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“Aita, do you love me?” Link asked.
Aita smirked. “I guess so.” he said. Link smiled too; he knew Aita liked to tease him, and maybe to some extent it was tricky for him to say those words without feeling embarrassed, but sometimes he just wanted to hear it.
“No, I mean it!” Link pressed. “I’m being serious, do you?”
“Well...I mean, I’ve been living with you here for over a year now. What do you think?” Aita replied, raising an eyebrow and cocking his head to the side.
Link sighed softly. It seems like he wasn’t going to get it out of him today. “I think you do.” he offered, trying to help him along.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Aita chuckled.
The two of them finished breakfast and started to get ready for the day as usual. Aita went out to care for the cuckoos and Link walked into town to get some groceries. He liked that about living in Hateno; after being forced to survive in the wild for so long, it was refreshing to be around people and resources so readily. As he was checking out at the general store, the clerk struck up a conversation.
“Hey, you live with that sheikah guy, right?” he said, taking Link’s rupees. “What does he think of that sheikah fortune teller that set up in the Ginner Woods?”
“Oh. I don’t think he knows.” Link replied. “This is the first I’ve heard of it, are they any good?”
“I dunno, my daughter went and checked it out, she said he’s the real deal. Then again, she loves that kind of stuff.” He said, bagging the items and handing it to Link. “Yesterday this other girl was going through the streets telling everyone how amazing he is. I bet she works for him, though.”
“I didn’t even know that fortune telling was a sheikah thing.” Link said. “It sounds interesting.”
“Well, maybe you should check him out if you’re curious. But I hear he’s not cheap.”
Link started to walk back down the main street, back to his house, but he couldn’t help but look down the road to the village gates and to the green treetops of the Ginner Woods. It used to be overrun with monsters which was a big hassle for travelers going in and out of Hateno. But since Calamity Ganon had been sealed away, the monsters had returned to their natural, non-aggressive demeanors. They fled from human populated areas to live in the wild, at peace with Hyrule. Now that travelers were safer, there had been an increase in merchants, traders, and, apparently, traveling fortune tellers. Link was intrigued; he did have a few questions. Groceries still in hand, he turned and headed towards the woods.
The tent was easy to spot. It was nestled in the trees off the road, but still obvious to passersby. There was a gerudo guarding the entrance to the tent, and a girl dressed in some kind of sheikah robes seated on a stool out front. She looked bored, until Link approached, and she jumped to attention.
“Hi!” Link said. “This is the fortune teller, right?”
“Uh, right. Yes.” she said.
“Okay, cool.” Link replied, a little awkwardly. “Can I, uh...can I see him?”
“Oh! Yeah, yeah. Um. Give me a second. Just wait here.” She said. The gerudo stepped away and she disappeared inside.
Goro had been dozing off inside the warm tent, surrounded by comfy pillows and incense, when Kei burst in, speaking in hushed but frantic tones.
“Wake up, lazy bastard! This is bad!” she whispered.
“What?!” Goro said, sitting up. In the center of the tent was a short table topped with a glass ball.
“It’s the hero.” she said, still low enough that the guest outside couldn’t hear. “He’s here, he wants a reading from you!”
Goro thought for a moment, and then chuckled. “Oh Kei, that’s not bad! In fact, we’re super lucky!” he said. “Do you know how easy it’s gonna be for me to give a reading to a guy that I was devoted to collecting intel on? Plus, he’s gotta be super rich, right?! Charge him extra!”
Kei rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and if he realizes that we’re not really sheikah?! If he actually knows where we came from?”
“Relax, that won’t happen.” Goro said, using his sleeve to polish the glass ball and tidying up the space around the small tent. “We wore masks back then, remember? Even if we encountered him once or twice and tried to kill him, he won’t recognize us. He’s not a sheikah either, and I bet I’m smarter than him. Go ahead and invite him in. And remember, charge extra.”
Kei sighed indignantly and turned to leave the tent. Back outside, she held her hand out to the hero.
“It’s 100 rupees.” she said.
“Oh, wow. The guy at the general store was right.” he dug through his pockets and handed her a few red rupees. Kei nodded, sat back down on the stool, and Nagosa stepped aside to let him in the tent.
