Hello everyone! This chapter is a long one! My longest one yet, over 5,400 words! I plan on pacing myself a lot more with chapters in the future, but for now, I hope you read and enjoy!
-Joost

The Fierce God Given Life
Chapter 10: Feels Like a Brand-New Day

Romani was sitting by the fireplace in the main room of the ranch house. She was unbelievably bored. She hadn't seen her best friend in over a week! Her thoughts could only think back to when he was hurt, when she pounced on him the moment she saw him. The way he held her hips was so strange to her. But she wished it happened again.

Romani missed seeing Link's face. His expressions spoke a thousand words even though his mouth rarely did the same. The way he acted while he was around her constantly fascinated her.

The ranch girl's daydreams weren't even broken when her older sister entered the house. Cremia held two buckets of milk, her chore of milking the cows complete.

"Ahem." Cremia faux coughed, hoping to get her sister's attention for some assistance with the heavy buckets. Romani paid her no mind. She decided to make herself a little louder. "Ahem!"

Romani finally had her train of thought derail, and she lit up when she saw the buckets held by her sister.

"Oh! Sorry, sister!" Romani rushed to help, grabbing a bucket and taking it to the kitchen counter, her older sister right behind her.

Sitting at the table, Romani watched as Cremia took up the task of bottling the milk. When she was done, she slumped on the chair opposite of her little sister and huffed.

"Finally! My arms are aching!" Cremia dramatically held her forearm in emphasis. Romani just giggled at her as her sister had a smile spread on her face. She could tell Romani was bored out of her mind, and she took pride seeing how much she could entertain her little sister.

After a bit of silence, Romani grew tired of her own boredom.

"Sister, can we visit Grasshopper?" Romani asked. It had been so long since she had visited him. She enjoyed writing letters to her friend, but it just wasn't the same.

Cremia knew how her sibling felt. It got pretty lonely on the ranch at times. Considering Romani had been a little too helpful around the ranch for the past week, she knew the little rascal was just sucking up to her. However, she couldn't resist the cute face Romani had after she asked her question.

"Oh… alright. We can visit. But when it gets dark, we'll need to head home." Cremia's voice was understanding, but stern as well. Romani nearly jumped out of her chair when she heard Cremia's words.

The two sisters prepared their things and soon departed from the ranch.

Epona had just entered Termina field. Link felt the wind in his hair while he couldn't wait to get home. Feeling the most solace he ever had, he wore a smile as Epona entered Clock Town. Slowing down to a trot, the breeze helped the Hero of Termina relax after a long morning. He escaped from his "Hero Mode" during the ride to the Inn. It was only two hours past noon now. The clouds that covered the sky during the morning seemingly left to rain another day.

Disembarking from Epona and letting her go to her stable, Link opened the door to the Stock Pot Inn. It happened to be a day that the Inn was closed, no one in the building the whole day besides Anju and Kafei. Tael and Skull Kid had left just after Link did to find something to do in the Southern Swamp. While Link set his gear down on the seat across from the desk, he could swear he heard a faint squeaking sound coming from upstairs before it suddenly grew quiet.

About a minute after Link closed the front door, Anju exited the employee's only room and greeted Link. Her hair was oddly disheveled, and she looked like she was out of breath.

"Oh, H-Hello Link! I didn't think you'd be back for a little bit." Anju said, trying to catch her breath. Link was blissfully unaware of how she could have been so exhausted just from being in the bedroom.

"We got done what we needed to." Tatl said plainly. Her mood had greatly improved ever since they left Ikana Canyon. She then flew back upstairs and went to the room that she, her brother, and Skull Kid resided in. Her wings ached, exhausted from all the flying she had to do while Link and the shadow demon fought.

Kafei emerged from the employee's room and went downstairs to greet Link. His shirt had some wrinkles in it that he tried but failed to straighten out.

"Hey Link… What's up?" Kafei tried to stay casual.

"I- I decided that I'm going to stay here for a while now…" Link told the couple. His words made Anju and Kafei look at each other.

"Didn't you say you were still searching…?" Anju asked. Link just shook his head in response.

"I learned a lot… While I was out… And I want to relax for a while now. I know it'll be the only way I'll be satisfied." Link had a weak smile as the family motto of Kafei entered his thoughts again. He remembered about the phrase often now that he thought about it.

