Nearly three hours later, they left the room. Frankenstein's expression was thoughtful as he pondered what they had learned, obviously well aware that while Baesook might not have outright lied to them, he wasn't necessarily speaking the entire truth, either. When asked about his cooperative spirit, Baesook had shrugged. "I haven't got anything to lose," he had replied simply. "Besides, I'd like Shinwoo to stay alive, and keeping Crombel as an Elder is not conducive to that. The Thirteenth is unusually interested in him."

M-21 had barely held in a growl at that, the low snarl tricking out from between clenched teeth until Shinwoo had taken his hand, gripping it tightly in warning. M-21 had subsided, but Baesook had gotten a lot less cooperative after that, which seemed to both annoy and please M-21. Shinwoo still had no idea what was going on, though judging by the looks that Takeo and Tao – and even Rai – were giving him, he was the only one who was oblivious.

A few times throughout the interrogation, Baesook looked as if he'd like nothing more than to summon his weapon and attack, but he never did. Not a flicker of power swirled around him, and Shinwoo had wondered if he was showing remarkable restraint, or if Rai was suppressing his power before he could even call it up. Then again, it could just be that Frankenstein himself was causing Baesook to worry. The blond wouldn't hesitate to crush him if he so much as thought about actually attempting to attack, regardless of any childhood connection to Shinwoo.

When they were finished, Frankenstein let him go, reluctantly. Baesook passed by Shinwoo on his wait out the door, and the redhead yelped as M-21 grabbed him around the waist from behind, pulling him back against him. His hands automatically sought M-21's where they lay across his stomach, and Baesook shot M-21 a murderous glare before storming out the door. And just like that, Shinwoo got it.

As they headed back up to Director Taesik's office, Shinwoo demanded loudly, "Okay, what the hell was that about? Are the two you fighting over me? Seriously? Because that's what it looked like to me, so if I'm wrong, please tell me." He was torn between being angry at their pettiness, and flattered by the fact that they felt a need to fight for his attention.

The entire hallway fell silent at his outburst, but Shinwoo disregarded the eyes focused on them with the ease of an expert. He was almost always the subject of unwanted attention, usually from people who wanted to beat the crap out of him. None of these people, as far as he knew, wanted to hurt him, and he didn't know any of them personally, so they were easy to ignore.

An Sangeen met them partway, one eyebrow raised. "You let him leave?" he asked. There was no censorship in his tone, and Shinwoo grinned at him. The older man really did take everything in stride, didn't he? Noticing him, An Sangeen offered him a small, genuine smile. "You seem to be quite popular," he observed lightly, having obviously heard the ruckus from a moment ago. Shinwoo smirked, remembering that the KSA had wanted to recruit him as well, for his fighting abilities.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm just that awesome," he boasted. He got a mixture of groans and rolled eyes from the others, except for Rai, who just stared at him blankly, and Frankenstein, who was indifferent. Shinwoo sighed and made a note to himself to work on Rai's sense of humor. And maybe see if he couldn't get Frankenstein to lighten up a little.

"Are you trying to say that you have appeal beyond your fighting prowess?" Sangeen asked smoothly. His wife, who had come up beside them while they'd been talking, stared at her husband incredulously.

Shinwoo shrugged. "Ask him," he shot back, flicking a hand towards M-21, who was feigning interest in the décor. "I've never had people fighting over me before," he said, his eyes brightening for a moment before they darkened. "Then again, I don't particularly want them to, since they're trying to kill each other."

Takeo squeezed his shoulder before leaning down and murmuring in his ear, "There's no need to worry. We've got his back. And if Baesook is still your friend, he won't actually kill M-21." That wasn't exactly comforting, but Shinwoo smiled at him anyhow.

"I have things to discuss with the Director," Frankenstein said at last. "But it'll be tea time soon." Shinwoo blinked at the non-sequitor, then watched in astonishment as Rai simply turned towards the front doors. Shinwoo realized that they were in the lobby on the main floor. "Perhaps you should accompany him," Frankenstein suggested blandly.

Shinwoo took the hint, shooting the others an apologetic grimace as he took off after Rai. He didn't know if they wanted to discuss things without him, or if there was another reason behind it, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with the blond man. There would be time for that later, once he wrung the details out of Tao.

