Hey readers!! Glad to see you've stuck with me this long! You know how? This fic has hit 1600 hits. I'm very thankful for your interest in this story, and I hope you all keep reading. This chapter was okay to write, but I was angry again. Sorry.

Moriko: I'm sure they forgive you. You've been under a lot of stress lately.

Me: Yeah, but that shouldn't affect my writing.

Moriko: Oh shut it. You just need to relax more often.

Me: Yeah...but I don't really know how to do my job. My first one...oh dear god.

Taiki: You'll do fine! Just keep calm and don't hit anyone.

Me: OH THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL, TAIKI!!

Moriko: While we console the almighty Authoress, you guys read. Wing doesn't own anyone except for the characters you've never heard of.

Chapter 25: Sisterly Love

"…and that's what has happened on my journey," Moriko finished. She watched the entire village watch her with rapt attention, though half were still writing down a few sparse details. She'd spent the entire evening in Ordon's main square, giving one big story time to the entire populace of the forest. It had been fun for the first few minutes, but then everyone began badgering her with questions she didn't have answers for. Questions like "Why were you chosen?", "Why did the Goddesses lie to you?", and "What will happen once the darkness is vanquished?" Moriko had no answers for those, so everyone began dispersing early.

The only ones who resisted the urge to leave were the younger kids, as well as a few of the more creative-minded adults. They actually listened to her descriptions of the joy she had brought those she'd saved, much to her surprise. She could see their imaginations at work just by looking at their eyes. Everything she said was like the key into another world, one outside the safe confines of the village.

Later, they ran up and down the streets, waving sticks and playing with homemade bow and arrows. Some jumped into the water of the village stream and splashed around, pretending they were Zoras. Others stomped along the banks, acting how they thought a Goron would act. Even the few childish adults joined in, pretending they were evil monsters. They were quickly tackled and brought to their knees, laughing so hard they turned red.

Laura sat down next to Moriko on the bank of the busiest stream, sighing sadly.

"I remember when that was us," she said, taking her sandals off. Moriko took her boots off as well and slashed the cool stream water on her sore feet.

"Yeah…you always insisted on being the damsel in distress," Moriko grinned. Laura rolled her eyes, her cheeks turning pink.

"Yeah, well, only because I was good at it!" she grumbled. "You were always better suited to a wooden sword than a dress."

"You should've seen me in Hyrule Castle last night. White dress…white dress…dress," Moriko mumbled, her head slowly slumping forward until it was touching her knees. Laura chewed the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Uh…you? In a…pft…white dress? Did you wear shorts underneath it?"

"No…"

The friends looked at each other, their faces contorted into half grim/half grinning expressions, then burst out laughing.

For Moriko, this was a much needed break, and well deserved as well. For at least the past two weeks, she'd been running around the kingdom with minimum sleep and a growing headache. She'd dealt with monsters, robbers, men with bad attitudes, and a week's worth of being waterlogged. She was tired, and she was going to get a good night's sleep tonight, whether the Goddesses wanted it or not. It was her freaking time to relax. When she told Laura this, her friend gave her a warm hug.

"Aw…those Goddesses are working you to the bone."

"Yeah, but I have to do it."

"That's no reason to push yourself so hard!" Laura retorted, putting her hands on her hips. "That Kaiser dude can wait a few days to conquer the world. You need to rest."

"I know, but there are some things I just can't let go so easily."

It was silent for a minute, but not for long.

"I met my father at the castle."

Laura looked like she'd been hit with a bag of rocks. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was so open Moriko could've put her foot in it.

"What?! What'd he say?!"

"What'd who say?"

The girls turned to see Tabatha standing behind them, a small plate of cookies in her hands. "Cookie anyone?"

"Not right now, Mo-"

"I'll take 'em!" Moriko said, emptying the plate onto her lap in her haste to obtain them. She managed to stuff three into her mouth before she realized both Tabatha and Laura were staring at her.

"What? I haven't had these in years!"

"Actually, it's only been about a month," Tabatha corrected as she watched Moriko stuff another cookie into her already too full mouth.

"Oh, reaffy? I nin't realife it."

"Moriko, don't talk with you mouth full," Laura said, shaking her head in mock discipline. "It's un-ladylike."

Moriko swallowed her cookies and stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, right! As if I could be ladylike! Would you like a cup of tea as well, milady?" she asked, sitting up in a way that left both Laura and Tabatha laughing.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Laura replied, her voice going up an octave. "And don't forget the biscuits and cream!" They began laughing again.

Suddenly they were soaking, and Gabe was standing in front of them, a large bucket in his hands.

