Warning: This is a work of fiction based off a korean webcomic called TAL(manhwa) and is not meant to be taken as anything more than creative writing. I do not own Kang Im's characters, only my own.
Read and enjoy~
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When the school called, Mu Young told them Kang Maru was busy running a few errands for him, even though he wasn't. When Kang Maru failed to answer his call, Mu Young reconsidered giving his subordinate help that day.
When he teleported into the room and found Kang Maru laying sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily with a temperature high enough the older Chachaoong realized Maru likely needed the hospital, he regretted getting angry and then panicked. Angrily.
"Oi, Maru! Kang Maru!" He yelled, shaking the blond until amber eyes fluttered open and he was given a glassy eyed stare.
"Boss...? Ugh, what time is- ULP!"
Maru's eyes dilated and Mu Young barely grabbed the trashcan in time for the younger Chachaoong to empty his stomach into the receptacle.
"Jeeze...What the hell?" Mu Young rubbed Maru's back as he continued to retch and vomit, looking at Shadow as the Yongma poked his head up worriedly. "Alright, c'mon, get it all out. I'm getting you to the hospital."
Maru managed to utter 'don't tell Nunim' but Mu Young disregarded that.
When finally only bile came up and Maru was left a shivering, sweaty, sick mess, Mu Young chanced pulling his subordinate onto his back and carried him into Shadow's grip, teleporting through the darkness to the alleyway in between the walk-in clinic and the hospital's main building. As he carried Maru in, he was immediately noticed by the staff and Sora, who had just finished examining a patient and bade goodbye to the old woman before hurrying over to Mu Young.
"Am I ever going to get a break with you?"
He only offered her a wry grin as he let a pair of nurses pull Maru off his back and put the blond on a bed that they wheeled away. "He's not dying, if it puts you at ease." The fact that she deflated with a sigh indicated that it did. "The school called and notified me he didn't show up for class. And when I arrived at his place he was unconscious and threw up for a few minutes before I got him here."
"A fever, it sounds like, but I'll do all the tests just to make sure." She decided.
Mu Young sighed, taking out his phone. "I'll see if Ignatio will pick up Yu Jin from class. I don't feel right abandoning that poor guy to just you."
"Oiiiiii." Sora pouted, but then relaxed. "It should pass pretty quickly. Once it does, you sign him out and we'll all go eat together."
The dark-haired Chachaoong smiled at that. "That sounds good."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"...What do you mean he hasn't gotten any better, Lang?"
Ignatio was on the phone that evening, busying himself with following Yu Jin around as the redhead made sure the TALs were doing their chores as they waited for Mu Young to call with news on Maru's condition. He listened on the end, the others in the room only hearing muffled warbles of Mu Young's voice. Yu Jin was folding laundry with Baek Jeong and Sae Ha helping, though really they weren't even paying mind to the chore.
"...That bad, huh? Overnight?" Ignatio frowned. "Yeah, no, I understand. Yeah, Jin's here, he knows. Can that Sora-Nuna tell what's wrong?" More warbling, then something quieter.
Ignatio looked at Sae Ha. "If you need to, you'll go to the hospital, right?" The TAL squinted at him in reply. "I think he said 'yes'. I'm not sure." More muttering; Mu Young sounded irritated. "Lang I really don't think challenging him will-"
"YA WANNA GO?! I'LL SEE MYSELF RIGHT TO THAT DAMN HOSPITAL DOOR IF I HAFTA!" Sae Ha screamed after yanking the phone away from Ignatio.
Baek Jeong stared at Yu Jin, seeing how concerned the newbie king looked after gathering that Maru was sicker than they'd first figured.
"...Calm down, Newbie King."
Yu Jin looked up with a frown. Baek Jeong went back to munching on his rice cake snacks.
"It's not the end of the world."
Ei Mae sighed; the Butcher TAL was definitely not the one best at comforting.
"Hey, Shade." Ignatio prodded his Yongma. "Shadow must be getting lonely there. Why don't you go see him?" The beast only huffed, turning away from his master.
Yu Jin managed a smile at that, and chanced petting Shade. "You can pretend you don't care, but it's pretty obvious you do."
The beast made a silent denial, flailing about but avoiding his claws getting near the redhead's hand.
"So Shade is a tsun-" Ignatio began with a grin, yelping as the Yongma instantly stabbed him in the thigh. "OWOWOWOW WHYYYYY?!"
After he'd hung up, Mu Young turned his attention back to the room Kang Maru was sleeping in. The blond looked somewhat peaceful, though still red in the cheeks, and as Sora stepped out of the room he saw the syringe on the cart just used the used gloves she had attempted to cover the needle with. "At least it wasn't Yu Jin you needed to give a shot to."
"Oh don't even joke about that." She face-palmed, remembering how Yu Jin screamed his head off and clung to the dark man the first time he needed a shot for the flu. "Well, his symptoms are clearing, at least. He should be fine in the morning."
Mu Young folded his arms. "I'll make sure of that."
"Oi, oi, oi. You can't stay overnight-" She started, only for her expression to go flat. "But you'd be hellbent on making it possible, is what I know. So, I'll let the night staff know."
He smiled. "Thank you, Nuna."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Unseen by either of them, something dark had puddled near Maru's bed. It shifted, moved to the left, then abruptly oozed towards the windows, where upon it opening the window Shadow noticed and watched as it slid along the frame and vanished. Curious, Shadow followed after it, leaving Mu Young in the hallway.
Outside the building, the ooze scaled up to the roof, forming into what at first looked like a normal black cat with yellow eyes.
Shadow was immediately taken in by the cute appearance and shuffled over to the cat Yongma with a greeting growl, waving his stubby arm. The cat Yongma backed up with a frightened noise, making Shadow flinch in shock; No no no new friend, he didn't mean to scare you! Look! He's friendly!
...Maybe flailing didn't exactly help.
Shadow had sweat-drops on his head from his energetic greeting backfiring, but was happily surprised when the cat Yongma brushed against his side, rubbing its velveteen body against his shell. He purred in joy, nuzzling the new Yongma back; FINALLY A FRIEND SHADE NEVER DOES THIS WHEN SHADOW WANTS HIM TOO.
He stared as the cat Yongma investigated him like a normal cat would, sniffing him and pawing at his round head. He wondered for a few moments where this new friend had come from, beyond Maru's room, when a sharp pain atop his head startled him from his thoughts.
NEW FRIEND JUST BIT HIM.
Shadow squealed in pain and backpedaled, staring at the cat Yongma who was pawing his muzzle, and Shadow shivered in revulsion as he realized it was licking up the 'blood' it had gotten. He shifted into semi human form and loomed over the other Yongma threateningly; no, new friend, bad. Bad kitty.