Goro had to make sure that his act was perfect the moment that the hero stepped in. Their heist in Lurelin (robbing the gambling hall) had given them enough money to buy this tent, these robes, this glass ball which was cheap but was nice enough to look legitimate, like most things they bought. Goro himself wore nice robes adorned with sheikah symbols, and just in case, a fabric mask that covered the lower half of his face. Not only did it protect him in case they encountered some enemies (like the citizens of Lurelin Village), but also added some mystique and intrigue to his mystical, occult sheikah aesthetic.
“Come in, Link.” Goro said, quiet and calm. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Oooh…” the hero said, clearly impressed. He sat down on the pillow on the other side of the low table, setting a bag of something (vegetables?) next to him. “Neat...I only just heard about you a few minutes ago, have you been expecting me longer than I’ve been thinking about coming here?”
“Of course.” Goro said. “Your future is laid out in front of me, as clear as the morning sky on a summer day. I could tell you the decisions you’ll make, before you even know to make them.” He added a flourish of his hand over his crystal ball to emphasize the point. “I know your past as well...you have done great things for this world. But, you already know that. I can tell you’re here to ask me of matters that you don’t know. What can I help you with?”
“Yes, you’re right!” Link said, inching closer. “Can you help with relationships? Or give advice about them?”
“Ahh, yes, I certainly can.” Goro replied. “A classic use of fortune telling is for love. What else is more enigmatic and mysterious, so intimately tied with our fates?”
“Okay! My question was-”
“Ah!” Goro cut him off. “I told you, I already know the path before you...first, allow me to find the object of your desire in the web of destiny…”
Goro closed his eyes and placed his fingertips on the glass ball. He couldn’t help but smile under the mask, this was all too easy. A century ago, the hero had devoted his life to being the princess’ personal guard and companion. He’d fought Ganon to free her. Of course he would love her. Now it was only a matter of keeping up the illusion.
“I see...the person you love...you have been through much hardship together.” he said. “This is someone that you are close with, but...when the two of you first met, there was much contention between you. It was these harrowing trials that brought you closer together…you both lost friends and family, but you still have each other.”
“Yes...that’s exactly it.” Link muttered.
“This person...they came from a background where their worth was not truly recognized. They had to fight to prove themselves.” Goro continued. “You helped them find their value, and in a way, they did the same for you.”
Link nodded.
“But now, they are at peace...a powerful magic user…”
“Absolutely.”
“Beautiful light hair…”
“Mhmm.”
“And deep...compassionate eyes.” Goro wasn’t actually sure what color Zelda’s eyes were. He’d heard blue, green, brown. Best to play it safe.
“Oh, yes.”
“Now...their name is coming to me! I see it! Are you ready?” Goro said.
“Yeah!!” Link replied.
“I see...Zelda!”
Link was quiet. Goro opened his eyes to see him with a confused expression, then he laughed. “Oh, haha, no!” Link said. “I mean, Zelda and I are really close, yeah, and maybe at some point I felt that way about her, but she has a girlfriend? And I have somebody else, too.”
“Oh.” Goro said, a little flustered. “R-right, of course. My mistake. Sometimes my readings can get cloudy over someone with a destiny as turbulent as yours!”
“That’s okay, I get it.” Link smiled.
Goro sat there for a second, awkwardly looking into the glass ball at nothing. “...I’m sorry, I’m a bit frazzled now and everything’s all blurry, uh...would you mind helping me re-center the energies in here? Just a name will do.”
“Oh! Yeah, of course!” Link said. “It’s Aita.”
There was a bang as Goro’s legs hit the bottom side of the table, causing the glass ball to bounce and roll off its pedestal. Link gasped and caught it before it hit the ground.
“What?!” Goro shouted.
Link hesitated for a moment, holding the ball gently in his hands. “...Woah.” he said at last, and returned the glass to its holder. “What a reaction! Did you see something amazing just from that name alone?”
