Deadly Frenzy: Looking for an Answer
Chapter 1: Preliminaries and a Personal Errand
Scuffle at the Hylian Hyrax Arc
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "Ranked Amongst the World's Best" - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass OST. Chapter Briefing.
"Main Theme" - Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).
"Main Menu Theme" - Ultra Street Fighter IV OST. Scene 2 (First Half).
The continent 'Aurelia' and, at its centre, Hyrule. Year 709, month four; April. Said to be the capital of the very continent itself, Hyrule offers many cultural people and all kinds of glorious races resting in each corner of the country.
Hyrule is said to be the 'Land of the Gods' for its housing of the fabled holy Triforce and birthplace of the religiously-taught 'Sainted Three'; the three golden goddesses of ancient history. The country has been blessed with a well-earned period of eleven years of peace since its bloody and horrific civil war, ending many Hylian, Goron and Zoran lives in its inception.
With great skill in his diplomacy however, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule manages to discuss terms down to an acceptable arrangement; it is with that, that the worst civil war in Hyrulean history since the days of yore comes to an end. Since then Hyrule has prospered and flourished into a nation as great as its former days of glory; before even the ancient 'Divine Divide' itself, all thanks to its royal family, the divine princess Zelda as well as its loyal servants and proxies.
One such proxy, referred to only as the 'Hero of Time' by his princess, returns home from a mere three day journey in far-off search of a missing companion. Having unearthed nothing of value to his search for his missing guardian fairy, this boy opts to continue his deeply-motivated scour and begin yet another journey, this one focused toward bettering himself as a warrior.
But not before informing the royal family and his mentor of his latest and current report...
Scene 1
"... And you did it?"
"Yes Impa-sensei."
The grin on his face was a powerful one; even in his submissive knelt pose of respect to his mentor and teacher of techniques, he couldn't help but widen the smirk on his face as she listened to him. The Sheikah woman about-turned to eye him curiously, arms still folded almost as if she were somehow suspicious of the validity of his words.
She shook her deep-white hair with surprise, narrowing her fiery-red eyes as she did. "... How...?"
This time the blonde-haired boy rose up his green-hat head to face his mentor with his overconfidence. "What can I say?" He chuckled. "I guess I wouldn't be the 'Hero of Time' if I couldn't kick the ever-loving stuffin' out of a little moon or two!"
Impa rolled her eyes in response, a sigh evident in her contralto. "How old are you again Link?"
He snorted, as if she told a hilarious joke. "Eleven; come on," he shot back in his ever constant grin. "Same age as Zel!"
"I realise you're not equatable to any other eleven-year old Hylian boy in this country...," she began again, re-folding her arms as she 'rounded her disapproving frown on him. "But realise this," she started again, narrowing her eyes in the inflection of her inevitable lecture. "Even a time-travelling boy knows less than an ordinary adult."
The listening Link resisted the urge to roll his own oceanic eyes in response; instead, he chose to bow his head in deep respect to his mentor. "Yes... Impa-sensei."
Legitimately surprised by his display of humility, the frowning Sheikah couldn't help but raise a silver-shaded eyebrow before lowering it and expelling a breath of air through her small nose in satisfaction. Her frown only very slightly slipped up into a tiny smile; something that not even the ever-studious Zelda got to see.
"You'll be an all-star yet." She spoke in her satisfied smile; the former Kokiri couldn't help but regain his earlier grin as he re-rose his head to face her again.
"Link!"
The pair, surprised by the abrupt interruption, could only lose their easy-going expressions in favour of curious ones; as they swung their heads 'round to the dark room's open door, light spilling through, the sound of a pair of running feet echoed out gradually louder. It was only when the darkened form of the wide-smiling Zelda herself began to approach him, pulling her royal dress up so she could sprint toward him, that he even realised it was her.
FLUMP
In a similar series of laughs the two children dropped to the ground as she crashed directly into him with a crushing hug. Impa watched on in rolling-eyed exasperation, holding back a sigh as she did.
"Yeah, I guess I missed you too," the fallen Link smirked toothily back at her atop him. "I know how good-lookin' I am." He added in a less-than-humble shut-eyed smirk.
