After some debate, KyuJong finally decided to follow the strange Keeper to Lecture Hall A. Obviously something was going on, and while it was none of his business really, he was still curious.

By the time he’d made the decision to follow though, the crow Keeper was already out of sight. Entering the lecture hall, KyuJong looked around in an effort to locate where the guy had gone. It was a large building, he could be searching forever.

The unknown Keeper would be looking for JunSu, DongHae had said. And from his words, DongHae would be there too. Could he possibly find them by locating their spirit beasts?

Leaning back against the wall, KyuJong frowned down at the floor. He couldn’t speak with spirit beasts he hadn’t synched with…that had already been established. But the night he’d seen KiSeop’s spirit beast disappear, he had been able to find him thanks to the lizard spirit. He’d been pulled in the direction of the fight, knowing where to go without really thinking about it.

Drawing in a deep breath, he closed his eyes. Three spirit…Abaia, Muninn, and the other crow. It should be easy to locate three spirit beasts all grouped together, right? KyuJong reached out, trying to find that feeling that had drawn him towards the lizard spirit.

There…somewhere off to his right. The feeling wasn’t panicked and afraid like the lizard’s had been…instead KyuJong got three separate feelings projected to him. Amusement, exasperation, and excitement. Absently he noted how the feeling of excitement was separate from the other two and felt a lot like Abaia, charged with electricity. The other two feelings were less distinct and he could barely make them out as coming from two independent sources, let alone figure out which was which.

Pushing away from the wall, he followed the feeling he got from the three spirit beasts. Twice he lost them, once when he didn’t realize he had to take the stairs up to the next level, and once when he was nearly mowed down by a group of students and lost his concentration. Each time he took a deep breath and focused again before continuing.

Turning a corner, he jumped when he heard a loud shout and grunt of pain. Looking up, he saw JunSu standing in the middle of the hallway looking absolutely livid. The other crow Keeper had staggered back two paces, one hand pressed against his jaw.

“Miss you too, Su,” the strange Keeper winced, rubbing where he’d been punched. “You really haven’t changed a bit.”

“Oh you don’t know the half of it,” DongHae was standing out of punching range, a wide grin on his face.

“What are you doing here?” JunSu demanded, voice shaking. “I thought I told you I don’t want to see you again!”

“I heard about what happened with HyukJae, and was worried about you,” the other Keeper straightened, removing his hand from his jaw. There was a nice bruise starting to form, marring his pale skin. “Next time I’ll remember how you greet people you broke up with and stay out of punching range.”

JunSu glared at him. “Don’t bother worrying about me. I’m fine. You just stay away from me, or I swear to god YooChun, I’ll send you back to America in a wheelchair.”

“You might be able to fool everyone else into thinking you’re fine, but I know better,” YooChun’s lips curled upwards. “We’re connected, remember? That’s also how I know you don’t hate me as much as you claim you do.”

JunSu pushed him away. “Stay out of my head!” He stormed away, and KyuJong ducked to the side to avoid being mowed down.

The second JunSu was gone, DongHae started to laugh. “Oh, that was years in coming.”

“Of course you find all this hilarious, you weren’t the one being punched,” YooChun rubbed his jaw, smiling at DongHae ruefully before noticing KyuJong standing rather petrified at the end of the hallway. “Oh, it’s you.”

“KyuJong!” DongHae grinned and walked over, slinging his arm over KyuJong’s shoulder and bringing him closer. “KyuJong, this is Park YooChun, shipped express from California.”

“YooChun…?” Where had KyuJong heard that name before? His eyes widened a little. “Oh…You’re Huginn’s Keeper!” The other crow spirit was Huginn, Muninn’s counterpart. No wonder he hadn’t been able to tell them apart.

YooChun ducked his head in acknowledgement. “At your service. KyuJong…you must be Asia’s Center.”

“…How did you know that?” KyuJong blinked.

“Daniel called overseas and mentioned it might be a good idea for me to make a visit, not just for HyukJae but for the Center too.” YooChun’s lips pulled into a small smirk.

That meant Daniel had already called for YooChun to come back to Korea well before KyuJong had gone to visit him this morning. “Do you know the Center in America?” KyuJong asked.

