See bottom of chapter for disclaimer.

~Chapter 3: Kuma Tsume~

The forest was impervious to the small, curled up figure wracked with grief that lay shaking between her two wolf brothers. A squirrel darted from tree to tree, somewhere nearby a bee took off from a flower with a loud buzz. Several meters away from the wolves (judged as a safe distance) sat the rotund monk Jiko. Being either insane or impervious to compassion (or the knowledge San would probably react with hostility to any comfort he would try and give), he sat eating silently.

Author's Note: Yes, Jiko would have to be crazy to eat at a time like this…Ladies and Gentlemen, the Japanese version of Wimpy.

San's body shook. The tears had stopped long ago and now she merely lay wracked with grief, making no noise but shaking from sadness. Her feelings for Ashitaka had not ever clearly come into focus until only hours ago. She was a wolf, she always had been. He was a human, her natural born enemy. But something, some human instinct within her that had not been destroyed from being inhuman her whole life was realizing that Ashitaka had just taken a death sentence to save her. Her brothers tried their best to help her, but it was truly her burden alone to carry. Two emotions were in play in San's mind. The first was shock- the shock that Ashitaka had cared enough to accept her fate when she would have contently killed him on more than one occasion. The second was rage. Rage against the warlord Asano. She had run over and over in her mind how she would kill him, but it still didn't help, for Ashitaka would never approve of it. San finally slowly and painfully forced herself into an upright position. Her face was stained and her customary war paint marred from both harsh treatment, fighting off her captors, and now dirty streaks from tears. She was grief stricken, but she was also clearly capable of killing anyone who got in her way. Jiko glanced at her but did not move. Without Ashitaka he was being very careful to avoid getting on Kuroi and Shiroi's tempers.

Although San was mentally wounded, her body required nourishment- something she had a lack of at Asano's hand. She hadn't had anything to eat for the better part of two days. She shakily stood, unsure if her legs would support her weight, and climbed onto Kuroi's back with little of her usual grace. The wolves moved forward into the depths of the forest to find a meal.

After a few minutes of careful tracking and confrontation, dinner was caught. A deer served as a meal for the trio, although for Kuroi and Shiroi, it was less than a snack. They ate to encourage San to, and she did. She prayed silently for forgiveness for having killed the deer, and thanked it for its sacrifice. After getting something in her stomach and feeling a bit better, San walked for a short ways in the forest until she found a small stream. There, she cleaned her knife and face and washed the deer's blood from her hands. She dipped her entire head in the stream, savoring the cool indifference of the water, and washed the blood spilled in her captivity from her forehead and hair. With canine behavior she shook the water from her hair and reset her headband. Finally, gritting her teeth, she pricked her left forearm with her dagger and watched as a trickle of blood flowed from the cut. She wiped her finger through it and carefully traced her face, both cheeks and her forehead, reapplying her tribal paint. She normally used mud that was a vivid red from the clay on the banks of Lake Irontown, but the soil here was a fine earthy topsoil with none of the rust-red minerals. Her own blood would do- it smelled of iron, like the mud. She looked into the stream to see how she had done, and aside from looking like she had stared down hell itself she was satisfied with her appearance. She let the cut clot and washed her hands again, this time her own blood flowing away in the waters. She stood and faced her brothers, who had been watching silently the whole time.

Something deep in the forest crashed, and with a sudden movement the wolves both turned.

"San, we must go." Kuroi growled in a voice that was harsh and to the point.

"What is it?" San asked, her instinct now overcoming her troubles, momentarily. She felt no fear, but her hunting reflexes were quickly being charged.

"Bears." Shiroi growled.

"But I thought the wolves had always been at peace with the bears." San said.

"Wolves have. But…humans aren't."

"Don't bring that up now!" San shouted, anger flaring for a moment, but Shiroi cut her off.

"You are enough of a wolf to be safe, but the fat one…"

San jumped onto Shiroi's back, her old readiness back again, and the wolves sprinted back the direction they had come. They arrived to see Jiko still sitting at the tree; apparently not at all aware of the deadly situation he was likely in.

