(GS3) Home Field: Espoir Mansion

[Jello]

Haruka simply stepped back, Sera laughed jovially and altogether the two made an awkward comic duo of hysteric laughing and nearly falling on his butt. These two need to coordinate their act better. He finally caught himself on the wall when she finally went back to normal.

Normal was the closest word Haruka could think of because Hana was not normal or anything close to normal and hanging out with her enough simply twisted his perception of the word normal, just as an FYI.

"Re-Birth. Ha. I get it."

Haruka proceeded to reveal the card from his own deck case, which still had a twisted void surrounding the piece of cardboard. Quite frankly, this piece of cardboard was capable of destroying cities by itself. Haruka felt really edgy holding the card, having died and all and actually being reborn.

"Yeah, you could say that. Sera isn't dead or anything though. He just started getting really quiet whenever I'm around others-

I'm not quiet I just don't have anything to say to people I'm no longer really affiliated with-

Okay shush-up-

Meh."

If it were anybody else people would assume he is talking to himself. That is EXACTLY what it looks like right now. Haruka looks really dumb right now. Take note. Really really dumb.

"Uh-eh. So, I see you're feeling. Uhm. Fine? That was just spooky though, try to not do that anymore. Makes me feel like I'm about to guillotine'd or something."

[Hope]

The fiddled with her bracelet a little. It had a lot of reverse energy stored inside of it for research purposes. It even had a bit of the time-space jazz that she used during round one with Yukino. Can she nuke the manor with this? No! This was for... research. It didn't change the fact that she was playing with the void, it was actually pretty fun.

After almost getting lost in how fun and blobby the darkness was, she looked back over Haruka being awkward as ever. A lot of things were on her mind about him, and it didn't help that she thought of Sera as well. He was always confusing her and making her worry. What a strange guy, she was at a loss on how to act here. In the end she simply let her heart act on it's own as it was now free from the clutches of the void and free to do as it feels. All jokes aside.

She silently stood up and gave him a hug, pressing her body to his and holding very very tightly, "Well I'm glad you're back, Nii-chan." Hana closed her eyes and rested her head on his torso. "I feel relieved, really. Also I've taken a liking to Sera so tell him he can talk to me about his problems since I know he has a lot.... and we'll all get through this together." She paused and giggled, moving her head around a little around and about the comfort of his chest. "Haha, Nii-chan! Nii-chan!" It would be awkward if Haruka was sis-con too, but judging by the way everyone is nowadays, it didn't seem to far out to be true.

Meer supported this.

[Jello]

This was just... This was beyond the realm of weird. Haruka had met this girl a year and some ago, and thought of her as the little sister of the one he hated. Then the little sister of the one he loved. Then the one he loved. And now the little sister of his own. This was just getting more and more out of control.

At first he nearly stumbled back but instead just stood there for a moment, and blinked. She was warm, which was saying a lot considering Haruka always exudes heat from nearly every pore of his body. He let out a small smile along with a similarly tiny sigh of relief. He craned his neck down, placing his forehead on the top of her head and petting her for just a few moments.

She was his imouto now, makes sense right? It was just weird seeing as how he shared a bed with this girl once before, and is now hugging her because familial relationships? Weird. Beyond weird.

Haruka was fine with embracing the warmth, but Sera wanted to quite literally squirm away and crawl into a dark corner. He never liked physical relationships of any sort, and when he was buried deep into a separate conscious, it was all well and good. See, when the emergent conscious came to be, Haruka and Sera came to share everything.

Everything.

GET HER OFF OF ME.

No I like this. Don't you like people? Warmth?

Who do you think I am?

Point taken.

"H-Hana, I'm glad you're okay then. Sera likes you too! Isn't that great?"

I never said that.

"He even told me himself."

I'll kill you.

Haruka smiled, still petting Hana. "Thanks again for sticking with me, er, us, through all of this. I appreciate it."

[Hope]

"Yes, I am aware that it's weird given the circumstances." She laughed as she took her steps back, smiling. "Things happened and are going to keep on happening. I was a normal girl once, but that all kind of upped and vanished."

Strange and awkward. Hana was only this with Haruka for some reason. It was weird for an idol to not be well-spoken and overall very social with those whom she meets, but for Haruka it's just strange... awkward. She remembers the time spent with him doing not-so family-like things and keeps in the darkest corners of her mind which ever reverse fears ever reaching.

Hana does like to think of the things with Miyuki on the other hand though. In lots of detail. Sweet and delicious. She just doesn't talk about it as much, but she can rival Yukino when it comes to it, maybe even more so!

Er.

Maybe she and her sister are more alike than she initially thought. Yukino was more of animal when it came to than anything an Hana was more of a... hm *ahem* Those things aside.

"Well tomorrow y'know, I might have to kill you."

Hana you piece of $$%$#
Narrator san be quiet.

"Sera is still the enemy, there's no two ways to go about it huh. I just hope that when this is all over, we can all be happy, together. Even Sera if I manage to not kill him."

[Jello]

The atmosphere went from lovely, to a bit awkward, and then grim. Haruka felt his body tighten at the words kill.

