Jongup hadn't gone to school for the next few days - he didn't even get ready for the Spring Fling that was coming in three. Honestly, the male gave up on going. He decided to use the excuse that Youngjae told him not to - for some reason. Junhong didn't go to school either, despite Jongup's protests that the male couldn't fail because of him. 

But Junhong had different reasons to stay behind. He had orders to follow - this wasn't a game. Most of his tasks he took lightly; playing around and acting cocky. Jongup, however, he was special. At least that's what Himchan said. Something about an old prophecy - philosophy - theory - whatever. He didn't go into detail, but Jongup could be dangerous was all he said. Junhong was under strict orders to watch over him and keep an eye out for any strange actions.

So far there was nothing to say.

"Junhong... You don't need to stay around all the time." Jongup groaned, finding Junhong at his bedside yet again. He knew that his friend should have classes at the moment and that he was missing them. That was extremely detrimental to his grades - it could impact his ability to graduate. Jongup, on the other hand, was able to ask his friend Mingyu to send him the work and instructions so that he could complete them while in the dorm. 

Junhong refrained from responding for a while, taking in Jongup's disheveled appearance. Bags had begun to form under his eyes, his hair was sticking up in random places, and he stunk. Being buried in your thoughts and blankets for a while left no room for showering. The demon looked at his dormmate's lifeless eyes and the darkness forming under them once more. "Those nightmares taking a toll on you, huh?"

Jongup's eyes immediately widened. "How'd you know?" He hadn't told Junhong about the nightmares, and didn't think the other was awake long enough to find out. How stupid of him to not be more careful around Junhong.

"I don't sleep a lot." Truthfully, he never did. With Jongup's condition or without it. He was always busy with his thoughts and never believed sleeping mattered much anyways. Though the bliss of the darkness and peace that encompassed him whenever he slept was delightful. Junhong slept even less when Youngjae implanted his stupid ideas into his heads. He'd never stopped thinking of the words etched into his memory since then. There was some truth in the statements - and that's what scared him. "I thought you'd know that by now."

Jongup looked down. "Not very perceptive right now." He sighed and pulled blankets off his body, finally getting off his bed. "Let's go eat breakfast."

"And finally go outside?" His voice was hopeful.

"Well," the elder looked outside a window and viewed the clear sky and blue tone that the scenery outside seemed to take up, "I guess."

Himchan's brows furrowed and unfurrowed as he thought of Jongup's situation. He could be correct in his analyzation of the occurrence, but he could also be wrong. Himchan couldn't afford to be wrong at the time. Not when someone like that could be walking around freely. Someone who could be easily influenced into joining the opposing side - someone who could be the advantage against demons and angels alike. 

Someone slammed a plate with stacked pancakes onto the table before him and the chair opposite of his screeched as it was pulled back. His pupils dilated when he looked up and realized who it was.

"You look thoughtful, but I'm not really interested in what you're thinking about - probably. Anyways, you said you weren't acting. What did you mean by that?" Yongguk had been a state of confusion since the moment Himchan left after he stated he hadn't been acting previous to his identity revealing. Despite the answer seeming obvious to Satan, Yongguk thought the puzzle was impossible to complete. 

"Really?" Himchan spat, a look of annoyance taking over the form of his visage. "I don't have time for this right now, go away." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

Leaning back against his chair, Yongguk scoffed and crossed his arms. "Wow," he tutted, "isn't this an ironic turn of events? You're the one turning me away."

"And unlike you, I'll actually let you stay on the condition that you keep quiet and eat your cooling pancakes. Don't want them to get too cold, love." Himchan mocked, lips pursing and eyebrows raising as a form of displaying his sass. Not that he actually needed to give a physical demonstration, his tone was enough to get his point across. Yongguk cut off a piece of his pancake and ate it.

"I'll eat the pancakes but I won't keep quiet." He swallowed. Himchan rolled his eyes with a frustrated sigh. "Where are your friends? Don't you usually hang around a group?"

"Does it look like I'm in the mood to be with a group?" Himchan finally understood Yongguk's point of view when he'd been pining for the archangel. Yongguk smiled. He didn't know why he let himself smile - it just came naturally with the moment. They seemed like a bickering couple, or two best friends, it was funny.

The angel stuck his fork into the last slice of pancake and held it up. "You're much better not acting like you're the lord of thousands of evil creatures. Actually, I'd think we could be friends if it wasn't for that." Himchan rose a brow, but Yongguk just countered it by sticking the slice of pancake in front of Himchan's face. "Say ah, Satan." The man addressed opened his mouth slightly in surprise, his second eyebrow raising to convey his shock. "Open." Without another thought, Himchan grabbed the fork and slammed it onto Yongguk's plate.

