#Rusl’s head is too shaped for me to bother

[smilesrobotlover]

Somethin about drawing the same guys over and over again does wonders for art improvement

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Future | Chapter 28

Five years later...

His tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth just slightly as Link concentrated on his coloring. Crayons were scattered over the kitchen table along with various pieces of paper. Some already had doodles on them, while others remained blank and waiting for his imagination to make them come to life. His current drawing used a lot of purple and blue crayons with the exception of a stick figure done in green. The legs of the little man he created were brown, and he sported a green pointy hat of sorts.

Link paused for a moment to admire the drawing so far. He drew a sword coming out of the man’s hand. At the top of the page was a purple ghost-like shape near a shakily drawn sun. It’s yellow rays stretched nearly half way across the page. He looked up as his mother moved about the kitchen, humming to herself.

“Mum,” he said. “Are we havin’ lunch now?”

His mother smiled at him over her shoulder. “Are you hungry, kiddo?”

He nodded and craned his neck to see what she was making. “I want what you’re having.”

“I dunno if you’ll like it,” she said. “Daddy thinks it’s weird.”

“What is it?”

“Peanut butter and banana sandwiches,” his father said as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. He grinned over at his wife. “Please don’t corrupt my son.”

She rolled her eyes at him. Rusl wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek and she giggled. “He can eat whatever he wants,” she said.

“I wanna try it!”

Rusl groaned and pulled away from his wife. “I’ve lost him,” he said, shaking his head. “He’s gone. My son is gone.”

“Stop being so melodramatic,” she said with a grin. She prepared a second sandwich and brought it over to Link. Rusl promptly sat across from him and put his chin in his hands, watching Link as he inspected the sandwich.

Link turned his gaze to his father and smiled. “Do you want half?”

Rusl made a look of disgust. “No, thanks,” he said. “I eat normal food.”

Link grinned and took a bite of the sandwich. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, swallowed, and smiled. “I like it!” he declared.

Rusl turned to his wife as she sat between them. “I’d like another one,” he said. “And this time you can’t partake in the parenting. I’m raising it right.”

She smiled at her husband as she took a bite of her lunch. “That kid would be so dysfunctional,” she said. “You can’t be trusted to raise a kid by yourself.”

“Touche,” Rusl said. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to.”

“Thank the Goddesses.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

Link finished his lunch, then quickly returned to his coloring, humming the same song his mother was humming earlier. Rusl’s brows furrowed as he watched his son.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to Link’s drawing.

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug. He pointed to the stick figure in green. “That’s the hero!”

Rusl frowned. “The hero?”

“Yeah, he was in my dream.” He stood up and thrust a fist in the air. “He’s so awesome!”

“I see,” Rusl said slowly. “What’s that?” He pointed to the purple figure in the sky.

“That’s his sword!”

“Isn’t that his sword?” Rusl pointed to the stick in the hero’s hand.

“Well, yeah,” Link said as if it were obvious. “But, that’s the sword for real. Her name is Fi.”

Rusl stood abruptly, now looking angry. Link frowned.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?”

“Can’t you draw something else?”

“Rusl,” his wife warned.

“He’s a damn kid,” Rusl hissed. “He doesn’t understand.”

“Exactly,” she reminded him casually. “He doesn’t understand. Let him be.”

Rusl’s face softened, but he still looked sad.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Link said softly. He dropped his crayon and looked down at his drawing, unsure of what had made his father so upset.

Rusl sat down once more, moving closer to his son. He put his chin in his hand as he regarded the drawing. “It’s cool,” he said, dismissing his son’s apology. He sighed. “So, the hero. He wins, right?”

“Yeah,” Link said in an obvious tone. “The hero always wins.”

“Well, that’s good,” his father said with a nod. He brushed his hand through Link’s hair, messing it up. But Link wasn’t bothered by this. He smiled up at his father.

“Sometimes,” Link started, “the hero is you. And I want to be just like that. Do you think I could be?”

Rusl blinked down at his son. “I dunno,” he said slowly. “I am pretty freaking awesome.”

Link giggled. “Daddy, you’re weird.”

“And you take after me.”

“Does that mean I’m weird, too?”

