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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 3 - The Village Hidden in Hyakumemomiji Part 2

T/N: Dang it, the last chapter left me hanging so I rushed this one with minimal beta. Well, I did my best with my skills, hopefully it’s OK. Also I have a lot of notes and I don’t really care if it’s annoying. Zero regrets lol

As always, I mostly didn’t translate some of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. Plus it irks me sometimes when everything just gets transliterated, it kills off the vibe. But that’s just me. Links to references at the end of the post.

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just Google-translated this whole sh**.. You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. OK, I may have veered off-course too much, as previously mentioned in my older posts, the 2 seasons of the anime cover most of the plots of volumes 1-5, so if you need a review just rewatch them all. Part 2 starts now. P65 Leaving the large banquet hall where the altar was, we went through a wide passageway, and on the other side of the mountain's stone wall were traces of a solid view of various momiji leaves. We seem to be in a considerably high place, and it was a bit chilly. "The Kaku-zaru's obscured village was made by digging a hole in the wall of rock and making their dwellings there. The solid rock wall was decorated with a lot of momiji, and the passageway as well as the hole were hidden by the leafy branches, which lead to this place being called the Hidden Village." Nearby, Odanna-sama gave explanations to me. Certainly, when you look at the stone wall clearly there was a hole in the passageway. That, was completely hidden by flashy colored momiji. These momiji looked redder and shinier than the usual autumn fallen leaves. The strong wind blowing on my feet made me feel anxious and fluttery, the passageway looks very mystical. The entire place seems to glisten like a red jewel... P66 "The momiji within this vicinity, these are called the precious Hyakumemomiji that decorates the summit of Hyakumeyama. These branches, when burned emits a smoke that can be used to make one drowsy and sleepy." That time when I was taken here I smelled smoke, and that seemed to have happened when they took out a branch and burned it. No wonder, I therefore conclude that was when my consciousness was lost. But the matter regarding the bandits was also a serious thing. I told the Kaku-zaru that we will be preparing to use the piece of Hyakumemomiji as kindling, we will be using the smoke as they normally did. Aside from that, I also explained that the mountain apples were also needed.

