Ruined Seaside Mega Mall

"Its no problem. How bout we go get some lunch somewere. My treat. then maybe we can go look for some new cards for you." She said as she dried off the table.

Mirai finished eating, now her stomach fed and contained for the time being. So yummy... so many calories but so worth it!

That was when she looked over and saw Raiden's cards getting wet. That's not good. Mr. Thunder God's deck was ruined by a fountain drink! The worst fate for a card. She then got up and walked over to ask an unusual question but it had a purpose, "Yahelloo~! Poor Mr. Thunder God has his cards ruined! I know a secret place where I can fix them up for you! Is it ok if I can take those with me for a bit?" In honesty, Mirai has no idea how but she wants to help and take the sadness away from her new acquaintance.

Raiden looked up at Mirai with a blink. She did say she wanted to help him before. Was this a part of that? He handed her the slightly damp cards and said to her, "Sure, if you think you can do anything for them then you're free to try." He didn't believe she could restore the units. The best she could do was replace them with exact copies. If that was the case, though, then at least it would be repayment for the meal. That thought made him willing to let her do as she pleased.

Xat's seemed like a serious offer though. He turned to her and nodded lightly. "Sure, we can go out somewhere," he said to her. He hoped that getting new units could help him with being able to move on with his investigation. If Legion was something everyone could do, it must be sold in stores by now.

"so were do you want to each for lunch?" She said wondering what he would want to eat. When they go card shoping she already decided that she will buy him some new cards.

Rosalia merely nodded to Yukino at the mention of ramen and ice cream. Odd combo, but hey, who cares? "Yup~ Looks like this place is pretty good too," she answered, glancing around at the ramen shop that the group stopped in front of. It was definitely a higher end ramen place; surely there were lots of options to choose from for the four of them. Still taking the lead, trying to keep an upbeat spirit, the brunette half dragged her companions inside, getting a table for their little group, and menus. Rosalia, of course, sat by Seifer's side, but across from Yukino. "Soooo... What to get... Something with chicken for me probably... What're you guys having?"

And that was about all she asked. The brunette felt something off about her boyfriend, and her sister. Maybe it was because they weren't eating right? (Surely if Seifer wasn't eating, maybe Yukino wasn't eating as much either?) But something still felt... sad, wrong, or just empty. Rosalia was going to try as much as she could to keep the atmosphere bright and happy, but even she started to wonder about those others who were missing, just like she had been... Perhaps, it was her fault that everyone seemed to be feeling down...

Lua blinked. A group had come into their place. A group of people. A group of young people her age.

Perfect.

She put on a huge smile and came over to their table. "Hey, hey, hey everybody!~ I'm Lua, and I'll be your server today!~" Sparkles came down behind her, as though she were the star of some kind of show featured only at this ramen place.

"Food, at last. Do you serve coffee by the way? I could really use a cup."

Haruka had to ask the obvious. But he was desperate. The caf-fiend would need his fix in an hour or he might crash on the way home.

It was getting really bad as it is.

"I wouldn't really know myself," Darren said simply as he stood up. "I don't know much about the places to eat around here. I will say, though, that I could go for anything right now." He had already eaten a bit but he could go for more if it was light. Besides, he was use to going all night without eating just from being absorbed in his work. Having more food wouldn't hurt him.

Xat nodded and looked around for a good food place. "I don't really know whats good to eat around here. I havn't been to many malls in my life time."

The waitress scared the ever loving blazes out of Seifer, as he'd been semi day dreaming. That was probably inaccurate. No, his face looked like one of planning when she showed up. "U...Uh..." there was a stammer before he could fully form any coherent sentences. "If you have coffee, I'd like some as well. If not, green tea, or regular tea is fine." he ordered second, setting down the menu. "Beef ramen as well, but you don't have to bring that right away." It was a half lie, while he was indeed very patient, he was also hungry. Oh well.

Yukino sat down and took one look at the menu. The queen's eye fixated right on the largest orders there, and Haruka's mentioning of beef bowls made the selection for her. "I'll take about four of these", she nonchalantly spoke, pointing to it. Most likely won't be done after them either. That aside, the war general stared at her sister. The contemplative look Rosalia was trying to hide under a comfortable atmosphere wasn't fooling the elder sister. Trained big sister eyes, you see.

A quiet, genuine smile was given to the brunette.

She wasn't Hana, nor did she ever have to be. Two little sisters. Hikari would protect this one as if they were blood all the same.

Lua smiled. Both these boys were addicts, she could tell. "Two coffees, comin' up! I'll put in your order. Let me know if you need anything else!~"

She slid away on the floor through the flipping doors on the side, her smile fading as soon as she waltzed in. She slapped her order slip on the counter and walked back out, resuming her position at the main counter with her chin resting on her palm.

