Ruined Seaside Mega Mall

Yukino turned to look out for Seifer, giggling over Haruka's remark. He didn't think she even knew what the word relax meant. How adorable- wait a minute is he implying something? Regardless, the queen waved back at the other duo. That... was Rosalia? She looked a tad different. Not horribly different like herself and others, but different. The girl grabbed Haruka's hand, or, well, he grabbed her's first, and she practically yanked him forward, rushing to her siblings.

"Hey you two!" The queen excitedly greeted.

See, she can be normal.

"Rosalia, that's... that's really you."

Yukino had to stop to take in that fact. The Chosen Sword didn't question it, as it was only a matter of feeling - knowing. It was definitely that same girl who had fallen asleep on Seifer in the coffee shop back when they all first met.

Raiden was about to sat down, but he made sure to first get the burger and fries that Mirai wanted. He was a man of his word and he did agree to buy her food... despite not understanding it at all. He then went to Xat and placed a card on the table. It had his contact information on it, a business card as opposed to a Vanguard card. "You can call me whenever you have something, or we can find a time to pool our knowledge together. I want to try and get Darren out of the darkness he is in without hurting him. I know a lot of people want that."

Xat picked up the card and put it away. "It won't be easy. The fool I warned him about it." she said as she sat down

There was a grin plastered on the blonde's face. He was a tad bit disappointed that Yukino seemed so calm about it, since he himself was almost in tears, Rosalia herself having done so... But all the same he was just happy. Actually this is something he wanted to happen for a while. For the four of them to just... Go hang out. "Yeah it's really her. I'll explain later, when we're both working." he actually looked exhausted, the backs under his eyes indicating as such, but his attitude said otherwise. "You guys wanna eat first, or go do something else?" he asked Yukino and Haruka. Personally he was starving, and earlier Rosalia's stomach had growled, so he guessed the same thing for her but... Well, it was a double date. The stupid grin stayed plastered on his face as he waited for the other couple's response.

Xateramusa's tone had a bit of bitter worry to it. He sat down in front of her with Mirai still able to sit with them if she so chose. "You sound worried for him," Raiden said as he looked at her with concern. "Just what is he to you? You seem very concerned for him so there must be a reason why."

Haruka was immediately yanked forward toward the other couple who seemed just as energetic at Yukino about seeing them again. Maybe Haruka should let his worries move aside and just enjoy the evening. There was really no reason to let his worries about his love life strain him if they're on a date now anyways.

"H-Hey guys! Evening to you all. Rose it's... Wow." Haruka nodded for a moment, regaining his composure, and giving his best butler bow to Seifer's love returned. Best to give his manners in the politest way possible. Yukino didn't love Haruka's formality, but it was something he adopted and kept as part of his own culture.

"It is really great to see you two again, and together at that." Haruka gave a great big grin.

Lambros and Savas simply gave mischievous grin, cackling and giggling at the young love sitting in front of them. It really was adorable.

"Maybe I should get a girlfriend, captain..."

"You know... same."

"Eat? Uh, sure, I mean, whatever the ladies wanna do. I'm up for maybe games at the arcade or eating or a movie or...."

Haruka began to aimlessly list mall activities. Excluding shopping. Haruka feared shopping for Yukino might be the ultimate task he never wanted to face. Ever.

Ever.

Rosalia was expecting more of a reaction, or some sort of tackle quite honestly, from the white-haired female. But, then again, Yukino was an Espoir, supposed to be fancy and proper and.. eh. Seeing Haruka was great too, though technically, Rosalia never got to talk to him too much before having to deal with the invaders. "Y-yeah, it's really me... It's... It's been a while, huh..." she answered quietly, not sure what else to say.

Up close, she got a better look at Yukino's new outfit, and it did suit her quite well. However, Yukino was, well, still Yukino. So Rosalia got to her feet before giving the other female a tight hug, as if to make sure she was still real. "Oneesaaaaaaaan!" She would have started crying perhaps, but Rosalia's stomach growled softly, ruining the moment. "... I'm hungry... Let's go eat~" she said instead, smiling as if everything bad in the past had simply never happened.

To be entirely honest, Yukino wasn't sure how to react. For once among rare occasions in life, something good happened beyond just Haruka or seeing Satoshi... Rosalia came back! Her... younger sister. No... Hana was... still gone too. It was a mix of relief, joy, deepening despair, and wanting to cry. She bit her lip, completely unsure of what to do, and... simply walked forward to the brunette girl and reached out, hugging her tightly. The grip even strengthened, unwilling to let the poor thing go.

Hikari was happy and miserable again.

"S-Sure... let's go eat."

"Hikari..." Ahmes raised his tone of concern. It was the first time Blaster Blade had even talked to her directly since she... changed. Even through distorted timelines, even in times that shouldn't exist, he was still her avatar - her friend. He knew... this must've been killing her.

I know...

