In the end, we settled down for a game of cat and mouse. The rule was plain and simple, until we decided to step it up a little, just to make it more interesting. In this game, everyone was a cat and a mouse. We had to hunt or be hunted. And we would play in teams of twos.

                  At first both Luhan and Sehun wanted to pair up with me, but I decided to team up with Jongin, simply because I wanted to keep an eye on him. Should I have run off with either Luhan or Sehun, Jongin would be free and he would surely use the opportunity to run amok and create chaos, and in turn, injuring himself even more.

                  I told myself I wasn’t supposed to care that he was wounded. But in a dire situation where an extra person would help a lot in this not-so-ambiguous fight with Byakko, I couldn’t risk Jongin. He seemed to know, but he didn’t care. For him, life was a battlefield. If nobody wanted a fight, then he would initiate one. That was how he got off, I supposed.

                  “You’d better play fair, Joonmyun!” I shouted jokingly from one corner to another. He threw me a smirk that suggested otherwise. Kim Joonmyun was a smart man and he knew his advantage in this game, and that was to scheme, “We’ll see, Sena. We’ll see if you’ll play fair, too!”

                  “Stop being such a love bird in the arena,” Jongdae spat with so much acid in his voice and rolled his eyes in disgust. I concealed the sound of my laughter when I saw the bitter-sour expression on his face. He was never a pretentious person, maybe a bit temperamental at times, but was a better person than Minseok.

                  “Don’t be so jealous, Jongdae, you’ll understand one day when you get a girlfriend of your own – if you’re lucky enough to find one, that is,” I replied with a confident smirk and . He looked positively murderous but clenched his fists and looked away angrily. I didn’t even get his sarcastic reply anymore, so I turned to the eldest, “So, Minseok, tell us what the winning prize would be.”

                  “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about winning if I were you, Sena,” Minseok grinned and I narrowed my eyes at him. He was paired up with the Elites’ head since Joonmyun and Jongdae teamed up together. He tilted his head towards Jongin, “Isn’t he still injured? You’re at a disadvantaging position, Lovely.” Others nodded in agreement.

                  When I looked back at Jongin begrudgingly, he shrugged pretentiously and smiled, “Your call, Princess. I wasn’t the one who made that deal, you know?”

                  “Yes, because I wouldn’t want you to be limping around for who knows how long,” I gritted my teeth. I eyed his feet, which looked perfectly fine and healed and I was hesitant for a moment. Would winning be more important than his health? Would I be so selfish? I stepped back and whispered threateningly, “No, Jongin, still no. But if you get caught by anyone, I swear I’ll kill you.”

                  “Hm,” He didn’t say anything anymore.

                  “Just tell us the prize, Kim-freaking-Minseok, it’s not like you’re gonna win, either,” I glared and for a second, I swore I saw a dangerous glint of competitiveness in Seungcheol as he stood protectively over his master. I heard Jongin’s amused chuckle and couldn’t help the smile that threatened to appear.

                  “Yeah, at least we’ve got better chance at winning than you do, Sena,” Minseok was teasing, but it wasn’t spoken jokingly. Rather than teasing, he was secretly mocking Jongin for being so fragile. I saw red in my eyes and huffed angrily. Had it not been his party, his father wouldn’t have died and Jongin wouldn’t be injured. I cursed the luck of us.

                  “Just stop with the pride talk and tell us,” Joonmyun interrupted. Sehun shot me a warning glare and I shut up.

                  “Fine,” Minseok seemed to be persistently trying to annoy me and I did not like it. I should have appreciated his effort and attention with more sarcasm instead, and speaking of sarcastic remark, no one would have Luhan beaten in that area. There were exactly twenty-five of us in the room, three of the Genbu sons, thirteen Elites from theirs and six from ours, Jongin, Sehun and I. “Can’t we at least, wait until Taeil and Kun arrive?”

                  “Who are Taeil and Kun?” I whispered to Jongin.

                  “The Genbu’s protectors, also known as the Prodigal Siblings,” He muttered in reply. “You should have known their nicknames, shouldn’t you? Their reputations preceded their leader’s fame. Kim Joonmyun couldn’t possibly not have told you about these two. Even Byun Baekhyun is aware of their skills.”

                  Joonmyun hadn’t told me much, but I was aware of their prodigal protectors and it was a shame that talents like them had to be wasted guarding a shameless leader like Kim Minseok. From what I’d heard, they were one of the strongest supporters of Joonmyun and Jongdae. “Do you know where they went to?”

                  “I was lying on the bed all week so I didn’t get to wander around like you do. You should’ve asked Sehun, Princess,” Jongin responded rudely and started stretching his legs. “Besides, the two of you would have made a better pair, considering how unhappy he looks with Luhan.”

                  I looked over and snickered, “You are exaggerating. Don’t think that I will bite your bait, Kim Jongin.”

