The man was nervous at the thought of returning to Iron Town but he had no choice. He was in no condition to help Ashitaka in his quest and he needed medical attention as quick as possible. Still, he gave Ashitaka all the information he had on what had happened. Ashitaka gathered that Asano's army had been preparing for this since the beginning. How could Eboshi not had known this? She had told him that she knew all of his tricks, had been so confident she would defeat Asano with no trouble at all. Yet, the first thing that happened was that she got captured. It did not fit.
Still, after leaving the injured man close enough for him to walk over to town, Ashitaka had no choice but to go after Lady Eboshi himself. He knew better than to enter the forest now. San would pick up his scent quickly and he did not want to create problems at the moment. He would have a talk with her after he came back. In fact, he was already thinking of what to say to her. He felt a deep sense of dread when he thought back of her face, full of anger and betrayal. He too would have felt that way, he knew, but he had no choice. Just as she would do anything for her tribe, he would do the same for the people who had given him a home. Going around the forest would not be an easy task. In fact, when San had started her search for the Ape tribe, they had gone through the forest instead of around it. The area was large and would take more than a day to cover. Though, Ashitaka thought he had a very good chance of catching up with Eboshi. According to the injured villager, Eboshi had been captured and taken away by a small group of twenty or so men. Even if it was a small group, it meant that they would have to take it slow, especially with Eboshi as a prisoner.
Ashitaka headed home first and after looking around, he saw his home had been searched through. He had no valuables, nothing of interest so the men had left it alone. Ashitaka had to look for Yakuul for a while and found him hiding in the forest. He asked Yakuul to help him with a task. Yakuul snorted at him, happy to help his human friend, and nudging him with his wet nose as a way of acceptance. Thanking him, Ashitaka mounted on him, giving him instruction on where to go and hastily telling him not to head into the forest. He was met with a confused shake of the head to which he soothingly told him that he had a falling out with San. Yakuul said nothing, being an elk and unable to communicate with his master through human language but he made it understood that he was compassionate. Patting him on the head as thanks, man and elk started their way around the huge forest as fast as they could.
It took Ashitaka almost an entire day to catch up to Asano's men. He had left under the cover of night and finally spotted Eboshi as the sun settled the next day. It had been a harsh trip. There had been no trails of any sorts, no way to know whether or not he was going the right way. Mountains and rocky paths made it hard to travel and Yakuul tired quickly. They rested but for short periods of time but moved as quickly asa they could. Ashitaka felt bad to push Yakuul so much but he had no choice. It would have taken him days to make this journey on his own. Still, once his goal was in sight, it felt like a breath of fresh air to him.
How to take down the men would be another problem he had not quite thought of. Of course it would not be easy to take down twenty grown men but he needed to do it and quick. The town was strong when together but at the moment, they were weak and leaderless. He needed to take Eboshi back to her people and he needed to get back to San. Though he hated the thought, he probably had to fight these men and in all probability, end up killing a few of them. His face screwed up in a grimace, suddenly feeling hatred for the woman tied up on the horse. Her face was dirty and with quite a few bruises but still looked ever so regal. Because of her, he needed to do things he did not wish to. Stain his hands with unnecessary blood, stain his soul with unnecessary guilt. His right hand went to his knife without his consent and drew his sword, gleaming in the now setting sun. He gripped the handle hard, thinking of what he had left behind because of the woman. All the progress he had made with San was now gone, in an instant. All those moments they had together had now vanished in her anger.
He told Yakuul to stay where he was and Ashitaka calmly walked over to the group of men, who had stopped for a bit to rest. Ashitaka was easily spotted coming from behind a large boulder and the men stood in alert. Eboshi did not seem to notice him or rather, chose not to notice him. He walked calmly over, as if the large men were not charging at him with raised swords. With a strange rage surging through his body, his hand raised his sword and with a strange precision, he swung towards the first man, cutting his arm off with a clean swoop. The man cried out and fell to his knees, cradling the bleeding stump like a newborn child. The rest of the men stood back in fear for a second but quickly recovered. They took out their bows and arrows and aimed at him. They were close enough to kill him, especially since they all fired their arrows at the same time. The arrows seemed like a swarm of insects heading towards him but with an inhuman accuracy, he flicked his wrist and the sword did three quick complete 360's, cutting each and every arrow in half. The man watched, astounded as he came closer. Deciding that luck was in packs, at least ten or so men charged at him, battle cries high in the air as well as their weapons. All the rage Ashitaka felt was put to the test and he did not disappoint.