Goro was stunned for a moment, but managed to speak. “I...yes, I did, uh...wow.” he said quietly. “Of course. I guess it makes perfect sense...so that’s why he left. He loved you. And you...well, you probably love him too.” he looked down at the table, staring through the crystal ball “You probably treated him really nice, with kindness and stuff...you didn’t try to manipulate him, or use him or...you were a real friend to him, I bet. That’s what he needed. In the end it probably didn’t matter how long he’d known anybody.”
Link blinked in awe. “That’s amazing. You have a real talent.”
“Right...” Goro said. “Anyway, you had a question?”
“Yes.” Link said. “I wanted to ask...that is, I wanted to know if I should ask him to marry m-”
“No!” Goro interrupted him. “I mean, no. Uh, not yet. He might not be ready for that. He still has a lot of things that he has to work through. A lot of loose ends. Maybe he’s not ready to settle down yet, y’know?”
“Oh. Sure, I understand.” Link looked a little disappointed. “But, how can I tell him that I’m here to help him work through those things with him? I don’t want him to feel like he has to do all that alone, I want to be there for him.”
Goro couldn’t help but cringe a little bit under his mask. “Geez, you are really too nice. I don’t know, just tell him that I guess.” He sighed. “Anyway, the lens into the future has gone dark, or something. That’s all I’ve got for now, you can leave.”
“Okay, well, thanks for your advice!” Link stood up and grabbed his groceries.
“...Hold on, wait!” he called out to Link just before he parted the tent flap to leave. Link stopped and turned back to him. “I uh, I see something else!” Goro put his hands back to the crystal ball, pretending to see something else. “Tell him, um...tell him that Goro says he’s sorry.”
Link was quiet for a moment. “...Okay, I’ll tell him.” he said, and turned to leave the tent.
Goro had a few moments of silence to himself, before Kei burst back into the tent. “Well?! What happened? We could hear you yelling in here!”
He picked up the glass ball up off of the table and placed it on the ground, then began to fold the collapsable table’s legs in. “We need to go, right now.” Goro said.
“Why? What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Because, I’m pretty sure the hero lives here! And you know what else? That means that Aita lives here! Link may not be able to recognize us, but Aita sure as hell will, by voice alone!” Goro said and exited the tent.
“What’s going on?” Nagosa asked when they stepped out. She had sat down on Kei’s stool which was too short for her tall gerudo frame. “Are you taking a break?”
“Sorry Nagosa, we’re packing up early.” Goro said. “This village is on our blacklist now; can’t go to Lurelin because we robbed them, can’t go to Kakariko because they’ll know we’re frauds, and can’t go to Hateno because we’ve got some other history here, apparently!”
“Ugh, you said we’d be done traveling for a while.” Nagosa complained. “I’m sick of walking. We should have just split the money we got in Lurelin instead of investing it in this stupid scam.”
“It’s fine, we can set up a little further out! Maybe near a stable or something. Then we’ll be on our way to Zora’s Domain; those weird fish people don’t know anything about sheikah stuff, we’ll get them hook, line, and sinker.”
“Where’s Ruka?” Kei asked.
“I don’t know.” Nagosa shrugged. “She went off into town to do advertising, like you told her to.”
“What!?” Goro said. “No, what if Aita sees her?! He’ll know something is up! You have to go get her!”
“Why me?!” Nagosa said.
“She’s your girlfriend! You’ll know where she is, she’s probably shopping or something.” he said. “Besides, Aita would recognize either of us even faster, which would totally ruin the point of even trying to find Ruka in the first place!”
Nagosa sighed dramatically, then stood up and walked into the village without another word.
“Did you know that Aita and the hero are dating?” Goro said to Kei. “He wanted to know if he should ask him to marry him. Marriage, can you believe that?!”
Kei frowned. “I thought that was pretty obvious, isn’t it? But I guess you didn’t see them together, did you.”
“You could have told me.” he replied. “I don’t even know why it bothers me so much.”
“Did you like Aita or something?”
“No! Well, as a teammate, yeah, he was better than you.” Goro said. “Just that he ended up with the hero, of all people. First of all, I always thought that I was gonna be the first one dating.”
“You were. And then Ruka dumped you and left the clan.” Kei replied.
“Ugh. Whatever, let’s just get this tent down.”
