(GS3) Field: Umano Underground Slums

[Cherry]

"Honestly? ... I will be..." Yugure answered the returned question with the truth. Fury and sadness were present, but this will pass. It... has to pass. The queen gave a mental note for her paladins to back off for a bit as to give the sisters space. They did just so, spiritual forms vanishing. There was a mountain of things she wanted to address, yet, she'd rather not. Lest the heart take more of a pounding... Listening to Hana's about an oath revealed more pain that was unknown to the elder sister.

"You may need to find more than a cure to make it up to her... Worry not, I shall see your task fulfilled." Though negative emotions were still mixed in tone, this vow wasn't that of a warrior's to another. It was that of a simple human being to another. Thinking on it, while Miyuki would be grateful to live life again, it was doubtful she'd skim over this... happening. Even so, seeing all mended became a mission.

"So... this is why you contacted me at such an odd time..." She refrained from commenting on the bit about regret not being deeply engraved. Yugure made a promise a year ago to be the sister Hana desired. As such, she'll take this chance to smooth over their bond.

"... I should start by asking how camping out is going."

[Hope]

Well there was that bit that she neglected to add, "I don't expect Mi-hime to gloss over what I did. If she decided that I couldn't be forgiven then I would take it as the lover who failed her."

Talking about camping lightens the mood, somewhat.

"Camping is going great actually."

One of her objectives thought was to actually confirm the council's fears of a coming threat. Whether or not she believed it, she had been making precautions anyways, so its not like she was neglecting her duty, though she was in some cases. Now she was full throttle into it, not going to stop.

"The Cardfight Club has been really doing a lot of bonding and practicing when it came to fights. I met someone today who I thought should join. She was a really strong fighter who also used Bermuda Triangle and was able to defeat me, though I've never heard of her in school. Even asking around didn't do much good either."Hana thought for a moment to something that maybe Yukino would understand before heading to the main question. "Oh Sathirsty is there too as a wildlife expert, but in the end the rivers dried up."

Now onto the main question.
"The council has been mentioning invaders and have been asking me to prep up. The Cardfight Club is how I'm trying to do so. Emphsize  team work and with the camping trip, survival as a group. The council isn't just doing crazy talk right? It's been at peace for so long."

[Cherry]

"If I can make up for my failures, you can make up for yours."

Yugure heard that the school trip was going well, and was waiting for more details. Part of her wanted to hear about Haruka, but focused on the rest. "Cardfight Club...?" She questioned, not really aware of what was even going on in school. Though up-to-date on Cray's situations, the woman was rather out of the loop when it came to Earth's. More evidence of detached humanity. Still, it was easily made up for by deducing it was exactly what was said on the tin: a school club for vanguard fighters. "Strong Bermuda Triangle player no one's heard of, eh...? Heh, you may have found new competition", Yugure chuckled. Surely, Hana would welcome a challenge concerning her own clan. The princess loved those divas, after all.

Before able to say anything about Satoshi, hearing the rivers having dried up... was... not a surprising development, ridiculously enough.

Then Hana asked about the invaders. This was coming eventually, seeing her position. ... She was unsure how to break it to her, however.

"... Otherworldly beings are going to come to Cray and Earth soon. Peace will be broken - they're here to kill us or harvest us with the ability to seal away or warp the heart. There is no crazy talk... we have to learn how to survive, as we will not be able to attain victory at any early point in the new upcoming war."

There was no sugarcoating this matter. Hana had to know if she was planning on fighting with everyone. The entire club should hear about this, in fact. Yugure did not exaggerate the hopelessness of the battle's preliminary momentum - punching a hole in the invaders would be nigh impossible. Though the desire to focus on bonding was present... not being annihilated unfortunately took priority.

[Hope]

The whole invaders things sounds like a test of patience since it couldn't be won right away, but it wasn't something that was hopeless. Fighters often pulled through the struggles and overcame their problems by just keeping on going. Any preparation possible should be made to stop this. The phenomenon's on Cray are usually strong enough to reach Earth therefore this was a problem in both worlds. Now another problem is if this were to do anything to harm Mi-hime. That in itself would be unacceptable.

"I won't call an actual meeting until the beginning of the invasion itself. Right now, I just want to clans to enjoy the peace that they worked for a year ago, but I will approach individuals in the club about it so that they could help." Isabella took a good look at the workers wandering around the slums area and wondered how her shop was doing.

"Hey, we should spend some time together again once I get back. I gotta head off to bed now." The image now began to fade a little. "I'm sorry about what we did again, but I'll make it up to you and Mi-hime. Byeee~."

