Chapter 27: Relief

At that moment Jae-ha felt his stomach drop, his heart clenched and he, for a moment, couldn't breathe. Across the bay all the other dragon warriors felt sudden panic. Zeno felt his legs weaken and shake. He couldn't breathe. He gripped the edge of the ship at the bows end. Hak looked around at the others. Something was wrong. "Oh?" Gi-gan's voice sounded. "If that girl doesn't hurry she's going to be swept away by the rising tide." Hak's eyes widened in realization.

Meanwhile Jae-ha pushed passed his sudden panic and jumped to the ledge Yona had been standing at. Sure enough, she was gone. Turning towards the tide he began removing his tunic to jump in after her. She was such a tiny girl. She could've easily been swept away out to sea in minutes. He had no time to waste!

"Jae-ha!" her voice suddenly sounded causing the green haired man to look down. There Yona was, hanging for dear life onto the roots of the tree that shielded the precious herb.

"Yona." he sighed. This girl is going to be my death. He thought this absentmindedly as he reached down to help pull her up. She was soaked. Her dress weighed her down heavily.

"No! If you help me, I'll have failed the task that Captain Gi-gan gave me!" Suddenly a wave came up beneath her, pushing onto land and into Jae-ha's arms. Yona panted as she was suddenly on land once more. She felt relieved that Jae-ha had stayed with her like he had. With a shaky hand she reached into her cloak's pocket and pulled out the bag with the herb. "Thank goodness, I didn't loose it."

Jae-ha looked at her dumbfounded. She was more worried about loosing the damn herb rather than her life. He couldn't help himself. He laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. Was she truly the red haired king he had been so stubbornly afraid of for most of his life? "You're really something." His laughter making his body shake.

"You still wound up having to save me." she said sounding disappointed.

"Don't be too disappointed in yourself Yona. I believe in cherishing women. Wrapping them up in silk, loving them; you know." he stated as he pushed his green hair out of his eyes.

Yona blinked at him in surprise as she finally took in his appearance. Giggling, she spoke. "You were going to jump into the ocean after me, weren't you?"

"Huh?" Jae-ha asked confused by the question. He suddenly felt embarrassed. "Please don't tell Captain Gi-gan what happened."

"Huh?"

"You acquired the senju herb all by yourself and you protected it with your life." he smiled down at her with some pride at her accomplishment. "You did as the captain asked. What I just did, was a bonus. She doesn't need to know."

"This is ridiculous! Look at how rough the waves are! Yona could be blown right off of the cliff!" Yun yelled as the came to the plateau where the cliffs met the sea. The waves crashed against the cliff's angrily.

"That girl accepted my task in order to gain my trust." Gi-gan stated as she took a puff from her cigarette stick. "If you interfere, all her effort will have been for nothing."

Yun and the others looked at the sea in despair. "Yona's just a girl!" Yun yelled angrily.

"Sometimes women have to fight their own battles." Gi-gan glared at the boys. "Don't you dare underestimate her!"

"Hak, are you okay with this?" Kija inquired.

Zeno placed his arms over his head and looked off into the distance. "We don't underestimate her." he began causing the Captain to look at him. "We know Missy can do things others see as impossible. I've seen her stand up to an army, keep her stupid friend from doing something that would kill him, save someone from the prejudices of their village and give two people a new will to live." He looked at the older woman. "Don't mistake our concern for us seeing her weak. We don't. She's actually the strongest amongst us. We need her, more than she will ever need us. We just fear her getting hurt because we know she'll go beyond what she should do."

"YONA!" Yun's outcry caused the others to look and see the red haired girl with relief. Yun was the first to wrap his arms around Yona's neck in a hug. "You big dummy! You're always so reckless!"

Yona laughed at Yun's words. "You didn't have to worry."

"Did you get the senju?" Gi-gan inquired after Yun's cries died down.

"It's right here." Yona stated as she handed the bag over to the captain.

"Then as promised-" the older woman began when she was interrupted.

"No." Yona said with a bit anger in her voice. "I had help from Jae-ha."

Jae-ha looked shocked at her words. Hadn't he just told her not to say anything?

"A massive wave came out of nowhere and almost sept me out to sea. Jae-ha saved me." She looked at the captain with determination in her eyes. "I'd like to try again."

"Hmph." Gi-gan smirked. I knew there was something there. She turned her back to Yona and laughed. "If Hae-ha ever let a girl fall into the ocean I's shove him in with a boulder attached to him." She smirked at Yona. "You've got guts. You're my kind of idiot. Welcome aboard!"

Everyone cheered and ran forward towards Yona, both her friends and the uninjured pirates. Jae-ha leaned forward so his lip were near her ear. "You passed, Yona." He gave her head a soft pat. Leaving her side he stood between Hak and Zeno. Hak gave a sigh as Zeno found himself to be able to breathe a bit easier. "You look a decade older." Jae-ha joked at Hak.

"Look who's talking." Hak shot back.

"What!?" Jae-ha took out a compact mirror to look. He looked back at Hak. "I can't imagine what being her bodyguard can entail.

"I bet you can't." Hak again shot back at him.

Jae-ha smirked. "What, are you two lovers?"

"We've been friends since we were kids." Hak explained.

Jae-ha now understood somewhat. "She must be awe fully important to you."

"I made a promise." he stated. "I've been entrusted with her safety; but she is important to more than myself."

Zeno sighed. These two remind me of someone. He felt a bit nostalgic. His brothers were back together for the time being. Yona was safe and now they had a new mission ahead of them, but Zeno couldn't help but feel like they were forgetting something very important.

M-Angel: Yay, I got a second chapter our this month! ^_^ LoL! Sorry, it's been a stressful week and I finally got a day off to just relax and write. Hope you enjoyed it!