Author note: I don't own Yakitate! Japan and/or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

This is another oneshot in the "Trials of the Wild" crossover series! If you haven't read the previous ones, especially "A Little Training," you may want to do so before reading this one.

Warning: Canon-typical violence, Yakitate! Japan spoilers, BOTW spoilers, takes place post-BOTW with canon divergence where Champions were resurrected post-defeating Ganon

You Got A Message!

Summary: Meister and Monica discover that the new Shiekah Slates have some additional upgrades and use this to their advantage.

Azuma Kazuma did not return for dinner.

Nor did he return the next day.

Neither did Link, much to everyone's worry and ire.

However, Link did send a message via the Shiekah Slate, saying that he and Azuma would wait for Revali and Teba in Rito Village. The others were disappointed, and Monica knew that Kawachi blamed himself for driving Azuma off.

They still had a few more days until everyone left for their journeys, but Purah came along. She was so tiny and small, and the bakers were surprised that this woman was…well, a young girl. Science experiment de-aged her, apparently. No one wanted to ask for details.

"Sooo, here you go!" Purah handed each group a Shiekah Slate. "It has all the same functions as Link's Shiekah Slate, plus some additional communication features so all of you can interact with each other!"

"Communication features?" Kawachi asked, looking at the slate in his hands. "What kind?"

"Oh, sending messages. You can also send pictures of things to each other, too!" Purah beamed.

"Thank you, Purah." Zelda offered her a soft smile. "This will be useful for all of us. Speaking of communication, however," She frowned lightly, briefly, "Have you seen Link during the past day or so?"

"Oh yeah! He came by my lab earlier this morning by himself. He didn't stay long, though; only long enough to receive the same updates that all of you have with your slates. He said that there was someone waiting for him back at Rito Village to check on."

She probably means Azuma, Kawachi realized. He swallowed, taking a deep breath. "But they're okay?"

"They are." Purah confirmed with a nod.

That was good, at least. Kawachi was glad to hear that Azuma and Link were, at least, fine.

He thought about going to Rito Village, abandon all plans of going to Zora's Domain. But then again…he had a feeling Azuma needed some space. He took a deep breath, looking towards the two Rito that were beside him.

"Hey, Teba? Revali?"

Both Rito looked towards Kawachi. "What is it?" Teba asked.

"When you two get back and see Azuma, um," Kawachi swallowed lightly. "Can you let him know that I'm sorry? I'll send him a message too, but I don't know if he or Link has the Shiekah Slate, so…"

"In my experience, apologies are better in person." Revali muttered, but Teba simply nodded.

"We'll let him know." Teba reassured Kawachi. "In the meantime, be careful out there."

Kawachi gave one nod. "Right." It would be bad if he accidentally got killed like Meister almost did, on the way to Hyrule Castle.

"So, how's the disguise going?"

Monica was honestly curious. Sure, she already had her own set of traditional Gerudo attire made for her, thanks to measurements being made and Urbosa and Riju both lending a hand in getting the tailors making a set, but what about Meister? Monica knew she was lucky; she herself didn't need the disguise but Urbosa wanted her to have her own set of clothing for the sake of weather, anyway. Meister was a different story; not only did he have to dress for the desert, but he also needed to hide every hint of masculinity possible from his apperance.

"I got my fittings done for my disguise." Meister managed, a soft smile appearing at the corners of his lips. "Urbosa looked amused at seeing the whole thing, which I think is a good sign."

"Wait, she got to take a peek already?" Monica's eyes widened. "Can I see?"

He hastily shook his head. "I think I'll wait to show you until we actually get close enough to Gerudo Town."

"What does it look like, at least?" She raised a brow. She wanted to at least have some idea, even if Meister wasn't willing to reveal the outfit now. "Are you going to go for a skirt, for instance? Pants?"

"I considered using a long skirt, given my height. However it needs to be flowy enough to walk through the sands of the desert without me tripping over it." He shrugged. "In the end, we settled for pants. I think it should work out. They're baggy enough with the fit, so they're quite comfortable to travel in. Link had a similar outfit, or so I was told."

Her eyes glinted gleefully as she tried to imagine it. "Have you shown Sidon your outfit?" She teased.

