Espoir Mansion

Yukino wanted to say for once she wasn't thinking about attacking Haruka and just wanted to enjoy partying and celebrating, even this little breakthrough of finally getting her trust. ... Pffft, yeah right. She was always thinking about that. She gave a little smile, mewling again over the enjoyable petting. He's exhausted and it was kind of her fault for keeping him up with her stubbornness and fears. Yet, somehow, she felt he didn't want to be kept up with another series of apologies. Maybe he isn't that tired and they could fool around just a little bit, just to further irate her father like she knows he is. Maybe just to "vent" more.

"Hmm... Let's see..." Exculpate tried to lure him into bed by slowly shifting the tone of her voice. It wasn't one-hundred percent ready to seduce, but there was an attempt. Surely, someone would be proud of that.

Cerdic is.

"You go get some rest." She caved into not going at it like a bunch of animals for once. "Buuut... A little after you wake up and I happen to be here... We can properly wrap up our 'celebration'." Yukino suggested, reaching to kiss his lips again. The Chosen Sword is starting to feel safer, just a little bit safer. Like Hana isn't breathing down her neck and Harbinger isn't laughing at her outside of the black box.

"I love you... and thank you, Haruka."

Go... rest?

Excuse me?

"... I-I mean, sure. Yeah, if you're here when I wake up, I wouldn't mind... y'know. Just remember to tell Dad to wear headphones---"

Haruka already called him Dad. That was weird. It sort of just slipped out, but apparently he had already sort of identified Mr. Espoir as a father figure. Probably because of how hard he worked Haruka and shaped him into something more imaginable as far as men go.

He let he take that one last kiss, and gave a small bow, like a butler as this estate should.

"I love you too, Yukino. And don't go thanking me just yet. I haven't even done everything I promised yet."

He walked up the stairs towards the mansion quarters, prepared to take a nice long slumber. Little did he know... he immediately went to Yukino's room. He slept in there more than his own room anyways.

Well. 'Slept.'

Yukino... sighed deeply, full of frustration. Watching him go, eyes fixated on his back and just the sheer form of his behind made her realize sending him to bed was a terrible mistake. She should've gone all out with him for the night. Goddammit, now she's going to be stuck with this wanting feeling until she got back and he woke up. She remembers when she returned from Cray after two years without Haruka. Quite frankly, the singularity point has lost her mind on some occasions Ezel didn't want to speak to anyone about. Ahmes of the non-altered timeline and Yunos agreed wholeheartedly.

"Mistress?" Butler-san called out to her, approaching.

"What is it? I'm about to go out."

"We... um... We have been requested to not allow you to go out in that shirt by your father."

Because it's full of holes and indecent.

"... This shirt is a national treasure on par with the Blaster Blade of the Holy Nation. If I give this to you, I better see it in one piece and also keep these holes open, or..." Yukino spoke highly of Haruka's destroyed shirt, then menacingly of what will happen to the entire staff if something is found wrong with it if she has to give it up. Butler-san began to sweat nervously, wondering how this happened. He encouraged their relationship, but the queen of such graceful status... obsessing over her lover's clothing. He shuddered at the thought of Yukino sneaking into the room they let Haruka use, find his dresser, and...

"A-Ahem! I assure you, we will not damage it! ... Further? A-Anyway... We have understood the circumstances behind your ability to summon the King's jetpack, and had several tops fashioned to accommodate for the places it took up. It shouldn't open any holes, but the tops themselves are rather... small." Butler-san got his mind out of the gutter, or at least tried to in order to make sense of things. Then, the amazing prowess of the Espoir staff pulled through with a solution so Yukino doesn't blow up a bunch of shirts without having to keep wearing the same one. This was before they even got to measure her close-up where the jetpack stemmed from. Exculpate beckoned them to bring it, and it was as he said: a rather small, white shirt. Borderlining a sleeveless crop top. Wasting no time as to hurry and get back to work, she changed into it and it... definitely felt more than she would've liked for something to stick with. It revealed a nice amount of cleavage Haruka might be a fan of, and was cut high at her back to give her two lower jet wings room, just barely showing a hint of her navel at the lower cut front. She bit her lip over how it felt like she wasn't wearing much, so used to dresses and vests in her time. Even if those dresses were revealing, it didn't show her stomach.

