Ruined Seaside Mega Mall

Wait a minute.

A concerned stare to Seifer from Rosalia, Seifer mentioning the deck of the person they met-

He cardfought this person didn't he.

"Seifer!" Hikari shouted, now having put two and two together for another matter entirely. "What the hell did I tell you about fighting?!" The Chosen Sword proceeded to get on his case, considering the... deck he used. The last thing anybody needs is a problem reported about an Espoir using Link Joker, the same reported menace of the nation. Well... they couldn't make him not fight ever. Yet, if they could keep him from playing the game in public, it was preferred to stay that way.

"... Ugh", the woman sighed, leaning back after finishing the third bowl and most of the fourth. "I have a good idea on who you're speaking of. I don't know what he's missing, but I don't think he's entirely an idiot. He wouldn't challenge someone who's obviously dangerous, so he won't end up in a trap... I hope."

It was Raiden, of course. Though, being the son of a detective who hunted leads down to their core, he wouldn't do something like fight someone clearly deranged in trying to understand them... right? ... Maybe she really does need to re-establish a base of command sooner rather than later. The less track she's keeping of people, the more messes they all seem to get into.

"... He meant Seyer. One of the Seeds - an alternative of you more specifically. I can tell you about it later."

For now, they should all just ease up a bit. This is a double date and a relaxing get-together, let's keep it that way for awhile. Haruka was right on point with his way of thinking. Rose's back, and everyone should be happy.

Rosalia glanced at Haruka when he spoke, mentioning that the guy he met was named "Drake". Huh. She wondered why the looked rather similar to one another, but she always heard a silly rumor that there's between one and seven people in the world that have the same face as you. So maybe it was just a weird coincidence.

She didn't have much more time to think on it when Yukino shouted, the brunette visibly flinching even though she wasn't the one being yelled at. She fumbled with her deck and the legion card, pulling it out of the line of fire. At least Yukino seemed to quiet down rather quickly, not that it helped the now trembling Rosalia. Louuuuuuuud Noisessssssss. The shaking subsided as she started to nibble again at her ramen, while her gaze remained lowered to look at her deck, trying not to think about yesterday's events.

But if what Yukino said was true, there should be two vanguards... if Spring Petal Magus was a grade two, then... Looking through her deck, she found the match, a grade three named Autumn Leaf Magus, and when she put the two cards together, the art itself lined up perfectly. "L-legion..." Part of her wondered just how different her old Silver Thorns would be if she somehow kept them, and got a Legion for them as well. But, she didn't let that bother her now. Rosalia had Magus, which while it felt different, it felt... right? Or at least not wrong. She started to look over the deck more, actually spending a little time reading the skills. "T-this deck is a lot different from my Pale Moon... It looks like there's a lot of guesswork, trying to predict the top card of the deck, but then there's other cards that actually look at the top, or put something on top?... That's a thing? I never really looked at Oracle Think Tank before..."

"I didn't have much of a choice! He didn't give me one!" he shouted back right after she did though... He calmed down rather quickly. Sighing he shook his head. "I'm sorry, just... Lately I haven't been doing great. I shouldn't of fought, and I shouldn't of shouted..." he apologized to Yukino before listening to the rest of what she had to say. Seyer? His seed counterpart? He actually had one? Anyway, yeah relaxing time. He did have one question though, but he'd save that for later. "Yeah, I'm happy she's back. ...I was pretty much lost without her, having to just... force my way through the days before my coma." a small smile returned to his lips. He was genuinely happy she was back. "I just hope Father doesn't flip out on me for not coming home last night." it was a light hearted joke, meant to lighten the mood a bit, even if it was probably going to happen. "Say though, couldn't Rose work at the mansion to?" a genuine question, directed at Yukino.

Oh no, Yukino knew he'd ask.

"I'm not against Rose staying at the manor, or working there. Father, however..." She looked off toward the distance. The image of Dad complaining about too many damn people in his house came to mind, and that would probably be reality when they get there. He's already sick of Haruka, but that's only because Haruka is her boyfriend more than anything. The woman had a couple extra things to say to Seifer about the rest he spoke of... but refrained. Instead, she took up the fourth bowl, and guzzled down the broth of it, cleaning all her dishes. Placing a hand on mouth, a belch was stifled away, then hidden with a cough or two.

Royalty doesn't burp, nope.

