San's mouth hung agape. She watched Ashitaka sink below the roaring torrent. The pain in her side and shoulder told her this was no dream, Ashitaka was in the room and had survived the storm. What sounded like several words jumbled together tumbled through San's lips. Rin tilted her head as she looked at San. It looked like she had seen a ghost. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, making it seem like she was trying to say something but couldn't find the words she wanted.

Rin's guess was close. San knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to apologize to Ashitaka, exclaim her joy for seeing him again, and profess the love she had for him which she had taken for granted. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she could face him. He was a kind person. If avoiding conflict was possible, he would try that route before facing his problems directly. That didn't change his human nature, and like any other man, he could feel anger. His gentle features would twist when he became angry. It was rare, and San had never experienced it herself, though she could remember the dark, brooding mood he expressed when he returned from a battle against a few bandits near Irontown.

"What's wrong, San?" Rin asked.

"Huh? San?" Ashitaka mumbled. He opened his eyes, the first time in three days, and struggled to raise his head. It felt like boiling water was flowing through his veins. A fire was alight within his skull, causing his forehead to burn like a heated stone. The pain made him forget the name he heard for a moment. Her name rang through his head, a chime twinkling in the wind: San.

"Ashitaka." San whispered. She forgot about Rin and the reason she had come to this house. Her body moved on its own, as her mind had gone blank and had yet to return. When she was next to Ashitaka, she sat next to him on her knees. It was like waking up from a nightmare. The worries and fears she had harbored within herself vanished like a candle's flame in a storm. Despite what her eyes were telling her, she couldn't comprehend the sight. At any moment, Ashitaka would disappear, the walls of the house would collapse, and she would awaken from this dream. Again, her body acted on its own, moving her arm to Ashitaka, caressing his scarred cheek to tell San this was real.

"Do you know this person, San?" Rin asked at the door.

San nodded. "Ashitaka, how..." She began before her voice failed.

"How did I survive?" He finished for her.

Ashitaka's arms burned as he forced them to keep him above water. Beneath the surface of the river, his legs kicked and drove him upwards, giving him a brief amount of time to take a breath before sinking below the stream. His hands reached out to grab an anchor for support. Each time, his fingers curled into fists as he found nothing but air. Every breath from then on was precious. It was foolish of him to waste so much energy, but his mind was in such a panic that he had been acting without thinking. He gasped in pain as his right leg shredded against a rock on the riverbed. Blood poured from the gash and dissolved into the rushing water.

Ashitaka whirled his body around to face the direction of the river's flow. He knew that with the jagged boulders below the surface, there could be a few which jutted forth from the water. Two ways to go about them came to mind: he could attempt to grab one and wait for the storm to calm or he could dodge them and hope to reach the riverbank. His concentration broke when water surged into his nose. It stung his nostrils and made him cough and sputter. The undertow forced him beneath the river once more.

It happened before the bubbles from Ashitaka's breath could reach the surface. A crack erupted in his ears as his skull collided with a smooth grey stone. He blacked out in an instant. His eyes were still open as his brain shut down, closing seconds after he lost consciousness. The river thrust his body further downstream.

At the bank of the river was a fisherman who had braved the weather to catch what he could in the storm. Rain and high winds made fishing a more exciting experience; in most cases, it also brought more fish. Minoru was the fisherman's name. He arrived at the bank with a large net, his fishing rod, and a large woven basket. The hook on the end of his line caught something heavy.

"Bet I snagged a rock." Minoru grumbled as he pulled in the line. Whatever was on the other end couldn't have been a fish. The largest fish he had seen in person was less than one-fifth of what his catch weighed. First, some brown hair broke the surface; Minoru believed he had caught a dead animal. Next was a blue shirt, a pair of arms, and a torso. Fear spread throughout Minoru's body. Had he dragged in a corpse? A poor soul caught in the storm? Whether this man was alive or not, Minoru dragged him to the bank. It was a young man, no older than twenty, somewhat short and lithe, with a scar beneath one eye and a red hood around his neck.

Minoru checked the young man's neck for a pulse. Miraculously, he felt a weak beat against his fingertips. The young man was light; Minoru shifted the boy on his shoulders with ease. His fishing could wait for another day, as the bounties brought by the monsoon would last for a week if not longer. Pelting raindrops like shards of ice stung his face. He wondered where the man on his shoulders came from, why he wore an odd outfit, and how long he had been in the river. Nobody could survive such freezing temperatures and powerful currents for that long.

The first place Minoru thought to

bring the young man was Kirei's home. Kirei, the only isha in the town, would be better suited for checking for wounds or symptoms of disease. Even if he was away in another town, his daughter, Rin could care for the boy. She was an apprentice in practicing medicine, though still the most competent doctor. Minoru knocked on the front door with his free hand; the other was carrying his fishing supplies. Nobody answered after half a minute. Noise caused by the storm must have drowned out the percussion. He knocked again, this time with more vigor, and was answered by Rin.

"Minoru, hello." She greeted with a raised voice to project over the storm. "What are you doing outside? You should be waiting out the storm at-" Rin stopped speaking when she saw the man draped over Minoru's shoulders.

"Is your father home, Rin?" Minoru asked.

Rin shook her head.

"Then can I ask you to care for this man? I found him near the river and he doesn't seem to be doing very well, but I thought you might be able to help him."

"Of course; bring him inside."

