Author's Note: This was done upon request from twinxieOO1!

Shai fiddled nervously with his shirt, frowning at the blue tassels. This was not his clothing. It wasn't his style, wasn't made by his master, wasn't his colors—it just wasn't his.

I don't like it.

"Shaika? Shaika is that you?"

His head snapped up and he stared at the couple standing in front of him with a little girl between them, and Link off to the side.

"Shaika," Link said, kneeling down beside him and pointing to the couple behind him. "This is your mother, your father, and your little sister. I know you don't remember them, but you can trust these people. They love you very much." Link spoke as if he were talking to a child, and Shai felt a little indignant at the patronization. Still, for the sake of security.

"R-really?" he gasped out, pulling himself to his feet and walking towards them a bit hesitantly. "Are you really my p-parents?"

"Yes," said the mother, tears stinging her eyes as she embraced him, trying not to cry.

The father joined in the hug and lifted up the little girl so she was level with Shai and could see him.

"Hello, big brother!" she laughed, grabbing his hair, and he smiled a little.

"Hello. And what's your name?"

"Kukiel!" she laughed, giving the hair a tug.

Link moved towards the exit, smiling at them. "I'm gonna head out, alright?"

No one in the family responded except for Shai.

"I'll see you later, Green Link!" he smiled, waving as best he could with arms around him.

This… isn't my family.

One week went by, and Shai was enrolled in the academy. It was apparent immediately that Shai had to have some form of Master in his life. However, that was next to impossible in a dorm; there was always a chance someone would peek through the holes in the wall as so many students tended to do. Which meant Shai had to get away… and that was when he came up with the brilliant idea to collapse in seizures at random times until someone suggested a suggestion he liked.

Shai glanced down at his food blankly, no hint of appetite in his eyes. He poked at it with his fork and rested his hand in his chin, frowning at it.

"You alright, kid?" Pipit asked, sitting next to him with a tray of food.

"I don't really feel well…"

Pipit's brow creased, and he removed his glove, feeling Shai's face. "You don't feel warm. What's the problem? Your stomach? Head? Chest? Muscles? Joints?"

Shai had to admit, of all the Knight Academy students, he liked Pipit the best. Next to Link, of course.

But that didn't change his need for Master.

Shai smiled slightly at the concern. "It's like… I don't know I feel very shaky and—" His hand jerked out and hit his glass, knocking it over and sending his water cascading to the floor. He grabbed his wrist, hissing in pain as he pulled it to his chest, holding down the next spasm.

Pipit jumped up and held Shai's arm, looking at the boy with genuine concern. "What was that?"

"I don't… ow!" Tears stung his eyes and he slowly released the limb. "I don't know… but it hurt!"

Pipit rubbed his back, picking up the glass and dropping his napkin down to soak up to soak up the water. "Let's go professor Owlan, alright?"

It was then that Pipit noticed the other students staring at them.

"Everything's fine," he stated, waving them off. "We're just taking precautions to make sure Shaika isn't sick. Get back to your eating and chit-chat."

Link looked at them across the table, as if conversing with Pipit through mere staring. Slowly, he nodded and began talking to Zelda again, and Shai followed Pipit out of the room.

Of course, that was just the beginning.

It took Shai two weeks to get the desired result. Two weeks of carefully increasing the frequency and severity of the spasms until finally collapsing in a full-blown seizure outside the sparring hall.

"Shaika!"

Shai struggled not to smile when Link dropped his blade and ran over, kneeling in the dirt.

"Are you alright?"

"Green Link? Wh-what's going on?" he panted, jerking again and letting out a soft cry of pain.

"I'm not…" Link grabbed his arm as it flew again and shook his head, moving it back to the ground and holding it there. "I'm not sure, but you're going to be okay. Pipit!" Link called, looking around. "Pipit!"

Pipit came running at the sound of his name, and after one look at Shai, he went for Professor Owlan.

"Don't worry, Shaika, you're going to be okay."

Shai nodded weakly, spazzing again and accidentally slapping Link in the face. Murmuring a broken apology, he rolled over and clutched his stomach. He coughed into his hand, wiping tears from his eyes before collapsing back to the dirt and flailing a few more times.

"Owlan! Over here!"

Shai decided this was the best time to pass out, and he quietly chanted a spell under his breath and let the blackness consume him, fading voices tickling his subconscious.

"What happened?"

