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Kohga
I looked over the court, watching Blademasters and Footsoldiers prepare for the coming Summer Solstice, where Sooga, my stalwart Right Hand, would renew his vows as Right Hand, and do the ritual again. He was my blade, my shadow, my best lackey... oh, Sweet Ganon, I couldn't even think of him as that. He was my Right Hand! The one that I, the stupendous Chief of the Yiga Clan, Master Kohga!, had fell for. Romantically, not into another hole.
He was probably in the training courtyard right now, practicing his knife throws. As if he could ever miss! He was the Right Hand of the Inverted Eye, after all.
Sooga
I threw five more knives at the targets, all of them hitting dead center, save for one, which was off by an inch. 'Failure' a voice whispered in my head.
"Silence" I hissed under my breath, walking over to the targets and pulling the knives out.
I hated the ritual. One mistake on my part, and I lose the only home I had. Did I deserve a home? No. No matter how many times I've bleed, fought, cried, been broken for the Clan, I didn't deserve them. Didn't deserve him. Master Kohga needed perfection, and I, his Right Hand, would provide. It was the job, one I would dedicate my life to.
I threw the knives again, each of them finally all hitting dead center.
"Is the Right Hand nervous?" someone said. I turned, seeing a Yiga Blademaster. Ruan.
"The Right Hand does not get nervous." I answered, though that was a lie. Not that I would ever tell this greedy Blademaster that I was nervous. He use it as a weakness to say I was unfit to be the Right Hand.
"Master Kohga wants to see you. I believe it has to do with what you will wear the day of the ritual." he said, turning to leave. I adjusted my mask. Knowing Master Kohga, it would involve spikes, sequins, and perhaps an explosion. I collected the knives, tucking them away, and headed towards Master Kohga's office.
I quietly enter the office, and saw Kohga sitting, or, rather, lying, in his chair, twiddling his thumbs and whistling. He looked up as I entered.
"Sooga! My stalwart Right Hand!" He said, getting up and hugging me. I stiffened. I didn't do hugs. I was a blade, a weapon, a tool. Not... someone worthy of a hug from someone as magnificent as Master Kohga.
"Master Kohga. You wished to see me?" I asked. He pulled away.
"Oh, right! I need help deciding what I'm going to wear during the ritual! And, I already sent someone to clean your best uniform." He said. Thank Lord Ganon, I wouldn't have to wear something flashy. I didn't hate flashy stuff, after all, Master Kohga always looked wonderful in those sort of things, it wasn't my style.
"Very well, Master Kohga." I answered.
Sooga
The Day of the Ritual
I stood outside the doors leading to the court, taking deep breaths. The ritual would last at least up to an hour, and then, it wouldn't happen for another year. I took another deep breath, adjusted my uniform, and pushed the door open, walking out into the court.
All the Yiga were there, sitting on their knees, waiting for the ritual to start. I walked to the stage where Kohga waited. He was wearing black robes on top of his uniform, and had taken off one of his gloves, revealing his brown skin that was pale because of the little sunlight he got. I quietly knelt before him.
"The Summer Solstice is here, and I have come to renew my vows" I said, reciting the vows of old.
Kohga
"The Summer Solstice is here, and I have come to renew my vows" Sooga said, his deep voice calm, not a hint of nervousness in it. Sweet Ganon, how did my hand- stalwart, I meant, Right Hand, do it? I grabbed the bowl of wine, trying to be as careful as possible.
"Then lift your mask, drink, and remember who you bleed for." I said, reciting the old vows. They were always... dark. Sooga carefully took his mask, and lifted it up, enough so that his mouth, and his sharp jaw, were visible. Bananas, his face was handsome. I held the bowl to his mouth, and tilted it so he could drink. Once he had drank it, I quietly set it aside.
"You ok?" I whispered.
"Just... dizzy." He whispered back. Dizzy? Maybe it was just his nerves, because there was no way the wine could make him drunk, I always used the weak stuff. I quietly pulled out a knife, and carefully cut my palm, which wasn't gloved, then handed the knife to him. He took it, and cut his own palm, going a tad bit too deep. He winced as blood welled up almost instantly.
"You are my Right Hand, my blade. Your blades and mind are mine. My life, my soul... and my heart are yours to protect." I said, adding the 'my heart' part. Sooga stiffened, and the other Yiga whispered amongst themselves.
"I am your Right Hand, your blade. My blades and mind are yours. Your... life, soul, and heart are mine to protect." He vowed, clearly unnerved by the 'heart' part. Was I scaring him off? I took his cut hand into my cut hand, letting our blood mix.
