A/N: I'll be honest, I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time. A really long time. If all goes as planned it'll be pretty long. o_o
Disclaimer: And this section right here is why I hate beginning new chapters ;_; why must I be reminded every time that I don't own GC?
Chapter 23: Realizations
For a moment everyone simply stared at the back of the magician who was slowly retreating out of the room and towards the staircase.
"But you... What?" Lass' voice reached her, making the magician slowly turn around, "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. They want me to be the new leader of the guild. I was given the hat and lamp in hopes I would be able to advance to my next job as soon as possible." Elesis blinked, a frown coming to her face.
"They asked you to be the new leader?" There was a pause before she continued, " ... What did you say?" Arme shrugged.
"I told them no. I can't be a leader of a guild and a member of the Grand Chase at the same time, it wouldn't work well." At this most of the expressions of the others in the room seemed relieved, though some stayed worried.
"Arme, if they asked you to me their leader they surely had a good reason... Did you listen to them?" Ronan asked, concern voiced in his words.
"I did, but they don't need me. There are others with much better qualifications-"
"The stupid girl didn't listen at all." The hat interrupted her from the table, "If she had, she would have realized how determined Ellyrine was to have her as the next leader. Chances are that that girl won't let Arme return me until she accepts, either. They need a new leader badly."
"Yeah, but we need Arme too! They can't just take her because they feel like it! I wasn't even consulted about this beforehand!" Elesis was beginning to speak more loudly as she continued, glaring at Mahou Boushi as though it was the hat's fault the guild wanted Arme. Ronan put a hand on her shoulder.
"Elesis, you have to think about it through their perspective... I know the Knight's guild has had the same leader throughout all the time you've been in it, But a couple years ago we lost the leader of the Kanavan Royal Guard during a mission. For the next few months the guild was a mess... No one know what was going on and everyone was arguing over the new leader. I can't blame them for wanting to resolve this quickly." Arme looked at the floor, listening as the different members voiced their opinions.
"I'm not ready to lead a guild, though..." Arme murmured, attracting the attention of the other members again, "I'm not even a sufficient alchemist yet..." Ronan looked down at the table, eyes half lidded.
"I'll admit it's pretty odd for them to choose you... Generally for a leader there's an age restriction and a requirement of fourth job..." Mahou Boushi sighed.
"They're bypassing those rules for a good reason. Stick a war staff in that girl's hands and I can assure you she would have no problem with it after a little while's practice. I've fought with hundreds of magicians before, and even now her power surpasses a good half of them... Or it would if she could actually use her brain." Amy picked up the hat by it's tip, looking at it with a frown.
"That's not very nice, Bou! Arme's your new master, you can't be mean to her!" The hat's large purple eyes blinked, staring at Amy.
"Don't refer to me in such an informal manner!" It snapped, "I'll give her respect once she's earned it!" It began swinging back and forth in her grip in a futile struggle, not getting far.
"But in any event, Arme said no so they'll back off, right?" Elesis asked, standing up.
"Hardly. They may have other options, but Arme is the most promising one. They'll be doing everything in their power to get her to agree. Whether she actually ends up as the leader or not is based on the girl's determination." Elesis glanced at Arme, who in turn looked at the floor.
"I... I can't think this through right now. I'm going to go to my room." She stated, turning back to the staircase. This time she wasn't stopped as she made her way up them and to the beige inn room.
Flopping down on her bed after she deposited the weapons against the wall, she let out a loud sigh before looking over to the night stand. Why would they need me to lead the guild? There are so many more promising people... No. I'll think about this tomorrow, when I'm thinking clearly. It was true that she didn't seem to be in the right emotional state to deal with extremely important matters at that moment; her eyes were stinging with tears of frustration from the fact that they had even thought to put her in such a position when she clearly had other obligations. Her book on alchemy was sitting neglectedly on the nightstand near the rest of her few belongings; she stretched to pull it onto the bed in front of her. Information displayed itself openly on the pages, and she looked over them slowly. She had finished looking over an entire page before she came to the abrupt realization she wasn't actually taking in any of the information on the page. With a sigh she set it aside and placed her head down on the covers, uncertain on what to do.
