The sound of two swords clashing ricoched off the wall of the Training Room.

 

"Come on!" Kai hissed. "More force, Sehun! You can't beat your opponent with that excuse of a skill!"

 

Sehun wiped the beads of sweat down the sides of his face, his mouth in a tight line. They were there for a few hours now, just training their butts off.

 

"I'm trying, Kai." He defended. "But you keep forgetting that I'm only 2 months into this training. Cut me some slack!"

 

Kai scoffed, lowering his sword. "That's a lame excuse Sehun. In 2 months, I could easily defeat Kris in sword-training. And you know how good he is."

 

"You're just being cocky again." Sehun groaned. "I'm not like you, okay?"

 

"Well it's either you're better or worse than me." Kai smirked. "And it's obvious that you're not the former."

 

Sehun narrowed his eyes. Kai can be many things. He can be really caring and nice if he wanted. Charming too, especially with the ladies. Sehun had been a witness to that. But one thing is sure, Kai is not humble.

 

 "Bring it on pretty boy." Sehun gritted his teeth. And they started again.

 

 

 

 

 

In the far corner, Chen and Chanyeol chuckled at the scene. They had just finished their Judo training and were now resting on a bench with Xiumin.

 

"How long are they at it again?" Chanyeol asked.

 

Xiumin shrugged. "I lost count after the 3rd hour."

 

"He's going to chase Sehun away with that attitude of his." Chen commented, after sipping from his water bottle.

 

"Well we all know how Kai can be." Suho said, emerging from the Exercise Room along with Kris and Luhan.

 

The 3 looked up and gave space for their fellow teammates on the bench.

 

"I remember my first training day." Luhan said thoughtfully. "He gave me a broken arm."

 

The others laughed. They all knew that Kai was the most hardworking in all of EXO's Prime Guards. They all worked hard too, but Kai treated it like it was his energy source. He also pushed others to be the best Prime Guards EXO has ever seen. Perhaps too much.

 

"I seem to remember someone who was in near tears at the end of his 1st month." Kris mused.

 

Chanyeol's ears grew red, earning another round of laughter from the boys.

 

"But he threatened to confiscate my sweets if I didn't assemble the Light Ray 2000 in under 3 minutes!" He defended.

 

"You wouldn't dare!" Chen's face screwed up in mortification, pointing a finger at Chanyeol. A perfect imitation of him at that time.

 

"My mother will hear about this!" Xiumin joined in, standing up and stomping his foot just like how Chanyeol would.

 

Chanyeol pouted, crossing his arms across his chest and staring glumly ahead. "Real mature, guys." He muttered.

 

"Lighten up, Channie!" Luhan clapped a friendly hand on Chanyeol's shoulders. "It really is hard to assemble the Light Ray."

 

"I had trouble with it too." Suho added. "At least now, you could assemble it so well you could even do it blindfolded."

 

"Or in your sleep." Kris said. "Which reminds me not to give you anymore Halen wine during parties."

 

"Oh yeah. Last year's New Year party." Chen nodded. "How many glasses did you take, Channie?"

 

"Err. 6 glasses I guess." He grinned sheepishly.

 

"6 glasses?! More like 6 bottles!" Xiumin interjected. "And Halen wine's alcohol content is one of the strongest there is!"

 

"I still have nightmares about it." Luhan admitted.

 

"And my vision wasn't just the same after that." Suho said.

 

Chanyeol just smiled to himself.

 

Just then, Tao came bustling in from the Swords Room looking excited. But upon seeing Kai and Sehun still training, his face fell.

 

"Aaw damnit! Those two have been at it for hours!" Tao complained, dumping his bag and sword on the ground.

 

"Hey! Watch it!" Kris shouted, moving his feet away from the dangerously heavy bag and equally harmful sword. But Tao wasn't paying attention. He was too busy glowering unceremoniously at the two.

 

"I want to train too." He pouted. The others just shook their heads, smiling in amusement.

 

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be with Lay and Baekhyun?" Suho asked.

 

"Yeah. It's your schedule to patrol the city, right?" Kris said, raising an eyebrow at the young man.

 

Tao scratched his head. How was he supposed to weasel his way out of this one? The truth was, he was feeling lazy. Patrolling the dirty streets and dealing with troublemakers didn't appeal to him that day, so he pretended to be sick and  Lay and Baekhyun left without him.

 

But now, Kris was glowering at his irresponsibility. He can be intimidating at times, especially when he uses his "stare" on you. No one can blame him though. He's the leader of EXO-M Prime Guards and it's his duty to make sure everyone does his responsibilities.

 

But Tao isn't Tao for nothing. For one thing, he excels greatly in Martial Arts, so he's equally intimidating as Kris is. But he's also one of the few who can perfect the art of his ancestors back when there was still Earth: the aegyo.

