Dawn of a New World - Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 28

We were currently walking up the side of a mountain, a few feet of ledge being the only thing stopping us from falling to our deaths. Yoon, who was leading the pack as usual, turned around to look at Ki-Ja. "Ki-Ja, do you know where the next dragon is?" he asked curiously. I glanced over to Ki-Ja, my eyes widening at the sight of his rather pale features. His body was quivering and his eyes seemed to be glazed over. "Right... The next dragon is..." he was barely able to get those words out as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. "Ki-Ja!" Yona ran over to kneel beside him. I placed my hand against his forehead, my frown deepening as I felt how warm he was. I gave Hak a look before gesturing to Ki-Ja. He sighed but he obliged to my request and picked Ki-Ja up, throwing him over his shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We had been able to make it over the mountain safely, stopping in the middle of the forest so we could watch over Ki-Ja. Yoon placed his bag under his head so it would be elevated. "Maybe it's exhaustion..." Yoon mumbled worriedly. "He was digging for a while." I sighed, running my hands through Ki-Ja's hair calmingly. Well, it was for me, I don't know if it was for Ki-Ja. "He always forgets about his own well-being when it comes to Yona." I remarked quietly, gaining Yona's attention briefly.

Hak held up a small piece of cloth before letting it fall over Ki-Ja's face. "Rest in peace." We all watched Ki-ja in silence for a few seconds, awaiting for him to wake up and yell at Hak, to which he did. "I'm alive!" he growled, Yona calming him down and getting him to lay back down again. "I-I'm sorry. My body feels so heavy. The locations of the four dragons are fainter than ever." Yona gazed at him with a worried expression, as we all did, just more so than us. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Yoon slightly tilted his head "Don't forget Ki-Ja, we have Amaya. Also, we now have another guy who can sense where the dragon's are." We all turned our gazes to the Blue Dragon whom was staring at us with an adorable clueless expression. Ao was chewing on a piece of fur from the headpiece that he wore. "He's here?" Hak asked, obviously not noticing him until now. I walked up behind Hak before smacking him upside the head. "He's been here the entire time, you doofus."

Yona chuckled at my antic's before looking back to the Blue Dragon with a curious expression. "Blue Dragon, do you know where the other dragons are?" Ao tilted his head before the Blue Dragon followed suit, not understanding what Yona had meant. "He doesn't even seem to know what the 'dragons' are." At that, Ki-Ja weakly pulled himself into a seating position, clenching his fist in front of his face. "How lamentable..." He then somehow appeared in front of the Blue Dragon, holding onto both of his hands. "I understand. It's not your fault. No one has told you about them before. From now on, I shall teach you about the five dragons. You may call me 'brother'." The Blue Dragon simply stared blankly at Ki-Ja before quickly running off causing Ki-Ja to shriek "He's running away?!"

Hak narrowed his eyes, "Maybe he didn't want to call you 'brother'." I brought my elbow back to slam into his rib-cage, causing him to let out a grunt of pain. We quickly followed after the Blue Dragon, eventually finding him standing next to a waterfall. "Blue Dragon!" I called out as I noticed his sword on the ground instead of around his shoulders. He then pulled of his fur piece before diving into the water. At first I panicked, thinking that he might'n know how to swim, but then I saw the faint motions under the water and I sighed in relief. Hak looked at Ki-Ja pointedly "What are you going to do White Snake? He's trying to drown himself." That only caused Ki-Ja to completely freak out, which I assume was Hak's goal to begin with.

I then noticed his shadow becoming more prominent, meaning that he was coming back up. He broke threw the surface, gasping slightly as he breathed deeply before climbing out of the water. He walked over to Ki-Ja before holding up his arm and handing him a fish that he must've caught. "Is this... You want me to eat this and regain my strength?" Ki-Ja uttered. The Blue dragon simply stared at him, not bothering to respond, causing me to smile. "I appreciate it, but could you use words?" The Blue Dragon suddenly fell to the ground with his arms wrapped around himself, shivering from being in the cold water for so long and having his clothes be completely soaked through.

"What are you going to do, Brother White Snake? He's cold." Hak teased causing Ki-Ja to once again panic. "It's my fault?" I knelt in front of the Blue Dragon before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and rubbing up and down to try and warm him up. He glanced at me, lips twitching as he silently thanked me. Yoon lent forward with his hands on his hips. "I'm surprised you knew there was a river here." The Blue Dragon simply pointed to his eyes, indicating that he was able to see the river. "Oh... Those eyes can see across great distances." Yoon stated, amazed at what the Blue Dragon was capable of. "You caught that fish in an instant. Your kinetic vision must be excellent, too. Is it true that looking at your eyes will turn one to stone?" he asked curiously.

The Blue Dragon's mouth fell open slightly, before he shook his head. "Really? Then why don't you take off your mask?" The Blue Dragon only glanced to the ground, seemingly not wanting to answer or he just didn't know how too. Yona spoke up, sensing the small amount of tension starting to build. "First, let's make a fire, warm ourselves up, and eat the fish the Blue Dragon caught for us." The Blue Dragon turned his gaze to me and I smiled gently towards him, leaning my head against his own as a form of comfort before feeling him lean against me.

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