(GS3) Home Field: Espoir Mansion

[Cherry]

Yukino ignored her phone's buzzing, deciding on reading it later. Haruka had her full attention at the moment. The way he hated his nickname was far more venomous than the way she hated being called "Hikari" before. The woman listened to him speak of the reason for his troubled sleeping one day. She almost whacked him for "rough morning", but it was in every sense of the word a "rough morning". Worry overtook most of her other emotions when she heard how he destroyed his own residence.

"What did it say?"

After asking this, she pulled on his scarf a bit to take a look at the bandages again. The same look of worry.

[Jello]

Shut your mouth, kid.

Haruka heard the voice as Yukino went to check around the scarf. He was annoyed with himself to begin with, causing Yukino more and more pain and worry. If he could, he would disappear and come back when he was needed. It would probably be easier than admitting what the voice told him was actually getting to him

"Betrayal." Haruka said the one word, letting the coldness of the word sink in.

"And it hit me so hard when I heard it that I believed it. Just for a moment. That's what sent me on a frenzy, probably."

Haruka itched at his arm. It wasn't very comfortable being near plastered in these things.

[Cherry]

Yugure placed a loving arm on his shoulders. "Betrayal? What was that supposed to mean? Betrayal of who?"

The queen kept him close, trying to help him get comfortable. The meaning behind that word could've meant anything, but what did it mean to Haruka?

[Jello]

"Everyone. I thought I was going to be betrayed..." Haruka was mostly unwilling to say much else. His only wish was to disappear. At this point in time he wasn't embarrassed or even depressed or upset. He was ashamed.

"I should know that I wouldn't be. Betrayed I mean. But everytime I hear him. The possibility arises. The worst case scenario plays scene-by-scene." He looks over at her.

Dammit. He'd done it again. She was looking at him with worried eyes when all he had wanted to do was explain what had happened.

"I'm probably not so good for your stress, hahaha...." He laughed again, trying to break tension.

"Sorry Yuki. Its my problem. I'll deal with it." He gave a thumbs up, sighing a little. His eyes were still bloodshot and the bags under his eyes were beyond intense.

[Cherry]

Never was a fear of betrayal noticed by the queen, and she felt bad for not realizing it beforehand, even if there was no way to. This "voice" definitely made her blacklist very quickly, as the last thing she'd want is for Haruka to have to deal with demons too. Him apologizing, saying that it's his problem to deal with wasn't something she'd accept. As hypocritical as it seemed, given her own situation.

"Don't worry about me, dork", Yukino playfully insulted for the "your stress" remark.

"I wanna help you through this. You wanna stay with me for the night?" She offered. Not saying stay over, rather, stay with her. Dad would probably kill him, but his well-being came before dealing with a sitcom father trying to protect her from a boy she cared about.

[Jello]

His mind started to wander down the intimate paths, but instead all he wanted was to say yes, lie in bed, and sleep. With Yukino nearby was a definite plus, but now all he needed was rest and somebody to keep him from what felt like his own self-destruction.

Haruka put a hand on Yukino's and smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."

[Crystalia]

Miyuki woke up with a start. 'What?' she thought, still half asleep. 'W-when did I fall asleep'. She felt warmth on her face, and when she turned to look she saw Hana there. She seemed to be asleep as well. The events of a few hours ago came flashing back. She remembered feeling really tired, and resting on Hana. 'I guess I really did fall asleep like that'.

Trying not to wake Hana, she quietly got up. She looked around, seeing no-one else there. 'I guess Yukino and Haruka went off somewhere' she thought. 'Might as well go have breakfast or something'. If there was no-one else around, she might as well eat, and the see what she'd do then.

'Well, this'll be an earlier breakfast than usual' she thought. After a quick stretch, she was ready to leave this slightly strange room. She briefly wondered why exactly such a room existed in this mansion, as she'd been too tired yesterday to properly question it, but couldn't find an answer. Not like it really mattered.

[Beryl]

Satoshi woke up, having a dreamless sleep. A good thing, considering the mixed events of the past several days. According to his phone, Yukino received his text but never responded. He figured it might be a good idea to text her again, but instead, he went to get fresh laundry from his servant friend in the house and also ask about where to get swim trunks. He was going to go to the beach today with Neu Edelweiss, and even if she wasn't going to have fun unless they fought on Cray, he still wanted to maybe go for a dip in the sea.

The servant chuckled when Satoshi mentioned his date. "Guess Miss Espoir isn't the only dating one around here."

Satoshi raised an eyebrow at first, then it hit him and he grinned. "So they spent the night together?"