"It's a seizure—a bad one!"

"What should we do?"

"Bring him to my office, first of all, and then get…"

Shai 'passed out' after that.

"Maybe he needs a change of scenery. A place of his own."

What a wonderful suggestion that was. Shai could not have agreed more, and even though it took a bit of finagling to convince Link, in the end, Shai got the house he wanted. No Skyloftians were permitted inside—not even his parents—and that was the way Shai liked it.

However, things were not all giggles and rainbows. Even though Shai had a place to call his own where he could research ways to revive Master, he now had problems at school to deal with. Cawlin and Stritch were just awful, even though Groose was no longer their leader, and they just adored Shai with all their nasty hearts.

"Sorry I'm late!" Shai stumbled into the classroom and fell into his seat, blushing furiously.

Professor Owlan smiled warmly at him. "It's quite alright, Shaika. Just please try to be on time tomorrow."

Shai nodded, embarrassed, and opened his textbook, shoving his face into it. Link smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

Shai replied to with a weak smile.

Karane, who was sitting next to him, offered her pencil when she saw he didn't have one.

"Thanks," he whispered, taking the utensil and pulling out a piece of paper.

Shai jumped slightly as a wad of paper hit him in the back of the head, and he lowered it to his lap, unwrapping it and scanning the words.

Running late 'cause your mom picked out the wrong pair of underwear?

Shai rolled his eyes, shoving the paper in his desk and getting back to his work. He picked out his own underwear, obviously. He would never let a Skyloftian pick what went onto his body—they had no fashion sense whatsoever.

Shai glared at thin air when another one smacked him in the back of the head.

Hey stupid, can you actually read these? Or do you just ignore them because you're not brave enough to write a reply?

Shai placed that one in his desk, getting an odd look from Pipit, Link, and Groose when they saw his frustrated expression. He tried to reassure them with a smile, but he was certain it looked more like a wince.

"Shaika, are you listening?"

Shai jumped, nodding his head. "Yes, sir. You were talking about energy fields."

"What about them?" Owlan questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Shai didn't miss a beat. "The dark and light components of the negative poles of said energy fields, also called Torna, which is surprisingly the plural and singular pronunciation. Also—"

Owlan laughed good-naturedly, and the class all clapped—well, most of them.

"Why don't you get up here and teach? My, my, you're studious, Shaika! Well done. Anyway, as I was saying…"

Shai smiled, blushing a little with a small sense of pride. That is, until another wad hit him in the back of the head. Biting back a sigh, he pulled the paper from his shirt and read it.

Teacher's Pet! Teacher's Pet!

Shai grit his teeth, ripping the sheet in half. Owlan glanced at him, and Shai laughed nervously.

"Didn't like the way my notes looked. I'm gonna start over. Sorry I keep causing disturbances…"

Owlan nodded. "It's alright. Try to keep quiet please."

Shai gave a quick nod and slid deeper down into his seat. Another note hit him, and he glared at it as it slid across his desk. He fought the urge to read it, staring at his textbook and ignoring the ball to his right.

Don't read it, don't read it, don't read it…

In a moment when the professor's back was to him, curiosity won the mental war and he grabbed the note, reading it quickly.

Why are you even here? No one wants you, you should just return to the Surface where Link found you. If you weren't born here, you shouldn't be here, you goddess rejected brat.

Shai swallowed hard, fighting tears as he slowly folded the sheet in half and placed it quietly and slowly in his desk. He grabbed his pencil, picking it up and lowering the tip to his page.

But nothing happened.

He bit his lip, vision blurring as he struggled to keep the flood at bay. He scratched down a few statements just to focus his mind on something other than the note, though he wasn't sure it'd be any help during the test.

That's not true… they're just being jerks, Shai, don't listen to them.

That's what he told himself, anyways, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. At least a lesson was learned; four more notes were thrown, but Shai did not read a single one.

When class was over, Shai made a beeline for the door, knowing he had a twenty-minute break between magic and nature. Exiting the academy, he bolted for the back of the school, knowing the sparring yard would be empty and he could get some privacy if he hid by the Sheik Stone.

Shai ran behind the sparring hall and sat down back to back with the stone. The letter was still in his pants pocket. He could feel it. Why he didn't get rid of it, he wasn't sure, but he just kept… rereading it. Asking himself why they hated him so much.

What did I ever do to them?

