Zeno felt the blade pierce his heart, and he spat blood, hissing softly. The cries of his friends filled is ears, ringing in his head. He crumpled onto the ground, and there was familiar shriek. Yona?

Warm arms wrapped around his prone figure, and Zeno cursed, unable to regain control of his limbs. His eyes were shut too, but he was perfectly aware of his surroundings. It must be the distance from Hiryuu Castle…

"No!" cried Yona, her arms tightening around Zeno, and the blond youth felt a flower of warmth blossom inside his stomach, despite their current circumstances.

"Clinging onto a dead body won't change anything," the soldier sneered, his voice grating against Zeno's ears. "Give up, and we'll be gentle."

He felt something wet splash onto his cheeks, trailing downwards until it succumbed to gravity and left for the earth. Was the miss crying for him?

"It's okay," he murmured, stretching out a hand to caress her face. He pushed off of her, the skin around his chest and shoulder knitting back together. He grimaced as the wound healed itself, already feeling the pain exit his body.

"W-what?" he heard a soldier gasp. An involuntary smirk graced his lips as he stood on his feet, his tatter clothes ripping and hanging off of him like drapes.

"If you find my body terrifying, would you please leave this place?" he said calmly towards the frightened men. Another swipe, and the skin from his left cheek was slashed off, exposing his jaw. It healed as well.

"Ouryuu will never die." The surprise and tension was almost palpable in the air, and his eyes hardened, his bright blue orbs sweeping over the enemy lines, catching the looks of shock and fear. One soldier advanced cautiously towards him, and Zeno made no move, his hands and feet idle as he watched the soldier lift his sword.

"Yahh!" the man cried, stabbing the blade straight into Zeno's chest, piercing his heart once more. The organ paused in its job, before continuing its rhythmic pumping, and the soldier withdrew his weapon, looking at Zeno expectantly as the dragon hissed. A hand clutched at his chest, but a heartbeat later, the wound had knit itself back together again.

His friends could only watch in horrified silence as a soldier lopped off both of his arms, and after they re-attached themselves, his head.

The mess of blond hair went flying, and the soldiers breathed sigh of relief. Surely no monster could live even after being decapitated. Even with a disembodied head, he could hear the shouts and yells of his companions, wishing nothing more than to assure them individually that he was fine. But that would have to wait.

The rest of his body had toppled over, but his fingers dug into the ground, and slowly, it crawled over to where his head lay. Zeno's neck mended itself, and he stood up once more, his frigid stare piercing the enemy soldiers. Another man charged at him, swinging his blade. Zeno merely lifted an arm, and the sword clattered against the appendage before shattering into little pieces.

"Y-you monster! How the hell are you still alive?!" the man shouted, terrified. Zeno looked at him coldly, before leaping up and smashing a scale covered hand down on the man's head, crushing him into the earth.

"Me, a monster?" Zeno whispered, rushing forward to kick another soldier with his scale covered foot. "Coming from one that had no qualms with slaughtering a whole village."

Facing the front lines of the enemy, he glowered harshly at them. "I've finally met them. No matter how many times I am cut to pieces, I will always be their shield."

With one last attempt to strike him, the soldiers all swing their weapons at him, but they all bounced off, breaking into fragments.

"You won't be able to cut me anymore," said Zeno. Turning back to his friends, he returned to his nonchalant tone. "You guys okay?"

"Y-yeah," Yona stutters, her eyes wide.

Kija demanded an explanation, wincing as he clutched his wound with his large, dragon hand.

"I'm weak and useless," said Zeno, "but if I get wounded, these scales will be even harder than steel. My hand will be like Kija's, and my foot, like Jae-ha's."

He turned back towards the soldiers, and flashed them a mocking smile. "What are you waiting for? Unlike you, I have no limitations. I can keep fighting for hundreds of years. Come. I have plenty of time."

The soldiers retreat, their steps harried as they rush to escape the battlefield. Zeno sighed, and turned around only to meet a throng of arms. He was enveloped in the arms of his friends, and a smile flickered onto his lips as he saw Yona trembling among all of them, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You guys are so adorable," he chuckled softly. "I'm fine, really."

Zeno lay on his mat, eyes wide awake, listening to the soft breathing of his companions. He rested an arm over his eyes, having given up on the safe haven known as sleep. Sighing, he sat up abruptly, and carefully crawled out of the haphazardly set up tent where the other three dragons rested. He treaded softly on the patchy grass, a small smile flickering on his face as he stared up towards the heavens.

His eyes were half-shut, and the smile on his face turned even more serene.

Abi, Shu-ten, Gu-en, are you guys there? The dragon medallion flashed, reflecting the moon's bright light, and Zeno grinned. He didn't expect a verbal answer. After all, his fellow originals were lying asleep back in the tent, just in different physical forms. He plopped down on the grass, memories flooding through him, making his heart ache.

He clutched at his chest, feeling his heart pump softly, each beat gently pushing against his hand. Unshed tears misted his eyes, and his smile wavered.

I would give anything to join you guys up there, he pleaded quietly. But not right now. There are people that I want to protect, and even there weren't,

Some things will never be able to return to the heavens.

…All them AkaYona feels…they will be the end of me…

Whelp, this oneshot was like chapter 101 in word form, plus some extra little blurb from me at the end. Anyway, I hope you liked this short story, now I must relieve myself of all them Zeno feels, otherwise the dam will break and I will cry. (I'm also working on The Different Dimensions of Magic right now, and I will update soon)

Thanks!

Doodle