#i know this was more sooga and kohga

[smilesrobotlover]

Welcome back to Smile’s bizarre theories

Sooga is the lost prince of the Gerudo. My evidence?

Dude is BIG

[iwantmasterkohga]

RANDOM FACTS AND STUFF IVE NOTICED ABOUT MASTER KOHGA AND SOOGA!!!!!

Kohga actually doesn’t really like the fact that ALL they eat is bananas, in one of his quests it’s said he’s tired of it and wants to try something new

Sooga cant accept any help, his own clan needing to sneak around so he wouldn’t know they intended on helping him, and when you try to lighten his load of stuff to carry, he doubles it.

Kohga is REALLY tall. Somewhere around 6’6.

Soogas only interactive line when added in a team with someone, aside from Kohga(and probably terrako i havent finished aoc) is Impa, where he says “I’ll be watching you.” ..seems he isn’t a big fan of her

Kohga is the only yiga with purple in his design, a color as stated in the master book is associated with danger and power, such as when silver monsters have purple markings. The patterns also kind of resemble a blue ringed octopus, I’ve noticed

Kohga is actually pretty cowardly when it comes to fighting monsters and getting hurt unless it’s about his clan, in which case, he will sacrifice his own escape to save them from dying for him

Oh the topic of this, he seems to have a lot of love and concern for his clan, seeing them as way more than just his underlings. When they sacrifice themselves for him, he says “why is everyone only worried about me?”

When followed up after he uses the Shieka ice rune, Sooga carves a statue of Master kohga out of ice. He MUST bow to the statue before doing anything and you aren’t able to control him until he is finished bowing. If something breaks the ice statue while he is bowing, Sooga cries out in anger and delivers three huge slashes at whatever broke it.

^^(Which, wanna add, the statue thing kinda implies Sooga is artistic enough to create ICE SCULPTURES????)

Kohga and Sooga seem to be mirrors of Link and Zelda, Sooga and link both being quiet bodyguards with a sword, and Kohga and Zelda both having magical powers and coming from a “royal” bloodline

Aaaand that’s all for now! Gonna reply to my asks tmw

[plagueybirb]

Sooga probably has pretty bad vision I won't lie.

Judging by the crack in his mask, assuming he didn't put it there himself to look cooler of course, one of his eyes is probably damaged in some way. Maybe not completely missing, but definitely damaged.

Looking at some of his scenes, and the way he fights, it also just makes me think he's got some level of issues with sight, even if it wasn't caused by the loss of an eye. His attacks are mostly broad swings over a wide area, hard to dodge, and (because Sooga is literally a gigantic walking tank of a man) pretty hard to block. He gets up close and personal, almost unreasonably so considering the size and reach of his weapons. There are explosions, tornados, both things that cover very wide areas with little room to miss a target. And when he DOES throw things, it's never just one.

His first ranged attack on Zelda, he throws three knives instead of one. It would ensure at least one of them hits her, if Link hadn't stepped in at the last second. All of his other ranged attacks, while it could be just him making sure he's getting the job extra done, are all multiple volleys of so many things that it's impossible not to get hit unless you're actually a Goddess or Sonic the Hedgehog.

Then his scenes with Kohga. Kohga is a man who is loud. Broad gestures, exaggerated movements, all things that are easy to see if almost all you're seeing is blurry blobs of color and no fine detail unless you're about a foot away. And I think Kohga is aware of it, and partially does it so Sooga can have at least something to work with beyond words and tone of voice. They can't see each other's faces after all, there's no facial expressions to work with.

The scene where him and Kohga are speaking with Astor. Slowing it down, Sooga actually doesn't seem to get visibly defensive until Kohga stands up and acts huffy, which is after Astor is already standing and moving (only by a second or two, but still). And he immediately backs down the second Kohga hops right back into his chair, humming and relaxed.

And Sooga tracks the movement, visibly turning his head which you wouldn't really need to do unless you can't see things next to you very well. I know I can't, and I turn my head constantly to see things that realistically I should be able to see if I had 20/20 vision. Throughout the entire scene with Kohga and Astor, Sooga is fairly still. The room is dim, lit by candles and lanterns, he's probably relying a lot more on Kohga's wild movements and sounds than he normally would, and staying still would minimize how much noise he himself would make.

When Astor is standing at the altar, Sooga doesn't seem to be actually looking at him like Kohga is. It might just be the angle of the shot, but it looks more like he's looking past him. And since Astor is wearing dark colors, he absolutely blends into the background if he's not standing directly in the light. It might just be he's waiting on Kohga's reaction to the Deviled Egg leaking Malice all over their altar and acting appropriately in response, but honestly? I don't think Sooga knows what the hell he's actually looking at. Not until Kohga elbows him and quite literally tells him how to react.

I refuse to believe a guy as devoted, calculated, and detail oriented as Sooga wouldn't see the UNIQUE tiny egg shaped guardian leaking Malice, see the NON corrupted version that is Terrako, and not make some sort of connection (and NOT mention it to his Master) unless he literally could not decipher what he was looking at.

Now, I do think he can see detail, as evidenced by his Master Kohga ice sculpture. But anything more than a foot away? Nope. All blobs of color and blurry shapes.

All I'm saying is somebody get Sooga some damn glasses

[zelda-the-sacred-realm]

How does Wild feel about Master Kohga? Have they reconciled?

I don't know if your question was referring to Wild in my story, in that case Master Kohga is not present in it, sorry

But I had planned an au for Age of Calamity where Sooga and Impa fall in love and in that case Wild and Kohga are forced to collaborate, so as not to upset the new couple (Unfortunately I didn't continue it anymore)

But the two were trying to maintain a fake friendship until Impa and Sooga's wedding, and it was really funny 😂

I'm very sorry that I didn't dedicate more time to it but it continues to be an au that I love very much

Thanks for your ask! 💖

[noirandchocolate]

In a huge Sooga mood today so here's some random headcanons about my version of that big strong Right Hand (you know, this handsome guy) who I'd never ask for rent to stay in my head:

He loves sweets (it's like his one vice). Big fruit lover even beyond the Yigas' cultural penchant for bananas, and he looooves honey. Fried bananas with honey on them? Oh my god. (Honestly it's a shame chocolate doesn't exist in my Hyrule. He'd be all over that.)

He's a light sleeper when out of the Karusa Complex on missions, always alert to the slightest sounds even when it's not his turn for guard duty. At home, though, he tends to fall dead asleep and be difficult to wake up...before his body just naturally does it at an early hour, exactly when he's supposed to get up and get ready for his first duties of the day. It’s uncanny. A little creepy.

If that linked art didn’t make it obvious, my Sooga’s high split-ponytail is ornamental—part of the Right Hand’s uniform. (That style seems to be based on kabuki theater wigs such as this iconic one for the character Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasu in the play “Shibaraku.”) He usually keeps his actual (4c-textured) hair in short braids ending at the nape of his neck, but he’s been growing it out longer post-AoC events. However keep in mind his face in the linked art isn’t his real one; it’s his standard disguise technique one!

He's half-Sheikah on his father's side and originally lived in Lurelin Village. He hasn't been back since joining the Clan. I'll leave it at that for now. However a less serious headcanon is that one thing he misses from childhood in Lurelin is fresh fish on the daily. His favorite is porgy!

When he first joined the Clan as a child, before he began his serious weapons training in earnest, Sooga's assigned tasks around the Complex often involved working with the Clan's apothecaries to prepare medicines, poisons, spice and herb blends etc. He has a strong interest in plants that earned him chore assignments like that, and also always enjoyed going on missions to Satori Mountain to gather herbs and fruits and veggies as a young teenager. He loves it when the desert has one of its blooming seasons and there are flowers everywhere, and has cacti and succulents he's planted around that he checks on all the time.

Master Kohga’s Right Hand at the time Sooga joined, my OC Chisao, took a shine to Sooga almost immediately and became his mentor when it came time to truly begin his martial training. Now that he himself is Right Hand (Chisao's still alive he just persuaded the Master to let him pass on the role to a younger man), Sooga strives to do Chisao proud when training his own new Blademaster candidates in particular. (However, he does NOT think of Chisao—or anyone else in the Clan for that matter—as an adoptive parent or anything like that. Because of reasons, ie he was and is NOT looking for that in his life.)

