Shibuya Shinto Shrine

Sera was knelt at the shrine area, talking to a boy whose eyes were filled with tears and crying for his parents...

This boy was recently orphaned.

He petted the boy who stood only a few feet off the ground, wiping his face and nearly screeching out his vocal cords at this rate. Sera simply gave a gentle smile, and waited for the boy to wipe his face and let the emotions out. Haruka told Sera that crying helped get rid of the bad feelings, so you can think clearly.

It was twenty-two minutes or so later when the boy's tears came to a stop. The kid immediately clutched to Sera's raggedy rolled-up dress shirt and press his face into it like a tissue. Sera giggled, petting the boy and telling him that everything was alright.

This was Sera's blind optimism to children, already knowing they can't handle obvious realism. He gave the kid a slip of paper and a pen, telling him that if he went and wrote his name and a wish, it would come true if you gave it to the shrine lady. Sera had no idea if that was true, of there was any sort of religious thing around that idea. He was just hoping the boy would feel better.

"I'll even hand it to her for you, if you don't wanna."

The kid somewhat energetically agreed to the idea, running off towards a stone table on the other side of the shrine.

Mitsuki arrived at the Shibuya Shinto Shrine by herself as her exams are coming up so soon, it is common to pray for good luck. She wondered around the various stores selling miscellaneous items such as charms and tags and bought one to keep. She then went to the iconic bell where you had to ring to gather the god's attention before clapping your hands for a prayer. She then saw a familiar face and approached them after throwing some coins in for merit.

"Mr. Nakahara, is that you?" she asked vaguely and used his last name to be polite though she aimed her question at Haruka, without realizing it was Sera.

Haruto was shivering as he walked, he still had the desire to seek vengeance but a part of him wanted to listen to Seifer and listen to Sera first...but how could he...

"..He's asking for too much...my brother would not have forgiven him if I was the one to die..." he thought.

"So you're just going to kill him?" asked Percival.
"....Can you forgive him?"
"...You still don't know what happened that day Haruto..."
"Why won't you tell me?!!"
"I'd rather you hear it from him...to your right."

Haruto looked to his right and found that he was standing at the gate of a shrine, Sera was there helping a little boy in tears.

"....What's he doing." he wondered, as he stood there away from sight, watching and listening to everything that was happening.

After he had seen what Sera had done for that boy, he got a flashback to the time out the outskirts where he had honored his brother that one time after the battle against Harbinger..

"...I don't understand it...why...why would a murderer be capable of doing this." he thought, as he wiped his tears and walked towards Sera, his eyes returning to their lifeless state, the closer he walked the more his desire to destroy grew. "..First time i've seen a murderer do something like that." he said to Sera, now that he stood a few steps away from him.

Sera was now standing at a 3-way crossroads. A young crying orphaned boy was going to return soon, a woman whom he had never met had probably just mistaken him for Haruka considering the way she said "Mr." and Sera has never been referred to by a title, and then the boy whose brother was killed.

Nearly fell over and played dead if it weren't for the fact other families were around and it would be so out of the blue. He stood up, dusting off the pant knees and turning to face the two people around, backing up a couple of inches.

"... Hi, you must be mistaking me for somebody else, my name is Sera. I mean, I'm still a Nakahara, but I'm Haruka's, twin brother. The Champion and all that, y'know?"

He scratched his head, laughing a bit under his breath. He glanced at Haruto, feeling somber but knowing he really didn't have much to fear in the way of expression. His mood was still only barely recovering.

"I don't know what most murderers are like, I guess. Haven't seen many, as far as I know..."

Sera doesn't know about prisons. Where all the murderers go.

"Ah sorry, if I'm not mistaken Sera, you were in the tournament too weren't you? If I recall you were up against eh..um.." Mitsuki tried to dig deep into her memory palace but she can't seem to remember whom Sera was up against until she looked a little bit downwards and saw a guy of her age.

"Yes you! How coincidental it is to meet two contestants in the tournament, I was watching every game, you were excellent with those Bluish Flames!" she cheered Hayato up after eavesdropping into some conversation related to murderers. She was perceptive but didn't want to seem like a nosy person.

