Hey everyone,
Chapters are coming out nice and quick, so you can expect Chapter 5 to come up probably the day after tomorrow, maybe a little later, it depends how much I type each night. I hope you're all enjoying the Adult Chapters so far :D I may do editing to this chapter later. Thank you, please R&R.
Uzuki Cheverie
Climbing, climbing in this elevator
Shaking off these regrets that hold me
We keep going up, up to the top
"Why am I riding this thing?"
And the elevator girl replies,
'I doubt that it's any different from your own way of life.'
Kagamine Len, Shinseiki (New Millennium)
(English Translation)
Time Gate: The Adult Chapters
Chapter 4: Horrible Miscalculations
I can't believe my own eyes.
This isn't happening. . . is it?
"Z-Zelda?" I stammer, losing my breath at her pretty face. "Is it. . . really you?" I feel pretty overwhelmed right now. My heart is heavy, heavy with joy and excitement. I slowly walk towards her, wanting to just give her the biggest hug known to mankind. I can't even wipe this stupid smile off my face. When I reach her, I outstretch my arms, inviting her into a greeting hug.
But she. . . doesn't look to pleased. She doesn't say a word, just continues to stare me down with the same glare that she's been holding since I saw her face.
"Zelda? Are you okay-"
She slaps me in the face.
Harder than I had ever expected.
I fall back onto my butt on the floor, which frankly, is kind of embarrassing because she's, well, Zelda. I wipe my cheek from where she had slapped me, giving her the glare she had given me. The Time Keepers look down at me with shocked expressions, all of them as bewildered as I am. I don't even bother getting up from the floor.
"Zelda! What the hell was that for?" I yell.
She grits her teeth, her expression become even angrier. "Link Nohansen Hyrule, you know exactly why I did that!"
"Awkward. . ." Yashiro chants in a high-pitched voice from the background. "So, uh, we'll just leave you two alone for a while. . ." She leaves the living room, the rest of the Time Keepers, including Dex, shuffling out of the room in silence, muttering amonst themselves.
I stand up from the wood floor, still rubbing the sore spot on my left cheek. Zelda is still glaring at me, her hands tightened into small fists.
"Zelda, do you know how much I've missed you?" I ask, raising my voice.
She crosses her arms. "Obviously not a lot! You never bothered to come visit me, and you never even replied my letters!"
"Don't you think I wanted to? I've been wanting to see you more than anything, but I didn't want the Reapers to find me! And it's hard to send letters unless I want the Reapers to trace it back to where I live!"
"That doesn't matter. . ." she cries, her voice changing to a whisper. "Link, I. . . I thought you were dead. . ." Small tears begin to trickle down her cheeks. She wipes them away with her gloved finger.
I bite my lip, feeling bad for her, wishing that I could take it all back. I walk towards her, wrapping my arms around and hugging her tight. She lets her head fall onto my shoulder.
"I'm sorry Zelda. . ." I whisper to her. "I just don't want you to get hurt. . ."
Zelda's tears begin to soak through my jacket as she rubs her face into my shoulder. I can hear her quietly sniffling under her breath.
"For five years. . . for five years I've been waiting to see you. . ." She backs up from my hold, glaring at me again. "For five years I thought you were dead. . ." She raises her hand and slaps me in the face again, but this time not as hard. "For five years I've been wanting to do that!"
Ouch, that one hurt.
I keep my face down so that I don't have to look in her despaired eyes again.
"Zelda, please forgive me. . ." I whisper. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way. . . but I. . . I only did what I did to protect you."
"Sure you did," she growls sarcastically. "For Goddesses' sake Link, do you think I'm a pathetic weakling? I happen to know how to protect myself!"
"You don't know how dangerous it is out there. . ." I hiss under my breath, still not looking into her eyes.
"You. . . always acting as if you have to protect everyone. . . what about you? In the end, who's going to protect you? You're not the strongest person out there!"
I finally raise my head to look at her, our eyes meeting in a deadly battle glare.
"So what are you saying? That you're stronger than me? Don't make me laugh."
"You selfish idiot. . ."
"I'm not being selfish, I'm just trying to make sure no one I care about gets hurt!"
She suddenly pulls her hand back and swings out a long metal sword from the inside of her robe, holding the tip of the metal to my neck.
"Tch, you wouldn't dare. . ." I challenge. I'm really surprised at how fast she changes her emotions.
"You think I've been doing nothing these past five years? You think you're the only one that has gotten stronger? Think again, fool."
I grab the blade of her sword, lowering it down so that it's no longer at my neck, but rather at my chest.
"You're really letting the darkness take over," Zelda sneers. "How long has it been since you even talked to the Deity? I happened to notice that you brought Dex along."
"Don't change the subject. I don't know where the Deity is."
