A Princess Mononoke fan story
By Jikuuharuto
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this writing except for my idea.
Chapter Two: The Hunt Is On
WORD OF CAUTION: MILD INNUENDO PRESENT.
Ashitaka charged forward and attacked the samurai and monks. The monks' darts bounced off the samurai armour as Ashitaka weaved in and out of the group of samurai.
"You will not stop Master Jigo!" a monk exclaimed.
One samurai got into a weapon deadlock with Ashitaka. "Our Lords will be pleased to have such a beautiful daughter-in-law! Hahahahaha!" he said. This further angered Ashitaka, who could no longer control himself. His sword cut right through the samurai's katana and sliced his head in half. While he was fighting, Jigo and two monks removed the stake and ran off. The wolves howled and charged out from the forest toward the surprised monks and samurai.
"Go, Ashitaka!" Takeshi instructed as he attacked the humans he and his brother despised oh-so-much.
"If anything happens to San, you pay the price, human!" Takeru threatened just before he crunched a samurai's torso in his mouth, removing the lower legs, head and half of the right arm from it. Ashitaka nodded and mounted Yakkul, then chased after Jigo, bow and arrow ready to attack. "You'd better bring her back!" Takeru warned.
"The hunt is on, Jigo," Ashitaka mumbled to himself. No matter how he chased the false monk, the potbelly always managed to escape. Many days passed. Ashitaka couldn't stop worrying about San. What if the monks did something to her? What if the Emperor killed her? What if they... Ashitaka mentally slapped himself for thinking this way. He would never be able to catch up to those damned monks if he kept distracting himself. Like a man possessed, he tracked down Jigo wherever he went, sometimes even forgoing sleep or meals.
Every day was torture. Waking up without San by his side caused him to worry and get angry. Every time he saw the monks, it infuriated him to think that he had ever been acquainted with Jigo, although he never showed it openly. He constantly kept a lookout for any usable arrows or material that could be made into arrows, since he had a limited supply of them. He just wanted San back by his side and nothing more. If anything untoward ever happened to her, he would never forgive himself for it.
Eventually, he ended up in the imperial capital of Kyoto. He decided to leave Yakkul outside, because it would definitely arouse suspicion of his origins. He marched in, hood on to cover his face. He could see Jigo running into the city and immediately he chased after the monks, who were no longer carrying the stake. Instead they had bound San's limbs and gagged her with cloth, only taking it out to let her eat. She only ate when she felt like dying, so she now had no energy to struggle against her bonds. She still had her looks, but was weakened by skipping meals. Ashitaka was somewhat relieved that the monks hadn't done anything to harm her superficially.
Two samurai armed with spears blocked Ashitaka's path as he ran forward.
"State your business!" one of them demanded.
"I'm here for the girl. Step aside," Ashitaka calmly said. "Don't force me to kill you."
The samurai laughed. "Kill us, you boy? I doubt you could do anything of the sort. Now turn back and go home, before I change my mind about letting you leave unharmed," he scoffed. Ashitaka's arm was emitting that strange blue light again. He looked at his hand; the curse was apparently still there, but no longer spread. Now he was going to use the power of the curse to bring back San. He was learning to control the curse, but it seemed to become active on its own because of overwhelming emotions.
"Step... aside," Ashitaka warned again as his the wind began blowing fiercely. The guards laughed and shoved him, as if humiliating him. He grabbed his short sword and charged forward, slicing the guards in half. He charged into the courtyard, where the Emperor patiently sat as the shoguns' sons argued as to who would take San for his wife. Jigo smiled, thinking his future was guaranteed to be bright. However, Ashitaka had slain every last guard all the way to the courtyard and he had shown himself. Jigo and his monks turned to face Ashitaka, who was calmly walking toward San, who lay in what was apparently the centre.
"You, boy! Show the due respect to the Emperor and the shoguns! Nobody simply steps in!" one samurai yelled, brandishing his katana.
"I have come for the girl," Ashitaka said loudly and monotonously.
"Turn back before we are forced to take action on you, boy," warned an impatient shogun.
"Jigo... If the shoguns are not satisfied by today, I shall have your head," the Emperor said with a commanding voice. Jigo smiled and whispered to Ashitaka.
"Come on now, boy! I'll give you half the mountain of gold I'm promised!" Jigo offered. Ashitaka's face showed no change.
