Hotel

Alcohol? And shots on Haruka? Jack Daniels answered his prayers. Giving a nod and a bow to those gathered, he turned to follow Haruka before stopping for a moment. "Noel... was it? ...We can talk soon,
I just... need to get out of here. I'm sorry..." he stopped to whisper in Noel's ear as he passed by, as she had wanted to speak to him it seemed, but right now... he trotted alongside Haruka... breathing a sigh of relief as he spied the glorious amber colored drinks.

Karin, being the living bullet train she was, had already sped through the crowded plaza and had made her way past the hotel's lobby, making a beeline for the bar. She'd noticed a few familiar faces along the way, but made no attempts to socialize- She needed a drink and she wanted it now. Besides, she didn't want to stick around and let people ogle her mostly-nude form right at the moment.

However, only a few feet away from the door to the bar, she noticed one familiar face she was actually happy to see- Haruka, the one sibling she'd wanted to get closer to, but never had the chance to. The War had done a good job of keeping them both busy, despite Haruka having been one of the ones that had saved her life.

"Oh, Haruka! Were you, uh-" She stopped inches away from the door, gesturing towards it. "...Up for a drink, 'big' bro?" That certainly felt surreal, referring to Haruka that way- She felt the room's temperature drop a few degrees, too. How odd. "Been meaning to catch up with you, actually. It's been a while since we last got together, hasn't it?"

"Seifer's situation is... complicated." Hana answered Darren, folding her arms as she thought about how she'd even explain it. The idol herself didn't even quite understand how it all worked, and even thinks it might've been the wrong approach, but... It wasn't her place, she supposed. Although, she knew her place was being responsible and that meant catching her little brother trying to be slick. "I see you trying to tiptoe away from me!" Hana shouted at her sibling. She had been doing that a lot for both of her family, believe it or not. "Seifer, you better come register for the tournament! I know you haven't!"

Wait.

Hana stopped her next train of thought upon seeing Karin and couldn't help but... stare.

Was this appropriate for the event or something the locals did?

-

The brown-haired official gave a thumbs up to Xat as he led them out of the hotel, making his way to the Resort Area with them. "I'm from Japan, like most others here. Though, I kind of tend to stay up in the mountains. But I've been dragged into work for the association. Not that I'm complaining though, I love seeing the people around excited for a restart." He kept his friendly atmosphere and attitude, smiling along the way as he answered Kao's question.

A couple years had passed and a lot has changed, feelings of guilt and confusion still lingered in the young 21 year old's mind, how things resolved, what happened after those horrific incidents how he spent his days from then until a couple months ago. One would think amnesia but the boy, being as goofy as he is, assumed he had been drunk despite the fact that he had never had alcohol until now.

"Sometimes I wonder how I can focus on the tournament with all this in my head to be honest...ha" said the boy.
"Relax Haruto you'll be fine, what's gotten into you, you're acting strange." Percival inquired.
"He's probably just nervous cuz he's gonna see everyone again, and you know, he's way over 18 now eh? eh? ehh boi?" Aglovale said with a smirk on his face.

His face would turn bright red at that moment as he instinctively began showing this expression as if he was having an inner struggle in his mind as he was checking in.

"YOU ARE SO LUCKY THAT I CAN'T GET MY HANDS ON YOU AGLOVALE!!" the boy screamed in his mind, it could not be heard but it was visible on his face.

This immediately changed when he turned around around and saw Xat in the lobby, she had helped him a lot when he had last saw her.
"Xat! hey how've you been mademoiselle?" he said with a goofy smile on his face.

"The smoothest river is in France apparently." joked aglovale.
"SHUT YO ASS UP!" was the only response Aglovale heard, thankfully no one else did.

This state of surprise and inner struggles would come to a halt however when he hears two other familiar voices coming out of the Hotel's Café, as the figures stepped into the lobby, two dear friends to the boy, one would even say family.

"Oh my god! Haruka! Seifer!" he exclaimed, waving his hand and smiling.

He was just about to get away when a voice shouted his name, and he visibly crunched up. She's right, he hadn't registered yet but the reason for that was... "I haven't even gotten my room yet!
I don't want to be lugging around my coat and suitcase!" he shouted back. Okay, maybe Jack Daniels wasn't his savior right now, and as Karin came out of no where in... well just about nothing, he straightened up, turned red for a moment coughing into his hand... and turned toward the bar again. He really needed a drink now.

