Pen here.

Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter! I say this every chapter, but I mean it. You guys are inspirational.

This chapter is inspired by a by Booker T. Washington quote that reminded me heavily of Ashitaka and his purpose:

"I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him."

- Booker T. Washington

Earth and Stone
Chapter Nine: Degrade Thy Soul

"You wished to see me?"

The young man stood quickly at Lady Eboshi's arrival, appearing almost bumbling as he made a clumsy bow, smoothing back stray hairs that had freed themselves from his top knot. "Yes, Milady. I-I'm dreadfully sorry if I have come at a- an inconvenient time." He gestured to Song, who was standing in the corner. "Miss Song told me you would be b-back soon, so I thought I'd wait here for you."

Eboshi was no fool. The man, though hesitant in voice and body language, was betrayed by his hawk-like eyes. They had flitted to her face for only an instant when she entered her room, memorizing every line of her features before snapping down to the floor. She had also seen his shoulders tense in anticipation as her footsteps approached, despite his apparent surprise at her entrance. The hard lines around his eyes and mouth didn't show the ineptitude as he was so clearly trying to portray with his act. This man was a coiled steel spring, ready to release at a moment's notice.

"I apologize if you were kept waiting long," Eboshi said briskly, nodding at Song. The young medic moved forward to help Eboshi take off her outer wrap, which was dusty and unkempt from Eboshi's work. The man's eyes darted to the empty, pinned sleeve briefly, before returning to the ground. Eboshi raised one eyebrow, studying the man closely. He appeared familiar, as if she had seen his face in a crowd before. His eyes were wide-set in a manner she recognized, along with the heavy eyebrows above them. She settled onto her bed with an audible sigh before motioning that Song should leave the room.

Once the medic was gone, the stranger sank to his knees next to Eboshi's bed. "Forgive me my intrusion, marm, but you were w-well-acquainted with my late father, a humble monk. I know little about him, as his death preceded my second year, except that you and he worked alongside one another in a grave war."

Eboshi finally placed a name with the stranger's familiar face. Jiko Bou, the not-so-pure monk who had set his sights on the Forest Spirit's head. The fact that this stranger was Bou's son made sense; the monk had been as untrustworthy as his child was proving to be.

The man was an impeccable liar, Eboshi gave him that. However, Eboshi highly doubted that Jiko Bou would have fathered a son that would believe his sire to be naught but a 'humble monk.' Anyone would have been quick to set the boy straight regarding character if his father had died; Eboshi could only assume that Jiko Bou had not died so early, as his son was now so earnestly saying.

But why would he lie? The head of the Forest Spirit is unreachable; I can fathom nothing else Jiko Bou would want from a ruined town, no matter how it was rebuilt. Even if he did want something from Iron Town, why would he send his son to lie first? Eboshi narrowed her eyes at the man. "You have yet to declare yourself, stranger."

"O-Oh, my apologies," he stuttered, convincingly turning pink under his stubble. "I am Kataki Bou, and my father was the monk Jiko Bou. I wish to hear stories about him and his deeds. I h-have recently found fortune, and have taken it u-upon myself to find out more about my origins, as my mother c-could tell me little b-before her own death."

"Bou-san, I am sorry for your loss," Eboshi said lightly. There had been truth intermingled with the deceit in his words, and for some reason that made her more uneasy than before.

"Thank you, Milady." Kataki bowed low again. When he raised his eyes, his face was rearranged into an expression of hopeful anticipation.

"Unfortunately, I knew your father briefly and he passed from my acquaintance before any allegiance could be formed between us." Eboshi, though curious, wasn't willing to recount the loss of her arm for answers. Nor was she willing to spin lies of her own regarding his father's valor, assuming that Kataki was sufficient enough as a liar to sense when he himself was being deceived.

Kataki looked genuinely disappointed. "Surely you must remember something? I m-mean not to press, but I wish nothing more than to know my s-sire."

"I understand your desire, Bou-san, and I wish I could be of more service. However, you forget yourself. I am an old cripple, and I am often unwell. I might still rule this town, but I no longer do so unaided. The war between gods and men is a terrible memory for anyone unfortunate enough to remember it, and it is a story you shall be hard-pressed to find a narrator for. I apologize again."

Kataki seemed to stand straighter, more confidently. Eboshi knew in an instant he had heard all that he had come for, and so the act was no longer necessary. His eyes glinted dangerously, and Eboshi found herself groping under her cover mantle for the concealed knife she carried on her person constantly.

