The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

Conjecture
Chapter 2

The tour was something of a minor disaster. Not because they weren't able to show Link and Ravio around the village and introduce them to as many Sheikah as possible—Paya did that admirably—but because Sheik was unable to glean any new information from their Hylian infiltrator.

Link had given himself away the night before, and he must have realised that as he kept himself on his best behaviour during the tour. In fact, he was warm and outgoing, energetic as he introduced himself to people, even engaging them in a little small talk about what they were doing. The Sheikah were delighted to speak to him, clearly more excited than suspicious about the new face.

Fools.

Had they forgotten why they'd retreated into these mountains in the first place?

Ravio got his cheeks pinched more than once by a few of the elderly grannies, going on and on about how cute he was. On that, at least, Sheik could agree.

But some of his fellow tribe members could go on and on about nothing for a very long time.

Which made Paya's decision to introduce them to Pikango, who was by the river, painting the shrine dedicated to Din, a huge mistake. This, because once the artist started talking, it was very hard to get him to stop, especially when Link kept asking follow-up questions. When he asked about the particular painting Pikango was working on, their fates were sealed.

Sheik refused to believe Link was actually that interested in Sheikah art and painting techniques. Ravio certainly wasn't, his attention drifting around the riverbank, the red, wooden bridge crossing it, the shrine...and a group of Sheikah children playing among the trees nearby, kicking a leather ball that was barely holding itself together to each other.

Upon spotting them, the younger Hylian's eyes filled with excitement and longing, though his face remained as serious as ever. It didn't take a genius to realise how badly he wanted to go over there and introduce himself to someone closer to his own age...and based on how the kids kept looking at him, too, the feeling was mutual. At the moment, though, they kept their distance.

Why, Sheik had no idea. It certainly wasn't out of some sense of respect for Impa's heirs, that was for sure. They'd never let that bother them before, at least. He'd lost count of how many times they'd pranked him or otherwise provoked him into chasing them around the streets and paths around the village.

Which he did mostly for the cardio workout, of course.

Not because he was easily provoked by children half his age.

"...and that doesn't even begin to describe the many ways you can add shade," Pikango said, too deep in his excitement to teach art to a willing torture subject to notice what was going on around them. Link was listening closely, nodding along with his words. Paya, too, was listening with rapt attention. Din knew why, as they'd been lectured on this far too many times.

Anyway, this left Sheik as the only one who'd noticed Ravio's interest. He drew the boy's attention with a quiet cough.

"Do you want to go introduce yourself, Ravio-san?" he asked, jerking his head towards the Sheikah kids.

He might not have trusted Ravio's older brother as far as he could throw him, but that was no reason to leave Ravio miserable and lonely in a new, unfamiliar area.

Ravio looked up at him, eyes widening a little with surprise, though the rest of his face barely moved. It was an impressively stoic mask he'd made himself. Sheik wondered if that was why he had the actual masks with him. A way to escape, maybe?

"Oh...uh...mayb—no," the boy said haltingly, not fooling Sheik for a moment. This was a child who wanted to play and was just too polite or shy to say yes.

Well, Sheik knew how to fix that. He made to signal the kids among the trees, but they had apparently read his mind.

The ball flew through the air, bouncing along the ground, and slowly rolled to a halt at Ravio's feet. The Sheikah child who'd kicked it made a very theatrical Oops-gesture, waving as they emerged from the trees, running towards them.

"Sorry about that, onii-san!" the leader, a little shit called Ryuji, said as he grinned up at Sheik, who pretended to dislike the title. Ruyji then strategically let his eyes 'accidentally' drift towards Ravio, pretending he'd only noticed him then. "Hi! You're new! I'm Ryuji—what's your name?!"

A fairly polite way to introduce himself, all things considered, but Ravio was taken a little aback by the sheer volume at which Ryuji did most of his communicating. His ears would get used to it sooner or later.

"Um...R-Ravio," the boy said, taking a minute step back as Ryuji got closer. A fairly natural reaction, in Sheik's opinion, even without knowing Ryuji's tendency to show affection by slamming his forehead into yours.

"You're Hylian, right?!"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Wanna play?!"

