(GS3) Field: Rijuku Park

[Kuro]

The suspicions of his friends had finally reached Haruki as Neu continued to dodge their questions with more of her own. The signs had become too clear for him to ignore now. He tried to doubt it, he didn't want to believe it after how nice Neu had been to him and Neo the night before, but there was no way Haruki could deny the question coming to mind. Could Neu's sense of justice be corrupt?

He got up from where he was sitting to confirm this with a question of his own. "Neu, why are you so great?"

[OverDrive]

For once in his life Tsubasa was almost stunned, he had never felt nor seen such a presence in front of him before, while it did bother him a lot that he lost and how she is treating his and his friends' feelings and memories he could not help but be intrigued by such a strange woman.

"You ask why we are so eager to get them back?..It's because they are a part of who we are, we may have been able to continue with our lives even with them gone, but it never felt right, I always had this strange feeling that something was missing, these clans and these memories are more than just mere cards and experiences." he said, with a sharp look emanating from his eyes.

"They helped shape us into who we are now, as cardfighters and as human-beings we all grow and develop into better people in our own way, this game helped us all do that, which is why we can trust and understand one another, I put my faith in my friends now, I may not have been able to put my faith into anyone but myself not long ago but this game changed me and these are things that I will get back no matter what!" he said.

Tsubasa's hand never rose to meet Neu's extended hand or in this case her pinky finger.

"I'm sorry, I will promise you that I will love this game and enjoy it for as long as I can but until I get my answers and the aspects or parts that you took from me I can't put my hand into yours, maybe I don't get your motives just yet, but I will find a way to get through to you and the missing clans, that is what me and my Gold Paladins will strive for!" he said.

[Hope]

"Calm it with the hero talk bro," She moved a little bit more forward, kind of giggling.

"I said I'd tell you what you wanted didn't I? Please look back at your words. I'm just trying to slowly build up to where I want you guys to be. I need you to promise me this before I go any further, cause I'm not denying anything, I've been keeping it open to you all along, the ugly truth, and everything in between. You guys are just trying to jump the gun. I'm just trying to make sure that you guys don't jump too far and get stuck in a rut. Just take my promise, and I'll be ready to tell you everything. It's a deal for a deal, cause you guys seem to be expecting me to just give things outright, yet do this when I ask for something so little in return? Where's the honor in that?..."

She stepped back, increasing the distance between her and Tsubasa and made the offer once again.

"I'm not dodging a thing, I'm just keeping you guys from falling completely, because its easier to take the fall little by little, that to drop from the peak of a mountain top." She said, still with her pinky laying outwards.

[OverDrive]

For a moment Neu's words hit Tsubasa's core really hard, with only a few words she shook his resolve, he wanted to find the answers he has been seeking but was he willing to accept her offer to get what he wants?

".....She's willing to tell me what I want to know...." he thought. "...My memories, my life, I can't risk the things I care about, I made a promise to myself to grow and develop."

At that moment the scars from his past came back to haunt him, he had been shaped by his scars and struggles but ever since he began this game and met new people he began to heal and improve, losing these things would just leave him as an empty shell.

"...I've had to sacrifice so much for me and my brother...if I lose that then I lose who I am." he thought, as he began to walk forward towards Neu.

"If I lose my brother and those I care about I won't be Tsubasa Hayato..." he said, as he raised his hand towards Neu's hand. "If this is what you want in exchange for what we want then...I promise you, Neu." he said, as his finger joined Neu's.

[Hope]

With that the pact had been sealed.

"Thank you, now I'll present you guys with reality."

Neu planned to reveal the truth to them now, uncensored and full on reality! She didn't understand the big hissy about it actually, but people often would all react in disbelief when she told them, so she had to place some concern for these fellas too. Now she was ready to get into it. The truth wasn't much. It was just a few words.

"Yukino and Jellal fought for the fate of Vanguard's future, eventually ending in an agreement, stopping the civil war between Royal and Shadow Paladin. Upon its end, peace was restored, and they all stood their at their peak, the strongest who made the weak look worthless at their presence." Neu started to squeal a little, "I had really great fights with them, so much fun! I took their clans out... one.... by.... one."

She reached for her bag and showed the group her deck boxes, the labels now visible. "I labeled the clans based on the victims which they were all taken from!" She had proud smirk on her face, as if this were all show and tell. She placed the deck boxes back into her purse and turned to speak with them all again.

"I know you guys have goals and dreams, and honestly I love that about Vanguard. You can reach your goals while just outright having fun, but really why heck is there any need for this talk of strength... just relax and enjoy it right?" She breathed deeply, hoping that despite what she had done in the past, that her words could get to them. She really did do all this for a reason.

With this she called it a night as they needed rest, the day had ended there.

