A/N: Yo! Sorry, for the lack of updates. The combination of work, the pandemic, and lack of inspiration has prevented any meaningful writing as of late. This will likely show in this chapter, so if something doesn't look that good, just take it with a grain of salt for now. I will have another chapter nearly ready by the time I post this to compensate for the lack of updates.
Alright, on with the show!
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This is a sentence. - Narration. No character speaking or thinking.
"This is a sentence." - Character speaking out loud.
'This is a sentence.' - Character speaking in his/her head.
"(This is a sentence.)" - Character speaking out loud but in a language unfamiliar to the characters (and I was too lazy to research the correct wording).
This is a sentence. - Emphasis placed on the italic word in the normal course of the narration or the character speaking or thinking.
This IS a sentence. - Same as with the single italic, just a variation of expressing the emphasis.
This is a sentence. - All italics means the event is happening in a dream or flashback of which I would give a quick note prior saying a dream or flashback is occurring.
This is a sentence. - During a dream or flashback, emphasis placed in the normal text word in the normal course of the narration or the character speaking or thinking.
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I do not own The Legend of Zelda or Soul Calibur.
Chapter 22 - Evil in the Air
It was a very uncomfortable trip as nightfall approached. Talim and Seong Mi-Na tried to talk to Link about his ears, but Taki shut that down quick each time, saying they would discuss it later in a not-so-friendly tone. At one point, Link looked like he wanted to talk to Taki about it as they walked, but she wouldn't even look in his direction and even moved to outpace him, furthering the awkwardness between them. Talim and Seong Mi-Na saw this and briefly whispered amongst themselves, wondering what was going on and how it related to Link, but again Taki emphasized they would discuss it later, silencing them the rest of the trip (though Seong Mi-Na did give her a small glare at that).
Still, the girls thought it over in their heads as they continued walking. Taki said to just consider him a victim of the Evil Seed, but they were sure there was more to it. Maybe the ears was why Link wasn't initially accepted growing up? Seong Mi-Na had brought up the idea, and Talim seemed to agree with it as well; but then why was Taki acting so strange about it? Or was she still upset about what happened earlier? Neither of them felt Link was that kind of person, and so she must know Link didn't mean that to happen, right?
Nighttime couldn't come fast enough for them, and even when Taki finally made the decision to make camp, she insisted on Link coming with her in gathering firewood. The two shared a look at that, but unable to do anything about it, they decided to prepare the base of the fire while hoping they could work everything out.
Meanwhile, Taki cut several pieces of tree branches in an almost methodical fashion while Link was a little more reserved, not really focused on it. He wasn't sure what to say with what happened—both with his ears and with his..."tag"—but the silence was becoming unbearable for him. After another minute of uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke up. "So, um...what do we do now, Taki-chan?" Taki did not reply and continued cutting down and picking up another piece of wood. Link could see she had a considerable pile already, and so he was sure they had enough for the night. Despite this, she kept on cutting branches. "Listen, um...about what happened earlier," he started, rubbing the back of his head in nervousness, "that...that was an accident. I didn't mean to...tag you like that."
Taki did not initially reply, instead calmly stopping to set down her pile of wood before replying. "You mean grabbing a hold of and squeezing my breast?" she said in dangerous softness with added emphasis at the end before slowly turned around, an angry look on her face as she looked at Link. "And in front of others? You have ANY idea how humiliating that was?" she asked slowly with no sharpness lost in her tone. She let that statement linger for several moments before slowly walking over to the frightened Link, who continued standing still in fear even as she approached. If there was one thing Taki was proud of, it was her pride and reputation. And now it felt like both had taken a serious hit, possibly beyond repair.
And needless to say, she was not happy about it.
She then bent down so as to be level with him and moved her face just inches from his. "If you weren't my friend, I'd break all your bones, rip your eyes out, and cut off the part that defines you as a man before feeding the rest of you to the wolves for that." She paused, letting Link picture that a minute who again swallowed in nervousness. He was half expecting her to do just that, or something similar as he continued looking at her in silence. A bead of sweat dripped down his face as Taki continued glaring at him for another minute. She then sucked in a deep breath. To Link, it looked like she was about to make good on that statement as her eyes widened in rage as he mentally braced himself for what was to come...
"But..." she started, and to his surprise, relief, and confusion, this did not occur. Instead, she simply...slowly stood back upright, a noticeably calmer but still slightly glaring look on her face as she continued. "I'll ignore it this time." Then she leaned down again, getting closer again though not quite as close as before. "But do not EVER...touch me there or anywhere else on my person again, and don't EVER...mention this to anyone. Got it?" she almost growled, getting closer to his face again in emphasis.
Link nodded several times as he replied. "I got it!...Definitely!...Don't need to worry! Won't happen again!" he said hastily/nervously.
"...Good," Taki stated simply, making a long, slow, yet satisfied nod as she did. "And," she added, getting his attention again. And? What did 'And' mean, he asked himself? 'And' didn't sound good. "I suggest you leave me out of your childish games from hereon out," she finished, somewhat coldly before turning around and walking back to her pile.
Link let out a deep breath he didn't know he been holding at that, glad he was still in one piece. Although that last part made him frown a little. He thought she kind of enjoyed the games they played, even if she preferred to call them "training" instead of playing.
With that part done, Taki's mind now focused on the issue of the other complication that arose. Link's secret was exposed to their travel companions, which expectedly raised a lot of questions from them they did not want to answer, and now they had to figure out how to proceed from there. Based on their reactions, they did not appear to have a negative reaction to it—far from it, actually. If anything, they seemed to show even more interest in him...which for some reason brought a slight annoyance in her, but shoved that aside.
Fortunately, she had discussed what to do in this sort of situation with Link as a precaution, given it was a likely scenario during their journey. It helped that he had a similar discussion with Hachibei-sama. "Now, as for your ears," she continued, getting his attention again, "you remember what we discussed what to do in this situation?"
"Uh, hai...uh, yes. Explain my origins using the cover story we discussed that is both truthful yet not a lie."
However, Taki could tell by his tone that he did not seem particularly pleased with the idea. "You seem...hesitant, Link."
Link gave another uncomfortable look before replying. "I...well, it just doesn't feel right."
"In what way?"
"It just...feels like I'm lying to my friends. I don't like that."
"That is understandable, Link," Taki started in a softer tone, "but it is important we are selective in what we reveal so as to not attract attention to ourselves."
"I know...still, it's different when doing it to friends."
"Believe me, it is not easy, nor should it be. I know what it's like to have to keep secrets from others when I did not want to, including my master and even Chie. But it was a necessary move to do so, unfortunate as it may have been."
Link looked down to reflect on that. He knew how in Taki's line of work, a person's life often depended on a mere scrap of information. But in her case, it was because nearly everyone she knew could no longer be trusted when she became a nuke-nin. And that was when she was in Japan. Now, they were in Europe, away from all those people and the dangers she faced. What dangers did they face here beyond Soul Edge? No one knew Link or Talim here, and likely very few knew of Taki or Seong Mi-Na, and those that do aren't likely enemies or otherwise hostile towards them either.