After closing her eyes for a few minutes and attempting sleep she realized it wouldn't be possible; she was far to restless to even lie still. Sitting up and pulling her legs up in front of her, she leaned back on the wall. A crash came from the floor below and made Arme jump, staring at the floor with concern. A minute later her door creaked open, an ever-so familiar assassin stepping in.
"What just broke?" She asked when he had walked over to sit next to her silently. The silver haired boy shrugged.
"Elesis' patience and a lamp that she tripped over on her way to the door. She's decided she's going to talk to Ellyrine and Lore about this whole thing."
"Ah." Silence filled the room, the only sound coming from the slight shifting of the blanket as Lass leaned forward. He glanced over to her for a moment before looking back down at the blanket, looking over at her again after a minute as though he had something to say. In turn the magician only stared back inquisitively, watching him with a steady gaze until he met her eyes.
"Arme?" The magician nodded.
"Yeah?" The assassin breathed heavily, letting out a sigh before he continued.
"Elesis never asked, but... Do you... Do you actually want to be the leader of a guild?" Arme's eyes widened, and for a moment she stared at Lass as though she hadn't understood him. Then, taking a breath, she looked to the ceiling.
"I guess I didn't really think about it. I mean..." She paused.
"You only rejected it because you're in the chase?" Lass' voice was incredulous, and the magician shrugged indifferently.
"Sort of. It's not like I really deserve the position, either..."
"I didn't ask if you deserved it. I asked if you want to be the leader, Arme." He pressed, sapphire eyes locking onto her violet orbs.
"Well... If I was the leader of a guild I wouldn't be able to spend time with any of you any more. Not to mention that without you around I'd probably just trip down a staircase and die." Lass chuckled lightly, nodding.
"I can't say I doubt that." Arme looked down at her lap.
"And... I know so far I haven't really seemed to do much other than get injured, but I'd like to think when the time comes that you guys really need a magician I'll be there." The thief seemed almost relieved at her words.
"And I wouldn't have any other magician in our team." He responded with a gentle smile, ruffling her hair as he often did.
"So no, right now I don't want to be a leader of the guild. Maybe some day, but... Not now." Lass nodded, finally standing up and stretching.
"Arme, so long as you don't want to they can't force you. It'll be fine." He said, looking to the door, "But I'm going to head downstairs. They were a bit worried to ask, but I know a few of the others were concerned that you actually wanted to be the guild leader. Especially Amy."
"Ah, really? I didn't think it would worry them that much..." Lass tilted his head, turning back to her.
"Arme, you know everyone cares about you, right?" He said, "and as long as we can help it, we're going to keep you with us." Lass exited the room after saying this, leaving Arme to pull the alchemy book back onto her lap. The assassin's visit had calmed her anxiety quite a bit, allowing her to actually take in the words in front of her. It'll all work out fine.
Despite the idea of everything working out fine the next week had piled on stress, each day taking it's toll on the magician. As Mahou Boushi had predicted Ellyrine hadn't given up when Arme had tried to return the hat the next day, refusing to take it back. That hat rightfully belongs to you, as does the lamp. She continued coming to the inn each day (some days bringing Lore, who didn't really say much) to attempt to convince Arme to accept, and this had put the navy blue haired magician on rather bad terms with Elesis. Ryan and Jin had returned five days after the meeting, and they were equally surprised to find out about Arme's current standings with her guild. The violet magician was surprised when Ryan had took a more insistent side with her, agreeing that it would be a bad idea for the magician to become the leader. They, however, weren't in a position to do much. Nearly every waking moment for them was spent practicing their new weapons or sparring with eachother, making Arme feel almost guilty for the lack of practice she had had with the pot (though over the last week she had nearly finished the book and done a bit of training).
That morning Arme was simply lying on her bed, waiting for the knock on her door that was certain to come. Ellyrine had been arriving fairly early each morning, and looking at her clock Arme knew it was almost time. Her head pressed into her pillow, she was shocked when she heard the doorknob turn without a knock. Guess she's decided not to bother with the formality today. Waiting without looking up, Arme only rolled over when her shoulder was tapped.
