The Strength to Carry On
A Cardfight! Vanguard fanfic

Summary: You are your own strength. And even if you don't believe in yourself, there is always someone who will believe in you. So keep the faith, and keep going. Third person narrative, one-shot (one chapter).

Sendou Residence

Shizuka Sendou was busily cooking away for her two children – Aichi and Emi – when she looked out the window in the kitchen and noticed that the sky was becoming darker at an alarming rate. She looked at the clock and noted the time: 8:00 P.M. on the dot. When she realized what time it was, she became worried. Emi had made it home safely at 4:00 P.M. with her friend Mai, so that wasn't the issue for her. She knew that her son, Aichi, had his Cardfight Club after school, but he normally came home at around 7:00 P.M.

I hope nothing bad is happening to him . . . she thought, her mouth forming a slight frown as she formed the last rice ball. After placing it on Emi's plate and setting it in her usual spot at the dinner table, she called for her. Almost immediately, the sound of little feet could be heard running down the stairs. After she reached the bottom, the redhead eagerly took her place at the table.

"Looks good, Mother," the girl remarked with a sparkle in her eyes. She noticed her mother made her favorite meal, complete with rice balls. "If Aichi were here, he'd definitely try to steal some of this," she added with a hint of annoyance.

"Speaking of which," the mother interjected, "where is your brother? He should have been home an hour ago. And the fact that he hasn't called is really worrying me."

"Oh yeah. Aichi told me to tell you he'll be home a little later. Said he had an important Vanguard match to compete in or something like that," Emi said, beginning to eat her food.

"Is that all?" she asked. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned around and went back to cooking. But that relief didn't last long. She had remembered opening the door to Aichi's room to check up on him the night before when she saw him holding his deck, shaking violently.

Maybe he was just really nervous. He has those anxiety fits every now and then. Shizuka reassured herself. But why in the world would anyone challenge him to a match this late? I need to stop worrying about this! Shizuka violently shook her head and continued stirring the pot full of soup.

Emi was watching her mother carefully, and she too donned a look of concern.

Aichi, where are you?

The Empty Lot by Hitsue High School

However, Aichi's family was one of the furthest things from his mind at that moment, although he noticed the fast incoming darkness of night; he was more occupied with what was happening in front of him. All of his rear-guards were locked, and the only unit that was left unscathed was his Blaster Blade Liberator. The boy desperately tried to turn the cards over, not understanding the lock method initially, but was met with shocking resistance each time.

As a result of not being able to do anything, Aichi, horrified, watched as his opponent relentlessly destroyed his locked units with his Vanguard, Binary Star Twin Blade Hollow, a unit that looked similar to his avatar, Blaster Blade Liberator. All that was left on Aichi's side of the field was his avatar, and he only had one card in his hand. But this match just didn't take a toll on Aichi's units; it was taking a toll on Aichi himself. He remembered the feeling of deteriorating from when he battled Naoki just a couple of weeks ago; the only difference being that the feeling had worsened tremendously. He had to clutch both sides of the fighting table with his hands to keep himself on his feet and his head up.

A menacing smile appeared on the boy's opponent's face, and his eyes expressed joy at the boy's struggle; ironically, it made his face more sinister, darker even, despite being so pale, and it accentuated the red markings underneath his eyes. It – the whole situation - almost made him laugh, seeing how pathetic and powerless Aichi had become. This was the boy he wanted to defeat, to prove his worth to? Takuto had been right: this strength was beyond anything he had ever imagined. If only he had this strength sooner instead of relying on his own. Aichi would have definitely acknowledged him sooner if he had. But, no matter. As soon as he defeated Aichi, the boy would join him. And with Link Joker, Aichi and Blaster Blade would never be far away from him ever again.

"You've been locked, Aichi," he pointed to the suffering boy. "How does it feel?"

Aichi, feeling his eyesight diminishing, could barely see his opponent. But that was the least of his concerns. His opponent . . . His opponent's demeanor unnerved him. He would never act like this towards his opponents. At best, he would give dry, sarcastic comments regarding their abilities. But, ever since he went missing, ever since he started skipping school, ever since he stopped coming to Card Capital . . . he changed. He's changed drastically. And for the worse.

This was not the Kai-kun that Aichi knew.

"Kai-kun . . ." Aichi weakly said, his eyes struggling to focus on what was in front of him.

