~Tsukiko's POV~
We had been walking through the forest for a while now and my side was beginning to hurt. It had stopped bleeding but I'm pretty sure it may be infected or something. Suddenly Yona-nee collapsed. Hak quickly ran over to her.
"Princess...Princess Yona. Do you need to take a short break?" Hak asked kneeling next to her. She didn't answer but we stopped anyway. I sighed and lent my back against the tree next to Yona-nee.
'I should look at my side.' Nodding to myself I moved the cloak Hak had given me and shifted so I could see the wound properly. There was dried blood all around it so it was hard to tell how deep it was. I sighed again and closed my eyes.
"Did Min-soo..die?" Yona-nee asked making me flinch and tear up.
"I wonder..will I die too? Will Soo-won..kill you too?" She continued.
"I'll never hand my life over to that asshole." Hak replied. I nodded.
'Good answer Hak. I agree.' I thought smiling despite the situation.
"Don't die Hak, because if you die, I won't forgive you." Yona-nee ordered while falling asleep.
"I won't forgive you either Hak. Although I know you won't die." I said looking over at him and smiling. But he was too focused on Yona-nee to hear me.
"It's still hard to believe, you left the Princess all alone, you good for nothing King." He spoke to my deceased Father. My eyes widened and tears flowed freely down my face.
"But she's not alone Hak..she has me..please don't forget about me Hak." I pleaded sobbing, of course I went unnoticed, which made me cry harder.
"Hey, your Majesty, what should I do..?" Hak spoke to himself. He seemed to go into a daze as he sat there staring at Yona-nee.
'I wonder if they'd notice if I left...Probably not.' I thought crying myself to sleep.
~Tsukiko's dream~
I was in a dark room all by myself, looking around there didn't seem to be anything here. Just me and a dark space. My body began to tremble, I hate being alone in the dark. I fell to the floor clutching my head.
'Yona-nee, Hak, someone please help.' I pleaded crying loudly. Suddenly I was blinded by a light. When the light died down my Father stood there.
"Father!" I cried happily, but he didn't hear me.
"Father! I'm here! Father!" I cried and cried. But he seemed to get further and further away.
"Don't leave me please..." I sobbed. The room was filled with light again and then there stood Yona-nee and Hak. They were smiling at each other and laughing.
"Yona-nee!" Nothing. No response at all.
"Hak!" Again no reply.
"Please! I'm here!" I pleaded again. But just like Father they got further and further away from me and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't get there attention. I'm invisible. No one will see me. I cried louder and louder. Sobbing harder. I screamed loudly.
"Why?! Why won't people see me?! Why is it always Yona-nee?!" I shouted loudly, asking anyone to answer me.
"She's the favourite." My eyes widened and my head snapped towards the voice. It was Father.
"She's the oldest, she'll get the throne therefore she over shines you. You're just her shadow." Father spoke calmly.
"That's not true! It can't be true! Father please!" I pleaded again. But he disappeared and was replaced by Min-soo.
"Min-soo!" I shouted smiling. But he didn't smile at me like he usually does.
"Princess Tsukiko you can never be like Princess Yona. She's far prettier." He said his voice speaking fondly of Yona-nee.
"What are you talking about? Why are yo being like this? You've been my best friend!" I cried.
"It was all to get to Princess Yona." He smiled. I shook my it was Hak that appeared.
"You're too quiet. That's not appealing to anyone." Hak smirked. My eyes widened.
"Not you too Hak." I backed up.
"I always preferred Princess Yona." He stated bluntly. He disappeared and the room became black again.
"She's the favourite."
"She's prettier."
"She's more confident."
"You're just her shadow."
"You can't be like her." They chanted over and over again.
"Stop it please..." I pleaded quietly having lost any will to fight back. Everything they said is true.
~Back to the real world~
I woke up and looked over to Yona-nee and Hak, he was wiping away her tears while she slept. Even in her sleep she's pretty. I'll never be like her. Slowly I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. As tears rolled down my cheeks I buried my head in my arms and sobbed quietly.
'I wonder if anyone will think of me more than my sister.' I thought crying harder. My chest started hurting and it was difficult to breathe. Suddenly there was a weight on my head, which made me jump, I looked up to see Hak staring down at me in concern.
'Don't pretend you care Hak, you forgot about me this whole time.' I thought looking away and crying more.
'I'm such a crybaby.'
"Tsukiko what's wrong?" Hak asked kneeling in front of me. I just kept quiet.
"Is it your Father?" He asked again. I shook my head.
"You forgot about me...didn't you Hak?" I whispered, this caught him off guard.
"Of course not. How could you think that?" He replied, I just scoffed.
"Earlier you said that Father left Yona-nee by herself..." I answered quietly. His eyes widened.
"And when I said she had me you didn't take any notice.." I added pulling myself into a tighter ball.
"Is it because Yona-nee is better?"
"She's prettier, thinner, more confident. Am I not good enough?" I listed off quietly. My head was lifted and I was made to look Hak in the eyes.
"None of that is true Tsukiko." He said softly.
"Then why do people forget me as soon as Yona-nee does or says something?" I asked. He froze not knowing how to answer.
"It's true. I'm just Yona-nee's shadow. No one would notice if I even disappeared would they?!" I shouted. Hak quickly pulled me into a hug.
"Don't say things like that Tsukiko. I would definitely notice. You know I would." He answered softly stroking my hair.
