Resort Area/Plaza

Yukino remained relatively unamused, calmly watching the Hakaishas and Enma reunite through practically bodyslamming each other while the association worker messed with Jessie's hair, playfully ruffling it. The bluenette took note of the creature jumping to her shoulder, feeling the nuzzle and giving it a quick petting before letting it go. "The one with the crown is King Artorias, my superior. He - like Enma - is helping me run the event."

"Oh, I didn't tell you guys my name?" Enma turned to Kao, chuckling nervously as he scratched the back of his head, fingers running through his hair as he put on an apologetic expression. "Sorry, sorry! I thought I had said it, actually! Haha..."

Kao brushled a little bit ticked off. "We've been calling you sir,a nd guy this whole time! how did you not pick up on that!" he said celaring getting agery when xat reached up and saying something in anouther langue calmed kao down and looked at emna."Sorry about that, he is proteicive sence im the last of blood line of royals tht control the spirt relem which located between cray and earth. and the royal family that rules that place trys and keeps everythng in check, or at least try to, and with being last of that bloodline he takes his job very seriously." she said exsplane kao's protectiveness of her and the answer to his question earlyer with the huh after she told him she was from a royal bloodline.

she looked at yukino. "what event?" she asked her

Trailing directly behind King Artorias, a woman clad in a black dress and leggings that shrouded her entire body save her head followed in. A sheathed sword rested at her hip, and Artorias' shadow kept the light from shining directly on her. Her silvery-white hair stuck out against her dark colors as she stepped out from the King's shadow, throwing a glare at Tomozo and Enma both, her arms folded.

"Yes, I am here to help oversee this event, alongside my associates here." The woman spoke with an elegant, but distinctly sharp tone that sounded as though she would rather be anywhere else on the planet but here. Her voice was cold, and her presence even colder- chilling winds blew threw her hair, much the way they held Artorias' cape aloft. She gave the reception area a quick look over before shutting her eyes, tapping her finger against her still-folded arms.

"Kishi Kurokiba, for those of you still unaware." The Sanctuary's Black Knight introduced herself to Tomozo, and the rest of the group, with a small curtsy. But, with her introduction out of the way, her attention was immediately focused towards the man she regrettably called a friend.

"Associating yourself with the commonfolk is all well and good, Enma, but I'm surprised at you. I never imagined a man of your caliber would abandon his responsibilities so readily, especially for the sake of..." She glanced from Xateramusa, to the two brothers, then back to Enma. "...Two filthy-looking boys, and this strange girl." The woman wagged a finger at Enma, shaking her head in disgust.

"I told you we should have kept a close eye on him, Artorias. We cut him loose for only a moment, and he's already attracted all manner of unwanted attention. It's revolting, really..."

“So this is the resort huh?” The boy thought to himself. When he appeared at the desk out said and  he showed his invitation to the staff for verification. Unlike others he got a special invitation to the event so there was no need for him to sign-up and struggle for a spot like many others. The young lady told him where he would be staying. “Thanks sweetheart.” he replied to her as he started went passed the desk going to the resort area. There were a bunch of other people there as he was talking by, some looked annoying, some looked fun to mess with, some looked ugly, and some looked pretty. They were most likely the other challengers which didn’t seem to interest him in the slightest.

He had his hands in his pocket walked passed them not caring if any of them said anything to him because they weren’t relevant as far as he was concerned. He got into the lobby and then went to the little shop picking up a drink then proceeding to go up the stairs. He finally arrived at his room scanning his keycard to get into his room. As he closed the door walked in and looked out the window looking at the group of people then closed the shades blocking people from looking in the room as well as the sun from beaming in there. He then went to the bed throwing himself on to it laying down.

Somehow finding his way to the registration area, still slightly intoxicated but looking well enough to seem completely sober, Seifer took a look around and was just... dumbfounded. It almost looked like a bomb went off in front of the registrars. He noticed a few prominent people, one sticking out because of the crown adorned on his head. A look of disgust crossed his face, but quickly disappeared as he approached, since he had to at least be cordial in public. He didn't speak up however, just quietly waiting his turn to register.

"People call me 'sir' and 'guy' all the time though!" Enma responded to Xat's little companion with an excuse before one of his co-workers emerged. Oh no, it was Kishi! The third of his associates was non-too happy about his lollygagging. Nay, the King, the Sword, and the Black Knight all gave their evil eyed glares to the brunette filled with judgmental wit and scold. He sweat nervously, knowing he was in trouble and only gave a sigh. The Hakaisha brothers were both admittedly ticked at Kishi's throwing shade, but Enma waved the back of his hand to them, getting them to concede to the matter as he looked toward his fellows with a grin. "Really sorry, guys. I can work."

King Artorias gave a sigh while Yukino pinched the bridge of her nose. Tomozo had some words to Kishi about the little side-glare she was getting, but Fuki gestured for her to refrain.

