The Fox and the Princess Mononoke

Part 10

"San," Ashitaka took her hand and nodded for her to follow him. They raced back to his hut and loosed Yakul just as several wandering embers landed on the roof. Hopping on, they hurried towards the forest to keep whatever fires had started from spreading.

"San," Ashitaka managed to utter as she clung to him. "I should have listened to you when you told me about Rin. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to save the forest!" said San through clenched teeth. "We have to hurry before the fire spreads here."

"Right."

The forest was a flurry of terror. Animals fled for their lives. Embers hissed as they landed in water. Trees silently screamed as their leaves were set aflame. As they passed the first few trees, Ashitaka spotted something out of the corner of his eye that made him pull Yakul to a sudden stop. Before San could ask, Ashitaka had leapt off the elk and already picked up the small white object. Turning San a fearful gaze, he showed her what he had found: a dead kodama.

"It's happening all over again…" San took the lifeless little spirit from him. "What are we going to do?"

Ashitaka hauled himself back onto Yakul and they continued towards the forest. The little kodama faded away into nothing, and San could not help but wipe a bit of moisture from her eyes.

Despite their distaste for one another, the wolves and the apes were rushing, side by side, to extinguish the encroaching flames. The wolves buried what was burning with mud, and the apes were throwing water on the singed leaves and branches. Still, with their combined efforts, kodama were still snowing down.

San and Ashitaka reached the forest and quickly surveyed the chaos. Everywhere they looked, there was fire. Even if they worked for days on end, the fire still would not be completely put out.

"What can we do?" the wolf girl nearly broke into tears as another kodama died in her hands.

The wind picked up, and Ashitaka glanced upwards to see the once-clear skies casting over with clouds. As strange as it was, he focused his attention back to the burning forest. The pool of the Forest Spirit was not too far from them; he pulled his red leather hood off and hurried to fill it with water. It wasn't much, but at least it would be enough to be of some help. Together, they set about extinguishing the flames.

Back in Iron Town, the citizens were dousing the last of the hot embers. Though the forge had taken the worst of the damage, it was still far from beyond repair. It was then that Lady Eboshi regained consciousness.

"Huh?" she looked around, confused. "Where is Ashitaka? And Princess Mononoke?"

"They've gone to the forest, My Lady." Gonza replied.

"The forest, hm?" she sat up slowly. "Gonza, get me my horse. We'll see what is really happening down there."

The bodyguard left quickly, leaving Lady Eboshi behind to gather her thoughts.

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Ashitaka silently cursed the strengthening breeze as he hurried along with his hood full of water. The winds were making the flames spread faster, and it would only be a matter of time before they lit the whole forest afire. If only it would rain!

Angry snarls pierced through the hot crackling all around, and Ashitaka looked up to see Eboshi, Gonza, and several others from Iron Town racing toward them. The wolves bared their fangs threateningly and growled, being in no mood to tolerate humans during such a crisis. San followed suit, reaching instinctively for her blade; a sharp gesture from Ashitaka froze that motion. Eboshi and the others reigned their horses to a sudden stop, taking in all before them.

"Where is she?" Eboshi demanded, her voice cool and serious as always. "Where is the fox?"

"She's not here!" San barked.

"And why would I trust your word, wolf girl?"

"You-"

"Enough!" Ashitaka interceded. "I have had enough of both of you being at each other's throats!"

"You're quick to save her forest before my Iron Town!" The older woman glared.

"That's not important right now!" Ashitaka carefully kept his eyes on both women. "Iron Town is a small place with many people to put out the flames. The forest is a much larger area with fewer hands to save it. What you both need to do is to stop this foolish bickering and put out the fire, understand?"

The wolves had not ceased their growling, and the glint of their teeth in the firelight clearly unnerved the horses. Even Yakul, who had grown used to their presence over time, took a cautious step back.

"That goes for you too!" Ashitaka added, inwardly startled that he had actually dared to command the wolves into obedience. The great beasts glared at him, but their snarling stopped.

"You can't be serious!" San flared. "They want this forest to burn down so that they can take it over like they wanted to before!"

Normally one to keep his cool, Ashitaka gripped San by the shoulders and glared into her eyes. His wounded arm protested its use, but the boy ignored it. The wolf girl was beyond startled by the sudden, forceful motion, too much so to even bare her teeth as she usually would. The wolves' snarls returned and the fur on their backs stood up stiffly, infuriated that this boy would dare to lay his hands on their sister.

"Where would you rather live, San?" Ashitaka's voice was low and evidently restraining a lot of agitation. "In a living forest… or a dead one?"

San was still too shocked to even answer him. Only when Ashitaka let go of her did she regain her senses, but even then, she found herself unable to respond.

Ashitaka turned back to Eboshi and her escort and gestured in the direction of Forest Spirit's pool.

"There's water that way." He instructed.

Gonza, who had remained practically silent until this point, finally found his tongue and spoke up.

"You can't seriously think we're going waste our time helping a bunch of filthy animals!" He yelled, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Easy, Gonza." Eboshi ordered before turning to Ashitaka. "If you are not allied to the fox, then why did you run from Iron Town with it?"

"It left on it's own, Eboshi" Ashitaka explained plainly. "You were unconscious at the time."

"A 'favor' I mean to pay back later." Eboshi narrowed her eyes at him, then nodded for her escort to follow her. "Let's hurry."

Much to the surprise of all present, Eboshi led her party down to the water's edge and returned with water to douse the flames. Ashitaka silently nodded his approval and resumed his efforts to extinguish the fire. San and the others also hurried to resolve the crisis at hand, but stubbornly refused to take both eyes off of the newcomers.

With all the water that was being splashed about, Ashitaka failed to notice that more dark clouds had rolled in. Even with the cold of the water being thrown about, sweat poured from his face. The intense heat tinted his face with color, but did not dare pause to soothe it. The snow of withered kodama was beginning to slow, but not fast enough in his mind.

It was not until the echo of distant thunder touched his ears that he and the others realized the gods were answering their prayers.

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Sorry for not updating is sooooooo long! I had kinda written myself into a wall with the last chapter and didn't know where to go from there, so please excuse any OOC-ness or other accidents that may have occured during the writing process.

Didn't think Ashitaka could lose his cool? Neither did I, but everyone's fuse ends somewhere, and it almost did in this chapter. I'll try to hurry up and finish this fic as soon as possible. Hopefully, I won't write myself into any more walls anytime soon.

Like it? Hate it? Tell me! It encourages me to write more!