The black clouds in the sky passed on as the days rolled by. Sunlight shone on the top of the forest canopy, casting patchy shadows on the ground below. Every beast and animal which had gone into hiding during the storm now scampered around as if it had never happened.
San and Lady Eboshi had spent the past few days traveling in silence. When it had been the two and Ashitaka traveling together, Eboshi would ride close behind them and give directions verbally. WIth only she and San, who was riding alone on Yakul's saddle, Lady Eboshi took the lead. Yakul followed as San remained still on his back. Her eyes remained focused on the horizon, gazing at the distant mountains. It would only be one more day before she and Eboshi reached them. After that was done, she would go home, cure her brothers, properly mourn her loss, and continue living her life as well as she could.
"How are you doing, San?" Lady Eboshi suddenly asked, "You've been quiet for a long time."
San did not utter a single word. Her eyes remained fixated on the mountains. It was not that she didn't hear Eboshi, she simply had no desire to speak to her. She never even wanted to travel with her. The only reason Lady Eboshi was there was because Ashitaka pressured San into allowing her to go.
"Are you going to answer me at all?"
Once more, San gave no answer. Lady Eboshi had done a tremendous job of masking her frustration. She was sure that if San had been feeling the same amount of irritation, the Wolf Girl would be ranting and shouting. If San was not going to be cooperative, neither would she. Eboshi moved to the side of the road and sat below a tree, pulling her cloak over her head as if she was about to go to sleep. The last time she put her foot down, San had an outburst like an immature child.
"What are you doing?" San asked, speaking for the first time in days. She swung one leg onto the ground as she dismounted Yakul.
"Obviously, you have no interest in traveling with me any longer and the feeling is mutual." Lady Eboshi replied as her eyes met San's and her smile quickly vanished. Her crimson lips contorted into a scowl as she continued. "I have done nothing but try to help you restore your brothers' health and how do you repay me? You threaten my life and point a dagger at my throat. Why is it you do that? It's because you blame me for your mistakes, because you think that my caution, not your recklessness, is why Ashitaka is no longer with us. Do not think that I've made no sacrifices for you. I'm now without a horse, my mind is fraught with worry over Irontown and its people, and my body is exhausted from a level of travel it hasn't experienced in years. Above all else, I saved your life after you entered a battle which you foolishly barged into. What sort of thanks do you give me? A silent, begrudging nod. The very next day, I gave you my cloak as rain began to pour and the air began to chill. Who was it that thanked me? Why, it was Ashitaka! Not you! I set off on this journey with you so that we may finally end the hostility between us. You only seek to strengthen it with your pigheadedness. What I see as an attempt to mend the wounds we've caused each other, you see as an attempt to further the damage between us. This was a futile act on my part. If you are going to act the same way a stubborn human child would, then continue to do so. Go and find the temple yourself. All you have to do is cross the mountains and continue heading north. I'm going to rest for a short while. Then, I'm going back home to Irontown." Having said all she wanted to say, Lady Eboshi tilted her head down and closed her eyes, appearing to fall asleep.
For several seconds, which felt more like minutes, San stood silent, arms hanging at her side and eyes wide open. No words came to her mind to counter Lady Eboshi's tirade. At first, she thought of simply going on with Yakul and continuing to the north, hopefully finding the temple. But something kept her from turning around and leaving Eboshi behind. A heavy, aching feeling in her chest anchored her where she stood. It wasn't something new to her, but she still rarely felt such guilt.
"I'm sorry." San muttered.
"Excuse me?" Lady Eboshi said.
San sighed, trying her best not to appear frustrated. "I said I'm sorry."
A slight smile appeared on Lady Eboshi's face, though she did her best to hide it from San. She wasn't sure if her outburst would have gotten through. "I never thought I'd hear you say those words."
San shook her head as she managed to keep herself from going off on Eboshi. Very little had gone their way and she didn't want to make things even worse. She hopped back onto Yakul and looked to the north. The mountains were barely visible. Despite being so close to a lush forest of green, they appeared to be barren. The slopes were rocky and tan with the only vegetation being weeds growing from the cracks in the ground.
"Do you still want to continue?" Lady Eboshi asked.
"I can't turn back now," San replied calmly as she continued to stare at the horizon, "I've
sacrificed too much for all of this. One of us gave everything just so my brothers may be cured of whatever curse is upon them. Going back because I felt too weak would be an insult." Her eyes broke away from the distant mountains and faced Lady Eboshi. A fire burned within them once more, not because of her disdain towards Eboshi, but because she again felt the determination which spurred her in the beginning. "If you don't want to go on with me, then I won't blame you. I know that I've caused some problems and that I've been ungrateful for what help you've given me; you're not the first human whose support I've blindly ignored."
