A/N: This would be the actual first chapter, since that one wasn't even 1000 words to begin with, oh, and it's just so that the start of my story doesn't seem so forced.
I do not own Grand Chase, but KoG does. In case I need to reiterate myself.
Chapter 1 – Gathering the Chase
"Hey Ronan, are you sure you're okay?" Arme inquired.
They were walking together in the hallway of the bedrooms in Kanavan Castle to summon the other people for the meeting. Arme was the one tasked by Knight Master to inform everybody, since she was the earliest to wake because of her daily meditation. She had already woken up everybody, and she and Ronan were just going to call them so they could all come together to the meeting room. But how she woke up Sieghart without having half the hallway turned into rubble was beyond Ronan's comprehension.
The unorthodox black swordsman was easily irritable, even by the smallest of things such as sweating. In the battlefield, his rage is enough for the monsters to be annihilated within seconds. But, in the castle, it was something that made everyone walk on eggshells around him. Nevertheless, Ronan was able to learn from his sword technique, and his lessons made Ronan more efficient handling his blade.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern either way, Arme," Ronan replied.
"Alright then, suit yourself."
Arme knocked at the next door to her left. After a moment, a blonde elf opened the door. Arme waved a hand to her, and she waved back. She went out the door and closed it behind her. Her fine elven archer garb was not just easy to move in, but quite verdant in its shade.
"Hi Lire. You ready?" Arme asked.
"Yep. Oh, how about I go and call Ryan? He tends to be very particular with his hair in the morning. I could speed things up," Lire suggested.
"That's a good idea. Hey, Ronan, what if we call people individually, too?"
"All right, that could work," he agreed. "Then I guess I'll be heading for Lass then."
"And Jin too," Lire added.
"Oh, right,"
"Then I'll be calling Mari, Elesis and Amy then. Okay, see you guys at the meeting room," Arme called. She and Lire started to dash off when Ronan suddenly noticed something.
"Huh, wait!" Ronan yelled. Both of the girls looked back at him.
"What is it?" Arme called.
"What about Master Sieghart?"
Arme stood straight to face him. She looked back once at Lire, and the blonde elf nodded.
"Ronan, Sieghart is the subject of our meeting today," she said.
"What?"
"Sieghart was kidnapped just last night," Lire said.
Ronan was in downright shock. Such a thing was impossible, to some degree. "Wha- How?" he struggled to ask.
"We don't know for certain. But everything will be explained at the meeting. I just happened to be the one to find out first and report to Knight Master. She had made a preliminary investigation already and would tell us the details later." Lire assured him.
Ronan could only nod. "All right, I'll meet you guys later."
In his mind, the rain was starting to fall.
Ronan was standing in front of the door of Lass' room. Once, he looked to the side, looking for the place that he would go to next. When he realized what he was doing, he shook his head and returned his sight to the door in front of him.
"Lass, you up yet?" he called.
It was a bad idea to knock, since Lass was always leaving traps everywhere in his territory. Even the door could spring a thousand piercing needles, turning whoever was in front into a living pincushion. The only area he didn't place on was the hallway, for courtesy he says. Ronan waited for a moment before sighing. If Arme woke him up, then he's probably waiting somewhere in the hallway right now.
"Don't tell me we're doing this again," he muttered before saying, "Rune Flare!"
A shining light started to revolve around Ronan. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. Lass was usually a quiet person, but Ronan was one of the few people to see his more playful side. And one of his favorite games was hide-and-seek, in the hallway. The magic knight's hands tensed as he waited for a single sound. He heard a scuffle from the potted plant behind him, slightly to the left. He quickly raised his right fist to that direction to aim.
"Psychic Force!"
The light expanded, tracing its way from his knuckles to his desired target, exploding twice in brilliant flashes. It cleared after a second, revealing the shadow image of a log, the plant nowhere to be seen. He was irked, being a little late. He lifted his right hand up to summon another rune flare, when a hand came out from under his right arm and pressed a dagger to his neck.
"It's bad to destroy castle property, Ronan. You of all people should know that," Lass chided him from behind.
Ronan could feel the assassin's breath upon his neck. He couldn't move either, since Lass' other hand was placed around his abdomen, stopping his other arm. "Lass, please, let go of me," he begged.
"Oh? Before that, I think a little punishment," Lass' voice got nearer, "is in order."
Ronan felt a nip on his ear and couldn't help yelping a little. The knife dropped from his neck and he was allowed to fall down on the floor on all fours. When he had calmed himself, he looked at Lass, more irked than he was before. A small smirk was plastered on the white-haired boy's face. His black sleeveless linen garb loosely covered his pale body.
"Lass, you have gone too far this time! I'm not a girl, so stop harassing me!" he said.
The white-haired assassin walked around to his front, and slumped himself to the wall behind. "But you sure do act like one. You've become quite physically sensitive."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean," he half-kneeled in front of Ronan and held the bluenet's chin with a thumb and pointer, "that you react to this."
Ronan quickly swiped the hand off as soon as Lass finished talking, his cheeks becoming reddish.
