"How frightening! That passageway is full of spiders and webs! Jae-ha, remove them for me please."

"Pfft, Hakuryuu, you're covered in webs~"

"I rather not touch anything that isn't beautiful. I leave it up to you Shin-ah."

"Ah..."

"Shin-ah, are you a spider's nest? You're covered in spiders."

I sweat-dropped as I peeked over the bush upon the embankment that looked over the camp of two-thousand soldiers. Yona on my right, Yoon, who mirrored my expression, on my left.

"They're casually walking through an enemy camp as if it were a morning stroll..." I mumbled, a quiver in my voice as their antics only made me anxious.

By now, the sun's presence in the sky was made predominantly whole. Freshly new, but known.

"Who... Who are you guys?"

"Ahh, greetings Sen Province soldiers from far away."

The Fire-tribe fields spanned several miles, the faint outlines of the mountain ranges delineated Kouka's impressive variety of topography.

"We're sorry, but the camp you set up is causing trouble for the people in Saika. Could you please withdraw?"

The blades of grass all moving unanimously in the breeze like each instrumentalist in an orchestra, performing a symphony.

"If you retreat without a fuss, we won't have to hurt you."

"You bastards!"
"Who are you?"

But there was no sweetly romantic, grandiose melody singing in the air.

"We are monsters."

But a requiem for the near-dead that had begun.

"They're insane," I stated with the widest gape. My eyes couldn't train off of them as Hak made the first swing of his glaive. His face was stone-cold, unbothered.

"Beasts..." Yoon added, yet the sigh that proceeded insinuated how he'd seen it all before. Apparently, this was a common occurrence- the Happy Hungry Bunch going against enemies with thrice as many numbers (in this case, thousands), and coming out scratchless and pristine.

The war-cries of the Sen Province and Xing troops belted and wailed out, their words barely interpretable as they reached our sheltered look-out. We were far enough so that we were out of sight, but I could still hear their half-spoken spluttering screams.

"Wha-"
"Who?!"
"Who are these guys?!"

They were terrified, petrified, and I wouldn't blame them. As I crouched beside the damp bush, I could feel my knees weaken in a tremble, my spine shivering. Condensation on the leaves of the bushes and trees overhanging above me had accumulated, all due to the humid climate and morning dew. The drops fell, one by one, staining my clothes and my skin wet. Goosebumps, my hair on end. Strikingly, it was cold. Icy. Cold.

Shin-ah sliced his sword across three chests in one go. Blood sprayed out, speckling and staining their white tents with the imprint of loose hope.

Kija, with his white, enlarged claw, scratched the insides of so many; his eyes moved from one soldier to the next, never sparing an extra second to watch the victims fall.

My vision directed upwards as Jae-ha's flying figure was spotted. It was an impossible sight. I'd never seen him jump, and I'd never imagined it to be so graceful. He spun about in midair, launching his arm about before flicking his wrist. And with the swiftness of the legato movement, down came precipitation of blades, intercepting and piercing each soldier down below.

"THE- THEY'RE MONSTERS!"

Even with the vast unbalance in numbers, each side's capacity to cope was fair. Each went about their own individual skills, and when sewn together, a horrifyingly sinister dance was choreographed.

Drop, drop.

I averted my gaze to the muddy ground, eyes wide as I continued to process the events in my spiraling thoughts. To think that I considered joining them in this act, I wouldn't make it, not even for a second. Unlike the soldiers down below, I had trained in one-hit kills, sneak attacks- assassinations and the sort, not combat. I wouldn't last.

Those soldiers out there, some of them were from Xing. Some of them grew up and trained in the same place as I had. Some of them- all of them had killed just as many as I had. None of us were innocent in this situation.

The degrading of regret was still so raw for me, how was everyone else so fine?

I suppose we did ask politely before attacking.
And, I suppose, if we just stood as bystanders to the situation, Kouka would rot in peril.
This isn't anything personal, for either side.
This isn't anything new, for either side.

"Yona-?" Yoon sundered my inner decline as he snapped his head over to the girl who had stood up.

I faced her, and there she towered tall and brave, a flaming arrow aimed at the entropy below. She had lit an arrow with some flammable substance from Yoon's satchel and a torch, all whilst I had only stared into my thoughts and analyzed my morals with nothing to say.

With a sturdy stance and a firm grip, her eyes blazed into her target. The princess released the tension in the string, and the arrow skimmed a slight parabola, before ripping and setting alight to the fabric of a tent. Yona hadn't aimed for a soldier, a soul. So I wondered, was there a reason more than simply the tent being an easy stationary target? Had Yona... killed before?

