A/N: Here comes the Misaki x Kourin fic I have wanted to write for a while now. This pairing is amazing (it obliterated my Kai x Misaki feels completely) and they are actually quite suited for one another, teasing smart seme and cute tsundere. Though, Misaki can be rather tsun herself too… Well, I like tsunderes, so no complaints here!

I have created a false town in Japan to be used in the story. Any resemblance held to actual towns, decrepit or thriving, is merely coincidental. Also, I do not own Cardfight Vanguard. If I did, Bermuda Triangle (especially my sweetheart Pacifica), Angel Feathers (exclusively Celestials) and Oracle Think Tank will get more support (biased to my favorite decks), and Misaki x Kourin would be an official pairing.

Haruka

Misaki's POV

Stepping out of the shadows, I hesitantly taste the air, disgusted by the reek of humanity that immediately greets my nostrils. The presence of humans sets me on edge, I want desperately to flee, but where to? I have already fled everything that I know, all alone, I am in a strange world I know nothing about. There are many lights that eliminate the shadows I long to keep to, and humans stroll back and forth along a gray path of some sort in hurried manners. Tall buildings loom around me in various colors and designs, and strange metal bodies set upon rubber circles, called 'vehicles', carry humans around on black paths at high speed.

Dressed in a loose white dress, barefoot and with long lavender hair tumbling freely over my back, I realize that I must stand out quite considerably in this human habitat. Blood drips from my face from the wound I accidentally gave myself, and the humans are giving me second looks because of it. This is very bad; I cannot afford to attract attention to myself! I must find a place close to vital resources like food and water to conceal myself within before I am found…

My eyes glow a brilliant scarlet, a map of the city immediately enters my mind even though I have never seen it in my entire life. Names of streets, stores, buildings, companies and other information rushes to me from my surroundings, and I have everything memorized within seconds. Every single bit of information I found useful is now ingrained in my eidetic memory, never to fade away. I am in a town called Hirai in Osaka, Japan, in the Ichiyama Shopping District, which unfortunately has very few stores selling food. If I head north from here and travel exactly four hundred and thirty-six meters, I will come to a park where water is present and cafés are plentiful. Good, I will head there immediately and check out the security firsthand (according to the information I have garnered, there is minimal security), then take a drink and find myself a place to sleep for the night. This is all I can do for now, I will continue planning after I have collected more information.

Plans comfort me, I enjoy the security and certainty knowing and formulating plans entails, facts are all that I am interested in and emotions are of no use to me. Having a plan, however small or short, allows me to feel safe and guided, it makes me feel as if I am working toward something and heading somewhere, instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off. The humans who contained me know this, they have given all the staff a warning that '#10 is the smartest and most gifted of them all, and she seems to enjoy planning. Keep your guard up whenever you are around her, for you will never know when #10 has a plan to escape or to harm you.' It was good advice indeed, for I have been planning escape from the moment I was capable of conscious thought. I always made sure that I could harm those humans as a bonus, evident from the number of lives I have claimed whenever I had even the slightest opening, because I loathe them with every fiber of my being and desire to erase them from this world.

Silently, I head toward the park as quickly as possible, sticking to the shadows and ignoring all humans around me. Having them in such close proximity makes me feel uneasy, my stomach churns and my brain is on high gear, ready to destroy anyone and anything that shows the slightest threat toward me. Wiping the blood from my left eye, I continue my journey toward the park as stealthily as possible, constantly reviewing the information in my mind to ensure that I will not make any mistakes.

Save for my dress I have nothing else in the world to call my own, I have never had a home, for my entire life all I had was a habitat that provided me the necessary requirements to survive. A blank white room with a reinforced Plexiglas wall on one side, containing a simple white padded chair where I spent most of my life with a helmet connected to my brain firmly locked to my head. That is the habitat I lived all my sixteen years in, with minimal contact with humans because I am simply too dangerous. My brain is a perfect machine, no, it is beyond perfect, and that resulted in me being classified a freak and locked away in an underground, bombproof facility being monitored every second of my life. That is why, now, I am not asking for much at all, for I never had much to begin with. I am used to the emptiness; after all I had sixteen bloody years to grow accustomed to it. Well, either that or go insane…

"Hey, lady, are you homeless or something?" a teenaged human boy asks, eyeing me with lust so clear in his eyes that even if I were not a mind reader, I would still have understood his intentions. "I can offer you a few nights at my place, give you some clothes and food and stuff. Nothing is free, of course, so I expect a different kind of payment from you since you're a penniless bum." He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, and I resist the urge to kill him. I cannot draw attention to myself by killing any more people, for if I do, they will be on me in a second and I will have to put up a huge fight to get away again. My freedom is much more valuable than this idiot's pathetic life.

I ignore him, fighting to stay calm as the park comes into physical sight, constantly reminding myself that I am not allowed to kill anyone. Not for today, at least. I should wait for things to calm down, then I can kill whoever who displeases me or crosses the line with me. As long as I moderate my murdering, they will not be too suspicious that the deaths are my work. Pull yourself together, Misaki. You can make it without killing any more people today, I hope. Great, that sure is encouraging, brain.

