This... is my longest chapter yet. 11599 words long, and packed with angst and emotional crap. It's no wonder this took so long, I had so much I wanted in this chapter before the really big stuff starts. That will be a full two parter of Y/N's backstory. It's gonna get real from here on out guys, so I'm gonna place a few warnings.

The chapters coming will involve the mentions of trauma, bullying and self hate. And not the kind where the MC is upset and victimised by it, no. She is the problem. I know you all are mad at Y/N right now, but believe me, I want you to be mad at her. This will all make sense in the end, but for now, understand that she is in the wrong, and Link may just have to confront her about it. If that bothers, upsets or triggers you, I highly discourage you from reading this chapter. But, if you're still interested, then by all means carry on.

With that said, please enjoy this lengthy chapter that may or may not have made me cry a bit while writing.

(Fanart by @RKeith_Hyrule. :3)

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Link POV
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I cannot believe her!

I mean, really, she saw someone in need, and refused to help them all because of her opinion?! That's the opposite of what a hero should do, I thought she would've known that by now. She's better than this...

I'm not saying she has to like Yunobo; she is allowed to dislike people. But at least show them basic human decency! As much as I care for Y/N, her behaviour recently is unnecessary and unacceptable. Yunobo's resemblance to a dark part of her past shouldn't mean she can't be held accountable for this. She's reminding me more of how she was when we met with each passing hour. Worse than that, even. I'll admit it's scaring me...

...But I can't worry about that now, as much as it pains to say...

I slid down the hill, built by previous volcanic eruptions, my sword held tightly ready to fight. The moblins terrorising Yunobo turned their heads when they sensed my approach, growling when their red animalistic eyes landed on me. I didn't dare falter as I held their gaze, the only thing between me and them were the weapons we wielded. Two against one hardly seemed fair, but hey...

I've faced worse odds.

As soon as one of the bulky monsters shifted, I made my move. Dashing forward, my sword clashed with one's drillshaft. It grunted and pushed against my strength, but I held my stance and returned the force. However, I could see its friend coming for me, so I had to cut our little exchange short. I pushed back against the beast and readied my shield, parrying the other's attack and throwing it off. With a smirk I rolled behind him and kicked its leg, which caused it to fall onto all fours and allowed me to jump onto its back. Out of shock it jumped up and started to try shaking me off. But I held on, up to the point where it yelled for its friend's help.

Then, I jumped off. Why?

Because it swung its Drillshaft to try and remove me, which backfired and instead hit the other moblin in the head. Poor thing was sent flying into a solid rock. It was down, for now...

My eyes hardened when turning back to the remaining creature, who flinched at my harsh stare. I spun my sword around in my hand and took a stance, taking a breath as I did so. I knew fighting in my clunky flamebreaker armour would be a challenge, so the strain I was feeling wasn't too much of a surprise, but I didn't expect to have broken a sweat so soon. But now wasn the time to falter.

Quickly I struck, jumping up and launching off the point of the moblin's outstretched weapon, and drove my blade into the centre of its chest. It cried out as I ripped it out, and wobbled while keeping its stance, a hand pressed to its wound, but it still lived. I huffed and jumped sideways to dodge its drillshaft, charging again and leaping so I could wedge my sword into its skull. It froze, heavy, laboured grunts coming from its wide open mouth as I twisted my blade deeper into its head. Other than breathing, the creature was unresponsive... it didn't take long after that for it to go limp and disintegrate underneath me. 

I sighed out and rolled my shoulders back, fixing my helmet which had shifted around during the fight. I do admit I toyed with the creatures a little more than I should've, but I had frustrations that I had to let out... not the most heroic way of dealing with a problem, but it got the job done. With a quick glance at the alive, but unconscious moblin to my right, I strolled over to Yunobo and knocked on his shield.

"Hey, you doing alright?"

The Goron lightly gasped at the sound of my voice, and lifted his large hands from his head so he could look up at me. Like before, he was trembling with fear, and looked close to tears. "I-It's you..." He stuttered quietly.

"It's me," I gave a friendly salute, shouldering my sword "Also the beasties are gone."

"H-Huh? Oh!" He looked around, eyes widening when seeing that no more monsters were terrorising him. Feeling safe enough, he let down his protective shell and stood "Wow! Y-you're crazy strong, goro!!! Thank you for saving me, a-again...!"

I smiled "That's what I'm here to do. Are you hurt anywhere?"

He shook his head "I p-put up the barrier before they could hurt me! I'm... sorry you had to come rescue me, it's sort of embarrassing how I keep ending up like this..."

"Pfft,". I waved him off without a second thought "I deal with those hunks of bacon every other day, it's no hassle. Though, you should probably consider travelling up here with another Goron next time, just to be safe."

"W-Well, usually the boss is here with me, but he's running a bit late today..."

"Ah, about that..."

Yunobo tilted his head curiously, as I went to respond to him. However, as I was about to speak, a large shadow loomed over us from behind me. The young Goron turned his sights upward and immediately his face morphed into horror. My face hardened again as I moved my foot, ready to turn and strike—

But then my arm was snatched.

I hissed out when I was yanked off the floor, the shock and pain running down my arm and into my shoulder as I was held midair. At some point I had dropped my sword, and the hand that was holding it was now clawing at the large three fingered hand clasped around my hand and forearm. I glanced down, breath hitching when my eyes met with a pair of red, highly pissed looking ones which belonged... to the moblin I had knocked out instead of killed.

How clever am I?

"H-Hey, buddy..." I laughed nervously "How... umm... did you sleep well?"

The moblin growled and lowered me slightly, only to roar into my face without lowering his volume at all. It was disgusting. There was saliva flying onto my helmet, and his tongue was flapping about like a war flag on a stormy day.

"I'll take that as a no," My voice cracked when he finished, my ears ringing and my face wet with a horrid slimy substance. That was not a very nice experience... But I'm sure he was about to do a lot worse than that. Urgently I locked my eyes on my sword and desperately reached out to it, praying that some sort of magnet would pull it to me.

Wait.

Magnesis!!

Dubbing myself a genius, I reached down to grab the stone device from my belt, only to find it absent from its usual spot. I frowned; where could it—

Wait, wait. I remember now... Y/N still has it. From detonating the bombs for the cannons...

You can take that genius crown away at any time...

"Hey, Yunobo... could you get that for me?" I strained, pointing to my abandoned weapon at the moblin's feet. When receiving no answer, I grew impatient "Yunobo—,"

Are you kidding me...

He caged himself inside Daruk's Protection again.

I scoffed. Things just weren't going my way, were they?

I squeezed my eye shut when I felt the circulation leaving from my arm, hissing when feeling the monster's grip on me tighten.

