Rebirth

Chapter 27: Infiltration of the Yiga Clan Hideout

Okay, it was mainly the food that made him happy.

But anyway, Link's joyful slumber was interrupted by the sound of someone rustling through the tent. The blond opened his eyes to see who it was, expecting Ghirahim to be the one to wake up him. But when the hero actually opened his eyes... The demon was nowhere to be found.

Instead there was a rather meek looking man wearing a pair of strange boots. He looked at the hero with a skeptical expression.

"What are you doing here in this tent?" he asked. "Are you trying to find a way into town?"

The blond wasn't sure what to do. Where was Ghirahim? Who was this guy? And what was up with his shoes?

Link shook his head a little bit as he glanced around, still not seeing the demon anywhere. This wasn't good at all...

"Excuse me..." he signed, a hopeful look on his face as his mind subconsciously feared the man not being able to understand him. "Have you seen a tall man with white hair? He sort of looked like a girl from afar?"

"Hm? Oh, are you talking about that girl I saw heading towards the Karusa Valley?" the man asked. "Wait... That was a dude!?"

Link didn't even pay attention to the insult the man had thrown at his crush--yes, he was now referring to the demon as a crush. He had kissed him after all--but rather at the fact that Ghirahim had gone behind his back and went to the hideout alone. He could be in danger! Didn't he promise to talk about this with the hero when they woke up?

Link, blinded by a mix of furious worry and overwhelming fear for demon's safety, grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt with a snarl. His previously big, calm, blue orbs were now narrowed and piercing as he looked down at the man in front of him, who was cowering in fear.

"When?" he growled.

"I-I uh wha-at?"

"When did you see him!?" the hero repeated, shaking the man furiously.

"La-ast night!" he replied. "I-I saw him last night. Just a little bit after the moon started rising! Just please, let me go!"

Link released the man, dropping him to the sandy ground beneath them, and went to grab his supplies. He put his bow, sword, shield and quiver of arrows on his back and walked out of the tent, sending a half-genuine 'sorry' to the man for treating him so poorly. He did feel guilty for lashing out like that but he had something much more important to worry about.

He had to save Ghirahim. He could be in trouble! He just had to...

Ω

After making his way through the other guards, though he had a few close calls, Ghirahim managed to get to the center of the clan's headquarters (of course this took having to move a freaking stone wall that wasn't even a wall in the first place). The demon put his hands on his hips as he walked forward and closer to the center of the room. 

There was nothing around really. Just some decorations he had seen throughout the entire underground structure and a giant bottomless pit at the very center of it all. But when the demon took a few more steps closer to the pit, a short man wearing a Yiga Clan uniform that looked rather pudgy came out of nowhere in a puff of smoke.

"Oh my... How did you get in here?" he asked, most likely grinning underneath that mask of his. Ghirahim stood, not feeling very amused by the presence of this man here, when said Yiga jumped back in shock. "Wait, you're Demon Lord Ghirahim, aren't you!?"

Ghirahim rollled his eyes at this. "You don't say? Tell me, how many other human looking creatures do you see with white hair as beautiful as mine?"

The Yiga clapped his hands like an excited child as he danced around a bit. "Oh, goodness yes! It really is you! We knew you'd come back to avenge your master some day! Now with you on our side, that hero doesn't stand a chance!"

"Um..."

"Oh, pardon my rudeness Milord," the man apologized with a bow. "Please, allow me to introduce myself! I am the leader of the Yiga, the clan whose sole purpose is to revive and bring back the reign of your master Ganon, Master Kohga! It is an honor and pleasure to serve you and our beloved Ganon, Lord Ghirahi-"

"Okay, I'm going to have to stop you right there," the demon frowned. "First and foremost, I do not go by that wretched title any longer. I am a lord of nothing, not anymore, and I have long accepted that. Secondly, I am not here for the likes of you. I am here for the heirloom of the Gerudo that you stole."

Kohga lifted himself up from the bow. "Oh? Oh, right! Of course! It is much safer in your hands, surely, but why would you-"

"I am not finished!" Ghirahim growled. "Third of all, I do not serve that boar anymore either. He is no master of mine, and is a pathetic excuse of a reincarnation of my true master, Demise. Fourth, sorry to destroy your dreams--though if I were to be brutally honest I could care less--but I stand by the hero's side in all of this. I can't let this world be destroyed, and certainly not by the likes of you weak fools."

Kohga frowned under his mask, his posture straightening and his arms crossing over his chest as his eyes narrowed as well.

"I see... Are you sure you don't want to join our side?"

"I've never been more certain..."

"Well then... That's too bad... You would have been much safer you know."

The Yiga snapped his fingers and, before Ghirahim could even understand what was going on, a pair of those larger ninjas jumped down and bound the demon tightly with rope. Ghirahim fought with all of his might but with no luck. Everything became a blur in the moment, and he suddenly felt something pricking his neck making him feel woozy.

The Yiga then released the demon, who fell to the floor. He couldn't stand up. He felt too weak, and he certainly couldn't feel the magic he had before. He lifted his head a little to glare at Kohga.

"What- Ngh... Wha-at have you d-done to m-me...?"

"We drained you of your magic of course!" Kohga cackled. "Can't have a powerful demon lord running a muck here and ruining our plans, can we? Oh... But I forgot, you no longer go by that title now do you? I guess you're just an average demon now, a weak one at that. How humiliating!"

Kohga laughed along with the guards who had held the demon down. Ghirahim couldn't believe this... Taken down by a clan of fools! He tried to push himself onto his feet, but his hands were bound tightly to his sides. It wasn't like it would work anyway either. He barely had any energy to stay awake.

Slowly, the laughter had starting growing faint and the demon's vision began to become blurry. Then before he knew it, Ghirahim had passed out in front of the enemy...