"You- get up. Now." Kuroi barked. Jiko stood when there was a massive rumbling roar from behind the nearest trees. The branches were ripped aside, and in the center of two towering trees stood Kuma Tsume, the Bear King.

Kuma Tsume, standing on his hind legs, was a good three feet taller than the rest of his bears, making him about twelve feet high. He had a wild appearance: a crown of leaves wreathed his head; untamed black eyes glinted in the dappled light like opals against his brown fur. Behind him came the rest of his tribe, some on four legs and some on two. The bear tribe was a tribe of true warriors, tempered and manageable unlike Okkoto's impulsive clan. Kuma Tsume did not head a tribe so much as he did an army. He was also much more cool-headed and slow to anger. Unlike Okkoto and Nago, he knew the values of patience and planning. He moved forward a pace, and San could feel the sheer power that this beast god held- he was fully capable of ripping a man to shreds with his claws each as long as San's entire hand.

He apparently would get that opportunity if no one stopped him.

"What man has defiled my forest?" Kuma Tsume roared, his voice loud but level. His tribe roared after him and the din shook the leaves on the trees around the clearing. He strode over to Jiko in three quick strides and picked him up by the collar, lifting him off the ground to face the bear king eye-to-eye. Kuma Tsume cried a terrible howl and if Jiko were not paralyzed by fear he would have mouthed off about the volume. San rushed forward to stand in front of the bear king. While there was only one person she would have been more glad to see die at the hands of this bear god, she would stop him, for Ashitaka's sake. Even then, she wouldn't be able to do much, but she could try.

"Kuma Tsume! Spare him!" San shouted.

Kuma Tsume let out a bark-laugh and bent down to face San. His massive eyes, a solid black, stared her down. San felt fear for the first time since she had stood head to head with Okkoto, but knew that Kuma Tsume would not attack her.

"And why should I, wolf princess? He is in my territory, he is a human, and he has defiled this forest before. The wolf tribe, as honorable as it is, has no business in the forests of Kuma Tsume." He was calm with her despite his rage, which was clearly bravado put on for his tribe. If Kuma Tsume was truly angry, he would have done away with Jiko in seconds.

Kuma Tsume's other claw reached up and tapped the side of Jiko's head. It was like some strange sort of toy in the hands of a god. "And besides, little wolf, why are you here? Where is your mother Moro? For I have much to speak with her about."

"Moro is dead." San said. She said is harshly and quickly to avoid her voice failing her. She still grieved mother's death.

"Dead?" Kuma Tsume roared louder than before and San had to cover her ears. "How can Moro be dead? She is a god!"

"She died from a human bullet fired by her greatest enemy. It poisoned her and she died saving me." San said once the bear king stopped to listen. Kuma Tsume threw aside Jiko forcefully, who rolled on the mossy ground for a fair ten feet before stopping abruptly when he hit a tree.

"Word of such a tragedy had not ret reached these woods, and I am saddened that you had to be the bearer of such news, young one." Kuma Tsume said in a low, solemn voice. "If your mother has died, then you …Moro's human child…you are the leader of your Clan." He said in a sagacious voice that betrayed the ferocity of his spirit and his race.

San blinked. That was unexpected. She didn't have much time to think about it, as Kuma Tsume continued.

"BEARS!" He roared to his clan. "The blood of all the clans of the world has been lessened by the will of these humans. They must pay in blood! Send messengers to the tribes of the boars! We shall avenge!"
"No, wait!" San shouted. "I have other news, Lord Kuma Tsume. The boar Lord Nago died from the same curse, and Lord Okkotonushi in a trap laid by the humans. Also…the forest spirit of my native forest was destroyed as well."

"Two of the three boar gods dead…am I the only one left capable of fighting? No, for there is Kitsune and Inoshishi and Risu…" Kuma Tsume named the fox, last of the boar, and squirrel gods.

