Disclaimer: see chapter one.

Night of a Thousand Horses

By ShaggyDiz

Chapter Four: Hope/Despair

"Gonza, we need to discuss this situation about Lord Asano," Lady Eboshi said, sitting in her seat within her home, leaning on the chair with her one arm. Gonza was the only person present with her at this late hour meeting. They had planned to include Ashitaka, but given that he was still distraught over the destruction of the Emishi people, the pair found it best to leave him be for the time being to recover. He went to his home shortly after he left the boy, and the people who were sent to watch over him haven't seen him leave at all.

It made Eboshi wonder why he hadn't gone to see the mononoke. Normally, in these instances, Ashitaka would run off to find her, given their unique bond and relationship. Only San could possibly help him. An idea came to her head, but she put it aside for the time being, as Gonza started speaking.

"If what the boy said was true, we could be expecting another attack against the town. I have a feeling that this one will be worse than the last attack," he said to her.

"I know. We must have hope though. We need to get this town rebuilt as quickly as possible, and to get these people trained in new weapons as quickly as possible. We don't have the luxury of our Ishibaya this time."

"Arrow and sword, milady. That is what we'll need to defeat this new threat."

Eboshi nodded. They both knew that time was short for them. Tatara Ba was less than half way rebuilt, and they would need to double their efforts to finish the job. Even now, she was speculating a possible visit with the Shoujous for more lumber; it was something they might not consider. The plan for the forest was working, and she was at least pleased about something working right.

"I have an idea Gonza, and we need everyone on board for this." He nodded, and she continued: "We split every able bodied man and woman in town in half. In the morning, one group will continue rebuilding the town. I will help direct them personally. The second group will start training with you. Teach them the bow and arrow. That is going to be our main defense. If the gate or walls are breached, then we will fight by sword. They must know both. In the afternoon after food and rest, switch the groups. We should be good if we continue this for the foreseeable future.

"In the meantime, I ask a favor of you. Gather a few of your swiftest men and horses. Send them out toward Lord Asano's palace, or as close as they can get. I want to know what we're up against, and when they are coming, if they haven't done so already."

"I will, milady. Shall it be done tonight?"

Eboshi gave a nod. "The sooner the better Gonza. Make sure they're well fed and rested, and protected as well. I imagine Asano has spies of his own looking at us from a distance, so they must be careful."

"I will inform them of that. You may be right about these spies: I felt like I was being watched earlier today at the market town." Gonza stood up and prepared to back out of the tent. "They may have been watching Ashitaka more though. If it was Asano's men who destroyed his village, then this boy may have been bait for Ashitaka to reveal himself."

"In that case, then we must be quick and prudent," she said grimly. "We'll lose everything if that happens." Eboshi waved him away. Gonza bowed before leaving her home, knowing exactly who he was going to pick for this mission.

Lady Eboshi sat back in her chair, allowing herself to completely relax for the first time since the morning. It was long overdue.

But then her thought from before came back to her. She got up and grabbed her sword and made her way to the gate, hoping it wasn't too late to find the person she was in search of.

The moon was nearing its apex behind the last remains of the clouds and rains from the afternoon, and San was increasingly beginning to worry. She had hoped to see Ashitaka today, but as the day grew longer and darker, the chances of seeing him slowly dwindled. The commotion in Tatara Ba concerned her greatly, and without Ashitaka, she would not know what it was. She still had no desire to enter the town.

A low growl came behind her. "What is it brother?"

"Someone's coming."

"Who? Is it Ashitaka?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"No. It is her."

Immediately her angered came forward. What was she doing here?

The two looked out and watched as Lady Eboshi slowly made her way up the hill, eventually stopping a good ten feet away from her. They stared each other down for quite some time before anything was said. Eboshi almost forgot why she came up here in the first place.

"What business do you have here?" San asked her. Eboshi remembered then after the venom laced question.

"I need you to come with me. We have a problem."

"Why should I come with you?"

"It involves Ashitaka," Eboshi told her, and San's stance began to soften.