"Oh. Well, that's great!" Kafei ruffled Link's cap as a grin appeared along his face. He was proud Link was taking some time for himself now, he deserved it. He kneeled to the boy in green. "I'm glad you were able to make that kind of decision."

Link's smile grew but didn't say anything. He was thankful for the couple. Thankful for the feeling of acceptance he had gained in Termina.

"I was also wondering… if maybe I could visit R-Romani… Ranch?" Link's strange shyness returned as he asked his question. He made sure to add 'ranch' to his sentence before it was too late. He hadn't a clue why, but something within him told him to.

"Sure. That shouldn't be an issue." Anju replied. It had been a while since Link had been to the ranch. Anju went back upstairs and Kafei handed Link his letter from Romani that he was meant to receive earlier.

"I think you'll be wanting this." Kafei smirked as he reached for the letter that was sitting on the reception desk and handed it to Link. His immediate reaction was to flush. He took the letter calmly and went upstairs to his room. Once he knew he was out of sight, he picked up his speed and dashed into the room. Closing the door behind him, he sat down at his table and opened the letter. He began to read.

"Dear Grasshopper!" It began. Romani always started her letters with an exclamation mark just after the first two words, something that warmed Link's heart. "Romani hopes you're doing well today! She was so shocked to hear about your training. Are you sure you're alright? Sister and I can visit and give you some of the cows' milk to help! -Your Best Friend, Romani."

Setting the note down, Link daydreamed about his friend. About how cute she looked in the sun when it was behind her. How her hair looked like it was glowing like fire. His mind kept wandering until he realized he had been standing around like a dope for nearly ten minutes. He was a little embarrassed with himself, but he kept smiling as he left the room to check on Tatl.

Opening the door, Link saw his fairy friend sitting angerly at the table across from him. Walking inside, Tatl heard his footsteps and turned to him. She had her own note in her hands.

"Those two jerks went to the Southern Swamp. Without me!" She told Link, showing him the note written by her brother that explained where the two were. Link looked at the letter and then back at Tatl. She knew that look.

"Oh no, I'm not going out to the swamp, alone! Not a chance!" She told the boy, folding her arms by her chest and turning away from him. Link only shifted his head and gave Tatl a look. When the stubborn fairy turned her head, she couldn't resist Link's inherent cuteness.

"Ugh! Fine… I'll go. But if anything happens to me, it's your fault!" Tatl rose from the table and flew out of the room. Link followed her and opened the door to the Inn to let her out. Watching as she flew out of town, he returned to the Inn and sat on the edge of the desk, similar to how Kafei would.

Looking at the clock while Anju was prepping a snack in the kitchen, Link just waited until the clock struck three to set out to the ranch. What he didn't know was the ranch sisters were already on their way to him. The sisters left their carriage and entered the South gate, making their way to East Clock Town and towards the inn.

Just as it turned to three, Link hopped off the desk and made his way to the door, while Romani was the same distance away. The two unknowingly grabbed the knob and turned it at the same time. Link pulled the door forwards and Romani pushed it. Both weren't looking straight ahead.

They crashed right into each other. Tumbling to the floor, Romani was the first to open her eyes after rubbing her head.

"Grasshopper!" Romani squealed as she laid her eyes on him. Before he could even open his, she gave him a big hug. Cremia only chuckled as she stepped over the children and closed the front door.

"Link is everything alright?" Anju called from the kitchen. She heard the thud on the floor when Link fell but wasn't there to see what caused all the commotion.

"Y-Yeah!" Link managed to get out, his face covered by Romani's hair.

Romani lifted her grasp of her friend and stood up. She twiddled her fingers. "Sorry, Grasshopper."

"No no, it's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going…" Link got to his feet, dusted himself off, and instinctively moved his hand to the back of his neck as he felt his face grow red. His smile made Romani feel better in an instant.

"What are you guys doing here?" Link's question caused Cremia to giggle.

"She just wouldn't stop asking to visit." Cremia remarked. Romani immediately blushed at her sisters' words.

