Amidst the chaos, Ashitaka heard, above countless others, a scream, as well as the clumsy footsteps of someone coming his way. Clenching his fist around the content in it, he turned sharply to see Rin running blindly his way. She was crying, in a terrified, screaming panic that made her trip frequently. Ashitaka caught her by the shoulders, trying to calm her.
"Rin! Stop! It's me! Ashitaka!" he shook her gently back to her senses. When she had stopped struggling, she opened her eyes and realized where she was.
"Oh Ashitaka! It's terrible!" she sobbed, trembling. "One minute, everything was going as usual, the next, everything's been destroyed!" San glanced at the burning forge. Another explosion sent fiery debris smoking into the air, higher, and now falling towards her beloved forest. She clenched her teeth tightly, seething with fury. She glanced behind her and saw Lady Eboshi approaching the scene. The older woman stood breathless at the site, then turned her attention to San.
That damned woman! If this stupid forge hadn't been rebuilt, there wouldn't be fire raining down upon the forest now. I should kill her! I should never have let her build a new Iron Town!
Eboshi could see the ferocity in the wolf-girl's eyes and glared defiantly back at her. Gonza had left her side briefly to try extinguishing some of the flames with the others. Let the wolf-girl try something. This is probably her doing anyway! That creature was probably sent by her to stir up all this trouble! Let her come!
"This is your fault!" San screamed, pulling her mask onto her face and drawing her blade.
"Don't challenge me, Princess Mononoke!" Eboshi hissed. "Just because I've lost an arm doesn't mean I've lost my fight!"
The two women lunged at one another, screaming their hellish rage. Ashitaka quickly let go of Rin, in shock of the battle before him. His breath caught at the memory of his dream.
"Their hatred will grow even now, pointed stupidly in the wrong direction." Rin mumbled under her breath.
"What!?" Ashitaka turned to the girl sharply, recognizing the words. "What did you just say?"
"Huh?" Rin blinked confusedly.
"What you just said!" Ashitaka glared at her, shocked and suspicious. "Are you--?"
Rin jerked free of his grasp, staring at him with momentary fear in her eyes. As Ashitaka's gaze moved down to the ground, he saw that her shadow was not what it should have been.
"It's you!" he barely managed to whisper.
The girl's apprehension disappeared, having been replaced with a stern glare. Before Ashitaka could take a step closer, she ran back towards the forge. Ashitaka would have followed her if he had not heard the clanging of weapons behind him. Angry and unnerved, he hurried to pull San and Eboshi apart. The older woman's loss of a limb made it easier for him to still them both, but one of the slashing blades had grazed his shoulder.
"Let me go!" San snarled from beneath her mask as she did everything she could to break free of Ashitaka's grasp.
"This is not your battle, boy." Eboshi fumed impatiently. "And neither was the other one!"
"Yes, it is…" Ashitaka clenched his teeth as he drew the women close and knocked them both unconscious. He bit back a cry of pain as he remembered the wounds in his arm.
"My Lady!" yelled Gonza as he approached sword in hand.
"Take her!" Ashitaka gestured as best he could to the bodyguard to take his charge. Gonza promptly gathered Eboshi up and pointed the blade to Ashitaka's throat.
"We have no time for this!" he said as he ran off with San over his shoulders. He had to put her down someplace safe and away from Eboshi. Otherwise, they would definitely kill each other.
"San…" he said aloud seemingly to himself. "I'm sorry about this. I should have known…"
As he was about to pass by the blaze, something stopped him dead in his tracks. From within the burning forge, a shadow emerged, coughing and looking behind it.
"You fool!" came a frighteningly familiar voice. "There was too much gunpowder! Now look what you've done!"
"I'm sorry, Master Jigo." answered another voice. "We need to get out of here!"
Debris continued to fall, and as the fire flared wildly and beyond control, the shadow's identity was revealed. Garbed still in the same red and white clothing he had always had, Jigo reared his overweight self into view. He took notice of the falling material and held up his arms eagerly to catch it.
Jigo! Hadn't that monk left after his failed attempt to obtain the Deer God's head? Now what was he up to? How had he managed to weasel his tubby self back into Iron Town? And had he brought the remainders of his men as well? Not that there had been many left after the Forest Spirit's decapitation…
"Stop right there!" Ashitaka ordered.
Jigo turned from his turned from his distraction at the call of his name. He jumped back, surprised and angry.
"What are you doing still alive?" Jigo pointed.