"Brought them fresh blankets this morning. They're adorable cuddled up, those two. Mr. Espoir might be furious with Mr. Nakahara, but if his daughter is truly happy, he might not have a choice."

Satoshi laughed. That was actually a pretty great thing to hear. The previous night, he had understood why Yukino had been so emotionally distant, but the fact that she was willing to try to get her mind off of things, at least briefly...she was going to be okay, especially since for all he knew, they were getting the clans back together.

He thought of Haruka's pained and tired look yesterday as they were coming back from the park. At one point, his legs almost gave out while Yukino had him hooked, and he had to help her carry him on their shoulders back to the mansion. He felt better after sitting for a while, but they both clearly needed sleep, sleep that they didn't get until not much longer after their partner in the triad did. And they still were, which was very fortunate.

He gave a bow to the servant. "Thank you for telling me this. I've been worried about my friends, which is why I started taking matters into my own hands. It's good to know that they're getting along exactly as expected."

"They kind of missed you yesterday from what I overheard during their practice games and games for fun." The servant nodded. "Granted, yes, they're emotionally drained from a lot of suffering recently. But still, you are part of the fellowship, no matter what it is you think of yourself, Mr. Kurosaki."

Satoshi grinned. "Yeah, I know. And despite the fact that I'm going off to have fun again today, it's all business. I have to find out what makes Neu Edelweiss tick." He then asked about where to get swim trunks, to which the servant handed him a pair of his own. "Keep 'em," he said, winking. "I don't swim all that often if ever, even with the multiple pools on this estate. So it's good to see someone getting use out of 'em."

With another bow, the farmboy was ready with his stuff to go to the beach. He left Neu a voicemail saying he'd be there soon, and then pegged off a quick text to Yukino.

Business at the beach today. Park soon? Please respond later.

Satoshi

[Cherry]

New day, same nightmare. Yukino woke up a mess, as usual. She was still in her bed, and Haruka had been given a sleeping bag nearby in her room to stay in for the night. Looking over, he seemed to sleep soundly enough. Judging by how the boy's eyes were bloodshot and riddled with bags, peaceful rest may not instantly come to him as she hoped. Not wanting to disturb him, the girl kept her groans and grunts to quiet murmurs while leaving the room. Outside, the queen yawned, stretching with the sound of bones cracking.

Sure.

Was the only response to Satoshi's text. Honestly, he was one of her two best friends, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with his hopeful wishing through spending time with Neu.

Servants came to carry their young mistress through the morning. They made an attempt at feeding her, but the queen responded with how she still had no appetite.

Ezel urged his Vanguard to eat, but even his pleas didn't work. The lion took another approaching - convincing Yugure that Yunos' voice was real, as was his appearance. Gold Paladin was greatly shocked by it, however, they have begun conjuring theories. They believe the envy and jealousy in Yukino, along with this resolution to stay focused on issues like Neu and everyone else suffering called out to one of her Avatars in the rift. It's an impossible miracle of a bond reaching out through the Rift.

Gazing at the two specific copies of Viviane, perhaps they're right. Maybe it is Blaster Dark...

[Jello]

The sound of footsteps cross the room. Is that...? Yeah. It is.

At least I got a few hours of sleep.

Haruka slept on and off for an hour at a time or so throughout the night. He was easily able to fall asleep each time, but awoke to his name being called, or rather, the other name. After several attempts at trying to calm himself down, he ended up just passing out from stress and the inability to feel emotion towards the name. He just heard it, and responded accordingly.

Each time he fell asleep, he awoke to the stare of a powerful gaze and the word "Seraphim" over and over.

He's been awake for twenty-six minutes about, eyes-shut trying to find a bit more sleep before the day begins. However, that didn't happen one bit.

Yukino must be up.

In most cases, Haruka would probably get up and follow after her, but his body wouldn't move. It was in some sort of stasis, or shock. A night terror? No, probably not. There was no fear in his body. Just emotional and physical drain. Despite being offered to sleep in her room, Yukino didn't say much of a word after they reached the room other than, "There" pointing to a spot on the floor, where he was then given a sleeping bag. This didn't particularly bother him considering it was better than trying to sleep in his own destroyed home.

Lonely all the same however.

Completely alone? Not quite. Sera was always holding onto his heart and mind so tenderly, yet with claws of razor sharp steel.

Let go.

No matter how many times Haruka wished for it, he wouldn't let go. Not once. He only gripped him tighter until Haruka was nearly suffocating. Figuratively speaking.