Zelda rolled her own eyes in a display of her annoyance with him, a grin of her own still resisting on her countenance however. "I just missed you is all," she chuckled, playfully pushing his chest with her hand softly. "Friends can miss each other."
"What do you mean you missed him?" Impa reiterated, hard-red eyes narrowing in half-suspicion and curiosity. "He's only been gone three days."
Although the wise Sheikah was fairly aware of Link's time-travelling abilities, the three day excursion itself feeling much longer for himself, for the rest of them it literally was three days. Zelda couldn't help but play with one of the twisting curls of her stray strands of bright-blonde hair sheepishly, eyes averting the gaze of the two curious-faced warriors.
"W-Well it felt longer... didn't it?"
Link grinned on as he pulled himself up, offering her one of his own small hands as he turned to shrug back at the frowning Impa. "Sure felt as long to me boss." He offered in his knowing toothy smirk. The listening Sheikah wryly upturned her own grin, knowing that his statement couldn't possibly be challenged.
"In any case...," she began again, her arms ever folded as she briefly lowered her silver-haired head to step forward toward them. "Now that you've saved two lands from destruction... what more will you do?" She asked him in a quip up of her eyebrow. "The royal family have no more need of your services; not immediately anyway."
"I was hopin' you'd say that," the young Hero of Time grinned out, turning his body to face her as he did. "Well...," he began again, this time gaining a contemplative frown on his face as he folded his own arms in a display of light thought. "I couldn't find any trace of Navi out there in the Lost Woods, even goin' back through it after Termina...," he admitted, lowering his cerulean-shaded eyes as he thought of the many trunks of hardwood he passed through in search. "So I was thinkin' I'd just keep lookin'." He finished, unfolding his small arms to place a hand on his hip as he re-faced his mentor; an old habit.
"Any ideas where?" Impa questioned quizzically, raising up another eyebrow.
He lowered his straw-haired head again and furrowed his brow before rising it again to about-turn and face the smiling Zelda behind him.
"When I first met you in Hyrule Castletown, you told me there was a place you could sign-up to a fighting tournament in Hyrule Castle itself," he began, his light grin widening a little as he tilted his head curiously. "Is it still there?"
Zelda blinked dubiously before she widened her eyes in realisation to what he was talking about. "O-Oh... you mean the Deadly Frenzy series overseen by Prima?" She batted back, tilting her own head. Soon catching the reflective look in his own eyes as a confirmation she nodded on. "Yeah; it's a series of preliminaries that eventually culminate in the world championships... if I recall correctly," she giggled half-sheepishly, realising her attendant was listening in. She rose a curious eyebrow of her own at the youth's question however, opting to probe him further. "Why?"
He faced her with the wide and overconfident smirk he had soon become known for, smacking his superior left fist into his open right palm horizontally. "'Cause sometimes you gotta look in the last place possible!"
"An incredible turnout today, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you, one and all, for joining us on this one auspicious afternoon!"
The man's voice, a recognisable and familiar baritone, filled the air through some unknown means of Aegir manipulation and Gossip Stones hanging on the desk he sat at. He was a fairly well-dressed man, seemingly of familiar repute, clearly acting as some kind of co-commentator for a world-class event hosted by an organisation.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the very first martial arts tournament of Prima's year!" The well-dressed man began in a wide-smiling grin, speaking through the small Gossip Stone he used to magnify the sound of his voice. "The Hylian Hyrax!"
In a powerfully-echoing cheer, the watching crowd and audience let loose the dogs of war within their approving applause and yells, separated from the ring in the centre of Hyrule Castle itself by a small-height brick wall. Watching from the stands going as high as the castle alone, there were many stands situated on each side of the arena bar the back-end, leaving the participants themselves some room to breathe and prepare.
"Hell yeah Marsh! It's ya boi Tasty Seth and Mr. Marshall and we comin' to you folks live at the Hylian Hyrax in lovely Hyrule Castle!" A second man called out through his own Gossip Stone, sitting directly next to the older man he co-commented with. "It's a beautiful summer's day and with the sun shinin', who else wants to see some awesome action?!"
The audience whooped and cheered in response; a powerful echo that found its foundation marked with excitement.
Seemingly dressed far more casually to Marshall's professional garments, 'Tasty Seth' wore a simple casual tunic atop basic light-brown trousers; a complete contrast to his older companion's more rigid style.
