Guilty

Being a Zora had not been too far from familiarity. His height was about the same as when he had become an adult a few years ago. He was almost glad to be at the stature once more.

It was the gills and the fins which had been foreign.

He had to break the habit of holding his breath when he dove into the bay's foggy water, and remember that he could ride the waves now.

Swimming had actually become a joy for him in this form. Dancing through the water and undulating his body in time with the ocean's natural current made him feel at once with his surroundings. It was refreshing and relaxing to just dive into the water, forget about his situation, and go. It was a much needed reprieve from the burden that was being a Zora.

He had thought that becoming Darmani was difficult to manage, but when he had ridden Epona onto the sand for the first time and encountered the dying musician, it was almost too much for him to handle.

In a desperate attempt to save him, he had taken him ashore and began a mad search for any potions or fairies he might have had in his pockets. When he found none, he had tried to tell the Zora that he would quickly go get some. Get anything to save the man.

But he never got the chance. The Zora had pleaded with the boy, pleading for his last words to be heard.

He learned that this Zora, dying in his hands, was a musician who descended from warriors. He was Mikau, and he had friends who were waiting for him. He had a woman relying on him, and her unborn children needed him.

As Mikau performed one last song of heart ache, he couldn't help but feel as if it were his own fault.

If he had gotten there a day sooner rather than having waited until the second morning to explore the bay. If he had packed properly and had a fairy on his person. If he had been able to do ANYTHING other than just sit there in silence.

When he felt the Zora's life leaving him, he played the song to bring his body a painless and peaceful crossing.

And he got a mask.

The body had become the mask, and he began to resent his ocarina. He couldn't even bury the Zora now, or bring his body back to his home so he could receive a proper memorial. This didn't stop him from making a grave in his honor, to at least give the Zora some form of glory.

And when he donned the mask and was a Zora, he was adored. He was famous, luckily not in the way Darmani had been. This fame was something he could deal with.

He had almost thought that being Mikau wouldn't be too terrible. As long as he played his cards right, he could defeat the danger in the Bay, and slip away. Then the Zoras would assume he had died nobly in battle with the monster, killing it as it killed him.

This thought came crashing down once he learned about the eggs.

That woman, who had become mute, had looked at him with such a deep sadness and longing, that he suspected she and Mikau had been closer than the other members of the band. He decided that, for her, he'd return her eggs and try his best to give her happiness.

But when he dropped the final egg into the tank at the lab, they hatched.

They were small things that looked like giant tadpoles. They seemed to automatically know him and know what he had to do. Or, they knew his face.

They knew Mikau.

When he watched their lives begin, all seven little infants, he had felt a warmth grow inside him. His shame in being unable to save Mikau was lessened, as he was able to save them while the guitarist had fallen short.

Then he looked into their black eyes. Eyes just like his. Tiny fins which would grow to be like his.

And he heard Mikau's sorrowful spirit let out a sigh.

And the scientist called him, Mikau, the father.

He hadn't been able to handle it then. It was too much of a burden to bear.

Being the deku, masked in anonymity, seemed like a luxury now. Being Darmani even seemed better than this, because with the Goron, he had given him a second chance at a life already lost.

But this was worse.

If he had only come sooner.

If he had only had a fairy.

Then he wouldn't have to look at these infants, so delicate and new to life, and know that he hadn't been able to save their father.

It made him glad to reset time after slaying the fish. He wouldn't have to see them again; they, hopeful in their ignorance at finally being safe and loved. He wouldn't have to hear Lulu call out a name that didn't belong to him. He wouldn't have to carry the responsibilities of the Zora and his tragedy.

With this mask on his face he was-

Guilty.