And Talim and Seong Mi-Na were far from enemies. In fact, he considered them friends, and he did not like lying to friends. Plus, who were they going to tell if they knew the details of his origins? And who would believe them if they told them given how magic is not a common thing in this world.
With all that in his head, he came to a decision.
"No."
That got Taki shift her head ever so slightly in surprise at his tone. Very rarely did Link ever talk like that, and when he did, he spoke with a resolution and conviction that was nearly impossible to change his mind on something. And that was bad thing for whomever it was addressed to, which unfortunately for Taki was herself. "No? No, what?" she asked slowly.
"I'm not going to lie to them."
That was troubling. Was he serious in telling his origins to them in full? She would have to be careful, here. "We went over this, Link. It would not be lying to them, merely leaving out key details while still being truthful."
"I don't care. It still feels like I would be lying to them, and I don't want to lie to my friends."
Taki's eyes narrowed slightly at that. This wasn't good. "Do you realize what you are saying, Link? You risk attracting more attention to ourselves, yourself in particular."
"How?" Link challenged, making her pause. "What do we risk if they knew? Who are they going to tell? Moreover, who is going to believe them if they told anyone?"
Taki narrowed her eyes slightly but stayed silent, not yet sure how to reply. It was bad enough Link choosing not to continue as planned. It was even more so when he had more of a valid point than expected. Who would believe him if they were told, and what would they gain from that knowledge? Not much, admittingly. Still, she preferred to err on the side of caution. "Perhaps...but I still do not believe it is something to share with those we've known for less than a week."
Link opened his mouth to retort, but hesitated at that. That was a fair point, he thought. "True...but we became friends after just one night, right?"
Taki again had to pause at that before replying. Not just at the reminder of her having a friend (which even now she was still getting used to), but again he made another valid point. "...Only after very unique conditions that allowed us to do so. And even then, you had knowledge of who I was well before having met me."
Link frowned at his friend's stubbornness. He knew how used to working alone she was—granted, he was too to an extent, but he always had a companion with him in his journeys and so was more accepting of working together with someone. It seemed Taki was still adjusting to it even after months of traveling together.
"Well, we met them under unique conditions, and they trust us. Even Seong Mi-Na despite your lineage," Link responded. "It's only fair to trust them, too."
Taki crossed her arms in disapproval. "I still believe it's too early to tell them the full truth. Not until we're absolutely sure they can be trusted."
"Hmm...Well, I'm sure they can be trusted," Link said, mirroring Taki's pose.
"Why? Because of your little games of 'tag?'" she retorted, adding particular emphasis on the word "tag."
Link hesitated a little at that. "That's not it. They..." he started before trailing off as he thought back to the private conversations he had with them...and blushing a little as he recalled the ending part of each one, something that did not go unnoticed by Taki.
"And what is it then?" she pressed, noticing his hesitation again. "What is it you're not telling me?"
Link found himself in a bind as he tried to figure out how to explain. "I...talked with them."
"About what?" she pressed again.
Again, Link tried to figure out how to explain but found himself unable to. "It's...personal."
Of all the things to say, though, that was the wrong thing to say and realized it (too late) the moment he said it.
"It's personal? It's...personal?" she repeated in very dangerous softness that made Link start to sweat. "And what would you call deciding to share your origins with them? Is that not also...personal?"
Link swallowed a lump in his throat as Taki again started slowly advancing towards him. He opened his mouth to try to reply-
"And so you think it's 'ok,' as you call it, to share your personal information with them but NOT share your reasons for why you trust them to me? Your friend?" she added in the same tone as before, but with an almost uncharacteristic hurt tone at the end (which mentally surprised her but was too upset to care).
"N-No, Taki! That's not what I meant," Link shouted hastily. "I meant personal for-"
"You know what? Do as you will. Tell them whatever you want," she said angrily, even more so than earlier before stomping away.
Link watched her in shock as she stomped away before guilt set in as he looked down in shame. He only stayed that way a moment before he felt a pile of wood being forcefully pushed into him. "Here. YOU can take this back to camp," she growled (for her) before walking away...only she wasn't walking towards camp.
"Um...I think camp is that way Taki-chan?"
Taki froze in place at that name, and Link suddenly felt a chill across his spine as he watched Taki turn around ever so slowly before walking back towards him with a look that was somehow more frightening than he'd ever seen her. "Don't 'Taki-chan' me, Link-san," she said lightly growled again, using a different suffix for emphasis. "And I'm aware that's not the way to camp. I am merely going to keep watch. After all, what you're going to discuss is...personal, isn't it?" she added, letting that comment sink in. "And so it would be rude of me to involve myself in something so...personal."
Each time she said that word like that, it felt like a punch to the gut for Link and his heart wrenched each time. And when Taki turned around and left without looking back, Link never felt more alone than he did in that moment.
"Do you think they're alright?" Talim asked somewhat timidly as she helped ready the campfire. They had been working on it for a couple minutes after Link and Taki left to get the firewood.
"Mm, I think so," Seong Mi-Na replied, though not with as much confidence as she would have liked as she readied another stone.
"You don't think Taki is still mad at him...do you?"
Seong Mi-Na took a moment to think about it. "I don't think so. Well, not too much, anyway. I think she was just in shock and so reacted accordingly, that's all. After all, it wasn't like she was expecting it. I probably would have reacted like that, too if it happened to me, but I wouldn't stay mad for too long as I know Link isn't like that...at least, I don't think so," she added offhandedly as the memory of Link placing a hand on her rear to throw her airborne came to mind before shaking that off.
Talim lightly blushed at the memory of seeing Link accidentally grope Taki. She had to admit, if it happened to her she might have done something similar...though maybe not to the same extent as Taki. Although for some reason, the thought of Link groping her...brought up unexpected thoughts in her head. Her imagination was then threatening to show her what that might be like if it happened before she quickly shook her head, trying to fight back the blush that was rapidly spreading on her face.
"You alright, Talim? You look a little red," Seong Mi-Na commented at seeing Talim shaking her head.
"No! No, I'm fine!" she said hastily.
Seong Mi-Na raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm good. Never better," she said unconvincingly with an equally unconvincing smile.
Seong Mi-Na continued watching her as she finished putting the firebase together before finally shrugging, though she still made a mental note of it. They then waited patiently for Link and Taki to return. After ten minutes had passed since readying the campfire, they still hadn't heard anything from them, and it was after another five minutes had passed that Seong Mi-Na finally commented on it.
"What's taking them so long?" Seong Mi-Na asked with a little impatience. "It can't take that long to get firewood, can it?"
"Maybe they're still talking? Still trying to sort things out?" Talim offered.
"Maybe, but I would think they would be done by now." A brief memory of a similar situation with her and Link getting firewood came to mind, but she quickly shook that aside—though a tiny blush still managed to form, unseen by Talim.
"You don't think...something happened to them?"
"Mm, I doubt it. Those two can take care of themselves...though, it is strange we haven't heard from them," Seong Mi-Na replied slowly.
"Should we go look for them?"
Seong Mi-Na went into a thinking pose at that. She personally didn't think they would have to, but this was enough to make her think twice. "Mm, not yet. Let's give them another five minutes. If we still don't hear anything, then we'll look for them. Sound good?"
