Chapter 11: Together

The familiar scent reached his nose as he opened his eyes. They landed in the entrance of the Northern Faron Woods. He could head the chirping of the birds with clarity and he could sniff out the squirrels that kept jumping on the trees. He looked over at his friends and he could see they were still trying to get used to see Midna in her solid form, however, the sacrifice in what Princess Zelda did was something that didn't go unnoticed. He was trying to figure out what the Princess had meant regarding of who and what Midna was. Wasn't she just a creature from the Twilight world? Regardless of what that meant, Zelda gave something to Midna so she would weaken in the world of Light. Midna seemed content as she floated around and she let the warmth of the sun soak her skin. Her red eye was shining brightly as she looked around.

Her vision was always darker in her shadow form in the world of Light. It wasn't as bright and clear as it was right now. She knew now there was a risk of Zelda figuring out who she was but that wasn't going to deter her from her mission. She needed to help Link find the Master Sword and then she needed to find the Mirror of Twilight. She needed to get some answers and the only way to do so was finding said mirror.

How had Zant gotten so powerful? There was definitely a difference in his twilight sorcery and it made her afraid. Something she wasn't used to admitting, even to herself. She glanced over at Kagome, the one that thanks to her they were standing there alive. If she had been able to stand against Zant, then maybe they really did have a shot at defeating him.

Miroku was deep in thought before they started moving, as he tried putting the pieces together.

"The only thing I can think of is that she lent you part of her soul to you. Give you the strength necessary."

Sango shook her head, "But that doesn't explain where the princess went."

Midna had her eye close as she tried hiding her annoyance, "Can we please talk about this later? I don't think Link wants to continue being Fido!" She pointed a finger at him, clearly ignoring the glare he sent her way. She handed Kagome back her shirt and roughly got on Link's back. He let out an annoyed huff, however inwardly he was glad seeing the imp back to normal. He had been terrified that he was going to lose her. As they started walking up towards the direction of where the temple laid, they saw a monkey getting attacked by wooden puppets.

Their movements were short and aggressive as they surrounded the shrieking monkey. Inuyasha and Sango immediately jumped in and disposed of the puppets. The monkey however, was terrified as she saw two new figures standing before her.

Link recognized the monkey and quickly ran up to it, letting out a few barks at it. The monkey's eyes opened and let out a squeal of happiness as she recognized the wolf standing before her by his scent. They communicated between themselves, only Midna and Inuyasha understanding what they were saying.

"The other section of the forest is beyond that cliff she says," Midna said as she leaned into Kagome's shoulder. They started walking and saw that it was going to be necessary for Kirara to transform again in order for them to reach each cliff as it led to another portion of the forest. Midna floated over and gripped Link's fur as he lept forward from the ramp, never missing a beat as he jumped from ledge to ledge amongst massive webs of foliage. There were two wooden bridges that they had to wait for the wind to blow in the direction of them in order for them to shift positions. However, Sango used her giant boomerang to create a gust of wind faster than waiting for it to happen naturally.

It took them a couple of minutes, but they all finally made it.

At the entrance, Link quickly noticed a Howling Stone that he's found during his travels. The stone was the same height as him, with the Eye of the Sheikah carved onto it. Whenever he's come across the stones, it's like he would enter a dream world. It was always a different tune that he would follow and a golden wolf would appear before him. After that, once in human form, he would come across a legendary warrior who would teach him skills to better his fighting skills. With his ears, he was able to easily detect the tune and started following it. His eyes were glazed as he entered a trance to see the Golden Wolf again and its next location. The others weren't really sure of what had happened except Kagome and Midna, however they decided against mentioning anything of what they knew. Link finally came out of his daze and taking the lead, he led them to the inside of the Sacred Grove.

