“I told you he’d win.”

Cleaning the tables and setting the chairs on them, KyuJong looked over to where SungMin, KyuHyun and KiBum were talking. SungMin had a wide grin on his face, one hand clasping KiBum’s shoulder like the proud mentor he was.

“I think he’s the first of Pantera’s Keepers to survive his first challenge in…two years. Has it been two years since Sulli?” SungMin looked down at Yuetu in confirmation. “Okay, one and a half, same thing.”

“There’s been many Keepers since then?” KiBum blinked.

“Tons of them. A bunch of greenhorns who thought they had it made and didn’t even bother practicing, so they got their asses kicked. Usually by DongHae, because he takes it upon himself to make sure Keepers in Seoul perform as expected. I knew you would be different from them,” SungMin grinned widely. “After all, you asked me to be your mentor, and you can’t go wrong with that.”

“No self-absorption there,” KyuHyun drawled, closing up the cash register for the night.

“Shut it. Don’t listen to him, he was sulking for two days because no one’s ever asked him to be their mentor,” SungMin snorted, clapping KiBum’s shoulder as he went to get the mop. “Don’t think you’re getting out of practice tonight, by the way! You still have a long way to go.”

“How much of a long way?” KiBum asked, pouting. “I thought I was doing pretty good last night.”

“You were doing good…for a beginner,” KyuHyun leaned over the counter. “Henry was a beginner too and you’re lucky he was, or Raiju wouldn’t have been caught by such an easy strategy.”

“I…didn’t think it was a bad strategy,” KiBum deflated a little. Pantera nudged his side reassuringly.

KyuHyun shrugged, counting out the bills from the register. “A greenhorn like you is going to need a lot more work before you can take on any of the serious Keepers out there. I can show you better approaches, it’s my specialty.”

“Don’t listen to him,” SungMin warned. “He’s just going to trap you in his webs and laugh at you while you try to get out.”

“What makes you think I’ll do that?” KyuHyun asked innocently.

“Because that’s what you did to me, you , I won’t have you torment my student like that.”

“I’ll remind you, you walked into that web all by yourself. I didn’t trick you into it, I just didn’t help you out right away.”

“Because you’re a devil in disguise, and who randomly has a massive spider’s web across a doorway?”

KyuJong shook his head in amusement, listening to the couple take shots at each other. KiBum, seeing his chance to escape, hurried over to where KyuJong was working instead. “Are they always like this?”

“This is mild for them,” KyuJong chuckled, continuing to work diligently. He’d probably be done cleanup before they finished their argument. “I’m glad you’re okay, KiBum.”

“I’m glad I’m okay too,” KiBum laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “I feel a little bad though…Henry didn’t seem like that bad of a guy. I wish I could have talked to him more.”

“Do you know what happened to him after the challenge?” KyuJong asked, glancing over his shoulder at KiBum.

“I didn’t want to just leave him on the roof by himself, so I stuck around afterwards,” KiBum nodded. “That other Hunter, Zhou Mi, showed up… Henry woke up and they talked for a bit in Mandarin, but Henry left with him after that. It didn’t seem like he knew Zhou Mi at all despite being his mentor, I just hope he gets back to China okay,” KiBum’s gaze became downcast. “Waking up with no idea why you’re in another country has to be a little scary.”

“I’m sure Zhou Mi will make sure he gets back home okay,” KyuJong smiled sadly, squeezing KiBum’s shoulder. He would hope the Hunters had plans in place in case any of them lost a challenge.

Sparks flashed in the corner of his vision, and KyuJong jumped in surprise, looking around. “What was that?”

“What was what?” KyuHyun looked over, confused.

“I thought I saw…” KyuJong trailed off, seeing the sparks again. They were coming from the other side of the café’s window, illuminating the glass in short bursts. Abaia?

No…that wasn’t Abaia.

“Raiju?” KiBum’s voice broke the silence in the café, and he walked to the window, looking out at the weasel spirit right outside. “What’s he doing here?” KyuJong followed KiBum to the window, SungMin and KyuHyun doing the same. Raiju was looking around, his small body twitching nervously. Finally he noticed the four gathered at the window and stood up on his hind legs, squeaks muffled by the glass.

