Well, it took a long time, but I finally finished chapter 35, and I also introduce Oni in this chapter :D and also, as you'll probably notice as you're reading, I've finally been able to get my computer working again with resolution and now I can play Team Fortress 2, so I've been rather obsessed with that lol. Hope this chapter was worth - what my fans tell me was 15 days - the wait! Please R&R :3
"Then he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on Earth;
and then he herded them onto a boat;
and then he beat the crap out of every single one!
And that day forward anytime a bunch of animals are together in one place it's called a zoo!
. . . Unless it's a farm!"
-Soldier, Team Fortress 2
The Legend of Zelda: Only Chosen Love
Chapter 35: A Family Reunion
Link stared at the photo of Zelda in his hand with a warm smile on his face.
"What are you looking so goofy for?" Blake sneered as he walked by the couch where Link was sitting.
"Nothing . . ." Link sighed, still looking at the photo.
Blake snatched the picture from Link's hand.
"Ooh, a picture of Zelda, huh?" Blake snickered.
"Give it back!" Link yelled, leaping to his feet. He stretched out for it, but Blake lifted it from his reach. Blake teasingly waved it above him.
"Blake, I'm serious!" Link growled, getting to his feet and pushing his uncle around, trying to get the photo back.
Just then, the phone rang. Blake stuffed the picture down the front of Link's shirt before heading over to his phone to answer it. Link pulled the photo out and tried to clean out any of the wrinkles.
Blake picked up the phone and began to speak into the receiver.
"Oh? Right, I forgot."
"No, you can still come over, don't worry about it."
"Yeah, Link's here."
Link perked his head up at the mention of his name.
Blake said goodbye, and then hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Link asked curiously.
"Oni," Blake replied. "He's coming in for a visit today. He's picking up Shade along the way."
"Oh, great," Link groaned, flopping back onto the couch.
Blake set the phone back onto its charger and went into the kitchen.
"You know, if it weren't for the fact that she lived so far away, I'd say you should get Zelda over to introduce her to your brothers," Blake suggested.
"Haha, very funny," Link sneered. "There's no way that's happening."
"I wasn't joking," Blake muttered. "I mean, you got to meet her family – it would be nice for her to meet ours."
"She met Shade – that's enough of our family she has to meet," Link grumbled as he curled up into a ball and snuggled into the couch.
"Come on, at least Oni doesn't bother you," Blake replied.
"Yeah, but . . ." Link didn't finish his sentence.
"But nothing!" Blake hissed. "I'm going to cook something up for the boys when they get here. Get your ass off the cough and make yourself look nice!"
Link lazily rolled off the couch, landing on the floor with a thump, and then wriggled his way like a worm towards the stairs. He went upstairs on all fours, until he made it to his room at the end of the hall. His room was rather empty, and all that was in it was the suitcase that hadn't been unpacked yet. He unzipped the bag and opened it, digging through the clothes inside until he found something 'nice' as Blake had asked him. He finally settled on a black t-shirt with short sleeves and dark blue jeans.
After he had dressed into his clean clothes, he went into the bathroom to check his face. He had a massive case of bedhead, and he realized that he was starting to grow a bit of muzzle on his face.
Link sighed and then proceeded to wash his face and shave his beard – he didn't know if Zelda had noticed his muzzle or not that morning, but he figured she didn't mind it because she didn't say anything about it. Maybe she liked early-morning beards. But then again, he couldn't imagine her falling for the wild-man kind of guy.
After he had washed off the shaving cream, Link went to his room and booted up the laptop that he always kept at his uncle's – he wasn't much for Internet-surfing, and there were computers at the Academy, so he never saw the purpose in bringing the laptop with him. And much like his car, he didn't want it to get destroyed by Shade or Ganon.
Link signed into his email. A few emails from his dad asking about his school year – he skipped those – and advertisements.
Never anything interesting . . . Link thought in defeat. That's why he had never worried about checking his email every five seconds – there was never anything there worth reading.
Just as he was about to sign out of his email account, Zelda started chatting with him.
Hey, Link. That's weird, you're never signed in.
Link started to type his response.
Yeah, just checking my email while I'm here with Blake. Nothing as usual – I'm so popular LOL
A few moments passed before Zelda replied.
Irwin is really freaked out right now. He didn't get you with the shotgun, did he? I am SOOOO SORRY for that _
Haha, don't worry about it, he could never catch me :P
Still, the guy is crazy.
I can agree with that :D
A few minutes passed with no response. Link opened up another tab and checked his Facebook while he waited. Other than a friend request from Uzuki, there were no notifications.