"I suppose we can let you get away with being the people's friend over actual work this time." The King gave a smile, rather comfortable with his comrade's nature. It was refreshing if nothing else, not intentionally lazy either. Enma timidly chuckled, knowing full-well the girls wouldn't let him off as easily, and if they did, not again in the future.

"You don't know what's going on?" Tomozo spoke to Xat, leaning on her blue-haired companion. Yukino took some issue with how close the ginger idol was, especially when the tomato wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but she didn't say anything. "Yukino here is hosting the Messiah Scramble, a welcome back event for the masses who wanna play Vanguard with Stride back in our hands. It's a tournament." The eldest sister of Generation Rare explained the event in a concise, summarized, and uncaring manner. In fact, Tomozo might've been one of the most uninterested in the tournament itself, she was just here to show off her assets through her career. A woman who relished in motivating douchebags like Bashiro in particular - the perverts. Fuki penned in one of the young men who had approached and left quickly to not get caught up in the commotion, and Yukino's colorless gaze happened upon her younger brother in the distance, whom she beckoned over to get him signed up.

"Hey, kid". Suddenly, the fiery redhead Tomozo called to him, sounding just a little bit irritated. Everything he knew about the older sister was from stories that Fuki and Koga told him, so everything from now would be new to him. "My name isn't 'Eh, Tomozo', it's Tomozo. To-mo-zo. Like a tomato, not a tomaato. You get me or do I have to get it through your thick skull-" She could've continued if it wasn't for the help of the lovely Koga, who lovingly stepped on her sister's foot. To say that Tomozo's personality surprised him would be a big understatement. However, Carlos was relieved to see that the redhead seemed to be her own true self and not something else, remembering quite vividly the eldritch abomination she once was.

"Y-You're right. I'm sorry I mispronounced your name" Said the young man calmly to the redhead, sporting an honest smile. "It's that I wasn't sure if you were, well, you, the Tomozo I've heard so much from. It's such a pleasure to me to finally meet you". He then turned to Koga. "And I'm really glad to see that you haven't changed that much, Koga".

As Carlos mentioned that we wasn't going to participate at the Messiah Scramble event, Fuki expressed what he percieved as a little bit of dissapointment, mentioning she would've enjoyed watching him play. She even kindly called him by his real name instead of just 'Simple Soul' like she used to, making him blush a little. "Y-Yeah. I don't think I would've, eh, enjoyed cardfighting here that much, so I'll sit this one out. I'm sorry". Talking with the sisters after all this time made him wonder about the other ex-Drones. He hoped that he would get a chance to meet them at the island.

Soon after that, the youngest of the Hakaisha brothers, Jessie, arrived at the registration area. Upon noticing him, Carlos waved at him and hoped to see Okuri with him, but after a couple of seconds he sadly noticed that the canine wasn't anywhere around. Jessie seemed a little busy at the moment trying to understand what the hell was going on at the reception desk, so he didn't really notice Carlos waving at hem (Again, he couldn't blame him. He needed to take care of Bashiro like an older brother would). Given his track record thus far that day, Carlos wondered why some of his previous allies didn't notice him or flat out ignore him while his previous enemies greeted him with kindness, or something similar.

After a few minutes, a brown-haired man arrived at the desk, escorting a young woman with purple hair. The only problem he noticed was that she was sporting both fox ears and a fox tail. Nothing out of ordinary here. Alongside her, some kind of undiscovered kind of fox rested on her shoulders. Now that was something interesting. There was a good possibility that the woman was just wearing a cosplay, but he knew it couldn't be that simple. The whole atmosphere seemingly change when, at nearly the same time, a very imposing man wearing royal-looking clothes walked out of the main bulding of the tournament area. His appearance was that of a blond man with eyes of blue, but along he was wearing a long cape, white armor and a very colorful crown. "What the... Who is he?" He asked the sisters, surprised by the appareance of said man. "Not only he looks like a king, he's giving the same vibe as one".

The young man silently observed as the crowned man addressed the brown-haired man, calling him Enma, while Yukino joined to reprimand him for being late. Enma and the Hakaisha brothers seemed to knew each other from before as they acted very familiar with each other. Tomozo, who was at least as lost as the young man, asked who Enma was, with Yukino explaining that he is 'Simply the Best There Is', a very skilled player working with some King Artorias guy to reform the Vanguard Association or something like that. After asking who the fox-tailed woman was, Tomozo mentioned a third important person representing the Association.

