Yuugi Nocahan had been walking for twenty days on end

It was so dark that he could barely see in front of him. The thick vegetation wasn't exactly helping, either, he though irritably. If the moon were out, at least he would've been able to see!

He had softly been calling out San's name, but when he didn't get any responses of any kind, human or animal, he had begun calling louder. He was almost shouting, now, and there still wasn't an answer.

"San? Where are you?" he shouted. "Are you okay?"

Where could she be? She'd said that she would wait for him at the edge of the forest!

There was a crackle in the bushes.

Startled, Ashitaka spun around, eyes darting in the direction of the noise. He wanted to pull his sword out, but something was telling him not to.
"San? Is that you?" he asked, getting a strange tingling feeling in his arm. It always did that whenever he got excited about something.

There wasn't an answer, but the bushes rustled some more.

Ashitaka relaxed. "San, where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you! You had me worried sick!" he reprimanded.

There was a pause and the bushes rustled some more, a figure stepping out of it.

Ashitaka, off of his energy high, was feeling a bit agitated. "Aren't you going to say something? You really did have me worried. I was scared you might've been hurt," he said, reaching out to take her arm.

His hand bumped into something furry.

In a blinding flash, it became clear. This thing was not San. He mentally kicked himself for being so foolish! Now that he was thinking, he could tell by the creature's scent that it wasn't San. But it was too late, now-

As he went for his sword, the thing roared and leapt upon him, claws digging in to his skin.

Ashitaka stifled a cry or pain, and desperately tried to hold off the creature's head with one hand and reach for his sword with the other. The only problem was, he couldn't find a head! His hand was flailing about, trying to find the mouth that he imagined, even now, coming at his throat with a lethal intention.

It didn't matter now, though. He had his hand on his sword. With a fresh surge of adrenaline, he pushed the creature up off of him, and jumped to his feet in a ready position.

The creature had darted into the underbrush, and Ashitaka could hear it running around him in circles, trying to confuse him. After only a moment, the creature leapt out again, claws swinging wildly. Ashitaka managed to deflect one with his sword, but the other raked across his chest. That, along with the pain in his side was almost too much to bear- he moaned in agony. There must be something in the monster's claws, he thought, for it to hurt so much.

Raising his sword to attack, he charged at the monster as it recoiled. How he wished, even for a moment, that the demon mark was still with him! He would be able to finish this thing off like nothing.

Is that how you thank me?

Ashitaka's eyes widened in fear- of course not! How could he be so selfish? He could defend himself just as easily without the mark! Ferociously, he swung his sword at the creature, and must have connected someplace, as the monster shrieked in agony and fell over, dead.

Breathing hard, Ashitaka slumped to the forest floor, not even bothering to sheathe his sword. He delicately rubbed his finger over the areas where the monster had cut him- and a fresh surge of pain jolted throughout his body.

He tried to stand, but was too exhausted, which was strange, because he had been through much more than small scuffles such as this, and he hadn't even broken a sweat. His fears that the monster was poisonous were confirmed at that moment. Why else would he be so tired?

Sluggishly, he tried to call for help, but nothing came out. Ashitaka closed his eyes in defeat- even Yakuul, with his acute sense of hearing wouldn't be able to hear him at this distance. His only hope was that the poison would wear off soon.

But not soon enough- the creature stirred from its position on the ground.

Desperately, he tried to raise his sword, but to no avail. All he could to was watch as the creature slowly worked its way over to where he leaned against a tree. He could only watch as the monster wrapped itself around his lower leg. He could do nothing as the searing pain shot through his leg and spread throughout his entire body.

Then, mercifully, the thing groaned its last breath, and, sighing, slackened its grip on his leg. Ashitaka breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe for the moment. If another thing decided to attack, he'd be helpless. But even that wasn't a concern anymore. Ashitaka felt as if he could sleep for a thousand years. Slowly, his eyelids closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

"If there's anything else you need, just let me know," Gonza said, leaving Yuugi in his temporary (and very large) dwelling. "I'm usually in the town square."