Y/N, I could really use some help right about now... I won't even be mad if you scold Yunobo afterwards, I just want down from he— Why am I falling?

I gasped at the impact of my butt hitting the rocky floor, only to gasp even louder when a dismembered arm landed right next to me and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. I leaned away from where it was in disgust, but something else caught my attention. Someone was standing to protect me from the moblin.

Y/N...

I gave a relieved sigh, able to momentarily relax as I placed a hand on my shoulder to massage the sore spots.

Y/N, without looking at me, placed her foot on my sword and kicked it behind her, so it slid and lightly came in contact with my foot. As she did, the moblin had gotten over its shock, and let out an angry growl.

Y/N growled back, mockingly.

Only more enraged, it raised its remaining fist to pound her into the ground, but she jumped back to avoid it. When given the chance, she ever so quickly ran up the monster's arm and jumped over to its back, the shaft of her spear going over its head and pressing against its neck to pull it down with her.

"Link, go ham on this b*tch!!!!!!" She yelled as she held the pig creature against her, obviously struggling to restrain it. Snapping to attention I grabbed my sword and jumped with a running start, my sword plunged into its chest with a squelching crunch. Multiple stabs later, and it fell limp on top of Y/N. I wasn't worried though, as just like every other monster, it soon reduced to nothing.

The two of us sat there for a moment to regain our breath. To be honest if Y/N hadn't intervened, even with Mipha's grace I doubt I stood much of a chance. That moblin was not going to let me go, because it knew how helpless I was right there.

I slowly glanced over at the girl. She seemed to be trying to adjust her armour to allow her skin to breathe. Not that I blame her; even with the burning heat not being a lethal worry for us, this armour didn't protect us enough for it to not be a minor sweaty annoyance.

But even with that discomfort.... and our previous argument, she came to my aid...

"So..." I said to break the silence "I guess that's a point to you for our little chart of who saves who, huh?"

Without looking at me, the girl responded with an awkward sounded laugh "I guess it does, though I haven't been keeping track."

"Me neither, but still. Thank you." I pushed myself onto my feet, and offered my hand to help her up as well. She reached up to take it, but paused, instead staring at it with conflict in her eyes. I had seen that conflict before... but where had I seen it?

Sighing, she dropped her hand and pushed herself up, only stopping to give me a brief glance before brushing past "You're welcome..."

I froze. I've definitely seen that before, and I definitely didn't like seeing it. I didn't like it because it made my heart drop slightly. I didn't like it because there was distance in her eyes - distance from me. It was just like... the way she looked at me when we started travelling together. When she didn't trust me...

I turned my head to look at her, my eyebrows furrowed with worry. She didn't seem mad at all, but still... I couldn't shake off the itching feeling that she was.

Did I do something...?

Without sparing me another glance Y/N walked over to Yunobo and crossed her arms, lightly tapping his protective bubble with the metal tip of her boot "Oi, Courage the cowardly Goron, come out here so we can talk."

Yunobo flinched, knowing exactly who she was, but complied nonetheless and let down his shield. With slow, hesitant movements, he eventually turned to face her with a nervous grimace. I watched from a distance, weary, but not wanting to intervene. After all, this time around, there was something the kid could've done to help... I wasn't bitter about it, because I should've taken more caution, but my life was in danger back there. A tad of consideration would've been appreciated.

Y/N spoke "That must've been scary, huh?"

Yunobo kept his gaze lowered, and instead of a verbal answer he gave a small nod.

"Too scary for you to help out the guy who saved your ass twice?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. It looked like he actually felt guilty about it, and he proved it by glancing at me with an apologetic frown. But then, Y/N let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, since you're both safe, I guess I can't be too mad..." she glanced over her shoulder at me, but wouldn't quite look me in the eye, "I suppose I could've joined the fight sooner too..."

Yunobo tilted his head slightly. "S-So why didn't you?"

She shrugged "I dunno."

I scoffed from outside the conversation "Sure you don't."

"Not now Jo—,"

She stopped herself, again, and once again her form tightened. My eyebrows furrowed further as I stared at her. What was she about to call me? J-something? Where did that come from all of a sudden?

"Sorry, Link," she cleared her throat, a little violenter than necessary "Not now, Link. Anyway, that's not important right now. You're alive, Link's alive - we're all alive and wasting time like normal idiots. So let's get to why we're here."

I bit my tongue to hold back a retort. I believed it was important to tell Yunobo why she hadn't come 'till later, but the last thing we needed right now was another argument. Or for him to feel any more unsafe around her.

Besides, I didn't want another reason to see those eyes again... tensions were already high, they had been since we left the vault. I was trying oh so hard to give Y/N the benefit of the doubt, but like Freya had been to her, she was being unreasonably cruel to someone who has nothing to do with her past. Even she admitted what she was doing was wrong...

I stared at her back for the longest time. Everything about her was tight and rigid. What was going through her head right now for her to act like this?

"Earth to chosen one!"

Oh crap.

"What?" I blinked, eyes now focused enough to realise both Y/N and Yunobo were staring at me. I grimaced "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Actually I was asking what you were saying. You know, before Homicidal Porky Pig rudely interrupted."

My eyebrow creased in confusion; after the whole ordeal I had absolutely forgotten what Yunobo and I had been talking about before. Chewing on my lip, I snapped my fingers as the gears in my head began to turn. "Ummmmm, Yunobo, help me out here..."

"W-Well, I was talking about how the boss s-should've been here by now."

"Oh yeah, that was it. And I was about to tell you Bludo ain't coming."

"Yea— w-wait what?"

Oops. That was probably a bit too blunt... Keep it together, Link.

"What... I meant to say is the painkillers haven't done anything for him yet, so he sent us to tell you he cancelled today..." I clarified sheepishly, finally stepping forward to join the conversation "Sorry, I really should have worded that better..."

Yunobo sighed, head hung sadly "I-It's alright, goro, but..." he began to rake his fingers through his white tuft of hair "After all that trouble we went through to get those painkillers to him, they didn't even end up working!"

"Nope," Y/N responded flatly "Sucks to suck, buddy."

"Y/N, stop." I muttered in demand, getting no response in return. I had to resist looking at her, because I know I wouldn't like what I saw, and instead opted to continue talking to Yunobo "Sorry you had to come all this way just to find this out, bud..."

"It's alright..." the young Goron whispered, though it was obvious he was having a bit of a sulk "I guess I'll just... head back home and wait for Boss's next orders."

"Wait."

He had begun to leave, but my call had him turning back to us in confusion "Y-Yes, goro?"

I gestured to Y/N and myself, and then at the cannon he had previously been standing on "We could help you chase Rudania. I mean... That's actually the entire reason we came to Death mountain in the first place."