He did not quite remember how it all happened. It was all a blur to him. He felt his body perform great stunts that no other men could have. He had let the demon that was inside every man take over him and this was the result. Not that he had much of a choice. He had managed to mince all ten men, without discrimination on who they were or their pleas. They lay littered on the ground, the scent of their blood surrounded him as it had been when he went to look for San. However, this massacre was by his hand and no one else's. The other men had long since then run away from the 'devil-man'. Calmly walking to Eboshi, he cut her bindings and walked back to Yakuul, not once looking back whether she was following. The adrenalin was still rushing through him but his vision was now more clear. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the dead bodies. He felt a slight wave of nausea but he held it down. His hands were bloody and reeked of death. Before mounting on Yakuul, he bent down and rubbed his hands with dirt. Though the stain of blood was still there, the smell had subdued. Eboshi had already climbed on Yakuul and was waiting for him, Without a glance, Ashitaka mounted on his friend and they headed back, leaving the land to deal with the corpses.
---------------------------
San knew the men would not leave her forest now that they had gotten Iron Town. In fact, they had confirmed her fears bright and early the next day. She had a sleepless night, full of worry and anger. It did not help that the days were now cold and the nights freezing. Still, she had managed to sleep for a while before she was rudely awoken by her brother.
"Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily but awoke at once when she saw it was her older brother, Kendo.
"You are better?" she asked him.
He gave her a smile (or at least that's what it looked like to San) but his expression turned somber.
"Kanha says that there are men near the boy's home," he said quietly, "they are going to try to get in."
San's nostrils' flared with anger. She cursed under her breath and rose, stretching her back.
"What a horrible night," she murmured to no one.
She sighed and looked around. The farthest edge of the forest looked horrible but most of the animals were alive. That was a plus.
They knew what they must do. Nothing different had been said last night. Only the fact that they were to kill any human that came close to the forest, without hesitation or pity. Many of the animals had looked at her funny, many did not dare ask what they were all thinking. San answered nonetheless.
"Any human at all."
Needless to say they had all been shocked. It was not hard to see that San's relationship with the human was almost always trained at some point but they had been doing quite well lately. The apes had beared the brunt of their happiness when the two humans teased their tribe whenever they felt bored. Still, their happiness had brought a much needed and quite pleasant change to the forest. It had been a long time since humans had felt at home in the place that at one point in time had been, in fact, their home. Yet, now that she had uttered these words, it felt like it had before. Where everything was out of order, the world was unbalanced, and love was no longer an option between two beings.
San moved quickly. Traveling through the forest was not an easy task, even for the guardian. It had grown over the last few months, thanks to everyone's cooperation and now the land lay covered in large trees, both new and old. The bones of the fallen trees were still there, with new life growing out of them but making it harder to get through. Still, San made it through with her brothers (Kendo had insisted upon coming with her, despite his injuries) and peeked out of the foliage of her forest. She saw a group of burly men, covered in armor and carrying machetes, making their way into the forest. They were lead by a strange looking man. He was bald, his head shiny in the early morning sun but had a large brown beard, almost up to his waist. The man looked fierce in his armor but it was his eyes that captivated her the most. He had the most deepest green eyes San had ever seen in her life. So dark that they almost looked black and without a speck of feeling in them. They scanned the area, looking at every part of the forest carefully. Then his eyes traveled upward, toward the treetops and there, his eyes searched again.
The men behind him started taking notes on what they saw and putting down coordinates. San did not know exactly what they were doing but she could guess and her guesses were usually correct. They probably wanted to get a picture of how large the forest was, how much iron it would give, and all it would add up to was their never ending greed. However, the man was not noticing all of this. San could tell by the way his eyes roamed all over, as if searching for something in particular.
With a growl, San decided it had been enough and signaled the animals behind her to follow. The crawled closer to the men, at least fifteen men or so but heavily guarded with guns and explosives, and attacked. San thought it was probably not the best plan she had come up with but what other option did she have? She would not let the humans continue to wander around in places that were not meant to be wandered in. The forest was her home and she decided who got to reside in it. They were not welcomed.