Talim thought it over before nodding in acceptance. Maybe they were just taking longer than expected, she thought to herself. It was but a couple minutes later did they finally see Link with a pile of firewood in his hands.
"There you are! We were getting a little worried you hadn't come back yet," Seong Mi-Na stated.
"Did everything go alright?" Talim asked.
The two paused when Link simply passed in between them without a word and unceremoniously dumped the firewood at the prepared base. Not only was that strange, but they couldn't help but notice the way he walked. It was much...slower. Far slower than they had seen him. Almost as if...he was forcing himself to walk. They looked at each other in concern after Link dumped the firewood and then used a Fire Arrow to light it, staying silent the whole time. Even when he was done, he stayed still as he was. It was then they noticed something else.
"Hey, where's Taki? Is she alright?"
As soon as the name was mentioned, Link froze in place, his head sinking more as tears threatened to form in his eyes. "She's fine. She's just...keeping watch," he finally replied. Both of them, however, noticed the sad tone he had said it in, making them briefly look at each other again.
"What happened?" Talim asked softly, only to get no reply. "Is everything alright?"
"She's not still mad about what happened earlier is she?" Seong Mi-Na started in a somewhat annoyed tone before rolling her eyes. "Ugh, she needs to grow up. If that's how she reacts to something like that, she-"
"That's not why she's mad."
Seong Mi-Na stopped and blinked at the way Link interrupted her. NOW she was concerned He said each word almost forcefully, to the point of almost yelling. In a way that sounded very...un-Linkish, she tried to describe to herself.
"Alright...so...if she's not mad at that, then what's she still mad about-"
"I don't want to talk about it right now!" Link said hastily, shifting his head only slightly in their direction.
Something was definitely wrong, the girls thought. In the short time they've known Link, they've never seen him behave like this. He was always so kind and cheerful. Full of energy and a smile on his face. Now he seemed...distant. Cold. And lifeless. All three words that did NOT fit Link at all, and it worried them
"Please, tell us what happened, Link," Talim started-
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Link shouted while this time turning towards them, making both of them jump backwards a little in total shock, having not expected that from him. They were almost...afraid of him in that moment.
Seeing their scared reactions again made Link feel guilty and look down at the ground in shame. "Just...leave me alone," he said while turning around, unable to face them.
Talim looked like she wanted to continue to try talking to him, but stopped when Seong Mi-Na put a hand on her shoulder, who shook her head at her, which Talim reluctantly obeyed. "Alright. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Link," Seong Mi-Na said softly, which made Link relax ever so slightly.
"It's time to eat," he replied, moving to the other side of the fire to do just that.
The girls didn't know what hurt more: Seeing Link so distraught or Link not willing to open up to them...after they had opened up to him previously. They shared another sad look, but this time stayed silent as they sat around the fire. No one really felt like eating, however, the mood having killed their appetite. The girls would occasionally look at Link to see if he wanted to talk, only for him to continue looking down in front of him each time, not moving the slightest. No one spoke a word throughout that time, simply sitting in uncomfortable silence until Link finally spoke up.
"I'm tired. I'm going to turn in early," he stated before turning to do just that.
The two watched him in sadness, and a little disappointment at him not wanting to talk. It took them a moment to remember Link using that term a couple nights ago before finally nodding.
"Alright..." Seong Mi-Na replied softly.
They slowly positioned themselves around the campfire, preparing their blankets and pillows accordingly. Link, however, had his back towards the fire, and consequently, away from the girls, still not willing to face them.
"Goodnight, Link," Talim and Seong Mi-Na said to him, coincidentally at the same time, making them share another look. They were saddened when Link stayed silent, finally deciding to try and get as much sleep as they could for the night as they laid their heads on their pillows-
"Goodnight..."
They briefly turned their heads toward Link after almost whispered it to them. They shared another look, and as if sharing an unspoken agreement, they both moved themselves just a little closer to Link, who was unaware of their actions and dismissed it as simply them getting more comfortable to sleep...which they were, just not in the manner he was thinking.
As the girls finally closed their eyes, their thoughts also drifted to Taki and hoped that whatever happened, she would be alright.
The woman in question was perched in a tree branch considerably a ways away from camp, though she could still see it from a distance...if she were facing that way. Instead, she had her back towards them, not willing to look in their direction. She also hadn't bothered to try eavesdropping in secret and listen in on their...personal conversation, too distraught to do so. She had been that way for over an hour, not making a sound as she replayed the events in her head.
She didn't know why she reacted the way she did. She always considered herself cool-headed and always able to think clearly no matter how intense the situation. And yet somehow, it seemed as if that was all thrown out the window with what Link said to her. Despite her ability to control emotions, his words felt like a dagger to the heart that she couldn't fully explain. She felt saddened in her heart when she first saw what Toki had become all those years ago when she gave the false story of Li Long killing Hachibei and Chie. Almost...betrayed. But she later learned it was due to an outside force corrupting him.
This...this felt like betrayal from a friend. No Soul Edge or demon influencing him. All from the friend. Is this what it felt like? Fighting with a friend? As she thought about it, she never once could recall having a disagreement with Chie growing up, certainly not to something of this extent.
And yet something caused her to just...lash out like that, and she didn't know why. She had noticed she had been losing control of her emotions at times ever since meeting Link, but nothing like this. She felt angry at feeling this way...anger at LINK making her feel this way. And that thought was what hurt most.
'(sigh) Things felt so much easier when it was just the two of us,' she thought to herself. 'No arguments, no annoying games...mostly, no drama. It more or less feels like that's what it is right now. Just two partners, two friends rather, on a quest to destroy Soul Edge. And now...' she trailed off.
Never once had she felt this way or had such thoughts in her head...or WHY she had such thoughts in her head, and for the first time in her life...she was at a loss at what to do.
When morning came, Seong Mi-Na and Talim awoke to find Link already up, surprisingly. Equally surprising was finding Taki standing over them, her arms crossed in a familiar stance.
"I trust you had your rest," she commented. Was it just them or was she almost...mocking them a little? "Come let us keep moving," she stated before turning and walking off without another word, but they did see her give a look to Link, who merely looked down and away from her.
Seong Mi-Na and Talim shared another look, a little confused at her tone but kept silent. It looked like she was still upset about the other night...whatever it was. But was she also...upset at them a little? It also looked like she did not get much sleep herself based on the rings under her eyes. Had she been up all night? Not that the rest of them got much sleep either with what had occurred.
Deciding to ignore it for now, they very slowly packed their belongings and made sure the fire was fully out before following Taki, who only stopped long enough to make sure they were coming before moving forward again, not waiting for them to catch up. Link followed first, then the girls behind him.
They walked mostly in silence. Seong Mi-Na and Talim would walk towards Link every now and then and try to talk to him, but he would walk faster or ignore them entirely, not looking in their direction. It was starting to get frustrating, more than it already was, and neither knew what to do about it.
It was late in the afternoon when Talim suddenly gasped as she felt a familiar chill in the wind and started hugging herself a little. Her actions did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group as they all turned to look at her.
"What is it?" Seong Mi-Na asked in concern.
"I felt a dark chill in the wind from the north. Covering a large area, as if many are under its influence," she tried to explain.