So what are you doing today? Zelda finally responded.
Link turned back to his email tab and quickly typed a response.
My stupid brothers are coming over today, he wrote. Blake is having both Shade and Oni for dinner and he's NOT LETTING ME LEAVE.
Aww, that sucks, Zelda replied. But it can't be all that bad, right? I mean, you'll be with Blake so at least Shade won't be able to completely torture you :P
No, I just have to deal with him AND Oni to boot -_-'
Well, Oni doesn't sound that bad.
No, he's perfect. Absolute GOLD. That's why it sucks. I've got a lot to live up to.
Nobody's asking you to live up to anything, Link :) If it makes you feel any better, I like you just the way you are 3
Link's face warmed up with the smile that was growing.
By the way, do you like morning beards?
Oh god, why?
LOL I didn't notice this morning but I had muzzle on my face XD And then I thought, "Huh, I wonder if Zel likes beards?"
Well, only a little bit . . . like if it's a bit of prickly muzzle, that's fine. Don't go all lumberjack beard on me though, Link :(
Nah, I figured that was how you felt about it. Don't worry, I have no intention to grow a beard.
You with a beard . . . eww, I don't want to even think about it!
Well gee, I didn't think you were so disgusted by the thought :P
LOL You know what I mean, Link :3
The doorbell rang.
"Link! Get the door!" Blake roared from the kitchen.
Link lazily got back up from the couch and went to answer the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by a white-haired man who was at least a foot taller than him and had various tribal tattoos along his arms.
"Oni," Link growled.
"Good afternoon, Link," Oni greeted his brother with a smile. Shade soon appeared from Oni's car.
"Hey, Uncle Blake!" Shade called as he barged into the house, pushing past Link. "Can I have my motorcycle back now?"
Blake smirked at Shade. "It's in the garage."
Shade gave his uncle a wide, toothy smile and then ran for the door that lead to the garage. A few moments later, they could hear the roar of the motorcycle. After a few moments, the engine cut off, and Shade came running back in.
"Aww, she sounds as healthy as ever, Blake," Shade sighed. "Thanks for looking after her."
"Why don't you say hi to your brother?" Blake said, grinning in Link's direction.
"Are you kidding me? I get enough of his face at school," Shade laughed. He brought an arm around Link's neck and pulled him in close. "How ya doing, little bro?"
"Get off me," Link hissed before pushing his brother's arm away.
"Aw, come on, at least smile a little," Shade laughed before bringing his hands up to link's face and pushing his lips up with his fingers.
"Go away," Link grunted. He took Shade's hands away from his face.
"It's nice to know you two are the same as always," Oni chuckled before stepping into the house. He took off his flipflops – for some reason he was always wearing flipflops, even during the winter – and set them by the door, and then stepped into the kitchen, where Blake was cooking a small chicken.
"It smells delicious, Uncle," Oni complimented him as he inhaled the scents of the spices and cooking meat.
Shade went into the living room and flopped onto the couch.
"Hey, that was my spot," Link grumbled.
"Sorry, little bro," Shade snickered.
Link rolled his eyes and then took a seat on one of the plush chairs near the couch.
"So, how was your trip?" Blake asked as he walked into the living room and sat down on Shade's legs. Oni followed and sat in the chair next to Link.
"Eh, nothing too bad," Oni replied. "The snowplows were out earlier to clean the roads, so there wasn't too much snow."
"It's a bit of a heavy snowfall this year, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but I guess we can consider that a good thing – won't be much bugs around in the spring and summer if the winter kills them all off."
Link rested his head against the back of his chair. This was what it was always like with his brother Oni – creating idle conversation. He normally wouldn't mind, but it was just the way Oni was . . . it bugged him.
"How's school going for you?" Blake asked.
Here we go . . . Link thought before letting out a quiet sigh.
"It's going pretty well," Oni replied. "I made it onto the Dean's List this year."
"Oni, that's great!" Blake exclaimed. "That makes you one of the highest-standing students in the school."
Oni smiled. "Well, it'll sure help with finding a job after."
"What are you doing now?"
"Same as last year – I'm the tour guide at that history museum."
Link glanced in Shade's direction; he looked ready to fall asleep.
Blake looked at Link and immediately noticed his boredom.
"By the way, have you heard that Link has a girlfriend now?" Blake asked Oni, a devious smile growing on his face.
"Oh, does he now?" Oni said with a smile, turning his attention to Link with a sly smile. "Is she pretty?"
