About Kyle's appearance, he doesn't look like Kiba, I made a huge mistake on that. This is what his hair looks like: Midway-short, spiky brown hair scattered in all directions going straight when it reaches the back and separated bangs like all the others.

They are only 14; I made another mistake in their age. Since I've been making too many mistakes, I might as well re-read them all and correct everything.

Sorry for the wait. And I won't be putting any author's note from now on unless it's necessary, okay? Oh, and most of the time, every chapter is Jin's POV. All of the things I'm saying here are just my imagination and some may not even be in the Grand Chase.

Chapter 6: Exhaustion

Jin's POV

"Jin!" He practically screamed at my ears which made me cover both of them with my hands. "W-what? W-when did you-? I mean- how come you're here? And why didn't you-?" He was mumbling for words. They must have gotten stuck on his throat when he saw me.

I gave a small laugh, "Kyle, you're barely making a sentence," I smiled. It has been a long while since we last saw each other. The last time we saw each other was about 3 years.

He breathed heavily for air, trying to remain composed. "You should have told me you were coming here! I could have invited the whole class and throw a huge party for you! No, wait- maybe even the whole school!" He gave me a toothy grin like the usual smile I see. Seeing that made me crack a smile.

But seriously, the whole school? They barely even know me.

I looked around and noticed that not only the teacher was gone, the students were chatting like crazy as well.

I feel confused. I mean, why is there no teacher? I don't think homeroom will be over that fast.

"Hey, Kyle," I called his attention and snapped him out from his reverie. He turned to me with a curious look on his face, his excited demeanor gone.

"Why is there no teacher?" I asked him dumbfounded. At first, Kyle looked confused. He thought about it for a moment, and when it looked like he got it, he snapped his fingers. "You mean Introduction Day, right?"

I blinked when he said that. Curious about what he meant, I raised my eyebrows. "Hmmm… if I have to summarize it, basically, all we do the whole day is getting to know each other. It lasts for about three days, I think, since it's really hard to get along with these guys especially if your life is natural. After three days, that's when we'll begin the Opening Ceremony." He explained to me with his chin up, as if he was bragging.

"Well, that's what they all say, but I think the main reason is the teachers are too lazy to teach on the first day." He sarcastically chuckled after.

'Introduction Day, huh? My previous school doesn't have that kind of day… interesting…'

This guy's name is Kyle Alasther von Cloude, by the way. He comes from the Cloude family- known as the holy strategists of Serdin. I don't see a reason as to why they're holy, but the strategist part is seemingly perfect of their kind. I lived somewhere near here, where I met him.

FLASHBACK

I stared at the wooden dummy positioned behold my eyes. Seeing it, I mustered all the strength in my body to my fists. Even though it's just wood and the possibility of it attacking me is unlikely, I still went in position, since I'm in training.

I slowly but deeply breathed for air. I placed my right foot in front, with my body facing the left side. Readying myself, I gave a straight, right jab to the wood, following it with my left. I then gave it an uppercut and as fast as I could, I jumped and spun myself in the air with my right knee hitting its head when I got in the right position. I landed immediately soon after I did that..

Wanting to practice more of my punches, again I punched the doll but this time, with my left hook. I wanted to do multiple roundhouse kicks from low to high, but seeing that this can't even move, I did another thing instead. I repeatedly jabbed it with my knuckles, then as if it was real, I quickly gathered energy to my heel and swiftly raised it to its head, with my heel hitting it with much strength. Lastly, with my right foot, I swung it in circular motion, giving it a roundhouse kick.

This thing is wooden, so it really hurt me a lot when I gave it my punches and kicks. But I had to get used to it, after all, it's not like we had enough money to buy such things as punching bags.

"Jin." I heard a familiar voice call out my name. Realizing who it is, I quickly turned around and bow down my head. "You called, Master?"

"You have been training since morning," he began, "it's already noon, you should rest," he finished with a slight smile. My face clearly showed that I was surprised; I didn't notice it was already noon. That proves I've been training for hours.

I sighed. I guess I've been tired. I could feel my sweat dripping down from my face to my chest. I've only noticed until now, but my whole ornament was soaked; mostly my shirt. It turned from red to a deep shade of almost black.

I gasped for air and fell down on my back into the green patch. I didn't realize how tired I was. I guess I should have paid attention to the time more closely.

"Let's go back, Jin." My Master said and my attention went back to him. Following his orders, I slowly got up. I felt like my body wanted to just stay there forever since I really took a hard time just getting up.

