Tap, Tap

Tap, Tap

Tap, Tap

Yeosang's eyebrow twitched from behind the pair of binoculars he held up to his face for observation. He glanced over to where Xion was leaning against a wall off to the side. He was bouncing a tennis ball against the side of one of the empty desks. Where he had even gotten it was anyone's guess.

"Could you stop playing around and actually do some work?" the sandy brunette couldn't help but snap.

"I am doing work," Xion replied casually. "There isn't anything out there right now and we are wasting our time."

"Lady Red could be out there at any minute now. We need to be prepared instead of messing around."

"I'm not messing around, I'm resting." The other said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You keep watch for now, and then we will switch."

"Listen, we are a team and we have to work together," Yeosang huffed as he lowered his binoculars. He turned to where he was fully facing the other. "I really don't care for your laissez faire attitude, but for now, we are teammates so I would really appreciate it if my teammate would help me."

Xion caught his tennis ball in his hand and held it. "And I'm saying, I am helping. It won't do us any good for both of us to be tired on watch. We can take shifts."

"But I can't see everywhere at once." Yeosang countered. "It would be helpful to have you looking one way while I look the other."

"We don't have to look everywhere all at once," Xion shrugged. "That is why we have agents stationed in different places so there are no blind spots."

"But we are the only ones watching from above in this spot, meaning we have to be twice as vigilant!"

"Look," sighed Xion, "I see your point but we have been at this for seven days shouldn't something have happened by now?"

"We don't have a specific day, we only have a vague time frame when Lady Red strikes." Yeosang rolled his eyes. "I don't know why they didn't pair me up with Jongho. I'm sure he would actually pull his weight."

"Hey!" Xion stood from his spot. "I am not lazy. And, I'll have you know, I've known Jongho way longer than you have, we had classes together at the academy. Who is to say why they didn't pair me with him?"

Yeosang had had just about enough of this. He knew Xion could do the work, he did graduate early like the rest of them, but he was tired and frustrated. They hadn't seen any signs of Lady Red in a week and being cooped up for so long with practically a stranger and so little sleep was wearing on him. He really hoped that something would happen soon so they could get the heck out of here.

The sandy brunette stood and squared up to the other. "When will you get it through your head that you are intruding on this team!

"Oh, well I'm sorry for intruding on a team I was assigned." They were nearly in each other's faces at this point.

"Funny thing about assignments," Yeosang started in a mock helpful voice. "You can always request to have them changed."

"Fine, maybe I will-"

That was about as far as Xion was able to get before the ground beneath him shook and his vision went black.

XxX

Red

That was the first thing Seonghwa saw when he tried to open his eyes. His vision was blurred and everything looked like it was in a haze. The only thing he could hear was the ringing in his ears and he was extremely disoriented. Where was he? He tried to move his fingers. Oh, he was on the ground. How did he get there?

"-hwa"

He slowly tried to move his eyes around even though he couldn't really register anything. The ground was shining and there were small lines of red licking at the ground. Fire? He spotted what might be his phone a few feet away. He was sure the screen was shattered. He would have to remember to get a new one.

"-nghwa!"

He felt warm. Was he supposed to feel warm? It was the beginning of winter so shouldn't he feel cold? It was pleasant, almost enough to lull him to sleep. Maybe it was from one of those red flickering thingies. 

"Seonghwa!" A voice yelled, sounding from afar. He saw feet enter his vision before hands grabbed at his body, rolling him slowly onto his back. Faces leaned over him but he wasn't able to get a clear look at who it was. The sky looked nice behind them, though.

"His head is bleeding." One of the voices said. "Can we get some bandages?"

"The area is being blocked off," Another voice said. "I don't know if we can get an ambulance out here."

Seonghwa let the voices wash over him. He moved his eyes from the sky to something brighter glowing in the sky. It was a building covered in the red things. He felt that there was something important going on in there. Someone or something...

As if struck by lightning, the fog lifted from his brain and he shot up. He struggled against the hands trying to hold him back. "Wait! Yeosang! Xion! They are in that building!"

"Seonghwa, hold on! You might have a concussion." The struggling agent finally got a look at who was holding him. It was Ravn. He had seen the explosion from the coffee shop and how one of their own was pushed back, he rushed over to help.

