----
The fight dragged.
Not long in minutes.
But in battle, minutes were cruel.
Every second stretched too wide.
Every breath carried heat.
Every movement cost something.
Jisuk knew it.
Asuka knew it.
The Klein brother knew it too.
That was what made him dangerous.
He was not fighting to win quickly anymore.
He was buying time.
He had shifted from reckless amusement to pressure. Heavy flames rolled across the road in repeated bursts, forcing Jisuk to answer with wind again and again. He did not aim only for their bodies. He aimed for the ground under their feet, the walls near their shoulders, the debris around them.
Every fire blast turned the environment into another weapon.
Jisuk's wind carved through one wave, then another.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it hurt.
Sweat slid down the side of his face, evaporating almost instantly in the heat.
He hated this.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he knew exactly what was happening.
The longer they stayed here, the worse their position became.
The Klein brother's attacks were simple, but heavy. Too heavy. Each clash forced Jisuk to spend more energy than he wanted. The guy was not necessarily more skilled than him in technique, but experience made every movement ugly in the right way.
No waste.
No hesitation.
No concern for damage.
Asuka moved beside him like a quieter flame.
A terrifying one.
Every time the Klein brother's fire threatened to curve too far toward the street Jiwoo had taken, Asuka cut it away. She did not blast it apart like Jisuk expected a fire-type to do. She guided it, redirected it, split it.
Like she was correcting someone else's mistake.
It was ridiculous.
Useful.
Infuriating.
"Stop making it look easy!" Jisuk snapped.
Asuka ducked beneath a fire-coated punch and drove a burst of orange flame into the man's ribs before stepping away.
"I am not."
"You are!"
"It is difficult."
"You don't sound like it is!"
The Klein brother swung toward Jisuk.
Jisuk raised both arms, wind spiraling hard enough to bend the flames outward before they touched him.
The heat still bit through.
His skin stung.
He hissed and shoved back with a compressed burst.
The man skidded a step, boots grinding against concrete.
Then laughed.
"You brats really are entertaining."
Jisuk bared his teeth.
"You're really getting on my nerves."
"Good," the man said. "Angry kids make mistakes."
Jisuk's wind flared.
Asuka's hand brushed his sleeve.
Light.
A warning.
He almost snapped at her.
Then stopped himself.
Breathe.
Damn it.
He hated that her advice worked.
He inhaled sharply through his nose.
Exhaled.
His wind tightened again, less wild, more compressed.
Asuka nodded once.
Jisuk's eye twitched.
"Don't."
"I said nothing."
"You nodded."
"That was encouragement."
"I hate your encouragement."
"Noted."
The Klein brother's eyes shifted between them.
"You two are oddly coordinated."
"We are not," Jisuk said instantly.
"Yes," Asuka said.
Jisuk whipped his head toward her.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Ours."
"Then lie better!"
The man laughed again.
Then the street behind them exploded.
Not near them.
Farther down the side road.
Where Jiwoo had gone.
Where Wooin had gone.
The sound slammed through the old commercial block with enough force to shake glass loose from cracked windows.
Orange light burst against the walls.
Jiwoo's direction.
Asuka froze.
Not visibly to most.
But Jisuk saw it.
One moment, she was calm, bandaged face turned toward the enemy, flame curled neatly around her fingers.
The next, something in her went still in a way that made the air feel thin.
Her head snapped toward the side road.
Behind the bandages, her eyes flashed.
Not visible.
Not to him.
But somehow he knew.
She saw something.
A future.
A possibility.
Her fingers curled.
The Klein brother noticed too.
His grin widened.
"Worried?"
Jisuk moved before the man could take advantage of it, slashing wind across his path.
"Shut up!"
The Klein brother blocked with flame, but Jisuk did not look at him.
He looked at Asuka.
She had not moved.
That was worse.
"Asuka."
No answer.
Another flare of heat rose down the side road.
Distant.
But not far enough.
Her breathing changed.
Only slightly.
Jisuk cursed under his breath.
"Go."
Asuka turned toward him.
"What?"
"Go to them."
Her expression was hidden, but her body told him enough.
Hesitation.
Not because she did not want to go.
Because she did not want to leave him.
That pissed him off more than it should have.
Jisuk's wind snapped violently around his shoulders.
"Don't look at me like that."
