(GS3) Home Field: Espoir Mansion

[Lance Korilum]

Cero looked around the room, and when he heard Yukino, he marched over to her and slammed his deck on the nearest fight table.  He pointed at her and continued his shouting,  "I'm here for a rematch!  I've surpassed the limits I had when we last fought, and I'll prove it to you here!"  Cero's eyes glared with the intensity of lightning at his rival, the rival he had abandoned his old deck to surpass.  Cero couldn't remember exactly what deck he was using before, knowing only that he had decided that he had lacked enough of a connection to it to become truly powerful.  Now, he had found a clan he felt connected to and was ready to defeat the woman who had defeated him so many times.

[NeoBuster]

Neo made it to the top floor eager to cardfight the different fighters that were coming.

He then noticed a person who had challeged Yukino. Neo took a seat and started watching the cardfight

[Jello]

Haruka didn't notice that anybody else had shown up besides the four in the house previously, due to his awestruck state. The screaming had totally gone over Haruka's head. He probably assumed Father Espoir had gotten angry or something and was just venting a little.

Until a slam on the fight table nearby suddenly made Haruka jump in the air. He saw a screaming man, challenging Yukino to a rematch. Who was he?

...

.....

.......

No way. The guy from the construction site. It's been months, where did he go!?

Haruka looked over at Yukino, hand on hip. "Well you have a challenger it seems."

[Crystalia]

For some reason, she felt extremely tired for a second. Trying to shake her head of it, she noticed some of the people had arrived. She nodded to Yukino and Haruka, hoping that Yukino was feeling better. Even Cero the King was here, and he swiftly challenged Yukino to a fight. However, Yukino didn't seem to be quite ready for a fight just then.

'Hmm Hana, want to have a fight?' she asked, partly to keep Hana entertained, and partly to buy some time for Yukino by allowing a bit of a show before her fight.

[Hope]

The fight had ended with Hana as the victor this time around. They both healed three times, got a draw trigger whenever one got a draw trigger, and got the same amount of triple triggers with the fight ending in a double critical from Hana. The fight was close and quite intense because of how things went and Hana enjoyed every moment of it. Nociel sustained lots of injuries, the grade 1 at least, because the grade 2 never actually came out to the rearguard circle.

After the game ended, Hana gave Mi-hime a hug and watched Yukinee's game against Cero.

[Cherry]

Yukino got the advantage, Superior Riding to Grade Three while Cero was stuck on his first ride. Things were looking up, except no Grade One ever came to the queen except Mark. The fight carried on as Cero summoned his new avatar: Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion. Neo had this, but she never personally fought with it. The image it provided was overwhelming, sweeping her entire front row. Garmore, who had desired to rekindle any sort of recollection of the bonds he had with the king, was ridden. Letting loose a reminiscent howl of his Limit Break, he fought Cero with his own passion. It wasn't enough, but he feels that his emotions reached. A selfish request just to meet his fiery spirit again... He thanked Yugure.

Gold Paladin +10 Affinity

In the midst of the fight, Yunos' voice rang out again. Yugure's copies of Viviane... morphed into him. They became Blaster Dark Spirit, the Avatar of Resolution who solidified himself into the fray with Gold Paladin. A complete shock to everyone, the queen included. The queen synchronized with him again, but his power was incredibly weak. This outreach of the void could do nothing.

Yugure blamed it on her mind playing tricks on her. The joy of succeeding wasn't hers to have in the first place, so it would be impossible for a happy reunion.

Blaster Dark, unable to fathom what happened to her other than this sudden wave of surrender, was blown away by Vermillion's Limit Break. The fight ended in Cero's favor.

A congratulatory statement was given: "Looks like you finally surpassed me, Cero".

Yugure went over to a chair to sit down, becoming quiet.

[Beryl]

Satoshi had been locked in a guest room with Seph to resolve what was clearly a misunderstanding, but most of his time was spent laying on a couch, turned away. Things had startled to settle in based on the atmosphere and Seph's berating of him.

He had fraternized with the enemy. He had gone out of his way to try and get answers, and realistically? Other than remembering Vanguard should be fun, even with the importance of Cray at stake, he got nothing about the voice or the figure Neu had been with. She had dodged his questions, avoiding giving him any sort of idea to share with the group. Even the text he had received back from her was in English, saying she couldn't read Japanese. He couldn't communicate with her except in person, unless he got a translator. He remembered to ask a servant about that in the back of his mind.

Seph sighed. He had been trying for hours to make it clear that his champion had made a mistake. Something was different; he had received word during Council with Hana that strange fluctuations were noticed in the Rift's power, as though something new was feeding it, no doubt the responsibility of Neu Edelweiss. Did he not get that?

"Even so...you need to help Yugure with her plight and not run off like this. She got very upset with me as though I didn't understand the losses she was going through."

"Of course you don't, you idiot." Satoshi snapped. "Nobody's allowed to understand the Espoirs no matter how hard they try. Their connections to Cray are stronger than anyone else's after all. How could it be that anyone could possibly understand the weight of destiny those two have to go through?" He stretched a bit, still staring into the couch. "That said, they're stubborn enough to go through it alone, or at least with those they actually care about."