Taking a step back, the queen took things for a test run. The Power of the Meister kicked in without needing to recreate the armaments, blue appendages of light stretched outward from her back, and took solid form as Alfred XIV's jet. With a quick flaring from each wing, they vanished. She turned, and everyone was very pleased with no holes in sight.

"Excellent work", Exculpate praised the staff, smirking with pride over her employees. They clapped and gave themselves a pat on the back, and Yukino even offered them all raises!! The clapping got louder then. "Now, I'm off. I'll be back soon. Don't let Father get close enough to kill Haruka."

"Ma'am, we'd have to remove someone from the house then." Butler-san stated.

"... Try not to let him die anyway."

And she was off.

Fuzzy in the head, Haruka awoke... on the floor. At least the carpet of the room was rather comfortable, but he was weary that waking up on the floor could mean a lot of things---

Riigggghtttt. He came home from the bar with Yukino, she ended up going out to do things, and Haruka went straight to bed. The issue was, he ended up getting so tired by climbing up the stairs, with no sex drive to keep him awake he ended up passing out next to the bed before he could even climb onto it.

Clamoring the bed for support, Haruka stood up, took a whiff of the "being awake" air, and traversed to one of the many bathrooms in this labyrinth of a house and took a nice long shower. The water felt good, his muscles literally aching from combat and sleeping on the floor (mostly the latter), now getting a chance to smooth out and relax under the warmth of the shower head.

"Guess she never came home aftewards... Maybe it was a really important thing. Considering she didn't come to bed...."

"Considering how fast she left, it was, sir."

Haruka nearly jumped a full ten feet in the air when he heard somebody else's voice in the shower room. It was Butler-san, coming back with a fresh outfit to place just outside the glass shower door.

"Are you alright sir? I heard a thud!"

Haruka climbed off the floor of the tub, easing the back of his head.

"She left fast, eh? Is she okay?"

"Should be, yes."

Haruka nodded, from within the distorted glass shower.

"Thank you."

Butler-san gave a nod back, unknowing Haruka already did, and left the premise of the bathroom. It wasn't that Haruka was particularly worried about the situation, but it was strange that it wasn't something she couldn't easily take care of and just come home. Maybe she had a lot of errands to run. Haruka resumed his shower undisturbed, for the most part.

Aglovale helped Haruto onto a bench, the boy was facing the floor as he sat down, unsure what to think of the situation. He was still bothered by Sera but he had realized what kind of path revenge can put him on...how could he trust himself anymore after what he had almost done...

"...What am I to think...." he thought.

Percival stood in front of the boy and placed his hand on Haruto's head, "You need to see this..." he said, as images started to fly within Haruto's head. These images were of the final battle that Tsubasa had against Glendios, where most of the details were shown, and then another image was shown it was of Sera after Haruto had left the outskirts that one time. Haruto could finally hear everything Sera said to his brother....

As Percival let go of Haruto, the boy was now still facing the ground except this time tears were flowing from his eyes. Even Aglovale was on the verge of tears after seeing Haruto like this, he may not have seen the same images that Haruto was shown by Percival but he felt their impact.

Haruto pulled out his phone and saw that he was given notifications to head to the Umano Underground Slums and then the location was changed to the Espoir Manor.

"....I appreciate it..." he said, as he stood up and began walking towards the Espoir Manor. Percival and Aglovale both nodded as they returned to Haruto's deck in a flash of blue light.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Haruto arrived at the Espoir Manor, he entered the mansion and stood next to the door, facing the ground as he pocketed his hands and began his wait for whoever wanted to see him.

"....I should leave this place soon..." he thought, as he looked at the mansion where he trained with Yukino after the events that stole his brother.

