AU. I own not Cardfight! Vanguard. Please be mind that this story is purely fictional. Heavy T. Slash. Editted.

Intertwingular

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"...Kh!"

A boy staggered his way inside the dark corridor hall. With his right arm was bleeding profusely, he was sure to be in trouble when a teacher caught him on the spot. His Miyaji Academy's uniform sleeve dirtied by bloods.

It was at late of night when Sendou Aichi got back to the dorm. Tonight, he got a mission to do and it ended not too nice for him. That aside, tomorrow he would take another mission as well. He was really tired, but it wasn't a reason to have a break.

"...Finally." Aichi sighed of relieve when he reached the door of his sharing dorm room, "...I'm home."

"Aichi-kun! I'm glad you're finally back." He was greeted by his roommate, the happy-go-lucky Koutei, Mitsusada Kenji. However, his expression changed as he found out that Aichi's arm was bleeding. "...We need to clean the wound first. Come on."

Aichi nodded and sat on the lower bed bunks like he used to. Being signed inside a religious dormitory school made him had to hide his job, but he was very much surprised when they met on one occasion. Being a professional Hunter, Kenji was able to mend small cuts out of experience, so Aichi didn't have to summon his familiar to heal the wound unless it was deep.

"I guess it didn't end well, huh." Kenji arrived with a bowl of water and fresh towels from their private bathroom. "...I'm sorry, Aichi-kun."

"E-Eh, you don't have to worry about it, Mitsusada-san." Aichi scratched his cheek awkwardly, "You're too busy with your other work, so I don't have any choice abou- Ow!"

"Sorry. But hold still." Kenji had cleaned the bloods from his arm. He was skillfully sewing the tear on Aichi's arm muscle. Aichi sometimes had to bit his lip because of pain. It was a moment of silent before he nodded and remarked, "Done. Cast a healing spell on it. It's quite deep though, it may still sting tomorrow."

"...Right." Aichi nodded and took his old grimoire. There was a title on the cover of the grimoire. It was called the Book of Royal Paladins. He flipped few pages before he found the page he was looking for. Smiling, he traced the page as he closed his eyes. "Elaine."

"...Good evening, Aichi-sama."

Something materialized on the now empty old pages. It was a little elf with long ears and long green hairs.

"Hello, Elaine." Aichi greeted her with a smile as he pointed at his arm, "Can you please heal it?"

"Yes, I will save you. I promise."

The fairy held her small hands to Aichi's wound for few minutes before she nodded and disappeared without a trace. The pages were now filled with old words and a picture similar to the green haired elf he called just now. Everytime he summoned familiar out of the grimoire, the page would be left empty. It turned back to the way it was after the familiar disappeared.

"Thank you as always, Elaine." Aichi smiled before he closed his grimoire and put it next to his bed. "I'm grateful for your help as well, Mitsusada-san." Aichi politely replied as he looked at his arm, "It's pretty tidy. Even Elaine had trouble to look which part of my arm got injured."

"Hey, don't compliment me too much." Kenji shrugged off, "But you know, I've always wondered on how you can call them without reciting all the long spells. You're really talented, Aichi-kun."

"I-It's nothing compared to you, Mitsusada-san!" Aichi denied with a blush, "Getting hurt is a part of the job, so don't worry about it." Aichi reasoned with a weak smile, "And also, the job today wasn't that hard. I just got reckless in the end."

"Next time be careful, Aichi-kun." Kenji warned him, "...We don't know how and when those creatures attack. Be on alert."

"...O-Okay."

Pleased by his response, Kenji smiled like usual. "Yosh! Let's do our best tomorrow too!"

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"Yo, Aichi!"

"Sendou-kun!"

"Good morning, you both." Aichi greeted his classmates at 1-A, "Sorry about yesterday. I've got an important thing to do."

"Don't sweat it!" Ishida Naoki replied nonchalantly as he circled his arm on Aichi's shoulder like usual. Yet, Aichi cringed at the pain on his right arm. It seemed that his wound is quite deep like Kenji said. "We can always go anytime!"

"Sendou-kun?" Komoi Shingo asked, "Is something wrong? Your face is very pale."

