the quest is underway!
Ganondorf had traveled to many places throughout his life – both for personal and career reasons – and perhaps this was his innate bias speaking, but there was no place quite like Gerudo Desert. The culture, the ambience, the scent of spices ever present in the air – he was excited to be going back in a few weeks' time. Riju was also excited to see him again, the two of them had been talking about his trip and she'd just finished organizing his arrangements – all of his accommodations were accounted for and he would take additional precautions to prevent a repeat of the gala incident a few months back.
He sat at his desk in his office in HU. Summer session was in full swing and although it was optional, he was complacent with coming to work for the extra pay.
"I'll have my chef cook us a nice, authentic Gerudo feast! I bet you've missed the food here."
"Very much so, but you don't have to go through the trouble. Booking my tickets was incredibly generous of you already, Ju."
"I'm simply returning the favor. After all, you took care of our problems. Now we can focus on our project!" Riju said happily.
Ganondorf chuckled nervously, grazing his thumb against his landline.
"Maybe we should save that talk for when we aren't talking through my work number. But it was no big deal. I just want what's best for everyone."
"Whatever clears your conscience, dear." Riju said softly. When he didn't respond, she took the silence to pull the conversation into a different direction. "Now tell me, is there trouble in paradise?"
"Paradise?"
"Don't play dumb. I know you haven't been talking to Nabooru. She reached out to me asking about Na – the project." She caught herself, trying to be careful and not namedrop her defunct university since Ganondorf was on his work phone.
"What did you tell her?" He kept his voice devoid of emotion, not wanting her to hear the unease.
"I kept things vague. Asked her why she came to me instead of you. She had no answer, at which point I found it safe to assume you're no longer enlisting her help."
"I am not, that is correct."
"Did you two break up?"
"We aren't dating."
"But you love her."
"I do." He conceded. "Which is why I don't want her involved in something she doesn't really care about."
"It sounds like you don't trust her."
"I do trust her." He insisted. He meant it. "But this is for the best."
"So are you two still… seeing each other?"
"We are. Now that she's graduated, there are no real ethical issues."
"That's true. I guess we should pick this conversation up later, in person."
"That we should. But again, please don't worry about dinner. I'll cover it. We can go to Kara's restaurant and order the most expensive foods on the menu."
Riju laughed.
"That sounds like a fun time. Kara's can be pretty intimate though. Is this a date?" She teased lightly.
"A date?" He chuckled, "I don't see why not."
They continued chatting for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes.
From outside of his office, Nabooru stood listening quietly. She tried to listen for anything related to Groose, but had no such luck. She found herself rolling her eyes at certain points of their conversation, particularly annoyed at the somewhat flirtatious tone the conversation took towards the end. As soon as he hung up, she turned heel, moving quickly and quietly across the hall.
Even if she didn't hear anything incriminating, she still had the silver rupee she snagged from Ganondorf's apartment, as well as her intuition.
»°«
Karane, Strich, and Shad sat together at Shad's apartment. While the company was somewhat odd, Shad was happy to have them over, having missed his roommates since they all parted ways once the school year ended. Nabooru paced back and forth across the living room, deep in thought and impatient as they waited for Pipit.
"Where the hell is he!?" She snapped at Shad.
"He's been staying at his mom's, so –"
"Yeah, but you texted him to come over, right?"
"I did…" Shad mumbled, keeping his words to a minimum lest she cut him off again.
"Then where is he?" She asked again.
"Probably busy because of Zelda."
"Oh, of course. Quality time with the girlfriend." She said, a bit envious at the prospect.
"They broke up, actually. He's been pretty down about it. That's what I meant." Shad clarified.
Karane looked over to him curiously.
"They broke up?"
"Yeah. Apparently she called him and ended it over the phone. They haven't spoken to each other since."
"Really?" Karane leaned forward. "Do you have any idea why?"
"I can't say for sure what it was. But my guess is that it was because of someone else… Whose name rhymes with 'stink.'"
"No!" Strich gasped, "But you all live together!"
"Which is why I'm grateful it happened now instead of earlier. As much as I love Zelda all I can really hope for is that she talks to him and sorts things out, or that the dorms are cleaned by this upcoming fall so that she can move back there for the school year. Otherwise, things are gonna get pretty damn awkward around here."
"Do you think Pipit would try to kick her out?"
"No way. He still cares about her deeply. Besides, we'd all have to agree on that, and I have a feeling Link will be a strong advocate on letting her stay. Personally all I want is for all of us to get along with each other, preferably at the same time."
Karane was about to ask another question, but Nabooru butted in. Normally, she'd be entertained by this sort of thing, but she wanted everyone to stay on topic.
"Okay, can we save this for later? I didn't text you all to meet up for a gossip session!"
Right after her outburst the front door clicked open, and Pipit walked in dejectedly. They all straightened up at the sight of him – with the exception of Nabooru who was still pacing – and tried to put on an air of normalcy.
"Hi Pipit." Karane waved politely.
"Hey." He responded dryly, sitting down on the couch with them, and making eye contact with no one.
"Great timing." Nabooru said, grabbing her purse.
"So why did you want to meet up?" Shad asked.
"I have… a feeling. A horrible feeling. And I have to get to the bottom of it." Nabooru said.
"What is it?" Karane chimed in.
"It's this." Nabooru said dramatically, pulling out a silver rupee.
They all stared at her blankly.
"…Wow. That's… a very nice rupee." Karane complimented awkwardly.
"Seriously? I got out of bed for this?" Pipit whined.
"No, you guys don't get it. I found this in a bag in Ganondorf's apartment. Along with hundreds of other rupees just like it." She pulled out the picture she took on her cellphone and gave it to Shad, gesturing to him to look and pass it down.
"Woah." He blinked, passing her phone down to everyone else so they could see.
"Why were you in Ganondorf's apartment?" Strich asked naively.
Pipit, Karane, Shad, and Nabooru gave him a look and he caught on quickly – her "involvement" with him painfully obvious at this point.
"He has a bunch of rupees. So what?" Pipit asked, not seeing the point.
"The point is, who the hell carries rupees like this, when digital currency is a thing? This is too heavy and inconvenient. And aside from that, it's such a large amount! If someone gives someone else this kind of cash physically instead of writing a check, it's probably because they don't want the transaction to be traceable."
"Okay, very good observations. Again… so what?" Pipit repeated.
Nabooru gave him an irritable look, unamused at his sour demeanor.
"You don't find it weird that he had a bunch of rupees zipped up in a duffel bag? AND it was hidden underneath the kitchen sink. I mean, who does that? He never had rupees lying around like this. And then he tells me not to worry about Groose because he 'took care of it.' He wasn't specific at all. At first I thought 'taking care of it' meant holding Groose accountable for his crimes. But what if it didn't? What if…" She paused fearfully, not wanting to believe he would accept such a thing, wanting to believe he still had some sort of morality. "What if Groose bribed him to get out of trouble? And Ganondorf sent him away? It's crazy. But I'm worried that may be what happened."
"I'm not sure what we're supposed to say here. I don't think Mr. Dragmire would take a bribe like that. But you know him better than any of us. Is he capable of doing it?" Shad asked.
