Outside, the group regathered to do a quick head count and make sure they hadn't missed anyone in the fray. Yona had gotten changed into her usual dress and cloak as soon as the fight was over, Hak suggesting that she do it right away once everything was under control.
Though it was clear the dragons and to Yoon that he wasn't actually asking.
Too many eyes had lingered on her that night and the former general may or may not have gotten a teensy bit protective, if his bruised and bloodied knuckles from pummeling those leering at her were anything to go by.
"Even though it was because of the nadai, to hit a lady... they deserve to be punished." Jae-ha said, his eyes darkened as they landed on the many marks littering the mysterious girl's skin that they had rescued.
She still had yet to tell them her name.
Yona was doing alright, Hak was attached to her side far closer than was normal or necessary but given that he had just watched her being grabbed by a bunch of hooligans, Jae-ha decided that he could let it pass without teasing them.
Besides, from his perspective, they looked like they were rather enjoying each other's company, even if they wouldn't look directly at each other.
As Hak drifted from Yona's side long enough to take care of the families coming by to pick up the addicts they had rounded up on the side of the street, Zeno bounded over to her to fill the empty space and he tugged on her hand to show her what a new flower he found.
Jae-ha's jaw clenched as he mulled over Calista's injuries he had caught a glimpse of during the fight. She was too reckless but he saw what she did when she tried to save Yona and that other girl but strangely enough, she had disappeared from their group. Along with Shin-ah.
How odd.
Oh well, if they were together then there was nothing to worry about. They could take care of each other just fine.
"You're lucky your nose wasn't broken." Yoon scolded, tending to the girl's bruises and cleaned up her face. "With this, the swelling should go down in a few days."
"I'm glad." Yona said in relief, happy that her scratches weren't anything serious.
The girl sat quietly and seemed lost in her thoughts, her face flushed but it was impossible to tell whether or not it was because she was embarrassed or because of something else. Her long blue hair could be seen clearly now, half of it pinned up with a jeweled flower hairpin, letting two sections wrapped with ribbon flow freely in the front.
"What is your name?" Yona asked kindly.
She twitched, her hands tightening into fists in her lap, resting on top of her skirt that had gotten dirty during the skirmish.
The princess came closer, tilting her head curiously. "You were watching us the whole time, right? Will you tell us why?"
The girl's expression blanked as she was caught and called out on her actions from earlier that day.
"Is... Isn't it normal to name yourself first?!" She screeched incredulously, huffing in annoyance.
Yona's eyes rounded in surprise at her retort and she blinked.
"You guys are suspicious!! You're wearing strange clothing and you're going around town and investigating things!!" The blue-haired girl exclaimed indignantly, puffing out her cheeks slightly. "I thought you were a dancer but then you go and do a flying kick on somebody!!"
Jae-ha, Kija and Yoon all stilled while Yona's lips parted in surprise at her candor. The two dragons and the pretty boy were impressed, worried and irritated, in that order at the princess' kick when they saw it at the time.
"That's you, Yona dear." Jae-ha noted with a smirk as he glanced up at her from where he was seated on a boulder.
"Eh?! Jae-ha, you're the one wearing Kai Empire clothing!!" Yona defended herself hotly, her nose scrunching up as she shifted the blame to him.
"It's probably Shin-ah's mask..." Kija trailed off contemplatively, cradling his chin in thought.
Yoon's expression blanked and he rolled his eyes. "No, don't you get it? You guys are all suspicious-looking."
Frowning, the blue-haired girl looked on, scrutinizing them. They were so weird. They had just been attacked and fought a bunch of drug addicts and yet, they were acting like everything was normal.
"My name is Yona." The red-haired girl introduced herself with a friendly smile. "For various reasons, we're traveling around."
Staring off into the distance, Yona's eyes softened and filled with a mix of determination and sympathy. "We heard that drugs have run rampant in this area so we came to investigate."
The girl looked up when she heard that. Zeno stopped flapping his arms and hauled Kija over to the girls, sensing rising tension in the air.
"... Yona..."
Everyone perked up when they heard the blue-haired speak calmly for the first time since her ordeal and subconsciously leaned forward to hear what she had to say.
"It's the same name as the Princess who disappeared from Hiryuu Castle." She said slowly. "Now that I think about it, someone called you 'princess' as well..."
