Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, otherwise, I would have made it sure that a certain shadow we all know would have greater parts.

Rated: PG for angst, small language, and whatever my mind thinks of…

Pairing: Only Shounen ai for now. Dark Link/Link. Pending whether or not something will happen in later chapters.

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Chapter One: Miracle From Out of the Bush

He tore apart a yellow flower between his fingers, wandering away from the noise of the other Kokiri. His face was smudged with dirt that also decorated his hands. The little Hylian boy didn't care whether or not anymore that his hands were able to wipe his cheeks off. It was strange how only a few minutes before, Link was playing with Saria and a few others. The object of the game was to chase one another around meaninglessly until it either got dark, or the group was forced to stop due to extreme exhaustion and dizziness. Simply put, a child's paradise.

However, one boy in particular was cast out by another boy who claimed he was the boss of the Kokiri. It was him who first started it. The ignoring. Now before, it was clear to Link that not everyone accepted him like Saria did. She was the reason why most of the Kokiri played with him and didn't reject him like Mido.

The little boy sniffed, swiping some golden locks out of his face and frowning deeply to keep from crying. In the secluded woods he settled in front of a tree, trying to occupy his mind of tearing apart another flower he had picked up. Soon the flower was torn into fractions beyond anymore tearing, and the child just let it fall to the ground next to him. Next to the broken flower was another one, intact and beautiful as it stood proudly. Link looked from that one, to another flower of the same kind near it. He realized that surrounding the cripple, torn flower were many gorgeous alike flowers. At that, he hugged his knees, bent his head down, and cried.

It was a usual routine that happened a few times a week when Link didn't spend the whole day in his tree house. Mido and the other Kokiri would take no notice of him from playing to casual socializing, Link would get upset and run off, and after a little while, Saria would come looking for him to take him back home. Sometimes the fairies followed their child's examples and taunt him by asking him to join the Kokiri only to be shunned when he arrived to the game. He figured if even some of the fairies, one's image of goodness, would be so cruel, then he was as worthless and as big of a loser as he was told by Mido. Now he had never heard of the outside world, of course, and hurting himself or thoughts of suicide never came to him. As a child would think, running away was the best answer. However, when under stress and being close to hysterical, it's hard for one to get through the mind tricking paths of the Lost Woods.

Foot steps were heard coming to where the blonde boy was huddled. Saria…he thought on cue, readying himself for the same 'They just don't understand you, Link' speech. A hand gripped his arm and a soft, silky object was tapping on his forehead. The Hylian looked up and froze. Crouching next to him was not Saria, but another little boy. What shocked Link was that this little boy looked exactly like him.

"Here," the young clone said, pushing a flower up to Link's nose. The Hylian sneezed at the tickling touch, causing the stranger to laugh. "No wonder you tore those flowers up. You must be allergic to 'em," he smiled warmly and waved the flower side to side. Link just stared, wide eyed. The first second, the Hylian thought he was looking into a reflection of some mirror, but he realized that there were indeed some differences between this look alike and himself. For one thing, he had long, ebony locks that curved around his face perfectly, while Link's were yellow and a bit untidy. In the dim lighting under the shade of the trees, the boy's eyes looked maroon, but reflected a bright, fiery red when he moved.

The boy chuckled again and poked Link's cheek. "Wake up, Link. You're daydreaming again," he said as he grabbed the blonde's arms and pulled him up.

"Who'er you?" Link leaned forward and gripped the boy's sleeve. His tunic was the same too, but darker. Link wasn't even aware that the Kokiri made a tunic in such a color.

At first the ebony haired boy just looked confused. He raised his dark eyebrows, his bright eyes looking bigger than before. Then he grinned and swiped his arm away from Link and skipped backwards. "I'll tell you if you catch me first," he chirped. Before Link even opened his mouth, the other boy disappeared from view, leaving nothing but the rustle of bushes behind him.

