Chapter 12- A Long Overdue Visit


"Hey Link! Long time no see!" Impa beamed when she finally ran up to him. She pulled him into a quick embrace in her excitement. Link smiled back at her just as brightly.

"It has been a while hasn't it? I've missed seeing you a lot!" Link grinned, and put a strong emphasis on the words 'a lot' then looked over Impa's shoulder to see where Purah was. She was still running over. When she finally reached the pair she was completely out of breath and still panting, and breathed in a few times before she said anything, but she was still smiling brightly.

Impa laughed, "Ha, about time you got here Purah! You need to run some laps more often," she finished with a smirk. As much as Impa loved her sister, she had a very competitive spirit as well.

Purah stuck her tongue out at her, "Well no one asked for your opinion, now did they?"

Purah took one last inhale to finally catch her breath, and then focused back on Link with a grin. "Hey Linky! It's nice to see you! It's about time you finally arrived!" Purah playfully teased.

The three young children were so caught up in their little reunion, that they completely forgot about Alvar and Zarya, who were still standing behind them all the while. The two adults were simply watching the three interact with amused looks plastered on their faces.

Impa was the first to recall their presence and she quickly glanced up at the two who were still watching the scene play out. Her face turned a slight shade of red for forgetting their presence, but gathered her courage and spoke up nonetheless, "Miss Zarya and Mister Alvar, it's a pleasure to see you both. I'm guessing you two would like to see our parents. They have been very excited for your arrival and can't wait to see you. Mom and dad are at home," she then turned and pointed to one of the small, cosy Sheikah style houses that was settled off to the side of the village. "Over there. You both know the way very well though," Impa finished her speech with a small, polite bow of her head.

Alvar gave her an impressed look and slightly bowed back. He was well aware of the Sheikah custom that bowing was a sign that showed honor and respect. Zarya on the other hand, thought her shy politeness was adorable.

"How polite you are Impa! Yes, we know the way, thank you," Zarya replied, still smiling at the young girl. Impa became more red at the compliment, and mumbled a 'thank you'. With that, Alvar and Zarya walked off toward the house of Cato and Akilah, leaving Link with his two friends.

After the two adults left the kids alone Impa immediately lost her flustered state and spun around to face Purah, "See that? Miss Zarya said I was polite," she bragged.

Purah exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, " In reality Impa, you're about as polite as a moblin," she finished with a laugh. Link couldn't help but laugh along with her, not that he thought the statement was necessarily true, he just thought the comeback was funny. Impa took her jest good naturedly, because she only pointed out the compliment in an attempt to get a rise out of her sister in the first place.

When they had collected themselves, they looked around their surroundings happily. Three best friends, no adult supervision, and to them it felt like they had all of Kakariko Village to themselves. Each of them felt that they could not possibly ask for better circumstances. Link gladly took in his surroundings. The little houses with the characteristically shaped roofs, all neatly shaped with curves and points. The village was decorated with small red Sheikah talismans, attached on strings which were strung up around the small town. Various plots of land used for farming, and the most popular in Kakariko were mostly pumpkin and carrot gardens. Various cuccos strutted about, with an occasional crow from a rooster every once and awhile. Link eyed them very suspiciously. He also observed the different villagers as well; merchants, farmers, parents, warriors, and researchers alike. Many young children also ran about the small dirt roads, playing games such as hide and seek and tag.

He also noticed some Hylians in the crowd, and an occasional Rito, Zora, Gerudo, or even a rare Goron visitor, but he could always tell a Sheikah apart in a crowd by their traditional clothing. They always wore grey, and the ends of their fabric was usually a shade of red, often making him wonder if grey was their favorite color or something. Well that was their hair color, no matter how young they happened to be, so it fit them. Link always thought their clothes looked so comfortable, almost like more proper sweatpants and a comfy, yet durable shirt. And last but not least, he admired their many different, and in his opinion, funny looking hats.

"So what should we do first?" Link asked.

"Well, that's what we were considering before you arrived. I was hoping to show you some of mom's Sheikah technology research that she let me help her with, but Impa wanted to first spar with you. Ugh, watching people spar and fight is sooooo boring," Purah explained, but the last part of her speech she had a clear whine in her voice.

