~Chapter 6: Retreat~
~
Dawn cracked blood red over the horizon, a fitting sun for a day of war. The city of Kaigan, its people unaware of what the sunrise would bring, awoke and went about their lives as they would any other late summer day. Inside the palace, the Karakasa-Ren opportunely coerced a breakfast from the kitchens, but Lord Asano would not remain confined to his bed while he had guests. He felt they deserved "special" attention.
"My lord, please return to bed! You need your rest!" Seijin pleaded with his sire, attempting to slow his inevitable march to expel Jiko Bou from his house.
"I am well again, Seijin. I feel like the new day has greeted me with fitting strength for battle." Indeed, Asano felt in fine form. No longer racked by pain and suffering, he strode around his chambers with a fierce air about him. "Tell me again about these rifles Jiko has brought with him."
"My lord, they are twelve of Lady Eboshi's finest firearms, with ammunition and powder to disperse a small army. They would be a perfect way to fight fire with fire."
"I intend to, Seijin. Eboshi should finally be at the receiving end of her own iron." Asano unconsciously brushed his hand against the wound that only yesterday had again been reminding him of that cold-hearted harlot.
"My lord, I beg of you-" Seijin again entreated, but was cut off.
"If, Seijin, you doubt my health, should I prove it to you by delivering that Emishi boy's beating personally?"
Seijin blinked, bowed and apologized. "Forgive me, my lord. It is merely the concern of an elderly advisor speaking, not that of a military tactician."
Asano turned and strode through the halls of his palace. He would give Jiko a welcome to remember- through pain, if needed. Jiko was intelligent. He knew he couldn't come crawling back to Asano with no good news and expect to get away unscathed, so he made a little detour through the smith's shops in Irontown. When bringing bad news, soften the blow by bearing gifts. Simple, like Jiko.
Asano was still greatly irritated at Jiko. The monk had been unable to backstab Eboshi when he had the perfect opportunity. He would deal with him accordingly. As he passed through the main hall of his palace, he removed the sword from his great-grandsire's Hatakeyama dedication ceremonial armor, brandished it, and continued on.
Upon entering the main hall, Asano strode over to his throne, and stood in front of it, surveying the forty-odd Karakasa soldiers who stood in neat rank and file. Jiko, of course, was again at their head. Asano sat, the katana's pommel resting in one fist with his other hand on top of it, the tip gently pressing the floor.
Jiko bowed. "It's good to see you feeling well, Lord Asano."
"It's good to be back to my old self, Jiko. We have much to talk about." Asano said, a smile curving the very end of his mouth.
"Your business or mine?" Jiko said, cocky as usual.
"Dismiss your men." Asano said. The Karakasa-ren filtered out neatly with a single gesture from Jiko's hand. When they had left, Asano started speaking. "I first want to know why exactly Lady Eboshi is still alive and you failed to claim the head of the Forest Spirit after I gave you explicit orders not to return until you had one of their heads in that iron strongbox."
"I'd say it was a couple of unforeseen difficulties. After all, I certainly didn't expect to get attacked by giant waves of life-sucking ooze after Ebo…I had taken out the Forest Spirit. I planned to knife her in the back the first chance I got-"
"Knowing you, I'd have thought you might use one of your darts."
"-but she got away at the price of an arm."
"And now you come back with neither the forest spirit nor Eboshi's head. Do you realize the hell I'm going to pay when the emperor gets wind of this? Or should I cut off your head as a substitute?" Asano now stood, his anger catching him, and brandished the katana.
"My lord." Seijin intoned from the entrance to the hall.
"Do you mind, Seijin? I'm a bit busy."
"You have a visitor, my lord." Seijin said, bowing aside to reveal Shirei Chokan, admiral of the emperor's navy. Chokan was a middle aged, very slight general, who moved stiffly in his armor with his helmet under one arm.
"Ah! Chokan!" Asano said, smiling and placing the katana across his throne. He turned to walk over to the admiral. "Most excellent to see you again. Have you only just arrived?"
"Yes, sir. The emperor sends his greetings and wishes your presence at the court immediately."
"Immediately? What is the meaning of this, Chokan? You and the emperor both know I'm still leaving business ends untied here." Asano said, still smiling but showing his true colors with the steel in his voice.
"The emperor requires your presence for…purposes of guidance."
"You mean he wants to reprimand me." Asano sneered. Jiko smiled, knowing just how the tables had been turned. "Very well. Chokan, I hope you will enjoy the hospitality of my house. Seijin, see to it that our guest is treated with the highest respect we can provide."
