There was a bang on the door.

CL and Jepp exchanged glances. “Did Min wake up?” he whispered to her, and she rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder. She slinked off to the door and stood her ground before opening it.

One of Zico’s mates stood before them. She knew him, but couldn’t remember his name. What was it? U – something? She remembered him. He was a trouble maker (as the rest of Zico’s gang were), always accompanied with either a devilish smirk or a mischievous grin. Today however, he looked completely serious.

“Zico sent me,” he said by way of explanation.

That was a surprise. Zico usually turned and ran when she came into view.

“Well, that’s -,” she started.

“Actually… it’s a message for Jepp,” he interrupted, peering behind her. CL turned to look at

Jepp and he raised his eyebrows, eyes wide. I didn’t do anything! his face screamed. “Zico told me to tell you to get back to the church,” the boy relayed to him. “Stat,” he added after a pause.

“What?” Jepp frowned. “Why?”

“He didn’t say,” the kid said. CL remembered his name now. U-Kwon. “Just to go there now. Oh, and he said you could come along,” he turned to CL and flashed what seemed to be a genuine, innocent smile.

“Don’t smile at me like that, I caught you stealing apples in Valera once,” she deadpanned at him.

The smile evolved into an impish smirk. “That’s right, you remember!” he laughed. “Now hurry up and let’s get going.”

-

Min was breathing hard as she landed in front of L, scythe splayed across her shoulders. She had –rather stupidly – dropped her katana in shock when BoA released herself from L’s bind, and as she watched him try to prevent the Hunter from getting to her, fear took over and overran every single function in her body. Her mind had screamed at her to run, to cry out, anything, but nothing was happening.

It was the idea of losing L that finally drove her to move. As BoA raised the blade, she had unsealed her scythe, ran forward, the tip into the roof and swung around the handle to disarm her. The wakizashi had flown out of BoA’s hand, sliding down the tiles and falling to the ground below. Now Min stared mercilessly up at the Head Hunter, her eyes glowing a fierce red.

“Don’t touch him,” she growled.

Before BoA could react, an arrow whizzed out of nowhere, heading straight for her back. She whirled around and cut it down as it reached her, but a second arrow embedded itself into the roof at her feet, promptly erupting in an explosion of smoke. Min had seen that arrow before; ironically, it had saved her from the very person she wanted to save right now. She knew then that Zico was on their side – out of sight maybe, but he was letting her know that he had her back. Without a second thought, she rushed forward through the smoke and swiped with one hand. As BoA dodged backwards, she caught the murderous look in the girl’s red eyes before the of a katana sheath appeared out of nowhere and caught her in the chest. Min let out a vicious snarl before throwing her straight off the roof with one single handed shove.

“L,” she breathed, dropping her scythe and hurrying back to him. Even if she hadn’t even scratched BoA, she had bought some time by getting her further away. Anyway, there was Zico to keep her enemy occupied.

L had flipped over, his chest heaving from the exertion. His blood was running over the roof tiles and splattering on the ground below, and as Min fell to her knees beside him she knew she would have to do something fast or he would die. “L,” she pleaded as his eyes turned to hers.

“Min,” he panted, managing a small but painful smile. His eyes had faded back to their usual dark colour. “Looks… like… this is… it.”

“No,” she shook her head, and her voice cracked on the word. “No. I won’t let you die, L. I won’t. I’ll take you to Narsha. She’ll heal you. She’ll be able to heal you.” She was babbling and she knew it. She lifted both her hands, sending threads towards him. Making sure that his body was completely straight, she stood him up and draped his arm around her shoulder.

“Min?” came a voice behind her, and the threads disappeared when she saw CL in her window, her eyes wide with shock. L moaned in pain from the sudden loss of pressure. “Min!” That was Jepp.

Min knew then that nothing would ever be the same again.

Everything she had worked for, tried so hard to seal away; everything was out in the open. She was slowly getting covered in L’s blood, there was broken glass everywhere, and the remains of weapons scattered around them. There was nothing left for her to hide. For a moment Min felt dizzy all over again, and a sick sense of relief came over her. Finally, the truth is out.

And then she caught the look on Jepp’s face.

It was a mixture of disbelief, of agony and shock. It was the look of someone who had been betrayed by the person they trusted the most and had everything thrown back in their face. His eyes were fixated on her, on the bloodied figure she held in her arms. Then his jaw clenched, and he resolutely looked away.

It hurt Min more to know that she had hurt him so badly that he couldn’t even look her in the eye.

