Chapter 9: Karusa Pawn

Week eight, Thursday 11:00am

Hyrule Royal Academy, Komali Park

Link watched the branches of the great big maple tree above her sway in the breeze, her eyes following an orange tinted leaf that broke off and began to flutter slowly to the ground. She could hear happy chattering from the Rito students who were relaxing in the treetop. She herself was alone, lazing on the grass. For once, she didn't feel like falling asleep, even though the ground was surprisingly warm and the smell of grass and leaves calming.

Already October, she mused. Over two months at the Academy. School life was very routine, and it was easy for Link to settle into her role as a student. Classes Monday through Thursday, lunch with Zelda after Mythology, exercising at the gym every morning, bugging Vaati every chance she got, squeezing in some studying here and there… At times, she forgot the reason that she was here. But she would quickly be returned to the reality of the situation: Link was a spy here. As much as she enjoyed Vaati and Zelda's company, she was not their real friend. At some point she would vanish from the Academy, and they'd probably never see her again. That was partly one reason she didn't study much—her grades didn't really matter, since her record would eventually be deleted.

That was just one of the problems of longer missions: it was easy for the agent to gradually adjust to the situation as being their normal life and lose the distinction between their cover and their real character.

There was a sudden sound of music from her pocket. Link dug her Sheikah Slate out and checked the screen, pausing a moment in surprise. It was a call from Impa.

"Hey, Impa, what's up?" she answered casually.

"Are you in a secure location?" came the clipped reply.

Link cast her gaze about. The park wasn't particularly busy, but it was a public space, and she knew from experience how well people could hide in trees. "Not exactly," she said calmly.

"Alright. You won't need to discuss in detail. It's about the report you sent last night."

She had been anticipating that. Link closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

Impa continued in her business-like tone. "According to your report, you'd previously placed a bug on Vaati Enlil in order to listen to his interactions with the Yiga named Tiv, but until yesterday, this had yielded no important information that could be used to conclusively identify Tiv's purpose in targeting Enlil."

"Yup." Link kept her replies casual; anyone listening to her side of the conversation wouldn't suspect she was discussing something top secret.

"Yesterday, however, Tiv invited Enlil to a private meeting, during which she made him an offer to guarantee success with his magic, but at the cost of excluding you from being a part of the process, suggesting he cut ties with you entirely. He declined to accept her offer right away. You heard this conversation through the bug placed on Enlil."

Link recalled the surprising morning she'd had yesterday—Vaati had gone to the library to meet Tiv, fortunately waking her up before he left. She'd crawled out of bed and grabbed her Sheikah Slate from her desk, opening up the secret app that would relay audio from the bug hidden in Vaati's shoe. Not expecting anything interesting, Link had settled back onto her bed when Tiv suddenly made her offer to Vaati. It was an understatement to say that Link was shocked.

"Good so far," she told Impa.

"I noticed that your report seemed rather incomplete compared to what you usually send in. Is there something else going on? You did not include your next steps." Impa paused. "First, does it seem that Tiv knows your identity?"

Link thought back to the arrow that had missed her face by centimeters, and now the offer Tiv had made to Vaati. It was clear that she wanted Link out of the picture when it came to Vaati. "I would say we know who each other are, but we're tolerating each other."

Impa hummed; there was a shuffling sound, like papers being moved. "In that case, you both have to tread carefully."

"Well, I do, but she doesn't seem to think so." Short of saying 'join the Yiga clan!', her offer to Vaati had practically been a recruitment pitch.

"Hm. We could draw several conclusions, then. Tiv is confident in her chances of persuading Vaati to choose the Yiga's help. There is also the possibility that recruiting Vaati is not of prime importance to the Yiga, and therefore if Tiv is exposed or removed from the Academy, they will suffer minimal loss. As for you, it's likely that they want you to slip up. They already suspect you and have probably connected you to the disappearances of the other Yiga at the Academy. Tiv's move with Vaati is in all likelihood an attempt to make you give yourself away."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too."

"Why didn't you include that in your report?"

Link took her time in answering. When she did, she sighed before speaking. "I'm actually not sure what to do."

"That's rather unlike you," Impa replied. "I will be honest, Link, I had expected you to request Tiv's removal long before now, but I trust your judgment, so I had not said anything. If you cannot devise a plan for this situation, then I would advise having her removed."