"Yes, my lord. Admiral, if you would please follow me…" Seijin bowed to Asano and led the seaman through the palace halls.
Once Chokan was out of sight, Asano disgustedly threw the katana across the room, where it clattered across the floor until it stopped at the foot of the armor, and slumped in his throne.
"Now, back to business, eh?" Jiko said, smiling unabashedly.
"Get out of my sight, Jiko."
"Now, I know what you're thinking- the emperor's going to have your head for failure. And although I am quite pleased with the irony of the situation, I feel obligated to help."
"Now, Jiko."
"So, I'll make you a deal- here's all I want: you free the boy, and I'll make sure that your punishment is lifted. All I ask in return is that I get to kill you."
Asano sat in silence. He really hadn't expected something quite that dramatic from Jiko, but right then, occupied in finding a way out of his current plight, Asano was unable to dismiss it. The monk continued, glad he now had his attention.
"Sounds like a bit of a one-sided deal, right? Well, here's where it works out. Eboshi hired me to kill you, but she doesn't want your head- she wants your sword. Your real sword. The boy's freedom is just a personal favor I owe him. End result: Eboshi thinks you're dead, I'm on her side, and all's well. Then, when it becomes convenient for you, we strike and take Irontown when she doesn't have a clue."
"So you're offering me time to stall and rally support?"
"All for you loaning a weapon to me. I'll make sure it's not harmed."
Asano mulled it over in his mind. Time was valuable right now- very valuable. If he could make Eboshi think she was safe, she wouldn't actively be hoarding arms. He could take his licks and then muster support from a few old friends and the Shisou-Ren. And then…Irontown, and Eboshi, would be his at last. He did see a light problem in the plan- Jiko himself.
"How do I know you'll do as I say, Jiko?"
"I was hoping you'd ask that. The Shisou-Ren have already planned this out- here's the official document to prove it. Just got it this morning. My people act faster than any fleet can sail." Jiko drew from his robes a scroll, tightly bound and stamped. Asano leaned forward and took it, read the seal of the Shisou-Ren, and broke the wax. It was an elegantly written document, signed and stamped by two of the half-dozen unnamed masters who ran the cult. Asano looked back. He smiled again, but it bore no warmth- only cruel passion for the events to come.
"You've done me well, Jiko. Tomorrow morning, you depart, and you shall take the boy and the sword. You and your men are welcome here, for once. You may go."
"Yes, Lord Asano." Jiko bowed very low, but when he straightened up he was grinning widely. "A pleasure doing business with you."
~
It was a mostly ordinary day, thought the wall-guard as he stood waiting to be relieved. No one of great importance entering or leaving the gates of Kaigan since the other day. The weather had been fair, but a bit muggy- it would probably rain this evening. He had heard from other passing soldiers and errand-boys that there had been a small fleet arriving in the harbor this morning. The emperor's men, or some such rubbish.
The guard heard his name called and turned to his relief, who was just arriving after having climbed the ladders to get up onto the walkway. The guard stretched and walked over to the ladder, testing the top rung with one foot. His second step, however, missed the intended rung, and he fell backward. The fall would have killed him had he not been hit in midair by Taka.
The hawk god took him out in a full attack dive, her talons burying themselves completely in the man's chest, and her momentum carrying him a full city block before he was dropped off onto a roof. His partner watched incredulously at the sight until shock was replaced by panic and he began to frantically drum on the alarm. Tobira and his team of doormen, sitting below, slowly and unassumingly started the long process of pushing the gates closed. Deeper within the city, the sound of the alarm roused the few remaining soldiers of Asano's guard to alert stations, most halfway between changing posts.
At the distant edge of the forest, the clamor of the alarm was the signal to begin the attack. Kuma Tsume and Inoshishi strode side by side out of the foliage, both gods of war that were terrible for any human to look upon. With measured elegance on Kuma Tsume's part and ferocity on Inoshishi's, the two begin a slow advance towards the wall of the city. It was a short distance, but a charge would tire the small force they had. The pace would remain slow until the conflict started in earnest at the gates.
It was almost painfully slow for the wolf tribe. San understood the need to pace the assault, but as Kuroi growled and impatiently pawed the ground at the speed of the advance, the anxiety surrounding the assault was clear. The combatants weren't nervous- they were eager. Any excuse for the wolf tribe to sink fangs into men was a welcome one.
