Disclaimer: I don't own CFV. If I did, then Q4 would still be the main cast in G Stride.

"Nobody likes you!"

"Why are you even at school?"

"Pathetic."

Another fist is hurled towards my chin. A smack later my face falls towards the pavement from the sheer force, leaving no time to brace for impact. I can feel the build-up of dirt grinding through my teeth as my face slams on to the cold, hard ground. It's tasteless, much like what is unfolding right now to my disdain. Another boy proceeds to kick my shin. I bite hard onto my already bloody lip.

It hurts. A cacophony of unidentifiable sounds grates against my eardrums. As I try to shift my elbow, it produces a crackling noise. My perpetrators all jump, maybe simultaneously, but I'm not too certain, and at the bottom of the mass of bodies, their fists ruthlessly pummel my frame into the earth. Any sensation I felt in my arm previously was lost. Their knees dig into the small of my back, crushingly. A blood curdling scream pierces the air, sounding frighteningly like my very own.

"You can't do nothin' right."

A crowd is gathering. Spectators watch by the sidewalk, some curious, others horrified by the atrocity and covering their children's eyes and ears as to not taint their innocence.

What about mine?

Nobody stops them.

A moment of silence engulfs the area and foolishly thinking the game has ended, I begin to push myself up from the pavement with aching arms. I manage to open my eyes for a brief second before a fist connects with my jaw and sends my body tumbling onto the ground once more. Torrents of crimson are dotted in sporadic splatters on the concrete. I would have thought it was a nice shade of red, had it not been produced by my very own body.

Several minutes passed before the boys decided to leave me alone. It felt like days, no, eons had passed. It takes all my will to put my arms in motion once more. I slowly pull myself up from the ground and begin the dreadfully slow trudge home. Everything hurts.

Not that it was anything new.

When I make it through the front door, the phone rings and another explanation is in wait. Sanada sensei's shrill voice reverberates throughout the house even though Mama is not using a speaker phone. Mama hangs up, and, turning towards me, small pools begin to form at the edges of her eyes as she crouches down until we see from eye to eye. Her arms wrap around me while her hands run through the messy strands of my hair. She attempts to pick up the pieces of what's left of me; if there is any. It's not her fault. She plays the role of both the caring mother and the breadwinner. She does her best to support the fatherless me.

We stay like that for a while. Mother's soft sobs drown in the dirty fleece of my shirt. I can already feel the wetness soak through the material. I manage a lopsided smile, despite my aching cheekbones.

"It's okay."

Her cries grow louder.

Eventually, Mama's tearful cries lull her to sleep, sobs occasionally wrecking her body. I wedge my way out of her arms exerting the remaining force in my paper-thin arms, carefully avoiding the growing bulge in her stomach area. I may be going through a tough time in my life, but my soon-to-be sister doesn't need to suffer through that too. I drag the entire dead weight of my body up the stairs until a lavender sign scribbled in rose pink crayon greets me.

'Aichi's room'

Behind the closed door lies my only sanctuary.

All is safe once I make my way in and allow gravity to take over.

Every week, I'd come home dressed in new strips of bandage, face decorated by fresh bruises and clotted blood with the occasional gauze sticking to reopened wounds. Mama says it'll get better, but I doubt it. We both know it's a lie.

At some point, my tears dried up, and so did my hopes.

"Toshiki!"

As I turn around I'm greeted by a pair of loving arms that encircle my entire being.

"Mother!" I whine, "Stooop! I'm already twelve!"

"I know, but you are the sweetest thing I've ever brought into existence, fufufu~"

Mother's kisses rain from all directions, sweeping me off my feet. It's a good thing Miwa isn't here to witness my torture, if not; I'd never hear the end of it at school. It took a while for Mother to pause her barrage of smooches, but it eventually happened. Escape was futile when her grip was firmer than the leash on a pit-bull.

"Ne~ Toshiki,"

"Hm?"

"Do you like anyone?"

What an odd question. I try to laugh it off, but Mother's intense gaze shows no sign of loosening up when I peek at her from behind my bangs. It's quiet for a while before she begins to speak again.

"Your father used to be quite the charming prince. Awkward, cold, indifferent to expression… it's a miracle how we ended up together," she squeezed my hand, "You're the complete opposite of your father, Toshiki, so I'm not too worried about you courting your partner in the future!" she paused before continuing, "whether they be a girl or a boy!"