Meister's face flushed, or at least that's what she saw from where his mask didn't expose his face. "N-no. He, er, left with Kawachi, Kai and Mipha to head to Zora's Domain an hour ago. They used their Shiekah Slate to get there…"

"Wait, what!?" Monica's eyes widened. "They left already!?" Without telling me!? A groan left her at this as she thought of Kai. Not even her own boyfriend bothered to…oh, he needed a serious talking-to. "Please tell me you have the Shiekah Slate on you from Purah!"

"I do." Meister held it up, frowning lightly. "Why?"

She immediately snatched it from his hands, before opening up the new 'message' function Purah installed in the Slate and typing:

"Kai! Next time you leave to go somewhere, at least let me know beforehand! -_-" – Monica

She then handed it back to Meister with a sigh. "Here you go."

Meister read the message on the slate, and then looked up at Monica. "I'm not sure if shouting at him in written form will help the situation."

"Communication's a work in progress." Monica sighed, shaking her head. "It's better, but it could be better."

Before Meister could respond, a soft beeping noise came from the Slate. Meister looked down to see that there was a new message.

"My apologies for overseeing something that was meant for Kai, but this is Sidon writing. I'm currently in possession of the Shiekah Slate among all of us in our group. However, I will relay the message to Kai as soon as I can."

Meister's eyes widened as he read the message. "Wait, Sidon responded!?"

"What!?" Monica did her best to peer at the new message. "He has the Shiekah Slate?"

"Yes!" She noticed his eyes light up, a slight smile on his face as he typed out a message of his own. "This is perfect! I wanted to ask him a few things as is, so..."

Meister immediately typed his own message as the following: "This is Sylvan writing now. Sidon, I'm glad to hear that you made it to Zora's Domain safely! Urbosa, Riju, Monica and I haven't left for Gerudo Town yet, but I think the plan is to go sometime soon. Either later today or possibly tomorrow. Are you well? How is everyone in Zora's Domain?"

Another message came from Sidon shortly after. "I assure you, Sylvan, that all four of us are well. We got Kai and Kawachi settled into rooms at the inn. Unfortunately, Zora's Domain as a whole is not in as good of a state."

"A problem?" Meister repeated, looking up at Monica with a soft frown. "Were there any problems that you encountered back in the Domain, when you were first there?"

Monica swallowed. "Usually just the elders hating Hylians, but what if something happened after the Blood Moon?" After all, the monsters were pretty powerful back then.

"Right." She noticed him wincing visibly. "Might be a good idea to ask."

Cue Monica quickly snatching the Slate typing down her own response. "What happened? Is it the elders being mean towards Hylians and projecting that onto Kawachi and Kai? Did Kawachi and Kai pick a fight with each other, or with the locals? By the way, this is Monica writing this." After all, Kai and Kawachi basically passed for Hylians, considering they looked alike to humans (save for the pointy ears that Hylians had).

"I wish that dealing with the elders was the worst of our problems, Monica, but that is not the case." Sidon wrote back. "My father noticed that there are growing Bokoblin camps getting closer to the Domain itself. He's already sent out soldiers to drive out the Bokoblins, but it's not working as well as he hoped. Kai already offered to lend his skills, and I think that will be helpful. Kawachi is still on the fence but is willing to help if absolutely needed."

"Growing Bokoblin camps?" Meister shook his head. "That can't be good."

Before he or Monica could write another message, Sidon wrote another message. "I hope that Gerudo Town, Rito Village and Goron City are not suffering from any monsters like we are here. I'll do all I can to keep your friends and the Domain safe, in the meanwhile."

Monica quickly wrote a message. "We haven't heard of anything odd going on in Gerudo Town yet, but we will let you know once we get there and if we find out otherwise. Monica writing, by the way."

"Monica? Meister?" The two turned to see Riju and Urbosa rush over. Both Gerudo looked worried, with tense shoulders and expressions in their eyes.

"Riju? Urbosa?" Meister looked towards them. "Is something the matter?"

"We need to leave for Gerudo Town within the hour." Urbosa spoke quickly. "We received reports about sightings of Moldugas. It's pertinent that Riju and I return there as soon as we can to assess the risks properly."