He caught up to Rai at the doors, wondering why Rai was just standing there. Then he realized that he seemed to be waiting for something. Shinwoo rolled his eyes, grabbing the dark-haired Noble by the wrist and tugging him out the door. "Not automatic, Rai," he sighed. He felt a tug as Rai turned to look back at the KSA building as they left. Releasing the other man's wrist, Shinwoo stretched his arms above his head leisurely, enjoying the sun's warmth.

Rai paused in the middle of the sidewalk, and Shinwoo stopped with him, waiting to see what was happening. "Shinwoo! Rai! There you are!" The chorus of voices echoed down the street, and Shinwoo was quickly surrounded by his friends. Seira and Regis were with them, and Shinwoo realized that he had been wrong. They hadn't been going to help Rajak. Rather, they had been bringing the others to meet them.

Shinwoo greeted them enthusiastically. He knew it was summer break, so they didn't get to see each other in school every day, but they usually saw each other a few times a week during vacation. The seven of them quickly fell into their normal pattern as they headed for Frankenstein's house, and Shinwoo caught up on the gossip. Of course, he hadn't expected the gossip to center on him, or to have to come up with an excuse almost immediately.

"Did you hear about your house?" Ik-han asked him. It took a moment for the question to register, but Ik-han was already talking again. "The whole front of it collapsed. It's been an absolute mess since this morning. It looks like it was blown up, but nobody heard anything. Isn't that odd?"

In all honesty, Shinwoo was glad that the Elder, or Baesook, had intentionally kept the humans from interfering. The last thing Shinwoo needed on his conscience was innocent lives. He nodded glumly. "Yeah, I was there," he muttered. His friends made various exclamations of shock and dismay, and he realized how bad that had sounded. "Ah, I mean I was nearby when it happened!" he hurriedly clarified. "I wasn't actually in the house. I had gotten up a little earlier than usual." Which wasn't normal for him, but was more believable than him having been in his bedroom and coming away from it unscathed. "Umm…did you guys hear what happened?" It was a trick he had picked up from M-21, of all people. Act like you knew what was going on – which he did – and then see what other people knew. Or thought they knew.

Ik-han nodded his head. "Yeah, it was on the news, though I heard about it from my uncle first." Right, Ik-han's uncle was a police officer. "I can't believe the driver lost control like that! It took out your room and part of the living room, right?" Shinwoo nodded absently; had there been that much damage? It's not like he had stuck around to find out, too busy fighting to pay much attention.

"Yeah, it was pretty incredible. Dad's not going to be happy," he murmured, garnering sympathetic looks. Shaking himself out of it, he grinned at them. "Hey, it's whatever, right? I mean, nobody got hurt, and I wasn't there most of the time anyhow. Maybe now I can get a bigger bedroom!"

Shinwoo breathed a sigh of relief as his friends started pestering him about the truck and its driver and what had happened. Shinwoo gave some half-truths, giving as few details as possible; the cops and an ambulance had arrived within minutes, and he hadn't returned to the scene for fear of getting caught up in the chaos. Instead, after making sure that the driver was taken care of, he had left. Shinwoo had stumbled across Rai on the way, and since the other man seemed to be lost – again – he was taking him back to Headmaster Lee's place.

The first and last parts were true, at least. The cops had obviously shown up at some point, if Ik-han had heard the new from his uncle. The last thing Shinwoo wanted was to be hanging around when the cops arrived. And if he didn't accompany Rai after leaving the KSA building, the other man would probably get lost again.

Ik-han breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," he murmured. "We got worried when Regis and Seira showed up. They only told us you were okay and to follow them." Shinwoo glanced at the two silver-haired Nobles. Seira offered him a small smile, and Regis pretended to ignore him, though he couldn't hide the light blush that dusted his cheeks.

Shinwoo laughed and smacked Ik-han gently on the back. The smaller boy was still shoved slightly forward from the impact, grimacing, and Shinwoo made a note to go even gentler next time. It wouldn't do to hurt his friends by accident because he didn't know his own strength. "Haha!" he cackled. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine! Let's go get Rai his tea, and then play some games!" he cheered. The others agreed easily enough, and the worry of before was soon forgotten.