"How could you be so carefree in your situation?" If it were Himchan up against someone so strong, he'd be tense and wary of any sly moves they would pull.

"You haven't joined the war and don't seem to plan on it." Yongguk shrugged. "If you attacked me you'd be unintentionally joining the war, and for some reason you're trying to avoid that."

"You do realize if I joined that could mean game over for you, right?"

The angel stood. "That could also not. You're hiding something, and I intend on figuring it out. Could be our one way ticket to victory." Himchan watched the retreating image of Yongguk's back as he walked towards the exit of the cafeteria. He scoffed and reached for the fork left on the man's plate, sticking the last slice of pancake in his mouth. Might as well not let it go to waste.

"Youngjae!"

Said male turned quickly at the sound of such a deep voice calling his name. Only one person's voice could sound like it had the depth of a cave. "Yongguk?" Truth be told, Yongguk never spoke to Youngjae much - it was surprising that he'd initiate a conversation so easily. Youngjae, on the other hand, kept his shoulders tense and back straight. He stood on the right side of the road on campus, waiting for Yongguk to reach him.

"You're smart right, do you ever do some digging on people?"

Youngjae's eyes narrowed. "If... If they pertain to me, yeah. Why?" Yongguk grinned.

"Great! Do you know anything about Kim Himchan?" 

Really? "Everybody who exists near this campus knows about Himchan. Specifics?" 

Yongguk scratched his head in thought. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for. The only lead he had was that Himchan said he wasn't acting when the topic of his previous personality was addressed. "Did you notice anything about his behavior?"

"Oh!" Youngjae exclaimed. "He has a staring habit, apparently. I remember this girl I talked to, she had a crush on Himchan but said he always stared at this one guy. She didn't know who it was though."

"Really?" Fingers grazed Youngjae's sides and stopped to get a grip on his waist. The voice was low and right in Youngjae's ear, causing him to shiver as he stood - frozen.

"Junhong."

"The one and only, babe."

"Don't call me that. Why are you here?" Youngjae attempted to move away from the demon, only to get pulled closer, back pressed against the other's chest.

"Because a certain man is asking too many questions." Junhong looked up to Yongguk and glared. "And a certain other man is starting to give too much information." Of course Junhong knew of Himchan's fixation on Yongguk. He didn't know where the obsession originated from, but he was smart enough to see that it wasn't something Himchan wanted people to notice. 

Jongup neared the trio, having followed after Junhong in a slower pace. "Hey, Youngjae. Oh... Yongguk, hi." Yongguk raised an eyebrow. 

"Do I know you?"

"No you don't, but more importantly, Jongup... are you okay?" Youngjae asked as he noticed the state Jongup's appearance was in. Junhong's hands slid down a fraction to the angel's hips before sliding off completely. The atmosphere was no longer something he could play with.

"No. But I'll manage." He was straightforward. Jongup didn't like to hide his feelings much. He preferred to tell people who were interested in his emotions the truth. Lying only led to being hurt - at least that's what he believed. Youngjae nodded at the statement and ruffled the top of Jongup's head. He may not have known Jongup that well, but the only way Youngjae thought he could convey reassurance was through physical representations. He wasn't good with words.

Yongguk had been looking at Junhong the whole time, who'd been looking at Youngjae most of it. He'd heard of the male and he knew he was strong. Junhong glanced over to the archangel and scoffed slightly before looking at Youngjae again.

"Junhong, I'm going back to the dorm. It's not far so you don't have to come with me." 

Junhong's gaze flickered in between Jongup and Youngjae. "Alright. Been like your bodyguard since forever. I'll let you have your space." The demon was hesitant in letting Jongup be alone, but he had another problem arising. He didn't know how much Youngjae knew, but he wasn't about to let Yongguk find out. When Jongup left the scene, he turned his body towards Yongguk again.

"You're too curious. Curiosity killed the cat you know."

"But satisfaction brought it back." Yongguk's tone grew serious. He knew Himchan would never attack, but Junhong was a mystery to him. 

"I won't let you get the satisfaction, if that's what you think." The demon stuffed his hands into his pockets. 

Youngjae moved to be on Yongguk's side. "Yongguk, he's planning something." The words rang in Junhong's ears, alerting him. "On the night of the Spri-" Junhong disappeared and reappeared behind Youngjae. It wasn't teleportation, it was speed. Too fast for Yongguk to react, especially when he was off guard. A hand reached out and clamped over Youngjae's mouth, another held his wrist and placed the thumb over his vein. 