The tribes crested the first hill and broke into a trot, with bears shambling quickly and the wolves moving at a leisurely lope, still ready for more. Kinjiru, who was being carried by Shiroi ("only for the charge- no longer" the wolf had snarled) was not having an easy time riding wolfback, but was managing nonetheless. The difficulty was that with his wristblades, the cat boy had a difficult time getting a grip on anything solid. He was managing with his legs and a feline sense of balance, but was far from the graceful form San made riding into battle. At the top of the city wall, the alarm fell silent as Taka made a second pass and took out the guard there. His body was dropped unmercifully before the gates, and their progress shut ceased as the doormen investigated what the noise had been.
The crest of the second hill signaled an all out run. Kuma Tsume and Inoshishi broke away from their tribes, and the wolf brothers moved forward alongside to flank them. The bear and boar god were going to crack the gates of Kaigan open like a nutshell. From the other side of the gate, Tobira the doorkeeper only then realized the arrival of these rampaging gods- and he shouted furious commands to close the still half open doors. It was nearly imperceptible, but Kuma Tsume smiled a fanged grin.
The gates were still a couple of feet open when Kuma Tsume and Inoshishi hit them, but even that small distance was enough. The artful woodwork of the door had been designed, unlike Irontown's crude but effective gate, for ease of motion instead of defense. The lightness of the doors- only one or two hands thick- was their undoing. Kuma Tsume broke the bottom half of the left side door off, leaving the top half swaying crazily as the broken piece was used by the bear god to shove aside the men there and clear a path for his tribe. Inoshishi hit the door with a thunderous slam and it ripped cleanly away from the gate. Unimpeded by it's weight, the boar god continued a charge, crushing a score of men in his path, still carrying the gate as Kuroi and Shiroi streaked past him. Kinjiru pushed himself off Shiroi's back to join the fight at the gates, San and her brothers continued on. Unchecked by soldiers, farmers, and townsfolk, San kept her spear close to her side, ready to use it on a certain warlord and his bodyguard.
~
Asano wasn't sure which concerned him more- the tiny noise of the alarm being raised at the gates or the sudden silence after the alarm stopped mid-beat. The warlord had summoned his advisors to see if there had been any report or arrival that could possibly have caused some sudden panic. They could determine none. Jiko and Chokan stood in on the meeting, and both adamantly refused that they had anything to do with the chaos.
One of the soldiers who had been changing shifts arrived breathless with the story. A full assault force of the gods of the forest, he said. Wolves, bears, boars, birds- the advisors murmured and shifted nervously. Jiko smiled and leaned in next to one of his Karakasa escorts, and whispered something that caused the hooded soldier to leave the room.
"If there is going to be a battle here then we are sorely unprepared, my lord." Seijin said. "If they gods have brought the battle to us, then we have been caught off guard. Our troops are few, we are unprepared-"
"If I may offer, Lord Asano- ?" Jiko interrupted. Seijin glared scathingly at him. "I think a retreat would be the best outlook from this monk's point of view."
Asano was intrigued. "How do you propose, Jiko? In case you haven't noticed, my city is backed on water by three sides, and the fourth would walk right through those beasts."
"If Admiral Chokan has his ships ready to depart yet-" Jiko glanced at Chokan and the admiral nodded his agreement- "then we could salvage your army, advisors, and court on the ships. Bears can swim, but they can't outrun manmade vessels. I volunteer to personally cover your withdraw." Jiko snapped his fingers for effect as the rifle-armed Karakasa moved silently through the entrance to the hall.
"My lord, what about the civilians? We can't just leave them to die!" Seijin spoke, outraged at the monk's indifference.
"This is a fishing city, Seijin. The majority will be able to fend for themselves." Asano dismissed. "Chokan, have your ships ready to depart at a moment's notice. Seijin, make sure all of my court are prepared to go. Jiko…let's see just how well these rifles of Eboshi's work."
~
San was slightly lost and more than slightly frustrated. Damned human cities- you could hardly tell one street from another. The houses were the same, the dirt roads were the same- and the wall her brothers were currently circling to try and find an entrance looked the same as it had for the past two minutes.. At least in the woods you could use smell to guide you- here there was nothing but the stink of cattle, men, and fish.
"It's no use- it'll be faster if we split up." Shiroi growled as he slowed to run alongside his brother.
"Fine- I'll be on the building tops. If you find him or need help, just call. I'll be able to hear you." San instructed.
"No need for that. We can take care of ourselves." Kuroi said.
San pushed herself up into a standing position and leaped from Kuroi's back onto the palace wall to her side. It was a bit of a stretch, but San got an arm over the rounded log point and pulled herself up. The wall was mostly just a visual barrier- only about a foot wide, with a straight drop for some fifteen feet on the other side. San could deal with that- the lack of a walkway wouldn't hinder her much. San used the new height to try and see where exactly Ashitaka had been, but to little avail. The grounds were large and he might be on the other side of the building.
