Espoir Mansion

"Would you be willing to do that if you knew the person you just murdered had no sins?" the male lowered his head a bit, shadows covering his face, though his right eye was glowing. "This girl here, a Seed, one of the people you say you'd kill. Can you do it? She couldn't of even hurt a fly. She stepped up against Glendios, in your stead. She only wanted to bring peace to your world." his voice changed as well, he was... angry? There was something there as he stepped forward. "Could you do it?" he growled, taking another step forward. Could she really? How did he even know of the battle against Glendios to begin with? Ezel stared at his partner, a look of confusion crossing the lion's face. "You're really serious?" that was the first time Ezel had spoke at all. His voice was rather chilling, breaking the rising tension somewhat, or an attempt at it. He really didn't want the woman and his partner to start exchanging blows right here. Would probably end badly.

Yugure's surprise was rather vivid, eyes widening, mouth opening with teeth still held together, not speaking. No sins...? But... she was told that this girl in particular was trying to harvest life for her own timeline. Yet, hearing the poor thing couldn't hurt a fly, and even fought against Glendios of all things for everyone... Aqua Force pitted itself against the strongest Link Joker, for a time it wasn't even a part of.

... The Chosen Sword made a mental note to hear about this dead Seed in full later.

"... Yes", was still her answer, however. Just because one Seed sounded close to a saint didn't succeed in swaying her from pursuing the rest. Especially... that disgusting queen that mirrored herself. Though, hearing Ezel speak caught her off guard for a moment. His voice... was not trying to make a corny or asinine joke immediately. That made it easier for her to separate him from her own Ezel. Still, him getting involved with the conversation vocally somehow put ease into her mind.

"You're serious, I'm cereal. Just don't eat me for breakfast, and we're good."

Man, he's an idiot.

The male sighed a bit, being defused by his partner. "You really are just like her. ...Now I see where I get it from. Jesus Christ." wonder who he could be talking about. In any case, turning on his heel, he started heading toward the door. "I need a favor, not that you need to. Just would be easier, than me doing it. Would rather not have her try and kill me before I'm done with the other seeds. When this one disappears, whatever she leaves behind, take it to a girl that was friends with her. She used... Tetra Drive Dragon. I believe she's a part of your resistance but I do not know her name." looking up at the ceiling he sighed again, a thought crossing his mind now. He wasn't sure why but, he felt this next part was necessary. "...If you're that adamant about it. Then kill me right here." he turned back, and Ezel went to protest. However, the brunette stopped him, staring at his sister from a different timeline. They really were alike. But he wondered how different they were as well. "If you believe you can, then kill me off right now. I'm your enemy right? ... I won't even put up a struggle."

"Just... like her? Where you got it from?" Yugure was completely lost by his words. Who on earth was he talking about now? Actually, better not to hear about it. The jaded, narrow-minded woman didn't want to hear about anything that could attempt to sway her. The girl watched him leave toward the gate. He asked for a favor... to not kill him while they're working on this. Prideful as she was, help from the enemy was already much as it is. ... Still, she didn't believe he was lying about going through with assaults on the other time travelers.

"I don't like it, but you're going to be a valuable asset. Killing you isn't the most beneficial choice, as much as I'd like to." Yugure submitted, accepting the deal. The sword Blaster Dark vanished, and she folded her arms. Irritation was more than visible on face, expressing disgust.

The fact that he looked exactly like Seifer pissed her off more than anything.

A light smile appeared on his face, even if she seemed pissed off. "Thank you. ...At the end of this, I'll give you my life in exchange. None of us seeds should be allowed to live much longer anyway." waving he left, leaving the body, which would disappear soon, probably leaving something behind... The sweater maybe? In anycase, that was the favor he asked of her, to take the item left behind to one of the resistance members that uses Tetra Drive Dragon. He was sure that someone knew who it was. As for him, he vanished into the darkness, Ezel alongside him.