Lua stared at the group for a little bit. The girl who ordered four beef bowls was a bit too hoity-toity for this place. The hell was she doing her? Likely treating her two coffee addict servants and this lovely little sister of hers to dinner. How thoughtful of her.

Still, the one next to the cute little sister was pretty nice-looking...his blonde locks reminded her of her own. She twirled a little bit of her long hair around her finger staring at him, wondering what it would be like to be close to him. Maybe take in a bit of his musk and---

She blushed extremely hard. Shit, no, no, she was at work! Bad Lua! Bad! She turned to the kitchen window, rapping her fingers waiting for their order, still a bit red.

Rosalia looked over the menu slowly, almost hiding behind it because she didn't want the others to see how her smile was fading. But when she took a small glance up, sure enough, Yukino was smiling at the brunette. It made her feel a bit better, though she still felt like the quieting atmosphere was because of her.

Nonetheless, Rosalia smiled in return, or tried to. Her stomach growled, earning a warmth blooming in her cheeks. "H-heh... I should just get one or two of the chicken bowls... And like three glasses of water. Guess I'm a bit hungrier than I thought, but I'm super thirsty..." she said softly, scratching the back of her head with an embarrassed expression. But, glancing at those that she shared the table with, she tried to focus on the fact it was just nice to have all four of them together.

Especially Seifer, of course, but that was normal for the brunette to think so. She hugged the blonde male's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder, a content smile on her lips. "Mmm... You know, I really shouldn't do this. Otherwise I might end up falling asleep... again~" she mused, not that she cared. She simply tended to fall asleep a lot, even in public. "So, Yukino-oneesan. Haruka. How have you two been?..."

"Hmm? I've been..."

Admittedly better.

"I've been good, Rose. I'm living with the dearest here so I mean, what more could I ask for? A roof to live under, a woman who cares about me and a job I don't hate. That's a win in my book, yeah?"

Haruka called out for a beef bowl or two himself, whilst also awaiting for his order of coffee. If they even had it that is.

"Happy days, y'know..."

He smiled, nodding to Rosalia and Seifer. He even planted a small kiss on Yukino's cheek for emphasis because he wasn't really lying, he was having a great life and no use lying about that.

"What about you, Rose? How's it uh, been? Since you got back, I guess."

He could feel someone looking at him but... Well when he felt Rosalia against him he shrugged it off, looking down at the brunette with a smile. She really did like to cling to him. He soon doubled his order as well since everyone was getting two or more bowls. I'm looking at you Yukino. That being said, he just relaxed, waiting for his coffee as well. Maybe it'd help him get out of his exhaustion. That and he hadn't had coffee in... quite some time. "I haven't seen you in a while either Haruka, truth be told. I'm sorry about that since I've been meaning to hang out with you more. Hell, we live in the same house now don't we." he sheepishly scratched the back of his head looking at his sister, his lover at his side, and the person he could call a brother. ...This image for some reason just felt perfect enough, and yet even with it... He felt there should be more. Not right this minute but... Something felt empty. Shrugging off the bad feelings yet again, he plastered another smile on his face.

Yukino began to remove her jacket, revealing a small, black top she used to wear two years ago, back during the Royal and Shadow civil war, and back when she first met Haruka. It was a new size, mind you, since it had been two full years for her since then. It was still wrapped around her waist and all she had to do was lift up the helm to slide back into it. Perfect.

"Better", Yukino repeated Haruka's answer to Rosalia. "Things haven't been... as awful. Having this guy around is really a light up for my life." The queen smiled to Haruka as he kissed her cheek. Nightmares and nobody letting her work aside, having her boyfriend in the house was probably the one good thing she had over these three months.

Lua went into the kitchen briefly, then came back out balancing as best she could two bowls of chicken ramen and about eight bowls of beef, in addition to two mugs of coffee.

These people would be the end of her, she swore.

"Here we are! Let me know if you need anything else, everyone!" She gave a little pose, winking at the blonde boy in particular, before sliding off into the kitchen once again.

Rosalia smiled a bit, seeing Yukino and Haruka happy together. It was like the perfect little family between the four of them; the brunette was just happy to be a part of it again. "A-ah... I only got back um... yesterday, so... It's a little weird seeing everyone again..." She trailed off mostly in thought, remembering the situation at the park yesterday. Some guy was looking for this other guy named Seyer? Seyfer? Someone, and he got Seifer confused with him... but then they fought... Seeing Noel again was different.

