I do not own Princess Mononoke

a/n: okay, I'll try to make this good to make up for the last chapter -- sorry. It may be a little too cliché for some readers, but I'm trying my best! BTW 'holding' was supposed to be the title of chapter 11, but then I got inspiration and changed it. Therefore, the name moved to chapter 12.

Chapter 12 – Holding

The smell of a lingering perfume filled the air as she woke up to a dim-lighted area that was all-too familiar, yet so strange. She was home, back in the room she grew up in, back in the house she lived in for so long. Her clock, read 2:04 AM, and although sleepy, she couldn't go back to sleep. What happened? Why was she back home? Oh, yeah…that's right. That's what happened.

She crawled out of the bed, trying to lift her heavy body. Her eyes tried adjusting to the dark as she bumped into the foot of her bed trying to get to the door. She waved her hand around in the dark, searching for the doorknob. The whole house was quiet, as she tried to get to their room. She ran into a wall. This wasn't the apartment, it's a house, the halls are longer. She turned in, and realized she was in the guest room. Other way, this isn't the apartment, this is a house. She turned around and finally made it to their room. She opened the door, and noticed they were already awake.

"San!" Kai whispered fiercely in the dark. She tried to focus, but everything was the same, eyes closed or open. "Did that stuff wear off yet?" Stuff? What 'stuff'? Oh, right, the stuff that made her pass out.

"No. Not really." She tried shaking it off, but whatever it was; it made her drowsy as hell.

"At least they didn't have to tie you up in the car." He scoffed. They tried to use the same stuff on the boys, but stubborn as they are, it didn't exactly work. "We had to pretend to sleep to get them to leave the door."

"Why are we here?" She felt a void starting to fill inside. Even though she was home, it didn't feel like it.

"Mom's deal is done. They've merged, so we had no business staying there with the Eboshi's." Kai finally spoke.

"So they had to forcefully take us?" San muttered angrily. They didn't have to go to such lengths.

"That's only part of it. We learned that she found out about Hiro too. She thought he was going to attack us, and when she found out that Taka was blinded by him, she felt she had no choice but to take us away from there as quickly as possible." Kai spat just as angrily.

"They're getting our stuff later. Chances are, the Eboshi's will move out by tomorrow too." All three were silent. They knew they were going to miss that apartment, and living together. But then again, they also knew that they had to leave some time. It was never meant to be permanent.

'I wonder what he's doing right now.' San thought as she sat in the middle of their room.

Ashitaka regained his stamina, and looked up at who had forced him backwards. He looked up, and nodded. Hiro was making his way towards a local bar, trying to drown himself in alcohol when he spotted a car driving by, and noticed Kai trying to free himself from someone's hold. He tried to follow it down the road, hoping it'll turn into some street he was familiar with, but it just kept driving down. He then ran to the only place where he might find decent answers.

"They're probably being taken home." Ashitaka hypothesized as they both ran as fast as they could down the road Hiro saw the car.

"We're too slow on foot, this way." He turned a corner, and another until he stopped in an ally way and dug through some garbage piles. He pushed a seemingly new motorcycle out and climbed on. Ashitaka then climbed in behind him, and they sped off.

When they arrived near the gate, Hiro hid the bike in the bushes, and tried to find a way in. Before Ashitaka could follow, he stopped himself. What was he thinking? Those people took them because they were to return home. He should do the same. The deal is off now. Its over. They don't live together anymore. Why was he here in the first place? It's not like they were being taken away by some evil monster. Get real.

"Hey. You coming?" Hiro found a tree he could climb to get over the walls. Ashitaka stood up, and walked towards the front gate. Hiro was taken aback as he was walking right towards the front gate. He rang the doorbell, and waited for a reply.

"Who's there?" A voice asked in a commanding manner.

"Ashitaka Eboshi. I'm here to see Ms. Okina." He politely replied.

"The mistress is asleep, come again later in the day."

"It's quite urgent." He replied calmly.