Yona and Kija's jaws dropped at the same time at her detective skills.
"Yeah!! She has the same name as Princess Yona." Yoon covered up quickly with a radiant smile and laugh that was clearly meant to deter her. "As a joke, we call her 'princess'."
"Hmmm...." The blue-haired girl hummed to herself and frowned, put off now that her theory had been rebuked. "I thought it was something like that. You guys came up with a ridiculous nickname."
From behind Jae-ha so that the girl wouldn't see, Kija apologized profusely to Yona for carelessly calling her that, to which the princess waved him off; trying not to giggle at his intensity.
She didn't mind, this girl didn't seem like the type of threat they should be looking out for. And besides, she figured if she really wanted to know, she wouldn't have dropped it so easily.
"You said you were investigating that drug," The blue-haired girl quipped. "But for what reason did you—"
"Hey."
Hak raised his hand, his arm dropping back down to his side once he caught their attention.
"I tied up those guys that went berserk with a rope but they are definitely heavy users." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "They're still going wild and asking for the drug."
"Any news?" Yoon inquired, wondering if he had gotten a clue where it was coming from so that they could narrow the source down.
Hak shook his head. "A few of them got it from random places but the rest..."
He trailed off, his cobalt eyes flitting to the green dragon perched on the boulderstone a length away.
"Droopy-Eyes."
Jae-ha straightened up, staring at him and arching an eyebrow as the younger's mouth set in a hard line.
"The store called Suirei, that's the place where you were given the drug before, right?" Hak asked. "Those guys said they bought it from there."
Jae-ha's eyes went wide and his face paled. Looking down, he didn't meet the questioning gazes of Yoon and Yona.
"It seems like we have to go to that store, Jae-ha." Yoon said tentatively.
Hak huffed, planting a hand on his hip when he didn't say anything. "You really wouldn't tell us the location of the store."
Jae-ha remained silent and Kija was solemn, shuffling his feet awkwardly at the tense atmosphere between the two.
Folding his arms over his chest, Hak regarded the eldest dragon through hard eyes, ignoring the rest of them. "Even if you shut your mouth, we can ask those other guys."
"... I got it." Jae-ha muttered slowly, reservedly. "However, when we go inside, you need to obey my orders."
"That's fine." Yoon responded, packing up his medical supplies now that everyone who was hurt in the scuffle had been attended to. "Let's raid the place tomorrow."
Jae-ha shook his head, negating that decision instantly. "No, I don't want to hurt the ladies inside of the store."
Hak relaxed as the green dragon took charge, drawing close to Yona as Jae-ha started to lay out the plan he had in mind.
The odd girl out in their ranks straightened up in her seat the second they started discussing a plan, astonished that they were really going to go through with it even though they had just gotten done fighting.
"Huh, what?!" She exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock. "What are you going to do?! I know you said you were going to investigate the drug but..."
Yona smiled easily, Ao perched on her shoulder from where Zeno had placed her after Shin-ah had handed his companion off to him. "There's a store that gives out nadai to its customers, we'll locate the ringleader and stop the operation."
"What's wrong?" Yona asked as the girl's eyes teared up. "Do your wounds hurt?"
"You... You're not from this town, right?" She asked sharply even though her eyes were watering by her invigorating speech. "You're not even from Shisen. Why are you going out of your way to stick your nose in something so dangerous?"
Her blue hair swayed in the wind as she hopped up to her feet. "You're not even that strong but you threw a flying kick, I really don't understand you."
"That's true, I'll practice my flying kicks!!" Yona blurted out determinedly, her hands balling into fists.
The girl arched an eyebrow and she crossed her arms, tapping her foot irritably. "No one's telling you to increase your practice."
A beat of silence passed.
"... Are you also going to the store?" She finally said, quiet and without any of her usual spunk she had just displayed in front of them.
"Yes." Yona automatically replied, not thinking twice about it.
"Let me say this now." Hak interjected, narrowing his eyes at the princess in front of him as though that action alone could get her to obey him. "You're not participating in the plan tomorrow, Princess."
"Huh? Why not? I'll go too!!" Yona burst out, pouting sadly as he shot her down.
Hak turned his face away so he wouldn't see that earnest expression on her face. "It's dangerous."
The plan tomorrow wasn't the only thing that was dangerous. If she kept looking up at him like that he would start to think that he actually meant something to her.