"No, she's really ugly, and she has three horns and fangs," Shade snickered from underneath Blake.
"Shut up, Shade," Link growled. "She's really pretty, and really nice. Unlike Shade's girlfriend."
"Whoa, you've got a girlfriend too?" Blake asked in surprise, staring at Shade wide-eyed. Oni stared too.
"Yep, her name's Ren – she's Link's ex-girlfriend."
"Ouch," Blake snickered.
"It's not funny," Link grumbled. "First I have to put up with Shade, and now that psychotic lunatic, Ren."
"I remember when you went out with her," Oni mumbled. "She didn't seem that psychotic."
"Well, not to other people," Link growled back. "But to me? Definitely."
"I'll admit, she is a bit on the crazy side," Shade agreed with a brief laugh. "But that's what makes things more interesting."
"Sure, pushing me into a thorn bush is interesting," Link sneered.
"No. Just fun as hell."
Link turned his gaze away from his idiot brother. He didn't want to remember anything from that awful day when he had landed face-first in the rose bush at the Academy. And he didn't need Shade embarrassing him about it again.
Blake soon got up from his chair to check the chicken in the oven.
Oni turned to face Link.
"So, Link, making any good memories?" Oni chuckled. "How are your friends doing?"
"They're all doing fine," Link grumbled. "Mikau and I are still in the guitar club, Sheik is at the top of his English class, Kafei has a crush, and Mido is an idiot."
Oni smiled. "And how is this Zelda?"
"She's fine, very nice, very funny, at the top of her judo club from Kakariko," Link muttered.
Just tell him exactly what he wants to hear.
"Wow, that's interesting," Oni said. "Do they have a judo club at the Academy? You should join it."
"No, there's no judo club."
The conversation continued like this for the next ten minutes – a back and forth confrontation between the two brothers that consisted of casual talk. Only laughter from Oni, and obscure glares from Link. Shade eventually zoned out by texting Ren.
Soon, dinner was finished, and Blake had the table ready for the boys. They all seated and began helping themselves to the meal.
"This is very good," Oni said to his uncle. "It's nice to sit down with you all and enjoy a dinner together."
"Mmhmm . . ." Shade mumbled before sending off a final text to his girlfriend. Then he dug into his chicken and potatoes.
Suddenly, Link's phone rang. Oni raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just a minute," Link sighed. "Sorry."
He answered his phone.
"LIIINKKKK!"
"Uh . . . who is this?" Link asked.
"Aww, you don't know who it is?" the girl sniffled. "That makes me sad . . ."
". . . Uzuki? How the hell did you get my number?"
"And I went to all the trouble of digging through Zelda's contacts without her permission . . . do you know how hard it was to sneak into her room with her evil dad hanging around?"
"Uzuki, what do you want? I'm kinda eating dinner."
"Oh, well excuse me for living!" she cried out. "Look, a bunch of us are getting together on Team Fortress 2 tonight. You gotta join. You play TF2, right? Right?"
"Well, I haven't played in a long time, and I'm a little rusty . . ."
"We're getting a whole group together! Zelda's going to be playing too!"
". . . Since when does Zel play TF2?"
Uzuki groaned. "You really don't know anything about your own girlfriend, do you? She's a fucking master! She's mostly a medic, but sometimes she plays as a scout and she's got killer aim! She should really take up being a sniper instead. We could really use her skills."
Link couldn't imagine Zelda playing as a scout, running around and beating people up with a baseball bat . . . well, maybe he could, if she was having a really bad day.
"Alright, when are you playing?" Link asked.
"All night, starting at eight," Uzuki replied.
"Nice. I'll be there."
"Sweet! Can't wait to blow your brains out."
Then she hung up. Link hung up his phone as well, and then turned it off.
"What did Uzuki want?" Shade asked.
"Turns out she's made up a team for TF2 for tonight," Link replied. "Going all night."
"Oooh, I've been dying to play TF2 with some friends," Shade snickered. "I make a pretty good spy, you know."
"I can't imagine why," Link snickered.
Oni stared in Link's direction. "I can't imagine all of you staying up all night playing such a silly game. It just seems like you could be doing something a little more . . . productive."
"Ah, lighten up, bro," Shade laughed. "It's awesome fun. And who says it isn't productive? It teaches you valid life skills – like how to blow a person's brains out with a minigun."
Oni rolled his eyes at them both.
"Them heavies got nothing on me," Shade snickered before finishing off his potatoes. "I just walk up behind them and BLAM! Stabbed right in the back."
"I usually play as a soldier," Link said. "They can blast holes through people's stomachs."