"It can wait." Ashitaka sighed and walked away. After about 15 meters away, he turned, and ran until he got enough speed to jump the fence and get over. He landed on the other side, and walked up to the front door. He knocked on the door until someone opened it for him.

"I thought I told you to come back later." The man shot coldly.

"It's very urgent." Ashitaka pushed his way through, only to have a handgun pressed against his head.

"Come back later." He warned.

"Now, who's causing some much ruckus in my house?" Moro asked, although sleepy, awake enough to speak in her usual, commanding voice.

"Ms.Okina. can you explain why such dramatic actions were taken to get them back? Couldn'tyou wait till morning to get them home?" He was boiling inside, but he kept calm for the sake of staying sane.

"Ashitaka, the actions I took were to secure the safety of my children, I'm surprised Eboshi didn't do the same." She could see pass his mask, she knew he was angry.

"She wouldn't unless she had a very good reason." He quietly gritted his teeth. The man still had his gun pressed to his head, and it only agitated him more.

"I assure you, Ashitaka, my reasons were good enough to get them out of that place as swiftly as possible. Unfortunately, my reasons have nothing to do with you, or your sister." Ashitaka clenched his fists, but knew he had no authority in her house. The door flew open, and Hiro finally made his appearance, after debating whether or not he should go after Ashitaka, or try to climb the tree. He was armed with a pocket knife, and pressed it against the man's neck.

"You damn woman. I didn't know you'd go this far." He angrily growled at her.

"You're a dangerous boy, Hiro. If its anyone to blame, blame yourself. I did what I could to protect them."

"That's one twisted way of protection."

"It was necessary."

"It was bullshit."

"What are you going to do, boy? Kill my guard because you can't kill me? That's so pathetic." She knew all the right buttons to push. "I did it because you were a threat to the safety of San, and you proved yourself by blinding my son." She started to get agitated herself. "You're not wanted here. Leave now." She started to turn, when Hiro directed the aim of his knife towards her. Ashitaka, saw this, and moved, trying to stop him. Caught up in the adrenaline, the guard directed his gun towards Hiro. Ashitaka grabbed Hiro's arm, and struggled with the knife, but still believing Hiro was a direct threat, he pulled the trigger.

San, Kai, and Taka shot up from their half-sleep dazes and rushed out the door. It was still dark, so none of them could clearly see who was on the ground, but he wasn't moving. A small pool of blood started to form around the body as the guard who fired was still in the moment, with his gun smoking, and still in a shooting stance. Another figure was trying to wake the body up.

"Hiro!" His voice shouted throughout the once-silent house. San ran down the stairs, not believing what she was seeing.

"Ashitaka?" She exclaimed. He looked up for a brief moment, though relived to see her alright, panicked about Hiro's gunshot wound.

"San! Call 911!" San reacted almost immediately, and ran to the nearest phone, and dialed.

Ashitaka tried to apply pressure to his gun shot wound. It was on the side of his torso, and another wound on the exact opposite side. He was bleeding on two opposite sides. Taka and Kai made their way down, too, so Ashitaka ordered Kai to hold the wound with his hand. Although hesitant, he obeyed while Ashitaka held the other side.

"Kai, move." Taka finally made it to the small group. Ashitaka and Kai were shocked that Kai wanted to help him. He blinded him, so why should he help him? Hiro managed to regain consciousness after his state of shock.

"You…" He struggled to say. He was in pain, a lot of pain. "Why are you…"

"Shut up." Kai replied as he kept pressing. "Call it fair trade. Consider yourself lucky you got shot instead of hit with a bat."

"...I'm sorry..." Hiro apologized as the blood kept coming out. With a few minutes, Ashitaka's hands were drenched, and Taka's hands were getting soaked too.

The ambulance arrived, and drove off to the hospital. Ashitaka took the bike and rode after the ambulance with San holding on behind him. She held on tightly, not afraid she might fall off, but afraid she might not see him again.

'Ashitaka…did you come for me? Have I become that pathetic? I'm such and idiot.' She rested her head on his back, and although almost 3am in the morning, couldn't feel anything but his warmth. His body, his scent, his presence.

