Beach

The brunette sweat dropped, looking to the side. Did he even want to fight? ...The last time he and Darren fought was... When Seifer was about to leave, and Darren was still Malice. ...Or that's the last time that they'd actually seen each other fight. Maybe? He couldn't remember correctly... But it seemed like they really wanted them to fight. He caved sighing. Maybe just one fight.

Hearing that he was going to fight Seifer, Darren had to think about it for a moment. He hadn't thought about his ability triggering if he fought Rosalia or Noel, but if it was Seifer it might happen outside of his control. He looked at his deck before he took a deep breath. Running from fights wouldn't help him to control this, and if he was going to do a Tournament, it needed to be under his control. Accidentally inflicting real damage onto an opponent would probably lead to a disqualification. Or was that even in the rules?

He set his deck down on the table as he said, "Alright, let's do it." He sounded eager, even if he was a bit nervous. He really didn't know what could happen but he needed to know, now or never.

Even before the fight started, Seifer had a really bad feeling. Not about winning or losing. Just... This fight in general. He knew if it got to out of hand, there could be a lot of people hurt. That's not something he wanted. But the girls had fought, and Rosalia was pushing him into one. He couldn't... really refuse could he? ...Even at the start of the fight, Darren would be able to tell that Seifer wasn't giving it his all. Even has his field filled up to max on grade two. He would at least make it look flashy. On his grade three turn, he had the option to ride Mordred... or Phantom Blaster "Abyss", and chose to ride Phantom Blaster "Abyss" instead of his avatar. He really didn't want to have this escalate to far. And not riding Mordred would of ended up showing, if anyone was paying attention well enough to his plays... That he wasn't trying to win it. He didn't want anyone to get hurt... And for that, he threw the match, but made it as flashy as he could.

As Seifer took a sixth damage, with it not being a heal, he quietly gathered his cards, putting them away. "Good game Darren." a smile, while genuine, wasn't honestly what he was feeling. No... Just a lot of bad memories, and he was trying his hardest to hide it all. That being said... The brunette stood, stepping out from under the shade of the umbrellas after putting a key on his towel. "When you guys are done I guess, it's shed number two-four-eight." when he turned to leave, a quick look... and his eyes were a dull violet. What had happened to him?

Darren's Metalborgs battled Seifer's Revengers.

The battle was not easy, though it wasn't just a battle of units. Darren had to fight with his own power. Upon riding Metalborg Uru Buster, he felt his power activate if only for a moment. In that moment he was able to see Seifer's aura. He knew Seifer had no battle spirit to him, no intention of fighting to win. Darren didn't have that luxury. His deck had lost to Neo due to him holding back and it wasn't even giving him the choice to do that again.

Darren rode Sin Buster. He had no other Grade 3 unit to Ride. He battled with what he had to the best of his abilities and he was even able to defend against Seifer's onslaught. In the end he was able to finish the game in his favor, but he saw Seifer' expression clearly. It had nothing to do with the fight. He knew that Seifer couldn't have liked seeing Sin Buster again. Seifer and Malice had history. He didn't expect the man to forgive and forget.

Darren looked down, looking at the Metalborgs. It wasn't their fault things happened like this, but they were still a major part of a lot of pain that happened as of late. They wanted to redeem themselves and Darren was giving them the chance. Still, he couldn't control the power they were bringing out of him. How could he? He looked up, seeing Seifer's eyes. Were they... the same?

The whole purpose of the Cardfights was to have casual fights... and it seemed to be a bust. First, her fight with Noel didn't quite go as planned, even if the pinkette did win in the end, but Seifer versus Darren seemed even worse. There was this heavy emotion between them that Rosalia just didn't understand. What happened when she was missing? She knew about some of what happened, since Seifer filled her in on a few things over lunch previously. But nothing was said about what may have happened to Darren. Throughout the entirety of the fight, it was clear her fiancé wasn't going full out, and even Darren himself seemed out of it...

