I'm not sure if I need to rate this chapter M or not, there are quite a few elements of violence that may bother some people. Please read with discretion. 

~Lijah Han

Chapter 8 ~Papers in the Wind~

It wasn't the first job that Sehun ever did, but it felt like one of the more successful ones. Black soot and ash littered the small forest area Sehun now stood in; he was staring calculatingly at what remained of the Kapooka house he had just set aflame. Screams and shouts could be heard from within, pleads for help went unanswered and Sehun just stood there, a distance away, holding his sniper rifle and enjoying it all.

Some had tried struggling their way to the door of the house only to be shot down as soon as Sehun caught sight of them.

Not many tried.

Soon, the desperate pleas for a saviour ended and he glanced at the blackened frame of the house. As long as everyone was dead, that would be sufficient. Anyone whom he thought did something wrong, or any possible witness who could end the association. Anyone who might disturb the peace of what Sehun’s job was, got shot down.

The roof had collapsed in many a place and glass was shattered in all directions. With no one to kill the still blazing fire, there could be no possible survivors. Even the adrenaline rush of the desperate would do no good. The blaze was just too big. To be sure Sehun waited an hour, whistling something tuneless as he gazed sharply around making sure no one came from any direction.

When all sound and movement ceased, the crickets chirping and wind rustling the only remaining noise; Sehun stealthily crept up to the house, crouching low and peeking into the glassless windows. Anyone unlikely enough still to be moving would be shot on the spot. No survivors. No accidents. No mistakes.

Those were the orders of the Captain. The one in Charge. Sehun’s father.

An explosion rent through the charred house and Sehun smiled smugly even as the heat burnt his skin.

A muffled gasp made him whirl around quickly, making him crick his neck and angering Sehun’s fickle mood. A child, probably around nine or ten, stood there staring in shock, tears staining his eyes which were wide with fear and incomprehension.

“Wha-” he whispered, the tears falling quickly his hand clutching at his heart, his breath coming in short quick gasps.

“Wrong time wrong place, kid.” Sehun murmured his knife already steady in his hand and ready to plunge it into the boy’s heart.

The boy darted.

He didn’t get very far. Sehun grabbed his hair and yanked his head back ignoring the boy's fearful cries for Sehun to stop. Sehun took one look in the kid's eyes before he sliced the kid's neck, clean and efficient.

The boy dropped to the ground, his body limp and blood  seeping heavily from his neck. He was dead.

For a moment Sehun's mind saw a different body, a different child lying very obviously dead.

“Chihun...” he whispered, dropping to his knees and caressing the dead boys cheek. “Chihun!” Sehun shouted wishing for a response, suddenly back to when he himself was nine and helpless to assist despite the training he was put through.

Sehun snapped out of it angrily, feeling disgusted with himself for feeling something like empathy.  Sehun thought he had blocked that out. Forgotten that his brother had been killed. Apparently not.

He exhaled and held his head high, forcing himself to close off all his emotions.

“Sorry kid,” Sehun said, his voice cold and serious. “No accidents, no mistakes no survivors.”

Sehun walked calmly a few steps from the fallen boy and then bolted, his heart hammering heavily in his chest. Another explosion burst from the house a flame of fire erupting out of the already broken windows and showering Sehun with its heat, fire and more glass. Sehun’s skin bled and melted, but he paid it no mind, laughing humourlessly, falling to the ground, rolling around back and forth until the flames disappeared from his worn out body.

A sudden feeling of being watched made Sehun alert once more, despite the exhaustion nearly pulling him to the ground. His eyes roved through the trees. Was there another survivor that he had missed?

His eyes met with a pair of doe eyes. When Sehun realised they actually belonged to a human, he cursed. He pulled himself up and ran towards the boy, taking out the bloody knife, but Sehun's arm trembled as his wounds made it harder to hold up the heavy dagger. The other boy, obviously sensing the danger, scattered like a fearful animal.  

He was able to avoid all the trees with practiced ease, unlike Sehun, whose tired body ached with every branch that got into his way. Soon, the fire from the Kapooka house died away as Sehun got further and further from the house, the light died with it.

Completely lost, Sehun was forced to slow down, reaching into the dark hoping that he would manage to find the elusive boy.

"Yah!" Sehun screamed in frustration, but his voice echoed around, then returned to him unanswered. Sehun sat down right where he was, knowing this was a mistake. Knowing it would come back to haunt him. Knowing that if his father found out, he would be punished so severely, Sehun would likely never forget it.

"Jeongmal nappeun noma..." Sehun cursed, falling to his knees instead, breaking down into sobs. Giving up, Sehun started to make his way back to the fortress the association worked in.

Sehun crawled for hours, until finally he reached the door to his home, or more articulately, his prison. Ilhun was there to greet him, clicking his tongue in sympathy. Ilhun took Sehun into his arms, cradling him close, kissing at the wounds gently while Sehun cried like the child he actually was.

The sun was already up by the time Sehun had got home, and Ilhun didn't seem concerned that Sehun had made him wait. Ilhun took care of every burn and every scratch. With the bigger wounds, Ilhun was even more gentle, cleaning and bandaging Sehun so carefully it was no surprise the younger sibling had fallen asleep even as he sobbed incoherent nonsense passing out like a baby.

'Murderer...murderer...murderer...'

"ANDWAE!" Sehun bolted awake, his eyes wide and fearful as he looked around. Ilhun was there, hovered over him, a worried look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Sehun shook his head, his face white. Ilhun sat next to his dongsaeng, wrapping his arm around him comfortingly. Another boy was there with his brother, wearing glasses reading some official looking documents.