"I am not looking."
"You are. Somehow."
The Klein brother lunged.
Jisuk shoved wind into the ground, launching himself sideways and dragging the attack away from Asuka's line. Flames tore past where she had stood, scorching the wall black.
Jisuk landed hard and pointed at her.
"Go!"
Asuka's hand tightened.
"You will be alone."
"No shit."
"Jisuk."
He glared at her.
"Don't underestimate me."
Her posture stilled.
His voice sharpened, pride and anger and fear twisting together into something rougher.
"I'm not some newbie like your brother. I'm Shinhwa's Jisuk Yoo."
Asuka did not speak.
Good.
He did not want her to.
"Wooin is injured," Jisuk snapped. "Jiwoo is carrying him. That brother went after them. They need you more than I do."
The words tasted awful.
He hated admitting it.
He hated needing to say it.
He hated that it was true.
Asuka stood there, flame flickering faintly around one hand.
Jisuk clicked his tongue.
"And don't act like I didn't notice."
"Notice what?"
"That you're strong."
His jaw tightened.
"Really strong. Annoyingly strong. So strong it's hard to imagine you were just introduced to this world."
Asuka's shoulders lowered slightly.
Jisuk looked away for half a second.
Then back to the Klein brother.
"So stop wasting time worrying about me like I'm dead weight."
The Klein brother's flames rose.
"How touching."
Jisuk smiled sharply.
"You're still here?"
The man's expression darkened.
Asuka's voice came quietly.
"Jisuk."
"What?"
"Do not lose."
His face went hot.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
Her mouth curved faintly.
Then she moved.
Jisuk had seen Jiwoo move.
Jiwoo's speed was sudden, explosive, bright with instinct. He vanished from one point and appeared at another like a spark flying off a live wire.
Asuka was different.
She did not burst.
She disappeared.
One second she stood beside him.
The next, the air folded.
Not visibly.
Not in a way Jisuk understood.
But something pulled.
The flame around her feet flashed orange, and her body shot down the side road so fast that the heat wake of her movement struck Jisuk's face half a breath after she had already gone.
The Klein brother's eyes widened.
Jisuk's mouth parted.
For one stunned second, both of them stared after her.
"What the…" Jisuk breathed.
She was faster than Jiwoo.
No.
That was not quite right.
Jiwoo was fast.
Asuka was using something else.
Something hidden inside speed.
Something that made distance feel like it had been cheated.
Down the road, Asuka accelerated again.
This time, no one saw the flicker of time tightening around her body.
A fraction.
Less than a breath.
Not enough to freeze the world.
Enough to make her arrival happen sooner than it should have.
Her future sight flashed in jagged fragments.
Jiwoo turning.
Wooin stumbling.
A flame bullet aimed at both of them.
Asuka's flame curled around her hand.
Orange.
Only orange.
For now.
Then she vanished into the light of the explosion.
Jisuk's teeth clenched.
"Damn it."
The Klein brother recovered first.
His gaze snapped back to Jisuk.
"Well."
His smile returned slowly.
"Looks like you're alone now."
Jisuk rolled his shoulder, wind gathering around his arms.
"Looks like it."
"You should've run with her."
Jisuk scoffed.
"And miss the chance to beat your ugly face in?"
The man laughed.
Then attacked.
This time, there was no Asuka beside him to cut the fire away.
Jisuk felt the difference immediately.
The first blast hit like a wall.
Wind met flame head-on, but heat pressed through the gaps, licking at his forearms. Jisuk twisted away and launched a blade of wind toward the man's shoulder.
The Klein brother ducked.
Fast enough.
Barely.
The edge cut across his cheek, drawing blood.
His smile sharpened.
Jisuk's heart pounded.
Good.
He could do this.
He was tired.
His arms hurt.
His breathing was too loud in his ears.
But he could do this.
He was not some sheltered brat who had only ever thrown tantrums.
He was Shinhwa.
He was Jiyoung Yoo's younger brother.
He had been trained.
He had fought.
He had lost before and gotten back up because losing was humiliating and he hated humiliation more than pain.
Fire slammed into the ground beside him.
The explosion threw him sideways.
Jisuk hit the pavement with his shoulder and rolled, hissing as pain shot down his arm.
He pushed himself up.
Too slow.
The Klein brother was already there.