"…Neko-Goto and Taka and Fukuro…" San followed, naming the cat, hawk and owl gods. She had learned this hierarchy of gods as a child, and had met at one time or another most of them.

"Moro taught you well, little one. In her absence, you have become the leader of your clan. Therefore, I must consider you my equal."

"As your equal, Kuma Tsume, I ask you spare the life of this human." San gestured to Jiko, still very much dazed from his collision with the tree.

"Very well, young chief. Come, there is much for us to discuss." Kuma Tsume began walking in his giant strides and San hurried to keep up. Her brothers tagged along, leaving Jiko still dazed at the base of the tree. The bears would not touch him, but they would certainly watch him until he left. Kuma Tsume led her back to the cliffs, the nearly vertical rock walls that she vaguely remembered seeing from her transport to Kaigan. The cliff face here was pockmarked with caverns, and bears and their cubs moved in and out of these and along narrow slope pathways with ease. The paths along the cliffs were wide and covered with mosses and roots that almost seemed like stairs. This was the bear haven, the ancestral home of Kuma Tsume's tribe. In the highest cavern, at the very top of the cliffs and built right below the ground above, lay the den of Kuma Tsume. Only the bear king and San entered, Kuroi and Shiroi sitting outside on either side of the door, waiting patiently. A massive rock outcropping served as his throne and bed, and light filtered in through holes in the ceiling, those shafts of sun framed by roots. Kuma Tsume lay down on his throne to converse with San, standing about head level with her when the outcropping ended.

"I have not seen you for many winters, young one." Kuma Tsume said in his quietest voice yet. He was a god of war but also a god wiser than most. "The last time Moro made a journey to my forest was at a time of plenty, before the humans had become so reckless in their burning of trees and stripping their metals from the earth. When she came last time she brought with her a tiny child, not yet able to walk, and proclaimed you as her daughter. 'Remember this child, Kuma Tsume,' she said to me, 'for the future of my clan will rest in the hand of one who is not my own'. And now, you have taken the reins of your tribe into your hands as Moro once told me, San. It is your choice to their fate."

"What…what did my mother mean by saying that, Kuma Tsume?" San said, taken aback by the weight of her position. She was leader of her tribe, their fate rested in her hands…

"While we gods possess the power of prophecy, we do not dare to try and see where fate does not want us to. You must find for yourself what your mother meant by her words." The bear god said defensively. There were terrible legends about gods who had delved too far into the future, and were haunted for eternity with seeing the fates of their dying clans.

San was quite confused. She would determine the future of her clan…what did that mean?

"Tell me, San. Tell me how Moro and Okkoto and Nago died." Kuma Tsume asked in a softer voice. He would be the first person who would listen about Moro's death. Her brothers had been grieved enough that they need not talk about it, and it was too personal an issue to discuss with Ashitaka. But the bear king was both quietly insistent and patient to hear.

"My mother…" San began. She was still saddened by her death, but was not about to deny the bear god what she knew. "…She died a god's death. Her wound had poisoned her and she lay by the pool of the forest spirit to pass on to the next world. Okkoto, who had been cursed by the humans, had been consumed in his rage by Tatari Gami. The curse god consumed his flesh and mind, and it attempted…to consume me." She would never forget the terror of being in the clutches of the god of madness and death, Tatari Gami. "Moro, in her dying movements, pulled me free from the grasp of Okkoto, and then the forest spirit came to take both their lives. I was saved by…"

San paused. She could be treading into dangerous ground here. "…By my mother's actions, but that damned woman who rules the iron city came and beheaded the forest spirit. I had to reclaim his head and return it to him, and after I did, he died as the sun rose and dispelled him. The forest is recovering, but it feels his absence and feels…insecure."

"And Lord Nago?" Kuma Tsume and Nago had fought by each other many a time in the ancient days.

"I…only know he died far to the east, in lands he had never seen. The bullet within him drove him mad and Tatari Gami took control of him."

