Sena stood in the highest floor, observing quietly as five men entered the main hall. They looked no older than Joonmyun was, and one of them caught her attention with his blonde hair color. Beside her, Kim Joonmyun leaned in closer to see the kind of commotion they would create in the first hour of their arrival to the Seiryuu’s headquarter. The two of them matched each other’s movement unconsciously – something they had adapted to ever since Joonmyun moved in with her.

Sehun threw a glance at her and quietly stepped back. He was used to being her shadow; the one she could always see in one corner, always careful and observant. Judging from the younger girl’s reaction, she must not have flipped over the documents of the new Elites carefully, else she would have reacted differently upon seeing those new faces. His lips drew a thin line of patience and looked down at the direction of the Elites.

The thick glasses window and floor separated the higher levels of the headquarter. They could see the ground floor by looking at their feet, but those that stood below them would not be able to do the same. Sena’s heels tapped impatiently by the rhythm. She wanted to see what could happen when Luhan – now appointed as the head of Elites – started their trials in a while.

Luhan jumped down from the second floor. His movement was graceful as a swan, his face polite and pleasant. In front of Sena, he was always a reckless, foolish boy who was blinded by affection, but he knew how to be stern and solid whenever the Elites needed him. Luhan understood that Sena now depended on him after Jongin was gone. It was all he could be, and all he would ever want.

Behind him, the egg-shaped door opened automatically and four more Elites came out. Chanyeol cracked his knuckles excitedly and threw the five newbies a huge grin. Kyungsoo shook his head and did a quick look over all five, mentally noting the small details only his careful eyes would notice. Yixing stood a few steps behind Luhan, very patiently waiting while the man donned in black from head-to-toe, Taeyong, preferred to look elsewhere but the newly arrived Elites. His eyes stopped on the rooftop, where he could feel her gaze at them and finally, he let out a small smile.     

“Luhan…?” The ash-haired boy raised his eyebrows curiously. Jinki lowered his gaze at the Seiryuu tattoo on his neck and gulped. There were only a few who were allowed to wear the emblem as a tattoo, and Luhan was one of them. Sehun, being the other, though no one really knew where he hid his tattoo since he did not ink it in an obvious spot. When Kibum hissed a warning at the older man, he finally dropped his eyes to the ground and said no more.

In this clan, one was required to show absolute respect for the leader and her Elites. But it was not just respect that encouraged the odd behaviour from the youth. It was devotion, adoration and admiration that turned into idolization. It was something Yixing knew so well after years of doing the same thing.

“I am Luhan,” He finally replied when the silence took long enough to consume everyone into deep thoughts. “Show some respect when you enter the sacred headquarter of the Dragon. State your names before you ask of ours.”

Even the rash and quick-mouthed Kibum was quiet and polite when he was facing Luhan. They all saluted with their right hand on their chest and their left hand on their abs. One by one, introduction began with their names. The oldest who looked younger than he should be was Lee Jinki. He had a nice smile and really white teeth. Kim Jonghyun, second-in-command, was the blonde-haired man with really deep cheekbones and a sharp set of eyes. Kim Kibum was the brain of the group, for he apparently possessed not only a quick mouth, but also a bright mind. Choi Minho was the tallest of the bunch, with dark-brown hair and a pair of doe eyes. Lee Taemin, the youngest and first-in-command, was ranked fourth this year, beating Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Yixing in the overall placement score.

Taeyong’s eyes shifted to his newfound rival. Lee Taemin scored one point lower than he was, and he was not at all satisfied. He could only place third without Jongin being the first. The first seat was now occupied by Sehun, and though his ability was top notch, he was still lacking behind Jongin, but not by far. It was no secret that Luhan was the most bloodthirsty Elites, albeit his soft facial features and beautiful smiles. Taeyong was a close second, but only because he was not obsessed with Sena as Luhan was.

Luhan, too, stopped at Taemin’s introduction and observed him quietly. There was a resemblance – though it might sound a bit too far-fetched – that Taemin looked similar to Kim Jongin. The shape of their features were closely and eerily identical. The more he looked, the dislike in his heart also grew. They could have been siblings with that similarity. But his surname Lee, taken from his normal human father, could not have been Jongin’s close relative in any way.

“You are Lee Taemin?” Luhan raised his eyebrows challengingly and looked down at the equally pretty boy. Both of their features were delicate and beautiful, but their dark eyes were stern and willful. A sarcastic snort escaped Luhan’s mouth as he swept his gaze over. A frown soon found its way to his supposedly calm façade. “Heard you managed to beat three of the Elites in interrogation-specialism and psychological analysis. Very impressive for a no-name trainee.”

Kibum shifted uncomfortably. There was something about Luhan’s tone that made him wary. This man, beautiful and harmless as he might look, was still the head of Elites, which meant that he was placed directly under Sehun and Sena’s orders. In the annual ranking, their ranks defined their pride and position. The higher they were, the closer they would be to become one with the main family.

“Lee Taemin that man,” Sena wore a heavy frown on her delicately pretty face and turned to Sehun, “He looks very familiar. What is his family status?”

“His father is a normal human who works in the government’s secret service IT department. His mother is a housewife from Korea’s branch family. He’s trained within the Jeju’s training center with the other thirty kids,” Sehun calmly explained without missing a beat so that Sena would not suspect a thing from him. Her frown disappeared and she nodded absentmindedly. Perhaps she was imagining Jongin when she looked at Taemin.