A fire-coated fist drove toward his face.
Jisuk threw his left arm up and wrapped wind around it.
The impact still landed.
Flame burst.
Pain tore through his arm.
For a second, his vision went white.
He flew backward and crashed into a stack of rusted metal crates.
They collapsed around him with a brutal clatter.
"Ugh—!"
His right hand scraped against the ground.
His left arm throbbed.
Badly.
Not broken, maybe.
Maybe.
It hurt enough that he did not want to check.
Jisuk sucked in a sharp breath.
Where the hell was Inhyuk?
Where the hell was reinforcement?
Where the hell was his sister?
He hated that last thought.
He shoved it away immediately.
The Klein brother walked toward him through the smoke.
"You're pretty good for a kid."
Jisuk pushed himself up, wind trembling around his good hand.
"Don't talk like you're winning."
"I am winning."
Jisuk spat blood to the side.
"Then why are you bleeding?"
The man's smile twitched.
Good.
Still annoying.
Still alive.
Jisuk lifted his hand.
Wind gathered.
Less than before.
Damn it.
He needed time.
A few more minutes.
Just a few.
Asuka would reach Jiwoo.
Wooin would get out.
Backup would arrive.
He just had to keep this bastard here.
The Klein brother's gaze shifted.
Not to Jisuk.
Past him.
Toward the shadow near the wall.
Kayden.
The orange cat had remained at the edge of the fight, low to the ground, eyes narrowed. He had not gone after Asuka. Not yet. He had watched her leave, every instinct screaming to follow his disciples, but his gaze had returned to Jisuk.
Because Jisuk was alone.
Because Jisuk was hurt.
Because if Kayden left now, the Klein brother might seriously injure him before Jiyoung arrived.
Kayden hated it.
He hated the calculation.
He hated that it mattered.
He hated that Jisuk Yoo, rude, reckless, loud-mouthed brat that he was, had protected Jiwoo and Wooin and told Asuka to go.
He hated that he was not wrong to stay.
Jisuk noticed the Klein brother looking.
Then noticed where.
His eyes widened slightly.
The bastard's flames curled toward his palm.
Not at Jisuk.
At the cat.
Jisuk moved without thinking.
Wind burst from his feet and threw him between Kayden and the attack path.
"Hey!"
The Klein brother paused.
Jisuk pointed at the orange cat without looking back.
"You. Get out of here."
Kayden stared at him.
What?
Jisuk's face twisted in pain as his left arm hung stiffly at his side.
"You deaf? I said get out of here!"
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
This brat.
The Klein brother blinked.
Then laughed.
Low at first.
Then louder.
"Seriously?"
Jisuk glared.
"What?"
The man's mouth twisted.
"I never knew an awakener would stoop this low."
Fire curled around his fingers.
"Risking himself to save a fat cat?"
The world went still.
Not because of Asuka.
Not because of time.
Because Kayden stopped moving.
His eyes, round and feline a second before, sharpened into something ancient and violent.
Jisuk felt it behind him.
A chill that had nothing to do with temperature.
The Klein brother did not.
He grinned down at Jisuk.
"What? Is it your pet?"
A voice spoke from above him.
Low.
Offended.
Human.
"Who are you calling a fat cat?"
The Klein brother's smile vanished.
Jisuk's eyes widened.
Slowly, both of them looked up.
Kayden stood on top of the Klein brother's head.
An orange cat.
Round.
Furious.
Balanced perfectly between the man's shoulders and skull as if he had always belonged there.
For one frozen second, nobody understood what they were seeing.
Then lightning flashed.
Not large.
Not the full power of Kayden Break.
Not even close.
But close enough.
Electricity snapped from Kayden's body into the Klein brother's head and spine with a sharp crackle.
The man's entire body seized.
His eyes rolled back.
Smoke rose faintly from his hair.
Then he collapsed face-first onto the road.
Boom.
Silence.
Kayden hopped off his head and landed lightly on the pavement.
His tail flicked.
He looked down at the unconscious man with deep dissatisfaction.
"Being a cat makes my attacks weak."
Jisuk sat there.
On the ground.
Blood at the corner of his mouth.
Arm throbbing.
Hair a mess.
Eyes wide.
Mouth open.
Staring at the orange cat who had just spoken, teleported onto a criminal's head, electrocuted him, and complained that it was weak.