"Ah it must be rude of me to not introduce myself, and mistook you for Haruka. I'm Mitsuki Kisaragi, nice to meet you two" she waved and smiled warmly at the two, hoping to make friends with some more people from the Resistance.

Haruto was getting infuriated by Sera's way of responding along with the response itself, it still did not make sense to him for someone to do what he is doing to that kid after what he had done to his brother. A new person, Mitsuki Kirasagi entered the area, sadly Haruto was too focused on Sera to respond to Mitsuki, to him it was almost like he could hear no one other than Sera.

"...why...why did you do what you did to my brother...and then come here and be so gentle to this kid and even at the outskirts..*grasps his own head*..it does not make sense..." Haruto's aura was turning more black as time passed by, in this state he was trying to make sense what he was saying but how could he...

"...What happened that day....I don't know how much longer I can take this..." he said, now both his hands grasping at his head as he tried to calm down, as images flied through his mind of his brother and the past few months.

Sera's eyes widened, then closed again. Remorse rushed through his veins like a poison, every word he said might as well have been some toxin and venomous to the ears. He stood against one of the supports of an archway at the shrine, taking a deep breath.

"Even if I told you my excuse, it won't change that it already happened... Haruto."

He looked to Mitsuki, giving a slight shrug and nodding. It was a safe misunderstanding, but at least she recognized these two as competitors from the night before anyways. At least made him feel better about losing if people still remembered him.

Back to the near destruction incarnate standing before him.

"That day was... not exactly how you think it was. I didn't mean for anybody to get hurt... I was going to save the world."

Sera told it like he believed it to be. Despite his wishes and how cruel they were, he felt it was better everyone was locked away than have to exist in the same timeline as the Reapers any longer.

"...I was going to save the world."

These words made absolutely no sense to Haruto, how can one save the world by completely erasing it or in this case destroying it...

"..That makes no sense! So what you're telling me is that by your logic my brother is saved?!!" Haruto was starting to lose it, his aura growing darker and darker. "..Even if my brother is saved now, what's there for me...your selfish plan took away the only family I have, and your best way to give yourself an excuse is to say that it was for the sake of the world's safety."

"...If you want everything to end why are you here doing these things, helping children even honoring a person you killed!!? Tell me Sera! Tell me all you know tell me what happened!" he shouted, as his eyes were now completely filled with anger. "...I can't keep this up, I don't know what happened that day..."

Aglovale and Percival felt bad for Mistuki, she was not supposed to see all of this from them but she arrived at the worst time possible. If this continued the shrine, the other people in the area and Mitsuki would get caught up in a dangerous fight.

Mitsuki was stressed by the pure tension in the air. She felt as if Haruto was going to fall into depravity by how sad he sounds, a poor soul indeed. She could not think but could only lift her hand up close to her chest and close her eyes. She took a deep breath and focused her senses, a black aura clouded and was eating up Haruto's pure blue. It was as if a storm was waging internally from him meanwhile Sera's white tried to soothe it down but appeared to be adding fuel to the fire. She had to do something, after all her synaesthesia was a gift to help others.

She strained her eyes down, collecting her recent memories of their conversation trying to grasp the main concept. 'kill', 'murderer', 'brother', those three words flashed vividly in her memory. Realizing Haruto was calling Sera a murderer earlier and from how he's reacting now, she grasped the concept that this is no joke. Was someone as kind as Sera capable of doing such things she asked herself. Then straight after that she stepped towards Haruto diagonally, an attempt to rationalize and interfere before Haruto's aura becomes totally swallowed in darkness.

She rested her hands on the boy's shoulder and said "I used to have a brother too, he was very good at Vanguard and had a spectacular group of people around him. However one day he lost his memories...and he now barely remembers Vanguard. I swear I'd take revenge for him after I found out who erased his memories but then I realized, the past is the past. There's nothing you can change at this point. Focus on improving the future, don't get hung up on your past. Do you think your brother would be happy if he realized you were trying to get revenge on your comrade, your rival?" she told Haruto, realizing both of them were present at the tournament's chaotic after-party with Chimera.