It shifted as well.
Its own semi human form was very slender, two horns on its head that could be mistaken for cat ears, and a neat mop of white-blond hair. Shadow pondered for a moment; why couldn't he have nice hair like that?
His pondering was cut short when the cat Yongma's tail hardened into a blade and was thrust at him like a scythe.
It sunk into his arm, which was annoying but he'd had it melted off before. It was when his arm was yanked forward and his finger was fucking devoured that he realized this Yongma was more than it seemed. He screeched and yanked his arm free, black liquid oozing from his knuckle where there was now absent a claw, and looked at the other Yongma in shock. It was chewing off chunks of his claws as if his shell was made of pudding or something, and within minutes it was gone, the Yongma licking its own claws.
Then it turned its yellow gaze on him, and all Shadow could see in those eyes...was hunger.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Ugh, where did that guy go..." Mu Young wasn't happy; Shadow had ONCE AGAIN slunk off without any indication, and Maru was still knocked out thanks to the drugs Sora had given him for the fever. So, with nothing to do since Ignatio was with Yu Jin for the night, he'd taken to wandering around the building.
"Lang~!"
Until he literally ran into his twin. And proceeded to punch Ignatio in the head. "When you make my face smile like that, it irritates me."
"OWOWOWOW!" Ignatio hissed. "Ahhhh why would you do that? I came all the way over here to see you."
Mu Young noticed the box and bag his twin had. "What about Yu Jin?"
"The TAL guys are watching him." Ignatio beamed. "But Jin insisted I bring you dinner." He lifted the box up to eye level. "He made you roasted pork chops and curry rice!"
Mu Young caught the scent of sliced lemon as well, and his stomach growled; his son loved him so much, didn't he?
However at that moment, something giant and shrieking familiar sounds fell past the window, startling both Chachaoongs. "W-What was that?" Mu Young recovered and ran towards the window, pushing it open to look down at the alleyway. A very familiar form was dragging itself around but...
Mu Young couldn't ever recall hearing Shadow express /pain/ before.
"Shadow!" He slipped onto the window sill and jumped, landing on the dumpster top with Ignatio following close behind. "Oi, Shadow!"
His Yongma dragged itself into his sight, and both twins froze upon seeing his state; Shadow's entire right arm was /gone/, and the bigger portion of his body had tears, gouges, and chunks missing. And when Shadow spotted his master with one good eye, as the other was covered in what passed for Yongma blood due to a chunk of his head missing-
Shadow crooned in agony.
Pure rage boiled in Mu Young's stomach as he ran to his Yongma, letting Shadow fall onto him and bracing his shoulder as he tried to examine his Yongma. "What the fuck...What could do this?"
A feline yowl came from above, and Shadow's crooning turned into frightened panicked warbles, Shade shifting into his own semi human form and hovering over his twin protectively. As Ignatio and Mu Young looked upward, a slim Yongma resembling a cat made its way down the building's side, chewing a large chunk of something Mu Young came to the horrified conclusion was a piece of Shadow.
"What...the fuck...What...What is..." He had too many emotions at once; shock and disgust and anger and horror.
The Yongma swallowed the chunk and /grinned/ at them, showing off shark-like teeth that glinted dully. Its gaze fell on Shadow and it advanced on them.
"OI."
It then jumped back as a spray of bullets hit the ground in front of it. Ignatio let the multi-barreled gun in his hands spin to a stop.
"...Tell me...Are you the one who hurt Lang's Shadow?"
Ignatio raised his head, his eyes toxic pools of fury as he stared the Yongma down.
"Because if you are, then I'm going to make you pay."
The Yongma grinned again, then abruptly - turned tail and fled, disappearing around the corner. The four twins in the alleyway just stared, stupefied, until some part of Shadow throbbed painfully and the Yongma was reduced to a crying little blob in Mu Young's arms. "Well, that was new." Ignatio commented. His darker twin groaned and set Shadow in the darkness cast by his body, letting the Yongma return to the 'space' of his shadow.
"Stay there until you're healed and don't. Wander. Off. Again." He ordered, Shadow's red eyes teary as the Yongma nodded.
Ignatio sighed. "Man, what a weird Yongma. I've never heard of one that eats other Yongma. Have you, Lang?"
"Are you kidding? I barely know much about Chachaoongs." Mu Young frowned deeply as he straightened back up. "...But I know who would have that kind of knowledge."
Ignatio blinked.
"...But first." Mu Young clutched his stomach as it grumbled loudly. "Food..."
His twin laughed and extended the box to him. "Taking care of chickpea and you forget to take care of yourself, Lang?"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Maru finally woke up around sunrise, though his condition hadn't really made much improvement. The fever had gone down but the blond was having ear pain and a headache that made his nausea even worse.
"I just don't get it. One thing cleared up but now something else is worse?" Sora muttered to herself in frustration as Ignatio let Maru lean into him...or rather over him, as Maru was by now stretched out over the lighter twin's lap as Ignatio rubbed his back. "Maru, are you sure you didn't take anything strange? Maybe at a party or some get-together?"
The blond groaned, lifting his face from Ignatio's arm. "Nunim, I'm a good boy. I was studying this whole weekend." He immediately re-hid his face, as the light helped nothing.
"I can confirm that. He called me several times to beg my forgiveness for not understanding the material." Mu Young tacked on.
Sora waved the clipboard she was holding. "Then I can't explain this!" She sighed and looked at Mu Young. "You might need to take him to that doctor guy living at Yu Jin's."
"...I know what you're saying's probably true, but at the same time..." Mu Young looked ill at ease. "He's in a bad mood."
She swatted him upside the head. "You just don't like asking other men for help."
As he clutched the spot with a hiss, Sora turned to Ignatio. "You think it'd help too, right? Getting Maru to that doctor guy, I mean."
"It probably would, Nunim." The lighter twin responded cheerfully. He then gave Mu Young tearful eyes when Mu Young darkly muttered 'traitor with my face' at him. "Lang that's mean! I want chickpea to get better!"
Sora turned on mu Young with the same thought. "Don't you get that I can't do anything more and a whole night's passed! Look at poor Maru! Aren't you his protector?!"
"OKAY FINE!" Mu Young snapped, getting annoyed by the two ganging up on him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Yu Jin, groaning in irritation as Sora and Ignatio shared a victorious grin. "Yu Jin? Yeah. No, Maru didn't get any better." He paused, but decided it was likely best to mention the Yongma later. "Tell that doctor bastard to get ready. We're bringing Maru there."