Sooga’s currently (post-Calamity) getting lessons in Ancient Sheikah calligraphy from Kohga. He wants to be more artistically cultured in addition to his martial skills, because Kohga is talented with stuff like that and he sees it as a way to be closer with his dear partner. <3

He’s got a dry sense of humor that can get a little morbid. (Think Morticia Addams’s “oh no…he lives” or his own “Your Highness, I bring news. It regards your impending death.”) Absurd circumstances, statements, and actions by others also make him laugh. He’ll usually cover his mouth/the place where his mouth is under his mask while he keeps a lid on his quiet laughter but occasionally something will surprise him into really laughing out loud and it’s kind of adorable.

Most Yiga have a simple, usually small tattoo of the Inverted Eye on them somewhere. Sooga’s is on his left shoulder blade and it’s (unsurprisingly) bigger than average.

His mask got cracked in a fight with a lynel pretty shortly after he became Right Hand and got it. He could have another made no problem, but chooses to keep the broken one "as a reminder that to persevere even in the face of loss may lead to victory, but also that even in victory there may be lasting consequence.”

Okay I'll stop but I just love hiiiiim so muuuuuch~

[yigaclvn]

Chapter 7: Nothing Else Matters

Michiko accompanies Lord Ren on a mission. A familiar face resurfaces. And more OC’s are introduced.

“Kuni, get up. You’re joining me on a patrol today.”

Ren called as he knocked on her door. Michiko groaned as she sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She let out a grumble to let him know that she was up as she heard him retreat down the hall outside her door. Michiko knew better than to try to talk him out of joining him on the patrol so she complied and started changing from her sleep wear to the Yiga uniform.

After a long day and night, the sun was beginning to set when Ren announced that patrol hours are officially over. Since his patrol area around the Tabantha area, sometimes other young Yiga would join in on the patrols while disguised as normal civilians. When he dismisses them all back to the hideout and only Ren and Michiko remain, she contemplates asking him if they can stop for food before they make their way back to the hideout.

“Kuni, let's get going. There’s an annual blade master meeting tonight.” Ren stated.

Confusion washes over Michiko’s face as she raises an eyebrow and glances over at him. “A blade master meeting?”

Ren started walking away before she could even ask her next question. “But I’m not a blade master. Why am I coming?”

He’s silent for a few seconds as she catches up with him and he looks over at her. “Master Kohga has asked for an update on your training.”

Anxiety begins eating at her as they make their way to the hideout.

They both arrived at the hideout a little later than everyone else. The other blade masters were all standing in a line, waiting for the master.

“I’m so sorry, my fellow blade masters. We were patrolling and left as soon as we could. Excuse our tardiness.” Ren apologized.

“Hello, Ren.” A woman about his height greeted him. “Who’s we?” She asked, slightly tilting her head in confusion.

All eyes land on Michiko as she emerges from behind Ren, with a shy wave. Her eyes immediately catch sight of a familiar horned mask but this time there’s a crack on the mask.

“Michiko?!” Sooga suddenly asked.

“Sooga?” She responded.

“You two have met before?” Ren asked.

“Yes,” Michiko replied to Ren’s question. “I aided him on a mission quite a while ago.”

“Ren, who’s that?” Another blade master asked as he pointed over at her.

“My apprentice, Michiko. As I said before, we were finishing patrolling and as soon as we were done, we came here for the meeting.”

Michiko was surprised that he left out the part of why she’s at the meeting. After all, only blade masters are allowed to be at these annual meetings and the other ones know that too. But before anyone else could get another word in, Master Kohga arrived.

“Thank you for coming to the annual blade master meeting.” Kohga says.

“Ren, a word please.” The meeting had ended and the master called for Ren. As Michiko was about to join them, Master Kohga waved a hand. “Not you, Michiko.”

She nodded and remained in place in the hall where the other blade masters were. During the meeting, she was allowed to stay. Nothing peculiar happened other than the blade masters updating their ongoing investigations on finding the princess’ knight, the status of their patrolling areas. Not all the blade masters had apprenticeships other than Ren and the woman who had greeted him earlier.

Michiko was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder.

“Michiko.. it’s great to see you again. How long has it been, two years?”

She turned around to see Sooga and a few other blade masters. Their masks were off as Michiko pulled hers off as well. They all looked like they were in their late teens to early twenties.

“The pleasure is all mine.” She smiled at him. “And yes it’s been nearly two years since we completed that mission.”

“Lord Sooga, will you introduce us?” The woman from earlier excitedly requested.

“Yes, Michiko, these are a few of my fellow blade masters. This is Ayame,” he said referring to the woman, “and those two over there are Matsuda and Yoshida. Twin brothers that I personally trained.” The twins looked over at her and one of them waved while the other silently observed.

“Don’t worry, Matsuda has always been more reserved. Even with me.” Sooga slightly chuckled.

“How did you become an apprentice for Lord Ren? He has never been keen on finding one.” Yoshida asked.

Michiko awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, “it was Master Kohga who told him about me.”

The twins glanced at each other as Ayame spoke up, “I definitely look forward to having another woman join us.”

Michiko smiled as Ren emerged from the master’s study.

“Tomorrow we have more training to do.” He announced glancing over at Michiko.

“Ren, you must join the three of us for a late dinner before we all depart to do our tasks.” Sooga suggests. “Michiko, you as well.”

She raised her eyebrows as Michiko looked over at Ren. First she was able to stay in for their meeting and now she might join them for dinner? She never would’ve expected her day to be so.. eventful.

��Okay.” Ren sighed and gave in as the six of them headed to the dining room.

Despite popular belief, bananas weren’t the only thing in the clan’s menu, as the Yiga’s chef brought out bowls of harusame soup for each of them. And besides the six of them, another blade master who went by Ryuji, joined them. Michiko tried to greet him at the beginning of dinner, but he just glanced at her before turning away.

At one end of the table sat Ren and at the other end sat Matsuda. Michiko, Sooga, and Yoshida on one side, with Ayame and Ryuji facing her. Michiko sat in between Sooga and Yoshida, with Sooga closest to Matsuda and Ayame closest to Ren. Everyone ate and chatted idly while Michiko simply observed. With all of them knowing each other so well, she felt a bit out of place being in the middle of them.

Eventually Sooga started making conversation with Michiko since their first interaction.

“So how’s your training with Lord Ren going?” Sooga asked.

For some reason, Michiko didn’t feel the need to hide anything from him so she told him the truth.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought to join all of you among the blade master ranks.” Michiko admitted.

Sooga hummed in agreement. “It’s difficult to get your body to get used to the techniques but once you master them, it's as simple as breathing.”

“Did you have difficulties ranking up?” She asked.

“At first, yes. But that was because I was nearly starving to death when I found the Master and he took me under his wing. I was just a fourteen year old boy putting too much pressure on myself and trying to rush my recovery process. But over time and with training, I was able to defeat a golden lynel and that’s when I was given the rank of blade master.”

At the age of fourteen, he was already a blade master.

“I just… I just feel like I’m falling behind with me being nineteen years old and still being an apprentice.” Michiko sighed.

“But you made quite the progress. With your hard work, you went from being a Yiga captain to an apprentice to a blade master. Lord Ren is also one of our strongest warriors.” Sooga praised.

Michiko’s cheeks turned pink. “Actually… Master Kohga told Lord Ren about me after I punched a fellow captain. Because he sees potential in me.”

Sooga raised an eyebrow, “why’d you do it?”

“Because he said that women in the clan should just stick to being wives or being nurses and that we shouldn’t be out there on the battlefield.”

The two of them were so engrossed in their conversation and for a moment, it felt like nothing else mattered.

“How’s the engaged life going for you two?” Ryuji asked Ren and Ayame.

They’re engaged? Michiko thought.

Sooga must’ve noticed her surprised expression. “Teenage friends to lovers who’re set to marry. They met since they joined the clan at the same time..”

Yoshida must’ve noticed her expression too because he starts speaking to Michiko.

“Tell me, how old are you, Michiko?”

“I’m nineteen.”

“Ah, the same as me. A year younger than Lord Sooga.” Yoshida smiled.

“Do you have a significant other waiting for you back home?” Yoshida playfully asks. “Or a girlfriend even? Surely a pretty girl like you wouldn’t have any trouble finding a suitor.”

Michiko shakes her head as she blushes, “no, nobody has caught my interest yet.”

“Yoshida, leave the poor girl alone. Not everyone needs to be married off at a young age like you.”

