The 'Lone' Hero of Vale - Chapter 23
"Atlas?" Weiss' sympathy for Link fades completely, "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah Link, I want to believe you but I..." Ruby shakes her head in disappointment, "I am torn; I want to believe you but at the same time there's no way Atlas could do something like that."
"Nothing or nobody is perfect." Link shakes his head, "Atlas seems perfect, their army is the 'best', the students coming out of their academies seem to fight like experienced hunters despite being beginners, but I personally know what it's like to have Atlas come in and take something special away from you. It's not like the Atlesian military to hunt down specific people, but I know for a fact that they either employ other mercenaries to keep their owns hands clean or they have their own mercenary type scheme going on behind the scenes."
"If it is a fact then how come you have different theories?" Weiss rolls her eyes.
"Fair enough but trust me, nobody else EXCEPT Atlas has THAT specific look, gray body armor, the helmets they wore covered their faces entirely apart from their mouths, guns on their sides, etc. Can I make myself anymore clear?"
"..." Weiss shakes her head, "It can't be, you are a filthy liar!"
"How can I lie about an entire village being slaughtered?!" Link reaches into his pouch, and digs all the way to the very bottom, to the point where it takes him an entire minute until finally, he pulls out a small pink pendant attached to old, worn down string. "You see this? This was-!" Link stops himself and looks at the pendant, admiring the stone attached to string. "This was just like the situation with Amber... I wish it was all made up and nothing but lies, at least that way nobody would have gotten hurt."
"There are so many questions to ask." Pyrrha thinks, "Why do you think it was Atlas who did that? And why a small village?"
"Mercenary. Life." Link reaches into the pouch again, and like the pendant, he reaches towards the very bottom until he pulls out a patch, it was a black hawk with red eyes in a striking position, "This is the reason. The black hawks were no more but for some reason the name was still prominent... and a few of 'their' mercenaries came after me."
"I thought you were their leader? Why would they attack you?"
"Take a guess Pyrrha." Link chuckles, "Why would they not recognize me?"
"They were not the original members were they now?" Pyrrha raises her eyebrow.
"You are correct." Link nods, "The original black hawk members, who knows what happened to the rest of them, but I'm here, so not all of the originals are dead. Regardless, enough about the new and old Black Hawks."
"This is important stuff you can't just cut the conversation off." Weiss shoots daggers at Link
"I'm not cutting the conversation off; Bookmark it, and we will get back to it later, I need to tell you about the village incident so that YOU will believe me." Link shrugs and shakes his head, then hands the black hawks patch to Ruby, and then hesitates when letting Velvet grab the pendant.
"Link." Velvet's eyes go wide with amazement, "It's so beautiful." She carefully raises it in the air, allowing the bright sun to hit the piece of jewelry.
"Thank you." Link smiles weakly, "I'm sure Ray would've appreciated that."
"Ray? Would have? " Velvet's beaming face quickly sinks back down to reality.
"The girl who gave me the pendant." Link nods and glances around the courtyard, noticing Atlas ships landing at the far end, "Just great, perfect timing." He grabs his sword and holds onto it tightly by the handle.
"L-link, what are you planning?" Velvet reaches out and grabs his arm
"Nothing..." Link sighs and drops the sword, "Sorry."
"Good." Pyrrha reaches for it and quickly snatches it out of Link's sight.
"H-hey!" Link frowns.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha jumps and makes quick work of the sword by hiding it behind her back.
"It is probably for the best that you do that." Link sighs again and blankly looks up into the sky, "I was already on the Atlas military radar and chances are I was in their most wanted list, though they never had a clear image of me. Just me with my mask on, it got to the point where I was done trying to escape and wanted them to kill me, anywhere I went. Mercenaries would come and destroy innocent homes and villages, then they would hurt the people until I stepped in, but I am just one person, I can't defend entire villages, the grimm in the wild didn't help either. So I tried isolating myself from everything and everyone, and never once did it cross my mind that Atlas were still after me despite them having done so in the past after my first encounter with Ironwood, but it all went away for some reason... that's how much Adam's threats stuck in my head."
"And that woman too?" Pyrrha asks
"Yes, her too. Where was I? Oh yes, I wanted to be done with this, I selfishly wanted to end my own life. I was so down on myself, assuming all my friends were dead, thinking I was next, and never finding my mother and brother was the final nail in the coffin. Having lost all hope in yourself can do that to someone."
"Y-yeah..." Yang speaks up, "I get what you mean there."
"Yang..." Ruby mumbles
"Sorry." Yang shakes her head, "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's ok." Link nods, "When I abandoned ship from the Black Hawks, I ended up heading into 'Vale' or what others would classify as unknown and unclaimed territory. It sounds like I'm traveling the entire world, but I suppose I should be more specific since I was on foot... but back on topic. The specific day I wanted to end it all, t was a very long day, more grimm than ever before, plus a group of 3 really strong mercenaries were trying to hunt me down." Link trails off.
Flashback, Unknown land, nameless forest
"Damn it... these guys are tougher than any other mercenaries or assassins I've face before." Link pants as he scales a tree and tries to create space by jumping from branch to branch onto different trees.
(You did take on two Ursa you fool.)
"True that." Link whispers, his grunts start to get louder as his legs begin to weaken, he doesn't take notice that his scaling of trees was going upwards.
"You won't escape us kid!"
"They're n-not wrong." Link stops and turns, he takes a quick second to grab his bow along with two arrows, loading and ready for firing.
(You fool, keep going up the hill.)
"Up the hill?" Link stands back up, and notices the tree he is on is slightly below another one. When he looks up, he sees a much bigger 'hill' up ahead, "Looks more like a mountain but you're not wrong about the second part." He shrugs and continues to scale the terrain from tree branch to tree branch
After a long and seemingly endless chase, Link manages to battle through his fatigue and makes it all the way to the top, where he hits a dead end, soon realizing it was a cliff.
"We got you now!"
"Nowhere to run kid."
"Just give it up now."
All three mercenaries speak as they soon catch up, trapping and cornering Link.
"You sure do." Link sighs and turns to face the 3 men, noticing something odd about them, matching clothes and weapons, black and red masks, and a patch on their left shoulders, the black hawks patch, "Who are you guys?" Link draws out his sword and shield, "I know you're not with the Black Hawks, the group disbanded a month ago."
"W-what?" One of them flinches, "How do you know about us?"
"Us?" Link shakes his head, "Stop playing games you frauds, who are you working for and why are they using MY former group's name?!"
"So you really are Link."
"And you really are alive."
"You have been following me!" Link looks around, thinking someone is playing a prank on him.
"We were given the task to find and kill you, but you're a slippery one, we've only been able to see your back, the clothes, shield and boots fit the description, so we followed, and when you ran, we were surer than ever before."
"Great." Link nods, "Now tell me who is using the Black Hawks name and why?"
"Why should we? You're lucky we revived your group, we're doing more in just this month than you guys ever did!"
