~Chapter Twenty-One~

Thanks

Kai's POV~

“Shh...He's sleeping.” I shush Minho who bursts into silent tears. Taemin's blood is soaking my weak body and his warmth cease to exist. The dozens of arrows remain sicking from his body in various areas, still puncturing every vital area. “Let's him rest...He must be tired.” I close my eyes and lay next to him. He'll never wake up.

I open my tired eyes and sit up slowly. My past life was so weak, so useless. Why did I become crazy? Why did I become mentally ill and lose all of my ability to protect my hyung? If I was in the right mind and if I was there in time...would he have lived? Would our fate not be like this? Now that I am a demon and I am back to my normal state, I will do all I can. Every night I would see that memory. My mind will forever remind me about my uselessness, about all he has done to protect me. He protected us all. Now it's my turn to protect him. This is the least I can do to repay my debt I owe him before.

I stand in front of Joon hyung's door and knock quietly after looking around, making sure no one was here to witness us exchanging information. “I knew you would come by here.” Hyung says and lets me in, gesturing for me to sit down. “What is it that you want to tell me?”

“We need human Minho to get captured. And whatever it takes, I must die after our General draws his last breath.”

Taemin's POV~

Kai has told me to return by Minho hyung's side. He is injured and the demons are out to get him. My mission is to capture him and in order to keep both of us living, I must do so. Minho hyung needs to get captured and get closer to the demon aura, which lets him balance out his powers. By getting the human Minho and the demon Minho hyung together, they can become the angel form, bringing both power and blanace to the angel army and Heaven and Hell.

“Minho hyung, I'm coming in.” I say and open the door. Minho hyung smiles at me and pats the seat next to him. His left shoulder and arm is bandaged and pasted on with magic- must be Key hyung's doings. He doesn't look too hurt, but I can tell he must have passed out earlier.

“Did anyone else see you?” He asks me. I shake my head, making him smile even more. “They were thinking some stupid things. They were trying to make up a whole bunch of scenarios of what you may be. I had a feeling that they were going to think you weren't on our side.”

“And what did you say hyung?” I ask him with a grin.

“I got angry and yelled at them. I told them that I will always trust you.” He says quickly, almost as if he was afraid I wouldn't believe him.

“Thank you hyung, for believing me.” I hug him. His body stiffens and he lets out an awkward chuckle.

“You're my dongsaeng whom I have been through thick and thin, of course I believe in you.” Just a dongsaeng? Is that really what your heart is telling you? “Erm...” He clears his throat. “How did you recruit Kai?”

“How did you know about him?” I act innocent.

“Oh, on the day of the assassination and when I got injured, I met him. He sure seems like...a nice guy.” Minho hyung seems to be afraid to meet my eyes. He constantly looks around and fumbles with his bandages. Jealous maybe?

“Hyung, you do know that I am acting as a spy for our side right?”

“Bwoh!? You are?” Minho hyung gasps. “Why hasn't anyone told me...” He grumbles under his breath.

“Yes hyung, I am. Kai was assigned as my subordinate in the demon side, and fortunately, he is willing to help.”

“How can you trust him?” Minho hyung asks almost too quickly.

“Hey, didn't you just tell me he seemed like a nice guy?” I snap back at him jokingly, making Minho hyung blush from embarrassment.

“I-I-I w-was just-”

“I'm kidding hyung.” I smile and playfully punch him uninjured arm. I feel a pair on eyes on me. “Who's there?” I shout and sit up. Minho hyung stands up as well and pulls out his sword. He has just learned how to summon it not too long ago. Thunder pops out from behind the shadows and runs out- he's luring one of us. “Minho hyung, can you go chase after Thunder? I need to go back to the demon side in case he goes and tattles on me.”

“Alright.” Minho hyung nods and we both dash out of the SHINee headquarters. “Taemin-ah.” He calls me as we both face each other's backs.

“Yes hyung?” I turn my head back slightly, just to catch a glimpse of his back.

“You won't ever betray us right?” He asks after a great pause.

