(GS3) Field: Beach

[Cherry]

Being blunt about it was most likely not the best way to have gone about saying it. Yugure was actually expressing shock and had no idea what in the hell was happening to Satoshi. A black ring was a mark of an enemy, and she'd stab herself in the foot before turning a sword on him. When asked what to do, a solution wasn't present in mind. Folding arms, the brain of the Chosen Sword raced through possibilities. They all ended up the same: they wanted him. They were reaching out to Neo Nectar's champion.

Why?

"I'm..."

Could she even be honest in saying she's not sure? That'd just make things worse...

Shutting her eyes, teeth were clenched, hands balled up into fists. There was no vocal answer beyond an infuriated growl.

[Beryl]

Satoshi saw Yukino's face contort at that question. That face of a soldier with the heart of a maiden, deep down somewhere. The same sort of reaction came out of Fortuna, so to see that she was reacting that way wasn't uncommon, either. He sat up and extended his hand to her.

"Listen, it's okay if you can't tell me. Fortuna couldn't, either. I feel like I'm not being told something huge, something beyond me." He gave a weak smile. "And it's frustrating to know I can't be told, and watch decent people stuck in hesitation over it. But it's fine. Just for a bit...sit with me, though."

He couldn't be alone tonight, even if he wanted to.

[Cherry]

"... I'm sorry", was all she could offer. Staying here with him was something still within her power. Yugure heeded his plea, walking past him to find a place to sit. Though, her thoughts still focused on trying to find a solution - anything possible.

[Beryl]

He stared out at the water, thinking of things to talk about that weren't the situation, maybe to clear both of their heads.

"So, uh...have you seen Haruka and Hana since you've been back? I meant to ask you at dinner, but I figured you hadn't been home long enough."

[Cherry]

It took several moments for Yugure to respond, as she was lost; staring into space. When hearing him, the soldier responded immediately: "I've seen them both and went to the park with Hana today. I still haven't spoken to Haruka in private yet."

Maybe tomorrow, Haruka will see her...

[Beryl]

Satoshi bit his lip a little. Actually, those two were people he hadn't spoken to in a while, which is why he was curious about a bit more detail than just the monotonic responses Yukino was giving.

He tugged at her arm a little. "Hey. I know you're worried now, but I'm still here. As long as I'm still here, don't let this bother you, alright? Maybe Fortuna will report something at the next Council of Cray meeting that helps getting better preparations together."

He went from tugging to a gentle touch. He didn't want to give a romantic impression at all, because Haruka was too ingrained in her for that to be the case ever---

Actually, another thought crossed his mind. His brows lowered a bit as he thought of it, and he wasn't intending to speak his mind out loud, but...

"They've been around each other a lot recently. They seem pretty happy." He sat next to her, still gripping her arm so she knew it was still him that was there. "I know they both missed you."

[Cherry]

Yugure gripped at her arms, seeming a bit furious with the comment "I'm still here". Telling him why that gives no comfort wouldn't make sense, and she just kept it to herself. Giving a sigh, "It's my job to let it bother me" came out of her mouth. A warrior and a friend - both of these roles meant dealing with this problem fell under assigned duty. If the Cray Council could figure something out this time, she'd sure love to hear about it. Possibly restore a bit of hope in winning.

Haruka and Hana seeing each other so much didn't cross her mind as anything odd. The woman enjoyed knowing her boyfriend took care of the princess and bettered his relationship with the family.

"Missed me, huh?" Yugure said, tone filled with distant disbelief. Despite looking as if she had fun, Hana rushed off quickly after their day in the park. Haruka... was busy. Just busy, they wanted to believe. Unlike them, she was more of a realist - a pessimist.

[Beryl]

"Yeah. We all did." Satoshi noticed her distance in matters was making Yukino cold to his touch. He sighed. It's not like he could really convince her things were going to be fine otherwise. Last time he had tried, she had severed himself off from the rest of the world and had almost killed herself jumping off of King Europe's structure.

"Though, I guess I'm no expert, either." He gave the best little laugh he could muster. "I haven't spent much time with either of them since I've been back...they've seemed so happy, they don't need me anymore." To a degree, he could understand some of the pessimistic "I shouldn't be here" thoughts that Yukino was likely experiencing. Maybe she didn't think the same because they had different experiences, but even so.

[Cherry]

"They made it through the year with moving forward. That's admirable in itself... Doesn't mean I have to be okay with it", Yugure mumbled that last bit to herself. It's to be expected, but it was hard accepting those two in particular felt far away. She herself was far away as it was. ... Maybe they simply moved on to the point of not caring? A departure with or without silence could result in that, especially considering how she acted toward Hana.

