Random Rambles: Hi everyone! Finally another update! Sorry it's taking so long ^^; I'm really hoping to get the story rolling soon- after all, every story needs an ending right? Thank you again to all of you taking the time to read this story and supporting me with comments, upvotes and subs, you guys are infinitely amazing and I'm so grateful, I'm sorry if I can't reply to your comments, but I do read them ofc and it warms my heart to see the awesome feedback, so really, thank you! <3 Enjoy!

***

Shining black nails rapped on iron, the metal clank echoing in the confined, concrete room. A pair of green eyes kept watch over a tiny square window opposite of the room, but of course, she couldn’t reach it. 

Her nostrils flared as she thought back to the events that led up to this audacious imprisonment and the corners of her pretty plump lips lifted into a snarl. 

That little , she fumed, wait till I get my hands on her! She’ll be begging for her life! Her eyes gleamed ever so briefly and her black nails left little dents in the iron as she tapped on it louder. 

I’m going to make her mother watch as I strangle the life out of her, and when I’m done, she’ll be next! That’ll show her for meddling, how dare she lift a finger against me?!

Unable to control her anger, she gripped the metal bars of her prison, the iron creaking in her grip. She had been so close to obtaining the dagger! She promised Mr. Yok that she wouldn’t fail - if he hears about this…

The woman felt a low guttural rumble vibrating in the back of . It’s been a while since she felt this way, but she didn’t want to lose complete composure just yet. She wanted to save it when she came face to face with those brats. The thought of them spurred a loud growl that came from deep within her chest and the iron bent in her hands. 

Apparently the sound was disturbing enough as a door flung open and a police officer burst into the room. 

“Alright! What is all this fuss about? You think that making a ruckus is going to help anything? Well, let me tell you something, lady; it doesn’t! So you better keep it down or I’ll make you shut up, is that clear?” the burly officer warned. The stench of the filthy mortal made her nose itch. 

“Oh, really? And how were you thinking on shutting me up? Does it involve you handcuffing me to these bars and gagging my mouth?” she purred provocatively, startling the officer and making his face red. 

“Watch it, lady! You are on thin ice already, trespassing private property, vandalism, assault- you don’t want to add bribery on the list!” he scolded, but Miss Kumiho smirked at him. 

“Bribery? Is that what you deduced from my innocent question? My, my, I believe someone’s mind is in the gutter,” she mocked in her honey sweet voice and this only made the police break out into a sweat. 

“J-just keep it down, you hear? Or I’ll put you in solitary confinement!” he stammered, walking towards the door. 

“Wait!” she called out. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, pouting her lips and batting her eyes at him. “I know I’m a bad girl that got herself into trouble- but honestly, I didn’t mean it,” she started, as a green mist twirled from her fingertips. The officer lifted a skeptical eyebrow her way, though he gave her his full attention. Perfect. 

“I don’t know what got into me, I think it’s the headache. Of course I understand why she did it, but Mr.s Miyano hit me awfully hard. Aren’t I entitled to some medical assistance?” she feigned sweetness as the officer appraised her. 

“You were already given medical assistance, Mrs. Kumiho, and you look fine to me,” the burly officer replied coolly, turning away from her. 

She wouldn’t give up that easily though. “It’s Miss Kumiho,” she corrected gently, her voice enticing the man once more to stay and look at her. “Then, aren’t I entitled to tell you my side of the story?” she asked ever so tenderly. 

“You’ve the right to remain silent, so I suggest you do so,” the man replied instead, and this made her scowl. 

You obtuse walking flab of fat! she grumbled, but maintained her composure, her face a perfect mask once more. “Then, what about a phone call? I have the right to place one phone call,” she reminded him and to this, the officer clacked his tongue. 

“Fine, I’ll get it for you,” he answered, already walking out the door before she could work her magic on him to let her out of the prison cell instead. 

“Very well, I’ve played nice,” she said, grabbing hold of the bars once more. It was pathetic how these people thought that something as common as iron bars could keep her contained. She had a job to do. She had a task to fulfill. And she would rather break her cover completely than have her master find out that she failed him again. There was nothing more terrifying than the wrath of Mr. Yok. She didn’t have to remind herself how he was very capable to destroy worlds. She wanted to be by his side, not opposite of him. 

Miss Kumiho emitted her poison on the bars, the substance corroding the metal, working like acid underneath her hands. Then, with her strength fueled by her anger, she kicked against the metal and the prison bars broke, shattering on the floor. 

