#shslmercenaryleonhart

[reflectionroulette]

☭

Battle Intro: ”I'm sure you've wanted to hurt me for a while. I can't guarantee you will, but let's hurry up and get this over with anyway."Victory: "...Don't get upset or anything. This doesn't mean you're weak."Defeat: "…Figures. Are you satisfied now? Leave me alone." Assist: "You hate being helped, but allow this for once. I'm not letting you fall."

[umocchi]

Knock knock. The week is up. There's a mercenary outside your door, eager to reclaim his earring. Damn... his ear feels so light without that precious silver stud...

Oh! Wasn’t that the man that gave her his earring a week ago? Rummaging through her pocket, she pulled out the item and handed it over to him. 

[sunny-explosions]

[text]They know.[/text]

She took a breath, unsure of how to interpret his text. Maybe she should have been with him instead of making him spill by himself...

[text]: You finally told them, huh?

[text]: ...How'd they take it?

[etchedpain]

Reika knew Squall well enough to know when his mood changed. Usually it would last only a day or two - just long enough for her to be a little frightened over it - before reverting back to his usual state. But this time was different. It was just like before, just like when he'd despaired. Reika was more than a little worried over this development. Would he allow himself to be killed once more because the world had grown too dark for him to lift himself out of? Reika didn't know. She didn't have the answers. She didn't know how to pull him out of these depths. The truth was, the priestess had never known what to do. Lifting a hand to ruffle her now-short hair, Reika sighed out slowly. What was wrong? When she came back, there was always a good chance of finding him with his back to the door, curled up in his bed as if trying to forget something. He always chose to cut himself off like that.

And it was Reika's job to pull him out of it. Quietly striding over to the bed - their bed, really - Reika removed her shoes. Then, with a soft smile, the priestess joined him on the bed. Arms wrapped around his midsection as she pulled herself close to press against his back. "We've talked about being more open, remember? How can I know what you're feeling if you won't tell me?" Reika leaned close, burying her face into the hair that covered the back of his neck. What was wrong? She wanted to know. Every minute he didn't tell her was agonizing. "Squall. What's gotten you upset?" The priestess did her best to keep her voice calm and light, but there was an undeniable edge of worry to it. The pattern was always the same - one that she could no longer ignore. "Talk to me."

[armilliondollars]

steals back my own clothes while you're worrying about being a monster. throws your stinky uniform in your face. ps. better not kill my girlfriend again u weener

kills ur girlfriend and runs

[5thrank-blog-blog]

And his third unfortunate victim is Eren Jaeger. Squall approaches the soldier. He's starting to feel a little weird for wearing a Scouting Legion uniform. Maybe if the guy is paying close attention, he'll notice that Squall's ears are starting to get a little red. Anyway, he stops in front of Eren, his expression one of great distress, and mutters to him, embarrassed, "...have a great day."

Why the hell is Squall wearing a Scouting Legion uniform. Eyebrows bunched together in confusion, he gives him a questioning look. He notices the way he starts to look a bit flustered, but that's not very interesting. It's probably just a dare that he has to follow up on. It's Sunday, after all!

"Thanks? You too." He doesn't mean to sound so questioning, but he and Squall aren't on the friendliest terms. Was that really the mercenary's dare? Is telling someone to have a good day such a feat that he has to be dared to do it? Wow!

He sure does notice that one of the buttons is a different color than the rest. And he recognizes immediately that Squall is wearing Armin's outfit. "Why are you wearing Armin's clothes? Did you do something to him?" Slightly on guard. Eren's boyfriend killed Squall's girlfriend, so who knows if it was another dare or another murder. A day in the life of HPA.

[reflectionroulette]

Approaches Gareki, a frown plastered to his face. Get ready. You're about to get the best gift ever. Standing right in front of the other, he unbuckles a studded belt (luckily there's still two more to hold up his pants!) and thrusts it into Gareki's hands. Staring him right in the eye, Squall says, "I expect it back in a week."

  Squall? Somewhat wary since Gareki wouldn't expect Squall to ever get close unless he wanted to murder him or something. But it's nothing like that -- in fact, not even close. Rather than a knife to the chest, there goes a belt to his hands.

  ". . . You have like five so I don't know why you need it back, but alright. I'll ... take care of it until then." Biggest disappointment of his life.

[umocchi]

Doesn't know this girl. Hasn't even seen her until now, actually. Squall comes to a halt in front of her, and reaches up to unclasp a silver earring. He thrusts it into her hands. "It's for a dare. I expect it back in a week." He says, voice gruff.

Ah. She remembered seeing him talk to Gareki on monotwitter. Was he one of his friends? Probably. Oh. He was doing this for a dare. Well, okay. “Alright, I’ll return this to you next week.”

[desbearing]

"Monobear." Tired eyes. A sunken face. This is the first time he's made such anguish public, not even bothering to hide the defeated look he wears with shame. "I want to make a request." There's a pause, as if he's contemplating his next words... when in reality, he's thought about this for a long time. The idea of the bear accepting it is laughable. But he's willing to take even the slimmest chance. "Don't bring me back. I want it to stop. The next time I lose... just let it end. Please."