Kuma Tsume was silent for a moment and then gave a grave nod. "Young one, you now stand as leader of your clan, but before you can assume your full role, you must be ordained by the council of the gods."

San frowned slightly. It would delay what little plans she had to attack Kaigan…but what else could she do? While it might be dangerous to admit her bond to Ashitaka, she needed more than just her brothers to invade a city ruled by such a fiend as Asano.

"Already I have sent word on the wings of birds to the other gods. They travel swiftly. By tomorrow, we shall be prepared to welcome you as your tribal leader." Kuma Tsume said this and stood.

"I understand, Kuma Tsume. I present my thanks for your hospitality."

"You and your brothers may rest here tonight, young one. I shall see to it that you need not worry about food or rest while you are here." Kuma Tsume walked past her and out the door, and disappeared down the path in the cliff face. Kuroi and Shiroi entered a minute later, walking over to San and laying down, licking her face in a silent question as to if she was all right.

"I'm…fine." San said, but she and her brothers knew it was not the truth. So much had happened in the past day that she felt sick with all of it. "I'm to be ordained tomorrow as leader of our clan." She said, not looking at either of them. They both stared when she said this. They already saw her as their leader, but to be ordained by the gods was an occurrence that had never been heard of. She was a wolf, had grown up a wolf, ate, walked, hunted, and spoke like a wolf. She though and acted like a wolf, but visibly she was human. That part of her was all that seemed to matter. And now, Moro's ugly, beautiful daughter would become the leader of her tribe. For Kuroi and Shiroi, it was an unexpected change. Her brothers were happy for her, smiling somewhat forcedly, but they also knew the permanency this appointment carried. Moro would become another name in the legends of men.

San needed some time to herself, but she wouldn't get it soon. A bear arrived presently to escort Princess Mononoke and her brothers on a tour of the cliffs and then to dinner with the tribe- a welcome feast for their guests. The cliffs were not, as San could now clearly see, merely a residence for the bear tribe. It was a fortress. Every He-Bear, She-Bear and cub was capable of fighting, and the cliffs were a natural defense against any human assault. Sticks, rocks, and debris were packed together with mud along the edges of the paths, forming protection that could be toppled down below if need came. The caves were deep and dark, making combat within them nearly impossible. And at several points where mudslides of years gone by had washed out the paths, there were crude bridges made from fallen trees that could be removed and later replaced. The forest of the wolf clan was a home. The cliffs of the bear tribe were a stronghold.

Dinner was a rich affair of meats, berries, and fish, but both Kuroi and Shiroi opted to dine by themselves. San was left rather uncomfortably by herself with the clan, which she could see numbered somewhere in the fifties. The bears were discreet about eating, at least, unlike some other, less refined tribes. The entire while, though, San's mind was a tangle of thoughts, fears, and possibilities. She was tired by the time the sun finally set and her brothers returned.

~

Asano watched the sunset with pleasure. The day had gone very well- he didn't have to keep that wolf girl caged for longer than an hour or so, the boy had come promptly and had fallen into the trap quite nicely. He had sent a messenger along the coast to the emperor, who would be lending Asano the aid of his fleet for his eventual attack on Irontown. He had the bait, he had the backing…he deserved a little celebratory libations.

He smiled again as he rolled the last of his sake around in the small cup he held. That wolf girl had been the talk of the town, and was quite a fighter. Or so Taisho said. His bodyguard and general had little difficulty dealing with the little runt. Take away her family and she lost her bite. The boy…had intrigued him. He had taken his beatings like a man, not fighting back like that wolf girl (although the guards were much more cautious nonetheless). Hellfire, he had actually said he didn't blame them for their actions. How kind. He was level headed; no coward and no fool, but he had a soft heart. That was his fatal flaw.

He downed the last of the sake and strode over to a broad table that rested at one side of the hall. On it was a sheathed sword, a bow and it's string, a cloth cap, and a straw cloak. Asano picked up the sword and removed it from its cover, admiring the skill someone had used in crafting it. This was clearly not a warrior's sword- it was a sword for royalty. He swung it once in front of him, brought it around in an offensive stance, then cleanly took the corner off the table with an upward stroke and cleaved the flying timer in two with a cross slash. Then he brought the blade quivering tip down into the table next to its sheath.

