Outskirts

"I probably should have brought a jacket."

Sera was on a stray gradual slope that might have at one time resembled a hill. The wind was blowing hard, at an almost intense speed. He breathed in the thick air, dust still not completely settled.

This place was a memorial, a constant reminder to the war waged not too long ago. It is the sin that Sera would never be able to cleanse, regardless of if he wanted to or not. The Clown recruited a servant who even fought here. Shiki was the name. News through the Star-vaders travelled fast.

"... Meh."

Sera nommed on a strawberry donut, in hopes of clearing his thoughts.

It didn't.

The wind was only a little bracing against Karin's body. Her clothes didn't offer much protection from the wind, but she was used to it. Running from one side of the city to another every day made still air feel like wind anyways.

Karin stepped up next to the nega-Haruka, putting her hands to her hips with a sigh. "So this is where you were... This is where it all happened, right? Where... Miss Hikari beat Link Joker." Karin looked out over the barren field in front of them. It all seemed like some fuzzy dream. "...Or, was it "Yugure"? I can barely remember which is which anymore, it's like history's gotten all twisted up."

Turning her head to the dark doppelganger of her adoptive brother, Karin stared at him with a solemn, almost sad look. "...Will you tell me what you know about them? The "Deletor" things... I figure if anyone would know about them, you would."

Sera's eyes flicked upward to the woman standing ahead of him now. He was in the midst of taking a bit from his fluffy treat before she started talking about things like history and that one wretch Sera desperately tries to forget exists.

And then the Reapers.

He blinked at her, flinching in blind rage. He finished devouring his donut and stretched out.

"They're the absolute scum of existence. That's all you need to know..."

He glanced at her once more, then back to the dusty horizon.

"What about them do you want to know anyways?"

He sat up, shaking the dead grass and soil from his hair.

"By the way... Best you just say Hikari."

Sera disliked the name Yugure even more.

Karin blinked. She didn't realize Sera held such hate towards, well... most of what Karin was talking about. "I don't know, anything I can learn about them, I guess. If there's something, anything I can find out to better fight against them, then I'll do what I can to learn it. And, right now, you're the best option I have."

Karin stepped out in front of him, putting her arms out. "Help me. You obviously hate them, and they even erased my Overlord, so help me."

"If it means he won't get hurt anymore..."

Sera muttered a prayer for Haruka under his breath before closing his eyes and concentrating. Memories. Forced invasions with Brandt attack planets and simply... Toying with them. They never just poofed a place in one go. It always was an asinine game with then. The Star-vaders never wanted to be involved with any of it, for good reason.

"What can... You do?"

Sera scratched his chin with one hand while rolling the cuff of his slacks back up.

"Don't die. Come back-... Come back to somebody. Whoever still needs you alive."

Mizumi life lessons. Sera catches on quick.

"In reality, I've never been to a world or dimension where there was no Brandt, no destruction, no erasing. Its been a looming fate since as far as I can remember. Tell you what though."

He stood up, dusting his pants off after rolling both of the pant cuffs up.

"Don't show your fear. They love fear. And don't be a hardass either. They'll mock you. I learned that lesson from my creator. Except he laughed at everything... Bastard. Last but not least, serve to protect. But don't quote me on that because that'd make me a hypocrite."

Sera would only save one person, and one person alone should it cost even half of his own life.

"...Y'know, if I didn't know you were the embodiment of Link Joker, you might have actually sounded kind of cool saying that." Karin mused at the situation before her. Haruka's "dark side", in a sense, was giving her lessons on how to combat an even bigger evil. How awkward it all was.

"Well, alright. No fear it is. That should be... easy enough, assuming I don't have to fight that Sovereign thing again... Either way, thank you. I... appreciate it."

Karin put a hand to Sera's shoulder.

"Hey, I'll help you too, right? We're protecting the same person, after all."

"Sounded... Cool?"

He blinked, sort of confused on what she meant by "cool" because if she's referring to the weather, it was already quite chilly. Better answer with a good mannerism.

"Thanks... And you're welcome, I suppose. Everyone should know not to give them what they want. It just fuels their desire. Then again, they're insane. Who knows if its a desire, or biological production of their nature."

Then she said... Something off. Protecting the same person. Does she know something he doesn't? Probably.

"If you're referring to Hikari, like you mentioned earlier, I think you might be wrong on that notion. I have no desire to see her die, mind you...."

He'd never admit that to her face. Ever.

