Some of the other boys are already in the training area when Suho, Sehun, and Kai joins them. “Report,” Their leader immediately commands, seeming to silently assess the boys for any injuries. When not finding any, he seems satisfied.

“The rest of Siwon’s magic users are dead,” Baekhyun announces. “The only one left is Heechul and-”

“Heechul is dead,” Lay interrupts as he slowly exits the building. His hand is stained in blood and there’s a grim but calm look on his face.

“Excellent.” Suho looks up, narrowing his eyes. When Sehun looks, he notices a window at the top of the building. He swallows hard when Siwon’s face appears and stares down at him. “D.O, Xiumin, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Chen. I want all of you to make sure Siwon doesn’t escape.” All the boys nod and quickly head pass them and back into the building; not hesitating to follow orders. Once they’re gone, Suho quickly turns to Sehun and Kai. “I fear Siwon will not play fair,” He says, whispering to them. “I want the two of you to hide nearby for backup.”

“Okay,” Sehun says nervously. He stares at Suho for a moment before wrapping his arms around the man and pulling him into a tight hug. “Please, stay safe, okay? D-don’t die, not to him.”

Suho chuckles softly. “I won’t, Sehun,” he says. He pulls back and takes his necklace off, handing it to him. “If I...die,” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t want Siwon taking it.”

Sehun stares down at it, slowly nodding. “O-okay…”

Suho smiles. “Good,” He says, giving his shoulder a squeeze. He looks at Kai and gives him a nod as well.

“Kill that piece of ,” Kai says before turning away. He grabs Sehun’s hand before teleporting them once again. Sehun sniffs and hugs the necklace as he quickly makes his way to a nearby window. He can see Suho stand in the training area alone, waiting. They must be in a random room on the second floor. He lets out a shaky breath when Siwon walks out, slowly, towards his brother.

“Kai, I…” Sehun rubs his forehead, unsure if he can watch. His stomach grows tight as the siblings both pull off their jackets and begin to pace around each other in a circle. “W-when should we jump in?” He asks. “How do we know if he’s being unfair?”

Kai stands beside him, sighing as he crosses his arms. “We just...wait, Sehun.”

Siwon is the one that moves first, quickly stepping forward with his knife. The brothers easily dodge each other's attacks, going back and forth. One hits, another blocks. When the blade threats to cut the leader, he quickly backs up. He raises his hand and manifests his water whip. He snaps at Siwon, able to land a stinging hit against the man’s face. Sehun grips the window sill tightly as his anxiety raises. He watches with wide eyes as the two fight. Hitting each other with their water, almost cutting each other with their weapons. When the knife cuts Suho’s arm, it makes Sehun cringe.

As their fight continues, it’s obvious that the older brother holds more experiences than his younger sibling. Easily able to land more hits than the leader. He quickly overwhelms Suho, eventually able to hit him every time. The leader’s move becomes more sluggish as time goes by and that’s when Sehun frowns. Suho seems to be moving a lot slower than usual.

“Kai,” Sehun whispers. “Suho...doesn’t move that slowly.”

Kai stares, watching them carefully. “No, not he doesn’t.”

“W-what’s wrong with him?”

Suho pants heavily, his eyes hooded. But he regardless, he keeps on going. “I don’t know,” The wolf admits. They both gaps when Siwon slashes, his blade making contact with Suho’s chest; his shirt cuts and blood drips. He grunts and staggers back. Sehun covers his mouth when Siwon launches himself forward, plunging the knife into Suho’s stomach.

“N-no, S-Suho!” Sehun gasps, staring wide-eyed as the man falls. The leader lands hard on his back, putting a hand over his new knife wound. He watches and swallows hard. “No, no. I can’t, I can’t let him do this.”

“Sehun, stop!” Kai tries to pull him back but Sehun pushes his boyfriend off and uses his elbow to smash the window. He crawls out of it, taking a deep breath before he launches himself off. Wind picks up around him, slowing him as he guides towards Siwon, hovering over Suho. The man draws his arm back and is ready to make the final strike. Before he can, Sehun stops his magic, letting himself fall hard into Siwon. They both grunt as they’re knocked to the floor, slamming hard to the ground. Sehun quickly rolls over, stumbling to his feet. He darts in front of Suho, raising his hands protectively.

Siwon glowers at him. “What’re you doing?!” he hisses. ”This is our fight, child!”

“No! I’m sorry but we’re losing another one; especially not our leader!” Sehun exclaims. “It’s you and me now. To the death.”