"Soul Edge?" Taki inquired.
Talim hesitated a little at first when looking at her before nodding. "Yes. Its energy is undeniable. This is definitely the energy of Soul Edge."
That brought pause to the group. This was the first lead they'd had on Soul Edge since arriving in Europe, and from the sound of things, it sounded as if the evil blade had considerably spread its influence. Could the blade itself be there?
"Hmm. Not a location I was expecting for Soul Edge to be," Taki thought offhandedly. "It may just be a place it has been. Nonetheless, it is something worth looking into. How far north is it?" Taki finally asked.
Talim looked to the side in thought. "I think...with the way we've been traveling, three days on foot. Maybe two."
"I see. And where is Yun-Seong from here?"
Talim bit her lip at the mention of her friend, though it was Seong Mi-Na that spoke up. "What does it matter where Yun-Seong is?" she asked.
"Depending on where he is, she may become further separated from him if she chose to stay with us," Taki explained. But the way she said it was as if she was annoyed and plainly obvious, which brought a frown to Seong Mi-Na's face. Is she really that upset about what happened with Link?
Seong Mi-Na looked like she wanted to retort, but she happened to glance at Link, and his worried look and shake of his head kept her from doing so. "U-Um, give me a minute," Talim finally stated before concentrating her energy. Her eyes furrowed a little at times before finally opening them. "It is faint, but I felt him towards the northwest," she stated while pointing in said direction.
"You are sure? You are sure he is northwest from here?" Taki asked, but again the way she asked was as if she didn't believe her. Her scrutinizing gaze further accentuated this point, which made Talim very uncomfortable.
"Y-Yes," Talim stuttered while having difficulty looking Taki in the eyes. Finally, though, seeing Talim's uncomfortable look made Seong Mi-Na decided to step in, both figuratively and literally.
"That's enough," she said as she stepped in between them. "What is wrong with you?"
"I am merely making sure of Yun-Seong's whereabouts," she replied with a similar edge in her tone.
Taki slowly nodded in return. "Very well. Then I suggest we make haste to the north."
As they journeyed forward, Talim had another problem on her hands. Through the wind, she could feel that strange wind surrounding Yun-Seong was almost out of range entirely, but most importantly, towards the west, more southwest—they were heading northwest, almost north. This meant they were traveling further and further away from where Yun-Seong was currently traveling to the point she could no longer track his location.
She was still worried what might happen to Yun-Seong with him traveling by himself with whatever may have been affecting him. It was only her prior conversation with Link that she did not voice this fact with anyone. She didn't feel as worried about Yun-Seong's well-being as she normally would after talking with Link, as well as the theory of how she could be set up for a trap if she did look for Yun-Seong as she originally planned. This was still unproven, she admitted, but it still made sense to her as explained by Taki.
But perhaps the biggest reason she did not voice her thoughts was of the current condition with her friends. Before, they seemed overall unified and friendly to each other. Now, the mood was anything but friendly between Link and Taki, and she just didn't feel right at leaving them under such conditions, and so she kept quiet while also thankful no one had brought up the issue with Yun-Seong by then.
As evening came, a familiar white-robed figure watched from a distance as the entire group continued northward. Zasalamel narrowed his eyes at this development as once again things did not go according to plan. He had hoped that by corrupting the White Storm's effects, it would result in that wind priestess breaking off with the group to search that Yun-Seong boy. Instead, she stayed with the group long enough to sense the disturbance up to the north and so chose to remain with the group to investigate with them.
He, too, was aware of this same disturbance but hoped they would have split up before the girl sensed it. He could have tried altering the wind to prevent her sensing it, but the energy to do that would have likely just let her sense HIM in the process, even if only briefly, and she or that ninja woman looked smart enough to possibly decipher what he was doing.
'But...not all seems lost, and things may just work out after all,' he thought to himself.
He managed to eavesdrop just enough to learn the recent tension happening between them. While he wasn't sure on the specifics, it appeared the boy and the ninja woman were having a rather significant dispute and were currently not on speaking terms, or at least the woman wasn't. It looked like the boy tried to talk with her at times but to no avail. Perhaps he could somehow use that to his advantage...
'The trouble is I still don't think I can accomplish my goal on my own, not without my plans likely being disrupted in the process. I may need some assistance with this,' he thought as he pondered what his next move should be. 'With four of them together, this will be considerably difficult, and the last thing I need is for them to get even MORE allies to join them during their journey. But who could I enlist to get them to my bidding to accomplish what I need?'
Being a loner, allies were nonexistent for him, and that incident with the Order of Assassins was a one-time thing, with no intention of having them work for him long-term whether they succeeded or not (in this case, not). Any other "allies" he may have had in the past have long since passed way. As such, this task would require a little manipulation to succeed, but he again was stuck with the question of who he could "enlist" to assist him.
He thought about it for a couple minutes before his eyes slightly widened as one person came to mind. "Hmm, perhaps with a little motivation, I might be able to entice her to help," he said out loud to himself when another idea came to mind, "...and maybe her as well, if I'm lucky. And perhaps...him too. Given the right incentive," he chuckled and smiled to himself as he looked down and briefly held a piece of Soul Edge in his pocket, pulling it up just enough to visibly see it in his pocket before putting it back.
"I just hope they are all currently not too far from where this group will end up. And I have enough energy to make each trip," he commented before vanishing entirely in a flash of light.
They had been traveling the next few days to the north based on Talim's direction. The dark feeling slowly intensified the farther north they went, but she pressed on, even as she felt "colder" from the wind even if the temperature itself didn't change with it, hugging and rubbing her arms more frequently as if she really was getting colder from it. The only thing that may have been colder than the wind, though, was Taki, as she still refused to say a word. She would also make every effort not to look in their direction where possible, particularly with Link. This made casual conversation very scarce and short, as well as uncomfortable.
Link, also, had not yet explained his origins as he originally intended. To Talim and Seong-Mina, it looked like he wanted to talk with Taki first or at least have her present when he did, but her actions denied him each time. As such, they respectfully did not pressure Link, but they were still concerned about it—and in the case of Seong Mi-Na, was just about out of patience in trying to keep silent.
Actually, she WAS out of patience. She was tired of the depressing and melancholy feel and attitude amongst them, and after nearly three days of it, she had had enough. But JUST as she was about to voice her thoughts, Taki (who was still taking the lead) suddenly stopped as well as Link who did the same. Most importantly, though, a sudden, almost pained gasp erupted from Talim's mouth, one that sounded far more pained than any of them had ever heard from them. They all turned to check on her, only to see her drop to her knees, prompting Link and Seong Mi-Na to quickly kneel down to her aid.
"Are you alright?" Seong Mi-Na asked in concern, shoving aside the frustration for the time being.
"What's wrong?" Link added.
Talim took a few moments to compose herself before replying. "We are close. I feel it all around us. It's...intense. I've never felt so much of its presence at once before."
"Indeed. Even I can feel it from here," Taki said seriously.
"I do as well," Link added with a nod before looking back to Talim and helped her stand back up on her feet.
"Take a look down there," Taki stated while pointing down at the top of the small hill they were on.
