Chapter 12: No Straight Answer

Week nine, Monday 12:30pm

Location: Room 503C

"Is Link sick today?" Zelda asked Vaati at the end of Mythology class.

He looked up at her and frowned, surprised that she'd talked to him. Especially since the last time they'd spoken, the girl had literally run away from him in fear. "You could say that," he answered briefly as he stood and began packing his books into his bag. He glanced around the classroom—good, Tiv had already left—before adding, "He hit his head and got a minor concussion, so he's in the dorms resting."

Zelda's eyes widened with more alarm than Vaati thought was necessary. "Is he okay?!" she exclaimed anxiously. Then she flushed and looked away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so loud…"

"I said it's minor. He's already an idiot so a little brain damage isn't going to hurt. Why would you care, anyway?" Vaati was growing more and more suspicious of everyone lately, and he couldn't help questioning Zelda's interest in Link.

She avoided meeting his gaze, back to her usual timid self. "We—we're just friends. We usually have lunch together after class."

"So that's what you two have been doing…" Vaati muttered to himself, too low for Zelda to hear.

"He likes to talk and debate about different myths with me," Zelda continued without prompting, "and share stories of places he's been, things like that…" Letting out a small sigh, Zelda bowed her head apologetically to Vaati. "Tell him I hope he gets well soon." With that, she returned to her seat to grab her things.

Vaati watched her with narrowed eyes. He had only vaguely noticed how Link and Zelda left the class together, not having any reason before to give it a second thought. Now, though, he couldn't help but wonder—what did they really talk about? From what he knew, Zelda kept to herself and had few friends except for Link. She seemed to hold Link in high respect, judging by the conversations Vaati had had with her. It was possible that she knew things about Link that Vaati didn't…

Sensing an opportunity, he called out to Zelda, "Have lunch with me today."

She jolted and turned around, pointing to herself in a 'Who, me?' gesture, even though they were the only ones left in the classroom. When Vaati just nodded, her eyes darted about. "Um, well, I have to study…" she stammered.

"I want to talk to you about Link. You'd normally be having lunch with him anyway, so there's no reason you don't have time," he replied bluntly. Zelda still stared at him like a frightened rabbit. Sighing, he added, "I know you're curious about how Link got a concussion. Have lunch with me and I'll tell you."

The bribe worked. Zelda hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. "Is the cafeteria okay?" she said in a meek voice.

"That will work," Vaati replied. He swung his backpack onto his shoulder and strode out of the classroom, not checking to see if the girl was following.


"…That is what happened," concluded Vaati. He'd decided to tell Zelda the whole story—including Tiv's offer—since showing her how he'd declined it might convince her that he wasn't a total magic-hungry monster. And if she feared him less, she might be more willing to tell him what he wanted to know.

Her reaction to the story was a little different than what he had been expecting. Zelda's eyes had been wide during most of his story, but now she just frowned intensely and stared off into space, clearly deep in thought.

"Do you have any ideas about why Tiv would be targeting Link?" Vaati pressed, sensing that she was forming a theory.

Zelda took a long moment to answer. Then she shook her head in a deliberate fashion. "I… don't, sorry… Or, at least, not one I can voice right now. I would have to ask Link myself…"

"For the love of—" Vaati snapped, pressing a hand to his forehead, and thumping his other fist on the table. Why would no one tell him anything?! What was it that everyone but him knew? He heaved a sigh mixed with a growl and stood. "I've tried asking him myself, I've tried asking Tiv, and now you as well, but apparently I am not going to learn anything that way. This was a waste of time."

As he started to walk away, Zelda called out, "Wait! Just—just be careful! Link isn't your enemy. That I know for sure."

Vaati chose not to answer her, ignoring her and exiting the cafeteria. Of course, Link wasn't his enemy, but he wasn't sure he could call him his friend, not with how he kept such important secrets from Vaati. Scowling and walking at a fast pace, he ended up ramming into someone as he turned down a hall—a girl with red hair and glasses. Vaati's eyes flickered to her briefly—she looked vaguely familiar—before he muttered a quick apology and walked on past her.

What was the missing puzzle piece? Vaati seemed to be at the center of it, while Tiv, Zelda, and Link were all locked in a conflict around him. Was there anything that the three had in common? He mulled over this as he took the long way to the library.