"Yup, something's really wrong with you. Might want to tell?" Lass asked. He stood up and crossed his arms.
Ronan looked down on the red carpet covering the marble floor. "Figured you would catch on quick. You're quite keen with these kinds of things. But, maybe later. I still need to call Jin for the briefing this morning." Then, he looked at Lass, his brows furrowed. "And, seriously, stop harassing me. Yes, you're really handsome, but I'm not falling for you."
"Handsome? Hey, it's not like I did that because I wanted to. You were looking at Jin's room, so I kind of got curious as to why and tested something. Heh, care to enlighten me?"
Lass helped Ronan to stand up, and they walked towards Jin's room without another word. At the door, Ronan was hesitating to knock. Lass sighed and took it upon himself to place his knuckle on the varnished wood.
"Hey Jin, meeting's going to start, you ready?" Lass shouted.
No answer came from inside. After a moment, Ronan muttered, "Sorry."
"Figures. It's about Jin, then?" Lass asked.
"He's in it."
"Interesting. Tell me later. Right now, he's taking too long," he looked at the doorknob, "His door's open. Want to check?"
"What?! No!"
"What? Can't even look at him straight?"
Ronan was getting flustered. "I can, but-"
"Then, let's go," he turned to the door, "Hey Jin, we're going in."
Before he could object, Lass grabbed the magic knight by the wrist as he opened the door and went inside Jin's room. Ronan quickly closed his eyes, hiding himself behind Lass as soon as he passed through the doorway.
"You have got to be kidding me," Lass said.
Ronan peeked from behind Lass, and ended up wishing he didn't. His face flushed and his hands shook, holding on the assassin's shoulders. Like Arme, Jin also practiced meditation. The difference is that the former floats, while the latter strips down to the waist. The magic knight only saw a glimpse of the fighter sitting on the floor, but seeing his body was altogether a different thing.
"Jin, if you didn't hear me, I said the meeting's about to start," Lass called, for the second time. Ronan noted that he tends to get irritated when he has to repeat himself.
"I know. I heard you. Please wait a moment," the redhead replied calmly, his eyes still closed.
"Sorry, don't want to. Ronan, you wait for him," Lass said, turning back to the door.
"Wait, what? Lass, you can't leave me here," Ronan almost yelled. The door slammed in front of him, and he added, "Alone."
Ronan fell down on his knees. He looked behind him and swallowed hard. Save for his black flame pants, Jin was completely bare of any clothing. As expected of one who practices martial arts, his body is always… more than just fit. Just looking at him, Ronan could feel his heart beat so loud in his chest. Even if he's not looking back…
Ronan bawled over on the floor. Lass was right. He was definitely acting like a girl. In normal circumstances, his composure won't be broken so fast by a shirtless (admittedly hot) guy in front of him. He could perfectly imagine Jin in his mind, and for him it was torture. He can't get him out of his head. Jin's body kept flashing beneath his closed eyes. He was picturing Jin's face, chiseled abdomen, unruly scarlet hair, and basically everything else. Both of his hands raked his hair and his body was lying on its side.
"Hey Ronan, you alright?" Jin asked.
Ronan looked up and the first thing he saw was a pair of crimson eyes looking worriedly at him. Then, he looked down and saw his abs. He looked to his left and saw a hand pressed beside his head. Ronan could feel heat rushing through his face. He wanted to move, but he was somehow unable to.
"Too close…" the magic knight muttered.
"Huh? Oh, sorry."
Jin raised himself to let Ronan prop his body by the elbows. After the fighter concluded he would be fine, he stood up to get a black sleeveless midriff shirt and white cloth jacket from his wardrobe. After wearing the clothes, he waited a moment to let Ronan catch his breath.
"So, meeting, right?" Jin asked.
Ronan nodded, still breathing a bit faster than normal. Jin held out his hand in front of Ronan. The bluenet was hesitant to accept, but he did. A warm feeling spread from that slight touch. Ronan kept his head low, trying to hide the returning blush in his cheeks.
The redhead slowly moved his hand towards the bluenet's shoulder. "Ronan, are you sure yo-"
With a sudden burst of smoke, Lass suddenly materialized in front of the two guys. Ronan couldn't help being surprised, jerking away from the assassin. Jin simply put both of his hands on his waist.
"I hate to break the moment, but we are already later than everyone. So, "he looked at Jin blankly, "can we go now?"
"Yes, I'm done. Thank you for waiting."
"Good. Now let's get going."
Lass opened the door and Jin was the first one that went out. Ronan looked at the white-haired assassin and saw him holding down a stifle.
"What's so funny?" Ronan asked.
"Geez, Ronan. That scene was simply priceless."
"What?!"
"Seeing you get so worked up about him was definitely worth going invisible."
"Lass, why the heck?"
Lass just laughed, walking out of the room. Ronan soon followed, but not before summoning another rune flare. That thousand-year-old boy deserves a beating, he thought.
A/N: Sorry, the yaoi would still be non-existent until Ronan tells us what really happens in his dreams. It's how the story goes, and I'm just writing it down from my head. I just hope the Lass play won't throw you off...
