Yun gulped as he faced the group of Fire Tribe soldiers, led by an older officer.

"Where is the village chief?" the leader asked, his face stern.

Yun pushed Yona's shoulder to turn her face away from the group as Ezra stood, planting herself in front of the princess to help hide her from sight.

"The chief is over there," Yun said, pointing.

Ezra let out a breath as the troop turned and walked away.

Yun sprinted towards the building Hak and Jaeha were fixing up, Ezra and Yona on his heels. "Hide, hide!" he cried.

"What happened?" Hak asked curiously.

"A Fire Tribe officer came with soldiers! You can't show your faces!" Yun told him urgently.

"Oh, an officer?" Hak said, appearing unconcerned. "Let's see!" He and Jaeha hopped off the roof and made as if to walk towards the village center.

Yun waved his arms helplessly, trying to keep the curious Hak and Jaeha back. "Don't show your faces, you beasts!"

They all froze when they heard the sound of something shattering behind them. They turned slowly to see the troop of Fire Tribe soldiers surrounding the village chief, an older man who was kneeling on the ground, bowing before them.

"You can't pay, you say?" the officer said slowly, looking down his nose at the chief. "You want to go without paying your taxes again?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the old man said desperately, raising his head. "But the rice crops didn't produce much this year, and we don't even have enough to eat ourselves. The taxes on top of that are--"

"Stop right there," the officer snarled, grinding his boot on the man's head.

Ezra grit her teeth and took a step forward, but Yun quickly caught her wrist. Her angry eyes met his and he shook his head at her.

She understood the message well enough. Don't fight. That didn't make it any easier to stand back and watch the scene unfold.

"If you can't pay, just sell your children off," the officer said, as if that was the easiest thing in the world.

"N-no, I couldn't possibly!" the old man cried.

Ezra's sensitive ears picked up on the sound of bones cracking, and she turned to find that Kija's claw had grown to twice its normal size. The expression on his face was dark and terrifying; the dragon looked ready to go on a rampage.

"Calm down, Kija!" Yun hissed at him. "They'll take you away if they see that hand! Right, Yona?" Yun turned desperately to Yona for help.

He was sorely disappointed. The princess herself wore an enraged expression, fire in her eyes as she fitted an arrow to her bow.

"Yona!" Yun cried desperately. "You can't! If they find you, they'll...!"

"Look, Master Dol-Bal, they have food over here." Ezra's head snapped in the direction of a young soldier, who was pointing at the cart of food that Yun had brought to the village.

"So you did have food," Dol-Bal drawled, ambling over to the cart. "There's no rice here, but this will do. Carry it out."

Ezra noticed Yun's hands clench into fists as the soldiers moved to take the provisions he'd done his best to gather for the village. He looked about ready to jump into battle himself when he was stopped by a small voice.

"NO!" a young girl shouted, tugging on a Fire Tribe soldier's robes. "Yun brought that food for us!"

"Move," Dol-Bal ordered. "You're in the way."

"No!" the girl refused.

"This is perfect. Let's take the child, too," the officer said. "We can sell it to make up for the taxes they refused to pay."

"Please have mercy!" a villager cried, stepping forward. "She's just a child!"

"Get back," a soldier growled, kicking the man ruthlessly to the ground.

"Father!" the child shouted.

Ezra's muscles trembled with rage as her hand gripped the handle of her swords.

Before she could move, she heard the whistling of blades hissing through the air.

"Gah!" one of the soldiers cried out in pain, grasping at his bleeding shoulder as he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Who did that?" another growled.

Ezra was stunned when Jaeha's hand flew into the air. "Heeeere," he drawled with a smirk. His purple eyes glinted dangerously beneath his green bangs. "It was me."

"Who are you?" asked Dol-Bal sharply. "You're not part of this village."

"They call me..." Jaeha paused for dramatic effect before throwing his head back in a magnificent hair flip. "The soaring Ryokuryu!"

"Be careful!" a soldier warned the officer. "He's a fool!"

"He looks dangerous!"

"Jaeha, I said you couldn't--" Yun started.

"Yun." Jaeha's somber voice stopped Yun in his tracks. "I would've stayed quiet if they were just stealing stuff, but do you think I'd let off a bunch of ugly people who use violence against a little girl?"

Yun grit his teeth. "You're not listening!"

"I'm a former pirate, Yun," Jaeha said, turning to face the officers. "It seems I'll clash with soldiers wherever I go."

"You won't be alone." Ezra ripped her blades out of their sheath and separated them, standing beside Jaeha with a murderous expression on her face.

