Fate of the Moon

"Ah, downtown is a mess..."

"With your ridiculous quirk, of course, it is," Hyejoo pipes up from behind her, nimble and quiet - which was much more frustrating than anything, "Thanks to you're recklessness, the police are left to take care of the damages. Unfortunately, pro-heroes are part of that funding as well."

Yerim clicks her tongue, "You can stop guilt-tripping me, I know it's my fault."

"I'm only saying the truth," Hyejoo looks up from her phone, eyes set out on the bustling city before them, "Just accept it."

Yerim opens her mouth to spout an impulsive curse at her partner but she bites it back reluctantly. She plays Jungeun's words in her mind continuously, repeating it as if it was a broken record. Yerim is internally hoping that it would bring her nerves together rather than letting Hyejoo always practically tear them apart.

"As reckless as I am. I'm going to make you realize that I'm not just some dumb, scatterbrained idiot, just you wait," Yerim mutters, though she made it audible enough for Hyejoo to hear. 

The latter only scoffs lightly but Yerim ignores it, taking pride that Hyejoo had actually somewhat listened rather than fully dismissing her. 

"Besides, you should never underestimate me, Hyejoo," Yerim adds, puffing her chest out as if that would further prove her point. However, she quickly curls back as a strong wind cascades across the top of the building they're standing on. 

"Sure," Hyejoo waves her words, and sighs, "By the way, enough calling me Hyejoo."

Yerim raises an eyebrow, turning her head to the raven-haired girl, "Isn't that you're name?"

Hyejoo rolls her eyes and Yerim holds back the temptation to let out a groan of frustration, "It is, but we're heroes right now aren't we? Call me by my hero name." 

"Olivia Hye?"

"At least you know that," Hyejoo grumbles to which Yerim inwardly scoffs at, "Yes, exactly."

"How about me?"

Hyejoo turns to Yerim, eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, "What's your hero name."

"My... hero name?"

Hyejoo and Yerim stare at each other for a few seconds which honestly felt like minutes. They blinked at each other, both evidently lost in the conversation they were just having and it seemed almost comical how they both stared at each other. As if searching for an answer in the other's eyes, perhaps a hint, something, that would answer Yerim's rather odd question.

"You.." Hyejoo turns her body towards the brunette, "You don't have a hero name?"

"Does Yerim count?" Yerim asks, almost sheepishly. She usually tends to not cower as much under Hyejoo's gaze considering she's grown accustomed to her intimidating glares - but this is different. Hyejoo looks baffled, instead of her normal scowl, she had a genuinely surprised expression.

"No- Are you serious? First of all that's your real name," Hyejoo sighs, exasperated, "And second, you've been a pro hero and it's been - what - a few weeks now? Screw training, think of a name."

Yerim blinks at Hyejoo, slightly taken back by her sudden interest in conversing with her. In fact, she's a bit skeptical of continuing this since their conversations stop at least 3 sentences - if Yerim's lucky, 5 - but here they are having a real conversation. One that didn't consist of exchanging insults and bickering that even Hyejoo's companion hated. 

"Did you just say screw training?" Yerim says and really, that's what she can say because she's still surprised to see Hyejoo so invested in anything remotely related to Yerim. "I thought-"

"The hell is the point of all your training if you don't even have a pro hero name. You really want them to just call you the Flame Lady or Yerim?" Hyejoo raises an eyebrow at her, crossing her arms as she looked at Yerim with honest disbelief. 

Yerim wants to ask if she's really hearing this right but ignores it when she senses the intentionally - or perhaps, unintentional - backhanded comment. She puts her hands on her hips, "You make it sound like my name is so boring," she huffs.

"It kind of is."

"You could've at least pretended it wasn't," Yerim sighs, pouting subtly as she looked away from Hyejoo's tearing gaze.

Sighing, Hyejoo waves off Yerim's complaint, "Yeah whatever. Hurry up and just pick a name."

"It's not that easy!" Yerim practically scolds her, raising her voice to some merit that it seemed louder than the whistling winter air. 

Hyejoo rolls her eyes, "Just think of your quirk."