"I'm not changing the subject! The Deity concerns the way you exist, does he not? And I'm concerned about you."
"You just threatened to kill me!"
"I can't kill you, you know that. Not unless the darkness really gets ahead of you."
"I'm telling you, I'm fine! I just haven't seen the Deity in a few years! He's completely disappeared!"
She tilts her head at my remark. "Gone, huh? Now, why do you think that is?"
"He's just gone, probably doing something important."
"Ugh, you're so stupid. Stubborn to the very end, huh? Don't blame me when Dex decides to turn on you."
"I'm very much prepared for a situation like that," I mutter.
"Oh, are you now? Well, we'll just have to see when that day comes, now won't we?"
I look deep into her eyes as I lower the sword farther until it's facing down to the floor, away from my body.
"Don't get lost, little fairy," she hisses under her breath. I can barely even hear her.
". . . What do you mean. . .?" I ask in the same low tone.
"Figure it out for yourself, before it's too late." She puts her sword back into the sheath hidden inside her robe.
I sigh as I go to sit on the couch. I gesture for Zelda to join me, but she sits down on the chair across from me.
"How did you find me?" I ask her in a serious tone.
". . . I have my ways," she replies, looking up at the ceiling.
"That's not good enough. This house is completely secret, it's not supposed to be found that easily."
She reaches into the front of her robe and pulls out the C.T. crystal that I had given Impa.
"See what I mean now? Or do I need to spell it out for you?"
"Huh?"
She rolls her eyes and groans. "Homing device, Link! Come on, don't tell me you didn't know about the homing device that's built into these things!"
"What? Homing device?" I still have no idea what in the world she's talking about.
She hangs her head low in annoyance, groaning again. "Man, you're stupid. . . look, I can track you and your Reaper pals down using the device that's built into the crystal! The location came up on the Dark Realm map, so I just followed the trail until I got here!"
"Whoa, the crystal has that?" I ask, amazed.
"Gah!"
"Geez, sorry for not knowing that," I chuckle.
Zelda sighs again and puts the crystal back underneath her robe. "Finding you wasn't hard, it was just a matter of finding out how to get to the Dark Realm."
"Yeah, how did you pull that one off?"
". . . I have my ways," she says again.
"No, seriously. I'd like to know these things."
". . . I know a guy."
"Zelda, you're really starting to freak me out a little, you know that?"
"Link, I just don't want to get into any complications! It's no big deal, alright? Geez. . ."
". . . Why are you talking like that?" I ask, raising my eyebrow at her long-term attitude change.
"Huh? Talking like what?"
"Like that! You're not talking very formal or princess-like at all!"
"Such stereotypes," she snickers. "I've been up to a lot in the past five years you know. I haven't just been sitting around doing nothing."
"Alright then, tell me what you've been doing."
". . . I don't wish to speak of it."
"Dammit Zelda, quit it with all the secrecy! This is the first time I've seen you in five years, I think I'd like to know what's going on!"
She becomes silent. Then she looks into my eyes, a smile on her face.
"You don't need to worry about me so much, alright? Goddess Din, so stressful, huh?"
"I'm not stressed. I'm just trying to find out what my best friend has been up to for the past five years," I grumble.
"Forget about what I've been doing," Zelda says. "What about you?"
An Interlude
Uzuki, Mitsuhiro, Shuto, Yashiro and Kon all crowd around Dex in the small bedroom.
"Well? What's he saying?" Shuto asks him.
"You know, I highly suggest we all stop eavesdropping," Dex chuckles as he listens in on Link's thoughts. "I can only tell what he's thinking you know, I have no idea what he's saying. Unless he manages to think of his words, but he's doing far from that."
"He must have known you'd listen in on the conversation," Mitsuhiro states. "So he's thinking of other things while talking to Zelda so you can't listen in."
Dex sighs, rubbing his forehead. "What a little asshole. . ."
"That would make you an asshole," Yashiro snickers.
"To each his own," Dex mumbles.
"Incorrect usage of quote. Correct usage necessary," Uzuki says, almost like a computer.
"Uzuki?" Mitsuhiro asks, raising his eyebrow at her. "Um, you alright?"
Uzuki blinks, almost as if she had blanked out. "Huh? O-Oh yes, I'm fine. . ." Uzuki and Mitsuhiro look at each other for a split second before looking back to Dex.
"I've been thinking about this since Link got here. . . Dex, aren't you our enemy? Why are you here?" Kon asks.
"Heh, excellent question," Dex replies.
"That's not an answer. Why would you possibly get the guts to show your face here?"
"That is another excellent question."
"Man, just answer my questions instead of telling me how good they are!"
"Hold it," Dex stops, holding his hand up for the group to be quiet. "I think Link's starting to let his guard down. . ."
"Really? What's he saying?" Yashiro demands.