My face must have contorted, because Mother broke into a giggling fit,

"You're already so good-looking and popular, isn't there a single girl that you're interested in? C'mon, spill!"

Are mothers supposed to act like bratty little sisters because I am 99.9% sure Mother sure is acting like one (not that I would know since I'm an only child). I do stop to ponder over the girls at school though.

Except, nobody comes to mind save for the little boy I keep seeing at the park. That doesn't count since he's a guy, and guys don't date guys.

I think.

So I feign disgust and violently shake my head.

"It sounds icky right now, but you'll change." Yeah, no.

"When you do find 'The One', I want you to give them this,"

She pulled out a velvet box adorned with a silk ribbon on the corner and placed it in my cupped hands. I cracked it open to see a glittering silver ring with intricate vine patterns inscribed on the exterior. On the interior, the letters "YKS" was etched onto the walls. This was… quite the jewel.

Mother placed her arms around my shoulders as I continued to inspect the object, "It's a memento passed down our family for generations, Toshiki. Under no circumstances are you allowed to lose this precious jewel. You must cherish it above your Vanguard cards, and I know how special that Blaster Blade is to you, but the importance of this family treasure far exceeds that."

I nodded.

"I'll keep it safe until you're old enough,"

Just as mother begins to turn away, I catch the sleeve of her sweater. Her eyes widen in surprise, waiting for me to speak. I debated for a couple of seconds on whether I should tell her about the boy at the park before letting go of the hem of her sleeve. I shook my head, "No, it's nothing."

As if sensing my hesitance, Mother cups my face, leaning in to press her forehead against my own. Her long eyelashes brushes against my own as her eyes flutter shut. A smile is carved onto her lips and I know she is waiting.

I'll tell her about the boy in the park next time.

But next time never comes.

"You're just as weak as you were in preschool!" Smack.

"Do you think you're funny?" Punch.

"Such a priss!" Kick.

In a last ditch attempt, I limp my way towards the door, holding onto the sinks for support. My body is slammed against marble wall. For the umpteenth time, I've been lured into the boy's bathroom. But normally you wouldn't expect to be ambushed when all you really want to do is let loose, right?

Wrong.

The impact of the blow causes a pipe to twist out of place and it strikes me from the behind. The petite boy in the mirror is adorned with a bruised lip and a black eye, dull blue clumps protruding from the mass of dishevelled hair. I reach the back of my head to feel the oozing of a warm liquid.

Deep crimson.

"You can't do anything right."

A wave of nausea washes over me as I deep heave to calm myself down. My persistence doesn't last long before I am engulfed by the unwavering darkness.

'I'm only doing my best.'

Drip.

The day a police officer stands at the door of my house waiting is the day everything begins to fall apart.

Hushed whispers. Yelling. Lots of yelling. Arguments break out and although all of my relatives try to keep it a secret, it's not hard to tell that they're arguing who has to take custody of me.

Drop.

The funeral is a blur. The only things that register are the portraits of Mother and Father, resting in a sea of lilies.

Drip.

Uncle leads me away by the hand, away from the house, away from my school, and away from the shadow of my former life.

I never got to bid the boy in blue farewell.

Drop.

"Here,"

Uncle takes both of my hands into his own and slips something into my hands. I stare down into my open palms as we part. It is a dusty, velvet case; tinged with dark scratches. My eyes widen as I turn my gaze back towards the man who was just abandoned by the love of his life.

"My sister… your mother would have wanted you to keep that safe," he huffs. My hands snap open the case. The case, although burnt and worn, protected the glimmering silver that sat in the cushion of violet.

Uncle leans in and pulls my head against his shoulder.

For the first time in years, I cry.

Drip

The seasons pass, and I find myself back where I started.

Drop.

My eyes fluttered open as the wave of memories come rushing back. My hands wander up to the bridge of my nose as my eyes begin to adjust to the sunlight pouring from between the leaves. It feels wet. Had it been raining? My suspicions are proven wrong once I catch a glimpse of the pained expression the blunette towering above me wore. Whimpers escaped his lips in his unconscious state. If I recall correctly, Aichi and I came to this park for a walk and once we sat down, I flopped over on my side, using his legs as a pillow.

I push myself up from the bench and studied his face. Pained and contorted. He lets out a pained sob through the sniffles and scuffles.

"Aichi," he doesn't stir.

"Aichi…. Aichi!"