“Can you understand him?” KiBum asked KyuJong, and the older man shook his head.

“…KyuHyun, you can finish cleaning up, right?” SungMin said lowly, and when KyuJong looked at him he saw the blonde’s expression dark with anger.

“You don’t want any help?” KyuHyun was frowning.

“No, I’ve got this.” SungMin turned and walked to the door, pulling it open. The second he stepped out of the café Raiju took off down the street, SungMin and Yuetu on his heels.

“Should we follow?” KyuJong asked, worried. Though he and KiBum hadn’t understood what was going on, it was clear KyuHyun and SungMin did.

“No, finish cleaning up,” KyuHyun shook his head, turning away from the window. “Leave the chairs down on the table in the far corner.”

“Okay…” KyuJong frowned, slowly starting to clean up again. He’d finished cleaning and mopping the floor when KyuHyun (who’d disappeared at some point) emerged from the back of the café carrying a first aid kit. He set it down on the table left in the corner just as the bell over the shop’s door chimed.

SungMin stepped in, supporting a stumbling teen who looked like he was about to fall over onto his face any second. His clothes were dirt-smudged and torn, and blood dripped from a split lip and broken nose. SungMin sported a red mark across his jawbone that was slowly turning into a purple bruise.

“…What happened?” KiBum’s mouth fell open in shock, and he hurried to pull out a chair for the beaten teen to sit down on.

SungMin didn’t reply right away, taking the first aid kit from KyuHyun and opening it. “Don’t worry about them, just look at me,” he said, voice quiet like he was dealing with an easily startled deer. The teen’s face was expressionless past the blood, but his eyes followed those around him and he flinched back when KyuHyun came up beside him.

“Practice is cancelled for tonight,” SungMin said, not looking back at KiBum and KyuJong as he carefully started wiping away the blood marring the teen’s face. “We’ve got it from here, you both can go.”

KyuJong looked between the three at the table, eyes landing on Raiju who’d curled up by the teen’s feet. He nodded slowly. “Let’s go KiBum,” KyuJong said quietly, putting his arm around the Kim brother’s shoulders and steering him towards the door.

“It’s okay,” he heard SungMin say as they stepped out of the café and into the street. “You’re with friends here, I promise.”

”Hurry, this way!”

Hooves stamped against the concrete, followed by the lighter rhythm of sneakers. Shadows played across the brick walls, stretching after them in distorted faces.

“But why are we running? You’ve never wanted to run away from an opponent before!”

“You don’t want to fight him, trust me. Something isn’t right. Everything about him just feels wrong.”

“We’re not going to be able to run forever.” Sharp pants escaped as the young human glanced behind him. The alley where they’d come from was completely shrouded in blackness.

The thunder of hooves came to a sudden stop, and he nearly ran into the rear end of the animal he was following. Looking back to the front, he swallowed as the darkness formed distinct shapes.

A deep snarl rang through the alley. Only screams followed it.

KyuJong’s eyes snapped open, and he panted quietly as he stared up at his apartment’s ceiling. Another dream…or nightmare. They had started coming almost nightly after the run-in with the bat spirits. Sometimes he’d be looking out of the spirit’s eyes, sometimes he’d be a third party watching and unable to do anything. He could never identify a face, nor remember precisely which spirit beast he’d seen. All he could remember this time was the steady echo of hooves, and the screams that had jolted him back awake.

As much as he wanted to do something about the nightmares, there was little he could do. Groaning quietly, he rolled over onto his side and blinked at his alarm clock. Well…he had to be up soon anyways. Sitting up, KyuJong scrubbed at his eyes before going to take a shower.

He’d finished cleaning up and eaten a light breakfast when there was a knock on the door. As silly as it sounded, he was getting used to HyungJoon’s way of knocking. Two light knocks, a pause as he wondered if they were loud enough, and then three louder ones. Today, there were five louder knocks. Someone was a little over-eager to get to class.

Finishing his toast, KyuJong walked to the door and pulled it open. “Morning.”

“Morning,” HyungJoon smiled, hair still sticking up every which way. “You ready to go?”