After being told to go to the Espoir mansion by one of the soldiers ordered by Yukino. He wondered why they were bringing it here, then decided against asking that question as it was probably obvious. Walking alongside the pinkette he was usually with, the brunette had his hands in his pockets... noticing Haruto and waving lightly after pulling one of his hands out. Where had Haruto been exactly? He'd texted him to return to Umano but... Oh well, he was here. Thinking about it though, could he of gone to see Sera? That was always plausible... Anyway, what Seifer was most worried about... was Father Espoir. What would he say?

Humming to herself, Rosalia tried her best to remain positive when she and her fiancé reached the mansion grounds. Actually, now that she thought about it, when was the last time she was here?... Oh right, the whole being Deleted/disappearing act. That was a thing... Hopefully Father Espoir wasn't going to kill her, or Seifer...

At the door, however, she spotted Haruto, and immediately walked up to his side with a small but bright smile. "Heyo, Haruto!~ It feels like a while has passed already since you've helped me in the park.. I just wanted to say thanks for that, and hope that you've been alright lately." She was happy at least, and hope that everyone could find some sort of strength to continue forward. That's what this training was for, right? Both Seifer and Haruto were going to learn about using the blades of vanguard? And the pinkette was going to just act as healer on the side to keep them going. Lord knows that they needed as much training as possible for whatever upcoming battles awaited them.

Haruto was approached by Seifer and Rosalia, he did not expect to see them here at this time but then again they were part of the Espoir family at this point in time.

"Glad I could help, it's great to see you two are doing well." he said, trying his hardest to smile, the boy was feeling rather broken and confused.

"I was told to come here instead Seifer." he said.

He was genuinely happy to see them both together again, with smiles on their faces but his situation took a severe toll.

A long time ago, Hana had invited multiple friends over to a small training room for Vanguard back during the War of Liberation. The Chosen Sword took a few moments to... think about the past. She thought she had gotten over it, but the only thing she couldn't put out of mind was the vanishing princess. The spirit haunting her... Yukino had to live with it. Just make her proud by killing the Reapers that plague her, and leave behind her own talent - the ability to fight with real weapons to understudies. Proof of progression - proof that her enduring wasn't in vain, and several found prowess through evidence of her moving forward.

"Uh..." Yukino let out a confused sigh, standing in the now expanded training room. There was no fight table, and it had been converted to a large, white room. In this crisis, it was modified for honing physical skill. While the princess would not like it, the queen thought it necessary. Her worrisome red eyes gazed upon the barren land of the training space. Then, they closed. She stood still, then opened them with the resolution Yunos imparted into her heart. Bravery and Determination - the Blasters of Fate engraved emotion that helped her keep going. Her best friend: Ezel had finally returned as a beacon of light.

Nothing will go to waste.

Exculpate came out of the training space, walked downstairs, and saw those she called.

"Haruto, where have you been? The Chosen Sword opened with, approaching them.

Espoir Mansion... It had been so long since Neo had been here.. Back then Neo knew no one and had no friends, but then Hana and Yukino were nice enough to invite him one day and thats when he started meeting people. But he knew why he was here.

Neo walked inside and noticed Yukino, Seifer, Rosalia and Haruto already here.

"Hey everyone" Neo said

Neo had arrived as well, it seemed like this meetup was not just an ordinary family get together. The boy waved to Neo as he walked in still trying to keep attention away from himself, except Yukino had to put him in the spot the minute she saw him again.

"..Nowhere special, nothing you have to concern yourself with." he said, his head still tilted towards the ground, he genuinely did not want to talk about what happened, at least not yet...

"Why did you ask us to come here?" he asked.

He honestly had no idea why he was brought here, normally the resistance is only brought together for Reaper attacks or something of the sort.

Seifer remained quiet, looking up at the mansion that had become his home. What had happened to lead up to this, to him being here now as he was? ...Well the catalyst for it all might of been when he first came here, during the War of Liberation... When he had Great Nature. How did he even have that clan to begin with? There was no real connection to it, so why did it come to him? Originally he was a Kagero player right? Or wait... No, that wasn't right... Shadow Paladin? Seems that both lives of Seifer, the one from the alternate timeline, and the one from this one were still there and memories from both lingered.