The green fox that accompanied the fox-tailed girl called Xateramusa, who also appeared to knew Yukino from before, not only hopped into Yukino's shoulders, but also spoke to her, asking who was the crowned guy. "You know, I kinda expected that fox-looking creature to be able to talk" Carlos commented unsurprised to the sisters, while Yukino explained that the he was none other that King Artorigas from the Vanguard Association. Soon after that, a woman in a black dress and with a sword hanging from her hip appeared from behind the King, introducing herself as Kishi Kurokiba, one of the three overseers of the event alongside Artorias and Enma, and proceeded to quickly reprimand the latter for suposedly abandoning his duties. The brown-haired man didn't look particularly happy to see her,

The way she spoke sounded harsh and cold, like if she didn't want to be there at all. She also made some
rather insulting comments to Xateramusa and the Hakaisha brothers. "E-Excuse me" Interrupted Carlos. "Miss Kurokiba, right? Right. Eh, I don't think you should refer to them with such harsh-sounding words. That could make you appear a little bit insulting, don't you think?". Obviously, not everyone in the room were taking those comments and that particular attitude pretty well. The King then smiled and excused Enma's behaviour, knowing well that he wouldn't get off that easily either way.

After Tomozo explained, or rather summarized, the whole event that was going on at the island, Fuki quickly checked another participant (Getting annoyed at the 'Thanks, sweetheart' the young man directed at her) and Yukino noticed and called for someone in the distance to get him signed to the Messiah Scramble. "Wait, isn't that..." Carlos noticed the familiar looking man walking to the desk. "Hey Seifer. It's been a long time" He saluted him, hoping that he wouldn't ignore him like the others, but noticing that he didn't look particularly well. There was something really different about his appearance, just like Yukino. However, he was sure that young man he accidentaly blocked in his path was Seifer.

The boy disappeared in an instant from the lobby of the hotel, leaving Haruka face-down in a silken pillow and drooling away the daylight hours. They'd practice the night before trying to wear off his hangover and nurse him to health before the tournament the next day. That was the plan Sera'd finally decided on. With a sort of oddly amusing skip, hop, bounce to his step, Sera launched himself off the steps of the hotel cement paving and into the large grassy area with tents all over.

He instantly located the other-half's brother, Seifer. Sera approached next to him, staring at the registrar's area with eyes of both awe and unfamiliarity. He tilted his head, pulling a hand over his neck and easing the muscles around his triceps. He was a bit tense being alone without anybody he knew to keep track of him. Sera in this sense was really similar to a child in that he felt the need to have parental protection in large crowds like this, despite treating Haruka more like a brother than a father. A pulled his thumbs underneath his suspenders, pulling them outwards as he looked up to Seifer and back to the tents.

"It's crazy, huh? Seems like a toooon of people are here. Important people, not-so-important people... all kind of alike." Sera chuckled a bit to himself, realizing he'd never even addressed Seifer or anybody else there. His speech was so muted in comparison to how it usually was that he wouldn't be surprised if nobody noticed him at all. He sort of liked spectating the area, observing and understanding than interacting. Interaction with others was sort of a gamble given who he was and who he had been. Carlos was here too on the other side of things. Sera gave a small familiar wave, smiling to give off a positive vibe, trying to start off on a positive note.

Kao smiled at the others before facinf the rude woman.”listion old lady you have no right to judge others especally if you didnt know them, this man can hang out with whoever he wants to, you dont cntrol his actions.” kao said kind of even more angery then before. xat just shook her heqd and spoke. ”kao be nice!” xat said to her companion before facing yukino and the other girl ”welcome back? stride......”as she said the words stride she gripped her head with a hand when a memorie returned of a bangle and stride and evil. “we used stride before right during a battle?” she asked yukino

Good lord this was more lively than the hotel bar. And it looked like a bad time was waiting to happen. Regardless, when he noticed Yukino motioning for him, Seifer took a half step forward only to be blocked by Carlos. Who seemed to know him, just like that Darren fellow and Noel from before. "I'm sorry... You seem familiar with me, but I don't have any memory of who you are... I'm terribly sorry, but we could f-.." he stopped as Sera rolled up now, speaking about the number of people and variety, albeit it almost inaudible even under normal circumstances. He almost didn't even hear Sera speak, but heard just enough to understand the meaning of what he said.

"There is indeed a lot, makes me uncomfortable. I just want to go back to the dark and quiet of my room and finish my paper." he sighed, trying to brush aside his bangs again, failing once more.

"If you'll both excuse me, I need to register before both of my sisters decide to come down on me. We'll catch up later, promise okay?" it wasn't empty, so much as it was tentative. He was already being bombarded by people from every direction and he'd just arrived. This was why he didn't usually go to social events without someone he knew, and when he did go out he usually tried to get Sera or Haruka to go along with him.

Walking up to the registration, Seifer kept his eyes locked on Yukino, not even giving Artorias a sideways glance. Pulling his deck case from his belt, he placed it on the table before putting his hand on the back of his neck. "As simple as this might be, you know I don't know how to do this. Is there papers I'm supposed to fill out, or... what?" he spoke hopefully only loud enough for his elder sister to hear, but knowing the people around, he doubted that was remotely the case.