“I am, but you’re not,” KyuJong shook his head. He went to his closet and pulled out one of his favorite beanies, the one he used whenever he was too lazy to fix his hair in the morning. Turning around to face HyungJoon, he jammed it over the younger man’s head. “There. You’re a disaster in the morning, Joon.”

“I just got up, not everyone wakes up with the birds,” HyungJoon flushed as KyuJong’s fingers fixed the tufts of hair sticking out from under the beanie. Then he frowned. “You’re starting panda eyes, Kyu. Nightmares still?”

“Nothing I can really do about them,” KyuJong shrugged, finishing fixing his friend’s hair before stooping to pick up his bag. “Though I am debating if I should try sleeping pills.”

“Should take a nap between classes,” HyungJoon slung his arm over KyuJong’s shoulders and steered him out of the apartment. He waited for KyuJong to lock the door behind him before they continued down the hallway to the elevator.

They left the apartment building and headed down the street towards the university campus, HyungJoon chatting about classes and how cool it was KiBum had defeated ‘that Hunter guy’. After the initial discomfort when he found out about spirit beasts, he’d become very interested in the subject, quizzing KyuJong constantly. KyuJong answered his questions to the best of his ability, and tried to refer HyungJoon to SungMin for the rest. That didn’t work: SungMin had little patience when it came to teaching an outsider about spirit beasts.

Turning a street corner, KyuJong looked up and blinked when he saw a familiar figure leaning up against the wall ahead. HyunJoong wasn’t playing his guitar like usual, the case closed and slung over his back. Instead he was frowning up at the sky, the wind blowing through the strands of hair not pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hi HyunJoong,” KyuJong said when he and HyungJoon were closer, smiling at the older man. HyungJoon stopped talking and looked at HyunJoong in confusion.

Gaze focusing, HyunJoong glanced over at them both. A wry smile curled his lips. “Good morning.” His eyes went to HyungJoon. “Who’s this?”

“Oh…HyungJoon, this is HyunJoong,” KyuJong introduced them, trying not to trip over the similar names. “HyunJoong, Joon is my best friend. We’re just heading to class.”

HyungJoon ducked his head slightly. “Uh…nice to meet you.”

HyunJoong nodded in return, lips quirked before his gaze returned to the older of the two. “You doing alright, KyuJong?”

“Yeah,” KyuJong nodded, pinking a little. “What’s going on? Not performing today?”

HyunJoong shook his head slowly. “It’s too dark to worry about that now,” he said, glancing up at the sky again. KyuJong followed his gaze; he didn’t think it was any darker than usual. The sun was out in full force, shining down on them.

“It’s not dark,” HyungJoon echoed KyuJong’s thoughts, looking up as well.

The guitarist looked back at HyungJoon, lips twisted into a frown. “You’re too close. Be careful, or you’ll put someone in danger.”

“What?” HyungJoon blinked repeatedly.

Sighing, HyunJoong stepped up to KyuJong. “Take care of yourself, Center. I don’t think it knows about you yet…but it’s only a matter of time.”

“…Until who knows about me?” KyuJong asked quietly. “Are you talking about the Darkness?”

HyunJoong grinned, that wide lopsided grin that never failed to make KyuJong blush. “See, you’re learning. I’ll see you around.” He tugged lightly on KyuJong’s hair before walking past them.

KyuJong turned around, watching HyunJoong go. While he was talking in riddles like usual, something about the man seemed off today. “…He’s worried about something.”

“He sounds kinda crazy to me,” HyungJoon mumbled, looking between KyuJong and HyunJoong’s retreating back before he scowled down at the sidewalk.

“That’s how he usually talks.” KyuJong looked down at his watch. “We’re going to be late for class, let’s go,” he hurried on towards the campus gates, leaving HyungJoon to run after him.

If KyuJong had been paying more attention, he would have noticed that something was bothering HyungJoon. But he was too focused on what HyunJoong had said, about the Darkness not knowing about him. What would happen if the Darkness knew there was a Center in Seoul? Would it go after him? He needed to talk to YooChun again and ask if Amber had been pursued by the Darkness in America, but the crow Keeper was nowhere to be found. Neither was JunSu for that matter. Trying to listen for Huginn, KyuJong found traces of the crow at the other end of the city.