"I'll go register after I have a drink or two with Haruka and get my things sorted here, alright?
Much as I don't want to be here, as much as I think this farce is pointless, I'm here, and pride prevents me from failing at this stage." he kept looking at the sweet amber drinks, just out of his reach. "I have time, and it's not like I'm going to purposely skip out." now more publicly known, he waited for... well just any response. At this stage, he really had no choices he felt like.

"You'd get to your room if you would hurry up and do it instead of getting a drink!" Good grief. Hana couldn't believe this, he's procrastinating! Tsk, tsk. As expected of a student and a little rebel in a little brother. Alas, she accepted letting him stay with his friend. Only because he knows she'll grill him way worse later and the nearly-nude woman completely threw her off. "There's a good reason for why we're here. I think it'll be good for you, just remember that."

Though, she just couldn't take her eyes off the lady here. It was so baffling and unreal. As an idol, she almost couldn't stand for the lack of charm in being half-naked anyway. At least have some flare to it. But if you can't do that much, have some decency.

"Do you need some... clothes? Or are you... um... into this? N-Not that I'm judging, just... uh... ah..."

Hoo boy.

xat smiled and spoke. ”we’re from anouther world called the spirit plane, its the plan between cray and earth. im the ruler of that plane and kao is my guardian.” she said and kao looked at him.
”she is the only of the royal family left.” he said and she went to follow him out of the hotel. ”be on guard you two and becarful who younsay that to. she said to them xat turned around at her name being called and looked for the person who called her. one sec mr tour guy.” kao said as they stopped. I’m sorry but who are you?” she asked the guy

From weed to drinking. Satoshi had habits galore, but when you're a being that happens to be connected to the base ingredients in each, it's tough to be shaken up by them. Also, didn't really help that somehow, getting high made him thirsty rather than hungry. He ambled into the hotel bar, having completed his other normal evening ritual. It was time to put some sad juice in his system to temper out the baked potato chip that was his mind.

Out of the corner of his eye as he approached the bar, he noticed a few familiar faces. Haruka and Karin were here. Neat. He also caught a glimpse of Haruka's wedding band, which reminded him of the actual reason he came here, face suddenly glowing read.

He had...kind of forgotten to come to the wedding.

While that may sound like a sick joke, a lot had been going on, most of them being random stints of 48 hours of sleep that may have just happened to have lied on the wedding itself. And it may have been because it was his first time experimenting with the strong stuff he now took everywhere he went. And he maaaaay have been super worried that running into one of the married couple, or even their relatives, would result in getting chewed out to hell and back.

Trying not to make eye contact, but attempting to apologize somewhat passively, Satoshi spoke clearly to the bartender: "Three rounds of shots for the whole room, on me." He reached into his satchel and set out a small briefcase. The bartender opened it and---holy shit, it was something close to about $10,000.

"S-sir, three rounds---"

"However many this pays for. If we don't hit it, keep the rest as a tip." Satoshi shrugged, akin to his old farmboyish ways, despite looking not even close to the part anymore. He turned to survey the room, still trying to avoid what would likely be inevitable contact with Haruka or Karin. Or possibly someone else.

He noticed Hana, which was also a surprise, but caused him to get even more flustered. Crapbaskets.

"Huh?" Karin's head turned- She hadn't even noticed Hana was there, having been so focused on seeing Haruka for the first time in a long while. She only barely recognized the sister Espoir, but she looked enough like an idol for Karin to assume it couldn't be anyone else. "Oh, um, no, I just, uh... Forgot to grab my clothes when I left the beach earlier. I was kind of in a rush, um..."

Hoo boy. This was awkward.

"Er, sorry. I'll head up and grab a new outfit soon."

The lobby was slowly but surely filling with people. People Haruka knew. Which means more people Haruka could drink his sorrows away with. His smile grew from determined to even blatantly joyful. He waved to the people calling out, stopping midstride in the lobby at the doorway to the bar. He saw that Seifer was nabbed from his tow by Hana. Once someone was in her crosshairs, it might have been difficult to get out. Sister like sister.

