From the Soul to the Song - Verse Fifteen
From the Soul to the Song
Verse Fifteen
Warm afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window; coupled with the light breeze it gave the room a wonderfully pleasant feel. This was the time when Donghae had found he enjoyed being in his room the most. It was wonderful to be able to simply relax in the sun, even more so if one or more of his Singers could join him.
This particular afternoon, Kibum had flopped on the bed beside him. What had started as quiet conversation had soon turned to friendly touches and only escalated from there. It was as if Kibum was trying to build a slow burning fire within him, and Donghae loved every moment of it.
When they were like this, with Kibum hovering over him touching him gently and spreading light kisses against his skin, Donghae could nearly drown in the emotion rolling off the man. His affections were sprinkled with a cool crispness that Donghae found he loved in complement with the afternoon sun. He had never thought that he would be able to feel what someone else was feeling this vividly, but as Kibum’s hand slid along his skin, he couldn’t say he minded.
“Hey Donghae, I just got done with,” Donghae had barely heard the door to his room open, but he was pleased to hear Eunhyuk’s voice. “Practice,” the other man finished hesitantly.
“Hyukjae,” Donghae murmured, turning his head to look at the man in the doorway. “I’m glad you’re here.” He held out the hand that wasn’t hidden under the fabric of Kibum’s clothing, indicating his desire for Eunhyuk to join him.
Kibum let a sort of growl rumble forth. He pulled both hands away from Donghae’s body and instead used them to turn the other man’s face and hold it still while he delivered a passion filled kiss to Donghae’s lips. Small noises of pleasure echoed from Donghae’s throat and he arched his body up into Kibum’s, wrapping both arms around the man to pull him closer.
Before the kiss could become what Donghae wanted it to be, Kibum pulled back. “I have to go work on some things,” he told Donghae quietly as he gently untangled the man’s limbs from around him. “I’ll be back later.” Kibum placed a brief kiss on Donghae’s forehead and climbed from the bed before Donghae could protest.
Kibum straightened his clothing before striding to the door. There he gave Eunhyuk a look that made the other man swallow thickly and take a step back. Without saying a word, he brushed past and out into the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” Donghae asked him, worry filling his eyes.
Eunhyuk cleared his throat. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” He shut the door quietly and moved over to join his Weaver on the bed.
“Really?” Donghae asked, not convinced.
“Really. It was just a long day training,” Eunhyuk replied in what he hoped was a convincing voice.
“Really?” Donghae brightened. “How is that going?”
“Good.”
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
“So this is it. The final test for you all,” Chanita told them the next afternoon. She had led them to a clearing that they had never been to. On one side Super Junior had assembled. On the other DBSK and SS501 stood. Between them, Chanita paced, twirling a dagger in her hand. “If you pass this test then your training is complete and you are ready.”
“So let me get this straight,” Leeteuk spoke up for his group. “All we have to do is defeat them,” he gestured to the ten men across the clearing, “in hand to hand team combat?”
“I wouldn’t really call it hand to hand. You can do anything you would like to beat them, just win. A person is out when their opponent would have landed a killing or incapacitating blow. Your goal is to exterminate the entire opposing team.”
“How hard can this really be,” Shindong said lightly. “We’ve gotten pretty good.”
Chanita smiled secretly. “This is no holds barred gentlemen. Anything goes. Everyone set,” she didn’t wait for the confirming nodes, “You may begin.” The moment she spoke she vanished from the field and several teams connected their Songs.
The more experienced men immediately leapt into action and began weaving. For their part, Super Junior had barely managed to create weapons before the opponents were on them. The battle, if it could be called that, quickly dissolved into mass confusion.
Henry was counted out by a blade to the throat before he even began to play his violin. Jungmin offered him a friendly smile before darting away to deal with someone else.
Ryeowook was the next out, caught off guard by Yoochun, who had suddenly appeared behind him and held a knife to his throat. Zhou mi nearly followed but he managed to catch Junsu’s blade with his own and turn it away before swinging into action again. Yoochun had then quickly turned to Yesung who was ready for him.
The next to join their fallen members on the sidelines was Donghae. Yunho had ran by sending a gout of flame Donghae’s direction. He had thrown up a wall of mist that dampened it enough that it had sputtered out by the time it would have reached him. He had been getting ready to turn his attention elsewhere, when he had felt the cold barrel of a gun against the back of his neck. “Got you,” Hyunjoong’s amused voice told him who his attacker was. He turned slowly to see Eunhyuk with Jaejoong standing over him with a gun pointed at his head.
Without looking Hyunjoong lifted his other hand and pointed another gun at Kibum who had been silently trying to approach. “I don’t think so. Your Weaver is dead so you don’t even have those weapons anymore. You are all out.” Kibum cursed and stormed off the field.
In short order, Siwon had joined the ranks of the dead, having been caught off guard while trying to defend Heechul. Heechul and Hankyung had followed soon after due to the older man’s temper. From there it went steadily downhill and only took a few more minutes before every member of Super Junior was down and not a single member from the other team had fallen.
