Flames and Waves | {Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the dawn fanfiction} (ONGOING)

Chapter #47: Return

Aria POV

I slowly got up and looked around.

Everything is black. Is this a dream?

"Where am I?" I said out loud and wiped some dirt off my face.

".....Aria" Someone said behind me. I turned to face the person and gasped.

"Shin-ah! You're alright! We were looking for you!" I said and walked up to him.

"Aria...Don't come to me. It's not safe"

"Shin-ah? What do you mean?"

"Souls that bear strong grudges are targeting everyone. Right now....I can't control my body. Aria... I used my power on Zeno" He said and covered a side of his face with his hand. My eyes widened in shock.

"Shin-ah? What's holding you down?" I asked him. He removed his hand and looked at me.

"Seiryuu from long ago" He answered.

"Seiryuu from long ago?" I repeated.

"That person's heart was conveyed to me. There was a Seiryuu village here a long time ago. One day, it was attacked by bandits....The villagers took the new born Seiryuu and locked the bandits underground. They fled and used the previous Seiryuu as a decoy. The predecessor fought with the bandits and got hurt. He wasn't able to leave this place. That's...the person inside my body right now" Shin-ah explained to me and put his hand over his heart.

"Are you telling me that person's story because you're worried about their situation?" I asked him, but he didn't answer. I sighed quietly.

"Shin-ah, clear the way. You're the one that put me to sleep, right?" I said and smiled at him. He looked at me with a slightly surprised look.

"...you can't..."

"Yes, I can. And I will. I promise you this Shin-ah; no matter where you are or when you need me, I'll come for you and bring you back as many times as you need" I said. Tears appeared at the corners of Shin-ah's eyes as I stood on my toes to reach up to his head to hug him. We got down to our knees and he leaned towards me as I hugged him.

"No matter what you do, our hearts will always remain true to each other, Yes?" I asked him and felt him slowly nod.

"...yes"

"Let's go back together, Shin-ah"

Everything became light before I slowly opened my eyes again to reveal the darkness. I frowned.

I'm still in the dream?

"Hak?...is this a dream?" I said when I heard a groaning voice beside me. He smirked.

"You dream ab—" He started, but finished when I slapped him. He groaned and put his hand on his burning cheek.

"Clearly not. Are you okay? Where are we?" I asked Hak while trying to make out his handsome features.

"I can see your face, but not clearly. Your breathing sounds disheveled" I groaned and tried to grab his hand. I felt him grab my hand back. His hand is cold.

"Shin-ah told me that souls with strong grudges are trying to hurt us" I said and tried to stand up. I heard him snort.

"I see. Is this the part where you hug me and tell me that you won't hand me over to them?" He said as I took his arm over my shoulder to support him.

"No, this is the part where I punch you" I said and felt something jump on my shoulder.

"Ao?" Ao squeaked in response and jumped down from my shoulder to the ground.

"Can you take us to Shin-ah?" I asked him. He squeaked again and felt the taps of his small paws on the ground. I followed the sound with Hak next to me.

Shin-ah, I'm coming for you. Let's leave together.

-Timeskip-

After walking for a while, I could see light coming into view. Ao ran up to someone and jumped to his arm. I realized who it was pretty quickly and let go of Hak, who hit the ground with a groan. I smiled apologetically and turned to the people a few steps in front of me.

"What an annoying squirrel! You're in the way—"

"Shin-ah" I interrupted him and walked towards Shin-ah. Nonetheless,he was surprised to see me. And so was Kija.

"Princess, you shouldn't be here"

"Kija, you don't have to call me princess. Please call me Aria like you used to. Oh and also, here. It's Yoon's onigiri" I said and gave the onigiri to him. He thanked me and I turned to Shin-ah again. I walked towards him and when I was a few feat in front of him, tears started trickling down his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I...I don't know. What...who are you?"

"Just a human being, I think" I said and thought about it myself.

"In any case, I won't be able to go against you if you use your powers or try to possess me"

"Why...won't my tears stop? Why are my legs shaking? What is this...fear? I can't get near you anymore..." He said and fell to his knees. I sat down in front of him. I put my arms around him and smiled.

"I heard everything from Shin-ah. Why don't you tell me yourself?" I said softly.

"...it's so scary...ever since I was young I was loathed as an abomination. They used me, who was not experienced in combat, as bait...I was locked up in the darkness until the moment I died. I could only...curse everything. My friends...are only the souls that were left here" He explained.

"Yeah, that's why Shin-ah lent you his body. Even when you did such things to Kija and Zeno and everyone else, he still pitied you. He lent you his body on purpose. Shin-ah is a very kind person" I said and moved my hand from his back to his head and brushed his hair.

"Seiryuu, if Shin-ah allows you to stay here, it's fine. But if you've calmed down, please return this body to Shin-ah. Shin-ah is also someone who went through a lot to leave the darkness and enter the light" I said and separated myself from him to look at his face.

"...that's enough. I always knew that my time would never return, no matter what. I wonder why it feels like I've been waiting for you to come" He said before closing his eyes. I closed mine and put my forehead against his.

"Aria" Shin-ah said.

"Shin-ah"

"I'm...back"

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Sorry to cut it there. Anyone who have read the original probably knows that there is more to this mini story than what I've written, so if you want to read it yourself I think it's chapter 105 (or 106)-108

I've had many headaches these days, so I haven't been able to write a lot. I'm thinking about taking a little break if I continue to get them, but I probably won't.