Resort Area/Plaza

Xat just laughed at King Artorias remark, as kao returned. "You seem like a kind king." kao said to Artorais and looked at emna "im guesing you two are friends?" he asked refering ot King Artorias and Emna.

"Good," Cero said in response to Yukino.  "I look forward to seeing how your Vanguard has advanced in these years."  He turned towards Enma, "and I will eagerly await being able to see the extent of your power."  There was no doubt in the Kaiser's mind that there was truth in his title.  If there wasn't, he doubted Yukino would've called him by it, or that Bashiro would acknowledge him so highly.  "I can assure you I will not be an opponent easily overcome."  

With that Cero turned to head towards the hotel, though as he did, he overheard a piece of the conversation .  He stopped next to Carlos and put a hand on his shoulder, staring straight ahead.  "I brought you here with me for a reason.  This is a new beginning.  I won't pretend I understand how difficult that time could have been for you, but I know better than anyone else that you held on to your passion through those dark times.  That passion, that simplicity, that kindness of yours.  You did more than just save lives.  You changed them.  Do not let that spark die here.  Look towards the future you earned.  Don't fear the past you overcame."

And with that, he left.  

-

Cassiano was utterly defeated.  By both his own incompetence and the words of his foe.  Nothing he could say would save him from this embarrassment. Truly, the man with katanas was a worthy opponent.  Though, at least the beautiful Chris had acknowledged him, even if it was mockingly.  Gastor's brutish behavior was ignored continuously, and it seemed that ignoring him was a successful tactic so perhaps that was a victory as well.  

"I can understand why you would be so protective of such a wonderful woman. But alas, it seems today is my loss." His pride wounded, he walked towards the registration desk in solemn silence.  After such an embarrassing display, he couldn't even bring himself to flirt with any of the women at the registry.

"Cassiano Fellini, Neo Nectar."  With that, he headed to the hotel, hoping he'd be able to redeem himself during the coming tournament.  Cassiano swore to himself that if he met that man with the katanas in the tournament, he would defeat him for his own honour.  

-

Aoi's infinite hyperactivity came as no surprise to Fubuki.  It would have been far more surprising if Aoi had been any less excited.  However, she was unable to keep up with the endless fountain of energy and was very caught of guard with both Aoi and her dog took bites out of poor Fubuki's kebab.  She looked down in disappointment, only a single bite of it left.  With a somber look in her eyes, she silently offered the final bite to the dog.  

"Ah, the eyepatch?  Well, something like that...  I've been training with Bashiro these past couple of years, and this eyepatch is, uhhh...  part of the training.  Yeah."  Fubuki didn't dare admit the truth that she was wearing it because Bashiro may or may not have said it would be impressive.  "Do you like it?"

"Ah, yeah, me and Arthur go way back!" Enma responded, referring to Artorias with some sort of nickname.

"Arthur and I." Artorias corrected.

Koga quickly penned Cassiano in as he left.

-

"We ought to get signed in as well. We'll be back in a moment, friend." Solis noted as the other drones agreed, telling Kachidoki they'd be back momentarily.

-

"The eyepatch looks cool! Gives you the rogue-ish look Bashy was always talking about! Girls like that, according to him." Aoi had a lot of open smiles to give, like a child in a playground with her friends. The brawler actually having an understudy was surprising, but the girl found the eyepatch to be the most interesting point. In a way, it was the very foundation of progress for Fubuki's training. It was the symbol - nay, a sort of vow and a relic of how far she had come. While it could have just been a cool fashion accessory, those with sharp minds would understand that it is a crest of honor and virtue.

Or at least, that's how Aoi would blow it up.

"Why Bashy though? I love him, but he's kind of a dummy and irresponsible too, according to Jessie."

Oof.

Seifer with a quick spot of notice responded to Sera and was off to get signed into the tournament. Carlos was also aware of his presence but little more than notice was gave between the three before departure once more. He scratched the back of his head, breathing out a sigh of relief. He made an attempt at socializing, and that was enough for him today. He took a couple of steps back from the overall raucous, seating himself on the grassy area away from the path. He drew an arm back to his forehead, wiping away sweat from the heat and observed as usual.