"What!?"  The news that his long-time rival was only the host of the tournament and would not be participating in the Messiah Scramble was was a very unpleasant surprise to the Kaiser.  He had come with the intention of facing his rival on a world stage, and now that opportunity was denied to him before the tournament had even begun.  Needless to say, he was not happy with these events.  In fact, he was so stunned, he was actually silent for a few minutes!

He was brought out of his stunned silence by the appearance of King Artorias.  Being a King was Cero's thing, and this man was very clearly infringing on it.  He even had a crown on his head!  Cero was getting progressively more and more upset by these events.  Briefly, sparks of red electricity could be seen running across his skin.  If there weren't so many civilians around, he probably would have exploded by now.  He glared intensely at Artorias as the 'King' approached, though his attention was briefly drawn by the announcement of Enma's identity as the man who is 'Simply the best there is.'  

A convenient gust of wind brought the jacket Cero had lost in his descent floating down towards him.  Without even looking at it, he reached out and grabbed it, throwing it over his shoulders.  If it weren't for all the dust on him, he'd almost look like modern day nobility in contrast to Artorias' distinct 'old-fashioned' appearance.  He looked towards Enma, then Artorias, and then the shadow behind him known as Kishi.  

"So you four are the leaders of this 'Vanguard Association?" The Kaiser spoke out, his voice booming more than usual with more than a hint of spite in it, especially on the words 'Vanguard Association.'  After all, he'd been running his own Vanguard organization for several years now, and by some miracle, it hadn't collapsed in on itself yet and had even expanded into several countries.  The rise of a rival organization, one that seemed to be growing in acceptance at a much faster rate, was not exactly pleasing news to him.  

He spun around dramatically before announcing himself to the entire plaza:  "I am Cero Kirguis!  The Kaiser!  Europe's King of Vanguard!"  Cero turned once again to face Yukino.  "If I cannot face my rival in this tournament, then it shall be my goal to completely conquer this tournament and demonstrate once again to the world why I am called the Kaiser!  And once I do..."  His gaze once again passed over the Grand Sanctuary one by one...  "I shall challenge the four of you!"  It seemed that neither the years, the failure of his entrance, or the fact that his organization was very clearly being replaced over time was enough to dull the ego of the Kaiser.

-

Cassiano raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, with a surprising amount of laughter, at least somewhat oblivious to how dangerous the situation he was in really was.  Never before had three men jumped to the defense of a woman he had flirted with before.  This was something of a new experience.  He wondered if such polyamory was commonplace in Japan, assuming that all three of these people were boyfriends of this woman.  They didn't look like family, after all.  He took a few steps backwards from the group before bowing with a flourish, the flower still in his hand.  

"My apologies, I meant no disrespect," he said, still smiling and trying to look cool.  Still incapable of giving up, he tossed the white rose towards Chris as he raised himself.  "Please, do with it as you wish, as a token of my apology."  His eyes began to grow more serious as he continued, "But if you truly wish to challenge me to a duel," he stared at Kachidoki and his katanas while mostly ignoring Gastor, "then I will gladly accept."  Cassiano reached towards his waist to grab his rapier, only to realize...  He had left it back in Europe.   His face quickly went from serious and determined to extremely nervous.  

"U-uhm... D-do you...  Take I.O.U.'s?"

-

Fubuki was caught off guard by how quickly she had been noticed by Aoi, even more so by the nickname Aoi had used.  It was one that Fubuki hadn't heard in a very long time, and one she hadn't heard very often.  She turned back towards her friend, a weird multicolored drink in one hand and a kebab in the other, noticing that the dog was still in Aoi's arms.

"Oh, Aoi," Fubuki nodded towards her friend, taking hold of her kebab with her teeth to free her hand for a slight wave.  She walked up to her friend, and stretched out her free hand to nervously pet the dog.  When it stretched out its tongue to lick her, Fubuki recoiled in surprise and let out a short squeak, causing the kebab to fall towards the ground and some of her drink to spill backwards.  Her free hand quickly moved to grab the kebab, barely catching it in time, her other hand trying to keep her drink steady as she did so.  It's a good thing no one had been right behind her as that had happened.  

She breathed a sigh of relief at successfully retrieving her kebab, before taking another bite of it.  "Have you registered yet Aoi?  If not, we should register together," she said, then looked towards the mess happening at the registration desk.  "Though...  maybe it's best if we wait a bit for the commotion to clear up."  She turned back towards Aoi and the puppy.  "It's been quite a while, Aoi, what have you been doing these...  uh...  years?"

Kishi folded her arms again, shutting her eyes in irritation and gripping her sleeve tightly. Artorias was letting Enma off the hook, and the commoners were defending the sleazebag and his brother.

How annoying.