"Old and enfeebled you may be, Eboshi-san," Kataki said quietly, "you live in relative comfort, surrounded by people who adore you despite the fact that you abandoned your allies in their hour of need. My father died alone, and only I cared or mourned his passing. Where I could have been living in opulence I lived in poverty, robbed of everything because you told your Iron Towners-" he spat the words- "to retreat on the brink of victory. I have made myself, and you are merely the figurehead, placed on a pedestal by ignorant hands."

He crossed the room in an eye blink, a sword appearing in his hand from its sheath as he moved. Eboshi pulled her knife out to defend herself, but Kataki's blade was at her throat faster than she could move.

"Tell me where Ashitaka is," he growled, deadly eyes locked on her face, "and I will not kill you."

"Old and enfeebled I may be," Eboshi murmured softly. "But I am still stronger than you think."

"Is that so?" It was strange; his voice held no malice or maniacal pleasure; only satisfied determination. "For I think that your skin is not as strong as sharpened steel. Do not die a martyr, Eboshi, they are too quickly forgotten. I don't blame you as I blame Ashitaka for my father's failure and disgrace… now tell me where I can find him, and you are spared."

"Oh!" Song had reentered the room. She froze with shock, hands up to her face.

"Song, get out of here!" Eboshi suppressed the panic that was rising in her throat.

"Tell me where Ashitaka is." Kataki's eyes burned.

"Out of your reach," Eboshi said coldly, feeling the blade slide through the thinnest layer of her skin. A trickle of warmth wormed its way down her neck, and Song let out a strangled sob. "Song, leave, now!"

"No, Song, stay and watch while your lady's stubbornness kills her," Kataki said softly. "Though I must admit, your death will not sate my thirst for revenge… I am a determined man, Eboshi. This will only delay me, I will find him… tell me, and you won't die in vain…"

"It will take more than that to scare me." Eboshi spat back. "Song, GO!"

"Fine, your choice-!" Kataki drew the sword back and then-

"He's in the forest!" Song choked out. "He's in the forest with Mononoke Hime!"

"Song…" Eboshi sighed.

Kataki gave the terrified medic a thin-lipped smile. "That was so easy, see?" He nodded to them both, re-sheathed his sword, and was gone before Eboshi could speak.

"M-M-Milady, I'm s-so sorry!" Song sobbed. "I-I lost m-my head, I'm so v-very sorry!"

"It's not your fault, Song." Eboshi swung her legs out of bed quickly, using her arm to throw back the covers. "Guards! Guards, to me!"

A rumble of footsteps, and two men appeared at her door, looking concerned. They saw the line of blood on her neck, and started forward in alarm.

"Milady, what-?"

"A man by the name of Kataki Bou just exited my home," Eboshi cut them off sharply. "He and his men arrived recently. They are not to leave Iron Town. Bring a detail of men to capture them, alive. Move!"

The two men nodded, and hurried back the way they came, leaving Eboshi to Song's weeping. The lady walked towards the crying medic, and put her arm around the sobbing girl's shoulders. "Take comfort- Ashitaka is a capable young man. We must have faith that if Kataki Bou manages to evade our guards, he is well equipped to defend himself."

Song seemed comforted by the words, but Eboshi remained silently troubled. Kataki would have killed her without flinching, and the search party for the young lord had reported traces of blood around the site they had tracked him to. Eboshi could only hope that she had spoken true, and that the wolf girl might protect him as well.

A half an hour later, the guards returned, grim-faced. "His men were gone when we searched the place they were staying. We think they were waiting outside the gates when Kataki Bou was here, speaking with you."

"And Bou? Any signs of him?"

"None, Milady. All of their animals are gone from the stables, too. There's no sign they were even here."

Eboshi sighed, rubbing her temples. "Keep a weather eye, gentlemen. Though, if he did get away, I doubt we'll see him again. We're not who he's after."

The guards bowed themselves from the room. No sooner had they gone, Kouroku was knocking on the lintel, looking anxious. "Milady?"

"What do you need, Kouroku?" Eboshi looked up tiredly. Unused to all of the exercise, she was feeling quite spent.

"You said you wanted to meet me tonight, when we met this afternoon. You mentioned something about a building project you needed me to run."

"Oh." Eboshi sat up straighter, remembering the conversation. "Yes. Please, come in."

"I can come back later, if now's not a good time."

"No, I'd like to outline my idea." Eboshi waited until he had settled himself in the chair next to her bed. "You know that Lord Ashitaka lives alone downstairs, with my servants and my medics, correct?"

Kouroku smiled ruefully. "Do I ever. Toki and I keep pestering him to find his own home, somewhere where the townspeople have more trouble finding him night and day."

