Karusa

(Hey guys, this is a trigger warning. I kept detail to a minimum but there is content of sexual assault so skip this chapter if you don't want to read about it)

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Zelda's POV.

I'm uncertain whether the baseball players are following me or not. It's impossible to distinguish between the sound of their steps behind me and the throbbing of my pulse behind my ears. I don't intend on turning around to check, nor am I going to stop walking. I'll return to the stands where Impa is waiting for me. Which tunnel was it again?

I bring my phone to my ear and call Impa. Please pick up. Please pick up. Plea—

"Zelda?" She shouts into the speaker.

"Hey, which tunnel do I have to take to get to our seats?"

"Lost?" I hear his unmistakable voice behind me.

A cold shower rolls down my spine and for a fraction of a second my legs are robbed of their feelings. I almost trip and fall but I catch myself and keep walking at a fast pace. Maybe if I ignore them they'll leave me alone.

"My friend told me your name," Karusa has caught up with me and is walking alongside me. "I had no idea you're a Hyrule. If I had known that I would have introduced myself properly. I'm Karusa."

The blood in my veins freezes and halts my steps. I take in our surroundings. He's alone; his friends didn't follow. What does he want?

"Hello? Did you hear what I said?" Impa's voice sounds from my phone.

"I know who you are," I say to Karusa. "Ganon told me. Right before he hit me."

"What? Who are you talking to?" Impa asks through the line.

"Hang up, it's easier if I just show you the way. I know this stadium like the back of my hand," Karusa removes my phone from my hand. Every muscle in my body quivers of fright by the mere touch of his fingers on mine.

"Impa!" I cry right as he ends the phone call.

"What's your seat number?" he asks.

"B12," I lie.

"Follow me."

I know nothing about him but I do know that his temper hangs at a very fine line. If I upset him, he may snap and try to hurt me again. What should I do? Do I follow him to please him? Do I decline and risk upsetting him? Which one is safer?

One of the last things he said to Link was that he'd find me when I'm alone and make me regret rejecting him. I remember every word he said to provoke Link that day but that one stuck with me the most.

He stops and looks back at me. "You coming?"

My feet start walking and I follow him down the hallway. I should stop, turn around, run away. But I follow him quietly. When we enter one of the tunnels I feel relief. I can see the floodlights and hear the fans.

Half way through the tunnel he suddenly stops and turns around. Why is he stopping? We're almost there. My stomach flips and I can sense the threat in front of me. I stop with some distance between us but he walks closer, grips my waist, and holds me steady.

My vision goes black when I look up at him. I'm terrified of the thoughts behind those empty eyes. I feel my body shutting down immediately. This is not the time to faint! I have to stay conscious!

"What are you doing?" I ask stupidly.

I refuse to look at him a second time. His hands only tighten when I attempt to push him away. I can feel each of his fingers digging into my waist and it's making me nauseous. I know this isn't going to end well. I know it with every fiber of my trembling body.

Looking around as if checking for witnesses, he says, "I'm glad you came here today, I was hoping you would," and pulls me even closer. Hatred and disgust are burning in my throat. "You were looking for me, weren't you?"

Two students step into the tunnel. I instantly recognize Bellum from PE. He has his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a girl wearing Lorule's merchandise. When Bellum looks at me I plead with my eyes, begging him to do or say something, but he looks away and passes us without another look at us.

"What do you want me to do with you?" Karusa asks, stroking over my cheek with one of his hands while the other hand presses against my back.

"Please," I shake my head sideways. My heart has never beat this painfully fast. It feels as if it is close to exploding.

"Relax," his arms snake around my back, locking me in a strained hug.

A sudden wave of cheers and whoops echo through the tunnel. The crowd is calling Link's name in a loop. He probably just entered the field.

"Hear that?" he huffs. "Isn't that ridiculous? That little shit fractured my jaw. He's the one you should be scared of. He's the bad guy! But don't worry, Love, he won't come this time. It's just you and me."

"You're hurting me," I cry, pushing against his chest.