“I do.” YooChun stretched out his shoulders. “I think we have a lot to talk about, maybe we should find somewhere more private?”

“I’ll go make sure Su doesn’t punch some poor bystander,” DongHae chuckled. “Might want to get something for your face.” He nudged YooChun’s shoulder lightly. “It’s good seeing you again, y’know. He was really upset when you left for America, even if he said he didn’t want to see you again.”

YooChun’s smile was sad. “I know. See you around, Hae.”

KyuJong watched DongHae walk away before turning back to YooChun. “I have class soon…but want to find a quiet place to talk? One of these classrooms is probably empty.”

YooChun agreed, and they went in search of an empty class. It didn’t take long to locate one, stepping inside and closing the door behind them. “So,” YooChun sighed, sitting down in a chair and stretching out his arms. “What did you want to know? Daniel warned me you ask a million and one questions.”

Flushing in embarrassment, KyuJong slowly sat down across from him. He watched Huginn hop from desk to desk while he thought about YooChun’s question. There was a lot he wanted to know, but they didn’t have the time to answer all the questions. So some things, such as what YooChun meant when he said he and JunSu were connected, would have to wait.

“…You said you know the Center in America,” he spoke slowly, thinking about each word he used. “Do you know what happened that needed a Center over there? What she had to do?”

YooChun nodded. “I was there when everything went down. It was terrifying, but I don’t think any of us would have survived without her.” He shifted, pulling out a photo from his pocket and holding it out to KyuJong.

Taking the picture, KyuJong found himself looking down at a group of at least ten people, all different ages and ethnicities. “Who are these?”

“This photo was taken a little before everything happened. Keeper relations are different over in California, all the Keepers in the area know each other and attend meetings every month or so. This was the group of Keepers active in California at the time. We lost some nice people…half of them lost their spirit beasts, and two their lives. Shawn and Emma,” he pointed to a middle-aged man of African descent and a freckled redhead teen. “We lost them near the end. They were good people.”

“I…I’m sorry,” KyuJong said quietly, looking up at YooChun. Returning his gaze to the photograph, he noticed five Asians in the group, one YooChun himself. Besides him there were two guys and two girls. “Who are these?”

“This guy’s Eli,” YooChun pointed to a tall young man with a cocky smile. “And beside him is Jessica. She was one of the longest-running Keepers in California.” His finger went to the woman beside Eli with a beautiful face and flowing blonde hair.

“The other two are Amber and Eric,” YooChun pointed out the two in the front, the tomboy girl leaning against the boy’s shoulder. “Eric is a new Keeper.” YooChun glanced up at KyuJong with a wry smile. “And Amber is our Center.”

“Her?” KyuJong looked down at the smiling face in the photograph. Amber looked a little tired in the image, but her smile was wide and just about as cocky as Eli’s. “She’s…young.” Amber looked like she was one of the youngest in the group, besides Emma the redhead and a ten-year-old middle-eastern boy sporting an oversized baseball cap.

“The darkness doesn’t care if you’re old or young,” YooChun shrugged. “Case and point, it spent most it’s time chasing after this little guy.” He pointed at the ten-year-old. “It didn’t matter how old Amber is, she did what she had to regardless.”

“What happened?” KyuJong asked softly.

YooChun took the photo back, looking down at the people in the picture. “I’ll be blunt and tell you it’s still painful for me to think about, let alone talk about. So I hope you don’t mind if I…skip over the details. The darkness is a dangerous thing, KyuJong. It can get into people’s heads and warp them, use them like puppets. We were being destroyed by our own friends, and no one could figure out what was going on. Except for Amber.”

His thumb brushed over the glossy photograph before tucking it back into his pocket. “The darkness couldn’t fool her like it did us. None of it’s tricks got by her…and she gave us the strength to fight back.”

“How did she do that?” KyuJong asked, brow furrowed. “What…what do I do?”

“The darkness will do whatever it can to cause chaos, manipulate innocent people and put friends against each other. You can’t fall for it’s tricks. Everyone else will…I know I did.” YooChun sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say, KyuJong? If the darkness tricks you…it’s all over. I can’t give you any more advice than that, because the darkness will have learned from it’s mistakes in America and will find a new way to cause trouble over here.”

