The smell of smoke had been floating in the air for quite some time and it was making Sakura worry. They were walking through a wooded area. A fire break-out would be extremely dangerous and without a significant body of water anywhere near them, it'd be particularly difficult to contain a fire even if she used water jutsu. She kept close to Yona and Yun, her eyes darting left and right, checking the environment for any abnormalities. Hak was on the lead along with Kija with Shin-Ah and Zeno bringing up the rear. Jeaha was walking a few feet ahead of them.

The young medic looked up ahead, noticing that the trees were thinning out, but, at the same time, the smell of smoke was growing more intense. She furrowed her brow, a feeling of worry settling at the pit of her stomach. She inched closer to Yona, her fingers going to rest on her weapon's pouch.

As they broke through the trees, Kija's sharp intake of breath was all the warning Sakura got before she was met with the terrible sight. Her eyes widened as she took in the destroyed landscape. It was a farm, or what remained of it. Only two walls remained standing from what used to be a farmhouse and they were black and charred and crumbling piece by piece. A second building that Sakura guessed was an animal barn stood some distance away in equally despairing condition. The doors lay torn off their hinges and there was a cloud of black smoke rising to the sky through the half-crumbled roof.

"W-What happened here?" asked Yun, his eyes wide as he took in the sight.

"That's a good question." remarked Hak, his own eyes assessing the situation. He stole a glance at Sakura to see her emerald gaze analyzing the sight before them. Her expression changed from worry to cold, hardened calculation, her irises darting all over the landscape.

"Could the Imperial Cavalry have done this?" wondered Kija, looking expectantly at Hak.

The dark-haired warrior shook his head. "I highly doubt it. The new Emperor wants the people to accept his position with as little trouble as possible. Sending his soldiers to burn down farmlands doesn't seem like a good way to achieve that."

"What are your thoughts on this, Sakura?" asked Jeaha, surprising not only the medic herself, but the rest of their companions as well. The green-haired man's question was a lot more than just a simple request for opinion. Through that act, he was declaring to all of them that he trusted her enough to take her views on their situation into consideration.

Sakura wanted to smile, but kept her face expressionless. "I agree with Hak. I don't know a lot about your new Emperor, but I know enough about leadership to be positive that the public's support is something you want if you wish to maintain your position long-term. This wasn't the job of the Capital."

"Then who did it?"

"Whose territory is this?" asked Sakura, turning to Hak.

The man pinned her with his electric blue gaze, though she showed no signs of faltering. "We are near the mountains, north of Kuuto, the Imperial Capital. This is Fire Tribe territory."

The pink-haired woman nodded. "What's their affiliation?"

Kija raised a white eyebrow. "Affiliation?"

Sakura glanced at him before her eyes fell on Hak once more. "Where do their loyalties lie?"

Understanding what she was getting at, the dark-haired warrior shook his head. "The Fire tribesmen never were particularly pleased with the late Emperor Ill's way of ruling the kingdom. They are loyal to the new King, have no doubt about that."

The young kunoichi nodded. "We have to be extra cautious then. Should the need present itself, is there anyone still loyal to the deceased Emperor that would be willing to offer us shelter?"

"Returning back to Awa is an option." said Jeaha. "The Awa Port is under Earth Tribe rule. The Fire Tribe wouldn't dare violate the borders of Earth Tribe territory and risk the rage of powerful and warlike General Lee Geun-Tae. Also, Captain Gigan looks after her own. She'd take us in, no questions asked."

"Captain Gigan?" asked Sakura, raising an eyebrow.

Jeaha flashed her a charming smile. "Fascinating woman. And she'd definitely take a liking to you."

"Would she, now." Sakura chuckled, though her expression became somber a moment later. "We are officially in enemy territory. Those riders that passed through before us could easily be part of the Fire Tribe's military, though we can't say that for sure."

"But the question remains. This can't be the work of Fire Tribe's military." said Yun, walking forward and motioning to the destroyed landscape. "If the Imperial Cavalry didn't do it, then who did?"

"That's what I'd like to find out." replied Hak, taking a few steps forward. "Follow me. We need to scout the area."

Sakura frowned. "Are you sure about this? Whoever did this could still be around."

"You can always wait for us to come back, if you are scared, Pinky."

"That's not what I meant-Ugghh!" The young woman stopped mid-sentence, knowing that no matter what she said. Hak would just carry on without paying her any mind. She'd rather not pick another fight with him. Rolling her green eyes, she turned to Yona, Yun and Zeno, who hadn't followed the others. "Yona-Hime, Yun, please follow my advice and remain here. It's safer for you to stay away for now."

"But Sakura-"

"Don't argue with me, Yun. I'm just trying to keep you safe. I'd feel better knowing that you aren't anywhere near that place." She turned to the blue-eyed dragon with the ever-present smile. "Will you please stay with them? I trust you to keep them safe, Zeno."

The man beamed at her. "Consider it done."

Sakura bowed her head in thanks, unable to keep a grin off her lips. Zeno's constant good mood was contagious. She smiled at Yona and Yun, trying to alleviate their nervousness. "We won't be long. We'll just take a look around and return. So, stay out of sight and don't stray from Zeno's side."

She could feel three pairs of eyes on her back as she caught up with the others, but she focused her attention on the task at hand. Really, with everything that was happening, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her true identity a secret. She knew that Hak was more than just suspicious of her. Heck, had she been in his shoes, she would have been suspicious too. This wasn't Konoha. Mere healers weren't supposed to involve themselves in anything battle-related. But she didn't have much choice, did she?

