In the heart of the lush Hyrulian forest, a young boy with long, free-flowing and whimsy vibrate tousled blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, clad in a light green tunic, brown trousers, and a long sleeved brown shirt, sprints with fervor and desperation, his every move driven by the need to escape the two young men behind him.
"Don't let him get away!" Shouted the spiky, red haired boy in the forefront of the group; a small flame in his right hand.
"Get back here, punk!" The blue-winged boy with smooth and long hair shouted exuberantly as he flew alongside him, full of energy and enthusiasm.
Link simply ignores their shouts of ignorance and resentment as they meant absolutely nothing to him at this point, and continued to run deeper into the forest. "Damn bastards! They've been pestering me for weeks! Why can't they just leave me alone?!"
"Why are you running?! I thought the royal family of Hyrule were complete fearless monsters, but you don't seem to live up to the name!" The boy shouted, a vain appearing over his left eyebrow.
"I'm not… I'm not…" Link staggered into a small clearing, his legs trembling from exhaustion after sprinting relentlessly for five minutes. He panted heavily, his breath misting in the cool night air as he sought a moment of respite, and his tousled hair blowing gently against the wind. "Why do they always. . ."
Before he could become any more lost in his thoughts, a devastating punch from behind sended him face first onto the ground, leaving him completely appalled as he laid on the ground.
The two boys walked over to Link and stared down at him with resentment in their eyes. "Ha, pathetic! Even after all the shitty things your ancestors did you can't even take a punch to the back of the head?!"
"I'm not… like them..!" Link shouted as he struggled to stand up with his two hands, gritting his teeth intensely. His attempt to stand up would be brought to a halt when the two boys began unleashing numerous kicks to Link's body, leaving him completely defenseless and unable to move.
The pummeling continued for a very long time, with the boys shouting words of resentment towards Link.
"Look at this fool! Your ancestors enslaved the majority of Hyrule for hundreds of years, including most of my ancestors. And yet, you can't even fight back." The blue-winged boy shouted as he proceeded to kick Link in the stomach once more. "C'mon, show me that devilish spirit inside you!"
The two boys ceased their onslaught against Link, finally bringing an end to their malicious attack, and allowing Link to stand up; blood running down his lips into his now mildly swollen gums.
"What now, devil blood?" Asked the spiky, red-haired boy, embarking a small flame in the palm of his right hand. "You gonna go back home and cry to your fellow devils?"
There was silence for a moment as Link stood there, his back turned and his eyes closed, thinking about just how nice it would be to get his attackers back; although that would go against his father's morals, he knew that these boys wouldn't stop until he taught them a lesson.
So, unexpectedly, Link jumped up and unleashed a powerful spinning back kick to the jaw of the red-haired boy, causing him to fall onto the ground.
Enraged by the abrupt assault, the boy with wings darted forward and wildly threw a jab towards Link's face, only for Link to skillfully parry it away and return the favor with a powerful blow to his stomach; causing him to stumble backwards onto the ground. Link glared down at him with defiance. "It's over now." He said.
Capitalizing on Link's invulnerability, the spiky red-haired boy picked up a small branch beside him and charged at Link with killing intent. "Die, devil!"
Unfortunately for the boy, that was a fatal mistake. Link's reflexes were too fast, and he quickly invaded the attack, swiftly moving to the right and counter attacking with two left and right hooks before executing a flying right knee to the boy's jaw, finishing the fight. Leaving Link the last one standing.
"Ha… there it is…" The boy mumbled, struggling to stand up. "There's that bloodthirsty look! You really are the descendant of the chaos king, huh?"
Angered, Link approached the boy, a small typhoon surrounding his right hand. The boy tried to move backwards, his eyes dilated in fear as Link got closer.
"You've been messing with me long enough!" Link shouted. "You'll pay for that!"
"Come on, then! Strike me like the devil that you truly are!" The red-haired boy shouted with a smirk full of fear and anger.
Instinctively, Link raised his right hand, ready to fulfill the boy's wish. However, his attack would be cut short, as a man grabbed his hand and ordered him, "That's enough, Link."
The man had short brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard, piercing blue eyes, and a long-sleeved blue tunic with the distinct pointy ears common to all Hylians. He wore sturdy Braies that hung down to his knees and pointy leather boots, matching Link in height. This man was none other than Ben Hyrulia, Link's father.
