A/N: I'm going to be honest here...I really don't like Chung x Ara.

But! After reading 'His Gentle Hands', my friend insisted that I write something with Chung and Ara since I did mention them a bit when explaining why Eve got hurt. So I decided to make this sort of like a prelude to it, I guess? I didn't write out the fighting though, because battle scenes are my weak-point and I'm still working on it.

I hope this isn't too badly written...I referenced some of the things Aren said to Ara in the Little Hsien comic, so I hope that added to the depth of the story. I also wanted to give Eun a part on this, but then decided I would rather focus on Ara herself rather than the foxy spirit too...so yeah, don't hate me.

It was really hard to not make the scene between Raven and her romantic lmao. That is my otp right there. Raven as a brotherly figure to Ara just doesn't work for me. I guess I have to write BM x SD next to fulfil my needs.

Ara - SD / Chung - DC / Raven - BM / Elsword - LK (Whatever the others are doesn't matter because I didn't care enough to think about it... /shot)

Justice.

For a long time, Ara struggled to understand the meaning of that word. Aren had simply told her, 'Justice is not something that is set in stone. You have to find your own justice.' But what had that meant? The fear of not being worthy of the path of justice and the power that came with it had plagued her mind. She wanted the power for personal reasons, so could that truly be called justice?

Then she had realized it didn't matter what her reasons her, but only the feelings behind them. As long as her feelings were pure and for the sake of those who needed saving, then she was worthy of this power, this justice. That was why she had chosen the path she walked on now. In the beginning it had been only about saving Aren from the cruel fate bestowed upon him, but it had then evolved into something else. Suddenly she found herself wanting to protect her friends who promised to help her on her quest, and the people of Elrios who could not protect themselves. If she could save someone from being taken away like Aren, then surely the world would be a better place.

But the goal of saving Aren was not so easy.

The demon general, Ran, stood before them. He was gravely injured, but somehow did not move to escape or collapse from blood loss. The fight against him at been difficult—all the members of the group had suffered some sort of injury, struggling to keep standing as they somehow held their ground. Ara knew that if she were to save her brother, it had to be now. Ran was weak and his movements were sluggish. With the help of the fox spirit Eun, surely she could save her brother.

As she moved to step forward, Chung brushed past her. He somehow managed to walk proudly, despite the wounds he suffered. As he reached Ran he pulled out one of his Silver Shooters, pointing the barrel of it at one of Ran's knees. He pulled the trigger with ease, the sound of a bang echoing around them as the demon general cried out. He fell to the floor, gasping, as blood flowed freely out of the fresh wound. The world around Ara seemed to slow down as she watched this scene play out in horror. She couldn't get herself to move no matter how badly she willed it. I'm so weak. She thought gravely. Please, stop this! She looked to the others of the group for help, but they too looked as stunned as her. Why was Chung doing this, knowing that Ara so desperately wanted to save her brother?

Chung pressed his foot down on Ran's back, forcing him to stay on the ground. "Today I will avenge my father, and justice will be served." He spoke coldly, with pure hatred burning in his azure eyes. He lifted his destroyer above his head, and roared as he went to deliver the killing blow to Ran.

Somehow Ara found herself able to move, as she rushed forward. She thrust her spear in the path of the cannon, gasping in surprise as she found that she was able to deflect the blow. With all her might she shoved Chung away. She knelt beside Ran who seemed to be unconscious, cradling his head. "Aren, please...! Please break free of the demon's hold. You're better than this!" She could feel tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at him. Eun, please grant me your strength to cleanse my brother of this corruption.

Before she could proceed, Ran's arms began to move. With a speed that should not of been possible for him in his injured state, he pushed himself away from Ara and grabbed his fallen sword. He thrust the blade toward her, unaffected by her words. Had he fallen so far that he could not even recognize her? She could only close her eyes, wondering if this was to be her fate as the blade rushed towards her body.

She was confused to find the blade did not make contact with her body. When she opened her eyes, she found that instead her friend Eve stood before her. The blade was buried deep into the Battle Seraph's body, and she could only give Ara a slight smile before falling to the ground. Ran was no where to be found. Chung was muttering a string of curses under his breath as he ran off. The others of the group seemed to snap out of their trance and rushed to Ara and Eve.

Add with surprising physical strength picked up Eve and cradled her against his chest. "You moron!" He growled as he began to carry her off. "I will see to her injuries. She is a nasod after all, and they are my specialty. It seems like Ran has escaped. Make sure Ara is okay, and you should probably go after that idiotic mouse as well."

Ara could only stare at nothing and everything, wondering why she had insisted on doing nothing. She had convinced herself that if it came to it, she would kill her brother if she had to. But when it came between choosing her life or his, she couldn't bring herself to do it. How could she so heartlessly kill the one who protected her as a child? What kind of person would that make her if she wasn't able to return the favor to him?

But Eve had paid the price for her choice, and Ara could never forgive herself if the Battle Seraph did not recover. Knowing Add though, he would fix her up just fine.

Raven placed a hand on Ara's shoulder, pulling her in for a hug. He of all people knew what it was like to lose someone important, so Ara found that she liked confiding to him out of all the members of the group. His nasod claw stroked her hair as he held her firmly against him. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she did not cry.

"Is what I did wrong? Do you think I betrayed you all because I wanted to save my brother?"