------

On the other side of things, a stumbling, headache-ridden Haruka Nakahara escaped his bedroom and made it out of the hotel most definitely intoxicated. He was buzzed but his body was still somehow quite cool. It might have just been an inherent thing he'd become used to doing, but the temperature of his body tended to alter depending on the atmosphere and mood. Whether it was a physical change or otherwise was unknown to him. Regardless, he took careful and obviously staggered steps out of the hotel and towards registration. He left his gloves back in the hotel room, as well as his tie. He headed to the registrar's tent once more, as he had much earlier in the morning. He took inventory of the area, noting several faces he'd seen before and ones he was less familiar with.

"Guh... you'd think by now it wouldn't take so long for people to get organized." Haruka was somewhat miffed at the disorganization of the it all, or rather that perhaps whatever organization for registration had been going on devolved into a somewhat chaotic ball of energy. Not that he disliked the energy for it created an atmosphere of happiness. What upset him was that he was perhaps maybe sort of just a little bit too drunk to navigate through that chaos and he was frustrated at it. So instead he approached the side of the registration table, seating himself next to a box of pens and leaning back on it near Yukino and Bashiro who was calling out nearby. Sera was only about ten or so feet away from them as well, off in the grass seemingly fatigued. Weird.

"Oho... still the Boss Lady, are you?" Haruka chuckled to himself, turning his head to glance over his wife who was still working the tent. He was both filled with pride and also allotted himself a level of delicate humor. He wasn't going to press her on anything, but he wanted her to know he did show up and was around in case she needed anything. Though, knowing them, it was more likely he'd need her assistance if anything. Walking was on the list of things those requests might be.

xat smiled a them ad kao looked aroudn. ”i wounder do we we use stride in this tornament?” xat asked not aware she had asked out loud, before pulling out her deck and looking at the shirayuki that was on top of it and gently smiled at it knowing she hadnt cardfighted in a long time.

Yukino and the idols promptly and swiftly got the ex-Reaper Drones registered, with some kind greetings and warm reunions for Fuki and Koga with them. As Haruka came over, the bluenette was rather relieved to see her husband, though admittedly worried about his... posture. She was going to say something on it, but the God of the Sun's eyes met hers. Before Bashiro was ready to take his leave, he and others felt the intensity from the Singularity Points merely... staring at one another. For those who knew Solis' history and for those who knew Yukino's uprising, they were rather close in character. One just happened to play Royal Paladin, the other played Kagero. They were both the leaders of their timelines with their iconic Vanguards and shared similar roles with one another. The longer they gazed at one another, the more it seemed like they were either trying to say something, or simply gauge the other.

"... Greetings." The Sun God finally broke the ice, natural for being the one with flames.

"Likewise." The Chosen Sword responded, both of them carrying their tone with practiced stoicism, but also an awkward stiffness.

The Singularity Points wanted to talk to each other, but not now. Solis gave a nod as he and his companions left to return to Kachidoki. Yukino gave a quiet breath of relief, and finally got to respond to Haruka. Work had been a bit stressful with her superiors supervising her every action over her shoulder, trying to keep everything organized while giving everyone a fair chance to relax and get settled in to register, on top of the awkward gawking people kept doing of her. Believe it or not, despite her cool soldier-persona being put on as a strong front, she really doesn't want to be standing here. "It seems so." The 'commander' gave her beloved a smile, instinctively rubbing her index and ring fingers together, taking a level of joy in feeling the ring on the latter most of her colleagues and friends wouldn't know. It was a level of happiness she hadn't felt in a long, long time and the feeling of the accessory lightly grazed by her index finger lit up her heart all the same every time. "Did you get settled in alright?"

"You check out the bar yet, man? How is it? ... How much does it cost?" Bashiro spoke to Haruka as if he hadn't been away from him in some years. Nay, as if they had seen each other every day and the last time they met was an hour ago. The thug wore a pleasant grin nonetheless, and tried to avoid letting his eyes wonder to Yukino's heavenly body knowing he'd be killed on the spot.

"Feel free to ignore him." Jessie stated, ready to yank him away so they can talk to Carlos.

"Stride is the primary focus on this tournament." Yukino responded to Xat.

He raised a hand with some missing posture, his teeth caught over his tongue. The small but noticeable interaction between who Haruka knew as Solis, and not much else, and his beloved made him uneasy. Not in a jealous or envious way, but just less settled than before. He was very much not in the right mindset to be conversing with people, let alone Bashiro who Haruka knew fully well might even drink him under the table. Wait, he wasn't even here for that. He was here for the woman next to him. He shut his eyes, bringing both of his hands to his cheeks in a ferocious clap that sounding similar to the crack of a whip on the either side. It did a solid job of sobering him up a bit, clearing his vision and balance as the shock set in on the skin.

