----
They stopped behind the corner of a cracked concrete wall.
Not because anyone told them to.
Because the moment they reached the edge of the alley, Kayden's body lowered, Asuka's hand lifted slightly, and even Jisuk had enough sense not to step straight into open firelight without looking first.
The back road beyond the wall was wide enough for a car to pull in.
Barely.
An old black vehicle sat near the curb with its engine running low, headlights off, one rear door open. The air around it shimmered faintly from lingering heat.
Two men stood near it.
The Klein brothers.
Asuka knew them before anyone said the name.
The broader one stood beside the car, one hand resting lazily against the doorframe. His shoulders were thick, his grin loose and unpleasant, and faint sparks crawled over his knuckles like insects made of flame.
The other one was leaner.
Colder.
He was carrying Wooin.
Wooin's wrists were tied behind his back. His head hung forward slightly, hair falling over his eyes, one side of his face bruised. There was dried blood near his temple and a darker stain at the edge of his sleeve.
He was conscious.
Barely.
His eyes opened a fraction as the leaner brother dragged him closer to the car.
Jiwoo's breath caught.
His body moved before thought fully reached him.
Asuka's hand closed around the back of his jacket.
Not hard.
Just enough.
Jiwoo stopped.
His shoulders trembled.
"Wooin…"
Jisuk's face went still.
Not angry in the loud way.
Quiet.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
For once, he did not curse immediately.
That made it worse.
Kayden stood near Jiwoo's feet, fur bristling, eyes locked on the Klein brothers.
His power flickered beneath his small body for a fraction of a second before he crushed it down.
Not yet.
Asuka felt it.
Jiwoo felt it too, faintly, though he did not understand all of it.
Kayden wanted to move.
He could not.
Not openly.
Not unless there was no choice.
Jisuk pulled out his phone.
His thumb moved quickly over the screen.
"Inhyuk," he muttered under his breath. "Found them. Old commercial block. Back road. Two attackers. Wooin captured. Car present."
He sent it.
Then typed again.
"Hurry."
Asuka listened to the soft click of the message sending.
At the car, the broader Klein brother glanced down the street.
"No one followed?"
The leaner one tossed Wooin against the side of the car with enough force that Jiwoo's fingers curled into fists.
Wooin gave a faint grunt.
"Union is slow," the leaner one said. "Shinhwa is arrogant. We'll be gone before either catches up."
The broader brother laughed.
"Good. The boss will like this one."
Wooin's head lifted slightly.
His eyes, hazy but awake, shifted toward the alley.
For one impossible second, his gaze met Jiwoo's.
Jiwoo froze.
Wooin's eyes widened faintly.
Not in relief.
In warning.
Don't.
Jiwoo's jaw tightened.
He did not listen.
Of course he did not listen.
He edged closer to the corner.
Jisuk noticed immediately.
His hand shot out and grabbed the back of Jiwoo's jacket this time.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
Jiwoo looked at him, eyes wide and fierce.
"We've gotta rescue Wooin."
Jisuk's brows drew together.
"They're trying to move him," Jiwoo whispered. "If they get him in that car, we might lose them."
"I can see that," Jisuk snapped quietly. "But are you insane? You're going in with no clear plan?"
Jiwoo opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because, technically, yes.
That had been exactly what he was about to do.
Asuka looked past them toward Wooin.
The car door.
The brothers.
The angle of the street.
The broken sign hanging over the abandoned shop.
The scorch marks on the ground.
The future she had seen shifted and tightened around this moment.
If they waited for backup, the car would leave.
If they attacked recklessly, someone would be burned.
If Asuka ended the fight immediately, Jiwoo would learn nothing except that she could always save him.
Her fingers flexed once inside her sleeve.
Reckless.
Necessary.
There was a difference sometimes.
A cruel one.
"Asuka?" Jiwoo whispered.
She turned her bandaged face toward him.
"Yes," she said softly. "It is reckless."
Jisuk gave her a sharp look as if expecting support.
Asuka continued, "But there is no time to wait for backup. Not when they have a car."
Jisuk stared.
Then slowly turned toward Jiwoo.
"You idiot."
Jiwoo blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes, you!"
"I didn't do anything yet."
"You were thinking it too loudly!"
Asuka tilted her head.
"That is true."
Jiwoo looked wounded.
"Asuka…"
Kayden's tail lashed once.