Yugure... stood in silence for a few moments as Seyer left, and Cyan's body disappeared into the void of time. As luck would have it, one very strong item connected to this time remained... the sweater. The bloodied sweater. The Chosen Sword thought about the words of the Seed, and kept in mind the person with Tetra-Drive Dragon. Deep in thought, she absentmindedly took a sip of the coffee still in her free hand-

Nope.

Still too bitter.

Spewed it out as soon as she realized what she was drinking.

"What kind of satanic rituals did Haruka perform...?" Yugure inspected the mug. Was it some kind of contract with Lucifer to make him more or less addicted to it? With a sigh, the woman picked up the sweater, bringing it inside, and handing it to a maid. Washing it and sowing up the holes in it was requested.

... Then Yugure got a bit gutsy. After leaving the half-finished cup for a servant to pick up, she sneaked into the guest room to find her sleepy beloved in bed. Cute boy. Quietly, she crawled over, and huddled under the covers with him, kissing him on his cheek lightly. With the white cape hanging on a coat rack, and boots off, the girl fell asleep next to Haruka.

Sera had stayed in a separate guest room after their departure the night before. All they discussed were future plans, considering that he was no longer a seed, nor a commander of the void. This timeline no longer needed one, and the golem was all but a tool for his use. Stranger things have happened.

Heading to bed, he kicked off his boots and flipped over the covers and hit they hay. His thoughts kept him awake for a good portion of the time, forcing him to restlessly stay awake for a majority of the evening until...

Footsteps. Haruka knew those must be Yukino's, since Sera was always a rock when it came to sleeping, and the butlers and maids were basically trained to be ninjas; unheard and unseen, but always there.

Despite knowing she was coming, this actually was more comforting and reassuring than not, so it caused his mind ease. Frankly, he actually fell asleep before Yukino even opened the door. His breathing slowed nearly immediately... All he could feel was a sudden warmth next to him, and a soft warmth on his cheek before his brain totally shut down for the evening...

The next morning.

Decisions, decisions. Get out of bed, and be productive? Or stay in bed with girlfriend for a bit longer.

Decisions, decisions.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz-

"Nakahara, here." Haruka muttered this in his absurdly sleepy voice. Like a cop who just woke up from a night's rest to get on the case. Except he isn't a cop and there is no case.

The phone call consisted of Uncle Toshiki asking Haruka about a potential job opportunity he might want making coffee. Of course Haruka was actually semi-ecstatic about the request. The location was apparently close-by to his Uncle's location, even near Hoshiko...

"Mhmm... uh-huh... Y-Yeah... Sure-wait. Did you say Espoir?"

Haruka blinked, looked at Yukino for a moment longer, back up into blank space, then back to Yukino.

"I-I'm gonna uh, I'll call you back but thanks for letting me know."

Haruka hung up the phone and laid back down for a moment, staring at his beloved. Too cute. She really looked like an angel when she slept. Her sleeping expression wasn't this militaristic, battle-hardened, fierce woman, but innocent, vulnerable even. That's how he saw it at least.

Haruka laughed a little bit staring at her, realizing the great contrast between who she was and how she acted sometimes. With a long kiss on the cheek, he pushed a few locks of stray hair behind her ear before swinging his legs out of bed, laced up his boots, and proceeded downstairs.

But before he forgot.

"sera. downstairs pronto. one cup of joe to go and then we have things to do and places to be. we need a battle plan...

not literally, btw. -haru"

Satoshi showed up at the doors of the Espoir estate a bit more homely than usual. Warmer clothes, mostly due to the weather outside being a bit chilly for his liking. He honestly looked a bit of the part of a lumberjack, which wasn't exactly intended. At least he didn't have the beard.

...Yet.

His visit was actually a bit different from intended. He wasn't here, per se, to see Yugure. He wasn't really here to see Father Espoir, either, as he had in the past. While there were questions he wanted to ask of the Lion, particularly regarding the one thing his daughter knew nothing about---the blank card---he was more or less here to visit because of a familiar smell.

He detected coffee to drink that smelled a lot like Butler-san's and he could use the pick-me-up, considering recent events.