"Yona dear, leave this matter to us this time and hold down the fort." Jae-ha smiled charmingly to put her worries at ease as he steered her attention away from the shaken Thunder Beast.
Yona's lower lip wobbled and her gaze fell to the ground. "No way, you're all going to be fighting—"
"It's fine, we're leaving Yoon and Zeno, too." Hak answered, shifting his weight as her lavender eyes found him once more. He swallowed hard, his mouth dry all of the sudden. Cursing inwardly, he scolded himself for acting this way.
Nothing had changed. Nothing would change. She was the Princess of Kouka and he was her bodyguard. That was it and all that it would ever be.
Zeno beamed, his eyes disappearing as he popped up from behind Kija, skipping over to Yoon. "Why are you leaving Yoon and Zeno and me here?"
Yoon sighed tiredly. He was too much to deal with. "Zeno, you do know you just referenced yourself twice, right?"
At the blank but bright expression on the yellow dragon's face, the pretty boy shook his head in defeat.
"Never mind."
Tilting his head to see her, Yoon asked, "... Yona, do you know what kind of store Suirei is?"
Yona's face blanked and she fidgeted in place. She kind of understood what kind it was but she didn't really want to say since it would diminish any chance she had of going. "... But it's part of the plan, isn't it? We're not going to fool around there, right?"
"Nope." Hak rejected flatly, ignoring the glimmer in Jae-ha's eye. They were most definitely not going for that reason.
"Eh?!" Yona exclaimed. "Then why can't I go?"
Her bodyguard squared his shoulders, turning towards her with a guarded expression he normally saved for enemies they ran into.
"It's hard to do it in that kind of store with you around, Princess." Hak told her, straightforwardly and not mincing his words. It didn't have the type of effect on her that he was hoping for.
Yona tilted her head cluelessly. "Hard to do what?"
Hak barely stopped himself from groaning in time at her determination. "The plan, obviously."
Jae-ha sputtered out laughing as she didn't catch on quick enough. This was going nowhere, they were going around in circles. He wouldn't be surprised if Yona kept them in this charade for hours until she got Hak to cave in.
Hak stomped on the green dragon's back as he slapped his thigh heartily.
"What are you laughing at, Droopy-Eyes?" He hissed, glowering when Jae-ha's chortles didn't let up.
Yoon rolled his eyes. The idiots, he didn't have enough energy to deal with this. All he wanted to do was sleep.
Once he stopped beating Jae-ha up, the ex-general shoved him for good measure. The green dragon rolled onto his feet relatively easy, sitting back down as the last remaining chuckles got out of his system.
Now his stomach hurt from laughing so hard.
"Anyways, the people that are going are him, me and the White Snake barely made the cut... Shin-ah... better not." Hak counted on his fingers, forgoing taking Shin-ah with him even though the blue dragon wasn't presently here.
He was sure his sister wouldn't argue with him on that.
"Why do I barely make the cut?" Kija questioned innocently, wondering if this was a diss at his combat abilities.
Jae-ha wiped the tears from his eyes as Yoon salvaged Kija's dignity off to the side. That was the most entertaining thing he had come across in a while.
"Yona, jokes aside, it's too dangerous." Jae-ha chuckled, a vaguely serious smile on his face as he regarded the pouting princess a few feet away. "We'll go over there quickly and investigate, so just wait."
She frowned, upset that she couldn't come with and help. But up against Hak and Jae-ha, not to mention Yoon, and with no backup from Calista, she didn't know what else she could do.
"Alright..." Yona conceded heavily, her slim shoulders sagging in defeat.
Zeno patted her shoulder to make her feel better and Ao pushed her paws up against her cheek in an effort to make her smile.
"Lady Lili!!" A voice called from afar.
The group looked up and heads turned as they saw two women sprinting towards them. One with short, dark hair and the other had long, light hair. Dressed in a tunic and a chiffon dress respectively, both wore equally worried expressions on their faces as they approached the blue-haired girl sitting in their ranks.
"Lady Lili!!"
"Really now!! We were looking all over for you!!"
The girl, who they figured was Lili by the way these people were calling for her, her eyes went wide at the sight of the two women. "Ayura, Tetora!!"
The one called Tetora covered her mouth as a light giggle floated through the air, her dress floating around her ankles as she came to a halt, her eyes creased. "Oh my, Lady Lili, you were playing with the rumored group of gentlemen?"