Not actually realizing Haruka felt the same way, thoughts ran through Satoshi's mind about how Yukino had acted today. Her grief had made her act jealous of having Neo Nectars last through time. It's not like she was missing out on much; Neu had a point that people seemed to be fine with Gold Paladin and Narukami existing. In fact, the levels of power those two clans theoretically exerted was growing all the time as they collected the Armors, so what exactly was the Chosen Sword so angry and bitter about? She was going to get what she wanted, but she had to bond with what she had in the first place, as she did before, for her resolve to work itself out. It sounded cliche, but all the same...why get so envious of someone and frustrated that you put on an air of "I don't think of you as a friend worth having because of what you chose to do and you should reconsider your decisions to work around me."

It was an unfortunate way of thinking of things at the moment, but his judgment was clouded. The fact that Yugure was choosing to take the burden and let her emotions bottle up, leading her to be passive with people he thought she had cared about...it seemed so selfish, no matter if she thought his choices were, too. Everyone was fighting for the same reason, and it was really getting on his nerves that she would refuse to listen to that.

He heard noise from outside. Apparently Cero, one of the people who knocked him out of regionals, had shown up to fight Yukino. Everyone else was apparently having a good time, at least to somewhat lighten the mood. And those two, Snow Flower and Blazing Sun...even with him having Limit Break, they seemed to be the only two who understood one another and care about one another.

They didn't need him. They never did. All that stuff...

He punched the couch, coughing back some tears. "Just go away for a while, Seph, I need time alone."

Seph shook his head. "Alright, but it might not be for the best if you fester like this. I do need to think about how to possibly apologize to Yugure." He receded into Satoshi's deckbox as the owner just cried.

[Jello]

Haruka stood there, somewhat dumbfounded by all the fights around him.

While the one between Hana and Miyuki was one filled with intensity, it ended happily anyways. Smiles around.

The fight between Yukino and Cero was totally different. It ended in one's domination of the other, breaking the other one down. Haruka leaned back, watching as the fights all came to a conclusion.

He noticed the Dragonic Kaiser Vermilion. It completely astounds Haruka for a second time, the first being with Neo awhile ago against Hana. It nearly broke Haruka just seeing it, reminding him of Dragonic Overlord. This kind of thing made him want to sit back and think for a moment. However he still wanted a fight before the night was over.

He sat next to Yukino, seeing her sit silently. He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey..."

He sits next to her, putting a hand on her head, messing up her hair. A sign of affection.

"What was that... in that fight? You seemed totally out of it." Haruka stared up, unable to really make good eye contact at the moment. He sort of just scratched his head, holding his deck.

"I was wondering if you'd fight but-" Haruka cut himself off short. He was asking a bit too much of the queen in her current state. "If you're ever up for it I mean." Haruka smiles, silently nodding.

[Cherry]

A muffled voice in the back of her head, that was still definitely Yunos, and it wasn't going away. It was starting to get on her nerves how God cursed her. Turning to see Haruka sit down, she listened to him speak. "Out of it" was putting matters lightly, the woman has no sense of passion anymore. Finding that irksome, teeth began grinding. Everyone else got to have it, why can't she get it back?! ... Stopping, she found it best to just keep quiet about it. Lest she wants to ruin everyone's good time or ruin Cero's victory that he was longing for.

"I can fight", Yugure responded to Haruka.

[Lance Korilum]

Although the fight was initially against him, with Yukino reaching Grade 3 while Cero was still on Grade 1, but the fight was quickly turned around.  Yukino was unable to keep much of an offense, while Cero let out  a relentless assault accompanied by trigger after trigger.  Throughout the fight, Cero kept having images of the clans that had been sealed away, including his old deck, the Garmore and Snogals.  After unveiling his new Avatar, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Cero took the lead in the fight, and completely dominated the woman who was once his rival.  At one point, she brought out Garmore, something done to remind him of the bond they once had that Cero had discarded, believing it wasn't strong enough to defeat his rival...  It was almost nostalgic, seeing his old Avatar, the King of Beasts... 

With the appearance of Blaster Dark Spirit, Cero was shocked.  He remembered Shadow Paladin, and its wielder Jellal, the man he fought in the Semi-finals of Nationals.  Cero was unsure why Yukino had this card, but it was of no matter to him.  Victory was in his sights.  When Cero's turn came, he wiped away what defenses Yukino had left, claiming victory over his rival...

"...  Is this really all the strength you have?"  Cero had stopped his shouting.  This victory, the thing he had been searching for for so long, was empty.  There was no excitement, no pleasure, no feeling of pride.  There was nothing.  "This isn't the fight I wanted.  You've become weak."  However, he remembered there was someone else who had defeated him on multiple occasions.  Turning away from his fallen rival, he pointed at Hana.  "Now I'll take my revenge for the humiliation I suffered in the finals!"