"Y-Yona! Duck!" The anxious inkling of being spotted in our hiding spot sought me to tug the girl back out of sight of the camps.

"Ah! Sorry," She apologized without hesitance, and the innocent face I was used to had returned.

I stared for a moment longer, recycling what had just happened in my thoughts, hoping I would come close to understanding the extent of Yona's potential. "... Good shot."

She smiled briefly with a nod, content with the praise from an elder girl.

"It looks like the others will come up here soon," Yoon interjected, "It's complete disarray down there."

\\\ Yeji, Kuuto \\\

"Yes! That's right, it does ease headaches!" She enthusiastically cheered, lilting slightly as she stepped in rhythm with the boy along the corridor of the palace. "I am dearly impressed, you are quite informed on medicinal grounds. I studied for years with exceptional grades, yet I could firmly believe that your knowledge exceeds mine!"

Her wondrous smile beckoned a response, but Min-soo meekly smiled and laughed dryly, "I learned a lot from my Mother..."

The boy rather intrigued her. He acted not how he appeared. With a soft countenance and light yet stiff step, he emitted a sort of airy kindness. But with every dry and distant reply, Yeji felt no closer than when they'd met only moments ago.

"Your mother? And she, too, resides in the palace?" Yeji led on, only to receive a silent response. His small smile didn't falter, it's insincerity became clearer. "It's quite alright if you would prefer not to speak about it."

"..."

The palace was beautiful. Each corner turned revealed to Yeji a newer dynamic of elegance. Ingrained into each wall was regal history, enveloped into each crack was the experience of the long-lasting Kouka Kingdom. The pristine gold paneling was so rich that it drained the saturation of the yellow stitching on Yeji's robe. Circular windows with a traditional influence lined the corridor allowing the winter sun to shimmer through. Hiryuu Castle was a sight to behold. So magnificent that it left the memory of the Hashimoto estate dwindling, so boastingly present that it was incomparable to the sites she'd seen with Ogi in the Sky Tribe streets.

Yeji didn't want to let go of the capability that the boy might hold to allow her trusted access around the palace. With her arms swaying slightly at her sides, occasionally brushing her cotton dress, she broke the silence in a casual formality. "My mother has been ill for as long as I remember."

Min-soo's stride didn't falter, but his smile fell as his eyes hesitantly made their way to the ginger girl. His pupils shifted with concern and his eyebrows lilted for a beckoning to carry on. Perhaps he didn't like to talk.

"She became bedridden when I was young. She has not been allowed visitations since then, she needed her rest and the risk of me catching her disease was uncertain," Yeji carried on, still with a light tonality.

"... I am sorry to hear about that." His airy voice mumbled as he regained his attention forwards.

"It's alright, I suppose it doesn't matter too much. I was never too close to her. Heck, I barely remember what she looks like... It was worse for Yebin, when our mother fell ill, she cowered away and never looked at me or my father the same way."

"... Yebin?"

Yeji grinned seclusively at his query. He was listening and had asked about her story, whether it was out of curiosity or to simply cancel out the chance of awkward silence. It was a significant enough display of interest for her.

"My older sister."

Her eyes squinted with her reply, and he only gave a silent response of recognition. "Are you close to your sister, then?"

"Oh gosh, not at all," Yeji immediately shut him off with utter confidence.

"Oh..."

The girl grew nervous at the conversation. Yebin was bought up to spur confusion and provide an opportunity for curiosity, but she was a hefty topic to handle. Any more talk of her and Yeji's short-lived reputation in the palace would amount to abrupt dismantlement. "Do you have any siblings, Min-soo?"

"I do not," He clutched his wine-tinted leather-covered books to his chest and alleviated his gaze upwards to the ceiling. He reminisced, "But those I grew up around felt similar to that."

It reminded her of Kyo.
It had been a while.
She wondered if she was coping.
Yeji wondered if she was alive.

"Yeji, should you not be on duty by now?"

Min-soo's voice was fuller now, purposeful and certain. The change threw Yeji off, and the query only induced panic. Duty?

"Huh-?"

As another corner was turned, a woman crossed their path. Older by about a decade, yet a similar height to the two adolescents. A collected expression lay on her features, not even a flinch as she unexpectedly bumped into Yeji and Min-soo.

"Ah, Min-soo," She nodded to the boy, in which he returned the brief greeting. She chuckled, "You frightened me."

Yeji furrowed her brows because the woman appeared as calm as could be. Min-soo was notably more comfortable with her presence.