The noise wouldn’t go unnoticed and Miss Kumiho anticipated that. The burly officer from before had come rushing in, the wireless phone still in hand as his face was overcome by shock. 

“What in the-?!” 

“Be quiet, worm!” Miss Kumiho commanded, her green wisps of mist enveloping the officer. He struggled to catch his breath until he fell on the floor, unmoving. She grabbed the fallen phone and started dialing a number. By this time, more officers on duty had bravely come in to aid their colleague, but she didn’t even granted them so much as a glance. One wave of her hand and the green mist crawled into their skin, traveling through their veins. 

Miss Kumiho listened to the dial tone, scoffing and rolling her eyes at the small group of officers struggling for breath. 

“Excuse me, is it possible if you choke quietly? I’m on the phone,” she mocked, inspecting her nails. “Honestly, humans are so rude.” 

She put up a smile when her phone call was answered. 

“Hello, sir. It’s me,” she greeted, her voice perfectly calm and poised. “I apologize for not contacting you sooner. I’ve been- preoccupied,” she explained. “I’m very close in retrieving the dagger, sir. It shouldn’t be long now, I promise.”

Miss Kumiho stepped over the officers on the ground, pacing to and fro as she heard the voice of her master on the other end of the line. 

“Don’t worry, sir, I haven’t forgotten,” she assured him. “I’ve eyes and ears everywhere. I’ll be on time. This I swear on my heart,” she said solemnly as she grabbed a corroded bar from the ground and flung it hard against the square window she’d been eyeing all this time. The glass broke and rained down on the concrete floor. 

Miss Kumiho laughed. “Fair enough, sir, but you don’t have a heart either,” she grinned stepping on the glass as she felt the cool breeze of the wind sweep inside. 

“Yes, I know it’s almost time. Don’t worry,” she cooed, picking up the sweet scent of flowers. “I’ll get them where they need to be. The dagger will be yours soon.” 

Her green eyes shimmered as she gazed outside, tiny fangs protruding from between blood red lips. 

***

Meanwhile, as night had slowly started to settle over the island of Ookami Shinro, a tall, blonde young man stared in mild panic and disbelief at the young woman pacing in front of him as she gestured with her hands and spoke continuously to explain her story. 

Kris had his hand covered over his face as he listened to Jae, his eyes following her every move. Having lived with his mother, he knew that girls talked a lot and they talked fast, so he did his best to keep up with the waterfall of words that flowed from Jae’s mouth, but the stuff he managed to process were rather disconcerting.

Hold on. She ran away from home?! The dagger isn’t speaking to her- what? Huh? What Mr. Tabi? When did he enter the story?! … She looks cute when she pouts like that, I wonder if she knows how much aegyo she has…- whoa! Focus, Kris! 

Jae is usually quiet but she talks a lot when she’s stressed…Kinda like Suho. Maybe she should’ve called him instead for this? Kris peered at and hands as she continued talking, and he paid attention as best as he could- which, as it so unfortunately was the case - wasn’t very good to begin with. 

I’m glad that she asked me, though. It’s better to be alone with her sometimes, he thought, biting his lip and flaring up his eyebrow in response when the tone she spoke in indicated that she was shocked about something, so he nodded along. 

Aish, Kris, Kris, Kris, pay attention! Why is this so hard for you? She keeps talking and talking, I know she’s saying stuff, but why can’t I hear what she’s saying? Ugh, this is too hard… Should I say something? Tell her to slow down? What if she gets mad because then she’d know that I haven’t been listening all this time? God, look at all the pebbles and branches lying about…where do these keep coming from anyway? Oh no, if she grabs the fallen branch over by that boulder, I’m gonna get a headache for at least a week…

Kris shook his head, clearing his throat softly without interrupting Jae. 

“-Shouldn’t have done it? I don’t know, but it’s crazy, right?” Jae suddenly asked, standing still in front of him, waiting for him to answer. 

Crap! Abort! Abort! Think on your feet, Kris! 

“Eh…y-yeah?” Kris answered carefully, already wincing in case he had it wrong. Fortunately for him, Jae approved of the answer as she nodded her head and continued talking. 

Kris subtly heaved a sigh of relief and tried his best to focus this time. 

This stuff is serious, Kris, you have to keep your head! Don’t look at her lips when she’s moving! Listen to what they’re saying instead! Kris put his game-face on and concentrated, nodding his head now and then. Serious business, dagger-business, emotions, of course, gotta have emotions…Wait. Why is she staring at me? Oh crap! Did I miss something?

“Ah- uh, y-yes?” Kris answered again, but this time Jae only squinted her eyes at him. When she folded her arms across her chest, Kris knew that he was in trouble. 

“I mean, I mean- no! N-no?”  he asked, gulping. Jae’s stare was relentless and nearly caused him to break out into a sweat. 

“Wait, it’s definitely yes! …No?” Kris tried to smile but Jae lifted an eyebrow and heaved a deep sigh. 

“Oh my God, you weren’t listening, were you? Kris!” she scolded, and Kris immediately ducked away. 

“Wait, wait, wait! I’m sorry, but that was a lot of information, okay?!” he quickly defended himself, turning away with a blush. 

Kris jumped lightly when he felt small fists hit his chest. “H-Hey!” he protested at seeing Jae pout at him while attempting to hit him. He knew she was holding back since none of the hits actually hurt him. At first he thought she was just trying to teach him a lesson, but once he took a closer look, his heart jumped to his throat. 

Kris blinked in bewilderment and felt at a loss for a moment when he saw the emotions on Jae’s face. Her frustration was real. Her confusion and sadness were real. Her worry and nervousness were very real. And he had treated it lightly, like a joke. 

Realizing this, Kris let her hit him, though he slowly wrapped his arms around her, forcing nothing until she calmed down herself and clutched his shirt before leaning against him. His senses were overwhelmed by the sweet scent of jasmine, but Kris wouldn’t be distracted by that. Not with Jae clinging to him in such a way that he could sense her desperation. 

Kris calmed down himself, clearing his mind and reprocessing what Jae told him. He her hair to soothe her, even though she wasn’t crying, but he could feel it worked miracles on her. Jae relaxed and pulled away gently to look up at him. His heart broke a little to face her this way. He nearly felt guilty that she had the misfortune to move to this island and meet all of them. It was just part of the things that he still didn’t understand. Why was Jae put through all of this? Of all thirteen of them, it appeared as though she was the one that was made to suffer the most, only to help them. In what world was this possibly fair? Wasn’t it enough that she gave up her life the last time she helped him?

Kris frowned at the thought and without thinking, gently brushed the hair from her face, her cheek in the process. Jae blinked at him when he leaned forward, closing the distance between them. In that moment, all he saw was a young woman he had grown to care about deeply, a young woman that didn’t run away from them and stayed to fight, even though she had to sacrifice so much in return. He saw someone special, a kindhearted and beautiful soul that deserved so much more than the mess they put her in. 

Kris saw her lips and moved further forward to claim them. He hoped that maybe he could take away her grief and pain away in this way- except…

“What are you doing?” Jae whispered, her voice small. 

Kris woke from his thoughts then, his cheeks feeling hot as he became aware what he was trying to do. Jae’s face was dusted by a blush as well and she swallowed hard. 

“A-ah, I-I-, eh,” Kris stammered, having forgotten how to act cool. He took a deep breath and gave her smile. “Sorry. Got distracted by your beauty,” he mused, grinning when Jae snorted and laughed at him. 

“Wow, I don’t think a cornfield is as corny as you,” Jae remarked, though she still giggled. 

Kris gave a lopsided grin. “There! That’s better. You should do that more often,” he pointed out. 

“Do what?” she asked, looking at him. 

“Smile. Laugh. It’s good when you do those things, makes me happy too,” he explained, feeling relieved that she seemed a bit more relaxed. 

“And I was paying attention, by the way,” he continued, poking her nose. “What were you thinking, running away from home? Your parents are going to explode! Besides, have you seen the size of this island? Where did you think you could run from them?” he regained himself, pretending to scold her, whilst Jae was still comfortably standing in his arms. 

“Also, Mr. Tabi? I have to admit that one kind of went past me,” he confessed, continuing the conversation in the hope that she’d forget about his embarrassing slip-up. 

Jae shook her head and flicked him on the nose in retaliation. “Pay attention this time,” she warned as he crossed his heart. 

“Mr. Tabi was here because he lost the way and after some to and fro, he got me to confess everything to him. I know that sounds crazy and it was probably crazily stupid of me to do, but I told him about the dagger and what was going on- sans magic and supernatural stuff, of course,” she breathed. “You know, I still don’t really know what possessed me to spill the beans to him like that? Anyway,” she shook her head again. “The weirdest part was that he believed me. Believed us. That guy has such faith in his science club and me too that he couldn’t see why I would lie to him, so he just assumed I was speaking the truth- that and the fact that he has been studying this thing, of course,” she gestured at the dagger she kept by her side. 

“Whoa, so wait- Mr. Tabi knows?” Kris repeated, his jaw nearly dropping. Jae nodded. 

“I know that seems careless from my side, but he believed it. He offered to help. I think he knows what’s going on with the dagger, and I think we should accept his help. Lord knows we don’t know what to do with it,” she defended, and even though Kris’ first instinct was relief that his biology teacher, whom he and his brothers knew for years, was on their side- he couldn’t deny that there was a part of him that thought this a bit too convenient. 

“What does your gut tell you?” Jae asked, and Kris liked how her voice sounded so gentle and soft since she was standing close by him. He still had his arms around her waist in a protective stance and neither of them had attempted to move away. 

“Honestly?” he asked, waiting for her to nod her head. “I think you shouldn’t have run away from home,” he started. “I mean I’m happy to hear that Miss Kumiho is in prison, but that won’t keep her there for too long. On the other hand, you’ve us, so I guess and hope that’s something,” he told her honestly. 

“What’s done is done. It’s not like I’m running away forever, Kris, just until all of this blows over,” Jae told him, though he heard the hesitation and sadness in her voice as she spoke about her home. He wanted to hold her close again when he thought back at how absolutely gutted she was when her mother didn’t believe her. He pushed the thought of his own mother away immediately. He had to get it together. He had to be strong, for Jae. 

“What about Mr. Tabi, you think he’s telling the truth?” she asked and it concerned him that she had to ask him that, since she was the one that spilled the beans to him. 

“I’ve known Mr. Tabi for a long time,” Kris started, thinking about the patient, kind biology teacher, the one that always made an effort to know and care about his students. “I don’t see why he would lie,” he said honestly. “And he has been working on the project for a long time, hasn’t he? At least, he was there working on the dagger with your father. He might really know more on what’s going on and how to use it to stop Mr. Yok,” he added. 

Jae nodded slowly at his words and he wondered if it brought her some comfort. It nagged at him a little bit that it didn’t feel all too comforting for him. Too many questions. This is what you get when things aren’t certain. 

“But,” he started then, a lump in his throat when Jae looked up at him in anticipation. “It wouldn’t be a bad thing to inform the others about the situation right now. We need them to think along with us,” he then answered determinedly. “Despite the fact that it’s totally my style for the two of us being comfy together like this,” he added with a smooth voice that made her laugh and finally, with flushes on her cheeks, Jae slapped him weakly against the chest again and gently pulled away. 

Kris didn’t want to show her his disappointment at feeling the cold she left when she stepped away. Unbelievable, he thought as he admired her for a fleeting moment, when did you make the dragon lose its wings so all it could do was fall for you? 

“Jae?” Kris called, seeing the girl’s thoughtful look as she retreated into herself once more. “You did alright. You’re strong. We’ll fix this, I promise,” he stammered a little since he wasn’t sure how he could convey all of his thoughts and feelings towards her. It made him sound so cold while really, that was the last impression he wanted her to have of him. 

“What I mean is,” he continued, hoping the words would flow to him- but they didn’t. He muttered and searched for his words, feeling frustrated that he couldn’t find the right way to tell her. He was about to grunt out of frustration when he felt a warm hand touch his arm. 

Jae the fabric of his jacket with her thumb and he wished he could feel the touch. She then proceeded to look up at him with a simple, gentle smile. 

“You probably tire of hearing me say this, but, thank you,” she told him with the sincerity of a child. 

Kris looked at her for a moment before tenderly ruffling her hair. 

“Let’s get the others up to date,” he told her. “Suho’s gonna flip- we wouldn’t want to miss that, do we?” 

Jae chuckled. “Guess not,” she replied. “Should I call them?”

Kris had a playful glint in his eyes when he grabbed her hands this time, to pull her towards her. “Nah,” he replied. “I’ve a faster way of getting to them,” he smirked as he lifted a squealing Jae into his arms. 

“No, no, no, no! KRIS!” she shouted as she held on for dear life when he ran off the plateau with a laughter. They soared through the sky where human eyes couldn’t see them- but unfortunately, that did not mean that no one was watching…