Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or Soul Calibur.

We're the same

Taki awoke the next morning; she shivered as she felt the cold winter air against her cheeks. She opened her eyes and pulled Link's cape around her tighter and noticed Link was gone. She began to worry; she saw some of his things still in the cave. She scanned the area and saw no sign of his presence in the cave, and to make matters worse, she did not feel him anywhere nearby. He simply wasn't here.

Taki was in too much pain to go out; her ribs and shoulder had begun to hurt again. She could not travel without aid, so she was stuck at the cave until she healed properly. The thought of that made her groan, and then she thought of something she feared was true. 'What if he left me here? What if he just saw me as a burden, an obstacle in the way of his mission, and instead of staying to help me, he just left me to fend for myself?'

Taki was used to this sort of thing; she was alone ever since Toki had gone mad, ever since she was driven from her only home, forced into the wild to fight for her life. But for some reason, it hurt to think that Link would do that to her. It didn't matter if others had done this to her, she often opted to be alone, it didn't matter to her before, but for some reason, it all mattered when it came to Link. She wasn't sure why, but it was true.

She felt a tear escape her eye but she quickly wiped it away, 'No! He wouldn't do this to me!' She sat down and decided to wait for him; maybe he just went to grab a few things. She scolded herself for jumping to conclusions like that; it went against her nature to do so. It was what had often been the end of others.

Hours passed, and the only thing she did in the time period was put more firewood in the fire to keep it alive. She was beginning to believe that he had truly left. As the thought invaded her mind and forced her to think of the possibility, tears made their way down her cheeks, and she began to weep softly.

Link was out fishing for a couple of hours so as to get some food for himself and Taki. He had caught some bass and was getting ready to head back. He was sure that Taki was awake by now; he wondered how she was feeling this morning. 'Hope she isn't in anymore pain. The way her shoulder was dislocated and her ribs being broken the way they were, I would surely feel it in the morning.' He mused. He pulled his fishing pole he made back in Hyrule (A/N: this is OOT Link, not TP Link, this takes place during the Hero of Time's life, not the Hero of Twilight's, that's a good millennia later in Hyrule's time line).

With his catch of the day in a basket, he walked back to the cave to find a very unhappy Taki crying quietly. She was holding her legs and had her face buried in her knees.

"Why…Why him…?" she asked quietly to no one in particular. Link became instantly worried and furious. Though he didn't know why, he barely knew her.

"Taki? What is it? What happened?" Link asked worriedly. Taki looked up to him with a surprised expression.

"Link? Link!" She then threw herself at him. Link gasped as he was tackled to the ground 'what in Din's name is going on?' he exclaimed to himself in his head. Taki was holding him tightly and sobbing silently into his neck and snuggling closer to him; her mind wasn't processing exactly what she was doing. All she knew was that she didn't want him to leave her alone. Link was beyond confused and blushing as red as an apple.

"Shhhh…It's alright Taki, I'm here." Link tried to comfort her. She calmed down enough to stop the tears.

"Taki, what happened? What's wrong?" Link asked her again. She blinked but then realized exactly what happened. Now she was blushing. She quickly let go of Link and stood up, despite what she now knew and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

"I…I…I-I was worried…I thought you left me here to die… I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about this, it's happened before, but it's different this time…I'm sorry." she explained and apologized with part of the truth, not having come up with a common sense based excuse. Link blinked then looked at the basket he had.

"Uh, heh, I was out fishing… I wasn't going to leave you. I wouldn't do anything of the sort, Taki, not while you are injured like this." Link explained, Taki blushed redder. She hadn't ever been this embarrassed before in her life.

"Oh." She said with a nervous chuckle. Link got up and grabbed the basket. He skinned the fish and cooked them that night as Taki reclaimed her suit and handed Link back his cape. They didn't speak to each other the rest of the night, being too embarrassed with the earlier events. When the time to go to sleep came, they huddled together for warmth and avoided each other's gaze. As sleep took them, Taki wrapped her hands around him, being the first to fall asleep. She held him tightly as his warmth kept her comfortable. Link used his cape as a sort of blanket, it was thick enough for this type of weather and large enough for maybe three people to fit under. After securing the cape to his fancy, he wrapped his hands around her to share the warmth. Then he fell asleep, with the whistle of the wind lulling him to dreamland.

