#kohga would not leave anyone alone

[smilesrobotlover]

Chapter 2- The Upheaval

First

AO3

Summary: it’s been three years since Calamity Ganon attacked Hyrule, and everyone was recovering well from it. Until the strange substance gloom appeared, making people sick when they touched it. Wanting to find answers, Zelda and the champions went beneath the castle against her father’s wishes to try to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the King of Hyrule hopes to use Impa’s help in interrogating master Kohga about the gloom, despite the Yiga leader knowing very little about it. Little did they all know, that a great threat was brewing beneath Hyrule castle, waiting for a seal to break.

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The world was bathed in golden sunlight, with bright green trees scattered across the town and the castle courtyards. It was warm, with a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves and grass, making a quiet shh sound through the air. The birds were chirping cheerily as they flew through the wind, and it overall was a beautiful day. Yet none of it calmed the unease Rhoam had lurking in his heart. He felt nauseous as he walked through the halls of the castle, his chest feeling as if it were constricted which made his breathing shallow. Sweat dripped down his forehead as a lump remained in his throat, but he made an effort in hiding his true feelings from everyone that saw him as they passed down the halls. Fortunately there weren’t a lot of maids or guards in the hallways, and he was mostly alone with his two bodyguards: a Hylian from Hateno named Ammon and a Hylian from Lurelin named Orman. But even then he didn’t let his true emotions out. He needed to be strong right now, to be an anchor and a sign of hope for his people. Especially now more than ever.

Three years. Three years have passed since the calamity, yet Hyrule was already showing signs of danger. A strange substance called gloom had appeared in the castle; it stuck to the walls, the floors, and poisoned the trees that were nearby. The gloom was only there for a month, yet it spread all the way to Castle town, wreaking havoc on the people. Zelda made an effort to research the gloom, sending out researchers to make sure it wasn’t malice. To their relief, it wasn’t, yet to their despair it was far worse than malice. Anyone who came into contact with malice would get severe burns from the substance—it was painful, but easily treatable. Gloom, however, fatigued those who touched it. It sucked all hope and life out of them, and all they could do was to lay there until the terrible feelings went away. It took weeks for the first person infected to feel well, and the hospitals were being filled quickly with patients who remained stagnant in their recovery. Many researchers, Zelda included, had theories that the substance was a strange fungi or mold, but none of its characteristics matched such things. It was becoming overwhelming, and a dreadful thought of another disaster striking their fragile and recovering kingdom was becoming too much for Rhoam. The calamity took its toll on him, and he’s surprised he didn’t suffer a heart attack during it.

He took over every responsibility he was able to during the calamity in an attempt to get Zelda to focus on awakening her power. It was the only piece they needed, therefore it was top priority. Everyday being met with scorn, stress, criticism, and fear over what would befall his kingdom.

Her kingdom.

His wife’s responsibility, soon to be his daughter’s. He’d done everything he could to make sure she still had a kingdom to inherit. But now he feared it was going to crumble at their feet with this new threat. They couldn’t handle another calamity.

And Rhoam could feel himself growing ill from the fear.

A desire to take over everything again so his daughter wouldn’t have to endure any of the stress almost overtook him, but he knew he couldn’t do it this time. Zelda was twenty now—she was capable, strong, and despite still being timid, she was a remarkable leader. He didn’t trust her back then and it nearly cost him his life. He couldn’t make that same mistake now. He couldn’t hurt her again.

Rhoam made it to his room and he nodded at his bodyguards, who understood that he wished to be left alone. They remained outside his door as he entered, ignoring the strong desire to fall onto his soft bed. Instead, he walked across the large room, opened the door to his balcony, and looked out across his kingdom, soon to be Zelda’s. He allowed his mind to go blank as he stared, Castle town almost looking like a ghost town as most of its inhabitants were either inside or moved out.

It was far too similar to the calamity.

A gentle knock came at his door, and he turned as it opened slowly. To his surprise, his daughter peeked her head through, her brows drawn together as she nervously eyed Rhoam. She rarely came into his room.

“Zelda,” he greeted, forcing a smile as he went to greet her. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

Zelda also forced a small smile back and stepped inside. She stopped right in front of him and stood up straight as if she were a soldier awaiting orders. It hurt Rhoam’s heart to see his own daughter acting in such a way around him, but he couldn’t blame her. It was his own fault for such a dynamic happening.

“Father, I came to ask you something,” she started, her voice soft and nervous. She was going to ask him something he didn’t approve of. It was all too familiar to him. “This gloom is growing dangerous, and we need to find a way to deal with it.” she shifted slightly, her hands fidgeting with each other. “But the only way we can do that is to find out where it’s coming from.”

Rhoam let out an exasperated sigh. He knew it. “Zelda, going beneath the castle is forbidden. It has been for thousands of years.”

“I-I know, but the further we go under the castle, the more gloom that shows up.” She straightened herself again, clearly trying to appear confident. “It’s not just on the walls, but it’s in the air.”

“Then it is no place for you, my daughter,” Rhoam said simply. Even if the gloom originated from beneath the castle, he wasn’t going to let his daughter of all people explore it. She frowned slightly and sighed.

“Haven’t you ever wondered why we’re not allowed down there? Nothing from my studies answered why, none of the kings and queens before us answered why. Why must we follow their directions blindly when clearly the answer to the gloom is where it’s forbidden?”

Rhoam thought for a moment. He couldn’t blame Zelda for wanting answers; he remembered he was the same way when he first married into the family. But his wife made it very clear to not travel below the castle. He found it silly, but he knew better than to question the royal family. After a moment of thinking, he finally shook his head.

“We must look into it more before we break the most ancient rule,” he finally said, and Zelda’s frown deepened.

“We won’t have time. I have a feeling that something is going to happen. Don’t you feel it too? The air isn’t right today.”

Rhoam closed his eyes and nodded. He was too tired to argue this further. “I fear disaster will strike if we were to go down there. My decision is final, Zelda. Give it more time.”

Zelda’s glare melted away, and instead of her usual upset response to rejection, it was a resigned acceptance.

“Very well, father,” she muttered, turning away to leave the room.

“I’m sorry,” Rhoam quickly called out, wanting to ease the tension slightly, but Zelda only forced another smile. She left the room quickly and Rhoam let out a sigh, allowing himself to finally lay on the bed. The tension in his head cleared slightly as he rubbed his temples and he groaned. He hated it, he hated being king, he hated seeing Zelda look at him the way she did, he hated feeling like every action he took was a mistake, he just hated it all.

Rhoam laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling blankly. He almost couldn’t wait for Zelda to become queen so he didn’t have to tell her “no” anymore, but he knew he needed to wait. She needed to feel ready for taking on such a tremendous responsibility unlike him when his wife died. But he felt years of his life being stripped away from the stress of it all, and he didn’t know how much longer he could take it.

A beeping sound broke him from his thoughts, and he sat up, looking for where the sound came from. He heard it again and he looked down at himself, spotting his Sheikah slate that was glowing. Since the three years, Purah and Robbie wasted no time in developing more of the slates for those of importance. They only made a few; one for Zelda, Impa, the champions, the first knight, and of course, himself. They were developing more slates for the leaders of the different towns and villages, that way they could have quick contact in case disaster struck, but production was paused to find a cure for gloom. Rhoam admittedly used to find the bits of technology that weren’t the guardians or divine beasts rather childish, but since the calamity, he grew to have a greater appreciation of all of it. Quick communication (though it was rather finicky depending on where they were) was remarkably convenient, and teleporting to the different towers across Hyrule saved days of time. The things technology was capable of doing were incredible.

He only wished it wasn’t so confusing.

Rhoam frowned at the screen as he tapped several buttons, opening the map at least twelve times before finally getting to what beeped at him in the first place. To his surprise and dread, it was a message from Impa. Her message read:

I found something at the Great Plateau. Come quickly.

He reread the short message, rubbing his head tiredly. It was a concerning message to receive from Impa. Why did she need him of all people? What did she find that required the king’s attention? He was also frustrated at how vague it was—Impa normally gave very detailed explanations in her messages, so what did she find that caused her to be so vague? He hopped off his bed, not wanting to waste anymore time. Rhoam trusted Impa, and he knew that she needed him if she requested him personally.

He left his room, giving his guards a nod and pulling out his Sheikah slate. It took a long moment until Rhoam figured out how to teleport both him and his guards to the Great Plateau, but soon they disappeared in a blue light. The feeling of his body dissipating then materializing in a new area made him far more nauseous than before, and he stumbled slightly on the tower. Orman rested his hand on his shoulder to steady him, which helped.

“I’m alright,” he muttered after his vision cleared, and he straightened his back despite the slight vertigo. He faced the Great Plateau, a place he grew all too familiar with during the calamity. Glancing down at his Sheikah slate, Rhoam opened Impa’s message again, using his pointer finger to type his own message to her.

Where are you?

His bodyguards watched amused as he fumbled with the thing, finally sending the message before letting out a sigh. The air was calm here, but he did feel the unease in the world that Zelda had mentioned. Nausea built up in him again, and he decided to sit down on the tower while he waited for Impa to respond. His guards stared for a moment, standing in front of him with their weapons in their hands as if an attack were to happen at any moment. Eventually, Orman stepped closer to the king, his spear put away.

“Are you alright, my King?” He asked, and Rhoam only waved his concern away. He was always so compassionate.

“I’m alright… I’m just tired.”

“Is it the gloom?”

Rhoam didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to. The gloom was worrying everyone after all. But still, he didn’t want to seem… vulnerable to his own guards. He was always a hardened soldier, being the first knight of Hyrule before becoming the prince consort. Yet here he was, on the verge of a breakdown.

Orman didn’t press further to Rhoam’s relief, and his Sheikah slate finally beeped in his hands. The king scrambled to open the message, excitedly reading what Impa said.

At the cabin by Owa Daim Shrine.

He let out a sigh and stood up, facing the direction to the shrine. If he recalled correctly, the shrine was on a cliff side, which then led to the cabin across the cliff. He supposed it’d be quicker to teleport there, but…

No, figuring out how to teleport would take too long, as would trying to get down from the cliffside safely. Rhoam had a paraglider on him at all times, but his guards didn’t. It would be better to walk.

“Let’s go,” he said, walking to the opening in the ground on the tower. It took a long moment to get down since they had to climb to different platforms surrounding the tower, and Rhoam made a note to have his guards carry around paragliders to make traveling easier (though Rhoam rarely traveled out of the castle). He finally landed on the ground, stretching out his sore arms with Ammon close behind. Orman took the longest, losing his patience when he finally reached the platform and opting to jump off instead of climbing. Rhoam felt his heart stop when he landed from such a height, but the tall man was perfectly fine, simply brushing himself off. He let out a relieved sigh and faced south, marching towards the cabin with his guards behind him.

The Great Plateau was a place Rhoam and his guards grew familiar with since it was where they escaped to during the calamity. Many soldiers were wounded and left behind in battles throughout the kingdom, and Rhoam, having just escaped the castle, made an effort to gather them to the Temple of Time where they could get help. The healers in the sacred place helped his soldiers, meanwhile the king traveled around the plateau, killing all monsters and guardians that threatened his men. He remembered the days staring at the castle that was overflowing with malice, with red glowing lights of guardians surrounding what was once his home, praying to Hylia that Zelda was somewhere safe. The memories from the plateau weren’t entirely pleasant since Rhoam was filled with anxiety over his kingdom and daughter, but he couldn’t help but feel strangely nostalgic as he passed by Eastern Abbey. During the hardest moment of his life, it was the first time his world was quiet, and he was alone. Sometimes he missed the quiet nights he spent in the Forest of Spirits, or the peaceful mornings on Mount Hylia, but he supposed it was the price for being King.

He only hoped Zelda would at least get those quiet moments when she became queen.

Almost on instinct, he sent a prayer to Hylia, something he did so often during the calamity. He prayed that Zelda would not have to suffer the same way he did, that she would be safe, and that she would be a powerful queen to her people. The prayer was quick, but it filled him with some peace. The goddesses did well watching over her after all.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the cabin, and Rhoam quickly refocused his attention on the task at hand. It was silent save for the rustle of leaves on the trees, and the cabin seemed strangely empty. He walked up to the door and let out a sigh, knocking on it three times.

“Impa,” he called out, opening the door, “it’s King Rhoam, I—”

Rhoam stopped when he peeked inside the room. It was messy in the cabin, with some papers scattered about and random decorations on the table and dressers. But at the end of the table, he found a large man clad in red, with a mask covering his face.

“Kohga?” Rhoam blurted out, stepping into the room fully. Ammon quickly squeezed past Rhoam, putting himself in front of the king protectively.

“That’s Master Kohga to you, thank you very much,” the Yiga clan leader corrected, leaning against the chair casually. “About time you’d get here, you sure kept me waiting.”

Rhoam stared for a moment, blinking at him in disbelief. “You—did you send the message?”

Kohga took out a Sheikah slate, waving it around. “Yes.”

Fury bubbled within Rhoam. Of course. Goddesses of course this would happen to him. Amongst the catastrophe that is the gloom, of course something would happen that would waste his time.

“I don’t believe this,” he muttered, spinning around and leaving the cabin abruptly.

“W-wait! Your Highness–” Kohga suddenly appeared right in front of Rhoam, smoke and talismans fluttering in the king’s face. “You came all this way and now you’re gonna leave—”

“I don’t have time for your pranks, Kohga,” Rhoam snapped, “I’m going back to the castle.”

“Hold on!” Kogha put his hands on Rhoam’s shoulders to stop him from walking, but a smack from Orman’s spear made them draw back. Ammon once again put himself between the two despite being half their size, and Kohga finally backed away with an annoyed huff.

“What do you want, Kohga?” Rhoam finally asked, fury apparent in his voice. “How did you get Impa’s Sheikah slate? Did you steal it from her?”

“No no no!” Kohga denied. “I would never steal from Impa! Maybe if it was Link or someone else, yes I would, but I would never steal from Impa—”

“Then why do you have her Sheikah slate? Where is she?”

“She’s fine. She’s with her sister right now, calm down. I just needed her slate so I could message you,” Kogha poked Rhoam in the chest harshly, and the king’s glare deepened. “Y’see, I found something on this plateau that requires the king’s attention. Obviously.”

“Why didn’t you just request an audience with me?” Rhoam asked, watching as Kohga began pacing in front of him.

“Oh come on, that would’ve taken weeks! You’re a popular guy, you know that? And besides, why would anyone let me, the master of the Yiga, into the castle? Think about it,” Kohga glanced down at Ammon. “Short-stack right here would’ve gutted me alive.”

Rhoam sighed and put his hand on Ammon’s shoulder to calm him, and he stepped closer to Kohga. “Alright. What is so important that you took a classified piece of technology from my daughter’s advisor to contact me?”

Kohga was suddenly at his side, his arm wrapped tightly around his shoulder. “Well I’m glad you asked, ‘ol Rhoam-y boy.”

Rhoam pulled away and glared at him. “Don’t call me that. And stop touching me.”

Kohga ignored him and pointed back to the north. “The Forest of Spirits! That’s where I need to show you!”

Rhoam groaned, rubbing his aching head. “ And why didn’t you just ask me to meet you there?”

“Because I need to exercise my legs. Now come on, Rhoam-y boy!”

Rhoam only watched as Kohga ran ahead, who was already losing his breath.

“Are you seriously going to humor this guy?” Orman asked as he walked up next to Rhoam. The king only sighed. He knew better than to trust the Yiga; they helped save the kingdom, which couldn’t be ignored, but it didn’t erase the things they did in the past. Admittedly, he didn’t know if he could trust Kohga, but his daughter trusted him… so…

“Maybe he does have something important to show me,” Rhoam simply answered, not wanting to argue further, and he began to walk to Kohga who was panting for air. He heard his guards’ footsteps behind him, but they sounded reluctant as they crunched the dead leaves beneath them.

Rhoam made sure to keep his distance from Kohga as they walked, which wasn’t very easy seeing how the man could barely run. Though Rhoam couldn’t judge him too much, since he found himself out of breath as they walked up a few slopes.

It felt like hours until the group finally reached the Forest of Spirits, time feeling like it was being thrown away the longer they took. The more he walked, the more anxious he felt, and he couldn’t help but eye the trees around him. Kohga was rambling ahead of them, talking about walking trees, cave monsters, and Talus’s with bokoblins making camp on them. Absurd things no doubt, and Rhoam couldn’t tell if it had anything to do with what he was going to show him, but he chose to ignore him anyways. After a few minutes of walking through the woods, Rhoam finally stopped, his patience growing thin.

“Kohga, where in these woods are we headed to?”

Kohga stopped and turned around, his hand on his chest as if he were offended. “Patience Rhoam-y boy, goddesses.”

“I told you to stop calling me that—”

“A-HA!” Over there!” Kohga suddenly shouted, sprinting to the north of the plateau. Rhoam only glanced back at his guards, who gave him uncomfortable looks. The group jogged to keep up with Kohga, who went back to rambling.

“You see, I was walking around these woods… where I found a strange structure built by nature,” he panted in between breaths, turning his head back occasionally. “It’s not actually in the woods, but it’s closeby. A strange structure that may mean something important!”

It was clear that Kohga was amping up the dramatics, but Rhoam couldn’t tell if it was because the Yiga leader was just a dramatic person, or if he was being genuine. He just prayed that this wasn’t a waste of time. Kohga suddenly sprinted ahead and ran out of the trees, continuing to ramble as Rhoam pumped his legs to keep up.

“Personally I think it’s truly a piece of art, but I had to see what the king would say if he were to see it—”

Kohga abruptly stopped, and Rhoam rammed right into his back. He peeled himself away from the man, huffing as he straightened his beard. Kohga only shuffled his feet as if nothing happened, growing noticeably uncomfortable.

“Uh-oh.”

Rhoam frowned at the strange behavior Kohga was now exhibiting, and he moved to his side.

“What are you—” Rhoam began to ask, but he turned his head to see what Kohga was staring at, and dread sank into his stomach.

Gloom. Gloom that covered the cobblestones and grass in large puddles, gloom that covered the shrine, turning the ethereal blue light into a sick red, gloom that was a mist coming out of the ground around the shrine.

No.

It was spreading.

The silence was heavy as Rhoam stepped ahead, staring at the puddles of gloom that was scattered across the ground. He felt his throat close up as he got closer to one, nausea assaulting his stomach. Goddesses, it was spreading. It was no longer in Castle town, it was on the Great Plateau.

Where else had it spread? How far would it go?

“Well, this is not what I wanted to show you,” Kohga suddenly spoke up, staring at the ground around him. “This uh… wasn’t here an hour ago.”

Rhoam turned to stare at Kohga, his brows pinched together. It was spreading fast, it seemed. Goddesses…. What could he do? There wasn’t a cure from gloom poisoning, there wasn’t a way to remove the gloom, he felt… helpless.

Except…

Beneath the Castle…

Of course—of course, how could he be so foolish?

Zelda was right. It seemed the only way to deal with the gloom was to explore where it was forbidden. They needed to get down there, to find answers…. Maybe there was a way to remove the horrid gloom. Maybe there was a way to save the kingdom once again. The king found himself by the shrine, the panel flickering as gloom covered most of it. He still felt a strong sense of dread, but he had to push it away, they needed to act now.

“King Rhoam?” Orman called out. He was across the pond where Rhoam stood, with Ammon and Kohga further back. Rhoam took a deep breath and nodded at his guard, pushing the ill feelings back to make way for the motivation.

“We’re going back to the castle, and we’re going to explore deep into its depths,” he explained simply. “Zelda is right, the answer to this gloom may be down there. We cannot dawdle any longer.” He turned back to the shrine, staring at the gloom infecting it. “This gloom will spread further throughout the kingdom. We must stop it before it gets to that point.”

“Well it’s a good thing I did call for you then, huh?” Kohga called out, but Rhoam glared at him. He truthfully didn’t want to admit that whatever Kohga had planned was actually useful, and he simply turned to look at his guards.