"Quit it, you're scaring me," he said with a straight face. Moriko grinned and nodded, patting the empty ground next to her. Gabe took his seat and locked his arms around her waist, as if to say "Mine."

"So what were you talking about?" he asked. Moriko's face fell almost immediately.

"Oh, right…well, I really did meet my dad. I didn't get to talk to him much, but I sort of left on bad terms. You remember Suzume from my story? Well, after she collapsed, I stayed with her in the infirmary. When my sort-of-friend Tanner came to get me, my dad came with him as backup. See, I was missing the King's dinner party, and I thought it would be more important if I stayed with Suzume. Well, I thought wrong. Dad came and dragged me back to the party, and then the castle was attacked. I haven't spoken to hi since."

It was eerily silent when she finished, but she was soon enveloped in not one, but three hugs. Tabatha, Laura, and Gabe held her so gently that she felt as if she'd truly come home. She felt so safe there, wrapped in the arms of her loved ones, that she didn't want to head back to her house, even if it was to sleep. She was already there.

A cough broke through the silence, making everyone jump. Karin, in all her self-proclaimed gorgeousness, twisting a lock of her hair in between her fingers.

"Oh, how cute. Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Moriko…alone."

Moriko sighed and, reluctantly, detached herself from her friends.

"I'll be right back," she called as Karin led her to Ordona's spring, and out of the prying sight of the villagers. When she was certain they were alone, she went on the attack.

"Moriko, give up the charade. Everyone may not see it, but I can tell you're lying. Just go and apologize to everyone for pulling something like this."

Moriko was silent as her sister stared at her, her green eyes blazing.

"What makes you think I'm lying? Do you have proof that I've done such a horrible thing?"

Karin gritted her teeth as she fought to keep her actions in line.

"No…but I can just tell! You'd never be able to do anything of the sort if it were true, therefore it's false! There's no way you could be doing something so over your head."

Moriko just stood there, staring her sister in the face as the older girl began listing off reasons as to why she had to be lying. Eventually, Moriko got tired of it.

"Karin, as much as I'd love to argue with you, I'm tired. I've been running around the kingdom like a maniac and I haven't had a decent night's rest since I was at Zora's Domain. Can we please continue this later?"

Moriko turned to go when Karin grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She then proceeded to then slap Moriko hard across the face. Moriko, caught off guard by the sudden pain in her cheek, blinked back tears that threatened to fall. She jerked away from Karin and stepped back into the spring, where she splashed her face with water.

"You brat! You weren't supposed to be the hero! I was! You were always dad's favorite, so I only thought it was fair! But no! You had to get all the glory! You took everything away from me!"

Moriko splashed her face more, feeling the mark sear, then stood up.

"Karin, it wasn't my decision to become the hero. I wouldn't wish it away, but this was decided before either of us were born. Dad might have known about it, but I certainly didn't. Just because this happened to me doesn't mean it would be better suited for you. Do you even know how to hold a sword? Don't be so dramatic"

Karin, livid with anger, stomped from the area, her hair fanning out behind her like a cape. Moriko sat at the edge of the spring for a few more minutes, unwilling to face anyone with a giant red mark on her face. She soaked her sleeve in water an pressed it too her cheek.

An eerie feeling washed over the area as she rested, striking a chord in the depths of her mind. She looked around the spring, but nothing was there. She went back to washing her cheek, but was interrupted by a sharp pain lancing through her head. She heard screams, shrieks of pain, and shouts for help. She clutched her ears, trying to block it out, but it just got louder and louder until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Laura staring at her, her eyes wide in terror.

"Moriko, you have to come back to the village! Karin's gone crazy!"

"What?! What happened?!"

"She came storming out of here, then broke into my house and stole your bag! She just left the village and locked the gate! What do we do?"

Moriko stood up and pulled Laura back into the village. "Whatever we have to do! I'll go after her, you keep everyone calm here. I'll be back shortly."

Moriko ran to the north gate and climbed over it, losing barely any momentum as she raced after her sister. How stupid could Karin be? She stole something that would decide the fate of the world! And over something as stupid as jealousy! Did Karin always have to have the same things as her, or was it that she just wanted everything to herself? Moriko had no idea what was going through her sister's head.

She reached the open field and glimpsed Karin limping up the hill. With a burst of strength, Moriko chased after her, only to lose sight of her as she got closer. The small voices began pounding against the inside of her head again, making her dizzy. She willed them to shut up as she reached the top of the hill, only to see the one thing she never thought she'd see.

Karin, blind with rage, was smashing the Rod of Seasons against whatever was within reach. She slammed it into the ground, against a tree, and onto a rock.

"I hate…these stupid…items!" she shouted as she smashed them. "They…can just disappear!"