“Well that took less than five minutes,” Chanita told them as she reappeared clapping. “I think that may be a new record for the fastest loss.”
“We are obviously ill prepared,” Heechul snarled, irritated.
She walked over to him and smacked him upside the head in reprimand. “Do you think the Dark Ones will care?” she asked as Hankyung held the man from leaping at her.
“No,” Leeteuk said seriously. He stood and brushed off his pants. “We will go again.”
Chanita nodded in approval. “Very well, to your own sides.”
The second time ended much like the first, with the exception that someone had managed to catch Yoochun off guard and put him out of the game as well. The third time took a bit longer to come to a completion and this time Super Junior managed to take out the entire Earth team with them.
The fourth time they lasted nearly fifteen minutes before it looked evident that they would be losing this one as well. Kyuhyun, one of only five members left, darted back to Yesung’s side. “Yesung,” he called as he shot a blast of air at Junsu, upsetting the other mans attack. “I need to see like you can.”
Yesung nodded for a moment and sent him a quick Weaving. With new eyes Kyuhyun got to take in half of the field before he was caught and ‘killed’. As the members spent a few minutes trying to strategize for their fifth attempt Kyuhyun stepped up to Yesung. “As soon as we start can you make it so that I can see again? I need to check something the whole fight.” Yesung simply nodded his agreement.
By the time the sun began to set, they had attempted and lost their tenth trial at the mock battle. “I think that is enough for the night,” Chanita told them. “Tomorrow you have off to plan, and then the next day we will go again.” Dismissed, several groaning men climbed to their feet.
“No hard feelings?” Yunho asked them, as the three groups headed back to their dorms together.
Siwon laughed and patted him on the back. “Why should we have hard feelings? You are all clearly better than us and deserved to win.”
Heechul glared. “You scorched my hair.”
Yunho smirked. “Sorry princess.”
The already irritated Heechul snarled. “I’ll show you princess!” He lunged at Yunho and Hankyung caught him about the waist, pulling him back and firmly against his body.
“Heechul,” Hankyung said simply as he shot Yunho a look of warning.
Heechul cursed under his breath and elbowed Hankyung in the ribs. Once the Chinese man had released him, he stormed off towards the dorm.
He wasn’t the only one in a bad temper once they returned home. As soon as he was in the door, Kibum kicked a cushion across the room with such force, several of the members were surprised that it didn’t explode in a cloud of fluff on impact.
“Kibum, what’s wrong?” Donghae asked, upset by the show of anger and the emotion rolling off Kibum.
“What’s wrong?” Kibum replied. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. We kept loosing again and again and you want to know why?” he declared as he whirled to face them. “It’s because someone is completely useless on the battle field that is why.”
Eunhyuk swallowed and took a step backwards from Kibum’s anger that was clearly directed at him.
“Kibum that isn’t fair,” Donghae replied. “He’s never done this stuff before. He is doing a lot better.”
Kibum laughed bitterly, narrowing his eyes at Donghae. “Well that is just grand isn’t it? Maybe someday he’ll actually be of some worth on the field, probably at the same time that he becomes some worth in your bed.” Donghae’s eyes widened at his words, but he was powerless to say anything in response. “Since you seem to prefer him, I’ll just leave!” Kibum didn’t give them a chance to respond before he turned and stormed to the safety of his own room.
Donghae immediately released a pain filled cry and crumpled to the floor. Eunhyuk, with tears in his eyes, knelt and pulled him close. “It hurts Hyukjae,” Donghae whimpered into his chest.
“I know I’m sorry,” Eunhyuk murmured, clutching the man tighter.
“Not your fault,” Donghae replied softly.
Then it was as if the rest of Super Junior, who had watched the entire scene unfold, suddenly awoke from their shocked daze. “It’s alright Donghae,” Leeteuk soothed as he moved forward.
“I’m going to kill him,” Heechul hissed as he stormed off after Kibum.
“Heechul,” Leeteuk called fruitlessly. He shot a desperate look to Hankyung who nodded and followed the other man down the hall. He was about to start handing out orders when Yesung released a small cry and fell to his knees.
Ryeowook was immediately beside him. “Yesung?”
“To loud. It’s all too loud,” he reached for Ryeowook who immediately came closer to offer his touch as well as his Song as comfort.
Leeteuk suppressed the need to panic and carefully stood. “Kangin, get Donghae to his room,” he ordered. He waited until the other man had nodded and carefully lifted Donghae into his arms before continuing.
“Zhou mi, can you and Ryeowook get Yesung to his room? That should help,” he received nods and they carefully got to their feet. “Siwon, go make sure that Hankyung hasn’t been killed. Sungmin, Shindong, Kyuhyun, and Henry please go make us some dinner.” There were collective nods and the men shuffled off to do as ordered.
Leeteuk shifted to the living room and sank down on one of the chairs with a wince. He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. What was happening to his family?
