Hi people! I'm back! Thank you all thirty-two of you for following this fanfic! I mean seriously, when I thought that this fanfic was going to the back of Akatsuki no Yona fanfiction after leaving it for two months, I still find more of you following it! How did you find it? I am just thoroughly impressed.
This chapter will probably be very boring, as it is mainly about the black dragon meeting the gang. Not much action, mostly interaction.
Present day…
I am at the village that my client had directed me to. Lately he has been hiring me to fulfill numerous tasks to the point that I am worn out and weary. Thankfully I am only assign one target this time. My employer has given me all valid evidence he had found to provide ground for me to assassinate my target. My kill seems very…off in the reports. Even with all the gathered proof I had gone through, I think it would be best to meet him first before performing the deed.
My employer is a righteous man; very ambitious and smart too. I believe he would have murdered my target personally a long time ago if it wasn't for the fact that he was preoccupied by duties. After all, he has the blood of aristocracy running through his veins. We had met under very strange circumstances, which had led to us uncovering each other's identity (by that I mean my identity as an assassin not a dragon). We had formed a contract ever since then. He also pays me handsomely as well. I like him (not in a romantic sense).
Here the village is buzzing with life. Screams and shouts fill the atmosphere alongside children's laughter as they ran around. All the villagers are clad in just simple clothing and throughout the place are merchants yelling their throats sore while selling their merchandise like beauty products to self-conscious women. What a happy village. And very prosperous at that too.
However, behind that happy image, something dark and dangerous lurks; a human who abducts beautiful young women in order to fulfill his endless lust every full moon. The bodies would always be found the next day.
My boss has already uncovered the killer's identity. And this is the part where I come in.
To finish off the culprit no matter how ridiculous or pitiful the reason is.
Be that as it may, slaying the perpetrator was not the only reason why I am here. I can feel my brother's and the other dragons' presences here in this village. I have been watching them for some time. Not all the time though. Besides my missions, I admit I have gotten a little lazy, unlike the times when I first stepped on Earth. But this time, I want to approach them.
I stand nearby as their group wanders around the busy area like tourists in wonder. How should I approach them? Hmm… While getting lost in my thoughts, I see the human boy, Yoon straying away from the lot to a nearby bookstore. Well then, I will make contact with him first.
The bookstore is nothing more than a small makeshift shack, complete with a shelter that is only sturdy enough to block out the rain. Inside, Yoon seemed to had had just received a disappointing answer from a question he had asked the store owner, a stick figure of an old man previously as I step through the doorway. His eyes flicker left and right anxiously over the numerous novels displayed on the chipped wooden table.
"Are you looking for something?" I ask him. Yoon turns to look at me. In his peripheral vision, he sees a bespectacled girl younger than him with a long plain black plait and dressed in a baby blue yukata-like robe that reaches my ankles with a brown leather bag slung over my shoulder, at which my feet were covered in black slip-in shoes.
A slight twitch passes his face briefly at my nerdy plain-girl appearance before he replies. "Yeah. I'm looking for The Waver Girl And The Cowherd. But it's not sold anywhere! Even here!" He cries out in frustration.
"Ah…that? That book?" It was a really interesting read, albeit mushy. I think I knew the author once. It's a pity he's long gone. Looking at Yoon's piteous expression, I might as well surprise him.
His eyes widen at what I pull out from my bag. "You have a copy?"
"Yeah. I can give it to you if you want."
"No, no. I must at least pay you!"
"I don't read it anymore."
"I can't just take this for free. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"You don't have t-," My stomach grumbles suddenly. My cheeks flare up as I stare at him bashfully. "Uh… you can treat me to a meal?"
I was brought to a plain little diner. At the restaurant, Yoon leads me to a table fill with rowdy youths. I could already tell that he was bringing me to his crew since I could sense all five dragons' presences, but this does not stop me from silently hitching my breath as I come close to my brother's reincarnation.
