Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Naruto or Zelda franchises. Comments/Criticism is fine as long as it isn't straight up hate or flaming. If you do not like, no one is forcing you to read and you can just leave.
Thank you and please enjoy
Legend of Zelda: Interloper of Time
-Chapter 21-
-Hyrule Field-
"I. Freaking. Hate. Rain," Naruto grumbled with Saria, Navi, and Elia nodding in agreement. The reason for his comment. It was currently raining heavily as they trudged down the path from Kakariko Village. It turned out, due to the excess heat no longer coming from the volcano, the precipitation that had been building up could finally fall without instantly evaporating again, so it started raining a few hours after Volvagia's defeat…
… That was four days ago.
After waiting three days with no signs of it stopping any time soon, the quartet decided to rave the stormy weather and reach the next temple, which Impa said was in Lake Hylia. After making sure to be properly supplied, purchasing water proof cloaks and a harness that Naruto used to strap the Megaton Hammer to his back while Saria had the master sword strapped to hers, and brief farewells from Impa and Anju, they were off.
Now, here they were a day later, trudging through the muddy path, while wondering to themselves if the blazing heat from before was actually so bad. Thanks to the cloud cover they couldn't tell the time of day, the ground was slippery and treacherous, and even with the cloaks their feet, it was hard as hell to see further than ten feet ahead of them, and faces were getting soaked to the bone.
The only upsides so far were that it was that the temperature was still decently warm, so none of them had to worry too much about getting sick, and that the Stalchildren weren't bothering them much due to the rain causing them to slip and stumble before collapsing into harmless piles of bones.
Saria was currently leading with Navi and Elia on her head as she looked over the map while doing her best not to get it too wet. After a minute or so, she folded it up with a nod and tucked it back into her pouch. "We should be reaching Lon Lon any minute now." She said surely as they trudged on.
"You mean Ingo Ranch," Naruto said distastefully as he gestured to the painted over sign that came into view. Shortly before they left, Naruto and Saria had a brief run in with Talon at Kakariko and he had informed them of how Ingo had done a hostile takeover of Lon Lon Ranch with a little help from Ganondorf. He had kicked Talon off the ranch and renamed the ranch after himself, but forcefully kept Malon around as a servant to 'work off her father's laziness debt'.
"Calm down Naruto, we have only heard one half of the story." Navi told him sternly after darting through the rain fall and settling under his hood. "For all we know Malon made that all up cause he was mad he lost the ranch and is hoping we'll end up getting it back for him out of pity… and he was hungover." Sighing, Naruto nodded slowly in agreement, a scowl still on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I get what you mean but if it is true, then breaking his legs will be the nicest thing I do to him." He said while cracking his knuckles.
"…Naruto, you scare me at times." Navi muttered with a shiver, making the boy sheepish with an awkward grin. "Sorry."
Other than being drenched and muddy, the ranched looked just like when they were last here, so it was easy enough for them to find the main house since it was unlikely anyone would be out working in this weather. Knocking loudly, they only had to wait a few seconds before the door swung open to show a depressed looking, mud covered young woman with long red hair wearing a long purple shirt with a brown apron, a dirtied white shirt, and a familiar orange cloth around her neck held by a beast brooch. "Welcome to Ingo's Ranch, how may I be of assistance?" She asked in a tired voice, her gaze dull as she looked at the hooded duo.
"Malon-chan!" The now identified Malon froze in surprise as Naruto flung his hood back and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, pushing the both of them into the house. "W-wha… N-Naruto?" She asked in shock as she looked at the person hugging her, then back to the door to see Saria taking off her own hood with a smile as she walked in, Navi and Elia now floating next to her head. "Saria?" Getting a nod in response, a bright smile crossed Malon's lips as she happily returned the hug she was getting.
"It's been so long! Where have you been all this time? Did you go on some epic adventure? See knew lands? Find amazing treasure?" All four of them were baffled at how fast the girl had gone from depressed to extremely excited in almost no time flat. "I'm beginning to think she might be Bi-polar." Elia muttered quietly, with Navi agreeing before they slowly floated back into the safety of Naruto and Saria's hair.
