Hello! Yay, chapter 11! Ok, first of all.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!

1)I said the story's theme song would change and here it is, I'll be changing it every 10 chapters, which means the next songs will come out in chapters, 21, 31, 41 and so on. I had this idea before i started this story, why am I sharing this with you? Because you can help me pick those songs through the whole story, if you find a song (doesn't matter, english or japanese.) that fit with what is happening in the story, you can pm and tell me the song, or in a review or through my new deviantart account. So, yeah, you have 9 more chapters to help me pick up the next song! I know, it's a silly idea but hey, it was MY silly idea.

So, this chapter's song is Kaidoku by Jinn, I just thought it reflect Jude's feelings! CG has amazing OP songs but and this one fit so well!

2)I made a deviantart account! The link is in my profile, you'll find a draw of Jude made by me (with C.C's modified costume) and (edit-) NOW, Pierce Viants as well. You might think it's uncreative to give her that outfit and that appearance but don't worry, it won't be forever. And I'll be doing more draws as well, Pierce and the rest of my characters.

3)DudeoftheMasterSword: Sorry, I didn't reply last chapter. Thank you, I'm really happy that you like this story and that I can make you feel the emotions! Oh, those god damn emotions! :p

Anyway, Enjoy!

The dream that I dreamed
Was endlessly distant
The blue sky of the desiccated days are in my hand

Trial and error within fixed intervals of sound
A space without time or dimensions
I'll make a life-sized sound
And make up my face
Beautifully, on only one side.

A half-rotted apple
Fell into my hand
Even our other sides are reflected in the mirror.

Trial and error within fixed intervals of sound
A space without time or dimensions
I'll make a life-sized sound
And make up my face
Beautifully, even now...

Trial and error within distant human sensations
A space without time or dimensions
I'll bare my claws at the support for my head and body
And shave off my face
Beautifully, on only one side.

-A distant sensation.
-Life sized.

Kaiduko Funou by Jinn (translated lyrics)

Chapter 11: Bruises

The giant, oily spider attacked right away, a few jumps back and I was right on the edge of the platform. Damn it, there was little space to fight that thing, which meant we had to take it out quickly, otherwise one of us could end up falling into the abysmal limbo beneath us.

We had a hard time fighting it, despite its great size; the spider would easily dodge our attacks. Something you can expect from a creature that has eight legs, of course. Which is why I aimed for its extremities, but I wasn't able to even touch it. Not even Natalia, who could shoot arrows with the speed of a gun, could hit the creature.

The only ones that could deliver damage successfully were Tear, Jade and Anise with their arcane artes. The stupid spider was turning to be a pain in the ass to Guy, Luke, Natalia and me, not only because it was quick dodging, but also quick when taking the offensive.

It was until Luke used his secondary weapon, aka Mieu, that things started to look brighter. And when I say brighter, I mean looking at a giant spider covered in flames and twisting in pain.

Many questions popped in my mind as the spider staggered and fell off of the platform. First, what the fuck? Second, we've been setting oil on fire for about two and a half hours and NO ONE, but Luke came with that idea? Well, at least he used Mieu's ability instead of throwing him around.

Of all things, I felt slightly stupid. Which must have crossed everyone else's mind as well, because no one said anything or did anything, we just stood there.

I was the first one that reacted; I walked all the way to Luke and pushed myself up with my toes to pat him on the head, a little too hard. "Good work, Lucky!" I love teasing this guy.

Luke limited himself to glare and walked toward the others. Natalia crossed her arms not feeling happy about that either, I guess she doesn't like people that look upon her fiancé like a puppy. She ignored what happened and thanked Tear for saving her, which I must say, none of us was expecting.

After that, we realized we had found an emergency exit. We went down the metallic ladder, one by one. Natalia told Guy to catch her if she fell, but we all knew that was impossible for him, still and all, no one commented about it.

The first ones to go down were Luke and Natalia. Because we all know ladies always go first!

I was the third one to join them down there; I turned to the field when my feet touched the floor again. That's when I petrified, rain started to fall from the livid clouds in the sky, perfect timing…

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. The Tartarus, the oh-so-mighty landship that had once belonged to the Malkuth Empire stood before us. Oracle Knights were visible on the deck and a few feet away from us as well. But that's not what caused my petrifaction. The glimpse of vivid red hair, cardinal red to be exact, was incriminating. No, I wasn't talking about Luke, who was right beside me, in the same state I was.

