You can imagine how I hate myself right now… (sitting in her corner of woe and misery) But I had very little inspiration for this.
Until I saw this picture on deviantArt that is probably now one of my favourite pictures of all time! I can't post the link to the picture, due to not allowing those kinds of things (because of spam or whatever) but it's titled "Prince Mononoke" by WendyMartin. It's so. Freaking. Great.
Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Mononoke or any characters thereof. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are the proud owners of the fantastic film, while I am just a High School student and am writing this for my own amusement and because I'm shocked that no one else had come up with the idea before me. I only own any possible changes I make to the plot of this movie, the dialogue of this movie, and/or any other things that I can't think of right now.
Lady Eboshi
There was no doubt in San's mind that, had her mother (rest her soul) ever met Lady Eboshi face to face she would have fainted dead away, because San's mother was modest and simple and to put it plainly, Lady Eboshi appeared to be the exact opposite. Every women in the Emishi village would have been shocked by the extravagance of Lady Eboshi's attire.
The idea of makeup was practically non-existent to the Emishi people, not counting the war paint that hadn't been worn by anyone in the village for decades. Lady Eboshi, in comparison, had her face covered in some sort of white powder that made her face appear to be slightly paler than the rest of her skin. Her lips were painted dark red, standing out rather vividly against the white. Her eyes were a dark shade of brown, and seemed to hold a calculating gaze, as though she was trying to figure out your worth as an ally or potential enemy. Her hair was pitch black, tied into a ponytail that most likely would have reached to the space between her shoulder blades had she not styled it to loop upwards and rest on the very top of her head, tied in place with a pink ribbon of some sorts, with bangs hanging down on either side of her face. She was dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing the first time San had seen Lady Eboshi, but now San could see the clothes up close and know that she had never seen such expensive looking fabric. The dark blue kimono she wore like a cloak had lighter blue wave-like designs around the hemline, and the red kimono shirt had golden fans imprinted on it.
All in all, Lady Eboshi looked like someone not to cross.
Well, anyone who knew San knew that she would cross whomever she wanted.
The fact that San now stood before Lady Eboshi, fully aware that the Lady's over-muscled bodyguard stood only five feet away from her with a nodachi at his side and ready to use the moment his mistress gave the word did not deter her in the slightest.[1]
Neither did knowing that the only reason she herself was allowed to walk freely throughout Iron Town with a sword at her side was because the Lady had allowed her to do so, despite not knowing whether or not San was a friend or an enemy. It did confuse her a bit, though, and not that she would admit it, but San was a bit thankful to Lady Eboshi for doing this. It would have been harder for her to get information about Iron Town's history had she not been allowed to walk freely, and she would have felt uncomfortable without her sword.
Now, even when she was standing an arms-length away from Lady Eboshi, watching the Lady tap at a piece of iron with a small hammer, San being fully capable of unsheathing her sword and cutting off Eboshi's head within five seconds, the Lady had allowed her to keep her weapon at her side.
Lady Eboshi glanced briefly towards San, before turning back to her iron. "I apologize for making you wait, stranger. We were running behind on tomorrow's shipment." She made a small note on a parchment next to her, before letting out a small sigh and looking towards the woman who had just come into the room to get some of the iron that Lady Eboshi had already checked. "Tell the others they may rest now." The woman nodded, before leaving the room with the box of iron in her hands.
Before the woman had even left the room, Lady Eboshi turned to San. "I've heard quite a few people tell me that you're either a spy for Lord Asano and his samurai, or in leagues with the Wolf Boy and the other beasts of the forest. The fact that you're a woman doesn't put them off. In fact, it makes them more suspicious. No one would suspect a woman of being a spy or an assassin." She said all of this rather calmly, despite the subject.
San merely raised an eyebrow. "Yet you allow me to walk around your colony without an escort, and with my weapon. You're putting quite a lot of trust in me not to try and attack you. I don't know if I should be grateful that you trust me, or insulted that you believe yourself to be able to defeat me should I try and attack you."
"Did I ever say that?" Lady Eboshi asked, smiling innocently at her. San didn't trust her smile for even a split-second.
"It was implied, and I don't appreciate you putting down my abilities as a warrior, whether intentionally or accidentally."
"Then I apologize for unintentionally insulting you." She bowed her head slightly in San's direction, a gesture that San returned.