Not to mention the fact when Rosalia first returned, she was in Seifer's now old house, and was panicking because it felt so empty and dusty. "W-well.. It'll be better from here on out.." I hope... Thankfully, the waitress returned with their orders, the brunette sitting up a bit more so she could eat properly. Unforunatelyyyyy she noticed the wink to the blonde male, and thought maybe she was being paranoid... Whelp, that didn't stop Rosalia from shooting the waitress a quick glance, before purposefully kissing Seifer (yes on the lips). Then she smiled as if nothing happened, and started digging into her chicken ramen. "So... what is it with you guys and beef bowls? I'm the only one who ordered something different..."

When the bowls and coffee came, Seifer was a bit delighted. Coffee and food. He was pretty happy about it. However, as the waitress left, he himself didn't catch the wink... So Rosalia's lips meeting his took him by surprise. He didn't object however, returning it, his face a bit red. He was actually a bit confused about it, but again... Didn't object. Taking a sip of his coffee before he started on his ramen, he'd address Rosalia's question. "Because, beef is life." he joked, taking a few bites himself. He really was hungry, and this was hitting the spot. It tasted really good to. He'd have to remember this place if he really wanted ramen again.

"I was just ordering what this chucklehead mentioned, I don't really know many flavors of this stuff", Yukino spoke of Haruka while reminding that commoner's food isn't her forte. Her new attitude was more eager to try and devour everything, and that was a... positive thing? Broadening horizons, something like that. If it tasted good, it could be cafeteria slop or a world-class chef's masterpiece, she'd eat it. Which is...what she did, quickly digging in once the food came.

"Oh my", Yukino slurped down a mouthful, placing a hand over her mouth. "This is... really tasty." Her chopsticks took a piece of beef out of the bowl, and she bit into that too. The queen hummed happily, even mewling softly while caressing her own cheek.

There goes the first bowl.

"Can you tell me more about when you... got back?" Hikari asked Rosalia, trying to understand the circumstances of those who returned from Event Horizon's distortions.

"Coffee and beef bowls are pretty much what I live for, to be honest. And Yukino. Of course she's been a big part so... Anyways, you mention getting back yesterday. What was it like? I don't really know the details about it so..."



Haruka began to stuff himself full of food and drink, the caffeine pouring down veins. He began to stretch, relax... the waitress seemed to have the hots for Seifer so he immediately started giggling at Rosalia's instant reaction to the situation. He would plant another on Yukino if he didn't feel like it would already be overkill as it is.

Also Yukino was devouring the beef bowls and this caused Haruka to worry. Maybe only because it meant that she would be done before the date was over and he'd have to go shopping anyways.

More sweat built. Oh dear.

Rosalia frowned slightly at the questioning, but given the circumstances, who wouldn't be curious to know what happened? She ate slowly, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. "There's... Not a whole lot I understand myself, but... The only thing I remember from before is just white... I was on the island, everything faded to white, and I wasn't sure how long I had been there until I woke up just... randomly standing in my bedroom at Seifer's house." She took a moment to eat a bit more of her chicken ramen, suddenly not feeling hungry, but she would be hungry later if she didn't eat now.

"After I realized I like... missed time or something, I wasn't exactly the most happy camper... Seifer and uh... Actually, I don't know his name. He looked kinda like you though, Haruka... Anyways they were outside the house at the time and found me, so seeing Seifer again helped a lot... We went to get something to eat, he told me a bit about what I missed, and then we went to the park. It was, uh... interrupted by this guy who was looking for a friend of his? But we saw Noel there too, so it wasn't too bad... Then we went to the hotel, though I kinda feel asleep on the way, like usual..." Rosalia glanced up from her ramen as she finished her little story, but it wasn't her sister and Haruka that she looked at. The brunette glanced to the blonde male by her side, not exactly sure if she should mention the fight he had yesterday with the guy from the park. Come to think of it, did they ever get that guy's name? She only remembered hearing the name of his friend or whatever that he was looking for: Seyfer? Seyer? And... the picture of Darren...

Rosalia felt a spike of pain course through her head, rubbing her temple with one hand as bits of the fight flashed back through her thoughts. She wanted to ask about Stride, and Legion, but decided to wait on that. Trying to focus something else, so she pulled out her deck box. Last time Yukino or Haruka may have seen it, it was purple with a silver moon on it. This time, the moon was still there, but it was a pink box. "I uh... I don't have Pale Moon anymore. I guess they disappeared from me while I was gone. I got this though, but I don't get what the little symbol is here in the corner," she explained, pulling out a grade two unit with none other than the Legion marking in the corner. But the deck wasn't even close to the same nation as her former deck: Oracle Think Tank. Specifically, the card itself was titled Spring Petal Magus.