"... Lass?" Arme's eyes widened, and she moved to sit up. Lass was looking at her with a contemplative look on his face, eyes focused.
"... Ellyrine is going to be here soon, you should probably go." She murmured, "It'll just be the same old stuff." A frown took to the silver haired assassin's face and he shook his head, placing his hands on his hips.
"No. Arme, you haven't been... All right over the last week." The magician blinked.
"I'm fine, Lass! She'll have to give up soon, at the very latest when Ronan and Elesis finish gathering their third job items." For the last few days Ronan and Elesis had been going out to gather the required items for their third job, returning rather late in the day. Of the three requests Lass' to get third job had been the only one rejected, and they weren't certain of why. 'It says in the letter that the assassin's leader believes I have the power to obtain third job through another means,' the silver haired boy had explained irritatedly.
"That's the thing though, you're not!" He exclaimed irritatedly, "It's taking too much out of you! You're not nearly as... Happy, any more, Arme. Every time she visits you're worn out, and she's trying to make it out as though you're abandoning your guild or something!" He let out a heavy breath and ran a hand through his hair, pausing for a moment. He then reached into his pocket, and hesitantly pulled something out.
"What...?" Arme stared when he opened his palm, revealing a thin strand of blue.
"This is a one-time thing, all right? Now accept before I change my mind." Arme didn't have to ask what he meant; she took the ribbon from his hand with a smile and walked over to the dresser to grab a brush while the assassin sat down on the bed. Returning, the magician sat down quietly behind him and began humming as she ran the brush through his silver locks.
"Thanks, Lass." She nearly whispered, keeping her eyes trained on his hair.
"It's no big deal. My hair probably could use a good brushing now and again. The pony tail thing might hurt my dignity a bit, but I'll get over it." Arme nodded, her smile widening.
"After all, with a manly name like Lass you surely have a lot of dignity to be hurt." She remarked, gathering his hair. Lass scoffed.
"Hey! My name was hardly my choice!" Leaning back to look at her as she wound the ribbon around his hair, Arme was shocked to see him smiling back.
"I would hit you right now if I wasn't so relieved to see you smile." He remarked calmly, watching her sparkling violet orbs with interest.
"I'll have to keep smiling then, won't I?" The magician responded, brushing his bangs into place. Despite this statement, her face immediately fell when the chime on the front door sounded, her hands falling to her sides.
"Ellyrine's here. I should go down and..." Her half-hearted mumble was cut off by a violent shake of Lass' head, the assassin turning around and standing up.
"Not today." He stated firmly, leaning forward and picking her up. Arme gasped, a light blush falling on her face.
"What are you-?"
"Let's go." He said with a smirk, turning to the window, "It's not like you'll gain anything from staying here."
"B-but Ellyrine's downstairs and she's going to be up here soon-"
"And that's exactly why we're going now!" Lass replied, throwing open the window pane and slipping out with Arme still tightly in his grasp. Her heart was racing for several reasons, not all of which she could identify. The sapphire eyed boy wasted no time exiting the yard of the inn entering the small park nearby with a grin.
"Is this a-allowed?" Arme questioned as he set her down, looking around at the small swings and slide.
"Hm... Not really, but who cares?" He said, "She already knows your answer." He said, looking over his shoulder at the inn where Arme's open window was still visible.
"And.. You know we're in a public area with your hair up, right?" Arme continued, her smile returning. Lass' eyeds widened and he reached up to his hair, uttering a quiet curse.
"Well, this isn't very good for my reputation."
"Don't take it out!" The lilac haired girl insisted, "It looks cute!" The assassin stared at her for a minute before complying and pulling his hair away from the tie. Looking around the area, he pointed in a direction. Arme's eyes followed, and she soon came to the realization that he was pointing at a small forest path.
"Fine. If I'm leaving it up we're going somewhere less public." Nodding, The amethyst eyed girl took Lass' hand and began to lead the way. For a second the silver haired boy tensed; it only took him a moment to relax at her hold. Silence fell between them when they entered the somewhat dark woods; the sunlight was hardly visible as it peeked through the leaves. Arme still observed what she could, feeling oddly calm despite the fact that she had just blown off an important meeting.
