Dawn of a New World - Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 32

Finally, after weeks of walking through vast forests and the treacherous mountain ranges, we had reached the port city. In other words, Awa Port, which is located in the Earth Tribe's land. As Yona's eyes set their sight on the sparkling ocean, she squealed from delight and excitement. "It's the port city. Hak, is that the ocean?" she asks excitedly, rushing her words. "It's so beautiful. I've never seen it before." Yona wasn't the only one in shock at the sight of the ocean, Yoon, Ki-Ja, Shin-Ah along with myself, were all shocked as well. My eyes twinkled as I imagined how much fun it would be to swim in the beautiful crystalline water.

Hak however, looked rather bored and disinterested. "It's the Earth Tribe's Awa Port. I never thought I'd be back here." he muttered as he gazed at the small city. Yoon glanced over to Hak with curious eyes. "Thunder Beast, you've been here before?" Hak let out a soft sigh as he remembered when he last visited the area. "Long ago. The geezer brought me here." he explained briefly.

"Ki-Ja, is the Green Dragon here?" Yona asked curiously, wanting to know as soon as possible whether we were in the right place or not. Ki-Ja's expression was peaky, his eyes narrowed as he attempted to concentrate. "Well... He seems to be moving around at a dizzying speed..." He then fell to the ground seemingly from exhaustion after trying to keep up with the Green Dragon. "Ki-Ja!?" Yona and I chorused with concern lacing our voices. Yoon blankly stared down at Ki-Ja, not even bothering to help. "It guess the dragon's powers aren't indefinite. After a certain point, they lose a lot of strength." He then leaned back and held his hand to his chin. "I'd like to look for the Green Dragon, but we're exhausted from our long journey. We should get more food, too."

As soon as Yoon finished speaking, Yona shouted gleefully "Okay, let's go to the port city!" Ki-Ja and Shun-Ah stood behind her, also sporting excited faces. "We're not going!" Yoon shouted in annoyance. "We can't take you guys down there!" Of course, if anyone saw our group they would be quite shocked. Our strange hair colors and our odd clothing is just asking for attention. "Especially not the one in the mask!" Suddenly, Shin-Ah was hunched over in a corner looking very upset because of Yoon's words. I walked over to him before resting my hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Hak turned to Yoon, "I'll go, then. I remember how to get around the city." Yona went to stand by his side, "Hak, I want to go, too." I held my arm out in front of her to restrain her from going anywhere. "No you don't!" Yona turned to me with a pout and saddened eyes. "But, Amaya!" Narrowing my eyes, I pushed her back before placing my hands on my hips. "I said no, and that's final." Yona pursed her lips even further before turning to Hak with determination in her eyes. Hak's eyes widened before he lent towards her slightly. "Princess, you've gotten uglier lately."

Ki-Ja and I immediately reacted, Ki-Ja hurriedly trying to compliment Yona whilst I shouted profanities at Hak. "You bastard! How could you say that to a lady?!" Hak merely glanced at me before he turned back to Yona, observing her entire appearance. "You have bags under your eyes. Your hands are covered in cuts." Now that he mentions it, when you really look closely, she looks terribly exhausted. Hak placed his palm atop her head, her eyes shooting to his arm. "You're pushing yourself too hard. You should get some rest." Yona looked shock for a mere second before her lips pursed and she glanced away from him, a blush evident on her cheeks. "I don't know what your talking about." she mumbled quietly.

Hak removed his hand, placing it back beside him. "Just be careful." Yoon instructed as always. "Don't start any trouble." Hak nodded slightly before bending down to pick up his rucksack, throwing it over his shoulder. "You guys should hide. Oh, this thing will draw attention, so I'll leave it here." He then threw his Hsu Quandao over to Yoon who struggled to hold it with both of his hands. Actually, he fell to the ground. "It's heavy." Hak then turned to Ki-Ja, "And White Snake..." Ki-Ja interrupted him, pulling Shin-Ah along with him as he stood behind Yona. "You don't have to tell us!" he exclaimed irritably.

Hal then turned and began to walk away, when Yona ran to him and grabbed a hold of his clothes. "Hak!" turning to glance over his shoulder, Hak widened his eyes at the sight of Yona. "Come back soon." she demanded softly. The smallest of blushes tinted Hak's cheeks before he flung his head in the other direction and then left.

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

It took quite a long time for Hak to return,the sun having set hours ago and the deep blue sky shined above us. When he did, he blatantly stated that he hadn't bought a single thing. That of course, made Yoon furious and me hit him upside the head. "What? You didn't buy anything? Why did you go into the city? You're useless." Hak merely waved it off with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head after I smacked him. "Sorry, I couldn't find the right shop." Yoon huffed, crossing his arms while he turned his head away with closed eyes. "It's no use sending you, Thunder Beast. Tomorrow, we're all going to the city." Yona was ecstatic and shouted in joy "Hooray!" I smiled softly at the sight of her smile. After what happened the other day, it was nice to see her happy.

Later that night, I noticed the absence of both Ki-Ja and Shin-Ah and so I decided to investigate. After a few moments of searching the woods, I found them at the cliff side, staring over a fraction of the port city, but mostly the ocean. I quickly ran over to them, in case it was dragon business. "Shin-Ah, do you also..." Ki-Ja muttered, not glancing at the Blue Dragon, keeping his gaze on the ocean down below that held a few ships here and there. Shin-Ah nodded silently, "I feel it." My eyes narrowed as I felt what I assumed that they had been feeling. "The Green Dragon is towards the ocean." I stated, causing them both to look at me and nod. The three of us stared in silence as we pondered what the Green Dragon could possibly be doing out on the ocean.

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