"No. I'm taking San with me and nothing will stop me," he said. Jigo retreated to San's side in the centre of the imperial court.
"Kill him," the Emperor ordered. Playing the Emperor's game, the samurai attacked Ashitaka. He fought valiantly, but still he could not defeat such a great army of samurai.
"Wait! I want him alive," Lord Asano shouted just as a samurai was about to pierce Ashitaka's heart with his katana held high above his head. Pinning Ashitaka to the ground, they punched him, knocking him unconscious.
"We shall have a show for him in a few days... Throw him in prison!" Lord Asano ordered.
In his cell, Ashitaka awoke. He punched the steel grilles that stopped him from leaving the cell.
"Quiet! We have a show lined up for you in a few days, boy! You're lucky that Lord Asano was merciful and stopped our samurai from killing you! Now shut up until we bring you to the chamber!"
"Show? What show?!" demanded Ashitaka. It wasn't like him to get so excited, but when it came to San, he was sometimes a completely different person. He sat down in his cell and mentally relived his memories. He remembered when he first saw San. She was sucking out the poisoned blood from Moro's chest and spitting it out. The sight of her blood-covered mouth region reminded him of his breakfast with San more than a week ago. They were both so elated then. It was as if they had their own world and were living in absolute happiness. However, this was a dream shattered by Jigo. He had taken away Ashitaka's love and thus taken away the only happiness he had. He could no longer return to his village, because he would have gone against an ancient custom of the Emishi people.
He remembered Kaya. She was close to him, but only as a sister. There was no special attraction between the two of them, but they were still close enough to be siblings. Everything about the Emishi people added to his sadness. He was happy, yet sad that Nago had cursed him and driven him from his village. He was happy because the curse brought him to this love and happiness, but sad because his happiness was now taken away and he could not return to his village. Thoughts ran wild in his mind as tears began falling freely from his eyes. He even thought about not being with San and just going back to the forest to be slain by the wolves. Then he mentally slapped himself again. He chastised himself for thinking this way. If he went back and got killed, it would still not bring San to him. He had to find a way to bring San back to the forest. He felt so tired. The happenings so far had taxed him emotionally and sapped him so much. He simply lay on the cold, hard ground and fell asleep.
The process of thinking about how to save San and reliving his memories continued for days. One night, the guards opened his cell door and ordered him to get out.
"Lord Asano has summoned you," one guard said as another bound his wrists together behind his back. He was pushed and prodded towards one of the vacant chambers that now had a bed on it. There lay a tired, bound San who had absolutely no way to fight with her captors. She was simply too exhausted to do anything. Lord Asano stood in front of Ashitaka and laughed.
"Hahaha... Watch as my son has fun with this girl... It will be a pleasant show... Hahahahaha!" Asano gloated. His son stripped and removed San's gag and bonds.
"Ashitaka... Help..." San managed. She watched as the filthy human- no, he was worse than human- caressed her skin. "No... Stop..."
Ashitaka was infuriated. His hands struggled against the tight ropes. The tension of the ropes increased with every passing second as the guards and Asano laughed. The bastard inside the room was going to violate her! He could only watch as the bastard tore what remained of San's tattered clothes apart and proceeded to commit an immoral act, inducing loud screams of pain. Asano continued to laugh, which further angered Ashitaka whose arms threatened to tear through the ropes.
"How do you like the show? Hahahahaha!" gloated Asano again. Ashitaka had put up with these atrocities long enough. The blue light surrounded his arm again. The ropes snapped and Ashitaka slammed one samurai into Asano, knocking them both unconscious. He took another's katana and killed him, then dashed into the room and pulled the bastard away and threw him into a corner, slamming him into the brick wall and leaving an imprint of his body. He could smell urine in the room already.
"Asano, I can forgive. But you..." Ashitaka said. The curse was taking control of him; he didn't even know what he was saying or doing anymore. He lunged forward towards the screaming man and stomped hard on his private organs. "I'll let you off with a warning."
The screaming man started to whimper and bit his lip as the feeling of pain surged through his entire body. He removed his shirt and covered San's bare torso, then used the blanket to wrap around her, covering the rest of her body.
"He... he... Ashitaka!" San exclaimed as tears continuously flowed down her cheeks.
