The Origin of a Champion

Chapter 26- A True Two Sided Struggle

Two weeks passed since Link had claimed his ownership of the master sword. Along with the passing of two weeks, was the passing of Link's thirteenth birthday. The celebration was small, as Link only celebrated it at home, with Impa and Purah. Along with a special dinner, Impa gave Link the day off from training, and even let him sleep in that morning. But every other day, she went much harder on him during their daily training sessions.

Now Link knew exactly why; to prepare him for a future already determined. Even with two weeks, he had already worked himself up in a state of almost constant worry. His thoughts of self doubt and contemplation kept him in his mind, giving Link a more silent state.

Link knew there was an unspoken rule about Impa keeping her fighting intensity reserved during the sparring, but he sensed she had clearly loosened her following on that rule. As an instructor, she had stayed on the defensive side for the most part, but now her offense had gone noticeably up.

Impa had Link continue to use sparring weapons, made of wood, to keep the fights safe. But that was up until the present day.

"So why did you want me to bring the master sword to training today?" Link asked, smiling in his excitement. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but asked anyway.

Impa glanced at the early evening sun, around her quiet surroundings, then her eyes focused on Link. "Well, I would think that part of your preparation should be actually getting used to your new sword, wouldn't you agree?" she said.

Link jumped up, "Yesss! Yes I agree!"

As much as Link fretted over his assigned role, he'd be lying to claim that he didn't love his fated weapon. Link was extremely eager at the very thought of training with the legendary blade.

Impa smiled, pleased to see him enthused, "After all the work we've already done today, I'm pleasantly surprised to see you this hyped. Since we have already completed the basic schedule, I thought it would be best to get you used to the master sword. You're the most skilled swordsman I know, so this shouldn't feel too different to what you're used to. But nonetheless, a solid feel of the weapon is very vital. And with such a special and gifted weapon, who knows what will happen! I'm excited too! So since this is the first time, let's start slow and steady. I won't use any special powers, a rule that goes to you too, and I'll stay on defence. I just want you to move around and strike softly, simply getting used to the sword itself."

Link nodded, "Sounds easy enough!"

Impa smirked, "Yes, easy for now."

Link rolled his eyes as he carefully took the sword out of its scabbard, taking pride in the metallic noise the sword made as it left its cover. After watching the sunlight reflect off the clean blade, Link looked over to Impa, who was busy with her own weapons. His mouth dropped when he saw her handling her real, not wooden, kodachis.

"Woah, hey! You never mentioned you would use those!"

Impa laughed, "Well, if you get to use a real weapon, I get to use my own real weapons too. Furthermore, if I did stick to my wooden sparring ones, I think your sword would slice them in half or something."

"Fair enough," Link nodded in agreement.

Impa inspected her two kodachis, then rubbed the two blades against each other, showing off their lack of dull edges. She grinned at the metallic noise they made as they quickly scraped against each other.

"Hey Impa, how come you never showed me those before? Can I see them up close?"

She smiled with a devilish look in her eye, "You can see them up close, while you are trying to protect your own life from them."