The other kids then, as one, made their most pleading faces at Ravio. Those faces were devastating when employed against adults, and clearly it worked on Hylian kids as well, as Ravio's face turned to Link.

By now, Pikango's lecture had ended in favour of observing this exchange, and the brothers' eyes met as a quick, silent conversation took place between.

"Go on," Link said, smiling. "Just be careful, okay?"

Ravio's lips turned upwards in a tiny—but for him, huge—smile. He picked up the ball and took a few steps forward...and was swept up into the tidal wave that was a group of playing Sheikah kids, immediately whisked away to the play spot behind the trees.

The four of them watched this silently for a little while. Or, three of them did. Sheik kept his eye on Link in the corner of his vision, watching for signs of...something. That something wasn't on the up and up.

All he saw, however, was a bright, brotherly smile. Sheik's staring wasn't subtle enough, apparently, as Link noticed.

"Sorry," the Hylian said. "He hasn't many opportunities to just...play and be a kid, you know? I'm just happy to see it."

"How come?" Sheik asked. "Have you moved around a lot?"

Link paused, as if unsure how to answer the question. "Yeah," he eventually said. "Something like that. Lately we've been travelling a great deal. We haven't really been able to put down roots."

"What's your ultimate destination?"

Behind Link, Paya shook her head. Pikango pinched the bridge of his nose. Apparently, they didn't think much of his interrogation. Well, he'd like to see them do better!

"Nowhere, really," Link said, smiling. "We're just...letting the road take us wherever it goes."

Sheik nodded, pretending he understood and accepted the answer. He understood but didn't accept. He could have imagined it to be true...if the supposed road hadn't led them right into the heart of Sheikah territory without anyone spotting them.

"Shall we continue the tour?" Paya interrupted before Sheik could continue asking leading questions. "Link-san, do you have an interest in archery? Our bows are famous for their range and strength."

"I'm very interested," Link said brightly.

"Then follow me, please," Paya said, nodding to Pikango.

Link made to follow, but hesitated, glancing towards the group of kids. "Maybe I should—"

"Sheik can look after Ravio-san, I'm sure," Paya said smoothly. "Right, brother dear?"

Sheik glared at her. What the fuck was she doing? Ravio wasn't the person of interest here, and she sure as hell didn't seem to be very invested in gathering information about Link. What good would Sheik keeping an eye on the kids do for this investigation?

Ah, but he couldn't say no, either. That'd cost him whatever trust Link had in him.

"Sure, beloved sister," Sheik replied, putting as much barely concealed venom into his tone as possible. "We'll keep an eye on him, Link-san. I'll come find you around lunch time?"

"Ah," Link's smile fell a little, but he quickly plastered on another that was clearly fake to cover it up. "That sounds good to me."

A fake smile and fake words. Sheik was onto the bastard...and of course Paya had sent him away just when he'd found a chink in Link's armour. Typical. This had better be because she was planning on pumping him for information herself.

Well, he supposed that gave him time to plan. Maybe ask Ravio a few questions, find better angles of approach.

He watched them walk towards the archery range, already talking about various techniques. At least she'd managed to find a topic he was interested in (that wasn't bloody painting). Maybe that'd make him slip up again.

"Babysitting duty, eh?" Pikango said, nudging his shoulder, chuckling. "Suits you fine, I think."

"What makes you say that?" Sheik glared at him.

"Well, you spend most of your free time running around with the village kids anyway. What's one more to look after?"

"You're mistaken, sensei," Sheik said, crossing his arms and turning away with a huff. Coincidentally, this left him facing the play spot. Pure coincidence. "I'm not running around with the kids. I'm training them."

"I saw you playing tag with them the other day—"

"Cardiovascular workout," Sheik interrupted. "They're going to be warriors someday, have to get them started early. Helps my own stamina, as well."

"If you say so," Pikango said, patting Sheik's shoulder and turning back to his painting. "I'm sure they'll let you join their game if you ask nicely."

Sheik pretended not to hear him as he stomped away from the old man, making his way towards the play spot. He was not going to join in. He was going to referee.

Five minutes later, he was dribbling the ball with his legs and laughing at the kids' feeble attempts at stealing it from him.