Minoru nodded and stepped inside, removing his sandals at the front door so as not to make a mess. Water dripped from both he and the man on his shoulders. He and Rin hurried up the stairs to a room where Rin's father would keep patients under his care. It was a small room large with one futon, a table that was fit for two at most, two chairs, and a window that watched over most of the town. Rin help set the man on the futon and covered him in two layers of blankets. She checked for a fever but found nothing abnormal.

"Thank you, Minoru, I'll take care of him." Rin said as she began to remove the young man's damp shirt.

"Think there's anything wrong with him?" Minoru asked, "I can't imagine anyone would be feeling well after going through that river."

"It's too early to tell and I've no idea how long he was in the water."

"Well, I better get back to my fishing. Tell me if he wakes up, okay?"

Rin bowed and saw Minoru to the door. She went to the kitchen and prepared some tea for the man upstairs. It wasn't the first time she had to care for somebody while her father was away, though most of those cases were with people who had a minor illness. In addition to the tea, she dipped some cloth in the boiling water and folded it into a rectangular shape. No fever had formed yet, though she was sure one would develop.

The young man was still asleep when Rin arrived. She sat at his side, laying the warm damp cloth on his forehead. In most cases, she would leave the patient on their own if they felt well enough, but she wouldn't leave their side if they were not conscious due to their injury or disease. Outside the house, the storm continued to knock down trees and flood farmlands. Rin checked the shutters on the window to make sure they wouldn't open. Although fastened shut, she feared that they would burst from a powerful gust.

As the storm began to die down, Rin heard a guttural moan escape from the young man before her. His eyes were squeezed shut. She wondered if he was in any pain, as his breathing was heavy and his teeth were gritted.

"How are you feeling?" Rin asked, unsure if the man was still awake.

"Huh? What?" Was the man's response as his eyes fluttered open. They went wide when they adjusted and he saw where he was.

"Please rest; you were rescued from a flooding river a few hours ago and just woke up."

"River?" The young man groaned. Then it came back to him: the argument with San, her

conflict with Eboshi, and the outburst that caused her to push him into the river by mistake. He sat up in the futon and looked to Rin, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What's your name, sir?" Rin asked.

"I am Ashitaka." He replied, "Who are you?"

"My name is Rin, and you're in my house. I'm the daughter of this town's isha yet my father is away at the moment. A fisherman, Minoru, found you in the river and saved you."

Ashitaka nodded. "I would give Minoru my thanks personally, but..." A burning pain in his right leg prevented him from standing. It stung like a hornet's bite, though he wasn't sure which would be worse. "My leg seems to be injured."

Rin gasped and removed the blankets on Ashitaka's legs. On the calf of his right pant leg was a large red blotch she hadn't spotted at first. "Excuse me. I need to go find some bandages."

Ashitaka nodded as Rin stood up and left. Although the only pain he felt was in his leg, the rest of his body felt weak and weary. It was hard to breathe. A pounding headache hammered the back of his skull. His biggest fear was that the wound on his leg was infected. He lay back down and stared at the ceiling. San and Lady Eboshi came to mind and he worried what had happened to them. The former was exhibiting her fiery temper and directed her fury towards Eboshi. For all he knew, one of them could have killed the other. Raindrops pelting the shutters behind him created a fear that the storm claimed them. Rin's arrival caused Ashitaka to forget his problems for the moment. In her hands were several meters' worth of bandages, though she intended to use less than what she brought, and what appeared to be salves to treat the bleeding. She sat next to his legs and rolled the fabric to his thigh. Her eyes went wide when she saw the severity of the injury.

"Hold still." She ordered as she treated the wound. The salves tingled as they were applied. Ashitaka preferred to not look at what she was doing; the pain was bad enough as it was and he didn't want to panic by seeing a horrible gash. It took Rin several minutes to complete the treatment. Half of the bandages she brought had been used.

"Thank you." Ashitaka said with a smile. White bandages were wrapped around his leg, though the blood was beginning to stain them.

"Of course, Ashitaka." Rin said. "Do you feel pain anywhere else?"

"No, I'm just tired."

"Alright then. Now, may I ask how you ended up in the river?"

Ashitaka nodded, though he didn't want to say that he had been pushed into the water. He was sure that San would never mean to do such a thing. Still, he was more than angry at her lack of self-control. "I had been travelling with a few others and there was an accident. The current must have caught me and I ended up in the river. What I last remember is that I had been trying to reach the bank of the river, but nothing else comes to mind."

"You must have hit your head on something, then. Here, have some of this." Rin offered Ashitaka the cup of tea she had made earlier. He sat up and thanked her. The tea was cold, but he didn't care. It soothed his sore throat and made him feel less hungry.

Over the next few days, Rin continued to care for Ashitaka while he waited for his strength to return. Minoru arrived one morning and Ashitaka thanked him for his rescue. As time passed, Ashitaka's condition didn't improve and Rin began to worry. Her father wasn't due to return until the end of the month. She worried that the wound she neglected to treat when Ashitaka first arrived had become infected; when she changed the bandages, her fears were confirmed. Ashitaka developed a high fever, one which kept him bedridden. At night, cold sweat drenched his body. He would eat little during the day. Rin did everything she could to help, though she was unsure if Ashitaka would recover at this rate.

One morning, as Ashitaka lay in bed, he heard Rin's voice call from the hallway.

"Ashitaka, I have a guest here."