Compare and Contrast
Because they were the same yet different.
A/N: Hello, world! I would like to start off by saying thank you to all the people who read my first story! It really is encouraging to see all of the views and reviews! You guys truly made my day.
This story is generally the details in the last 2 episodes of season 4, expanded. I had a really hard time trying to string everything together, so it may be really inconsistent. The plot completely disregards Neon Messiah (which should have taken place in this story?). And I don't really like the way I am portraying Gaillard, to be honest. Far too OOC. This is sightly AU too, I do believe. Oh yes, this is not meant to be yaoi, in case you think that I am hinting at it. Consider yourself warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard in any way whatsoever. The rightful owner of that masterpiece is Bushiroad Inc. All I own on this page is how I have constructed the sentences you see below.
Everything was over.
Unfortunately for them, that meant standing on the moon all the way until every last piece of the once grand Sanctuary dissolved into sparkles. And considering the fact that the sparkles were smaller than grains of sand, this was going to take some time.
Gaillard looked around him. The oddest combination of people from all over the world were standing around in the ruins of the marble castle, some talking quietly, others just looking around at the scenery. Not like the moon was a popular sightseeing spot, after all.
His fellow Quatre Knights were talking animatedly. At least, on Ratie's part the conversation was lively enough. The girl was all smiles since she knew that in the end, she had help save Cray in a way, even though it wasn't much. However, even a little makes a difference in a situation like this.
Neve seemed happy, but in a different way. The reserved but passionate man had his own way of displaying his emotion for all of this. Just looking at the smile on his face, Gaillard knew that Neve was content with the fact that he had done something for the world. He hadn't failed his role as a protector of Aichi, nor as a protector of his country.
His king's friends were entertaining themselves as well. That redhead Ren and Ishida Naoki were trying to make conversation with the blonde guy, whose name always slipped Gaillard's mind. Said blond guy was looking at the Earth, muttering something about wind. They seemed to not mind the fact that they were all stuck on the moon until the building they were in decided to finish disintegrating.
And of course, we had Kai Toshiki, the man of the day. The person who was the start and end to all madness.
At one point in time, Gaillard had hated this man. Hate wasn't even a strong enough word for his dislike for the Japanese boy. Something more like detest. Abhor. Loathe. All of those words added up were probably still not enough. This man had destroyed the little "family" that Gaillard had left. He had to suffer for this crime.
Despite this hate for Kai, Gaillard was glad to go meet him in Cardshop PSY. The reason for this was simple enough. The initial introduction would lead to a Cardfight, and that would lead to a thorough pulverization of Kai Toshiki. Perfect, really.
But, as the events dragged on, Gaillard realized that this man was not the same person that he wanted to get revenge on. Physically, he was still Kai Toshiki, the world-class Cardfighter who once caused the most destructive event in all of Cardfight history. But mentally, he didn't seem like the Kai that he had once been. All this about mates? About finding Aichi purely because that's where he belonged? Very out-of-character.
Eventually, Gaillard got to fight Kai once more. And what a sweltering battle that was indeed. Red on blue, flame on flame—the blazes never ceased across the battlefield, one shooting out after the other.
After the battle, and the whole Cera thing, Gaillard had to admit, he was rather wrong about Kai. He probably wasn't in the right mind when he decided that, "Yes! Today I shall get a dark power and destroy the world with it just because I'm not the strongest anymore!" He was a different person.
Who was Kai Toshiki, really?
Olivier Gaillard could reluctantly concluded that Kai Toshiki was a man that he sort of liked. At least, he felt some form of respect for the other boy.
Gaillard walked over to Kai, who was staring at the Earth, expression as blank as slate.
"Kai Toshiki."
The named boy whirled around, green eyes piercing into Gaillard's own amber ones.
"What's your email address?"
Gaillard landed in the middle of Paris. Apparently the last task of Aichi-sama's will was to transport the people in the Sanctuary to their respective homes.
Under the pastel sky, people were rushing through the long, winding streets of the city. No one seemed to pay Gaillard any attention, even though he was the European Champion in Vanguard and had just appeared out of thin air to boot.
How ignorant people were these days.
Gaillard surveyed his surroundings. Recognizing the little shops and cafes around him, he realized that he was not far away from his house. The street was only a few blocks away from that mansion, where all of the kids were sitting around, eagerly waiting for their big brother to come home.