"Doing more doesn't always mean you're benefiting. For all you know you're just setting a bigger target on your back." Link slowly steps back as they circle around him
"Won't be our problem, boss told us some pretty cool stuff, turns our we can do WHATEVER we want... the backlash falls on YOU and the rest of the former black hawks members."
"What?" Link frowns, though it is not noticeable through his mask.
"Yup, think about it they don't have any leads on the newer members, and the ones on wanted lists with bounties on their heads are you guys. So if the black hawks are still a name that's getting business done, the target on your back gets bigger, we on the other hand, are in the clear."
"Adam Taurus." Link mumbles, "Only someone like him would be able to figure that out."
"W-what?"
"You heard me." Link shakes his head and points his sword at them, "Your new 'leader' is Adam Taurus isn't it? Who else would do something like this, not any other ordinary mercenary, but a group we fell out with... 'led' by a guy who promised our demise from within. Instead of just killing us, he's turning anyone else against us."
"What a shame that you decided to change your career path; you're just a kid but already so wise. You and the boss would've made an amazing duo."
"Yeah what a shame..." Link rolls his eyes as he continues to back away, until stopping at the very end, the moment he steps foot on the ledge, he can feel the earth cracking, "Great."
"Fight us kid! Or fall to your death."
"I'm tired of this... ever since I found Amber and abandoned this crap I've had white fang members and mercenaries come after me and destroy every around me just to drive me out. Why can't you people just leave me be?!" Link closes his eyes "Leave. Me. Alone."
(Ooh is it my turn?!)
(Shut up!)
Link opens his eyes and to the surprise of his adversaries, he did not start swinging nor did he show off the golden eyes, but instead continued to back away, then eventually 'slips' and falls down the cliff, falling head first into the ensuing abyss, not caring what was at the bottom, earth or water.
Present Time
"Oooh did you die?" Coco chuckles
"Y-you're not serious right?" Link frowns
"Do you have a giant scar? Is that why you wear a hat?"
"N-no!" Link sighs and shakes his head, "Even if I did, that's not why I wear a hat, and my hair would not cover it."
"Way to abruptly ruin everything Coco." Yang laughs
"Hey I just wanted to know." Coco smirks and leans over to softly punch Link in the arm
"Pyrrha you seem to be on a roll, how did Link survive?" Ruby glances over at her, she jumps from the sudden question, but then smiles.
"Well, if I were to take in what he is capable of, and how he's used this to aid him in the past, that golden aura? The one you used to protect yourself in the food fight... the one that saved Ruby."
Link does not reply but he does nod in approval.
"You really are the smartest." Ruby smiles at her
"Oh well I don't know about that." Pyrrha laughs and chuckles nervously
"You are two for two Pyrrha, based off guesses none of us could have gotten right." Ruby shrugs
"So did you destroy your body?" Coco asks, "If it was earth you would be dead, and even if you hit water you must have been hurting. "
"I sure was." Link nods
Flashback
"Will I ever see you again?"
(Why did I have to?)
"Heh! No problem! Go do your thing Amber, I will find you myself, I don't care how long it takes, I know you're a busy woman and I will be busy soon as well, but one day, I will partake in my own personal mission to find you."
(I should've stayed in my own path...)
"I wish you luck on your journey."
(What happened in your journey amber?)
BOOM!
"A-amber?"
"N-no, you're not my target! This can't be!"
"You're better off here Amber, with someone who is actually looking out for you... and if this is really the end of you, then I'm sorry you ever got near me, everyone who gets near me ends up hurt, permanently damaged or dead."
(I'm so sorry.)
BOOM!
"N-no!" Link sits up and wildly swings around him, assuming the mercenaries after him followed "W-what the, where am I?" He wipes his eyes viciously, but it only affects his vision more, "I'm in a tent, my gear is gone, it is almost pitch black, and some person un-dressed then re-dressed me." He looks at his arms, a covered all the way down to his wrist, a black long-sleeved shirt.
"Just a second mother I have to go check on that cute guy before I h-!" A girl opens the tent doors open and drops the items in her hand, a bucket of water and a dry cloth when she sees Link sitting up
"Crap." Link throws the perfectly draped blanket off him and backs away, searching around the dark tent for a weapon
"H-hes awake!" She kicks the bucket towards Link and backs away, making sure to exit the tent before screaming for help
"Wait!" Link attempts to swipe the bucket, but then moment he lifts his arm a shot of pain rings throughout his body, and the bucket collides with his head. Despite the setback, he slowly gets up and goes after the girl but then stops as he reaches the exit, "I need a weapon." He looks around, and only sees the frail bucket, "Damn. Hand to hand it is."
(Yes because a malnourished kid can take on, an army?)
(Malnourished? How long have I been out?)
Link shrugs and aggressively opens the tent, and is met by two weapons pointed in his face, by the same girl from before along with another woman
"Wait a minute... that's mine!" Link frowns at the girl who aims HIS sword and the woman who has an arrow drawn back with HIS bow
"Tough luck." The girl smirks
"Ray just because we have the upper hand does not mean you should become overconfident." The woman shrugs but keeps her focus on Link
"Sorry mother." Ray nods
"It's not in my nature to hit women, but if they are trying to kill me then it looks like I have no choice." Link cracks his neck and knuckles, wincing through the jolts of pain, then plants his bare feet into the dirt, getting into a defensive stance, glancing at Ray, who was clearly not trained to fight, she stood straight and could barely hold up the sword, which she held with both hands and straightforward
"Eyes over here kid." Ray's mother nods at her to step back, "You even lay a finger on her, and you're finished."
"Take the shot." Link says coldly
"..." She says nothing, and despite Link's demands, she hesitates
"Ahhh!" Ray charges at Link
"Ray no!"
Ray swings wildly with a straightforward and quick slice but Link dodges the attack with ease, simply by ducking
"Not bad." Link mumbles, then looks back and looks at Ray, who has sliced through the tent "But not good enough!" He runs at Ray and with no intent to hurt her, although his words earlier made him sound cold and heartless, he grabs her arm with one hand and gives her a stiff shove with the other, making her lose her balance. Link grabs the handle of the sword and yanks it away from her while also helping Ray stay on her feet.
"W-what?" Ray blinks, "How did you do that so fast?"
"Years of practice kid." Link smirks but then immediately turns to face Ray's mother, the sound of a bow firing catches his attention, he raises the sword and brings it over him, then swings downwards, cutting off the arrow right before it could strike him.
"I-im fourteen." Ray stutters
"Hm... I'm fifteen, small world." Link nods before turning towards Ray's mother, watching her pull back with another arrow
(She's not going to stop unless I do something that'll force her to stand down...)
"Nothing personal Ray!" Link wraps his right arm over her neck and holds her hostage, "Shoot me and chances are you'll hit her!"
"R-ray!"
"Damn it!" Ray struggles to break free, gripping onto Link's arm, trying to force it off
"What do you want?!" She asks
"Me? I was threatened with my own weapons!" Link frowns
"H-hes not wrong." Ray chokes, "After all, I may have exaggerated you attacking."