When I finally got back on my own feet, I noticed Master's gaze is directed close to the park. The park is close to where we were. You can see it in this side of the forest; I always train here, but just on the verdict of it.

Master's eyes narrowed slightly; it looked like it didn't even move to others, but to me, since I knew him for a long time already, even a millimeter of his eyes moving, I would notice it like he notices mine.

Master is an honest, brave, and dignified person, that's why, when something bad happens in front of him, he won't hesitate to stop it.

I quickly moved my eyes to where he was looking; in the corner of the park, there were a bunch of guys huddling together – or maybe cornering a person if you may ask. I couldn't see it clearly, but there was this kid about my age, his complexion a bit tanned. His hands were cupping his face which made it impossible for me to see his eyes, but I could at least notice that his hair was brown.

From the looks of it, they were bullying the poor guy. He was crouching on his knees, looking helpless.

Without noticing, I was already running towards them. My feet felt weak because of training, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't just leave him alone. His eyes showed hints of anger and fear. If I just let him be like that, who knows what will happen.

To think that there are still people using power for violence is frustrating…

"Hey, you idiots!" I couldn't help but greet them that way. When you're facing guys like this, I's best to speak their language for them to notice you.

Reaching them with an exhausted look carved into my face, I asked them in anger, "What do you think you're doing?" I faced them with courage while I shielded the brown-haired boy with my back.

"Jin!" I heard the voice behind me call my name, with a sigh of relief.

I returned his relieved face with a small smirk.

END OF FLASHBACK

I coughed out a snicker when I replayed the whole thing in my mind. It was kind of nostalgic to remember that, and yet even though the situation seemed bad, it was a bit funny.

Speaking of names, I wonder how Kyle knew my name back then. That was the first time we met after all. It was too much of a coincidence if he guessed it, and there's no way I would have a look-alike with the same name…

I hope I'm not confusing my own memory… or maybe I'm just being insecure since it's been a long time since we met.

"Hey, what's with that?" Speaking of the person I was talking about, there he is, with a questioning look carved in his face. "Hey, tell me, what's with the laugh? I don't remember talking about something funny, you know?" He directed his suspicious, yet idiotic gaze to me. He really hasn't changed one bit since then.

Forgetting what I thought about earlier, I replied, "No, never mind. I just remembered something trivial."

"Trivial? I see… wait, I hope those weren't embarrassing things about me… was it?" Kyle's face looked really funny, his face was blushing out of fear that I was thinking of those… moments. Well, it wouldn't hurt to tease him a little bit…

"Oh, if you mean the time when we went to a friend's house for a sleepover and you wet your bed, then your friend blackmailed you that he'll show the picture of that to the girl you like if you don't follow him, and yet you didn't comply, then he really showed her that picture to her and you ended up being laughing stock of the gang, don't worry I wasn't thinking of that. I was only thinking of the time when we met and you were such a crybaby with snot flowing down your nose, and of course, that got on me..." I said everything straight out, stopping a few times to catch my breath. Meanwhile, Kyle looked as if everything in his world has ended.

"Hmmm? What are you guys talking about? Mind if I join in?" That familiar voice made Kyle's expression change from flustered to admiration. But, the second he realized what Amy was asking, his face turned to beet red.

I looked in front of Kyle's desk and saw Amy, smiling sweetly at us. I looked from Kyle to Amy and vice versa. Observing their expression, I finally realized it from Kyle's red face. 'I see, he likes Amy, huh?' I thought about it carefully, if he likes Amy, then I wonder who Amy likes. If she even has one that is.

Still, the thought of Amy liking someone struck my chest for a moment, making me confused. Anyway, focusing on the matter…

"Oh, do you want to join us? I have some really nice stories about Kyle here." I said with a mischievous look while pointing at Kyle with my thumb, of course, my weird look is directed to him too.

"Don't. You. Dare." He threatened me with a dark voice imitating a bad boy, to me though, it looked like a dog wanting to be fed by his master.

"Is that what you were talking about? Count me in~!" Amy cheerfully cried out.

Kyle's face looked horrible the second she said that, as if he just got out from watching a horror movie. His hand reached for Amy, as if he was trying to stop her. "I-I-I d-don't think my life i-is really… err- interesting, you know?" With a shaky voice, he tried to get her off.

I guess I kind of understand his feelings. Even I don't like it when someone reveals what I don't want them to know.