Haruka gave his attention to Karin first... difficult to not in the first place. He gave Karin a quick check out as he would anybody with that lack of clothing in his immediate presence. Without a moment's notice he returned to eye contact, breathing in heavily. He knew how Yukino worked. It took no time at all for her to notice that Haruka was even remotely doing something she was not a fan of. Not that she always particularly punished him for his misdeeds, but she always found out and it was just a rather unpleasant mess. Regardless, he nodded to her. "Going for a drink, 'Little Sis.' Care to join?" In almost immediate response to Haruto also getting checked in, he too called to him and gave a similar invitation. "Haruto! Drinks! On me! Come!" Haruka laughed a hearty laugh... it was almost villainous in a way.

With a last call, Haruka glanced back. "Seifer, catch up if you can. There's shots waiting for you." Haruka winked in his general direction, pulling his white gloves over his wrists and trodding into the bar with the confidence of a dignified competitor walking into a gladiatorial arena. Except he just wants to get drunk and tell stories.

Thavas and Lambros were around too. They were not happy. They disapproved. They were still hungover from the last time they went drinking and Haruka decided to drink that night.

Walking into the bar, Haruka immediately caught wind of his second-third to his life.

"Satoshi! Let's drink!" He wasted zero time getting to the point. There was a goal here. Whether that goal was to not remember or to have as much fun as possible before the tournament, that was to be discovered after the night was over.

A form of relief washed over him, but he sighed even as he was given permission. He'd get an earful later. He always did. Turning toward the bar again, he strode in... and without a word to anyone else in there ordered the heaviest thing he possibly could. This was going to be a long tournament, regardless of he won or lost. He already knew. And what did Hana even mean. What good could possibly come from this for him?

Haruto's was taken back a bit by how Xat didn't seem to know who he was, "What had happened?" was the question on his mind but at this point there wasn't much he can do for some reason he had this strange feeling inside him that told him to not pry into it just yet. Why? He wasn't sure.

"Gosh you don't remember me? We're friends, you helped me find a spirit back in the day, you know during that uh situation with the monsters and what not...aah can't seem to remember to well but yea I still keep in contact with Leonidas how come you don't remember that?" he asked.

"Odd." thought Aglovale.

Just then he would hear Haruka calling for him to come "drink" with him at the bar, which for some reason was both intimidating yet also tempting, mostly cuz he hadn't drank any alcohol but also because he was somewhat intimidated by Xat's gaze of confusion and questioning. He felt a slight swell of guilt go over him when he looked at her, why? He didn't know and like a child he said the only thing he could say.

"I hope to see you later, maybe we can catch up...you probably just don't remember me right now is all..." he said, turning away to go to where Haruka the guys were going the bar.

"Well Perci, our little vanguard is growing up, you're carrying him to his room right." asked aglovale.
"I don't get paid enough to deal with you two." replied the stoic Liberator.
"Coming Haruka!" he said, as he put on a smile trying to forget what just happened.

The brunette was... confused by Xat being a member of a Royal Family. Actually, never mind that, the spirit plane part was enough to baffle him. "Huh?"

-

"Hold it!" Hana shouted as Satoshi was in the process of buying everyone too many drinks. Though, that wasn't the actual issue unless Seifer tried to get one too many swigs. No, aside from the weird girl not wearing much clothing, Satoshi - who she recognized almost immediately - took issue with the amount of money being burned. "That's way too much on alcohol! This place is already expensive enough." She took it upon herself to at least be the responsible adult for everyone if she must. While she didn't think the people here got piss drunk on the norm, she didn't at all like the fact that people would spend as much as the Espoirs do normally on this. Even though it wasn't her money...

"... Hold on, Satoshi?" Despite recognizing him, it took a minute to register it was really him. It felt like it had been so long - like they hadn't even communicated since the War of Liberation, probably not even since then either.

Satoshi's embarassment was more or less saved by Haruka, perhaps deliberately, refusing to acknowledge his mistake and immediately turn the focus to drinking. The Guardian gave a small smile. Maybe things were going to be fine.

Well, they were. Then Hana took issue with how much money he was dropping. Granted, she probably had no idea how loaded he had become since their last time seeing one another, and it would be difficult to explain. What was the best way he could explain it?

"Consider it...a gift that I meant to give at a different time." Shit. That was a terrible way to put it, considering what Satoshi was trying to avoid bringing up, but nevertheless, it would have to serve his purpose.

