Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona.

Chapter 14

Shin-Ah was immersed in the battle, steadily clashing with raiders and cutting them down. The dragon warriors and Hak were all doing their best to not kill anyone since the clan was essentially peaceful, but a few of these men were going to be missing appendages.

There was a lull around him for a few seconds, and he spared a glance at the ledge where Yona, Lien, and Zeno were. He could see Zeno and Yona, but… A flash of light caught his eyes, and he followed it, spotting Lien briefly among the boulders as she careened down the path. Fire burned in her hair and along her arms as she raced down the mountain, heading for the village.

Where was she going? Why would she be going back to the village…unless something had gone wrong. Shin-Ah turned and ran for the barricade, sword in hand. Up and over the makeshift wall and into the village, where people were fighting off a few raiders that had somehow gotten past the dragons and Hak.

Shin-Ah rushed at one of the raiders who was attacking a clansman, his sword whistling as it cut the air. The raider turned and block it with his own blade at the last moment, and Shin-Ah spun, going low. His sword slid across the man's thigh. It took a few moments for the raider to realize that he had been wounded, and he clapped both hands to the gash and sat in the snow, shouting.

"I can, er, handle it from here?" the clansman said, staring at Shin-Ah.

The blue dragon nodded before looking around, his eyes widening as he saw Lien attack on of the raiders, both of them falling to the ground. His chest tightened, and he rushed in her direction, the cold wind catching at him. Lien wasn't a fighter, she was supposed to be with Yona and Zeno, safe on the ledge and far away from the battle.

He wasn't going to make it. The raider stood and so did Lien, and now he could see that she was protecting her brother. They were backed up against the building with nowhere to go, and the raider was about to throw a knife.

Shin-Ah pushed himself and skidded to a stop in front of her, his sword a streak of silver in the moonlight as it hit the knife in mid-throw, sending it flying. He could feel the heat pouring from the fire that lit Lien's hands, and he wondered if she was exhausting herself.

"Thank you," he heard Lien whisper. She was safe.

"Monsters," the raider said, shaking as he took a step back, "You're both monsters."

That wasn't news to Shin-Ah. He had heard that for years, so it wasn't going to destroy his resolve now, especially when he had someone to protect. He gripped his sword tighter, staring down the raider. The light grew brighter as Lien stepped slightly to his side, her hands blazing. She was still shielded by his blade, but she also looked like a fire spirit, intimidating to anyone who didn't know she couldn't fight.

"If that's right, why would you ever attack us?" Sparks danced through her hair and along her eyelashes.

Beside her, Shin-Ah stood silent and ready, prepared to attack at any moment. The raider took another step back, staring at them as if he had been visited by death itself.

Maybe that's what they looked like to him.

Shin-Ah glanced down at Lien and she met his eyes, honey brown meeting masked gold. There was an understanding there and an acceptance he wasn't used to, except from his friends. She wasn't a monster to him and he wasn't one to her. He changed his grip on his sword and moved forward, raising it above his head as if going for the killing strike. The raider yelped and spun around, running back toward the barricade.

That was easy. When he looked around, it seemed that the clansmen and the warriors had defeated the raiders. People were cheering, and he could hear Jae-Ha and Kija arguing about who had taken out the most raiders somewhere beyond the barricade. Now they would need to round up their prisoners and tend to the wounded.

He moved back toward Lien and Kyung. Her fire was out, and she was kneeling by her brother, pressing the tattered remains of her cloak against his wound. "You're so dumb," she scolded her brother, tears in her eyes, "I hope Yoon's really mean when he stitches you up so you never do something as stupid as fighting two guys at once ever again."

"I don't plan to," Kyung said, a half-smile on his face. He reached out and ruffled Lien's hair before looking over at Shin-Ah. "Thank you for saving her, Shin-Ah."

Shin-Ah nodded and dropped down into the snow on Kyung's other side. The wound looked bad, but maybe it wasn't as deep as it appeared. Gently, carefully, he pulled Kyung's arm across his shoulder and lifted him onto his feet. Lien got under his other arm, acting like a crutch due to her height.

Together, the two of them carried Kyung over to Yoon's makeshift infirmary, where the boy started fussing. That was his way of showing concern. "See! See, this is why actors shouldn't try to be fighters. Put him down here." He gestured toward a pallet, and Shin-Ah lowered Kyung onto it. He was half-conscious now, groaning as he touched the floor. "Now, move you two, I've got work to do."

Lien wiped a few tears off her face, moving back from the pallet. She hovered nearby, and Shin-Ah stepped over to her, inspecting her for wounds just in case. He took her by the wrist and look carefully at her arms. Her sleeves were scorched all the way up to her shoulders, and pieces of cloth were missing. However, her skin didn't look burned at all.

"What're you doing?"

"Are you hurt?" he asked, turning her arm over.

She shook her head and then reached out, touching his upper arm. "You are, though."

Now that she pointed it, his right arm did sting. Up near the shoulder, one of the raiders had managed to get in a good slice, raking an axe across his arm. It was shallow but it stung.

"There're bandages over there," Yoon said absently from where he was working on Kyung. "Take them and go patch up Blue, will you, Lien?"

"Okay…" Lien walked over to the basket that Yoon had gestured to and picked up a roll of bandages, a bowl and cloth, and a jug of water. Her eyes kept going back over to Kyung. Slowly, more people were filing in, though it was mostly clansmen dragging in injured raiders.

Shin-Ah and Lien made their way to a bench along one of the walls. "Sit, please," Lien said, and Shin-Ah promptly sat down and shirked off his robe. Lien rolled his sleeve up, exposing the bleeding gash. Dipping the cloth into the water, she wrung it out and began to gently dab at the blood on Shin-Ah's arm. Her touch was careful and caring, and Shin-Ah found himself staring at her. She was smudged with soot and ash, but she was still so…beautiful.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

She smiled a little. "Not that much."

He reached up and tried to take the cloth from her, knowing she was probably lying. Using her fire seemed to tire her out, and he didn't want her taking care of him when she should have been resting. However, she moved her hand away from his and frowned at him. "I said I was fine, Shin-Ah. Let me help you. I want to."

All right. He lowered his hand and let her work, her agile hands staying busy. While she was wrapping the bandage around his arm, Yona and Zeno came running into the infirmary, Hak walking behind them.

"Lien! Shin-Ah!" Yona exclaimed as the three of them headed over. "Shin-Ah, are you hurt?"

It wasn't that bad, and he didn't want Yona to worry, so he shook his head.

Hak raised an eyebrow. "Then what's with the bandages?"

"He was wounded, don't let him fib," Lien said, tucking the end of the bandage away. She rolled Shin-Ah's sleeve down, her hand resting on his wrist for a moment. "Thank you again, Shin-Ah." She bowed to him, her hair swinging into her face, and she hurried off, probably to tell her parents about her brother.

Shin-Ah touched his arm where the bandage was and watched her walk away, though part of him wished she would stay. He liked it when she was beside him.