The dull thunk of a kunai knife against the solid wood board rang out across the deserted training grounds again and again. Seven rapid strikes, followed by a period of silence as Sheik collected the knives and returned to the throwing line once more. It was extremely familiar to him, but there was comfort in familiarity.

Hylia knew he needed it right now.

When he'd arrived in the training room, it had been completely empty. Which was probably a good thing, because none of the knights could actually pose a challenge to him. So even though he wanted to spar with someone, he was better off alone for now. At least until he'd worked off most of his aggression. And he'd be damned if he went and sought out Impa as a sparring partner. She would probably just lecture him about how "sloppy" he was being with his movements, and that he needed to "let go of his anger and turn it into a tool."

He threw the next kunai at the board with a lot more force than usual.

Sheik was so lost in thought that he didn't hear someone else enter the training room. And he didn't realize that they had walked up behind them until they put their hand on his shoulder. He tensed up immediately, taking the kunai that he'd been about to throw and reversing his grip on it so that it was pointed directly at his target. He pivoted and grabbed their hand, pulling them closer to him and very nearly stabbing their throat with the knife he held. He stopped himself at the last second, since he was aware that this was a peaceful situation. In a real battle, he wouldn't hesitate. However, when he got a good look at whoever had decided it was a good idea to try and get his attention like that, Sheik almost wished he hadn't stopped himself.

"What." Sheik asked flatly, the question sounding more like a statement.

"Would you take the knife away from my throat?" the Hylian Champion asked quietly. His voice wasn't quite what Sheik had been expecting him to sound like- it was somewhere between childishly high and more adult-sounding. It wasn't exactly unpleasant to listen to, but it was kind of a surprise considering Sheik had thought that the Hero of Hyrule would have some deep, heroic voice.

"Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I'd like to spar with you, and it's kinda hard to do that with a knife at my throat." Surprisingly, he had a bit of an accent. It was likely he was from the Necluda region- Hateno Village, maybe? And then there was the matter of how calm he was, especially since he was on the wrong end of Sheik's knife.

Well, wasn't he just full of surprises?

Sheik scoffed and lowered the kunai. The Hero winced and rubbed the spot where the point had nicked him slightly, then looked directly at the Sheikah in front of him.

"Thank you."

"Whatever." Sheik scowled, though the Hero couldn't see it. Goddesses, he couldn't stand this boy.

"Are you up for a sparring match?" the Hero asked.

"Is that even a question?"

To his surprise, a slight smile touched the Hero's face. "The Princess said you'd say that."

"Oh, really? Did I ask?" Sheik snapped. "I've heard a lot about you, Hero. Are you even half as skilled as everyone says you are?"

He just shrugged and held up the wooden sword he was holding.

"You can use that new sword of yours if you want. You won't touch me." Sheik said. He was aware that arrogance was a dangerous weapon, but he could care less. All he cared about was making this thief regret taking his title.

"Suit yourself." the Hylian Champion replied. He tossed the wooden sword aside and unsheathed the Master Sword. It really was a beautiful weapon. Almost a shame that the one who wielded it was, well, him.

Both of them walked five paces away and settled into ready stances, the Hero with the Master Sword held in a classic swordmaster's position and Sheik with a kunai in his left hand, presenting the sharp edge to his opponent. His right hand was empty, held in a fist in front of his face as a guard.

They paced around each other in a slow circle, each waiting for the other to make the first move. After years of training, Sheik knew better than to make the first move on an opponent armed with a sword. Usually, he was able to control the impulse to just rush in blindly that he'd never quite been able to get rid of. But today, he very nearly ran right in without a second thought. At the last second, he caught himself and grimaced. All that the Hero would see was a brief hint of irritation flicker through his eyes, but Sheik was willing to bet that he wasn't very good at reading an opponent who had half their face covered.

Finally, the Hero ran forward, attempting an overhead strike that was literally telegraphed. Sheik sidestepped it easily and kicked at the back of his knee. This unbalanced him, but instead of following up on this advantage, Sheik hung back and waited for him to recover. He didn't want this fight to be over too quickly. Once the Hero recovered, he tried a very sneaky backhand cut at Sheik's ribs. This was a bit trickier to dodge, but he was light on his feet. Even so, Sheik barely managed to avoid getting cut by the very tip, which left him open to the punch that followed. The Hero's fist made contact with the side of his face, which was painful, but Sheik just danced back and waited for his next attack.

Had he actively been trying to kill the Hero, he likely would've been dead already. He could have thrown the kunai he held in his left hand right into the Hero's head, or he could have tripped him and then stabbed him. So many ways to kill someone, and Sheik knew them all. But because this wasn't a real fight, he was holding back.

Maybe the Hero was picking up on it. The boy had an impressive poker face, so it was impossible to tell.

This time, he approached with another backhanded slice. However, at the last second, he turned the blade so that it was perpendicular with the ground and sliced upward. Sheik deflected it with his kunai, a feat which took a great deal of skill to pull off. The Hero was unbalanced again, and this time Sheik took this opportunity to punch him in the gut. The breath was driven out of his lungs, and he doubled over with a wheeze.

To hell with dragging this out. He was ending this now, since he had a perfect opening to humiliate him.

