Spirits.
And not just one, or even two.
Or even three, for the matter.

There were five.

Their visions cleared, and they returned back to reality.
Jungwon toppled over, just about catching himself before he hit the ground. Yunjin rubbed her temples, blinking away the glare of the light.

"Why now..." Sakura mumbled, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Sunghoon unclenched his fists, finally letting his hands rest. He rubbed his eyes.

Jay, Jake and Heesung stormed out of the dorm, nearly knocking over Jungwon who was at the entrance. They ran over to the far wall, where there was the collection of blades and daggers, and each picked up their sheaths, which were hanging on some pegs.

Kazuha quickly stood up from the couch, and brought out her blue wakizashi, wielding it in front of her.

Yunjin grasped the arm of the sofa, and prepared to stand up as well, but Kazuha stopped her, shaking her head.
"Stay here." she mouthed.

Jay took his dagger out, showcasing its luminous, warm purple glow. It was majestic, almost like an amethyst. Jake did the same, and his had a curved, more dense edge to it, sort of like a pirate's sword, but yet a hint of exquisiteness in it. His one glowed a very simple, yet still very luxurious yet easily concealed dim orange.

Heesung left his one inside his sheath, but Sunghoon could see that each leather-bound case was colour coded to that of the blade it was built to. Heesung's was blue, but more like a sky blue, or even cyan, not the royal marine blue that Kazuha's blade was.
His too, like Jake's, was slightly dimmed, like a watered down colour instead of a flashy, neon colour.

The last two, Niki and Sunoo, quickly emerged not long after, and followed Jungwon to grab their sheaths. Jungwon and Sunoo held sheaths with a quite dimmed, worn out colour. Partially because their blades were yellow and green, which could've easily been spotted like a high visibility jacket in the night, so the colour was slightly dim on both the sheaths and blades alike.

But Niki's was a colour that was similar to Heesung's. But, unlike the lighter, more plain cyan, his one was a more rich, dark teal. It reminded Sunghoon of something velvet, with rich, yet dark tones.

"There's so many spirits... How are we going to get all of them without accidentally interfering with each other? It'll get messy." Sunoo said, in a slightly quavering voice.

With quick thinking, Jungwon came up with a solution.
"We split up. We'll take three spirits, and Sakura's group will take two."

"The numbers are still uneven..." Sunghoon muttered.

Jungwon nodded. He had already taken that into account.
"I know. But you guys know each other's fighting styles better than us. If we mix up, we won't communicate as well as we need to. You don't know our fighting styles either. It's like mixing pens and pencils; they just don't have the same properties."

Sunghoon nodded his head.
Jungwon had a point.

Sunoo suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, Sakura, since you're also experienced..."

He rushed over to his drawer, and racked around inside, pulling out two small black belt bags.
Sunoo handed one to her.
"You know how to use it. That's what you told me, at least." he said.

Sakura took a small peek at the bag's contents, and she quickly understood what it was; there were vials and small cloths inside.
It was a kit, just like the one she had.

"Thank you so much, Sunoo..." Sakura told him.
This was her specialty. And he had given her a chance to do it.

Sunoo gave her a small nod.

"Let's go. Come on." Jungwon announced.

He climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch, and peeked around. Not a moment later, he clambered onto the pavement, indicating that the coast was clear.
Jay followed right after, helping up Heesung and Jake before going up himself. Sunoo waited for Niki, and soon enough, it was their turn. Sunghoon and Chaewon followed after Sakura.

But Kazuha hesitated before she placed her hand on the ladder.
She shot a quick glance back, looking at Yunjin.

"We'll see you soon. Don't go anywhere." Kazuha told her.

Yunjin smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry. Just be safe out there, don't take risks and don't do what I did."

Kazuha nodded at her, giving one last curt smile.

She turned around and went up the ladder.
And the hatch closed behind her.

...

Time: 9:04, October 21

"Maybe this'll wake the kid up."

A splash of water landed against Eunchae's face. She spluttered, gasping out for air.
Eunchae opened her eyes and sat up, looking around.

She was in a place she didn't know. The walls were mucky and laiden with dried red splotches, which were either a terrible paint job or blood.
The room wasn't big, only about the size of a bathroom, and the whole place was only lit up by a small, pitiful light bulb mounted by a wire on the ceiling, yet it was so close to her eye level, because it hung so low down, she had to blink away the glare.

"There you go... Sleeping beauty's finally awake." said a voice.

They emerged from the shadows.
It was a woman, taller than Eunchae, and with a slightly more broad-shouldered build. She was wearing a black leather jacket, and her hair was styled neatly down. Her face was quite intimidating, with a sly and manic grin on her face.

