Devil(s) on My Shoulders

Chapter Eight

In their defense, Jimin and Hoseok had plenty of reason to worry about Yoongi's relationship.

Well... besides the whole fallen angel thing.

Jungkook was... notorious for how he came to power.

Several years ago, the former king of Hell announced he was stepping down. It made sense, he was aging and the work got harder as humanity got worse.

In any case, thus started an extraordinarily long bid for the throne.

The process is simple. Sort of a battle royale, a fight bracket deal. Two demons enter, one demon moves on.

They don't kill each other, that would be too messy (not to mention a bitch to replace all the lives lost). It's more like proving the strength of one over the other.

Demons were fairly simple, brutality and bloodshed were their idea of entertainment.

(Though, it makes sense. Hell is so boring, they have to come up with something to do.)

In any case, Jungkook fought tooth and nail (fang and claw, in Jimin's words) to be the last demon standing. He clearly had no issue decimating his own kind.

And he definitely didn't have an issue murdering angels.

Demons and angels had a long held rivalry, so long that most of the still-living ones weren't even sure where the rift came from. It was just generally assumed they were enemies.

They were accurate assumptions.

Jungkook was an expert when it came to taking down angels. His name was whispered in fear, in warnings to young angels.

So yes, there was good reason for Jimin and Hoseok to worry.

But their worry about Jungkook was nothing in comparison to the fear of Taehyung.

The right hand man was pretty aptly named, Taehyung did all the dirty jobs Jungkook wasn't willing to do.

There were many a dissenting voice when Jungkook initially took over. They were quickly silenced, left only with the letter V inked in blood on part of their body.

Taehyung was a fierce and unholy menace to the world.

Case in point, Jimin was carrying a package of vases into the store when he heard someone say, "Hello Jimin."

He shrieked (he was man enough to admit it) and dropped the package, cringing when he heard glass shattering.

"What is wrong with you? You scared me to death!" Jimin shouted. He hoped the noise would be enough to make Hoseok come running but he could get distracted by his process of watering the plants.

Taehyung merely smiled, pushing off the wall and walking (sauntering, really) over.

"If I wanted to scare you to actual death, I would. As it stands, you're still here, heart beating like a trapped rabbits." Taehyung mused. Jimin rolled his eyes, trying to scoot closer to the door. Taehyung stepped in front of him.

"What do you want, demon?" Jimin asked. Taehyung's amused look faded into a more serious expression.

"To speak to you. Warn you, rather." Taehyung said. Jimin let his shoulders relax just a little.

"What about?"

"I spoke to Jiyong about everything. He said he's been corresponding with one of the elders, like an 'ambassador'. I don't trust him." Taehyung explained. He plucked a stray flower from the floor, a rose. He inspected it, not seeming to mind the thorns.