Chapter Text
This is the worst-case scenario.
Almost a year ago, Giyuu was revealed to be one of the nine Champions destined to help the Sun Kingdom’s warrior take down Muzan—the Calamity. By completing three arduous trials and collecting the emblems associated with each Divine Beast, the Champions could unlock powers that would connect them to their Beast and weaken Muzan while the Sun warrior and a small squadron faced him head-on as foretold by an ancient prophecy.
Giyuu was nervous but hopeful, at first. He’d faced a lifetime of resentment from his father, the king of the Zora, especially after the death of his older sister, Tsutako, and he was eager to prove that he was more than just the little boy who couldn’t save her in the end.
So, naturally, despite collecting all three emblems, he’s now the last Champion to unlock their abilities.
First was Gyomei of the Gorons, then Kyojuro of the same people, followed by Sanemi from the Rito, Tengen and Obanai of the Sheikah, the other Rito, Shinobu, Muichirou from the Zora, and now the Gerudo chief, Mitsuri.
“Congratulations, Chief Mitsuri!” Kagaya’s speech concludes. The Sun Kingdom’s ruler has always been gracious, commending each of the Champion’s powers awakening and the acceptance of their Divine Beast with a small banquet.
Everyone celebrates around Giyuu, and he listens to their chatter and renewed confidence with a lump in his throat. The teal half of his haori—the symbol of his status as a Champion—weighs down his chest; it’s proof he’s a fraud in the presence of future legends.
“Oi.”
Giyuu’s stomach sinks. He turns, preparing for the scolding, the vitriol.
“Shinazugawa-san,” Giyuu greets, nodding once.
“You look like someone took a shit on your horse.”
Giyuu doesn’t know how to respond.
“Come on.” Before the Zora Champion can speak, Sanemi starts walking away. When Giyuu, who stands there confused, doesn’t follow, Sanemi looks at him, walking backwards. “Well? Do you wanna unlock your powers or not?”
~
“Hah!” Sanemi grins a little devilishly as he parries Giyuu’s blade, “You can do better than that!”
Giyuu speeds up his attacks, forcing Sanemi to fight defensively and walk backwards at the same time. Giyuu’s swordsmanship has improved drastically over the last four months, Sanemi will easily admit that, but he’s running out of ideas for what on earth could possibly be holding Giyuu back.
The Wind Champion thinks he’s got the upper hand, performing a tricky maneuver to send the other’s sword flying into the air, but Giyuu kicks at his leg before he can complete it, knocking him to the ground.
Well—it would be the ground if he weren’t so close to the edge of the island. He doesn’t have anywhere to pivot, so Giyuu launches him right off the side.
“Shinazugawa!” Giyuu yells, and dives after him, abandoning his weapon and the sparring match.
But Sanemi, with his control over the wind, slows their fall and lifts both of them back up, dropping them gently onto the slightly damp grass littering Ankel Island.
“I forgot you can do that,” Giyuu says breathlessly.
“You’d dive after me from this high up?” Sanemi replies, his grin a little softer.
“I’ll stop after we defeat Muzan,” the other quips, even though his ears are pink, and Sanemi laughs.
He stands, brushing off his clothing and retrieving his spear. “We should fight more monsters, though, you’ve practically memorized my fighting style and that’ll do jack shit for trying to get your powers to activate.”
“Chief Kanroji mentioned there were a couple of Molduga she’s been wanting to take care of,” Giyuu adds, sheathing his blade and adjusting the shield on his back. “We’ll have to return to the Domain to restock on supplies, though.”
Sanemi tests the movement of his quiver, making sure his arrows don’t fall out. “Fine by me. Shall we?”
The return trip to the Domain is fairly straightforward. They reunite with their horses once they reach the mainland and take a path north of their destination that takes them west and around the mountain.
As they ride, Giyuu’s thoughts can’t help but wander to what he dreads most. Four months of rigorous training and prayer, with Sanemi accompanying him to nearly every Goddess statue in the land for hours at a time, and still nothing. Over a year has passed since all of the Champions were initially recognized, and the pressure on Giyuu’s shoulders has increased tenfold since Mitsuri’s powers awoke. Scrutiny has risen among the Zora nobles for Giyuu’s incompetence despite Muichirou vouching for his efforts, and with the number of monster camps across Hyrule growing and the frequency of blood moons creeping upwards, they have no more time to waste.