"What happened?" San asked. Lady Eboshi told her about the boy found in the town market, and the strong possibility of a new samurai attack.

"We haven't seen Ashitaka since he returned to his home. That was several hours ago. We've tried talking to him, but to no success. I think that by bringing you there, you can get him to talk."

San stood still, thinking over what was said to her. She looked over to her brother, who she could tell that he was not pleased with the situation. There was nothing that could be done about it though. "I'll go with you," she said to her, "only if you promise not to kill me, or spring a trap on me."

Lady Eboshi nodded, and actually smiled at the mononoke. "Only if you promise not to kill me in return." She turned and started walking down the hill.

"Wait at the gate brother. I hope not to be long, but don't worry. I won't lose my life tonight."

"Do you trust this woman's word?" he asked her.

"I don't," she said honestly. "I think I know why she wouldn't want to though." With that, they began down the hill after Eboshi.

Lady Eboshi turned around as they neared the gate. "This is for Ashitaka."

"What do you mean?" San asked. Her hand slowly slid to her back.

"Before I would have killed you, but now, because of Ashitaka, I let you walk freely within my gates. I'm not sure what were to happen with him if you were killed. It's the bond that you share that is the cause of it. It's something none of us understand, but you make him a stronger and happier person because of it. I think with that reason, you won't kill me either."

"Because of Ashitaka?"

Lady Eboshi nodded.

"He seems to trust you for some strange reason."

"He might be angry with you if you decide to kill me. He's peaceful at heart and mind, and doesn't want any violence at all, especially between you and me. He stopped us from killing each other once before, and that has to mean something."

"You are right about him," San said. She turned back to her brother. "Wait here now. I shall return." The wolf nodded, somewhat hesitant, but the conversation between the humans sounded acceptable to his ears.

Eboshi stood aside, allowing San to enter the town. "This way," she said.

The gate was pulled shut after her.

Inside his home, Ashitaka laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep was unfortunately not coming to him this evening, as he didn't feel tired at all, but he also had many thoughts running through his mind involving the events from earlier. It revolved around, and eventually settled upon the destruction of the one home that he lived in for almost his entire life. The boy's words continually rang in his head. Lord Asano had done this terrible deed. Now, he was coming to his new home. That was almost positive.

It was late, and he knew he needed to sleep. He decided then to meet with Lady Eboshi in the morning to discuss strategy, and possibly figure out a way to prepare for Asano's arrival. He began thinking over some ideas, but his thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on his door.

This late? I wonder who it could be.

"Ashitaka… Ashitaka?" The person knocked on the door again.

"San? What is she doing here at this hour?" He went over and opened the door. San stood there, her hand ready to hit the door again, but as she saw him, she brought her hand back down to her side. She smiled slightly as she saw him, but remembered the sullen reason why she was here.

"Eboshi said that something was wrong," she said. They both turned back, seeing the woman walking off, presumably to her own home. No one else was around.

"Come inside. I'll tell you what happened." He sat her down on the bed, and he spent the next ten minutes pacing about the room, detailing the events from the merchant town earlier in the day and the words from the boy only a few short hours ago. The story left Ashitaka worse for wear yet again.

"Are you positive that Lord Asano is going to attack the town again?" San asked.

"Almost. There is much preparing to be done."

"I know. As it stands now, this town doesn't stand much of a chance against whatever this man attacks with. If the town falls –"

"Don't remind me San," he said, cutting her off mid sentence. "Please, just don't remind me of what will happen."

"I won't." She got up from the bed and stood in front of him. Slowly, she reached out and placed her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. Ashitaka was slow to react, but put his arms around her as well. The hug gave him a bit of comfort after the long day. He suddenly became tired though, much too tired to stay up any longer. The hug sapped him of his remaining strength.

"I must go now," San said. "My brother is waiting for me. Be strong Ashitaka. I will do what I can to help you out."

"Thank you."

Reluctantly, they let go of each other. San hesitated for a moment, not really sure what to do next. She eventually walked passed Ashitaka and opened the door. "Good night," she said, and then she took off into the night.

"Good night," he whispered.