[Cherry]

After the conversation with Hana ended, Yugure held up the charm of twin swords Haruka gifted the day before they left. The soldier still loved him... she was just angry. The girl proceeded to mess with her right earring. The charm was attached to it, dangling about from the ear. Men approached, telling of their completion of the route mapping. Immediately, groups were dispatched throughout the night, following trails to avoid detection. Thanks to this, the HQ of an enemy faction had been surrounded. Unfortunately, this was expected. However, seeing the sheer manpower of these squads created a panic, causing the base to be greatly sealed shut.

Nowhere to go, it was simply a wait. Though, the majority of Yugure's thuggish army here was impatient, as was she. While some talked amongst themselves, trying to figure out how to bust open a hole, the woman decided to take care of it. Walking toward the front door, sealed tight, Blaster Dark's card was lifted out of the purple deck case. Glowing, Yunos materialized into a solid form before her.

"Help me destroy this", Yugure ordered. Yunos took a look at it and sighed.

"The hell do you think I am, some destruction expert?"

"You're an ex-Terrorist."

"Ex, as in: no longer."

"Still doesn't mean you don't have the know-how to blow something out of the way."

The swordsman of darkness folded his arms, still being difficult. "Come on..." Yugure sweetly urged. He couldn't say he appreciated how his skills as a villain to his homeland were still labelled as "terrorism". ... Despite the fact that it's exactly what they were. He's not a bombing expert just because of that though. Annoyed, those green eyes of jealous fury glared at the door. Okay, the man internally admitted that smashing it up sounded joyous. Couldn't let her know that. So, he gave a long, defeated sigh.

"Fine. But I'm not doing this because I want to!"

"Yes, yes, let's go."

He's such a Tsundere.

Yunos walked toward Yugure and the two merged into Blaster Dark Revenger with her features and bladed pupils. As if they were cardfighting, and their souls synchronized. Lifting up the massive claymore, the structure was heavily struck, rending it in half. This got the attention of the majority, and they simply watched as the woman cut away at the other half left. The armor of the Revenger vanished, and the human soldier turned back with a command: "Let's go."

Poor neanderthals that gave Hikaru and others of the city problems never stood a chance. They were brutally stomped on by this gathered militia. Some even entertained Vanguard instead of a fistfight or a weapons brawl. In any field, victory came to the hunters. A kind of unfair victory, considering the leading commander of the operation had an otherworldly weapon on hand. The raid's end came with an order: surrender to the police and throw themselves at the mercy of Hikaru, the Underground King. Those who refused were met with her boot colliding with their face. "I wasn't giving you a choice", the queen hissed. Out of fear, the sector gave in. Several simply hoped Hikaru could forgive their insolence, others just wanted to be taken away from this crazy lady.

"We've gotten rid of one of the rebelling factions. Proceeding to Standby." Was sent to the King.

Settling matters down and dealing with multiple punks took up most of the next day, depriving her of sleep again. It was well worth it to get things under further control, however. In addition to that, these rival gang members can be useful. They'd be given purpose, after all.

Several of the Espoir brutes recommended the mistress take a break. Deciding to do so, she saw that Tsubasa and Haruka had texted her through this day.

"Give Seifer my number and tell him to call me when he feels most convenient." She responded to Gold Paladin's Vanguard.

... Haruka's text... Yugure almost crushed the cellphone in hand. Yesterday's raid was supposed to help relieve her of this stress, but it barely worked. Yunos scoffed over the fact that it was her craving destruction, not him.

"Fulfilling duty. Are you alright?"

It took some strain to not add "you cheating scum" to the end of that.

[Jello]

The walk here was, well, painful. It really did take longer than it should've because he felt like actual garbage after the sudden beating in the park. That wasn't even the worst of it. Haruka was trying to ask Overlord for advice on how to handle the situation but the only response he got was a hearty laughter and, "Why don't you ask Illuminal!"

Overlord was salty at Haruka's comment. So salty. The capital of Utah was suddenly jealous of all that salt.

Haruka trudged into the awkwardly half destroyed part of the city... What the-? Haruka was aware this was the rundown area of the city, but it wasn't normally this torn up. Juts a few boarded up houses here and there and a couple of gang fights but nothing to this scale. The amount of people fighting was significantly lower, but still strange.

He was on the lookout for the beauty, but Yukino was a bit out of sight. Maybe he just wasn't really paying attention or something, but in reality he just couldn't find her from the opening. She must be farther in...

"im here, out front. where are u? -haru" Hitting send, Haruka slumped up against one of the concrete walls, awaiting the Queen's arrival. He admits it. He is terrified of what was coming. But if he didn't man up about it now, chances are he wouldn't be able to bring it up himself again.

[Hope]

Hana decided to follow Haruka, not really with any intention to do much in the conversation, just walk around and check out Umano herself too. She had to talk to Yukino after. She could've done this with the star stalking power, but this is less rude. So she just stayed quiet as she argued with her units in her head.