"Well, if that's how he wants it…" the blonde sighed as he dashed into the bushes after his new acquaintance. For the first time in weeks, Link was smiling as he played chase.

xXxXx

The brunette looked as though he was in a fast paced dance as he hurried past the trees, bushes, and rocks. He was laughing the whole time while Link simply tried to keep up. The child stopped abruptly on a rock right in front of a creek. His arms were raised away from his sides for play and for balance as he grinned. Suddenly, Link shut out of the bush behind him at full speed and couldn't stop before they collided and both fell into the creek. The Hylian bolted up and started stepping out of the water, but a hand gripped his shirt and pulled him back. "Hey, there. You're dirty. Lemme help clean ya up first!" the boy sang as he snaked an arm around Link's waist from behind, and started rubbing the blonde's cheek. The dark boy's grin soon got to Link as the Hylian splashed a small wave of water into the other boy's face. "I'm the clean one! That ain't fair!" he grinned stepping back and wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"I caught you!" Link yelped as he was splashed back. The ebony was readying for another storm of water until Link swung his hands up in surrender. "You said! You said you'd tell me your name!"

The boy looked confused again, and Link expected him to bolt out excitedly like he did back between the bushes and trees. Yet he just stood there, soaked in the water. "Name…?"

Link nodded and stepped closer.

"I never said I'd give you my name," he stated calmly, taking in the sudden sadness to come over Link's features. "I said I told you who I was, and I will. But as for a name…" he shuffled nervously, but had a sheepish grin on his face. "…I ain't got one." The child laughed as if a simple knock-knock joke was announced. Before Link had a chance to question why the other boy didn't have a name to go by, the ebony spoke up, "But I said what I said, and what I said I will say."

A moment of silence passed as Link rung his tunic's bottom to try and rid some water from it. "Aaaaand?"

"Well," the strange boy chuckled, "I'm your friend." Link had to hold himself from falling back in the water from such an unexpected response. The darker child grinned and grabbed the Hylian's wrist and started tugging him away and out of the creek. "From what I've seen-"

"Just what have you seen? How do you know my name? Why do you look like me!" Link ripped his hand away and stood back defensively. "What are you, a stalker?"

The other boy smiled devilishly. "Maybe I am." His eyes narrowed almost cat-like as he stepped closer to the blonde. "Or maaaaybe…" He jumped at Link, wiping his arms around and hugging the Hylian's shoulders. "I just thought you were lonely."

Link was dumbstruck. Not only was a complete stranger hugging him, but a complete stranger that had no name, knew too much about him than what he found comfortable, and looked unnervingly like himself. Heat raised to his face as his slowly gripped the boy's shoulders and pulled him back, turning his face to the grinning one of his new acquaintance. "Thanks, but no thanks," he gulped and lightly shoved the darker boy back. "I'm fine and although I appreciate your…" he searched for a word. "…concern. I'm fine and should really be getting back to my other friends now." He forced a smile and waved, stepping back and turning. "'Bye, 'bye!"

The blonde Hylian was about to sprint away until-"If they're your friends, then why do they make you cry?" Link stopped, arms limp at his sides and slowly, sadly, looked back. The other child had a dark look on his features now, as if mentioning the Kokiri gave his mouth a sour taste. "If they're your friends, then why do they ignore you?" He stepped forward, scaring Link for some lost reason and causing him to back up, away from the other boy. "If they're your friends-" the child dashed in front of Link swiftly and grabbed the blonde's wrist again, leaning his face forwards so that indomitable fire met near-tearing blue. "-why aren't they here, now, to be with you. Why aren't they here to comfort you? That's what friends do, Link. And you're not going to think of those Kokiri-" he turned his head and spat the word at the ground, then turned back to Link's face, "-as friends as long as I'm here with you now." Link could only gawk. Without warning, the menacing frown that once covered the ebony's features disappeared and was replaced by a warming, soft-hearted grin. "I'll race ya to the tree house!" he laughed and bolted away, wearing a new path as he stamped through the grass and small plants in his way.

Standing there, he took in what was just said to him. Slowly he looked up in the direction the other boy dashed away in. He smiled and yelled, "I'll beat ya there!"

xXxXx

And beat him Link did, though it seemed like the darker child purposely had tripped over that stump. If Link wasn't so determined with long lost competition running through his veins, he would've noticed the sappy, over-dramatic fall the ebony preformed as he toppled over the stub.

Both were out of breath as they finally entered the cozy dwelling known as the Kokiri Village. Link dropped to his knees, laughing and panting, a bad combination when trying to regain your breath. Next to him the ebony appeared, grinning equally as much and crouching over with his palms gripping his knees. "Lets (pant) hurry. It's going to (pant) get dark soon."