“Let’s head back to the castle so we can—”

A sudden heave of the earth cut him off, and he fell back onto the panel of the shrine. His vision went white for a moment as his head smacked the panel, and his hand planted itself onto a gloom puddle. The strange sensation of the gloom beginning to worm its way into him caused him to flinch back, and he sat up away from the horrid substance. His head was aching worse than before, his hands felt numb, but from what he felt he wasn’t actually poisoned with gloom to his relief. When he glanced to see if the others were alright, he saw that Kohga was still standing, though looking confused, while his guards were on the ground. Rhoam attempted to scramble to his feet, but the earth heaved again, this time shaking violently. Dust flew into his eyes, immediately blinding him, and he covered his face with his sleeve. The earth roared around him, the sound of shaking trees, rocks, and the shrine flooding his ears, so much so he could barely hear his guards shouting for him. The king grabbed onto the shrine behind him, pulling himself up, but his hand once again touched the gloom covering the shrine. Dread clenched his heart, and he pulled away, only to fall back to the ground. He looked up again to see his guards sprawled out on the ground, Kohga missing, and rocks falling out of the sky.

“Oh goddesses,” he prayed, watching in horror as he spotted figures of islands in the clouds appearing as rocks fell from them, being trailed by a mysterious green light. Many of the rocks fell around them, which made the shaking worse for them. They were unsafe here and they needed to get away. Somehow.

“A-Ammon! Orman!” He called out, scrambling to his feet so he could meet with his guards. “We need to get out of h—”

Before he could finish, a loud crack from the ground interrupted him, and the ground suddenly gave way. Rhoam could only gasp as he fell backwards, plunging into darkness, with the light of the world growing smaller and smaller.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Wait, Kohga's got a thing for Daruk? Can I request/lovingly demand to see that? Or you know what, Kohga and any other Goron? Because I would PAY to see Kohga trying to take Goron dick and being like "... I may be in over my head here" 😂

One, Kohga ABSOLUTELY has a thing for Daruk. Big body, LOTS of pretty hair, and does more or less whatever he’s told. Granted I have no clue how much they’d have in common, but it’s smut, so here we go. Two, don’t you underestimate how much dick this man can take. Old Yiga techniques in this bitch.

“You know what, I can KINDA see where you’re coming from with this!”

“RIGHT?!”

Kohga and Daruk had decided to spend time together, upon Mipha’s instance (she was all about that sort of ‘unity’ and shit), and the ONE thing they could bond over? Food. It was why they were by a nearby stable, throwing stuff into a cooking pot. Turns out Daruk was a DAMN good cook, and with their combined ingredients, they were eating their fat asses off. Right now they were eating poultry pilaf, topped with goron spice, AND sliced bananas. Daruk wasn’t for it at the start, but he was now all about it, tucking into his bowl happily. Daruk damn near licked the bowl, nodding in content.

“I didn’t think bananas worked. I’ve had them with apples, but bananas? Somehow works.”

“Bananas go well with EVERYTHING. Add that with the goron spice, AND the way you cook that chicken? Beautiful. Nice skin by the way, crunchy.”

“Prime rock roasts are crunchier, but I don’t exactly think you can eat that.”

“I’ve THOUGHT about it, Link makes it look good.”

They both had a chuckle at that. They liked Link, and his insatiable hunger was one of those factors. Daruk looked through his ingredients, rubbing his chin for a second.

“How about...ooh, mushroom saute?”

“Only if you have Hylian mushrooms.”

“I got sunshrooms, but those are better.”

“Not for mushroom saute!”

Daruk shot him a look as if he was crazy.

“Okay, explain it to me, because sunshrooms are the best mushrooms.”

“Hylian mushrooms absorb the spices better. Sunshrooms are full of heat as is, it’s overkill.”

“Alright, let’s test it, powder puff.”

Kohga handed him the mushrooms, but not before raising a brow.

“I’m sorry, 'powder puff'?”

“Yeah, the hair. It’s like those little makeup puff things.”

“I’m OFFENDED! This is a traditional yiga hairstyle!”

“Is that why EVERYONE has their hair up like that?”

“Look,not everyone can have fucking lynel maned hair like you, don’t rub it in.”

Daruk laughed at that, rubbing the back of his head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was just pokin’ fun. Didn’t know people actually liked my hair that much.”

“Course everyone does! Look at this shit!”

Kohga dug his hand in his hair, helping it get only messier. God how pretty, all that hair was. What Kohga would give to pull it. Daruk laughed, cheeks getting rosey as he was getting flustered. Honestly, it was easy to charm Daruk.

“Aw, Kohga, thanks! Really, nice of ya. I’m glad Mipha made us spend time together. I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t sure how to feel about you when you first joined.”

Kohga shrugged, helping Daruk mix the food, mainly to check if it was done.

“I mean I can’t totally blame you, I DID try to kill you guys. Multiple times.”

“AND get Sooga to kill us a few times. Speaking of, where is the guy? Thought he was always glued to you?”

“Eh, I made him spend some time with Teba. Figured YOU were strong enough to protect little ol’ me.”

“Course I can! Ain’t nothin’ happening to you, even if there WAS something to be scared of!”

Daruk patted his head, and Kohga could swoon. Kohga, ever since he was a young man, had a thing for the big, strong Gorons. Hell, one of his first crushes was a Goron traveller (god did he LAY the flirts on that poor guy). Daruk served them their own bowls of the different sautees, and Daruk nodded thoughtfully.

“You know what, you’re right, actually. Huh, I always thought nothing could taste better than sunshrooms.”

Kohga nodded, swapping bowls with him for a minute.

“I mean the sunshrooms aren’t bad, not dissing your tastes. You like flavors as big as you, can’t say I blame you. Better than Sooga’s cooking anyway.”

Daruk laughed again, smacking his knee.

“Oh he can’t be THAT bad!”

“He doesn’t even LIKE Goron spice! I like the guy, a lot, but he needs to learn how to actually cook. Speaking of, how did YOU learn how to cook?”

“All Goron’s like to teach one another how to cook. I learned from a bunch of Gorons. You?”

“My mother. She was a great cook, taught me everything I know. She loved Goron spice too, always put it on meat. Especially during the holidays. Loved that woman.”

Kohga finished his bowl, about to decide just what they should eat next, when he felt something drop onto his head. He held his hand out, and felt it again. Rain. It then started to sprinkle, and in a manner of seconds, started to pour. They both scurried on inside (with Daruk being a gentleman and using his arm to protect Kohga), and Kohga went to the stablehand at the counter.

“Can we get a room for the night?”

Daruk, lost in his mess of wet hair, shook his head.

“I don’t mind sitting out with everyone, really-”

“I’m not asking. We need a room for this big guy, the biggest one you got.”

Daruk clearly had complaints about Kohga paying, but he wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise. Kohga helped him to his room, and right after getting him to bed, Kohga grabbed a towel, and smacked it on his face, trying to try his hair. Daruk chuckled, clearly not used to someone fussing over him like this.

“Hey, what’s your deal? It’s just some rain!”

“Sooga’s not here, ergo I’m your problem big guy. Now hold still, you’re almost dry.”

Daruk chuckled, sitting still as Kohga got the water out of his hair. Most of it anyway, he was mainly concerned of Daruk being able to see.

“I think I know why Mipha talks so much about you. You’re nice.”

“Hey. Hey. Don’t make me sound all sugar and sweet, rock man. Mipha likes everyone.”

Kohga was being a bit aggressive with the towel, mainly in hopes of getting him to shut the hell up.

“Not like you. She talks about you and Link a LOT. It’s kinda why I agreed to hang out with you, because you mean a lot to her.”

“Bah, it’s just because I set her up with Link.”

“You just don’t wanna admit you’re good.”

Kohga lifted his towel from Daruk’s face, seeing that big, stupid, grinning face of his. He was way different from Sooga, plenty expressive, ALWAYS smiling and chuckling. Not to mention he had the GALL to be so snarky with him.

“God bless your future wife, she needs the patience of a saint to deal with you. Lucky the face saves it.”

Kohga threw the towel at him, choosing to sit next to him and pout. He damn near fell off the bed as Daruk ‘patted’ him on his back.

“I know you meant that as an insult, but that’s super sweet.”

“How?”

Kohga groaned, rubbing his shoulder as the ache reached the rest of his body. Daruk shrugged, cleaning the rest of the rain water off of him.

“You said ‘bless your future wife’. Dunno if I’ll ever have one, but that’s super sweet. You try to be a big, scary guy, but you’re super sweet.”

“You’re lucky you’re not Sooga, HE gets slapped for calling me sweet. But yeah, you’ll have one. You’re tolerable. Something about the way you said that though...thinking about someone?”

Kohga was suddenly in his lap, on his back, looking right up at Daruk. Daruk grinned, giving a shake of his head.

“I mean...can you keep a secret?”

“Course, course! Unless you include my diary. I tell my diary everything.”

“Fair enough. Uh, yeah. Urbosa. I REALLY like Urbosa.”

“URBOSA? Really?”

Daruk nodded, digging into his ear in hopes of getting water out of it.

“Yeah. She’s super strong, she’s smart, she’s fearless, we’ve known each other for a LONG time.”

“So what’s stopping you? You two fight well together, I’d say that’s just as good of a date.”

Daruk shrugged, lifting his arm up to even dry his armpits. Not that Kohga was looking.

“I dunno. Feel like she’d be interested in some other guy. Feels like she’d like someone like Kass. You know, romantic like. I dunno the first thing about girls, much less a woman like her.”

“What is there to know? Women just like a guy who tries.”

“...really?”

“I actually don’t know, I’m gay as shit.”

Daruk sighed a bit, actually feeling a twinge of hope for a second. He seemed to have finished with the towel, wiping his hands, mainly as a means to do something with his sudden bout of nervous energy.

“I dunno. I guess it’s not something that’s gonna happen. Which is fine, I appreciate just knowing her. She deserved better anyway, what’s she want from someone who can’t woo her?”

Kohga shouldn’t be thinking what he was thinking. But Daruk was so vulnerable. So easily persuaded. Big, cute, eager to know how to love. Not to mention being locked in a room with him, all alone. A nice prey for a predator like himself. He sat up, trying not to grin too much.

“I can teach you.”

“What?”

Daruk clearly was confused. But that’s exactly what Kohga was hoping for.

“I’m not like Urbosa, but I know her VERY well. We’ve been fighting for a long, long time, you get to know someone pretty damn well. So, why don’t you try some stuff on me?”

“Uh…”

“What? Don’t do dudes?”

“No, it’s not that, I’ve been with guys before. It’s just...didn’t expect this, I guess?”

“That’s what love is! Spontaneous stuff! Full of surprises! I’m gay, but I know that’s ONE thing girls love. Plus, when has Urbosa ever shied away from any inconvenience, including in the battlefield?”

Daruk thought about it, and as Kohga suspected, it worked. He rubbed his head for a second, before nodding.

“I mean...kinda makes sense, actually.”

Kohga held onto his face, giving it a light squish.

“Of course I make sense! I’m THE Master Kohga! I’ll even be a nice guy and help you get started.”

Daruk seemed surprised by the way Kohga pushed him flat on his back (the power of cock made Kohga a VERY strong man), and crawled down to...whatever the hell it is that Gorons wore. Kohga always called it a thong, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t the official name for the garment. Either way, he pulled it away, and nearly choked on air. Holy. Fucking. Shit. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it sure as shit wasn’t this goddamn lynel crusher of a dick. It was huge, scaley (Gorons were more or less rock creatures with some parts of lizards), and as Kohga cupped it in his palm, he realized it wasn’t even hard. It was this big, as it was SOFT. The rather coarse texture was because of big, thick scales it was covered in. Daruk sat there for a moment, clearly confused as to why Kohga was just sitting there, gawking at him like that.

“I uh...you okay-”

“I’m JUST now figuring out you’re hung like a Lynel, I’m VERY okay.”

Don’t get Kohga wrong, this guy was a goddamn BEAST, but Kohga liked a big, thick challenge. Daruk was about to speak, clearly about to tell him he could call this off, but then he felt Kohga’s hand slide down his girth. Now that he actually touched it like this, he realized it wasn’t exactly rough as he thought, as it seemed to bend with a firm hold. Good, so it wouldn’t be like fucking a giant pinecone, but rather a cock with thick ridges. Yeah, he could work with this. Daruk chuckled, combing his hands through his messy hair.

“You uh...done this before, I take it?”

“Not with a Goron, but definitely done it before. Sneaking guys into stable rooms and getting my fill is...a hobby of mine, guess you could say. You’re not used to this though, you’re really liking how I’m holding you.”

“You have REALLY soft hands.”

“Funny, been told that a lot.”

Kohga chuckled. It was nice, getting to feel something bigger than his entire arm in his hand. The way it seemed to radiate heat, the way the flesh started to get harder as his hand roamed up nice and down. Kohga’s hand roamed, trying to find just what he liked, when he noticed just the spot close to the head. It made Daruk grunt a bit, and from a Goron, that was just as good as a moan.

“You’re REALLY good at finding that spot, Kohga.”

“Thank you. It helps that you aren’t fighting me on this.”

“Why would I? We both agreed to this, and this is...for Urbosa, right?”

“For who?”

“Urbosa.”

“Ah, right right right. Yes, totally for her.”

Daruk opened his mouth to ask of his true intentions, when he realized that wasn't very important, given the fact that Kohga's mouth wrapped itself around the head. Kohga’s soft lips never failed to make any cock feel good, and Daruk's was no exception. Kohga knew he couldn't swallow the whole thing (least not without some practice), but that didn't mean anything when you sucked as good as he did. He took a decent amount of him, and he felt Daruk get into it, so far as to put his hand on his head, gently prompting to take him further. If Kohga couldn’t breathe, he could stay down here all damn day. Unfortunately, air was a thing, so he had to pull away, softly gasping as drool still connected his mouth to his cock. Daruk lightly poked him in the shoulder.

"Sorry, I push too hard?"

Kohga shook his head, grinning as he used his hand to spread his spit along his cock.

"No, not at all. You're a big guy Daruk, but don't treat me so delicately. I can handle you, in the battlefield, and in the bedroom."

"Please don't tell me that means you're gonna take me without lube."

"Oh dear god no. I'm brave, but that'd be a suicide mission."

Kohga sat up, and dug into his inventory, pulling out a bottle of lube. Daruk gestured to it as he tried to catch his breath. Poor Daruk was holding himself pretty well up until now. Big, strong man he was. He removed his clothes (nothing more than needed of course), and was about to do some self prep, really put on a show, when suddenly Daruk pinned him down on his back, big, heavy palm on his chest.

"Hey, let me handle that. You shouldn't be doing all that work."

"I'd say 'fuck you, I do things how I want', but I do like doing no work. Almost gentlemanly, big and brawn. "

"Women like that stuff, right?"

"Course! Granted Urbosa is clearly not someone to flop over, but she's gotta appreciate you offering to do most of the...handiwork. I mean I know I do."

Kohga chuckled. He wasn’t Sooga by any means, but he was a big, handsome meathead. Most Gorons were. Full of gusto and big, stupid muscle. Was it any wonder Kohga had SUCH a crush on their species? It helped that Daruk wasn’t a total newbie about this, and didn't seem to be shy at all. Caring, but not shy. He lubed up his big, strong hands, and lathered up Kohga’s ass and legs, really getting him comfortable to his touch. Goron’s hands were...hot. Kohga was damn near swooning.

"You're gonna tell me if it hurts, right?"

"Pfft. If I didn't like it, trust me, you'd be on the floor."

"You wanna bet, boss man?"

Oh. Oh the way Daruk grabbed his ass as he said that. The way he leaned into him, looking at him with big, challenging eyes. The way he SAID that nickname. It took so much of Kohga not to just melt like butter, and giggle like a bunch of giddy school girls. Kohga may be a top, but if a man was big enough, strong enough, COCKY enough, that could change in an absolute flash. He gulped, forcing his inner whore to keep his composure. Even as Daruk dug a big, oiled finger inside of him, Kohga forced himself to keep his composure.

"Yeah, I do mean it. Bigger doesn't mean stronger. You wanna see it, I'm down."

"Ha! You got attitude, just like she does. Maybe this IS good practice."

"Practice my ass. No seriously, push it further, I can take it."

Daruk didn't seem convinced, but he was at LEAST smart enough to do as he said, and shoved his finger well knuckle deep. It made Kohga tremble a bit from it's size. It was so nice, so big, so slow and steady, Kohga knew he could cum with this, if given enough time. But he wanted more. He wanted to get fucking DESTROYED by that giant weapon on his. Daruk seemed to take the hint, and taunted Kohga's hole with another finger.

"Let's make a deal. If you can handle two fingers, right to the knuckle, we’ll do the real deal.”

“I could handle your whole fist if I wanted to!”

“You wanna bet?”

Daruk made the motion to move further when Kohga panicked, holding his hands out to stop him, and yelling at him to NOT. Don’t get Kohga wrong, he loved a good fisting, he just didn’t like it with a side of death. Daruk threw his head back in laughter, clearly he was kidding.

“I was just calling on your bluff, boss man! You’re fun to mess with. Sooga treats you like this, don’t he?”

Kohga was about to bark at him for talking to him like that, when Daruk introduced a second finger, and god dammit did it kill Kohga. A damn, good stretch, no hesitation on his end. He swore a bit under his breath, before shaking his head.

“I treat HIM like this. I’m much better with my hands. And he usually respects me enough to NOT talk back to me.”

“But you kinda like it. I can tell, because you aren’t stopping me.”

Kohga wanted to have a good comeback for that, but YOU try having something to say when fingers that big were pumping into your oiled up ass. Kohga stammered for a response, before he resorted to punching his shoulder.

“God just shut up and fuck me, rock man.”

Daruk wanted to keep using his fingers, but something told him that if he kept delaying it, Kohga was going to just kill him. So he slowly pulled his fingers out, before grabbing a hold of his thighs, and yanked him closer, till his own dick was brushed up against him. Suffice to say, Kohga was a BIT intimidated. His grip on Kohga was tight as he leaned down to his face.

“I can usually tell by someone’s face if they don’t want this. But uh...with the mask and all, I gotta ask, you sure you wanna do this? We can stop, or do something else. I don’t mind doing something...safer, I guess. No shame if you wanna back out.”

Kohga was distracted for a second. The thing was huge, and it was right up against his stomach. He could feel it, hot and thick against him. He wanted it, and he wanted it BAD. Kohga grabbed him by his stupid blue sash thing, and pulled, wanting to show just how serious he was.

“Fuck. Me. Daruk.”

That was as much of a sign as any. Daruk was so easy on those he found who needed a delicate touch, but if they wanted to go all out against him, he was NOT one to hold back. So he pushed his tip against him, before finally going inside of him. Kohga’s extra hand dug into the sheets. Now don’t get him wrong, he’s had some pretty damn good cock, but this? JUST having the tip in? Kohga already wanted to cum. It stretched his ass, and holy shit did Kohga love it. So much so, he was JUST now noticing Daruk was snapping his fingers in front of his face.

“You okay? You weren’t saying anything, thought I broke you.”

“I’m good. SO good, honestly. You could do more, a LOT more, half at least.”

Daruk learned quickly it seemed, choosing not to question him, and slowly, ever so slowly, started to push more into him. Daruk had one hand onto the wall, the other was used to hold Kohga down, as if he was worried Kohga would run from him. Kohga stayed right there, drooling right behind his mask. Daruk was being careful, but wasn’t sweet. His cock was filling him up, stretching him. As if that wasn’t enough, Daruk was letting him run his hand through that absolute mane of hair. So soft, so warm, it somehow made his cock twitch even harder. But that was nothing compared to how well it felt, having HALF of him inside. Daruk moved his hand right to ass, helping himself to a nice, big handful of Kohga’s absolute dump truck of an ass. No permission, no shyness. Just a big, hot hand. Holy shit.