The other three walked next to her and looked to see a rather sizable town situated beneath what looked to be a castle situated on top of large hill, or otherwise a small mountain. What was interesting was it looked like a battle had taken place recently, particularly with the castle as several pieces looked to have been broken off but otherwise was still in good shape. They could even see some people working on repairing it in the distance, and seemed to have made good progress.
"I can sense the energy all over the town. It feels like...like the people have been infected by Soul Edge as well. Or...at least a good number of them. But it feels the strongest from the castle."
"...Could that be why they attacked? Because the people were infected by Soul Edge?" Link asked.
"Possibly, whoever 'they' are, but we can only speculate from here. I suggest we tread with caution," Taki said in her usual calm, stoic self. It looked like she felt more at ease when focused on Soul Edge, or perhaps like the others were somewhat grateful for the issue from the one they were previously facing.
"Where should we start?" Link asked.
"How about the family rushing out of the town?" Seong Mi-Na commented. They briefly looked at Seong Mi-Na in confusion before looking to see she was pointing, and sure enough, they saw a family of three rushing away from the city as quickly as they could with as much as they could. They were in a particular hurry it seemed as they struggled a little with their belongings as well as their child, who looked no older than four and appeared to be having difficulty keeping up while carrying a pack on her back like her parents. They were also heading in their direction, and so focused were they on leaving that they did not notice the group until Seong Mi-Na spoke up after the girl fell down and the parents quickly tried to pick her up, only to drop a couple items.
"Need help?" Seong Mi-Na asked. The reaction was a bit surprising to the group, for as soon as Seong Mi-Na spoke, the family of three suddenly gasped and backed away in fear, and because they were crouched, the girl fell off her feet backwards, resulting in being dragged slightly by her parents. "Whoa! Easy," Seong Mi-Na gestured while holding up her hands. "It's alright, we're not going to hurt you."
They still looked at them in fear, not saying a word. The parents slowly backed up, partially dragging their daughter, but she looked to be resisting and wanting to grab her doll of some kind that she had dropped earlier. She started complaining, and the mother tried to get her to stop, but she kept resisting. They both stopped when someone stepped in front of them, scaring them both with another very fearful reaction. They quickly looked up, expecting something to happen to them, only to be surprised at seeing a young boy move to kneel in front of them.
Link gave a reassuring smile, and for some reason the little girl felt...a little less scared when she looked at him. He then calmly picked up the doll, and very gently handed it out to her to take. The girl looked at the doll, then at Link again, who gave another reassuring smile. Finally, the girl tentatively took a hand out and gingerly grasped the doll and slowly pulled it closer to her. The parents then pulled her back, still cautious of the strangers' presence.
"M-Multumesc (thank you)."
The group looked at each other in confusion before realizing none of them spoke Romanian.
"Apologies," Taki spoke up, "we are not from here. Do any of you know English?"
"Some," came the accented response from the man.
"Good enough. Tell me, why are you leaving in such haste?" Taki asked.
The man hesitated a little before replying in broken English. "People. Changed. Or disappeared. Not safe. No visit. Leave now," he said as quickly as he could. The way he said it was clear he did not want to stay any longer than he already had.
The group gave a look to each other. People changed...or disappeared? That didn't sound good. "Do you know why they changed? Or...disappeared?" Seong Mi-Na asked.
The man looked at them again in caution before replying. "Man...in castle. Those who visit...not same again. Think he witch. Think...why army attack castle...but fail."
Taki had a curious look on her face at that while the other three gave each other a concerned look at that. The castle was attacked? And because they thought the man who lived there was a witch? At once, they all had Soul Edge in the thoughts regarding that as Taki continued. "Hmm. Who attacked the castle and how long ago?"
"Two weeks ago," the woman said, getting their attention. "Soldiers attack. From Duchy. Man in castle...defeat them. Now, soldiers gone. Dead."
"He defeated them on his own?" Seong Mi-Na asked in surprise, a shared look among them reflecting the same thing. A single man taking out an entire attack? That was no small feat. Could he really have the blade Soul Edge?
"Not sure. What people say happen," said the man. "But want to leave. Now."
"I understand," Taki assured. "One last question, if I may," she started, getting his attention. "Do you know if 'Soul Edge' was rumored to be here or if anyone has ever mentioned the term in town?"
The man gave a confused look as he thought it over before nodding. "...Know not a 'Soul Edge.' We leave...now."
The group now had a confused look on their faces at the way the man replied. He nodded...but still said he didn't know Soul Edge? That was odd. Did nodding mean "no" in this country?
"'S-Soul Edge?'"
Everyone stopped and looked to the little girl in surprise—even the parents had a surprised look on their faces at their daughter speaking up. Did she know something about Soul Edge? Taki slowly knelt down to her level, taking a couple steps closer, though this time she did not move away. "You know of Soul Edge, young one?"
As she did not know English, the parents then starting talking with the girl in their native tongue for a couple minutes. They were apparently very surprised at something as they looked at each other with widened eyes at something she said before slowly looking back at them. "She said...saw foreign woman...two days ago...fought man from castle...in alley. Her age," he said while pointing at Seong Mi-Na. "Swords. She strike him, but man...take gem from her, then left. At first...she not notice. When...notice, woman get mad. Mention...'Soul Edge' before left. Seemed...angry at lost it."
The group gave a look to each other. "A gem?" went Talim.
"Could she mean a shard of Soul Edge?" Link followed.
"Sounds like it," Seong Mi-Na added.
"And based on what she said about the man, it sounds like it has since been taken to the castle," Taki finished, getting nods of agreement from the rest. "Something else bothers me, though," she added, turning around before the rest could question what she meant. She then spoke to the girl again. "This woman you saw...was she tall? With white, short hair?"
The man gave a strange look but nonetheless translated to her daughter. The girl nodded and said something else, then he replied again. "No. Not quite tall...like you. More...like her, maybe shorter," he said while pointing to Seong Mi-Na again. "Hair short, but...yellow. Had shield, too."
Link, Talim and Seong Mi-Na had a slight look of confusion. Not just at the description but once again it seemed she nodded her head "yes" but apparently replied "no. Maybe they really do nod to say "no" and shake their head to say "yes"? Taki, meanwhile, widened her eyes slightly in recognition at the description of the woman. "I see..." she said slowly before standing up. "We thank you for your time. We will delay you no further. Travel safely."
The family gave a brief hesitation before gathering up their belongings. "No stay...should leave, also," the man said.
"We will keep that in mind. Thank you," Taki replied, the family giving one last look at them before leaving. "Hmm...most interesting. Not at all who I thought this mystery woman would be," she added offhandedly.
"Do you know who the girl was talking about?" Talim asked.
Taki turned around. "Possibly...I met a woman named Sophitia seven years ago who fit the description, except she had long blonde hair, not short."
"Maybe she got her hair cut?" Seong Mi-Na suggested.
"Or maybe her sister. She had shorter but blond hair as well. But whatever the case, she is no longer here, if the girl said she had since left. I suggest we make our way to the castle. That is where the shard was taken and is most likely where the source of the town's corruption is. How good are you two at climbing mountains?" Taki asked as she turned to the other girls
The two shared a look before replying. "I climbed a mountainside when I trained with Edgemaster," Seong Mi-Na replied.