When he had left, the older boy had told the kids that he was going to help one of his friends in Japan. He said that he would be coming back, but not very soon. After all, Aichi had told him that all he needed to do was seal up Aichi himself and the Seed, wait in the Sanctuary for a few months to confirm the stability of the seal, then go back home and only check on the Seed every once in a while.
Three whole months had passed already. The kids were probably expecting him.
But, why was his intuition telling him not to go back?
Gaillard wandered around the streets of the city, delaying his return to the mansion. He really didn't understand why he was unwilling to go back, but he decided that his gut feeling must know something.
He entered the local cardshop. The place only had a few customers today, which was rare. A kid, knowing who he was, excitedly challenged him to a Cardfight. Gaillard smiled. Not like he could refuse something like that, especially with a smile that adorable.
The boy was using Gold Paladins like Gaillard, which was pretty cute. He must have been a pretty big fan of the Circuit, because he was using Gaillard's chants, albeit stumbling on the bigger words. Gaillard appreciated the effort, though. Finally, the fight had come to the ending turn. Gaillard had called upon his Legion, just to make the boy feel special. All he had to do was attack with that, and the fight would be over.
Gaillard put his fingers on the cards, preparing to turn them clockwise to launch the attack. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head.
When you win, the Seed inside of you will grow stronger.
His hand froze. That's right, there was still a risk. Although the fragment of the Seed inside him was small, like Blaster Blade said, it was still there. There was still a chance that it would activate and possess him.
If it did, would he be able to control it? He wasn't as selfless as Aichi. So, does that mean that he could… take over the world? Make the same mistake that Kai did?
For the first time in his life, Olivier Gaillard was scared witless.
The world seemed to somehow freeze around him, as Gaillard contemplated the possibilities. He didn't doubt his self-control, but the Seed could possess anyone, from the purest to the darkest souls. Aichi-sama, even though he was strong, had just been lucky.
The choice was his. To take this first step into possible darkness or back away was Gaillard's option.
Turning the cards may determine the fate of the human race.
After a few more seconds, Gaillard turned the card purely based on instinct. If he hadn't attacked, then it would have been quite suspicious. Though, the boy must have already been confused, because normal people don't space out for three minutes right before they win a Cardfight.
After that, he had hastily gathered up his cards, and bid the boy a farewell. It may have looked awkward, but Gaillard was pretty sure that he would lose it if he stayed in there any longer. He began walking to who-knows-where.
Looking around him now, Gaillard saw that he was in an alleyway. Maybe not the safest place for someone like him to be, but in this situation, the less people who saw him the better. The less people he fought the better.
Gaillard pulled out his phone. He needed contact Aichi-sama or someone. It wasn't like he didn't trust Blaster Blade, it was more like an unlikely "what if". Many things that had happened in Gaillard's life had been a very unlikely "what if" statement before it happened.
What if his house burned down? There wasn't much of a chance that would happen, but burned it did, and it managed to take the life of his parents as well.
What if he found new friends? Who would want to become friends with an orphan like him? Small odds, but it happened, and these friends he regards as family members now.
What if this new little family of his was destroyed? Gaillard had thought that fate wasn't cruel enough to attempt to break him for the second time. This idea was proven wrong when his new family was destroyed, in mere minutes. The mental scars were never to be forgotten.
What if he could make sure that this never happened again? Powerless and helpless, how could someone like him save anyone? It was just a frivolous dream. Aichi-sama had approached him, and asked him to be a part of the Quatre Knights.
Gaillard's life was built upon near-impossible "what if" concepts.
As he scrolled through his contact list, the names only half-processing in his mind before it moved on to the next, he thumb stopped at one — Kai Toshiki, his most recently added contact. While he sub-consciously clicked into the contact info, his mind caught up with his fingers.
Alarms started going off in Gaillard's head. Since when was he desperate enough to go to Kai Toshiki for help?! And he had just gotten that email address today, why would he use it right away? What was the chance of Kai checking his email at midnight anyway?
Perhaps purely out of the comfort of telling someone about his worries, Gaillard started typing out an email to Kai. Briefly, he wonders if his brain cells disintegrated along with the Sanctuary, because he has never done anything so futile in his life. After typing up a relatively simple email, Gaillard sent it to the desired receiver and pulled out his deck, hoping to make some modifications.
In a few minutes, his cellphone pinged. Gaillard pulled it out of his pocket vigorously and started checking for the notification. He almost laughed at his own immaturity.
Just as he had hoped, there was a reply from Kai sitting in his inbox. Gaillard opened up the email. It consisted of only one line:
"Like you said, you inherited Aichi's will."
