Legends: Chapter One
Tokyo was experiencing it's worst heat wave in decades. Even the night air was hot and sticky. It brought no relief from the blistering heat. What it did bring was the scent of burning rubber and gasoline. Like most cities Tokyo never slept; it didn't know the meaning of said word. They would have their fun, no matter the weather.
Personally, she hated the heat. Clubs were even worse. Mixing the two together was out of the question. Yet, here she was amongst the raving crowd. She needed to find him, even if it meant enduring the mass amount of body heat and having her leg humped by strangers as she cut her way through the partygoers.
Some voice in the back of her head said this was stupid and that she was wasting her time here. It whispered for her to turn back to her one bedroom apartment and sleep instead. She wanted to obey it's alluring offers, but continued her way through the crowded dance floor dismally. She was promised something valuable and she wanted it. Badly enough to put up with the sweaty dancers, the loud pounding techno music, and flashing, colourful lights. Once again, for the thousandth time, she was thankful she wasn't epileptic, or something of the sort.
She had already been scouring for nearly an hour. She didn't bother to dance and only bought a bottle of water. She was too preoccupied for such nonsense (not that this was her type of scene in the first place). Despite her efforts she had failed to spot him even once. She thought he'd be fairly easy to find amongst the dark haired crowd. He had blond hair, blue eyes and lightly tanned skin. He really shouldn't be so damn hard to find.
She just started believing the voice in the back of her head when she caught a glimpse of a yellow blur in the corner of her eye. She was almost at the door too. Had he really been sitting at the bar the whole time? Judging by the way he was swaying in his seat he must have been drinking for quite some time. Annoyed and tired she made her way over to him.
"Oi!" She gave him a bit of a shove to make sure she got his attention.
"Hmm?" He turned to look at her with unsteady, deep blue eyes. It took him a while to realize she really was talking to him, and even then he didn't give her any words of true acknowledgement. She stared back with solitary grey-blue eyes. She wore a simple black dress and a small white jacket. He noticed, with great amusement, the dress made her look slim. Her short black hair was a mess and oily from the heat. She didn't look very amused by his gawking. Impatiently she tapped her foot and cleared her throat.
"Yes?" He asked in a silky voice.
"You're drunk. I'm taking you home." He raised an eyebrow, clearly liking the idea.
"Oh, really?" With very little grace he stood. He took a closer look at her and she had to back up so his face wouldn't collide with hers. The harsh smell of alcohol rolled off of him in waves, and she held her breath. "I don't believe I've-" He hiccupped slightly, covering her in the foul scent. It took all of her patients to keep herself from hurting him. "-met you before."
"Of course you have you idiot. Now give me your keys so I can drive you home before you do something stupid." He looked at her, a little confused, but gave her the keys anyway. She looked familiar enough. The two walked to the parking lot in silence. He stopped half way in the alley, staring at the girl before him. She stopped only moments after him and turned to see what the matter was.
"I still don't think we've met." A small smirk crept into her features. It looked like it belonged there.
"We have met. You really don't remember me?" She proceeded to walk slowly toward where he stood. He shook his head slightly, unsure if he should shake his head. "Really? I thought I would have left a lasting impression. You met me two weeks ago. I was the one to break into your meth lab and kill all your men except for one. You."
Her smirk didn't waver once. The man sobered up so quickly she could see the hang-over forming in his clouded blue eyes. He was too late. Before he could utter a single syllable she had closed the gap in one bound and twisted his neck until it made a sickening snapping noise. She let his limp body fall to the pavement. His corpse made little sound as it struck the ground. She felt no pity for this man.
"How you got away two weeks ago will amaze me forever. Not that it matters now. I guess Hiver can cross Takahashi Kai off of his list." She left the body there, knowing Hiver would send someone else for it. For now she could just listen to the voice from earlier and get some rest. Under an air conditioner. With a cool glass of water.
The morning light awoke her from her dreamless sleep. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep she got up and went through her morning routine. Shower. Eat. Brush teeth. Watch the morning news.
Hiver was usually right on time, popping up the day after a mission straight after the morning news. For as long as she could remember he had always been on time unless he had news that was more horrid than usual to her. This unnerved her enough to turn off the TV. She couldn't concentrate on it now.