Inspired by the thought of coffee, Haruka found himself sitting straight up. Standing up was a challenge, so he sort of just crawled his way out of the room after a couple of minutes had passed.

[Cherry]

Apparently, Hana already left this morning. Yukino wanted to talk to her about last night... The queen... surprisingly sat still doing nothing but spacing out and thinking for a long time. If Blaster Dark was reaching out, how would they awake Blaster Blade? And what would come next after getting the blasters of fate in spirit forms? Would they be enough to deal with Neu?

No, they wouldn't.

But Ezel could be. While the Gold Paladins have been scrambled about, still trying to get a grasp of control over their preparations, and just dealing with the emotional barrier between Royal and Shadow... Ezel has yet to falter. Faced with this daunting challenge, the lion stood not with an irate frown, but with the frown of a man who knows there's more adversity to come.

Ezel was absolutely amazing. No wonder Garmore put him in charge, despite the wolf being one of the prime factors behind the foundation of Gold Paladin.

Yugure wanted to be more like him...

[Jello]

With his pace slightly quickening, Haruka managed to get to his feet, holding himself against a wall.

Yukino?

Haruka was going to call out, but again, stasis. Nothing came out, except for some slight ragged breathing. However his mind was solely set on getting coffee. If he didn't have a fresh royal brew in the next ten minutes, Haruka was going to have an internal hissy fit. He started his way down the stairs on the opposite side of Yukino, who seemed to be really deep in thought. It's not like he could offer anything in the way of advice to begin with.

The kitchen. His sacred haven in this house. It wasn't the guest room, nor Yukino's room. The kitchen and the butler who made him coffee were a saving grace for Haruka when he was down on his luck. Fortunately for Haruka, he was there and the brew just finished being poured into the pot. Haruka had a warm smile, slowly limping over to the pot. Before he could touch it, the butler poured the cup himself and handed it to Haruka, bowing as he usually did.

There were no words for the gratitude Haruka felt for this man. He nodded rapidly, and took his first sip. He savored every bit of the first cup, because it was the freshest. It was the most bitter as well, so it packed a big enough punch to get Haruka back in action.

[Hope]

Hana had reached home, quickly walking past the front yard. She entered the door to the manor, greeted by the butlers and maids.

"Where is Yukino?" she asked one of the workers.

[Cherry]

Yukino quickly holed herself up in her room, not responding to anyone calling out to her. The queen didn't spend that long crying, as she expected to. No, her tears had all dried up. Accompanied by a headache due to a lack of keeping herself properly hydrated. Rubbing her head, she quieted down, sobs gradually fainting into the silent darkness of the room. All the Paladins went quiet, unable of what to say to their Vanguard. Those bonded to her closely were well aware of her thoughts - the contemplation of suicide.

It would only be ridiculous, however. Laughed to the grave how a card game would be her undoing. Yunos, despite being unsealed, and part of her slightly returning joy was still too weak to do anything.

Perhaps, Yugure went about this all the wrong way. Emotionally driven to save those who guided her, she's having trouble figuring out anything on her own. Even Ezel and Garmore are still carrying her on. Driving herself to save the clans was less focus on specific people, and stopping Neu Edelweiss was simply focusing on the villain entirely. These two options could break apart the string that threatens to hang her.

Yet, it can also disrupt emotional fortitude. The desire to bring back her personal blasters, her king, her high dogs, her high dog trainers, all of them were still a driving force. It was just a force that she did nothing with.

... Even still, Yukino believes she found an answer to simply push her through this. An unfavorable one for everyone else, but one best for the Chosen Sword.


"Mistress Yukino stormed up to her room, and isn't answering any of us", a worker replied to the princess. However, many noted the name "Yukino" and not "Yukinee", which seemed problematic.

[Hope]

"Just... tell me where she is." She noticed the worried look in all there faces, perhaps she was going to far. Hana's kind approach didn't work yesterday, her sister hasn't changed, hasn't moved. If that wasn't working then what will? Her sister was raised for this, Hana didn't understand why she was so frail. They both lost something dear to them, and even her sister has remnants of what was formerly her old clans. It wasn't fair, she's older, why does she cry so much? It was two months ago that Hana also freed her sister from the hold of despair using Alfred Early. Then this again... what approach even works?... Whether it worked or not, Hana just felt the need to fight her.

"And yet she's the one that keeps cheering me on... treating me like I need the help and looking down on me so..."

She turned to one of the workers.
"Tell her that the Princess challenges the Chosen Sword over at the fight room. A direct challenge against her honor, title, and her name as an Espoir. I'll be waiting." She bowed to the worker in apology and walked off.