A sharp whistle told San to drop immediately- she did, crouching in place. Some five feet behind her the wood exploded and splintered, showering her with bits of debris. San knew the sound and result- it was one of the guns, the same kind Eboshi used in Irontown. But could that cold-souled human really be here? San didn't take the time to think- she was a target now, and she knew from experience that a moving target was always the hardest to hit.
As she dashed forward along the uneven and crooked outer wall of the palace, San raised her eyes up to the palace's elegantly sloping roof and saw that at a second floor balcony were stationed a pair of riflemen. There was another muzzle flash and San looked forward in time to see the wood ahead of her explode. With no time to stop, she raised her arms to cover her lower face and felt splinters of wood slice her skin and bounce off her mask. She jumped over the divot in the wall and kept running, moving out of the sight and range of the riflemen as the wall turned.
Now San was on a different side of the palace, and could see where, in the distance, Kuma Tsume and Inoshishi stood out like islands against a flood of dying soldiers and fleeing civilians. Aside from his shining black body painted red by blood and tan by mud paint, Inoshishi resembled his eldest brother. He had now rid himself of the door and was using hoof and tusk to charge groups of soldiers. Kuma Tsume was still a terrible sight to see from this distance- his head was intricately braided in a mane of leaves, his teeth and claws crimson. She again looked inside the palace walls, a deathly still garden rushing by as San again turned with the wall, her leather moccasins digging for purchase in the weathered wood.
The next courtyard was the one she was looking for; the cage in the middle was a sight she was more used to recognizing from the inside, but there was no mistaking the form in it. San turned again, planting her foot and turning her momentum inward, and taking the long drop to the courtyard below. She hit the ground and rolled, her earrings ringing distinctively. She stopped in a crouch and slowly stood.
Ashitaka turned at the sound and scarcely believed his eyes. There she was- she had come to rescue him. Even in full war gear and her face hidden behind a mask, she was still a beautiful sight for longing eyes.
"San?" Ashitaka whispered, his disbelief apparent.
"Ashitaka." San replied, not sure if she should believe the reunion either. She pushed the mask back onto her forehead. "Ashitaka!" San said, still quietly but with a definite happiness in it.
San walked over to the cage and Ashitaka stood to walk to the bars. San passed her arms through the slats and Ashitaka held her hands. He looked down and noticed the cuts on her forearms from the shrapnel, still fresh and sticky with blood. Like most cuts, they caused more blood than pain.
"San, you're hurt." He said, wincing the tiniest bit as he felt the cut on his back rub the fabric of his shirt. San looked him over in return.
"You should worry about yourself more." She remarked, her eyes tracing the cut on his brow. "Let's get you out of here."
"Why…how?" Ashitaka asked as San walked over to the door of the cage and began to saw through the stiff seaman's knots holding the door closed.
"Kuma Tsume and his tribe have launched an attack on this city. My brothers and I wanted to find you." San left out the fact that by sundown there would be no human alive in the city, and Ashitaka would have befallen the same fate had he not been found.
"Kuma Tsume?"
"He's the bear god." San said as she cut through the first knot and the door moved slightly. "We've had a council of the gods and I've…I'm chief of my tribe now, Ashitaka." San stopped and looked at him. Ashitaka stared blankly back. He didn't quite know what that entailed.
San had expected him to say something- anything- but now she realized maybe he didn't have any more experience leading than she did. She went back to her work with the knots- it would be a lot easier if she had a dagger instead of a spear, but it would take too long to undo and redo the bindings to convert her weapon.
"I need to talk to you, Ashitaka. There's been a lot of talk with the gods, things I don't understand. Things about you and me and my tribe. And- aah!" San fell forward along with the gate as the second knot gave way. Ashitaka caught her from falling flat on the courtyard floor and pulled her up.
"Let's get out of here first. My things are in the main hall." Ashitaka gestured with his eyes past San and into the shadows inside the palace.
"Right." San nodded. There would be plenty of time to talk later. She brought her spear back up to her side as the two ran towards the palace. Inside, San noted a particular putrid stench- something that smelled like decay. Humans were filthy creatures, but this lair was especially noxious. Ashitaka seemed not to notice the smell as he walked over to the table and picked up his sword. He rolled it once in his hand, and then returned it to the sheath that was placed next to it.
"I'd put that down if I were you, boy." Said a voice from across the room. There stood Asano, dressed in full battle regalia and wielding a beautifully crafted war katana. His armor was a glittering black, giving him the appearance and aura of something unearthly.