"Stop wasting time," he murmured low enough for only them to understand.
Jiwoo swallowed.
"How do we rescue him with our abilities?"
That was the correct question.
Late.
But correct.
Asuka's mind began laying out a plan.
Jisuk could disable the road with wind pressure. Jiwoo could retrieve Wooin if Asuka covered the fire. Asuka could intercept heat without revealing too much. Kayden could stay hidden and watch for killing intent.
A quick, rough plan.
Three movements.
Maybe four.
Enough.
She opened her mouth.
Jisuk stepped forward.
"Move."
Jiwoo blinked.
"What?"
Jisuk shoved him lightly back with one arm, eyes locked on the car.
Wind gathered.
Not a breeze.
Not the playful current that sometimes stirred around him when he was irritated.
This was sharp.
Compressed.
The air around Jisuk's right hand twisted violently, folding into a concentrated spiral.
Asuka's head turned.
"Jisuk—"
He launched it.
The attack shot out from behind the wall with a scream.
Not toward the Klein brothers.
Toward the car.
The broader brother's head snapped up.
The leaner one moved on instinct, grabbing Wooin and jumping back.
The compressed wind slammed into the vehicle.
Metal folded inward.
Glass exploded.
The open rear door tore from its hinges and spun across the road. The car lifted half a meter from the ground before crashing sideways into the curb with a shriek of twisting steel.
The engine burst with a loud crack.
Smoke rolled upward.
The car was ruined.
Completely.
Utterly.
Irredeemably.
For one second, the entire street went silent.
Then the broader Klein brother slowly turned his head toward the alley.
His grin widened.
"Well, well."
Jiwoo stared.
Asuka stared.
Kayden stared.
Wooin, still held by the leaner brother, stared with the exhausted expression of someone who had just realized his rescuers included Jisuk Yoo.
Jisuk lowered his hand.
He looked deeply displeased.
Not at the destroyed car.
At Jiwoo and Asuka.
Both of them were looking at him with identical sweat-dropped disbelief.
Jisuk's eye twitched.
"Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?"
Jiwoo opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Asuka spoke calmly.
"You revealed our position."
"You said we didn't have time!"
"I was pointing out the obvious."
Jisuk glared.
"That was me handling the obvious!"
"We should have at least made a quick, decent plan," Asuka said, voice still perfectly even, "or coordinated an attack before revealing our position."
The flames around the Klein brothers rose higher.
Asuka tilted her head.
"But it is too late now since you just did that."
Jisuk's face flushed.
"You—"
A fireball slammed into the wall above them.
Concrete burst.
Jiwoo ducked.
Jisuk swore.
Asuka stepped sideways, one hand catching a falling chunk of debris before it hit Jiwoo's shoulder. She let it drop a second later like any ordinary person might have simply reacted fast.
Kayden noticed.
His eyes narrowed.
Good.
Small movements.
Hidden ones.
The broader Klein brother laughed from the street.
"Kids hiding behind a wall? Come out."
The leaner brother held Wooin by the back of his shirt, dragging him slightly away from the wrecked car.
His eyes were sharper.
More cautious.
"The wind brat is Shinhwa."
Jisuk clicked his tongue and stepped into view.
"That's right."
Jiwoo's eyes widened.
"Jisuk—"
Jisuk glanced back.
"You wanted to save him, didn't you?"
Jiwoo froze.
Jisuk looked forward again, wind stirring around his body.
"Then stop staring and move when you see a chance."
Asuka's gaze softened for the briefest moment.
Loud.
Rude.
Reckless.
But not heartless.
Never that.
Jiwoo stepped beside him.
Kayden remained close to the wall, hidden in shadow.
Asuka followed half a step behind Jiwoo.
The moment she entered the firelight, the leaner Klein brother's eyes moved to her.
Blindfold.
Small frame.
Hoodie.
Shorts.
Quiet posture.
His gaze narrowed.
"A girl?"
The broader brother barked out a laugh.
"They brought a blindfolded kid too? Is this a joke?"
Jisuk's wind snapped sharply around his shoulders.
"Laugh again."
The broader one grinned.
"Gladly."
Fire roared from his palm.
A wide blast.
Not precise.
Not meant to kill instantly.
Meant to scare.
Meant to force them back.
Meant to show them the difference between children and criminals.
Jiwoo's body leaned forward.
He was about to run through the gap.