He remembered the time in class that they'd mentioned the Wind Sorcerer Vaati. Tiv had been eager to know if he wanted to use magic so he could be like the Vaati from myth. Then there was the time with Link at the fairy fountain. He'd told Vaati how Zelda didn't want him to find magic, but Link on the other hand believed he could do good with it. After that, Tiv had made him that offer to get him his magic, only with the exception of cutting Link out. Zelda the same day had lectured Vaati on having a purpose for magic.

The automatic doors to the library opened in front of him, and he halted. He'd been so lost in thought that he didn't realize he was already at his destination. Vaati stood in the entrance for several moments.

And then it dawned on him—they were all invested in his magic. This little feud was all about Vaati's magic.

Abruptly, he spun around and marched off in the opposite direction. He was in simply no mood to do homework now. No, he had only one drive at that moment: he needed to figure out what was going on, once and for all. And that meant confronting Link.

Concussion or not, Vaati was not letting him get away from the issue. Not this time.


Luck, however, was not on Vaati's side that day. When he marched through their room's door, mouth open to start shooting questions at Link, he found Aveil and Link having what appeared to be an argument. He halted in the doorway.

"It's not a good idea, Aveil! Seriously!" Link was waving his hands in front of him like he didn't want the Gerudo to get any closer to him.

She, on the other hand, ignored the gesture and took a step forward, holding out some sort of folded-up, shimmery fabric. "Oh, it won't hurt! In fact, it could even be a good thing—there's money at stake, and I'm positive you'd win with this."

"There are about a million ways it could hurt! The biggest one being the most obvious! The contest might sound fun but I'm not wearing something like that!" Link's voice was going up in pitch; he actually sounded frustrated.

"Something like what?" Vaati cut in.

Link and Aveil's heads snapped towards Vaati; apparently, they hadn't noticed him at all, as engrossed in their argument as they were. Aveil beat Link to explain, speaking loudly even as the blonde tried to talk. "This traditional Gerudo outfit," she said, holding out the fabric for Vaati to see. "I'm trying to convince him to wear it for the Blood Moon Festival contest."

Vaati stared at the folded clothes in her outstretched hands: sky blue and green fabrics trimmed with gold. A traditional Gerudo outfit… "I see the problem," he said slowly. "That's going pretty far, even by Link's standards."

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing. Discuss it later. I need to talk to Link, so can you leave?" he bluntly asked Aveil.

She peered at him for a moment, and he wondered if she was offended by his tone. However, she smirked slightly. "Looks like Vaati has some serious business to settle with you, Link," she grinned. "If that look in his eye is any indicator, I'd say you've got a rough time ahead of you. I am kind of curious now. But I'll let you two hash it out." Aveil quickly put the Gerudo garments into a bag and strode past Vaati. "Best of luck, Link!"

"Some help you are!" Link shouted after her. Then his eyes drifted to Vaati, and he laughed nervously. "You look kinda angry…"

"That's because I am." He shut and locked the door in a slightly exaggerated fashion, making sure Link saw, and then turned to his roommate, crossing his arms, and glaring at him. For several moments he said nothing, only stared at Link with that seething gaze.

Link shifted on his feet uncomfortably, breaking eye contact. "Uh, so, what're you angry about…?"

"The fact that you've been keeping secrets from me." He saw Link flinch slightly at that. Taking a step forward, he continued, "I want you to tell me again what happened at the pawnshop. I can understand if Zelda doesn't tell me anything; we barely know each other. I can understand if Tiv bribes me or tries to use me for her own benefit, but even she's been more honest with me than you have." Vaati took another step forward; Link was listening to him with a frown. "Now tell me, Link—" he was standing right in front of him now "—what exactly has been going on?"

Vaati could see Link struggling to keep his eyes from straying. Then blonde cracked a weak smile and replied meekly, "What exactly are we talking about? Er, sorry, I'm a little confused!" he stammered in a louder voice when Vaati scowled. "Zelda and Tiv and bribes and fights…?"

"Don't act dumb," Vaati snapped. Then he froze, suddenly realizing that he'd never actually told Link about his encounters with Tiv; he'd just assumed Link already knew somehow. Scowling, he shook his head. "Tiv's the one who told me about that pawn shop." He explained Tiv's offer as briefly as possible.

Link's smile gradually turned to a frown. "So, according to Tiv, she's got some beef with me and she's willing to hurt me and bribe you to get what she wants? That sounds even crazier than something I would come up with…" He shook his head. "I don't know what she has against me, but it sounds like she just really wants your magic."

"If you really have no idea why she's after you, why wouldn't you tell me what actually happened at the pawnshop?"