"Don't cry, San. Don't cry. I'm getting you out of here," he said. "Your brother told me to bring you back and I will." San could only continue to cry as Ashitaka carried her the same way he did when he brought her to his residence. Samurai stood in his way, but they dared not touch the Mononoke, for they had heard rumours of her slaying entire legions of people caught in the Forbidden Forest. Archers aimed at Ashitaka, ready to shoot their arrows. One samurai stood in his way, refusing to move.
"Are you going to move or do you want me to kill you?" Ashitaka calmly demanded.
"I'm Lady Eboshi's spy! I'm going to get you out of here! Your elk's waiting outside the gate. Hurry, we don't have much time," whispered the samurai.
"What reason do I have to believe that this isn't a lie?" questioned Ashitaka.
"Either you follow me and live or you die with the Mononoke. It's your choice!" replied the spy. Ashitaka nodded and ran after the spy, who cut down the surprised archers.
"Keep running and don't look back!" the spy instructed as he turned and threw a ball of iron filled with gunpowder that had a lit fuse attached to it at the incoming guards. The guards watched as the ball exploded, killing them. Archers shot at the spy, whose armour deflected the arrows well. However, as he ran, an arrow found its way to his lower back. The spy fell and Ashitaka turned to look at him.
"I told you not to look back..." the spy mumbled as he lit a second bomb. The guards that trampled over him failed to notice the bomb and were either blown apart or sent flying. Ashitaka ran toward Yakkul, relieved to find his faithful elk there. He mounted Yakkul with San in his arms.
"Run, Yakkul! Run! Back to the forest!" he ordered. Yakkul reared back and galloped faster than any horse ever did, charging all the way out of Yoshino. He noticed that San was asleep, but her face was still wet with the remaining tears. He used his thumbs and wiped her tears away and also began to let tears fall from his eyes. He had failed to protect her. "I should never have left for Iron Town," he told himself.
The next morning, San awoke, still wrapped in Ashitaka's shirt and the blanket. Her head was on Ashitaka's lap and he was stroking her hair. Ashitaka smiled when he saw her awake. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fought to keep them back while sniffling.
"Don't cry, San."
"He... That monster... You don't want to be with me anymore..." she managed to say as she continued to fight her tears back.
"San... It's alright. I love you and I won't just leave you because of something like that, San. Forget what happened. I'll never leave you again, San," he said as he stroked her hair once. Instead of fighting her tears, she let them flow freely. He held her to his chest for a while, then lay her head on his hood to hunt for food with the katana he had procured. He returned with fresh meat in his blood-covered hands. He washed the meat in a pond nearby, then bit a section off and chewed, then fed her the way she fed him before. She swallowed the soft meat and smiled weakly.
"You helped me once when I was weakened and now I'm returning the favour," said Ashitaka, smiling as well. "Forget what happened in the city, San. We're going home."
Using the most direct paths he could find, Yakkul brought his riders back to the forest in the late afternoon, less than a week after the escape. San was still wrapped in the blanket, because neither Ashitaka nor San could make any clothing without any materials for clothes.
Takeru growled when he saw San not wearing her usual clothes.
"What happened to San?! Where are her garments?!" demanded an angered Takeru.
"San was... violated."
"You fiend! You betrayed my trust! I entrusted my sister to you and this is how you treat her! I should never have let San go!" Takeru growled. He leapt toward Ashitaka, who was still on Yakkul. Yakkul panicked and ran aside, causing Takeru to land and skid on the ground, leaving marks in the dirt path.
"Leave him alone! It was my fault! He had to check on Iron Town but I refused to follow him, so those damn humans took the opportunity to grab me. Takeru... It's not his fault," San explained. Takeru growled, then lowered his head and made his way back to the forest with his brother.
"You'd better take care of her... This is the last chance I'm giving you, human... My patience wears thin!" Takeru cautioned sternly. Ashitaka nodded in acknowledgement and patted Yakkul's neck, telling him to go back to the residence.
At his home, Ashitaka dismounted Yakkul, still holding onto San. He placed her on the bed gently and said, "San, I'm going to Iron Town. Don't worry. I'm going to tell them to make or get new clothes for you, San."
"Ashitaka, I think I can make a tunic out of this black blanket," she replied.
