Chapter 4

Yakkuru dashed over the hills that surrounded the Tatara Ba. The wolves ran behind them, making sure that Ashitaka didn't kill their sister. Sirius took to the boulders by the road, staying close enough to keep an eye on her comrade. Ashitaka held the unconscious San in his arms, little by little the youth's grip slacked around the girl. Blood still gushed from the iron ball wound and it dribbled down the elk's flank. San started to wake up, but as she did, Ashitaka finally grew too weak to hold onto her anymore. He fell off Yakkuru and the two wolves lunged for Ashitaka's body. One grabbed Ashitaka's head and started to bite him.
"Wait! He's mine!" San called from the elk.
Yakkuru was bucking wildly from fright, trying to get the foreign girl off his back. The wolves backed away from the fallen youth as San came near them. She kneeled down and looked at the pathetic male before her.
"Why did your own people attack you? You're dying. Why did you interfere with me?! Answer me before you die!"
Ashitaka's face was in the dirt; it took all of strength to answer her.
"I didn't want to let you die..."
"I'm not afraid to die! If I could drive away the humans, I don't mind losing my life!" San yelled.
"I've known. Since the time we first met..."
The wolf-girl turned Ashitaka onto his back and removed the sword from the scabbard. She raised it and was about to plunge into his throat, but stopped.
"For your uncalled-for interference, you're the one who's going to die a useless death! I'll cut that throat apart for you, and you'll never babble again!"
"Live..."
"Stop talking! I'll do what I want!"
Ashitaka opened his eyes and looked at the girl. "You're beautiful..." he closed his eyes again.
San's eyes grew big and she backed away, bumping into her brother
"What's the matter, San? Shall I crack his skull for you?" the Yama-inu growled.
The senshi watched from a nearby boulder, she crouched down with her eyes narrowed. The youth went into a coma from the loss of blood. Just as his breathing slowed down, rocks and sticks pelted Sirius. Whoever was throwing the rocks and sticks were throwing them at San and her brothers as well.
"What the..." Sirius began.
Large ape creatures with glowing red eyes threw the debris from a hilltop.
"The Shoujou..." San whispered.
One of the Yama-inu raised his hackles at the dark forms.
"You Shoujou! How dare you how such insolence to the clan of Moro!"
One of the Shoujou grunted in a deep voice, "This is our forest."
"Give us that human." One stood up and raised its arm
"Give us human, and go quickly," another bellowed.
Another shower of rocks and sticks fell on top of Sirius. 'Great, they can see me,' she thought as she covered her head.
"Be gone. Lest my fangs reach you!" the Yama-inu gave a vicious growl.
The ape creature raised its arms again. "Go, go..."
"We eat human."
"We eat that human."
"Let us eat that human."
They grasped sticks and rocks in their hands and started to snort at the wolves.
"Shoujou, why do you, admired as the wise ones of the forest, want to eat a human?" San questioned.
"We eat human. We receive human's power. We want power to defeat humans. So we eat," the Shoujou grunted again.
"You mustn't do it. You won't obtain the power of the human even if you eat the human. Your blood will just become tainted and you'll become something else, something even worse. The Shoujou will be no more!" San told them
"We planted trees. Plant trees, planted trees. Humans uproot everything. Forest not return. We want to kill humans!" the creatures jumped up and down in anger. Once again, rocks and sticks hit Sirius, by now she had quite a collection.
"Will you stop that!" she yelled, but the Shoujou didn't pay any attention to her.
"We have Lord Shishi-gami on our side. Don't give up planting trees, for the clan of Moro will fight to the end," San tried to reassure them.
"Shishi-gami-sama does not fight. We all die. The wolf-girl is unconcerned. Because she is human."
San's brother had enough of the insults. "You damned insolent monkey. I'll chomp that neck for you!"
The wolves leaped at the apes and they scattered. Before they disappeared, they hurled rocks and sticks at Sirius one last time.
"Shoujou no baka!" she roared. She jumped off the rocks and joined the Yama-inu in their pursuit for the Shoujou. For some reason the young Yama-inu didn't notice her.
"Stop it! Leave them alone!" San yelled.
