The Weight of My World
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Yona sighed contentedly as she finished her cool down stretches and went about gathering both her archery equipment and her sword.
The group had had a few days to rest and gather themselves while they decided where they would head next. And so, while Yun went about mapping their route and the others enjoyed their downtime, Yona was determined to use the next few days to improve in her combat skills.
By now, she was quite the shot with a bow and could hit near any target with surprising accuracy. But she was mindful to continue with her nightly practices so as not to neglect it and let her skills become rusty.
As for the sword, thanks to Hak's rigorous training, she had become quite adept and could hold her own for the most part while they sparred. Never mind the fact that on more than one occasion now she had proved her skills in order to defend herself and others when the time called for it.
She took great pride in how far she had come from the weak and clueless girl she used to be. Through her training she had learned how to be more self aware and how to keep a sharp mind and focus. She had learned how to read her opponent. How to defend and how to attack.
She felt the most pride whenever Hak praised her for her hard work or a particularly good attack. They were few and far between, but that's why they meant so much to her when they were given out. Because it meant that she had earned his respect and that's what she valued most out of their training sessions. It was what she strived for so that maybe one day he could allow himself to rely on her a bit more.
Yet no matter how far she may have come, it never seemed like it would be enough.
Never seemed like she'd reach her goal of finally being able to fight alongside her friends in the heat of the battle as opposed to the outskirts.
She never wanted for any of them to have to fight, but time and time again it had proved to be a necessity on their course to saving their kingdom and its people from corruption and disaster both within its walls and heading its way. And on those days when they did find themselves preparing to fight, she yearned to be able to follow them.
She loved Yun and was glad she could at least help to protect him while the others where gone but that didn't stop her heart from straining as she thought about her friends in danger.
Didn't stop her eyes from scouring the battlegrounds praying that she would see them alive and fighting and wouldn't find them amongst the sea of bodies that littered the ground.
After inspecting her last arrow for any loose fletchings that might need replacing and sharpening her sword, she gathered her things and set them against the trunk of a large maple before turning and sitting down on a nearby rock as she watched where Hak was finishing with his own post training cool down.
It never ceased to amaze her, the fluidity and sheer skill Hak had with his own weapon of choice. His Guan Dao a mere flash of quicksilver as it spun and sliced through the air around him.
He was going through his last few sets of fighting stances and positions when he noticed her watching him.
"Do you need anything there Princess or are you simply admiring the view?" he teased, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes as he finished his last position and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Ordinarily, she might have become flustered by his teasing or irritated into quipping back. This time though, she found that even with his boyish grin and childish teasing, her focus lay still with the weapon in his hand.
Puzzled by her lack of response, he tried again, "You in there Princess? What's with that serious face you got on there?" he continued hoping that might knock her out of her reverie.
It seemed to do the trick, and this time her focus went back to him as she met his gaze. What he was not expecting however is when she suddenly stood up from her perch on the rock, her face a mask of calm composure, and asks if she can try using his Guan Dao.
This stunned and surprised him to say the least, as while she had made demands that he teach her a multitude of fighting styles and weaponry throughout their training, she had never shown any interest in using his own particular weapon before.
"Why? You've never shown any interest in a using a polearm before." He noted, unsure on how he felt on the matter.
As much as he loved watching her grow into her own person and struggle to become stronger, every time she picked up a new weapon, a part of him twinged knowing that as much as she learned for pride and self assurance, with their life style as it had become, it was also out of necessity.
"It's not that I've never taken an interest per say," she began hesitantly, "it more like. . . I don't how, more like something on a completely different level to what I've been learning with the sword and bow."
She chuckled lightly to herself, "After all, you're practically renown for your skill with your blade above any other weapon, though you are skilled with many. It just seemed somehow beyond my reach in a way." She trained off before steeling herself and looking him dead in the eye in that way that always made him feel helpless to do anything but go along with her whims.
"I just want to see what its like for you when you fight. How it differs from what I've learned."
Not knowing what to say in response and feeling slightly flustered at her words on how highly she held his skills in regard, he decided to simply let her have her way and see where this would go as he awkwardly handed over his weapon. He was used to praise and acknowledgement over his skills from the other generals and citizens of various tribes who had heard of him, but somehow it felt different coming from her.
Somehow, it made him feel both more prideful and bashful of it at the same time after so many years showing off as a child trying to catch her attention as he trained with the soldiers and Mundok only for his efforts to go mostly unnoticed.
