I'm back. Sorry for the delay, but I encountered quite a few obstacles in the last couple of months: schoolwork, exams, papers, etc. Now, I'm on break, and I'm here to write. I'm gonna try to get a few chapters of this up while I'm on break. And, since Winter term here at Elon means only one class for the whole month, I'll have a lot more free time. I'll be on a roll soon, so keep reading. And please review, it'll only make updates happen more often.

I hope people have been seeing what few good movies there are out there. Two movies I've seen in the last couple of months come to mind as I write this fic. One is the one I saw first: Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney's directorial effort about Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy. Any of you who like history should see the film. I saw Harry Potter 4 at the IMAX theater in Raleigh, which was pretty nice. I've gotta get Jarhead, King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Munich in there before the year is out. Hope you all got to see these movies, too.

Back to the story; I'm sure most of you are glad that the story has finally moved onto familiar ground. Now that we're there, I want to explain a few more things: I've gotten a few complaints about the amount of profanity in the first three chapters. Now that we're out of the Vietnam stage, this story'll be a bit fairer. Also, all dialogue may be in Japanese from this point on, but there will be exceptions, such as when Dante talks to himself, or during dream sequences. I'll just note everything right then and there. I also hope people will pay attention to the soundtrack lists I've put up. They're only going to get more interesting.

Well, that's all. Read on, and enjoy.

Being Alive

Chapter 5

Ashitaka sighed as he slowly trudged down the dirt path leading to the Emishi shrine. It had been one hell of a day. And he didn't know what to make of it.

In the short time of a day, the peace of his small village had been horribly damaged. A vicious tatari-gami had attacked their quiet haven, and had nearly taken the lives of two of his friends. And people in the village would never feel safe again.

Yet, none of this bothered him at the moment. Kaya and Jii-san were both all right. They had both sustained injuries, but neither was horribly serious, and both would be up soon enough. What bothered him was the current situation of their new, unexpected guest.

The second that the warm, purified water had touched his skin, the outlanders' body had calmed down, and he had begun to breathe normally. That had enabled them to carry him down to the village, and lay him in a bed in one of their vacant huts. The Oracle, aided by Kaya and another girl, had given the young stranger her best treatment, and then left him to rest. Kaya, however, had been reluctant to leave his side. Ashitaka smiled to himself. His young sister truly was honest and caring.

His smile disappeared as he reached the stepladder that led up to the shrine. Grabbing hold of the sturdy wooden structure, he made his way to the top. When he moved aside the tarp at the entrance, he saw who else was in the shrine: Jii-san, who was still nursing his left leg; two other elder men, named Izumi and Kohei; and the Oracle, Hii-sama, who was sitting with a set of stones and other objects before her. He walked in slowly, and sat down.

"Welcome, Prince Ashitaka." The Oracle bowed her head.

"Hii-sama" he responded, bowing back.

"The Oracle was about to tell us what she saw from the stones" Kohei said.

Ashitaka turned back to the Oracle, who proceeded to work with her stones a bit more. They varied in color and size, and were placed on a mat with a few other objects, including a pine branch, a couple of large leaves and what looked like a bone. A red triangular pattern sat in the center of the mat. She tossed a small red stone at two others lined side-by-side, and watched it as it rolled to the left on impact, towards the leaves. She sighed, and picked up the stone, putting it back in her pouch.

"I'm afraid the news is bad. The tatari-gami was a boar god who came from the west. There was a horrible poison within him, which goaded him on, and rotted his flesh at an alarming rate. It drew evil from him, making him a complete monster. Hate fueled his rage all the way here to our village."

"Do you know if there are any more like this one out there?" Izumi asked.

The Oracle shook her head. "As far as the stones can tell me, no other demon is present in these parts. We have nothing to worry for the time being."

Ashitaka sighed in relief at the news.

"What about the outlander who killed the demon?" Izumi asked again.

Ashitaka rose his head up again, giving the older man a look.

"Yes, what are we to do with him?" Kohei piped in.