This is all falling apart, she thought desperately, feeling the throes of helplessness beginning to close in on her. L was leaning heavily against her. She couldn’t think coherently anymore; everything was a tangle or thoughts in her head. Get L to safety, apologize to Jepp. Apologize to Jepp. Get L to safety. She could feel L lift his head, his eyes boring into her cheek. She could see CL beginning to climb out of the window. She could see Jepp’s hands clenched tightly at his sides.

What happened next would haunt Min forever after.

A roof tile crashed to the ground below, and before she could even turn around to see what was happening, before she could even react, L had straightened, pulled her into him and pressed a quick, hard kiss to the corner of her lips.

She didn’t have time to yell out in shock, in surprise, didn’t even have time to register how he looked or how it felt when he spun them around and splayed his hands out in front of him, sending Min away and into the wall, where the breath was jolted out of her.

All she could do was watch as BoA appeared behind him and drove her blade right through his chest.

-

“What’s your name? I’m L.”

L was smiling at her, his arms still held out in front of him.

“Isn’t this place weird? Let’s stick together, okay?”

A thin stream of scarlet trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were still on her.

“You might not care, but I do.” He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “I care about you and I don’t want you to die. Just obey them, okay? Can you do that?”

BoA pulled the sword out, and blood dribbled from the wound and dripped to the tiles.

“I loved you,” he whimpered, staring up into her face. “Why did you leave me?”

He swayed briefly, then began falling backwards.

“Because I didn’t want you to die.”

The bindings disappeared and Min launched herself from the wall, her fingers outstretched towards his. Her fingertips barely brushed against his as she blindly grabbed at him and missed. He disappeared over the edge of the roof and she heard the sickening thud as he landed on the ground below.

“We can run away,” he whispered. “Just the two of us. We can leave this place, this city, we could even leave the country. We can start somewhere fresh. Come with me, Min. We can leave everything behind.”

Just the two of us.

Just the two of us.

Just the two of us.

-

It took Min a few seconds to realize that the screams were coming from her.

“Min!” CL cried out as she watched her launch herself off the roof after L’s fallen body. Jepp was frozen beside her in shock, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the fact that she had been right about Min, or from finding out that L had loved Min all along. Either way, it didn’t matter anymore. “Jepp!” she ordered, and he snapped out of it. Diving through the window after her, they dashed along the roof and vaulted over the edge.

They landed directly between Min and BoA, sending clouds of dust into the air as they instantly crouched into a defensive stance. Min was cradling L in her arms, his blood staining the ground dark red and dripping from his fingers. She was whimpering wordlessly, and CL narrowed her eyes at BoA as she drew two knives from behind her. Beside her Jepp’s hair was already white, his fangs bared. BoA was looking decidedly less pristine, but there was no trace of blood on her and there seemed to be no change in her demeanor even after wounding a fellow Hunter. CL didn’t want to think that he was dead.

“I have no interest in you today,” she said indifferently, but was still vigilant enough to deflect the bullets the Jepp aimed at her. CL shot forward with knives raised, but BoA simply blinked and disappeared as she brought the weapons down and slashed through the furious whirl of white ash that was all that remained.

And just like that, it was all over.

-

“Oh,” CL breathed as she dropped down beside Min. “Oh, Min.”

Min didn’t reply, bent over L’s body with her forehead pressed tightly to his cheek. Jepp was standing a little away, and CL couldn’t read his expression. His hands were still clenched tightly at his sides. “Min,” she tried again, putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder, but Min only shook her head.

“Please leave us,” she said quietly, her voice muffled.

“I’m so sorry,” CL said gently, withdrawing her hand after a moment’s hesitation. “I really am.” Min raised her head and looked at her. Tears streamed from her eyes and spattered on to L’s cheek, cutting through the dirt and blood that stained it. She clumsily wiped it away with her thumb. “Is it raining?” she mumbled. She looked down at the boy in her arms, chest heaving and throat constricted. “I don’t want it to rain.”

“You’re crying Min,” CL whispered. “You’re crying.”

“Crying…” Min murmured, looking very much like a confused, lost child. Jepp wanted to reach out and hug her, tell her that everything was going to be okay, but when she dragged a hand across her eyes he noticed that it was smeared with L’s blood and it only made him grit his teeth more. Min, the girl who he had trusted with his life, was now nothing more than a stranger in his eyes.

But then she sniffed audibly and looked straight at him. He saw the grief and sorrow in the corners of , the hopelessness in her eyes, and his heart gave off a painful pang. How could ehe even think of abandoning her now?