Yukino initially gave a confused expression. Event Horizon occurred some time after they all returned from Hawaii, yet Rosalia vanished by then? The Chosen Sword gave a hefty gulp, nearly choking before taking a drink of water, then returned her focus to the information. The girl appeared in Seifer's... previous residence. Sounds like around the time "Drake" was helping Seifer move out. Hikari never actually confirmed if this "friend" of Haruka's was Sera. Oh, sure, she had her suspicions, but living three months trying to desperately find work and panicking didn't let her put two and two together at the time.

Chewing into more of the beef, the general thought things were normal for the most part. Aside from the confusion and personage being altered, the brunette's personality was still intact. A bit of clinging to Seifer, falling asleep regularly, and the persona she had displayed during this get-together all seemed consistent with how she was before Event Horizon.

"Wait, you don't have Pale Moon anymore?" Yukino asked, as the only cases she knew about people losing clans... were when said clans disappeared. Though, she hasn't heard of any such thing happening, especially from Dalis. Contemplatively tapping her chopsticks, the woman tried to think of an explanation before seeing Magus units. It didn't seem like Rosalia knew what Legion was.

Mind you, Hikari had little idea herself.

"That's Legion. A symbol of binding between two units that can appear in the vanguard circle together."

Seekers explained it that way, anyway. Yukino just repeated what she heard.

The blonde listened quietly to the conversation, sipping on the broth of his beef bowl. It was essentially the same story he'd heard. Which made sense, Rosalia wasn't a liar. She was indeed also very much the same as she had been before. Wiping away the broth that had collected on his upper lip, he started coughing, choking... When Rosalia mentioned the fight yesterday. He had hoped THAT hadn't been brought up, since typically he shouldn't really use Link Joker... But the guy just... Really pissed him off. The conversation moved forward though, and just before he had a chance to explain legion, Yukino spoke up... Explaining it just about the same way he was going to. While that was out of the way now, he had a thought... something occurred to him about the guy he fought yesterday.

"The guy I fought. He used Garmore Liberators." he glanced to the side recalling the fight, and just how helpless of a situation he put the Garmore player in. At some point, he wouldn't be surprised if word had already reached Yukino about the fight through her own paladins. To be honest he was quite surprised he hadn't been reprimanded yet... But that isn't the point right now. "He's apparently been digging around a lot, looking for a way to save Darren. ...As he is right now, he can't accomplish anything. ...He doesn't..." he sighed shaking his head now staring down into the first empty bowl. "He's lacking something. Something important. ...There's also the fact that, when everyone started to crowd around, Rose she... ...Anyway, I got really defensive and quite a bit angry... I told him to stop talking, since he'd continued to speak about the events. ...Nee-San, he's going to get himself killed or worse. He challenged me, just to see if I was an enemy." he shut his eyes sighing again. He didn't intend for this to become a work conversation, but right now... He needed to say it. Otherwise he'd probably get in trouble later.

"He also showed me a picture, and... The guy in it... He was with you. He looked like me but, it wasn't me. The date of the photo... I was still in a coma. ...He also called me Seyfer, but..." he paused, waiting for a moment before shrugging and setting into the second beef bowl he had.

Haruka listened intently, nodding at the story and the explanation that was being given in response to a majority of this. He washed down the remainder of the bowl with a  swig of dark coffee. It wasn't as good as back at the manor, but it kept his nerves sated.

Back to the topic at hand. So she lost Pale Moon and got... a Legion pair? Sounds similar to Haruka's situation with Overlord and the transition over to the Aqua Force. Strange though, she seemed to only understand bits and pieces of what's going on. To be honest, Haruka had come to believe if anyone knew the most about the situation, it'd be someone who was involved in it.

Turning to Seifer, he nodded at his comment about the Garmore fighter. Nothing he could pinpoint, but the name sounded familiar at the very least. Darren was somebody Haruka knew only a small bit; they fought on the same battlefields together several times, but they never really exchanged words. That might have to be fixed one of these days.

A person that looked like him...- Sera.

"Yeah, Drake. He was helping Seifer move a few things. He lives with me in the Espoir household. Sort of under the supervision of me. I pay for his living expenses at the moment but he's a good guy if you get to know him-"

Haruka blinked, wanting to completely retract that last bit about getting to know him. Unless you just don't value your sanity, you do not want to get any closer to Sera than you would possibly have to. Haruka shook his head, returning to a calmer state with a smile.

"Regardless, its a good thing they swung by when they did. And its good to have you back. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't have the time to worry about the details anymore. I'm glad you're safe and sound, Rose. Seifer I'm sure should have similar feelings."

He lifted his cup in the air, with a mini-self cheer, downing the last of it.