Ok, let's get a few things out first. Since school has started, I foresee (as well as expirienced) that I will have next to little time to write this story. I will continue it but the updates will be slow...very slow. That said, you have NO CLUE how much it hurts for me not to write but I was dumb enough to take college classes and advanced placement courses during my senior year. Yay Chalak...

Second thing is, please read my profile for some updates things about other stories.

That's all, continue.

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Ashitaka had successfully climbed up to the roof without being seen. He crouched as he inched along to the resting post, quietly stepping over the tiles of the roof and trying not to dislocate them. The resting post was a small cabin-like room on the side of where the men originally stood on guard for Iron Town. It was small but had the essentials which were food and water. The guards usually had two shifts, morning till night and night till morning. They rested here when they became tired or hungry. Ashitaka slowly crept up on the cabin and peeked through a small window. The cabin was rested against the building's roof for support and received further support from wooden stakes on the bottom of the cabin. He saw a couple of men sitting down on the mats, drinking and eating but none of them were chattering amongst themselves. They looked somber and saddened. Ashitaka ducked when he saw samurai come through the open space where a door originally was. He looked around the room, to each man's face, before asking if they had seen anything peculiar. The men did not look at him as they shook their heads to inform that, in fact, they had seen no one. The samurai looked at them suspiciously.

"You know what happens if we find that you have been lying, isn't that right?"

The postmen did not seem intimidated at the threat. Instead, some of the sighed while others nodded tiredly, as if they had heard this threat multiple of times before.

"Good. Our men will be on the next shift as well."

He left without looking at them again. Ashitaka saw this as a great opportunity. Once he saw that the samurai had left, he drew their attention toward him. When they spotted Ashitaka, it took a lot for them to not cheer with joy. Even more when Ashitaka quietly informed them that Eboshi was safe and back to lead them.

"I need you guys to pass this around as quietly as possible. The samurai must not know this and Asano can certainly not find out."

"This is great," spoke a young looking man, his face heavy with worry but for the moment, the worry had vanished and a sense of relief washed over him, "It's only been a couple of days but these men are heartless. They have hurt our town and have no respect for our women."

Ashitaka grimaced slightly.

"Well, don't worry anymore. I will be back to tell you more of our pl–"

His sentence was left unfinished as a samurai came in abruptly. Ashitaka ducked as quickly as possible and prayed he had not been spotted. The samurai spoke but Ashitaka did not hear. The postmen had resumed their original state of weariness but their hearts were lighter than before. Pretty soon, Asano would get what he deserved and the town would be ready to dish it out, all under the leadership of Eboshi and Ashitaka.

Once the samurai left, Ashitaka told them he'd return as soon as he could and left, trusting them to pass around the message. One incredible thing about Iron Town that never ceased to surprise Ashitaka was how well they all cooperated. He had no real worries about one of them slipping and telling on them. They were all in synch, with one goal in mind, and that goal would be realized because they all worked together and trusted each other. Not even smaller towns could say that about themselves. Iron Town had a big difference, however, that made this possible. Eboshi was not only a great leader but she was very influential. Her ideas were always the best and her opinions mattered the most. Yet, she made sure that the town was cared for and listened to as much as they listened to her. She did not shun her people and he wouldn't be surprised if she knew all of them by name. That was how she was. While Ashitaka admired this trait in her, he had also seen the worse side of Eboshi. Perhaps it was not fair to her that he had grown an aversion of sorts toward her because of those bad traits but it was not something he could help. Her ability to lead men into battle or just influence their thoughts were great but because of the other side he had seen in her, his opinions had differed from before. Nevertheless, he had to help Iron Town to rid themselves of the samurai thugs.

He whispered the instructions to them, hoping the samurai would not return so soon.

"Once you tell everyone that Eboshi is back, you need to give me as much information as possible about what's happening inside Iron Town. I will come here as soon as possible, all right?"

They all nodded and bid him farewell as he left. As he quietly climbed down, he couldn't help to notice that the forest was awfully quiet, even dim. He hoped it was not a sign of anything bad though seeing as how things were going, he wouldn't have been surprised. He made his way back to the locked room, back to Eboshi.

---------

The trading of information went back and forth for a couple of days. The information they received was very little and not at all helpful. Other than the fact that Asano was there with his samurai thugs, enjoying the riches of Iron Town and the fact that the townspeople could do little to rebel was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, Ashitaka had told them to gather enough weapons in a shed somewhere, just in case anything happened. Truth was, nothing came to mind other than a revolt. After all, Iron Town was their home, they knew it better than anyone else and it was their weapons. The postmen had nodded and had done as directed. Just last night, Ashitaka had gotten response that at least one hundred weapons were secretly stored in a small home.