"I accept your apology, though I will not be so calm should it happen again."
"Yet you bring up a good point, stranger." Lady Eboshi continued, smirking a bit. San noticed that the Lady always seemed to be smiling softly or smirking. It was slightly unnerving, though she was under the impression that it was meant to be either comforting or misleading.
"And what point is that?"
"That I trust you enough to let you wander my city with a weapon, yet I don't even know your name."
San didn't say anything for a moment, before saying, "My name is San."
Lady Eboshi's eyebrow raised a bit at the rather unique name, no doubt wondering who on earth would name their child 'three' (San had been the third child of the leaders of the Emishi tribe, and the third child born to the entire clan in that year. Her would-be elder siblings had both died in childhood, leaving her and Kaya, who had been born two years after San, the only children of the Emishi leaders) before smiling slightly at her. "I simply can't believe that a spy for either Lord Asano or the wolves would be willing to save anybody from our town. If you're not a spy for either of those mentioned parties, what was the reason you came here?"
"Had I been a member of either of those mentioned parties," San countered, intentionally ignoring the question. "I would most likely have been searching for a reason for you to trust me, and would eagerly assist any members of your townsmen." Perhaps it was foolish, giving Lady Eboshi reasons for her to take away any freedom San had in Iron Town, but it always irritated San when somebody didn't think things through entirely.
"If you were with the forests beasts, you would not have bandaged my men, and had you been with Lord Asano, you would not have been willing to go through the Forbidden Forest." Lady Eboshi stated. "Now, what is the reason you came here?"
Unable to avoid the subject any longer, San reached for her right gauntlet and untied the strings holding it in place, pulling it away from her arm and revealing the curse that wrapped around her arm up to her bicep. It had grown darker and more jagged since the last time San had looked at it, and somehow more evil in appearance. Lady Eboshi's eyes narrowed at the sight of it, her near-constant soft smile disappearing in the blink of an eye.
San then reached for a small red pouch tied to the blue sash around her waist, and pulled out a small ball. The small iron ball. The ball that had been found in the body of the Boar God, who had been turned into a Demon because of the woman in front of her. She outstretched her right arm, showing the Lady the ball and displaying her curse mark. "I believe you'll recognize this." She said coolly. "It shattered the bones of a giant boar, ripped apart his soul, and turned him into a Demon." San placed the ball back into her pouch and re-tied her gauntlet to her arm, hiding her curse from view. "I fought with the boar and killed him, and because of that I was cursed. Soon the curse will kill me."
Lady Eboshi looked at San, ignoring the last bit she had said. "Where is your home country? I've never seen a creature like yours before."
"I've come a very long distance. But I cannot and will not tell you anything more than that." San said shortly. No stranger would ever find out about the still-existing Emishi tribe from her. Even if she had been banished, she still had her duty to her people.
"Why, you-!" It seemed her answer wasn't good enough for Gonza, who was now gripping his sword hilt and glaring at San furiously. "Give a straight answer or I'll kill you!"
Lady Eboshi ignored the man at her side, instead watching San cautiously. San noticed with some satisfaction that the Lady had dropped the rather condescending smile and was now eyeing her carefully. It meant that Lady Eboshi saw her as someone who could easily be a threat if she so choose to be, instead of just an annoying little girl poking her nose where it didn't belong. The question she asked next only proved it further. "Can you at least tell me what you're planning on doing now that you're here?"
In that moment, San recalled the words of the Wise Woman. "To see with eyes unclouded by hate."
She nearly laughed when she said it. Because how could she, someone who had just days ago slaughtered two people just because she had become angry, see with eyes 'unclouded'?
Lady Eboshi actually did laugh. When she had finished laughing, she leaned forward, smirking almost mischievously. "Ah, that explains everything. Well then, I suppose I'll show you my secrets." Lady Eboshi got to her feet and headed for the door, followed by San after a moment.
"My Lady?" Gonza sputtered, still holding the hilt of his sword.
Eboshi didn't even turn around as she answered. "Gonza, you're in charge until I return." The two female's left Gonza alone, and he gave a low growl of frustration.