Ayura's eyes darkened as they landed on something. "Tetora."
"Yes?"
Tetora saw the scuff mark on Lili's cheek Ayura was referencing and in a flash, took up an aggressive stance. Raising her fists, the sound of steel being drawn rang out as the other at her side unsheathed her dual swords wordlessly.
"My my, well, well." Tetora's bubbly personality gave away to the prowess of a tiger and Yoon covered Zeno's eyes as Hak and Jae-ha shared a look, the latter sweating nervously. "Which gentleman was the one who injured Lady Lili? Can I return the favor three times over?"
"What's going on?" Calista huffed as she ran in between them with Shin-ah hot on her heel. Before either party could answer her, the girl with blue-tinted hair stepped up behind the two women that had just appeared.
A small tug on the back of Tetora's dress halted her.
"You're wrong." Lili admitted begrudgingly, embarrassed by their display of power and the fact of how off her usually keen attendants were. "There was a commotion... and they saved me."
Tetora's expression cleared as Ayura put away her swords. "I see..."
Together, the two bodyguards fell to the ground, pressing their foreheads to the dirt in a low bow.
"Thank you for taking care of Lady Lili." Ayura thanked them sincerely.
"We have greatly imposed on you!!" Tetora exclaimed.
Yoon and Kija frantically waved their hands, insisting that it was nothing and that it wasn't necessary for them to be thanking them so seriously. Yona was in shock over how fast the abrupt meeting and confrontation happened but her eyes shone with relief as Lili's attendants fussed over her, glad she was in good hands.
Hak glanced at his sister as soon as Zeno and Jae-ha swarmed around Shin-ah to make sure he was alright.
"You good?"
Calista grinned, flashing him a thumbs up. "Never better."
His eyes narrowed, but as far as he could tell, she was being honest. She had changed back into her usual setup, and her hood was tossed up so it made it hard for him to see for sure but he trusted her.
And he also trusted Shin-ah to set her straight if she was being too careless.
Yona, on the other hand, her face broke out in relief and Ao nibbled on the ends of her hair as she bowed at Ayura and Tetora in greeting before turning to Lili. "It's a good thing your friends have come, now you can get home safely."
"I can get home by myself!!" Lili said haughtily.
Hak had a thoughtful look on his face as he mulled over her name. For some reason, it sounded familiar but he couldn't quite put his fingers on it. Maybe his sister would know.
He pulled her off to the side discreetly, keeping his hand motions to a minimum as he asked her, the action going unnoticed by everyone else as Zeno started dancing for an energetic Tetora and slightly amused Ayura.
The women shared a look. They had been worried when they came back to the room they had left Lili in only to find her gone and had been looking for her everywhere. But they were a long ways away from home. It was not going to be easy to convince their master to go back.
Perhaps these new friends of hers could help with that.
Yona passed the squirrel back to Shin-ah and he held her up as Ao dropped an acorn into Lili's awaiting hands, a puzzled expression crossing the girl's face at the odd gift. But she accepted it nonetheless, tucking it into her pocket without a word.
Tetora commented on how all the men were so handsome, stopping short when she got to Hak from where he had just finished talking to Calista, the two of them turning away from each other at the same time as similar questions popped up in their heads.
Where have I seen...
"We're leaving, Ayura, Tetora." Lili announced, hands on her hips as her bodyguards drew to her side.
"Lady Lili, you've been through a lot of scary things, right?" Tetora asked, placing her hands on her shoulders and ushered her to the road that would take them back home. "Let's go back to Suiko."
But Lili glanced back at the red-haired girl who had saved her. Yona wasn't looking at her, looking at her own companions now that she was safe, facing the opposite direction. She bowed her head, the same feeling of helplessness that she felt earlier resurfacing before giving away to begrudging admiration.
This girl, she was so strong. To save her, she deserved that much acknowledgement.
Lili wanted to be strong like that. Strong enough to change the situation in the Water Tribe and do something about the nadai, just like these outsiders were doing.
"Lady Lili?" Tetora questioned when her master stopped in her tracks.
"Ayura, Tetora," Lili said as her dark blue eyes overcame with that same shade of determination that had crossed Yona's expression when she put down her foot and vowed to save these people.
Her people.
"I will stay here a bit longer."