City (e)Scape
Title: City (e)Scape
Progress: Prologue - 0/?
Pairing: To be decided
Rating: PG-13 ~ NC-17
Warnings: Graphic violence, blood/gore, sexual situations (more to be added)
Summary: In a grisly future, healers and hunters are bred for the specific purpose of keeping order for THEM. But when IT starts to revolt and draft wary healers and hunters to create its own army, it’s obvious that someone is on the inside. Jonghyun and Kibum, the child prodigies of THEM, are out to settle the score and find out what really happened - even at the sake of their own loyalty.
A/N: Title is a play on the term ‘cityscape’, which is basically ‘the view of the city’; it’s about wanting to break free from the norm, to escape the life you’re born into, to find yourself and others and do what you want to do with your own life.
This hit me randomly and it’s weird I know and probably a bit confusing but all will be explained. Doing another multi-chap will help keep my muse fresh and bright.
Pairings have not yet been decided.
This is a lot different from what I usually write but uhm. Enjoy? ^^;
--
“You shouldn’t do that.”
Jonghyun tensed, all of the muscles in his exposed arm flexing underneath the crimson blood that was dripping from his shoulder. His gun was trained at his assailant and his breathing was labored, his eyes narrowed and pitch black as he stared at the man at his feet, the man that had nearly taken his life minutes ago. He was coughing and spitting up blood and Jonghyun gave a slight tick of his head as if to toss away what that voice had said, as his thumb reached up and cocked the gun.
“I said, you shouldn’t fucking do that.”
“And what the hell do you fucking know, Kibum?” Jonghyun kept the gun trained on the man as his head snapped to the side, looking at Kibum out of the corner of his eye. “He’s one of them, he has the fucking tattoo. You know as well as I do that I should smear the concrete with his fucking brains.”
He could hear Kibum sigh, like he was getting ready to explain two-plus-two-equals-four to a five year old. And that in itself was irritating to Jonghyun - he wasn’t an idiot but Kibum insisted on treating him like one and it was just a huge fucking joke, really.
“We were due back fifteen minutes ago. If we stick around any longer-”
“- If you would let me fucking do my job we would have been back fifteen minutes ago!”
Kibum grinded his molars together and that sound always got on Jonghyun’s nerves, so the older man released the cock of his gun, holstering it beneath his jacket and spitting on the fallen, bleeding man. Jonghyun turned on his heel and stalked past Kibum, making sure to knock their shoulders together none-too-nicely as he did so - the act was immature and gave Kibum every reason to call him an idiot but Jonghyun didn’t care.
That man had the insignia of those bottom feeders and he had nearly offed Jonghyun; the fact that Jonghyun had been caught off guard stung more than the knife wound that was making his shoulder bleed and throb in time with his heart beat.
“Jonghyun…”
Kibum’s foot steps were close and soon the younger man was next to Jonghyun, reaching out and grasping the older man’s left wrist, bringing it up. Jonghyun sucked in a breath - a sound he didn’t mean to let escape, but the twinge in his shoulder spiked - and Kibum tsked as he pulled a small canister out of his trench coat pocket, opening it up and collecting the greenish yellow salve with his index and middle finger.
“It’ll burn,” the younger man warned, and they kept walking as he lifted his hand up and stuck his fingers into the hole in Jonghyun’s leather jacket, the ointment connecting with Jonghyun’s skin.
It hissed and sizzled and Jonghyun grit his teeth and reached out to grab Kibum’s trench coat with his fist, gripping the material tightly with white knuckles. But as quickly as it had burned the pain faded and the bleeding stopped, Kibum capping the salve and putting it back into his trench coat, smacking Jonghyun’s hand to get it away from his jacket.
“You did the right thing.”
“Because you fucking wanted me to,” Jonghyun spat, turning his narrowed eyes to Kibum, whose eyes were just as narrowed.
Jonghyun looked like a rabid carnivore and Kibum looked like a discontented house cat.
But that was how it was - Jonghyun as a hunter and Kibum as a healer. It was how they worked in their world and it was how they would always work.
Jonghyun would hunt, he would fight, he would kill; Kibum would heal him when he got fucked up, advise him on good strategies, and basically be the brains of the operation. When you were bred to be the balance of the world you had to be put into a team and you had to be trained in one or the other. From birth you were partnered with a stranger, practically man-made and manufactured in the slums only to be scouted out, to see if your talents were worthy of what THEY wanted. And if THEY chose you and your partner, you were carted away to the big city, to the aristocrats, to help THEM clean up this world that had gotten so polluted and corroded over time.
Jonghyun and Kibum had been together since birth, one of those special combinations of hunter/healer and they had been far, far above their age group, of their class. They had been carted off instantly to the THEM, and they had known no other life, but with knowledge comes a price, and being prodigies was probably more of a burden than an aid at this point in their lives.
