Thank you Rikushido, for that awesome review! (Not exactly a review but… never mind)

In my story, this is the schedule of their school year:

September, October and November – school

December – break

January, February and March – school

April – break

May, June and July – school

August – break

Let's just say that for now, there won't be humors, it will probably be in the next chapter or so… It's fine if you don't like it actually. Anyways, again, thank you for reading!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN GRAND CHASE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. The only ones I own are Kyle, Mica, Elaine, Ella, and Roald.

Chapter 8: Rain

Normal POV

Jin yawned, groggily sitting up on his bed. Today is his official first day of school.

He turned off the ringing alarm clock that he set last night. He rubbed his eyes and fuzzily walked over to his closet. He noticed that the clothes he wore last night were already cleaned and hanged in there. 'I guess I'll ask Kyle later about that.'

He walked out of his bedroom and heard the sound of water crashing down on the ground in the other bathroom. He figured it was Dio, and went to his own bathroom himself.

He took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He grabbed the towel he got from the closet and wrapped it below his waist, his upper body being bare.

He went back to his room and again, opened the closet. He took out the clothes he wore last night and felt the smooth fabric on his palm.

He carefully wore it, making sure that he did it properly like last time. He looked at the mirror in glued on the closet. 'That's good.'

He grabbed his bag and walked out of the room. He saw Dio and greeted him, "G' morning." Dio looked at him and muttered a "Yeah…"

Together, they walked to the cafeteria.

"I heard that Dio is his roommate. Could you believe that?" Jin looked at Dio who was walking casually with his hands on his pockets.

"Seriously? But he doesn't have a scratch on his cheek!" Jin placed his hands on his pockets too and tilted his head. Dark clouds were hovering over and covering the sun. The wind sent chill down his spine. It was cold.

Jin thought that maybe it was going to rain and tried to hurry him and Dio. Dio sighed and slightly quickened his pace.

"Hmmm?" A droplet of water fell on Dio's nose. It trickled down his cheek and fell to the ground from his chin. 'Rain?' More droplets of water fell down, and soon it was drizzling.

"Oh crap! Let's hurry or we'll get wet." Jin urged Dio. The canteen was just beside the dorms, so they easily avoided being soaked.

The door automatically opened to the side as they neared it.

"That was close." Jin muttered when they got in. His hair showed signs of water oozing down his red hair. "I wonder if the rain's going to get heavier." He said to himself as he looked out the glass. The rain didn't look like it'll get worse, but from the clouds, it might be bad.

"I'll see you later then." Jin waved his hand to Dio and walked over to find his two friends.

'Rain…' Dio stared at the glass, the water seeped down through it, making the glass blurry. 'It was raining that time too...' He shook his head and walked to his usual place.

He found Lass and Luxus already eating. He sat down and ate too himself. 'It's from the past. I've no use remembering it.'

Luxus and Lass looked at Dio. Ever since the new student came, Dio has been acting strangely. Both of them shared a look, but didn't ask Dio about it. They think that Dio need time for himself too.

Dio stared at the table blankly as he ate his food. The aroma that the food was giving could make anyone drool, unless you're used to it.

He narrowed his eyes unconsciously, remembering something. He lightly bit his lip, and proceeded to eat again.

Lass and Luxus occasionally observed Dio.

Lass looked out the glass wall, and felt something nostalgic as he observed the rain. He clenched his hold on his spoon for a second, and then ate again.

Luxus observed them carefully, and looked outside too. He sighed and went back to eating.

'Now that I remember…' Luxus blinked and looked at both Lass and Dio again in the corner of his eye.

'The rain… is where everything ended.'

"It's really raining, isn't it?" Kyle sighed. He and Amy guided Jin to where the lockers were. It wasn't hard to find since it was close to the entrance.

"It can't be helped. It's rainy season after all." Amy closed her umbrella and shook it so that it will dry faster, letting droplets of water fall down to the ground.

Jin entered the combination in his locker and placed the books he didn't need until lunch. The locker was about the same size as them.

Jin yawned and ruffled his hair slightly.

"Not getting much sleep?" Kyle grinned at Jin, who looked at him confusingly.

"Not as much as a nerd like you." Jin smirked and walked to the classroom.

Kyle frowned at Jin's back, but followed him nonetheless.

Amy giggled at their remarks. 'They really haven't changed.' She smiled and followed them. She purposely let herself fall behind them so she could observe.