We could only see his back, Asch's back. He was talking to a knight and that's when my eyes caught another familiar color, forest green. The knight Asch was talking with was accompanied by Ion. And before I could reorganize my brain, Luke dashed toward them.

"Hand over Ion, NOW!" Luke, the hero, shouted. And I panicked.

"L-Luke, wait!" I ran after him. Stop it, stop it, you idiot! You are about to screw up your life! You are going to screw my pl-

Luke's battle roar called Asch's attention, Luke took out his sword and Asch was able to block it with his just in time. I wasn't able to see Luke's expression when he saw the face of his original, but I noticed his body stiffened.

"It's YOU!" Asch pushed his blade further to get some distance between them. I had stopped running when they faced each other and now I could hear the others approaching, shouting their name, followed by gasps when they were close enough to notice the similarities.

For a split of a second, I had this weird feeling that I had failed Asch, I never told Luke the truth, but I couldn't help but feel that way. That I should have tackled him at least, or…I don't know…something. But no, I was too scared; too scared he would notice something was wrong if he looked into my eyes. Had I changed? I was so stupid I got to think he would read my mind. Stupid Jude, Stupid!

I barely noticed I was all wet, the rain had intensified in the couple of seconds that had just passed by. The only reason I noticed was because Asch and Luke were wet as well. Not even the cold droplets splashing on my skin had been able to make me come to my senses.

Asch looked at me and the only thing I could do was to look at Jade, he must have read my features when I looked into his eyes because he frowned. 'I tried.'

Liar.

I looked back to Asch, a questioning look on his face. Probably because I was still covered in blood, the dried stains had melted down with the rain. Then, I heard Sync's voice, I couldn't catch what he said but I was able to find him standing on the staircase of the Tartarus's main gate, Ion was beside him.

The knights that I had seen wandering around had rushed into the land ship. "I know!" Asch growled glancing at Sync. He turned to Luke and mumbled something before running to the land ship.

Ion gave me a sweet smile. 'I'm sure you'll realize how special you are, with or without your memories.'

As soon as my brain refreshed those words, a primitive instinct took over me and pushed away my common sense. I ran after him and he ran faster when he noticed, also because the Tartarus had started to move. I heard the others yelling at me, telling me to go back, but stopping was out of my reach in that moment. Ion. Ion. Ion.

Asch jumped and landed on the land ship's staircase, he turned around pulling his hair away from his face. "Are you fucking crazy?" He hissed, "Go back with the others!"

I ran faster to reduce the distance between the staircase and me; I was not going to fail Ion, not him! I jumped and landed the way Asch did, though I had to crouch to reduce the impact and wrapped my hands around the bars of the railing to avoid falling back.

I was going to stand up, but the sharp sound of a blade being unsheathed made me stop. My eyes met the tip of Asch's sword when I looked up. A dead serious expression on his face, "Big, big mistake..."

Asch ignored the girl's protests as he dragged her all the way to the deck of the land ship. She was whining about her sword being confiscated for the third time, which by the way, was now strapped around his waist.

He didn't care about that, nor did he care why she was covered in blood, at least not now. He was heading to the strategy room but Jude wasn't cooperating, trying to get free from the tight grip he had over her arm.

The Dark Wings had left a few minutes before the dreck and his bunch of followers appeared, the trio had told him everything Jude said. They told him about spending all his money and selling the ring he gave her, a present from his mother, his beloved mother. To make everything worst, he had read Jude's message, the one she wrote behind his letter.

The message was clear and simple, only two oversized words were written at the back of the page: FUCK OFF, just beside the message, a terrible doodle of herself flipping the bird.

Asch was looking for some privacy to start shouting and asked her if she was stupid or just out of her freakin' mind.

"Hey, are you even listening?" Jude yelled, trying to match Asch's strength unsuccessfully. "What do you want with Ion?" Her too loud reproaches were now calling the attention of whomever passed by.

Asch pulled her violently and looked at her in the eye. "Shut the fuck up!" He had finally lost his patience with her, at his point he just wanted to kick her in the ass. He was getting sick of worrying over a worthless, annoying girl that couldn't even remember him.

Those four words made her flinch, and now she was staring into his eyes with fear, shock and a little bit of indignation. Not so far away from them, Largo and Sync were escorting Ion as well. Every person within a ten feet radius was looking at the young couple; both God-Generals and the Fon Master were included.

