Story Title: The History of Us

Disclaimer: Still do not own Twilight Princess.

Author's Notes: And in my never-ending quest of providing as many Shad/Link fics as I can, we now have a Modern AU. Kinda, sorta. It's more of a High School Tutoring AU. I still don't know much about baseball. Any incorrect information is my fault, of course. Thankfully, this isn't a baseball AU.

4/10/20: You know, when I started this fic, I don't think I had the plot fully formed. Most of the plot beats, yes, but there was probably a connecting puzzle piece or two missing. Either that or the plot was too simple, so my brain decided to overthink matters and make things way too convoluted to make the story more complex than it needed to be. CH 3 and CH 4 have the bulk of the changes. Certain ideas just weren't working, and honestly the end result wasn't going to be really worth it. Hopefully, most of the weirdness is gone now.

Thank you all for those who have stuck around and waited on this fic all these years, sent messages about it, and always let me know that there was still interest in this story. Hopefully, this version is a vast improvement from the previous. As always, thanks for reading.

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Chapter One: Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Sidelined

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He was an all-star. Destined for the Majors, the Hyrulean Royals no doubt. Classmates and rival schools alike said that his time at bat was a sight to behold and terrifying to face off against. Link had heard it all and more. He was Castle Town High's greatest hitter since the school's beginning, and he was only a sophomore. His teammates stared in awe and the other schools shook at the idea he still had a few years left on the team and that he could actually get better in that time.

Well, not anymore. He could kiss his remaining years on the team or even being able to play in the next game goodbye if he didn't raise his History grade to the bare minimum. Fast and soon.

In the teachers' offices, Link sat slumped forward with his head on his History teacher's desk and stared at his last test. There was more red on his paper than on the Din Dynamites' uniforms. Unable to bear the sight of all that ink a second longer, Link closed his eyes and groaned into the mahogany.

And here we have it, Link thought. My greatest, darkest enemy, destined to be locked in mortal battle with for all eternity... Goddesses, he sucked at History.

Deep in thought, Mr. Auru stood facing the window as he tried to come up with a plan to accomplish the impossible—allow Link to stay on the team and miraculously change him into a student of bare average understanding of Hyrule's long and complex history. Link figured that the old but spry man was going to have an easier time climbing an erupting Death Mountain than successfully get him to understand what each war was fought over and which king did what, when, and where.

A small part of him wished that Auru just gave him a pass like his other teachers did—Link knew enough math to know that his grade shouldn't be at passing but it was, and he was pretty sure that only his book reports got extra points for "creative" readings of the source material. At least Link tried to keep his grades up on his own. He didn't bank on his free passes, but it was good to know that he had a safety net in case he was too busy to study or he forgot a few homework sheets.

Except that Auru didn't give out passes. That was the easy path and Auru didn't believe in shortcuts. The only way that Link's grade was going to meet the requirement was if he worked really, really, really hard to raise it.

Link lifted his head up, leaned back, and then sharply slammed his forehead against the desk.

This was hell. Why wasn't he lucky enough to be the Hero of this age and receive the divine call to adventure? He was fine with flaking off school to save the world. Making history was a hell of a lot cooler than studying it. He could be a Hero. He had the blonde hair, blue eyes, and an almost Triforce-shaped birthmark, but what did he know? Nothing, clearly, or he wouldn't be here, waiting to hear his sentencing.

The old man finally spoke, his voice sounding tired of Link's shit no matter how nice he tried to be, "Link, how long would you say you've played baseball?"

That was a question he didn't expect to be asked. "Since I was little," Link replied. There were pictographs of him as a toddler playing with a tee-ball set.

"Before you were old enough to join a little league, how often did you practice your swing or played a game with friends?"

"All the time." Rain or shine. Coming home tired and muddy was the best, though his parents never agreed with him on that.

"Do you think your current level of athletic prowess is all natural talent or the result of a decade of regular training?"