He was an entire hour late when he showed up, and he was smiling; another sign of the apocalypse. The news must be really bad.
"You're late." She stated blandly. On the inside anxiety ran rampant. The thing about Hiver was that he never started a conversation, and the only answers given were vague. He just floated in the middle of the living room, smiling a mile a minute. She hated his smile more than anything. Except social contact, that was her number one. It crept her out to no end. Mostly because he was a Spirit and he looked creepy enough in the first place. Most of his features, she realized with an amused smirk, were covered by a black cloak. All she could see was his white skin, ominous smile, and hollow navy blue eyes.
"What's with the get up? No leather pants?" Hiver only laughed at her comments lightly, but kept his mouth smiling with no answer. Eventually, which was a very short amount of time, she became sick of his smile.
"Seriously, stop smiling at me and tell me what you want so I don't have to see your ugly mug for longer than necessary!" He obviously missed the insult aimed at his looks.
"I've been waiting a long time for this day. There's finally going to be some initial change." She only looked up at him in confusion, which led to frustration.
"Give up the dramatic crap and get this over with." Deciding he was going to be cryptic, she took off to the kitchen to make lunch, with the floating Spirit behind her.
"Impatient as usually." Hiver commented dryly. He stopped her and pressed a small bag into her hand. She knew what it was and didn't bother opening it. He also passed her two sheaths, both with blades in them. This is what she really wanted. She had smashed her last two and was in dire need of replacements. "You're payment." He stated. His smile had grown in size. Just when she thought it impossible too. "I believe you'll find they're more than suitable." She set the medium sized blades aside, on the wooden kitchen counter, with the small pouch. She stared intently at the Spirit who stared back with a blank, almost stupid look.
"This isn't what you're here for, now is it? You're late, so you have news or something I'm going to regret asking about." Hiver's smile had widened again. She had hit the nail on the head.
"I guess you won't like it. I actually have another… request for you." She didn't look happy. In fact, she looked down right angry. "Now, now. Don't go bursting at the seems. This is very important. So far I've only sent you on small assassination missions compared to this. This is the single most impo-"
"Whatever. Not interested." She walked away only to find the Spirit in her path. She glared in annoyance. Mostly because he still wore that awful grin. "Go away. I'm going back to bed."
"Really Mio? Are you going to be stubborn?" She didn't look any happier as she nodded. At least she seemed to be listening to what he was saying. "You want a bribe don't you?" A quick emotion change and she was smirking. She was known for her stubbornness, and could be quite the barterer. "Fine, but you can't make any suggestions. What I say goes."
"Whatever." Mio flopped into a kitchen chair, and motioned her hands in a 'Go on' motion. Hiver didn't sit; he simply continued to float on the same spot. The cloak he wore would flutter every now and then due to a non-existent wind.
"Lets see. I'm willing to offer paying for whatever home you wish to live in, along with living expenses." Now she was interested. He had never made an offer near this magnitude before. With her eyebrow raised she leaned forward to hear better. It was more out of habit. Her hearing was more than good enough to hear his low voice. "What else. Ah! This little bag here." Hiver held out his hand. Fabric twisted and mended until it formed a square leather pouch. Mio was hesitant to take it. It was light. It felt like she was holding a feather. "It's called a Kokiri pouch. It's a, well in simple terms, it's a magical bag. It can hold a good amount of items no matter the size or weight. When in the pouch the items don't weigh a thing. It does have a limit though. Try to keep it under 500 pounds or so. It won't hold anything over that." Magic? He's never ever offered something like this. She knew such things existed, but…
"Anything else?" Honestly, she was ready to go with what she had already, but she wanted to get every last drop out of him. He owed her that much.
"Aren't you pushy… Fine let me think. Did I mention that living costs include clothing and personal items?" Mio rolled her wrist in a continuing motion. "Hmm. Oh! A horse!"
"What? Why the hell would I need a horse in the middle of Tokyo? No wait, better question, have you finally lost it? Where in Tokyo would I be able to keep a horse?" Hiver gave her one of the giddiest looks she'd ever seen from him. If she wasn't suspicious before, she was now.
"It doesn't matter right now. Do we have a deal?"
"No. I have no idea what the other end of this is. Do you take me for an idiot?"