"I settled in fine. Had a few drinks but I think I'll be... fine..." The effects of the alcohol were prevalent but he was capable of control nonetheless. He waved a hand smiling at his beloved, nodding to reassure her. "Yeah, I'm fine now, actually." He opened his eyes, conviction muddled by a little emotion driven by the effects of alcohol, but also the heart. But also alcohol. "You're doing a great job, keep up the work... Oh, per chance, did you—" Haruka had notion to ask if the registration for their room having three beds was her doing, but on the off-chance it wasn't he didn't want to panic her, so instead stopped himself, waving the thought off.

"Mm, never mind." Turning his attention to Bashiro, he peered at the man, thinking first of one thing. 'You've been ogling my wife, haven't you?' Of course, he didn't say this out loud. Instead he simply sighed, a laugh working it's way through it. "The alcohol is good, it put me on my ass in minutes. I just woke up from a nap and I'm still a bit tipsy, if you couldn't tell." Haruka waved his face as if to emulate the flushness one would normally have from being intoxicated, though he didn't due to his rapidly cooling body temperature. "Though I'd be careful of your wallet. Shots knock you on your ass but they burn a hole through your money twice as fast." He laughed some more, relaxing his back into a graceful arch, hair flowing with the island breeze. He felt quite relaxed now.

Tamotsu happily accepted Fubuki's dejected offering of the last portion of her kebab. Fubuki was a good person. He would remember this. But alas, the call of the wild was strong, and the dog began wiggling a little more than he had been, telling the gumball holding him he was being called to other paths. Eventually he escaped and landed fairly well on all four paws. He barked happily at the girls as if to say goodbye after brushing up against each of their legs. His nose was guiding him. He had his family to find and there was something or someone else with them.

It wasn't long before the blue canine found himself trotting up to the registration area where he would soon be overwhelmed with a mix of happy emotions. He saw Jessie and Bashiro which was enough to make him happy as it was. But then there stood someone he hadn't seen in at least a year. Letting out a bark loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, the excited dog ran full sprint and charged straight into Carlos who he had gotten to know some as a very young pup. He wasn't exactly a puppy anymore though so it would likely take the man to the ground where the dog could proceed to greet him the only way he knew how, with lots of licks.

-----

The Aimless Blade sat nearby the dragon statue waiting calmly for his friends to return from registering. He was staring off to the ocean. By all accounts this place was beautiful and this event a happy occasion. And yet the man could feel nothing but sadness. These few years that should not have been weighed heavily on him. Why did he even come to this tournament? To this question he had no answer. He let out a sigh and leaned forward on the bench he was sitting on.

"A future..." he said aloud unaware of the proximity of Solis and the others. Two simple words yet buried in them were years of anguish.

”so stride is allowed then?” kao asked not wanting to give away that xat had gotten stride durning her training to be wueen of the spirits. How she and shirayuki were almost defeated when shirayuki tapped into that power to save her avatar and friend. xat closed her eyes and tried to hid a yawn. ”it seems like the tornament will be a fun one to watch.” she said

Assuming that he was done after having signed in, Seifer decided to move away from the gathering crowd, wandering around the plaza and taking in his surroundings. There was a lot it seemed that he missed, however what intrigued him the most was the statue of the dragon. Whether it was still some childish fascination with the large winged beasts, or that he just wanted out of the sun, he wandered over craning his neck up as the closer he got made it even larger.

Reaching his hand out, he lightly placed the tips of his fingers against the coarse surface, staying like that for several long moments before realizing how weird he probably looked, pulling his hand back away and onto the back of his head shutting his eyes in a bit of embarrassment.

Fubuki smiled, happy that her friend liked the eyepatch, nodding at her response. "Well, you're not wrong. At all. He's perhaps the worst person I've ever seen at keeping to a schedule, I don't think he understands even the first thing about teaching..." This rant about Bashiro's awful habits as a mentor continued for quite a bit, but it was apparent that Fubuki still held some degree of respect for her teacher even with all the insults she spoke about him.

After a while, she realized how she had been rambling on for far too long. "Uhhh... Sorry," she said with an awkward laugh. "Despite all that, I think it's still been time well spent overall... even if he did cause a lot of it to go to waste..." With one last sigh at Bashiro's incompetent competence, she focused again on Aoi to notice the absence of the pup in her arms. Fubuki had gotten so absorbed in ranting about Bashiro that she didn't notice him escape. She was a little saddened by this, it was a pretty cute dog, but it was probably fine on its own.