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
An hour later, food had seemed to make everything seem a bit brighter. Those that had been able, had gathered together to eat a silent meal. Leeteuk had then personally delivered dinner to Kibum who had simply nodded his silent thanks.
Donghae’s room had been next. He found him curled together with Eunhyuk in the middle of the bed. Both of them seemed to be sleeping soundly. Leeteuk left the food on the side table for the both of them, in case they woke up and found themselves hungry.
His next stop had been Yesung’s room. He had been a bit surprised to find Ryeowook and Yesung lying together on the bed, Zhou mi had left sometime earlier. Ryeowook was reclining comfortably on a mass of pillows. Yesung was settled between his legs with his head on Ryeowook’s bare stomach.
Ryeowook offered Leeteuk a soft smile, as his fingers continued to run through Yesung’s hair. “It helps him feel grounded. My Song is easiest for him to hear there,” Ryeowook explained quietly.
Leeteuk nodded. After the incident several nights ago, Ryeowook had informed him of the change in Yesung. Leeteuk was clueless what to do, but he couldn’t fault them for doing whatever seemed to work for the man. He placed food for them both beside Ryeowook and received quiet thanks in return.
Now that his rounds were done and no one was in immediate danger of a break down, Leeteuk allowed himself to feel what he had been ignoring. Immediately pain flared up sharply and he gasped. He spent a moment leaning against the wall, trying to let his mind acclimate to actually having nothing to focus on but the pain.
For a moment he thought of going to the bath that was always kept warm and waiting for them. He dismissed the idea immediately. Knowing his luck he would simply fall asleep in the water, or worse develop a cramp. With Donghae out cold, no one would know he had drowned until he didn’t show up in the morning.
His only other option was his room. It was the only place he could collapse in pain without bringing further stress and worry to the members. He trudged there wearily and opened his door only to pause. Just inside his room sat Kangin, wearing possibly every piece of jewelry he possessed.
Mentally Leeteuk groaned, but outwardly he laughed. “You look ridiculous,” he told the other man as he shut his door and moved to the dresser for his pajamas. If he expected a witty quip in return, he didn’t get one. Instead he felt Kangin step up behind him as soon as he had pulled his shirt over his head.
“You are in pain, aren’t you,” the man said.
Leeteuk laughed lightly. “You’re so bright, I just can’t hide anything from you,” he joked.
“Come here,” Kangin said softly. He placed a hand on Leeteuk’s arm keeping him from pulling his nightshirt on. “Let me do something about it.”
“Kangin, while I really do appreciate your massages, I don’t think it is going to work this time.”
“Just let me try,” Kangin pleaded. Leeteuk sighed. He would never be able to say no to the man since he knew Kangin wouldn’t rest until he got the chance.
“Alright,” Leeteuk agreed. He tossed his shirt down and let Kangin guide him to his bed. It took some working to get him stretched onto his stomach on the mattress but Kangin was patient. By the time he was settled, Leeteuk was rather proud to be able to say he had only cried out in pain once.
“You should have stopped much sooner today then you did,” Kangin scolded as he straddled Leeteuk’s legs, being careful to keep his weight off the other man.
“And what would I do? Stand on the sidelines and cheer? You and I both know I can’t do that,” Leeteuk replied.
“I know,” Kangin agreed. He let his hands rest on Leeteuk’s shoulders and began to gently work at the muscle there.
Leeteuk hummed in contentment for the moment. He knew that as soon as Kangin worked his way further down his back there would be a haze of pain that would eventually, once the brief agony receded, result in an overall better feeling. As it was he was determined to enjoy this while he could.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Kangin slid his thumbs gently over the scared skin of Leeteuk’s lower back. The man released another hum of pleasure and Kangin smiled. Normally, on days when the man beneath him was in this much pain, if he so much as touched the area Leeteuk would tense at the very least. The fact that he was not made it clear to Kangin that his first Weaving was working.
He pressed a bit harder and sighed in relief when he got no indication of pain. Hopefully it would stay that way for what he was planning to do next. He took a deep breath and reached for the power that he had brought with him. It was Leeteuk’s power but at the same time it was not. Kangin could not chance Leeteuk finding out about what he had planned and if he had asked Leeteuk for his Song, the man surely would have discovered what he intended to do.
Instead he had been storing power in objects ever since he found he could. Every piece of jewelry he wore was brimming with power that had been siphoned off and carefully stored away for this very moment. Normally he would just tell Leeteuk of his plans, but he was hesitant enough about going through with his crazy idea. Leeteuk surely would have vetoed it if he had heard it and Kangin wouldn’t have had the guts to press on anyway. This was the way it had to be, of that he was sure. He only hoped that his first Weaving would keep Leeteuk pain free and unaware.
Kangin took one more deep breath and began to weave. Carefully he focused on Leeteuk’s body, simply feeling for tissue that had been damaged by countless shards of glass and surgeries. One by one the nerves that never had and never could heal properly lit up like a road map in his mind. They were the reason that Leeteuk was constantly in pain. Muscles could be soothed and retrained, but nerves, once brutalized, were irreparable.