Yunobo, visibly incredibly confused, slowly turned to face us fully and tilted his head "What are you trying to say...?"

"He's saying he wants to board Rudania." Y/N piped up, but she lacked any enthusiasm. "He has some unfinished business with the one who's making it go all eruption crazy, and it's our mission to take it back."

"WHAT?!"

The young, shocked Goron let out a disbelieving yell, which echoed all around us and over the volcano itself. But it was silenced by a low, mechanical growl that had all three of us turning our heads, just as a large flaming claw reached out from behind the mountain. Rudania crawled around and made its humongous intimidating self known to us once again, its tail swishing dangerously close to the volcano's surface as it powerfully strode across it. I was intimidated, sure, but a more powerful feeling outweighed that. One that wouldn't let me back down.

Desire.

My fists clenched at my sides, and I turned away from the Divine Beast to address Yunobo once more "Well? Can you help us?"

The kid's eyes met mine once again, wider than ever before "Y-You're serious... you really want to board that thing?!"

"That's what we just said, potato boy." Y/N replied in exasperation, now leaning against the cannon beside us. If it were possible Yunobo, grew even more shocked.

"W-Who are you, Lord Daruk?! You should know that it's dangerous to go near s-something like that!"

"We know." I shrugged "Don't worry though, we have... experience."

"Still..." he still didn't seem on board, and it showed by the way he nervously fidgeted around. He began muttering to himself, which he wasn't very good at, since we could hear every word "Although... I suppose if Rudania was weakened first, boarding it wouldn't be as much of a hassle... but why would these Hylians want to risk their safety over this...?"

My eyes narrowed "We have our reasons."

He jumped, apparently unaware that I could hear him, and nervously cleared his throat "I-I'm sure you do... and I already know you're both really brave... but..."

"Listen, are you going to help us or not?" Y/N suddenly barked, her voice sharp "Because every second you ponder over this, is another second that enraged roasted salamander reeks havoc on your people. It's making the mines unsafe for your workers, and it's stressing your boss out so much he's grown stiff. Do you want them to go through that any longer than they already have?"

"N-No, of course not!"

"Then grow some backbone! Like it or not, you're the only one that can deal any real damage on Rudania! Link and I are already willing to help, and we don't even know you people, so why are you the only one questioning this? Aren't you supposed to be Daruk's successor?!"

This time, I couldn't stop myself from looking at her. I couldn't stop myself from staring at her in shock. I mean, it's not like she was wrong; this mission really did depend on Yunobo, but... I can't help but feel like she said that out of spite, rather than to make him realise the importance of his compliance. But, what could I say? We needed him right now, and if I argued with Y/N, would he use that to his advantage and worm himself out of this? He did seem pretty prone to avoiding stressful situations...

...Okay, maybe I actually was slightly bitter about him leaving me in the dark back there. But I shouldn't make this about me, that's exactly what Y/N was doing, and she was being... kind of a b*tch right now. Believe me, I would never say that about her under normal circumstances. I don't like it, but...

"Y/N, there might've been a... gentler way of letting that down on him." I muttered to her. I wanted to whisper, to avoid the chance of Yunobo hearing us, but as soon as I leaned closer to her, she flinched away. Not gonna lie, it stung a bit.

She scoffed "I'm just saying it as it is. You can't be easy on him, Link, he has to do this. Whether he's willing or scared sh*tless doesn't matter right now."

"Yeah, but—,"

"No... s-she's right..."

The two of us paused, and focussed back on Yunobo with a frown. "What?" I asked. The young Goron sighed sadly and hung his head, shoulders slumping.

"Boss has been working hard to keep the Goron's working without putting them in danger... the miners have been risking their safety by working twice as hard in order to find gems for us... everyone has been playing their part, despite the circumstances..." his large hands balled into fists "I don't want the Gorons to live in these conditions anymore... We can endure a lot, but we have limits... I know I have to do something..."

Y/N lifted her hand and rolled her wrist around, urging him to continue "So then?"

He gulped "I... I g-guess I can help you board Rudania..."

"Oh, come on, what's the worry?" The girl next to me asked, half mockingly "You've been shot at that thing before, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but I had Boss with me! I feel s-safer with him around, this will b-be the first time I do this without his o-observation...." Yunobo looked up at Rudania again, and a shiver went up his spine. Y/N shrugged his concern off without so much as a second glance.

"Well right now you got Link and me, and that's the best you're gonna get." I gave her a side glare, but didn't make any comment about her words, and instead opted to show Yunobo an attempted reassuring smile.

"Like she said, you'll have us with you every step of the way. We won't- well, I won't let the Beast or any monsters we come across hurt you. I promise."

Despite still looking unnerved, he did smile back at that "...Thank you, Link."

"If you're done, can we go?"

Annnnnd the smile's gone.

With a huff, I turned and pointed to the path that would lead to the volcano, but at the moment it only led to a stream of lava, as what I assumed to be Bridge of Eldin was currently raised  "And how do you suppose we do that? The bridge's out."

She shrugged "We could launch Yunobo at it."

"Y/N!"

"A-Actually, I was going to suggest that as well goro..."

My head whipped around so fast it almost cracked "Wait, what?!"

Yunobo held his hands up "W-Wait, let me explain myself!!! Boss usually uses the cannons to lower it when we need to chase Rudania, and you guys know how to use them too right? So we can do what the Boss and I usually do! I'll be the cannonball, a-and you can launch me at the bridge!"

"Then it's settled." As expected, Y/N agreed to his proposition without much complaint, and climbed atop the nearby cannon to load it with a Sheikah bomb. Yunobo was about to follow her lead, but I stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.

"Are you sure about this?"

He blinked at me, before giving a nervous crooked smile and activating Daruk's Protection, "I have my ancestor's power to protect me, this won't hurt me at all. I know Daruk won't fail me."

That was when I saw it.

Yunobo had the eyes of Daruk, and if I looked closely he had similar facial features to him too... I didn't notice it before, but now that he's willing to face his worries and help us...

He really did resemble his predecessor, even if it was just a little bit.

"Are... you okay, goro?"

I blinked myself back into reality, realising I had been staring at him longer than I had to, and retracted my hand with an awkward laugh "S-Sorry, yeah. Well, if you're sure you'll be fine then go ahead, haha..."

Yunobo raised an eyebrow, but he didn't ponder for long, and soon enough set himself up inside the cannon. However, he did make one last comment about the matter "P-Please be gentle..."

Y/N rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath "What happened to this won't hurt at all?"

I made my way over to the lever and whacked it with my weapon, signalling it to turn so Y/N could make the shot. With a loud bang, Yunobo flew through the air and collided with the metallic bridge we aimed for, causing it to tilt back and forth until it fell forward and granted us access to the continued path. Yunobo came flying back and landed about ten feet away from us, emerging from the cloud of smoke he created with a dizzy stumble.

