All characters owned by Cho Jung-man except for Yun-Hee Park.
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"Damn it! Damn it all!" I fired off another shot into the water. I didn't care that it was expending so much of my energy. It was just a way for me to vent out a month's worth of frustrations. I kept firing the mana bullets until I collapsed from the strain and I couldn't remember why it was that I'd been so angry.
Halloween only sighed and crouched down next to me, rolling me over until I could see her ruby red orbs. Usually, just one look at her worried face would have me stuck in that beautiful head of hers, with all those thoughts floating around. This time, however, it wasn't that simple. Something else was roaming around my head and ripping up whatever it could find.
"You're giving me a headache, Tasha," she sighed and pulled me up with her as she stood. "Stop thinking so hard about it."
"How can I not?" I replied, my voice slightly strained but calmer. "We've been chasing after her for a month and the only time we're close enough to catch her she turns around and literally walks away from us. We may never be able to find her again!"
"Or we could get Tarras to come by and search for her." Cougar came up to us with the same sullen look I suppose I had worn. "But I want to make something clear: she's my prey. You're not getting to her before I do!" With that said he stalked off and began mumbling to himself.
I didn't want to take his advice, but I knew that he was right. We needed more people to help us out if we wanted to have even a slight chance of capturing Shadow Girl. I didn't care anymore about my pride because it had already been ripped away from me anyway. All that was left was the money and that I cared more about.
"Tasha! Hey, snap out of it. There's something going on in the town and I'm pretty sure you'd want to check it out," Halloween was shaking my shoulder and I was able to stand up and slowly walk towards the town square where most of the townspeople had gathered. It seemed like they were pretty angry at whoever was in the middle of their circle.
As I approached, people noticed me and parted so that I could get to the eye of the hurricane and what I found there was uninteresting at first. A man was sitting and chained to a wooden post, grimacing due to a wound in his side. He looked like a pirate with a scarf wrapped around his neck. His weapons were placed several feet away so that he wouldn't be able to reach them.
"Who are you?" I asked, not really caring but thinking it might get me somewhere if I did. I guess he didn't feel like talking because all he did was turn away, lips pursed. Cougar stepped into the middle of the circle at that moment and smirked.
"Well, someone's a bit late to the party." He sauntered over to the post and leaned on it, looking down at the prisoner. "I've already asked him what I needed. I told him that if he answered all of my questions he would be let go. He got most of them."
Halloween had caught on before I did, asking him, "What questions did he not answer?"
My rival was silent before he shrugged and said, "He wouldn't say anything concerning the pirate chick we've been tailing."
It clicked then. I stared at him again and found the same raven coloured hair, almond-shaped eyes, and athletic build. The colour of his eyes were noticeably different, but I'd already found enough evidence of their relationship.
"You're her brother, aren't you?" I asked crouching down in front of him so that we were at eye level. Something flashed in his eyes and it confirmed my suspicions. We were definitely getting somewhere now. I looked up at Cougar and nodded.
"All we have to do is see whether or not she'll come back for her relative," Cougar said, playing with the dagger that had been on the ground, "or if she's as ruthless as she seems. Hopefully she'll come back and we'll finally be able to capture her."
"That's not happening."
The voice was unmistakably a girl's and before I could utter a single word I was suspended in the air along with the rest of the townspeople, helpless and vulnerable. Shadow Girl strolled through the floating crowd and stopped at the base of the wooden post to release her captive brother.
"Yun-Hee, I'm sorry. I didn't think WHs would be after you again so soon. I should've been more cautious." Shadow Girl's brother stood up, leaning against the wooden post as he rubbed his wrists. She shook her head and motioned towards his things with a forgiving look. He gathered his things quickly and nodded to her, smiling as he dashed off.
"So, your name is Yun-Hee," Cougar said, still smirking as if he knew something she didn't. She turned and glared at him.
"You're the one who injured him, Cougar?" Immediately his smirk was replaced by a surprised frown and was deepened even further as she said, "I've already disabled your trap and you're not the one I'm interested in. In fact, you've got nothing on me so I'll let you go first." She released her hold on him and Cougar dropped to the ground on all fours.
"How dare you!" He flicked his wrist and threw a lightning bolt at her. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated her because she deftly dodged his attack and closed in for the kill, quickly knocking him out with a knee to the gut following up with a hand to the back of his neck. He groaned as he lay there and I couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the girl who'd dispatched him so effortlessly.
Yun-Hee turned to me and asked, "You're Tasha Godspell, right? Aria's brother?"
At the mention of Aria's name, I stiffened and returned her harsh stare. "What is she to you?"
She removed her scarf from her face and I couldn't help but notice how pretty her face was. She gracefully walked over to me, took my face in her hands and kissed me. Just like that. Halloween was horrified and stunned while the rest of the town began to whisper. As for me, something in my memory began to stir. The kiss was all too familiar for me. She stepped back and studied my face, genuinely smiling with amusement. "You'll remember soon enough."
She slowly stepped away from me and when she reached the center of the circle she coughed into her hand. When she brought it away from her mouth, it was stained red and her eyes narrowed. "Time's up, I guess." She swiftly turned and darted away without a backward glance, releasing us from her hold and leaving many confused people behind.
As people began to pick themselves up off of the ground, I continued to sit there, dumbfounded. All I could do was stare at the spot where she had been, marked only with a few drops of blood. Something about her came rushing back to me and I realized what the worth of her words meant.
Yun-Hee Park. I had known her before this past month.