"I may have suggested this but.. I wonder if it's really gonna work." After that, I was standing in the the village's kitchen that they allowed me to do my preparations in. The kitchen had a large, wonderful stone kiln, and aside from that there were also old stoneware and other cooking utensils. Odanna told me to make a lot of "recipes using the mountain apples." Because of that, the tactic is that we need to make the bandits eat a lot of the food. "I brought you these, Aoi." Odanna-sama brought his basket that was full of mountain apples, and went inside the kitchen. A while ago we were gathering them in the orchard, now it seems that we were using them to retaliate for the mountain clan. "Say, Odanna-sama. Are you sure that these mountain apples are just fine?" P67 "Ah, saying that, I wonder... If the Hyakumemomiji was used as an ingredient along with the mountain apples and it worked, it's going to be an additive that can easily make them drunk. The sleep-inducing smoke too, it's for that reason that we're using it." The liquor made out of mountain apples could also be added with a lot of pickled chips of Hyakumemomiji branches, but from what I heard from Odanna-sama and Rokusuke-san, that seemed to be an industrial trade secret. I could conclude that I have found out about it while we were talking about it. "Say, can't we make some mountain apple liquor here?" "That is Mizumakinouen's original recipe. I don't think we can make that here. But the bandits seem to like the taste of the liquor they already have here. If they drink that along with the foods, they would leisurely consume it, and your record with the Sea Treasure Appetizers will be surpassed. I want to use the Hyakumemomiji branches to cook the meals made out of the mountain apples--" "Hm, I see..." I bluntly responded with Odanna-sama's request, but in reality I was feeling excited inside. I wanted to try and use the mountain apples immediately. Such cuisines made out of mountain apples, it would feel really awful with those used on those bandits and their territories, but... "I get it. We'll waste no time on that but, what ingredients can we use here? I wonder what do those bandits like to eat up to now?" I looked around, and as I walked across the ashen kitchen, I found it. P68 "Stone pig...” At the entrance of the kitchen stood two little Kaku-zaru children, they brought in a basket. "Stone pig, our village raises and eats a lot of them." "They graze in the forest, and we feed them mountain apples and acorns. The bandits like them." The children wore masks that did not entirely hid their faces, but the corners of their eyes were hidden. "Really-- Stone pig. Don't tell me that the pig's head offering on the altar, came from this? Uhm, is it fine to use this meat, will you not have enough food left?" The children were nodding and nodding a lot, and I realized that their voices were adorable. "At any rate, I have no choice but to use whatever it is for the banquet tonight." "The respectable elder told us that this is for Miko-sama. He also that that you can use anything we have in this village." Inside the basket of ingredients that they brought, there was already a large lump of stone pig. The meat was lovely. Is this the boneless part? It was not fatty, it was just right. Raised by eating the fruits of trees, the nearest vibe that this pork gives off is the Black Iberian pig. There were also some eggs and what look like autumn mushrooms, sweet potato, and there were also a lot of vegetable staples. "Hm? What is this?" I fished out the other ingredients inside the basket. There was cheese, the surface of which was covered in tree ashes. It wasn't easy to find this ingredient in Kakuriyo, P69 but here in front of me, for me to use, I was suprised. "Hey, look at this Odanna-sama! It's cheese, cheese!**" "The dairy industry of the Northern lands have prospered, and because of that it is within their capacity to expand their cheese production methods. If there are those in this mountain who take care of livestock and do pastoralism, it's not surprising that they would be able to discover it." "Oh, so that's it, I see." For sure, the dairy products stocked up in Yugao were ordered from the Northern Lands, and the cheese that the room service in the Southern Lands were also delivered from the Northern Lands. "These cheese were made from the milk of mountain goats." "They're really tasty." The Kaku-zaru child took out a small blade from the bosom, and with a skilled hand sliced cheese from the edges, and offered them to me. I wonder if I have to deal with what's in front of me. But in reality, goat's milk cheese is not my cup of tea. It's smell was very different and unique from cow's milk cheese, and the acrid taste is strong. I was scared as I tried eating it. "What's this?" The goat's cheese had a ripe fermented taste, but it was melty and soft on my tongue. And the acrid taste that I thought it had wasn't there, it felt like it left a milky taste. T/N: Call Aoi a dumbass but if I got hold of some cheese after having none for a long time, I'd go gaga too lol P70 In the end, it was undeniably easy to eat. It was something that I haven't eaten up until now, and it was a bit different. "This.. Is this really mountain goat cheese? It's really delicious..." "It is also covered all around with the ash from Hyakumemomiji wood chips." "I take care of mountain goats!" When I said that the foods in the village tasted good, it made the children glad, and they gleefully started talking. In that situation, they were really like children, and they just look so cute. I couldn't see their eyes through their masks, but from how their mouths moved and spoke, their expressions were visible from their voices. "Thank you, the both of you. Let's succeed together in exterminating the bandits, ok?" I patted their heads, and when the children looked at each other, they went "The Miko-sama patted our heads!" and happily skipped off from the kitchen. The people in this village, somehow they were not quite seized by the bandits, but children are children... Well then, Our plan to drive away the bandits start here. Our strategy to eradicate the bandits is simple. Make them drunk by eating and drinking, then beat** them. That is all. My weapon is cooking, of course. I think I will just operate on the shadows with regards to the "feeding them" part. "With regards to this, what are you planning to make, Aoi?" "Oh, that, it's pizza." "Pizza? That pizza you say, it sounds like it's from Utsushiyo, is that Italian**? T/N: This isn't even a pun. The kanji is literally the kanji for beat, as in "beating a drum, beating them up", that stuff. Also don't ask me how did Odanna-sama even knew that pizza was Italian. No idea about that right now lol P71 "Yeah, I'm bringing that Italian thing from over there. Using the stone pig, this mountain goat cheese, and the mountain mushrooms, I was thinking of making a pizza based on my preferences. I could bake that in the large kiln, and use the Hyakumemomiji branches for that." I could use the ingredients in here, and bake a lot of pizza. There's also just enough flour, it seems that I have all of the the ingredients to make pizza. "By the way Odanna-sama, excuse me but, remove your outer coat, prop up the sleeves of your kimono with a cord, and I want you to help with the other preparations..." "The respectable elder has already given me instructions. If I can do what you're telling me then I will do just that!" Odanna-sama's eagerness is considerably at maximum. He must have reflected for a while now, and his nails were also shortened. This is probably his first time to be forced to help in cooking while in his commoner's look. "I'm thankful for that but... Ai-chan is also here, and it's OK to do other things." After that, I summoned Ai-chan from the pendant, and she instantly came out. Still looking like me, Ai-chan harshly proclaimed "I'm here now, Odanna-sama isn't needed anymore". While having a serious face, cold sweat started flowing from Odanna-sama's forehead.... "D.... Doesn't Ai have other homework to do? Weren't you supposed to be on a training on changing how you look, differently from Aoi?" "Other look? Why so sudden?" P72 Oh well, Ai-chan surely does have her homework but... "Here in Hyakumeyama, in reality I know that Ayakashi train up in this mountain. There was a great Youkai called Nue who exceedingly triumphed in changing appearances, and after practicing in this mountain it was able to learn how to change into it's hundreth form, hence the name of the mountain became Hyakumeyama.** Only Ayakashi with the power to change their appearances into humans have that status. They are displaying their power." "Really? I always thought that was strange. Why is everyone, despite having their original Ayakashi appearances, chose to change to look like humans? That proves the power of those Ayakashi, don't they?" "Yes. When you climb this mountain, there are many Ayakashi who are discovering what apperance they will change into. If Ai is here, it is also possible that the divine blessing of Hyakumeyama will grant you and let you gain information on how you will change your appearance. If you succeed in doing that here, you can also be allowed to work in Yugao." Ai chan placed her finger at the corner of her mouth and immediately started to ponder, and after a bit hit her fist on the palm of her hand. "I couldn't estimate fully what I should do. I see Aoi-sama's face everyday, which is why that's the only one I can change into!" "Oh my...." Definitely, that didn't seem difficult. I tried thinking along with Ai-chan too. T/N: The kanji that forms Hyakumeyama is hyaku=hundred, me=nth, like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, nth. it's also the same kanji used for "eye". And yama is, well, mountain. At least now the reason why it's called with that name has now been explained. even I was wondering why it was like that. Nue is basically a chimera, look it up lol P73 "Oh, I see. If it's Odanna-sama and I, how about combining the features of our faces to make a new one? You see both of us a lot, since there aren't a lot of other people here..." After suggesting what I thought then, Ai-chan and Odanna-sama's eyes went all round as if drawn, and they looked as if they were taken aback. What the.. why such reactions? "Aoi-sama, part-way Odanna-sama, won't it?" "That's it Aoi. She's so much like our child..." "Whaaaaaat? Wh-- Why are you saying it like you're driving that in?" I could understand the meaning behind Ai-chan's and Odanna-sama's reactions, and in an instant I blushed. My face became horribly hot. "Oh well, that's fair Aoi. But that's a great idea. When Ai makes her original face, like that she can play up with a lot of what her eyes see, and among that it's the easiest. She's our daughter who combines and divides both of our faces, I wanted to see myself a bit too..." Odanna-sama put up a calm and composed demeanor, but my face was still burning all throughout. "Don't think about weird thoughts, Odanna-sama..." "I won't, I won't..." I took a huge step back, and Odanna-sama was lightly shaking his head left and right. Ai-chan was murmuring "Hmmmmm" as the corners of her eyebrows wrinkly drew together, and she looked alternately at Odanna-sama's face and mine. P74 "When you do this, there's a bit of merit, OK?" Completely looking at our faces over and over again, after a while she left the kitchen in an instant. Ai-chan was probably going to practice morphing her appearance outside. "I'm going out for a bit to look for it myself!" "Ah--- Ai-chan! Chibi, look out for Ai-chan. This is an unknown place and she might get lost..." "Okaaaaay." Chibi was hiding inside my sleeve, jumping and squirming he went out from there, using the different folds and layers of the fabric to get himself out. After that he left to follow his younger sister-disciple. "Ai-chan, I wonder what appearance she will debut for us..." "You have also outrageously asked Chibi to look after her.." That seemed somewhat a parental thing to do. The dead air calmly flowed through, it's because the cooking must be done. "Well then, Odanna-sama. You're in charge of making the dough, ok? Over there by the stone cookware, add the flour and oil and a bit of water, mix them one at a time. When they're all incorporated together, pull out that tray and please knead it for me." I taught Odanna-sama the basics of making and the quantity of each, and left him to do it by himself. P75 "Haha. I remembered the time that we did this kind of work together. When the Tengu had that feud at Orio-ya, kneading this dough has that feeling." "We aren't making Japanese dango soup here, you know." The pizza dough that we're making right now is just simple. We aren't using dry yeast. It's fine the we aren't fermenting, that would make a crunchy and thin pizza. After that, Odanna-sama gave me all of the many dough balls that he made, and now I have to prepare the ingredients for the toppings. There will be two types of pizzas. The first will be sweet pizza, using the bandits' favorite sweet potato and mountain apples, along with the cheese. "The first one will be a decoy. Because they only ate nothing but mountain apples, we will use the first pizza to pull them in through their hunger. After giving them that sweet apple pizza, everything else should go smoothly." "Ohhhh.. Luring them is ingenious. As expected from Shirou's granddaughter. And that, is my wife." "Ehhhhh, keep quiet, Odanna-sama--" It was indeed a crafty tactic, and I continued explaining my cooking plans without hesitation. "In Utsushiyo because there are no fixed ingredients used, there are teriyaki pizza and grilled meat pizza, and we can combine those to make a Japanese-style pizza. According to the leaflets on the pizza delivered to our house by the delivery people, the most famous was grilled meat pizza, which had the highest ranking." P76 "Ohhhh! There was time I travelled in Utsushiyo, I ate some Italian pizza, it has cheese and tomato sauce and some flavoring they called basil, and because of that I couldn't imagine an image of a Japanese-style pizza." "Pizza Margherita is undoubtedly the king. If there's tomato you can make one easily..." But right now, we have no choice but to make delicious pizza with the ingredients that we have in here. To make the Japanese-style pizza grilled pork will be used, and the stone pig's boneless meat will be used. Boneless pork, mountain-grown onions, I was thinking of maitake** mushrooms and then cutting each one. The boneless pork makes it easy to eat. The onions will be sliced small and thin, and it's appropriate to shred the maitake. "For the sauce, we'll use the usual soy sauce and mirin, sugar and sake, grate up some garlic and ginger, mountain apple juice, miso, then add some red chilli peppers, it's going to be a sweet spicy sauce for the grilled pork..." We're fighting against bandits. It seems that rather than high-end tastes, they prefer flavor that restores their stamina fully. We have achieved the task of adding mountain apple juice. On top of that it's fruity, and the spiciness gradually seeps out, as the expected outcome. The boneless pork gets stir-fried on the stoneware frying pan, and as it cooks the sauce is incorporated. It has been properly browned and cooked well-done when the lovely shiny color comes out. This only takes 10 minutes to deliciously cook the boneless pork. This is also a fiendish pizza topping. "Aoi, these are already kneaded sufficiently." I thought that for quite a while now, Odanna-sama was being a grown-up, encouraging himself quietly while making the pizza dough. T/N: The maitake mushrooms are also called hen-of-the-forest, they look like a whole clump of tall-stalked shrooms, their root-like structures are so close together that they grow together. Yeah I am familiar with the shroom and other things about the fungi industry, thank you. P77 There were so many rounded doughballs. "Oh wow, really, you made so many doughballs, Odanna-sama. That's very good!" "Aoi praised me! Alright!" Odanna-sama closed his fist and pulled it back, like he made an achievement. "Now that's done we let the dough rest for a bit. We have to let it rest for at least 30 minutes in this low room temperature." Despite being tired, Odanna-sama wrapped the dough in some cloth and placed it in a warmer place inside the room for me. "Alright, next is the preparation of the sweet pizza.** It's an apple and sweet potato with cheese pizza." "Would the sweet potato and apples go well with the cheese?" "Well now, Odanna-sama. It's a bit snazzy, they normally go well together." I sliced the apples and the sweet potato thinly, and soaked each in a bit of water. After that I arranged the cheese on the dough and baked it as it is, once the dough is done I can't do anything more than that. "Whew. That concludes it." We have to make a lot, but the toppings that Odanna-sama and I made together, we earnestly used them all. "Aoi-sama--- Odanna-sama--" T/N: Not a fan of sweet pizza. I tried a smore pizza once, maybe that one was a bit OK, but seriously not a fan. Sorry sweet pizza slash pineapple pizza fans. I'll go Margherita any day lol P78 In here, Ai-chan's cheerful voice reached our ears. "Could it be...?" "Could you have achieved changing your appearance by yourself?" Odanna-sama and I looked at each other, and we sprung out of the kitchen. "!??" Over there.. Over there, there was a black-haired beauty with a short haircut! "Didn't you just entirely placed everything in Odanna-sama's taste?" The only thing that I contributed to this was just the femaleness, and what's left in front of me is the likeness of Odanna-sama's beautiful ogre daughter. Be that as it may, she is a girl about 14 years old, her facial expression is cheerful and spirited, but there wasn't much vibe of Odanna-sama's boldness. Regarding her nature, she has the feel of an individual having a personality. "I saw Aoi-sama and Odanna-sama and gave it a thought. When a child that looks like Odanna-sama is born, won't that child be very happy?" "Ai-chan, come here for a bit." "Owww oww owww--- Aoi-sama--- Please don't pull on my ears--- Aren't daughters said to look like their fathers?" My obedient disciple seems to have gotten refreshed. I'm in a mood to polish her crude language. P79 Her kimono has red and green camellia flowers in a black background. When I looked at her face closely, her eyes had my eye color... Oh well, I guess that's OK. "Hee hee hee. I see it now, you have become our child, Aoi and I. Hee hee hee." "Odanna-sama, don't delude yourself, and don't show me that desperate face." But Ai-chan's transfiguration was superb. Chibi, who was with her blinked with surprise and went " I don't know thisssssh child", and he seemed to be unused to the new appearance of his younger sister-disciple. "Alrighty then! Let's make pizza together!" "Hey...." A human girl and a distinguished ogre-god, an ogre-fire girl and a Temari Kappa. All of the employees have come together, and the rested pizza dough was dusted with flour and stretched over a tray. That pizza dough was made by Odanna-sama, who was in-charge of it. "Heyyyy, you're really good at it, Odanna-sama--" "My experience with it has increased! From now on I want to fully become a master who can help with tasks. Today's Odanna is sharing the house work with the wife and listening to her!" "If everyone in Tenjin-ya saw you right now, they're all going to cry..." Nails trimmed, stripped off of his majesty and villainous vibe, becomes delightful whenever he gets praised... Even though in the beginning he had a scary ogre aura, right now the Odanna-sama in front of me is somewhat like a newbie Odanna. I conclude that without knowing anything he's doing his best.** T/N: This is painfully true, when you're just starting your first job or work, you just do it and give it your all, like the enthusiasm is at its maximum. Well, ignorance is bliss so.. yeah. Can't say more lol If you know, then you know. P80 But, even though Odanna-sama seems to be enjoying helping, it's somehow not bad. After this we will be making the bandit-exterminating pizza. Unexpectedly he seemed to have grown to become a good Master-san... No, no, the Danna-san** that I'm with, I couldn't distinguish between them. Well then. I arranged the ingredients I have prepared before, over the dough that Odanna-sama stretched. With this Japanese-style pizza, cooked pork marinated in sweet and spicy sauce, chopped onions scattered all around, and loaded a lot of the maitake on top. Because there's perilla leaves, I used them as replacement for basil and spread them as garnish and to make the taste come out as Japanese-style. On top of that, I asked Ai-chan to make some home-made mayonnaise and thinly add this over everything, and after that he baked it. We're excited to find out how this will go. In making the sweet pizza, just like before, the thinly-sliced apples and the sweet potatoes were arranged alternately. On top of this, a lot of the cheese was evenly and generously placed. While preheating the stone kiln in the kitchen, I peeked at the shelves to find out what is in there and fish out whatever those are. "It seemed like they didn't have honey. After baking this, if we're adding honey before eating it will make it really yummy." "Aoi, there's some Hyakumemomiji honey, you know." T/N: She called him Danna-san instead of Odanna-sama because he was young-ish and looked like a plebe lol