"Father, what're-"
"I said, that's enough!" Ben ordered once again, causing Link to deactivate the wind.
Link then yanked his arm out of his father's grip. "They've been pestering me for weeks, father, I need to teach them a lesson!" He shouted, glancing over at the boy.
"I don't care who started it, Link! You can't jus-–oh, whatever. Let's just go home. We'll discuss more about this later." Ben said.
"Fine." Link sighed, glancing over at the boy one last time before leaving.
Link followed his father all the way back to their small, wooden house back in Kakariko village, still angered by the boy's words and their actions. In Link's eyes, it just wasn't fair that the boys got off of the hook completely without any sort of punishment, especially after all the physical and mental abuse they've done to him over the past few months. He was absolutely sure that his father knew that it wasn't fair, which only left him asking one question in his head…
"Why?"
"Father… why?" Link blurted out, causing Ben to stop and look back at his son. "They started this whole thing the moment they knew about my last name! Look, I know they have some sort of grudge against the Hyrulias. Damn near everyone in this Continent does, but that doesn't give them the right to-"
"I understand how you're feeling, Link. But please, stay calm. We'll discuss it at home, like I said." Ben interrupted.
Once they enter their house, the two are greeted by a young Hylian girl with long, flowing blonde locks and deep, piercing blue eyes, clad in a light green tunic and brown shorts, quickly runs up and greets them. "Greetings, father and brother!" She said, giving Ben a hug.
"Hey, Linda." Link said, avoiding eye contact with her in an attempt to hide the bruises on his face. However, it was futile. Linda quickly noticed the numerous bruises on his face while bugging her father, and ran over to Link.
"What happened? Were those boys messing with you again?" She asked, grabbing his right cheek.
Link gently removes her hand for his cheek and replies, "Yeah, but don't worry. I dealt with them this time."
"Which is exactly what I need to discuss with him, in fact, both of you." Ben said. "Go ahead and sit down."
The three of them sit down in the three chairs in the kitchen area. Link sat with his right leg over his left and his arms folded, signaling his annoyance. Meanwhile, Linda sat more formally; her legs laying flat, touching the carpet beneath her, and her arms sat in her lap.
Ben then takes a seat in the chair across from Link, adjusting his posture as he clears his throat. "Look, Link, I get that you were angry, but you shouldn't have resorted to violence on those boys. If you want the people of Hyrule to see you differently and prove them wrong, you need to avoid as little conflict as possible. Otherwise, the people of Hyrule will always keep that belief."
Link sighed and adjusted his posture. "Still, I can't stand the way they treat us… we're just normal people… we didn't do anything wrong! Besides, I've always tried to avoid conflict with them, but they just won't stop. Someone's gotta teach them…"
"I know, Link. In fact, your actions back there are completely understandable. But still, If you truly want to change their views, prove it in a way that doesn't resort to violence." Ben replied. "Besides, don't you want to become a Fighter? the ones who use their Spiritual Powers to protect civilians and serve their country, who are seen as heroes to their respective nations?"
Link adjusted his posture once again, this time unfolding his arms. "Yeah, I do. But what if they don't accept us because of our cursed lineage? Then what?" Link asked. "No matter how much we run from it, we're still the descendants of people like Ganondorf and the Mad King. The evil tyrants who caused the great calamity 3,000 years ago, and slaughtered millions of Hylians. How can we possibly change their views?"
Linda closed her eyes and sighed, hesitating for a moment before saying, "You know, they said the exact same thing about Jin Kazama."
"Jin?" Link asked, his face etched in curiosity.
Linda's smile was warm and inviting, and Ben's response was a contented sigh accompanied by a gentle grin. He took another deep breath for the long story awaiting Link.
"In 1957, the world was under a great war. The war is known as the 3rd World War. It was caused by the acts of an evil man named Kazuya Mishima. He was the leader of the dark organization in Tokyo, Japan called "The Mishima Zaibatsu." It was founded by his great grandfather Jinpachi Mishima and was soon taken over by Kazuya Mishima after his father Heihachi was killed. The organization was a biological and chemical warfare research that experimented on the ones who were captured in the war.