Her brothers returned to her side and she petted them.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You two go home ahead of me. I'll deal with this human," she smiled.
The Yama-inu turned to Yakkuru.
"What about the elk? May we eat him?"
San gave looked at the elk and then at her brother. "No you may not. Now go on home."
The wolves ran off, not looking back. Sirius was tired of chasing the Shoujou, she arrived out of the woods sweaty and her left eye was twitching. She noticed that the Yama-inu were gone and San was trying to coax Yakkuru to help her.
"Come here, let's make peace. Please help me by transporting your master."
Yakkuru carefully walked over to San, who was lifting Ashitaka off the ground. San put Ashitaka on the elk and told him to follow her. They walked along the hilltop path for a few moments, then she moved off the trail and disappeared into the forest. Sirius and Yakkuru were not too far behind her.
San led them down a path that had been neatly cut into the forest. Ashitaka's sword was slung over her shoulder. Mosquitoes and dragonflies hovered around them. Fireflies blinked on and off like twinkling stars. Kodamas emerged from the trees and shadows clacking their heads as the group passed. Finally the path stopped at the same pool, where Ashitaka and the wounded men has stopped earlier. San removed the sword to cut a small sapling. Three Kodamas became visible as they mourned the loss of the plant.
'A sakaki?' Sirius cocked her head. 'Rei's grandfather grows a few of those, I think.'
The girl walked into the pool; she motioned for Yakkuru to follow her. San grabbed hold of the elk's reins and guided him through the water. Once more the water barely touched Sirius as she joined them. Large white bones of long dead beasts cracked and broke under San's feet. She removed Ashitaka from Yakkuru's back; she swam with his body to the small island in the middle of the pool. She placed his body halfway onto the shore and stuck the sakaki sapling just above his head. Yakkuru remained in the water, knowing what the island held. The orb on Sirius's chest began to pulse with life again. The senshi gently placed both of her hands on top of her gem and looked at the sky.
The wolf-girl gave a very small smile at the red elk. "You are very wise, aren't you. It's better not to come up on this island." She sniffed her arm; a disgusted looked creeped upon her face. "I smell of humans..."
She got into the water again and went up to Yakkuru. She gently removed the harness from his face. "Go where you like, you are free now."
The red elk just stood in the water, watching his master. San swam away, but she took a sharp turn in the direction Sirius was standing. 'Something is there,' San thought. 'Mother must be right about something powerful guarding this human.' She got out of the water and melted away into the forest.
As San disappeared, more and more Kodamas appeared in the clearing. The eerie silence washed over them and they started to descend into the higher most part of the trees. Sirius's orb started to beat even faster. One Kodama was at the water edge looking at the senshi. She slowly removed her face from the sky and stared at the small spirit. A dopey grin spread across its face as it motioned for Sirius to follow him. The senshi got out of the water and followed the Kodama as it scurried up the trunk of one of the ancient trees.
Sirius cursed under her breath as she scaled the massive trunk. Finally she made it to the top, her Kodama sat in front of her with its dopey grin. She looked away from her Kodama and scanned the landscape that laid before her. Her breath held itself as she gazed at the lucious eye candy that did not exist in her time.
"Such marvelous wonders, all swallowed by the brink of humankind," she whispered.
The trees stopped in the distance, but they seemed to cover over a million acres of land. Only one small part of the forest was not covered in trees and that was the small clearing, the heart of the forest. Smoke billowed from the Tatara Ba and if you listened carefully you may have heard the lulling singing of the women working the bellows. The landscape was just trees and fields, skyscrapers, Tokyo Tower, and everything else was just a figment lost in the flow of time. A huge gust of wind pulled some strands of hair from Sirius's helmet, she let them tumble in the wind, until she tucked them under her helmet again. For some odd reason all of the Kodamas were facing west.
"Is something coming?" she whispered.
Her orb started to pulse once more. The senshi held her breath again, a translucent giant shrouded the western sky. The giant appeared to be black in color, but black and gray swirls covered its body. A large mane of iridescent energy cascaded down its back. The mane rippled in the wind and seemed to burn like fire. The Kodama stared at the huge mass of creature, Sirius's Kodama slowly turned its held and the clacking wood noise echoed in the predawn. The other Kodamas followed their brother's example and clacked their heads as well. The rattle of heads spread throughout the clearing like a wave of water breaking upon the shore.