"A-Ah, I'm alright!" Aichi immediately straightened up as he changed the topic, "H-Hey, what were you both doing yesterday?"

The two close friends of his looked at each other before they sighed.

"You see, Aichi."

"Y-Yes?"

"You're really not the type who can lie easily." Naoki took off his hand on Aichi's arm, "You sure you're alright? We can always hit the Infirmary first!"

There was a short pause from Aichi before he answered, "...I'm alright. Thank you for worrying me."

"Stubborn as usual." Shingo folded his hands but he let out a small smile, "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"Granny glasses!"

"Jeez! You can't even let me finish my sentence, Porcupine Head!" Shingo retorted angrily, "In any case, if you need something you can ask us anytime, Sendou-kun."

"Y-Yeah! I will!" Aichi let out a wide smile at their usual interaction, "Thank you. I'm really glad that I'm friends with you two."

"Hey, don't be all sappy like that! It's really embarrassing!"

"Well, I can't really count on Sendou-kun for his lack of vocabularies."

"...Hey, that's really mean, Shingo-kun, Naoki-kun!"

"Pfft, it's a joke, Aichi. Man up!"

"That's right! Don't you know that Shingen Takeda-"

"Let's go back to our seats, Aichi."

"Pooorcupine Heaaad!"

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"See you later at dinner!"

"Yeah!"

When the school was over, Aichi went separate way from his friends. Shingo and Naoki had a club activity to do while Aichi needed to meet the Principal of Miyaji Academy. He and Kenji decided to meet of around 3 PM. Of course, Aichi told his friends that he was tired and went to dorm.

There are few categorized jobs in keeping the balance between good and evil; hunters and priests are the most common ones. Hunters hunt evil creatures lurking around. Since they have to fight in combat, their power and stamina focused on fighting prowess. On the other hand, Priests heal and cure those who are injured from sidelines. While mostly they are trained to excel in healing capabilities, few of them able to use attacking spells as Aichi does; though lacking in power.

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*KNOCK*KNOCK*

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"Come in, Sendou Aichi."

Someone spoke inside the Principal Office when Aichi knocked the door. Gulping, Aichi opened the door and went inside the room.

"Good afternoon, Takuto-kun." Aichi greeted the precocious boy before he looked around, "Where is Mitsusada-san? I thought he said he would come here at three."

Instead of answering his question, Takuto just smiled knowingly. "I suggest you to come in closer, Aichi-kun. It's dangerous."

Just before he could ask him again, Aichi decided to do what Takuto suggested him.

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*SLAM*

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Then again, Takuto was often right. His skill in seeing the future is never wrong. Mitsusada Kenji arrived at the office after slamming the door. Thankfully, Aichi had moved from the spot he stood just a while ago.

Tatsunagi Takuto was the Principal of Miyaji Academy. Even though he was around thirteen years old, he had inherited Miyaji and its two brother schools since he was ten. Aside being the Headmaster of three schools, he assigned certain missions to people who knew about the other world. These activities were doing smoothly underground because Takuto's capabilities in maintaining them.

"I'm alright with you got late here, Mitsusada Kenji. But please keep your power at minimum." Takuto pointed at the doorknob with eerie smile, "Do you understand?"

"...Sorry, Takuto-kun!" Kenji apologized quickly, "I'll fix it somehow!"

Takuto let out a chuckle, "It's okay, Mitsusada-kun. More importantly," Takuto handed them papers, "I have missions for you two."

"Before that, I want to say something first.." Kenji replied as he took Aichi's paper from his hands, "I want to do these missions alone."

"...M-Mitsusada-san!?"

"Please, Takuto-kun." Kenji reasoned after he glanced to Aichi's arm, "Aichi-kun is injured. Moreover, it's a C-rank mission. It would be the best if he just rest rather than going along."

Takuto glanced at Aichi's arm slightly before Aichi tried to cover it with his hands, "Well, the wound is certainly graver than I thought." He paused for a while before he resumed, "We have no choice. You should do it, Mitsusada-kun."

"Takuto-kun!" Aichi protested as he pointed at the paper, "T-These jobs need a hunter and a priest. I should go with Mitsusada-san!"