He shouldn't be. But he is. Nabooru thought. She couldn't bring up Naboris. She couldn't bring up Zelda, Link, Ashei, or Lana. But at the same time, Ganondorf wasn't that kind of person. He did backwards things, but he absolutely despised Groose and what he represented.
"…Yes." She said solemnly. "I'm afraid he is."
"Okay, you think Groose paid Mr. Dragmire off, and now he's… gone." Pipit clarified.
"Yes. Gone. As in he's going somewhere else. It makes sense. The timing is too convenient for me to look past. We're all broke college students. We know the struggle. Groose has never had to worry about a damn thing when it comes to rupees. He has more than enough to cover tuition, and THEN some. If anyone could pay Ganondorf to this degree, it would be him."
"Okay, so Groose bribed Mr. Dragmire. Not the most ethical thing, but he's gone. That's what we wanted. And we didn't have to do anything! As long as he's out of Karane's life – out of ALL of our lives – what difference does it make if he's behind bars or if Mr. Dragmire 'sent him away'?" Pipit pointed out. When everyone gave him a disdained look at his nonchalance, he clarified his position, "That's not to say that Karane's safety isn't important to me, it's VERY important to me. But Groose is gone. I don't know if we should do anything to complicate it."
Nabooru crossed her arms.
"Goddesses, who the hell are you? Didn't you get on my ass a while back for 'letting a criminal roam free'? You WANTED him behind bars."
"I did, but he's gone now, and I don't really have the energy to interfere when Mr. Dragmire solved our problem."
"You're unbelievable. After you gave me crap for allowing my shitty love life to cloud my judgment, which it DIDN'T, now you have the audacity to do the exact same thing."
"What does my 'shitty love life' have to do with ANY of this?"
"You've had a sour attitude the moment you walked through that door!" Nabooru snapped at him, pointing to the front door. "And clearly you have no motivation to help someone you love, all because of your stupid breakup!"
"My breakup?" Pipit turned to Shad angrily. "You told them?"
"I had to!"
"No you didn't! What else did you tell them?"
"That she dumped you for Link." Strich said, "Is it true?"
Pipit's mouth hung wide open as he looked between Shad and Strich in disbelief.
"Is that even any of your business?"
"No… But that's what Shad told us."
"It is not!" Shad denied hotly.
"Yeah, but it was impliiiieeed." Karane sang.
"Again, I didn't say any of that!"
"Oh, forgive me, it had 'something to do with someone whose name rhymes with stink.' THAT'S what you said, right?" Karane raised an eyebrow at him teasingly.
"Shad!" Pipit scolded him.
"I'm sorry!"
"Can we get back on topic!?" Nabooru yelled. "Pipit, I'm sorry Zelda dumped you for your best friend. But that's not why we're all here. The point here is that we should do something. If Ganondorf isn't going to, that is."
"Again, why complicate it?" Pipit shrugged.
"Because there's a difference between being held accountable for your actions and paying your way out of trouble! I can't, in good conscience, ignore my gut feeling about this. Because if I do, then he wins AGAIN! He uses his wealth to get away with all the horrible shit he's done. Sure, the result for us right now is the same: Groose is gone, he won't hurt Karane anymore. But how do we know that will ALWAYS be the case? How do we know he won't come back in the future?"
"Nabooru, I see what you're saying, and I agree with you. It comes down to principle, right?" Shad adjusted his glasses as he put more thought into the situation at hand. "But it isn't as easy as 'getting him in jail.' We all know he has more than enough rupees to pay his way out. Hell, he has enough rupees to prevent being sent to jail in the first place. He could hire a nice, fancy lawyer to protect him."
Nabooru's posture slackened. Shad was right.
"What you believe in, what you're advocating for, it's all valid. But even if your convictions are strong, Groose has a lot of rupees. He can make things happen for himself. Before any of this happened, I wanted to find another way as well. I was willing to make things happen with you guys to protect Karane. But like Pipit said, now the problem is solved. I don't know if going after him is the right thing to do." Shad concluded. "If we all have Karane's best interest at heart, isn't it best to turn the other cheek? To focus on your post-grad life? You have such a bright future ahead, Nabooru. We all do. Pipit has football, I'm striving to become a professor, you're trying to break into journalism… Let's not potentially ruin our lives trying to fix a problem that's already solved."
Nabooru smiled, bittersweet. She felt like a hypocrite for trying to take the moral high ground, considering all the things she did. Sleeping with professors, actively sabotaging her alma mater, framing others for her actions. What made her different from Groose? The fact that she felt bad about it all? No, that made her worse. Groose was selfish but he saw nothing wrong with how he handled things. Nabooru recognized the error of her ways and continued it regardless, all because she was in love. Even bringing this topic up was difficult, because she felt like talking to the others about it was teetering close to the other things that Ganondorf was trying to do. Everything was connected somehow. She wanted to keep his secrets; she wanted to keep him safe. And she hated herself for it.
"I'm worried that I already have." She whispered, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. She spoke up again, this time with the intent of having her voice heard. "Do you two agree with them, then?" She looked to Karane and Strich; her piercing golden eyes held all the sadness in the world.
"I have… this guilt inside of me. I think it will always be with me, slowly chipped down to tinges of regret, but nonetheless, always present. You guys wouldn't understand the whole of it, but I have to do something right. We can drop it now; we can let it go. I won't involve you guys in it if you don't want to be involved. But what I want… is justice. Shad, you're right. It is about the principle. I found a letter of rec on Ganondorf's computer. I didn't get the chance to open it, but wherever Groose is going, he gets to continue living his life somewhere else. He gets a 'fresh start,' away from all of us. Men like Groose, they never learn. And they never change. Why do they need to? Nothing bad ever happens. Everyone lives with it. Turns the other cheek because it's 'easier' that way. And it becomes a twisted cycle." Nabooru explained. "There will be other Cawlins. Other Strichs. And in that same vein, other Karanes."
Nobody said anything, a heavy, suffocating silence filled the room. And then, Karane stood up, walking over to stand by Nabooru's side, in front of the three men sitting on the couch.
"I'm with her." Karane said. "This isn't just about me. Groose has screwed over a lot of people. Sometimes for fun, sometimes for gain. You guys were singing a different tune a few months ago. We ALL agreed that we would take him down together. There will be other potential victims. Because Nabooru is right, guys like Groose don't change. He had years to become a better person, to learn from all the pain and suffering he caused. And he didn't. Out of all of us, I'm the one who's been hurt the most by Groose's actions. And I say we take a stand. I won't settle for anything less than justice."
Nabooru smiled graciously, looping an arm around Karane's in solidarity.
The three guys stared at them, then Strich stood up, walking over to their side.
"I-I know that my input doesn't mean as much to you guys probably… But I'm with them too. Karane and I know the full extent of Groose's actions… I know what it's like to live in a world where he hangs over you, controlling you, manipulating you, and harming other people… It isn't fun. If I have the chance to change that, I'll do it."
Pipit's eyes were glued to Karane, the way she stood so tall despite everything she'd been through. She could have turned Nabooru down, could have been complicit with Groose's fate, but she wasn't. Even if it meant sticking her neck out, she was willing to do so. And he felt himself loosen up, his jaw slackened, his shoulders dropped a little, he breathed a little more steadily. All the tension and resentment and emotional pain subsided. Compared to Karane, Zelda seemed so small. All he could focus on was how strong and confident and beautiful his ex-girlfriend – his FIRST ex-girlfriend – was. It made his heart feel warm.