With fierceness unknown to her, she attacked the men, paying no attention to the pain in her leg or to the guns going off around her. She ducked, kicked, punched, and growled with all her might. If it wasn't for the fact that she could easily get killed, this might have served as good therapy for her. But the harsh facts were that she needed to be careful with her life. Her brothers would be excellent at taking care of the forest, they had proved helpful to her time and time again. But this was her job until she was laid to rest and until then, she would fight tooth and nail for her home.
In a blur of flailing limbs and battle cries, she did not notice the man come up from behind her. The man that had captured her interest had been captivated by her as well. A warrior princess, she had been called, a wolf as well as a human. Well, she sure was showing her beastly side at the moment, no doubt. He winced as a soldier hit her across the face. He raised his gun and shot the man before he could cause any more harm. He had told them already not to injure the girl once they found her and yet, that hit was probably going to leave a bruise on her gorgeous skin. The girl got up quickly, bloody knife ready in hand and aimed at him. He held his arms up, a smile on his face, and an easy look to his eyes.
Her eyes narrowed.
His smile became wide.
His arms came down and he dropped the weapon. San regarded with suspiciously, not knowing what to do. No other man had given up on the fight so easily. It was a trick, it had to be. She kept her eyes on his as he came closer and she felt the tree behind her. She was trapped. Wolves do not get trapped, she thought, and charged at him, knife held straight for him. The man had the agility of a young boy even though he looked as if he was at least forty. He sidestepped and grabbed hold of her knife wielding hand. He jerked it back, causing her to cry out. His other hand went for the rag he kept in his back pocket and stuffed it in her face. San let out a muffled scream, her eyes searching for her brothers but they were not to be found. The battle scene became hazy and blurry, her eyes watered and she wanted to gag. The last words she heard were low and hypnotizing.
"Such beauty…"
---------
San could not be sure how long she was asleep or what time it was when she woke up. She was kept in a closed room, no windows and no bars. She was lying in a comfortable futon but she decided to get up nonetheless. She noticed her bruises had been patched up. Gone were Ashitaka's torn bandages and were replaced by new ones, pure white in color and clean. They covered every one of her bruises. The room was small and uncluttered. It had a futon and a thick square pillow on the side but that was about it. It smelled of nothing in particular yet it made her feel of an emptiness she had never quite felt before.
Sitting straight on her futon, she waited until her wave of dizziness passed. She decided to look around but to her disappointment, she found nothing but a locked door. She did not have the strength to bang on it and she doubted it would do much to help her. She had no choice but to sit down and wait for someone to come.
After some time (San did not know, it could have been mere minutes or it could have been hours) the door finally began to unlock and opened. She quickly got up, stood in her fighting stance and waited for whoever had captured her. She looked upon the man with the strange eyes and frowned. He was smiling at her, almost admiring her as he closed the door behind him.
"I see you are doing well, my dear," he said in a silky voice, deep but a little raspy as if he hadn't used it in a long time.
San said nothing but kept frowning.
"You're injuries, they should heal in a week or so," said the man, not noticing her hostile look and walked over to the cushion. He glanced at it and sat down, cross legged before sighing heavily. He pointed at the futon as he looked at her, inviting her to do the same. Her eyes narrowed once more. He laughed at her suspicion and shrugged.
"Very well, my lovely, I have come here to talk business," he stated, scratching his chin with his pinky, "I won't beat around the bush much."
When he noticed she said nothing, he continued.
"When my women were tending to you, I noticed your necklace and earrings. Very rare materials those are made of and even rarer, who uses them, don't you think?"
San growled.
"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily, not knowing where this was going but she certainly did not like it.
"The necklace, my dear," he said patiently, touching his own neck to show her what he meant, "the Emishi necklace as well as the earrings."
Her frown became deeper. She recognized Emishi, it was the Ashitaka's people, his home. The necklace she had already guessed was something that his people held dear and she remembered he told her once that it was something girls gave away to their loved one. But her earrings…
Noticing her confused face, the man sighed again.
"I figured you might not have known, being raised by wolves and all," he glanced at her curiously, "a story you must tell me, by the way."
He winked.
"Anyway, the necklace and earrings are bearings of the Emishi people, their wise woman to be exact. Your mother must have been one and handed down her jewelry to you as her mother did to her and so on."