"Sister! Romani did not!" Her fists scrunched up and her arms went stiff at her sides. Link had a hint of red appear on his cheeks too. Both children locked eyes while neither had their embarrassment diminish. Desperate to change the subject, Romani tried to find some sort of reason to let out the small amount of anger she had growing within, even if it was a little ridiculous.

"Why was Grasshopper at the door?!" She sounded a little meaner than she wanted to.

"I- I was just about to leave… to visit you." Link's stutter had returned, and Anju couldn't help but smile as she left the kitchen, eyes on the boy and his friend.

"Link, why don't you show her your room? I'm sure she'd love to see it." Anju's comment made Link blush even more. It felt like teasing, and the innkeeper knew what she was doing. Without a word, Link led Romani upstairs and Anju and Cremia began to catch up with one another.

Opening the door, Link's face was as red as a tomato when he lit the fireplace to illuminate the room better. Romani looked around with wonder, all the papers and pictures scattered on the desk and pinned up on the far wall close to the window. There were even a few humorously placed over the crack in the wall to the right of the fireplace. The innkeepers planned to patch up that hole soon.

"Wooooaaah! What is all this?" Romani wondered aloud as Link sat atop his bed and looked down. He never felt so embarrassed, yet he didn't even understand why.

"It's… plans. To try and find answers. B-But I don't need them anymore!" Link quickly tried to take all of them down, but Romani stopped him.

"No, it's amazing that you want to discover!" Her words provided solace for Link. He always had a problem with telling others about what he did for a 'living'. Throwing the papers onto the table, over the transformation masks, he watched Romani look at the rest that were still up on the wall.

"Is that the canyon?" Romani asked, pointing to an illustration of Ikana river. Her natural wonder never failed to make Link smile. His response was to retrieve a book from his shelf in the corner of the room. He opened it to show his friend a map of Termina.

For over an hour, Link and Romani looked through the map of Termina, an atlas, and other books. Link happily recited some of the things he learned from his adventure, adding to some missing or incorrect knowledge from the books. It filled the boy with pride to know that even he could add something to these already heavy informers. While Romani didn't quite understand a few things he talked about, her attention never waned.

"And this is where all the Zora live!" Link told his friend, pointing to the Great Bay region on the map. Romani was always excited to see a Zora, so her interests went sky-high. During the Carnival of Time, the first thing she wanted to do was see the Indigo-Go's, regardless of if they were ready to perform. She began reading every passage there was about them out loud, causing Link to giggle at her excitement.

The two kids' attention was finally broken from each other when Anju knocked on Link's door and opened it. "Link! I have a snack for you!"

Anju was surprised to see Link and Romani laying on the bed beside each other. Her face nearly flushed until she told herself that there was no harm if the two were just laying like that. The two children peered over at the woman in the doorway. Link's smile grew a bit as he got off his bed and went to Anju. He grabbed the little bowl the chopped fruit laid within and looked back up at the innkeeper.

"Thanks Mom!" He replied cheerfully.

Anju was left frozen again. That was the second time. Link returned to the bed and placed the bowl between himself and his best friend. Snapping out of her surprise, Anju collected herself. "No funny business when I'm not here."

Closing the door, Anju went back downstairs. Her comment only confused the two on the bed. What kind of business would be funny during reading? They only looked at each other for a moment until bursting out into giggles. Catching their breath soon afterward, they continued reading for a few minutes.

Finishing their book, Link scooted off the bed to retrieve another from the shelf. When he picked up the next book, he froze when he saw what it was about. Ikana Canyon and the former kingdom that now lay in ruin, an encyclopedia of what could be found there. He was a little hesitant to begin reading this one. Looking all over the cover, he noticed it was authored by Pamela's father, but that hardly made him feel better.

"Grasshopper? What is it?" Romani asked from the bed. Link was just standing by the bookshelf, staring at the cover of the book in his hands. Romani called him by his nickname again, and he finally freed himself from the spell he was under.

"Sorry…" Link mumbled when he sat down on the edge of the bed. He laid down on his stomach like before and put the book in front of him and Romani. Opening it, Romani began to read aloud, but Link didn't smile this time.

