Chapter Text
"Yona... stop crying already!", Yoon cried out.
"You are crying, too, Yoon", Ki-Ja called.
"You're the one crying the most, White Snake", Hak stated.
How the hell did we end up here? Hak looks toward me as I lift my eyebrows. I shake my head in disbelief. From the corner of my eye, I can see he's doing the same. We're both so confused as to why Yoon and Ki-Ja decided to join Yona in her sorrow. Though, I stopped asking questions a few minutes ago, when it was clear they wouldn't stop.
"But... I wasn't able to say goodbye to Jae-Ha after all", Yona said, even more tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Jae-Ha? I thought we were over him", I said and I was going to add more to it, but Ki-Ja stopped me.
"Jae-Ha? He became our comrade, did he not?"
I frowned, my head slowly turning in his direction with murderous intent. "What the hell are you talking about, Ki-Ja?" I asked.
"Eh?", Yona said, confused.
And behind us, Shin-Ha unsheathed his sword, making us turn in his direction as he cut down a tree. Next thing we knew, screams were dangerously approaching the ground until a loud thud landed not far away from our group.
"Oh, you have to be kidding me", I muttered under my breath.
"Jae-Ha!", Yona screamed, somehow relieved to see the green haired man.
"Hi, Yona dear!", he greeted in a sing-songy voice.
"Why...?", Yona asked. And I might have asked the question as well if she hadn't herself.
"He was close by... all along", Shin-Ha explained as I brought my fists to my hips.
"So not only are you a damn pervert, but you're a stalker", I said, turning away.
"Hi, Lone!", he called and I rolled my eyes as I kept ignoring him. "Well", he continued as he sat up. "Since I now have a bit of free time, I was thinking that traveling around with Yona may not be such a bad thing, but.. you looked like you were about to cry as you were looking around for me and I become unbearably agitated. Oops! I missed the chance to call out to you", I frowned at his words, completely and utterly disgusted.
"He's as perverted as ever", Hak commented.
"Say that louder, Hak, for the people in the back", I said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I feel like he gives off the same smell as you, Thunder Beast", Yoon added.
"God, Yoon, you've gone one hell of a nose", I chuckled, looking at him with disbelief in my eyes.
"Oh? But...", Yona started, surprised and teasing. "You said you didn't like being bound to the decree of the Four Dragons. To go that far..."
"This has nothing to do with the Four Dragons", Jae-Ha countered, serious, and I raised an eyebrow. "Up until now and from here on out, as well, I'll simply follow the path I wish to choose for myself. Nothing is violating my principles of beauty. Right now, I just can't leave you alone. Take me... Yona", he said, taking her hand in his.
"Don't make up excuses", Hak called out, hitting him with his cloth covered glaive.
"That's right", Yoon confirmed. "Since you're not just traveling with Yona, you'll need to introduce yourself to the rest of us, too"
"What an embarrassment", I whispered, amused by his current situation.
"Sorry about that", Jae-Ha said. "Well then, again... My name is Jae-Ha. I'm the beautiful monster that carries the dragon within his right leg. I hope we'll get along from here on out"
I was seconds from laughing and I really wanted to escape that. So I looked up toward the other, a fist lifted up to my mouth to hide my amusement. "We already knew that, green head, now if it wouldn't bother you all, I'd like for us to be on our way", I said, rotating on my heels as I walked farther away into the forest, and farther away from Awa.
We had already stopped for a while before I finally heard Jae-Ha footsteps approach the camp. We had each taken a small shower and Yoon was getting ready to prepare dinner. The green-haired man threw the animal on the ground and clapped his hands as if to signify a job well done. I would bet he's proud. I rolled my eyes. And I knew, when I looked at him again, that he had seen me. I did not look away. But before he could say anything else, Yoon walked over to him.
"Wow! It's a fawn. Nice catch!"
"It was difficult trying to jump while carrying it", he said, visibly trying to make someone pity his "poor" condition. Mister I'm-the-cleaniest-and-most-perfect-and-can't-endure-not-having-any-eyes-on-me-at-all decided it was his time to shine. I rolled my eyes again, though this time, he did not see me. But still, there was an edge to his body and face that told me he still wanted to confront me.
"Jae-Ha's legs are really amazing", Yona stated.
"He suddenly jumped off into the eastern sky. So I thought he had finally been summoned to the Heavens"
"That fact is overrated, Yona", I said, sighing.
"Ready to do better, Lone?", Jae-Ha suddenly asked. "Go right ahead, show me what you got. You win if you bring the biggest beast"
"No thank you, I have no interest in battling in something as insignicant as this... and immature"
"Well, I made full use of this power when I was a boy to fly all around Kouka", he said, as if in a daze, ignoring my comment, remembering the old memories.
