LoZ Fan Fiction: Daddy Boot Camp Chapter 4

With Dark being taken care of, the rest of them went to the family room.  Curtains of crimson velvet flowed to the morning breeze. The fireplace, with its inside as dark as night, stayed untouched.  The floor was covered by a warm, beautifully designed carpet for the children to lie on.  The long sofa was occupied by a laying Nhaav, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed in relaxation.  

When it was to become a quiet paradise for Nhaav, the silence broke with his light ego's usual 'responsible sermon'.  He approached the arm of the sofa, where the head of his shadow rested upon.  He bent down and gently knocked on his forehead like a door to wake him from his rest.  As the shadow opened his eyes, his red and blue stared back at the emerald ones.  He noticed that his light ego bent over to him, with his hands on his hips.  Nhaav sighed as he rolled his eyes, but filled fury when Vaahn remarked him an irresponsible father.  Nhaav stood from the sofa and looked at Vaahn.

"ME? AN IRRESPONSIBLE FATHER?!" roared the shadow with closed, tight fists. "YOU'RE THE ONE WITH A BIG MOUTH TO TELL THAT I WAS THE CULPRIT OF EVERY 'CRIME' I 'COMMITTED'! YOU AND YOUR JUDGMENTS..."

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M THE REAL BAD GUY?" answered back Vaahn, removing his apron and threw it to one side.

"...Yes, you ARE the bad guy." smirked Nhaav. "I mean, what proof do you have that holds me responsible for my 'crimes'?"

"WH-WHY, YOU ---!"

The argument lengthened, in accompaniment of slight pushes from both sides.  As it went on the young wind sorcerer stood up from his spot on the carpet, and went to the arguing fathers.

"Uncle Nhaav...!" shouted Vaati with a rather soft-spoken, pleading yelp, as he tried to tug the long sleeve. "Please! Stop fighting with Daddy!"

When it was not successful he quickly approached his father, and tugged him in the same manner.

"Daddy, please!" cried out Vaati, with the same soft-spoken cry while looking up at him with tears of plea, "Don't fight anymore! Plea--!"

Silence filled the room, as both fathers turned to the direction of the wind sorcerer, who was found sitting on the carpet.  His teary ruby eyes set on the two fathers… set on his own father.  He braced himself as if he had something to hide, as fresh tears trickled down those sensitive, rosy cheeks.  Both froze at the sight of this, as guilt descended upon the two.  Vaahn, guilty for his deed, approached his teary-eyed son.

"Vaati..." he whispered in his calm, motherly tone, "I'm---"

Vaati moved away from his father with his head turned away and cried bitterly.  This sight caught the attention of the wind sorcerer's shadow, which urged him to run and sit by Vaati's side.  One hand that held a purple, floral handkerchief to dry those tears, while hugging with the other.  Gufuu looked up at them with an irritated expression, even worse than the mere frown he usually makes.  

"Vaati... I'm very --- "

Apology from the father did not reach the son, as Vaati turned away from him and cried on his shadow's shoulder, but later turned to him a little.

"Y-You s-said that... that..." he said in a soft, shaky voice, "you w-won't fight anymore... Y-You promised, D-Daddy... y-you p-promised..."

"Vaati... I'm really sorry..." said Vaahn, looking even more miserable of the fact that he pushed his son away from them, although accidentally it still hurt him to see his own son look up at him like that.

Gufuu gently hushed his light ego, as they got up slowly and moved towards the door of the family room.  The wind sorcerer's shadow gave them a cold stare.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!" shouted Gufuu, as he held Vaati in a protective hug.  "C'mon, Vaati.  Hmph!"

The two sons left the room, leaving the hero and the two fathers stare at them.  Someone must help Vaati, thought Link, as he rose from his seat and ran after the two sorcerers.

Guilt and silence conquered the room as the two fathers reflected at the argument they started and how much pain it brought to everyone else to hear and bear… most especially to the innocent, fragile Vaati.

Hours had passed since that argument and nothing but silence filled the household, except for some little whistling from the metal box.  Nhaav peeked for the sight of his light ego, and when he knew that the coast was clear he tiptoed out of his room and...

"Nhaav..."

Vaahn was in his pine green bathrobe, his hand grasping at the upper part of his opposite arm.  Still unable to shake that same guilty feeling, he approached his shadow and bowed his head.

"What should I do...?" he said in a whisper with a shaky tone, as if he were to break into tears, "I didn't mean to..."

He tilted his body slightly forward, with his head on his shadow's chest.  Nhaav could hear his light ego weep silently, as his clothes were drenched with tears.  He could not help himself... even if it was an accident, it was already painful to see his son hurt.  It was more painful when his own son turned away from him.  He could not help but cry.

"H-Hey...!"

Nhaav slowly moved Vaahn away from him, and saw his clothes flooded with tears.  Vaahn wiped his face with his sleeve, and looked up at his shadow.

"Look, we know that you didn't mean to hurt your boy, right?" said Nhaav with an astonishingly gentle tone, "all we have to do now is to give him time. Crying won't solve anything, Vaahn."