Unknown to the senshi and Kodamas, Jiko-Bou and two Jibashiri hid in a dense grove of trees. They wore the hides of great bears to blend into the forest. Quietly they watched the great translucent giant.
"It's out!" Jiko-Bou whispered loudly. "The Didarabotchi! We've finally located it. What are you doing, hurry up and look! What do you think we have been wearing these stinking animal skins all day?!"
"If you look at Shishi-gami-sama, your eyes will be destroyed!" one of the Jibashiri cowered.
"And yet you consider yourselves the best hunters of the western lands?" Jiko-Bou held out a piece of paper. "The Emperor has given us a pardon to cut off the head of the Shishi-gami! So hurry up!
The Didarabotchi approached the clearing in the middle of the forest.
"The Didarabotchi is the Shishi-gami's nighttime form. Before long, it will transform from its nighttime to its daytime form. There's the Shishi-gami's den. Oh, it's vanishing, over there!" Jiko-Bou stated.
Another huge gust of wind blasted through the trees. Kodamas smiled as the wind shook the branches like a ride in an amusement park. The Didarabotchi descended into the trees and covered the forest like a dark blanket, before it rested in the clearing.
Yakkuru sensed the Didarabotchi and looked up. The translucent giant transformed into the Shishi-gami, a very strange creature. It's feet were like a bird's, many antlers protruded from his head and he had a red face that looked almost human. He approached Ashitaka and with each step he took, grass and flowers sprouted from his step, but they quickly died whenever he moved it off the ground. Sirius jumped out of the tree and landed in the pool, but she didn't make a splash. Quickly as she could, she swam to the island. The Shishi-gami paused for a moment to look at her; then it turned back to Ashitaka. The Shishi-gami lowered its face to the sakaki sapling and he seemed to suck the life out of the plant. It quickly withered and died, brown leaves fell on top of Ashitaka's face.
The Shishi-gami then looked at Sirius again; it stepped onto the water and walked! The orb pulsed like the heartbeat of a startled animal. The lord of the forest lowered his head to study Sirius face to face. He glanced at the orb and he seemed to nod. Then he simply walked back to the island, with no regard to the senshi whatsoever.

Jiko-Bou and two of the Jibashiri scaled a narrow mountain path in their rotting bear carcasses. They entered a hunter's blind, where one of Jiko-Bou's men, Kichi, watched a herd of boars climb a path that led to the forest.
"Jiko-Bou-sama, look," Kichi pointed to the boars.
"I know."
"Over there..."
"There are so many of them that no one will be able to count them in their lifetime," Jiko-Bou sighed.
"Those aren't the boars of this forest; each one is a renowned lord of a mountain somewhere."
Overlooking the traveling boars, one huge old boar stood on a small mountain. His fur was once white, but now it was a dull gray. It hung from his body showing his true age. His ribs poked through from the long journey he had traveled. Four tusks bulged from his mouth; they were worn from the many years of fighting humans. But they still showed that he was god and they gave him a sense of authority.
"It's Okkotonushi of Chinzei!" Kichi gasped.
"Chinzei?! You mean he crossed the sea?" Jiko-Bou turned to Kichi then back to Okkotonushi.
"There's no doubt about it, those four tusks. He came here leading his clan, damn him!"
The white boar sniffed the air for a moment then it looked directly at the hunter's blind.
"We've been discovered! Pull out, hurry! Hurry up. Jump, jump!" Jiko-Bou commanded.
The Buddhist monk ran out of the hunter's blind and jumped onto a rock in the middle of a river near the mountain. The hunters struggled to keep up with him as he jumped from rock to rock in his sandals.
Okkotonushi roared at his comrades below him, they responded with battle cries of fury.

Ashitaka was in a deep sleep, nothing could have awakened him. The youth floated in the water and as he slept the Shishi-gami approached him. Blood flowed from his wound into the pool of water. The Shishi-gami touched the wound with his muzzle, the blood stopped flowing.
