Faint Light

Chapter Fourteen

"You didn't have to do all that." Hyun-su's voice was low as he sat beside her on the fire escape stairs on the outside of the building, his gaze on the setting sun. The continuous plumes of smoke from the still-burning city blocked out what would normally be a beautiful mixture of red, orange, and pink hues. Even so, he took comfort in it, it was one of the only things that hadn't changed in this new fucked up world.

Kagome snorted as she leaned into his side, her shoulder bumping his in a playful way. "I know, I wanted to. I'm not about to let them cast you out. Sorry, you're stuck with me. I told you that, now if only Sang-Wook would show his ugly mug then we could go get the old man, auntie, and the kids. If they decide you're too dangerous to be around we can always clear the fourteenth floor and just set up shop there. I doubt any of them would be up to forcibly evicting us." She gave a short humorless laugh at the mere thought.

One deep glare from Sang-Wook and most of them would turn tail. It was a proven fact. Pushing her senses out she found said man's aura somewhere on the tenth floor. His aura was strong and healthy if not a bit frustrated and annoyed. What he was doing up there on his own she had no idea but it wasn't really her place to demand answers. If he wanted her or Hyun-su's help he would ask for it...okay he wouldn't. Yet she knew he had his own personal vendetta and who was she to get in his way?

Though she knew that should he stubbornly place himself in a completely and utterly dangerous situation she would intervene, no matter how irate it would make the slightly older male. And wherever she went Hyun-Su was sure to follow and it was obviously a street that went both ways.

"Do you think they're okay? We haven't even had a chance to let the others know about them..." His voice held a hint of worry and it made her smile, here he was his very life hanging in the balance and he was more worried about others.

If only they would look past what he was, the others would realize he was no threat to them. Sadly this was the folly of being human. They had yet to realize that sad truth, that the real monsters were humans themselves.

"They're fine, a bit scared but who can blame them? Once we get this silly vote over we can plan our course of action accordingly. For now, you should try to get some rest. I'll keep watch." She nudged closer to him, throwing an arm around his shoulders, her hand cupping the back of his head to force it to rest on her shoulder. His body gave little resistance to her manipulation of it, a bright red flush dusting his cheeks as he buried his face in her messy locks, his arms hooking around her small waist.

He knew it was odd, this sudden need to always be by her side, to always be touching some part of her but he was loath to try and fight the urge. It calmed the monster inside of him and put him at ease, he mused it was probably her 'Miko' powers as she had called him but he really didn't care. Being near her, with her, made him feel at home and that was a feeling he hadn't felt in so damn long.

Deep down he was glad she refused to leave his side, he really didn't know what he would do if she turned her back on him, the very thought of it alone made panic well up in his chest, his eyes darkening as he felt his monster self stir to life.

Sensing the sudden shift in the male beside her she let out a small steady stream of calming aura leak out of her. It wrapped around him and settled over him like a blanket, he curled into her, his nose resting in the crook of her neck as his breathing evened out. Her fingers idly ran through his semi-blood encrusted locks. She mused no matter what the outcome of the vote was they were going to set up shop in an apartment and at least clean up some.

She didn't have to scent herself to know she probably smelled pretty ripe, it made her skin crawl. She hated being dirty in any sense of the word.

She turned her gaze to watch the night sky fade into dark purples and blues. Night had settled over them and she knew they should move inside, it was dangerous to be out in the open. Yes, she could throw up a barrier but that was a waste of her energy when she had no idea what would be required of her when it finally was time to cast their votes.

So caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the sound of footsteps on the metal until she could feel the vibrations under her. Tilting her head to glance behind her she smiled as she met a dark scowling face, the red embers of his cigarette lighting up his face in a way that would strike fear into others yet to her it only made him seem that much more handsome.

"Hey, bout time you showed up? Did you finish your...business?" Her words were light so as to not stir the sleeping male next to her.

Sang-Wook could only scowl at the loving scene the two made, it irked him and made his already foul mood that much worse. Turning from the two love birds he took a long drag from his cig and pulled it from his lips to release the toxic fumes, flicking his ash over the side of the metal railing.

"No, not yet. Why are you two here alone? What if I had been a monster? Hm?" His voice was low and scolding, his annoyance and anger leaking into the words. It wasn't that he was angry at them, but at the fucker who had managed to weasel his way out of his grasp. Though he was annoyed at their position, he had assumed the young woman was smart enough to not take risks even with her magical girl powers; she was still human.

If she didn't keep her guard up she was going to get herself killed and the very thought of that made him raise his cancer stick to his lips and take another long angry drag.

Fighting to hold back the smile that she wished to flash the tsundere she shifted a bit trying to lean away the hard cold railing digging into her side, already her behind and legs had fallen asleep and she was finally starting to notice the cold biting chill of the fall air. She blinked as he shrugged off his torn and bloody blazer to drape around not only her but Hyun-Su as well. It reeked deeply of cigarette smoke and cheap brandy but under that was a scent that was uniquely him.

Male, musky and just overall pleasing, if not addicting to her.

"Ah, you missed the drama. Hyun-su fell from the ninth floor, cracked his head open in front of everyone and then got right back up. People lost their shit, it was a real cluster fuck. Long story short they want to hold a vote on whether or not to toss him out of the building." The anger and barely held back rage in her voice made him snort as he lowered himself to sit on the stair behind them.

He barely reacted as she leaned back to rest against him, her side leaning into leg as she scowled darkly at the memory. Her eyes seemed to glow with her anger as a small flush dusted her cheeks making her look all the more alluring.

Hyun-Su was lucky to have her attention, the little shit.

He took another drag from his cigarette and was surprised to find he had already made it down to the filter. Grumbling he flicked it over the railing and pulled another one from the pack in his shirt pocket. He was surprised when she lifted her pointer finger to flick at the end of the cigarette, her 'powers' sparking like a small electric lighter. He inhaled as the spark gave life to a small flame, his chest welcoming the familiar burning smoke into his lungs.

Tossing him a cheeky grin she wrapped her arm around the leg she was leaning against, soaking up his warmth as her other arm curled around Hyun-su's shoulders protectively. "Wow, didn't know if that would actually work." She really hadn't, but she was glad it did now should she ever need to make fire she knew could do it, what an unexpected use of her powers.

"Aren't you full of surprises..." She gave a shit-eating grin even though she knew he couldn't see it from his position.

"Oh, you have no idea. Anyways, now that you're back they'll probably want to hold their voting session." Her voice was exasperated if not a bit annoyed.

"You've already made up your mind regardless of the results haven't you?" It was a statement more than a question and she could only give a small giggle, already he had seemed to have her figured out.

"Yup, I don't care what they decide we're not leaving until we're ready to. If they want to hole up on the ground floor they can. We'll just set up our own base on another floor, probably the fourteenth one."

He bit back a snort. "Oh, making decisions for me are you? You're quite full of yourself." The teasing in his voice was so well hidden that had she not been used to males like him she would have missed it.

"Yup, very. I know you'll probably come and go as you please but you know you have a spot with us." He let out a low hmm, not wanting to break the mood with an actual response. Instead, he allowed his muscles to relax from the constant tenseness they had been in for what felt like forever. He didn't fully let his guard down but he did let loose a tiny bit and he was shocked at how nice it felt to do so.

This young woman would be the death of him and honestly, he couldn't be bothered enough to care.