". . . Uh. . . nope, never mind, he's just got a song stuck in his head."
The Time Keepers all groan and lower the heads in defeat.
"Yep, an asshole," Yashiro sighs.
"Hey, it's not his fault!" Uzuki growls. "I mean, it's kind of hard to control our thoughts sometimes, and I don't think he's really counting on Dex to listen in either!"
"Actually, he's thinking some things all while having that song stuck in his head," Dex says. "But, uh, why in the world did you make such a screwed up dude your leader? His thoughts are more or less creeping me out."
"He probably got his thought patterns from Uzuki!" Yashiro laughs. "Screwed in the head, like always!"
Uzuki rolls her eyes.
"Augh, perverted kid!" Dex suddenly exclaims. "Son of a mother-"
"Yep, just like Uzuki!" Yashiro laughs even louder, looking at Uzuki with a big toothy grin on her face, Uzuki rolling her eyes again.
"You're so funny," Uzuki grumbles.
"Whoa, the dude just got really depressed. . ." Dex sighs.
Yashiro opens her mouth, ready to crack another joke.
"Shut it, Yashiro!" Uzuki yells before Yashiro can get another word out.
"Depressed, perverted, crazy. . . heh heh, you two are like fraternal twins," Mitsuhiro mutters under his breath.
"Mitsuhiro! Don't you start too!" Uzuki exclaims, turning around to face him.
"Heh, sorry," Mitsuhiro apologizes. "You know me, can't help but join in on a good joke. . ."
Uzuki shakes her head in disapproval, and walks to the window at the back of the room, staring outside into the twilight of the Dark Realm. Mitsuhiro gazes at her, watching her eyes glare intently at the world outside. He walks over to her, catching her attention by putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Uzuki, are you alright? You haven't been acting yourself lately," he says worriedly.
"What do you mean? I'm fine," she replies.
Mitsuhiro lowers his head, and looks out the window with her.
"Are you worried about something?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Well there's gotta be something bothering you."
"I said it's nothing!" Uzuki yells, looking at Mitsuhiro with what he guesses as an angry look.
"You know, it's kind of hard for me to tell what you're feeling when you've always got those glasses on," Mitsuhiro mutters. He reaches for the dark sunglasses, and Uzuki flinches.
"Please, just don't," Uzuki says in a tense voice.
"Uzuki, I'm worried about you, okay? I want the old Uzuki back. . ."
She grabs Mitsuhiro's wrist, and gives him an angry look. "The old Uzuki died a long time ago, alright? Just forget about it, I don't want to talk right now." She turns away and walks out of the bedroom, all of the Time Keepers, including Dex, watching her leave and slam the door behind her.
"Ooh, she's pissed now!" Yashiro teases, giving Mitsuhiro a smug look. "She's probably not gonna talk for the rest of the day now!"
"Yashiro," Mitsuhiro growls, looking at her with a death glare. Yashiro suddenly shuts up, knowing not to prevoke him any farther.
Uzuki runs out into the hallway, heading into the bathroom. She bends down low over the sink, closing her eyes as she wipes the sweat from the fear off her forehead. She stares in the mirror, looking back at her reflection.
"You idiot. . ." she hisses under her breath, tightening her gloved fists. She places her hand on her right shoulder, slowly pulling off the right side of her shirt to reveal more of her arm. Twilight markings are revealed on her skin, the twilight's straight lines and circle designs faintly covering her skin like worn-out blue tattoos. She pulls off the glove on her right hand, revealing the same twilit tattoos wrapping around her wrist and fingers.
"You. . . you need to tell someone. . ." she cries to herself as she lowers her face down back to the sink again.
You musn't tell anyone. You wouldn't want people to worry, would you?
"S-Shut up! You aren't me. . ." Uzuki stammers.
Then what am I? Just a figment of your imagination?
"I said shut up. . . you don't know who I am. . ."
Of course I do. I've been with you ever since death.
Uzuki tightens her fist, and eyes the kunai sitting in the open holster on her belt. She immediately grabs it, and gritting her teeth, grips the handle with both hands and holds the tip of the small blade straight into her neck.
Oh, I know this routine. Didn't we do this once before? Or am I just having deja-vu?
"Be quiet," Uzuki growls through clenched teeth, continuing to press the blade into her neck. "I won't hesitate to kill myself, if it means getting rid of you."
Now I remember! You did this once before about six years ago!
"Shut up."
Back in eleventh grade, you started hearing voices in your head, and you even tried killing yourself! If it wasn't for Mitsuhiro-kun, you'd wouldn't be standing here right now. No one would be.
"Shut up!"
Then you started getting all depressed, and after the angel told you how you were going to die, you just went along with it like it was alright! You let yourself disappear from the world after saying goodbye to all your closest friends!