Rusl nodded. “Definitely. But also awesome. Probably.”

“Yeah,” Link said with a nod. “Probably, huh?”

His mother laughed and stood, shaking her head. “You’re definitely not raising number two by yourself.”

Rusl’s brows furrowed. “Is that a thing?” he asked carefully. “A definite thing?”

“Maybe someday,” she said cryptically.

“Ah,” Rusl said. “I guess I’ll need to start trying harder.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” she said over her shoulder as she cleaned the kitchen counter.

“Link needs a friend.”

“He has friends.”

“If we have another boy,” he started. “We could call him Rusl Junior, obviously.”

“What if we had a girl?” she asked, cutting him off from his fantasy.

Rusl frowned. “What if she got knocked up?” He turned to his son. “If you have a sister, you’ll beat up all the guys she dates, right?”

Link looked up from his coloring. “What about the girls?”

“Well, you can’t beat up a girl.”

“Then I’ll tell her she can date girls,” Link said.

“No, wait,” Rusl said. “She can’t date anyone. You gotta protect her forever.”

Link frowned. “I dunno,” he said warily. “That sounds like a lot of ‘sponsabilities.”

“He is totally your son,” his mother said with a grin.

“Was there any doubt?” Rusl said, narrowing his gaze on his wife.

“Well, there was that one other guy,” she said teasingly, turning her back on him. She paid him no mind when he got up, but giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her briefly around the room. When her feet were back on the ground, she turned to him and kissed him lovingly.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Rusl said.

“I know,” she said with a grin. “So, number two, then?”

Rusl raised a brow. “Number two?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Think you could handle that?”

“I dunno,” he said with a smile. “Sounds like a lot of responsibility. Are you sure you wanna take that chance?”

“I think I did pretty good with the two guys I’ve got now. Why not add another to this crazy mix?”

“Don’t worry, Daddy,” Link said from the table. “I’ll help you with all the stuff you gotta do for little kids.”

“You are a little kid,” Rusl said to his son.

“Yeah, but I’ll be older, so I know all the stuff that kids should know.”

“That makes complete sense,” Rusl said with a nod. “I have faith you’ll do a better job than me.”

Link smiled at his father. “We can do it together.”

Uli kissed his head as she passed him, then disappeared around the corner and up the stairs. Rusl kept his gaze on his son as he colored, humming to himself. He didn’t want to bring the subject up again, especially when Link wouldn’t understand. Still, it seemed he was aware of more than he realized, and Rusl was curious as to what his son knew about his destiny.

“So, you’re gonna be a hero when you grow up?” Rusl said.

Link nodded. “Uh huh. Just like you.”

“Like me?”

Link stopped coloring and smiled up at his father. “Yeah. I want to be just like you.”

“Oh.” He hesitated. “What else do you want to be?”

Link’s gaze met his quizzically. “Huh?”

“You know,” Rusl started. “Sometimes you need to do two jobs. Hero work doesn’t always pay the bills, you know. Sometimes you need a back-up plan. A plan B.”

Link considered this for a moment. “Or a plan C, or plan D, or plan E?”

“Even a plan Z.”

Link giggled. “Dad,” he said. “If you need a plan Z, you’re a really bad hero.”

Rusl smiled. “Maybe,” he said softly. “So, what’s your plan B?”

Link shrugged. “I dunno,” he said. “I didn’t think of that.” He paused for a moment, then

met his father’s gaze. “Do you have a plan B?”

Rusl hesitated. “No,” he said. “I didn’t.”

“Dad?”

“Yeah, Dude?”

“Heroes are cool, right?”

“Yeah, sure. Super cool.”

“Then how come you’re always sad when we talk about them?”

Rusl shrugged. “I’m not.” He paused. “I just didn’t want to be a hero.”

“Oh.”

Rusl looked down at his son and offered a smile. “You can be whatever you want to be,

you know.”

“I know,” Link said with a nod. “But I want to be a hero. And then when I am, you don’t have to be anymore.” He smiled at his father.

Rusl ran his hand through his son’s hair, then kissed his head. “You know I love you, right?”

Link giggled. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too, Daddy.”

“Promise? No matter what?”