"W-what?!" Link asks
"I panicked and I said you had dangerous intentions."
"Ray!" The mother shakes her head in disappointment before putting the bow down, "Let go of my daughter please."
"Put the bow down, then kick it over here first. Then toss me my arrows."
"No way!" She shakes her head
"D-do it." Ray mumbles
"Huh?"
"Do it mother... let's go with our gut and trust him, or else I'm going to pass out" Ray chuckles despite being in imminent danger
"On my count kid."
"You got it ma'am." Link nods
"One. Two. Three!" She drops the bow, then lightly kicks it towards them.
"Alright, a deal is a deal" Link slowly approaches Ray's mother with Ray still in his grasp, after a few steps he lets her go before quickly running over and retrieving his bow. "Where am I?"
Ray's mother does not response, instead she follows through with the deal and throws the arrows back towards Link
"You're in-!" Ray starts to speak
"I'll answer Ray, you've done enough." Her mother sighs and slides over in front of Ray, "Before we can tell you anything about our village, how can we be sure about trusting you?"
"You can't be sure." Link shrugs, "I am being honest you, and I will not sugar coat it. I've done bad things, hurt people, damaged peopl, and I tried to pay for it all. I'm still here though."
"You tried to kill yourself?!" Ray shouts, "Why?"
"Trying wasn't the plan but I failed, so yes." Link nods, "The guilt rose and rose to the point where it broke through the ceiling and zipped up to the sky, all the emotions I had to express were bottled up, and when I tried to leave it all behind to find new pastures, I was hunted down, villages destroyed, innocent people hurt, so I figured why not just end it all? Stop everyone else's suffering by giving up your own life, one that I did not deserve. It sounded like a no brainer."
"I have so many questions." Ray mumbles
"Which can be saved for later." Link quickly replies
"Later?" Another voice was heard, this time from another person, a boy who slowly revealed himself from behind a tree, with a large knife in his hand, "You can't be serious about letting him stick around right?"
"Liam? How long have you been there?" Ray asks
"Enough for me to shake my head in disgust at one, how easily you were defeated, and two why you're trusting him?"
"So you watched and refused to help, sounds about right. Big brother Liam the tough guy hiding from a fight." Ray smirks
"Call me a coward one more time and I swear I'll-!"
"Be quiet." Link shrugs and doesn't even glance in Liam's direction, "I never threatened my sibling with violence, neither should you."
"Who do you think you are?!" Liam charges at Link, "Coming into our village, telling ME what to do?!"
"Here we go again..." Link frowns and grips his sword tightly, but again another jolt shoots up and ricochet's all around his body
"Liam no!" Ray shouts
"Die!"
Liam swings the knife in his hand, and although Link manages to step back, he is still slightly cut, a big slice going across his chest, though there was no blood.
"Damn!" Link feels his chest, and smirks when he realizes that his aura has dealt with the damage, "You going to keep attacking me or will you let your mother speak?"
"Shut up!" Liam rushes Link once again but this time the latter was prepared, and very quickly figured out Liam's attack pattern, which consisted of non stop slashes.
"Quit it!" Link continues to block, and notices Liam continue to get aggressive which angers him even more, "STOP!" He swings his sword and smashes it into the knife, knocking it out of his hand, and then kicks him with a straightforward front kick right to the gut that knock him back onto the ground.
"Oof!" Liam crawls towards his weapon while holding his gut
"Is there anyone else who will come out of nowhere to attack me?" Link looks back towards Ray
"Hm? No, my father is at a meeting, so I think Liam is your only other 'challenger' for tonight."
"Good, because I'm beat." Link falls to one knee and starts to pant, "I'll ask again, where am I?"
"Our village is a very secluded and hidden one, so we don't have an 'official' name, but we here call it Garanda."
"You're right." Link nods after letting out a grunt of pain before falling back against the ground, "Never heard of it."
"Are you okay?" Ray asks as she runs over to him
"I'm fine, just very tired and hurt, how long was I out?" Link asks
"We found you, a week ago, but we don't know how long you were there."
"What do you mean? Where was I?"
"You were at the bottom of a lake, sir?" Ray kneels down in front of Link and helps him sit up, "What's your name?"
"Name's Link. Nice to meet you." Link offers his hand
"Ray." She smiles and shakes Link's hand, "I was helping my father scout the outskirts of our village. There were rumors going around that we were being spied on, so they sent my father alone, and I refused to let him, so eventually he agreed to let me tag along. Long story short, we didn't find anyone or anything that looked suspicious, but as we took a break before heading back, I decided to go for a swim in the lake. I saw a strange looking green hat, and a metallic mask floating at the top of the water in the middle of the lake. After swimming deeper, I was able to find you at the bottom, you were unconscious, and looked dead. I couldn't pull you up myself as I was too weak and couldn't hold my breath long enough, plus my father found it weird that I suddenly was swimming deep and in one specific area when not to long before I only swam along the surface." Ray sighs, "I eventually told him, and he was able to bring you out. I wanted to bring you back, and I could tell he wanted to as well, but of course, like anyone would, he suspected you."
"So who knows about me then? Am I a secret?" Link asks.
"Just us four, my brother, mother, father and myself. You should thank me, I begged for them not to just leave you in the middle of the forest."
"I would..." Link chuckles, and notices Ray frowning, "But I should apologize first. For the choke hold."
"Oh that?" Ray feels her neck, "I-it's okay, you were only defending yourself."
"So are we in the village right now?" Link looks around the dark area, it was clearly nighttime but he could only see trees.
"Somewhat, we're in the near outskirt." Ray's mother approaches them and kneels down, "I'm Ray's mother but you already know that, call me Morgan." She extends her hand
"Good to meet you ma'am, you know, without fighting and all." Link smiles and shakes Morgan's hand
"You can't trust him!" Liam slashes at a bush in his path, "You heard him right? He has enemies, people want to kill him, 'villages destroyed' and 'innocent people hurt' does that mean nothing to you?" He shakes his head in disgust once more, "Get your things and leave immediately."
"Liam!"
"What Ray?!" He shouts back "I am not wrong."
"You're not." Link mumbles, "In fact, I myself will say that you're right, people want to kill me and they'll hurt and destroy everything around me until I disintegrate so do me a favor, tell me where my items, clothes and other weapons are. Then I'll get out of your lives."
"N-no!" Ray shakes her head, "You can lay low, this village is very secluded, you're the only one to even come close to finding us on your own, and you didn't even intend to. Stay here Link, settle down and-!"
"I can't Ray." Link shakes his head, "There is no settling down for me, I have nowhere else to go, I have to leave as soon as I can, then I'll just continue moving, with no stop in mind. Not until I stop whoever is doing this, but that will probably take years, and I don't want to put you guys through anything."
"..." Liam says nothing, he just nods in approval.