The main goal of these experiments was to test how the human body would react to the cursed spiritual mark known as the devil gene. The devil gene is a spiritual mark that contains powers that ascend beyond the three main spiritual types, and can turn the person into a demonic form of themselves. It wasn't a normal mark. It gave the user multiple powers from all 3 of the different spiritual types, while also increasing the physical appearance of the user. It also gives the users high amounts of spiritual energy that the human body can't handle. Kazuya would test on the people by giving them high amounts of his blood into their bodies, which would cause the death of many innocent people. But, out of all the test subjects there was a special one, and his name was Jin Kazama. He was the son of Kazuya and also contained the devil gene. Despite being Kazuya's son, Jin hated his father more than anything and was utterly disgusted by his father's actions. So Jin escaped Mishima Zaibatsu in 1964, and went to the United States to become a fighter to fight against the Mishima Zaibatsu.
At this point in time, the numbers of Fighters began to become lower as the war began, due to trauma, death, and due to them quitting. Many people began to fight for themselves instead of relying on Fighters. The Fighter Society was beginning to crumble. But despite the opinion of the public, and with Jin's relation to his father, almost no one was willing to listen to his words. However, Jin Kazama was the one who was determined to take down his father and restore the world to peace. On July 13, 1967, The Mishima Zaibatsu launched an attack on New Donk City. The attack gathered the attention of other countries, and soon other countries like China, Russia, and Germany joined the fight. While the Fighters were doing their best to protect civilians, A fight was going on near a cliff far from New Donk City. The cliff is known as the "Devil's Cliff." Jin and Kazuya fought on that cliff, and Jin emerged victorious.
After the other fighters fought off the other Zaibatsu forces, the war ended, with the Mishima Zaibatsu shut down and Kazuya defeated. The world was finally at peace again, and all because of Jin Kazama. On July 24, 1967, Jin gave out his famous speech named, "A True Fighter."
'Ever since I've become a fighter, I've seen nothing but the faces of people with no hope. Fighters with no will to fight back. And so many broken people. This war has caused so much death and destruction that even the bravest couldn't handle the pressure. It has destroyed many lives, but despite that, we must keep fighting for our future. Whether it'd be hope or an even darker place. If we don't keep fighting we'll never find out. Everyday a Fighter must wake and question himself what are they fighting for and why. A Fighter's true purpose must be more than just protecting the people, It's about our future. A ray of hope. A better tomorrow. For that they gave up their lives. So we cannot let their sacrifices be meaningless. Their lives will have meaning, because we will continue to strive for a better future they died for to see.Their bravery and courage shall be an example to all people. And will continue to live inside us as we fight for a better future! They fought for a better tomorrow, diving into the deepest depths of hell, not knowing what would be beyond that hell. Whether it be hope or despair, they sacrificed their lives just to see. Which is why we must keep fighting. For the future, the people, the lost, the broken, the courageous, the anguished! We will keep fighting even if it costs our lives, and we entrust our successors to do the same. Because we are people! The ones who will create a better future for our future generations. And we won't stop moving forward, until we see the light that lies beyond the hell that they fought for!'
This speech would be echoed throughout history, as it inspired many people all over the world to become a fighter." Ben explained.
"Woah…" Link was left completely speechless in amazement of that story. He's never been taught such things by the Hylian teacher, nor has he heard about this man. Nonetheless, he was very moved by the story, as it did give him some form of hope that he could possibly change their views.
"And that's also what they hate about you two." Ben said, resulting in Link and Linda raising an eyebrow. "Your goal of becoming Fighters goes against the people's belief of us being tyrants, as well as the Hyrulian government. When you get older, you'll finally move out of Hyrule, and go across the sea and become Fighters."
"Do you really think I can do the same thing as Jin did, father?" Link asked, doubt in his voice.
Ben laughed In response and assured him, "Of course you will, without a doubt in my mind. But first, you'll need to learn more about them."
Ben handed both of them a book titled, "Fighter Info Book", which featured a man In gray armor by the name of, "Raiden: America's Hero", which they were completely unfamiliar with, having never even seen this book before in a library.
"A… book?" Link asked.
"If you're interested in becoming a Fighter, maybe you could learn a thing or two about what makes them so special." Ben explained with a smirk.
"Where'd you get this?" Linda asked.
"It was a gift from my father." Ben answered. "Anyways, I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air. Feel free to call me if you need me."
He then walks outside, and Link and Linda exchange smiles at each other before finally opening the book's first page in unison.
To Be Continued