Asch yelled, oblivious that they had an audience. "Is it true? Is it true that you sold MY ring?" Jude was too shocked to say anything and Asch shook her, "You sold it? Tell me, god damn it!"

She looked away and opened her mouth, but she closed it again as soon as she noticed they were being watched. All traces of fear vanished and were replaced with a cold smile. "Yes, I sold it."

Now it was Asch's turn to be shocked, he was hoping everything had been a joke, a sick stupid joke. But the cold smile was still there, plastered in her face. Her next words didn't make it any better.

"I thought I would get more gald selling trash like that, I didn't get much." Jude shrugged indifferently.

"You…do you have any idea of much that 'trash' meant to me?" He growled, and Jude felt his nails digging on her flesh beneath his gloves. Still, she kept smirking.

"Not enough for me to care." She mocked brushing his arms away, and got close enough to whisper into his ear. "Poor Luke fon Fabre can't let go his past? You are pathetic…"

Asch was speechless, he never expected her to say that and less of all, he hadn't expected her to get so close to him. He wasn't exactly sure which of the two reasons made him feel weak. Wait, what was he thinking?

Jude was unsatisfied with his reaction and continued whispering, "You never had what was needed to be king anyway, and that's why you were replaced by someone better than you." She scoffed. "Your family is better off without you."

Asch's gaze was lost in time, hearing her words; he was probably reminded of something Van told him, something similar. That's when rage had finally started building up inside him.

"I would never have been your friend if I had known you were such a miserable and worthless human being."Jude stepped away and this time, she wasn't whispering anymore, "Asch wants to cry?" Everyone was expectant to what Asch would do. "I think everyone you love is trash!"

Now he was shaking with anger and Jude smiled as soon as she found his weak spot.

"Oh, what is it, Asch, you need your mommy?" Jude laughed placing a hand close to her ear. The audience could feel the tension and were now whispering and gasping behind them.

"What the hell is she doing?" Sync questioned without taking off his eyes from the couple, he knew what was coming. Despite the question, Largo just stared at them, he knew what Jude was doing. Ion intended to stop this at once but Largo lay a strong and heavy hand over his shoulder to keep him in place.

"Jude, please stop this!" Ion cried, knowing Jude's life was in danger. But Jude ignored him.

"Don't you-"

"I think your mother-"

"dare-"

"-is a filthy-"

"-talk about Mother!"

Before anyone could blink, Asch the Bloody was living up to his title and delivering a blow after another. Sync was in shock while Largo wore a pitiful look. Ion was trying to get out of his grip, tears running down his youthful face as he saw how Asch was ripping Jude apart. Or from Asch's perspective, ripping Van apart.

Just as Largo expected, Jude didn't try to dodge any of his attacks, and most of them went to her stomach and shoulders.

'Good times never last forever. You have enough good memories, count your blessings.'

Those words echoed inside Asch's head. Van knew nothing about him; Asch always thought Van was the shadow of what his father should have been. A true father figure. He wanted to make Van proud of him, something he never accomplished with Duke Fabre.

'Good times never last forever…' How could he say that when he took away all the little things that made him happy? 'You have enough good memories…' Asch couldn't agree with that, ten years of good memories wouldn't be enough for anyone, especially when there was not even a future for him.

Asch abandoned the thought of what a father should have been, just the way they abandoned him.

Blinded by rage and tears, he punched and punched until Jude's body hit the floor; the blood in her uniform could make anyone believe she was dead. As he cleared his head, he realized what he had done and the former Luke fon Fabre stopped breathing for a full minute.

Finally, Jude rolled onto her side and coughed some blood. Asch stared at her, still horrified, watching as she staggered to her feet.

Blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her hair was a mess and covered her eyes. Asch's hands were shaking. "Jude, I-I wasn't…I didn't-"

She ignored him, and dragged her feet towards him as she reached for something in her pocket. Asch flinched when Jude placed her hand on the side of his neck and rested her chin on his opposite shoulder, seeking for support.

She was breathing heavily and Asch could feel his heart racing faster. He had hurt her, how did it happen?

He finally came back to his senses when he felt her fingers brushing gently on his palm. Their fingers tangled for a few seconds and he could fell something pressing between their palms. Her hand slipped out of his, and he looked down to see what was now resting on his palm, his ring, the one Mother gave him.