"By the way, you ran away from the village of Ryokuryuu, right? Why?", I looked back at Jae-Ha, slightly curious as well. The question came from Ki-Ja, though.
"Why?", he said, as if the answer was obvious. "Would you consider it acceptable if both your hands and feet were bound by chains?", he said, and I winced, looking away. I had been in a similar situation, though only for a couple of days.
"Chains?!", the White Dragon exclaimed.
"As an innocent, young, beautiful boy, I was tied up in chains. My milky white supple body was exposed to the curious gazes of the adults and I was blinded and assaulted within a cage day after day", he recited, as if from a poem.
"You're no poet, that's for sure", I commented.
"Hold on, don't overlap the pretty boy character, okay?", Yoon stopped him, and I chuckled.
"Eh?! Eh?! What?! I do not understand the village of Ryokuryuu", Ki-Ja cried.
"Don't believe him so easily. There's probably some wild delusions involved", Hak finished, making me laugh.
Jae-Ha spared me a glance, as if to glare at me. "That's generally the fate of the Ryokuryuu as soon as they're born"
"Generally?!", Ki-Ja screamed.
"Well, it's that, isn't it?", Hak asked, unimpressed. "It would be hard for the Ryokuryuu to stop themselves from jumping around"
"Actually, that's it"
"But since you're so quick, we'll be able to track down and find Ouryuu no matter where they are", Yona said.
"Oh, I had forgotten about the Ouryuu", I said, getting up. I kneeled again in the dirt and placed my bag against a rock.
"You were too busy thinking about me, I bet?", Jae-Ha teased.
"You wish. Actually, I was busy thinking about Ki-Ja's perfect face and Shin-Ha's mysterious eyes", I answered, leaning back on the ground, hands behind my head as I fell on the bag.
"Well, anyway, since I've come so far, getting a look at Ouryuu's face might not be so bad", Jae-Ha said, turning the conversation in another direction. "I'll find him"
"No. Leave that task to me. Wait.. Perfect face..?", Ki-Ja said, way to excited.
The three dragons began to argue over a subject I was not particularly interested in, while Yoon asked Hak to start the fire and went to discuss with Yona. I closed my eyes, trying to relax my mind and body as much as I could. Sleep wasn't getting better these days and I was exhausted. But the important part was I ate more than enough and sometimes, Yoon would leave more food for me, because he knew how thin I was. I was also training, regularly. I was taking back my strength and the habits I had lost. It felt good to get started again, but it was not for the weak. My limbs were more sore than before and because of my physical condition, I got tired easily. But I was working hard. Hard to become stronger and fiercer. I didn't want to fall in the hands of ennemies again ; it felt too much like a nightmare, and only the Heavens knew how much I had those every night.
And suddenly, stomach noises reached my ears. I slightly opened an eye when I realized it wasn't me who was making that sound and then, my eyes stopped on a yellow clothed male, sitting right beside Yona, praying with his eyes closed, hands together before his face. As a reflex, I brought my hand to my hip and unsheathed my sword in a swift movement as I stood up and approached him. My blade was but mere inches away from his face. Unbothered, he turned to look at me, a smile on his innocent face. Unlike him, I was frowning, distrust painting my face.
"Well, how violent you are, Miss", he said, as a way of greeting, and then, looked at Yona. "That's splending, but... everything that lives will return to heaven someday", he explained, probably talking about the small thanks that Yona had murmured a bit before Lone opened her eyes. "You put your hands together and thanked him. He will forgive you"
Drool started to go down the corners of his mouth and he did not seem bothered by it. I cringed and straightened, but kept my eye on him. "You're drooling...", Yoon said, visibly confused by who this man might be and what he was doing in their camp. "And your stomach is growling. Anyway, who are you?"
"Oh, no need to be concerned. Just passing through. Drool always comes out", I cringed again, frowning.
"Wipe it off!", Yoon screamed, as if it had been obvious from the first time he remarked it.
"There was a tasty smell. So I came!"
"It still smells like raw meat and blood", Yoon stated.
"You doing that a lot?", I asked.
"Do what a lot?", he asked, looking toward me again as he wiped the drool off.
"Passing through unknown camps?"
"Oh, well, it's a current hobby of mine, since I can't seem to do anything to survive", He said, laughing it off.
"Anyway, are you hungry?", Yona asked.
I gave her a look, an eyebrow raised. "Unnaturally hungry", the guy responded.
A while later, the food was ready. Yona, Hak, Yoon, the stranger and I were seated around the fire, ready to dig in. Though, the presence of the other three dragons were very obviously missing.
"Ooh, it looks good", Hak sang.
"Eat as much as you want today, there's plenty", Yoon explained.
"This is great. It's been a while since we've had meat", Hak beamed and then looked up at me. "You gotta be happy. It's gonna make some to put on your bones"
I rolled my eyes. "What's wrong with the miss?", the guy asked, looking at me.
