Shop Handsome

Where the hell did the blonde come from? Had she been here the entire time? "Hoh? Me, gorgeous? Far from it. ...Who are you?" Seifer asked tilting his head to the side before practically shoving his face into her's, mere inches away. A total invasion of personal space. As his crimson eyes looked across her face... This persona of Seifer's remembered something that he probably shouldn't of. "Oh you're that waitress aren't you? Name name name........ Lua right?" At the mention of gross, a coin flew from Seifer's hand in the cabbage's general direction.

Cero's eyes barely opened. He was still at the Reaper HQ, but there was a throbbing pain in his side. Clinging to the wall, he managed to pull himself up, just on the threshold of falling over. Step by agonizing step, he pulled himself away from the shop, praying to god no one noticed him wake up. He was too exhausted to handle even one of the husks at this point. There was no way he was going to make it back to the facility in this shape.

The nearest shelter he could think of was the Regional Hall. . . Grimacing, Cero continued forward towards it. Away from this damnable shop and that damn woman. His pride was shattered, but destroying the Kaiser's pride only fueled his rage. His soul. His desire for strength. Without pride to hold him back, there was no longer any limit to what the Kaiser was willing to do if it meant being able to pay back that harlot. Pride was gone, but defiance remained.

He remembered her name! Lua's heart was racing super-fast now. "Y-yes! That's me!" She really wanted to jump into his arms right now, but she had to hold herself down.

"I never got your name, though..."

Fubuki followed the samurai through the streets. Her half-expectation had been correct. She was lead to a building nobody cared about. Reluctantly, she stepped into the permanently open door to see a. . . Red-haired woman who Fubuki was already convinced was some sort of sex worker. Her sweater was still pulled over her lower face as she looked around, having yet to see Seifer's face. No words escaped her mouth, she simply chose to watch these events unfold until whoever their leader was noticed her, positioning herself in such a way she could easily run if she felt the need to.

Oh, she had yet to know his name? How precious! He could tell she was madly in love, yet didn't even know the name of the object of her affections. Precious. "Seifer." he replied, keeping his face close to Lua's for a few moments longer before leaning back, craning his head around to see a newcomer, the lower half of his face blocked from view by his shoulder. Yet another new one. And this one seemed... Oh Seifer had definitely seen this one before, but where?

"This is the one who knows of Cyan", Kachidoki introduced as he entered the shop, noticing Fuki walk past him into a couple of minor construction employees that came to fix the door. Harbinger let Lua and Seifer continue their conversation as she stared at Fubuki with a conniving smirk. What came out of the busty redhead's mouth was a grating taunt that was an attempt to open a gateway to yet another drone.

"What's it like being the only one who cares about a dead girl who died with her doomed timeline?"

Fubuki wouldn't let the taunt get to her. She showed no reaction to it externally.

"It's painful," was all she said. The fact that this woman knew what had happened to Cyan especially bothered Fubuki, making her even less trusting of this group. She took a rather subtle step sideways, positioning herself ever so slightly closer to the door, a stare as cold as ice trained on the red-headed woman, not yet taking notice of Seifer.

"If you know about that, you know why I'm here."

Harbinger chuckled, wrapping an arm under her large mounds, and placing an elbow on the back of her hand, allowing the free hand to hold her cheek. A small lick of the lips, This is going to be easy. "I'm sure Kachidoki has told you two things: I can give you the power of revenge, and I can bring her back. I'll take you to the Akasha Straum so I can show you", the devil held a card that Fuki previously used after confirming what her subordinate had spoken. The shining that emitted from it engulfed herself and the girl, transporting them from Shop Handsome to the same space everyone else had vanished to before - eyes fixated on the floating, shielded device.

Immediately upon entry, this witch which some control and handle over the Akashic Record caused a projection of Cyan to appear - the same sweater-clad lass with big, depressing eyes from three months past. The image was distorting and corrupting, falling apart, hanging on only with the small amount of memories humans in this timeline still held.

Tetra Drive Dragon had been summoned behind Fubuki.

Fubuki stared in shock. Standing in front of her was Cyan. . . It was unclear, distorted. . . But it was her. Tears welled in Fubuki's eyes as she stepped forward, towards the false image, reaching out towards the image. Yet, something stopped her. A cry in her head. Some twisted deductive logic that was pieced together within her head.

