III

Ashitaka: Calamity

I cross vast plains, foothills, rushing streams and mountain sides. One day as I come down from mountain, I spot smoke rising in the distance. It is a town, with the sounds of a skirmish within it. People are running around like confused ants. Samurai and soldier are fighting what seem like regular citizens.

"A war?" I mutter.

"A warrior!" The soldiers have seen me. "His head is mine!"

They draw arrows and start to shoot. I urge Yakkuru into a run, hoping we can get out unscathed. I pull up my mouth guard and ready my bow. Soldiers are chasing civilians up straight ahead of me. A woman falls, and one soldier draws a sword, ready to kill her.

"Stop!" I draw the string to shoot. Suddenly, my arm, where the curse is, starts to squirm involuntarily, as if the Tatari-gami snakes have returned. I grimace, and the arrow flies.

It hit its mark, taking off the soldier's arms, still grasping the sword, at the elbow. The woman crawls away.

"My arm!" I groan. It hasn't hurt so much since the curse was first placed.

A mounted archer shouts, "He won't get away. I see him!"

"Let me pass!"

His arrow comes at me and I dodge. I nock another on my bow and let it go. It decapitates him in a single whoosh, taking the head cleanly off the shoulders.

Yakkuru gallops on and we disappear within the trees, leaving behind the blood and the samurai soldiers.

In a small forest waterfall, I wash my arm. The pain has subsided to a dull ache, but I know it will be back. I study the demon mark.

"It's growing bigger." My throat constricts.

It will eventually reach your bones. Hii-sama's words resound in my mind.

Shortly after, I stop at a market center to restock my food supplies. As I lead Yakkuru down the street, I receive suspicious hisses and curious glances from the market-goers. Ignoring them, I stop to buy rice from a woman in a red head wrap. She fills my bag and I hand her a small piece of gold, currency from my Emishi village. "Will this do?"

She looks at it, and then holds it out to me angrily. "What is this? This isn't money! If you don't have money, give back the rice!"

I startle, and am about to rebuke when a dwarfish man dressed in the weird red garb of a monk pushes his way through and demands to see the gold. He holds it up and exclaims, "Hmm, oh! Woman, this is a sizable gold nugget!"

She raises an eyebrow, unconvinced.

"So, if you'd prefer cash, I'd pay the bill. Give this to me."

"Gold!" A good-sized crowd has gathered, and is shocked at this announcement.

"Is there a money changer around here? No?" the monk calls out, holding out the gold. "As far as I can see, this is worth one, no, three bags of rice!"

The crowd gasps and clambers over to see as I turn to leave. I've what I need. The people can fight over the gold all they want.

There is a simple road running by a small river leading out of the town. Yakkuru walks along casually as the monk runs up. "Hey! Not so fast!" He is surprisingly agile in his wooden sandals, with soles a hand-length high.

"No need to thank me," he continues. "I'm the one who should thank you. When I was dragged into that samurai skirmish, I was rescued due to your fighting. My, you fight like one possessed!"

I look at him sharply. The ordinary monk knows nothing of the curse, but his words hit a little too close to home. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot a few men walking slowly behind us, looking at me and the monk with greedy and cold eyes. I have no doubt why they are following us.

The man looks up at me. "Hmm, so you noticed? It's what happens when you wave a gold nugget in people's faces. Indeed, people's hearts harden and become rough like hemp. They'd rob us in our sleep. Shall we run…eh?"

He takes off down the path, quick for one in such impractical footwear. I urge Yakkuru to run after him. We lose the men in an instant.