"Right you are Seth and what better day to watch the country's greatest duke it out in the very perimeters of the royal family's castle itself?" Marshall smiled confidently through his Gossip Stone, his morale-raising baritone managing to procure another cheer from the listening audience. "We're in the early days of April and you know what that means! It's time to fight for those precious and enviable Championship Points!"
The crowd's cacophonous cheer rent the very skies with its bold and dynamic energy; a promise soon to come for their high-edge morale.
"Okay so lemme it break it down for ya ladies and germs," the ever-grinning Seth spoke out in a similarly bold posture indeed; as he leant back in his chair, legs resting on the very commentator's table itself, he held the Gossip Stone he spoke into close-by as his other hand hung in the air next to him. "We got an amazing number of fighters joinin' us today; over one-hundred!"
"That's a record Seth!" The smiling Marshall nodded in his partner's direction, gripping at his own small Gossip Stone. "Never before in the history of Prima's wonderful competitions have we ever seen quite so many hungry warriors! Especially in an Inaugural Campaign!"
"Hell yeah!" Seth grinned on with his older companion, offering the man a brotherly fist-bump as he leant back into his chair. "Don't go anywhere folks!" The youth smirked on through his Gossip Stone, leaning his body forward on the table to point a finger at the stands ahead. "We're weeding out the weak from the strong!"
"The young from the old!"
"The hip from the not-so-hip!"
"And for the men and women that deserve the title of 'Hyrule's Strongest'!" Marshall finished the banter and wordplay for his partner, pointing directly toward the audience as he spoke. "Don't go away!"
–
2
"No pushing, please! Stay close together to any clan or sponsored team you have signed up with and remain cordial! Thank you!"
As the sign-up staff's megaphone-like words echoed on down to the many fighters waiting back-stage in the preliminaries, the grinning-faced Link himself rubbed his shoulders and stretched himself around in preparation, impatient to get started.
"Forgive me for asking this, but..."
Impa's authoritative tone made the grinning Link drop it in favour of a blinking frown, turning 'round to face her quizzically. She stood over him, arms folded as she quirked an eyebrow up at him.
"How will signing up to an Inaugural Campaign help you find your missing friend?"
Her query, pertinent and telling, made the frowning Link blink back a second time at her before he soon regained his confident grin.
"If I fight in the world martial arts tournament, then my name'll get out there!" He shot back in his overconfident smirk. He pumped a rose-up left fist as he tilted his head at her. "Believe in me Impa-sensei!"
"Yeah, if you manage to get past the first round...," the similarly grinning-faced Zelda teased him with a playful push, knocking him out of his stupid beam. "What happens when you lose?"
"Come on Zel...," the youth batted her way in a casual shrug of his shoulders and a shut-eyed smirk. He edged a thumb in his face's direction as he turned his back to face her, his head instead eyeing her in his boyish grin. "Nothin's gonna get the best of this."
It was only when she laughed in response and playfully knocked him again that he laughed on with her.
"First of all we'd like to thank every single one of you martial artists for coming all this way to Aurelia's capital; the Hyrulean royal family recognises you."
The group of heroes turned their heads to the far-front of the chamber as the man's voice echoed out through the Gossip Stone he spoke through.
"We've managed to count through all one-hundred and twenty-five of you; your confidence is impressive." The man continued in his gracious smile.
Link's hardened grin expanded as he listened, his blood boiling at the thought of a challenge.
"Unfortunately, however, only eight out of you all may progress to the national championships itself," he stated, this time in his professional frown. "So... don't hold back, any of you! In the preliminaries only eight can walk away!"
In complete contrast to the shouty audience outside, the huge group of men and women opted to remain stoically silent as they listened; folded-armed and frowning as they watched. The nameless staff-member could only exchange an unsure shrug with the women resting behind the table around him.
"Now, here are the rules...," he began again, pulling out a clipboard resting on the table behind him. "You will all be divided up into four tournament blocks and only the top two of each block... will advance," the man instructed, lowering the clipboard as he re-faced the hundred-odd eyes staring back at him. "This will all be done in 'single elimination'. Grounds for losing are as follows... lose consciousness, fall outside of the ring or vocally surrendering are all legitimate grounds for loss."