"Hey, Yoon's back! Did you manage to get the book you want? Oh! Who is she?" Yona questions.
"This is…" Yoon turns to me, realizing that he had never asked for my name.
"I'm Kanade." I give them a shy smile after telling them a disposable name. "And you guys?"
"My name is Yona. And this is Hak, Kija, Shin-Ah, Jae-ha and Zeno." Hak just glances at me before his sights went back to the princess. The white dragon gives me a polite greeting and Shin-Ah did a nod. Jae-ha sends some cheesy pick up lines along my way while Zeno waves cheerily.
"She gave me the book for free when I still couldn't find it. I had to do something in return." Everybody agreed.
"Come to think of it, Yona, you share the same name as the princess!" The whole group freezes in shock. Hak spits out the tea he was drinking into Kija's face. Ha ha ha, the look on their faces is so priceless.
"Ah, yes! Everybody says so. Hahahaha." Yona flaps her hands in an exasperated manner; an anxious grin gracing her features. The others are doing something similar. I laugh inwardly as I buy their unconvincing reply.
"Your meal is here!" A waitress in her early twenties says cheerfully as she loaded heaps of hot piping food on our table. She turns and winks at the guys. They are handsome after all. It's obvious any boy-crazy lady would drool over their appearances. Yona, who is sitting at my side, stiffens up. Her eyes are set in Hak's direction. That's cute; she has a crush on him.
"Itadakimasu!" So we dig in, attacking our food with vigor. From what I notice, everyone had his own eating style. Zeno grabs whatever in front of him and chomps it down with a big grin. Hak just chews slowly, like he was not impressed with the taste. The mask wearing man at his side gobble up his food like his life depended on it while his little pet squirrel eats in similar fashion. Yoon and the green and white dragons ate their morsels politely, though Kija (he yelled at Hak and almost attack him in public before washing his face) kept avoiding any shellfish whenever he is given one.
However, I can't tell about Yona's; she keeps scooping ingredients from the serving plate into my bowl.
"Yona, please stop. I can't eat all this." I stare at the edible miniature mountain.
"You must eat more. You look like skin and bones." She murmurs. That probably isn't meant for my ears, but since I'm not human, my sensitive hearing picks it up. I mean, I am not skin and bones!
"Yona!" She snaps out of her daze. "What? Oh I'm sorry. I just…" The color of her hair appears on her cheeks.
"When I look at you, I feel like… I have to… care for you. Actually, I don't even know how to describe it. Have we met before?"
"I don't think so. Maybe?" I laugh. Yona just watches me closely, her face just inches away from me. Her sparkling purple orbs that are so similar looking to Hiryuu's, resembles mine. She would be able to tell vice versa if wasn't for the round pair of glasses I am wearing.
"Here, you need to eat some." I remove half the amount of my food and place them into her bowl. "Now we eat, okay?"
She blinks at me in confusion at first, and then nods. We continue staring at each other for no apparent reason before bursting into giggles. The guys look at us curiously, wondering what was the cause that made us guffaw. It was like a secret joke between Yona and me with no words needed to be exchange even though we just met an hour ago, much less know the other.
I smile as I observe Yona and the guys consume their meal and interact joyfully and playfully. Yet inwardly, I am feeling no such thing. The fact that Yona stated that she wanted to "protect" me or even asked if we had met before had struck a chord in me. Is the hibernating soul of Hiryuu within making her act like this? As much I want to believe that my brother's new mortal form still somewhat remembers me, I will not push it. This person may be Hiryuu's reincarnation, but she is NOT Hiryuu. Not anymore.
The food is soon gone within an astonishing duration of thirty minutes. Everyone sits back on the bench, our stomachs now forming a ball each.
"Aww. Too bad Fu-Chan couldn't eat with us." Zeno says with a disappointed face.
"Who?"
"Lord Fumio." Oh? That's the name of my target.
"He's the young lord of this village. We met him yesterday." Yona informs me.