Uzuki smashes her fist against the bathroom counter, causing the wood to slightly crack from the impact of her strike.
"I said shut up!"
. . . Pull yourself together, Uzuki, otherwise neither one of us will survive much longer.
"Please. . . just leave me alone. . ." Uzuki cries as she drops the kunai to the floor and lays her head down on the ledge of the counter. "I don't want this. . . I can't stand this one bit. . ."
You asked for it when you decided to die.
Chapter 4 (continued)
"So. . . you've been training by yourself this entire time?" I ask Zelda, confused by her entire explanation.
"You could say that, yes," she replies.
"I find that hard to believe."
"Believe me or not, it's the truth. There's no reason for me to lie at this point, is there?" She stands up from the chair, pulling the hood back up over her face.
"You're leaving?" I ask.
"I have. . . things to attend to. You understand."
Princesses, always having to do something. . . but I have a feeling that this thing she has to attend to isn't even related to her role as Princess of Hyrule.
I walk Zelda to the door as she steps back outside into the twillight.
"Oh, and about this darkness. . ." She holds her hand out as if catching some imaginary rain. "I'd be careful if I were you. You wouldn't want the darkness to take you over, would you? Like I said before. . . run and hide, little fairy." She smiles at me one more time before running down the stairs of the small porch and then disappearing into the darkness of the forest. I watch the trees, as if expecting her to walk back out again, back to me, but she never reappears. I sigh in defeat, and then close the door.
'Run and hide, little fairy,', eh? No, that's not right, not at all. I specifically remember her saying, "Don't get lost, little fairy," not "Run and hide.".
The one who said "Run and hide, little fairy,". . .
. . . was Zero.
I shake my head in disapproval to myself, reminding myself that Zelda looked nothing at all like Zero. Zero wore revealing clothes with dark sunglasses and had pure blond hair. Zelda had nearly brown hair because it had been streaked so many times, and she always either wore a robe or a nice dress, without wearing any form of dark glasses so her eyes could always be seen.
But the things she said were so identical to Zero's words it was scary.
I hold my shoulder with my hand, thinking back to Zelda's words, 'Don't get lost,' which immediately reminds me of something important. I rush down the hallway and knock on the bathroom door. Usually there's no one in there, but this time Uzuki emerges from the bathroom, an upset look on her face.
"Uzuki?" I ask. "Um, what's up?"
"Zelda gone?" she asks back without answering my question first.
"Uh, yeah, she left about a minute ago. . ." I stare at Uzuki even harder. She looks like she's been crying. ". . . are you alright?"
"Yeah, just fine!" she growls as she pushes past me furiously. What's suddenly got her so upset? I decide to let it go for now; there's no use pissing her off any farther. I head into the bathroom and stare into the mirror, immediately noticing the twilight markings that have begun to grow on the back of my neck. I swear to myself as I take off my jacket and tunic shirt, revealing the twilit markings that have grown all over my back. The seal that Uzuki had placed is nearly gone, completely covered over in faded black twilight circles and lines.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit. . ." I repeat over and over to myself in a low voice, trying not to scream in sheer anger. Uzuki's seals never work eighty percent of the time, but I had been hoping. . . I always had this false sense of hope that they would work someday. . . what another horrible miscalculation. Now, I've been wrong, millions of times before. But being wrong about this. . . was a horrible mistake.
Dex. . . what should I do? I ask him.
There's no reply.
Dex?
Still nothing. I sigh and grab my jacket and shirt off the floor, putting both back on and then leaving the small bathroom. I bump into Mitsuhiro, who's back is faced towards me and is completely staring at the wall.
"Mitsuhiro, what gives?" I ask, questioning his strange behavior. His shoulders are slumped over, his hands are shoved into his pockets, and his head is laying against the wooden wall as he stares down at the paneled flooring.
"Nothing makes sense anymore. . ." he mumbles. His words sound slurred and disturbing.
I grab Mitsuhiro's shoulder and pull him from the wall. His hair is hanging down low over his face, making it hard to see his eyes.
"Snap out of it, dude!" I yell at him, snapping my fingers in front of his face to get his attention. He looks at me once, and then looks down again.
"Hello Link. What do you need?" Mitsuhiro asks me, continuing to stare at the grey wall with no sign of emotion.
"Are you alright? You and Uzuki have been acting strange lately."
"I'm fine. But Uzuki is. . . no, she's fine too. Just a little on edge, that's all." Mitsuhiro backs up from the wall, his hands still in his pockets as he walks past me and into the living room. However, I realize that he's hiding something again. I'm not that stupid. So I follow him into the living room, where he's completely sprawled out on one of the white armchairs, looking straight up at the ceiling and letting his arms hang by the sides of the arms of the chair.