The human boy pesters me and follows me despite my indifference, trying desperately to get me to answer him and to go along with whatever sick plan he has in his twisted mind (which I actually know very well, being a mind reader). Annoyed, I turn to glare at him, killing intent clear in my crystal blue eyes, hoping that I will be able to scare him off. The wind around me picks up, throwing my hair around wildly, and my eyes glow an eerie scarlet color. That makes the human male start and back away from me, terrified; I watch in satisfaction as he flees from me like a dog with its tail between its legs. Alone again at last, I enter the dark park and head straight for the brightly lit cafés along the side of it, careful not to go close enough to be seen by the humans within. The wail of a police siren makes me tense and I melt into a bush, watching and waiting until the darned thing leaves the city. I track its progress in my mind, as well as locate every other vehicle of its kind deployed with the purpose of apprehending me, and decide that it will be safer for me to remain in the bushes and use my mind to scout everything out instead. The scarlet glow of my eyes might give me away, though, so I should face away from the humans to be safe, or just close my eyes and let my mind do the seeing. It will take up more energy, though, and I fear my body might not have enough for me to last for a while without much food.

There is a bakery nearby that displays its food in the open, it will be much easier for me to steal food there for I do not need to use too much of my precious energy. The other shops have glass cases or only prepare their food upon ordering, which will just be a little troublesome for me to steal from. This is a good place to stay, temporarily, until I can find myself a more suitable habitat to live in. There is food, albeit at a cost, water is available nearby, and I have shelter. My basic needs are fulfilled, what more can I ask for? It may be a barbaric place to be living, but at least I have my freedom, and that is good enough for me.

I melt through the bushes to the lake, reminded of my thirst, take a long drink and then find myself a nice sandy hollow to curl up in, hidden from the prying eyes that seek me. For tonight, I shall rest here, and tomorrow I shall find out more about this strange world I am in. There are many things I need to learn, many things I have yet to see and experience in this place, and I will need to gather information and adapt quickly if I am to survive.

Kourin's POV

"Kourin-chan! Kourin-chan~!" Dozens of fans yelp my name excitedly, pressing themselves up against the sides of my limousine as I try to escape the restaurant, cursing my elder sister for choosing such a public place to meet me. It is of no trouble to her at all, Suiko is a calm and boring businesswoman who does not have legions of fans that are willing to stalk her anywhere. For me, however… I cannot even get out of the damn parking lot. Who in the world told these fans that I was here anyway? Or was one of them dining in that fancy restaurant when I was present, undisguised, with my elder sister? Ugh, it does not matter either way, unless it was her who told them… if it was, I will strangle that girl the next time I see her.

My cellphone chirps and I unlock it, growling when I see the message "Having fun, nee-chan? It was my idea that you and Suiko-nee meet at such a lovely restaurant! Did you enjoy it? Rekka" I should have known it was Rekka's idea, that younger sister of mine is such a b*tch on so many levels. Suiko is just yandere, her cruel streak is saved for the girls who know the boys she goes after, not her family members. I shudder at the thought and then send a rather vulgar response to Rekka, cursing the day she was born and bemoaning the fact that I did not drown her shortly after her birth when I had the chance to. My younger sister responds with "That's mean, Kourin-nee! I'll tell mom on you!" Annoyed by both Rekka and the fans still blocking the damn road, I reply, "Go ahead. I live in my own house by my own rules so mom can't do anything, and since when have you actually been a sister to me?" That should effectively shut her up.

Honestly, I only see Suiko as a sister, albeit a distant and rather frightening one, for since we were kids all that damn orange-red haired younger sister of mine has done was hurt my feelings. I had no friends and had the social skills of a hermit (and to be honest nothing has changed even now), and Rekka's teasing served as additional barbs. I was all alone in the world, and my younger sister's words just made it more obvious. It was not that I was unpopular, people actually swarmed around me trying to befriend me, but I did not like them. They were all fake friends seeking to show off that they know the 'beautiful, sure to be famous' Tatsunagi Kourin, and what I sought (and still am seeking) was a real friend.

My chauffeur curses under his breath and says, "Tatsunagi-san, I can't drive without running anyone over." Part of me is tempted to instruct him to drive on anyway, but I cannot possibly order him to hurt others, now can I?

Since when have you cared about people anyway, Kourin? Fair point… the only person I have remotely cared about was Sendou Aichi, a girly boy from back in school that Rekka and Suiko insisted I had feelings for. I had forced myself to feel that way for him, but in the end I came to realize that I really cared little about him, I only remotely liked him because he was such a girl. When he turned out gay and started dating another guy in school, I had not felt any pain at all, and when I confessed it to Suiko she told me that it confirmed that I never harbored feelings for that boy. "Maybe you are incapable of harboring feelings for anyone. Other than resentment and annoyance, of course," my elder sister had told me, she had meant it as a joke, though I think it is most probably true. At the age of fifteen, I have not had a single friend, and more disturbingly (for my religious parents anyway), the only reason I kind of liked a boy was because he was a lot like a girl.