Giving a mental sigh, he tore himself from his memories long enough to see Neo show up, then looked toward his older sister waiting for what was to come.

Rosalia tilted her head slightly, watching Haruto with a curious gaze. Was he feeling alright? Even if he wasn't physically exhausted, he seemed to be so mentally. Unfortunately, mental pain wasn't something that her affinity could treat. Hopefully the training would help the Gold Paladin user keep his mind busy.

And look, Neo joined them too. This was a nice little get-together, if it wasn't for the fact that everyone except she (and Neo) would be swinging swords around. "We're supposed to be training, Haruto~ Yukino-oneesama, if I'm correct, is going to be teaching you and Seifer about using vanguard swords. Neo is here for... training too, but I'm not sure how that's gonna work... Oh, I'm here to play medic for the whole "let's swing sharp things around and try to stab each other with them" part."

Hoping that she covered most of it simply enough, the pinkette turned to Seifer, kissing his cheek lightly, then glanced to her sister-in-law. Or well, future sister-in-law. The marriage part hasn't exactly happened yet. "I think we have everyone? Ready when you are~"

"Indeed, as Rose says, I've called you all here for training. Haruto, you especially I need to crack down and start plummel- err, start honing your ability with Paladins generally. I believe in mastering the steel and might your clan has, the more powerful you and they are collectively. I'm not going to pry yet, Haruto, but I'll get the answer out of you soon enough", the Chosen Sword answered the boy's inquiry for why they were all gathered, seeing that everyone was accounted for. Even the medic who's going to be the boys' salvation from a brutal beatdown in the name of "getting stronger". How she became emotionally strong was going through Hell and back between timelines. Now, to become physically strong, the boys would build up their endurance. The perfect training logic.

Exculpate rose her fist over her heart, and Alfred's jetpack was summoned to her back, not damaging her new, smaller shirt. White armaments of gauntlets and greaves were equipped, the Sword of Courage: Blaster Blade was summoned by the Meister, and she took it up in he rhand. "I will be training you three in the art of actual weaponry and combat. While Seifer asked me personally, I feel it will be better for you overall to not have to rely on solely your units for combat. You have fists and will, so put them to use instead of using only your voice to cheer on your comrades." The Meister explained the reasoning behind the desire to grant them this power, and why it was generally useful. Her expression was stern, being very clear on how she will train them and force connections to be established between their units to summon steel. Instead of sitting back, watching everyone else fight, they would fight beyond cards as well as a skill to hone.

"While I'm not exactly outfitted with knowledge beyond blades, I believe I can create gauntlets from Narukami for him. Then, it is a simple matter of learning martial art. All of you, pick one of your signature units. I will give you their weapons, and we will forge connections for all of them."

This is evidence that nothing she's done was in vain.

Passing down the art of fine Cray steel.

The brunette returned the kiss to the cheek from the pinkette before turning to see Yukino summon her armaments. A bit excessive in showing what she meant, but it got the job done nonetheless. Though... "You already have mine." Seifer replied, putting his left hand in his pocket, glancing behind him at the group. He knew Haruto was going to be joining them for sure, but Neo was a different story. Wouldn't of it been better to go to Bashiro for this? Oh well, no matter.

Neo was listening to everything everyone had to say. He was ready to start his training to be ready for future reaper attacks. Ever since Neo had recieved Knuckle Buster, he hadnt used the deck at all, so training seemed like the best thing for now.

Plus since everyone else is here, I can use this time to catch up with everyone" Neo thought

"The unit I choose is this one" Neo said as he showed Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster

As Yukino continued to explain her plan of crushi- I mean training them, Haruto simply leaned to the wall and continued listening, he had let out a mental sigh of relief as to how she ignored the subject she almost started, not that there was going to be a situation where he would have to tell her anyway. Now the focus was on choosing a unit to form a connection with for the weapon...

