Fan Fiction ❯ Wishful Hallucinations ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Shokin had refused to meet with Malon, even after Link's persistent reassurance that she was even hardly a friend. He insisted that Malon was just someone with whom he had shared some of his thoughts, deep ones, yes, but she was merely a gossip. And yet, the half-breed knew that if he saw her, especially with him, he would probably kill them both.

However, Link met Rin. Even though he had seen the man quite a few times before, he had never quite made the connection between him and Shokin. As Rin shook his hand, Link noticed a bit of mischief, not un-similar to that of Shokin's, in his eye.

"Hey Link! Now you know why I was staring at ya when ya's comin' in here!" Rin's gut shook like a bowl full of jelly as he guffawed at his own joke. Link nodded and smiled in response.

The three, Rin, Link, and Shokin went to the backroom for dinner and a bit of merry-making. Grabbing his own bowl from the cauldron of stew that hung over the fireplace, Link sat at the crude table that had been semi-covered with a floral print cloth. There was no centerpiece; it wouldn't have helped the gloominess of the room anyway. But the murk was warm and inviting, making Link feel almost as if he belonged.

The room's darkness did not interfere with Rin's need to keep it clean. Specks of dirt were no where to be found, unusual for a storage room of a bazaar. He had a small living space around the fire and a dresser stood to the corner with a chair next to it. A single, small pallet lay in a corner, far from the living and dining area. A few boxes were stacked along the walls, probably filled with supplies. Small, but it looked as though it served its purpose.

Only the sounds of eating could be heard, although it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. When everyone began to slow down, Rin asked, "So where do ya stay, Link?" Shokin looked up from his intense eating and Link somewhat choked on a piece of meat he had been working at.

"Oh, um, here and there. I stay at the ranch sometimes since I work there, and I have a little tent thing by the river…" Link skirted the subject of the forest, not wanting to bring un-needed attention to the Kokiri.

"That's hardly fit for a young boy…" Rin smiled, the mischief once again noticeable in his eyes. He sipped at the remains of his stew, glancing at Shokin, who was trying to seem indifferent about the topic of conversation by nervously scooping at the loose vegetables in his bowl.

"No, really, I ..it's fine." Link stammered, the look on Shokin's face made him uneasy.

"No, no it's not." Rin smiled, "You can stay `ere if ya like. I live `ere, but I sleep in me room upstairs and Shokin sometimes stays, but no' often. That pallet's `is. I'm sure `e dun min' and besides, we have an extra." Shokin sighed and rolled his eyes at Link, knowing full well what Rin was trying to do. For one, Link loved the river and it was highly unlikely that he'd give up his quaint spot for it. (He had lied; there was no tent, just the covering from a tree.) Two, they had both decided to take this slow and sharing a room at night was not going to help that goal. Of course, kisses had been shared, but nothing much more.

"Ok, that sounds good, Rin." Link smiled at Shokin, the half-breed's face the epitome of shock.

"Good, it's set then, Link will stay here, if need arises." Rin winked at Shokin, who looked about ready to fall from his chair.

* * *

"You don't have to take what Rin says seriously. He's just being...generous." Shokin whispered from the dark next to Link. Rin had fallen asleep in his easy chair, forcing Shokin and Link to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"No, really, it's ok. In fact, I might need a place, in case it rains or something. Well, I better go, it's late." The two boys stood up and walked to the back door of the room. Rin locked the front door early now a days.

The half-breed took Link's hand and kissed the knuckles. "Until next we meet, my love." He looked up into Link's smiling face as Link burst out laughing.

"You need to stop that." The Hylian took Shokin into his arms and kissed him squarely on the mouth. "Next time you tempt me…"

"You'll be sorry." Shokin interrupted and winked. "Good-bye."

"Until later, my love." Link answered mockingly.

Shokin watched him run down the alley until the darkness had consumed him. Turning slowly back inside, Rin's smiling face startled him. He smiled back as he lay down on his pallet near the wall.

"Hey Shokin. Don't go to sleep just yet."

"Why?" But Rin had resumed his previous sleeping position.

* * *

Running down the alley Link knew he shouldn't have stayed until dark. As he stood near the well, he could see that the bridge was up and, judging from the moon, had been up for quite a while. Damn… It was almost impossible to sleep anywhere in the town outside of a shelter, the guards would hold you in custody then put you on trial for loitering, a two year sentence in the castle dungeons.

The guards near the road to the castle had already spotted him and were motioning for him to come over. Sighing, Link did.

"Hey boy, you know you're not supposed to be out after dark." The one on the right said.

"You know what, I think that's the boy that's always running around, never sleeps or really talks to anyone." The second one had unfortunately recognized him.