"Think Ellyrine will be mad when we get back?" She asked, glancing over a Lass. The assassin shrugged.
"Perhaps annoyed with me. I've only really seen her about... four times over the last two years, but she doesn't seem like the type of person to get angry easily. Though then again, she also doesn't really seem like the type of person who would continue insisting you lead the guild though you've told her several times you don't want to." Arme's gaze moved to the ground.
"But... They really do need a new leader."
"And they'll get one! It doesn't have to be you, Arme. She's only trying to convince you of that because otherwise there's no way you'll accept." Arme nodded gingerly, still not looking at the thief. Lass frowned at her swift change in mood.
"Now, I've pretty much kidnapped you from Ellyrine's meeting to get you away from thoughts like that. Let's not go back to them." He reminded her lightly, "How about telling me exactly how much in damage repairs we're going to owe this inn by the time we leave from all of your alchemist experiments?" Arme's cheeks heated up from embarrasment, and she looked away. The forest surrounding them was still dark, though she could assume they were getting closer to the center by the thick crown of the trees.
Almost fifteen minutes of idle chatter had passed when Lass stopped suddenly, his grip on Arme's hand loosening for a second and then tightening. Arme stopped at the same time, turning to him inquisitively. The assassin's eyes were darting left and right as he surveyed the area, turning around to look behind them quickly.
"Lass?"
"Wait. I could have sworn I heard..."
The next event happened so quickly Arme had difficulty realizing what had happened. There was a crack of a branch in a tree above, accompanied by an almost explosive rustle of leaves as figures burst in from the dark woods surrounding the pair of chasers. A large, heavy body had collided with her back, force sending her staggering forward a few feet and wrenching her hand from Lass. Before she could regain her footing a cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth, causing a burning yet sweet smell to fill her lungs.
"Arme!" She could hear Lass yell out her name but wasn't able to see him from where she was, and panic began to fill her as a light haze started settling in her mind. What's going on? There was no time to work that out; it would have to be done later. Her hands had been pinned to her sides by a large arm encircling her stomach; it didn't impair her in the least from conjuring two large flames. This caught onto the sleeves of the man who was holding her, and he instantly released her, dropping the cloth from her face to roll on the ground and attempt to put out his sleeves.
"Damn it, that bitch is a magician!" this was said by a voice Arme couldn't identify, but could easily assume was one of the attackers. Wasting no time, Arme spun around as she assessed the situation. She and Lass were surrounded by at the very least twenty people, four of whom were attempting to wrestle the assassin down. Without his scimitar he was having difficulties fighting them off; Arme had found out a few months prior that he wasn't all that skilled with hand-to-hand combat.
"Someone get the girl!" Arme's heart raced again, and she turned just in time to see a thinner man than the one that had previously attacked her lunging. To this she hastily used reverse gravity, the effects noticeably weaker than usual and only lifting her assasilant up off the ground a few feet. This also caught two others she hadn't noticed approaching her, setting them off balance and allowing her to make a dash towards Lass. Before she could get there several others made their attempts to grab her; one outright missing while another had to be fended off with a short lightning bolt. This left her vulnerable for a moment, and the others took full advantage of it. This is hopeless! Her mind screamed as a hand snaked up and grabbed her ankle. Shaking it rapidly in an attempt to free herself, she was grabbed by two others before she could get loose. Another cloth was pressed to her face; Arme shook furiously as she attempted to struggle away.
"Arme! Teleport out of here!" At that point Lass' scream made no sense to her; her mind getting more and more fuzzy by the second as she tried to create another fireball, a shield, a lightning bolt; anything, at that point. If I teleport out of here you'll be alone, I can't do that. Something inside her was stating calmly. It was most likely the drenched rag that was calming her; lulling her into a state where she felt she could hardly keep awake. Even if I did try to teleport, how do you expect me to focus enough to get out of here? ... But... What can I do? Looking up at Lass, she felt herself growing more helpless. Lass was always the one she turned to when things were going bad, and at that point he was completely immobilized.