"Now please, excuse me," The woman spoke softly as she began to step away.

"Oh, Kwa-mae!" Min-soo grasped her attention, causing her to swiftly and fully turn about to face the duo once more. His voice pitched higher and his words came out smoothly, "You are headed to training now, are you not?"

"I am," Kwa-mae smiled apologetically. Her modest and mundane nature and cotton clothing led Yeji to believe that the woman was a court lady in training.

"Fantastic. Then, Yeji, it should be fine if you two are both late together," The brunette turned to the girl, who's brows remained furrowed.

Yeji paused momentarily as her eyes swapped between the boy and the woman.

"Training?"

\\\ Saika \\\

"They aren't coming back?!"

Yoon reiterated Shin-ah's observation in questioning, the idea was obviously so far removed from his consideration. "Why...? If he's retreating and calling for reinforcements then wouldn't he return here?"

Our warriors had gathered back to rendezvous upon the dirt embankment. The distant cries of the camping soldiers had died slightly yet remained with perpetual presence. With the ex-general and the dragons' return came the incoming news of Shin-ah's conflicting observation.

"I wonder if he thinks he'll get surrounded so he's avoiding it?" Yona suggested with a calmer outlook.

My eyes dug into Hak's countenance. His expression was only darker and unforgiving. Kan Soo-jin's army and Hazara's troops were headed southwest. No longer was Saika a predominant priority in the situation. The events proceeded onwards according to the ex-general's theory, and it instigated growing distress within me.

How much longer was he going to keep quiet?

"Southwest from here is... Hiryuu Castle?!" Yoon shook out his words in a confused gamble. He almost stumbled in his words and his face gleamed with nervous sweat.

The Princess peered over in a composed manner, intent growing in her blazing eyes as she took heed of the boy's thought process. The dragons stood aside, allowing the smarts to conclude a logical conclusion with trust. 

"He's asking for reinforcements... from the King... If he goes to Hiryuu Castle, he can definitely get strong reinforcements... but..."

"..."

Yoon's thoughts, whilst trembling in the unexpected turn of events, were concise and logical. Perhaps he's right, the Fire Tribe general was leading his army to the Sky Tribe in hopes for a larger source of reinforcement. It would be more efficient, although riskier than to come retreating back to Saika. The news of the camping troops may have taken the attention of Soo-jin's army by now, perhaps we were too narrow-minded and caught up in the tunnel-visioned theories to notice.

I peered back over the embankment, there again I spotted the camp that had been set up by the Sen Province... and Taichi's troops. The black flags were raised high. A tall and glorious taunt, it waved about above the chaos that unraveled below, as the soldiers recovered from the brief and brutal attack by the monsters that resided beside me.

There was no way that Taichi would actively participate in an alliance with two opposing sides. He wouldn't confide comradeship with General Kan Soo-jin whilst feeding the Sen Province the very soldiers meant to attack the Fire Tribe. It would be too messy. Sure, Taichi's loyalty was questionable and barely permanent in where it lay, for he had followed an issue for one of Soo-jin's commanders to be assassinated a few mere weeks ago. But, to this scale? Unlikely. Taichi was not a dense fool.

The one feasible way for the two connections to occur simultaneously: if the Fire Tribe and Sen Province held no hostility.

Hak had to be right.

"This isn't... something I like to consider, but..." My austere voice came about wavering and treading lightly.

"What is it?" Yoon perked up, hoping for some enlightening words to provide a newfound observation.

Hak interjected, concerned with the statement that was to be proceeding my aloud thoughts. His eyes drilled into mine with a strike of perturbed tension, and with a tone of leading persuasion, "Even if it's Kan Soo-jin, he wouldn't go this far..."

The other flickered between me and the Thunder Beast in the lack of context behind the silent conversation we held. His pupils carved into mine out of terror, and whilst I was so very close to collapsing my thought and giving in to the fear, the truth would not be swayed nor blundered by the easier approach of cowardly ignorance.

I abode in my belief as I imprinted my stare intensely, the trust in the ex-general lingering. He was a general not so long ago, he held eloquent esteem within the monarchy walls until recently. All with reason was he bestowed the responsibility of general, Hak was almost never wrong in his intuition. Whatever quivering hesitance that had latched to delay his instinct had to go, for it was only right that the others knew the likely truth.

He turned away, "He wouldn't go this far... is what I thought." He sighed with weight and frustration.

"Hak?" Yona peered over with a challenging face. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had picked up his increasing levels of doubt.

"There's something that's been bothering me this whole time."