The old woman smiled, rolling two small stones in her hand. "It is too soon for us to be asking such questions. You all have to know who he is before we take any action."

"But who is he?" Izumi asked. "Never in my entire life have I dreamed of seeing such a person. The boy doesn't look like he's from around here."

"That's because he isn't."

Everyone perked up at this. "Do you know where he is from, Hii-sama?" Jii-san asked.

"Yes, was he sent here by someone? Maybe the Emperor?" Kohei asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

The Oracle kept smiling, and shook her head slowly. "You all have nothing to fear at the moment. The boy is not of this land. But that is not of the most importance."

All four sets of eyes went wide.

"Not of this land?"

"How on earth can that be?"

"Hii-sama…"

All three men and the old woman turned their heads towards the young prince, who, until now, had remained completely silent. After a few seconds of pausing, he continued.

"What do you mean by his nationality not being of most importance?"

The Oracle smiled again, happy that he had asked such a question. "What I mean is, that the outlander is not only not of our land…he is not of our time."

The room went silent, and remained so for several seconds. After the long pause, Jii-san spoke up. "What does that mean, wise one?"

"You all know what it means. That boy, who is healing in our own village, is from a world completely different from our own. Not only is he from a land unbelievably far from our own, but he is from a time far off into the future."

Kohei moved closer to the Oracle. "Are you serious, Hii-sama? Is this boy really from out of time? From the future?"

"Yes. Five hundred years separates our times."

"What of his own land?"

"His country is unknown to the people of Japan at this time, as well as the whole world. It is located on the other side of our planet, far from the wandering eyes of Japan, or any country close to us. None of us will live to see his country be born into the world."

"How do you know all of this, Oracle?"

"I suppose I should be honest with you. Thanks to a dream, I have foreseen an event like this for some time now."

"What did the dream say?"

"It showed me two appalling sights, from two different times. In each vision, I saw a thick, dark forest on fire. In the first, I saw a dark, evil image of death. It was heading toward the center of my vision, which represented our village. In the other burning forest, I saw a light approach. A light representing life, hope and innocence. It traveled towards our village as well. It was at this point that I awoke from my dream. Upon awakening, I looked to the stones for any other answers. They only told me one thing: the stone representing the sign of darkness landed to the left of our village, meaning that it came from the west. And the stone representing the other being…landed above and to the right of our village."

Jii-san gasped in surprise when he heard the words. In a bit of confusion, Ashitaka spoke up again. "What does that mean, Hii-sama?"

"It means that the stone landed outside of our line of the time stream. It meant that he was from out of time. And, because it landed above ourselves, it meant he was from a time yet to come. The stones failed to provide me with any further answers."

Ashitaka lowered his head, thinking to himself. After hearing it all, it seemed to make sense. Why the outlander was different in skin tone; why he was wearing very strange clothing; why he had used some weapon completely unknown to them to destroy the beast.

But there was one thing he still couldn't figure out; why the outlander had acted at all to save Kaya, much less the village. Was his time presence a reason for this?

"Still, that does not explain what we are to do with him" Izumi said, tearing Ashitaka away from his thoughts. "If what you said earlier is true, than he is carrying the curse of a demon. That in itself is a great danger to us! And if he is truly from a different time, as you say, that could mean a world of difference! He could be everything we don't know!"

"What are you saying?" Jii-san retorted. "Are you saying we should just cast him out like that? Or even kill him?"

"You saw what happened to him with the demon. We may not have a choice."

"You can't be serious! That boy saved all of us! You could at least show a bit more gratitude!"

"What's the point of that if he's only going to be a danger to us?"

"I will not hear you speak of him that way!" Ashitaka had leapt to his feet, and was staring down Izumi, anger apparent in his eyes. "That man out there did everything he could for us. He leapt right into the face of danger to save our dear Kaya, even though he knew the risks. He went out of his way to save all of us, even though he had no reason to! Nothing other than his own sense of duty! And if you can't see through your own fears enough to realize that-"

Both Kohei and Jii-san attempted to calm the youth down. "Please, my prince, please! Sit down."