Looking down at his lap, KyuJong nodded slowly. “…Okay. Thank you, for talking to me.”

YooChun, nodded, standing. “You said you have class?”

“Oh, yeah,” KyuJong stood as well. He’d be late if he didn’t leave now. “Will you…still be around?”

“Unless JunSu punches me again, yeah,” YooChun smiled wryly. “I’ll be around the city. That reminds me…Huginn, c’mere.” He lifted one arm and the crow flew to him in a flurry of feathers, landing on his wrist. KyuJong jerked back in surprise when YooChun extended his arm and he found himself nose-to-beak with the spirit. “Sync with him. That way if anything happens…well, it makes things easier.”

Nodding, KyuJong looked into Huginn’s beady purple eyes before closing his own. Reaching out was easier than it had been with any other spirit beast; practice was really helping. The fact that Huginn didn’t fight the sync made it all the simpler, and within the space of a few breathes he felt the crow’s mild impatience. Apparently Huginn didn’t like closed-in classrooms, and wanted everything to be over with so he could go back out into the open sky.

He could also feel another consciousness, not YooChun but someone else entirely. Distant emotions trickled to him as if down a thin thread spanning across buildings, streets, maybe even the city. Dull pain, sadness, regret and heartache.

KyuJong slowly opened his eyes as YooChun pulled his arm back. The other man’s lips were twisted into a strained smile. “Not bad. You’re learning. See you around, KyuJong.”

“Bye,” KyuJong said quietly, watching as YooChun turned and left the classroom.

“So why did you want to watch the zombie movie, again?”

KiBum patted Kevin’s shoulder sympathetically as they left the theatre. He didn’t understand his best friend sometimes. Kevin hated horror movies with a passion, and usually refused any invitations to watch them. So why he’d suggested the zombie movie, which was nothing but a gore fest, was beyond KiBum. They’d barely made it a quarter through before Kevin had hidden his face against KiBum’s shoulder and stayed there the rest of the movie.

“Because you like zombie movies,” Kevin mumbled, still looking a little traumatized. “Though I don’t get why. You are totally not the kind of person I’d think would enjoy watching people get disemboweled with axes. Should I be worried?”

“What are you trying to say?” KiBum snorted, slinging one arm around Kevin’s shoulders. “I’m not a sociopath. It’s all fake, you know that.”

“Fake guts or real guts, I could do without seeing either.”

“We could have gone to go see something else, y’know. They had some comedy movie playing in the other theatre, you like comedy.”

“Yeah, but you just roll your eyes at them,” Kevin shook his head, straightening. “I’m fine,” he gave KiBum a small smile. “What now?”

“Dunno…have you eaten?”

Kevin nodded. “Yeah, before we met up.” Not even a second later his stomach growled, and he looked away.

KiBum sighed. “You liar…Kev, you have to eat. Did you have anything today?”

“I ate breakfast,” Kevin replied defensively.

“Breakfast was ten hours ago.” KiBum really worried about Kevin’s health sometimes. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. No arguing, you’re not starving yourself on my watch.” His hand slid down into Kevin’s and he tugged the sputtering man down the street. Walking slightly in front, he didn’t see Kevin looking down at their linked hands with a small smile.

They ate at a small jjigae house KiBum remembered Kevin liking back before he was signed into his current agency and became obsessive about losing weight. KiBum remembered Kevin doing the ordering for the both of them whenever they ate out, because KiBum with his social awkwardness could barely open his mouth without stuttering over his words and shrinking into a corner.  It wasn’t crippling anxiety, KiBum just didn’t know how to talk to other people even for something as simple as ordering food.

Kevin had helped him past that, and gotten him to where he was today. So this time, while Kevin looked down at his menu and fussed between what he should eat to watch his weight and what he really liked, KiBum covered the younger man’s hand and ordered for the both of them. When Kevin whined that’s not really healthy, KiBum tweaked his nose in reply.

“That was good, wasn’t it,” KiBum grinned as they left the restaurant an hour later.

Kevin nodded, smiling a little. “All that reminded me of the first time we went to eat there. Remember?”

“You mean when that waitress tried flirting with me and you thought it was the funniest thing ever?” KiBum raised an eyebrow.