"But... Alright, San, but I still think you'll need some way to hold the material together so that it won't tear apart so easily. Besides that, it won't last very long. There are definitely people in Iron Town who know how to make clothes, so please, San. We must go to Iron Town."
"I'll go, but I don't want to stay long or be disturbed by those humans. I hate them!" she replied, showing her obvious abhorrence for humans. Ashitaka nodded and went outside, where he heard sounds of the blanket getting cut and torn by a blade.
"Why are you standing outside, Ashitaka?" San asked innocently. Ashitaka made no reply, but she immediately assumed that it was one of those strange human customs. She finished making the temporary clothing and realised that she had left her fur coat behind. She put it on to hide any openings at the side of her garment, because the blanket was rectangular and had a greater length then breadth. The temporary clothing was more like an oversized shirt. The lower sections of it would move here and there, unlike when she was wearing her original clothes. They were far more comfortable than what she was wearing presently.
She and Ashitaka made their way to Iron Town and were immediately permitted entrance. The people were still suspicious of San and she still bore deep hatred towards the humans although she no longer showed it obviously. It was something that would need a lot of time to change.
They dismounted Yakkul and Ashitaka walked towards the bellows. Luckily, Toki was there resting from working the rebuilt bellows.
"Toki, I need to speak to you," he said. Toki rose to her feet and walked calmly towards Ashitaka and asked what he wanted to talk about.
"You see... San needs new clothes. Something happened to her and I'd rather not talk about it. You remember how her clothes looked like, right? Could you please see if anyone could make the clothes for her?" asked Ashitaka.
"Lady Eboshi recently brought in some women who gave up their job in the garment business. You can ask her to take you to them so you can get her clothes done. I'll be there when my shift's over to describe how it looks like, so you go on ahead first," replied Toki with a smile. Ashitaka thanked her and returned to San and Yakkul.
"Eboshi recruited some people who used to make clothes. Do you want to come with me to see Eboshi and ask her to take us to them?" Ashitaka asked, placing a hand on San's shoulder. As much as San hated Eboshi, she needed new clothes. Moro had taught her that she had to clothe herself so that she would not attract unwelcome attention from men and she was not about to disobey her mother. She put her hand on his and nodded, to which Ashitaka smiled. The people of Iron Town went back to their business after a good scolding from Gonza, who stood next to Eboshi.
"Lady Eboshi, we were just about to look for you," Ashitaka said. San looked away. She simply could not stand the sight of that woman. Ashitaka explained the situation and Eboshi brought them and Yakkul to a building in Iron Town that was cleared of iron works and dedicated to making and repairing clothes.
"Ashitaka, leave San and I in here for a while. You said that Toki knows what her clothes look like, right? Then go get her. Tell her that she has been excused from her shift. Gonza stand outside," Eboshi said as a reluctant San stepped into the enclosed building. Eboshi closed the door and spoke to San.
"I know you hate me for shooting your mother and destroying your forest, but I did that because I had to protect my people and provide for them. I had to fell the trees because we needed the wood," Eboshi explained.
"Stop lying to me! You humans... you're so selfish!" San retorted. "You didn't only take what you needed! You defiled the forest by cutting down entire sections of it just to build this place!"
Eboshi was speechless. "Whatever I say will not change your mentality. Very well, I will no longer explain myself. I just want to say that I have no intention of harming your forest any more than can be helped. Please excuse us if we cut down some trees, because we need firewood. But don't worry, because we have a truce. I will not go beyond what is needed."
San did not reply. Just as Eboshi finished, Toki entered the building. She tried to tell San that the workers needed her measurements before they could start working on the clothes. All manner of persuasion failed and Ashitaka was called in. He was the only person that San trusted and listened to. He managed to coax her into letting the women take her measurements and adjust her current clothes for her.
"Alright, but I won't stand for anything more than that. I want to get out of here!" San answered. Ashitaka thanked her for not the worsening problems at hand. Eboshi called the women out and told her to take San's measurements as quickly as possible and scrap all their current work to make San's clothes and to adjust the ones she was wearing.
"Meet me by the lake at noon in two days to collect your clothes," Eboshi told Ashitaka and San.
"Two days, My Lady?!" exclaimed the women.
"Is there a problem?" Eboshi asked.
"No, no, My Lady! We would be glad to help!" the women replied as they hurriedly went to work on the garments. Ashitaka thanked Eboshi and left Iron Town on Yakkul. It was already the evening and they were getting hungry. When they reached Ashitaka's residence, they dismounted Yakkul and let him graze on the plentiful grass.