Affinity:
Neo: +3
Haruki: +3
Tsubasa: +5
Hazama: +1

[Kuro]

Haruki expected everyone to have their own secrets, but he'd never have guessed that Neu's could be this grand. She definitely knew about the missing clans, that was a fact based on how she'd been answering Tsubasa just now. The young man was just really confused now.

He thought his friends were wrong when they made all of these accusations about the lost clans and Neu, but Haruki was the one that was wrong. If he couldn't trust his friends, how could he be for justice? He made a promise to himself there that he would trust his close friends when they deeply felt that something was right.

Neu told the guys that she would explain it to them the next day, once they all got some rest from such a long night. It was true, Haruki was tired after being at the amusement park for the whole day, then at the local park for the rest of the night. He picked up his giant stuffed animal and parted ways with his friends that night, hoping that they'd all be able to eat fish balls with Neu again when this was all over.

Neo AF +5
Tsubasa AF +5
Neu AF +3
Hazama AF +0

[NeoBuster]

And there it was.. Neu actually explained what had happened 2 months ago. At first Neo wasnt surprised at the fact that 2 people fought each other to determine what would happen on cray but when Neu said the 2 names it struck Neo.

"Yukino and Jellal" Neo said to himself.

"I never would have thought Yukino would have been involved in something like this, and who is this Jellal person?" Neo said to himself.

Sure there was more questions then answers this time around, but at least Neo knew where to go to and who to speak too. So Neo left the park and decided to go to the one place that had answers at the wee bit of the morning "The Mansion"

Affinty +5 to Haruki, Tsubasa and Neu

[OverDrive]

On the way home Tsubasa walked through the dark streets of the night unconcerned by what is occurring around him, he had just made a pact with a person that he had suspected for this whole day.

"....." Tsubasa continues walking home

His day of fun with his friends had ended on a different note than what he had expected it to be, generally he thought that by now he would have his answers and securing his memories.

"........." Tsubasa continues walking home

His resolve had changed, he had made another sacrifice in his life to keep his memories and who he was, however, he did not feel angry or upset at his descision, Neu was one person who actually got to him with what she said, he wanted to enjoy vanguard while at the same he wanted to protect who he was and get his answers..in the end his day ended with an interesting note.

"...Today was fun...and that cardfight was amazing.." he said, as he opened the door to his apartment building.

Neu +5 Affinity Points
Neo +5 Affinity Points
Haruki +5 Affinity Points

[Helios]

Hazama walks through the park, pondering what Neu had said earlier that morning. Yukino, that girl who was pounding Dr. Hentai in the ground at the station. And Jellal, the last person I would have thought to be involved with the sealing of the clans. I guess the human race is unpredictable at some points. Well after all of this, I should go home to check on the family.

Hazama continues to walk home and suddenly gets the thought If Narukami wasn't a thing back 14 years ago, then why... did I find a Thunder Break Dragon.

He keeps walking.

[NeoBuster]

So Neo walked around almost every place he could think of thinking about Neu.

"Having fun.." Neo thought to himself

Sure, Vanguard is a game to have fun with but everyone is on a mission to find the missing clans. Where is the time to fit in fun..

Neo then started to think and decided to call up Neu.

So Neo pulled out his cell, and dialed the number and waiting for her to answer.

[Crystalia]

After waking up early, and having breakfast, Miyuki had wandered around the mansion. She had made sure to be quiet however, to not disturb anyone. Eventually she decided that she didn't want to just pace around inside, and left the mansion, heading towards the park.

Once at the park, she relaxed more. This place always helped her relax, letting her go over her thoughts. And boy did she need to do that. As she had told Haruka a few days ago, if she was in a bad condition, she couldn't help others easily. From yesterday, she had gathered that she'd pushed herself slightly too much, and hoped that no-one had gotten worried. She also had yet to give the current matter her full thought, something she needed to do.

Her thoughts flowed back to the images she saw in PSY shop. Neu Edelweiss seemed to be the person who was carrying out the will of 'the rift'. She didn't know anything about the rift however, and her knowledge of Cray was just of the standard world used to try and help newcomers with their imagination. The Espoirs however, seemed to be deeply connected to that world. Shrugging, she moved on to the next topic in her mind. The reason why Hana and Yukino had gotten so depressed in the first place was because their clans went missing.

'Bermuda Triangle, Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin, Kagero' she said the names aloud. In particular, the name Bermuda Triangle resonated with her, as it was her previous clan. She knew that Hana was probably fighting to get them back, against her despair. Although it was her clan as well, she knew that she didn't feel the same way as Hana about their disappearance, she hadn't even known they were gone.