They tumbled into the Headmaster's house in a mass of laughter, Ik-han dragging Regis along cheerfully, while Rai and Seira followed sedately. Shinwoo grinned, glad that Ik-han had found somebody he was comfortable with. Until Regis and Tao had shown up, the other boy had been more or less a loner. Shinwoo couldn't understand the technicalities of computers, and only cared about whether he could play games on them. Anything beyond that, and he was completely clueless. Not to mention that he towered over Ik-han by several inches. While Ik-han had never been jealous about Shinwoo's height, the redhead knew that it had bothered him that he was shorter than even some of the girls in class. Having Regis there was good for his ego.

Suyi and Yuna had always gotten along, and Suyi was in a lull between jobs right now, so she spent more time with the other girl. This allowed Shinwoo to work on training or whatever else was going on, and to get closer to the other enhanced humans that had found their way into the odd little family that Rai and Frankenstein seemed to be collecting.

Shinwoo immediately raided the fridge, figuring that the others were probably hungry, too. Pulling out drinks and a handful of healthy snacks, he dropped them on the table in the middle of the living room and settled in next to Ik-han. The two girls were on the opposite side, while Rai sat in his usual chair. Seira was already in the kitchen, and Regis looked between the two rooms for a moment before deciding to go help Seira. Shinwoo grinned, wondering if those two would ever get together. After all, both of their fathers had obviously been friends, and the age difference wasn't that great, was it?

He was quickly absorbed into conversation, but found himself instinctively tracking M-21, Takeo, and Tao. He could feel the barely-there connection, just a general sense that they were quite a distance away yet. It didn't distract him from his friends, but it was comforting nonetheless. It also meant that he'd probably know if the Elder came too close. And better yet, he'd know if Baesook was nearby.

Eyeing his friends speculatively, Shinwoo wondered if they'd freak out if he grabbed their hair. The others hadn't seemed to mind terribly much, but then again, their experiences meant that something as simple as that wasn't cause for concern.

Shinwoo's attention was diverted when the food was brought over, and the four human friends chattered and laughed as they ate. Regis scolded them for making a mess; Yuna and Suyi apologized and offered – yet again – to help him clean up afterwards, which he promptly refused; Seira watched them all with a small smile; and Rai sat there, casually sipping his tea, occasionally accepting a stick of pocky or something from one of the children when they offered it to him.

Shinwoo was getting quite a collection, and decided that he'd experiment later. Could he choose who he tracked? Or would he be in serious trouble if they all showed up in the vicinity at the same time? For the moment, he could easily keep the others separated in his head, but he wasn't sure what would happen if he tried to keep tabs on too many at once. That was another reason for his hesitation when it came to adding anybody else. Everybody would watch out for Ik-Han, Yuna, and Suyi, just as they had been doing until now. So Shinwoo just had to figure out what he was doing.

He turned to face the living room door as M-21 walked in, followed by Tao and Takeo. None of them seemed surprised to see the children gathered there, and Shinwoo figured that Frankenstein must have filled them in. Speaking of Frankenstein, where was he?

Tao saw his expression, interpreting it correctly as he sauntered over to seat himself between Shinwoo and Ik-han, who had moved over to make room for him. He grinned. "The Boss said he had something to do at the school. He'll be home shortly." Shinwoo held back a frown; what could Frankenstein possibly need to do during summer break at the empty school? It didn't make sense, but he held his tongue. He'd pester the other man later, if he didn't get answers as soon as he walked in the door.

M-21 and Takeo took in the dishes piled by the sink with identical jaundiced glares, and set about to washing them with quiet sighs of resignation. Shinwoo held back a grin, knowing full well that Frankenstein wouldn't hesitate to do the same to him. The only difference was that Shinwoo wasn't afraid of Frankenstein, regardless of the other man's menacing aura. Actually, he wasn't sure that M-21 was really afraid of the other man, either. Maybe he felt like he owed Frankenstein for taking him in?

"Ah, is he checking on the reconstruction?" Ik-han asked interestedly. Shinwoo blinked; reconstruction? "That was crazy, wasn't it? Who would have thought that the school would be attacked like that, huh? I heard another government building was partially destroyed as well! It's a miracle that nobody was hurt." Shinwoo winced; Ik-han's penchant for hacking into the police servers while he was upgrading their systems was going to get him in trouble one of these days.