The Calamity’s return is coming, and Giyuu is the only one keeping them unprepared.
Then they hear the shrieks of travelers.
Giyuu looks to his companion and they nod simultaneously, spurring their horses and speeding up the path until they find three Hylians facing a Hinox. They both dismount their steeds a decent distance away from the monster and rush onto the scene.
“I’ll distract it, you get everyone out of there!” Giyuu yells, and Sanemi shouts an agreement. Giyuu whips out his sword and sprints towards the Hinox, jabbing it in the leg as he slides on the wet grass. It roars, eyes locking onto the blue and black blur, and begins to chase after him. Heavy thuds follow, each footfall like a boulder hitting the ground, and Giyuu keeps running.
“This way!” Sanemi urges the Hylians, and they all beeline to him now that the monster’s attention has shifted. “Is anyone hurt?”
“I twisted my ankle, but I don’t know how serious it is,” one of them admits, “And our friend fell off his horse when it got startled by the Hinox.”
Sanemi quickly pulls some bandages out from his pockets. “Wrap your ankle and assess your friend for any injuries. Stay here until we come back.” With that, he summons the wind, lifting himself up and shooting himself towards Giyuu and the Hinox.
The monster holds an uprooted tree in its hand, with Giyuu’s back facing the cliff wall. It raises its arm, preparing to bring the tree down on the Zora Champion, and Sanemi fears the worst before Giyuu dives underneath the Hinox and slashes its ankles, immobilizing it.
“Now, Shinazugawa!” he yells. Instinctively, Sanemi notches an arrow and sends it straight into the back of the Hinox’s head. It roars, rearing back and dropping the tree with a thundering crash. Sanemi lands on the monster, rapidly firing two more arrows into the same spot, and the Hinox collapses, shaking the earth as it lands, and stills.
Giyuu sheathes his weapon, approaching Sanemi as he jumps off the corpse. “I’ll send a squadron down for parts later. Is everyone safe?”
The Wind Champion nods. “A couple of injuries, but nothing life-threatening.”
“Let’s get them to the Domain, then.”
They reach Zora’s Domain as the sun is high in the sky, making the luminous stone structure glitter in the early afternoon light. The guards offer the two Champions salutes and formal greetings, to which Giyuu replies with his usual near-stoic elegance. They ride across the bridge and into the main plaza, where Sanemi watches as Giyuu’s eyes follow the statue of his beloved sister.
“Giyuu-sama!” a cheery voice calls from one of the upper floors.
“Makomo-chan, Muichirou-kun,” he smiles and waves. Makomo leaps down the ledge, rushing to hug him as Giyuu dismounts his steed with Muichirou not far behind her. “We have three Hylians, two of which are injured. Please find them some beds and a healer.” Makomo salutes him, relaying the order to some fellow guards. When they retreat with the three visitors, she turns to him again. “How have things been here?”
Makomo’s armor shines as she puts a hand on the pommel of the sword at her hip. “No new monster camps have appeared since before you left, and we recently cleared the Lizalfos troop on the trail leading to the Domain. All is quiet.”
Muichirou keeps his voice soft. “Any progress?”
“No,” Giyuu replies, keeping a slight smile on his face to confuse anyone looking at them from afar. “Not even a hint of magic.”
Makomo nods, her expression a little somber. “The whole guard is rooting for you, alright? We know how hard you’re working.”
“I don’t know what else you’re missing. You’ve done far more than the rest of us have, probably even Gyomei,” Muichirou says, looking at Sanemi.
Giyuu sighs, looking to the upper floors of the Domain. “If only my father shared the same sentiment. Speaking of,” he turns to Sanemi, “I’d better go see the king. He’ll want an update, even though there’s nothing new to tell.”
Sanemi nods too, sympathetic. “I’ll be here.”
Muichirou leaves, and Makomo follows Giyuu as he treads up the stairs to the highest section of the Domain, its location serving as a grim contrast to his relationship with the crown. His heart sinks lower and lower as he ascends each stair, and he can feel his tongue stiffening with anticipation of his father’s malice.
It’s easier to take it in silence, he tells himself as he reaches the top and enters the throne room.
~
Sanemi hands the vendor rupees in exchange for three bundles of arrows, thanking her as he adds them to his quiver. Now he just has to brew up a few heat resistance elixirs, and they can be on their way. He settles at the inn with his bag at the ready, grinding up monster and creature parts as he adds them into the pot. He adds more bokoblin horns to lengthen the elixir’s effect, then shrugs and tosses more cool safflina for good measure. Giyuu’s not suited for desert weather, after all.
Speaking of, he’s been gone for a while now. Not that it’s a problem, but Sanemi didn’t expect the debrief to take this long. There’s nothing new to report, Giyuu said it himself.
He cleans the pot and stores his newly-brewed elixirs in his bag, stepping out into the main plaza and stopping in front of the statue of Tsutako. It’s spotless, made of shimmering luminous stone that’s polished to a near-glassy shine. Tsutako is depicted holding her signature Lightscale Trident, pointed downward like she just defeated a monster, and her large eyes remain closed with her braided hair flowing down one shoulder. Carefully sculpted water springs up from the bottom of the statue, cradling the beloved princess.
Sanemi places a hand on the base, letting out a short sigh. Everyone knows the basic story; it’s not every day a person of royalty passes away, and especially not a Zora, given their extended lifespans.
Tsutako had taken Giyuu up to Ploymus Mountain, her favorite spot to look out over the Domain. She’d left her trident at home. There was no need for it, with the resident Lynel having been taken care of by the princess herself just days prior. That day was meant for her and her little brother.
Then it reappeared, summoned by gathered malice for seemingly no reason at all. One shock arrow to the young prince, and Tsutako fell into a rage. She broke off a tree branch and killed the Lynel with just about her bare hands, but her injuries were too severe, even with her healing powers. She couldn’t focus enough to use them to their full extent with her precious little brother dying in her arms. She whisked him back to the Domain, desperate to save him, only to neglect saving herself.
Sanemi lowers his hand from the statue. Clouds have begun to gather overhead, and the speed of the wind is picking up. With it comes pieces of conversations around the Domain, as it occasionally does with his Champion powers.
“…please go play in the waterfall?”
“Only if…brother with you…”
“Twelve rupees each…”
“…Shift the patrols soon.”
Then the thud of a fist being slammed on stone. “...Shame you have brought…Divine Beast…!”
Sanemi grows alarmed at the unmistakable sound of the Zora king’s harsh tone. He holds a hand slightly outward, willing the wind to carry more of their conversation to him.
“The Mist Champion is only fourteen years old, yet he is of infinite more use than you. You’re wasting that Rito’s time. The odds of you developing your blasted ability are slim to none now with the Calamity on the horizon.” Sanemi thinks he feels a blood vessel burst. “It’s no wonder Vah Koda hasn’t accepted you. Why would it?”
Sanemi instantly starts marching toward the stairs, forcing his footsteps to lighten as he nears the two despite his anger rising. “Your Majesty, ah, I apologize for interrupting,” he says, putting on a diplomatic smile and forcing himself to take deeper breaths.
“Not at all, Champion…?” The Zora king responds.
“Sanemi, Your Highness,” Sanemi answers, internally rolling his eyes. Of course the man doesn’t even know the names of the other Champions. “It’s best for Prince Giyuu and I to leave soon to reach Kara Kara Bazaar before nightfall. We intend to face several Molduga tomorrow morning, and I’d like for us to be well-rested to maximize the chance that his powers manifest.
The mention of Giyuu’s powers manifesting is all it takes for the king to give in. “Of course! You should be on your way, then. You’re dismissed,” he says to Giyuu, even shooing him away with his hand. The prince doesn’t need to be told twice, and the two Champions quickly make their way down the steps.
Muichirou and Makomo meet them at the bottom, each one standing by the Champions’ horses.
“I’m sorry,” Makomo says quietly, handing Giyuu the reins to his horse.
Giyuu shakes his head, swallowing. “It’s not your fault.”
“It’s not yours, either,” Muichirou adds. “Do you understand that?”
The other Zora Champion nods despite the opposite. He resents that words don’t sink in unless they’re sharp. Every sliver of encouragement he’s received during this whole ordeal gets washed away so easily by the rain of his own fears.
He swiftly hoists himself up onto his horse and nods again to Makomo and Muichirou before his gaze returns to Sanemi’s. “Gerudo Town, then?”