And welcome back to the story. Sorry about not getting it up within two weeks like I last promised, but I was caught off guard by my Winter Term class. It consumed all my free time, and I didn't get back onto the story until the week-long break I'm on now. But, here it is: a nice, long chapter to make up for the wait. Read on, and Enjoy.
Being Alive
Chapter 15
Dante stood in awe as he stared up at the large, two-story structure in front of him, which he had been told was the residence of the town's headmistress. He really shouldn't have been that impressed, considering the other buildings he had seen during his long journey, but it still left him speechless. This was probably the best-looking structure in the entire town, and looked as though it had been hand-crafted from top to bottom, every inch of it carved and polished to perfection. He could just make out a dim light within the windows, and he wondered just what the woman was doing inside the house as she waited for their meeting.
He tore his eyes away when he heard his name called. Gonza stood in front of him, beckoning him towards the house, the same stern look on his face. Dante complied, walking towards the door, the bodyguard at his side. As they approached, two guards stood at either side of the entrance, holding spears out to block the way.
"No need to worry," Gonza spoke, as though reading what the men were about to say. "The visitor is not armed. His possessions were taken earlier, and nothing was left for him to enter the residence with."
Dante began to sweat harder at these words, and stole a glance at the spot where his pistol lay in the pocket of the thin kimono. He was taking an awfully big risk sneaking the weapon in, but he felt he had no choice; he didn't feel comfortable walking around the town unarmed, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he revealed himself now.
The guards cleared the way, and Gonza stepped inside, motioning for the youth to follow. Dante did so, a feeling of caution and uneasiness sweeping over him as he stepped inside the structure. As soon as he was inside, the door slid shut, blocking out the light from outside. After a small moment of hesitation, he continued to follow the larger man.
It was fairly dark inside, with only the occasional candle lit in the hallway. He could make out several closed doors, as well as small tapestries on the walls, detailing things he couldn't quite make out with the lack of light. They kept walking until they turned a corner, walking down another small hallway, until they came to a door. Gonza opened it, revealing the room inside.
Sitting on a raised platform, next to a small stack of iron slabs, was who he assumed to be the woman. Another, more stout woman was standing in front of her, holding a wicker basket of several slabs of iron, watching as the mistress tapped at them slightly with a hammer. Gonza walked up to her, motioning for the youth to stop when he got close enough.
No matter how hard he tried, due to the dimness of the light the lantern was giving off, Dante couldn't make out her face. He had been hoping to get a better view of her as opposed to earlier in the day, when he had seen her from a distance, but her face remained clothed in shadow. She continued to tap each slab of iron with the tiny hammer, each tap boring into the youth's brain. He glared at the spot where her face was hidden, aching to see the woman who had cursed him to the depths of depravity. This was the woman responsible for giving him his curse; responsible for all those other deaths he had caused at the hands of the demon power; for all of the pain he had endured over the last month and a half; and surely for all the suffering that was to come in the future. His anger towards her was so amplified, he wondered whether or not she was also the reason he was thrown back in time. As angry as he was, though, he knew someone else was almost beyond control. His arm was already starting to give off a burning sensation, and it took all of his strength and will power to keep the demon from spreading to his mind, not to mention resist the urge to grab his arm. He was highly regretting bringing the pistol in with him.
"Forgive me for keeping you waiting for so long, traveler," Eboshi said all of a sudden, jerking Dante out of his thoughts of anger. "I've been anxious for this meeting myself." Tapping the piece of iron one final time, she handed it to the woman, who put it into the wicker basket with the others. "That's very good iron. Add it to the shipment; it looks like we may make the delivery on time after all." Picking up a small piece of wood and a brush, she reached over to the lantern, and turned a tiny knob. The light became brighter, finally revealing her face, allowing Dante to see it up close; it was everything he thought he had seen earlier in the day, only more so. Her features were even and rather attractive, her cheekbones and lips rather noticeable; and her eyes were even more piercing up close, boring into him as they made eye contact for the first time; she was the object of desire for just about any red-blooded man; and yet, when he looked into her eyes, he found something that disturbed him: a longing for knowledge and power, and a determination that looked as though nothing would stop it; to him, she seemed like a true control freak. He could see all of it in her eyes, and he knew it was meant for him.
Turning to the woman, who was loading the iron into a wicker barrel, she spoke. "Tell the others they may rest before the trip tomorrow."
"Yes, milady," the woman replied.
Making a few marks on the wooden tablet, she turned back to the youth. "I hope you'll forgive me for having your possessions moved without your knowledge. It's only natural that we try to find out as much about our guests as we can when they enter our home. I'm sure you understand."
Yeah, Dante thought, I understand that you don't trust me any farther than you could hurl the boar you shot and sent to give me this fucking curse! Dictators prefer unarmed victims, don't they? How stupid of me to forget! A sudden twitch in his arm brought his attention back, and he gripped it tight. Easy, boy…every time you fly off the handle, this bastard spills another gallon of blood. Keep calm.
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Eboshi, leader and commander of the people of Tataraba. You already know my captain of the guard, Gonza," she said, gesturing to the bodyguard. "And what might your name be, traveler?"
Still struggling to keep himself calm, the youth took a deep breath. "Kurosaka Dante."
The woman continued to write on her wooden tablet. "A very interesting name," she said. "Anyway, there have been various ideas as to your presence in our town. Many of our men and women have already taken a liking to you, as I'm sure you know. But a few still think you're a spy for a nearby warlord, after our iron and secrets. Some even believe you're in league with the Mononoke-Hime herself."
Dante perked up at these words. He reminded himself of the words the wolf-girl had used.
"You dare to invade our forest and spy on my mother as she lays with her dear life in the balance? That damned gun woman sent you to finish her off, didn't she?"
"Of course, I know better. Though, I can understand their worrying; everyone wants to get their grubby little hands on the iron in this land. All the daimyos in this area think they're entitled a right by the gods to more than a piece of all this. They don't care about the ones who found it first. Typical way for morons to think."
Dante tried to hide his grimace. Yeah, now if only they knew you weren't the one who actually found it in the first place, you arrogant twat! He kept his arms hidden in his kimono, trying to hide the fact that he was gripping his right arm tight. His eyes occasionally moved back towards the pocket in his kimono.
"Anyway, the same question has been bothering me as well. What has brought you to our lands, if you don't mind my asking?"
It's now or never, Dante thought. And, bringing his right arm out, he began to unwrap the lengthy bandage. Once it was all off, he let it fall to the floor, and yanked up the sleeve to his kimono. "This."
Gonza nearly backed away in shock when he saw the ugly, purple marks on the youth's arm and shoulder. All of the awful wounds he had seen and sustained himself were dwarfed by the mark he saw now. He regained his stature, ready to prevent any disturbance from arising. Eboshi, however, merely gave the marks a look before going back to her work, completely unfazed.
"You may not recognize it just yet," the youth said, moving a step closer, "but this is something left behind by the giant boar god, Nago. I ran into him over a month ago in some secluded village in the northeast; and, when I found him, he'd been consumed by a full-blown tatari-gami. He attacked me, and by sheer dumb luck, I was able to escape; but not before he cursed me with this. I thought you should be interested, seeing as how you're responsible for them."
