The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 171: The Impact of a Memory

When Hak, Jae-ha and Kija returned from the red-light district, they certainly weren't expecting to see this.

Yona laying on her stomach, white bandages lining her back, blood seeping through despite the handiwork, making clear the severity of the injury. Calista was out cold on the bedroll next to her, the blue dragon settled on the floor by her head, watching over her while she was unconscious. On the surface, it appeared as though nothing was wrong. But upon closer inspection, all three of them could see the blatant exhaustion etched in her features.

What. The. Hell. Happened?!

"Princess!!" Kija cried out, falling to his knees beside Yona, both Jae-ha and Hak too shell-shocked at the scene in front of them to move. His eyes were filled with pain, as if he was the one with the life-threatening injury instead of her. "How did she get injured like this?!"

Zeno glanced over from where he was teetering back and forth on a stool in the corner, Ao perched on top of his head, letting out a soft "p'kyuuu" from time to time as the yellow dragon rocked back and forth.

But it brought none of the usual smiles and ringing laughter.

Yoon looked down, unable to meet their questioning and grief-stricken expressions, but none of them missed the heavy guilt that flitted across his expression as his fingers bunched his pants, anguish filling his distraught blue eyes as his knuckles turned white.

"They slashed her back." He finally managed to get out after a pause, nodding to Yona, voice breaking ever so slightly that he knew would've caught the attention of both the stupid princess and stubborn fighter if they were awake. "She's lucky it was only slight, but... but—"

A choked sob escaped him, cutting him off before he could even try to warble out an explanation as to what happened to Calista, and Zeno hopped over to him, patting the youngest on the back comfortingly as he furiously rubbed his nose. His sniffles did nothing to disguise the cries he tried so desperately to hold back, damn near breaking down into tears in the yellow dragon's arms.

Shin-ah didn't move from where he was huddled near Calista's head, but he spared a glance upwards, posture rigid as his eyes unmistakably landed on the youngest through his mask. His gaze darted away, and the exhale expelled from his lungs tinged with exhaustion was lost on everyone as their full attention was consumed by the girls.

Jae-ha's pinched face was one of poorly veiled horror, something he would've had no strength to admit against if someone were to point it out at this very moment. Violet eyes glazed over with something unrecognizable as his unwavering stare moved between the sweet, innocent princess and the headstrong assassin he had come to regard with far too much familiarity.

He was painfully reminded of their mortality.

Jaw locked, the green dragon didn't have to look his way to know that Hak was on the verge of destroying this place and everyone in it to find the person responsible for putting his sister and the person he held most dear so close to death.

And when Jae-ha had finally chanced a sideways glance at his comrade, he had to physically stop himself from recoiling back.

His cobalt eyes had gone black and were so cold, so utterly devoid of any emotion at all that Jae-ha couldn't recognize him at all.

"What happened?!" Kija demanded, startling Jae-ha from his train of thought.

Yoon sniffled, composing himself and prying away from Zeno's comforting pats enough to tell them, "A smuggler named Hiyou was having a secret meeting here. It seems Yona happened to be there."

Jae-ha violet eyes widened in alarm, the name he had been saving to tell his comrades and the princess that they left behind in the supposed safety of the inn to confirm their successful infiltration now set icy dread into the pit of his stomach. "Hiyou?!"