The knight simply tuned out the two who thought it appropriate to criticize her choice of words, not wanting to waste the effort it'd take to correct them. Instead, she simply sighed. She was already sick of being here- The sun was too bright, there were far too many commoners, and Enma was being given a pass to goof off on what should be a primarily business-related trip. Kishi was already feeling a headache begin to form. "Very well, Enma, if Artorias is willing to overlook your poor decision, I suppose I can allow you a little mercy this time." It was rare for Kishi to show mercy to anyone, even the other members of the Association, but this wasn't the time nor the place to cause a scene.

Except, the self-proclaimed "Kaiser" caused one anyways. His declarations were loud, and the challenge he threw at the Grand Sanctuary members forced Kishi to stifle a laugh. This man, barely considered sane and evidently very foolish, thought he could overcome even one of the members of the Sanctuary? His ego was so humorous to her, Kishi almost forgot about her growing headache.

"Fubukiiiii~" Aoi sung happily at the sight of her friend, making sure to keep Tamotsu in arms but also allowing her partner in hyperactivity sniff and lick to his heart's content. The gumball's big and bright eyes dazzled with little stars. She wanted to go see the commotion at the reception desks, and judging by her jittery motions, she was ready to take off at a moment's notice. Really, the girl was acting like a child on a constant sugar high just like she was before. "I went through another Chinese Circuit, it was really fun! Stride is overpowered!! Can I have some of that?" Aoi went off in three different ways, telling of what she's been up to and what she thinks of Vanguard's newest evolution that's already been put to use, just not in an event focused around it. Then, she abruptly and rudely dove for a bite of Fubuki's kebab, believing there was literally no problem with suddenly chomping down on someone else's grub. Bouncing a little while chewing, it was hard for any onlookers to tell who was more hyper: the puppy or Aoi. Despite the weight of the great, jiggling mounds at her chest, she seems to have taken upon the unintentional tactic of forgetting they're even there. It was a shock, given how busty some of the competitors were or had gotten, but it all remained oblivious to her. In her black sailor uniform giving gawkers the peek of cleavage they dreamed of, they were thrilled while she just liked how comfortable it was to wear.

"This is Fuwatan! Say hi, fuwafuwa. He's fluffy, you can pet him!" Aoi got closer to Fubuki, making sure she was in petting range. "Also, I shoot your question back at you! What have you been up to? You have an eyepatch! Did you always have an eyepatch? Did Bashy tell you something funny for you to wear one?" She ran her mouth off, tilting her head curiously.

-

While Gastor, Solis, and Kachidoki were furiously protective like a trio of older brothers in a sitcom, Chrisaline was entertained as she managed to snatch the rose from the air. Giggling a little, she twirled it about in her fingers while the boys didn't seem to have too much issue with that. At least, that was until the man ignored Gastor entirely while Solis didn't seem to mind. Their friend had swords poised at the ready, so they didn't have to do much else. And yet... "Oi, bastard! I'm talkin' to you! They blind AND deaf where you come from?! Listen here, shitbag, I'll-" Gastor went off on an angry rant as his shark teeth sharpened with his fury before a duel of steel was going to commence. While he was ready to back off and leave it to his fellow, the idiot they were dealing with pulled out... thin air.

"What-" Gastor was dumbfounded.

"Oh." Solis' tone was a lot less hostile when he realized his foe had appeared without a weapon.

Chris, however, laughed some more with her practiced sweetness. "Aha, how funny! A new knight appears, and is ready to fight without his blade! Truly, a man of high caliber. How dreamy..." While she did find him funny in an almost non-mocking way, she was putting words in his mouth. She made it sound like the challenge would be carried out here and now without his rapier or whatever he was going to pull as a means to show off. Nay... as a means to pridefully declare he was Kachidoki's superior when it came to the heat of a duel. She gave a haughty "Huhuhu~" with a malicious, open-mouth grin.

Solis, however, caught on to it quickly. "I'm still wondering why they let you out of rehabilitation early."

Gastor, however, is a meathead and did not catch on. "He's what?! Hey, Kachidoki! This guy is tryin' to make a fool outta you!"

Chris is a sadist, Gastor is an idiot.

-

"Name and Clan, that's it. And show me your invitation." Yukino answered her brother, knowing full well he didn't want to be here and wanted to get this over with quickly. Her expression remained as stoic as it usually did, twirling a pen in-between her fingers as handed it to him. Participants can have officials sign them in at the registration booth, but the woman would have rathered he write his name himself. His own signature... "The heat of Vanguard will unfurl and bombard you, and you - like others - are important pieces of history that will set a new era in motion. So bear with me." Her words were stern and close to revolutionary, like a narration of a coming epic. Yet... her tone remained soft, speaking to her brother on a level that tried to make it sound exciting - that confirmed there was a good reason for him to be here. It was because of her he got dragged here in the first place, demanding his attendance for reasons she didn't explain.

She doesn't regret bringing him here.