"Even as the leader of the Time Keepers, people are still not telling me everything I need to know," I begin, standing in front of Mitsuhiro's chair and crossing my arms. "Why do you all persist in keeping secrets from me, huh? Is it that hard to tell me?"
". . . Heh, there's this old saying of the Dark Realm. . ." Mitsuhiro says in a tired but amused tone. "'He who trusts and listens to a whims of a Reaper will only become a Reaper in the end.'. These are Reaper problems Link, so you don't need to worry."
"Mitsuhiro, don't tell anyone, but I'm just as much a Reaper as the rest of you," I mutter. "Do you think the darkness has been leaving me alone? Because it hasn't. I'm in trouble, and frankly, I don't know how I'm going to manage getting myself out of this one. I've told you my problems before in the past, so I need you to tell me what's been going on with the four of you. From one fairy to a Reaper, I'm asking you to trust me."
". . . Like I said before, we're all fine," Mitsuhiro sighs as he continues to stare at the ceiling.
"Can I take your word for that? I'm not going to end up getting bitten in the ass later?" I ask precariously.
". . . He who trusts and listens to the whims of a Reaper will only become a Reaper in the end. . ." he repeats.
I shake my head in disapproval. "Just don't keep this a secret from me too long, alright Mitsuhiro? I don't want anything like the Kyodai no Akuma incident to happen again. . ."
Mitsuhiro doesn't respond. It's almost as if he's sleeping, but I'm not falling for his little charade. So he doesn't want to talk, huh? I'm completely fine with that. But I'm not saving his ass in the near future when he gets in trouble and needs my help again.
I sigh and shake my head again, and I turn around and walk into the kitchen. I sit down at the small oak wood table, trying to gather my thoughts. There's so much right now that I don't know; what Zelda has been doing for the past five years; who the Assassins really are and what they're really trying to accomplish; why the Society hasn't moved at all in so long; the problem with Uzuki and why neither her or Mitsuhiro will tell me what's wrong; and to top it all off, the problem with my Soul being taken over by the twilight! I could never handle so many problems at once. The only choice I have is to choose the smallest problem, solve it, and then work my way up to the bigger problems. That's usually what I do; it just makes everything so much easier to accomplish.
So first, I gotta deal with Zelda and the Assassins. The Assassins don't seem much of a threat, but then again, they seem pretty powerful too. And Uzuki and Yashiro's brothers are also members, which sadly, is something that I can't reveal to them. But revealing it to Uzuki at this time when she seems really upset seems like a bad idea anyways. She never likes to be loaded with too many worries at once, it just makes her go crazy and all depressed at the same time. And then the rest of us get really depressed. Uzuki's depression is kind of contagious that way.
I begin scratching my thumbnail into the table, something I always do when I'm trying to think. First of all, what am I going to do about Zelda? Like the rest of my friends, she's keeping secrets, and I don't like it at all. I have to find some way for her to trust me again, enough for her to tell me what she's been doing all these years. Because I know that she hasn't just been sitting around being the Princess of Hyrule this whole time. No, she's been getting into trouble, trying to do things herself again.
And then there's the Assassins. Zero and Makoto are my top priority right now, but like Zero had said earlier, they had seven main members, and one branch member, so it wouldn't hurt to find out about all of them. Because they're not as underground as we are, it shouldn't be that hard to find out about them in Hyrule Castle Town or Kakariko. Rumors in the market travel like wildfire, and I'm sure the residents of Kakariko know a few things about the people that reside in their graveyard's forest.
But how to find out more about the Society? Dex could help, no doubt about it. He doesn't care one bit about which side he's on, so he'd gladly tell me as much as possible about what the Society has been up to. A double-sided traitor, but he's still useful.
Handling Uzuki is going to be the tricky part. She's so stubborn and secretive all the time that it will be hard to get any information out of her, and Mitsuhiro, not even Yashiro, will utter a word about what's going on. But then again, maybe even they don't know. Uzuki can be so secretive sometimes that she will even keep biggest secrets, no matter how horrible, locked away from the two people in the world she trusts the most.
And then there's me. The twilight taking over my body is a result of Dex's Soul merging with mine. Zelda's words disturbed me, almost as if she had known about my problem. You can think of me just turning into one big twilit monster. Not very pleasant, and definitely something I want to stop before it's too late. Unfortunately, I have no idea how long it takes for the twilight to fully take over the Soul. I've been hiding this problem for the past few years - since the Kyodai no Akuma incident - hiding it from Mitsuhiro, Uzuki, Shuto, Yashiro, Kon and even Miu. And I'm even starting to wonder if the effect of Dex's Soul merging with mine is the reason for the Deity's disappearance. It would make sense if Dex's Soul was completely kicking out the Deity's. But would that make the Deity's physical body disappear as well?
Too many questions, and barely enough time to answer them.
