お帰り [Welcome Home] - Chapter Six
Title: お帰り [Welcome Home]
Authors: curionenene and yeonah
Chapter: 6/?
Fandom: SS501
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU
Summary: Black and white... white and black. It isn't always possible to tell what is good and what is evil; and four players in the never-ending fight for freedom would know. In a world where things are painted by shades of grey, taking a stand could mean life or death. And the struggle to be free, truly free, may tear them apart until there is nothing left but ash.
A/N: KyuJong and HyunJoong are played by curionenene , while JungMin and YoungSaeng are played by yeonah .
YoungSaeng tugged unhappily on the hat covering his ears again before glancing around. Crossing the street, he walked leisurely into the shadows of the back alleys.
Once he was sure there was no one around, he took off his hat and his coat, exposing his ears and tail. The felinefolk crouched and then sprung, leaping up higher than a human could have managed. His fingers curled around the bottom of the apartment balcony and he swung himself up without a sound.
Not stopping or slowing, YoungSaeng scaled the building until he reached the fourth floor, dangling from the balcony railing. Listening hard, his lips curled into a smile when he heard nothing. The young man swung himself up onto the balcony, then undid the rope around his waist and tossed one end down to the ground below, tying the other end to the railing before turning his attention to the locked windows.
HyunJoong emerged from the shadows in the opposite direction that YoungSaeng had come from, having taken a different route from the felinefolk to get to the place. Looking up, he saw the rope dropping to the floor and smiled - things were going well so far.
Checking one last time to see if the coast was clear, HyunJoong began to haul himself up easily, his agile, athletic build allowing him to do so much faster than most humans.
Pushing himself over the balcony railing, he joined YoungSaeng quietly, kneeling down and assessing the situation. “All clear?”
YoungSaeng nodded, carefully easing open the lock on the window. Tongue poking out between his lips, he smiled when the window opened ever so slightly.
Listening carefully for noise within the apartment, he slid the window open quietly and looked back at HyunJoong, eyes glowing golden before shifting into a dark brown, less noticeable.
"Ready?" he whispered, lips barely moving.
Their target was just inside. He should be alone around this time, making it the perfect time to strike.
HyunJoong nodded, trusting YoungSaeng’s evaluation, and stepping around the felinefolk, he walked in first, his human eyes, although not nearly as good as YoungSaeng’s, used enough to darkness to pick out objects within the gloom.
The hunter frowned, his instincts suddenly prickling, and he paused, his eyes searching for something wrong.
It was a minute before he realizes what - spotting the moving mass in the bedroom. It was bent over something, the sounds of something wet against someone’s mouth audible.
YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong in, listening carefully. At the odd sounds, his ears perked straight up, shivers going down his spine. Crouching low to the ground, he snuck closer to the bedroom, eyes adjusting to the dark instantly as he peered at the bed.
Vampire. Bent over a young woman, mouth at her throat. She was moving, in what looked at first like encouragement, but upon closer inspection was actually a futile attempt to push him off. Her protests were getting weaker, a strong hand over her mouth preventing any noises from escaping. YoungSaeng could barely make out the whimpered pleas that were fading out even to his ears.
Instantly the felinefolk sprang to his feet, darting into the room and tackling the vampire off the woman. Both non-humans landed on the floor as the woman gasped for breath, barely alive.
In such a situation, seconds are ridiculously precious commodities. And it was in a second that HyunJoong was behind YoungSaeng, his gun pulled out. It was in a second that HyunJoong realized that their mission had become from something they had thought easy, to something serious.
It was in a second that the vampire, trying to struggle free from YoungSaeng, looked up at him, his eyes bright red with hunger and want.
And it was in a second that HyunJoong relived all his past fears. The look of greed on the vampire’s face reminiscence of one who was once close to him. Reminiscence of one he truly feared. Of one, he had once truly loved.
The gun from HyunJoong’s hand clattered to the floor as he stood, frozen, staring blindly at the spot where YoungSaeng and the vampire were fighting for their lives.
YoungSaeng had quickly realized this was much more serious than they thought when the vampire looked at him with blood dripping down his chin and snarling. Eyes widening and then narrowing as he heard the human woman whimper, YoungSaeng's ears flattened and he hissed right back before lashing out with fully extended claws. This was no joke. This vampire was a killer.
Working to pin the man down long enough for HyunJoong to get a sighting on him, YoungSaeng was distracted by a loud clatter behind him. Pinning the vampire down, he glanced behind him and stopped completely at the expression on HyunJoong's face. So much pain, so much fear.
Suddenly the vampire took full advantage of his distraction, YoungSaeng yelping as he landed on his back and was the one pinned down instead. "H-Hyun-" A choked cry burst from him as sharp teeth sank into his neck, the vampire latching on. Realizing quickly he couldn't push him off, the vampire was too strong, YoungSaeng reached out for the dropped gun, the metal just beyond his fingertips as his vision started to fade.
HyunJoong’s eyes took in every movement that happened, but it did not register in his brain. But it was the cry that finally reaches him in his haze - a cry for help that he couldn’t ignore. And even though he wasn’t yet conscious of what was happening, he bent down and grabbed the gun again, releasing bullet after bullet at the vampire feeding off his partner.
The first bullet clipped the vampire’s shoulder, while the second one hit his heart, killing the vampire instantly. But then, a third and fourth slammed into the dead body, making it jump from the force. Then a fifth exploded into the vampire’s brain, causing it to flip off of YoungSaeng entirely.
But before anything else could happen, there was a shout as someone climbed through the window, and HyunJoong turned around to see a man staring, horrified at the entire scene.
“What the hell…” KyuJong swore as he stared wide-eyed at the horrific sight, and quickly, he tried to stop JungMin from coming in, to save him from a sight that no one should ever see.