"You hurt me too, baby," he purrs, unbothered by my agony. "You slapped me, remember? It's kinky but I'm not into that shit so you can imagine how pissed I was."

This is what Link prepared me for, if there is ever a moment I need self defense it's now. I slam both of my hands down to cut his wrists from my waist. It's not what Link taught me but it's the only thing that came to mind. For a brief moment I feel freed and see a chance to run but he is quick to grab me and slams me against the wall. The impact knocks the air right out of my body.

There is nothing gentle about him. I feel claustrophobic even though I can see both ends of the tunnel. The stairs under my feet are swaying, all the blood has drained from my head, and if he wasn't pressing himself against me I'd probably be lying on the floor without a feeling left in my body.

Impa, where are you? Why is nobody seeing this? I'm dizzy and confused. And I'm too ashamed to call for help. I don't want to be seen like this, with him attached to me like this.

"I won't hit you," he promises. "I would never hit a girl. When we first met, I was just messing around and pretending to take a swing at you to shut my friends up," he breathes against my neck. "I'll just kiss you, that's it."

His lips are against my neck before I can voice my objections. This is by far the worst feeling I've ever felt. It's painful, but the pain is not only in my neck, it's spreading through my bones, my veins, it's everywhere. I fight with my legs and my arms, I punch him and scream until my throat is sore. At least I think I am doing all that but in reality I'm completely numb and silent.

I'm so close to a thousand eyes and yet nobody is seeing this.

"H-hey!" I try calling to the spectators nearby but their cheers drown out my desperate voice.

He retreats to look at my lips and smiles at them. When he leans in, my body is finally reacting and fights him with all my might. But I don't stand a chance against him. He hasn't moved an inch. I turn my head away and offer him my neck in exchange for my lips.

I can feel every part of his body pressed against me. I need to bury my pride and reach those people in the stands, I need to actually shout the word help... I'm ashamed but I'm desperate. If I don't do something now he may do far worse than kiss my neck.

The two seconds it takes me to gather my voice feel like an hour in hell. I take a deep breath and shout "H—" but he covers my mouth and nose with his large hand.

"Shut up," he says, checking both ends of the tunnel.

I try to shout against his hand, not to call for help but to tell him that I can't breathe! It only encourages him to push his hand harder against my face. I hit my palms against his shoulders. I'm suffocating but he couldn't care less.

While his disgusting lips suck at the skin of my neck, all I can think about is that I want my Mother. I want her more than ever.

When his free hand slides under my sweatshirt each of my fingers claw his hair by its roots and abruptly pull his head back with force. My nails are boring into his scalp and I hope it hurts! I want to hurt him!

I want to see him on his knees, crying for forgiveness.

He slaps my hands away from his head. The first thing I do is gasp for air as he rubs his scalp. I take a good look at him. It's what I've been avoiding but I need to remember his face before I run. Brown hair, hazel eyes, skinny and tall. And a small birthmark above his left eyebrow. I won't forget you. I'll end you.

"What's your problem?" He groans and straightens himself. "You really are prude!"

"Get the hell away from me," I gasp and throw my hands against his chest.

"Don't be like that," he steps closer again. I swear I will punch him if he takes another step. "We were just having some fun, what's the big deal?"

"Stay--away," I warn, taking a step backward as he takes one forward.

"Come on," he pouts.

"I'm serious!"

"You're overreacting," he says annoyed.

"You need help. You're sick! I can go to the police, you know? I told you to stop."

"No you didn't?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I swear you Hyrule chicks are fucking dramatic. If you didn't like it you could have just said so. I'm not a fucking rapist, just thought we'd hook up. Maybe mess around a little. You're smokin' but you're too much of a goody-goody. It's a turn off. This isn't church, loosen up a little."

From the hallway, another person steps into the tunnel and Karusa turns his head to look who it is. I don't. As soon as his eyes turn away from me I run toward the stands and collide with Impa on the other end of the tunnel. We both crash to the ground but I don't stay down for more than a second. I wait for her to get up and hide behind her.