Yugure found herself under the a beautiful blue sky out in a field of gorgeous flowers. In the middle of the windy plains were the two lovers: herself and Haruka. They were happily nuzzling each other's noses in blissful peace of the world. It felt like a reward for surviving and overcoming nightmare after nightmare... a world she envisioned... Then, it didn't take long for the sky to become cloudy, and the clouds themselves with the sky turned dark and bloody red. The two looked up at the crimson world, and a centipede-bodied, bizarre looking being began to descend from a hole created in the air.

A reaper.

It howled the same gibberish converted into robotic noises by their brains and ears.

... Except the Chosen Sword's.

"P͘͞͏͘R͏̡͢É̸P̸̧͞҉̨A̵̢͘R̢̨̛É̷̸ ͘͢͞͝Y͢͝͏̷O̸̵Ù͠R̷̶͝S̀͜E̴͜L̷̶̢͘͢V̢́̀͠E̵͏͏Ş̛̕͘͘ ́͡͠F̶͠͞҉͝O̶͢͢͢͡Ŕ̴͝ ̴̕͜͠Ţ͠͝҉H̢͜͞E̷̷͡ ̀́A̷̡͞͞R҉R̷͝I̕͡҉V̸͝A̧̧̛͘͟Ĺ҉͟["

Yugure shot awake, sitting upright. Trembling, breathing heavily, she had broken into a cold sweat. In a panic, she started feeling around for Haruka, only to realize he was already gone. Though, this was still the manor, so it was only a dream. Only a dream. Only a dream only a dream only a dream only a dream...

Sighing, almost crying, she ran a hand through her hair, and got up to quickly gather her clothes, run toward the shower, and then get out of the house for a minute. Air, air, she needed air. Suffocating inside. Can't relax.

Took shower, threw on silly white-yellow light clothing, need to get to HQ. Yugure started coming downstairs, adjusting her hairbow.

No answer. Weird. Satoshi knocked again. "Anybody home?"

He had no idea someone was on her way out of the manor.

Yugure heard a knock at the door and was surprised no servants got it. They were probably tending to Haruka, Father Espoir, or still on this little "crusade" to ignore her after the wardrobe ambush. Filthy backstabbers. "Coming", the girl's shaky tone responded. Trying to get a grip on herself and reality, she opened the door, letting Satoshi inside.

Satoshi was surprised to see Yugure home, and in lighter clothes of all things. It was cold, wasn't it? The heck were the maids and butlers thinking, dressing her like this?

Still, she seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. "Heading out?" he asked.

Yugure absentmindedly rose a hair to further fixing her hair. Her mind was a bit of a muddled mess and the hissing of a reaper's voice still rang in her ears. "H-Hey, Satoshi..." Her brain actually slowed down, not greeting him immediately, and in fact, doing so after his question. Ugh... those damn horrorterrors made her mind temporarily degenerate just seeing one.

"I-I need some air. Tell... Haruka to... to... to... to make... a cup of coffee for me."

The woman couldn't really talk, and simply walked past him while fixing her hair more.

Her hair had been perfectly fine before she even opened the door.

Satoshi gripped her shoulder, stretching his body to keep the door open with his leg at the same time. Yugure did not look well and he wanted to make sure things were fine.

"Hey. Something's definitely up. What's going on? I don't want you to go out and do something drastic like this." His voice was firm, even though he was likely a few seconds away from falling over, because his body wasn't really meant to stretch like this.

"Nothing... nothing... nothing drastic. Kay... Oh... Okay. I'm okay. Need to... breathe."

Yugure already felt better just standing outside.

Okay, something was definitely up. Satoshi decided he couldn't keep holding the door, but when he attempted to nudge it closed, his body gave out and he tripped.

Which didn't bode well, because he tripped right into the set of stairs.

"Oh!" Yugure shrieked as she reacted by grabbing him by the wrist before he rolled down the staircase. The door slammed close by the wind. Her senses were coming back a bit, it seems. Or at least, her reaction times.

A clutch save. Satoshi reeled back next to her, huffing. Falling down probably would've hurt, a lot.