Once again, Asch was speechless; Jude's shoulders started to dithered and a soft choking sound escaped her lips. "You should visit your mother some time. I've heard she is a really kind person…" Her voice was soft and weak.

Jude coughed again and Asch secured a hand over her arm. "I-I guess… I'm actually your bitch after all…" Her voice cracked.

Earlier than expected, her body melted down and Asch had to hold her to prevent her from falling on her side. He found a weak smile curled on her lips when he looked at her face; her eyes were going in and out of focus, fighting against her eyelids.

"W-why?" Asch choked shaking his head with skepticism.

Jude mildly shook her head, from left to right. "It's ok. I'll… shut up… now…" She closed her eyes and fell asleep…

I groaned in pain as Largo helped me sit on a chair, inside Asch's room, or at least the room he took possession of. I gave the Black Lion a pained smile; I had lost consciousness for just a few minutes after what happened with Asch. When I woke up, Asch asked Largo to please take me to his room without even looking at me.

I was ready to argue about his decision since I wanted to go wherever they took Ion. But my body hurt too much, only a grunt came out of my mouth, too tired to move my jaw. It was awkward to see relief on Asch's face when Largo pulled me up effortlessly and dragged me all the way to his room.

"Here you go." Largo handed me a plastic bag full of ice that he gladly stole from the kitchen of the land ship.

"Thanks." I smirked, placing the bag on my right upper arm; I frowned as the icy sensation burned my skin, but the tingle faded as I started to lose sensitivity in that area. "How come I'm not in a prison cell?"

Largo walked across the room and sat on Asch's bed. "You are going to help the Commandant, am I correct?" I nodded.

"But Asch doesn't kn-"

"He doesn't have to." He replied in a soothing tone. "That's why you wanted him to harm you?"

"I just thought I deserved it, I'm going to betray him after all…" My gaze locked on the wooden floor for a moment. "When I saw all those knights looking at us, I knew it would be perfect, a traitor needs to be humiliated."

He looked at me with a pondering look. "For your own peace of mind?"

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "When I found out what I was…I-" I paused to reorganize my thoughts. "I realized Asch never took all that rage out, you know, the rage he held all this years against Van."

"I see…" The Lion crossed an arm and scratched his beard. "I had never seen such honorable action in my entire life as a soldier. You probably have more courage than any of the knights in this ship."

I chuckled, "I wouldn't call it courage. 'Resignation' is a better word to describe it." I took the ice bag and placed it on top of my left shoulder.

"Still, you've impressed a lot of people. But tell me…" He paused and stood up. "You realize you may die in Akzeriuth, don't you?"

"I have thought about it…" I closed my eyes. "If it's not Jade then, maybe Van won't keep his promise of letting me go…"

"So, you know what you may face there." He said, mostly talking to himself.

"Yeah, I'm not planning to die though." I opened my eyes and glanced at him. He nodded and head for the door. "Largo, wait."

"What is it?"

"What do you think is Asch doing now?" I asked, playing with my thumbs.

He cupped his chin thoughtfully. "He's in the strategy room with Sync, making plans for our next destination. Though I doubt he'll be able to concentrate with what happened outside. I assume he might feel guilty in some way."

"I guess I didn't think about that. Don't tell him about what I told you ok?" He nodded and walked out closing the door behind him. Ok Jude, there's no way to turn back now; you didn't make him kick your ass for nothing.

I stood up and groaned as I straightened my back. Damn, Asch hits hard. I turned around; there was another door at the right side, a bathroom I supposed. I looked at my clothes again and sniffed my arm. Ugh, I need a bath urgently!

I kicked off my boots and took off my coat. I stared at it for a while before throwing it to the floor with a huff; I hated having to wear it. I took off the rest of my clothes and bandages placing them over the chair; I entered the bathroom and locked the door…

Asch rubbed his forehead and frowned without taking his eyes off the map, he was supposed to be listening to Sync's explanation about their next check point, but all he heard was blah blah blah. That function of his brain had been shut down by a certain blue-haired beauty.

Asch nodded when Sync pointed a location on the map. Hell, he didn't know what the younger God-General was talking about, but he still did anyway. What the hell was happening to him…? No, what the hell was happening to Jude? Why did she want him to hit her?

Apparently, she had found out they had been friends…

Also, she knew about that rumor that had been going on, he had heard about it some time ago. He heard about it in the Oracle ship, but he thought it was best to avoid telling her. She would have tried to stay away from him if she had heard and…and…and…and he didn't want that, did he?