Yoshida huffs at Ayame’s comment. “I’m just saying. She’s a beautiful young lady, anyone would ask to court her.” He suddenly smirks and looks over at Sooga. “Right Sooga? Wouldn’t Kuni be a beautiful bride?”

Sooga regretted not having his mask on to conceal his face as it turned red and he stuttered for an answer. “I-… yes. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. She’s beautiful but just not for me.”

Yoshida snickered.

“She’s beautiful but she should focus on her Yiga duties first. Michiko, you’re still young and have plenty of time to pick a suitor.” Sooga settles on that response at last. His cheeks were as red as their uniform.

Michiko giggled to herself. He always seemed so calm and collected during their interactions. Never this flustered.

“Are you romantically involved with someone, Lord Sooga?”

“No.” He quickly replied.

“Are you interested?” Yoshida asked with a shit eating grin.

Now it was Michiko’s turn to get flustered. “What? N- no. I was just curious.” She chuckled breathlessly.

An awkward silence falls between her and Sooga. And everyone else around them hollers and cackles.

“There’s early training tomorrow, so you should get plenty of rest, Kuni.” Ren suggested.

Michiko had never been so grateful for Lord Ren intervening.

“Right.” She responded.

The two of them stand up.

“I should go to bed too.” Ayame said.

“I too, must leave.” Sooga added.

Suddenly everyone was getting up from the dining table. Before Michiko makes her way to the hall where her room was, Ayame stops her.

“Good luck with your training under Lord Ren. When you join us in the blade master ranks, I look forward to having another woman to talk to.” Ayame said enthusiastically.

“Of course.” Michiko smiled at her.

Since Ayame is a blade master, she joins Lord Ren as the two of them walk off down the hall.

“I meant to congratulate you for being in the apprentice rank now. Best of luck with your training and I hope to see you join us in the next blade master meeting among our ranks.”

“Only one can dream.” Michiko whispered.

He turns to leave but Yoshida had other ideas. He’s standing behind Sooga and reaches forward with his massive arms, pulling you in for a hug, essentially squishing Michiko into Sooga’s chest.

“Such a great time! Kuni, it was nice meeting you. I look forward to seeing you again.”

Yoshida released them both and threw an arm around Sooga’s shoulders as they headed down the hall.

Michiko shook her head and smiled. She was beginning to get attached to everyone in the clan.

If you’d like to be tagged, comment down below or send me an ask. 🩷

taglist: @nottheheidi @swordsofdevotion

[lordsooga]

We all know Sooga's backstory, and why he loves Kohga so much. But if there were more reasons, I'm sure that one of them would be this:

(Sorry for my handwriting)

what DOESNT he see in him? Nothing is better than a funny, witty man

absolutely agreed, though. Kohga cares a lot about his people, he's pretty clever and smart, hes charismatic, hes the full package

I do love the idea though that someone as stoic as sooga likes finding someone who can actually make him laugh and gets his sense of humor

[nobllite]

I love your Yiga design. I just had to say it! It is fantastic and I want lore of you have it please!

I don't really have any specific lore about before the Yiga Clan, but I can give you a small blurb of an interaction between Kohga and Junko; They find Kohga entertaining and endearing, and I think that's their main reason for sticking around the clan. They're eager to please Kohga at any given chance, but mostly operate under their own desires when out and about.

(At some point during BotW)

Kohga gets tired of whoever this 'Link' guy is stomping his men out like flies. He doesn't know anything about him, other than he's short, blonde, and good with a sword. Too low of a priority to send Sooga... and Blade Masters aren't cutting it either—

He reluctantly calls for Junko. His summons is followed by silence, which annoys the Leader just that much more. Usually most of the Clan is a finger snap away, but Junko takes their sweet time.

A sly chuckle and a gentle breeze, followed by a plume of smoke.

"How can I be of use to you, Master Kohga?" They ask softly, a tilt of their head as the ropes and ofuda hanging pretty from their hat shift just the same. There's an obvious smirk in their tone as they bring their fan upwards to rest the end of it against their chin.

"Took you long enough.." Kohga stretches and rolls forward onto his feet with a grumble. "I have something important for you to do."

"There's a problem. A big problem!" He points his finger directly at Junko's chest, "There's a swordsman walking around like he's some kinda big shot. I need you to take care of him."

Junko tilts their head the other way, watching their Master and his theatrics as he describes the problem. It brings a smile to their face beneath the mask, watching the Leader's exaggerated movements.

"Well.. Consider your problem solved, then." They chirp cheerfully. They're happy to serve their Master, especially after being ignored for so long... Sooga always was his favorite, despite their nearly identical rank.

They slide their arm forward, and with a flick of their wrist, their fan reveals itself. Golden blades and bright red fabric swaying gently. They bow, their large brim hat obscuring the Eye of the Yiga.

Just as fast as they came, they're gone. Ofuda flutter to the ground, and their laughter on the wind. Kohga is left alone, a sour expression on his face behind the mask.

"What a character." Kohga mumbles, relieved he can finally get back to his nap in peace. If Junko does take care of that Link guy, it's business as usual— but if Junko doesn't come back..

The Head Banana shakes his head. Despite how tempting the idea of sending that guy to his doom, Weird but useful Kohga reminds himself.

[golvio]

I haven’t actually made it to Master Kohga yet, but there are certain things about his dialogue (and just him in general) that make me extremely suspicious about whether he’s actually dead + whether his role in the story is actually a lot bigger than we thought.

Who the heck are you? And what are you doing in my napping spot?!

...You mean the “napping spot” with the giant, creepy hole cordoned off with sacred ropes leading underground that the camera very insistently pans to at the beginning of the cutscene?

And, of course, since he’s part of the Sheikah Diaspora, he knows Link’s the Chosen Hero based on the fancy gadget on his hip. But...

Yeah, IT’S YOU! You’re that Link guy I’ve been looking for!

Sure, his gang’s a bunch of self-proclaimed allies of Ganon, so of course he’d be looking for the Hero, but...how exactly did he know when Link was going to wake up? The only people who not only knew who Link was but immediately sensed Link’s reawakening were Rhoam and Zelda. Despite that, depending on who you talk to, you might run into Yiga assassins in the countryside well before you reach Kakariko village and Dorian has the chance to snitch that Link’s come back.

So who, exactly, told Kohga to look for “that Link guy?”

Sure, you can say one of his relatives might’ve told him about the legends, but that overlooks another important fact: this guy was alive over 100 years ago, and has not visibly aged.

Here he is 100 years ago in Age of Calamity:

Even if it does take a hundred years, it will be mine! Just you wait!

And here he is 100 + how ever many years between Present Sooga and Baby Sooga were between this flashback and Age of Calamity:

That was a great nap!

Virtually unchanged. Hasn’t aged a day, still as spry as ever.

But it does explain a few things about the organization. Kohga’s a fairly charismatic leader when he’s under pressure, sure, but there’s nothing particularly remarkable about him that would’ve prevented him from being ousted if there was some kind of power struggle between him and a more capable, ambitious member of the clan if he were just some regular mortal guy who randomly inherited his position from one of the previous clan heads.

However, if he were not only an immortal, but also regularly received dream-visions with suspiciously accurate information about what the clan needed to do next from a source that may or may not be the clan’s actual patron deity, that would be a different story. Of course you’d have multiple generations of people who were affected by the diaspora remain loyal to a guy who had actual proof he was blessed with some kind of miracle by the spooky evil vengeance ghost your organization worships.

I hope he shows up in TotK, if only so we can finally figure out what the heck’s going on with this guy and Ganondorf.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Happy Pride Month, Yiga Scribe! Could you write something about Kohga taking Sooga to a gay club for the first time and helping him explore his sexuality? 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

its kinda past pride, but yeah, lets do it!

"Are you sure this is proper attire?"

"Sooga, we're wearing the exact same thing."

"Ah, but it does look much better on you than I."

Kohga scoffed at him like he was joking, before letting him open the door to the building, and stepping inside. There were many species; Goron, Hylian, Zora, Rito, everyone you could think of. They seemed to garner attention the second they stepped in, and Sooga immediately felt uncomfortable, seeing so many ogle his Master. Yes, they were in here, shirtless, leather harnesses squeezing their frames, but that was no excuse for them to lose their manners. Revali stepped up to them, with open arms.