"I'm here, what happened?" Impa takes a fleeting look at me. She's clearly worried about me and furious at Karusa.

"Zelda! Impa!" I hear Daruk's voice. "I had a feeling I'd see you today. Here to support Link, am I right?" his hearty laugh makes me look back at Karusa. He's the one who entered the tunnel!

Now it's three versus one. But Karusa doesn't look intimidated in the slightest. Impa stalks over to the baseball player while rolling up her sleeves. It makes Daruk look at Karusa with confusion and suspicion written on his face. His expression quickly turns into shock when Impa pins Karusa against the wall and chokes him with her forearm.

"Asshole!" She spits at his face.

"Impa!" Daruk pulls her back by her sweatshirt.

Karusa takes a moment to cough and catches his breath while Impa tries to wrestle herself out of Daruk's grip.

"Impa, calm down!" I beg her. "You're on probation!"

"You are what now?" Daruk looks at her in bewilderment.

Deaf to our pleads, she continues to punch holes into the air. "Come on, fight me," she challenges the Boar.

Come to think of it, Karusa and his friends could have planted the lighter to frame Impa. They didn't know her then, so they didn't have a motive. And Ganon, the one who does have a motive, would have an alibi. Unbelievable. Link and Ganon are the epitome of one for all and all for one. While Link is fighting for everyone else, Ganon has his own set of pawns who do the dirty work for him.

Karusa doesn't hesitate to exploit this moment of confusion to get away. He can run but he can't hide. He's going to pay for this. I know what he looks like. He'll regret this.

"Yeah you better run, bitch!" Impa shouts after him.

Only when she promises not to chase after Karusa does Daruk let go of her. I want to run into his arms and just wallow in his warm hug but I stay where I am as if my feet were rooted to the floor.

"Who was that? What did he want?" Impa queries. "Was that one of the baseball players? I'll fuck him up! All of them!" She slams her fist into her open palm and is ready to storm off again but Daruk stops her.

"Are you alright?" He asks me in a low voice.

I nod slowly. I fix my hair and smoothen the fabric of my sweatshirt. "He was just... being a jerk, saying that we're going to lose the game."

I shouldn't lie to them. They're my friends... My family really. But I am too embarrassed to explain what really happened. I turn around before either one can say something or see the horror in my eyes. With quick steps I hurry back to the stands.

Just as I arrive at the seats, a whistle sounds and one of the Eagles passes the ball to Link. At least Link looks focused and well rested. That makes me feel better.

"Zelda?" Impa takes a seat next to me. I ignore her and follow Link with my eyes. "What did he do? You were running away from him."

"Impa," I beg her not to make me say it.

"Did he threaten you?"

"No." Not with words at least.

"Did he try stuff?" When I don't give an answer vocally, she jumps up from her seat. "I'm going to find him."

I take her hand and bid her to sit back down. "We can talk about it after the game but right now I want to be there for Link."

"No! If he thinks he can just hit on you without any consequences I will gladly prove him wrong. As would Link, I'm sure."

I hate how right she is.

"You're on probation," I remind her. "If you assault him you could jeopardize your case."

"You don't get it, do you?" She shakes her head and sighs. "I don't give a shit about my case! If someone hurts you I will hurt them five times as bad!"

"Revali!" I interrupt her when I see the grumpy frat boy walking up the stairs. I don't necessarily want to talk to him but he's the perfect distraction I need right now.

He rolls his eyes at me and takes a seat behind us. I turn around to face him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. "I thought you said you don't like watching sports."

"So?" he huffs. "I just came to watch the Boars lose."

"I see. So you're here to cheer for Link then."

"Please stop talking to me," he crosses his arms, leans back, and looks past me at the game. I turn around too and direct my attention back to Link. Impa stopped asking questions even though I doubt she stopped thinking about it.