But at the end, when Seifer walked away, what else could they do? It looked like their beach day was over... Rosalia lowered her gaze for a moment, casting only a glance at Darren and Noel before gathering up the towels, key, and such. She wasn't about to leave all of this stuff laying out, despite how much she wanted to go follow her fiancé. It was a lot to carry, and she would probably need their help if she didn't want to make more than one trip. "Hum... N-noely, I guess.. can.. can you go follow Seifer?... D-darren, would you mind helping me carry this stuff to the shed?... I-i'm not exactly where it would be, quite honestly, so maybe we can find it together..."

Darren's thoughts were brought back to the present time when Rosalia asked him to help with the things around. The least he could do was help with everything. He picked up his cards to make sure nothing happened to them before standing up. He looked at the things around and started to grab what he can.

As he was picking up different things, he realized that Rosalia was probably the one person who had no idea what the Metalborgs meant. He gave a sigh as he knew he would have to say something. "Hey Rose... sorry today didn't have the best ending. Its my fault... using those units probably wasn't good for Seifer to see. Probably the same for Noel..." His tone definitely said that he was blaming himself for everything.

Rosalia looked to Darren as he spoke for just a moment, though immediately looked away again as she gathered the rest of their stuff. It was a lot to carry, so hopefully the shed wasn't far, but they could do it with just the two of them. The only really big things were the umbrellas and boogie boards, but the boards you could carry by the cords, and the umbrellas had straps to carry over one's shoulder. "It's not your fault... If anyone is to blame, it's my fault for having you two fight... I didn't know anything had happened between you guys..." Which was the truth. She knew nothing about why Darren's deck was Metalborgs, or why his eyes briefly changed to violet during the fight. Yes, she was watching. Something just didn't feel right, and it was her fault... and now Seifer was wandering off somewhere, hopefully not going to get himself into trouble, and she was the one to blame. She made them fight, thinking it was all for casual fun with girl versus girl, and guy versus guy...

"I should be to blame for a lot of things, because I just wasn't around to help anyone... Seifer looks like he's been to H*ll and back three times over, Yukino nearly killed me with hugs when I first came back, and now..." The pinkette sighed, glancing at her deck box. "I keep preaching about just moving forward, to fight for a future where we can all be happy again. But I don't know my own purpose for even coming back..." She didn't know what the light was that she saw in both her dreams, and in resonance with her deck. She doesn't know how she returned from Deletion anyways...

But, even without answers, she had to move forward somehow, or else she would be stuck forever. Taking a deep breath, the female started walking to find storage shed number two-four-eight, according to Seifer. "Whatever the reason, I'll figure it out in time... somehow... Everything will be alright in the end, so until then, I just have to work at getting stronger for Seifer, Yukino, Noel, the Resistance... And when my time comes, then so be it. I'll be ready, whatever it may be..."

Darren frowned as he listened to her. She was confused, she had every right to be. Still, this wasn't her fault. She wasn't to blame at all. If anyone was at fault, it was him for having this power and not having control over it. Rosalia needed to know that so she wouldn't blame herself.

"Its really not your fault," Darren said to her. "You're like a ray of sunshine to Seifer's gloomy day. Don't talk like you're not important here." He sighted for a moment before he continued on. "In the time you were gone, a lot happened to me. I won't go into much detail but in the end I got taken over by something bad and I almost destroyed everything because of it. I'm part of the reason things are like this now, so I have to work to do something about it. Seifer... battled me when I was like that. He... I used Metalborgs at that time. Funny that I'm using them now, huh?"

He walked with her as he took a deep breath. He smiled to her and said, "We can't change the past though. Best we can do is move forward and work with what we've got. Me with this Metalborgs, you with your new Angels. We do our best and its all gonna work out."

Rosalia continued walking during Darren's explanation, figuring out where the storage sheds were kept at the beach. She didn't want to be lugging around boogie boards, umbrellas, and towels forever, but she listened to every word that her companion spoke. So something really did happen between Darren and Seifer, or really between Darren and Umano. It was almost like how Neo was blaming himself for being one of the starting points of Reverse. Everything terrible seemed to be happening to her friends...