"I've climbed a few trees..." Talim said slowly.
"Good enough," Taki nodded. "I want to learn more about the man in the castle, but it may make people suspicious if we all stayed together through town, so we'll split up into pairs. We'll ask around for anyone who can possibly help us while making our way to castle and climb up the far sides of the mountain the castle is built on and meet up underneath the front part of the courtyard," she stated, gesturing with her arms spread out and pointing to the sides of the castle before moving them close together at the end. "We can make our next move from there," she added before turning around to face them. "Any questions?" Getting no reply, she finished. "Then let us make our way to the castle. We'll meet up after sunset."
A large crow flew over the town. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary crow, but a closer look would show it had glowing red eyes with no pupils. It had flown from the castle before flying overhead and was flying towards the edge of the town when something caught its eye. It altered its trajectory and descended to get a closer look. It saw a girl with two pigtails, but more importantly, it saw a boy in green, one its master said to look out for.
It cawed lightly once before returning to its original destination a few minutes later. It slowed down to a stop onto the extended arm of a familiar girl in green, who gave it a light kiss on the top of its head that it accepted with glee.
"Welcome back, my little Watcher. Did you find it?" Tira asked in anticipation. The eyes of the bird glowed while it replayed what it saw to Tira. It was a unique abiliy Nightmare had imbued with the watchers. It could communicate in a form of telepathy with anyone it had a close connection with, and only those who followed the will of Nightmare.
Tira smiled at the success of the Watcher, then gasped lightly upon learning that the elf boy was in the town. A predatory grin adorned her face at that. "Oooh, this is perfect! I can get another shard, kill the man who dared harm master, AND kill that handsome boy that humiliated me last time!" she shouted with glee. She then blinked when she realized she called the elf boy "handsome." Seriously, what was wrong with her? Every time she thought of that incident, she for some reason also thought how good looking he was. It was very annoying, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop herself. She shook her head at that before turning back to the Watcher.
"Alright, you know what to do," she stated while gesturing to the castle, which it understood and flew toward said castle.
After well over an hour of asking, Taki finally met a man who knew enough English to communicate with. The fact she was a woman and a foreigner from the East was enough for the man to not suspect her too much. Currently, though, Taki slightly narrowed her eyes as she climbed her way up the mountain. Part of the reason was what she learned about the man, who is rumored to have obtained possession of the castle through...less than ideal means. The sun was also setting, and the evil feeling in the air seemed to intensify as night came closer and closer. But mostly it was because of the one who was determined to travel with her to the castle in the form of Seong Mi-Na.
She originally was going to split up with Talim, but Seong Mi-Na interjected before she could move to pair them up. Now, she kept looking for every opportunity to speak with her about something, with Taki repeating to keep quiet in reply. Unfortunately for her, they arrived at their destination before Link and Talim did, granting Seong Mi-Na the opportunity she needed.
"Alright, enough is enough," Seong Mi-Na started as she walked next to Taki, who was doing her best to ignore her, "it's time we talked."
Taki slightly gritted her teeth in frustration at her persistence in wanting to talk to her, but now she was having difficulty in trying to avoid her. "There is nothing to talk about," Taki snapped back.
"Horse dung," Seong Mi-Na stated while walking next to Taki, who kept her head turned away from her. "Something happened between you and Link, and it's making everyone miserable, and I for one can't take it anymore. Just why are you so mad at Link?"
"That is none of your business," Taki coldly replied, this time turning her head towards her with a glare. Not only was she bringing this up, but also bringing it up now? While on a mission? That was the absolute WORST time to bring up such a conversation in her mind.
"It involves my friends, so that makes it my business," Seong Mi-Na replied back, which just made Taki "Hmph" and turn away again. That just made Seong Mi-Na put a hand on her hip while standing her weapon next to her in a disapproving manner. "Are you really that upset at Link groping you?"
"Of course not!" Taki snapped back without turning around, but much louder than she intended.
This briefly made Seong Mi-Na tilt her head in curiosity before stomping forward and narrowing her eyes at her as she moved to walk next to/in front of Taki. "Well then what are you so damned upset about that you can't talk about it? What did Link do that's got you colder than a block of ice?" Seong Mi-Na wasn't one to swear, but she was beyond frustrated at this point and was glad Link and Talim weren't there to hear it.
Taki turned and stepped away again in reply, her teeth showing in frustration and anger at Seong Mi-Na's persistence, as well as the ice metaphor. Seong Mi-Na was about to speak again before Taki finally replied. "It's...personal," she emphasized.
The meaning of it, however, was lost on Seong Mi-Na who simply blinked at that and thought it over a moment before replying. "Be that as it may, it's making everyone miserable, yourself included. He's your friend. You can't stay mad at him forever."
Truth be told, Taki was hoping this mission would make everyone drop the issue and things would then settle down between them and move on. Seong Mi-Na, however, was adamant on not letting it go, and the bitterness she had bottled up from her conversation with Link had risen up once again from Seong Mi-Na's persistence on the subject and was steadily cracking her usually strong emotional barrier.
"What issues we have is between me and him," she growled slowly while shaking her fists slightly.
"Then why don't you just talk to him, already!?" Seong Mi-Na replied in exasperation, gesturing her arms out for emphasis. Her persistence finally got a reaction as Taki quickly turned around and stomped towards Seong Mi-Na until she was within arm's length from her.
"Because apparently he trusts you more then he trusts me!"
Of all the replies she was expecting, that wasn't it as she blinked and tilted her head slightly in confusion, at both the response and the implication of it. "Just what do you mean? And what makes you say that?" she finally replied, while internally glad she was getting somewhere.
Taki mentally cursed at having let that slip. But now that it was said, she decided she might as well continue. "He had known me for awhile before sharing the truth of his personal history...But apparently, he was willing to share it with you after knowing you for just a few days," she said angrily.
"Wait, what?" Now, Seong Mi-Na was REALLY confused. Did they not all know about him already? She thought they already shared each other's personal histories back in Istanbul...didn't they? Apparently, Link did not share everything like she thought, but he had already to Taki?
"I bet it was quite a shock learning of his literal out-of-this world origins. Was it a thrilling tale of his saving of Hyrule prior to Soul Edge? " she asked in obvious sarcasm.
"He...wha-?"
"Or of Termina from a falling moon?" Taki continued, not letting Seong Mi-Na respond.
"Just wait a-"
"Or maybe the wizard that attacked his homeland with a shard of Soul Edge in his possession"
"He never shared any of that with me OR Talim!"
That outburst finally got Take to freeze in her tracks in genuine surprise. She blinked once, twice, three times at the implications of that one statement. So surprised was she that she wasn't sure she heard right, going so far as to shake her head a bit. "...What did you say?"
"I said...he never shared any of that with me OR Talim," she repeated slowly, as if making sure Taki did indeed hear her correctly.
In Taki's line of work, she would always look for any sort of deception in what others said to her, both what was said and how it was said. As soon as she heard that statement, though, she began to realize she made an error in judgment. In denial, she tried to look for any sign of deceit in Seong Mi-Na, but everything indicated she was not hiding anything.