The deceptively older-looking man felt his muscles tense a little, then immediately relax as he looked over Yukino's younger sibling. She had grown too, and it did surprise him that she recognized him so readily, yet it was entirely plausible, considering the few people who had known about his demeanor change were in the Espoir family. "Nice to see you, too, Hana."

"Drinks! Yes, absolutely!" Karin was already through the door and seated at the counter, now choosing to tune out Hana's nagging. Free drinks were being offered, and Karin was not one to turn such a generous offer down. She kept noticing more and more familiar faces, too- Seifer was here, though he looked a bit different from how she remembered him- and Satoshi, too. Thankfully, it looked like she and Satoshi could avoid a third awkward encounter this time around.

She took the first drink that was passed to her and downed it in seconds, immediately calling for another. "Haruka, Seifer, let's drink! And talk. And drink. The day's only just started."

Neo finally made his way back to the Hotel but instead of going back to his room, he decided to take an adventure to the Hotel bar. But seeing the way Jellal walked off on him made him be in a cloud of thought.

"Uh ill take a Blue Kamikaze Rocks please" Neo said to the Bartender.

Neo was so lost in thought that he didn't realize everyone else in the bar basically drinking the night away. Eventually Neo got his drink and asked for a few more after. Since he was in the Hotel already nothing bad could possible happen.

"It's good to see you, Satoshi! Feels like it's been years! ... Well, it has been years, but a lot more than it has been for others. Where and how have you been? You look... hm." Hana had to pause as she went about trying to catch up with her sister's friend. He looked a lot more rugged, for starters. Everyone seemed like a completely different person from when she met them, but him probably one of the most odd in terms of change. "You look out of it?" She was accidentally a little blunt with how she wanted to word it. That's how she felt comparing him to the Satoshi she met, but meant no ill-intent by it.

Within moments everyone was through the door and ordering their poison of choice. Haruka had yet to actually step foot through the mahogany doorway, his hands on his hips. Laughter, cheers and stories to tell awaited beyond, yet this nagging feeling slipped its way into his thoughts. It was like the feeling a thin hook in the nape of your neck gently tugging. The air around him was cool. Haruka was good at that, keeping his cool. He was deceptive in lieu of wearing masks that kept his innermost thoughts from perpetrating into the world. That isn't to say he was the kind to purposefully act on a persona.

He really did like drinking and telling stories and smiling. It was rare a sight that he got to do that anymore, so he let the hook gently slide out of his neck and waltzed towards the bar counter as well. He had to elbow past Karin's breasts and Neo who took the only other available stool at the counter. He threw a hand up, his fingers anchored to reveal just an index and a thumb indicating "two, please." Moments later he was met with two small glasses of clear liquid with a green hue to it. Absinthe. Haruka was the type of guy to go hard or go home because anything inbetween was unsatisfying. After living the extremes of life, there was no longer greyness in his life, only vivid reds and blues.

"Shots, shots!" He topped off the first one, leaving the second dangling from his fingertips left stainless as white gloves left no indication of fingerprint. "Sir, I'll need two more in a second." Haruka nudged his way into a stool off at the head of the counter, just by Hana and Satoshi. He took the second shot, holding it high in the air.

"Cheers folks, and may the best freak win tomorrow." Haruka used the term endearingly. These were his loving friends and family. He tried to ignore Hana's presence, knowing full well that a frontal encounter was a headfirst jump into an initial suicide. "Someone, a story! Tell me a story! Tell everyone a story, please!" Haruka was already brightened by the atmosphere of company.

"Haha, yeah, let's hear a story or two! Shut the door and let's live a little." Karin picked up her next drink- a rather large mix of a few beverages, flavored with pineapples. She hopped up and sat herself on the counter, leaning back and resting her feet on the stool she'd been sitting on previously, and quickly downed her drink. This was a much better spot for her to have future rounds passed down the bar to her, given that she didn't even need to grab them as they passed now; they'd simply collide with her seated rear, and she could scoop them up at her leisure.

"We got plenty of time to kill, eh, Haruka? We got a lot of catching up to do, too, yeah?" She turned to look down at her adopted brother, oblivious to how this scene might look to a third party. Really, she just wanted to get a little time to bond with her extended family members, and Haruka just happened to be sitting right next to her.

