"So this is the neighboring village.. It doesn't seem to be disturbed." Soo-Won's soft voice says as they walk through the streets. It was a small little town that held middle to low class citizens in it. Since it was located right on the border, the newly crowned king wanted to assess the situations on the border more thoroughly. This didn't bother Joo-Doh as it kept him out of the palace and helped free him from the constant reminder of the princess. The Sky General watched with a skilled eye as Soo-Won began his usual escape from the company of soldiers. Frowning Joo-Doh grabbed his sleeve.

"You know it's not safe to go off by yourself!" He tried his best to keep from yelling, but his voice still seemed to carry through the street.

"Eh… Perceptive as ever, aren't you Joo-Doh? Don't worry. I'm not going too far. At times it's nice to blend in.. I don't want to draw attention to myself.. especially for missions like these."

His words brought back the memories of Yona and him walking through the city street.

You're not going to scream at me if I go to a stand by myself, are you? The warrior's heart squeezed as her voice entered into his mind. He immediately released his grasp on the King's sleeve.

"Do what you want.." His voice a low growl as he turned away and began walking off. "Follow behind him. I need a break."

"Y-Yes sir!" The fellow soldier's responded in unison before giving a small bow. Soo-Won stared off at him in thought before turning around and beginning to walk in the opposite direction, his other men silently following behind him, much to the King's dismay. As soon as the blonde-headed headache was out of the Sky General's sight, he let out a sigh.

Fuck these memories… Rubbing his temples, he fought to get her voice out of his mind. It was a constant battle, but seemed to get worse with every passing day. She's alive.. She's out here living a terrible life and being targeted…She's… being.. targeted….

"Ugh!" He screamed out causing a young boy to look over at him as if he was a crazy person. This annoyed the general even more. "What are you staring at?! Get lost!"

The boy's eyes widened before swiftly taking off running down the street.

Damn it…. I've got to get a grip… He thought to himself while leaning against the side of a building.

"You really saw that?" He could hear the voice of a young man talking with an old geezer a few feet away from him.

"Yeah.. I saw these guys taking a girl away in the middle of the night. She seemed to be passed out. It looked fishy to me." The old man said, his voice tinged with excitement.

It's not my problem.. I'll let sleeping dogs lie… Joo-Doh told himself and started to move away from the men.

"The girl was very peculiar. She had curly red hair that appeared to be as bright as the dawning sky." Hearing this, Joo-Doh immediately stopped and turned to face them.

Red hair?

"Bright red hair? That is very unusual…"

It couldn't be… The Thunder Beast would let anyone take her… It's probably someone else..

"Yeah.. She was a tiny little thing too. It looked like they had drugged her. I mean, she was being carried over the guy's shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes or something." The old man added. The sky general unconsciously tightened his fists at the thought. Before he could stop himself, Joo-Doh had approached the two of them.

"Who were the men?" He could hear his own voice ask before even realizing his actions.

"Who are you?" The old geezer asked, while slightly moving behind the younger man.

"It doesn't matter who I am. Just answer my question." Joo-Doh's tone was unrelenting and demanding. It was the voice of a commander, a leader, both men could see that.

"…I don't know. I've never seen them around here before. Their clothes were very unique." The elderly man informed, clearly intimidated by Joo-Doh.

"What were the clothes like? Did they leave any clues? What about the girl? What was she wearing?" His barrage of questions caused both of the men to look at each other and back at him.

"The men wore dark red hanbok's with yellow trim.. They were not wearing any armor, and I did not see any weapons on them.. It doesn't mean they didn't have them concealed though.… The girl was wearing pink Kimono. She looked ragged and did not seem of much value…"

Pink Kimono… Curly red hair... This sounds exactly like the princess…

"I was going to keep it myself, but the way you are looking, it might be better for the village if I show you this." The old man dug in his pocket and pulled out a medallion. It had a strange emblem on the front of it… The symbol of a bat flying in front of a full moon.

"The men dropped it on their way through the village. I'm an old man so I couldn't do anything to help the girl, but it seems you may know who she is. I'll leave it to you to solve this mystery. Don't let any of our women get taken either. I quite enjoy seeing beauties walking down the streets."

"Thank you." Joo-Doh said, ignoring the somewhat perverted remark, before placing the medallion in his pocket and walking away.

I won't let them.. I won't let them hurt her. If they really took her.. I-I..

"Eesh… You look like you are going to kill someone, General Joo-Doh." The voice of one of his men noted from beside him. Joo-Doh looked over to see Gin walking closer to him. Gin was new to his command; however, he was very knowledgeable about the different countries.

"Follow me." The General ordered while walking over to an alleyway. Once inside the alley, Joo-Doh took out the pendant and handed it to the young man. "Where is this Pendant from?"

The young man was silent a moment while studying the intricate design.

"It's from the Zhan Province in Northern Kai… They say Lord Kage is the Province ruler. General Joo-Doh, where did you receive something like this?" Gin informed before handing back the medallion.

"Some villagers reported it. They reported a possible capturing as well. It seems they might be targeting young women."

"If that's the case then I think I might know where those bastards may have taken the victims." The young man stated, causing the General to look over at him. The young man took out the map of Kouka Kingdom and the bordering Kai. "The Zhan Province is located directly below the Imperial Capital, Tenchou. It is a large province that has recently taken over the some of the smaller provinces along the border which is also bordering the Sen Province. One of the villages that they captured is located in the mountains bordering both the Firetribe and the Sen Province. This village contains an underground prison hidden in a mountain side. It was built for criminals back when the Emperor still ruled all of Kai. Recently the Lord Kage took hold of the village and the prison. If this is the case, the best bet to find the hostages is inside of that prison."

