Inequality

Chapter 18 - Rest

"You're an idiot, you know." Chen teased as Akari hissed each time he placed pressure on her bruises. She pouted and whined, "It hurts."

"Who told you to go risking your life like that anyways? You and Tao." Chen shook his head and Akari lowered her head. He smiled fondly before gently ruffling her hair.

"Sorry."

Chen chuckled and he said, "Prepare to get your ears chewed off by Luhan and Kris. I'm pretty sure Kris is the one that's probably annoyed."

A small smile curved up her lips and she was about to respond when there was a soft knocking at the door. Both of them turn to see a half asleep V leaning against the door.

He lazily rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Hi noona. Hi hyung. Sorry for all the trouble yesterday."

Chen shook his head as V tumbled in, and sprawled onto the bed that Akari was currently sitting on. The previous night was a disaster as there were so many people in critical condition. V was just unconscious, and needed a few bandages, but Tao and Akari were the ones in danger. Kris and Xiumin were slightly injured, but nothing that first aid couldn't fix.

Tao was just drained of energy after using his Time Control. He was never really good at controlling the distribution of power. So it was only to be expected.

However, Akari's condition was something none of them could deal with as they had no idea what to do. She was unconscious the moment they reached safety, and at random intervals she would start shivering and trembling.

Dongjun had taken her aside and had done something... But even then the Exo boys didn't know what they had done. And they were somewhat shocked. They had never seen the girl so weakened and vulnerable.

V cuddled up against Akari, resting his head on her lap as she softly ran her hands through his hair, causing him to emit a soft hum of approval.

Akari smiled and mumbled, "Sorry Taehyung-ah."

V opened his eyes, surprised and he cupped her face in his hands and he said, "It's not your fault. You were trying to protect us. I can understand that."

"But-"

"Dongjun and Jungkook are safe." Chen interrupted. His tone was soft, and his eyes were gentle. Akari nodded and V glanced to his hyung and asked, "Where is Kookie and Dongjun hyung?"

Chen shrugged and he said, "Lay moved Jungkook to his house to heal him and watch over his vital signs. He's in critical and has been in critical even after Dongjun did... Whatever he did." Chen paused and asked, "What did Dongjun do anyways?"

He was looking at Akari and she blinked in confusion. She shrugged and said, "I don't even know. It's not the first time though."

"Not the first time?" Chen and V repeated.

Akari nodded and she admitted, "I've lost control various times now. But..." Akari paused as she recounted and said, "Dongjun oppa has always been there to stop me."

Chen glanced and he asked, "How does he stop you?"

"Injection of Negation," a low voice interrupted them. Kris was standing at the door. There were bags underneath his eyes as he shuffled in and slumped against the wall beside Chen. He glanced at Akari and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm okay. And what is that?"

Kris smiled softly and said, "I visited Dongjun at Lay's this morning. I had Dongjun tell me how he calmed you down. In fact," Kris' gaze shifted to V for a moment and he said, "He made both of you from destroying the house. He just dragged both of you aside one by one and when he had Xiumin and I go over to pick you guys up, your heartbeat was back to normal. Your bruises weren't as extreme, and you guys weren't all seizure like."

Akari and V blinked and V asked, "So.. Dongjun hyung is okay?"

Kris nodded and he said, "He's physically and mentally healthy, unlike Akari here." Kris smirked and he said, "You're still extremely thin."

"Hey! I was always thin!" Akari protested. V tilted his head and said, "I don't think I've ever seen noona this healthy before."

"What?" Chen blurted out. He pointed and gestured to her figure and he asked, "This is healthy?!"

Akari looked down at her figure and she asked, "Do I look unhealthy?"

"You're a stick Akari!" Chen protested. He sighed and said, "I bet you're skinnier than a good half of the population here."

A chuckle was heard from Kris and he said, "You'll look healthy at some point during your stay here."

Akari blinked and she complained, "What if my speed gets slower?"

Kris burst out in laughter and he managed to say in between, "Of all the things you can worry about. If anything, you'll have more endurance."

Akari frowned and said, "But.. I already have good endurance."

Chen and Kris glanced at each other and they sighed. They didn't need telepathy to understand each other. The look in their eyes was enough. Mizuhara Akari was a hopeless cause.