"I mean Haruka, you dunce. We both want to keep him safe. And considering how much danger he seems to get himself into, he probably needs it." Karin couldn't help but giggle a bit at her own words. It really hadn't been all that long, but Karin already felt like Haruka was true family. He had even referred to her as his sister once already, which only cemented the notion in her head. That, and it was empowering to have something to fight for, something she wanted to protect.

"...Um, speaking of Haruka, actually... Do you know where he is? It's been over a week since I saw him or heard from him last, and I can only imagine how worried he is, especially after two Deletor attacks."

"He's-"

He had to stop himself, figuring out if talking about his little hospital patient/captive was an okay topic to make mention of to the girl.

Sera spent a good twenty seconds before nodding, deciding it was better somebody know. According to Mizumi, his conditions were much better. He'd be up and at it in no time. It was... A rather sudden change in his health. It happened over night, in fact.

"He's in a basement towards the edge of the rural district of Hoshiko. He's been undergoing treatments since being nearly obliterated by the first Reaper who slammed a tentacle into his face."

He nodded. Confirmation was key.

"He's been better, as of recently. He isn't dead, and that's good. He started walking again recently."

Was all this news particularly necessary? Probably not, but Sera thought it was.

"Wh-"

Karin really didn't know what answer to expect. But one thing was certain: It definitely was not the answer she had just received.

She paused and held her body still, keeping herself from instinctively dropkicking Sera into the stratosphere. The news was... relieving, to know Haruka was at least doing okay, but upsetting that he had been put into such a situation in the first place. How many times was this kid going to dangle off the edge of death?

Karin breathed deeply. "...Right. Right. Thank you for telling me." The upset on her face was very real. She still wanted to dropkick Sera, but knew it would be a bad idea. It might not even work either, she wasn't sure how up to actually following through with a ferocious dropkick she really felt.

A disgruntled Karin sighed. "Alright... Well, what next, then? Do we just sit and wait for them to attack again?"

"I'm... Sorry? You had to hear it that way."

Sera placed his hands on knees, feeling a tad bit guilty about the whole deal. If only he protected Haruka a bit better.

"Oh, uh... Now? Well, waiting doesn't sound very productive. We prepare. We search. We train. And rinse repeat until we find a solution to the cancer tumors landing on our planet. Question is, what's the solution? Well... A question is all its chalked up to be, sad to say."

That was that, if Sera was going to be honest with the girl.

With the headphones firmly on his ears and music blasted full power Sen walked around the outskirts, his scarf fluttered in the wind as he seemed to stare into a Vanguard card from time to time when choosing directions, as if it was some kind of map.

"Somewhere around here? Where?" the male looked around, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Then let's not waste any time."

Karin almost immediately spun around on the spot, bringing her foot mere centimeters from Sera's head. She held this position for a few moments before dropping her foot back down, and pulling out her deck. "Just kidding. But really, if we have nothing else to do, then let's get to practicing. I need more experience against your clan anyways."

"Sure. A fight sounds good, I suppose."

Sera stretched out his back, yawning a bit. No disrespect to his opponent, but he was getting chilly out and around these days. Also the outskirts had no tables simply built into them for fighting, so once more did Sera have to recreate his star-ridden prison of Reverse. Not that it was particularly used for Reversing anymore, but it was good in case of situations like this. 

He placed his starter face-down on the red Vanguard circle that once glowed with a black glamour and catastrophe rings. They no longer showed as they used to, but it still looked cool.

"Ready whenever you are."

The flame dragons of Kagero, and their powerful Perdition branch formed after Overlord's return, versus the source of Overlord's original departure... Link Joker. Karin had wanted to fight them herself ever since Overlord came back to her, to experience their power for herself. But, in the same vein, Karin couldn't help but feel a little frustrated, perhaps even angry. Overlord had returned and been taken away again all too quickly, both times by Link Joker. Perhaps of entirely different kinds, maybe without any relation at all, even, but all the same, Karin felt the rage burning from the units of her deck.

And so began their intense, passionate fight.

Critical triggers left and right, perfect guards in between, both of them pushing eachother to the brink within the first few turns. Karin's field was decimated throughout the entire game by the powerful Locking skills of Ignoble Rays Dragon and Sera's own Legion, Dark Zodiac, leaving her with only half her usual fighting power. But even so, Karin pressed through the Locks, turn after turn, first retaliating with Vortex Dragonewt's powerful Effect Damage skill, and following it up with Pain Laser's cheaply-costed mass-retire.

Both Vanguards stood strong through one anothers' assaults, holding through on five damage for numerous turns. It wasn't until Pain Laser appeared, roaring loud and fierce, burning away Sera's rearguards, that Karin heard something from her units. It was quiet, almost inaudible, like a whimper. But to Karin, she understood immediately. She was feeling the same way inside.

