Umano Underground Slums

For a practice match, Seifer got a bit more fired up than he probably should of, no pun intended. The flames of Perdition went against Rosalia's new angels, and... It seemed that Tarayev had fallen for one, Sariel. Cute, though when pestered about it, Tarayev denied everything, and seemed to be trying to act a gentleman. That being said, Seifer just ended up having fun again her, and let loose... letting the flames of Perdition flow over the battle field retiring everything on the final turn. As Rosalia's damage hit six... Seifer leaned over, gently kissing the pinkette on the nose.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. ...It's just this is the most fun I've had in a while. I couldn't help myself.." he scratched his cheek looking down apologetically.

The first rays of sun managed to shine through to the Umano slums bringing the start of a new day. Okuri, who hadn't moved all night since first going to sleep, finally began stirring on the bed he had taken to resting on. His jaw opened remarkably wide as he let out a loud long and began stretching his legs out. Shifting around he sat up feeling refreshed though a bit groggy. He took note of a blanket over him which was strange. Had he gotten a blanket last night? He couldn't recall. It wasn't something he usually did so maybe someone thought he was cold? It was comfortable to say the least. No wonder humans so often struggled to get out of bed.

Okuri managed to stand and further stretch himself out and shake himself awake a bit. Several others were moving about the barracks and no one seemed particularly alarmed at him. When was the last time he'd had his illusion up? He didn't particularly care. It was nice to not have to hide from his allies and friends. Now that he felt ready to go he wanted to go read over the flier for the tournament himself. He stepped out to greet the early morning. How could a day seem so peaceful given what had happened before? Locating one of the fliers Okuri read over and confirmed what Jessie had read to him the day before. He needed to get to entering it and prepared to go just as a strange noise interrupted him. A strange rumbling sound. In fact it was his own stomach informing him it was quite empty.

"First thing's first, need some food." he said quietly to himself. He looked around the slums again, taking in how these people carried on given a crushing loss.

Well, practice was practice, and Rosalia didn't really expect to win. But the match was fun, save for seeing her Angels cry every time they were retired, and Seifer retired four rear-guards in one turn! Then again, that is sort of what Kagero is supposed to do... By the end, she just didn't have enough hand to guard three full powered attacks. At least the kiss at the end made the pinkette feel a bit better.

"It's okay? It was still fun, and we still get a date~" she answered brightly, hoping the brunette wouldn't feel so bad about winning. "H-honestly, I think Angel Feather might be a bad match up for your Kagero, but it's okay. If I can beat them one day, then I can beat anybody~" She tapped her chin in thought for a moment, before reaching over and poking the male on the nose in return to his kiss. "Heh~ Tarayev is my favorite in your deck. He's so nice~ But not as nice as you~"

Seifer smiled putting the cards away as he lifted Rosalia into his arms princess style, burying his face into her hair. "Don't let him trick you. He's kind of an ass sometimes."

"I resent that."

"That's fine. You'll get over it." the brunette held the pinkette like that for a few moments before setting her down on the ground, offering his hand. "Want to go out for ice cream then?" he asked. A simple date at the start of their return together but it's better than nothing.

Rosalia let out a yelp when picked up, shutting one eye and looking up with the other as she felt her counterpart nuzzle her hair. "O-oof! Y-you could have knocked over the table doing that. I didn't put my cards away yet!" the female fussed, even though she really didn't mind it. A moment later, she was laughing anyways, kissing his cheek before she was set down.

"Ice cream?..." she asked finally putting her cards away before entwining her fingers with his. Sure, ice cream was enough of a date for her, and spending as much time together was everything she could hope for, but... "Sounds good to me~ Though did you wanna go find Yukino?.. She's still with Haruka, right? I haven't seen them yet, and maybe we could all go do something together." Unfortunately, if everything was still happening at the Umano base, then that meant the world really wasn't safe. Which also meant Yukino was probably stressed out of her mind and would be needed for "official business" until all of this was over... The pinkette couldn't help but feel disappointed at the thought. "I-it's okay if we don't. We can just spend time together~"

"It's not like I was going to hit the table with you or my knee." he pouted for a moment before shrugging. "She's still with Haruka. Figure I'd leave them alone for a while. Slow boy finally proposed to her last night." he chuckled softly before walking toward the entrance of the underground.

"And yeah ice cream. We'd have to go to the beach but I think it'd be nice." he smiled looking over his shoulder at Rosalia before continuing to walk.