"You had something to do with it too, didn't you. . ." Fubuki turned back to Harbinger, her icy stare now piercing into the woman's eyes. "It. . . Was your fault, wasn't it?" Fooling this woman wasn't quite so easy, having been raised by a detective. A fairly good one, at that.

"Yes, that's right... I played a part in ravaging through her timeline and deleting her potential instead of erasing her and her time outright."

Harbinger didn't bother hiding it and instead, flat-out told Fubuki that she was the one responsible for Cyan's despair. The reaper smiled with glee, still proud of what she did to that poor child. Leaving her to suffer a doomed timeline where they could never recover or fight back.

Fubuki's fists clenched at this. The scent of ulterior motives was far too strong now. Yet, she tried to remain as stoic as possible. This disgusting woman wanted her to react. Wanted her to show emotions. There was no way Fubuki was going to just let her have her way so easily.

"Why would you help me if Cyan was your enemy? Why would I help you now that you've confirmed you're my enemy? That you are no different than. . . Her?" It was Fubuki's own turn to taunt, albeit without realizing it.

Little Fubuki's clutching of fists gave Harbinger a small taste of the reaction she wanted. The demon's plot was working, getting a rise out of her. With a crazed giggle, the reaper hissed: "Because she isn't my enemy, the Chosen Shitstain and Chronojet Dragon are." Holding up a hand, her fingers flexed and stretched, as if trying to grab onto something as the reaper's sight was aimed toward the device. "... And you hate the Chosen Shitstain, while I have no qualms with giving that little ball of despair back to you in exchange for her erasure. ... You'll help me, because I can help you, and she can't. She - who you can kill."

Fubuki still didn't trust this offer. Even if Cyan could be brought back from the dead, what was preventing this woman from just not going through with her end of the deal? Besides, Fubuki wanted more than just to kill her.

"I want more. More than just to kill her. I want her. . . To know the pain I felt. To suffer just as I did as her loved ones die right in front of her, and be powerless to change things," Fubuki said, staring into Harbinger's eyes. "But what's to keep you from not giving me Cyan?"

"Nothing, unless Chronojet gets in my way. But that stupid Gear Dragon is terrified of me, so it shouldn't happen." Harbinger responded to her question before anything, keeping smugness about her. "As for making her feel your pain, why don't you just delete her loved ones? She can't do anything about what's already been completely erased by us reapers. Like her own timeline already."

The offer was tempting, but this person standing right in front of her caused Cyan herself even more suffering. Cyan had wanted to die. As much suffering as that had brought Fubuki, she was now beginning to doubt herself. . . Was this really what she wanted? Was this what Cyan would have wanted?

"I need. . . Time to think," she said, covering up her inner doubts completely. "After all, you're just as awful as the 'Chosen Shitstain' as you call her."

"At least I don't prattle on about how I'm a hero and protector when I demand sad children to be killed", Harbinger spoke ill of Yukino Espoir, seething out more and more hate she had for the snow woman. Fubuki needing time was acceptable by the reaper's expression, as all she felt she needed to do was show the possibility that her dead, miserable friend could be resurrected. The gateway card was lifted up, and the two returned to Shop Handsome.

With how crowded it seemed to be getting now, Seifer made his way to one side of the room, sitting himself up on a table while crossing one leg across the other. Seemed that Harbinger was trying to recruit another one, and what a one it seemed. She almost seemed like himself but well not. Oh well, not that it mattered... If she got in the way, she'd be eliminated. As far as he was concerned, everyone here was expendable for his own goals, not just what Harbinger wanted. It's fine, he can wait. They're allies for the time being so as long as he got what he wanted in the end... It was pretty much whatever.

Once they returned, Fubuki watched the blonde-haired man cross the room. When he sat down, she saw his face. Shock overcame her, but she did her best to hide it. Mostly a futile effort. Right in front of her was the man that had taken Cyan's life. At least, she thought it was him. They looked vaguely similar from what she could recall. Oh well, it was enough for Fubuki.

"I don't need as much time as I thought," she said as she stared at the man. She raised her finger at him, her stoic gaze unwavering as she continued, "Erase him and I'll join you." There was no way Fubuki was going to align herself with Cyan's murderer. Granted, Harbinger had admitted to essentially being the same thing, but different circumstances.