"Yeah, I guess you're right.. Just gotta.. keep going forward.." She paused when she eventually found the shed, unlocking it with the key Seifer left behind, and piled in all the stuff from their beach excursion. The only things she kept was a small pink bag she picked up at the shop, which had her clothes, phone, and deck in. She needed to find the beach changing area again before heading back to Umano. "Thank you for helping me with the stuff, Darren, and.. thanks for filling me in a bit. If you ever wanna fight, I wouldn't say no. We're both kind of stuck with new-ish decks, so I think we both need the practice for what's to come, like that tournament happening soon... I'm gonna see about changing before finding Seifer, so you can head back to Umano before me if you'd like."

It seemed the cardfights were a bad idea at the end of it. Noel wasn't expecting the end results to turn out the way they did. Who wouldn't though? It was such a great day to and to end it like that kinda ruined the moment. Rose asked her to check on Seifer while they started packing things up to take to the storage area. Noel did so without a word as she was curious if he was okay. Darren's Metalborgs simply brought bad memories so Seifer must of felt the same about them. I wonder why Seifer held back though...

Noel followed Seifer and caught up to him, "Hey, is everything alright?"

By the time Noel would of caught up, Seifer had already changed into his regular outfit... Long coat and all. However... When she would of caught up, he was in the middle of... a fist fight? Actually from the look of things, he'd been jumped by a gang of people, four? Five? Around that. In any case, it looked like it was thankfully over, with Seifer's victory... With his fist meeting the face of the last standing gang member with a rather satisfying crunch, sending him flying backwards. The others were already on the ground, unconscious. His shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath, stumbling forward with the rest of the momentum of the swing... Managing to catch himself before he fell. The brunette took a few steps forward, trying to get away from the place when he heard Noel speak. He stopped... turning slightly, his violet eyes still a bit dull, a busted lip... and blood running down from his nose. Somewhere in there, he came back to reality a bit, running the side of his thumb under his nose to wipe away the blood.

Darren placed the remaining items into the storage behind her. He smiled slightly as he felt like he has a little bit of help through things. That was good. He closed his eyes for a moment as he felt them return to normal finally. When they opened they were their normal shade. "Anytime, Rose," he said to her as he gave a wave. He could go back to Umano now, in fact he probably should, but it was best if he went off on his own first for a little while. He couldn't train his ability with just anyone so he would have to do it alone. "I'll cardfight you anytime you want. Go see how Seifer's doing. I'll be alright on my own." His words said he had no intention of going back to Umano just yet.

Rosalia only nodded slightly, waving as she took her leave. The first destination was obviously the closest changing area at the beach, changing back into her white dress, thigh-high black boots, black shawl, and Seifer's crimson scarf. The bathing suit had dried out during the fights and snack break, so she had no worries putting it into her pink bag with her phone and deck. However, as she left the changing area, the pinkette could only sigh to herself and stare out at the ocean.

Everything was a mess with the world... The Resistance was pretty much the world's only hope against the Reapers. They all had huge responsibilities; Yukino was the leader of it all, with everyone trying to shoulder as much weight as they could against the invaders. And Rosalia... Rosalia just returned from Deletion, somehow. She wasn't there to help her friends through the trials, and there was still more to go. She had to get stronger for their sake, but what was it that she said before?... Maybe I'm not a fighter after all. I can play medic I guess. Yeah, that was it... But what gave her the qualifications to help others, when she didn't know much of anything except for basic first aid? They could all die during this invasion! How good would she be to help out the others if she knew so little? There had to be another way...

The female reached into her bag, pulling out the white deck box and flipping it open to show her avatar. Overdose Celestial, Asmodel... Just what is it that I'm supposed to be doing?... As if in response, that same light appeared again from her deck. Her deck was in her hand, and yet, the light seemed so far away. The warmth was real though, something familiar, but she couldn't figure out what it was. All she knew is that the warmth spread from the tip of her head all the way down to her toes. It felt... safe... something she wished everyone could feel again. Even after the light faded away, the feeling remained for a bit longer, as Rosalia finally started walking again. She didn't go far, merely sitting down on the closest bench while still at the beach. She had to find her fiancé, but why not cheat? Putting her deck away, the pinkette grabbed her phone instead, and sent the male a text.