"You really want to do this?" He asked Karane softly, standing up to grab both of her hands.
"I do." She interlaced their fingers, giving him a gentle squeeze.
"…Okay. Then I guess I have no choice. Because wherever you go, I'll follow."
They smiled at each other intimately, and Nabooru was ready to remind him that just a few moments ago he was sulking over Zelda, but she decided to hold her tongue.
Lots of unresolved feelings around these parts… She thought to herself.
"If Pipit and Karane are in, I'm in too. But I stand by my points. None of this is going to be easy." Shad warned.
"I know that, but it doesn't hurt to try." Nabooru said, sitting on the couch. She beckoned Pipit, Strich and Karane to join her, and they all bunched up together as Nabooru took out a piece of paper where she'd written some notes.
"Wait, what is this?" Shad asked.
"A plan of course. For how we'll gather the evidence." Nabooru explained.
"You brought this here assuming we'd all agree to it?" Pipit asked.
"Is that bad? You guys agreed to it, and there are no take backsies."
"Okay, what's the plan then?"
"The first step is confirming my suspicions for SURE. I wasn't able to gather too much evidence that night because Ganondorf called me back to bed…" She ended the sentence there, not going into further detail on that particular matter. "I dropped by his office earlier today. And I… overheard him on the phone. He's going to Gerudo Desert in a couple of weeks. Which means his apartment will be empty. It's the PERFECT time to go there and look through all of his stuff!"
"You want us to break into his apartment!?" Shad gasped.
"No, we won't 'break in,' we're just going to stop by and… take a look at things. Think of it as an inspection." Nabooru said innocently.
"How are we going to inspect his apartment? Do you have a key?"
"He keeps a spare key under his doormat." Nabooru said. "Once he leaves for Gerudo Desert, we'll go to his apartment and look for all the evidence we can find. All of us. We need to be as thorough as possible. Strich, I have a special request for you. In the meantime, I need you to go see Groose. You're his… 'friend.' Be subtle, but ask a few questions to try and get a confirmation from him on what happened. I know you can do it." She said encouragingly.
Strich nodded.
"I'll meet him somewhere in public if that's okay."
"That's fine. Just figure something out for us and we'll work from there. If we can confirm it through Ganondorf's apartment that's one thing, but getting a real confirmation from our target is the main goal. We can meet up and talk about it some more later. I'll give you all time to process this." Nabooru said, glancing at Karane and Pipit specifically.
»°«
A few days later, Nabooru was driving to Ganondorf's apartment with Karane in the passenger's seat. She had checked Ganondorf's office beforehand to make sure he was at HU, and now she and Karane were going to doublecheck the apartment to make sure their plan would go smoothly.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to drop by now? What if he comes back?" Karane asked.
"We're only going to be here for a few minutes, and we aren't even going inside. I just want to doublecheck and make sure he didn't take the spare key or anything. Better we do it now than the day of and have to scramble to put together a NEW plan."
"Okay, okay, good point." Karane nodded.
Soon enough Nabooru pulled into the parking lot, and they got out, heading over to his apartment.
"To be honest, I'm shocked you don't have a key already. I thought you two were pretty serious."
"We couldn't be 'serious' when I was still in school for obvious reasons." Nabooru clarified, "And it's only been a few weeks since I graduated, so no. I don't have a key. Lately… we've been a little distant with each other. I don't question it or anything, I know why."
Karane nodded as they reached his apartment.
"Damn, this whole place looks pretty snazzy." Karane said.
"Ha, wait til you see the inside." Nabooru said, bending over to grab the spare key…
…But it wasn't there. She felt around frantically, but still, no key.
"Oh no." She murmured. "No, no, no."
"What is it? Is it not there?"
"No, it isn't… Crap!" Nabooru said, trying to calm herself down. "This is okay. It's okay. Everything is okay. Call Pipit." She ordered.
"Yes ma'am…" Karane replied, taking her phone out and dialing his number. He picked up on the first ring.
"Hi Karane." Pipit answered affectionately. Nabooru quickly swiped the phone from her to talk to Pipit.
"Hey, it's me Nabooru. We have an issue."
"What is it?"
"The key isn't here. Which means I'll need to get Ganondorf's key and copy it."
"Okay…?"
"He's at his office right now. I need you and Shad to go there and distract him! Get him out of his office so I can go inside. I know where he keeps his keys."
"How long will this take?"
"If I factor in the drive between campus and the nearest locksmith as well as getting the key made… maybe an hour or so?"
"How are we going to distract him for an hour?"
"I don't know! Figure something out! Karane and I are heading over to the university right now. Go make some magic!"
Pipit sighed.
"Okay, whatever."
»°«
"Distract him? How on earth are we going to do that?" Shad asked as they walked to campus.
"By 'making some magic.'" Pipit waved his hands around as he said the word. Shad looked over at him curiously. He had the same disconsolate expression on his face that he had ever since Zelda dumped him. It was unwavering, unchanging, and always present.
"I can try to go distract him on my own if you aren't up to it. Just saying." Shad offered.
"No, no, no." Pipit shook his head. "We need to take up his time for at least an hour."
"An hour?" Shad frowned, but then a metaphorical lightbulb went off in his head not even a second later. "In that case, I might have something…"
They quickly reached the door of Ganondorf's office, hovering timidly in the hallway. Pipit turned to Shad to review Shad's plan for distraction.
"Are you sure you want to bring this up now? You've had this idea for YEARS. Like, way before you even knew you'd be accepted to this school!"
"I was going to talk to my advisor about it but then the whole… jelly thing happened. And I DO want to bring it up before I graduate at least, so the Dean of Student Affairs works too, right?" Shad laughed nervously. "Besides there are so many bases to cover, that we'll fill up the hour, and then some."
Pipit closed his eyes in annoyance.
"Fantastic." He loved Shad, but the guy could be incredibly long-winded, and the 'idea' he had wasn't necessarily an exciting one – to most people at least.
"Okay, one more thing." Pipit said to him, "Before you bring up your 'idea,' can you PLEASE change the name?"
"No. It appeals to the preteen to teenage demographic!" Shad reasoned. "Now let's go inside!"
"Just remember that we have to get him out of the office…" Pipit reminded him as Shad dragged him in.
Ganondorf was texting on his phone when Shad and Pipit burst into the room without warning. But despite their rowdy entrance, he sat there unbothered, simply straightening up in his chair and giving them a cordial smile. Even though they were Zelda and Link's roommates, he wasn't particularly worried about them knowing of Zelda and Link's shenanigans – the two wouldn't dare put them in danger.
"Hello you two. How can I help you?"
"Hi Mr. Dragmire. I wanted to share an idea I had for a potential program we could start here at HU." Shad said confidently.
Ganondorf nodded, "I'm happy to listen." He glanced at Pipit, "And what did you need?"
"Uh… I'm here to provide… moral support." He patted Shad on the arm awkwardly.
"Moral support, eh? This must be a big proposal then."
"It is! But it's totally worth it!" Shad smiled, "As you know, I mentor my old high school's Academic Decathlon team."
"An impressive feat, especially while maintaining your GPA."