"I don't care!" Seonghwa finally managed to shake off one of the arms holding him. He stumbled unsteadily to his feet like a drunkard and looked at the building before him. The explosion was around the middle of the structure. "Ravn, give me your com-link. I left mine in the car."

The co-leader handed it over without question and pressed the button to speak. Man his head hurt like a bitch. From behind, he could hear two thundering sets of footsteps. "Yeosang! Xion! Can you read me? Come in! Yeosang! Xion!"

No answer. Seonghwa wasn't going to give up and made to press the button again when a timid voice from behind stopped him. "Yeosang?"

The agent turned to face Jongho and Hwanwoong who had just arrived, still panting. He met the youngest's eyes. "Yeosang is in there, isn't he?"

Seonghwa didn't answer and just pursed his lips tightly. He couldn't meet the Maknae's eyes. Jongho made a pained expression and his eyes went a little glassy. 

"I'm going in." The youngest announced firmly. He made to run into the building but a hand snapped out and grabbed his arm. 

"You're not going anywhere until we figure out what is going on!" Ravn scolded.

"I don't give a shit! Yeosang is in there! Let me go!" Seeing as the youngest was so strong, he easily broke out of the other's grasp. Seeing the struggle, Hwanwoong was torn. He personally wanted to go in with Jongho but opted to help out Ravn since he was of higher rank. Seonghwa looked upon the scuffle and was hit with a painful sense of nostalgia.

A young agent watched in horror as the building his brother in everything but blood had just walked into get engulfed in flames. There was a horrible shuddering sound as glass broke and steel beams were weakened. Seonghwa turned as he saw his squad leader walk up.

"Eden!" He ran to him and grabbed the straps of his CCG vest. "You have to let me go in there! Maddox and the team just walked in. We can probably still get him out. Send him back up, something!"

The leader didn't even give the young, distressed rookie a glance as he just stared upon the building being destroyed in front of him. He reached up and just removed the hands gripping at him. Seonghwa watched as he continued to walk away, not even saying anything to placate the distressed youth. 

How could a leader do that? Just walk away from his team? Just sit back and let one of their own die? 

A sick 'crack' was heard and the rookie shifted his gaze to the building. Like a scene out of a movie, he saw the building slowly crumble in on itself as the steel beams gave out. Vaguely, he felt someone, he wasn't sure who, grab him to pull him away from the shower of debris. Seonghwa wanted to protest and the other agent had to practically carry him. A dust cloud fanned out like a spray and covered everything in its path. He never took his eyes away, however, and with the last fallen floor, he dropped his head in despair.

Blinking, Seonghwa was brought into the present as Jongho finally wrestled himself free from the two restraining him. One hand reached out as a last attempt to stop him and grabbed the back on his suit jacket. The younger didn't let it stop him and he managed to wiggle himself out of it and continue running towards the building. He scooped up his Quinque and headed inside the door.

"Seonghwa!" Ravn yelled, "Why didn't you stop him?"

The flinched at the tone and turned to look at the door his youngest subordinate had disappeared through. "I guess I know how he feels..."

XxX

Yeosang groaned as he tried to clear the spots from his vision. He was surrounded by fallen rock from the walls and covered in a layer of dust from the drywall. He coughed to clear his dry throat and attempted to bring himself up on his hands and knees. He winced as he put pressure on his right wrist.

"You awake?" The brunette swiveled his head to take a look at his teammate. His eyes widened as he took in his appearance. He, too, was on the ground but his leg was trapped under part of the fallen ceiling and a light fixture. Xion grimaced as he tried to move. "I could use some help over here."

Yeosang tried his best to shuffle over with only one arm. It would be difficult to get him out without the light fixture shocking him. Once he was closer, the brunette shimmied out of his jacket, wincing as the movement jostled his arm. With his teeth, he managed to tear off one of his shirt sleeves. With some difficulty, he managed to tie his own sling and carefully placed his arm inside. It wasn't the greatest, but it would do for now.

Once he was finished tending to himself, he looked up. "You saved me."

The floor shook as if being hit with an earthquake and the lights flickered ominously. The brunette spread his feet to keep himself grounded. From above, he could hear cracking sounds that could not be good. He looked up just as a piece of the ceiling had broken off.