Eboshi turned to look the outlander in the eye, and let out a small laugh. "And how is your misfortune my fault, traveler? I've never even seen you until this day." She turned back to the tablets on a small table in front of her. "I may have met the boar god you speak of before, but our meeting was very brief, and I don't see how it connects to you-"
She was cut off when a small iron ball landed on the tiny wooden table in front of her. Gonza had already moved in front of her, his hand on the hilt of his long blade. "Boy! What did you throw at Milady?"
Eboshi rose her hand, her eyes still on the iron sphere. "That will be all right, Gonza. Stand down." She picked the ball up in her hands, inspecting it further. "I see now what you mean, Dante. I guess your presence here is warranted." She tossed the ball back to Dante, who caught it before pocketing it.
"Yeah, I guess it is."
"And a truly unfortunate story it is, my dear traveler. It certainly raises more questions, and, believe me, I already have too many for you myself. But there's one thing I feel I must ask." She turned to look him straight in the eye, once again. "Where is it you come from? I must say, I'm quite baffled at your appearance, and it's not just your uniform; your red hair and pale skin alone are enough to leave one speechless in these parts, if you don't mind my saying so."
Dante had prepared for this, as he had with the countless others who had asked him the same question. Pulling his arms back into his kimono, he crossed them, his right hand dangling awfully close to the pocket. "I'm afraid I can't say where I'm from. The place is unknown to you or anyone you know, and, if I tried to explain it to you, you'd probably think I was crazy. Sorry."
"Insolent worm!" Gonza yelled, moving in between Eboshi and the youth, his hand on the hilt of his sword once again. "'Sorry' doesn't cut it! You answer Eboshi-sama's question immediately, or I'll cut you down the middle!"
Dante narrowed his eyes, and felt the handle of his pistol jump into his waiting hand from the pocket inside his kimono. "Bring it on, Nobunaga!" he quipped under his breath.
Dante heard something whiz by his head, missing it by less than an inch, and imbed itself in the wall he had his back to; his hand still on the handle of the gun, he turned and saw what looked like a tiny assassin's knife, perfect for a throwing weapon. He turned back to see the bodyguard, still with his hand on the hilt of his blade, but with a none-too-composed look on his face; his eyes then drifted to Eboshi, who held her hand out in a fashion as if she had just tossed something lightly.
"That will be all. I won't have a fight in my presence. Gonza, stand down, and stay that way. I can take care of myself. And traveler, I'd advise you to do the same. You may be a guest in this town, but you are subject to the same laws, and I won't have you showing disrespect in front of me or my people. Do you understand?"
"Yes'm," Dante responded, his hand still on the gun.
"Good. Forgive me if my method seemed blunt, but I felt it necessary to make my point." The woman went back to her work, calm as if nothing had transpired. Dante finally let go of the weapon, and let his arms fall out of the kimono before crossing them outside the garment.
"Now, before we get into anything further, there is one last thing I wish to ask you. I certainly know your motivation for traveling to our lands; and I understand your reluctance to reveal more about yourself so soon. However, I wish to know what it is you intend to do, now that you are here. Have you come seeking revenge? Or do you believe that we may be able to help you in your troubles? Feel free to tell us, if you wish."
Dante sighed, and leaned against the wall, stealing a glance out of the corner of his eye at the knife that still stuck in the wall next to his head. What am I supposed to tell her? That I'm searching for a cure? Or a way back home? What did I even come here for?... He sighed again. I guess I don't really know yet. I've just been moving from place to place towards what little clues I have…I don't know if I can call any of this progress. I mean, I've found out what gave me this curse…but I still don't know what brought me back to this time, much less a cure or a way to get home. Oh, well…I guess I do havethat reason… Taking in another deep breath, he spoke, keeping his eyes on the floor. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how to answer that. All I know is that I'm here…" He looked her in the eyes, "to see with eyes unclouded by hate."
"Eyes unclouded?" she said loudly, her face taking on an amused smirk. She then came forth with a burst of juvenile laughter. Dante felt the briefest flare of anger boil up in his own mind before he felt the burn in his arm again, his right hand forming a fist that made him feel like his knuckles would burst out of his skin. He ignored it, though, trying to keep himself calm while she continued her childish fit. She quickly calmed, and, still with the smirk on her face, spoke again.
"I understand perfectly now. Very well, I've made my decision." She swiftly pushed herself to her feet, and moved towards the soldier, looking him dead in the eye. "Come with me, Dante Kurosaka. I will show you my secrets." As she spoke, she reached up, yanked the tiny knife out of the wall, and tucked it away. "I will show you everything you wish to see, so you may 'uncloud' your eyes, as you say. Gonza," she said, turning to her bodyguard. "Check on the men, and make sure they are ready to move tomorrow. I want the regiment well-prepared as always."
The bodyguard looked like he was fighting the urge to object or raise a complaint. Whatever urge he had, however, he pushed it aside, and reluctantly nodded, straining to keep his head high. "Very well, Milady."
"Thank you, Gonza." She then strode towards the door. "Follow me, traveler."
Dante did so, doing everything he could to avoid eye contact with the bodyguard. Though he had his back to him, he could feel the man boring eyes of anger towards him.
As he followed the woman as she strode through the paths and alleyways of the inner workings of Tataraba. While the stench of fresh iron had been irritating enough on the lower level of the town, here, near the giant smelting pyramid, it was nearly unbearable. Despite this, not to mention the hour, the area was still buzzing with activity. Men and women alike were running around, scurrying to their jobs, whether tending to cattle, carrying load after load of freshly smelted iron in large wicker baskets, or carrying more loads of ore and sand towards the center building, people worked as hard as they ever did during the day. Dante could see the most determination in the work that seemed to dominate all others in the area: the pounding of fresh iron into flat slabs appropriate for market. One person, usually a woman, would kneel on the ground with a large pile of iron slabs at her feet, holding one in the center as the others, a group of three armed with sledge hammers, slammed the slabs of iron flat. The succession of pounding hammers bore into the youth's mind enough to take his mind of the stench, albeit not for long.
Another thing Dante noticed was the ratio of men to women in the area. For every man, it seemed, there were at least three women working on fixing the fresh iron. It seemed Eboshi really did prefer to have women working in this part of the trade, leaving the work of traveling to the men. Dante wondered if they were all truly former brothel girls who had had their contracts bought out. The men had hinted at her buying out every girl she could find. He could see now why they all seemed to harbor a deep admiration for her.
As they continued walking, a woman walked up to Eboshi from out of one of the small huts, holding some sort of ceramic bottle with both hands. Dante couldn't make out what they said, but they conversed, with Eboshi taking the bottle, and the woman nodding, bowing, and walking off, stealing a small glance at the outlander as she passed.
They continued on, moving past the smelting pyramid, where the youth could feel the heat skyrocket as they passed the entrance. Turning his head back, he caught a quick glimpse of a large group of women working on a contraption he couldn't make out. He returned his eyes to the woman he followed as she moved on.
After a few more paths and alleyways, they came to the surrounding wall of the town, which had a small opening to a place too dark to make out. She walked through, and Dante followed. Stepping inside, he quickly noticed the lack of the stench of iron compared to the area outside. Looking around, he saw that the place was a large garden, full of various plants, including vegetables, herbs, and exotic flowers.