His mind started to wander off, back to when he was eight…

The prominent sun shined in front of them and the rays bathe the city. The sky, clouds and even the sea had acquired amazing tinges of yellow. The shades went from saffron to ivory to amber and then to gold, a cast of beautiful sunny colors in display. Baticul wasn't called the 'Capital of Light' for nothing.

An eight year old Jude ran over the turf. She came to an end when her feet reached the edge of the cliff. Right behind her gaited, a not so excited, Luke fon Fabre sighed. 'At least she didn't trip this time.' he thought, as he approached her.

Jude admired the splendorous view, her blue eyes gleaming with the light. "Luke, it's…it's …it's… just wow."

Luke grinned and sat on the edge; Jude mimicked him and sat by his side, licking her oversized rainbow lollipop. "I was bored one day and took a stroll to the outskirts of the city, this is what I found."

Jude glanced at him and blinked a couple of times, "Your parents know you come here?"

"Nope." He smiled arrogantly, but faded quickly. "Don't tell them, ok? I can't go out of the city."

"Don't worry, I won't tell them." Jude chirped swinging her legs. "I'm afraid of your dad, anyway. Guy knows?"

Luke shook his head, "He'd go crazy if he finds out. Maybe I'll bring Natalia when she comes back."

"Too bad she isn't here; I would've liked meeting her." Jude smiled impishly and nabbed Luke's cheek. "Luke wants to kiss her~!"

"Oww." Luke brushed her hand away and rubbed his cheek. "Kiss a girl? That's gross!" He said, but a faint blush crept on his cheeks, he knew it was true...

Asch's head trip was interrupted when Sync smashed a fist on the table. "Asch!" The daydreamer jolted and looked at Sync. The green-haired God-General raised an eyebrow, but Asch wasn't able to see it, of course. It was the first time Sync had seen insecurity and confusion in the eyes of 'the Bloody.'

Sync ran a hand through his untamed hair. "You are thinking about her, aren't you?"

Asch's features fixed back to normal. "No, I was thinking about something else..." He huffed and pulled the map closer to his face. But no matter how much he tried to focus on whatever he was supposed to do, Jude kept popping in his head. He had never thought about her as more than a friend. He…he…he loves Natalia. Then why…

Sync looked over the map. There was so much intensity on the redhead's eyes, that for a second, Sync thought he would burn the map with them.

"Ah hah." Sync replied with skepticism. Asch glanced back at him, this time with a glare. Sync snatched the map from his hands and placed it on the table. "Like I was saying, we'll get down here and walk all the way to the Zao Ruins." He remarked with a little bit of annoyance, pointing at the green dot on the map.

Asch heard what he said this time, "Yeah, it's better to keep the Tartarus out of sight. Behind the mesa it'll be just fine." Sync nodded and marked an 'X' in the spot Asch pointed out. After discussing about how their mission would take place, both God- Generals head to their rooms respectively…

I stepped out of the shower feeling fresh and clean, draining out my hair and twisting it between my fingers. Then, I wrapped a towel around my head and a second one around my body. At least I don't smell funny now!

I unlocked the door and twisted the knob to open it. Just after stepping out of the bathroom, I realized something was wrong. My clothes, the ones I had left over the chair, were gone. What the- Where are my clothes?

I looked around frantically, but there was no sign of them. Oh, Yulia, this can't be happening! I entered the bathroom again just to make sure I hadn't left them there. But nope, I was positive I had left them over that damn chair! I came out of the bathroom again. What if someone comes i-

The door to the hall, opened! Worst of all, it was Asch! We stared at each other for a split of a second followed by an imminent blush that crept over our faces. I always thought I would scream if something like this ever happened to be, but nothing came out of my mouth instead, I froze. Asch was the first one to come back to his senses. He closed the door behind him, glancing away with an agonizing look on his face; the redness on his face wouldn't go away.

"Whe-Where are my clothes?" I stammered, making sure the towel around my body was secured.

"I took them to the laundry room." He said, looking me from the corner of his eye. "They were covered with blood." I was about to suffer brain death, killing him before that sounded like a wonderful idea.

"Y-you WHAT?" My voice raised about three octaves. "Bring them back! I have nothing else to wear, you moron!" The only reason I wasn't strangling him now was because I was making sure the towel covered my private parts.