He even annoyingly found his face brightening a tinge as her hands brush over his own as she reached over and tried to lift the substantial weight of his weapon.
She managed to get a fairly good grip on it but it wasn't long before her face was red and her arms began to shake as she strained to even hold it up.
He couldn't help but chuckle when she practically dropped it with a resounding thud before bending over to rest her hands on her knees as she gulped in air.
"How in the world do you swing that thing around so easily?!" she gasped. And his laughter grew as she stared at him in astonishment trying to discern if perhaps there were metal cables under his skin instead of muscle.
"Its not that heavy for me. But I've had years of practice to get used to its weight." He replied simply after he managed to compose himself again.
She balked at his reply before exclaiming, "The only thing heavier than that would be the weight of the world itself! Its ridiculous! Are we sure the Dark dragon didn't give you both of his arms instead of the white dragon's one?"
While she added the last part as a joke, honestly there was a part of her that would believe it if he said it was true after all, even if they had all just made the dark dragon up on a whim and as a joke.
He just grinned at her as he picked up his weapon from the ground and gave it a few spins and thrusts through the air.
Partially to show how accustomed he was to its weight. . . A maybe partly to show off a little again.
He couldn't help himself.
"Well I can testify against having any sort of dragon arms by the fact that my hands don't have massive claws like White Snake." He stated a-matter-of-factly as he set his weapon down to lean against the tree where she had left her bow.
"As for the first part though, I'd beg to differ," he said giving her a mischievous look before swooping down and throwing her across his shoulders and spinning them both around as she yelped and flailed while demanding he put her down.
"Hak! What are you doing? I'll get dizzy like this!" she cried, whilst attempting to wriggle out of his grip.
"Proving a point. After all, my whole world lies with you and I can toss you around with no problem at all, so maybe my Guan Dao is the heaviest thing after all." He teased.
This at least got a giggle out of her before he eventually conceded and let her down.
"Was the spinning really necessary in proving your point?" she asked with an eyebrow raised as he watched he stumble about trying to reorient herself.
"Oh definitely." He said, boyish grin now back in place as she finally stopped swaying from side to side.
She simply stuck her tongue out at him and he ruffled her hair as he went over and retrieved his Guan Dao once more.
"Here, come over here and I'll help you." He said, holding out a hand to her in a truce.
Wary of any more surprises he might have in store for her, she gave him a look that told his as much but he just scoffed and she ultimately let her curiosity to give the weapon another try win her over.
Putting her hand in his, he gently positioned her in front of him with her back pressed up against his chest, showing her how to plant her feet before reaching around her to help her hold the weapon as he showed her where to put her hands.
With her stance and hands now in the correct position, he slowly guided her through the first few positions of one of the easier fighting sequences he knew as he took the brunt of the blades weight.
Together they mimicked stabbing attacks and sweeping arcs used for defense in slow fluid motions as she got a feel for the patterns.
He smiled as he could feel her try and take more of the weight of the polearm from him as they held it together, even as it made her arms begin to shake once again. There truly was nothing that could stop her stubborn determination once she had a mind to do something and it never ceased to amaze him.
Just as his mind began to wander to thoughts of the first time she had confronted him demanding he teach her the sword, he was snapped back to attention by the sound of her voice and bright violet eyes looking up at him over her shoulder.
"Can you show me how you spin it around your back? I've always found that move the most amazing to watch" she admitted, her expression holding such childlike eagerness.
"I'm not sure if I can show you like this." He said pointedly looking at their current position, "You can't hold it up long enough to get enough force or speed to rotate it around your back on your own and doing it together is just asking for someone to get tripped up and possibly sever a limb."
She nodded, understanding he was right but couldn't help but let a little of her disappointment slip through and it pulled at his heart more than he'd like to admit.
He truly could be such a push over when it came to her couldn't he?
However, the feeling was soon replaced with amusement as he had an idea.
"I can't show you what its like to spin the weapon on your own, but I can show you what it's like from the weapons point of view." He said with a grin.
She looked back over her shoulder at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Taking the Guan Dao from her hands and setting it back against the tree he turned to face her this time.
"We've already established your much lighter than my Guan Dao is and that I can easily throw you about. So, this time I'll spin you around instead. Stand still and rigid with your arms out in front of you and your legs straight and it'll practically be the same thing. Sounds like fun right?"
"It sounds like a sure-fire way for me to break my neck." She countered back looking at him like she thought he was insane, but he didn't miss the look of excitement in her eyes at the challenge.