The youth couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed, at the little piece of craftsmanship. "What is this place?" he asked more to himself.
"My garden" the woman answered, clearly able to hear him. "This is the one place where I can forget my worries and enjoy a moment of piece, or continue my own studies. I do all of my thinking here. None of the villagers dare to set foot in it," she finished, giving the boy a cold smirk. "It's also where I keep my deepest secret," she said, gesturing to a small building that stood pressed up against the outer wall of the town, on the other side of the garden. She stopped at the entrance, and turned back to the youth. "Come inside if you wish to see."
Dante gulped and sighed. He was feeling rather uneasy for a number of reasons. He had a feeling what was going on behind those walls, and it wasn't a good one. The fact that he was still carrying a concealed weapon didn't help much, either.
Still, he felt he couldn't come this far and not go further. He followed her to the entrance.
After the woman pushed aside the wicker tarp in the doorway and walked in, Dante was about to do the same, when he spotted the person sitting outside it. The person was slouched against the wall, sitting next to a tiny wicker basket that was used as a cage for a live pheasant. The figure was also wrapped up entirely in bandages, save for one eye, making it impossible to determine the gender of the person. Its one arm was holding a long staff-musket, similar to the ones the men in orange carried. Giving the person one last look, Dante nodded, and moved inside.
Stepping inside, he found a whole new sight for him to look around at. Several more people, bandaged the similar to the person at the door, were seated around the room, working with several unusual tools. He could hear the slamming of a tiny hammer against metal, and the rolling sound of a large wheel of stone. Looking to where Eboshi had walked, she could see two of the people handing her what looked like a large version of an old matchlock musket.
I knew it, the boy thought, watching as one of the bandaged workers handed the weapon to their mistress. This is what they've been doing; and it's exactly why she wants to talk to me right now.
"It's still a bit too heavy…" she said, lifting the contraption in her arms before letting it down.
"Maybe if you didn't handle it so gingerly?" the bandaged woman answered.
Another worker, this one a man working with a hammer on some steel, turned to the woman. "Milady, you've got to stop worrying about the weight. Make them any lighter, and they'll fall apart the first time you fire them."
"I trust you to figure it out," she said, pressing her hand down on a metal switch at the bridge of the wooden stock and the barrel, snapping the matchlock into the powder chamber of the gun. "Someone else has already managed to," she added, stealing an eye blink glance at the boy behind her. "And besides, it's not for me; I want it lighter so the women will be able to handle it."
"Won't that be a sight to see!" the female worker quipped.
Bringing the stock to her shoulder, she lifted the weapon into a proper firing position, and turned to face the young soldier. "This is the latest weapon my people and I have been able to design. It's only the third one we've been able to make on our own, ever since we first managed to get our hands on the cannons that came from China. We still use them, but they're too heavy for just anyone to handle. These, however, are much more efficient; they'll reload faster, have less a chance of jamming, and keep the powder dry during the rain. They'll also be able to kill forest beasts in one hit, and pierce the thickest samurai armor in existence. There is not a force in all of Japan that could stand against us, were we to be fully armed with weapons like this."
"You'd best watch out, young man," the male worker quipped, looking up from his work at the outlander. "Lady Eboshi has set her sights on conquering the world!" The whole room chimed in with laughter.
Eboshi laughed along with them. "I'm sorry to have pushed you all so hard these last few days." Bringing out the ceramic bottle she had received on their trip over, she set it on the table in front of the workers. "I wanted to bring you all something back for your work; this is sake from Yokobe village."
"Wow! The sake there is said to be the best in the region!" another one of the workers piped up.
"Milady, you treat us far better than we deserve!" the woman in front of her beamed.
"So that's it," the youth finally said, narrowing his eyes. The laughter died down, and all eyes were on him. "First I hear the story of how you came and slaughtered every last boar in the forest with those cannons of yours, and burned half the woods to the ground. Then, you bring me here, show me the latest, deadliest contraption you've managed to make, and how you plan to make like Alexander the Great and conquer everything in your path for the greater good." His right arm moved inside his kimono. "Then, since I've stumbled upon your tiny little empire-in-the-making, you spot my even fancier guns, and you think you can convince me to share any secrets I have with you in order to be a part of your new world order."
He rose his head to meet her eyes, a dangerously cross look on his face. "Maybe you forgot that it was your little conquering attitude that got an iron bullet lodged deep into the hide of that boar god; the same beast that went and gave my god-forsaken curse!" He finally raised his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Did you really think it was gonna be that easy, lady? Or do you do enjoy giving all your guests an extra twist of the blade?"
Eboshi turned to meet the outlander's angry gaze. "You're right about that boar. I was the one who shot him. I truly am sorry that you suffer because of it," she said. "That moronic beast; I should have been the one he cursed instead of you."
The woman's condescending tone was too much for the youth to bear. The handle of the pistol slid into his hand as the burning feeling in his arm flared up from nowhere. You think sucking up to me will make everything better, you CUNT?! And, with a life all its own, his right arm yanked itself out of the kimono, the 1911 grasped firmly in its fingers; on its way over, the slide slid back on its own, chambering a round, just in time for the weapon to point directly at the face of Eboshi.
Dante moved his left arm as fast as he could, grasping his cursed arm, and knocking it off course just as it squeezed the trigger. The shot barely missed its target, and the bullet buried itself in the wall behind them, while the loud crack nearly sent the bandaged workers into a panic. They all clambered and struggled to get as far away from the youth as possible. Eboshi, however, hadn't moved a muscle, and had maintained her calm composure. She smiled deviously as she watched the boy struggle to keep his cursed arm from aiming the strange weapon at her again. "Does your arm wish to kill me, boy?"
Desperately trying to pry the pistol from his right hand, Dante glared at the woman. "If it would get rid of this curse and send me back home…I'd unload right into your smug face," he grunted. "But it probably wouldn't stop with just you."
"Of course not," she concurred. "I doubt it would be satisfied until it massacred the whole village. It certainly has the power to do so."
Clenching his teeth, Dante rigidly reached his thumb down to the magazine release, allowing the clip to drop to the floor, and forcibly tossed the weapon aside, where it slammed against the wall, away from any workers. Breathing heavily, he stared down the woman in front of him.
For a good minute or so, the two continued to glare at each other, until they were finally interrupted by one of the men at the other end of the room.
"Milady…Osa wishes to speak."
They both turned their attention to a heavily bandaged man lying on the floor amongst the others, a straw blanket covering all but what appeared to be his head, which was entirely wrapped in bandages.
"Forgive me, Milady…I know it's rude to interrupt you like this…but you mustn't make light of the boy's strength and anger…it flows through him like the mightiest rivers." Though one would not know it by looking, he turned his attention to the youth. "Young man…I, too, know well the pain and anguish you are suffering. I've seen what I consider to be the utter depths of hell…and I've felt rage such as yours. But I beg you not to take your anger out on this woman. All of us that you see here owe a great deal to her…we are plagued by the gruesome disease of leprosy, and are shunned hated by all those around us. Lady Eboshi is the only one to see past our horrid disease, and look upon us as human. When many of us were starving and at the brink of death, she took us into her home, and, without fear of disease, washed our rotting flesh, and bandaged us…"
In the middle of his last sentence, the old man's words were consumed by a heavy cough. His companions tried to calm him down. "Osa," the man said, laying his hand on the elder man's back, "that's enough for now. You need to rest."