Moments later, he was fast asleep.

Ashitaka woke up the following morning a little later than normal. He didn't realize how much the previous day had worn him out until he woke up and saw the sun up higher than normal. He shook his head to wake himself completely and climbed out of bed. He quickly cleaned himself up and got dressed, thinking over what needed to be done today. "I must discuss plans with Eboshi," he said aloud to himself.

As he opened the door, Ashitaka was met with complete surprise. The town was full of activity, and seemingly doing two things at once. Half of the town was rebuilding, and the other half could be seen in the distance, towards the rear of the town. It looked as if they were training. It left him highly confused. He looked around before resting his eyes on the main tower by the gates. There, he saw Lady Eboshi, sitting and watching everything that was occurring in the town. He made eye contact with her, and she waved him over.

"What's going on?" he asked her as he reached the top of the tower.

"We're preparing for an attack. Gonza and I discussed a plan last night." She pointed over to the group that was training. Ashitaka could easily see Gonza leading them, barking out orders on how to swing a sword properly. A massive cache of bow and arrow was seen as well, shoved off to the side to be used later.

"It was something I wished to discuss with you today, but it looks like you're ahead of me."

Lady Eboshi nodded. "My apologies Ashitaka, but I had to discuss this without you. Neither of us knew your mental condition after encountering the boy."

"How is he doing?" he asked.

"He's doing all right from what I've heard. His temperature is down slightly, and he's been drinking plenty of water." A loud crash was heard behind them. They turned to see a tree that was knocked down. After several minutes, the rest of the tree was removed from the ground. Several of the town's people moved in and started planting more seeds into the hole, readying another tree for growth. "Your plan is working well Ashitaka. Hopefully it'll be enough to stop whatever Asano is sending our way."

"I wish we knew what we were up against," he said as he stared out into the forest.

"We'll know soon enough," she said, turning to face him. "We sent five spies out last night to investigate. They were told only to observe and to return with whatever information they found out."

Ashitaka merely nodded his head, keeping his gaze out on the forest. They remained that way for a few minutes, maintaining a steady silence while the people of Tatara Ba worked around them. Another tree crashed down to the ground, and they felt a slight rumble of it from where they stood. A minute later, another tree came down, and efforts began to move the felled tree into the town.

As work continued, Ashitaka turned to look at Lady Eboshi. "Thank you."

She looked at him and had to think for a moment as to what she was being thanked for. "Ah… you're welcome." She turned back to the work in front of her. "She was out late last night. She was very worried too."

"I know. It was nice of you to let her in. I appreciate it a lot."

Eboshi nodded. "Hopefully she'll come back inside more often. We have no intentions of harming her. Someday, she may end up trusting humans."

Ashitaka turned away, heading for the ladder. "If we keep our promise to restore the forest, then she will start trusting us more. Give her time, Eboshi. Give her time. I'm going to go check on the boy." With that, he climbed down the ladder, disappearing into the heart of the town.

Lady Eboshi turned back towards the town, putting the conversation to the back of her head and focusing solely on the construction efforts. They will rebuild the town, and then the forest. She had changed for the better; that she knew after losing her arm. She wanted to stay that way.

There was a rumble in the distance. She looked out and saw that it wasn't a tree this time. A quick glance up revealed to her looming storm clouds that were coming in.

A prelude to turmoil… I wonder if I should look forward to this, she thought with a slight frown.

It started raining twelve minutes later.

The rain rattled off the roof above Ashitaka as he sat in silent contemplation with the boy. He learned that his name was Keigo. Ashitaka guessed correctly that he was the grandson of one of the village elders, though he was far from being a future prince of the village. He was a young boy, barely eight years old. It was a miracle that he survived with the wound he received, and for as long as he had been wandering the country. The nurses had said that if he had been alone any longer, and he definitely wouldn't have survived. He also still had a long way to go to recover.

Ashitaka had decided to remain quiet, allowing the boy to rest. The boy had other ideas, trying to lift his head up to talk with his prince. "So how long has it been?" Keigo whispered. His voice still hadn't fully come back to him.