When the damage that he would have to correct was lit up before him, it was time for Kangin to being his task. He gritted his teeth together as he created a Weaving and forced it to go against everything that his ability dictated, for early on in training he had found that his desire to protect and want to make things better, went in straight alignment with his power.
It had taken several brief experiments in those early days, but he had quickly discovered that what he could do wasn’t healing in the magical or mystical sense, not really. Instead he could provide energy and encourage the body to heal at an accelerated rate; often times much more cleanly then it would on its own. That was why Kyujong had told him that Leeteuk’s back was beyond his help. The body would never be able to heal a wound like that.
Kangin had been unwilling to accept that answer. As he thought about it he had realized that the only way to restore Leeteuk’s back was to do the exact opposite of what his ability was. He would have to destroy and then recreate.
Kangin knew what he needed to do; now all that was left was to see if he could go through with it. He selected one of the brightly colored nerves and took a deep breath. If his first Weaving didn’t keep Leeteuk from pain, the man would be screaming out in agony in only a moment. Kangin counted to three softly, more for himself then anything, before he used a Weaving to burn away the damaged nerve. There was no indication from the man beneath him that, he had even felt anything had been done.
Relief flooded Kangin’s form. That had been the hard part. The rest was easy. Using another Weaving to give the body energy and direction, he carefully grew a nerve in the old ones place, being sure it was completely tied in how it should be. Kangin had no idea how he knew how or where to place them, he just knew. In a short amount of time he found it was much easier to grow the nerves then it had been to destroy them. Carefully he fell into a rhythm, taking care of each damaged piece one by one.
He had slowed down for a few moments when he had been working near the spinal cord but once he was finished with that, he continued on without a hiccup. By the time he had watched the last one grew to his satisfaction, he was exhausted and his power reserves were almost gone.
Kangin groaned and flopped sideways next to Leeteuk. Now that he wasn’t actively feeding the first Weaving to keep Leeteuk from pain it would begin to fade away. Hopefully it would give his body time to adjust to having new fully functioning nerves. He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment.
“I take it you are done tampering then,” Leeteuk said softly as he lifted himself up on his elbows.
“I, uh,” Kangin opened his eyes to look at the older man.
“I’m not stupid Kangin. It should have hurt when you just touched my lower back but it didn’t, in fact I didn’t feel anything at all but pleasant feelings for the last two hours and if you don’t think that I know what it feels like when you are giving or using a Weaving on me by now, you are sorely mistaken. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing?” Leeteuk asked.
“I was fixing your back,” Kangin said softly.
“I know what you thought you were doing, but what exactly were you actually doing?” the older man narrowed his eyes at him.
Kangin swallowed. “I was burning away the damaged nerves and replacing them with new ones.”
Leeteuk jerked upright sharply until he was sitting. “You were doing what?! Do you realize what you could have done to me!?”
“Jungsoo.” Kangin said softly as he sat up as well. “Do you realize what you just did? That should have killed you with pain.”
Leeteuk blinked and then narrowed his eyes. “Of course it would have, but you are obviously blocking my pain with a Weaving. Kim Youngwoon do you realize what this could do!” he said sharply.
Kangin shook his head. “No. It wouldn’t block it completely anymore. That Weaving is fading. Look,” Kangin reached around Leeteuk and pinched the skin of his lower back lightly. Leeteuk yelped and jumped a bit as his new and still sensitive nerves registered the action. He batted Kangin’s hand away on impulse. “See pain,” Kangin said softly.
Leeteuk’s eyes widened. Carefully he twisted one way then the other, and felt nothing besides the shift of his body. He blinked in wonder and then tears immediately sprang into his eyes as hope for what Kangin may have been able to do, settled in him.
“Oh Teukie,” Kangin said softly as he gathered the man into his arms.
“I can’t,” Leeteuk began, lost for words. He had never dared to dream that he would ever be pain free again and suddenly he was. “I never thought.” He released a sob that he had held inside for what he had lost, ever since the accident.
Kangin held him closer and ran his hands down Leeteuk’s back. “It’s ok, Jungsoo.”
“I swear if I wake up and discover this was all a dream,” Leeteuk threatened between his tears after a few minutes.
Kangin chuckled. “I’ll be a dead man, I know.”
“Your damn right,” Leeteuk declared poking him savagely in the chest. He pulled away to share a look with Kangin and they both found no words were needed to communicate their meaning. Then Leeteuk laughed trying to blink back the rest of his tears. “Will you take all of that off? You look like you are pretending to be a gangster.”
This time when Kangin laughed, it was a sound full of both of their joy.
Verse Sixteen
Masterlist
AN: Well it was time to give you all another chapter. My muse reminded me that it seemed to much like everything was alright in paradise for the water trio, so I decided I needed to remind everyone that Kibum only agreed to the three of them for Donghae's sake.