-(o)-
San was rather surprised to find that the place Lady Eboshi had led her to was a small garden, a distance away from the constant noise of Iron Town and its inhabitants. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't a garden. Lady Eboshi had said that none of the villagers dared to enter her secret place, which had made San wonder what the villagers feared about the tiny garden. It looked like a peaceful place, even more so since it was dark and the only light came from the moon, with a small cottage towards the edge of the garden. Light was shining through the windows, indicating that there were people inside. Lady Eboshi led her through the curtain that acted as a door, smiling at a heavily bandaged person guarding the door with a gun in hand.
A moment later, San understood why the people were so fearful of the garden. It was not the garden, nor the punishment they feared getting from Lady Eboshi should they enter the garden, that the townspeople feared. They were frightened of the people inside the house.
Some were sitting by a small fire and eating, others lying on thin mattresses and sleeping, and the rest working with both iron and wood. All of them appeared to only have one thing in common - they were all almost entirely wrapped in thick white bandages that hid their faces, arms and legs. Lepers.
While San stood back, by the door, looking tense and ready to bolt the moment she needed to, Lady Eboshi was standing directly in front of the group of four or five working lepers, clearly relaxed and at ease despite the people around her. She held a gun in her hands, and a female leper was telling her that they had only just finished working on it.
Lady Eboshi sighed a bit, testing the weight of the gun. "No, it's still too heavy."
"Perhaps if you didn't hold it so delicately?"
A male leper chuckled a bit, looking up at Lady Eboshi. "Milady, if we make them any lighter, they'll fall apart." His eyes practically glowed with admiration. No, San realized. They all have the same look. Whether or not Lady Eboshi realized it, there was clear adoration on each of the leper's faces. Well, the ones who didn't have their entire faces wrapped up, at least.
"I trust you to figure it out." Lady Eboshi said, turning to face the wall and hoisting the gun onto her right shoulder, adjusting it into a comfortable position, almost like she was getting ready to fire it. "Besides, they aren't for me. They're for the other women here."
The female leper laughed. "That'll be a sight to see."
Lady Eboshi turned her head slightly in San's direction. She explained that the rifle she had on her shoulder was one of the newest ones she had had the lepers create for her, how the guns she had brought with her had turned out to be too heavy and hard for the people of Iron Town to use. "With these, we will kill the forest creatures, and break down even the most trained samurai Lord Asano has to offer."
"Scary, scary!" The leper man said to San, grinning behind his bandages. "Lady Eboshi is going to bring this country to its knees!" Lady Eboshi smiled at the lepers, apologizing for making them work so hard, and promising them all sake and the like later that evening.
San's eyes narrowed as she glared across the room at the older woman. "You've already taken this mountain away from its protector." She started, her voice filled with barely suppressed anger. "Now you intend to kill the animals who are trying to protect their homes and men who are just doing what they have been ordered to. What will any of this accomplish?"
Lady Eboshi turned to San, the gun still in her hands. "Yes, I was the one who shot the boar. And I apologize for making you suffer because of my decisions." She sounded honestly apologetic, but her next sentence ruined the effect. "That brainless pig. I'm the one he should have put a curse on, not you."
San's eyes narrowed. So this woman is willing to burn down an entire forest and murder hundreds of creatures just to get what she wants. A pulse suddenly radiated throughout her right arm and, almost like it had a life of its own, twisted around San's body, seizing the hilt of the sword that San had strapped to her left side. San watched it in stunned silence before quickly seizing her right wrist with her left hand, forcing herself to push the sword back into the scabbard. With great effort, she managed to get her right hand to release the sword, her fingers twitching like it want to strike and grab Eboshi by the throat.
The lepers gasped and cowered in fear, while Lady Eboshi watched the spectacle with an almost amused expression, looking unfazed. "Is that right arm trying to kill me, San?"
San spoke through gritted teeth, still glaring at Lady Eboshi. "If it would lift my curse, I'd let it tear you apart. But the killing wouldn't stop there."
For once, it appeared that Lady Eboshi was in agreement with her. "No. It would have to kill everyone to be at peace."
One of the lepers that wasn't working suddenly spoke up. "Milady, Osa has something to say." He sounded almost surprised.
The leper named Osa rolled over. He was lying on the floor, covered in a straw blanket. His entire body was wrapped completely in bandages, so no part of his face was visible. "Milady, you must not make light of this girls strength." His voice sounded old, tired, and hoarse. He spoke to San now. "Young lady, I am also cursed. I feel and have felt what you feel - pain, and rage, and helplessness and grief… but please… you must not take your revenge on Lady Eboshi. She is the only one who saw us as human beings. We are lepers. The world hates and fears us, but she… she took us in and washed our rotting flesh and bandaged us, and she never showed any fear..." Osa suddenly broke out in a coughing fit.
