【Ａｓｐｈｙｘｉａ】 seongjoong

Impact

4 Hours Earlier

"Are you ready?"

Hongjoong's shoulders slumped as he sighed. "You aren't going to let me out of it, are you?"

"Nope" Wooyoung shook his head, popping the "p" on 'nope'. Both San and Wooyoung stood across from the red head. It was evening now and the cafe had closed for the evening. The two Ghouls had found a warehouse that was abandoned for the night and seemed the perfect place to work in. It was dark, the only light in the space was a few bare, nearly blown out fluorescent lights and the moonlight seeping in from the high windows.

"Come on," San encouraged. "You can do it."

Hongjoong groaned and got into a basic position he saw in a movie once. His feet were splayed and his hands held up in tiny fists. "Like this?"

Wooyoung nodded before coming closer. He readjusted his arms a little and kicked his feet a little wider. "Keep your arms like this so it is easier to block. Having your stance wide will help keep you from getting knocked over."

The blond stepped back after making his adjustments. "Now, try and hit San."

"What? I don't want to hurt him!" The red-head protested.

"Trust me," the tattooed Ghoul scoffed. "You won't hurt me."

"Besides," the blonde continued. "How are you going to become a better fighter if you don't spar?"

Hongjoong sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day and tried to prepare himself mentally. He solidified his stance and pulled his fist back for the first strike. His fist was met with a hand blocking his attempt. San smirked and closed his grip on the red-head's fist. He twisted it around and pinned the student's arm behind his back.

"Hey!" Hongjoong yelped in alarm as his movement was restricted and his shoulder locked up. He squirmed to try and escape the other's grip.

"Your moves are too predictable. You can't just stand there and punch like a bad video game character. You have to disguise your actions with another movement." San let go of the other's arm and took a step back.

Hongjoong stood up straight and shook out his arm to regain feeling in his shoulder. "Well, how do I do that?"

"Kagune," Wooyoung cut in. "If you strike with that, you can create a distraction."

"Kagune?" Hongjoong asked in confusion. "What is that?"

"It is one of the things that set Ghouls apart from humans," San said. "They are our weapons. It is how we attack and defend." The red-head felt a phantom sensation wrap around his throat. He brought his hand up to rub at his neck as his breathing became tight. So that is what the Ghoul had brought out that day by the river.

The shop owner closed his eyes for a minute and from behind, a purple, flat appendage appeared from behind his body and snaked around his arm a few times. At the end, it was pointed, reminiscent of a devil's tail. It was both impressive looking and a little scary.

San held up four fingers with his free arm. "Each Ghoul has one of four different types of Kagune with their own strengths and weaknesses," He wiggled his index finger. "Mine is a Koukaku Kagune. It's pretty dense and heavy, good for defense, but is still malleable."

Hongjoong watched San change the shape of his Kagune from what looked kind of like a drill to a shield and back. "That looks a lot different than Wooyoung's."

"That's because mine is different," the blonde said. He closed his eyes for a moment and when they opened them, they were the typical Ghoulish black and red. His gold wings were back and shining more than ever. "Mine is a Ukaku Kagune. It is for high speed attacks but isn't that great at short range combat and I can get tired pretty fast."