Too early.
Asuka moved first.
Not impossibly.
Not with Blue visible.
Just fast enough.
Her hand lifted.
Orange-yellow flame bloomed around her fingers and swept outward in a thin arc.
The Klein brother's fire struck it.
For a fraction of a second, red-orange flame pressed against gold.
Then Asuka's flame curled.
Not stronger in a flashy way.
Smarter.
It cut through the broad blast at an angle, splitting the heat and guiding it apart so the fire washed past them on both sides instead of into their bodies.
The flames splashed against the road behind them, scorching old concrete.
Jisuk stared.
Jiwoo stared.
The broader brother's grin faltered.
The leaner one's eyes sharpened.
"Fire-type."
Asuka lowered her hand.
A faint, believable flicker of flame clung to her knuckles.
Nothing blue.
Nothing black.
No space bending.
No Infinity.
Just fire.
Just enough.
Jiwoo whispered, "Asuka…"
"I am fine," she said softly.
Jisuk's eyes darted toward her.
"What the hell was that?"
"A block."
"That was not a block."
"It was close enough."
Kayden's mouth twitched from the shadows.
Not bad.
But the Klein brothers had noticed her now.
Good and bad.
Useful and dangerous.
The broader brother rolled his shoulders.
"Looks like one of them has some bite."
Asuka remembered the future. The same words. Or close enough. Her fingers flexed once. The thread remained intact.
The leaner brother shifted Wooin back, fire gathering in his free hand.
"Doesn't matter. We only need the telekinetic one."
Wooin's eyes opened a little wider.
His voice came roughly.
"Run…"
Jiwoo's expression hardened.
"No."
Wooin's brows drew together weakly.
"Jiwoo…"
Jisuk stepped forward.
"You're telling us to run while tied up like baggage?"
Wooin blinked slowly.
Even injured, he somehow looked mildly offended.
"I was kidnapped."
"I can see that!"
The broader Klein brother laughed again.
"This is touching."
His flames rose, crawling over both arms now.
"Really. I almost feel bad."
Jisuk scoffed.
"No, you don't."
"No," the man agreed cheerfully. "I don't."
Then he attacked.
This time, the flame came low.
A sweeping wave across the ground, hot enough to crack the surface as it rolled toward them.
Jisuk's wind slammed down to meet it.
The pressure burst outward.
Heat and air collided in a violent spiral, smoke tearing across the street.
Jiwoo moved through the edge of it.
Fast.
Too fast for the Klein brothers to track properly at first.
He dashed toward Wooin.
The leaner brother reacted.
Fire gathered at his fingertips.
Compressed.
Bullet-like.
Asuka saw it.
The future overlapped.
A line of flame aimed for Jiwoo's side.
Not killing if it struck shallow.
Crippling if it struck deep.
Her hand twitched.
No.
Let him move.
Jiwoo's foot hit the ground.
Kayden's training showed.
He did not run in a straight line.
He shifted.
Barely.
A small burst of speed angled him away from the first flame bullet.
It missed, grazing his sleeve with heat.
Jiwoo winced but kept moving.
Good.
Asuka's heart still clenched.
The second bullet formed faster.
Too fast.
Asuka stepped.
A flicker of Blue formed beneath the movement, hidden by flame around her ankle.
She crossed the distance in a blink that could still pass as speed.
Her palm cut upward.
Orange flame met the bullet midair.
The attack burst above Jiwoo's shoulder instead of through it.
Jiwoo glanced back.
Asuka gave the smallest nod.
Keep going.
He understood.
He ran.
Jisuk saw the exchange and clicked his tongue.
"You two planning things without talking now?"
"Yes," Asuka said.
"That's annoying!"
"Focus."
"Don't order me around!"
The broader brother drove another blast toward him.
Jisuk twisted, wind wrapping around his body as he launched himself sideways. The flames tore past, close enough to singe the edge of his jacket.
He landed hard.
Then grinned.
Not happily.
Defiantly.
"That all?"
The broader brother's smile widened.
"Oh, I like this one."
"That makes one of us," Jisuk snapped.
Wind exploded from his hand again, this time aimed high.
Not at the man.
At the broken sign hanging above him.
Asuka noticed.
So did Kayden.
Jisuk's first move had been reckless.
This one was not.
The sign tore loose.
Metal crashed down toward the broader Klein brother.
He dodged left.