"Ashitaka, I love you." She said in a normal voice, but he couldn't hear her over the motorcycle raging over the asphalt road.

He could feel her wrapping her arms around his body, tightly, lovingly, and comfortably. He smiled, knowing that she was right there with him. He really thought yesterday was the last day he could be like this with her. So knowing that she was sitting right behind him was the greatest gift he had ever known. She was warm, and she was so close, he could swear he could feel her heart beating. Her head was resting on his back, and her body was close. He could feel her breathing steadily as they rode.

"I really love you." He said as he drove off faster.

They made it to the hospital, and Hiro was already in the ER. Taka and Kai were on their way, but until then, San and Ashitaka tried to find out where they could find him. He was in there for 2 hours until they finally wheeled him out. The doctors told them the bullet went straight through, so all they had to do was patch him up and make sure nothing vital was hit, which fortunately wasn't.

The two sat in the room while Hiro slept soundly.

"Ashitaka?" San called his attention quietly. He turned his head in response. "Why did you come to my house tonight?" She already knew the answer, but then again, she had to make sure.

"Truthfully, I came to find out why Moro had to do that to you three. But inside, I came for you." He admitted as he turned his attention to Hiro. "I met up with him while I was trying to catch up with the car. I was too slow, so we both went on is motorcycle. When we arrived, things got out of hand. He tried to throw a knife at Moro, but I stopped him, and the guard shot him on accident." He roughly explained what had happened, even though she never really asked for an explanation.

"I see…" She looked at the floor, and realized she was barefoot the whole time. Her feet started to feel the beatings of running around without shoes. She wanted to ask him if he liked her. But that wouldn't seem like her to ask something like that, so she stayed quiet. 'Maybe…' She thought to herself. 'Maybe its better that we both stay apart, despite what we might feel about each other.' She was afraid of what he would say. What if he only thought of her as a sister relationship? She didn't want to get hurt. He meant so much to her, yet she couldn't say anything to him.

The moon sank as Japan waited for the sun's arrival. Ashitaka got a call again. His manager was threatening him if he didn't come back to rehearse. The concert was in less than 3 weeks. He had to practice like no other before him. Kaya went back home herself, after Ashitaka told her everything was alright.

San woke up to the sunlight, with Kai and Taka sleeping on the other side of the room. She had a blanket around her, and an envelope in the chair next to hers. It was concert tickets. It also had a small note inside. It read:

'Sorry'

She slid the note and tickets back into the envelope and held onto it. The three boys were still sleeping as she slowly woke up.

Three weeks later…

Ashitaka warmed up backstage as he went through dance moves, and mumbled song lyrics to himself. His backup dancers were already preparing to get on stage.

"Ashitaka!" Kaya called out. "Good luck!" She hugged him cheerfully. He nodded, and checked the time. Ten more minutes till show time. He practiced a little more until his manager told him to get ready to get on stage.

When the lights started to move and smoke fogged the stage, he got up front and center. As rehearsed, he started dancing and started his song as his fans cheered wildly. He continued until after the 4th song was over. He then drank some water to catch his breath, and held the microphone up. After thanking everybody for coming, and so forth, he began to talk about his next song.

"I want to tell you all, about what the next song is about." He looked around the huge stadium, trying to find her. "I named it 'Kites' because they remind me of someone who is very special to me. This person, is someone I can be with, and be myself with." He kept searching, and searching, hoping his voice will reach her. "This person is a girl I love very much." He gave up trying to look for her one face in the sea of thousands. The lights went dim, and he began his song.

"Would you still hold me even if it caused you distress?

Would you still kiss me even if it was painful?

Would you still love me even if it was scorn upon?

Like a kite in the sky, you fly out of my reach

Like a kite in the sky, you fly so far above me

I really love you, but do you love me?

I really like you, but do you?

Would you hold my hand even if it was cold?

Would you walk with me even if you were tired?

Would you really be with me?