"Sooga, Kohga, so glad you could make it. Though, I'm a little happier to see Sooga, obviously."

"One, fuck you, chicken nugget. Two, I'm sorry I look better than you would in this. Three, are we gonna get some drinks in us, or what?"

Revali shook his head before taking them to the bar. He pulled up a chair for Kohga, and a few were unsettled by their masks, but most were clearly more on the distracted side. Revali sat next to Sooga, nodding at the rather young-looking barkeep.

"We'll do something light, fruity-"

"Do you see a drink with the name 'Revali' on here? Give the guy something easy!"

A few chuckles from the fellow attendees. He admired Kohga's ability to woo a room. The barkeep chuckled at Revali's ruffles feathers, putting some bottles on the table.

"Hylian punch. It's weak, but sweet. Let me know if you need anything else."

The man walked away, and Sooga halted Kohga from drinking his.

"Master, please, our rule, remember?"

Revali looked confused, and Kohga sighed.

"New place with new food or drink means he has to taste everything first, so it's not poisoned. I'm not paranoid, but it makes him feel better, so here we fucking are."

Sooga poured a little of Kohga's drink into his palm. He checked for odd texture, smell, any grains or odd fizzing. He took a taste, then took a taste of his own. He nodded.

"It's safe, Master. Enjoy."

Kohga leaned a bit into Sooga, smirking behind his mask.

"Hey Sooga, I got a question. Say I wanna kiss a guy. But he just had a drink. You gonna taste test him too?"

Sooga was mid sip of his drink upon his question, and nearly choked, making him laugh hard enough to slap the table. Revali rolled his eyes and patted Sooga's back.

"He's incorrigible, I know. These clubs are more than just hookups, you know."

Kohga nodded after taking his drink.

"It's true, I'm just giving you a hard time. It's just what I did all the time as a younger Kohga, it's just my thing. Your first time, gotta be what you want."

"What does one do in a gay club, exactly?"

"It's like Christmas without the shitty cold. Eat, gay, be merry, stuff some stockings. Hell, you even got the dancing drunks over there."

Sooga turned to look at a separate room, where plenty were dancing. Some were slow, some were goofy and fast, all seem to ignore the music that was being played.

"I'm not...sure. I can waltz, as it was a part of my training, but not much else."

Kohga got off his seat, gazing greedily at a few passing Gorons.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm basically the best dancer here."

"Better than a Rito? I should think not!"

Revali and Kohga glared at each other, before they seemed to grab Sooga, dragging him to the dance floor. Sooga was a little lost in the scuffle, between dancing with Revali, some Zora, a few Hylians, without him getting a word in edgewise. He was quickly separated from his original company, and he felt his anxiety quickly escalate. He was without his Master, his social lifeline. He was about to steamroll through the crowd to go find him, when he was suddenly face to face with a rather fat looking Hylian. He was shorter, and certainly older than he was. He was holding his hand, and the small of his back.

"Woah, easy, you alright?"

"I don't, I'm n-not-"

"Easy, easy. Name three things you can see, two things you can hear."

"I...see the front door. I see that table. I see the...candle. I can hear the music. I can hear myself breathing."

"There we go, good job. You're a little overwhelmed, aren't you?"

Sooga gave a nod, and the man gripped a little tighter, like he was a frightened child.

"It's okay. I can stay if you'd like. Just breathe. There we go, goodboy."

Oh. Oh, why did that give him a...tingly feeling? He cleared his throat, trying to ignore his sweaty palms.

"I uhm. Thank you."

"Of course. It's okay to need to be taken care of, you know."

He had just now realized that practically this whole conversation was, he was dancing with this man. Granted, it was very slow dancing, but dancing it was.

"I uhm, should be going, my Master will be very worried if I don't meet up with him-"

The man grabbed his leather harness, and gently pulled.

"I can take care of you until he finds you."

His tone was so serious, so comforting, he felt oddly safe with his random man. He was about to reply to him, when-

"Revali, found him! You dirty puppy!"

He froze upon being caught in the act, and the old man laughed.

"Ah, this must be yours, matching, cute. Don't worry, kept him warmed up for ya."

The man patted Sooga's tit, before heading to the bar. Kohga chuckled, closing the gap between them.

"You okay, big rig? You wanna go home? I did kinda lose ya."

"Can...we stay a while? It's a lot, but like home, it feels...safe."

"I mean the hideout IS basically a gay club-yeah, why the hell not. Still wanna dance?"

"Yes, Master Kohga."

He embraced his master with open arms, and was about to thank him, when-

"Sooga did you not notice you have a boner right now?"

"...I can throw myself out."

[jadedrrose]

𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧'𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧

art/other info is available on my masterlist.

Silence hung over the room, looming over Rose in a way that felt threatening, as though it was suffocating her. Her secret was revealed, exposing the truth about who she really was. And the two men in front of her said nothing, instead staring at her, right into her soul.

Fighting to hold back tears, her gaze shifted towards Sooga, hoping perhaps he’d be able to bring some comfort to her. But he didn’t move, nor say anything.

“You’re… not Yiga?!” Master Kohga then shouted, finally breaking the choking silence. 

Eyes darting back over to her leader, Rose then looked to the floor, and she nodded, shamefully. “I’m only… half, though. My father was fully Sheikah, and my mother was just a Hylian.”

“That explains why you are able to so easily use the ancient arts,” Sooga concluded, “the day we met- you accidentally transported yourself when I attempted to grab you.”

Feeling more shame burn in her veins, Rose frowned. “Yes… and I… I’m sorry,” she continued, “I know now you’d never harm me.”

“It matters not,” Sooga replied. “It is in the past, before we’d become acquainted. I do not blame you for your fear. However I believe it was a good thing that it occurred this way; as you were able to awaken your ability.”

Kohga then made humming noises, scratching his chin animatedly. “So Sooga evokes things in you, got it.”

“I-I’m sorry?” Rose stammered, taken aback.

“Just an observation,” Kohga chuckled. “But anyway, I’ve decided; Sooga will oversee your training. I don’t know what is going on between you two, but it’s clear your energies mesh well.”

Sooga nodded, “I agree. I do not understand it myself, but something about you is rather… clear. I can sense your energy far stronger than I can with anyone else.”

Somehow, the comment bothered Rose. In an odd way though. And rather than make a face, it caused a slight blush to dust over her cheeks. Why was Sooga so different compared to other men for her? It was true; she could feel his energy fairly strongly, and despite the circumstances in which they’d met, he was the only male she’d ever felt safe around since her childhood. “Yeah, I… agree too,” she finally responded. 

Master Kohga then piped up again, with another question. “So, do you know which Sheikah family you belong to?”

“Not exactly,” Rose replied. “Just that my surname is Hanako. But as far as I’m aware, my father and aunt were the only two left.”

“Hanako…” Kohga mumbled, crossing his arms. “That sounds familiar…”

“Perhaps an old enemy?” Sooga asked. 

“No, no… urgh, I can’t place where I’ve heard that name before!” 

“Well… it probably doesn’t matter, since my family weren’t significant people,” Rose sighed. “I was told my family was only ever good at farming, and I believe my father left Kakariko to be with my mother, after they found out I was to be born. My aunt had left earlier for unknown reasons.”

“Sounds like quite the scandal,” Kohga shrugged. “But I dunno, I’m gonna have to keep thinking about where I’ve heard that name before.”

Sooga then took a step forward. “I believe it is time we begin with Rose’s training. You can think about her family name all you need later.”

“Yeah,” Kohga agreed, “I’ll go get things set up with the tattoo guy. You two, er, I guess you can start basic training with her.”

“Yes, Master Kohga,” Sooga gave a bow, Rose following suit. He then led her to the door, and down a couple halls over to his personal training room.

Aside from his actual quarters, it was the only room he hadn’t taken Rose into during the tour he’d given her the previous evening. Stepping inside, Rose gazed around it, taking in her new surroundings.

The room was quite large, with four large pillars in the lowest part of it. Two ends of the room were bordered with a slightly elevated level, one of which being the side they had come from. And at the highest point were what seemed to be small elevated hallways, made of wood. Rose saw no way into them, however. Gazing up at them, she wondered aloud; “what’s up there?” 

Sooga turned to Rose, following her line of sight. “I store items up there.”

“What kinds of items?” 

“Parts for making and repairing my swords,” he then gestured to the right side of the room. “Though my work table is over that way.”

