The Dragon of Life | Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction |

16 | Identity of The Heart

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        | Shin-Ah |

            I had never been one for needless altercations, but the events surrounding our temporary inhabitance of Shiroi Hana had me recalculating aspects of myself that I never knew existed.

            Meeting Yona had forever changed me. I'd been moved from a life of seclusion to one filled with unlikely friendships and beautiful horizons that saw no end. Words that'd been locked away for so long had begun to escape me without warning, and I'd managed to find companionship in a group of people who were marked with ancient powers much like my own.

            My promise to protect Yona and her wishes had been chiseled into my every action, my every breath. But the solidity of that promise had begun to waver with the unworldly addition of her.

            I'd never been intrigued by something so uncomplicated in the entirety of my existence. It had little to do with her unexpected role as a Dragon or her ability to rouse life itself from the tips of her fingers.

She was just simply . . . Different. And for some incomprehensible reason, I couldn't seem to steer my mind away from the fact.

            I don't know how to describe it, I fitfully realized as I peered down at the silent and lithe girl walking in front of me. We were still on the second level of the brothel, following any sign of the drunken soldier's passing. I knew good and well that my thoughts should've been directed toward the situation at hand, but it was almost impossible to not think about her after our most recent exchange of words.  She cares little of herself, and the moments where she does openly express her fears it's always out of consideration for someone else . . . Not many are capable of such selflessness.

Frustrating. I wasn't sure why, but it was frustrating to see her live without much consideration for her own wellness.

     I knew that it was incredibly selfish of me to feel such a way. I also knew that my personal input had little to do with her situation, but I couldn't fight the frightfully persistent part of me that sought to keep my companions out of harms way. She was just as important to me as Kija and Yoon and everyone else in the group were, so wasn't it only natural that I be concerned for her?

"I think they're in this room," she said in a soft subdued voice as we approached the sealed entrance of a private guest room. The second floor wasn't nearly as noisy as the first floor had been, but the boisterous sound of laughter and clinking glasses could be heard from the opening of the stairwell. "I saw this screen slide shut once we turned down this hallway . . . "

"Is the room next to this one occupied?" I asked with equal volume discretion.

She walked a little ways ahead and peered to her right. She looked back to me with a small shake of her head. "No, it isn't . . . Shall we enter?"

"Yes," I answered with lackluster enthusiasm. "Then we can follow through with the rest of the plan."

"Okay," she muttered as I walked over to the opened paper screen. When I was standing right before her she appeared to be fidgeting. Only a moment passed before she glanced up at me, her eccentric blue eyes rounded with curiosity. "Will you not enter first?"

            "Do you wish for me to do so?" I asked plainly. When she nodded in return to my query I soundlessly stepped into the room.

            She followed me in as I quickly evaluated the size and contents of the room. The window, just as we'd projected it to be, was aligned with the roof of the building next to it. Although a pesky set of blinds were shielding anyone from looking in, I knew that Yona would fit through just fine once we removed the coverings and signaled her entrance.