"We can protect ourselves." Ray whispers
"Are you joking?!" Liam looks around with a smirk on his face, "We saw how you reacted when he fought back, you broke down and were defeated like you didn't even know what to do, when mother and I know you were taught better."
"You're one to talk!" Ray snaps back, "All of us could use more training, father is literally the only real warrior we have, the rest are impostors who hide behind him."
"I-! We barely fought!" Liam turns around and crosses his arms.
"So I was the only one at the bottom of the lake? Nobody else?" Link asks
"No. Why?" Ray looks over at him
"Before I tried to dramatically end it all, three men were hunting me down, and they were using the name of a former group I used to be in."
"Former group?" Liam turns back to face them, "Like assassins?"
"Mercenaries." Link nods, "We were... forced to end operations after some major blackmailing from the white fang, I told everyone to just get away. Lay low, escape mercenary life and survive."
"Just like what you are doing right now?" Morgan rises to her feet and offers Link a hand
"Y-yes." Link nods again
"Come on, we can discuss you leaving or staying later, but we can't let you leave fatigued, injured and under-geared."
"Well..." Link grunts as he tries to get up on his own, "I cannot argue with that."
"Come on!" Ray stands and extends her hand too
"Thanks." Link smiles and takes both of their hands
"Fine." Liam shrugs and storms away
"So where is the rest of my stuff?" Link asks
"At our home." Ray nods, "Which you'll be staying in... yes?" She looks over at her mother
"Of course, we can't have him sleeping on the streets."
"Thank you." Link nods back at Ray
Present Time
"Everyone you seem to fight with ends up being your good friends? What's up with that?" Yang asks
"Your guess is as good as mine Yang." Link shrugs
"That Ray chick reminds a lot like Ruby..." Coco starts, and then glances over at her teammate, "AND Velvet."
"Stubborn but sweet and shy?" Yang thinks, "Yeah that sounds about right."
"Shut up!" Ruby frowns
"Hm, What did she look like?" Weiss asks
"In terms of height she was five foot four, light skin, long and straight brown hair, green eyes, average build." Link thinks deep, "That's about it in terms of just her physical appearance. Her everyday clothes were similar to Blake and Coco, like a mixture of both."
"Sorry for the interruption, go on." Yang cuts off Weiss and hurries Link
Flashback, Garanda
"Ugh." Link opens his eyes and sits up, looking around, and carefully taking in his surroundings, "Who's room am I in?"
"Mine." Ray's voice is heard, she's sat beside the bed, watching Link
"W-what?!" Link jumps and then smirks when he sees Ray, "You need to stop s-!"
"Scaring? Big tough Link scared by little me?" Ray smiles
"Surprised would be a better word to use." Link nods
"Suuure."
"Anyway. What happened? I don't even remember stepping into your home." Link asks
"You passed out as soon as we entered the village, I convinced my family to let you take my room. They thought I had intentions but in reality you needed a comfortable bed, and not being a cold, wooden floor." Ray sighs
"Did you sleep on the floor? You didn't have to Ray."
"Oh, I did not." She nods, "My bed is large, and you surprisingly only took one half rather than lay out over the entire thing, so I slept next to you."
"Oh, okay." Link nods, "So um, where are my clothes and weapons?"
"R-right." Ray claps her hands and springs up, hurrying over to her wardrobe, she pulls out Link's newly washed clothes and the rest of his weapons. "Change quick, my father still thinks you are asleep. I'm hoping he will leave before getting to see you."
"How come?" Link slowly rises up off the bed and throws his clean clothes over the black shirt and pants he currently wears
"Liam gets his stubbornness somewhere, and it is not from my mother." Ray giggles
"I see." Link sits back down on the bed to put on his boots, "Anything else I should know about?"
"Well..." Ray sighs, "Liam did not keep his mouth shut, he has already informed the village about you."
"Already? He works fast." Link shrugs
"Shhh." Ray runs over and pressed her hand over Link's lips, carefully listening to another door slam shut, "And he's gone."
"What about your mother and Liam?"
"Liam is at the school/academy. Mother is at work, she is the reason my father is a huge influence over the village. She works for the... how would you call them?"
"The higher ups? Village leaders? Village rulers?" Link looks around Ray's room, noticing a bookshelf with lots of books and notebooks
"Higher ups sounds good. Leaders could work too, but rulers? No, everyone is the village has equal input."
"Oh yeah, how big, or should I say small, is the village?" Link stands again to grabs his pouch, suspicious of his hosts, he carefully checks everything inside.
"About three hundred or less." Ray nods
"Wow." Link paces over to the window, "When you said small, you literally meant it. Let's go back a minute or two, you said your brother was in school? What about you?"
"O-oh..." Ray sighs again, "I chose never to attend. Usually you begin at an early age, but there was a point where we were not doing so well, Liam and I decided somebody would stay and help around while the other went to school. We argued for days, but ultimately it was our parents who helped us make the decision, they wanted us both to learn, but we didn't hold back, we called them out on our struggles, and they eventually budged. Liam was chosen, being a boy and all, they figured he'd hold up better in a tough environment."
"Tough environment?" Link frowns, "You're already a small village, why would anyone throw shade or put someone down?"
"No matter where you go Link, there will always be an arrogant bunch of people, we have them here in Garanda as well. My parents saw me as the smarter of the two despite being two years younger... they also didn't see me as a fighter."
"Fighter?" Link glances back at Ray, "What exactly is that school all about?"
"Nothing complex, you go, learn, your intelligence is tested and nurtured. Those who wish to fight can chose to learn how to fight as well, with the village being small, our protectors, or should I say our army is a small amount of thirty to fifty soldiers, no women as well." Ray rolls her eyes
"No women? I barely saw your mother in action, but she'd be a great soldier, firing an arrow seems simple but with the amount of pressure she was in, I expected her to miss that shot last night."
"As smart as the village elders think we are, we are still in need of many things." She shrugs, "It's not even that women are put down for being women, but most of the women in the village choose NOT to try their luck, they'd rather pick easy and safe jobs. Sometimes I do regret not going to school. I want to get better, but sparring with Liam for a few minutes doesn't help. I actually want to learn to be a fighter." She stops and looks up, almost like she's daydreaming, "I want to be a huntress."
"Huntress?" The last word catches Link's attention, "So your village isn't behind on the modern day fighters."
"Well I don't know about the rest of the village, but I'm not. I know all about the pristine academies, the braves hunters and huntresses who choose to help those who can't help themselves. If I were even close to being one of them, it would require me to branch out of the village, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for that."
"Well Ray, don't jump too far ahead, if your goal really is to join a Beacon, Haven, Shade, or Atlas. Chances are they'll expect more than JUST a warrior. But then again what do I know?" Link chuckles
"You know to fight really well, you know how to survive, if I can convince my family to let you stay, and if you do say yes, you would already be our best soldier."