He might have lost perspective for a short while, getting a little too focused on besting the little bastards.

Which he did.

Up until the point Ravio called for a unified attack against him, and Sheik quickly found himself buried under a pile of children.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little proud.

By the time noon approached, Sheik had been hoping to have learned a couple of things about Link...or barring that, at least where the hell they were from.

As it turned out, Ravio was all too happy to answer questions...though only the ones pertaining to minor details about his brother.

Meaning Sheik now knew Link's favourite colour (ruby red, not obnoxious green), his favourite food (venison stew), his favourite snack (cake, preferably lemon), his favourite season (summer), his favourite song (one composed by a mutual friend of theirs), his hobbies (horse riding, archery, painting), and other things that did not help Sheik in any way to figure out what he was planning or what he was truly capable of.

Not that Sheik blamed Ravio. He'd worded his questions vaguely so he wouldn't seem suspicious himself, and they'd clearly been interpreted by Ravio as a mere general interest.

Though if Sheik was ever going to poison Link, which he might well have to at some point, he now knew what foods to put the poison in for maximum effect.

He hadn't expected Ravio to return those same questions about Sheik, but he'd taken it in stride, answering as best he could. He was a little stumped on the favourite song bit, but he eventually landed on a classical piece Impa had played for them when they were younger, the Nocturne of Shadow.

It was a sombre, melancholic tune usually played at Sheikah funeral pyres in the Shadow Temple back when the clan still lived in Hyrule, though it had fallen out of use since the exodus.

Sheik wasn't sure why, but the piece resonated with him on a level he couldn't quite explain. A little morbid, perhaps, but it was a beautiful piece, damn it!

Ravio had eaten up the answers eagerly, especially the music answer, after which he'd returned to playing with the other kids, who'd more or less adopted him as one of their own after a mere hour of playing together.

Kids were interesting, that way.

Pity it wouldn't last. When Sheik uncovered Link's plan, the Hylian would likely hightail it out of the village, bringing his little brother with him.

It was almost enough to make Sheik want to trust Link, for Ravio's sake if nothing else.

Almost.

Noon came, and Sheik brought Ravio to Impa's house for lunch. The matriarch welcomed them into her abode with a silent nod for Sheik and a warm greeting for Ravio. Evidently, she was already wrapped around his little finger.

She led them into the small dining area to the side of the main room, where a simple but abundant lunch waited. It was unusual to see five seats around the table instead of three, but it did make it look less naked and austere since the table was quite big.

"Pikango informed me that Paya took Link to the archery range," Impa said from the head of the table sat, waiting for the two stragglers. "And what have you two been doing?"

"Playing," Ravio said.

"Training," Sheik said at the same time.

Impa looked amused. "I see. And what kind of training was that, if I may ask?"

"Vital cargo protection, squad-based hit and run tactics, and wrestling," Sheik replied. "Never know when you need hand-to-hand skills." He gave Ravio a conspiratorial grin, which the Hylian mirrored.

"Ah," Impa said with a nod, looking thoughtful. "Very important skills to maintain, undoubtedly." She looked to Ravio. "And what were you actually doing, Ravio-san?"

"Playing kickball, tag, and wrestling Sheik-nii to the ground," Ravio replied immediately, undercutting Sheik completely.

What a little cutthroat, this tiny Hylian.

Sheik could work with that.

He deliberately chose to ignore the honorific Ravio had started using for him after hearing the other kids using it. It didn't make his heart melt. Nope, not even a little.

"You are so out of the infiltration team," he hissed at the Hylian, who gave him a defiant look in return.

"Honesty is the best policy," Ravio, the little traitor, said.

"Not only is that not even remotely true, it can be downright dangerous," Sheik said. "And another thing—"

"Sheik, perhaps it is best not to make a liar out of the boy," Impa said firmly. "I am not sure his brother would appreciate it."

Ravio grimaced at that, though for what reason Sheik didn't know. Well, not for sure, anyway. He had plenty of suspicions, though, and several of them were revitalised when he saw Ravio's reaction. So, one or both of them were lying.

Interesting.