I do what Mother usually does in an attempt to calm him down. I cupped his cheeks and closed the distance between us until our foreheads touched. "Aichi…"

"…chi"

"A…hi"

"Aichi!"

A throbbing pain pulsates through my brain. I slowly opened my eyes to stare into what could possibly be the most beautiful shade of cerulean blue. His forehead pressed against mine, with both of his hands cupping my cheeks. For a moment, I found myself unable to form words, so I must have looked quite silly with my jaw hanging.

"Kai-kun,"

An indescribable warmth bubbles from the pits of my stomach. To the point where I can't stop grinning, no matter how many times I rub it away, it just lingers.

"Nightmare?" he asks. I nod, albeit hesitantly. Suddenly, his face inches closer and I can see the fine details dusted onto my flawless mentor. Russet locks hung over half lidded eyes, complemented by dark lashes extending from the lids. He kisses my nose softly. My face feels a bit wet but I can only guess I started crying in the middle of my walk down memory lane. Come to think of it, Kai-kun fell asleep on my lap earlier when we decided to spend the rest of the day napping at the usual bench. The gentle sunlight soon brought about slumber to me as well and I suppose that's how I drifted off.

"Um, did I wake you up?"

Kai stops in his tracks and buries his face in the crook of my neck. He smells nice, almost like the scent after rainfall.

"Yes," I inwardly flinch at his remark, "but I had to go use the washroom anyway," he chuckles.

His laughter is contagious.

Neither of us stop until we run out of air. Kai's nest of hair parts away from me and I'm left with tingly sensations running through my neck longing for his touch. Of course, what comes after compensates for the lack of prolonged contact.

His fingers brush some locks behind my ear, and – although I almost didn't catch it— I heard it:

"Love you,"

Kai's breath licks the very surface of my neck as he proceeds to nibble on my weak spot: my ear. This is quite embarrassing given that we are still in public, but nobody else seemed to be present at the park (which is a shame -by the way- it's such a nice day out).

Right.

I have Kai-kun with me.

It's strange how he was able to turn my world right side up. Even after he left, I was still beaten to a pulp every day. But he gave me hope.

He gave me Blaster Blade.

He showed me that someone cared; someone other than my family.

I was only a kid who passed by this park a lot, and yet…

He approached me, and from then on, we'd spend the days after simply chatting, until the day he moved away.

With hundreds of millions of people around the world playing card games, they've naturally become a part of our daily lives.

Cardfight Vanguard is the card game that gets most of our attention now.

And one of those cards let me meet him once again.

Even when he returned, jaded, my attachment towards him was no less than what it was initially. In fact, it probably grew twice in size. Absence does make the heart grow fonder after all.

I must have zoned out because Kai was now staring at me, concern etched into the handsome features of his face as he waited for my reaction.

"I-I love you too, Kai-kun." Tears are obscuring my vision as I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. "You have no idea how much I do. I'm not even articulate enough to express my feelings for you that grow stronger with each passing day," And now snot is trickling from my nose. How does this perfect being manage to look at me?

A finger is raised up to my lips. Kai pulls a tissue from his pocket and wipes the liquid oozing from my nostrils.

"Your actions say it all."

Then the taste of tangy oranges fills my taste buds when our lips meet halfway.

There was a pregnant pause once we parted.

His cheeks were tinted with a subtle shade of pink and he was obviously trying to avoid eye contact.

So silly.

Leaning in once more, I capture his quivering lips in a kiss that lasts until what seems to be an eternity.

From the day of our first encounter, I silently made an oath to the deities. No matter what happened, I would stay here and protect you from afar. Because the world is a brighter place when you smile. I fell in love with the boy with the broken smile; however nothing fills me with the same amount of joy as when the corners of your mouth tug upwards, and the tender bells of your voice sing for the world to hear.

In the depths of my pocket, the jingle of a distant promise reminds me of a future where we grow old together.

Sendou Aichi, you're the one I choose to give my everything to.

A/N: Why did I even write in first person?

Anyway, hello! This was probably the very first cfv fanfic I wrote when Season 1 or 2 was still airing. I can't exactly remember, but I remember thinking at the time that there was no way that Kai would ever act like this (until Legion Mate proved me wrong. Bless the writers, dere Kai is a gem). Anywho, I thought it would probably be a good time to upload this before Q4's story ends for good. Please feel free to leave a critique! I'm still an amateur at writing and, more often than not, will probably end up with girly sounding narratives, so feedback would be greatly appreciated.