"No fear of that one, huh?" The grinning-faced Zelda teased in the listening Link's direction with a light poke, eliciting a smirking chuckle from the former Kokiri.
"This, of course, goes without saying, but killing your opponent is strictly forbidden," the ma continued on, shaking his head. "Anyone caught doing this will be automatically disqualified; no discussion."
Noticing the weapons littering the room, whether on the backs of the fighters or hanging by the door, he widened his eyes and nodded to re-open his mouth.
"That also goes for those weapons!" He called out. "This is a martial arts tournament, not a weapons' display!"
"Can't use theeeeese..."
Zelda's second tease, and in a sing-song point of her finger, made the listening Link roll his eyes.
Obviously she was talking about his Gilded Sword and Mirror Shield.
"Matches not won without one minute will be decided by a point system," the man spoke. "Now... you may all step forward in an orderly manner to receive your number," he smiled in an appreciative nod. "No trading numbers now!"
"Okay, Link... go get your number," Impa ordered in her ever stoic frown. "We'll be waiting here for you."
The green-wearing youth took off toward the huge gaggle of warriors waiting ahead, turning to wave off his mentor and close companion. "You betcha!"
"Sixty-nine... heh-heh-heh-heh..."
In a childish bout of grinning and chuckling to himself, Link marched on back to his companions with the small piece of paper he had procured from the tournament professionals. As he did, however, he swung his blonde-haired head in quick search around the numerous rings and fighters for one in particular.
But, just as before, he could not find him.
Link's lightly-annoyed frown twitched in response as he thought of the one person he had not come into contact since returning to his childhood.
Raynard Van Garrick.
Even when he prepared for his journey to Termina a mere three days earlier he had at least exchanged words with the companions he had met on his first adventure; the Goron, Barkner and the Zoran, Alwyn.
Meeting Raynard, however, was a challenge in and of itself.
Even finding him, the frowning Link thought to himself in a brow-furrowed twitch.
That was hard enough.
Almost as if reading his very mind, the wide-eyed Link could only gasp when the two forms he thought of appeared before him; standing next to one another and around his group of friends were the folded-armed Alwyn and smiling Barkner themselves. Oddly enough, even the grinning Malon herself stood in between them, tilting her fire-haired head at him curiously as she also folded her arms at him.
Oh no, the youth thought.
She gon' be angry.
"Maybe I can play it off."
The grin on his face remained as constant as ever, even as he approached the new enlarged group.
"I thought I was gonna meet you back at the ranch?" The youth shot over as approached, turning his head lightly away from hers. Malon lightly smirked as she turned her head symmetrically away from his own, her eyes limp as she did.
"You never got back to the ranch," she hammered back, suspicious eyebrow shot up in dubious conjecture. "And here I see you're signing up to some tournament and you didn't even let me know!"
"Ma boy's in the doghouse!" The grinning-faced Barkner exclaimed out uproariously, ever the jokester. "Whoo-whoo-whoo!" He whooped on in his toothy smirk, shaking his rock-like fist in the air over the two children. Link couldn't help but pull his head back and laugh, thoroughly amused and genuinely happy to see the Goron. He reached up and slapped his own fist with the man's, grinning back at him in a positive nod.
"'Sup?" He grinned over. "Alwyn!"
The ever aloof-expressed Zoran himself merely smiled in the boy's direction, nodding upwards in acknowledgement.
"It's only been three days," he admitted in his greeting. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon?"
"Neither did I," the young Hero of Time batted back, reaching his hands back to place on his hips; a callback to an old habit. "Honestly I'm still lookin' for that friend of mine." He admitted in his sheepish-looking chuckle, briefly shutting his eyes as he rose up one of his hands to rub the back of his head sociably.
"You've made a hell of a decision entering one of these," Alwyn responded, tilting his head very lightly as he spoke in his modestly-held smile. "You know a lot of these men and women are former military?"
Link's grin extended, but just a little, as he turned his head 'round to pump another confident fist upward, facing the huge group of adults standing around in waiting. "I can't wait."
The listening Barkner threw his head back and laughed. "Like the little bro I remembered! Nice one!" He laughed on good-naturedly, reaching down to offer his rock-like hand. Link swung his head back and chuckled as he slapped his left hand with the man's much larger raised right one.