Oh? She wanted him erased? For what? Standing up and walking over, Seifer stood at his full height with both hands in his pockets. "You want me gone huh? That it twerp?" he stopped, staring down at the girl before him... the thin red line around his irises glowing intensely. "See, here's the issue with that. I've got a little revenge waiting for little miss priss leading the oh so fearless rebellion. And you won't stop me from accomplishing that goal." his eyes narrowed as he continued to stare down at her. "So whatever your petty little issue is will have to wait until I'm done."

"Quiet, dumbass", Harbinger snapped at Seifer. "It's your face in particular that's upset her, and I know why", the woman chuckled, giggling at how stupid the reality of this was. "One of those people like Cyan was a future version of this man from a doomed timeline."

While the explanation was short, it hid that the witch didn't care if the girl bought it or not. This entity's attitude was rebellious, and she had an idea to make him bend to servitude - to obey her "game" with less question and sass. It would only be necessary if Fubuki decided not to believe her, however. Fuki and the wee cabbage picked up on this desire, aiming themselves at the Reversed being before them.

Fubuki frowned slightly under her sweater, disappointed that 'fear' and insults were the only tactics this murderer had in his arsenal. Nothing he said got to Fubuki, still as stoic as ever. "Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind dying for the sake of that revenge," she replied coldly.

When Harbinger spoke, Fubuki turned her gaze towards her. Though her eyes looked in Harbinger's direction, she was looking through the woman more than at her. "I don't believe you. I have no reason to believe you," she said, already aware of this woman's trickery. Stepping forward, she continued, "In fact, I'm not sure I believe you can really bring Cyan back. I'm sure that was just an illusion. A trick of the mind, nothing more than a daydream."

"Alright", Harbinger replied, closing her eyes, and still beaming. Fuki began to walk to a room in the back of the shop, and the cabbage's left index finger began to glow behind her back. Eldritch speech roared from the reaper's tongue, language that would saw human's mouths if they dared to try and say any of it themselves, which is why their brains luckily translated it as metallic grinding and hissing. A massive sphere began to form in front of the woman, quickly terrifying all the normal on-goers of Shop Handsome. They really need to go to Card Capital. Regardless, the void was launched into the entity that was Seifer, then, Fuki and the lettuce tapped the walls behind them quietly with the same power, and Seifer was gone, along with a portion of the floor.

To them, it seemed he was actually deleted.

However, the two drones actually locked him and the void orb itself was a lock that transported him to the back door. Fuki lifted up the gateway card that took herself and the Reversed Seifer to the Akasha Straum, off of the Earth entirely.

"Tell me, was that an illusion?" Harbinger asked Fubuki. It was actually, but... "And if you still don't believe me, I can bring him back right now." And it would look as if she brought him back from nonexistence, like a magician's spell.

"What the fu-" gone, poof, nada. Even with the illusion, Seifer remembered this feeling. Appearing with Fuki in the Akasha Straum the remaining end of the sentence flowed out, finishing the explicit with a drain of breath. How annoying... But whatever. "I suppose this plan is better than what I was going to offer. Saves quite a bit of trouble really." shoving his hands into his pockets, his gaze went to Fuki, eyes half shut. "Soooooooooo, where is this exactly?" back in the shop, maaaaaaaaybe he should of kept his mouth shut at the start, but even as he was he could still get annoyed at blatant ignorance. Not that this product of Reverse was much better. Can't all be perfect.

Fubuki noticed someone go into the back room right before Harbinger's little trick, something that immediately triggered her suspicions. The screeching and hissing was disorienting to say the least, but Fubuki remained as stoic as ever.

"Your words just prove it an illusion, I have nothing left here," she said, turning away from the red-haired harlot and exiting the shop.

"If you want to continue being powerless to save anyone or change anything, be my guest. That memory of Cyan can disappear along with you while the Chosen Shitstain gets to live. Maybe I'll erase the sweater you have just to make a point."

In fact, that exactly what she was going to do. A beam of void zipped out of her fingertip and hit the left sleeve of the sweater, leaving the wearer intact, but erasing that piece of the fabric from reality. Harbinger was getting impatient, however, this should be enough to convince her.

"The Akasha Straum, we shall return to Earth in a few moments", Fuki spoke to Seifer within the space of the Akashic Record. "This space holds Harbinger's last goal."