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Chapter 5: Battle on Bridge Hylia

The hunt for the Tears of Light had become the biggest hassle that Link had encountered so far in his journey. In the past, looking for them and obtaining them wasn't so difficult. This time they had to travel up and down the river looking for them after gathering the ones in the lake.

As they continued traveling, Kagome still couldn't help but wonder what the Lanayru Spring looked like. When they had reached Lake Hylia to the Spirit's cave, the only thing she could see was a large glowing orb floating on the water. A tired but wise voice begged them to find the light back to it.

As they continued on, Link found another bug. The fur on his back raised and his muscles tensed, ready to strike. He let out a snarl as he jumped, his front paws crushing the bug's spine and with his sharp fangs, he ripped it appart. In Kagome's opinion, the bugs were hideous and disgusting looking. She wondered multiple times if bug spray would actually kill them. Once they finally were close on finding them all in the map, Kagome noticed that one was missing from the count that Midna had told her.

"Midna, Link, there's a bug missing" She said as she closely looked into the map.

MIdna gave her a confused look and hovered over to her, snatching the map from her hands and scanning it. True enough, the map only showed the 15th light, the last one was nowhere in sight.

"She is right. We are close to the last one that is shown in the map. We might have to trace our steps back."

Link let out an annoying growl and rolled his eyes. Just for his luck he's gonna have to keep on searching for the last one. He stared at Kagome as she got a hold of the map again and started analyzing it. She was very determined, and that's something that he admired greatly. She had passed out for a bit when they were in the cave when he was keeping her warm and he couldn't help but being able to actually hold her instead of curving around her. Now that he thought about it, why would he think that? Yes, she was beautiful and had an amazing heart. He only saw her as a friend.

Right?

When they finally found the 15th bug, it was by the waterfall near the throne room. They jumped on a few rock platforms to reach another flat area. Without wasting another second, Link rushed to the bug since he spot it a few yards back. The familiar blue light emerged from the dead bug and floated towards Link. As Midna approached Link to talk to him about the last light, Kagome re opened the map just to find a marking right in the middle of Lake Hylia.

"Guys! The last light appeared. It's on Lake Hylia."

Without a warning, Midna transported them to Lake Hylia, using the portal from there after killing some Shadow Beasts when they first went to look for the bugs.

When they got to Lake Hylia, they couldn't help but notice that it was a lot darker in the area, with dark clouds hovering over them and the small groan of thunder as they looked around. In order to reach the last bug, they had to jump in the water and swim. As they were swimming, it started pouring on them. Kagome was slightly getting tired but she kept pushing herself to reach the spot. There were a few wooden platforms and Kagome right away got on top of them. She looked around, bow at the ready and searching for the bug.

An electric sound made her look up and what she saw made her blood go cold. Right above her, it was a huge bug, its fangs protruding from its mouth and electric shocks covering its body. It let out a screeching noise and it started diving her way. She was frozen as she saw it coming towards her, and it wasn't until she was pushed into the wooden platform that she snapped out of it.

Link had seen the monster eyeing Kagome and when he saw it diving down, he feared that he wasn't going to be fast enough, but thankfully Midna had been the one pushing Kagome down as the monster started its attack. He bared his fangs at it and tackled the monster, biting onto it as they both fell into the water.

Kagome sat up and her eyes widened just in time to see Link and the monster fall into the water. Before she could thank Midna, Midna had jumped into the water going after Link.

"Midna!" she frantically screamed. For several seconds there was no movements from the water. Just the sound of the rain falling hard into the lake. She was about to get ready to jump in when both Link and Midna jumped back into the platform.

"Where's the monster?" she asked when she reached them.

"That thing swam away when I reached Link and made him stop biting it. It's most likely going to come out again."

Kagome nodded and grabbed her bow and arrow. Her muscles were tense with anticipation as she looked for it. Her hair was completely damped, and occasionally she had to push her bangs out of her way to see. She was still beating herself up for what had happen. A slight mistake of hers for getting scared and her friends could've gotten hurt.

I'm such an idiot, she thought, why do I always end up freezing in fear out of nowhere?

The familiar sound of electric shocks and a screeching made them turn to their left. The monster kept slowly moving from side to side, thinking of its next attack. Link rushed to it but he was sent flying when he reached the monster since he got electrocuted. He yelped in pain and growled ferociously at the bug. The shocks disappeared of the monster's body and started going towards Midna and Kagome. Kagome wasted no time and she shot her arrow towards the monster.