"Again, don't jump too far ahead, I don't have anywhere else to go, so I'm in no hurry to just ditch this place, let's take it small steps at a time. For helping me not end up in the middle of a forest, I want to help you in return. You mentioned sparring with your brother for only a few minutes?" Link looks around the room again, a portrait of Ray and her family catches his eye
"Yes." Ray nods, "I'm not as bad as I was yesterday, but by no means am I good, Liam would totally crush me if we were to fight for real."
"Not anymore." Link smirks as he gets up and approaches Ray, "Do you have a preferred weapon on you right now?"
"No, I do not own a weapon so my style has been hand to hand. Mainly defending myself from Liam's knife."
"Your father is a soldier, and your brother has access to weapons, I assume when he trains at school, do you or your mother have weapons?" Link asks.
"Negative." Ray shakes her head and embarrassingly laughs.
"Is there a blacksmith or someone who sells weapons?" Link walks over to the portrait, getting a look at Ray's father.
"Yes. It's a husband and wife team, and even though they don't look the part, they supply all of the weapons for the village. I believe they are only a few minutes away."
"Lead me there, you are getting your own weapon, and I will help you train." Link smiles and walks to the door, but suddenly a hand locks around his as he plants it on the doorknob
"A-are you serious?" Ray asks as she stands only inches away from him.
"Yes?" Link looks down at her hand, "Is something wrong?"
"Not at all, I just... nobody has ever helped me out so quickly just by hearing me out."
"We got off to a rocky start, but hearing your words makes me want to help you, and besides I like you, you are smart, sweet and humble. You don't get all of those elements in people nowadays, now come on you know your way around." Link smiles and opens the door
"H-he likes me?" Ray stays behind to feel her face, and immediately senses the heat on her cheeks from blushing, "Damn it Ray pull it together, all this talk about standing up for myself, and I'm already falling for someone."
"Ray?" Link looks back
"Coming." Ray shakes her head and runs after Link
They exit the house and walk along the trail, almost instantly Link is noticed for all the wrong reasons. Surprising glares, disgusted looks and chatter that was kept under whispers
"I should have asked for different clothes, I stand out don't I?" Link chuckles as he looks around, casually waving to other people in the village.
"You are the first outsider we have seen in over a year. This village is VERY hidden. You would need some of that fancy Atlas or Vale technology to even spot us."
"Here you are talking about Atlas, Vale and their advanced technology, yet most of these people can't even wave back." Link shrugs and eventually gives in to the constant waving
"They will warm up to you, just give it a week or two." Ray smiles then speeds in front of Link as they approach the blacksmith's open shop "Hi, I am here-!"
"Ray it's so good to see you." A women turns and greets her with a smile, but it fades when she sees Link, "Hmm, does your father need a replacement?"
"N-no, I'm here to pick... my friend here a weapon."
"H-huh?" Link's head snaps and his attention turns towards Ray.
"I see..." She eyes Link up and down.
"No no no." Link shakes his head then pulls Ray aside, "Come on Ray, be honest with her about your intentions. You were able to do it with me."
"You are easy to talk to, we barely know each other, they've known me since I was a baby." Ray nervously looks around.
"They are going to find out eventually, besides, look at me." Link turns and reveals his gear, "Adding another weapon seems illogical."
"Please Link?" Ray's hands start to shake uncontrollably.
After a tense minute, Link sighs and gives in
"Okay. I will do you one better as well." Link approaches the blacksmith
"Everything okay? Did you change your mind?" She asks
"Some doubts, but Ray told me your weapons can rival that of those outside of this village, so how could I resist."
"Did she?" She smiles and waves at Ray
"As for what I want..." Link nods and unsheathes his sword, then gently lays it against the counter, "Something like this, with a similar design, length and strength."
"N-no way." Ray does not hold back her huge smile
"Oh my..." The woman picks it up and holds it above her head, admiring the shiny metal, "Would you mind if I tested it's strength?"
"Su-!"
"But what if it breaks?" Ray cuts him off
"Trust me." Link chuckles, "It will be fine."
"If you say so." The woman nods at Link, and then brings up another sword from behind the display, then without hesitating she swings Link's sword against her own...
SMASH!
Metal collides against the ground, Ray gasps and stands on her tip toes, trying to see which sword made it through, if any of them did
"I don't believe it." The woman laughs and holds up Link's sword, "This sword is amazing, where did you find such a masterpiece?"
"Personal secret." Link nods and sheds a small smile.
"I'll need time, are you okay with me keeping your weapon for a bit? Oh and it will cost a lot, do you have the money?"
"Of course, anything for R-!" Link freezes up and remembers the deal he made with Ray, "...Reassuring my new weapon comes out perfect." Link nods and glances at his pouch, "Money isn't an issue."
"Come back later tonight." She smiles at Ray... and Link
"Great." Link removes the sheath off his back and puts it next to his sword, then walks out of the shop with Ray following closely behind.
Moments later
"So aside from helping out at your home, what do you do?"
"Good question." Ray looks up at the sky and thinks, "I normally volunteer to do jobs anywhere in the village, for the experience, and often times I do get paid money, that's always nice. When I'm not helping around the house or village, I like to go on peaceful walks like these, just watch the world go by, sometimes wish I was cloud you know, no responsibilities, and you just flow with the movement of the air." Ray lets out a sigh of relief, "Oh yes, I like to go to the library as well, it is connected to the school, and with me being related to Liam, getting in is no issue. I like to read books, mostly fiction, but I also go out of my way to do as much research as I can on... well anything outside of this village. Whether it is true or not is what I am really looking forward to."
"So you do plan on leaving one day?"
"I think we all should, but when you live in one place for so long, you get complacent. Living here is amazing but when that turns into smugness, it is sickening." She sighs
"Where did that come from?" Link asks
"My father is one of the few soldiers who takes pride in what he does, protecting our village, the rest of them..." Ray stops and shakes her head, "Sorry that's not fair to say, not all but many are in it for the attention and glory. Those soldiers children may also be heading down the same path as well." Ray suddenly stops looking at the sky and sees a crowd gathering around an area right near the school "What the...?"
"Let's go." Link nods and sprints off
"Right!" Ray nods back and runs behind him
Link and Ray approach the crowd, lightly moving people to the side as they finally get all the way through
"Liam!" Ray shouts as she sees her brother get punched to the ground by a group of four.
"G-get out of here Ray!" Liam shouts back at her
"Get away from him now." Link reaches into his pouch, grabbing a throwing knife and holding it like a combat knife
"Who are you?" One of them backs away from Liam and approaches Link.
"Nobody you need to worry about, just leave him alone." Link growls
"Or wh-!"
Link retracts his hand and suddenly launches the throwing knife low, it cuts the guy's thigh, then collides with the ground
"I have a lot more of those." Link frowns
"You get out of here too!" Liam frowns at Link, "I don't need help with these cowards. They want to run their mouth, I'll show them otherwise."
"What are you talking about?" Link asks
"They... disrespected our family." Liam wipes the blood off his lips as he gets up to his feet, "Said any success we have is because of mother, and that if I ever join the warriors that protect this village it is because father got me in and not because I earned it!"