The other leper, the one who had announced Osa speaking, leaned over the older leper. "Osa?"
Osa sighed, before he began speaking again. "Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed, but still, you find reasons to keep living..." Osa sighed again. "I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense."
Even if he thought he wasn't making any sense, San knew she would never forget the old man's words.
-(o)-
San and Lady Eboshi stood on a balcony over the leper's working room, looking at the mountain that loomed over the lake that Iron Town resided on. A wolf's howl echoed across the landscape. Not even ten seconds after the howl had sounded, Eboshi had already snapped a cartridge into a gun, hefted it onto her shoulder, and fired. With amazing accuracy, the bullet flew through the air and hit the mountain side towering over Iron Town. Even from there, San could see the bullet light up the darkened landscape for a moment, and in that moment she had a chance to see almost human-like shadows on the mountain.
"They're out there again." Lady Eboshi sighed, pulling the used cartridge from the gun and placing it in a tin attached to the balcony railing. She looked over at San, who stood a few feet to the side, watching the whole spectacle. "They come out onto the mountain every night. They try to plant seeds in the ground, to make the mountain a forest again." Eboshi gave San a look - a look that gave you the feeling that she was about to say something very important. "San, you have to stay here. Help me kill the Forest Spirit."
San faced the lady. "You would kill the Forest Spirit?" She asked in disbelief, stunned by the woman's ambition. "The heart of the forest?"
Eboshi smirked. "If it wasn't for that Ancient God, then the Gods of the forest would be nothing more than stupid animals by now. If the forest is cleared, and all the animals wiped out, then this will become a bountiful land. And Prince Mononoke will become human again."
San frowned. "The boy the men were telling me about? The one raised by the Wolf Goddess?"
Lady Eboshi nodded. "The Prince of the spirits, of ghouls, beasts, and Ancient Gods." She smirked and let out a small laugh. "He's truly a pitiful thing. The wolves stole his soul long ago. He's tried over and over again to kill me. He's a fool to think he will ever succeed."
Lady Eboshi inspected her gun, almost carelessly tossing in a comment on how the legends said that the Forest Spirit's blood healed anything and everything. She wondered aloud if it could cure her lepers. "It could even lift your curse, San."
San gazed out across the desolate mountain. The offer was almost tempting. She didn't want to die. But she didn't want to kill the Forest Spirit either. "Thank you, but I have to decline."
Suddenly, one of the male lepers from inside was calling up through a panel in the roof. He asked Lady Eboshi if the action felt alright.
"Smooth as silk. The perfect thing for ruling the world." Lady Eboshi answered, smiling fondly. "But it's still much too heavy for the girls."
Unnoticed by Lady Eboshi, San managed to slip away and walked out of the lepers cottage. She walked aimlessly through Iron Town, thinking over her talk with Eboshi. She admired a person with that much ambition, there was no denying that. But killing the Forest Spirit was possible the worst idea San had ever heard, by far. Lady Eboshi had said that the legends claimed that the head of the Forest Spirit could heal anything - but what if the legends were just that? Legends? What if the head did nothing? All of the forests on earth would be destroyed, the Ancient Gods wiped out, and all for nothing. And should it happen before San got a chance to ask the Forest Spirit to remove her curse…
Pain suddenly bloomed in San's forehead, and, after blinking a few times in surprise, found that she had been so lost in thought she hadn't even noticed where she was going until she had smacked face first into a wall. San rubbed at her forehead, that was now taking on a red tint to it, clenching her teeth together in frustration.
Muttering curses under her breath - and getting a few odd looks from some of the townsmen - San stormed off, this time paying attention to where she was walking. It wasn't long before she found herself standing outside of the forge of Iron Town. So this was where the women work. While some of the women inside were resting, others stood at opposite ends of what looked like a giant see-saw. They held onto a rope dangling from the ceiling, and then would use one leg to push down on the pump. San spotted Toki among the group of women resting, and after a moment of slight hesitation, she walked into the forge, heading straight for the resting women.