He took a small step forward. “Min, I…” he started, hating the way his voice broke on her name, but she only turned away again.

“Please leave us.”

Jepp looked to CL for help. “Let us,” CL started, but Min shook her head violently.

“Please.”

“Let’s go,” CL sighed quietly and laid a hand on Jepp’s arm. He looked at her and she nodded forlornly. He sighed and followed her back to the church. Outside the Precinct the skies finally broke, wind blowing the drops of rain beneath the plate.

“I’m so sorry,” Min’s lip trembled as L stared up at her, the faint hint of a smile still playing on his lips. Tears spilled over her cheeks and on to his face as she clutched his hand in her own shaky one. “I’m so sorry, L,” she cried as sobs raked through her body. She brushed his hair away from his forehead and then gently closed his eyes so that it looked like he might be sleeping. “Please come back,” she whimpered, holding him close so that her body heat might transfer to his and he might wake up. “Please come back to me.”

She was crying loudly now as the wind picked up and sent rain soaking her to the skin and plastering her hair around her head. “Bring him back!” she screamed into the wind, past caring as her voice broke again and again, past caring that she had never believed in a god in the first place. “Please! I’d do anything if you just bring him back.” She hunched over him to protect him from the onslaught, but he remained cold and unresponsive.

Min stayed like that until the rain stopped and she finally pulled away, water dripping from her hair and his skin washed clean. It might have been minutes, maybe even hours, but she couldn’t care less. She would give all the time in the world to have those dark eyes looking back at her, seeing him smile and knowing that he only smiled for her. Raising her head, she blearily caught sight of the small patch of green grass that grew behind the church. CL had always said it was a miracle that it had survived. Sungkyu always said it was luck.

Now Min dragged L’s body over to the patch and laid him on his back. A light wind caused his hair to dance around his face, and she quietly laid down on her side next to him, her forehead once again pressed to his cheek.

“I would have left with you,” she whispered to him, intertwining their fingers together. “I know that now. I’d go anywhere for you. Anywhere.” A tear escaped the corner of her eye. “I… I’d do anything for you.” She raised her head and kissed him softly on the cheek, pressing her nose up against it. “I love you, L. I love you.”

He stirred slightly but said nothing, seemingly lapsing back into slumber almost immediately. However, his fingers curled tightly around hers and she swore she felt him smile against her.

“Goodbye.”

She repeated the word over and over until her voice was nothing but a ghost of a whisper, until all she could do was mumble wordlessly, soundlessly as she held him close.

 It was Sungkyu who found her.

As the sky streaked pink and orange she was urgently shaken awake. “Min?” came an anxious voice. “Min!”

“Huh?” she looked up blearily, realizing that there was a blanket draped over her. Jepp or CL must have come during the night. Sungkyu stared back at her, slight relief washed over his face that she was alive. “CL told me you were out here. What are you doing?” he demanded. “You’re soaked!”

And then he caught sight of the still figure that she was sprawled over.

“Oh, Min…”

Min swallowed, pushing herself away from L. His body was already hardening slightly, his skin pale. He was warm where she had slept on him throughout the night, but already the warmth was fading from him. She smoothed back his hair again. The rain had washed away most of the blood and dirt from his face, leaving his skin smooth. He looked as if he could be asleep. Sungkyu laid a hesitant hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Min’s face crumpled and she threw her arms around Sungkyu’s neck. He stiffened, but obligingly patted her awkwardly on the back as she cried and cried and cried.

“This is all my fault…”

“No it’s not.”

“If I had just killed her instead of hesitating…”

“There was nothing you could have done, Min.”

“I killed him!”

At that, Sungkyu aggressively forced her away and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. “Don’t say that,” he said in a low threatening voice. “Don’t ever say that. You have never ever killed someone you love and you never will. Do you understand?” Min stared at him. “I said do you understand?”

She nodded dumbly, body jerking with hiccups. Sungkyu released her and sat down beside her, staring at his hands. He didn’t attempt to comfort her again as she cried beside him, but his presence was comforting enough and she didn’t push it. “I never got to tell him I loved him,” she whimpered when the worst of the sobs had subsided.

“I think he knew.”

After a while, Sungkyu broke the silence. “I know this is hard for you and I know how much it hurts, but I want you to know that revenge is not what you’re looking for. So don’t make it your target, okay?”

Min turned to him, and he was taken aback at the ferocity in her eyes, at the angry tears that spilled over her cheeks. “I’ll kill her,” she declared, and her eyes flashed silver. Her voice was dangerous. “I’ll find her, and I’ll kill her.”