She went up to Eunchae, and ran her fingers through her hair.

Eunchae swatted her away.
"Don't- don't touch me." she snarled.

But the lady just grinned even wider.
"She's got guts, I'll tell you that. Literally, as well."

She turned behind her, where Eunchae could see a man standing.
He just shrugged his shoulders.

The woman turned back, and edged closer to Eunchae, her long black hair practically draping over her.
"So, tell me your name." she said, giving her a sly look.

But Eunchae just furrowed her brow at her, keeping her mouth shut.

The woman rolled her eyes.
"I don't have all day. Chop chop, let's get a move on, kid. I just want your name."

Eunchae tried standing up, but the woman quickly stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her grip was strong, and her nails dug into her shoulder like spikes.

She winced.
But she could also feel rage building up in her. The spirit was trying to take control again.

And this time, for he first time ever, she willingly let it.

Her eyes shifted to a burning red, and she pushed away the woman with a screech. She expected the lady to blast backwards, but she didn't. She only merely stumbled back a few paces, like she had just merely tripped over something.

"You bastard-"
The man shouted in rage.
Without enough time for Eunchae to react, he ran up to her with great speed. It was almost like he had teleported, it was so fast.
He slashed the side of her face with his knife.

Eunchae stumbled backwards, hitting against the wall. But the guy quickly gained on her, and grabbed ahold of her hair, bringing her down to a kneel.

The lady just leisurely brushed her hair off her face, and let out a small sigh.
She picked up a small glass from the table, which was filled with a cloudy liquid inside.

"Gods, you make me so annoyed-"
She splashed the contents at Eunchae, landing  it all over her arms. It burned like sandpaper rubbing against her skin.

Eunchae could feel the spirit retreating back, leaving her in full control again.
And, as quick as the burning pain came, it disappeared.
When the spirit retreated, the pain did as well.

Her eyes returned to a normal, human brown again.

The lady peered at her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's salt water. When it comes into contact with a spirit, it burns like hell, even if it doesn't actually do any damage. But... her eyes, did you see? They changed. She has some weird energy. Never seen or felt anything like it..."

"Maybe she's possessed. Humans can get possessed." The man said, still grasping her hair.

But the lady shook her head.
"No. It's not that. It's something else to her."

She woman came up to Eunchae, and placed her hand on her face.
"So... what's your name then, hm?" she repeated.

Eunchae spat at her.
She spoke in an indignant voice.
"I won't tell you-"

The woman slapped her in the face.
"Look, kid. I'm not joking with you here. Answer my questions. Do you have a death wish, hm? Didn't think so, so answer me, got it?"

Eunchae shook her head slowly.

The woman rolled her eyes again.
"Your name. Just tell me your name already."

"H- Hong Eunchae..."

"So, Eunchae, what's the deal with you? How can you gain control over a spirit? Are you even possessed?"

She nodded.
"Yes..."

"That's got to be some weak spirit you have there, Eunchae. Letting a human gain control like that..."

The woman eyed her clothing.
She found it strange, that a young girl would be dressed in some type of uniform, like she was going to some party, with her all-black attire.

But the man found it familiar.

"This clothing... something's- I've seen something similar to this... wait-"

He examined Eunchae's belt closely.
Sure enough, tucked away, there was a sheath.
He reached out to it and pulled out the blade. It gleamed a dusky red colour in his hands.

His eyes widened.
"The girl... the girl's a hunter... the uniform, and the blade..."

The woman laughed in joy.
"Now that explains a lot! How interesting... so... is that true, Eunchae? Are you a hunter?"

Eunchae nodded solemnly.

She laughed manically.
"I've never even imagined it! A hunter being possessed! How ironic... yet, how useful."

The woman smirked.
"She'll be so powerful... we just need her on our side..."

The man chuckled.
"Eunchae... you could work with us willingly, or we can get you to do it the more difficult way. And, for your info, if you don't prove that you'll listen to us, it's going to hurt you. I'm sure you don't want that."

He held Eunchae's own blade up against her neck, and whispered into her ear.

"So... which choice will it be? The easy way,"

He brought the knife onto her neck, just barely touching it.

"Or the hard way?"

Eunchae gulped in fear.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind having hunter heart for breakfast... Consider yourself lucky, that we're giving you a chance here, instead of killing you." The woman said, dusting off her hands.

Eunchae had to make a choice.
She could either go against her oath as a hunter, and side with the spirits, or she could die an untimely death at their hands.

Either way, the outcome was not going to be good.

The choice was up to her; to either agree to kill, or be killed.

...