"I think she'll lead me to the bigger picture. That's why I haven't requested that yet. I'm here long-term anyways, I don't want to rush." Link sat up and repositioned herself so that her back was against the tree trunk.

"I understand. Then the fact remains that you must decide what to do about Enlil. Will you let him work with Tiv, or will you prevent him from doing so? All while retaining your cover, of course."

"Yeeeep. I don't know, but I'll keep you updated, okay?"

There was a short sigh. "Please do. Stay vigilant." The call clicked and went silent.

Link wasn't given any chance to relax or think over the conversation she'd just had. She had just set her tablet in her lap when it buzzed with a message.

Porcupine: Why is there a stuffed animal on my bed

It took her a moment, and then she burst into a giggle. She'd nearly forgotten the stuffed bat she'd bought and put on Vaati's bed while he was out studying at the library. Smiling, Link typed back, It's a present, duh! You're always threatening to put bats in my bed, so I put one in yours!

Porcupine: I don't want a stuffed animal

Link: ooo-kay, what do you want, then?

It took him a while to reply to that question. Finally, he messaged, Wait. Why do you want to get me something?

Link: uh, I dunno, cause maybe it's your birthday this month or something?

Porcupine: … where did you find that information

Link: I used my super spy skills

Porcupine: …

Link: so, what'll it be? a book? candy? classy dinner by candlelight?

He ignored her suggestions. Actually, I do have something you could do for me. Meet me at the Academy entrance

Link paused, curiosity aroused. Something she could do, not give? And he'd avoided saying exactly what it was. She wondered if it had anything to do with Tiv's deal—was he going to somehow test Link and see which person he would choose? There wasn't much to go on, so she could only make vague guesses. All she could do was go and meet him. Kay! She replied, then hopped to her feet and took off at a jog towards the entrance.


She got there about fifteen minutes before Vaati. He walked up to see her impatiently tapping one foot on the ground and stretching. "You got here fast," he remarked.

"I was at the park," Link pointed at the maple tree which could be seen standing tall behind the administration building. "So, what're we doing?"

"Shopping," was the brief reply. Vaati walked past Link, clearly not in the mood to explain all the details. "Just follow me."

That definitely wasn't what she was expecting. He probably didn't mean the grocery-type or clothes-type shopping; perhaps they were going to a bookstore. Link followed Vaati's footsteps, swinging her arms as she imagined what kind of shopping trip it might be.

He led her out of the Academy and past the campus boundaries into downtown Castletown. The capital city was lively with lunchtime traffic, both on the streets and on the sidewalks. Link kept close to Vaati, though even if she fell behind, it wasn't like it would be hard to spot the violet headed man. She saw him check his Slate every so often as they walked.

"Where are we going?" she asked while they waited for a crosswalk to change signals.

Vaati watched the signal until it changed, and only replied once they were walking again. "A pawn shop."

Link instantly made the connection—he was looking for the pawn shop that Tiv had told him about. It felt like a risky move to make, going without Tiv, and bringing Link along to boot. If Tiv was friends with the shop owner, then it was likely that the owner was a Yiga. He'd probably be on the lookout for Vaati and Link. She couldn't imagine being welcomed with open arms in that scenario.

But of course, Vaati knew none of that. He didn't know the potential danger it put Link in. If anything, Vaati was putting himself at risk; Tiv could cut him off from her help if she found out about this. Link couldn't help but wonder about that. Vaati didn't seem like the type to take risks. In any case, she didn't think there was a way she could dissuade him from going without making him suspicious.

"That's a weird place to go." Link masked the serious thoughts running through her mind with some gentle teasing. "You sure you don't want a classy dinner instead?"

"Only if you're not there for it," Vaati returned, looking over at Link with a frown. "I heard from someone that pawn shops can be a good place to find magic relics. If I find any, you're going to buy them for me."

"So demanding! But you're the birthday boy, so I can't say no! Are we almost there?"

The violet haired Hylian checked his tablet again and glanced around at the street signs. Then he nodded. "It should be around the corner." Vaati resumed his quick pace forward, and Link trailed a few steps behind him.

He stopped in front of an older looking brick building after just a few hundred feet, craning his head to look at the sign. KARUSA PAWN was written above the display window in bold red lettering. We buy and sell what other pawn shops won't! Vaati nodded, slipping his Slate into his pocket, and grabbed the door handle. "Come on," he said to Link, not waiting to leave the door open for his companion.