The youth finally awoke from his dream, the Shishi-gami was gone and all that remained of his iron ball wound was a hole in his tunic. On a nearby boulder, Sirius slept in a tight ball. Slowly she opened one eye and saw that her comrade was awake.
"Why do people have to get up so early in this time," she murmured as she stretched her arms.
Ashitaka laid on the shore of the pool, Yakkuru was near him as if he was standing guard over his master. He moved his hand to the hole in his tunic, his eyes widened.
"No wound!" He sat up and smiled, but he fell back from exhaustion. Yakkuru lowered his neck to nuzzle Ashitaka.
"Yakkuru..." Another smile covered his face, he put his right hand up to stroke the elk, but the smile wavered . The mark still covered his arm, but now it was spreading to his hand. His eyes closed once more.
Sirius could barely keep her eyes open and she was about fall over, but San bounded into the clearing. Ashitaka's sword was slung over her shoulder and she carried some kind of dried meat in her hand.
"When you wake up, say your thanks to Yakkuru. He was guarding you the whole time," she scratched the elk's muzzle.
Ashitaka weakly replied, "How do you know Yakkuru's name?"
"He told me. And he told me about you, your village, your people, and the forest near your homeland. Shishi-gami-sama revived you. That is why I help you," she smiled.
"I had a strange dream. There was a golden-colored deer..."
San put a piece of dried meat in Ashitaka's mouth before he could finish
"Eat. Chew."
The youth struggled to clamp down on the piece of meat. San removed the piece of meat from his mouth and placed it in her own. She chewed it, then she crouched down beside Ashitaka to give it to him mouth to mouth. Ashitaka was shocked to have her so close to him, he raised his arm, but quickly put it back down. Tears formed in Ashitaka's eyes, the wolf-girl was startled for a moment, but she fed him again. A large wolf entered the clearing with the two smaller wolves from the day before.
'Moro, the legendary white wolf of Japan,' Sirius thought.
They stopped to watch a herd of boars trampling through the forest. San stood in front of Ashitaka to shield him from the boars. One boar, that was bigger than the rest, approached Moro.
"We came in order to kill humans and protect the forest." It glanced at San. "Why are there humans here?"
Moro raised her hackles to show her toothy smile. "There are humans everywhere nowadays. The girl is my daughter, San. You should go back to your own mountains and kill them there."
"We kill in order to protect the Shishi-gami's forest. What is that other human doing here?!" the boar growled.
"Shishi-gami-sama healed this human's wound. Therefore we must send him back without killing him," San shouted.
The large boar reared up. "The Shishi-gami saved a human?! You say the Shishi-gami healed a human! Why did he not save Nago-no-kami?! Is the Shishi-gami not the guardian god of the forest?!"
"The Shishi-gami both gives and takes life. Have you forgotten even such a thing, you boars?" Moro calmly said.
"No, it is because the Yama-inu are monopolizing the Shishi-gami."
"It is because he feared death. As I do now." Moro snapped.
San looked sharply at her mother.
"The humans' iron ball has lodged itself in my body as well. Nago ran away, but I am gazing upon my own death without fleeing."
'Cold iron strikes once more,' Sirius thought.
"Mother, you must go to Shishi-gami-sama..." San cried.
Moro gently soothed her daughter. "San, I have already lived long enough. The Shishi-gami will probably absorb my life rather than heal my wound."
"That can't be! Mother, you came here to protect the Shishi-gami!"
"We will not be deceived! Nago was our handsome and mighty brother. He would not have run. The Yama-inu ate him. You must have eaten him!" the large boar and its brother roared.
"Silence! I will not forgive you if you trifle with Mother!" San yelled at them.
Ashitaka then spoke up. "Rampaging gods of the mountains! Please listen to me. It is I who dealt the final blow to Nago-no-kami. Out of necessity I killed a Tatari-gami that attacked my village. It was a large Boar God. This is my proof."
The youth undid his right sleeve, the mark of the Tatari-gami burned into his flesh, this caused the boars to grow silent. Moro's eyes narrowed and San just stared.
"I came to this land on the chance that the Shishi-gami might do me the favor of lifting this curse. However, the Shishi-gami healed my wound, but he did not erase the mark. Until the curse consumes my body, he told me to live on in pain."