But he wasn't finished. "Life is hard…so hard, people always wonder if it is even worth living…bad things happen in life, but we still find reasons to keep on living…forgive me for my foolish rambling."
And with that, he went silent. Dante looked towards the old man, and sighed, feeling more ashamed of himself. "No…I understand."
The sounds of the night were in the air; be it the chirping of the crickets, the hooting of the owl, or even the occasional howl of a wolf, the forest was alive during the night. Yet, it still felt surprisingly quiet. Peaceful, even.
Dante looked off into the forest from the balcony Eboshi had led him up to, which overlooked the entire west side of the lands. He leaned against two of the thick, pointed logs that made up the city wall, and looked out at the barren, decimated landscape that had once been a thriving forest. All that remained were the almost skeletal remains of the burnt and torn trees.
Leaning out further for a better look, the youth thought he saw some movement. A second later, he saw it again; it looked like a few small, dark figures running around the decimated grounds. At almost the exact moment, a loud, deafening crack caused him to recoil in shock. Before he could change his attention to the source of the sound, he noticed a tiny red dot in the sky, falling towards the barren mountainside, where it landed in a tiny explosion. Looking close, he could barely make out lots of movement from the same dark figures he had seen earlier.
Turning his attention to the source, he saw Eboshi standing behind him with the new musket at her shoulder, the barrel smoking. "They're back again."
"Who?" the boy asked.
"The apes," she said calmly, walking over to the wall. She extracted the ammunition capsule, replaced it with another, and replaced the burnt match on the weapon with a fresh one. She brought the weapon to her shoulder again. "They keep coming to take back the mountain, no matter how many times we keep driving them off." She pushed down on the switch, and let off another shot.
Dante watched as the second round landed very close to the site of the first. "What do they want?" he asked curiously.
"They want to turn the mountains into a forest again. No matter how many times we pull up the trees to dig for ore, they keep coming back to plant more. It's become rather annoying lately."
Dante looked out into the darkness again, a sour look on his face. Setting the weapon against the wall, Eboshi turned to the youth. "Anyway," she said, a smile drifting onto her face, "I guess we should talk about our little offer."
Here we go, Dante thought, sighing. "What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked.
"I think you know the answer to that, outlander," she answered. "I've heard Koroku's testimony, and I haven't forgotten our little incident just down the ladder from here."
Dante had a sudden thought. "You haven't had your people going through my things, have you? Some of this could be dangerous for those who don't know-"
"Relax, traveler," the young woman said, retaining her calm smirk. "We wouldn't dream of invading another's privacy without their permission. I do wish to inquire about some things you possess, but I see it as sharing secrets with one another. I hope you understand." Her eyes drifted towards the breast pocket in Dante's kimono.
The soldier, seeing no way out of a full-fledged conversation, slowly reached into his kimono, and pulled out his Colt 1911, holding it out in front of the woman. "Is this what you wanted to see?"
As soon as he had brandished the weapon, Eboshi's eyes had locked onto it and not left. And she looked with utmost interest. "Yes…I believe it is," she said, her eyes still on the piece. "I'm surprised you were able to bring it all this way."
Dante scoffed. "I had this in my pockets when took my bath. Your girls must'a missed it," he said, narrowing his eyes.
Eboshi returned the look. "You'll have to forgive me for being cautious." Briefly looking up to face the outlander, she gestured to the weapon. "Do you mind…?"
Sighing quietly enough to not be heard, Dante made sure the hammer was forward, and handed her the pistol. Eboshi took it, and, seeming to already know how to hold it properly, grasped it in her right hand. She turned it over and around, inspecting every inch of it. "Amazing," she said, not taking her eyes off the gun. "Simply amazing. How do you make a weapon this small that can successfully fire?"
Letting his eyes drift elsewhere occasionally, Dante mumbled the answer as he took out his pack of cigarettes. "It's really not that complex."
Eboshi kept her eyes on the weapon. "I'm always eager for new knowledge, as you know by now. Maybe you'll care to teach me more," she said, looking at the youth just in time to see him lighting a cigarette in his mouth. As he took a puff and exhaled, an amused look came across her face. "I didn't think men started that habit at your age."
Putting his lighter away, Dante said "What you don't know about me or where I come from could probably fill that massive lake out there."
"I don't doubt that." Remembering the small movement the contraption had made down in the cabin when in the youth's hand, she placed her hand on the slide of the gun, and attempted to push it backwards; it wouldn't budge.
Noticing what she was trying to do, Dante gently took the weapon from her hands. No real point in holding back now, he thought. Maybe if I give her something to marvel at, she'll stop hassling me. There's no way she'll be able to replicate this without years of study, anyway.
"Watch closely," he said. Extracting the magazine, he pushed out one tiny .45 ACP round, and held it in his hand. "A bullet is contained in a cartridge made of brass, with powder already handy." Putting the bullet back in, he pulled back the hammer on the gun, and shoved the slide back, revealing the barrel. "This works by ejecting each used cartridge to push the next into the chamber; like so." He slid the magazine back into the gun, and hit the release, sending the slide forward. He then aimed the weapon out into the distance, away from the area where the apes had gathered, and squeezed the trigger.
The sound of gunfire rang out, and an empty piece of brass flew out of the ejection port, landing on the ground. He fired once more, then slowly brought the weapon down. Turning to Eboshi, he saw the very attentive and interested look on her face. Sighing, he held out the gun by the handle, and, after a moment's hesitation, she took it in her hand again.
"Both hands," the youth quipped, crossing his arms. Eboshi gave him a look, but said nothing, and grasped it in the same manner he had. Aiming the weapon at her earlier target, she fired. The gun bucked, but she did not; she looked like she felt no recoil.
"Small…easily concealable…not the best for range, but perfect for close-quarter combat," she said. Handing the weapon back in the same manner as the soldier, she smiled. "Very amazing, traveler. I've met with some of the most advanced blacksmiths and weapon makers in the region, and none of them would have ever perceived of a technology such as this."
Pocketing the gun, Dante nodded. "Yeah, I figured."
"I'm just wondering," the woman said, "but you didn't forge that weapon yourself, did you?"
"Huh?" he said, taking the cig out of his mouth. "No, I didn't; it was issued to me."
Her smile got even wider. "It seems I was correct. You're a soldier fighting for a foreign army, am I right?"
He sighed again. "Yeah."
"Which means your country's entire military force is armed with the same technology. If it were an army of considerable size, it would be able to take on any other force in existence. Which begs me to ask the question once again, outlander: just where is it that you are from? What sort of country produces such a common – or uncommon – soldier as you?"
Taking a long, final puff, the youth exhaled. "I'm still not sure I can tell you that."
"It just confuses me so, Dante," she said. "How can such a vast empire as your land failed to have conquered the whole world by now? Or have you simply not reached the islands of Japan?"
Dante turned to the edge of the balcony, and leaned against the posts. "That's not our style," he answered.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean we're not an empire. We don't just go from place to place, conquering without regard. That would be against the very values our country was built upon."