"It's a bit of a long story," Naruto said with a smile as they broke the hug, a frown crossing his face as he looked the girl over. Up close, you could see the faint sharpness in her features from malnutrition, she had slight bagging under her eyes, a multitude of small scuffs and scratches running along her arms, and severe sunburns along her neck with minor ones on her cheeks and forehead that were in the midst of peeling. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern while internally his anger was starting to boil up again.
"Huh, Oh! Uh, y-yes, of c-course I'm fine. W-why wouldn't I b-be?" Malon said with a nervous smile, her eyes darting around the room rapidly. "We ran into your father in Kakariko, he told us what happened." Saria stated bluntly, stunning the girl. "Daddy's okay?" "Yep, like Saria-chan said, he's over in Kakariko, almost missed him ourselves since he'd been doing nothing but getting drunk the entire time we were there."
*Sigh* "That's daddy alright, did the same thing when mamma passed away," Malon said, shaking her head slightly with a sad smile. "It's good to know he's okay at least." "But what about you?" Naruto got right in front of her and gently gripped her shoulders. "Are you really okay?"
"… … …no," She admitted quietly, collapsing onto the floor with tear slowly forming in her eyes. "Ingo's b-been working me n-none stop ever since he t-took over, a-a-and I c-can't leave or s-s-stop or he th-threatens to k-kill me and a-abuse the h-h-horses." She explained in a stuttering voice as soft sobs racked her body, clinging tightly to Naruto's shirt. Naruto in return, gentle rubbed the crying girls back as he discreetly grabbed Navi from atop his head, much to her disgruntlement, and set her on Malon's shoulder where she got to work treating her injuries.
Saria looked upon the sweet scene with confusion as an odd feeling of anger bubbled slightly at the back of her mind. Figuring she was just mad at Ingo for abusing such a sweet (albite mood switchy) girl, she shrugged it off and moved closer to help Naruto.
This ended up wise as seconds later, the front door she'd been standing in front of slammed open to reveal the man of the hour. Ingo was exactly as Naruto and Saria remembered him, tall, scraggly, with poor posture, wearing a white shirt with green overalls that were soaking wet, a pitchfork in his arms, and a sour expression. "Malon! Who the hell are these people and what are they doing in my house?! And why the hell are you not out there doing your chores!?" He demanded angrily as he set his pitchfork next to the doorway.
So focused on his yelling at the young woman, he never noticed as Naruto slowly stood with shadowed eyes as he cracked his knuckles. Knowing exactly what was about to happen, Saria grabbed Malon's arm and quickly dragged her into another room and slammed the door closed.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going with my worker you bi- hey unhand me!" Ingo's muffled voice sounded through the door. "W-what the hell is your problem you... hey what are you doi- AAAAHH!" Ingo's speech was cut off by a scream followed by the sound of crashing and things being broken.
'Rule number one with Naruto: Never, EVER hurt or upset one of his friends.' Saria thought seriously, shivering when she remembered what happened to that skullkid that attacked her when they were kids.
-Mini-Flashback, aftermath of the skullkid incident-
"I'm pretty sure that was a little excessive…" Saria commented with a wince as Naruto pulled several needle-like darts out of her back. They were just outside the village, standing in front of a tall tree that had the skullkid strung up in it by their ankles, covered in bruises, paint, and thorns, while groaning in pain.
"He attacked you for no other reason other than he thought it was funny, Saria-chan." Naruto stated as he yanked out the last dart. "And nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it."
-End Flashback-
That skullkid hadn't gone near the village ever since.
"AAH! Mercy! MEEEEEEERRRCY!" She almost felt bad for him, then she took another look at Malon who now had both Navi and Elia treating her and quickly didn't feel anything for the man. "W-what are y-y-ou doing with that? no… no, no, no, no NOOOO- IIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Nope, not even the slightest amount of pity.
After what felt like hours, the noises finally stopped and Naruto walked out of the room with his hands behind his head and a big smirk on his face. "Well, I don't think you'll be having to worry about him for a good long while." Curiosity getting the better of them, the two girls peered into the room, before violently shoving the door closed. "That image will forever be burned into my mind." Saria said with a shiver, words could not even begin to describe the horrible state Naruto had put Ingo in, and she was pretty sure nobody would ever want to use that pitchfork again.