JungMin didn't approve of that idea at all, protesting. "Hey, what's going on?" Pulling himself up, he found KyuJong blocking him. "Kyu?"
YoungSaeng winced, sitting up and trying not to look at the remains of the vampire beside him. Blood covered him, and he didn't even want to think about getting it out of his fur. Of course, he was focusing mostly on that because he didn't want to think about what had just happened.
Slowly standing, he looked at HyunJoong hesitantly, ignoring the two at the window for now. Walking over to the human, he slowly laid a hand on his master's arm. "Are you alright?" he whispered, ignoring the steady pain from his throat as well as the blood slowly running down his skin.
HyunJoong’s breath was heavy as he tried to calm himself down. Instinctively, he knew that he was acting stupid, that he must get both YoungSaeng and himself away from here before the two who had just come in did something drastic. But the fear clutching at his heart refused him the option, and he could barely keep from shrugging the hand off of his arm, scared of the touch.
“Please, Min. Don’t.” KyuJong’s voice was serious for once, imbued with an authority that should have been sealed. But the crack allowed some of it to escape, and KyuJong was unknowingly tapping into it.
Confused, and about to come in anyways just to see what had spooked his partner so badly, JungMin's eyes widened slightly when a shiver ran down his spine and he found himself unable to move. After a moment he bit his lower lip and backed down, though kept an eye out in case someone approached behind KyuJong.
Something was wrong with HyunJoong. Watching him uncertainly, YoungSaeng glanced over his shoulder at the two anti-hunters. "We need to go," he whispered urgently. He wanted to help HyunJoong, but there was no time for it now. "Come on..." He gently took HyunJoong's free hand, golden eyes worried as he slowly tried to guide the unresponsive man towards the door. What had happened to him?
HyunJoong let out a gasp when YoungSaeng’s hand held onto his, leading him. And he snapped out of it, his fear shifting behind a mask that slammed tightly over HyunJoong’s face.
“Sorry,” He murmured to YoungSaeng, before lifting up his gun, aimed it at KyuJong and shot.
The ankou’s eyes widened and he ducked instinctively. But the shot was wide, ricocheting off the window sill. However, by the time the ankou looked back up, both the hunter and his servant were gone.
JungMin jumped at the gunshot, and the ankou's unconscious hold over him was broken, the human jumping into the room. "Kyu!"
Seeing the ankou hadn't been hurt, JungMin glanced around for the source of the gunshot, skin paling at the remains of the vampire. Swallowing thickly, his gaze lifted to the woman on the bed, now still. Either unconscious or dead.
"What the hell was that?" he asked KyuJong, eyes wide.
KyuJong let out an exasperated sigh when his master climbed in, again forgoing his advice. He felt a wave of irritation come over him - more so than usual, and immediately stopped himself, closing his eyes, and taking a moment to breathe.
He needed to be careful - the seal was cracked now, and if he was not careful, it might be broken. And if that happened… he didn’t want to think about it.
“It’s… the results of our failure… I’m sorry JungMin, I should not have got lost along the way.” KyuJong answered quietly, not looking up.
JungMin tried not to look at the vampire again, focusing on KyuJong. "Don't be so hard on yourself," he sighed, messing up KyuJong's hair. His partner was acting weird suddenly...well, more than usual. And there was the fact that, for a moment, JungMin had been completely unable to disobey the ankou's words.
Attention going to the woman again, he walked over to the bed, careful not to step on vampire bits as he checked for a pulse.
"Well, it's not a total loss," he grinned up at his partner. "She's alive."
KyuJong looked down when JungMin messed up his hair, the action calming him down a little more. He took a deep breath and made himself stare at the vampire, his eyes taking in the bullet wounds and the violence he had been killed in.
The hunter that had killed him was just another one of those, KyuJong thought, clenching his fist tightly into a ball of anger.
Then at JungMin’s words, he looked up again, breaking out of his rage and rushing forward. Carefully taking the woman from JungMin, he looked her over and smiled. “This is something I can easily fix.” He told the redhead, before his hands began glowing a soft silver, placing them right over the woman’s neck.
JungMin watched KyuJong, lips curled upwards. The smile faded as he drew in a breath, eyes going to the mess that was the dead vampire. Okay, blowing up his head was a little overboard. And very messy. Anything they could have done for the vampire in ways of proper burial was erased by the fact they'd still be picking brains out of the carpet by the time dawn came.
"Where did the gunshot come from?" he asked his partner. "Were the hunters still here?" He walked to the door of the bedroom, looking out into the rest of the apartment.
“…Yeah, they were. We were just a split second too late…” KyuJong sighed, easing his hand off the woman, who was now entirely healed, but still unconscious. “Bloody bastards… even if he was feeding, they could have still just restrained him… Or at least, given him a quick and painless death…”
"They're hunters, what do you expect?" JungMin snorted, checking the apartment to make sure the hunters were gone before returning to the bedroom. "I don't think painless is in their dictionary." JungMin didn't like hunters at all, never had. "Think the only thing we can do now is let the sunlight have him," he sighed, eyeing the vampire. "And hope she doesn't remember anything."
KyuJong nodded, looking around swiftly. He could feel that there were other humans coming now, attracted by the noise. They needed to get out as quickly as possible. Holding his hand out for JungMin to hold, he quickly tilted his head towards the window they had come into. “Come on! There are people coming. We need to go.”
He tried to ignore the fact that he could probably only sense this much because of the crack in the sealing ring. He really needed to replace it soon.