Yukino finally let go of Rose.

Xat looked at her deck. "All I'm doing is repaying the favor that is all." She said while she heard her units laughing at her as Yukina spoke to her.

"Your not returning the favor your just to shy to admit you like him." She said as silver wolf chimed in.

"Yep and she will never admit it though about how much she misses him." He said.

Back with Xat she was red as her units continued to tease her.

He wasn't really sure how, or why, but he could tell something was wrong. Then it clicked. He got Rosalia back. Where was Neu and the others? He knew, almost completely, what Yukino was thinking. Maybe this was some kind of mistake to do this... ...In anycase... "Is there anything you guys want in particular? Barbeque, ramen, steak... Anything in particular?" Seifer just started listing off random things for them to go eat. Even with his cheerful outward demeanor however, inside, he started to slowly lose the actual happy feeling. What the others were seeing was a mask now. His thoughts were toward something else entirely now.

Raiden couldn't hear the units but he saw how red she became. He smiled lightly, seeing there was more to it than meet the eye. "Right, returning a favor," he said lightly, not teasing her like her units did. "What favor did he do for you? This guy seems to have a lot of friends. What kind of person is he?"

"I'm fine with any of that... actually is there a cafe anywhere nearby, I need a cup of coffee. Or two."

Haruka scratched the back of his head, taking a few long glances around the area as he began to start his search for a cafe or a bakery or just anywhere that served dark coffee. Maybe ice cream... it'd been awhile since Haruka had any sea salt ice cream. Maybe a year or so?

"I mean, yeah, anywhere is good. Actually, now that I think about it, I could really use a beef bowl or something... Mmm, that sounds really good actually."

Haruka began food daydreaming, oblivious of the tense atmosphere Yukino and Seifer shared, more just happy to see Rosalia back with the group and ready to finally eat something today. He's only had four cups of coffee and a bagel at the mansion so...

Yeah.

"He just helped me out once thats all you need to know." She said as she went and got food. She came back a few minutes later with just a salad and tea. "Darren is just a nice guy in general. Though he dose do stupid stuff some of the time." She said thinking back to the reversed incident.

"As long as we don't head into Smokey's, I'll... eat whatever."

No way in hell she's going back to the mafia's joint. Though, Yukino only now thought about how much junk she ate when she did eat. The rich queen in her would've been disgusted with just a commoner's "ramen". Though, that was back when she was on an infinite high horse. Now, the woman would probably tear through it, as she likely hadn't eaten in a good while. She never does.

Hikari was a bit busy focusing on clothing stores they passed by. While she adored this jacket, having more clothes never hurt. Having more clothes on top of that didn't hurt either. Making sure Haruka didn't escape, the snow angel leaned toward him while walking, grabbing his hand. He wouldn't have to pay, but the girl was sure he'd like to get paid for carrying her newly purchased wardrobe, right?

Considering the time frame they must have met for him to have not heard of her being a friend of Darren, they must have met just as the incident with the Reverse Fighters was happening. He couldn't assume or estimate anything past that. So she was familiar with that power as well... she even had spiritual powers. Maybe a cardfight would help him to better understand the parts of her that she was obviously hiding.

Raiden took out his deck, setting it down as he said, "This may be sudden, but I want to have a cardfight against you. Fighters can understand one another best in battle, so it will be the best way to better know one another. If we are going to be allies, we have to trust each other." He knew by looking she didn't trust easily. Hopefully this would help.

She took out her own deck and set down.

"I was thinking the exact same thing." She said as she placed her starter face down

Rosalia only nodded to the list of food options; she could eat just about anything right now, though she never understood how people could drink coffee. It was always so bitter, in her opinion. "Ramen sounds good then, I suppose~ Not sure how ice cream would taste afterwards, though. That would be nice... Ice cream and tea, or something." As she glanced between the three of her companions, Haruka, save for the brunette female herself, seemed to be enjoying their get-together more so than anyone else.

Was... something bothering Seifer and Yukino? Rosalia's smile faded slightly as she looked to her lover and her sister. Maybe its just... overwhelming since I came back from... nowhere?... She hoped that was the case; she just wanted everyone to be happy again. So, she took Yukino's free hand, and one of Seifer's, pulling the group forward as they walked. "C-come on~ Let's go find some ramen, and coffee for Haruka~ Maybe we can go look at that arcade then or something later!"

"Yay for food! Yummy yummy burger! Yummy yummy burger and some cute fries! Free food always tastes good! Hehe!" Mirai finally got her food she won from the cardfight. She had hoped that fight taught Mr. Thunder God Raiden to relax and not stress about his problems. The problem is always there, being able to take things easy and calm is the key to solving everything. Being oblivious does bring its advantages such as being able to ignore the tension and able to see things calmly.