“Sehun…” Suho groans but he shakes his head.

“Suho, please,” he glances at his leader and smiles. “Relax, okay? I’ll...I'll take care of it.”

“Sehun, He’ll kill you!” Kai shouts from the window, his voice angry and almost desperate.

“It’s better me than Suho,” Sehun whispers, keeping his eyes on Siwon. Manifesting his wind as a staff, he raises it in a guarded stance. Of course, he’s terrified. Especially with the malicious and dangerous look in his opponent's eyes. But he manages to keep his head up and his eyes lock onto Siwon’s. But when the man glances over at Suho, Sehun frowns. He just knows he’s up to no good. That’s when Siwon acts. He twirls to the left, grabbing a knife from his back pocket and darting quickly towards the leader, Sehun spins to face him, quickly raising his hands. Wind surrounds Suho and lifts up, causing the man to let out a yelp. “I’m sorry- Am I not a good enough opponent, Siwon?!” He guides the leader quickly into the open door of the building, using his air to slam it shut once the man’s safely inside. Manifesting his staff again, Sehun swings it a few time before twirling again and slamming it hard against Siwon’s side.

Siwon grunts and stumbles, holding where he had been hit. He glowers at Sehun. “Do I have your damn attention now?!” 

Siwon turns to face him, rubbing his side. “Fine, you pest! You have my undivided attention!”

“So, what’d you do to Suho, huh?” Sehun glares at him. “Didn’t think you’d win in a fair fight so you had to cheat?”

Siwon scoffs. “Even without weakening the idiot, he would have died regardless; I’m superior to him.”

“You’re just a big ing coward!” The air-user shouts before he darts forward, weapon in hand. He swings it towards the man, unfazed when it misses. Using the momentary distraction, he spins and kicks at Siwon; his wind pouring out of him and slamming into the man. Siwon almost falls but manages to keep his ground. He grabs his water, once again snapping it at Sehun. He lets go when the water wraps around his summoned staff; allowing it to turn back into the air. He backflips away and quickly manifests his daggers when he lands.

“Your usual little party tricks won’t help you here!” Siwon launches forward again, his knife in hand. Sehun’s able to side steps away from most of the man’s attacks, grimacing when the blade makes contacts; it causes small cuts, none deadly. At least, it’s not quite deadly until Sehun makes a mistake.

Spinning to the right, the air-user frowns when he steps in a small puddle. He glances briefly down at it, not giving it much thought. But when he tries to move, he finds it impossible. He frowns again as he tries to pull his foot away but the water clings to him, forcing him in place. He tries to duck the best he can but he can only move his body so much. Sehun tries pushing himself free with his wind but nothing seems to move the man’s magic.

When he's finally able to get his foot unstuck, Sehun practically stumbles back in time. His momentary relief is short-lived as Siwon quickly gets behind him and wraps a strong arm around his neck. Sehun chokes as the arm tightens. He raises his hands to use his magic but when something makes an impact with his side, he freezes. They stay there for a moment and a million thoughts run through his mind. There’s an overwhelming heat like nothing he ever felt before. Siwon steps back, letting the boy fall into a sitting position. Sehun slowly looks down, widening his eyes at the blood at seeps from his side.

That’s when it starts to hurt. Really hurt. He swallows hard as he lifts his shirt, a new stab wound revealed. He grunts when Siwon places a foot on the boy’s chest, forcing him onto his back. He keeps his boot there as he reaches down. Sehun lets out a scream when the knife is roughly pulled from deep inside. He grips his side tightly, breathing heavily as he struggles from the weight. He pants and squints as Siwon brings his hands up. Water quickly fills around the air-user and he tries to concentrate. He tries to do what he had done every other time he’s been pinned like this. But this time is different. The water completely submerges him like a tight, bodysuit. He struggles but he can’t. He’s too tired all of a sudden; he feels trapped, pinned, and locked down. When he’s finally able to raise up a hand to fight back, his opponent takes quick notice.

Taking the knife before, Sehun lets out another scream of agony as it’s roughly stabbed through his palm, pinning his hand to the ground beneath him. He cries in pain, blood seeping from his wounds and into the water that surrounds him. Breathing becomes even harder when Siwon hovers over him and sits on his stomach. He stares into Sehun’s eyes, smiling as he catches his breath. With a hooded gaze, the pinned boy watches as the man on top of him raises his arm. A watery spike forms in the man’s hand. The same spike that’ll ultimately be the death of Sehun. With all of his options lost, he shuts his eyes tightly as he waits for the fatal strike; waits for it to plunge deep into his heart and chest. He chokes as the air begins to leave him and all of his wounds bleeding out. He can hear his heart pounding in his ears and he begins to feel himself lose consciousness.