JungMin nodded, although he couldn't hear anything himself. He always trusted KyuJong's increased senses without question. Taking the offered hand, he started to the window. "Still don't get why you didn't want me to come in. I didn't know you could talk like that though." What confused him the most was that, when that tone entered KyuJong's voice, he'd backed off meekly without further questions until both of their attention had been drawn elsewhere. JungMin wasn't the sort to let anyone tell him what to do, even his partner, but he had stopped anyways. And now he couldn't remember why he'd stopped.
KyuJong froze for a moment when the question was asked, and then he tried shrugging nonchalantly. “Well… I guess you finally decided to listen to me for once… which is rare in itself… Why did you listen to me anyway?”
He tried directed the question back to JungMin, feigning surprise himself. “And I just didn’t want you to see that… it was… just horrible. Besides, the hunter and his servant were still inside, and I didn’t want you to jump in and get shot by accident.”
"So instead you nearly get shot," JungMin rolled his eyes. "I don't think you can heal yourself, can you? Let me get shot instead." Then he turned his mind to the question.
"I'm...not quite sure actually." JungMin blinked in confusion. "It seemed like something I had to do. Don't get your hopes up though, it's not happening too often," he snorted, shrugging off the weird occurrence as a lack of concentration. "Come on, shinigami!" He climbed out the window, landing on the balcony and making his way down to the ground.
While it was true the KyuJong couldn't heal himself (at least not in his current state), it was also true that it would take a lot more than a bullet to kill him. However, before he could say anything further, JungMin had already climbed out of the window and was on his way down.
KyuJong looked up to the ceiling in exasperation, but there was a smile on his face as he asked. “How did I get stuck with him?”
The ceiling didn’t answer, but it hadn’t needed to. KyuJong could remember the events of that day exactly like it had only been yesterday, and it was unlikely that he would ever forget.
*************
Once they were a safe distance away from the apartment, YoungSaeng stopped and rounded on HyunJoong, golden eyes worried. "What was that about?" He demanded. He'd never seen HyunJoong falter before, let alone look as terrified as he had then. Even when he finally reacted, it had been as if he was in a dream, not focusing on what he was doing but firing instinctively.
Quite frankly, it scared and worried the felinefolk. Just what had happened?
HyunJoong didn’t meet YoungSaeng’s worried eyes, he didn’t know how to answer YoungSaeng, and truthfully, he didn’t want to. The subject of his past was taboo even in his mind, and he had come uncomfortably close to breaking down entirely because of it.
“Nothing… Sorry… I guess I was just tired.” He mumbled in a lie that was entirely unconvincing, even to himself. “I… I don’t want to talk about it.” He finally said, louder this time, sliding around YoungSaeng and walking back in the direction of their apartment.
YoungSaeng looked over his shoulder at his master as the human started to walk again. Chewing on his lower lip, the felinefolk sighed and followed him after a moment, eyes shifting back into dark brown. As much as he wanted to know what was up with the weird behavior, he wouldn't press for information. Besides, it would be rather hypocritical of him to insist on HyunJoong speaking when he himself still refused to talk about what happened prior to the night HyunJoong found him alone and feverish in a dark alley.
So instead he focused on making sure HyunJoong was alright, sharp eyes following his master's movements as the felinefolk trailed after him, one hand pressed against his neck to stop the blood slowly leaking from the torn puncture marks in his skin. He was dizzy from blood loss, but it wasn't dangerous. He was just lucky felinefolk blood apparently tasted nasty to most vampires.
HyunJoong had snuck deep into his thoughts for a moment, his mind bordering on dangerous ground. He could feel YoungSaeng following him, and that didn’t make him feel any safer - not that it was the fault of the felinefolk. It was just… too much like how he would have when HyunJoong was in a bad mood like this…
Finally, he stopped, leaning against a wall, closing his eyes. “Please… just… give me a second.” He called to YoungSaeng, his voice tired. “Stay back a moment… and just… stay there…”
YoungSaeng stopped when he was told to, worried enough to not complain or put up a fuss. Eyes taking in the hunter's vulnerable state, he wrung his hands together nervously. "Is there...anything I can do?" He asked quietly, unsure.
He knew HyunJoong liked physical contact, and he wondered if hugging him might help, but he had been told to stay back so he had the feeling it wasn't the case this time. He had never been in this kind of situation before.
“No… just… stay there.” HyunJoong repeated, leaning his head against the wall, trying to sort out his emotions and thoughts.
He stayed like that for a while, just standing there, unmoving. If not for the slow breathes that he was taking, he almost looked like he was dead - his complexion pale and slightly sickly.
But finally, he opened his eyes again with a long sigh, turning to YoungSaeng, his soft brown eyes taking in the wound on YoungSaeng’s neck. Moving over to the felinefolk, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed against YoungSaeng’s neck, taking YoungSaeng’s own hand and making him hold it there.
“Sorry.” He apologized, looking away as he turned without an explanation, returning to the task of walking back to their apartment.
The felinefolk watched HyunJoong without speaking, waiting to see what would happen. When the hunter turned to him and pressed the handkerchief against the bite mark, YoungSaeng let him, obediently holding the cloth in place as he was directed to.
Following along quietly, YoungSaeng fought with himself for the longest moment before he quickened his pace until he walked beside HyunJoong instead of behind him as usual. Uncertainly, his eyes flicked up to the hunter's face and took in his expression before he slowly reached out, fingertips lightly brushing against his master's, a silent offer.
HyunJoong fingers jerked for a moment at the unexpected brush, and he looked up, surprised at YoungSaeng’s offer. He smiled a little, looking down at their hands, his fingers hesitant.
He knew how hard it was for YoungSaeng to do this, and any other day, HyunJoong would have been more than happy to take the hand. But today… he wasn’t so sure.
“…It’s alright.” He finally said, shaking his head. “You don’t need to force yourself to.”