San turned and felt her emotions flow loose in her blood. This was the man who had started all this- he had torn her from her home, subjected her to imprisonment, beaten her and Ashitaka… San let the wolf in her take control. She pulled the mask down over her eyes and dropped the warspear to a challenging stance.
Behind Asano, Taisho loomed forward with a step, as if to interpose himself between his master and the wolf girl. Asano made a gesture with his hand that stopped the bodyguard and hissed from clenched teeth:
"You take the boy. See that he doesn't escape."
Asano strode forward, raising the katana to fight with San, feeling the familiar tension of wielding his own weapon return to his arms, and feeling the wound across his stomach throb in time with the blood in his head.
"Come on, little girl. I've killed many lords and generals in my time, but never a little savage brat. Let's see if you provide me more sport than your lover."
San growled and dashed forward, Asano knew already that her charge was a bluff- she didn't lean into it nor tense her body as if she was going to hit him full force. He swung his katana and she jumped. Asano sidestepped her drop, again lashing out on the backstroke and impacting her spear shaft. The wood took a solid hit but didn't snap, and San wrenched it free as she regained her footing. Asano's katana whistled as he cleaved the air, coming close every time to drawing first blood but San kept an inch or two ahead of him. San was making sure he had as difficult a time with it- his armor was heavy and cumbersome, and the protection it afforded would still be of little use should San drive her blade in a chink. She didn't parry, instead relying on her reflexes to avoid harm. Instead, she threw herself towards scoring a hit on any exposed areas- the chinks in the armor that lay between plates and the gap at the underarm. Asano smiled as he continued to use his reach and control on his weapon to full advantage.
Taisho, meanwhile, moved to engage the Emishi prince. Ashitaka would gladly have preferred to aid San, but the massive bodyguard was not going to let him move away. Ashitaka removed his sword from the sheath again, placing the sheath neatly on the table and turning to face his opponent, who stood confidently smiling through an array of broken and disjointed teeth. Ashitaka stared Taisho in the eye and slightly intoned his head in ritualistic formalities. Taisho responded by taking a large stride forward and coming down with a sweeping blow that should have split the prince's head in half. Ashitaka crouched and brought his blade up to intercept only an instant before he would have been slain, his bruised arms screaming complaint under the force of the assault. Ashitaka stood up, using his legs to drive the blade off, and then parried another sweep from the side. Ashitaka responded with a pair of his own blows, which Taisho intercepted with adeptly trained speed. The barbarian prince began a slow path back and around, attempting to get somewhat closer to where San was dealing with Asano.
The warlord's fight with San had reached a pitched frenzy. Neither combatant had been able to force the other into submission, or even draw blood. Her lack of an advantage, real or symbolic, was maddening to San. They were evenly matched. San's wild-honed reflexes were her advantage over Asano's battle training sword mastery, but the warlord's armor and the reach of his blade were forcing San into a defensive position, where she fought worst. Asano backstepped to avoid another one of the wolf girl's short jabs and returned with a wide, arcing blow that lodged his katana in the same crack in the spear. He twisted his sword into the crack and the blade of the spear snapped free from the shaft, leaving San holding little more than a large stick. She dropped it and threw herself to the side as Asano's blade shaved past her and bit into the floorboards with a resounding crack. The warlord placed his foot on the dropped spearhead and shoved it behind him across the room in a clattering slide, to where it came to rest at the foot of his throne. San backed away and moved towards Ashitaka. Asano stalked across the room, after her, ready to prevent the wolf girl from retrieving her blade.
Ashitaka had his back facing Asano and San, and was currently engaged in a deadlock blade fight with the bigger, heavier bodyguard. San saw an opening: Ashitaka's bow still lay unharmed, albeit unstringed, on the table. She couldn't use it, but she could use Ashitaka's sword. When she had used it before, under rather dire circumstances, she had been impressed by the balance of the weapon. If she could get time to do the switch off-
Asano's impending footsteps on the wood behind her made up her mind. San threw herself between the two stalled combatants and through Taisho's open legs. The bodyguard, leaning with all his weight into the shoving contest, realized too late that his center of gravity was too far forward. San stopped herself flat on her back and braced her legs to shove.
"Ashitaka! Move!" She shouted from behind Taisho. Ashitaka understood, and threw himself to the side, dropping his blade and letting Taisho push through nothing but air. The bodyguard stepped forward to regain his balance as San gave a very hard two-legged kick to his hindquarters. The massive general toppled forward, his weight and gravity pulling him into a near charge onto Asano, who found himself too encumbered by armor to do anything other than raise his blade. His bodyguard reacted too late to avoid being cut open by his master, but he managed to raise his own weapon in time to block everything except a slice across his left shoulder.
