Disclaimer: I do not own the whole or any part of Legend of Zelda series. Anyone who has told you otherwise is lying. Also, I might own the storyline of this. Just not the characters. I really should get around to checking on that….

Once he found a place to concentrate, Kekuta focused on the pulls from the other two Reds. He looked in the approximate directions that they came from. One came from a direction where nothing seemed to be. The location must have been very far away. The other one, however, seemed to lead him back to Meho.

He decided to go in the direction of nowhere, not wanting to deal with the people of Meho again so soon. He needed some time to himself. He needed to think about what he was doing. If he could counterbalance the Triforce, then what did the Power of the Gods mean? Sure, Zelda had gotten out of hand, but was she really doing anything evil? After all, the Sacred Scepter and the Triforce effectively gave her god-like powers. But how powerful is a god with a weakness?

Thoughts of this type plagued Kekuta's mind as he made his way across New Hyrule.

He made less progress per day than he would have liked. The Weakness was really taking a toll. Kekuta eventually decided to make some time every day to work out and get back to his original strength. It seemed to work. He could still get stronger. Given this, he started to see the Weakness as nothing more than a minor setback.

He eventually found himself in the village of Kakariko (yes, named for the same village of Old Hyrule).

Kekuta entered the village and spent the night at an inn. The direction of the pull had become more and more specific as he got near the village. But, he decided that it would be in his best interest to sleep and regain his stamina before hunting down whoever had the next Red.

He woke up the next morning in a somewhat uncomfortable position. After readjusting himself, something caught his ear. Someone was asking about him at the front desk. Kekuta didn't know anyone with a voice that deep, so he crept out of his room for a moment, so as to not alert whoever it was to his presence. He couldn't believe what he saw.

A very dark-skinned man was standing at the desk. But for his dark skin, he had flaming red hair with a matching beard. And his clothes were all black, too. On either side of the man's belt was a sword of respectable length. Kekuta never thought he would see this man, no matter how many rumors he heard. This dark-skinned man had to be none other than Zelda's top bodyguard. This was the legendary Ganondorf.

"Ma'am, have you seen anyone with a red triangle on the back of his hand?"

"Yes," replied the innkeeper, "but he's not from here. He just stayed the night. Or are you talking about the kid who actually lives in the village?"

"There's two?" It sounded like Ganondorf didn't believe the innkeeper. "Uh…I'm not sure which one I'm looking for. The Princess just told me to come here and arrest the one with the triangle. If one's traveling around, I should probably take him into custody first. I'll just have to check everyone one by one as they check out. I see no other way. I apologize for any inconvenience that I may cause you."

Kekuta did not want to believe what he just heard. Nothing about this situation seemed real. It seemed like one big nightmare, and Kekuta should still be asleep. This was madness. This meant that Zelda knew about the Three Reds and did not want to be interfered with. She was actively hunting them down. It would explain the recent attack on Erowp.

Kekuta decided that it would be better to sneak out the window. He didn't care that he owed the innkeeper for the night. If he made it back alive, he'd repay her double with work. For the moment, he went back into his room. After carefully making sure he had everything – sword, shield, Metal Bow, Metal Arrows, and other possessions – he quietly made his way out the window.

Or at least, he tried to make it out the window quietly. Falling a story isn't much, but it hurts and makes sound. Kekuta stood up and tried to run. He couldn't go as fast as usual though, thanks to the Weakness and all his equipment. He heard the door to the inn slam open. He looked behind himself. Ganondorf was standing there.

"You, there!" Ganondorf pointed to Kekuta. "Why did you just jump out the window? Is there any particular reason you will not pay the innkeeper? Get back here now and pay your debt!"

"I-I didn't stay the night," said Kekuta. "I dropped by this morning to visit a friend who was in town. But an awkward situation came up, so I had to leave as inconspicuously as possible. That means, not through the front door."

Kekuta heard some shouting from inside the door. Then, Ganondorf said, "Nice try. The innkeeper saw you through the window before I did. She recognized you from last night, from when you checked in. Next time you jump, try not making it obvious. Now, pay your bill or I'll have to take you into custody. And I'm already on a different assignment at the moment, so I want as little trouble as possible from you."

The nervousness in Kekuta's face was far too obvious. He slunk back to the inn and started to pay his debt. As he pulled his had from his pocket, the Black Triangle caught Ganondorf's eye. Kekuta heard the sound of swords being drawn behind him. He quickly positioned his shield to protect himself. After he got an opportunity, he took out his sword and shield properly, ready to defend himself.

"Boy," started Ganondorf, "You have a triangle on the back of your hand. By the direct order of Princess Zelda, I am to place you under arrest and take you directly to the Princess."

"Not happening. At least, not unless you're better than me." Kekuta was feeling confident with good reason, too. With all his working out, the sword felt not-so-heavy. He truly felt that he could at least force Ganondorf to surrender.

They were about to have at each other when they heard, "HEY! Take it outside. I will not have this foyer ruined."

