A/N: I already apologized for the late updates in KS, but I'm gonna do it again in ZTWD. Ahem, GOMEN! GOMEN, GOMEN! Please don't be mad! I'll answer reviews at the end of this chapter!
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Chapter 6
"There, all done." Kagome said as she wiped off the last table in the tavern. She straightened and brought her hand up and wiped it across her brow.
She and Sango had just finished cleaning up the entire tavern after the last customer had left, and that was over an hour ago.
"Is it always this busy?" Kagome asked and turned to Sango who was finishing cleaning a mug.
Sango nodded her head and sat the mug down. "Ever since Zorro showed up Naraku's had his soldiers come from all over the place, trying to catch him."
Kagome walked over to the bar and seated herself on one of the stools. "Zorro? Who's that?" She asked and rested her chin on her hand.
Sango looked at the younger girl in mild surprise. "You mean you haven't heard of Zorro?" She asked and took a seat across from her new friend.
Kagome gave her a dry look. "I only came into this town this morning, how could I know about him?" She asked.
Sango blushed slightly at forgetting that small bit of information. "Right, anyways," She said, clearing her voice and getting ready to tell the new girl the story of El Zorro, The Fox.
"Well, awhile back, almost six months ago, the commander of the army here passed away from unforseen circumstances and a new commander, Naraku, arrived to take his place. When he came he brought his own soldiers, most of them youkai themselves, and he changed everything from the way it was." She began.
Kagome tilted her head to the side. "Changed everything from the way it was?" She questioned, slightly confused.
Sango nodded her head, her chestnut colored hair tumbling as she did so. "Yes, he changed every thing. He changed the law, stole land, raised the taxes. For the ones that had money it was no problem for them to pay the new taxes, but this town is small, and there isn't always jobs for people. The ones that couldn't pay the high taxes were put in prison and executed."
Sango paused here and took a deep, shuddering breath before she continued. "That's what happened to my family. My mother, my father, my little brother, Kohaku, he executed all of them."
Her voice was filled with pain and her eyes were glossy with held back tears.
Kagome's heart went out to the young woman who'd pain for the loss of her family was still plainly fresh. "Oh Sango, I'm so sorry." She whispered quietly, trying to comfort her new friend in some way.
Sango clasped both of her hands together and looked down. "I was away from town when it all happened to my family, buying supplies for the tavern in a neighboring town. That was the only reason I was not killed with my family." Sango said as a single crystalline tear made a trek down her face and splattered on top of the counter that she had just cleaned moments ago.
Kagome was silent for a moment, letting her friend regain her composure before she spoke. "So, where does this Zorro guy come from?" She questioned when Sango had finally looked up at her friend with a watery smile.
Sango sniffled a little, but gave Kagome a small smile. "He showed up about a month after Naraku came to town. He calls himself el Zorro, the white devil." She said.
Kagome tilted her head to the side. "White devil?" She asked.
Sango nodded her head. "Yes, he has hair as white as the moon on a clear night." She explained. "Anyway, he first showed up the day when there was to be another execution. He came from out of no where and slashed the ropes. Well, to say the very lease, Naraku was quiet enraged by this and ordered the soldiers to attack." She said, her eyes glittering with excitement as she recalled the day.
"He totally made a fool of Naraku and his cronies! He's the poor peoples hero. He keeps them out of prison, gives them money so they can pay their taxes, and the best part is that he knows how to make Naraku look like a fool!" She said, all sadness erased from her voice.
Kagome smiled. "Wow, he sounds like some guy." She said and looked out of the taverns window. How she would love to live an adventurous life like that. Her thought were interrupted as a yawn forced its way out of her mouth.
Sango laughed and straightened. "I think its time to turn in for the night." She said with a yawn of her own.
Kagome, with a small laugh of her own, nodded in agreement. "I think your right. I'll see you tomorrow Sango." She said and headed towards the stairs and to her room.
Sango smiled and bid her friend good night.
Kagome walked into her room and locked it behind her. "Buyu, you lazy cat." She muttered good naturedly as she glanced at her still sleeping cat.
She laid down on her feathered bed with another yawn and closed her brown eyes, waiting for sleep to come to her. But after about an hour of just laying there, she realized that sleep was eluding her for some reason.
"Insomnia, gotta love it." She said as she pushed herself into a sitting position on her bed.
She looked out of her balcony glass window doors. She stood and walked over to the glass doors and placed one of her hands on the cool glass on the door while looking up at the star filled night sky.
I've never seen so many stars before. She thought as she looked at the twinkling objects hanging in the sky.
She pulled her hand away from the cool glass and walked back over to her bed, got down on her knees and pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows and a bow, she also pulled out a small bundle carefully wrapped in brown paper.
She propped the bow and arrows against her bed and sat the bundle on her bed.
She carefully began to unwrap it, pulling the cord that was keeping the paper around the bundle. Once the cord was untied the paper simply just fell away from what it was wrapped around.
Kagome picked up her priestess robes lovingly. Before they had moved here, Kagome had been a shrine maiden, a priestess at the family shrine.
She smiled softly as memories of her old home and life flooded her mind.