The interior was outdated just like the brick exterior; the floors, walls, and even ceiling were of dark wood planks, almost like the building had been built back when Castletown was called Hyrule Castle Town, and it had never been updated since. It made the shop dark and somewhat claustrophobic despite the lights scattered throughout. The maze of shelves stuffed with a wide variety of knick knacks didn't help the stuffy feeling. Link thought it looked more like one of those secondhand goods stores than a pawn shop.

"Looks like they really do buy and sell anything," she commented, picking up a teacup from one of the shelves.

Vaati went directly to the back, ignoring Link and not even glancing at the store's goods. No one was at the register, so he impatiently rang the little bell on the counter. His companion took her time joining him; she noticed with some chagrin a bundle of bananas sitting on the chair behind the counter, just barely out of sight.

A rather thin man came hurrying to the register, shoving something in his pocket and clearing his throat. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked with an obviously forced cheerfulness.

"Do you carry any magic relics?" Vaati, straight to the point, asked.

In reply, the man hummed and nodded. "Yeah, we've got some. Some of 'em I'm not sure are real, though. Magic relics are a tricky business, you know?" The man's eyes drifted to Link briefly. Then he grabbed the bundle of bananas and pulled one off with a snap. It was a distinctly threatening snap, especially with the way he kept his gaze locked with Link's when he did it.

"I want to see whatever relics you have," said Vaati.

Humming, the man peeled open his banana slowly. He kept barely glancing at Link as he did so. "Yeah, let me just remember where I put them…" The sentence trailed off, and he took a huge bite out of his banana, casting Link yet another narrow-eyed look.

She took the hint—the guy didn't want her hanging around. "I'm going to browse," she told Vaati, then made her way back to the messy shelves.

Of course, she had expected to be treated that way, but she was a little bit surprised that the man was willing to show Vaati anything. He probably wasn't going to share any magic tricks—not unless Vaati took Tiv's offer—only letting Vaati look at some of the magic relics. Link strained to listen to what Vaati and the pawn shop employee were saying, but she couldn't clearly make out their voices. Maybe she would ask Vaati later how it went; hopefully he'd be feeling generous enough to share a few details.

After a good quarter hour of picking up random objects from the shelves and staring at them, and getting her fingers coated in dust, Link returned to the counter to check on Vaati. He wasn't there, however, and neither was that shop employee. She cast her gaze about, wondering where they had disappeared to, and saw a door to her left, probably leading to storage. Perhaps they'd gone that way.

Just as she was about to head to the door, a cheerful voice called out from behind the counter. "Can I help you, sir?"

Link turned her head and blinked a few times. It was the man that was supposed to be helping Vaati—but no, she realized, this man was a little different; his eyes were wider, and his nose was crooked in the middle. Siblings, she would guess.

"Uhhh, I'm looking for the guy I came in with," she explained. "He's got purple hair?"

The man smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid I haven't seen him." He walked out around the counter to stand in front of Link, pointing at a nearby shelf. "But I do have a useful knick knack that could help you find him."

"Really? Cool!" she replied, but her guard was going up, suspicious about what this man wanted with her.

He led her halfway down to the middle of the shelf and pulled out what looked like an old handheld mirror. The surface of it was terribly tarnished, though, and you could only see vague blurs of colors reflecting back. This he held out to Link, turning it around a few times to show her how both sides had inset mirrors. "Hold it with both hands," he instructed. "Now, think about that friend of yours and imagine his face appearing in the mirror."

Link squinted like she was concentrating on following his instructions. "Is this a magic relic?" she queried.

"Yes, it can reveal the things you want to see."

"Oh, cool! But my side doesn't seem to be working."

"No? That's too bad." He didn't sound disappointed at all, still cheerful. "I can see images on my side. Hmm, crimson…"

Link craned her head to try to look at his side of the mirror, but the man grabbed her hands and held her still. "What's crimson?" she asked, tugging her hands away.

"The crimson is your blood, of course."

At the same moment the words left his mouth, Link saw something move in the blurry reflection of her mirror, and she turned her head, only to be met with something swinging towards her face. Her vision blacked out as pain exploded over her right temple and forehead. She lost all sense of orientation; she only knew she was falling after she crashed into the shelf.