“Gotta give you credit, you’re handling yourself pretty damn well. I’d ask if you were liking it, but uh, something tells me you are.”

Daruk’s stomach pressed up against his dick, and it was SO close to being enough to make him cum. Kohga prided himself in stamina, but dammit he wanted to bust one here and now. Kohga swallowed, somehow finding his voice as he panted something fierce.

“Y-yeah. I am. Don’t get cocky though, I can outlast you.”

“You wanna bet, bossman?”

Daruk was putting his full weight on him, really pushing himself against him, and holy fuck Kohga was so close that time. But that big, stupid face on Daruk forced him to not cum.

“Yeah. You wanna act smug, let’s bet. If YOU cum first, you gotta ask Urbosa out on a date.”

Daruk’s smirk shrunk a bit, definitely not liking that idea. His brows furrowed in determination.

“Alright. If I win, YOU gotta give Sooga a romantic date. No work on his end.”

Neither wanted to do either of these things, but both knew one of them HAD to be done. So, they both nodded in silent agreement. And that’s when things got crazy. The idea of a contest ignited that Goron fire in him, and Daruk started to finally move. Not just move, but actual rough, rhythmic thrusts, right into Kohga’s ass, He never went anymore than halfway into him, but that was more than enough for Kohga’s greedy ass. Daruk’s cock was not only big, not only thick, but those scales seemed to just brush against every sensitive little part of him. Kohga, in the midst of getting his ass PLOWED into, made the mental note to get a dildo that was JUST like the cock he was getting right now. Kohga thought he was doomed. But then he saw Daruk’s face.

Daruk was panting, he was groaning, he looked like he hadn’t gotten a piece of ass in a long, long time. Then Kohga recalled; HE was the top. He was going to MAKE Daruk lose this bet, even if it killed him. Despite the fact that his ass was being stretched to the size of a goddamn manhole, he dug his hand in that big mess of chest hair, and pulled. Just like Sooga’s long hair, Daruk liked his being pulled, forcing him to rest his forehead against his fist as he tried to pick up his pace. Daruk wasn’t faring too well, and it gave Kohga a fuck ton of confidence.

“You’re gonna fucking lose. You’re gonna lose because you LIKE fucking up my ass. You got a smart mouth, and nice, big hands, with lots of pretty hair. But you just can’t hold yourself when it comes to fucking a body like mine. You JUST started to plow me, and you’re already twitching.”

Kohga gave his chest hair another sharp pull, making him groan loudly at the firm grip from the otherwise soft, delicate hands.

“AND you even like your hair being pulled. You act like you’re rough and rowdy, but you really just like a nice, plump ass to stick that monster cock into. And it’s gonna feel even better when you FUCKING cum in it. Go on, give me that fucking Goron cum.”

Kohga had a way with words. Had a way with his greedy hands and plump ass. Such a way, that Daruk came. He came, with a loud, shameless growl in his voice. Immediately Kohga felt his ass stuffed in cum. However, given the fact that it was occupied with damn near a whole foot of Goron cock, it spilled down his ass, and into the bed below. Kohga was grateful for it, and used the chance to pump his own cock. It helped that Goron cum felt...different from normal cum. It felt much thicker, much HOTTER than usual cum. It didn’t burn, but holy hell did it feel good to have it shoved in his insides. Not to mention him cumming right after, being full of so much big, sexy Goron, felt SO much better than any personal wank session. He didn’t even care that he came, all over his chest, and even his own mask. It was a good, hard, fast fuck that Kohga wanted, and deserved.

They sat there for a moment, bathed in sweat and cum. Kohga couldn’t remember when he last felt so full, and Daruk couldn’t remember when he last felt so empty. Kohga chuckled, leaning up a bit to poke Daruk on the forehead.

“I win. YOU gotta ask Urbosa out now!”

Daruk groaned, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache.

“I...guess you’re right. A bet is a bet, boss man. Can’t believe you beat me to the punch.”

Kohga folded his arms over his chest, smug as could be.

“Course I did! I’m THE Master Kohga! Now, help me get out of bed. I feel absolutely NOTHING below the waist.”

[matchamabs]

BOTW (and AOC) GUYS: RANKED BY HOW HOT THEY ARE

get ready for some heinous opinions! so im ranking the guys in botw by how hot they are and im taking No criticism. idk if i forgot anyone but i tried

check it out under the cut 

sorry but this twink is just. average. like Painfully average. hes like white bread. therefore he gets an average score. i can appreciate hes a cute lookin guy? but like. thats it. if u fancy link u probably like mayonnaise. he looks like mayonnaise. grow a fuckin tache or smth dude for the love of god. 5/10 very normal.

ok im a diehard bird simp but like... this boy is fuckin ugly lmao. hes pretty at the same time tho? nice smile, nice eyes, nice voice but yellow eyebrows? green eyes? red makeup? clown. he’s a bird clown. tho i guess some ppl find clowns hot so this one’s for the pennywise crowd. 5/10. he’s a 10/10 in my heart tho.

now this is a MAN. u got the good smile, the strong arms, the r i p p l i n g  m u s c l e s. he is a man u can trust. his arm hair is a bit wild but if u dont like his incredible facial hair, then.... idc. 7/10. they made a rock handsome. thats impressive. 3 points off for the forehead vagina tho. dont like that.

hot fucking damn. this is what we in the biz call a raging dilf. he looks like the kind of dad that never grew out of his punk rock phase. idk how i feel abt the broken traffic light look but its fine. just look into his gorgeous eyes and listen 2 his deep gravelly voice as he tells u to fuck off and leave him alone. perfection. the voice already makes him like 20/10 but the mullet is fucking awful and he should be penalised for that. 8/10. grow a fringe like the rest of us.

ah the shape of water... ok yeah the fish is fuckable ill grant u that. hes All fuckin torso tho and his eyes r constantly pointing in different directions which is not the Most Flattering Look and he Will hit u with his head handlebars and it will hurt. the 24-pack aint half bad either but i always get this feeling that he looks like he skips... some kind of day. not arm day, not leg day, but... some kind of day. maybe brain day.  8/10. sharp teeth are always sexy.

10/10. i dont fuckin care if u hate his hair- this man probably invented the most effective hairspray in existence just to make that happen. respect him. u cannot deny hes hot tho like theres just Something about him. the confidence... the attitude... i worry about revealing his eyes tho. theres a 50% chance it will not work in ur favour and he’ll just look heinous. full 10/10 tho. old robbie is also not bad 2 look at if ur not a coward but he Might leave u for an easy bake oven so like. watch out for that.

well the queen saw something in him??? i genuinely fear the idea of ever getting to see his chin from under that magnificent beard tho. he’s probably got the jawline of a russian power lifter. anyway for an old guy hes not lookin that bad so long as u dont mind a receding hairline. ill b nice. 5/10. for a king u could do worse. ill be taking complaints about this take in my dms. bring a bat. 

where do i begin. i love beedle. i rlly do but theres.... so much going on. personality is a 10/10, business skills are 10/10/ haircut is -50/10 and the crop top....? well ill give him 10/10 for confidence. 4/10 im sorry he is just a Lot to look at. he looks like rock lee tried to become a slutty pirate king. shonen jump will have a lot to answer for.

the colour scheme is... better than revali, tho i didnt realise how obnoxious it was until i actually got a good look at him. ive never seen a bird look so top heavy before but this mans got 5 kids so i have nothing but respect for my king. kass is for the dilf crowd that like the dad bods. 8/10 he is quite nice to look at ngl. he’s like revali but light mode.

ok yunobo is very cute i wont lie but the hair is just massively disarming. idk its all i can think about. is this a goron emo phase?? is that what that is?? ive been staring at it for like 5 minutes and i still cant work out if i like it or not. 5/10 he is a humble lad. 

under all that gear kohga could look like willem dafoe x50 and id still find him attractive. he cant be hot tho. he just cant be. like looks wise he has to be 1/10 under that there is no way this man could feasibly be conventionally attractive and tbh i like it that way. banana boy gets 6/10. hotter than revali. revali looks like a clown but kohga looks like the entire fucking circus

there is nothing unattractive about bolson. 10/10. sha-ding

i hate the hair i hate the hair i hate the hair i hate the hair SO fucking much but the voice. he has to be hot under that gear with a voice like that. if hes not well. just close ur eyes. the voice will take care of the rest. 8/10 the crack in his mask actually makes him look sexier and i dont understand how that can happen

????????????????????????? he looks. like an old man? i swear those big wingy bits are his eyebrows but i cant Quite be sure. why would a tree need eyebrows. ??/10 keep ur questionable gifts to urself

-100000/10 who the fuck let this budget pokemon npc in here. he looks like he should b leading team ganon across the kanto region. he probably draws those lines on his face to make himself look older and listens to mother mother. im gonna punch his third eye. no this is not a biased opinion 

[cherry-draws]

[Master Kohga x Reader] Fantasy Night

Warning : this One-Shot contains sensuality, but not sexual scenes or violence.

Here is my first x Reader text, I'm not fond of this kind of litterature so I decided to do one in my way. I hope you'll enjoy it, do not hesitate to leave me a comment if you have any question or suggestion !

It had been a while since you joined the yiga clan, and you had gotten used to it faster than you thought. Contrary to what rumors might suggest, it didn't sound so much like a cult, although headed by a leader, you were more like family. As a simple yiga footsoldier, you spent your days on a mission, roaming the endless and verdant plains of Hyrule. Fearing that you would be reprimanded if you came home empty-handed, you often made arrangements to bring back food or rupies. During your days off, you liked to alternate rest time and activities with your circle of friends.

That evening, a party was organized to celebrate an achievement: your clan had managed to steal the Thunder Helm, a sacred relic belonging to a people living in a distant city in the desert. It was a unique object, allowing protection against lightning, and which could be resold at a high price.

Some members, whith coocking habilities, had been busy preparing multitudes of banana-based dishes: pancakes, fruit chutneys, salads, cakes, etc.

Everyone was gathered, including your leader, Master Kohga, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

The party had dragged on until late at night, and while most of the members had gone to bed, the more reckless ended up dozing off in the kitchen.

You were part of it, except you weren't asleep, you were pretending. You glanced fondly at a sleeping footsoldier in the arms of an officer. It didn't surprise you, indeed, you had suspected them of feeling an attraction to each other for some time.

You too were secretly attracted to someone from your clan. Lying on your side, your head resting on your left arm, your right leg drawn back to your chest, you watched in silence, almost holding your breath. You hadn't told anyone about it, you did everything to show nothing. The truth is, you weren't interested in the slim, skinny bodies of your fellow underlings, nor did you look at the sturdy, muscular figures of the officers, who tended to impress you. No, the one you were interested in, was him.

Kohga was different on this point. He had generous shapes, and that's what appealed to you.

You took a certain pleasure in watching him as he slept, full, his back leaning against the wall, his chin tucked slightly towards his chest. Those slender arms, that flat chest, that round belly, those broad thighs ... How many times had you wanted to get closer and curl up against his body, how many times had you hoped for a brief physical contact? Still, you didn't feel like you had romantic feelings, it turned out mostly to be respect mixed with fascination. You were just physically attracted to him, and you considered it guilty pleasure. Of course, everyone in the clan thought Kohga was charismatic, but did everyone else feel the same? A part of you was telling yourself that it wasn't normal to be attracted to this type of physique, that you shouldn't think of such things to your leader, but you quickly pushed the idea out of your mind. . You especially wanted to take advantage of this moment to watch it with impunity, while you gradually let yourself fall asleep.

Some kinds of complaints pulled you out of your drowsiness, you tried to ignore them at first, but their persistence prevented you from going back to sleep. Intrigued by their provenance, you stood up awkwardly, leaning on your hands and shook your head. Once you woke up, you realized Kohga was no longer sleeping. He was standing in a position of some discomfort and moaning loudly, which made you feel worried.

"M-Master Kohga ... is everything okay?" Are you hurt?

-Yes, I think .... that I am a victim of indigestion ... I should never have eaten so much tonight ...》

Looking around the surroundings, you realized that you were completely alone, the last members had probably ended up going to bed. You think for a few seconds about what to do.

“Um ... I think you'd be better in your bed. I ... if you wish, I can take you in your bedroom.

-Impossible, I can't even ... get up ... I'm going to stay here until it's over. Do not worry about me. You can go to sleep ... ah, ouch!”

Seeing him bend over in pain, for the first time since you joined the clan, you refused to obey. Your instinct seemed to take over your reason, and your body began to act on its own.You knelt down and grabbed his left hand in your hands, then your eyes met. Your heartbeat quickened slightly as you felt a new sensation run through your body. This physical contact, that you dreamed of so much had just happened, and you saw your chance to get closer.

"Sorry. I cannot leave if you are not feeling well. Let me heal you. I know a method, I know how to practice a kind of massage ... if it doesn't work, I will go and tell the others. Please.

-I'm really in pain ... do what you want but do not stay there doing nothing, it's an order!

-Shhh ... Calm down. All I need is you to relax and let me go. I promise you'll feel better soon. "

The impulses, which you tried to hide from the eyes of others since the day they manifested themselves, were felt more and more. At this point, you had no other choice but to let them express themselves.

The next moment you were leaning over Kohga, your face barely three feet from his, massaging his belly. Your hands were back and forth in circular movements, your thin fingers tapped lightly or bent back from time to time. You could easily feel his skin stretched through the fabrics, you weren't content just to contemplate his curves, now you could touch them. You had to restrain yourself to not undo his belts. Could you afford it? Was he going to let you do it without showing opposition ? Did you just wanted to keep its from hurting, or was it just to give yourself more freedom? On the other hand, you liked to see those bands of leather tightening more and more against his flesh, and seeing them burst due to pressure would probably not have displeased you. Your right leg came to rest between his, as you gently pressed your face against his stomach, kissing it.

Yoou didn't even knew if you were taking care of your leader, or if you let your fantasies taking life. The feeling of desire that burned deep in your being had now changed to an indescribable pleasure. You were alone, Kohga offered no resistance, and this was perhaps your one and only opportunity to gain access to this bulky body. In all your life, you had never felt so good, so relaxed, so free.

A whisper from him brought you back to reality for a brief moment. Intrigued, you leaned forward, almost lying beside him.

“I feel better, the pain has eased ... I think I'll be able to go back to sleep now.

-If you don't mind, I would like to stay by your side for the night. If you ever feel bad again, I would like to be sure that I can intervene quickly.

-Well, if you want to and if that can reassure you, okay. You just have to lie down here.

-Thank you. Rest Master Kogha, I will watch over you. "

After a long time devoted to this massage, you end up snuggling up against his body. You leaned your head against his chest, resting your right leg against his thick thighs, and hugged his plump belly with your slender arm. His steady heartbeat and barely audible breathing calmed you. You felt his hand rest on your shoulder, which made you shiver slightly, but gave you a sense of security. Regardless of whether he made the gesture consciously or not, you could finally sleep peacefully.

Entwined.

When you woke up, you weren't sure where you were anymore. When your eye got used to the brightness of the room, you realized that you were completely alone in the kitchen. You got up slowly feeling as though you had slept wonderfully. Then everything suddenly comes back to you. You looked your way, walking nervously through the hallway. What if everything you've been through was nothing but the fruit of a fantasy? If this really happened, what were the consequences going to be? What would happen if Master Kohga realized what you had done? Lost in your thoughts, you heard a voice calling you.

"Hey, oh, Y / N, what are you doing, are you daydreaming?"

-Who me ? Oh uh excuse me Mahy, I was lost in my thoughts, what were you telling me?

-In fact, I need you to do me a favor. We were about to get ready for the day when several members started complaining about having a stomach ache, some even didn't want to get up. It hurts me seeing them like this, so I decided to prepare a medecine to relieve them. I would like you to boil some water, during that time I will check if there are any herbs left in the storeroom.

-Of course, you can count on me! "

You picked up an abandoned torch that you brought up to a lighted candelabra before returning with a determined step towards the kitchen and lighting the fire under the container. Finally, you poured in a generous amount of water and knelt down while waiting for Mahy to return. If you were focused on your task, in your head, everything was jostling. The fact that some of your comrades were also sick indicated that what you had not dreamed. Of course, you didn't regret what hhappened, but you feared possible consequences. You heard the quick and lively footsteps of your friend coming towards you. She appeared, her arms laden with grass.

“The harvest was good ! We're going to boil this for a few minutes and it'll be good. Thanks for your help anyway.

-That's not much. "

After filling the bottles with still boiling herbal tea, you headed for the dormitories. You walked back, still preoccupied with the events, hoping no one noticed anything. Once you got to the rooms, you stopped.

"Hello Mahy, hello Y / N, there you are finally. I decided to give you a day off for today, since most of the soldiers are sick. But I want it to be a lesson to you, next time avoid stuffing yourselves like boboklins!

-Do not worry about that Master Kohga, we have prepared herbal tea, soon everything would be nothing else but a bad memory!

-Well, I see we have two young doctors in our clan, that's good news! Y / N, when you're done, I'd like to talk to you.

-You can go now, I can take care of the distribution by myself, you have already helped me a lot.

-M… Thank you, Mahy. "

Anxious, you started to follow your leader. You walked hesitantly, apprehensively, holding your hands nervously. You took the opportunity to discreetly contemplate his back, remembering that last night, you snuggled up against this thick body. Once away from the rest of the group, he stopped and turned in his direction. You straighten up, standing straight, as if you were about to receive an order.

"Y / N, yesterday, I fell asleep before I had time to thank you, that's why I summoned you. You stayed awake for a long time just to heal me. So ... thank you for everything you've done.

-Oh uh ... if it was just that ... it's nothing, I couldn't sit back and do nothing. By the way, I wanted to ask you ... I ... did I hurt you yesterday? I'm not used to massages so I wondered. "

-Hey? But not at all, it makes me feel way better, as a proof the pain is gone. Looks like you've been doing this for years! Besides, why don't you practice this technique on our members, it would cure them ? Or then, there is only the strong, the burly, the one, the only, the Master Kogha, who deserved this ? "

There was silence for several long seconds. Then he burst out laughing.

“Mwahahahaha! I'm kidding, don't worry ! Now you can go. "

You left the room feeling happy, light, peaceful, as if you had relieved your conscience. You could now enjoy your day, and think back to that night without feeling guilty.

[magicalshitposts]

The boy finds home

(If you wanna read on AO3 and avoid Tumblr’s awful text formatting Click Here)

The small outlier sat in the corner of Kohga’s throne room, ignoring the commotion in the middle.

“Look newbie, I don’t know what you want to do with the brat but he’s not my problem.” Kohga declared to the foot-soldier who stood in front of his throne.

“But Master, he’s just a chi-“

“Not. My. Problem.” Kohga shooed the man away, and the solider had no choice but to comply, “Boy, come over here.”

The boy did not. In fact, he made no movement at all, acting as if Kohga was not in the room.

“Boy.” Nothing still, “At least tell me your name then.”

The boy spoke for the first time, “Why? If you’re just gonna chuck me out.”

The man on the throne sighed, “Well I am the great Master Kohga. Now you know my name, tell me yours.”

Again, the boy did not.

“Kid, I have better things to do in life then sit around and wait for you to talk.”

The child spoke again, “Then do them, ‘cause your gonna be waiting a long time.”

“Why you aggravating little- Kohga stopped himself, this was a child after all- Keep calm Kohga, keep calm”

He stood himself up from his throne, “Fine, have it your way.”

Kohga was just leaving the room as a spark of panic flooded through the child. He didn’t want to be alone, not again. “I don’t know.”

Kohga turned his head back, “You don’t know what?”

“My name. I don’t know it.”

“Well that’s sad.”

“Yeah – the kid looked towards the man, puzzled– I know.”

The boy had stayed there that night, and the next, and the next and then for a week. It had become clear to the Clan that this boy was staying, if only for a while.

