"C-Can you tell me what... what this is about?" Link asks the man he's been following after a good five minutes of silence. They even walked through a whole building just to get to the administration's office.

Link didn't do anything wrong. He's kept to himself all week. He's been quiet and sweet and he never hurt anybody.

Well, just one guy.

"Nothing to worry about, Champion," the middle aged man says, holding the door open to the administration's lobby with a stern face that doesn't seem too convincing. "The Dean would just like to meet with you about a personal matter."

Why? Link says in his head, but a different comment comes out instead, "My... my name is—"

But he tells himself to forget it. The man takes Link right past the secretary's desk with rows of chairs occupied with a couple impatient students waiting to speak to advisors and maybe even the Dean himself. Why does Link get special privilege? Has he royally fucked up so bad that the Dean couldn't wait to speak with him? Maybe he's getting expelled, or maybe his father pulled some strings so that the Dean would revoke all his transferred credits and send them back to Central. They can do that sort of thing, right? With his father's leverage, he's sure anything is possible.

Or maybe the guy that attacked Zelda last night is the Dean's son or nephew, and he'll be sitting in the room with a broken face and a bruised abdomen, and maybe his side of the story is completely different than the truth.

It could be anything.

When Link enters into the private office there is an extra person waiting for him besides the Dean, but it's not the horrible guy from last night. It's a large man in a coach uniform with a bright smile that beams at him when their eyes meet—but Link is still a little weary. Any type of recognition or extra attention is not what he wants right now.

Link's eyes drop down to the other man sitting behind the polished wooden desk. He's tall and slender with dark tan skin and a white, well-trimmed beard. Both the older gentlemen greet him with enthusiasm and adoration, while Link turtles into himself a little.

"Welcome to Deku, m'boy!"

"Hey there son! It's an honor to meet you!"

Both men say at the same time, nodding and almost cheering at him. Link stands in the middle of the room, awkwardly waiting for instructions as the door closes behind him. Thankfully, neither of them notice his nerves, perhaps they're too hyped with excitement as they continue their introductions.

"My name's Dean Cado, and this is Coach Dorian," the man in a fitted suit rises to stand and extends his hand out to him. Link walks over to shake it respectfully, then turns to shake the Coach's hand.

"Quite a firm grip you got there, son," Coach Dorian smiles widely. "Please sit down and stay awhile." Link does what he's told with a nervous smile and clutches at his satchel, placing it on his lap when he goes to sit in a posh leather chair.

"We're big fans of you and your dad," the Dean says as Coach Dorian takes a seat next to Link. "You were very impressive in last year's Premier league."

"You single handedly won the league for New Castle, stealing it from Tabantha in the final," the Coach adds eagerly. "Amazing. There hasn't been that kind of dribbling skill since Fernando Redondo."

"Oh, um. Thank you." Link scratches the back of his neck. He wouldn't say single handedly. A player is only as good as their team, and Link had always played by that motto. He's never considered the Hyrule Premier League to be anything special, either. There are only twelve teams in Hyrule, compared to England's twenty and the Euro's with twenty-four, but nevertheless, Hylian's were very proud of it's humble league, and many players went on to compete in larger, more significant championships.

"Dorian and I were both looking forward to adding you to our fantasy soccer rosters for next years Euro Cup, but we found you came to Deku instead," Cado says.

"Even better!" Dorian adds with a booming voice.

Link forces himself to chuckle, though it comes out more nervous than anticipated. They still haven't mentioned why he was called in here —did they seriously just want to meet him?

Dean Cado meets his eyes with a large grin, "What made you transfer to NHU, Champion?"

He's quiet for a moment, letting the silence fall and collects his words. "I uh...I wanted to finish my degree."

Lie. He came here for several reasons and his degree wasn't even one of them.

"Smart choice, son," Coach Dorian smiles ingenuously when Link turns to look at him. "Northern is a fantastic school and the city of Deku is Hyrule's hidden gem. Seriously, you'll love it."

"I do," Link sends them a shy smile, realizing that it's not a lie this time. He's lived in Deku for only a couple weeks now so he's still pretty new to the secluded region, but he's hiked several trails already and swam in the glacial waters of Lake Hylia every day to acclimatize himself with it's cold temperature—that way he'd blend in with the locals better. His new life in Deku has helped to reduce some anxiety that has plagued him since he made the plan to abandon his soccer career and leave Central, though his issue with speech and speaking has crept back into his life, like a ghost from his childhood that has come back to haunt him.

The two men continue chatting with Link for several long, agonizing minutes, prompting him with many different yes or no questions about Deku and school; "Have you visited Chickaloo Mountain yet?" —he has. "Are you settled into a new place already?" —he is. "How have your classes been this week?" —they're fine.