[Cherry]

Yugure was busy overseeing... an arm wrestling match to decide who would be in charge of the vanguard squad next raid. This was stupid, neither contestant had the brains for it. They had the brute force, sure. However, for the leading forerunners, these idiots weren't worthy of the position. Another one of the slums' residents informed her Haruka had arrived, watching out for him as requested.

Her mood visibly worsened.

She told the man to lead her boyfriend there.

[Jello]

Someone apparently had come and grabbed Haruka to head in to some area nearby. He wasn't sure what it entailed, but he had no reason to oppose him.

That's a lie, he looked like a shady gang thug, but he was probably under Hikaru since he addressed Haruka by name. That must've meant something, right? Or at least, he had to know somebody who knew Haruka and that was the only credibility he could give right now.

He followed for about three or four minutes, until after going through a corridor he noticed two men, veins popping, arm-wrestling. He was afraid if one of them lost he might kill the other one. Awkward-

His head turning slightly to the left captured her. Yukino stood there, but, uhm... She was not happy. Not even really close to excited. If anything, she seemed unresponsive, and at worst... she knew.

Haruka prayed she didn't know because that would mean everything he thought he would say to her has changed and he was now a sitting duck. He gulped and walked over to her, at a reasonable distance of course. Haruka knew she was capable of more than just nagging him to death. She would kill. The second he saw venom hint in her eyes, he would have to probably take a few more yards back if he wanted to keep his life.

"H-Hey Yukin-no. Sup...?" Haruka pocketed his hands, sweating nervously. He was probably more nervous being around Yukino than anything, but having all those guards around and discernably, Hana, was making him extra awkward.

"Err, okay, we need to talk." Haruka took a deep breath before releasing that phrase. He was about to be sweating bullets.

[Cherry]

"Hana told me", is what Yugure started with. A day ago, she was mad at him. Now that he was back in front of her, she wasn't sure what to feel. The magical craftswoman could just stab him in the foot to let out remaining anger. Yet, going through this with nothing but seething rage would be a waste of time. A sad queen motioned Haruka to follow her into a more private area, since this one was overpopulated with thugs trying to kill each other.

Just another Friday in Umano.

[Jello]

She knows.

You can run.

Shouldn't I follow her?

The electric chair is in there man don't do it.

But where is your honor?

Now you wake up?!

You are somewhat late, Overlord. Please, talk sense into this fool!

No really, just go in there.

Haruka felt a sick sensation in his stomach, as he was motioned to follow Yukino into a room a bit off. He wanted to get away from the thugs obviously, but was following the perhaps rageful queen a smart idea? Probably not. But he had to get this whole deal done with. With the way things were, he honestly wasn't left with any viable choice. He went ahead and followed her, breathing into his hands.

To business.

He seated himself in the room. It was dark, and felt sort of like an interrogation room. The hanging light bulb and all was just a bit awkward for him. It wasn't nearly as glorious as anything he had been in, but a slum base is a slum base.

"So, you know... huh?" Haruka fiddled with his thumbs, thinking of how to address the problems. After a several... long... painful minutes of silence, Haruka finally sat up and looked at her. It wasn't easy to look her in the eyes though, it just made him uncomfortable. He couldn't be trusted, is part of that. Haruka was essentially the worst guy ever right now.

"I'm... sorry."

Good start, mate. Now actually say something meaningful.

He opened his mouth, figuring out the words as they rolled off of his tongue and through his teeth. About as honest as words get, saying them when the emotion happens.

"You don't deserve what I did to you. Going behind your back and doing stuff with... with your sister of all people. Salt in the wound... I don't have anything close to a valid excuse for this. There-there is no valid excuse for this. I just did what I wanted..." He shook his head, taking out the negative energy. He had to make sure what he said was clear and concise.

"I cheated on you. And I could have backed out, I, I should have... well I tried too but long story short it was just a conflict of morals at that point and I was afraid. You had been gone for so long so I got scared. That doesn't mean it was okay or anything but... I was really scared. Overlord was gone for a long time too, and he didn't come back to me until the day you also returned. I should have stopped then. I never should have started-"

He stood up, finally taking a moment to face her and speak to her, not just let words out.

"I,... hmm... I don't, expect you to forgive me. In fact it might be easier if you didn't, that way you never had to deal with me again. I hope I was worth it for the time you had me, but other than that, well. Call it self-loathing, but I have a habit of just not being worth it. You deserve better.... Yeah. I'm sorry, Yukino-..."

He wanted to cry or something, because that was what he usually did when he felt so twisted and messed up. The problem was, he didn't deserve to cry. He isn't the victim of this. He caused the problem. This was the music he was prepared to face.