Lady Eboshi bowed her head, astounded that San had come around. She still wanted to finish what they had started to prove to San that she was sincere. "I'm surprised that you'd apologize to me, after all that I've done. I hope that you can forgive me for the pain that I've caused you in the past."
Conflicting feelings clashed within San's heart once again. Before her was the same woman who murdered her mother and nearly destroyed her entire home. Now more than ever was the perfect time to reciprocate every death caused by Lady Eboshi and her drive for power. Ashitaka wasn't present, Eboshi was tired, and she couldn't match San's speed while she was sitting against a tree. Revenge was the best form of justice San knew. The savageness which she adhered to for so many years was telling her to do unto Eboshi what she did to her mother.
But something was holding her back from even moving her hand towards her dagger. Something was countering the vicious instinct which she had followed since birth. The rage which she had constantly felt towards Lady Eboshi was gone. Her words had burrowed into San's skull and wouldn't stop echoing in her mind. A feeling of tranquility, as if a burdening weight had finally been freed from her body, washed over her body like a cool ocean wave as a faint smile appeared on her face.
San extended a hand to Lady Eboshi to help her to her feet. No malicious intent hid within her heart, only the wish to finish this journey with no more loss of life. Lady Eboshi, pleasantly surprised, took San's hand. When she got to her feet, she smiled down at San, not only for her goodwill, but because it seemed that the two's feud was now over and done with. The two still had a long way to go before they reached the temple, but she was now entirely confident that they would make it. Although they were almost out of food, they were optimistic. Both women were still mournful that Ashitaka wasn't with them; he would have been overjoyed to have seen them let go of the burdens from their pasts. Just as they were about to continue towards the mountains, San asked Lady Eboshi if she wanted to ride with her on Yakul. Eboshi gladly accepted; her legs had been hurting for several days now.
The two women managed to reach the base of the mountains late in the night, earlier than either had expected. They wouldn't begin their journey through the barren pass until the following morning. In the meantime, they gathered what food and water they could while Yakul got his fill of grass. Several empty bags on his saddle which normally held his grain and feed were filled with grass and wild berries. Behind the peaks of the tallest mountains, the moon radiated a bright pale light. Lady Eboshi recalled the last time she had been to these mountains. She and the group of men and women she had been traveling with almost ran out of food before they found the end of the pass. Back then, they were far more well supplied than she, San, and Yakul were at the moment. Despite the somewhat bleak odds before them, she remained optimistic.
Eboshi and San were mostly quiet throughout the night, aside from San asking if there were any dangers present in the mountains. Lady Eboshi couldn't recall any from her previous visit. She doubted things were different now; the mountain pass was a road traveled by very few people. It would be a horrible area for thugs to dwell if they were looking for a wanderer to rob, though if they had the skill and survival know-how, some might have begun to hide behind the stones of the mountain. There was not much wildlife as Lady Eboshi remembered. Several men and women who lived in a town several miles north of the mountains mentioned goats living near the peaks, but she knew of no other animals which called the area home.
The two retreated to their separate tents after they had finished their dinner. Red and orange flames from their fire continued to dance throughout the night and attract bugs. Lady Eboshi left her clothes out near the fire so they could properly dry; they had been damp for the past few days and she feared the possibility of catching an illness. San did the same, keeping only her crystal necklace on her body. As she lay down in her tent, her fingers danced around and twirled the cerulean stone, making it spin on the red rope. Her heart was still heavy and tears still welled in her eyes.
Unable to sleep, San poked her head outside the tent. Smoke from the fire made it hard for her to smell anything in the area. Her eyes moved towards the mountains; she had wanted to explore them for a short while earlier in the day but never had the chance before nightfall. The moon and stars gave her enough light to see the rocky slopes. Nothing moved anywhere on the mountains. She listened carefully to hear anything that might have been moving further in the hills, but it was difficult with the crackling and popping of the fire.
As San's eyes scanned the slopes, she caught sight of something peeking from behind the corner of the pass. The figure looked like a woman. Whoever it was quickly turned and ran off, vanishing behind the mountains.
"Hey!" San called out to no response. She waited for half a minute, shivering as the breeze brushed against her bare skin. "Hello?"
"San? Who's there?" Lady Eboshi asked as she peeked outside of her tent.
"I thought I saw somebody in the mountains."
Lady Eboshi couldn't see anything beyond the start of the pass; San's eyes were far more adapted to seeing in the dark. "We should stay here in the camp. Just have your knife close by."
San nodded and Eboshi returned to her bed. Before she fell asleep, she pulled her katana's blade an inch out of its scabbard, making it easier for her to remove it if necessary. Eventually, San got tired of waiting and went back to her tent. Her dagger sat in the corner of the tent. She again had difficulty falling asleep, wondering who she may have seen. It was possible that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Nevertheless, it was the last thing she was thinking of before her eyes finally shut for the night.