They dashed across the street, Jungwon leading them through the back alleyways with great speed.

He led them down into a secluded back way, where there were multiple intersections splaying out to the sides.

"Nearly there. Just to the left." He said in a rushed whisper, bringing a finger to his mouth.

Sunghoon could already hear the spirits laughing, their loud voices echoing down the walls. He had his sword gripped in his hand, and he held it at his side.

Jungwon stopped just on the corner, and he turned back to them, asking around with his eyes if they were ready.
They all nodded back at him.

He counted down on his fingers.

And then he rounded the corner, Heesung and Jay following just behind him. They took on three separate spirits, swiping their swords around. Niki, Sunoo and Jake each came to the aid of another.
Their moves were flawless, almost like it had been rehearsed. They gave neither spirit any chance for a rest, each person simultaneously attacking after the other in a seamless transition.
Heesung cut off one of the spirit's hands, and Niki followed right after, aiming for the shoulder.
The three spirits had no chance.

The two other spirits, once they caught sight of the group, retreated instantly, running down the passageway.

"Oh, no you don't..." Sunghoon mumbled.

He chased after them, as Sakura and Kazuha quickly took the lead as they sprinted down, making their way through the ever-narrowing alleyway.

One of the spirits looked back behind his shoulder. His dyed red hair was highly visible, swaying around as he bounded down, the other spirit just behind him.

"Damnit!" He puffed.

The spirit had a kitchen knife in his hand, which was already dripping with blood. He launched it at them, and it whirled through the air, right at Sunghoon.
He was just about able to throw his body out the way, but the tip grazed his arm, and he let out a small wince. But he didn't stop, and continued with the chase.

They started gaining ground, and Sakura was able to slice the back of one of the spirits. He fell to his knees, shrieking, as his dark blood pooled down to the floor.

"Take him. I'll get the next one." Sakura ordered.

She continued down the path, chasing the last one, leaving Kazuha, Sunghoon and Chaewon to take care of the spirit on the floor.

Sunghoon went in for a large swing, bringing it down on his knee. The monster buckled, having to catch himself before falling to the side. He tried using his good leg to hobble around, standing up, as the other leg dangled uselessly at his side.

He screamed, cursing at them.
"YOU- YOU FREAKING BASTARDS!"

Kazuha poised her sword up high, and, with one clean, seamless movement, sliced off his arm and plunged her sword into his heart.

His face froze in shock, and his vocal chords stopped working. His mouth hung open.
The spirit crumbled to soot, leaving behind just a small pile of dust on the floor.

Sunghoon breathed a sigh of relief.
They were done.

"Good job..." he muttered, raking his hand through his hair.

"Same for you." She said.

Kazuha was about to put her blade back away, but she stopped. She heard someone running down the hallway, from the direction they had come from.
She held her blade up, pointing it at their neck.

"Woah-" they said in a surprised tone, stopping in their tracks.

Kazuha quickly let it down once she saw who it was.
"Oh, sorry Jungwon. You startled me."

"It's okay. We're all done with the three of them. We just came to see if you needed any help, but it seems that you don't need any."

He looked over their shoulder.
"Where's Sakura? Wasn't she with you?" Jungwon asked.

"Yeah... she went to chase the other spirit." Kazuha answered.
Jungwon pointed down the path.
"Is she down there? We should go."

Kazuha nodded, and they set off. It was a steep downward slope, the unevenness of the cobbles providing a further obstacle as they had to keep their balance. Any wrong move, and they would've shattered their ankles.

Niki slipped backwards, but Jay caught him before he hit the bricks.
"Be careful..." he muttered, helping the younger one back on his feet.

They continued onwards, and Kazuha peered around, looking left and right through the passageways to the sides for any sign of Sakura or the spirit. But it was silence apart from their footsteps. No sound.
Nothing.

Chaewon started to grow worried, and she gripped the hilt of her blade in stress.
She knew Sakura over the years, for her being one of the most experienced and skilled fighters on the team, and always challenging danger headfirst and with utmost courage. However, times like this still scared her, for she worried for Sakura's safety, going out alone by herself.

She knew that Sakura would handle something more than she physically could, if it was for her members.
Chaewon worried that she sacrificed too much, that she disregarded her own safety.

Suddenly, Kazuha stopped in her tracks.
She was looking to the side, down a path on the right.

Her face went pale.

Jungwon looked down. He had stepped on something. He picked it up.
It was a rose-coloured blade.

Sakura's blade.
That meant she didn't have it with her, and Jungwon thought the worst.

Kazuha gulped.
At the end of a passageway, there was a silhouette of a person.

And it was staring right at her.