"Thank you." Shad nodded, "The AcaDeca team is filled with so many bright students who have promising futures ahead of them. I think it would be a great idea if we could pull together funds to strengthen the bond between the two. It's important for high schools to maintain good relationships with the nearby universities. I think it'd be great if we could give the AcaDeca students a chance to take college-level classes and seminars here at HU over the summers."
"Only AcaDeca students?" Ganondorf asked skeptically.
"Well, of course ALL students should have that opportunity, but I think we should start small first before expanding it to all students. HU is the crème de la crème for intellectual stimulation, and a lot of the programs and activities I have in mind are geared specifically for AcaDeca students. It requires a lot of meticulous studying."
"You must have put a lot of thought into this. Does this little project of yours have a name?" Ganondorf asked.
"He's still working on it!" Pipit said quickly.
"It DOES." Shad said quickly, glaring at Pipit, "I'm not 'still working on it.' I call it 'Students with Academic Grace.' Or 'greatness.' Either one works."
"Students with Academic Grace." Ganondorf stroked his chin.
Pipit cringed, but Shad continued on shamelessly.
"When you abbreviate it, it spells –"
"Oh goddesses, please –" Pipit groaned.
"—SWAG!"
"…"
Ganondorf gave him a pained look while Pipit felt a wave of second-hand embarrassment.
When Shad saw that Ganondorf wasn't responding positively to the name, his shoulders slumped and he relented.
"Maybe I could change the name." He conceded.
"That would probably be for the best." Ganondorf said.
"Anyway, I have a plan for the program all documented out. Facts, figures, all the logistics."
Ganondorf sighed internally. He knew that this program would never see the light of day, nor was he interested in doing anything for the benefit of HU, or pretending that he was interested in doing anything for the benefit of HU. But this was still his job and he had to keep up the façade. Especially given who their roommates were, he didn't want to do or say anything that would rouse suspicion.
"I'd be happy to take a look at it. Did you bring a printed copy of your plan?"
"No… But we can go to the library and look at it."
"The library?" Ganondorf tried to rid his voice of any opposition. Pretend to care. He reminded himself. "Sure. Let me just lock up my office before we go –"
"No!" Shad and Pipit both protested quickly.
He frowned at them.
"Why not?"
"Because we need to go NOW."
"What?" Ganondorf asked, confused. "It won't take me an eternity to lock the door. Now to find my keys…"
"This isn't working!" Pipit growled underneath his breath. "Nabooru and Karane are gonna get here soon!"
Shad didn't know what else to do, and since he had taken the reins, Pipit was obviously counting on him.
"Ah, here they are!" Ganondorf said, pulling his keys out.
"AHHHHH!" Shad yelled suddenly, collapsing.
Both Pipit and Ganondorf jumped at the sound, keys clattering to the floor as Ganondorf rushed over to Shad, who was sprawled across his office floor, (seemingly) unconscious.
"What the hell happened?" Ganondorf asked, puzzled.
"I don't know!" Pipit said, surprised and impressed at Shad's dedication. "But we should take him to the school nurse."
Ganondorf lifted Shad up into his arms promptly, leaving his keys behind on the floor.
"Can you hold the door open for me?" Ganondorf asked.
"Of course!" Pipit obliged. As Ganondorf walked past him, Shad's head lolled over and he poked one eye open to look at Pipit, who gave him a thumbs up.
Everything was going according to plan.
…
Thank you for getting Ganondorf out of his office. We got the key, and even saw his calendar so that we have an exact idea of when he'll be gone. Nice work!
Pipit and Karane were texting while Shad answered questions from the nurse.
Np. When will u guys get back?
You still have 40 minutes to fill.
Gotcha.
Pipit put his phone down, looking over to Shad, who was fidgeting nervously at the nurse's questions, then Ganondorf, who stood over him with his arms crossed, but didn't seem to be listening to the conversation at all.
"Okay, so your vitals are fine, there don't seem to be any symptoms of sickness, your body isn't displaying any overt signs of stress…" She continued on and on, covering any possible bases. "It seems like you're fine. You guys are good to go."
"Fantastic." Ganondorf smiled impatiently. The nurse nodded and walked off, giving all of them a moment together. "Shad? Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, just peachy." Shad nodded enthusiastically. He glanced at Pipit who mouthed '40 minutes.' Shad nodded, catching on immediately. "I'd feel even better if we went to the library."
"I'm not sure about that." Ganondorf disagreed, "You shouldn't be exerting yourself, especially during the summer, when there are heat waves. You need to take care of yourself."
Pipit frowned, worried they wouldn't be able to hold Ganondorf for the necessary amount of time.
"Well… Mr. Dragmire has a point. Maybe we could get something for you? A snack or a drink?" Pipit suggested.
"Sure. We could go to the café or get something from any of the vending machines."
"Hmm…" Shad pretended to think. "Could we go to the vending machine next to the… library?" He smiled innocently.
Ganondorf sighed, catching onto the hint. He knew Shad and his passion for academics – and that passion went hand in hand with persistence. Shad wasn't going to drop this – plus the poor guy fainted!
"Okay, okay, we can go to the library and I'll listen to your proposal. But after that, get some rest Shad. Please." He said.
"Yes sir!" Shad and Pipit exchanged an odd smile, but Ganondorf didn't feel like questioning it.
They all walked to the library together. Shad seemed to be fine physically, and he and Pipit whispered to each other nearly the entire way there. Ganondorf trailed behind, an awkward position given how tall he was and how long his strides were. But he deliberately walked slower, as not to invade their privacy. He had no interest in listening to the mindless chatter of two college boys.
Once they got inside, Shad quickly led Ganondorf to one of the computers. Pipit was about to grab a seat next to them when he saw a flash of familiar blonde locks.
"Zelda…" He said. He was ready to run toward her direction, but just as quickly as he saw her – or was confident he saw her – she vanished.
Where the hell did she go? He frowned, I must be imagining things…
»°«
"I'll take the northern half of campus." Ashei said, circling different spots with permanent marker on a copy of a campus map. "Agahnim is close to Mr. Dragmire, so he could probably help us. Lana, you should go talk to him, he likes you."
She, along with Lana and Zelda, were at the "hidden corner" within the campus library, plotting out a plan to find the alleged 'House of Thieves.'
"Me?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, you. My record isn't all that clean and neither is Zelda's." Ashei reasoned.
"I don't want to talk to Agahnim! He's scary." Lana shuddered at the thought of the security officer who was probably the largest individual she had ever seen in her life.
"Come on Lana." Ashei frowned, "Please?"
"No!" She refused, "I told you I think we should analyze what Tingle told us. I have all the notes for it. I really believe that cracking the code is how we'll find what we're looking for."
"You're just saying that because you don't want to walk across campus."
"Of course I don't want to walk around campus! It's hot outside and my feet hurt."
"Too bad, so sad. We have places to go." Ashei slammed a map in front of her, tapping a few buildings she had circled, indicating where she would need to go.
"This is so dumb! We're supposed to be a team! I should be able to choose what I want to do. Who died and made you queen?"
"We all agreed that we would start by looking around Mr. Dragmire's apartment. He's the thief! And the apartment is where he lives. House of Thieves."
"Are you kidding me? That's SO obvious. And I never agreed to it. I say it's somewhere on campus."
"Well Zelda agreed to it. And majority rules. Isn't that right, Zelda?" Ashei nudged her.
