"So, what now?"

The question hung in the air like an invisible weight. Yun glared at Ezra with all his might, his bright blue eyes flashing.

"What now?" he snapped. "I don't know what to do now, now that you guys have gone and completely blown our cover!"

Ezra put a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, there's definitely no taking that back."

"Hmm..." Yona mumbled, her violet eyes looking towards the sky in thought.

"What is it, Yona?" Yun asked.

"Well, I wonder if it would be alright... to become a bandit just once in my lifetime," she said.

Ezra's eyes widened. She didn't know what she'd expected to come flying out of the crazy princess's mouth next, but it certainly hadn't been that.

"Yona dear, didn't you already give out our bandit name?" Jaeha asked amiably.

"Oh, I guess I did." Yona shrugged. "So that's that."

"What's with that nonchalance?" Yun exploded. "You're acting as if you're just changing jobs!"

"There's no getting around it, Yun. I've already given them our name."

"You idiot! We have to run before they come back! Next time, they'll bring a horde of soldiers with them!"

"There are a lot of villages like this in the Fire Tribe, right?" Yona asked.

Yun fell silent, glaring at her, so Ezra answered for him. "Right."

"And everywhere is impoverished and heavily taxed?"

"Yes," Ezra nodded.

"Then we will become bandits... and expand our territory." Yona's violet eyes flashed dangerously as she hatched her master plan. "If we do that, we can protect these people who are unjustly taxed."

"It's not that simple!" Yun shouted. "If they fall behind on collections, they levy even stricter taxes! What's more, if we don't pull it off right, then the soldiers from Saika Castle will move!"

"Let them come."

Yun stopped and stared at Yona, his blue eyes wide. Yona's expression was fierce and determined as she stared straight ahead, looking every bit the regal princess she was born to be. "If they desert impoverished children and the sick in order to protect their sorry selves, then they have their priorities backwards."

She cast her gaze over the group and was met with equally determined faces. "Besides, I don't think we'll lose to them. Not as long as everyone is here."

"But--"

"Yun, I'm sure you understand. You know how to efficiently move to pressure the officers."

"Well, that's true, but..." Yun trailed off, not knowing how he'd meant to finish that sentence.

"Well then," Zeno chimed in with a large grin, "now that it's settled, let's start the revolt of... The Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch!"

Ezra and Hak had to cough to disguise their laughter.

A vein popped out of Yun's forehead. "First of all, that name won't pressurize them!"

Ezra shrugged. "The deed is done, Mother. No turning back now."

Yun turned to glare at her. "Don't call me Mother!"

Ezra smirked and gave no other reply.

And such was the beginning of Yona and the gang's bandit days.

~~~

"Being bandits is necessary," Yona murmured later that night as the group sat around a campfire. "We need our reputation to spread and make us out to be the villains. That way, if the officers say something about it, the villagers can blame it on us."

Ezra nodded, impressed. "You really thought this through, didn't you, Yona?"

Yona smiled at her friend. "Yes."

"For once in your life," Ezra said wryly, winking.

"Hey!" Yona protested, her pretty face slipping into a pout. The group chuckled.

"So tomorrow will we hit the next village over?" Hak asked, leaning back on his hands.

Yun let out a sigh. "I suppose."

"Cheer up, Yun. This'll be fun," Ezra told him, grinning savagely.

Yun glared at her. "Says you, the hyped up adrenaline junkie who constantly has a death wish."

Ezra shrugged. "You won't find me denying any of that."

Jaeha chuckled. "Well, I suppose we'd better rest up for tomorrow then."

"Guess so," Yun muttered. "Alright, then. To bed, beasts."

As they banked the fire and got ready for bed, Ezra sent Shinah a smile. He grinned at her as he drew his fur around him. Hak had finally returned it to him, complaining about how he couldn't see out of it. The Seiryu had been exceedingly grateful to get it back since he'd been freezing without it.

Shinah was a fearsome swordsman and had the power of the ancient Seiryu in his eyes, but his greatest nemesis was cold weather. Ezra found this fact endearing and hilarious, though she knew she was in no position to be criticizing his quirks; she herself was deathly terrified of needles, of all things.

Ezra laid out on her bedroll, Shinah leaning up against the tree nearest her. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, looking forward to the next day.

After all, the world was about to get a whole lot more exciting now that she was in a group of bandits.

She just wished they didn't have a name like The Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch.