The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 125: Friends Forever

"I know she told us not to stop them," Kija hesitated, visibly conflicted as the memory faded, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. "But it still feels wrong that we left her alone."

Hak scoffed, setting his glaive down with a force that had the ground shaking as the blade embedded itself deep in the soil. "Yeah, you finally said something I agree with."

He huffed to himself, catching his breath as he dropped down on the grass with a deadly expression. It was as if he could sentence the world to death with just a glare.

Jae-ha stayed silent, thinking hard. Yona's hands curled in her lap and her concerned gaze landed on the pretty boy who was isolating himself.

Yoon hadn't stopped cooking since they got back to their campsite, keeping himself occupied through furiously stirring the pot. The boy had already made several dishes and even cooked dessert, which he never did since he often proclaimed it was a waste of valuable ingredients. He had contemplated letting out his emotions like the Thunder Beast did, but he suspected that it wouldn't do much good since he didn't know how to fight at all, let alone have the strength to wield a weapon.

He kept his mouth shut, not wanting anything to slip past his tongue and focused on the seventh variety of soup he was making: miso soup.

Calista's favorite when he was successful in convincing her to eat.

"We did as she asked," Jae-ha finally broke the silence, referring to the scouts he and Zeno diverted away from the market once the latter spotted them. "But it wasn't enough."

"There were others there, they didn't just come for her." Kija mumbled dejectedly. "It's not like we could've stopped all of them. She told us of the consequences."

He shook his head in order to clear the depressing haze. "Zeno, what do you think?"

All heads turned to him but the yellow dragon was snoring on the ground, body sprawled out lazily and they all couldn't believe his nonchalance at this situation.

A lightbulb went off in Kija's head and he switched gears. "Oh!!"

He rummaged through the pockets of his robe, finding what he was looking for in the folds of his left sleeve. Handing the object over to a befuddled Yoon, he explained, "She bought it for you."

He turned it over in his palm slowly, the shine in his eyes switched to wonder and he ran his fingers over it in disbelief.

"What is it?" Yona piped up inquisitively, coming over to get a closer look.

Yoon couldn't answer her. He hadn't seen it in years. The last time he held it in his hand was when he first got it, and that was a long time ago. He almost couldn't believe his luck when he found it at the Wanderer's Market. But as he ran over to the stall, it was quickly confirmed.

It was so distinct he could never forget it.

"It's a pendant Ik-soo had brought back for me before he took me in." He explained wistfully, raking his eyes over the decorative pewter. "I was an orphan living alone in an abandoned Fire Tribe village. When he would visit, he would bring back things from all over the kingdom to show me."

They didn't need to ask why it was so special. Anything from Ik-soo to him was invaluable because it came from him.

"But he was robbed by bandits the next day and they took everything." His expression darkened. "The stupid, clumsy priest always saw the best in everyone and because of that, people always took advantage of him, stealing everything he possessed."

Yona's mouth twisted down in a frown. Ik-soo, the one who was so innocent yet so wise, was an easy target for the wicked. But he didn't deserve to be treated like that.