The Perditions were crying. Lamenting over their fallen leader, the history of their whole empire erased in the blink of an eye. And right in front of them, the clan that, at least in part, was responsible. The cries of outrage that came from the Perdition Dragons as they lined up in Legion radiated with Karin and the dragonic blood that ran through her veins, and with their anger turned to flame, they poured their hearts into their flames against the Link Joker, dealing a final blow.

It had just been for practice, but Karin was almost out of breath by the end of it. Her cards gathered up, she lowered herself to the dusty ground, spreading herself out along it, staring up to the sky.

"One day soon... We'll pull you back from beyond hell if we have to."

Karin lay like this for a few minutes. She felt exhausted, having resonated so strongly with Kagero, against their mock-fight with Sera's Link Joker. The repeated locking of her units hadn't helped that much, either. But, despite her fatigue, she still felt satisfied with the fight. Sera wasn't her enemy, after all. If anything, he was almost a friend; At the very least, they shared the same goals, and were protecting the same person. And that, to Karin, was plenty.

"...Thanks, Sera. I feel... a little better after that. Sorry if I went a little overboard on you, though."

Sera would be lying if he said he had been going easy during that fight. He was putting forth as much effort as he would've any other fight, but had to simulate a ferocity that rivaled even his emotions against a Reaper. Sadly, that wasn't exactly happening. He could only imagine the fight in front of him; not the terror that he was expecting to come at any moment. It was a breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively.

He lost however, to the continuous retiring of what few units he could scrounge up. Even Sera found himself more challenged by this girl than perhaps by the Reaper's themselves. Maybe it was Sera's lack of drive that pushed him, or perhaps Karin's response to her units that created a bond strong enough to force through the lock that Sera provided.

He was not angry he lost; in fact, he was probably more pleasantly surprised than anything. If Karin was possibly capable of defeating Sera in a fight with that kind of emotion, she could possibly be an invaluable asset in the coming battles. Despite herself becoming easily fatigued. Maybe the star-prison did really take it out of people?

Closing the prison, Karin had dropped to the ground after gathering her things. 

"Its fine. You look a bit more beat than I do, y'know?" 

He playfully posed with his hands on his hips. Then he stretched out again, sitting next to Karin with his legs criss-crossed. He took a deep breath in through the nose... 



The hill became a warped image of fire... death and its incarnate spread out over the rolling green hills and warm atmosphere that laid here, before dust created a fog so thick the sun won't ever shine back on this land. He opened his mouth and yet no words came out. He felt a tinge of... regret? Sorrow? Everlasting guilt? Yes, that's what it must have been. An everlasting guilt, and it was the kind of burden you can't really allow other's to carry because they were all against you in that strife. Nobody was on Sera's side when that event came to pass, and Sera was the bad guy. The evil. The sin they wished to cleanse from the world. So what was he now? A malignancy back to haunt them? Karin can speak kindly to the satanic human birthed from dark energy, but how can he believe that he is actually wanted around here?

He doesn't.

His only purpose of revival was to learn, to experience, and then to protect Haruka as he intended to do from Day 1 of existence. Whether or not people care about him, is no longer his business. Despite being near immortal due to Reverse properties, he still feels pain. Whenever he steps onto the outskirts of town, he feels a physical blade driving into his chest. They are a constant reminder; a memory of that day on this field. When he was the evil that plagued everybody's life. Now he was simply the lesser of two evils, and that's what mattered. Persecution would follow for him as well, should they all live to see the day it happens. 

He closed his mouth and sat with his knees pointing up, as well as resting his chin upon them and staring out into the foggy barrenness that was the outskirts of town. That blade never stopped moving through him. He can feel it at that moment, and he probably won't ever forget it.

Not ever.

Karin let out a deep breath. "No kidding... Guess I should be more careful about how into a fight I get. I might end up going overboard on myself more than I do my opponents." Karin laughed to herself, pulling herself back upright, sitting next to Sera, their backs to eachother.

"...Feels almost a little humiliating, sitting here. I wasn't even involved in the invasion three months ago... All I did was help miss Hikari and Haurka with a couple things. I might've saved her life that one time, yes, but other than that... I haven't really contributed that much. I guess I'm feeling a bit inadequate." The girl began a long exposition, talking to Sera like he was an old friend. "Well, maybe that's not fair to myself. I've been working hard for them, Hikari and Haruka, ever since... But it's the stuff like this, when they really need someone at their back, supporting them through the most dangerous battles... That's where it feels like I've been falling short. I don't think I've ever felt like that with anything else before, and to be honest, it's a bit... frustrating."