"He's very nice and fair to everybody. He doesn't discriminate against the poor." Yoon states with a hint of relief apparent in his tone.
"And such a hottie too." The eight of us whirl 180 degrees to find the waitress that had served us earlier standing right at our table. "You guys should leave soon. Crowd's coming in." Looking behind, streams of people are entering the diner.
"But yeah, Lord Fumio is a great man. He became lord when he was only eighteen after his father died and has managed extraordinarily well for three years. Without him, this village wouldn't be thriving. Though with what's lately going on, he's being driven nuts."
"Huh? What do you mean what's going on?" I feign ignorance.
The crew and the waitress look at me with incredulous expressions. I fidget under their gaze. "I just arrived today, okay?"
"Lately someone has been kidnapping and raping young women before killing them each full moon." The waitress says distressfully. "Lord Fumio had ordered all women to reach home once the sun sets everyday. But it's not enough."
"Why?"
"The pervert would either somehow seize a woman once she is on her way back or even worse, kidnap her from her own home."
Yona and her gang look at one another; no message needed to be pass between each other. I can see the gears whirling inside their heads.
The waitress continues her speech with a shaky breath. "No women is safe, even in her own home. Most of us ladies would love to stay home for the whole day, but," She gestures towards herself. "We have to make a living and support our families."
"Lord Fumio has tried almost precaution he could think of till he's at the point of breaking." A teenaged waitress sided up next to her senior. She has her long auburn hair tied into a curly plait. Very pretty looking.
"May I ask, how long has this being going on?" I ask. I already know the answer, but since I "don't know" anything, might as well play the part.
"About two months I think. The next one will be the eighteenth victim. Whenever it is the full moon, each girl, including me will pray for that night to rain or at least be cloudy. Apparently, whoever this disgusting person is will not conduct his activity if the moon is hidden."
Hmmm… Tomorrow is a full moon. The perpetrator only does it when the full moon is present in the dark sky. Seems like the one who has committed all these horrendous deeds has a psychological problem. I shall finish the job after the next sunset.
My, my. I do wonder, how would each and every one of these villagers react if they knew that it was their precious lord doing all these revolting things?
However, the question is why Lord Fumio is doing all these revolting things. Is helping the village just a farce? Did he enjoy playing with them? My employer had only given me the evidence, not reasons.
"Maybe Kana will come and put an end to this sicko's life." I hear the younger waitress speak with hope in her voice.
"Kana? You mean Kana the Assassin? The one who has been assassinating many corrupted figures recently?" Yona enquiries. The dragon warriors as well as Hak and Yoon appear to be more attentive once they heard the moniker.
"Yeah! Some of the merchants that come into the village have seen her with own two eyes! She would be running on her rooftops, dressed like the color of midnight. She has long raven black hair and a slender figure. Fast as the wind, strong as several men, yet so beautiful. She's the epitome of what every woman wants to be!" The teenaged waitress has her hands clutch together in a prayer-like position, her eyes lighting up like fireworks. Her senior just sigh and pinch her junior's cheek.
On my left, I notice Yona staring down at her empty bowl. "Kana…huh." She mutters. Worried, I give her a little shake on the thigh.
"Yona?" The princess looks at me when I called her name. "Anything wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just… I have been hearing a lot about Kana lately. She has garnered quite a lot of attention everywhere… I wonder if I can ever be like her." The last part was said in a whisper.
Kana the Assassin, huh? What a weird title. I'm well aware that I have gained some sort of reputation after eliminating several pigs, but I'm not really interested in the gossips and rumors spread about me. In fact, whenever I hear that stupid nickname of mine, I would scoff. Justice? Right? Fairness? Are those the reasons why people think that my secret identity has been conducting all these killings for? I am the black dragon; morality is just not part of me. I only did that in the past in order to protect the throne. For now, I am only doing "justice" as my client has been paying me to do so. And not just that, I enjoy doing such things, it is merely in my nature to do so.
