Well now people, the first chapter is up so now I will clarify a few things from the prologue. First off, I am sorry about one or two mistypes that I had on the work. I had rushed getting this first part up so I did a spotty job on proof reading. Forgive me for those mistakes; I will be doing a better job on the editing and proofreading from now on. Also, I had placed a little hint to two of my characters that will be playing key roles in the later chapters. Lastly, those of you who wish to see more of San, don't worry, she will coming up in the next two chapters.
PS. Can any one start to guess what I am planning for this whole Fic? If you do, send me your ideas, I want to hear some feedback. So Here's Chapter 1, enjoy.
Chapter 1
Hero…or villain?
The destruction to the town was not as bad as it had looked when the Nightwalker had fallen onto the town, but still the damage was enough. The main gate, most of the towers and at least a third of the wall on the riverside was missing. The damage to the houses was so great Ashitaka wondered if he should return at all.
He thought, for a moment, that he might not be welcome in the town that had shot him in the lung, by accident of course. The townspeople might still be a little sore about that whole ordeal, hitting Eboshi in the stomach to subdue her and helping San escape. Most of the women were on the side of town's lady, so that treatment of her might have gone unforgiven. However, before he could think of turning around a familiar face was seen at the top of the partially demolished high wall.
"Ashitaka!" a woman 5 or so years older than him yelled from her spot o the wall. She wore a bright red kimono that shown brightly in the sun and a white bandana around and over her head.
"I can't believe that you are alright, we just sent out a search party to go and look for you about an hour ago. Hurry up and come on in." She then looked down to her husband and changed her tone. "Go and get his cloak and saddle you useless oaf!" Ashitaka heard a quivering voice say, "Yes my little flower."
Ashitaka chuckled and called out to the woman at the wall. "Toki, I am glad to see that you are well. When the ooze from the nightwalker's body passed over the town I had feared the worst for you and Koroku."
Toki smiled, if only for a moment. She appreciated Ashitaka's concern and understood that herself, Koroku and many others would not be alive if not for his bravery and willingness to sacrifice himself for the town that had nearly killed him. However, her thoughts drifted back to her close friends and relatives that had been killed in the wake of that black ooze. She turned to look back at the town and noticed that most of the town had now gathered at what had remained of the gate as Ashitaka approached.
Any previous belief that the townspeople would dislike him was washed away when he had once passed through the gate. A sea of friendly faces and cheers surrounded him as he walked through the area where the gate had been.
As Ashitaka dismounted Yakkul, a large, balding man wearing a blue and white kimono walked up him. "Young man, you are the most resilient human I have ever met in my life. It's good to have you back."
Ashitaka recognized him as the man who had sat next to him when he ate supper for the first time in Iron Town. This man had also helped him deal with Jigo's men at the edge of the forest.
"It's good to see that you are well also," said Ashitaka. Before he could say or ask anything more, someone in the crowd had begun to yell. "Gonza has come back!"
Ashitaka stood in his place as the captain of the guards had come through pass and walked quickly towards him and the other man.
"Well now stranger," he said in his mocking tone of voice. "It seems that you saved me one hell of a walk. My group and I saw you as we had just passed over the top of the far hill and realized that you were coming back here."
"Lady Eboshi would wish to speak with you in private, you know where to go." He bowed his head ever so slightly towards him and before Ashitaka could respond, Gonza turned to speak to the other man next to Ashitaka.
"Keno, come with me to the barracks, we have important matters to discuss."
Keno and Ashitaka both bowed to each other and began to walk away. One of the men took Yakkul by the reigns and asked if Ashitaka would like him to be put in the stable and cared for. Ashitaka said yes and made his way towards Lady Eboshi's garden on the far side of the town.
Ashitaka took notice of the grass and flowers that had sprouted on the forge and the houses as he made his way towards the lady's hut.
As he passed through the gate he nodded to the usual guard who sat with a rifle and a spear underneath an umbrella. For a moment, Ashitaka thought that this was a different guard from before, mainly because Ashitaka could see his face had no trace of leprosy on it. After taking a second longer to look he noticed that the man still had bandages around his arms and head, so this was indeed one of Eboshi's lepers. Good, thought Ashitaka, I was not the only one removed of a curse.
He then crossed the little bridge that led into Eboshi's hut and began to hear two women talking.
"Please milady you mustn't strain yourself, you are badly injured," said a slightly familiar voice behind the curtain over the door.
"It's ok Nara, I must rise to greet our guest," said Eboshi, hinting that she knew who was out outside the doorway.
Ashitaka took his cue and walked into the hut. "Good afternoon ladies." He said and bowed before both of them.
"What are we going to do?"
"Asano and what's left of his army have camped out behind the far hill overlooking Iron town," Gonza said to the men inside the barracks. "For now they seem to be packing up their supplies to move out of this land. However we do not know for sure if they intend to leave or to attack us again in our weakened state."
Then Keno spoke. "If the samurai leave these mountains, they are more than likely to return to finish us off after the upcoming winter has passed."
"That is our other concern as well." Now the captain looked to the other men in the room. "We also must be looking to sustain our selves during the winter months. Asano won't be able to attack us during the winter and if he retreats, he won't be able to strike until after the winter months so there cannot be any slacking off."
"Keno, I am appointing you my second in command here. I am placing you in charge of gathering our supplies and building up the walls and defenses. I will see to gathering workers and soldiers to defend the walls. Also I will see what our firearm situation is and give you as much gunpowder and rifles as we can spare."
"I will also speak with the boy about him lending us a hand with all this work."
With that the captain of the guards left the other men of the town to their assigned tasks. As Gonza walked out of the barracks, Keno couldn't help but notice the change of character in the tall captain. Now he was acting more like a strong leader instead of the loudmouthed antagonist that he was known for being. He smiled to himself and turned to his men and began their tasks that Gonza had set for them.
Eyes over the Town
On the top of the far hill a different samurai stood at the top of the hill where Asano had once stood. A bloody 5-foot Kitana rested on top of his armored shoulders. He had been staring at the town wondering what he was going to do next.
Asano had given him charge of the infantry that pushed the women of Iron town back to the inner wall. After the whores had retreated and his attack from the river had failed, the samurai captain had ordered his men to fall back for the night. Asano didn't like that course of action especially after the black ooze from the Nightwalker had decimated most of the troops that he had been given charge of.
Now instead of killing him, Asano had made him stay here to find a way to kill the 'Imishi Prince' that Jigo had spoken of. Asano said that Tojiro was not allowed to leave these mountains until his task was complete.
I will probably die here, thought the young samurai captain.
His task involved waiting with his 87 cavalry, 20 of which where the best archers in Asano's army, for any sign of the Imishi warrior.
As he stood there he realized that the boy he was here to kill was also an ally of Wolf-Girl who had lived in the forest with the wolf-gods. If he decides to visit her,he will have to leave the safety of the town, he thought to himself.If not we will just attack the town itself while they are weak.
He turned to his remaining samurai. "Well men we are moving out. Pack light, we are going to the edge of the forest to wait for our prey." His samurai complied with his orders and mounted their horses and began to move towards their destination.
His samurai only knew that their target was a young man dressed in blue and riding a red elk they didn't know who the boy was or how much his death mattered to Lord Asano. The other samurai didn't care, mostly because the other guards that heard Jigo tell his story where beheaded for "safety precautions." Only Tojiro knew of the boy's heritage and what would happen to them if they failed.
I just may get to live after all, he thought. All I need is for that wolf girl to lure out that troublesome boy out of his fortress so I can kill this "Imishi Prince."
