A high pitched shriek pierced the air. The birds that were perching in the trees took flight in masses, covering the sky with their black feathers and caws of danger.

Jay froze, her eyes narrowed with concern, the air around her tense with rigidness.

"I can't believe it," she muttered to no one in particular.

"What is it?" Jisoo asked worriedly.

She glanced at them briefly, but her gaze never left the direction of the shriek for too long.

She didn't answer, her lips pursed in a thin line.

"It's a nibra, isn't it," Seungcheol answered instead.

"Yes." She decided it was better to tell the truth than try and deny it.

She glanced at them. "Perhaps it will be good for you guys to practice using your umbra guns. "

But even as she said that, they could notice the uneasiness in her face.

"What's wrong?" Jisoo persisted.

She shook her head. "Nibras usually appear in condensed urban areas. That's where the black miasma usually concentrates at. In non-urban areas like here, it's rare. The black miasma doesn't usually reach these parts. So even if someone is under extreme pressure and anxiety, the same person will usually show the symptoms if they're living in the city rather than in the rural area.

"Because of the black miasma?"

She nodded. "Everyone is under stress and only the ones under extreme anxiety have the possibility of transitioning. But only breathing in the black misama is what actually starts it."

They understood what she was inferring out.

If someone out here transitioned into a nibra, that would mean the black miasma was encroaching from the city to other places. And that was bad news.

"It could be just a person who lives in the city and went to the forest for a hike," Soonyoung suggested.

She looked at him and frowned grimly. "I hope you're right." She turned back around. "Regardless, there's a nibra we need to take care of."

They made sure to keep their distance as they crept towards the nibra.

It was medium-sized, only slightly taller than an average human.

It had a human face, but large fangs extruded from his mouth like tusks. Its hands and feet were webbed and it had pale gray skin that made it look even less human. Its pupil-less black eyes twitched and seemingly grew blacker by the second.

Jay frowned as the nibra had more human features than normal which was rare and also which meant it was more dangerous.

"It looks more human than I thought."

Jay flinched at Soonyoung's words. She had forgotten that this was his first time actually seeing a nibra and fighting it. Actually, now that she thought about it, it was also Seungcheol and Jisoo's first time fully fighting as well.

Everyone minus Soonyoung had at least been on missions where they saw her kill nibras before, but only Jihoon had experience fighting and killing them.

She was waiting until they had decent skills in combat and learned how to wield an umbra gun, but she only realized now that this was the time.

She glanced at the other three.

Jihoon had a grim smirk on his face while Seungcheol had a passive but calm expression. Jisoo looked nervous but still had a determined look.

Soonyoung simply looked in wonder at the spectacle.

Jay began to worry, wondering if they were ready. If this was the right move. If any one of them got hurt, she wouldn't be able to live it down.

Now that she had taken them in, they were her responsibility. But even more than that, she couldn't bear to see them get hurt due to her own negligence.

Perhaps her emotions were wafting off of her because Jisoo flashed her a small smile.

"We'll be fine."

"He's right," Jihoon added with a snarky smile. "If you think one single nibra is going to get the better of me, you would be dead wrong."

Seungcheol nodded. "You trained us for months for this. If we're not ready, when will we ever be?"

"Plus, even if something does happen, you'll be there, yeah?" Soonyoung added.

Jay scoffed. "You put too much faith in me," she muttered, her eyes hardening. "But you have a point. Just remember what I taught you."

The nibra had stopped sniffing and turned its attention to the group, eyes widening with a glare and nose flaring up.

Before it could make the first move, Jay rushed forward with her gun and aimed in the direction of its heart.

The shot looked like it was going to pierce its heart, but at the last second it defected and hit a tree.

In that split second, she froze, not understanding what was happening.

It wasn't until someone else fired a shot behind her and it happened again did she realize the reason why the shots would not hit the nibra.

Every time someone would shoot it, it would deflect it with its hand. But it moved so quickly that in real time, it looked like a blur. And not only that, if it did reflect it off its hand, that would mean that its skin was tough enough to deflect the anima shots.

Jay gritted her teeth. She did not expect such a difficult opponent right off the bat, especially for the rest of the guys’ first fight.

