A/N: It took me forever to figure out how this chapter was going to go. Not many trigger warnings except for more general awkwardness, and accusation.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Mmm… mmmrph…"

Knock, knock, knock. "Link?"

Link stirred slowly, his brain foggy. It took him a moment to register that he was in his bed at the Knight Academy, and not, in fact, clumsily swimming through the flooded Faron Woods in search of tadtones. Not only that, but someone was knocking on his door.

"Coming," he mumbled, detangling himself from his blankets and actually managing to start his morning without falling out of bed for once. "Just a second, just a second…" With rapid but fumbling movements, the young hero attempts to get himself at least semi-presentable.

"Whazzit?" A mostly still asleep Ghirahim mumbles from the floor.

"I think my friends are here," Link replies, his voice muffled from inside his shirt.

Once that was all sorted out, Link goes over to his door and swings it open. Sure enough, none other than Pipit and Fledge are standing out in the corridor, with matching looks of slight concern.

"Oh, uh… morning, guys." Link tries for a smile, which is soon interrupted by a large yawn.

Fledge is the first to speak up. "Are you okay?"

Link must've looked confused, because Pipit clarifies. "You left really abruptly last night, and you never came back. So, we thought it would be a good idea to check in, and make sure that you… were…" But the senior soon trails off. And Link soon realizes why.

While Pipit was speaking, his gaze had slowly wandered over Link's shoulder, locking onto a certain silver-haired demon. Ghirahim, apparently, had managed to wake himself up while Link went to greet his friends and was now just standing there, watching them. When he realizes he's been noticed, Ghirahim attempts a smile and inclines his head at the newcomers. He's clearly going for a polite, regal air, but there's only so much he can do in that department with wrinkled clothes and wispy bedhead.

Pipit and Fledge both confront Link silently with their eyes, clearly wanting to know who this strange boy was, and why he was in the hero's room. Link, for his part, tries not to let anxiety steal his voice. Every time another person learns about Ghirahim, He always feels like he's doing something wrong, even though he knows he isn't.

"This is Ghirahim," Link says, while praying to any goddess who'll listen that his voice remains steady and calm, and that an introduction to the demon who is most surely becoming his friend would just go well for once. "I met him on the Surface. But he got hurt pretty badly, a-and I didn't know what else to do, so…"

The other boys seem to take in all of Link's words carefully. Pipit's brow furrows slightly, as he seemingly becomes deep in thought. Fledge, on the other hand, seems to become quite intrigued.

"I didn't know the Surface people would be so shiny," he says in wonder. "I mean, we didn't really know that there were Surface dwelling people to begin with, but still."

Ghirahim seems to preen under the sudden, unexpected attention, his fingers ghosting over his hair, trying to smooth it out. "Oh, w-why, thank you. I do try to take the utmost care of my body, so that my appearance may be something I can be proud of."

"And, that's a really cool cape." Fledge seems to be getting increasingly excited, unconsciously stepping closer to an increasingly flustered Ghirahim. Even after all Link now knew about him, it was still a little funny seeing a once so arrogant-presenting demon boy now falling apart from just a couple of compliments. And to see Fledge, normally so timid and reserved, becoming so full of curiosity and enthusiasm."I've never seen anything like it before; where'd you get it from?"

"Oh, this?" Ghirahim gives the cape a little swish, so that more of its patterns can be seen. "I…" But then he freezes, clearly realizing he didn't remember the answer to that question. "Well… it was…"

"Don't overwhelm him, Fledge." Pipit, who had been watching this exchange with an uncharacteristic frown, decided to step in at that moment. "I'm Pipit. I'm a senior at this academy, and the resident loftwing expert. Your new fanboy here is Fledge," he finishes, with an air of light teasing towards his companion.

"H-Hey! Don't say that, I-I'm not a fanboy!"

"You kind of are."

"Am not!"

"Come on, guys, it's too early in the morning for bickering," Link protests, and his stomach follows not too long afterward. The Skyloftian was suddenly reminded that he had barely eaten anything the day before in the chaos, and he was now paying the price.

But this finally seemed to get a slight smile out of Pipit. "Let's continue this discussion over breakfast, shall we?"

The cafeteria of the Knight Academy was more lively and full than Link remembered it being in a long while. All the students and staff had gathered for the morning meal, and Link's heart did a somersault in his chest when he realized that included Zelda.

The girl was sitting at the staff table next to her father, who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her for more than fractions of a second at a time. Link couldn't blame Gaepora for bending the rules this once to have his beloved daughter close to him, though he was unable to deny that he felt sad that his childhood friend didn't seem to want to sit with him. She barely even glanced in the quartet's direction when they entered the room, continuing the soft conversation with Gaepora and the other instructors. None of which seemed to pay them any mind except for Eagus, who seemed to shoot Ghirahim a slightly solemn, appraising glance. Said demon seemed to tense, and then droop slightly under his gaze.

Come to think of it, hadn't Ghirahim mentioned something significant going on between himself and the sword instructor yesterday? Link would have to ask him about it, but definitely not now, since it would surely lower what little levity they'd managed to gather so far. Plus, he was pretty sure Ghirahim would not want to discuss whatever it was with the two other boys around, who were still all but strangers to him.

The four of them grabbed generous helpings of breakfast, then made their way over to an empty table. Henia shot Ghirahim a curious glance, but thankfully she was too busy to ask any questions.

But as they sat down to eat, Link was suddenly reminded of a particular morning ritual he had neglected to take care of by an insistent twinge in his bladder. "Uh-oh," he muttered, standing back up. "Sorry guys, I need to go to the bathroom real quick." He was a little nervous leaving his newest friend alone with his oldest ones, but he figured nothing could go wrong in only a few minutes with so many people around.

He finished up as quickly as he could and started to head back to the meal. But nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized that somebody was waiting for him outside the door.

"Ah! P-Pipit? What are you doing?" His voice was embarrassingly shrill.

Pipit leaned against the wall, his expression more concerned than ever. "Sorry, Link," he said, his voice lowered. "I know I shouldn't be cornering you like this, but there's something that's bothering me, and I just had to ask."

Link's heart sank. He had a bad feeling about what his friend would ask. "Yeah?"

"It's about Ghirahim." Yup, it was exactly as Link feared. "Don't get me wrong, he seems nice enough from my impression so far. And it's very kind of you to help someone out like that. But… Okay, I'm just going to ask outright. Wasn't that the name of the demon who kidnapped Zelda?"