San listened to Ashitaka's story with a bowed head. When he finished, she was silent for one minute, though it seemed longer to Ashitaka and Rin. Her hair, short as it was, hid her eyes. Regret filled her heart and her mind was spinning with worries. She wanted to leave the room, but the green pouch in her hand reminded her why she had come to this house in the first place. Finding Ashitaka was a blessing. What made her hands shake and body tremble was what he would say to her about the incident at the river.

"I'm sorry." San whispered, breaking the brief silence, "What I did was stupid."

Ashitaka was stunned. San wasn't one to ask for forgiveness, let alone admit faults. Something must have happened while he was separated from her. He wanted to tell her that there was no need to say sorry, but another part of his heart told him to reject her. What she did was more than stupid, as she put it, it was a near-fatal outburst. Her eyes were still staring at the floor. She was unsure of what more she could say to Ashitaka. A great weight was on her shoulders and kept her in place while an invisible hand over her mouth kept her from speaking.

Ashitaka used what little strength he had to sit up in place. Fire spread throughout his limbs and his headache rang with the loudness of a gong. He faced San, who still looked at the wooden planks, with his eyes wide and his mouth flat. Rin wasn't sure if he was angry yet could feel the tension between the two. As Ashitaka glared at San, he noticed the bag in her hand. It was a green pouch made of soft cloth, tied shut by some string.

"What is that?" Ashitaka asked as he pointed to the bag.

San looked up at last and replied, "This is what you, Eboshi, and I left home to find. I've broken my ribs and lost the use of my arm to find it, but it will be worth it as long as it restores my brothers' strength."

Ashitaka's eyes grew wider. "You remained with Lady Eboshi?"

San nodded. "We worked out our differences, long enough to find this, and..." A choke stopped San from continuing her sentence. Ashitaka waited for her to finish, though she couldn't seem to find the words she wanted to say. As he gazed at her, tears welled in her eyes. She fought back and kept them from flowing. "You were right about her."

"What?" Ashitaka blurted out.

"That woman... Eboshi, you said she was not the horrible person I believed her to be. While I still can't forget everything she's done in the past, you were right in that she has changed. She is nothing like the human who tried to drive my family and I away from our home. I wish I realized that before the storm."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Rin remained at the doorway, piecing together what Ashitaka and San were talking about. She understood the situation they were in and kept quiet. None of the three moved. San still couldn't face Ashitaka directly. The hush in the room seemed to muffle the sounds of the town outside. It helped Ashitaka make up his mind, however, as he decided what to do now. He shifted his body to face San while resting on his knees. San heard him moving but remained fixated on the ground. Her body jumped when she felt something wrap over her shoulders and embrace her.

"San," Ashitaka whispered, "I'm thankful you're fine and happier that you and Eboshi have put your differences aside. What happened at the river was an honest mistake, I know."

San shuddered and returned Ashitaka's hug. She felt the tension in her body melt away from the warmth between their bodies. "Thank you."

Ashitaka nodded, his head rested upon her shoulder. "I just wish I could return with you and Lady Eboshi."

"Wait, why can't you?" San exclaimed.

"My strength is waning and I fear that time is running low."

The world turned black and white before San as her brain registered what Ashitaka was saying.

"I've been ill for a while, now. I was concerned about being close to you since I didn't want you to possibly catch what I have. Rin has been caring for me, but we both believe that I'm beyond what medicine can cure."

San's breathing froze. A chill ran up her body and stopped her from moving. The black and white world blurred before her, at points vanishing entirely. "You're dying?"

Ashitaka didn't want to outright say so; for all he knew, whatever was deteriorating his health could be cured, only how was a matter of question. Rin explained to him that there was no cure she knew of that could help. If he ceased receiving treatment, his health would plummet. "Even if I left now, that wouldn't make things any better."

San clenched her fists and felt like smashing the ground. The pain in her shoulder and side was flaring up again. Her head felt like it was about to shut down, but as she gritted her teeth, an idea crossed her mind. She still needed to make sure that the bag of crushed leaves she gathered from the temple would work. If they didn't cure Ashitaka's ailment, there was enough time to go back to the temple if Yakul made haste. Thanks to the samurai, the door would have been knocked down. Ashitaka noticed the light in her eyes return.

"Rin, I need you to do something." San said as she hopped to her feet. She handed the pouch to Rin and said, "Make some sort of drink or tonic with this. Don't use all of it, though, I need it for later."

Rin undid the strings and glanced inside the sack. All she could see were tea leaves. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"No, I'm not, and that's why I'm asking you to do this now."

Rin glanced over to Ashitaka, who gave her a reassuring nod. She bowed to San and left the room to make a cup of tea with the leaves.

"San." Ashitaka called once Rin left the room.

"Yes?"

"Where is Lady Eboshi?"

"She's at an inn. Yakul's in a stable close by."

