It was still early morning, the sun barely just above the horizon, as Kahi made her way along the sidewalks that lined the Hangang river. Five miles was all that was between her and her desitation, the place where she and the North's leader had agreed to meet, a distance that took just as long by bus as it did on foot. Though, Kahi could shave five to ten minutes off that if she ran most of it -- plus, it was good training, and so long as she dressed like she was just working out, no one would think anything of it. 

 

After just a little more than two miles, she had to stop to catch her breath. Kahi huffed in annoyance, wondering how she'd let herself get so out of shape. Five miles had always been an easy distance, ten miles was pushing herself a bit, but she could always do it. Now.... two miles? It was a little more than frustrating. A mental note was made to go on more long distance runs; a second noted that she should drag her crew with her. Early morning runs would perk them right up, yes? No, probably not, but she'd get a kick out of watching them do it.  

 

A few short minutes later, she was ready to go again and she continued her path along the edge of the river. The view was beautiful, she had to admit, and it would have been perfect if it weren't for that ominous column of black smoke looming in the distance. It was impressive, and Kahi had to wonder if Hoya had done this all on his own; he was powerful, all the Southern Guard knew that, but even he would have troubles creating something this big. Maybe someone else had contributed. Maybe she should have listened to him earlier instead of cutting him off.

 

Kahi's destination came into view before she had the chance to turn around, and she knew it would be a waste of time to go back; besides, the North's Leader was waiting for her and she couldn't very well just leave him to wait longer. 

 

It took all of a minute to locate the man -- not many people walked the banks of the Han river at this time in the morning -- and just as long to jog over to him. The older male looked tired, exhausted actually, and even more worn that he usually did. It was clear that his 'band of misfits' were giving him a harder time than normal; Kahi knew this feeling, because her brats weren't exactly angels.

 

"Seongwoon-ah." Kahi called out when she was within earshot, lifting a hand to show she meant no harm or trouble; it's a system they'd had since the tensions between their groups had begun. 

 

At the sound of his name, Seongwoong looked up, a soft grin pulling at his features when he saw Kahi. He turned, raising his hand slightly in reply, a motion that allowed her to come closer. It wasn't that they didn't trust each other -- because they did, they'd known each other for a long time and they truly trusted each other -- it was a way to show everything was okay and that an approach was safe. 

 

"Jiyoung, how-"

 

"Let's skip the small talk," Kahi cut him off; she didn't have time for their normal catch-up conversations. There was a problem that needed to be solved and fast. "The fire," she jerked her head softly in the direction of the cloud of black smoke; Seongwoong shifted to look before turning his attention back to the girl. "It's my boy's fault. I don't know the whole story, just that he was a part of it." 

 

Seongwoong didn't take offense to being cut short, but instead, nodded to what Kahi was saying. Some people might have considered it egotisical or conceited, but he knew it wasn't anyone from his side, because they knew what would happen if they went against rules, especially rules that kept peace between the Guards.

 

A few moments after Kahi had finished, and after a moment or two of thought, Seongwoong spoke. "I know this has been brought up before, and we've always doubted the likeliness of it, but I'm starting to wonder if we're dealing with an entirely different group now." 

 

There was always a cult or two or three that tried to gain power every few years, and there were the usual underground groups -- demons, dark angels, other gone-bad elementalists -- but nothing that couldn't be handled or contained. This had only just started, but Seongwoong had a feeling they weren't going to see the end anytime soon. 

 

It was this particular feeling that had him contacting the South's leader, hoping that they could come up with a solution to the tensions between the two Guards. He knew that if they could put their differences aside, combining the two sides, even only for training exercises, could be beneficial for them both. It was a long-shot, though; Seongwoong knew several of his kids held grudges against some of those in Kahi's Guard. He didn't blame them, the grudges were legit, but they needed to let go of the past so they could focus on the problems here and now, and the potential threat that they could be dealing with. 

 

Kahi gave a slight nod. "I won't rule it out; it's happened before. Besides, even I'd admit that the damage to that oil reserve is too impressive for my boy's talents."

 

It wasn't that Hoya was weak, he just wasn't strong enough to create the amount of destruction she'd seen. While blaming the North's fire elementalist would have been the second option, Kahi couldn't, because Hoya had owned up to what he'd been a part of. But still, she couldn't help wondering what the extent of the other group's powers were; it seemed as though Seongwoon was thinking the same thing. 

 

"What do you think the odds are of the North and South coming together peacefully?" He asked as he shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket, turning to take another, longer look at the column of black smoke that loomed over the district. 

 

Kahi laughed and gave the elder male an incredulous look, wondering if he was being serious. She stopped laughing when she realized he wasn't joking around; there was a look in his eyes that said he could sense something she was missing. Having spent a lot of time with Seongwoong in the past, Kahi had learned that this particular look usually meant danger. 

 

"I can talk to them," she said with a soft sigh and a slight shrug of her shoulders. "They won't be too thrilled, but they'll comply after a threat or two. Don't expect peace, though. I'm not sure what happened between our kids, but mine don't take very well to yours." 

 

Seongwoong nodded and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I know." There was a long pause, where the elder seemed to stare at the plume of smoke while looking at nothing at all. "I hate to cut this meeting short, but I need to go check in with the crew. I'll call you later and we can set up a date to get together."

 

With a smile and a nod, Kahi stood and watched as Seongwoong turned and walked away. Once he was out of sight, she took a seat on the rocky grass to watch as the sun rose higher and higher over a city that was waking up to a disruption in their iconic skyline. 

 

Yes, the days following would be interesting, but she would do whatever it took to survive, whatever it took to help her family and this city live. 

 

*~*~*

 

A/N: This chapter didn't turn out exactly like I'd expected, definitely not as long, but here it is. I'm hoping for things to pick up soon, and maybe even the introduction of a few new characters.