"We... did it... hooraaaaaaay..." He slurred, only to hold his head to get it together, "I told you I'd be fine, Daruk's power is unstoppable! Pretty amazing, huh?"

I nodded, a relieved smile on my face. However, Y/N went straight back to business, though I didn't really expect much different. "So I'm guessing we use cannons like these to chase Rudania to where we need it, right?"

"Yep."

"Where's the next one?"

"J-Just a little ways up the path."

"Then we shouldn't waste time." She spun on her heel and headed down the path "If you're fine, you can walk. Move it. The sooner this is done, the sooner I'll stop spouting harsh truths at you."

Yunobo and I watched her go, a grimace on each of our faces before turning to each other. I mouthed an apology to him, to which he only smiled nervously in return.

"You can stay close to me, if that makes you feel safer." I offered, which made him relax a little more.

"I'd appreciate that, goro..."

As we followed, my eyes subconsciously trailed up to Rudania again. I remember spending a lot of time aboard it with Daruk... It was fun riding it over the rocky surfaces of Death Mountain. The volcano was much more peaceful back then...

Don't worry, Daruk. I'm coming...

"Link, we're gonna leave you behind!"

Y/N's yell snapped me out of whatever thoughts I was having, as I jogged forward to meet her and Yunobo halfway across the bridge. Even though I tried to, Y/N wouldn't let me meet her eyes, and turned her back to me as soon as I caught up. Once again I let my eyes wonder, and this time they landed on her hand resting at her side. It was only a couple of hours ago, when she held my own hand and comforted me, showing me I wouldn't be doing this alone...

So why did I feel like I was doing this alone? Sure, I had Yunobo here, but... We were supposed to do this quest together, that's what we agreed on wasn't it? Heck, she still hasn't made the effort to even look at me.

If whatever was happening isn't resolved by the time we make it to Rudania's entrance point, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do.

As we reached the end of the bridge, Rudania began to make a fuss. Its round, reptilian head turned away from the mountain and towards where we were. A low growl was heard from its closed mouth, as if it were mildly annoyed, and as if by command four airlocks opened up on its back. (Ughhh, hate this part with a passion) Multiple flying objects emerged from its shoulders and took their positions at certain points up the path, which had Y/N and I staring in confusion.

"Are those... drones?" Y/N asked, mostly to herself "What are they doing?"

"I don't know..." I answered, eyes narrowed at the nearest flying robot, who now had part of the path lit with a red spotlight.

"They're... They're s-sentries..."

We turned to Yunobo, interested in what he knew about them. He frowned at Rudania, and a gulp could be heard from his throat.

"R-Rudania sends them out as a form of defense. If you're s-spotted by one, it will set off a bunch of really scary eruptions." He began to shake "I always get spotted, because I'm never looking where I'm going... Oh man, if the boss were here, he'd swat those magma bombs away as if they were nothing. M-Maybe this wasn't a good idea after—,"

"Oh no ya don't!" Y/N cut him off "We aren't quitting, not now! I didn't waste my pep talk energy on you for nothing, so you bet your ass were gonna make it up that mountain! A few sentries ain't sh*t!"

I suppressed a groan, and stepped forward to be the voice of reason "How about this, we each go one at a time up the path, and once one of us reaches a safe point, we can have a signal to let the others know that the next one can head up. That way, if one of us gets caught, we can dive for cover without worrying about the others' safety. Sound fair?"

Y/N scoffed and turned away "It'll slow us down, but whatever..."

"I-I think it's a good idea." Yunobo agreed, before pressing a finger to his chin "But what signal can we use? It would have to be something we can hear, s-since I don't think we're in an environment where hand gestures can be seen... any ideas?"

I pursed my lips together in thought. What could we do? Yelling could work, but I'd rather we didn't exhaust our voices before we made it to the top. So, I guess that leaves—

Before I could make any more ideas, a musical sound reached my ears. I turned to Y/N, only to see her quietly whistling to herself while rolling a stone around with her foot. It was obvious she wasn't participating, but she did give me the perfect idea for the signal we needed.

"That's it!" She flinched, staring at my finger pointing at her "How about we whistle to each other as a signal!"

"Oh!" Yunobo's face brightened "That's perfect! Though it's kinda like calling a horse..."

"In your case, a horse standing at the edge of a—," I jabbed my elbow into my partner's arm to shut her up. I hate to admit it, but even my patience with her was reaching its limits. I just hope I don't say something I'll regret again.

"Well then!" I laughed loudly, wanting to move on "Now that that's settled, who's going first? Remember, this will be the one to make sure the path is safe for everyone—,"

"Eenie meenie minie mo, blah blah blah whatever, it is... me. It's me, guys. I'll go." Y/N declared as she pointed to herself, practically jogging on the spot. "That means you can stay with Yunobo, Link, yaaaay lucky you!"

Oh. I get it... why do I even fight it at this point?

"Fine, whatever." I muttered, my eyes fixed on the ground and my eyebrows knitted together "Go on, then."

Surprisingly enough, she didn't go straight away, and she had even stopped moving around as soon as I gave her that tone. I did my best to ignore her, but what I couldn't ignore was the sight of her hand slowly lifting towards me from the corner of my eye.

"L...Link... I..."

Is she going to...?

Unfortunately I let myself get my hopes up, as like before, her hand halted and dropped back down to her side. Soon enough she left my vision, and her footsteps grew quieter behind me. I closed my eyes with a small sigh.

Of course...

I guess I'm going to have to accept this as our relationship for now... hopefully not for too long....

The only thing I really can hope for though, is that this isn't her showing her true colours. Not after what we've been through.

"Link...?"

"Hm?" I looked up slowly, eyes gloomy and dull. Despite that though, I tried to smile "Sorry, Yunobo. I'm spacing out a lot, huh?"

The Goron nodded "Yeah, I just want to know if you're okay, goro. S-Sorry if this is rude, but you looked really sad just now..."

You have no idea, buddy...

With a sigh I crossed my arms over my chest "I just have a lot on my mind right now... though that's probably obvious."

"Yeah, I mean, you do want to board Rudania. And considering..." He paused and rubbed the back of his head, his eyes trailing away from me sheepishly "I didn't want to ask this while your friend was here, b-but..."

"You wanna know why I travel with her, right?"

His embarrassed red hue deepened "U-Umm..."

"Hey, I hold nothing against you for worrying, considering your first impression of her. But believe me when I say she's not usually like this." I glanced up at the path, where Y/N was maneuvering around the nearest sentry, and frowned "She's been acting off ever since she was k— Umm, ever since we ran into a... rather disturbing individual. I think it messed up her thoughts a bit, and she hasn't been completely herself. But trust me, on a regular day, she's a-actually... rather pleasant to be around."