Gaillard frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Was it one of Kai's borderline smart-aleck responses that he had so often used against him and the rest of the Quatre Knights?
Though, if he thought about it, what was Aichi-sama's will right now? It wasn't to keep people from breaking the seal anymore, but instead keep the world safe and happy, wasn't that right?
And the strength of Aichi-sama's will was more than anything like Gaillard had ever seen. It had never fallen before, not in the battle against the Reverse or in any of the tournaments that the boy had participated in, as Gaillard had seen on TV. The only time he had ever witnessed Aichi-sama's will crumble was in the Sanctuary, when it had been crushed by the equally tremendous will of Kai Toshiki.
So, Kai was saying that he had inherited all of that? He, Olivier Gaillard?
Oh, so what Kai was saying was that he believed in Gaillard, wasn't that right? He believed that Gaillard would not let such a thing happen, and would use pure willpower to make sure that the world will forever be peaceful. He believed that Gaillard now had the same amount of sheer resolve as Aichi-sama.
Coming from Kai Toshiki, that was surprisingly reassuring. After all, if Aichi-sama looked up to Kai, and Aichi-sama was Gaillard's king, then wouldn't that make Kai's approval that much greater?
Gaillard wandered out of the alley, and made his way back to the cardshop. The owner smiled at him when he walked through the door, and Gaillard smiled back. He felt the smile on his face to be a real smile.
As he looked through the booster packs on the shelves, one of the packages caught his eye. It had red flames on the plastic wrapper, and a big red dragon baring its teeth on the front.
It was a Kagero booster-pack.
Gaillard snatched it off the shelf, and then proceeded to search the exterior packaging for the price tag.
If anything, the kids would like the pictures.
About six months after coming back from the Moon, Gaillard received word of the High School Championship that would be taking place in Japan. When he heard that Aichi-sama, Kai and Suzugamori Ren would be taking part in the same qualifier, Gaillard knew that he had to check it out.
Of course, it wasn't like he would just fly halfway across the globe to watch a day worth of Cardfights. He was a stereotypical rich French guy, but he was not willing to flaunt his wealth like that. And so, he set up his top-of-the-line flat screen TV to watch the broadcast with the kids.
For once, Gaillard thought that satellite TVs were actually useful.
There appeared to be many high schools participating in that particular regional qualifier, but it was clear to all that only three teams had a chance of winning the spot in the finals: Hitsue, Miyaji, and Fukuhara. Those teams easily cleared their way through the first rounds and landed themselves a spot in the quarter finals.
Everyone sat on the edge of their seats as they watched the intense match of Hitsue VS Fukuhara. Gaillard rarely watched a match that kept him longing for more the way it did. The first two matches were beyond epic, with the players from each side just barely snatching the victory.
With one win and one loss for both teams, the final match descended upon them. "The dream match-up", as the commentator called it was about to commence. Kai Toshiki VS Suzugamori Ren would decide the fate of their teams.
Gaillard studied both fighters with a furrowed brow. Kai, he knew, was someone of great strength and determination, but would that be enough to stand up against Suzugamori Ren, a man with a natural talent for the game?
While studying their older brother's expression curiously, the children sitting beside Gaillard made their usual bets for the outcome of the match. Candy was a treasured thing indeed.
Both players were greeted with cheers as they walked to their separate tables. Suzugamori Ren was smiling his usual carefree smile, while Kai wore a blank expression. Gaillard sighed. What polar opposites they were. Didn't Aichi-sama once mention that they were, like, best friends?
As the match played out, the one thing that was mutual about the fighters' personalities was that they both had passion for the game. Kai's was shown aggressively as he attacked his opponent with everything he had, all while creating complex strategies for his next turn. Suzugamori Ren's was shown subtly, but strong, as he never backed off and managed miraculous comebacks although his expressions seemed naïve and childish.
The match hung at 5 damage apiece for a number of turns before Kai finally managed to overpower Ren with his Legion and a critical trigger to boot. The moment when the 6th trigger fell into Ren's damage zone, the room was as quiet as a graveyard. The second passed in stilled silence.
And then, the audience abruptly exploded with cheer, and the commentator started rambling about how spectacular the whole match had been.
Back in his living room in France, Gaillard smirked while the children either high-fived each other or sulked.
So Kai had done it, huh? He had managed to win against the reigning High School Champion, getting the win for his school. The win must have taken a lot of resolve and skill, but Gaillard wasn't very surprised Kai had managed to pull it off. He was Kai, after all. The only man in the world that Gaillard recognized to be on equal grounds as Aichi-sama.