Happy New Year everyone!
Verse Fifteen
Warm afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window; coupled with the light breeze it gave the room a wonderfully pleasant feel. This was the time when Donghae had found he enjoyed being in his room the most. It was wonderful to be able to simply relax in the sun, even more so if one or more of his Singers could join him.
This particular afternoon, Kibum had flopped on the bed beside him. What had started as quiet conversation had soon turned to friendly touches and only escalated from there. It was as if Kibum was trying to build a slow burning fire within him, and Donghae loved every moment of it.
When they were like this, with Kibum hovering over him touching him gently and spreading light kisses against his skin, Donghae could nearly drown in the emotion rolling off the man. His affections were sprinkled with a cool crispness that Donghae found he loved in complement with the afternoon sun. He had never thought that he would be able to feel what someone else was feeling this vividly, but as Kibum’s hand slid along his skin, he couldn’t say he minded.
“Hey Donghae, I just got done with,” Donghae had barely heard the door to his room open, but he was pleased to hear Eunhyuk’s voice. “Practice,” the other man finished hesitantly.
“Hyukjae,” Donghae murmured, turning his head to look at the man in the doorway. “I’m glad you’re here.” He held out the hand that wasn’t hidden under the fabric of Kibum’s clothing, indicating his desire for Eunhyuk to join him.
Kibum let a sort of growl rumble forth. He pulled both hands away from Donghae’s body and instead used them to turn the other man’s face and hold it still while he delivered a passion filled kiss to Donghae’s lips. Small noises of pleasure echoed from Donghae’s throat and he arched his body up into Kibum’s, wrapping both arms around the man to pull him closer.
Before the kiss could become what Donghae wanted it to be, Kibum pulled back. “I have to go work on some things,” he told Donghae quietly as he gently untangled the man’s limbs from around him. “I’ll be back later.” Kibum placed a brief kiss on Donghae’s forehead and climbed from the bed before Donghae could protest.
Kibum straightened his clothing before striding to the door. There he gave Eunhyuk a look that made the other man swallow thickly and take a step back. Without saying a word, he brushed past and out into the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” Donghae asked him, worry filling his eyes.
Eunhyuk cleared his throat. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” He shut the door quietly and moved over to join his Weaver on the bed.
“Really?” Donghae asked, not convinced.
“Really. It was just a long day training,” Eunhyuk replied in what he hoped was a convincing voice.
“Really?” Donghae brightened. “How is that going?”
“Good.”
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
“So this is it. The final test for you all,” Chanita told them the next afternoon. She had led them to a clearing that they had never been to. On one side Super Junior had assembled. On the other DBSK and SS501 stood. Between them, Chanita paced, twirling a dagger in her hand. “If you pass this test then your training is complete and you are ready.”
“So let me get this straight,” Leeteuk spoke up for his group. “All we have to do is defeat them,” he gestured to the ten men across the clearing, “in hand to hand team combat?”
“I wouldn’t really call it hand to hand. You can do anything you would like to beat them, just win. A person is out when their opponent would have landed a killing or incapacitating blow. Your goal is to exterminate the entire opposing team.”
“How hard can this really be,” Shindong said lightly. “We’ve gotten pretty good.”
Chanita smiled secretly. “This is no holds barred gentlemen. Anything goes. Everyone set,” she didn’t wait for the confirming nodes, “You may begin.” The moment she spoke she vanished from the field and several teams connected their Songs.
The more experienced men immediately leapt into action and began weaving. For their part, Super Junior had barely managed to create weapons before the opponents were on them. The battle, if it could be called that, quickly dissolved into mass confusion.
Henry was counted out by a blade to the throat before he even began to play his violin. Jungmin offered him a friendly smile before darting away to deal with someone else.
Ryeowook was the next out, caught off guard by Yoochun, who had suddenly appeared behind him and held a knife to his throat. Zhou mi nearly followed but he managed to catch Junsu’s blade with his own and turn it away before swinging into action again. Yoochun had then quickly turned to Yesung who was ready for him.
The next to join their fallen members on the sidelines was Donghae. Yunho had ran by sending a gout of flame Donghae’s direction. He had thrown up a wall of mist that dampened it enough that it had sputtered out by the time it would have reached him. He had been getting ready to turn his attention elsewhere, when he had felt the cold barrel of a gun against the back of his neck. “Got you,” Hyunjoong’s amused voice told him who his attacker was. He turned slowly to see Eunhyuk with Jaejoong standing over him with a gun pointed at his head.
Without looking Hyunjoong lifted his other hand and pointed another gun at Kibum who had been silently trying to approach. “I don’t think so. Your Weaver is dead so you don’t even have those weapons anymore. You are all out.” Kibum cursed and stormed off the field.
In short order, Siwon had joined the ranks of the dead, having been caught off guard while trying to defend Heechul. Heechul and Hankyung had followed soon after due to the older man’s temper. From there it went steadily downhill and only took a few more minutes before every member of Super Junior was down and not a single member from the other team had fallen.
