"So," the tiny voice started.

"So…?" Shinichi asked.

"I noticed you couldn't keep your eyes off of the Sheikah," she said rather bluntly.

Shinichi scowled without looking at her, "I don't know what you are talking about." Despite his words, his cheeks were starting to color. 'Stupid blush…betraying my thought…"

Instead of answering, Ai merely chuckled. She yawned and stretched from her position riding atop his hat, "Aren't we at Kakariko Graveyard yet? The sun is setting."

"And why should you care? It's not like you are trotting back and forth across Hyrule Field. You sound pretty comfy riding on my head all day," Shinichi growled.

The fairy waved her hand as if she was waving his words away, "Your legs are longer than mine and fairy wings aren't meant for long flights. We fairies normally keep to the forest you know. Besides, you shouldn't complain about all of the exercise you are getting. I know that KID just couldn't keep his eyes off you."

The color in his cheeks intensified, "L-like I care about that! I don't care if that pervy ninja was checking me out!" Shinichi was by now walking through Kakariko village toward the back of the town. At his shout, a couple of the villagers turned and stared.

Shinichi ducked his head in embarrassment and Ai chuckled at his discomfort. The rest of the walk was in silence. By the time they made it to the small graveyard, it was full dark. There weren't many headstones in the cemetery, but despite that it still had a Poe or two floating around. He avoided the lantern bearing ghosts and searched the yard.

"Shinichi, check this out," he heard Ai call him.

Shinichi obeyed and inspected the headstone she was floating near, "It's blank. There isn't even a name."

"Seems a little suspicious if you ask me," the fairy told him. Shinichi studied the stone and the ground around it for a moment longer. He made an "Ah-ha" noise and began pushing the stone. "What are you doing?" Ai hissed. He ignored her and continued pushing on the stone. He gave a grunt and a final push and at last the stone began to slide. Underneath the headstone was a hole, but not the kind one would dig to bury a casket. It looked deep, really deep, and it was only a couple feet in length and width.

"I think I'm supposed to climb down," the look on his face as he spoke was very sour. He lowered himself into the hole and was able to find spots in the wall for his hands and feet to grip. He climbed lower and lower, quickly losing site of the graveyard. The darkness blinded him, and he couldn't see how far the bottom was. Ai stayed near the wall he clung to, the light from her glowing body barely illuminating more foot holds for him as he climbed lower.

He finally reached the bottom and as soon as his feet touched the floor, torches lit. He was in a chamber of some sort with a stone floor and columns were placed around the walls. Before he could inspect it farther, a man floated to his side. Wait, float?

"Heh heh heh, young man…are you fast on your feet?" It wasn't a man, but a ghost. He looked like he might have been the caretaker of the yard when he was alive. The ghost of the graveyard continued, "I'm very fast. Follow me if you dare. If you can keep up with me, I might give you something."

With those final words, the ghost let out a creepy laughter and was off. He floated backwards, keeping an eye on Shinichi the entire time as he ran after the ghost. Shinichi ran as fast as he could, but he still struggled to keep up. The ghost would sometimes throw balls of fire at him, like the ghost was mocking him.

The fairy boy kept his eyes on the ghost as he ran, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see that he was being led through a labyrinth. He shuddered to think what might happen if he couldn't keep up with the ghost and got lost. He saw a doorway and sensed that he was near the end. He put on a final burst of speed, which was lucky because the door slammed shut just a moment after he went through.

The ghost was waiting for him. He was floating in a smaller chamber that had an alter in the center. At the top was a chest. Shinichi looked at the ghost who nodded, so the boy opened the chest. Inside was a strange object he had never seen before. It had a handle to hold in his fist and was attached to a metal arrowhead. The ghost explained, "This is my hookshot; it's a spring loaded chain. You can use it to kill weaker enemies, temporarily stun the stronger ones, and hit switches. More importantly, it can bring small items to you, and pull you to places. Since I'm dead now, I no longer have use for it. You can have it now."

Shinichi grinned, "Thank you. This has to be what KID was talking about. Now I can get inside the Forest Temple and awaken the first sage."

xXx

Shinichi looked around, his face pale, "What happened to this place?"

