Foxes & Dragons | Akatsuki no Yona

Episode 19

Episode 19
'Green and White Don't Mix Well'

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Says scoffed in front of the building the green dragon had brought her and Hak to, raising her brows at him.

"You're insufferable you know." A pleasure house. A damn pleasure house was where the man had brought them. In broad daylight too.

"It's all part of my charm," he said with a devilish smirk that sent jitters down the goddess's spine. He leaned ever so closer to the lady before Hak stepped in, forcefully shoving his face away from hers in a swift motion. Irritation laced his eyes while he gritted his teeth through his smile.

"Why here of all places?" the sapphire-eyed ex-general asked, crossing his arms with annoyance.

"For fun?" was all the green dragon could say. It had earned him a hard *BOP* on the head from Saya.

Nevertheless, the trio entered the place, taking their seats at a table and watching as girls flocked to them with desire.

"So... why are we here?" said Hak as he sipped on the soju the women poured for him. The ryokuryuu (green dragon) played with his entertainers a moment longer before redirecting his attention towards him with a smile.

"I'll be frank. I'd like to hire you." was his reply. His eery grin and the mischievous glint in his eyes offset Hak as it made his request seem somehow... dirty.

Hak blinked, taken aback for a second. "Woah there buddy, I don't swing that way. Sorry."

"H-huh? What?" The green dragon's face exploded in red. "N-NO NO NO! That's not what I meant! I mean to hire you for work－ although I guess that other option isn't too bad－ but, no, you misunderstood me." (wink)

"Hire him for what?" Saya cut in, a skeptical expression adorning her face though you could see a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"I'd like to－"

"Hak! Sae-rin!" a voice from below called. Immediately, Hak turned towards the source, but Saya's focus remained on the man with green hair. She watched as he leapt from the building and out of sight, completely confirming her suspicions about his identity.

"Wh-what're you two doing in a place like this? And together no less?!" Yoon shouted, pausing for a moment to think about the possibilities before his face was flushed red. In an instant he was covering Yona's innocent ears before shaking his head in disgust at the two.

"Yoon! What's with that face?! We weren't doing anything, it was that man that－ wait... where'd he go?" Hak searched around the room for a second but only the women and Saya remained.

"That's strange... well, whatever," he murmured to himself before hopping over the railing of the balcony and joining Yona and Yoon below. Hak just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with that pervert anymore

"Fox Girl let's go!" Hak called out, waiting for the silver-haired woman to follow.

"You three go ahead. There's something I must do first," she replied.

Hak noted that her voice was strangely distant, more so than usual, but he shrugged the worrying ebbing away at him and let the girl go. "Be safe," was all he said.

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Though her senses were dulled a bit in her human form, Saya could still pick up on the faint scent trail the ryokuryuu had left behind. It was difficult, however, to follow it due to the fact that the scene didn't stay on the ground for too long before it hopped somewhere else.

"How annoying." she thought to herself as she continued tracking. Half an hour had passed before Saya reached the edge of a cliff. There, rocking steadily on the soft ocean waves was a pirate ship.

"A pirate? Surprising." Saya muttered, straining the eyes of her mortal body in attempt to watch what they were up to.

All seemed fine. Until...

Something's wrong.

The hairs on the back on her neck were standing. The leaves of the trees and shrubs behind her rustled, anticipation filled her body.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? What a pretty woman you are." － Awa officers. － "Seeing you from afar was one thing, but up close?" The man speaking let put a whistle. "I wonder how much Yang  Keum-ji would pay for you."

"Yang Keum-ji?" she thought.

There were 6 officers in total. How had she not noticed them following her? Was she too focused on her own target that she lost sight of her own surroundings?

"This is so irritating. If I shift and kill them, there's a chance those pirates will hear them scream and come investigate. I'd rather not have to kill more than necessary. Plus, I don't have my weapons, I'll have to risk hand-to-hand combat against their swords and it won't be good if I go back to the others with cuts. I also don't want any of them running off and reporting me if I start a ruckus."

The overthinking was taking a toll on Saya. She was already mentally fatigued from her daring escape from Su-won and thinking of a way to get the ryokuryuu to join their purpose and all these small annoyances were beginning to build up, creating something larger.

"So many mistakes. I've been getting reckless these past few years, nothing like before. A life in the human realm is so utterly exhausting, why would Hiryuu choose this?" she thought.

"You won't talk, eh? I guess we'll just take you then!" The lead officer advanced, swiftly making his way towards Saya with the other officers in tow. "Capture her!"

"Oh no you don't!" a voice, smooth as silk, called out. Out of nowhere, a man with flowing verdant green hair leapt through the air, his leg outstretched in a kicking position. A resounding crack could be heard as the man's foot made contact with an officer's face, breaking a bone or two.

The ryokuryuu turned his face to lock eyes with Saya. "How interesting. I didn't think anyone was following me." She just gave the man a light shrug. However, the green-haired man's eyes turned serious before saying, "These officers are dangerous. You don't know what you're dealing with."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't need you to protect me. I can handle things myself." she answered, slamming her fist straight into the gut of an approaching officer. The man coughed, splattering flood over the ground.

The ryokuryuu just let out an amused whistle. "I'm sure you can." he said, dodging the swing of a sword before kicking the officer in the chest. That officer was sent flying into another, incapacitating both of them into unconsciousness.

Saya dealt with the last two with a clean kick in the jaw and a right hook to the side of their face.

"Who are you?" the green dragon asked, his eyes were a mix of caution and curiosity.

"I'm Sae-rin, the Fox Goddess, friend of dragons. And you are the ryokuryuu. I've been looking for you." she said with a smile.

"I didn't want to be found." he replied with a smile as well. However, this smile was cold and distant and filled with an old rage. "You see, I don't think green and white mix well together."

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OH MY GOSH IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I SAID I'D UPDATE AND IM SO SORRY!! PLEASE ACCEPT THIS CHAPTER AS AN APOLOGY!!