Hey hun. Got the stuff locked away in storage. Where'd you go?... ~Rosie

Noel just saw a group of supposed gang members all get beaten up by a single person. That single person being Seifer. She was surprised and not surprised at the same time. She knew he was strong but to take out an entire group was kinda amazing to watch. "Jeez, really? This day really went downhill huh?" Noel sighed and felt a little disappointed on how this day ended up. Went from good to upsetting in an instant. "I guess I have no choice, come here so I can clean up that bloody face of yours. We don't need Rosalia to find you like this." Luckily she had brought her little purse which so happened to have some napkins and other useful things.

She had a purse? Holy... Sighing the male checked his phone first, replying to Rosalia before making his way over.

'Shopping Area.' that's all it said. Short and sweet.

Stepping in front of his sister, he'd just let her do her thing with whatever she had. He wasn't going to win out in an argument in case he tried to run. He knew that better than anyone else. "You should really change once we're done here. People are starting to stare. But it's probably cause I just... Got into a fight."

The pinkette had started humming to herself as she waited for the reply, and got to her feet as soon as her phone buzzed. Shopping area, huh? What would he be doing over there after the fight with Darren? She only shrugged to herself before making her way. As Rosalia got closer to the area, however, she noticed some bystanders whispering about some fight that just finished. Cardfight?... No, a fist fight. She immediately frowned, having a good idea on what may have happened, and caught ran all the faster. It took no time at all to see what people were staring at. Noel at least found Seifer, which was good, though it seemed even she was a tad late in arriving. Ignoring all the gawking eyes, Rosalia waltzed right up to her fiancé and sister-in-law, one hand on her hip, the other over her pink shoulder bag-purse-thing. She didn't speak, but wasn't exactly mad either. She just didn't have any words save for a quiet sigh, and let Noel treat the brunette's face. Hey, at least he's alright, mostly...

Noel finished cleaning up the blood from Seifer's face. Last thing she wants is to give an explanation to Rosalia as to why he got his face all bloody. Now that Seifer mentioned it though... Noel forgot to change back to her regular clothes. She was still in her bikini while in public... oh no. The girl started to turn red in embarrassment, sensing people staring at her. This is the beach though! Maybe they were staring because of the fight. But maybe they were staring because of her. Not good either way. "I... uhh, I finished up her, I'm gonna go change, people are staring!" Noel nervously started walking back to where they were to find her clothes and then go to whatever was the nearest changing room so she can get dressed.

Darren had finished dressing. He was about to leave when he got a flash. His eyes went purple as Sin Buster appeared to him. He was on one knee to Darren.

"The tournament is soon to start. Are we prepared?"

"As ready as we're gonna be..." Darren muttered.

"And your friends?"

"Just take me to the stadium. I need some time to concentrate."

Sin Buster nodded, placing Darren in his hand. He began to fly towards the stadium. Meanwhile, he had his eyes closed in Meditation, attempting to focus his powers and his energy. He needed control.

As Noel left, Seifer's attention turned to his fiance. ...He... Just looked down, until his phone buzzed again. Registration forms for the tournament? Alright. Might as well turn them in. He first glanced up at Rosalia, before looking down and away again, disappointed in himself. It was obvious he wanted her nearby though, even as he left to go turn the forms in.

Rosalia watched Noel go, realizing she was having another bout of embarrassment because of her bikini. She really did look nice in it though... Anyways, when she looked back to Seifer, the brunette avoided her gaze. A frown formed on her lips in response, but their phones buzzed with the tournament information. Still, she didn't speak, as she followed him out of beachy frying pan and into the oven.

