(GS3) Home Field: Espoir Mansion

[Cherry]

"Y-Yes..." The recovering queen stammered, feeling more at ease with Haruka's hair roaming through her messy bed hair. Yukino proceeded to bury her face into his shoulder, fidgeting her fingers with their hands together, trying to interlock with his desperately. He was her connection to the reminder that she was alive - she wasn't locked away in a deep, dark space of isolation. That the night terror of her dreams didn't succeed in getting her.

[Jello]

Haruka sighed with relief.

Bless.

"So. I was actually wondering, would you want to go out to dinner tonight?" Normally he would want to make sure he has her attention but she seems content just sort of resting on his shoulder. He was only cutting to the chase to make sure he didn't back out of asking now.

"I thought it would be nice to go out and do something for the evening. Just the two of us." He wanted to make sure that it was clear only her and Haruka were going to be there. Whether or not that would sway her decision, he had no idea. But it wasn't going to be any easier making his confession clear otherwise.

"What do you think?" He said this, finally allowing his fingers to slide in between hers, like puzzle pieces fitting together. She gripped his hand a bit tighter than he expected, but it didn't particularly bother him.

[Cherry]

"O-Okay..." the queen accepted his date offer. Dindrane, Sleygal, Lop Ear, others, and even Garmore all began squealing and bouncing like giddy schoolgirls. Ezel bashed Garmore and Pellinore's faces in for acting like they're still in the knight academy. Honestly, Yukino didn't actually want more food, but a nice night with Haruka sounded great for her conscious. With how she was physically connected to him right now, she felt like she wasn't a decaying shell of a woman. This was her chance to help her beloved through his own mess as well, something she wanted to start on. Having a desire to help out all friends and sister, he... he was just a priority.

"Nn..." another gentle cry. If they were going out, she needed to get ready, but that would require breaking their current position, which was the last thing she wanted.

[Jello]

Haruka remembered that he still needed to borrow a suit from the coffee-making butler best friend downstairs. But considering the way Yukino was clutching to Haruka, she didn't have the intention of letting go anytime soon. Normally he would have tried prying her off so they could get ready to go, but instead he plants a kiss on the top of her head, the messy bedhead not particularly bothering him either.

He just kind of wanted to stay like that too, but he already had the plans made and it was clear that backing out on them now would result in Haruka's failure to use Hana's gift to the greatest use. Guilt would eat him alive for days. But also, Yukino needed to be out. The house was where she always was recently, and there lied bad memories and lingering depression. Breaking out of the norm was a must.

And his confession. That was a big thing.

"Tell you what, I'll be back up in less than 20 minutes. We can go then, okay?" He brushed her hair a few more times, humming a light tune. He wasn't going to let go until it was Yukino's terms.

[Beryl]

"Jellal Kisaragi..."

Satoshi kept mumbling the man's name as he lumbered into the kitchen, gesturing for the butler that tended to make Haruka coffee to make him a cup. He needed something to dull his bandaged head from throbbing. Perhaps a buzz would help.

He sat with the mug and took a sip. Ah...much better. The bandages weren't really necessary, but the servants had taken extra precautions to make sure didn't suffer a massive concussion. Really, when he touched the spot sometimes, it just felt sore, as though it were bruised or scarred than an open wound.

He knew what he had to do today, but he had to be able to take care of himself first. He asked for the butler to fetch some clothes from his servant friend. The butler nodded, bowed, and walked off to make the request. Rubbing the spot a little more, he took another swig of coffee.

He wondered what his Snow Flower and Blazing Sun were up to.

[Cherry]

"Twenty minutes...?" No, no, that was far too long. Anything beyond two was too long, but she realized that she was going to have to be reasonable. Even so, she sort of just mindlessly clung onto him for an extra minute as he hummed. Her heart lightened up some from that forehead kiss, her panic almost entirely have dissolved. With a bit of a bratty, upset moan, she leaned back, getting off of him so they could prepare themselves.

"Twenty... I'm... going to be really mad if you're even a millisecond late."

She avoided eye-contact, blushing while looking off to the side, still having a hand tug at his arm.

[Jello]

"Right then. Not even a millisecond." Haruka beamed, feeling  ready for the evening. He waited for Yukino to let go of his arm and after a bit, she was left with no choice.

He darted down the halls, dashing about. He yelled out to the butler as he ran towards the kitchen. Despite his destination, the butler responded from a quarters down the hall. On the second floor.

