"…" Speech
'…' Thoughts
flashback
It was late and the moon made a pale yellow glow
over the lake that Ashitaka stared at. 'How long have I been chasing her? And I still can't find her!
What's wrong with her? She can't get so upset over one little argument! We had
more before!'
Sighing, Ashitaka skipped a rock and said, " I
might as well give up…" Thinking how
late it was, Ashitaka sauntered back to iron town feeling worse than that
morning.
He finally fell asleep when he was awoken by a woman's
shriek outside his hut. He grabbed his
sword prepared to battle when Taka yelled, "Enough!"
"Up now Ashitaka?" Taka said wiping the sweat from
his brow.
"Why is everyone up so early today?"
"You forgot? We're doing to the forest again, to
find the men again…Sigh…less sleep for me."
Ashitaka chuckled, "Nani? Thinking about sleep?
You would have got more if you didn't follow me into the forest."
"What did you do in the forest Taka?" shouted out
Min. " A little something going on between you and…?" Min winked his eye and rubbed his arm suggestively against Taka
when he punched him.
"Baka."
" Ouch man…!"
"So what did happen?" said another worker.
Taka replied, " I followed Ashitaka. What do you
think he was doing?"
Min shouted out, " AASSHITAKKAA!! Hmm…where is he?
Oh well." In a sly voice, Min began "So
Taka…" He blinked his eye in an evocative matter and began some body language
when he noticed that Taka was on the edge of giving him a severe beating.
"Don't feel the same way huh?" shouted Min as Taka
stormed off.
+
+ +
San walked past the ring of trees for the 6th
time that morning. She was bored. Her brothers were gone hunting for food, And
Moro…
'If only she was still here…Stupid Iron Town
people! Another reason I'm not forgiving
them!'
'So Bored, if only Ashitaka…'
'NO! Don't think about him! We're mad at each
other! He hates me! He hates me!' But a little voice in her head kept reminding of her of the feelings she
had yesterday night. She felt happy,
everything felt so right…
Scoffing, " he's probably faking. God only knows what he does in iron Town
with them."
San continued walking and found herself in front
of Iron Town.
+
+ +
Ashitaka walked into the forest trying to find
San. He needed to talk to her. ' I hope she would listen first!' " Where is she? *Sigh* no way can she
hide from me that well!!!" He began
walking around the forest again trying to find a glimpse of San.
"Would you believe it? I end up back at iron
Town…"San muttered. She stood there for
quite a while thinking, not noticing Taka shouting some orders to the men. Before San knew what had happened, Taka's
men ambushed her. They started hitting
her everywhere possible. San sneered,
attacked, tried to get up, to defend herself but they were strong and their
strategy was well planned out so San had no way of getting up. All she was heard was their threats …
"This is for destroying Iron Town!!"
"You Bytch! You injured my family before and I'll never forgive…"
"You'll pay for this!!"
"By Order of Ashitaka!!"
San heard all the men talking at once but there
was no mistaking what she just heard. 'By the Order of Ashitaka? No…he wouldn't…'
San's anger heightened and she tried her best to
throw off the men. She succeeded for a
little while until one of the men cried for help.
"Taka! More men!"
'Taka! That name! Where have I head it before?'
The men didn't even have a chance to survive as
one of her brothers came and brutally killed the men attacking San. San took the chance to escape back to the
safety of the woods, as the wolves were still destructive among the men and the
town.
Safe for now, the three journeyed to a deep part
of the forest hidden among the mountains and trees where guaranteed no one
would be able to find them. 'Not even
Ashitaka…' and she collapsed to a deep sleep.
+
+ +
It was late afternoon when Ashitaka arrived the
entrance of Iron Town. Things were
oddly off. People were running around,
including the women who were usually busy storing energy for the men to use. The semi- injured were off to one side
tending minor wounds. Ashitaka looked
for Lady Eboshi and found her with Taka.
"Where the hell were you Taka? Eboshi was mad and
by the sound of her voice, Taka thought that he would be banned from iron Town.
"Lady Eboshi, it wasn't my fault…"
"Not you fault? You were supposed to be in the
forest like all these other workers here and where were you? HERE! Don't give
me some lame excuse! We needed the men out there!! God Taka…"
In a rush, Taka began his story. "Lady Eboshi, it wasn't my fault!!! Princess
Mononoke was here and she attacked!! The men are badly injured we had to treat
them so they will be okay. There was no
way we could've made it to both the forest and here…Eboshi? LADY EBOSHI? Are
you listening?"
Eboshi was deep in thought. 'San attacked? After this time?' Eboshi had
a growing concern for the safety of Iron Town and after while, she made up her
final decision.
"From now on, San is a threat to this town. See her and attack."
"Eboshi! Are you crazy? She didn't attack! I know
she didn't!"
Ashitaka stepped from behind the hut. He looked shaken. Proof, that he heard every single word.
"Ashitaka! Look at the men! Taka, go and help them
with their wounds!" Taka scurried off.
" How can you say that she didn't attack? They saw
wolves here Ashitaka! If they were here, so was she!"
"But you don't know that! I know she wouldn't
attack…"
"She did! She made a lot of damage and I can't
afford to lose any more men, injured or not! Look, I see your reason for
wanting to defend her but do you remember all your fights with her? Maybe she
was using you to gain some trust…look, I don't know her reasons but I have to
protect Iron Town."