"Is that so? Well, then who exactly are your people fighting at the moment?"
"We have some friends in the area, south of China. They're being aggressed by their neighbors to the north, and we're there trying to help them out."
"How very noble of you," she said. "But it still doesn't answer the question of how you got here."
Dante had already thought a story up. "My transport was shipwrecked, and I drifted alone on a raft for days. I eventually drifted ashore here."
"A very interesting story, traveler. And now, I want to ask you about our offer. Will you stay here with us, and help me kill the forest spirit?"
The youth sighed. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"When the spirit is dead, and all of the beasts are finally wiped out, this land will be among the richest in the world. Perhaps, if you were to ever see your people again, we could forge an alliance." She heard the youth chuckling under his breath. "You find this funny, Dante?"
"Oh, no. I just somehow doubt this land could compete for that title."
"You know of richer lands?"
"More or less," he answered.
"All the more reason for us to join forces."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think they'd approve of what you're doing here. Plus, I don't think I'll be seeing them for a while." He turned away from the balcony, and faced the woman again. "Anyway, if you kill the forest spirit, you'll destroy my one chance of getting rid of this curse. Not to mention what you'll do to this place."
"You don't understand, Dante. Once the Shishi-Gami is dead, all of the so-called sacred gods will be nothing but brash, dumb beasts once again. The wolves will no longer be a threat. And that girl will become human."
Dante's attention perked up. "Girl?"
"The Mononoke Hime, as they call her; the princess of ghouls, beasts, and ancient gods. The wolves kidnapped her as a child, and stole her soul; and now, she lives to kill me."
Dante was again reminded of his fierce little encounter with the girl. "Considering what you're doing to her home, I guess that makes sense."
"I'm doing what I can for my own people, Dante. Even if it means driving away all the ancient gods and foolish relics of the past people of the old days can't help but worship. It's time for humanity to move on, and forget this rubbish."
The youth looked out into the woods again. "You were able to slaughter all the boars so easily. How tough can a few wolves be?"
"Tougher than you think," she responded. "They're certainly tougher than the boars were; and those boars were certainly no pushovers."
He turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"
"The only reason we were able to defeat the boars was because we possessed the muskets from China. But we didn't win with just those. We were on a terrain we didn't know, and had a hard time getting around on. We were also vastly outnumbered; every time we killed thirty boars and lost one of our own, it was a net victory for the boars. Our tactics had to be exact. We used other members of the village to draw several of the smaller boars into areas where my riflemen could ambush them. We rained fire down on them from up on the mountains. We set traps with fire and explosives, and set the forest ablaze, trapping many of them. We still lost a good amount of men. But the real horrors came from the wolves and that girl."
"What did she do?"
"The girl may be a beast, but she still retains the intelligence of a human. The boars are plain stupid, but they pulled a few stunts that seemed far out of their range of intelligence. I wholeheartedly believe it was all the work of that girl. On one occasion, the boars surrounded us in a part of the woods where we couldn't spot them well. We heard sounds all around us, and didn't know in which direction to fire. We wasted a good amount of ammunition, and I doubt we hit many boars. Then, when we were still busy with our current problem, the girl leapt from the woods, slit the throat of one of my men, and dashed back before we could get a good aim on her. On another occasion, the boars charged us down a long cleared path, but we were able to drive them back with our gunfire. They retreated quickly, a bit too soon it seemed to me. Nonetheless, my men charged them. And they walked straight into a trap, a trench that had been dug out and filled with tiny bamboo spears. Two of my men were killed, and several were injured. And those weren't the only times we had trouble. But the boars were completely incapable of doing this; the wolves, while smarter, were also less than capable. The girl was the only one who could have done it. And she continues, to this day, to use her intelligence with the forest beasts in order to attack my people in an attempt to destroy us."
Dante's mind was moving a mile a minute. He was being reminded of his own experiences in war.
"Still, I have to say I admire the girl. She's quite an adversary. And she fights with more bravado than I've seen in any normal human."
"I see," the youth said. He watched as Eboshi again picked up her weapon, and began to reload it. "Anyway, legend has it that the blood of the forest spirit cures all diseases. I'm after it because it could cure my lepers. And it could also rid you of your curse. What do you say?"
Sighing one final time, Dante headed for the ladder. "Sorry, milady," he said curtly, "but the last thing I need is to get involved in another war. I'll find my own way of getting rid of my curse…if I can." And, with that, he disappeared.
Shaking her head, the woman turned to the balcony, raised the weapon, and fired off her final shot. "Such a shame…what a waste of talent and knowledge."
"Excuse me, Eboshi-sama…what do you think of it now?" she heard from the room below.
"It handles very well; perfect for conquering the world. But still a bit too heavy."
"Oh dear!"
Reaching the exit to the garden, Dante let out a long, exhausted breath. Eboshi's behavior and very words had brought back memories he didn't know what to do with. He'd met his share of crusaders in Vietnam. But here, everything was multiplied tenfold. And he didn't know what to make of it.
December, 1967
Dante wiped the sweat from his face, wondering why he hadn't tied his bandana on earlier for just that purpose. They'd been walking since six in the morning, and the sun was just only now starting to descend. Still, it didn't make much of a difference; the heat was as bad as ever, and he continually swatted away mosquitoes that flew in his face.
On the upside, the guy behind him was holding one of the platoon radios, and had it tuned to the popular Saigon station. Some band Dante couldn't recognize was playing some psychedelic rock tune. This was worth at least some relief he got during their long walk. In the last few hours, he'd been able to listen to The Who, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, The Animals, and a few others, as well as a few humorous quips from Adrian Cronauer, who'd been able to lighten the dull mood around the platoon. The closer they got to Saigon, the better the reception got; according to Miller, they would be stopping just short of Saigon, at an air base near the town of My Tho to meet up with an Air Mobile squad and the commanding officer to assist them in an operation on the Mekong Delta. It certainly seemed more appealing than anything they'd done lately, Dante was thinking.
About a half an hour later, the jungle opened up, and they found themselves facing one of the offshoots of the Mekong River. Knowing they were closer to their destination, Dante sighed in relief. They'd all been promised a good night of R&R before the operation.
He felt a nudge on his arm, and turned to his right to see Mason winking as he held his rifle over his shoulder. "Look at that big beauty. But I can't fuckin' wait 'till we get to the coast."
"Is beach life all you think about?"
"I come from a town of sun 'n surf, kid. But that don't matter, cause I'm taking this town for everything it's worth tonight. An' you're comin' with me, dig?"
He laughed. "No problem. That all you did back home? I didn't think they surfed in Alabama."
"We do anything there, boy, 'cept fuck our brother in the ass. I was star halfback at my school, graduating year. I had my sights set on bein' the first nigger to play for Bear Bryant; but, as you can see, fate had other plans. What about you? What'd you do after you finally came to the states?"
"Ah, I fit in after a while. I played football a bit at my high school; I had fun. But I have to admit, I did better on the diamond."
"Why's that? You just better suited with a glove than a helmet?"
"Nah. I just had more experience from before."
Mason turned to him with a surprised look. "I thought you lived in Japan until you were ten."