"Hey, Hi. Yeah. I need your help. Could you let me wear one of your suits? I mean... Okay, I'm going on a date with Yukino, and I need to look-"

Before Haruka finished his explanation, the butler already had one prepared for the occasion. He knew that Haruka was eventually going to ask the question. It was a matter of time.

With a bow and a thank you, Haruka changed into the black suit, grey button up, ash vest and a red tie for color.

He darted up the stairs again to meet with Yukino. It had been 18 minutes already.

"On my way..." He whispered to himself as he started up the staircase.

[Beryl]

The butler returned with a very rugged set of clothes that reminded Satoshi of a biker. "Apologies, sir, today is servant laundry day. I hope this works for you on short notice."

The farmboy eyed it up and down. It was a pretty cool set of clothes, reminding him of those '60s American biker movies his father would have on the television when he was little. Some jeans, a t-shirt, and a long jacket. He scratched his chin. Was it a biker outfit, or an animated cartoon villain outfit? He couldn't decide, but he chuckled.

"S'fine. I like it, if I'm being honest." He accepted the clothes. "What took you so long, though?"

"Clothes for Mr. Nakahara. He and the eldest Miss Espoir have an outing planned tonight." The butler bowed once before getting himself a mug of coffee.

An "outing?" Satoshi snorted, then laughed a bit. "So they're going on a date finally. Good, that'll get them both to stop being so mopey around here and other places. They need a break from Cray. Leave it to me to take care of things in the meantime, I've been slackin'." He made a quick change of clothes and sat back down, sipping his coffee.

He thought a moment, then removed the bandage and checked the spot quickly. Just a bit of a bruise, no big deal. He kept them off and resumed enjoying his cup with the butler doing the same.

Damn the Espoirs had good coffee.

[Cherry]

Dad Espoir was going to kill a man.


Despite Yukino making him rush, she sure took her sweet time showering, picking out a dress, and then twice as long as deciding what kind of makeup to use. The queen found herself with rather... mixed feelings concerning a dress. Part of her wanted to go about this casually, but another part knew Haruka would do everything in his power to get himself looking fancy and expensive. Two things that neither of her best friends were, honestly. "Hmm..." Contemplating, she'd just look odd if she wasn't matching that expense. Then again, her normal attire cost about thrice whatever her date wears. Eventually, she settled on a light-yellow golden mix colored dress to match Gold Paladin. A thin one with a bit of sparkling at the torso, sporting a little teasing cleavage below a silver, diamond necklace.

"This is way too gaudy", Ezel offered his opinion.

"I'm not taking that from someone with your kind of hair."

"Do you know how long it took to get this glorious mane?! This didn't come with the Red Lion armor!"

"That only fuels the reason for me not to listen to you!"

Yugure and her guardian had a little fit with one another as she applied sword-shaped, golden earrings. With a sigh, she supposed she looked good enough. Haruka might have something to say, or maybe he'll keep being honest with how gaudy it really is in his head. Then again, this coloring was symbolic, and she didn't want to wear much else. ... Then she peeked at a red dress and white-sword earrings. Now she wanted to wear something else, so she spent a little bit longer putting it on with the new accessory... and wanted the yellow one back.

Then there was a snowy blue one she bought last year, one she never put on.

"Oh my god", Ezel and Garmore exclaimed. There was no winning with this woman's indecisiveness.

"Fine, the yellow one it is."

The woman tucked away her cellphone safely in her bra, then grabbed her deck case... Where was she going to put this? It could just get left behind, since tonight wasn't about fighting, but it just felt awkward not having them around. Especially the lion who's helping keep her light afloat. Maybe Haruka would be willing to hold onto it...

Despite saying she'd be upset if Haruka was late, she was about five minutes behind according to the phone's clock. An extra five spent on double checking everything later, the queen finally walked out of her room to go greet Haruka.

[Jello]

"Millisecond late, huh..." Haruka stood out front of the door, awaiting Yukino. It took only a bit longer, so in the end he wasn't really all too agitated.

Especially when she exited the room and entered his view.

"W-Whoa.."

She's.

She's.

Gorgeous.

Haruka and Sera agree nearly simultaneously that the angel who just appeared in Haruka's field of view was none other than Yukino and she looked amazing. She looked like a golden sun, glowing over the horizon where the sea meets the sky.

If only Haruka could actually say that. Instead his eyes simply widen and another, "Wow..." Escapes his lips.