“You froze up and she thought you were going to pass out,” Kevin snorted. “She felt so bad about scaring you she brought out extras of everything for free.”

“First and only time someone tried hitting on me,” KiBum shook his head.

Kevin poked his stomach. “I don’t believe that for one second.”

KiBum wrinkled his nose at the poke. “Not everyone’s a model, Kev. People line up all the way down the street just for your autograph, but I’m not like that. No one’s ever interested in the awkward penguin of a photographer.”

Frowning, Kevin looked down at where their hands lightly brushed against each others as they walked. “That’s not true.”

Shaking his head, KiBum looked up and blinked at a flash of…lightning? “Is that a storm coming in?” The sky had been clear not that long ago.

“Hm?” Kevin looked up, and flinched at a raindrop on his cheek. “Where did that come from?”

“Come on, your place isn’t far from here,” KiBum sped up a little, Kevin hurrying beside him.

Movement in his side vision made KiBum glance up to the telephone wires. A glowing weasel ran along the wire’s length, body sending off bursts of sparks that winked out of sight as they fell. The weasel slid down a wire and landed on the shoulder of someone standing up ahead.

KiBum slowed, eyes wide. Henry. The Hunter’s arm was still in a cast, but other than that he looked fine. He was looking right at KiBum, and when their eyes met, he nodded slightly.

”KiBum…” Pantera appeared beside him. She’d been absent most of the day, letting KIBum and Kevin have their time together. ”He wants to challenge you.”

KiBum swallowed. But Kevin… He stopped walking, and looked at Kevin who skidded to a stop in confusion. “I…I just remembered I have something to do. Go on without me, okay?”

“Huh?” Kevin blinked. “But that storm’s going to come down in a couple minutes, it looks vicious.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” KiBum tried a small smile. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, right?”

Kevin nodded, brow furrowed. “Yeah…see you tomorrow.” He turned and walked down the street, pace hurried at the distant growl of thunder.

Watching him go, KiBum turned back to Henry. “Okay…I’ll accept your challenge,” he swallowed nervously. His first challenge…and though he’d practiced with Pantera a lot, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to take on a Hunter. Would he lose his memories tonight?

Henry’s grin was a little cheeky, and he pointed towards the rooftops. When he spoke it wasn’t in Korean, but KiBum recognized it as English. His English was rusty, but he was certain Henry had said “Meet you up there.”

KiBum nodded, and watched as Henry turned and disappeared into a building. KiBum waited a moment before following, looking up at the sky. Storm clouds gathered overhead, thunder rumbling ominously.

KyuJong looked up in surprise at the sudden storm. Where had that come from? The evening sky had been clear just moments ago, but now the air was filled with the rumbling of thunder as the system approached the city. Something about it didn’t feel right to him.

He put his pencil down, turning away from his homework to close his eyes. Reaching out, he found Panthera wasn’t responding so he tried Yuetu instead.

”It’s exciting, isn’t it Center?” the rabbit’s child-like voice was thrilled.

That confirmed it; something was going on. What’s happening? he sent back.

”That storm is Raiju’s doing. Hunter Henry is making his move.”

KyuJong’s eyes snapped open. “KiBum…” Where are they?

”Close any windows you have open, cause it’s gonna start raining buckets.” With that, Yuetu stopped talking to him.

Frowning, KyuJong got up from the chair and walked over to his windows. When he looked out, he could see the storm system approaching. There was no sign of Pantera and KiBum anywhere. Exhaling slowly, he closed the window. KiBum was on his own this time.

Stepping out onto the roof, KiBum saw Henry waiting for him. The Hunter was sitting on the rooftop’s edge, elbows braced against his knees as he watched the storm coming in.

He’d already figured out Henry’s understanding of Korean was even worse than Zitao’s, but thankfully KiBum could speak English. He and his brother had lived in Australia for a couple of years, though asking HyungJoon to speak any English was like asking him to speak Icelandic for all he had retained of the language. “Why did you want to fight me?” he asked, going over the English words carefully. “Why not the others?”

Henry’s expression brightened a little at the language he knew, standing up. “Because you’re new. I’m new too, just got Raiju last year. Have to start somewhere, right?”