That day, Ashitaka could not make it to the postmen. He had been too worried over Yakuul once he heard that the samurai had been trampling around his home. He knew Yakuul to be smart enough to hide out but still, he worried over his animal friend. That night, Ashitaka told Eboshi to go get the information herself while he went to contact Yakuul, his second try in four days. She had agreed nonchalantly, seeing as she had done the job well enough before, and so Ashitaka jumped into the hole on the floor and followed the tunnel back its beginning. He moved the rock with some effort, his arm not having enough drive to be used at full force. Once out, he quietly sneaked around to have a view of his home. He found no sign of his friend (he thought maybe he had come back to search for Ashitaka) so he figured he must have gone into the forest. After all, Ashitaka had been the one had been kicked out, not Yakuul. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself as he walked toward the forest. He did not want to make San angry but he needed to find his friend. He cautiously entered the forest, almost expecting to see San up a tree with a knife ready in hand but he saw nothing. He began calling out Yakuul's name (though he thought it was not the brightest idea he'd ever had) but got no response. Still, he tried to gather his valor and stepped into the forest, keeping his open for Yakuul. To his very surprise, he did find Yakuul, or rather, Yakuul found him. He was in the company of San's brothers, who snarled at him as soon as they spotted him. Yakuul stepped up to his master and greeted him as happily as Ashitaka greeted him. The two wolves did nothing else but growl menacingly at him. He bid them an apology for entering where he was not welcomed but he explained his reasons. The wolves seemed to get angrier at him and for reasons unknown to him which caused him to ask them for an explanation.

"We do not wish to waste our breath on scum such as yourselves," said Kendo angrily and for once, Kanha agreed with is brother and he too spoke to Ashitaka.

"You would rather be helping that cursed woman than the one you claim to love, so be it. We do not need help from the humans to find out sister."

"Find her?" asked Ashitaka, his eyes widening in surprise— and in worry, "What do you

mean?"

"We mean, human, that out sister has been missing for quite a few days now," said Kanha bitterly, almost spitting it out as if the words left a nasty flavor on his tongue, "We have her trail at the moment and we will find her the moment we stop wasting our time with you."

"I'll help," said Ashitaka quickly, dismissing their tones which were seeding with hatred, "I'll help you find San."

But as soon as he said those words, he felt himself being torn in two. Of course he would try to find San, he would go to the farthest corners of the earth for her, he would cross rivers and hell itself to help h er. However, he was still on his own mission to save the town he called home. The wolves did not wait for him to speak, to give them an explanation. They left, disappearing through the bushes and the trees. Ashitaka patted Yakuul absent-mindedly and saw no choice but to return. He had no idea where San was but he intended on finding out nonetheless. He wondered if there was anything he could do but the thought was washed away. What could he do? He was trying very hard to protect two things that were very dear to him and he could not be made to choose. San's brothers were going after her, after all. Ashitaka had no idea where she was so he wouldn't even begin to know where to look for her. After all, San was the strongest woman he had ever know in his life. She knew how to take care of herself long enough for her brothers to comme rescue her.

The thoughts racing through his mind did very little to clam his heart and nerves

"Yakuul, you stay in the forest, all right? I'll come and get you when this is all over."

The elk nodded at him, giving him a reassuring poke of the nose and headed off back into the forest. Ashitaka saw no choice but to turn around and head back to his own duties, heavy-hearted and worried.

The way back was shorter than he expected and he found himself facing Eboshi in no time.

"What did you learn today?" he asked her, his voice heavy with a new kind of tiredness.

"Same old thing we've been hearing all along," said Eboshi annoyedly but her face lightened as she told him better news, "I have already told them to get ready. Any day now, we will start our revolt and give those damned samurai what they deserve."

Ashitaka nodded with little enthusiasm.

"What's the matter?" she asked curiously, "You didn't find Yakuul?"

"No, I found him," reassured Ashitaka, "It is heavy news that are bringing me down."

Eboshi looked at him suspiciously and did not know whether to ask or not. However, Eboshi was known for her boldness so she jumped right in.

"Is it your wolf princess?"

Ashitaka looked up at her curiously.

"How did you know?" came his astonished voice.

"I have heard news that she was captured some time ago–"

"What!"

Eboshi smiled nervously. Boldness was not working for her anymore, she thought darkly. Especially when it came to Ashitaka. Her voice was steady as she spoke but she could see the anger firing in the young man's eyes.

"There is one man here that they call the Skin Hunter. They say he's a vile man whose sole purpose is to collect the skins of those who are rare. He has his own army, ruthless and bloody, and I have heard that Asano has hired him to help him win this war. In return, Asano has offered him you wolf princess."

"The Skin Hunter has San?"

Eboshi nodded and hesitantly added, "It is what I have heard."

"When did you hear?" asked Ashitaka, his voice dropping to a dangerous level.