Jin and Kyle were talking about something, but Amy couldn't exactly tell what it was. She was clearly spacing out.

'You… really don't remember me… do you Jin?' She looked at Jin who was busy arguing with Kyle. She stared at him longingly, trying so hard for her emotions to not burst out.

Amy sighed and softly shook her head. 'The days I've spent with you were the most memorable days for me. If your memories didn't disappear…'

Soon, they entered their classroom. Not many students were there, only a few. The others must be still in the dorms. Slowly, they took their seats.

'Would you have felt the same?'

"Did you enjoy yesterday's party?" Lime asked everyone. Her eyes gleamed with joy, which made all the students think that something good happened.

Many students replied with a 'yes', some muttered a 'who cares?', while some didn't even bother to answer, one of them including Jin.

"Anyways, now that that's over," she clapped her hands and got everyone's attention, "it's time for that, right?" She winked and showed an innocent smile.

The students cheered and chattered, talking about the said 'event'.

Jin blinked, confused. He leaned to his side to get closer to Kyle and whispered, "What is she talking about?"

Kyle grinned and copied Jin. "She's talking about the 'Showdown'."

Kyle faced Amy in front of him. His face was a bit flushed, but it suddenly turned serious.

Amy was talking to her seatmate; a boy with black hair and obsidian eyes.

"What showdown?" Jin interrupted Kyle of whatever he was thinking.

Kyle blinked. He looked at Jin who stared at him with clear intent.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry. I kinda'… spaced out."

Jin sighed and gave him a look that said 'Answer my question'.

Kyle smiled helplessly and answered, "It's a battle between the cliques, usually the popular, nerds, and rebels. There are many more cliques, but the school decided that it'd be those three. The groups are only in the middle school department. I don't know if the high-school or elementary has one, but it doesn't matter.

It's merely a battle for fun. The school decides what challenge it is. There will be rewards for the winning group. For example, the rebels could skip for one week but still have their attendance checked. The nerds could get free admission to the science lab for a week. And the popular ones could use the stage for a week to show-off and wear their own clothes during class hours.

It usually happens at the beginning of every semester, so it's really fun!" He finished with a huge grin on his face. He was really looking forward to it from his expression.

"Is that so?" Jin didn't look convinced at all. His face was solemn and cautious. Kyle grimaced inwardly, but kept on his grin.

Jin plastered on a fake and innocent smile. "What clique do you belong?" Jin leaned his cheek on his right hand, still smiling.

Kyle gulped. Jin's expression was really scary when he wants to know something. You can clearly tell it from his eyes.

'I think Amy is rubbing off on him unconsciously.'

"I don't belong in one." He said calmly. Kyle was good at lying, but not as good as Amy.

"I see." Jin said, clearly not believing him. "What about your friends? The ones you introduced to me yesterday." Jin persisted, clearly not giving up.

A bead of sweat trickled down Kyle's forehead. 'I can't fool Jin. Great, now he'll get mad.' He thought, giving up.

"Fine… you win this time." Kyle pouted, while Jin smirked triumphantly.

"Kyle, you're like the heir of the Cloude family. You guys are known as strategists, so can't you tell a better lie than that?"

"I can't help it. You know that I can't lie to you. Even if I could, you'll figure everything out." Kyle scowled. He really couldn't lie to him, especially with that smile. On second thought, he could lie to him, but… Kyle just has this feeling that lying to Jin won't do him any good – a very odd feeling. "Now that you know, will you take off that smile already? It's giving me the creeps."

Jin frowned, removing his intense smile and aura. He sighed and slightly glared at Kyle who was still sulking.

"I'm with the nerds and Amy is with the popular ones." He admitted, looking down to avert Jin's gaze.

"And why do you want to recruit me?" Jin continued, not giving up until Kyle answers his every question.

"You're really stubborn."

"I know, now stop changing the topic and speak."

"Fine, fine. I told you that there are challenges right? Well, it depends on the principal's mood of what they'll be. The challenges sometimes put a disadvantage to us. So, having a new member will… well help us a lot." Kyle scratched the back of his head and looked at Jin who had a bored look on his face. 'Is he mad?'

Jin sighed. "And that's why you and Amy have been arguing yesterday?"

Kyle nodded, hoping that Jin wouldn't get angry. Jin has low-fuse…

His thoughts were replied with Jin leaning back on his chair with a smile.

"It's best that you give up, 'cause I'm not gonna join any cliques." Jin yawned. He covered his mouth so that he wouldn't be rude. 'I feel really sleepy today.'