Gasping, Sehun’s eyes shoot open as something thick and wet splashes against his face. He thrashes around as the water disappears, letting out a sharp wail at the knife still dug deep into his palm. He freezes when he no longer feels the water but that heaviness still on top of him. He looks up and meets face-to-face with Siwon; his eyes wide, mouth blood. There’s something sharp plunged deep inside the man’s chest. Siwon slowly slumps to the side, falling hard. Behind him, Suho stands, panting heavily. His eyes are watery, glazed, sad. His expression is full of anguish but he says nothing as he slowly kneels beside Sehun. “Don’t move,” He whispers, his voice heavy as he seems to hold back tears.

“G-get the...” Sehun coughs. “Get the knife, please.”

Nodding, Suho reaches over and grasps the hilt of the knife tightly. “Ready? On three,” He says.

“Okay,” Sehun breaths. “One...two-” His counting is replaced by another scream as the knife is violently yanked out. “Son of a !”

Suho smiles apologetically, tossing the weapon to the side. “It’s better if you weren't prepared and it’s done fast.” After helping Sehun sit up, the leader slowly stands and looks to his brother. He swallows hard and takes a step closer.

“Suho, his heart is still beating,” Sehun warns him.

Suho just shakes his head and stands over his brother. He stares down and watches as Siwon struggles. He lifts his hands but only manages a gentle splash against the leader’s boot. Suho begins to tremble as he kneels beside his brother, gently cupping his cheek. “I’m sorry,” His voice cracks and trembles. There’s a hint of deep regret. “I’m so sorry, Siwon.” He slowly falls to a sitting position as he keeps Siwon’s face in his bloody hands. “I didn’t want this,” He murmurs. “I never wanted this.”

Siwon laughs weakly, blood spills every time he coughs. It drips from his. “I-it was...bound to.”

“It didn’t have to,” Suho’s shoulder softly begins to shake as he sobs. Tears fall from his face, hitting the man beneath him. “I w-wanted…”

“Stop...crying, Junmyeon,” Siwon says wearily and there’s a sudden hint of tenderness. A brief weakness for his little brother. “It makes you...look…” Sehun closes his eyes as he listens. The man’s heart begins to slow, his breathing joining it in pace. “Weak,” He finishes. He whispers something to Suho before going silent. Sehun opens his eyes again, looking over. He watches as life leaves Siwon’s eyes, his head and body going limp. Suho shakes harder as he sobs seemingly painfully into his brother’s bloody chest. He screams into the fabric as he grips Siwon’s shirt desperately.

“I’m sorry,” Suho bawls. “I’m so, so sorry...”

Sehun slowly looks up as Kai approaches him, his expression tired and sad. He smiles softly and kneels down. “We...should leave him to grieve,” the wolf whispers as he helps his boyfriend up carefully. Sehun limps over to the leader, unsure what to say. He opens his mouth to say something to the wailing man but all words fail him. He weakly puts a hand on Suho’s shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. He allows Kai to lead him away, into the building and towards the entrance, where the other boys wait.

“Sehun!” Lay gasps, quickly running to his side. “T-there’s blood everywhere!”

“Um,” Sehun laughs weakly. “Not all mine. Most of it is b-but uh…”

“So, Siwon is…” Baekhyun trails off. Even from their position, they can hear their mourning leader. “Suho had...to do it, huh?” Sehun remains silent as Lay heals him.

“He’ll be okay!,” Xiumin reassures everyone or tries to. “He’s so strong. Emotionally and physically.”

“Yeah but to have to kill your own brother,” Chanyeol whispers. All of the boys stand there in silence for a moment. Sighing, the fire-user goes to the pile of dead bodies. “We’ll start without Suho. He’ll probably want a proper funeral for Siwon.” They all nod in agreement as they gather around. They watch as Chanyeol spits his fire, swallowing their deceased enemies in flame.

Sehun leans against Kai, closing his eyes the wolf wraps his arms around him. “I hope Suho will be alright,” he sighs.

“He will,” Kai whispers. “Give him time.”

“Yeah…” Swallowing hard, Sehun glances back near the direction of the training yard; Suho no longer audible. “Okay…”

-------------------

"You don't want to seem weak...do you, little brother?"