ᴛᴇᴀʀs ᴏғ 16ᴛʜ ɴɪɢʜᴛ (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfic)

Chapter 5- Darkness is light and to be the light yourself

"I'm going to leave tonight." "Tonight? Aren't you going to leave tomorrow?"Kija asked. "Since my energy had returned, it's best for me to start going." "But..We finally get to see you after all those years.. Can't you stay a bit longer?"Yona gave one of her puppy eyes look to me. I shook my head,"No."

"Owh...I see..."Yona looked at the floor disappointedly. I bow at them, apologizing. I excused myself as I went up to the guest room to pack my things. Zeno was already sitting on my bed while staring out the window once I swing the guest room's door open. He smiled when he sees me. "We'll be leaving tonight."I told him. 

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Zeno, as always, disappear out of sight whenever they show up. "We'll meet later in the future."Yona cried. "Here."Yoon handed me a box of onigiri,"I made it." "Thank you."I took it from him. "Don't you dare die out there."Hak told me,"It's really nostalgic seeing you." "Visit the Hakuryuu's village anytime you want. We will welcome you with open arm. And as for the Our-"I immediately interrupt Kija before he could finish his sentence. "I'll tell him. Say my goodbye to your grandma."

"Goodbye, Sumire..."I heard Yona called my name. I took a last glance at them before moving forward. After a few distances away from Hakuryuu's village, Zeno showed up on the tree as he hopped down onto the ground. "Miss, it's already dark. Do you want to keep going?"He asked. "Yes. Are there any dragon warriors close to us?" "Hmmm..."Zeno closed his eyes for a while, then opened again,"There is. Seiryuu..."

"We'll keep going then."I told him as he nodded and lead the way. With the light of the moon, we could see our surrounding. Billion of stars shone brightly in the sky, shinning our path. They said that the great Kings who had passed were watching all of us. I wonder if that's true.

Hak and Yona...I met them when we were young.

 Hak is a mischievious and loyal person who strives to protect Yona at all costs and has been shown to be self-sacrificing, both physically and emotionally, when it comes to her well being. He has a habit of being a bully and likes branding others. Despite being playful, he is serious whenever it comes to his job. When it comes to his heart, Hak destroys his impulses every time they resurface, even though it hurts to do so. There are times that he will show his affection with teasing, but not much beyond that. 

Hak was adopted by Mundok, though the specifics of this event are still unknown. Under Mundok's guidance, he became one of the strongest members of the Wind Tribe.When he reached eighteen he became the General Commander at the castle. Added to his list of titles is 'Chief of the Wind Tribe' which makes him one very young and accomplished person.

This is how much I know about him. He told me some of his story, and some of it I found out by myself. He also told me some of Yona's backstory.

Yona is very adaptable, has a sweet demeanor, and has a strong sense of conviction. Her mother was assassinated when she was young,leaving her in the care of her kind and loving father, Emperor Il. Throughout her life in sixteen years, Yona grew up without a care in the world; never knowing of strife or unhappiness save for her mother's death. As she was the princess, she was forbidden to go outside for her safety. 

Due to living inside,  she was ignorant to everything happening around her and only cared about herself or her love. She didn't take the initiative to know the events unfolding around her country despite being a princess. 

Because of this she is struck by the hard truth of people hating her father and his leadership, as well as how ignorant she had been of her duty when she was chased out from her home. To compensate for her lack of concern for her citizens and to protect the place her father once protected, she vowed to mend the conflicts within Kouka little by little. 

What would happen to Kouka now that the princess had chased out?

"Miss? Are you okay? You seem to be spacing out."Zeno stopped in front of me. "I'm fine..Just keep going." "Alright. By the way, the Seiryuu is getting closer."

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"This is it?"I asked. "Yup!"Zeno nodded. It looks like a deserted mountain...

The two of us went inside through the entrance. There, all of the villagers wore a mask. "I am the chief. Who are you, strangers?"The man, who called himself the head of this village asked. "We are just travelers. It's dark outside, can we find a place to take refuge here? We will leave when the sun is up."I lied, making up excuse at the same time. 

He think for a sec then nodded,"Alright. You may rest here but you will leave once the sun is up." He then turned his back on us and ask the villagers to lead us to our resting place. Once they left us alone, Zeno agreed to stay here while I search for the Seiryuu. He could make up an excuse on where I went. 

Without wasting any time, I looked around the place which ended up leading me to a dead end. At the end of the hallway, I saw an animal. Looking closely, I found out that it was a squirrel. It leads me to a secret passageway in the wall when the space between them opened up. 

I went down the steps and took the torch. It was a cave, a large one. I'm getting a weird feeling that someone was watching me with every step I took. But my question had been solve as I saw a masked man holding up a sword, pointing at me. 

"Who...are you.."He couldn't speak clearly but clear enough for me to hear and understand it. "Are you..Seiryuu?"I asked. But he didn't reply to my question. He took a step back each time I took a step front. 

"I mean no harm. I didn't bring any weapon with me."No matter how many time I tried to convince him to put his weapon down, he won't listen. "You have the dragon eyes, correct?"I asked. "It's a..curse."He answered. "Huh?" "Stay away...My eyes..are curse.." 

I shook my head,"My definition of curse is probably different from what other people's definitions are." I could feel that his attention are focus on me. "You've got to be one that, wherever you are, like a flower, you've got to blossom where you're planted. You cannot eliminate darkness. You cannot banish it by cursing darkness. The only way to get rid of darkness is light and to be the light yourself."I told him.

I took out the pendant from my pocket and picked up the squirrel beside me as I tied the pendant around its body, not too tightly. "Hold it for me. If you see a girl with red hair, named Yona. Please return it to her."I bow,"I better leave. I would be in trouble if the villagers found me missing when the sun is up."

I left the cave and went up the stairs. I walked my way through the maze and found Zeno sleeping on the bench. I sighed in relief to be here in time. As the sun's up, we left the Seiryuu's village and look for another dragon warrior.