"So... what number did you get?" The frowning Impa questioned, her arms ever folded. The blinking Link swung his own frown toward her before flashing his ever-constant grin, pulling out the small piece of paper to show her with.
"Check it." He grinned her way, tilting his body at her as he held the paper open for her to see. She rose an eyebrow as she leant forward briefly to look at it.
Sure enough, just as he mused on his way back, it said 'Sixty-nine'.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, eliciting an amused giggle from the listening Malon and Zelda. "All right, all right... settle down those nerves," the attendant warned, her brow furrowing down at the youth. He pulled back his paper and frowned, opting to nod in respect. "You'll need come match time."
"She's right," the astute Alwyn nodded in his own business-like frown; ever the pragmatist. "No matter how strong you think you are... there will always be someone out there stronger."
"Ain't that the truth," Barkner agreed with in his cracking grin, placing his hands on his hips as he did. "There's a national champion somewhere around here, after all..."
"Yeah... and you lookin' at him." Link shot back, edging an overconfident thumb in his face's direction. Alwyn shook his head in his disapproving if, amused, smile and the watching Impa sighed through her nose, disappointed.
"Link..."
Malon's surprisingly delicate soprano surprised the listening Link; he swerved his blinking head 'round to cast his frown at her, curious and all.
"Are you sure you wanna fight in that?" The little farm girl creased her face as she looked him up and down, seemingly denouncing of his battle-wear.
"What's wrong with how I look?" He countered, half-offended as he held up the tunic's fabric that he wore, reaching down to sniff at it almost as if to see if it was possibly the smell. "I've always loved this tunic."
"I think I know what she means," the smiling Impa interjected with, surprising the listening children. She reached back into her inventory and smiled on as she procured what seemed to be a gift, wrapped completely in plastic. "The princess and I got wind of your intentions in taking part in this year's season," the Sheikah claimed in her light smile, briefly exchanging a nod with the listening Zelda. The watching Link, his curiosity piqued, could only look between them in an unsure frown. "And... so..."
She leant down the wrapped gift forward, seemingly clothes of all things, and the wide-eyed Link could only hold back a gasp as he graciously accepted it.
"I give you a robe more... befitting the Loftwing-Style and our dojo," the smiling Impa nodded down to the garments wrapped in plastic, now resting in his grateful grip. "I trust you'll make not only me, but the royal family itself proud today." She said, bowing forward in her folded-armed smile as she finished her sentence.
The grin on Link's face threatened to split his face; he laughed in his great cheer, his morale raised as he lowered his form to return the social gesture.
"Go put it on!" Zelda smiled forward, joining her hands together as she did. "I imagine it will fit you quite well!"
"There won't be time," Alwyn disagreed with in his practical-headed frown, shaking it lightly as he spoke. "The staff tend to move through these blocks as quickly as they can; less time waiting for the competitors and for the tournament to begin, the better." He further elaborated on in a simple tilt to his Zoran head.
"Don't tell me...," the listening Link grinned forward, lowering the robes he carried in his hands to stare up at the former military man. "You've signed up? The both of you?!" He asked, excitably switching looks with each of his watching friends.
"Maybe...," the grinning-faced Barkner teased, swerving his own listening smirk with the rolling-eyed and smiling Alwyn. "Guess you'll have ta wait and see!" He shot back, turning back to face the boy with a wide shut-eyed grin.
"This is gonna be too hype!" The former Hero of Time shot out with, pumping another exuberant fist as he did. "I can't wait for-"
"Numbers sixty-nine and forty-one, please approach arena 'E!'"
"That's you!" Impa grinned lightly down in his wide-eyed, surprised direction. "You want to leave all your equipment here?"
"I probably should, huh?" The youth grinned back, reaching back for his inventory and his belt to remove his sheath and Mirror Shield from his back, remembering the staff's warning about weapons. "Ain't as if I'll need 'em anyhow."
"Just be careful over there, okay?" Malon frowned as she stepped closer toward him, lightly surprising him with her proximity. He felt awkward as she pawed away at the creases on his tunic and the mess of his curtained hair. "No-one cares whether you win or lose; we just don't wanna see you injured."