"Yes, we can settle this in a civilized way."

Ashitaka sat back down, regaining his composure. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from Izumi.

"I know how you feel about the outlander, Ashitaka, but you must consider the possibilities. We have to be careful around this boy."

"None of you men need worry about him."

All four men in the room turned back to the Oracle. "The boy's fate has been lined out for him. Whether he chooses to face it, though, is his own choice. But he will not end up doing us any danger. The stones have told me that. He is to come here, and learn of his fate. Only then will we know truly what he intends to do."

Izumi sighed. "If that is what you say, Hii-sama, that is what we will do. The boy will stay as long as you say he will. And we will cooperate."

"All of you should return to your homes. It will only be a matter of time before the outlander awakens from his sleep. Ashitaka, I believe you have a duty to attend to."

Ashitaka smiled, and stood up. He bowed to the old woman, and headed for the entrance, climbing back down the ladder.

From the future…the very thought boggles the mind. He kept thinking to himself as he made his way back towards the hut. I wonder if this says anything about people in the times to come. I wonder if they could all be as courageous as he is.

Darkness and silence loomed over the landscape hours before dawn. The Mekong River flowed as silently as it had all year. Bordering the river on either side were fields of marsh. Beyond the marshes were the thick, impenetrable jungles. At this time of the night, they seemed to be at rest, unlike the day, when they were as alive and dangerous as any wild animal.

Suddenly, the silence began to slowly break, as the sound of rapid flapping began to approach. Quiet at first, but growing louder as the source of the noise approached.

Flying in from the river were seven UH-1 "Huey" Helicopters, each carrying several US ground troops. Inside one of them, a young soul waited, in unsure anticipation.

Dante stared at his boots as he sat cramped between two other soldiers, his back against the hull of the chopper. Both men were just as inattentive to their surroundings as he was, the sound of the engine-flapping boring into his half-asleep mind. His helmet hung on his head, shadowing his eyes from those of the men across from him. He clutched his M-16, waiting for the moment of touchdown. Feeling a bit claustrophobic, he wanted nothing more than to get moving again. Sitting in the same place for three hours, hearing the same boring, passive noise the whole time…it could do damage to a man.

When he felt a bit more awake, he turned his head towards the side opening of the chopper, and caught a glimpse of the dark jungle, which was barely outlined between the river and the sky, both of which were almost as dark. He gazed at the miles of land; Charlie was in there; he knew it. And he would be in there with him soon.

He felt the chopper start to slowly descend as he turned his attention back to his boots. He barely made the Sergeant out as he stood up in the corner of his eye. The officer dusted his hands off, and banged his weapon against the ceiling of the hull, sending a wake-up call in the midst of propeller noise. He then began to yell out orders to the crew. Dante, however, didn't hear him. He knew what he supposed to do, and kept his focus on what was in front of him.

Everyone reached into their respective stores, and drew an ammo magazine. Dante lifted his to head level, and slammed it against his helmet three times before slamming it into the port, and yanking back on the action. He then reached into his shirt, and pulled out his one treasured piece: his age-old harmonica, which hung from a string around his neck. He lifted it to his face, and kissed it before returning it to its hanging position around his neck.

Then it came: touchdown.

At the sound of the whistle, he jumped to his feet, and followed the others out of the bird. He jumped off from the edge of the chopper, and his feet hit the ground…

The young soldier suddenly bolted awake.

Sitting up fast, he blinked several times, trying to focus with his eyes. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, and shook his head, regaining his focus. And with that, he looked around at his surroundings.

He found himself lying on a small bed made of straw and animal skin, with a fur skin for a blanket. When he looked around even more, he found he was in some sort of hut. The walls were composed of straw, thin beams of wood, and several thin ropes holding the structure together. The beams slanted upward, giving the house a dome shape. He faintly made out the smell of burning herbs, which seemed to give his eyes a sting. Other than what he saw, no one else was in the hut.