Might need a couple more bowls though.

"Oracle Think Tank is a foresight corporation. The Magi, more than the rest save Amaterasu most likely, master the art of prediction. Naturally, yes, it's a lot of guesswork." The Queen informed Rose of her new clan.

Haruka waved his hand in front of Seifer's face for a moment.

"Oi. What would she do though? You aren't implying she..."

He looked at Rose for a moment, then back to Seifer, then back to Rose, and once more at Seifer with a somewhat perturbed look on his face. This was not the sort of conversation he particularly wanted to have right now.

"The staff isn't particularly tight so she probably could I guess."

Yukino agreed.

Haruka coughed, sitting back again, relaxing his shoulders. It seems Yukino was somewhat on the same track as him already and skipped over back to the Vanguard aspect of the conversation. He scratched the back of his head, listening in as well. He was particularly interested in the clan, as he never really had much knowledge on them in the first place. He vaguely knew of Amaterasu as a card, but that was about it when it came to OTT knowledge.

"Guesswork? If its foresight, don't they already know? Why would they have to guess..." Haruka trailed off, waiting on a second cup of coffee.

"It's not them that has to guess. It's... Rose who has to guess or make use of their foresight through skills."

Yukino put her hands together, intertwining her own fingers, and then placing them in between her thighs. A bit of a comfortable, anxious sitting position. Magus' specialty was explained, along with the drawback. They could see the future, but their users couldn't. The deck is prone to deep inconsistency without certain methods because of that.

Well, until she could master her clan, Rosalia's deck would be more guesswork than actual prediction... or stacking. Is it called stacking when she can see the top or put something on top without shuffling because of card skills? Whatever. The female put her deck away for now; there was no way she could really learn her deck without trying it out, but she wasn't about to have a cardfight in the middle of the restaurant. Besides, there was a more pressing matter at hand. "I-i'm not really sure what I could do for the mansion..." she admitted softly, looking down again at her now second bowl of chicken ramen. "I don't want to be a bother for your father, or the staff... I don't even know if my own family knows that I disappeared or not. My phone's been dead since I came back, and I haven't had the time to charge it, if it even still works... I'm probably out of practice with my violin and such, too..." The brunette wanted to curl up in the corner. Maybe her coming back was causing more trouble than good. Right now, she was essentially homeless, not exactly the best situation for an originally very sheltered girl...

"R-Rose, relax a bit. It's not a bother to anyone but Father, and he's only upset about how many people are coming to live in the house. Even then... he'll still treat you like one of his own. We'll get your phone charged too, and don't worry about the violin!"

Man, the poor thing made Yukino as nervous as she was being a war general.

Raising her hands, the queen waved them to try and waver the listed issues away. Smiling, though feeling a bead of sweat drop her cheek, Hikari tried to give a reassuring expression. There was a bit of temptation to assist in helping Rosalia learn Magus... if only to be a distraction and help Yukino figure out how the hell Seekers work. Yet, refrain stopped that. Mostly because there was no space on the table to have a cardfight.

While he finished, Seifer's eyes remained shut. He stayed out of the conversation now. Actually, he seemed like he'd just... changed. His eyes were half shut as he listened to the continuing conversation. What more could he really do? He didn't know what to do. Things just continued to feel tense. ...Maybe there was a way to fix everything. That was his constant thought process, but right now he needed to stop withdrawing and focus on the present. Turning his attention to the two girls in the group, he sat back in his chair, sipping at his coffee... Just watching... Listening.

"Just become a maid."

Just become a maid, he says. Because it really is that simple, he thinks.

"I mean, it'll mean long hours and being bossed around a bit, but I'm sure the household residents wouldn't get on your case all too much. Most of the time Mrs. Espoir is out and about around the world, Mr. Espoir doesn't ask for much but coffee and that's usually Butler-san's job, and unless these two here plan to abuse it...."

Haruka laughed a bit, finally taking off his white gloves.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

He stretched and yawned. Glancing over at Seifer, he caught wind of his attitude. Er, not particularly an attitude, but rather his decision to abstain from the conversation at the moment. While it wasn't discerning or anything, Haruka felt words of encouragement from the girl's lover might get her to be a bit more forward with the group.

"As for Vanguard and your clan, well, everything takes practice. You'd think by now me and Lambros would have our formation set-up every time but he still always tells me to put Bubble Edge Dracokid behind Starless and I swear to god he's just drinking the salt water again."

