Never Without You │ BOTW modern AU fanfic

Kiroh

(Big announcement at the end :)

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"What are you doing here?" Impa asks Kiroh without the slightest idea that he is a Boar. Or maybe she does know and decided to hide that fact from me...

"I should be asking you the same!" The Boar lets out a small chuckle, his shy smile giving an impression of innocence, yet I can't help the thoughts that creep into my mind. He's a Boar after all. "I thought you told me you were gonna have dinner with your friend tonight."

"I did! And then we decided to come here," Impa laughs. "The band invited us."

"Oh, that's cool," Kiroh nods and gives a quick look at Pik, then he returns his eyes to us and raises his hand, barely, to wave at Revali and me. "Nice to meet you guys by the way."
"Super nice," Revali remarks sarcastically, still salty about his shoes smelling like beer.

I take in Kiroh's appearance, trying to find the slightest hint at danger. He has a slender physique, a defined bicep and veins coursing up his arms. His hair is intentionally messy; a layered fringe with a faint undercut. Standing just a few inches taller than Impa, he looks like he could handle himself, like he could easily hurt somebody if he wanted to. Yet, there's something about the way he carries himself that sets him apart from the rest of them. He doesn't seem threatening or dangerous at all. It's almost as if he's wearing a mask, like he's not truly part of that group, but rather trapped within it.

I can't shake off the stereotypes and prejudices that have been etched into my mind from their past actions, or deny my initial bias, but as I observe him more closely, my assumptions begin to crumble. Boars can't all be bad.

Impa's eyes scan me suspiciously. "What's wrong?" she asks me, having noticed my sudden retreat.

I'm fighting every instinct to pull her away from the guy. Maybe, just maybe, he said the truth back then and he really is different from the rest. But... if I'm wrong, and he turns out to be one of Ganondorf's pawns, then I would be risking the life of my best friend by keeping a fatal secret. If so, I would rather err on the side of caution and look like a bad friend to Impa by reavealing his true identity.

"This is the guy you've been seeing?" I ask Impa and she nods, reading my face like a big, flashing warning sign.

"Why? What's up?" She asks. "You look... shocked."

I wish I had the option of staying quiet and avoiding this whole situation, but if this guy is associated with Karusa and Ganon, it might be dangerous to be around him.

"Impa," I take a deep breath. "He's a Boar," I tell her and watch both their smiles disappear at once. If I must choose whether to keep his secret, I would rather hurt her now and apologize later than not have a friend to apologize to because somebody else hurt her even worse than me.

"What?" Impa looks confused, which tells me that Kiroh did indeed hide this from her.

"He's a Boar," I repeat.

"A Boar?" she asks. Her head quickly turns to look at him. "You're a student at Lorule?"

He looks disarmed and a bit startled by my accusation, almost as if he's trying to act innocent.

"Impa–" he shakes his head sideways. He better not deny it!

"I met him at that Lorule frat party in March. He wanted me to drink with him but you pulled me away before I could go through with it. Do you remember that?"

"Wait, hold on a sec–" he begs but I disregard his request.

"He told me he was a baseball player. He was part of that fight in February."