Inside the Grove, everything was covered in massive trees and everything had taken a darker hue, making everyone uneasy. Most likely from a magical barrier or something of the likelihood for it to be nighttime since a few moments ago they had been standing under the sun. Inuyasha saw another stone and lightly kicked Link's back leg to get his attention. The wolf tripped and growled at the half-demon until he saw him pointing at something. Link's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed the other stone, but he knew it was different than from the other stones he was used to seeing. Again, his ears caught a tune that it was hauntingly familiar, although he was sure he had never heard it in his life before. He howled, but this time it carried beautifully in the area. Even Inuyasha's ears were twitching pleasantly at the tune even if he didn't want to admit it.

Suddenly, the sound of pieces of wood moving reached their ears. There were several puppets in front of them, however a shorter figure with a trumpet in its hand caught their attention the most. It had big glowy eyes and he had a big hat on top of its bald wooden head. It laughed at them and blew at his trumpet, a weird vibrating tune echoing. More puppets appeared and marched forward, ready to attack them.

Kagome was still confused at the smaller figure since it was being more mischievous than anything before her eyes. She fired an arrow and it immediately killed one of the puppets. One by one, each puppet started falling to their demise. Suddenly, the wooden kid with the horn ran towards a wall, the stone instantly disappearing to reveal the entrance to other woods.

They suspiciously stared at it.

"Should we go and follow him?" Kagome asked as she looked at her friends.

Link dashed forwards since he wasn't waiting for anyone else to say anything. His instincts were wild as he looked around. He had a feeling the wooden kid had something to do with these woods in order to reach the Master Sword.

He was in desperation to reach said sword. He prayed that as soon as he found it he would return back to his normal form. He was stupid if he denied not enjoying being a wolf, he did. But he couldn't continue on with his duty like this. The fact that the legendary sword still existed is what astonished him. He thought the sword had disappeared.

But all this time it was hidden in the forest next to his village.

He heard the giggling of the kid and followed it. He felt the others running behind him as he entered through another tunnel. The more he ran the more he noticed they were basically in a maze. He growled as he finally spotted the kid and launched forward. His fangs connected with the kid who just giggled as Link bit him. He then let out a scream and disappeared into another section.

Between him and Inuyasha, they were able to spot several times the kid. Either Link would dash forward and attack him or Inuyasha did with his claws. The others would take care of the puppets that would appear to attack them, quickly disposing of them. The kid seemed to enjoy annoying Inuyasha the most and several times he ran around the half demon before taking off.

The chase finally came into a stop as Link attacked the kid one last time. This made another stone to disappear and a doorway to another area of the maze appear. This area was more clear as it had trees and stones combined scattered around the circular room. There was another entry way, however it was covered with a similar wallstone.

The kid had become smarter. Whenever Inuyasha or Link got close to him, he would appear in another pillar of stone and laugh at them. There was a point that he started chucking rocks, specifically at Inuyasha, making the half demon openly growl in annoyance. Kagome decided that enough was enough so she started aiming for the kid instead of the puppets. She started to see a pattern on where he would appear next and as soon as he landed on a pillar, she fired the arrow.

"That wasn't nice!" the playful voice coming from him exclaimed, "Skull Kid just wanted to play!"

He twirled around and disappeared in a dust of leaves. Everyone was left dumbfounded at the act of the kid but shook it off as the wall disappeared. They walked out for it to be now broad daylight when just a few moments ago they had been fighting in the dark. They could see more ruins in front of them and the Triforce painted on the ground in front of a door where to statues stood at either side of the doorway. Link's eyes widened since he just knew that the sword he was desperately searching for was in there. He ran forward but immediately stopped when the ground where he stood shifted into several squares with an empty void under them. One statue jumped to the other side, making the ground shake from beneath his paws although they weren't connected. An echo came from within the statue that was in front of him.

"We are the Guardians of this land..." It said, "Guide us to where we once stood. Only then can you enter the true Sacred Grove... Beast who speaks to our hearts... what would you have of us?"

Midna surprised the others as she removed herself from Link's back and floated next to them. She crossed her arms behind her head and watched.

Sango walked up to her, "You're not going to help him?"

Midna smirked as she rolled her eye, "He has to do this on his own. If the sword is truly behind that wall, he has to get to it on his own."