He was looking at what was once the peaceful home of the Kokiri. It didn't look so peaceful anymore. The forest seemed darker, more intimidating. It was starting to become overgrown; weeds were growing over paths that were once well traveled. The huts and tree-houses that belonged to the children looked abandoned. Gardens were left unattended and he didn't see a single child playing outside. The worst part was the monster. Everywhere Shinichi looked, he saw them. Big Deku Baba, the carnivorous plants large enough to swallow a Kokiri entirely, Deku Scrubs, the monsters that hid in the bushes and spit rocks at anyone within site, and even the Skull Children that use to be shy and a minor annoyance were now wild and hostile.

The glow that Ai's tiny body gave off was dimmer than normal, but her voice was steady when she answered, "Without the Deku Tree, there is no longer anything standing between the forest and the monsters. The monsters were able to move in."

Shinichi swallowed and forced himself to ask, "And the Kokiri?"

The fairy was silent and Shinichi felt a sinking in his chest. But then Ai caught his attention, "Look, at the window!" Shinichi looked up just in time to see a Kokiri child peeking at him through her window. She saw Shinichi looking at her and quickly ducked so he could no longer see her.

"That was Ayumi," he sighed with relief. He looked at another house and saw another Kokiri curtain twitch as if someone was just peeking through, "And that was Mitsuhiko! I think the children are hiding in their houses."

Ai's glow seemed brighter now, "Let's get going. The sooner we awaken the sage, the sooner we can defeat Gin and everything can go back to normal."

They kept walking; looking for the Temple they knew was in the forest somewhere. Ai didn't notice that her companion was deep in thought. 'Back to normal, huh? But things can't exactly go back for me, can they?...I cannot return to the forest. If I do not die on my quest, where will I go after I defeat Gin? Before I left, all I knew was the forest.'

His fairy broke him from his thoughts, "Look, Moblins. They look like they are guarding something, we must be close. I think it would be best to sneak past them rather than fight. I can see three, no four of them."

The boy agreed. He hid behind a large boulder and waited. He could see that the Moblins were patrolling the same paths, back and forth, back and forth. If he timed it right, he could sneak by without being seen. Shinichi smirked.

A few minutes later, he was climbing a set of stone steps, the Moblins patrolling below unaware that he made it this far. At the top of the stairs stood an ancient temple, or the front of it at least. The rest seemed to be set inside the face of a cliff.

"The flow of time is always cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it."

Shinichi's heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar voice. He smiled as he turned around, "KID."

The Sheikah was indeed behind him. His one visible eye was smiling, "A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days."

Shinichi smiled at the other man, "I think you just like speaking like that because it makes you sound cool."

KID blinked, than began to laugh. He began to step closer, only stopping when he was no more than eight inches away. He held up a flower, a Hylian Rose* to be more exact. The petals were a beautiful cobalt blue. KID offered the rose to Shinichi, who began sputtering, "That's the Hylian Rose, also known as the Lover's Rose!"

KID chuckled, "Partially true, this is the Hylian Rose. Traditionally, the flower was a symbol of new beginnings. The rose was given from parents to children during coming-of-age ceremonies, from wives to husbands that would soon be fathers, and bouquets were even given to princes that were to be kings. But the beautiful blue color made it a favorite among brides. The new trend is to use it during weddings, thus making it nicknamed the Lover's Rose."

The Sheikah tucked the rose behind Shinichi's ear, "I give you this flower referring to the older, traditional meaning, as a sign of our new friendship. Though if you did want to use it as a symbol of love, I'm not sure I could say no to such an attractive man" He winked.

Shinichi felt like his face was on fire, "Well, uh, as much as I enjoy this, uh chat, I have a temple to conquer, Sages to awaken, kingdoms, you know. So did you come to speak with me for a reason, or do you just enjoy messing with me?"

Another chuckle, "Oh I do enjoy teasing you, but no that is not the foremost reason that I am here. I have come to teach you another melody that will help you on your quest. This song is called the Minuet of Forest. Play it for the sage after you defeat the beast in the temple."

KID pulled out a small stringed instrument, perhaps a lyre though Shinichi couldn't be sure, and used nimble fingers to pluck the strings and play a lighthearted melody. It didn't take long for the young hero to be able to follow the melody. He took out his ocarina and played along. Rather than stop like Shinichi thought he would, KID continued to play.