"Trauma", I simply answered, wishing to wave away the conversation as quickly as possible. He didn't say anything else.
"By the way, who is that?", Hak suddenly asked, pointing at the guy.
"Oh... a wanderer? I don't know either", Yoon answered.
"Since he looked hungry, I invited him", Yona explained.
I watched as Yona offered the stranger a cup of water. "By the way, Ki-Ja ; do you know anything about Ouryuu? Where he might live?", Yoon asked the White Dragon. "Or any special characteristics he might have?"
"According to the country's founding legend, he's the one with the strong body, right?", Yona said, excited.
"Is his body made of scales?", Yoon asked, purely curious.
"Or is he a sturdy man?", Hak proposed.
Realizing Ki-Ja might not answer anytime soon, I turned toward the three dragons gathered a few feet away and called after them. "Hey, you guys! Come over here and eat!"
"...What do you think?", Ki-Ja asked, visibly uncertain of something. I frowned.
"Hmm. There's no mistake about him", Jae-Ha confirmed.
"Huh? What's up?", Yoon asked, confused.
"Well, how should I put it? It's about that boy there that's been eating meat for a while now. We think... he's Ouryuu", my eyes widened at the fact and I turned toward the yellow guy.
"What?", I let out. "He's the yellow dragon of legend?"
"Hm? You called?", the guy said, as if it were natural.
"Oh! On closer inspection", he started, examining the three figures standing before him. "There's Hakuryuu, Seiryuu and even Ryokuryuu! This means... everyone is together now", he finished with a bow, crossing the meat sticks over his head.
"Whattttt?!", we all screamed and then they rushed him to answer questions. I was stunned.
"You're all so restless. Zeno is properly sitting down and eating. Isn't Zeno a good boy?", he asked. "Oh, Zeno is my name"
"What's with that lazy self introduction?", Yoon shouted.
"I had a feeling Ouryuu was nearby", Ki-Ja shared. "But he was so close, I doubted my feeling"
"Right?", Jae-Ha agreed. "You didn't notice we were close by?"
"It's not about noticing or not noticing... Zeno is just leisurely traveling. Without a real care about the other dragons"
"You don't care...?", the Green Dragon asked.
"You, on the other hand, really did care about the other dragons", Hak teased, visibly sarcastic.
"You're just traveling at your leisure?", Ki-Ja asked.
"Yep"
"Alone? What about your village?"
"Left it a long time ago"
"Our master could have come to meet you! Yet you wandered about aimlessly?! Right! Your master... Don't you feel anything when you look at Lady Yona?!"
"Master?", Zeno asked, confused.
"This is Princess Yona!", he said, introducing her. "She is the master of the Four Dragons!"
"No need to be so theatrical, Ki-Ja love", I said, patting his shoulder. "Yona can introduce herself"
"'Love'?!", he screamed, blushing, hands covering his cheeks.
"Princess... Master...", he whispered and Yona waited, as if uncertain what to say or do.
"Don't feel anything? Now that would be rude! She's super cute! Zeno's heart is pounding!"
"I know that! That is not what I mean! It can't be... he didn't feel that initiation", he said, which had me frowning.
"That initiation that even had me thinking, "Boil me, take me, do whatever you want already"...?!", Jae-Ha explained.
"What kind of initiation is that?", Hak asked.
"Right?", I let out, sharing a look with my bestfriend.
"Is he that strong..?"
"Or is he just very simply minded...?"
"But if you left your village to leisurely travel alone like this, isn't that...", Yona started.
"That's what?"
"Asking you to join us... may be difficult. We're looking for the dragons to ask them to lend us their power. If you..."
"Okay"
My eyes widened in surprise and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Huh?", Yona let out.
"It's fine. Zeno is just traveling wherever Zeno wants. There's no particular destination. And nothing to do! Above all, your food was super delicious! It's a precious hobby, to be grateful for the food"
"That should be a principle", Yoon commented.
"It's nice to meet you. And here's to more delicious food from tomorrow on!", he exclaimed, shaking Yoon's hand in respect.
"What the... He wandered in and became our comrade the fastest", Ki-Ja sighed.
"Or maybe because he was just starving", Yoon said.
"He broke your record, White Snake"
"Ouryuu Zeno", Ki-Ja called instantly.
"Huh?"
"I am Hakuryuu Ki-Ja. I possess the power of the dragon within my right hand. If you are a dragon that protects the princess like us, show us your power"
"Power?"
"That is right"
"Ah, Zeno isn't very powerful, but my body is sturdy!"
"Oh. So it was that, after all"
"Somehow, I still doubt that would be your power", I let out, bringing my fingers to my chin, trying to think.
