A/N: So, I've recently began reading Akatsuki No Yona, and I have got to admit. I really like this anime. I've gone from watching the anime to reading the mange, so I'm well-informed of the story thus far. I hope whoever reads this likes me OC implemented story. As always, I do not have any direction as to how this story will progress regarding romance or if I will keep it generally OC implemented, for that I'll depend on the reviews and opinions.
So for now, enjoy.:)
The wind gently rusted the leaves across the garden, the brightest shade of green rained down within the area almost flooding the vision of passerbyers; In the middle of the season where wild-life blooms, the aroma entranced even the busiest of people. The delightful smell of musty leaves was an oddly-pleasing fragrant, which is seldom appreciated. The warm air had a nostalgic, tingling feeling as it made contact with skin, a feeling that would remind anyone of their most cheerful memories. The ambient was nothing less than paradise; the day was close to dusk as children were still out playing games within the garden; nothing less from the Earth Tribe's capital, Chi'Shin.
"Boys! Time to come home before you catch a cold!" a frantic woman called for her children who were out playing way past their permissible time.
"Come inside before It gets dark!" she yelled again, the boys reluctantly paused as they motioned towards the tallest tree within the park. "Mother, we have supervision."
The mother's eyes wandered upwards the suspicious tree as she finally noticed a presence; neutral is her initial reaction, as it is more or less transferred to gratefulness, "Ah, I didn't notice you, Hwa."
A slight smile and nod was the response received as it was unexpected for the children to notice her inconspicuous presence, which earned an irritated grunt from the mother, "Thank you for watching over Lee-Jun and Shi-Shin."
As the boys wandered near their mother they all bowed towards Hwa, who in return climbed off from her comfortable spot, now revealing her whole self as a little taller than average woman. Her clearly muscular physique was prominent even from her posture and under her light clothing, Hwa wore what was similar to a black kimono with shade of red at the hems, however unlike the traditional kimono, Hwa's was tightly fitted and the skirt reached mid-way above her knees. Her attire parted around her chest area to reveal a teal undershirt which accentuated the curves of her breasts, coming to a v-neck cut just above the beginning of her cleavage with non-traditional sleeves of a kimono, instead Hwa's sleeves were also tight-fitted which reached just before her elbows, with the addition of her boots which reached below her knees. Her medium length, dark-brown hair caressed her slightly tanned face as she pulled it up into a ponytail, which was sort of tradition within the Earth Tribe, usually for men, however why not indulge into it also? Her double beaded purple necklace dangled from her neck as she bowed back, "No need for thanks."
By the time Hwa lifted her head the small family had wandered off to their path home. Hwa looked back at her previous seat and lazily took a deep breath, 'I was just getting comfortable'. Around this time of day, everyone begins their journey home. However Hwa was not one of them, yes the village Chi'Shin was her main go-to but she was no longer a resident. She was a traveller who enjoyed visiting any village that she came across, why be limited to one village when someone has the strength, energy and willpower to visit endless villages? Hwa learned her lesson years ago, staying in once place for too long was like being in silos, evidently spelling doom. Self-proclaiming to be a bad omen in flesh, Hwa fiercely believed that her presence in long-term was dangerous to be around, so because of this she was rarely in the same place for a long time and always travelled alone.
Hwa walked in a slow place through the busy streets of Chi'Shin as they all competed as to who could close down the fastest. All were eager to head home.
"Have you heard the latest news?" one shop owner gossiped as he began locking his shop's doors.
"Yeah, I did…" the man beside him gloomily responded, his demeanour peaked Hwa's interest, as someone who never interests herself enough for the latest gossip, or to be updated with the nation's latest news, somehow Hwa got a gut feeling that this would be something worth listening to.
"It is about time too, shame about the princess, though." Hwa's pace halted, the princess?
'What was her name…?' Hwa pondered carefully.
"Kind Il was murdered by the traitor, General Son-Hak. No one knows what happened to the princess?" This caused Hwa to turn to face the shop owner; too indulged in their own conversation, they had no clue of a certain eavesdropper.