The door to Impa's house slid open, and Paya and Link walked inside in a slightly awkward silence, their gazes refusing to meet. Paya walked stiffly up to the dining area, bowing.

"Sorry we're late," she said. "We got held up at the range."

"Y-Yeah," Link intoned, apparently unable to even look at Paya at the moment. "At the range."

Impa clearly didn't believe them, but didn't say anything, gesturing for them to sit down. "You're here now," she said. "That is what's important. Come, let us eat."

Paya pointedly seated herself next to Sheik instead of on the opposite side of the table, to his surprise, leaving the brothers to sit next to each other as well.

As luck would have it, Link ended up directly across from Sheik. Great. More staring was just what he wanted right now. Sheik gave his sister a questioning look, but she kept her eyes firmly on the table and her bowl.

It wasn't the fanciest feast Sheik had seen. Fried fish, rice, and some sauces for zest. It was the food he'd grown up with. Sheik half-expected that the Hylians—whom he still suspected to be princes or at the very least some flavour of noble—would object to the simplicity of the meal, but they simply dove into it with gusto.

Big eaters both, they barely paused to chew.

Even Impa was surprised, based on the way she kept pausing to watch the two of them more or less inhale their portions. Their requests for seconds were exceedingly polite, their smiles grateful.

"Thank you for the meal," Link said politely when they finished, leaning back with a satisfied sigh and a happy grin. It was so bright it made Sheik smile reflexively back, though he quickly killed it when he realised what he was doing.

"Thank you," Ravio repeated, his eyes lidded.

Sheik knew a crashing kid when he saw one. The play from earlier in that morning plus the meal was the perfect recipe for an afternoon nap.

"You are very welcome," Impa said, delicately dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. "I am happy you enjoyed it." She too noticed the younger Hylian's flagging, quickly suppressing a smile. "Perhaps, Link-san, you and your brother would like to retreat for a few hours? My children have lessons to attend, and I have some matters to attend to. You are, of course, free to roam around the village if you wish. Perhaps we can meet here again for supper?"

"That sounds good, Impa-sama," Link said, pausing, as if waiting for approval for using the honorific. Impa nodded minutely, indicating he'd done so correctly. "I've got to admit that I'm a little tired."

"Your journey has been long," Impa said. "I am not surprised. Sheik will escort you back—"

"That won't be necessary," Link said quickly, interrupting her...and then looking horrified at what he'd done. "I'm sorry! I just...we can find our way back. We don't want to take up any more of his time than necessary, especially if he's got lessons!"

Now this was interesting. Why was he so eager to get away, all of a sudden?

"That's all right," Impa said. "If you are certain..."

"I am, thank you!"

The matriarch nodded. "Then I bid you a good afternoon for now, Link-san. As always, don't hesitate to ask any of my people for assistance should you need it."

"Thank you," Link said again, carefully pulling his little brother to his feet and heading for the door. "Thank you again for the meal, and thank you for the tour, Master Sheik, Mistress Paya."

After the door slid shut, Impa turned to Sheik, eyes narrowed.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Me?!" Sheik sputtered. "I didn't do anything! I was with Ravio the whole morning." He elbowed Paya in the side. "Ask her, she's the one who spent the morning with Link. Ask her why they were so awkward when coming in."

"Paya?" Impa said, fastening her with a piercing gaze.

"N-Nothing happened," Paya said, cheeks reddening.

"I taught you to lie better than that, daughter mine," Impa said. "Look at me."

"Nothing. Happened," Paya repeated, staring the matriarch in the eye, back ramrod straight, her face like stone.

Well, except for the blush, that is.

What that meant, Sheik had no idea.

The staring contest lasted for a few seconds before Impa relented, leaning back. "I see," she said. "My sympathies."

Paya looked away.

"Uh, what?" Sheik asked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Paya said, standing up. "Come on, we've got calligraphy."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Sheik!"

Sheik looked helplessly at Impa, who simply shook her head in a gesture for him to go along with it.

He just missed something, and apparently something huge that his sister in no way wanted to discuss.

Which, naturally, meant he started asking about it the moment they left the house.