Ashitaka nodded and lay back down. He wanted to make sure nobody else was hurt. "Are they okay?"

"Yes."

A thankful sigh. He was ill with something incurable and San appeared to have multiple injuries. "One last thing: promise me you won't repeat that same mistake again." Ashitaka ordered so in a stern, commanding voice, far more cold than his usual tone.

"Of course I won't."

"Good, because..." Ashitaka held himself back from saying anything he might regret in the future. While he lay immobile, he had plenty of time to ponder and reflect the events that led him to this place. San had to control her anger. There was a difference between her wild spirit and her bouts of fury. The former was part of what attracted him to her, something that set her apart from other women and why he would reject the more beautiful girls in Irontown. It was when her anger took control that he wished to keep away. What if she were to have the same sort of eruption at somebody else? Then again, he can't remember another time when a similar incident occurred when San was fine. She had been more than stressed at the river. When she tried to stab him with the crystal dagger he gave her, she had recently witnessed the death of her mother, the Forest Spirit, and her home.

"I swear to you that it won't happen again." San promised.

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Rin returned with a steaming cup of tea, colored like a dry leaf with a bitter smell that made San's nose curl. She handed San the bag. Ashitaka took the cup and drank all inside in one gulp. He regretted the decision immediately. First, the tea was still hot and burned his tongue and throat, causing his eyes to water. Second, its taste was more pungent than the smell. The combination made him cough and sputter.

"What's wrong?" San asked worriedly. Ashitaka motioned that he was fine with one hand while he massaged his throat with the other. He got to his feet and braced himself against the wall, wishing he could spit out the poignant taste in his mouth. Rin looked at him in surprise. It was the first time Ashitaka had been on his feet since he arrived.

"I hope that means it's working." Rin remarked.

"Ashitaka, are you okay?" San asked.

"I'm fine, I feel..." Once his throat had soothed and the taste petered out, he noticed that he was able to stand. The gash in his leg was still tingling, but his strength flowed back to his body. He stood up straight and held up his head. His arms and legs were numb from disuse and he shook the feeling into them. "San, I think you've found what we've been searching for."

Ashitaka and San thanked Rin before they left. Both had to return home as soon as possible, but Rin understood their hurry. She didn't want to keep San from her brothers (who she still didn't know were wolves) and wished them both a speedy recovery. As thanks for her treatment, Ashitaka reached into one of the bags around his belt and handed her a small nugget of gold.

"Let's hurry back to Eboshi." San said, "I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, I still hate places like this though."

"What? Towns?"

"Yes; too many humans, not enough space."

Lady Eboshi waited outside the inn with her hat shielding her eyes from the sun. Her hand rested on the pommel of the katana, keeping any rowdy people away. She hadn't encountered any so far, but even Irontown had its fair share of delinquents. Amongst the crowd, she could see San coming down the road. A familiar face walked by her side.

"Hello, Lady Eboshi." He greeted as he approached. She couldn't believe what she saw nor the voice she heard.

"Ashitaka?" She said bewildered, "Is it truly you?"

"Indeed; one of the townsfolk here saved me from the river." He reiterated the same story he told to San, how a fisherman named Minoru had snagged his shirt while braving the monsoon, how an isha's daughter named Rin cared for him while he was sick. "The leaves that San found in the temple helped cure the illness I had."

"I can still scarcely believe my eyes, but I suppose seeing is believing."

Ashitaka smiled and went to Yakul. The elk greeted him with a tap of his head and nuzzled against his face. He could tell that Yakul had missed him. "We're going home now, Yakul. Just a little bit longer and we will be done."

Ashitaka looked to the distant mountains, the same that Lady Eboshi and San had passed through. Ten more days, perhaps less, remained between the town he was in and the place he called home. He wanted to rest for a few days when they got back. Perhaps San felt the same. Her brothers were probably itching to get back to hunting. Lady Eboshi would be welcomed back to Irontown with open arms, likely to the relief of whoever she put in charge.

The night was spent at the base of the mountains. They would be traveling through the cavern once again, though this time they would have a light to guide their way; Lady Eboshi purchased a lantern before they left town. Eboshi and Ashitaka took care of setting up the tents and preparing dinner. San's injuries prevented her from doing a great deal of work. Ashitaka said that he'd see if Takahiro could treat her, though that would mean either bringing her to Irontown or having the isha come to the forest. He couldn't imagine either happening.

"San can come to Irontown if she wishes." Lady Eboshi said as they spoke around the fire.

"Thank you, but what about the townspeople?" Ashitaka asked. As far as he knew, they still felt uncomfortable when San was around.

"If they saw that she was there not to cause trouble but to receive help, they might change their opinion."

"I don't want them to know why I'd be there." San interjected, "They'd view me as weak."

"They'd view you as reasonable."

The two women began to argue back and forth. Ashitaka smiled as he wondered if anything had really changed between them.