"What do you mean? That is old news. She got killed falling off the cliff with the general; the Fire Tribe's second son Kan Tae-Jun witnessed it."
"So who is the new king?"
"It is going to be Kind Il's nephew, Soo-Woon. He already gathered the Five tribe's approval. The coronation is soon."
"Did General Hak really kill the King?" as it would seem, many still did not fully believe the story they were fed, "He was so dedicated to King Il, he even became the princesses personal body guard"
"Who knows," the shop owner shrugged, "I just hope the new king turns this country around. He could have killed the king himself, see if I care. The previous King was too much of a coward to rule this country." This much, Hwa already knew, King Il despised weapons and often gave up land to avoid wars, this angered many within the kingdom, especially war-hungry warriors who otherwise, would be too prideful to just blatantly release land to the opposing kingdom's hands. King Il's methods never failed to turn heads, but it would seem this time, it turned more than just that. How did Hwa not learn of this the moment the story brewed? Making a mental note, Hwa made it a point to indulge in the kingdom's news more regularly now.
'Intriguing' Hwa thought, resuming her walk. This, however, had nothing to do with Hwa. So as soon as it entered one ear it escaped through the other. It was a shame. Though; General Son-Hak had always peaked Hwa's interest for as long as she caught wind of his abilities. As for princess Yona, Hwa had no interest. The likes of nobles, royals and upper clansmen had a special place in Hwa's mind; they all could rot for all she cared. The self-entitled; expecting everything, any time and any place, at any rate, on their whims, claiming everything they touch to be their own as if they magically turn what they touch to gold. Hwa spat at them. To Hwa, everyone should be treated as equal as it quells disputes. This lead Hwa to continue to ponder, what does it matter the size of your house or how much gold one has?
'In the end, everyone has the same sized grave' Hwa solemnly thought, fighting back dark memories back into the depths of her mind. Hwa noticed a figure standing in her path, unwavering as she gripped her right shoulder tightly.
"Leaving so soon?" the rough voice spoken. Always making her business his own, it was none other than the earth tribe's general, Lord Lee Geun-Tae. The man before her had an intimidating demeanour that Hwa knew all too well, his large build would send anyone trembling before him. The dark-skinned General had a slight stubble, with yellow eyes that could entrance almost anyone, and a long untidy light-brown ponytail that was the signature hairstyle for most men within the Earth Tribe, it was no secret that General Geun-Tae was highly admired by his tribesmen for his impressive war stories and prowess - even if it was unclear to the hot-headed General himself. The General was not wearing his usual attire, which consists of a brown leather overcoat with animal-prints atop a white robe with yellow-patterned hemlines and double-layered purple beaded necklace. Instead he was wearing a typical, grey t-shirt accompanied with a worn out harem pants, clearly he was out on his usual daily walk.
Avoiding the question, Hwa let her curiosity get the better of her, "You gave your approval to Soo-Woon's rulership?"
Geun-Tae frowned, "Is there a problem? I do not see why he should not lead Kouka unless he is just like the previous King."
Hwa looked away from the General's piercing gaze," I see no problem, as it does not affect me." She began to walk past Geun-Tae, but had a chill down her spine every time Lord Soo-Woon came to mind, her instincts told her he was not the person he thought others to be.
"But," she stopped right past Lord Geun-Tae, "Do not be quick to place blame onto others, in unclear situations where things fall into place before your very eyes so easily, everyone is a suspect."
Hwa's words struck a nerve with Geun-Tae, as he was one of the first to fully believe general of the sky tribe, Son Hak was the one to rid the country of Kind Il. And just like that, Hwa lifted her arm swiftly to block Geun-Tea's fist, their eyes met as Lord Geun-Tae's ferocious yellow eyes met with Hwa's, just barley catching a glimpse of them as his fringe covered most of his eyes, this however was nothing new for Hwa, she met his unwavering glare with her own equally fierce, emerald green eyes that if you look into long enough, would resemble a luscious path of fresh, green grass in its brightest days. Her most prominent feature would be her eyes, for some reason for as long as he had known Hwa had always glow in the dark. It never presented any special abilities, so it was just was deemed strange. However, for General Geun-Tae, Hwa's eyes were clearly jaded, this made the General realise, has he really never seen this woman show a smile, or even express any other positive emotions? Whether it is through her eyes or other means?