“You make your own weapons?” She questioned, both eyebrows raised in slight surprise. “You must be quite the handy-man.”

“Only when it comes to weaponry…” Sooga muttered, looking down at the stone floor beneath them. 

“So how do you get up there?” She then asked.

“There is a ladder within that wall,” he nodded straight ahead, “though it is closed off as I don’t want anyone sneaking up there.”

“Oh,” she hummed.

Sooga then began to walk away, down to the lowest level, stopping at the edge of a large mat. Following, Rose headed down the stairs and onto a walkway, which led to the center of the room. That being the mat, and upon stepping on it, Rose found it to be quite soft. This must’ve been where Sooga did most of his training. Looking to her right, she was then able to see the spot where he worked on weapons.

Many dual swords hung on the wall around the work table, all in the same long-bladed katana style, but each had different details. The work table, which was made out of wood, had what seemed like roofing over them. It was something she hadn’t seen anywhere but the hideout. Atop the table was what Rose could only guess to be equipment for sharpening or repairing blades on it. Looking away and studying the rest of the room from a new view, she then thought of another question.

“Do you train all of the blademasters here?” Rose asked.

“I do not,” Sooga answered. “You are the first to be properly trained within this room.”

What a privilege Rose was receiving. Among all the others, too. Why did she receive such special treatment from Sooga and Master Kohga? She could only assume it was due to her powers. 

“What will we start with?” 

“Well, you already know most sword combat. We could spar so that I can decide if you need improvement. But I feel the most important thing now is that you learn to use the ancient arts effectively.”

“Oh, well I… actually taught myself the whole, teleporting thing,” Rose then added. “After we met for the second time… I just, uh, figured it out.”

“Show me, then.”

“Alright,” Rose walked over back to the bottom of the stairs she’d come from, and took in a deep breath, remembering everything she’d taught herself. Focus on her own energy, not where she wanted to be. Imagine herself at the destination.

Forming the hand sign she’d seen him make previously, Rose focused, and after a moment of concentration, she quickly disappeared and reappeared about ten feet away from where she’d just stood. Opening her eyes, she smiled and looked up at Sooga, who she now stood in front of.

“You’ll need to learn to do it quickly. Knowing how might just save your life.” He said, “but you did well, especially for being self-taught.”

She nodded, only slightly annoyed with the response he’d given. “Can we start there?”

Sooga nodded. “If Master Kohga’s theory has any truth to it, then perhaps you’ll be able to learn it easily.”

Giggling, Rose smiled again. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.”

He then chuckled, the deep noise somewhat startling her. It felt odd, though. She didn’t feel so surprised that Sooga, as serious as he was, was humored, but rather… she was surprised at the way the noise made her feel. It was as though she felt a sense of yearning, all the while her stomach felt like multiple fairies were dancing around in it. It then dawned on her; she’d never really had friends before. Looking up at Sooga, Rose’s lips parted in a silent gasp. Was he her first actual friend? No wonder she felt so weirdly about him. She then couldn’t help but smile, which seemed to confuse Sooga.

“What?” He demanded, his head tilting ever so slightly.

“I just… realized, um….” Rose could feel her face warming up again. “You’re my first, um, real friend…”

“Friend?” Sooga repeated, crossing his arms.

“Yes, um,” she then awkwardly paused, worried that perhaps he didn’t return the sentiment. “Well, you know… that’s at least how it feels. Nobody’s ever… talked with me this way or, um, laughed with me…”

Sooga was silent, and Rose could only pray he was maybe feeling glad underneath that mask, but at the same time, she feared that she’d upset him somehow.

“That’s… nice,” he then said, causing a dropping feeling to happen within Rose. But then he continued. “I must admit, outside of Master Kohga, I haven’t really had an actual friend either. Though that is different from what I feel with you.”

Rose smiled again, beaming up at him. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“That I have no friends?” Sooga bantered, amusement evident in his tone.

“No!” She gasped, bursting out into laughter. “That- that you consider me a friend, too!” 

Sooga chuckled again, though much more audibly this time. “Apologies. I was only messing with you.”

Shaking her head, Rose smirked. “I’m aware. Now- um, the training?”

“Right,” Sooga unfolded his arms, and got back into teaching mode. “Forming the hand sign,” he then did it, “can be useful. But not in moments where you need to quickly escape, or for certain move sets.”

“Move sets?” Rose asked, “what do you mean by that?”

“Certain attacks, rather,” he clarified. “I will demonstrate. Stand in the center of the mat.”

Doing exactly as he said, Rose then watched as Sooga drew a couple of kunai from underneath his belt. 

“I will not use them on you,” he said, holding one out for Rose to look at. “However I would normally use them for this particular attack.” He then put them back underneath his belt. Unable to even see them now, Rose was rather impressed. They were entirely hidden. 

“When I use this move set, inverted eye symbols will appear around you,” he informed her. “Do not move when they appear. They hold enemies in place and struggling against them will only weaken you.”

Nodding, Rose started to feel a little nervous. What if she breathed too much? Would something so simple harm her at all? But she reminded herself: Sooga wouldn’t harm me.

Disappearing into a puff of smoke, Rose’s eyes widened as Sooga reappeared about ten feet in the air, as he made a throwing motion with his arm. One Yiga symbol was now to her left, and as he appeared again, another showed up behind her. This continued until several surrounded her, and even though she was certain she wasn’t moving in the slightest, she could still feel the constricting hold of the attack. Sooga then finally reappeared for the last time, standing in front of her. “Had this been a real fight, I would have thrown the kunai at you each time I transported myself. And now, I’d be sealing the symbols, which would cause them to explode,” he explained. “But I don’t want any harm to come to you,” he added, the symbols all disappearing with the wave of his hand. 

Releasing a heavy gasp of air, Rose realized she’d been holding her breath that entire time. “So… should I learn to do that, too?”

“Perhaps,” Sooga answered. “But I think you have much more potential with those powers of yours.”

She shrugged, feeling unsure. “I’d like to learn Yiga techniques, though,” she mumbled. 

“You will,” he reassured her, placing a hand onto her shoulder. “However, you’ll be able to do far more than any of us can, should we combine your powers with the arts.”

Rose couldn’t disagree with that. 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Sooga then said. “Now- I’d like you to practice transporting yourself.”

“Alright,” she sighed. Closing her eyes, Rose tried the exact same technique she’d taught herself with, only this time, her hands remained at her sides. Thinking of spots she could teleport herself to, Rose remembered that there was a wooden chair pushed against the desk on the right side of the room. She imagined it within her mind, focusing her energy on herself; picturing herself being next to the chair. 

It happened much quicker this time. With a poof, Rose was delighted to open her eyes and find she was exactly where she’d hoped to be. 

“Very good,” Sooga praised. “The speed of which you transported at was much quicker. Try one more time.”

Giving him a smile and nod, Rose opted not to close her eyes this time, and instead kept her eyes on Sooga, imagining herself where she wanted to be. 

Within a second, she reappeared directly in front of him. She half expected him to be startled, but the man didn’t even flinch. Was it possible to surprise, or even frighten him? Well… she could think of one thing that had gotten that sort of reaction out of him. And she didn’t need that happening again. Forgetting the thought, she looked at where she assumed his eyes would be, giving him a slight smile.

“That was excellent,” he replied, head tilted down at her. “I had thought you’d master it quickly. I’m glad to see I was correct.”

Rose smiled, again. “Well, if that’s out of the way… what’s next?”

Sooga hummed, presumably thinking about it. “That day we first met- I had observed you training, and when you’d held your hand in the air, the inverted eye appeared over your hand.”

“Oh, yeah… I have no idea why, honestly,” Rose recalled. To think it had caused her to be so frightened in the moment, and now she wanted to do it again. 

“You said you’re of Sheikah descent, which is… a partial explanation,” Sooga then said, crossing his arms. “Though I do not understand why it would be inverted.” 

“Neither do I,” Rose looked down at the floor between them, sighing. “My only guess is that it was a manifestation of the anger I was feeling at that moment.”

“I don’t believe that would be the reason,” Sooga replied. “We Yiga do not use anger to fuel our powers.” 

Rose frowned. “Then I… don’t know.”

Silence fell between them, both pondering over the mystery at hand. But there was no explanation to be found, at least Rose thought so. “It’s not because I was like… thinking about you guys, right?”