"Well son," Coach Dorian says with a long exhale, "I don't want to beat around the bush too much. We both wanted to speak to you because we are huge fans, but more specifically because we noticed you haven't requested a position on the NHU soccer team."

"Oh, I—"

Dorian continues like he didn't even hear Link interject. "Now, we understand playing college soccer might be beneath you at this point in your career, but we would love to have you on the team."

Link waits for the silence before he tries to speak again. "I missed the—the tryouts."

Both men turn to look at one another, and they share a blink before they burst into laughter.

"Tryouts!?"

"You don't need to tryout!"

"Forgive us son, we don't mean to laugh at you," Dean Cado says after he comes down from his laughing fit, though it was rather rude that they laughed at his modesty. "Usually Coach Dorian preps talented players to get into the Premier league, never the other way around."

"Now we have a Premier star player, a world record breaker, enrolled at NHU, and it would be a game changer to have you on the team. Literally, a game changer." Dorian adds.

"I—I'm sorry, I won't have time. I need to f-focus on my...my classes and I need to —to find a job still—"

"Well, you're in luck son. NHU pays their players through third party endorsements, and they receive compensation due to their name and celebrity status."

"—and with your name, hell...you'd be helping the whole team get paid more since you'd be bringing more attention to the field."

When it's clear to them that Link isn't going to answer with an immediate yes, the two men rush into explaining the whole program and the benefits he'd be earning. Through several loopholes in Hyrule's education system, Northern University has formulated a way to pay their players a small salary for promoting their school, profiting from their own name, image, and likeness. Cado and Dorian try to make it sound worth his while, and honestly, it does. Link needs a job desperately. To the best of his ability, Link tried to balance the savings that he has left, and he's calculated that within two months he wouldn't be able to afford his meager rent anymore. However, the pay doesn't sound like it would be enough for him to live comfortably. He would still have to find another job soon.

But with a job such as this one, it would be effortless and easy. A job that he's actually qualified for. And he still enjoys playing soccer, it was everything around it; the weight of fame, pressure, and reliance that made him break and run away from it all. Perhaps playing for NHU wouldn't be too bad, especially since the majority of the school already knows he attends now.

Before Link gives them a definite answer, he sighs and asks; "What position would I be playing?" —He usually plays as a forward.

Coach Dorian smiles as he speaks, "we would like you to be our striker."

"And a captain," the Dean adds.

Link drags a hand down his face with a hushed exhale. He wouldn't mind playing striker, but being a captain means moral support, extra responsibilities, and managing a team he's never even met. It's true, he had been a captain for New Castle, along with five other players that were better at speaking than he is —Link behaved more as an extra referee on the field and a link between coach and teammates, not so much lifting morale or encouraging good communication. He's not really good at that sort of thing.

"How many captains are there?" Link asks, and Coach Dorian answers with three. "And how... how does the team feel about me joining?" Link will not join the NHU soccer team if the other players find his special treatment unfair or if they don't want him at all, and that this meeting is just some strange, selfish request from the Dean and the soccer coach.

"Actually, this request comes from the majority of the players," Dorian says. "It was brought to my attention this morning by two of the captains that you transferred here, and they spoke with their teammates to request I speak with you about joining the team. Most of the players would be honored to share a field with you."

That makes Link smile weakly, knowing that the team would be thrilled to have him. He has been exceptionally lonely lately and maybe he'd be able to make a couple friends if he did join. Perhaps one of them could even help him find a second job in Deku.

"You said the —the majority? Are there a few against this idea?" Link asks.

The two men share a brief glance before Coach Dorian answers. "Just one. He's the third captain."

"Revali," Dean Cado adds with some minor distaste in his tone. "But you won't have to worry about him. He's harmless."

Now out of questions, Link looks to the Dean, then to the coach, and takes one long, heavy sigh before committing to his answer.

"Okay. I'll do it."

The room erupts with excitement after that, with large smiles and happy chuckles, and Link finds himself smiling shyly back with growing optimism and opportunity. Maybe this will be a step in the right direction; playing for fun instead of playing to follow his father's career. Hopefully the decision to play soccer will help him get acquainted and invested in NHU, and the city of Deku in general, since Link has no idea how long he'd stay here. A month? A semester? Until he's graduated? Perhaps if he comes across enough reasons to stay, maybe he will.

"Now, if you're worried about juggling so many new things; new school, new city, new team —then I can help you drop a class right now if you'd like," Cado says, then looks down at the papers in front of him. "I see you were just getting out of Doctor Robbie's World Literature class. It's not a required credit for health and physical education, so would you prefer to drop the class—"

"No," Link blurts before he can stop himself. He clears his throat softly as the blush starts to form across his face, "no, I— I would like to keep that class, please."

Link is certain by this time next Friday, there will be someone wanting to sit next to him in that class. Someone with a black tumbler full of coffee.