"Thank you," Yuugi said, gratefully. It had been such a long day and such a hard journey to this point that he was thankful he had a real bed to sleep in! Not even bothering to undress, he practically fell onto his bed and immediately fell asleep.

Gonza made his way to the town square. By this time of night, it usually settled down a lot, and it was easier to get around, which was good, because his house was on the opposite side of the town.

He said a simple "hello" to passerbies, and hummed a tune to himself as he walked along.

There was a sound behind him, and he turned to look- and he almost jumped ten feet into the air. There, standing in front of him in all of her demeanor, for lack of a better term, was the Mononoke, herself!

By reflex, his hand reached for his sword, but then he remembered he didn't carry his sword anymore.

"What do you want?" he said, gruffly. She was no longer his enemy, but he still hadn't figured out whether he trusted her or not. She left Iron Town alone, they left her and the forest alone, and that was good enough for him. "Don't you know how to walk around normally? Slithering all over the place like a damn snake…"

Normally, whenever he saw her, they had controlled fights with words- usually diminutive phrases or some such thing. By now, she would've normally spat her venom at him (and she had quite a colorful vocabulary for having grown up with wolves), and he wondered if something was wrong. He noticed that there was no anger in her eyes, only a fiery alertness and worry.

"Have you seen Ashitaka?" she asked softly. "We were supposed to meet by the forest. I…had to go someplace and couldn't meet up with him."

Gonza snorted. He didn't approve of two youngsters going off into the forest alone, yet Ashitaka had consistently assured him that nothing that would be frowned upon took place whenever they were alone there (or anyplace else, for that matter). Gonza respected the young man, though, so he took his word for it. Still, it was quite unnatural. She should just get over her little wolf thing and come and live in the town.

"Did you check at his house?" he asked her curtly.

The wolf girl blushed, slightly.

"That place is beyond my limits," she admitted. "I did stand outside and call for him, but he did not come out."

"He's probably in the town somewhere, then," Gonza said, exasperated. He was getting bored of this. He wanted to go home.

"I've searched the town, and he's not here," she said.

"Did you ask anyone? Maybe you missed him." Gonza queried.

"I said I searched the town. He is not here," she said again. She spoke with authority, and sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Being raised by wolves and all, he assumed she had a pretty good notion of what was where, so he was inclined to believe her.

If that was true, though, then should he be worried? Usually the boy was in one of those three locations. This was the first time Gonza could recall not having any clue where Ashitaka could've gone.

Concerned, he asked her: "What did you ask him? To meet him at the forest?"

She nodded.

"Well, did you look there? If you weren't around when he got there, maybe he went looking for you."

The wolf girl nodded. "I was going to go there next, but I wanted to make sure that he wasn't here…" she paused for a long moment. "Thank you," she said, hastily, and started to run off.

"Wait!" Gonza shouted after her. Strange. She must be trying to take Ashitaka's advice and be nice for a change, he thought. "How did you get in here? I don't remember hearing about your arrival!"

The wolf girl turned to face him and held her head up defiantly and said, "I climbed over the wall. There were no guards to alert you of my presence."

Gonza rolled his eyes. "For the gods sake, girl, we have a gate now. We're not going to shoot you on sight, anymore, so why don't you try to act a little more normal?"

"Do not presume to tell me where and what I can and cannot do," the girl said, eyes glaring. "I will do as I please. You have no authority over me." And with that, she turned and ran into one of the alleyways, disappearing from his sight.

Gonza stood there for a moment. He didn't like it whenever she looked at him like that. She may be young, and she may be small, and the war may be over, but that girl was somebody to be feared. She probably had a power and strength that he had never dreamed of. He could catch a glimpse of it whenever she was angry with him, and at those times, he could honestly say he was afraid of her.

So much for sleep, now, he thought. Running back towards the square, he made his way to Lady Eboshi's house. She would probably still be awake, and he was almost positive that she would want to hear about if Ashitaka had suddenly gone missing in the middle of the night.