"That's Hong Sangtae. He works in the medical field with me." Sehun watched as he checked over Bokdong and Luhan, nodding his head and writing things down in a clipboard.

"Can you explain what you know about Kim Woobin,  and the instructions he would have received from your father?" Sangtae questioned, his clipboard poised as his pen hovered over the paper.

But Sehun shook his head, Ilhun Sehun’s hair, trying to calm him down. "Flashbacks?" Ilhun asked softly, frowning as Sehun nodded. "All of it?" Ilhun gasped.

Sehun nodded again, clutching at his stomach. "Right before I woke up...H-hyung..."

"Tell Hyung. What happened, Sehun."

"Hyung called me a murderer..." Sehun said the last thing quietly, as if he didn't want to hear himself say those words.

Ilhun though, had no response. He held onto Sehun while the other got his wits about him.

Sehun stood up and went to sit next to Luhan instead. Ilhun waved Sangtae off away from Sehun, and the other moved, sitting down in a chair next to Bokdong to watch progress.

"Later." Sehun mumbled, strengthening his voice. "I'll tell the story later."

Sehun laid his head down against Luhan’s thighs,  needing to feel the other's warmth. Within moments, Sehun was asleep again,  his hand in Luhan’s his cheek absorbing heat from the other.

~~~~~~

"I'm going to KILL him!" Zelo raged for the fifth time in less than ten minutes.

"Calm down! Sehun is on our side right now!  If you hurt him, your best bet for protection of Luhan basically goes out the window!"

"Why won't he tell us where Luhan is then??" Zelo yelled, venting his frustration and worry onto the older boy, who took it with quite a bit of dignity.

"Luhan will be alright. Don't you feel him to be so?" Yongguk tried, but Zelo refused to budge. He felt way too responsible for letting his brother go to a place alone.  

"Maybe we should meet with the other boys?" Yongguk whispered softly, cradling Zelo to his chest, the other enjoying the attention, and nuzzled into the strong chest of Yongguk.  Yongguk gently rubbed Zelo’s back, his hair. Zelo slowly calmed down, even though a tremour ran through him every so often.

"He'll be fine, okay?" Zelo nodded into Yongguk's neck, resting against the delicious smelling skin.

Yongguk lifted him up, gently rotating him to his back so Zelo could still nuzzle his neck. He sent a quick text to Tao saying they would meet at the smaller lobby of the hotel.

"What do you think they will say already?" Zelo’s muffled voice questioned curiously.

"Can't be sure, it might be nothing, and everything at the same time."

"They don't know where Luhan is either."

"Exactly."

The boys gathered together in the small lobby, pulling together a few of the chairs as Tao stood up clearing his throat.

"Zelo, is there anything you can tell us about Luhan that will help us?"

"He's probably going to shut down. If something really bad happened to him, he won't be able to talk. He won't be able to communicate, he won't be able to ask for anything or express what he wants. He may not even point or gesture. So if any of you are around him when I'm not,  just... keep an eye out for him. Make sure he isn't being hurt because of something he can't fix. It's almost as if he becomes deaf to the world, in a sense where he will live in his own world for awhile. Not that I would agree to leave his side once he's with me again, but just..."

"We understand," Xiumin murmured softly, while Yongguk squeezed Zelo's shoulders comfortingly.  

"There is a beach outside, maybe you want to relax at the ocean instead of sitting out here? We can take our phones along and wait to hear news." Chen remarked, glancing at the others. Zelo hadn't said anything but nodded his head agreeably.

The dusking sun had been casting shadows over the boys, creating dark shapes all over the boardwalk. Halfway to the beach they met the K boys.

"What's the plan did you find Lu-" Baekhyun started to say, but Chanyeol who was closest to him, jabbed him in the ribs.

"Hush." He whispered, but Zelo heard anyway, his ears colouring.

"I think it would be nice if all of us went together,  no?" D.O asked, glancing at Kai who hadn't said much since everyone had left him behind two times.

"Sehun is still awol I guess..." Kai muttered to no one in particular.  

"At least he found Luhan." Lay said, glancing at Zelo uncertainly.  

"I wonder why he won't say where he is." Lay whispered to Chen who nodded.

"It is a bit suspicious," Kris agreed.  

They reached the beach as the sun set.

Chen laid out a few big towels and everyone sat down, spreading out their legs to be more comfortable.

"Zelo, why don't you try to call Sehun again?" Tao suggested, leaning forward a bit trying not to wince. His wound hurt even more than that morning, and he felt as if it was completely for nothing.  Luhan had gone missing, and then found and taken somewhere by Sehun of all people.

Zelo, stared at his phone, but at the thought of having to call Sehun,  he changed his mind. Sehun, he knew, had enough sense not to keep it to himself if Luhan actually died.

"Let's wade in the ocean." Zelo said quietly, standing up from his spot on the towel. He stripped off his undershirt, and started walking slowly towards the ocean where the waves were lapping smoothly against the beach. But instead of stopping, Zelo kept walking deeper and deeper, seemingly too lost in thought or not with his sense.

"Whoa whoa!" Yongguk gasped, running quickly after Zelo, not bothering to take off his clothes. By then, the water had gone over Zelo’s head and he had started choking.

"Zelo! Yah!" Yongguk lifted him up pulling him away from the deeper waves. Zelo's face was wet, but Yongguk knew it wasn't just from the ocean water. He pulled Zelo close to him, kissing his forehead.  He suddenly felt extremely protective over Zelo, and refused to let go of him even after Yongguk had gently settled Zelo do