One update before this year ends.

Good job, me. (Think this line is from Aikatsu?)

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Third Person's POV

"Do you see anything?" Yona asks, resting on a piece of rock as Hak and Ruri looks around.

"No." Hak replies, blocking the sunlight with his hand. "How does the old man expect us to find someone, when we don't know where he is?"

"A priest?"

"Yes. Since ancient times, a priest who has seen the Kingdom of Kouka's future is said to live somewhere within the Wind Tribe's territory. If you are unsure what to do next, you should seek out the priest."

"I am sure the priest will show you the way."

"Long ago, the priest lived in a temple at the royal palace, and was deeply involved in the kingdom's rule. After Yu-hong-sama began oppressing the priest, he left the castle. Now he lives quietly, somewhere far from people."

"Far from people..." Yona mumbles, looking around the northern mountains. "This certainly doesn't seem like somewhere a person could live."

"If you tried living here, you might fall off a cliff. But I'm sure one could do it if they really tried."

Even though I called myself the princess of the kingdom, I only know Hiryuu Castle. It sounds foolish to say I don't know.

Yona stands up, looking afar with a confused look.

What path should I follow now?

Right now, just trying to live takes everything I have.

"By the way, hime-sama, if we must search every corner of this area, we'll have to sleep outside. What should we do?" Hak asks.

Yona looks at him, replying, "Sleep outside? I've gotten somewhat used to it."

"No no no, hime-sama cannot sleep in this cold, dark place filled with bugs." Ruri drops down in front of Hak, making him jump.

"Ruri, next time give me a warning before you come out!"

"Then...next time, I will smack your head."

"That's not..." Hak sighs, "Whatever. Hime-sama, unlike the mountains behind the castle, it gets cold here. And Ruri also got a point."

"Then I'll snuggle against you while I sleep."

Hak throws his glaive to the ground in shock, while Ruri shouts, "Hime-sama, you can snuggle against me!"

"Gomen, Ruri-chan, but you are too tiny for me to do that. And you can still protect me, right?" The innocent(dense) smile on her face calms Ruri down.

She kneels down, facing the wall, mumbling, "Hime-sama is still naiive...she doesn't know anything..."

Meanwhile, Hak goes up to take his glaive, but then freezes, touching the ground that seems to be slightly shaking.

"I don't mind, but I'll play pranks on you." He said, suddenly turning around and stops Yona, his face very close to hers.

"Pranks?"

"Pranks are..." Hak begins, and Yona makes a sound, letting him continue.

And then, his hands cup her face, leaning in even more and pushes her, trapping her in between himself and the wall. "Something like this."

"Hak, what are you–"

"Quiet. Footsteps."

Yona immediately stops, letting Hak continue listen. "Forty...no, fifty."

"Pursuers?"

They quickly move away from the wall, and Ruri also stands back up, moving in front of Yona.

"I thought they weren't chasing us anymore. That's quite a lot of people, too."

"Are they the king's men? Or–"

"Hime-sama," Hak stops her from talking, pulling the hood back onto her head.

"If we're going to be snuggling in our sleep, I won't feel like pranking you if you aren't a bit more comfortable to hold."

"What are you talking about?" Yona shouts, running after Hak in rage, but then runs into his back when he stops.

"Now, then...I'm all warmed up now." Hak said, and in front of them, soldiers are atop of the mountains, surrounding them.

"Time to get to work. Stay close, hime-sama." Hak smiles coldly as the soldiers prepare their weapons and slides down the mountain.

Standing next to Yona, Ruri looks on as Hak starts attacking them, killing the first three soldiers in one swipe.

"He truly is a Thunder Beast."

Su-won once said...

"Hak's techniques are like lightning. If we fought in earnest, I'm sure he would destroy me."

Even in these moments, I still remember your face so naturally.

Yona snaps out from her thoughts when she hears rocks falling to the ground, and right beside them, more soldiers are coming down, but are all defeated by Hak.

"What's wrong? Are you finished?" He asks, looking up.

"I see the Thunder Beast is going strong." They look to the side, and see a gray-haired man man in red smiling.

"So it is you."

"I've been waiting for this moment, General Son Hak and Yona-hime. I, Gang Tae-jun, of the Fire Tribe..." He stops when someone pokes his arm.

Looking down, he sees the masked girl saying, "Eh...chunibyou-san, gomen, but no one wants to hear what you are saying."

"Heh? That's not possible! I am the second son of the great..."

"Look, hime-sama. There's nature everywhere." Hak points at the sky, and Yona nods in agreement.

"What!? Why are you enjoying nature while I'm talking to you?" Tae-jun cries out as a soldier next to him hands him a napkin.

"Oh, you were talking to me?" Hak asks, turning back, "I'm neither a general nor a 'Son' now. Sorry about that."

"It's fine, so long as you understand."

Both of them shared a calm interaction.

"Wait, what? You're not a general?"

Hak shrugs, "That's right. I'm just wandering traveler Hak. Which means...whatever I do now has nothing to do with the Wind Tribe."

"So that's it...well, either way, I don't care about the Wind Tribe. I will make those who stand in my way disappear. I have business with Yona-hime!" Tae-jun said, pulling out his sword, and immediately, the archers release their arrows.

Ruri quickly pushes Yona into Hak's arms as he destroys the arrows, moving backwards, and the girl quickly moves away, disappearing.