"Looks like things are calming down over at the registry, shall we sign up together?"

Yukino couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her husband, plenty skeptic of him getting hammered before the big event. With a drunkard like Bashiro here as a bad influence, she counted her lucky stars for the fact that the two of them were in the bar at the same time. Speaking of, Bashiro noticed that look Haruka gave. One that asked 'Have you been ogling my wife?'. The obvious answer was: yes, of course. But the man only gave a sly grin while raising his hand and shrugging, as if innocent or even mentally responding: 'Can you blame me?'. "I'm sure I can get someone else to pay for me. That or get some actual work so Jessie isn't on my ass to pay for it." Bashiro spoke, getting the exact skeptical reaction out of Jessie he knew he'd get. That was his little brother - he knew the deal. This asshole said he'd change after all was said and done with the Reaper Invasion, and so far, he's already gone back on his promise to quit drinking. "I guess I can wait until after the proceedings. At least pretend to be a responsible adult." He clearly wasn't meant to be responsible.

"Yeah, at least pretend." Jessie quipped. Enma ruffled Jessie's hair some more as the adults chuckled and laughed, feeling good about the reunion. Bashiro and Jessie began to leave, having registered and getting ready to talk with Carlos. They also took note of Tamotsu as well, Jessie urging him to follow and promising he can keep tackling Carlos in the meantime.

"It's about time we get to work. Let's get things rolling." Enma suggested, with the Association members and the idols nodding.

"Give us just a lil' bit though." Tomozo grinned.

"Huh? Why?" Enma inquired as King Artorias raised an inquisitive brow.

"Well, you see, me, Cabbage, and Lemon here came up with a plan to really excite the players and spectators. As idols, our job is to keep people pumped and motivated while looking as skimpy as possible bordering indecency. Gets blood pumping and more attention. Idols want attention. So the girls and I thought we could put chubs here to good use, since her new figure riles people up." The redhead went on to give a bit of detail to the idea the sisters came up with. The problem is: it involved Yukino and even worse, it involved her body. Normally, Yukino would stab anyone who wants to bring up her weight, but a sense of dread washed over her very being and soul. She began to sweat, standing still and silent as she heard the words coming out of her co-worker's mouth. There, she formulated the image of what horrific results would come from this. "We just need a little time to get her dressed~" The tomato beamed evilly. Fuki gave a smirk with a malicious, red gleam as Koga shot a similar glare with a grin.

Oh no.

"Er..." Yukino finally... squeaked. "I have a meeting." Within seconds, the Chosen Sword began to flee with the swiftness she wished she had. She just wasn't as fast as Haruka - she's not the speed of the Legend Triad, and she regrets it so much right now more than any other time in the Reaper Invasion. Generation Rare took no time taking off to chase her and lifted her off the ground - Tomozo and Fuki carrying her. "Put me down!! Down, I said! H-Haruka, help me!" Her cries ranged from the dominant demands of a queen to a damsel in distress as she reached for her beloved with the evil captors taking her away.

"Don't worry, we'll return her to you later." Tomozo laughed. "Alright girls, let's go!"

"No!!" Yukino screamed. Alas... she was doomed.

Enma shrugged, Artorias scoffed, and they turned to Kishi. "Let us get to work. We need to prepare for detailed observation." Artorias informed his allies, sounding prepared to deeply evaluate the events that unfold very soon.

-

It took Aoi a... good deal of time to realize Fuwatan had run off, escaping her grasp. She was so absorbed in catching up with Fubuki, she didn't even notice. "Oh." She mewled, surprised but knew that pups must go with the wind - always moving from one place to the next... Somehow, Aoi understood the need to be free and wild like the energetic canines of today. Truly, she did not change and may have become more jittery than ever before. That aside, she nodded several times through her friend's explanation of Bashiro's horrible teaching. It sounds like they did make progress, but the goofball Hakaisha still didn't know how to be a good adult - much less a good teacher. "I'll have to get more details of your training soon. But yeah, let's sign up together! I'll race you!" Aoi clapped, and before anyone knew it, she was zipping toward the reception desk before stopping just short of running into someone. It was a girl with dark, navy blue hair in a school uniform that just happened to be walking that way. The other girl's head turned to Aoi...

... and the wind blew.