                  “Was hoping you would be foolish enough to,” He shrugged with a small smile and turned his head to look at the lounge. Not long after, two men walked out of the cafeteria door and they wore expensive tailored suits. There was no doubt who they were. One had a light brown hair with very stern features while the other was comparably taller with a bright, warm smile on his face. They were quite the contrasting pair and had Jongin not mentioned it earlier, I wouldn’t have known that they were related siblings.

                  “Master Joonmyun, Sir, we just heard about your return and couldn’t greet you sooner,” They saluted.

                  I could see a big, ugly frown forming on Minseok’s face. Taeil and Kun didn’t even bother to address him first and went straight to salute Kim Joonmyun. That was the first and most insulting offense to any clan leader. Jongdae didn’t bother to hide the wide grin and cackled on the spot.

                  “Taeil, Kun,” Joonmyun nodded. He was also amused by the bravery these two displayed. Whether it was a sign of affection or a rebellious streak that flowed in their warrior blood, he did not know. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t pleased. Minseok might control the Elders of Genbu, but Joonmyun held absolute power in their military division.

                  “Taeil, Kun,” Minseok growled and they immediately bowed at him. “Go and change into your training suits and meet us here in two minutes. Late arrivals will not be tolerated, do you understand?”

                  “Sir, yes, Sir!” They saluted and ran back to the locker by the gym. It was apparent that these Elites were trained like war soldiers. At this rate, even with the skills and special abilities my Elites had, I would still be wary. I could choose to lose because of Jongin’s condition, but Sehun and Luhan could not.

                  “Sehun, Luhan,” I mumbled under my breath and they stepped closer to me. “Do you have plans to win?”

                  “Of course,” Sehun nodded and grinned, “We can’t afford to shame you, Sena.”

                  “Good, but before that, I want you to eliminate the thirteen Elites and Minseok’s team. The two of you are the best fighters of us all,” Jongin shot me a very pointed look and I ignored it, “Hence you have the biggest chance of winning. Tell Tao, Yixing and Taeyong to deal with Taeil and Kun if they can, and let the rest deal with Joonmyun and Jongdae.”

                  “Princess,” Jongin mockingly whispered, “That doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but you have to consider the capability of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo against Kim Joonmyun and Kim Jongdae. Like you said, your fiancée is a smart, cunning man who would do just about anything to win. Could the Dumb and Dumber duo handle them?”

                  “Kim Jongin!” I hissed in lower tone, “How could you call your comrades Dumb and Dumber?! From what I see right now, you are the most useless of the bunch, so unless you can suggest a better idea, then shut that pretty mouth and step back!”

                  “I am not saying it is entirely impossible, just that it isn’t plausible,” He sneered and glared at me, “If we only have the duo handle Kim Joonmyun, it wouldn’t be a problem, but Kim Jongdae isn’t dumb and he wouldn’t let himself be a sacrificial piece for his brother’s success. Unless you ask them to latch onto those two and let me deal with the finishing part, then that would guarantee at least fifty percent of success rate.”

                  “You want to deliver the last blow in this condition?” I raised an eyebrow mockingly, “No ing way, Kim Jongin. Our deal still stands and there is no way I would let you join in.” I pondered on, “Or we could let you be bait and ask Chanyeol to deliver the finishing punch, how ‘bout it?”

                  “Yeah, Mei, that’s just genius,” Luhan snickered in sarcasm, “Genius for a suicide plan, that is. If you’re really gonna do something like that, you would end up killing both teams. Kim Joonmyun isn’t that shallow. He knows Jongin well enough to understand that this guy over here – would never give up until he dies – so throwing him as a bait is a ridiculous idea, no matter how badly beaten he would be.”

                  “Do you have a better idea then?”

                  “Perhaps –“ Luhan thought it over, “Call Kyungsoo here. He isn’t that bad of a strategist.”

                  I waved my hand and they came over. It might look like a game of teams, but in reality, this included the pride of Genbu and Seiryuu. We couldn’t afford to lose. I had never been so determined to win something before.

                  “Soo,” I called him with his endearing nickname, “We are trying to think of how to deal with those two – the spawns of Satan – Joonmyun and Jongdae. Do you have any idea what to use or how we should round them in a corner? They are currently the most dangerous opponent, no?”

                  “Jongin, use your head. I know you are smarter than this,” Sehun drew a hiss and threw him a look. Jongin, however, just gave him an unamused snort and shook his head stubbornly, “My Princess here says that I am not allowed to do anything, so I am just following her order. Besides, it isn’t so bad to lose once in a while.”

                  “Don’t put words in my mouth,” I glared at him.

                  “I don’t. You clearly stated it, so I’m gonna stay the good boy I am while you guys are discussing about how-to-lose-to-Kim’s-siblings,” He yawned and stepped aside to give more rooms for the other guys. I knew this guy was actually a smart and sharp man, but to get him moving was difficult. Besides, he had his injuries to worry about so I chose to abandon him and started another discussion with the rest.

                  Kim Joonmyun threw me a smirk, a sign that he had a plan, and I would lose. I shook my head and stared at Sehun almost pleadingly. There was no way I would lose to that womanizer!