San pointed to the table. "Your bow!" She yelled, rolling backwards and then pushing herself into a low run with her arms towards Ashitaka's sword, still spinning on the floor. She grabbed the handle and rose into a standing position, both hands firmly in control of her new weapon.
"Right!" Ashitaka reacted, moving towards the table and stringing his weapon in one well-practiced maneuver. He didn't bother picking up his quiver, he merely pulled an arrow from where it lay on the table and nocked it, aiming for the armored figure that was Asano. The warlord stepped forward over Taisho, who was kneeling on the floor in pain, towards San.
"Clever, whelp. But it's not good enough!" Ashitaka loosed a first arrow, aiming to hit Asano's helmet, but the warlord reacted with imperturbable agility and deflected it so that it slid across the floor towards the doorway at the far end of the room, past Asano's throne.
It stopped at the base of Jiko Bou's wooden sandals. The Shisou monk was accompanied by four of his riflemen who had withdrawn from the second floor balcony as word had reached them that the military and court had been completely evacuated. The scene he was greeted with in the main hall wasn't what he had expected. He knew Ashitaka would probably be freed, since his riflemen had recognized the wolf girl as the one they fired on, but he hadn't predicted the two of them would be engaged in a mortal battle with Asano.
"Well…" he muttered. "From the looks of it, they're winning."
"What are your orders, master Jiko?" One of the masked riflemen asked.
"Well boys, our orders are to carry through as planned: assassinate Asano, what we came here to do in the first place. Leave this one to me, though. It's only fitting I get the final betrayal."
Jiko removed the head from his karakasa and fished into a small pouch he had at his waist. He removed a single dart and a very small and impossibly thin iron vial tightly bound in paper. The vial was only as wide as the dart's needle, a custom made poison carrier. It was marked with a symbol nearly unreadable with wear, but the Karakasa troops took a step backward at the very sight of it.
"Sir…that's…" Whispered one of the soldiers, not believing what the vial could actually be.
"Correct." Jiko said, confirming their fears. "Shisou doku. Master's poison. I got this at a great cost, let me tell you."
Shisou doku was the poison used by the unnamed masters of the Shisou-ren. Its origin was a mystery, but the properties of the poison were legendary- the stuff whispered between initiates and around tables of scarred veterans. Shisou doku was paralytic- it would cripple and kill it's target by nervous shutdown, usually asphyxiation or suffocation. If it only got the skin of the intended target, it would still work inwards and deaden the flesh and surface tissue, digging towards vital organs. For such a contact as that, it would often take days of misery to finally die after it killed you after reaching heart, lungs, or brain. If the dart broke the skin, the poison would travel much more rapidly- it could kill in seconds with a blow to the skull, minutes with one to the torso. Just long enough to let you know who just murdered you.
Jiko smiled. He flipped the dart around and held it above the vial, point down. With one swift motion he punctured the paper and coated the dart with the poison. He removed it, being very careful not to let it touch any part of his skin.
Jiko closed one eye and sighted down the length of his blowgun. It would only take one shot, but to be safe, he'd make sure to drop Asano with a hit to a vital area. Jiko stepped to the side of the door to get a clean shot around the throne. There- he could see a small break of chain mail in the plating, right at the back of the underarm. Asano had stepped forward and was fighting San with arcing blows. And every time he followed through on a swing, that chain mail gap became visible. Jiko drew in a long, slow breath and waited for the shot.
Ashitaka, looking across the room, noticed Jiko for the first time after he stepped into view beyond the throne. There was the resounding clash of metal as San and Asano met again in the center of the room. Jiko was going to fire on one of the two combatants- would that bastard of a monk try and extract his revenge on San for her interference in the capture of the forest spirit's head, and make it look like a favor to his employer?
Ashitaka pulled an arrow from his quiver with desperate speed and sighted at Jiko. If he was right, he might only have an instant to stop him. Ashitaka sighted for the middle of the blowgun and fired.
One of the Karakasa soldiers, seeing Ashitaka draw back, uttered a cry of warning and stepped forward in front of Jiko, taking the arrow full in the chest. He staggered sideways before slumping backwards and onto Jiko, who was knocked to the floor and had the air pressed out of him forcefully. He would miss the assassination attempt, damn it all! That Emishi boy had bungled things horribly!
The dart flew long and low, nicked the floor, and bounced up, just about calf level with the two combatants. The dart coincided with Asano's backstep and San's advance into his retreat.
The dart grazed the back of San's calf muscle.