Honestly by this time I am still questioning whether or not the hours I spent watching food network, masterchef episodes, any cooking show since I could remember, were all worth it. Right now, maybe? Maybe not? I'll probably find out when I'm done with this series. Lol Yuuma-sensei's story makes me hungry waiiiiii

P81 Odanna-sama was searching in the cabinets in here, and found some honey for me in the spice cupboard. What is this Hyakumemomiji honey.. What kind of stuff is this? "Wooow, it looks like it tastes like maple syrup. Yummy--" "This honey's sweetness is not strong. It's a good product. This is also my first time to try eating it." We tried tasting this stuff that we found, and it was impressive. I would want to buy some and take it home regularly... "Well then, would you want to try one baked piece that we used regular chopped wood as kindling? Let's try it, let's do it." "Ohh, that sounds good." And like before, we tried eating the pizza that we all made together. Even though we were doing this** because we're going to exterminate bandits. Inside the hot, stone kiln were two types of pizzas baking. When the pizzas were done baking, we pulled them out of the kiln, and like a triangular fan**, cut them into slices. The grilled pork Japanese-style pizza has white Welsh onions for toppings. The apple and sweet potato pizza with cheese was entirely drizzled with the Hyakumemomiji honey. "Ohhhh, it looks good." "Let's try some. This part that looks like an earlobe, pull it away and eat it with your hands." Odanna-sama ate the Japanese-style pizza, and Ai-chan tried the sweet pizza, each pulled a slice with their hands. The triangular pizzas were still piping hot. They started biting these from the pointy end. T/N: Honestly I want some pizza right now. Talk about subliminal programming. Dang it lol But really, it’s normal to taste what you’re cooking unless you could nail it without testing the taste first. I sure can’t lol I don't know what shape Byakuya's fan is, but the kanji says triangular so even though one side isn't a straight line then that's it lol. P82 "Hmmm, the grilled pork had a strong and defined flavor. The garlic and soy sauce goes well with the crunchy and plate-like dough. This is probably something that the bandits will like." "This is awesome, this is awesome.. Aoi-sama, the cheese is stretchy---" "Gah, the toppings might fall, they might fall down---" The pizza's taste was the best, and it seems that everyone was having fun while noisily eating it. The cheese was a stretchy and melty thing... "Hmm?" At the entryway the Kaku-zaru children seemed interested and glancing at us repeatedly. For sure, they liked the smell of the baking pizza. "You guys want to eat some?" "Is... Is that fine?" "Yes, of course. You can certainly try some." Scared of the pizza, the children poked at it lightly before pulling them with their hands. After seeing how I did it, they copied what I did and each took the pizza slice, propping it up with both of their hands as they bit on it. Their usual expressions were hidden by their masks so I couldn't see their eyes, but their chewing mouths gave it away. They were silent, but they were licking it as they ate. P83 "It's delicious. Stone pig. There's so much meat sauce." "I was surprised. This is the first time I ate a plate." "What you call a plate, it's pizza dough." Even though they seem uninterested and surprised, when they said that it was delicious, I was happy. Finally, I could try some for myself.** Yeah, the Japanese-style pizza, I ate the thick grilled pork covered with white Welsh onion together, and the greasy taste and texture was halved. This goes really well with the crunchy pizza dough. It looks like it will go well with liquor. I tried the sweet pizza too, I took a bite, and the puffy and flaky sweet potato, the crunchy baked apples, being incorporated with the melty cheese, this gave off a vibe of luxury. When a lot of the Hyakumemomiji honey was used, when this was eaten, despite the contrast between the cheese's saltiness and the apple's sourness it becomes more enjoyable. Indeed, it's like a cheesecake made out of rare cheese, it's an enjoyable taste. "Feed all of these to the entire village." "Even though they haven't eaten something that tasted like this?" Grumbling and complaining, the young ones reacted with lack of sophistication. "Isn't this going to be used to defeat the bandits?" And then, there was a bit of tension in the air. T/N: Not sure if this is a cultural thing or a universal thing but in some cultures, it's traditional to let others taste your cooking first before the one who cooked it. In some cultures the one who cooks tastes the food first before serving. I just do both, the former when I am absolutely confident with whatever I made, the latter when I have no clue how it goes. Again, this is a cultural thing, nothing is more OK-er than the other, it depends on the circumstance. P84 Oh, so that's it. They thought that this food had poisoned apples. Probably, the food that the bandits were interested in must be showed first. When we get notified that the bandits have arrived, we will mix in the kindling from the Hyakumemomiji branches, and bake the pizza. We definitely won't want to inhale some of the smoke, so we will tightly wrap a cloth around out mouths. When the bandits have finally arrived at the reception hall, we will bring in the pizza.

The celebrations and the banquet were in that hole in the rock, the reception hall where previously there was an altar where I was worshipped. Holding the freshly-baked pizza, from the back I peeked and looked around the reception hall. "They're... they're huge..." The bandits were an Ayakashi called mountain men, and I could just imagine that their builts were above average, they give off the feel of robust soldiers. Speaking of their height, everyone could easily surpass two meters. They think that they could immediately intimidate this entire reception hall. The small-statured Kaku-zaru couldn't instantly hit them with a long sword. Even I would get easily overwhelmed by them. "Hee hee, well then, it's time to round up some bandits!" Nevertheless, Odanna-sama was not saying anything that indicates that he's faltering. This looks different from the Good Danna from a while ago, now his face looks like he's aiming at the targets. It looks beautiful and exciting, Odanna-sama now shows the smile of a wicked oni. P85 Me standing by, I was was always surprised with this gap.