For one dazed moment while the blow still left her blind, Link could only think to herself, I wasn't careful enough! Focused on the man in front of her, she'd left her back unprotected. She blinked forcefully to clear the stars from her vision.

The man leaned down and picked Link up by the front of her shirt, dragging her to her feet. She heard and felt glass break under her shoes. "Didn't we warn you, kid?" the man said in a low voice. "Stay out of this."

"You—? You guys shot that arrow at me, didn't you?!" Link shouted angrily, though she wisely didn't struggle in his grip. Even though she already knew the Yiga were responsible for that earlier threat, she still had to pretend like she had no idea who they were. She saw the person who had hit her standing behind him, another unfamiliar man holding the broken top of a glass bottle. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to be staying out of!" Her forehead was starting to feel very warm and her skin tickled a little as blood trickled down the side of her face. Despite the pain, Link glared at the men, showing no hint of fear in her eyes. If more blows came, she was going to fight back.

Her attacker narrowed his eyes, apparently not convinced by her argument. "We don't like to leave things to chance."

The other man took a step forward, and Link tensed, preparing for another blow.

"Nayru's love—what is going on?!"

All three turned at the exclamation. Vaati was standing at the end of the section, eyes wide as he took in Link's bleeding forehead and the man gripping her shirt. He quickly strode forward, causing the two men to back off from Link.

"Don't try haggling too much, I guess?" Link weakly offered in explanation.

The Yiga didn't dispute her story; they knew it was best to keep the truth hidden from Vaati, even if it meant agreeing with the enemy's cover story. "There was a… misunderstanding," the man that had hit Link said. "It's resolved now." With that, both men turned and exited, their footsteps accented by crunching glass on the ground.

"Wait a minute, you can't just—!" Vaati shouted, darting forward to chase after them. But Link grabbed his arm and shook her head. "What? You're just letting them go?!"

"I kinda need to go to the hospital first." She pointed to the blood still trailing down her face.

Vaati's face when through several expressions—wide eyed in surprise, frowning in what looked like concern, and then finally his eyebrows knitted, and he scowled at Link. "What in Hylia's name did you do, Link?!"

She groaned and shook her head, then winced, the movement making her head throb. "Why do you think it's my fault? Aw, whatever. Can we please go to the hospital? I'm starting to get nauseous."

"Fine." Vaati grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her out of the pawn shop, ignoring her complaints about how the fast pace was making her even more nauseous. "You're telling me exactly what happened as soon as we get back to the dorms," he stated.

"Kaaaay," Link sighed. Her head was really hurting now, throbbing with every heartbeat and every step she took, and her stomach was heavy with nausea. She was grateful for Vaati pulling her along; she could close her eyes every so often to hide from the busy scenes passing by. Yep, she probably had a concussion. Wasn't the first, and probably wouldn't be the last.

Thankfully, the nearest hospital was two streets away, and before long Link was sitting in one of the doctor's offices, watching with some fascination as he cleaned the cuts on her head and put stitches in. He gave her the good news that the cuts shouldn't scar too badly, but she did need to rest as much as possible so she could recover from her concussion. She cheerfully thanked him and headed out to the waiting room, where Vaati had decided to stay while she got patched up.

"All better now!" she told him with a smile. "Except I've got a concussion, but that's not a big deal."

Vaati shook his head tiredly and sighed. "Let's just go back already."


Once they got to their room, Link immediately crawled into her bed and shut her eyes. The nausea and photophobia were her least favorite things about concussions. The medicine the doctor had given her helped with the nausea, but it never fully went away. And with the photophobia she couldn't even read a book to pass the time without making her whole head throb.

"Sorry I ruined your shopping trip," she apologized to Vaati. "We can go another time, though!"

"You're unbelievable." Link could hear him sitting down on his own bed, probably taking off his shoes. He sighed, then made a sort of frustrated growl. "We're not going back there."

Link laughed lightly. "Yeah, I'll probably get shot before I can step through the door. So maybe we can go with that dinner idea?"

She heard Vaati's bed creak, and then his steps as he walked over to her side of the room. Link cracked open one eye just enough to see him by. He stood with arms crossed, glaring down at her, and she knew there was no escaping.

"Explain."