Traitor (A BotW Story)

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There were few official rules in the Yiga Clan. Most of its members were born into it, and the few runaway Gerudo, Hylians and even Sheikah learned the culture quickly enough. But if they had a formal rule book, this would be close to the top: do not disturb Master Kogha for anything less than an emergency.

Kato didn't consider herself an exception, despite her general closeness to the clan's leader. But in the four days that passed on her way back to Karusa Valley, she couldn't think of anyone else to tell about the battle. Plus, some of the information really could constitute an emergency - the Hero probably wasn't heading to Tabantha for a holiday. And, well, if he was, that gave them a perfect opportunity to strike when he was separated from the Princess.

As soon as she had stumbled through the hideout's back entrance, announced her return and eaten a few Mighty Bananas to restore her energy, Kato searched for the Yiga Clan's extremely intimidating second-in-command. Sooga always knew where to find Master Kogha; it was part of his job as a bodyguard. Finding Sooga himself was tricky, though. But after asking around, deflecting questions about how her mission went in the meantime, Kato headed to Master Kogha's office.

Now for the hard part.

She approached Sooga and bowed, already second-guessing herself.

"Yes?"

She raised her head and looked him in the eye. Well, the painted eye on his mask, but it held the same sentiment. "I'd like to speak to Master Kogha if he has time. Urgent report on the movements of the Hero." Her voice only wavered a little.

Sooga seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded curtly. He rapped on the door.

"What?" Master Kogha's voice came.

"Kato is back with urgent reports on the Hero's movements."

"Oh." He didn't speak for a few seconds. "Fine, send her in."

Sooga moved away from the doorway, and Kato breathed a soft sigh of relief. She stepped inside before she could lose her nerve.

Master Kogha's office was more elegant than its owner, but no less intimidating. All kinds of Yiga masks lined the walls, each polished and painted with masterful precision. Many of them had wicked spikes and barbs set into the edges. Master Kogha was never seen without a mask. With such a fine collection, Kato couldn't blame him.

The head of the clan himself was lounging in a wide chair. A subtle display of power, Kato thought. Some said he was just lazy, but his posture boasted that he knew she couldn't hurt him if she tried, and had no reason to show her respect.

She bowed, only looking up when he spoke. "The problem with staring at the floor is that you can't see when I wave for you to start talking," Master Kogha noted. "What did you want, again?"

Kato launched into her report. She left out her bow, which she technically wasn't supposed to have, and definitely left out... whatever had happened at the end. She was trying not to think about it. And she may have embellished the tale, just a bit. "...and then I ripped his tunic! The fluffiness made it too hard to cut him, but hopefully I slowed him down. And then I jumped back, and- Ow!"

In her gesturing, Kato had accidentally impaled herself on one of Master Kogha's ornate masks. She hastily apologised, cradling her hand to her chest so the blood wouldn't stain anything. "And, um. Then he caught my sickle and threw it off of the cliff. I quickly retreated and came here as fast as possible. I think that's all, Master."

"..." Master Kogha leaned back, arms folded. "A fluffy tunic, you say. Where did this happen exactly?"

Kato blinked. She had forgotten that part - that she was supposed to have been in Central Hyrule, not exploring the edge of Tabantha. "Um. East of Tengar Canyon, Master."

Thankfully, Master Kogha either didn't notice or didn't care enough to mention that even her fake location was a good two day's travel away from where she should have been. Or that there was a stable in the only place her fictionalised battle could have happened.

"Right, that big canyon... the only path from there goes straight to Rito Village." He nodded to himself.

Kato didn't really understand the significance of that, but she nodded too.

"Is that all?"

She hesitated. It wasn't all. She was still no closer to understanding the strange power that had saved her from the Hero's blade than that moment in the rain, when she had stared at her helpless foe and not had the guts to just pick up his sword and fulfil her entire clan's mission. But she couldn't tell Master Kogha that. "Nothing else to report, Master."

"Great. In that case, go get a new mask. Oh, and a Demon Carver."

"Thank you, M- Wait, a Demon Carver?"

"Mhm-hm. Maybe next time you'll get him." He waved his hand, and she got the signal to leave. "Oh, and Kato?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Get your hand bandaged. This wood is hard to clean."

She smiled, bowed, and left. It was only Sooga's terrifying presence that stopped her from happy-dancing as she walked away. Her own Demon Carver! They were more than twice as dangerous as sickles. Next time she got a lucky shot, she'd do more than just rip fabric. And she definitely wouldn't have to resort to... well, whatever that red flash had been.

No use worrying about that now; she was bleeding! The pain was gone now, which hopefully meant it wasn't too bad. Kato held her hand up to a torch to check the damage.

The wound was gone. A few drops of blood were still there, and she had definitely felt the pain, but the injury had vanished.

...Okay then.

<><><>

A few days later, and she was enjoying some much-needed rest. Well, more needed than usual- Kato didn't believe you could ever have too much.

But while brushing her hair in her bedroom one evening (yep, hers, getting promoted meant she could use one of the two empty rooms instead of having to share), she was interrupted by a sharp knock.

She made her bed faster than a Blademaster eating a banana, and opened the door. "He- General Sooga?" She bowed to the burly man.

"Master Kogha asked me to deliver a message to you." He sounded even more stony than usual. "Thanks to your information, we have discovered the Princess's plan to recruit "Champions" from different regions of Hyrule to pilot the Divine Beasts and aid in the resistance against Lord Ganon."

Kato nodded. She wasn't sure about the Divine Beast part, but that explained a lot.

"We have reason to believe that their next recruit will be of the Gerudo tribe. Most likely their chief, Urbosa. Master Kogha insists you participate in the clan's effort to assassinate the Princess on her party's journey through the desert."

"...What?"

She should really have seen this coming. It made sense - she had just been promoted, the location was nearby, it was her information, she had fought the Hero and lived - but still. What?

"You will be participating in our assassination attempt against the Princess," Sooga repeated. He was masked, as usual, but Kato imagined his expression to be scarily serious. Sooga was not someone you could argue with.

"I... All right. I accept. Uh, thank you for the opportunity."

"We expect to depart in four days. Goodnight." Sooga left, and Kato flopped onto her bed.

She had a lot of training to do.