... The past Yukino was a prime example of human scum, so Yugure had to be better. As far as the soldier was concerned, not saddling a multitude of personal problems on others is a step in doing better already. A little smirk of pride in this progress was given.

[Beryl]

"You can move forward without leaving people behind."

This whole "moving forward" thing had been bothering Satoshi, and that was what he had come to regarding it. It's not that it was wrong to go towards the future, but to completely leave people down and away...how was that remotely fair or reasonable?

[Cherry]

"... Perhaps", Yugure agreed with the possibility. Reality was another thing entirely.

[Beryl]

Satoshi sighed at her uncertainty. Best response he was going to get out of her, considering the circumstances.

He stared out at the waves, mind traveling back to the whole "being marked" thing. It was a situation he couldn't avoid, and there wasn't much he could say to the contrary that would escape it. He figured he may as well just say some more details about it.

"...I've been hearing a voice since last year, since we were at PSY Shop and saw what Neu Edelweiss did. This voice was the same voice that spoke to me when I saw the black ring. It told me to 'lock away my problems.'" He shook his head. "Odd as it sounds, I've been putting stuff on others as if it's really their responsibility, but it isn't quite that way, is it?" He knew she was likely to say that as the Chosen Sword, it was her duty to protect those she cared about, yadda yadda, but honestly, had she given a damn, even if she called him his friend, that what happened to him happened? Did it change her outcomes at all?

The voice spoke again, trying to dissuade him, a soft hiss in the background. "Leave her..."

[Cherry]

"Do not heed anything the voice says. Putting off responsibility on others only adds on to what you'll have to do yourself eventually."

While Yugure was content with trying to help Satoshi's problems beyond the dream, that voice was going to have to be dealt with. A number of paladins forewarned her that a sword won't be able to stab it, but the bloodthirsty knight didn't believe them for a second.

[Beryl]

Satoshi blinked. "That's...not what I meant. I meant that the voice was telling me not to put my problems on others." Come to think of it, if that was the case...was the voice actually giving bad advice?

---

At some point, he had fallen asleep on the beach, and Yukino had left. He rubbed his eyes, only to yelp a bit because of the sand he accidentally put in. While he felt like he didn't really get through to her very much, which seemed like a pretty common trend between the two of them, it was good to know that underneath that somewhat robotic demeanor, one of his best friends was still very much his friend and wanted to help him, even if she couldn't explain how.

Slighly reassured, even in the light of knowing he was marked, Satoshi got to his feet and started to walk back home. He had some thinking to do before he proceeded with his day.

Yukino +3 AP

[Beryl]

It was always the beach when it came down to it, wasn't it? Today, Satoshi stared out at the ocean, arms folded. The past several days had been ones of observation and getting Reversed fighters to start the push for a world dominated by the disciples of the black rings.

That wasn't really the goal, though. The goal was to determine who the Seed was and fall behind him or her, as was per the directive of the invaders. The problem with that goal was that the Seed was much more elusive than expected; even with the dwindling number of sane people in Japan, the Seed was nowhere to be found. Further indication from other countries beared no results, either.

It was a real struggle. The Seed was the true general. Cheru---and by proxy, Satoshi--- was just a captain in charge of informing the Seed of their success so that the invasion could reach its greatest potential. But when the seed was hard to find, matters had to be taken into their own hands.

Luckily, the number of Reversed lieutenants was rising at a steady pace, and the world was mobilizing in acceptance of this fate. Bar a select few, of course, but there was always going to be someone who rebelled against the direction of the world.

Even so...Satoshi looked through his phone. It had been a while since he had contacted any of these people, and it was likely most of them would no longer wish to stay in contact when they found out what he was to this whole thing. Yet, the intense aura most of the bearers of Link Joker and the Reverse had wasn't shared by him. It would of course start to build up once again when the invasion was on the cusp of being a full-fledged success, but for now...Nebula Lord gave stability.

Emotions Satoshi was set to feel at times were not exactly intense, even if they appeared so. This was due to Nebula's influence; it was an emotionless being, who was following directives as necessitated, despite being placed in a position of leadership. Cheru was the yang to Nebula's yin; she was instructed to tie herself to Nebula as a full package, so that the robotic intonations of the dragon did not cause stress within its bearer.

Settling attention back to the phone, Nebula's vassal passed over Yugure Espoir's contact information. She would be important to negotiate with, considering the situation. He was about to type out a message, but then...

He scrolled over to Seifer Leo instead.

Is there a chance I can talk to you? I'm at the beach. If you're worried about a safe route through all of this, don't worry. I've got it.

Summoning the bartender of the snack bar on the beach, who was also most certainly reversed, Satoshi gave his order.

"One order of fries, please. And when you're done, I need you to direct the Reversed on the path to the beach away. It's important."

The bartender chuckled and nodded. "As you wish, Sir."