Exactly where Jisuk wanted.
Jiwoo flashed in from the right.
The leaner brother had to shift Wooin out of Jiwoo's path, disrupting his hold.
Wooin saw the gap.
Even bound, even injured, his eyes sharpened.
A piece of broken car door lifted behind the leaner brother.
It slammed into his back.
Not hard enough to defeat him.
Enough to make his grip loosen.
Jiwoo reached Wooin.
"Wooin!"
Wooin's knees buckled.
Jiwoo caught him.
For one bright, terrifying second, it worked.
Then the leaner brother's head turned.
His face had lost all amusement.
"You little—"
Fire gathered around his entire arm.
Too much.
Too close.
Jiwoo could not dodge while holding Wooin.
Jisuk was too far.
Kayden's power spiked from the shadows.
Asuka felt it.
She moved first.
A thin veil of orange-yellow flame unfurled between Jiwoo and the Klein brother's arm.
Not a wall.
A curve.
A deflection.
The incoming fire struck and slid upward, redirected toward the sky.
Heat roared above them.
Jiwoo ducked over Wooin instinctively.
Asuka appeared beside him a heartbeat later, one hand still raised.
The leaner Klein brother stared at her.
His eyes narrowed.
"You're not just a normal fire-type."
Asuka's face remained calm beneath the bandages.
"I am trying to be."
Jisuk choked.
"Trying?!"
Jiwoo looked deeply confused.
Wooin, barely conscious against Jiwoo's shoulder, whispered, "That is… not reassuring."
Asuka's mouth softened.
"You are awake."
Wooin blinked slowly.
"A little."
Jiwoo's eyes filled with relief.
"Wooin…"
The broader brother clapped once.
The sound echoed.
"Well. This got interesting."
The flames around both brothers rose higher now.
No more mockery alone.
They were paying attention.
The wrecked car smoked behind them.
Backup was coming.
But not here yet.
The boys had Wooin.
But they had not escaped.
Kayden remained in the shadow of the wall, eyes narrowed, calculating every angle, every flame, every breath.
Asuka stood between Jiwoo and the Klein brothers, fire curling around her fingers.
Not too hot.
Not too clean.
Not too much.
Jisuk stepped up beside her, wind gathering.
Jiwoo tightened his hold on Wooin, then shifted his stance the way Kayden had taught him.
Wooin's eyes, dim with pain, moved from one face to another.
Jiwoo.
Jisuk.
Asuka.
A cat in the shadows that looked far too furious to be ordinary.
His mouth parted faintly.
"You came…"
Jiwoo smiled, scared and relieved all at once.
"Of course."
Jisuk clicked his tongue.
"Don't get emotional. You're heavy."
Wooin blinked.
"I am not."
"You are when kidnapped."
"That does not make sense."
"It makes perfect sense."
Asuka's flame brightened slightly.
"Later."
Both boys quieted.
The Klein brothers began walking forward.
The street warmed.
The night tightened.
Asuka exhaled.
She would let them fight.
She would let them learn.
But the moment those flames reached too far—
Her fingers curled.
The fire around her hand turned gold at the edges.
Only for an instant.
Then orange again.
The broader Klein brother grinned.
"Let's see what you kids can do."
Jisuk smiled sharply.
Jiwoo lowered his center of gravity.
Wooin lifted his head despite the blood at his temple.
Asuka stood very still.
Behind the wall, Kayden's eyes gleamed like lightning waiting to strike.
The ruined car burned quietly behind them.
The rescue had begun badly.
Recklessly.
Very Jisuk.
But Wooin was no longer alone.
And that, for now, was enough.
The Klein brothers attacked together.
That was the first problem.
They were not merely two fire-type awakeners who happened to share blood.
They knew each other's rhythm.
The broader one moved first, wide blasts of flame tearing across the road in heavy arcs, forcing distance, forcing defense, forcing anyone in front of him to look at the fire and not the brother moving behind it.
The leaner one used that opening.
Sharper.
Colder.
His flames did not spread.
They pierced.
Thin streaks of compressed heat shot through the gaps in his brother's attacks, aimed not at the strongest target, but at the weakest moment.
Jiwoo realized that too late.
He had Wooin's arm over his shoulder, one hand gripping Wooin's wrist to keep him upright. Wooin was trying to stand on his own, jaw clenched, eyes unfocused from pain and exhaustion.