Moriko tackled her sister to the ground, sending the Rod of Seasons skidding over to her bag near the tree. They wrestled until Moriko managed to calm her sister down a little.

"Karin, if you don't calm down, I will be forced to hurt you, and I don't want to do that!"

Karin stopped moving just enough so that Moriko saw she was crying.

"Well? Aren't you going to hurt me? I tried to stop you from completing the great heroic acts you were supposed to perform! Are you going to arrest me for treason? What now?"

Moriko averted her eyes, then got up off her sister. "Nothing."

"What?"

"I'm not going to do anything. We are going back to the village."

Karin stared at her with disbelieving eyes as the younger girl pulled her bag on. "That's it? I gave you that whole shpeel just so you can do nothing?"

Moriko bit her lip and turned to glare at her. "What do you want me to do?!" she shouted. Karin grimaced at Moriko's tone. "You want me to hand off everything I'm doing so we can go back to being best friends like we were when we were younger?! Well, I can't do that now! I have something I have to do, and that means I have to make a few sacrifices I don't want to make! You want me to be the perfect little sister, completely obedient to your every word? Tough! Get over it! Now, come on…we have to go back."

Karin hesitantly trudged after Moriko with her eyes downcast, trying to play the guilt card. Moriko easily ignored it and kept going, her mind completely focused on the Rod of Seasons. There was a large crack in the summer orb, and the part just below the gems was practically crumbling. Good thing Karin hadn't grabbed the Harp of Ages. She would've shattered it completely.

They reached the village, only to be greeted by a large crowd. They were happy to see Moriko back, but they glared at Karin with burning hatred. She disappeared into her house shortly after.

Moriko, unsure of what to do, headed for Ordona's Spring. The spirit, surprised by the damage done to the rod, merely shook its head.

"It is unfortunate that this has happened, but the rod cannot by melded to the Master Sword in its current state."

"I'll do anything! " Moriko shouted. "We have to fix this!"

Ordona sighed as it looked over the rod once again. "Alas, I myself cannot fix this. Only Eldin can do it, but he cannot do it with his magic alone."

"What does he need?"

"He needs two special ores. Since it was the Summer Gem that was damaged, he'll need to fuse a piece of the Goron Ruby to it. He'll also need the ore known as Selenthium, which you can get from the shaman of Kakariko."

"So Kakariko Village is my next stop."

Ordona leaned closer to the blonde, nodding. "Yes, but in the morning. Get your rest now, before things get out of hand."

Moriko nodded gratefully and headed for her house, pausing only to tell Laura of what happened. Laura was glad to see her friend back, but was curious as to why Karin had acted so rashly. Moriko stayed silent on that part, unwilling to face her sister's actions. It could wait. Right now, she just wanted to sleep.

She yawned as she came up to her house, feeling the full effects of her journey beginning to weigh down on her shoulders. Navi and Taiki were already sleeping inside on the small couch when she pushed the door open. She changed into a pair of pajamas and stumbled into her room, nearly tripping over a large object positioned in her doorway. She looked down to see Gabe, curled up in a ball on the floor with his head resting on one of her pillows.

"Gabe? Gabe, are you alright?" she whispered, shaking the little boy gently. Gabe groaned as he woke up, sitting up like he'd been asleep for hours.

"Mm fine…you're back? Did j'ya get yer stuff?" he asked, though his speech was slightly slurred together. Moriko sighed and picked him up, carrying him to her bed.

"Yes, Gabe, I did. Now go back to sleep."

Gabe snuggled right under the covers and fell asleep, leaving Moriko with the couch to sleep on. She shuffled back to Navi and Taiki and placed them on a pillow on the floor, then finally managed to lay down on something she missed a lot. A soft couch. She pulled her blanket up to her chin and drifted off, instantly forgetting the day's, as well as the past weeks', events.

So how was it? Before any of you ask, when Moriko was hearing voices, that was the Rod of Seasons calling to her. I went off the deep end with that one, so no flaming. I've been very imaginative lately.

Moriko: Yeah yeah. I really hate my sister.

Me: I know. I do too, but you need setbacks, or you'll be a MarySue.

Moriko: I hope people don't think that of me. That would suck, but that might explain why only four or five people have reviewed.

Me: Forget what they think! Gah! Now I'm angry again!

Moriko: Calm down!

Me: I KNOW!! Just give me a minute...or another chapter...can you write it this time?

Moriko: I'd probably rip a hole in the fabric of time and space.

Me: Yeah...you probably would. Well, I'm certainly not handing it off to Tanner for a day.

Moriko: Kill me first.

Me: Will do. Anyway readers, have a wonderul day/night!