Still, Kyle's face looked really funny, so maybe I'll go on for just a little longer.

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad. Hey, Jin," she looked at me, "Why don't you fill in the gap?" Realizing what she meant, I coughed my voice loud enough for the three of us to hear. Kyle gave me his own glare.

Too bad, it didn't have any effect on me.

"… Why don't we start when we hang out for the first time?" I gave an innocent smile to both of them, Amy of course, smiled back, as for Kyle… his eye twitched, knowing that my smile was meant to irritate him.

"It was when-" Before I knew it, I was caught in a headlock by Kyle whose face was like a tomato. "Jin, if you really dare!" He threatened me in fear of me exposing his secrets. Both of us practically tell each other's problems no matter how much it hurt our pride. We have been together for a long time, after all.

It wasn't difficult to get out of his grip. All I had to do was pull his arm as hard – but not too hard – as I could. And Kyle, knowing that his build isn't that much, staggered forward. He grabbed the corner of my desk to remain balanced and fell to his knees afterwards.

"No fair, you know I'm weak at these types of things…" He said in a glum tone. He then leaned against my desk and folded his legs, his head was hung low. And from the aura he's giving off… he's sulking… He's definitely sulking.

I guess maybe I should stop on the teasing for now. Maybe I went overboard. I had too much fun.

"Hey." as I called for his attention, he looked at me with eyes that said 'The end' with 'What?' Looking at me with those eyes really made me feel horrible, and at the same time, stupid.

"I was only teasing you." I leaned my elbow on the desk and rested my cheek on my hand. He was silent for a moment, and then…

"Gahahaha!" He suddenly laughed like a mad man. I almost jumped at the sudden change of attitude. And the way he looks at me isn't really good either… "You finally gave up!" He shouted with an expression of relief while pointing at me with his index finger. He laughed again, loud enough for a few students to hear.

'Gave up?' What does he mean? Gave up on what? On teasing him?

.

.

.

Yeah. I knew it. I knew I was being stupid. Why would I think Kyle would get depressed over something like that? I knew him for a long time so I should know that he would act like this. How can I be deceived so easily?

I looked over at Kyle who was holding his stomach; it was probably hurting from laughing too much.

I could feel my eye twitched. Seriously, is it really that funny? It's not like I felt embarrassed anyway, and yet this guy is laughing so loud that it was getting annoying.

"Hihihi" I heard Amy giggle at our reactions. And for some reason, her laugh sounded nostalgic. As if I've been waiting to hear it for a long time.

Ring. Ring. Ring. The bell rang afterwards, meaning homeroom was over.

After that, I went to the where the dorm is. The dorms are separated in elementary, middle school, and high school. It's also separated to girls and boys. The two buildings beside the one I saw earlier were part of the middle school building. The one on the left was for the middle school teachers –to think that even the teachers have their own building-, while the one on the right is for problem students.

I heard that that building holds students that have too many physical and emotional problems. Apparently, there is always a dispute over there. The persons who teach in there are also people who graduated from this school. I don't know what they look like though.

As I thought of the many things about this school that Kyle told me, I remembered that it's easy to get lost in here if you're a new student. I'm kind of glad that they even bothered to draw me a map.

I looked at the map Kyle and Amy gave me. They were also the ones who informed me that Introduction Day only has homeroom so that the students can check out their rooms after and get ready.

I laughed at their drawings. There's even a starting line in here and the finish line has the drawing of a house. There's also a chibi drawing of Amy and Kyle on top of the house. The one on the left is Amy and the one on the right is Kyle. Maybe they drew this so that I would know where the boy's dorm is.

Reaching the dorm was long enough. All I've seen on my way there are gardens and fountains. Not a single building on sight. And right now, I'm currently surrounded by green leaves and trees.

'I'm… not lost… am I?' I nervously thought. I followed the direction they gave me and- 'Wait,' I carefully looked through the map again and tried to remember the directions I went. 'Oh. Man.' my eyes widened in realization. The reason why I haven't reached the dorm yet is because I was supposed to turn left instead of right when I reached the 2nd east teahouse –don't ask why there's a teahouse in here-.

I stopped from my tracks and dropped my hand from holding the map.

.

.

.

"Jin?" A seemingly gentle yet unsure voice called my name. I turned around and saw an unexpected face that I thought I hated – Ella.

She looked surprised when she saw me. I was too, of course. But then, I was more surprised at how she can say my name like she knew me. I just transferred here.

