Chapter Six: A Request

A/n: I'm so sorry this took such a long time to come, but I had hit writer's block, and wasn't sure how to continue it, but I hate starting a sequel to my stories, and never finishing them, so I re-read the first story. I tried so many times to write this chappie, and wanted to address certain things, but kept changing my mind on what to do. So, I decided to forget everything I wanted to address and say and such, and just went ahead, and jumped right into canon... Which... Oh my ^^; Another thing on it's own~! Anyways! I really hope there's readers out there, still reading~! It's been such a long time! Anyways, please let me know what you all think of this! Happy Readings~!


Since they left the village, Tian was paranoid about what Chan-U had said to her before she had left. She was constantly on the watch, but she tried to keep it hidden. The last thing she wanted to happen was to let anyone else know what was going on. At the same time, she felt bad for keeping all this hidden from Yona and the others. After all, she was traveling with them. If they were caught with her...

She shivered thinking about it.

However, things seemed to return to normal. Things seemed to return to way things were before she left, which made her immensely relieved. She helped gather firewood, helped start the fire, and even helped cook, and clean up the campfire once they left. Things were peaceful for a few days. At least until they arrived at the next village. Then, Tian's life became interesting once again...


It was a slightly bigger town that they stopped at next. It was only two days since they had left the previous village. Tian was walking next to Jae-Ha, who was walking next Yun, who was walking next to Zeno. The others were behind them, engaging in their own conversations while Yun lectured Zeno.

"I'm sorry, Kid." Zeno clapped his hands together as he spoke, grinning as if hoping that would get him out of the trouble he was in.

"I can't believe you." Yun sighed, closing his eyes in annoyance.

"It won't happen again." Zeno seemed to promise, his voice raising in pitch just slightly as if to add some kind of kiddish innocence.

"Really?" Yun replied doubtfully before continuing on." You've already made your clothes tattered and bloody several times already. I've sewed them over and over again but it's useless." He was speaking very pointedly, closing his eyes slightly as he looked away, scowling in what seemed to be annoyance.

"Which why we're buying Zeno's clothes right now." Jae-Ha explained to Tian, glancing at her with a slight grin. She smiled back in amusement. She understood what had happened before they were reaquinted, which was part of the reason why the conversation was happening seemingly effortlessly.

"Thank you." Zeno bowed, his hands out beside him like some sort of wings. Tian looked at him with an amused expression. Yun dug into the coin pouch at his side, and pulled out some money, handing it over to Zeno.

"Here's your allowance. Use this money to buy whatever clothes you want." Yun said simply, but there was a hint of concern in his tone. Zeno smiled none the less, taking the money.

"Yes." He replied simply, but also sounding a bit sheepish.

"If you ruin them again, then you can cover yourself with leaves next time." Yun said sharply, once again closing his eyes, and looking away for a moment.

"Looks like the day I become a nudist is not far." Zeno said in a rather embarrassed, but playful tone. Yun then looked at him with his eyebrows drawn together slightly, a concerned expression on his face as he spoke softly.

"I don't want to wash clothes covered in blood anymore." He said simply. Tian felt a ping of sympathy go through her, and she looked away, nodding slightly. She understood perfectly well how much something like that can really stick in a person's mind. Espically if it was someone particularly close to them...

Zeno simply gave him a comforting smile in turn.


While Yun went to search for other things they would need, the others seemed to stick close by one another as they headed to a clothes shop. Well, Yona, Zeno, Kija and Jae-Ha did. Tian and Shin-Ah were distracted by a vendor sitting on the ground with a dark blue blanket in front of him. On that blanket was many things that varied from necklaces to earrings to rings, bracelets, and even hair accessories. Shin-Ah paused, looking at all the things on the blanket.

"Are you looking for something for Yona?" Tian questioned, glancing at Shin-Ah. There wasn't anything on there she could think that a guy could really want. Shin-Ah paused, and then nodded. Tian smiled as she crouched down."It helps to have another girl's opinion. I'll help you." She said with a smile, looking up at Shin-Ah, who nodded, and crouched next to her. The vendor seemed to come alive the moment the two interested customers sat at his place.

"If it's something for a girl, may I suggest this?" He questioned, holding up a flowery hair pin with three strands of blue beads hanging down the side. The flowers were blue in color, outlined in white. The three strands of beads had a white, feathery looking stopper attached to the end of each of the slim strands of beads.

"That's pretty." Tian said simply, trying to hide her own interest, and then glanced at Shin-Ah, who was giving it a long glance, as if unsure.

"Do you want to see if perhaps she likes it?" Tian questioned, tilting her head. Shin-Ah paused, and then reached for it." It is alright if they check it out first, right?" Tian questioned. The man gave an irritated sigh, but nodded anyways. Shin-Ah then firmly grasped it, and walked the short distance to Yona.

Tian watched for a moment as Yona took it in her hands, giving Shin-Ah a surprised and confused expression before turning to look back at the stuff before her.