"That…" his roommate muttered. Vaati leaned closer, causing Link to take a step back. "That's because I didn't understand what happened, and I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you. It makes a little more sense now, though… Those guys attacked me out of the blue, telling me to 'stay out of it' and that they 'didn't like to leave things to chance.' I guess they were talking about you…?"

Vaati sighed and turned away, rubbing a hand down his face. "Why didn't you just tell me that you were being threatened in the first place? I wouldn't have taken you there."

"Like you would have believed me! 'I got a death threat for no reason at all!' Real convincing story! Ugh…"

Was Link… upset? Vaati turned his head to look at the blonde; Link was holding one hand to his head, frowning severely. He glanced up and met Vaati's gaze. "I really don't know why I got targeted," Link sighed. "I mean, yeah, I lied this time, but I'm not trying to hide things from you. I'm on your side, and you can't get rid of me, remember? Someday you'll get that through that dense head of yours."

"You're calling me dense?!" Vaati sputtered.

Link smiled just a little. "Yeah, I am." Then he rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Man, I've got a killer headache now…" He flopped onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow.

Vaati stood there, staring at Link, wondering. He didn't understand why Link was so stubborn about being his friend and ally. Such a thing as pure good-will didn't exist in Vaati's mind. There had to be some sort of motive. After all, even Vaati himself knew that he was not the type people liked to be friends with; he'd had zero friends up until now, and that had been perfectly fine by him.

"One more question, Link."

His roommate grumbled into his pillow and turned his head to frown at Vaati. Taking that as consent to speak, Vaati asked, "Why do you insist on being my friend?"

Link stared at him flatly. "Because I like you, duh. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yeah…" Vaati mumbled, quickly turning around so that Link couldn't see the confused look on his face.

He knew he didn't mean it like that, but Link's words still shocked him. No one had ever said that to him, not genuinely. People pretended to like him, sure, but he always quickly found out their true feelings—he was either a tool, or an object of ridicule. Over time he had shut himself off from forming any attachments with anyone.

All his earlier anger had dissipated, leaving him feeling slightly empty. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel now. Grateful? Pleased? Relieved? Vaati cast a glance back at Link. Hopeful, perhaps, though for what exactly, he wasn't sure.

Vaati grabbed his bag and quietly left the room, shutting the door softly. Then he walked down the hall and through the common room, planning to go over to the library. He halted, however, when he saw Aveil sitting in one of the lounge chairs, looking at him with a confident smile.

"Were you waiting?" he frowned.

She uncrossed her legs and nodded. "I really was curious to know what you two were talking about. You didn't roast Link too hard, did you?"

Vaati scowled at her, looking away. "It wasn't anything that important. Just a misunderstanding."

"Hmm," she hummed, watching him with that same smile. Then she queried, "Do you like your roommate?"

He froze for a second, before saying warily, "That feels like a trick question."

Aveil chuckled—it felt like she was always laughing at him for one reason or another. "I didn't mean it like that, although that would be a juicy development. I was asking since you have to live with him; it would be difficult if you didn't like him at least a little."

"…I tolerate him. I suppose you could call us friends."

"That's a relief to hear. Believe it or not, Link actually has very few close friends." Aveil nodded her head emphatically when Vaati frowned at her, critical of such a statement. "It's a simple reason: he's always moving around. He went to three different high schools, not to mention how many different elementary schools. It's hard to make and keep friends when you're only around them for a year. He's always been friendly, but it's actually rare for him to get attached to anyone."

"Why did he change schools so many times?" Vaati murmured.

To that, Aveil shook her head and stood. "That's something you'll have to ask him yourself. I have somewhere to be now. See you again, Vaati, dear!" She left before he had a chance to reply.

Sighing, Vaati sank onto one of the couches, propping his chin on his hand. Aveil's story about Link's past didn't fit at all with the image he had in his mind. It seemed simply impossible that Link didn't have that many friends; even if he were annoying to Vaati, he still knew that Link was the kind of person that most other people would like. So, he had always assumed Link had various other friends. But when he thought about it, Vaati couldn't think of a time that he saw Link hanging out with others, other than when he had lunch with Zelda.

Not that it mattered, he reminded himself. It didn't matter whether Link had friends or not. And it didn't matter if Vaati had friends. None of that had ever mattered. So why did he seem to care so much about these unnecessary things lately?

He would never figure it out by sitting and thinking about it, he knew. It was best to distract himself with something more productive. Vaati slowly stood and walked out towards the library.

Of all the people Link could have been friends with, he chose me. I will never understand that person.