"Of course not! I was just wondering if you even cared." She gave him a grouchy look. Clearly, she wasn't willing to jump into this head first. The last time she did she ended up in Bermuda, looking for 20 separate drug co-operations, in skin-splitting heat. Just thinking about it made her sick.
"Spit it out old fart." Hiver didn't appreciate Mio's tone.
"I need you to go to Hyrule. It's a large island in the south pacific. It's top secret and is blanketed by layers upon layers of barriers. You'll be brought there be helicopter; don't worry I remember how sick you get on boats. You'll be brought straight to the castle.
"I'd like it if you kept in mind that Hyrule is very isolated. It is behind in technology, so don't expect your stay to be like a vacation. Also, their second language is English so you should be able to communicate with the majority of the citizens.
"While you're their you'll have two responsibilities. You are to teach the princess to better rule her lands with your knowledge of this lands rulings. Your second is even more important. There is a young man, very close to the princess. He is her protector, but is lacking in skill. His story is a long one you'll learn eventually. I need you to train him as much as you can.
"Once on the island I will not let you off unless it's an emergency. Understood?"
"If I say no?"
"I'll knock you out and you'll wake up on the island anyway. Sans benefits. I'm sorry, but I must enforce this." Mio looked at him in near shock. Never in her life had he threatened her for not accepting a mission. She knew he meant it. She was stuck, and she hated it. In her mind she change her tactics from saying no to the faster she got it done she could return home.
"Lilac is pushing you, huh?"
"No. Jonquil is. She's been assigned to this world, and wants to make sure Hyrule has at least one noble fighter." Silence filled the room. She couldn't get out of this one. She was screwed.
"Fine. So long as I get to keep the bribe."
"Of course. You'll leave tomorrow."
She was out to kill him and he knew it. Left and right, she sent hi scurrying about Castletown making deliveries and promises, and everything in between. She had been pushing him to work harder that usual, prompting him to question her intentions. He was exhausted, to the point where he was dragging his sorry, tired ass around the castle without bothering to try and cover it up. Of course, her highness didn't notice at all. When he met her in the throne room she smiled kindly. That was probably her most beautiful feature.
"How may I serve you m'lady?" He asked, kneeled before her. Now he was trying to hide his tiredness. He didn't want to show too much weakness in front of the princess. The princess on the other hand suddenly looked panicky. Her hair was astray. It was unusual for her to look so improper. She was almost frantic. Her small, delicate, gloved fingers were worrying her intricate silk dress.
"You'll never believe it…" She said in a whisper with her head bowed. "Someone was looking for you, but he wasn't… a person. I don't know why he came to me, but he demanded that I was the one that had to tell you what he had to say." Someone had breached the castle's security?
He took in his surroundings. The throne room was empty besides the presence of him and the princess. The tall white walls weren't lined with guards as usual. It was obvious that she had prepared for this and that she had gone to some lengths to have her guards leave her for only a few moments. He got to his feet and approached the princess with caution. He didn't say a word when he stopped to stand in front of her. He waited until she spoke on her own.
"He was very calm, never raised his voice, but he wasn't human. I couldn't see what he looked like, he wore a black cloak to cover his face, but he was floating. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there and listened. I don't know why I had to be the one to tell you, but he kept insisting." She was looking directly at him now, but he kept quiet. "He said to be ready. That in a day or twos time someone will be coming to help you. He didn't say who or why or with what. That was all he said. I don't understand. What's going to happen Link?" He had no answer. He knew nothing more than she did. She sighed and looked down. She knew there was nothing he could do about this. She must have stayed quiet too long since he put himself through enough trouble as to speak.
"Zelda?" She looked up at him. His bright blue eyes were tired. With his shoulders slumped and his bright blond hair dishevelled he still managed to look aware and courageous. The news must have devastated him, she told herself.
"You should rest for now. After all, you should be here when your guests arrives." He had nothing to say for that. Guest? Whoever it was wasn't invited. What if this entire thing was a trap? But, had it been, the non-man Zelda mentioned could have easily done anything himself. No, he was too tired to think about this now. What with running about and this… peculiar news, he didn't have the right mindset to think it through thoroughly enough.
Without a word Link bowed and left. He had a home on the outskirts of Castletown. He calculated that he should make it there before he collapsed.