Meanwhile, Link was arriving at home. He put away the groceries in the kitchen and hurried to the yard where Aita was spreading hay for the horses. The cuckoos had already been let out of their pen and were happily pecking and scratching at the grass for bugs.
“That took you a while, I already finished with the cuckoos. Did something happen?” Aita asked.
“Oh, nothing really!” Link said. He grabbed a brush from the stable and went to Haran’s side as the horse munched away on the hay. “Just visited a sheikah fortune teller on my way back!”
Aita looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Really. Were they any good?”
“Well, I don’t know. I guess I’ll know if things start to come true! He seemed pretty legitimate. It was a pretty weird experience, though.”
“And what did he tell you?” Aita asked.
“I’m not gonna say, it was a secret! We should go back together though, he seemed really interested in you.”
“Ha, so you asked him about me, then?” Aita laughed.
Link blushed a bit. “I asked him about lots of things.” he said, trying to play it off. “He had a message for you, though. He said, ‘Goro says he’s sorry.’”
Aita froze and looked back up at Link. “...Where was this fortune teller, Link?” He asked, a serious tone in his voice. Link was a little taken aback.
“They’re in the Ginner Woods, is everything okay?” Aita stuck his pitchfork in the ground and turned to head into town. Link trotted after him. “Aita, what’s wrong? Who’s Goro?”
“He’s someone from my childhood. I wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t want to ruin your fun, but the sheikah don’t have any divination magic.” Aita spoke as he walked. “Most of them think that fortune telling is all nonsense! This guy you met probably wasn’t really a sheikah; and if he knew about me and people from my past, then he was probably…”
Link gasped. “You think he was a yiga?!” he whispered.
“We were taught to do espionage stuff all the time to gather information. What better way to gather intel than to pretend to be someone who already knows everything? That way people don’t think they have anything to hide.” Aita muttered. “I could be wrong, but I want to check anyway before we get ambushed in our sleep or something.”
Kei and Goro had almost finished packing up. Ruka and Nagosa, however, were nowhere to be seen. Goro complained while Kei berated him for sending them off together, he should have known better, they were probably on a little lunch date right now. They were in the middle of this argument when they both heard a familiar voice, calling out through the trees.
“Hey!” Aita called out. He was storming towards them, Link was in tow. “You call yourself a fortune teller, right?”
Kei immediately turned away and stepped behind a large tree, pretending to be packing her bag behind the cover of the trunk, minding her own business. Goro hastily fastened the fabric mask back over his face and got back to work on the tent.
“S-sorry, we’re closed!” Goro said in a more raspy and gravelly voice, trying to alter it as best as he could.
“That’s fine, I just want to talk.” Aita said, standing firm behind him, intimidating. “How do you know me? Or Goro?”
“I’m a fortune teller, I just know.” Goro responded, sheepishly. He regretted his spontaneous apology, earlier.
“No you don’t.” Aita snapped back. “You and I both know you’re not a sheikah.”
“Maybe so.” Goro replied.
“So then how am I supposed to believe you’re a genuine fortune teller if you’re lying about who you are? You say you know who I am because you ‘just know’ and you expect me to believe that? When did you talk to Goro?”
“Just a name I heard in passing.”
“Why are you making your voice sound weird?” Link asked. “He didn’t sound like this during my reading.”
“I smoked something and it messed up my voice, lay off.” Goro said. The pressure was getting to him. He could make a run for it, but he was sure either Aita or the hero was faster than he was.
“Oh yeah? That’s really strange. Unbelievable, actually.” Aita said. He crouched down to where Goro was knelt and still fussing with the tent. “I’ll ask again. How do you know me?”
“I said lay off!!” he snapped, finally turning to face Aita and dropping the fake voice. Aita stared at him in surprise and confusion, then narrowed his eyes, and lunged. Goro shouted as he pushed him over. He grabbed Aita’s wrists to keep him from grabbing at his mask.
“Aita, no!” Link exclaimed and tried to pull Aita off of the so-called fortune teller. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into him!”
At last, Aita got hold of the fabric covering Goro’s face and tore it off, revealing his face in full. “Goro!! I knew it!!” He shouted. Goro still held onto his wrists, afraid that Aita might reel back and punch him. “What the hell are you doing here?! Were you trying to find me? Bring me back?!”