"I'm telling you it'll work one day!"

"It... it's never going to work captain. Starless doesn't appreciate throwing only 5000 Power in the front row either."

"Meh..."

Haruka laughed at the efforts of Savas and Lambros to actually make cohesive decisions on the battlefield. Guess they really do need a Vanguard after all, otherwise they might be in shambles.

Just become a maid. Yup, seemed like the most obvious option. Anything that she wanted to do was probably unlikely. She wished to do something with music; that's always been her passion, save for Vanguard. But there really were no other options right now, and it wasn't like she was even very good playing the violin, or singing... However, two moments of the past came to mind. The first was when she was practicing her violin in front of Seifer at home, wanting to be First Chair in the school's orchestra club. The second was... singing back in the park... with Seifer crying from something that happened during the invasion... Maybe she wasn't half as bad as she thought, but she still didn't feel confident to do anything with it anymore. Not after practically vanishing in thin air. "I still feel really bad though..."

So much has happened while I was gone... And I'm useless right now... Maybe I shouldn't have come back at all... The depressing thought clouded her mind, but she didn't want to vanish again... not into that eternal white void... The brunette lifted her head slightly to the others at the table. Seifer, Yukino, Haruka. They wanted her back and were glad she was here... She had to stay positive, somehow... "L-lambros?... Starless?..." Well, that's one way to try distracting herself. Though, she was genuinely curious about those names. They had to be cards, right? But she never heard of them before... Actually, for the record, I'm 99.9% positive she hasn't even seen Aqua Force before.

"Better than Glynngal trying to explain how he and Blaster Blade alone hitting 15000 is a good number."

Maybe three years ago when 10000 base actually existed.

"Hey, could I get another bowl of this stuff?" Yukino requested a fifth bowl from a passing waiter while Rosalia and Haruka conversed. Seifer looked a bit lost and out of place, honestly, so maybe they should head out soon. Get to walking around a bit more. Normally, that one guy who orders extra food when everyone is ready to go is the rude one. However, Hikari wasn't that stereotype. She'd be finished in a minute or two.

"He just wants to stand by Ahmes' side in battle, cut him some slack- Oh, Lambros and Starless, you know... Oh, you probably don't."

Haruka clapped his hands together, and pulled out his deck, hidden in a teal deck case; similar in color to the ocean itself. He breathed in, prepared to let out a mouthful. After a sip of coffee, of course. The second cup wasn't much more pleasing than the first, in his eyes.

"This is my clan of choice, the Aqua Force. And when I say choice, it wasn't my choice actually, but it doesn't bother me. In fact, I've only grown close to my little water knights-"

"You could at least make us not sound like we're five years old."

"In particular, here are the two who I was talking about. Blue Storm Marine General, Lambros, and Blue Storm Marine General, Starless. See, they both have the Legion symbol too."

"AHEM. WRONG MATE, YOU KNOW."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. So, this isn't Lambros' Legion Mate, however. His mate is this guy over here...."

He shuffles through the deck revealing a copy of Lambros' real mate.

"This is Blue Storm Rider, Savas. He's the perfect match to Lambros, as they're skills have near perfect synergy, and they're strong enough to take on any foe as long as they have each other's back. That's what it means to have a mate; somebody you can depend on in any crisis, anytime, anywhere, no matter what the situation is. Lambros and Savas are perfect examples of that."

"Well put, Haruka."

Haruka smiled and nodded, sitting back down and leaving his cards out for viewing. Nothing too new to Yukino probably... Actually he has no idea if she's even seen these cards before. However this was all new game to everybody else.

The whole ordeal actually made the brooding looking male chuckle a bit, almost choking on his coffee. "Anyway..." the blonde spoke, coming out of his little depressing moment. "It looks like it's going to rain soon. We should probably start getting ready to go, though..." he glanced out of the one, massive window he could see, staring at the clouds. "I think we have time to go shopping if the girls wanted to. I wouldn't mind, since... It's been a while since I went shopping with Rose." he smiled at the thought. Sorry Haruka, you probably aren't getting out of this one.