"Pft!" The young Hylian shot back, his grin soon returning to his face. "That's just something losers say!"
Although she would normally disapprove, the listening Impa quirked a very tiny grin; one that not even he would be able to have caught even if he were looking for it. Alwyn shook his head in his smile and Barkner threw his head back and laughed. Zelda tilted her head and smiled over at him, similarly amused.
Malon, annoyed, swung her hand in a slap in which he managed only barely to avoid, an amused grin on his own present on his face. "Fine," she batted back, rolling her eyes as she returned to the group. "Go get your leg broken; see if I care."
"I'll be back a winner!" The exuberant youth shot over his shoulder with a grinning salute before running toward the crowd of warriors ahead.
"I know why you're here...," Impa began, this time in a curious and pressing frown, casting her words down to the similarly quizzical-faced Malon. "Delivering your ranch's milk and all, but..."
"We're here for this!" The widely-grinning Barkner interrupted politely, ever in his high-spirited friendly banter. "Big brother Darunia was still in the neighbourhood, dealin' with king Daphnes and all, so he invited us all here!"
Impa, genuinely surprised, exchanged a look with the smiling and nodding Zelda.
Sure enough, she thought.
They must be out there in the audience stands.
"Yeah, same with king Zora," Alwyn agreed with in his business-like frown, nodding as he did. "I'm here to protect his lordship but, things are so damn peaceful here there's almost no need," he shrugged in his frustrated frown. "I asked to participate... they gave the okay."
"I guess Link really will have his limits tested today, won't he Impa?" The ever articulate Zelda smiled on calmly, her hands joined at her front as she rose her head to face the Sheikah with. Although Impa opened her mouth to respond, the irritated Malon did it for her.
"Hmph!" She shot back, rising up her fire-haired head as she shut her eyes in her annoyed scowl. "I hope he sprains his ankle out there for all I care!"
–
3
"Mr. Yezhov Urvan and Master Link Firbrand!"
Even as the grinning-faced Link stepped up past the huge gaggle of fighters and walked up onto the ring, the group of warriors behind him all let out shocked and surprised gasps, perhaps at the immense difference in the preliminary match-up.
One, a huge and hulking brute of a man of some foreign country; possibly a wrestler.
And the other, a tiny blonde boy.
"That's not legal is it?"
"Why the hell are they lettin' kids sign-up?"
"This is stupid."
"Waste of time!"
The chuckling and chortling behind him only intensified the listening grin on the silent-faced Link's expression.
Just you all wait, he thought to himself confidently.
Gonna get my name out there.
"What is this?" The large man rumbled down, his brow furrowing almost as if he were looking for the standing youth. "Where is fighter?" He questioned, swerving an annoyed look toward their referee, standing just outside the ring.
"You're... looking at him," the man chuckled, pushing up his spectacles awkwardly in response. "Master Link Firbrand of the Kokiri Forest." He reiterated, briefly looking at the clipboard in his possession.
"I am to fight child?" Yezhov asked again, near unable to believe it. "This is outrageous...," he muttered out, turning his bald-headed head back 'round to frown down at the smirking Link. "Very well... come boy," he sighed into submission at last, adopting a wrestler stance. "Fight with strength of one-hundred bisons."
The former Kokiri cracked his neck, from left to right, before eventually opening his own mouth to respond with. "Sure."
"Begin!"
Even as the foreign wrestler shambled forward, the grinning-expressed Link's face opted not to change its countenance; indeed, even his huge and lumbering form approached presumably to grapple him, the image of his smirking-faced stature merely remained constant.
"Mmmmmuscle!"
The glaring-faced Yezhov reached forward to grapple the unmoving Link and, to his and the spectators' complete shock, his arms merely passed through mere air.
"What in the-?"
It was only when he saw the boy's grinning-faced form shimmer in and out of itself that he realised he'd been tricked.
And by then it was far too late.
"HEYT!"
SLAM
"Gurgh...!"
Yezhov's eyes widened as his back was struck with enough force to send him sheerly careering through the air. Numerous watching fighters widened their own eyes as they ducked and stepped out of the way to avoid falling with the woe-begotten wrestler. Even as he smashed through the very wall itself, the watching staff all visibly sighed almost as if it was a normal occurrence for them.