She quickly retracted back with a few hops, never letting her back face the enemy until she was within perimeter with the others.

"Why won't it hit?" Soonyoung asked. "I shot it like you taught us, but nothing happened."

"It has an exterior that makes it unable to pierce its skin."

"Doesn't that mean it's invincible?" Jisoo asked.

She frowned and shook her head. "It must be some kind of hard scale. If you look closely enough, it shines slightly in the sun. But the only place where it doesn't is in the area where its heart is. That's its weak spot."

"And how exactly do you propose us go about doing this ing ridiculous task?" Jihoon hissed.

"Distract it," she murmured, eyes squinting with concentration. "I'm going to create an opening, and you guys shoot it when you see it."

She slowly reached down without taking off her gaze on the nibra and grabbed a stone. She slowly rubbed the stone between the fingers, feeling the smoothness beneath her fingertips.

The nibra spun its head around before letting out a howl. As it was smelling the air around it, she flicked the stone in the direction away from them. It collided with the trunk of a nearby tree, creating a hollow thud. And the moment it turned its head away from them, she jumped out while the rest of the boys scattered, each placing themselves around the nibra.

She was quick, but it heard her, spinning its head back towards the noise.

But she was quicker as she jumped up and pressed her gun against one its arms and pulled the trigger. The closeness of the gun and the blast that was created from the close proximity did what she expected it to do. Even if it had durable scales, there was still flesh underneath. The blast had shot its arm clean off, but she wasn't unscathed as her own hand had twisted backwards from the hard recoil.

She gritted her teeth, feeling the string of pain coursing through her hand. She dropped the gun now that her fingers were no longer able to hold it and it disappeared.

She roughly fell down with a thump and groaned internally. She squatted before wincing and staring up at the nibra. It howled in pain and began to thrash around.

She quickly looked back at the group of boys as they stared wild-eyed at the scene.

She wanted to tell them to take this next chance, but her breath was taken away from pain.

She squeezed her eyes and took a deep breath and prayed that they were sane enough to do what she wanted them to do.

She turned her head back to the nibra as it screamed. She pursed her lips and jumped towards it, propelling herself with wind, essentially creating a heavy pressure on herself. She knocked straight into the nibra as they both crashed against several of the trees.

She had pinned it and left its heart unprotected.

If there was a time to shoot, this was the time.

Seconds went by and she was beginning to worry that they weren't up for the task. She could feel herself losing strength as the nibra began to struggle against the pressure.

And right when she could feel herself just about to be flung off, a shot ran through the air and she could feel the vibrations against the nibra before a shower of black dust fell on her.

She sat there dumbfounded, blinking a few times, before turning around to look at the boys.

She made eye contact with them, but they looked equally as surprised.

"Who shot it?" she asked. She glanced back at the pile of dust which was now disappearing away with the wind.

They boys didn't say anything as they glanced at each other.

And that's when she realized that the person who shot the nibra was neither of the four.

She spun around, her eyes searching nervously at the person who shot it.

At first, she didn't see anyone, but her eyes finally landed on someone she wasn't expecting on seeing.

She rushed towards the said person and pulled him by the collar.

"Did you shoot that?" she shouted angrily.

The boy stared back, dumbfounded, hands shaking, stupefied.

But the existence of a gun in his hands answered her question.

She quickly let go and stepped back, clenching one of her fist in frustration.

She had no idea how this happened. And it was something she was hoping to avoid.

"Is that Wonwoo?" Jisoo asked softly, peeking behind Jay.

She was startled as she flinched at his voice. She was so engrossed with Wonwoo that she didn't realize that the others had followed her.

She put a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"Let's go back," she murmured. Her gaze fell on Wonwoo. "We have a lot to talk about."

The walk back was filled with tension. It was obvious that Jay was furious. Her face did not have flicker of emotion; it was simply a blank face.

But the air around her said otherwise. No one dared to say anything lest setting the young woman off.

When they arrived at the house, Jay immediately turned to Wonwoo.

"Follow me," she told him and turned around without seeing a response.

He looked at the other boys who only gave him weak supportive smiles.

He followed Jay to her room as she opened the door and ushered him in.