He snorted. "I know…" My mouth dropped open, the way he said it was definitely not a good sign. And the blush on my face intensified.

"W-what?" I choked, taking a step back.

He turned his head to face me and he frowned when he noticed a bruise on my right shoulder. "Take off that towel."I choked on my own saliva and coughed.

"Excuse me?" He took a step forward and I took another step back. "Y-you pervert! Get away from me!"

"Look, I don't have time for this!" The blush in his face deepened as well. He continued in a softer, more awkward tone. "I…I want to see what I did to you!"

There was determination in his eyes and I stepped away a third time and bumped on the wall. Why is the room getting smaller now? I started to panic inside my head, my heart was beating faster and faster and the fresh, cold feeling the bath I'd taken had left in my body was being overcome by the heat of my body.

"I'm not gonna molest you or anything. I just want to see how badly I hurt you." He continued and walked towards me, I instinctively squeezed my back on the wall. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Asch's eyes widened and he paralyzed, he was staring at my neck. And I felt a droplet of water sliding in that same spot, from the side of my neck, all the way down to my bre- Oh Yulia! I brushed the drop away. I had reached my limit. I snatched the vase that was over the bed table.

"Stay away, I'm warning you!" I threatened, holding the vase over my head, ready to attack. "You better bring me some clothes before something happens to you!" But he decided not to listen and he grabbed my wrist pulling me closer, his body was tensed. I screamed and squeezed my eyes as I threw the vase toward him. Stupid Jude, how were you going to hit him if you close your eyes?

Just as expected, the vase didn't even touched him, it crashed against the wall. But that wasn't the worst part, when I threw it; I slipped and fell forward, taking Asch with me. He was caught off guard and fell back, me on top of him. The motion catapulted the towel that was wrapped on my head through the air and my damped hair fell in place.

His arms were wrapped around me, probably to keep me from hurting myself further, but neither of us had realized what had happened yet. I shook my head and pulled myself off his chest with a grunt. That's when I met his green eyes and it took us a couple of seconds to realize how we had ended up like that and also that our faces were just a few inches away from each other.

Our eyes widened at the same time, looking into each other's eyes and we blushed madly. He unwrapped his arms in a flash and I jumped to my feet. Asch staggered to his feet, he kept his head bowed, and his hair was all over his face.

"Asch I- I'm sorry, it- it was my fault. YEAH, I- well-" I stumbled on my words but he raised a hand to make me stop babbling. His head was still low.

"I'll… I'll go get you some clothes…" He mumbled, too soft I barely heard. I nodded dumbly. He turned on his heel; from the way he dragged his feet and teetered I thought he was going to fall flat on his face. He opened the door and closed it behind him.

The moment he left the room I was able to relax a bit, not fully though. What had happened a couple of seconds ago was still swirling around my head. The awkwardness of the entire situation had worn me out and I plopped down on his bed.

My eyes drifted to the broken pieces of the vase, some of the pieces had flown all the way to the bathroom's entrance. I'm officially a disaster, I thought, smacking my head with my palm. I wondered how Asch was feeling now. Probably, just as embarrassed as I felt, but he asked for it! He wanted to…wanted to...see if I was ok. The thought of it made me blush again.

Of course, I wasn't going to let him see me. The impulsive way he wants to do things creates this type of situations, and they can only end in awkwardness. He could have just asked if I had more bruises…which I did.

The door opened, Asch came in and closed the door behind him again. Apparently, he had managed to regain his composure when he left because his usual 'don't-talk-to-me' face was there. A small pile of clothes on his hands. I forced a smile, snatched the pile away and shut the bathroom's door behind me before he could say anything.

I rested my back on the door for a few seconds; my heart was beating faster again, which was weird because I was no longer in that situation. The moment Asch came in, it had gone crazy again, drumming against my chest. I shook off those thoughts off my brain and look down at the garments resting on my hands; I unfolded them to inspect them.

White undergarments, a white tank top and a pair of pine green trousers with small bags everywhere. The color reminded me of Jade's uniform. My beloved Jade, I miss you!

If I was correct, the trousers were part of some sort of military uniform, Malkuth uniform. Or at least that's what I thought. To tell the truth, I didn't like them, I don't know why. But hey, at least they were comfortable. I could use them like pajamas.

I walked out of the bathroom with my new pajamas and acted like nothing had happened, thought I was fighting inward to keep myself from hyperventilating. Asch was lying on his bed, his arms were tucked underneath his head and he was looking at the ceiling like he wanted to start a fight with it. I cleared my throat and his eyes scrolled to my direction. His expression reduced to a cold stare.