The Hylian nodded reflexively, but stopped and looked up at the sky. From the lack of clouds and gain of sunshine, one would consider calling this perfect weather. "What are you talking about? It's still bright out-"

"Hurry!" the boy yelled as he began sprinting past the living quarters of the Kokiri and waved his left hand into the air, motioning Link to follow.

Once Link had caught up, still panting from the rush of the ladder, there he found his new friend. The boy was trudging around the home as if he knew it as well as the blonde, or better. Yet at the same time, his eyes still seemed to hold a sense of awe as he went through the various goods through the trunk, ruffled the already wrinkled clothes in the corner, and tested the softness of the small bed with a plop. The Hylian joined him on the bed and leaned back onto the wall, closing his eyes.

Countless times before, he'd slept, ate, and just sat and thought in this one room abode by himself. It always occurred to Link that it was too quiet, but after some time, the Hylian had given up on making conversation with the walls for the sake of talking. It was strange now, not in a bad way, but in the kind that you surely noticed. The sense that someone else was with him made him happy. Link smiled at that thought. No, not just happy, but excited too. Eager, curious, the whole shebang and-

"You sure look awfully happy. Dreaming of somethin'?" the boy said, tugging at Link's hair as though intrigued by its texture. "I like your hair, it's bouncy."

He smiled as Link only stared at him. He's…different alright…But in a…good way. Yeah, good, the blonde thought as he reached up to the other's head. "Yours isn't," he smiled and pulled at the ebony strands gently. "It's flatter and…darker." He tugged again. "And your eyes. They aren't like mine either."

The other boy gave a cheeky grin and ruffled Link's hair in response to the pulling he had received. "Of course they ain't the same. I'm not your clone, ya know," he chuckled when he saw the mess the Hylian's hair had turned into.

"Then what are you?" Link asked.

The darker child shrugged, "Dunno aside from what I already told ya." He smiled and pulled his legs up so he could sit cross-legged. "I'm your friend!"

Link nodded and smiled back. He certainly is determined. His hand raised and moved over to the brunette's forehead, brushing aside the bangs that hung over the bright irises. "Well, you look like me, kinda, and…" he pondered for any other info, "…ya know a lot about me." He blushed, taking his hand away and sitting back against the wall. "So, you're like a-"

"Guardian!" the boy shouted, grabbing his ankles and rocking forward. "Yeah! I'll be your guardian or somethin'. That's perfect!"

However, the Hylian looked a bit questionable at the thought. "I don't think you can just…become someone's guardian."

"Why not?"

Getting backed into a corner, Link looked away. "I dunno," he muttered. "Guardians usually…ya know, protect their being and look after them." To be perfectly honest, Link had no idea how to describe a guardian because he's never seen or heard of one, let alone hear a direct definition of one. "Like a guardian angel or something."

"I'll protect you, and that's pretty much looking after ya, so that's two things down. Anything else?" he pressured with a small smile growing on his features. Link gulped and rubbed the back of his head, opening his mouth, but lost for words. Upon seeing the Hylian wasn't responding, the other boy jumped off the bed in one graceful leap, and stretched his arms out. "That settles it! I'm your new guardian!" He straightened his posture and made a salute. The child would have looked a bit soldier worthy if it weren't for the grin he still wore. "At your service, sir!"

And not for the first time that day, Link was dumbfounded. He nodded slowly and slid to the edge of the bed so his legs dangled over the side. "Alright…then. I guess." He looked away, but smiled, stood up, and approached his friend, pointing his finger out and pushing it into the ebony's chest. "But in that case, you need a name. If you're going to be my guardian, you need a name first."

The brunette titled his head at this, but nodded. "As you wish, Master."

Link's nose wrinkled at that. "Eck, don't call me Master. Just Link." The boys both thought for a moment. "Well, speaking of guardian angel…what about…Angel?"

The ebony spat out his tongue. "Too girly."

"Well, your hair's darker than mine…So Darky?"

"I don't like a lot of the names that end with a y."

"Oh yeah, of course," Link thought aloud as he rubbed his chin. He looked over his friend again, pondering if any of his features could help with the naming.

While he was gazing at the brunette's eyes again, something he found himself doing more and more, Link saw a spark of realization hit the other boy's face. "Shadow."

"Eh?" the Hylian asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like the kind that follows you around on walls?"

The dark child nodded.

"Why? You'd think Chad or Morris would be a better name than that."