He then noticed that he felt a bit cooler and lighter than before. He looked down at himself, and saw that he was partially undressed. His fatigue was missing, leaving him in his wife beater. His belt and bandoliers were all missing, as well as his ALICE pack, and everything he had been carrying.

Thinking back, Dante tried to figure out why he was in some hut. The last thing he remembered was being in the C-130 just before it went down. The ambush just outside Bien Hoa…the shooting at the airfield…

Once again, remembering the event caused his stomach to churn with guilt. After a few seconds, he realized where he must have been: a native camp or village.

Charlie immediately came to mind. But if this was a VC camp, why the hell was he in a bed? How come he wasn't tied down, or inside a bamboo cage? It didn't make sense-

A sudden noise from outside the hut caused his head to jerk up in attention. Someone was coming. He didn't know if the place was friendly or hostile, but he couldn't take the risk of being captured. Even if it did seem friendly, it could very well be a trick.

He quickly looked around for a place to hide, and found one: a small wall in the doorframe made of wood that was out of the entrance's view. He got up, albeit tiredly, and made his way behind the doorframe. He crouched down just as the person entered.

The person was a young girl, supporting herself with a small wooden crutch. She put the crutch down when she entered, and crawled over to the straw bed, where Dante had been lying. She crouched down to see him, then recoiled at finding that he was no longer there. Dante watched from his hiding place as she took a look around the room, then slowly got up, picked up her crutch, and made her way out of the hut.

Dante jumped from his hiding place, and immediately scanned the room, looking for his equipment. He found nothing, which only raised his suspicions about the place being a trap. He turned around, and went to the entrance. When he poked his head out of the hut, he merely looked both ways, seeing if anyone was around. Since it was late at night, he might have been able to escape under cover of darkness. All his things may have been taken, but there was bound to be some supplies lying around for him to grab. Then he could make a dash for the jungle, and hide out there until morning.

He stepped out of the hut, moving as quietly as he could. The months and months of learning martial arts as a child sure came in handy, especially at a time like this. He managed to keep quiet enough to be able to hear everything around him. And, at the moment, it was mostly quiet. He kept walking, moving in between other huts in the small village.

Suddenly, he stopped when he heard what sounded like conversation. He moved closer towards the sound, and eventually began to hear the sounds of a fire flickering. He also noticed the light given off by the nearby bonfire.

When he reached a hut on the other side from the bonfire, he peeked out from behind it, and got a good look at the group surrounding it. What he saw nearly made his jaw drop: the people sitting around the fire were adult men, wearing dark-colored tunics, and carrying primitive-looking spears or swords. There were no black or tan uniforms to be found, and no carbine rifles or machetes. The men did not look like Vietnamese soldiers at all.

What the hell is this? He thought to himself. This probably isn't some gook camp…but that still doesn't explain what it is…No one in Vietnam dresses in tunics like those…and they'd have to be pretty isolated to be using weapons like that…not to mention living in huts like these…

He sighed to himself as he continued to gaze at the group around the fire. Okay, so I'm probably not in a VC camp. But that doesn't mean that these people are friendly. It could still be a trap. I gotta find my equipment-

"You shouldn't be out here, stranger."

Dante felt a hand grasp his shoulder at the same moment those words were spoken. He immediately grabbed the offending hand, threw it off him, and leapt backwards, taking up a stance of defense. It was then that he saw his attacker.

The young man was dressed in a blue tunic with leggings, similar to the clothes of the men around the fire. He stood right in front of Dante, a small air of authority about him. He continued to speak to the young soldier.

"Please, stranger, you are obviously not healed yet. You must come back to-"

Dante, however, wasn't listening clearly. His mind was on a one-track streak at the moment, and he couldn't understand why the boy in front of him was not speaking in Vietnamese. He didn't take the time to recognize the language, thinking of only one thing: getting the hell out of there.

"Stay away!" the youth yelled in Vietnamese.