Karin blinked at herself. Did she really just open up so much? To someone she barely knew? Well, technically she knew him fairly well, but-
"...Nah, sorry. I didn't mean to get all deep and personal like that. You probably don't care much about my problems anyways."

Standing up, Karin checked her phone. A message from... Bashiro? The sleazebag from Umano? Karin wondered how he even managed to get her number, but then...
...Actually checking the message, Karin's attitude shifted on the spot. Wonderful, another attack. Though, strangely, it didn't sound like a Deletor this time. Strange... But, call to duty was call to duty.

"Looks like it's time for me to go. Trouble's going down in Shinjuku." Karin dropped a short explanation to Sera, then took off at her usual blazing speeds to the city.

His words would not reach her as she was already out of there and heading to Shinjuku. But Sera did speak. He said something. Those words were only welcomed by the dusty wind that blew over the hillside he was laying on.

"I care."

Strangely enough, he meant it. He stood up only a bit after Karin had completely disappeared from sight, dusted himself off from the dead grass, and started trekking it back to the city. Mizumi was going to be rather sore if him and Haruka weren't back before it got too late. She was sort of a pushover for Haruka, but she would hound on the different/dimension/dude Sera if he wouldn't listen to the orders he was given.

Malice stood in the outskirts of the city, his hand crossed as he made no attempts to hide after what he had already done. He wanted to be found, as he wanted an answer to his demands from before. He had given the people of Japan more than enough time to decide, and as he opened his eyes, he saw he had been given an answer.

The area was filled with military, tanks and soldiers almost as far as the eye could see. The demon only gave a small grin as he said, "Its seems I have your first response." He could have destroyed them in seconds, annihilated them all with a blast from Zeal if not worse. He looked out and saw news cameras, probably waiting to showcase the end of the monster who destroyed Shinjuku and triumph of the people in order to end the fear and chaos across the world that came with his existence, something the Reapers did not have as they could not be properly comprehended by any humans, let alone non cardfighters. Malice wouldn't be letting them have that peace.

He lifted his hand, the sword of Sin Buster rose up as a result. Again, no one could see what was about to happen. It came down with the arm and hand of Malice, making it seem like he split the earth and everyone in the path of it with a swing of his arm. Of course the soldiers and tanks began to fire with this. Units appeared all around Malice to act as shields. Their bodies were metal so the normal bullets meant nothing. For the tank shots, Diamond Ace. A perfect guard that prevented even the residual blast from reaching the demon Malice. To the eyes of the soldiers as well as the world, he was an immortal, invincible, inhuman.

"Why don't I take a turn," Malice declared, waving his arm as Metalborg Dryon appeared behind him in place of Sin Buster. His chest let out a powerful blast of energy that traveled across the ground. It exploded when he was done in a trail of death and destruction. Even the tanks could not survive. The lucky few not caught in the blast started to flee. Malice grinned in victory as it was all too easy.

He looked over to the camera, closing his eyes with what seemed to be the happiest of smiles. For someone who just did so much to even make such a face was like a mockery to humanity as a whole. He waved to the camera as though to tell them he was happy to put on a show. All those watching became filled with even more fear. Bullets and even tanks couldn't stop this madman. One person just devastated an army. What hope did anyone else have?

And so the despair and fear of the world powers the restoration of the fragmented Seeds...

Karin stepped back onto the dusty ground. After that last attack, by whoever that evil crazy guy was, Karin had felt as if her entire body went numb. She had waded through the crowd of distressed citizens, wandered back out of the city, and...

...ended up back here. Back at that place, where the final battle had happened. Or at least, so she had been told. She hadn't actually been here to witness it herself. Karin held her arm up, looking at her wrist. The tiny gem in the centerpiece glistened in the faint sunset. Just like her coming here, the bangle itself seemed almost dreamlike. It was real, and yet... She remembered a different one. Functionally, the same, but... One she had received six months ago. When she knew Yukino as Yukino. Now, six months later, she received a new one, and knew Yukino as Hikari. Why?

Karin let her arm back down. What had taken place here? Yukino- no, Hikari... No, she wasn't here either. It was another. The man who had Kagero. Who had the goddess Nouvelle Vague's grace on his side. Of course... Karin was with Yukino during that time. She carried her through the snow, inches from death, to save her life.

So why did her memories conflict this way?

Pulling out the black, blank card from her deck box, she looked at it, then back out across the dusty plain. A different Overlord- though deleted now. A different Reality Bangle. A different world around her. Everything was different.

"Ugh..."