However, she's starting to regret bringing Cero here. "Yes, yes, if you win, Cero. We'll have our duel. Times have changed, and surely so have we." Despite how much of a migraine he induced, she did speak on looking forward to another potential clash between them. She respected his skill, but not his attitude. In a way, Yukino wanted to invest herself in trying to give him a reason to be less... "him". There were a lot of words she could've used, but that was the only one that captured them all. The Chosen Sword of the Legendary Era give a small smile, one filled with confidence at that.

The other Grand Sanctuary members had some different reactions, however.

"Hmph." That was literally all King Artorias gave him. Not even the benefit of anything more than that, shrugging off his challenge.

"Woaaaah, the Kaiser?!" Enma, unlike his co-workers, welcomed Cero's passionate declarations. People like him were big and loud, which was great for competitive environments in his eyes. "Ha, I'm looking forward to a showdown with you! Even if you don't win, I'll gladly fight you!" He balled up his fist in a showing of pride - he wasn't going to lose to a loud guy like him. The Kaiser was strong, but he was stronger! It'd be a shocking experience (heh) regardless of the outcome.

"Careful now, old man. Cero taught me how to get good, so he'll give you a run for your money, surely." Bashiro chimed in with some snark, poking fun at Enma's age while also praising Cero for making him who he is as a fighter.

"What? Someone actually got you off your ass and made you learn? Well that's-" Hold on, Enma had just been insulted! "Hey, hey!! I'm not thirty yet!!"

Jessie kind of just... watched the adults talk. They were an interesting breed and all incredibly strong. Really... he wondered if he was supposed to be here or not. He couldn't even recognize the gorgeous bluenette Bashiro was lusting after was the previous commander: Yukino Es... err. No, Jessie remembers the wedding he was invited to with his brother. As friends of Haruka's, they got to see her dubbed Yukino Nakahara. Not officially on paper, of course, but spiritually and emotionally through the best day of their lives, presumably. Everyone was here in all their quirky nature, which made him feel better if nothing else.

"Just watching? You bitchin' out or something?" Koga, from left field, fires shots at Carlos with no sense of tact. Tomozo had some questions about how her sisters described her to the lad, but gave an annoyed groan while leaning onto Yukino.

"Koga, that's rude." Fuki stated. "Also, yes, Xateramusa, Stride was used for you all to fight before."

"So? A bitch is a bitch and a brat is a brat. I'm just callin' em as a I see 'em." Koga chewed some gum and blew a bubble for extra measure.

Everything around him was so loud, so very loud. But he chose to focus on his sister. It wasn't like he hated her for bringing him here, he just... didn't want to. He had obligations. "Name and clan?
And my invitation..." he pulled out the invite from his back pocket which was... now slightly crumpled, but he didn't really care to much about that. Placing the invite on the table before him, he glanced around for a moment, then back at Yukino.

"Seifer Espoir, Shadow Paladin and... I suppose I should sign in myself given that you're handing me a pen..." taking the offered writing utensil, Seifer scribbled his name down where he was told to sign in, handing the pen back, and picking up his deck case. "If it was anyone else Yukino, I'd of told them to shove it. ...But you're the one making me. I'll just have to accept it."

”i see, i rember fighting agenst malice and reapers.” she said before lookin g at the two males that had joined frowning as the attatude seemed familiar but she could place her hand on it. ”i think i will sit this tornament out,” she said with a smile and waved to the boys. “hello my name is xateramusa.” she sad inteoducing herself

Tamotsu seemed confused as Fubuki reeled back in surprise from his licking her hands. They smelled like that kebab she was eating and he hoped they tasted like it too. The dog seemed to get more excited as Aoi who was holding him continued bouncing around. His head was positioned pretty much right between the mountains of every man's dreams. Surely they all wished to be Tamotsu at this moment.

His friend took a bite of the new girl's food which was a signal to Tamotsu that that was okay. So before the girl could react to the human food thief, there was another incident as the dog took a bite as well. With that Fubuki might as well have been his best friend and he eagerly awaited her petting him while the girls continued talking. Aoi introduced the pup to Fubuki telling him to say hi to which he playfully barked as if following what the girl had said. His tail and hind legs playfully swayed about, he seemed to be enjoying being a little higher off the ground. It got harder to always be on Jessie as he had gotten bigger so being held was somewhat less frequent a thing these days.

-----

Kachidoki sighed as Cassiano backed off of Chris while also tossing her a white rose. The man said he would gladly duel him however. The idea intrigued Kachi as he tightened his grip on his sword. Only to see... the man had no blade on him. The Aimless Blade finally relaxed and sheathed his blade while setting his cloak back into place around him. Chris spoke some sentimental garbage to challenge the flirtatious man's which incited Gastor.

Kachidoki however knew Chris well enough to tell that she was simply trying to see what fun she could get out of pitting everyone against each other. Nothing new there. And in a way that was comforting to know that his allies of the past were still themselves.