"You are so quick to question my decisions, all the time," Lord Geun-Tea growled, increasing his pressure as he spat each word, "It does not mean I am not sceptical of Soo-Woon's motives, but at the moment he is the only candidate Kouka has, in princess Yona's absence." Why did she have to be so analytical and suspicious of everyone all the time?
"Haven't you heard of the princesses freak accident?" Hwa spat back, "She, along with General Son Hak fell off a cliff, right from the fire tribe's clutches."
Lord Geun instinctively lowered his defence, "And what has that got to do with this?"
Hwa turned away again, "Suspect everything and everyone. Exclude no one. Times which are shrouded by mist, once cleared may reveal many dark secrets which are intended to remain forever buried, under someone's feet. A general's duty is to speculate carefully and never lower their guard, in the least."
Lord Geun's frown increased, who was she to give him lessons about how a General should act? "Don't lecture me about my leadership!" he growled at the slender figure becoming increasingly faded the further away she walked, finding no more sense to this meaningless conversation – not that it ever had any.
"Always leaving mid-conversation. Typical" Lord Geun took one last glance at Hwa's fading figure. Her light brown hair which was nothing but pitch black as the sun faded, as each step she took her pony-tail jumped and danced around her shoulders. His eyes landed on Hwa's back as her prominent emblem stood out the most, with its silver colours she proudly remained representing her roots. Something Lord Geun secretly admired.
Her words meant nothing to Lord Geun, as he made his way back to the palace, clearly agitated by their earlier conversation.
"Will that brat ever change?" he growled one last time before deciding to turn to sleep, silently wishing Hwa to remain within the village. Very few could catch Lord Geun's fists like that, and Geun liked that about Hwa. Her power and sheer force is what convinced him the allow her to reside within the village of Chi'Shin the moment he picked up her lifeless body as a years ago. And how does she repay him? By leaving the village and returning for short periods of time, each chance she gets.
"Insolent girl." Lord Geun murmured. Flashbacks flooded him mind about the young lady each time he closed his eyes every night. He always ended up drifting his thoughts back to his prospective successor, yes indeed. General Geun-Tae had always secretly wanted Hwa to one day, be the Earth Tribe's new General. But with her constant travelling and reluctance to remain in one spot for a long time, how could it be possible? His flashbacks consisted of picking up a little girls lifeless body from the ocean while on patrol on a small boat, how he instantly recognized the emblem on the little girl's clothes, how he discovered a trail of tragedies and conspiracies, and how his heart crumbled when he learned of the girls unfortunate experiences, before deciding to take her under his wing. Geun-Tao grimaced at the memory of the girls beaten and bruised frail body, back in the time where her skin was as white as snow. Clearly she barely travelled outside as a child. However, Geun-Tae was not convinced, why should he keep her? She was as good as dead, if not inches away from it. What made the fierce general take the broken child under his wing? Nurture and provide for her as if she was his own? Even taking it as far to let her live in the castle alongside him and his wife. After the news hit Kouka of this girl's survival and tragedy, speculations circulated the kingdom. Most were curious, dangerously curious. Many thought of the child to have cheated death and was as good as dead, even whilst alive. Many who disliked her family history made sure to steer clear of her, this provided Hwa with more fuel to prideful to showcase her family's crest. Most parents would hide their child away from society, being in Hwa's shoes. But Geun-Tae was no ordinary parent. Instead, he chose to train Hwa daily, sometimes without breaks. No one would mistreat this girl once more, he silently declared. So he made her strong, but how strong? He sometimes wondered. Even if she was not his flesh and blood, his sympathy and love for her ran deep, deeper than Hwa could admittedly comprehend.
No matter what the child went through, no matter what kind of hardship, she never faltered, standing proud in front who shunned her, never wavering from interactions (sometimes even forcing it).
She was Hwa from the Hongwoon clan.