Chapter Seven


After spending all night in the Waku-Jata Shrine, Joyata finally emerged from the ancient Sheikah structure and breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the sunlight on his face. He could not stand being underground any longer.

Not only was the young ex-Yiga pale in the face, but his tummy was gurgling. That meant he was hungry. If Joyata was going to eat something; It was going to be meat and not bananas as only real Yiga warriors ate bananas.

Joyata walked away from the shrine and drew his sword as he approached the nearby woods, eager to hunt. He found a doe and a baby deer wandering around close by, carrying carrots in their jaws. Those creatures looked perfect for a meal.

Using his quick and brilliant thinking skills, Joyata leaped into the bushes and waited for the two deer to come by. Once the doe and the baby deer were very close, the ex-Yiga pounced and cut up the deer.

He watched as the limp bodies of the two animals vanished in a smoky poof and turned into steak while the carrots sitting in the animals' jaws fell to the ground. With his stomach growling even more, Joyata gathered up the carrots and meat for his meal.

The Yiga outfit-clad boy snapped his fingers and teleported to a different location where he could eat his meal. In a puff of smoke, Joyata found himself in the shadows of the old Hylian Coliseum right by a cooking pot. 'Just my luck.' He thought with satisfaction.

Never in his entire life had young Joyata ever thought about eating a meal in an ancient coliseum arena, this place was very famously known for hosting all kinds of events such as gladiatorial matches.

Joyata noticed that the firewood under the pot was currently inactive, so he had to think. Using his mind and eyesight, he found a bow and a bundle of fire arrows laying on the ground nearby and picked them up while remembering his archery training.

Focusing on the cooking pot and thinking about his meal, Joyata pulled back with the arrow and let loose as the tip ignited. The fire arrow hit the wood and it erupted in flames. Steam rose out of the pot, signaling that it was time to cook.

He tossed the carrots and the meat into the pot, watching the food steam while it started bouncing around in the pot. Joyata picked up a cooking spatula and started flipping the meat while turning the carrots. His cooking lessons were proving to be useful now too.

Looking around the arena while paying attention to his meal, the traveling ex-Yiga was hardly worried about coming under attack from nearby monsters such as the ferocious Alpha Lynel that was said to have roamed the arena in the years after Ganon's attack.

'Darn.' Joyata thought as his meal finished cooking and he placed his newly-cooked carrot steak onto a spare plate, 'I'm sure glad I don't have to deal with that Lynel.' He heard the Lynel had attacked and maimed visitors while a crowd of monsters watched.

Because of that giant monster, no Yiga warriors came here and hung out with the Moblins and Lizalfos since the clan already had a rough relationship with Ganon's minions, despite their common loyalty to their master.

Joyata shook his head and sat down to eat his cooked meal, deciding not to think about the whole thing at all. The Yiga were a thing of the past for him, what mattered now was finding Link, and talking to him.

For a split second, the traveler suddenly imagined himself trying to tell Link that he was a good guy while the Hero of Hyrule attacked him with the Master Sword. The thought of it nearly terrified Joyata so much, he almost choked on a piece of carrot steak.

Luckily, he had a drink of Hylian Juice with him. Just before he could swallow the wrong way, Joyata made sure to drink as much Hylian Juice from his bottle as possible. Just like that, he was able to keep eating without choking or swallowing the wrong way.

'Don't worry, Joyata. Link's not gonna cut you down.' The former Yiga trainee mentally told himself, 'The future of Hyrule is at stake and you gotta be brave. Otherwise, without your help, the world will be under the Dark One's foot for all eternity.'

He silently ate the rest of his meal, drank plenty of juice to wash down the carrot steak and waited for it all to digest. Once Joyata was finished waiting, he thought about where Link was and snapped his fingers before teleporting out of the coliseum in a puff of smoke...

—Kakariko Settlement—

Link kept an eye out for monster attacks and breathed in the fresh air as he patrolled the vicinity. Thanks to the chaotic events of last night, almost every settlement in Hyrule was in disarray as guards doubled and citizens took up arms.

However, after seeing coming under attack from Yiga agents disguised as travelers, many people were wary of normal Hylians using real weapons. And after having dealt with Yiga agents disguised as travelers, even Link was uneasy. And speaking of the Yiga...

He heard a poof nearby and looked up to spot a youthful looking man in a red-black Yiga outfit appearing out of thin air. The Yiga warrior didn't seem to be wearing a mask. What trick was this, were the Yiga sending fighters without masks now?

'Oh boy.' The Hylian Champion thought. Link drew the Master Sword and prepared himself, even as the mysterious young Yiga didn't draw a weapon. "HEY!" Link shouted in a brave and demanding way, "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The youthful Yiga came closer towards Link until he came to a stop, holding his hands up and trying to smile in a friendly way. "I mean no harm." Joyata Yutowa said, "Please put your sword away, I come in peace."

An uncertain Link charged towards the newcomer and yelled a battle cry; He swung the Master Sword and leaped through the air towards Joyata. "Whoa!" The ex-Yiga yelped and teleported out of the way, evading the Hylian hero's incoming attacks.

"What's your game, Yiga?" Link demanded as he came in for another attack.

"Link, please!" Joyata pleaded, "I'm not a Yiga, never was, I'm a good guy!"

Hearing this, the hero put his weapon and shield away, "What did you say?"

"My name is Joyata Yutowa. When I was a kid, the Yiga attacked and took away my family, leaving me orphaned until Master Kohga took pity on me and the Yiga adopted me. Kohga trained me and I was still training when you kicked his butt.

"Not long after that, you defeated Ganon and saved Hyrule. After we lost Kohga, I was alone with no idea on what to do until I started having visions about the Dark One. So I left and I'm here to help, you gotta believe me, Link."

Hearing Joyata's story, Link had to think about that for a while and started to recall the gatekeeper Dorian's tale of how he used to be a Yiga clan warrior until he fell in love. Link knew where Joyata was coming from after what had happened with his family.

"Ok, buddy. I believe you." Link shook his new friend's hand, "Sorry that I attacked you. It's just that I saw you in the outfit and thought the Yiga had sent you."

"Don't worry about it, Link." Joyata gave the hero a pat on the shoulder, "At least we took care of the issue. Besides, Hyrule is in danger and my enemy's enemy is my friend, right?"

"You got it, Joyata. Now let's go talk with Zelda, she's talking with Impa right now and I'm sure she'd be interested in hearing your story and letting you be our ally." Link said optimistically. With that settled, he and Joyata headed to Impa's house to talk with Zelda...