"A couple of days ago," said Eboshi, shrugging.

Ashitaka sat down, indian style and sighed deeply. His eyes were blazing with fury, his arm started hurting, and his head pounded. There it was, a turning point that comes in everyone's life. It may be small or it may be big but it changes one's perspective. He realized that San was in bigger trouble than he thought and he could have kicked himself for thinking that even if San was in trouble, she did not need him to protect her. He had been thinking about Iron Town all along and while they needed his help, San needed it as well. How stupid of him to think otherwise. He had reached his decision, one he should have reached ages ago.

"You do not need my help any longer," he informed Eboshi, face determined as he arose and made his way to the tunnel entrance, "I have to help San."

"And the town? What of your home, Ashitaka?"

He sighed, his head dropping to his chest.

"You are back, that was my mission. It is up to you to lead the town to victory."

He jumped into the hole and started his way back, leaving a mildly surprised but deeply disappointed Eboshi behind.

---

San did not just how long she had been captured. The days seemed to be one or they all blended into one another. The tortures kept coming, each different than before, each with a vengeance and each in such a way tat hurt her most. The men had tied her up to a log, as if she was a pig, and hung her on top of a small hole in the ground. Using pressurized water, it shot up against her body, cold and brutal. It felt as if her body was repeatedly being stabbed by icy knives. They hung her naked and the water hit sensitive places, making her scream in pain. None of the men had tried anything nor demanded anything. She found it quite relieving as she still could remember her last experience on a situation similar to this one. Every torture blended into each other, just as every time it would end, she would wake up with her body feeling soft and silky. It did nothing to take away the pain though. They did not feed her anymore but kept her drinking copious amounts of water. This was all that sustained her for at least two days, including today.

That night, the man sat with her in the field of broken trees and conversed with her.

"I have grown tired, my dear," he announced wearily, his face disappointed, "I will not find out who this person is but at least, I will get you, hein?"

He gave her a small smile.

She said nothing.

He signaled for the men to come to him, happily telling them that it was time. The men went back to fetch the necessary tools for the skinning, leaving a very scared San with the man again.

"I am sorry to tell you that you shall be alive when this whole process takes place. You should have cooperated when we told you. Then we would have shot you in the back of the head and you would not have to suffer as much as you are going to. And you will suffer."

They stayed quiet while this information sunk in. No noise could be heard, except for those faint sounds of the Townspeople heavily working somewhere around them. She guessed they must have been near Iron Town but not entirely inside the town. Her body began to shiver, not from the cold winds that blew around her but from the surroundings she was in.

The men informed the green eyed man that everything was ready. He rose and walked away, leaving his helpers to carry San to the usual haunt, the cleared away space where almost all the torture happened. Now, it was her death.

She wanted to struggle but found it hard to do so. The men tied her feet and hands together tightly and began to undress her. She closed her eyes at this part and wished she was farther away, perhaps hunting with her brothers or traveling around her forest. Anywhere that was not there. Once she was naked, the men threw her to the ground and hoisted her up, by the knots of rope on her ankle and hung her upside down. The rope was attached to a crossbar and she immediately felt the blood rush up to her head, making her feel woozy and sick. The men secured her in place before putting a large, deep tray under her and placed two knives beside the tray. Once was long and curved, the other was a long bladed knife, very sharp.

San tried very hard not to whimper but it was nearly impossible by now. She thought it was impossible to hate humans more than she did but this----this was a new level. They were capable of disgusting, vile things, things that wild animals would turn their backs at. Animals killed for a purpose, to eat and feed their families. Humans killed for joy and sick pleasure.

One could see that in this man's eyes as he neared her, examining her body.

"Yes, your skin is quite soft," he said quietly, "no major bruises, no major cuts—"

He nodded sharply.

"Very well. Let's begin."

The man took the long blade and looked at it. Once he was satisfied with how it looked, he turned to San who held her breath as the man lowered the blade. She could feel its touch, cold and dangerous at the side of her jaw. It cut into her skin with a mere touch, making her wince slightly. The blood started to flow as the blade continued its path across her neck, puncturing many veins across her jaw but not yet hitting a major one. San grimaced and whimpered, her body convulsing naturally, with no need of help from her mind. The wound stung as he dragged the blade across, slowly but deeply. The blood had made its way down to her face and she could no longer open her eyes due to the amount of blood that had seeped down. She began to feel woozy, her head began to swim and she was about to lose consciousness.

She had no last thoughts except for the soft smell of Iron that suddenly wafted through her nose. She could pinpoint the smell to exactly one person but that person was not here. She would die painfully but worst of all, completely and utterly alone, in more ways than one.

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By the way, I actually found a website dedicated to skinning people. Let's just say it was... interesting...