"Because it's true!" Another one of the four shouts
"Ray." Link looks back at her, "Our training has not started yet, so you can sit this one out." Link pops his knuckles and does not reach for another throwing knife, "First you disrespect a guy's family, then like cowards you jump him four on one?"
"Cowards?"
"I did not stutter." Link frowns, "You want to fight someone without catching them off guard, fight me."
The crowd gathered around gasp in shock
"I forgot... I'm still new here." Link sighs, "It won't look good if the new outsider is fighting some of their own people."
"Alright, you want to get beaten down so bad, boys let's teach this loser a lesson."
All four of them suddenly get away from Liam to circle around Link, and each of them pull out their weapons, two longswords, a steel mallet and a metal staff
"Don't even try." Ray sneaks up behind Link and snatches the bow off his back, then grabs an arrow and takes aim
"Or join in, whichever you like." Link nods, grabs a throwing knife and backs up against Ray, "These guys are all bluff, so let's go easy on them."
"Sure thing." Ray nods, "So I should not shoot at all then?"
"SHUT UP!" The one with the staff runs at Ray and swings at her, but Link slides in front of her and blocks in the impact with his shield, he then charges into the guy, slamming the shield into his chest and sending him back against the ground
"So they are not all bluff, I was wrong." Link scowls at the rest of them, who remain frozen, "Not completely though." He puts the shield away then aims for the guy's arm and launches the throwing knife, it shreds through his skin almost immediately.
"What the-! Ahh!" He screams and clutches around the hit area, which was the mid bicep, with the knife going only slightly in, but enough for him to lose partial feeling, "What did you do? Why can't I feel my arm?!"
"Expect the feeling to return soon, but for now it's completely dead numb." Link replies with a calm tone, "The next you want to fight someone, you do with pride and honor, you don't go at him with three other people? Got it?"
"Y-yes!" He scrambles up to his feet and runs off
"L-let's get out of here, this is not over Liam!" The rest of them take off as well
As they leave, the crowd around them go silent... but not for long as they erupt into cheers
"Huh?" Link looks around as the crowd congratulates and cheers for him
"All for you." Ray smiles and hugs him from behind.
"But I didn't even-!"
"Shut up and take it." Liam shrugs as he returns one of the two thrown knives.
"Liam." Ray frowns at him
"Right... thank you." Liam nods and even shows a weak smile
"It was nothing, I hate bullies and cowards, combine the two, and you have something worse than a disease." Link smirks
"I agree boy."
"N-no way!" Ray opens her eyes and quickly lets go of Link, then steps in front of him. Almost as if she were shielding him.
"Father." Liam whispers
"You must be Link." A man about a foot and a half taller than Link walks towards him, easily getting past Liam and Ray
"Yes sir." Link nods, speaks with no fear, and even extends his hand
"Hiroku." He shakes Link's hand, "Good grip. Tell me Link, you were awake when I was still inside weren't you?"
"Yes sir." Link nods again
"Of course." Hiroku chuckles and lets go of Link's hand, "I was told about you, I did some research, and normally about now I'd be kicking your head off for even being near my family with what I found out about you but you did defend my son, and I can tell you are already good friends with my daughter. For now all I can do is thank you while we figure out what to do next, we don't want to turn away somebody in need, but if you could bring dangerous people in here-!"
"I understand." Link mumbles, "I will be sure to leave as soon as I can... sir."
"Do not cut me off and let me finish. Liam told me the encounter you two had, and the fight you had with my wife and daughter, despite my desire to act with violence, you held your own, while injured, and clearly held back. When you are fully fit we will discuss certain things."
"I did not say he held back!" Liam scoffs
"You didn't have to, I could tell." Hiroku shakes his head, "I want you to stay in our village, back at our home if you would like."
"You're not forcing me out?" Link looks around in surprise, "Well that's a relief. I could tell the village folk were already-!"
"You are new, it happens. Especially with a stranger that we find unconscious at the bottom of a lake." Hiroku smirks and pats Link's shoulder, "Relax, and try to not cause a scene next time."
"O-oh." Link smirks as he spins around, still seeing the crowd around them, "Duly noted." He nods and walks away from him and Liam, then heads back towards Ray.
"That was amazing. How did you do that to his arm?" Ray asks
"I want to give a simple explanation but it is really complicated and involves a lot of accuracy, luckily for me that kid was a sitting duck." Link nods, "Thanks for the backup, I lost my cool way to quickly."
"Don't sweat it." Ray smiles and nervously returns the bow, "Thanks for standing up for my brother, you two may not be on the same page but I promise you he would do the same."
"I... do believe you." Link nods and takes back his bow
"Let's head back home, I'd show you the whole village today but I don't want to see you get into more fights." Ray playfully punches Link's arm and walks away
"As long as your brother doesn't pick fights he cannot win." Link rolls his eyes and follows her.
Present Time
"That went better than I expected." Coco nods, "I thought they were going to treat you like a permanent outcast, but it was only temporary."
"Well there were some that continued to treat me as such, and I don't blame them." Link mumbles
"So how did inform you know about wanting you to stay permanently?" Pyrrha asks
"Well, things went smooth at first, I was kept under the radar after that incident, as the days passed, Ray's parents went out of their way to put in a good word for me despite barely knowing me but I had Ray to thank for that. The 'higher ups' were okay with me staying, as long as I could prove myself, and even though the people were warming up... I still had cold feet."
"Even with Ray around to cheer you up?" Coco asks
"She was probably the only reason I stuck around and didn't just bolt, I promised to train her and I fulfilled my promise. But it was during one of our training sessions that convinced me staying was not going to be possible. My presence did indeed draw intruders."
Flashback, Garanda; 2 weeks later
"Last set, come on Ray." Link gets in a defensive stance, holding his shield tightly and loosely holding his sword
"O-okay..." Ray panted and bends over, desperately trying to catch her breath
"Unless you want to call it a day, that's okay as well." Link looks at her with concern
"No way." Ray shakes her head and stands up firmly, digging her feet into the ground, holding her sword with two hands, and ready to strike, "I've learned more about fighting from you in a week and half than I did in fourteen years with my father and brother."
"Do not push yourself too much, you still have plenty of time to pick your preferred attacking style." Link says as he runs towards her
Ray remains still, and waits until Link is inches away to strike, a spinning swing, which was avoided. Link backs away as now Ray is the one who rushes at him with more strikes, all quick but with little power.
"Come on, fight back!" Ray smirks as she continues to push back
"I already am." Link replies calmly, and reads Ray's attack pattern, "My attacking style is to-!" He cuts himself off as he block's Ray's last swing, then with just one swing from him and his sword, he puts enough power to knock it out of Ray's hands
"W-what?" She blinks wildly
"...Counter." Link smiles and raises his sword up to Ray's neck, "That last set was your worst, you're fatigued, if you want to continue, let's at least take a break."