Another boar entered the clearing, but this one had the four tusks of a god. The other boars lowered their heads in respect.
"Okkotonushi. At last, a boar that will listen," Moro bore her toothy grin again.
Okkotonushi did not reply Moro, instead it went to Sirius's boulder and sniffed the air around the senshi. He grunted and then walked over to Ashitaka.
"Wait, Lord Okkotonushi! You must not eat him," San pleaded.
"Ah, so you are the human child of Moro, aren't you. I've heard the rumors," a deep voice that echoed with authority said. The boar god smelled San.
"Your eyes..."
"Please step back, I will not eat him."
"Princess of the Yama-inu, do not be concerned. For I want to impart the final moments of Nago-no-kami..."
Ashitaka held out his arm for Okkotonushi to sniff. The boar god took the whole story in by just the smell of the curse.
"Thank you, young one. It is a sad thing that a Tatari-gami emerged from our clan.
"Lord Okkotonushi, is there any way to erase this curse?"
Okkotonushi paused for a moment before he answered. "Young one, leave the forest. The next time we meet, I will have to kill you as well."
"Okkotonushi, we cannot prevail against the humans' Ishibiya by numbers alone," Moro spoke up.
"Moro, look at my clan. They are all becoming smaller and more stupid. If this continues, we will probably become hunted by the humans as mere meat."
"I don't like it. To want to settle it all at once would be doing exactly as the humans would have us act."
"I would not think to ask for the help of the Yama-inu. Even if our clan is completely annihilated, we will have our vengeance on the humans.
Okkotonushi disappeared into the forest with his clan, but before he went he passed by the boulder and whispered words that only Sirius could hear.
"Whoever you are, I know the spirit of Nago-no-kami has brought you here. Make sure to not let this war be repeated in your time."
Sirius's eyes glowed the fiery red once more. On the pool's water the Shishi-gami was getting a drink. San was the first one to spot him. It gazed at the wolf clan for a moment and quietly walked away, leaving ripples on top of the water.
"The Shishi-gami," San whispered.

Once more Lady Eboshi set out with her supply train, this time a vast army of samurai was attacking her expedition. The oxen were about to stampede; it took their drivers all of their strength to keep them in line. Orders and shouts flew through the air in every direction.
"Don't get disordered and scatter the cattle!"
Eboshi and her troops stood in an erected line holding their Ishibiya.
"Don't shoot yet. Draw them in closer!" Eboshi said in a direct voice. The samurai charged at full speed. "Fire!"
"Reload, hurry!" Gonza ordered.
Eboshi was able to tear two samurai from their horses with the blast of her weapon. One samurai lost his arm and was about to faint from shock. Some of the samurai were starting to flee.
"Turn back!"
"You bitc..."
On a nearby hilltop Jiko-Bou observed the battle with his men, the Karakasa Ren.
"Well well, Eboshi's people. Looks like I'll have to play peace maker." He turned to his men.
"You men, go on ahead of me and hide yourselves."
From behind the hill a regiment of men, dressed as Buddhist monks and armed with umbrellas, marched from their hiding stop to conceal themselves just in case they needed to ambush Lady Eboshi's people.
They supply train continued down the trail to the Tatara Ba. Toki and some of the other women kept watch with the new Ishibiya, they saw the supply train in the distance and they started to get excited.
"I saw them! They've come back!" one women called to her friends.
Jiko-Bou and his men walked along the hilltops by the trail, they hid in the trees that grew along the side the path, whenever they could. One rifleman came out of the supply train and went over to the monk.
"Boss..."
"Oh, thanks for your trouble. We're going to move slowly; tell everyone so as well," the monk whispered.
"Hai." The rifleman went back to the train.
The monk ran down the hill and he fell in step with Lady Eboshi. She didn't seem surprised to see him.
"Greetings, Jiko-Bou."
"We've an urgent request from the Emperor. This is no time to be playing around with backwoods samurai."
"Chief warlord Asano is instigating the ordinary samurai against us."
"Asano, eh...A powerful samurai, isn't he?" Jiko-Bou looked at the noblewoman.
"He said he would call a truce if we gave him half of our iron."