"I can walk," Wooin muttered.
"You can barely stay awake," Jiwoo said.
"I can still walk."
"You are leaning on me."
"That is… temporary."
Jisuk snapped, "Can you two stop discussing it while we're being attacked?!"
Wind slammed outward from his hand, colliding with a sheet of flame.
The impact burst between them, hot air whipping back hard enough to rattle broken windows.
Asuka stepped into the edge of the blast.
Her hoodie snapped around her.
Orange-yellow flame curled around her fingers, then unfurled in a thin crescent. She did not overpower the Klein brother's fire directly. Not visibly. Instead, she cut the flow.
A slight angle.
A curved pressure.
The incoming flame bent sideways, smashing into the wrecked car instead of Jiwoo.
The car's remaining windows burst.
Jisuk glanced at her.
"You keep doing that!"
Asuka's bandaged face remained turned toward the brothers.
"Yes."
"That's not normal fire control!"
"I am trying."
"You suck at trying!"
Asuka's mouth curved faintly.
"I have been told I am too competent."
"That is not the problem!"
Another fire bullet cut through the smoke.
Jiwoo barely twisted away from it, dragging Wooin with him. The heat grazed the side of his jacket, leaving a blackened line across the fabric.
Wooin's eyes sharpened.
A piece of broken metal lifted from the ground and shot toward the leaner Klein brother.
The man burned it before it reached his face, but it forced him to tilt his head.
A fraction.
Enough.
Jiwoo moved.
A burst of speed carried him two steps farther from the center of the road.
Not enough.
The broader brother laughed.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He slammed both hands down.
Fire erupted across the ground in a spreading wave, racing low and fast toward Jiwoo and Wooin.
Jisuk cursed.
Asuka moved before him.
Not too fast.
Fast enough.
A small Blue flickered beneath her foot, hidden in the flash of flame around her ankle. Space tugged her forward half a step quicker than awakened speed alone should have allowed.
She landed between the fire and Jiwoo.
Her hand swept low.
Her own flame met the wave.
For a moment, the street turned gold.
Not blue.
Not black.
Gold.
Only at the edges.
Only for an instant.
The Klein brother's ground fire split around her like water hitting stone.
Heat washed past her on both sides, scorching the road, licking up the walls, leaving Asuka untouched in the center.
Jisuk stared.
Jiwoo stared.
Wooin, half-conscious and bleeding, stared.
Even the broader Klein brother paused.
Asuka lowered her hand.
The gold vanished.
Orange-yellow flame remained.
Normal enough.
Almost.
Kayden, still hidden near the broken wall, narrowed his eyes.
Too clean.
Still too clean.
But effective.
That mattered more right now.
The leaner brother's gaze sharpened.
"You're annoying."
Asuka turned her head slightly.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't praise."
"That seems common tonight."
Jisuk clicked his tongue.
"Stop chatting with the criminal!"
The broader brother grinned again, though his eyes had lost some of their careless humor.
"You kids are fun."
Jisuk's wind gathered around his arms.
"Glad you're enjoying yourself."
Asuka's voice lowered.
"Jisuk."
He glanced at her.
She did not move her head.
Her attention remained on the brothers, on Jiwoo, on Wooin, on the shattered road and burning car and every route of escape.
"This cannot continue."
Jisuk's eyes sharpened.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
He was reckless, not stupid.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it became.
Jiwoo was injured.
Wooin was worse.
Jisuk's attacks were powerful but not endless.
Asuka could end things too easily and that was exactly why she could not move freely.
The Klein brothers had more experience, more cruelty, and no hesitation about destroying the street around them.
The longer they fought together in one place, the more likely someone made a mistake.
Or Asuka stopped pretending.
Neither was acceptable.
Jisuk's jaw tightened.
"We split."
Asuka nodded once.
"Yes."
Jiwoo looked between them.
"What?"
Jisuk snapped, "You take Wooin and run."
Jiwoo's eyes widened.
"What about you two?"
"What do you think? We buy time."
"No—"
"Jiwoo," Asuka said.
Her voice was calm.
Gentle.
It stopped him more effectively than Jisuk's anger.
Jiwoo looked at her.
Asuka stepped closer, one hand lifting.
For a terrifying second, Jiwoo thought she was going to touch his face in the middle of the fight like she did when he was hurt.
Instead, her fingers brushed Wooin's restraints.