Zelda nodded mirthlessly.
"That's right."
Ashei pointedly ignored her gloomy demeanor, having made her opinion on Zelda's sour mood obvious enough already. All she could do now was hope that their planning would be enough to distract her from her heartache.
"She probably just didn't want to argue with you." Lana pointed out, well-aware of how sad Zelda was. She'd experienced more than enough conflict in the past few weeks.
"Do YOU want to argue with me?" Ashei challenged her. "We need an address. So go around, talk to faculty, figure SOMETHING out. We'll meet up back here after an hour." Ashei stood up promptly before either of them could protest, walking off.
"Goddesses, she sure is bossy!" Lana complained once Ashei was out of earshot.
Zelda nodded in agreement, but said nothing.
Lana stared at her for a long while. They hadn't spoken to each other properly since the last day before they moved out. And afterwards, their interactions with each other had NOT been friendly. Why would they be? Lana was a contributor to Zelda's current misery. Things would be very different if she hadn't opened her mouth the way she did.
But the two of them had no other reasons to dislike each other, in fact, they had a pretty good friendship. Lana didn't consider Zelda as good a friend as she did Ashei, nor did Zelda feel that way in respect to Midna and Malon, but they still got along well. It felt weird to have a rift between them. Given her romantic shortcomings, Lana had a lot of resentment towards heartbreakers. And that's what she felt Zelda was in her situation. The bad guy. The one who screwed up, and more importantly, screwed people over. But Lana was also bad at holding grudges, and she didn't want this tension to be permanent. She knew Zelda regretted what she did, and it wasn't Lana's place to be so critical of a situation she had no involvement in.
Zelda on the other hand no longer felt angry at Lana either. She also couldn't hold a grudge and didn't want to. Shad, while very sweet, was too close to Pipit for Zelda to feel comfortable talking about what happened, not to mention he'd been the first of her three roommates to have fallen for her. Malon and Midna were kind but their advice was always standard – move on to the next guy! Ashei's approach was tough love and personal empowerment – which Zelda appreciated – but it left her feeling incomplete. Ever since she left Ordon, she felt incomplete. She wanted to distance herself from Link, from Pipit, from relationships, from romance. But that was easier said than done. Lana still wasn't over Nabooru, and Zelda felt like she'd be the only one to really understand what she was feeling. Zelda needed a friend who would understand. Zelda needed Lana.
"You know, even though I agreed with Ashei, I don't really want to walk around campus either." Zelda said softly.
"Really?" Lana smiled warmly. "That's a relief. Maybe you'll find something here that I'm missing. You're the smartest out of all of us after all." She pulled out the notes she had taken during Tingle's spiel and handed them over to Zelda. She thumbed through the pages, eyes darting everywhere as she looked at all the circles and scribbles Lana made. But Lana couldn't keep quiet for long. Watching Zelda sit there; Lana felt the impact of her past words come back to her. She had to clear the air between them.
"Hey… How are you doing? With everything?"
Zelda barely glanced up, a tiny bit of color appearing on her cheeks.
"I'm… dealing with it the best I can. I'm a finalist for a few scholarships – it isn't enough to cover the next three years obviously, but it's better than nothing."
"And…?" Lana asked slowly.
"And…" Zelda looked up at her, teeth clamped down on her bottom lip.
"Do you not want to talk about it?" Lana asked, realizing that with how quickly everything happened this was poorly timed.
"It's not that. I'm just contemplating whether or not I should talk about it."
"Because of Ashei's self-empowerment crap? Come on Zelda. When we came to you, your mom told us you'd been locked in your room ever since you got back home from school. You probably haven't talked to anybody about what happened. I think you'd feel better if you did talk about it. If that's what you want."
Zelda nodded, creasing the papers in her hands nervously.
"…What I want." She looked so sad as she said it.
"Zelda, whether or not you want to talk about it, I have to apologize. I'm really, really sorry, okay?"
"For?" Zelda asked. She didn't sound hostile and she wasn't trying to be hostile, but she also wanted Lana to specify. She wanted to feel less alone in her wrongdoings. "You already apologized, back in Lake Hylia."
"I did, but it was forced. But now I have to apologize for real, and on my own terms. I'm sorry Zelda. For how bitchy I acted, and for opening my mouth when I shouldn't have. Seeing you cry, and talking to Shad really opened my eyes to how it affected you, all of you."
Zelda smiled, appreciative of the sincerity in her voice.
"Thank you, Lana."
"It's no problem, it was overdue."
"Not for the apology." Zelda said, "Well, yes, for the apology. But also for telling Pipit the truth."
"What? Are you serious?" Lana asked skeptically.
"Yeah." Zelda's face was sullen but her smile was genuine, "You did the hard part. You said the things I was afraid to say. And because of that, I was finally able to accept how I really felt. Even if things fell apart, I'm grateful at the very least for that."
"But I wanted you to hurt… I wanted all of you to hurt. That's the only reason I bothered saying anything."
"I had a lot of time to think about the situation from different angles. I nearly lost my mind from being so sad and angry about everything. But then I thought about the good parts. Everything from seeing Link again to most of the night before I left… It was amazing. That's why it hurts so much. I had to be happy to feel the pain I feel now. And even if you told Pipit for the wrong reasons, it was the right thing to do."
"So you aren't mad?"
"No. I can't stay mad at you anymore. I need a friend."
Lana nodded happily, "I'm here for you Zelda."
"It was damn near perfect." Zelda continued, thinking fondly of her experience in Ordon. "The people are so nice. The food is delicious. And the forest and the village are beautiful."
"And Link. How did that… happen?" Lana asked.
Zelda folded her hands in her lap, smiling coyly.
"A rendezvous in Ordon Springs. We played in the water and talked… And the talk gradually got more serious. And then we kissed." The smile on Zelda's face widened. "It was like something from a movie. We both kind of just knew and there wasn't anything left to say."
Lana clapped her hands excitedly.
"Well if we're assessing this situation as though it were a movie, there WILL be a make-up scene, right?"
Zelda deflated a little bit as reality came back to her.
"I hope so."
"And what about Pipit? You can't avoid him forever."
"I know, I know." Zelda sounded bitter as she said this.
"Do you hate him or something? Is it some sort of unspoken rule that you can only get along with two of them at a time?"
"No, it isn't like that. I don't hate Pipit. But… I do hate that I dated him." Zelda confessed. "I know I shouldn't be avoiding him like this. I just don't know how to face him. It's the same thing as before. I'm afraid to tell him the truth."
"What's the truth, Zelda?"
"The truth is that our whole relationship was a mistake. It's such a weird feeling to deal with since it's a complete turnaround from how I used to feel. I was so into him, but now I feel regret and disgust at myself for the fact that we dated. And then I feel regret and disgust at myself for feeling that way!"
"Wow… That's… Uh…" Lana scratched her head.
"Yeah. I know. I'm a mess. But I'm serious, Lana. If you were me, how would you tell him all of that in a way that doesn't hurt his feelings?"
"Uh…" Lana, once again, didn't have much to say, since Zelda wasn't providing her with an easy-to-answer scenario.
"Exactly. It's impossible. The truth hurts. It'd hurt less if he didn't know at all."
It was a cheap cop-out, and they both knew it. Lana took Zelda's hand, wanting to provide a healthy dose of comfort and practicality.
