Taehyung
I don't even know what happened.
One minute everyone was yelling and Moonsik was feral.
The next minute I was on top of Yoongi on the ground, him screaming into my face that I had just killed his best friend.
A pair of arms lifted me up, jerking me away from Yoongi.
I was dazed, frustrated, and in shock.
"Taehyung, don't listen to him," Namjoon whispered beside my ear.
I was shaking.
I had seen Moonsik preparing to launch himself at Yoongi who had his back to him. I didn't know the sergeant's men would fire. I just wanted to save my brother from being attacked.
I learned later that I had given the men with guns the clear shot they had needed to take Moonsik down.
Namjoon was the only thing holding me up at that point. Yoongi had scrambled over to Moonsik and was cradling his bleeding body in his own arms, sobbing and muttering things like he would never forget him, why did he have to do something so stupid, why didn't he stay with the group, and other things.
My chest hurt. Nothing in our training had ever prepared any of us for the phenomenon of going feral.
Hoseok and Jin huddled around Yoongi, while Jimin and Jungkook came over to Namjoon and I.
I felt a sob shudder through me as I locked eyes with Jimin. His were tears and soft and he simply grabbed me into his arms from Namjoon, who willingly let me go after seeing I wasn't going anywhere.
"You didn't kill him, Tae," whispered Jimin. "You didn't."
I couldn't put anything I was thinking or feeling into words. All I could see over Jimin's shoulder was Yoongi holding a bloody Moonsik.
I would never forget that sight as long as I lived.
* * *
Yoongi
I held Moonsik and forced his eyes closed with my fingers. His body was still warm but quickly cooling. His hybrid features had been frozen on his body, not disappearing even when he died.
I knew he was broken when I looked into his eyes. I just held onto hope that the sergeant was wrong.
Feral?
It was a foreign concept we hadn't been taught about.
My heart was broken because a concept we had never been instructed about had now taken the life of my dearest friend. My kitten had been ripped from me twice.
I felt Hoseok and Jin wrapped around me and I felt like we four were in our own little world. Barricaded from the murderers outside. I would hold bitterness and hatred for that sergeant for the rest of my life.
How did they know Moonsik couldn't have been rehabilitated? Why didn't they have an anecdote for it? Why couldn't they have just tranquilized him and taken him back to the clinic and try to find a fix for this?
So many whys were filling my mind and it was too much.
I sobbed and screamed, rocking Moonsik and I didn't care about the masssive amount of blood I was getting covered in.
Jin shushed me, running his hand down my head. "Yoongi," he said quietly, "we have to let him go. We will make sure he's not forgotten. But we have to go now."
"No."
"Hyung, he would want you to move on. C'mon, let's go get cleaned up. Then we can plan a funeral for him. Something nice, hm?" Hoseok tried to smile through his own tears and I knew he was speaking reasonably.
I just didn't want to let my friend go.
He was the only one who had been able to put up with my grumpiness. He understood my issues and accepted them. He found things to make me laugh. Moonsik was my dearest friend and the closest thing to an actual brother I had known.
I squeezed Moonsik's lifeless body to me one last time, then carefully laid him down on the ground.
I heard the sergeant bark some orders to his men. They quickly came with a blanket or something and wrapped up the body, carrying it to their vehicle.
I couldn't watch. It still felt surreal.
Then I saw Taehyung, hanging on Jimin and sobbing.
I shouldn't have said to him what I did.
I should be thanking him, because I would have either been clawed by Moonsik or shot by the soldiers. Either way, I probably would have died if it hadn't been for his quick thinking.
But right now I couldn't see more than my own wrath and pain.
I would talk to him later. But for now I simply wanted to wallow in my own sadness.
* * *
Narrative
By the time everyone had cleaned up, Moonsik's body was lost among the myriad of labs in H-Corp's main science building. No one would even speak a word of what had happened to him. The sergeant disappeared as well and the rest of the BCU were whisked back to their home country of Korea. It all happened so quickly that no one had a chance to even comprehend what had happened.
Yoongi went into a very dark place for some weeks. Taehyung became timid and jumpy. The two avoided each other like the plague and none of the others knew how to repair the damaged relationship.
Namjoon spent many days and nights trying to formulate a plan to clear the air without hurting either Yoongi or Taehyung more than they already were. But he came up empty-handed.
The void Moonsik left behind was harshly felt. Hoseok began to try and be more bright to help fill the hole but even he was suffering inside.
All of them were.
H-Corp instituted new guidelines and rules. Anyone who shifted fully were to be treated with caution when trying to shift back to their human form. Anyone nearby was fully authorized to shoot to kill if the hybrid in question showed any signs of being feral after the shift.
For a while no one wanted to even shift, but their feline sides began screaming for some freedom and it was agreed a hunt would be held, just two months after the incident involving Moonsik.
At the clearing, everyone was preparing to shift, folding fatigues and stretching out stiff muscles.
Yoongi was the last to arrive at the clearing and everyone fell silent as he approached. He had been scarcely seen the last two months and no one questioned why. They just silently supported him in hopes he would be better soon.
Taehyung immediately began to tremble as Yoongi came into the clearing. He had been terrified of Yoongi since the incident, fearing he would seek revenge on him for Moonsik.
Yoongi stalked right up to Taehyung and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He looked away and his lips and jaw twitched as he turned back to face his brother.
"I know it wasn't your fault," he said quietly.
Taehyung's tears were unable to be restrained any longer. "I don't regret what I did, hyung."
"I know. You saved my life. If anything, I should be thanking you." Yoongi looked into Taehyung's eyes and the younger man collapsed onto him, hugging him and sobbing.
"I'm sorry we lost our friend, hyung, but I'm so glad you're still with us," he choked out.
Yoongi hugged him loosely, nodding against Taehyung's shoulder and muttering something about Taehyung making this whole thing weird.
Everyone snickered a bit before Namjoon called for attention.
"We will always remember Moonsik, our fallen brother. However, we have to move past this and let it make us stronger and let it firm our resolve to bring about a change we know will need to happen."
He looked at every member pointedly and each nodded their firm agreement with his words.
"Now, lets get to the hunt. I'm starved."
Everyone cheered their agreement and soon seven deadly cats dashed out into the forest, anxious to contribute to the feast they would certainly enjoy together later.