She sighed, shaking those thoughts from head, and looked around. The sight was depressing. There was charred wood everywhere and the air smelt of burnt corn and hay. The farmhouse was all but destroyed with a collapsed roof and crumbling walls. Or what remained of them, at least. There was no sign of life anywhere around them. She could see a wooden enclosure on her right, but the gate was broken, so the animals kept there had probably escaped to the woods.

"What happened to the owners?" asked Jeaha, unbeknownst to him voicing her thoughts.

"We should probably look for them." said Kija with a frown. "They could be in need of help."

"That won't be necessary." Hak's voice made them look at him. "Look over there."

The group turned their eyes to where he was pointing. Kija sucked in a breath and Sakura's eyes widened. A few feet away from them, partially hidden by a pile of black wood, lay the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman. She rushed to them, followed closely by the others. She pushed the burnt wood aside and kneeled beside the bodies to examine them. They were middle aged, mid-forties probably. Both their faces were set in ugly grimaces, though rigor mortis and probably a great amount of fear right before death were to blame for that. She made a mandatory check for pulse, though she never expected to find one.

"What happened to these people?"

"Taking rigor mortis and lividity into account, these two have been dead for approximately four to six hours. The cause of death is pretty obvious, I believe." she answered, pointing at their slit throats.

"Who could have done this?"

A rustling in the leaves made Sakura look up from the bodies. She narrowed her eyes, her mind running a mile a minute. Without taking her eyes away from the direction of the sound, she addressed the dark-haired warrior. "Hak, do you know of any -"

An almost inaudible 'whoosh' was all the warning she got before she ducked, barely managing to avoid an arrow to the neck.

"-bands of outlaws around here."

Sakura cursed inwardly. She should have known better than to allow them to spend so much time out in the open. Especially with those two bodies to warn them that there were hostiles in the area. She scanned the area, trying to calculate their numbers.

At first glance, Sakura wasn't particularly impressed by their enemies. They weren't even trying to be stealthy with their approach, treading through the trees loudly, shouting obscenities at each other. The young medic grimaced in disgust. 'What a sad lot…..'

She glanced at her companions to see that they too were assessing their situation. Hak had a firm grip of his weapon and Shin-Ah already had his sword drawn. Kija's dragonic claws were flexing, and though Jeaha appeared calm, she knew that every muscle in his body was tense.

'At least twenty of them.' she concluded, though that number could be wrong. More of them could still be hiding in those trees. She swept her gaze over them, her eyes isolating the only figure of the group that had their face covered under the hood of a tattered cloak.

'The leader perhaps?' She narrowed her eyes.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" said a voice and they immediately realized that it was coming from the person with the hood. It sounded confident and mocking. "It seems that we are lucky, boys. We have fresh prey for the second time this day. And what a rare jewel is that? My lady." he said, making a show of bowing. Sakura just wanted to put a kunai through his heart.

The crowd of bandits erupted in obnoxious cheers, whistling and yelling profanities. Their weapons were anything from rusted swords and wooden clubs to well-polished spears that they had probably stolen from a merchant or Fire Tribe soldiers that had gone astray from their platoon. "Let the fun begin, boss!" shouted one of them, making Sakura scowl. 'I'll show you fun, you son of a bitch…'

The leader rested his -for it was definitely a male- hand on the hilt of a longsword that fell against his hip. "Kill the men and take anything valuable they have on them. Bring the woman to me."

The bandits began to move closer, forcing the dragons, Hak and Sakura to form a tight circle, their backs almost pressing together. The pink-haired medic stood between Jeaha and Hak, kunai in hand and emerald eyes flashing with the thrill of the upcoming battle. It'd be a lie to say that she wasn't excited. It'd been a while since the last time she crossed blades with someone and the prospect of adrenaline coursing through her veins left her tingling.

"Not to brag or anything." remarked the woman. "But I told you so."

"Well, Pinky." started Hak, earning himself a sideways glance from the woman. "If you have an ace up your sleeve, now would be a good time to use it."

Sakura just smirked. And it was feral.

TBC

Hey there guys! How are you?

Sorry for the long wait. My horse and I took part in a dressage tournament half a week ago and the training we had to do for that left me with little to no free time.

Anyway! The long awaited moment has arrived and I can honestly say that I took a variety of factors into consideration before making this decision. The pairing for this story is going to be JeahaXSakura. Supporters of that ship, rejoice! The rest of you, I'm sorry if I disappointed you. I seriously considered making this a HakXSakura story, but no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't find a solid enough reason why Hak would just get over his feelings for Yona and turn his affections to Sakura. The HakXYona ship is so deeply rooted in Akatsuki no Yona that it seemed almost impossible to destroy it. Sorry to those who wished to see it. Moving on, Shin-Ah is too cute for his own good and I really like his character, but it seems to me that a romantic relationship between him and Sakura wouldn't work out. He's far too…boy-ish and socially awkward to be anything more than a little brother to her. We all know that Sakura already has enough silent, socially-handicapped males around her. Zeno, with his past and the story of his late wife didn't seem like a good choice. Also, he's far too childlike, which also applies to Kija. Therefore, Jeaha seemed like the best choice. He's a handsome man, strong, with his own sad past, but is also a man that could challenge Sakura. Not to mention, his flirtatious nature is bound to cause some drama.

Sorry for the long Author's Note. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned for the next! Drop a review to tell me your opinion.

Until next time!

Lots of love!