Tiny flame appeared.
Precise.
Hot.
Silent.
The rope burned through without touching Wooin's skin.
Wooin inhaled sharply as his wrists came loose.
Asuka caught one of his hands before it dropped too quickly.
"You can use your ability?"
Wooin blinked slowly.
"A little."
"Good."
She looked at Jiwoo.
"Do not fight unless you must. Move. Dodge. Get distance. Keep him awake."
Jiwoo's hands tightened around Wooin's arm.
"Asuka—"
"I will follow."
Not a lie.
Not entirely.
Her future had already shown she would have to move.
But not yet.
Jiwoo searched her face, though the bandages hid her eyes.
He wanted to refuse.
He wanted to stay.
He wanted everyone to leave together.
But Wooin's weight sagged against him.
And the Klein brothers were moving again.
Jisuk stepped forward, wind snapping violently around his shoulders.
"Go!"
The broader brother laughed and lunged.
Jisuk met him with wind.
The road cracked beneath the force of the collision.
Asuka turned toward the leaner brother as he slipped sideways, trying to cut Jiwoo off.
Flames gathered at his fingertips.
Sharp.
Compressed.
Aimed at Jiwoo's legs.
Not to kill.
To stop.
To drop him.
To make Wooin easy to take again.
Asuka's expression vanished.
Her hand lifted.
A thin spear of orange-yellow flame shot from her fingers.
Not broad.
Not pretty.
Not like the curves she had used to redirect.
This was sharp.
Awakener-like.
Crude enough to pass.
Fast enough to matter.
The leaner brother twisted away, but not fully.
The flame caught his shoulder.
Fabric burned.
Skin seared.
He hissed and staggered back, one hand clamping over the wound.
His eyes snapped to Asuka.
For the first time, real anger crossed his face.
"You little—"
Asuka's flame flickered around her hand.
"Move carefully."
Jisuk shot her a look.
"Was that a warning or advice?"
"Yes."
"You're so annoying!"
"Focus."
"I am focused!"
The broader brother slammed another fire blast toward them.
Jisuk threw wind into it, splitting the attack down the center.
Fire roared past both sides of them, close enough to paint orange light across Asuka's bandages.
Jiwoo moved.
Wooin leaned heavily against him at first, then forced his feet under himself.
"I can help," Wooin whispered.
"Help by staying with me," Jiwoo said.
"That is not help."
"It is to me."
Wooin stared at him for one dazed second.
Then looked away.
"Your logic is strange."
"I know."
Behind them, Jisuk yelled, "Run faster!"
Jiwoo adjusted his grip and surged forward.
Not full speed.
He could not use full speed while carrying Wooin without hurting him.
But fast enough that the distance opened.
Three steps.
Five.
Ten.
Asuka sensed the shift before anyone else.
The leaner Klein brother was not done.
The burn on his shoulder should have slowed him more.
Against an ordinary fire-type attack, maybe it would have.
But he was strong.
His fire flared around the wound, cauterizing the damage with a hiss of smoke. His face twisted in pain, but his legs bent.
Asuka's head turned.
No.
The leaner brother launched himself after Jiwoo.
"Asuka!" Jisuk shouted.
She moved to intercept.
The broader brother appeared in front of her.
Fast.
Too fast for his size.
His grin was gone now.
Fire wrapped around his arm like a gauntlet.
"Not so fast."
He punched downward.
Asuka stepped back.
A normal dodge.
Almost.
The fire-gauntlet smashed into the road where she had stood, concrete bursting upward in heated chunks.
Jisuk's wind caught the debris before it could hit her back.
"You said we were splitting!"
"We are," Asuka replied.
"The wrong one is leaving!"
"I noticed."
The leaner brother was already past the wrecked car, chasing Jiwoo and Wooin down the back road.
Jiwoo heard him.
He glanced back once.
His eyes widened.
Wooin's hand lifted weakly.
A piece of broken glass rose from the ground and shot backward.
The leaner brother burned it midair without slowing.
Fire gathered at his feet, boosting his movement in short bursts.
Not speed-type.
But fast.
Fast enough.
The broad Klein brother rolled his shoulders, fire crawling across his chest and arms.
"So. The little runner gets my brother."
His grin returned, nastier now.
"And I get Shinhwa's brat and the blindfolded flame girl."
Jisuk scoffed.
