Link rubbed the towel over his legs and then pulled his pants on. His tunic came next, and then his hat. He opened the cabinet that was pushed up against his wall and grabbed his books for school. He had three classes today- science, math, and music. He kept his harp in the Adventure Pouch Fledge had given him, and tucked in his sheets and walked out the door.
The other students were rushing around the hall, getting ready for school, and Pipit was leaning with one forearm braced on the wall, talking to Karane. She ducked her face, but Link could see the slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. Cawlin watched angrily form behind the potted plant by the door.
Link, as he walked in the classroom and sat his things down in the seat by the window, wondered where Ghirahim had gone. Link remembered taking a bath because everyone had told him he needed one, and that was it. The warm water and spring soap had made him so tired that he put on a pair of shorts to sleep in and collapsed in his bed. Ghirahim did not come back that night.
Professor Owlan leaned out into the hallway and yelled for the students to come in and class was starting, and Link died a little. He did not like school. He much preferred hands-on learning.
The Professor used a small piece of chalk to start drawing on the board as the kids took their seats. Since there wasn't a school on the surface or one in town, all the kids who were in their teens came to school at the Academy. Then the smaller kids had preschool at a later time in the day, which was taught by Kukiel's mother.
Peatrice, who Link had never even noticed before he started to visit her at the Item Check, came in and sat next to him. She was very quiet and smiled at him, but Link gave a lazy wave and she giggled, turning away. Pipit sat in front of Link with Karane to his right, and Cawlin sat way in the back to avoid Pipit's gaze. Groose and Strich came in late with no books and sat down in the back along with Cawlin. The only person Link didn't notice being there was Zelda. He figured she probably didn't need school anymore- she was the Goddess, and knew everything about the history of the world. It didn't really bother him that she wasn't there, though. And he didn't understand why.
Professor Owlan noticed the small "Karane + Caw" on the bottom of the board and glowered in the back of the room. The rest of the class erupted into laughter, except Link. He was thinking about Ghirahim. Did he get upset and leave? Was he just playing when he said he liked Link? Link hoped not. He knew how it felt not to be able to tell anyone anything, and he didn't want Ghirahim to feel that way. Link thought he might have even liked Ghirahim back. He knew that when he first saw him in Skyview, he would have a hard time killing him. Not because he was a good fighter and enemy- he was- but because he knew that Ghirahim was being forced to be this way. Now it was just habit that gave him the attitude he had, but Link suspected that he would not be so pompous and arrogant if he had not been Demise's slave.
"So, today, kids, we're going to learn about a new species discovered by our very own Link." Everyone looked toward Link, who sat up straighter and smiled, but was not really paying attention. "Link, would you like to talk about it?" Owlan asked, gesturing for him to come to the front of the room. Link knew he could not get out of it, so he slowly stood up out of his chair and walked to the front of the room. Everyone gave a thunderous applause, even Groose, who leaned back and paid attention.
Link held his fingers behind his back and felt his face getting redder. He was not one for talking, but tried to speak anyway.
"Uh..." Link said, scuffing his shoes. He took a deep breath and tried to think of anything interesting to say. "Um... they are part of a tribe. They're called Kikwis. They're short and fat and have stubby legs and beaks. They can't see very well and have these little bush things on their backs. When they get scared they fall on their faces and open the bush thing and then they look like a plant. The elder of the tribe is the biggest thing I've ever seen and he has a Fu-Manchu mustache. They shake and throw their heads back and then go "Kwee?" There are four besides the elder and they're kinda small and... and..." He was running out of things to say. What more was there? They were shrub-hamsters!
"They squeak when they walk," Link said. The class bursted into laughter, slapping the long tables and stomping their feet. Owlan laughed heartily and put a hand on Link's shoulder. "Good job, Link," he laughed, "you can go back to your seat now." Link let out a breath and walked back to his seat.
Owlan kept talking about the Kikwis, asking the class questions about what Link said, and then asked the class what they thought about Owlan's studies. The class gave half-hearted answers and then Owlan passed out worksheets. It was a grid sheet with a bunch of equations at the top. You have to solve for the variable and then use the answer to plot the point on the grid, and then connect the dots. Link later found out that the picture was supposed to be a Kikwi.
Ghirahim was walking around the Lanayru desert, looking for something to please Link. He kenw he could've just summoned up something nice, but felt it would be more special if he had gone out and found it himself.
He liked the boy. He did, he really enjoyed his company. But he didn't want to get too close to him yet. What if the boy just thought it was funny to lead him on as payback for Ghirahim trying to kill him all the time? He hadn't really been trying to kill him, it was just that he knew if he hadn't made an obvious attempt to leave some type of mark on the boy, there would be serious consequences with Demise.
Ghirahim was kicking up the sand, trying to find some Goddess Plumes so Link could upgrade his shield. The big man with the goggles refused to fix his shield until he could embed a Goddess Plume into it. Ghirahim could not understand how the boy could come back with them so easily- Ghirahim had not seen one thing yet! As his cape barely moved behind him in the nonexistant desert breeze, Ghirahim walked the length of the desert, and then saw it. There was a crack in the stone wall.
Ghirahim noticed a bomb plant nearby and walked over to it. He kicked it once, hoping that it was near enough that it would set off and blow up the wall without him having to touch it. It ticked and blinked red, but only blew a bunch of sand in Ghirahim's face. He grumbled to himself and wiped off his face, then realized he would have to pick it up.
He grabbed the plant around its roots and pulled it up, and it immediately started ticking. He carefully positioned it on the ground in front of the wall and backed up, waiting for it to explode. The wall cracked open, and Ghirahim walked through the small hole.