"It's been too long. There was nothing I could do about returning anyway."

"That's… right. Once you leave, you can never return."

Ashitaka tilted his head slightly. Even a boy his age knew of the law within the tribe.

"You received… the Gyoku no Kodachi, right?"

"I did."

Keigo smiled. "Can I see it?"

Ashitaka shook his head. "I gave it to someone."

"Can that person show me?"

"She lives in the woods, and I don't know if she wants to come inside the town. She doesn't exactly like humans all too well." Ashitaka smiled at the thought. She has gotten somewhat better though, and I'm glad for that.

"It's a girl that lives in the woods? That's strange. Where does she live at?"

"She lives in a cave, with her brothers. They're wolves."

Keigo's eyes opened wide. "That's really strange!" he exclaimed, though he suffered through a coughing bout once he said it. Ashitaka got up and grabbed some water for him. Keigo gladly accepted it.

"You should get some rest. You're still sick, and I heard your wound wasn't fully healed yet."

"I will," Keigo told him. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Can you… tell me more about this girl?"

Ashitaka set the water down and returned to his seat. "I don't see a problem with that. You have to promise me you'll get some rest."

"I will," Keigo said with a nod. "So what's her name?"

"San," Ashitaka said, the name sliding off of his tongue and lips. "I met her in the forest…" Time went by as Ashitaka told Keigo what he knew of San, and he talked about the time the two had spent together.

Keigo soon went to sleep.

The rain kept coming down.

The next day came, and the rain had barely subsided. The work on Tatara Ba continued onward, albeit with more treacherous conditions. The townspeople had to be especially careful given the muddy hill down to the gates, but they made due. Work had slowed down considerably because of the rain, and it didn't sit well with many people there. Still, they pushed forward, cutting down trees, replanting them, and using the trees to fortify the wall.

Ashitaka spent the morning doing just that, helping with bringing the long, thick lumber down the hill into town. It was tiring work, but it had to be done. It had been his home for quick sometime now. He had to do his part in making sure things got done, and everyone was grateful for that fact.

Break time came around, and the two groups of people took a long rest. Ashitaka took this time to dry himself off and put on his light raingear. He found Yakkul in the horse shed, and he quickly pulled him out, mounting him and taking off through the town gate. He took off up the hill and vanished into the forest.

He had an idea for today, but he needed San for it. He didn't see her yesterday because of the rain. It wasn't going to stop him today. He cut Yakkul through the thick copse of trees and brush, and leaped over rocks and ran through small creeks. The beast nearly slipped a couple of times, but he knew how to move in any ground and weather condition. His head and eyes were steady as be passed through the forest.

They soon came to a clearing. They looked out over the short valley, as just beyond it was the small cave that was San's home. The rain was pouring down hard as they sat in the clearing, and as Ashitaka looked down, he saw that the normal path was partially washed out because of the nonstop rain. He looked around some and saw no other option, as this was still the best path to take. He patted Yakkul on his side. "Are you ready?" The beast gave a snort, as if answering the question given to him. He turned his head towards the slope. Ashitaka patted him again, and they began the slow, trying walk down the sloping pathway through the valley.

On the other side of the valley, San looked out of her cave, seeing Ashitaka and his beast start their way across the short field. Her brother had picked up their scent, even in the rain, and had informed his sister about Ashitaka's approach. San nodded. Thoughts swirled in her head as to why Ashitaka would be coming to her at this time, and in this weather. Were they already under attack? Did something happen in the town that somehow needed her assistance? Did he want to come out and see her? She shook her head. She had to keep it the way it was. It was business for them right now; making sure the town was fortified against an attack from Asano.

San couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She was glad to be seeing Ashitaka.

"Come, brother. Let's ride out and meet them." The wolf growled slightly. Was there a good reason for heading out in this weather? He couldn't argue as San climbed onto his back, and the pair exited the cave, running out into the clearing and quickly becoming drenched. The rain and the mud didn't slow them down at all as they ran. They cleared half of the valley in short time, and saw that Ashitaka was slowly making his way towards them.