"You too Sera, if you want him to understand you and trust you, then you must also understand and trust him yourself. Hiding secrets lead to nothing but sadness once its forced its way out in the future. No secrets can be kept forever, you know?" she smiled and laughed nervously as she turned around to Sera. Was this too nosy, should she not've interrupted? She doesn't know but it was too late to back down. She was a bit scared, what if she misinterpreted everything, that must be so embarrassing. She stepped a bit backwards forming the neutral triangle earlier and blushed a bit before bowing down and apologizing for the interruption.

Sera took a deep breath, expecting hell to be rained on him by the public eye. Mitsuki would be disgusted with him as Sera's dirty laundry got aired to the whole shrine and he would be consequently removed from the area and probably jailed.

When Mitsuki came to intervene, Sera just shook his head. He didn't believe Haruto would ever be able to understand or believe in him again. The things he did before and what he had done then were almost the worst kinds of things a person can do imaginable. Granted he was a colossus with no real motive other than to lock everything but...

Haruto was going to kill Sera eventually, or worse.

Then... Mitsuki said something.

What... what was it?

No secrets can be kept forever?

He raised his head, no longer forced with a somber expression. Not a smile or a frown or anything on that scale. His face was wet with tears. He wasn't visibly crying, just tears flowing. Sera didn't know how painful sadness really was. He didn't like crying in front of people, only Tsubasa. He felt Tsubasa deserved those tears as a step towards righting the future he stole from him.

Haruto deserved those tears too.

Sera took his hands out of his pockets, a little shaky. He nodded, hiccuping slightly as the sobbing started to set in a little.

"L-Look... I can't call locking the world away saving it. I just didn't want those things... the Reapers, to get anyone else. I figured if we were in an eternal stasis, at the very least we'd be safe from deletion. I don't know if that's any better if I'm being honest, but..."

He shook his head, skipping to the point.

"Tsubasa was brave... and he was the one in the right. He sacrificed himself to fix a future I almost ruined entirely. I thought there was no way this timeline could stop the Reapers. But then we have so many... capable fighters. Everyone so willing to die and be vanished to stop those blasted creatures from taking this planet away."

His eyes glistened, the morning sun finally warming the shrine area. He cool breath in the spring morning showed in a light fog. It was a chilly morning.

"So I took the responsibility of fixing the future that I unrightfully stole from Tsubasa. He gave up his life to fix the tarnished future I wanted, now I'm going to use the life that I have been giving to do what he would want me to do. His future is my future, because that's the only way I can repay him for doing the right thing."

Sera wasn't sure if those were even close to the right words, but they were the truthful words. He was living somebody else's life in place of their own. It was only fair at the very least to ascertain their dreams and wishes also live on.

"Time to snap my young friend -snaps fingers-" was whispered many kilometers away from the scene where Haruto was confronting Sera, as a spike in Haruto's black aura forced everyone around him to be sent a few meters away.
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Sera's words taken in by Haruto, and they made some impact, but in the end Haruto only could get more and more angry at what Sera was saying. Despite Sera resigning himself to live out what his brother would have wanted, that still did not give Haruto anything that he wanted...a rush of memories was brought to the boy's mind...

"....That's all well and good but where is he...where's my brother...you think that just because you wish to carry out what he wanted for everyone then that changes my situation?? I'm the one who is lost and alone with no family.....I lost my family when I was a 4 years old and when I had started to gain some of it back...It was taken away from me again, and no one was able to do a damn thing about it!" he shouted, as his aura sent Mitsuki a few meters away as it began to engulf Haruto.

"..I'm done leaving things like this...I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU FEEL MY PAIN SERA!!!" he shouted, as his aura turned to black flames and began to spread in the shrine. At this rate people were in harm's way, "THERE WON'T BE A NEXT TIME FOR YOU TO RECONSIDER YOUR MISTAKE!!" he shouted as he lunged towards him, his eyes intent on revenge and his body engulfed in the black flames.

Before Haruto could make contact with Sera he was immediately pushed back as Percival appeared in front of him and forced him back, holding him tightly as aglovale appeared and extinguished the black flames,"LET GO!!! HE DESERVES THIS!!"

Percival pushed Haruto away as he stood in front of the boy eyeing him with his gaze, "I'm not interested in standing here and watching you do this, I don't understand it...what's done is done, you attacking him won't bring your brother back!" he shouted, as he planted his sword on the ground.