Perhaps it was the first of many.
The simply-smiling Link dropped down to the ground, having delivered with his counter-attack air kick with ease. He swung his blonde-haired head 'round to the referee and rose an expectant eyebrow; similarly shocked by the proceedings, the referee blinked back at him before shaking his head of the surprise and smiling.
"Sixty-nine advances!"
The smile the youth wore evolved into a confident smirk, shooting a clenched fist up in victory. He basked in the sound of the shocked wide-eyed murmurs and gasps of the adults that watched him walk back to his group of companions, the feeling of having his ego stroked just too addictive.
What's it gonna be like when I win, he wondered silently.
"Numbers thirty-two and forty-one please approach arena 'B'! Raynard Van Garrick and Dirk Bartlett!"
Link's grin very quickly switched in favour of an interested frown; he darted his head and his eyes in search of the source of that particular voice.
I know who that is being called, he thought.
His legs carried him through the many towering adults around him, looking for arena 'B'.
"H-Hey... lemme through!" The annoyed youth called out, poking his blonde-headed scowl out of the gargantuan forms of the men and women around him. At last he managed to squeeze through, thanks to his small form, and widened his eyes when he did.
"The rules are as follows... either fighter loses through ring out, surrendering or falls unconscious!" The second referee called out as she watched from her own perch outside the ring. "Got that?"
"Why am I fighting with a child?" The annoyed man in the ring responded, swerving his miffed frown toward the woman. "This is an insult."
"There are no written rules against children signing up I'm afraid, not yet anyway Mr. Bartlett," the woman explained fairly briefly, an apologetic smile on her face. "We're very sorry."
"What are you whining about?"
The man, surprised by the boy's impudent words, swung his head back 'round to his front almost as if to verify it was the boy himself who responded in such a way.
"If you can't even agree to fighting me how do you expect to win the rest of the tournament?" He added on cheekily, earning an annoyed glare from the listening man.
He was a young one at that, with a mess of spiky ebony-hair littering his head he wore a matching headband that the watching Link remembered from his days in Hyrule's alternate future.
He must have always had that, he thought in an amused grin.
A simple-enough brown-shaded tunic adorned his body marked with a tattered grey-shaded cape-like cloak held fairly well across his shoulders.
Sure enough, even as the grinning-faced Link watched, it was definitely him.
Raynard Van Garrick, in the flesh.
It feels good to see him alive in this timeline, the former Hero of Time thought to himself, resting his chin against his raised arms and his arms against the edge of the ring itself.
"Feels weird seein' him younger though."
"Begin!"
Almost immediately the larger and taller man bound forward, his pride perhaps hurt by his much younger opponents earlier comments, and grunted as he spun his body in a low sweep almost as if to knock the youth down and send him tumbling out the ring. The narrow-eyed Raynard, instead of evading, opted to bolster his position by boldly shooting down his leg horizontally as if to somehow discourage his opponent from continuing.
He opted not to heed the warning however.
FWIP-SMASH
CRRRRRRACK
"ARRRRRRRGH!"
In a painful-sounding breach indeed, the wide-eyed Dirk's leg dropped lifelessly in its failed assault, the rest of his body dropping down to the ring. He gripped down at his seemingly broken leg, whimpering and near crying from the pain he endured. The watching audience, all murmuring and whispering, appeared not to catch what had exactly happened.
But the wide-eyed Link did.
When the man's defenceless leg spun forward in its winding sweep, Raynard's use of concentrating his Aegir in one place on his body – specifically the point of impact – managed to create a stone-like defence that mere flesh could not hope to move.
It was fairly basic but a fearsome technique for those impatient enough to win their matches.
Raynard turned his annoyed frown 'round on the referee watching them, quipping an eyebrow up as he did.
"Well?" He pressed her with in his usual rude tone. "Aren't you gonna call it?"
"O-Oh!" She exclaimed out, also visibly surprised by the unlikely proceedings. "Sir? Do you forfeit?" She asked, leaning toward his wincing and lying form.
"Y-Yeah, whatever! Just get me to a doctor!"
"Number thirty-two advances!"