"Even though it said a hunter and a priest, I think a hunter would be sufficient." Takuto reassured him, "Don't worry. I would consider calling other priest from other school." Takuto tilted his head, "Maybe from Fukuhara High? Since Shinjou Tetsu has already assigned a mission with Narumi Asaka, I should call Suzugamori Ren as your replacement, Aichi-kun."

"I think I can do it alone just fine." Kenji refused the offer, "It's faster this way."

"But Mitsusada-san-!"

"For now, you have to focus on healing your arm first." Kenji firmly responded, "Don't exert yourself, Aichi-kun. Just call it a day off for once."

"...That's-" Aichi's voice trailed off softly, "I can't do that." He added stubbornly, "I-If I can't help Mitsusada-san with those jobs, is there another job available, Takuto-kun?"

"Well, there's this E-rank job available if you want."

"Takuto-kun!"

"It's not a hard job, Mitsusada-kun. It says they need a priest to cleanse the evil aura on a street next district." Takuto gave Aichi a paper on the desk with a smile, "How about it?"

"I accept it!" Aichi took the paper, "I- I don't want to be here doing nothing. Please let me do this job, Mitsusada-san!"

"...Fine." Kenji agreed in the end after a sigh, "But be careful. Don't try too hard. If something happens, call me or Takuto-kun."

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"This way, sir Priest."

The informant greeted Aichi who arrived at the small town by midnight train. Both Aichi and the informant wore a long black coat with the Church's badge. Law of the Church prohibited them to share any knowledge of each other except certain circumstances. Therefore, he might be younger than the informant, but they still used formal speech to each other.

"The evil aura in this street will drain your power in every second you spent here." The informant showed the street with the lantern when they arrived, "Your mission will be to cleanse the evil aura on this street, but the Church prohibited you to walk further below the yellow tape."

Aichi asked politely, "May I ask what beyond the yellow tape, sir?"

"Pardon me. I'm prohibited to say anything. Beyond the yellow tape is supposed to be a classified A-rank mission." The informant hesitated at first, but he whispered to Aichi. "...Yesterday, two hunters and a priest got killed when they went past the yellow tape."

"...I-I understand." Aichi nodded and bowed slightly, "I'll make sure not to past it."

"May God bless you, sir priest."

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Aichi was cleansing every spot around the dark street. It seemed that no one ever habituated this place for some time now, judging by the damaged houses. Even with a single glance, anyone could tell that this street was haunted. His only source of light was a floating shining sylph he just summoned.

"Epona, please make a brighter light." Aichi asked the sylph to shine the grimoire he was holding, "I call Wingal and Flogal."

"Hoamm, Aichi-sama? You call?"

"Quit daydreaming, Wingal!"

"Good evening, you both." Aichi smiled when two high beasts he summoned arrived. Both of them are fairly competitive to each other, so Aichi had trouble making them a team before. "Can you both scout ahead? Look if there's a living person around here." Flogal, the pink beast, looked around them while Wingal, the blue beast, nodded. "Ah, but don't go past the yellow tape."

"Yellow tape?"

"Hush, don't ask too much. Just do your job, Wingal."

"Pussy as always, Flogal."

It was an E-rank job, but Aichi couldn't shake his feelings right. That was why he called Wingal and Flogal to scout ahead.

"Let's go, Epona." Aichi commanded the sylph as he pointed ahead, "The evil aura is thicker on that direction."

"Be careful, Aichi-sama."

Hearing his comment, Aichi couldn't help but to tug a small smile. "I will, Epona. Thank you for your concern."

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The full moon phase today was very pretty. There were almost no clouds in the sky so the moon was shining brightly. It let out a peaceful feeling, yet for Mitsusada Kenji, it didn't feel like a good omen.

Kenji was walking alone through the dark hallway inside a building. He just finished his two jobs that Takuto gave him. He finished quicker than Aichi because he had gone out even before dinner. Aichi himself opted to stay and left after he had dinner with his two friends.

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*KNOCK*KNOCK*

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"...Suzugamori-kun." Kenji barely whispered after he knocked the only room on the top of the building, "I'm here."

Kenji didn't even bother to wait for an answer as he opened the door and closed it afterwards. The room was considered spacious for a bedroom; a Queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, two sofas, and a table. It was tidy, but Kenji knew that it wasn't the owner's doing for a good reason.