“No,” Sooga replied. “If that were the case, then the Sheikah would be having the same issue every time a fight occurs.” 

Rose shook her head, brows furrowing. Then what was the cause?! Her parents hadn’t… lied to her, had they? But for what reason? None of it made any sense.

Sooga’s head then shifted upward, and he began to speak. “Rose, we should speak to Master Kohga.”

“Huh? Why?” She asked, confused.

“I have a question for him,” Sooga responded. “Come,” he then turned towards the door, walking away.

Following behind him, Rose had to sprint for a second to catch up. “Did you think of something?” She questioned, but Sooga did not reply. He simply kept marching forward, directly to Kohga’s quarters.

When they arrived, they were let in immediately. Kohga was laid on his back, a massive pile of banana peels beside him. He then jumped up, grumbling and stomping his foot. “What do you think you’re doing, interrupting my nap!” He snapped, before pausing at the realization of who he was yelling at. “O-oh. You two again.”

“Master Kohga,” Sooga interjected. “I’ve thought of something. You mentioned that Rose’s family name sounded familiar to you, yes?”

“Uhh, yeah,” the older man yawned, “why?”

“Was there ever anyone in the clan who shared that name?”

Kohga paused, before shaking his head. “Not that I can remember. But it’s possible,” he added, “I mean, you could look it up in the records, I guess.”

“Exactly my thought,” Sooga nodded, before turning back to face Rose. 

“After dinner, we shall head down to the library to search through the clan’s records.”

“Oh. O-okay,” she replied, unsure. She doubted her family’s name would be in there, but it seemed as though Sooga was certain they’d find some sort of evidence. “Um.. why not now?”

“I’d like to continue assessing your skill,” Sooga answered. “We shall return to doing so at once.”

“Wait! Before you go,” Master Kohga shouted, “I arranged that tattoo stuff for ya, Rose. You can get it whenever you have time.”

“Oh, okay,” she nodded. “Um… I assume that won’t be until Sooga is finished assessing me, as I’ll need time to heal.”

“Yes,” the taller man confirmed. “Possibly within the next few days.”

“Alright, well, if that’s all, then shoo! I wanna sleep,” Kohga waved them off. 

“Of course, Master Kohga,” Sooga gave him a bow, to which Rose quickly mirrored him. With that, they left the room.

Returning to Sooga’s training room, Rose followed him to the center of the room, once again onto the large mat. 

“So… what’s next?” She asked.

“I’d like to see how you perform in sword-fighting,” Sooga replied. “While I know you’re already ahead of the blademasters, I’d like to see exactly how skilled you are.”

“Oh,” Rose nervously replied. So she was going against Sooga, then? “R-right now?”

Sooga nodded. “Although it appears you do not have your katana. I’d like you to transport to your room and get it.”

“Alright,” she sighed. Just to her room and back? That couldn’t be too difficult, right? She’d never transported between walls, but since the steps were the same, it would hopefully be easy. Following the same steps she’d taken earlier, Rose then blinked to find herself now standing inside of her room, just as she’d hoped.

Smiling, she turned and grabbed her pink katana from where it leaned against the wall beside her bed. Tying it into place on the back side of her waist, she transported back to the training room, directly to the same spot she’d been standing in a moment ago. 

“Very good,” Sooga mumbled. “Now. I’d like you to practice the way you did when we met.” 

“Before you attacked me?” She inquired.

Sooga gave her a silent nod, to which she returned that. Drawing her katana, she thought back to that day. If her memory was correct, then she’d been focusing her anger and frustrations into her training. She was pretending to fight a Hylian knight. 

“Um, do you have a target?” She then asked, remembering her poor wooden dummy that she’d abandoned that day. 

“I do,” Sooga then went behind one of the four tall pillars, returning with a dummy. Though unlike her’s, this one was in good condition and mostly made of hay. After handing it off to her, he retreated to the side.

“Thanks,” she positioned it, and then breathed in deeply. Imagine it’s one of those damned knights.

Brows furrowing, Rose got into stance, before spinning and doing a double slash-attack on the dummy. Then, she dipped downward, as if she were dodging an attack, and thrusted her sword upwards as she rose, slicing through the target. A smile then formed on her lips. She hadn’t trained like this in a while. It felt good. 

Jumping back a couple of feet, Rose then raised her katana into the air, striking it down and sending thorns flying from it next. The thorns cut through the hay, disappearing into the dummy. With that, she held her left hand up high and channeled her energy, vines beginning to form in her palm. Aiming her hand at the dummy, vines rapidly sprouted and raced towards it, quickly consuming the entire thing. Had it been a living, breathing person, they would have been suffocating. 

For her final move, she locked the vines in place, ceasing their growth. With a light run to start her off, Rose teleported herself behind the dummy at the last second, flying about four feet in the air above it. Crashing down, her katana’s blade pierced through the center of it, and as she landed, the entire thing crumbled to pieces. 

Catching her breath, Rose stood up and looked over at Sooga, awaiting his thoughts on her performance.

“Well, you certainly destroyed one of my training targets,” he mumbled, stepping back onto the mat. “I had no doubt about your skill, to tell the truth.”

“Is that… a good thing?” Rose tilted her head in confusion, while sheathing her katana.

“Indeed,” Sooga replied. “There’s a reason they refer to you as Hyrule’s finest bounty hunter. Now. I’d like you to try fighting me.”

Now she felt nervous again. “Okay… it’s just… last time we fought, I… was obviously not doing well. You’re so strong and all…”

“We will use sparring weapons. They’re made entirely of dulled wood, and will be unable to cut you.”

“That’s… a little reassuring, I guess,” Rose sighed, as Sooga went back behind the pillar again, returning with three wooden sticks that had been vaguely carved into the shape of swords.

He handed her the smallest one, and kept the other two for himself. Holding them the way he would with his regular dual swords, he got into position on the mat. “You strike first. No powers allowed.”

“Not even transporting?” Sooga shook his head, giving her a silent ‘no’. Understanding, Rose also got into stance, thinking of what to try on him. When they’d fought on the day they’d met, he’d been able to somehow predict her every move. Now, she knew that he was just keeping a very careful watch on her. So, she’d need to be unpredictable. 

Beginning to run towards him, the sparring stick held in a way as though she were going to try and stab him, Rose allowed herself to slip to the ground at the last second, sliding behind him. But just before she could land a hit, Sooga twisted his upper-body to block the attack with one stick. 

“Clever,” he hummed, amusement evident in his tone. 

A chill going down her spine, Rose quickly followed his movements, seeing that he was about to fully twist around to try and hit her with the other stick. Rolling away, she could feel the stick hitting the ground right beside her. Being unpredictable seemed to be ineffective, then. Did nothing work against this man? Jumping to her feet, she spun around and swung the stick forward. 

But he blocked again. And again, as they both hastily moved, each trying to land a hit on one another. At the very least, Rose was proud to see that she’d been able to block or dodge his attacks, too. So she had improved, after all.

Although her slight ego boost didn’t last long in the end, as Sooga continued to fight, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Though she couldn’t tell for sure, of course. Regardless, Rose found herself growing weaker, as keeping up with the elite blademaster’s agility and precision wasn’t something she was used to. He, of course, dedicated his entire life to becoming stronger. Rose, on the other hand, had perfected her skills to her own liking, and hadn’t found it necessary to be overly powerful. Although that was now a thing of the past. 

Blocking a downwards attack from Sooga, Rose felt her arms shaking as she tried pushing against his two fake blades. She managed to hold him back for a few seconds, but her right arm quickly gave out as Sooga pushed harder. With the majority of his strength freely shoving against her, Rose ended up falling onto her back with a heavy ‘oof’, the training sword falling to the ground beside her.

Sooga was quick to kneel at her side, holding out a hand to presumably lift her up.

“You did well,” he praised, and though she couldn’t see through it, Rose had an odd feeling that he was smiling underneath the mask. 

Taking his hand and watching as it easily enveloped her’s, Rose smiled in return with a breathy “thank you”. 

Sooga brought the brunette to her feet with ease, though his hand lingered for a slight moment. It must’ve been for only a second, yet still, Rose found the gesture… strange. She couldn’t exactly describe how it made her feel, either.

“You truly have improved since our first encounter,” Sooga then added. “You were able to keep up with me for quite a while.” 

“Maybe, but be honest; were you going easy on me?” She asked, giving him a slight smirk.