Slowly, she began to realize the mistakes she had made as a ninja; in particular, mistakenly revealing information not known to the other party. Most importantly, letting her emotions get the best of her in assuming Link had shared his true personal history in her absence. Now, she felt greatly upset at herself in making such a genin mistake.
"So, THAT'S what you're upset about? Because you thought he shared secrets with me and Talim, even though he's known us for a much shorter time?"
Taki stayed silent as she again turned around, but her reaction was enough for Seong Mi-Na to tell she was getting further. Actually, Seong Mi-Na could understand being upset at something like that...and yet, it didn't seem like the whole story. "Or is there something else?" Another shift from Taki indicated she was again "on the right track," as Link described it once. Then something else occurred to her as she thought to what Taki said earlier.
"Hmm...Did you NOT want Link to share his secrets to us but HE did?"
Unseen by Seong Mi-Na, Taki's eyes widened in surprise at that. How could she possibly know that? Her surprise betrayed her more as she couldn't stop from turning her head in Seong Mi-Na's direction.
"So, THAT's it, huh?" Seong Mi-Na said with a slow but large nod to herself. She finally got the answer she was looking for...and she had to admit, she didn't approve of it very much. "He wanted to tell us something about himself that you ALSO knew, but for some reason didn't want US to know?" she stated with a frown on her face at the end. "Do you not trust us?"
And despite all her training to keep herself from revealing any sort of emotion, she couldn't help but let out a small yet shameful twitch of her eye prior to turning away from her, which did nothing to temper Seong Mi-Na's response to it.
"Hmph. Well, it seems HE trusts us. Why not you?" she asked in a mix of disappointment, hurt, and slight anger all in one. Did they not settle their differences about their respective heritages? "And another thing," she started before quickly making her way in front of Taki, who this time did not try to turn away from her—though she did try to steel her face once again as she looked down at Seong Mi-Na but was having difficulty maintaining it.
"Who are YOU to decide who Link shares his personal secrets to or not?" she asked angrily and pointing at her for emphasis. "What gives YOU the right to decide what he wants to share about himself or not?"
If this had been any other situation, Taki would have taken action already and moved to silence Seong Mi-Na. But for some reason, she found herself unable to take any action whatsoever and instead felt compelled to stay silent and let Seong Mi-Na continue.
"If he wants to share something personal about himself, that's HIS choice to make, NOT yours. If you were simply looking out for him, that's all well and good...But if you were doing it because you don't trust me, OR Talim with what he wanted to share...well, that's YOUR problem," she finished while poking Taki in the shoulder for emphasis at the end.
Silence rendered between the two after that. Despite being a highly trained ninja who has gone through dangerous and rigorous training, faced demons, oni, other ninja, samurai, and a demonic pirate that once wielded Soul Edge, and despite being talked down by a woman several inches shorter and much younger than her, Taki could honestly say this was possibly the most intimidated she had ever felt in her life—even more than when her master was upset in her early days of training. To her credit, outwardly she looked barely phased by Seong Mi-Na's words or actions, but a bead of sweat still managed to escape her face and couldn't help but swallow a lump that had developed in her throat. And inwardly, she felt as if she had just been slapped in the face. Never before had felt anything close to this feeling, and the normally stoic look on her face was becoming more reflective of how she truly felt inside. It was only when another voice spoke up did she finally turn away.
"U-Um..."
The two turned around in slight surprise at the sound of someone else speaking up, only to see Link and Talim standing off to the side of them with a worried look on their faces. "Is...everything alright?" Link asked slowly.
Taki and Seong Mi-Na looked back at each other, the latter still glaring at the former for several moments before finally walking away with a defiant "Hmph" as she did, stopping near Link and Talim with her arms crossed and angry look still on her face. Said pair looked at each other in confusion/concern for a minute before Link finally spoke up.
"...Did we miss something?"
Silence was all they were met with, though while Seong Mi-Na gave a look to Taki, Taki seemed to actually dip her heard in...shame? She let out a deep sigh and shook her head a little before replying. "We'll...discuss it later. For now, we should plan our next move," she finally replied, trying to gain her confidence back, but Link and Talim could tell something happened to her.
"Yes, so what shall we do next, oh fearless leader?" Seong Mi-Na commented with obvious sarcasm.
Outwardly, Taki merely gave a light frown, but inwardly she flinched while Link and Talim gave each other a worried look. Nonetheless, she responded with the air of professionalism she was trained with. "To start, we learned that the man of the castle is hosting an event to raise money to repair the damage to the castle, as well as parts of the town. Normally, only certain people are invited, but they are also inviting commoners to help raise money. This can work to our advantage in obtaining the shard as it will keep them distracted."
Something about the way Taki said that didn't sit well with Seong Mi-Na. Was she suggesting they... "Wait," Seong Mi-Na replied as a sinking feeling fell into her gut at where it looked like Taki was going with this. "Are you suggesting that we...steal the shard from them?"
A tense pause hung over the group at that. While they did not voice it, Talim and Link had a similar feeling to Seong Mi-Na's and also did not like where this was going. Taki took a deep breath before replying. "We will likely have to, unfortunate as it may be," she said slowly.
"Are you insane!?" Seong Mi-Na cried. "We could start a war! Or have an army come after us! What then?"
"Do you have a better suggestion?" Taki retorted, crossing her arms at her. "Do you have connections with someone at the castle to let us in? And even then, how would you plan on bringing it up? 'Good evening, we know you have a shard of the evil blade Soul Edge that we are on a quest to destroy. Could you let us have it?'"
"I..." Seong Mi-Na started, only to hesitate, "...I don't know. But I still don't think it's right."
"I am...uncomfortable with this as well. Is there not another way?" Talim stated. She too did not like the idea of stealing from others, even if it was something as dangerous as Soul Edge. "What about you, Link? You do not agree with stealing it, do you?" To their surprise, Link did not reply but instead shifted uncomfortably and stayed silent. "Do you?"
"Link~," Seong Mi-Na started in an overly-sweet tone, making him flinch again, "have you stolen from someone before?" Link turning his face away was all the answer she needed. "You have, haven't you."
"Link?" Talim asked.
"It's...not something I'm proud of."
"I should hope not!" went Seong Mi-Na. "Why would you do something like that?" How could someone as honest, kind and caring as Link go so far as to steal from someone? The thought itself almost seemed...sacrilege. A sin. Like a crime against nature.
Link then explained his incident with Mitsurugi back in Japan, how he saw the shard after knocking him unconscious (and teaching them a new word), and debated whether or not to take it. "And so I wasn't sure what else to do," Link replied. "Leave him with the shard and possibly let it corrupt him, or take it without his permission but prevent him from being potentially corrupted by it. Ultimately, I decided it would be best to take it before it potentially corrupted him."
That brought pause with the girls as they gave each other another look before looking back at him, a less confrontational look particularly on Seong Mi-Na's face. Link then continued. "I'm not saying it's right. Ultimately, it wasn't. But I felt it would be worse if I didn't take it. Sometimes...there are no easy decisions, or right or wrong answers. All we can do is take the lesser of two evils." He then looked towards Taki. "Hachibei-sensei taught me that."