"O-okay." Ray nods and picks up her sword and carefully slots it back in it's sheath, "I'll lead the way." She motions Link to follow
"Ray, your house is this way." Link aims his sword towards the home
"I know but come on." Ray nods her head, "This place is way better than my house."
"Okay." Link nods and follows her
Link looks around suspiciously as within a few minutes they were outside of the village, and even past the original spot where he was kept after being rescued
"You alright?" Ray nudges his arm
"I'm fine, just on guard." Link nods
"Relax. We'll be fine, I've been outside the village before, I do know my way around, and besides we're almost there." She playfully punches his arm and walks ahead of him
"Where are we going anyway?" Link asks
"Shhh." Ray shakes her head, "We are... almost." She maneuvers around some trees
"Ray?" Link walks faster as his apprentice loses him
Link shrugs and stops, then suddenly hears leaves crunching
"I am being followed after all." Link frowns and draws out his sword, he paces around a large tree, then swings as he hears more leaves crunching, "Gotcha!"
"Whoa!" Ray jumps back and nearly falls
"R-ray!" Link shakes his head and snaps back into reality, "Sorry, I thought someone was sneaking up on me."
"Yeah... me." She smiles and grabs his arm, pulling him along, "Sorry for getting so far ahead, I wanted to make sure this was the actual spot."
"What spo-!" Link stops when they exit the forest, and view of a giant lake is in their sight, "Is this THE lake?"
"Yes." Ray nods as she walks towards it, but then stops and sits right near the edge
"This is where I landed huh?" Link approaches the lake and sits down right next to Ray.
"Sure did. From allllll the way up there." Ray points upwards, doing her best to aim for the top of the cliff
"Wow." Link's eyes widen as he lifts up his head, and continues to lift it until finally seeing the top
"It is a miracle that you're still alive. My father expected crushed bones and no life coming from you."
"Y-yes... lucky me." Link nervous chuckles, "My guess is she knows nothing about aura."
"So... has counter attacking always been your style? Or was it just something natural?" Ray asks
"Nothing is natural when it comes to fighting, when I first started, I took the all offense approach like they way you are currently doing. Then I realized that I am only going to defeat myself if I continue that, some of the guys I used to work with embraced being all about offense, and they sacrificed all of their defense to do so. I simply figured out that it is not my style of fighting, plus with this shield, it only made my life easier. I allow my opponent to attack first, and make them think they have me on the brink of defeat-!"
"Then bam!" Ray swings his fist in the air, nearly inches away from Link's chin, "You surprise them and boom, a quick defeat, but for you instead."
"Something like that, nothing is ever quick though but if I get better then maybe." Link nods and teases putting his foot in the water
"I wouldn't do that." Ray kicks her foot out and slams it into Link's "Surprisingly the water is colder during the spring than it is during the winter."
"Here you are to save me again." Link smiles at her
"W-well I... it's nothing really." Ray nervously laugh
"Saving someone is-!" Link turns his head and notices more leaves gently crashing against the ground
"Is what?" Ray asks as she follow's Link's gaze, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm sorry." Link shakes his head and turns back
"Y-you saw something didn't you?" Ray looks at him
"I think I saw something." Link looks around again, then leans in towards her to whisper, "Ever since you revealed yourself I thought we were clear, but I think somebody is following us."
"Okay." Ray struggles to control her blush but eventually manages to stay focused, "Should we go after him or her... or it?"
"No, we do not have enough proof to know we were followed, so if we go frantically looking, they will just sneak away and wait for a new day. Let's resume our conversation from 'before', but keep an eye out. Got it?"
"Y-yes." Ray nods and slowly backs away, "So, what fighting style do you see me mastering?"
"Personally, I don't think a sword is your thing." Link smirks
"W-what? Then why did you-!" Ray looks at him nervously, but then sees him winking, "Oooh..."
"I've never had a student, but so far you have been very mediocre, no wonder your parents chose to send Liam to learn how to become a warrior."
"Hmph!" Ray stands up and looks at down at him, "You're not so great yourself, so you embarrassed some bullies, if you were to face a real warrior, they would destroy you."
"You don't know me." Link rolls his eyes, "Or my full extent, hell even I don't know, for all I know I could be weak but with high expectations. But you? We already know your limits."
"Why you-!" Ray frowns and stomps away
"H-hey where are you going?" Link looks around frantically
"Somewhere far away from you, I don't need you!"
"Ray wait it w-!" Link looks at her, and sees her winking back, "Phew, for a second I thought she took it personally. This is perfect, if someone is following us, they will think we split up."
Link remained at the shore of the lake, patiently tapping his fingers against the ground, and slowly shredding grass
"They are definitely after Ray then..." Link glances over his shoulder, and sees a figure quickly jumping from one tree to another, "No doubt about it now." He carefully looks at each tree, looking and expecting to see an accomplice, "Nothing... whoever that is came alone, how foolish."
Link stands up starts walking the exact same path as Ray
"H-hey get off me!" Ray's voice is heard, a clear cry of resistance
"Ray?" Link frowns and takes off, "I've barely taught you anything, you can't die on me."
Link draws out his sword and springs up in the air, then rapidly falls towards the ground, driving his sword downwards, blade first.
"A trap!" The masked assailant lets shoves Ray to the side and dodges right as Link's sword pierces through the ground, going a fourth of the way in.
"Not so smart are you?" Ray pants and smirks despite holding onto her bleeding left arm
"How are you holding up?" Link pulls his sword out of the ground and kneels down in front of Ray
"No biggie, just an arrow. You should look at her though." Ray chuckles and points at the masked woman, who had a slash going across her chest, "Serves YOU right for calling me mediocre."
"You have an arrow in your arm." Link shakes his head
"S-shut up." Ray smiles and sits back, "I can treat this with no problem, but while I do that I don't want another arrow coming at me." She glances back at the woman
"You let me deal with her." Link stands and turns to face the masked woman, "Who are you working for, why are you here, and why are you after Ray?"
"Grr..." The woman looks around, trying to take her focus off Link, "You're showing no fear, no hesitation, full confidence, so what they say about you is true, for someone so young you really are powerful."
"So you are after me." Link takes a step back, getting closer to Ray, who carefully works around the arrow in her arm, "Then why target her?"
"I don't see myself getting out of this alive, so what the hell, I've already been paid anyway, my mission was to scout and then eliminate you. I was supposed to just scout you today, but you found me out pretty quickly, so plans changed, and I had to come up with a whole other one. During your sparring session, I heard you..." She looks directly at Ray, "...mention some things about your family. With the little time I had, I went into the village, and despite standing out, nobody went out of their way to ask questions, I found out that your father plays a major influence in economical, financial and militaristic decisions. When I heard you guys have that fake fight, at the time I thought it was a perfect way to jump you, knock you out, and kidnap you. I lure YOU out." The woman looks back at Link, "I bleed out this little village for all their valuables, that shouldn't be difficult if I have daddy's little princess in my grasp... but clearly that did not work out."