"So... Shall we hunt for deer?" asked Ashitaka. He wanted to help San forget the incident that night.
San nodded, but before Ashitaka could say anything, she added, "I have one request. I want my brothers to join us."
Ashitaka nodded and held San close to himself. Ashitaka then broke the embrace and grabbed the katana he had acquired from Yoshino while San donned her mask and grabbed her spear. While he was waiting for her, she fondled the crystal dagger he had given her. She then followed after him and mounted Yakkul, who dashed toward the wolves' den.
Upon arrival at the wolves' den, San dismounted and dashed inside to invite her brothers while Ashitaka waited. Takeru was initially reluctant, but was coaxed into coming along. Takeshi was not about to waste a chance to spend time with his sister and to help Takeru accept Ashitaka. Together, they set off, hunting the deer. The wolves and San managed to pick up the scent of the deer. San jumped into a tree and moved through the treetops, whereas Ashitaka dismounted Yakkul and followed the wolves on foot.
The grazing deer were in sight. San yelled a battle cry and struck one deer in the side with her spear. Immediately she grabbed her dagger and cut its throat swiftly and smoothly.
Takeru had pounced but missed a deer, but Ashitaka blocked it and stabbed it, making it easy prey for Takeru. Takeshi did not have trouble with the deer. He preferred to hunt the more agile deer, unlike his brother, Takeru who preferred slower prey that moved like boars. The remaining deer scattered and galloped away in panic, leaving San, Ashitaka and the wolves to feed on the spoils of their hunt.
San would never be able to finish the deer alone, so she decided to share it with Ashitaka. Ashitaka watched as she skilfully skinned the deer's carcass. Never before had he seen anyone skin a deer so quickly with a dagger such as hers. San pulled back the hood of her fur cape after she finished skinning the carcass and looked at Ashitaka.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. It's just that I've never seen someone skin a carcass so skilfully."
San smiled. Ashitaka was going to have to get used to eating raw meat. He was unused to it because the Emishi had taught him to cook all food before eating and although he was dead to them, he had to at least remember the Emishi way.
After dinner, San bade goodbye to her brothers and returned with Ashitaka to his residence. A candle lamp on a table was the only illumination that was available, so the residence was relatively dim. Yakkul lay on the patch of grass outside the residence and rested, for he was tired. Ashitaka lay his katana on the ground and promptly lay on his bed, only to be pounced on by San, who simply threw her spear aside on the way. Ashitaka grunted as San landed on his abdomen.
"I'm tired, Ashitaka..." she said as she got off him.
"Then sleep on the bed," he said as he got up.
"Why are you getting up?"
"I'm sleeping on the floor."
"What for?"
"Well... I'm not supposed to share a bed with anyone other than my family members..."
"Another human custom," San mumbled to herself. With a grin, she pushed Ashitaka onto the bed and lay on him. "You're not sleeping on the floor, Ashitaka. I won't let you."
Ashitaka sighed and looked at San, who was looking at him in almost the same manner. He took the candle lamp from the bedside table and blew it out, then held her closer to him as he lay on the bed.
"Ashitaka..." San called softly.
"Hmm?"
"Where did you get this dagger?"
"Didn't Yakkul tell you? In my village, there was this particular girl, Kaya, I was very close to."
Her face showed signs of disappointment, then a bit of jealousy, well hidden by the darkness of Ashitaka's humble abode.
"When I left, she gave me this dagger as her symbol of eternal love, San. Now it is mine to you."
San's expression changed. She lay her head on Ashitaka's chest and slowly but surely fell asleep, Ashitaka lovingly stroking her hair. He fell asleep as well, arms wound around her.
End Chapter Two
Jikuuharuto: Hey people! Thanks SO MUCH for reading! Please read and review honestly (and don't be too blunt, I'm just a teenager doing something he likes during his holidays! XD)! Positive and negative CONSTRUCTIVE comments are welcome! Without reviews I won't be able to improve on my writing! Thank you so much once again!
Teaser lines for next chapter, The Journey Home:
"You came back!"
"I came home."
Kindly don't blame me for any mistakes as to time and location. As Shinra of FFX-2 would say, "I'm just a kid." :D