Understanding fell on their faces as they saw the wolf struggling with positioning the guardians to their respective spots.

"What do you know of the sword Midna?" Miroku asked as he continued watching Link.

She shifted her position as she went and sat down on Kirara's back. She softly patted the giant cat as she answered him.

"Anyone that is aligned with evil cannot wield the sword at all. It has the power to repel all evil as well. There's been several legends of it that's even reached my own world. It's that powerful. One of the biggest battles that that sword faced was with the Hero of Time hundreds of years ago."

She stopped for a moment as she looked around the ruins, "Now that I think about it, this place does look similar to the Temple of Time from the books I read back in my world."

Kagome was barely listening as she continued to stare at Link as he struggled with the statues. She could see that he was getting frustrated and decided to do something to help him.

"Come on Link! You can do it!" She cheered him on as he hopped in another square and the other two statues moved. Regardless how awkward her relationship with the young hero has been, he was still her friend even if she told him they were solely companions. She knew this was important for him. He needed that sword to return to normal, he needed that sword to restore things back to normal.

Link loudly snarled as he suddenly started jumping in a pattern he pictured in his head. Sure enough, his strategy worked and both of the statues were back in their place. Kagome let out a squeal of happiness as she ran up to him once the ground was back to normal, with the others not far behind.

"Go now to the sacred place beast... We yield passage to the Sacred Grove..."

Link swallowed as he cautiously went up the decaying stairs. His wolf eyes immediately spotted the sword, standing in the middle of the room. He had heard all the legends growing up. Every single one of them. The story of the Hero of Time being his favorite. The fact that he now stood a couple feet away from it was making his heart beat uncontrollably. He heard Midna comment regarding of the possibility of the ruins being the ones of the Temple of Time. Now that he was standing before the sword, he knew she was right.

The sword stood proudly in the middle of a room amongst the death and ruin that over time destroyed the temple. Like if it was the only survivor of an ancient blitz. He raised his head, wanting to prove himself to the sword as he approached it with more determination. The others followed closely behind. Suddenly, a flash of light erupted forth from the blade and a strong wind started blowing. Everyone was knocked away from the sword with the gush of wind, their grunts reaching his ears as he dug his claws on to the ground to anchor himself.

No... I can do this…

His fur whipped with the strong winds as he stood and continued to approach it, not letting the winds knock him down. Everyone was on their stomachs but they could clearly see him not giving up. Like if the sword was testing him but at the same time it was battling the darkness that Link possessed within him that Zant had caused.

He was only a foot away when he let out the loudest growl and bark they have ever heard from him. It was loud and powerful as it echoed all over. It gave Kagome chills to hear him like that.

The wind stopped and there was another flash of light that they had to cover their eyes. Once they felt the light had gone away, they looked up.

Link was no longer a wolf.

He was back in his original form again in his green tunic. He took a final step forward and unsheathed the sword from the bed of rock on the ground. He gripped it tightly as he rose it above his head as he finally fully accepted his fate as the new Hero for Hyrule. He didn't want to believe he had been chosen before, but now, having the legendary blade in his hand he knew he had been avoiding the inevitable.

I'm the hero…

Midna grabbed something off the ground as she made herself float over to him. Her eye was wide as she stared at the blade in his hand. As she looked at him, she could see something different in him. Something that wasn't quite there before.

"The sword accepted you as its master..." She stopped for a moment before showing him what she had grabbed from the ground, "This thing is the embodiment of the evil magic that Zant casted on you," She twirled it around her hand with a thoughtful look on her face, "It's definitely different from our tribe's shadow magic."

Curiosity got the best of him and he reached with a finger to poke it, however she swatted his hand away.

"Careful, if you touch it you'll go back into your wolf form. This thing is too dangerous... it's probably for the best if we just leave it here..."

Miroku got his face close to the crystal, "Wouldn't that be helpful for him? For when he needs to be a wolf be able to voluntarily transform into one?"

Midna raised her eyebrow at him, clearly impressed with his observation, "Yes, since Zant was kind enough to give this to us, we should be thankful and use it all we can!"