“SOOGA! COME OVER HERE!” Master Kohga’s voice shrilled through the halls surrounding his bedroom late one night and his right-hand man appeared beside the man’s desk in a such small time it made Kohga jump.

“Master Kohga, How may I be of assistance.” Sooga asked looking down to Kohga.

“Firstly by easing up a little, sheesh.” Kogha gestured to another chair in the room and took off his mask, getting Sooga to do the same, “Sit down, your gonna be here a while.”

Sooga sat but by no means looked more comfortable.

“Right then, the boy.” Annoyance dripped in Kohga’s voice. He clearly did not want to be having this conversation, which was a surprise to Sooga. Normally if the Master didn’t want to have a conversation, he just wouldn’t. Why was this different?

“What about him?” Sooga pushed for Master Kohga to finish his thoughts.

“If he’s staying here, he’s going to have to be called something other than ‘the boy’.” Kohga leaned on the back on his seat, his legs too short to touch the ground.

“He does not have a name though, Master.” Sooga watched apprehensively as Kohga swung back and forth.

“Exactly, so what am I getting at?”

“I’m… not sure.”

“C’mon Muscles, dig down in that cavern of a brain.”

Sooga was bothered at this comment. Everyone knew that he was the brains of the operation. The entire clan would be dead if it weren’t for him, especially when Master Kohga got put in charge. Now, Sooga didn’t want to take credit away from Kohga, in fact that was the last thing he wanted, but Kohga knew that Sooga was far from an unintelligent man and he would appreciate the recognition.

Sooga caught on.

“Please tell me you aren’t suggesting we name the child, Master?”

“Bingo, Big guy!”

Sooga looked bewildered by the proposal.

“Sir, with all due respect are-“

“No respect needed lackey; this is what we’re going to do.”

“Sir. Listen to me.” Kohga glanced towards his right-hand man, “by naming this child we claim a sense of responsibility for him, whether we like that or not. Are we prepared to care for a child? Is the Clan prepared to care for a child?”

“Come off it Sooga, you’re making us sound like a married couple.” Kohga laughed completely ignoring the question.

“Master Kohga.”

Kohga sighed. “I don’t know, but the kid’s staying now so it’s a bit too late to be asking that question. And anyway, ‘we’ aren’t caring for anything, I’ll still be preparing to the Great Calamity’s revival and you’ll still be assisting me or whatever, we’ll leave the boy under the Clan’s care. I’m sure with the hundreds of them there are, they’ll cope with one measly kid.”

Not the answer Sooga wanted but he must settle for what he got.

“Now, names!”

 The conversation carried on for a while, discussing the different names for the child. They first threw out a few random suggestions, none of which sat properly. Sooga suggested Hayle, Kohga suggested Sooga start thinking of good names before he’s kicked out.

The ideas were just a melting snowball before Sooga stated “He’s Sheikah, isn’t he?”

Kohga tapped his chair, “I mean, yes with that hair but it’s not like he knows. Why?”

“We could name him after the Sheikah naming conventions.” Sooga suggested.

“As a Yiga Master this goes against every one of my core values.” Sooga laughed lightly at the Master’s response to his suggestion. “And who would name their kid after fruit anyway, it’s ridiculous.”

“To us maybe, but this boy isn’t Yiga. We should respect his culture Master Kohga.”

Kohga rolled his eyes all too dramatically before giving in.

“Fine. We’ll call him Apple.”

“Master, Sheikah name’s derive from fruit, they aren’t directly named after it.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Kohga jumped off his seat in his excitement, “We should name him after the mighty banana. He could be called like, Na…Bana… yeah, Bana?”

Sooga just stared towards his boss.

“Fine maybe not, but my fruit Knowledge is not too great y’know!”

Sooga looked around Master Kohga’s room, for any and all inspiration that may come his way. His eyes settled on a tiny, framed painting, one that the Master insisted he hated but had never put away. He felt like Master Kohga’s notion towards this painting may be similar to the one of the child.

“How about after strawberries?” Sooga suggested.

“Oh don’t tell me your looking at that horrible painting- Sooga smiled endiringly- What would we even call him, Strawman?”

Sooga thought about it.

“Robbie.”

“How’s that connected to Strawberries? Strawberry… straw-robbie… Oh! that’s actually nice.”

And it was decided.

The boy was no longer just ‘The boy’, but was Robbie.

 He woke up early in the morning, as he normally did. It took him a minute remind himself he was safe… ish. He wasn’t in the forest preparing to go rummage in the trash for food, so it was a step up in his book. He had been told to sleep in the dungeon, in one of the cells. This didn’t make him feel all too comfortable, but the cell door stayed open so that’s nice. He walked around, with aim of going to the mess hall for food. But the Yiga Hideout was windy and treacherous for someone who didn’t know it, especially to the mind of a small boy. He got lost far too quickly for his liking, so looked for landmarks as he did in the wild. He recognised the frog statue that had a crack in its head, it was different than the rest. He was on the right track. He passed the hallway with the holes in the ground (he didn’t know what those were for, but they looked menacing) and then took a left and he was completely and utterly lost. Crap. It wasn’t his fault, all the rooms here looked the same, how was he supposed to know the difference. He was surprised that the people who lived here could tell the rooms apart. He sat down in the dark dingy hallway and waited. There were loads of people in this place, someone would pass him eventually.

 While the boy waited for another person to see the light of day went to the closest room and examined. It’s what he did best. He decided to go over the room top to bottom. From the ceiling to the walls, he would know this room better than anyone who lived here by breakfast.

It was big. That felt like a good start. It was huge in fact. The boy knew it may just be his brain playing tricks on him as he was so small, but the hole in the middle of the room must have been the size of at least 20 moblins. A fact for you, the boy did not have the best idea of size.

The boy felt himself getting wrapped up in this room, wanting to know every secret it could ever hold. Why was there a hole in the middle? Why put a lantern over the hole, what if it fell in? How did they make the actual room round? Bricks are square! He had so many questions for this room, all of them he wanted to answer himself, through his own intuitiveness. But that opportunity was cut short by the huge man with kinda dumb hair.

“There you are boy. Come now, you’re needed.”

“Why?” The boy asked.

“Master Kohga needs you in his office.” The big man, who the boy remembered was called ‘Sooga’, put out his hand for the boy to take. He just looked at it.

“I can’t leave. I’m not done yet.”

“Done with what?” Sooga knelt to be on The boy’s level. Patronising.

The boy rolled his eyes at the fact Sooga didn’t know, it was pretty obvious to him what he was doing, “Examining the room. I still have questions to ask it.”

Sooga didn’t quite understand what the child meant but played along anyway. “Could you ask them after the Master talks to you?”

“No, I need to do this first. I’ll forget the questions otherwise.”

Sooga reflected. Normally people here would drop everything if Master Kohga needed to talk to them, but this boy wasn’t a Yiga. He didn’t know the importance of the Master.

“Well the Master needs to talk to you now,” The boy was about to protest before Sooga cut him off, “So how about we write down the questions you want to ask. Then you’ll remember them for after. I can help answer them too, if the Master allows it.”

The boy thought about it. He had never even considered writing his questions down, mainly due to the fact he didn’t know how to read or write, but if this Sooga guy could help him, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.  

“We need to write them down now though.”

“Of course.”

 One wrong turn! He was one turn away from the mess hall! And sure, he was glad he made the wrong turn, otherwise he wouldn’t have found that cool room, but he was still annoyed at himself. Sooga had stopped in front of a big red door.

“Behave, okay.” He looked to the boy, who rolled his eye’s in response.

“It depends if he says something dumb or not.”

“Boy.” Sooga’s voice got stricter, “Behave.”

The boy shuffled where he stood, tears forming at the sides of his eyes. He didn’t like getting told off.

“Master, I’ve got him.” Sooga entered the room, ushering the boy to do the same.

“Boy! You’ve been a right pain in my side!” Kohga was sat at a heightened table, eating a banana. He pointed to the chair opposite. The boy made no sign to sit down so was guided to the chair.

Kohga raised an eyebrow, but the boy couldn’t see it behind the mask, “Where have you been?”

“In that cool circle room.” He answered, the thought of his questions came back to him, “Actually can this be quick, I still have questions to ask it.”

Sooga sighed and placed a hand on the child’s shoulder, prompting him to stop. The boy moved away from the touch.

“You hungry?” Kohga pointed to the bowl of bananas on the next table over. The boy shook his head, why were there so many tables if it was one guy’s room?

“Your loss, anyway. I got some news for you. After a week of you being here, I don’t think I’d be forgiven if I sent you back into Hyrule. So, welcome to your new home.”

The boy looked confused.

“What?” He said.

“What?” Was the only answer that Kohga gave back.

“What do you mean, ‘welcome to your new home’?”

“I mean, you can live here. With us and the clan,” He looked to Sooga who just shrugged in response.

“Why?” The boy asked another question.

“Well done kid, you know the 5 W’s.” Kohga paused, “What do you mean why?”

“You were talking about kicking me out only a week ago. What’s different now?”

“Kid, you only arrived a week ago. Of course I wasn’t keen on keeping you around then, but let’s say I’ve warmed to you. You aren’t half bad, and as long as your not a little… pest, you can stay.”

The boy paused. The thought of a home. In his brain he was jumping for joy, so this was home now. Home.

“Thanks.”

“Well that’s news one out of the way-“

The boy jumped in his seat, “There’s more?”

Kohga laughed a little, maybe childhood excitement was more contagious than he thought.

“Yeah, there’s more.”

The child waited in anticipation.

Kohga was really playing it up now, “So, I’m guessing your getting pretty sick of people calling you ‘the boy’”.

The child shrugged in response, “I guess I’m used to it now. It doesn’t really bother me.”

Ouch. Well if that didn’t tug on Kohga’s heart strings. “Well you definitely don’t like not having a name. I could see that from the day I met you. So, if it’s not too imposing or anything. Me and good ol’ Sooga here thought of one for you. Robbie.”

The boy and Sooga had the same look of surprise, but one was hidden by their mask. Sooga wasn’t expecting credit for the child’s name. If he didn’t feel a sense of duty before, he did now. Sooga was a loyal soul and vowed to himself right then and there to protect this child, Robbie, with his life.

 robbe. robby. Robbiy. Robbie. A name all of his own. Given too him by the people who he now shares a home with. Holy Hylia. Robbie was now crying. Normally he was good at holding back emotions, tears would form but never stream down his face. He’d be over it before it mattered. This however was so entirely different. He was crying. Sobbing at the idea of having a home, of being Robbie. 7 years he’d just been ‘boy’ or ‘child’, maybe that affected him more than he once thought. Because having Sooga kneeling in front of him saying “It’s okay Robbie, you’re alright” put a band aid on his scared, damaged soul. And it would be one of many as he became a part of a family.

---------------------------------------------------

I really enjoyed writing this, It’s cute wholesome fun and I will definitely be writing more of this AU. 

Also god bless This Post by 7spaceace7. I wouldn’t even know where to start about writing the hideout so this was such a help.

Anyway, have a nice day!

[silentprincess17]

Sometimes Things Have To Get Worse Before They Get Better

This is essentially a darker, heavier alternate take on Memory #7 - Blades of the Yiga. I wanted to write a fic with a competent Yiga Clan. (Yes you read that right). It is very angsty in the beginning and then becomes fluffy (hence the title!)

Summary: Link and Zelda have returned from Vah Naboris with Urbosa and have spent the night in Kara Kara Bazaar Inn. Link wakes up and finds her missing.

Cue the angst.

This story is complete and I will post each chapter daily on here but you can read the whole thing on AO3

Rating: Mature (Graphic descriptions of violence) Pairing: Link/Zelda (Zelink) Characters: Link, Zelda, The Yiga Clan, Master Kohga

Chapter 1: Everything goes wrong when you don't have breakfast

Link was having a bad morning. He’d missed breakfast, a cardinal sin, and now he was anxiously darting around the Bazaar, weaving between the trees, in an attempt to see if he could spot a glimmer of blonde hair or a flash of a blue shirt.

She just had to run away. Again.

He sighed. It wasn’t that hard to understand why she constantly gave him the slip, even if he wished she didn’t. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to think such things, especially when he knew it wasn’t really him, she was running from, rather it the sword that was strapped to his back. It wasn’t him she was frustrated with, it was herself. And the sword symbolised how he was apparently fulfilling his destiny and his side of things, whilst she struggled endless with the stone-cold Hylia and had nothing to show for it. Essentially, the sword meant destiny and fate had already set out a predetermined plan for her, and she was currently set for failure. So yes, he could understand why she felt the need to escape what was surely a suffocating sight every day- the boy with the sword that has it all sorted, geared and ready to go, whilst she stumbled in the dark, Hylia’s Divine Blessing evading her.

If only she knew how much he struggled too. He didn’t just pull a sword out a rocky pedestal and boom morphed into Hyrule’s Saviour. He’d trained long and hard too. And frankly, he had felt compelled to draw the sword, it hadn’t been something that was in his control- if he had a choice, then he would also choose to just leave it be in the Lost Woods. It sounded naive and foolish now, but he hadn’t anticipated what the consequences would be when twelve-year-old Link had jumped up and wrapped his hands around that cursed mauve handle. Mostly, the thing he regretted the most about pulling the sword was that he’d effectively doomed them all. Did he want to be the one to basically foreshadow what was now surely coming? No. Another was that it had put a timer on the Princess to find her powers, and he didn’t want to cause her such anguish at being unable to unlock supposed birth-right sealing powers that she clearly didn’t have and didn’t know how to obtain. But… there had been a hidden consequence, one that he couldn’t for the life of him have predicted- when he released the sword from the pedestal, it didn’t just end with him now possessing the mythical legendary blade, oh no. He’d also obtained a whole wealth of memories, memories of past lives, past successes, past failures, and he’d lost whatever childish innocence he’d had then. And it crushed him, having this soul that apparently was doomed in this endless fight, and now he had to live up to them. He had to live up to these past Heroes and by Farore he had no idea if he’d be able to.

Every word that had come out of the Princess’s mouth at his blessing ceremony had cleaved him in two. All those past disastrous events that happened in Hyrule, and all the lengths his predecessors had gone to save the country… Adrift in time indeed. IN TIME. How was he supposed to do the same? And it made him fearful. And he was not easily frightened. He liked to think he was a little bit brave, he would run headfirst into any sort of challenge, be that eating rocks, defeating hordes of monsters, including Lynels, or even redirecting errant guardian laser beams but when he thought about what those Heroes had gone through… He certainty didn’t feel very brave when it came to imagining what exactly he’d have to do, what trials he would have to face, in line with theirs.

He finally finished strapping the sword properly to his back, he’d ran out as soon as he realised she was missing, and he tried to find any distinguishing patterns of her boots nearby. It was a useless venture, because sand shifted, constantly, and as a result any tracks were lost pretty much as soon as they formed. He sighed, deciding to do another very quick run through the Bazaar in case anyone else had spotted her, or she had come back from the baths maybe. He was clutching at straws, he knew it, and he felt that familiar churning feeling in his gut that something was wrong, but he decided to keep calm and check again just in case he’d missed something.

He sighed, even before Urbosa told him how the Princess’s behaviour was in fact coloured by the sword, he could have guessed. One of the biggest signs was that she always looked at it, instead of him. He only wished to tell her that he was just as lost as she was, because yeah sure, everyone Impa stated that he had the Sword that Seals The Darkness. Okay, but how did it do that? How does one go about killing darkness? Monsters he knew. Monsters he’d trained for. But darkness? And the thing that frightened him the most was that most of the past Heroes had fought a man. A power-obsessed, strong-willed and formidable opponent, but still, fundamentally, a man. None of them had fought this… Calamity equivalent that he seemed to be up against. Hence why he was uncertain, and fearful even, if the sword would be enough.

Not to mention how much it pained him that the arrogant idiot bird had managed to find his greatest insecurity, but that was neither here nor there.

But in truth, every time someone mentioned how he was their savour he wanted to cry. Perhaps she didn’t realise that whilst everyone had pinned her as a hopeless case and a lost cause, he’d been saddled with double the expectations to succeed. So much pressure, so many eyes, that he’d all but gone silent. Every word spoken could be misconstrued in some shape or form. Nothing he said was ever safe from scrutiny, so to continue to play the perfect, composed Hero that he was supposed to be, he decided to stop talking. What he wouldn’t give to explain to her that these praises that were lavished on him made him feel sick. Made him feel suffocated. Made him like a liar. Because really, he felt like a failure too- he had no plan other than maybe try and hit the darkness with the sword and hope that works. And the foreboding feeling he had that he hadn’t yet faced the supposedly impending huge trial that most of the other Heroes had, and they had all done said trial well before they obtained the Master Sword. He felt unworthy of it, somehow. All he’d done was train hard, fight and try to eradicate the plague of monsters in the land. He hadn’t travelled through time, he hadn’t transformed into a wolf, he hadn’t lost his sister, or his best friend. Hence why he was dreading meeting Ganon. There was a catch somewhere. He could feel it.

He exhaled heavily, sweat starting to build on his brow. This was why he wanted to tell Zelda that she wasn’t alone. That he knew what she was going through. They were a pair in destiny, fate… even souls after all. But she hated him, his very being, and probably wished he didn’t exist- no correction- she wished the sword didn’t exist, then he wouldn’t have pulled it and wouldn’t have become a direct comparator for her success. It all felt futile sometimes, and he wondered why exactly he was in such a melancholy mood this morning. Probably something to do with not eating.

She wasn’t in the Bazaar. He’d now checked over every stall twice. And Link felt rising trepidation. Of all the places for her to run away, she’d chosen the desert. She’d chosen where the main dissenters of the Royal Family lived. She chosen the one place where it was highly probable that there would be an assassination attempt on her. And he wasn’t there to protect her. Link could freely admit to himself he was scared. What if he didn’t find her in time, what if – No. He had to think positively. And then his eyes fell to his Champion’s tunic, embroidered, as it was, by her hand. Goddesses above, how would he present himself back the Castle if he’d actually lost her this time? And in such a worrisome place too. A stone settled in Link’s gut, as he desperately racked his brains, replaying last night’s events trying to remember if she’d dropped any hints as to where she was going.

He drew a big fat blank.

In the name of Din, where else could she have gone? She had been silent on the way back from Vah Naboris, probably reproachful that he’d managed to find her, yet again. And he had, admittedly, found it suspicious that she’d remained mum, accepted going to the Bazaar, and sleeping in the Inn, and leaving to head to Goron City the next day without a single word of dissent. He should have known that she was planning something.

And now, it was starting to get hot, as he quickly ran off towards the path, wondering if she’d gone back to Gerudo Town. But she’d already said her goodbyes to Urbosa last night... Link sighed, the heat already causing his tunic to stick to his back. It was a desert after all, one couldn’t expect it to get cold during the day, and he hadn’t had time to fill in their canteens, and oh for the love of Farore could he at least get a single sign as to where Her Highness had deigned to grace her presence at. He didn’t want to be beheaded for incompetence so soon.

He saw a small cloud of sand rise in the distance. At this point, it could be a mirage and he was seeing something that his mind had conjured in desperation at trying to find the missing Princess.

And then he saw a flash of red.

And his blood ran cold, despite the heat.

[loruleanheart]

Desired Fate, Chapter 9

Read on FF.net

Read on AO3

Astor stood at what had been the entrance to the Yiga Hideout. Along the way, he’d passed piles of debris where there had once been a network of walls built along the canyon of Karusa Valley. The entrance itself, which had once been neatly cut into the rock, was now an angry burning hole. There wasn’t anyone in sight, the hideout was not only destroyed but desolate and abandoned.

The princess’s warning briefly crossed Astor’s thoughts. Astor’s blank expression changed into a haunting sneer, almost smiling in a deranged way.

Well played, Your Highness…. Only a minor setback… Although, I wonder if any of those banana worshiping degenerates are still alive...