San was caught off guard- distracted by the sudden searing pain in her lower leg. She barely caught Asano's next blow and was in a very ill stance to parry a third. The searing pain in the back of her leg faded rapidly, but she didn't know what that sudden loss of feeling foretold.
Ashitaka was mortified- the words of that one Irontown man came back to him- "those darts are poisoned!" He didn't know how deep or shallow the cut on San's leg was, but he knew that he had just inadvertently poisoned the girl he loved. He didn't resist the burly arm wrapping around his neck until he was half suffocating under its grasp.
Jiko was pulled off the floor by a pair of his Karakasa riflemen, until halfway into a standing position they dropped him. He hit the floor with a grunt and was about to complain about it when he felt their bodies slump on top of his. The sound of a third body hitting the floor and the gurgle of blood was followed by a rough hand on the back of his robe hauling him up and a bloodstained blade being pressed against his throat. Kinjiru had arrived unnoticed, although that would change.
"Call them off!" The cat boy whispered into Jiko's ear. "Or you'll find yourself joining your men in hell!"
Jiko was goaded into complying with a nudge of the blade. He cleared his throat delicately and called out in a firm, grabbing voice.
"Lord Asano!"
"If you don't mind, Jiko!" Asano said, driving San backwards into the table and pinning her on top of it, one hand clutched on her wrist and holding her down with forearm and elbow, the other holding the blade under the right eyehole of her mask and tracing the edge of it.
Jiko sniffed. This was a hostage situation, and his life was in the balance. Jiko had always been good at saving his own hide, but he sorely trusted anyone else to do it.
"I could use a little help here, my lord!" Asano turned his eye to look at Jiko. He assessed the situation- some strange boy, wearing a mask not dissimilar from the wolf girl's, with a pair of curious weapons strapped to his arms. Asano would have to bargain- Jiko was valuable to him, enough that he would risk letting this little girl free.
"Taisho!" Asano shouted.
"Yes, my lord?"
"You have the boy?"
"Yes, sir." The general said, Ashitaka struggling for air behind his arm. San let out a small cry of defeat and stopped writhing under Asano's forceful pin. She couldn't see out from behind the mask, but if that was true…
Asano smiled. Excellent- she wouldn't fight as long as he held her lover's life over her head. Now he could negotiate with relative ease- it all depended on what the assassin boy wanted.
"All right. You there! Behind the monk! What's your price on his head?"
"What's he worth to you?" Kinjiru called, gauging himself the price of this obviously treacherous but apparently valuable prize he had in his clutch. "Let the wolf go! She leaves with me unharmed. Then you can have this fat devil back."
"And the boy?" Asano smiled. Excellent- this new boy was no savior, only an ally to one of these lovers.
"Do as you please. I harbor only hatred for your kind."
San struggled under Asano's grip. "Kinjiru!" She shouted.
"San!" Ashitaka struggled to say from under Taisho's arm. "Just go! I'll be fine!"
San turned her head and looked at Ashitaka through her mask. Had it only been minutes ago they had been able to touch each other? Was he still real? San visibly lost hope. Now she would be separated from him again.
"Let her go." Kinjiru said, urging Jiko forward with his knee.
"Drop the sword, girl." Asano said. San let her grip slacken and the sword clatter off the table and onto the floor. Asano roughly shoved her away from the table and across the room, where she lost her balance and fell backwards, landing hard on her wrists and rear end. She was still looking at Ashitaka, staring back at her from behind his bodyguard's arm. Asano cared little about their relationship- the boy was the only one of value to him- he was the key to Eboshi.
Kinjiru guided Jiko carefully across the room, stopping at the base of Asano's throne to place a foot on San's detached knife, still bound to the fractured end of the spear shaft, and shoved it across the room to stop near her. San absentmindedly picked it up, but as she stood she made no movement toward Asano. She only stared at Ashitaka, who continued to stare back, both feeling helpless with failure. San couldn't believe that this pitiless warlord was going to tear him away from her again, and she was again powerless to do anything about it. She only half-noticed Kinjiru walking alongside her, still using Jiko as a human shield, and the way he guided her out into the main courtyard, where San was finally forced to break her gaze.
Jiko began to talk with a great deal of urgency.
"Listen, both of you- I don't have much time- if Asano finds any of my men, you'll both be shot as you leave. I need to explain this quickly. I tried to kill Asano, but my shot got bungled by that arrow."
San looked at Jiko scathingly, now knowing the source of that pain from her leg earlier.
"You can't blame me now, because I have to explain- that dart was poisoned. Powerful stuff- it'll deaden your skin bit by bit until you finally die when it hits your heart or lungs. You took only a very small cut, but at best you'll have a couple of days before…before the inevitable happens."