"Stop using chloroform on the girl, it'll be no fun if she's actually unconscious." A voice rose above the jumbled voices of the crowd, making Arme turn her head. The cloth was removed from Arme's face, though she couldn't feel any change. I'm so tired... The haze was intensifying as she tried to locate someone in the crowd who at the very least appeared more important than the others, or someone who looked slightly different. In the end she was unable, the only one she could pick out as unique being Lass. I'm sorry I'm so useless. Her mind babbled, hoping he would understand, If I was someone else this wouldn't be a problem. If I was Elesis I wouldn't be pinned down like this, and you wouldn't be in danger. I'm sorry. Her thoughts were only interrupted when a widely smirking man kneeled in front of her, and Arme felt her mind fill with dread. This is bad. This is really, really bad.
"She's pretty. Pr'aps not worth the trouble, but pretty." A hand reached out and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up.
"Don't touch her!" Lass' voice entered the jumble in the background, attracting the attention of the man for a moment.
"Shut the pathetic assassin up." He commanded, "and make sure he can see everything." Arme's attention turned to Lass as much as she could implore it to, and she was vaguely able to see one of the men holding him deliver a knee to his stomach. The assassin gritted his teeth defiantly, and Arme watched him with concern. Putting what left of her mana she could together the small magician attempted making a flame; the best she achieved was a small flare that shot up and faded out a moment later. All it did was attract the attention of the man again, drawing his eyes from Lass. Can you get out of here, Lass? I don't know if you can, but if you can please run. Leave me and get out of here. It's okay, you don't have to protect me all the time. I'm sorry.
Lass was unable to move as he watched Arme's head bow to the ground, and he knew she was more than likely unconscious. If not, close to it. Growling in frustration as he watched the large man reach out to pick her head up again, he struggled furiously.
"Let her g-" Immobilized, he was powerless to stop a fist from colliding with his stomach and cutting off his sentence before he could finish. From the force of both blows something in his mind provided him with the fact that he would probably bruise soon, though that was easily the least of his worries at that point. What do I do? I can't let them hurt Arme, I promised her... I promised her I would protect her!
"Stop!" This cry had taken almost a desperate edge to it, and it earned him a blow to his jaw. The man in front of Arme didn't spare him a glance, and Lass could just barely see her face from over the man's shoulder. Her eyes were glazed over but still open, and they met his pleadingly. She's still concious. The magician blinked slowly, and Lass strained to focus on her lips, which were moving slowly in a silent word. She repeated it twice before he could understand, and his heart stopped for a second.
Run.
She... She's about to get raped and she wants me to run! This was the last coherent thought Lass had before something snapped, and sudden, sharp light filled the area. It filtered from Lass like a glow, cuccooning him until the assassin was no longer visible. All of those in the area were by then watching, some backing up. Those who had been holding him let go as though the light had burned their hands, and they too stepped back. A crack sounded as a long, straight length of white hair shot out of the cuccoon of light, dispelling the rest of it until the pale boy was once again visible. His outfit had entirely changed to one featuring mainly black, though blue was around the waist and throughout the top and pants. His once-weaponless hands had large claws on them, held on around the wrist by a heavy gold band. A black scarf fell from his neck to near the ground, slightly longer than his hair, and a black and gold headband had been wound over his forehead. The only thing that stayed entirely the same about the boy was his eyes, a hatefully icey shade of azure directed soley to the person who had dared to touch Arme.
"D... Dark assassin..." One from the crowd whispered disbelievingly. The next voice that entered the fearful silence was the white haired boy's himself.
"Hypersonic Step." What happened after he said this was difficult to make out; none in the forest able to even see Lass as his blades cut through them. For a minute cries and screams of fear filled the forest; they were reduced to moans of pain after. When all was done the silver haired boy stood in the middle of what looked like a war zone, all around him severely bleeding save one. Lass surveyed the damage silently. While bleeding the people on the ground seemed to be alive, watching him fearfully with a begging look on their faces. His eyes were cold as he looked at them, showing no pity.