Not again.

Haruka didn't particularly fear death, considering he had been there once and it didn't feel any different than simply falling asleep. Its just dreamless is all, but it passes by in a second...

Oh wait. Normally when you die, you sort of just stay dead. As in forever dead. Deadever. Haruka would be deadever should he cross the line. Or rather should Sera cross the line, meaning this would all become hell in a bottle for him if Sera went too far. Well he already sort of went too far at the shopping district, but that was partly due to Hana as well so he didn't bother with anything like that.

"You, well.. Uh. You aren't wrong I suppose. It's scary to think I died, came back, and might be gone again all in the same week. Try telling that story to your kids, hah."

You'd be dead.

Oh right.

"I hope you'll at least be quick about it. If my head is coming off, don't let me feel it coming, okay?" Haruka joked about it, but just the morbid nature of it actually made him feel sort of sick. Just thinking that him and Sera's life might actually come to an end again sends dread chills down his spine altogether.

"Yeah... I wanna be happy with everyone as well. Maybe it'll just end that way if we're lucky."

No luck about it. We ride together, we die together. Hear me?

Unfortunately. Loud and clear.

[Cherry]

Yugure leaned against the wall of her workshop, giving off labored, ragged breaths. Father Espoir simply looked down upon his daughter. They were supposed to discuss countermeasures and how the Reality Bangle was working, but the latter was answered very clearly. The queen exerted large amounts of power, the Reality Bangle asked for even more, and over the course of this war she's barely sat down to relax or recharge. Sweating, unable to really speak, Yugure looked up with eyes asking for help.

"See why everyone's bothering you to take care of yourself?"

Father Espoir's words were harsh but true. The soldier simply didn't care about her own health, and it resulted in... this. It'll be far worse too. She best be glad Haruka and Hana can't see her like this - especially Sera.

"J-Ju... Just... Give me... a minute..." Yugure was forming coherent words after awhile.

"The prototype was a success, so we can make modifications before handing them out to everyone. We also need to get Hana's bracelet for the Reverse research. Not only that, but I'm going to need you to-"

"Yes, Father, I get the point! You need me to take a break!" The woman screamed at her parent, and regretted doing so given her current state. The lion man wasn't annoyed with his daughter's irritation, he was simply looking out for her, and drilling it into her head.

"I know you hate Link Joker."

"Then you know why me sitting still is a waste of time!"

"If you keep fighting with disregards for your own well being, you'll be sitting still in a coffin."

"... I don't care..."

The two were silent for a few moments. Then, Father Espoir sat down next to his daughter, leaning against the wall.

"Fine, but try to enjoy life with your sister and boyfriend at some point at least."

Yugure couldn't just "enjoy life", did he forget who he was dealing with? Several servants were called in by the parent's phone with medicines for her. It'd take a bit for them to kick in, but she should be able to move about normally after borderline overdosing.

[Hope]

"The King wishes to speak with you later." Star-Rain reported.
"Well of course."

She ordered a butler to bring in some tea for her. Green tea was usually her choice for relaxation. It was just right, and nothing helped her calmed down more than a burnt tounge really. She sat back down on the living room couch, relaxing herself while she still had the chance. Behind her angel feather deck were the envelopes of cards that Mom-san gave to her as a present to use during the New York Stage. Mi-hime had cards in hers as well, though she never got to open it too. Hana bad completely forgotten that she tucked the envelope in the Angel Feather deck box so long ago.

"So Haruka-niichan, what's your plan from here on?"

[Jello]

Still leaning on the doorway, Haruka looks at the ceiling in thought for a moment. Plan? Well, he would want to stay here until things pass over but that obviously isn't an option. If what Sera explains is true, this body can still force-lock one more body of his will, and if Sera is in the house of possibly the two strongest fighters in the area, wouldn't in make sense to Reverse one? Hana has retained Reverse energy but is willingly controlling it. Of course Yukino would become the prime target...

Haruka could absolutely not allow that. Heart Locking her was just not something he wanted to happen. Even if Haruka was half of the body's power source, he was the weaker half as of his rebirth. Sera still had more motor-function control than Haruka by a longshot. He didn't want to leave any of the Espoir family in potential danger.

"My plan? Erm... Probably after today, I think I'm gonna get as far away from here as possible. Not that I don't like you guys. In fact I probably like being here more than anything but Sera is... Unpredictable. I don't want anyone else I care about to get hurt."

Fair enough.

"But I think I can afford one more day, considering the circumstances. Sera has been somewhat weaker as of recently."

You really have to tell them everything?

Haruka was on the money. Sera's energy levels had depleted to a sufficient amount that Haruka wasn't afraid of reverse energy taking over or anything within the day or two. However no use taking chances, so he was leaving in exactly twenty-four hours from the moment he made that decision. Starting now.

"Speaking of... Where is Yukinoms? She disappeared yesterday after I fell asleep on your guys' couch. One of them anyways."