He nodded here, as if to confirm what he had just said.
"Now, here's where I get lucky," he said vigorously, his voice excited at the very thought, "I have, not only a warrior princess, but an Emishi as well----it's to die for!"
He laughed from deep within his belly, as if he truly could not believe his luck. He sighed happily as San looked at him, utterly confused and worried.
"Now, judging by the way you look, you had no idea that you are from the Emishi tribe," he said gently, almost in a parental way, "It's in your eyes. That shade of blue is common in the Emishi people and the color of your skin is a lot lighter than others."
He smiled at her again as he arose from where he was sitting. She backed away as he came closer but he made no move to harm her. Instead, his hand went to her hair, to touch it and study it.
"Strange color," he mumbled absently, "but it is not your hair I am interested in."
He backed away and for the first time, he gave her a hostile look.
"Now it is obvious to me that this was probably not handed down to you as I first thought," he said wisely, as if he had uncovered a great mystery, "In all probability, someone else gave this necklace to you."
He looked at her knowingly and waived a finger at her.
"I am willing to bet, young one, that the necklace around your neck was given to you by a boy instead of your mother."
He gave her a pointed look.
"My dear, I will not lie to you. In all honesty, you will die, regardless of what answer you provide me with. However, your death can be quick and painless or you shall suffer greatly. Think wisely please. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a cruel man. I just know what I want and I am willing to go to far lengths to acquire it."
He came closer to her but San could not move. His eyes shimmered in a predatory way, entrancing her completely.
"Who gave you the necklace?" he asked quietly, so near her that she could have read his lips and known what he had said.
Her nostrils flared once more and she spat on his face. He did not recoil or make any sudden moves. He simply wiped it away and smiled.
"Very well, you've made your choice."
He turned and walked towards the door. Before he left, he gave her a quick look, inspecting her from head to toe. The door opened and he stepped out, leaving her to contemplate the last words she heard from him as the door closed.
"Torture her until she gives an answer---"
Neither Ashitaka nor Eboshi spoke on the way back. They both rode on Yakuul since the horses had long since run away from the battle. He was right behind her, his body cupping hers as they rode back to town. It would take a day to get back and riding at night was not a good idea. They stopped near some large rocks, still part of San's forest probably but they had no other choice. He jumped down and let Eboshi down as well. They did not speak or looked at each other in the eye. Instead, they crawled under some weird looking boulders that looked like they were forming a rock cave. It provided shade and protection so they did not care what it looked like or what it was made of.
Yakuul flopped beside Ashitaka, partly covered by their dwelling but he seemed too tired to care. His head settled upon the grass and his eyes began to close. Ashitaka watched him from his side, not especially fascinated but it was better than looking at who lay on his other side. The anger he felt was gone, leaving his arm tingling with an unknown pain, as if little ants were making their way up and down from inside his arm. He tried not to think about what he had done or for whom. Yakuul's eyes were half closed by now, straddling that state between sleep and consciousness. He had killed so many men with so little thought. What was he becoming all of a sudden? This is not the man he wanted to be. He wanted to be the one who protected those he cared for most. Did he truly care for Eboshi? It was in his nature to say yes, as a human being and as a woman, he wanted her to be safe, no matter what she had done to him. She was also the one who the town listened to and followed. Without her, Iron Town would fall, as it was on the verge of doing at the very moment. He rescued her, killed all those men, and now had to live with that in his soul but it had all been to help his new home, his new family and friends.
Yakuul was now sound asleep. His eyes were shut and his nose twitched in a cute action that would have made Ashitaka laugh if he had not been in such turmoil. He wondered what San was doing at the moment. It always amazed him that San was always so fiercely independent. She almost never asked for his help and the rare times that she did, it was always for her forest, never for her own needs. He wondered if she was truly as mad as he thought she was. Once he got back, he would not be able to see her. He had to take back Iron Town from the samurai that had invaded before he could go and talk to San. It hurt him a lot that she would put such an ultimatum on their relationship. What hurt him most was the fact that they had been doing so well, everything had been the way he had hoped they would be and yet, in a matter of seconds, it had all tumbled down.
He sighed. Best to put it out of his mind. He would find a way to talk to her, make her see that just she defended her forest, he had to defend his home.
