Through Wolf's Eyes (Princess Mononoke - San's POV)

Chapter Twelve- There They Are

"Thank you." Ashitaka said and dropped his hands from her shoulders. He turned to address Gonza, "Gonza, take Lady Eboshi and follow the river back to the lake that lay on the other side of Iron Town. If you find any more men take them with you. Go into the water if necessary, it slows it down. Now hurry!" Ashitaka demanded and Gonza departed.

"San, we have to go warn Iron Town and then find Jigo and return the head of the forest spirit." He stated and San jumped onto her wolf brother Ichi. "Get on!" Ni said to Ashitaka, and San led the way as the wolves swam across the lake and ran through the dying forest to reach Iron Town as fast as possible.

'It's coming!' she thought as the black and purple demonic essence was close to their tails when Iron Town came into view. When they reached the outer wall Ashitaka jumped off and shouted to the woman on the wall and watch towers,

"Get everyone out! The Great Spirit's head's been cut off, and he wants it back! If that black ooze touches you, you're dead! Run for the lake! The water will slow it down! Lady Eboshi and the men are on their way from the other side. I'm gonna try to return its head before he kills us all. Hurry!"

San watched as the black ooze rolled down the hillside toward them. 'Come on, Ashitaka!' she thought as she looked over at him while he shouted instructions to the women of Iron Town. Ichi took a nervous step, as the black ooze grew nearer. Soon it was too close and they had to take off into a run or risk getting killed by its fatal touch.

Ashitaka ran jumped onto Ni's back once more and they headed the direction of the Nightwalker, who was bound to be following its head that Jigo now carried in a metal box. They ran up a hillside past the enormous creature, dodging the black ooze essence as they ran over a mountain ridge crest, scanning for any sign of Jigo.

"There they are!" San called out and pointed toward a downward slope, where Jigo and three other men carried the Forest Spirit's head, contained within a circular metal box. When they reached the men, San and Ashitaka jumped off the backs of Ichi and Ni.

"Go!" San ordered her wolf brothers and motioned with her hand for them to run away. 'If I die, at least my brothers may live through this.' She thought, this sliver of hope that resided within her that their swift four legged paws would carry them out of harm's way, while she ran to into the 'belly of the beast'.

San followed Ashitaka who held his arms out in front of the four men and ordered, "Stop right there!" Her hands clenched into fists and she wished she had her fang or something to fill them with. She stepped off to the side, in case the humans decided to try and run.

"Whoa! Oh, You're both alive. Oh, how nice." Jigo replied, beads of sweat formed upon his brown and his voice conveyed he wasn't really happy to see them.

"I'm giving the creature back its head. Put the box down and back away." Ashitaka told him and he began to walk up to Jigo.

"Give the head back now? Come on, boy. Don't be silly. Now, when the sun's about to come up? Look! He's a brainless, swollen, life-sucking god of death. At sunrise he'll vanish. Like a bad dream." Jigo retored,

"Sir, its coming! We've gotta get out of here!" One of the other men said, his voice filled with worry. Judging by his addressing Jigo as 'sir' and his simple tan ginbe garb and white head wrap, he was probably a man from Iron Town.

"Look, everybody wants everything. That's the way the world is. But I might actually get it." Jigo stated to Ashitaka, trying to by time. It was a race against the rising sun and the black ooze that now grew closer and closer to them.

"Don't force me to kill you." Ashitaka warned, and San's eyes widened in surprise as she glanced over at Ashitaka and thought. 'This whole time he's been an advocate for peace among everyone. It's hard to believe he would kill. Not that I mind. The forest spirit's head must be return no matter what.'

"Oh, dear, you make it sound so very easy. You really ought to...relax." Jigo replied and on the 'relax' he attempted to kick Ashitaka as the short, fat, and surprisingly nimble man jumped off the arm of the carrying box and lunged for Ashitaka.

Another man withdrew out a knife from his gi wrap shirt and lunged for San. She dodged then growled and kicked the man in the face, knocking off his head covering. She dodged the swipe attacks of his blade until he was vulnerable once more.

"Get going!" Jigo ordered the two men that remained carrying the head of the Forest Spirit within metal box. They took off running uphill as fast as they could muster while balancing the carrying contraption that was meant for four persons.

She kicked him again, this time in the side of the head that sent him down to the ground. She began to run after the two men that were carrying the head uphill and gasped in awe as the enormous hand of the Nightwalker stretched out over her and toward the two men and its head.

In a panic at being cornered the two men lost balance and dropped the head. The metal container it was held in began to roll down hill. "Ah!" she shouted as she tried to reach out to grab it but it was out of her range by then. "Ashitaka!" she shouted, hoping he could grab it as it rolled downhill in his direction.

"I got it! Whoa! Oh!" Jigo said and held his arms out to catch the rolling metal bin, only to get thrown back and roll with it by its massive weight, just as Ashitaka reached out to catch it.

"Everything's---Oof! Under control!---Oof!" Jigo said, in between rolls as he tumbled down the hill and came to a stop against a boulder. The metal box rolled up to the top and landed upward.

San ran right behind Ashitaka as they went toward Jigo once more. "Master, we're surrounded!" one man said and suddenly screams in fear as the ooze grew near.

"Come on, Sun! Rise!" Jigo begged, as Ashitaka, San, and the other man joined him on the boulder, the ooze surrounding them. There was no escape.

"Open the box!" Ashitaka demanded of the monk.

"Don't you see? It's too late for that now!" Jigo replied.

"Why are you wasting your breath talking to him?" San snapped, her glare entirely focused on jigo.

"Human hands must return it!" Ashitaka said to Jigo, leaning forward invading what little personal space Jigo had left.

The monk grunts and bends down to unlock the metal bin. He withdrew the large bar that kept the metal top cover in place and says, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ashitaka bend down and removed the metal lid. The head was floating in bright green ooze. San moves to the other side and helped him lift it up. 'My hands may be human but I am a wolf in heart.' She thinks as they raise the head up above them. The green ooze falls down and San looks at where it touches her skin. She gasps as patches of demon mark begin to grow all over her, just like Ashitaka's curse.

"Forest Spirit! We give you back your head! Take it and be at peace!" Ashitaka shouts up to the Nightwalker. The massive headless blob appears to turn and 'look' down at them.

"Uh, well, that got his attention, all right." Jigo mutters, as the four being huddle upon the boulder.

As the creature began to descend toward them Ashitaka removed one of his arms from holding up the head and wrapped it around San. The gesture brought peace within her, 'Ashitaka...' She thought even though she couldn't take her eyes off of the Nightwalker as it came toward them.

She closed her eyes and thought, '...My friend.' As the Nightwalker came crashing down on them and the world went black.