"What was that all about?" Sheik asked. "What happened? Did you find out anything about Link? He's a spy, isn't he? Or an assassin? Who's his target? Is it me? Mother? You? Nah, it's me, isn't it—heurgh!"

Her jab to his solar plexus came out of nowhere, and left him gasping and hunched over, trying to catch his breath. Paya simply continued to walk, not looking back.

Was it something he said?

The next day was first day of the week, which was Sheik and Paya's day off. Paya had already risen by the time Sheik had dragged himself out of his futon, disappeared to Din knew where. All Impa was willing to say was that Paya was spending the day with her friends...and to maybe tread lightly around her for a couple of days.

That was fine, Sheik supposed.

It meant he had all the time in the world to continue his observation of the dastardly Hylian as he walked around the village and...just talked to people?

For a while, Sheik assumed he was going around and pumping his clanmates for information about their defences and the like, but when Sheik got close enough to eavesdrop, Link was just making small talk, asking people about their families, what their hobbies were, what their trade was, if they could teach him sometime.

Which was fucking weird. But Sheik supposed it was just step one of Link's plan. First, he'd ingratiate himself to the villagers, and then he'd start surreptitiously drop leading questions and the like. He wouldn't even need to directly ask anything, the Sheikah would just serve up the information on a silver plate.

Well, Sheik would put a stop to that if he heard Link asking something that sounded innocuous but was clearly leading up to something dangerous.

For now, though, he'd hang back and listen in.

At the moment he was hiding in a tree, hidden among the thick foliage as he listened in on Link and Farris, one of the bowyers, talking about what type of wood was best for recurves. There was apparently a lot to say and consider about the subject.

Fucking snore.

Link wasn't even specifically asking about the clearly superior Sheikah bows. No, this was just in general. He wasn't showing any signs of diverting the conversation onto Sheikah weapons in general, either.

How long was he planning on staying here, anyway? Was that why he wasn't in any hurry to move things along? It was getting on Sheik's nerves, honestly. Maybe if the chibi was there, they'd get a move on, but Sheik had spotted Ravio running around the village with Ryuji and the rest of the little terrors, clearly abandoning his older brother to his own devices.

Maybe Link was just bored? Hard to believe. In the middle of enemy territory, the last thing Sheik would have felt was bored. Not that he'd be scared—of course not!—but he'd not be in the lack of things to do, see, or learn.

Sheik began to imagine himself in Link's position...and what he knew for certain was that he wouldn't waste any time getting whatever intelligence he was after. He grinned to himself. Oh yes, he'd be in and out before anyone even realised what he'd been up to. No one could deny that he was one of the best warriors and spies in the village then!

He was so busy imagining himself being paraded around the village as a hero that he fell out of the conversation for a bit, only returning at an inopportune moment.

"By the way, have you seen Sheik?"

The mention of his name caught him off-guard and nearly made him lose his grip on the tree branches. That'd have been embarrassing, dropping out of the tree just as Link asked where he was.

Comedic gold in its timing, sure, but disastrous for Sheik's spying venture.

Farris hummed, her eyes immediately finding Sheik's among the branches, damn her. She held his gaze for long moment, too, silent as the grave.

"Um...Miss Farris?"

Farris turned her attention back to Link, who'd clearly failed to realise what she'd been doing and was looking at her with confusion.

For a moment, Farris' eyes took on a wicked glint, and Sheik assumed she'd blow his cover then and there, but then she only smiled gently at Link, giving him an apologetic shrug.

"Not today I'm afraid, Link-san," she said. "But I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later. Sheik tends to show up whenever and wherever you least expect him to. And he's not subtle about it either."

Sheik scowled at her.

Once. He'd fallen through the roof of her house once, and she was never going to let him forget about it. If she didn't want warriors dropping through her roof, she should've had the thing reinforced!

Well, it was now.

Sheik had been forced to help mend it. Or, well, hold stuff for the ones who did the actual mending. What an absolute waste of a day for a ten-year-old.

The experience had taught him not to run around on rooftops, at least.

For about a week.

As if he was going to stop using the most efficient (and awesome) way to get around the village just because of a slight mishap. If something started creaking, though, he was out of there.

"Oh," Link said, nodding slowly. "Okay, thank you, Miss Farris. Sorry for bothering you."