Thank Hylia for my helmet, or else I'd have to deal with Yunobo seeing my glowing cheeks on top of the fact that I stuttered. Come on, Link, now's not the time to show you're smitten with her. "You just happened to meet her during a rough time, not like that's your fault or anything. Don't take anything she does to heart, okay? She'll come around."

"Alright..." Yunobo muttered, not really sounding like he believed me, but he accepted the answer regardless. To be honest though, I wasn't completely confident either. He obviously wanted to say more, however the sound of a high pitched whistle ended any potential conversation. We turned to the path to see Y/N standing safely under a curved rock, out of the way from the danger spotlight. Without knowing, I sighed in relief.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," I stepped forward "Listen out for my signal, alright—,"

He grabbed my arm "W-Wait!"

I stared in shock. Both at the action, and the fact that his hand was literally the size of my entire arm. "Umm, you good?"

"N-Not really... I... I just..." he squeezed his eyes shut as his trembling voice almost failed to make words "C-C-Can we go t-together???"

My eyes widened in surprise, and I moved to face him "You know that's going to be more dangerous, right? Two people are easier to spot than one."

"I know, but..." his cheeks reddened from embarrassment and shame "I don't feel comfortable going near those things on my own.... I-I know it might put you at risk, but—,"

"Okay."

"Yeah, I thought so— wait what?"

"I said it's okay," I clarified "My aim is to get you safely up the mountain. If this helps you feel safer, then I have no objections. Can't have our best cannonball dropping out on us, eh?"

A small giggle left the Goron's mouth as I lightly elbowed his belly, and he stood up straight with a small smile and slightly pink cheeks "You're really nice, Link! Thank you!"

I smiled back halfheartedly "What can I say? You remind me of an old friend."

—-

Making it up to the first cannon was a long and unpleasant journey. The armour Y/N and I wore weighed us down a considerable amount, which made walking uphill even more of a workout than usual. Y/N didn't have as much trouble as me; something about it being 'not too different to carrying textbooks in a backpack, but I could tell she was at least breaking a sweat. Yunobo remained with me the entire time, like he said he would, and so far we managed to avoid getting caught by the sentries, but I'd be lying if I said he hadn't made it close. He had two left feet, to put it shortly, and had a slight clumsiness in his step when he was nervous. Y/N hadn't made it easier, as she always had comments like 'what happened to one at a time?' Waiting for us when we got to the safety point. What's worse is that she glared at Yunobo the whole time, as if daring him to go alone next time. He never did, though.

We were now on our way to the final cannon. Y/N seemed rather happy about this fact, and had therefore ceased further insults in order to focus solely on the objective. I wonder if maybe... now was the time to ask—

"Ah, damn." Her sudden halt caused Yunobo and I to almost bump into her, but we managed to put on the breaks in time. We glanced around her to see a not so uplifting sight. Two sentries circled each other over the path ahead, and two more passed one another as they patrolled a little further ahead. I grimaced. There's no way we could simply avoid those.

"W-What do we do now?" Yunobo asked nervously.

Y/N glanced around for a moment, hands on her hips in thought. I watched her curiously, until she seemed to have an idea and motioned to us with a 'stay' command.

"Wait for my signal. I got a plan."

I raised an eyebrow "The floor is yours."

She nodded without looking back at us, and sprinted forward to the cliff just outside the nearest sentry's raider. After giving it a brief glance she crouched down, and soon enough green spiritual energy swirled around her, forming the familiar updraft that carried her to upper ground. I smirked at the trick, having not seen it in awhile, but Yunobo on the other hand had been shocked out of his skin... err, stones.

"H-How did she do that?!" He asked in a loud squeaky voice.

I shrugged "She's been blessed with wind abilities by a cocky cockatoo."

"W...What?"

"It's a long story, one I'd rather not get into right now." I sighed, watching Y/N as she carefully sidestepped over the narrow cliff edge "I just want to see what she's planning— oh look, she found a box."

Y/N took control of the metallic cube with magnesis and began batting each sentry out of the sky one by. It honestly surprised me how well she was handling it, even more so than me. What made my eyebrow twitch in slight annoyance though, was when she flung the box at the final sentry, and caught it again in midair as soon as it smashed the thing.

"Show off..." I huffed, rolling my eyes "I really need to take that back from her..."

Yunobo tilted his head "I've been meaning to ask, what is that stone tablet you two have been carrying around?"

I glanced up at him with pursed lips.

"I'm guessing another long story?"

"Yup."

He sighed "Hylians are weird...."

I raised a finger to retort, however Y/N's signalling whistle cut me off. As well as dealing with the sentries in front of us, she opted to look for others further down as well. It looked like we were in the clear. For now, anyways. Yunobo and I met up with her next to a geyser in the middle of the path, and she was actually giving an attempted smile for the first time since this began. She still wouldn't look at me directly, but I suppose I could survive with that condition for a little while longer.

"There aren't anymore sentries," She claimed, pointing over her shoulder "But there are two moblins guarding the final cannon. We need to prepare for those."

"Then we'll take one each." I strategized "Yunobo, you stay hidden. We don't want those guys to spot and go after... you..."

I trailed off as soon as I felt a strange, ominous shift in the air. The night felt colder all of a sudden, even though we were right by a volcano, and the atmosphere was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Y/N seemed to notice it too, as her eyes were shifting around the area to search for what could have caused this. And then they moved to the sky... And they widened.

"Oh no..."

I frowned and followed her gaze, only for my breath to hitch. Due to the embers and the reddish glow from the lava around us, I hadn't noticed the signs before. But now... it was already too late to dive for cover. It had already begun.

"The blood moon rises once again..."

We watched as purple malice clouds began to form above us, telling us that Rudania's minions were coming back from the dead. Out of instinct I grabbed Y/N's arm and pulled her away from the nearby geyser, as that's where the nearest sentry was materialising. But when I reached out to do the same to Yunobo, my hand couldn't find him. I turned my head to search for him, only to see him looking up in fear and backing away from us... right towards a revived sentry's vision. Panicked, I tried yelling to him:

"Yunobo don't take another—!!"

But my shout only startled him more, and he stumbled back right into the red spotlight. I watched in horror as the sentry set off an alarm, alerting Rudania of our presence. The Beast roared furiously at us intruders, and swung its tail right into the side of the volcano, setting off multiple dangerous eruptions which sent magma bombs straight for us. Yunobo screamed while covering his head with his hands, as Daruk's protection closed around his cowering state to shield him. Unfortunately, both me and Y/N were still exposed, which meant it was only a matter of time until—

"Link watch out!!!!" I was pushed down by a force, just as I was about to be flattened by one of the flaming boulders, and pressed up against a wall as Y/N used their body to shield me. I stared dumbfounded at her squinted shut face, while the ground shook around us. She had pushed the two of us under a cliff to grant us minimal shelter, but it seemed to be enough because when the magma shower ended, we were only left with minor burns. We were incredibly lucky...