This lasted for a few minutes until Romani turned a certain page. Throughout the book were entries detailing the beings that could be found in Ikana. There was even a page dedicated to the 'secret service' formed in Termina during the war, to try and counter the invasion of spies. However, on this particular page was a large question mark where a picture usually was of the subject of the entry. It was meant to show what the knights would've been up against.

The heading only read, "The Garo."

Link quickly shut the book before Romani could read the information in it, even though it was miniscule. Snatching it and jumping off the bed, Link just held the book while facing away from his best friend. Bewildered, Romani stared at him while he faced the wall, book wrapped in his arms. What was spooking him so much?

"Grasshopper?" Romani said, getting of the bed and walking towards him. When she looked at him, his face was covered by nervousness. "What's wrong? Please tell Romani…"

She got no response from Link. Looking at the book, and then back to his face, she decided to try and calm his nerves. "We don't need to read anymore if Grasshopper isn't comfortable."

Romani slid the book from Link's grip and put it back on the shelf. By the time she turned around, Link had sat himself on the bed again. He still hadn't said a word. Romani never saw her friend this shaken before.

"Want to hang out outside?" Link finally asked, and Romani complied without hesitation. Both left the room and started downstairs. Anju and Cremia were still talking to each other on the lobby, now joined by Kafei.

"Hey you two!" Cremia said as she saw the children reach the bottom of the stairs. The two waved and Kafei looked at Link. His smile was full of pride, and it made Link's cheeks red.

"We're going to play outside!" Romani beamed as she and Link neared the door.

"You two need anything before you leave?" Anju piped up from the front desk.

"Nope! We're good!" Romani replied, alongside a shake of Link's head.

Now outside, Romani looked around. "So! Now what?"

Her cheery personality never failed to bring Link's mood up. Cracking a smile, he turned his gaze towards North Clock Town. "I know something."

"Amazing!" Romani cheered. Following Link to North Clock Town, she caught a look at the slide near the tree. Before the two could get to the slide, Jim, the leader of the Bomber's Secret Society of Justice, noticed the two entering down the dirt road.

"Link!" Jim exclaimed, running towards the boy in green. "Good to see you again, pal!"

Jim was about to shout the name of his organization, but he noticed Romani just behind Link. He switched his gaze from the boy in green and the ranch girl repeatedly until coming to a conclusion in his head.

"Um… Hey Link? Could we talk for a moment?" Jim asked. Link nodded, but when Romani started to follow the two, Jim stopped. "Hey! You ain't member! This is a secret meeting!"

Both Romani and Link gave Jim a puzzled look, but the little boy gave the two no mind and pulled the green one aside. "Where have you been? The Bomber's Secret Society of Justice has been feeling incomplete without you!"

"O-Oh… Sorry. I have been a little… caught up." Link stammered. Jim gave his friend a look of understanding.

"Ah, that's alright, Link. But… I need to know…" Jim stepped closer to Link and whispered into his ear. "Who's the girl?"

Link's face grew red again and he began to stammer. "She-She's just a… friend."

Jim took a look at the ranch girl that was a few feet away from them, then returned to Link's eyes. "I think she'd be a good addition to the team!" Link eyes widened, but he wasn't even able to protest before Jim made his way to Romani.

"You!" Jim hollered, even though Romani was just a foot away from him. She turned her attention to the boy in the red bandana. Jim began to question the girl before him. "Have you heard of the Bomber's Secret Society of Justice?"

"The wha-?" Romani titled her head in confusion.

"What?! You don't know?" Jim stepped back in exaggerated surprise. When he walked up to Romani and whispered something into her ear, her face lit up.

"Oh! That sounds awesome! How does Romani join?!" Her excitement was through the roof. Jim smiled back at Link, who was still standing a few feet away, embarrassed. Jim gathered up the rest of the members of the Bomber's Gang and explained how Romani could become a member of the team.

"All right! Line up, guys!" Jim ordered the rest of the team. Link joined the line up as well. "If you can find all of us before dinner time, I'll teach you the code!"

Romani looked bewildered at how the boys jumped in unison. Regardless, she was determined. Jim was proud of the spark he saw in Romani's eyes.

"Are you ready?"

Romani nodded, and then the boys all ran off to hide. The ranch girl closed her eyes and waited for a minute, then she started her search. It wasn't hard to find the first member. He was just sitting by the wooden slide.