Tao just laughed, completely at ease with the younger boy's questions. "Yeah, he is. I think Shinwoo here forgot that the school needs to be fixed before the new year starts in two weeks. Speaking of school starting, how's your homework coming along?" he asked Shinwoo, his expression severe but his eyes laughing. He already knew the answer.

Shinwoo flushed, holding back a curse. With everything else going on, he had completely forgotten about summer homework! The others obviously understood his chagrined silence, because after heckling him for the next ten minutes, they excused themselves. They each still had some homework of their own to complete, though not nearly as much as Shinwoo. "Ah, you'll help him, won't you, hyung?" Ik-han asked. "I'd try, but he always falls asleep on me, and never gets anything done." Tao assured him that he wouldn't leave Shinwoo in the lurch, and that he'd make sure the redhead stayed awake until all of his homework was finished. He had an evil glint in his eyes, and Shinwoo swallowed. He didn't actually mean that literally. Did he?

"Oh! Hi, Principal Lee! We were just leaving." Shinwoo grinned; they must have met Frankenstein coming in the door as they were preparing to leave. He heard a brief conversation, before Frankenstein sent the children off with a gentle reminder to remember to complete their homework. A few seconds later, the blond wandered into the room, his eyes instinctively seeking out his Master before turning to the rest of the room. Shinwoo and Tao gave him innocent faces, and he just sighed. M-21 and Takeo had finished the last dish some time ago, and were currently leaning casually against the counter between the kitchen and the living room. Seira and Regis were seated primly, sipping tea, as was Rai. Nothing was messy or out of place.

It was still early evening, and Shinwoo was bored, which made him restless. He looked around at the others. Frankenstein and Rai would be perfectly content to sit there sipping tea and enjoying absolute silence. Perhaps they'd play a game of chess or something, if they were feeling adventurous. Regis and Seira would likely stay with them, or go patrol the city. Tao would probably absorb himself in his computers sooner or later, and Takeo would go with him, finding a spot in the mess of wires and computer parts to settle in and care for his various guns. The other children had already left. So that just left M-21, who didn't seem to have anything going on at the moment.

Shinwoo stood and wandered over to the older man, who watched him warily. "I want to go out," he said simply. There was no point in revealing his true motives, not yet, at least, here where everybody would be able to hear him.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea right now," M-21 answered shortly.

The redhead grinned. "Nah, it'll be fine! I'll know if Baesook or the Elder are coming. Besides, that fight this morning wasn't nearly enough, and I'm bored." He pitched his voice into a low whine, giving M-21 wide, pleading eyes. The other man just stared at him like he'd just sprouted wings and fangs or something equally unbelievable. Well, maybe not so unbelievable anymore, he admitted to himself with a wry grin.

Ik-han had always told him that he sucked at the whole puppy-dog eyes and quivering lip thing, so he decided to just do what he normally did. Locking his hand around M-21's wrist, he pulled him out of the living room, informing the others that they'd be going out for a while. Tao just tossed two earpieces their way, and Shinwoo pocketed them. He'd give one to M-21 later. Takeo just flashed him a small smile of encouragement, and Shinwoo grinned back. Nobody tried to stop them, not that Shinwoo had really expected them to.

M-21 maintained silence for all of three blocks before giving up. "Is there a purpose in this? Or did you just feel like dragging me through town?" he demanded roughly, refusing to walk any further, forcing Shinwoo to stop with him.

The redhead turned around and grinned at him. "I was wondering how long you were going to just keep ignoring me for," he admitted cheerfully. "I really was bored, you know," he added, "but you're right. That's not really the reason I brought you out here." He studied M-21 carefully, hoping the older man wouldn't get offended. This was still completely new to him as well, so he was more or less stumbling blindly in the dark. "Do you wanna spar?" he asked suddenly, changing the topic. Shinwoo had plans within plans.

M-21 eyed him suspiciously. "Wouldn't the deserted island be better for that kind of thing?" he asked. Shinwoo grinned; he had him. The man was quite willing to spar with him, as long as it didn't cause trouble to the people around him. Shinwoo knew the perfect place.