“No!!” Goro shouted back. “I’m just trying to make some money, I left the clan after you did!! I didn’t even know you were here!!” He noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that Kei (who had completely hidden behind the tree during the argument) was now quietly trying to sneak away. “Ah, Kei! Kei is with me too, and Ruka!! We all left at the same time!”
Aita relaxed a bit and looked up. “Kei is here?”
Kei cursed quietly to herself. The jig is up. She stepped out into the open and looked over to Aita without a word. He said nothing either.
“Can you get off of me now?” Goro said.
Aita let him go, and he and Link stood up. “Why are you guys doing this, then?” Aita asked.
“I told you.” Goro said; he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his robes. “We’re just trying to make some money, that’s it.”
Link gasped. “Oh, I knew I recognized those names! You’re Aita’s old friends, right?” he said cheerfully. “That’s great, I’m so happy you all made it out of the Yiga Clan together! You guys should come over some time and hang out, I’m sure Aita would like to catch up.”
Goro and Kei looked at each other. They seemed uncomfortable. “Uh...yeah, I don’t know. Maybe we’ll swing by sometime, if it’s okay with Aita…” Goro said.
Aita hesitated while the others were silent. “Come by tonight. Six o’clock or so. Our house is the one furthest south, across the bridge, you can’t miss it.” He said at last. “Bring Ruka too, if you want. I’ll make something for dinner.”
“Um, okay. Sure.” Goro said. The invite was so direct he couldn’t imagine saying no and making the conversation more awkward and disastrous than it already was. Link and Aita said their goodbyes, and left.
“So, we’re not actually going, right?” Kei asked the group later.
“What? No, I’m going!” Ruka said. She and Nagosa had already been filled in on the meeting; while Goro and Kei saw this as an embarrassment, she saw it as a lucky chance encounter. “If you two wanna be antisocial weirdos here in the woods be my guest, but Nagosa and I are gonna be on a sweet double date with our new friends, Link and Aita!”
Kei sneered. “Well, what if they invite their new friends, the princess of hyrule and the sheikah heir? I know how jealous you can get, aren’t you afraid of two pretty girls stealing Nagosa from you?”
“I know what they’re like, they don’t do it for me.” Nagosa said. “No one’s cuter than Ru-ru.”
“Ha!” Ruka giggled. “And besides, it’s only in a few hours, how are they gonna invite them on such short notice, anyway? They’re both in Kakariko.”
“You can’t be going along with this.” Kei said, turning to Goro. “You only accepted the invite to get them to go away. We’re still planning on leaving this village tonight.”
Goro was silent in thought. “I don’t know...maybe it would be fun?”
“You’re joking!” Kei said. “I don’t think being condescended to and forced to keep up petty little small talk over dinner sounds fun! You thought our run in with them today was uncomfortable? Imagine being in their house, if I have to see them hold hands or give each other looks across the table I’m going to vomit on my plate.”
“Yikes.” Goro said.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Kei.” Ruka rolled her eyes. “I know romance doesn’t bother you anymore, you see me and Nagosa doing that stuff all the time. Why’s it so different with Aita?”
“Yeah, why’s it bother you so much?” Goro asked. “Do you like Ai-”
“Don’t even finish that question, I’m warning you.” Kei said. “You and I both know it’s different; we were stuck with Aita since we eight years old, through everything. It’s like having your little brother run away out of nowhere and elope with the first loser who tells him he’s got a nice smile.”
The group was quiet for a moment and Kei took a deep breath to calm down.
“You don’t think of me as your brother too, do you?” Goro asked.
“I can’t believe we’re having this stupid conversation.” Kei replied.
“Well, obviously no one is forcing you to go,” Goro continued, changing the subject back. “But if you really think of Aita as a brother like that then shouldn't you want to support him? Try to rebuild your relationship?”
“...I guess so.” Kei said. “The thought of it still makes my skin crawl.”
“That’s fine.” Goro replied. “It’s just dinner. I think you’ll be proud of yourself for making it through.”