YoungSaeng chewed on his lower lip slightly, eyes flicking down to their hands again before returning to HyunJoong's face. He hated the expression he saw there, so out of place compared to how HyunJoong usually appeared. Even though he didn't understand what had happened, he understood fear.
"I'm not forcing myself," he replied after a moment, lips barely moving. Hesitantly, he let his fingers curl around the larger hand, loosely so that HyunJoong could pull away if he wanted to. He just wanted to let him know that, as much as YoungSaeng refused to get along with him at times, and as much as he shied away from contact, he still wanted to help in whatever way he could.
HyunJoong blinked, turning to YoungSaeng with a poorly concealed look of surprise on his face, overriding his fear for a moment. He looked down at their hands for a moment, staring at how YoungSaeng’s held onto his before looking up at the felinefolk again.
It was… different. So different. YoungSaeng wouldn’t know this, but the loose hold that he had pulled HyunJoong’s hand into had more of an effect than the felinefolk probably intended. The loose hold represented a choice - HyunJoong’s choice in whether he wanted the contact or not. A choice that had not been offered to him by the man that haunted his past.
A warm yet sad smile crossed HyunJoong’s face and, reaching a decision, he curled his fingers, securing the hold. “Thank you.” He said, looking down, his long bangs covering his eyes. “Thank you…”
When the smile finally appeared, YoungSaeng relaxed slightly, a small smile curling his own lips as well. He said nothing to the thanks, because he wasn't entirely sure what he was being thanked for, but he allowed his thumb to run lightly over the human's skin before continuing to walk.
The contact sent comforting warmth through his body, and the felinefolk found he didn't mind it as much as he usually did. It was something to think over later.
*********************
"Hmm… you know… I just thought of something.” KyuJong suddenly said, turning to JungMin. They had reached back home a while ago, and now KyuJong was beginning to clean the morning’s dishes, when suddenly a thought came into his head.
JungMin looked up at KyuJong from where he was sharpening his switchblade at the table. Keeping his weapons in good shape was probably the only tenuous task he had the patience for. "Hm? What's up?"
“That… hunter’s servant I saw just now… he had the same life energy as the one we were tracking just yesterday…” KyuJong replied, rubbing his chin, his eyes sparkling with his sudden revelation. “Oh… my…”
The same?" JungMin blinked, sitting up straight. "Does that mean he was the one who dumped the crate on that hunter?" But why would the servant of a hunter help them in any way?
“Presumably…” KyuJong rubbed his chin, wondering the exact same thing. “But whatever the reason, this smacks of something that needs to be investigated of.”
"Definitely," JungMin nodded, excitement showing in his eyes. Finally, they had something to go by. "What race was the servant? Maybe we can track them."
KyuJong’s eyes flickered up to JungMin’s face, noting the excitement there with a little chagrin. He forgot how excitable JungMin was - but there was no going back on it now.
“Hmm…” KyuJong closed his eyes and thought back, trying to remember the feel of the life energy of the servant. “…Cat… Felinefolk? I think? I’m not very sure…”
"There aren't that many of them around," the human pointed out. Especially with hunters; cats were too independent to like having masters. "Maybe ask around if anyone’s run into a hunter and felinefolk servant recently?" He was thinking, trying to figure out a way they could find the two again. "If you see his life energy again, do you think you would be able to follow it?"
“We’d have to be careful who to ask though… I don’t know what they’re planning, but this duo seems to have something hidden up their sleeve… And if they find out we’re looking for them…” KyuJong shivered a little, thinking about the way the hunter had killed the vampire. “But yes, if I see his life energy again, I most certainly would be able to follow it.”
"We'll be careful then," JungMin grinned, saluting KyuJong playfully. "And follow if we spot them. Like spies or something!" Spotting the worry in KyuJong's expression, he bounced to his feet, slinging one arm around KyuJong's shoulders. "No hunter will ever be able to catch us," he announced loudly, steering KyuJong out of the room to get ready. "Not even that trigger-happy psychopath. We'll make him run out of bullets trying, then wrap him up like a mummy!"
*************
“Achoo!”
HyunJoong blinked, sleep still befuddling his senses, rubbing his nose from where the violent sneeze had come forth. Okay… that was weird… he had never awoken from a sneeze before, and he wondered what had caused him to do so.
He sighed, rubbing grit from his eyes, only to pause at an improbable sight before him. “…Saeng?”
The black kitten curled up beside him blinked at the hunter, golden eyes wide at being caught. He was half on the pillow and the bed sheets, positioned so he could watch over HyunJoong sleep almost protectively with his small nose only inches away from the human's.
Within a flash YoungSaeng was gone, a black blur darting out of the bedroom.
HyunJoong blinked back, once, twice, and then YoungSaeng was gone, and for a moment he wondered if he had just been dreaming.
Sitting up, he put a hand over the spot he had thought he’d seen YoungSaeng sleeping beside him and found it warm - so it hadn’t been a dream after all.
A small smile crept over HyunJoong’s face as a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. Well, well, here the impossible had happened! And after a while, he found himself laughing hard, clutching his stomach - not that YoungSaeng’s reaction at being caught was that funny, but that HyunJoong just felt so unexplainably happy.
Debating the pros and cons of hiding under the couch for the rest of the day, YoungSaeng finally returned to his human form, dressed quickly, and retreated to the kitchen. The laughter he could hear echoing across the apartment drew a burning red to his cheeks, the felinefolk resisting the uncharacteristic urge to beat his head against the wall.
He couldn't help it that he had been worried; HyunJoong had practically been a living zombie the night before. It was concern over the mental state of a partner he couldn't afford to lose, nothing more.
Shoving the thoughts out of his mind before he really did hit himself with something, YoungSaeng set about making breakfast and did his best to ignore the laughter and the way his lips curled upwards slightly in response.