The listening Link couldn't help but wince for the poor injured man, having obvious had no idea what exactly he was up against. As the firmly-frowning form of Raynard hopped down from the ring back to ground level and a crowd cleared for him however, Link regained his grin as he turned to walk over toward him. Surprised by it, Raynard double-took in the youth's direction when he noticed him approach.
"That was awesome!" The exuberant youth grinned out clenching his fists at his sides as if in display of his excitement. "You really got some skills, huh?" He added, tilting his head as he re-straightened his posture to place a hand ever on his hip.
He narrowed his light-brown eyes in a half-suspicious and half-curious gaze, looking the boy up and down as if he were some kind of oddball. "What's it to you?" The glaring-faced boy spat back, ever in his annoyed tone.
"It's nothin' as bad as you think!" Link shot back in his high-spirited grin, re-lowering his head this time almost as if he could tell what the boy was thinking. "I guarantee it."
A kind of awkward period passed between the two youths as they stared one another down; Raynard in his usual hard-faced and stubborn scowl and the smirking-expressed Link in his head-tilted peer.
"Is... everything okay...?"
It was only when the curious-eyed Impa and the rest of Link's companions that came over to check on him, that the two boys were pulled from their engrossed glare.
"Impa-sensei!" The grinning Link greeted, nodding his blonde-haired head upwards. "Yeah, I was just congratulatin' Ray in his victory." He claimed, hand on his hip before widening his eyes when he realised he hadn't introduced them.
It's easy to forget that it's only me that remembers meeting everyone here more than once, he thought in a half-miffed chuckle.
Time travel can be sticky business indeed.
"This is Raynard... Van Garrick I think?" He added curiously, turning to face the folded-armed boy in his quipped up eyebrow as he did. Receiving little to no response he turned back to his group of companions. "I was thinkin' he could maybe joi-"
"Not interested."
In a low-toned tenor interruption, Raynard grunted out his hard-eyed response as he pushed past the blinking Link to leave him half-surprised and reeling.
Although in his earlier time with Hyrule's resistance he would have felt fairly insulted, he merely regained his happy-go-lucky grin and shook his straw-haired head in expectance and amusement.
He's just like I remembered, the grinning boy thought.
It soothed his guilt well in seeing him alive for having killed him in the timeline he had come from.
"Stay away from that boy Link."
"Huh?" The young Hylian merely murmured out curiously, swinging his blinking frown on his mentor. "Why?" He requested, raising an eyebrow up as he did.
The Sheikah frowned deeply as she re-opened her mouth to respond. "A decree from the king himself," she claimed in a shake of her silver-haired head. "Anyone from the Van Garrick clan is not to be engaged with lightly."
Link couldn't help but make a face in half-frustration, raising another eyebrow as she spoke.
"That's so shameful...," the listening Zelda frowned out, hands ever joined at her front. "He's just a child... what has he done wrong?"
"It's not what he has done," Impa responded with, swerving her head to lightly frown down at her princess. "It's what he will do eventually." She finished in a fairly cryptic ending.
The listening Link wanted to press her for more information but he knew she'd probably disapprove.
Whatever it was, he thought...
It was serious.
"Yeah I've seen him wandering around Hyrule Castletown a few times while I was there," the standing Malon frowned out to add to the conversation. "He's always seemed a little... weird."
"Yeah... I guess he is weird," Link murmured out in frowning agreement of his own, turning his head 'round to watch his former black-haired rival march away. "But I reckon he's a decent guy." He finished, this time ever in his hopeful little grin.
Malon rolled her sky-blue eyes at him, his sociable grin infecting her into one of her own. "You think everyone's decent though."
"I mean, aren't they at their core?" He batted back as he swerved 'round to face her, gesturing his statement with a hammed-up shrug that she reached forward to playfully hit him with, similarly grinning as he retreated back a few steps.
He swung his smile up to his mentor however when he noticed the absence of his other two friends.
"Where's-?"
"In their preliminary match-ups," Impa cut him off in her own light smile, having sensed his inevitable question. "I imagine they're making quite a stir." She chuckled, turning her attention over to the far-off forms of their two companions.
"You damn right they are," Link whispered out, his grin widening as he turned 'round to a similar stare of his own; as he watched each ring knock out multiple fighters in a quick gauntlet of single eliminations, he couldn't help but clench his fingers into another excited fist. "And I'll be no exception!"