"Yeosang, look out!" He felt a body collide with his own as he was pushed out of the way. He tried to catch his fall but felt a snap as his arm hit the ground, his head following.

Everything had gone black.

"I thought you didn't like me." The older continued as he examined the other's leg. With only one arm it would be hard to try and get the light off.

Xion shrugged. "Yeah, well. You may be a pain in the ass but you are still my teammate."

Yeosang looked up to see the other with a closed eyed grin, his words sincere. He returned it with a soft smile of his own. "Ok, I need you to hold still. You lift one side and I'll lift the other. Ready? 1..2..3!"

Together they lifted up the light and threw it away from them. It wasn't super heavy but it was difficult to maneuver with only one arm. When it landed on the ground, it sparked slightly. Once the light was away, they worked to move some of the debris and rocks. With his leg mostly visible, Xion slowly pulled his it out, hissing in pain all the while.

Yeosang looked at the leg and winced. His pant leg was ripped revealing the purpling skin beneath. It was definitely severely bruised or at least fractured. "We should stabilize that."

"No time," grumbled Xion through the pain. He crawled over to his discarded case. He opened it and reached inside to pull out what looked like an epipen. Resituating himself into a sitting position, he pulled the cap off with his teeth before stabbing himself in the thigh.

"What are you doing?" Yeosang called in alarm at watching the other stab himself in the leg. Xion's face seemed to tighten in pain before releasing in relief.

"Don't worry," he panted after awhile. "The medical ward gave it to me. It's a shot of cortisone and adrenaline. Doesn't take away the damage but will take away the pain."

"Isn't that dangerous?" the younger gestured for his teammate to help him up. Yeosang shuffled over and held out his good hand. Xion stumbled as he tried to find his footing.

"Probably," wheezed the other. The drug hadn't fully activated yet so he was definitely in some pain. "But we have to get out of here before this whole building collapses and I can't afford to be dead weight."

Yeosang didn't comment further as he pulled the other's arm around his shoulder. It put pressure on some bruises but he could manage it. He activated his Quinche incase they ran into anyone on the way out. He didn't know how helpful he would be since his right arm was the one that was broken, but it was better to have something than nothing at all. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Xion do the same.

Together, they started to hobble towards the emergency exit stairway. They were on the fifth floor and it would be difficult to get down them all. At this speed, they hoped that the building would hold up long enough. The explosion seemed to have happened above them, so that should have bought them a little time. What they really needed to know was what had caused the it in the first place.

They got their answer.

"Bonjour, boys."

XxX

Mingi sat on the break room couch with Yunho's head cradled in his lap as he had finally cried himself to sleep. After the revelation, the blonde had worked himself up so much he had hyperventilated. His breathes came in short staggered gasps and he could barely bring himself to stand. The brunette had decided to move them to a more comfortable place to get the barista off of his feet.

The student looked down at his companion's face as he continued to stroke his hair in comfort. The blonde looked so peaceful in his sleep, the only indication that he had been upset being the tear tracks on his cheeks and the small little hiccups he let out as if he still couldn't quite catch his breath. He couldn't imagine the immense stress Yunho had probably been under all these years trying to hide who, what, he was.

Mingi bit his lip as he continued to trace the line's of the other's face with his eyes. The thought that this sweet, innocent man had to eat humans made him sick. He was still trying to combine the image of a Ghoul with Yunho. He would probably never quite be able to. He didn't accept Ghouls, or what they did, but one thing he could never deny was that the blonde was a good, hardworking man and he could never say that he did not care for him.

Mingi let his finger tips brush the barista's cheek softly as to not wake him. There was so much that he didn't know about Ghouls. So much that they still didn't know about each other, even. They would have a lot to talk about when he woke up but for now, he was content to have the other so close. Yunho had been with him when he thought he had lost Hongjoong and that meant everything and the world to him. It was now time for him to be there for the blonde.

A loud sound made Mingi look up startled. Wanting to check it out, the brunette tried his best to shuffle out from the barista's head without waking him. He had almost made it when a hand gripping his wrist, stopping him.