That night he was supposed to meet up with the usual practice group up on the roof. KiBum and HyungJoon had gone on ahead; HyungJoon had become a fixed part of the nightly sessions, even if SungMin disliked him being there and KyuHyun didn’t make his presence known until after HyungJoon was gone (SungMin usually kicked him out halfway through practice). KyuJong had to finish up an assignment first so he stayed in his apartment with promises to meet them as soon as he was done.

Finally finishing around ten, KyuJong made his way out of the apartment and down the street, looking up at the sky. The night was clear and the moon shown down brightly, but he had a feeling he knew what HyunJoong was talking about. It did feel a little darker than usual. Shivering, KyuJong turned to cut through a park.

“Oh, hi!”

The cheerful voice made him stop and look around. KyuJong’s eyes fell on three familiar figures a little off the path. Zhou Mi and MinSeok were sitting on a park bench, Zitao stretched out on the grass next to them with his eyes closed.

“…Hi,” KyuJong frowned, glancing around a little warily. He didn’t see any of their spirit beasts around, but that didn’t mean anything. “Uh…”

“Don’t look so nervous,” MinSeok looked up at KyuJong.

“Why would you be nervous?” Zhou Mi blinked. “We’re not doing anything wrong. It’s a nice night, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…it is,” KyuJong nodded, turning a little more towards them. “Uh…what are you all doing?” It was rare for him to see the Hunters out and about (and not challenging one of his friends).

“We’re waiting for Yixing to come back from the airport,” Zhou Mi replied, lounging on the bench with his long legs stretched out in front of him. “He’s seeing Henry off.”

KyuJong nodded slowly. “…Why him? I…heard from KiBum that you’re Henry’s mentor.”

Zhou Mi’s lips twisted a little sadly. “I was his mentor, but we have rules to follow if any of us loses a challenge. Yixing was put in charge of getting him back to China, and someone else will take over from there. Henry will get back home safely, that’s what matters.”

KyuJong knew he should probably walk away, considering the reputation the Hunters had. Everyone else he knew hated the very mention of Hunters. But they didn’t seem that bad to him…even if Zitao and Asena scared him to death. Just the idea that the wolf spirit could be lurking nearby sent shivers down his spine.

“Did each of you have a mentor?” he asked.

Zhou Mi nodded. “It’s more of a custom in China than it is here, I’ve noticed. Anyone with less than a year’s experience has a mentor. I was Henry’s, and MinSeok’s before him. Yixing is Zitao’s.”

“…Zitao’s been a Keeper less than a year?” KyuJong found that surprising. He glanced over and saw one of Zitao’s eyes open after hearing his name. The Chinese Hunter obviously didn’t understand what they were talking about though, because after a moment the eye closed again.

“He’s our youngest,” MinSeok chuckled. “I think he’s up to nine months now. Yixing’s only been his mentor for the last three months. One of the elders trained him before that…Yixing fought tooth and nail to be his mentor instead.”

“Why?” KyuJong asked, frowning.

Zhou Mi frowned at MinSeok. “He’s sitting right there, you know.”

“So? He can’t understand Korean.” MinSeok shrugged.

“He does understand his name though.”

“Okay, so we’ll call him…um…panda,” MinSeok grinned, pulling at his eyes a little. “Because he’s got permanent panda eyes. Ow,” he laughed when Zhou Mi nudged him in the side with one bony elbow. “But yeah. Panda’s under a lot of pressure to perform. The older Keepers all want him to take over as Spirit King, and he’s been trained with that goal in mind. Did you know Asena used to be partnered with a Spirit King?”

“No,” KyuJong blinked repeatedly.

“Two Keepers before our panda. He was one of the strongest Spirit Kings in recent memory, and Asena…I wasn’t around to see it, but apparently she was something to be feared,” MinSeok chuckled.

Zhou Mi sighed, shaking his head. “After we lost that Spirit King, any Keeper partnered with Asena has been pushed to become the next Chinese Spirit King. The Keeper before ‘panda’ was driven past exhaustion…he killed himself while trying to attain that goal. Yixing and I were there, we knew of the stain he was under. So when we saw the same thing happening to our panda, Yixing took things into his own hands and challenged his mentor for the right to train him.”