"If you ask me, I don't think you should be like Kana. Just be yourself. " I tell Yona. Her face has arranged itself into confusion but she did not have to chance reply.
"OI, YOU LOT OF YOUNGSTERS OVER THERE? CAN'T YOU SEE WE ARE WATING TO GET A TABLE? NOW SCRAM!"
It is night now, and I am currently sharing a room in an inn with Yona.
After being ushered out forcibly from the small restaurant by an impatient customer, the eight of us found ourselves roaming the streets aimlessly. We ventured around the district for some time until the big ball of fire sank back into the clouds.
Jae-ha stretched his arms out while yawning. "We should get back to the inn. It's going to be night soon." His comrades all agreed whole-heartedly.
"So where are you staying tonight, Kanade?" Yona turned to me.
"Oh? I haven't decided yet. Maybe-" My honest words were being cut off.
"You should stay with us tonight!" Yona grabbed both my hands with hers. Her eyes were glistening and shining, making it hard it to look away.
"Huh? Are you even sure about-" I was being interrupted once again, making my insides burn with frustration.
"With what has been going on lately, I have to agree with Yona. It's just not safe." Just looking between Yona's expecting-no-nos-face and Yoon's stern expression, I just looked down and sighed. "Since you insist."
And that was the story of how I am now sharing a room with my reincarnated sibling tonight. I was expecting the seven of them plus me to be squashed in one tiny room, but to my surprise they had rented two rooms; one for the guys and the other for Yona to give her privacy, much to the princess's dislike. These men truly care for her, I'm so thankful towards them.
The room that Yona and I are lodging is small, just the right size for two girls and a squirrel to sleep in. The guys' room is bigger than ours, just barely large enough to fit the six of them.
The two of us sit on futons, which are spread all over on the tatami floor. We are dressed in similar matching white robes, offered to us by the inn as sleepwear. A single candle illuminates the room, being our only source of light.
Before we can say anything, Jae-ha hops into our room with his lips carve into slightly disturbing smile. "How 'bout I sleep with you girls?" What a cheerful tone.
Hak pops in as well and punches the green-hair individual before dragging him back into their room. "Yeah, yeah. Like you will." Yona and I sweat-drop at his actions.
My roommate and I stare at each other, not knowing what to do. An awkward silence fills our miniature space.
"Let's just go to sleep." She says bashfully.
"Yeah."
We lay down in the sheets with Ao between us, envelope by the color my original complexion after the candle has been blown. It isn't complete darkness though; the moonlight that shines through the shoji is bright enough to allow us to see our surroundings. The rodent has already fallen asleep once it was on its back. However, I can tell Yona is still conscious as her breathing patterns is irregular and short.
She isn't the only one having trouble dozing; I am laying down in an uncomfortable position, my hair currently retied into a messy ponytail and my back facing Yona in order to prevent direct eye contact with my front press roughly against a stool-size wardrobe.
I sit up in the covers, finally being unable to stand the tension in the air that is starting to thicken with uneasiness.
"I'm going to take a little walk." Before I can leave the covers, I feel myself forcibly tug back into the sheets and right into eye level with my companion. My body freezes in surprise for a second; I really did underestimate her strength.
My instincts take over the next moment and I flick my head towards the ceiling with my eyes facing away from her. From the corner of my eye, Yona's figure whirls back in shock and confusion. Thankfully, we are covered partially in blackness. However, even though Yona could not see clearly in the inky-colored room like I can, since I am a dragon (I have night vision, which is a dragon feature. How else can I do my missions discreetly at night?), it is obvious that she saw a flash of her own eyes staring back at her.
Yona shakes her head, possibly thinking whatever transpired just a second ago was her imagination. "No don't," she pleads after recollecting herself, "It's not safe out there."
"It's not the full moon."
"But still!"
Her hand is still tethered to my wrist, and is tightening like vice, showing no signs of letting go. "Just please, do as I say." She begs again, but her tone sounded closer to an order.