"Ashitaka!" San called out through the rain. "Why are you here?"

"Come with me. I want you to meet the boy."

"Is he awake?"

"He's doing fine. I told him about you yesterday, and I thought it be nice if I brought you to meet him," he explained. Below him, Yakkul was pacing in the mud. It was clear that he didn't like getting drenched standing there, waiting for San to make up her mind. Ashitaka patted his neck, hoping to calm him down.

"Can this wait? It's pouring out!"

"This rain hasn't let up since yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure when it will either. Come on, I won't keep you long. I'm sure your brother wouldn't mind the run, would you?" If he could, the wolf would have smirked. It almost sounded like a challenge to him.

San looked up to the sky. Ashitaka was right: the rain wasn't slowing down. He came here, through this ugliness. It would be pointless to send him back alone. She thought about asking him back to the cave to dry off some, but then he'd be stuck there for as long as it rained. Not that she minded, of course. The town needs him, as well as the boy.

"Did you say nice things about me?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"I did," Ashitaka replied with a smile. "You're wearing the Gyoku no Kodachi, right?"

"I am." San pulled it out to show him.

"Good. He wanted to see it."

"He knew about it?"

Ashitaka nodded. "He knew the girl that gave it to me. Now he wants to meet the woman I gave it to."

"Okay. Are you ready brother?" she asked, looking down at her brooding brother, clearly not liking the drenching he was getting.

"I wait no longer," he said, taking a few steps forward before taking off past Ashitaka. The Emishi prince quickly pulled Yakkul around and took off behind them, running through the rain as quick as they could to reach Tatara Ba.

Break time was ending for the people of Tatara Ba, and even though it still rained, they continued to work. The group working the forest in the morning switched over to the training routine, while that morning group went outside of the gate to the top of the hill. As that group walked up the hill, they looked up to see two different beasts running towards them. They panicked, and readied their pike axes and their shovels for whoever was coming. They noticed the riders on each of them.

"Ashitaka!" one of them yelled. "What are you doing?"

Ashitaka pulled Yakkul to a halt. San and her brother stopped a few feet behind them. The wolf was apprehensive when he saw the townspeople armed with their tools. "I'm bringing San to see Keigo," he told them. He patted Yakkul forward, and the workers moved aside, allowing him to go down. San nudged her brother forward, assuring him it was all right. The "truce" she made with Eboshi the other night was still holding.

"Bring your brother inside," Ashitaka said as they came to the gate. "He can dry off in the shed with Yakkul."

"Don't worry. If anything happens to you, they'll have to answer to myself and Ashitaka." The wolf, who sounded distrustful to Ashitaka's plans, was somewhat reassured by his sister's. He nodded, and they followed Ashitaka into the town.

Everything that was occurring within the town had slowed down at the appearance of the wolf and San. Not many people had seen her since so close since the last attack on the town. They saw her on the hill quite often, but never within town. They looked to Ashitaka, who had a calm, almost uplifting demeanor to him, despite the situation around them. Some of them saw it, and immediately became entranced and empowered by it. If someone like him can be happy and relaxed in this, then why can't we?

"Come on! We must resume training!" Gonza shouted to the group. They came out of their stupors and began practicing again.

Ashitaka and San left their animal counterparts in the shed before quickly running to Ashitaka's home. "Wait here," he said. "I'll grab you something to dry off with, and some new clothes as well." He rummaged through his things and came out with a cloth. He handed it to her, and he set to work on finding something for her to change into. A few minutes later, Ashitaka came back out, with more cloth in his hands.

"What is that?" San asked.

"It's a simple robe. It might be a little bit too big, but it should be fine enough to cover you."

"I –"

"Do you want to change here or in the other building?" he asked, cutting her off.

San looked down at his hands to the robe. It was a nice cloth. She didn't want it to get wet. Then again, she really didn't want to wear it either. It would have made her feel… almost human. She looked up to Ashitaka, who was waiting for her response.

"I… yeah, I'll wear it. Let's go over to the other building first. I'll change into it there."