"Boss-dono, we have captured the nearby mountain. It was a total takeover." The boss of the Ozuma-gang was a guy with ruffled hair tied in a single ponytail, and the unkempt beard surely gives him that impression. While drinking some liquor, he was attended by countless beautiful girls. "Hey, Old Geezer Monkey! Enough with the pretentious talk. Bring us more food and wine! Our stomachs have shrunk!" The bandits' evilness and anger echoed. After that, they consumed and exhausted the food and liquor in the village, and they definitely got drunk. Goodness, their bodies are huge, and they heartily ate and drank, they'll easily get to the end of the stored food. The Kaku-zaru instantly became worried and anxious. "Because of that, I beat the entire Miguma-clan** of the neighboring mountains, what do you say, I think finally beat those bastard bears! In the afterlife you can't strip them off of their pelts, now they’re gone! Gahahahahahaha! Since they're a laughing-stock now, I can laugh at them and brag about it! "Kyaaa-- Boss is so manly!" T/N: Yes, like I explained in the last chapter, compounding words in Japanese changes the 1st syllable of the second word. In this case, it's kuma=bear, becoming GUMA after adding the prefix. Based on the kanji it's literally Snake-bear gang. P86 "Isn't it? I don't know anyone who can beat me yet!" "Yes, as expected of Boss!" "All of these mountains will be the territories of the Ozuma-gang!" The minions and the women all vigorously praised the Boss, and raised their liquor cups. The boss seemed to be in an awfully good mood. "H-hmmm. I am proud to be the Northern Lands' strongest mountain man! Pretty soon I will be the man who has dominion over all of Kakuriyo's mountains!" "Kyaaaa-- Boss is so cool!" "All of my women be happy! Gahahahaha!" Goodness, they are that guy's HAREM. The Boss clings to the women's thin kimono all over, and it seems that they earnestly praise him, and nobody can tell if they're likely to feel itchy. "Odanna-sama, do you think that you're jealous of that?" "No. When I look at that, I don't remember Shirou that way." Ah, even in Kakuriyo Grandpa was like that. I get it now. "Besides, even though things seem to be this way, I am single-minded. I only want to love just one person and give all of my love. How about being my wife, Aoi?"** "Odanna-sama, you really had to bring all of that up now, don't you?" T/N: Honestly at this point, Aoi should just wed the poor guy. I mean, srsly. Or maybe I just stan them b/c they're great together. Also it's effing canon lololol if you're gonna ask me why, because I ship myself with Ginji wahahahaha Also get ready fam-fans, things are gonna get whirly from here gahahaha P87 Odanna-sama suddenly thought of something, and hit his fist as he went "Oh, that's it", and with a pop transfigured his appearance right here. Wha------ A voluptuous beautiful lady with straight and black hair!** When placed with Ai-chan side by side, they'd look like sisters. "Odanna-sama, you can change your appearance into a woman's?!" "Hee hee. Ginji is not the only one with this specialty. Well, I rarely have a chance to change into a woman." Odanna-sama drew a reddish arc in the air, and an evil smile appeared on his face. I touched and clung on that Odanna-sama. Yes, he may be tall but still a girl. "I've seen those girls that guy likes. I wonder if it's a good idea if Ai and I will deliver the pizza all around.. Aoi, you watch everything from here." "Ehh, but I want to go too." "It's out of the question. You're a human girl. You understand the reactions of the Kaku-zaru, don't you? With regards to human girls, the Ayakashi know the value of their existence. If the bandits found out, it's bad." "B-- But..." "Aoi." Odanna-sama crouched down a bit, stared at my eyes, and made me hear his words. "Aoi, because you're a good girl, listen to my words here." With his hand, he lightly touched my forehead. It was such a cold hand. But his strong intention got sent to me directly , and without saying anything I could only agree with him. T/N: I told you guys, it was gonna get saucy from here. Even I was shocked. I ain't complaining though. Bring on the fanart lololol P88 When he told me to go back, he listened to my selfishness, and allowed me to stay here. That is why when he made his point, I thought that I should listen to him.

"Ohhhh, what's that? That's a nice smell!" "Our stomachs are already shrivelled up! Hm.. A woman?" "Hey, hey there, aren't you super gorgeous---" The bandits have smelled the pizza, and their interests have been piqued greatly. Not really, more than the pizza, it's probably Odanna-sama scene-stealing beautiful womanly look, and it seems that they're aren't wary of the pizza because of it. "An ogre-girl, eh? Such a fine jewel you are, what are you doing here in the Kaku-zaru's village?" The Boss watched Odanna-sama (the beautiful girl) from head to toe, and the bottom of his nose stretched out. That seemed to have also made the ladies of his harem feel offended. That considerably set them in a bad mood. "Us ogre sisters got lost in the middle of the mountain, and we were taken in as prisoners. For sure, we're going to be tributed to the Boss." "Ohhh, aren't you tasteful, Old Geezer Monkey? That's too bad though... But, what's that round serving tray? I want to see that now!" "This thing is called a pizza. A cook from Utsushiyo brought this kind of food here." P89 The luxurious food was explained exquisitely by Odanna-sama. With a more-or-less husky voice, Odanna-sama captivated everyone as they all stared at him in fascination. For a guy, I think he's rather good. "Please, please, help yourselves--" And in the middle of that, Ai-chan cheerfully hustled and bustled about, delivering the pizza to the bandits. The cute and cheerful Ai-chan expertly goaded and egged them on, and with the delicious smell of the pizza wafting, the mountain man did not refuse. First, the Boss took a bite of the stone pig pizza. "Mmmmm..." The Boss's facial expression blatantly changed. "Wh.. What is this? It's... Delicious... This thing on top of the tray... You dare to place a large chunk of meat on it. Most importantly, the flavor you added is groundbreaking. I may have been the undisputed ruler of the Northern Lands' mountains, but I haven't eaten anything with this taste." "Ehhh-- Boss, we want to eat some too..." "Well, you wait all of you. This food was made by the mountain men." Well, not really, that's food from Utsushiyo. I quipped as I hid in the shadows. Odanna-sama also served some pizza to the girls. They didn’t seem to like that the Boss was sniffing the beautiful girl, but without losing interest in the pizza, they eventually held their hands out. P90 "Please have these too. These are sweet fruit pizzas." Odanna-sama surely pressed on offering the sweet pizza filled with apples and sweet potato. Regarding that, it was our intention. "Sweet? Isn't that unmanly food?" "Hee hee. Don't say that. This has.. A fascinating flavor.." Fascinating... when Odanna-sama (the beautiful girl) uttered that word it was rather polished, and with the pizza's alluring color and smell he took it with his hands in bewilderment. "Ohhh... This is certainly... Fascinating.." The baked apples were crunchy, and the sweet potato was fluffy. And with the stretchy and melty cheese, these all go well with the Hyakumemomiji syrup, without knowing nobody would say that they're feeling bad. Even the girls, going "what's this, what's this," more than the Boss were all entranced with the sweet pizza. "Wahhhh--" "!?" That's it. After a bit the apples' poison have started to take effect, and everyone who ate the pizza had been struck by sleepiness, and also that timing a Kaku-zaru child was pouring liquor all around, and everyone's who was drinking the liquor sank and fell down forwards. Somewhat, everyone fell due to the liquor, the bandits, the Boss, the harem of ladies. P91 "Ahhh..." The scene in that place froze. The adult Kaku-zaru held their heads without thinking. That kid, it was the kid that brought the ingredients to me in the kitchen. In that small place, I couldn't move. "Uhhhrghh... I thought all of you adult-ish Kaku-zaru were boring because you weren't resisting, but apparently you brats have no willingness. Thankfully, that's energizing--" After that the Boss's condition got better, and immediately the veins popped on his forehead, he was extremely taking offense. "You shitty brats!!!" "Go Boss! Kill the brats in anyway!" The bandits spat out violent words, and the Boss got spurred on. Evilness flowed. The hunch I didn't like happened. The Boss stood up, and drunkenly hurled the pizza tray with force, and decidedly raised his fists to beat the child. "Stop it!" My hunch was right. Without faltering I ran out, revealing myself and hugged and protected the child. Even though Odanna-sama told me to hide. P92 Even though he was resolute in landing a punch, when the Boss suddenly saw me appear, in a nick of time he stopped his fist. "!? What is this... Looking at you closely... Aren't you a human girl?!" I wonder if I'm feeling uneasy. This is the first time the Boss saw me with a bewildered and surprised look on his face, but as expected he guessed right. The other bandits decidedly reacted "Wh-- What?!" The Boss eventually laughed showing his teeth, and the fists that stopped instantly opened and grabbed my collar, and like that he pulled me up. "M--Miko-sama, Miko-sama!" The Kaku-zaru children were on the verge of tears as they reached out their arms to me. Kicking and violently struggling while hanging in mid-air, my usual powers were nothing but unusable. "Haha--- We have met a human girl in a place like this! You'll fetch a good price! No, in any event you should be my unusual maidservant? For you see, you are my spoils." "Hey--" "Hm?" The Boss's interest got stolen from behind him, a scary and mysterious aura started wafting out. The clamour came from that empty space, from the silence instantly came out a reply. "You, get your dirty hands off Aoi!" P93 "What the... Who the heck are you?" While still holding me in the air the Boss turned his head around, Odanna-sama in front of him opened his eyes wide. "You... didn't refuse Aoi's food..." The Odanna-sama in his girl form, while still in the Boss's line of sight started swaying slowly side to side and warping, and in an instant returned into the usual ogre-god. As he came out standing, he was wrapped around in his aura. He had a cold and piercing gaze. Everyone realized that he was an extraordinary being. "Wh--" The Boss's greasy sweat started to spread, and laughed with his teeth out. He could only laugh. "I have seen you before... You bastard, you're Tenjin-ya's Master!" "You knew it right away... Therefore, I wonder if you realize it. You said that you haven't met defeat, now I will show you what's called defeat!" With his dubious smile, Odanna-sama soundlessly appeared and stood where I was, and forcefully grabbed the Boss's wrist and tightened the grip. "G... Gwahhhhh!" The ogre-fire from the Boss's wrist entered into his body. He was screaming in pain as he was burned, and and the same time I was released by Odanna-sama and he gently held me in his arms. P94 "Are you alright, Aoi?" "Uhmm.. Yeah.." After looking at me with a gentle smile, Odanna-sama's cold facial expression returned, and glowered at everyone else in front of him. With his deep-red eyes, looking like blood rushing in, he can frighten anyone. Normally, that's something that someone like him does. But.. Why is that.. In that time, I couldn't think of being especially frightened. "This.. This is unacceptable!" "How dare you do this to the Boss!" All of the minions simultaneously stood up with swords in their hands. At the worst possible time, a brawl might start... "What the...?" Everywhere everybody started staggering. Oh, I see, the apples just started to kick in. It seemed that we chose the timing OK.. With a thump, without warning were were surrounded by countless standing black shadows. They attacked from in-between the bandit's tall physiques, and without pausing toyed and pushed their opponents around.