Turning to face the second one, the first said, "What, the half-breed? He doesn't look Shiekah to me."

"No, dumb ass, he's from the west, south west, I think. Let's just ask him. Hey!…" When he turned, no one was there.

* * *

One choice now. Link headed back down the alley. Sneaking away from the guards was easy; he'd dealt with the same one's many times.

Luckily, a light was still shining through the back window of the bazaar. Raising his fist to knock, he hesitated. He felt uncomfortable taking Rin up on his offer the first night he had truly met him, but this was his only option.

Shokin met him at the door, almost as if he was expecting him. Link shook it off and stepped inside. After telling him of his predicament, the half-breed pulled out an extra pallet and set it next to his.

The room was dim, except for a few candles. It still held the calming quality within the walls, or maybe it was just the two people, one sleeping near the fire, the other laying out and fixing an extra pallet.

Despite being extremely late, the Hylian wasn't tired. He sat in front of the fire, but a good distance from the snoring Rin. While warming his hands, Shokin sat next to him. The half-breed sneaked his hand into Link's.

Soon, Link was fast asleep, his head on Shokin's thigh. Sitting cross-legged, Shokin fell into meditation while staring at the fire. Neither of them saw the figure staring through the window.

* * *

A cloaked figure stole through the shadows as stars desperately shone through the cloud covering. The silhouette ran down the back alleys, searching for any remnant of a clue, a clue that he had been there.

All the shops were closed and the drawbridge was up, but a light was faintly visible through the mist that had descended upon the town. As she moved closer to the gleam, she realized it had been coming from the back window of the bazaar.

Not really expecting anything but to see the drunken keeper sitting at the fireplace, she peeked into the window. Blue eyes exploded with surprise; this was one thing she knew she had not expected.

Absent mindedly, she rubbed the finger where her beloved ring had once been, a habit that had scourged her since youth. Her father said the ring brought luck and she had rubbed it ever since. Questions did not swarm in her mind about the scene and she wasn't angry or jealous. She simply watched as the boy she had loved for the better part of two years sat on the floor, watching* (used 2ce) the fire. With the same absentness that she had rubbed her finger with, he stroked the blonde head that lie asleep on his lap. The rest of the boy's body was parallel to the fire, the light flickering down the length. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place him and shook it off. She was more concerned with the other boy, the one sitting up. His purple-streaked blonde hair tied back in a loose, short ponytail. But something was different, different then the times Zelda had seen him after their nights, and before. Looking at his face, she noticed that it held more of a light in it, and it wasn't just from the fire. Shokin was happy, happy for the first time that Zelda had ever seen.

A tear rolled down her cheek. A tear of regret and disappointment in herself. She was sad that she had gone two years without ever truly having seen him smile. Shokin was happy now that he was with someone he cared about. Slowly, she walked back to the castle, stopping only to talk with the guards to persuade them that she was in fact who she said she was. As long as she knew that he was happy, she was content never to see him again.

* * *

For some reason, Shokin found himself thinking of Zelda. He had no regrets that he had left her; he hadn't loved her nor would he ever. The princess used him, he knew that she had no intentions of revealing what they did to her father, or even the nurse, Impa. Shokin was just a stress-reliever for her. Even so, he was having second thoughts about having stolen her ring. It was priceless to her, but it had a price to Rin, the man he had loved almost like a father.

"Shokin?" The voice came from below. It was unexpected and made him jump a little.

"Yea?" He looked down into the blue eyes that had been closed until now. They were peacefully half-open, still tired from the previous nap.

Link hesitated before answering. "I hardly know you. I don't know anything about you, and it's the same for you about me." He turned his eyes away.

"That's where you're wrong sweetie," Shokin pulled Link's head up until they were sitting face to face. Holding the Hylian's chain in one hand, he leaned and kissed him. "I know a lot about you, you forget that I followed you for a long time. And there's nothing to know about me."

Link met his eyes again. "There must be something. You can't just be a pretty face. What happened to you that you don't want me to know?"

The sweet expression on the half-breed's face turned to anger, but only briefly. He turned away from the boy before Link could notice. "Most Impa has told you, right? She told you of my mother who was ashamed of my ethnicity. I was a painful reminder of her supposed mistake. So she left me with Rin and the rest is irrelevant." He faced Link again, the previous look gracing his face again.

It was Link's turn to be angry. "Stop it. I hate that fake smile you put on. You may not know, but I do. You hide it from me and it's driving me crazy." He grabbed Shokin's shoulders and pulled him close. Smelling his sweat from his pores, it reeked of his tenseness. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Because you said you hardly knew me as it was, and putting what I did on top of it will just give you an excuse to leave me!" Shokin yelled. He jumped up and ran out the door, leaving Link, stunned, in his wake.