And Aichi-sama was king.
The matches went on, with the fights lengthening more and more as the pressure built like a skyscraper. At last, the qualifier went on to the final match: Hitsue VS Miyaji.
The first two matches were intense and intriguing, ending with a score of one to one. As expected, a third match had to be played.
Sendou Aichi VS Kai Toshiki was expected to end things off with a bang. The whole atmosphere was tense, from the audience to the commentators to the way that the nerdy kid from Miyaji kept on pushing up his glasses. Ironically, the only two people who didn't seem tense were the competitors.
Aichi-sama had a smile on his face, and Kai looked friendly. That basically meant "filled with joy" in the language of Kai. The two set their decks down and put down their first Vanguards, ready to start the match.
Gaillard could tell that while both of them greatly wanted the match to result in their victory, at the same time all they wanted was to have fun. The two of them were rivals, not enemies. The match purpose of the match was to entertain each other with their playing, not to strictly win.
This, Gaillard decided, was the whole reason why he admired Aichi-sama in the first place. Gaillard wanted to be the type of person who genuinely laughed in competition. He wanted to be able to smile at a loss, and express joy with for the fun of the game, not the victory in it.
Ultimately, one lived not to gain power, but to gain happiness.
That's why, at the end of a painful 20 minutes, who the cheers were for didn't matter. The two of them enjoyed themselves, didn't they?
Amid those cheers, both coming from the TV and the other occupants of the room, Gaillard realized something.
If he admired Aichi-sama for something that Kai Toshiki also had…
Wouldn't that mean that deep down in the bottom of his heart, he admired Kai too?
As time went on, Gaillard started to officially recognize this idiotic idolization of Kai that his mind seemed to have unconsciously come up with.
It started to get a little crazy, really. Every time he saw Kagero, he started to think about how Kai would play it. Every time he heard someone declare "Seek mate," he would think about "Seek the mate." Every person on the street with brown hair and green eyes was automatically related to the word "Kai" in Gaillard's brain.
It was getting rather scary.
On a sunny afternoon, Gaillard came home to find a letter on his desk. He picked it up.
Scanning the standard sized envelope bordered with blue and red dashes, Gaillard instantly recognized the return address in the top corner.
It was an invitation to the Eurpean Circuit.
Gaillard thought that he had finally found his distraction, away from the awkward "everything-relates-to-Kai-Toshiki" phase he had going, but of course he was wrong.
The French boy made the following obersvation a few weeks later, on the second day of the tournament: The stadium was grand, and the food was great, but frankly, he was bored.
He felt that he wasn't taking anyone seriously. It was as if no one was worthy of him using all of his power.
Would Kai be like this? No, never! Aichi-sama had once mentioned that Kai would fight anyone who challenged him, never picky about his opponents. He would use the same amount of effort to fight a newbie as he would use to fight Gaillard himself!
As he fought his semi-final opponent, Gaillard couldn't help but imagine that the opponent he was facing was someone else. Someone with more intensity and spirit. Someone who could add the spark to his waning fighting spirit.
"Someone," he thought in horror, "like Kai Toshiki."
It all started with a conversation with Neve after the finals of the Circuit.
Gaillard had narrowly claimed victory from the older male, and after getting through the huge crowd of reporters and fans, they managed to find haven in a little corner coffee shop.
They made the usual small talk, starting with the weather, then new card releases, and then the best donut recipe in the world (Ratie did have an effect on a person). Sometime later in the conversation, Neve started the topic in his careful way—
"You know, they're graduating soon."
Gaillard raised an eyebrow, confused by the sudden change of topic.
"Who are?"
"Them, like Kai Toshiki and Suzugamori Ren."
Gaillard ran the thought through his mind. That was right, wasn't it? Since the school year ran in different months in Japan than it did here, that was quite true.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It is your big chance to fight Kai Toshiki again," replied Neve.
Gaillard frowned. Why would he want to fight Kai again? They had already fought three times, and even though he had lost the last two fights, he didn't want to fight Kai again until he mastered his Gold Paladins as well as Kai used his Kagero.
"Don't play dumb with me," Neve continued, "I know you were barely taking the tournament seriously. Truthfully, you are insulting all of the competitors by not doing so. Kai Toshiki is the one that is on your mind, isn't he? You want to fight him again, for he is the only person who succeeded in sending flames right back at you."
"And your point is?"