"Not at all, Link-san," Farris said with a smile. "It's not often we get visitors, especially such handsome ones. Feel free to stop by any time. Make sure you have time if you want to learn how to make a bow, though. It's a lengthy process."

"I will, thank you!" he said brightly, waving at her and heading back down the street.

Sheik and Farris' eyes met one last time before Sheik jumped pointedly to the roof of her house, ran along the top and jumped to the next house, following Link.

Watching Sheik stalking the Hylian, Farris chuckled to herself.

"This just like when Oboro visited..."

If Sheik had hoped to catch Link in the act of something suspicious while the Hylian walked around the village, he'd been very wrong. So far, Link had taken his time walking down the main street of the village, stopping by all the artificers' houses, the little shops, asking them a million and one questions, just like he had with Farris.

Worse yet, the villagers were taking valuable time out of their day to humour him. They seemed delighted to, in fact. Sheik was pretty sure that by the time Link left the village, he'd not only know the name of every single Sheikah there, but also the names of their parents, their children, their brothers, their sisters, their cousins in the other villages, and every single one of their trade secrets.

And they gave him this information like it was nothing.

Sure, he usually offered to help with whatever chores as payment, and a few took him up on it. Sheik thought he'd see a slight twitch of displeasure on Link's face when he was forced to do manual labour...but again he only seemed delighted to. Physical work seemed to be his favourite, helping the smith move heavy boxes full of raw material around her forge. In exchange, he was allowed to watch her work as she made an eightfold blade.

She even offered to teach him to make one himself, just like Farris.

What was wrong with everyone?!

And worst of all, Link kept asking about Sheik. At first it was just if they'd seen him at all...and without fail their eyes immediately gravitated towards Sheik's hiding spot. Granted, they'd all been through the same training, so they all knew the best locations for eavesdropping on conversations, but honestly, was he that predictable?!

No one gave him away verbally, though, and luckily Link kept failing to realise they were giving him visual cues. Not too observant, this Hylian...though that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

After a while, though, Link began to ask about what Sheik was like. What he'd been like as a child. What he liked to do and see.

And that was when Sheik knew he was the eventual target of this bastard. Why else would he keep asking questions about one of Impa's heirs. He was probably planning on taking Sheik out first, then Paya, and then finish Impa off while she was wracked with grief.

A devious and absolutely evil plan.

Sheik wouldn't stand for it.

"...impatient, and not very suited for smithing," the smith, Isli, finished. "Quite a skilled musician, though. His performances at the festivals are always a sight to behold."

Link was eating the information up, nodding eagerly in the shadows of the forge. "What does he play?" he asked.

"The lyre," Isli replied. "And taikos. He and his friends have an ensemble, and they always kick off our celebrations." Link clearly had no idea what taikos were, and for the first time all day he looked hesitant about asking something. Isli took pity on him, though. "Drums," she added. "Big ones."

"I see..."

What a weird thing to look thoughtful about, but Link certainly did. He thanked Isli for taking the time to humour him and promised to stop by at some point for a lesson in blade smithing. Leaving the forge, he realised he'd reached the end of the main street and looked ready to tackle the many little side streets and alleyways.

Sheik suppressed a groan. How much exploring could one man possibly need in a single day? Had he never learned to pace himself?

Sheik shifted his position in the apple tree he'd taken up residence in...which was a mistake as the trunk creaked in protest at the sudden shift in weight.

So loud was it, in fact, that Link heard it, immediately turning around and looking up, his left hand immediately reaching for a sword on his back that wasn't there.

Warrior's reflexes, those.

Their eyes met, and Link's widened. His mouth opened.

"Sheik—"

Sheik launched himself out of the tree and onto the nearest roof, taking off across the village, cursing the tree for giving him away. Now the Hylian knew Sheik was spying on him!

"Wait! Sheik!"

Pausing on a beam, Sheik looked down, realising Link was following him on foot at ground level. He waved his hand at him, desperately flagging him down.

Fuck, this wasn't how he'd planned this to go. Growling, Sheik made his way along the houses that weren't on the main street. These houses weren't as big, and the little streets and road below could be a bloody maze to anyone not familiar with them. Sheik cut across as many of them as he could in an effort to lose the Hylian.