[Crystalia]

An eventful fight with Hana ended slowly. They had each hit a ton of triggers, healing 3 times each. In the end, Hana had barely edged it out with a double critical. She walked away after a quick hug with Hana, happy. It's not like the result of the fight mattered to her, all she wanted to was make sure Hana was ok.

Another sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her, and she stumbled slightly. In the end, she leant against a wall near the tables, trying to hide how tired she felt. From far away it felt like another match had ended, but she just tried to make sure she stayed up. She felt like she didn't even have the energy to walk to a nearby chair. 'It's odd though' she thought. 'Why am I suddenly so tired? I guess the lack of decent sleep caught up to me?'.

[Lance Korilum]

Another complete and utter decimation.  The fight was hardly even close, with Cero smashing his opponent to pieces.  Hana fought back, and was able to take advantage of Angel Feather's defensive ability, but it was nothing against the absolute destructive power of Cero's Narukami.  He retired her starter, and wiped away her field and hand.  Although Cero didn't have much in the way of defense, he ended the game before it really mattered.  He defeated the person who embarrassed him at Nationals, but it was another empty victory...  There was no pride behind this one either, no excitement in the fight.  Only complete domination of the game. 

"I thought you people were stronger than this...  Did I just become too powerful for you or did you all become weak in my time away?"  Cero was angered, though still not shouting.  He believed these two to be worthy rivals, and now could hardly believed they were ever strong enough to defeat him.  Cero turned away from the embarrassments his rivals had become, and walked towards the exit, stopping only to wait for a response from either.

[Hope]

Cero had certainly gotten stronger since nationals, that or Hana had to become much more better with Angel Feathers, though in his mind, it is no doubt that he remembered fighting Angel Feathers during the finals. Hana gave him the win, but with the hope of one day returning with Bermuda or becoming stronger with Angel Feather, she promised him another challenge someday, one that she would win for sure.

Mi-hime seems to be tired, stumbling around. Hana ran over to her and caught her, letting Mi-hime rest on her shoulder. She sat close to her, checking up on how she was feeling. "Mi-hime, you must be tired..." Hana said with a tender and caring tone, "you can rest on me for a bit while we watch..." Hana put her arms around Miyuki, supporting her weight, but also coming closer to Miyuki herself as well as she watched the ongoing game between her sister Yukinee and Yukinee's bf.

With that she saw Cero making his way to the exit. While he found a clan that was suitable for him, she and her sister had lost theirs. If he found them to be weak opponent's then glory to him in finding greater ones. She had no reason to stop him. She just wanted to support Mi-hime now, and just relax. The only competitive spirit within Hana was to bring back Bermuda Triangle for her and the sake of Mi-hime.

[Jello]

Haruka had one intention for this game from the start.

"Hey, Yuki, can you do me a favor? Have fun."

From the beginning, Haruka wanted to make Yukino happy. He knew there was no way to make her forget the past, but if she could accept it and start striving towards taking down what was in front of her, he felt as though everything would move forward. The stasis that the group was in might end.

"Consider this a trip down memory lane." Haruka knew Yukino had trouble with Shadow Paladins and their methods of sacrifice, and Haruka's deck was exactly about that.

Haruka started the fight off perfectly from Turn 1, scoring the full ride chain and activating the skill off of each ride. He was hyped up to have a great hand, but this was more than about taking the game. He wanted to enjoy himself. With that, he dropped his competitive attitude and switched gears. Pet names came out, and jokes about the poorly timed heal triggers he scored.

The fight went on, and Haruka found himself completely amazed by the Limit Breaks of Ezel and Garmore. Truly formidable leaders, indeed. However, Haruka had something else in store for Yukino.

"By sacrificing three of my own rear guards, My Vanguard stands back up!" Yukino's reaction to this wasn't exactly a pleasant one. But he felt if she could understand that the remnants of the Shadow Paladins were still around, just in another form, she would understand she is not alone with the Gold Paladins. A turn or so passed after the first Limit Break of Spectral Duke Dragon, and Yukino had little to no hand. Haruka ended the battle on Chromejailer's attack.

"Hey, Yuki, did you have fun?" Haruka was pressed about this. Really pressed about this. He felt that every bit of concern was warranted, whether or not Yukino acknowledged it.

[Crystalia]

Managing to keep herself upright, time passed by. Then she felt Hana next to her, supporting her. She sighed, wishing she'd managed to hide it from her. The last thing she wanted to do was bother her. She tried to get up, but Hana had put her arms around her. Sighing again inwardly, she stayed like that.

 'I'll be fine any minute, just need a tiny bit to rest' she tried to reassure Hana, making it clear that she was fine. With that said, she rested herself against Hana again, relaxing her tired body. 'I guess I might have pushed myself slightly too hard. I probably didn't notice it because I was trying to keep myself positive'. In the distance, she could vagually hear more commotion, but it didn't matter right now. It registered to her briefly that Haruka must be fighting Yukino, and wished them a fun fight before she drifted closer to dozing off. Her sense of time vanished again, being only aware of Hana next to her, and how tired she felt.