"Okay, okay." Doing what she had just asked of me, I settled myself right beside her, resuming back to my previous attempt to sleep.
An hour or so passed by. I am still wide-awake, but Yona has finally fallen into a slumber. I move slightly, before remembering Yona's iron-grip on my arm.
"Please don't leave me." I twist around quickly, thinking that I had woken up the slumbering crimson-haired beauty, and then realize that she had spoken in her sleep, as her eyelids are still close. On closer inspection, there seem to be a tear mark streaming down from her eye.
This stupid girl, she just met me, yet what is making her so attach to me? Hiryuu, is this all your doing?
I lean down from her side and stroke her face with my one free hand. "Don't worry," I say with gentleness, " I'm not leaving you. Not ever."
Subconsciously reassured, Yona loosens her grip on my wrist, and I am able to shrug my arm out of her hand. I press my lips against her forehead like I did so about two thousand years to her previous incarnation.
After slipping on my spectacles, I creep away from Yona and Shin-Ah's pet and approach the paper door before opening it quietly and cautiously. Outside, I see Hak sleeping against the wooden beam with his trusty spear in his arms while he guards the princess' s '"chambers".
Ever so the bodyguard, I see. Hak, also known as the Thunder Beast and once the General Commander of the castle, and also evidently one of the most powerful people of his generation. I have met him and Yona before when they were still small little children, but it never ceases to amaze me how fast both of them or any other people I was close with grew up so quickly. From a tender young age till now, his loyalty towards the princess never wavered. Does he have feelings for Yona as well? While eating together, I do recall him usually staring at the oblivious royalty. Then again, most of the guys at our table were doing so too. Well, I do not mind if they end up together, they would be great match anyway.
I suppose he would wake up at the smallest sign of movement or sound, but I'm not the dragon of stealth for nothing. Instead, I bend down and whisper into his ear "Keep up the good work." while petting his hair lightly. He grunted unconsciously. It's funny how I am able to do such things to the lightest of sleepers without ever rousing them.
The air is chilly, slightly cold to the bone as I stroll leisurely down the silent streets, but the white dress I am wearing is thick and protected me from it. More and more straw huts comes into view as I venture along the road, yet there is not a single person in sight, as decreed by Lord Fumio that every person stays indoor. I am not bothered by the fact that I am probably breaking the law. I can feel the rocky, cobbled road surface right beneath my bare feet as I roam, and along with my paddling feet are a second a pair of footsteps that sounded a few meters away from me, but I ignore it.
I eventually saunter out of the village and after walking half a mile, plop myself down on a grassy hill. It offers a beautiful scenery of the village from the angle I am sitting at, once again making it hard to believe that it is currently plague by those killings. The greenish grass is wet with dew, but I did not mind as l let my hair down and remove my eyewear before resting my entire body on the slope. The glistening tapestry of stars above sparkle and dance before my sight, never failing to catch my breath away for two thousands years.
My hand stretch out towards the heavens. Brothers above, how have you been doing? I miss you all so much. The longing to see my kin returns in my heart once again. Although I was closest to Hiryuu, I love my other brothers very dearly too, and we all shared an unbreakable bond. Hiryuu's reincarnation seems to recognize me. What do I do? Please, give me a response. I plead in my head.
A nearby bush rustle and I immediately sit back up. Looks like whoever was tailing me earlier on has finally arrived, though I knew who it was already from the start.
A mob of sunny yellow hair and a pair of light blue eyes appears. However, instead of his happy go lucky personality in the daytime, the person wears a hostile expression on his face.
"What are you doing here, Kana?" Zeno demands with an ice-cold voice.
"Ah Ouryuu! Hi!" I beam at him and wave merrily. "Long time no see!"
As you can see, Kanade/Kana has a very complex personality. And what a twist, she and Zeno knows each other. This chapter was quite hard to type, and there are obviously a lot of grammar and tenses errors. I hope you all enjoy it despite having many mistakes .
Please review!