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"Oh man, what's dis, huh?"
Sae Ha examined Maru closely, turning the younger Chachaoong's head in his lap while he looked at Maru's ears. "Man, it's all kindsa messed up. But I can fix em, no doubt there."
"Good. Because there's another problem beside him being this ill." Mu Young and Ignatio were sitting side by side at the table with Yu Jin and Ei Mae. The TALs in the room perked up. "Last night, Shadow fought this strange freak of a Yongma."
Baek Jeong lost interest immediately. "No surprise there. Prolly a stray looking to fight."
"Yeah well, it ate a good third of his body by the time we found him."
The TAL dropped his magazine in disgust and shock. "...Ate...As in-"
Mu Young slammed his hand down, glaring at Baek Jeong. "AS IN, when we found him in the alley, Shadow's body was ripped up and that piece of shit was still eating what it'd torn off him."
The room had a very tense air now.
"Yongma don't need to eat...And why would one cannibalize its own kind?" Ha Na Rin shuddered at the thought, Ara patting her back.
Ei Mae had a hand on his chin, expression unreadable to all but Yu Jin. And Yu Jin saw that the TAL was very uneasy. "Ei Mae...?"
"Well, it's not impossible. Unheard of before, but...It might have to do with all that strangeness about the second generation having complications." The masked TAL folded his arms. "Like maybe it's meant to be clean up. There are a lot of Yongma that get abandoned by their cruel owners for one reason or another, and they wander around until they either die naturally or get killed being mistaken for demonic beasts."
Yu Jin had paled.
"And as gruesome a means it is, cannibalism does have an advantage. Using the first generation as sustenance for the second one. Like planting a new tree where an old one died and rotted to the ground-" The TAL was cut off as Baek Jeong shoved a towel in his face.
The white haired male pointed at a shivering Yu Jin. "You're grossing everyone out, so stop already."
"Huh...By any chance, ye gedda good look at it?" Sae Ha spoke up, swabbing Maru's ears with something green and herbal smelling.
Ignatio scratched his cheek. "It looked like a cat."
"..." Sae Ha went still. "...So, a cat caught the bug and ate it?"
Mu Young's nerve snapped. "If you weren't helping Maru right now I'd shoot you, doctor bastard."
"Noted, ya mafia freak." The medical TAL sniped back, finishing with Maru's ears just as the younger Chachaoong regained consciousness.
Yu Jin perked up in relief. "Maru-Hyung!"
"Te te te te...Ugh, why does everything hurt..."
Sae Ha looked over the younger blond with a keen eye. "A numberah problems, I'd say, but fer now ye'll be fine." The doctor TAL moved to his regular corner of the room to smoke his pipe, letting the others take over.
"Oi, Maru." Mu Young got his subordinate's attention first. "Do you remember a Yongma, by any chance? A cat like one?"
The blond blinked his honey colored eyes dazedly. "Eh? A cat? Boss ain't I supposed to be the one hallucinating?" Maru's eyes shut as he recalled the events. "No...No, there wasn't anybody. I was studying, then took a small nap because I felt so exhausted. But then...I woke up and I felt so sick all of a sudden. I thought it was just a little bug I caught, but then I passed out. And when I woke up again you were there with me."
Mu Young sighed, pinching his brow.
"...Ah, Boss." Maru was sluggish as he panicked. "Boss the test, I-"
Mu Young held up his hand. "The school knows. They're saving the papers and you'll take the tests when you've recovered."
"Heh." Maru smiled. "Thanks, Hyung-Nim. You're always looking out for me. I'm really grateful to you."
The darker of the twins turned his face because he WAS NOT RED SHUT UP OR HE'LL SHOOT YOU.
"Aww, Lang is being shy~" Ignatio teased, which he instantly regretted as his twin punched him face-first into the floor, getting up and throwing on his coat.
Yu Jin stared at Ignatio as a sweatdrop rolled down his head. "Hyung, where are you off to?"
"I'm going to get you some groceries." He held up his gun habitually as Baek Jeong began to chime in 'Get meat!' "If you want /anything/, Glutton, you'll be helping me carry it and everything else."
The TAL sighed and got up, abandoning his magazine to the floor.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"...So, you think this freaky Yongma's appearance has something to do with that guy getting sick?"
Baek Jeong had at least five sacks in his arm while Mu Young carried three. The darker Chachaoong was frowning again. "It's a bit suspicious, at least. Maru suddenly gets so sick I have to take him to the hospital where the Yongma appears and attacks Shadow? That doesn't strike you as odd?"
"I'd say coincidence, but given what happens around here, I don't believe in coincidences anymore."
Mu Young's eyes narrowed at Baek Jeong's words.
"Still, even I've never known any Yongma to eat its own kind. And that pervert granny was surprised too; she's been around as long as Jack, so if it surprises her, maybe Ei Mae's right about it being a second generation thing." The TAL continued.
The gun-wielder paused, deep in thought.
"...Cannibalism happens for a number of reasons. But if this one's because there's too many first generation Yongma..."
He looked at Baek Jeong. "What happens when there's no more first generation ones to go after?"
The TAL had a disturbed face.
"It might go after Chachaoongs if there's no more Yongma to eat-"
Baek shoved his hand over Mu Young's face. "STOP."
"Kidding." Mu Young huffed in mirth; He needed the tension to ease off a bit. "...Still."
Baek Jeong blinked his long lashes as he looked at Mu Young's expression. "Maru isn't the kind who gets sick easily...So it's definitely odd that he'd get this bad."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
When they returned, Yu Jin was ruffling Maru's hair, the blond's head in his lap. Ei Mae was atop the roof, perched in that frustratingly leisurely way that pissed Mu Young off. "Ah, Welcome back!" The second gen king greeted politely, Baek Jeong shooting back a nonchalant 'yo' to him. "Miss Ara and Miss Ha Na Rin are making tea."
"That sounds g-" Mu Young began, before noticing who was sitting behind Yu Jin.
And realizing why nobody else was around, minus Ei Mae because being up on the roof did not actual get one away from Chau Yong.
"YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
Baek Jeong swiped all the groceries from Mu Young who'd hauled them upwards to throw them. Ignatio popped out from behind Chau Yong, holding the red locks as he appeared to be braiding the older Chachaoong's hair. "Lang~! Look! Yong showed up!"
"...The fuck." The darker of the twins finally commented, Chau Yong looking displeased but doing nothing to stop Ignatio.
Yu Jin had a few sweat-drops on his head. "Chau Yong Nim dropped by and said he had some news to share but I told him you went out. So he said he'd wait here."