They knew that THEY were going about it all wrong. Jonghyun and Kibum hadn’t been around long but they knew the basics; they knew the monopoly that THEY were spreading with fear, with panic. And sure, people paid attention to fear, and panic, and generally were pretty obedient under those two influences but Kibum had noticed it first - noticed the way that THEY seemed to waver at times, noticed the cracks in THEIR diplomacy.
Jonghyun noticed it too, shortly after Kibum - and that was why they were prodigies, right?
But they continued on; what choice did they have?
“There’s someone on the inside,” Jonghyun suddenly said, and Kibum glanced over and arched a brow.
“What?” Kibum glanced back at the alley they had just exited, where he knew in the darkness that man lie bleeding and would probably die anyway. “Do you think so?”
“There’s no other way,” Jonghyun said, rubbing his shoulder, fingers sliding into the hole in his jacket to feel the freshly healed skin. “That guy was a healer.”
Kibum’s head whipped so fast, his hair blowing into his eyes, his neck creaking with the sharp movement. “How do you know? You said he had a tattoo.”
“Every time I hit him, his wounds regenerated.” Jonghyun ran a hand through his hair and grit his teeth. “No one other than healer could do that in such a short time frame.”
Kibum chewed on his thumb in thought, “So that means there’s a hunter without a partner. So won’t it be easy to figure out who he’s with?”
“All of the hunters and healers are supposed to be on our side, but you and I both know that people are revolting against THEM and have been slipping to the other side-”
“Shhh!”
Kibum clamped a hand over Jonghyun’s mouth and pinned the older man to the wall, their bodies flush together. Jonghyun’s breathing escalated slightly, his nostrils flaring to get more oxygen through his lungs since his mouth was covered, his eyes darting around as Kibum’s gaze fixated on the road that they had been about to cross.
A limousine drove by slowly, a search light perched on the drivers’ side view mirror.
“Cloak us,” Kibum hissed.
Jonghyun wrapped his arms around Kibum’s body and just as the search light passed over them they were the same dull red shade of the bricks behind them, the pattern running over their bodies and giving an illusion that there was nothing there. The limo passed on and continued searching, and Jonghyun pulled away, the picture shattering as Kibum yanked on his arm to get him to follow.
“Something must be up if they’re scouting,” Kibum said, and Jonghyun scrunched his nose up.
“I just told you, someone’s on the inside. They must have figured it out too.”
Kibum rolled his eyes, but mumbled under his breath.
“For once, I hope you’re wrong about something.”
[ Chapter 1 ---> ]
Progress: Prologue - 0/?
Pairing: To be decided
Rating: PG-13 ~ NC-17
Warnings: Graphic violence, blood/gore, sexual situations (more to be added)
Summary: In a grisly future, healers and hunters are bred for the specific purpose of keeping order for THEM. But when IT starts to revolt and draft wary healers and hunters to create its own army, it’s obvious that someone is on the inside. Jonghyun and Kibum, the child prodigies of THEM, are out to settle the score and find out what really happened - even at the sake of their own loyalty.
A/N: Title is a play on the term ‘cityscape’, which is basically ‘the view of the city’; it’s about wanting to break free from the norm, to escape the life you’re born into, to find yourself and others and do what you want to do with your own life.
This hit me randomly and it’s weird I know and probably a bit confusing but all will be explained. Doing another multi-chap will help keep my muse fresh and bright.
Pairings have not yet been decided.
This is a lot different from what I usually write but uhm. Enjoy? ^^;
--
“You shouldn’t do that.”
Jonghyun tensed, all of the muscles in his exposed arm flexing underneath the crimson blood that was dripping from his shoulder. His gun was trained at his assailant and his breathing was labored, his eyes narrowed and pitch black as he stared at the man at his feet, the man that had nearly taken his life minutes ago. He was coughing and spitting up blood and Jonghyun gave a slight tick of his head as if to toss away what that voice had said, as his thumb reached up and cocked the gun.
“I said, you shouldn’t fucking do that.”
“And what the hell do you fucking know, Kibum?” Jonghyun kept the gun trained on the man as his head snapped to the side, looking at Kibum out of the corner of his eye. “He’s one of them, he has the fucking tattoo. You know as well as I do that I should smear the concrete with his fucking brains.”
He could hear Kibum sigh, like he was getting ready to explain two-plus-two-equals-four to a five year old. And that in itself was irritating to Jonghyun - he wasn’t an idiot but Kibum insisted on treating him like one and it was just a huge fucking joke, really.
“We were due back fifteen minutes ago. If we stick around any longer-”
“- If you would let me fucking do my job we would have been back fifteen minutes ago!”
Kibum grinded his molars together and that sound always got on Jonghyun’s nerves, so the older man released the cock of his gun, holstering it beneath his jacket and spitting on the fallen, bleeding man. Jonghyun turned on his heel and stalked past Kibum, making sure to knock their shoulders together none-too-nicely as he did so - the act was immature and gave Kibum every reason to call him an idiot but Jonghyun didn’t care.