Y/N quietly groaned from on top of me, as she pressed a hand against the cliff next to my head, and slowly pushed herself off. Her face was covered with soot and burns, including a particularly large one surrounded by bruising under her left eye, from when a shard of magma rock broke off and bounced right off her cheek. If it went any higher, then it would've had her eye... I reached up to run my fingers just under the wound, but she pushed my hand down.

"I'm fine, really..." she assured quietly, but sounded awfully close to coughing, "Are you hurt?"

My eyes widened slightly. Well, at least she was looking at me now. I guess she has bigger things running through her head, other than whatever was bothering her before. To be honest, I had to resist smiling because of it, despite what had just happened.

"Just a few bruises, nothing I can't walk off." I told her "It would've been a lot worse if you hadn't jumped in."

"Well, I couldn't just—,"

"A-Are you guys okay?!?!"

Oh no.

Immediately when hearing Yunobo's voice, Y/N's expression darkened. Her hand clenched into a fist next to my head, and her arm shook from the strain. It genuinely looked like she was about to kill a man.

As she moved to stand, I grabbed her wrists "Y/N, don't."

"He almost got you killed, Link." She gritted behind her clenched jaw "Don't defend him for that."

"But I—,"

And don't you dare bring Mipha's grace into it either. As far as he knows, you have nothing like that." She shook herself from my grasp and rose to her feet. I tried grabbing her again, but she turned her body to avoid my hands as she stomped towards the young Goron. This isn't going to be good.

"WHAT THE F*CK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, right into his face.

If I thought the blood moon had shown me Yunobo at his most frightened, I definitely didn't now. The poor guy was scared stiff, the only movement he made was small tremors as Y/N nonstop roared at him. To be honest though, seeing Y/N's face, I'd probably be in the exact same state if this was happening to me. I watched with wide eyes, using the cliff behind me to help me stand, my gaze not leaving my friend. Not even her outburst in Zora's Domain could compare to the rage I could feel radiating from her now. I could have never imagined seeing her like this.

I could hardly even recognise her at this point.

"SO WHAT, YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT MAYBE WE WANTED TO AVOID GETTING FLATTENED TOO?!"

"W-W-Well... I... I...Bu-But I—,"

"Bu-Bu-But— But NOTHING! I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOUR BULLSHIT EXCUSES, YUNOBO! LINK ALMOST DIED, AND YOU WERE TOO BUSY SAVING YOUR OWN SKIN AND CRYING LIKE A BABY TO NOTICE! IN FACT, EVER SINCE I'VE MET YOU THAT'S ALL YOU'VE EVER DONE! THE ONLY REASON WE HAVE YOU AROUND IS BECAUSE WE CAN'T ENTER RUDANIA WITHOUT YOUR INHERITED ABILITY, BUT I'M STARTING TO THINK THAT I CAN'T LAST THAT LONG! YOU ARE A USELESS, IGNORANT, SELFISH SPINELESS COWARD WHO'S ONLY REDEEMING QUALITY IS THE FACT YOU CAN BE USED AS A BOMB! YOU KNOW WHAT, ONE DAY I HOPE YOU'LL GET YOURSELF IN DEEP SHIT, AND NO ONE IS GOING TO THINK YOU'RE WORTH THE TIME TO SAVE!!! WHAT THEN, KID?!?!"

They were both trembling now. Yunobo was pretty much choking on sharp breaths and tears were in his eyes, and Y/N's voice was breaking and shaking with every word. It was like she was letting everything out, until there was nothing left to do so. Everything about what was happening in front of me made me want to cover my ears and look away, but I knew I couldn't do that. I knew I had to go against her if she lashed out one more time, but I was always dreading it. I knew I had to argue with her. I knew I had to fight against her shouts and screams. I knew I had to force her to stand still. I knew that it was highly possible that I may hurt her. And I knew that she didn't want to fight against me either...

But she was slipping, and this was the only way to make her see that.

So, pushing any hesitation away from my current thoughts, I marched forward and roughly grasped her arm, pulling her away from Yunobo so she could not stop him from escaping.

"Please leave us to talk, Yunobo," I softly instructed the kid, even though my expression was dark and directed on my partner "You need a moment to breathe."

Lip trembling, Yunobo nodded wordlessly, and sprinted off to hide behind a rock not too far from us. It was likely that he'd still be able to hear us, but he most likely wanted us close in case danger came running. Other than that, Y/N and I were alone...

Her head was down. She would not look at me as she breathed heavily, her form still tense and quaking. I clenched my jaw from both anger and fear; you know when parents say 'this hurts me just as much as it hurts you' when punishing you as a child? Well... that applies now more than ever.

"Y/N." I didn't dare soften my voice this time "Look at me now."

She didn't listen, leaving me no choice than to use force.

Gripping her chin between my fingers and forcing her head up, I allowed my scowl to darken. I never thought I would look at her this way, but then again, she was giving me a similar glare.

"I said look." I hissed "Don't act like a stubborn child, you know what you've done."

Despite knowing she couldn't escape my grasp, she still fought against it "So what? It's not like what I said was wrong."

"Whether it was right or wrong is irrelevant. You didn't say it because it was the truth, but because you knew it would get that reaction out of it. You were bullying him, Y/N."

She flinched at that "Shut up..."

"Tell me I'm wrong." I pushed, which made her scoff and avert her eyes.

"Alright, so what if I was? I was right, wasn't I? His cowardly acts keep getting people in trouble, and the more that happens the less likely people will want to help him. What's the big deal with telling him that, I was just waking him up."

My eyes widened. Was she even hearing herself right now?

"Because you don't say that to people, Y/N!" I accidentally raised my voice, but I knew it was going to happen eventually "I'm sorry, but no matter how much Yunobo reminds you of this... asshole from your past, he isn't them! He will never be him, and the more you treat him like he is, the more it looks like you're the asshole! I mean, how do I even know you didn't make this person up as an attempt to excuse your actions? Or at least to get pity from me?"

Immediately her free arm moved, so that the index of that hand was pointing at me "You have no right to accuse me of that." She sneered venomously.

"Oh don't I? Because from where I'm standing, I don't think it's without evidence."

"You don't know how I feel!!!"

"But I do know that no matter what has happened to you, I can't let this slide! I can't stand to see you like this! I can't stand and see you hurt people! That's not the Y/N I know!!"