"Odanna-sama, we have just come to see you right now." Whirling around, with his light green hair he dashed out. P95 It was Tenjin-ya's O-niwaban guards, the Kamaitachi ninjas. "Whew. We have just completely suppressed them." Around his mouth a long scarf hung, and it was obviously the O-niwaban's ace, Sasuke-kun. All of the bandits, mostly everyone had no fight left, in an instant had been stopped, and all around me they have fallen down. "That was splendid. Our O-niwaban sure are strong--" "Eh, how did Sasuke-kun and everyone did it? Ehh.. How did they... They fell down one by one when you told them to, Odanna-sama?" "Ah, yes." Holding me gently, Odanna-sama slowly put me down.** "I previously told them back in Tenjin-ya. Because there was a growing problem in the Northern Lands, I sent out the O-niwaban in secret. There was one person in the village who got hostaged, and we waited for the time when they could simultaneously get hold of them, which was when I saw that the timing of your food's effects came." "I see. That's good. No one got hurt." I anxiously looked at the kid that I protected, we were separated for a bit in that time. But the kid smiled instead. For sure, this was a very frightening experience for all of us. "Well then, one matter has been resolved. Let's tie up the sleeping bandits with heavy ropes." After that, it was the O-niwaban's turn to take them back to jail in the land of Ogre's Gate. T/N: After all of these events, I dare you all not to go whoooo and mushy at how much of a gent Odanna-sama is, to Aoi. I DARE YOUUUUUUU lololol But then again, maybe he wanted a date as well as do some anti-bandit work so... Meh. Still whooo wahahaha asdfgjkukdf;gjg P96 From a fruit orchard date, it enigmatically changed 180 degress into contributing to bandit-suppression in a day, all in one breath. Truly, this is one panic-filled day. "Miko-sama, Miko-sama!" Just as we were leaving, the kid that I protected came running on all fours towards me, and gave me a jar. "This is for Miko-sama." "Hm? Whaat is this?" "That's Hyakumemomiji honey... Because I heard you saying that you wanted one." "No way! That honey? Wahhhh I'm so happy!" I was quite happy, but that kid seemed to be really happy too, and my mouth drew an arc. "Miko-sama, you have saved our village. You're a real Miko-sama!" "It's Aoi. My name is Aoi. But well, it isn't bad to be Miko-sama in one day.." I stooped down to meet the child's eyes. I couldn't see his eyes through the mask, but through those small holes where pure and innocent eyes peeking, and I spoke gingerly. "There are still some unbaked pizzas in the kitchen, ask for an adult to help heating them in the stone kiln, so all of you can eat. It's already nightfall, don't use branches of Hyakumemomiji to burn them, OK?" "OK!" It's a wonderful thought that I was able to feed everyone in the village delicious pizza. P97 Though this was somewhat more difficult than the usual cooking scenarios, it was good that we were able to help people and restore the world's order. "....." The old respectable Kaku-zaru, as well as everyone else again, bowed their heads as they sent us off. Until the end I couldn't capture their figures, the clan has a mysterious aura surrounding them, but if someone gets into this hidden village again, they would surely want to tell the story of what happened today. Right now I do not have the image of a Miko-sama, I am just Yugao's Aoi. "Alright, let's go back to Tenjin-ya, Aoi." "Ohhh, right." We returned to the ship and rode back to Tenjinya, in the middle of the night the sky has cleared up and we proceeded to pierce through it. "Ahh..." From the wooden deck of the airship, I could see the far and distant, countless ogre-fires lighting up Gintengai during this time. And through that, I could see the tall Tenjin-ya floating up high. It's surely a sky-scraper. I found silence in the beautiful night scenery. Somehow, I recalled that time when we returned to Tenjin-ya from Orio-ya. Returning to Tenjin-ya, I thought that I was but only happy... "What is it, Aoi, would you want to come inside? The autumn night's probably cold..." T/N: OK Fam-fans, better hold onto your seats lol j/k no not really P98 "Say, Odanna-sama?" "Hmm?" This timing, there was something that I wanted to ask Odanna-sama. For a long time, even though I wanted to ask him, I couldn't. "Odanna-sama... That uhm..." That time when I was young, the story about the Ayakashi who helped me. Odanna-sama faced me, I used all of my strength to ask him. "Odanna-sama, that thing, have you asked Ginji-san about it? That story when I was young. Ginji-san... Brought me some food, that an Ayakashi was connected to my circumstance..." "Ah, that story.. Yes, even before that I already know..." I saw that Odanna-sama's eyes only flickered for a bit, and it seems that he's flatly going to refuse answering. "Say.. Odanna-sama... Could it be that you.. In some way, have something to do with it?" "...." His lack of reaction continued. I only glanced up at his face fleetingly. Odanna-sama's feelings were unreadable and his face was cold, but while staring at the twinkling ogre-fires from far away, he curtly said "I wonder..." Clearly, that was an ambiguous answer. P99 "If you knew that, Aoi.. What will you do?" "If I knew, well, that I uhm..." "You possess a strong sense of responsibility, Aoi. As soon as you get concerned over an Ayakashi, you take on anyone else's burden. That is why... I do not want you to bear the burden that I already have." "You're saying that..." What does it mean? What is Odanna-sama saying right now? "I wonder why you wanted to know that, but I, do not want you to know about that." "...." Odanna-sama's words, unexpectedly stung and stabbed my heart. Again, I was surprised by that. "I... Only wanted to know... About Odanna-sama.." And, those were the words that went out of my mouth. "Just a little at a time..I am not scared, of Odanna-sama..." "...Aoi?" Not scared. It was something from my heart. I want to know more about you, now. T/N: Me: I have no hecking heart, I have no soul. Also me: ouch my heart my kokoro brokoro T_T I feel you Aoi, I feel you-- Also guys, some fun facts about how I did the translations here, once a girl (or an uke, however you like lololol) starts calling her special other ANATA, you know that things are going down the serious path. Like this is the first time she didn't refer to his public name, it's a Japanese or Asian thing, probably, like when you start calling someone pet names, but in this case she dropped the Odanna-sama in her head monologue and started calling him ANATA, like a WAIFU. Shit's going down guys, I might cry after I do this. DAng it, so much for having no heart. Excuse me while I wipe the stuff that ninjas cutting onions made me do. P100 For the first time, I consciously thought that Odanna-sama wasn't scary. All around him Odanna-sama scares everyone, but I was entirely not dreading him. I was thinking of something good to say about that change. I probably started to trust Odanna-sama. That outward appearance, I couldn't trust it, but I wanted to raise my convictions even if I don't know. Odanna-sama always helps me. While in the shadows, in those times he casually gives me kind advice. But, despite all that, there's still a thread of mystery about him. Among everyone in Tenjin-ya, I understood him the least. "That face, don't give me that, Aoi." While I was shaking, Odanna-sama engulfed me with that huge body. In some way while wavering, he cradled me gently. I was so surprised that my body stiffed up in an instant, I took a long and deep breath, and a long while after talking, the strength from by body was zapped out. I wonder why, in that moment I got flooded with tears, yet I thought that the warmth felt good to abet my horrible mood. "I was shocked by your honesty. I was sure that for a long time I have scared Aoi, and I thought other than that there were no other feelings. That is why, you telling me that you wanted to know more about me, from the bottom of my heart, I am joyful." T/N: dammit ninjas cutting onions not now TT_TT P101 "...." "You sure are a changed person, aren't you?" A changed person. That, was Odanna-sama the same? I don't understand everything at all. Truly, what do you think about me? "Because I have become happy now, even when I jump down from this ship I'll surely live!" "Wait... why are you playing dumb about this now?" It was already all mushy and gooey, but why did he spoil the mood? I pushed myself off Odanna-sama's chest, and I glowered up at him with bulging eyes. Why is he always playing around with important matters like this? I didn't get hurt, but why on earth do I wanna hide myself? "Now, now, Aoi. Don't make that scary face." "Until a while ago I was crying. I will give you a scary face, Odanna-sama." "Sorry, Aoi." I looked at Odanna-sama's troubled yet laughing face, and well, I just gave up. Surely, Odanna-sama's not going to say. Anything. About. Me. Why? I don't know. With regards to that person when I was a child, from my endless conversations with Ginji-san I was thinking surely that there weren't other stories beyond that, and I couldn't be frank about it now. P102 Too bad. But I think that there's no way to ask about that now. I thought that I wanted to know about it, but it was probably just my own selfish wishes. "But, Odanna-sama..." "Hmm?" "Thank you, for today. Didn't you save me from the bandits? You grabbed that huge guy, that was really a bit terrifying." "Oh my, it's because I couldn't imgine that you'd be taken away by that brute. You running and dashing away to protect that child, it was so you, and that's really scary. It's because your human body is so different from Ayakashi, so frail and brittle." "Isn't Odanna-sama so overprotective. I think that is definitely more like having a granddaughter than having a wife, isn't it? But today, you're a bit cool." "R.. Really?" Odanna-sama's cheeks blushed with delight. Usually he sounds so mature, but right now that personality gap seems to have increased. "Because of that, this date has been so much fun. It gets perfect points for the thrill, and I was able to cook as much as I wanted, and I gained a really good item." P103 I wanted the person that I was with, to understand, and I let him know my feelings first. I smiled frankly, I don't want to have a sad nor scary face anymore. "..." Odanna-sama looked a bit surprised, and for a while didn't say anything back. In an instant, he touched my face, the thrill wasn't there immediately, but I drew my eyebrows together and smiled a tiny smile. "Aoi, you're also awesome. And now, you have smiled."