"..I see..." he thought, as he began thinking about the situation. "Percival had shown me how to conjure some of the bluish flames but...it's nothing extraordinary I hardly have any mastery over it and the amount I can conjure is almost like nothing, I saw it had no effect against the last Reaper encounter." he said.

Haruto began to think about the choice he had to make, he was not sure which unit to form a connection with but he still had the events that occurred a while ago in his mind. He already felt a strong connection to this unit, he had his back on several occasions so much so that he became his avatar, "..Aglovale, I choose him."

"Haruto..." was said, as a giant goofy smile came on aglovale's face.

Rosalia knew that she wasn't supposed to be picking a unit for the training; she wasn't about to be swinging swords around. As a medic, she quietly waited for her time by moving to the side of the room and leaned against the wall away from the others. Sure, if she had to pick an actual weapon, she probably would have chosen Holy Edge Celestial Malchedael. Even if Asmodel was currently her Avatar, the Legion Mate Angel's armament was actually a giant pill.... What was she gonna do with that? Hope it was toxic to the Reapers as she fed it a pill?

Shrugging to herself, the pinkette started to hum. She was actually excited to watch the training, even if it would be hard. Yukino wasn't known to go easy on anyone, especially those she considered family. At least, that's how Rosalia thought of her sister-in-law, the queen. Besides, this practice isn't meant to use Angel Feather units for help with healing. Its for me to practice myself... she thought to herself, glancing down at her Reality Bangle. She made a face, then took off the bangle so there was no urge to summon her own units, and stuck the bangle in her dress pocket for the time being.

"Seifer's already picked his beforehand, and don't worry about these weapons being immediately effective against Reapers. So long as they're used." The queen stepped forward, dipping her hands into the Oath Liberator, Aglovale and the Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster cards. She pulled out energy - blue outlining of the Paladin's sword and the Thunder Dragon's gauntlets. Crimson eyes shining with warm ferocity, hands began to trace them both separately. In two bright flashes of light, the magical craftswoman duplicated the blade and steeled fists. Even further, they floated as she summoned the outline of the Illusion Revenger's greatsword without needing the card, quickly drawing its structure with her finger, and recreating it as she did in the Umano Slums.

The Meister held her arms outward as the weapons were aloft, and floating toward their designated owners. "Seifer and Haruto, swords are naturally heavy. As you've experienced, Seifer, Mordred's blade is far weightier. Neo, simply strap yours on, and get used to the feel of them. You all will meet me in the training room, which has been redesigned. You two with heavy weaponry can consider it a bit of a test to get up the stairs with them."

Yukino turned, motioning Rosalia to follow along as she headed for the white room.

Reaching out and taking his own blade, Seifer let it drop, feeling the familiar weight from the Slums. No... wait did it get heavier?... The brunette struggled for a moment to actually lift it, almost not being able to at first. Why did it feel heavier than before? Weightier indeed, even lifting with two hands seemed to be an issue, though after several moments, he managed... visibly shaking. Why did his sword have to be the literal length of his body again? Right, Mordred. Anyway, attempting to get adjusted to it's weight, he stood off to the side, keeping his arms parallel to the ground as was the blade, moving it back and forth in front of him for a few moments, getting his muscles attuned to the unnatural weight.

After he'd spent the time adjusting, he followed, though still with increased difficulty, especially up the stairs as the blade was still six feet and length and felt like it weight a ton. Thankfully he managed to get up the steps, and after Yukino without messing up any of the carpeting or railing... Though he was still a bit more winded than he should of been. He was normally in shape, so what was wrong here?

Thinking back on it though, what was the training room like? Even living here, he had no memories of going there...

Neo saw the Steel Gloves appear and strapped them on tight. They were uncomfortable and heavy at first but Neo knew he had to get used to it.