"Your quirk is Midnight yet your name is Olivia Hye, what's up with that." Yerim retorts, tapping her shoe impatiently against the ground. 

"Anything with flame would do just fine I guess," Hyejoo swiftly ignores her, tapping a finger to her chin with a bored yet somewhat of a thoughtful expression on her face. 

"Don't ignore me!" Yerim whines, but Hyejoo doesn't pay much attention to her. "How about the Flame queen?" She quietly suggests.

Hyejoo snorts, "What are you, five years old?" She dismisses the way Yerim complains about her attitude again - something about how the name suggestion isn't childish, Hyejoo doesn't really know.

Yerim groans, "I'll think of it when I go home. It'll come to me, I know it," she sighs, stretching out her arms.

"So what are we supposed to call you then, huh? Just Yerim?" Hyejoo looks at her again, unimpressed irises bore into Yerim's and the latter felt the irritation growing once more.

They were having a smooth conversation why did Hyejoo have to ruin it with her incredibly irritable facial expressions? Yerim doesn't dwell on it too much as to not let a burst of fire emit from her palm and to not have another spout of complaints from Hyejoo. 

"Yeah, call me Yerim for now," Yerim shrugs to which Hyejoo nods at. She looks away, leaning her cheek against the palm of her hand. 

Thankfully it wasn't snowing, only the wind and the lone cold had covered the city - no sight of heavy snow or even light flurries. 

"I thought there was a curfew," Yerim mumbles, though it was more to herself. 

Hyejoo fidgets a bit, "There is but people are bound to break rules," she answers back and soon their conversation had come to a quick yet comfortable ending. 

Despite Hyejoo still being the slightly irritable partner she is, Yerim is glad their conversation hadn't included constant insults - one after another. Other than Hyejoo's boring expressions, Yerim is a little hopeful with the fact that they had a normal conversation despite it being about her hero name.

Yerim considers this somewhat of a start.

~ Sector 2: ITZY ~

"Jisu, I can assure you I have Yuna's bag of ice cream with me!" Yeji chuckles, bringing up the bag of different tubs of treats, "Yeah, yeah! Don't worry about me ok? I'll be at the hospital soon." 

"Hey, since it's calmed down a bit. Can we go shopping tomorrow? Just the two of us... maybe?"

Yeji hums, "Shopping? Tomorrow? I don't see why not! It's been a while since we've been on a date anyway," she smiles when she hears Lia's giggles echo on the other line.

"Come back soon, ok? Yuna's literally vibrating with excitement."

"Don't worry, I'll be there before you know it. Talk to you when I get there." Yeji chuckles when she hears Yuna's cut off scream, something about rushing to get back so she could savour her requested ice cream.

Sector 2 wasn't as busy and heavily crowded as it was with Sector 1, LOONA's assigned sector. But it still held it's occasional crowds, had its swarm of tourists and visitors from all over the world every once in a while. Despite that, Yeji still thought it was way quieter than Sector 1.

A part of Yeji was glad that was the case since it rarely drew a lot of attention - of course, until recently. 

Yeji shivered against the cold, pulling her scarf over her nose as another gust of wind pulled across the streets. There was devoid of any life, most likely because it was way past curfew - Yeji's at least proud that everyone else had listened to the officials regarding curfew. Everyone seems to understand the danger that's lurking, which makes things a tad bit easier for their pro-heroes. 

Yeji's eyes took a quick scan of the streets, taking note of the deafening silence that had echoed amongst the snow. She sighs, taking her phone to call maybe Ryujin or Jisu - the silence was eerie and even for someone like it her it made her uneasy. 

"Ah, should I call Ryujin?" She wonders to herself, reaching for her pocket, "Now, where did I put-"

"Help!"

Yeji snapped her head up, her hands freezing against her side as she felt a cold rush run up her spine. She takes no time fishing for her phone, pushing off of her toes and running in the direction of the scream. It was a blood-curdling scream and it made Yeji break into a sweat, despite the rush of wind as she pushed herself further.

Run faster dammit.

Before someone else dies!

