The energy seeped into her blood stream, making her veins bulge with power. It prickled like pins, and it made her temples feel like they were going to burst in the side of her head.

But it was all worth it.
She had gained all of the spirit's powers.

And she felt inevitable.

The spirit had finally done it.
It had finally come back to its former glory.

The hunters had no idea what they'd be dealing with.

...

Time: 15:04, October 21

"Sit down, Niki." Jungwon said, pointing to a small stool near his bed.

Niki sat down, his eyes avoiding the leader's.
Jungwon let out an exasperated puff and sat down on the bed next to him, clutching his knuckles to soothe his own anger.

"You know full well what I'm going to ask you..." Jungwon mumbled, half disappointed.

Niki frowned, and retorted, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"It wasn't me. Sunghoon started-"

Jungwon clashed his hand onto the bed frame.
"I don't care which one of you started it. Tell me what I need to know. What is going on between you both? Why do you and Sunghoon keep fighting?" He said, gritting his teeth.

He was starting to get very frustrated with Niki. He had been very bothersome to them over the last few days. Even himself, as a leader, who should keep their composure, was starting to lose it.

Niki pursed his lips, and spoke in a strained voice, like he was trying not to burst out in anger.
"Sunghoon never understands me. He doesn't want to make things right. Not after our first encounter... He didn't take it very lightly. But, I- I know that I'm also at fault... With- with my behaviour. But, I wish that he'd forgive me, Jungwon. I really do."

"So you want him to apologise, is that what you're implying?"

"Yeah. But- I'll make it right with him, too. I'll apologise. It's just that, whenever I think about doing it, he decides on pissing me off... and that's when we fight."

Niki drooped his head down.
He wished that Sunghoon would at least give him a chance.

But it seemed like that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
Not by will, at least.

...

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Sunghoon? I thought we've already been through this." Sakura said, looking at Sunghoon sternly.

"Do you think I'm some troubled child, or something? You think I'll sit down and listen to you, like a freaking toddler?" Sunghoon shouted, cursing at them.

Chaewon started walking up to Sunghoon in rage, ready to fight, but Yunjin stopped her, grabbing her by the arm as she passed the sofa.

Sakura shook her head, eyeing Sunghoon in anger.
"Calm yourself down." she warned, her hands balled into fists.

Sunghoon raked his hands through his hair, and let out a curse.
"You- CALM DOWN? YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?!? ABSOLUTELY FREAKING NOT!" He screamed.

He picked up a mug, and was about to throw it at the wall, but Sakura rushed up to him and grabbed it out of his hands, shouting in his face.
"Your anger isn't getting us anywhere! You're acting to all of us as if we're the enemies, not the spirits! What's gotten into you?!?"

He shoved Sakura back.

"I'M STRESSED, I'M SO FREAKING TIRED, THAT KID GETS ON MY NERVES. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!? HE GETS MAD FOR NO APPARENT REASON, AND YUNJIN GOT HURT BECAUSE OF HIM!" He screeched.

Yunjin retorted from the sofa.
"Leave the poor kid out of this. Without him, I would've been dead! It's MY fault I got stabbed, okay? Not his! Stop persuading yourself that everything is his fault! You're being delusional!"

Sunghoon slammed his hand on the table.
"I'M NOT BEING DELUSIONAL! IT'S THE TRUTH!!! WHY CAN'T YOU-"

Sakura shoved him back, just like what he had done.
"You think you can continue on with your behaviour? Hm? What about a taste of your own medicine?"

She shoved him hard with her elbow, which made him stagger back.
"Like that, hm? You want to be treated like this?"

Sakura pushed him the same way he had pushed her, making him fall down to the ground, sprawling.

Kazuha watched in awe. She had never seen the eldest retorting like this.
"Sakura..." she mumbled.

"You want more, hm?" Sakura snarled.
She kicked him in the stomach.

Sunghoon clutched his torso, surprised by the sheer force she had put behind it.

Chaewon gasped.
"Sakura... That's too far, now-"

"YOU WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS, DAY IN, DAY OUT?!? DO YOU?" she shouted.
Sakura started attacking him aggressively, repeatedly landing throws, leaving him on the ground and desperately fending.

"Sakura- stop!"

"Calm down!"

Chaewon and Kazuha ran up to her, swiftly pulling Sakura away from him. She didn't struggle against them, just instead had her eyes fixated on him, unmoving.

They were like stones. Soulless and cold.

Sakura huffed uncontrollably, trying to overcome her rage.
Sunghoon had gotten onto her nerves. She couldn't resist.