Shrugging, the redhead responded, "Yeah, but I didn't think he'd want to fly there tonight. So I figured we'd use the school grounds. And yes, before you say anything, I am well aware that Frankenstein would likely kill us if we wrecked his school. However, it's already damaged. A little bit more isn't going to hurt, is it? It's not like we're going to be fighting inside the school. Just in the courtyard. And it's better than the park, at least, right?" he asked pragmatically.

He could see that M-21 was relenting, and he pressed his advantage. "Besides, with the Elder in town, you know it's going to come down to a fight. I won't be a liability when that time comes." He didn't know what expression he was wearing, but silver eyes studied him intently for a moment, then M-21 nodded, conceding to Shinwoo's request. The redhead smiled brightly. "Awesome!" he crowed, excited.

"You sound awfully happy," an unfamiliar voice called out from behind him. Shinwoo just sighed, turning to face the pest with a scowl. "You're Han Shinwoo of Ye-Ran High, right?" the man asked, sauntering down the hill towards them, his hands shoved in his pockets and his shoulders slouched, the typical thug. Shinwoo snorted; he'd ruin his back doing that crap, and it was hardly intimidating. Dark eyes narrowed at him, and Shinwoo grinned widely, baiting him. He just couldn't help himself when guys like this came looking for a fight.

M-21's hand gripped his shoulder in warning, and the older man moved to stand next to him, so the two presented a united front. The idiot stalking towards them gave them an ugly look, before spitting out, "Who's the old man? Fuck buddy?" It was obvious that he was just trying to get a rise out of Shinwoo with his foul language, but it was M-21 that growled, his body tensing in reaction. Shinwoo just sighed as the man paused, his smile widening into a gloat. "Really? Who would've guessed that the Han Shinwoo was a fag?" he said, obviously enjoying himself.

There was a low chuckle all around them, and Shinwoo realized that he'd allowed himself and M-21 to be surrounded. Normal humans simply weren't a threat to him, so he disregarded them. That had been rather stupid. The look on M-21's face agreed completely. Still, it's not like Shinwoo had really been concerned about regular people back when he was one of them; the only difference now was that he'd have to hold back so he didn't kill them.

"Why don't you punks ever learn?" he wondered out loud, checking to make his earpiece was turned off. Next to him, M-21 was doing the same, already resigned to this fight. "You and your friends aren't going to be able to beat me." Several of them pulled out knives and pipes, showing them off menacingly as they circled the two enhanced humans, and Shinwoo just shrugged, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. It looked like he wouldn't be getting a sparring match with M-21 today, either. "Fine, have it your way. But I'm warning you, I'm pissed right now. You guys have seriously bad timing." He would have much preferred to be standing on the school grounds, facing off against his companion, than standing in the middle of an empty lot, surrounded by thugs looking for a bit of notoriety.

Taking a stance, Shinwoo stayed still, waiting to see what they'd do. If they were at least a tiny bit intelligent, they'd all attack at once, but that rarely ever happened. So one of the big guys that were all brawn and no brain would probably attack first, and the rest would gauge what happened. Next to him, M-21 just stood, his hands at his side and his expression bored. Ignoring the boys that were slowly closing in around them, he addressed Shinwoo. "Try not to cause too much trouble. I don't really want to have to explain our actions here," he murmured. The younger man nodded. He personally didn't care if he beat the crap out of all of them, but he didn't want to cause trouble for M-21, so he'd take it easy on their opponents.

"You think you've got time to ignore us, ya damn brat?!" one of them exclaimed before taking a swing at Shinwoo. The smaller boy raised his arms, crossing them and holding them to the side so that they took the majority of the other boy's strike. His feet didn't move from where he'd planted them, and he grinned up at the brute, blue eyes amused.

His right leg snapped out, catching the other boy in the ribs sharply, sending him flying while his buddies watched in shock. "You should be grateful to be ignored," he shot back. "Means you might not get your ass kicked." Next to him, M-21 just sighed, closing his eyes.

The rest of the gang had seen enough, and they jumped the two modified humans with a roar. Shinwoo felt a familiar rush, and a familiar tingle, but his hair didn't grow, for which he was grateful. He'd have to figure out how to control that, he mused as he used a leg to block another boy's kick, curling his hand into a fist and hitting him in the solar plexus, wincing as his own claws cut into his skin.