"Don't let him rest!"

Soon, waves of soldiers emerge everytime he kills off some.

"Stop him! Stop him! Archers, fire!"

Hak jumps off from the ground to a higher level, saying to the girl in his arms, "You've gained weight, hime-sama."

"That was unnecessary!"

As they run away from the soldiers, Hak quickly lets Yona out from his embrace, and holds her hand, "We're gonna run."

Yona looks behind her at the soldiers behind them and archers releasing waves of arrows above, trying not to stumble.

I'm scared. There are arroes and soldiers closing from all sides. Not even Hak can handle all of these.

Just then, Yona stumbles over a broken arrow, gasping in shock as she falls to the ground.

"Aim for the princess!"

Immediately, an arrow is releases, and Yona looks behind her just to hear the sound of the arrow piercing into flesh, and Hak kneeling in front of her, protecting her.

"Hak!"

Quickly holding him upright, she asks worriedly, "Hak, are you all right? Hak..."

He reaches for the arrow, pulling it out in a fluid motion and tries to calm Yona down with a playful tone and sticks his tongue out a bit, "Don't worry about me. It's creepy."

"Why, you–"

Before she can argue back, he hugs her and pushes on the ground with his glaive, using the force to go up to higher ground and, holding Yona like a sack of potatoes, he runs away, leaving the soldiers in bewilderment.

"Amazing."

"Don't stand around impressed! He's injured! After him!"

**********

As the soldiers continue searching around, the two of them are hiding in a ditch, and Hak kneels in front of Yona, warning, "Don't move, no matter what."

"Hak, you're bleeding..."

He stands up swiftly, taking his glaive and smiles confidently, "It isn't mine."

"But...wait, Hak..." Yona reaches out as Hak disappears from her sight, and looks at the blood on her hand.

"If we're going to be travelling together, I'll have to protect you."

"To protect me, you..."

"Hime-sama." Someone dropped down in front of her, and her heart skips a beat before realising it is Ruri.

"Ruri-chan, Hak–"

"Shh." Ruri said, covering her mouth and looks into her eyes.

"Hime-sama, remember: you are the descendant of the great king. His spirit is inside you."

"What do you mean–"

"I am going to stop the reinforcements. I will be back as soon as I can." She stops Yona from saying anything else, and disappears once again.

"...to be tiring."

Gang Tae-jun?

Yona looks out from her hiding spot to see the man and his soldier looking down at Hak fighting, and just in time to hear their conversation.

"The arrow that hit him was poisoned."

"What? You fired those at the princess?"

"I knew Hak would shield the princess with his body if we fired at her. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to move. He's a terrifying man."

"Then, when he turns his back, fire at him."

They're going to kill Hak?

"Don't move, no matter what."

Clenching her fist, Yona could feel the helplessness and dread inside of her.

That's right. If I reveal myself, I'll only slow him down.

It'll be fine.

Hak is so strong.

Hak...Hak can dodge an arrow.

I should quietly wait here for Hak to come.

Hak won't die...

Lifting up her head in realisation, her eyes start to shine with bravery.

No...why did I leave Capital Fuuga?

So I could live in hiding, under Hak's protection?

If that were the case, I should have stayed in Capital Fuuga. I'm just a burden to Hak.

"I'm sure the priest will show you the way."

"His spirit is inside of you."

Before I questioned the gods...

Yona stands up from her spot, and gets out of hiding.

There are questions I should ask myself!

Running towards the archer, Yona crashes into him, stopping him from releasing the arrow and falling into the bushes.

"Yo-Yona..." Tae-jun started, but stops abruptly when she turns around, her eyes glowing with a dangerous glint.

Wh-What is this?

"Yona-hime..." Stopping himself from overreacting, Tae-jun said, trembling, "I never thought you'd come to me yourself. I wanted to speak to you. There's no need to be so cautious. I came to get you."

"Get me?"

"Tomorrow morning, Lord Su-won will be crowned the new king. Poor princess...it must have been painful, losing the king and being chased from the castle. Come with me, and we'll make this known. We can drag the detestable Su-won, who chased you from the castle, off the throne, and avenge the king."

Hak throws two soldiers away with his glaive, and shouts to the girl in his brief moment of rest before getting attcked again, "Why did you move?"

"So, princess, come with me–"

"If you knew that, why did the Fire Tribe put pressure on the Wind Tribe?"

"Huh?" Tae-jun quickly replies, "Those were my father's orders. It wasn't my will..."

"Why did you attack the merchants? If you know the truth, then instead of driving the Wind Tribe into a corner, instead of trying to kill the innocent Hak, there's something else you should be doing!" Yona exclaims, throwing her arm into the air in rage.

Tae-jun looks into her eyes, taken aback.

Those burning eyes...why? I can't look away.

"I may be an ignorant princess, but I'm not desperate enough to listen to someone who doesn't understand reason!"

Hearing her words, Hak looks back, shouting worriedly, "Hime!"

Yet, Tae-jun could only see the flame inside the princess's eyes and the glowing red hair under the sunlight of the dawn.

The red hair of what should have been the young, weak princess appeared to be a flame consuming her.

Yay.

My hands are really freaking cold, because for some reason, *coughs* global warming *coughs*, the temperature here is just going up and down, and I am dying from it.

Send help.