Royally crafted indeed. Asano preferred a longer blade, but that was no kitchen knife. He would send the cap to Eboshi as proof, but keep the blade. He would need it.

Asano replaced the blade in its sheath and strode through the halls of his palace, eventually coming to a rear balcony that overlooked the bay and port of Kaigan. The ships sent to aid him would arrive in two days, and then he and his prisoner would be on their way to pay a little visit to Lady Eboshi. The sun set with a fire that was as cold as the blood in Asano's veins, and the warlord grinned one final time.

~

Ashitaka was battered and bruised, but still sat silently in the middle of the wooden cage in the courtyard. He had a cut on his back that pained him with every breath he took, and a bruise right below his right eyebrow that glared pain when he blinked, but he kept his hands on his knees and his feet folded in a lotus position. He was thinking, since there was little else to do. Thinking about this whole mess.

San was never far from the top of his thoughts. She would try to rescue him, he thought with a great sadness. She was courageous, but a bit stubborn. She would probably die in the attempt. He prayed silently that it could happen some other way.

Jiko was also a bit of a concern. He would probably be in a bit of danger now that Ashitaka wasn't there to keep Kuroi and Shiroi off him. He'd probably just go back to Irontown. Then he would tell Lady Eboshi everything. Another person would be drawn into this mess and another person would suffer all because of him.

No, not because of him. Because of Asano. The warlord had taken his blade and bow and subjected him to beatings. He was at fault for this. Ashitaka felt surprisingly little hatred for the man. He would be dealt with in due time, at someone's hand.

Ashitaka breathed in again and closed his eyes in pain, then feeling a sharp stab of discomfort from his eye. He looked up at the stars and silently though he would not be getting to sleep easily tonight. Eventually, though, he lay down and sleep came to him with quick mercy.

~

Miles away, in the cave at the top of the cliffs, San awoke. For a second, she laid there, Kuroi and Shiroi each on either side of her, asleep, and listened to their breathing. They had eaten deer, that was for sure. In her half asleep haze, San heard Moro breathing a short ways behind her. But mother…

San sat up quickly, her normal ring of metallic noise absent as her earrings were placed along with her moccasins on top of her hide vest. She saw in the dim light filtering in from the root-holes above that it was not Moro, but Kuma Tsume who lay asleep a stone's throw away. San felt her heart drop a little, and looked up out to the sky far above. The moon was high in the sky, and the world was illuminated in ghostly light. She stood as quietly as possible and stepped over Kuroi's sprawled legs. The mossy floor was damp with evening dew as she walked barefoot over to the door of the cave. The forest below was not a mass of green leaves like her own, but instead had branches that were spaced apart, and even from here San could see the forest floor on this clear night.

She momentarily wondered if she should go out without telling her brothers, but she took a step and it was all her body needed. She walked slowly, picking her way quietly along the narrow cliff paths, until she reached the woods below.

She walked and thought.

She would become the leader of her tribe tomorrow. She would take on the responsibilities mother had carried, and be expected to lead her brothers into battle and fight as mother had fought. She would have to deal with other gods, invaders of her territory, and those damned humans. She was filling Moro's role, and San didn't feel big enough. Her brothers had always been insistent on protecting her, but now who was going to protect them? She was. It was scary. An important part of her would be born tomorrow, and another part of her would die. She needed someone to talk to- keeping this misery pent up was poisonous, but Ashitaka was asleep behind wooden bars somewhere.

She finally sat down at the base of a tree older than most of them and simply stared at the stars. She had always felt so small in the universe- like her purpose was never enough to sway the fate of anything. But now she wasn't so sure.

"You are frightened." Said a reedy, fluid voice next to her, and San jumped.