The disgusting thing screeched in agony and fell into the water. It started floating with its belly up and Midna motioned Link to attack the legs. She got on his back and with their combined power, they were able to perform a combo, destroying every single of its legs.

When Link jumped on another platform, the monster screeched and started glowing furiously. Kagome noticed that the monster was not dead yet and so she focused more of her power into the arrow and fired, striking it right in the middle. The glowing grew larger and the monster finally exploded. The impact of the explosion made the wooden platforms tip over, sending all of them into the water.

She spat water out of her system when she came back onto the surface. She looked for her friends just to find them a few feet away. Link swam towards her and right away she grabbed on to him. He looked at her and she sweetly smiled at him. His eyes widened and he just grunted. He swam towards the last Tear of Light and as soon as he touched it, they were covered by a bright light and were transported to the Lanayru Spring.

The light returned to the lake, making it back to its beautiful and serene place. There were stone pillars around the spring, with unknown markings glowing slightly. The water was clear and was emitting a powerful aura. Kagome looked to her left just to see Link back in human form. As she looked at him, she saw his blue eyes just looking ahead, thoughtful. From what she understood, that was the last time he would transform into a wolf. Was he sad about it?

Before she could ask him, the spring was lit by a bright golden light. A drop fell into the water, making an orb float in front of them. Then from the golden water, a majestic golden snake grabbed the orb with its mouth. The snake was huge, but its movements were swift and delicate as it moved around the spring. Kagome and Link were both mesmerized by the beauty of the spirit, and when it spoke, a deep voice echoed throughout the room.

"I am Lanayru… Your efforts have at last restored each of us Light Spirits in Hyrule.

Oh Hero Chosen by the Gods and Priestess… The dark power that you both seek… It waits in a temple set in the bed of Lake Hylia… But before seeking it, you must now bear witness to something… and never forget it.

You must know that it was the will of the Goddesses that we lock away the forbidden power…"

They both felt a strange power consume them. It was making them feel drowsy and they slowly closed their eyes.

When Link opened his eyes again, he noticed that he was in his ordonian clothing. It was pitch black and Kagome was nowhere in sight. All of a sudden he found himself floating in pure darkness, the spirit's voice echoing through it.

"When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the world."

He looked around and noticed different forms of light flying past him. One was blue, one red, and one green. He then recognized them as the goddesses of legend.

"They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to the heavens."

Link then saw the Goddesses creating a land of green. All of a sudden he noticed that Ilia was standing right next to him. Her green eyes were lit with happiness as she stared at him.

Kagome was laying on the floor behind Link. As she tried getting up she noticed that she couldn't. Her eyes widened when she saw another girl next to Link, until she realized it was his friend Ilia. She then heard the spirit's powerful voice as she tried moving again.

"The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm… For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body…"

The three goddesses merged together, and before them, the Triforce appeared. The golden triangles shining brightly, emitting a powerful aura around them.

"But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread throughout Hyrule, and a great battle ensued…"

Kagome listened intently to the words of the spirit, when she noticed the knife that Ilia was holding. Her eyes widened in fear, but when she opened her mouth, no words were coming out. She kept trying to scream at Link, but her voice was not cooperating with her. She then heard a voice in her mind and her heart stopped for a slight second.

Link was feeling extremely happy, even if it was just a dream, having Ilia next to him was making him happy. Ilia turned to look at him and he stopped smiling. Her once beautiful green eyes were gone and instead, pools of white were staring at him. She then raised her hand with the knife and his vision went white.

Kagome couldn't help but mentally scream as she saw Ilia raise her hand with the knife. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she now found herself standing on the field. In front of her she saw Link running towards the Triforce, where three shadows stood in front of it.

To the left, she couldn't help but notice someone in red… As she walked closer, she noticed that it was Inuyasha. She couldn't see his face, since he was looking down and his bangs were covering him. She kept walking towards him, and when he finally looked up, she stopped. Her grey eyes were making contact with blood red ones. Purple markings adorned his face and his mouth was up in a snarl, fangs coming out of it.

"Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared… Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm… "

Link had gotten closer to the shadows that resembled him when all three raised their hand and made him dissolve. When he woke up again, he now stood between the two of the shadows laughing malevolently.