"Someday I'll teach you to use your backbone with this guy." Mu Young grumbled as he stormed over and sat next to Yu Jin and Maru.
Chau Yong looked at him impassively, and they had a staring contest as the TALs of the house gathered in the room once food had been put up and tea was ready to be served. "Well, I'm sure it's common knowledge to you all by now about that Yongma."
"Hold up- How the fuck do you know about it?!" Mu Young snapped.
Chau Yong looked at him with a blank gaze - then smirked.
"Now hold it." Ei Mae said in a bored tone as he clothesline'd the screeching gunslinger Chachaoong and held him back from harming the older redhead who sipped his tea. "Let's hear what he has to say."
Chau Yong didn't thank Ei Mae. "That Yongma isn't the first of its kind." The room at large felt silent, Mu Young's thrashing halting immediately. "I've seen them only recently, but there were other Yongma that had attacked and consumed other Yongma. And yes, their Chachaoong masters as well."
Baek Jeong shivered in horror.
"But these beasts don't stay alive long. Just after the first meal, I'd say, and then they melt and rot into carcasses."
Yu Jin turned faintly green and moved Maru and himself closer to their Hyung.
"So...This thing won't be a problem much longer, right?" Mu Young chanced asking.
Chau Yong had his chin on his hand. "No, not likely." Then the red gaze moved to Maru. "Neither will he."
"WHAT." Mu Young immediately tensed.
Chau Yong lifted his gaze to Mu Young's face. "Tell me, why do you believe so strongly that the Yongma yours was attacked by is also causing his condition?"
"It-" Mu Young faltered; it was just a nagging feeling.
The red gaze hardened a bit. "Was it by chance that it happened so close together? Was that a thought of yours, hm?" And hardened further. "Or maybe because you took him to that hospital knowing it couldn't just be something average. Maybe you already know exactly what this Yongma is and why I came here."
Mu Young froze. All eyes were on him as he slowly moved his head down to look at Maru.
"...Do you mean...to tell me..."
Chau Yong had a cold impassive face. "That the Yongma is a parasite? Yes. That it's attached to him and using him to form itself? Yes as well. That if you destroy the Yongma, you stand a good chance of worsening his condition, maybe even killing him?"
The silence was deafening.
"...Unfortunately, yes."
Mu Young sat back down in a slump, looking stunned. Ignatio felt the helplessness and hopelessness flooding his twin.
Yu Jin was just as devastated as his Hyung, looking at Maru's head on his lap. Maru's face was flushed again, the fever having returned once more, and a few sludgy tears had trickled out from between the blond's lashes. Maru had been nothing but kind and caring for Yu Jin since meeting him.
"...Th...There must be away to save him..."
Ei Mae turned his head towards the haunted looking redhead.
"We c...We can't just let Maru-Hyung die..." He looked at Mu Young and gripped the older Chachaoong's arm. "Oi, Hyung...Hy-Hyung! We gotta do something, right?!" Yu Jin was frantic. "Maru-Hyung can't- can't- We can..."
Ignatio had been silent this entire time. "...A parasite Yongma...would be fairly new, right?" All attention was on him. "...If it's only been recently...I know who made them, then. I think." A shock hit the room's occupants, Mu Young sitting up to look at his twin. Ignatio looked so different, grim and serious and...scary looking. "And if I'm right, then I'll be the one to bring him here to fix this."
Sae Ha stared at the lighter colored twin. "Who dunnit then?"
"His name...Well. We just call him 'Mano'."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hmm?" Somewhere, Mano the 'good' doctor was cleaning his supplies and tools. "How odd...I thought for a moment my ear burned. Someone must be speaking of me, kekekeke."
He resumed wiping his scalpel clean, then paused and looked up to his right.
"Yo!" Ignatio was sticking sideways out of the wall above Mano, smiling chipper and sunny as always.
So Mano raised his hand with a bland look. "Yo." And resumed his-
"Wait."
He felt a grip on the back of his coat, and his tools fell to the ground as he was pulled through the shadow. Where he landed, it was on his back, and Mano groaned before grunting in pain as a boot planted itself on his chest. "Oww... Ignatio, I'm going to sew you up wrong next time you need-"
He stopped speaking the moment he felt the energy of the Chachaong above him, and Mano's expression turned timid as he raised his sight slowly to meet Sae Ha's.
"...Teacher..."
Sae Ha gritted his teeth. "Mano." His name was a hiss, and Ignatio felt shocked upon seeing the 'crazy' doctor limp in someone else's hands.
"...Is this a bad time to ask why you left me-" Mano barely finished his sentence before Sae Ha picked him up and started smacking him about the head with a fan. "Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Teacher this is mean-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-"
The doctor TAL looked beyond angry, but...this kind of a scene made everyone feel there was a story behind these two knowing each other. "Uhm...We could give you a few moments if you need it." Yu Jin offered, Sae Ha pinching Mano's ear and making the other doctor Chachaoong look very small.
"Nah. I'll get to that later." Sae Ha responded blithely, dragging Mano over to Maru and Yu Jin. "Try /anything/ and I swear to God-"
Mano looked up at Sae Ha like a kitten, a sad kitten that knew he was in trouble. "I won't disobey you, Teacher."
"...I don't know why, but I feel so bad." Baek Jeong looked away first, sweat-drops rolling down his head. "What kind of 'teacher' were you, Sae Ha..."
The other TAL turned a murderous glare on him.
"Nevermind, nevermind."
Sae Ha held Mano over Maru. "This your work, huh? You did this?"
"Teacher what do yo-" The other Chachaoong had started to say, before he paused and looked closer at Maru. "...Hang on...This guy." He squinted. "A blond canary guy, eh? Luka mentioned him."
An awkward moment passed as the meaning of that sunk in. Ignatio chimed in, 'but Chickpea is a cuter name-' which earned him getting swatted by his twin. "Teacher, are you going to be mad if I say yes?"
"I already know it's yes, so yeah I'm pissed." Sae Ha boiled.
Mano put his hands over his head. "Don't hit me again, Teacher. If you want me to fix it I'll try."
"What'dya mean, 'try'?" Sae Ha glowered with his pipe clenched between his teeth. "Why'dya make something like this anyway?"
Mano looked up, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. "That guy wanted me to try. He said it'd be interesting. He gave me all the things I needed to do it too, so I did. But the other ones died. They couldn't survive all that well." He lowered his impassive yet wide eyes to Maru's face. "But this guy's surviving. Did it eat yet? They die after eating."
"...It...ate part of my Yongma, yeah." Mu Young spoke up, Mano looking at him wide-eyed.