"You say that like you got lucky."
The man laughed.
"Didn't I?"
Asuka tilted her head.
"No."
The man's eyes moved to her.
She stood very still beside Jisuk.
Small.
Calm.
Hoodie sleeves hanging slightly over her hands.
Bandages hiding impossible eyes.
Fire flickering around her fingers in a way that looked almost normal if one did not notice how the heat obeyed her too perfectly.
The broad Klein brother's smile sharpened.
"You're confident."
"I am observant."
"Then observe this."
He swept both arms outward.
Flame exploded in a wide circle, expanding toward them from three angles at once.
Jisuk reacted immediately.
Wind gathered around them, spiraling up in a defensive column.
The fire slammed into it.
Heat pressed through.
Jisuk gritted his teeth.
"This guy's flames are heavy."
Asuka lifted one hand and pressed her palm lightly against the inside of the wind current.
Jisuk felt it.
The tiniest addition.
Not enough to take over.
Not enough to make him feel assisted.
A narrow ribbon of flame threaded into his wind, not fighting it, but changing how the heat broke around the spiral.
The pressure eased.
Jisuk's eyes widened.
"What did you—"
"Later."
"Stop saying later!"
"Then stop needing explanations during fights."
Jisuk clicked his tongue.
The firestorm broke apart.
Asuka and Jisuk split in opposite directions.
The broad brother's eyes followed Asuka first.
Mistake.
Jisuk's wind slammed into his side.
The man skidded back, boots scraping across the road.
He grinned through it.
"Not bad!"
He threw a burst of flame at Jisuk.
Jisuk dodged left, wind boosting his step.
The flame clipped his sleeve.
He cursed as fabric smoked.
Asuka moved in from the right.
Not too fast.
Fast enough.
Her fist struck the man's ribs with a burst of orange flame.
The impact landed.
Solid.
For one second, the broad brother's body bent around it.
Then he caught her wrist.
Or tried to.
His hand stopped a hair's breadth from her sleeve.
Infinity.
Only for an instant.
Only because his grip would have revealed too much force if she allowed contact.
From his perspective, heat distortion and her own movement made it look like he had missed.
Asuka twisted away before he could understand.
Jisuk's wind blade cut between them.
The brother jumped back, eyes narrowed.
"You two are irritating."
Jisuk smiled sharply.
"Good."
Asuka landed beside him.
"His durability is high."
"I noticed."
"His output is stronger than expected."
"I noticed that too."
"He is buying time."
Jisuk's expression darkened.
"For his brother."
"Yes."
The broad Klein brother laughed.
"Smart kids."
Fire flared around his arms again.
"But not smart enough."
He slammed one foot down.
Flame raced not toward them—
But behind them.
Toward the street Jiwoo had taken.
Asuka's head turned sharply.
Jisuk saw it too.
"Damn it!"
He threw wind after it, but the fire was already crawling low along the ground, moving like a living thing around debris and broken metal.
Asuka stepped forward.
For a fraction of a second, her flame turned gold again.
Then she crushed it down.
No.
Not too much.
She exhaled.
Orange-yellow fire snapped from her hand in a thin whip. It caught the spreading flame at the edge and twisted it upward, forcing it into the air before it could reach the side road.
The fire burst above the street like a flare.
Too pretty.
Too controlled.
The broad brother stared.
Jisuk stared too.
Asuka lowered her hand.
"It was going the wrong way," she said.
Jisuk's eye twitched.
"That's your explanation?"
"Yes."
"That was insane!"
"Would you prefer it reached Oppa?"
"No!"
"Then focus."
Jisuk bared his teeth.
"You are the most annoying person I've ever fought beside."
Asuka's mouth curved faintly.
"Thank you."
"Not a compliment!"
The broad Klein brother's laughter faded into something more interested.
"Blindfold."
His flames curled slower now.
More controlled.
"You're hiding something."
Asuka's posture did not change.
"Most people are."
"Not like you."
Jisuk stepped half a pace forward, wind gathering harder.
"Hey. I'm your opponent too."
The brother glanced at him.
Then smiled.
"Jealous?"
Jisuk's wind cracked the pavement at his feet.
"You wish."
Asuka's head tilted slightly toward Jisuk.
"He is provoking you."
"I know."
"You are provoked."
"I know!"
"Then do not be."
"That is not how that works!"
The Klein brother lunged.