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow in confusion at the young mans' response. He was not speaking a familiar language, but he still tried to calm the outlander down.

"It's all right, I don't want to fight you. My name is-"

"Stay back, gook!" he said again, not listening to the young prince. "I'm warning you- I'm not falling for any tricks you've got planned!"

He was speaking so fast that Ashitaka couldn't tell what he was trying to say- only knowing that he was afraid. There had to be some way to communicate with the outlander; Kaya had spoken to him back up on the hill, and it had been in their language. And he himself had spoken to the stranger, right after he had killed the demon god. Ashitaka reached out his hands, and tried to calm him down, hoping the communication barrier would be broken.

"Please calm yourself, it's all right. You have nothing to fear from us. You are among-"

Dante's paranoia only increased with every word the young man spoke. He backed away, sweat clinging to his forehead. Not only was this strange boy not speaking in the right language, but the people in the village were dressed entirely wrong. And the temperature outside was too cold, as opposed to what it usually was. Nothing made sense. Was the jungle playing tricks on him? What the hell was going on?

"Prince Ashitaka, is that you?"

Dante whipped his head to his left when he heard the men approaching from around the house. Ashitaka saw his opportunity, and reached forward with an impressive speed, grabbing the young outlander by the wrists. Dante suddenly jerked his attention back.

"Hey! Let go of me, asshole!"

Ashitaka held firm, pushing Dante against the wall of the nearby hut. The other men gasped in shock as their prince tried to restrain the young outlander who had saved their village.

"Calm yourself, friend. I know you are stressed, but I know you can understand me. Please, try to listen-"

He was silenced by a hard kick to his chest, delivered by the outlander. Ashitaka rolled backwards, falling on his back in the dirt before sitting up. He looked up in time to see Dante standing right over him. He rolled onto his side, and delivered a spinning kick back at his opponent, aiming for the stomach; only Dante, expecting another attack, had ducked, and ended up receiving the blow in the face. He fell back two feet, landing near the hut again. He gripped his face with his hand, trying to ease the pain. "Motherfucker," he said under his breath, before leaping back to his feet.

The noise of the fight had reached all the surrounding huts, and several people had exited their homes to see what was causing such a ruckus in the middle of the night. Pretty soon, at least three dozen people, nearly the entire villages' inhabitants, were watching as their young destined leader faced off with the young outsider who had defeated a tatari-gami.

Dante took the time to look around at the townspeople who had gathered. Seeing them all dressed in such a way, as well as the absence of anything modern, was confusing him greatly. His focus went back to the boy in front of him.

"I know you can understand me, friend," Ashitaka said, lowering his stance, be remaining cautious nonetheless. "I don't want to fight; I want to help you. Please, come, and we'll sort this out!"

Dante was now on the verge of panic, and had begun to hyperventilate. He did not know what was happening to him. The people were not what they were supposed to be, and this man in front of him was not speaking the language the people of this land spoke. As he looked at his surroundings, however, images of the last thing he remembered before passing out came flooding back to him: the attack, the destruction, the deaths…it was all to much for him.

He collapsed to his knees, holding his palms to his forehead, and let out a scream. His head felt like it was going to explode. "What's going on?" he yelled to himself in English. "What the fuck is going on?"

He shut his eyes tight, and continued to hold his head until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately looked up to see the young man standing over him.

"It's all right. You're going to be-"

Acting on instinct, Dante grabbed hold of the boy's arm, and swung him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground. He got back up, and dove at the youth, trying to pin him to the ground. Ashitaka, however, read the attack, and responded with a light kick to the gut; not hard enough to cause pain, but with enough force to send Dante flying back, crashing against the wall of the nearby hut.

Dante was about to jump back up when he noticed something: he was right beside the entrance to the hut, which was full of various equipment, including gardening tools and firewood. And, sitting right in front of a stack of chopped logs was his equipment pack! A Colt 1911 was sticking right out at him from its holster. Not thinking twice, he grabbed the gun by the handle, and whipped around to meet the young man, who was crouching right in front of him.