"You look great, Yukino. Like, really great." Haruka was already anxious about the tie he picked, and now he felt completely inferior to the celestial being in front of him right now. It was red, the tie anyways, due to it mostly being in commemoration for the color of Kagero. It even had a gold Dragon tie clip that Butler-san let him borrow.

"Well, are we ready to go then?" He extends his hand. Everytime before he has done this, he expected a handshake. This time, Haruka wants Yukino's hand clasped to his.

Here we go.

[Cherry]

Dad Espoir is going to kill a man harder. He stood up, and walked out of his office.


Yukino, admittedly, got giddy when she saw Haruka's jaw drop. Very happy that she impressed him, getting a dumbfounded "wow" out of the boy added to it. A blush and a beaming smile came from the Chosen Sword, doing a little twirl to further show off for him. "Thank you", she spoke, approaching him more closely. "You look pretty handsome yourself, giving father a run for his money back in his younger days". A sly grin, giving the boy a compliment that his good looks amazed her quite a bit. Using a free hand, the woman gave herself to this dashing gent, letting him be the vanguard of the evening. This was the longest Yukino had smiled in a long while.

"More than ready."

[Hope]

"Yukinee and Yukinee's bf are getting prepared? Good..." Hana gave a warm smile to a butler along with a bow in order to dismiss him.

Tonight was the night in which the Cray Council would gather. The princess needed to keep her sister occupied in order to get the full attention of the Gold Paladin who have recently just returned to duty after yesterday's events. The gathering would mark a declaration of war through a pact, the true and formal beginning of The War of Liberation.

Hana looked in the mirror, her navy blue hair curled at the ends, tipped off with a tiara that lay upon her head, decorated by diamond stars. She wore a frilly pink dress, with linings going a cross the torso in the color of hot pink. Along the dress were hanging red hearts. She wore a matching necklace and earrings, both were gold carvings of penguins. All in all, she dressed to match Pacifica.

Behind the Espoir manor laid a structure which was seemingly untouched. No worker was every allowed inside. Dad-san and Mom-san used to visit the area often, but upon Yukino's birth, they stopped. This building only welcomed the Chosen Sword and eventually, the Princess of Cray. Hana had walked into this sanctuary numerous times already, almost at a daily basis, but today was different, as an important event was about to take place. She breathed deeply and prepared herself.

"Pacifica, Rio, Flute, Sedna, Pearle... Minnasan, help me be brave."

She opened the doors to the sanctuary and made her way inside.

[Jello]

Haruka smiled at the compliment, returning the thanks. It was nice being told he was attractive by somebody like Yukino. It was warming to the heart.

Haruka made his way to the ground floor with Yukino at his side.

"So, we'll be heading out in just a second... What's that sound?"

Haruka. A painfully large man is going to crush your skull in about 20 or so seconds. Shall I take the lead?

Haruka stifled his sigh, turning to Yukino.

"Yukino... Your dad. I should probably talk to him, huh..?" Haruka was already in fear of the coming moments before the lion himself even showed.

[Cherry]

"Yeah, you should."

He was already here.

Yukino was wondering: how in the hell did Dad Espoir get to the first floor before them, when his office is farther away from the stairs than her room?! The queen was sort of in awe by this feat, but now scared for Haruka's life. It barely crossed her mind except for yesterday that Dad Espoir would likely destroy her crush and the very ground he walked on. The mountain of a man had his arms folded, a stern gaze - one filled with a hint of venom cast down at the two lovebirds. His daughter was unsure of what to say, seeing as they were caught in the act similar to two months ago. The main difference being they're both aware of what they're doing and it's one-hundred percent intentional.

Surprisingly, the man simply let out a defeated sigh.

"Is he what you want?"

"... Yes. That much I've decided on for myself, father."

"... Alright brat, listen up", Dad Espoir accepted the queen's decision. However, he wasn't doing so without imparting his fatherly warning. "You screw up, make her cry, let her down, or even slightly put her in harm's way... Well, I hope two months ago shows you what I'll do."

Wait, is that his approval? Yukino was confused, because that was still threatening to kill him.

[Jello]

Without missing a beat, Haruka gulped at how quickly the man had appeared.

How the hell?

In the end, he had no intention to kill. Yet. With what was a blessing to Haruka, in some shape or form, he smiles.

"Yessir! I promise you she's in good hands." Haruka tried his best to not sound like a dork with his response. He goes to shake the giant's hand and be on with the evening.

Haruka's flame had brightened ever so slightly, knowing Yukino's father had even the slightest sliver of trust in him. Even with that trust, Haruka felt his life was still on the line now.

Oh boy.