"I DON'T NEED TO HEAR THIS FROM YOU! YOU FAILED TO PROTECT MY BROTHER AND EVEN NOW YOU STILL WON'T TELL ME EVERYTHING!! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO STAND IN MY WAY, HE DESERVES IT!!" shouted Haruto.

Haruto continued to shout and yell at Percival for quite sometime, in the meanwhile Aglovale heard him as his hoodie covered his eyes, now that the flames that almost caused some damage to the shrine were put out he stood up and walked towards Haruto, "And what right do you have to put everyone here in danger??!" he shouted as he continued to walk towards him.

At that statement Haruto turned to Aglovale as his aura began to calm slightly, yet still maintained its terrifying look with his eyes still lifeless as ever, all the boy could do was breathe heavily as he was still set on attacking Sera when an opening is seen.

"...Haruto...I'm sorry, I could not stand in front of you the last time you were like this because...I too was confused, I wanted to help you, because I felt your pain...you're more than just my Vanguard or Avatar...you're like a brother, even now I still feel your pain." he said, his eyes filled with sincerity. "I was willing to stain my hands just to help you find peace...but your cause is not right if you're not against harming innocent people, Sera was not the main reason your brother died it was more than that...I won't let you make a mistake that you will regret Haruto!" he shouted as he lunged at the boy, punching him so hard to the point that he was sent a few meters away. "Wake up!"

Haruto could have dodged Aglovales attack, but something did not seem right to him, even he could tell that he was going too far, he was told that no matter what he did his brother would never come back and yet he still succumbed to his anger and almost endangered everyone in the area...his black aura disappeared and his eyes returned to their usual color.

Aglovale walked up to him, leaned down next to him and helped him up on his shoulder as they began to walk away, heading home, "I'm sorry..."

"...Hopefully next time the situation does not escalate this much Sera...forgive me..." said Percival, as he turned away from Sera and began to walk behind Haruto and Aglovale.

As the three continued on their way home all Haruto could think about was how he was about to murder everyone who was not involved just to kill Sera...he wondered why it was so much easier to kill than it was to forgive..."Thank you...my avatar..." he thought.

"When we get back I have something to show you." said Percival.
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"Heh, not bad it looks like even Sera was able to reach him in some way, but Aglovale.... hahahaha, this makes things a lot more fun." was said, as the shadow of the speaker disappeared from its location leaving no trace behind.

Sera simply stood there, watching the event unfold. He didn't move. If repentance meant no longer existing, than at least Haruka would be happy that Sera did what he was told and Haruto would be pleased with the answer he wanted. Everyone would win.

But that didn't happen. A seemingly ablaze spirit pulsed, keeping Haruto at bay from proceeding with ending Sera's life today. Instead, it called the boy down. The rage was quelled and he carefully picked himself up, leaving the area with that spirit. The remnants of words could be heard in the air. Sera's connection to Cray and other spirits was strong as it was, but this one was not his and probably only even barely visible due to its trying to reach out to him.

Sera simply shook his head, sitting against a large column at the shrine, sweat beading off his brow.

"Sometimes I wonder if he's actually in the right to kill me or not."

He pondered for a moment, realizing the undying torture that Haruto must've gone through when Tsubasa suddenly up and vanished from the world in flames. Smoke that cannot be recovered, and ash that is not something you may keep swept in an urn.

What a cruel fate.

Sakuya approached the scene slowly, a sad look crossing her face as she stepped up to Sera. She looked back in the direction Haruto had gone off, grimacing. "A terrible shame, really. He was so full of anger... May he find inner peace sooner, rather than later." Sakuya bowed her head slightly,. giving Haruto a quiet prayer of wellbeing before turning back to Sera.

"Thank you for helping that child earlier, by the way- I saw what you did, and I'm certain the gods are pleased with your good deed." The shrine maiden bowed her head to Sera this time, a happier expression coming to her.

