping me to improve my writing and for all your kind words.
Until the next chapter! Yuriko