“Well that took less than five minutes,” Chanita told them as she reappeared clapping. “I think that may be a new record for the fastest loss.”
“We are obviously ill prepared,” Heechul snarled, irritated.
She walked over to him and smacked him upside the head in reprimand. “Do you think the Dark Ones will care?” she asked as Hankyung held the man from leaping at her.
“No,” Leeteuk said seriously. He stood and brushed off his pants. “We will go again.”
Chanita nodded in approval. “Very well, to your own sides.”
The second time ended much like the first, with the exception that someone had managed to catch Yoochun off guard and put him out of the game as well. The third time took a bit longer to come to a completion and this time Super Junior managed to take out the entire Earth team with them.
The fourth time they lasted nearly fifteen minutes before it looked evident that they would be losing this one as well. Kyuhyun, one of only five members left, darted back to Yesung’s side. “Yesung,” he called as he shot a blast of air at Junsu, upsetting the other mans attack. “I need to see like you can.”
Yesung nodded for a moment and sent him a quick Weaving. With new eyes Kyuhyun got to take in half of the field before he was caught and ‘killed’. As the members spent a few minutes trying to strategize for their fifth attempt Kyuhyun stepped up to Yesung. “As soon as we start can you make it so that I can see again? I need to check something the whole fight.” Yesung simply nodded his agreement.
By the time the sun began to set, they had attempted and lost their tenth trial at the mock battle. “I think that is enough for the night,” Chanita told them. “Tomorrow you have off to plan, and then the next day we will go again.” Dismissed, several groaning men climbed to their feet.
“No hard feelings?” Yunho asked them, as the three groups headed back to their dorms together.
Siwon laughed and patted him on the back. “Why should we have hard feelings? You are all clearly better than us and deserved to win.”
Heechul glared. “You scorched my hair.”
Yunho smirked. “Sorry princess.”
The already irritated Heechul snarled. “I’ll show you princess!” He lunged at Yunho and Hankyung caught him about the waist, pulling him back and firmly against his body.
“Heechul,” Hankyung said simply as he shot Yunho a look of warning.
Heechul cursed under his breath and elbowed Hankyung in the ribs. Once the Chinese man had released him, he stormed off towards the dorm.
He wasn’t the only one in a bad temper once they returned home. As soon as he was in the door, Kibum kicked a cushion across the room with such force, several of the members were surprised that it didn’t explode in a cloud of fluff on impact.
“Kibum, what’s wrong?” Donghae asked, upset by the show of anger and the emotion rolling off Kibum.
“What’s wrong?” Kibum replied. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. We kept loosing again and again and you want to know why?” he declared as he whirled to face them. “It’s because someone is completely useless on the battle field that is why.”
Eunhyuk swallowed and took a step backwards from Kibum’s anger that was clearly directed at him.
“Kibum that isn’t fair,” Donghae replied. “He’s never done this stuff before. He is doing a lot better.”
Kibum laughed bitterly, narrowing his eyes at Donghae. “Well that is just grand isn’t it? Maybe someday he’ll actually be of some worth on the field, probably at the same time that he becomes some worth in your bed.” Donghae’s eyes widened at his words, but he was powerless to say anything in response. “Since you seem to prefer him, I’ll just leave!” Kibum didn’t give them a chance to respond before he turned and stormed to the safety of his own room.
Donghae immediately released a pain filled cry and crumpled to the floor. Eunhyuk, with tears in his eyes, knelt and pulled him close. “It hurts Hyukjae,” Donghae whimpered into his chest.
“I know I’m sorry,” Eunhyuk murmured, clutching the man tighter.
“Not your fault,” Donghae replied softly.
Then it was as if the rest of Super Junior, who had watched the entire scene unfold, suddenly awoke from their shocked daze. “It’s alright Donghae,” Leeteuk soothed as he moved forward.
“I’m going to kill him,” Heechul hissed as he stormed off after Kibum.
“Heechul,” Leeteuk called fruitlessly. He shot a desperate look to Hankyung who nodded and followed the other man down the hall. He was about to start handing out orders when Yesung released a small cry and fell to his knees.
Ryeowook was immediately beside him. “Yesung?”
“To loud. It’s all too loud,” he reached for Ryeowook who immediately came closer to offer his touch as well as his Song as comfort.
Leeteuk suppressed the need to panic and carefully stood. “Kangin, get Donghae to his room,” he ordered. He waited until the other man had nodded and carefully lifted Donghae into his arms before continuing.
“Zhou mi, can you and Ryeowook get Yesung to his room? That should help,” he received nods and they carefully got to their feet. “Siwon, go make sure that Hankyung hasn’t been killed. Sungmin, Shindong, Kyuhyun, and Henry please go make us some dinner.” There were collective nods and the men shuffled off to do as ordered.
Leeteuk shifted to the living room and sank down on one of the chairs with a wince. He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. What was happening to his family?