Noel finally made it back to the beach where they were and found her bag that had her clothes in it. She quickly made it to the nearest changing room and finally changed back to her regular clothes. Noel noticed everyone left, probably to the tournament stadium. I might as well do the same! I need to hurry!

Noel ran off the changing room and went towards the tournament stadium

After dropping off the injured at the hospital Xat and Riko walked down the beach each in there own thought. Xat was feeling really down that she couldn't do anything and wondered why things like this had happen. SHe soon sat down near the water letting the water flow agenst her feet while Riko sat next to her.

Xat closed her eyes while leaning her head on his shoulder. In her mind she saw the twin towers however yet there was a warmth that surrounded her, protecting her from the twin towers. 'It is not yet time for you to despair, from the ashes people will rise with new determination. Now rise up and finish your training.' A voice said and before Xat knew it she was away from the twin towers and was in a place she never knew. the voice spoke up again. 'this is the boarder a place where you were born. You are able to acess this because the spirit part of you, which is the shaman is able to access it. It is here we will contune training.' It said as a table was placed in front of her.

On the outside Riko tried to get xat to wake up but she wouldn't, and he quickly rushed her to the hospital hoping to the god that she will be alright.

The sound of crashing waves was all that filled the eve as Mizumi lay in the sand, staring at the stars. Her skull was nearly piercing with pain, as if a sword was trying to dig its way through the bone as methodically and tediously as it could. She was trying her best to reflect it, but soul resonance doesn't work against a non-physical force, anyways.

"Could you please just not right now...!"

She squirmed a bit, fighting it. Mizumi even popped a few painkillers for it to cease but this strange headache kept coming back until the point she thought she might even pass out or die altogether... Her brain couldn't keep up.

Memories began to flood back. The vivid images of Amon and the incarnates of devils laughing in monotonous high-pitched screeches. Incubi and succubi alike... It was the Dark Irregulars.

Reijy and his Witching Hour crew were around as well, specifically eyeing her down---

Her...?

Mizumi gulped, and began to sweat. Her body felt... strange. As these images ran through her head, she felt a sort of strangling in her throat and a level of masculinity overcome her. Not by touch, no...

The sweat began to drip. She laid on the beach in the evening, with nobody around. She wanted to... investigate something. She...

Groped herself. Even took a peak below the belt to make absolute sure of something. Her eyes opened wide, she would've screamed if she didn't already feel the clamp on her throat from these images. All that came out of her mouth was,

"Holy shit, I was a dude?! D-Does that mean I'm gay?"

She was... panicking about the completely wrong things. She texted Satoshi a few moments after coming to the realization this body was false, she was actually a man!

Maybe she was a trans? N-No, then what's in her pants wouldn't be so anatomically correct...

SATOSHI, I THINK IM GAY, HELP -mizumixx

Well that was out of context.

Ah, yes. The beach. The place they first met, and for some reason he couldn't quite put a finger on, shared a dance. Of course it would be this place Mizumi would be waiting for him at. Or, more accurately, freaking out about...being trans? Remembering things? What could that possibly---

Satoshi stopped for a moment. Sakuya acted similarly impulsive and strange when she got her memories of her past back. Did that mean Mizumi...was also a seed of some sort? Well, if she was, he would know from whatever it was she was going to rant to him about.

Coming behind her in the sand, he put a hand on his love's shoulder. "So, trans?..." Obviously, she had a lot to explain, at least from what she could remember.

She darted to her feet, immediately wrapping her arms around Satoshi. Despite her texts sounding ludicrous and strange about transexuality, she was actually sobbing and uncontrollably hugging herself, terrified of the memories she was receiving. Her grip around Satoshi was tight, as she cried into his shoulder, mumbling insanities relative to her little "trans" memory, but also all of the things she... as Amatsuki, had faced. The world crumbling to pieces before her very eyes. The grip on her throat. She was crying but she could barely speak.

"I... I'm so scared... I-I c-can't b-be this way!!"

She was spouting what sounded relative to nonsense... no wait, it was nonsense. She was being so vague that even she was unsure of what she was talking about sometimes. Her body trembled violently.