He twisted away from another wild punch, his head turning just in time to see M-21 grab one of the larger boys by the thick set of chains around his neck and yank him down. A flash of memory, and he remembered M-21 taking down the so-called bodyguard at the school, too, in the same manner. It had been the first time that he had really appreciated just how strong the other man was, even if he hid it behind a quiet, stoic demeanor most of the time.

Shinwoo was so busy watching M-21 fight that he almost forgot to duck, dodging an attack at the last minute. Grabbing his opponent's arm near the shoulder, he threw him, slamming him into the ground, careful to hold back so he didn't break anything. No further attacks were forthcoming, and Shinwoo looked around, realizing that they had taken most of them out. The few that were still standing had dropped their weapons and backed off. "It's over already?" he asked, genuinely surprised. The gang members flinched, and Shinwoo glanced at M-21 and shrugged. "Well, all right, then. It's still early. Wanna have a go?" he asked, his body still vibrating with tension. The need to hold back hadn't made this a real fight, so he was still primed for battle.

M-21 offered him a small smile. "That would be fine," he agreed. And with that, the two wandered off, leaving the other humans to pick up their injured. Maybe they'd actually back off now. Then again, maybe not. They'd probably just get a larger group together next time. And Shinwoo could beat them up again.

The walk to the school was calm, though Shinwoo was careful to keep track of the three Union agents he knew about in the vicinity. The only person he could feel nearby, however, was M-21. He had still been able to feel Takeo and Tao while they fought in the park, but the school must be too far out of range. Shinwoo frowned, glancing over at M-21, who just looked back at him, waiting.

"Crombel could feel other agents, right?" he asked.

M-21 nodded. "Yes, though only a few. Mary was the only one I knew about. It's possible that it's the same with Yuriy, or any of the others that work directly under him, but I do not know. He never bothered with M-24 or myself," he admitted, and his tone indicated that he realized just how lucky he was that Crombel hadn't considered him a successful experiment. "Why?" he asked.

Shinwoo frowned, shrugging. "I'm not sure. It's just…he could tell when they died, right?" M-21 nodded, his eyes darkening in memory. "But how far away could he feel them?" Shinwoo asked. "I mean, I can only sense people within about a seven block radius. Did Crombel have a limit?"

M-21 shrugged. "I don't believe so, but that might not have always been the case," he mused. "My own abilities increased slowly over time, and until Frankenstein started helping me, the most I could do was a minor transformation. Then he awoke me, and Frankenstein stabilized me. So it's possible that your own abilities will increase as well."

Shinwoo nodded, remembering claws and long hair and blood red wings. Was that his awakened form? At the time, he hadn't touched anybody, so he didn't know if he could feel more while in that form or not. "Why hair?" he murmured out loud , not really expecting an answer as they approached the school, checking automatically for bystanders before jumping over the gate.

M-21 reached out and touched his hair. "Maybe because it carries memories the longest," he replied. Shinwoo frowned at him, not understanding. "Hair carries scents with it, and texture. It's a part of you that constantly grows, but never dies. I can't explain it any better," he huffed, frustrated at his awkwardness. Shinwoo smiled at him affectionately.

"That's okay," he said. "It's not like knowing is going to change the facts. Maybe I'll ask Frankenstein," he suggested with a wicked grin. If the blond didn't know, he'd be sure to research it, which amused Shinwoo. When Frankenstein researched something, he was beyond thorough. How many bowls of ramen had M-21, Takeo, and Tao gone through while he tried to find the perfect combination? That had been a fun story, made even better by the fact that it was Takeo who admitted to it. The long-haired man didn't often share stories, but when he did, Shinwoo knew they'd be extraordinary, hilarious, or both.

They were in the large open area, surrounded by walls on three sides. M-21 stopped, and Shinwoo took a few more steps before turning to face him, dropping into a crouch and grinning manically. "Ready?" he asked. M-21 just snorted and gave him an eloquent look. Shinwoo felt claws and hair grow, and watched M-21's own claws come out. Too impatient to wait anymore, Shinwoo charged. M-21 dodged, smirking at him, and with that exchange, the battle was on!