"I did. Believe it or not, the game's pretty popular there."
"No shit? Damn, there's a lot of crazy stories out there. What'll I hear next?"
Their conversation was suddenly broken by the loud flapping of a Huey copter passing overhead, up the river. Looking in the direction it was heading, they saw something that caught everyone's attention.
"What the hell's that?" one of the soldiers asked, hearing sounds of explosions in the distance.
"Hueys; lots o' Hueys up there."
About a mile ahead was a small village; Hueys and smaller choppers surrounded the airspace, and smoke was rising from a couple of sprouts.
Miller leaned toward Sergeant Macon. "What the fuck's going on up there?"
"That's Air Mobile-"
"I know it's Air Mobile! What I wanna know is what they're doing at this gook hideout instead o' waitin' at base like the plan said!"
"Gibson just sent the message. They found a few VCs in the area, and tore open the village to find the source. They found a whole fuckin' squad hidin' out, an' there was quite a firefight. Now, they're cleaning out the place."
"Christ. Can't that O'Connor sit fuckin' still for two seconds?"
"You ever known the 9th Air-Cav to be protocol, Miller? You remember what they did to Charlie in '65 back in Cambodia. For fuck's sake, the guy cut a football field in the crops next to the base!"
"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to tell me, I remember well enough. All right!" he yelled, turning to the platoon. "Look alive, ladies! There's been a slight change of plan! We're meeting up with Gibson's crew at the village point, and joining up with Air-Cav! They're just about finished cleaning up this here VC village, and we're accompanying them to the base, which is only a mile further. Move out!"
As they got closer to the village, more things became apparent; many of the houses and structures were either on fire or being torn down. Amphibious wrecking vehicles were bulldozing down houses while troops guided and monitored civilians. Crushed huts and shattered sampans littered the area and shore. While it wasn't total chaos, there was a considerable amount of unrest. Every minute or so, a small explosion went off. Upon reaching the village grounds, Dante noticed the bodies of several dead VCs scattered everywhere, and saw a group of refugees gathered together, women and children included. An officer spoke through a loudspeaker at the crowd while an interpreter spoke through another one next to him. Other civilians were being gathered into other areas, while some were even being loaded onto an amphibious transport. Troops had gathered weapons, food, and other supplies they had found in the houses and structures, and in underground compartments. Smoke grenades were scattered around every few dozen feet, making landing space for the birds.
Spotting Captain Chris Gibson a few feet away, Miller called out to his platoon. The two met, exchanged words, and the platoons joined. Gibson, his Sergeants behind him, walked up to the nearest officer, and tugged on his fatigue, just as a medvac chopper took off a few feet away.
"Where can I find the CO?" he asked, yelling to be heard above the noise made by the chopper.
"He's comin' in right now, sir!" he answered, pointing to a particular Huey coming in for landing. He took out a smoke grenade himself, disposed of the pin, and tossed it to the ground a few feet away; it began to spew orange smoke into the air.
The chopper moved closer to the ground, landing in the clearing, and the troops all kneeled to avoid the propeller wash. The bird was heavily laden with machine guns and weaponry. A tall strong-looking man wearing an Air-Cav hat and sunglasses jumped off the bird, straightened his hat, and began to survey the area.
"Lieutenant!" he yelled, pointing out to an area in the woods. "Get some fire up there and bomb that tree line back about a hundred yards! Give us some breathing room!"
"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant said, taking two steps before the Colonel grabbed him.
"And bring me some cards!"
"Sir?"
"Body cards, you damn fool, cards!"
"Yes, sir!
As the Colonel started to walk through the besieged village, another officer came walking up.
"Sir, I'm from the 4th Tank Regiment, we got five tanks broken down, and we need assistance-"
"All right with the tanks, captain! It's all right."
"Thanks, sir!" He ran off, allowing the Colonel to move up to the next one in line, Captain Gibson.
"Colonel James O'Connor, it's a pleasure! I'm Captain Christopher Gibson; we're 3rd Battalion, Foxtrot Company! We were assigned for help in Operation Burnout!"
"Operation what?" one of the privates behind Dante muttered to his friend.
"Good, that's good to hear, Captain!" the Colonel said, taking the paper orders from Gibson and inspecting them for a second before handing them back. "Why didn't you guys go straight to the base, like the orders say?"
"You'll have to forgive us sir, we arrived on time and thought we'd see the great 9th Air-Cav do what they do best!"
The lieutenant returned, holding what looked like a deck of cards in his hand. "That's very thoughtful of you, Captain, but keep your boys steady until we're finished here!" He took the cards from the lieutenant, tore off the plastic wrapping before tossing it aside, and began to rummage through it, throwing down a card on a nearby corpse.
"Okay, let's see what we got here; three of spades; five of spades," he said, tossing another card on a different body. He continued walking through the path of corpses, tossing different cards on each. "Four of diamonds; six of clubs; three of hearts. Ain't one worth a jack in the whole bunch!"
Reaching to pick up one of the cards that had fallen on a dead man, Dante turned to Miller. "Sergeant, what's this?"
"Death cards," he replied over the sound of chopper noise.
"What?"
"Death cards! Let's Charlie know who did this!"
Dante gave the five of spades one last look before tossing it back to the body.
The Colonel continued to drop cards indiscriminately on the bodies scattered around the path, turning to Gibson as they walked. "We're almost finished here, but you don't need to worry! All the prep work for tomorrow night's been finished! We're going in with Hueys, little Birds, flares, rockets, napalm, the whole shebang! I hope your men are just as fit to go, Captain!"
"They've been briefed, sir, but they still don't have all the details-"
"Don't worry, they'll get em' all by tonight. They're gonna need to be ready for a real firefight, though, Captain! The place we're hitting tomorrow night's hairier than your sister's crotch! I don't want any pant-pissers on this drop!"
"You don't need to worry, sir! These men have seen their share of Charlie, especially at night!"
"Good, good. Haven't had any problems lately? When's the last time you had some genuine R&R?"
"Been a good few weeks, sir, but things've been relatively quiet!"
"That's all about to change." He tossed a bunch of cards onto a pile of corpses. "You got any players in your squad? We haven't had a good gridiron match the last two months, and my boys are itching to play!"
"I heard about the team you made from your squad, sir. I'm surprised they let you make that field!"
"I let em' know the boys earned it, Captain! I coach the boys myself, and it makes plenty of excuses to throw money into a pot! We got the rest of the day, so whaddya' say to a friendly match?"
"We've got some players, sir, even a kid playing fullback at UCLA! We'd love to have a match!"
"Glad to hear it, Captain!" He stopped when he turned and saw a rather nasty sight: a wild-eyed, messy-haired Viet Cong troop, lying back against a haystack, half his torso gone from a .50-caliber round; his mouth was agape, and his eyes were still open, staring at the sky in utter fear.
"Now that's an Ace if I ever saw one," he said, placing the card in the gaping mouth.