I still don't understand a thing about Odanna-sama. I don't know his favorite things. I don't know his name. I know nothing about his past nor his upbringing. I don't know, if he hides something, if he's involved with the incidents from when I was young. I need to know how to erase all of these.

If I'm going to do it, I wonder how can I get a little bit more closer to him.

End of Chapter 3, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 2 Next - Intermission 1

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 english fan translations #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 3 fan translations

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queenofmoons67 · 5 years ago

Text

the wingbeats carry on: chapter 2, hunting

Aaaaaah I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update! I hope the length makes up for it and that you all enjoy!

Fandom: Akatsuki no Yona

Summary: When all the dragons are turned into actual dragons, Hak and Yoon have to figure out how to turn them back.

SPOILERS for anything after the anime, including the OVAs.

Word Count: 2784

Links to the first chapter and to the AO3 version are in the reblog!

Credit to Nickelback for the original lyrics “just like a heartbeat / the drumbeat carries on.” I do not own Akatsuki no Yona.

When the sun rose on the seventh day, Zeno woke up to find himself and the rest of the dragons exactly as they had been the last six mornings: Zeno’s own body encircled their camp, his long neck stretching alongside his tail; Jae-ha, also too big to fit inside a tent, had claimed the spot next to the fire; the other dragons refused to leave the older dragons outside alone, and so they had split between them, Yona tucked in-between Jae-ha’s shoulder blades and Kija barricading Shin-ah between his own stomach and Zeno’s.

The feeling of their scales scraping against his own as they breathed tickled a little, but he had grown used to it and, as he had proudly told them the other day, quite fond of it. Shin-ah had disappeared under his old furs and Kija had blushed red enough he rivaled Yona in color, but they had both returned to his side that night.

Suddenly, there was pressure on his tail, and Zeno opened one eye to find himself staring at Hak. The Thunder Beast froze and stared back at him, then waved his glaive in greeting. Zeno blinked back. Hak finished climbing over his tail and headed into the surrounding forest, quiver full of arrows bouncing on his back, so Zeno closed his eyes to meditate.

Hak wouldn’t be back for a while. With five dragons to feed, breakfast had become a bigger ordeal than usual. Zeno himself would go hunting later on—as big a dragon as he was, he had adjusted his eating habits to gorging on the surrounding animal population about once every two days, and relying on Yoon’s cooking for snacks. Jae-ha did something similar, though he did it once a day. But the others were too small to go hunting on their own, and so Hak had taken the task upon himself—one deer for Kija, and two to go in Yoon’s pot to share between him, Hak, Shin-ah, and Yona. Or, at least, the equivalent meat-wise, because if he killed three deer a day they would quickly go through the surrounding herds.

“Zeno,” a voice chirped.

Zeno purred—one of the only noises, he had discovered, that he could make without serious consequences for those around him—but kept his eyes closed.

“Zeeeeno.” A pause. “Zeno, I know you’re awake. Where did Hak go?”

Zeno opened his eyes to stare at Yona. “If you think you’re going after the mister on your own, little miss—”

“Please, Zeno?” She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he froze. Yona’s eyes had been an effective weapon before she turned into a teeny tiny dragon, but that power had at least tripled after her transformation.

Zeno closed his eyes and murmured, “The mister has gone hunting.”

“Thank you, Zeno!” She pressed her body up against his muzzle in a pseudo-hug, then bounded up and over his tail.

Zeno kept his eyes closed. Despite the fact that only the dragons themselves could understand each other, he just knew he was going to get in trouble with Yoon and Hak anyway. He just hoped Yona didn’t run into any trouble on her way to the Thunder Beast.

Yona trotted through the underbrush of the forest, half her attention on how brilliantly the dew shone in the morning sun, and the other half on walking. Coordinating her limbs had been the biggest thing to adjust to—she had to walk on four legs instead of two, while also keeping her wings tightly folded so she wouldn’t glide out of control.

Hak had made fun of her at first, cooing at her and saying ‘look, Yoon, Yona’s taking her first steps!’ as she first stumbled towards him. He had changed his tune when she pointedly veered towards Yoon instead, though.

But she had gotten better at it, and thankfully so had the others—though more than one tree had been sacrificed to a falling Zeno. Unfortunately, the two things she hadn’t done now that she was an actual dragon were breathe fire or fly. Yoon had sighed in relief when it was revealed that only the three oldest dragons could do those, but to her those were the only point of being a dragon. Though, granted, she could make smoke, so she could only assume that if she was stuck like this for a while, her body would eventually develop fire.

And the sharp teeth were a nice bonus.

The sound of a branch cracking drew her attention, and she looked over expecting to see Hak. Instead, she found herself making eye contact with a man about Jae-ha’s age.

His grip on his axe loosened as his eyes went wide, but not for long as he visibly shook himself and tightened his hold. Bringing the axe up into a swinging position, he called, “Hey, Pa! Come see what I found!”

Yona bristled and hissed. She wasn’t a ‘what’.

The man eyed her, but didn’t back up. In fact, as an older, balding man approached them, the first man took a step closer.

“It’s a dragon, Pa! Imagine what we can sell it for!”

Baldy grunted and cocked his head in interest. “Only a baby, too.”

Yona hissed again and added a snort for good measure. Unlike Zeno, hers wasn’t big enough to create wind, but it did send smoke curling out from her nostrils.

“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Baldy said, moving as he talked. “And watch those teeth. She might be a baby, but those look sharp—”

Yona didn’t give him the chance to take another step. With the two of them now separated, she flared her wings out and charged. As she had hoped, the wind lifted her up into a fast glide and, remembering how she had accidentally taken down Yoon and Hak when she had first transformed, Yona bowed her head down.

Her horns collided with Baldy’s stomach, and his breath whooshed out of him in one long, satisfying noise as he crumpled to the ground and his son shouted out behind them. Making a note of how well that had worked, Yona hopped off and spun to face the son—or at least, she tried to.