“Yeah,” Link said. He crossed his heart and stuck out his pinky. “Promise.”

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Future | Chapter 7

It was an unusually warm day for October, just days following Rusl’s eighteenth birthday, and just hours before he left to join the king’s army. As per usual, Telma was insistent on giving him an appropriate send off, though Rusl couldn’t have been bothered with all the fuss. Still, it gave them an extra day off, and the younger kids certainly weren’t going to complain about that. They busied themselves playing in the barns and chasing the cucos around while Telma served up burgers and dogs. Rusl, on the other hand, busied himself with packing his things into the cheap car he bought himself just a few days prior.

As he packed the last of the things into the trunk, Karsen bounded up to him excitedly.

“Are you gonna kill people?” Karsen asked, wide-eyed.

Rusl closed the trunk of his car. His gaze narrowed on the boy at his side. “I… what? You’re twisted.”

“Fuck you,” he barked at him. “That’s what you do in the army. Just like in the games!” He clasped his hands together in the shape of a gun, shooting at imaginary targets. “Oh, man, you get to play with all the cool guns and shit!”

“They’re not toys,” Rusl sneered.

“You’re gonna be so badass! Kill all the bad guys, Rusl! Kill ‘em dead!”

Rusl sighed. “Sure, man. Whatever.”

“Are you gonna come back after?”

Rusl met Karsen’s gaze. “Do you want me to?”

Karsen folded his arms over his chest and looked away. “No, fuck off, dude. You’re the fucking worst. I’m glad you’re finally leaving.”

Rusl smiled. He rustled his messy hair with his hand. “You’re a fucked up kid. You’ll never land a chick with that attitude.”

“Fuck chicks,” Karsen said. “They just tie you down. Not me. No way.”

“You might change your mind.”

Karsen rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. You go get married and be a pussy. I’ll live free and easy and have all my money to myself!”

Rusl grinned and put a hand on Karsen’s head, promptly pushing him backwards as he stepped around the boy. But before he could slip into his car, he was pulled into one of Telma’s characteristic hugs. Her arms practically wrapped around his neck, pressing his head against her and nearly suffocating him.

“You better come and visit,” she said. She pushed him away to examine him and wiped a hand across her eyes. “You were always my favorite troubled little soul.”

“Goodbye, Telma,” Rusl said dryly.

“That’s all I get?” Telma dropped her arms and sneered at him. “I raised you, boy! You lived here for eight years, and that’s all you’re gonna give me?” She turned her attention to the camera she had been carrying around with her and raised it up to him. He looked at the camera with an annoyed and exasperated expression.

“Can you please stop with that thing?”

“Never,” Telma said. “I’m gonna need something to show those kids of yours someday.”

Rusl rolled his eyes and moved his hand to block the camera’s view. “Right,” he muttered.

Telma lowered the camera and frowned. “Hey,” she started. “Don’t you keep running away.  I know you’re scared, ‘unnie. But you are not just a pawn in a war that waits on our horizon. You are so much more, Rusl. And that boy - he’s gonna be the greatest thing in your life, hero or not. His future - his destiny - none of it will matter, because he will be your son, and I know you will do everything for him. But don’t think you’re doing him any favors by running from him. Don’t try to stop him from coming into your life. You need him. And he needs you. Understand? And when he comes around, you better let me meet him. You hear me?”

Rusl was hesitant. “Yeah, Telma. I will.”

She pulled him into another hug. “Go be a hero,” she said softly. “This world needs more people like you.”

Rusl let her hug him until she pulled away. He offered her a smile before moving toward his car.

Telma watched as he slipped in behind the wheel and started the engine. He waved out the window as he pulled out of the driveway. She stood alone, watching as he disappeared down the road to live his life.

*****

“I’m putting Rusl under your command,” Impa said.

Dorian’s eyes skimmed the pages she had thrust upon him until he found Rusl. His brows furrowed and he regarded Impa over the page. “This guy?” he sneered. “He’s got a fucking criminal record. Joined nine months ago. Eighteen. No, thanks.”

“Funny,” Impa started. “I don’t recall giving you a choice.”

“What am I going to do with his guy?”

