7.1

45 7 1
                                    

"I want to train"
was the thought Jisung had woken Minho up with that morning.

They had fallen asleep in the same infirmary bed after talking in hushed tones for long hours, a mixture of teases, stories and amused bickering.

Minho had to admit it had been a good time.

"Ugh what's happening to me..."

He had never let his guard down like this around anyone, not even Chan who he had known for literal years.

There was just something about Jisung...

He sighed.

Well, it hardly mattered now.
He had challenged him.

That made them rivals above anything else.

Minho tried to concentrate on that thought as him, Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin hiked to the field at the back of the mansion.

"Watching Jisung train can be useful, I can try to assest his strenghts and weaknesses better and..."

"We're here" Jeongin said then he sneezed.

"Bless you" laughed Jisung.

They were all huddled in heavy jackets but it was still freezing.

Upon seeing them leave Jeongin had insisted on coming along:

"You can't just activate Jisung's power without safety measures" he had said and Minho had been forced to admit he was right.

But he also knew Jeongin had his own reasons on top of this one.

The younger boy's finger slid his glasses back up onto his reddened nose and he inhaled slowly.

A gush of warmth hit them as a protective globe expanded onto the field.

"Woah..." Jisung looked awestruck:
"What happened?"

"It's my power" Jeongin explained:
"I'm basically in charge of protecting every single building or zone used by The Strays. It's useless in battle thought... the range is too large"

Minho looked at his face but found no resentment.
He remembered the chaos that had insued a couple of years prior when Jeongin had gone on a rogue mission on his own to prove he could.
It hadn't exactly gone well...

And since then Jeongin had remained at the mansion.
He seemed to have picked up multiple useful hobbies in his free time, thought.

"Let's go" Minho gestured and they left the range of Jeongin's bubble.

The second they stepped out the wind instantly picked up, freezing Minho's fingers. Jisung was nothing but a small figure, far away.

Jeongin grimaced with the effort of keeping up yet another barrier.
Part of him had to be constantly infusing energy in his power to make all the bubbles he had created work without fail. Minho didn't know how he could still function, but he seemed to manage.

"You ok?" he asked.

Jeongin ignored him:

"Minnie, translate"

Seungmin looked annoyed at the order for just a split second then his expression softened: it was Jeongin, after all.

"Tell him we're ready"

His attention soon switched to Minho:
"Do you know how he activates his power?"

"I knew it. He's actually here to study him..." Minho sighed:

"Well... as long as it helps..."

"I don't know for sure..." he said carefully as Seungmin delivered the message through one of his illusions:

"But I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with strong emotions"

"Mhh..." Jeongin hummed.

"Poison guy also managed to forcefully activate it by spraying him with some stimulant powder" he added because it felt important.

Far from them, on the other side of the field the first shockwave hit.

Jeongin started taking fast notes on his phone.

"What's that purple smoke?" he suddenly asked.

Minho shrugged.

"You're the science guy here Jeongin, I fear" joked Seungmin.

The younger squinted.

But before he could say anything else, a feral Jisung reached the perifery of the protective bubble and was now staring at them with his purple eyes.

"Minho" he said:
"Let me out"

"We're here too, you know??" Seungmin grumbled:
"He's obsessed with you, Min"

It was meant to be a tease but it sparked a realization in both Minho and Jeongin.

"Jisung..."

"....doesn't recognize anyone except..."

"me!"

"Minho!"

They said at the same time.

______________________________________

in the process of planning the final battle of this arc🤭

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