At the mention of "Kai-kun", something in Aichi's opponent's brain snapped. It struck a familiar feeling, one that he was trying to avoid. "Kai-kun". That's what Aichi had called him before the conversion, wasn't it? It was sickening, disgusting, absolutely revolting. How did Kai Toshiki allow himself to be degraded by this simpleton that didn't know his place? This very thought aggravated him.

"Shut up!" he interjected harshly, slamming a fist down on the table, shocking the boy. "The Kai you knew is dead now, Sendou Aichi. There's no use calling out for 'Kai-kun' because I killed him. I killed him with my bare hands," he looked at his right hand, the hand, he remembered, that he killed his former self with. "He was weak, absolutely weak. It was really pathetic. He thought that maybe, just maybe if he got stronger through his own will, he would get your attention, get you to acknowledge him as a strong cardfighter."

At this statement, he broke out into a disturbing fit of laughter, causing not only Aichi, but everyone else that was present, to become extremely uncomfortable and unnerved. Even Suzugamori Ren was perturbed by the turn of events. He had heard from Asaka, who was recovering from the supposed Reverse syndrome in the hospital, what had happened: The same guy that Aichi was facing had completely annihilated Tetsu, who became reversed. He, Tetsu, then faced Asaka, who was reversed, only for he, Ren, to show up and revert her back to normal.

This was the guy who defeated Tetsu?

I'm almost embarrassed for Tetsu now. Ren thought, biting his thumb. Please defeat him, Aichi-kun. Bring the Kai we know back. He can't possibly be dead.

But the one who was especially uneasy about what was going on was Miwa. He had known something was up with his friend after the Vanguard Fight High School championship, but he had underestimated what he was willing to do. Messing with Link Joker was the furthest thing from his mind, yet that's exactly what Kai did.

Sorry, Aichi. I messed up big time. I saw something like this coming, but did nothing about it. You're the only one that can bring Kai back now.

After Aichi's opponent stopped his fit of laughter, he looked at him with a vicious expression, and said, "Do you see why I had to kill him now, Aichi? He wasn't going to do anything! He wasn't going to get stronger! But because you kept getting stronger, he kept wallowing in self-pity. I had to kill him," his voice dropped, still with the menacing grin on his face, "I had to."

At the word "kill", Aichi's eyes widened in disbelief, tears forming in his eyes, blurring his already impaired vision. "No . . ."

Kai-kun . . .

"N-No . . ."

Kai-kun . . . can't be dead.

"NO!" Aichi screamed. All of a sudden, the world around him became darker than midnight, where there was nothing but he, his opponent, or the one who claimed to have killed Kai, and the fighting table. Just then, Aichi heard what initially was a muffled sound. But, it gradually became clearer.

"Aichi!"

Kai-kun's not dead! He's alive!

"Kai-kun?!" Aichi gasped. "Kai-kun!"

Oh no. Aichi's opponent thought, his frustration clearly showing in his face. I thought I got rid of you. Fine. I'll materialize you then terminate you for good. At that instant, a figure began to form next to him, whom Aichi immediately recognized as the real Kai Toshiki. The boy instinctively dropped the card he had in his hand and ran towards his friend. "Kai-kun! Kai-kun, you're alive!"

"Aichi!" Kai called out anxiously, his eyes wild with fear. "Don't come any closer!"

"K-Kai-kun?" Aichi halted at Kai's command.

"Well, I guess he was right about one thing before he died permanently," Aichi's opponent sighed, shrugging his shoulders with a sly smile on his face. And with that same position, he snapped his fingers; as a result, Kai transformed into an image on a mirror, and in that same instant, the mirror shattered.

"Goodbye and good riddance," he laughed maniacally.

Witnessing what had just happened, Aichi sank to his knees, his eyes blank. The boy knew that Kai was still alive. But he also knew that the Kai he had come to know, admire, and even model himself after – Kai-kun - was forever lost now. There was no getting him back, he thought. This Kai, the Kai that was in front of him, was not Kai-kun. This was a Kai he had never seen before. A dangerous, threatening Kai.

If he couldn't even defeat this Kai, how was he supposed to? There was just no way . . .

Sendou Aichi . . .

Sendou Aichi . . .