He kept it up for several minutes before stopping when he ran out of rooftops near the southern eastern end of the village, which opened up into the fields where the Sheikah grew their food. Ahead, there was only grain fields, pumpkin patches and vegetable gardens until they hit a sheer cliff face.

Slipping off the roof, Sheik landed in a dead-end alley with multiple sheds, where the farmers kept their tools to protect them from the elements. Panting a little from the exertion of doing so many jumps so quickly, Sheik leaned against on the sheds, mentally going through all he'd learned about Link during his observations.

Which was fuck all.

Well, other than confirmation that Link's target was Sheik, that is. But he'd already known that. This was just corroborating evidence. Why else would Link be asking about him?

He made to leave the alley when he suddenly heard rapidly approaching footsteps. Boots, not sandals.

"Oh, come on..." he muttered just as the Hylian came whirling around the corner, spotting Sheik immediately and pointing at him...though no words came out as he hunched over, panting.

Clearly, the idiot had been sprinting all over the place looking for Sheik.

Must have been really fucking fast, too, given how far Sheik had gone. And how had he managed to find Sheik so quickly, anyway? It was like he'd homed in on this alley the moment Sheik touched the ground.

"Hey..." Link said, finally able to speak. "Why did...you...run?"

Sheik scowled. He couldn't just say that he'd run because he'd been spying and gotten himself spotted.

"Because you were chasing me," Sheik replied, cocking his head to the side, as if confused. "People tend to do that, when being chased."

"I wasn't...chasing you," Link said.

Sheik raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at him. "So, we just ended up in this random alley for completely unrelated reasons, then? Small world, perhaps?"

"You ran," Link said, his breathing finally under control. "And that's when I gave chase."

"And why were you chasing me?"

"Why were you hiding in the tree?"

They stared at each other for a long moment. "Am I not allowed to climb trees in my own village?" Sheik asked.

Link paused. "I...I guess, but—"

"That's what I was doing," Sheik interrupted. "I was about to take a nap. When you spotted me, I realised there was no chance of me getting any sleep in that particular tree, so I left it. And then you chased me. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

And corner me and knife my ribs, I bet, Sheik thought, counting the paces between them. Five and a half, roughly. If Link made a move, Sheik would have enough time to react. Link was unarmed, too, while Sheik had his tanto strapped to his back.

He could end it here, honestly. Put an end to this interloper before whatever plan he had could come to fruition.

But then Impa would demand evidence to Link's potential wrongdoing, and if Sheik failed to produce any...well, he wasn't entirely sure what fate awaited an heir who murdered a guest of the clan within their walls.

It was a special kind of sin, that. When you were a guest of the Sheikah, it meant you were safe. From threats outside and within.

No, Sheik couldn't take the risk on killing Link here. He needed a confession of some sort, or Link attacking him in public to justify a self-defence killing.

The bastard was still staring at him, eyes wide. Almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Talk to Sheik? What the hell for?

"About what?" he asked.

Link's shoulders sagged a little. "Anything? Everything?" he said questioningly. "I want to get to know you better."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be friends!"

...well, Sheik couldn't blame him for that. Too bad it clearly wasn't true.

"Yeah, well, I have enough friends," Sheik said dismissively, casually reaching into his pocket in a move that looked perfectly natural. His fingers closed around a deku nut. "Is that all?"

Link looked stricken at his words. A bit like a kicked puppy, honestly, and Sheik had to admit Link was a fine actor because that look even tugged a little at Sheik's withered heartstrings. All an act, though, so it wasn't too accurate.

"Well, there is one other thing," Link said, also reaching into his pocket.

Fuck, this was it. Reacting fast, Sheik withdrew the deku nut and hurled it into the ground, where it cracked open and exploded in a flash of bright light.

"Not again!" Link shouted, covering his eyes with his hand.

Sheik didn't stop to ponder the strange choice of words, instead running past Link and into the streets. He didn't stop running until he made it to Impa's home, barging through the door, ignoring his mother (who was playing the koto in the main room). He ran up the stairs and into his room, crouching in the corner with his tanto drawn. Any minute now, the Hylian would come for him, he was sure. He'd revealed his hand now.