I look up from the table, staring at the wall across from me, until my eyes spot the slip of paper that's sitting next to the small vase of lilies that Shuto had put up for decoration. I reach for the paper, unfolding it to reveal the letters written on the front. It's a note.
From Zelda.
Alright Link, it's pretty much apparent that your group, the Time Keepers, need my help.
So from now on, I'd like to be a branch member of the Time Keepers. I can give you any relevant information about the events in Hyrule.
I know you can't refuse.
Zelda Nohansen Hyrule
I can't believe I'm saying this, but. . . Zelda's being an ass. I mean, first of all, she slaps me, which for a good reason, I feel I deserved. Then she pulls a freakin' sword on me, and then she storms out while leaving me with more questions than answers! I had been hoping she would have stayed longer, but of course, being the Princess of Hyrule, she obviously has business to attend to. And that business probably involves her getting into trouble and not telling me. I just wish I could have read her aura while she was here. Unlike Uzuki, I don't constantly have my shifted eyesight on all the time. I find the colors distract me too much. I didn't think I would need to read her aura, but now I'm regretting the fact that I should have.
"Hey Mitsuhiro!" I call from the kitchen out to the living room, where Mitsuhiro is still sprawled and silent on his armchair.
"Uh. . .?" he replies.
Good Goddess Nayru, he can't even reply with a simple, "What?".
"Where's Uzuki?" I ask. She had charged out of the bathroom so fast earlier I had no chance to ask her where she was headed off too.
Of course, that question seems to catch Mitsuhiro's attention. He lifts his head up, and then continues by getting out of the chair and walking past me, heading to Uzuki's bedroom. He knocks on the door, and after hearing no response, he doesn't hesitate to forcefully attempt to open it. But it's locked.
"Crap, that's not good," Mitsuhiro grumbles as he gets on his knees and pulls out a bobby pin from his pocket. "I'm glad you brought that up Link. I happened to notice that Uzuki wasn't acting her usual self. It's normal for her to be in a bad mood, so I asked her what was up, and she said it was nothing. I asked her if she was sure, and she snapped at me, still claiming that nothing was wrong. Then she stormed out of the room."
"I found her in the bathroom," I finish, telling him what he didn't know. "But are you sure Uzuki's not just having a bad day or anything?
"When Uzuki says nothing's wrong, there's definitely something that's wrong," Mitsuhiro replies. "I've known Uzuki long enough to realize that. Even as humans I knew something was up when she said there was nothing wrong."
"You four as humans. . . I'm guessing you were all friends?"
"Uzuki and I were really close, but I wasn't very close to Yashiro. I kind of just hung around on my own at school, and it was Uzuki who wouldn't look at me like I was a depressed person and would actually talk to me. Then she introduced me to Yashiro, and then Shuto, who was later hospitalized because of an unknown disease. Because of that, I didn't see Shuto very much, but we would visit him after school and chat like nothing was wrong."
"Sounds like you had an okay life."
"Yeah, I guess it was okay. But then things got. . . weird."
"Weird?" I ask, watching him as he continues to fumble with the bobby pin, trying to release the tricky lock that Uzuki had set up for her room. "What do you mean by weird?"
"There was this other girl that Uzuki had met over the year, a transfer student from Kalasia. Those damn angels sure were brave to let one of their kind enroll in the high school of Hyrule Castle Town. . . anyways, quite a while back, probably in ninth grade, Uzuki had been going through some hard times, and she soon realized that the reason of human life was null and void for her own mind. She asked the weirdest questions to herself, only sharing them with either me or Yashiro. I never had much to say about this stuff, and Yashiro always acted as if it wasn't really a big deal."
"Isn't that normal for that to happen to teenagers?"
"Sometimes. She returned to her normal self by tenth grade, but then in eleventh grade, she met the angel. They hung out sometimes, but Uzuki still talked with mostly me, Yashiro, Shuto and all the rest of her friends she had grown up with. That's when things got even weirder. Link, you know that scar on her face?"
"Yeah, the small one she said she got at birth, right?" I ask, touching the right side of my own face to better visualize where she had the scar.
"Well, over the year, the scar actually got bigger. And the dark rings Uzuki had under her eyes got darker. Something was up. And even Yashiro started to develop a scar on the left side of her face, a scar even she didn't know was there until Uzuki and I pointed it out one day. It got bigger a lot too."
"That's hard to believe."
"Well believe it, because I saw it with my own eyes. Anyways, as a human, I already had my Time Distorting abilities, but I had noticed strange thorn markings - the same markings that the Kyodai no Akuma has - appearing on my left shoulder. And they were appearing on Uzuki's right shoulder as well. But that's not even the weirdest thing."
"Ugh, I'm afraid to know what the weirdest thing is!"