“We have a welcoming party for all of you,” Luhan looked at all of them carefully. He stepped down the table and folded his hands in front of his chest. Unlike Chanyeol and Taeyong who wore sleeveless shirts to show their toned, masculine body, or Kyungsoo and Yixing who wore tight-fitting V-neck to allow flexibility, Luhan just wore a half-buttoned long-sleeve white shirt. Even his hair was messed up carelessly as if he just woke up. “That is… if you can survive this hunt. We will give you ten seconds to prepare and when the time is up, you only have to do two things.”

“One,” Luhan put up his lean fingers when Minho and Jinki shoved their backpacks aside and got ready in a rush, “You have to beat us all, not one should be left behind. And two, you have to find Lady Sena somewhere in this building. If none of you wins, consider yourself taken off from the Elites rank. Understood?”

“Did he just say my name?” Sena raised her eyebrow at her protector. Her heart was soaring in excitement because she finally got a part in this. Sehun frowned disapprovingly at her mini dress and shrugged, “Well, you are part of the final task. But they won’t get it easy. They would have to take me down before they could get to you.”

“Now now, isn’t that a bit unfair, Sehun?” Joonmyun finally in. He chuckled and walked to Sena’s side with a reassuring smile, “Luhan alone, should be enough to take them down. No matter how strong Lee Taemin is, he is still far from Luhan, isn’t he? If even you would have to take him down, that would only damage Luhan’s pride, Sehun.”

Sehun smiled wordlessly. He did not care much about Luhan’s pride at the moment. He should, in any way as he vowed for the second time, ensure Sena’s safety no matter what happened. Of course this situation did not call for such urgency, but in Sehun’s humble opinion, he was itching to get out and see the worth of these Elites. As he was thinking deep and hard, the five new Elites had begun dispersing into different directions.

“Who do you think will win?”

“I have a feeling that the newbie is up to something,” Joonmyun replied, casually putting his hand over hers and squeezed it tightly, “Don’t be too strict, though, else you wouldn’t be able to see what he is capable of. Isn’t that what you want, Sweetheart?”

Sena gave Sehun a glance and walked off on her own.   

***

The lift took off to the basement. The girl scanned her palm and walked inside the dungeon where one glasses guy worked alone with different sets of computers and cables. This magnificent room was the center of Seiryuu’s IT department, where they stored all the important data and secret codes in that computer that took the space of half a room.

Lee Sungyeol took off his glasses quickly and turned his wheelchair around. His feet were paralyzed as a child and he required the wheels to move around at all times. It was such a pity because he had both brains and looks and could have served upstairs with the other Elites. But his IT skill was very much needed by Sena because no one else could do this better than he did. Sungyeol was a bit odd in a sense that he highly preferred an individualistic space on his own. His genius mind cared only for those cryptic codes and technology influence. Other than that, the only other men he seemed to acknowledge were Sehun and Joonmyun.

“Lady Sena, what brings you here?” He tried to bow down but there was only so much he could do. There was a small, serene smile on his geeky face. Very quickly, his fingers punched a different set of number to the keyboard and the screen lit up to a light-green color. The face of a man was shown on the walls, followed by detailed information of his recent whereabouts.

“Is Grandfather still with Byun Baekhyun?” Sena traced her fingers on the air. They had pictured him in a deserted ruins in Middle East. His condition had deteriorated even more from the lack of blood. His pupil was almost a light shade of grey, resembling those of a zombie. Sena found simple pleasure just by looking at his sufferings. She would never give up her blood willingly until the day she died – and especially not to a man like him.

“Presumably yes. He has either stayed with Baekhyun and his group of protectors or was left behind in the Byakko headquarter with the Shadow fighters. I tried to track their main compound, but I haven’t managed to crack the security system for the past two years. They’ve built a barrier even I can’t get in, my Lady, please be very patient for the time being.”

Two years. That was how long it had been since they last saw each other face-to-face. When thing came to its worst, Sena would not be afraid to declare an open war, even if it meant risking a Third World War with the rest of the world. Jongin was the last straw of her non-existent patience. Sena immediately thought of Joonmyun and forced herself to breathe properly.

“I am very patient, Sungyeol. Had it been others, they would not tolerate this kind of delay. Wu Yifan, that Suzakku priest is now fifteen years old. Two more years before he takes over and it would be chaotic if he decides to support Byakko with his endless military power by the start of his reign. So I would give you six months, Sungyeol. Six months before I tolerate no more.”

“Six months it shall be, Lady Sena. Give it time and I will show you what I can do, but for now, I have some information you might be interested in,” Sungyeol grinned and clicked on the screen. The image shifted from one to another. “For the past three weeks, Yoon Sang Hyun has been spotted in and out of Istanbul, Cairo and Baghdad. Yesterday, he passed the immigration point of Riga.”

“And where is that?” Sena asked, clearly confused.

“Latvia, but that’s not the main point. He has since, been moved to Sigulda, another city in the country for unknown reason within 12 hours time. Twenty Shadow fighters are with him as of currently, without the presence of Byun Baekhyun or any other,” Sungyeol explained impatiently. The pictures moved as he spoke until Sena caught a figure standing alongside two masked men and her grandfather in a wheelchair.

“Is that Kim Jongin?”

Sungyeol bit his lips and paused for a moment. Jongin’s name was a taboo and he was not about to break it. Sena clenched her fists and glared at the walls behind him. “Very well, then. Remember your time limit, Sungyeol. Six months will pass by in a blink of an eye. And you won’t like the kind of punishment I have for you then.”

A/N: So the new Elites' group is SHINee. And the guy with eyeliner and sharp tongue is Kibum 'Key'. The blonde cousin is Jonghyun.