"T-thanks...that might've not ended well..." He shook his head, a bit fuzzy himself now. Refocusing, he stablizied, then once again put a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously though, what happened? You seem really distant and I'm worried."

The girl started heavily breathing again, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Reapers... nightmare... mare... night... night... nightmare. Nightmare. I had a nightmare about the reapers", Yugure spoke, taking a few moments before being able to make a proper sentence without stuttering or stammering. The Chosen Sword clutched her head, cursing under her breath.

"Cup of coffee for Miss Espoir? O-Oh, Yukino... yeah, sure."

What's wrong with Yukino? Haruka heard knocking earlier but as soon as he got down the stairs, word got to him that he was the newest employee in the Espoir Household... and promptly give his own room so we won't sleep in the same bed with Yukino anymore (which will probably still happen). Regardless, he was given a suit to change into, which he did, and Sera aka Drake aka Glendios was directed to stay in a guest bedroom until further notice.

Haruka finished the cup at lightspeed, adding a half cup of Irish Creme coffee creamer and a teaspoon of honey, because actual sugar cubes taste the same and aren't as healthy in some cases.

"Alright... here goes..."

With a tray of napkins, a pitcher filled with hot coffee, and four plates with four ceramic cups on them went straight to the front door.

"Order up- Eh... W-What happened here...?"

Haruka was staring at the awkward catastrophe of a falling Satoshi and a, luckily, reflexive Yukino catching him herself. What dexterity!

And... she was mentioning nightmares to him... What's this about nightmares?

Haruka probably should have stayed in bed for a while longer...

"Is everything okay?"

Satoshi's ear twitched. Oh, Haruka was here and sounded fine. That's good. He turned, noticing he had brought coffee with him. The scent he recognized was the coffee Haruka himself was particularly fond of making. No wonder he was drawn here.

"That's what I'd like to know. Considering what's happened recently, you can't be too sure, y'know?"

He turned again to Yugure. "Reapers? More invaders?"

"Elites. Eldritchs. The ones I told you about that destroyed my timeline", Yugure replied to Satoshi, taking a cup from the plate Haruka brought. "I'm okay, okay, okay, okay, I'm fine!" The woman repeated herself like a broken record before breaking the trance by shaking her head. She took a sip of coffee and then immediately regretted doing so, almost choking even. A couple more sips followed just to get a drink. It made her more sick but it worked at least. Slowly get used to it... slowly get used to it...

Mind you, this cup tasted better than last night's.

Satoshi took a cup himself, taking gentle sips and letting the flavor linger as he considered what Yugure had mentioned to him a while ago. Right. Her timeline got messed up by them. So it was only logical that they were going to show up here, to try and mess with her again because she tried to throw a screw in their plans.

He noticed she wasn't much of a coffee drinker, which made him chuckle a bit. "You gotta let it settle in your throat a bit before swallowing, darlin'." He turned to Haruka and raised his mug in approval. "Good as always. Might start consderin' making tea for her, though, if she can't handle it."

"A-Ah..." The girl wanted to try what Satoshi said, but her reflexes wouldn't let it sit in her mouth. "I-I'll be able to handle it!"

Yugure Espoir was the Chosen Sword goddammit. She can take some coffee.

"Tea... Yeah, I might do that. Thanks for the suggestion."

Yukino wanted the coffee. Apparently she could handle it. Haruka chuckled at his beloved's determination to drink what he made. That was sweet in a way.

Haruka lifted his own coffee, in response taking a large gulp of it. His caffeine overdose was bound to happen any day now. But onto the important part. Yukino's nightmare.

"Reapers... Eldritch? Dear, you don't look very fine... Tell us about the dream? It sounds really serious. Sorry I wasn't in bed this morning, I got a call about a job offer as I was gonna head out the door and then..."

He pointed to his tie with a familiar crest on it.

"Now I'm working here. So, tell us about these... Reapers you said? Those are the things that attacked you in the last timeline..."

Sip.

"Right?"

Sip.