Mitsuki whom was toppled over by Haruto's aura stood up and brushed dust of her clothes. She quickly ran to Sera's aid asking if he was alright whilst also noticing Sakuya, a maiden who seemingly gave prayers to Haruto and Sera. Without knowing how to react to the slightest eye contact with Sakuya, she bowed with courtesy and tended Sera's non-existing injuries. "Are you alright, Sera?" she asked as Mitsuki coveted her hands a radius away from Sera as if he was going to fall. "Poor Haruto, he must be in pain..." she whispered to herself without realising she had spouted that out infront of Sera.

Once more, faces to talk to and words he hasn't prepared for either of them. First was the shrine priestess- Oh! The one from the last time Sera and Haruka visited the shrine. A light smile grew to his face as he was approached by both her and Mitsuki who seemed to be worried about Haruto's condition.

"I... I think he'll be fine, to be honest. It's sort of my fault anyways he's upset like this."

Sera pocketed his hands, balancing on his heels and the balls of his feet.

"And, don't mention it Sakuya. You remember me, right? Sera! Sera Nakahara, twin brother of the new Japanese Vanguard Champion!"

He was bragging that around everywhere. He had no chill when it came to popularizing Haruka's name just for the sake of it.

Sakuya let off her usual peaceful glow and gave Sera a warm smile. "Yes, I remember, Sera. The Aqua Force fighter... You must be proud, your brother is very strong." She nodded her head as she spoke, only adding to the admiration for Haruka. "Oh! And you are..."

Sakuya turned her head to Mitsuki, giving her a curious look. "...Um, forgive me, I don't believe we've met before. My name is Sakuya, and I see you're Sera's friend? It's nice to meet you."

Mitsuki worriedly looks at the distant Haruto leaving and turns around after hearing Sakuya mention her name.

"Ah, yes we've actually never met before but how can anyone not know you haha. I watched your game in the tournament, so as Sera's they were very impressive! My name is Mitsuki Kisaragi, my brother was in the tournament too and I happened to mistook Sera for Haruka haha, silly me. It seems like I made two new friends instead though so I'm happy!"

Mitsuki said hastily, laughing nervously between sentences. Perhaps it sounded awkward, all she wanted to do was make a good first impression. She probably wasn't too bright on it though.

Sera planted his hands on his hips, nodding with pride in his brother. Biological life form he is created after. Same thing. After the whole Haruto incident, it's probably better this way, just a small friendly environment. The kid at the shrine was messing with the piece of paper, wondering where to place it. Sera laughed lightly, seeing as how Mitsuki had never met Sakuya and vice versa. Sort of made him wonder...

"Did you know Sakuya is a champion too? In Korea! I-I think... It was Korea right?"

Sera's memory was failing him again.

"Also, don't worry about mistaking us, Haruka and I. Sometimes I mistake us so it isn't uncommon I promise."

Sera you actually what? He nodded somewhat dozing off himself, leaning against a stone pillar half-watching the conversation between Mitsuki and Sakuya, half-watching the young orphan boy mess with shrine stuff and put his piece of paper somewhere it can be seen. What a dreamer.

Sakuya took a step back and gave a quick bow. "That would be correct, Sera. I am the current Vanguard Champion of Korea."

Glancing around at the various shrines surrounding them, she let out a deep breath. "Though, tournament season isn't for a while, so I'm here visiting home. I used to help take care of the shrines here as a kid, so I tend to visit them often while in Japan... Since I'm usually spending most of the year in Korea." Sakuya explained her history with the place, looking more and more like a shrine maiden you might see in a Touhou game or something.

"O-Oh, um, forgive me. I didn't mean to go on a tangent like that. Anyway, Sera, what brings you to the shrines today? Just visiting?"

Okuri had blindly followed after Haruka but upon seeing a large mansion in the distance it felt wrong to him to continue. He had no place there. He had no place anywhere. His legs carried him onward through the rain. He was long since thoroughly soaked but didn't care to get out of it or shake himself off or anything else. His mind was in a haze with no clear direction. Tears continued falling down his face but he made no audible sounds. Eventually he found himself outside the shrines. He wandered about the grounds where the resistance had fought to free Darren from Malice. Without thinking he found himself standing where he had stood to protect... Jessie.