"Don't go," Whispered a voice. Mingi looked down to see Yunho's big eyes staring back at him pleadingly. "Stay with me."

Mingi's heart squeezed. He smiled softly and rouched down to place a soft kiss on the other's forehead. "I'll always be here."

Yunho smiled peacefully and closed his eyes once more. "Please don't let it be a dream."

His heart clenched a second time at the sound of longing in the blonde's voice. He reached up to brush some fringe out of Yunho's face. "Get some rest."

Yunho fell back asleep with a smile on his face.

XxX

Hongjoong panted as he ran as fast as he could, cursing his shorter legs. He tried to stretch his stride as much as possible but his limbs weren't keeping up with his haste and he stumbled on his own two feet. Fumbling for a moment, he managed to right himself before he fully fell to the ground. He was quite a ways from Lotte Tower and it would probably have been faster to take the subway but he didn't think he could just idly wait on a train.

He could see the smoke in the distance and it still felt worlds away. He shoved his hand into the pocket of his sweats and pulled out his phone, calling the first number that popped up.

It rang twice before a groggy voice finally answered. "Hello?"

"San!" Hongjoong cried, recognizing the voice. "What are you doing answering Wooyoung's phone?"

On the other end of the line, San sighed as he scrubbed tiredly at his face. He glanced over to where Wooyoung was snoring on his couch in the shop, one arm and leg hanging off haphazardly without a care in the world. The young shop owner had stayed up to get some work done and the blonde had stayed to keep him company. "He's asleep."

"There's been some kind of explosion." Panted the other. He hadn't stopped his pursuit even on the phone.

"What?" yelled the Ghoul, suddenly more awake than before. From the other side of the room, Wooyoung groaned and shifted at the loud noise. He lowered his voice as to not wake his companion. "Where? What's going on?"

"I don't know," Hongjoong huffed. "But Seonghwa was supposed to be canvasing that area all week to hunt down Lady Red."

Suddenly noticing how out of breath the other sounded, San narrowed his eyes. "Do not tell me you are running over there." Silence met him. "Hongjoong! You don't even know how to fight properly! Turn around, it's none of your business what the CCG is doing. Besides, it is too dangerous."

"But Seonghwa-"

"But nothing!" Huffed the tattooed Ghoul. He made to run his hands through his hair in frustration but remembered that he had tied part of it up to keep out of his face. Maybe he should get it cut soon. "This is not your fight. Seonghwa is a trained agent, he can handle himself. You are only there to get information, not to put yourself on the CCG's radar."

San's words were met only with heavy breathing from the other's running. When a few moments had passed, the Ghoul tried again. "Hongjoong-"

"I'm going." The red-head cut off. He had finally stopped running as he had gotten closer to the scene. He stared determinedly at the burning building. He reached into his hoodie pocket and fingered his mask. 'Always have it on you.' San's previous words from when he picked it up echoed in his head.

"Hongjoong, you can't be serious-" The student didn't listen any further as he hung up the phone. He undid the buckle and lined it up to his face. He managed to fasten it before pulling the hood up on his hoodie and tightening the drawstring. If he was going to go in there, his hair would be a dead giveaway.

Hearing the line go dead, San tossed the phone back onto the work table with a frustrated growl. Leave it to the new guys to be overzealous and put themselves in danger. 'Crazy son of a-'

"Sannie?" A sleepy voice called. The Ghoul turned to see Wooyoung sitting up and rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Someone about to do something very stupid." Grumbled the other.

"Is it one of your old boys?" The blonde asked.

"Worse," sighed San. "Hongjoong."

Wooyoung widened his eyes. "Hongjoong? What is he doing?"

"Going to get himself killed is what he is doing."

"You're going to help, aren't you?" The blonde said. It was more of a statement than a question. 

San sighed. He had picked a really bad day to work late. "I don't have a choice do I?"

Wooyoung just shot him a look, suddenly more awake than before. The other groaned and walked towards a picture hanging on the wall. He moved the frame to reveal a safe built into the brick. He spun the dial three times,  pausing in certain places for the combination. There was a click and San opened the door, reaching inside to pull out an item that was stored there.