Now that was a thought Link had never considered. Auru was right though. All his summers playing with his friends, the endless hours he spent at batting cages, the evenings he and his dad talked as they played catch, all of it added to the skill and muscle he used on the team to this day. "...I guess both?" Link said. "I don't practice any more or harder than anyone else does though."

"And yet your skills far surpass the others."

Auru wasn't wrong about that either. Link had lost count of how many times someone had said he had a Goddess-given talent for baseball. After a while, Link had started believing his hype.

Leaving his window vigil, Auru sat down at his desk. Under Auru's stern gaze, Link quickly decided that he had preferred him facing the window. "How often do you study for your classes?"

Link felt his stomach drop like a Goron in deep water. He tried to answer him. He tried several times to give him a believable amount, but his tongue tripped over his words. His teacher was already disappointed in him. There was no need to heap on lying to him onto that.

"The answer you're looking for is that you don't study nearly as much as you practice," Auru said.

Heat rose to Link's cheeks in shame. "Sir, I try. I really do."

"I know you do. At the last minute. But you've never given me an honest effort." Auru's words weren't easy to hear but they were painfully truthful all the same. "I've seen you rush to finish your homework before the class bell. You sleep in class. Your written answers never come across as well-informed. If you are studying the material, it doesn't show."

"I don't like studying," Link grumbled.

"I know. You're so used to picking things up naturally that if you don't immediately understand the subject, you decide that it's not worth learning at all."

That was a pointedly accurate picture of him. No matter how many times his parents and teachers told him that some skills took time to learn, Link always gave up on learning things if he didn't breeze through his lessons. As soon as his curiosity turned to frustration, it was then that Link decided that he wasn't meant to be a great chef or play the guitar.

"Link, I've given you so many chances and you never deliver what you promise." Auru sounded as if he had given up on Link ever doing better next time. "I could work with you if you tried your best to study and still could not understand the material, but you haven't worked to improve your grade at all. I should fail you."

He should fail him? Link thought that Auru already had. He thought that this was why he had wanted to talk to him after school in the first place.

"But I'll grant you one more chance. Your absolutely last chance. In three weeks, you'll stay after school and take a test covering everything I have discussed thus far. Show me an honest effort at studying for it and I'll pass you."

Link was shocked that Auru was giving him one more shot. Link thought he had burned through all his extra lives. But if a History test was all that stood between him and getting to play in another game, Link might as well say his goodbyes to his team.

"You'll have to want to ace this test as much as you want to win a game," Auru said, as the normally scary-faced man gave Link a proud smile, to his surprise. "I've watched you play. I've seen that when the pressure's on and the whole school is looking to you to clench victory, you never let us down. Find what works best for you."

Link knew that Auru was trying to be encouraging as he went into all that the test was going to cover, but Link couldn't ignore the bright red seven percent atop his test shouting how much he sucked and how pointless another test was for him.

Link thanked him for his kindness. Even though Auru was giving him a huge favor by promising to make his final grade whatever he got on his test, it still felt like a punishment. Or a death sentence to his baseball career.

"I promise to do my best." Link wasn't trying to lie this time, but his promise didn't feel like a whole truth either. He didn't have high hopes that his best attempt was going to be any better than his usual.

"I'm seeing to it that you do," Auru said, with an uplift in his tone, as he left the teachers' offices. Link had no idea what the old man was talking about, but he wasn't allowed to leave yet, so he turned back around in his seat and waited. He tried to ignore the murder scene across his test paper in his line of sight.

Auru invited the waiting person inside and directed them to stand beside Link. Link shot a quick glance at the guy coming in. Oh hell, Auru had gotten his favorite to tutor him. The guy was a big bowtie, round glasses stereotypical nerd that looked like he didn't know a baseball from a basketball. Tutoring him was probably just a way to pad his college application. Did Auru really think that this beanpole bookworm was going to give a damn about saving his place on the baseball team? Link made an annoyed huff and looked away.

