This chapter was written by me and candyfreak12 and then it was edited by Drake Silver. Only new readers would see this edited version so enjoy the story please.
Ride of Rhythm.
As a young boy who was named Royce lay on the ground, he stared at the bright blue sky. The white puffy clouds are dancing around
the sky, making different shapes and figures. Royce is 15 years old. He is 5'0 and is wearing a tucked in polyester white shirt and wears black funeral pants. His eyes are golden and he has bangs covering his eyes. And he is Deaf.
The 15 year boy looked around him. People were either walking, talking, or communicating on their phones. Royce was the type of person who would pay attention on what's going on around him. He would see what people do, or try to find out what they are saying.
Since Royce is deaf, he learned to lip read so he could find out what people are saying.
Royce only communicated by using sign language when he was young, but then he decided to just talk since not everbody knows how to use sign language. He started lip reading at the age of 12, it took him a year to master it. Now he is an expert at it.
Royce got up, and walking. While he was walking, he thought about his dream from last night.
He was standing on a rocky field. It was much like earth, but different. His body was faintly seen, as he were a spirit. Beyond a rocky cliff he saw something. It was a human like dragon. It had a slender body and it was gold and red. It was holding a spear. Electric sparks coming out of the tip of the spear.
The dragon looked at him and nodded. Royce wanted to say something, but it was too late.
Everything became blurry and he woke up.
The dream kept coming on his mind the whole day. In all of his classes, he was barely paying attention, but it's not like anyone cares. People in his school consider him as a freak just because he's deaf. He didn't know why he had the dream, but something was telling him it was important. Royce had to walk home in another route because his usual route was closed for construction.
As he walked, two 8 year old kids almost ran over him. They didn't even look back. It looked like they were excited about something.
Royce looked at the shop the kids ran in. It was called Card Capital. The teen had the sudden urge to go in, so he listened to it and went inside. He looked around the unfamiliar shop. There were kids everywhere. Short, tall, chubby skinny, you name it. Even though they were all different, they had something in common.
They were all playing Vanguard.
Vanguard.
The word sounded almost foriegn to him. When was the last time he heard that word? 4,5 years ago?
He felt Sadness in his heart. He wanted to leave right away but someone was speaking to him.
"You're new here." She said in an unemotional voice.
He saw a girl who looked a bit older than him. Royce could tell she was a worker. She had the red apron to prove it.
"Do you want something?" She said sternly. Royce just realized he was staring at her. Before he would say no, something caught his eye.
"Yes, I want that"
He pointed to a red colored starter deck. He was lucky his dad gave him money. He paid and opened it. At the bottom of the top card was written Narukami.
"Is this your first time playing?" The lilac haired girl said.
"Yes, miss."
"Call me Misaki." she said. Misaki didn't want to be treated as a old lady.
"This game is called Vanguard. You play with your deck, which consists a type of clan. Your clan has different techniques that you can use against your opponent. The goal of the game is to deal six damage to your opponents vanguard." she explained.
"Got it." The teen said.
Even though he never played. He once heard about how the game works before. He stared at his deck. Something about it made seem mysterious.
"You can start playing, you know." she said irritated.
She couldn't read her book if there is a weird kid just standing in front her.
"Oh yeah. Ok."
Royce started scanning around for an opponent. He didn't know who to battle. There were a lot of kids in the small cardshop.
"Aw man, I lost."
"And I win, again!" A blonde kid bragged.
'I'm the best! In no time I'll be able to defeat every player.' The boy thought in his head.
"Who's going to be the next victim." he said.
"No way he already won three times in a row." A kid whispered.
Some of them acted like they never heard the boasting boy. Others hid their decks and most of them muttered an excuse. One kid even sneakily left the shop. The blonde kid then saw a certain teenage boy.
"You!" He pointed to Royce.
Royce jumped.
"Me?"
"Interested in a battle?" he said.
"Uh, yeah sure" the brunnette answered unsurely.
Royce walked and sat down on a chair across his oponent.
"By the way, I'm Ricky Moore."
"I'm Royce Morena."
He took a deep breath. This is his first time playing, not to mention his opponent is winning left and right. They both shuffled each other's decks. He used his little knowledge of the game to help him begin.
He remembers how to start the game. He took out a grade 0 from his deck and put it on the middle top circle on the vanguard mat face down. The other did the same.
"Stand up Vanguard!"
"Advance Party seeker, File!"
"Ambuch Dragon Eradicator, Linchu!"
"You can go first" Ricky said.
Royce nodded. He checked his hand.
"I ride Assualt Eradicator Saikie and I play Brawler Green Gem, Carbuncle. I attack your vanguard!"
"Woah, woah. Hold on. You can't attack on your first turn. Is this your first time playing?" Ricky asked.
"Yes," Royce answered glumly.
'Great I picked a newbie. Oh well, this is going to be easy.' Ricky thought.
"My turn. I ride Bravogal Seeker and I call Burning Mane Lion, Pongal and Snogal. I boost Bravogal Seeker with Burning Mane Lion and attack your vanguard!"
"I guard with Demonic Dragon Besrker, Vasuki."
Royce's words caught everybody's attention.
Everything became dead silent, until almost everybody in the shop bursted out laughing.
'This is going to be a long game.' Rickey thought.
Royce was confused.
"You can only guard when a card is a equal or lower grade than your vanguard. It has to have a shield power on the left side of the card. Grade 3's don't have a shield." Misaki stated.
Royce became embarrassed.
"I won't guard, then." Royce said taking the grade three out of the guard zone.
Ricky's attack went through.
"Check for a damage trigger." Misaki said.
