(A/N: Hello, my name is Rj Waltz. I forgot to introduce myself earlier, sorry about that. This is my fanfiction, called Legend of Zelda, Warrior of the Masks, set in the Majora's Mask video game world. I have been playing this game off and on since it came out, and I love everything about it. I came up with this fanfic many years ago, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to leave a review at any time. Also, I plan on updating this once a week until it is finished. Thanks for reading.)
Chapter 2: Bunny Hood.
Zak sat in the back of Romani's wagon. He laid out his gear in front of him in an attempt to dry it off while she drove the wagon towards the ranch. His sword remained in its sheath, but he made sure to put it in the sunny part of the wagon's carriage to rid the sheath of excess moisture. The spear, once he managed to clean the animal blood from it, seemed fine. The Keaton's claws turned out not to be sharp enough to cut into the coral the staff was made out of, not that he would've minded a few scratches. He put his breathing apparatus next to his sword so it could dry as well. Inspecting his shield, he looked up to see Romani watching him.
"Yes?" he arched an eyebrow, "Can I help you?"
She glanced forward, too nervous to speak. After a few moments, she said, "Um, I was wondering, what did you take from that Zora earlier?"
Zak held up a bronze contraption for her to inspect. It had a chain twisted around it which was attached to its pointed end, and he held it by the handle. She tried to take it, but found it too heavy for her to hold in one hand like he was able to do.
"It's called a hookshot. Well, I think it is, anyway. The one I have back home looks much different," he explained.
She tilted her head slightly, as if trying to remember something, "Now that you mention it, I think I've seen something like this, before. Around the time that the moon was supposed to crash down onto Clock Town, I think."
Zak took the hookshot back from her, "So, ten years ago?"
She nodded, "That's right. You weren't there, were you?"
He shook his head, "No. This is the first time I've been to Termina. One of my mentors came here when he was a kid."
"Oh, we're here!" Romani interrupted him.
Zak examined the farm. The rolling hills leading up to the farmhouse offered little in the way of tactical advantage. What he did see out of the ordinary was some sort of furry creatures racing all around the farm at a speed that made it hard from him to discern exactly what it was. From what he could make out, Zak estimated that the creature looked bigger than the Keaton, and ran on all fours. When it changed direction, Zak caught the glimpse of two huge ears on top of its head. He gathered his belongings and walked away from the wagon to set up. Romani followed him, mostly out of curiosity.
He watched the creature and slowly picked up on its pattern. He paced the length of the farm until he sank his spear tip into the dirt near the cucco shack. Romani watched him without saying a word. Zak pulled out the hookshot and released some of its chain. He looped it loosely around the spear shaft and pulled it tight. Much to Romani's surprise, he pulled his shield off of his back and dropped it onto the ground. He stuck his feet into the special leather straps he had put in the center of the shield behind the ones for his arm.
"Umm," Romani said, concerned, "What is it that you're planning to do, exactly?"
Zak pulled the chain's slack, "In a moment, the creature is going to pass by this area. When it does, it'll run through this chain. When it does, the chain with come unattached, and the hookshot will stick to the creature. When that happens, I'll be dragged along with it."
She nodded, bewildered by his plan, "So you're going to sled on the shield behind it until you can stab it?"
He shook his head, "No. It's running too fast. I won't be able to do much except hold on. You'll have to take it out. Go get your bow. When it gets tired, shoot it."
Realizing what he wanted, Romani scurried off to fetch her bow. Zak crouched down and waited for the beast to loop around the outskirts of the farm. It ran towards him, and he lowered the chain so it wouldn't see it. When it got close, Zak yanked the chain tight, and the creature ran right through it without slowing down. His arm yanked as he flew off with it at a fast speed. The creature panicked and sped up, which caused Zak to crouch down lower as he slid across the ground on his shield. It looped around, sending him flying in a wide arc, and he gripped the chain and the hookshot with both arms. His eyes widened as it darted between the outer fence and the house. With a loud grunt, he bounced up and slid his shield across the side of the house, narrowly avoiding a pile of rocks and bushes that would've taken him off of his feet. As the creature ran in a straight path, he engaged the hookshot's retraction, which brought him closer to the creature. It thrashed around and jumped up in the air a few times, but Zak held his firm grip on it. The creature bolted towards a hole that it had made beneath the cucco shack. Zak's eyes widened when he spotted it.
"Now or never!" he shouted. An arrow sailed past him and plunged right into the creature's hindquarters. It stumbled and tripped, crashing into the cucco shack. Zak jumped with the shield and angled his feet in front of him as he crashed right into the cucco shack's door. Romani screamed in shock and ran to him. She pulled the debris off of him. Zak coughed and sputtered. The hookshot chain twitched in his hand. He stood up, dusted off his black tunic, and followed the chain out to the creature.
The rabbit monster looked to be an oversized rabbit. Overall, it looked to be about Zak's size if it stood on two legs, and was covered in a light tan fur. The legs made up a majority of its body, them being tall, thick, and muscular. Its body appeared to be skinny, with its ribs showing through its chest. Upon impact, the creature snapped its neck on the corner of the building.
"Stand back," Zak ordered when the body began flopping around. He returned his shield to his back and pulled out the blade of grass. He played the same song he had for the Keaton, and the rabbit creature dissolved into a hood with beady eyes and large bunny ears. Romani smiled, finding the hood kind of cute. Zak chopped it in half with the edge of his shield, which made her a little sad. A white ball of energy drifted up in the air before dissipating. Zak retracted the hookshot's chain and put it away.
"Hey," Romani pouted, "I kind of liked that mask. Why'd you have to break it like that?"
He pulled his spear out of the dirt and headed back to her, placing it in its spot on his back, "If you liked the design, I can make you one that looks just like it. That particular mask had to be destroyed."
Her eyes lit up, "Really? You can do that?"
He smiled, "Sure. That was a great shot, by the way. You're pretty handy with a bow. I'm not good with ranged weapons."
She posed with her bow, "That's right. I'm the greatest shot in Termina. Ask anyone. I sure saved your bacon back there."
He laughed, "Thanks. I should be going, though, I have a lot more of these monsters to hunt down."
She crossed her arms, "I don't think so. You're not going anywhere until I make you dinner. C'mon." She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the farm house. "Please? It's the least I can do," she added. Zak sighed and followed her towards the house.