“I was not,” he answered. “Though I was when we met.”

Rose was surprised to hear that. Eyes widened just a bit, she stared up at him with her lips parted, but she didn’t know what to say. “…what? Really?”

“It is the truth,” he spoke. “I am not a deceitful man.”

Rose then smiled again. “Yeah, I’ve come to learn that,” and then her face felt warm, but maybe it was just from the fighting. “I trust you. Fully.”

“As do I with you,” he replied.

So maybe the heat wasn’t from their training. Ignoring it, she decided to ask something, even if it was a bit risky. “Enough to see your face?”

That certainly caught him off guard. Tensing up and pausing, Sooga simply stared at her for a few seconds. “…not at the moment.”

Furrowing her brows, Rose couldn’t exactly make sense of his reply. “So does that mean, like… soon?”

“We’ll see,” he said. “Though it’s more… personal, than the trust we are discussing.”

Rose shrugged. “I get it. I’m just curious, is all.”

“Clearly,” he muttered. “But they say curiosity killed the cat, no?”

Rolling her eyes, Rose pursed her lips. “Mmhm. Because knowing what you look like will kill me.”

“It just might,” he chuckled. 

“Will you describe it, then?” She pleaded, perhaps a bit childishly. “I trust your word, don’t I?”

“…another time,” he decided.

Groaning, Rose crossed her arms, “alright, fine. Anyway, uh… is it dinner time yet? I’m starving.”

“Considering we have spent the majority of today training, I’m not surprised to hear that,” Sooga lightly shook his head. “But, yes.”

“Great!” Rose cheered. “Because now that I think about it… I haven’t really eaten since we left the stable.”

“I’m shocked you haven’t collapsed, then,” Sooga said, sounding rather concerned. 

She shrugged again. “Eh, it’s fine. But anyway, could you take me to the dining hall?”

Leading Rose into the large room that was the Yiga Clan’s dining hall, he watched her closely as all the maskless faces in the room stared at them, some quietly looking, while others whispered and openly gawked at them. 

The young woman glanced from side to side, seemingly observing everyone’s dinner plates. 

“Do… you guys just eat bananas? That’s it?” She asked, audibly confused.

“For the most part, yes,” Sooga answered, in a much quieter voice. “Though with our ranking, we have more options available.”

“Does that mean we get, like, a private chef?” 

Her questions humored him. “No, nothing that extreme. Just a separate dining hall. It is off to the side there,” he gestured to their right, where the entryway was. “Come.”

Rose eagerly followed behind him, almost like an overexcited dog would. She hadn’t eaten in a whole day, no? Perhaps she was desperate to get to the food. Entering the small dining room, Sooga was a bit surprised to find it empty. Typically, Master Kohga was never late for dinner. But then again, they’d lost track of time while training, so Sooga didn’t exactly know what time it was. And to add to his surprise, it seemed that a third chair had already been added for Rose, directly across from his regular seat.

“You’ll sit here,” he informed her, running a hand over the wooden chair as he passed by it. Then he directed her over to the other end of the table, where an assortment of dishes lay out. Some portions had been taken already, which confirmed Sooga’s theory in thinking that Master Kohga had already stopped by. “Take anything you’d like,” he then added. 

But Rose was focused on something else. Following her gaze, he had nearly forgotten about Master Kohga’s giant banana horde, piled up as though it were an offering to Ganon himself. “Those… are mostly Master Kohga’s,” Sooga explained. “Though we are allowed to eat some.”

“By some do you mean we’d have to split one or something?” Rose giggled.

“Not that little,” he then grabbed two from the pile, holding one out for her to take. “Would you like one?”

“Uhh,” she hesitated, biting her lip. “Will I be banished if I say no?” 

Pausing, Sooga tried to understand what she possibly could’ve meant by that. “What?”

“Bananas… make me sick,” she sighed, averting her eyes. “But I guess they’re your main meal around here, so…”

Sooga then laughed, and not only had it made Rose jump, but also surprised him a slight bit. It’d been so long since he’d found anything this humorous. If this was only day two of having her around, then surely this woman would manage to have him in tears by the next month. 

“What’s so funny?” She demanded, pouting now.

“Forgive me,” he chuckled. “Nobody will banish you for not eating bananas. If anything, Kohga would simply say ‘more for me’ and move on.” 

Sighing, she took her plate from its spot in front of the chair and began placing food onto it. “That’s a relief.” 

Feeling curious, Sooga watched to see what she was gathering. He really didn’t know what foods she liked, especially if mighty bananas were not a part of her pallette. 

Rose seemed most interested in the less-meaty dishes. That, and she took a good amount of the freshly baked bread, plus a couple of vegetables. Then, she seemed to freeze in thought, her finger curled over her lips.

Glancing up at him, she then asked; “do you guys have any tomatoes around here?” 

“I can check the kitchen,” he answered. 

“Not if it’s out of the way,” she began to object, but Sooga had already made up his mind. If she desired tomatoes, he’d bring her the entire stock if she so wished. 

Leaving the room, Sooga marched through the dining hall and into the kitchen, ignoring how the now partially empty dining room went from being filled with loud chatter to hushed whispers as he passed through. 

There was one cook in the kitchen, though they were looking over supplies rather than making anything.

“You,” Sooga nodded toward them, as they bowed to him. “Hylian tomatoes. Where are they?”

“Uhhh,” the soldier hesitated, glancing around the room. They scattered over to a shelf, pulling forward woven-baskets to look through them. After a couple of seconds, they turned back to him with a handful of tomatoes. “Will this be enough, Lord Sooga?”

“I believe so,” he replied, taking them. “Thank you.”

Leaving the kitchen, he quickly made his way back to the private dining room, feeling rather eager to present the tomatoes to Rose. 

“I have your tomatoes,” he announced upon entering the smaller room, holding them out for her. 

Her eyes lit up, and a bright smile formed on her lips just after she swallowed the water she’d been drinking. Something about her when she was happy… It made him feel odd. As though he were overcome with an illness. 

“Oh, thank you Sooga!” She grinned, taking them from his palms and placing them onto her plate, immediately cutting one apart with her knife. 

“Of course,” he breathed, wondering if he should add an ‘anything for you’  or not. But in the end, he said nothing else and grabbed his plate, before remembering that he hadn’t taken his mask off around her yet. Just after he’d said she couldn’t look, too. Internally groaning, Sooga put the plate back down and sat. 

“You’re not going to eat?” Rose questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I will,” he replied. “When you’re done, as I need to remove my mask…”

“Ohh,” Rose hummed. “I totally forgot. I can turn away, maybe?”

“That won’t be necessary,” he shook his head. “I can wait.”

“No really,” she then began to scoot her seat sideways. “I’ll face this way and you can face the opposite way.”

Giving in, Sooga turned his chair too. He then grabbed his meal before carefully removing his mask, placing it on the table. 

With that, the two ate in a comfortable silence. Sooga gave Rose quick, cautious glances, but not once did she attempt to sneak a look at him. He was thankful for her respectfulness. 

She finished her meal a bit earlier than he did, which made sense considering she’d started eating before he had. She waited patiently, still sitting faced away from Sooga. After a couple more minutes, he finished and secured his mask into place, turning to face her. 

“So… now what?” She asked.

“We head to the library to search through the clan’s records,” Sooga said. “I will show you the way. Come.”

[wasabi-beeeeatz]

Dinner Date

The two Yiga leaders were at the outskirts of the jungle of Faron. The Right Hand mentioned a dinner date in Faron a while back when the two were in the Abandoned Hebra Mines under Rito Village. The larger of the two seems to be adjusting the cloth so it could fit all the banana theme meals the Blademasters and Footsoldiers made.

"Is this good enough, Master Kohga?"

"A little more towards the shade of the singular tree. I don't want to get pricked by those mosquitoes!"

"They aren't mosquitoes. They are dragonflies and they don't prick people."

A scoff and a hum was heard from the smaller of the two. Sooga chuckles to himself as he watches his beloved twirl their fingers around. He gently places down the basket of the meals and goes to carry Kohga to the shade of the tree. It feels nice spending time with his loved one after that stressful event that took place in the Depths. The gloom still scars him but it was treated thanks to Kohga.

He glances over to the smaller leader, who was happily eating away at the meals and getting some crumbs everywhere. Sooga lifts up his mask, places it on the blanket the two were on and peels his Sundelion glazed banana to take a bite out of it.