"Gotcha!" Romani said excitedly when she tagged the boy.

"Aw! You caught me… Now there are only five left." He said. But just before Romani was about to leave, he spoke up. "Hey, sorry about how Jim's actin'. He's always looking for new members of the club."

Romani smirked and accepted the boy's apology. In truth, she didn't mind how forward Jim was, she was just glad he took notice of her because of Link. She then took off, searching all across Clock Town. She found the others in all sorts of ways. One was even hiding under a box in South Clock Town, albeit not very well.

She had only two more members to find, Jim and Link. The sky was beginning to darken. Doubling down and looking everywhere she could, she spotted the boy in the red bandana on the roof of the Milk Bar. Was he… holding something?

Romani made her way up and wasn't prepared to see Jim jump off the roof, cucco in his hands. He must have had a contingency plan! Romani could only watch as he glided away. Link was on the long balcony of the Stock Pot Inn, leaning on the bell. He saw Jim glide away, and just figured Romani would run down the way off the roof and give chase.

What he didn't expect was for her to leap off the roof and land on the ground with a grunt.

Romani was shaken by the fall; her feet took their time recovering from the intense impact. She fell over as soon as she tried to walk again, her right knee scraping on the ground. The ranch girl nearly began to cry. Seeing her made Link angry.

"Hey!" Link shouted. Jumping from the straw awning and rolling onto the ground, Link's yell caught Jim's attention. He dropped the cucco from his hands and stared as Link ran towards him.

"You shouldn't do that! Romani could've gotten hurt!" Link angerly told the leader of the Bomber's Gang.

"Hey, don't go blamin' me just because she decided to jump! That was her fault!" Jim countered. Link was considering throwing down with the boy when Romani tagged Jim's back.

"You're out!" She exclaimed, and Jim looked disappointed. He didn't even tell her how many members were left to find as he walked back to North Clock Town, the need seemed kinda pointless considering the circumstances of how he was caught and who was next to find. Before he could get too far, Jim turned around to face the two.

"Sorry, Link." Jim said softly. Link didn't catch what he said at first, for he was in shock. Romani was perfectly fine! She looked triumphant as his jaw went a little slack. Staring between her and Jim, he eventually forgave the little boy across from him. Jim gave him only a nod before he continued his way back up north.

"Hehe… Never underestimate a ranch girl!" Romani wagged her finger at Link, a cocky smile spread across her face. He was still bewildered even when she put her hand on his shoulder and tagged him out.

The kids returned to North Clock Town, and the boys got in line again.

"You did it!" Jim exclaimed. Even though he had been tagged in a pretty unfair way, in his opinion, he was proud that the ranch girl had passed. "So, what's your name, girl?"

"Romani!" The ranch girl chirped. She still had a smirk plastered on her face, and she wore it with modesty.

"Romani, huh?" Jim replied. Looking over at his friends, they all shared an expression of excitement when they heard what the leader said next. "Alright… Starting today, I'm making Romani a new member of Bomber's Secret Society of Justice!"

Romani beamed as she was inducted into the team. The other members clapped for her. It felt like a 'secret service' for Termina, like the one that used to exist during the time of the War of Ikana!

Jim then handed Romani a special book. "This is the Bomber's Notebook!" He explained. "It contains the words we live by! Read it over!"

Romani held the little book in her hands and then opened it. She read it over for a minute and then closed it. Her thought of the organization being like the former secret service grew even more by the time she was done.

"Don't forget the rules!" Jim warned. "All right, then. I'll teach you our secret code. Ready?"

Romani stepped forward and Jim whispered the code to the Bomber's Hideout. Link already knew the code by heart. He enjoyed heading to the observatory at times just to gaze at the sky or borrow a new book. And with that, Romani was officially a member of the Bomber's Secret Society of Justice! A few seconds of awkward silence fell on the group before Romani spoke up.

"So… now what?" She asked. The children just looked at each other for a moment before one of the boys to the right tackled his fellow teammate.

"It's TAGGIN' time!" The boy yelled. And the group started chasing each other around town.

Meanwhile, Anju, Kafei, and Cremia were still chatting in the Stock Pot Inn.