Aoi came to a bit of a screeching halt as she and Hana stared each other down. They both looked a bit confused while sizing each other up. Thinking one another to be harmless, they smiled and opened their mouths: "Nice to meet you-" Another pause. They both emitted some kind of cute noise in bewilderment. But instead of finding it awkward, they both grinned and Aoi began to bounce in place. "I'm Aoi!" "I'm Hana." The duo spoke at the same time, cheerfully greeting as two suns had a sort of meeting of fate.

"You look a little like someone I know, I think. It might be your eyes?" Aoi curiously tapped a finger to her cheek, crossing her arms underneath her generous bosom.

"Do I really look like my sister?" Hana responded, folding her arms and bringing her finger and thumb to chin.

"Oh, wait, Hana!! I know you! Well, I know your name! You're the Japanese Champion, Hana Espoir- huh?"

"Yes."

"Ooooo, you're Yukino's sister!"

"Right, I am! ... Geez, you not only look it, but you talk like you have a lot of energy too."

"I am filled with endless energy!!"

"Haha, that's adorable and really refreshing."

"... Ack! I need to sign up with Fubuki!"

"Go on ahead, we'll be seeing more of each other through the week, I'm sure."

"Yeah, and you'll see me with a trophy too."

"Hoho, confident? ... I like you, Aoi Undyne. You're bright."

"My friends say I'm not that bright though."

"I think they mean a different kind of bright."

"Oh?"

"It was good to meet you."

"Ah, you too!" Aoi gave a playful salute, beginning to jog to the registration area with her friend.

Hana and Aoi had their very first meeting, and Hana had nothing but smiles thanks to that radiant cheer.

A scream of absolute dismay brought Seifer's attention back toward the registration area, only to see Yukino get dragged off by the idols. He wished he could help her, but she was beyond saving now. Brushing his hair out of his face, finally having it stick to the side most likely due to him sweating, he turned his head back toward the dragon statue giving it a long stare. Why did he find himself so fascinated with this particular piece of decor? Trying to shrug the thought away, he turned, walking back toward the crowd which seemed to be mostly dispersing now. However, there was Haruka, and he seemed more gone than he himself was.

"Sorry for ditching like that. I just... needed to get away." he spoke an apology to his brother, placing his hand on his hip, thumb in his waistband as he came to a halt next to Haruka. The inebriated feeling he had before had all but left thanks to the water he'd had and him sweating, and with the loss of his impairment came the regretful thoughts of having ignored the people who seemed to know him. He didn't want to socialize, but that didn't mean he didn't have guilt. Noel had called him brother, Darren seemed to know him rather well, and even that Carlos fellow seemed familiar with him. Why? He'd never met them before, had he? He quickly scratched the back of his head in a show of annoyance and frustration, trying to wrack his brain around this only causing him a headache.

Xat watched yukio get dragged away and laughed. "See you later." she called before looking at the assossation. "I'll see you later." she said and walked away with kao on her shoulder. Once they were away shirayuki started to talk.

"Something big is about to happen,
we are not sure what yet, but we have a feeling it wont be good. We tried to use the looking glass but we couldnt see anything. Be on guard my avatar." Shirayuki told xat as kao looked at xat for directions. "So it seems my hunch was correct by attending this even i will gain some memoreis back and figure out what has been going on. the event and now this is to conventant to be a coincident. Be on the look out and report if anything trys to shift the balance." she said as kao smiled and shriayuki nodded. "As you wish." both kao and shirayuki said as xat smiled at her unit.

"You and the others becareful alright?" she said to her and with a nodd shirayuki dissapperd and xat walked into the hotel and up to her room.

After bumping into Hana, Neo walked all the way back to resort to see if he could bump into anymore of his old mates to catch up with them. He walked for what seemed to be forever around the resort but didn't notice anyone he knew. More like he saw everyone enjoying the great weather and great food. Then out of nowhere he heard a girl screaming from the distance. Wondering what was going on, Neo ran ahead to get a better view and then when he saw who was screaming.

"Let me go! Put me down! No!!"

It was none other then Yukino herself. Neo was tempted to run up and try to say hello to her but she was being carried away by a group of people. It put a smile on Neo's face seeing her very happy and enjoying herself. That is all Neo wanted everyone to be doing. Smile, Enjoy themselves and passionately play Vanguard.

After Neo watched Yukino scream while getting carried away, he decided to head back to the Hotel and to his room to prepare for the tournament since it seemed like no one else was around and everyone was busy.