It was a simply room. The walls were painted at dark blue and several small lights illuminated the walls and ceiling creating an illusion of being in the star-filled sky.

She pulled open the blinds effectively killing the illusion and sat down at her desk.

She kicked another nearby chair to Wonwoo which he took as her way of telling him to sit down. He promptly did so.

She leant forward, hands clasped together, and a face full of seriousness.

"How long have you been following us?" she asked.

He audibly swallowed. "Two days?" he nervously replied.

She frowned and leaned back into her chair. "Show me."

"What?"

"Your umbra gun. Show me it."

Wonwoo hesitated for a split second but did as she told.

Remembering the urge to change, to understand Jay and how he wanted to be worthy enough to stay with Jay, he felt the gun materialize in his hands and then the heavy weight land gently in his hand.

He opened his eyes and looked down, seeing the gun which he managed to materialize before.

He looked back up at Jay whose gaze was focused on the gun.

Without a word, he handed it over to her. She looked surprised. She had mentioned before that the gun was essentially part of your willpower and soul. Letting someone else hold it was basically allowing that person touch a vulnerable piece of your soul. Wonwoo might have not have known that; but instinctively, he should have felt the urge to not let anybody touch it.

She hesitated before gingerly taking the gun, feeling the weight of the gun physically and the emotional waves mentally.

Wonwoo felt uncomfortable as if there was a sneeze that wouldn't come out. Like something wasn't right.

She flinched and hastily returned it back to Wonwoo.

She sighed. "It's real," she murmured, but it sounded like it was to herself than to Wonwoo. She rubbed her temples. "How long?" she asked. "How long did it take you?"

"To materialize it?" he asked. "By the end of the first day."

She looked at him abruptly with surprise. "It took you only several hours?"

He nodded.

"It's blue, isn't it?" she murmured, posing the question more like a statement.

She pointed at the door behind them. "Shoot it," she ordered.

"But won't it destroy it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. It's protected."

He looked at her with hesitation but did as she told.

He lifted up the gun and aimed at the door. A dark blue anima shot out of the barrel and made contact with the door. It hit the door and pure blue light emitted from the shot and traveled out from it like tree branches. It shone briefly before fading away.

Wonwoo glanced back at Jay whose gaze couldn't leave the door.

Her face fell in her hands and she groaned. "It's the mark of the Azure Dragons. How is that possible?"

She peeked through her fingers to look at Wonwoo as if he was able to produce the answers.

He shook his head. "I... I don't know. I just wanted to try it out and I just did what you said and it worked."

"You have to officiated into a faction to even be able to do that," she explained, finally showing her face. "But I don't remember doing that."

"How does one get officiated?' he asked nervously. "And officiated into what?"

Jay blinked and turned away. "This was what I didn't want you finding out about."

Wonwoo blinked. "Are… are you in a gang?"

She glanced at him and laughed. "Something like that."

"What does that mean?" he persisted.

She shook her head. "You shouldn't get involved."

Wonwoo frowned. He didn't know how much it bothered him but the vague answers she was giving him was angering him.

"Why do you do this?" he angrily muttered.

The shift of emotion startled Jay slightly but she replied, "What do you mean?"

He stood up and gestured to the gun, to her, to the room.

"I mean this!" he shouted. "The vague answers you're giving me. The mysterious meetings you all have. I know you're only letting me stay, but don't you think at this point I deserve to know? That monster. This gun. I don't know what to make out if it. If you don't explain, how am I going to understand?"

Jay looked troubled, unable to look Wonwoo straight into his eyes. "I... just didn't want to get you involved. I wanted things to stay the same. "

"I've been involved!" he shouted. "From the moment we met, I was involved. If this is your way of protecting me, then stop. We're not kids anymore. As much as I want things to be the same as they used to be, I understand that it can't. It's been years since we last met. And I'm sure we both aren't the same as back then." He paused and looked at Jay. "You don't have to take care of me anymore."

She was silent after his outburst. After a few more minutes of silence, she started to laugh.

He was startled and confused.

"Jay?" he murmured tentatively.

"No, sorry. You're right, Wonwoo. We're not like who we were as kids. You used to hate confrontation, but here you are, confronting me. You've changed. I've changed. And all this time I've been a hypocrite. I refused to let anything from my past affect my life now, but here I am, pretending to do that with you. You were the one last thing from my past that I still couldn't let go."