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
An hour later, food had seemed to make everything seem a bit brighter. Those that had been able, had gathered together to eat a silent meal. Leeteuk had then personally delivered dinner to Kibum who had simply nodded his silent thanks.
Donghae’s room had been next. He found him curled together with Eunhyuk in the middle of the bed. Both of them seemed to be sleeping soundly. Leeteuk left the food on the side table for the both of them, in case they woke up and found themselves hungry.
His next stop had been Yesung’s room. He had been a bit surprised to find Ryeowook and Yesung lying together on the bed, Zhou mi had left sometime earlier. Ryeowook was reclining comfortably on a mass of pillows. Yesung was settled between his legs with his head on Ryeowook’s bare stomach.
Ryeowook offered Leeteuk a soft smile, as his fingers continued to run through Yesung’s hair. “It helps him feel grounded. My Song is easiest for him to hear there,” Ryeowook explained quietly.
Leeteuk nodded. After the incident several nights ago, Ryeowook had informed him of the change in Yesung. Leeteuk was clueless what to do, but he couldn’t fault them for doing whatever seemed to work for the man. He placed food for them both beside Ryeowook and received quiet thanks in return.
Now that his rounds were done and no one was in immediate danger of a break down, Leeteuk allowed himself to feel what he had been ignoring. Immediately pain flared up sharply and he gasped. He spent a moment leaning against the wall, trying to let his mind acclimate to actually having nothing to focus on but the pain.
For a moment he thought of going to the bath that was always kept warm and waiting for them. He dismissed the idea immediately. Knowing his luck he would simply fall asleep in the water, or worse develop a cramp. With Donghae out cold, no one would know he had drowned until he didn’t show up in the morning.
His only other option was his room. It was the only place he could collapse in pain without bringing further stress and worry to the members. He trudged there wearily and opened his door only to pause. Just inside his room sat Kangin, wearing possibly every piece of jewelry he possessed.
Mentally Leeteuk groaned, but outwardly he laughed. “You look ridiculous,” he told the other man as he shut his door and moved to the dresser for his pajamas. If he expected a witty quip in return, he didn’t get one. Instead he felt Kangin step up behind him as soon as he had pulled his shirt over his head.
“You are in pain, aren’t you,” the man said.
Leeteuk laughed lightly. “You’re so bright, I just can’t hide anything from you,” he joked.
“Come here,” Kangin said softly. He placed a hand on Leeteuk’s arm keeping him from pulling his nightshirt on. “Let me do something about it.”
“Kangin, while I really do appreciate your massages, I don’t think it is going to work this time.”
“Just let me try,” Kangin pleaded. Leeteuk sighed. He would never be able to say no to the man since he knew Kangin wouldn’t rest until he got the chance.
“Alright,” Leeteuk agreed. He tossed his shirt down and let Kangin guide him to his bed. It took some working to get him stretched onto his stomach on the mattress but Kangin was patient. By the time he was settled, Leeteuk was rather proud to be able to say he had only cried out in pain once.
“You should have stopped much sooner today then you did,” Kangin scolded as he straddled Leeteuk’s legs, being careful to keep his weight off the other man.
“And what would I do? Stand on the sidelines and cheer? You and I both know I can’t do that,” Leeteuk replied.
“I know,” Kangin agreed. He let his hands rest on Leeteuk’s shoulders and began to gently work at the muscle there.
Leeteuk hummed in contentment for the moment. He knew that as soon as Kangin worked his way further down his back there would be a haze of pain that would eventually, once the brief agony receded, result in an overall better feeling. As it was he was determined to enjoy this while he could.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Kangin slid his thumbs gently over the scared skin of Leeteuk’s lower back. The man released another hum of pleasure and Kangin smiled. Normally, on days when the man beneath him was in this much pain, if he so much as touched the area Leeteuk would tense at the very least. The fact that he was not made it clear to Kangin that his first Weaving was working.
He pressed a bit harder and sighed in relief when he got no indication of pain. Hopefully it would stay that way for what he was planning to do next. He took a deep breath and reached for the power that he had brought with him. It was Leeteuk’s power but at the same time it was not. Kangin could not chance Leeteuk finding out about what he had planned and if he had asked Leeteuk for his Song, the man surely would have discovered what he intended to do.
Instead he had been storing power in objects ever since he found he could. Every piece of jewelry he wore was brimming with power that had been siphoned off and carefully stored away for this very moment. Normally he would just tell Leeteuk of his plans, but he was hesitant enough about going through with his crazy idea. Leeteuk surely would have vetoed it if he had heard it and Kangin wouldn’t have had the guts to press on anyway. This was the way it had to be, of that he was sure. He only hoped that his first Weaving would keep Leeteuk pain free and unaware.
Kangin took one more deep breath and began to weave. Carefully he focused on Leeteuk’s body, simply feeling for tissue that had been damaged by countless shards of glass and surgeries. One by one the nerves that never had and never could heal properly lit up like a road map in his mind. They were the reason that Leeteuk was constantly in pain. Muscles could be soothed and retrained, but nerves, once brutalized, were irreparable.