The boy recognized the voice as Psyqualia calling out to him. Why would he be calling out to him? Doesn't he recognize that not even he could fix the situation? Reverse has proven to be much stronger than he was. His units have been defeated. It was no use succumbing to his power now. Psyqualia, of all things, should know that.

"It's no use, Psyqualia," the boy called out, staring at his hands. "It's over. Kai-kun's gone. I – I'm just going to give up the match. It's the only way . . ."

Psyqualia immediately grabbed the boy's arm and was going to slap him in the face but decided otherwise and let his other hand drop. But his anger still persisted. He couldn't believe Aichi was just sitting there feeling sorry for himself when the answer to all of this was so obvious! Well, he thought so, anyway.

"Psy-Psyqualia!" Aichi gasped in shock.

"Aichi, listen. I know you feel badly about your friend, but trust me. There is a way to save him. Don't let Void fool you with his mirror magic tricks," Psyqualia began. "The Kai Toshiki that you're familiar with still exists. He's still alive. I still sense him. But you're the only one that can free this Kai from his bondage to Void and Reverse, the only one that can break those rings. You just have to give him the strength to do it."

"What?" Aichi asked in frustration and confusion. "How am I supposed to do that? All of my units are locked, and there's literally no way . . ."

"Do you remember, Sendou Aichi? Do you remember when we first met, and Kai had that match with you?"

"Yes . . ."

"Do you remember how Kai had used the power of words to get you to realize your true potential, your true strength? What Kai is going through now is no different than what you went through with me! If what Void let Kai say about himself is true, you just need to give him the words, give him the power to overcome his limits!"

Realizing what Psyqualia was trying to say, Aichi gasped, realizing there was hope after all, that he could bring Kai-kun back. The boy looked at Psyqualia with confidence swelling in his heart, and said, "I know what to do now, Psyqualia. Thank you."

"Let's do this, Sendou Aichi!" Psyqualia pumped his fist in the air, and in that instant, the both of them vanished.

Aichi opened his eyes and realized that he still in the middle of his fight with Kai . . . no, rather, Void. His units were still locked, Blaster Blade Liberator still the only card able to do anything. But, despite this predicament, the boy knew. This match was over. This was as far as Void was going to get.

"You've stalled for long enough, Sendou Aichi," Void, through Kai, declared maliciously. "This turn, you'll be reversed. And then, you'll be able to join your friend."

"Aichi! Sendou-kun!" Naoki and Shingo yelled out through concern. Was this it? Was their friend, who worked so hard to make the Cardfight Club at Miyaji High a reality, really going to lose to this guy? That couldn't be.

"You sound like Sendou's going to lose," Leon, who had sensed the conversation Aichi had with Psyqualia, interjected calmly.

"But what can Sendou-kun do? All of his rear-guards are locked, and Blaster Blade Liberator is wide open!" Shingo whined. "At this rate, he'll lose!"

"But look at his posture," the blond declared, closing his eyes as if to mock them. "It's significantly improved from before. Does that look like the posture of one that intends on losing?"

Shingo and Naoki took Leon's advice and saw that he was speaking the truth. Just earlier, Aichi had been trembling, struggling to keep himself up on his own two feet. But now, it was as if Aichi was a whole new person. Despite the fact that all the odds were against him . . . Shingo calculated the situation again to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. He couldn't see how exactly Sendou-kun would pull off a victory. Five damage to Kai's two. It was virtually impossible to make a comeback.

Just what was Sendou-kun planning?

Aichi heard the cries of his friends and took them to heart. He appreciated their concerns, but, he realized, the two of them had a lot to learn. This fight wasn't a battle to see who was stronger. It was much more than that. It was a mind game. And if what he was planning works, both he and Kai-kun would be the winners. Not Void, not Link Joker.

"I don't know what you're so smug about," Void remarked, annoyed at Aichi's positive countenance. "The odds are against you. How can you possibly expect to win against me? Besides, the Kai you knew is gone for good. I'll carry out his wish, and defeat you, Sendou Aichi!"

"Kai-kun would never wish for something like that!" Aichi yelled. "You'll pay for what you've done . . . Void! I'll defeat you and get Kai-kun back!" At this statement, Aichi's eyes revealed Psyqualia and emitted a strong blue aurora that only Void, Ren, and Leon could see. At this, Void began to tremble, although he was unsure why. He had Reverse, the strongest force in the universe! What was he afraid of some measly Psyqualia for?