"That's greedy! But this is not the time to be quarreling with humans. The boar clan has been gathering in the forest. They'll come soon. This time, give Asano all the iron and the like. After you fulfill your promise to the Emperor, you can do battle or whatever you want," Jiko-Bou jeered.
The supply train finally reached the gates of the Tatara Ba, not too far behind them two horsemen rode the trail to the wooden fortress.
"Eboshi-sama! Hurry! Samurai are coming. Hurry!" the women yelled.
The monk and noblewoman turned around to glance at the approaching riders.
"Speak of the devil. That's Asano's messenger, isn't it?" Jiko-Bou asked.
Eboshi walked into the Tatara, she turned to the women and smiled. "It's a messenger. Girls you take care of him and mind your manners."
"Yes ma'am!" the women chorused.
Just as Jiko-Bou entered the Tatara Ba, the gate slammed shut, which made him jump out of his skin.
"Welcome back, Lady Eboshi." Some more women chorused.
"Hey, you're not going to meet them?!" Jiko-Bou questioned.
Eboshi just ignored him and walked on. The horsemen stopped outside the gates and spoke to the women keeping watch.
"Lady Eboshi, Mistress of the Tatara Ba, your battle a little while ago against the local samurai was magnificent. We came as messengers from the Chief Warlord. Obey respectfully and open the gates!"
"Humph, if you have business here, then you should state it from there!" a woman yelled.
"Eboshi-sama grabbed these mountains away from the beasts, Yama-inu, and gods."
"You're reaching your hand out because you think it'll be profitable, damn you! Leave this place at once!"
The messenger was taken aback. "You women, I will not tolerate such disrespect towards Lord Asano's messenger!"
"He says we don't have any respect!"
"We haven't had any respect since the time we were born!"
All of the women stuck their tongues at the messenger.
"If you want iron, I'll give you some!"
The woman raised her Ishibiya and fired a shot at the messenger's horse. The horse bucked and the men raised their fists at the women, the messengers retreated.
Jiko-Bou and Lady Eboshi sat on the porch of one of the buildings, she was reading a piece of paper. The monk was laughing hard from the way the women treated the messengers.
"Oh, man! Neither the Yama-inu nor the samurai are any match for you. Those women would have been wasted in a brothel."
"You really think this piece of paper holds any value?" Eboshi looked up.
"Well, it helps in a lot of bureaucratic situations. After all, it got me all of the best hunters in the land. Besides we're after a god here."
Eboshi called two women over to her and she showed them the paper.
"Yes, Eboshi-sama?"
"Do you understand what is written on this paper? It is from the Emperor."
"The Emperor?"
"That's nice. Who is he?"
"I'm serious who is he?"
Jiko-Bou laughed, "Okay, you got me there."
"You may go," she said to the women. She handed the paper back to the monk, who folded it and put it into his tunic. "If we continue to make steel here, the power of the forest will weaken. There will be fewer casualties that way."
"We gave you plenty of money and raw steel. The reason you were lent the riflemen was not to make steel. But, then again, you probably know that already," Jiko-Bou said with a glint in his eye.
"Don't tell me even you have come to believe the legend that the head of the Shishi-gami brings eternal youth."
"I don't know what the people up above are thinking about and I don't want to know." Jiko-Bou narrowed his eyes.
Eboshi rose. "I will keep my promise. It will probably be easier to take care of the Boar clan than the Yama-inu. And bring out those suspicious looking ones from behind the ravine."
Jiko-Bou laughed again. "You saw right through it! Oh, yeah, one more thing. Did a young man come through your village recently? Riding a red elk?"
"He came and went." Eboshi walked away.
Later in the evening the Jibashiri and Karakasa Ren entered the fortress. Rice was distributed among them and the people of the Tatara Ba watched them from a safe distance.
"Something about them makes my skin crawl," one woman said.
"They're not ordinary hunters. They're Jibashiri," Kouroku exclaimed.
"Jibashiri?"
In a meeting hall, Lady Eboshi had gathered the women and was telling them about her plans.
"Please let us help!"
"We can't trust strangers!"
"If something happens to Eboshi-sama, there'll be nothing we can do!"