Astor vanished and reappeared near his own hideout in the Gerudo Highlands. Some ways off he spotted two familiar silhouettes sitting on the edge of the canyon. Of course, the two most useless members of the Yiga Clan had retreated, the prophet mused.

Still, Astor approached the two apprehensively, knowing he was sure to get an earful.

Kohga and Sooga took notice as the Hylian neared, the two imposing figures being clearly irate as they stood.

“Why didn’t you tell us we’d get walloped? I would expect you to warn us that the Gerudo Chief is going to come trampling into our hideout to attack my men! Why were you conveniently missing today of all days?” Kohga shouted, exasperated.

Astor was smiling inside, where they can’t see it, but maintained a straight face.

Sooga was the one to approach Astor, towering over the much smaller man, and that's when Astor knew he’d overplayed his hand. He tensed as Sooga grabbed him by the collar of his robes and lifted him, Astor’s feet barely making contact with the ground.

“I’m afraid we cannot overlook this failure, ‘seer’.”

“Can’t do it!” Kohga chimed in.

Astor gave Sooga a dismissive smirk, already knowing what to say to retake control of the situation. “Fate decides all… Even this defeat. As you well know, if you decide to turn against me you will make an enemy of Calamity Ganon.”

“You slimy -” Kohga began, but before he could finish his sentence, Sooga’s fist collided with Astor’s face. The seer collapsed to the ground, looking up at Sooga in disbelief.

Kohga cheered, “Yeah! Knock his raggedy ass out! How dare he try to use our devotion to Lord Ganon against us. Thinks he’s chosen or something? You’re not special!”

Sooga leaned down, taking Astor by the collar again. Astor weakly held a hand out in an attempt to defend himself, but it was of little use against a man twice his size. 

“The Yiga Clan has served Lord Ganon for nearly 10,000 years. You can’t turn Calamity Ganon against us, especially if we kill you first.” Sooga slammed Astor’s head against the ground, followed by a swift roundhouse kick in the ribs. 

Astor gasped for air. The wind had been knocked out of him twice. He could barely breathe.

“You deserve whatever Lord Ganon has in store for you in the next realm...” Sooga drew one of his blades at his hip.

The prophet was in too much pain to move, let alone summon his orb.

“C-calamity Ganon... Avenge me…” Astor closed his eyes.

A blinding light consumed the three men and the two Yiga disappeared into puffs of smoke, scrolls featuring the inverted eye raining down in their retreat. Astor shielded himself from the light, lying prostrate on the ground, lacking the strength to rise and a little bit fearful of the presence he could sense was the antithesis of Calamity Ganon.

“Prophet of Doom, your fate is in my hands.” Hylia entreated him gently.

Astor remained very still. She came to stand in front of him, but still, he didn’t look up to meet her gaze. The goddess perceived his confusion and fear of her.

“You’re wondering why I’ve come… I’ve seen your ultimate fate, Prophet of Doom, and I know you will call out to me when confronted with the reality of Calamity Ganon’s betrayal. But it will be too late for you.  And, as proof that my words are true, already you are questioning why the Calamity would allow you to endure such humiliation.”

Astor finally answered the goddess, his voice weak and wavering with defeat. “Calamity Ganon is… going to betray me? That cannot be…” If he had any confidence left after being beaten down so horribly, then her words had ripped that away as well.

Hylia knew he believed her, but his denial and grief were so great. “Your gift of foresight is no match for mine.” The goddess reiterated.

“The grand fate I thought I had was all a lie…? Am I really just a nobody? Put me out of my misery then… I have no desire to continue an existence where I have no purpose.”

“You’re still a young man, Astor. You can still have a meaningful life.”

Astor scoffed trying to hide his tears. “The goddess is apparently dumb and blind. If Calamity Ganon is to betray me, then I have no reason to be...”

Hylia sensed his anger at her. She had revealed a truth he wasn’t ready to confront, but she knew it had to be said if he was to be saved from his terrible fate.

“I wouldn’t spare you just to leave you without a purpose.  I know all about you, Prophet of Doom. You’ve had unfortunate circumstances, but you are not inconsequential. You were a veiled birth. This was a sign of your gift, but it was viewed with suspicion, and you were abandoned. I willed that you be found. You grew up in an orphanage where you went unnoticed. They sent you away at 15 years of age. You managed to make a living with fortune-telling using a Sheikah relic you recovered. People would come to you with all sorts of questions that concerned important matters in their lives, people wanting to know the identity of their soulmate, a look at their unborn child, whatever they wanted to know could be seen in that orb. You were the same age my current descendant is now that you gathered the courage to look upon your own future. But there was nothing. You threw that orb across the room and wept. Your heart darkened and you turned to Calamity Ganon. You suffered much and you wanted to bring Hyrule to its knees. You invested yourself in serving the Calamity with such intensity it greatly diminished your desire for anything else. But, that’s what you wanted. Anything to not have to remember that you’d always be alone. You abandoned me long ago, but… even the princess’s faith in me hangs by a thread.”

Astor tensed at the mention of the princess, knowing the goddess could read him so easily, but there was nothing he could hide from her. It was all kind of amusing to Hylia.

“You… You’re the one that’s been meddling with my visions? Why are you doing this? Why would you bend fate itself to spare me? What’s wrong with you? Go mind that wretched girl who bears your blood and leave me be.”

“I’m helping her by helping you. You have the gift of prophecy, which my current descendant is sadly lacking as my lineage is weakening.”

“I’m well aware…” Astor said irritated. And then, fearful of what the goddess might read his thoughts he lashed out.  “Your lineage can rot… The only intention I have towards that girl is to ensure she never unlocks that awful power.” The prophet said, defensively.

A soft smile crossed the goddess’s lips as she knelt to whisper in his ear, and what she said frightened him so badly he, at last, gathered the strength to raise his voice and try to stand and confront her face to face, but Astor could only lift his head and raise an arm to try to summon his orb. “Hear me, Calamity Ganon, rain down your destruction on this… this…”

Hylia’s blue eyes regarded him with pity. The resemblance to the princess was uncanny, though the goddess’s appearance could only be described as otherworldly and ageless. She began to fade away. “There is no destruction, Astor. There is only…”

The goddess’s voice faded out as Astor finally lost all ability to remain conscious.

[volganic]

If that is what you wish (1/?)

[AO3] || [discord]

my friendship with volink is over, kohga/sooga is my new comfort ship now jk i’ll always love volink

now i have to actually write more of them uhhhhhhhhhH

Sooga was born to serve; it was all he knew in his blood, a long bloodline that once served the royal family who feared their technology; now he served his clan as their general, their leader, second-in-command to the Top Banana himself.

Whatever Master Kohga wanted, he always got it in the end.

As absurd as some of his requests might have been, Kohga’s wishes were fulfilled in a timely manner. Sooga made sure of it — without question or objection. With any order that came, Sooga would only answer, “If that is what you wish.” Kohga was easy to please as long as his needs were met, and Sooga kept his master as a priority over himself. He was there at Kohga’s beck and call, coming to his master’s aid at precisely the right time—

“Sooga, you’re late!” Kohga thrashed in his corner against the wall of rock. His plans had fallen through the last of its cracks. “I nearly got peeled like a banana!”

The assassin ignored the tantrum from him, kneeling before Kohga to carefully cradle him before hauling him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Kohga’s thrashing ceased almost immediately, his body going limp over his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time Sooga had held the clan’s leader like this.

Sooga craned his neck to stare at the Gerudo Chief and her entourage. “Forget these cowards.” And cowards they were, the four of them against one. Gerudo, two Hylians, a Sheikah — despicable. His free hand reached into the pouch in the backside of his belt — after shooing away Kohga’s wandering fingers. “It’s time to retreat.” He spared no second smashing the bomb into the Gerudo sands, shrouding them in a thick cloud of smoke to make their escape. Urbosa’s curses were drowned out by the sound of Master Kohga’s giddy laughter.

Once they were safe away from any prying eyes in an abandoned outpost beyond the Molduga’s dwellings, Master Kohga finally wiggled his way out of Sooga’s grip, both of his feet sinking into the desert sands.

“I almost died, Sooga!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically before clutching the sides of his face and shaking his head. “Gods, the amount of stress they put me under nearly burst my bubble, I can’t believe they made me use the secret technique! My perfect, perfect plan failed, and if you had showed up even a second later—“

“I apologize, Master.” Sooga’s voice was cool through the heat of Kohga’s anxieties, but even if his master was in the clear, safe from any obvious dangers, there was a pang of guilt that still struck through him. The idea of losing Master Kohga by his own mistakes was not an option. Sooga bowed his head. “I will make sure it does not happen again.”

The desert breeze filled the seconds that passed between them. The gravity of the situation was beginning to sink in: there was an uprising beginning to brew, and the Yiga definitely weren’t up to par like they had imagined.

Kohga let out a long exhale. “I know you won’t, big guy.” He turned his head to study the long, deep crack in the mask that hid Sooga’s true face. Kohga knew that underneath, the assassin’s words held truth; his loyalty was unmatched by any other member of the clan. Sooga was wrapped around his finger. “I know you won’t.

“Even if it did,” he started, bringing a hand up to comically rub at his chin in deep thought, “I think you’re more than over-qualified to take my place. Problem is, you’d gotta take my name. ‘Master Sooga’,” he enunciated with air quotes, “doesn’t have quite a nice ring like ‘Master Kohga’.”

Sooga’s posture stiffened at the idea. It thrilled him to know that Kohga recognized his strength and leadership skills — the consequences, on the other hand…

“... I could never, Master Kohga.”

“Lighten up, will ya?” Kohga barked a laugh as he gave his second-in-command a playful shove to his shoulder. “I ain’t ready to retire yet! With you by my side, I know you won’t let that come to pass, hmm?”

The assassin’s head bowed even lower despite Kohga’s praise. His hands balled into tight fists at his side. No, he could never allow his master to fend for himself alone, putting his life at risk again — he would make sure of it.

“If I may, Master Kohga?”

Kohga nodded and waved his hand nonchalantly. “You may.”

Sooga stood back to his full height and kept his eyes fixed on Kohga. “To guarantee that you are spared from an unforeseen demise where I am not present, I suggest that from this point forward, I shall take your place in orchestrating our efforts to bring Hyrule to its knees. Or, at the very least, you are not alone.”

His master carefully considered his words. Kohga hummed lowly in thought, back to rubbing his chin as he always did. “Not a bad idea, I’d say…” He trailed off to stare off in the distance. He paused too long for Sooga’s liking. “It’s a deal I can’t say no to, but that’s not my choice to make.”

“Understood, Master Kohga. Wherein the circumstances may allow it, I implore you to consider the offer.”

“Good talk.” Kohga clapped his hand on Sooga’s shoulder. “Now get us outta here! The sun’s making me sweat, and we’ve got an audience to entertain.”

“If that is what you wish.”

——

“So, you turned and fled, is that it?”

Astor was seated at the opposite end of the table from where Kohga sat and Sooga stood. Though the curtains were pulled, sealing out the setting Gerudo sun, and the candlelight cast dark shadows over his face, Sooga could see that this so-called “prophet” was not pleased. Kohga didn’t seem to care too much; he sat sideways in his seat, idly humming a tune that didn’t sound like an actual song.

Sooga wondered if Kohga was able to take matters seriously.

“Hm-hmm, hm-hmmm….” Kohga shrugged. “Well, if they hadn’t interrupted me—“

“It seems that, as low as my expectations of you were, I was overly optimistic.”

Both pairs of Yiga eyes fixed onto Astor as he stood from his place. Kohga jumped to attention, insulted that the prophet would see him as anything less than competent; Sooga’s hands were already wrapped around both hilts of his blades, ready to strike if need be.

“Well, no matter.” Their pale guest paid them no mind as he moved around to the middle of the table with the likes of a glowing ancient core in his hands, stopping at the front of the altar where their destiny lay among the piles of bananas.

With the imminent threat gone, Kohga relaxed instantly and threw himself back into his chair, folding his arms behind his head and crossing his legs, humming his little tune. Sooga, on the other hand, was slower to let his guard down, but complied with a wave of his superior’s hand. His glare remained on Astor’s back.

Sooga despised him.

Astor held the core outward as an offering to the guardian that hid among the fruit, idly flashing a strange orange light through its purple smog. “My harbinger,” he cooed, “show me the future!”

The guardian screeched in only a language that Astor seemed to understand, unfazed by the thick clouds of dark magic that spiraled in the room. The Yiga stood mesmerized by it, Kohga left completely awestruck. The core lifted from Astor’s hands to glow its eerie purple energy, bursting forth into a cloud of space, shrouding the three of them in stars and constellations that the Yiga weren’t familiar with.

“Ah, yes…” Through a tear in the clouds, a glimpse of Hyrule Castle falling into darkness could be seen — the Calamity and their destiny achieved. “The future as it will and must be. I will not allow anyone to alter its course.” The clouds slowly dissipated into the air, the ancient core slowly winding down and back into Astor’s hands. The guardian grew silent and still, leaving only the orange glow from its singular eye as a signal that it was still listening. “No one at all, not even you two.

“Now then… there are matters from this point forward that I need to discuss with you, Kohga.” He turned his head to address his underlings. His eyes briefly met with Sooga’s. “Alone.”

Quick to detect foul play, the assassin took a step forward to put himself between Kohga and Astor. “Absolutely not. Whatever you can discuss with Master Kohga, you can discuss with me. I stand by him wholeheartedly.”

Astor’s lips twitched into a snarl. He wasn’t used to being told “no”. “I admire your dedication and nobility, truly, but your time to play your part will come. As I said, these are matters not concerning you.” His eyes narrowed. “I will not repeat myself. Leave.”

Sooga didn’t have much time to even move so much as a muscle before Kohga’s elbow met his midsection.

“Sooga!” He snapped loudly, surprising the both of them. “Leave us alone. We’ll be alright for a little bit, won’t we? No need to worry your pretty little head.” Kohga motioned for him to lean down, pulling him closer by the chin to whisper into his ear. “I’ll fill you in on the details when it’s all said and done.”

The taller Yiga held his doubts, but complied with a curt nod. “If that is what you wish.”

Sooga stood and eyed Astor guardedly, watching his thin lips curl into a smug smile as they traded places, the prophet now skulking to Kohga’s side. Sooga had barely stepped out of the room before his master called out, “Don’t forget to shut the doors behind you!”

He turned to seal the doors behind him, seeing that Kohga had waved him off and leaned ever closer to Astor. Just above a whisper, Kohga asked, “Ain’t he a dandy?”

Astor grimaced. “Indeed.”

The doors shut behind him.

[fatefulfaerie]

Hindsight: Part Five

Every time I feel like I should add more detail I remember that this is supposed to be a text post on Tumblr and my audience probably doesn’t want to spend all day sorting out my nonsense.

Also trying to tell myself that not everything has to be perfect, healthy things like that.

Part One: https://fatefulfaerie.tumblr.com/post/611223241986621440/hindsight

Part Two: https://fatefulfaerie.tumblr.com/post/612674469072338944/hindsight-part-two

Part Three: https://fatefulfaerie.tumblr.com/post/613130181855543296/hindsight-part-three

Part Four: https://fatefulfaerie.tumblr.com/post/613206006943629312/hindsight-part-four

Part Five:

“I knew you were the Princess when you left me in Kakariko.”

To say that the ambush didn’t go well was an understatement. It was two against two, and with the Yiga footsoldiers having long-range weapons, there really was nothing Link or Zelda could do if they valued their lives.

So now they sat, on opposite sides of the holding cell in the Yiga Clan hideout, hands tied by red rope.

“I was going to kill you in your sleep, but…”

Link hesitated, looking to the guard outside the cell before returning his gaze to her.

“Look, I...I’ve never told anyone this before, but...I’ve never actually killed anyone. I can’t bring myself to. It’s like…”

“Like something won’t let you?” Zelda finished.

Link nodded.

“So when I woke up at the beach and you were looking at your sickle...you had just spared me?”

Link nodded again.

“Thanks,” Zelda said with a slight sadness.

“After that, I...I considered kidnapping you, but I couldn’t do that either.”

Zelda listened attentively.

“I guess I liked you too much. You...you didn't deserve death any more than I did. In fact, you deserved it much less. I wanted, needed to protect you from it.”

“So...you really do...like me?”

Link’s piercing gaze remained, lingered until he finally nodded.

“The kiss, was that real too?”

Link inhaled to reply, but the cell door suddenly opened, a blademaster grabbing Zelda like she was a ragdoll.

Link sat up, in his expression a great alarm.

He wanted to fix this, wanted to slow time, wanted to help her escape and live her life.

But as she was yanked out of the cell, their eyes locking for one last look, all his concerns came out as three words he likely shouldn’t have said.

“I love you!” He said quickly, without thinking.

Link saw Zelda’s eyes widen before she went beyond his line of sight, forced to hurry along with a blade pointed in the small of her back.

Link immediately pulled at the ropes at his wrists, trying and trying to break free of them. He tried to gnaw at them with his teeth, but that did nothing.

He closed his eyes, attempting to recall everything he was taught.

Never make a cage you can’t get out of.

That’s it.

Link pressed his back to the wall to stand himself up, the muscles in his legs exerting as he slid upwards.

Link pressed into the wall as he walked forward, sidling every inch of the wall with his shoulder.

At the third and final side, a portion of it gave way, Link giving a smirk. A secret opening revealed itself when he pushed it further.

Link peered through the cell bars at the guard. A blademaster, but with his back turned, looking only for someone helping him escape. Not a thought to the prisoner doing it himself.

The Yiga really weren't as stupendous as he otherwise thought.

Link kept pressing as silently as he could until there was enough of a crack to slide through. Much like the doors that led to Master Kohga, one side went in while the other went out, Link correcting it back the way it was once he made it through.

“Thank you, Zelda,” he said as he continued through the secret passageway. “I would have ended up that dumb if not for you.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zelda’s wrists were now tied behind a pole, her brow furrowing at the Yiga before her.

“Any last words, Your Highness?” Master Kohga said as he held a small cloth in his hands.

“Killing me won’t accomplish anything,” Zelda said.

“Tsk...tsk...tsk,” Kohga clicked with his mouth, shaking his head. “I disagree. The more royal blood is spilled, the closer we get to our goal.”

“A never-ending goal,” Zelda argued. “I die and what then? You’ll never be satisfied. At a certain point you have to acce--”

She was silenced by Kohga practically shoving the fabric in the nook of her mouth, tying it so tightly around the pole that Zelda let out a whimper.

“Those are enough words out of you,” Kogha said before starting to explain. “If you die, the Royal Family’s blood comes to a standstill for the first time since Hyrule was first established. Then we go after the kingdom that wronged us. Your death starts a revolution ten thousand years in the making.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it!”

Zelda’s eyes perked up with hope, smiling as much as she could with the taut fabric in her mouth.

Master Kohga, in contrast, could afford to walk towards Link

“I had heard you switched sides. I hardly believed it.”

“I’m not choosing a side,” Link said, a certain determination in his cadence. “I’m choosing her.”

“Well,” Kohga said with a slight laugh. “I was going to execute you next, but if you’d prefer, I could send you both to the afterlife together.”

Link immediately drew the duplex bow he carried, the arrow he notched pointed straight at Master Kohga.

“My life for hers,” Link said slowly and sharply.

He tried to ignore Zelda’s ‘mm’ in objection.

“Leave her alone and you can have the sweet pleasure of killing me, the traitor.”

“You are in no position to be making demands,” Kohga said, placing his arms behind his back. “Besides, you forget. You are in my turf. Killing you both just sounds all the more pleasurable.”

Kohga’s snap barely echoed around the circular lair before an arrow whizzed from somewhere high, sinking itself deep into Zelda’s stomach.

“No!!” Link exclaimed, heavily panting with panic as he lowered his bow.

Link’s anger fumed, instantly shooting an arrow at the distant archer. His aim was better, getting him right in the head and watching him fall off the ledge to his death.