"You sure know a lot of information." Joo-Doh mentioned causing the young man to smile somewhat bashfully.

"Before joining the army, I travelled a lot." He said in almost an apologetic tone. "It shouldn't take long to reach the prison from our location… Maybe an hour on horseback. The problem isn't getting to the location, but getting in the location. It is probably heavily guarded. Should we inform his Highness about this?"

"No. I will investigate this on my own. I don't want to waste King Soo-Won's time on this if it is just a rumor or a minor incident. It wouldn't be good if the King of Kouka was found snooping around another country's prison." The General responded causing Gin to smile.

"Understood, General. Then I will cover for you in your absence tonight." He added causing Joo-Doh to stare at him in surprise. "Oh, the King has returned."

Joo-Doh watched as the young man took off running towards Soo-Won and the other companions.

That kid is something else…

That night Joo-Doh silently crept out of the room of the Inn they were staying at. His swords were strapped to his back and his face was concealed by a black cloak. Quietly he exited the Inn and headed towards his horse. As he entered into the stables, he found his horse already saddled and ready to go. On his saddle sat an emotionless metal mask that only allowed his eyes and mouth to be seen. Next to it was a note.

'Make sure to wear the mask when going in the prison. It has a special meaning so they should let you in without any trouble! Try and be back at dawn otherwise I'm going to have a hard time covering for you! -Gin'

"…That kid.." He mumbled before quickly mounting his horse and galloping off towards the prison.

...

Inside the Prison

She could hear the sound of what seemed like water dripping onto the ground. A cool breeze prickled her skin as it brushed against her body.

Where am I? What's going on?

The princess tried to move her hands, only to be restrained where she was sitting. She could feel the coldness of the metal that bound her wrists in place. This seemed to sober her up more as she fought to open her eyes. Yona's vision was blurry as she tried to focus her surroundings. A single torch light was all that she could see. By itself, it cast a dim lighting across what seemed to be a prison cell. Her heart dropped as her mind began catching up to the situation. She looked up to see her wrists were, in fact, bound in place above her. She was sitting on a wooden chair that was flush against the prison wall. Her legs were bound to both sides of the chair. Panic rose inside of her as she began writhing around in an attempt to free herself, but it was to no avail. The shackles wouldn't budge. She was trapped.

"I promise you.. She is the real person, my Lord. The leader of the dragons! I saw them with my very own eyes!" A familiar voice could be heard on the other side of the door.

"For your sake she better be. I had to cancel many important meetings in order to come here." A cold, almost emotionless voice responded. Yona's breathing began picking up speed as she heard the lock on the door click. A creaking sound echoed through the cell as two men entered. Yona looked up to see the, all too familiar, face of the merchant who had given them food earlier and another man. He appeared to be a noble, dressed like a scholar, he held himself confidently. His purple robes made him appear as if her were royalty, his dark black hair pulled neatly up in a tradition fashion. His eyes were cold and unrelenting.

"See boss? This is the girl, the leader of the dragons. Isn't she a beauty?" The man said proudly while letting out a cackle of a laugh. Yona glared at him.

"What did you do to my companions?" She demanded, her gaze never wavering from the merchant.

"Unlike you, they are fine. Lucky for them, we weren't strong enough to lug them with us.. So we just took you, their little leader." The merchant said with another laugh.

"You won't get away with this.." Yona growled, her eyes burning when thinking of how her friends will feel when they wake up to find her missing.

"So the rumors are true? You control the dragons?" The other man spoke up causing the Princess to turn her attention to him. "..I like that look in your eyes. I wouldn't expect anything less from a leader of such a powerful group."

He walked closer to her, taking her face in his hands. As he did this, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's your name?" He asked, Yona merely glared as a response. "What is your relationship with the dragons? What are their powers? Weaknesses? I want to know all about.. your little group."

The princess didn't waver, she hated the feeling of his cold hands on her face and the way he looked at her as if she was merely a pawn or a piece of property. After a moment, she could feel the man's grip on her cheeks tighten.

"Not going to talk?"

The Princess remained quiet.

"Very well… A night of torture might give you a change of heart. Minen.. Have your way with her, but don't let her die. She is very.. valuable." With those orders, the man left, leaving only Yona and the merchant in the room. Yona could feel her heart in her throat as he turned to her, an excited, almost crazed look in his eyes.

"I get to have lots of fun tonight, don't I… Dragon Lady? Let me go get Big Rine. He will want to help!" The crazed man practically sang as he left the prison cell, the door slamming shut behind him. Yona looked up at the ceiling, she was already gasping for air as she tried to calm herself and prepare for what was to come.

Hak.. Ki-Ja.. Shin-Ah..Yun.. Jae-Ha.. Zeno.. Ao..

She continued thinking their names over and over in her head, those who are most precious to her.

This time.. I will protect you.

The door creaked open followed by excited laughter. Yona opened her eyes to see the merchant standing with a big burly man who was nearly as tall and big around as the door itself. In their hands were whips and small knives.

"Let the fun begin!" The man exclaimed as if they were about to have the best times of their lives. Yona took a deep breath as they inched closer.

...

This concludes the first chapter of Akatsuki No Yona: Behind the Mask!

Don't forget to read the Prequel(?) Feelings that Lie Beneath the Mask. For some of the memory references.

Please do not hate me for the Yona torture scenes that will go on.. I'm sorry.

In case anyone is wondering, the name Kage means "Darkness" which you will come to find is the perfect fit for this man. Yona is like the "Dawn" Kage is "Darkness". I am really looking forward to writing this!

Even though this is a very Unique ship, I hope that you will still join me on this emotional ride as we delve deeper into General Joo-Doh's heart and his past!