Now Karin, Satoshi, Neo, and even Haruto had arrived. It was most of the people from years ago. It felt nice to be around everyone, though Darren had been away from crowds so long that he was having a hard time avoiding being just a part of the crowd. He stayed quiet, seeing everyone going for drinks. He wasn't one for alcohol, partly because he was only 20. He also had tried it and he just wasn't into it. Too bitter for his taste, but maybe if he had something sweet...

He started to wander away as everyone was drinking, sitting down on a couch in the waiting room. He was glad to be a part of everything but this reminded him of him feeling like an outcast and always trying to do his own thing. He learned on his own that he didn't need to be that way but some things really don't change. He had wanted to tell Hana what had happened given all she didn't know. He had also wanted to talk to Noel and his other friends a bit, but the tournament announcements had to be starting soon. To be honest, he was just happy to be seeing everyone again.

Oh they were about to burst into story time? It seemed like a sailor's habitat with how everyone was acting. Already downing his fifth shot, Seifer exhaled as he felt the burning liquid drain down the back of his throat, his whole body warming up. His cheeks were lit up with a soft red hue, and he could feel the edges of his vision waver, the sign that he's had enough. Tipping the bar keep rather generously, he stood making his way out to the waiting area from before, gathering his things and moving to the front desk.

"Room please. Seifer Espoir." while he wasn't stumbling, black out drunk, he still slurred a bit as he spoke, so he had to repeat himself a few times before the receptionist almost reluctantly handed him a key to room 345. Taking the elevator up, the inebriated young man miraculously found his room, fumbled with the lock for a moment, managing to get it open after several long moments of turning the key in the wrong direction... and immediately threw his belongings on his bed as he entered... nearly flying into a fit of drunken rage.

"Why am I even here? What's the point of me participating and losing my grade I worked so hard to just... get? They know I'm barely passing as it is... I..." he kicked the bed as hard as he could, causing it to shift ever so slightly, and regretted doing so as a sharp pain spread through his foot. Sitting down and sighing, Seifer put his face into his hands taking several deep breaths to calm himself down. He had to head out soon, since he still had to register, but he'd give himself some time to recollect himself and let a bit of the alcohol work it's way through his system. To help with it, he located some water in his room, drinking a few bottles.

Giving himself a few more minutes, the silver haired young man finally straightened his tie, looked himself over in the mirror on the door to make sure he didn't look to far gone, then made his way back downstairs and out of the hotel toward the registration area.

"Perhaps a little." Satoshi scratched his nose, then chuckled. "It has been a lot longer than the rest. A lot has changed since you came back, Hana. You look great, though." Hopefully the intent of the compliment wouldn't get lost in translation simply because he was drinking with the rest of them. Yukino's sister had still been pretty for someone relatively younger than her.

Haruka was apparently awaiting a story. If he had the balls to, he could've told the story about how he missed their wedding, but that would definitely not end well considering the current crowd. He decided the best thing to do would be to hold out if at all possible, see if someone else had a contribution.

Hana was the littlest bit annoyed by the sudden shouting and laughing from the bar-goers. Not because she disliked them having a good time or being happy, but because she felt significantly let out from it. An idol didn't really have a place with casual drinking spots as it was, but she couldn't help but wanting to be the center of attention and staying that way. ... Her sister could usually get away with it in any atmosphere. Hana sighed before putting her smile back on as she talked to Satoshi, "Thanks, I'm going to have to really sit down and catch up with everyone. I've been so out of touch with anything and everything..."

It was grating, knowing she missed a large portion of the story behind the Legendary Era, despite being informed of the basic outline of what happened. Vanguard was used for a war and to save people, but she wanted the details on the people. She wanted to be on the good side of the people... and this may have not been the best place to start. "I'm..." The idol decided it'd be best to just leave everyone be for the time being. "I'm going to go find my sister and make sure there's no trouble going on. You guys have fun." Hana stood up, preparing to depart before trying to nag Satoshi into being a wee bit more responsible with money: "Watch how much you spend on drinks." And with that, she was off as the trail of her dark blue hair was carried and faded with her leaving, as if leaving the afterimage of one of her first impressions back to the world.