"Don't you see?!?!" She cried out, eyes squeezed shut "YOU'RE the reason I'm like this, Jonas!!!!!"

With that, any arguments I had ready vanished. My mouth only hung open as I stared at the girl, confused, mad, and shocked all at once. It seemed like she had said something she knew she shouldn't have, as her eyes snapped open, and her entire demeanor went from enraged to terrified in an instant. In my shock, I had released her chin from my hold, but she still held my gaze. It was like we were both frozen. I knew I couldn't bear ignorance for long though, so with a hesitant voice, I asked her:

"Who's Jonas...?"

That was when she broke eye contact with me, as her body began to shake again. She attempted to release herself from my grasp by pressing her non restrained hand to my chest and pushing against it, but I took that arm as well and held them both tightly. Even with her struggling cries, though it hurt, I did not let go.

"Get off me!" She yelled, her voice failing her "I'm serious, I don't want to talk about this anymore!"

"No." I shook my head, feigning a calm tone. This killed me, just as it was killing her. "You can't run from this, Y/N. Enough is enough."

"You can't change how I feel!"

"I'm not trying to, I'm trying to understand why you've been acting like this. Don't be the coward you claim Yunobo is—"

I was cut off as she screamed, and then a green spiritual wind expanded around her and pushed me back into the stone wall behind me. When I opened my strained eyes, Y/N had already taken off down the path, and in her place was a shocked looking Revali. What surprised me even more, was that before he disappeared, he actually gave me a genuine look of apology. Rightfully so...

She... used Revali's gale, just to get away from me.

My eyes trailed back down the path, but Y/N was already gone. Instead, I saw Yunobo step out of hiding to give me a questioning look. Presumably he saw the girl run off, too...

The situation suddenly hit me like a stack of books. I fell back into the cliff and tightly pinched the bridge of my nose, as my face scrunched up and tears threatened to escape my tightly shut eyelids. And I just stood there, thinking... not saying a word even when Yunobo came back to my side. I was frustrated. I was upset. And most of all, I was just... lost.

Is this really what we've come to, Y/N...?

—-
Your POV
—-

I tripped and stumbled as I ran further down the mountain, not engaging with any monsters, and not daring to look back. I didn't know whether Link decided to give chase or not, but if I saw him behind me I don't think I would have the strength to flee anymore.

But that didn't matter.

Something else stopped me instead.

I lost my footing as soon as I attempted to run down a steep dirt ledge, and soon found myself tumbling down and hitting rocks instead. When I reached flat ground again, I gave up on fighting my emotions. I gave up on running.

So I cried instead.

"Sh*t..." I whispered, slowly sitting up with my tangled hair completely curtained my face as I sniffled and hiccuped "Sh*t... Sh*t... Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!! Sh*t!!! Sh*t!!!!"

My fists pounded the ground harder with every curse that left my lips. It hurt, everything hurt, but I didn't care. Nothing hurt more than the guilt and regret clenching in my chest. My tears sizzled and evaporated when they hit the ground, while I cried until my voice completely gave out. At that moment, there was no one in both worlds I knew that I hated more than I hated myself...

And I deserved it.

Before we entered Goron City, I made Link a silent promise. I promised him I wouldn't let him do this alone. I promised him we'd free Daruk together... Back at the vault, I promised Link I wouldn't let my emotions get in the way of this mission. I promised I would apologise to Yunobo and put every negative feeling I have about him behind me. And even before that, back in Rito Stable, I promised him I wouldn't let my selfish emotions rip a hole in our relationship ever again.

I broke all of those promises.

'Don't be the coward you claim Yunobo is'

I laughed bitterly between sobs. I already was that coward... I was a useless, ignorant, selfish spineless coward. That's how it's always been...

"Why are you on the floor? Surely it isn't all that clean down there."

I yelped and jumped back, not even bothering to hide the fact that I was crying, as I was too shocked to find that there was another person all the way up here. And not just any person...

"Y-You...?!" I gasped, my voice barely maintaining understandable words. The woman in front of me stared down at me, as her lips formed a frown. Well... that's what I assumed it was, as I still couldn't see the rest of her face.

"Oh dear..." she sighed "What have you two done now?"

"Wha..." I sniffled "H-How are you this h-high up...?"

The old woman lifted her cape to reveal multiple bottles hanging from her belt "This old thing can be prepared for extreme journeys, you know."

"But... what for...?"

"Well, I felt like I was needed up here." Her lips pulled into a small, sympathetic smile "And now I've found you crying by yourself into the night... Do you need someone to talk to?"

The pity in her voice reminded me of what I was doing here. My form tightened as I looked away "I just... I don't think I should be around anyone right now."

The woman frowned again. She looked around her, before setting her sights on a rock and moving to sit on it. When she beckoned next over, I didn't bother to retort, and shuffled backwards until my back rested against the solid surface of her perch, arching my neck so I was facing the sky and closing my eyes. The old woman chuckled.

"I believe that proves you don't want to be alone..." I heard her shuffle towards me. "What's the matter, Young one?"

"I..." I sighed, my entire form slumping "I f*cked up, really bad... I've been a bad friend to Link, and even worse, I've been a bully to someone who didn't deserve it."

"...Care to share?"

I glanced at her, eyebrows furrowed "You seriously want to help? If anything, Link and that other guy deserve the help more than me. I'm more like..."

A hand was placed on my shoulder "You're thinking that you're what needs to be solved. Is that it?"

"Exactly." I clenched my jaw "I said some really bad things, all because Link's friend reminded me of someone I've resented for the longest time. And when Link himself tried to stop me, I turned my shots onto him. How can I not feel like the problem? Especially when I realised what I was doing far too late... I can't undo what's been done."

"Do you regret it?"

"Of course I do! I hurt him! That's all I ever seem to do!" My hands gripped my hair, as once again tears threatened to spill "I promised him I'd do my best to be a better partner, but surprise surprise, I hurt him again! I even called him an asshole- or, I may as well have! That's who I was mistaking him for this whole time—!"

"Y/N, Y/N, breathe for a second." The old woman held my shoulders and pulled me towards her, shushing me as I sniffled and gasped in my distraught state. It felt odd being comforted by her, but it's not like I didn't appreciate it. When I quieted down, she decided to speak "Now, why don't you tell me what you mean by mistaking your friend for an... A-hole."

If I was in any other mood, I would've found her censoring herself funny, but I wasn't exactly feeling it right now. So, with a shaky breath I answered her question "I've been mistaking him for someone I used to know. Ever since we met this Goron kid, Yunobo, my mind has been allowing shards of my past to resurface, and that includes reminding me of someone I used to know... someone I used to trust. After that, whenever I look at Link, I don't know if I'll see him, or that asshole that shattered the way I look at people forever. At the point of me lashing out, I couldn't tell this from that anymore... and then, his name left my lips, and it was all over. I said what I said, and like a coward I ran. I just can't face him again after everything I said." I moved to hug myself "After seeing me like that, I don't think Link will forgive me this time. Not that I deserve it in the first place."