Like a kite in the sky, you fly out of my reach

But I'd still try to catch you anyways…"

He repeated the chorus a couple more times, and ended the song through the screaming fans, "I love you."

After the concert, he greeted some of the fans that had backstage passes, but still searched for her. As he signed an autograph, someone was trying to get pass security.

"Get away! I'm trying to get through!"

"Miss, you don't have a pass, you can't go backstage."

"You tryin' to pick a fight?" A boy warned.

"I think he is." Another chimed in. "Hold him down, Kai!" Ashitaka ran through the crowd, and he almost died happy.

"Ashitaka!" She exclaimed as she jumped over the dog-pile of her two brothers and security guards. They ran towards each other, and by the time they reached, Ashitaka lifted her up and spun a little. As they embraced, she even laughed a little.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"I had to practically beg my mom to drive me here. And traffic was so heavy I had to run 2 miles just to get to the stadium." She was set down on the ground. "I was a little late, but I made it in time for your 5th song." She smiled uncontrollably.

"Did you?" He replied with a big smile. "So you heard…" But she didn't let him finish. She had already moved in and occupied his mouth so he couldn't talk anymore. She still had her arms around him, and his around her.

Fans in the backstage both cheered, and sulked. Taka and Kai were still fighting to get free. A TV crew started filming them immediately as it was to be aired the next morning on the news.

And the next morning, it was aired almost immediately. The whole country witnessed the two going at it for almost forever. It was front page news, so it was no surprise Moro and Eboshi caught wind of it. Even Hiro and Shinji found out as the rest of the country did.

When they did stop, they both kept grinning.

"I do love you." She replied to his song.

After the news of the kiss settled down, the Eboshi kids moved back into the apartment with the Okina kids. They all attended the same school, and all lived under the same roof.

Shinji resigned from his gang leadership responsibilities and started working at his family-owned phone shop. Hiro decided to move on and focus on his studies so he could go to America to study instead. Kaya and Taka started dating, while the two brothers both left the gang after Shinji left. Moro and Eboshi still had a shaky relationship, but managed to rule the economy as strong business queens.

"So…" San asked as she walked home beside Ashitaka.

"So…?" He replied

"What do you think of us now?" She referred to his comparison to kites. He looked up at the sky, and thought for a moment.

"A couple." He joked. She punched his arm to get serious. "What? That's the truth." He rubbed his arm.

"I think we're birds." She spotted two birds flying together in the sky.

"No. We're still kites." He noticed the birds as well. "Still attached to someone else, still flying, but not free. But we're two entangled kites." He replied more seriously.

"Not that I mind." She joked with him.

"Yeah, me neither." He answered with a chuckle.

FIN

Shinji's family owns a phone-shop, that's how he knew about Ashitaka and San. If you refer to the earlier chapters, Ashitaka had to go to the store to pick up her new cell phone. It was Shinji that was at the shop that day, and gave him the phone. That's how he really found out in chapter 7 when he was telling Taka about giving up on San. I wanted to weave that in the story, but I had nowhere to put it. I'm just telling you know for all of you who were wondering how the heck he knew.

a/n : yes, the last chapter! This is a sad/happy moment, isn't it? Smiles. The ending kinda sucked, and I wanted to end it after she kissed him, but I wanted to tell you about the other characters and how they turned out too. Then again, they didn't really matter, but hey, I'd be curious to know too. At first, I kinda wanted to kill off Hiro, but that wouldn't be fair to Taka, even though a part of him wanted Hiro to die. Self-conscience (and my love for hiro) got the better of him. I also wanted to fast-forward to the future so they could get married, but I decided not to. Oh well. I wanted Shinji to be the one where he pushes Ashitaka back in the last chapter, but I decided Hiro would be better. Shinji kinda died off, didn't he? Sorry. Um….please keep reading my works? LoL. Oh, sorry about Ashitaka's song, my poetry was never adequate to my taste, so sorry if sounded cheesy….Okay, I'm done with my last, and by far longest A/N. BYE FOR NOW! Thanks for reading, again.

-Kazuhiro