Ocarina and lyre played together, the instruments harmonizing beautifully rather than competing like one might expect. Shinichi allowed his eyes to close as he played, and for a moment, everything fell away, everything but the music.

The song ended and the hero slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that KID was gone. The second thing he noticed was that it was raining Hylian Rose petals. KID's voice whispered in his ear, "Until next time." Shinichi turned, but there was nobody there.

xXx

The door to the Forest Temple was at the top of a set of stone stairs; the problem was that most of the stairs had collapsed long ago. Shinichi was able to put his new equipment, the hookshot to use. He targeted a torch that was next to the door and released the hook. The weapon worked perfectly and he was able to retract the chain and pull himself to the door.

He met some minor enemies in the entry room and the entry hallway, but he made quick work of them. The next room was the grand hall. The temple must have been beautiful when it was built, but time had turned the magnificent building to ancient ruins. The roof had broken in some places revealing sunlight from outside, the rays illuminating flurries of dust that floated in the air. Some of the walls were slowly being covered by vines.

In the center of the grand hall were four torches. Their flames were unnaturally colored, one blue, one violet, one green, and one a vivid red. Besides the one he came in, five doors were located in the circular room. Shinichi stared at them trying to figure out which one he should go through first.

Before he could make up his mind, four ghosts came into the room, each one wearing robes the same colors as the torches. Before he could stop them, the Poes each floated to a torch and captured the flames in lanterns they held. "Hey, stop that!" he called out to them. The ghosts cackled at him, mocking him, before disappearing.

"Those were the Poe Sisters: Amy, Beth, Joelle, and Meg. I never would have guessed that they were living in here now. I think it would be best if we found them and got the torch flames back. They must have taken them for a reason, and I'm sure we need them for something," Ai mumbled.

Shinichi nodded but then stopped, "Wait, Meg? What kind of ghost would be named Meg?** You know what, never mind. I have more important things to worry about. It's time to track down some ghosts."

xXx

The two had gone through much of the temple, but had not seen any sign of the Poe Sisters. Shinichi could feel a headache forming behind his eyes and took his frustrations out on the poor Stalfos, an animated skeleton that wore armor and used a large sword to attack, that dared cross his path. A second Stalfos whimpered as he watched the first shatter in defeat at the hero's feet. It tried to sneak away, but Shinichi turned to and snarled, "Oh no you don't, get back here." The Stalfos cried a little, or would have if it still had tear ducts, before it was also defeated.

After the skeleton was defeated, a chest appeared. "Cool, the best stuff always appears after I defeat some enemy," Shinichi talked as he opened the chest. Inside was a bow. The thing was obviously old, but was still in excellent condition. A quiver lay beside it, with a bundle of arrows inside, the tips looked very sharp.

"That should come in handy," Ai replied. She watched Shinichi fiddle with the bow and an arrow. He seemed to be having difficulties. "Do you know what you are-AH!" Ai was forced to the right as an arrow flew past her, nearly taking her out on the way.

"Opps, sorry Ai. I should probably practice a couple times," Shinichi mumbled sheepishly.

xXx

Shinichi entered a new part of the temple he hadn't been in before. The room had three framed portraits, two of which were blank, but the last had a picture of Joelle. The Poe was wearing a vivid red robe, the bottom of which was torn terribly. She appeared to be wearing a high straw hat that formed a peak at the top of her head. In her hand was a lantern with a vivid red flame. Shinichi moved closer to the painting, but it suddenly cackled at him the image disappeared.

"That's not a painting, she's inside the frame! Shoot her from afar with an arrow, Shinichi!" Ai instructed.

Shinichi turned and looked at the other frames. The image of the Poe Sister was now in one of the frames that had previously been blank. He notched an arrow to the bow and aimed for the image of Joelle. This time, his aim was true and the arrow passed from the frame, striking the red Poe. The Poe shrieked and fled to another frame. Shinichi shot her again, and then again. With her paintings destroyed, the red Poe was forced to face Shinichi, who made quick work of her with the Master Sword.

Once Joelle was defeated, the flame floated on its own back in the direction of the grand hall. "One down, three to go," Shinichi muttered.