That man had the insignia of those bottom feeders and he had nearly offed Jonghyun; the fact that Jonghyun had been caught off guard stung more than the knife wound that was making his shoulder bleed and throb in time with his heart beat.
“Jonghyun…”
Kibum’s foot steps were close and soon the younger man was next to Jonghyun, reaching out and grasping the older man’s left wrist, bringing it up. Jonghyun sucked in a breath - a sound he didn’t mean to let escape, but the twinge in his shoulder spiked - and Kibum tsked as he pulled a small canister out of his trench coat pocket, opening it up and collecting the greenish yellow salve with his index and middle finger.
“It’ll burn,” the younger man warned, and they kept walking as he lifted his hand up and stuck his fingers into the hole in Jonghyun’s leather jacket, the ointment connecting with Jonghyun’s skin.
It hissed and sizzled and Jonghyun grit his teeth and reached out to grab Kibum’s trench coat with his fist, gripping the material tightly with white knuckles. But as quickly as it had burned the pain faded and the bleeding stopped, Kibum capping the salve and putting it back into his trench coat, smacking Jonghyun’s hand to get it away from his jacket.
“You did the right thing.”
“Because you fucking wanted me to,” Jonghyun spat, turning his narrowed eyes to Kibum, whose eyes were just as narrowed.
Jonghyun looked like a rabid carnivore and Kibum looked like a discontented house cat.
But that was how it was - Jonghyun as a hunter and Kibum as a healer. It was how they worked in their world and it was how they would always work.
Jonghyun would hunt, he would fight, he would kill; Kibum would heal him when he got fucked up, advise him on good strategies, and basically be the brains of the operation. When you were bred to be the balance of the world you had to be put into a team and you had to be trained in one or the other. From birth you were partnered with a stranger, practically man-made and manufactured in the slums only to be scouted out, to see if your talents were worthy of what THEY wanted. And if THEY chose you and your partner, you were carted away to the big city, to the aristocrats, to help THEM clean up this world that had gotten so polluted and corroded over time.
Jonghyun and Kibum had been together since birth, one of those special combinations of hunter/healer and they had been far, far above their age group, of their class. They had been carted off instantly to the THEM, and they had known no other life, but with knowledge comes a price, and being prodigies was probably more of a burden than an aid at this point in their lives.
They knew that THEY were going about it all wrong. Jonghyun and Kibum hadn’t been around long but they knew the basics; they knew the monopoly that THEY were spreading with fear, with panic. And sure, people paid attention to fear, and panic, and generally were pretty obedient under those two influences but Kibum had noticed it first - noticed the way that THEY seemed to waver at times, noticed the cracks in THEIR diplomacy.
Jonghyun noticed it too, shortly after Kibum - and that was why they were prodigies, right?
But they continued on; what choice did they have?
“There’s someone on the inside,” Jonghyun suddenly said, and Kibum glanced over and arched a brow.
“What?” Kibum glanced back at the alley they had just exited, where he knew in the darkness that man lie bleeding and would probably die anyway. “Do you think so?”
“There’s no other way,” Jonghyun said, rubbing his shoulder, fingers sliding into the hole in his jacket to feel the freshly healed skin. “That guy was a healer.”
Kibum’s head whipped so fast, his hair blowing into his eyes, his neck creaking with the sharp movement. “How do you know? You said he had a tattoo.”
“Every time I hit him, his wounds regenerated.” Jonghyun ran a hand through his hair and grit his teeth. “No one other than healer could do that in such a short time frame.”
Kibum chewed on his thumb in thought, “So that means there’s a hunter without a partner. So won’t it be easy to figure out who he’s with?”
“All of the hunters and healers are supposed to be on our side, but you and I both know that people are revolting against THEM and have been slipping to the other side-”
“Shhh!”
Kibum clamped a hand over Jonghyun’s mouth and pinned the older man to the wall, their bodies flush together. Jonghyun’s breathing escalated slightly, his nostrils flaring to get more oxygen through his lungs since his mouth was covered, his eyes darting around as Kibum’s gaze fixated on the road that they had been about to cross.
A limousine drove by slowly, a search light perched on the drivers’ side view mirror.
“Cloak us,” Kibum hissed.
Jonghyun wrapped his arms around Kibum’s body and just as the search light passed over them they were the same dull red shade of the bricks behind them, the pattern running over their bodies and giving an illusion that there was nothing there. The limo passed on and continued searching, and Jonghyun pulled away, the picture shattering as Kibum yanked on his arm to get him to follow.
“Something must be up if they’re scouting,” Kibum said, and Jonghyun scrunched his nose up.
“I just told you, someone’s on the inside. They must have figured it out too.”
Kibum rolled his eyes, but mumbled under his breath.
“For once, I hope you’re wrong about something.”
[ Chapter 1 ---> ]