"Jay..."

She shook her head. "No, Wonwoo. Things in the past should stay in the past. We should use that as foundation to move forward. I cherished the time I spent with you, but we're in the present now."

Wonwoo became nervous. With how she was speaking, he was afraid that she was going to kick him out, tell him to leave.

She continued, "And in the present, you are able to materialize an umbra gun. I suppose I should tell you everything. You at least deserve that much."

"You're... not going to kick me out?"

She laughed. "No, I'm not that mean." Then she frowned. "But first, I think I should apologize."

Wonwoo started to protest, but she cut him off. "I didn't want you to get hurt. But you still did. I was wrong. I'm sorry. And you're right, I can't keep thinking you're the same Wonwoo that I used to take care of. I was lying to myself, living in reminiscence of the past."

She looked at him, her eyes portraying the look of unrivaled defeat.

"That monster you saw is called a nibra. They are the essence of darkness itself. They form from stress and despair. I fight them. And the rest of the guys help me. They fight them too. Or least I'm training them to."

"They do too?" he asked in surprise.

“Yeah, they are part of the team I’m forming.”

“And you all live together, I’m assuming? You really aren’t letting them stay for ‘awhile’.” He air-quoted the word awhile with his fingers.

“They don’t have a home to call right now. It is what I can provide them. It’s a dangerous thing we are doing. And I didn’t want to get you involved. I’m sorry, Wonwoo, for not telling you anything.”

She legitimately sounded apologetic, the corner of her lips turned slightly down in a small frown.

"So, why was it so surprising when you found out that I was able to materialize the gun?"

She frowned, as if she momentarily forgotten that issue.

"Like I said, you have to be officiated into a faction in order to actually to be able to do that. And the color of your anima is blue which means you're under my faction. But I don't remember ever doing so."

"How does one exactly get officiated?"

"We have to be in contact. My lips as the source," she answered, tapping her lips. "So, I would have to kiss you. Doesn't have to be on your lips, but just as long we have contact with my lips to your skin. And once I do, I place a verbal blessing on you. As a willing participant, there will be an internal bond between the me and the person I'm officiating."

Wonwoo blinked before his eyes widened. "Oh."

She turned to him. "What?"

"Um..." he stuttered out.

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you know something?"

He cleared his throat. "Um, if you're talking about a time you kissed me, I remember a time."

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Do you remember when we last met?"

"Last met?" she repeated, trying to remember.

"You and your whole family disappeared. But suddenly, a few years after that incident, you appeared at my front door."

Jay froze. Her eyes widened and her hands started to tremble.

Wonwoo didn't seem to notice as he continued to speak. "You said you were sorry. And you kissed me on the forehead. That's when your companion handed me the letter. And then you two disappeared, and I hadn't heard from you since."

Jay closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah," she shakily let out.

Wonwoo looked over to her, hearing the odd tone in her voice. "Are you okay?"

She cleared and faced hm. To him, she looked the same.

"No, I remember now. I wanted to say goodbye one last time. I think at time I officiated you without knowing." She froze and frowned. "How on earth did I do that? I didn't even know how to officiate anybody at the time." She groaned. "I must have wished you well at the same time and you willingly accepted it."

She sighed and looked at him before chuckling. "I suppose you were on my team this whole time and I never knew. We can cancel it, you know."

Wonwoo shook his head furiously. "No!" he cried out, causing Jay to raise an eyebrow teasingly.

"No?" she repeated.

"No," he also echoed. "No, I want to be here. It... feels right."

"Does it?" she chuckled before turning serious. "Are you sure? It's dangerous and you're putting your life on the line."

He rolled his eyes. "Jay, I've lived this whole time in your team and neither of us knew it. At least let me experience it. And I’ll be fine. I’ve been in worse ."

Jay snorted but persisted. "I just want to make sure this is what you want."

"I'm sure," her reassured her. And then he smiled. "I've never been so sure in my life."

She paused. "One more thing, Wonwoo."

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I wasn't going to ask you this before, but since you'll be with the rest of the guys, there's something I need you to promise me."