"Right, my mistake. I should have known you were too much of a chicken to give it a go." He said with a mock sigh as he began to saunter off.
He didn't get more than a few steps however before he heard the distinct sound of a groan of resentment and possible regret before she yelled after him.
"Fine! But if you drop me your gonna have to sleep with one eye open for the next week!"
He just laughed in response and made his way back over with an eyebrow raised before she got the hint and raised her arms out in front of her like he'd instructed.
"You ready then? Remember try and stay stiff as a pole."
"Just get on with it before I change my mind." She said with a roll of her eyes even as she grinned in anticipation. They were always training so seriously and dealing with heavy situations things between the famine of the fire tribe and the Nadai addiction in the water tribe. It had been a long time since they'd just messed around doing stupid stunts like when they were kids and Yona had managed to sneak away from her nanny.
It was fun. It was freeing for their heavy hearts.
It was light.
Gently taking her hands in his and making sure that he had a firm grip without hurting her, he told her to jump just as he began to spin around rapidly in a circle until the force of it had her practically parallel with the ground.
He laughed as she screeched in delight before he got enough speed and he stopped his spinning while letting go of one of her hands to spin her around the back of him before passing her off into his other hand.
He did this a few times as she continued to giggle and grin like a mad woman, her hair streaming out behind her in wild disarray all the while making it look like he was tossing about a flaming torch before eventually, he began to slow her down and swung her up to catch her in both his arms.
When he did, he was once again greeted with the most radiant smile he had ever seen surrounded by that vibrant mass of flaming red hair that now seemed to burn around her.
"Your turning sideways," she remarked with a giggle.
"No, I'm pretty sure that was you this whole time. From me account I was upright the whole time." He said in response earning him a flick on the cheek. He supposed it had been intended for his forehead, but her coordination was still a bit off only adding to his amusement.
"Well that turned out better than expected. Though It might have been fun to see how far you could fly if I'd let go."
She snorted in response, "you wouldn't dare."
"Oh, wouldn't I?" he asked.
"No, you wouldn't. It might ruin your reputation as a body guard if anyone found out you'd flung your charge halfway across a field." She said confidently.
"I'm insulted! I'll have you know it would have been the whole field." He said in mock offense.
"Hak!"
"Don't worry, it's not like I was ever gonna let you go or throw you about for real. After all, I already told you my whole world revolves around you, did I? Can't go throwing the world away can you? Otherwise what's left?"
Though the words were still teasing he knew they still held truth and so couldn't help but look down at her and notice with no small amount of satisfaction that a blush had risen to her cheeks.
"Well, the weight of the world might be light for you, but it isn't for me." She muttered as she looked ahead of them as he began to walk them both back over to their belongings before heading back to camp where the others where surely waiting with dinner ready for them.
"What do you mean?" he asked, curious as to what she was referring to.
"Well, you can lift me but I'm still not strong enough to carry you yet." She mumbled, even as she let her head rest against his chest, and he felt his heart swell with joy at her words.
So, ever so softly, he leaned his head down and pressed a kiss to her brow before murmuring ever so quietly so that even the woods around them would have strained to hear.
"Don't worry so much about that. Together we can take on anything. Even the weight of the world, so let's stop trying to lift it all on our own."
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Authors Note: After doing some more research on Hak's weapon it seems more accurate to me that his weapon would be a Guan Dao over a Glaive. They are both very similar but the way they are designed, and their build differs slightly. From there I did some research on Hak's weapon of choice and OH BOY.
The average weight of a modern-day Guan Dao is anywhere from 2 – 20 lbs.
The weight of an ancient or historical blade was between approx. 40 – 100 lbs!
After looking up Yona's official weight on the Akayona wiki she only weighed a mere 92 pounds, but could have lifted the weapon, if only for short periods of time and with some training. I decided that I would say Hak's blade was 100 lbs based on the fact that a) this is a historical drama manga so it would have been much heavier anyway and b) based on what we know of the lightning beast, he is extraordinarily strong and would likely carry a weapon beyond average in more ways than one.
Also comparing Hak's height of 6"2 and the fact that his weapon is taller than him and the pole made of metal and not wood, again it seemed that his weapon would be heavier than the average blade of its kind, so I went with the higher weight though it is probably heavier in all honesty.
Any who, I hope that little tidbit makes the story make a little more sense and or was at least interesting!
Thanks again for reading and as always any and all kinds of reviews are welcome. Thank you for all your support thus far! 3