"O-oh? Congrats to them~ Maybe we can celebrate it later all together~" Rosalia mused, giggling as she followed Seifer closely. She didn't feel so bad now about waiting to see Yukino and Haruka. She was just glad they were happy together. Right now, however, was ice cream time!!!

"Mmmnnnn", Yukino moaned again, trying to convey that she was bad at being quiet. Her jacket was thrown aside, her tiara accessory that held her ponytail together was removed entirely. She laid under him, doing her best to turn down the volume, and it didn't exactly work all of the time. He grabbed at her wrists, keeping her pinned down, as she had no power to escape his grasp, even with her free legs. It began to feel like a dream she melted into...

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"And so, the tale of these two snowflake lovebirds continued. As life would, with a vow of love and war - to destroy the evil for the sake of a tomorrow in afterglows. That man who is the storm and a bundle of swiftness beyond measure with the woman who is a living blade of furious justice. When this all was put to rest - an end once and for all...

... they would multiply like rabbits."

- Romance Seeker, Cerdic

Birds chirping, sun shining, beautiful morning. On days like these, commanders should not be basking in the day's glow after a night of excitement with, not battle, but "relaxation" with one another. In both of their defense, they had tons of... "stress" to let out. The queen Yukino soon-to-be Nakahara was a mess, having little to no clothing with her bare skin radiantly relished under the rays of dawn. Beaming was she, hair sprawled everywhere, dried drool at her mouth. A savior of humanity was truly nothing more than a sex-loving beast, and she would take great pleasure in the bite marks to be found around her neck and chest area left by her hubby.

Maybe Harbinger was insanely powerful and indestructible, maybe Sovereign was just as powerful but not armored... But if killing the Reapers meant a future of this.

Even if Yukino wanted to simply sleep, she'd be willing to fight a battle she's personally given up in. Only because nobody else wants to give in, and it would be for Haruka's future with her.

"Mrgh", her majesty grunted, "Maaaa..." she sighed. Still not a morning person, despite all this. Her eyes barely opened, grasping his hand in turn with her ring hand. "Haruka..." The woman moaned again, feeling very dizzy with a few hasty breaths, her heart racing.

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"What the..." A doctor noted in shock. "How did her heart beat elevate when she never left the bed?!"

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"A tournament?" Bashiro and some of the militia boys having some drinks inquired.

"Yeah, something about-" Jessie was cut off.

"Why do we care again? Sure, we play vanguard but we're not exactly an army for the sport." Bashiro stated that they were still in fact a military force.

"A lot of people are talking about the Gear Dragon on it being why they're interested. Even Okuri knew about it."

"Huh... Might be that Gear Chronicle shit Chronos was on about. I'm gonna call Aoi. She can probably find something about it since she's out and about. She'll stumble upon that jerkass spirit at some point."

Haruka giggled a bit, taking a look at his scantily (that was an overstatement) dressed lovebird. She seemed to be more of a morning person when she slept less it looked like. He leaned back over to his naked lover, giving her one last long kiss, pulling away giggling the bit of dried drool on her face. She really did like messy, huh?

Haruka even traced his fingers around the more delicate parts of her again. If they didn't both have things to actually do today, he wouldn't hesitate to take the opportunity of a Round...

5?

6?

...

8.

Round 8.

But instead he just placed a couple of short kisses on her lips and ruffled up her already messed up hair. Partly as a joke, but to help wake the Queen up. Haruka already grew fond of teasing the Queen, maybe he should play the top more often with her. But before more of that, comes actual work.

Sigh.

Haruka stood up, picking up his jacket... but his shirt was nowhere to be found. He raised an eyebrow, searching the rather small infirmary room for a white t-shirt but it was just straight up missing. I-It didn't go out the window or something right?

"Hey, love, have you seen my shirt?"

Haruka searched for it, placing his deck in his back pocket.

A newly awakened and visibly tired Carlos went walking around the base after waking up from his failed attempt to rest a little. Apparently, some idiots made loud banging noises all night and he was able to hear them clearly from where he was. To summarize, he didn't sleep very well and it showed on his face. "Ugh... I need something to eat...".