"If you want to leave, get the hell out of here before I change my mind." Those who could move began struggling to their feet, those who couldn't shirking as far as they could away from the blade-wielding dark assassin. His eyes only warmed once they landed on Arme, and he stepped closer to her cautiously. The two who had been holding her back were both fallen on the ground, as well as the man in front of her kneeling body. Though their eyes were open they displayed no focus, and something told Lass they were dead. This was something he pushed off, instead focusing on the small magician. She was looking at him with a shaky gaze, and her arms were wound around her waist. She was still heavily under the influence of the chloroform, and had the minimal understanding of what had just occurred.
"You... You're safe now." He murmured, reaching out to press a hand to her cheek, "I protected you." Arme nodded, eyes still wide.
"There's... A-a lot of bl... blood..." She stated idly, placing a hand over Lass' own.
"I know. I'm sorry, you should never have seen this... Close your eyes and go to sleep. It'll all be fine when you wake up." Arme blinked slowly and nodded, leaning forward and against Lass. The dark assassin picked her up carefully, making sure not to graze her with his claws carried her securely in his arms. Taking a deep breath and one last look back at the area they had just come from, Lass began to make his way back down the path from which they had come.
Even as close to unconciousness as she was, Arme could feel when tears rolled down from his cheeks and dripped onto her own.
"Welcome back- Lass, what the hell happened to you!" Elesis gasped from the table in the main room, staring at the bloodied dark assassin and magician with fear, "Arme... Is she all right? Who's blood is that?" Lass didn't give either question a response, looking at the rest of the people at the table. Ellyrine and Ronan were sitting there; most of the others were probably asleep. As it was the two blue haired people were giving Lass the same look Elesis had; had the others been there their reaction would have been the same.
"Ellyrine, Ronan, gather as many healing mages as you can quickly and send them into the forest. If you enter through the park there should be some injured people about ten minutes in." Lass instructed somewhat shakily, his voice giving away fear similar to their own. Neither of the people addressed questioned him; both stood up and made their way to the door immediately. This left only Elesis and Lass, the white haired boy leaving a moment later to make his way to the staircase. Elesis tagged along, staring at his back incredulously.
"Are you planning on telling me what happened?" She demanded, receiving no response from the dark assassin. He remained silent to all of her questions until they had reached Arme's room, where the azure-eyed boy set down the magician. When he had done this he sat down on the bed next to her, smoothing her violet strands of hair before he turned to look back at Elesis.
"She was drugged with chloroform, she should be fine when she wakes up. None of this blood is hers, either." Elesis blinked slowly.
"Ch.. Chloroform? Lass, what happened?" Lass avoided her gaze, turning to Arme again. It was only then that she realized his eyes were lightly red, his cheeks wettened. She went quiet upon seeing this, waiting for Lass to say something. The dark assassin was also silent; he started speaking only once Elesis had thought he was going to ignore her completely.
"Ellyrine was coming again this morning, I decided to get Arme out of here before she had to go through the same thing again. We were walking through the forest when... We were attacked by some people, I don't know how many. There were a lot, though... Arme... Arme was attacked at the same time I was by some guy with a rag soaked in chloroform, and four guys came at me. In the rush I didn't bring my scimitar... You should already know how I do in hand-to-hand combat. Using magic Arme was able to get away from that guy... She tried to come help me, but she got grabbed by two others before she could make it. From there they drugged her until she couldn't use magic, and some other guy showed up. I couldn't do anything, anything at all, even when he... He was going to rape her. And Arme... She was barely concious, and... She told me to run. She was about to be raped and she had the nerve to try and tell me to run." He let this word out almost bitterly, hand clenching into a fist at his side.
"I... I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I snapped. Everything started glowing white, and the next thing I knew I was holding these claws. I felt hate... So much hate for the bastard who thought he could touch Arme like that and get away with it. After that... Everyone was lying there, bleeding. The three around Arme... I'm certain they were dead. Elesis, I killed three people, maybe more." Tears had began to fall silently down his cheeks, and his breathing had become heavy. Elesis simply stared at him, eyes wide.
"Lass..." The white haired dark assassin stood up, arms and legs shaking.