Sovngarde awaits.

[Cherry]

Yugure stood in the dark room, watching Haruka fidget about, avoiding eye contact. The queen didn't make any attempts to speak, as she just wanted to hear what he was going to say. It started with an apology, but what irked her was the mention that she "didn't deserve it". The concept of not deserving this didn't make any sense. The woman tried to pay attention to his confession while trying to decipher the above. Him mentioning she deserved better confused her more.

"If I deserved better, why would this have happened?" Yugure spoke. Cheating brought pain, but she was by all means no saint. From an arrogant queen to an ignorant mess to a broken heart soldier - what was "deserved"? Expressing an inquisitive, sorrowful look, the response went on.

"Am I not good enough for you...? Or am I just unable to make you happy...? Don't run away from me..."

While not appreciating the final bits of this discussion on Haruka's end about not dealing with him again, she blamed herself.

[Jello]

Haruka had a hard time bringing himself to speak again. He instead just leaned on a wall near Yukino. It took a lot out of him the first time to bring himself to speak, but this was another level on top of that.

"That's not true at all. I mean, you're more than good enough. I guess what I did doesn't prove that though. But I mean it, really." His eyes wandered among the dark corners of the room. Dark corners. Sounds like where Haruka belongs right about now.

"You make me really happy... when you're here. When I can actually spend time with you. Yes you make me happy, but it's hard to be happy for a year without a word." That wasn't supposed to slip out at first. He didn't want to put blame on her and that made him feel a bit crappy, but going with the whole honesty policy, he said it. That was just a wrong choice of words on his part.

"That's not fair though. Nothing excuses what I did." He looks at her when she mentions running away. That wasn't what he wanted to do at all...

The exact opposite! He wanted to stay with her and hold her and love her and if it was reciprocated that was all the better. He just didn't know what she wanted...

W-What do I say?

Words were never your strong suit.

"I don't want to run from you!" He accidentally said that a bit louder than he thought. It almost sounded like a shout. Haruka instantly inserted his face into his palm and bit his lip.

Man.

"I-I'm sorry... Wow, I've said that a lot so I'm going to stop, uh-unless you just want me to hear me grovel or something." He walked up to her, face-to-face. He wasn't going to try anything sketchy. Not even kissing. He placed his hands behind his back, and just talked to Yukino. Not Yugure, the soldier, and not Yukino, the Queen, but as Haruka called her, Yukinoms, the girlfriend. The person he got to know when she wasn't being all dutiful and all that jazz.

"I won't run from you. I want to stand with you. I want to be here with you." He just kind of stared into her eyes for a bit. He hadn't done that for a long, long time. They weren't like a blue sky or a starry night, they were something else. It was drawing him in and pushing him away at once. A new kind of gravity. One that even he found pleasant, because he didn't have to dream he'd be there one day.

He was with her.

"I love you, Yukino." He just ran mazes in her eyes, awaiting a response. There wasn't much else he had to say that Yukino would probably find worth hearing.

Please... please.

[Cherry]

Yugure found herself unable to believe she was really good enough. Haruka sounded earnest enough on wanting to be with her, but it could've been just to calm her down or out of pity. His outburst pushed that possibility out of mind quite a bit, however. He got closer, and she retreated a little bit out of fear. The woman felt as if she was the one supposed to be grovelling, since it's her fault for being gone. When their eyes met, the soldier's were simply filled with remorse.

"I love you too, Haruka..." They were also longing. Those eyes accepted his apology, but not her own to self.

"... I'm... sorry for vanishing for a year without word or contact... I didn't get a choice in doing so without a goodbye."

A hand gripped onto her arm, leaning back, almost slumping over.

[Jello]

Haruka simply approached, following her step-by-step. He couldn't escape the gaze at this point. He was already too caught up in searching through every thread of color and thread of sentience that lit up her irises.

Then she brought it back up. Her leaving for a year. It was a topic he honestly just wanted to avoid at all costs, and his own dumb mouth brought it up again. Haruka just shook his head a bit, maintaining eye contact. That was his sky right now. That was draining his anxieties and keeping him calm.

"No... No, stop. It's not your fault." He finally reached out, one hand. Just barely going to touch her cheek.

"You left for your own reasons. Your father kept my updated and I should have just taken his word and let you be. Bettered myself. Something. Its my fault for doing nothing but sitting around and whining like a brat. Waiting to be handed everything I wanted. I still am sometimes... A brat I mean. But this time I'll reach out, okay? If you'll accept me again."

His hand barely grazing over the skin. It was cool to the touch, compared to the heat his body gave off 99.9% of the time.

"Will you still have me, Yukino? After everything I did?"