"Master Kohga, if I may ask... Why were you at the Zonai Ruins in the jungle on that day we first met?"

"Mmmffpp? What? Pssshh. Why would I be at some crumbling ruins in a very humid jungle? That is absurd!"

"Maybe so. But you may never know for certain. You might be part Zonai or whatever the barbaric version of them is called."

Silence before a loud and somewhat mischievous laugh came from the smaller Yiga. The Right Hand's slight snout scrunches up as he shudders at how bitter the Sundelion tasted. His sharp teeth bared as his long, thin tail thumped behind him. The smaller Yiga sat up and flicks the halfling Yiga on the nose while giggling to himself.

"Sooga, you big dork! There is no way in the Almighty Ganon I can be part Zonai! You do realize I am already part Kitsune, right?"

"My apologies, Master Kohga. That was foolish of me to ask you that kind of question."

The taller half Yiga rubs his nose and snarls a bit before taking another bite of his Sundelion glazed banana. He glances at Kohga again before placing a small peck on the smaller Yiga's forehead.

[iwantmasterkohga]

May we please see more of your Tomadachi Life Kohga and Sooga?🥺🙏

OF COURSE!!! they were the first couple to get married and were actually the first couple to get together in general on my island, so I have a lot of content of them

When they had a baby I made her Zelda and it was so silly

They did NOT know how to take care of that child

Sooga also never shuts the hell up about Kohga

They like to just sit and look at eachother a lot

When kohga proposed❤️❤️

[plagueybirb]

I've talked a lot about different AUs of certain characters, but I don't think I've ever actually talked about my version of main timeline Kohga. Let's fix that!

Starting simple. I don't think Kohga can cook. At all.

Not out of any dislike of cooking, a lack of trying, or even a disinterest in learning. I think he'd actually even like cooking. He just. Can't. Flat out has zero skill. Negative skill even. This man survives solely on bananas and whatever someone else might cook for him. He's allowed to gather ingredients and nothing more. Permanently banned himself from getting within stirring distance of the cooking pot. No one talks about the Soup Incident of a hundred years ago.

He CAN however, bake. Has it down to a science. Pure wizardry at work. Give him a vague recipe for bread or some sort of pastry and he will simply Make. It. Happen. "Secret technique passed down by my father's mother's father" is his excuse every time. This doesn't change no matter which AU version of him it is.

Sooga is the exact opposite. It's definitely not for a lack of trying for the baking part. It's technically not his job to cook at all, but canonically he literally has to have people sneaking around to help him with his duties because he just does SO much, so I think he just can't stand to sit around idle. So he added cooking to his long, long, LONG list of things he does every day once, and now he just knows too much to not use it when necessary.

I like to think someone told him he works too much, and he took up something like embroidery out of spite. He's got a knack for being artistic.

Back to Kohga. I think he just has an innate understanding of how magic and technology works. He does straight up invent the concept of a truck and armed aircrafts to try and kill Link, so I don't think it's that far fetched to think it extends to magic as well. And while he might not have invented a lot, if any, of the magic the Yiga Clan uses, he can modify it on the fly to suit his needs. Magic is basically the math of the universe, and Kohga is out there playing around with the advanced subjects.

He has an affinity for fire or heat based magic. And that big glowy blast from AoC? He accidentally carved out a hallway with it when he was young. It was part of the reason why he was chosen early on to be the next Master Kohga in the first place.

He's alarmingly powerful, he just chooses not to show it unless his people are actually in danger, because where's the fun in that? I think he likes to be underestimated, right up until he's genuinely pissed off. We just tend not to see it because we're playing as Link, and Link can take down damn near god like entities. And honestly? I think Kohga's powerful enough to be a Sage, with or without a magic rock. I don't think he'd be Sage of Shadow though, I'm thinking more closer to a Sage of Earth.

Incapable of not making banana jokes, even in his own internal monologue. They are ingrained into his being. "Make like a banana and split" for example. Saying things went banana shaped instead of pear shaped. And if course, the famous "I nearly got peeled like a banana!" line. He thinks he's hilarious.

Sooga also thinks he's hilarious, even if the banana jokes aren't his usual style of humor.

And last but not least, being Sheikah, Kohga's blood is poison if ingested or otherwise somehow finds a way into the bloodstream of anyone who isn't also at least partially Sheikah. There is an actual reason for this, but the more important reason is that I think poison blood is cool.

[zelda-the-sacred-realm]

HI!!!!

DID I JUST FIND YOUR IMPA X SOOGA ART? YES. AM I INLOVE WITH THEM BOTH? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

could we have more art/lore of them? only if you want to!!!!

I'm so happy someone liked this couple, I'm always so happy to draw them!

This couple started from a misadventure in the Gerudo desert, Impa went exploring to discover the Yiga's plans but instead encounters a Lynel EX, who chases her and is about to kill her

Sooga however saves her but is injured and they hide in a cave which however is full of monsters and that's where they start to collaborate and have a crush!

They both know that they are sworn enemies, but their hearts tell them that they could really be together, and they start seeing each other secretly from everyone

I really love that they sneak out of their homes to meet up alone, but then Purah tasks Link with following Impa secretly, and Kohga follows Sooga that same day, so the 4 meet and imagine the scenes and Link's face 😂

I think it's an AU that I would have loved to make and I hope to do it when I have more time

Thanks for asking about them, I really appreciate it! 💖

[noirandchocolate]

*sipping banana whiskey on a Wednesday night*

What if…guys what if. The Yiga Clan’s Blademaster exam historically wasn’t really that easy. What if Tears of the Kingdom simplified it (Doylist explanation) or the Clan changed and simplified it over the 100 years since the start of the Calamity for some reason (Watsonian explanation)?

Because. It just feels too easy. Even if the person attempting it isn’t Link, with access to fast-travel points and sky islands to drop from. The guy at the Blademaster Station who’s apparently in charge of administering the test even marks the locations of the frog statues on Link’s map! Come on. That’s too easy. And has nothing to do with swordsmanship either! It can’t be that simple.

*pours another shot*

Yeah I think…. There’s got to be more to it. Or there was. Way back when. (My primary headcanon focus is always on AoC timeline anyway.) I think! The banana offerings are just the first part. And the statues are placed new for every candidate. And you have to journey about to find them yourself. It’s meant to test your scouting, perception, and overall survival skills, to make sure you’ll be useful on missions outside the Valley. Can you spot the statues? Climb/teleport up the cliffs? Be in the harsh wilderness of the Highlands and desert for a period of time? (Don’t worry, there’s always (more or less) someone around monitoring you, you (probably) won’t die, they’ll grab you and you’ll just fail the test attempt.)

But then if you can do it, that’s not all. I think! The exam has also got to include tests with the two-handed weapons Blademasters traditionally wield: the windcleaver and eightfold longblade. Tests on technique and form, performing certain strokes, draw speed, things like that. There would also be tests on the arcane arts like the Earthwake technique.

And then—!

You have a match with the Right Hand! Who’s the lead Blademaster teacher/mentor. You don’t have to beat them of course (and in the case of Sooga, you probably wouldn’t), you have to impress them. Hold your own. Get a hit in where you can. Show off everything you know, against the person who probably taught you a lot of it.

Oh and then if you manage to succeed at that?

You fight Master Kohga. And try to do the same. Imagine! Having to try countering all that magic, all that power! It’s a true test, to make absolutely sure you’re good enough for one of the elite martial positions in the Clan!

Afterward, the Master and Right Hand confer and make the final decision whether you pass and become a Blademaster or not. And then you get given your official blade (either type, your choice) and a lil’ feast/party to celebrate you joining the ranks.

*downs the rest of the drink*

Anyway that’s what I think.

(I also think it would’ve been fun in TotK if passing the exam earned you not just a pristine eightfold longblade (easily breakable and lost) but info on the locations of more Clan branches you could travel to to get the pieces of an actual Blademaster armor. Like you could do some kinda additional lil’ quests to get them, to make it more interesting/worthwhile. The Footsoldier-style armor gives you stealth and a set bonus nighttime speed boost for that light fast build. Maybe the Blademaster one could give stealth but the set bonus is proficiency with two-handed weapons? Either letting you swing them faster or they all get a little attack+ bonus?)

*waves glass on my way to bed* ANYWAY THAT’S WHAT I THINK.