Kagome looked out of the window, out into the dark night and smiled. "Just because I don't live in the same place doesn't mean I have to stop my archery." She said and stood up.
Kagome quickly changed out of her dress and pulled on the baggy red pants and white shirt of her priestess attire.
She smiled as the familiar folds of priestess robes fell in place on her body. She picked up a small, white ribbon and pulled her long black, silky hair into a low pony-tail. Reached over and threw the quiver of arrows over her shoulder and picked up her bow.
Once all that was gathered, she headed towards the door of her balcony and stepped out into the cool night air.
She glanced over the side of the balcony, seeing how high up it was. This should be easy enough. She thought as she looked at the close distance to the ground.
She secured her bow over her shoulder and threw her right leg over the edged and then her left leg. Once both legs were over the railing she took a deep breath and jumped off, her bare feet landing silently on the dirt.
Kagome glanced up and smiled. "That was almost to easy." She said to herself.
Kagome straightened and began to walk out of the town and towards the wooded forest that surrounded it.
About ten or fifteen minutes later, Kagome was deep in the forest, looking for a clearing where she could practice her archery. After another five minute walk she came upon a small clearing where the moonlight shone through, giving the area just enough light for a person to see clearly.
Kagome smiled again. "Perfect." She thought.
She took her bow off of her shoulder and pulled an arrow from her quiver and readied it.
The smooth wood of the bow soothed Kagome. She pulled the string back taught and aimed her arrow at the desired tree.
She kept the string tense for a second long, remembering to hold back her miko powers, not wanting to make the tree explode and awaken the whole town. She released the string of her bow and the arrow went flying, its feathered tip brushing against Kagome's fingers as she did so.
The arrow flew straight for a tree and landed dead center, embedding it's the head of the arrow into the thick wood of the tree with a satisfying 'thunk'.
Kagome smiled in satisfaction. I haven't lost my touch. She thought and pulled out another arrow and notched it in her arrow.
Inuyasha, also known as Zorro, rushed through the dark forest, looking like nothing more than a silver and black blur rushing through the shadows of the forest to those that didn't have the acute eye sight of a youkai.
Zorro was relishing the feel of the wind whipping against his face. He had been running for little over an hour and he wasn't even feeling winded yet, but he decided to stop and rest in one of his favorite trees anyways.
He stopped below a large tree with large, comfortable branches that were just perfect for somebody to sit in and relax. He bent down, coiling the muscles in his legs and sprang upwards, landing on his favorite branch on the tree.
He leaned back against the firm wood of the tree and let his mind wander. Eventually, his mind wandered to the new girl that worked at the tavern, the same girl he had saved earlier that day, Kagome Higurashi.
He frowned slightly. He had never met a woman as firey as her. Heck, I've never met a woman that would even dream of talking back to me. Inuyasha thought as he glanced up at the star filled sky.
So lost in thought was he that he jumped when he heard a 'thunk' sound, like something being embedded in wood.
He sat up straighter and twitched his ears in the direction that he heard the sound. He then heard the sound of a string being stretched and then the sound of something whistling through the air and then there was another 'thunk' sound.
What is that? Inuyasha thought as he jumped out of his tree and silently made his way towards the noise. The wind shifted and his sensitive nose caught a very familiar scent. What is she doing here? He thought with a soft irritated growl.
He continued to silently approach the sound. He stooped and jumped into yet another tree, this one had a perfect view of a small clearing, and standing in the middle of the clearing, wearing old style miko robes, was Kagome, her hand still poised from where she had released her arrow.
Her black hair was pulled into a low, loose pony-tail and it shone like black ebony. The moonlight shining into the small clearing and shined down on Kagome's body, making her look other worldly beautiful.
Inuyasha watched on in amazement as the beauty that was Kagome pulled another arrow from her quiver and notched it in her bow.
So preoccupied was he with watching Kagome that he didn't notice the new scent that began to seep into the clearing. He didn't notice it, that is, until it was to late.
Kagome sensed an aura behind her and she whirled around just in time to see a weasel youkai charging right towards her. Its eyes were an angry red that flashed with rage, it body was covered in thick, grey, coarse fur, there was long, sharp, black claws at the end of each foot, and it had its sharp, yellow fangs bared, ready to snap her in half if it got a hold of her.
Kagome didn't have time to summon miko energy to put up a shield, so she jumped out of the way, but the weasel youkai seemed to be expecting this and it quickly whipped its ugly head around and snapped its jaws shut around Kagome's ankle.
Kagome cried out in pain as she felt the weasels fans sink into her skin and graze against the bone in her ankle.
Where's my bow and arrows? Kagome thought and looked around frantically. She spotted laying off to her side. She stretched out her arm, reaching for her weapon, but it was just out of reach. She cried out again as the weasel youkai tightened its grip around her ankle.
This is it. This is how I'm going to die. Killed by a youkai. She thought as her vison became clouded with tears.
She closed her eyes tightly as the youkai slowly began to drag her towards it.
She opened her eyes. If I must dieI'm not gonna die a coward. She thought, even though as she thought her entire body was quivering with fear and pain.