Like usual, Kenji walked toward the bed to greet the owner. He was startled when he found out the owner of this bedroom, Suzugamori Ren, was sleeping messily with his Fukuhara High uniform buttoned off.

Looking at this, Kenji turned his eyes to the corner. "Don't joke around, Suzugamori-kun." He let out a sigh as he folded his hands, "I know you're awake."

"As expected, Koutei-heika isn't funny at all. If you're going on like this, no one would be willing to be your subject, you know." The accused person sat on his bed pouting like a little child. "Hey, it's a joke. Don't be mad, I'm awake now."

"I know."

"What's wrong, Koutei?" Ren asked as Kenji sat himself at the edge of his bed without looking at him. "More importantly, listen! It's really cold today, isn't it? I'm freezing even with this thick blanket."

"Of course!" suppressing an urge to hit his head for being such an airhead, Kenji still looked at the wall. "Button your shirt properly, Suzugamori-kun."

"Eeh, I don't want to." Even without turning back, Kenji could imagine him whining. "You know I hate being restricted." Ren dragged himself near Kenji and leaned on his back, "Warm me up."

"...Alright."

"Eh?" Ren was a bit shocked when he got pushed to the bed. "...Koutei?"

"...Don't look." Kenji closed Ren's eyes with his left hand, "You're the last person I wanted to see me this way."

"But Koutei is still Koutei." Even with his eyes forced to close, Ren playfully remarked. "You're kind but cruel. You're an emperor but a tyrant. And I don't hate you for that."

"Suzugamori-kun-"

Ren groaned at the way he called him, "Now I really hate it when you call me that."

"...Ren."

Kenji opened his mouth slightly only to reveal sharp teeth. His muscle turned bigger than before. Two red markings below his eyes were visibly appeared slowly.

"...You're transforming, aren't you?" Ren grabbed his wrist on his eyes, "Hurry up. Before you turn into something you hate."

"...I'm sorry, Ren."

Shifting softly to his back, Kenji bit the nape of his neck. Ren winced at the pain as bloods fell down from his neck.

"Don't worry." Smiling wryly, Ren shut his eyes close. "...You're always warm in whichever forms you took."

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When he finally reached the yellow tape, Aichi let out a relieved sigh. Then, he quickly turned on alert when he found out that he didn't find both Wingal and Flogal. He looked at Epona to ask, but the sylph suddenly dissolved away before he could ask.

"...Epona!"

With his only source of light disappeared, Aichi tried to summon the sylph once again. He flipped his old grimoire and traced the pages to find Epona. Not too long, he found what he was looking for by the help of moonlight.

"I call forth, Epona!"

However, he couldn't summon the shining sylph at all.

"Flogal! Iseult! Alabaster Owl!" Aichi bitted his lower lip, "...Why can't I call them?"

Suddenly, he heard something from behind. He immediately turned his back, but he found nothing per say. However, the yellow tape that had been restricted him to go further beyond was now gone without any trace. He was about to walk back and asked the informant before he sensed evil creatures surrounded him from behind. They were far, but they could reach his place in a matter of time.

"...What should I do...?"

Aichi gulped at the thought of them attacked him. He was at a pinch where he couldn't summon any of his comrades. Without himself realizing, Aichi ran deeper and deeper inside the street.

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*THUD*

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Aichi fell down to the hard cold street when his foot bumped into something on the floor. He was struggling to stand, yet he puked when he saw bloods scattered around him. He was even more startled by something he bumped just now. It used to be the priest and his companions; yet now they were just jumble of meats and bloods.

"N-No!" Aichi held his old grimoire close to his chest, "E-Elaine! Heal them!" He repeated after it didn't success. "Elaine! I call forth you! Come!" He gritted his teeth, "...Why?"

Aichi was busy with his own thought before he realized that he should run away first.

It was too late. Packs of large beasts were already few meters away. Its furs were pure white, contrast with the dried bloods on his sharp teeth. In a glance, he could identify them as a pack of Barcgals. He also had a familiar called Barcgal, but Barcgal had been royal to him ever since he was born. So the familiar was classified as a High Beast rather than a normal beast.