"Kai-kun!" Aichi called out. "Remember what you told me!"

Void chuckled and said, "I thought I told – and showed – you. The Kai you knew is dea-." But before Void could finish his sentence, he felt his head throb tremendously, as if something was trying to get out of it.

"N-No! I thought I got rid of you . . . !" he snarled.

Seeing that his plan and his words were working, Aichi continued. "Kai-kun, you told me when I first got Psyqualia that relying on it alone wasn't real strength, wasn't real power! What makes you think relying on Reverse is any different?!"

"W-What did you say?" Void snapped.

"Remember, Kai-kun! Remember the strength you showed to me that day! That's the real strength you have, not Reverse! You were always strong! Always!" Aichi persisted, his voice cracking, tears forming in his eyes. "Kai-kun!"

"Heh, just because you're trying to ignite my host's memories, you think you can defeat me?" Void cackled, but choked on his words, sensing that his host's spirit was trying to take control of him again.

"No! Stop!" He called out, dropping his cards on the table and clutching both sides of his head. "You're not in control!"

At this point, Aichi and Void had returned to the space where Void had first thought he had destroyed this "Kai-kun", but he discovered that was not the case. As a matter of fact, Void realized he had only locked him, not destroyed him.

"Oh no . . ." Void mouthed when he realized his mistake.

Aichi saw that Kai-kun was trapped in between these black rings, similar to the ones Void had used to lock his rear-guards. He felt tremendous power flowing through his veins and realized that he had the power to let Kai-kun free.

To liberate him.

With it, the boy grabbed one of the rings and found that as soon as he touched it, it disintegrated in his hands. So he repeated this process until all the rings were gone, until Kai-kun was freed. The newly freed boy's eyes, which had been blank ever since he surrendered to Reverse, returned to normal. When his vision had completely returned to normal, he saw Aichi standing next to him with a confidence that he had never seen before.

"Void," Aichi declared, "this is the end of the line for you."

Void felt himself deteriorating; without a mind to inhabit, he was nothing. He was useless. He had been rejected by Kai, which would not have been possible if it weren't for Aichi, he knew. He desperately tried to reach out to Kai, as if he was trying to grab him and attempt to tamper his mind once again, but he was too weak. At last, Void disappeared.

Aichi, exhausted, sank to his knees. He did it. He defeated Void and saved Kai-kun, just like Psyqualia said he would. He looked to his left and saw his friend coming towards him. The boy smiled and stood up, tears forming in his eyes, because it was finally sinking in that he had saved him, that he had given him the strength to overcome Void.

"Aichi . . ." Kai muttered, trying to keep his composure. However, he realized that it was too late to pull the composure act. Far too late. Void had revealed everything about him. All that was left for him to do was to accept that he needed help and that he needed friends because, he realized, that's where his true strength lies. Having been exposed, finally admitting to himself that his loneliness was the reason he went down the wrong path, Kai, for the second time in his life, cried. "T-Thank you, Aichi . . ." It was a little strange for Aichi to see Kai show his emotions like that, but he overcame that initial shock and mustered up the courage to hug him.

"It's okay, Kai-kun," Aichi reassured him. "It'll be all right now."

All who were present at the match – Kamui, Misaki, Izaki, Morikawa, Leon, Ren, Naoki, and Shingo – saw the effects of Aichi's struggle with Void. Everyone there, even those were unable to sense forces such as Psyqualia initially, were able to see the auroras of both fighters. However, they knew the fight had reached the end when all of a sudden, Void, who they still thought was Kai, gave a bloodcurdling scream and fell over after the dark aurora left his body. All but Leon and Ren ran towards the fighting table. Both Leon and Ren had noticed Kai's deck disappearing.

"Interesting . . . If a Reverse fighter doesn't win a battle, the deck that they had under that influence disappears," Leon commented.

This happened with Asaka too . . . Ren thought. Just what is this Link Joker organization up to?

"Oi . . . Oi! Get yourself together!" Ishida yelled, shaking Kai's unconscious body. But Kai had made no movements whatsoever. "Shit. This is like what I went through supposedly, only worse."

"Way to point out the obvious, Porcupine Head!" Shingo commented, pushing up his glasses.