"Zelda, sometimes doing what's best for someone means hurting them. You're disgusted with yourself, and you regret dating Pipit. Maybe you can find a nicer way of telling him that. Maybe you can't. Maybe he'll take it well, and maybe he won't. Honestly? None of that matters." She looked neither convinced nor comforted, "Look. I'm incredibly hurt by Nabooru and what she did, but now that I'm not holding onto some stupid and naïve hope, I can focus on things that actually matter and I know where I truly stand with her. Even though the truth hurts, I'm better off because of it. Pipit deserves to know how you feel, and YOU deserve to be free of any obligation to him."
"You're right." Zelda nodded, the tiniest of tears lining her eyelids. She blinked them away quickly and they streamed down her face, so light that from further away it didn't even look like she was crying. And she wasn't. She refused to cry. She would hold herself together for as long as she could, for as long as it was necessary.
No more crying over boys. She reminded herself.
Lana noticed the tears, and smiled supportively, squeezing Zelda's hand.
"Let's get some ice cream."
"Huh?" Zelda asked, wiping her face with her free hand.
"I've been eating ice cream at the café often. A lot more since after spring break… I have a coupon, and we have an hour until Ashei bothers us again. It's good comfort food, especially with a friend. Wanna go get some?"
"That'd be great. It's better than eating whole tubs of it in my room by myself." Zelda laughed, and they walked off towards the exit.
As they traversed through the library, Zelda noticed an unmistakably tall man striding towards a computer, and next to him, two of her (old?) roommates. She felt her body clench. It was a similar sensation to when she saw Link in Ordon, time slowed down to the point of almost stopping. Only this time it was bad, instead of comfort she felt sheer panic and a smidgeon of shame. She hardly processed the fact that Ganondorf was there, only a few feet away from her and Lana, instead her eyes were fastened on Pipit, watching his every move. The panic intensified when he turned his head in her direction, and immediately she looked away, walking off faster than before, leaving Lana to try to catch up.
She knew she couldn't avoid him forever; she knew she would have to eventually speak to him one day in the near future, but today was not that day.
…
Zelda and Lana came back to the library from the café with linked arms, smiling and laughing the whole way through. They were pleasantly surprised to find Ashei seated at the table they'd been at with a similar smile on her face, and it only widened when she noticed how happy they looked.
"Well, look at you two! It looks like you made up. Like, actually made up after all the drama from the past few weeks." Ashei said, pleased with their attitudes.
They smiled at each other happily.
"We did." Zelda confirmed, unlinking her arm from Lana's so she could sit down.
"That's great. Did you guys find anything helpful?" Zelda noticed the little bounce Ashei did when she asked.
Lana and Zelda looked to each other again, this time slight disgrace in their eyes since they completely blew off the task at hand. Even though Lana didn't want to follow orders, Ashei naturally took the lead while Lana and Zelda bemoaned their love lives, and because of that they felt like they'd let her down.
"Uh…" Lana tried to come up with an excuse on the fly since she had been the one to suggest they get ice cream instead of searching, but Ashei cut her off quickly.
"Probably not, right?"
"…No, not really." She admitted, bracing herself to get reprimanded.
But instead, Ashei brushed it off, typing excitedly on her phone.
"That's fine. Because I hit the jackpot!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands.
"Ashei, keep your voice down." Lana frowned disapprovingly, her 'librarian assistant' instincts kicking in.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I can't believe my luck. I went asking around and I wasn't able to get any good information from the faculty, but I passed by his office, and not only was it unlocked – it was also empty!"
Zelda looked to Ashei with a pensive expression, remembering/registering that Ganondorf had been with Shad and Pipit earlier, but she stayed quiet about it.
"I snooped around and found his address book, so we have a location! He lives at that fancy complex downtown. But that's not all, I took a picture of his calendar. He's going to Gerudo Desert! Which means we have dates! In a few weeks, we can go to his apartment without having to worry about him showing up."
"Okay, we have a plan… Yay?" Zelda said, "But how are we going to get into his apartment? We don't have a key."
"Easy." Ashei replied, as if she'd been anticipating that question. She then pulled out her trusty tool, coaxing a sigh from Zelda and a giggle from Lana.
It was a paper clip.
"Of course." Zelda said, "Why did I even bother asking?"
»°«
It had all happened so fast. Rusl shaking him awake in the middle of the night, a hasty ride to Kakariko, the doctors standing outside, all the dread he had felt for this very moment coming to the forefront of all his other emotions. Aryll was standing near their mother's bedside, and he walked forward slowly, thinking of his last conversation with her, thinking of the promise he'd made, thinking of his life with her from his earliest memories until that very moment. Her breathing was slow and calm, and it stayed that way until the very end.
But despite how "fast" it happened, the aftermath was agonizingly slow. Every second of every day after his mother's death felt dragged out. He grieved, but he also didn't want his loss to inconvenience everyone else. Rusl and Fado strongly opposed it, but he insisted on continuing his usual tasks around the village, and putting on a strong face.
Link didn't know what else to do. If he stayed idle and allowed himself to think about it, it would tear him up inside. He had hoped forcing himself into his usual chores would help keep his mind off of it, but it didn't do much in that regard, only leaving him with more than just an emotional ache inside.
A few days later they had the ceremony. There wasn't a dry eye around them. Link had several pages of a eulogy written out for his mother, but when the time came to deliver, he was a sobbing mess after the first few words. Stone cold Link – a man who never flinched at anything let alone cried – was nearly falling to his knees as the papers covered with expressions of love fluttered to the ground. A few feet away she rested peacefully surrounded by flowers. She was no longer hurting. She was free.
But the pain of her freedom had cut Link deeply – he didn't know how to move on now that the person who had given him life was gone. It was easy to say that he accepted she would pass; it was much harder to process once it actually happened. Aryll wept quietly into the sleeve of her dress, wanting to embrace her brother but lacking her own emotional strength and energy to even stand.
Fado and Rusl rushed to his side, fighting back their own sadness to help Link up on his feet.
He was shaking, and scared. The tears in Rusl's eyes were no longer solely for Link's mother, but for Link as well. The look in his eyes was the same look he had when Rusl broke the news about his father.
"I… I c-can't do it…" Link stammered. "I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, son. It's okay." Rusl assured him. Link continued to cry, and the sky and trees and all the other grieving Ordonians in front of him became a blurry kaleidoscope of colors as his tears muddled his vision.
»°«
Link gently brushed Epona's mane. The thistles ran smoothly through the length of her hair and she whinnied blissfully with each gentle brush. This was Link's form of healing. Constant, continuous distraction. Every day was agonizing and every breath was accompanied by the need to restrain a sob from coming out. It sucked, but it was life. He sat near the ladder that led up to their tiny house. Tendrils of smoke seeped out from the inside and he could smell fragrant herbs being burned. It was Aryll experimenting with her homemade remedies again. Ever since their mother's passing, she had been gathering lots of plants with "healing" properties and trying to create her own forms of medicine, something she had always been working on over the years, but much much more frequently than before. Renado, the Kakariko shaman, had taken her under his wing and gave his full support in mentoring her. Whenever Link brought up medical school in the city, Aryll declined the suggestions, insistent on avoiding anything that would cost them too many rupees.