Akari sighed as she leaned back on the bed when she suddenly felt a connection to Dongjun.

Luhan wants to talk to you.

Akari shot forward, sitting up and taking V by surprise as she got off the bed. The other three males looked at her strangely as she grabbed Kris' baseball jacket and tossed it on. Kris was about to make a protest, but was too slow when she bolted out the door without any notice.

The three males glanced at each other and V shrugged, "Dongjun hyung probably called her."

Kris nodded and V stared at his hyungs. Chen caught the fierce gaze and asked, "What?"

"Will noona look prettier if she was healthier?"

Kris and Chen glanced at each other and Chen blushed. Kris smirked and said, "I bet her curves will fill out. She's already really pretty. Right Chen?"

"Sh-shut up!" Chen blurted out. He ran a hand through his hair and mumbled, "I'm going to go make breakfast."

V watched as Kris stifled a laughter as Chen walked out. On the way out, Chen punched Kris on the arm slightly and he began laughing like crazy.

V leaned forward and asked Kris, "Why is Chen hyung all embarrassed?"

Kris smiled at his innocence and fondly ruffled his hair and said, "You'll see."

*****

Akari was soaring across the sky, or underground sky if you must, as she pinpointed Dongjun’s energy source. She landed outside a rather traditional looking complex and scratched her head as she approached the gates. Almost immediately, the gates opened up, revealing a rather large stone garden with a pool of koi centered in the middle and grass and sand patterned designs all over. She let out a small gasp and her inner curiosity got the better of her as she crept up to the pool, staring at the adorable koi fish as they gracefully swam around.

“I told you she’d be interested in the fish,” Dongjun’s voice softly chuckled. Akari looked up and smiled brightly before rushing over to her favorite person in her life as of the moment. She wrapped him in a hug that he gladly returned and he patted her head softly.

“You’re okay,” she breathed out. Dongjun nodded and continued to pat her head and said, “Thanks to you guys. You have no idea how thankful I am.”

Akari looked up and broke away from him to peek around him. Luhan smiled at them fondly and she walked over to him.

“Dongjun oppa said…”

“It’s nothing really, I just wanted to see if you were okay. You were pretty hard to calm down after you came back,” Luhan said. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze and said, “You’re fine though, and that’s all that matters.”

Akari smiled and asked, “How is Lay and Kookie?”

“Lay’s asleep. Jungkook is also asleep, he hasn’t shown any signs of waking up yet, but his health has improved significantly.”

Akari nodded and her mood swing was noticeable to both Dongjun and Luhan. The two males glanced at each other and Luhan asked, “Do you want to see Jungkook?”

Akari nodded eagerly and wordlessly followed after Luhan as he led the two of them to Jungkook’s quarters. The complex was simple, and looked like a mixture of all the major three Asian traditional housings. As they approached the heart of the complex, Luhan opened the wooden door to a small room, or at least small in comparison to the rest of the house, it was probably the size of Chen’s apartment.

Jungkook was asleep in a bed in the center of the room. He was sleeping peacefully and even seemed to have a smile on his face. Akari sat down on the chair beside the bed and she took his hand into hers and immediately she felt the same jolt back when she was in the battlefield on her first day of escapture.

“He-”

“No he isn’t.” Dongjun cut her off. He had a small smile on his face as he reached out to take Jungkook’s hand in his. There was a flicker of color change in his eyes and Akari gasped, “How? He’s..”

“His awakening is different. He’s a pure, like Luhan hyung and the Exo boys. Their power was hidden within them, it just didn’t awaken until a given point in time.”

“Then…”

“He should be fine. I’m almost certain they didn’t do anything to him. We’re too precious, remember?”

Akari’s facial expression darkened and Luhan could feel the anger emitting from her. He was standing close enough to rest his palm on the crown of her head. She looked up and he gave her a soft smile. Akari felt the negativity flow out and she softly whispered, “That’s right. We’re not alone anymore.”

A/N: I should have fixed the spacing. I'm sorry. ROFL. Anyways, here's an update. Enjoy. DOn't kill me. Back to spazzing over Infinite's "Last Romeo" MV teaser. >>