Shinichi snagged a key that the Poe dropped and used it to unlock a door, gaining access to another new room. This room also had three frames, with one holding the image of Beth, the blue Poe. Her robe was also torn (must be a ghost thing) and had a hood attached to it. She also carried a torch with a blue flame. Shinichi defeated her the same way he defeated Joelle.

The hero had to do a little more searching before he found Amy, the green Poe. The third sister also had a hood attached to her robe, but the top had straw sticking out of it. Maybe she admired her sisters Beth and Joelle?

The ghost didn't reveal herself immediately, it was only after Shinichi solved a puzzle by rearranging some stone blocks that she appeared. It would seem the fight with her was more a test of the mind rather than simply shooting arrows at portraits. In the end, she followed the same fate as her other two sisters.

"Now we just need to find Meg. You know, I bet it's because I mocked her name, which must be the reason she is so hard to find. And something tells me the fight with her is going to be a bitch," Shinichi growled, his headache returning.

Shinichi searched the temple some more until he found himself back in the grand hall. He noticed that three of the torches had relit themselves; the flames had obviously found their way back. Which was weird, but he tried not to think about it too hard.

Floating in the center of the torches was the final Poe Sister, Meg. She was dressed in violet and wore an elaborate headdress with three large rubies set in the center. She cackled madly before charging at the hero in green. Shinichi readied himself, but was caught off guard when four Meg's were suddenly surrounding him.

"Three of them are illusions. You must find the real one," Ai told him.

"Easier said than done, they all look real to me," his eyes darted back and forth, looking for something that would give them away.

As one, the four ghosts drew closer preparing to attack. That's when he heard it; from his left he heard laughter. The other three remained silent. Shinichi struck out with his sword and as he hit her, the other three illusions disappeared. After that, defeating Meg was child's play.

xXx

Shinichi tip a sip of some reviving potion, "Now that the Poe Sisters are gone, the torches have relit, and it opened up the doorway to the boss room."

Ai nodded, "Once we defeat whatever waits inside, the sage will be able to awaken."

He gulped down the rest of the potion, "Right, let's get this over with. I'm starting to miss fresh air."

Ai chuckled, "There's that, and there's also the fact that the sooner you get out of here, the sooner you can see that Sheikah again."

Shinichi blushed, "Hyrule, I also have to save Hyrule." He frowned, "I will be much happier once I know Prince Kaito is safe. I wonder where he is."

By now Shinichi was in the boss's chamber. The room was octagonal in shape and looked like a small art gallery. Multiples of the same painting was hung on each wall; the paintings shown a gloomy looking path leading off into the distance. "All of these paintings remind me of the fights with the first two Poe sisters. I wonder if we will have to defeat the boss of the temple in the same way," Shinichi thought aloud.

"You won't be able to defeat the enemy this time, foolish boy," Shinichi turned around to see Gin. "I created him myself. He is my masterpiece, I call him Phantom Gin. You will die in this chamber, hero."

Gin's shape began to waver and then disappeared completely. In his place stood a heavily armored man riding a horse that was also covered in armor. All Shinichi could see of the man himself was a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

The phantom turned his horse around and ran toward one of the paintings. Rather than crashing into it, a patrol opened and swallowed the two. When the portal closed again, Shinichi now saw a painting of the phantom galloping up the path until he disappeared from view.

'That must mean he is going to come out of one of the other paintings,' Shinichi thought. He circled around looking at each painting. After a moment, he saw not one, but two Phantom Gins galloping back up the path. 'Which one is the real phantom!' Shinichi thought wildly. He cocked an arrow but before he could fire, one of the phantoms turned around and galloped away from Shinichi.

The real phantom jumped out of the painting and sent a bolt of lightning at the hero before jumping into another painting. The bolt was too fast and hit Shinichi. "AHHHHHH!" he screamed in pain. The pain faded and the hero sagged with relief to the floor.

"Shinichi, get up! He's coming back! The illusion is the phantom that turns and runs away," Ai was screaming at him.

He struggled to his feet and watched as the two paintings got closer and closer. At the last second, Shinichi saw one of them, the illusion, turn and gallop away. The hero quickly raised his bow and fired at the real phantom. The arrow hit and the phantom grunted in pain. His horse turned and galloped back into the painting, but Phantom Gin jumped out of the painting into the room with Shinichi. He floated in the air, levitating high above the hero. His eyes glowed with hatred as he stared down at the hero. The phantom raised his sword and sent a ball of lightning at Shinichi.