About an hour later, the Company was pacing towards the air base, where, Dante could see, dozens of Hueys and smaller birds were stretched across a large, spread-out runway. A few other aircraft, including three Phantoms, a large transport, and a few reconnaissance craft also covered the runway. At the edge of the runway were a few small buildings, no doubt the offices and barracks. The most intriguing sight, however, was the football field further out past the buildings. It was surrounded by rice paddies on all but one side, and was on the same ground level; those who made it had apparently drained the area of water, cleaned out the crop plants, and built tiny levees made of mud and clay to keep the water from the surrounding paddies out. The field looked like a standard high school gridiron, goat posts and all. There were even a few sets of small metal bleachers.
The other grunts in the Company took notice of the field, and their eyes were glued. Plenty of them were anticipating a match with the Air-Cav, who had flown back to the base in their choppers right over their heads seconds earlier. Dante himself looked forward to the game, if he even got to play.
Once they had reached the base, Gibson was out talking with O'Connor again.
"Yeah, we always keep another set of gear for the opposing team. Go and check in to your barracks, and bring those who wanna play back here. I'll gather my boys up in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Colonel. Okay, boys, go settle in!"
As the grunts broke into groups to do different things, Dante began walking towards the air strip. Not since he'd first landed in Southeast Asia a month earlier had he seen so many aircraft. Several of the Hueys in the tiny fleet had some sort of insignia painted on the hulls. Walking closer, he saw better: a menacing-looking eagle carrying an assault rifle, with the words DEATH FROM ABOVE printed above it; the Air-Cav's shield.
"Nice shield, huh?" a voice from behind the youth said.
Dante quickly whipped around and saw the Colonel standing behind him. "Oh, sorry, sir! I was just-"
"Don't bother with the formalities, son, we're on R&R. Besides, people can't resist the sight of the Air-Cav shield! It's the last thing many a gook ever sees!"
He chuckled, and Dante briefly laughed along with him, taking off his helmet to wipe his head. The Colonel walked closer.
"Where you hail, son?"
Dante looked confused. "Sorry, sir?"
"Where are you from, Private?"
"Oh." Dante always went with the same answer. "Queens, sir."
"Really?" O'Connor said, lighting a cigarette. "What's your name, trooper?"
"McManus, sir. Dante McManus."
"McManus?" he said, sounding a bit more interested. "Where do your parents hail, son?"
"Queens as well, sir."
"No, I mean where did your family originate? Did they come off the boat?"
"Oh." Dante only knew a bit about his family history, considering he never met his true parents. But he'd been told by his father in Japan. "My father was first generation from Ireland, sir."
"I figured," he said, smiling. "What part?"
"I'm not sure, sir."
"My great-grandfather came off the boat from Belfast in 1862, and fought under Grant for the Union at 18. Been a family tradition ever since to serve in the armed forces." He took a long puff from his Chesterfield, and exhaled. "You really should find out more about your family history, son." He stopped for a moment, thinking. "Dante…that name. How'd you get that name? Your folks just have a weird sense of humor, or was there a wop in the pile?"
"What, sir?"
The Colonel sighed. "You have any Italians in your family, son?"
Dante felt a bit strange from the questions. "My mother was first generation from an Italian family, sir."
O'Connor stood, silent, with the cigarette in his mouth for a few seconds. "Yeesh," he finally said. "That's a new one. I don't know what to say about that."
"Well, I don't know much because I never knew them, sir."
"Come again, son?"
"My parents. They both died before I was a year old. I've lived with a foster family ever since."
"Oh; I guess that explains it all." He took another long puff, and turned to walk down the air strip. "Anyway, how long you been in?"
Dante followed him. "About a month, sir."
"You seen any good action lately?"
"A couple firefights, sir."
"Well, don't worry. Just rest your nuts for tomorrow night, son. This'll be a night mission the like of which no one'll ever hear from the grandfather back home. C'mon, follow me." He started down the air strip, moving inside a row of choppers. Dante followed.
He kept walking until he came to a set of about a dozen Hueys, all with the Air-Cav shield on the hulls. Most of them were heavily armed with guns and rockets, and a few even had what looked like large speakers on either side of the hulls.
"This is what we're going up against Charlie with in about thirty hours," he said, patting down the hull of one Huey. "These babies are the finest; equipped with everything, guns, rockets, even napalm. It's gonna be your job to go in and flush em' out, though."
"In the dead of night, sir?"
"Don't you worry, we'll have flares lighting up the sky. And they certainly won't be expecting an attack like this just before dawn. You'll have your heavy weapons squad and seven good fireteams. Though, honestly, I wish you guys were using better guns," he said picking up an M-16 sitting inside one of the choppers. "This piece of shit can't go a full mag without jamming. Christ, you'd be better off using the M-1 Garand, the gun we used in Europe back in '44! At least that thing fired clean and never jammed!" He tossed the gun back into the bird.
"Still," he said, tossing his burnt-out cig on the ground, "I can't help but feel a bit sad we have to kill all those fuckers. How do you feel about the gooks, son?"
"Huh? Well, they're the enemy, sir-"
"I love em'. I know, it's my job to kill em', and I love doing that, but I still admire the fuck out of those little bastards. They keep impressing me with these new tricks every time we go head-to-head."
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
"You shoulda' seen what they did to us back in '65. I was leading a couple of platoons along the Cambodian border, and we got the jump on some fresh VCs. We took out most of em' in a firefight, and followed the rest into the bush. All the while, we were the ones sneaking around and tracking them, while they were just running on blindly. Finally, most of my men followed em' into a pretty dark shade, and suddenly lost em'. And they didn't get much further before they found the tripwires. The bastards had lined the fuckin' trees with claymores; tore the whole fuckin' platoon to pieces. We had to up and retreat before we reinforcements arrived. Fuckin' disaster."
He lit up another cig. "But I couldn't get enough of it; the sheer fucking brilliance of that. Making us think we'd won. And that wasn't the only surprise they gave us. From that point on, I made sure to do them justice."
Dante stood, thinking about the Colonel's words, before pulling out a cigarette of his own.
"And that's what these babies are for," he said, patting the side of the hull again. "We're gonna light up the bush and Charlie tomorrow night."
The youth looked at one of the Hueys again, and turned to the Colonel. "What are these speakers for, sir?"
"Oh, those? Those are for the music!"
"Music?"
"Yeah! We've been doing this since last year; when we go in for a surprise attack, we go in blasting music as well as bullets. We play everything, from Wagner to the Doors. It scares the shit outta' Charlie, and the boys love it! How do you like the Doors?"
"Them? They're good, I suppose."
"I love em'! Give me Jim Morrison any day of the week. Come on Baby, Light my Fire!"
A whistle suddenly sounded from back at the barracks. "Shit," the Colonel said. "They'll be suiting up real soon. I'd better get prepared myself. You play any gridiron, son?"
"Yeah, I played tight end in high school, sir."
"Good enough. Go and join your boys, I look forward to seein' you on the field with the others. Get to the barracks and suit up. Later," he said, turning and heading for the offices.
Dante took one last look at the choppers, sighed, and headed for the barracks. A football game would be good to clear the mind.
The following night, just past midnight, the air field was alive with troops and cavalry preparing for battle, lit by the surrounding light posts. Several Hueys and Little Birds were starting up, ready to lift off; troops and gunners were scurrying to their various positions on the choppers.