Yeji grunted, stopping in her tracks as she whips her head left to right, split in a dilemma as she trembled with adrenaline in her spot. "C'mon, where-"

"S-Someone! Pl-Please he-" Yeji ignores the scream that follows, stopping herself from flinching against the fear of what she might see as soon as she arrives. She doesn't pay attention to her tainted thoughts, ignoring and pushing them away as much as she can.

Yeji takes a sharp right, running against the biting wind, letting the freezing winter air practically numb her face. She pants against her scarf, running against the snow-covered street, rushing to keep herself as collected as she can. Yeji stops and hears another scream, one that was filled with choked sobs, accompanied by pain that she knows will end as soon as she gets there. 

The parking lot!

Yeji lets out a huff of cold breath, hurriedly running into the empty lot, panting heavily as she stands on her own two feet. Her boots dug into the light snow on the concrete, the crunch of her steps seemingly louder than it usually is. She keeps her guard as high as possible, keeping her senses on alert, assuring herself that the chances of her being alone are incredibly low.

"Just leave the citizen and maybe I'll let you go." Yeji snarls, straightening her back as she walks further into the parking lot, fingers clenched tightly against her palm.

There was that eerie silence again. It held tightly against the snow that had spread out across the environment. The street lamp just before the parking lot entrance had been flickering continuously, buzzing at an alarmingly loud level it made Yeji want to take it down but she figures property expenses wouldn't be so ideal right now.

Yeji's eyes scan her vicinity subtly, taking note of any movement even if it was as small as snow brushing past the concrete or the rarity of dead leaves running along with the wind. There wasn't a single sight of anything out of the ordinary, just pure silence that wallowed amongst the emptiness of the parking lot. Devoid of cars and people. 

Was I just hearing things?

Yeji takes a step forward, keeping her fists by her side and making sure her feet were anchored into the ground. She didn't want to bet that she was just hallucinating a scream but with the silence that had encircled her, Yeji was starting to think that it was her sleep deprivation catching up to her. 

Sighing, Yeji's shoulders loosen and so she turns around, her ears perked slightly in case-

"Truly a hero."

Yeji's eyes widened and she snaps her body around, putting her fists in the air, her foot kicking back as she keeps her vision sharp despite the damned snow and wind mixing against each other. She keeps her senses alert, her hearing in particular. "You must be the one who killed those pro-heroes," Yeji growls.

There was a chuckle that echoed and Yeji is left to wonder where the culprit could be hiding, "As expected of a pro-hero. Running as soon as she hears the scream of her people. How admiring~" There was a sing-song tune that the voice had spoken in and it made Yeji's skin crawl with frustration and burning anger.

"You could've been the same," Yeji answers, slowly turning her body continuously as she tries to look around the parking lot but her view was limited. With the nightfall and the fog that the snow had created, it was nearly impossible to see anything.

I'm at a disadvantage if this guy has some kind of vision quirk. No, if he did, he wouldn't have killed those pro-heroes so easily.

"Hm~ I guess you could say that! But my quirk isn't so fit for a hero, ya know?" Again, that mockery of arrogance sent Yeji's anger into levels higher than usual, her normally incredible patience being chipped away. It was making her stomach itch with both anticipation and fear - Yeji wanted this to be over fast.

"Then why don't we put it to the test?" Yeji huffs, "Come out and fight me instead of being a coward," she adds.

There was a clap to her left; Yeji whipped her head that way, eyes as sharp as it is, "To fight ITZY's leader in person? I'm honoured!" The voice cheered, which did nothing to soften Yeji's stance and she thinks the enemy had no intention of doing so; in fact, it's probably the opposite.

Yeji lets out a bitter chuckle, "Can't say the same."

"Then~" There was a brief silence, then a swirl of wind from her right, "Let's get started, shall we-!" 

Yeji's eyes widen and she snaps her body around, whipping her fist forward, sending a wave of intense air, enough to wipe out the mountain of snow that had piled up on the floor and reveal the grey concrete. She looks up and sees a shadow of a figure standing just before her, the flicker of light touching this man's right side of his face. 