"It'd be smart of you to shut your mouth." Youngjae looked to the side as he was warned and watched Yongguk pull his leg back. Without warning the angel ducked his head and the archangel swung his roundhouse kick in. Junhong let go of Youngjae in order to bend back so that he could avoid the kick. As he nearly lost his balance, he used his hands to spring him backwards before Youngjae could land a sweep to his legs. He landed on his feet, sliding back slightly. "Two against one, pretty unfair don't you think?" The demon could easily destroy Youngjae, but he wasn't Himchan. His power didn't exceed Yongguk's own. They were on par.

"Call your leader here then. Oh wait, he doesn't plan on joining, does he?"

Junhong scoffed, a smirk dancing on his lips. "I wouldn't tempt him if I were you." Yongguk's arma began to form along with his wings - there was no way out of this fight without fleeing. Junhong had to much pride at stake to do that.

Jongup nearly made it to the dorm house without a problem. Honestly, if he'd just close his eyes and ignore the ghastly figure that he'd seen down the sidewalk, he could have. Unfortunately, glancing at it seemed to have caught its attention, and now he had something otherwordly approaching him. It was like something out of a horror movie. With his neck twisted unnaturally and eyes wide. The ghost wore black clothing and dark gloves. A memory from that night flashed in Jongup's mind.

"What do you want?" The male asked, fear building up in his stomach.

"What do I want?!" The ghost yelled. "You're the one that did this! I'm stuck in this limbo until you get me out of it! You sicko!"

"I don't even know what I did!"

"You killed me! You monster! I didn't know you'd use your power like that!"

Jongup held back tears, already reliving the memory of the murder. Cops never found out who it was, and none of the suspects matched Jongup. He could thank Junhong for that - he would too. If he knew it was Junhong who tampered with the evidence. "It's not... I don't know what happened..." He whimpered. "And... you attacked me first!" The male screamed, his throat in pain from holding back tears and screaming at the same time. 

"Huh. Just send me to Heaven or Hell already, you monster."

"Heaven... or Hell...? I'm not God! I don't do that!" But if he was, the ghost would definitely go to Hell. "And stop calling me a monster!"

"You really don't know your power do you? Okay, that you can figure out yourself. But right now, think of where you want me to go, and touch me." Jongup nearly reahed out but hesitated halfway through. What would be the consequences? Did he really want to send someone to Hell?

"I-" He sighed, arm falling to his side once more. "I can't do that, I can't decide someone's fate. It's not choice to make."

"Idiot. You wouldn't be the gate keeper if it wasn't your choice. To be someone with your power and responsibility requires that you don't let emotions get in the way. If I have to walk around with a broken neck with no purpose in death because of you, I swear I will haunt you forever." 

"Gate keeper? Responsibility?" 

"No questions!"

Jongup bit his bottom lip anxiously looking for the right answer. "Fine..." He reached up and put a hand over where the ghost's heart should be, and a light flashed. Jongup closed his eyes, and as soon as they reopened the ghost was gone. He looked at the palm that did the work and tried searching for a logical reason as to what this was. Without one he headed to his dorm, looking for a bed that could comfort him during his trouble.

Junhong whistled. "Man, archangels got it good, don't they? Their armas are so much cooler than a bow and arrow." It was true. Archangels were normally spiritually connected to extremely powerful armas, as proven by the bazooka in Yongguk's hands. "Is it heavy?"

In Yongguk's arms, it was light. It felt as if he was carrying a pillow instead of something that could easily weigh more than two hundred and fifty pounds. However, the weapon was similar to Thor's Mjolnir. Only Yongguk could carry the bazooka without being crushed under its weight. Hyoseong was the only person that ever lifted the weapon, and she'd only gotten it a centimeter off the ground. 

Youngjae was both jealous and in awe at once. He'd never seen an archangel's arma before - catching sight of Yongguk's was amazing. "Hey!" He turned his head to glare at Junhong. "You don't need to diss me to praise him." 

"But I do. By the way, do you really want to fight with something that huge and wings so big? I think I'd rather have a fist fight. I mean, unless you want a human to accidentally come across the scene." Yonggguk's fingers tightened around his weapon as he listened. It was true. Everything about Yongguk at the moment was too noticeable. It would endager him and get himself in trouble. Possibly removed from his position as Commander. He grinded his teeth in frustration, before the wings and arma began to disappear.

Junhong cracked his neck, back, and knuckles. It was nice that the other listened, hand to hand combat was Junhong's main specialty. Sure, he was powerful with his 'magic', but just bare hand fighting was much easier to manipulate for him. Youngjae, on the other hand, stepped back slightly.

"He's all yours Yongguk." 