Link rushed to Zelda, placing a hand on her cheek and another on her waist.

“Zelda,” he said, panicked. “Zelda.”

Her eyes were small slits. Link was practically holding up her head with his hand.

“Stay with me,” Link pleaded. “Please…”

“Calamity, how revolting,” Kohga said, Link’s eyes burning from desperate love to an intense hatred at the reminder that his former master was still present. “You’ve actually gone soft.”

Link unsheathed his sickle, turning towards Master Kohga, his fingers clenched around the handle.

"Better soft than corrupted,” as he readied it, glaring at Master Kohga. 

Kohga’s expression was one that you adorn when looking at a child, a baby. Adoring at their innocence, a slight pride in the way they are starting to see the world, a hilarity in how wrong they are.

“Opened your eyes, has she?” Kohga said mockingly. “You pity your prey now? Entranced by those green eyes? You disappoint your family.”

“Family doesn’t scheme,” Link reasoned. “Doesn’t take advantage. Family doesn’t cause harm, at least not the one I choose.”

“After all this time, you seriously believe that anyone in the Royal Family isn’t the exact same? Have you forgotten that easily?”

“I’ve forgiven,” Link said. “Because I know that deep down, we are all the same. Just as capable of love or hate as any next person. We all must make that choice, so I’ve made mine.”

“Love disappoints you, boy,” Kohga said. “Hate breeds results.”

Link smirked.

“Ten thousand years and look where hate has gotten you,” Link replied. “Right here, facing death at the hands of a Hylian.”

It was as if that was the greatest joke, the way Kohga started to roar in laughter.

“I know you’ve never killed anyone,” he said, crossing his arms. “You don’t have it in you.”

“But I do,” Kohga said as he held out his hands and stanced himself, red magic emanating from them.

Link’s breathing quickened and heavied, his anger festering and making him shake.

With one swift stroke at his former master, Link screaming at the mental and physical effort, the magic stopped completely.

Master Kohga’s head fell down the large hole before his body followed suit.

The sickle Link held clattered to the ground, Link still breathing quickly and forcibly, processing what he’d done.

Killed.

He had killed.

Someone’s life was gone as his hands.

But he would inwardly debate that later, remembering the Princess behind him.

“Zelda,” he said as he rushed to her, untying the fabric around her mouth, the ropes around her wrists and ankles. “Zelda, say something please.”

Her weight drooped unto him when she was untied, Link picking her up like a baby.

Link looked into her heavy eyes, something in his soul yearning to see her green eyes wide and happy, full of life and hope.

Zelda smiled slightly, an odd sight for someone with an arrow in their stomach.

“Didn’t you want to see the royal family’s blood spilled?” she said jokingly, her voice strained.

“Not like this,” Link said. “Come on, I’m getting you out of here. Just...stay alive. Promise me you’ll stay alive.”

Zelda nodded before nestling her head in Link’s shoulder, for a comfort that contrasted the sharp pain in her stomach.

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 36

“Tabantha?” Zelda echoed angrily. “You act as if he’s -”

“What?” Dorian sneered. “A murderer?”

Zelda’s mouth hung open. She closed it slowly and averted her gaze. Teba tensed at her side, still distrusting of the Sheikah that had just moments ago admitting to them to working with the Yiga Clan. “Dorian,” she said softly. “You cannot let my father do this.”

“There is nothing I can do to stop him,” Dorian said simply. “Besides. As he is, he poses a threat to our kingdom.”

Zelda held her gaze on him. “Link can be saved. But if you let my father keep him captive, he will be lost. He will die. And then he will pose a threat to the kingdom and to me. But until that day comes, it is your duty to save him.”

Dorian was quiet for a moment, holding his gaze on her. “There is nothing I can do,” he finally said. “I’m being pulled thin as it is, and I have appearances to keep up with Kohga if I want to avoid suspicion.”

Zelda fumed silently. She still wasn’t sure if she could trust him. But for the moment, he seemed to be on her side. “Get us to Tabantha,” she said. “The Champions will be there to get Link. I’m done standing by and letting them fight this war alone.”

“Fine,” Dorian said simply.

Zelda met his gaze, but she could not hold the genuine surprised expression that crossed her face.

“I’m not against you, Zelda,” he said softly. “Everything I have done was to prevent anything bad from befalling you and Link. My methods may not make sense to you, but you must understand that plans have been in motion long before you were born. Plans to keep you and Link and all of Hyrule safe from the wars that threaten us.”

Zelda turned away from him. She glanced at him over her shoulder when she spoke. “You’re wasting my time.”

Dorian’s gaze hardened. Without another word, he raised his arm, and she and Teba vanished.

They weren’t prepared for the cold Tabantha air that stung their skin when they appeared in the northern region. They were just outside of the prison, though the security guards did not seem to be surprised at their sudden appearance. They stepped aside as Zelda narrowed her eyes at them, and they moved passed them, pausing only when they heard the air snap once more behind them. Zelda spun on her heels to see the Champions standing before her, equally as unprepared for the Tabantha weather.

“Nice timing,” Revali said with a grin.

The seven of them hurried into the prison, but this time, they were stopped by two more guards. To their surprise, however, none of them were Sheikah. “Step aside,” Zelda growled, and Paya moved to stand at her side, pulling her shoulders back in warning. The two guards looked to one another for a moment, then they, too, granted them entrance deeper into the prison.

After a moment more of navigating the halls, they finally found Roham. He turned to them when they rounded the corner, and his Sheikah guards stepped closer to him. Just beyond them, more Sheikah guards stood, with Link in their clutches.

Zelda moved toward her father, her lips pulled into a snarl. “Release him this instant.”

The guards looked between Zelda and her father, which only infuriated her more.

“That is an order! He is not your king!”

The guards hesitated a moment longer before releasing their hold on Link.

“He is dangerous,” Roham snapped at his daughter. “I will not have him near you.”

“That is not your call. You are not -”

“I am your father!”

“You cannot treat him like this,” Zelda hissed. “Not after all he's done for your kingdom.”

“That makes no difference when he is about to undo all you have done to keep this kingdom safe.”

Zelda met his gaze, her brows knit together as she regarded him. Her voice lowered. “I will not let you touch him,” she said.

“You cannot let your feelings for him cloud your judgement,” Roham said sternly.

Zelda blinked at him, speechless for a moment. She fought to regain her composure, her eyes narrowing at him. “I will not sentence a man to his death who has done nothing wrong,” she hissed.

“As a ruler, you must be proactive -”

“As a ruler, I will not pass judgement on those who are innocent!”

“He murdered my men!” Roham barked. “He is hardly innocent.”

“It was not his doing! You know what Kohga has done to him!”

“And what will you do if he turns?” Roham asked his daughter. “Let him destroy this kingdom?”

Zelda cast her eyes away from him. “If it comes down to that, I will do what I have to do to stop him.”

“Can you, Zelda? Can you honestly make that call?”

Zelda did not answer him. Roham turned his attention to the soldiers. Their hands rested on the weapons at their hips, standing only inches from Link. His dark gaze flashed red as he looked towards Zelda.

“This ends now,” Roham said. With a nod towards the soldiers, they drew their weapons, and Teba quickly responded by drawing his own.

“No!” Mipha cried, but Zelda was quick to react, lurching forward with her hand outstretched. A force wave shot through, knocking her father, the soldiers, and Link, backwards and against the far wall. They lay motionless on the floor for a moment before they started to come to. Link was the first to get to his feet, the darkness gone from his eyes for the moment. Daruk hurried to his side, pulling him to his feet. Link stumbled forward, his mind still spinning as he fought to focus. He allowed Daruk to catch him and steady him on his feet without much fuss.

“Paya,” Zelda said, breathless. She turned to the young Sheikah.

Paya did not hesitate. She stepped forward, meeting her queen, despite Roham’s threats. Teba, too, moved forward, stepping between Zelda and the soldiers.

“If you leave,” Roham started weakly as he struggled to get back to his feet. He turned his cold gaze to his daughter. “If you leave, you will betray your kingdom. You will give up the throne. If you leave -”

“Go,” Teba growled to them over his shoulder.

Zelda straightened and narrowed her gaze on him. “Get us out of here,” she muttered to Paya. And with a flash, they were gone.

They were back at the ranch, where Kit, Rusl, and Aryll waited anxiously. They turned their gazes to the empty space that was suddenly occupied by the six Champions and Paya. Link was still leaning, exhausted, against Daruk. But before anyone else could think to speak, Zelda turned back to Paya.

“You need to go back for Teba,” she said, her gaze fierce.

Paya nodded. Revali and Daruk joined her.

“We’ll come with you,” Daruk said. “You could use the help.”

Without wasting a moment more, the three of them promptly disappeared into thin air.

Zelda turned to Link, her brows furrowed, ignoring Mipha’s questioning stare. “Are you alright?” she asked carefully.

“Oh, yeah,” Link said dryly. “In the past four hours, I took on an entire army of Yiga bastards, I went on a murderous rampage, I was stabbed by Revali, then dragged to a maximum security prison, where I was then attacked by you, and zipped through time and space back here. I’m fucking swell.”

“The fuck?”

Hearing Aryll’s voice, Link turned to his sister, but his expression was still hard. “Did I stutter?” he barked at her.

“Enough,” Rusl growled.

“Yikes,” Kit muttered. “What the hell did I miss?”

*****

Paya, Revali, and Daruk found themselves in Tabantha once more. A light snow had started to fall, but they were otherwise sheltered by the trees as they stood at the edge of a dark forest. The prison stood out in the night, cast aglow by the surrounding spotlights outside.

“I guess they won’t let us waltz on in this time,” Revali mused.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to sneak past a bunch of Sheikah guards,” Daruk said.

Revali turned to Paya. “Why can’t you just poof us in there?”

“I probably can,” she said. “But they’ll sense us there. If I do that, we won’t have a lot of time.”

“We don’t need time,” Revali said. “Poof us in, we’ll get Teba, then poof us out.”

“I don’t know where Teba is,” Paya admitted. “There’s something… off about the prison. I can usually get a good sense of who’s inside and where they are, but.”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “I can get us as close as I can to where I think he might be,” she explained. “But we still won’t have a lot of time.”

“Do we have any other options?” Daruk asked.

Paya bit her lip. “Probably not.” She sighed. “Alright. Let’s take the risk.” With a crack in the air, they were quickly pulled through space once more, appearing inside the prison.

“He’ll likely be in temporary holding,” Paya said. “They won’t bother to keep him here for long. They’ll transport him somewhere else as soon as more guards show up. He won’t waste the Sheikah on Teba. He’ll use as many as he can to try to find Link again.”

“You seem pretty sure about that,” Daruk said carefully.

“Don’t you think they’ll be expecting a rescue mission?” Revali sneered.

“We’re better off getting him now before he gets moved and we lose him,” Paya said. Her gaze narrowed down the empty hall. “This way,” she said quickly, signaling them to follow her.

They moved quickly and quietly through the prison until Paya stopped in front of a door. She hesitated a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside. The room was fairly large, with a desk, chair, and two monitors in one corner. The room narrowed into a hallway beyond the desk, though it was dark. At the far end was a small cell where Teba sat. He looked up with a bored expression when they entered, then got to his feet.

“I was starting to think you were going to leave me here to rot,” Teba said.

Paya offered him a small smile. “Seriously? Zelda would be insulted.”

Teba's grin disappeared. “We don't have a lot of time.”

Paya nodded. “I know.” She let her hand hover over the steel door that locked Teba into the cell. “There's not much I can do, though. It is heavily warded. The whole room is.”

“Warded?” Revali repeated. “From Sheikah?”

Paya nodded. “As far as I know, only Dorian is capable of this kind of power.”

“Why would Dorian need to know how to ward off Sheikah?”

“I don't know,” Paya admitted uneasily.

“Well, he didn't think of a way to ward off me,” Daruk said. He cracked his knuckles. “I got this.”

Paya stepped aside as Daruk moved towards the door. He looked over it for a moment, the nodded to himself.

“Alright, Teba, get outta the way.” He positioned himself in front of the door, raising his fist. He put every ounce of his strength into his punch as he let his fist slam into the steel door, successfully knocking it off its hinges. The sound of the impact echoed through as the door flew into the concrete wall at the opposite end of the cell. Both the wall and door cracked and crumbled from the impact.

Teba stepped through the opening, looking around in awe at the destruction Daruk had caused. “Nice, dude.” He grabbed his holster with his gun still inside from the desk at the other end of the room and clipped it back to the belt on his waist. His eyes flashed to the computer monitor where he caught a glimpse of a group of guards rushing down the nearby hallway, Dorian among them. But before he had a chance to warn his friends, they burst through the door, weapons drawn.

Teba pulled his out quickly, stepping in front of his friends.

“Drop your weapon!”

“Don't shoot,” Paya hissed to Teba. “You don't know what Dorian is capable of.”

Dorian pushed through the guards. “You better listen to her, Teba. You've already been marked a traitor. Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be.”

“Get bent,” Teba muttered, holding his aim steady.

Dorian's brows knit together. “Drop the weapon, or you will leave me with no other choice.”

“Do your worst.”

As Dorian raised a hand to instruct the guards to shoot, Daruk thrust his fist down against the concrete floor. The room shook violently, knocking Dorian and his men off their feet. A crack shot across the room and up the wall, threatening the integrity of the structure.

“Move!” Teba shouted at them, pushing Paya forward.

The four of them sprinted out of the room as Dorian and the guards got back to their feet. Dorian shouted at his men and they quickly followed suit, chasing the escapees through the prison.

“Get us out of here,” Revali snarled at Paya.

They turned a corner where another group of guards stood, stopping them in their tracks. Teba spun on his heels, his weapon raised as Dorian and his men came up quickly behind them, trapping them.

“Paya!”

Gunshots echoed off the walls and in a bright flash, they were gone.

[nonopiimagines]

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Fates Pairing: Shura x f!Nohrian!Corrin Warnings: n/a Word Count: 985 Author Notes: n/a

part iv.

Something had changed in Shura since that night in the bathhouse. He didn’t know that Corrin and Camilla were speaking about him, but he desperately hoped it was. It was a feeling that bubbled up in his chest over the following days, he felt an innate urge to prove that he could be worthy of Corrin’s attentions. It manifested in ways that were expected like fighting extra hard in battles and supporting everyone around himself and Corrin. But it also manifested in unexpected ways, like attempting to smile at her when he caught her eye or making more of an effort on his part to speak with her or spend time with her.

But what he was going to do now was the most unexpected manifestation of his feelings for Corrin.

He found Kaze was in the armory, tending to his throwing knives, a whetstone lay next to him. Though he was focused on his task, he heard Shura approaching and tensed, but didn’t turn around. “I believe our unspoken agreement was that we would only interact in the arena.”

Shura laughed, the immediate hostility not surprising to him. He rounded the table and put his hands in his pockets, attempting to catch Kaze’s eye but he stubbornly kept his head down. “This is but an extension of the arena,” he replied, opting to inspect one of the younger man’s sharpened knives. “But I have no intention of fighting.”

“Then what do you want?” he finally looked up, his normally blank face sporting a faint scowl.

“I want to talk about Lady Corrin.”

Kaze seemed puzzled at Shura’s proposed topic, but he let his guard down a little. Everyone knew that Corrin had touched Kaze’s life more than most and she meant a lot to him. Shura didn’t know their entire relationship, but he’d gathered that Kaze helped her when the war was first starting, though it went against his previous allegiance. He stayed in her service for the same reason that he did: her unwavering loyalty to justice and good and the respect with which she treated her comrades and even her adversaries.

“What about her?”

Shura paused for a moment, unsure of how to broach the subject. At this moment, even though Kaze wasn’t looking at him, he still held his gaze steady on the knife in his hand. It helped him focus, especially since this wasn’t something he normally talked about with anyone let alone the child of someone he murdered. “Her benevolence is astounding. She took a ruffian like me into her army, willing to tarnish her name and risk the morale of the group.”

“You don’t need to remind me. She is unbelievably kind. Perhaps too much so,” the young ninja emphasized the last sentence, knowing full well Shura was mostly referring to him.

“Yes, perhaps.” Shura cleared his throat and set the knife down, intertwining his fingers together instead. “Kaze, I know nothing can change the past. But Lady Corrin helped me realize that many people at camp share the same heavy weights of remembering and reliving and regretting like myself. Like you too.”

Kaze slammed his knife and whetstone down on the table, finally raising his steely eyes to stare holes into Shura’s head. “Do not compare us. I may have my share of sins, but you have stolen something that can never be returned. There will never be forgiveness for you.” He immediately scooped up his knives, tools, and the cloth they lay on and walked toward the door of the armory. “You may have won over Lady Corrin, but I will be there when you return to your old ways. And I will collect the debt you owe.”

Kaze took a deep, calming breath before slipping out the door and closing it firmly behind him, his silent mannerisms leaving the raging storm of emotions inside him undetected.

Shura had never felt defeat in this way before. This kind of defeat wasn’t a physical sensation or one of being on the losing side of a battle, but the defeat of knowing that you could try your very best and still not win. Victory was impossible. He didn’t blame the Hoshidan for his actions, he knew he was asking for a lot from him. He was a fool for even bringing it up. But he believed in what Corrin said to him: to maintain a healthy relationship among your comrades, to establish trust so that when it really came down to it, when it was life or death, you could rely on someone else to come to your aide. It was a notion he was realizing just now, at this point in his life. He knew he could never bring back Kaze’s father, but he could help Kaze when he needed it. Even if Shura was the last person he would want help from.

Rebuilding Kohga was Shura’s foremost goal and when he thought of his future, it always contained his former country. But something else tugged at him. He always regretted what he had to do to get by, the killing and the stealing. At some level, he understood that the damage he caused was irreparable. But he was given a chance to change his ways and set things right. If he was to truly rebuild Kohga and lead his country forward, he couldn’t do it by being an outlaw. So this was his first act of repentance: to be there for Kaze. He could hide it under the guise of acting on Lady Corrin’s wisdom, and maybe it started out that way, but Shura felt sure that this failure was the beginning of a new chapter for him.

Shura exited the armory, ready to fetch his food from the mess hall and enjoy it on the ramparts.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

So Sooga gets along with Revali, Sidon, Riju- what about Urbosa and Daruk? I don't think I recall the dynamic between him and the others. And I think Kohga is missing a few too- i guess im asking for headcanons here.

Oh good point. All of these are susceptible to change, so nothing is particularly set in stone.

Sooga;

Enjoys hanging out with Revali. He admires not just his talent, but the fact that he hides his insecurities very well. Match that with his quick wit and their mutual love for making fun of Link honestly makes them buddies. They like to train, have tea, and have a nice crab omlette (Sooga is on and off in terms of how comfortable he is, eating around Revali). Revali, along with every other rito (namely women) have a crush on him. Sooga just, fucking attracts birds for some reason.

Sidon is his close second friend. Big as he is, a lover of fish, Sidon is annoying in a sort of endearing way. He likes fishing, hiking, swimming, collecting shells with him. When they aren't having fun outside or fucking, you'll see them indoors, whittling while Sidon goes on and on about some story. Sooga likes to listen, Sidon loves to talk. They just work.

Riju. Riju is sort of like his niece. He treats her respectfully, but having grown up with six sisters, Sooga has the instinct to care for her. He takes her out for ice cream, he does her nails/hair, listens to her rant, and even helps pet sit Patricia from time to time (and Patricia LOVES him, she blows him kisses all the time). He's also kinda protective. A boy her age tried talking to her, he went missing the next day. Odd I know.

Urbosa. Urbosa acts like HIS older sister, and while women make him uncomfortable, he trusts her more than most. She's always there to give him words of encouragement, always there to help him against some rather hungry ladies- she just has his back. Sometimes they meet up for a nice dessert and talk about what they like in men (Urbosa loves ladies too, but women are lost on Sooga).