Malon on the other hand went straight over to Naruto and gave him a back-breaking hug as she continued to thank him over and over again. Saria felt puzzled again as that same bubbling anger she felt flared again, only this time a bit stronger. Ignoring it again for now, she giggled to herself as Naruto sent her a pleading look as he silently begged her to get the farmer girl off.
After letting him 'suffer' for a few more minutes, Saria finally helped calm the red-head down enough for her to let Naruto go. As a thank you, Malon allowed them to stay the night, and even offered to make them dinner but was quickly shot down as Naruto insisted she get some rest. While he was in the kitchen cooking with Navi watching, Saria, Elia, and Malon stuffed and locked Ingo into a closet then sat around the slightly bloodied up living room chatting.
"So, he really didn't get help from Ganondorf taking over the farm?" Elia asked, "Nope, turned out he just hired a couple thugs to act like it. I overheard him as he paid them afterwards. I wanted to stop him, but by then Daddy had already been chased off and I had no choice but to do what he wanted." Malon said as she sipped a cup of tea, having just finished explaining the whole story of what happened.
After hearing from Talon how scared he was of the evil king, Ingo went out and hired a couple of thugs to act as minions of Ganondorf's. He then confronted Talon with the 'support' of the false king, and scared off the lazy farmer while forcing Malon to stay, paid the men after they were finished, then threatened the poor girl into silence under threat of hurting her and the animals she took care of. And judging from the many bruises that Elia and Navi had found and healed all over the girls back, they weren't idle threats either.
"Well at least that's one thing we don't have to worry about," Saria said. She hadn't realized it till after Naruto had beaten up Ingo, but if he had been working for Ganondorf then they would have made things much worse for the poor farm girl if he had reported what happened. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and they wouldn't have to worry about it. "So why don't the monsters attack here?" "Oh, when they first started showing up, Daddy contacted Kakariko for help and they set up wards to keep them out."
Naruto walked in a few minutes later with three large bowls and two small ones filled with a certain noodle dish that he placed onto the dining table with an overdramatic flourish while saying with a faux accent, "Dinner is served." The meal itself was short but enjoyable, with Malon insisting Naruto share the recipe for the ramen he made, which he quickly caved to when she used the female patented 'kicked puppy look'.
Naruto and Saria also told her of all the things that had happed with them since the last time they saw each-other. The girl's eyes were practically sparkling as they told her of all the adventures and danger they had gone through, and even cried a little when she heard the part where Saria couldn't return to her home in the forest. By the time they finished the tale, it was deep into the night, and they all decided to head to bed, Malon letting them use her father's old room for the night.
-Morning-
"Thank the goddesses, no more freaking rain." Navi said happily from atop Naruto's head as he and Saria stepped outside to see the nice sunny, rain free day. "Yeah, but where's Malon?" Saria asked, since the red-head was no-where to be found inside the house. "She's over there," Naruto pointed to their left where Malon could be seen walking towards them leading a reddish-furred horse with white mane, tail, and legs wearing a simple leather saddle with a few bags attacked to the sides.
"Hey guys, I figured you could use a ride to get to lake Hylia so I brought Epona," She said once she got close enough. "That's Epona? Wow, you sure grew up didn't you girl," Naruto said while walking up and patting the horse's snout getting her to neigh happily and nuzzle his hand. Saria also tried to pet her, but the horse immediately back off once she got close, making her sigh and pull out the ocarina of time.
*Play Epona's Song*
As expected, as soon as the tune played, Epona calmed back down and allowed the greenette to pet her as well. Afterwards, Malon gave them a few quick riding lessons, and then they were off towards Lake Hylia while waving back to the red-head farmer girl who simply stood there with a smile.
*Sigh* "I hope I get a boyfriend as nice as hers one day." She said to herself once they were out of sight, her mind drifting off into the clouds as she started the daily chores.
-End Chapter-
AN: Mostly a filler chapter, hope nobody is too upset with that. I really never understood this part of the game because it made no sense how you just escaping with Epona somehow turns Ingo back to normal, so I redid the whole thing to something I'd think would be more reasonable to happen. Thank you for reading and please review.