As Taki awoke in the morning, she noticed that Link had yet to awaken. So, for the sake of her need to keep warm, she let him go to throw more firewood on the fire and then made sure it stayed lit. Finishing this, she walked silently back over to the hylian and resumed her position with her arms wrapped around his neck, her head on his shoulders and her eyes on the flames. Normally, she wouldn't admit others this close to her in proximity, but Link was different.

She slowly drifted into deep thought as she began to wonder about Link's past. He sure did not speak much of it. Come to think of it, he didn't speak much at all. She wondered why was that. Was he trying to avoid a memory? Or his past all together. She would have to get him to talk later, for now, she snuggled closer to him and sighed. He shifted restlessly in his sleep. His head tilted to her, now resting it against her head.

Taki smiled. He was so innocent. So young, yet he possessed wisdom beyond his years and he had to be powerful if he could drive off the likes of Nightmare, and only receive a gash to mark his skirmish with that soul-consuming demon.

As Taki wondered about him, she noticed a strange triangular mark on his left hand. It was 3 triangles put together to form a larger triangle. 'Strange, there is something about that mark, it feels pure, holy, and god-like. Why is that?' before she could think further on this, Link shifted again. He groaned softly, his eyes slowly opened. He looked around for a second, looking confused.

"What…Where…oh, that's right, now I remember…Damn, it was only a dream…I-" he spoke to himself but Taki interrupted him.

"What dream?" her sudden interruption caused him to jump slightly as he gasped. His hand shot to his heart, he was now trying to control his breathing. Taki giggled endlessly at his reaction.

"Nayru, Farore, and Din! Don't DO That Taki! I almost had a heart attack!" he exclaimed. She scoffed.

"How old are you, Link?" she asked, changing the subject. Link blinked but shook off his surprise at the sudden question.

"Seventeen, why?" he responded. Now Taki blinked, but recovered just as quickly as he did.

"One, you're too young to have heart attacks, two, how is one so young as you managed to fight one such as Nightmare by yourself, and win?" she explained then asked.

"One, one can never be too young for something such as that if you scare someone hard enough, two, I have had my fair share of the battlefield since I was ten, and have been fighting since then, and most likely will keep fighting until I die." His response caused her to draw a blank. 'Since he was not but a mere child? Who, or what, could cause a child to take up the life of the sword at such an early age?' she mused to herself.

"I don't want to talk about it…" Link said, reading her thoughts.

"And why not? You can't run from your past forever, Link." Taki scolded. Link looked at her with a hurt expression.

As soon as she realized she had hurt him, it was too late, he gathered his cape around him and had left the cave. She grew fearful again, thinking he was leaving, for good.

"Link, wait! Where are you going? Don't leave me!" She called to him.

"To get…more firewood." Came his response. She looked over to the firewood, they had plenty. She moved to follow him, but remembered his words from the previous day, and so decided to give him some room.

Link walked deeper into the woods, thinking about what Taki had said. 'How could she know the pain I had to endure for her? She wouldn't understand what it is like to live the life I have been living…Oh, Zelda, why? Why don't you see me more than a friend? Haven't I earned your love?' he questioned in his head. He eventually stopped in front of a rock, he sat down and pulled out a beautiful Ocarina and began to play a soft tune. As he played, he remembered the times he spent with the princess, his quest to awaken the sages, his journeys through time, and seasons, his mission in Termina, Leading Hyrule's armies into battle against neighboring kingdoms who had become overly confident in their power to attempt to take Hyrule for themselves.

Taki sat by the fire, contemplating her current situation. She had just hurt her first friend, besides the Athenian maiden, Sophitia, Link was the only other person she had spent this much time with. For a long time, since Soul Edge ruined her life with her surrogate father, Toki, Taki had been left alone. No one would take a renegade ninja in, especially when she was being hunted by her ex-clansmen. She couldn't turn to Sophitia for help, she was thousands of miles away for all she knew and had a family to think about, so Link was the only other person she had left, she couldn't lose him. She hated being alone, hated having no one to talk to, to share her feelings with, to care for her.

She knew Link had a rough life, like her. She was an orphan, took in by complete strangers when she was very young. She grew up, believing she was something she was not, until the truth was revealed. Oh, the shock she endured, then the depression, and now, loneliness. Until he came.