"Yeah, but something inside of me kinda-are you nuts? Morris!" Link laughed nervously and waved his hands in front of him to show the brunette he was joking. "Alright," he sighed, looking up after and smiling awkwardly. "I know it's a strange name, but somethin' inside of me just sparked and I think that it means something." Link still stared at him with his raised eyebrow. The other boy laughed, "Better than Angel or Chad, that's for sure."

The Hylian nodded, but still had some thought on his face. "Well, that could be your last name."

"Last…name?"

"Sure," Link pounded his fists together in conclusion. "And your first name will be…Onyx! Perfect!"

"…Own-ex?"

"No, no, onyx. It's a stone. A black stone that's shiny and, well, you can find it in rocks, but-Oh! You get the point. Your hair is black and shiny, so…Onyx," Link said as he gave a shrug and a weak smile.

The dark child smirked, "You like my hair a lot, don'cha?"

"What?...Yeah, I guess…It's…nice, I guess, so…" he trailed off looking in another direction away from the devilish leer that reflected off the other boy's face. Without warning, he burst out laughing, running his hands through his hair while his other arm wrapped around his stomach.

Link laughed with him and put his right hand on the ebony's left shoulder. "It's done then. Your name is Onyx Shadow from here on," he said, smiling warmly.

The newly named boy smiled and placed his right hand on Link's shoulder so they connected like some sort of a small human chain. "It's official then. I, Onyx Shadow, am now your guardian, Link."

A moment of silence past, but it wasn't awkward in the least. Actually, the silence was warming, homely, and surely welcoming. The boys just stood there with small, slightly embarrassed smiles on their faces. Although, no sooner had Onyx had another one of his traditional mood swings and tackled Link to the ground, beginning a game of wrestling.

The Hylian had gotten the other boy in a head lock, but was the grace of a spirit, Onyx had squeezed his head through the grip and pinned Link down with the blonde's hands behind his back. "No…fair," came Link's muffled words through the pressure of the wooden floor. He struggled for a minute, then fell limp.

"How so?" Shadow teased as he leaned his head over to meet Link's scrunched up expression. The Hylian took this chance and tried to buck off his captor with little success. In return, Onyx moved his hands to Link's sides.

A bolt of utter terror went through the blonde once he felt a ghostly touch drift over his stomach and sides. "You wouldn't," Link snarled.

"Oh really, friend?" The Hylian's glare no sooner turned into a bursting, overjoyed face laughing uncontrollably. "Threats mean nothing as long as ya can't even look me fiercely in the eye."

"You'll pay! Hah! Hah! I'll find your-Haha!- weakness and then- Haha!- we'll see who's laug-Hahaha!" Link cried out as he struggled even harder to free himself from his look-alike's clutches.

Onyx was surely enjoying himself and even took the liberty of getting the hard spots under Link's arms. At this the Hylian broke into laugh that could be considered screaming if some of the noise wasn't blocked by the flooring. "Say pretty please!" Onyx cackled into the blonde's ear.

Yet Link hadn't gotten another word out before his right arm was finally released from the dark child's grasp and whirled up achingly to grab his collar. The brunette's expression changed immediately as his position quickly changed from over tickling Link, to being pinned against the wooden floor by his shoulders. "Got you!" Link panted, now wearing the victorious grin. "It's your turn now, I told you that I'd get-"

But his sentence was cut short by soft, childish lips planted firmly on his cheek. Onyx leant back, his lips and Link's cheeks making a small sound as they separated. The ebony haired child smiled angelically up at Link and, with no effort, pushing one of Link's shoulders so that the Hylian literally tipped aside. "That was fun, but I'm getting sleepy," Onyx said, stretching his arms out and yawning. The little boy stood up, slightly brushing himself off of any invisible dirt. Once satisfied, he gaze lingered back onto the floor. There Link still sat, wide eyed and giving off a blush so red, Onyx pondered if his face could burn something on contact. So, being the curious child he was, the brunette leaned over and pinched Link's cheek.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?" yelped the Hylian, suddenly getting up and rubbing a hand against his cheek.

Onyx grinned and stood up, "Your face was so red that I thought-"

"No!" Link yelled, grabbing the brunette's wrist as if he thought the boy would bolt away if he let go. "You kissed me!"

"I would consider that as more of a peck."

"Nonetheless, what was that about!"

The boy chuckle, cocked his head, and slowly pulled his wrist from the Hylian's grasp. Instead, Onyx laced his fingers though Link's and gave a squeeze of affection with his knuckle. "Ya looked pretty cute, and I thought you deserved an award for finally overcoming my awesome tickling power," he snickered, sticking his tongue out.