"Disgusting..." Kishi scoffed once the screaming Yukino had been carried off by the idol trio, barely resisting the urge to spit on the ground. She hated idols- especially those like Tomozo, who acted without even an ounce of dignity- and she despised Yukino even more, even if she respected her enough to acknowledge her strength. Watching Yukino get tangled up in the idols' folly only made her headache worse; and the image of Yukino forced onstage wearing something skimpy and obscene, just to sate the peoples' carnal desires, made Kishi feel almost as sick as she had when she witnessed a Liberator player the previous week. She clenched at her stomach for a moment, doubling over in discomfort, before Artorias' mention of actually getting back on track brought her out of her it.

"Yes... Yes, let us be off. We're behind enough as it is, thanks to one particularly foolish man." Kishi shot another glare at Enma, just to make sure he knew how displeased she was with him.

"You'd be wise to stop drinking altogether if you can. You know how bad it can get you... after all --" Haruka stopped speaking as a wind blew past him. Voices exchanged and then, within mere moments it seemed as though the idol troupe who had been in charge of the entertainment of the area had not only invaded the lovely atmosphere Haruka had just come to be relaxing, but his wife was being whisked away to do... lewdicrous acts! ... Ludicrous, acts...

Haruka blinked from his drunken stupor and hopped off the table with all the intent of a man to stop the foul demons from their ridiculous idea of skimpily dressing his loved one for display of all those men and women to see. If Bashiro was one to ogle, so are many others and he was simply not ready to have to destroy that many people at one time for such a disgraceful act.

Unfortunately for the legendary Speed of the Triad, his feet setting place on the ground caused waves upon waves of nausea to infect his senses, causing him to instantly halt in place and grab hold of the table. He instinctively flinched, coughing a little and waving towards Yukino in a helpless fit to grab her hand which was sorely out of reach by several meters at this point. He slumped to the ground, his head resting eagerly on the edge of the registration desk to keep himself from vomiting... or worse. Seifer seemed to finally speak up after having vanished during the short time they spent at the bar.

Haruka regretted having gone to the bar now more than ever. He did not, however, feel any enmity for Seifer having left early. "Ah... goddammit... Stupid idol trash. I hope I never end up like that or something..." He caught his breath, turning to respond to his brother. "Well, don't let things like that bother you. Breathing room is important and it isn't always easy to get." Haruka waved a hand at Seifer, as if gesturing him to seat himself next to the incapacitated drunk. "I wanted to talk to you anyways. Tell me, what have you been doing the past couple of years?" Haruka was inquiring into not only Seifer's past, but specifically he had been spending his time doing in it. Despite his attention shift, Haruka still felt guilt lingering as he saw in the blurry distance the image of his wife being whisked off by Fuki and Koga, his fingers simultaneously digging into the dirt at his side in frustration. He could hear her calling for him and he just sat there befuddled.

Haruka's movement and actions suggested he was still heavily intoxicated. Not a good thing but, taking a quick moment he went nearby and requested some water and bread, and trotted back to his brother with both in hand placing them on the table.

"They'll help absorb and push the alcohol out of your body faster." he offered his help to Haruka, before tilting his head. What has he been doing for the past couple of years? That was rather broad but... "I gave up Vanguard not to long ago, but Yukino and Hana forced me to come here.
That's been within the last year, but... I've been going to school for psychology for the past..." he shut his eyes thinking for a moment. "Almost three years give or take a few months. Uh... other than that... not... to much I guess? There was your and Yukino's wedding, but other than going out for drinks every so often those are the only... really big things?" he responded, crossing his arms across his chest. But why would Haruka ask? "You were there for most of it, so why do you want to know? Just forgot or something?"

The Hakaisha brothers agreed to have the much needed talk with Carlos somewhere else, with Bashiro even suggesting the hotel. Even though he was ashamed to be so affected over something that happened two years ago. Nearly every person involved he knew overcame the traumas that may have been caused by said event, but still all his friends seemed to understand the way he felt, or at least they didn't blame him for feeling like that.

While Bashiro took the opportunity to sign Jessie, Tamotsu (Carlos' old friend Okuri with a new name) and himself up, Cero suddenly approached him while putting his hand on his shoulder. Carlos was prepared for the worst, recalling the time Cero knocked him down using whatever the hell he used to do it. However, the King surprised him with heartfelt encouraging words. Telling him that he brought him to the island with him for a reason, he also mentioned that he hoped that the Messiah Scramble event could work as a new beginning for him. "You did more than just save lives. You changed them" Were some of the words Cero said that also resounded the most in Carlos' head, recalling how the young man held on to his passion, his kindness and his always characteristical simplicity. Giving him a final encouragement to keep moving forward, the King left the registration area.

