The siege had temporarily quieted as the samurai took a night rest. Inside the hold of Tatara Ba, the survivors were also asleep, exhausted. Toki was awake, and next to her was a leper woman, who was fixing Toki's Ishibiya.

"I got it, Toki." The leper woman said as she handed Toki the fixed Ishibiya

"Thank you." Toki said

"It's quiet."

"I intend to wait for dawn."

"I wonder if that young man ever reached Eboshi-sama." The leper woman said

"Of course he did! I'm sure of it. He may be right over there..." Toki said in faith

Kouroku, sleeping beside them, began to snore.

"Oh, man, Kouroku, you're such a slob." Toki said and started to shook him "Hey, Kouroku!"

"Let him sleep. It will be his only chance." The leper woman said

As the eastern sky began to light up, they heard a strange sound coming from the direction of the forest.

"What is it? I feel sick..." Toki murmured. Then they saw a headless giant rising over the hill and samurai running away for their lives. "The Nigh-walker!"

The headless Night-walker came nearer the Tatara Ba.

"Go, go, go, go!" Said one of the Tatara men

"It's a Tatari-gami!"

"Don't leave your posts!"

"Toki, what do we do? It's coming this way!" one of the women asked

"It's no use, let's run!" Kouroku said

"No, we will protect Tatara Ba! We promised Eboshi-sama!" Toki said

Ashitaka and San appeared, riding the wolves on the shore of the lake.

"It's him! And miss San is with him!" Toki noticed

"Ashitaka-sama!"

"Everyone, run! The Shishi-gami has come to take back its head! If you touch this black ooze, you'll die! Run for the lake, the water will slow it down... Eboshi and the men are on the other side, heading this way. We're going to go and try to get the Shishi-gami's head." Ashitaka told them

The black slime neared Ashitaka and San.

"Ashitaka!" San called

"Hurry!" Ashitaka said to the Tatara people as he ran to San and the mountain dogs and left with them

"It's coming this way!" a Tatara woman said

"Don't panic! Get everyone to the lake! Keep calm. Lend a hand to the wounded." Toki advised the people, who exited the Tatara Ba. Some people however started going the wrong way on the bridge "No, not that way!" Toki tired calling them, but it was too late

"Oh, the great hall... It's no use, Tatara Ba is lost." Kouroku said in the lake to his wife

"As long as we're alive, we still have hope. Hurry to deeper water!" Toki answered to that

---

Ashitaka and San, riding the wolves, reached a mountaintop and caught sight of Jiko-Bou and his container carriers.

"There they are, over there!" San said as they ran towards them. Then she and Ashitaka left the wolves "Go!" San said to them

They came to Jiko-Bou and his men

"Hold!" Ashitaka said

"Oh, you're alive! I'm so glad!" Jiko-Bou said

"We're going to give the Shishi-gami its head back. Leave it and get out of here!" Ashitaka said

"Don't say something so foolish! There's nothing you can do about it now. Look! The Shishi-gami's sucked up so much life, it's bloated and slow... When the sun's rays hit it, it will disintegrate into nothingness." Jiko-Bou said

"Jiko-Bou-sama, it's almost upon us!" a man said "Hurry!"

"A human's folly causes him to be hung between heaven and hell." Jiko-Bou said

"I do not wish to kill you." Ashitaka said

"You got me there...Don't make such a scary face!" Jiko-Bou said as he attacked Ashitaka with his "takageta", high wooden shoes

"Run!" he called to the carriers

The container carriers reached the top of the hill, with San in pursuit, but part of the black slime descended like a giant hand in front of them. They dropped the container and ran.

"I'm outta here!"

The container rolled down the hill past San.

"Ashitaka!" San called

"Oh, no!" Jiko-Bou said as the container rolled over him and carried him down the hill until they hit a boulder. The black slime surrounded them.

"We're surrounded!" a monk-man said

"Sunlight, come forth!" Jiko-Bou said

"Jiko, open it!" Ashitaka said

"You're a hardheaded one. Don't you understand? It's already too late."

"Ashitaka, it's useless to talk to a human." San said

"I wish to return it with my own hands." Ashitaka said, both to San and Jiko-Bou

"I take no responsibility for what happens..." Jiko-Bou murmured as he opened the containerThe head of the Shishi-gami was surrounded by a glowing, golden liquid. As Ashitaka and San held the head up, the liquid drips from the head onto them, and leaves red-black marks, resembling those of Ashitaka's curse, all over their bodies. San gasped at this

"Shishi-gami! We give back your head! Please, calm down!" Ashitaka called

"It's coming, it's coming!" Jiko-Bou panicked

The Night-walker stretched its neck towards its head. As the Night-walker bended over them, Ashitaka held San tightly. Ashitaka and San were enveloped in golden light.

---

Back at Tatara Ba, the townspeople stand in the lake, observing the Nigh-walker.

"It stopped moving." Kouroku murmured

Rafts appeared on the lake, bringing Eboshi, Gonza, the Tatara men, and Yakkuru.

"It's the men!" screamed one of the women

"Eboshi-sama! Are you alright?" Toki asked

"Don't touch the wound!" Gonza said

They saw the body of the Night-walker change its color from dark gray to gold, then its usual blue. Having regained its head, the Night-walker slowly stood up. Then, the first sunray of morning hit it.

"It's falling, it's falling!"