"Thanks for the clothes." I said, tucking my arms behind my back. His eyes flicked back to the ceiling like I had said nothing. Ok, I really don't get this guy, he is all worried one second and next he is acting like a douche bag, is he bipolar or what?

I plopped down on the chair and leaned forward to rest my head on my hands, a sulk on my face. I noticed he had unfastened his and my sword and were now leaning on the wall, next to the bed. Asch noted I was looking at them.

"Don't even think about it." He barked, giving me a glare. I huffed and rolled my eyes; I knew making Asch mad again wouldn't bring anything good, I knew it wouldn't make me feel sinless this time.

Asch rolled onto his side to face me, the motion managed to release his medallion from its imprisonment between his clothes and chest. My body tensed automatically as it swung like a pendulum.

"Are you ok?" His question made me glance away from the accessory.

"I'm fine." I lied; panic was building up inside me again and I fidget with a strand of my hair. I was afraid of the memories, the pain… Could Asch's medallion do the same? Asch's eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you sure? You're very pale." He jumped off the bed and I jolted. He raised a brow suspiciously.

"I'm… It's just…" Come on, Jude! Think of something! Lie, just lie! "I'm feeling a little bit dizzy. I think getting new bandages for my head would be a good idea." Good.

He crossed his arms, "I forgot to ask you, but how did you get injured? There was a lot of blood on your uniform." Oh, crap. Lie, lie again!

"Dist the Ranter's fault. He attacked us when we were heading to Baticul." I'm getting good at this. Apparently, that sounded convincing to him. He walked to his drawer, took out some bandages, and turned to look at me.

"Maybe I should-" But he started to wrap the bandages around my forehead. "O-kay, you are already doing it..." I complained, trying not to sound nervous.

His hands moved quickly and then, he pulled away, he was definitely trying to avoid as much contact as possible. I don't blame him, the reason I wanted to do it myself was the same. Neither of us were comfortable with what happened not so long ago. But then, why did he still do it?

"T-thanks," I stammered. Again, he ignored my gratitude and strapped his belt and mine. He then, unsheathed his sword and pointed me with it. I glared at him.

"I'll take you to another room, you'll share it with Ion. Now, get up." He said, sharply. I stood up and scowled before turning around. I opened the door and step outside followed by him.

"We are going left; walk until I tell you to stop."He ordered grabbing my shoulder from behind. I growled but followed his orders.

Now I was wondering, who had ordered capturing Ion? I do remember Anise saying Mohs was really mad when Ion disappeared. But, weren't the God-Generals in Mohs's side? Hell, I'm not sure what to think now, Van or Mohs? Just what the hell do those guys want?

Asch poked me on the back with the tip of his sword. I turned my head.

"Hey!" I scowled.

"You were walking too fast." He protested with a burlesque smile on his face.

"You are unbelievable." I hissed, walking slower and he snorted. He didn't have to tell me to stop; there was a door that was being guarded by two oracle knights. That's were Ion must be. And I was right.

The knights stepped away from the room as we approached. Asch looked at the knights.

"Beware of this girl; she is likely to cause troubles." He explained and I crossed my arms. The knights answered with the typical 'Yes, sir!' phrase. Asch unlocked the door and pushed me inside before shutting the door behind me. A 'click' sound that came from the other side of the door announced that he had locked the door again.

But I stopped caring when Ion rushed to my side.

"Jude! I was so worried!" He claimed. "What Asch did to you- Are you ok?"

I patted him on the head, "Don't worry. I'm fine." I smiled and he smiled back. There were two beds in the room, I sat on one of them and Ion sat beside me.

"What about you, did you get hurt?" I asked. He shook his head from left to right.

"Jude?" I looked at him when he called out. "You…what happened with Asch was-"

"Please don't tell anyone." I interrupted. "At least, don't tell them it was him." I begged, I was talking about Tear and the others.

"Ok…" He replied, but he didn't look comfortable with that.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I provoked him, it was my fault." I was ashamed that he had to presence something like that. I really was.

"Something isn't right, is it?" There was a downhearted tone in his voice. My smile weakened, he knew I wouldn't tell him and it was better that way.

"Nothing is Ion… Nothing is…"

Ahhhhhh! Angsty! XP

Please, review!