As she moved, the wind that had helped her before pushed into her from the side and pressed that wing in until it folded. Off balance and still somewhat unused to four legs, she stumbled over one of her own feet and fell to the ground, other wing still awkwardly out and muzzle snuffling in the dirt.

Shaking her head and snorting, Yona caught the son moving in closer with the axe out of the corner of her eye and quickly folded her second wing in. Something told her it was a weak point, useful when in the air but to be protected on the ground.

“Come on, little dragon,” Baldy cooed, and she backed up until her tail tip brushed a tree, eyes wide to take in both of the hunters at once. The father had managed to stand. Now he approached from one side and his son from the other, but unlike last time, they were close enough to cover each other.

“Come on, little dragon,” the son echoed, a sneer on his lips and his attitude changed after her successful attack, however brief it had been.

Yona’s wings ached with the desire to take to the wind. But she wasn’t big enough to fly, there was no opening for her to glide past them, and while she imagined the head butt would work well eventually, her previous attack had shown her its downsides. She did the next best thing instead. Opening her mouth, she called for help in a series of chirps and barks.

Hak had been enjoying a nice, peaceful morning of hunting when a high-pitched noise startled the deer herd he had his eyes on. He cursed and made to follow them, but then the noise just kept on going. Hak paused to listen more closely. Was it just him, or did that noise sound familiar? With no crunching leaves or thundering herd in the way, the next noise came through clearly as a chirp.

Hak cursed again and broke into a run. One of the dragons was in trouble.

Baldy took a step forward, saying, “We should hurry. We don’t want to be here when help arrives.”

Yona faked a lunge at him, lips pulled back in a snarl, and he jolted back.

“How much do you think we could sell those teeth for?” the son laughed, too focused on her to pay attention to any warnings. “We could easily sell her without—”

A familiar leg swept the son’s legs out from under him, and when he fell to the ground with a shout, Yona charged Baldy. Back up had arrived.

After Hak took out the younger of the two men attacking Yona, he stood back in bemusement and just watched. The older man, rather than facing Yona head on, looked between Hak’s glaive and the dragon’s bared teeth, grabbed the other man’s arm, and ran away. That was it.

“That was the easiest fight ever,” he remarked. A flash of red caught his eye, and he looked down to see Yona still charging after the men. Hak yelped and hurried forward, blocking her way with the glaive and then sweeping her into his arms. “Woah, where do you think you’re going! They’re gone, you scared them off!”

Yona chirped at him, a distinct note of annoyance in her voice, and wriggled her body around. Thankfully she didn’t try to use her claws or fangs, though, so Hak simply tightened his arms.

“Let’s check on the others, ok? We’ll need to move quickly, so that if they come back we’re long gone.” Yona froze and peered up at him, purple eyes wide. “Maybe Zeno will let us ride him… he’ll draw attention, but there’s not really anything we can do about that.”

The dragon huffed smoke, but Hak felt every muscle in her body relax as she decided to stay. He grinned and started walking back towards the camp.

Zeno was the first to spot them returning, and his head shot up to stare at them. “Yoon! They’re back!”

Three other dragon heads immediately shot up, a green-white-blue trio. Yoon turned more slowly, not able to understand Zeno’s growl but interested in what the dragons saw.

“Hak!” he called, the relief clear in his voice. “And you have Yona!”

Hak, unable to acknowledge him with his arms full of dragon, opted to pick up speed instead, and Yona held back a yelp as she began to bounce. Reflexively, she dug her claws into his cloak and wrapped her tail around his shoulder to steady herself.

“Hey!” Hak shouted back. “Start to pack—!” He jolted to a stop next to Zeno’s tail instead of climbing over it. “—up?”

Yona twisted her long neck around to see what he was looking at, and joined him in staring at what had been their camp, utterly perplexed. The tent had been taken down and the fire stamped out, while the cooking supplies had been bundled up into packs. In short, there was no packing up to do because it had already been done.

“We all heard Yona’s call,” Yoon explained. “Shin-ah managed to reassure us that she was fine, but I didn’t know what had happened, so I figured it was best to be prepared.”

“Yona almost got dragon-napped, so we should leave,” Hak agreed. He bent to put her down, then paused and met her eyes.

She gazed back as innocently as she could, making them go wide as she cocked her head to the side. She wasn’t about to race after her kidnappers again, so she definitely deserved to be able to stand on her own. Definitely. No chance of her going off on her own again. … Probably. She wouldn’t mind being able to take an actual bite out of them. But still! Come on, Hak, let—

Hak straightened up again and tightened his grip. “If you think I’m going to believe that look, Princess, you obviously think I’ve forgotten about how every time I leave you on your own, you manage to find trouble. Oh no. You’re stuck with me for at least the rest of the day.”

Yona huffed a puff of smoke in his face and rested her head on his shoulder, pointedly ignoring Jae-ha’s sniggers. Poor Hak. Worrying like that couldn’t be good for his health.

They hiked towards the Water Tribe through the rest of the day, only stopping when the moon came out. While the dragons could now all see well in the dark, their eyes peering out of it like dual stars, Hak and Yoon couldn’t. They had reached a good stopping spot, anyway—Suiko shouldn’t take them longer than another day or two to reach.

Zeno padded in a circle, his huge feet stamping the grass down into a soft pad.

Yona giggled, “You’re like a dog, Zeno!”

He snorted smoke in her face—and Hak’s, as he had yet to let her down—and simply lay down, nose to tail.

Hak waved the smoke away and coughed, “Really, Zeno?” This time, the Yellow Dragon simply blew air carefully in the Dark Dragon’s face, knowing that Hak couldn’t understand them in their current forms.

Not that Jae-ha cared. Easily hopping over Zeno’s tail, he flopped down, back to Zeno’s side, and heaved a full-bodied sigh. Kija chirped and followed as fast as he could, wings flapping furiously. In his excitement, though, his legs tangled with Jae-ha’s. The White Dragon fell with a thump.

“Idiots,” Yoon snorted, and scrambled after them, feet placed carefully.

Yona peered backwards over Hak’s arms at the one remaining dragon not in Zeno’s nest.

“Do you want to join them?” she asked.

Shin-ah blinked up at her.

“What are you two— oh,” Hak said. His arms tightened around her as Shin-ah flapped his wings, first slowly, then faster, to try and fly over Zeno’s tail. “Shin-ah, you know you and Yona can’t fly.”

The Blue Dragon let out a low trill, echoed by the squirrel sitting between his horns, as he landed on the ground. Yona trilled back, and Hak sighed.

“Fine.” He bent down, sending all the blood rushing to her head, and when Yona reoriented herself, she had been tucked under one arm, with Shin-ah next to her on Hak’s other arm. They blinked at each other. Yona could see her eyes reflected in Shin-ah’s, both of them wide in shock. Hak, oblivious, moved carefully up and over Zeno’s tail.

The Yellow Dragon churred at them, the worry clear in his voice, and Yona knew that if Hak was able to, he would have patted Zeno’s scales. As it was, he was a little busy carrying two dragons and a squirrel.

“We’re good, Zeno,” he grunted.

At his words, Yoon looked up, yelped, and tried to stand. He only managed to grunt and fall back down, trapped as he was in the mix of Jae-ha and Kija’s legs.

Hak sniggered. “Don’t worry, Mother, we’re coming to you. No need to get up.”

Yoon bristled at the title, but as Hak slid down the other side of Zeno’s tail with both Yona and Shin-ah in his grasp, Yoon reached out to brace them the best he could when they hit the ground.

Yona licked his cheek as a thank you, then gave a full body wriggle. Understanding her meaning perfectly, Hak leaned down, set both her and Shin-ah on their feet, and then sat down next to Yoon, back to Jae-ha’s stomach and legs draped over Kija.

The White Dragon side-eyed his legs and huffed at him, but Hak just smirked.

“I’m not movin— Yona!” he yelped, breath leaving him in a whoosh as she jumped on his stomach. Jae-ha cackled and Kija smirked back at Hak the best he could, head tilted up so he could stare him down.

“Oh, stop it,” Yoon sighed. He stared at them all through half-lidded eyes.

Shin-ah chirped softly at him, circling once before lying on top of all of them, Ao perched on his shoulders.

“Exactly,” Yoon nodded, and his entire body visibly relaxed. “I guess we can forgo a proper camp tonight… but just this once…”

Zeno churred and stretched one of his wings out over them, shifting his head under it, too.

Yona looked around at all of them—at her family, happy and sleepy and warm together—and closed her eyes. She could hear rustling as everyone settled down, and the entire pile moved steadily with Zeno’s breathing.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!

P.S. I am accepting prompts for future chapters!