"It's not so much weird as it is disturbing. One day at school, Uzuki gave us all notes, saying that she was trusting us not to open them until after school when she left for home. I thought nothing of it, but when I was walking home, I opened the note. . . and on the inside. . ." His voice begins to tremble, as if growing nervous or even emotional over his words. ". . . The note said. . . 'Goodbye Mitsuhiro. I'm sorry, but this is where the line ends for me. Thank you for being such a good friend to me all these years. I'm really grateful to have met you.' I received that note. . . the day she died."
I swallow, trying hard not to sputter out any horrible comments. My entire body starts to tremble at the story.
"Apparently, she had also given the notes to Yashiro's brother, Higashizawa, her own brothers, Taishou and Mikoshi, and her best friend who had graduated years earlier, Makoto. Of course, no one knew what the notes meant, but I did. The moment I read it, I headed for the market square, nearby where she lived so I could find her. But. . ." I finally hear the lock's tumblers fall into place as the door unlocks. Mitsuhiro stands up and grabs the doorknob, looking at me before opening it. ". . . I mustn't say anymore. I made a sworn oath not to reveal any more details about Uzuki's tragic death."
"W-Who'd you make the oath to?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Mitsuhiro, you have to tell me how Uzuki died!"
"I made an oath. . . to myself."
I blink in confusion at him as he turns his gaze to the door and opens it slowly, stepping inside the room, making sure that I follow close behind. The room inside is dark, its grey walls and curtained window adding to the overall darkness around us. There's only a small stream of light from outside coming through a slit in the curtains, and even with that faint bit of light it's really hard to see where anything is. After a few moments though, my eyes soon grow used to the darkness, and I can make out silhouettes of the bookshelf and the bed, and the drawings that are hung up on the wall and lying around on the floor.
"Uzuki!" I call. "Are you in here?" I walk around the room a couple times, hoping that Uzuki's in here and didn't run off anywhere. Then, after a few more moments of searching, I notice the sliver of light hitting an object curled up on the far corner of the bed, where the back corner of the room is.
"Mitsuhiro, over there," I mutter, pointing at the object that I now realize is Uzuki. Mitsuhiro walks over to the bed, and sits down next to the figure, tapping its shoulder. It lifts its head, revealing Uzuki's darkened face.
"Here, let me open the curtain-" I offer, but I'm immediately cut off by Mitsuhiro.
"Don't touch the curtain!" Mitsuhiro snaps, pointing at me, gesturing for me to stay away.
"Huh? W-Why?" I stammer nervously.
"She hates the light when she's in a bad mood," he says as he rubs Uzuki's shoulder.
"Mitsuhiro. . ." Uzuki says in a droned voice, her voice almost melodic. "The voices. . ."
"What's she talking about?" I ask, growing more and more curious about her strange words.
"Uzuki, tell me what's wrong," Mitsuhiro mutters, giving his full attention to her.
"N-No. . . there's nothing wrong. . . I'm just a little tired, that's all. . ." Uzuki sighs under her breath, holding the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb as if she's got a headache.
"There's obviously something wrong," I grumble. "Why are you locked up in your bedroom with the lights off and the curtains closed?"
"I just. . . had to get away for a few minutes. . . and the light was giving me a headache, so I did my best to get rid of it until the headache passed."
"Are you going to be alright?" Mitsuhiro asks her in a soothing voice.
"Y-Yes. . ."
I walk to the window, wondering if it's alright to open the curtains, but something catches my eye before I get the chance. I see the light reflecting off a strange looking drawing hanging on the wall. I reach for it, ripping it off the nail that binds it to the wall. The drawing is all scribbles, nothing that I think is too artistic, but then when I hold it up to the light in the window to get a better look, I'm immediately disturbed by the artwork. I see a scribble of a stick person standing in the lower-left corner, and a tree drawn in the upper right corner. Then at the bottom right is a group of straight lines exploding from one point, almost like a burst. There's a tiny hole in the middle, like she had poked it with the tip of her pencil. But the hole is so small it looks as if she may have poked it with the tip of a pin. When I look back at the scribbled stick-man style tree, I see something that's sightly obscured by the tree. It's another stick man, but their feet end in shadows and there are sharp lines growing from the person's back, like black wings. There are also multiple lines growing off the person's body, which appear to be arms, but it's hard to tell because the tree is merging with the character. . . and the drawing in itself is just bad. In fact, it almost appears that she was trying to draw this as fast as she could. There are holes lying around the paper, indicating she had pierced the paper with her pencil from going so fast. Something had scared her into drawing this, so much that she couldn't stand to draw it long enough to make it look the slightest bit appealing. But then again, Uzuki's been known for drawing stuff like this, even when I first met her. Still, I can't help but get curious. I take the drawing and fold it up, stuffing it in my pocket, hoping that Uzuki won't notice it's gone.