Jisuk met him head-on this time.
Wind wrapped around his arm, compressing into a sharp-edged spiral. Flame covered the brother's fist. The two attacks collided with a sound like metal tearing.
Jisuk slid back.
His shoes scraped sparks from the concrete.
Asuka moved behind the brother, flame curling low around her leg.
She kicked at the back of his knee.
A normal target.
A normal fire-enhanced strike.
It landed.
The man staggered.
Jisuk saw the opening and drove wind into his chest.
The broad brother flew back and smashed into the side of the ruined car.
Metal caved around him.
For one heartbeat, silence.
Then the car shifted.
The man pushed himself out of the dented steel, smoke rising from his shoulders.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
His grin returned.
"There it is."
Jisuk's breathing had gone heavier.
Asuka noticed.
He was strong.
Very strong for his age.
But he was still young.
Still burning energy too quickly.
Still angry enough to push too hard.
She stepped closer, just enough that her sleeve brushed his arm.
"Breathe."
He shot her a glare.
"I am breathing."
"Badly."
"I'm in a fight!"
"So breathe better."
Jisuk looked like he wanted to yell.
Then, to his own disgust, he listened.
One inhale.
One exhale.
His wind steadied.
Asuka nodded.
"Good."
"Don't praise me."
"I was encouraging you."
"Don't do that either."
The broad brother cracked his neck.
"You two done flirting?"
Jisuk recoiled.
"What?!"
Asuka's face remained blank.
"No."
Jisuk pointed violently at the criminal.
"Do you want me to kill you?!"
The brother laughed.
There.
Asuka saw it.
The smallest opening.
Jisuk's anger made him loud.
The brother's amusement made him careless.
Asuka moved.
Speed and fire.
A believable lie.
She crossed the distance low, flame wrapped around her fist.
The brother reacted, but late.
Her fist struck his abdomen.
This time, the flame did not burst outward.
It drove inward.
A controlled impact.
Awakener enough to pass.
Asuka enough to hurt.
The broad brother's eyes widened.
Jisuk followed instantly, wind crashing into the same point from the opposite side.
The man coughed blood and was thrown backward again, skidding across the concrete.
Jisuk stared.
Then glanced at Asuka.
"You coordinated that without telling me."
"You followed well."
"Don't make it sound like I obeyed you."
"You did."
"I did not!"
The brother pushed himself to one knee.
Slower this time.
Much slower.
His flames still rose, but they flickered unevenly now.
Asuka's head turned slightly toward the side road.
Jiwoo was farther away now.
Still moving.
Wooin alive.
The leaner brother pursuing.
The thread had split.
Exactly as it had to.
That did not make it easier.
Jisuk noticed the direction of her attention.
"Jiwoo?"
"As of now, alive."
His expression tightened.
"As of now?"
"He is still being chased."
Jisuk's face went pale with anger.
"And you didn't say that first?!"
"You were busy."
"I am still busy!"
The broad Klein brother rose fully.
Fire gathered around him again, but this time it condensed tighter around his fists.
Less spread.
More force.
He was adjusting.
Asuka's fingers flexed.
So was she.
Jisuk stepped beside her again, breathing steadier now, wind spiraling around both arms.
"You trust him?"
Asuka's mouth softened.
"Oppa?"
"Yeah."
The answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
Jisuk's jaw tightened.
"Then trust him for five more minutes."
Asuka turned her bandaged face toward him.
Jisuk did not look at her.
His eyes remained locked on the Klein brother.
"Inhyuk will be here. Shinhwa will be here. Jiwoo's stupid, but he's fast."
A pause.
Then, rougher—
"And Wooin's not weak."
Asuka was quiet.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
Jisuk's ears reddened.
"Don't make it emotional."
"I did not speak."
"You were going to."
"No."
"You were."
"I was going to say you are right."
Jisuk froze.
Then scowled harder.
"That's worse."
The broad Klein brother smiled through blood.
"You brats done?"
Jisuk smiled back, sharp and furious.
"Yeah."
Asuka lifted one hand.
Orange-yellow flame bloomed around her fingers.
Not gold.
Not blue.
Not black.
Not yet.
"Let us continue."
The brother lunged.
Wind and fire met him together.
And down the side road, Jiwoo ran with Wooin in his arms, a burned man chasing behind them, and an orange cat-shaped monster watching in the shadows.
----