Six o’clock came faster than they anticipated. Goro and Kei changed out of their fortune telling robes and into their normal, comfortable traveling clothes. Ruka changed into a cute blue dress she had picked up somewhere along the way. Nagosa stayed in the same gerudo clothing she always wore. It was a quick and uneventful walk through Hateno to their house, and soon enough, the four of them stood at Link and Aita’s house. Goro raised his hand and knocked on the sturdy wooden door.
Link answered it with a smile, and out wafted the delicious smell of food from inside. “Welcome, please come in!” he stepped aside and the four of them entered the home.
The main room was the dining room and kitchen, the table in the center was set for six people. Aita was still cooking at the stove, but he turned and greeted them as they walked in. Goro and Kei regarded the rare weapons displayed on the walls with fascination and intimidation. They sat down at Link’s prompting.
Aita placed a dish of fresh bread on the table. “The stew’s not quite done, you can help yourself to this in the meantime.”
“Wooow Aita!” Ruka said. “Such a homemaker! What a gentlemanly host!”
Goro took a slice, the outside was crispy and flaky, and the inside was warm and soft, and it smelled incredible. He tore it in half and offered it to Kei, but she simply put a hand up in refusal. He shrugged and took a bite.
“Mm! This is really good, you made this Aita?” Goro exclaimed.
“Yeah, I did!” Aita replied. “I knew you’d like it.”
“Oh! We forgot the oil and vinegar!” Link stood up and got some bottles from the cupboard, pouring each into a small dish. “Here, try dipping it in these.”
Kei looked down at the greenish oil and the odd smelling black liquid on the table in front of her. She watched as Goro dipped the bread in both, saturated it and popped it in his mouth. Ruka and Nagosa were both taking part, too.
“That’s delicious, Kei you gotta try it!” Goro said.
“I’m good.” Kei responded.
“So, tell me; what was Aita like as a kid?” Link asked, grabbing a slice of bread for himself.
“Oh, well,” Goro said, trying to think of how to answer without mentioning how he was devoted to killing Link. “He was actually pretty shy! I kinda got along with everybody and Kei got along with hardly anybody, so we were a good team! I don’t think he would have had any friends if not for us.”
“Aww, Aita, I didn’t know that!” Ruka said. “I didn’t meet him until we were almost footsoldiers, and he seemed so uptight, then!”
Goro bit his lip at the mention of yiga terminology. He glanced to Link and Aita, trying to read them, but Aita continued cooking and Link only laughed. “Yeah! He was like that when I met him too! I thought I’d never met someone so serious in my life.” Link said, and Goro relaxed a bit. Maybe this was okay.
“Here, it’s done!” Aita said, and started filling bowls and serving them to the table. “Maybe if you all start eating then you won’t spend this entire night talking about me.” Link got up to help him, and soon each of them had a piping bowl of meat stew.
Goro took a sip of the thick broth. “Ah, it’s too hot!” he said. “It’s really good, though!”
“Yeah, I didn’t know you were such a good cook, Aita.” Ruka said. Nagosa nodded as she blew the steam from a spoonful.
“I didn’t know either.” Aita laughed. “I’ve been practicing for a little while, though. I’m glad it's tasty!”
“Try dipping the bread into it, too!” Link said.
Kei looked down into the thick brown mixture in front of her. She had never been as picky about food as other yiga could be, but for some reason, she was put off. And hearing everyone laugh and get along so easily, as if nothing had ever happened between them, it was putting her off even more.
“Aren’t you hungry, Kei?” Aita asked. “I swear I didn’t poison it.” Kei was quiet as the others laughed.
“I don’t get it.” she muttered. The laughter stopped.
“...What?” Aita said.
“I said, I don’t understand! What is wrong with you? Why don’t you hate us?!” She said, standing up out of her seat. “I can’t just act like everything is okay and pretend to get along!”
“Kei, c’mon. Sit down.” Goro pleaded.