* * *

Link stayed the night, although he hardly slept. Knowing that his eagerness had upset Shokin and wondering if he should go after him haunted his mind, preventing him from sleep.

Rin hadn't stirred since Link had come in, which was all for the better; he didn't want to discuss what had happened to Shokin with him anyway. Shokin would tell him when he felt the time was right.

Though he hadn't mentioned any sort of clue, Link guessed that his secret had to do with Zelda. Impa told him more than Shokin knew. The future was the future, and even though Link had prevented Ganondorf from ruling, the little facts were still going to happen.

* * *

Link didn't remember falling asleep, but the sun's brilliant rays pushing through the windowpanes woke him gently. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he unconsciously sought out his bow and quiver. They sat in a corner not too far from him. With the same absent-mindedness, he strapped on his boots. It was at that moment he glimpsed Shokin standing in front of the fire, his full attention on the cauldron before him.

As silently as he could, he slunk to the corner that held his beloved weapon and, grabbing it, he proceeded to the door. When he reached out for the handle…

"You're not going to eat before you leave?"

Link sighed. He had known all too well that the chance of him leaving without Shokin hearing was a very slim one. Turning, he noticed that the half-breed hadn't looked away from the fire.

He back was rigid with tenseness and his hair seemed to copy the stress by wildly poking out from his loose pony tail in odd directions. He was fully dressed, as he was yesterday, in his torn purple tunic. Link vaguely remembered that Shokin owned a dark blue tunic, but it was in worse shape than the purple. Muscled legs were shaped by the hosiery, the same kind Link wore.

Thinking first, Link said, "I was going for a walk. Besides, I need to return Epona before Malon hunts me down." Nice, it might do.

"Liar." Shokin's finality and sureness surprised the Hylian, yet his voice held almost a bored tone. Without further comment, Link went to the table. An awkward silence followed and Link began to count the splinters in the table before him.

After loosing count several times, Shokin brought two bowls to the table, setting one in front of Link and the other that the place opposite him. He then delivered a third to the front of the store, to Rin, Link assumed.

When he returned, his head was bowed, eyes staring at his feet. A slight blush had begun to creep its way slowly from his ears to cheeks, obviously aware Link was staring. He sat at the table and began to meekly push the vegetables as they floated in the thin gravy.

As much as Shokin tried to keep his thoughts on the food, they refused, instead turning to the small object that lay in his satchel which hung from his belt.

He had arrived back at the bazaar early this morning with a clear purpose, so clear it was painful. There was no way he could avoid it; the nagging voice refused to be ignored. If he did, the voice would take complete control of Shokin's body and do it itself.

Rin had looked asleep, but previous situations warned him not to trust it. Instead, he had busied himself with cooking. Sure enough, as soon as the smell began to rise from the cauldron and made its way through the room, Rin had awoken with a loud snort. Clambering to his feet, he clasped his hands on his back and bent with a sickening series of cracks.

"It's not done yet." Shokin had said, watching the burly man scratch at his orange beard. Rin groaned and groggily walked to the front of the store. Not long after, the half-breed had made his way to his caretaker's small dresser.

Now the ring lay in his pouch, drawing Shokin's thoughts to it. It called desperately for him to make up his mind, but not hurt anyone. Shokin knew it had to be done, he knew he had to have help, and he knew that Zelda could not see him; she was permanently out of his life and her seeing him might crush her. Still, he was torn between his own conscience and Rin's ticket out of this shithole.

Despite waking only moments before, Link's sapphire eyes were snapped to full alertness. But the uncomfortable silence was threatening to bring lethargy back upon him so he decided to break it the only way he knew how.

"I'm sorry, I never should have.."

"I need your help." Shokin burst, ignoring Link's apology. After this statement, another silence followed. Shokin was embarrassed, as Link was shocked and slightly mad. He sat, trying to process what the half-breed had said. He needed help, but he had interrupted him, completely disregarding Link's apology. Oh well. Link sighed.

"Of course, with what?" The Hylian disregarded his half-eaten bowl and moved into a seat closer to Shokin.

Momentarily, Shokin's thoughts lapsed back to the contents of his satchel. Talking here, just feet away from a possible intrusion by an unwanted listener, would be too risky. He had not thought far enough ahead to determine if he would tell Rin, and especially not far enough to know that Rin would probably know it was him. "Somewhere else." Shokin managed to choke out. The sound of his thick voice eroded by the vapor of tears disgusted him.

Link seemed oblivious to the strangled sound that had leapt from Shokin's throat. He was, how ever, a bit confused. "Where?"

After a pause, Shokin smiled at Link. "The river?"