"Hey!"

Shai jumped, panic seizing him as the owner of the voice stepped around the corner, his partner in crime right behind him.

"What do you want, Cawlin?" Shai snapped, standing up and glaring at them. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to revive Master, he would have pulled out his magic and whipped them in two seconds flat.

"We want you out of our school. You're giving it a bad name!"

Stritch nodded. "Yeah, and what's with you not having to pay to get in?"

"I'm the best student in the academy, and I am paying my way by helping in the kitchen. Your arguments are invalid." He replied monotonously, looking at the wall behind him and trying to figure out a way to escape without revealing what he was.

"There's no way washing dishes can pull together that kind of cash," Cawlin said, stepping towards him. "Besides, you're too lazy to accomplish that much anyways."

Shai whirled on him, jabbing a finger into his chubby little chest with fire burning in his ice blue eyes. He would have liked to see them serve and unforgiving and unreasonable Master for three years straight, working around the clock, never stopping, barely eating, hardly sleeping, all for loyalty's sake!

"The only lazy ones around here are you, bug-catcher and skirt-chaser!"

Stars exploded over his vision, and he hit the ground, blood spilling from his nose.

"What's going on out here?!"

Shai grabbed his nose, his eyes burning as tears formed at the rims, pushing towards the edges in the hopes of escaping. It was most definitely broken, and he had yet to open his right eye.

"Shaika, man, are you okay?"

Shai felt two hands take his shoulders, and he recognized the voice as Groose's.

"I had a feeling it was them sending you notes. Come on, let's get you some ice."

Shai bit his lips, tears falling faster as he started to cry. Groose's hands gently rubbed his arms, and Shai leaned towards him, not much caring that they weren't the closest of friends.

"What did they say?"

Shai held up the letter helplessly, crying into Groose's shoulder while trying not to get blood all over him. If only Master were still around! Shai would have magic, and he could use his martial arts without raising suspicion. No, it would be better than that. They wouldn't be anywhere near Skyloft. They would be in Axialis, where they belonged!

…and Ghirahim would still be beating him.

Perhaps things had turned out for the best.

Groose gasped as he came to the end of the note. "How many of these are there?"

Shai shrugged his shoulders, the tears slowly ceasing.

"Don't listen them, kiddo. The teachers love you and so does the rest of the school, they're just jealous. Come on, we'll get you some ice, talk to the Headmaster, talk to Link, and I'll handle them."

Shai giggled softly, his voice congested. "I… I like the way you said that."

Groose puffed out his chest, exaggerating his previous tone. "I'll handle them!"

Shai laughed again, and he slowly got up, removing his tunic and pressing it to his still bleeding nose.

"Alright… that sounds like a good idea."

Groose took his arm and began to lead him back towards the school.

All in all, he really couldn't complain. He may have been far from home, and he certainly prayed for his brothers every night, hoping against hope they were okay without him. But still… he had good friends. Zelda, Link, Karane, Pipit, Groose… the teachers were nice, and that pumpkin soup he had for dinner every night was delicious! He was getting a good education and learning new things, and every time he passed Link, he could feel Master's presence from inside the blade, urging him on and smiling warmly like he once did. Like before he went crazy.

Shai threw his arms around Groose's neck, hanging on tightly as the redhead let out a shout of surprise.

"What the…?"

"I love you, Groose!" Shai hopped down and whirled around, seeing the others standing there. He ran forwards and embraced Zelda. "I love you, Zelda!"

Zelda laughed and hugged him back. "I love you, too."

Shai grabbed Pipit and Karane at the same time, putting them both in a half hug, half headlock. "I love you, Karane! I love you, Pipit!"

Then he let go of them and grabbed Link in the biggest hug of all. "I love you, Link!"

He cracked his eyes open for a second as Link tried to reply, dumbfounded. Shai's hand traveled down the sheath on Link's back, and he gave it a quick squeeze.

I love you, Master.

"You're so odd." Karane laughed, shaking her head.

Shai nodded. "I know! I'm just the odd man out, huh?"

Pipit tousled his hair. "That's why we love you. But, uh, why is your nose bleeding?"

Groose nearly fell over. "Oh, yeah! Just wait until you hear this!"

Shai let go of Link and stood between him and Zelda as Groose regaled them, and for just a brief moment, he could have sworn he heard a soft chuckle.

"I love you, too, my dearest Shai."