Everyone gave Link a rather...surprised/impressed look. They were surprised not just by Link's response but the way he said it. It sounded so very...profound. And mature, especially for one his age. For Talim and Seong Mi-Na, it was almost as if he sounded older than he looked, unaware of just how truthful that was. For Taki, hearing how he got it from Hachibei-sama made sense and made another mental note to thank him when she saw him again.
Despite this, Seong Mi-Na still did not like the idea of stealing the shard from them. But before she could say anything about it, another gasp from Talim got their attention, only to be confused that she was facing AWAY from the castle and appeared to be looking for something.
"What is it, Talim?" Link asked.
She stayed as she was for several moments, but her breathing had intensified, as if she was in a panic slightly. "I-I don't know. But I felt another presence of Soul Edge. A powerful one..." she trailed off.
This brought a concerned look to everyone's face at that. "Is it another shard?" Seong Mi-Na asked.
"Y-Yes. I am sure of it, but..."
Now everyone was REALLY concerned. Talim had never been this worried about Soul Edge before. Whatever she was feeling must be unusually intense. For Taki, it was also unusual as if it was this intense, she figured she would also be able to sense it, but instead, she could not. "What is it you are sensing, Talim?" Taki asked as calmly as she could.
"This other being. It feels so...primal. Instinctive. Like it's full of rage but...wild. Untamed. And dangerous. Like an angry beast that will attack anything in its way," she tried to describe.
"This is definitely troubling," Taki started. "Are you positive it is as dangerous as you describe?"
"I-I am not sure what it is, but it definitely feels like a wild, uncontrolled beast of some kind. I do believe it is a danger to the people."
Then an idea came to Link. "Do you think this...thing is the one responsible for affecting the people?"
Everyone looked at each other at the idea. Given the way Talim described it, it actually sounded possible. "Hmm, it is definitely a possibility, one that we cannot ignore. Nor can we ignore the shard, and so we will need to split up again. Since Talim is able to sense it, I believe she should go, along with another-"
"I'll go," Seong Mi-Na stated quickly. "I'm not going to get my hands dirty like that. You go steal the shard from them."
A tense pause filled the group at the way she said that. Normally, Taki would have words about how else she would obtain the shard, but given their prior conversation, she decided to let it go. "Very well. While you two go after this other threat, Link and I will determine how to obtain the shard."
"Um...about that, Taki-ch...san," Link started and corrected himself at the end, something everyone took note of.
Talim had a slight look of worry on her face, while Seong Mi-Na gave Taki another look with a mix of anger and almost satisfaction at her point still being made. While outwardly Taki made but a tiny hesitation turning to Link, inside Taki felt an unexpected pull at her heart at how Link addressed her, even though she had angrily told him to address her as such—Taki-san instead of Taki-chan—and it felt...more painful than she expected. FAR more painful, and she wasn't sure why. The look from Seong Mi-Na didn't help matters, either. So much so, she couldn't stop the hesitation in her tone when she finally replied.
"Wh-What is it Link?"
"Um...while we were on our way, I helped a man from a pair of bandits, who said he wanted me to come with him to the castle for the event going on there. He seemed very...insistent on me going with him."
That was yet another unexpected turn, but not unwelcomed, she thought. "I see...and what did you tell him?"
"That...I would think about it. He said he would really like me to come and, if I agreed, to meet him at the bottom of the path to the castle on the other side from here in half an hour...that was twenty minutes ago."
Taki thought it over in her head. This could work to their advantage. The event would distract the people while she snuck around for the shard while Link. "Then I suggest you go with him as suggested. You may learn something else about the shard while discussing with others there. I will stay out of sight and sneak around the castle for the shard. Yes, Talim?" Taki asked upon seeing her raise her hand.
"I don't know how long this will take...for either of us. Where should we later meet?"
"Hmm, a good question," Taki replied as she looked around before pointing towards the west toward a mountain. "We'll retreat to the mountain to the west. Look closely. There is a narrow path in the mountains. We'll meet at the entrance."
Seong Mi-Na shrugged. "Fair enough. Shall we got going, then?" she said while starting to make her way back down the cliff. "Well? You coming Talim?" she asked...rather impatiently.
Talim and Link briefly gave each other a confused, concerned look, neither of them sure what was going on or what happened before deciding to ignore it for now. "Good luck, to both of you," Talim stated him and Taki before climbing down the cliffside with Seong Mi-Na.
While a rather saddened look adorned Taki's face, the confused, concerned look remained on Link's face after watching them go. What was wrong with Seong Mi-Na? And Taki? It sounded like they may have been having an argument, but he wasn't able to make out what they were saying, something about being "his choice to make" and "not hers" from what her heard Seong Mi-Na say. What did that mean? Tentatively, he turned his head toward Taki.
"So, um...what did the two of you talk about?"
Taki quickly shook her head from her thoughts as she looked at Link. "...It can wait. You should hurry to meet this man you met so you can get inside the castle. Though..." she trailed off as she looked up and down Link's current state of wear, and how dirty it was, "you may want to change into something more formal when you meet him."
Link looked at himself at that, finally noticing what Taki noticed, a somewhat sheepish smile appearing on his face. "Right...but I have something that should work," he replied.
"Very well. I will look for the shard while you learn what you can from the people about the shard as well as what has been happening here."
"Right. But, um...Is everything alright Taki-ch...er, -san?" Link asked hesitantly.
Taki hesitated at that, a light flinch escaping her as she replied. "...Let's just say I had a...'wake up call' as you put it once. Now you better get going."
Link gave her another confused look before nodding. "Right...good luck," he replied before slowly making his way back down, giving one last look at Taki before climbing down out of sight.
Taki let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. As much as she hated to admit it, Seong Mi-Na was right. It wasn't her place to decide what Link shared about himself to others. As much as she was trying to look out for him, her reasonings for not wanting Link to divulge his other-worldly origins were frivolous at best, especially given Link's counter-arguments against her. That still left the reason why Link was so willing to fully trust them after a short time and yet not tell her why he trusted them, but her pride and habit as a ninja of always being in the know prevented her from having enough faith in her friend. After this was over, she planned on having a heart to heart talk with Link and apologize for her actions.
With that plan set, she shook her head to mentally prepare herself for the mission. But before doing so, she couldn't but give one last look to where Link had climbed down, watching as he ran off to meet with this man he helped earlier.
"Good luck, Link," she said softly before sneaking her way onto the castle grounds.
Unaware of a single crow perched on a nearby tower that was watching her ascent before flying away.
A/N: Hooooo-ly crap this chapter took forever to make. I didn't want to have it so absolutely nothing goes wrong between the group but had trouble on how to realistically create one while also finding a plausible reason for the group to split up for what I had planned. Taki's focus on the mission combined with her relative inexperience in social skills was the best way I could come up with, but even then I don't think it was as realistic as I hoped, so like I said just take it with a grain of salt on this one.
I might redo this at some point in the future if the right inspiration comes to me. Maybe I'll remove most of the drama.
Also, sorry for the lack of new SC characters in this chapter like I stated there would be-AH!
(dodges flaming arrows, spears, and incendiary rounds)
Eh, hehe...sorry. For now, expect to see the next chapter very soon...AND the new SC characters. I promise. Stay safe, everyone.
This is Agent Ghost-Writer 000 signing off.