Love must be Tried and Nurtured


Eboshi sat on a cushion facing a messy desk. Papers, books, ledgers, and inkwads were strewn in and around the desk, while two shelves hung to the left, holding an assortment of books containing dairies, notes, and accounts. A bamboo futon roll lay at the right if the desk and a shoji door sat at the back of the desk.

She sighed audibly. "Really, all this work has gotten into me..." she mumbled as her left hand dipped the brush into the ink and wrote out a tally of rice. Losing her arm was one thing; having to settle the accounts that accumulated over the past seven months was entirely tiring. It was made worse by the fact that the accounts were behind schedule, due to the war that everyone knows.

Eboshi decided that a break from work would be necessary. She wished that someone could fill in for her and keep the accounts but...seeing that most of the townspeople were illiterate (since many of them came from brothels and farms), it would be absurd. So, maybe the accounts can sit down there and be delayed a little while longer.

She immediately thought of tea with some fermented snacks. A thought them suddenly made itself known to her mind, and she cussed herself for forgetting it.

"Soko, a cup of tea please. And get Toki to call Ashitaka for me."

She should've thought of this earlier, but then...the current situation made it impossible. At least now she had the time to do it.


Ashitaka ran as fast as lightning to where he was supposed to be fifteen minutes earlier. The hunger pangs were biting at him but he forced it back knowing it was too late for a meal anyway.

He was so focused on running that he didn't hear Toki yelling after him.

"Ashitakaaaaaa!!" she yelled out.

Somehow her voice managed to get into his stubborn ear and he stopped immediately, panting and wondering who had called him out so loud.

Cuss you, always focused on one thing and never opening 'ur ears for another! she thought, catching up with him and panting.

"Lady...Eboshi...called...for you...to come..and...see her..!" she iterated in between breaths.

"Wha...who...called for...me..?" he asked, also panting.

"Lady...Eboshi...you...twerp!"

He got it now. "Ah...I...see...okay..."

Toki stormed off while fanning her loose kimono, revealing a little. Ashitaka turned his eyes away, being taught the values of proper morality and respect for women, while the men of Tatara-ba had no equity at all.

(Toki wasn't that bothered by them anyway; she had always been the one to stumble them.)

He followed Toki all the way to a juncture and parted ways there, Toki going toward the rice fields and Ashitaka towards Eboshi's house, which was enclosed in a separated area of town. A spear-wielding attendant was there, a former leper by the name of Hansan. Small stature, long hair, but a smile on his face, no matter the circumstance. He gave a small bow to Ashitaka when he entered. He saw a few of the former lepers tending to a vegetable patch or resting in the shade of cherry trees, and all gave him a toothy smile. He came to face a shoji door with a faded framing and miserable-looking rice paper. He stood there and knocked gently. The response to that knock was just as gentle and silky, coming from a woman whose missing arm had humbled her. An attendant slid the door open rather gingerly and ushered Ashitaka in. Eboshi was seen sipping a cup of tea, book in hand, and a small crackling fire to the far side of the room, giving off a sweet burnt aroma. He guessed that it came from a forest plant that Eboshi had thrown in for some medicinal purpose. His thought was broken when Eboshi's voice again rang out.

"Make yourself at ease Ashitaka, sit down and have a tea or sake." He complied with silence and positioned himself opposite her. He noted her features, the once porcelain-like face had been reduced to a caricature of slight wrinkles and dark circles. Her ever-devious smile was still in shape though, and her hair was still tied up into a bun, save for a few strands come loose. Then, with the awkward silence becoming more unbearable, as the attendant was currently expressing facially, he finally spoke up.

"How are you faring?"

She smiled a little wider. "As well as I can with one arm. It's a trouble living with the left but after you're used to it for months it's a second nature. And what about you?"

"I'm okay, just trying to figure out with Gonza where to repair and rebuild what's left of the old town. He's not a really capable leader but he has strength." A silent chuckle escaped from his lips.

Eboshi smirked. "It is because of his attitude?" Ashitaka nodded.

Both sat in, again, dead silence. The only sound that acted as filler was some chirping birds, clamoring hammers, and the fiddling of the attendant's fingers. Ashitaka debated within himself whether or not to request Eboshi for him to visit San and spend some time with her.

Eboshi also was thinking whether it would be a good time bringing up the Wolf-girl and his relationship since she noticed the connection between them. But alas, Ashitaka asked a question she could not avoid.

"Why did you send for me, Eboshi?"

She stayed silent for a while, and finally smiled, stating, "I sent for you to tell you that you can go and see the Wolf-girl, whose (in a sarcastic tone) mother justly chewed my arm off".

A moment of silence ensued in which both parties stared at each other for a straight ten seconds. Until Ashitaka's lips created a smile. Then she knew that the answer would be positive.

Ashitaka could not contain his surprise and resulting thankfulness. All he could do was repeatedly chant "Thank you, Lady Eboshi." She let her dry parched mouth crack a slight smile before sending him off.

Still young and innocent boy I see, not the brazen warrior seven months ago...her thoughts evaporated and she got to sipping her hot tea incessantly. The attendant fidgeted around, catching Eboshi's attention.

"Off you go now, Soko. Some air would do you good." Soko's face lit up;

"Thank you, lady!"