Kagome had tried talking to Inuyasha but to no avail. He jumped towards her to attack when an arrow coming out of nowhere struck him right in his heart, killing him. She screamed and held on to his body just for it to dissolve in her hands.

"It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered."

Link started feeling antagonizing pain and he screamed, his painful voice echoing through the darkness. Kagome closed her eyes and covered her ears to not hear his screams anymore, just to listen to the same voice from earlier speak to her again.

"Soon…"

The vision ended, leaving Kagome and Link dizzy and weak. It took them a few seconds to realize they were back at the spring. Kagome couldn't hold it anymore and collapsed on the floor since her feet were wobbling the moment she was back to normal. The spirit re appear before them and finished the rest of its speech.

"You know this magic… It is the dark power you seek… the Fused Shadow. O Hero chosen by the goddesses and priestess… Beware… Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it… Never forget that…"

Link received one last vision of multiple Ilia's falling from the darkness before he let out a gasp and collapsed on his knees. Cold sweat dripped down his face as he looked at the spring.

"What is the name of the temple?"

The spirit remained quiet, but after a few seconds it replied, "The dark power that you seek is within the sleeping Lakebed Temple in Lake Hylia…"

Before the spirit faded away, it stared intensely at Kagome and said, "Priestess… it is no coincidence that you and your companions were sent here… The evil ahead is far beyond your power, unless you work together…"

Kagome wasn't sure how long she was on her knees, but next thing she knew, Link placed his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were teary as he looked into his. She could tell that he was shaken for what the spirit showed him. She however, couldn't blame him. It was dark what they had witnessed… specially what she had heard.

"Are you ok?" he gently asked.

She smiled "Yeah… I'm ok. Not what I was expecting but I'm fine."

He nodded in understanding and held out his arm towards her, "Let's get out of here."

And with that, they walked out of the spring.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky. Birds were chirping, and Lake Hylia was glowing with the light. Kagome breathed in the fresh air, happy to be back in the normal world. Link saw her admiring the air and he couldn't help but internally agree with her. It was exhausting and dreading being in the twilight. He was just glad it was the last time that he was going to be in it. However he couldn't help but actually miss being a wolf. Just the animalistic instincts that were awaken was something that he definitely enjoyed.

"Link… How are we getting out of here?" Kagome asked as she looked around. Nowhere in sight she could see a flight of stairs or a ladder to get out of Lake Hylia. Link looked as well when he noticed the canyon in a floating platform in the lake. He right away caught the idea of how they were going back to Castle Town.

"Come on, I just saw our way out of here."

Kagome gave him a confused look, and decided to follow him. When they were almost close to the canyon and the man that seemed to be the one operating the machine, that's when she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Please don't tell me that that thing is going to shoot us out of here!"

He smirked, "Come on, it'll be fun."

Before she could protest further, he grabbed her hand and started dragging her.

The man noticed them right away and offered a trip for just 10 rupees.

"There is no way I'm riding in that thing by myself!" she protested.

He rolled his eyes, "Well you're gonna have to. I doubt both of us fit on that thing!"

The shop keeper named Fyer looked at both of them arguing and arose to a conclusion that left both friends extremely red.

"Why young lad! You can both fit, all you have to do is hold your woman super close to you inside and both of you will be flown to the next area without an issue! I'll charge you 5 rupees for it being your first time."

Kagome was gaping at the man with her whole mouth open, stuttering as she tried to tell him that she wasn't Link's woman. Link on the other hand, scratched the back of his head and blushed.

Fyer however, wasn't getting the clue.

"Oh don't be shy!" he then walked towards both of them, grabbed, and pushed them inside the canyon and closed the door.

"It'll be a free trip!" his muffled voice was heard from the other side.

Kagome automatically wrapped her arms around Link, holding on to dear life. Her face was buried in his shoulder and she shuddered as she heard the machine turning on. Without a second thought, Link wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist and held on to her as the were shot up.

She wasn't entirely sure if she had screamed, but if she did, she felt horrible for Link.

Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to land in his feet with her in his arms without an issue. He let go of her but she had yet to let go.

"Kagome, we are good now."

She slowly moved her head away from his shoulder and noticed that he wasn't holding her anymore. She got extremely red and laughed nervously as she stepped away.

"Sorry about that! I've just never experienced something like that. It wasn't that bad though… really thought it was going to be so much worse than that."

