InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild West and the Gang of Four Souls ❯ End of a Journey, Start of a Freindship ( Chapter 1 )

(Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form have any claim over Inuyasha. So please don't sue.)

End of a Journey, Start of a Friendship

She had finally made it and there was no turning back. Just like there is no turning back from death and no way to bring back the dead. She would walk into the town and do what must be done. She would do it with her head held straight and high. Not because she was strong enough to move on but because nothing lay behind her but memories. Memories she wanted to avenge before remember.

A she walked on, leading her horse through the dusty cow town looking for a place she could stay the night. This town, the town of Mercy, in no way deserved its name. At least in her mind it deserved it in no way because when she found the man that killed her family she would in no way show any mercy. Mercy was for the unscarred and she had enough scars, both physical and emotionally, to haunt her for her whole life.

Mercy was not the average town of the West. It was one of those towns that were written about in those trashy dime novels. The kind of town they say have gun fights in the streets and bandits hiding out everywhere. The type of town filled with the most notoriously outlaws in the whole West and the kind of town where most people die with their boots on.

Mercy in fact was nothing like they said in the stories. It was almost all talk but the rumors seemed to act as a coat of paint that made one scared to walk alone there at night.

The town consisted of a main street, a town center with the only tree for miles and than a number of other streets. It was a very large town considering it was practically in the middle of no where. But even no where needs a capital and Mercy was it.

The town was the commerce center for the cattle ranchers and the main trade root passed straight through Mercy. So even if the surroundings were bleak and desolate the town was booming and busy.

As she walked on she heard some cat calls and saw some interesting glances from a group of really obviously drunk men standing by one of the saloons. This wasn't the most respectable place a woman could be traveling alone and she knew it, but she also knew she could take care of herself. She wasn't the daughter of a ranger for nothing and she'd be damned if any of those drunk off of their asses' men could shoot or rope better than her. So on she walked head held high and eyes burning from dryness challenging any man who wanted to take her on.

It didn't take her long to find the first inn in the town but it did take her a little while longer to find a respectable one. She shook her heading at the truth that lies behind the planning of Western towns.

First the saloon, then the house of ill repute, maybe third would be some type of supply store but more likely it would be another saloon. In the top ten, though, would be an inn where you aren't afraid to spend the night, and as she squinted through the oncoming dusk that's just what she saw.

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The girl at the register looked up from the trashy dime novel as the door opened revealing a worn out women dressed in the clothes of a cow boy.

It looked as if she had been traveling all day and the girl at the desk couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The heat had been unbearable lately. The type of unbearable that always made it feel like the world was coming to a breaking point.

The girl at the register showed a big smile to the wary traveler.

"Good evening and welcome to the Shrine Hotel. Would you like a room for the night?"

The traveler gave a small smile back that briefly reached her eyes but then disappeared just as quickly.

"I would love a room if one is available but I need to take care of my horse first. She has had a very hard day. Can I get extra care for her here?"

The desk girl nodded in agreement, "I'll take care of your horse right a way. She'll get better care then any of the others in our stable. So you don't have to worry. First though, I must get your name down and your room assigned."

The traveler looked relieved having finally found a place to rest from her journey and someone who seemed to have a heart in this hell hole of the west, "My name is Sango." She replied.

The girl at the register smiled some at the relief that spread across Sango's face. "Nice to meet you Sango. My name is Kagome."