San brushed some dust off the item and looked at it for a moment, suddenly hit with memories both good and bad. It was a mask, one of the very first he had ever made, and the source of his old gang's namesake. A black mask that looked like a Shiba's head. The Ghoul smiled wryly. He never thought he would wear this thing again.

San was about to place the item on his face when a hand on his forearm stopped him. He turned to look at his companion. Wooyoung's eyes were sharp and serious. "Get him and get out. Come back to me alive, ok?"

The shop owner stared at the blonde for a moment. Truth be told, he was a little nervous. He had been out of the game for a few years and who knew what he was walking into. A trap? A mob of doves? If there was a large stake out for Lady Red, the area was probably crawling with CCG agents. He was only one man, he couldn't take them all and watch over Hongjoong.

Seizing the opportunity, San swooped in and placed a kiss on Wooyoung's cheek. Well, it was more like the corner of his mouth. He probably stayed there a little longer than he should have, but if he was going to die tonight, might as well make it worth it.

San pulled away with a soft sound but was stopped by hands gripping his shirt before he could get too far. He felt the other's lips brush his ear and hot breath as Wooyoung whispered. "When you get back, give me a real one, alright?"

The tattooed Ghoul nearly choked on air at the blatantly confident attitude. Wooyoung pushed him away and smirked, knowing he had flustered the other. San felt the tips of his ears turn red. 'What a brat.'

The blonde's smirk fell and he reached out and cupped San's jaw. He brushed his thumb across the apple of his cheeks. "I'm serious though. Don't you dare leave me. Amicus ad Arias, remember?"

The shop owner felt his blush leave his skin and he adopted the other's serious look. He nodded. "Amicus ad Arias."

With a final nod, San took a few step back. Wooyoung held on for as long as possible until the other was too far and he slipped out of his hold. Once he was a farther away, he placed the mask on his face. It was entirely covered except for the Ghoulish eyes peeking through. He vanished.

The king of the Black Shibas was back.

XxX

"What the hell is wrong with you, Seonghwa?" Ravn raved while shoving his co-lead in the shoulder. "You just let a young agent potentially walk into his death!"

"I just let him do what I never had the chance to!" The man replied back, just as heated.

"This isn't a game! Don't try and rewrite history." The other shot back. "Maddox is dead. I'm sorry but nothing is going to change that. I thought you said you wanted to be a better leader than Eden was to you. Right now, it looks like you are just the same, if not worse!"

Seonghwa recoiled. He may not have been hit physically but the words felt like he had been. He cleared his face and stood up straight. "I believe in Jongho. He can do it."

"Belief isn't going to keep a whole building from collapsing! We don't even know if they are still alive in there." Ravn grit out.

"Does a firefighter not go into a flaming building just because it is coming down?" Seonghwa questioned. "They go in if there is even a little sliver of hope that someone is in there."

"We aren't firefighters!" The other agent threw up his hands. "We aren't trained for this kind of stuff."

"You're right," The dark haired agent nodded. "We aren't firefighters. We are CCG agents, tasked with protecting the public from Ghoul attacks and if we can't at least try to save each other, how can the public expect to trust us to save them?"

Ravn exhaled heavily. If he were a dragon, there would probably be steam coming out. He was still angry, and he didn't fully understand, but his teammate had a point. Agents were expected to risk their lives. Tomorrow was never guaranteed in their line of work and if they were too scared to risk their lives to save another, then they didn't deserve to call themselves agents.

Ravn made to step forward and apologize but was stopped by something landing between his feet. The man jumped back to avoid whatever had fallen. It was a flaming arrow.

"What is this, the1800s?" Hwanwoong quipped. "Who uses arrows?"

"I think that's the least of our problems." Seonghwa narrowed his eyes as he followed the arrow's trajetory. He pointed upwards. Standing on top of a nearby building was a figure with the moon behind them, casting an eerie silhouette. All that the group could make out was a flowing cloak with a bow clutched in their hands and a quiver at their back.

The figure reached behind them and grabbed another arrow. They quickly struck it on the ground like a match and the tip lit aflame. The arrow was placed in the bow and the string was pulled tight before launching. The group of agents sprang apart as the arrow sailed into the center faster than a blink.