Authors: curionenene and yeonah
Chapter: 6/?
Fandom: SS501
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU
Summary: Black and white... white and black. It isn't always possible to tell what is good and what is evil; and four players in the never-ending fight for freedom would know. In a world where things are painted by shades of grey, taking a stand could mean life or death. And the struggle to be free, truly free, may tear them apart until there is nothing left but ash.
A/N: KyuJong and HyunJoong are played by curionenene , while JungMin and YoungSaeng are played by yeonah .
YoungSaeng tugged unhappily on the hat covering his ears again before glancing around. Crossing the street, he walked leisurely into the shadows of the back alleys.
Once he was sure there was no one around, he took off his hat and his coat, exposing his ears and tail. The felinefolk crouched and then sprung, leaping up higher than a human could have managed. His fingers curled around the bottom of the apartment balcony and he swung himself up without a sound.
Not stopping or slowing, YoungSaeng scaled the building until he reached the fourth floor, dangling from the balcony railing. Listening hard, his lips curled into a smile when he heard nothing. The young man swung himself up onto the balcony, then undid the rope around his waist and tossed one end down to the ground below, tying the other end to the railing before turning his attention to the locked windows.
HyunJoong emerged from the shadows in the opposite direction that YoungSaeng had come from, having taken a different route from the felinefolk to get to the place. Looking up, he saw the rope dropping to the floor and smiled - things were going well so far.
Checking one last time to see if the coast was clear, HyunJoong began to haul himself up easily, his agile, athletic build allowing him to do so much faster than most humans.
Pushing himself over the balcony railing, he joined YoungSaeng quietly, kneeling down and assessing the situation. “All clear?”
YoungSaeng nodded, carefully easing open the lock on the window. Tongue poking out between his lips, he smiled when the window opened ever so slightly.
Listening carefully for noise within the apartment, he slid the window open quietly and looked back at HyunJoong, eyes glowing golden before shifting into a dark brown, less noticeable.
"Ready?" he whispered, lips barely moving.
Their target was just inside. He should be alone around this time, making it the perfect time to strike.
HyunJoong nodded, trusting YoungSaeng’s evaluation, and stepping around the felinefolk, he walked in first, his human eyes, although not nearly as good as YoungSaeng’s, used enough to darkness to pick out objects within the gloom.
The hunter frowned, his instincts suddenly prickling, and he paused, his eyes searching for something wrong.
It was a minute before he realizes what - spotting the moving mass in the bedroom. It was bent over something, the sounds of something wet against someone’s mouth audible.
YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong in, listening carefully. At the odd sounds, his ears perked straight up, shivers going down his spine. Crouching low to the ground, he snuck closer to the bedroom, eyes adjusting to the dark instantly as he peered at the bed.
Vampire. Bent over a young woman, mouth at her throat. She was moving, in what looked at first like encouragement, but upon closer inspection was actually a futile attempt to push him off. Her protests were getting weaker, a strong hand over her mouth preventing any noises from escaping. YoungSaeng could barely make out the whimpered pleas that were fading out even to his ears.
Instantly the felinefolk sprang to his feet, darting into the room and tackling the vampire off the woman. Both non-humans landed on the floor as the woman gasped for breath, barely alive.
In such a situation, seconds are ridiculously precious commodities. And it was in a second that HyunJoong was behind YoungSaeng, his gun pulled out. It was in a second that HyunJoong realized that their mission had become from something they had thought easy, to something serious.
It was in a second that the vampire, trying to struggle free from YoungSaeng, looked up at him, his eyes bright red with hunger and want.
And it was in a second that HyunJoong relived all his past fears. The look of greed on the vampire’s face reminiscence of one who was once close to him. Reminiscence of one he truly feared. Of one, he had once truly loved.
The gun from HyunJoong’s hand clattered to the floor as he stood, frozen, staring blindly at the spot where YoungSaeng and the vampire were fighting for their lives.
YoungSaeng had quickly realized this was much more serious than they thought when the vampire looked at him with blood dripping down his chin and snarling. Eyes widening and then narrowing as he heard the human woman whimper, YoungSaeng's ears flattened and he hissed right back before lashing out with fully extended claws. This was no joke. This vampire was a killer.
Working to pin the man down long enough for HyunJoong to get a sighting on him, YoungSaeng was distracted by a loud clatter behind him. Pinning the vampire down, he glanced behind him and stopped completely at the expression on HyunJoong's face. So much pain, so much fear.
Suddenly the vampire took full advantage of his distraction, YoungSaeng yelping as he landed on his back and was the one pinned down instead. "H-Hyun-" A choked cry burst from him as sharp teeth sank into his neck, the vampire latching on. Realizing quickly he couldn't push him off, the vampire was too strong, YoungSaeng reached out for the dropped gun, the metal just beyond his fingertips as his vision started to fade.
HyunJoong’s eyes took in every movement that happened, but it did not register in his brain. But it was the cry that finally reaches him in his haze - a cry for help that he couldn’t ignore. And even though he wasn’t yet conscious of what was happening, he bent down and grabbed the gun again, releasing bullet after bullet at the vampire feeding off his partner.
The first bullet clipped the vampire’s shoulder, while the second one hit his heart, killing the vampire instantly. But then, a third and fourth slammed into the dead body, making it jump from the force. Then a fifth exploded into the vampire’s brain, causing it to flip off of YoungSaeng entirely.
But before anything else could happen, there was a shout as someone climbed through the window, and HyunJoong turned around to see a man staring, horrified at the entire scene.
“What the hell…” KyuJong swore as he stared wide-eyed at the horrific sight, and quickly, he tried to stop JungMin from coming in, to save him from a sight that no one should ever see.