"It is not boring!" Link and Impa exclaimed in perfect unison.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Geez guys chill out. I'll still watch you both nonetheless, as long as I get to show Link what mom and I have been working on afterwards."

Link grinned and his left ear twitched in his excitement, "Sounds like a plan! First some sparring, then you can show me....what you want to show me Purah, I'm honestly curious about it after all."

Impa giggled as she watched Link talk, "Wait, you still have that habit of your ears twitching?"

Link turned a slight shade of red when she gently pointed out his tendency, "Yes, it still twitches, not just the left ear, also the right ear now. Every time I get excited, embarrassed, or worked up, one of my ears decides to start a quiver or something. It can be a funny, or really embarrassing characteristic on occasions."

Impa smiled kindly, "Don't be embarrassed, it's all right. I just it was kinda a cute quirk or something. I can't relate, because part of being Sheikah means having smaller and less pointy ears than a Hylian," Impa paused her talking to pull some of her long gray hair behind her ear to show that indeed, her Shiekah ears were noticeably smaller.

Link felt a bit more at ease after this and his slight blush disappeared. But he couldn't help but wonder, if he was ever Impa's brother, would she tease him about the difference? Seeing the constant sibling rivalry Impa and Purah always kept up, it most certainly would not surprise him.

"Alright are you two weirdos done comparing ears already? I want you two to hurry up and get your sparring over with so I can show Link what mom and I have been working on! " Purah exclaimed as she tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Alright, alright, we're going. Here Link, we'll go to the field outside of the main entrance of the village. That way we have plenty of room and we won't bother anyone," Impa spoke quickly with great excitement.

"Won't bother anyone huh? I bet you're just saying that so no one sees how bad I kick your butt!" Link laughed. He could feel his competitive and confident spirit rising within him.

"Ohhhh roasted! Ha! Impa just got roasted by a six year old! Impa just got roasted by a six year old! Impa just got roasted by a six year old!" Purah chanted through her loud laughing.

Impa seemed taken back at Link's sudden remark, but smiled and shook her head slowly saying, "Oooohh, now you're really in for it."

Link playfully shrugged, "Sure I'm in for it, I guess we'll see through. Race you two to the field!" And with that Link took off running, with Impa racing right besides him. Purah on the other hand was much less enthusiastic about actually running to the field.

"What? Aww come on! Do you two always have to race?! Why can't we just enjoy a nice, quiet stroll for once?" Purah yelled after them, but to no avail. They were too far away, and too absorbed in their race to actually hear or care. She threw her hands up in desperation, and started her slow walk to the field outside the village, lazily dragging her feet all the while.

When she arrived at the scene of the upcoming competition, she saw Link and Impa comparing their weapons of choice. Link was showing off his wooden sword. He had modeled it after two swords; his father's royal broadsword, and the Master Sword of Hyrule legend. The Master Sword had not been seen or used by anyone in Hyrule for decades, but Link heard and read so many great stories of its feats and previous owners. He yearned to at least see it once in his lifetime, just a glimpse, but only time would tell if he ever got his wish.

"Your wooden craftsmanship is quite impressive, but feast your eyes on this," Impa said proudly as she presented what looked to Link as a long knife, yet it seemed so sword-like. His mouth was agape in awe, and he slowly reached to grab the wooden carved weapon from Impa's offering arms.

He admired it for a minute, then returned the mysterious blade to its owner, "That is one of the coolest carved things I've ever seen Impa! But, uh, what's it called?" Link asked as he curiously tilted his head.

"It's something called TrAsH!" Purah teased as she walked up to the pair. Impa spun around quickly in surprise and glared at her.

"Well it's nice to see who finally arrived," she shot back. Purah simply shrugged, but she was smiling and clearly pleased with herself for getting on Impa's nerves.

Impa turned back to Link, "Anyway, oh yeah. It's called a Kakariko Kodachi. It's smaller, yet sharper than a sword. My dad has a little collection of them. Obviously this is a fake wooden one, but I've heard from dad that if a Sheikah warrior weids a real Kodachi, they can sense if some has any enmity towards them."