He knew it was the guilt eating her up inside, and he hated it. He hated the situation they were in, the grief that loomed over their heads every day, the tragic loss of their last surviving parent. He and Aryll were very different people, but they had their similarities. It was why he never spoke up about her always burning her herbs inside of the house, despite the house being very flammable and prone to even the tiniest and harmless of fires. Just like him, she coped with her pain by doing everything she could to avoid feeling it. Finding ways to heal others was her way of healing herself.
He sighed, dropping the brush and sitting back.
"There has to be a healthier way of dealing with this pain." He murmured to himself, picking stray bits of hair off his fingers.
"Yer damn right!" Rusl bellowed, emerging out of the surrounding underbrush and coming into his view.
Link jumped, causing Epona to let out her own startled cry and they both scrambled to their feet.
"What the hell! How long have you been creeping around out here?" Link composed himself quickly.
"Not creepin. Just took a quick detour while I was hunting with Fado." He wiped the sweat off of his brow.
"Hunting? Did you want me to fill in for you?"
"No. Not at all. In fact, that's the exact opposite of what I want."
"What do you mean?" Link asked with a bit of apprehension in his voice.
"…C'mon, let's go take a walk." Rusl said instead, nodding towards the village. Link wasn't in the mood for a walk and talk but he also knew that whatever it was Rusl wanted to talk to him about was going to come up again in the future if they didn't get it over with now.
Link sighed, trudging ahead of Rusl, "Okay. Walking now." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Rusl frowned at the eye bags that were underneath. The poor boy was exhausted and he knew that staying in Ordon was only going to destroy the last bit of motivation he had to move forward.
They strolled through the village. Link glanced around occasionally, noticing everyone up to their typical shenanigans and chores. Talo chased Colin around with a large spider in hand, laughing at Colin's fearful wails. They stopped when they noticed Link, sympathetic looks on their faces.
"Hey Link, hey Papa… Does Aryll want to come out to play?" Colin asked.
"I'm sure she'd love to, before she leaves." Rusl replied on his behalf.
"Before she leaves?" Link asked, startled by this tidbit of information. Aryll hadn't told him anything about leaving Ordon, and she was just a kid. Where exactly would she go? What was even more alarming to him was that neither Colin nor Talo seemed surprised by Rusl's words, as if they knew about Aryll's supposed plans before he did.
Rusl grabbed Link's arm and pulled him forward to continue their walk.
"Guess I forgot to tell ya the good news. Aryll's gotten very close to the folks in Kakariko. She'll be living there soon."
"And you didn't think to consult me about this until now?" Link yanked his arm back angrily. "Is that even your choice to make?"
"Nope, it ain't." Rusl shrugged, "It's her choice."
"Her… What… Why wouldn't she tell me?" Link felt so lost. They had been together more than ever in the past month. He hadn't realized how much she was hiding from him.
"Let me tell you something son. Something I've had to learn the hard way. You can put a band-aid on your knee after you've scraped it. You can get a cast when you break your leg. You can drink some tea when you get a sore throat. But there's no amount of bandaging or medicine that can remedy the pain you feel when you lose someone you love. That kind of heartbreak is something you have to live with for the rest of your life."
"…Thanks." Link replied, the sadness in his heart swelling up and worsening his already soured mood.
"I know it sucks to hear, but it's the cold, honest truth. And I know that even now, the truth is what you'd rather hear above anything else. Aryll will be in good hands. The folks in Kakariko are good folk. They help people through all sortsa trouble. She's going to study her medicine and start working. It's a great opportunity for her, and she wants to take it."
"If that's what she wants then…" Link paused for a moment. "I support her fully."
"As you should." Rusl said in approval. "Because this is the only way both of y'all are gonna move forward."
"What?" Link stopped walking for a moment to look at Rusl. "What does that mean?"
"C'mon Link." Rusl pushed. "Don't stop walking. Look around at everyone. This is how it goes. The world's gonna keep keeping on. Beth and Malo have gone back to Castle Town. You're going back too, eventually. You have to, Link."
"I have time." He shrugged. "I just need to get myself together first."
"You can't do none of that here." Rusl disagreed, "I know it's hard to talk about. Losing a parent is one of the worst things you can experience in this world. The pain cuts deeper than anyone could ever imagine. But I'm telling you son, you're doing yourself a great disservice staying here. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, from the air you breathe, all of this here is just gonna remind you of her. You're torturing yourself Link. Look at you. Does any of this actually stop you from thinking about her?"
"There's cold hard honesty and then there's cruelty. I don't wanna do this Rusl. I really don't." Link complained.
"Link, if you think that staying here is going to help you move past your loss, you're very wrong. Whether you're here helping us slaughter the goats or out in Castle Town with your friends, you'll always be hurting. You can't go back; you can only go forward, and that's exactly what you need to do. Keep pushing forward and live the best life you can live. Accept that there are things you just can't change and manage what you can. Remember the reasons you left Ordon. Sooner or later, you'll be leaving again and that's okay."
A tear ran down Link's cheek; he swallowed and nodded as he wiped it away.
"Link, we don't have all the answers here. That's why you young'ins are leavin', right? This little village, it's a bit too small for big dreamers. Malo and Beth have the business out in Castle Town, Ilia is on her study grind. You've gotta get your degree. And there are other things you need out there, that you can't get here."
Link shifted uncomfortably. There were few things he despised more than vulnerability, and now more than ever, that's exactly what he was. Vulnerable.
"Old school chumps like Bo and Fado don't understand it. But you need to take care of your mental health. Therapy is a good starting point for that, son."
"I hate that you always have to be right." Link grumbled. "Luckily for you I made my mother a promise… A promise to go after everything I want in life. And I intend on keeping it."
"That's good for you." He reached into his pocket, "I'll be holding you to that promise too. I have something for you that your mom wanted me to give to you. Whenever you're ready, this'll come in handy." He gave Link an envelope and gave him a pat on the back.
Link eyed Rusl curiously, opening the envelope to inspect what it was. His eyes widened at the contents.
"Rusl…" His voice came out in a whisper, unable to emote anything aside from pure shock.
»°«
Strich's hands were trembling like crazy. He kept rubbing them together, trying to give himself some warmth, but nothing seemed to help. Groose brought out the worst in him, and he had to consistently remind himself that meeting up with his "friend"/bully was for the greater good.
It was late. Very late. So late that all the shops and eateries were closed, except for one place. Malo's. Strich had never heard of it, but Groose chose it as their meeting spot when he reached out. Strich was surprised that the owner of the restaurant was a child.
"Hello! You must be Stick!" A young girl with short, brown hair greeted him politely when he walked in. "Your friend Goose is back over there waiting for you. Come on in, I'll get you seated."
"Oh… O-Okay." Strich was too shy to correct her, so he followed her instead.
"You're gonna love the food." She told him, placing a menu down on the other side of a booth tucked away in the corner, right across from Groose. He sat down reluctantly, frowning as the waitress backed away."
"My name is Beth! If you need anything, let me know. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders." Beth gave them a friendly wave and walked off.
Strich turned to face Groose. The man looked like he had aged at least ten years since they last saw each other. Whatever sort of alleged 'deal' Ganondorf had made with him must have been straining him mentally. Strich straightened himself up, trying to look as comfortable as he could. He couldn't fuck this up.