JungMin didn't approve of that idea at all, protesting. "Hey, what's going on?" Pulling himself up, he found KyuJong blocking him. "Kyu?"
YoungSaeng winced, sitting up and trying not to look at the remains of the vampire beside him. Blood covered him, and he didn't even want to think about getting it out of his fur. Of course, he was focusing mostly on that because he didn't want to think about what had just happened.
Slowly standing, he looked at HyunJoong hesitantly, ignoring the two at the window for now. Walking over to the human, he slowly laid a hand on his master's arm. "Are you alright?" he whispered, ignoring the steady pain from his throat as well as the blood slowly running down his skin.
HyunJoong’s breath was heavy as he tried to calm himself down. Instinctively, he knew that he was acting stupid, that he must get both YoungSaeng and himself away from here before the two who had just come in did something drastic. But the fear clutching at his heart refused him the option, and he could barely keep from shrugging the hand off of his arm, scared of the touch.
“Please, Min. Don’t.” KyuJong’s voice was serious for once, imbued with an authority that should have been sealed. But the crack allowed some of it to escape, and KyuJong was unknowingly tapping into it.
Confused, and about to come in anyways just to see what had spooked his partner so badly, JungMin's eyes widened slightly when a shiver ran down his spine and he found himself unable to move. After a moment he bit his lower lip and backed down, though kept an eye out in case someone approached behind KyuJong.
Something was wrong with HyunJoong. Watching him uncertainly, YoungSaeng glanced over his shoulder at the two anti-hunters. "We need to go," he whispered urgently. He wanted to help HyunJoong, but there was no time for it now. "Come on..." He gently took HyunJoong's free hand, golden eyes worried as he slowly tried to guide the unresponsive man towards the door. What had happened to him?
HyunJoong let out a gasp when YoungSaeng’s hand held onto his, leading him. And he snapped out of it, his fear shifting behind a mask that slammed tightly over HyunJoong’s face.
“Sorry,” He murmured to YoungSaeng, before lifting up his gun, aimed it at KyuJong and shot.
The ankou’s eyes widened and he ducked instinctively. But the shot was wide, ricocheting off the window sill. However, by the time the ankou looked back up, both the hunter and his servant were gone.
JungMin jumped at the gunshot, and the ankou's unconscious hold over him was broken, the human jumping into the room. "Kyu!"
Seeing the ankou hadn't been hurt, JungMin glanced around for the source of the gunshot, skin paling at the remains of the vampire. Swallowing thickly, his gaze lifted to the woman on the bed, now still. Either unconscious or dead.
"What the hell was that?" he asked KyuJong, eyes wide.
KyuJong let out an exasperated sigh when his master climbed in, again forgoing his advice. He felt a wave of irritation come over him - more so than usual, and immediately stopped himself, closing his eyes, and taking a moment to breathe.
He needed to be careful - the seal was cracked now, and if he was not careful, it might be broken. And if that happened… he didn’t want to think about it.
“It’s… the results of our failure… I’m sorry JungMin, I should not have got lost along the way.” KyuJong answered quietly, not looking up.
JungMin tried not to look at the vampire again, focusing on KyuJong. "Don't be so hard on yourself," he sighed, messing up KyuJong's hair. His partner was acting weird suddenly...well, more than usual. And there was the fact that, for a moment, JungMin had been completely unable to disobey the ankou's words.
Attention going to the woman again, he walked over to the bed, careful not to step on vampire bits as he checked for a pulse.
"Well, it's not a total loss," he grinned up at his partner. "She's alive."
KyuJong looked down when JungMin messed up his hair, the action calming him down a little more. He took a deep breath and made himself stare at the vampire, his eyes taking in the bullet wounds and the violence he had been killed in.
The hunter that had killed him was just another one of those, KyuJong thought, clenching his fist tightly into a ball of anger.
Then at JungMin’s words, he looked up again, breaking out of his rage and rushing forward. Carefully taking the woman from JungMin, he looked her over and smiled. “This is something I can easily fix.” He told the redhead, before his hands began glowing a soft silver, placing them right over the woman’s neck.
JungMin watched KyuJong, lips curled upwards. The smile faded as he drew in a breath, eyes going to the mess that was the dead vampire. Okay, blowing up his head was a little overboard. And very messy. Anything they could have done for the vampire in ways of proper burial was erased by the fact they'd still be picking brains out of the carpet by the time dawn came.
"Where did the gunshot come from?" he asked his partner. "Were the hunters still here?" He walked to the door of the bedroom, looking out into the rest of the apartment.
“…Yeah, they were. We were just a split second too late…” KyuJong sighed, easing his hand off the woman, who was now entirely healed, but still unconscious. “Bloody bastards… even if he was feeding, they could have still just restrained him… Or at least, given him a quick and painless death…”
"They're hunters, what do you expect?" JungMin snorted, checking the apartment to make sure the hunters were gone before returning to the bedroom. "I don't think painless is in their dictionary." JungMin didn't like hunters at all, never had. "Think the only thing we can do now is let the sunlight have him," he sighed, eyeing the vampire. "And hope she doesn't remember anything."
KyuJong nodded, looking around swiftly. He could feel that there were other humans coming now, attracted by the noise. They needed to get out as quickly as possible. Holding his hand out for JungMin to hold, he quickly tilted his head towards the window they had come into. “Come on! There are people coming. We need to go.”
He tried to ignore the fact that he could probably only sense this much because of the crack in the sealing ring. He really needed to replace it soon.