Vaahn merely nodded at his shadow's encouragement.

"And... he's right. We broke that promise to not fight. Let's just end this... okay?" he said in his normal but shaky tone.

Nhaav nodded.  Nothing but a brotherly hug was performed by the two fathers, then went separate ways.  Vaahn headed for the bathroom, while his shadow went to the family room and saw the children back there again.  Nhaav rested on the couch.

Silence was the life of the room, until a scream echoed throughout the house.  Nhaav fell off from his couch, quickly got up to his feet and searched for the source of the sound.  As he approached the bottom of the stairs he saw a shadow, and looked up to see Vaahn, which nearly made the shadow burst into laughter.  His hair was in a shade of hot pink, his lower body covered by the towel revealing his torso and, to top it all off, a haggard style of the hair that matched the haggard expression on Vaahn's gentle face.  Steam clearly whistling out of his ears, Vaahn stomped down the stairs and went to his shadow, whose face was already bloated to keep his laughter in.

"Why is my hair PINK?!" he shouted, ruffling his hair madly that was once chestnut-colored.

"HOT pink, to be precise." replied back Nhaav, clearly mocking his light ego.  

Seeing that frowning expression made Nhaav roll his eyes, and...

"It's my fault, blablabla, and that I should get punished by you, blablabla..."

This increased the mockery, and that made Vaahn grab his shadow by the collar.  It was clear that Nhaav could not hold it in any longer, and just burst into laughter.  Embarrassed still, Vaahn maintained a grip on the collar.  A few moments later, Vaati peeked at what they were doing and became astonished as he saw his father with pink hair, and his uncle laughing at his father.  When Nhaav saw Vaati, the wind sorcerer frowned at him.

"I guess it's my turn now." Nhaav turned away from both of them and went up to the bathroom.

Vaahn moved up to his own room, few minutes after his shadow left.  After a while, another scream echoed, but this time shook the entire house.  Nhaav ran down the stairs and saw the children.

"Where's Vaahn?" he asked, sounding desperate and angry at the same time, and quickly turned away to find his light ego himself.

Boisterous laughter came from the metal box, as Dark pointed at him.

"Hey, Grandpa!" laughed Dark in the metal box.

Nhaav ignored this mockery, ran up the stairs to the door of Vaahn's bedroom.  Nhaav burst the door wide open, which made Vaahn jump and nearly made the towel drop down his waist, causing to him blush hard.  Vaahn was astonished to see his shadow.

"LOOK. AT. THIIIIIIIS!" he grumbled with gritted teeth, as he pointed with two fingers on his crowning glory of grey which was once black.

Vaahn could not find more appropriate words but... a chuckle that was obvious enough for the shadow to see.

"THIS. Isn't. HELPING!" shouted the shadow, "Not only do I feel old, I LOOK OLD!"

"Hey, Grandpa!  Lost your cane? I'll help you find it!" laughed Dark, as peeked in the room and disappeared.  This enraged the shadow, while it left Vaahn to wonder how the boy managed to get out of the metal box.

"This is all... YOUR FAULT!" shouted Nhaav, pointing at his light ego.

"MY FAULT?!" shouted back Vaahn.

Someone cleared the throat, which caused silence between the two and made them turn to find a frowning Gufuu with a rather peculiar outfit.  He wore a metal strainer as his protective head gear, his purple velvet curtain for his cape, and held a butterfly net for his bayonet.  On his clothes, pins of different fandoms were pinned to his top for medals.  Peeking from behind him was the timid Vaati, trying to act and look tough as his shadow.  He wore a metal mixing bowl for his protective head gear, a lavender beach towel for his cape and held a butterfly net for his own bayonet.

"Th-That's enough, Daddy!" squeaked Vaati, still peeking from behind his shadow.  "I-If you w-want to kn-know why your hair are like that... it's just that---"

"WE were the ones who are responsible for both of your hair to be colored." interrupted Gufuu, "We threw away your shampoo, poured hair dye in those bottles and put them in their proper places."

Nhaav and Vaahn frowned at their sons, but their sons maintained a straight strict face... most especially Gufuu.  

"That hair dye shall stay on both heads for the WHOLE week." smirked Gufuu.  "Do you understand?"

The next morning started as a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere in the household when... a trumpet was blown into Vaahn's ear, which caused him to claw up to the ceiling like a scared cat.  Shaking with astonishment he spotted Dark, holding a brass trumpet in his hand, and a pair of cymbals in his other hand.

"D-Dark!" shouted Vaahn, still shaking and clawed up to the ceiling, "Why do you have to do that?"

Dark left without a word.

Dark blew the trumpet once more, but this time in Nhaav's ear, which caused him to hug the wooden head of the bed.  Nhaav looked very angry, thought Dark, and we all know where this is going when someone tries Nhaav's patience.  Dark threw a piece of orange into Nhaav's mouth, thus preventing him to bring out swears.

"Swearing is NOT ALLOWED in Daddy Boot Camp." said Dark, as he marched out of the room, down the stairs and into the dining room.

The whole unexpected event left both astonished fathers confused, as they said in unison:

"Daddy Boot Camp?"