“No, doesn’t it bother you?!” she continued, and turned back to Aita. “I tried to kill you, both of you! I stabbed you, Aita! He tried to do it too, he shot you in the leg, remember!” she pointed at Goro, who was now completely frozen. “Even Ruka tried to slit your throat in your sleep, don’t think I didn’t hear about that! We all thought you were a weaselly little coward and a traitor. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of us still do. Goro only left after he let Eji die and he knew that there was no way he’d ever rise in rank again. I only left to hunt you down and kill you! What makes you think you can trust us?!”
The whole room was dead silent. Nagosa and Ruka just stared in shock, mouths open and spoons still held midair. Goro was looking straight down into his lap, wishing he could sink into the floor. And Link was tense, watching Kei’s every movement, clutching the table, ready to lunge for one of the swords mounted on the wall should she make a wrong move. Aita just looked straight at Kei, his jaw clenched, but otherwise expressionless.
Kei turned and swiftly walked out the front door, closing it hard behind her. It was dusk now; a few fireflies stirred up from the grass as she stormed through it before she stopped to collect herself.
There. It was done. She was sure that not even Goro or Ruka would let that go. She could finally be rid of them, she thought. They could all be happy and good without her, like they should be. This is what she wanted right? They were all so annoying, after all, she couldn’t stand them. Then why did she still feel this stupid stinging in her eyes, this obnoxious clenching of her throat? And Aita...she had been so angry when he first left the Yiga Clan, she had been so betrayed that he abandoned them, but why? Why did it even matter if she only wanted to be alone?
She heard the front door open and reflexively turned her face away. She heard Goro’s voice. “What was that, are you crazy!? What’s gotten into you?”
“...I’m fine.” she said. “It’s fine. He doesn’t want to ‘rebuild our relationship’. I can see through that.”
“If he didn’t want to do that, he wouldn’t have invited you here!” Goro said, exasperated. “Please, don’t blow this; just go back there, they’re nice! They’ll understand!”
“What, and get lectured on the endurance of friendship, or something? ‘Oh Kei, we’ll forgive you, we’re friends!’ Don’t give me that.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?” Goro said. “Do you hear yourself?!”
The front door opened again, and Kei glanced over Goro’s shoulder to see who it was. Aita was striding over to them. “Oh, great.” She muttered.
Goro stepped aside when Aita reached them. He placed his hands on Kei’s shoulders, and shoved her. She staggered back, catching herself just before falling.
“What the hell is your problem?” Aita said.
“Wh-what? My…” Kei stammered, she hadn’t expected him to get physical. The last time they met, he had been so adamant about not fighting. “You’re my problem!” she retorted. “I can’t stand y-”
“No, I’m not.” Aita said. “You are your own damn problem. You always say the exact same crap. Do you think that if you push people away and isolate yourself, people will take pity on you and try to desperately get closer? Or, is this some kind of twisted self sabotage; this is how you avoid improving, by hurting yourself and destroying all your relationships? ‘I don’t have to work at being a being a better person’ you say. ‘I’ll just sacrifice myself and make everybody who likes me hate me instead. Then they can be happy and I’ll be alone, a martyr, atoning for my sins.’ Does that make you feel good, Kei? Does it feel good to wallow in your own misery and self pity? You haven’t changed a bit.”
Goro and Kei were speechless. To Goro’s surprise, Aita stepped closer and took his hand. The two of them stood as a barrier towards the house.
“So, what’s it going to be then, Kei?” Aita said. “No one here is obligated to be your friend, and if you really can’t stand us, then that’s fine. Just say it, you’ll never see us again and we won’t ask questions. But, only do this if you honestly hate us, not because you’re trying to hurt yourself. If that’s the case then I can only ask you to reconsider, because it won’t do anyone any good, not us, and not you.”
Kei could only stand in shocked silence. She looked down into the grass, saw the fireflies fluttering around her legs. Out of nowhere, Aita’s words reappeared in head. Not what he had just told her, but words from over a year ago, the last time she had seen him.
“You don’t have to be like that anymore.”
“...I’m sorry.” she said. I...I shouldn’t have said all that. There’s no point in bringing up that stuff when we’re...” she paused to swallow her emotions. “...When we’re trying to be. Better.”
Goro exhaled like he’d been holding is breath. “Oh my god.” he said. “You, you actually got her to-”
“Thanks.” Aita said. “I forgive you.”