"Invite him here, to Europe. Give him a chance to fight in the Circuit. Then, you will finally be able to fight like a man."
Gaillard met Neve's suggestion with a blank stare.
As he finally opened his mouth to reply to the idea, the paparazzi burst in, and so they had to quickly slip away.
A few days later, Gaillard opened up his laptop to find that the National Tournament in Japan was over, and the winner was Suzugamori Ren and his team.
He clicked into the press conference video attached to the article.
The video was one with a smiling Ren, a beaming Narumi Asaka, and an as stoic as ever Shinjou Tetsu. The redhead was happily talking to the reporters, who were firing off questions faster than the speed of light. The ditzy leader provided half-answers for every one of the questions, each sentence illustrated by his wide variety of expressions and hand gestures.
It wasn't until that one question did Suzugamori Ren actually give a little thought before answering.
"Do you know what your fellow Cardfighter Kai Toshiki will be doing after his graduation?"
The teenager tilted his head, and replied after about ten seconds.
"Kai is… doing whatever he wants. Just know that he will definitely be on a path to get stronger."
The reporter looked as if she intended to ask more about his statement, but Ren was already calling on the next person.
Gaillard thought about what Suzugamori Ren had said very carefully.
Kai wanted to become stronger, did he? He wanted to become even better than he was then, back in the Sanctuary. He wanted the power to do things, and challenge stronger people, alike Gaillard did.
It was there that Olivier Gaillard came to a conclusion.
Sendou Aichi was a great person. He was one who fought for justice as well as the happiness of people, not giving an inch to anyone who dared to mess with someone's happiness. He was a saint, one of pure selflessness, but he wasn't someone that Gaillard wanted to be like. Aichi-sama was just someone that he held in high respect, maybe close to worship.
Kai Toshiki, on the other hand, was something else. He was a man that understood he had many wrongdoings, and made up for those things by creating justice in the end. The trait of an impregnable will, which he shared with Aichi-sama, aided him in becoming someone who could truly change the world. This was a man that earned his respect not only out of his power, but out of his character as well. He could create inspiration in people, which was a gift indeed.
Kai was someone who was relatable to Gaillard in all ways, but yet so incomprehensible.
And he was the type of person that Gaillard aspired to be.
The mist that he didn't even know was fogging up his mind cleared. The one person that could show him the road to becoming the person that he wanted to be was none other than Kai Toshiki.
Gaillard pulled out his phone and clicked into the email app.
Compare and contrast, then sum up your findings.
The audience was wild as the people sighted the two finalists of the Circuit step out onto the field. Both were fan-favourites and known as world class players.
The commentator's voice was barely heard in the background as the two teenagers walked into view.
"Coming from my left is the three-time European Champion, Olivier Gaillard!"
Gaillard walked out, and smirked at the silhouette of his opponent, which was slowly moving towards the table on the opposite end of the stadium.
"And on my right is Toshiki Kai, the new sensation from Japan!"
He watched as the brown haired boy walked out casually, barely acknowledging all of the attention that the audience was giving him (especially the females). Really, it was only going to get worse if he ignored them.
"Will Olivier Gaillard be able to defend his title and remain the European Champion, or will Kai Toshiki's flames be able to burn away his gold-plated knights? The answer is about to descend upon us!"
Gaillard looked across the field at Kai, who was now setting his deck down onto the Motion Figure System's table. As he looked up, he caught his opponent's gaze.
Kai gave Gaillard a half grin.
Gaillard returned the expression.
It was hard to believe that a long time ago; Gaillard had thought that the two of them were so far apart. He had thought that their visions would always clash, and that they would always be facing each other, never beside each other.
But now, where were they? They weren't standing beside each other, but they were sure looking at the same thing—a fun match with the other. A challenge, but not one that had to be beaten.
They had their differences, but in the same way, they were the same.
So who was Kai Toshiki?
Kai Toshiki was the one person that Olivier Gaillard wanted to become. The one person that could ignite Gaillard's fighting spirit. The one person who could smile through an obstacle, not cruelly, but actually with a hint of enjoyment.
To compare, Gaillard saw all similarities between them, and nothing else. To contrast, he saw that they couldn't be more different.
At the end of the day, Gaillard decided that Kai Toshiki was just himself, no more no less.
Ending Note: Okay, it doesn't really make sense, I know. If you have the time, please offer me some criticism (via PM, review, whatever you feel more comfortable with). Anything, from how confusing the plot is to whether or not I missed a period somewhere.
As always, have a nice day!
-Eclairia