The Night-walker slowly fell down on the lake. It flashed with a bright blue-white light, and disappeared instantly. As it disappeared, a wind blew through. The wind blew out the fire at Tatara Ba, and blew away everything, including buildings, trees, horses, and samurai.

"Don't let go!"

After the wind ceased, plants started sprouting all over. The earth burned by the Night-walker is now covered entirely with green. The Tatara people watched this from the lake, stupefied. A leper woman looked at her hand, and realizes that the mark of her disease had disappeared.

"Wow. The Shishi-gami was the bearer of life..." Kouroku murmured

---

On the hill, Ashitaka slowly woke up, with San still in his arms. He noticed the plants around them and started shaking San gently as he said "San… San, look around you"

They both stood up and looked at this miracle

"Even if it recovers, this place is no longer the forest of the Shishi-gami. Otousama is dead." San said with sad look in her eyes

"The Shishi-gami will never die. He is both life and death itself. He told me to survive." Ashitaka said as he looked at his hand. There was only a small scar from his curse.

"San, everything is going to be okay. I know it is" Ashitaka said as he looked deep into her eyes. San started crying and buried her face on his chest. After a while she looked up into his eyes. They looked each other for a while, then they learned closer to each other and kissed.

This kiss was like no other. They had kissed many times before, but never like this. There was so much passion, so much love. San had to admit herself that she had missed Ashitaka begin this close to her. Some tears of love and happiness came from her eyes.

"San, what are you going to do now?" Ashitaka asked after they parted

San hadn't even thought about that. She felt that she couldn't forgive Eboshi and most of the humans of the Tatara Ba, but she still wanted to be with Ashitaka. But the forest needed her too…but she needed Ashitaka by her side. She couldn't live without him. What was she supposed to answer?

"I…I don't know."

"San, tell me your feelings about everything"

"Well…I feel that I can't forgive what the humans have done, not at least just now, and I feel that the forest needs me now. But…I don't want to lose you either."

"You will never lose me San."

"It's just…I can't live without your presence either"

"We can work this out San. I know we can. You can go back to the forest. I'll go to the Tatara Ba and help them rebuild it. After it's done, I'll come to live with you here. Until that day, I'll visit you from time to time" Ashitaka said

"Why won't you come with me right away?" San asked

"Because I think we should give the forest gods time. I don't think that the remaining gods would accept me right away in their forest. I'm human after all. I think we should give them time to learn accept me by my visits."

"But I'm human too!"

"Yes, you are, but you have a heart of a forest spirit. And you're the hero of the forest. You saved it and it's remaining gods. And you made the peace"

"No! It wasn't just me, it was both of us! Without you, I wouldn't have even survived with all that!"

"I know, but I don't think that the gods understand that. The legend was about you, San. I was only a bit there. We changed it, we changed fate. The fate can be changed, if you just believe and try hard. And I can help you to keep the peace up as a messenger between humans and the forest. Please, San, understand my reasoning"

San did understand. She just didn't want to understand. But she knew this was the way it should go. Like this, she could someday have both, the forest and her love.

Finally, she nodded and called Moro's sons with telepathy. While Ashitaka had been weak by the curse, Moro had taught her many things. Moro had almost felt like a mother. Moro's sons came and San climbed on the back of another one of them

"Ashitaka, aishiteru. Itsumo, itsumo" San said (Ashitaka, I love you(strongly). Always and always)

"Aishiteru itsumo mo, San. Take care" (I love you always too, San)

San smiled and rode away with the cubs. Ashitaka looked after her for some time.

---

Meanwhile, Eboshi is in the ruins of the Tatara Ba, with her remaining people

"I'm so ashamed. Being saved on the back of a Mountain Dog. Someone go get Ashitaka; I want to thank him. Everyone, let's start over. We'll make this a good village." Eboshi said

Jiko-Bou observed this from his boulder.

"Oh man, I can't win against fools." He said

At the shore of the Shishi-gami's pond, great dead trees looked like white bones. On the foot of them were sprouts, and a little Kodama appeared among them. As it clattered its head, its sound went through the forest...

---

"I'm so lonely in this forest nigh

I wish you would be here with me

But you can not run away, it's a fate

A fate that commands your life

Home, so far away, having to leave because of the curse

But you were with me, I'm glad

This was our story

Our story

My home is with you, your home is with fate

I want you to see, this is not your life

Live always like you want

It's not mine, nor anyone else's choice

But I'll be with you, since this is our story

Our story

I'm always with you,

I'm always with you,

My love

In our story"

---

Hello. Well, it's the end now. This is my longest story ever. It's 47 pages long in Microsoft World. But I had so fun time writing this! For once, I didn't feel insecure! I see the Mononoke is the thing I want to write. I'll try to plan some other story of it later. I may do a sequel for this story.

Thanks for this story to:

M Warrior, for reviewing first and the most,

The one whoever wrote the script into the internet, letting me have the real lines,

My mom, who bought the Mononoke Hime DVD for me, letting me to watch it,

Mr. Miyazaki himself, for making this wonderful movie,

And of course, all of you readers!

Well, I hope you've liked this story. Keep reading and reviewing!

By the way, I wrote that song! Its name is "Our story". I hope it's okay. Thanks for reading this story!

Sayounara, till the next time and have a good summer!

Respectfully yours,

KagomeGirl92