'Well whatever' she thought. 'It just comes down to the rift messing things up, and Neu Edelweiss seems to be working for the rift.' She briefly wondered if there was any particular reason for Neu's actions. However most of her was getting angry at even her name, angry that she had left her friends in such a state. 'I'm still not completely in the right state about this, but I think it's good enough'. She had no idea how long she'd actually spent thinking about it, but she felt a bit better. With that, she started to walk around aimlessly again, not really caring where she ended up.

[Jello]

"What do you want with me anyways?"

What do I want with you? Nothing, I am you. I want what's best for me. Or rather, you. Us.

"This isn't very funny."

What? Was it supposed to be?

"Who are you?"

You.

"Gaaah!!"


Haruka had finally managed, after a long and arduous fight with his morals, to surface Sera. He actually liked being called that, since the full title of Seraphim wasn't actually a name at all and was simply the title given at creation. Not birth. Creation. It was at about 5 AM at the beach. When Haruka had questioned his own purpose for doing what he had been doing, the Seraphim had answered. However he wasn't very informative. And he doesn't say all too much... At least nothing productive or even really nice.


"This is hopeless." Haruka scratched his head, sitting on the park bench. This wasn't a matter he could decidedly chat about in his conscious either. Turns out Sera can only hear him when he talks out loud. Maybe he isn't inside of Haruka, but just following him?

"So, let me get this straight. You were... created... when I was burned alive? Why?"

I was created in order to protect your life.

"Okay, I know that. But, from what?"

Threats. What else?

This sarcastic little...

"Give me an example of one. Not fire this time."

That girl. Yukino, as you call her. And perhaps Neo as well. They're both threatening. Also snakes.

Did he just say Yukino was a threat? While I could see that maybe, how in what way could Neo threaten me?

"What about Yukino is threatening? She's only ever tried to help me-"

You are foolish. Truly. Tell us, Haruka. Why does she care? What benefit are you?

While it's true that Haruka really wasn't sure about being too useful, they were friends- er, a thing? They were close. That's what had mattered from the beginning.

"I'm, uhh, I'm good looking? I guess..." Haruka was even starting to doubt his own looks now. This was getting really out of hand, really fast.

You're being deceived. If not by them, then by me, but who are you going to believe? A girl who hides her emotions from you, or yourself?

Hides her emotions...?

Haruka felt sick again. He wanted this conversation to end. Yukino had never hid anything from Haruka. Right?... Right?? What would she have to lose by telling him the truth? He was anything but reasonable. Or so he would have liked to believe.

She is a Vanguard of shining light. Her allies are her strength. And you? A Vanguard hiding in the dark. You destroy. You sacrifice those that you pretend to love for your own benefit. I'm surprised you, I, we, haven't disposed of those things called friends and moved on.

"...."

I'm. Not-

You are in fact, a monster.

A monster... Truth of the matter is, Haruka had given up on believing anything he heard at this point. Everybody around him was a liar, and he himself told no truths either. Paranoid did not even begin to paint the picture in Haruka's mind. Void, mostly. But fear crept in from the edges, as well.

"So what do you propose...?"

You tell me? I'm you, after all.

Haruka chuckled. His eyes were as red as always, and the splitting headache had returned. It wasn't a rare occurrence after all.

"That's not very funny."

I know.

[Hope]

The park was generally peaceful today, a place full of recreation and events. Having just come from the slums, Neu found it to be a quite refreshing change of pace. Well she was at least surrounded by sane people now, not to say that the slums were full of weirdos, well, it was just that one mentally ill foreigner, but everyone knew that. Next thing she knew she ran into another familiar face, off a bit to her left, someone who was talking to themselves.

"Geez, and I thought I had just narrowly got away from them..." She sighed and looked more closely at him, "Huh, wait is that lover boy?"

[Jello]

"I don't know what to think anymore then..."

Then don't think. Simple, no?

"God, if I'm even half as bad as you, I'd hate me."

Well I am exactly you. Or, part of, so to speak.

Cringe.

Haruka found himself arguing with Sera a bit longer. The inner being, the Seraphim, aka Sera, was Haruka. Or rather, the embodiment of his fears and paranoia in the form of a conscience. This was Cray's way of cursing Haruka as well as blessing him with Overlord. The fire that burned Haruka was simply to catalyst to his double-edged sword. However, the Seraphim inside would not awaken unless called upon. Haruka locked away the conscience-

Until Yukino had asked what it was. The name being spoken, just once, called it forth. Now it seeks to, well, protect itself. It's host. The manifestation of Haruka's dark side, in a nutshell.

With a sigh, Haruka looked up at the sky. This was his normal coping method.

His head drooped back down quickly however, as his eyes couldn't handle the sun. Out of his peripherals he notices somebody. A girl. She looked familiar though.

"Hoh...?"

[Hope]

"Man I really should get way better at hiding..." She walked over closer to him, may as well.

She gave him a grin and a wave, "Hello, hello!" she greeted him cheerfully.