Toki sat on a blanket, resting alongside several other women who were all wearing very loose kimono's. She apparently noticed San approaching, because she closed her eyes, smirked, and said, "Those men getting to be too much for you?"
San sat down on an empty space of the blanket and leaned up against the wall, getting comfortable as she drew her knees up to her chest. "I merely wanted a place where I could rest without worrying about getting attacked in my sleep." She then closed her eyes.
"Oh, they're not that bad." Toki grinned at San - who merely opened one eye and looked at Toki with a disbelieving expression.
"Better than working the brothel, I'll tell you that much." One woman stated, nodding to accentuate her point. "Here we can eat as much as we want, and the men don't bother us!"
"Unless we want 'em to!" Another woman added, causing the women to chuckle.
"You just gotta tell them what's what, and they'll leave you alone." Toki informed San, shrugging a bit as she grinned.
"I punched one man in the face, and they still seemed not to get the message." San remarked dryly.
There was a pause, before Toki and the women who had heard San's remark burst out laughing. San's lips twitched a bit in amusement. Toki, still chuckling a bit, reached out and patted San's shoulder. "I really do like you! What's your name?"
"San."
"Well, that's an interesting name! Did you want to work the bellows for a little bit? I bet you'd be good at it."
"No, thank you." San closed her eyes, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, trying to relax. "I wanted to get some rest, and I didn't have anywhere else to go, really."
Toki blinked - not that San saw her do it. "You - you wanted to sleep? Here? You sure? It gets pretty loud, you know, and-"
San heard none of Toki's words. San prided herself on her ability to fall asleep in any position, no matter how uncomfortable, and taking into account the amount of energy she had used to carry the man through the forest, the fact that she had risen about an hour earlier than she was used to, and her cursed arm had acted up twice in one day, she was more exhausted than she remembered being in a long time. Despite the noise of the forge, San was asleep, and dead to the world.
-(o)-
The Wolf Boy grit his teeth together, digging his fingers into his brother's fur with one hand, while his right hand clutched his spear tightly. His other brother walked alongside them both, eyes gleaming a luminescent green in the moonlight. With the Wolf Boy's mask, wolf fur coat, wolf brothers, and spear in hand, they looked very threatening.
It was ruined when the Wolf Boy sneezed. Damn.
The brother he wasn't riding looked like he was about to say something, so the Wolf Boy just gave him a sour look that clearly said 'Don't even start'.
Because his brothers knew he had been sick since yesterday, and it had been getting worse all day, until he could barely go thirty seconds without feeling the urge to cough or sneeze. It had taken a great deal of strength to keep from doing either of those things in front of Mother, because they had been planning this attack on the thrice-be-damned Gunwoman for about five days, and if Mother knew that he was sick she wouldn't let him go.
But he couldn't not go anymore - not now that Mother had been shot by That Woman.
The wolves reached the end of the mountain pathway. They could see Iron Town perfectly from where they were. The Wolf Boy gave a low snarl, glaring at the town with hatred and disgust - and then coughed into the palm of his hand. When his brother let out the wolf-equivalent of a chuckle, the Wolf Boy scowled and gave him a light kick to the side, shutting him up.
Then he pulled his mask down over his face and pushed his wolf-skin coat over his shoulder.
-(o)-
A white wolf ran across the mountainside, teeth bared, revealing sharp fangs. Prince Mononoke held a spear in his hand, in his entire battle dress - wolf fang necklace and wolf coat hanging from his shoulders, and mask covering his face. His fur cloak streamed behind him.
San's eyes snapped open as she was startled out of her sleep. For a moment, she sat there, back straight as a board and her eyes wide. Then, she pulled herself to her feet, staggering briefly.
"San?" Toki asked, looking up at the girl who had so suddenly woken from her seemingly deep sleep.
"He's here." San muttered, her earings flashing as she ran out of the forge.
FINALLY finished.
[1] An ōdachi (large/great sword) was a type of long traditionally made Japanese sword used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The term nodachi refers to the same type of sword - Wikipedia
I didn't want to change Osa's speech, just because I love it way too much to change it.
In this chapter, I reused some parts from the original version of this story, just because sometimes I hit a moment I can't really describe, so I reread the original scene and if I like it I reuse it.
The wolves will be named in the chapter after the next one. Just because I don't want to keep writing "the brother" "the other brother" or whatever.