Link is already approaching Lorule's goal and it's only the third minute of the game. A tall guy with hair as white as snow and an eerie grin is waiting there for him. The other Eagles are a bit behind and Link is surrounded by Boars. He moves his body with such grace, they try but fail to steal the ball from him. Right as he draws his foot back to take a shot another player slides into his ankle and knocks him off his feet.

I jump up and cover my mouth in shock when I see Link lying on the ground. The ball missed the goal but at least Link seems okay. He gets up and glowers at the other player.

"Is that allowed?" I ask Impa. "That guy just fouled Link!"

"Technically his foot touched the ball before it touched Link, so it was dismissed."

"What?" I complain and sit down.

My neck smells like beer and hurts as if bruised. I brush my hair over it repeatedly and I try not to think about it.

Ganon has the ball now and doesn't hesitate to shoot it at our goal keeper. Karson dives to the ground and holds the ball with his hands. Everyone around me is on edge, holding their breaths until the ball moves back to the center.

Link runs off with the ball so fast that nobody seems to be able to catch up with him. I can't find a single fault in this play. Granted, I don't know anything about soccer, but the way he guides the ball is almost unhuman. He doesn't get far before a Boar kicks throws himself in front of the ball and kicks Link in the process.

Link crashes into the grass again. Without noticing it I'm standing on my feet anew, covering my mouth with both hands.

"Impa!" I shake her shoulders.

"What do you want me to do?" She questions. "They're trained to foul in a way that makes them look innocent."

She's right. The Hyrulean fans are booing but the whistle doesn't get blown.

"It's not fair!" I wave my hands through the air.

"Stop whining. He's fine, he's getting up," Revali points at Link.

The ball goes back and forth between the players and is slowly approaching our goal but one of our guys manages to kick it back toward Link on the other side of the field. He receives the ball with his chest and doesn't let it fall to the ground before he kicks it at the distant goal.

The fans react faster than I can process. Our side is whooping and applauding, the others are booing. Link scored! My eyes dart to Link, the only Eagle who isn't celebrating. Then I look at Ganon, the only Boar who is silent. His eyes target Link like a gun. He walks over to one of his booing teammates and whispers to his ear...

"If the Boars don't score a point from now on, we'll win 1:nil," I say to Impa.

"Karson is a good keeper but he won't be able to hold every ball. He overthinks the technicalities of the ball too much. He's an architecture major and I think he is too focused on the speed, angle, and distance instead of just listening to his gut. Ghirahim is the opposite. He doesn't think at all, he just follows his instincts and it makes his defense nearly perfect. He's super good at guessing and adapting."

I chew on my lips. Ghirahim may be good, but Link has scored against him in the first quarter of the game and I have faith that he will score many more points.

"You going to sit back down?" Impa eyes me and I nod and take my seat next to her.

The game continues with the ball going back and forth without anyone scoring. Link gets hit more times than I can count and I am utterly flabbergasted that the Eagles haven't received a penalty. What referee with a functioning brain would consider these strikes an accident?

Link is getting back up from a heavy collision. This time it takes him a few seconds to find his balance again and I swear I can see him limping! A whistle sounds and the referee is holding a yellow card at the face of a Boar.

"Fucking finally!" Impa shouts at the same time as Revali says, "About time."

"What's happening?" I ask them, holding on to my heart.

"One of the Boars is receiving a warning for fouling Link."

"A warning?" I shout. "They shouldn't be allowed to play anymore!"

"Next time he'll be removed from the game."

While I hope that they remove that player, I also pray that there won't be a next time. Ganon is talking to Link now. I can't hear them but I know exactly what Ganon is doing. He's provoking Link, pushing him to the edge, forcing him to take the bait. I fold my hands and pray that Link will have the strength to ignore Ganon.

A referee places the ball in front of Link and waits for him to pass it to his teammate or shoot a goal, I'm not too sure what exactly he's expected to do but Ganon is right in front him, throwing words at him that I can't make out.

The game continues without a brawl. I let out a long sigh. I focus on Link again. He is trying to hide it but I can tell that he's moving differently now. He's injured, I can feel it! How can he keep going like this?

