Never Without You │ BOTW modern AU fanfic

過去

After wandering aimlessly, I stumble upon a quiet corner near the temple. I lean against the sturdy wooden wall and take a few deep breaths, attempting to quiet the racing thoughts in my head. The worst-case scenarios are swirling around me like a whirlwind, threatening to engulf me at any moment.

As I unlock my phone, I prepare myself for the inevitable. I try to reassure myself that it was nothing, that it was just a trivial message from someone harmless. Maybe Mipha checking in, or Impa sending a meme. Maybe even a DM request by another one of Link's obsessed fangirls. Oh–Maybe it's Ruto for some unknown reason!

I unlock my phone, still feeling out of breath. With a fleeting glimpse, I confirm that the name of the sender is indeed Karusa Valley. I close my eyes, fighting to control the flood of emotions surging within me. What am I going to do now?

I feel like it's important for me to find out what Karusa's purpose is. I deserve to know what is going on. On the other hand, I don't want to hide anything from Link. When his ex asked us out for drinks, he immediately told me. He chose honesty. He doesn't deserve to be lied to. So I either tell him about Karusa, or I delete the text and block him.

I open Instagram, determined to delete the message and block the man who has ruined more than one life. But when my eyes enter the chat, they refuse to look away from his message.

*Can we talk?*

What. The. Hell.

I am so confused by his text that I don't even know if I should feel scared, angry, or relieved! This is definitely not what I expected. I'm glad it's not a direct threat, but it doesn't explain his intentions either. Instead of asking me to chit-chat, he should just tell me what it is he wants from me!

I am irritated by his vague text and don't know how to respond to his plea. I can't read his emotions through text. I can't hear the tone of his voice or study the expressions on his face... I can't even tell if he is asking me to talk to him over chat or in person. He is mental if he thinks I will meet up with him in person.

*What do you want?* I type confused.

I don't hit send, I delete the message and compose a new one.

*Talk? About what?*

I'm deleting that one too.

*You can talk to my lawyers.*

That would be a good one. But too aggressive and direct. I want to know what he's up to. I want to give him a chance to explain himself but I need to stay 5 steps ahead of him.

*What do you mean?*

Hm...

I don't like it. I delete that one too.

Argh! This is so vexing! He's probably over there, laughing at me with his disgusting friends, and bragging to them about all the things we have done according to him! This is a prank of some sort. Why, for the love of Hylia, would he want to talk to me? Last time we spoke, he wasn't very fond of me. He was so irritated by me that he advised me to leave "before it gets ugly". 

Maybe I should have stayed. Impa could have filmed it and I would have the proof I need to get rid of him. Instead, I sat there for 5 minutes, allowing him to insult me and act like the victim. Did he really believe that he was innocent in all of this? I would love to know what truly goes on in his head. If I was him, I would not be able to sleep at night. I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror. I don't know if I could ever forgive myself for hurting all those people.

He perplexes me more than anyone else...  Right before I left that day, it sounded like he was warning me of Ganon. He said "I hope you know what you're doing." What was that about? Did he really warn me of Ganondorf? If so, does that mean he has a heart? Or was he just trying to stop me from getting his friends arrested? No, if that was the case, he would have given me a fake address.