I looked in front with bored eyes, thinking slightly about what Kyle said. 'I'm not really a popular type so that's a no… the nerds are… nerds… the rebels are – well, not that bad. Still, I don't have the time to be joining any cliques. I haven't even got a chance to train yesterday and the day before.' The second those words came out my mind, my eyes widened. 'I haven't been training for three days?! Three whole days?! That's it… no more slacking off.'

"Anyways," Lime's voice caught the attention of the whole class, "the competition will start next Saturday. Just wait for tomorrow for further announcements." She finished with a business-like tone that didn't really go with her innocent face.

Ring. Ring. The class' attention drifted to the bell ringing, signaling that class was over.

"That ended fast." Lime muttered to herself and pouted, her eyes showing annoyance.

School ended at 4:00.

Jin and Amy were still in the classroom. They were assigned for cleaning duty by their oh-so-great teacher.

"This goes here… and this in there… and this one is…-" Amy mumbled as she fixed the tables and chairs to where they were supposed to be.

Jin was holding a mop. Apparently, during lunch, someone forgot to lock the windows. Basically, the rain poured down in their classroom. When Jin thought that everyone will help clean it up, the students decided to leave it to the two people assigned to clean the place and snickered.

'Stupid rich brats.'

Amy's POV

I held my forehead, trying to soothe the pain away.

At the time the window was open, I was in the room. The wind just suddenly gushed and before I knew it, I was soaked. I was glad that I kept extra clothes in my locker, or I would have been like that until school was over.

Not only that, my head was still aching from the hangover of yesterday's party. I wasn't into drinking, honestly. But Ella just poured down half of the contents of her glass in my throat. Before I knew it, I was drunk and moving on my own. I could remember dancing with someone too… Thankfully, I don't know how but the drunkenness suddenly disappeared at the end of the party.

Although the aftereffects were really troublesome when I woke up.

I sighed and continued fixing the chairs.

I looked at Jin desperately cleaning the ground. He moved the mop here and there, making sure that everything would be cleaned.

'He's always trying so hard…'

I moved the chairs and placed them back on their usual places. The students really don't care whether someone cleans this or not, do they?

I walked to the other side, picking up crumpled papers with me to the garbage bin. There was a lot of trash in here.

'I can't believe I'm doing this.' Usually, I denied cleaning. But when I learned that Jin will be with me, my mouth just blurted out 'Okay.'

I walked to another side and grabbed the broom. I swept the trash and placed them in the dust pan.

Just when I was going to throw them away, a pain jolted in my head. I lost my balance and quickly held the table for support.

The pain was unbearable. It kept pouncing on me and wouldn't go away.

I looked at Jin and smiled weakly, glad that he didn't notice me.

Jin always worried about me when we were kids. He would always scold me for playing in the rain or running recklessly. I was glad that he would worry about me to that extent, but sometimes he would be really overprotective. He acted like my big brother, and that was fine by me.

That was… until that happened.

The pain kept on growing, to the point where I couldn't keep standing anymore. 'Did I catch a cold?'

I sat on one of the chairs and tried to keep it away. I massaged my temples, hoping it would go.

"What's wrong, Amy?" I heard a voice ask me. Jin was standing over me with a solemn expression. He looked really worried.

I forced myself to smile, hoping he would buy it. "I'm fine, just a little tired." I reasoned.

Jin didn't look convinced. His eyes looked at me suspiciously. I could drown in those red eyes of his forever, and I would do anything for it.

He sighed and said, "Just tell me if something happens." With that, he proceeded to mop again. This time, faster. He must be really worried about me, or maybe he just wants to train. With his muscle-brain, anything is possible.

I looked at him, disappointed with myself. I forced myself to stand. I didn't want him to worry about me anymore. I want to show him that I'm strong.

I know that it would be useless, since he forgot everything. But, I don't want him to worry anymore.

I stood up and threw the garbage. The pain was still lingering in my head, but I paid no heed to it.

Thunder roared outside. I was always scared of the thunder. So, I covered my ears to get rid of the sound.

When I looked at the windows, a straight line of light went down, followed by another roar. I felt really scared so I averted my gaze from it.

The rain reminded me of that 'incident'. The incident where everything ended.

The rain poured on and it kept getting worse. For some reason, the more the rain gets heavier, the more the pain in my head grows. I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I stumbled down and hit a chair.

That was all I remember before the whole world became blank.