“You’re going to protect him and teach him a damn thing or two so he can keep himself alive.” Impa thrust a finger at the page. “This guy is - will be - the father of the hero.”

Dorian’s eyes widened. He blinked at Impa. “You’re kidding.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” she sneered at him, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to get into his face. After a moment of staring him down, she backed down and moved back to her desk.

Dorian turned his gaze back to the page. He bit his lower lip as he reviewed the information provided to him. He just couldn’t wait to get a look at the idiot that would be responsible for raising Hyrule’s Hero.

“You’re slacking, Dorian,” Impa said. “You’ve seen him once before. Almost a year ago.”

Dorian’s eyes darted to Impa.

“You need to start seeing people better. Really seeing them. Listen to her. She won’t steer you wrong.” She sat behind her desk. “I want you to go to the Temple of Time,” she said, giving him his orders. “You’re after the Yiga Clan. It’s still unclear how big this clan is, or if they’re all made up of Sheikah, but it seems they’re set on stopping the hero and bringing Ganondorf back. We should not take them lightly. They know how to break the seal, and they are looking for the Master Sword.”

“They won’t find it,” Dorian said.

“They are capable of anything,” Impa reminded him. “We cannot give them any opportunities, here. Purah believes they are heading to the Temple of Time. I want you to take Special Ops out there and stop them before they can make any damages.”

“What about Rusl?”

“What about him?” Impa echoed, narrowing her gaze on him.

His expression turned, looking annoyed with her. “If he dies, there’s no hero.”

“I guess you can’t let him die, then,” she said frankly. “Rusl isn’t in your unit just to piss you off,” Impa sneered. “I made sure the best of the best are in that unit. They will be prepared to take on whatever the Yiga Clan throws at you.”

“I’ve got enough on my plate,” Dorian hissed. “I can’t be worrying about keeping a damn Hylian alive, too.”

“You are more than capable,” she said calmly, ignoring his outburst. “When the hero comes, you will be juggling much more. Get used to it.”

Dorian held his gaze on her for a moment. Then, without another word, he left to fulfil his orders. As he navigated the barracks, his mind wandered to when he could have possibly met this guy. He supposed he would see for himself soon enough.

Most of the men Impa put under his command had plenty enough experience to be in the Special Ops. Rusl, however, had only been around for nine months, three of those in basic training. The other six consisted of basic missions, some even bringing them out of Hyrule and into neighboring territories. In that time, Rusl had apparently proved his worth, earning him a place in Special Ops under Dorian’s command. Dorian was less than thrilled with Impa’s decision, especially if he was as important as she made him out to be. But she didn’t care about his opinions, no matter how much he argued with her.

Dorian looked over the fresh, young faces that made up the newest ranks of King Roham’s special forces. He studied each one carefully, considering Impa’s words. She was right; he needed to do better when it came to reading people. But he couldn’t seem to get anything from anyone in the crowd.

He sighed. He started to move his gaze back to his orders when something caught his attention. His eyes scanned the faces once more before finally finding a face he had indeed seen once before. It had to have been Rusl, the kid he had seen less than a year prior in a jail cell. He stared at the young man until Rusl’s gaze locked on his, his brows knit together. Rusl’s lips pulled into a slight sneer and Dorian pulled his gaze away.

Impa was right, of course. He had finally seen for himself. If the hero would come from this guy, then Hylia help them all.

He took a moment to introduce himself to them before diving into their orders, taking special care to avoid Rusl’s gaze. As soon as he finished, he dismissed them to prepare for their departure that evening. He quickly turned away from them, eager to be out of Rusl’s annoying presence. He didn’t get very far, however, before he almost quite literally bumped into Rusl. He sneered at Rusl, and Rusl narrowed his gaze on him.

“Do we have a problem?” Rusl asked.

“That depends,” Dorian said, pulling his shoulders back. “Are you going to give me a problem?”

Rusl regarded him carefully. After a moment, his eyes widened as he recognized Dorian as the young Sheikah he had seen a year prior.

“You,” Rusl hissed.

“Surprise,” Dorian said dryly. He stepped around Rusl, but Rusl followed him.