Nothing in Jisuk's brain worked.
Not one thing.
Kayden turned.
His eyes landed on Jisuk.
Jisuk's soul tried to leave his body.
Kayden approached him.
Slowly.
Each small paw step somehow more threatening than the Klein brother's flames.
Jisuk leaned back.
"What the…"
Kayden stopped in front of him.
"You didn't see anything."
Jisuk stared.
The cat had spoken.
The fat orange cat had spoken.
The weird cat.
Casein Nitrate.
The cat that hit him over treats.
The cat Inhyuk called a wise chubby baby.
The cat—
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
"You hear me?"
Jisuk did not speak.
He could not.
Kayden lifted one paw.
Then slapped Jisuk across the cheek.
Pap.
Jisuk's head turned slightly.
Not from force.
From disbelief.
Kayden's voice dropped.
"I said, you didn't see anything."
Jisuk slowly turned his head back.
Kayden's paw lifted again.
Pap.
Another slap.
"Not one word."
Pap.
"To Shinhwa."
Pap.
"To the Union."
Pap.
"To your sister."
Jisuk's eyes widened further at that.
Kayden leaned closer.
"Or your ass is dead."
Jisuk gulped.
Hard.
Then nodded rapidly.
"Yes, sir."
Kayden stared at him for another second.
Apparently satisfied, he lowered his paw.
"Good."
Then he turned away, tail high, already looking down the side road where Asuka and Jiwoo had gone.
His disciples were still fighting.
He could feel it.
Asuka's energy was controlled, but sharper now.
Jiwoo's was moving fast.
Wooin's flickered weakly.
Kayden clicked his tongue.
Troublesome kids.
All of them.
He sprinted toward the side road.
Jisuk remained where he was.
Sitting on the pavement.
Staring after the orange cat.
His cheek stung faintly.
Not from pain.
From reality.
He lifted one hand and touched his face.
"…What the fuck."
No answer.
The unconscious Klein brother groaned.
Jisuk's head snapped toward him.
No.
No, no, no.
The man's fingers twitched.
Then his eyes opened slightly.
Smoke still rose faintly from his hair.
He looked dazed.
Confused.
Injured.
But not fully out.
Jisuk scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his arm.
His mind was still screaming.
The cat talked.
The cat electrocuted him.
The cat threatened me.
The cat slapped me.
The cat is not a cat.
The Klein brother pushed himself up on one elbow, blinking hard.
"What… happened?"
Jisuk dragged a hand furiously through his hair.
"I don't have a damn clue either!"
The man stared at him.
His gaze dropped to his own shaking hand.
Then to the scorch marks across his sleeve.
Then back to Jisuk.
"Did you do this?"
Jisuk barked out a laugh that was half hysteria, half anger.
"With what? My secret cat technique?"
The Klein brother's brows drew together.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
Jisuk lifted his good arm, wind gathering violently around his hand.
He needed to keep fighting.
He needed to not think about the cat.
He needed to not think about the fact that he had just agreed, very politely, to obey a round orange animal under threat of death.
He needed—
The air changed.
A pressure descended.
Clean.
Cold.
Controlled.
The flames around the Klein brother flickered.
Then bent.
Not from Jisuk's wind.
From something far more refined.
Jisuk felt it before he saw her.
Relief hit him so hard his knees nearly weakened.
A figure appeared in front of him.
Tall.
Elegant.
Calm.
Dark hair falling neatly around her face.
Jiyoung Yoo stood between Jisuk and the Klein brother, wind gathered around her like a quiet storm.
For one second, Jisuk forgot how to breathe.
Then his shoulders dropped.
"Noona…"
Jiyoung did not look back immediately.
Her gaze remained on the Klein brother, who had gone utterly still.
Smart of him.
Very smart.
Only after confirming the man would not move did Jiyoung speak.
"Jisuk."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that meant someone was about to regret every decision that had led them here.
"Are you hurt?"
Jisuk swallowed.
His arm throbbed.
His cheek still remembered Kayden's paw.
His pride was in pieces.
His understanding of reality had been murdered by a cat.
"I'm fine," he said automatically.
Jiyoung finally turned her head slightly.
Her eyes lowered to his arm.
Then to the blood at his mouth.
Then to his face.
Jisuk stiffened.
No.