Shortly after, he found Bashiro, Jessie and some other members of the Resistance talking. "Good morning or evening or whatever, guys. Good to see you ali -*YAWN*- Alive, Jessie" He said while yawning. "Did I -*YAWN*- Sorry, did I miss something good? Something bad? Something beyond my -*YAWN*- Beyond my wildest imagination?". He was struggled to stay awake, so he thought fast. "Sorry, Im just- Hey, is that water? Give me..." He said, grabbing a glass of what he thought was water and drinking. "Ah, much better. So... What did I miss?".

Okuri made his way through the base and caught sight of a little gathering. Bashiro and some of his crowd, Jessie and even Carlos now. Bashiro and the others seemed to be drinking already. Seemed a bit early but then from their night at the bar together Okuri realized this was probably pretty common place for him. As Okuri approached some of the crowd called his name, excited to see their one time source of free booze again. This was puzzling to Okuri seeing as he couldn't for the life of him remember having dropped his illusion that night and it wasn't up now so how were they recognizing him? Was alcohol that powerful? Had the humans had the power to see through him all these years?

It seemed the subject of conversation at least between Bashiro and Jessie was the tournament being advertised. What really caught his interest was Bashiro seemed to know something of the the dragon was. Without announcing himself he walked up to group and brushed up against Jessie as he passed. It wasn't even a really conscious thing he just sort of did it.

"Am I hearing this correctly that I'm not the only one who's seen that dragon on the fliers somewhere before?" he asked of Bashiro. As he got closer some of the guys who recognized him offered him a drink to which he declined. Alcohol to start the morning was no substitute for food for this spirit.

"Shirt...?" Yukino's mind was literally nowhere where their clothes were, and the kisses only further disorientated her. "I don't even..." The groggy queen looked at the floor, there's her stuff and her jacket, but where was his shirt? Giving another random groaning noise, she got out of bed and quickly... adjusted herself to get dressed. She was still a woman of elegance. She can look like a mess in front of her husband but not in front of the army. ... Haruka should probably tell her she's putting on her skirt the wrong way.

"Just don't wear one..." The crazy animal suggested, abandoning Haruka's shirt.

The reality was, she actually wasn't entirely naked.

She was wearing his shirt.

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"Morning, guys." Jessie greeted Okuri and Carlos.

"That's booze", Bashiro answered Carlos, then turned to the spirit. "Everyone's talking about how that dragon showed up three months ago or some shit."

"Three months ago? Wasn't that about when this threat from the reapers started? Strange. I saw him a day or so ago myself. I'm fairly certain he's the reason I'm alive right now and then he suddenly appears all over these posters. Well I had already planned on it but there's no way I'm not joining that tournament now then." the spirit said calmly. Another passerby again offered to get Okuri a drink to which he had to refuse.

"...Bashiro my illusion was up that night at the bar wasn't it? How does everyone recognize me?" he said confused. He just wanted breakfast and to figure out this tournament business, how many more drink offers would he have to turn down?

"I was piss drunk, you think I know?" Bashiro stated, remembering the night up until they started drinking their lives away. As far as he was concerned, everyone else was too drunk to pay attention, and they might be too drunk now to pay attention. That, or the reality was alcohol is the bane of Okuri's illusion, giving all those intoxicated sight of his true form. Whatever, he's not going to think deeply into how all this shit works after watching Sovereign come through a building and completely flooring him.

"Three months ago the Reapers weren't here yet. Apparently some demigod-like assholes or something called Seeds showed up using Stride because of him."

Haruka really should've taken one last good look at his wife's clothing choice. He noticed the backwards skirt, which he immediately pointed out to her as he threw on his jacket, shirtless, buttoned it up. He retied up his leather boots, no longer having a pair of gloves to go with them.

He stood up, staring at Yukino for a few moments longer.

"Once it's all over..."

He smiled, shutting his eyes briefly, imagining a future with no turmoil and only holding his wife in his arms, surrounded by family and warmth and good times. Maybe Christmas time next year will be a bit better.

"Alright love, I'm going to be off in a few moments... I know no matter how much I tell you to stay in bed, you won't. But you have a promise to keep up now, so don't go dying on me."

Haruka was confident in his wife's combat skills, so his smile didn't waver as he adjusted the collar to his uniform. He raced over to her as she dressed, placing a peck on her cheek and then opening the infirmary door, hoping doctors wouldn't go badgering the couple after last night.

They at least tried to keep it down the night before.

"Hey Okuri. Here is my favorite do- Person right now!" Carlos greeted his friend, still unsure if petting him was appropriate. "How's it going- Wait, this is beer!?" The young man was shocked... For a brief moment. "... Whatever. It keeps me awake. More please".