"It's just like back then." He murmured quietly, pushing open the door to his room and slamming it shut behind him before Elesis could say anything. The redhead stared at the door for a moment before taking Lass' previous position on Arme's bed, pulling her legs up to her chest and lacing her fingers at the back of her head. She remained in this position for several minutes, looking up only when she heard Arme shift next to her. She turned to look at the magician as she awoke, amethyst eyes looking around in a panic until they landed on Elesis.
"E... Elesis? Where's Lass? What..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about what had happened, sitting up.
"He... Where is he?" She mumbled, looking down at her lightly bloodstained outfit with a shiver.
"He's in his room, I think. But Arme, I... He looks pretty rough right now." Elesis advised, watching Arme swing her legs over the side of the bed and press a hand to her head.
"My head is killing me..." Still, she turned to her bag and began rifling through to pull out a clean battle outfit. After changing quickly in the bathroom she stood outside the door, hesitating for only a moment before she pushed open the door into Lass' side. At first she couldn't see him; simply the pair of claws deposited at the side of the bed. Looking around again, she noticed the bundled up covers, and a long white pony tail lying off the side of the bed.
"Lass?" Arme said worriedly, sitting down next to the dark assassin. He didn't respond, and the magician reached out to tug the blanket off him. When she did this she recieved a rather halfhearted protest, the assassin's hands holding on lightly, but nothing enough to stop her. She finally managed to remove the blanket entirely, leaving the white haired boy in front of her. He was still in his bloodied battle outfit, facing toward the wall.
"Lass? Are you all right?" She asked, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Before she could Lass flinched and sat up, moving out of the way. He didn't meet her eyes, and pushed himself to the furthest corner of the bed. Arme watched in confusion, retracting her hand slowly.
"Arme, I... Not right now. Please go, I can't talk to you right now." He whispered. Arme bit her lip, moving over so the assassin was once again within arm's reach.
"Lass, I'm sorry I was so useless, but please talk to me. I'll try not to be a burden the next time, just... Talk to me." Lass' eyes opened, and he quite suddenly grabbed her arm to pull her closer and allow their eyes to meet.
"You think I'm mad because you couldn't fight off twenty people on your own?" He asked forcefully. Arme paused before nodding lightly.
"You... Arme, that's not it. That's not it at all." Arme stared back at him evenly.
"Then tell me what it is!"
"You should have teleported out of there when you first had the chance!" He exclaimed.
"Then you would have been alone, Lass! I was supposed to leave you alone in a horde of attackers?"
"If that was what it took to get out of there!" Frustration was evident in his tone.
"You thought I would-" Before she could continue she was quite suddenly pulled into an embace, and her eyes widened. Lass' arms were tightly around her, preventing pretty much any movement.
"And you thought I would run if I got the chance? How could you have the idiodicy to even suggest that?" He questioned angrily, "I said I would protect you. Arme, I-" His sentence cut off abruptly and he let go of her, pushing off the bed immediately and turning to the door. He left the room without another word, leaving Arme more confused than she had been when she entered the room.
"No, Lass! I'm not going to allow you to just do that!" Ronan entered the main room the next night to the scene of Lass and Elesis in the main room, Elesis standing angrily with her hands placed firmly and Lass with his head resting on the wood.
"Do what?" Ronan asked calmly, taking a seat. Elesis turned to look at him with a cross between a plea and the anger directed at Lass.
"Ronan, tell him he can't just leave the chase!" She demanded loudly. Ronan nearly gasped, turning to look at the white haired boy.
"Lass, you... Why are you trying to leave?" He asked, trying to maintain his calm. The dark assassin turned to him, looking at him as though it should have been obvious.
"Ronan, you were there yourself yesterday. I killed three people and injured eightteen others, and those are only the ones we found. Those were humans, Ronan, not just another monster." The dragon knight looked at a loss for what to say.
"Don't be stupid, Lass! You had no choice, and those people were already on the death sentence list for if they were found! Have you even told Arme you're trying to do this?" The sapphire eyed boy looked away.
"Of course not. She'd try to stop me."
"And she should. Weren't you the one that promised to protect her? How are you supposed to do that if you leave?" Lass paused before answering Ronan's question, glaring at the wall.
"She has you all. I have to leave before it's too late." Elesis and Ronan looked at him in confusion.