"Uzuki. . . I know this is a horrible thing to ask right now that you're, um, depressed, but I need you to do something for me. Have you ever heard of the Assassins?" I ask.
"N-No, I haven't. . ." she answers, still a little shaken up from the effect of who-knows-what.
"They're this group of humans rebelling against the security of Hyrule. And get this: they're also trying to save Hyrule. And they also know everything about us."
Uzuki's eyes widen at me. "Everything? Members?"
"Yes."
"Goals?"
"Yes."
". . . Even the fact that we're enemies of the Society?"
". . . Yes."
Uzuki groans under her breath as she lowers her head, holding her forehead, trying to think.
"What do you want me to do then? Blow em' up?"
"No, nothing that harsh," I chuckle. "However, I do need you to sneak into their base and try and find out anything you can, all while not being found."
"Link, you can't possibly expect her to do that!" Mitsuhiro exclaims. "Uzuki hasn't, but I happen to have heard of the Assassins! They're blood-thirsty killers who should be strapped up in a mental institution! They'll shoot down anyone that gets in their way, which also includes Uzuki if they find her!"
"They won't hurt her. They won't even lay a hand on her."
"What makes you so sure?"
'Because Makoto, Taishou, Higashizawa and Mikoshi are a part of that group, and they wouldn't dare try to hurt her,' is what I wanted to say. But breaking a deal with Zero seems like asking for a death wish to me, so I decide to keep my mouth shut. I start to look at the rest of the drawings that are nailed to Uzuki's walls. Thankfully, the one I took is probably the most disturbing. The rest don't hold any significant meaning, but then again, the one I took didn't make one bit of sense either. But the rest aren't as bad as the one I have.
"I know they won't hurt her because they once capture me, the leader of the Time Keepers, and they let me go without hurting me one bit. If they let the leader of their enemy group alone, they'll be sure to leave a lower ranked member like Uzuki alone."
Uzuki stands up from the bed slowly, her body lifting like its dead, and then she grabs her jacket that's hanging on the chair next to her work desk. She puts on the jacket, leaving the front unbuttoned as she shoves her hands into the large pockets.
"Well, if you really want me to do it, Link, then I'll do it," she answers.
"Uzuki, are you sure?" Mitsuhiro asks worriedly. "I can do it for you if you want."
"No, it's fine, really."
I head to the door, grabbing the doorknob as I pull the door farther open. "She'll be fine, Mitsuhiro. She wasn't given the nickname 'Silent One' for no reason. Sneaking into the Assassin's pathetic excuse of a base should be easy as cake for her."
"Awesome. I'll get it done right away," Uzuki mutters.
"Thank you." I smile at her once before leaving the room and heading into the quiet, empty living room.
A Short Interlude
Zero lays on the couch as she files her nails, watching Mimi sharpen her swords on the other chair and Makoto fling throwing knives at the target board nailed to the wall.
"This is for pushing Uzuki in front of a car!" Makoto screams as he throws a knife at the board. "This is for shooting Yashiro!" He throws another knife, landing it closer to the bullseye. "And this is for turning them into goddess-forsaken Reapers!" The last knife he throws lands right on the mark of the bullseye.
"Makoto, take it easy!" Zero scolds from the couch, not looking up from her fingernails. "You have no actual proof that the two have become Reapers!"
"They're Reapers, there's no doubt about it!" Makoto growls as he pulls his knives out from the round wooden board. "I saw them with my own eyes!"
"And how do you know that was Uzuki and Yashiro? Humans change their appearances when they become Reapers, you know."
Makoto grabs the last knife, gripping the metal of the handle as he pulls it out from the wood. "They were with Mitsuhiro. . . there's no doubt about it, Uzuki and Yashiro have become Reapers. Zero, you should know that after keeping tabs on them."
"I know, but there's still a bit of doubt left, I guess."
"All we can do now is trust in Zero's actions around the Time Keepers," Mimi says, joining the conversation. "We have no choice at this point. Zero will continue to monitor the Time Keepers, as well as the Reapers."
"Of course," Zero says.
Makoto walks away from the target board, walking past the couch Zero is laying on and heading for the medium-sized kitchen area.
"When I find that bastard Mitsuhiro. . ." Makoto hisses to himself, gripping the metal of his largest throwing knife that's attached to his belt. "I'll rip him to shreds!" He spins around, ripping the knife out of the holster on his belt and flinging it at the target board from the other end of the room, the blade spinning like a card until it hits the board directly in the bullseye, hitting it with such force that it causes the board to snap in two. The three of them are silent.
Makoto cracks his neck to the side as he puts his hands into his jean pockets, hitting his left heel against the back of his right foot.
"There will be no mercy this time. Mitsuhiro Minamimoto will die a painful death."