A/N: I always wondered what would have happened if Jae-ha hadn't escaped his village. This is my take on how events would have unfolded.
Twenty-five years in hell; that's how Ryokuryuu felt. He was still chained to the wall of his room. The fact that he could break the chains the held him left a bad taste in his mouth, but it was futile. There was a twenty-four seven guard on his hut ever since his predecessor died.
They knew he wanted to leave; he hated being chained to the ground. He craved freedom. Imprisonment was the ugliest thing a person could do in his mind. He wanted to see the world and all the different people in it. He glared at the dust covering the floor. He wanted to soar through the air again, preferably without being shot.
Not much caught his attention anymore, but he could hear a loud commotion coming from the village outside his walls. The door flew open, and one of the villagers ran over to babysitter who, of course, held a bow. He whispered something in the man's ear which dumbfounded him.
"Are you serious?" The man with a bow asked and laughed harshly when the other man nodded before running back the way he came.
His guard walked over to him. He crouched down in front of him and tightened his hold on his weapon. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Jae-ha."
Jae-ha watched the man warily as the man came closer. He was completely taken off guard when the man started to undo the chains from the wall. Jae-ha's shock turned to dread as he realized what this meant: his supposed master had come for him.
There were only two ways the Ryokuryuu was ever unbound. The first was when another dragon was born to take their place. There was no reason to tie up the dying dragon. The second was if the crimson dragon king came looking for him. The Village of Ryokuryuu would be thrilled to throw their cursed dragon to the king. It would lift a weight from the village for a time.
The man pulled Jae-ha out of his thoughts by yanking on his chains. He wanted Jae-ha to follow him, but he had no desire to give up what little freedom he had. He would rather be chained up to the wall for eternity than sign his life over to a man he didn't know. When he didn't move an inch, his guard slapped him in the face and started to drag Jae-ha across the floor.
Jae-ha quickly stood up to save what little dignity he had. He didn't want to be dragged through the mud in front of a whole village like that. Once he was through the door of his hut, three more villagers grabbed his chains, ensuring he didn't try to leap for freedom.
He kept his eyes on the ground as he was lead through the village, everyone murmuring as they saw him. He could hear the village elder talking to someone. When Jae-ha heard a gasp, his heart started beating faster. He looked up into violet eyes.
His blood boiled as he heard the ancient pledge from the age of myth. He fell to the ground in agony as his fate was sealed. He looked back up to the face of his supposed master in astonishment. This person is the leader of the four dragon warriors?
Standing in front of him was a girl with flaming red hair and violet eyes. She was staring at him in shock, but rushed towards him. She put a hand to his forehead, and his heart skipped a beat.
"You have a fever," she murmured, concern filling her eye. "Are you alright?"
Jae-ha couldn't find his voice so he nodded. This little girl is my master?
She touched the chains holding his arms. She glanced up at the village elder, a fire in her eyes. "What are these?" Her voice held a suppressed emotion he couldn't quite make out.
The elder shifted slightly, looking nervous. "We had an incident where a Ryokuryuu escaped before and was captured. A group of men looking to obtain power came to our village and did horrible things to our people. So, it was decided that when any new Ryokuryuu are born, that are to be forced from the sky so our secret stays safe."
The girl stood up straight and threw a hand out in Jae-ha's direction. "You decided to chain people away from the world to protect yourselves? You steal other people's freedom to satisfy your own selfishness? And to make it worse, you beat them."
Jae-ha was so focused on the girl, he didn't notice the group with her. The Hakuryuu stepped forward. "You ignorant fools; you should be protecting him, not torturing him."
The villagers all slightly shuffled away from the group. The young girl turned back to Jae-ha. Jae-ha refused to look at her. He studied the group instead. So, she gathered Hakuryuu and Seiryuu, and now she's here for me. The other two people of the girl's group weren't dragon warriors. One was tall, muscular, and looked like he could massacre an entire army by himself. The other was young and looked to be weak. He couldn't understand why he was a part of the group.
"What's your name?" She asked the man kneeling in front of her.
"I'm Jae-ha," he said curtly.
Despite his rudeness, she smiled at him. "My name is Yona. I'm on a journey to reunite the four dragon warriors. I wanted to know if you would accompany me on my journey."
Jae-ha looked her straight in the eye as he stood up. "I'm delighted such a beautiful young lady wants me to accompany her, but I have no desire to be your slave."
Yona looked taken aback. "Slave?" Jae-ha nodded in his fellow dragon warrior's direction. "Kija and Shin-ah aren't my servants; they're my friends."
Jae-ha snorted and was about to turn away when Yona threw her arms around his neck. He froze. She stood on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear.
"At least let me take you from this village. After we get far enough away, if you want to leave, you can. I just can't bear to leave you here." She had tears in her eyes when she pulled away.
Jae-ha sighed. If she was going to take him away from this hell and give him his freedom, he would accompany her for a little while. He nodded, and she smiled in relief. She took his hand as his villagers unchained him.
There were no tears or farewells. There were no promises of a swift return. They walked out of the village, and Jae-ha promised himself that he would never return.
Little did the Ryokuryuu know that the universe had smile down upon him. For all the torture he endured in his life, he found a group to call family. He would accompany Yona and her little group longer than he planned. Not only did he find people who cared for him, but he was helping his friends do something he would have done on his own. He was making the world a more beautiful place without the loneliness that was sure to accompany his journey by himself.
A/N: So, this is my first Akatsuki no Yona story, and I'm also not used to writing in third person. Jae-ha was always one of my favorite characters (he was the one I loved from the moment he was introduced) so I thought I would write a little about him. I'm still knew to the Akatsuki no Yona fandom, but I hope I did it justice with this story. Any constructive criticism is welcomed. Thank you for reading this one-shot.