Ashitaka nodded. He pulled it under his raingear, and went back behind the bed. He pulled out a straw umbrella and handed it to her. "Take it. You've just dried off. There's no reason for you to get wet again."

San studied it for a moment. "How do I use it?"

"You've never used one, have you?" She shook her head. The only thing Ashitaka could do was smile. "I'll show you." He took the umbrella back from San. Opening the door, he stepped outside and pushed open the umbrella. "Come on! You won't get wet under here."

San came outside and under the umbrella. She looked up at Ashitaka. The smile was still on his face. "Thank you. You look so happy right now, you know?"

He handed the umbrella over. "I feel happy. I have you here."

A light pink came to San's face. "I… I'm happy too." It was something odd that she noticed just now. She had never seen Ashitaka smile like this before, not since the forest was restored. He had smiled on occasion, when they met together on the hill. To see him smiling like this made her feel good. It was like there was no worry in the world to him. No rain, no Asano, nothing at all.

San found a smile creeping to her face as well. "I'm ready to go."

"Follow me then." Ashitaka took off, with San right behind him. She looked down at his hand. It was so very tempting to just reach out and hold it. She refrained herself from it.

It was too human to do so. But what was she doing now? She was running with him in a human town, ready to change into human clothes, and stand in a human infirmary. She had hugged him too, and even one time on her own will power. Yet, she didn't want to hold his hand.

She cursed herself. Why so contradictory? She didn't know why. She cursed herself again. Damn! Just reach out to him already! It's not going to hurt!

San looked up at his face. It was partially covered because of his gear, but it was still there. She felt the urge to touch it, much like his hand.

It was so very tempting to tear out her hair because of this confusion.

They came to a stop. It was the infirmary. "Are you ready to come inside?" Ashitaka asked. The smile was still wrapped around his face.

"Yeah. I'm ready." She cursed herself again. It would have to wait until later.

They went inside and were immediately greeted by one of the nurses. "Ashitaka, I need to speak with you." There was a sense of urgency in her voice that he picked up on.

"One moment." He pulled the robe out – still dry – and handed it to San. "There's an empty room down there I believe. Just pull the door closed behind you and get changed there, okay?"

San nodded, and walked away from them. She found the room, empty as promised, and walked in. She slid the door closed, and let her head fall upon it.

"Damn… I don't know what to do."

She stayed like that for a few minutes, trying to clear her mind of Ashitaka as best she could, or at least the human thoughts that were associated with being with him. It didn't work too well, but she was beginning to get a better understanding of those thoughts.

She was a human, a messed up human, but one nonetheless. She liked Ashitaka. He was probably the source of her problems, but she couldn't let it get to her. She enjoyed his company, and his spirit and determination. While she may have been uncomfortable with some of the more recent things, she was still doing it for him.

San looked over at the robe. It was a nice robe. She realized that she still needed to put it on, which is what she did. She quickly took off her own clothes – still wet – and looked around for some place to hang them. There was a rope tight across two beams on the far side of the room. She put on the robe, and then walked over and hung up her clothes.

She took a moment to look at the robe on her. It was clearly a man's robe, but that didn't matter. San was satisfied with how it looked on her, and how it felt on her. She smiled just then, realizing that this kind of thing may suit her yet.

"No, no," she muttered, shaking her head. "Not right away. I need to feel better around all of these people first before I try that." That was what she decided upon for future human activities.

As she prepared to leave the room, San decided to do what she wanted to do with Ashitaka. She would hold his hand. She would be more willing to hug him, and to hold him. She would be closer to him. Those were fine thoughts to her. San smiled at them.

To kiss him though… that is something entirely different. She had thought about it last night – she was desperate to kiss him – but her hesitance and the situation that occurred with the boy prevented her. It would still be nice to go and kiss him now. She shook her head. It would be best to do it later, if ever. They had to get past Asano first.

She completely resolved herself, and once again a smile came to her face. The first thing she would do when she saw him was grab his hand. San opened the door and started back down the hall. She didn't see Ashitaka. He was probably already in the room. That was fine. She would grab his hand then.