“Yixing is one of our top Keepers, he won easily,” MinSeok chuckled, before his gaze sobered and he glanced to Zitao. “Some habits are hard to break though.”

“And it’ll be difficult for him to become Spirit King, at least for now,” Zhou Mi murmured. “But tell the elders that and they will just say we aren’t pushing him hard enough.”

“Why would it be difficult?” KyuJong asked, feeling like he was learning more talking to the Hunters than any of the others.

“Because there are some spirit beasts who, for lack of another way to say it, are meant to partner with a Spirit King,” Zhou Mi replied, looking at KyuJong with a small smile. “And Asena, as powerful as she is, isn’t one of them. Have you heard of the Four Beasts?”

KyuJong nodded quickly. “I’ve heard their name, but no one’s ever told me who they are.”

“They are the four most powerful spirit beasts in the world,” Zhou Mi explained. “They don’t pick Keepers often, because of their power but when they do choose one, that Keeper always becomes a Spirit King. Defeating a Spirit King who has one of the Four Beasts is exceedingly difficult, and the current Spirit King has one of them. They’re known by different names in different cultures, but the Four Beasts are Qinglong the dragon, Zhuque the phoenix, Xuanwu the turtle—“

“And Baihu,” a voice spoke from behind KyuJong. “The tiger.”

KyuJong turned around, startled. HyunJoong stood a few paces away, his guitar case missing. Dirt smudged his clothes, and his expression was marked by a frown. Standing beside him was his white tiger spirit, sapphire eyes blazing.

“I had a feeling you’d be here.” HyunJoong wasn’t speaking to KyuJong, but to the Hunters.

Zitao had jumped to his feet. “Spirit King.”

“…What?” KyuJong looked between them, eyes wide.

“I’m not here to challenge you, even if you have been getting on my nerves,” HyunJoong glanced at Zitao before turning to Zhou Mi. “I’m here to let you know something important.”

Frowning, Zhou Mi spoke to Zitao in quiet Mandarin. The younger man backed off as Zhou Mi stood. “What is it?”

“Another Keeper’s been found in a coma and heavily injured,” HyunJoong said. “Daniel recognized him as one of yours.”

“One of…oh no,” Zhou Mi paled as MinSeok translated for the youngest Hunter. Zitao’s eyes widened and he pulled on MinSeok’s sleeve, asking something in frantic Mandarin.

“Where is he?” MinSeok looked at HyunJoong again. “Where’s Yixing now?”

“He’s in ER at Seoul General Hospital.”

Please subscribe, comment and/or upvote if you enjoyed this chapter!

So November is quickly approaching~ Some of you already know, but I'll be participating in National Novel Writing Month this year \o/ Yaaaay! Sadly, that means that updates will be spotty from now until the end of November. I'll try to get another update up before November starts, but no guarantee, and once November's going I'll be writing approximately 1.7k a day to finish my 50,000 word story by December 1st. On top of university. So, don't count on any updates through November, though I'll try to get The Sworn at least updated when I can.

So what's my novel for the month? The sequel to Spirit Wars! Because Nano rules won't let me continue a current novel, I have to begin a new one, and well I've got so many plot bunnies for the sequel it isn't even funny. 

And I have info for it ready to share with you guys! Ready?

Leggo!

This fic will be set two years after Spirit Wars, so even after November's done I won't begin posting it until Spirit Wars is finished. Besides, everyone who knows me already KNOWS I won't be able to limit the fic to 50,000 words .______.

Will post more info as it goes up!

Thank you to SSitinurain and icezhuu for upvoting the story!

@forest_pixi: Sorryyyy for no comment last week =( It was crazy crazy. And YooChun deserved the punch, because he's snooping through JunSu's mind like a creep =P And darn, Kevin's been found out ;D He doesn't mind zombies if he has an excuse to hug KiBum.

@Forever5501: Soo~~ did you get more cookies this week? Did you? Did you? ;D And KiBum always needs a knock in the head.

@curionenene: Hey, I nearly ended up killing them off when they lose a challenge, but I think I'd be murdered for the amount of character death this story would have if so LOL

@ping501: Lol I feel bad for Henry still =( And Kyu appreciates your support ;D