The woman was silent. She continued to hold my shoulders, but didn't do more than that. But I could tell she was thinking, because her mouth was twisted and pursed - the kind of thing people do when they ponder on something. After a minute, she asked:

"Does Link know who it is this Yunobo reminds you of?"

I turned to her with a frown "No, but why does it matter?"

"Well, I was just thinking..." she trailed off to think about her words "He must be confused out of his mind right now, as well as upset. Why you hate this stranger so much, and why you suddenly have no desire to confide in him has to have him asking multiple questions. As far as I can tell, you haven't told him much of anything, have you?"

I shook my head.

"And why is that? Are you afraid it won't make a difference?"

"No, I know it probably won't make a difference, because what I did can't be justified so easily, but I'm not afraid of that... I'm just ashamed, I guess."

"Of what?"

I sighed "It's complicated..."

"So is the life we live in, dear... I understand you have demons, as do we all. If I remember correctly, we were talking about your friend's demons the last time we talked. You wanted to help him through his, what makes you think he won't understand and want to help you with yours? I think that will help you admit the truth to him, but also to yourself too."

"What do you—,"

"I can tell that there's something about this so-called person that you 'hate' that you don't want to admit to even yourself. The eyes are a window to the soul, after all, and the regret I can see in yours goes beyond what had happened today."

Her words made me hide my face in my knees. It wasn't that she annoyed me, or that she was wrong, because she didn't and wasn't. But it was because I had let this whole thing escalate to a point where opening up was pretty much the only thing to fix it. And even then, will that even be good enough? How much will I have to admit to? How much of my ugly side can I allow myself to reveal? How much of my ugly past would it take for Link to run away? Will I even be able to start talking about it? Will I be able to stop when I do talk about it?

"At the end of the day, the only thing I can really tell you is the same thing I told you in Zora's Domain. You have to be willing to try. Try to give your boy the chance to understand you. Try to give yourself the opportunity to look at who in your past impacted you, and how it led you here." I heard the woman stand up next to me "Instead of continuously saying you messed up, and how you're the problem in this, I suggest you take responsibility and own up. You're too deep into this now to simply apologise and be done with it. If you can acknowledge that this is your fault, then you can acknowledge just what you have to expose to the ones with questions. No matter how ugly you think it is."

My arms tightened around my legs, and I buried my face deeper into them. I didn't even flinch when I felt her hand on top of my head.

"You can't stop here, Y/N... You have to move forward and take what's coming to you, because ultimately if you look at it the right way, this might change you for the better. All you have to do is accept your past... all of it. Someday, you might even find someone with similar trauma to yours, but how will you help them if you let your own darkness consume you?"

Before I could lift my head, her hand and presence was gone. I looked around, eyebrows knitted together. I knew what she meant, I always knew that I had to accept these things, but that didn't make it easy. There were certain things I just... couldn't accept being part of me. But I had to admit to them, one way or another.

I had to tell Link about Jonas, and that... person. Who they are, what they did, and how I was involved with them. As much as I hated to accept it, pushing this down couldn't be done anymore. Because the more I do that, the harder it will be for me to grow, and improve. It will be more likely for me to unlearn everything... And become the one thing I absolutely cannot allow myself to be.

While hyping myself up, I had noticed that my sorrow and adrenaline no longer could distract me from the fact I fell down a steep hill. I was in pain, and what was worse, was I hadn't stood since then. It was extremely uncomfortable when I leaned against the rock behind me for support, as I tried to use my legs to push myself up to stand. I even had to resort to leaning on my spear for support. I was a mess, but I had to accept that I had to let Link see me this way.

It was now or never...

Battling my way through the monsters and dodging the sentries were nothing compared to the rising anxiety in my chest. I still wasn't sure I could do this, but I was sure I had to. This wasn't going to be a conversation I'd be comfortable having; We were talking about me after all... I would be revealing something to Link... something that everyone else who knew avoided me for. I didn't blame them for it, but I couldn't bear to see that look of... disgust on my partner's face.

Soon enough, I found myself near where we were before. I could see the geyser we were close to before the incident, which was once again guardian free. My guess was that Link dealt with them on his own to ease Yunobo's worries. I stared at the floor. Talking to Link about all this was scary enough, but what about Yunobo? Would he even accept an apology from me at this poin—,

I shook my head. I still had to try. I had to push forward...

My feet were practically dragging across the floor by the time I saw the people I was looking for. Both of them were leaning against a boulder, watching as the moon lowered behind the horizon and allowed the sky to paint over with an orange red colour. Honestly, the fact they weren't at the cannon already surprised me, however that wasn't my main concern here. My eyes focussed on the back of Link's helmet. How upset was he right now...? Will seeing me make it worse...?

It didn't matter. If he hates me after this, that's on me. I wasn't going to wallow in self pity and hate anymore.

"Limp noodle."

His body tensed. His entire body pivoted to face where I was standing, where wide cerulean eyes met my bloodshot ones. His lips parted slightly at the sight of me, but he was conflicted on what to do. Should he say something? Should he approach? Honestly, they were questions I would probably be asking myself too... A minute and a half of staring later, he turned to Yunobo and told him something, before coming down to finally meet me. He stood in front of me with a frown. It wasn't sad, or angry, or anything really. It was simply a frown. Mine however, was scared, yet sure.

"Y/N." the boy finally said "I was starting to think you weren't coming back."

I bit my lip "Would it have been better if I didn't?"

"I guess that all depends on what happens now."

"...I know. You have questions."

"I do, a lot of them." Now, his face resembled something. He was so many emotions. Frustrated. Sad. Afraid. Confused. Conflicted. I wanted to answer all the questions he had, but I wanted to answer one he probably didn't have first. It would be the hardest to answer, but it linked to pretty much everything else. So I felt it necessary to address it.

"But first... I want to tell you who that person is. The one who Yunobo resembles so badly it hurts." It was hard to keep eye contact with him, but I tried to anyway. Link's eyebrows were basically knit together at this point, but he sighed.

"All right. I guess I am curious about them. Who are they? What is it about them that makes you hate them so much, what exactly did they do to make you hate them? And... Why were you so scared to tell me about them before?"

"Because... they're me, Link."

I squeezed my eyes shut as soon as I saw the complete bewilderment in his face, and continued with a tight, trembling form.

"Yunobo... he reminds me so much of myself- who I was, it's scary. And I f*cking hate it..."

See y'all next chapter! .....If you haven't killed me by then. Hopefully the wait will be worth it.