Sheik swept the Hero's legs out from under him with a well-placed kick. He landed on the ground with a soft exclamation of surprise, and the air was driven out of his lungs yet again. Before he could recover, Sheik pinned him to the ground and placed his kunai knife at the Hero's throat. He was barely breathing hard, unlike his opponent, who was wheezing as he tried to regain his breath once more.

"Let me get one thing very clear, Hero." Sheik whispered, leaning closer to him so he was sure the Hylian could hear him.

"My... name... is Link." he wheezed, opening his eyes and looking directly at Sheik.

"Shut up." Sheik snapped, pressing the knife against his throat a bit harder.

The Hero stared cooly back at him. His unflinching calm was odd, yes, but underneath all of it Sheik could see fear in his eyes.

"I hate you, Link. I hate you and everything you stand for." Sheik let some of the anger creep into his voice, but he didn't yell. Yelling never accomplished anything in a situation like this. "You stole what was mine by birthright. All because you drew some sword. Tell me, have you spent your entire life waiting for this moment?"

"I'm just following orders."

"Orders?" Sheik echoed, his voice dropping to a dangerously low level. He applied more pressure to the kunai at the Hero's throat, actually drawing blood now. Just a little bit, but still. "By the Three. You didn't even want that position."

He didn't respond, but his answer was obvious.

"Fuck. You." Sheik snarled. He stood up, barely cast a glance over at the wooden board he'd been using for a target earlier, and threw the kunai he'd been holding with a great deal more force than necessary.

"Sorry?" the Hero replied, sounding a bit angry himself. He rose to his feet, indignation clearly showing through his normal icy mask.

Good.

"Be on your guard, Hero. I do not forgive easily."

With that, Sheik stalked out of the training room. He paused just long enough to grab each of the four kunai knives that were still embedded in the board, because he didn't want to leave them behind. Sure, it kinda ruined his dramatic exit, but he'd be damned if he neglected to properly maintain his equipment. Plus, there was the possibility that the Hero would grab them and return them to him tomorrow, which Sheik wanted to avoid. 

While he walked, he slipped six of the knives back into the black box-like sheath he wore on his right hip. He kept one visible on his belt at all times, just in case he ever needed a weapon quickly. Sometimes fists (or feet) just didn't cut it. In addition, he had a thinner black sheath beside the one for his kunai that held a clip of throwing needles. Those were mostly used to incapacitate rather than seriously injure, but he kept them with him at all times anyway. 

In all honesty, Sheik wasn't really sure where he was going. He was just kind of walking through the castle, hardly paying attention to his surroundings. When his head cleared and he registered where exactly he was, he was extremely startled to see that he was standing in front of the door to Zelda's quarters.

Old habits die hard.

"Sheik?"

At the sound of his name, he turned. Standing there, still dressed in her full royal regalia, was the princess.

"Zelda."

"It's been a while."

"What, since the last time we saw each other? In that case, you're wrong. It was only three hours ago." Sheik replied irritably.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

"Explain it to me. I find my patience for these mind games growing thin, Princess."

Zelda sighed. "I meant it's been a while since we properly spoke."

"Yes. It has."

"I would like to spend some time catching up with you, but not if you're going to be an ass the whole time." Zelda said plainly.

"My aunt would have a heart attack if she could hear you now." Sheik replied.

"I'm aware." Zelda commented dryly.

"In any case, if you're going to wait for me to not be an ass, as you so delicately put it, you're going to be disappointed." He started walking past her, mentally kicking himself for getting into this conversation in the first place.

Instead of just letting him go, Zelda grabbed his left wrist.

"Let go of me, Zelda."

"No." Zelda stared defiantly at him. He knew that look well, since he'd seen it many times during the two years they spent together as kids. "Look, I'm worried about you. You're so different."

"People change." Sheik replied bitterly.

"I know that."

"So don't act so surprised. Of course I'm different. It's been ten damn years."

"Yes, but-"

"I don't have to tell you anything about what happened to me after the assassination. You have enough to deal with, and I refuse to burden you with my petty concerns." Sheik snapped. "Now let go of me."

"...Alright." Zelda released his wrist and stepped back. She looked faintly disappointed, but Sheik could honestly care less right now.

At least, that's what he told himself. He never had liked disappointing people. Especially not someone like Zelda, who was his closest friend at this point. So seeing the faint look of disappointment on her face was painful, but Sheik just did what he was best at and buried it. Yeah, that usually didn't end up working out well for him in the long run, but whatever.

"It's not healthy to keep all that to yourself." Zelda said quietly.

"I don't care. Good night, Princess." Sheik replied icily.

He walked away from her without a second glance.

Goddesses, he just wanted to sleep. This nightmare of a day literally couldn't get any worse at this point, but every second he spent awake and in plain view of other people was just tempting fate.

Thankfully, he didn't come across anybody in the halls, aside from a few knights who were patrolling. Sheik was mostly grateful that Impa was nowhere to be found, because he really wasn't looking forward to the lecture she was inevitably going to give him.

The sight of the solid wood door to his borrowed room in the castle had never looked better. Not bothering to take off anything save for his mask, Sheik collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

Sure, that was irregular, but who was he to complain?