He smiled, "I agree with you. Now come on, we got quite a trip to make back to Castle Town."

Thanks to Epona, it did not take them long to reach the entrance to Castle Town again. It was still broad daylight, and both were extremely hungry. They had not expected to be in the Twilight for three days, so all of their food was gone. Since the sky never changed, they never realized they were in there for so long.

After taking out a few minor monsters, Link secured Epona in a safe place before they made their way into Castle Town. They crossed the small wooden bridge and went through the town's humongous doors.

Kagome was mesmerized for what she was seeing. Now that the twilight was gone, everything was so much more bright and beautiful in castle town. Children were running happily around, multiple shops were open and were filled with customers. In the center, she could now see the beautiful fountain. A band was playing next to it, its upbeat music giving more life to the town. Multiple people smiled and nodded at them as they were passing by.

It surprised her that no one knew in the danger that they had been.

Link had told her that he right away wanted to get to the bar and form a plan to help out the Zora prince. Maybe they could crash for a couple of hours since it was still early morning and set off later that evening. Part of him wanted to wait until morning, but after seeing the condition that the prince was when he was in wolf form, he knew that they couldn't wait much longer.

Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. She felt as if she was going to intrude in a special moment once Link saw Ilia again, now in his human form. It was obvious that he felt something for the girl, but what exactly? She wasn't sure.

They finally reached the steps towards the bar and Link stopped.

She looked at him confused, "Are you ok?"

He shook his head and looked at her. She was short, not as short as Ilia, but short enough to sort of look down at her. He analyzed her and he could tell that she was genuinely worried about him. He was grateful for her.

"I'm just nervous but excited to see her. When I found out she had been taken by the monsters and got separated from everyone else, I was afraid for her."

She nodded in understandment. She gently grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Let's walk in together Link."

When he opened the door, Kagome went in first, just to be shoved aside by a small angry man. Link caught her right away and pulled her next to him, his eyes narrowing at the man for his rude actions.

"I cannot help you! It is out of my expertise. That Zora child will die!" and with that, the short man took off fuming and grumbling under his breath.

"Doctor, please wait! There must be something you can do!" a gentle voice pleaded frantically. Link turned to see Ilia right in front of him and his breath got caught in his throat.

Ilia looked at him in the eyes, but without giving him a second glance, she turned around and solemnly walked back to the chair next to the Zora prince.

Kagome became confused. Link had told her that him and Ilia had grown up together. She had expected a teary eyed scene with both of them holding each other, but nothing. She had looked at Link like if he was a stranger. Or maybe she was just angry with him? She couldn't count how many times she had done that to Inuyasha.

Link felt part of his heart shattering when he saw that she said nothing to him. Not even one of her radiant smiles. He decided not to say anything and just continue observing the situation.

A woman was also standing by the bed where the Zora prince laid. She was voluptuous, wearing a dark dress and had her fiery red hair up in a high ponytail. She placed her hand on Ilia's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, this isn't good. A human doctor won't do huh…" she softly said. Ilia let out a small whimper and covered her face in her hands as she silently cried.

"That old coot reminded me, though… I've heard of a shaman in Kakariko Village in the Eldin lands, whose tended Gorons and Zoras."

Ilia looked up, surprised for what she said. She turned to look at the woman and gave her a pleading look.

"Is that true?" she asked quickly as she got up and rush to the woman, "Perhaps if we take him there…"

Just then, Link and Kagome noticed a small group of soldiers in the bar. They had been listening to the conversation and advised them that it was too dangerous to travel so far.

"But we can't turn a blind eye to a pretty girl in need, either."

Kagome gave them a look of surprise, then she scoffed.

Typical men… she thought.

The woman looked surprised as well and smiled at them.

"Yes, we'd better escort you! Am I right, boys?!" the captain exclaimed. Multiple cheers and agreements were heard from the rest of the soldiers.

However Link wasn't so convinced and neither was Kagome from what he gathered when he looked at her.

"Well, isn't that nice. To reach Kakariko, we've got to cross to plains that are each infested by dangerous beasts. But we'll be safe now!"

Slowly but surely, the cheers of the soldiers were diminishing as the woman spoke. The soldiers then rushed towards the exit, pushing and shoving one another. Kagome grew furious at their actions and stormed outside to give them a piece of her mind.