Dante clutched his rifle tightly as he jogged to keep up with his fellow grunts, heading to their assigned bird. As the ones in front of him climbed in, he looked to his right, and saw the Colonel, fully suited up, standing next to his chopper, going over something with the pilot. He handed his hat to one of the crew in exchange for a pilot's helmet, and shoved it on.
As he was putting on a pair of gloves, he turned around, and spotted the Private. "McManus!" he yelled, giving him a thumbs-up. "Good luck out there!"
Dante waved back, and climbed into the bird, sitting against the hull as the last man climbed in. The chopper lifted off the ground, and leaned forward, gaining altitude and speed, until it was on it's way into the sky.
Back on the ground, O'Connor watched as the first of the birds all lifted off. Climbing into his own, he turned to the gunner clutching his mounted M-60.
"How you feeling, Lance?"
"Like a mean motherfucker, sir!" the gunner enthusiastically replied.
The last of the birds lifted off, and soared into the night.
Taking one last look at Eboshi's garden through the doorway, Dante sighed, and turned to walk away.
She and O'Connor are like two peas in a pod, he thought. Okay, maybe they're not exactly alike, but there were some pretty eerie similarities…imagine her with a full Air-Cav division at her disposal…
A few more steps brought him back to the large iron works structure in the center of the upper level of the town. As he was walking by the giant entrance, he heard the most unusual sound for such a place: the gentle voices of women joined together in song. The soft, gentle notes reminded Dante of the songs the women in his Kyoto neighborhood had sung when they worked together.
Wanting to hear it more clearly, he moved towards the entrance; when he got there, he could feel the intense heat and the stench of molten iron once again, and shut his eyes. When he opened them, he looked up at a rather astonishing sight: right smack in the middle of the enormous complex was a giant iron smelter; up at the top, workers were pouring bag after bag of ore into the mouth; down towards the bottom, just above the flames that kept the thing going, were three holes the poured molten iron down a troth to another interesting contraption.
The sounds of the gentle work song were coming from a group of female workers, who were pressing down on a large platform of wood, which teetered back and forth on an axel of some sort. They used ropes hanging from poles above as supports. Noticing its placement, Dante realized what it must have been. I guess this is what they meant when they said they spent all night pumping the bellows…it must be their job to cool the iron in this place. They were clearly working hard too, judging from the sweat dripping down their faces.
Feeling the sting in his eyes again, he stepped away from the entrance. They hadn't noticed him. I know I told em' I would stop by, he thought,but I'm just not in the mood for this right now. Sorry, ladies. He turned to leave, and immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Oh! You really came!"
Dante cringed, and gulped. Standing in front of him, holding a ceramic bottle, was one of the girls who had flirted with him back at the stables; the youngest one, in fact, though she was older than him by at least a year. A surprised smile was on her face, and she ran up to the youth.
"We were waiting so long, we thought you wouldn't come! Thank you so much!"
Dante held up his hands. "Well…you're welcome, but I'm not really-"
"Come on inside! They're all waiting!" she said, grabbing him by the arm, and leading him back to the entrance.
"O-okay…" the youth replied, sighing.
He was dragged over to where most of the women were resting, and noticed all the others who had bathed him and flirted with him earlier. The first to notice him, of course, was Toki.
"Well, girls, look who decided to pay us a visit!"
All of the women who'd been napping woke up, and turned their attention to the outlander. The girl let go of his arm, and gestured to the group. "Please, have a seat."
"Yeah, right over here!" Toki said, patting a small, battered cushion next to her.
Dante hesitated for a second before sitting down next to her. He could hear several of the girls giggling and whispering amongst themselves behind them, and noticed that many were blushing. The girls working the bellows were also starting to notice.
"Thanks for bringing him to us, Fumiko," Toki said to the girl. "What have you got there?"
The girl held up the ceramic bottle. "This is the sake Eboshi-sama brought back from the last shipment for us!"
"Wonderful!" the elder woman answered. "Let's celebrate!"
Soon, they were pouring the sake in tiny ceramic cups, and taking swigs. Toki held one out for the youth. "Here; it'll loosen you up."
Dante held up his hand in refusal. "Nah, that's okay-"
"Oh, c'mon," she said, "what kind of man are you if you can't even have a drink with a woman? You have to have a drink like the rest of us!" She held it out again.
Seeing no point in arguing, Dante took the cup, and gulped the liquid down. It was surprisingly good. "Thanks," he said.
"No problem." She took another for herself. "So, I take it your meeting with Eboshi-sama went well?"
Dante glanced at her for a second before answering. "Well…yeah, more or less."
"That's good to hear. It'd be nice to have you staying with us."
The youth sighed. "Yeah…" He turned his focus to the girls working the bellows. "So this is what you all do for a living?"
"Pretty much," she answered. "It's certainly not the easiest job in the world, if that's what you wanted to know."
Seeing how hard they worked to force down the large wooden platform, Dante got an idea, and stood up.
"Let me take a shot at it," he said, moving towards it.
"Huh? Hey, hold on-"
Dante moved in between two female workers who were focused on their task. "Hey, mind if I give this a try?" he asked, smiling.
The two women caught sight of him, and blushed. They hesitated, until Toki came up behind them.
"If that's what he wants, go ahead."
The woman on the end let go of her rope, and stepped of the platform. Dante took it, moved in place, and, with his right foot, pressed down as hard as he could on the bellows.
There was an immediate shift in the balance of force among the workers, because Dante's weight overpowered all of the other women, and the bellows started moving faster than ever. The women laughed as they tried to keep up with the youth's pace, some of them riding it as it moved without their help.
"I'm impressed," Toki said, watching the progress, "but you won't be able to keep that up forever."
Dante felt some of the momentum diminish as he continued. "You're probably right. This is real hard work."
"You got that right. Our shift is four days long, too."
As Dante continued, he heard some more laughter behind him. He turned his head, and saw the girl next to him trying to fix them hem of her kimono, a blush on her face.
Toki laughed as well. "Looks like someone's got a crush!"
Dante chuckled before going back to his task. "You must lead harsh lives, doing this all the time."
"I suppose, yeah. But it's paradise compared to what we used to do."
Dante remembered what he'd heard earlier. "Oh, yeah. I heard about that."
"If it hadn't been for Eboshi-sama, we'd still be in those brothels, waiting on uncouth samurai thugs looking for what they called a good time." All of the women around her nodded in agreement.
Dante lowered his head. "I guess that's why you all feel so loyal towards her."
"Of course. We owe her our very lives for what she's done for us." Again, the girls all agreed.
Dante continued to pump the bellows, lost in his own, silent hurricane of thoughts.
Whew. That took longer than expected. The story is moving along nicely, I think, and we're getting into important territory in the storyline. I can't wait to start on the next chapter.
Again, sorry for breaking my promise. But, you've gotta admit, this is an improvement from last time. Still, I can't make any real promises about chapter 16; it's gonna be a bitch to write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll get on the next one as soon as I can. Happy Trails.
Music for Chapter 15:
Lady Eboshi, by
Jo Hisaishi (Mononoke Hime Soundtrack)
Time of the Season,
by the Zombies
All Along the
Watchtower, by Jimi Hendrix
Fortunate Son,
by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Voodoo Chile (Slight
Return), by Jimi Hendrix
Tatara Women's
Song, (Mononoke Hime Soundtrack)