Link nodded in recognition, "That's pretty neat. So I guess our competition could be best out of three matches. Whoever gets their weapon's point against their opponent's neck first wins the match. No actually hitting anyone hard with your weapon though."

"Yeah yeah I know how it goes. And I've learned a lot more about Sheikah warfare since we last sparred together, so heads up," Impa warned with a sly smile. Link knew that this was gonna be interesting.

"Alright I get to be ref, so I say when to start and stop fighting. And I get to announce the winner of each round!" Purah stated as she jumped around. She was beginning to get excited for two main reasons. One, she was actually pretty curious as to who would win, and second, Purah loved to distract Impa during her fights.

Link and Impa squared up in front of each other, three feet apart. They had their weapons drawn and were now completely serious, staring at each other in the eyes. "Three! Two! One! Fight!" Purah called out. Impa and Link tapped the tips of their weapons together and the first round of the fight began.

Link and Impa started circling each other, never breaking eye contact. Purah had gone quiet, at least for the time being. Link was waiting for Impa to make the first move, and that's exactly what she did, but not in the way he was expecting it. Impa suddenly sheathed her Kodachi and put her hands together, quickly making a bunch of random, yet intricate symbols with her fingers. Link lowered his sword and gave her a confused look. Impa winked at him, gave him a mischievous smile and then....disappeared?

Link jumped back and his mouth dropped open in pure shock, "Woah woah, wait a second! Impa?! Where the in Hyrule did you g-"

"I win," Impa stated. She had somehow ended up right behind Link, with her wooden blade lightly pressed against Link's throat. Link spun around and looked at her with pure confusion. Impa laughed at his surprised reaction and lowered her kodachi.

"It's called Sheikah teleportation. Isn't it cool? It's taken me months to learn how to teleport around ten feet. My dad taught me, and he can teleport around much farther distances. Maybe after lots of training, I'll be able to do it just as well as him," Impa declared.

"That's amazing! I wish I could do that! What else can you do?" Link asked, saying one question quickly after another. He had almost completely forgotten about the competition.

Impa tilted her head upwards as she pondered, "Well there's teleportation, and oh yeah, I can do a bit of Magnesis and Stasis."

"What's Magnesis and Stasis?"

"Magnesis is controlling metal objects. I can only do a tiny bit though. Like lifting metal spoons and knives n' stuff like that. And Stasis is where I can stop an object for a short time. But I can only keep stuff paused for like, two seconds."

Link gave her an amazed look, "You'll definitely have to show me those other two powers some time."

Impa glanced at Purah slyly, "Oh don't worry, I'll show you them soon enough."

Purah glared right at her, "Oh no you don't! If you think you're using me as a demonstration for your tricks you're crazy! Mom said not to use Stasis and Magnesis on me as much as you do! It's so annoying!"

Impa laughed, "We'll see." Then she turned her attention back to Link, "Alright you ready for the next round?"

Link shook his head, "Yeah I'm ready. Oh and please don't Stasis me! That's gotta count as cheating. You can teleport, but no Stasis. And there's no metal on me, so your Magnesis will do you no good."

This sounded reasonable enough to Impa, "Fair enough, I promise I won't Stasis you. Alright Purah, countdown for the second round please!"

"Three! Two! One! Fight! Kill her Link!"

The two tapped the tip of their wooden carved weapons, and they were off. Link circled Impa like he did the last time. His father taught him to let the enemy make their move first, so you could anticipate their attack better. Study the enemy's strategy, don't just run into a battle mindlessly slashing away.

Impa quickly disappeared again, but this time Link was prepared for the expected attack. He anticipated she would teleport behind him, and he was right. As soon as Impa appeared behind Link, he was practically waiting for her. He ducked to avoid her Kodachi and jumped to her side and lightly hit her leg, as to put her off balance. Impa was taken completely by surprise and fell right over. Link seized the opportunity and quickly placed the end of his sword lightly against Impa's neck.

"I got you that time." Link taunted, but he still extended his arm to help her up. Impa smiled back at him and took it to hoist herself on her feet.

"Ha! You lost Impa! You're so bad! Way to get her that time Linky!" Purah cheered. Impa decided to ignore her, so as to not give her the pleasure of a reaction.