After strapping on the Gloves, Neo made his way to the staircase and tried to climb them with the gloves. It was a struggle but Neo eventually got there and made it to the training room

This is going to be a struggle.. But im ready! Neo thought

The pink-haired medic was immediately on the move, following Yukino closely with a sort of skip in her step. For whatever reason, Rosalia was okay with the fact that her friends/loved ones were about to get hurt training. It wasn't that she was cruel; she never wanted anyone to get hurt. But the rational part of her brain said that training to fight the Reapers was no laughing matter, so there was bound to be an accident or two. She just had to be quick to respond before injuries would get too far.

Plus, she was probably just happy with being back in a familiar place, the Espoir Mansion. She never got a whole lot of time to explore it, as far as she remembered anyways, but it made reality feel more... well, real. It assured her that she was truly back, and not lost in oblivion for a second time. "So, how's your head? Are you feeling okay enough in general to actually do this training?" Rosalia mused quietly, glancing up at her sister-in-law. The medic remembered treating the queen's head wound at the start of the Reaper battle, but didn't know if she was fully healed to deal with three guys playing with sharp new toys.

Haruto watched Yukino do her magic and create the swords, it was honestly a surprise to him how this woman could lose a fight if she could summon so many swords to strike at her enemies...but then again he has seen first hand what kind of enemies they've had to deal with.

The sword floated towards him as he grasped it with his hands. Literally, the boy felt like he was yanked by the sword towards the ground, he was about to lose his grip by how heavy it was, it reminded him of the sword viper blade except...heavier and bearing more.

"Nnngggghhhh" he grunted, as he tried his hardest to lift the sword with both hands, it was not extremely large but it definitely had some wait to it. "How on earth do you do this aglovale??" he thought.

"You just need to git gud ma boi." said Aglovale, with a light wink.

-__- could be seen on his face for a moment.

"I should have picked Percival's sword..." he thought.

"Ha..Ha...Ha...HA..No, you're not half ready." Percival teasing with Aglovale what???

Haruto somehow managed to carry the sword above the hellish stairs, but the tip of it still was grazing the floor or touching it from time to time. When he got up there along with Seifer he waited to see what was next he could clearly tell that this was no way to use a sword, if he had to fight the reapers like this he would get mangled before he can do anything.

"-pant- -pant- What's next?" he said.

Yukino stood quietly in the training room, contemplating how to go about this. She noted obvious problems already from Seifer, imagined Haruto wasn't having a better time, and Neo depended entirely on the weight of gauntlets used... by large dragons. First thing's first, they need to get used to lifting their weapons to attack, at the very least. They definitely can't stand to defend with them at the moment. So she'll block and tell them what's wrong - dodge too. Rosalia got the queen's attention by asking about her head injury, which she had actually forgotten about for the most part. When in the middle of a Reaper attack, she tends to turn off pain receptors and thrive on fury.

"I'm feeling alright now", the woman answered with a smile, rubbing her head. "I must thank you again for that, as I never would have imagined you'd be able to just heal it." Was added, still showing surprise over the magic cleric powers. Mind you, Rosalia should be worried about her own fiancee more than her sister. ... Speaking of that, where in the hell was Haruka? Still asleep, maybe? Hopefully, she's been putting him through enough, and she's still dreading not taking the chance to make him "lose more sleep".

Putting lewd thoughts aside, she perked up at the boys entering the white room, which felt like a hollow void of space. Like a sort of mystical chamber that warped perception. "You three will be attacking me with your weapons." Yukino stated, having only her steel armaments and Blaster Blade to defend herself. "Worry not for any injuries, as Rosalia will heal them during breaks. Do your best to hold up your weapons, and come at me!"

Not like they're going to hit anyway.

Well... Okay. That's fine, Seifer already figured how this was going to go, but... He figured he had to try anyway. Lifting the massive blade onto his shoulder with two hands, he darted forward with some speed, though not as much as he should have normally nor was the swing as fast as he normally should. The blade was big and heavy okay? It's also not his fault that he didn't know how to use swords to begin with. In anycase, while the swing was intuitive for a first timer, it was still far to slow.