...but nothing happened. Link didn't show up, and all Sheik could hear was the twangs of the koto's strings as Impa continued to play, evidently not in a hurry to ask Sheik what he was doing.

Eventually relaxing when five minutes passed with nothing happening, Sheik sheathed his tanto and sat down on the floor, thinking.

Had Link just been about to attack him?

Or had, just as Sheik left the alley, he been pulling out his ocarina?

It was hard to tell. If it was a weapon he'd attempted to pull, it had been rather oddly shaped.

Crap.

It had been the ocarina, hadn't it?

Why, though?

Was Link planning on dazzling him with his musical skills? Try to hypnotise him with some weird Hylian magic based on musical notes? He'd heard the stories about the various, supposedly magical songs the royal family of Hyrule had once possessed.

He groaned. Why did this have to be so hard?!

Unfortunately, Impa's curiosity wasn't gone; it had merely been dormant as she'd finished playing the koto.

Later that evening, after supper (for which they weren't joined by the Hylian brothers, oddly enough), she took him aside, bringing him out into the garden.

Paya had disappeared upstairs as soon as they were finished eating. She was still oddly quiet, and Sheik was honestly starting to worry for her.

Though, at the moment, he was mostly worried about himself, because Impa only ever took him aside when there was serious talk to be had. And that usually meant he was about to become deeply unhappy.

"You've been causing trouble," she said simply, her back turned to him as she surveyed the small but absolutely immaculate field of various flower beds she kept. "Several clan members reported that you were spotted making a nuisance of yourself to Link, including using a deku nut to blind him."

Sheik had no idea which of his beloved people had ratted him out, but they would pay. He cleared his throat, trying to look innocent.

"We were just playing?" he said.

Impa didn't buy it one bit. He could tell that from her posture alone.

"I don't ask much of you, Sheik," she said, which was a blatant lie. One only needed to look at Sheik's daily schedule to see this. "And in this case, I only asked one thing: be mindful and respectful of our guests. Blinding them with deku nuts—which are not toys, I might add—is not being mindful and respectful."

"I thought that knife was supposed to cut both ways," Sheik said, unable to help himself. "I don't think it's very mindful or respectful to chase me around the village."

"After you spent most of the day following him around and spying on him," Impa said, finally turning around to face him, her eyebrow raised. "Oh yes, I was informed of that, too."

Oh, this was bad. There was just no way to turn this around to make him look good. She was already convinced the elder Hylian was no threat, so Sheik spying on him wasn't going to be well-received until he produced tangible evidence of wrongdoing or, even better, a confession from the man himself.

Neither of which Sheik had at the moment.

Soon, though...

"Link was quite upset when he returned to the guest house, I was told," Impa continued.

"By another one of your little spies?" Sheik asked.

He just couldn't wrangle his own tongue today, apparently.

"No," Impa said. "By his brother, in fact. Ravio was quite upset with you, and I swore that I would make it right." She narrowed her eyes, staring down at him with the blazing left eye of Din. "And make it right, I shall. You clearly have too much time on your hands, son of mine, if your activities of today are any indication. Idleness and restlessness are a dangerous combination, and I intend to make sure you have neither."

Sheik gulped.

"As of tomorrow, I will fill every waking moment of your day with activities, both physical and mental. Perhaps that will tire you out enough for you to behave properly around our guests."

Sheik felt his stomach lurch a little. "No free time?" he asked meekly.

"No free time," Impa confirmed with a nod. "I will work you to the bone, Sheik. It's for your own good. And when it's over after...hm...let's say three days, I will take you to the guest house so you can apologise properly to Link. And then perhaps the two of you can start over."

Not bloody likely, Sheik thought, but nodded. "Very well," he said.

Impa held his gaze for a long moment before nodding as well. "It is settled, then. I would go to bed now, if I were you, and get as much rest as possible. Your day starts at dawn."

As Sheik went to his room and prepared for bed, he felt his anger at the elder Hylian only grow fiercer.

The fucking bastard would pay for this!