"What are you doing here in Iron Town?" Ashitaka retorted.
"Looking out for myself, what else?" the monk grinned. "With this place back in business, there's no reason for me not to take advantage of it now is there?"
"You caused the explosion! People were killed!" Ashitaka could feel San coming to her senses, but she was still unconscious nonetheless. He could not set her down; if he did, Jigo or Eboshi might kill her, though he worried more about the monk than the other woman.
"A small mistake on my part." Jigo shrugged. "But hey, it's worth it if you know what I mean!"
The monk held out his hands to show Ashitaka the debris that was raining down. In the light of the forge, the gold pieces glistened brightly in the monk's eyes. Ashitaka could practically feel the anger burning within him. He shifted the girl's weight, anticipating trouble.
"I see that wolf-girl's still around." Jigo stared. "You planning to marry her or something?"
"Don't change the subject." Ashitaka seethed.
"My, my, aren't we touchy!"
"You're not going anywhere, Jigo!"
"Really?" the monk smirked. "And who's going to STOP ME!"
Ashitaka was just able to avoid being hit by Jigo. Carrying San made things a lot more difficult. Worst yet, he couldn't attack; all he could do was defend and hope that neither he nor San would be hurt.
From a darkened rooftop, a pair of eyes spied the fight below. Ivory fangs glistened in the firelight, hungry for blood.
"I have you now, Jigo!" it growled.
Ashitaka cried out as Jigo's zori connected with his chest, sending him and San sprawling helplessly to the ground. The girl regained her senses upon hitting the ground. Jigo approached threateningly.
"You spoiled my chance at a good life taking back the Deer God's head, but this time, I'm not letting you get in my way!"
Ashitaka struggled to get up, but his wounded arm made it too difficult. Jigo stood over him, drawing his knife.
"We all die eventually, boy." Jigo stared down at them, the firelight giving him an eerie, demonic appearance. "Just some go sooner than others."
An unholy scream echoed from above, and just as the monk was about to strike down, a great beast leapt down from the rooftops, slamming him violently into the wall of the forge. Jigo dropped his blade, momentarily stunned, before rubbing his sore head and looking up at the assailant.
"Rin!" Ashitaka breathed.
"What!?" San stared at Ashitaka, shocked.
The fox god flared blue in all her fury. She licked her lips, glowering fiercely at the fallen monk. A deep growl rumbled in her throat, so loud that the very air trembled about her. An ear twitched at the mention of her name.
"Rin is the fox god!?" San's breath caught in her throat.
"Oh no, not you too…" Jigo muttered. "And I thought those two were trouble!"
"You lousy bastard!" the creature snarled. "How dare you show your face anywhere!?"
"Now, now." Jigo ambled to his feet and gestured for the beast to calm itself down. "What had to be done had to be done. You understand, don't you?"
"I understand that even a true demon would not have done the unthinkable deeds you've done!"
"So they kind of got in the way while we were mining! I can make up for it! I'll tell you what: Let me live and I'll give you anything you want!"
"You're nothing but a coward, Jigo!" San pushed her mask back.
"Anything I want?" the fox mused.
"Yes! Yes! Anything! You want gold? Land? I can get it for you." The monk smiled nervously.
"HE'S LYING!" San screamed furiously. She moved to slay Jigo herself, but Ashitaka held her back. She responded by jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow and rushing forward. The fox reached out a paw to keep her away from the monk.
"Anything I want?" the creature repeated, its tone shifting to a low growl.
"Oh no!" Jigo scrambled to run, but one of his zori had been broken when he'd crashed into the wall. He could already see the fox's eyes glowing with hatred for him.
"GIVE ME BACK MY FAMILY, BASTARD!" it roared as it unleashed a merciless inferno directly upon Jigo. The monk uttered a long, blood-curdling scream as he was burned alive. Ashitaka rushed to San's side, pulling her close and shielding her eyes from the intense brightness. When the blue fire fizzled out, there was not even a slight trace of the monk. The fox snuffed at her work, then turned to San and Ashitaka.
"The fire is still burning!" it said. "It must be put out before all of Iron Town is destroyed!"
San glanced around wildly. Everywhere she looked, people were struggling to put out the fire. The wind was causing embers to drift onto other houses and set them ablaze. When she turned back to look at the fox god, it was gone. The creature was right; if the flames weren't extinguished soon, not only would Iron Town be destroyed, but the forest as well.
~~~~~~~~
This is Chapter 9. Where would you like to go next?