The Boars get the ball and pass it to Ganon! He's right by our goal! No! Karson steps forward to block the ball but Ganon dodges him, shoots, and scores! I slap my face and curse to myself! Now it's 1:1 and the fans in red are going crazy with their celebration call. Ghirahim is sticking his tongue out at us Hyrulean fans and the guy who got a yellow card for fouling Link gets subbed by another player.

We have to score again if we want to win now. Link doesn't look too good and the first thing the newly subbed player does is attack him. Link has the ball again, ready to score but he gets cornered by the opponents.

Everything's happening too fast and my eyes can't follow! Before I can realize it, Link is on the ground again, covering his face. The referee blows the whistle and holds up a yellow card again. I'm on my feet for the third time when Link removes his hands, revealing his injury.

"Impa!" I cry and hug her.

Blood is dripping from his forehead and a couple of his teammates rush over to him.

"It's okay," she says shocked, stroking my hair. "It's okay."

"He's hurt!" Tears blur my vision.

"Look, he's getting up, he's okay."

"He's not okay!"

I try to blink the tears away. What is happening, I can't see anything.

"What happened?" I cry against her shoulder.

"Somebody tripped him and another guy stepped on his head. The med-guys are checking it out right now."

"Why's he shaking his head at them?"

"I think he wants to keep playing."

"What?" I wipe my eyes and watch as Link wipes his head with his sleeve. The game continues shortly after.

If he would have just taken this opportunity to stop playing! Nobody would blame him. Nobody would think of him as a failure! Why does he keep going?

I don't get it. Or perhaps I get it more than anyone...

A long blow with the whistle fills our ears. The players clear the field and gather with their coaches at the sideline. Link is the only one to sit down on the bench. He puts a towel over his head, perhaps to soak up the sweat, or the blood, but most likely to hide from the press and paparazzi.

"Halftime?" I ask Impa and she nods.

"Time to slaughter some pigs," she gets up and walks toward the nearest tunnel. What? I follow her.

"You're not going to find Karusa, are you?" I ask, following her into the hallway. It's not so empty anymore; people are buying snacks and using the restrooms, making the scene lively and busy and full of witnesses. "Answer me."

"I can't just sit back and watch the game when I know that bastard is hiding on the other side of the stadium!"

"Impa, you have to stop," I grab her arm but she keeps stalking forward. "We can talk about it after the game, please, just--let's just go back and we can talk about it. I want him to pay for what he did too but we have to be smart about it."

"What exactly did he do?" she demands to know, still pushing past the crowds.

If I tell her now, she won't restrain from getting into a fight. The anger will take over and she will assault the guy, giving her a one way ticket to prison. Or the hospital. Either way, I can't let her get into a fight when she is already going to court for arson.

"Impa, slow down!"

She takes one of the tunnels and we end up right near the sidelines of the soccer field. I gulp and wrap my arms around Impa's arm to keep her close. We're both wearing Hyrule merch in the middle of a red crowd. I feel like I just entered a minefield. Again.

"Where is he?" She scans our surroundings like a hound sniffing out its prey.

"Maybe he left," I suggest with a trembling lip.

"No, he's here. I can smell his fear," she says, confirming my analogy.

"Let's go back, please!"

While her eyes search for Karusa I happen to overhear Lorule's coach talking to his team near the benches.

"I don't care where you hit him, just get him off the field," Ganondorf is talking to two players; his son and a player named Zant. My curiosity pulls me closer to them. I need to hear what they're saying. I let go of Impa's arm and sneak toward them.

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(Hey, me again. I know it's a fanfiction of a Nintendo game and I don't need sexual assault to have a plot or conflict, but that stuff happens to a lot of people. Male and female. Young and old. I don't plan on making this book all butterflies and unicorns. I address real life problems like domestic abuse, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, etc. A story is meant to make you feel something, whether it's a warm fuzzy feeling or anger and disgust. So just remember that <3 Hopefully you can find some comfort in this book even if you relate to it a lot. I love you all so much and I'm grateful for everyone of you. Big hugs)