"You customers will really buy that, won't you?" He questioned gruffly. Tian gave him a sheepish expression.

"There." It was Shin-AH that spoke.

"Wow. It's merchandise." Yona said simply, smiling as she looked over the stuff.

"I don't have any money." Shin-Ah said simply.

"Although… I did get some money from Yun…" Yona said wistfully, her finger on her chin as she thought.

"It's fine once in a while, isn't it?" Jae-Ha replied with a grin." To buy a pretty hair accessory." Jae-Ha softly touched her shoulders before quickly dropping his hands, and kneeling next to Tian, who was still looking at some stuff." Did you want something?" He questioned, touching her back gently for a moment before dropping his hands. Tian looked at him, and then shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure just yet.

"This looks pretty." Tian pulled out some earrings that were a simply blue stud. She glanced at Jae-Ha, who was looking at a necklace. Tian gave a teasing smile, but looked away quickly.

"Jae-Ha, do you know where Hak is at?" Yona questioned after a few moments of silence between Jae-Ha and Tian.

"Over there." Jae-Ha answered through a grin, pointing towards a sleeping Hak.

"He's sleeping?!" Yona exclaimed in surprise. Tian looked over her shoulder, and shrugged slightly.

"Yesterday it was Hak's turn for nightwatch. So he must just be sleep deprived." Tian replied, holding her gaze with Yona for a moment before dropping it, and looking towards Hak.

"How rare..." Yona replied, touching her chin in thought. Jae-Ha laughed teasingly.

"Yeah. No matter how tired he is, I never thought he would show such a relaxed face." He mused, eyes softening for a moment.

"It's because he really trusts everyone." Yona replied, looking up with a small smile. She had always thought that Hak, someone who was hard to open up, was opening up to the others, but she was happy to finally see some semblance of evidence for her suspicions.

"Eh. I heard something interesting. I'll use this against him next time." Jae-Ha said teasingly, making Tian laugh slightly as Yona ran towards Hak.

"They're adorable, aren't they?" Tian commented, smiling as she watched Yona give a sleeping Hak a goofy grin, only for them both to freak out the next moment, and then act like nothing happened.

"Yeah, but not as adorable as you." Jae-Ha teased, making her blush slightly as she looked away.

"Shut up." She mumbled, making Jae-Ha laugh once more.

"Princess!" Kija happily walked past them with a grin on his face, but once he saw them sitting on the bench, he stopped, and aburtly turned around with a much more sadder expression.

"... Aren't you gonna talk with her?" Tian questioned softly.

"Right now, I feel like i would just be disturbing them." He was trying to keep his voice under control, but Tian could hear the upset in his voice.

"Then why don't you go ahead, and disturb them?" Jae-Ha suggested.

"I would not suddenly barge into the princess's view." He said, with a certain hard edge to his voice. Tian couldn't be sure if he was upset, annoyed, or if it was just his pride as a Dragon Warrior speaking.

"Because you are one of the four dragons?" Jae-Ha suddenly questioned, but had dropped all sense of teasing.

"It's just my own thoughts. Don't mind me." With that said rather abruptly, hist tone suggesting he wanted no further comment, Kija walked past them fully.

"I wonder what that was about..." Tian didn't mean to speak her thoughts outloud as she looked back at the vendor, but it was too late to take back the words now. Jae-Ha glanced at her, tilting his head slightly.

"What do you mean by that?" He questioned, his tone suggesting that he knew exactly what she meant, but was waiting for her to confirm it. Tian paused, pursing her lips thoughtfully, and then shrugged as she stood up, stretching slightly.

"Nothing. Just that... Kija just suddenly changed into a mood. That's all." She commented simply, as if she didn't really know what she was talking about. She stretched, and then sighed as she grinned widely."I want to check something else out." She said suddenly, wanting to move on from the conversation. She didn't want to say something that was none of her business to be talking about."Let's go." She said, grabbing Jae-Ha by the arm, and pulling him upwards, grinning as she lead him, and hoped that he would drop the conversation.

She was happy to see that it seemed to work. At least for now.


It was some time later, they were all gathered at the place they had sat up, waiting for Zeno to arrive. When he did arrive, with his new clothes in tow, everyone was surprised. He had much more clothes than was expected, and they looked far finer as well.

"Uh, Zeno, your clothes..." Tian started, but didn't finish, rubbing the back of her neck.

What could she really say anyways? Maybe he had enough for all those seemingly finely made clothes after all... If Zeno had made a very, very very appealing case to the vendor...

"Was your money enough for that?" Yun questioned carefully. His eyes were narrowed slightly, head tilted as he thought the same thing as Tian.

"Nope!"Zeno answered brightly.

"Then how did you pay for that?!" Yun yelled so loudly, his voice cracked for a second as his shoulders tensed up.

"Bib Sister brought it for me." Zeno answered simply, shrugging, as if that answer would solve everything, but, of course it didn't. It took only a second, as Yun processed the answer, for the teenager to reply.

"WHAT BIG SISTER?!" Yun questioned louder, probably more alarmed at this point. Then, he paused at a slight giggle.