"Your quirk is seriously strong. No wonder no one wants to fight you~" He chuckles, and he spreads his arms, his head tilting up, "With your quirk, you can cut people without even touching them! Ah, I love me a challenge~"

Yeji pushed herself forward, rather than answering his rambling nonsense, she threw a powerful punch forward, putting most of her energy into the very tips of her knuckles, knowing that it would be enough to muster the air around her to cause an impactful whirl of wind - enough to punch a hole in his stomach.

The man stands there, gasping and Yeji sees the shadow of a hole just in the mid-section of his stomach. She was a fair distance from him, but it was enough to know that her punch had hit him, "Maybe you should work on your reflex-?" Yeji's eyebrows furrow to the middle of her forehead, stepping back she grits her teeth.

Goddammit, an illusion?

The figure had faded, along with the breeze. Yeji clicked her tongue, Is that his quirk? But is that enough to kill pro-heroes? If that's his quirk then how? Unless...

He isn't alone.

"Got ya~"

Yeji's eyes widen and though she tries to jump forward, she halts, "Ack-" She feels a sharp pain pierce her stomach, her body trembling and feeling rather warm against the winter weather. Yeji shakily looks down, she could see thick mists of her own breath leave her lips and her vision blurs but what she sees is no mistake.

Something sharp, incredibly thin and sharp, was poking out of the midsection of her stomach, and she sees red lines dripping down her jacket, and onto the snow-white ground. The beautiful white was stained with a vibrant red puddle, and it continues to grow in size. 

Yeji coughs and soon she feels something warm trail down her chin but she makes no effort trying to catch it. 

She feels the metal slide out of her stomach, swift but excruciatingly violent, and the pressure has her stepping back and falling to the hard concrete. 

Her vision changes erratically from blurry to barely clear- perhaps there are tears in her eyes. Yeji gasps, her chest heaving up and down as she feels the wound under her layers of clothing - deep and warm. The cold floor under her had done nothing to numb the pain; it couldn't beat the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the firm pressure weighing down on her stomach.

She looks up, feeling her surroundings slowly twist and distort, but still, she sees a figure walk around her. Kneeling, the figure lets out a chuckle, and suddenly Yeji feels heavy weight on her forehead. A hand, sprawled across her forehead, the thumb and middle finger reaching both of her temples. Yeji slowly turns her head to face the figure but her vision is far too blurry. 

"A hero's job is to save others, to help the helpless, to protect the weak," There, that same, mocking voice had haunted her. And though he's right in front of her, from within reach, Yeji could barely lift a finger off the ground. Her body was rendered useless, and the perfect cut on her stomach only made it worst.

Yeji coughs, opening her mouth to speak, but the man had pressed his fingers down on her forehead, keeping her pinned against the floor. There was only silence. The winter silence.

And when Yeji felt like slipping away, eyes closing, she feels a headache surge within her nerves. 

Every part of her body felt hot, scorching hot and Yeji gasps, screaming, ignoring the pain in her stomach as she claws at the ground desperately. She tries to take his fingers off her forehead but the pain, the electrifying pain, the ringing noise in her ears had practically made her defenseless.

She felt her vision darkening, the nerves in her head trembling, every cell in her body crawling for mercy. Yeji couldn't breathe. She could feel every string of blood pumping, she could sense the pain that filled her body continuously. 

It made it so hard to breathe, so difficult to keep her eyes open, to even think - it felt like someone was digging their nails in her forehead, into her mind, electrifying her every muscle, every flesh, every inch of her body.

"But I wonder..."

The hand pressed harder into the front of her skull, another wave of something excruciatingly sharp, violent and deafening shot through her forehead but this time even worst.  

And Yeji feels like her head will explode, her veins in her throat bulging as she pants, gasping for air. These intense waves of pressure kept coming from her forehead, getting stronger and stronger, her body felt like it was burning like she was thrown into a flaming pit, forced to squirm against the hot flames and the searing heat. 

It's so painful!

Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!

Yeji screams, but her voice is drowned by the heavy snowfall. 

"Who saves the hero?"