"Lass, before what's too late?" Ronan asked, watching the white haired thief's expression from what he could see. Lass' expression of disconcern had fallen to one of sadness, his eyes downcast.
"I..." His tapered off quickly, and he didn't appear to want to continue. Folding his arms on the table, he lay his head on them.
"You what?" Ronan prompted.
"I think I..." He continued, but his voice was muffled by his arms.
"Just spit it out already!" Elesis snapped, ruby eyes half-lidded and mouth in a frown. There was another pause.
"I... I think I'm falling for Arme." He mumbled helplessly, burrowing his head further against his arm. A brief silence filled the room, exchanged for Elesis' laughter moments later. Lass looked up at her and glared, clearly distressed.
"This is hardly funny, Elesis!" Lass insisted, appearing near tears, "I can't!" Despite this Elesis didn't stop laughing, holding her stomach until a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Oh, but it is. You think you're falling for her? Hate to burst your bubble, but the rest of us knew you fell for her hard months ago!" She laughed, earning a look of disdain from Ronan.
"Elesis, please..."
"Ronan, you have to admit it's been pretty obvious this entire time!" Elesis exclaimed.
"Well, it sort of has, but still. Control yourself, Elesis. You're not making the situation better." The spearmaiden let out a sigh and began calming herself, looking back at Lass.
"All right, sorry. But Lass, you do have to accept that you've already fallen for her." The dark assassin shook his head, eyes wide.
"Elesis, I can't! You know why!" Elesis frowned.
"Maybe it'll turn out better than you're expecting it to!"
"There's no other way for it to turn out!" He stood up, turning away, "and even if that happens, I'm not the best for her. Which it won't."
"And Arme gets no say in this?" Ronan inquired.
"Not if she's going to choose something that'll be bad for her in the end."
"Lass, you don't know. Just tell her... If you don't, you'll regret it." Lass made no acknowledgement of these words, leaving the room immediately and storming outside. Elesis sighed as she watched him leave, turning to Ronan.
"Do you think he'll actually tell her?"
"I doubt it, but we can hope."
"And why have you not gone to see him today, then?" Arme pressed her hands to her ears to shut out the voice of Mahou Boushi, rolling onto her side. The hat was sitting on her dresser, looking at her skeptically.
"For such a mage you act far too much like a child." It chided, "You're far too determined on what you can and can't do."
"I'm not far too determined. You just think I can do too much." She responded quietly.
"And you're telling me talking to the ninja-boy is too difficult a task for you to comprehend?" It asked. Arme frowned, turning back around to glare at the hat.
"He doesn't want to talk to me." She said, "Now would you be quiet?" The hat rolled it's eyes.
"And you would know he doesn't want to talk because... ?" Arme sighed.
"Because if he wanted to, he knows where to find me. He switched rooms with Amy earlier today, and that's a pretty clear message."
"It's not exactly as though you've been making yourself a prime target to talk to. Have you even inquired about the details of yesterday?" Arme nodded.
"I asked Ronan, but he wouldn't tell me!"
"May I suggest that he wanted to you to talk to the dark assassin?" Arme buried her head in her pillow.
"He may want me to, but Lass doesn't! Can you drop this?"
"Listen. All I'm telling you to do is give him the proper opportunity to talk to you, at least. I assure you I've been around for hundreds of years, I've been on the heads of many mages and I've dealt with problems like this before." Arme sighed, sitting up.
"I doubt you've actually dealt with something like this before." She muttered. Even so, she walked quietly over to the window, pushing it open with a dull hope.
A/N: I love long weekends 8D Had to go away, but at least it means I wasn't distracted while writing! Happy thanksgiving Monday, everyone! (Yes, it's thanksgiving for us Canadians :3) This chapter was a bit shorter than I expected due to my sister insisting I finish it to go play musashi with her, but it's still really important! Anyone feel like 'FINALLY, LASS!' for a moment there? xD Thanks for reading~!
Another short note is an apology for the lack of spaces some times D; When I edit the document in 's document editor thing it'll often take out a space between bolded and non-bolded text. I have no idea why o_o
-Utsuro