Ilia grew extremely disappointed when she saw them leave, feeling like the last bit of hope had been lost. The woman yelled at them once the door closed, calling them cowards and telling them to not ever show up at the bar again. That's when she noticed Link standing there looking at them.

Before either of them could say something, they could hear a young woman yelling from the outside of the door, following by a crash of metal.

"How dare you not help her! Or the child! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for calling yourselves soldiers if you can't even fight some monsters!"

More noises were heard when silence was then met. Kagome came back inside just to see the two women and Link staring at her in surprise. She laughed nervously and blushed furiously as she moved to be behind Link to hide her embarrassment.

"Looks like we've got one young swordsman and archer left!" the woman happily exclaimed.

Link slightly nodded. His eyes then averted to Ilia, but she still said nothing to him. He became disappointed, yet again.

The woman noticed, and decided to send Ilia to her room to pack since they would be setting off before sundown. Ilia's eyes lit up and she rushedly went and did what she was told. Once she was out of earshot, the woman motioned them to follow her on the table that was at the end of the bar. Kagome and Link complied and followed her. She winked at them, and then she went to the bar to grab them something to drink. When she came back with the drinks and placed them in front of them, she directly looked at Link.

"You know that girl, don't you?"

He bit his lip and nodded, "Yes… she lives in Ordona like I do, well used to. We've been friends since we were children."

"It's a real shame… She can't even remember her own name right now."

"You mean, she lost her memory?" Kagome quietly asked. Link felt as if his heart had dropped to his stomach at the news.

The woman nodded, "Bless her heart… She found the poor boy collapsed in the road, so she did all she could to save him. More courage in that girl than in all the soldiers of Hyrule, for sure."

Link smiled sadly in agreement, "Ilia"

The woman looked at him confused, "What was that honey?"

He looked at her, "Her name is Ilia."

She smiled, "Such a lovely name for a lovely girl. Oh! where are my manners. With all this stress I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Telma, the bar keeper."

"I'm Link, and this is Kagome."

Telma looked and grinned at Kagome, "You've got quite the pair of lungs there hun."

She blushed furiously, "Well I needed to tell them something to those cowards! I still can't believe that because of monsters they wouldn't help. And they're supposed to be soldiers."

"Agreed. Ever since all those monsters have been appearing, we've suffered some casualties. We haven't heard anything from our Princess either so all the nerves of the soldiers are skyrocketing at the moment. It is such a shame that this is happening," she then took a closer look at them and took in their state. She knew they needed to rest before setting off.

"I have two extra rooms, you guys can stay there until we leave later today. I have to go to a few of the stores and grab a couple of supplies. In both rooms you guys can find some clean clothes. I can tell you've had quite the trip."

Both of them looked at their clothes to find them covered in dirt and blood.

Kagome laughed, "Yes, clean clothes would be perfect."

The woman smiled, "There is also a small bathroom with a sink where you can freshen up as well. I won't be long."

And with that, she left.

Kagome wasted no time in rushing to one of the rooms to get clothes. Link chuckled at her actions and him too went to one of the rooms. When he opened it, all he could see was the bed. He removed his hat and boots and happily laid on the bed. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Kagome was enjoying the feel of hot water in the small sink as she used a small towel to clean herself. She was used to getting dirty and going days without showering, however, she always enjoyed and took full opportunity when she had the chance to get clean. Once she was done, she grabbed another towel to dry herself. She then put on her underwear that was still slightly damped from her washing them and a long cotton dress that she had found. It was blue with short sleeves, and it fitted perfectly in her slim but curvy form. She stared at herself in the mirror and gave herself a look as she saw her hair. It was a complete mess. She slowly ran her fingers through it in order to comb it. Once she felt it looked better, she put her hair in a braid and walked out.

When she stepped out of the bathroom she could hear Link's snoring from across the small hallways. She laughed and made her way out to the main area of the bar. There were no signs of Ilia, so she figured she was still packing. She checked on the Zora prince and couldn't help but empathize with him. She covered him with a thin blanket and got up. She was tired but surprisingly not enough to make her fall asleep. She decided to step outside and explore a bit of Castle Town.

As she walked through the southern street where they had come from, one of the shopkeepers ended up giving her a flower and exclaiming how beautiful she was.

And that's how she spent the rest of the day. She walked through the different streets, taking in everything in sight. It wasn't until she came across a establishment that had a sign outside that said: Fanadi's Palace that made her stop.