JungMin nodded, although he couldn't hear anything himself. He always trusted KyuJong's increased senses without question. Taking the offered hand, he started to the window. "Still don't get why you didn't want me to come in. I didn't know you could talk like that though." What confused him the most was that, when that tone entered KyuJong's voice, he'd backed off meekly without further questions until both of their attention had been drawn elsewhere. JungMin wasn't the sort to let anyone tell him what to do, even his partner, but he had stopped anyways. And now he couldn't remember why he'd stopped.
KyuJong froze for a moment when the question was asked, and then he tried shrugging nonchalantly. “Well… I guess you finally decided to listen to me for once… which is rare in itself… Why did you listen to me anyway?”
He tried directed the question back to JungMin, feigning surprise himself. “And I just didn’t want you to see that… it was… just horrible. Besides, the hunter and his servant were still inside, and I didn’t want you to jump in and get shot by accident.”
"So instead you nearly get shot," JungMin rolled his eyes. "I don't think you can heal yourself, can you? Let me get shot instead." Then he turned his mind to the question.
"I'm...not quite sure actually." JungMin blinked in confusion. "It seemed like something I had to do. Don't get your hopes up though, it's not happening too often," he snorted, shrugging off the weird occurrence as a lack of concentration. "Come on, shinigami!" He climbed out the window, landing on the balcony and making his way down to the ground.
While it was true the KyuJong couldn't heal himself (at least not in his current state), it was also true that it would take a lot more than a bullet to kill him. However, before he could say anything further, JungMin had already climbed out of the window and was on his way down.
KyuJong looked up to the ceiling in exasperation, but there was a smile on his face as he asked. “How did I get stuck with him?”
The ceiling didn’t answer, but it hadn’t needed to. KyuJong could remember the events of that day exactly like it had only been yesterday, and it was unlikely that he would ever forget.
*************
Once they were a safe distance away from the apartment, YoungSaeng stopped and rounded on HyunJoong, golden eyes worried. "What was that about?" He demanded. He'd never seen HyunJoong falter before, let alone look as terrified as he had then. Even when he finally reacted, it had been as if he was in a dream, not focusing on what he was doing but firing instinctively.
Quite frankly, it scared and worried the felinefolk. Just what had happened?
HyunJoong didn’t meet YoungSaeng’s worried eyes, he didn’t know how to answer YoungSaeng, and truthfully, he didn’t want to. The subject of his past was taboo even in his mind, and he had come uncomfortably close to breaking down entirely because of it.
“Nothing… Sorry… I guess I was just tired.” He mumbled in a lie that was entirely unconvincing, even to himself. “I… I don’t want to talk about it.” He finally said, louder this time, sliding around YoungSaeng and walking back in the direction of their apartment.
YoungSaeng looked over his shoulder at his master as the human started to walk again. Chewing on his lower lip, the felinefolk sighed and followed him after a moment, eyes shifting back into dark brown. As much as he wanted to know what was up with the weird behavior, he wouldn't press for information. Besides, it would be rather hypocritical of him to insist on HyunJoong speaking when he himself still refused to talk about what happened prior to the night HyunJoong found him alone and feverish in a dark alley.
So instead he focused on making sure HyunJoong was alright, sharp eyes following his master's movements as the felinefolk trailed after him, one hand pressed against his neck to stop the blood slowly leaking from the torn puncture marks in his skin. He was dizzy from blood loss, but it wasn't dangerous. He was just lucky felinefolk blood apparently tasted nasty to most vampires.
HyunJoong had snuck deep into his thoughts for a moment, his mind bordering on dangerous ground. He could feel YoungSaeng following him, and that didn’t make him feel any safer - not that it was the fault of the felinefolk. It was just… too much like how he would have when HyunJoong was in a bad mood like this…
Finally, he stopped, leaning against a wall, closing his eyes. “Please… just… give me a second.” He called to YoungSaeng, his voice tired. “Stay back a moment… and just… stay there…”
YoungSaeng stopped when he was told to, worried enough to not complain or put up a fuss. Eyes taking in the hunter's vulnerable state, he wrung his hands together nervously. "Is there...anything I can do?" He asked quietly, unsure.
He knew HyunJoong liked physical contact, and he wondered if hugging him might help, but he had been told to stay back so he had the feeling it wasn't the case this time. He had never been in this kind of situation before.
“No… just… stay there.” HyunJoong repeated, leaning his head against the wall, trying to sort out his emotions and thoughts.
He stayed like that for a while, just standing there, unmoving. If not for the slow breathes that he was taking, he almost looked like he was dead - his complexion pale and slightly sickly.
But finally, he opened his eyes again with a long sigh, turning to YoungSaeng, his soft brown eyes taking in the wound on YoungSaeng’s neck. Moving over to the felinefolk, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed against YoungSaeng’s neck, taking YoungSaeng’s own hand and making him hold it there.
“Sorry.” He apologized, looking away as he turned without an explanation, returning to the task of walking back to their apartment.
The felinefolk watched HyunJoong without speaking, waiting to see what would happen. When the hunter turned to him and pressed the handkerchief against the bite mark, YoungSaeng let him, obediently holding the cloth in place as he was directed to.
Following along quietly, YoungSaeng fought with himself for the longest moment before he quickened his pace until he walked beside HyunJoong instead of behind him as usual. Uncertainly, his eyes flicked up to the hunter's face and took in his expression before he slowly reached out, fingertips lightly brushing against his master's, a silent offer.
HyunJoong fingers jerked for a moment at the unexpected brush, and he looked up, surprised at YoungSaeng’s offer. He smiled a little, looking down at their hands, his fingers hesitant.
He knew how hard it was for YoungSaeng to do this, and any other day, HyunJoong would have been more than happy to take the hand. But today… he wasn’t so sure.
“…It’s alright.” He finally said, shaking his head. “You don’t need to force yourself to.”