Oni turned pale. "Can we please talk about something that doesn't involve dismemberment or death?"
Shade laughed out loud. "Can't handle all the gory talk, huh, bro? That's fine with me."
Oni continued picking away at his chicken, trying to force the horrible images out of his mind.
Shade was the first to finish. When he was done, he picked up his dishes and set them into the sink to soak. Link followed soon after.
"That was great, Blake," Shade said, patting his stomach. "Best meal I've had in a long time. That cafeteria food, it . . . starts to get to you after a while."
Oni smiled, and then finished off his plate as well, taking it to the sink to soak in the water.
"I'll help you later with those dishes if you want, Uncle," Oni offered.
"Nah, that's fine," Blake said. "I know you've got exams coming up – you should go study for those."
Oni smiled back. "You sure?"
"Yeah, go on, get studying," Blake laughed before getting up out of his chair and heading to the sink to wash the dirty dishes.
Link checked the clock in the living room – seven o'clock. One hour until the online brawl; one hour for him put up with Shade and Oni until he was within the world of Team Fortress, blowing people's heads off and getting shot to death by heavies.
Oni had already made his 'studying station' on the couch, with binders spread and papers organized around him. Of course, he was a history buff, so he had all kind of thick textbooks about different cultures and ancient civilizations spread out around him.
"Blake, I'm going to go watch funny cat videos for the next hour," Link called to his uncle as he started up the stairs. He went to his room and started up his laptop again, going straight to his favorite site for memes and opening another tab for Youtube.
"Alright, Nyan-cat, here I come."
Uzuki sat alone in her bed, a laptop cushioned on her lap. She had her email open, and was chatting with her boyfriend, Peter on one page, and her best friend, Mikumi, on another.
Just a second, Peter, Uzuki typed. Brb'ing.
A minute passed.
Alright.
Curse you and your slow typing, Uzuki thought angrily. Peter was always known for not being much of an MSN chatter, but it was easier to talk to his girlfriend online than over the phone, especially with her little 'problem' still crawling around. Of course, chatting was just as hard.
Uzuki brought up the chatting page with Mikumi.
I'm inviting you into the chat with me and Peter, alright? she typed.
Yaaay 3
Uzuki went back to the other page with Peter and sent an invite for Mikumi. He soon appeared in the room.
Three . . . Uzuki began.
Peter typed his response quicker than normal.
?
Two . . . Mikumi typed.
Mikumi, how did you . . . ?
One!
OMG OMG Mikumi how are you doing?
I'm doing good, really really good! How are you, Peter?
Hey, Peter, did you hear about that new videogame?
Yeah, it sounds awesome!
. . . Is this your idea of a joke? Guys, it doesn't make a difference to me lolol
Mikumi, we're playing TF2 later, you gotta join us! What about you Peter? Do you wanna play?
Let's play some horror games too, Uzuki! Wanna play, Peter?
Guys, it's not working, seriously. And I'd love to play some TF2 :D
. . . It's no use, Mikumi, he's too much of a dork; it goes right through him.
Indeed . . .
-sighs- that went a lot better in my head :P
You over-think things a little too much, Uzuki :P but it was a nice attempt lol
I'll get you Peter, just you wait :D
Suddenly, the screen started going wonky, like a video tape that was suffering from visual tearing.
Uzuki rolled her eyes.
Just a minute guys, he's back again.
EEEK be careful Uzuki!
I agree with Mikumi, you shouldn't have to be dealing with this . . . please, be careful.
Nah, I just gotta show that son of a bitch who's boss.
Uzuki set down her laptop for a brief moment to bring her foot up and stomp it down on the hardwood floor.
"Fuck off, you!" she yelled down to the floor. Suddenly, she heard a rustling of trees from outside. She looked out her window to see a faceless man wearing a suit standing by the tree line on the other side of the street.
"Did you not here me the first time? I said fuck off!" she screamed across the street.
A loud screeching noise suddenly came from her laptop.
"Do you mind?" she continued to yell. "I'm trying to have a social life here! Leave my stuff alone!" She pulled her head back inside and slammed the window down hard, pulling down the blinds afterwards to block out the outside world.
Uzuki sat down on her bed again and waited for the screeching and the visual tearing to subside.
Alright, I'm back, she typed.
Welcome back, said Peter. Are you okay?
I'm fine, she replied.
Man, if I were living in that house, I'd be terrified O_O Mikumi wrote.
Please, he'll have to think twice before coming back here again.
Her screen began to flicker again.