She was curious, but decided not to go in since she had already wasted too much time. As she was walking away, a woman's voice stopped her.

"Young lady! Come in here!"

The voice was coming from the 'palace' sign that she had just passed. Unsure, she started walking back and entering the place. It wasn't as big as she thought. Huge drapes of different dark colors adorned the walls. In the middle, a woman that appeared to be mid 40's sat in front of a small rounded table with a crystal ball in front of her.

"Welcome to the fooortune-telling house, Fanadi's Palace... The fates swiiiiiirl about you, and only I can tell what they have in stooore... The dooor to the future will ooopen…"

"Um, I don't really have much money.." she nervously said.

"Just sit pretty girl. I feel something veeeeery special about you. I can either tell you your career...ooooor… how bout looooove?...Hmm yes… looooove it is."

Kagome skeptically looked at her just to see the woman's red eyes closed. She started humming and moving her hands in swirls. She asked Kagome to close her eyes, and since she seemed to have no other choice, she complied.

She was standing on part of a cliff somewhere. She looked around to see a whole bunch of trees and she could hear birds chirping. Then a few feet away, she noticed Inuyasha. Her heart skipped a beat as she walked closer to him. It was him alright. With his long silver hair, his ear flickering, and his red fire rat shining brightly with the bright sun. He stretched his arms towards her, motioning her to come to his arms. She brightly smiled and ran to his arms. It felt so real him holding her like that and her heart was beating out of her chest. She slightly pulled back to stare at him… to stare at those bright amber eyes. He leaned down to kiss her and she didn't stop him. They shared a gentle kiss and when they pulled apart, Kagome found herself staring at a pair of blue eyes. Her eyes widened and as she completely pulled away, she found herself staring at someone completely different.

It was Link.

The dream sequence ended and Kagome gasped. She looked up to see the woman but she was nowhere in sight. Her heart was beating hard and her breathing was shaking. She got up and rushed out of the place. When she closed the door, she leaned against it and placed her hand on her chest.

Before she could think about what she had seen, someone placed their hand on her shoulder and she screamed.

"Woah, Kagome! You ok?" Link asked as he looked at her.

Her eyes went wide in shock and she nervously laughed.

"Sorry about that Link. Everything ok?"

He nodded, "They're ready to set off. You basically disappeared for the rest of the day. Where have you been?"

"Um… around."

He knew that she was hiding something, but decided not to push it.

"Let's go."

Inuyasha was furious and impatient.

It had been 4 days since they had reached Kakariko, and no sign of Kagome or from that guy Link was seen or heard. Since the second day he was set on leaving, but they convinced him not to. He, however, snuck during the night to Hyrule Field following the slight scent of Kagome just to find the bridge broken. He could easily jump over it, however he wasn't sure where it would lead. The following day after his little trip, he was fuming the whole day.

Sango and Miroku decided to leave him alone since apparently he wouldn't listen to them. They helped around the village to repair the houses and businesses that were damaged by the monsters. Miroku was so intrigued by the culture and different races, that every opportunity he had, he would talk to Renado about it and learn more. The children were fascinated with Sango and Kirara and always asked her to show off her weapon. Since the children reminded her of Kohaku, she happily showed them and played with them. Rusl had left early morning of the third day. He needed to see Uli and inform the rest of the villagers how the children were doing. He decided against taking them back since they would be a lot safer with Renado and the Gorons in Kakariko Village.

It wasn't until the fourth day that Inuyasha was talking to them, about the trip he made and if there were other ways to reach the castle that he had seen in the distance.

"But Inuyasha, Kagome told us in the letter that reaching the castle was impossible at the moment." Sango protested.

"Well," Renado started, "You say that the scent ended at the bridge correct? They most likely went to see the Zoras. To reach Castle Town, if you leave through the North entrance of Kakariko, towards the East you would eventually reach a small broken bridge. Through there, it is the western entrance to Castle Town. It is a long trip on foot, but from what I understand, with Inuyasha's speed and Kirara's ability to fly, it shouldn't take you long to reach Castle Town."

Miroku nodded, "I see. Maybe by now we can reach it. Well, when should we leave?" he asked his friends.

"I still feel that we should wait here for Kagome," Sango said while crossing her arms.

"Later today. You humans get ready." and with that, Inuyasha walked out.

Sango gave him a look as he walked away and turned to the others.