He fell into a heavy sleep, silently wishing that next time, it would not be Eboshi who lay beside him.
—------------
The trip was quick and uneventful. The quiet had become their friend as they made their way back. It was only until they could smell and hear the sounds of construction that they realized they had made it back to town. The town did not look different at all, in fact, the same men that stood on the post were still there, looking rather surly but there nonetheless. The gate was open and guarded by samurai, each wielding fiercesome looking weapons. For the first time, Eboshi spoke, giving Ashitaka a signal to move from his spot.
"There is a small tunnel down here. No one but me knows about it."
He followed her, crouching slightly as to not be seen by the postmen. Eboshi waved it away, signaling to the men who had already spotted them and were trying to hold back smiles.
"They will not give us in," said Eboshi tiredly.
"You do not know who else is up there with them," he snapped back, rather angrily but she seemed not to notice. Instead, they made their way to the side of town, the only side with a protective wall of wood, shielding it from the floods of the river which might damage the town itself (though it had yet to happen). On the far side of the wall, there was a large bolder or at least, what seemed like a boulder.
"It's just hard mud in the shape and color of a boulder," she said to him, spotting his bewildered look as she tried pushing it to the side, "Come help me."
The rock was too heavy to be pushed aside, though and Eboshi regarded it curiously before cursing.
"They found out about my tunnel," she said angrily, waving her hand at the rock, "Those damned samurai put in a real boulder instead."
Ashitaka sighed. He felt his arm excite itself over the possibility of being used once more. It tingled from his shoulder to his fingertips, a feeling Ashitaka had not quite gotten used to yet. He wondered what it meant and why it had started that day. Knowing he had little choice, he told Eboshi to move aside and breathe in deeply. He pushed the boulder with his right arm, as he had done once before with the gate of Iron Town, leaving the townspeople in awe and still speaking about it to this day. This time, Eboshi got to witness first hand about what all the fuss was about. He moved the boulder slowly at first but gained momentum and pushed it right off, as if made out of paper. A great deal of dust overcame them but when it blew away, Ashitaka stood there, his arm to his side but slightly throbbing. Even through the thin cloud of dust, Eboshi could see it throb through his arm coverings. Without a word, she entered the tunnel and heard Ashitaka follow behind her.
"They are probably making the town re-build the furnace," explained Eboshi, her head lowered as to not hit the tunnel ceiling. Ashitaka did the same though he noticed he had to bend his back as well. He must have grown over the last few months.
"Those idiots," she muttered, "Even without me, the women must have given them hell. I fear what they have done with the women, those men have no compassion, no soul. They are devils themselves."
Ashitaka said nothing. He too had wondered how they had all fared with all the samurai. Surely, the women's disrespect for men had not gone unpunished. He felt his heart sink at the thought of Toki and Chandra. He hoped they were ok, he was more worried about Toki who bordered fearlessness than Chandra. Being pregnant, she knew she must be careful with everything she did and said, not only for herself but for her child as well.
The cave walls had been kept from caving in by iron scaffolding but as they went farther in, the ceiling of the cave became wood and they could hear people stepping and walking on top of them.
"We're near," she whispered to him and kept going. Thin strips of light came through the holes on the floor and shone some much appreciated light on top of them. However, it soon became dark once more and Eboshi announced they were there. She pushed open a wooden door with great force but it would not budge. She cursed under her breath. Ashitaka helped her as they tried once more but it felt as if something was obstructing the door's way.
"Damn imbeciles," she said angrily, "they must have put something on top."
She looked at Ashitaka pointedly. They knew what he had to do though it did not mean he wanted to. His right hand tingled still but this time he could feel the force pull into his arm. He thought it was not the best idea to use his arm so much but he had little choice (he noted his absence in choice but tried pushing it out of his mind before he became too angry). He tried once more to push the door with all his might and felt whatever was on top rip. He continued to press on, small beads of sweat forming on his brow as the ripping became louder. Finally, the door gave and opened. He had pushed it off its hinges, he noticed as he peeked out, but he found that a rug was covering the entire floor. Eboshi too came out and looked around.
"They nailed my carpet down," she said angrily, "It cost me a fortune."
"They discovered your tunnel," said Ashitaka impatiently, wondering why she was so angry over a carpet, "They did not want us to get through."