Yukinoms, by the way, came from her predatory instinct to bite. Er, she didn't always bite. But biting was a thing that happened once. Probably because wound li-

Isweartogodifyoudon'tshutupabouthatIwillkillyoumyselfrighthererightnow.

.... Hehe.

[Hope]

"She should be working on thos bracelet thingies that I saw around the tables. They look weird, but then again I'm wearing a bracelet full of reverse energy." Hana laughed. "I'm kind of jealous of her so I'm going to go work on a school uniform infused with void energy or something now. Seeee ya!"

Hana stood up and gave an energetic wave, skipping up the stairs and back into her room. She had it set, a school uniform that could help her distinguish void energy. It had to be a school uniform.

[Jello]

"Ahh, alright. Later then!" Haruka watched as Hana raced off to go make a reverse... school girl outfit.

He didn't even bother delving farther into that topic as it is. Instead he reached into his slack pocket for a cell phone. To be frank, Haruka had no idea how to get Yukino's work area thingamajig, and he'd much rather just message her. Sera had qualms about it, but spending time with her was a nice thing, right? They had a night together earlier which was cool for sure. Also Hana even got to talk to the real Haruka and they chatted about a few things.

Once Haruka had served his last couple days with the Espoir family, a close equivalent to something he'd call his own family, he would prepare to leave. Or at least, that was the idea. If Sera would be nice and just not be a total party pooper all the time, maybe even call off the invasion...

Wow you're dense.

Maaaaan.

Haruka intended to stay with his loved ones for as long as he could, before everything turned to crap again. With a quick message.

"I heard you're hanging around the mansion. Wanna come find me? -haruuuuuu~"

You're tagline is more flamboyant.

What if it is?

Heh...

You're SO edgy.

[Cherry]

Yugure took a drink of water to wash down a handful of pills. The woman was still sitting next to her dad, and they weren't saying much of anything. Just enjoying the company of one another. They had been work buddies through this war, so a moment of peace was nice. No paperwork, no planning, just...

Oh, her phone went off. Father Espoir fetched it for her. Probably boys at the lab wanting info. Groaning, the girl scrolled through menus to reach a text. It was Haruka. Ugh... Letting him in the workshop would be letting Sera into the workshop. That damned Seraphim could just destroy all her work, so she can't let them come to her. Which is a nuisance because she still can't really stand up to go to them.

"In a little bit."

Yugure leaned on her father for support, getting control of her breathing.

[Jello]

In a little bit? Well, that means time to do something productive. To the kitchen!!

Haruka made his mad dash to the checkered-themed kitchen where Butler-san, er, Shinji was. God that was going to be really tough to remember. Haruka walked in with a wave, actually commanded by both entities. They both really liked coffee so that was a thing to be happy about. With a grin, a cup was already placed in front him.

Like a kid in a candy shop, Haruka took a gracious sip and nodded to him.

"Shinjiii, it's great! Thanks again." It was always great. There was never a time in history Haruka forgot to thank this man for the wonderful creation of coffee he made every day. He would have to award this man a medal one day when he got the chance, for sure.

"Thanks again... Hmm."

"ill be in the kitchen when you get around to it. i can come find you if you want actually? -haruuuuu~"

[Cherry]

"No, no, I'll come to you."

The girl used her father and a nearby table to get on feet again. It was a sort of wobbly way up and staying up. Yugure was a bit dizzy, and gripped the desks as she walked to not fall over. Dad Espoir sighed, knowing she wasn't going to listen to him. Even now, instead of relaxing, war plots were likely being formulated in mind, along with getting the Reality Bangles replicated for the resistance. Honestly, he was starting to see why they were alike. In his younger days, he always took part in the dumbest, most reckless sorts of activities that Mom Espoir always advised against.

Christ, they're just hardheaded.

Now the walls were support, allowing Yugure to stagger her way toward the kitchen. Best to not let Sera see any weakness, and even better to not make Haruka worry. Getting close, she got off of the wall, and stood up straight. Entering, she noticed her boyfriend with his favorite butler-san again.

[Jello]

"Are you sure that's how that works?"

"Most certainly sir! Also, did you know she also really likes stuffed animals?"

"Really now? What about jewelry?"

"She loves the charms you got her. Wears them as earrings now!"

"Oooooh."

Shinji, aka Butler-san shared gossip with Haruka over coffee as the semi-straight up Yukino entered the area. He looked at her with a smile, partly from what Butler-san was talking about, but mostly from seeing Yukino. He ended up hopping out of his seat and over to her with a huge hug, nearly tackling the girl to the ground. He's always wanted to do that, and since she's a tough soldier gal now, she can handle that, right? She'd love wrestling with him. Maybe even break out the animal instincts. Hopefully Shinji would be kind enough to not watch though...

"Yuuukiiiinoooo!" The bubbly-boy was excited indeed. Sera was totally off the wheel on this one. Not even caring anymore, no sirree. As long as she didn't bite so hard that there was any external damage to the body. He was cool with it.

So you ARE a freak!

Ohmygod.

[Spectre Diamond]

"Hope..we need to talk. Come find me at the central square of Gotem city. I'll tell you everything once your there." - Hikaru