"Well looks like we're tied now. One last round decides it all," Impa stated as she brushed the dirt off her grey pants.

Link nodded, "May the best fighter win." Then he turned to Purah and gave her a thumbs up to begin the countdown.

"Three! Two! One! Fight! Come on Linky, beat her up to shreds!"

With a tap of weapons, the final round began. Neither fighter broke eye contact. Impa was taught by her father that while fighting, always keep your eyes on your opponent. Never look down or away, and you can anticipate their next move easier. Impa teleported for the final time, which Link expected. He prepared for Impa to appear behind him again, but she decided to change things up this time. She suddenly appeared right in front of him and thrust her Kodachi to Link's stomach. Link's natural reflex was to backflip to avoid the blade, which he did.

"Ooh, backflips. I love flipping around, it makes a battle more fun," Impa declared, and with that she front flipped in the air so she was back in front of Link.

"Nice one Impa," Link complimented.

"Thanks."

"Oh you both are just a bunch of showoffs!" Purah shouted at them.

Impa stuck her tongue out at her, "You're just jealous Purah! You couldn't jump two feet high in the air even if you wanted to!"

"That's because I use my Hylia given talents in different ways!"

"Talent? I don't see any talent. I'm trying to find the talent," Impa teased as she pretended to look around Purah 'searching for talent'.

Purah wanted to raise her third finger as a response, but couldn't because that would be seen as disrespectful to the three Goddesses of Hyrule, so she settled for flipping her pinky instead, "Well do you see this?"

Impa laughed as a response, and Purah couldn't help but laugh too. Neither truly meant ill towards the other, they just loved getting on each other's nerves.

Link however, decided to take Impa's distraction to his advantage. Never get distracted during a fight, he thought to himself. He ran towards Impa and lightly swung his sword at her left leg, then started to swing the tip of his blade at Impa's neck to win the round, but Impa blocked his sword and hit her Kodachi against his stomach lightly, but hard enough to make her point. Link stumbled back a bit, then approached her to try again. He kept swinging his sword, but Impa kept blocking his blows, and everytime Impa tried to counter, her hits were deflected as well.

Link was tiring out and becoming a bit frustrated, and it was the same way for Impa. Purah constantly booing her and cheering loudly for Link wasn't helping her concentration either. They both stopped hitting and circling for a second, and maintained eye contact as they caught their breath for a few seconds. Then they approached each other again, both trying to think of a new strategy. Link swung at Impa's side, but she blocked it with her Kodachi and jumped to his side. Link turned around and ducked to avoid her blade that was heading for his chest. When he jumped back up, he saw that Impa's guard was down, so he jumped forward and quickly brought his sword's tip to Impa's neck, but as soon as he moved forward, he felt the wooden Kodachi's blade against his throat.

Both Link and Impa stopped and looked down at their neck, which each had a wooden weapon lightly pressed against it. A drawl. When they saw they had tied, both immediately lowered their blades and smiled at each other.

"I can live with a tie. Good fight Link! Your swordsmanship has definitely improved."

"Thanks Impa! You did really well, and your teleportation was really cool. I've never sparred against anyone who could disappear and appear. That was pretty fun actually! We'll have to do it again later, and I'll beat you then!" Link playfully taunted.

Impa rolled her eyes, "Sure you will. Dream on dreamer."

"Well that was interesting. Congrats to you both for not being able to beat each other. What are those dirty looks for? I'm kidding and actually I'm very impressed with you both. Now can we go so I can show Linky what mom and I have been working on?" Purah asked impatiently.

Impa chuckled, "Yes Purah you can show us now."

Purah jumped in the air in her excitement, "Snappity snap! I finally get to show Linky what we've been working on! Hurry up you two, come on!" And with that Purah ran as fast as her small legs could carry her towards her mother's research lab.

Link couldn't help but laugh, "And now she runs."

"I know right? Well we'll let her have her fun. Let's catch up before she burns the lab in her excitement. And don't worry, those Sheikah researchers usually have a bunch of snacks in that place, so we can sneak some food while we are there," Impa stated mischievously.

Link grinned back, "Sounds like a plan."  







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