"So, how's life been?" Cremia asked, changing the subject from Anju's cooking to something else.

"Good. Taking care of Link has been a challenge, but it's starting to get smoother." Anju stated. Kafei looked at his wife and then saw Link, Romani, and the Bomber's chasing each other around outside from the window. He smiled as he thought back to when he was a member of the Secret Society. Perhaps his old notebook was still around?

"He seems to be opening up now. Whenever he's with or is thinking about Romani, he's really talkative." Kafei said, returning his gaze to the others in the room. "He just loves when he gets a letter from her."

"Romani's basically the same!" Cremia chuckled. She closed her eyes and recalled a memory. "Whenever she has her chores done, she just sits by the fireplace or next to the fence outside. It reminds me of how Link would sit and stare out into the distance whenever he visited the ranch."

Anju chimed in. "Do you think they… Well, you know…" Even the innkeeper was a little embarrassed to state what was on her mind, but everyone had an idea on what she meant.

"I think so." Kafei said, a little grin on his face. "The way they light up when they see each other reminds me of how we were."

"Oh, stop it!" Anju blushed and pushed her spouse playfully.

"But… Does he really call you 'Mom'?" Cremia asked. Anju's smile faded slightly.

"Yes, he has. Twice now! But… it makes me concerned…" Anju looked down at the wooden floor. "If just the thing's we've done for him makes him consider me a mother… then has he got no guardians where he comes from?"

Anju's worry brought Kafei down. He couldn't imagine what ever happened to Link's real parents. Link didn't even know himself. The boy had no memory of his family, or what they were like. He never knew them. All that Link did know is what the Great Deku Tree sprout had told him, but even then, the tree never referred to Link's father.

"W-Well, what matters now is that he's happy here." Cremia tried to bring the mood back up, and it thankfully worked. The couple smiled as their minds wandered.

Link was almost out of breath when he saw his other companions return to Clock Town from the south entrance. Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael. Tatl looked the most furious when she spotted her green clad friend.

"Ugh! You will not BELIEVE what I had to go through just to get them back here!" Tatl yelled at Link as she flew to his shoulder. She took a seat at Link's side and Skull Kid noticed the Bomber's members running around. When Jim met Skull Kid's eyes, he froze. Ceasing his pursuit of another member, he walked solemnly to the imp in the orange mask.

"Hey…" Jim managed.

"H-Hey…" Skull Kid replied. The two looked down at the ground for some time before Jim spoke up again.

"Look, I've been thinking…" Jim started. "I'm lettin' you back onto the team!"

Skull Kid looked at the leader, surprised.

"Link told me everything that happened. It's alright if that silly mask got into your head, pal!" Skull Kid felt even more embarrassed and ashamed. His actions while in possession of Majora's Mask crossed his mind often. Well, more accurately, when Majora was in possession of him. He felt like he didn't deserve forgiveness, not from the four Giants, nor Link, Tael, or even Jim.

Before Skull Kid could respond, Jim held out his hand. The imp hesitated, but one look at Link, Romani, and his fairy friends gave him some much-needed confidence. Shaking Jim's hand, Skull Kid lifted his mask.

"Thank you… so much." Skull Kid said, a smile finally forming on his wooden face. Jim smiled back, and then returned to chasing his fellow members around town.

After about twenty minutes, Link, Romani, Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael went back to the inn.

"About time you guys got back! It was getting dark." Kafei scolded Link, but in a fun, playful manner. Link just chuckled when he shut to door.

"Would you guys want to stay for dinner?" Anju asked. Romani gave her older sister one look and knew they were staying.

"Oh, fine! But we'll need to head back to the ranch as soon as we're done! It's getting late!" Cremia made sure to keep this all-in mind as Anju prepared dinner for the entire group. It wasn't the best food ever, but they all had fun whilst they chatted and joked about things.

"Bye!" Link waved to the ranch sisters as they faded from view, riding out to Milk Road and beyond.

The moon shined down on the land, illuminating it as it did before it was sent on its collision course. Link felt almost complete now. He made the most of this day, and he was glad he found time for the people he now considered his family, even after his great battle with Gomess, and the conversation they had that brought him down a little mentally. With that, he walked back to the Stock Pot Inn.

Back home.