"Hell no, that lightning hurt," the hero yelled. Pure reflex made him race his sword and bat the ball back at the phantom. The phantom wasn't expecting this and was hit with his own lightning. He groaned in pain and fell from the air back to the ground. Shinichi ran to the phantom and stabbed him directly into the chest.

The phantom screamed and Shinichi heard the real Gin's voice echo throughout the chamber, "You did quite well, kid. I suppose you have gained some skill. But you have only defeated my phantom. The fight with the real thing will not be so easy, I assure you." The body of the phantom began to float again, and its body caught on fire. The body floated to the center of the room where another portal opened in the center of the floor. Gin spoke again, "What a worthless creation that ghost was. For failing me, I will banish him to the gap between dimensions." The phantom screamed in fear as his body was swallowed by the portal.

xXx

Shinichi opened his eyes and found himself in the Chamber of Sages again. Agasa wasn't there, but someone very familiar was.

"Ran," he whispered.

She smiled at him, "Shinichi, thank you. Because of you, I was able to awaken as the Forest Sage. I knew you would come back, someday."

"Ran, I…" Shinichi began but stopped. What was there to say?

She shook her head, "its ok. It is destiny that you and I cannot live in the same world together. I will remain here in the chamber to help you on your journey. I will give you the Forest Medallion so that you may defeat Gin." She raised her arms high above her head and a green medallion slowly floated down into Shinichi's waiting hands. It had the Triforce on one side and four long tildes on the other***.

"Shinichi, we will always be friends," Ran told him as he felt himself being transported from the chamber.

xXx

When Shinichi opened his eyes again, he was standing in front of the dead tree that was once the Great Deku Tree. He looked up at the tree in sadness for a moment, before turning to leave. He paused when he saw a tiny plant pocking out of the ground. The leaves were twitching. What the hell? Shinichi crouched next to the plant trying to get a closer look. The leaves were shaking harder now, despite the lack of wind. He looked closer and suddenly a small tree sprang from the ground.

"AHHH!" Shinichi screamed in surprise as he fell backward on his ass. He picked himself up and looked at the smiling tree. It was as tall as he was, and was very chubby. Who knew trees could be chubby?

"Hi! I'm the Deku Tree Sprout," the small tree introduced itself. "I would like to thank you Shinichi. You broke the curse on the Forest Temple and Ran was able to awaken the Forest Sage. Her power has spread throughout the forest riding it of the monsters that have been here for the past seven years. Now I am able to grow and flourish."

Shinichi smiled, "I'm happy to help, Deku Sprout."

"Shinichi, have you seen any of the other Kokiri children?" the tree asked.

"I saw them peeking at the windows of their houses. None of them seemed to recognize me, so I didn't approach them," Shinichi answered.

"You are right, they didn't recognize you. The Kokiri do not age. You have because you are not part of the Kokiri race," the sprout told him.

Shinichi nodded, "Yes, I know that now. Do you know what race I am? How I came to the forest?"

"You are a Hylian, young Hero. Some years ago, before the great king of Hyrule unified the lands, there was a fierce war in our world. One day, a woman tried to escape the dangers the war, she wanted to protect her newly born baby boy. She ran to this forbidden forest seeking refuge, but she was gravely injured. She knew she was dying and she had no choice but to entrust the safety of her baby to the guardian spirit of the forest, the Great Deku Tree. He raised you as a Kokiri, but he could sense that you had been touched by destiny, and he knew that one day, you would be called upon to save all of Hyrule. That day, has arrived, young hero," the sprout finished his speech.

"I understand. Thank you for telling me, Great Deku Sprout. I know what I must do. But will the Kokiri be ok?" he couldn't help but ask.

The sprout's smile widened, "Ran has helped me grow, but her power must now be focused on helping you on your journey, but do not worry! I am now powerful enough to protect this forest. Everything will go back to normal for the Kokiri."

xXx

This seems like a good place to stop. This chapter was really hard to write for some reason. There were so many parts that I didn't like and had to retype. Hopefully the rest of the chapters won't be such a bitch.

*= I totally made the Hylian Rose up.

* *= If you don't get the joke, look at my name

***= for those that do not know, a tilde looks like this symbol ~.