Sango tilted her head, "Would that help him open up the portals too?"

Midna nodded as she grinned at Link. He had yet to say anything at all regarding everything, but she knew he was listening. Inuyasha kept staring at the Master Sword. He had to admit, it was a beautiful blade. The hilt was a vibrant royal blue and it was a double-edged longsword. The crossguard is noticeably larger and elaborate in relation to its pommel. The Triforce is seen engraved at the base of the blade and embedded in the crossguard is a yellow gemstone.

Kagome was extremely proud for him and all she wanted was to reach forward and hug him to celebrate this new accomplishment. However, things were still tense after the temple. They started slowly leaving the room but Midna stopped Link.

He didn't say anything, but the question was evident in his face. She rolled her eye since she hated the moments that he would communicate without using his voice.

"Link... I've got a little favor to ask...well to all of you."

They all turned to her, curious since the imp never asked for any favors.

"Would you all mind coming with me and find the Mirror of Twilight? It's something here in Hyrule."

For the first time, Link finally spoke, "The Mirror of Twilight?"

She eagerly nodded, "Yes! It's our last potential link to Zant!"

Link's eyes flashed at the mention of the fiend and nodded. She smirked at him and they continued walking.

However, once they were back where the Triforce was painted on the ground, black familiar pillars appeared with a howling sound as a black portal appeared from the sky. Four shadow beasts fell and furiously snarled at them. Inuyasha raised his sword, however Link raised a hand in front of him to stop him. He walked forward with a strong grip on the handle of the Master Sword on his left hand and dashed forward.

The beasts didn't stand a chance the moment they came in contact with the sword. Usually it would take Link a couple slices to fully bring one down, but this time they instantly fell dead. He used a series of combos and defeated the four beasts at the same time, making the portal turn blue. Everyone's eyes widened at the power of the blade and the ferocity he held as he used it with smoothness.

He smirked inwardly as he stared at it. Midna floated over to him and held out the stone. He took a deep breath and touched it. Instantly, he was a wolf again. Everyone surrounded him and Midna transported them to the Ordona Spring. Link returned quickly to his human form and gave her a confused look.

"I think you all need a break."

And with that, she retreated into his shadow.

Miroku placed a hand on Link's shoulder, "She's right. We must rest before setting forth on finding this mirror."

Inuyasha grunted, "We got to figure out a plan against Zant."

"Besides," Sango chimed in, "Shippo will be happy to see Kagome again."

Link's blue eyes darted to Kagome and she averted her gaze. He then looked at Miroku and nodded, "Let's go then."

The walk to the village was quiet and exhaustion was finally catching up to all of them. Even if Inuyasha didn't want to admit it. Link had them stop by his house so him, Miroku, and Inuyasha could drop off any of their supplies so they wouldn't carry them anymore.

Uli was the first one to spot them since she was coming out of the small store of the village. Her gentle face lit up with a huge smile as she saw them, specially Link. She placed the basket she carried on the floor and the young woman flung herself at him, holding him tightly. He could feel the wetness of her tears against his neck and he couldn't help but feel a pang on his chest. He knew he had worried her. This woman had taken it upon herself to continue raising him once his parents passed away.

Kagome smiled as she saw the woman gushing over Link, asking him if he was ok and what not. She felt a demonic aura approaching at a fast speed and before she could even pinpoint the direction of it, someone slammed into her chest in tears.

"Kagome you are back!" Shippo cried out happily as he held on to her and took in her scent. Her eyes teared up as she held the young fox close to her. The last time she had seen him, she almost died. She was happy to see that he was ok, and even more proud on the fact that he had wanted to stay in order to protect the village.

Uli pulled away from Link and approached Kagome, "I've heard so much about you! I'm so glad to see that you're ok. All of your friends were extremely worried for you honey!"

Kagome pulled away from Shippo to answer her, "Yeah I know! I'm just glad to be back with everyone again."

Uli side glanced at Link, "I hope he treated you with respect and didn't push you."