Now, more than ever, Ashitaka had to talk to
San. He gathered a few of his
belongings prepared to spend his time in the forest for a couple of days. He took Yakkul and headed off.
+
+ +
"Taka!" Min and the others shouted his name eagerly to know how things went with
Eboshi.
Taka walked in grimly but then grinned, and
started to laugh hysterically. " All
thing's well" said a worker.
"Yea! But did you see our injuries? Ouch man."
"Hurting ourselves to make our wounds look worse…I
would never have thought of it!"
Taka replied, " Not my fault. The Princess Mononoke..." He said
every word of her title as an insult
"…Couldn't hurt us enough. Anyway the plan is working out fine. More than fine!"
"Eboshi isn't going to find out, is she?"
"Her? No way! She hates San more than us! I know
it. She just won't admit!"
"Admit what?" Toki came in with drinks for the
men.
"Nothing sweetness…"slurred a man who was
intoxicated already. " Hey…why don't
you come back my hut later huh Babe?" He extended his hand to slap her
buttocks. "Then we can get something
going-
He collapsed midway and Toki was glad for an
excuse to get away and to avoid being slapped in the ass.
The San/princess Mononoke haters sat around the
fire laughing hard discussing their plans and Ashitaka's reaction.
" You should have seen his face!" Taka mimicked Ashitaka's reaction. He out on a weepy, desperate face…" b-but
Eboshi I, I k-know sh-she di-didn't do that!" Laughing and drinking more and
more sake, one by one they collapsed into a drunken state.
"Oh my god!" Toki put her hand behind her mouth to hide the shock. She didn't want to wake up the drunken
men. She tiptoed away to Eboshi's hut
to talk bumping into someone.
'No…please don't let it be Taka's men…'
"Toki?"
"Ashitaka!!" she yelled relived.
In a whisper, she began," Where are you
going? I have something important to
tell you!"
"Toki…can it wait?" Ashitaka looked very
impatient. I have to find San now."
"NO! I'll walk you out and you have to listen to
everything I have to say." Toki and
Ashitaka began to talk while walking toward the forest.
+
+ +
"San…we arrived" growled San's brothers.
San moaned and groggily waked up. She climbed down their back almost falling
over because of her injuries.
"Will you be okay?" her brothers asked.
"It'll heal" and San limped toward the end of the
cave catching more rest.
The wolves departed, one wandering in the forest
and the other sat at the cave opening guarding against any intruders.
+
+ +
Ashitaka was speechless. " Are you sure about what you've heard Toki?"
She nodded. " Positive. We…"
"We have to tell Eboshi!"
"Keep your voice down! I know we should tell her
but she isn't going to listen. Me and
you both know first hand that she doesn't like San that much and she only put
up with her for you. And besides, Taka
is one of her best men!"
"Then I'll go then…I'll tell her…"
"She's not going to listen either. She's going to think you are lying for
defending her. Face it, she won't
believe us."
"Then I have to find San. Taka is probably preparing something and I
know that San must be hurt. Toki go
back and act as everything's normal. I'm going to find San. "
"But Eboshi…"
"Expects this. Ja Toki!"
Toki looked at the disappearing figure and headed
back to her hut to clean up when a figure knocked her to the ground.
+
+ +
San woke up feeling a little better. Her injuries hurt less and she wobbled out
to find her brother chewing the remains of an animal. She sat down next to him for a while before any spoke.
Half eating, her brother said, " You want to talk
about it?"
Angrily, San shouted" Ashitaka did this to me! I
hate him!! I hate him! I'm going to make him pay for what he did to me!"
San stormed back to the cave.
Her brother snorted," I told you never to trust
humans."
+
+ +
"Noo!! Let me go! Someone please!! Help me!!!!!!!" Toki stopped squirming. Her
attacker was sitting next to her. Toki
was scared, and she whimpered out, "What d-do you w-want?"
Her attacker turned toward the forest and then to
the hut. The wolf was trying to signal
her about something. 'Wolves…that must
mean San. If he wants me to go into the
forest, San must be in trouble! She's
probably still hurt!' Toki turned and
feeling more brave, said," I'll be back in a few. I have to get some belongings."
In a couple of minutes, Toki was on the wolf's
back after a little coaxing and persuasion. She arrived in a deep part of the forest she never been before. The wolf stopped in a cave and Toki got off.
"San?" she called out.
A moan was heard and Toki ran in. San was almost fainting in pain. When San saw Toki, she sneered and tried to
pull always her arm when Toki took it but the pain was unbearable. Silently, Toki treated her wounds, and San
fell to a deep rest.
When San woke up, Toki was silently staring at
her. " What do you want?"
"Nothing, I'm just treating your wounds. Your brother brought me here."
"Hmm"
"If you're feeling better, I think you should go
out." Said Toki as she saw San rising. " Ashitaka came looking for…"
" I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM! HE CAN LIVE OR DIE AND I
WOULDN'T CARE! I DON'T CARE!"
"But San, you don't understand…" Toki explained
everything and in the end..
"Stop faking a story Toki!!! He ordered them to do
it!! I know he did!! And like I said, he can die here for all I care because he
is never going to find me!! Never."
" But San…"
"I SAID SO! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE! Go back to Iron town!!"
Toki turned, gathered her things, and left back to
Iron Town.
Author's note whoa, that seems like a long
chapter! Again, comments are appreciated! Sorry this chapter took a while to come. My computer is being used by a lot of people and don't forget HW!