The call of the night was drawing in, Haruka down three shots and now sipping a margarita. He stared up at his sisterly figure, Karin Ouriel. He smiled with courtesy, raising a glass to the air and taking another drawn out sip. His buds were refined from excessive coffee testing and having developed something of a caffeine tolerance. Alcohol on the other hand does not propose the same effect, and thus gives way to his composure much faster. His face was certainly flush and he felt his words begin to slur a little bit. He'd ordered for a bottle of water to go with the margarita to drink in between and keep himself from get nauseous.

"If nobody else will start, let me tell you guys about this one time I—" Haruka cut himself off, hearing the sound of an oddly arrhythmic walking pattern off and out of the bar. Seifer had already exited back to the lobby and presumably his room, Hana too had also disappeared from the crowd of faces. Haruka's expression was both relieved and a bit sorry for them, for different reasons. Walking in for only a brief moment was Sera, nodding to Haruka that it was time to get going.

He nodded back after a few moments of silence, setting down his glass. He looked over to Karin, Satoshi and Neo with a certain look. "Sorry guys, I... think I'm going to have raincheck the celebratory reunion." He rolled his shoulders and got out of his seat, walking with a rather heightened stance given he was decently drunk. Not enough to make anyone seem to think so, but enough that anyone who spoke excessively with him could determine it (either from his breath or his words.)

"Sorry, sorry... I didn't mean to get so caught up in the frivolity—"

"You promised me it wouldn't be like this again. We're sticking together this time, okay?"

Sera and Haruka were now situated in front of the elevator doors in the lobby of the hotel, Haruka leaning against the wall downing a water bottle in one hand whilst the other laid attached to his hip. Sera on the other hand had both hands on hips, toes tapping with impatience and a disgruntled look on his face. He'd promptly leashed Haruka for his behavior, on grounds of an agreement they'd made before the flight.

"You promised you aren't going to leave me behind again, you know how lonely it gets given the circumstances..." Sera scratched his head, letting his wrath disintegrate into simple sadness. He looked lonely overall. That half-empty feeling had been eating at him recently, so much that he felt the need to grab Haruka and take him back to the room for the night. His drunkenness was a perfectly good excuse. They had a big day tomorrow too and it wasn't like Haruka to spend the night before ill-preparing himself for such things. This was perhaps the strangest relationship shared between the Nakahara entourage, that being where Sera assumes a position of responsibility over Haruka instead of the other way around. Perhaps it was due to aging, or perhaps due to the flurry of emotional responses from the two of them.

Frivolity around the resort was at an all time high, as they made it to the room and put Haruka to sleep for... the day. He was too drunk to be seen outside this early in the afternoon, so Sera took the representative approach and left a spare key for Room 221 for Haruka inside, taking his own with him.

He strutted back towards the bar, peeking inside briefly, then leaving the hotel grounds after adjusting his suspenders and tie that Haruka lent him. It was red with black checkers on the knot.

At the desk of the luxurious hotel, Jellal was signing paperwork needed to get his room. He still looked a bit off from his encounter with Neo, something Blaster Dark had noted.

"I wonder what's up with him..." the dark knight stood by as he watched his black blonde partner recieve his room key and parted towards the elevator. As he stood waiting, tapping the key with his index finger to the side of his leg impatiently, Blaster Dark appeared once more in front of Jellal with his back turned to the elevator. Jellal's eyes lit up for a brief moment as though a ghost had came before him.

"Yes?"

"I can't bear to see you like this. Was it Neo?" Blaster Dark asked.

"No, not him. It's just..." he stopped at the sound of the elevator reaching the floor. He took a step back as people flooded out the elevator, phasing past the Blaster. When the elevator was empty, Jellal stepped inside and pressed the transparent button that had the number 9 on it. Observing the front of the elevator doors from the inside: Jellal continued. "I started to 'overthink' I guess..."

"Over think? About what?"

"I don't know I just uhh... got nervous is all..." he took a deep breathe and exhaled through his nostrils before pinching the bridge of his nose. "It could've been anyone from back then and I'd of felt the same way." Blaster Dark tried to analyze what his master was inferring to. "Them", a peculiar way of referring to something.

"Why does it bother you?"

"I mean, I'm was kinda hoping I don't bump into anyone else here, but if it's just one or two, I think I'll manage." Jellal dodged Blaster Dark's initial question but assured him he'd explain it when they've settled in their room.