"Well, we showed them," said Eboshi serenely. She walked around her room and found that her sliding doors, so elegant and beautiful, had been taken down and replaced with wooden doors. Upon trying to open it, she felt something was stopping the door from the outside.
"They've locked us in, Ashitaka."
He nodded, inspecting the windows that had been barred shut with iron bars.
"Where does this window face?" he asked Eboshi, inspecting the outside carefully.
"Towards the forest but wh--"
"And to the sides?" he interrupted.
"The resting place of the postmen. Wh--- Oh, I see."
She walked over to him and pointed at the roof.
"You'd have to climb over to the roof. It is not a harsh climb, surely you have had enough practice in the wilderness with your princess."
Ashitaka said nothing but the tingling became worse.
"We need to let the townspeople know you are safe and back to lead them," he said through gritted teeth, "I will inform them. You stay here, I doubt they will check in when everything has been locked."
Eboshi nodded, knowing she had crossed a line but not caring much. It pleased to see some more feeling out of Ashitaka, especially the ones only she could bring out in him.
Letting his right hand do all the job, he pulled away the metal bars from the window and climbed up. He took a small look at the forest before continuing his quest.
------------------------
San had never in her life been deliberately tortured and the only thoughts that ran through her mind were of how sick these humans were. The man with the green eyes had been there for every torture, inspecting how she was tortured and how much. He had told the burly men to not harm her skin too much, to be careful of critical injuries, and to hurt her as much as possible with the least amount of bruises. The men seemed to have done it before because they nodded impatiently as the man talked. Once they started, their faces brightened up, as if they had just been told how many presents they would be given for Christmas.
The days had turned cold now, they were well into Winter. Freezing rain and violent winds swept across the land and while it wasn't so bad in the forest (since the trees provided some shelter from the wind), the men had her tied up in a desolate place, full of cut down trees and no refuge. They left her there, with the little clothing she had on, while they went to fetch what they needed. San had done everything to let herself loose but to no avail. When they returned, she was found shivering, her lips blue and teeth chattering.
She was let down and dragged to a log, where a small bucket of water had been filled to the brim. One man pushed her, making her kneel as he stood behind her, grabbing a fistful of hair. The other man tied her legs together, making it impossible for her to move properly. He held her legs down, just in case she had any ideas.
The man came towards her, his green eyes gentle in her.
"My beauty, tell me who gave you the necklace and this will be over before it even begins, yes?"
She glared at him as well as she could. He sighed and with a wave of his hand, he let the men take over. The slammed her face across the freezing water, making her yell but underwater, nothing could be heard. The bucket was small and as they slammed her in, her collarbone and chest hit against the rim, hurting her badly. They left her there for what seemed an eternity before they pulled her hair back.
She gasped as the air hit her wet face and as her lungs screamed in pain. Breathing was harsh, every breath felt as if something was stabbing her from inside.
"Now will you inform me, please?"
She wanted to spit at him, make a rude comment, anything would have been good. Yet she couldn't, couldn't breathe or move. The man slammed her down again, showing no pity at her wiggling and jerking.
This went on for an eternity, it seemed to San. Every time er face hit the water, it seemed like small needles were being pressed against her face. Every time she tried to breathe, her lungs would not expand properly. Her chest ached with every hit and every breath.
When the man told the others to let her be, she fell to her side, trying very hard not to breathe too hard. The pain was incredible. She did not know pain like this existed, not on this level. The man kneeled over her and put a blanket around her shoulders.
"If it is a man who gave it to you, why are you so worried on telling me?" he asked quietly, almost into her ear, "He is not here to save you, is he? Why protect someone who does not protect you?"
She said nothing, couldn't even if she wanted to.
"Come, then. Let's get you back."
He helped her up and carried her back to the fort they currently resided in. She did not fight, did not move except for the shivers that ran down her spine which had nothing to do with what she had just gone through.
Once back in her room, some women came in and took care of her. They laid her down and put salve all over her body. It felt warm and soothing to her and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, her head felt stuffed and she could barely sit up. The women had left already and she woke up, she found her body feeling silky and smooth. Whatever they had put on her seemed to have not only helped whatever injuries the torture must have caused but also made her skin feel heavenly. Her chest was red where she had hit the rim of the bucket but that was as bad as it got. Still, she felt sick and laid down again.
