Chapter 3

Ashitaka and Yakul entered Iron Town at a run, startling a few people. Answering the calls of others with a "good morning!" and not stopping to chat, Ashitaka stopped Yakul only as they reached the small house that the villagers had given him.

He hadn't known how much esteem they held him in until one day when he'd been called away from his work. He'd been helping to re-build a set of pens for the oxen, and Toki, a few of the other women, and Kiroku had shown up, saying that they had a surprise for him. Following along good-naturedly and praying that they weren't about to introduce him to another young woman, he went with them. He was led to a small house with a pen next to it, and in that pen had been Yakul. A house with plenty of room for Yakul. That was how he knew that the villagers had all wanted him to stay.

All through the village, he was referred to as "the lad" by older adults or as "Ashi" by most of the children. He worked with others, helped others and was helped by them, and he'd managed to fit in with everyone. Hoping that they wouldn't worry about his leaving, Ashitaka slipped inside his home and grabbed his pack, slipping what he needed inside of it.

"Firestarter, cloak, money," he said under his breath as he packed. He quickly wrapped up what food he had in the house that wouldn't spoil and packed it as well. He may not be able to hunt or buy food for a few days.

"Hey, Ashitaka!" Kiroku said, popping his head in the open window.

Ashitaka yelped and leapt sideways, dropping into a defensive crouch.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Kiroku asked, coming in. "What's got you so jumpy?"

"Someone has kidnapped San," Ashitaka explained, rolling up a blanket to take with him. "I have to go after her to help her."

"The wolf girl?" Kiroku said, surprised. "Do you know who took her?"

"From what her brothers said, a bunch of soldiers that they couldn't smell. I have to help her. You'll tell the others where I've gone?"

"Of course," Kiroku said, nodding. "You be careful, all right?"

"I will," Ashitaka promised.

Kiroku left, and Ashitaka finished packing. He was leading Yakul out of the gate when he heard someone calling his name.

"Ashitaka! Ashitaka! Don't go yet!"

Turning, Ashitaka saw that it was Toki.

"When they heard you were going, everybody put these together," she said, holding out two sacks full of food that would last on the road. "These should see you to the capital and back and then some. Will you come back?"

"Of course I will," he said, wondering if he would be alive to return. "I'm just going to help San."

"Well, you be careful," Toki said, hugging him. "You've become like family to all of us, you know."

"I'll be careful, and thank you, Toki," he said, draping the sacks across Yakul's back. Getting up into the saddle and cantering off, Ashitaka waved goodbye to his home.

Space

Taro and Jiro had been waiting just where they'd said they would be. Taro was pacing and looking quite unhappy.

"What took so long?" he snarled.

Ashitaka stared, surprised at Taro's outburst. He hadn't thought that he'd taken that long.

"Don't mind him," Jiro said. "We can't find San's scent, so he's grumpy."

"And the soldiers didn't leave one?" Ashitaka asked, just to make sure.

"They may have removed their bodies' scents, but they couldn't remove the scents of their clothes. They're soaked with human smell. I think we'll be able to follow them, as long as they don't go through water or around too many other humans. Most of you smell too much alike," Taro said, still in a foul mood.

"Well, let's go," Askitaka said, turning Yakul in the direction that Taro indicated.

Riding after the brothers, Ashitaka prayed that they could find San.

Space

San woke when the box lurched to a stop. Leaping to her feet, she squinted at the sunlight that streamed in when the door opened. Running blindly into it and knocking a few soldiers over, San fled, praying that she had not been taken too far from home. Shouts followed her, and she ran faster, trying to escape them.

"Stop, you stupid girl!" she heard the monk shout.

Her feet struck something, and she felt herself fall and slide down a hill. With a splash, she fell right into a river.

"You little idiot," Jigo said, grabbing her arm and pulling her out. "I told you to stop!"

"Let go of me!" she snarled. "Let go!"

Human smell surrounded her, making her feel trapped. Her eyes were clear now, and when she looked around she could see that they were in the middle of a village, and all of the people were gathered in the square and staring at her. She had tripped over a rail that ran alongside the river, most likely built to keep children from falling in. She snarled her defiance and tried to pull away from Jigo, no longer wishing to cut his throat. All she wanted now was to get away from all of these humans and back to the forest where she belonged.

"Relax," Jigo said, all but dragging her back to the soldiers. "We stopped for the night, and we have orders from the Emperor to let you out of your litter for some air, food, and whatever else you might need. No need to worry, girl."

The next few hours were not comfortable ones for San or the soldiers. First she had been pushed into a stinking, dark little hut called a privy and told to relieve herself. She couldn't believe that humans actually used these places, but since she needed to, she did. Once finished there, she was given a chance to wash up, but the soldiers would not leave her alone to do so. She scrubbed whatever part of her that was bare, glaring at the soldiers as she did so, and finished that as well. Pushed into a human house, she was given something that she'd never really had before: cooked food. She'd had dried and smoked food, but cooked meat, rice, and vegetables were new to her. Scooping some out with her fingers, she realized that it was not a smart thing to do. She screamed as the hot food burned them, and she slipped them into her mouth, trying to cool them.

"It's hot, girl!" Jigo barked, grabbing a cup of cool water for her to put her fingers in. "Don't you know how to use chopsticks?"

She snarled at him and nursed her fingers, dipping them in and out of the cold water. If only her brothers were here! They would have bitten his head off and left the rest of his carcass for the buzzards.

"Like this," Jigo said, demonstrating. "This is how civilized people eat."

That did it. "You don't know anything about being civilized, you filthy pig!" she shouted, throwing the bowl of water at his head.

"Hey, now," he said, ducking to avoid the bowl and the water. "No need to get upset. I'm just trying to show you how to eat. If you don't want to, then you don't have to."

She glared at him and stayed where she was. The soldiers were between her and the way out, and she didn't know what the walls were made of. Was it wood? Dirt? Something else? She couldn't tell, and she didn't want to risk hurting herself on something that she couldn't break.

"Look, try this," Jigo said, handing her a stick with a small bowl at the end. "Scoop your food up with that."

San took it and looked at it, and took the refilled bowl of food that they handed her. Careful not to touch any of it with her fingers, she scooped some up, blew on it to cool it as she saw the soldiers doing, and put it into her mouth. Chewing, she tasted it, and almost spat it out. It tasted strange, but it didn't taste so bad that she couldn't stand it. Swallowing, she scooped up more, hoping that it would calm her growling stomach. Getting enough to eat had been a challenge in the forest, but Mother had always made sure that she'd had enough when she'd truly needed it. These soldiers didn't seem to have Moro's gift of caring.

Once she was finished eating, she was locked back up in her box and told to go to sleep. Wrapping up in her fur cloak, she sighed, wishing that she were at home.