YoungSaeng chewed on his lower lip slightly, eyes flicking down to their hands again before returning to HyunJoong's face. He hated the expression he saw there, so out of place compared to how HyunJoong usually appeared. Even though he didn't understand what had happened, he understood fear.
"I'm not forcing myself," he replied after a moment, lips barely moving. Hesitantly, he let his fingers curl around the larger hand, loosely so that HyunJoong could pull away if he wanted to. He just wanted to let him know that, as much as YoungSaeng refused to get along with him at times, and as much as he shied away from contact, he still wanted to help in whatever way he could.
HyunJoong blinked, turning to YoungSaeng with a poorly concealed look of surprise on his face, overriding his fear for a moment. He looked down at their hands for a moment, staring at how YoungSaeng’s held onto his before looking up at the felinefolk again.
It was… different. So different. YoungSaeng wouldn’t know this, but the loose hold that he had pulled HyunJoong’s hand into had more of an effect than the felinefolk probably intended. The loose hold represented a choice - HyunJoong’s choice in whether he wanted the contact or not. A choice that had not been offered to him by the man that haunted his past.
A warm yet sad smile crossed HyunJoong’s face and, reaching a decision, he curled his fingers, securing the hold. “Thank you.” He said, looking down, his long bangs covering his eyes. “Thank you…”
When the smile finally appeared, YoungSaeng relaxed slightly, a small smile curling his own lips as well. He said nothing to the thanks, because he wasn't entirely sure what he was being thanked for, but he allowed his thumb to run lightly over the human's skin before continuing to walk.
The contact sent comforting warmth through his body, and the felinefolk found he didn't mind it as much as he usually did. It was something to think over later.
*********************
"Hmm… you know… I just thought of something.” KyuJong suddenly said, turning to JungMin. They had reached back home a while ago, and now KyuJong was beginning to clean the morning’s dishes, when suddenly a thought came into his head.
JungMin looked up at KyuJong from where he was sharpening his switchblade at the table. Keeping his weapons in good shape was probably the only tenuous task he had the patience for. "Hm? What's up?"
“That… hunter’s servant I saw just now… he had the same life energy as the one we were tracking just yesterday…” KyuJong replied, rubbing his chin, his eyes sparkling with his sudden revelation. “Oh… my…”
The same?" JungMin blinked, sitting up straight. "Does that mean he was the one who dumped the crate on that hunter?" But why would the servant of a hunter help them in any way?
“Presumably…” KyuJong rubbed his chin, wondering the exact same thing. “But whatever the reason, this smacks of something that needs to be investigated of.”
"Definitely," JungMin nodded, excitement showing in his eyes. Finally, they had something to go by. "What race was the servant? Maybe we can track them."
KyuJong’s eyes flickered up to JungMin’s face, noting the excitement there with a little chagrin. He forgot how excitable JungMin was - but there was no going back on it now.
“Hmm…” KyuJong closed his eyes and thought back, trying to remember the feel of the life energy of the servant. “…Cat… Felinefolk? I think? I’m not very sure…”
"There aren't that many of them around," the human pointed out. Especially with hunters; cats were too independent to like having masters. "Maybe ask around if anyone’s run into a hunter and felinefolk servant recently?" He was thinking, trying to figure out a way they could find the two again. "If you see his life energy again, do you think you would be able to follow it?"
“We’d have to be careful who to ask though… I don’t know what they’re planning, but this duo seems to have something hidden up their sleeve… And if they find out we’re looking for them…” KyuJong shivered a little, thinking about the way the hunter had killed the vampire. “But yes, if I see his life energy again, I most certainly would be able to follow it.”
"We'll be careful then," JungMin grinned, saluting KyuJong playfully. "And follow if we spot them. Like spies or something!" Spotting the worry in KyuJong's expression, he bounced to his feet, slinging one arm around KyuJong's shoulders. "No hunter will ever be able to catch us," he announced loudly, steering KyuJong out of the room to get ready. "Not even that trigger-happy psychopath. We'll make him run out of bullets trying, then wrap him up like a mummy!"
*************
“Achoo!”
HyunJoong blinked, sleep still befuddling his senses, rubbing his nose from where the violent sneeze had come forth. Okay… that was weird… he had never awoken from a sneeze before, and he wondered what had caused him to do so.
He sighed, rubbing grit from his eyes, only to pause at an improbable sight before him. “…Saeng?”
The black kitten curled up beside him blinked at the hunter, golden eyes wide at being caught. He was half on the pillow and the bed sheets, positioned so he could watch over HyunJoong sleep almost protectively with his small nose only inches away from the human's.
Within a flash YoungSaeng was gone, a black blur darting out of the bedroom.
HyunJoong blinked back, once, twice, and then YoungSaeng was gone, and for a moment he wondered if he had just been dreaming.
Sitting up, he put a hand over the spot he had thought he’d seen YoungSaeng sleeping beside him and found it warm - so it hadn’t been a dream after all.
A small smile crept over HyunJoong’s face as a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. Well, well, here the impossible had happened! And after a while, he found himself laughing hard, clutching his stomach - not that YoungSaeng’s reaction at being caught was that funny, but that HyunJoong just felt so unexplainably happy.
Debating the pros and cons of hiding under the couch for the rest of the day, YoungSaeng finally returned to his human form, dressed quickly, and retreated to the kitchen. The laughter he could hear echoing across the apartment drew a burning red to his cheeks, the felinefolk resisting the uncharacteristic urge to beat his head against the wall.
He couldn't help it that he had been worried; HyunJoong had practically been a living zombie the night before. It was concern over the mental state of a partner he couldn't afford to lose, nothing more.
Shoving the thoughts out of his mind before he really did hit himself with something, YoungSaeng set about making breakfast and did his best to ignore the laughter and the way his lips curled upwards slightly in response.