"Nevermind him Gastor." he began. "A true swordsman would never misplace his blade, nor think himself sufficient to challenge another without it." he said as a final play in the game. A way to humor the green haired girl some while also challenging Cassiano's competence. "Regardless I trust the rest of you are here for the tournament? I registered early this morning myself. Why any of us would be invited seems most strange to me given the host." he said pondering the Espoir woman's actions with all of this.

Carlos was surprised at Seifer words. He just told him that he didn't have any memories of him and, before he could finish his sentence, the attention of both him and the young man turned to a figure from their past who was standing relatively close to them, enjoying the spectacle going on at the registration desk - Sera Nakahara, the 'brother' of Haruka Nakahara. Carlos couldn't help but remember fondly Yukino and Haruka's wedding while Sera waved and smiled at him, recalling the last time he saw some of his friends and wondering where was Haruka at the moment. The young man then responded with the same gesture, trying to ignore the fact that Miss Kurokiba right there ignored both him and the green talking fox. Attitudes like that sure made making new friends an ordeal.

Unsurprisingly, Cero, who remained silent more than the few minutes he was comfortable with (A whole new record in fact) soon after recieving the news that Yukino wasn't participating at the Messiah Scramble event, regained his fiery spirit and said that he'll fight Kishi, Artorias, Enma AND Yukino soon after conquering the tournament. Classic Cero. The four leaders of the Vanguard Association gave different kind of responses to Cero's challenge, being Enma's the most positive one... To say the least. Bashiro even told him that, to summarize, Cero was no pushover, and that was something the young man could corroborate.

"Just watching? You bitchin' out or something?" Asked Koga out of nowhere, using her lovely and characteristic little to no sense of tact. Fuki reprimanded her quickly while , but the little green-haired girl just made more insulting comments directed at him, chewing gum and all. Carlos just sighed and answered Koga accordingly. "You know, I think I can see what you're trying to do Koga. In the past, I would've jumped at the first chance to sign up for the event, even more after comments like that. But now I..." He then remained silent for a moment, choosing his next words carefuly.

"... I just don't think I'll be able to enjoy participating, that's all" Carlos finished his sentence, with shades of doubt in his words. "Thanks, though. I really appreciate that" He thanked her, smiling.

"You're not participating?" Jessie chimed in, having wanted to talk to Carlos for a bit now, but was in awe of the adults for the most part. Koga was going to deny any accusations until he spoke up. "Why not? There's a ton of us here from the... well, not good ol' days, but from the great times of when we were bonding with the Resistance. I was hoping I'd even get to meet you inside, man!" The brunette clutched a gloved fist, showing a little upset at his friend's lack of signing up as greetings. "What happened?!"

Bashiro would've greeted Xat if it hadn't been for the rare sight of his brother's spirit. While he was a lazy asshole, Jessie always had more emotional drive in him. The Resistance changed them, and Jessie showed spirit and tenacity more than he did. Yet... this side only came out on occasion.

-

"Ahaha..." Solis laughed nervously and sighed. Gastor and Kachidoki were grilling the fellow, Kachidoki probably not trying to go in as hard nor as seriously, but... Ugh, the things Chris makes happen. "You'll have to forgive us, we try to keep any 'charmers' away from our Chris here." Solis changed to a friendly tone while Chris gave a wink - as if she did nothing at all.

Gastor, however, shrugged and turned to Kachidoki. "Yeah, we're gonna head off to sign up in a minute. I'unno why she invited us of all people, but I'm not gonna pass up the chance when they get pretty cheerleaders involved."

"Aw, but Gastor..." Chris mewled playfully. "Aren't I good enough for you?"

"I know your personality, and that's exactly why I'm not settling for you!"

"Tch, meathead."

"Haaaah? I couldn't hear you, try being a little louder!"

"Meathead!"

"Alright, you two..." Solis intervened, stopping Chris and Gastor's yelling.

Suddenly, Jessie, who remained in awe at all the developments happening at the registration area, came to his side all the while expressing his surprise at Carlos refusal to participate at the event. "Oh, hey Jessie. How's it go-" Before he could finish his sentence, the younger Hakaisha brother hasked him why he didn't want to participate, saying that even some of their previous companions from the days of the Resistance were participating.

"I was hoping I'd even get to meet you inside, man!" Carlos was suddenly taken aback by those words. He remembered facing Jessie, Bashiro and Okuri, some of his most trusted companions, a couple of times during the Reaper Invasion, enjoying every single one of their matches regardless of the outcome. "Y-You did?" He asked him. It was obvious that Jessie was showing a rare side of himself when even Bashiro stopped doing whatever he was doing at the moment to take a look at his little brother. Carlos felt really honored to see him like that. "What happened?!" Jessie finally asked, clenching his fist.