Royce did what the worker said and had no trigger. He placed it on the damage zone.
"I also attack your vanguard with Pongal boosted with Snogal's power."
Royce checked for another damage trigger. Nothing.
"I end my turn."
'Ok. I can do this.' Royce thought. He drew a card.
"I ride Spirited Brawler, Kohkin and I play Shieldblade Dragoon and Erradicator Egghelm Dracokid. I boost Spririted Brawler with Green gem Carbuncle and attack your vanguard."
"I guard with Giro."
"I boost Kohkin with Erradicator to attack your vanguard"
Royce picked up a drive trigger.
"Critical Trigger."
Ricky glared. He can't defend that.
Royce's attack went through.
'Good, we're even.' Royce thought.
"I end my turn."
Ricky drew. He smirked.
"I ride Sanctuary of Lght, Determinator. I play covenent knight, Randolf, and
snogal. I boost Sanctuary of Light with Burning Mane lion and attack your
vanguard."
"I guard with Heaven Rising Brawler, Yohzen."
"I boost Pongal with Snogal and Snogal get a 1000 power boost for every other
Snogal on the field. I attack your vanguard!"
Royce put his damage trigger on the damage zone.
"Rangol and Snogal attack you're vanguard. Don't forget about the extra power
boost." Ricky said.
"I don't guard."
Now Royce has 4 damages.
"Your turn." Ricky stated.
"I ride Demonic Dragon Beserker Vasuki. I place Brawler, Yojin and Lizard
Soldier, Yuki as my rear guards. I attack Sanctuary of Light, Determinator with
Dragoon and Eradicator."
Royce is starting to get the hang of the game.
"I guard with Knight of Festival."
"Brawler and Lizard Soldier attack your vanguard."
Ricky put a card on his damage zone.
"I add the power of Brawler Green Gem to Demonic Dragon. It also get a 1000
power boost for placing it as my vanguard. I attack your vanguard again."
"I don't guard." Ricky grunted out.
'He's catching up.' He thought.
"My turn. I ride, Holy Disaster Dragon. I attack with Rodolf and Snogal."
"I guard with Dragon Dancer, Catharina."
"Next, I attack with Pongal and Snogal. Critical trigger."
"I guard with Excorcist Mage, Lin Lin."
Ricky got upset.
"Attack Demonic Dragon with Holy Disaster Dragon boosted by Burning Mane
Lion."
Ricky got no trigger, but Royce got a damage trigger. Draw trigger.
He drew a card and took the attack.
"I end my turn"
Royce barely survived and needed to win this turn before Ricky does.
He saw the card he drew and was suprised.
It was the same dragon from his dream. He suddenly remembered something.
Flashback
"Hey sis, what is that?" Ten year old Royce asked, pointing his finger at a card
deck.
"Oh this. This is called Vanguard. It's a card game. See." A brunette girl
answered.
She showed him her cards.
Royce admired it. The game sounded so cool.
"I wanna play!" He shouted.
The older sibling chuckled.
"You can't right now. You need a deck." She explained.
Royce pouted.
"But I can show you how to play" she said.
The child nodded and listened to his bigger sister as she explained.
As she talked, a specific card caught his eyes.
"What is that?" He asked curiously.
"That's Eradicator Vowing Sword Dragon. It's actually my favorite."
"Why?"
"It's always there to help you. It's strong, but also willing to help you in
your toughest time."
"How do you know?" Royce asked.
"Well-" The teenager looked at her phone and stopped talking.
"I gotta go. Tell dad I'll be back." she said as she quickly left with her
deck.
Those were the last words Royce heard his sister say before she disappeared.
Flashback ends.
"Hey, are you going to play or what?" Ricky said impatiently.
"Oh sorry." Royce apologized.
He snapped out of his trance and continued playing.
"I ride Eradicator Vowing Sword Dragon and attack with Dragoon and Dracokid."
"I guard with Primgal."
"Add Lizard Soldier's power to Brawler Yojin and attack your vanguard"
Royce's attack went through. Now Ricky has 5 damages.
" Finally, I attack with Vowing Sword Dragon and Brawler Green Gem. Critical
trigger."
Ricky clenched his teeth.
He now had 7 damages.
He lost.
The teenager couldn't believe it. He won.
Kids started whispering and Misaki was suprised.
"Royce are you here?"
The teenager saw his dad walk in.
"I started to get worry when you weren't home, but luckily our neighbor saw you
in this shop and told me" He said in sign language.
"Sorry for worrying you" Royce responded with sign language.
Misaki watched and realized the boy was deaf.
"No, we all have something we want to do and I see you finally found yours. Come
on let's go home." Royce's dad smiled.
Royce nodded and before he left he turned to Misaki.
"Thank You" he said and with that he left.
A certain girl was behind them in a corner.
'Not bad for a first timer. He has potential.' She could tell since he had the same deck as her. She watched him leave and an idea formed in her head.
Royce was watching TV until his dad signaled him to get the door. Royce nodded and answered the door.
"Yes?" Royce said.
"Hi I'm Lila. I came here to give you this." She gave him an envelope.
Royce opened it and was suprised to see a invitation to a Vanguard tournament.
" I saw your battle at the shop" she said with sign launguage.
She knew he was deaf and was amazed at how he can lip read. She didn't need him to tell her. She saw how he communicated with the kid he battled.
Royce was suprised she knew how to use sign language.
He didn't know what to say.
"It's next week and you can think about entering in the mean time. I gotta go. By the way, did I mention the prize is 50,000 yen?" she said as she left.
Royce was just standed at the doorway.
He was invited to a tournament. Now he doesn't know if he should enter or not.
He has a week to think about it.