When the damage that he would have to correct was lit up before him, it was time for Kangin to being his task. He gritted his teeth together as he created a Weaving and forced it to go against everything that his ability dictated, for early on in training he had found that his desire to protect and want to make things better, went in straight alignment with his power.
It had taken several brief experiments in those early days, but he had quickly discovered that what he could do wasn’t healing in the magical or mystical sense, not really. Instead he could provide energy and encourage the body to heal at an accelerated rate; often times much more cleanly then it would on its own. That was why Kyujong had told him that Leeteuk’s back was beyond his help. The body would never be able to heal a wound like that.
Kangin had been unwilling to accept that answer. As he thought about it he had realized that the only way to restore Leeteuk’s back was to do the exact opposite of what his ability was. He would have to destroy and then recreate.
Kangin knew what he needed to do; now all that was left was to see if he could go through with it. He selected one of the brightly colored nerves and took a deep breath. If his first Weaving didn’t keep Leeteuk from pain, the man would be screaming out in agony in only a moment. Kangin counted to three softly, more for himself then anything, before he used a Weaving to burn away the damaged nerve. There was no indication from the man beneath him that, he had even felt anything had been done.
Relief flooded Kangin’s form. That had been the hard part. The rest was easy. Using another Weaving to give the body energy and direction, he carefully grew a nerve in the old ones place, being sure it was completely tied in how it should be. Kangin had no idea how he knew how or where to place them, he just knew. In a short amount of time he found it was much easier to grow the nerves then it had been to destroy them. Carefully he fell into a rhythm, taking care of each damaged piece one by one.
He had slowed down for a few moments when he had been working near the spinal cord but once he was finished with that, he continued on without a hiccup. By the time he had watched the last one grew to his satisfaction, he was exhausted and his power reserves were almost gone.
Kangin groaned and flopped sideways next to Leeteuk. Now that he wasn’t actively feeding the first Weaving to keep Leeteuk from pain it would begin to fade away. Hopefully it would give his body time to adjust to having new fully functioning nerves. He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment.
“I take it you are done tampering then,” Leeteuk said softly as he lifted himself up on his elbows.
“I, uh,” Kangin opened his eyes to look at the older man.
“I’m not stupid Kangin. It should have hurt when you just touched my lower back but it didn’t, in fact I didn’t feel anything at all but pleasant feelings for the last two hours and if you don’t think that I know what it feels like when you are giving or using a Weaving on me by now, you are sorely mistaken. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing?” Leeteuk asked.
“I was fixing your back,” Kangin said softly.
“I know what you thought you were doing, but what exactly were you actually doing?” the older man narrowed his eyes at him.
Kangin swallowed. “I was burning away the damaged nerves and replacing them with new ones.”
Leeteuk jerked upright sharply until he was sitting. “You were doing what?! Do you realize what you could have done to me!?”
“Jungsoo.” Kangin said softly as he sat up as well. “Do you realize what you just did? That should have killed you with pain.”
Leeteuk blinked and then narrowed his eyes. “Of course it would have, but you are obviously blocking my pain with a Weaving. Kim Youngwoon do you realize what this could do!” he said sharply.
Kangin shook his head. “No. It wouldn’t block it completely anymore. That Weaving is fading. Look,” Kangin reached around Leeteuk and pinched the skin of his lower back lightly. Leeteuk yelped and jumped a bit as his new and still sensitive nerves registered the action. He batted Kangin’s hand away on impulse. “See pain,” Kangin said softly.
Leeteuk’s eyes widened. Carefully he twisted one way then the other, and felt nothing besides the shift of his body. He blinked in wonder and then tears immediately sprang into his eyes as hope for what Kangin may have been able to do, settled in him.
“Oh Teukie,” Kangin said softly as he gathered the man into his arms.
“I can’t,” Leeteuk began, lost for words. He had never dared to dream that he would ever be pain free again and suddenly he was. “I never thought.” He released a sob that he had held inside for what he had lost, ever since the accident.
Kangin held him closer and ran his hands down Leeteuk’s back. “It’s ok, Jungsoo.”
“I swear if I wake up and discover this was all a dream,” Leeteuk threatened between his tears after a few minutes.
Kangin chuckled. “I’ll be a dead man, I know.”
“Your damn right,” Leeteuk declared poking him savagely in the chest. He pulled away to share a look with Kangin and they both found no words were needed to communicate their meaning. Then Leeteuk laughed trying to blink back the rest of his tears. “Will you take all of that off? You look like you are pretending to be a gangster.”
This time when Kangin laughed, it was a sound full of both of their joy.
Verse Sixteen
Masterlist
AN: Well it was time to give you all another chapter. My muse reminded me that it seemed to much like everything was alright in paradise for the water trio, so I decided I needed to remind everyone that Kibum only agreed to the three of them for Donghae's sake.
Happy New Year everyone!