“Never.” I say confidently and charge towards the gates.

Minho's POV~

“Never.” Taeminnie confirms and runs off. Hearing this, my heart is at ease. It's not like I ever questioned him, but after hearing Onew and the rest feel bothered, I felt uneasy. Hearing Taemin telling me this erases all of my worries. I dash forward and chase after the demon. I throw the sword in front and it sticks to the tree, right in front of the running demon.

“State your name and reason for spying on us. Do you have bad intentions?” I ask the demon loudly, making sure he can hear me. The demon turns around after plucking my sword off the tree. He tosses it to me with a grin and I catch it with my uninjured arm.

“The name's Thunder. I am Lee Joon hyung's dongsaeng. I am here to test you.” He says, summons his weapon, and charges. Luckily, I was on guard. I whip out my sword and our weapons clash, creating sparks. I push forward and he swiftly spins, escaping the attack. We exchange a few more moves and he raises his hand, gesturing for us to stop. He nods and smiles at me. “I do not have bad intentions.” He finally says and sits down.

“Care to tell me anything before you go?” I sit down as well, now off guard.

“I am very jealous of you.”

“Wae?”

“Even though you are weaker than most of them now that you are in this state, you still are able to protect the ones you care for. I, on the other hand, can only cry and watch those around me lose their lives. I just wish that I can be able to live in happiness one day. I hate the demons, but ironically, I am one. Unlike you, I was never given the chance to be an angel. Giving others blessings and fighting to protect love instead of territory. I wish I were able to live a different life, with a different fate.”

“I'm sorry.” That was all I can say. I rarely remember my past and aren't even close enough to him to comfort him. I simply place my hand on his shoulder and let him cry.

“Mir. I bet you have met him.”

“The demon that Taeminnie counterattacked with his own arrow?”

“Yes, that kid.” He gives a sad smile. “He was a great dongsaeng. He tried to help you guys as well. He tried his best to hide Joon hyung's secrets-”

“You know that he is our spy?”

“And I know it very well.” He nods solemnly. “At first all of us hated him. We felt betrayed. We felt like he was abandoning us and wanting to escape his damned life. Without us. After a long period of time, we spied on him and he simply let us. We soon discovered love. We saw his love with Onew hyung. We saw your love and Taemin's. We even saw the love between your other two friends- the healer and the fighter.”

“Key and Jonghyun.” I correct.

“Yeah them. We later accepted his love for Onew hyung and we prayed for him. We prayed that he can have a happy ending- unlike us.”

“You can have one if you tried.” I add.

“Mir is dead. The general killed him for not telling him about Joon hyung. Now, I have nobody. The others have died long before us in the battles...now it's only Joon hyung and I...and not too long after this, he will be the only one left.”

“You're not planning to die are you?” I ask in shock.

“Kill me Minho. That's all I ask of you. Even though we just met, I want you to do me a favor and kill me. This is what I can do to help you all.”

“What are you saying? I can't kill you! Not after what you have told me.”

“I never hated angels and never despised humans. The only reason I would follow orders is to keep my friends alive. We all were once humans and we could have lived happily. If our fate wasn't already set then-”

“If you try, you can escape it.”

“If you can escape fate by trying, then it simply isn't fate that you escaped.” He stands up. “My friends and I became demons because we were vital pawns of this war. This fate was given to us before we were born...and I would like to make use of it. If you kill me, it will show the general that you aren't that weak. Because of this, he won't kill you off. If he discovers any weaknesses, he will kill you, no questions asked.

“You're doing this to give us a happy ending, but you also deserve one.”

“I can't accomplish that if the demons are still in power. Please kill me and give me credit for helping the angels winning this battle.” He begs and takes my blade and points it at himself. “All you have to do, is step forward.”

“I can't-”

“Please.” He closes his eyes and my head nods unwillingly. “Thank you.” I step forward and my sharp blade pierces his chest. Blood spills out of his mouth and he falls down. I yank the sword out and catch him. He's already dead.

“When this battle is over, you'll be one of the first people I thank.”