"Link, this is Shad. You might recognize him from class," Auru said, as the nerd smiled at him and gave a polite bow. His friendly smile ran right through Link and riled him up even more. He couldn't actually be happy about tutoring him. Obviously he didn't know how much of a dumbass he was.

"Nope," Link lied, keeping his head turned away. Link knew who he was. When no one else raised their hand to respond to Auru's questions, he always asked Shad to spout off the right answer. And the dork would do it without looking at the textbook just to show off how smart he was. Oh, and for some special reason, it was okay for the teacher's pet to not to pay attention and read during class, but when Link took a nap, he wound up holding buckets of water in the hallway and got stuck with double homework.

"Well, that is not unexpected…" Shad said, nervously laughing. "We do sit more than a few seats behind and several rows to the right of one another. I say, we practically sit on opposite ends of the classroom."

Oh great, he was already pointing out how different they were. Opposite ends. Link knew what was code for—it was a nice roundabout way of pointing out how he was at the top of their class and Link was at the bottom. Well, Link knew how to go about the long way around of insulting someone too.

"Are you a foreign exchange student?" Link asked, his stare flat.

"Heavens no, I have lived in Castle Town all my life," Shad answered and then blinked in curiosity. "Umm, pardon me, but why ever do you ask?"

"Because you talk funny."

Shad's mouth fell open, reminding Link of a Hyrule bass he caught last summer. "I-I say, I-I do not!"

Link's disbelief did not go away. In fact, he believed Shad even less as the nerd tried to explain his accent before he swiftly switched to jawing at him for being rude at their first meeting. After understanding five out of the fifty words he had said, Link was sure that this was just a setup to give Shad a boost for college, and that Link was just the gorilla he had to teach sign language to (or in his case, History). Well, Link didn't need some fancy dweeb playing teacher talking down to him.

"Boys, please," Mr. Auru raised his voice and lowered his hands in a please-settle-down gesture. "Link, I see that you're not thrilled by our arrangement, but it might be wise of you to show some civility."

Link shot up from his chair and pointed at Shad. "You really think he's going to help me at all? Why don't you not waste everyone's time and just fail me already? I get it! I'm an idiot at History. So long baseball. I'll get over it," Link said in a voice that promised that he wasn't about to get over anything anytime soon.

"Link, you aren't a quitter." Auru's tone was steady but firm. "You wouldn't give up without ever trying if you were up against a rival team. Think of this no differently. Channel the Hero's determination and work hard. Shad will be beside you to help you throughout your studies."

"I say, it would be my pleasure to assist you. We will have your grade up to standard in tip-top time, I promise you," Shad chimed in. His pleasantness was twisting knots in Link's stomach. Why couldn't he give his smile a rest already?

Shooting a hard glare at the too eager know-it-all, Link snatched his test paper off Mr. Auru's desk and pushed it into his face. "This is my last test score. And honestly, it's one of my better."

"Oh dear…" And then realizing what he had said, Shad quickly apologized. "I-I mean, please forgive me. Terribly rude of me, that was."

"Nah, you're just seeing what a waste of time I really am," Link said as he crinkled his paper into a ball and tossed it in a nearby bin. He then stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and headed for the door. "Thanks Mr. Auru for tryin' but this ain't happening."

"Pardon me, Link—" Shad said, no doubt trying to convince him otherwise, but Link wanted to hear none of it.

"Not gonna happen!" Link said as he swung the door closed behind him. Why was he the only one who was able to see how stupid this was? Sure, Mr. Auru thought he could do more because he was a teacher. But that Shad boy...

"I say, it would be my pleasure to assist you..."

Just picturing his cheery face made Link's ears run hot. Goddesses, it just grated on his nerves that Shad was so raring to jump in and tutor him. Why did he think he was capable of helping Link where everyone else had failed? Shad didn't know him. What gave him the right to think that Link was able to do better? Link sucked at History. Period. He didn't need to torture himself and waste both their time trying to learn what refused to stick in his head.

"Useless," Link grumbled aloud, as he headed off to the lockers to deliver the bad news to his coach and teammates.