Sitting perched on a dead log not ten feet right of her was Fukuro, the Owl God. She was certain he hadn't been there a minute ago- she had stepped right over that log before she sat down. She hadn't even heard him arrive, but that was normal. His perfectly round, golden eyes gleamed sharply and stared at her with a peculiar radiance in the moonlight. The rest of his dusky brown body was merely an outline against the trees behind.

"You, San of the wolf tribe, are torn between two great duties. One is that to your tribe. The other is your debt to a close friend. Before you will lie two paths. One will lead to ruin, the other to reunion. Your loyalties to both will be tested, but your choice shall lead to the life or death of those around you." Fukuro blinked, a slow, exaggerated movement with his huge eyes.

"But Lord Fukuro, what does it mean? What will I have to choose?" San said, exasperated and desperate.

"Do you know what became of that red elk?" Fukuro said. He had completely ignored her. San knew from the ease of his voice that he would not dare breach the topic again.

"Yakkul?" San said.

"I think it would be best if you were to fetch him. Twice today he has skirted hunting parties. He will not last long in this forest between bears and men." The owl god said as he turned his head around- literally around, San thought uneasily- to gaze at the elk which stood grazing a short distance away.

San stood and bowed to the owl god. "I thank you, Lord Fukuro. My friend would be greatly saddened if I had allowed his companion to be killed."

"You need not thank me- he already has, twice. He is very wise." The owl god replied. San walked past him and over to Yakkul. The elk looked at San as she walked, and let her pet his muzzle and take gentle hold of his reins. San turned to say goodbye to the owl god, but he was already gone. She would see him soon enough, she though, as she instructed Yakkul to head back to her forest and stay there until she came with Ashitaka for him. The elk nodded slowly and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"You are very wise indeed, Yakkul…" San said as she watched him go. Unseen and unknown to either of them, Fukuro would follow him all night, to ensure his safe passage. San headed back to the cave and slept deeply, and when she awoke she was unsure if she had dreamed it all if not for the elk hairs on her shirt.   

~

DISCLAIMER AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTOIDS TO NOURISH YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC JAPANESE! (In which I have no skill whatsoever…)

Concerning ownership and character names…

San, Ashitaka, Lady Eboshi, Gonza, the "unnamed" wolf brothers, Moro, Okkoto, Nago (not even sure I mentioned him), the concept of Asano, and everyone else originally appearing or referenced in Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime for you hardcore fans out there) are property of Hiyao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Miramax, Disney, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and whomever else they came into contact with along the long and complicated journey to America.

Characters of my own creation include the following, with a bit of background on each for those of you who haven't realized just how much of this is basic Japanese:

Asano – well, I flushed out his personality and physically created him, and you'll be leaning much more about him in future chapters.

Kuroi and Shiroi – I expanded a bit on them (They might be twins but from experience twins are usually different) and gave them names. The names also are a duality in that they reflect personality differences- "kuroi" means "black", "shiroi" means "white". Imagine that.

Taisho – Definitely filched this one from the Jap-English dictionary. Taisho means "general (military), leader, admiral". He is the eunuch general of Asano's army.

Kaigan – Means "seashore, coast, seaside, beach". It's a coastal city, hence Kaigan. I thought it sounded city-like.

The gods!

Kuma Tsume – Means "bear claw", and Kuma Tsume is the king of the bears, and you shall see him live up to his name in future chapters.

Kitsune – "Fox", for those of you out of the loop.

Risu – "Squirrel". Simple and effective.

Inoshishi – "Wild boar". The last of the boar gods.

Neko-Goto – "Cat burglar" or "cat robber". Which he is, of course.

Taka – "Hawk". One of the two bird gods appearing in the story.

Fukuro – "Owl". The sage and often silent god who has told San something very important and very true.

…and that wraps up my first new commitment to this story, part 3. Next is part 4- entitled "Possession".

I'd beg for reviews, but if you made it this far you probably don't hate the fic. Tell me how I'm doing, and more importantly what you don't like and I can improve upon, that's really what reviews are for. Off to work again!