As she approached the door though, something to her didn't seem right. There was a sudden sense of sorrow that overwhelmed her as she reached to open the door. "Is it inside this room?" she whispered.

She boldly opened the door, and saw exactly what she felt.

Ashitaka turned his head towards her, seeing her, but somehow not seeing her. His vision was unfocused and blurry. He turned back to the bed. Keigo lay there, breathing softly, but to San, there was something wrong. She slowly came up to Ashitaka, and was about to ask him what was wrong, when a voice was heard.

"So… you came," Keigo said. His voice was ragged and scratchy, not like an eight year old should sound like. There were beads of sweat coming off his head, yet all he had covering him was a light blanket. His eyes were narrowed in sight, San noticed. He can barely see me, she thought.

"Yes, I did."

"And the knife?"

"I do," she said, reaching underneath the robe to pull it out. "Would you like to see it?"

"Please… I would like… to," Keigo said, coughing. Ashitaka gave him some water, and then sat back down, allowing San to come forward. She took off the Gyoku no Kodachi and placed it in the boy's hand. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome." She kept a hold of his hand as he touched the knife. His hand was delicate and soft. She wondered what was wrong with him.

"You're pretty."

San blushed. "Thank you."

"Ashitaka… he told me… about you yesterday… he said… you're a strong girl… and he admires… admires you a lot." Keigo's breath was becoming shallower.

"I know he does." She turned back to look at Ashitaka and smiled. A small one slowly came to his lips. "He is strong too, you know. He's been through a lot, and he's helped a lot of people in the process."

"Do you… like him?"

"I do."

"I'm… glad." Keigo took a breath. He pulled his hand up to his face. "Can I keep… keep this for… a while?"

San nodded. "You may. I can put it around your neck if you want me to."

"Please." San pulled the knife from his hand, and with the greatest care, she lifted his head up and slipped the cord behind it. She let his head back down and pulled the knife down, letting it sit on his chest. Her hand, she noticed, was completely covered in sweat. It was definite to her now: there was something terribly wrong with the boy.

"Thank you," Keigo said to her. He closed his eyes and continued breathing, in the same harsh manner that it had been since San arrived.

"Get some rest Keigo, okay?"

"I will… promise me… promise me you'll stay?"

"I will. We'll both be here when you wake up."

Keigo smiled slightly. His eyes stayed closed, and his breathing, still harsh, eventually evened out. He had fallen asleep.

Unseen to him, San had reached back and taken a hold of Ashitaka's hand. It wasn't done out of the affection she had planned, but rather out of comfort and friendship. He needed it more now than ever.

A few hours later, the rain finally stopped.

The clouds opened up, and a soul rode up on his horse, towards the heavens.

Author's note: wow.

I'm sure everyone is surprised by the fact that it has taken less than a year for the next chapter of this to come out. In fact, it's taken less than two months. Okay, I'm done gloating. I'm keeping my promise though, and that this story will be done by the end of the summer.

As for this chapter, it was difficult at first, I will say. As soon as I decided to get into the interaction between Ashitaka and Keigo, and then San and Keigo, the writing just took off. I must have cranked out nearly 4000 words in half a week's time, and I enjoyed every moment of it. It was going to be longer too (there was going to be a scene with Asano, plus another scene after that involving Ashitaka), but I feel that this was the best way to end this chapter. It ties in a little bit with what was mentioned last chapter, and what will end up being mentioned later.

There are two chapters left in this story. I don't think I can extend it any further than that, but if I can, then I will. I can see what I want to do with this, so it's all a matter of writing it. I have other stories in the pipeline (see my profile for details, and of anything that may interest you), but this will remain the top priority.

Finally, and as promised, the translations: "Tatara Ba" is Iron Town, "Ishibiya" are the guns, "Shoujou" are the monkey/ape gods, and not women (which I believe is "Shoujo", but I may be mistaken), "Shishi Gami" is the spirit of the forest when it appears as a deer-like creature, and "Didarabocchi" is the forest spirit when it appears at night. I think that's all of them.

I should have chapter five out by the end of July. Take care, and God bless.