"And what's that?"

"That you'll never ask me about what happened between the time when I disappeared to when I appeared at your front door. This goes along with my name."

The boy frowned. "I was going to ask you about that, but -"

"That is the one thing I ask, Wonwoo. Please."

He tried to say something to protest but faltered. The urgency in her eyes told him not to.

After a moment's thought, he nodded. "Ok. I promise. Will you tell me one day?"

She shook her head and looked away.

"I don't know. I'm not sure. But if I finally find the will to do so, I will let you know."

He nodded. "Okay. I believe you."

Jay held his gaze before nodding. "Alright. I guess I don't have to do much considering I already officiated you."

She laughed and pulled him into a hug. "I suppose this is long overdue, but welcome to the team."

He smiled back.

 

Jay watched as Wonwoo left. She told him that she would tell the rest of the team tomorrow about joining the team.

As the door shut, she looked out the window, feeling that sticky feeling in her stomach kick in. She in her breath, letting it out slowly. The pounding pain from her hand continued to persist.

She closed the blinds, closing off any sunlight.

The room returned to its starry state as she sat down and faced the mirror on the wall. She slouched down in her chair and closed her eyes.

“Jay.”

She opened her eyes to see the Head staring back at her through the mirror.

“What is the matter?”

She let out a soft huff of air. He had a knack of appearing at times when you didn’t want him to.

“Wonwoo,” she merely said.

He blinked. “Wonwoo,” he repeated.

“He was someone I knew back then.”

He mused on the name a bit more. “Ah, it’s that boy who you wanted to see before we left.” He tilted his head up. “Did he come by?”

She grimaced. “You knew.”

“Knew what exactly?”

“That I had officiated him.”

He blinked before chuckling, an odd rumbling sound that she could hear within herself.

“No, I did not to be quite honest. But I had an inkling that may be the case.”

“Then why did you give him that letter? I didn’t even know you did that.”

“I knew he was quite special to you. And I knew he had the Sight. I figured when the time came, he would be useful to you. I also thought you would like that. Did you not?”

Jay looked down at her lap. “He...He’s from my past.”

“But the past you were fond of. Not the past you’re trying to run away from.”

She stood up angrily. “I’m not trying to run away!”

“You are. And I don’t blame you. But one day, you’ll have to come to terms with it.”

She looked away. “The past should stay in the past.”

“I agree. But not like this. Are you not worried that it won’t?”

She looked back at the figure in front of her.

“I’ll make it that way if I must.”

He shook his head. “I would not recommend that.”

She turned her head away.

“But I understand,” he continued. “We made a promise not to speak of this again. I apologize. But if I may move from the subject, you are gathering quite the team. I am proud.”

She glanced at him from her peripheral. “No thanks to someone.”

“It was important for you and the rest of us for you to start your own team. You have the potential to spread your knowledge. I hope you understand that I ordered you to do this for your own good.”

She snorted, tilting her head up. “You sound more and more like a parent.”

He was quiet before another chuckle emitted from his throat. “Do I now?”

Jay put her hand on the mirror. “I’m going to go now.”

“Of course. Keep up the good work. Oh, one more thing.”

She felt the cold surface of the mirror disappear under her fingers and felt the sensation of fingers wrapping around her wrist. It was cold but soothing and soon enough the pain in her wrist disappeared.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

He chuckled. “You were going to hide it from them, weren’t you? You must remember you aren’t the only one in this house anymore.”

She didn’t respond which he merely smiled softly at her.

Thee mirror went dark before returning to a normal functioning mirror.

Jay stared at her reflection.

Her hair was messy from her running her fingers through it from frustration.

Her eyes were solemn and exhausted, tired from all that had happened.

Her lips were set in a thin line to the point of being too pale.

She sighed, resting her forehead against the mirror, relishing the cold sensation against her skin.

Noise could be heard in the background.

Yelling, shouts of anger, laughter, and more yelling.

It seemed almost endless.

She had forgotten how noisy it could get with other people. It was a nice contrast from the usual quiet of the house.

Her lips curled into a small smile and closed her eyes.

 

---

Now all questions are answered. Didn't want to spoil anything.

Part 2/2 double update.