The members of the Resistance appeared to be talking about... Something really interesting. "Wait, wait, wait... A dragon that showed up three months ago? And said dragon appears in a flier? A tournament? Demi-gods and seeds?" Carlos questioned after filling the glass and hearing the comments from Bashiro and Okuri. "I... I don't understand". But suddenly, the word 'dragon' started ringing a bell in the young man's head. "Wait a minute. Do you have the flier here? I need to...". He took a sip from his glass and continued. "... I need to see it. And what do you mean with 'illusion', Okuri? Did Bashiro and Jessie knew about... Huh, your condition?".

Yukino looked down, and realized what he was pointing out. Her heart was still beating a bit quickly and hurting against her chest, making her desire only slow, cautious movements with less thought to calm her body processes to focus on calming her pulse. "Guh..." She whined, proceeding to carefully fix her skirt. The woman reached for her military jacket, settling it on her shoulders without putting her arms through the sleeves, letting them dangle about. Basing her hair on memory instead of having a mirror nearby, she squeezed it at a height to reform her ponytail, equipping the tiara ornament back in place. It was almost where it was supposed to be. His little peck woke her up a little to remind her to try and lift it to where it normally was.

Other than just looking tired and wearing her lover's shirt, she looked like the same commander.

"I promise, and you have to do the same. No dying."

"Oi!" A doctor shouted as soon as Haruka opened the door. "Are you trying to-"

He saw Yukino with Haruka's shirt and knew instantly why Yukino's heart rate was getting worse.

"... Ugh", the medic facepalmed, snarling. "Commander, you need to relax! After such a recent panic attack, your heart is-"

"I'm fine."

"... Just take it easy to settle your heart palpitations. Please? If you two are going to have a night, could you just cuddle quietly or something? Thanks."

The doctor left. Yukino shrugged, already not listening.

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Jessie handed Carlos a flyer, showing Chronojet Dragon and 'Chronicle's Eve' written on it.

As expected Bashiro had no clue about what Okuri had asked him. Carlos though now was full of questions for everyone. Okuri himself didn't know all of the details either.

"Well let's see here Carlos. The man you saw before and thought was me was never real, this is what I've always looked like. That dragon's apparently rather special and I saw him while I was passed out from being injured at the shrine," he continued as a matter of just reporting what answers he had. He'd forgotten he hadn't told Bashiro or Jessie or anyone else that last one really. "I don't know much of these Seeds or this 'Stride' idea either. But from Hikari's speech earlier yesterday there seems to be a fair bit of time traveling going on with all of this and the Reapers. That would explain the clock aesthetic..." and there he went recounting details from his time seeing Chronojet he had told anyone yet again.

"I'm almost inclined to go bother Hikari for the full report of all of this but I imagine she's got more than enough to do without me poking my nose into things." he concluded. His stomach then let out a rather audible growl which embarrassed him slightly. "So... anyone else up for some food?" he said with a bit of a laugh.

"Ah... Ok" Said Carlos after hearing Okuri's explanation. "So that man was an illusion... Wow, this trip is getting weirder everyday. I love that". He took a sip from his glass and continued. "So... This 'Seeds' and the 'Stride' thingy could be something out of Doctor Who from what you're saying, but they're also totally real and something totally happened with them involved. Now I can believe that Harbinger can destroy timelines and all that" He thought out loud. "Oh, and I'm totally up for some food too, but I really want to see the fly- Oh" He said as Jessie was handing him a flyer.

"Thanks Jessie" Said Carlos taking the flyer and another sip from his glass. He immediately recognized the figure shown on it. "T-This is the dragon! The dragon that gave me the 'Detonics Stinger Dragon' cards!" He exclaimed, absolutely surprised to see the dragon again and in such way. "That means we saw the same strange dragon, Okuri. So... this 'Chronicle's Eve' is the supposed tournament, right? Whatever it is, it's surely connected to Chronos and the Gear Chronicle clan...".

"So... When are we joining?" He asked, excited to participate. "Bashiro? Jessie? Okuri? Someone?".

"Just... cuddle? That's a thing?"

Haruka looked at Yukino, shrugging back. He did however take note of her last comment, making him stop just outside the door, calling back to her.

"Right, no dying."