Jaeha glanced at her in surprise and delight. "How lovely! Ezra dear is joining me!"

The soldiers frowned. "Who's she?" one asked.

"She's kinda fierce," another whispered, sounding slightly afraid.

"She has two swords!"

Ezra rolled her eyes. "Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious."

"Guess we can't help it," Hak sighed, tugging the cover off of his glaive.

"Thunder Beast, you can't! They'll recognize your face!" Yun cried, turning.

The entire group stared in surprise at Hak, who'd apparently stolen Shinah's fur and plopped it on his head. The fur obscured the former general's entire face, and Ao's little face stuck out from between the strands.

"Uh... can you even see, Hak?" Ezra asked dumbly.

"Well enough," he answered, stepping forward. He crashed right into her before righting himself and standing alongside her and Jaeha.

"An even stranger one has appeared!" one of the soldiers gasped, fear coloring his voice.

"Is he a demon?"

"His stomach is growling!"

"Something is living on his head!"

"Oh, me?" Hak said, his voice bored. "They call me the Dark Dragon."

"You don't need to forcibly give yourself a name!" Yun snapped, exasperated. "And you stole Shinah's fur, and now look at him! He's cold!"

Ezra glanced back to see Shinah huddled on the ground, shivering without his fur. She smiled, finding the image adorable. Shinah really didn't like the cold.

"That weapon..." one of the soldiers muttered, eyeing Hak's glaive. "I've seen it before!"

"No you haven't!" Hak shouted, chucking the blade behind him. It flew into the air and disappeared from sight.

"That man doesn't even need his weapon?!"

Kija and Shinah stepped forward. "You demons," Kija hissed, brandishing his dragon claw. "You are frightening the villagers."

"What's with his hand?!"

"He's a monster!"

"I can't!" Yun cried. "I can't do it anymore! Yona, even if it's just you, please hide!"

"Well, we've already attracted attention," Yona said, her eyes clear and her mouth tilted up in a slight smirk. "The deed is done, so if we're going to do this... might as well stand out boldly!"

All color drained from Yun's face. "Please tell me you're joking."

Yona stepped forward, throwing up her hood to hide her hair and face as best she could. "You snot-nosed brats!" she shouted boldly, stepping out in front of Ezra and Jaeha. "Are you aware that you're invading our territory?"

She was met with blank stares.

"Your territory?"

"She's a woman?"

"Are you bandits?"

Yona grasped at that last question. "That's right!" She swiped her hand through the air. "That food, that child, and all these villagers belong to us! If you get it, turn around right now and don't come back!"

A silence so heavy they could feel it in the air weighed on them, broken only by the snort of amusement that came from the mound of fur that was Son Hak.

Yona turned to him with a cross expression. "Don't laugh at me, Dark Dragon."

Hak tried to cover his laugh with a cough. "'Scuse me."

Jaeha hid a smile behind his hand. "That tone sounded familiar," he said to Yona.

"It's an imitation of Captain Gigan," she told with with a confident grin.

"They're a foolish group," the Fire Tribe officer said. "Throw them out."

"Yona, please..." Yun tried one more time to reason with the stubborn princess.

"Yun, I'm sorry. But I've been prepared to fight for Kouka for a long time."

"In that case..." Kija started.

"It can't be helped, can it?" Ezra said, grinning savagely. She hadn't gotten into a real fight since Awa, and excitement thrummed through her veins in anticipation.

"Boss?" Jaeha said.

"Do it," Yona growled.

"Let's go," Hak ordered, sprinting forward.

Ezra hurried to join him, along with Jaeha, Kija, and Shinah.

Five minutes later, the group stood in the middle of a mass of groaning, defeated Fire Tribe soldiers. Ezra slid her blades back into their sheath with a satisfied smile curving her lips. She glanced at Shinah to find him watching her, and they nodded to each other in camaraderie.

Yona stepped forth, lifting her finger in warning. The officer who'd led the fallen soldiers stepped back, fear in his eyes. "If something happens to this village, next time, we, uh..."

"The Dark Dragon," Hak supplied.

"... and the Happy Hungry Bunch!" Zeno cheered, raising his hands up in the air.

Yona shrugged and went on. "Will make you pay for it!"

Ezra had to press a fist against her mouth to keep from laughing. She glanced back at Yun and found him staring at the group as if he couldn't understand, for the life of him, how he had wound up in the presence of such maniacs. 

***

Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter!

I've just got one last thing to say. My friend VampireDragonLover is hosting an art contest, so if you like to draw and are interested in entering, go check it out!

Thanks for reading!

--Veratia0011