"Fetch the throwing knife." I ordered. A Blademaster, Ruan, stepped forward, holding the knife. I let go of Sooga's hand to take the knife, then handed it to him.
"Strike, Right Hand." I said, pointing at a dummy dressed up as a Hylian soldier. Sooga got to his feet, stumbling a little. Sooga didn't stumble. Something was wrong. Before I could tell him to wait, he threw the knife.
The knife hit the post four feet from the dummy. He missed. He missed. Sooga froze, his shoulders shaking.
"M-Master Kohga, I-i-" He started to say, stuttering.
"He missed! The Right Hand missed!" A Blademaster yelled.
"Wait, no, I-i pointed at-" I started to say, hoping to spin a story of how I pointed at the post, when Ruan interrupted me.
"The Master clearly pointed at the dummy, 'Right Hand'. You missed. Yiga code states that if the Right Hand misses... then he is exiled from the Clan, his mask broken, his blades taken, and his name erased from the records." He said. Sooga stifled a sob. No no no no no no no no NO! This wasn't supposed to happen!
"The wine was... tainted." he whispered, glancing at me. He was blaming me. He thought I wanted to get rid of him.
"S-Sooga, I-i..." I stammered, trying to think of any way to fix this.
"Take the Right Hand to the holding cells. Strip him of his blades." Ruan commanded. He then turned to me.
"Master Kohga... would tomorrow would be a good time to hold the ritual of exile?" He asked. I wanted to scream, to cry. I was the Master of this Clan, and never had I felt this powerless. Blademasters were already coming forward, taking Sooga's katanas from him and leading him away.
"Sooga." I whispered, my heart breaking. What was I supposed to do?
Sooga
The Next day
I knelt before Master Kohga, my hands chained behind my back. Had I done something wrong to make him taint the wine? Spoken out of turn? Forgot to bow? Dropped my guard?
Ruan was standing beside Master Kohga, looking smug. He was probably smirking underneath the mask. Master Kohga letted out a shaky breath, and walked towards me.
"Sooga." He said, his voice... dull. As if someone had drained all the cheerfulness out of him.
"Master Kohga. Don't do this. Please." I whispered. He didn't respond.
"You are to be exiled from the Clan. From this day on, you are..." he let out another shaky breath, then continued, "You are not a Yiga."
He then turned to Ruan.
"Unmask him." He quietly commanded, his hands trembling. Ruan stepped forward.
"Of course, Master Kohga." He said, his voice full of glee. He grabbed my mask, and undid the straps, pulling it off, then threw it on the ground. It shattered.
My face was bare for all to see. My mask in pieces. My face turned red from shame. Death would have been kinder than this.
"Take the exile out of the Karusa Valley." Kohga commanded, his entire body shaking now. The Blademasters forced me to my feet, and started dragging me out of the room, and I couldn't't hear where Ruan commanded them to drop me off at.
"Mother!" I cried, as the Sheikah guards dragged me out of the village. She didn't spare me a glance.
"Take him to the Akkala Citadel. The sooner this... curse is gone, the better." She commanded. Hot, furious tears poured down my face.
I blinked the memory away, trying not to cry.
'Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry, Sooga, don't cry. You survived Kakariko, you survived the Citadel and its torture, you survived a noose, you survived the desert and its heat. You can survive losing another home, survive my heart breaking all over again.' I thought to myself.
The guards dragged me out of the Hideout, and then teleported, taking me with them.
We appeared at some old ruins. They released me, undoing my chains, then disappeared in a flash of red paper charms. I looked around, my heart sinking as I realized where I was.
The ruins of the Akkala Citadel.
Ruan really knew how to rub salt into a wound, didn't he?
I got to my feet, stumbling a little, desperate to leave this place.
The guards set me onto the chair, pulling the noose around my neck.
"P-please." I stammered, trying to summon anything. A knife, a sword, a sharp knock. Anything to escape. The Head of the Citadel smiled, and signaled for the chair to be kicked out from underneath my feet.
I gasped for breath, my hands going to my throat. No noose.
I eventually stumbled out of the Citadel, and collapsed underneath a tree.
The Sheikah was dead. The Yiga was dying. How many identities would I build for myself, only to have them die because of my curse? How many times would I make myself a home, only to lose it because of foolish decisions?
I curled up into a ball. I'd find a stable in the morning. I'd survive. I'd prove them all wrong.