Mipha. Sooga and Mipha get along. They aren't at each other’s throats, but Sooga isn't exactly nuts about her. She finds him slightly imposing, he doesn't like being near women-without Kohga, they're awkward with one another.

Teba. Sooga and Teba actually get along pretty well. They're both rather strong and silent types. That is, until Sooga asks about the family life. They end up sitting next to each other, tending to their weapons, while Teba tells him what it's like to be a dad. They're quiet overall.

Daruk. Daruk and Sooga...they co exist. Sooga doesn't hate him, but he isn't a fan. Jealousy from Kohga aside, Sooga doesn't like that he's loud, brazen, VERY touchy, and is constantly trying to get him to eat. Suffice to say, Sooga would prefer anyone else's company (he was once in a room with JUST him and Mipha. It sucked).

Sooga and Yunobo. For some reason, he's chosen to adopt him too, and is constantly acting as his confident. He's constantly making sure he's eaten and slept, and is trying to help him come out of his shell. The 'he asked for no pickles' meme, but in an uncle way. Sooga likes to take him out to smash boulders during the day, and hunt for fireflies at night. Yunobo once fell asleep on him, Sooga didn't have the heart to move him. He had to see a doctor for his back the next day, but worth it.

Link and Sooga have a VERY competitive relationship. They've established early on that they're rivals, and as such, wanna beat each other's shit on a daily basis. They lowkey need to stop hitting each other and just bone, everyone sees it.

The Great faeries. Not champions, but imma include it anyway-they coddle the crap out of him because he's honestly adorable to them. He really. Really wishes they'd stop kissing him, just ONCE. They're all better than Malanya though, for some reason he fucking HATES Sooga.

Zelda. Sooga...does not like Zelda. I'll leave it at that. Let's just say you shouldn't leave them alone together.

Impa/Purah/Robbie. Its fucking on site with Impa, Purah is actually tolerable, and Robbie is just fucking annoying.

Kohga!!;

Kohga of course, LOVES his lil red fishy, Mipha. You kidding me? She's a cherry! An absolutely precious lil ruby! Kohga loves her SO much, she can pretty much just waltz into the clan whenever she pleases, and gets whatever she wants by asking for it. They're ABSOLUTELY bff's. Shopping, cooking, talking about boys and taking selfies, they're practically joined at the hip. I'm telling you, Kohga would end game any bitch if Mipha asked.

Daruk. Kohga LOVES the guy! Not just because he's easy on the eyes, but he's big, loud, rowdy, pair that up with his love for food, and these two can keep each other company FOREVER. Just, be warned if booze is allowed, and may god help your pantry. When they AREN'T raining hell, they spend time at the hot springs, and let me tell you, you've never seen two dudes happier, they're like pigs in shit.

Sidon. Kohga and Sidon get along great! Nice to look at, Sidon is also just a sweetie who just. Does whatever Kohga tells him to. Like Sooga, but dumb as hell. One of the few people that BOTH of them can hang around with. Seriously though, Sidon is a big dumb sweetie, Kohga LOVES it.

Urbosa. Her and Kohga get along, in a sorta 'let's meet for brunch on Sundays' kinda way. It's a casual friendship, and honestly? It's comfortable for them. He's still lowkey scared of her though.

Kohga is Riju's OTHER uncle. He's the more 'tell me about the boys you like' kinda uncle. Total enabler, he lets Riju do all the kid stuff she never really got the chance to do. You wanna play with chalk? Absolutely. You wanna get your shoes dirty? Course! You wanna eat all the candy and go pants a royal guard? He's IN.

Revali is an ass. Full of himself, snarky, and so in the closet, they bicker ALL the fucking time. They don't HATE each other, they just fucking can't get along. They fought over BREAD once.

Teba doesn't love Kohga. He's not quiet, he squirms a lot, and even if he's asleep, he tosses and turns a LOT. Teba just puts up with him, while Kohga thinks he's boring, but nice to look at.

Yunobo is more loved by Sooga than Kohga, but he thinks the kid is a peach. He teaches him how to talk to boys he likes. Can't help with girls though. Still sweet to the poor kid though, always brings him something to eat, because he worries.

Kohga LOVES Link! They both love food (especially fried bananas), Kohga loves Link's antics, Link loves Kohga’s funny dance moves- they just click. You'll often see them napping together after a buffet of food.

The great faeries! He LOVES them!! They're big, they're beautiful, they proud and loud- they are just his gal pals. He knows each ones specific tastes, and its so easy for him to charm the pants off of them during tea time. Don't tell anyone, but Malanya is his favorite, they love talking about horses.

Impa/Purah/Robbie. Kohga doesn't hate Impa, but the girl is SUCH a buzzkill. Instead of going and getting her a girl, she's here, scolding him for some random rule. Smh. He LOVES Purah though. They're TOTAL shutterbugs together, and they both agree that Impa needs to get a girlfriend. Robbie is also a TOTAL babe. Like if dude likes to experiment, Kohga can run some tests on that DI-

Zelda. Kohga...hates that he likes her. She's just a sweet gal, and with a smile like that? He can't hate her. He visits here and there for political reasons, but they do have lunch and catch up. Him and Sooga do sometimes help pick outfits/looks as well. And...well. The royal stables are a HUGE plus (seriously, Kohga SWOONS for her white horse. He jokes that he's more handsome than Sooga. He's half kidding, that fucker is a BEAUTIFUL horse).

[rottingcompost]

I dont really talk too much about it on here, or at all, but these past few months have been so fucking hard on me. I usually keep pretty quiet about it because im in general embrassed about my mental health and the state of my life in general. 

(more below the cut. TW: suicidal ideation, self harm, financial struggles, and like just not good things i guess? Ask to tag if there is anything I missed I guess)

Basically, a month or so before my birthday i had practically entirely run out of options. I couldnt borrow more money from family, and bills were just piling up, and I realized I wouldnt be able to keep going like that, because I couldnt pay rent for my apartment, I couldnt pay for electricity, I couldnt pay for internet, I basically was entirely stuck. Hell, even like just a month ago or so I was entirely risking being kicked out of my apartment due to unpaid rent.

I was legitimately considering offing myself, because I didnt know what else to do, and I felt stuck. I felt like I was drowning. The only reason I never told anyone or did anything was because i didnt want to just leave my apartment to seek help, since Kohga would have to be all alone unless I got someone to watch over him. Seems like a simple thing to just tell someone to please watch over Kohga for me. 

Thing is, i HATE worrying people. I would much rather just cease to exist than tell someone something to cause them to worry about me. I didnt want my family or friends to constantly be worried that I might end up trying to do something to myself. I did self harm a lot during this period, and I have been trying to keep myself from doing it. I really have. Even now I do self harm occasionally, and I am working on stopping it.

Basically my mentality was that I had to suck it up and pretend everything was fine whenever anyone asked. I mean hell I didnt even share the full extent of it all on tumblr, because I just dodnt want to be reminded of how much of a failure I felt I was.

So I guess moral of the story is that if I didnt have Kohga and wasnt so afraid of worrying people I wouldnt be here anymore so?? i guess anxiety finally fucking helped in some way??

Anyways I want to just thank everyone for? idk existing even if you have so many problems thst you are fighting, but are still hanging around like a stubborn asshole 🧡 I mean it. Keep being stubborn and keep telling death that nah, I dont have time for this shit, I have other things to do.

I also want to tell you that if you ARE struggling with any sort of mental health issues and you are feeling guilty for struggling, dont compare your pain to other people's pain. It will just make you feel worse. Even if someone close to you might be fighting homelessness or drug abuse or what have you, you are allowed to feel like shit. You dont have to feel guilty for struggling with severe depression. *yes this is pointing this specifically at someone i know and hold very dear to me, but it definitely applies to anyone who may relate to this*

Anyways, I am fine, I will be fine, and I will keep sticking around, no matter what.

[cherry-draws]

[Yiga Husband Fanfic] Poisonus plan

I am super happy to see people liking my previous story "Fantasy Night" so here's an other one featuring our dear Master Kohga.

Kohga woke up with a severe headache and felt as though he had just come out of a long sleep. Although he spent most of his time napping, this was the first time it happened to him. Just curling his fingers hurt him. Despite the pain, the leader of the yiga clan managed to sit up and open his eyes. Looking around the room, his heart skipped a beat.

"Kohga: Where am I ? This is not my room. "

A bitter taste in his throat made the pronunciation of the words unbearable. Kohga sank down heavily on the mattress, breathing heavily. A smell of sweat reached his nostrils, indicating that he had sweated a lot during the night, something that didn't happen often either. Someone suddenly entered the room, which made him jump, but his aching body prevented him from turning around.

"? : Hello, Master Kohga, how are you feeling?

Kohga: Who are you?

? : What, you don't recognize me ? Lord, this is more serious than I thought.

Kohga: What are you talking about?

? : Master, you have fallen terribly ill and it seems that the moments of lucidity are scarce.

Kohga: Wait, are you saying that I'm going insane ?

? : But not at all, no. You are in pain, Master. You have a fever, an excruciating cough, you don't want to eat any more, not even a piece of banana. For the safety of our colleagues we have preferred to isolate you in this makeshift infirmary, to “quarantine” you, if you prefer. I understand that you may not like it, but we are afraid that the disease is contagious. I was formerly a practitioner of medicine before joining the clan, and you allowed me to practice my practices in case anyone get sick. It wasn't what I wanted at first, but the circumstances required my intervention.

Kohga: I can't believe it, I don't remember anything! I just feel very tired. Besides, if you could let me sleep, that would suit me.

Doctor: I have come to take you to the consultation room. My colleague needs to examine you to see the state of your health and give you your treatment. Come on, please. "

Kohga stood up painfully, feeling stiff in his muscles. The doctor helped him to walk by taking his arm. Even though the drive to the office was relatively short, it was enough to intensify the yiga's feeling of fatigue, who found it difficult to keep his eyes open. Once there, Kohga stretched out painfully on the table as a second doctor appeared before him. He was wearing a large white overall over his suit.

“Doctor 2: Hello Master Kohga. I apologize for forcing you to move in your state, but this is where we store all the required equipment. Describe to me your health state.

Kohga: Well ... "

No other word could come out of his mouth. His mind sank into a deep sleep.

Later that he woke up, and this time he forced himself to keep his eyes open behind his mask. Listening, he managed to hear the doctors talking to each other.

"Doctor 1: Are you sure this will work? He still looks sharp enough to ask questions.

Doctor 2: But you saw him go into a coma, right? In a short time, it will be just a half-alive vegetable, it will no longer be a problem!

Doctor 1: Don't speak that loud, you fool, he will hear us!

Doctor 2: So you do ! There is no risk, I tell you, with the doses that he was injected it should prevent him from moving. Once we're done with him ... "

He didn't have time to finish his sentence. His face received a violent punch and his body fell to the ground under the astonished eyes of his teammate.

“Doctor 1: Ah, I was right!

Kohga: WHO ARE YOU? And why do you want to poison me ?!

Doctor 1: Master Kohga, please, you are starting to lose your mind again! Go back to bed, I beg you, you will hurt yourself!

Kohga: No! I'm not crazy, on the other hand you two, you really think I'm a fool! I heard all your little conversation and I know you want to kill me! I don't know why you are after me, but I know what I heard!

Doctor 1: No, you are wrong! It is the fever that makes you hear voices, we do not want any harm, we are not ...

Kohga: My soldiers! You are not my soldiers, you are impostors! Now prepare yourselves ! "

Kohga raised his arms above his head to generate a giant ball. No matter how hard he was concentrated, nothing happened.

"Doctor 2: Don't use your powers, it will tire you out!"

Kohga resigned himself to use magic and decided to strike his opponents directly with his fists. Once the two individuals were on the ground, he fled. His chubby legs hurt him, but he refused to slow down, he had to flee, find refuge, but where? The place did not look like the hideout at all. It was not the hidehout. It was a place made of corridors, a sort of labyrinthine dojo.

"Kohga: But where am I going to go? I'm lost, I'm alone, but where are my soldiers when I need them? If I call for help, they will find me ... "

The leader of the yiga clan then attempted to teleport, but each of his attempts ended in failure. Due to his condition, he could no longer use his powers. He ran, feeling his breath diminish, until he came to a closed room where he rushed into it, pressing his back against the door.

"Kohga: I can't stay here forever, I have to ..."

The migraine suddenly erupts, forcing him to hold his head in his hands. The pain felt gave him the impression that each of his neurons was bursting one after the other. His body stiffened, and fell heavily to the ground.

When Kohga regained consciousness, he was unable to move, and his limbs were still numb. His body seemed to rock on its own, but he realized that someone was holding him in his arms. Although unaware of the identity of its wearer, his body emanated a familiar kind of warmth, inspiring a sense of security. When the individual looked up at him, Kohga recognized him immediately behind his mask.

"? : Shhh, don't be afraid. It's me, Sooga.

Kohga: Finally you're here! But what the hell happened !? I ... Get me out of this hell!

Sooga: I beg you, calm down, I'll tell you everything. You have been the victim of a kidnapping. I and the other soldiers searched for you for days, we get up early in the morning and come home exhausted at night. We entered this abandoned place and it is there that I found you. Don't be afraid, I will warn the others and we will go home.

? : I don't think so ! "

Sooga distraught, turned and faced the two individuals in white overall, both holding a syringe in their hand. Three other doctors also appeared.

“Sooga: You ... You will pay for what you dared to do!

Doctor 1: I advise you to return your boss to us immediately, otherwise we'll make you regret your decision ! You are alone, you cannot defend yourself, no one can help you! "

The enemies advanced until they surrounded the two yigas. Sooga hugged his master as tightly as he could in his muscular arms, like a mother seeking to protect her newborn baby.

"Kohga: Sooga, do something!"

Doctor 2: If you try anything ... "

The chief suddenly stiffened, his face froze and he fell, lifeless. A sturdy figure appeared behind him. The yiga blademaster who had knocked him out stabbed his sword into the medic's body, leaving the others in shock.

"Blademaster: Who told you he came by himself eh? Who do you thinks we are? "

Three other blademasters and five footsoldiers appeared simultaneously in a bunch of smoke, around the medics, helpless in front of the sharp blades which pointed in their direction. In an instant, they were all dead. Only one was spared. It was the one Kohga had first met.

"Footsoldier : Now you'll listen to me, you scumbag.You better tell us what your plan was, why you attacked our boss. Otherwise, it's not death that awaits you, it's worse. We will harass you until you crack, burn your stuff, kill your family like we killed your friends, torture you until you speak ...

Doctor 1: I surrender! I am going to tell you ! We wanted to get rid of you once and for all. But we knew that with so many soldiers we couldn't reach you so we devised a strategic plan: thanks to our science, Sheikah technology and a poison specially made by us, we were able to kidnap and drugging your boss, which wasn't difficult given his great weakness. We suspected that you would flip every pebble back to Hyrule to find it, and patiently waited for one of you to be stupid enough to come here alone, but we didn't expect you all to come !

Footsoldier: It's the proof that you don't know anything about the yiga clan, and if you had been a little more cooperative you could have gotten to know us. It's a shame, but hey that's how it is. Goodbye ! "

The edge of a blade against the flesh of was heard. The man fell to the ground, his throat was bleeding.

A few days later.

Life began to turn back to normal in the yiga hideout. Kohga, extremely weakened, had spent several days reclusive in his room, his rare moments of awakening were when Sooga brought him his treatment against the poison. Thanks to the knowledge in medicinal plants of certain members, the effects of the poison could be definitively eradicated. After a week, the leader of the yigas was almost cured, and continued to gain strength.

Sooga silently entered his master's bedroom, who had just opened his eyes.

"Sooga: Didn't I wake you up?

Kohga: No, not at all. Come closer. Sit on the bed. "

Sooga was surprised by thoses words, and, despite the embarrassment he felt, he could not refuse his proposal and ended up sitting down.

"Kohga: Sooga ... How could I thank you, while without you, I wouldn't be here? You risked your life, our soldiers too.

Sooga: I never would have done it without their help. Alone, I would have failed. But this is all over now. The main thing is that we are safe and sound. The blademasters will tighten up security so any infiltration incidents will happen again.

Kohga: Sooga ...

Sooga: Something wrong?

Kohga: Sooga, lie down for a moment.

Suppa: But I can't...

Kohga: I don't want to be alone anymore and the bed is big enough for both of us. Come on, don't make me say it twice. "

Sooga finally accepted and lay down, hiding the fact that he was blushing behind his mask. His heartbeat quickened as Kohga snuggled up against him.

"Kohga: You deserve to take some rest too.

Sooga: Yes, Master. "

[busket]

i wrote a story about aita and his old pal goro

this motherfucker

read it here

and in case i ever delete it from my drive, here it is under the cut too

“Here we are, home sweet home!” Link jokes as he leads Aita into the bare structure. It’s a decrepit old shack out on the open field of the Great Plateau. He looks at the canvas roof and the collapsing walls and sighs, turning towards his friend. “I know it’s not ideal, but apparently I spent 100 years on this plateau without the Yiga finding me. And it’s only until I can calm Vah Naboris; I’ll come right back for you!”

Aita kicks a chunk of half burned firewood on the ground. He still felt weak, but was doing his best to hide it from his new traveling companion. It had only been about a week since he’d committed his great treason; assisting the hero in infiltrating the Yiga hideout, and then saving his life and allowing them both to escape in front of all his former comrades. The whole clan knew he was a traitor now. It had been so sudden and so stressful that Aita had come down with a nasty fever, forcing Link to drag him out of the desert and postpone his quest to return the thunder helm and conquer Vah Naboris. Aita barely remembered the past week. There was only bouts on confusion and scattered memories of Link taking care of him. As soon as he regained some of his health back, he insisted that Link return to his quest. So the question became: where would Aita be safe while he was gone?

Link frowns at a bit of the roof that’s come undone. “No, you can’t stay here, you’re still sick.” He says. “Listen, there’s a house for sale in Hateno that I’ve been saving for. If I just sell some things and buy it, you’ll be able to-”

“Hateno’s on the other side of Hyrule, and that’ll take too long. That Gerudo queen is waiting for her heirloom, isn’t she?” Aita interrupts. “Besides, they’re gonna find me no matter where I am. At least there’s no one here.”

Link ponders for a moment before answering. “That’s very noble of you, Aita.”

“Is it?”

“Sure, you don’t want anyone to be threatened by them.”

Aita shrugs. “If I have to fight, I just don’t want anyone getting in the way.”

After several hesitant goodbyes and more “Are you sure?”s from Link, he was alone on the plateau.

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Aita was furious when it happened. Angry and embarrassed, he teleported back to the Yiga hideout. His first encounter with the hero wasn’t supposed to go like this. He hadn’t expected to win right away. He knew that a battle was best won after a long time, wearing down your opponent, learning about them, finding their weaknesses. He would have accepted a standard defeat and returned to kill him later. Instead, the Hero, cunning and cruel, had broken his mask and knocked him unconscious. To add insult to injury, Aita awoke beside a campfire with bandages on his wounds, and the hero cooking his rations.

And now Aita was maskless, nothing to hide the bad scrape on his forehead where the shattered porcelain had cut him during the impact. To the Yiga Clan, the mask was considered one’s true face. A singular unified identity shared by every member. To be seen outside the hideout without a mask or without a disguise was a huge taboo.

He stormed into the hideout. He needed to find his supervisor; the blademaster in change of his particular group of footsoldiers. If he could find him and get another mask, then he could be spared more embarrassment.

“Woah, Aita! What the hell happened to you?” Aita rolled his eyes. Like flies to a dead animal, other footsoldiers gathered around him as he walked.

“Where’s your mask?” Someone asked, a voice he didn’t recognize. “Did you drop it? Learn to take care of your things, Aita.”

“That’s pretty gross!” Someone reached up to poke at the scrape on his forehead and he slapped their hand away. “I wonder if that’ll leave a scar.”

