Disclaimer: Don't own anything, don't sue
When Zack became conscious, the first thing he noticed was that his head felt like a rock hit it...oh wait, it did. The second thing he noticed was a bunch of spears hanging precariously above him on strings. That made him wonder just how angry those girls were. And the third thing, Kagome's voice.
"...I've only known them for seven days at most. The guy calls himself a 'lone wolf'. Stays on his own, fights random people, and has few friends. Also an idiot that..."
Before Kagome could go on any further, Zack stood up and walked out of the building. Keade just put her hand on her head and started a countdown. "Three, two, one." As if on cue, the spears went through a hole in the roof and Zack was heard screaming.
Kagome looked at Keade with a questioning glance. "Shippo got bored, didn't he?"
Keade just nodded.
Kagome sighed, and then took a deep breath.
"SHIPPO, GET IN HERE!!"
When Zack heard a small noise behind him, he turned around, saw the spears from before flying straight at him, and screamed. There was no time to dodge, and he shut his eyes. After a few seconds, he dared to open his eyes. The spears that had threatened him inside the hut were now, again, dangling an inch above his head. One of the strings soon went loose and landed a spear harmlessly at his feet. Looking down, he saw that had stepped on a trip wire, but luckily he hadn't wet his pants. Okay, now he knew what just happened, but now he was fuming. Who pulled this trick?
The voice of a young boy cut through the air. "Damn. Hoping it was Inuyasha in there."
Zack quickly looked where the voice was coming from, and saw a small kid wearing clothes that seemed a size too big and had a foxlike tail. The kid's ears perked at something Zack couldn't hear, and ran off towards the hut.
A few minutes later, Zack was in the archery area of the village. Still fuming, he wished he could get his hands on the kid. That kind of thing should be outlawed. A little kid pulling a stunt like that. If the string wasn't strong enough he could have died. So, to take out his aggressions, he took out a pistol from a side pocket on his jeans, imagined the target being the kid, and opened fire. He always carried the gun, but ussually didn't need it because his fists did the job nicely. The only time he didn't have it with him was when he was on the plane to Japan, so he mailed it to himself. He didn't even remember the last time he pulled it out for more than cleaning. As he fired, he kept hitting his target but never seemed to get to the ring just out of the bulls eye. Keade watched with bemused interest. Kind of reminded her of how Kikyo used to take out her frustrations by shooting at the targets. Difference was that he couldn't seem to get any more accurate with each shot as his aggressions went down. After he emptied his clip and was about to reload, she walked over to him.
"That weapon thou usest, be it the only type thou canst handle?" Kaede had noticed that the way he held the gun was not quite expert, even if the old woman had never laid eyes on a pistol before.
"No, I can use a knife and my fists too. I'd say those are damn good weapons until things get real dicy and the other guys pull their own guns." As Zack said this, he put a new clip and and got ready to fire again. When he fired two more times with no progress, Kaede decided to lower his weapon and give him a bow along with a quiver of arrows.
"Ah. Interesting. When one uses a bow, one must be careful not to run out of arrows. Perhaps this strange weapon of yours has magical powers and can fire again and again, without end."
"No way. A gun's not much good when you run out bullets."
"Then thou shouldst not use it so much in mere practice. How many 'bullets' dost thou have in all?"
"Let's see, ten per clip...five unused clips, plus eight bullets left in this one...hm...I have fifty-eight left."
"And how dost thou plan to survive when thou hast used them all?" Kaede looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Never thought of that. I'm not the kind of bastard to conserve. More of the kind to do things as they come."
"Try to see if thou hast better luck with these." she answered.
Zack then picked up the bow, put an arrow in clumsily, tried to 'aim', and fired. The arrow went way too high, when through some leaves on nearby trees, and soon caused a cat to screech, "REEEW"
"Attempt another shot lad, and try aimin' this time."
Zack put another arrow in the bow clumsily and fired again. The shot went straight down and killed a poor, unsuspecting squirrel.
"Again, with the other hand."
At that, he switched hands, was even clumsier with placing it, and fired. It went straight up, and then landed right behind him.
"Ooooo-kay. Maybe the bow is not thy weapon." Kaede handed him a sword, tied a rope to the ground and a branch, and then stood waaaaaaaaay back. "See if thou canst cut that rope with this sword."
Zack raised his sword, but before he swung, she prompted him, "It might be wise to step closer."
Zack grimaced in embarassment, walked up to the rope and tried swinging the sword like a baseball bat. The rope moved, but was undamaged. His hands were tangled in the rope, and the more he struggled to free them, the more tangled he got.
Kaede hit her own forehead in disbelief. After enjoying the show for a few minutes, she stepped forward, and with a sparing knife cut him free.
Kaede then set up a second rope. This time, Zack tried a different method. Namely, he went back a few steps, ran at the rope, and tried to cut it while running past. Instead, the branch gave way and this time he tangled his entire body in the rope. The wise old priestess slowly shook her head, wishing her old, long-dead friends were here to enjoy this incredible show.
"If this be how well thou canst use true weapons, thou shalt not last a day in the forests without aid. Kagome said you called yourself a 'lone wolf'. That is strange, for I have never seen such a defensless wolf. " With that, Kaede walked back to the village still shaking her head. Zack wished he was an ostrich, so he could hide his head in shame.
She thought he was hopeless and helpless? Well, he would prove her wrong. He could do quite well all on his own in the wilderness, living on the land -- hunting and fishing. Of course, he could last a day. He could last five days, easily. And for his pride's sake, he must prove he could to himself, as well as to her. What little common sense he had though, had the feeling he was going to get more than he could chew.
This site is published by Samizdat Express, Orange, CT
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