Chaewon mumbled in her ear, trying to calm her down.
"Easy, Sakura... Don't do that... it's not setting a great example for him to follow, is it?"

Kazuha held her arm cautiously, checking in on Sunghoon.
He was trying to get up from the floor, supporting himself with his hand. His nose was bleeding, and a small cut was on his cheek.
Sunghoon was in a daze, but seemed partially okay by the looks of it.

At least it wasn't any worse.

Chaewon pulled Sakura to the sofa and sat her  down.
"Have a moment to yourself for a bit... Try and relax a bit. I know you're stressed. We all are." She said.

Sakura just put her head in her hands, and didn't say a word.
It looked like she was about to cry, but the room was dead silent.

Yunjin comforted Sakura, patting her back.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Jungwon exited, Niki following behind. Jay was also there, a sort of proxy, like a watch-over or bodyguard in case hell decided to break loose again.

"Niki has something to say to- Woah... What happened here?"
Jungwon stopped mid sentence, as he saw the state of the room.

There was a random mug just discarded on the table, rolled on its side, and there seemed to be a wide range of emotions within the room.
Such as Kazuha, who was shocked to the core, and Sunghoon, who seemed to be extremely angry.
And Sakura, somehow, displayed no emotion at all.

It was a sight to see.

"What..." Jay blurted, looking around at them.

"You guys fought?" Niki said, spotting Sunghoon's bloody face and Sakura's reddened knuckles.

Sunghoon, finally able to haul himself up with the help of the wall behind him, spoke.
"It's no- nothing... Don't bother."

"Why are you here, all of a sudden? Did you want to say something?" Chaewon asked them, quickly changing the topic.

Jungwon nodded.
"Yeah. We do. But, if you're busy, we can come back later-"

"No, it's fine. Just say it now." Sakura said in an annoyed voice, her head still in her hands.

Jungwon nodded.
"Oh... okay... Niki, say it." he mumbled, nudging Niki with his elbow.

Niki, with Jay following closely behind, went up to Sunghoon.
He spoke in a quiet and shaky voice.

"I hope we can make things right again... And... I apologise for the outburst."

But, to his surprise, Sunghoon didn't seem to bat a single eyelid.
He just stared at Sakura, his eyes with a murderous look.

He had completely ignored them.

"Sunghoon? Hello?" Jay said, carefully pulling Niki behind him.

Sunghoon slowly faced towards them, with a look which warned them not to annoy him.
It was obviously not the right time for an apology.

Sunghoon was absolutely fuming.

Jungwon had to come up with a solution.
If they left him inside here, with Sakura in the same room, chaos would be inevitable.

They had to separate them.
With hesitance, he placed his hand on Sunghoon's arm.

He mumbled to Sunghoon in a non-violent tone.
"Come with us, Sunghoon... please."

He carefully pulled Sunghoon from his spot, and away from the room, entering the dorm. Jay and Niki followed, shutting the door behind them.

Jungwon pointed to a small stool next to his bed, the same one Niki had sat on earlier.
"Have a seat..." he said, gesturing to it.

Sunghoon sat on it stiffly, his fists still clutched tightly in anger.
Jay stood carefully in front of Niki, just in case.

Jungwon let out a huff, sitting down.
"You seem to get yourself into a lot of trouble... including with your own team mates." He mumbled, half sarcastically laughing to himself.

Niki watched Sunghoon with intent.
He, of all people, understood how Sunghoon was feeling. It was almost like they were walking in each other's shoes.

"Sunghoon... We- I'm not mad at you. Please don't think that. I'm just trying to help, so please, talk to me." Jungwon pleaded, edging closer.

But Sunghoon seemed to just ignore him, continuing to stare soullessly at the ground.
Jungwon sighed, and grabbed something from the table behind him, handing it to Sunghoon.
"Here. Take it."

He pushed a small packet of chips into his hands.

"They're good. My favourites... try them, maybe they'll cheer you up." Jungwon suggested.

Jay smirked.
Of course, food was Jungwon's way of making things right.
Even if he couldn't cook for the love of himself.

"They're Niki's favourites as well. Maybe you two will finally find something you have in common." Jay said, encouraging Sunghoon to open it.

At first it seemed like he was going to ignore them once again.
But curiosity got the better of Sunghoon, as it always had, and he slowly opened it, popping a flake into his mouth.

Whether it was his overwhelming hunger, or his urge to stress-eat, Sunghoon was amazed by its taste. It was rich and tangy, and it satisfied him.

It was almost soothing, in a way.

Jungwon let out a small smile.
"See? Told you it was good. There's more in the kitchen if you want any later."