Sighing deeply, I instruct the stressed chauffeur, "Emergency call Kazuya, tell him that he'd better settle everything fast, even if he has to use tear gas and rubber bullets." He snorts and obeys the order; I can tell that he too has had enough of all my annoying fans. Especially that boy with the weird hairdo, a gravity-defying V shape, who shows up everywhere I do screaming my name and calling me his girlfriend (the cheek of him, I don't even like guys). I loathe that they call me 'Kourin-chan'; I have not given anyone in the world permission to address me so informally, as if we were friends, and now a couple million strangers are doing it. I know that it is them going crazy over me that keeps me famous and rich, but I really loathe it. I really am not cut out for this pop idol superstar thing...

"Good news, Kazuya-san's sent armed guards to disperse the crowd," my chauffeur sighs deeply as he hangs up the phone, "Sit tight for a little while, Tatsunagi-san." As if I had any choice. If I try to go out there, that crowd will try mauling me… I have experience with that, when I was a relatively new star at the age of thirteen, I went around normally without disguises and had part of my shirt ripped off by a mob of fans, locks of my hair chopped off by others, and some maniac even cut my arm to take some of my blood home with him. My parents insisted that my manager sue the trousers off that guy, of course, and when Kazuya was through with him that fan had barely anything left to his name. The amount of Kourin paraphernalia he had was frightening and extremely disturbing, for he had pieces of my clothes and some of my hair in jars on top of the typical posters, plushies, mugs, CDs and whatnot that the publicity department comes up with.

Suzuki Kazuya, my manager, is one of the most annoying people in the whole wide world. He likes to get on my nerves just to see me react, the sadistic piece of shit, but at least he can be relied on to help me whenever I am in a pinch. He is particularly good at getting rid of crazy fans because he used to work in the riot control department with the local police force. The angered and frightened cries of my fans pierce the air soon enough as they begin to flee from the security guards brandishing tear gas canisters and tasers. That boy with the V shaped hairdo has to be tasered and carried away again, I really wish he would stop doing all this. It is really creepy…

"Finally!" the road clear of people at last, my annoyed chauffeur steps on the gas with a relieved cry and speeds out of the car park before anything else happens, turning into the highway and taking me back to my mansion in the rich district of Hirai in no time. The only sound to be heard is the smooth purr of the engine, which helps soothe my throbbing head immensely. I remind myself never to go out in public again without armed security guards, and to get Rekka back by putting red ants in her bed again or something.

When the gates close behind the limousine, I heave a sigh of relief, release my chauffeur for the day and head home by myself. My chauffeur gets into his own car, an ancient Toyota Corolla, and drives out the gate to his home, some small place near Osaka Castle Park. It will take him a while to drive there, he will probably arrive home shortly after midnight, not that I particularly care. As long as he can drive me around tomorrow, I'm fine with whatever he does.

The entire mansion is unpopulated save for me; I refuse to allow servants and whatnot to live in my house for I feel very uncomfortable around people, especially strangers. To have ten or twenty strangers living in the same house as I am… the very thought of it makes me shudder. Considering how cheerful, friendly and sociable I act when I am the pop star Kourin, this is pretty unexpected but acceptable. I am anti-social in real life, so what? At least I am not like those crazy drug, alcohol or sex addicts many pop stars become after a few years of fame. That is what Kazuya says, anyway, and he has managed a few crazy divas so I should trust him.

I take a brief shower, dumping the white lace gown I was wearing for a comfortable white tank top and blue shorts, and then settle in a comfortable position to dry my hair while checking my popularity charts on my smartphone. My newest single has topped the charts, and the next four places following it are all songs by me. The two music companies that rejected me for having 'no talent and no charisma' must have their knickers in a twist right now, seeing the amount of money they turned away flooding into the pockets of a rival company. I snicker lightly; it serves them right, and then scan the charts to see if I have any new competition.

Nope, you have no new competition at all, Kourin. You have only lost a couple competitors whom you completely kicked out of the charts… Talking to myself, is it a sign of impending insanity or is it just another part of me that stemmed from me having no friends at all? I shake away the thought and run my fingers through my now dry hair, not at all bothered to suppress a long and loud yawn. I have had a long day today, recording a new song, learning a few dances for my upcoming concert and then meeting Suiko for some family matters (dad wants me to move back home, again). Tomorrow, I have a free day, so I should go take a walk in the park or something… it sounds nice… *yawns*

Flopping into my bed, I tell my sleepy mind one very important lie before I drift off to sleep. I, Tatsunagi Kourin, am not lonely…

A/N: So, how did I do? I hope I managed to portray both characters well and did not make them too out of character… Please leave me a review if you have any comments at all, I won't bite!

Again, cardfighting will most likely not be present in this story. I cannot really see how it would fit, considering the circumstances. Oh, and in case it was not obvious enough, I do not like Rekka. At all.

Haruka