Taki finally had enough, she decided she was going out to find Link and apologize to him. She looked outside, but she didn't see him anywhere. Then she heard it, a tune, from a flute of some kind. The melody was beautiful, serene, and calming. 'That has to be him.' She figured. The music was coming from the west, she didn't take her weapons with her, she wouldn't need them and she wasn't going far. Or so she thought.

As Taki walked towards the sound of the melody, six Fu-Ma ninja assassins dropped into a circle around her and drew their blades.

"Fu-Ma no Taki, you are under arrest for treason against Master Toki's orders and assaulting your superiors. Come quietly, or you will die." One of the ninja's demanded sternly.

"You can try, just like the others." Taki responded just as sternly, shooting each ninja a hateful glare. The melody changed, more upbeat now. As soon as it was done the day changed to night.

"Damn it all!" Link shouted when he realized he played the Sun's Song too loud.

"W-what the? Its evening! What magic is this!" One of the ninjas exclaimed.

"Who was that?" Another of the ninja's asked. The others looked into the surrounding forest.

"Go, find him and bring him here." The leader commanded to two others, they nodded and ran off.

"Take her." The leader commanded the other three, they began to close in on her, she stood ready, despite her wounds, she would fight if she must.

The sound of surprised shouts and steel meeting steel echoed through the forest from where the other two took off towards Link.

Link came into view, carrying the two ninjas by the neck. As soon as he had everyone's attention, he threw the two towards their leader. They landed painfully on their backs and took their time to stand.

"I believe these two are under you." Link spoke calmly, quietly, but venomously.

"They are, now who are you?" The leader asked.

"Link, Champion of Farore." Link spoke.

"Farore? Who is that?" The leader asked.

"You don't need to know. Release her." Link ordered.

"No, she is a wanted fugitive. Step aside, this doesn't concern you. Refuse, and she dies, and so do you." The elder one warned. Next thing he knows, he is on the ground with a blade in his gut. The other five shouted in surprise as their leader fell so quickly, and they didn't even see the Hylian Warrior move. Before they could do anything, Link threw a Deku nut on the ground while covering his eyes, the others, including Taki, was blinded temporarily. She felt strong arms wrap around her as she was lifted up and who ever had her was running swiftly away. She tried to fight but the voice of Link was spoken in her ears and she realized who she was being carried by.

"Calm down Taki, it's just me." Link spoke as gently as he ran. No sooner than 15 seconds, he was in the cave, Taki's sight began to return.

"What was that?" She asked, Link looked at her confused before he realized what she was asking about.

"A Deku nut, they are seeds that emit a very bright flash when thrown to the ground. They are common in my world." Link spoke. Taki began to think about some questions she wanted to ask him, but before she could, Link asked her a question of his own.

"Why were those ninjas after you?" Link asked, Taki looked him in the eye and sighed. 'He is different alright, instead of demanding payment for rescuing me like others have done, he asked why they were after me, maybe if I reveal my past to him, he'll open up.' She mused.

"They were from the Fu-Ma clan, my clan. Because of Soul Edge, my adoptive father had gone mad, one of our precious items, Mekki-Maru was tainted by Soul Edge. He wanted it, but one of the other Masters got to it first, they took it so he couldn't use it to find Soul Edge. Master Toki sent me to retrieve the sword from the man who was like an uncle to me and kill him and his daughter. I got the sword, but I refused to kill him. When I returned, I told Master Toki that they eluded me. He scolded me for it and pretended not to know, but he did. He sent his ninjas to capture me and bring me in, so I ran, I haven't been home since then. And with Mekki-Maru, and the other, Rekki-Maru, I began hunting Demons, until Soul Edge decided to return, I have been hunting it ever since." Taki explained. Then continued when she saw Link was listening intently.

"I was orphaned when I was real young, my parents were killed, and it was Toki who found me. He raised me as a daughter, and taught me everything he could, I was his most prized possession and he cherished me dearly. When I was 15, he told me the truth. I had always seen Master Toki as my father, but when he revealed that I was orphaned, I was devastated. I slipped into depression, and it was he who pulled me out of my pit of despair. We lived like an actual family, until Soul Edge corrupted him." She finished. Link was surprised and shocked. Her situation was so much like his.