"I…you don't just…And I'm not cute!"

Onyx only grinned as Link turned away, a crimson color threatening to edge onto his cheeks again. "Alright, whatever you say, Link," the brunette laughed, tugging at his hold onto Link over to the bed. "But right now, at this moment, I highly insist you go to sleep." Link raised an eyebrow. "Don't give me that, Link. As your guardian, I say a good night's sleep is a…necessity for…good…eh…" he trailed off, but broke into a sheepish grin after a moment. The blonde sighed and, after a nod of agreement, stripped off his clothes, save for a pair of white shorts and a small, old shirt, and got into bed. He moved over as far as he could and pushed the pillow off to the side so that two heads would have been able to fit on it.

"Not tonight, I gotta run. I promise though, I'll see ya tomorrow!" Onyx chirped, plopping down onto the bed on top of Link's legs. He leaned in and pecked the Hylian's cheek again with another small, innocent kiss. "Slight tight and don't let the Deku Babas bite!" And he was off.

The blonde sighed. I didn't even get to say good night…He didn't even give me a change to talk, that loud mouth, he thought, smiling to himself. He continued to smile as he scrunched up his body and pulled the covers over his shoulder to ensure that his whole body was tucked in tight. He breathed in for a final yawn, but wrinkled his nose and sneezed. "Huh?" he grunted, too ready to go to sleep and disgruntled even for whatever was keeping him up. He peered at his sheets through the dim light, faintly realizing that it was indeed rather late and that the two of them must've been playing for longer than he thought. He moved around his pillow some more and saw it.

There, under the sheet and lying on the pillow was a small, yellow flower. It didn't take more than a second for Link to realize how it got there and grinned. I've got a friend now, he thought to himself dreamingly. A hyperactive, chirpy, overly open, funny, and affectionate friend. Link chuckled and curled back up into small ball and drifted into a peaceful slumber, the flower gripped lightly in his hand.

xXxXx

"Shadow, eh? Onyx Shadow? Cutely adorable. It's no doubt a child did in fact think of such a name."

"I like it. It fits"

"I know you do and it does. Tell me, child, do you like him?"

"Yeah! He named me! Me! Of all people and-"

"You kissed him? Oh, young love. How sweet."

"It was just a peck…I think he liked it."

"I see. Well, this is all working out quiet good. I expect then you'll want to st-"

"Yeah!"

"Very good, then, little one. That is all for now. Be on your way then."

"G'bye."

"Goodbye, child."

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A/N: Well…(blushes) I am back with a new fanfic. This author note is here cause I like when I read a fic and the author makes a comment. Then you feel like you know the author's personality and then reviewing is only more fun.

Anywho, one of my New Years resolutions was to make my chapters bigger. From fics like 'The Legend of Romeo and Juliet' and 'My Last Breath', I only wrote 4 pages or less in WORD, 10 font. Now, this chapter 10 pages in WORD, 10 font. (cheers) From authors like H-7 and HJBender, it's pathetic to only write so little when their beautiful chapters take a good long while to read…then reread cause they're so damn good!

Another thing, I'm only going to answer to reviews in the future chapters if they're questions that won't be answered by the upcoming chapter. So please don't get upset if I don't comment on 'OMG!1111one THAT WAS SO SAD! wHy did dark Link die?' I'm sure you can last without my 'OMG!eleven! I just made it dat way!11!

Last, please, R & R because I would really, really like to know what you all think. (grins) Plus, y'all know that's what keeps me going!

Wait, another thing. Please note that the time period this is taking place was when Link was around 10, thus I'm making Dark Link (or Onyx) 10-ish too. They talk differently, and to help me understand the mind of children, I followed my little neighbors around. They're very random, cannot speak with clear dialogue (ex: they say ain't, ya, kinda, gotta, dunno, etc.etc.), and will literally CLING to you if they like you. Most little kids cling to new found friends that like them back, and get excited over seeing a ladybug. Hah, and they don't go with proper things that are common, just as instead of a normal name, Dark Link and Link decided to name the shadow off of what he looked like and what they thought sounded cool.

Just go along with the fish-game-shop-guy. He no talk good. (laughs)

(sighs) Aww, how boring. The stars and the smiles made out of symbols aren't allowed on