#akatsuki no yona #akayona #yona of the dawn #Yona #son hak #happy hungry bunch #Ouryuu Zeno #Jae-Ha #Shin-ah #yoon #Hakuryuu Kija #dragons as dragons au #akayona fanfic #My fic #fanfic #mine

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femmelieutenant-a-blog · 8 years ago

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REALLY LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck ! TAGGED. @judgmentcast TAGGING. Guys, this one is HELLA LONG. Have fun if you want, but I don’t blame you if you don’t. It’s open to all.

BASICS.

FULL NAME : First Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair NICKNAME : Lieutenant, Sinclair, Blondie, H. K. Sinclair, H. K. AGE : Twenty-nine BIRTHDAY : October 24, 1884 ETHNIC GROUP : Caucasian. NATIONALITY : American (Identifies as German-American) LANGUAGE / S : German, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Closeted Bisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Closeted Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS : Widowed/Single (But technically verse dependent) CLASS : Working class. HOME TOWN / AREA : Stuttgart, Germany. Also will answer with Washington D.C., USA. CURRENT HOME : Verse dependent, but mostly she just moves around and does not stay in one area. PROFESSION : Verse dependent; Army lieutenant, spy, bounty hunter, assassin, mercenary

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Blonde EYES : Gunmetal blue NOSE : slender, relatively small, upturned at the end. FACE : High cheekbones, square jaw. There is a beauty mark beneath her left eye (her left, not yours). Moderate sized forehead. LIPS : Full, well-proportioned to her face, often painted red with lipstick without care to the social meaning of it. COMPLEXION : Fair with olive undertones. Not translucent thanks to plenty of healthy sun exposure. Clear and not splotchy. BLEMISHES : The aforementioned beauty mark. SCARS : Scarred knuckles from years of hand-to-hand combat training, a couple superficial ones to the rest of her body (Major scars were healed/rectified by her exposure to Atlantean magick) TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 5′7″ WEIGHT : 150 lbs. BUILD : Curvy hourglass built and sculpted through exercise and activity. Tall for her sex (during her era). Otherwise, lean, muscular, slightly angular from aforementioned sculpting. FEATURES : Almost perpetually narrowed eyes, boldly painted lips, the mark beneath her eye. Her constantly-worn gloves. ALLERGIES : None USUAL HAIR STYLE : Worn in a braided plait, the end often partially over her shoulder from it being absently played with. USUAL FACE LOOK : Eyes are hooded, giving her a bored but watchful expression, The pout of her lips is subconscious, but often hidden by an authoritative scowl or scheming smirk. USUAL CLOTHING : (When not in the military uniform of whoever she is working for) black turtleneck/button-up men’s shirt/tank top, pants (Men’s and often tailored until women’s become available), boots. She has an old Army greatcoat that will be worn until it dies of sheer old age, and wears a utility belt and gun holster. (Exception is in Modern verses, where she will dress as per the common fashions to better blend in.)

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Failure, abandonment, being alone, being wrong. ASPIRATION / S : To try and find meaning and purpose in independence, to rise from her ashes. POSITIVE TRAITS : Ambitious, observant, proud, intuitive, intelligent, active, eager, clean NEGATIVE TRAITS : Sarcastic, spiteful, manipulative, loner, bossy, follower, dependent, distrustful, cynical, paranoid, fearful, bitter, skeptical MBTI : ESTJ; The Executive (Surprised because I always had her as INTJ...) ZODIAC : Scorpio TEMPERAMENT : Brash. SOUL TYPE / S : Performer/Leader ANIMALS : A cat - a white Persian in the lap of someone pulling strings she merely watches over the actions of. She can be complacent, but beware of her claws. A panther - deadly and sleek with little care as to who gets hurt to get to her end-goal. This is the transformation she has made. VICE HABIT / S : Drinking, the occasional smoking, finding pleasure in the Flesh and material. FAITH : Athiest. GHOSTS ? : No AFTERLIFE ? : None at all REINCARNATION ? : Nope. ALIENS ? : On the fence, purely because she saw some things in Atlantis that just cannot be explained. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : Doesn’t care about politics or political workings so long as there are people against them willing to give her a job, or the people in power desire her services to take down the rebellious. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : Luxuriously wealthy SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : Part of the working class, but financially sound. EDUCATION LEVEL : Homeschooled as per the norms of a socialite’s daughter, but she benefits from extensive military training both from the American Army and Navy.

FAMILY. FATHER : Major Alexander Sinclair (father) MOTHER : Mrs. Marianne Sinclair (Formerly Stroh) (mother) SIBLINGS : All younger: Johnathan Sinclair, James Sinclair, William Sinclair, Oliver Sinclair, Thomas Sinclair EXTENDED FAMILY : Aunts and uncles from both parents NAME MEANING / S : Helga: Holy or Blessed; Sinclair: Bright, Clear. (I appreciate this irony) HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : One of the first famous connections is the Princess of Kiev, also known as Olga of Kiev of Saint Olga. Sinclair is of the Clan Sinclair, which helped in the Norman conquest of England and was given the land that is now Roslin, Midlothian in Scotland.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. She loved it as a child. MOVIE : Once films were made, Casablanca. 5 SONGS : Mein Sohn Nur Mut - Carl Maria von Weber; Night on Bald Mountain - Modest Mussorgsky; Por Una Cabeza - Gardel; Killer Queen - Queen; Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf DEITY : She always found Athena and Freya interesting to read on, but is not religious, so holds them in no regards. HOLIDAY : New Years MONTH : It used to be May (until someone had to die). Now it’s September SEASON : Summer PLACE : None WEATHER : The middle of a raging thunderstorm SOUND : Waves lapping against a stone breaker, the crackle of a fire in the hearth, the metallic click of bullets loading into their chambers and a pistol’s hammer being pulled back, heeled boots running on wet cobblestones, a bed-frame’s creaks of protest. SCENT / S : Leather, steel, gunpowder, salt air, vanilla, musk, new rope, old books, whiskey, coffee, canvas. TASTE / S : Rich dark chocolate, red wine, whiskey, umeboshi, black coffee. FEEL / S : Silk against skin, rope against skin, quality leather, a firm grip. ANIMAL / S : Big dogs NUMBER : No preference. COLOUR : Olive green, black, gold, red, steely gray.

EXTRA. TALENTS : Helga is a skilled commander and leader when given the chance to be such. She speaks many languages, and has years of opera training to her name as well. BAD AT : Almost any artistic expression save singing, horseback riding, judging character, resisiting tempation TURN ONS : Power, dominant personalities, charm, intelligence, danger TURN OFFS : Bombast, sexism, weakness HOBBIES : Singing, antique firearms collecting TROPES : (ALL FROM THE TV TROPES SITE) Badass Longcoat, Contralto of Danger, Dark Action Girl, Deadpan Snarker, The Dog Bites Back, The Dragon, Femme Fatale, Flare Gun, Heel-Face Door-Slam (I like to contest this one), Kick Chick, Last Breath Bullet, Nothing Personal, Perpetual Frowner, Right-Hand Cat, Redemption Equals Death, Sexophone, TankTop Tomboy, Thrown From The Zeppelin, Wai-fu AESTHETIC TAGS : Mausers, leather gloves, smoke, WWI, steampunk landscapes, red lipstick, femme fatale GPOY QUOTES : I don’t know what this means...

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : Rachael Taylor ALT FC / S : N/A. OLDER FC / S : N/A. YOUNGER FC / S : Maddie Hasson (specifically as Jo Masterson) VOICE CLAIM / S : Claudia Christian, Karen Souza (for singing_ GENDERBENT FC / S : N/A.

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : Well, technically, she has a film. Though to be fair, I would make the whole thing longer, less PG, way more of a war film with Lovecraftian/Steampunk overtones than what we got.

Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : German opera, steampunk instrumentals... Hans Zimmer. Maybe some prog-rock bits a la Savatage?

Q3 : why did you start writing this character ? A3 : I loved Atlantis and Helga as a kid, so that has always been there. But while I was in the finals days of a fandom that didn’t care if I existed, I watched the film and we just... clicked.

Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A4: She was unlike any film heroine that I had seen before then (I was 8). She was sarcastic and kick-ass and not genuinely good. She was active and suffered real consequences in her story. May or may not have also found her hot.

Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : As someone who likes to think of themselves as morally upstanding, the fact she tends to give so few shits about others

Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : The snark. that is all.

Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : I’m one of those stupid artsy types.

Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : Joseph Korso, Gerge Armstrong Custer, Prince Adam (The Beast), Jacob Frye, Haytham Kenway, Judge Claude Frollo, Kent Mansley, Dean McCoppin, Charles Emmerson Winchester III, Prince Hans Westergaard, and there are many more but those stick out the most to me for their dynamics.

Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : Honestly? Her compelling nature as a character. I don’t really have to look to an outside source to be inspired.

Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : HOURS

#⚙‖ 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕆𝕗 𝕄𝕖 (Headcanon)

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