"Upupu! So one of you bastards decided to take a step out and ask for the end!! I would admire your courage, if you weren't such a grade A idiot! If I let you die, then I lose one of my favorite sources of entertainment!! Plus, the lack of sleep must be really getting to you!" Another laugh, a strong one at that. "I'll keep bringing you back no matter how many times you tell me to stop!! It's just too much fun to watch you despair over and over. So have fun with death, and try not to let it spoil the love life! Upupu, unless you want to make the show even better for me! The more despair, the better."

[etchedpain]

Last night hadn't been fun. Not for her. Not for him. Not for anyone. That stupid haunt had ended with many people second-guessing themselves or some simply being terrified. Reika Kuze was neither of those people. Yes, she'd almost died. Yes, she'd thought that Squall had died. But when the dust had settled, the only thing she'd gained from it was the strength to move forward with her life. No longer could she mope around or lock herself away with Squall. Reika, instead, resolved to do everything she could to positively impact the lives of those around her. Ever since her first unleashing, things had been different. She wasn't the same person she'd been. The world had frightened her more than it had remained positive. Reika aimed to fix that.

The post-haunt night had been spent cleaning up an unresponsive Squall. Somehow, he'd gotten himself covered in blood and pieces of...flesh. The sort of things she didn't want in their bed, at the very least. And so, Reika had stripped him down and scrubbed at him until he was clean. Somehow, he'd gotten to sleep that night. Not Reika, though. She'd stayed awake to ensure he didn't wake up during the night in a panic. When morning came, she'd gathered the clothes and taken them down to the laundry room to clean them. Somewhere in between dropping the clothes into the drier and making a packed lunch for Levi and Joseph, he'd woken up and panicked.

Reika knew he would. She anticipated it. And so, she'd calmly told him over MonoTwitter to take a bath and she'd be back shortly. The fabric in the laundry basket was warm and smelled wonderful. Balancing the basket in one hand, the priestess opened the door to their dormitory room and shut it behind her with a happy sigh. "Squall? I'm home."

[armilliondollars]

oH YEAH??? Well he's gonNA STEAL YOUR CLOTHES AND RUN TOO. now we're even. PUNk

AT LEAST WEAR THEM YOU ASSHOLE

[shslfiremage]

A little bird told me... (closed)

Wisely choosing to bail out from the hallway and the soldier-like fellow being incredibly idiotic before the situation worsened, Laurent sighed to himself. He had no intention of being caught in the crossfire of the bear's explosion, nor did he particularly want to watch the explosion. Besides, he had better things to do with his time - mainly, finding people who had gone to the camp that may need his healing magic. He wanted to check up on those he was close to, as well, and the first two that fell into this category were Reika and Squall. He knew that the inspector Alfendi would probably yell if his 'adopted mother' Reika was left hurting, so even if he wanted to check on Gareki and Panne, too...

For the sake of the child that had been separated from the group for so long, he'd check on them first. Now, where were they most likely to be? He had ran to the library to avoid the upcoming explosion, but Sir Squall didn't seem the type to hang around such a place as this. Madam Reika? Yes, maybe, but Squall was probably off training somewhere, logically.

Standing up from the comfortable library chair he sat in, Laurent decided the sensible thing to do was search one place, then the other. And avoid that hallway where the bear was entierly, yes. However, it seemed his plans were...surprisingly derailed! My, wasn't that Madam Reika and Sir Squall now? He was considerably surprised to see them both in the library, but...why were they blocking the door?

So he couldn't get out- oh. OH. The whole 'giving Squall's pendant back to Reika without a word thing' he hadn't wanted to be thanked for.

...Maybe they hadn't seen him yet? Thus, the mage snuck behind a bookcase, but unknown to him, his large hat poked out like a sore thumb there.

[academyconfessions]

[etchedpain]

You'll only hurt him.

                                              You're just a replacement.

                                                                                                              You're selfish.

Reika could no longer pretend as if the book in front of her interested her. Between the words that Ultimecia had spoken to her and her own world seeming to come apart at the very seams, the priestess couldn't pay attention to anything that required concentration. A replacement. That was what she was. A tool to ease the pains of others. Not a person, not a thing that had it's own opinions and beliefs. No, Reika Kuze was a tool for those around her. Lowering her gaze back to the book, Reika eventually leaned forward and laid her head against the table. He'd told her she wasn't, hadn't he? That she was Reika and no one else to him. That he saw her for who she was. But if that was the case, then why was she so scared to ask him if that was the truth? Gripping the pendant around her neck with a grimace, the priestess sought to force her tears from falling. Who was she? Reika Kuze or a replacement for Rinoa? And was it selfish of her to ask those questions?

She wanted to be happy. Really, truly happy. It was hard to transcend Hope's Peak Academy. In the beginning, she'd forced a lot of it. Reika had smiled and tried her best to reasssure everyone that everything would be okay. But it wasn't. She couldn't even bring Squall back from despair. And now, with her world so out of balance, Reika couldn't tell if she could even feel positive emotions anymore. Despair had wrapped itself around her heart, poisoning her very soul. Who was she? Did she even matter? Was she Reika? Was she even human at this point? With a quiet sob, the priestess curled in on herself. She couldn't answer any of these things anymore. But there was one person that could. One person who could ease her suffering somehow. Gripping Griever tighter, Reika took a deep breath before murmuring his name - as if calling him. "...Squall."