"Damn village folk, the cowards they are." Ray chuckles as she stumbles back, "Now to address you, you little..." Ray frowns and finally takes the arrow out of her arm, carelessly throwing it to the side but then blinks rapidly, trying to stay awake, "What the-? What's happening to me?" She lies back against the ground and quickly goes silent as her head hits the dirt hard.
"R-ray?!" Link falls to his knees right beside her, but still feels life in her, "That's your variation of knocking out?" Link looks at the arrow, unable to make out the substance on the tip of the arrow with Ray's blood covering it
"I'm not a violent person, I wouldn't dare beat her into unconsciousness, for I am not a degenerate." The woman chuckles, "I can tell you are not a violent person either, but when we are tasked to do certain things, we must do whatever it takes, you get me right? From one mercenary to another?"
"Hmph, I tried being a mercenary, and your boss now wants to kill me." Link frowns, "Why does he not come after me himself?"
"Simple, he doesn't know where you are, nor do any of his other associates, I was the first one to find you."
"Oh really?" Link looks around, spotting more things out of the ordinary, more rumbling bushes, and branches being snapped, "Oh good. All I need to do is defeat you and stop you from going back."
"Crap, I just gave myself away." She backs away but then slyly smirks, "Sorry to disappoint, and even though you could defeat me, I'm confident that I can lose you. Goodbye Link, and expect Adam here soon to burn down this crummy little village."
She turns around and quickly makes a run for it but almost immediately she is cut off by Hiroku and four other soldiers with bows as they all out of their hiding spots. Hiroku grabs the woman by her throat and lifts her up in the air with just one arm.
"Burn down our village? I'd like to see this 'Adam' try." He frowns and hesitates releasing the pressure, "I should kill you for hurting my daughter." He glances over at Link, who carefully picks up Ray, "But something tells me the boy would have done it first."
"Sir?" One of the soldiers points at Link, "What about him?"
"He is..." Hiroku squints his eyes and thinks hard but then ultimately nods, "A trusted and good pair of hands."
"What about your daughter sir?"
"That will be resolved later, for now we need to deal with this one." Hiroku puts down the woman and keeps a close eye on her as the soldiers with him remove her weapons and tie her hands together with steel shackles, "Now to address you." He turns and walks towards Link
"Y-yes?" Link looks behind Hiroku but none of his soldiers follow
"What was my daughter doing with you outside of the village, and why was she attacked?"
"We were training, and she wanted to take a break outside of the village, by the lake where you found me. Along the way, I could sense we were being followed, so Ray and I had a make shift plan to lure out the spy, it did not go quite well but the best part is I discovered her motive."
"That is?" Hiroku stretches out his arms
"O-oh, right." Link chuckles and gently hands the unconscious Ray over, "She wanted her to get me and anything valuable in Garanda."
"So she wanted you, but then changed her mind and also wanted more money and power? Greed was her downfall. Regardless, I'm taking my daughter home, and men!" He looks to the soldiers behind him, "Take her to the village elders and councilmen, and make sure to keep an eye on her, if I even hear that she escaped-!"
"How about I take Ray home?" Link raises his hand, "That way you can keep an eye on her, and lower her chance to escape."
"Hmm... okay. But as soon as you drop her off, request directions from my son, I want you there with us when we decide what to do with the assassin." Hiroku nods and returns Ray to Link's arms
"M-me?" Link asks
"Him?!" One of the soldiers runs up to Hiroku, "Sir, I know you're grateful he kept your daughter safe, but he's not-!"
"I know he's not a member of the village but this woman was after him, it only makes sense for him to throw in his thoughts about the whole situation. Not to mention we may need to discuss other things as well, such as future attacks." Hiroku does not look at Link and simply walks away
"Crap. I am absolutely getting kicked out now." Link sighs
Present Time
"None of this is relevant to Atlas at all." Weiss shakes her head
"If I were to just tell you what happened there would be no sentiment now would there?" Link rolls his eyes
"So what happened? Did you take over the meeting and lay your foot down?!" Coco smirks
"No. Far from that actually." Link shrugs, "They debated for nearly an hour on whether or not they should release the mercenary or imprison her."
"Release her?!" Yang calls out, "Who had that idea? They are insane."
"The councilmen had that idea, but the elders were quick to counter their points with suggestions to use of their abandoned buildings as a prison." Link says, "They were split, so it came down to Hiroku and myself, we both decided it would be best to make sure she couldn't leave with sensitive information."
"Smart." Blake nods
"What about... you?" Velvet asks, "Did you get blamed at all for her appearance?"
"Yes." Link looks over his shoulder and right at Velvet, "They knew about my past, though only partially, and they knew I had enemies looking to hunt me. Originally they were fine with me staying in Garanda but after that woman tried to kidnap Ray, it was Hiroku who pushed for more military power. He was countered by the elders with the point that there aren't nearly enough people ready to become soldiers. The village elders suggested a barrier around the village, they were countered by the councilmen in stating that a barrier may only expose their village more, leading to more potential attacks... and the councilmen-!" Link stops himself and shakes his head.
"They suggested that you leave." Pyrrha whispers
"Mhm." Link nods, "In all fairness, they didn't demand it, in fact they praised me for the few things I did that positively affected the village."
"You mean your braveness and courage?" Coco snickers
"They did use those words, yes. But at the same time they also brought up that it was primarily my fault that woman almost fulfilled her plan, she was hired by Adam to come find and then kill me. So when Ray and I discovered her following us, she changed her plan, and tried to kidnap Ray to get me and the village of Garanda to give in to her demands. THEN when that plan failed, she wanted to sneak away, go back to Adam and inform him of my whereabouts, so he could come finish me off himself."
"So what happened next? Did you end up leaving?" Coco asks, "Or did they forcefully kick you out?"
"Not quite, for both options. I informed them that I had been training Ray and volunteered my services to the rest of their up and coming soldiers before I eventually departed, and they gave me one month. After that I had to leave, one month was better than an immediate exit so I accepted."
"You didn't fight it?" Coco raises her shades and squints at Link, "Weak."
"With what case? They were right, if that mercenary completed her job, the village would've been wiped by Adam and his brainwashed troops."
"How did break the news to Ray?" Ruby asks
"Well, I chose not to tell her. I kind of ignored her towards the end of the month, after the council meeting, I only had one more private session with her before they became very public. I had to train the beginners from the village's academy as well as a few soldiers and whoever wanted lessons."
"You are such a fool!" Sun sighs, "Did you think ignoring her would make her do the same?"
"All it does is have the complete opposite effect." Neptune shakes his head
"I know that now." Link shrugs, "Anyway, the month went by very slowly, and it was at the beginning of the final week that Ray confronted me about my strange behavior."
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To Be Continued.
(Hey all, this chapter was already at 17k words originally, so I decided to split it, averaging 12k on this one and who knows how many words on the next one, which is still in the works. As I was working on it I noticed it was massive compared to previous updates, which at most reached only 9k)