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 did some checking, and it would appear that I might have to hand Nintendo rights to everything in this story. But legal issues surrounding fan-made stories are incredibly complicated, so I'll have to find someone who can easily explain it to me. For now, I think I just don't own any concept in this story that's specific to The Legend of Zelda.

Kekuta continued working out while going back to Meho, and the kid who formerly held Ignorance would usually join in. Sometimes, though, the kid had a great sword design in his head and he had to get it down before he would forget. There wasn't much conversation between the two of them, but one thing was on Kekuta's mind.

"So," Kekuta started, hoping to start some deep conversation ,"if you couldn't learn while under the influence of Ignorance, how come you can speak and walk and such? Such things are usually learned behaviors."

The kid didn't really think anything of the question, and answered honestly. "I don't know, actually. Much like the sword drawings, I just…kind of…picked it up. It came naturally. I've been able to do anything I can for as long as I can remember."

"Fascinating," remarked Kekuta. "I've been trying to figure out the handicaps that these 'powers' give me. Weakness sapped a good bit of my strength, so that's why I've been working out. I think I'm actually stronger now than before I got Weakness. Anyway, it would seem, from what you've told me, that Ignorance saps learning ability. I'm not sure what kind of role that might play in my journey. All I know is that I'm on a mission to stop Zelda's evil reign, so-"

"Oh, so that's her name." The kid cut off Kekuta. "I could never remember the name of our ruler. But Zelda is the name I've been hearing a lot. Is she really the one I've been hearing all the bad things about?"

"Probably," said Kekuta. "Anything else might be things that she sent her military to take care of."

"She's really that bad?" The kid really did have a want to learn, now that he was able to do so.

"Oh, yes," said Kekuta, indulging the boy. He proceeded to relate to the kid all that he knew of the Princess. The boy sat and listened for hours. Eventually, though, they had to hunt down some dinner. And they did just that. After eating, they set up camp and went to sleep, knowing that the day to come would be the day they get to Meho.

The next day, they packed up and made their way back to Meho. As they walked into town, The Swordmaker came out to greet them.

"Kekuta! It's been a while! Where've you been?"

"Y'know…around…," Kekuta really had some business to get to.

"You'll have to tell me later. For now, I take it your trip was productive? You've been gone for some days."

"Yeah. It's been very productive. I'll tell you later. First, I'd like to introduce you to this boy. He had some valuable information for me, and is completely cut out to be a swordsmith, like you." Kekuta turned to the kid.

"And what's your name?" asked the Swordmaker.

"I'm Nomesotsu. I'm not much physically at the moment, but according to Kekuta, I've got some great ideas that you could consider making." Nomesotsu wasn't sure where the profession might lead, but he knew he'd feel fulfilled making swords. He could definitely have as much fun playing with them as he would making them.

"Well, Nomesotsu, I'll be happy to see what you have. Why don't the two of you come inside. I'll get you something to drink."

Kekuta had a weird feeling inside. He had a tingle in his hand. The intensity of the tingle varied with the distance from the Swordmaker. Kekuta was a smart boy, despite the Red Ignorance. He figured that the Swordmaker must have the last of the Three Reds. There was no other explanation for this odd sensation. Kekuta and Nomesotsu took up the Swordmaker's offer rather eagerly. The three of them went inside the Swordmaker's house.

Kekuta proceeded to relate to the Swordmaker all that he'd experienced over the last few days as he was wandering New Hyrule. The Swordmaker listened with quiet attention, never interrupting, except to refill drinks. At Kekuta's prompts, Nomesotsu produced sword drawings, which the Swordmaker gave great attention to. He looked over them approvingly.

"The strangest one, I think, is this one," said Kekuta, pulling out the drawing of the Akaiha. Nomesotsu proceeded to tell how the drawing came into being. This gave Kekuta a small break while the Swordmaker and Nomesotsu engaged in conversation.

When the two of them finished speaking, Kekuta spoke again. "Swordmaker, forgive me if this is a bit personal, but-" Kekuta held up his hand "-would you happen to have the last part to this? I keep getting this 'feeling' that you do, if you know what I mean."

The Swordmaker sighed. "Yes. Yes, I would. And you can have it. I was never sure when you might be ready to stop the evil reign of the Princess. She's always seemed so powerful, and I've been afraid for your life, Kekuta. I actually hoped that you'd never have to face this fate one day, but I guess you've proven yourself by finding the other two Reds yourself. Yes, I have the Red Cowardice. And I'll be happy to give it to you, if you promise to carefully protect your life in the future. I don't want you ending up like that resistance attempt at Erowp."

"Yes, sir. I'm quite fond of my life, as you probably know." Kekuta was getting a little bit of adrenaline from the fact that he was about to complete his puzzle.

"Okay, then," said the Swordmaker with a chuckle, "Take this." He handed Kekuta the drawing of the Akaiha, which quickly found its way into Kekuta's pocket. The Swordmaker removed one of his gloves, which was the first time Kekuta ever saw either of the Swordmaker's hands bare. The Swordmaker's hands encompassed Kekuta's, and in a few seconds, Kekuta had the last of the Three Reds, and in the center, the Black Triangle.

Kekuta felt something weird in his pocket once he had the last Red. He took out the drawing of the Akaiha. Once it had enough room, it started to fold and shape itself into what started to look like a sword hilt. It formed itself, then flashed and turned to metal. The Swordmaker guessed what was coming next, and he got Nomesotsu out of the way just in time for the red blade of the Akaiha to shoot forth from the end of the hilt. The sudden change in weight was too much to immediately adapt to, and the sword fell to the floor, followed shortly by Kekuta.

"Heh heh. Once you get that under control, you should definitely be able to stop the Princess' evil reign." The Swordmaker and Nomesotsu were about two seconds away from laughing nigh-uncontrollably at Kekuta.

Kekuta looked up at the Swordmaker. "Are you sure? I've seen her power. I don't think I'll even be able to get close."

"You'll be fine. You have the Power of the Three Reds. There's no reason to fear the Triforce. You've got the only known way to counter it."

Kekuta struggled to stand up with the extremely heavy Akaiha. As he tried to pull it up, he gripped the handle very tightly. Suddenly, the blade became weightless and looked like glowing red energy. Again, the sudden change in weight caught Kekuta off guard. But when he finally got it up, he relaxed his grip. The red blade became solid again and fell back down to the ground. "Aw, man! How am I supposed to stop the Princess if this thing keeps changing its weight on me?"

"Think harder," said the Swordmaker, who was a very keen observer. "When you were trying to pull it up before, you were gripping the handle very hard with your left hand, the one with the Three Reds on it. Try it again."

Kekuta gripped the Akaiha as hard as he could with his left hand. The blade turned into the red energy again. He relaxed his grip, and it was solid again. It took him a few more tries to put two and two together, but he eventually got the hang of his grip being the key to changing the blade.

"I think you can do it," said the Swordmaker with a smile. "You look ready."

"I'm not sure," replied Kekuta. "I've seen the Princess' power. If I'm not careful, she'll destroy me and leave nothing behind."

"She won't. You were chosen to stop her evil reign. You can do away with the source of her power. I have faith in you."

"Okay," said Kekuta. "I'll give it a shot."