Absolutely not.
Could she tell?
Could she see the cat slap?
Was there a paw print?
There better not be a paw print.
Jiyoung's gaze paused on his cheek for half a second.
Jisuk's soul ascended.
Then her eyes returned to the enemy.
"We will discuss that later."
Jisuk paled.
That was worse.
Much worse.
Behind Jiyoung, Shinhwa agents began arriving across the street, footsteps sharp, energy controlled. Inhyuk was among them, face unusually serious, eyes scanning the damage, Jisuk, the fallen Klein brother, and the empty direction Kayden had disappeared.
"Jisuk!"
Jisuk waved weakly with his good hand.
"I said I'm fine!"
Inhyuk's eyes narrowed.
"You do not look fine."
"That's because everyone keeps saying that!"
The Klein brother, perhaps deciding unconsciousness had been safer, tried to move.
Jiyoung lifted one hand.
The wind stopped him instantly.
Not violently.
Not loudly.
Just absolute control.
His body slammed flat to the ground under invisible pressure.
He grunted, unable to move.
Jisuk stared.
Every time.
Every time he thought he was used to his sister, she reminded him why the entire country acted carefully around her.
Jiyoung's voice was soft.
"You attacked children in Shinhwa territory."
The Klein brother strained against the wind.
Failed.
"You kidnapped a Union awakener."
The pressure increased.
Concrete cracked beneath him.
"And you injured my brother."
Jisuk's ears reddened despite everything.
"Noona, I said—"
"Quiet."
He shut up instantly.
Inhyuk looked at him.
Then at Jiyoung.
Then back at him.
Jisuk looked away.
The Klein brother coughed.
Blood touched the pavement.
Jiyoung's expression did not change.
"Secure him."
Shinhwa agents moved immediately.
Jisuk took one step forward.
Then winced.
Jiyoung noticed without looking.
"Stay still."
"I can walk."
"I did not ask."
Jisuk grimaced.
Inhyuk came to his side, concern cutting through his usual composure.
"What happened? Where are Jiwoo, Asuka, and Wooin?"
Jisuk's mind flashed.
Asuka vanishing faster than Jiwoo.
Kayden speaking.
Kayden shocking the man.
Kayden slapping him.
Not one word.
To Shinhwa.
To the Union.
To your sister.
Or your ass is dead.
Jisuk's mouth went dry.
He pointed down the side road.
"They went that way."
Inhyuk's face sharpened.
"Who?"
"Jiwoo took Wooin. Asuka followed after an explosion."
Jiyoung turned fully now.
For the first time, something in her calm shifted.
Not fear.
Focus.
"Asuka followed alone?"
Jisuk swallowed.
"Yeah."
He hesitated.
Then added, because despite everything, honesty was safer than sounding too calm, "She's… fast."
Jiyoung's eyes narrowed slightly.
"How fast?"
Jisuk remembered the air folding.
The heat wake.
The impossible disappearance.
He also remembered a talking cat threatening his ass.
He chose his answer carefully.
"Faster than I expected."
Jiyoung looked toward the side road.
The wind around her stirred.
Inhyuk was already moving.
"We need to go."
Jiyoung gave one short nod.
Then glanced at Jisuk.
"Can you move?"
Jisuk straightened immediately.
"Of course."
His arm screamed.
He ignored it.
Jiyoung's gaze softened by the smallest amount.
Then sharpened again.
"Stay behind me."
Jisuk opened his mouth.
Closed it.
For once, he did not argue.
Not because he was scared.
Not because he was hurt.
Definitely not because he had just been slapped into obedience by a cat.
He fell into step behind his sister, still trying to make sense of the last minute of his life.
The Klein brother was secured behind them.
Shinhwa agents spread out.
Inhyuk moved ahead, expression dark.
Jiyoung's wind gathered silently as she walked toward the orange glow down the street.
Jisuk followed, dazed and bruised, muttering under his breath.
"I hallucinated that."
He paused.
Touched his cheek again.
The sting remained.
His eye twitched.
"…I did not hallucinate that."
Ahead, the night flashed with another burst of fire.
Jiyoung's pace quickened.
Jisuk clenched his good hand.
Fine.
Reality could be insane later.
For now, Jiwoo, Wooin, Asuka—
And apparently the talking murder cat—
Were still ahead.
----