Eboshi nodded. "Exactly my feelings. He does too much, and I hope his… break from duty will show him that. And if not, I'd like to take matters into my own hands. Here's what I had in mind…"

Four days later…

Ashitaka tested his muscles experimentally, leaping down from the cave mouth and finding footing on the boulder beneath it. He took another leap, landing on the shale-covered slope leading down to the stream. One of San's wolf-brothers, Yama-Inu, watched in amusement. "Feeling better, I take it?"

Ashitaka stretched languidly on the bank of the stream. "Finally. I'm just a little stiff from not moving, but that shouldn't last."

"Then you should join our hunt tonight. My brother said he saw another deer herd moving in last night; we decided to take one instead of scrounging another meal of rabbit." Yama-Inu growled. He sounded off-hand, but Ashitaka turned around fully to face the godlike wolf in surprise. When San had first brought him to the cave, the two beasts had ignored him pointedly. Only in the last few days had they started to interact with him at all. To invite him to hunt with them was indeed a bolt from the blue.

"I don't know how much help I'll be, but I am honored at the invitation." Ashitaka bowed low. Yama-Inu gave a huff of air in reply, and then stretched out himself, lowering onto his belly for a midday nap.

Ashitaka turned back to the stream, stripping off his tunic as he did. San and Usi-Kai were due back from what San had described as a quick patrol of the Western-most border of the forest, and Ashitaka wanted to bathe before they returned. Lying prone in a cave for a week had its detriments.

The stream was cold and clear, and Ashitaka felt refreshed after a quick wash. He looked up at the sound of quick foot-beats. Usi-Kai padded up quickly, San on his back.

"Ashitaka!" San leapt off, landing in the center of the stream. Ashitaka splashed out to meet her, enfolding her in his arms. It was extremely liberating to do that at will; even more so to have San return the embrace enthusiastically.

"There's something I want to show you."

"What's that?" Ashitaka released her as she tugged at him impatiently.

"You'll see. Can we take Hiasu?"

"He'd like that; poor thing has gotten about as much exercise as I have." Ashitaka whistled through his teeth and the bay stallion trotted over the hill, not even blinking at the leviathan-sized wolves a short distance away. Ashitaka hopped up, wincing at the soreness in his back. As soon as San had mounted up in front of Ashitaka, Hiasu took off at a brisk canter. The stallion had become adept at traveling through the young forest; he wove the trees easily, occasionally jumping the fallen logs of the previous woodland.

San guided the stallion with her legs, and Ashitaka marveled at the new life flourishing around them. "This all grew in the last seven years?"

"Yes." Ashitaka could hear the smile in her voice. "There's some magic left here; not all of it is gone. But, it's also partly in thanks to your Iron Town. They haven't ventured any farther than the shoreline, and they haven't killed all life there either."

"The garden has been particularly fruitful in the last few seasons," Ashitaka said. "The ape tribe sometimes comes through and takes some of the produce, but the people have come to expect it. Some of the new comers have even taken to leaving some of each crop on the trees and plants especially for the apes."

"Your people have learned to co-exist." San mused. "I didn't think it was possible. Where do these new comers hail from? And why did they come?"

San kept asking about Iron Town and its inhabitants, more curious than Ashitaka had ever known her to be about human activity. He answered her questions all the way to her secret destination, which Ashitaka recognized, despite the damage of years prior. It was the same spot where the Forest Spirit had lived and died, the lake with the revered island in the midst of its waters. This spot had been particularly fervent in regrowth; the stand of trees surrounding the lake dwarfed those in the rest of the forest. The underbrush was thick, and all around Hiasu and his passengers the rustle and movement of forest creatures was evident.

"Look." San pointed to the far side of the lake, and Ashitaka followed her finger to see six deer grazing peacefully. He squinted; the markings on these deer were distinctive, and familiar…

"The Forest Spirit's own does." San murmured, pressing herself back into Ashitaka's embrace. "They've returned, and now all they're waiting for is another buck to claim them. Even though Usi-Kai and Yama-Inu have only seen a few herds returning, I know this means that all of the old animal-life is back. These deer would have been the last to return."

Ashitaka again wrapped her in his arms, feeling choked with emotion. The scars would never really fade, he knew that well, but the healing of the forest, and of his people was well on its way. In that moment, Ashitaka felt invincible. In that moment, nothing could go wrong.

Whew!

Only about two more chapters to go! This one was extra-long, to celebrate summer. Do enjoy, and please, as always, press the little blue button!

Cheers,
Pen