"Moldugas?" Monica frowned. "What are those?"

"Creatures of the sand. They're huge beasts." Riju's eyes darkened, and Monica had a feeling that wasn't a good sign. "They could be a serious threat if we're not careful."

Moldugas did not sound good. Especially if a seasoned Champion or Chieftan, like Urbosa and Riju, were so concerned about hearing about them. Monica wondered what they looked like; sure, they were creatures of the sand and huge beasts, but…how huge of a beast were they talking about?

"We'll be ready to go within the hour." Meister promised. Whatever these Moldugas were, he doubted they were anything good. "I just need to pack up all that I need."

"Hopefully the trip won't be too long." Urbosa managed. "And since you're returning to the castle eventually, you don't need to bring absolutely everything with you."

"Right." Best not to bring any of his 'voe' clothing if he didn't have to, especially since he'd be stuck in Gerudo Town. If anyone accidentally came across his belongings, how was he supposed to explain those away? He quickly wrote a quick message to Sidon in the Shiekah Slate, after taking it from Monica:

"Just found out from Urbosa and Riju that there are Moldugas near Gerudo City. They don't sound good. We're leaving for the City in the next hour."

Sidon didn't take long to send a message back. "Please, be careful. I'd rather see all of you back in one piece the next time we meet."

Meister sighed softly, before writing one more response. "We will be. And you be careful, too."

"Oh?" Meister looked up to see Urbosa looking towards the Shiekah Slate. "Already using it, I see. Have you heard from the others?"

"Just Prince Sidon." He explained. "He, Mipha, Kai and Kawachi are already at Zora's Domain, but they're having Bokoblin-related trouble."

"That's not good." Riju frowned. "It seems that the monsters increased since the Blood Moon as a whole, if there are similar incidents not just there and Gerudo Town, but also in Goron City and around Rito Village."

"I hope that's not the case. More monsters just means more trouble, correct?"

"Exactly." He watched Urbosa's mouth become a thin line. "I can only hope that it's not as bad as it seems…"

Monica knew she should pack. Get going.

But she had something to give to someone, first.

She took a deep breath as she stood outside of Princess Zelda's office. She'd baked this delicacy for her earlier in the day, and she carefully held the package in a hand as she knocked on the door.

The doors opened. Monica was allowed in. She stared at the guards that opened the door for her, looked at Princess Zelda (who stood up from her desk as Monica walked in), and asked, "Can we talk? Preferably alone? It'll just be a few minutes."

"Of course." Zelda motioned for her guards to leave, and they did. Monica waited until the guards were gone, studying Zelda's expression. Despite Zelda's immaculate appearance, as well as her neat clothing (the tunic and pants seemed to indicate that she'd rather be outside than in the castle right now), Monica noticed her tired gaze. She'd tried her hand at makeup to cover up the circles under her eyes, but it wasn't helping. "Is there something you need?"

"Well," Monica paused, before extending the package towards her, "Here. It's a gift, as thanks for letting me and the others stay here semi-permanently for now."

"A gift?" Zelda's eyes widened as she took the package, looking up at her. "There was no need to provide any compensation for you staying here, though I am grateful for it."

"Urbosa told me you were stressing out about a lot of things." Monica admitted, offering her a soft grin. "I know I don't know a lot about Hyrule, but I did hear that the Royal Family had a specific cake recipe after I asked around. Link was happy to give me a copy of the recipe he found, and I baked it this morning."

"What?" A soft gasp left Zelda, before she quickly placed the package on the table, opening it.

Inside was a whole cake, decorated with fresh fruits and creamy white frosting, fit for a perfect dessert.

"Ta-da!" Monica smiled at her. "The Royal Family's Fruitcake! I did my best to recreate it."

"It's…beautiful." Zelda breathed, looking up at her. "How did you manage to do this?"

"I'm a pâtissier where I come from, unlike the other bakers. I specialize more in sweets, like cake, so I figured I'd have a good idea with recreating the cake."

Zelda stared down at the cake, then up at her again. Her eyes stayed wide, her expression entirely speechless, stunned. Monica wondered if anyone ever looked out for her like this before; not just for her own physical safety, but actually tried to understand her.