"He's very impatient."

Renado chuckled, "It is understandable."

They were standing at the top of a flight of stairs, the bridge clearly in view. Link already knew that it wasn't going to be an easy trip, however, seeing King Bulblin waiting on the bridge on top of his mount, made Link's blood boil. He thought that he had gotten rid of him when he saved Colin on the Eldin Bridge, so seeing the monster one more time made his fury to start coming up to the surface.

Kagome could feel his aura prickling with anger. She remembered the story of him rescuing Colin from that thing.

"You're gonna have to take him out hun," Telma said as she approached the pair.

Link nodded without looking at her, "I know. This time however, I can see that he has two shields. One on either side of him. I guess he learned from our last battle together."

"It's gonna be hard for you to hit him with your sword. Your best bet is striking him with an arrow." Telma suggested.

"That's true! Do you want me to ride with you Link?" Kagome asked.

"No. If you don't mind, this would be something I would like to do on my own."

Kagome took no offense to his answer. She could definitely understand what it meant to settle a score with a thing that kidnapped someone dear to you.

They went back to the Eastern part of Hyrule, a couple of yards away from the entrance to Bridge of Hylia. Kagome rode next to Telma in the carriage while Ilia was inside of it with the Zora prince. Link was on top of Epona next to them, ready to head on and deal with King Bulblin.

Before he left, Ilia stopped him.

"Th-Thank you so much for this. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" she softly asked.

He gave her a small smile, "Link."

"Link… I will never in all my life forget your kindness, Link."

He slightly blushed and averted his eyes from her. He wasn't good at receiving compliments from other people.

Telma laughed, "Little lady, I think you'd best save your thanks until we are safe in Kakariko. This swordsman of ours has great eyes, honey. They're proud and wild… like a feral beast."

Kagome had to repress a snort from coming out.

You have no idea, she thought.

Link nodded at them, making eye contact with Kagome a little bit longer before moving forward.

Epona could feel the danger and the determined aura from her master. She walked proudly as she stared ahead of them, locking eyes with the monster that King Bulblin rode on.

Once he was on the bridge, he wasted no time and rushed forward, bow at the ready. Epona slightly lowered her speed so Link could get a good lock on the monster's head. The first few times, he missed. One of the times he was almost sent flying off of Epona when King Bulblin smashed him with his shield. Telma closed her eyes as she saw the impact with Kagome wincing slightly.

"You care for him, don't you?" Ilia's small voice asked from behind the carriage through a small window on the front.

Kagome looked ahead as Link got another arrow ready, "Yes I do. He's a good friend."

Telma gave her a knowing look but did not say anything.

As the battle progressed, Link realized that he was running out of arrows. He had hit King Bulblin a few times already but the King wasn't going down. As he crossed to the other side of the bridge where the carriage and the others were, Kagome saw his quiver. He only had 2 arrows left.

He grabbed one of the arrows and shot it as King Bulbin was advancing forward again, however the arrow merely grazed the bulblin's head. He took off and fired his last arrow. Unfortunately, King Bulblin saw it coming and used his shield to protect himself.

Kagome came up with a plan last minute, and she just hoped that it would work.

She ran towards the entrance of the bridge and screamed Link's name. He turned around and saw her firing an arrow. It didn't taking him long to realize that she was shooting it at him. King Bulbin was getting closer and if he wasn't fast enough, he was going to die. He sat up and brought his feet up on the saddle and jumped backwards. As he was jumping and King Bulblin getting closer, he grabbed the arrow in mid air and rapidly shot it, striking the King right in the middle of his forehead. When Link landed on the ground he barely had enough time to move out of the way as King Bulblin and his ride moved from side to side, screaming in agony. He crashed in one of the bridge's walls and as he was falling on the other side, he dropped some keys on the bridge.

Link was breathing hard as his adrenaline slowly was fading away. Epona came back to him and lowered her head to help him up. Kagome let out a sigh of relief, happy that her plan had worked.

"That was impressive hun!" Telma complimented as they moved forward towards Link.

"I'm just glad it worked."

The sky was changing colors, announcing the twilight hour setting in. After Link finished assuring them that he was fine and Telma giving him a couple more arrows, the party continued forward on their way to Kakariko to save the young prince's life.

End of Chapter 5! Let me know what you thought. Next chapter, the most anticipating reunion is finally happening. Leave reviews!