“We understand.”

Mira stepped backwards in surprise at the sudden voice. She stared back at the 5 boys before her and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “What?”

“We understand how you feel,” Baekhyun clarified as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“We get it now,” Kyungsoo continued with a blank face. “So we won’t be trying to get you to come with us anymore. And… and we’re really sorry that we tried to force you to come with us without thinking about it from your perspective.”

Mira stared at him with a blank expression, unable to register everything he had just said right away. They had spent the last few days trying tooth and nail to get her to agree to go, and now they were giving up – and apologizing to boot. “But your… mission.”

Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders ruefully, “There are still 5 other Ultimates out there. Maybe we’ll be able to save the world without a complete set.”

“Are you sure?” Mira asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Look, we’re saying that you’re free, so why do you keep questioning it?” Kyungsoo snapped impatiently. His eyes widened with realization as to who he was talking to, and he quickly bowed, “Sorry, Ultimate.”

“Mira,” Mira responded after a brief pause.

Kyungsoo glanced up at her with a confused expression, “What?”

“My name is Mira,” Mira nodded, a small smile forming on her face. She nodded to him and Suho, “Both of you guys keep calling me Ultimate, and it’s getting on my nerves. I’m a human too, and a pretty ty Ultimate if we really think about it. So call me Mira.”

*** 

“You think the council is going to be angry with us?” Sehun asked thoughtfully as he kicked his legs up into the air.

Jongin shrugged as he tucked his hands behind his head to stare up at the cloudy sky, “It’s not like they can really do anything about it.”

“They can fire us,” Chanyeol pointed out as he tapped his chin with his forefinger. “They can banish us from the guild. They can have us-“

“You’re not helping, giant,” Kyungsoo muttered as he smacked Chanyeol on the back of his head. He plopped down beside him with a blank expression on his face and plucked the grass in front of him. “If she doesn’t want to come then she shouldn’t have to come.”

“You know, behind that devil exterior of yours, I think you’re actually a really nice guy on the inside,” Chanyeol grinned as he wrapped his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. Kyungsoo had Chanyeol wrapped in a head lock within a second.

“Do you want to die?” Kyungsoo growled into his ear.

“M-Mercy, mercy,” Chanyeol pleaded as he struggled to get out of Kyungsoo’s tight grip. He inhaled a deep breath of air once he was released and pounded on his chest. “Your pits smell like , Kyungsoo!”

“Yeah, well you don’t smell all too great either,” Kyungsoo shot back with a dark glare.

“It has been a while since we’ve all properly cleaned up,” Suho stated thoughtfully. He turned to Mira who was crafting a new weapon on her work table, "Is there a place we can shower, Mira?"

"Yeah, I’m starting to convulse whenever I sniff Chanyeol," Jongin pretended to gag.

"Hey! I don't smell!" Chanyeol cried out in protest. To prove his innocence, he raised his arm and took a deep whiff from his armpit. He paused momentarily and let out a quiet choking sound before rephrasing his defense, "I don't smell that bad."

"Yeah, you guys can shower down by the pond," Mira nodded, more concentrated on creating her sword than on them. She pointed in the general direction of the pond, "Baekhyun should knew where it is.”

Although it wasn't her intent, Baekhyun’s face flamed a bright red at her words. He jabbed Chanyeol sharply in the ribs when the taller let out a round of obnoxious laughter.

"Do you remember the way, Baekhyun?" Suho asked, patting the others shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah," Baekhyun muttered under his breath. He then added in a quiet huff, "How could I not?"

"Try not to get eaten while you're there," Mira called out as they began to make their way to the pond. She glanced over at them uneasily, and before she could even turn to Haiku, he let out a loud grumble.

"Fine! I'll take them, alright?!" Haiku exclaimed as he reluctantly stalked off the table.

Mira gave him a small smile, "Thanks KuKu!"

"I hate you," Haiku shouted out in return as he began to fly after the boys. He paused after a few seconds and glanced over his shoulder at Mira as an afterthought. He let out a sigh and quickly flew back to pat her gently on the head with his small hand, "I'm just kidding, I don't hate you."

Mira smiled cheekily back at him, "I know."

Haikus eyes narrowed down at her and he let out a muttered, "Brat", before flying after the other boys.

Mira laughed quietly to herself as she resumed her word crafting together the sword. She was trying to finish it before the boys left as a present for Jongin. He had wanted her handmade weapons for his own, so she decided that it wouldn't hurt to put together a goodbye present for when they left. They would probably never see each other again, so she figured it would be a nice momento to remind them of their experience with her and Haiku on the island.

She let out a satisfied sigh of content once she finished making the grip of the sword. It was at a nice size, and she believed that Jongin would appreciate her extra efforts of making it clean and simple. She would melt down the metal and pound out an actual blade tomorrow, so she decided to call it a day.

Mira stretched her arms high above her head and rotated her neck to get rid of the kinks. She glanced in the direction the boys had left to shower, and frowned at the sun that was almost about to set. They were taking quite a while to return.

Just as she was about to head off to see what was holding them up, she spotted the group beginning to make their way back.

"Mira!" Haiku practically screeched as he shot towards Mira at lightning speed. He flew right into her shoulder and crumpled down onto the table beside her. "It was horrible!" He exclaimed as he sobbed loudly into his open palms.

Mira let out a soft chuckle and gently the top of Haikus head with her finger, "What happened Ku?"

"They were so rowdy and loud and they got my wings wet!" Haiku wailed as he kicked his foot against the wooden table. "I hate boys!"

"Excuse you, we're men," Chanyeol sniffed.

"The shower was very nice, Mira. Thank you for the suggestion," Suho bowed politely once he arrived.

"Why can't you all be like Suho," Mira sighed, clicking her tongue against the roof of when Jongin slapped his wet towel against Sehun’s back.

"Ew, gross, how could you even suggest such a thing?" Chanyeol shuddered at the thought. He stared over at the elder and shuddered once more as confirmation. He waved the other boys over to a sunny spot so they could all properly dry off.

“Mira! My wings! They’re going to get all moldy!” Haiku wailed as he tried to dry them off with a towel. “I’m never going to be able to fly again!”

Mira rolled her eyes at how over dramatic he was being and helped him dry off his damp wings. “You should have known better than to get them wet.”

“It’s all their fault!” Haiku sniffed as he waited for Mira to dry off his wings. “Boys are so dumb!”

“You’re a boy,” Mira reminded him with an eyebrow raised from amusement.

“I’m a fairy before I’m a boy,” Haiku muttered, offended that she had classified him in the same group as those beasts.

Mira stilled at his words, her face falling at the memory, “Yeah, you’re a fairy…”

Haiku immediately tensed at her words, knowing exactly what was going through her mind, “Don’t think about it, Mira.”

“I’m not,” Mira responded as she began cleaning up her work space. “I just… I