Flashes of the kiss replayed in both of their minds. Link cleared his throat, "Where's Rusl?"

"He said he needed to do something important. He just left yesterday. Can't really say where he went. Do you want to go see everyone else?"

He shook his head, "I think we are just going to go back to my house. We are exhausted."

She gently smiled at him, "Alright honey, I will have dinner ready in a couple of hours so you can all come and eat."

Link nodded. However, Sango and Miroku volunteered to help her with the bags and dinner. Inuyasha immediately took off into the trees. Kagome was left with Link and a young demon fox clinging to her.

The walk back to Link's house, the young fox told Kagome everything that he had done while everyone else was gone. He helped Uli immensely while Rusl was gone to take the others to Kakariko Village. He hunted frogs for fun and even helped Fado with the herding as well. There was one incident of three Bokoblins reaching the village while Rusl was gone.

"I was able to spot them before they entered the village," the kit said as he moved his arms exaggeratedly, "It was just three of them and I had everyone enter their houses. The only ones that stayed with me were the Mayor and Fado. They didn't want to leave me alone."

Link rose his eyebrows as he heard the kit from behind him. He was impressed to know that his childhood friend had stepped up and defended the village. He already knew Bo would do anything for them, but Fado was a different story.

"We each took on one Bokoblin. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty brave Kagome! With my fox fire I was strong enough to take one down. The Mayor was incredible! He's huge but man, he could move fast!"

Kagome's attention was solely on Shippo as she continued to walk behind Link back to his house. Exhaustion was finally creeping in on her as she went up the ladder to get to his door. He extened his hand to help her up. She hesitated for a second and then grabbed it, Shippo's blabbering still going on and on as they went inside the house.

She was taken aback the moment she saw his house. It was the first time she was in here and it was totally different than what she imagined.

It seemed to be three stories, a ladder connecting all three of the sections of his house. Everything was made out of wood or iron. Books were literally everywhere. His kitchen was very modest as she walked around curiously. Shippo had finally stopped talking and placed himself in her arms and snuggled against her. His instincs were telling him to sniff her and comfort developed him like a blanket now that he was back with her. His light snoring is what snapped her out of her little exploration around the house.

She hadn't even noticed Link stepping away and changing into a pair of brown cotton pants and a white cotton shirt.

"You can place him on my bed if you want."

She gave him a smile as she carefully carried Shippo with one arm as she climbed up the ladder, following Link to his bed. Once again, he helped her up and she easily placed Shippo on the bed and covering him.

She shook her head with a small grin, "You would think it would be us suddenly passing out."

He lightly chuckled, "He missed you. He probably feels better now that you're here."

She ran a gentle hand through Shippo's fire red hair. That made the small fox snuggle closer to the pillow and whisper her name, "I don't even want to bring him with us, but I missed him."

"He'll have all of us with him. He'll be ok with us. I don't think he would even want to stay behind."

As Link was about to walk away and go down the ladder, Kagome stopped him by getting a hold of his forearm.

He closed his eyes for a moment, slightly wishing she hadn't done that. He's been having an internal battle with himself, specially after the kiss he had stolen from her. He turned slowly just to be greeted by a huge pair of gray eyes brimming with tears. Her lips and cheeks were rosy as a small tear fell down her cheek. His heart made a sudden tug and he placed a hand to clean the tear.

"Second time you're crying for me."

She didn't say anything and just wrapped her arms around him and hid her face on his chest.

Now that they were here, together, and alone after what happened, realization that she almost lost him had settled in. She hated the fact of him being dead, of him being injured. Of him being stuck as a wolf. She has never doubted him, but that didn't erase the fact of being terrified of losing him. She didn't want to think of him as just a companion anymore. He was her friend… or maybe something else. And that was another thing that scared her badly.

They both felt the change in the air the moment he returned the embrace. Her smaller form seemed to fit perfectly against his broader and taller form. Like if she was the missing piece of the puzzle.

He buried his nose on her head as he held her closer to him.

I'm not letting you go.