"I have to go and get some water, stay here okay?" He ordered. I nodded and curled back up into my ball. Not long after Hak left Yona-nee woke up. She looked around frantically, searching for Hak probably.
"Yona-nee. It's okay he went to get water." I spoke quietly. Of course she didn't listen and kept looking around, until Hak came back with the water and she started crying again.
"Yona-nee..." I called her name softly as I crawled over to her and hugged her tightly. She flinched and looked down at me. Her eyes widened and she hugged me back.
"Tsukiko. . ." She kept repeating my name over and over.
"It's okay Yona-nee. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here." I comforted her quietly. She smiled slightly and we began to walk through the forest again, this time I held Yona-nee's hand.
~Time skip to wherever they are at the beginning of chapter 5~
We sat around a fire, Hak was sitting on a log, Yona-nee was sitting on a rock and I was sitting on the floor next to Yona-nee leaning against her side.
"Aren't you going to eat Princess?" Hak asked her as he tried to pass her a cooked fish. I had finished what I wanted to eat and was relaxing a bit. She didn't answer though, just stared ahead of her in a daze.
"If you don't want fish, would you prefer bird instead?" Again nothing but silence.
"Yona-nee you need to eat something." I spoke quietly looking up at her.
"Tsukiko is right. You need to eat something, even if it's just a little. The next mountain pass will be more dangerous. I don't know if I'll be able to find food. You really should have some fish now." Hak explained, but she just stared of into space.
"Hak I'll take her to the pond to clean up a bit." I said standing up and grabbing Yona-nee's hand. He nodded in reply and I led us towards the pond. Once we were both in the pond I began washing off the dry blood from my wound. As it got cleaner I began to see that the cut went from my belly button to my hip, but luckily it wasn't deep and it isn't infected. I sighed in relief and dunked my head under the water. Yona-nee's scream made me quickly pop up to the surface. She was sat on the side staring at the leeches on her legs. Hak came rushing over to her and after there conversation quickly made his exit. We quickly made our way back to Hak.
"Princess Yona, Tsukiko, Let's move quickly. We need to cover a lot of ground before the sun sets." He explained. I nodded my head and grabbed Yona-nee's hand pulling her along as I followed Hak.
~Time skip again~
"We'll rest here for tonight." Hak said, I smiled and sat on the floor huffing slightly. Yona-nee seemed to stare at the bugs crawling around.
"Don't worry. The insects are harmless. The leeches before were thrown back into the pond." Hak explained, I nodded my head in agreement, but Yona-nee was too busy trying to find something that she didn't notice us say anything.
"What's wrong? Did you lose something?" Hak asked, his face is blank. She shook her head in reply.
'Does he know something?' I asked myself. But shrugged it off as we sat down around a fire again. Suddenly Yona-nee stood up, but Hak stopped her, although he let her go quickly.
"Hak I'll follow her." I offered smiling. He nodded and I got up quickly chasing after her. I found staring at a snake, I quickly rushed over and stepped in front of her, getting bitten instead of her. My leg collapsed from under me and I groaned.
'Crap was that a poisonous snake?' I asked myself, I looked down to see more snakes coming towards us.
'Fuck. Well I know what this calls for.' I deadpanned
"HAK!" I shouted loudly. Just like every time we need him he showed up not even seconds later. He began yelling at Yona-nee, however saw the impending doom and picked Yona-nee up.
"Tsukiko come on." Hak ordered, I nodded and tried to stand, only to stumble.
'Shit. No I'm good. I'm fine.' I quickly ran after Hak and Yona-nee, my leg was burning, but soon enough we were back at the camp. Hak was treating his snake bit, but me being me I kept it hidden. He was groaning in pain. Yona-nee was staring at him concerned.
'Still ship it.'
"I'm alright. I know how to treat venomous snake bites." Hak reassured her. Then pulled out a hair ornament and showed it to her.
"Was this what you were looking for?" He asked, she took the ornament into her trembling hands.
"I won't forgive Soo-won. But aside from that, I want you to live." Hak explained. I clapped and stood up.
"Great speech Hak. But I have a problem." I said sheepishly. He looked at me confused, until my leg gave out from underneath me and I fell. His eyes widened and he rushed to catch me. Yona-nee looked horrified.
"You see I may or may not have been bitten by a snake." I told him scratching my neck timidly.
"You idiot! Why didn't you tell me?! They were poisonous!" He shouted at me.
"I know, but I didn't want to worry you." I whispered. He sighed and put my head in Yona-nee's lap, I smiled at her but she she just went back into a daze. Although she started playing with my hair, it soothed me and I slowly fell asleep.
I awoke the next morning to Yona-nee and Hak talking. I rubbed my eyes as I slowly sat up.
"Well, now that we're all awake shall we get going?" Hak's voice asked.
"Uh..um..Hak?" - Yona
"Yes?" - Hak
"Why..did we go to the mountains? Any village below would have food and medicine." -Yona
"If we went to a village someone might find us." I answered having fully woken up now.
"Yes it's like what Tsukiko said, Some people are dangerous. Even if the villagers didn't know us, or the castle soldiers didn't know where we were, Soo-won could have sent out portraits of us." Hak explained in more detail.
"Then where are we going?" Yona-nee asked.
"I'm afraid now that the only place we can seek refuge, is the Wind Tribe's Capital, Fuuga." Hak answered, however Yona-nee looked confused. I smiled and cheered.
"Hak's hometown!/My hometown." Me and Hak answered at the same time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Akatsuki no Yona (sadly), Kusunagi Mizuho does.