She was a strange one, that woman. To his knowledge, she had never married (she rarely discussed such topics). But her incessant demands or inquiries on where or what Ashitaka was doing was very intriguing. Perhaps she saw something in him that many of the other men here lacked? Of course, that was obvious. The boy definitely had some positive things going for him. The idea that Lady Eboshi was attracted to (or maybe even jealous) of the young prince seemed too much of an outrageous notion, but nevertheless, information seemed to keep pointing in that direction. Unless there was some other entirely different reason for her questions, it seemed that that was the only answer. Perhaps now would be a good time to ask her.

He trotted up the small stairs that led to her house, and he knocked on the door, softly.

There was a pause, and then: "Yes? Who is it?" from the inside.

"Milady, it is I- Gonza. I have urgent news about the prince!"

A scuffle could be heard from the inside, and the door bolted open suddenly.

"Ashitaka?" Eboshi asked. "What's happened to him?"

"That is the news, milady," Gonza answered. "It seems that the boy has disappeared. The wolf girl came to me, herself, and asked me if I knew where he was."

"The wolf girl said that?" Eboshi said thoughtfully, stroking her chin with her hand. "That's not a good sign?"

"Why is that?"

Eboshi rested on the doorpost. "If the wolf girl was unable to find him, then he must be someplace very remote."

"She didn't actually say she couldn't find him, milady," Gonza corrected. "She had not checked the forest before she came here. I guess that made sense- no reason searching through that damned forest for no reason."

"The forest is damned, is it?" Eboshi said, smiling. "I happen to like it," she said wistfully. "It seems to add a sort of magical undertone to our humble village, does it not?"

Gonza snorted. "Magical is an understatement. And so is humble," he added. "But what of the prince? Should I organize a search party?"

Eboshi shook her head. "That won't be necessary. If the wolf girl is searching for him, there's little else we can do. She is, after all, the most adept of us all at finding what is lost. If she is still unable to find him, then we will help in the search." She paused for a moment. "On second thought, perhaps it would be better to send out a search party. The more eyes there are, the better chances of finding him. Will you see to it, Gonza?"

"Yes, ma'am," Gonza said. When she turned to go back into her house, he "hmph"-ed uncomfortably.

"Yes?" Eboshi asked.

"Aren't you coming?" Gonza asked.

"Why should I come?" Eboshi asked, confused. "I am not welcome there- the wolf girl has made that all too clear to me over the past few weeks."

"But, Ashitaka…" he paused, uncomfortably.

Eboshi's eyes lit up with understanding. "You mean: do I want to go and rescue my prince? Is that it?"

Gonza nodded stupidly.

Eboshi laughed. "My dear Gonza, you've got it all wrong. I admire Ashitaka, and I do care for him, but I doubt that he will ever become the object of my affections. Besides, I'm sure the wolf girl would tear my throat out before she'd ever let that happen."

"Then might I ask why you're so interested in his actions?" Gonza said.

Eboshi pressed her lips together. "I'm afraid that's impossible to say just at the moment. In due time, though, I'll be able to tell you."

"So you're not coming, then?" Gonza said, wishing to finalize her statement.

"I…think it would be better if I stayed here," she answered him. "Like I said, I am not welcome there. Besides, I have other matters to attend to. I'm sure that Ashitaka, wherever he is, can take care of himself. There's very little I can do for him, personally. Is that good?"

"Yes, milady, very. I will organize the party, then. I'll inform you if anything comes up."

Eboshi smiled and went back into her house. She walked over to her table and sat down at the half finished letter that she had been writing. She hadn't been very good at writing with her left hand, but enough practice had made it somewhat readable- hopefully it would be able to impress the recipient of the letter; something that the fate of Iron Town depended upon.

Iron Town, it turned out, had relied very heavily upon the income of the iron that was produced. With no more iron to be mined, the town was slowly eating away at its own income- and she alone bore that burden of that knowledge. She had told no one, herself being the head of the financial (and just about everything else as well) area, because she did not want to alarm or put any pressure on anyone. Hopefully, no one would notice what toll that the amount of work and pressure she was dealing with behind the scenes was doing to her. If she could just hold on for a few more weeks, then maybe she could save Iron Town…just maybe.