AN: Continuation from official Chapter 134.

Really Say It

".. that terrible look in your eye never changes, does it? Thunder Beast of Kouka, Hak." The epithet had a sober weight to it, one that felt as though it rolled off the man's tongue only to settle heavily on Hak's shoulders. Strange. It had been a long time since someone had formally addressed him like that. It felt odd. It felt good. Better than it should.

"Mister Ogi tells me things." He could hear Soo-won's young voice in his head as if it were yesterday. Jaw set, the chief stared back at him through his straggled hair.

Then Hak whipped his fist around, solidly meeting the man's head. Ogi immediately dropped, unconscious. Yona gasped.

"Hak-"

"He would have given us away," he replied shortly, lifting the man back up.

"But now how are we going to get out of here?" she hissed back, casting a glance at the door. Hak shrugged, then waved the chief's limp form.

"Hey-" The two Xing warriors sprung forward to take the captive.

"Leave him to us," Zold gave him a small smile before hefting Ogi onto his companion and strolling out into the next room. "Oi, now, the man's had too much to drink again. Take that bottle away from him sometime now, eh? You there, take him home, let him sleep it off-" The man at the door- the man that had recognized Vold earlier- snorted.

"I don't have time to take care of that drunkard. Toss him on the floor, he won't know the difference." Vold smirked.

"Perhaps, but maybe some fresh air would help?"

"Eh, it might. He could foul up the air anywhere, though." He's a terrible guard, Hak thought.

"I'll bring him outside for a bit then, see if that helps any. I have some information that might be time sensitive to him. It would be best to relay it to him quickly, and get my own information in turn." The man hesitated for a tense moment, then shrugged.

"If you'd like. And… and tell 'im Won's showing up tomorrow, while you're at it." Hak froze. Yona bumped gently into him. Then he recovered, forcing himself to keep moving, keeping up a casual stroll to the door.

"Aye," Vold responded with a smile. "I will."

To Hak's relief, they made it back to their inn without any hassle, promptly gagging and tying up Ogi. It was not long after that that their captive woke up to Yona peering at him, Hak standing against the wall behind her.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "Hak says if you stay quiet, you can eat." Master Ogi's eyes narrowed. "We don't want to hurt you-" Hak snorted, then quieted with a stern look from Yona. "Well, I don't want to hurt you," she said, turning back to him. Lowering her voice, she added to reassure him, "I don't think Hak does, either. Not if he doesn't have any reason to." Hak chuckled to himself- her innocent, sincere observation seemed to strike more fear into Ogi than the actual presence of the Thunder Beast. He cleared his throat.

"Nod if you want to eat." The subsequent nod, removal of gag, soup, and retying of gag occurred quietly and uneventfully, except for Yona almost spilling soup of herself, to Hak's amusement.

"So… Won still drops by? Once a month… or once a week?" Hak sized up Ogi, who remained quiet. "Don't get your underpants all up in a twist. We need to talk to him, nothing will happen to him." Silence. "Mmm. Guess I wouldn't believe me, either." Hak shrugged. "Not that it matters." He stood by, absently stretching him arms. "We have our plan."

The door opened, and Algira stepped in.

"It's late, Hak-nyan." He jerked his head to the right. "The other room is down the hall." He nodded at Yona. "We'll stick with Mr. Ogi, here. You should stay with her." Hak's eyes shot over to the princess; he felt a funny jolt in his stomach when their gazes met.

Last night- their last night in the woods- he told her he loved her. He made sure she didn't hear it, so quietly he breathed it. But she almost did.

He wasn't sure what had come over him. He had thought… well, he wasn't sure what he thought. He didn't know what stepping into the city would bring. He had half-expected the guards to grab them as they walked in. He hadn't been sure he would be alone with her again. Maybe ever.

So he had given into those words, the treacherous words that had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks, threatening to slip out. He had pulled her into his arms tightly, trying to memorize how she felt pressed up against him. Telling himself this might be the last time.

And now they were going to be alone again.

Huh. For the first time, he had told her his most well-kept secret, letting his feelings dictate his actions, certain that there would be no other opportunities in the days to come. Now what?

Algira was still waiting for an answer from him. Hak cleared his throat.

"Right. Thanks." He jerked his head towards the door, not quite meeting the princess's eyes this time. "Let's go."

He was feeling more disoriented in her presence than he had in a long time. Maybe because he could not get the thought of her hand holding the back of his shirt out of his head. Especially when she was behind him, following him out of the room. If I stopped, she would bump into me. Even though he told himself he was being ridiculous, he could not help but feel relieved when she slipped ahead of him.

Algira had moved their bags already onto the bed. The only bed.

"Of course," Hak muttered to himself.

"What, Hak?" He coughed.

"No worries, Princess. I can see if they have an extra cot- if not, the floor is fine-" Yona frowned.

"Why? We sleep together all the time," she replied, sounding almost reproachful. Hak held up his hands, unable to stop a smile from crossing his lips.

"Ehhhh now. Can't keep your hands off of me, Princess?" Yona shot him a withering look.

"Who hugged who last night?"

"You started it," he retorted.

"How so?" she sniffed, turning away. "Close your eyes or go away. They drew bath water, and I intend to use it." Relieved that she did not pursue her question further, Hak closed his eyes. "You're going to bathe next, if you are sleeping next to me." A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips.

"Yes, Princess."