"What are you doing here?" Like what I imagined, her golden hair were as long and curly as ever, and the way her emerald glass beads look at me made me nervous.

I don't know how I should reply. After all, I'm lost but how should I say that to her without hurting my pride?

"Are you lost?" She asked me with one of her eyebrows up. I don't know how to professionally say yes so I just nodded.

"How did you even get lost? The way from the middle school building to the dormitory is straight, you know." Her high-pitched voice echoed in my head. I stared at her blankly. For a moment, I couldn't believe what she said, so I looked at the map. I carefully observed it. The directions according to the roads were: go right, left, right, right, continue forward, left, right, left, left…

That's when I finally understood. The path was straight, and yet the direction in here was complicated. 'Those two… I'm going to beat them up…' I thought with the image of Amy and Kyle appearing in my head.

"As usual… part of… hasn't changed…" Ella mumbled something as I thought that. But I could only hear a few words. Her voice sounded weak and her bangs created a shadow over her eyes, making it impossible for me to assume her feelings.

She noticed me staring at her and as fast as I could see; her face was plastered on with a happy smile. "Never mind." She gave me an innocent smile again. 'Never mind… that was her reply, like she knew that I heard what she just said…'

"I still have some work to do. See you later!" She waved me off a goodbye. But before she was out of my sight, I shouted, "Hey, what's your name?" She noticed me and turned around; she smiled and said, "It's Ella Meyer!" She waved at me again and proceeded to go to the direction she was supposed to be.

'Ella Meyer… that's really weird, because from what I remember, the teacher from back then said that her name was Ella Onizuka. There's no way that I could mishear it. I honestly feel like I'm confusing my own memories right now.'

'Finally, I finally reached the dormitory.' Sighing in relief, I looked at the tremendous size of the building shaped like a mansion. It was made of bricks and concrete. The exterior of the building was brown, the same for the girls'. The windows were large enough to cover the size of a child. Of course, the entrance was big but what I could not expect was that it was an automatic door, it was shaped like a normal door except that it was big, when I got near it, it suddenly opened; as if I pulled the door open myself.

I found it creepy at first, but then thought it was probably designed that way.

When I entered, I didn't expect it to be a big hallway. There were only plants around the corners, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The path was split in left and right. Since I had no sense of direction, I was wondering where I should go.

I decided to take the left path and noticed that there was an elevator there. I gave an exhausted sigh and pressed the up button and waited for it to come down. The first floor seems to have nothing but staircases and elevators.

It finally came down; I entered it and almost screamed when I saw the numbers placed in the buttons.

'11 floors… How in the world could eleven floors fit this place…? Crap.' I finally noticed, how was I supposed to find my room? This is why I hate schools like this.

I randomly pressed a button and ended up with the sixth floor. The room numbers in this floor were 221 up to 225. I thought that the difference was too much so I went to the second floor and noticed that my room wasn't here since the rooms here are 201 up to 205.

I scratched the back of my head. I really want to go and just rest now. I just got back from getting lost in that stupid forest and now I'm getting lost in the dorm? How could it get worse?

I went back to the elevator and pressed the number 3. When I looked at the room numbers, I feel like jumping for joy. The room numbers were 206 to 210. Basically, my room was here.

Still, the gaps between the rooms were tremendous. Meaning the rooms were large. I dismissed the thought and found my room. It was like the others. A simple brown door with the number carved in the wall above it.

I inserted my key which had the chain '207' in the keyhole. Turning it, the doorknob clicked and I entered my long awaited room.

I don't have energy to get mesmerized and observe the surrounding, so I just entered and just as I took my first step. Something flew by my right ear. It was gleaming… shiny… and sharp. A knife. A knife freaking flew by me. I slowly faced the knife that was deeply rooted in the wall from the force. I wonder why… but for some reason, this knife had a weird aura around it.

I looked at the room and saw someone sitting on a purple couch. He was holding a book, and his eyes were directed to me. His stare looked more like a death glare. And from the looks of it, he was reading the book while lying on the couch, and got up when he saw me.

"Who?" His voice was dark and poisonous. Hearing it would make you shiver or tremble in fear. "Who gave you permission to enter?"

I blinked. What did he mean by that? Please, no more. I have had enough of this day. I just want to rest, and now someone wants to kill me for entering my own room.

'Why does everything have to happen to me?'

Finally done, and don't worry, the next chapter will not be focusing on the first day. Chapter 1 to 6 is all about the first day after all.