 

He blew air in his cheeks and looked up at Kris.

 

"Uh-oh." Xiumin muttered under his breath.

 

"Brace yourselves." Luhan put his head between his knees, in an attempt to ignore the inevitable. The others followed suit.

 

"I wanted to come duizhang!" Tao launched on in full battle gear. Puppy dog eyes, irresistibly cute downturned mouth and impossibly high voice. "But I wasn't feeling really well!"

 

Kris' eyes went wide as saucers. Oh he was done for it. Everyone was. They just couldn't resist Tao's cuteness. They knew that they couldn't say no to Tao when he went all out. It was pure torture to them since they aren't supposed to tolerate it. But Tao wasn't finished yet.

 

"They said I should be a good boy and try to get some rest instead! So I stayed and rested." He said, batting his eyelashes. "But after a few hours I was feeling better, so I decided to train. But D.O was being very mean and wouldn't want to share the Valyrian 3.0 to practice driving together. So I ended up here." He gestured cutely at the Training Room.

 

"But then those two are hogging up the mats. There's no space for me to train!" Tao said with a final huff and stomp of his foot.

 

Chanyeol's cheeks were red from fighting the urge to giggle insanely. Suho's eyes bulged from their sockets, while Chen's eyes were blinking rapidly, in the hopes of erasing the image to keep him from gushing at Tao. The others just stared head on.

 

"J-just wait a little bit longer, Tao." Luhan, recovering from the shock, spoke first.

 

"Y-yeah. It won't be long 'til their d-done." Xiumin added, clenching his fists so he couldn't squeeze Tao's cheeks.

 

"Promise that you'll tell D.O off later?" Tao looked up expectantly at Kris.

 

"A-alright." Kris gulped.

 

Tao beamed at him.

 

 

Damn you, Tao.

 

 

 

 

 

Sehun summoned all his remaining strength and pushed an unsuspected Kai down on the ground. He positioned his sword at Kai's neck, the tip of it shining brightly under the lights of the Training Room.

 

"Dead." Sehun said. His breathing short and quick, but he was smiling proudly.

 

"Not bad."Kai smirked, recovering from his temporary shock. "Good job."

 

Sehun held out a hand to help Kai up and was now very aware of the cheers and yells their fellow teammates gave. They dusted themselves and walked towards the other Prime Guards with matching smug looks on their faces.

 

"So did you see it??" Sehun started excitedly. "I finally beat him! I finally beat Ka-"

 

"Finally!" Tao interrupted dramatically, grabbing his bag and sword. "I thought you'd never finish! Come on, Xiumin. Wanna spar?"

 

Xiumin just rolled his eyes, but also grabbed his sword and walked to the training mats with Tao. "Come on, Chen."

 

Kai was with Suho, Chanyeol and Kris. Discussing new techniques and training sets most probably. Sehun shrugged and turned to Luhan instead, his excitement still bubbling inside him.

 

"Hyung! Did you see it?"

 

Luhan smiled and patted the empty seat next to him. Sehun sat down and took the water bottle from Luhan's outstretched hands.

 

"Of course." Luhan ruffled Sehun's hair. "My cheer was the loudest of all, didn't you hear?"

 

The two close friends laughed and launched on a conversation. D.O joined them a little bit later, emerging from the showers.

 

"Not finished training yet?" He asked, sitting beside Luhan and Sehun.

 

"Just waiting for the others to finish." Luhan gestured towards Tao and Xiumin who were sparring with an amused Chen as referee.

 

"Oh crap." D.O muttered as he locked eyes with Tao. "Oh God, please no..."

 

"DUIZHANG!" Tao's voice boomed inside the room, causing everyone to stop what they're doing.

 

Kai winced, covering his ears from the sound. "Sheesh. Who would've thought that face of his could hold such a big voice."

 

"You're done for it Kris." Chanyeol and Suho sniggered at EXO-M's leader, who put on a grim face.

 

Tao came huffing towards the benches, his sword still in his hand. He paused in front of Luhan and Sehun and proceeded to drag a wide-eyed D.O towards Kris.

 

"Watch the sword, Tao!" Xiumin shouted, supporting a laughing Chen.

 

Tao ignored them, only focusing on the struggling D.O.

 

"Geroff me!!!" D.O's attempts to escape were useless. Tao's determination was no match for him. After a moment, Tao let go of him and proceeded to harrass his leader.

 

"Duizhang! Tell D.O to go with me to the Aircraft Training Room!"

 

D.O's eyes got even bigger as he ignored Kai's and Chanyeol's sniggers.

 

"What?! No way I'm gonna take you there!" D.O countered. "I just showered and the place is filthy!"

 

"-I wouldn't drag you in the first place if you just agreed to train with me earlier!"

 

"-Last time I checked, you didn't pass your Aircraft Test yet!"