Ignatio leaned closer to his twin. "...So you /are/ twins." Mano commented, getting dropped on his face with a thud. "Sorry Teacher." He sat up and began to examine Maru, Yu Jin eyeing the other's reddened nose with concern. "Hmm...They normally ate the other Yongma whole to try and stabilize themselves, but they always died. Maybe because the other one's still alive..."
Shadow popped his head up.
"...Living flesh to flesh trying to live...Maybe, if it ate more." Mano turned his head to give the Yongma spooky look, Shadow flinching back until Sae Ha forcibly turned his student's head.
The blond TAL looked irate. "Try /anything/ and I'll let that Yongma's master deal with you."
"I won't, Teacher. I'm sorry, Teacher."
Ignatio cracked up. "It's so weird seeing this guy all 'Teacher this, Teacher that'. He's usually a crazy guy and smiling like a shark."
"Oh really?" Mano turned that shark-like smile on Ignatio, and was promptly swatted for it.
Yu Jin covered Mano's head. "Stop it! You might actually hurt him like that at this rate!" Sae Ha relented with a huff, and Yu Jin gently rubbed the spot that had been abused. "Are you okay, Hyung?"
"Hmm?" Mano looked Yu Jin in the eyes, then pulled the redhead's cranium forward to look at his neck. "...Ah. You're the second king."
Yu Jin blinked and pulled his head free. "Y-Yeah." He gestured at Maru. "And this canary- no, uh, Maru-Hyung, he's very dear to me and Mu Young Hyung! So please, if you can keep him from dying, please do!" Yu Jin was even teary-eyed.
"...Even if you ask, it's not like this has happened before." Mano mumbled as he rubbed his head. Sae Ha threateningly raised his fan again, and Mano felt a sweat-drop rolling down his head. "But it might be interesting to try." He had to assume he wasn't allowed to leave anyway.
Sae Ha sighed and Mano turned to look at his teacher with a look definitely classified as a puppy pout. Then, Sae Ha gently laid his hand on Mano's head, like he used to. "Then let's get to work, yeah?"
Ignatio stared as Mano's expression changed to something he'd never seen before. "Oh..my...god...MANO ARE YOU HAVING AN EMOTION?!" Mu Young promptly punched his twin into the ground again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
By evening, Maru's condition had calmed once more, dozing only a bit fitfully with his head in Mu Young's lap while Sae Ha poured over Mano's notes. His student was sitting attentively by his side, and Yu Jin smiled a bit at seeing them.
"Even though he's a lot weirder, they do make a picture that's nice."
Ignatio was playing with Ju Ze, Shade protectively laying on top of Shadow in their smaller blob forms. "He used to mention a teacher every now and then, but we never thought much of it. But he seems happy to be back with his teacher now. I've never seen him normal-happy before, though, it's kind of un-nerving."
"Be glad for him!" Yu Jin scolded. "He really does seem happy and that's good!"
Mu Young and the other TALs had been observing the two as well, in silence. "To think that guy had a student, though." Baek Jeong commented quietly. "He really doesn't seem the type, does he?"
"Well in the long run it does make sense." Ha Na Rin frowned thoughtfully. "Medical skills are handy and rare, so if it can be taught, you might as well."
Ara pitched in an observation of her own. "Does Sae Ha Nim look different to you guys?"
They all paused and took a second look at the blond TAL. Indeed, Sae Ha's hair was looser now, the pin no longer holding as much of his locks, and his eyes had a different gaze in them than normal. Less than the ornery recluse and more mentor-ly, especially with how he was pointing out things in Mano's notes, not moving his head back when his student leaned forward.
"...He looks like...a dad, kind of." Yu Jin observed, Mu Young straightening up in alarm.
Sae Ha paused with an irritated look. "If you're really that curious-" He picked up an empty herb bag and threw it hard into the back of Baek Jeong's head, "-THEN ASK DIRECTLY, WHISPERING LIKE THAT'S PISSING ME OFF!"
"...Sae Ha Nim, how...exactly do you and Mano-Hyung know each other?" Yu Jin asked.
As Mano blandly mumbled 'Hyung?' under his breath, Sae Ha took a long draw on his pipe and let the herbal smoke pour out of his lungs before he answered. " 'S long story, Young Prince."
"I think we have time." Yu Jin glanced at Maru.
Mano fiddled with his notes as Sae Ha began. "I found Mano on a snowy mountainside cliff just after he formed. Normally I wouldna bothered with a baby Chachaoong, but Mano followed me up the mountainside to my old practice place." He gave the empty-eyed Chachaoong a fond albeit gruff look. "That tenacity got in me and I decided to take him on. I taught him what I knew, and he eventually became my student and my partner."
Mano's fiddling had gotten more energetic.
"HE'S HAVING MORE EMOTIONS!" Ignatio yelped, shrieking when Shade stabbed him in the foot.
Mano paused and looked at Sae Ha. "Then you left me."
The room's temperature abruptly fluctuated.
"..." Sae Ha stared at Mano impassively.
The brown-eyed Chachaoong's arm trembled. "Why did you leave me Teacher?"
"...Was there anything else for me to teach you?" Sae Ha quietly replied, not looking at his student's face anymore. Yu Jin felt worry start to bubble in his stomach.
Mano's blank face started to twitch a bit. "Always deflecting with one thing or another. Isn't that your way, Teacher?"
"You were good at what you did. You just...did things that weren't good sometimes."
Mano lowered his head. "You mean that man I killed."
Ignatio paused with Ju Ze in his lap. "Wait, you were- That was a real thing?!"
"...I let something in you spoil." Sae Ha was avoiding anyone's line of sight now; it was out of guilt.
Mano's trembling spread. "He asked me, I told you! He asked me to do it!"
"I shouldn't have left you alone to do things by yourself."
The black haired Chachaoong looked up. There were angry, confused, and wild tears in his eyes. "He asked me! He begged me to die! So I did what he asked!" His whole body trembled.
For several minutes, there wasn't any sound in the room.
Then, Mano choked, sniffled, and abruptly broke down into a child-like fit of crying.
"I don't understand- I don't understand, Teacher. I did what I was asked to do so why did you leave me?"
Yu Jin made a keening noise in his throat, the TALs all looking uncomfortable in this setting. Mu Young and Ignatio were observing with very different mindsets.
Sae Ha took another long draw and exhaled a smoke ring. "...Because I failed you."
Mano choked and stared at his Teacher wetly.
"I shoulda formed your head before I put any skills in you. I never thought about what could go wrong until it did." Sae Ha's voice was somber and quiet. "You were just...You were such a good kid." His smile at that moment looked...broken. "Adorable, when you followed me around. I got so excited when you showed interest in medicine, and you learned everything I taught you so well..."