Her eyes widened when a flash of silver and black rushed at the weasel youkai and kicked it in its side, knocking the air out of the creatures lungs and also to let go of Kagome's ankle.
The blur rushed and stood between Kagome and the weasel youkai that had regained its breath.
Kagome looked in awe at the black clad figure standing in front of her, protecting her from the youkai.
The weasel youkai whipped its head towards Zorro and let out an angry sound.
Zorro just smirked and flexed his clawed fingers, a cracking noise issuing forth as he did so.
The two just stood there for a minute, each glaring at the other and then, at the same instant, they both charged for the other.
Zorro threw a punch at the youkai and landed it square in its gut again. The youkai grunted in pain and whirled around, snapping its jaws shut on air as Zorro quickly dodged out of the way. The weasel made a hissing sound and whipped its tail around.
Zorro jumped up and the youkai's tail smashed into a tree, causing the tree to fall to the ground. He came down and landed on its tail and went running up the length of its body and jumped on its head.
The weasel youkai didn't like this at all. It reared up on its hind legs with a hiss and began to shake its head violently, trying to dislodge the man that was causing it trouble.
Zorro smirked in triumph. He reached down and grabbed a hand full of the course grey fur and he took his other hand and fisted it. He pulled his fist back in the air and, with enough strength to make a mountain crumble, he brought it down on the weasels head.
There was a sickening 'crack' the ripped through the small clearing and the youkai gave one last feeble hiss before it fell over dead, its skull having been shattered and splintered.
Zorro jumped off of the weasel youkai's head and dusted his hands off. 'Well, that was entertaining.' He thought. Then he remembered Kagome.
He turned around to find the young woman in the same position on the ground, staring at him and then at the dead youkai in amazement.
Zorro's acute nose caught the scent of blood and he quickly look Kagome over, searching for any visible wounds. But he did not see any blood splattered on her white top or any scratches on her arms and face. Maybe its just that weasels blood. He thought and walked over towards the young miko and held out his hand to help her up. "You alright?" He asked.
Kagome seemed to snap out of her daze. She shook her head and reached out and grasped her hand. "Yes." She replied as she was hoisted to her feet effortlessly.
But Kagome had forgotten about her injured ankle when the fight with the weasel youkai happened and when she put her weight on her ankle she cried out in surprised pain and fell forward.
Zorro moved quickly and she fell onto his chest as he caught her in his strong arms. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Alright, huh?" He said and scooped her into his arms and carried her over to the fallen tree and sat her upon it.
He followed his nose to where the scent of her blood was coming from and discovered that it was coming from her ankle. No wonder why I couldn't see it. Her blood almost matches her pants perfectly. He thought once he had located where the scent was coming from.
He knelt down and gently began to roll the leg of her pants up. Inuyasha almost gasped at how badly the wound looked. All the skin from around her ankle was almost gone and it was bleeding profusely and was dripping from her wound down her foot to splatter on the ground.
Kagome cringed when the cool night air touched her bleeding wound. She looked down and shivered at how badly her leg looked. She turned her head away as her masked hero began to inspected it.
"Can you moved it at all?" He asked and in response, Kagome wiggled her ankle up and down, left to right.
Zorro nodded in satisfaction that none of her bones had been broken. "It'll need bandaging so it won't get infected." He said and looked around for something that he could use to wrap her leg in. His amber gaze landed on his cape. He took the black fabric in his hands and ripped a large piece og it off. 'It's a good thing I have more than one of these.' He thought.
He gently lifted Kagome's injured ankle up and began to loosely wrap the black fabric around her bloody ankle.
Kagome cringed and closed her eyes tightly against the pain that was radiating from her battered ankle.
"Gomen." Zorro said as he tied the last knot on the make shift bandage. "That should hold until I can get you to the town." He said and straightened into a standing position.
Kagome had to look up from her sitting position on the fallen tree. She hadn't realized just how tall this man was until that exact moment. He was at least a head taller than she was. "Who are you?" Kagome asked curiously as she stared at the man standing before.
The man smiled. "I am called el Zorro." He replied and gave a small polite bow.
Kagome's eyes widened in slight shock. "El Zorro, the white devil?" She asked, astonished.
Zorro gave a smirk. "The one and only." He replied.
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Wow, this is the longest chappie yet for this story! Anyway, review responses!!!!!!
ladyhawk89: Gomen I made you wait!
animemistress419: Thankies! And I'm with you there, I bet he does to!
silentslayer: Well, I haven't really decided if he is yet, he'll be kind a in the middle till I do.
Crystal: Yay! Glad you loved it!
Sugar-Crazy-Fox: Yep, they do have a 'perfect' relationship going for them. Lol, and it'll only get better.
hoshi-ni-onigai: Lol, well, Zorro/Inuyasha was quiet a hero in this chappie, don't you think?
Samieko: Ooo! Strawberry! I love those! Lol.
Missy X: Yea! Glad you think that!
Yoshiko73: Thankies!
Ryuu of the Broken Light: Me glad you likee! Me glad you likee! Lol.
kagome1312: Glad you loved it!
kaginu4ever: I updated! I updated!