"What are you saying? San's doomed to die? There's no way to stop it?" Kinjiru asked, still holding the blade at Jiko's throat.
"Kinjiru, right? I don't know of any antidote, but there's someone who might. Give this-" Jiko pulled from his belt a roll of parchment bound with twine. It held his personal seal on the outside, but neither San nor Kinjiru had any knowledge of what the symbol there meant. "- to Lady Eboshi. Explain what happened here, the message will tell the rest. She might be able to help you, but I can't offer any guarantee."
"So you're saying that she'll probably die anyway? What's to keep me from killing you now?" Kinjiru asked, drawing back his arm to run through Jiko's throat.
San caught it. "Kinjiru! Stop!" She turned to Jiko, her mask inches from his nose. "We'll take the message of yours to that damned woman. Just…make sure Ashitaka is safe. If he dies…I'll hunt you until one of us drops dead. And if I die, I'm sure he'll do the same."
"Look, I'm sorry. I'll make amends, but right now I've got war games to play. I'll do as you ask."
San took the message from Jiko and nodded to Kinjiru. The cat released his hold on Jiko, who stepped away and rubbed his neck.
"Thanks. And by the way, good luck."
San looked at him strangely. "Luck" was a new word to her, as her life in the forest had always been definite. There was never any luck in fighting Eboshi and her people, only skill. San had always expected to live, and keep fighting. Now, however, San had no control over her situation- it was an indefinite world that lay ahead, and as San turned to walk away with Kinjiru covering her back, she knew that for the first time she could not be sure she would live out this conflict.
As San reached the palace gates, the battle-painted form of Kuma Tsume greeted her, flanked on both sides by her blood-covered brothers. The fight had been a massacre with Asano's troops leaving civilians to their own devices. San was exhausted. She bowed very slightly to Kuma Tsume, but then climbed onto Shiroi, wordless.
Kinjiru decided to explain. "Congratulations on your victory today, Kuma Tsume. The last of the humans lie within- we leave you to the joys of their extermination. Unfortunately, we will be unable to stay any longer- a crisis has arrived we must manage. We offer our greatest sympathies, honorable chieftain."
"That is fine, young warrior. I look forward to fighting alongside the tribes of wolf and cat again, and wish you a swift journey." The bear god bowed.
Shiroi turned around to leave with San still looking back at the palace. The wolf was standing just inside the gate of the palace when a sudden whirring sound sliced the air and a blade clipped his fur just above the neck. The spinning sword slammed blade first into the wall, and the bright pommel of Ashitaka's sword stood shaking out of the wood.
San stared and then reached forward to pull it out- it was lodged in deeply. She turned and looked back disbelievingly towards the palace's low slung entrance- it would have taken the demon strength to throw with that force and distance.
"Ashitaka?" She whispered. Kinjiru climbed onto Kuroi and the wolf jerked his head at his brother. Shiroi turned and the two began a swift run away from the palace and through the bloody streets of the former city of Kaigan.
The sun was falling in the sky as the bear tribe stormed the empty palace and the last humans alive from Kaigan left in the small military fleet, Ashitaka standing on the bow of a boat under the watch of Taisho and viewing the ruins of the city, wondering where San was.
San looked out over the slow river and bay past Kaigan's ruins and watched the ships inch away into the sea, cradling Ashitaka's sword on her lap as the numbness in her leg spread slowly further. Shiroi turned and San broke her gaze. Though her life was uncertain and her death likely, San promised herself that surely she would see him again.
~
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. Think you know Asano? There's a bit about him you don't quite know yet.
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". Asano's bodyguard and general.
Kaigan – Means "seashore, coast, seaside, beach". Kaigan's an almost-coastal city, really planted on a lan jut in a large bay.
Tobira – Tobira, the doorkeeper of Kaigan, has a name that literally means "door". Probably dead. We'll see.
Kinjiru – "Forbid". Cat prince. Let's leave it at that- actions speak louder than authors.
Shirei Chokan – Naval combat expert and the emperor's admiral, if you put together the first and last name you get one word: "admiral".
…thus ends chapter 6. Took long enough just to finish the edit. My apologies to Cowgrree, as it took me ages to get around to just finishing this, but I do have the knowledge I beat a few readers to reading chapter 5 (you know who you are). Part seven shall be up hopefully in December, before Christmas. Happy holidays!
…and the obligatory review request is supposed to go here, but if you've read this far, you're either a diehard who has to finish something even if you hate it or you're someone who likes/loves/is indifferent towards the fic. Drop me a line, I need a bit of motivation to stoke my creative muse.