The smile cracked.
"I was so blind that I broke what I meant to make into something great. And seeing how bad I failed with you, I got...scared. I didn't leave you cause of what you did Mano, I ran away because I couldn't handle my failing you."
Mano's mouth drew back. "But Teacher is great!"
"No, no I really wasn't." Sae Ha covered his face with his hand, teeth gritting down hard on his smoking pipe. "I am a goddamn fool. And you deserved better."
Mano's mouth wibbled, and shut, still shaking as he stared at Sae Ha.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Yu Jin was suddenly flinging himself on the two, arms clamped around their necks as everyone jolted in shock. "NO MORE SADNESS! NO MORE BLAMING! NO MORE TEARS! PLEASE! YOU TWO JUST MAKE UP ALREADY!"
Sae Ha and Mano both stared at the teary redhead in wide-eyed surprise.
"O-Oi Yu Jin-" Mu Young had a large sweat-drop on his head as he reached to pull his son back.
Sae Ha slowly got a grin, and ruffled Yu Jin's hair. "You're something else, Young Prince." He then looked at Mano. "...I guess, since you're even still calling me that...Mind you, I won't go easy on you. There's probably a lot you have to make up for."
Mano's eyes finally lit up, and he gazed at his teacher with a look Ignatio finally placed. "Ah...That's the look chickpea gives you, Lang."
Mu Young abruptly turned dark red.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Well, there's a way to stabilize it so it'll stop feeding off Canary- erm, your friend."
Yu Jin was woken up by Mano prodding him in the morning with the news. "Wh- Really?!" He then stopped to look at Mano. "Ah, Hyung, you look different."
Mano did actually look different. Gone were the red and green glasses, and he had on much looser clothing. And when Yu Jin pointed it out to him, he /smiled/. Granted his teeth were still sharp and his eyes still had a bland look, but it was a smile. "Teacher had some extras he let me have."
"You two really suit each other now." Yu Jin commented happily as Mano sat down next to him.
The taller Chachaoong had the vaguest look of bashful shyness as he scratched his cheek. "You think so?"
'He seems so much nicer than what Ignatio-Nim told us.' Yu Jin thought.
"Anyway. We need herbs that Teacher doesn't have. He said to ask you to help me get them." Mano broke through Yu Jin's pondering.
The redhead perked up. "Ah! Yes of course!" He got up and helped Mano up as well, getting on his shoes outside and walking out from under the tiling to see his guardian TAL on the roof. "Ei Mae! Will you go with us to the market?"
"You sure you'd need me with that guy?" The TAL pointed at Mano.
Yu Jin stared flatly. "Okay then. You can wait here in case Chau Yong-Nim com-"
"I'll be accompanying you today, Yu Jin Nim." Ei Mae had his hand over the redhead's mouth with an irritated look on his mask.
'Knew it.' Yu Jin sighed internally before turning to Mano. "So what is it that you guys need?"
As they set off for the market, Sae Ha reloaded his pipe with herbs, looking over Maru. With a relax in the atmosphere, it seemed like he himself had calmed as well, and the fever had broken.
"...That Young Prince is some kind of miracle."
Then the sun came out, and Sae Ha noticed something odd that abruptly turned terrifying.
Despite being right in the hot light, Maru had no shadow.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mu Young had returned to work, dragging Ignatio with him seeing as Shade refused to let go of Shadow.
"Ugh, damn scam artists." The darker twin groaned, typing away on his laptop as Ignatio kicked his feet watching Shadow move around with Shade following him. "You'd think they'd learn some new tricks after aiming at the same site so many times."
His lighter twin grinned at him. "But doesn't it mean that you have an easier time?"
"Well, yes." Mu Young felt a sweat-drop roll down his head. "But honestly it gets dull. At least make it a challenge every once in a while."
Ignatio laughed.
"...This relaxed atmosphere is weird after the past few days." Mu Young sighed, undoing his hairtie and letting his locks down. 'It's not that I'm complaining, but with my life experiences, it isn't going to get easier just because that Mano guy's around to help.'
"...And I also don't feel right just up and leaving Maru at the house. Right Lang?"
Mu Young bolted up, staring at Ignatio as his heart hammered in his chest.
"Heh...It's strange. Sometimes it feels like we're still so close that we ca-"
"Complete each other's very thoughts."
Mu Young stared at Ignatio. Ignatio grinned back.
"Please don't throw that at me."
"...I wasn't going to."
The eerie but calm moment was then broken by something exploding, like normal.
Mu Young was on his feet in seconds, staring at the market square where a cloud was billowing up. Even dust, though, couldn't obscure the twins' sight, and in seconds both Ignatio and Mu Young hopped over the balcony, Shadow and Shade taking off after the twins to catch their respective masters and transport them towards the scene.
The first thing they'd find was Mano and Yu Jin cowering under an awning for protection, the sheet rock covering having fallen down and made a semi perfect place to hide. "Oi!"
"Hyung!" Yu Jin cried, immediately latching onto Mu Young's side as Ignatio helped Mano to stand. "The Yongma, it's out again! Ei Mae chased it off!"
Ignatio and his twin both frowned darkly. "Are you sure it's gone from here?"
As if cued by fate, an unearthly sounding yowl suddenly pierced the air. The four turned to look and see Ei Mae scampering along the rooftops, the Yongma in hot pursuit. The TAL threw several javelin like poles at it, managing to pin its tail-
Which it ripped off, sprouting a new one, and snarled at Ei Mae who hung off a sign pole.
"Any time you feel like actually being useful." He calmly taunted Mu Young, whose nerve snapped in irritation.
'I would, just to shut you up, TAL bastard.' Mu Young glanced down at his feet. Shadow was clinging to his ankle.'...Hey, Ignatio-'
"Right, right. Don't worry Lang, I'll protect you."
Well, that confirmed it worked. So he and Ignatio had twin telepathy. Freaky.
"Right?" Ignatio grinned happily.
Get out of his head or he's going to figure out if he can telepathically hurt you.
"Ahhhhh, Lang's so mean!"
Meanwhile Yu Jin and Mano stared at the two utterly baffled as to why Ignatio was talking to himself.
The cat Yongma was advancing on Ei Mae, still hanging from the pole by a foot. It stopped as Shade's arm plowed into the roof in front of it, the smaller Yongma growling as it turned its attention on the more feral of the twins.
Shade snarled right back; it was about time he got the chance to repay this bastard for what it did to Shadow. He loomed over the cat Yongma, growling darkly as it hissed and swiped at him. "Oi, Shade. Don't forget that thing's connected to chickpea. Don't get too rough with it!" Ignatio forewarned.