"What did you say, Granny Glasses?" Naoki snarled, but the argument was interrupted by Misaki pulling on both their ears.

"This is not the time for that, you two!" she barked. "I'm calling an ambulance," she declared as she pulled out her cellphone.

"That's a good idea, Misaki-san," Aichi commented with a slight smile. He then returned his gaze to Kai, who was unconscious still.

Please be all right, Kai-kun.

Several weeks passed before Aichi and the others saw Kai as a frequent visitor to Card Capital again. Although they knew that things wouldn't go back to normal completely after the fight, and Link Joker still needed to be dealt with in addition to Kourin still being busy with her idol work, it was nice having some sense of normalcy after the turmoil of the last couple of months. The constricting feeling in Aichi's chest that he had felt for weeks had finally stopped, and Miwa had informed him and the others that Kai was recovering at a surprisingly fast pace, which was great news.

One day, Aichi was walking to Card Capital from school. He noticed that there was no one, not even Naoki-kun or Shingo-kun, hanging around the door. This is weird. Aichi thought. Expecting the worst, Aichi stepped inside. But when he did, he saw that everyone, even Shin and Misaki-san, was crowded around one of the fighting tables in the shop.

"Huh. I wonder who's fighting . . ." Aichi muttered as he walked in, greeted by the shop's resident pet, Sub-Manager.

"Hello, Sub-Manager," he greeted the feline, petting him, causing him to purr happily. The boy walked on towards the fighting table and attempted to travel through the crowd of people in order to get a decent view of the fight. He was then able to see who the fighters were: Miwa and . . . Kai-kun!

"Oh, Aichi! There you are!" Miwa acknowledged the boy, giving his signature grin and hand wave. "Just in time to see the end of our fight." He informed him, and then he added almost inaudibly, "And he's declared 'Final Turn!' already . . ."

"Eradicator Dragonic Descendant attacks your Vanguard," Kai interjected, causing Miwa to cringe in disappointment.

"Ugh. No guard. Damage check," Miwa sighed as he drew a card from his deck. It wasn't a trigger, which gave him six damage. He had lost to Kai . . . again. But for once, it was a close one. Five to six. "Good game, Kai." Kai smirked as Miwa collected his cards and rose from his seat.

"That guy is just too good," one of the spectators said.

"Well, yeah. He's been in like five million national tournaments."

"Seriously?"

"Don't you know who he is? That's Kai Toshiki, one of the members of Team Q4!"

"Oh yeah! I knew he looked familiar! It's so weird seeing him up close though!"

Aichi was listening to the spectators' comments and smiled. All of a sudden, a voice broke through his thoughts: "Aichi." The boy looked and saw Kai holding out his deck and placing it on the table. "Fight me."

"M-Me?" Aichi inquired, pointing to himself.

"We never finished the last one," Kai smiled. "Besides, I need the practice."

Aichi grinned and pulled out his deck, shuffled it, and sat in the seat across from Kai. The two of them drew five cards and set their Vanguards.

"Stand up!

"the"

"Vanguard!"

Author's Notes

If you have survived to this point, congrats. Have a hug or a cookie. Or both. Whatever suits yer fancy.

Really, the story of how this oneshot came about is quite amusing. I was scrolling through tumblr, and the Vanguard portion of my dash was literally down in the dumps because of the recent episode. And all of a sudden, I got a brilliant idea. "Why not write a fic where Kai gets saved by Aichi? I'm sure that would put a lot of people in a good mood". Unfortunately, I didn't get much done outside of typing the title and the summary for the longest. Then I wrote an outline, and then I thought, "It's taking me too long to write this thing."

So I wrote the whole thing today. Yay. As usual, comments about characterization, grammar, etc. are welcomed~

Oh yeah. And the thing about "Kai" and "Kai-kun" if you were confused. Until Aichi recognized that the "Kai" he was facing was actually Void, I referred to him as "Kai" and Kai as "Kai-kun". Because a lot of people truly believe that Kai didn't actually choose the Reverse life, but the Reverse life dragged him in kicking and screaming. (which I don't think is the case, but as you could tell, I compromised)

If you have any more comments regarding my weird plot devices, feel free to ask.

Thanks again for reading! Hope it put you in a good mood at least! :D (The ending anyway. The beginning was just . . . not sure what happened.)

Hakase Fudou – June 27, 2013