"Hey!" Uzuki yelled at the ceiling. "What did I just say two minutes ago? Get the hell out of here!"
Sorry about that, he's being a real dick today.
Show em' who's boss, Uzuki-chyan 3
Hey, why are you sending hearts to my girlfriend?
It's . . . just an emoticon dude . . . calm down . . . ; ;
Hero_Link: Okay guys, I've had an hour of Nyan-cat in my system and I'm ready to kill some noobs.
Shinigami_Uzuki: Alright, now the party's started! Let's get our shooting on!
Hero_Link: Are you going with the Heavy class? What team are you on?
Shinigami_Uzuki: Red, cause' red is way cooler of a color than blue.
~ Zelda ~: Hey guys, sorry if I'm late – my server's being a little wonky today.
Hero_Link: Hey Zel.
~ Zelda ~: Huh, I didn't know you'd be joining us :D I didn't know you played TF2
Hero_Link: Same goes for you.
Flexi: Come on, guys, let's get started already!
Artistic_Genius: What round are we going for? Is it something simple?
Shinigami_Uzuki: Let's do Payload, that one's simple and to the point.
Flexi: I'm game for that.
Artistic_Genius: Sure.
Hero_Link: Alright, I'll find a server for Payload – you guys join me after.
~ Zelda ~: Gotcha. See you in there 3
Link selected the Payload game, and his browser began searching for servers. Soon, he was put into a room. Five minutes later, everyone else was there too. When they had all gathered, it was a group consisting of Link, Zelda, Shade, Uzuki, Mikumi, Peter, Sheik, Mikau, Mido, Ren, Kafei, and even Zant and Midna.
Shinigami_Uzuki: This group got a lot bigger than I thought it would O_O
~ Zelda ~: SHOOT FIRST ASK QUESTIONS LATER NYAAAA
Zantisawesome: Who's the spy who keeps stabbing me?
Flexi: Uh . . . that'd be me w
Zantisawesome: YOU SUCK.
Flexi: awyeah . jpg
Link watched as he got shot. The round started over, and the server started loading up a new location.
Link_Hero: Alright guys, we need to make up a battle strategy
~ Zelda ~: I agree with Link. Maybe we can think of some kind of way to get past their heavies; they've got a lot.
Flexi: Not to mention those medics that are Ubercharging them to boot :P
Link_Hero: Well, we can all circle their encampment and send an Ubercharged Heavy in first – that'd be you, Uzuki and Sheik.
XxSheikxX: Got it, bro.
Link_Hero: Alright, and we'll have Mikumi sneak in behind the enemy lines and work his magic.
Flexi: Yay, I get to stab people :D
Link_Hero: Alright, we'll go in on my signal . . .
Shinigami_Uzuki: Hey guys, sorry I was afk for a few mins. Heating up some chicken. Alright, let's do this! LEEEERRROOOYYYYY JEENNKKKIINNNSSS!
Link_Hero: Oh my god, did she . . . did she just run in on her own?
XxSheikxX: She's going to ruin all our planning!
Flexi: Aww, she pulled off a Leeroy Jenkins . . . I'm proud of her . . .
~ Zelda ~: Come on, she's already gone in! We have to go fight now.
Link_Hero: Dammit . . .
Just like everybody else, Link sent his character into the battle spot where bullets were already flying.
Link_Hero: Dammit, Uzuki, why do you gotta do this kind of shit?
=Mido: We had a PLAN, Uzuki!
Shinigami_Uzuki: Oh, you did? I told you, I was afk!
Link_Hero: Yeah, you told us – AFTER we had done the planning!
Shinigami_Uzuki: Well, sorry 'bout that. I'll be there for the next one!
Midna: I swear to god, Uzuki . . .
Zant: Don't worry about that right now guys, there's a sniper hiding somewhere.
XxSheikxX: Yeah and he just shot me. Watch out guys, he's hiding up in the highest building.
~ Zelda ~: Yeah, I noticed him there earlier.
Shade-is-cooler-than-Link: Can we do something about Ms. Leeroy Jenkins there? She's going to get herself blown to . . . too late, just did. She should have watched out for that pyro.
MikauMikau: Ouch. That looks like it hurts.
Shinigami_Uzuki: YOU FUCKING PYRO I HATE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU.
Artistic_Genius: Haha, got you 3
Shinigami_Uzuki: I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WAS YOU WHY ARE YOU ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE WRAAAAHHH
Flexi: Ah, I'm enjoying this very much :)
Ren 3: You're a fucking idiot, Uzuki.
Shinigami_Uzuki: At least I have chicken.