Sunghoon's feelings were slightly lifted from what they had been earlier. It seemed like they cared for him.
And forgave him.

Niki too.

That was something he felt that the others weren't even able to achieve.
Not even Sakura.

"Thanks..." he murmured, his eyes starting to light up in happiness.

Niki stared at Sunghoon.
Maybe this was his time. He could finally be able to apologise.
They could make things right between each other. Once and for all.

He was hesitant at first, but persuaded himself to push the feeling aside.
It was his best chance, and he didn't know if there'd be any better than the one he had in front of him.

He walked up to Sunghoon, and held out his hand for a handshake.

"Hey..." he mumbled.

Sunghoon looked up at him, his eyes no longer showing the usual hatred, but instead more of a look of interest.

"I was thinking... maybe- maybe we could... you know... make things right between us? Let go of our... history." Niki finished.

He could feel Jay tense up behind him in anticipation.

Sunghoon seemed to ponder about it. For quite a long time, much longer than he had expected.

As much as Sunghoon wanted to forget about their past quarrels, something was stopping him.
He couldn't explain it, like a small weight on his heart that didn't want to let go. It was keeping him just out of reach.

Sunghoon was yet to rid himself of that feeling.

It was like a fragment of a very weird and old sensation keeping him at bay.
Something was stopping him.

Like how a scar was a mark of battle, this feeling was his scar.

And it wasn't ready to let him go yet.
It was almost as if he felt that Niki still had to prove himself.

So he came up with a small conclusion, neither answering of denying the question.

"I'll think about it." He said.

...

Time: 19:32, October 21

Eunchae collapsed down to the floor, looking down in shock at her bloodstained hands.

The body of the old lady laid beside her, a gaping hole in her chest. Her face was mauled, drained of all colour.

Eunchae had just killed the poor woman with her bare hands.
The spirit made her do it.

"Look at your masterwork, Eunchae... shouldn't you be proud?" The spirit jeered in her, hinting to the work of the dead body beside her.

Eunchae shook her head.
"No! NO!!! HOW COULD YOU?!?" she screeched.

She beat her head against the wall in fury and in anguish.
Eunchae wanted to stop it.

She wanted to be back in control of herself. But it seemed nearly impossible.

She'd just be killing and killing nonstop. With no way to stop it, no matter how hard she'd try.
The spirit was gaining more and more power by the day, fraying the bond between her conscious and her own physical body.

One day, she feared, her body would no longer belong to her.
It would turn into a killing machine.

Eunchae dashed back out onto the streets, desperately wiping all the blood and sweat from her face, but only made it worse as the blood from her hands spread everywhere.

She staggered and stumbled through her steps, practically balling her eyes out.

"No... no-" she mumbled, broken between sobs.

The sun cast a glowing blood red light upon the streets, marking sundown. Eunchae could feel the wind slowly starting to pick up, a bitter cold creeping up her skin.
She took refuge within one of the nearby abandoned buildings, hefting open the worn down door and entering.
It looked like an old-style walk-in restaurant or bakery, with the would've been black and white tiled floor and wooden desks for counters at the front, all with a plentiful heap of age-old grime and dust.

Eunchae pushed open another door just to the right of a counter, entering a room near the back. It was nearly pitch black, and completely silent. She could even feel the dust particles in the air, bouncing off of her skin when she took a step inside.

She locked the door behind her and sat down, the only minimal light coming in through the small circular window in the wooden door, a dim, dark ray.

The spirit jeered at her.
"You feel it, don't you, Hong Eunchae?"

She could feel herself chuckle involuntary, as the spirit laughed.

"It's the feeling of losing control. You are losing yourself because of me... aren't you? A petty feeling, such a waste. You should embrace it. Make it stronger. We can be one Eunchae... And I'll end your suffering... you just need to accept." The spirit mocked, half persuading her.

Eunchae shook her head, beating at it with her hands.
"NO- NO! NO!!! I WILL NOT!"

"Bold words, you have. Don't you remember the deal you made with those spirits, before I faithfully took them over for you? It is too late, Eunchae... you know it. You've already sided with us. There's nothing you can do, just accept..." the spirit hissed.

Eunchae stopped in her tracks, her hands falling to her side.

It was true.
She had betrayed the hunters, and had sided with the spirits.

The deed was done.

"So why deny it, Eunchae? The hunters haven't come to save you. They've abandoned you, can't you see?"

There was a burning sensation in Eunchae's heart, as the spirit aroused.

"You've already betrayed them..."

The spirit let out a small chuckle from her mouth.

"You've betrayed them once, why not do it again?"

...