Karin arched herself back and stretched, feeling her senses come back, leaving her dreamlike daze. Rearing back, and slammed a fist into the ground, leaving a very distinct dent in the dirt. A different world, for sure, but real all the same.

"Looks like I'll just have to figure everything out again... Well, besides what Sera already told me. Looks like I'm going to talk to Miss Hikari next."

Karin whipped out her phone, quickly jotting in a text to Yukino:
"Karin reporting- Attempts to stop the attack only ended in partial success. Significant damage to the city but collateral damage at a minimum. No connection to the monsters that attacked us before, might be related to those 'Seeds' that attacked six months ago."

Karin finished off her report; short and to the point. Yukino usually liked it like that. But...
"PS: Could I meet with you personally sometime soon? I want to learn more about the monsters attacking us if possible."

Deciding that was good enough, Karin hit the send button and tucked her phone back away. Hopefully she'd have enough time before the next attack to actually learn something.

The fields once full of grass and shine were still clouded in dust and really depressing memories. Sera visited here often for memoria of those he hurt. Despite his horrifying actions, he still attempts to make an effort at repenting. Haruka said that atonement can be good, and can feel good. Sera still doesn't really know what it means to atone, but he visits anyways with high hopes it'll make him feel better.

It doesn't, really.

The sound of footsteps crunching in the dead grass are heard vaguely a few yards away from him.

"Hmm... Karin?"

He sat up from his prayer position, placing a lone orchid on the ground and slowly walking over to her.

"Hii~!"

He threw on a cheerful smile, returning to his devious and general attitude. Forgetting the sorrow was healthier than remembering it.

"What are you doing out here? Looking for somebody? You probably won't find anyone though... Except for me. Weird."

"Huh? Oh, Sera. I guess I expected to find you out here, yeah..."

Karin leaned back and looked to the sky with a sigh. "I wanted to at least say thank you, for talking with me earlier. I had to leave pretty suddenly, so I didn't really get the chance to say it properly... So thanks, Sera. I appreciate it."

Karin had intended to offer a fistbump- assuming Sera would even understand it- but a vibration from her phone made her stop. She whipped it back out to check her response from Yukino. She's fine meeting up... That was good.
"Thank you, Miss Hikari. I'll come to you back at the HQ. I'll see you soon."

Putting her phone back away, she turned her attention back to Sera. "Um, anyway, I should get going. I need to go meet up with Miss Hikari again."

The outskirts of town, a place Seifer had yet to actually visit. It felt almost too peaceful out here, as if the monsters were nothing more than a distant memory. Well... Until he started thinking about it. The bangle he had lowered the amount of pain he felt but.... lately, something seemed to be going against that. He noticed it initially in the fight with Malice, but over time it started to grow more... Apparent.

Breathing out slowly the blonde ran a hand through his hair shaking his head. "Why did I think this was a good idea... I should of known I couldn't do this, let alone by myself. Still a failure, but now this is back..." speaking to himself, Seifer placed a hand on the deck case at his hip, a bland black, with the symbol on the side a light grey. In response, the deck case seemed to give off a faint black glow, though it would be harder to see against the case and Seifer's clothes. Continuing to walk about, a pair of figures caught his eye... both familiar to him.

"Sera, Karin!" he called out rather lightly, walking over. Though, it seemed that Karin was about to leave from the sound of the last bit of the conversation he heard. That was fine, he wouldn't try to keep anyone that didn't want to stay around. Going back in his memory, Karin did work for his sister... who... He still had to apologize to for disappearing like he did. Great. That'd be fun.

Sera blinked at her fist, and instinctively flinched. He assumed he was gonna get a face-full of Karin battle prowess, but instead she just held it there. He poked it, looked her in the eye, nodded as if this was the armistice he believed it was, and stood back up normally to respond.

"No big deal. I'm really good at listening. I'me even better at talking I'm pretty sure, but listening is definitely 2nd to that! Anyways, if you see Yukino, tell her I hate her guts! Actually, don't say that. But remember I said that. Thanks."

Sera's smile was not evil, nor fake. This was a genuinely held smile that for reason gave off the eerie vibe that every word in his prior sentence was 100% serious as well.

"If you ever need anything, message me."

She probably didn't have his number. Sera didn't know people needed his number. He assumed everyone already had it.

Lord.

As Seifer made his appearance, Sera's eyes noticeably brightened as he made a dashing start over to him waving with a gaping smile.

"Seeeeiiiiffaaaaahhh!"

Lord x2.

"How's it been? We haven't really gotten much time to talk with, you know, people getting erased from existence and all."

His smile was still genuine and serious. First, it was eerie. Now it's downright creepy. Stahp that, Sera. Stahp it.