KiBum stopped a good distance away. He glanced down at Pantera by his feet before returning his gaze to Henry. “But why are you a Hunter?”

The other man’s lips curved into a frown. “I moved from Canada to China…having a spirit beast in China is different than Korea, or Canada. Most Keepers are Hunters, or learn to live like Hunters just to keep their spirit beast longer than a week. You know how Zitao is…the older Hunters put a lot of pressure on him, and on Yixing to mentor him. Mi’s my mentor, and he takes all of the heat when I don’t do as well as the others want me to.” Henry lifted his arm up, horizontal to his body. “So I’m going to win, for Zhou Mi. It’s nothing personal.”

Thunder growled overhead and lightning arched down, striking the rooftop next to him. KiBum jumped back, eyes wide, as Henry’s weasel spirit appeared out of the lightning. Raiju was smaller than Pantera but his form pulsed with electricity. KiBum was sure touching him would be like grabbing a live wire.

Henry was smiling. “You seem like a nice guy. Maybe after I beat you and you forget everything, I’ll try to be your friend afterwards.”

Breathing in deeply, KiBum closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were darker than normal as he synched with Pantera. “You’ll have to beat me first.”

“Right,” Henry grinned, eyes shifting into shining gold. “May the best greenhorn win.”

Lightning flashed in the space between them, the roof shaking under KiBum’s feet as thunder rolled. One second Raiju was beside Henry, and then like a flash of electricity he was in front of Pantera. Pantera snarled and disappeared into the shadows just in time. Electricity hit cement, leaving scorch marks on the roof where she’d been standing.

The shock of the near miss nearly broke their sync, KiBum holding on tightly. No…he refused to lose. He wasn’t going to let all those weeks training to go waste. Closing his eyes so that he couldn’t see the chaos unfolding in front of him, he reached out to Pantera.

The feeling of a full sync was familiar and scary at the same time. KiBum had never really gotten used to seeing out of someone else’s eyes, much less someone who wasn’t human. Pantera had always been gentle with him, but now she was fighting for him. He couldn’t leave her to do this on her own like her previous Keepers.

Opening his eyes again, KiBum could see Raiju right in front of him, the weasel hissing and sending sparks scattering across the roof. What do we do? KiBum asked Pantera, worried.

”The weasel isn’t the only one who can control an element.” Pantera snarled back at Raiju, and darted out of the way as another bolt of lightning struck where she’d been standing.

Right…Pantera controlled the shadows. Casting his attention around, KiBum realized he didn’t need to look very far for shadows to manipulate. It was night, the shadows were all around them. Once he became aware they were there, it was like he’d found a comforting blanket and wrapped it around both him and the panther spirit. They could do this. Raiju and Henry might control the storm raging above, but the shadows couldn’t be destroyed by such feeble shows of light.

The air heated, KiBum feeling where the lightning would strike next. If Raiju could move through lightning, then Pantera… Look out! He opened up the shadows next to Pantera and the panther spirit disappeared into them just before lightning left another black mark on the roof.

KiBum knew he was looking out of his own eyes again, not Pantera’s, but he didn’t need to see what she did just then. He knew where she was, stalking in the spaces between the shadows where Raiju couldn’t see her. Still, attacking the weasel directly would give her a nasty shock.

If he could manipulate the shadows into hiding Pantera, could he get them to attack too? Reaching out, KiBum’s hands opened and closed into tight fists. With a squeal of surprise Raiju was enveloped by bands of shadows, the electricity coursing off his tiny body suppressed and negated.

I’ve got him! KiBum yelled, holding on with all his might as Raiju struggled to be free. Go now!

With a loud roar Pantera reappeared out of the darkness, claws and sharp teeth sinking into the weasel. Sparks exploded, and with a shriek Raiju was gone.

“Oh…” Henry’s eyes snapped back into focus, meeting KiBum’s across the roof. After a pause his eyes crinkled as his lips pulled into a smile. “Tell Zhou Mi it’s not his fault.” A shower of sparks enveloped him, and he crumbled to the floor.

Panting, KiBum slowly let go of the sync and fell to his knees, overwhelmed. He’d won his first challenge.

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