However, his good memories of his time at the slums soon shifted to a sad time. The time when Jessie died facing a Deletor. How broken Bashiro and Okuri felt... How broken he felt and how he subconsciously suppressed his feelings to keep fighting keeping a semblance of sanity. Or at least that's the only explanation he could think of for how he managed to mantain his composure, or some of it, during the whole invasion. He soon started shaking just a little moment at the thought of a Deletor, but managed to stop himself once he noticed that people, some of them his friends who also seemingly managed to overcome that nightmare, were looking at him. "I-I'm sorry Jessie, it's just that I...". He found himself unable to keep explaining to his friend, feeling ashamed that now that was being a problem.

Still puzzled to how Seifer behaved while at the same time happy to see most of her old comrades, Noel walked up to the registration table and quickly and quietly signed up. Hoping no one noticing her as she does. Besides, they all left her behind at the hotel so it doesn't really matter. Her life was too busy to be around others anyway

Xat looked at the people gathered int he plaza and at hearing the word restiance got anouther memorie of her fighting along side others a few faces was brought back to her mind but she couldnt fully see their face. Her tail flicked and her ears perked up as she felt excitment in her bones at the mention of the cardfights and almost wanted to regester herself but held back.

"So who are you guys?" Kao asked not sure who these people were as xat spoke. "The resistance they fought along side me during the reaper inviasion....." she said remebreing the resitance but not the members however she quickly hid beind the booth and looked at them. "You guys did not see me." she said and ducked under the booth as 2 guards came up dressed up all fancy like with markings on there armer with the simbole of the spirit world.

"Sorry to interupt but we are lookng for our queen. she has purple hair, purple vest wiht a pink shirt under it and a mini skirt she also has wolf ears and tail. is also acompined by a little green fox like creature have you seen them?" one of the guards asked

"Why are you sorry? What's the issue? We're friends, man, you can speak up!" Jessie knew something was wrong and wanted to get Carlos talking, but his brother put his foot down.

"You're... still worried about what happened all those years ago man?"

-

Enma expressed confusion over Xat's sudden ducking and guards appearing. While he was unsure of what to do and everyone else was focusing on their own tasks and overseeing, he decided to cover for her. "I haven't seen her", he lied through his teeth. "But I'm one of the people overseeing this entire event and the stuff surrounding it. So if I see her, I'll uh... try to find you guys and let you know."

This is a bit random for the man, honestly.

Xat's ears pereked up at emnas defence of her and she felt releved taht they wont take her back. the guard spoke up "Please do." they walked away and a portal opened up and they entered it going to check anouther place for her. Xat senceing they gone came out of hidding. "Thank you. I just couldnt stay in the castle much longer they dont think hanging out with humans is worthy of me." she exsplaned to him and bowed in the tridincal chinise bow as a thank you.

Kao also spoke up. "your a real life saver Enma." he said

As Jessie kept pressuring Carlos to talk, making him feel a little uncomfortable every passing minute. But suddenly, Bashiro stopped his little brother and asked the young man a simple question. "You're... still worried about what happened all those years ago man?". Carlos remained silent upon hearing that. What he felt couldn't be described as just being worried.

"No, it's not... Look, it's not that simple..." He managed to say to them. "Jessie, Bashiro... I really appreciate that you're so worried about me, but..." He took a deep breath, and then continued. "I mean... Do you know how it feels to be unable to grab a simple piece of cardboard without shaking uncontrollably? Without remembering that you... Actually died more than once playing it?" He thought every word, saying none of it.

"Forget it. If you want me to talk, I'll talk. But..." He took a deep breath, an then continued. "Please, not here. I don't want anyone else to see me like this". While he referred to people in general, it was obvious he was talking about Fuki and Koga as he glanced them when he said that.

"A lifesaver, but not a consistent worker." King Artorias chimed in between Enma and Xat, causing the brunette to sweat nervously and laugh it off.

"Hahaha..."

-

"Alright man, we can talk it out at the hotel. That sound good?" Bashiro stated, willing to help his comrade talk about the trauma the Reaper Invasion left on him. He didn't blame him at all for it, and neither did Fuki, who knows what he must've suffered because of it. Tomozo, on the other hand, was more interested in getting Carlos into the tournament in the first place with a cocky grin where she almost suggested signing him up by force to get it over with. Yukino slapped her hand several times when she picked up a pen though, and Yukino let Seifer go.

"Carlos..." Jessie wanted to say more, but he knew... he knew the pain of it. To this day, he could never forget that he was actually deleted by the Reapers.

"Hey, Boss Lady," Bashiro addressed his former commander like he always would, and she perked up at hearing it. It was nice to know her influence still carried, even in a casual tone like his. "Sign up Bashiro Hakaisha on Narukami, Jessie Hakaisha on Tachikaze, and Tamotsu Hakaisha on Great Nature."

"Tamo...tsu?"

"I'll introduce you later. He's someone you know."