 

"-Aaw come on! It was one mistake out of a hundred questions!! Can't you all let that go?!"

 

D.O pulled his hair in frustration. Turning to his leader Suho, he pleaded with his doe eyes.

 

"Suho, back me up here will you??"

 

Meanwhile, Sehun, Luhan, Xiumin and Chen were too busy to take part in the catfight.

 

"I bet 5 pieces of silver to Kris overcoming Tao's aegyo."

 

"Nuh-uh. That won't happen. 10 more to Tao getting what he wants."

 

"I raise 15 with Tao getting what he wants, but D.O not going with him."

 

"I'll add 15 to that with Tao getting what he wants, D.O coming with him, BUT only if he drags someone else too."

 

"DEAL."

 

And thus, the four waited for the verdict, their silver coins gleaming on the bench in front of them.

 

 

 

 

 

"To be fair, Tao got a 99% on his exam." Chanyeol said. "Just saying."

 

"And you should've let him go with you in the first place to prevent all this bickering." Kai turned to D.O.

 

"You two are supposed to be on my side!" D.O exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

 

"Let the leaders decide for us then." Tao said, looking expectantly at Kris.

 

Kris and Suho just shook their heads at their team member's arguments. They were Prime Guards, for goodness' sake. Not some babysitters.

 

"Give us a moment." Suho said, joining Kris in a corner.

 

 

Kai smirked. Just like many other nights, it was a routine for EXO's Prime Guards. Wake up, start training, bicker for a bit, do their scheduled rounds and sleep. Often, they meet with their seniors, Captain Bard, Grimm and Uchida, to discuss the latest security defense and offense tactics.

 

If their Captains could see them now, acting like children, they would surely punish them.

 

 

"Alright." Kris' voice broke Kai's thoughts, as he and Suho made their way back to the group. "We've decided."

 

The two arguing boys stood anxiously for the verdict.

 

"You'd think they're waiting for a death sentence." Chanyeol whispered at Kai.

 

"I'd almost believe them, if it weren't for those idiots flaunting their silver coins." Kai pointed a finger at Sehun, Luhan, Chen and Xiumin.

 

The two shook their heads amusingly and directed their attention to their leaders.

 

"We've decided..." Suho started.

 

"...since you are at fault of being a bad hyung..." Kris added.

 

"...and not taking care of your dongsaeng while he was recovering from his illness..."

 

"...you owe Huang Zitao an hour of driving lessons using the Valyrian 3.0..."

 

But the rest of the leader's statements were drowned by the cheers and cries of their fellow members.

 

"NOOOOO!" D.O slumped to the grounds, while Tao jumped up and down, pointing a finger at him and laughing.

 

"Darnit! I was supposed to buy a new pair of socks with that money!" Chen frowned, handing Xiumin his coins.

 

"There goes my savings for this week." Luhan sighed, dropping his silver onto Xiumin's outstretched palms.

 

"Aaw hyung!" Sehun whined. "Can I pay you back later?? I really need the money."

 

Xiumin laughed greedily. "No can do, Sehun. I have plans for this money."

 

"Like buying a year's supply of meat buns..." Sehun said under his breath.

 

"Wait! Wait! We're not done yet!" Kris shouted, momentarily pausing the celebration of some members.

 

"Since Huang Zitao shouldn't use his aegyo skills for his own benefit..."

 

"Hey!" Tao protested, but Kris paid no attention.

 

"He is to share his 1hour driving lessons with another member. D.O's choice."

 

"OH YEAH!!!" Sehun hollered, grabbing the silver from Xiumin. "I WIN!!!"

 

"B-But but but but-" Xiumin sputtered, looking at his empty palms. "Meat buns...."

 

Chen and Luhan just shrugged and made their way to Kris, Suho, Kai and Chanyeol, leaving Sehun counting his money.

 

"So who are you going to choose, D.O?" Chen asked.

 

D.O thought for a moment. "I choose Sehun."

 

"WHAT?!" Sehun almost dropped his winnings. "B-but I don't want to have driving lessons!!"

 

"Sorry Sehun." Suho apologized. "You need the extra lessons anyway."

 

"It'll be fun!" Tao said, his eyes glinting manically.

 

"I don't like the way he smiles." Chanyeol muttered to Luhan, who nodded.

 

"Angry Tao is dangerous."

 

"Come on! Let's get to the Aircraft Training Room." Kai chuckled, swinging an arm around a pouty Sehun. "I could teach you some pointers."

 

"But isn't it almost dinner time?!" Xiumin called after them, grabbing his things to join his other teammates.

 

"Keyword there is "almost"." Kris chuckled, pulling Xiumin and messing with his hair.

 

"Ow! Duizhang!"

 

The rest just laughed at the interesting turn of events.