Why did he wander here of all places? There were a few people inside who much like Sakuya once had must have been mistaking him for one of their gods. Now more than ever he concluded that if the gods were real they had long since abandoned him to misery. The rain kept coming down and Okuri wanted nothing more than to cease existing. He could have if he had stayed back at the battlefield. For some unknown reason he'd listened and left.

"It should have been me..." he softly whimpered aloud. The spirit curled up beside one of the outside statues and sobbed. How many times he had wanted to die in place of one of his human friends. All he could do was howl in the rain. All nearby took it as an omen from the gods. A sign of impending misfortune.

Despite Haruka's plea for soldiers to return to the slums as quick as possible, Sera had one last stop to make before heading to the slums. His daily prayer at the shrine was today, having left here very recently after Haruto blowing up on him...

He was in dire need of some out-of-this world assistance. Luck was the first source, but it never hurt to try praying maybe--

What was that howling...?

Upon reaching the shrine, he saw a rather... depressed Okuri, almost in literal pain. He was completely out of it. Maybe the loss of Yukino and Jessie was really hitting him a lot harder than everyone else. Sera approached carefully, being only a tad-bit taller than Okuri himself.

"H-Hey... How ya feelin' Okuri? It's Sera."

He used a quiet voice. Not that he could muster a whole lot more anyways as far as energy.

Okuri's howling was interrupted as he heard someone approach and eventually speak. At first he turn away from the visitor, curling up ever more defensively. He was still soaking wet from the rain and was bitterly cold but didn't seem to care. As he heard the voice he relaxed somewhat and turned around to see who had come.

"Haruka?... no, Sera..." he said not entirely sure how he'd kept the two separate in his head. Though the two looked almost entirely the same there was a different feeling about them. About that same time Haruka's message came through the reality bangle at the base of his tail further confirming this was Sera in front of him. He curled back up turning away from the boy. He wanted to help Haruka but couldn't bring himself to get up and move towards the slums.

"What do you want?" he said weakly and coldly. The tone very much conveyed Okuri's feelings and pondering of what could possibly be happening now. How much more was he expected to have to take? What was talking with Sera ultimately going to put him through? Better to send him off quickly. They hadn't had much chance to talk and the less the better. A bond couldn't be allowed to form. Having them severed by force again was too much for him to imagine.

Sera sat down next to Okuri, petting him. It was instinctive. Even if he was going to get backlashed, he felt that this was the closest he could do for comforting without any good words. Sera nodded, biting his lip. He thought on a few words to say but all of them didn't feel fitting. Okuri was an immortal beast, so most humans couldn't exactly relate to him...

But Sera could.

"I wanted to pray here. That was my first priority. But that can wait.... the last battle getting to you?"

Sera stroked Okuri's fur gently, trying his best to keep from matting the fur down too much considering its all wet from the rain. He tilted his head, hoping Okuri would at least turn around. He felt his heart stun inside his chest, realizing that he cannot feel the pain Okuri is right now. Neither of the people who disappeared from this world were that attached to Sera... but Sera was heavily attached to the people who lost those people.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Sera was sitting by him and petting him. Okuri didn't move from his curled up position. He didn't want to talk about it. He had no desire to accept what had happened. Talking about it would force him to do that and someone helping him through it was just asking for another friendship to form.

"There's nothing to talk about Sera. I came to the resistance to judge whether or not Hikari and her forces were worthy of defending the Earth. She's... gone now. Fate has spoken, and I won't interfere. You all should just forget about me." the spirit stated. What he meant was that he wanted to forget about everyone else so it wouldn't hurt when they died. Great Nature looked on in sadness at the state their vanguard was in. Seeing his will to fight or even do anything this broken hurt them all deeply.

Sera nodded, listening the shell of the spirit that was Okuri. He kept petting him, just for a sense of solace to give him. He curled up his own knees, leaning on Okuri a bit as well. He was really soft... Sera admittedly immediately got a bit more comfortable this way.

"I can't do that."

Sera laid there listening to the breathing of the beast that was Okuri.

"I've existed for centuries and I never forgot the name of my best friends when I was a Star-Vader. Beings of the void don't have the luxury of dying early, Okuri. Neither do you..."

Sera closed his eyes.

"I won't be able to forget you very quickly. Don't disappear on us, Okuri."

His light smile faded.