The beauty of those words left Carlos wondering. "Did I... Did I really change the lives of other people?" He kept asking himself, not paying much attention to the arrival of both Haruka and Solis, even though he managed to feel the intensity coming from the latter meeting with Yukino. There was surely something special about those two, but he couldn't remember clearly what it was.

Suddenly, Carlos found himself knocked down by what he believed to be the cutest sight in the world - Tamotsu himself. He surely was bigger than the last time he saw him. The nature of Okuri's reversion to the form of a normal canine was something that the young man didn't completely understand, but meeting him after such a long time was something he definitely needed. "H-Hey! Stop it! It tickles!" Said Carlos, laughing while receiving the best form of greeting - Lots of lovely licks all over his face.

After patting Tamotsu's head for a while, Carlos stood up from the floor ready to leave for the Hotel and have a the promised serious talk with the Hakaisha brothers. Jessie even instructed the young puppy to follow them, promising that he could tackle the young man even more in the meantime. However, an interesting development happened while he was preparing to get out - Tomozo and Fuki managed to catch and carry away a terrified Yukino. If he understood correctly, the Generation Rare trio were hoping to use her, eh, big assets in some sort of exciting show. Maybe he wasn't going to participate at all in the event, but now he sure was so damn happy to be there. What a time to be alive.

Hoping to be able to see that, huh, interesting show, Carlos followed both Bashiro and Jessie to the hotel. "Maybe... Maybe I'll need a drink or two after our talk..." He commented.

The young dog was clearly happy to see Carlos and ignored the man's pleas to stop for a minute or two more. Eventually Carlos stood up and Tamotsu did a few circles around him. His ears perked up as he heard Jessie's voice telling him to follow them. Turning his head to the sound of his boy he began trotting off alongside his friend. He had missed the whole commotion with Yukino in the middle of his greeting but something else caught the pup's eye as the Hakaishas and Carlos continued on ahead without him.

Two men were talking with each other, neither of whom Tamotsu had seen. And yet the young spirit smelled something familiar about the both of them. Both had white or gray looking hair and one in particular smelled like Bashiro. Of course smelling like Bashiro was easy to acheive since all the canine ever smelled on his older owner was alcohol. And given how much Haruka had had to drink it was an easy match. Seifer felt less familiar but there was still something there. Something that said it was good to investigate. As it always did with new experiences, the animal's nose led the way.

The blue dog cautiously approached the two and upon no sudden outburts closed the distance until he sat down squarly a few feet away in front of them both. The silver chutes of fur off his hind legs sprawled out along the ground with his tail as he did so. With a soft whine he looked up at the familiar strangers and stared at Haruka in particular with his head cocked at the side. He reached his left front paw up at about his face level as if he wanted touch the people in front of him, but the fact he didn't actually know them prevented him from comitting to the action.

Rations were provided, sponges and siphons for the alcohol in the form of wheat bread and some water. Haruka took a chunk out of the loaf, sipping down some water to flatten the mush and swallow. Rinse, literally, then repeat. He continued this process listening to Seifer explain his time over the couple years. While yes, he was correct that Haruka knew much about the ongoing affairs of his life, he never truly was given ample time to delve into the depths of his mind.

"You're telling me the things that you'd tell your parents or your friends at school." Haruka took another bite, this time speaking with a somewhat full mouth. "Tehh me abouhf whaff you'ff beehh doihh in...", he swallowed his food, then continued, "What are you feeling passionate about? Been taking your free time do? If you've given up Vanguard then... where does your free time go?" Haruka gulped down another few sips of water. "I sure hope you don't intend to tell me you spent all of it studying."

At first this statement sounded somewhat comical but in reality Haruka really feared for Seifer's social life and habits. If he kept going down such an anti-social methodology, he would definitely find difficulties in the future with adapting to the constructs of society. He wasn't expecting to turn the boy into an extrovert, but to at least get him interacting with the foreign and out of place.

Before him now stood, or rather sat, a dog. Silvery fur all over and curiosity stricken in the eyes. Haruka stared at the dog with some level of vigor. At first glance it was just a dog... but it had unique qualities. There was familiarity attached to it that Haruka was only somewhat keen on. The dog held a paw up into the air towards him, head cocked with ample interest in him. Haruka's eyes narrowed at the dog, placing the hand which was freshly clean of bread that Haruka just ate outstretched, ungloved. He stared at the dog and called out in a very human tone, "Who are you?" Not the tone one normally speaks when talking to an animal, but when conversing with other people. Haruka glanced at Seifer, then back to the dog wondering if Seifer himself was familiar with the presence either.