“Look,” Rusl started. “I don’t know what you think you know about me -”

But Dorian cut him off. “Don’t worry,” he sneered. “I know enough.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think you’re doing here, anyway?” Dorian sneered at Rusl. “Do you think you can redeem yourself?”

“Well, if I can’t, I can die right along with the rest of the Hylian race.”

Dorian blinked at Rusl. It seemed Rusl knew a lot more than Dorian would have guessed. He supposed, then, there was a chance he knew of his own future.

“What do you know?” Dorian asked carefully.

Rusl’s gaze narrowed on his. “What do you know?”

“I’m a Sheikah,” Dorian said frankly. “I know everything.”

“Right,” Rusl said dryly. “Of course you do.”

“Do you have a problem?” Dorian sneered.

“Yes, actually, I do. I have a problem with being used. Don’t bother try to keep secrets with me, because I know everything. I know you people think I’m going to have some prodigy child that’s destined to save the world. But I hate to break it to ya; you’re not getting your hero.”

Dorian stared at him for a moment, his gaze hard. “You don’t have a choice.”

“Oh, really? Well, what if I just go get snipped right now?”

Dorian’s gaze narrowed.

“You freaks think you’re so damn special,” Rusl hissed. “But I have news for you; you’re just as useless as the rest of us. If the Hylian race dies out, so do you. So does your precious hero, and so does Hylia. And then there will be no heroes to save your precious world. So maybe you should just fucking accept your fate, because I’m not bringing you any damn heroes.”

Dorian’s nostrils flared. He moved his arm up for a moment, then dropped it suddenly as footsteps rounded the corner. He held his gaze on Rusl, and Rusl glared angrily back at him. Their gazes didn’t break until a voice spoke behind them.

“I had to see for myself if it was true.”

Rusl turned to the Sheikah that approached him, immediately recognizing Cado.

“You look better than you looked ten years ago.”

“Good thing,” Rusl said, his eyes narrowing. “Wouldn’t want you to lose your precious hero.”

Cado frowned, but offered no argument.

“Don’t get a big head thinking you saved me,” Rusl hissed. “I’m just a pawn to you people.”

“That’s not true.”

“If I were anyone else, you wouldn’t have bothered to look for me. I would have died out there. I should have died out there.”

“You were nine years old,” Cado said. “No nine year old should have to die like that.”

“I don’t see you looking for other lost and fucked up nine year olds. Just the ones that you can use.”

“Yes. We had orders to find you, Rusl. That’s the reality of the situation. But that doesn’t change the fact that you were a boy that needed to be saved. No one would have walked by you and left you to die, even if you weren’t the one we were looking for.”

“Well, you got your way,” Rusl said. “I’m still alive. Should I just go fuck the next woman I see and get this hero business over with?”

“Fuck all the women you’d like,” Cado said in an annoyed tone. “It won’t bring us any heroes. Like you, there is a woman out there who is destined to be the mother of the hero. Only the two of you can make that happen.”

“Of course,” Rusl said dryly. “What if we never meet?”

“You will meet.”

Rusl narrowed his gaze on him. “What if I don’t like her?”

“See, that’s the thing about destinies,” Cado said. “They usually have a way of working out the way they should. Call her your soulmate, if you’d like.”

Rusl laughed sharply. “Sounds like a terrible RomCom.”

“I don’t regret finding you, Rusl,” Cado said. “I guess the question is, are you going to spend the rest of your life regretting who you are? Or are you going to embrace it and make it something worth your time? Your destiny doesn’t have to be a life sentence if you don’t let it. The choice is yours. You were given a second chance; don’t let that go to waste.”

Rusl pulled his gaze away from Cado. He turned to Dorian, but Dorian was still glaring angrily at him. He huffed in frustration, and without another word, he left the two Sheikah alone. Cado frowned as the door slammed behind him and met Dorian’s gaze.

“I hate that guy,” Dorian muttered. “Why the hell would Impa put him under my command? He’s an arrogant, self-centered bastard.”

“Are you questioning Impa’s choices?”

“No,” Dorian sneered. “But why she’ll ever think we can be a team is beyond me.”

“Give it time,” Cado said. “I think you’ll see you need each other more than you realize.” With that, he left Dorian alone to puzzle over his words.