Why did they want Ashitaka so much? Was it because, like her, he was a rare species? She tried to remember their conversation a while back, to find some answers.
They had been laying down after a good run from the apes who had almost caught up with them this time. It had not been a fair fight since they had the deer had teld them where San and Ashitaka had run to. Still, they had managed to get away, once again, and had collapsed on the floor. They were nowhere in particular but they were alone, which was what Ashitaka had wanted. After spending some time with her brothers, he decided he wanted to be with her by themselves. To his great surprise, the two wolves seemed to have soften at his constant presence and gave no fight over his request.
As they lay there, trying to catch their breath, San suddenly realized that she did not know whether he had any siblings or not. Her brothers were very important to her but what about him? She had turned other side and looked at his profile. She was facing his right side, the one with the scar she had given him so long ago and examined him. He had a strong face, one that commanded respect. His nose curved almost aristocratically, his chin was softly curved but strong. Curious, she asked,
"Were you royalty?"
His face turned towards her, his eyes wide.
"What?"
"Yeah, were you royalty? You look like someone who could rule all high and mighty."
He laughed at this comment but soon quieted. His eyes turned sad for a second and San wondered is she had said something wrong.
"If you don't wish to tell me, it's---"
"No, it's all right," he interrupted her gently, with a smile, "I come from a tribe called the Emishi. It is believed we have all become extinct but it's not true. We live far to the East,secluded and safe. I am an Emishi prince--or at least, I used to be."
He returned his gaze to the treetops as he spoke.
"But when I battled with Nago, I was cursed and had to leave my home to find a cure. I was to become the leader who would lead my tribe out of our misery but---I suppose fate had other plans."
"You cannot return home?" asked San curiously and got her answer when his face fell.
"No."
They remained quiet for a while. San felt bad for ruining the moment and wished she could make him feel better, at least, for the moment.
"I am not saddened by the way my life turned out," he said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts with a smile, "I have found a new home, new friends, and you most of all."
She smiled softly at him and nodded.
"Does it take away the pain of leaving your tribe?"
He thought about it before answering.
"No-- but there is a reason for why things happen. It is not fate or coincidence. It just is. If I had not battled Nago, I would not have left home and found you. If Nago had not turned into a demon, then I would not have fought him. If Nago had not been so closely related to you and Moro, I would not have known you. If Moro had not adopted you, where would you be? It's all if's and maybe's and perhaps we'll never trace it back to a certain point. What matters is that we're here, you and I, and I'm happy with that."
San looked at him, eyes bright and shining before resting her face on the crook of his neck. His hands caressed her back lazily, drawing strange patterns.
"I'm glad," she said finally, propping herself on her elbows to look at him. She bent down and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. She looked down on him and noticed his hair was getting long.
"Your hair is getting long," she said absent-mindedly, playing with a strand of it.
"I love you, San," he whispered suddenly, his eyes hazy as he looked at her face.
Her eyes snapped back to his, his hair falling back to the ground. They had never said it before but it had always been there. She had not found it necessary to tell him. Even if it was not told, it was always there and would remain there. She looked at him with wide eyes before sighing gently.
"I know," she told him quietly, "You know I do as well."
He nodded gently, pushing her back down to lay on him.
"It's just hard to realize it," she mumbled against his chest, "but you know I do."
"I know," he said but she heard the rumble in his chest instead.
"Good. I did not want to fall for some common boy--"
Her sentence was left unfinished as he turned her over and began tickling her which only made her get aggressive and start wrestling him.
San smiled at the memory. Had it been so long ago? Had it actually happened or what is hopeful dreaming on her part? She knew the answer to that.
So if Ashitaka was a prince from a rare tribe, the man with the green eyes would want him, just as he wanted her. She could not tell the man where Ashitaka was even if she wanted. He had gone back for that woman, the only one whom San truly feared could take Ashitaka away. Perhaps not romantically but in another way. After all, he was with her at the moment, not with San. He had chosen her side, not San's. He had to stick with his own kind and San was not it. He loved her, this she could easily see, but it did not matter in the least in the world they lived in. He loved her but he was not with her. They would forever be separated because of their different worlds. She almost wished she would go back to fearing their worlds clashing instead of their worlds being separated.
She closed her eyes and urged the tears back.