"Don't worry," Yongguk muttered, right leg sliding back and fists raising up, "I got him. You'd only get in the way anyways." Youngjae chose not to retort to the insult. It wasn't a lie after all.

Yongguk and Junhong stared each other down for only a few moments before charging forward. Junhong went down on his hands and spun his legs around, only for Yongguk to jump back and aim a sweeping kick to his elbows. Before the kick reached, Junhong sprung to his feet and jumped over the leg. He pulled a fist back and punched towards Yongguk's head, but the man moved his head to the side just barely before it hit. A sigh escaped his lips but there was no time to rest. He backrolled and stood - both of them took their positions once more.

"Quick." Junhong complimented the other.

"Agile." Yongguk complimented back.

Footsteps sounded, but they didn't bother to check who it was. Both participants in the fight were only looking at each other, careful to analyze the situation and search for any sudden moves. The footsteps came closer, not failing to become louder as they neared the location of all both men. Youngjae's eyes widened when he noticed who it was. He didn't know anything behind this man, but from what he knew, only one question popped up - why was he here? Without warning both the angel and demon launched towards each other, fists raised as the male stepped in the middle. It was too late to stop their motion now, it seemed the male would get hit. Before Youngjae could yell to tell him to get out of the way, Yongguk and Junhong froze. Both of their fists were only centimeters from the man's head.

"I'd appreciate it," the man side-eyed Yongguk, a scowl etched into his lips, "if you didn't harm my subordinate, Bang Yongguk."

"Himchan." The archangel whispered, his lips becoming dry and throat clogging up when he saw who it was that interfered. 

"Why's he here? Subordinate? What?" Youngjae was in utter confusion as Junhong moved to stand casually, a smile settling upon his visage.

"This is Kim Himchan, but I know him better as Satan." Junhong held his hand out to gesture towards Himchan. "Man, he's gonna go stiff, you should probably let him go."

Himchan scoffed and Yongguk felt the binding air around him release. Finally he could get out of the position he'd been frozen into. He began to stretch his arms. "I don't need you injured right now, Zelo. Learn to pick your battles. You're strong, but you're not me."

"Yeah, sure, okay. Leave all the fighting to a person who doesn't wanna fight. 'kay. Got you."

"Zelo."

Junhong let out a huff of air, annoyance taking over his features. Youngjae probably could have laughed at his irritation, if it weren't for the fact that he was stuck in a state of shock. Satan? What?

"Hold up. Hold up. You're the almighty Satan? The same person who acts like a koala bear around Yongguk and I quote 'needs to calm their thirst'?"

"Wow, you think so highly of me, archangel."

"How else could I describe someone who had an obsession with me?" He rubbed his wrists, eyes trained on Himchan.

"Well, beautiful, if I must. But that's off topic." Himchan grabbed a fistful of his second in command's hair and pulled him to his side. "I just came here to make sure you didn't tire him out. Or more like, I was just passing by. Whichever you choose to believe. But next time, you won't dare try laying a hand on him, Yongguk." His tone grew serious as he neared the end of his warning, ignoring Junhong's grunts and hisses of pain.

Youngjae watched Junhong be dragged around, as if a mother dragging her child by the ear. An unconscious giggle slipped through his lips and he immediately put a hand over his mouth. Junhong heard the slight giggle, however, and looked towards Youngjae with widened eyes. Instantly his gaze averted and his cheeks grew hot. The giggle was adorable. Junhong groaned internally - how could he have a thought like that? What was going wrong with him recently?

Yongguk let Himchan's figure retreat in the direction of Jongup and Junhong's dorm. He cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his cave voice. "Maybe I'll do it again just so I can see you join! Let's see if you're not all bark and no bite!" Himchan turned his head and looked over his shoulder, bearing a look of slight surprise. Lips parted just a fraction, both eyebrows raised and eyes widened to look bigger. He looked good in that angle, attractive and quite cute. Yongguk smiled despite what had happened moments before.

"I expected you to be afraid after I froze you in your spot without so much as blinking. You have a strong heart, Yongguk, I wouldn't mind being your rival. But I don't want any surprise attacks from your kids, I don't participate in this game."

"Don't worry, just you and me. One versus one!" 

Himchan smirked and turned away, letting go of Junhong to let the male follow after him.

"Well just flirt with him now, why don't you?" Youngjae crossed his arms with an amused grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Don't be stupid, you know that's forbidden." Youngjae frowned at the last word when unconsciously the image of Junhong popped in his head.

♥️

A/N; Wauw! Took me a while but finally next chapter! Little moments of Banghim and Younglo, next chapter will be filled with a lot of DaeJong!! This was a 3.5k chapter - long to compensate for taking so long to write.

Adieu~ ^u^