Monica had a feeling that wasn't the case back then a hundred years ago, save for Urbosa and maybe Link. She couldn't imagine how lonely Zelda might've been, and with all the pressure of saving Hyrule, no wonder she stressed over so many things now despite Hyrule ultimately being at peace (at least for now).

"Thank you."

Monica looked up to see Zelda. The Queen-to-be offered her a warm, small smile, and she inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet scent of the cake.

"I'll be sure to try it, I promise." Zelda managed. "But thank you, Monica. This means a lot to me."

Monica offered her a soft grin. "You're welcome."

She was glad that she could help her. Support her, at least in some way.

Kai knew that Monica would probably be mad at him for running off without a goodbye, but to be fair, the situation was urgent. Zora's Domain being under attack from growing Bokoblin camps didn't sound good.

"Should we expect any Hinoxes?"

Sidon shook his head, looking up from the Shiekah Slate as he put it away. "I highly doubt it, Suwabara." He managed. "The Hinoxes are too huge to be easily spotted. There will be Bokoblins for sure; the red variety and their stronger blue counterparts. However, we can also expect Moblins."

"Moblins?" Kai forced Kawachi to come along and help (hey, it was only fair to help the Zoras out while they were here!), and Kawachi frowned. "What are those?"

"Much taller beings." Sidon answered. "Taller than me, even."

Cue Kawachi groaning. "Really!? Why do they have to be so tall?"

"That just makes them easier targets." Kai took out his katana, the sharp blade glinting in the sunlight. "They won't be much of a match for my blade."

"I should also warn you," Sidon managed, "That Moblins usually have some sort of weapon on them; either spears, or large, spiky clubs. They're hard hitters, too."

Kawachi glared at Kai. "This is why I wanted to head to the shop first before heading out here!" He pointed out. "I only have about ten arrows left on me."

"Why did you get more before leaving the castle?"

"Because we didn't have time!"

Kai tried not to groan. He should have made Kawachi go with Shachioko to Goron City, rather than agree along with him sticking with him in Zora's Domain! "Then why didn't you spend it getting ready? Because you were so busy pestering Azuma?"

"Hey! I wasn't the only one! All of us asked him at some point!"

Sidon tried not to sigh. He had a feeling he should've heeded Kuroyanagi's warnings about Kai and Kawachi often fighting with each other. And Azuma was clearly a sore topic, and one he needed to get them away from for now.

"We don't need to take down the entire camp immediately." Sidon managed, looking towards the camp of Bokoblins nearby, and then towards the other two. "Especially not without backup. Even with the three of us working together, that camp is getting too big for all of us to handle at once without at least a healer or extra troops. We should head back and report to my father and the others."

Usually Sidon knew that he wouldn't have too much trouble with Bokoblins and Moblins himself, and sure, Kai was a seasoned warrior. Kawachi, not so much, and what if he got hit by an arrow? Especially without a healer around?

If it wasn't for Mipha being kept back at Zora's Domain by a few other discussions with their father right now, Sidon knew that he'd agree with Kai to at least launch a quick assault on the camp and take out some of the troops, so it would be easier to have a full attack later. Mipha had healing abilities, but Sidon did not.

Before Kai and Kawachi could say a thing, Sidon heard a horn blow. He turned his head –

Just in time to see several Bokoblins running at the three, weapons out.

…you be careful, too.

That was what Meister last wrote, right? He had to be careful. There were more people than just those in Zora's Domain that were worried for him, and Sidon knew that too well now.

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight." Sidon heard Kai speak up. Sidon took a deep breath, looked towards the spare Shiekah Slate he had, and shook his head, picking it up.

"Not this time."

It didn't take him long to activate it and use its powers to take him, Kai and Kawachi back to Zora's Domain, blue light shining around them. As it did so, Sidon heaved a relieved breath. They were safe – this time.

But this Bokoblin problem was far worse than what he discussed with his father, Mipha, and the others. If they didn't know the gravity of the situation, things would not end well.

Sidon just hoped the camps wouldn't grow any more than they did while he sounded the warning. If they did…

He had no idea how badly things could go.