He grinned, exiting the infirmary, and back into the main slums. It took a moment to find some familiar faces just outside the area. Bashiro, Jessie, Okuri and Carlos all looked like they were having a decent time sitting outside with a few drinks. Haruka wasn't a huge drinker or anything, but spending some time with the guys after a night like that would be like having your cake and eating it too.

"Oi, soldier boys! Who said you could drink while we're in a time of crisis! What if the Commander's Husband caught you!!"

Haruka imitated a voice that wasn't his own, as if he was a lieutenant or something of the sort from the Resistance, as he sneaked up on the squadron of goons.

I-It was a harmless joke after all.

A while later, Seifer returned with the pinkette, her now wearing his scarf. He was smiling the entire time as they walked together, fitting together perfectly... despite their height differences. Still just made holding her close easier. In any case, Seifer returned, stopping just outside the infirmary and waited. They'd be out eventually. ...They couldn't stay in their forever right? ...Right?

Yukino nodded, walking out of the infirmary. Time to get back to work. Her ring hand reached over her heart with worry, feeling several skips in her pulse, then hastened extras moments later to make up for them. Is she beginning to run out of time, and stress will get her before Harbinger? ... She promised no dying, so she'll power through it. "I want a report on where Darren's body is. Then, I want to hear about the prisoner with Nightmare Dolls. Finally, I'll look into this tournament afterward."

"What about an invincible enemy we have to fight?"

Yukino didn't answer the nameless soldier, visibly grimacing as she walked past him to find the Dimension Police player with medics leading her. Then, they stopped at the sight of her younger siblings returning to HQ.

"Rosalia!" The Chosen Sword shouted, rushing over to hug her - squeezing the pinkette tightly. Too many times has she lost this member of her family. "How and where?!" Yukino inquired with no real details as to what she was asking. Mind you, it was obvious she was wondering how the girl came back.

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"Well, if the Commander's Boytoy caught us, I'd ask if he wanted a drink." Bashiro wasn't intimidated by Haruka trying to be a man of rank. After talking with the guy just once, he knew he was pretty chill, so the thug held up a new bottle for the "lieutenant" to take. Jessie and others actually jumped though. They thought he was just her boyfriend, what was this about husband?! When did they get married?! Were they actually hardcore and thirsty enough to get married in the middle of this war?

Jessie knew it. Adults are insane creatures. He's going to stay young forever by hanging out with Aoi more in the future.

"U-uh..." Jessie was going to answer Okuri and Carlos, but now he was just stunned.

"You guys join your stupid tournament if you want. Okuri mentioned food, you wanna come with, man?" Bashiro asked Haruka.

Rosalia hummed a happy tune during their walk back from the beach. The female was dressed in her pretty white dress, tall black boots, a black shawl, and indeed, Seifer's crimson scarf. It matched little hair clips she had, and her eyes. She loved the new accessory to her wardrobe~ As she clung to her fiancé's arm, she didn't ask about why they stopped in front of the infirmary. Was Yukino hurt again? She hoped it wasn't too bad... It can't be that terrible, can it? After all, Haruka proposed to her just recently, right? So things had to be good...

Sure enough, she was glomped by a familiar face, squeaking as she was hugged incredibly tight. "E-e-eeep! I-it's me, Yukino-oneesama~ D-don't squeeze too harrrrrd!!!" Rosalia whined, but returned the hug as best she could. "I-i don't know how I'm back, again... I'm sorry that I keep vanishing... I promise I won't leave again..."

He was surprised by the sudden hug attack on his fiance, but he didn't object to it. Instead he stepped back just smiling. Maybe there was some good coming to this world after all. Yukino seemed happy at least. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he'd let the two future sisters-in-law catch up for a moment. Probably better that way, but he stayed nearby just in case. He didn't want her squished to death.

Haruka laughed at Bashiro's response, snatching a bottle from his hand and taking a stance against a wall next to the fools. He was enjoying the company of the Resistance boys more and more recently. The metal cap popped off rather easily, as he took a swig.

"Food? Yeah, I can do food. Last night worked up more of an appetite than I thought it would."

He was half-bragging... but he was also mostly talking about the courage it took to even get the question out, not so much the aftermath. That was becoming a common occurrence between to snow-bred lovers.

"What's this about a tournament?"

Haruka took another long glug of alcohol, tuning into the conversation while he scratched an itch under his jacket. Not wearing a shirt with this thing might as well have been torture incarnate.