Their New Home (Yona Of The Dawn X Oc)

Chapter 22

'That idiot.' Was Yoon's first thought after Kija so brazenly demanded for the Blue Dragon.

They didn't even know whether the village they found truly was the Blue Dragon's village and all sorts of trouble could come from even mentioning the mythical creature.

The old man they were talking to frowned deeply, "Blue Dragon? I'm afraid you must be mistaken, we do not know of an individual going by that name here."

Kija was about to protest and reveal even more to the stranger. Thankfully, Yona stepped in before he could and smiled politely.

"I'm sorry. We were travelling to find someone but it's clear to see he's not here. However, we are tired from our journey and some of us are injured. Will it be okay if we rest here a little bit?"

To emphasise the princess' point, Hak showed off the bandages covering his chest with a deadpan expression, completely on board with providing fanservice.

"That must've been tiring. As you can see, we are a very poor village. We cannot provide special treatment," the old man cautioned.

Yona merely shook her head and replied, "We don't mind. Thank you for your hospitality."

She then followed him through the entrance to the village, with the rest of the group trailing behind her.

As they made their way past other villagers, Yona couldn't help but stare at their unique masks.

"What are those masks for?" The princess inquired, unable to hide her curiosity.

"It's a custom. Those who are unmarried do not show their faces in front of others."

Yona hummed in interest but didn't ask any more questions, noting the way the man tensed when she began prodding - she supposed the village preferred to keep its secrets.

Meanwhile, Aiko clung to Hak's arm, spooked by the eeriness of the villagers. Despite being unable to see their eyes, she felt them tracking her every move, scrutinising her so thoroughly that the girl found it hard to breathe.

Within a few moments, the man came to a stop and gestured for the group to enter a room which was hidden behind another thick blanket, supposedly where they will be staying.

Just before she could enter, the old man told Yona, "My guest, I must warn you that this place is like a maze. Do not wander very far. It is not our responsibility if something happens."

The others collectively shuddered. Both his ominous words and spine-chilling glare were enough to make even the bravest of people cry.

Once left alone, the group slumped in relief - there was a lot to discuss after such a strange first impression and they couldn't do that in front of the villagers' watchful eyes.

Before they could begin, however, Sumi stormed up to Kija and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, yanking him down so they were face-to-face, "Are you insane? Why did you ignore the plan like that? Do you have any idea how reckless that was?"

Her voice was hushed so the others could barely hear her, yet her fury was conveyed just as well as it would've been if she was yelling.

"Sumi, wait-" Yoon called out, worried that another argument could start.

"No, you wait. This place is dangerous. These people are going to be watching our every move and maybe even listening to this very conversation. We can't just do whatever we want whenever we want, understood?"

Kija frowned but made no effort to rebuke her statement. He was completely thrown off by the way the villagers feigned ignorance despite there almost certainly being a dragon amongst them. 

Taking his silence as agreement, Sumi let go of the White Dragon, sighing loudly. There were too many new factors to think through and the woman was already picturing many worst-case scenarios.

"Are we sure this is even the Blue Dragon's village in the first place?" Aiko asked, sitting in one corner of the room whilst hugging herself tightly.

"I'm certain he's here!" Kija exclaimed, turning to Yona desperately, "Believe me, Your Majesty, I can sense him."

"Don't be silly, Kija. I don't doubt you," she laughed, causing the dragon to perk up. A bright light seemed to radiate from him after being acknowledged by his master.

"Silly," Hak taunted, narrowly dodging Kija's extended claws. They continued to squabble, kicking up dust due to the speed of their movements.

The others merely ignored them and proceeded to converse as if they weren't even there.

"We can't exactly ask around - that'd make us suspicious," Yoon stated, furrowing his brows in deep thought, "If we want to find the Blue Dragon, we need to look for him ourselves."

"But that man said this place was like a maze. Will we be alright?" Yona asked.

Yoon tilted his head towards the princess, smiling smugly, "Princess, I'm a pretty boy genius - of course we'll be alright."

Now Aiko was more than familiar with Yoon's pride and has heard similar words before multiple times. Yet something about that smirk made her heart skip a beat in a way it never had before.

'He's so cool... Wait, why is my face so hot?'

Whilst she attempted to cool down without mulling over her strange thoughts, the other members of the group regained their spirits.

"I'll make a map as we go and then we'll take the place by storm!" Yoon declared, pumping his fist in the air.

Yona, Hak and Kija followed suit, swept up in the moment.

"Let's conquer!" The trio chorused, though, Kija sounded a lot more confused than the other two.

"Uh... Why did we turn into pirates all of a sudden?" Sumi deadpanned.

Before the group set out to "conquer" the Blue Dragon's village, Aiko timidly spoke up, "Uh... Do all of us need to go? Some of us should keep an eye out on those shady villagers, right? I'll stay behind."

Yoon raised an eyebrow at this: for as long as he knew Aiko, she was never able to stand still for longer than a few minutes. He would've assumed she'd appreciate a chance to explore unfamiliar territory.

That wasn't the only thing strange about the girl's behaviour. Ever since they entered the cave, she was almost entirely silent. At first, he pinned it down to her being tired after a long few days but after hearing her request, he felt a sharp pang of worry.

Yona was also concerned but decided not to ask any invasive questions, knowing that it could make Aiko more uncomfortable, "Good idea. Do you want one of us to keep you company?"

The girl was about to refuse, only for Sumi to speak up, "I'll stay with her. Having six of us walk through narrow tunnels is overkill anyway."

"We'll head off then." Yoon nodded curtly whilst frowning in deep thought. There was something so unnerving about seeing such an outgoing person lose their spark.

"Come back soon, yeah?" Aiko mumbled, sounding shakier than she would've liked.

Yona smiled gently, squeezing the girl's hand briefly before saying, "We'll be back before you know it."

A/N:
Whelp... It's been a while... Life has been life-ing a little too much and I hit a rough writer's block but hey, I'm getting some of my creative juices back now. Sorry for the wait!

Now, back to this chapter. Will Kija and Sumi ever actually get along? Who knows? Well, I know but let's ignore that. Anyways, the search for best boi continues and let's hope he'll appear before Aiko completely loses it. As always, hope you it enjoyed and have a nice day. <3