"How sturdy are you?", Hak asked, a meat stick in his mouth as he punched the poor guy in the face. He flew away like a fly would have died. I put my hands over my mouth, shocked. "Did that hurt you?", Zeno was holding his cheek, on the verge of tears.
"Your body is weak! You're just a regular person! Are you really Ouryuu?", Yoon shouted.
"No, no, he's just weird", Zeno cried, defending himself. "The strength his arm has is outrageous"
"I'm often hit, too", Jae-Ha added. "By Hak's strong fists"
"You don't count, Jae-Ha", I said.
"You always look like you enjoy it for some reason", Yoon said and he approached Zeno, holding his arm up. "Your body isn't particularly tough. Your skin is squishy"
"Zeno's skin is smooth. It gets dirty sometimes, though"
"The Thunder Beast's body is rock solid. I'd be convinced if he claimed he was Ouryuu"
"I have kept quiet until now, but I am actually Ouryuu", Hak said, dead serious, arms crossed.
"If you were a dragon, you would be the evil dark dragon!", Ki-Ja screamed and Hak grinned. "Aren't you mortified?! He is threatening your position! Remember your pride as a dragon!!"
"Okay, okay, fellow friend", I started and put my hands on his shoulders, stepping in between him and the yellow dragon. "Don't put such uncanny thoughts in a mind so innocent ; we wouldn't want Ouryuu becoming a little too much like White Snake, now, would we?
"But!", he screamed, looking over my shoulder. "You neglected to train your body, didn't you? The Four Dragons must always keep their powers refined and sharp for the sake of their master"
"Hold on", Jae-Ha stopped him. "Ouryuu has his own life to live. Pushing your values onto others isn't one of your good points!"
"But- The Four Dragons... the four brothers of ancient time have finally gathered. For the first time since time of the legend... we have met for the first time in thousands of years. It has finally... been fulfilled... in our time! I...! That's amazing if you really think about it. But it feels a little too anticlimatic"
Jae-Ha and Shin-Ha were surrounding Ki-Ja, trying to reassure him. While, not far away, Yona looked toward Zeno as I did the same and we watched him smile slightly. Not the innocent smile of the boy we met earlier on. There was something else about that smile... nothing not so innocent.
I was laying on the ground again, head turned up toward the sky, stargazing. The little miniscules spots of light were so many that I couldn't keep my eyes on just one. And yet, the spectacle was as amazing as it always was. I heard a loud thud beside me as I turned my head. I hadn't seen him coming, but Zeno had took a seat right beside me.
"I do not desire to offend you, but may I ask how miss ended up with the group? I am rather curious... of your story", he asked, then he turned his head toward me. I could see, in the shadows of his eyes, that he was watching my scar.
"I am not offended, but I also do not intend to answer that question fully. I would guess that you want to know what happened to me, but the only way you could know is if you could somehow guess"
"Anything the miss can tell me, I will be satisfied with"
I sighed and smiled, returning my eyes to the dotted sky.
"I have grown up with Hak and Yona by my side. My parents died after the King and I was supposed to marry the current King for politics. I ran away before that. It was a long journey that followed, before it led me to Awa, where I finally rejoined with the rest of the group"
"So you were not with the other miss and mister since the beginning"
"Nope"
"It is quite a coincidence that you were to find their group in Awa... of all places", he said, and his suspicious tone averted my eyes, making me look at him. I frowned.
"If you would rather think of ill thoughts toward me, I would assure you not to. It is not a plea, but a warning. I have no desire to start a fight, but if you ever accuse me of treason, actually send me to the castle"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because I am accused of treason to the crown and to have killed my entire family as well as having burned down my house"
"Are the accusations true?"
Before, I would have immediately said no, because I had been persuaded that I was innocent, but now...
"It is complicated"
"I see... You know, it is rare to see a noble woman take up a sword"
"Noble woman? How-"
"You are Lady Lone, aren't you? The Lady who has lost everything, the one who was presumed dead in a city of Wind. You really are a reason for talking, even now, miss"
"I never wished to be. If things had stayed the way they were, all this wouldn't have been necessary"
He shrugged.
"By pure curiosity, do you ever ask yourself why you're still alive after your family died? After everyone died...?", there was another meaning to his words that I couldn't quite understand. But..
"Yes, I do. On a daily basis, indeed. It is torture"
He didn't say anything else. He just looked up at the sparkling sky and stared and stared. This boy was a wonder to look at. For now, it was too early to ask, but he was hiding something. To go from completely innocent to having another whole personnality in less than two seconds is something I cannot fathom.
"You were the only one who acted on their impulse when you saw me", he pointed out.
"If Hak would have seen you first, he would have beheaded you on the spot"
"But it was the Miss who was there", he said and then looked at me. He smiled and stood up. "I like you"
I watched as he walked away. This boy was a wonder, indeed...