“Shut up.” Aita snapped. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“We can see that!” they laughed.

They turned the corner and came face to face with a blademaster, and the laughing instantly stopped as the group stood to attention. Aita felt the man’s eyes bore into him through his mask. “...Well?” he asked. The voice of his supervisor.

Aita took a deep breath. He couldn’t tell them about his encounter with the Hero, not a chance. “...A lynel.” He lied, smoothly. “I unknowingly wandered into its territory, and it attacked me. While I tried to escape, it fired an arrow that hit my mask. Had I not been wearing it, I would have died.”

The other footsoldiers were dead quiet as the blademaster deliberated. He spoke. “You have been trained to fight the legendary hero, the greatest threat to the world, and yet you run from one of Hyrule’s beasts? Did you lack the ability to kill it, or just the nerve?”

Aita felt his cheeks and ears turn warm with embarrassment while he tried to think of an excuse to cover up his story. This was better than admitting the truth, at least. Before he could speak, there was a voice from behind him.

“Blademaster, if I may…” A footsoldier made his way to Aita at the head of the group. He recognized his voice; it was Goro, a member of the team that Aita used to train with. While they hadn’t grown up together, he was always pleasant and complementary, and quick to make friends.

“With utmost respect sir, Lynels serve Calamity Ganon, don’t they?” Goro continued. “Im sure Aita had the capability to defeat it, but doing so would be counterproductive to our goals. Killing a monster out in Hyrule just means one less enemy to the Hero; one less soldier for Ganon’s army.”

The blademaster considered this for a moment, and said “...Fine. But you won’t let it happen again. This way, you’ll receive a new mask.” No punishment, no reprimanding.

Aita turned and nodded thankfully towards Goro as he followed the Blademaster away, and Goro gave a low thumbs-up while the other footsoldiers dispersed.

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Aita snaps back to his senses. He’s sitting by a smouldering fire just outside the old hut on the plateau. These dreams were no surprise to him. Ever since he left, he’d dreamed of nothing but the Yiga Clan; memories, his old ambitions, his new fears. It’s nighttime now, and he’s not sure when he dozed off, or whether it was from exhaustion or his lingering fever.

He looks through the low flames out into the darkness. It’s only the first night. Link could quickly travel to Gerudo Town using the Sheikah Slate, but it must take more than one day to regain control of Vah Naboris. And he was to remain here in hiding, until the hornet’s nest named the Yiga Clan settles down after being kicked.

Aita feels himself begin to doze off again, but snaps to attention. He picks up the bow beside him, and aims it into the darkness. He lets loose an arrow and hears it lodge into a tree with a quick THUNK.

“Come out. I know you’re there.” He orders.

A thin figure silently emerges from behind the tree. The white mask of the Yiga stands out stark against the darkness.

“You’re as sharp as ever.” Says a familiar voice. “There’s no getting the drop on you is there, Aita?”

“Goro?” Aita asks, lowering his bow slightly.

“You recognize me on voice alone! How flattering.” he says, and much to Aita’s surprise, removes his mask. Goro’s sleepy eyes and thick eyebrows always made him look a few years older than his peers.

Aita sneers and levels the bow again. “Sure. You talk so much I couldn’t get your voice out of my head.”

“That’s cold.” Goro responds, frowning. “I thought we were friends.”

“A friend that’s come to kill me?”

“Hey, don’t jump to conclusions.” He ignores the bow aimed at him and casually sits by the fire with Aita. “Maybe I came to say that...I think what you did back there took a lot of guts. You’ve inspired me, I want to join you and the Hero, and save Hyrule.”

Aita stares at him, frowning and eyebrows furrowed. It’s an expression of confusion that Goro clearly interprets as annoyance, and laughs.

“There’s no getting past you, is there!” He gives his old friend a hefty slap on the back.

They sit together by the fire in tense silence. Aita, still as a rock trying to anticipate an attack, and Goro, relaxed, taking pleasure in making him nervous. Aita nearly flinches when he finally speaks.

“You know. A lot of us were really upset by what you did. Our supervisor was completely speechless. And Kei, oof. She’s not taking it well.”

Aita hoped to hear more about her, but Goro didn’t elaborate.

“And me too, y’know? I’ve always been supportive of you, helpful, when I can. And that’s because I saw that you had some potential. I thought you were going places. That’s why I stuck around; you always root for the winning team, Aita. So when you pulled a stunt like that, I was like, shit! I’ve put all my bananas in the wrong bag. How the hell am I going to use some shameful defect like you to get up in the ranks, right?”

Aita stares into the coals as he prattles on. He should have guessed. No one in the Yiga Clan is kind just for the hell of it. There’s always a motive. There’s always a trick.

“But!” He lightly punches Aita in the shoulder, a playful gesture. “Turns out this was just the opportunity I’ve been waiting for! Everyone’s so furious with you, they’re just desperate to see your head on a stake. And, since we’re friends, everyone’s suddenly expecting me to take care of it! Can you imagine that? Everyone’s always had great expectations of you and Kei, you’ve always been a pair of prodigies, but now I don’t even have to worry about killing the hero. I can easily take out a weak little traitor like you, and get just as much glory. And hey, since Master Kohga’s gone, there’s a new opening for clan leader, too. But maybe I’m just getting my hopes up.”

Aita smirks and glances over to the Yiga. “Well, great job Goro. Obviously since you failed at stealth killing me, your next tactic was to bore me to death. It almost worked.”

Goro returns the smile. “Still just as cold, huh?”

From behind his back, Goro grabs a large, spiked, ring shaped weapon and quickly uses it to slap a cloud of burning coals and ash towards Aita. He reels back, shielding his eyes and brushing off the hot charcoal, and barely has enough time to grab his sword and block Goro’s strike.

“Cool weapon, right?” he says, standing over Aita and pushing him into the dirt. “They call it a Demon Carver. They gave it to me, specifically to kill you! You’re not even dead yet and I’m already reaping the benefits.”

Aita moves to kick Goro’s legs and disrupt his balance, but he anticipates it and jumps back away from the fire, giving Aita enough time to stand up. As he brings himself to his feet, a sharp pain forces him to flinch and cry out. An arrow is stuck in his thigh; his opponent had shot at him from the darkness. And just like that, Goro is rushing forward again to attack. It was a classic Yiga strategy that they both knew well. Keep moving, alternate between melee with a blade and ranged with a bow. Disable your opponent to make sure they won’t keep up. Aita is forced to block again, pushed down to one knee as the pain in his thigh erupts.

Goro disappears in a cloud of smoke to teleport away and repeat the technique. Aita has only a second to respond and pick up his own bow. There’s a flash of light several yards away as Goro reappears, and Aita uses the strobe to aim and fire. He hears a grunt of pain out in the darkness and after a brief hesitation, there's another flash of light and smoke.

Suddenly, Goro is behind him and Aita has to twist to block his attack. The red of his uniform hides the blood, but there’s a tear in the fabric of his left shoulder where Aita’s arrow hit. The yiga could no longer use his bow, and to compensate, he was quickly teleporting behind his target to sink the demon carver into his back. But Aita blocks the attack again, this time refusing to let his injured leg give in.

“I know why you needed to use me to try to get up in rank.” Aita grunts through the pain. “You’re too much of a weak, lazy coward to get there on your own! I always knew that, and even if I wanted to be a blademaster, I would have left you behind to stay a footsoldier forever. You’re not good enough!”

Aita withdraws his sword and then quickly stabs it forward. He threads the blade through the center of the Demon Carver, and with a single swing, rips it from Goro’s hands and sends it flying. Goro jumps back, certain that Aita would swing at him now that he’s unarmed, but he does nothing. The traitor stands there panting, arrow still sticking out of his thigh.

For once, Goro has nothing to say. He forms the symbol with his hand and teleports back to the hideout, without the trophy he hoped for. And once again, Aita stands alone on the plateau.

[botwriter]

Masked - Chapter 3, The Chosen Hero

Read this on FF.net  ☛

Hyrule field looked much different at night. During a sunny day, it looked like paradise - full of wildflowers in bloom, breezy and quiet. Now, as Zelda found her ways through the tall grass, she was just grateful that it was a clear night. Without the moon, she wouldn’t be able to see a thing - and despite all of her previous courage, the further she got from Robin, the more and more it faded away. He was likely still fast asleep. If anything happened, there would be no one around her to help.

No - it’s no use thinking like that, she reminded herself, I have to be more self-reliant.

It didn’t help that she had no combat training, nor no weapon to defend herself with. Was it any use being ‘self-reliant’ with no resources? She could run, but she had never even been a particularly fast runner. As she passed Lake Kolomo and spotted a camp of sleeping Yiga nearby, she let out a sigh. What if she’d made a grave mistake? At least, seeing Hyrule Castle looming in the distance was reassuring. She wasn’t that far.

She distracted herself by thinking about Robin as she walked. He had saved her once - no, twice already, from the Yiga forces. Had he been following her? He was born into the royal guard, but… from what he’d said, was no longer part of it… Zelda shook her head. What was becoming of Hyrule if someone that talented found it necessary to leave the royal guard, to leave knight training? But he was supposedly loyal if he was looking after her so well… then again, not being able to see his face was worrying. What if he really was yiga?

She pushed the thought away. No… he had what must have been the sword that seals the darkness… but what if it made a mistake? There were too many questions. And there’d be no answering them, not yet. She had to get home first.

By the time she saw the Yiga patrolling the sacred grounds, it was already too late. Their patrols had caught wind of her earlier, and even as she ducked into the grass and stayed perfectly still, it was no use. Their footsteps surrounded her, and Zelda panicked, trying to run - but ropes caught both of her wrists and dragged her backwards.

“No! Help!” she yelled as loud as she possibly could, hoping maybe, just maybe, a nearby knight patrol could hear her. Three yiga wrestled her to the ground, pinning her as her wrists and ankles until they were tied together, and finally she was flipped, laying on her back on the grass. Before she could yell again, one of them held a sickle to her throat, cold steel pressing softly against her neck.

“Ssssh,” he cooed, “don’t wanna wake up all of Castle Town, now. You’re gonna answer some questions.”

Of all the challenges she’d had as Princess, this was the toughest so far. Zelda felt like she was having an out of body experience. She couldn’t process that she was being threatened - her life was being threatened - if she didn’t answer. All she could do was grit her teeth, fight the tears escaping from her eyelashes, and think about home. Mom, why is this happening?

“What do you want?” she snapped, her voice shaking despite her efforts to sound angry. She was terrified, but what the yiga said next surprised her so much, she nearly snapped out of it.

“Tell us where the Chosen Hero is.”

The… chosen… hero?

“We know he was traveling with you!” “We saw his sword.” “He’s Ganon’s only threat.”

She almost fought back then - what do you mean, Ganon’s only threat? - but her thoughts were preoccupied. The Chosen Hero. She had seen Robin’s sword, too. The way it glowed was just like in the texts she’d studied. And if Calamity Ganon was returning, as all these yiga made it seem… not to mention the influx of monsters lately… that would be the next natural step. But… Robin - an ex knight trainee, a man of the royal guard who was… well, probably her age, having the sword? And not telling anyone? Could he be the hero - is that why he left?

“I don’t know what I am now.”

His words echoed in her mind, but the feeling of sharp silver pressing against her collarbone brought her back to the present.

“Well!?”

“I don’t know,” she finally admitted, absently struggling against the rope tied tightly around her wrists, “I left him a few hours ago. He’s probably long gone by now.”

The yiga’s nostrils flared.

“Well, where was he?”

“South,” she answered a little too quickly, “that’s all I know. I don’t know outside of the castle very well.”

“Useless,” one of the older yiga hissed, “let’s just kill her before she slips out of our grasp again.”

The yiga holding a sickle to her next hummed - he was clearly thinking about it. Zelda’s eyes widened.

“Master Kohga wouldn’t be happy, but better you’re dead than escaping… although you do make a good trap for the Chosen Hero.”

“He’d just beat you again,” Zelda protested, and the yiga laughed.

“Don’t you remember you two running away last time? But then again, I’m impatient. I say we end it.”

There was a muttered chorus of agreement from behind him. Zelda struggled against the ropes, and the yiga pressed his sickle further into her skin - she let out a muffled “mm-” as a hand covered her mouth and she felt several drops of blood trickle down her neck.

“Can’t have you screaming if I can’t kill you in one hit,” the yiga said with a malicious tone, tilting his head at her, “with a weapon like this, it might take a few before it’s over.”

Zelda was sure she would have cried if fear hadn’t taken over every part of her body. No, no, no, no- this can’t be how it ends - this is all my fault, I never should have left him, and he’s the Chosen Hero- a vision of Robin fighting Ganon alone with the sword flashed into her mind. That couldn’t be it. No. She was supposed to seal away the calamity. She had yet to even awaken her power, and now she was going to die as a broken Princess… broken. Not to mention, it wouldn’t even be a fast death - the princess of Hyrule, brutally stabbed to death, a mere hours trip from Hyrule Castle…

The yiga wound up, his arm lifting and the sickle glinting in the light of dawn. Zelda shut her eyes tight, but the pain never came. Metal clashed with metal, and when her eyes shot open, she finally saw it - glowing bright blue in the morning light, the sword that sealed the darkness was wielded ahead of her, by - unmistakably - Robin. He flipped it deftly in his hand, deflecting two more attacks and sending the offenders running. When he turned to her, she still couldn’t make out his face, just a pair of bright eyes under his hood and messy blonde hair. He used a fallen sickle to cut her ropes, then helped her stand, and - for just a brief moment - held her close enough that she could smell his hair. It was nice.

“Reckless,” he muttered in her ear, and then turned quite quickly again to face off with the yiga. The rest of the camp had come by now, surrounding them - though there were only maybe 10 or 12 of them, it was still far too many for him to take down on his own.

“I hope you have a plan,” she said quietly, standing back to back with him.

“You’re one to talk.”

Despite his sarcastic remark, it seemed Robin did have a plan, as Zelda heard neighing from nearby. A platoon of castle knights had approached and were surrounding the yiga, who panicked immediately. Some used smoke bombs to disappear, others tried to run, and several were captured or straight-up killed by the knights.

“Princess!”

The knights ran to her. She smiled, but when she looked back at Robin, she saw them drawing their swords on him - and he was ready to fight back? Why?

“Stop- stop!” she protested, as they clashed; his bright blue sword had been knocked away, and one of the knights kicked him to the ground.

“Stop!”

Unfortunate as it was, Zelda knew her knights. Whether or not she ordered them to do something, it would always be a moment too late; too many of them were corrupt, happy with a position of power over others. She was fed up.

As the knight readied another kick, Zelda jumped in between them; hard metal hit her back, and she fell forwards into Robin, who caught her hurriedly but fell all the same. They toppled into the grass, and Zelda grimaced at the pain searing through her back from the armored boot.

“Princess!”

She could feel Robin’s hands holding tight to her, even as she was dragged back upwards by the knights. She reached back for a second, and caught only a glimpse of worried bright blue eyes before Robin, too, was lifted up by the knights, his hair falling back down and covering his face.

“Princess - why-”

“He saved- my life-” she stammered, still winded somewhat from the kick to her back. “By my orders, no harm will come to him,” she finally said, quite breathlessly.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” the knights asked Robin, shaking him as they held him up by his arms. He didn’t look up, even as Zelda watched, desperately wanted to go to him - anything but these knights.

“I’ll see you at the masquerade,” was all he said. They left in two separate parties then. Zelda needed medical attention, and there would be no use fighting the guards on it. Robin, meanwhile, would surely end up in the dungeons… but she could visit him later and talk to her father about the sword, and him being the Chosen Hero… yeah... it’ll be fine...

Zelda woke in the evening that day, tucked neatly into her bed with a warm compress still on her forehead. Fresh flowers had been placed on her nightstand, and as she sat up, a shuffling nearby told her she wasn’t alone in her room.

“Father,” she breathed with a smile, seeing the King come around the corner from her four poster bed.

“Zelda. I’m glad to see you finally awake,” he sighed in relief, sitting down on the edge of her bed and taking one of her hands into his. “Now… what is this nonsense about Robin Hood?”

Zelda’s expression dropped. Of course, the knights would have told him all sorts of lies before she was able to tell her side of the story… they must have thought she’d been taken.

“He saved me - twice - and helped me get back to Hyrule Castle,” she explained hurriedly. “I left him because I wanted to get home faster, and that’s why I was captured. He must have alerted the knights.”

King Rhoam nodded solemnly.

“And… he wields the sword that seals the darkness…”

“That’s the other thing,” Zelda said excitedly, “we need to talk to him. He’s definitely-”

“A petty thief,” the King interrupted, and Zelda gasped in return.

“No, that’s not it-”

“I’ve heard stories of this Robin Hood before,” the King continued, shaking his head as he stood up from the bed and paced in Zelda’s room. “While it seems he has good intentions, how does one have the funds for all this medicine? The time to help so many? He’s clearly a no-gooder, stealing and disguising it as good deeds.”

“That can’t be true,” she protested, “he saved me, he’s the only reason I-”

“You were captured by yiga! He must have had a deal with them. I’m sure they’re getting everything out of him right now.”

“Father!”

“Get ready for the Masquerade tonight, Zelda. I know it’s been a rough few days for you, but that’s no reason to not be in attendance… not when there is so much uncertainty about.”

So it really was no use. Zelda was left in her room alone, but she wasn’t interested in crying into her sheets. Robin had saved her - now it was her turn. But cleverness would be her only way of possibly getting to him. The usual route to the dungeons wouldn’t work… but she knew another way.

When she stood, she braced herself on her nightstand table; that knight’s kick had done a deal on her, but she was glad at least that it hadn’t hit Robin instead. It would, however, be a pain to dance with… and she had only a few hours before the masquerade started. If she wasn’t there, her father would no doubt suspect something and come looking for her… so she had to be quick.

She got ready first. Hair washed and brushed, dress on, face cleaned up. She donned a silk scarf around her neck to hide the cut the sickle had given her… wouldn’t be any good for anyone else to see that.

Zelda knew she’d have to go straight from the dungeons to the masquerade. For a moment, she looked at herself in the mirror before leaving; it was disappointing, being in a blue dress when she’d desperately wanted to dye one white. She met her own gaze in the mirror, thinking briefly of the comfortable smell of Robin's hair, the way he had held her close, and reached for her... a heat rose in her chest. Really, what was with all of that, and more importantly, why did it make her feel like this? She felt responsible for him, but it was more than that, now - his voice, that glimpse of blue eyes...  The girl sighed, fiddled with her filigree bracelets for a moment, and then hurried out the door, heading towards the outside of the castle. All that climbing she’d done with Robin was going to come in handy, and quickly.

The outside of the castle was surprisingly free of the usual security, which she attributed to the masquerade. As she clambered downwards, dress flowing in the wind, she remembered what Robin’s parting words had been: see you at the masquerade. So he was absolutely nobility. Otherwise, how would he have even known of it? But how was he planning on getting there? He’d been arrested.

When she finally found the trapdoor entrance to the dungeons outside, Zelda was careful to keep her dress lifted from the floor as she crept through. It had taken at least an hour for her to get down to the cells, and once she did, she was shocked to find the knight guards slumped against the cages… alive, but clearly defeated in some sort of battle. She bent down to the first one she found, lifted his helmet, and gently shook him until he came to. Brown eyes blinked open, surprised to see her staring down at him.

“P-princess - that knight-”

“Robin Hood?” she asked with a small smile, tilting her head.

“No,” he shook his head, and Zelda looked at him quizzically.

“He used to be a knight. He was one of - no, probably was the best knight trainee we’ve ever had… he took us out one by one once we got in here. Said he had a-” the knight coughed- “dance to attend to. He’s going to the masquerade.”

“I’ll find him, and send some help down for you,” Zelda said with an assured nod, but before she could stand to leave, the knight’s hand shot up and held her wrist.

“Princess - his name is Link.”