There were a bunch of chuchus on the ceiling, but Ghirahim walked right under them. He found a chest at the end of the tunnel. He opened it and found a Goddess Plume. He smiled and tucked it into his shirt, then snapped and appeared outside of Link's school.
Ghirahim could see that class was going on, and he saw Link speaking at the front of the room. He was stammering and couldn't keep his eye on the class, and Ghirahim couldn't help but notice the blush creeping up on his cheeks. He pressed his back against the wall and listened with his pointed ear to Link talking about the Kikwis. He thought they were irksome things, always being so clingy and needy, but apparently Link's teacher liked them. Ghirahim wanted the teacher to like Link, too, so he decided to pay a visit to Bucha, the Kikwi with the horrible mustache.
Ghirahim warily approached the ginormous Kikwi. He tried to look as friendly as possible, but couldn't say he was enjoying the trip. He just wanted to have it done before Link's class was over so that he would still be in science.
"Hello, uh, Bucha," Ghirahim said, smiling tightly. "May I have one of your Kikwis for a moment?"
"Solve a riddle."
Ghirahim rolled his eyes and sighed, blowing his hair over his eye. "A riddle? What are you, a gatekeeper?" Bucha did that shaking thing and threw his neck-less head back, then repeated himself.
"Solve a riddle and you may borrow one of my fellow Kikwis."
Ghirahim began to lose his patience. He stamped one foot and said, "Fine! Hurry up!" The Kikwi elder said, "Kwee! Okay, okay! Here's the riddle: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?"
Ghirahim tried to make it look like he was thinking hard about the answer, but he already knew it. He'd practically invented that riddle. He put one finger on his chin and his other hand on his hip. He pursed his lips and studied the ground, and the tipped his head up so his hair covered most of his face. He peered through the platinum strands and asked, "Is it a river?"
Bucha shook his entire body and threw his head back yelling, "Koo-kwee! You got it!" Ghirahim stared at him impatiently. He saw a Kikwi squeaking around behind the rotund elder and started toward it. "Can I take it now?" Ghirahim said, reaching down for it. Bucha turned around and nodded once, "You may borrow Erla as long as it is alright with her. Erla?"
Ghirahim picked Erla up before she could respond and snapped, the yellow and red diamonds hanging in the air where he stood before.
He reappeared outside of the school again, and then he snapped and was outside Link's room. He shushed the Kikwi he held under his arm like a football, and then headed down the stairs and toward the classroom. The Kikwi shook furiously, looking around the hallway. Ghirahim heard that Link was just finishing his talk about the Kikwis, so Ghirahim crept toward the doorway, sat the Kikwi on the floor, and pushed it toward the Professor.
Erla squeaked toward Link with its arms out, and Owlan gasped, "Link! Did you- is this a Kikwi?" Owlan got on his hands on knees and peered in the Kikwi's face, studying it. "Class, gather 'round!" Link stood back, shocked, while the kids made a circle around Erla. She shivered and then fell on her face, opening the bush-plant on her back. "Kwee!" she yelled.
Link looked all around the room, trying to figure out where Erla could've come from and how she could've gotten up here when he saw Ghirahim grinning at him from the doorway. Link squinted, and pointed toward the Kikwi. Ghirahim pointed to his ear and then the wall, and Link looked toward Erla. The kids poked and prodded at her, pulling the leaves on her bush, when Owlan raised his arms and said, "Back up! You'll scare it!"
Link shrugged his shoulders and lifted up his hands, telling Ghirahim he didn't know why he'd done this, and Ghirahim just smiled. He winked the eye that Link could see and then walked down the hall and up the stairs where Link heard his bedroom door open. Owlan looked up at Link. "Link! You get an A for the day for this wonderful specimen! A plus!"
Link asked if he could be excused for a moment, and since Owlan and the class were so fascinated with the Kikwi, he eventually just left. He ran up the stairs and opened his door where Ghirahim lounged lazily on the bed.
"I think I should get to sleep here tonight," Ghirahim said, inspecting the brown-and-tan blanket, "as a reward." Link ignored this and went over to him. "Why'd you do that?" Link asked, pointing to the floor. Ghirahim lost his bright smile and said, "Why? Should I not have?"
Link rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously, "No, it's just that Owlan gave me an A. They might expect it more often." Ghirahim laughed and stood up off the bed.
"Don't worry," he said in a soft voice, "I'll help with your work." Link watched intently as Ghirahim gently pecked his mouth. Link followed Ghirahim with his eyes as he leaned back, waiting for his reaction.
"Okay," Link whispered. Ghirahim leaned down again and held him in a kiss longer, and even grabbed his shoulder. Link leaned into it, making sure to remember how surprisingly warm Ghirahim's mouth was. Ghirahim squeezed his eyes shut and Link did the same, and they stood there, breathing. Ghirahim slowly pushed Link away and said, "Go. Your next class will be starting."
Link sucked in a deep breath and smiled, genuinely smiled, and leaned up for one more quick kiss. It smacked loudly in the quiet room, and then Link ran back out door. Ghirahim sighed, leaned back, and whispered 'Thank you' to Hylia.
Ghirahim started to the door to return Erla to the Kikwi elder, but first, he left the Goddess Plume on Link's pillow.
Thank you.
Good? Bad? Tell me what you thought! Reviews are appreciated and they make me smile! P.S., there is no Goddess Plume in that chest- I just put one there. Lol. Sorry for the delay- I couldn't log into my account for some reason, plus I got a 52% on my math test... I got in trouble a little, but it's okay now. Lol.