"I..." Seifer hesitated then sighed, scratching the back of his head and looking away. "I've just studied except for the few times I've gone to bars to drink. My school work is important to me, even if it drains everything I do... ...Even with all of this study I'm only barely passing,
so I can't afford a social life." he sighed shutting his eyes. That was the truth. The young man did nothing in his free time except study, study more, and paperwork. He felt as if that was his only lot in life right now. To work as hard as he could just to barely scrape by. That's part of why coming out to this tournament was something he was so against. "At least I'm succeeding with classes, even if it's just barely. With Vanguard, Hana and Yukino did nothing but wipe the floor with me. So like I said, I quit. I didn't see the point with a game that just made me frustrated. I couldn't have fun with it." He understood at least Hana's reasoning of having him come out here, which was more solidified with this statement.

"In truth Haruka, I don't... I don't know if I can even be successful for much longer at...
anything, this tournament not withstanding. The paper we're writing for class is my last chance but...
I can't bring myself to tell mom or dad, let alone Yukino or Hana. ...I don't want... people to be disappointed in me. I actually want to j-" he stopped noticing the animal as Haruka bent down. When did it get there? Who's was it and... why did his brother ask who it was? Regardless, there seemed to be a hint of familiarity even to him, which seemed to keep cropping up with people he met after coming here, people he's only met for the first time.

Crouching down, the silver haired young man held out his hand with the back of his fingers out, an attempt at showing he didn't mean harm. "...Haruka, I'm going to say something that sounds weird,
but why does everyone I come across act like they know me...? That Darren person, Noel... Someone named Carlos... They act like they know me, but I haven't met any of them... Why do they feel familiar somehow...?" his eyes seemed to grow distant as he spoke, almost sad.

Haruka had reached a hand out toward Tamotsu in curiosity to which the dog responded by placing his upheld paw on the man's hand. As if they were having a conversation, the man asked the dog who he was. As if trying to speak to him the dog calmly barked as he kept eye contact. His focus on Haruka was broken only as Seifer crouched and presented the back of his hand. Taking his paw away from Haruka's hand and setting it back on the ground, the canine sniffed curiously at the fingers before ultimately licking them a few times.

With that he stood and whined and barked again as if trying to communicate something but there was little to do about the language barrier here. Seifer was speaking but he couldn't understand anything but the few simple commands Jessie had drilled into his head after repeated struggles. He wanted to be friends with these men he ultimately decided. They seemed nice like Aoi's friend, though they were noticeably kebab-less.

He brushed up against Haruka's legs and looked off in the direction Jessie and the others had walked but seemed conflicted. He would look back at the men then back in the direction he knew he needed to be going soon or Jessie might not be happy with him. He wanted to stay and get to know his new friends though. The hard choices of a dog.

"Race?" Fubuki wasn't exactly pleased by this idea, but before she could voice any complaints, Aoi was already gone. Even after almost three years of training, there was simply no way that Fubuki would be able to keep up with Aoi. The difference in energy was simply too great. However, she decided to play along anyways and ran after her friend. At least until Aoi got distracted by someone else. Fubuki took this opportunity to walk the rest of the way to the registration desk, and simply wait for her friend to rejoin her.

Once Aoi caught up to her, Fubuki said two simple words: "I win." Perhaps it wasn't the fairest of victories but Aoi had been the one to challenge her only to be distracted almost immediately. Then she'd sign herself up - "Fubuki Kaiyo, Aqua Force." With that, she turned back to Aoi. "Well, it's only afternoon so I think we have some time before anything happens. I'm still kind of hungry... We should go find something to eat," she said, pouting a bit before continuing, "And you're paying, Ms. Food Snatcher."

Aoi finally caught up, and found herself devastated at the words Fubuki spoke: "I win". She didn't complain about the technicality of the victory, as she was a good sport and accepted that being distracted with Hana was why she lost. "Gaaah! How could I be defeated?!" The gumball cried, hands on her hand and fingers digging through her hair in frustration. "Fubupls has become strong..." The bubbly dummy whined, as if it had something to do with the potential growth her friend had gone through with Bashiro's training over the years. With some more whining, she conceded to paying for food and signed herself up.

"Aoi Undyne, Aqua Force!" She clapped, still excited nonetheless.