"This is… This is an interesting place." Strich commented.
"Mm." Groose grunted, folding his hands together and swishing them from side to side. He was hunched forward, studying every aspect of the room except for Strich's face. Everything, from the awkward interactions to Groose's equally awkward body language, made Strich realize that there truly were never any pleasant moments between them. Strich was nothing more than his pawn.
"So why are we here, Strich? What do you want?" He asked brashly.
"Oh… I just wanted to know how you've been. Catch up on stuff." He tried to sound as innocent as possible, but unfortunately for him Groose could hear the insincerity.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you do." There was a ghost of a smile on his face. It was a bitter look.
"You must think I'm a fucking idiot, don't you?" Groose asked after another terse moment of silence, somehow managing to contain himself. Strich could feel the anger radiating off of him. Already, his contribution to Nabooru was falling apart.
I can't do anything right… he thought to himself despairingly.
"Cawlin still keeps tabs on you. I know you've been hanging out with Nabooru. You trying to spread my business in exchange for letting her stick her hand down your fucking pants? Is that what's happening?"
"No, no, no. I wanted to catch up with an old f-"
"Friend? Don't say friend. Oh goddesses," Groose smacked the table as he let out a hearty laugh. Beth watched from a distance with a worried expression. "You know damn well we aren't friends. Don't even try to say that slick shit. You want to know where I'm fucking going? Hmm? Is that what all of this is for? No problem Strich. I'll be glad to tell you." He leaned in close, enjoying Strich's squirms as he tried to back away.
"None of your fucking business." He snarled, lowering his voice so only Strich could hear.
"G-Groose," Strich said, trying to reason with him, but Groose wouldn't listen – and even if he did, Strich couldn't put the words together properly.
Beth, sensing the hostility even from a distance where she couldn't actually hear the words being exchanged, walked over worriedly.
"Is everything okay?" She placed a hand on Strich's shoulder and he cringed at her soft touch.
"Everything's fine. We haven't finished looking over the menu." Groose said to her, expecting her to walk away.
Beth didn't move however, looking at Strich, who couldn't hide the terror in his eyes.
"I'm sorry sir but if there's an issue I'll have to ask you to take it somewhere else. We're trying to run a wholesome business here, you see."
Groose, unable to restrain his anger, slammed his fist on the table. Even the floor rattled from the violent action.
"I said everything's FINE!" He yelled at her. Beth gasped, backing away from him. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Immediately, the door from inside the kitchen open and Malo came out, brandishing a broom that was twice his height. He didn't hesitate to swing it and smack Groose in the forehead with it.
"OW!" Groose held his forehead.
"Don't ever talk to Beth like that again!" Malo snapped, not at all intimidated by the burly man who was much older than him. "Get out of here now!"
"You can't just kick your customers out!" Groose said furiously.
"Oh yes I can! Now go! Shoo!" Malo swatted the broom all over Groose like he was an annoying fly. Groose, fed up with the attack, got out of the booth.
"Come on Strich, let's go." He ordered gruffly.
Strich nodded, trying to hide a small smile. He knew how much Groose cared about his pride and getting smacked around by a super tiny kid was a huge blow to his ego.
Strich followed Groose out, turning to wave at Beth and Malo and mouthing a silent apology. Beth nodded and Malo simply glared at both of them, upset that Beth had been bothered in the first place. He took her hand and they both walked back into the kitchen.
As soon as they got outside, Strich composed himself, debating over whether or not to make a joke about what had just transpired. He still held onto some strange hope that he could get some information about Groose's plans somehow.
"You know you could snap him in half if you wanted to," Strich said in a lighthearted tone, trying to set a friendly move, but his words quickly turned into a gasp as Groose's hand wrapped itself around his neck and slammed him against the wall.
Strich felt his eyes bulge; Groose's hold on him was so strong that he couldn't even cry out in pain. His lanky hands latched onto Groose's bulky arm but he couldn't move Groose's arm off of him.
"P-Please… Let go…" He choked out, barely able to breathe.
"I'm gonna make this crystal clear for you." Groose leaned in once more, only this time Beth and Malo were not there to stop him.
"I'm turning over a new leaf. Starting fresh. And you don't have to do a damn thing for me anymore. You better recognize that that's a lot more merciful than what others have had to deal with from me. You should know that very well, in fact." He didn't loosen up his grip at all as he spoke, and Strich felt himself nearly slipping away.
"Stay the hell away from me. Be grateful that I cut you loose. Because if you ever try this shit again, I'll be a lot meaner about it." Groose let go of Strich with his final word, watching as he collapsed and started heaving, trying to find his footing.
Pathetic. Groose thought, casually brushing his hand on his pants and then walking off to his car.
A/N: Um wow… Has it really been over a year? (Yes, I'm alive! It's a miracle!)
I wanted to update this on Christmas day but I'm a few days late, hehe. Let's say sayonara to this shitty year with this chapter. :3 Consider it my holiday gift to you all!
I have a note written from when I was working on this chapter months back. I'll leave it up for you guys to read. That's my 2019 note. Here is my 2020 note. Life certainly isn't what it was last year. The WORLD certainly isn't what it was last year. I don't need to say it. We all know that things are different now. I'd like to apologize for the fact that this chapter is coming out so much later than the last chapter update. When I initially revived this story I had gotten into a somewhat decent upload schedule and I was able to bring you guys so much content within a reasonable amount of time. Despite my other obligations I didn't want to fall prey to these long gaps between chapters again. I'll be completely honest: most of this chapter was written in October/November last year, but I put the file away and didn't work on it for long periods of time. I don't like opening up about these things but I have lost people that I love and hold dear to my heart, and it's made Link's storyline with his mother very, very difficult for me to write about. On top of everything else that has been happening, and my general procrastination, we're here, over a year later. Don't worry though, because I am still working on this story and I will continue it to completion! That's a promise. With all of that being said, my 2019 A/N is below! :)
2019 Note:
Hello everyone. Thank you as always for the words of encouragement. (I write this in a calm manner but I assure you I am internally exploding with love and gratitude). Yes, we are indeed in the final arc of the story, I'm not sure EXACTLY how many more chapters I will write – I'm estimating that there may be around 35 chapters? Maybe less. But ideally (ideally for me at least) not more.
Anyway, to the one reviewer who guessed – you got it right! I wrote a lemon for The Roommates. It's called 'At the Water's Edge' (I'd say that this is a pending title but I honestly don't think I'll be renaming it), and it will be posted as a separate story so that people who were interested in a lemon can read it! It takes place between two upcoming chapters, so I will post it on the same day that I post the chapter it's set after (I hope that made sense, I know I worded it weirdly.)
**UPDATE ON THIS LEMON: Since I take the Fanfiction Rules a little bit more seriously now as an adult (which I did not do when I was a teenager…) I will not be posting the full lemon on this site, as it is considered MA content and Fanfiction only accepts content that is rated 'M.' I don't want to be a hassle about it of course, but if you guys have an recommendations for websites that allow 'MA'/descriptive sexual content where I can upload the full story, let me know in your reviews! Right now it looks like I'll be uploading the full version 'At the Water's Edge' to AO3. I am open to suggestions. The first half (SFW… for the most part) will be here on Fanfiction! The link to the full version will be in my bio!