"And you just taught us how to use the Ishibya..."
"You even said we shot better than the men!"
Eboshi smiled at the women surrounding her. "That is why I want you to protect this place.
The thing to be feared most are humans, not Mononoke. After the Shishi-gami is dead, you will understand. You think that those ragged, umbrella-toting monks will stop with just the Shishi-gami's head?
It's not just the samurai; the riflemen may turn to become our foes as well. We can't rely on the men. Do your best."
Gonza stood behind her with his head raised. He looked down and heaved out his chest.
"Don't worry about Eboshi-sama. I, Gonza, will protect her with my life!"
"That's what we're afraid of!" Toki said.
"What?!" Gonza's eyes bulged out.
"Even if you were a woman you would still be an idiot!"
Gonza's shoulder's slumped and he started to pout. Lady Eboshi and the women roared with laughter.

After the encounter with Okkotonushi, San had taken Ashitaka to Moro's cave. With the help of her brothers, she was able to bring him into the cave and nurse his wounds. Sirius could only sit and watch her comrade heal, for she didn't dare enter Moro's cave.
Later that night, Ashitaka awoke from the pain in his right arm. He was surprised to find himself in a cave. Brown animal skins covered him from the cold. San laid beside him wrapped in her white fur cloak. The pain in his arm was numbed for a moment, but it quickly returned, the youth tossed the skin off him and walked to the cave entrance. The cave was on top of a mountain ridge that overlooked the entire forest; it was hidden by the dense mountain terrain. A ledge poked out from the cave 's entrance making an overlook of the forest.
Ashitaka gazed out on the forest for a few minutes. Behind him, Moro sat on top of the cave with her eyes narrowed. As usual Sirius was on a boulder, she was sleeping, but was awakened by the Inu-gami's growl.
"Do you suffer? If you jump now, from here, you could end it all. As you regain your strength, the wound will grow bigger."
Ashitaka looked at the forest. "It seems I was asleep for many days. All I remember was being cared for by San."
"If you had raised even a single cry, I would have ripped your throat apart. It seems I missed my chance.
What is it you stare at?"
"It's such a beautiful forest. Has Okkotonushi moved yet?" He turned to meet the Inu-gami's eyes
"Go back inside the cave, young one. How can you hear the sorrowful cries of the forest as the boars move among the trees? I sit here listening to the forest's desperate cries with my dying body while waiting for that woman to appear! How I dream of the moment when I can sink my fangs into her head!"
"Moro, is there any way that the forest and humans can coexist without conflict?"
Is it really true that there is no other way?!"
"The humans but grow and grow in numbers. In time they will reach even here."
"What do you intend to do with San? Do you intend to let her die with the forest as well?"
Moro raised her hackles and barred her teeth. "Just like a human, such an irrational selfish thought.
San is one of us. She lives with the forest, and shall die when it dies."
"Release her! She is human!"
"Quiet, young one! How can you pretend to understand San's misfortune? I caught her parents defiling the forest! She was but a child who was thrown to us so that her human parents could escape our teeth! Unable to become completely human or Yama-inu she is my dear, ugly, beautiful child! And you say that you can save San?!" Moro growled.
"I don't know. However, I know we can live together."
"How would you live together? Would you fight the humans with San at your side?"
"No! That would only increase the hatred and grief!"
"Young one, there is nothing that you can do. You will eventually be consumed by the curse and die. Leave by the dawning of the sun!"
Ashitaka entered the cave again. Sirius's followed him with her eyes, she sighed and rested her head on her knee. Moro snorted from atop the cave, Sirius turned to look at the massive wolf.
"Don't think I can't see you. From that first moment Ashitaka's path crossed ours I have seen you."
Sirius's eyes widened for a moment. "I am not surprised ,after all, it seems anyone with immortal blood has seen me or at least smelled me with Okkotonushi's case."
"Nago-no-kami's power pulses within your body. Did you do something to win his favor?" Moro growled.
"No, he brought me here though. For whatever reason, I must learn that."
"You look like a human, but you do not have a human scent. An ancient power burns within you, waiting for the heat of battle. What are you?!"