"We brought it for him." came a slightly flirty, soft, and feminine tone from somewhere behind them.

Tian turned to see a short woman with a rather beautiful smile on her face, a hand covering it slightly. She had a pair of brown eyes, and wavy light brown hair that was long, and tied into a low pony tail with a pink ribbon. She wore a light overcoat with an open chest and a layered skirt style that is held by a sash. The collar of that coat has a black ribbon with a white string running in the middle of it. Underneath that was a white, long sleeved gown. she wore a pair of black flats on small feet.

The woman next to her was tall with black eyes, and an expressionless face. She had black hair that was fringed, and parted in half. She appeared to have cheek length hair, but Tian could see wisps of longer hair on the back, and then she saw the blue ribbon. She wore a short sleeved, light brown robe that was held by a sash where she had two short length blades hanging in their sheath. The collar of the robe was similar to the other woman, but the long black ribbon flowed past the end of the hemlines, and flowed freely on her right side. Underneath that robe is a black inner robe with long sleeves. On her feet was also a pair of black flats.

"Who are they?" Tian questioned to Jae-Ha, still looking warily at the girls. Were they friends, or were they enemies?

"Ayura! Tetora! It's been a long time!" Yona called out in excitement, rushing up to them, Both of the girls, Tetora and Ayura,bowed.

"The one with dark hair is Ayura. The other is Tetora. We met them on a previous adventure." Jae-Ha explained casually, smiling.

Friends. Tian relaxed, letting out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding.

"It's great to see you all so lively and well, and I see you have someone new." Tetora said with a smile, glancing at Tian. Tian smiled, bowing slightly.

"Tian." She said, coming back up.

"I'm Tetora, and this is Ayura." The two bowed.

"A pleasure." Tian said with a smile."How did you guys meet anyways?" Tian questioned, tilting her head.

"Oh, they helped us get rid of some people who were trafficking drugs into the Water Tribe q while back. We're very grateful to them." Tetora answered with a grin, but that only brought up more questions than answers for Tian.

"Where's Lilli?" Yona questioned, still excited. Tetora's face fell slightly.

"Ah, Miss Lilli, she's a little-"

"Ah, that's right. SHe went to back to Suiko didn't she? "

"So, Tetora, it was you who brought Zeno his clothes?" Yun questioned in a hurry, probably to make sure it was someone familiar rather than a stranger they'd have to owe.

"Yup! It's a gift!" Tetora answered with another grin.

"Is that alright?" Tian questioned, head tilted.

"I'm just doing what I can for these cute boys. Also, to celebrate our reunion, I have another gift." She pulled out a bottle of Sake, much to the surprise of everyone, who looked with interest."Would you like a cup?" She questioned.

"Yes!" The group answered enthusiastically.


"So, how did you meet these people?" Tetora asked, pouring Tian a cup of wine.

"Oh, they helped me rid of a problem as well. We were separated for a while, but then we found each other again, and here I am." She answered, smiling Tetora smiled right back.

"How nice~!" She moved on to the next available cup.

"Mm~" Tian and Jae-Ha both sighed at the taste of the sake.

"With beautiful girls here, the wine will also taste much better." Jae-Ha commented, earning an annoyed sigh form Tian.

"That's how you drank the drugs, right?" Hak questioned, teasingly.

"Bringing that up again?" Jae-Ha questioned, glancing at Hak with a cordial smile. Tetora giggled.

"The red wine is made with the water that's the water tribe's specialty." She beamed, holding the jar up."But there's not any drugs in this~" She teased with another giggle.

"... Is everything fine with Shisen and Sensui?" Jae-Ha questioned, leaning forward slightly.

"...Yes." Tetora answered, but there was a forlorn expression on her face."I guess so..." She tacked on."But it's not great. How can we meet everyone here?" Hak's expression was flat. He seemed to see right through what was going on in this situation. So did Tian.

"Why don't you just cut to the chase?" She questioned, causing everyone but Hak to look at her in surprise.

"Tian's right. Stop trying to bribe us in a roundabout way. You came to find us because there's something you want, right?" He questioned simply.

"Hmm, seems Hak and Tian are sharp." She said more seriously.

"Eh?!" Yun questioned in alarm. That's when both girls got on their knees, bowing.

"To be honest, there's something we would to ask of you regarding Miss Lilli."

"What's wrong with Lilli?" Yona questioned immediately,standing up.

"Right now, Miss Lilli is in exile from Suiko." Everyone looked at her with shock and surprise, but Tteora went on." That itself is nothing to worry about. But just as you expect, she wouldn't just sit around and do nothing this time, she said she wants to go to the country of Sei."

"Sei?" Yona questioned, glancing at Tian, who stiffened up at the name.

"Yes." Ayura answered in a firm, monotone voice."We can't stop Miss Lilli anymore with just the two of us. Which is why, even though it's alot to ask, we would still like to ask everyone to go to Sei with Miss Lilli as her body guards."