Raven shook his head as he looked the spear woman straight in her eyes. "We knew from the beginning that you wanted to save your brother, and we promised to support you. Chung has his own reasons for doing what he did, but...he did it knowing the promise we made to you." He paused with a thoughtful look on his face. "However, you should probably talk it out with him. He probably feels as bad as you do, and it isn't worth losing your friendship if you can repair the wound between you two."

Rena patted Ara's head. "Elsword, Elesis, and Aisha ran off to find Chung, but perhaps it'd be better if you went and brought him back to us instead." She offered a encouraging smile to Ara. "You know those two's sense of direction is lackluster, and I'm sure Elesis knows that you will run off to find him yourself."

Ara nodded as she reluctantly pulled away from the Blade Master's comforting touch. She quickly gave Rena a thank you hug before waving to them. "I'll bring him back, I promise."

–-

Although Ara had been wounded from the battle, she found that walking was not as difficult as she thought it would be. In the distance she could hear shouting and slapping, a slight smile playing on her lips as she imagined Elsword and Aisha bickering. She heard the stern voice of Elesis lecturing them and a groan that sounded like Elsword's as she proceeded in the opposite direction.

She spotted patches of blood on the ground and followed after them. Chung had been wounded the worst in the battle, aside from Eve. It had probably been a result of him fighting his hardest, since he was the only one who had the intention of actually killing Ran. Ara felt a wave of anger remembering what the White Wolf had attempted to do, but found that she could not exactly fault him for it. After all, didn't Ara also want to destroy the person who took away her brother?

She spotted Chung sitting against a tree, clutching the side of his body with a grimace. He was wrapping white gauze around himself and she noticed it was already becoming stained with crimson. Ara approached him slowly as to not startle him.

The Deadly Chaser looked up and gave her a hard glare before returning to bandaging himself messily. She knelt beside him, grabbing the bandages gently from him and wrapping his wound for him. Chung refused to look at her, staring out at nothing in particular. After making sure his wound was properly taken care of she scooted away from him slightly and sat in silence.

"Ara." He finally said after what felt like an eternity. "You of all people understand justice. Why would you deny me of that?"

There was that word again, justice. But his justice was not a justice worthy of carrying out. His justice was clouded by dark emotions and thoughts, not pure intentions. Killing Ran would not bring back his father.

She looked up at the sky and thought carefully before responding. "Your idea of justice is not justice. Revenge is not the same as justice. Revenge is for selfish reasons, a promise made when you are feeling very sorrowful or angry. What would killing my brother do for your father? Nothing. Would it truly bring you satisfaction? When you realize that you are hurting one of your friends, would your revenge truly be worth it? Justice is not about yourself, it is about protecting and saving others. Killing my brother would not save your father, and it would certainly not save yourself."

She finally looked at Chung. "I would not want to see someone I care about be consumed by hatred. I would like to see you walk a path you can share with your friends. A path that your father and yourself can be proud of. I believe you are worth more than that, Chung."

Chung looked back at her. His face conveyed emotions of anger and sadness, but also a look that begged for forgiveness. She knew that path he walked on now was not an easy one, a path most would consider a dark one. But Ara believed that the White Wolf could overcome any obstacle in his path. She came close to him, wrapping her arms around him gently and hugged him. She buried her face in his neck, tears rolling down her cheek as she did. "I forgive you." She murmured against his skin.

He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her as well and returned the hug. "I was consumed by hatred. I shouldn't of done what I had, knowing that the others had promised to help you save your brother." He pulled away and knelt before her, holding one of her hands in his. "Let me make you a promise, as forgiveness."

"Though I no longer follow the ways of a Guardian, let me be yours. I shall protect you and destroy all who stand in your way so you may complete the mission of saving your brother." Chung brought his lips to her hand, kissing it softly. "Please forgive me, for hurting someone that is very important to me..."

Ara wasn't sure why, but she blushed and looked away from him. His words felt very intimate to her, something akin to what a lover would say rather than a friend. She squeezed his hand affectionately and looked back at him, smiling. "Of course I forgive you. Thank you for always being by my side."

She noticed that they were very close to each other all of a sudden.

Chung leaned in slightly, looking at Ara as if asking for approval.

"Hey! I found them!" A voice shouted.

Ara and Chung separated immediately, both of their faces burning red. Elsword came running over to them, with a very irritated Aisha following after. Elesis shook her head as she gave Ara an apologetic look. Ara smiled and shook her head as she stood. "We were just about to head back. Do we know where Add took Eve?"

"Probably to some creepy laboratory. I bet he's running some weird tests on her and looking at things he shouldn't be." Elsword grumbled as Aisha smacked him across the head. "Don't say things like that! It's gross." She said as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. Add might be a little off, but he's still a genius when it comes to nasods. He wouldn't harm her." Elesis said matter-of-factly. "So don't worry too much. It wasn't your fault, Ara."

Ara nodded, though still feeling guilty. She swore she'd make it up to Eve somehow once she was all healed. Though it was a bit shocking being saved by her of all people. She had erased all her emotions upon becoming a Battle Seraph, so why would she care whether Ara was hurt or not?

Chung stood with her, gripping her hand in his. Elsword gave them a questioning look but the Deadly Chaser did not let go of her hand regardless. "Let's go see how Eve is doing." He began to pull her along, but Ara didn't really mind.

I may have not been able to save you, Aren, but I will one day. I'm thankful to my friends for supporting me no matter what.