"Why don't I get to ask the questions?" Moro snarled. "I awakened Inoshishi, Nago as you know him, from my touch, because I am not human. He sensed the power within me and sent me here. This time is forbidden to me. Yet I can do small things that do not interfere greatly. What I am is hard to tell, I am from the stars."
Moro laughed. "Such bold words for one so young. Tell me, why do you look like my daughter? Are you some ancestor of hers or are you a future form?"
"Neither, some things are just a coincidence. And I am not so young as one may think, I may have the appearance of a youth, but I have been around for a very long time. Perhaps I am even older than you."
Moro growled and narrowed her eyes. "Watch what you say, even if mortal hands harm you, do you want to risk an immortal harming you?!"
The two locked eyes with one another and glared for a long time. "Iron may be able to hurt you, Moro, but I can hurt far worse than any battle you have ever been in."
Moro snorted and put her head between her paws.
The next morning, Ashitaka stepped out of the cave, San and the wolves left earlier that morning. Moro and Sirius had exchanged looks before they left. The senshi could have sworn Moro winked at her. Ashitaka climbed down the rocky slope, where Yakkuru was waiting for him. The youth smiled at the red elk.
"Yakkuru! Sorry to have worried you!" He tried to jump down to the elk, but fell instead. "I guess I haven't fully recovered yet."
Yakkuru bent his head down, and the youth grasped the horn for support and mounted. One of smaller wolves appeared and gestured for Ashitaka to follow him. Sirius walked behind them, she was trying to ward off the remains of sleep. The midmorning sun blazed through the treetops, casting shadows of leaves across Ashitaka and Yakkuru.
"It's too quiet. All the Kodamas have disappeared," Ashitaka said to Yakkuru.
The young wolf stopped by a stream filled with huge rocks and boulders. The odor of The Tatara Ba lingered in the air.
"The air smells of the village of Tatara Ba, we're close."
The wolf stopped on one of the boulders, he waited for Ashitaka. The youth pulled something from beneath his tunic. The crystal dagger glinted in the sun; he slipped the thong over his head and tossed it to the wolf.
"Thank you for your guidance! I have one favor to ask you! Please give this to San!"
The wolf caught the dagger in his mouth and disappeared among the boulders.

Moro and San overlooked a small camp that Jiko-Bou and Lady Eboshi made. Red umbrellas marked the campsite, making it visible for everyone to see. The Jibashiri and Karakasa Ren were scattered all over the place. Some of the men were tending fires and fanning the smoke into the forest.
"What a terrible smell, it makes me sick," San said as she put her arm over her nose.
"It is not normal smoke. They're trying to confuse our sense of smell," Moro stated.
"That woman is there. She knows we're here."
"Such an obvious trap."
"Trap?!" San gasped.
"She's trying to draw us from the forest. She must indeed have something big planned.
"We must warn the boars! They've already started to move."
"Okkotonushi is no fool. Even though he knows it's futile, he intends to attack from the front. That is the pride of the boars. They will try and break through until the last boar falls."
"They've started to cut the trees."
"That is but bait."
In the forest, the boars prepared for battle. They were plastering each other with war paint made from damp mud. All of them roared with fury as the humans cut down trees and sent the smoke in the air. San heard their battle cries and put her head in her mother's neck.
"Mother, I bid you farewell. I'm going to help Okkotonushi. They're probably in trouble because of the smoke."
"That is also fine. However, you could also follow another path, and live with that young man."
San pushed even deeper into her mother's neck. "I hate him! I hate all humans!"
The Yama-inu that led Ashitaka through the forest came into the view. The crystal dagger dangled from his teeth.
"From Ashitaka...for me?" San took the dagger from her brother's mouth and held it up to the sun. "Beautiful..." She ripped the thong and tied it around her neck.
Moro turned to her sons. "You go with San; I will stay by the Shishi-gami's side."
"Let's go!" San yelled.
She jumped onto her brother's back and all of them ran off to join the boars. As they approached the charging boars San called out to one.
"The Moro clan will fight beside you! Where is Okkotonushi-sama?" one of the boars squealed in reply.
"Thank you!"
San and the Inu-gami wove between the boars to catch up with the boar god, Okkotonushi.