"Yes, ma'am," responded Ganondorf, respecting the innkeeper's wish. "Come, boy."

"My name's Kekuta," stated the boy.

Ganondorf chuckled. "Very well, then. Come, Kekuta. We shall settle this outside."

The two of them took a couple of places outside and made sure no one was around.

"Kekuta, you should know that the only reason I'm doing this is because I haven't had a good swordfight in forever. Living under the rule of the Princess is not a life I chose. It is only better than death. That is the only reason I will not defy her. Nevertheless, I will defeat you in combat and take you into custody as per my orders."

"Man, I haven't even had breakfast yet. You call this a 'good' swordfight?"

"If you would come quietly, I could get you anything you want to eat while I take you to the Princess."

"I'll have to reject your oh-so-cordial offer on the basis that there's no way in hell you're taking me to see the Princess." Kekuta's adrenaline was starting to make up for the fact that he didn't eat breakfast.

The two of them started to clash swords. Kekuta's hunger kept growing as the battle raged on, but he was able to ignore it. His evasive maneuvers had gotten quite good in New Hyrule Field. He eventually found himself behind Ganondorf – right where he wanted to be. He brought his sword across the front of Ganondorf's throat, holding the end of the blade steady with his other hand.

"I don't want to kill anyone, but if you make me…," Kekuta really did not want to be in this position. And to top it off, he felt that he'd never been hungrier.

"Would you really kill the Princess' top bodyguard, Kekuta? You know that the Princess would send forces ten times as terrible as me after you."

"It's not fear of the Princess, Ganondorf. If I kill another man, I won't feel deserving of my own life. And I'm sure you're quite fond of yours, right?"

"This is preferable to what the Princess' father did to me years ago. At least you're willing to let me go."

"Are you going to leave and report your failure to the Princess?"

"I will. But be forewarned of the greater danger you will be in."

"I'll keep it in mind."

As Kekuta finished speaking, a voice came from nowhere:

"Ganondorf, you disappoint me. There's a reason you are my top bodyguard, the head of my military force. You were supposed to be excellent in combat. Yet you consider yourself to have lost to this boy? Get back here. I'm going to punish you more severely than ever before."

"Princess, please have mercy! I know exactly where I went wrong, and could explain it and rectify it."

"You better be able to. However, you do realize that this will have only minimal effect on the severity of your penalty."

"I do."

"Then get back here."

And Ganondorf vanished from Kakariko. Kekuta could only guess at what awaited Ganondorf. Kekuta almost felt sorry for the man. As he stood there, a small boy, probably about 6 or 7 years old, tried to get Kekuta's attention.

"You're really good with your sword."

"Thanks."

"I have some swords. Wanna see? You can even keep the ones you like."

"Okay. Fine." Kekuta figured that this kid couldn't possibly wield a real sword, let alone own one.

They got to the kid's house in a few minutes. The kid also convinced his mom to allow Kekuta to have some food. Kekuta gladly accepted. Afterwards, the kid led Kekuta to his room. The kid pulled out a bunch of drawings of swords. Apparently, the kid had created his own sword designs, and hoped Kekuta would be interested in some of them.

"Some of these aren't half bad," said Kekuta, "but why does this one have this marking on the paper?"

"I drew that one in my sleep. I call it the Akaiha. I went to sleep one night after I had had no ideas all day. I woke up the next morning with that in my hand. It's the best drawing, too."

"It definitely is," remarked Kekuta. The Akaiha's drawing had a silver, extremely ornate handle, with all manner of small designs everywhere. The blade itself was blood-red. But what caught Kekuta's eye was the red triangle in the center of the Akaiha's handle. It was a red triangle with a black one inside, very similar to the one Kekuta had on the back of his hand.

"Hey, kid, may I see the back of your hand?" Kekuta was making a guess.

"Sure. Not much is special, though. I just have this weird birthmark." Sure enough, Kekuta saw a red triangle on the back of the kid's hand. Kekuta brought out his own hand, and had the kid put his hands around it, just like the Old Man did. Sure enough, another red triangle lit up on the back of Kekuta's hand.

"Kid, you are so in luck. Gather these drawings, and I'll take you to a swordmaker who's a friend of mine. He lives in the town of Meho, where I'm from. He'll surely take you under his wing. Some of these concepts are pure genius, and they're generally very beautiful."

"I'd take you up on your offer, Kekuta, but I can't learn anything. I could never retain anything in school. I can't even read. I can only do this."

Kekuta figured out which of the Three Reds he'd just obtained. He had just received Ignorance, no doubt to counteract the Triforce of Wisdom. "You'll be able to pick this up. I don't want to elaborate, but basically, I just took away your learning impediment. You'll become a master swordsmith. I'm sure of it. Come with me. I was headed back to Meho anyway."

After getting permission from the kid's mother, the two of them left for Meho. However, Kekuta was still wondering who in Meho could possibly have the last of the Three Reds.