'What is this, Ashitaka?'
Lady Eboshi's stern voice rose among the gathering crowd. The moment Yakul carried him and the boy through the newly-constructed bridge to Tataraba, the townspeople turned from friendly to shocked, their eyes darting between Ashitaka and the stranger, before resting on his grotesque, bloodied face. The crowd seemed to recoil as Yakul brought the two people to the forefront.
As Ashitaka dismounted the red elk, hushed murmurs and a few gasps drifted on the air, carrying concern, disgust, and shock. Carefully manoeuvring the boy's body in his arms, his breath seemed to shudder, coming in pained, short notes. From this angle Ashitaka couldn't stop his own breath catching in his throat as he looked at the boy's face; the gashes were extremely deep, the crusted crimson mixing with the raw red of seeping juice.
Eboshi couldn't hide a quick flinch as she took a closer look. Gonza, who was standing just behind her, had his mouth agape, before turning to an expression of fearful disgust.
Ashitaka met her gaze.
'San found him, deep in the forest. Whatever was in the forest last night, it looks like it got to him. I couldn't just leave him there'.
'The wolf girl?' Eboshi looked just past him, from where she could see the retreating forms of the girl and the wolves. She was quite glad she didn't stick around.
Eboshi looked back to the boy, a rare look of concern and perhaps sympathy coming out of the shadows of her face.
She continued reluctantly. 'Ashitaka, you know our policy on strangers right now…'
'I know Lady Eboshi, but he is only a child. Even if we can't save him, it will be better to at least try rather than leaving him to die alone. And if he does survive, he could perhaps tell us about his encounter with the thing that did this to him'.
His argument was quite persuasive; it WOULD be beneficial to know what creature roamed the woods now, and how they could protect Tataraba against it.
'...Alright', Eboshi sighed. 'Take him to the healing den'. She turned to the crowd. 'Everyone, please continue with your duties'. The people departed, some quickly, as if trying to remove the image of the injuries from their minds, some slower, turning back in curiosity and agitation.
…
The boy looked more at peace now. His breathing had grown slower and more regular, and the bleeding had finally stopped. A large, white bandage covered half of his face, leaving one closed eye exposed. Ashitaka sat at the side of the bed, staring. Would the boy survive the night? He still wondered to himself why he had spent all day beside the boy's bedside, watching the former lepers clean his wound, before wrapping the bandages they used to wear around his head. Ashitaka couldn't shake the feeling that this stranger was important.
'How is he getting on?'
Ashitaka turned slowly, unsurprised from hearing Eboshi's voice. She and Gonza too had been hanging around a lot. Out of concern or suspicion, he did not know. Perhaps both.
He shifted his body around, drawing his gaze away from the unconscious form.
'Better, I think. His breathing has slowed. Either that means he's recovering, or will soon be out of his misery'.
'I hope the latter,' Eboshi replied. 'We need all the information we can get'. Ashitaka inwardly smirked at her clear attempt to mask her sympathy with practicality. Silence.
'...You said the wolf girl found this child, yes? Does she know anything about what happened to him, perhaps what did it?'
Before Ashitaka could reply, he heard a sudden interruption from beside him. The boy's breathing had fallen out of sync, and conscious, tired sounds came from him. After hours of the repetitive, steady rhythm of his breathing, Ashitaka's heart began to pound with exhilaration. Eboshi and Gonza were also staring.
Sure enough, the body was moving now, making occasional, pained murmurs. The sheets rustled, and the boy opened one tired eye.
'Mmhh…urghnn…What…what is this?..'
Ashitaka instinctively felt a paternal-like urge to steady his nerves.
'Hey there. It's okay, you're safe now, no one is going to hurt you' Ashitaka soothed, raising his arms in gentle motions as he did so.
The boy shifted his eye, widening as he focused on him and his surroundings. Despite Ashitaka's attempts, he was clearly beginning to panic.
'Where am I? Who are you?' the stranger asked nervously.
'Hey, hey, it's alright, calm down. I'm a friend. What's your name?' Ashitaka attempted. Eboshi and Gonza stayed at the doorway for fear of overwhelming the already-scared child.
The boy didn't seem to visibly calm down, but was starting to construct sentences. 'Um…Saburo'.
'I'm Ashitaka. You've been very injured and we're here to help you'.
Saburo continued to look around him, breathing erratically, with seemingly blurred vision as his gaze swept across Eboshi and Gonza without any ounce of recognition.
'...I have?' Saburo's hand felt for his head, surprised to feel the soft cloth covering it. 'Oh…that's why I hurt…and why I can't see right now' he mused, referring to his covered eye. Although the wound did cover his eye…hopefully it didn't lead to permanent vision loss.
'Yes, that's right' Ashitaka said, smiling reassuringly. Looking back to Eboshi and Gonza, he could tell they wanted to start gathering information right there and then, though they knew better to do so when the stranger was in such a state.
Saburo calmed down somewhat, appearing to bring his mind back to the present. As he did so, his expression, turned to one of fear.
'Wait…if it got to me…' he began, trailing off. 'Where is my clan?'
'What?' Ashitaka whispered. He couldn't think of anything else to say to that.
'My clan…I have to get back to my clan!' Saburo began to panic again, Ashitaka attempting to stabilise him with a gentle yet firm arm across his back. Out of nowhere, the anxiety disappeared, replaced with an equally confusing question.
'Is this the Shishigami's forest?'
'Um…' was all Ashitaka could muster, dumbfounded. He quickly got a hold of himself; this was a question he at least understood. Saburo may not have been as steady as he seemed, his previous question about a 'clan' entirely forgotten.
'Yes, it was'
'Was? What do you mean? I need to find him'.
Ashitaka couldn't help glancing at Lady Eboshi and Gonza then, who had been standing just outside listening in to the conversation. For the first time, she held an expression almost of…fear. The last thing she wanted was for that past to become present once again.
Turning back to the boy, he explained.
'The shishigami…was killed. He can't manifest as himself any more. He healed the forest, but it is not the same as it was before'.
Saburo simply stared at him for what felt like hours. He began to breathe more audibly. Faster it went, his hands digging into his clothing, staring down at himself as he began to fully hyperventilate, twitching, sounds of pain and panic coming through in his exhales. The boy's heart beat ever faster, body contorting with each breath, until he dropped back down onto the bed with pupils dilated and disoriented vision. Ashitaka was completely helpless in comforting him, not being able to do anything except watch and listen as he murmured incoherently through his pain.
'Oh god…oh god…no,no,no,no…my clan, my clan…no healing, no hope. Stuck forever…'. As he uttered his last line, Saburo let out a bottled cry, tears sliding out of squinting eyes, breath catching in his throat through the tightness, forcing his lungs to cough out his unknown sorrows.