"What the hell!" Hwanwoong cried out as it had clipped his pant leg. He hopped around as he blew and patted his pants until the flame finally flickered out. "Is that Lady Red? We never found arrows at a crime scene before."

Seonghwa kept his eyes on the figure at the top. It jumped back from the edge of the building. His gaze narrowed as he tried to predict where it would pop-up again.

"Gah!" There was a class from his left. The agent whipped his head around to see the figure had appeared and had targeted Ravn. He was quick on his feet, however, and had activated his Quinque, a black scythe. The blade of the weapon was jagged, like a lightning bolt. It was good for medium and close range attacks but not the most inconspicuous weapon.

"It has a sword now!?" Hwanwoong cried as he, too, activated his Quinque. His was reminiscent of some kind of cannon that wrapped around his hand. It was purple with streaks of blue that lit up like a wave when he was powering up a blast. He aimed it at the assailant.

Ravn gritted his teeth as he squared off with the attacker. Now up close they could see the figure was wearing a white cloak and matching white mask. The mask only had one eye-hole, on the left side, and wrapped all the way around. The only thing decorating it was a sloppily painted red check mark that eerily resembled a smile. It was similar to the attire description they had gathered thus far. It was their target.

Lady Red increased the pressure on her sword but after a bit of a struggle, Ravn managed to overpower her. Their target jumped back just in time to avoid a slash from the scythe. He just managed to knick a piece of her cloak.

"Hey, Seonghwa! Did I ever tell you they nicknamed me the reaper?" Smirked the co-leader.

The other leader didn't have a Quinche. Instead he had a gun with a few Q-bullets that did the job without gutting a Ghoul. Once loaded, he aimed and fired a few shots. Moving swiftly, Lady Red managed to maneuver her sword to block them. Seonghwa clicked his tongue on his teeth. Now that he knew their reaction time, he wouldn't miss the second shot.

Taking advantage of the lull, Ravn charged and clashed weapons once again. They exchanged continuous blows for a moment before the agent reared his scythe back for a fatal strike. Lady Red meant to block it with her sword but the force was too much and the weapon flew out of her hand. She jumped back a second time in retreat.

Not letting her get away, Hwanwoong powered up his cannon. Taking aim, he fired right as Lady Red had jumped up. Airborne and not able to change directions, the blast hit dead on. With a cry, the target fell onto the ground with a 'thump.'

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Hwanwoong said while placing his still smoking cannon on his shoulder. The two leaders shot him a disapproving look before walking cautiously closer to the fallen. Her body was still sizzling from the plasma blast.

The group crowded around her and kept their weapons ready as they peered down. Lady Red's mask was singed and part of it had broken off from the impact. The woman was crying and whimpering in pain. They almost felt bad if they didn't know better. 

Seonghwa kneeled down and pulled the rest of the mask off. What he saw caused his eyes to widen and drop the remainder of the mask in shock.

She was a one-eyed Ghoul. He had heard of them in training but only thought it to be a myth. That wasn't the only thing that shocked him however.

"Sinbi?" He asked in disbelief. It was the victim that they had identified last week that had started the whole stake out. He let his eyes scan downward. She still had all ten fingers. "Wha-"

That was as far as he got as another flaming arrow landed in between them. Seonghwa hopped back to avoid getting hit but it seemed like he wasn't the projectile's target. The arrow landed right in Sinbi's heart and she screamed as the object pierced her chest and her cloak caught aflame in moments.

Seonghwa looked up in shock. He spotted the same archer from before on the ledge of the rooftop, dressed just the same as their fallen target. The agent got up on his feet. He blinked and one became three, then six. Soon the whole area surrounding them was full of similarly dressed people. Maybe he had hit his head a little too hard earlier.

"Well shit."

Notes:

I just want to say that I'm not 100 percent confident with this chapter or the next. I was kind of struggling with so much going on at once and the fighting. I would appreciate your feedback if you know ways to make it better!

I just want you all to know that I read (and re-read) all of your comments a million times and I love hearing your theories, random thoughts, and what ever you have to say! Every time I post I'm always a bit nervous and how it will be received, if my vision is being executed and coming through. Every little thing could make me lose a reader or make people lose interest so I really appreciate anyone who comes back for the next chapter.

Happy reading!