"I am so sorry Taki." He said quietly, she smiled sadly at him.

"You don't have to apologize, I wanted to tell you. I just hope you would tell me your past now that you know mine." Link considered this, 'Should I? I owe her this much, she did tell me her past…I don't see the harm in her knowing…' He considered.

"Very well. Listen closely, there will be things that you will not fully understand about me, but it is to be expected. I'll tell you everything, after all, you did tell me what one wouldn't normally tell others you don't trust." He informed her and she nodded. She felt as giddy as a school girl, he was finally opening up his heart to her!

Link told her all about his past, his similar situation of his early childhood differing only on the fact he was told of his true heritage when he was, technically, still 10. He told her of his quests, his time traveling experiences, his love of his life, which see secretly felt disappointed about. He spoke of Ganondorf, the great King of Evil, and the epic battle for Hyrule. She was amazed, and what surprised her even more, was the fact he did this at such a young age, and she believed him, even if she didn't want to.

When Link was done, Taki told him of her past hunts against demons notoriously known in Japan. She even told him of her battle against Cervantes De Leon, and how she met and saved the Athenian warrior maiden, Sophitia. Link spoke some of his experience in Athens, he had met Sophitia and her sister, Cassandra. They exchanged stories on their cultures and tactical strategies and tips on survival, sealing with injuries and using the proper herbs for the proper situation.

Taki smiled inwardly, she had finally found someone to talk to. Link felt the same. He then chuckled at the sudden realization that struck him. Taki looked at him confused.

"What's so funny? Was it something I said?" she asked curiously.

"No, no. It's just…we're the same." He answered chuckling.

"How do you figure that?" she asked skeptically, yet happily because this was another chance to share her opinion with him.

"We grew up under the same conditions, we were forced to take paths in our lives we didn't expect to be taking, we are both warriors, and we have both got experiences on the life of the sword. We're like inner twins." Link explained, Taki couldn't believe it, he was right. They were so much like each other, and she didn't realize it until now.

"Um, Link?" Taki began uncertainly.

"Yes, Taki?" he answered gently, as if egging her on to say what she is feeling.

"Thank you, for saving my neck. Again." She said. Link chuckled.

"But of course, that's what friends are for, eh?" he responded. She lit up like a sunrise in the morning.

"Y-you think of me as a friend?" She asked 'Why am I stuttering? Ah, that's why. Focus Taki, this is why he has to save you each time, you're not focusing, Toki would scoff at me if he saw me now…' she scolded herself. Link looked at her questionably.

"Yes, Taki, I consider you as a friend. We are stuck here together, better friends than enemies, hm?" he questioned.

"Yes. It's just been so long since I had someone who shared my ideals, someone I could speak to and relate to. I am happy that I met you Link. The only other person who is willing to talk to me as an equal is Sophitia, but she isn't exactly the same as you." She muttered the last part, but Link caught it and gave a good natured laugh.

"Ha! I am glad I met you too, after Navi, my fairy, left, I've been alone for most of the time I have been on the road. It feels good to meet one like yourself." He responded. Then brought out his Ocarina and looked intently at it.

"Is that…?" Taki began.

"Yes, this is the Ocarina of Time I spoke of." Link finished.

"Um, can you play it? For me? I just want to hear it, whatever you played earlier was nice tune." She requested. Link smiled at her.

"I can do that…" he said quietly, causing her to blush, Link just shook his head at her. He brought the elegant instrument to his lips and began to play every song he knew. Taki listened intently, completely mesmerized by the song, enveloped in the magic that flowed from the tunes. It was a song of time, a slow sad tune that was beautiful in of itself. When she felt the strings of sleep pull, she crawled over to Link and lay next to him, her body pressed against his, her head on his shoulder, her face in his neck, and her arms around his waist. Her actions caused Link to miss a tune in the Song of Time, and he blushed very visibly, Taki saw this and smiled mischievously at him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, he blushed harder and gulped nervously. She giggled softly at his reaction, then buried her face in his neck, sighing softly, then she whispered good night to him, he responded by nodding to her as he continued to play until she fell to sleep.

A/N: well, that's that! Taki can be very naughty at times, heh. well, then, hope you enjoyed this, cheers!