She mentioned helping Raiden acquiring a unit that is capable of performing Legion but she has absolutely no idea how to begin. As far as she remembers, Light Saver and Purgation Breath were always there so she never really needed to find them. She found herself in a little problem but the food easily distracted her from it and will solve it... eventually

She noticed.

She already noticed. She was looking at the clothes and Haruka started to break into a sweat, as Rosalia began to mention something about ramen and ice cream. But all he could consciously keep his mind on was the fact he might be a bell boy for the remainder of this date if Yukino even drifted towards any of these stores.

"E-eh, ice cream and tea sounds fun, maybe a jazz lounge around here has that kind of order around." Haruka was making an obvious ploy of a suggestion to get them away from stores and into somewhere they can eat. Maybe even Seifer would enjoy that kind of meal too?

"Yeah, that sounds good. Or ramen. Whatever you wanna do Rose, er, Sei, er, either of you, yeah."

Haruka tugged Yukino somewhat further away from the store, gripping her hand as sweat began to bead on his forehead. This was a black ops mission in his head and he was in the warzone.

The blonde didn't really have time to think as he was yanked out of his thoughts of negativity by the brunette. Looked like food first. Wherever they ended up though... Seifer wasn't sure, he didn't see the name. But the choices on the menu were... All ramen? All kinds of ramen to. Specialties, exotics (if that were even possible), and some looked pretty high class. Others were the classics as well. Almost immediately, Seifer's stomach growled, and a bead of sweat formed, his cheeks turning red. "S... Sorry, I haven't been eating much as of late." he laughed a bit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Either way, he knew what he was going to order. Beef Ramen. The best kind in his mind.

Yukino's hand was taken by Rosalia and the queen turned thinking she saw the Princess. ... It wasn't her, it was still Rosalia. Hikari kept a smile on her face, trying not to worry anybody, but it hurt... The distortions were supposed to have ended but a few people didn't return. Her younger sister... Hana still wasn't around... All these people around the woman, yet the Espoir household never felt the same. It might not ever be the same, honestly. It wasn't fair to the returning brunette to be seen as a replacement either.

Two little sisters, that's what Hikari had. Rosalia was her own person.

Yukino also noticed Haruka sweating and trying to get away from the idea of shopping. That, or he didn't notice. Don't worry, he can relax for now. On the way out, however, there's a couple cute sweaters she saw. Some nice shoes... Oh, there was a jewelry store to the left at some point. The charm Yukino wore on her earring was still special, as it was given to her by Haruka, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a necklace with it too.

Oh, one of the stores is opening an early Spring sale.

Hmm...

Hearing stomachs growl got her mind off of those. Her own was quiet, thankfully.

"So Ramen, then ice cream?"

The battle was against Great Nature this time. It was a clan he knew of but not much. He fought it a few times before coming to this town. He respected the intelligence of the clan and those who used it. It didn't take long for Xat to show her skill with it either. At grade 1 she used a strong combination that allowed her to hit for a powerful number. The longer the fight went on the more skill she showed, hitting for strong numbers and defending well against his attacks.

Xateramusa showed her Legion, a 26k attack that gave power to a rear. Even after that, she retired a unit and drew another card, returning units to the deck. Raiden was hit with a critical trigger, almost getting hit with two at once. That was when it flashed in his mind. His Limit Breaks weren't enough anymore. He moved his units to counterattack, but that was when his excitement, he accidentally bumped his hand onto his drink, causing it to spill over.

Raiden tried to pick up his units, but some of the drink spilled onto his cards. It was unfortunate, almost devastating, but he didn't want to show Xat that he was upset. He picked up her cards as quickly as he could as he said, "We'll have to stop here. I don't think my deck will be able to work when wet. It isn't Magallanica." He wanted to make light of it but he needed new units now. There was no mistaking that. The units that brought about so many bonds for him were ruined, only a few surviving the calamity.

Xat saw the drink spilt and felt sad that his cards got damaged. When he handed her her deck back she put it away before taking his wet cards and examining. "There not that damage. If you dry it off it will look good as new just a little worn." She told him and placed his cards on a dry napken to let them dry.

"Ugh...working here is so boring."

Lua Konoha, the young girl studying to be a nurse, had to make money somehow to stay in her flat, and be able to fund her education to become her dream job. And what that required was for her to be the clerk in a ramen shop. It annoyed her to no end that she had to spend most of her free time here, but nevertheless, it paid the bills. It also helped her practice bedside manner, something she had been told by the school nurse was quite important in hospitals.

So few customers tonight, though...hopefully things would pick up soon so she could tend to their every need and get paid for it.

Raiden nodded, trying to dry them off, but the wear made visible marks on the units. They weren't legal to be in a deck any longer. "As long as I can tell what they are while face down, they aren't legal for a deck any longer," he said as he continued to dry them. Even though he knew they couldn't be used again, he respected and cared for his cards enough to take card of them. "I just need to get new cards. I've been needing to do that for some time now. With all my research, I haven't had time."