The Yongma groaned and lunged to try and tackle the cat.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
'...I...remember that day...' Maro looked at his hands. Fifteen. Fifteen, according to Boss. His boss, Nidan, ran the toughest gang out here. They found him just after he came into existence. A naked little child sitting alone between bushes near the hideout, big amber orange eyes and a mop of wild bright blond hair. He could hear things. Things like heartbeats and false breathing, jingling coins loose enough to filch. His fingers were good at filching. Nidan didn't like when he couldn't filch. 'What's that, big ears? You cheeping at me? Oi oi, you listen here with that ability of yours. Living isn't cheap, so unless yo wanna give that up, you'd better cough up the expense.' Nidan had two girlfriends. A few of the other guys had girlfriends too, and hoarded money when it came time to collect. Said it was for their girls. If Maru had a girlfriend he could say that he was keeping money for her. But Maru didn't have a girlfriend. Not with messy hair and big eyes and such a meek personality. 'Just pinch and run. Don't ever look back when you run.' The guy had a tight grip on his shirt. A raggy hand-me-down. The guy had on leather everything, even chokers. He looked like a mafia boss, a giant dark hound, and Maru was the unfortunate kitten it'd just spotted in the yard. "Oiiiiii." He looked angry. Angrier than Nidan. Angry Nidan was scary enough to make Maru go mute on instinct. "You've got guts touching my wallet." WERE HIS EYES RED?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WAS THIS GUY?! "It's as if you've got more lives than a tax-dodger's fake accounts." The guy cracked his knuckles on one hand while the other remained gripping Maru's shirt. Maru choked on a terrified sob; he didn't want to die yet. Then his shirt was released and he plummeted to the ground, choking and coughing and shaking. The guy was watching him. He didn't move or speak, until the guy finally walked away. It seemed like an hour before the guy's footsteps finally became a part of the background noise, as Maru was fixated on the steady clomp-clomp-clomp of what he assumed were steel toe boots. He knew there were many Chachaoongs around this city. He was one. Nidan was one. The whole gang was full of 'em. But until this day, Maru had never met another Chachaoong as terrifying as Nidan. But that one...That one had made him feel like he was staring the essence of Death in the eyes, those red red eyes behind dark sunglasses. If he was lucky enough, Nidan might get annoyed at the possibility of another Chachaoong gang in the city and forget to punish Maru for not scoring this day. Only when he'd recovered enough to stop shaking did he move, through alleyways and passages until he threw himself into Nidan's den, still shaken from the events. "Oi! Big ears! Where ya been? Collecting was an hour ago!" Nidan thundered loud, but it seemed almost soft compared to that guy before. Maru didn't move, just sat there trying to breathe, when two of the other guys suddenly grabbed his arms and dragged him forward. "Big ears, I asked you a question." Nidan /looked/ angry and it still didn't scare him as much as the other guy. "Did you filch and spend, eh? Get yourself something to eat without us?" He stayed quiet. "...Or did you miss your mark /again/?" He flinched. "...Big ears. I've cut you too much slack, y'know? It seems you got lazy, laying around doing nothing." Nidan stood up, and Maru heard a soft metallic noise, panic welling up as he raised his eyes to see the steel pipe in Nidan's hands. "You need to learn the value of working hard no matter what." Maru began to jerk and fidget, to no avail. "N...N...No please, I'll be good-" Nidan advanced on him, scowling at the pitiful sight. And that was when two shots rang out, and Maru's captors fell over, dead. "So, this is the kind of nest you live in." The guy was there, and just like Maru recalled, he looked even scarier than Nidan. Mostly because perched on his back was a giant gun, an assault rifle in his hand. Nidan was instantly alert. "Who the hell are you, huh?!" He materialized more pipes, his weapon of choice. "Coming in here with some fancy-ass bullshit guns!" Nidan spun the two in his hands and sent them flying at the guy. "Nobody comes into my place and fucks up my guys!" The pipes exploded upon contact, creating a cloud. Maru had fallen on his knees, secretly hoping that guy had distracted Nidan from punishing him instead. That was when something howled in an unearthly way, and a Yongma rose out of the ground, the guy seated between its arms like this was a normal stunt. Maru slid himself flat on the ground, hoping to God this thing didn't kill him. "You know, I really hate when I find a nest of rats bigger than the headaches I already deal with." The guy intoned. "RATS?!" Nidan fumed. The guy's Yongma swept its multiple limbs, impaling or smashing the other gang members into the walls as it advanced on Nidan. He grabbed Maru off the ground and held him like a shield in front of his body, Maru limp and pale as he stared the Yongma in the face. Red eyes, again, grey skin like a demon, and brown hard armor that made its unique heartbeat drum even louder in Maru's ears. "So you're even the kind who uses other people to protect your own life." The guy said, before leveling his rifle and shooting Nidan in the head, a perfect killshot. "I doubt that Chau Yong will be upset over you." Maru slowly slid to his knees, feeling Nidan's blood seeping into his back as the body fell. "...Oi, kid." He started, realizing the guy's hand was in his face. "Are you okay?" Maru raised his eyes, and saw that the guy had taken off his sunglasses now. Not just red, deep red, but it had a softer, almost pink hue as well now. It was soft and concerned and... Kind. "Hey, stand up already." It was kindness to him. Maru timidly reached out and placed his much smaller hand in the guy's own, thick fingers covering his knuckles as he was hefted up to stand. "Well, that takes care of this nest." The guy turned his head and glared at the other gang members. "Oi. I don't think I need to say it. But in case you guys have any ideas of staying together." His gaze sharpened. "This place is over." They fled, leaving Maru and the guy alone. Well, plus the Yongma. The beast deflated in size, becoming an almost cute yet sinister-looking blob that slid along the ground and came to a halt next to the guy. Maru's arms were up over his chest, hoping that this wasn't a dream. "Well, if you were having to deal with a bastard like that, I guess I can understand why you tried stealing from me." Maru hung his head. "...You don't talk much, do you?" The guy stared at him, arms crossed. "So...I'm going to guess you're also-" Maru summoned a gun. A small pistol compared to this guy's, but two at the same time, a long shredded looking ribbon connecting them. "...Oho..." The guys eyebrow raised. "But you didn't pull those out before. I wouldn't have expected it. Why didn't you?" Maru kept his gaze on the ground. "Fine, if you don't want to answer-" "I'm not...like him." Maru's voice was cracked. "Nidan thinks force is...the only way to teach people. I'm not the kind who teaches..." The guy's gaze drilled into him. "...Is it really over?" Maru sounded too hopeful. A hand came down on his head. "Yeah." Maru then flinched. "Th-The police! Sirens! They're coming!" He then panicked. "I-I- If they see this, I'll be locked up!" "You can hear them coming?" The guy's gaze was on the hole he'd come through. "The cars are still miles off...Your hearing's-" Maru managed a wry smile. "I hear things. That's the only reason he was going easy on me." "...Well. Now he can't do anything. So." The guy boldly picked Maru up and tucked him under his arm, stepping forward onto the Yongma as it melted and became a big black blob beneath them. "Wh-Wait!" Maru jerked and turned his head to look up. The guy looked down at him. "If you can hear things that I need, it'll be smart to keep you around. Hold still, by the way, Shadow doesn't do well with flailing." As Maru stared, the guy turned to face his Yongma, and they began to move. Within moments, and with a vague sensation of going stupidly fast, they were miles from the den, zooming through the streets faster than Maru was capable of running. When finally the rushing air ceased around them, did the guy speak again. "You gotta name, kid?" "...M...Maru..." "Hmm..." The guy let him down and walked over to a desk, Maru realizing with a start they were in an office. He peeked out the door and confirmed it was a home office, in a very luxurious apartment. "Kang Maru. You'll be a new fall semester student this year. This'll be your college." The guy was typing away on a laptop. Maru jolted. "...K...'Kang Maru'?" "Kang Maru." The guy's gaze was stern, and the smaller male shuddered. He rubbed his arm, feeling a bit dizzy. "...And...you, Boss?" The guy blinked. "Who are...you?" "...Mu Young."