Looking at this desperate situation, his legs felt numb to run. He settled his grimoire on his lap while he began praying. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven..." However, those beasts weren't affected by this at all. Instead, the beasts were set on running to him. Yet Aichi continued praying as he closed his eyes, "Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us! And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!"

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*TRANG*

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Suddenly, something sharp clashed at each other just right in front of him. Aichi was still afraid on opening his eyes to check, but he felt himself being pulled away by a cold hand. It happened too quickly, Aichi even didn't need to count to three when it went deadly quiet. Where were howling sounds that made him scared just now?

"Open your eyes."

The person in front of him demanded with his deep baritone voice. Aichi slowly opened his eyes as he was told. When he opened his eyes, Aichi's sea blue eyes met his savior's emerald green eyes for a moment. The one who broke the contact first was his savior while Aichi suddenly realized something.

"...T-those beasts!"

"They're dead." The brunette replied aloofly, "Check them if you want." He pointed at the beasts' dead bodies, "At the moment you step further below the yellow tape, you lost your power to summon your familiars."

"...A-Ah, thank you for s-saving me." Aichi bowed politely, "I- I'm really thankful. T-This is the first time I- I've ever heard that information..."

"Nonsense." The young man fixed the position of his red scarf, "You shouldn't do fieldworks if you don't know simple things like this." He retorted, "Do you want to die?"

"T-That's, I- I'm sorry! My job is supposed to be only cleansing the evil aura around this street." Aichi explained as he hugged the grimoire, "B-But I caught up with the pack and s-suddenly I can't summon any of my comrades..." He looked at his grimoire as he added, "...And I still want to stay alive."

"Comrades? You're joking." His savior snickered, "They're just mere tools to help you annihilate their own untamed families." Aichi was startled by the way he put his words, "In order to be stronger, one should sacrifice others." His savior scoffed lightly, "Even by means that they are the closest ones to him. Failing to understand that makes you a weakling."

Aichi was quiet for a moment as his hug on the grimoire tightened, "...I-It's wrong." He continued as he raised his head, "...I-In order to be stronger, one should protect others. Strength is drawn by the feeling of wanting to protect someone." Realizing that he was speaking too much, Aichi stammered shyly at the end, "T-That's... That's what I believe."

Aichi was ready to get shouted at but his savior was more fixated on his face. It was quiet for a moment before the brunette spoke, "...What's your name?"

Aichi didn't know where was this coming from, but he answered. "My name is S-Sendou Aichi." But he didn't feel confident in saying his name, so he stuttered. "...U-Umm, p-pleased to m-meet you!"

The brunette was fixated at his face for a moment, looking for some trace of him lying. Being Aichi, he was just shyly stared back, waiting for a reply.

Kai put his hands on the pocket as he remarked, "So you're the infamous Alfred van Gard's descendant."

"...How do you know that?" Aichi asked warily, "This is classified information. Are you on the Church's side?"

"I don't belong to any fractions." The savior scoffed, "But one thing is clear. You're the type of person who gets killed easily." The young man stated sharply as Aichi winced at the fact, "You said you want to live, correct?" His deep tone made Aichi nodded weakly, "I've saved you from those beasts. In exchange of that, you have to kill me."

By this, Aichi's eyes turned wider than before. "...Eh!?"

"I can't die as I pleased." He pointed at Aichi affirmatively, "Only by the hands of van Gard's bloodlines that I can be killed with."

"B-But I can't accept it!" Aichi reasoned as calm as he could even if he actually went panic, "T-This is the first time I see you and n-now you o-order me t-to k-kill you?"

"It has nothing to do with me whether or not you accept it. I just want you to kill me." The brunette suddenly grabbed the boy's collar and spoke near his right ear, "Is that understandable?"

The boy was intimidated on how close their faces were; judging by his flushed face as he tried to push him away. "...S-Stop i-it!"

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*DUAKK*

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In attempt of struggling from his grasp, Aichi pushed himself away and hit his head on the back. He was losing his consciousness as he fell down to the warm floor. Wait. Warm?

Special thanks to Guest, Airka Yumeko, Maiden Warrior, StuffStuff, and Someone for reviewing! Please review if you like.