Rosalia tilted her head at the new names, looking over the cards with a curious look. Seeing the cards, she recognized the Legion symbol now... but now she pointed at the clan name. "Water knights?... I haven't seen these before... Aqua... Force... But their names are funny. You sure they're knights? The look like uh... Navy people or something. Cray has a Navy now?" she asked, clearly having never heard of the clan before. She felt a little silly for asking, wanting to shrink down in her chair while finishing up her second bowl of chicken ramen. So now she had Stride, Legion, and Aqua Force to learn about. Were there any other new clans she hadn't heard about yet? "W-well... whatever the case, I-i guess we can go shopping?... I don't exactly know what I need. I think my clothes at the house should still fit me, save for needing a wash because of the dust..."

Fifth bowl was already stacked on top of the other four cleaned by her snowy majesty. Yukino stared at Haruka's cards with curiosity... and a bit of venom. These new Blue Storm generals were completely unknown to her, but Aqua Force's naval forces were Magallanica information overall anyway. She's closer to the United Sanctuary and knows mostly what the paladins know. Even so... did those cards exist to the public before? ... Wait, Legion in general is new.

Speaking of Legion, she already didn't like the term "Legion Mate" being used by Haruka. Something felt... off about it being used by her boyfriend in talking about others. The woman kept quiet about it though, returning her hands to her legs, and shifting a little bit in place while leaning forward. Seifer mentioned it might rain soon, and the Chosen Sword didn't know if she brought an umbrella-

Did he say shopping?

"You know..." Oh no. "I saw a couple cute things on the way here, we can definitely go shopping!"

Shopping. The only possible thing that could have set Yukino off before they left. Haruka dropped his head down, scooped up his cards and stood up.

"I-I yeah... Gotcha."

He already knew the pain that would afflicted to him in due time if he wouldn't at the very least assist Yukino in carrying every item she bought. There probably wasn't much to start with, so he had to be tactical here. Find what she wanted, get it, and go. The longer they stayed, the more likely she was to buy more things, and that would mean more weight to carry.

Haruka was a man on a mission and was not prepared to abandon ship. So long as the ship's capacity was not reached before it sinks.

"Oh boy..."

Seifer just... started laughing. It was kind of loud, but wasn't obnoxious. Rather, it was charming. He'd noticed Haruka's attitude about it, and for some reason just found it... Hysterical. It wasn't him laughing at Haruka at his expense, rather just... It was funny in general. At least to him. Wiping his eye on his finger he just smiled, standing up and stretching. "Hun, if you want anything that you see just ask. Okay? Wouldn't be fair to let Yukino nee-san hog ALL the fun now would it?" there was a sly smile at Haruka, more of a teasing look of "guess who gets to carry it all", even though in reality... Seifer would be carrying Rosalia's things, whatever she had decided to get. That should be probably well known at this point.

Yukino knew Haruka didn't want to, and she was still going to do it anyway. "Relax" everyone said for over three months. Fine, she'll do it, with a couple of nice outfits for the next coming year. The queen leaned on her boyfriend, rubbing on him a little bit. A kiss on the cheek to ensure that maybe he won't be too much like he's probably dreading. Pulling her coat up and on, she left a plentiful tip for the blonde waitress that served them.

"I saw this really cute sweater on the way in. A couple of skirts too with some designs I liked, more casual than I usually wear. There was this nice necklace too," Yukino went on to list the things she'll be returning to nab, and hinting that maybe her boyfriend should get that necklace for her. They were dating, y'know? He could get her another gift. "There were these nice pairs of pants too, some that might look nice to Rosalia. Tops that'll look good on you too." She spoke to the brunette.

"Oh, that reminds me, I think I saw..."

She just wouldn't shut up now.

"Sweaters, skirts, tops, a necklace..." Haruka sighed, accepting the little bits of affection Yukino showed. He decided that maybe gifts would be a good idea. Jewelry was a good place to start. A few thoughts in his head lead to other places before he accidentally spoke up about something he never really thought.

"Hey, Yukino, what's your ring size?"

He put his hands in his pockets, taking a few steps behind the now babbling girl whilst taking a glance over at Seifer and Rose. Seifer was now an accomplice to the crime and will be punished with crappy coffee for a week. Most definitely.