In an instant, Kang Maru woke up, sweating and dazed but also very clear-minded as he spoke.
"Hyung-Nim."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The cat Yongma froze, claws outstretched as it stared at Mu Young. It'd escaped from Shade and had been lunging for the gunman Chachaoong when it skidded to a halt.
It stared at him before backing up and abruptly clutching its head in agony, yowling as it shook wildly as if in pain from something in its head. "What the hell's going on?" Mu Young gritted his teeth, not moving until he knew what the Yongma was going to do.
"RAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!"
The Yongma yowled, backing away in a lopsided manner, crashing into a stand and destroying it as it went wild.
"RAAAAAWWWWWRRRSSSSSSSSSSSS!"
"Hyung!" Yu Jin gripped Mu Young's elbw, Mano hiding behind Ignatio.
The Yongma again threw back its head and clutched it. "Hhhhhhaaaaasssssssssss." Shaking from side to side as if it were being driven mad. "Hhhhhaaaaasssssss... hhhhhhhyyyyy-"
"Is it..." Mano stared.
"Hhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyung." The Yongma yowled. "Hhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung."
Miles away, Maru was fighting Baek Jeong and Ara's attempts to hold him down, blood oozing from his ears again and his eyes wide and unseeing as he screamed.
"Godammit, Mano, nothin' in yer notes said this'd happen!" Sae Ha growled as he tried to make a sedative.
Ha Na Rin hung back, looking worried. "What's happening to him?!"
"The Yongma was usin' his consciousness to form an' stay formed. But now he's fightin' back for control, which isn't goin' so well for either of 'em." Sae Ha replied, tipping the needles carefully.
The cat Yongma yowled again, screaming as it blindly began to attack everything close to it. "HHHHHYYYYYYYUNNNNNGGGGGG!"
"Hyung, c'mon we gotta get back!" Yu Jin yanked at Mu Young's arm, the gunman staring at the Yongma dumbfounded. Ei Mae saw the state Mu Young was in and knew that he was formulating a very crazy idea.
He pulled Yu Jin back, which set the gunman Chachaoong's arm free.
"Shadow, stay back."
His beast jolted, but obediently went to hover with Shade.
Mu Young began to walk towards the cat Yongma still going wild. "...Maru?" It froze, then turned its head at a demonic angle to stare at him and hiss. "...It'd figure. You were made from him, right?" He walked closer, watching as the cat flinched in confusion and backed up.
In Yu Jin's house, Sae Ha finally administered the needles successfully, Maru still keening in pain.
"So I guess then it'd make sense why you approached my Shadow, too." Mu Young kept his pace slow, forming a rifle. "You're just as thick as him."
The cat hissed and swiped at him.
"But that means something else." He stopped, only a few inches from the Yongma as he stared it down.
For a moment, neither moved. The cat was poised to either attack or run away, and Mu Young had the rifle slung on his shoulder. Then in a fast fluid motion, he set his hand between the beast's horns-
And patted it.
"Since you're part of Maru, that means I gotta watch out for you as well. Right?"
The cat had seemingly gone into shock. It watched his arm as his hand went back and forth, ruffling its hair. Then, quietly, it began to coo, tail going back and forth.
Maru's body finally went limp, blood oozing from his ears at a slower rate. Bruises littered his shoulders and chest, but somehow...
Everything in the world at that moment felt at peace.
The cat Yongma looked up at Mu Young, and smiled before disappearing.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Maru, how are you feeling?"
The blond was sitting upright on his mat, letting Sae Ha poke medicinal needles in seemingly random spots across his back. "Oddly enough, better than ever. It's strange. I can't really remember most of what happened."
The cat Yongma was in its smaller form, currently dozing atop Shadow's head. Shade was watching it like a hawk, flinching whenever it twitched.
"I'm just glad you're both okay." Yu Jin cried, clinging to Maru's arm even as he tried to calm the redhead down.
Ignatio smiled at his twin as those at the table munched on snacks to compensate for not having a meal. "That was a pretty risky move you pulled, Lang. How'd you know it'd work?"
"A stray is a stray." Mu Young answered simply.
Maru glanced at him, and smiled, Mu Young only returning the look which left everyone wondering what the hell did that mean.
"So, you'll be fine, as will the beast." Mano concluded, cleaning off each needle as his Teacher used it.
The younger blond looked at him. "Kitty."
"...Eh?"
He smiled. "My Yongma. It's a Kitty."
The room was silent for a moment, before Mu Young dropped his head to the table. "Of all the names, you pick 'Kitty'?! Isn't that simple?!"
"Ehhh? But Hyung-Nim I think it's cute!"
As an argument started up about names and Yongma, Mano finished cleaning the needles and set them down. "This place is pretty lively, Teacher. It doesn't seem your kind of place."
"Heh, I thought the same." Sae Ha replied, glancing at Yu Jin. "But things change with time."
Mano mulled that thought, before leaning into Sae Ha. "Sometimes that's good, right?"
"...Heh." Sae Ha ruffled his student's hair. "Yeah. For sure. Sometimes it's definitely good."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
END