Ashitaka stopped cold when he saw what the outlander was pointing at him. It was a small, oddly-shaped piece of metal, with a long piece of it pointing directly at his face. He did not know what it was, but remembered what the outlander had used during his fight with the boar god. The one he was holding now looked just as dangerous to Ashitaka.

Dante pulled back the hammer with his thumb, ready to fire the weapon. He was acting out of pure panic now. He was so confused that he couldn't speak in order to tell the native to back away. Sweat was pouring down his face, and soaking his shirt. His finger was on the trigger…another touch, and it would-

"Stop! Please, don't!"

Both men turned in the same direction to see a young girl limping over to them. She appeared to have a twisted ankle, and was moving as fast as she possibly could. Even in his panicked state, Dante recognized her as the one he had seen in his hut.

Ashitaka moved slightly to his right, trying to stop the girl. "Kaya, don't come over here! Stay away!"

The girl, however, ignored him, and threw herself in between Ashitaka and the outlander. She faced the soldier while, at the same time, trying to shield the one she had come to know as her brother.

"Please, outlander, stop! Don't hurt my brother, please!"

Dante hung his mouth open as he gazed into her eyes: they were on the verge of tears, but still full of hope. Innocent and scared, yet caring. He looked from her to the other inhabitants. Small children hid behind their parents, who were trying to shield them from any danger they might face, all the while staring in shock at the scene before them. All eyes in the village were on Dante as he held the pistol in the face of a young girl, who was guarding the man behind her.

Dante finally let go of his fear and his anger. He slowly lowered the pistol to the ground on his side, and set it down. He then sat back on the ground behind him, and, for the first time that night, spoke in Japanese. "I'm sorry."

Several people in the crowd breathed a sigh of relief when the outlander finally calmed down. Others were still eyeing him cautiously. Older children, however, were moving closer to the scene, trying to get a better look at him. Ashitaka smiled, and moved forward to help him up.

Kaya inched herself closer to Dante as he sat on his behind. He looked up, and nearly recoiled in slight shock when he noticed how close she had her face to his. "Are you all right, outlander?" she asked. "I'm sorry I left you alone back in the hut. I didn't mean to upset you." She put her arms around his shoulder, as though to comfort him.

Dante sighed in guilt-ridden embarrassment, and shook his head. "That's okay. It was my fault. I'm sorry I caused such a commotion."

Ashitaka knelt down, and once again placed a hand on Dante's shoulder. "It's understandable, friend. Please don't feel so bad. The important thing is that no one was hurt. Come, we'll continue this back at the hut."

Dante looked into the eyes of the young Emishi before slowly nodding, and standing up. He helped the girl up as well, and walked over to pick up the crutch she had dropped. When he reached down to grab it, he noticed that most of the townspeople were still present, and eyeing him. He stood in his place, returning his embarrassed stare.

"It's all right! Everyone, please return to your homes now!" Ashitaka told the surrounding crowd, possessing an air of authority in his voice. "It's vary late, and I think we've all had enough excitement today!"

The people slowly started to make their way back to their huts. Parents ushered their children back inside, and called their friends in as well. After a few minutes, the only people who remained outside were Dante, Ashitaka, Kaya, and the group of men Dante had seen around the bonfire. They were apparently guards, and remained outside to watch over the camp.

After everyone else was gone, Dante handed the crutch to Kaya, who happily took it. Ashitaka then led the two of them back to the hut to let the outlander rest. He would need all he could get before the Oracle explained the truth to him.

Sorry, gotta stop it there. Can't write anymore at the moment. But don't worry, I'm gonna get back to writing the next chapter soon, and it'll be up a lot sooner than the other updates. Since I'm on break, I'll be on a roll.

Read, and review, please. I really want to know what people think of this story. It's only going to get better with each chapter. Until then, read on. Happy trails.

Music for Chapter 5:

Requiem, by Jo Hisaishi (Mononoke-Hime Soundtrack)