Chapter 9: The Day After
Zeno's eyes opened as the sun began to rise. It was a habit he had picked up long ago when he had worked some fields in the fire tribe when they had, had their first drought. The land had been overworked and thus stopped producing any good yields. Stretching his arms above his head, Zeno began waking is body up. This included stretching his legs out as well. He wasn't really stiff, just a bit achy. Looking over towards the sleeping duo, Zeno spotted the tear stains on Yona's face. She had dark circles under her eyes, her long hair was a mess and her clothes were ripped at the hem with mud sticking to it. However, none of that mattered. What truly, honestly mattered was that she was alive. He had made it in time. Barely though.
Standing up, Zeno went into the forest to relieve himself. After all, he still had some human needs, even if he didn't always feel human at all. He never spotted the dark eyes following his form. Once relieved, Zeno began looking for some kindling to create a small fire. Yona would need food and if his ears weren't mistaken, he could hear small river nearby. As he bent over to pick up a twig, suddenly Zeno felt something kick his butt, causing him to fall over. Rolling over, Zeno saw Son Hak with his weapon pointed at Zeno's neck.
"Who are you really?" Hak's voice had a dangerous edge to it.
Ah, he doesn't believe me. Zeno thought to himself. He didn't blame Hak for not believing that he was the Ouryuu. "Zeno is Zeno."
"You know what I mean!" he growled as he pressed the blade against Zeno's neck.
"Zeno is Ouryuu."
"Don't lie!"
Suddenly, surprising Hak with his speed, Zeno pushed the spear blade away from his neck only to release it, the forward momentum from Hak drove the blade into Zeno's stomach. Hak's eyes were wide with both surprise and fear. Zeno coughed up some blood before moving his hand back to the spear and pulling it out before standing. Lifting his now ruined shirt, Hak watched as muscle and skin repaired itself before vanishing like he was never hurt in the first place, however a moment later golden scales began to appear where the wound had been.
"The Ouryuu has an indestructible body. He is immortal and can withstand any kind of disease. He can regenerate quickly while developing hard scales that fortify his body like steel, making him invulnerable to any kind of physical attack." Zeno quoted the words from the myth. "I drank the blood of the Ouryuu and became Hiryuu's warrior. I am the one and only Ouryuu warrior."
Hak backed away from him, a bit overwhelmed by this new information. He hadn't believed him before. He had thought that this guy had been lying in order to do possible harm towards Princess Yona, but now... Hak ran a hand through his raven black hair and began to laugh lightly. This was insane! "Why?" he asked once he had calmed down. His question confused Zeno. "Why did you wait until now to show up?!" Hak was angry and frustrated. "You could've saved King Il!"
Zeno now understood. "Zeno doesn't serve King Il." he answered frankly. "Zeno serves only King Hiryuu..." Zeno paused before looking beyond Hak, where they had left Yona. "...and his reincarnation." Hak's eyes widened as he understood who Zeno was talking about.
Suddenly a scream echoed throughout the forest. Two hearts froze. Both men turned back to where they had left Yona. Once they appeared she grasped both of them. "You left me!" she cried. New tears flowed from her eyes as she grasped them both.
It took several minutes to calm the frantic Princess down. Once they had, Zeno left her with Hak, who held her close. When Zeno returned he was soaked head to toe, his shirt no longer had blood on it but still spotted a large rip from where he had been pierced. However, within his hands were four fish, which Hak went on to clean as Zeno started a small fire. Getting Princess Yona to eat had been a bit difficult. Zeno quickly noticed the withdrawn look in her eyes. Fear pierced his heart a second time that day. It scared him because he had seen this look once before. Hiryuu before he had died had this look before he had died.
Zeno looked at Hak. "How quickly can we get her to Fuuga?"
Hak had just buried the campsite when he heard the question. "It would take five days on foot to reach it if we go straight through the forests and avoid the villages." He looked at him. "Why?"
"Zeno doesn't like the withdrawn look in her eyes." he stated with worry in his voice. "The faster we get her to safety, the better." Hak couldn't agree more and if Zeno was this worried...Hak suddenly felt a sinking feeling form in his stomach.
M-Angel: Hope everyone is doing alright. How was your V-day? I worked! LoL!