Rosalia, like a scared rabbit, jumped when Seifer randomly started laughing out loud. It wasn't that it was super loud or anything; it was just unexpected. But when the blonde said it was okay to get anything she wanted, the brunette wasn't exactly sure how to answer. What part of "she didn't want to be a bother" did everyone not get? Well, considering both Yukino and Seifer are Espoirs, they could probably by the entire mall if they really wanted. "I-i dunno.. I mean, I g-guess if I find something I like?..." Though, Yukino was already listing off some other clothes, a light flush blooming in her cheeks. She tried to hide it by clinging to Seifer's arm as they stood up from the table. "I-i'm not used to wearing anything other than dresses, though I did have a few skirts and tops in my closet..." Well, when given the chance, why not try some other things? She wasn't about to say no to Yukino-oneesan, and considered looking at some shiny things... and music... "O-oh, crap! You think the violin is okay at the house?... I hope nothing got into the case... I wouldn't want to have to get another one, again, if water or something got into the case. It hasn't been cared for in so long..."

The blonde put his arm around the brunette, holding her close as they walked. She mentioned the violin and things at the house, shaking his head. "Before I left, I made sure the violin case was perfectly sealed. Even if it is messed up though, I'll get you another one." he promised Rosalia, kissing the side of her head. Now that Haruka asked about the ring size for Yukino though... Maybe he should get her one as well? The thought made his cheeks turn red a bit but he was still seriously debating it. Maybe not right now though. He wouldn't ask her ring size now since it would seem out of place at the moment. Walking with Rosalia though... This felt nice. He was happy to go shopping, which was odd for a guy. "I do prefer your dresses, but you should get whatever you're comfortable with Rose. ...Hey nee-san? What kind of jewelry do you think would look good for Rose?" he called up after his ivory haired sister but, he wasn't sure if she'd even hear him at this point. Then again, he wasn't sure if even Yukino would know but, conversation. That and... He was trying to indirectly get Rosalia to say what kind she wanted.

"Size Three-Point-Five", Yukino answered Haruka in the middle of her nonstop chatter. "You know, I could probably use a new jacket too. I love this one, but I could always have another", she spoke, already deciding to look through coats later. Yukino had gotten up and started walking ahead of the group, not ever ceasing her list of excessive clothing she wants to buy. She's rich, dammit, she can have it all if she wants.

"Rose, we can both go look through skirts", the elder sister suggested, then going on to not even hear anything about the violin. "Jewelry for Rose?" She heard Seifer though. "Uhh... silver is a good color to go with the light colors she wears. Anything with garnets or rubies look nice too. Iiiiiin fact, look, right here, we can get something."

Yukino walked right into a nearby accessory store without even waiting on anyone else.

Rosalia relaxed a little bit as the group walked along, glad that Yukino was doing most of the talking so the brunette could just sit back quietly for a little bit. Everyone seemed to be happy, though she did feel a bit bad for Haruka who looked like he would have to carry an entire store's worth of goods. Well, if it was jewelry, it wouldn't be so bad, seeing Yukino making a beeline for the closest accessory shop. At least the violin was safe. That was one trouble off her mind... only for the conversation to bring up getting Rosalia jewelry. The soft warmth in her cheeks darkened, feeling a bit as if she were a doll for her boyfriend and sister to dress up. "Y-yeah... Silver colors, like white gold are nice... Yellow and rose gold just don't look as good... I-i'm fine with most colors though... I mean, nothing really clashes with brown hair, unlike my old red hair..." she mused quietly, not exactly sure what else to say in regards to jewelry. She didn't wear a whole lot, after all. Actually, the only thing she had on was the moon pendant Seifer had gotten her before. "I-i mean.. I like sapphires and amethyst and maybe emerald stuff too... not just red gems... and diamond goes with anything..."

"Three-Point-Five... Right. Hmm..." Haruka began his search for the perfect little something for Yukino. She probably thought this was just a gift he was going to bought, huh?

Well, three months salary, here we go. Next up was how expensive the diamond should be. Haruka was not that great about knowing the value of things, but Haruka and Yukino had been together for awhile now and the thought of the big M-Word finally was coming to mind. Question is, how to go about it. Even if he got the ring, asking the question was...

More difficult than getting seven attacks in one turn.

"Silver and garnets? Sounds about right. I like amethyst a lot actually, it's my birthstone color!"

Haruka's birthday was in two weeks.

"What about you Yukino, you like silver... or gold? What about jewels? I haven't seen a lot of your jewelry collection is all... haha."

Haruka, you look suspicious. These are the times where you wish you were named after a reptile and had a cardboard box to hide under.