Stand up, my Vanguard!

Author's Corner!

I like watching the show, but... I've never actually played the game. I understand it and all, but I won't fully comprehend the mechanics of the game until I've played it myself ; - ; anyway, here! Enjoy ~

R&R ~ Read On! P.S I'm writing Psyqualia as PSY Qualia.

Legend: ' ' are thoughts, " " are characters speaking, *bold* are actions done by characters/sfx/Vanguard units, italics represent past events/memories/text/mail/emphasis/Vanguard terms, and bold italics time skips.

WARNING: May contain OOC, various point-of-view, and possible lemons!

Ride 1 : Vanguard of Destiny!

"Pitiful Nehalem. You can't stop the attacks of my Juggernaut Maximum forever, y'know."

"Hn, you really think so?"

The two were in the midst of a...somewhat...heated battle.

"That got you."

"You've got nothing. You never stood a chance against me." "Say what?"

"I'm gonna ride up to the next grade, right now. Now, ride the Vanguard! Descend, Dragonic Overlord!"

"Agh, impossible..."

I leaned on the counter, watching the cardfight end between Katsumi Morikawa and Toshiki Kai, students from Hitsue. Misaki, my cousin, sat behind the counter, reading a book. I, on the other hand, was snacking on a cherry lollipop as I looked at my untouched deck.

'I wonder how long it's been since I last played...'

"Hm, we're finished here," I hear Kai say as he gets up from the table. I put away my deck and take out my tarot cards.

"I can't believe you beat my Juggernaut Maximum. What's with your luck, huh?" Morikawa asks. "My luck?"

'That was a dumb question...' I thought, Kai walking away from the table.

"How dare he..." "You okay?"

I pulled out a card from the tarot deck and flipped it over. "Death Upright...a new beginning, huh?" I muttered. "You say something, Himeko?" Misaki asks me from behind the counter. I look over my shoulder to look at her before looking towards Kai, who was walking towards the door. "No, it's nothing."

"Winning matches as usual, huh, Kai?" "Hm? Miwa," he says, looking up at his friend. "Have you even lost a game since you moved back here?" Miwa asks him. "No, not yet."

"Nice~ Hey there! Are any of your regulars better at Vanguard than this guy?" he asks us. We give him a blank look, Misaki answering for the both of us, "Don't know. Or care."

"That settles it. If they can't decide, then I'll be the one," he puts a hand on Kai's chest and continues, "Kai's the best!"

"Hey, man! He's not that great! I almost had him!" Morikawa yells. Kai, not caring, leaves the store and Miwa behind. "Nice try, loser~"

I coughed a bit sarcastically- if that's even a thing, making Miwa turn to look at me. "Hm? Ah! H-Himeko! What are you doing here? Ahaha...ha..." Rolling my eyes, I reply, "This is my family's shop, dummy. And I work here."

"O-Oh, right...uh..." he trails off. "If you're going to ask if I've played against Kai, the answer's no. I haven't," I tell him, turning to lean on the counter again. I propped an arm onto it, leaning on my palm as I held Death between my forefinger and middle finger while twirling it boredly between them. "Is that so? It'd be quite the fight, y'know. Kai versus Himeko! The fight between Card Capital's top two players!" I scoffed, smiling a bit at his antics. "Yeah, right."

I stop twirling the tarot card, looking at the card as it was held between my fingers.

'Death Upright... A new beginning awaits'

The Next Day

I was leaning on the counter...again. Even though Shin, our uncle, told me not to. Well, what else am I supposed to do? Sit at the tables and obstruct customers from using them?

"Hey, don't you think you should change?"

I turn around, no longer leaning against the counter. "Huh?"

"What I meant to say was, you should go put on your "uniform"," she says, pointing to the shop apron she's wearing. "There's more in the closet, so go put one on," which I can translate to its true meaning: I look stupid wearing this so go put one on.

Sighing, I make my way to the closet and put on one of the many extras over my sailor uniform.

"Yup... definitely an apron."

"I challenge!" I heard as I walked out of the supply closet. "Huh? You're no challenge."

I groaned a bit as I walked towards the counter, leaning on it again. What? It's better than just standing there. "You talk like a big shot, but I want a rematch to decide who's best in the shop. One and for all," Morikawa tells him.

'Great, this again.'

Miwa snickered as Kai gave Morikawa his answer. "No thanks."

"What?"

"You're not very good at this game. You lack foresight and your strategy is pretty weak. All you care about is brute force. Playing you again would just be a waste of my time, so why bother," Kai deadpans.

"Dude, that's harsh," Miwa comments. "Totally," I agree, popping a lollipop into my mouth.

"Argh, you won't get anything out of it, huh?! Well then, if you beat me, you can have this card!" he declares, taking out a copy of...Blaster Blade?! I pull out the lollipop from my mouth and look at the card in disbelief. 'But that's a rare card! Probably the only one I've seen in years!'

"Oh, wow! That's Blaster Blade! Those things are super rare, man! That's great!"

"Shall we?"

"Fine," Kai agrees, pointing at the seat Miwa sat in. "Oh, it's on."

I rolled my eyes. 'Boys...'

I was looking at my deck, again, as the two idiots battled it out.

Again.

"Oh, come on! Why is my luck so bad today?!"

"Today? Don't you mean every day?" I ask sarcastically.

"Hey!" "Nice one, Himeko~"

Kai scoffs and says, "Your luck doesn't matter. Now, ride the Vanguard!" The entrance to the shop opens, causing Misaki and I to look towards it.

"Welcome," I greet, Misaki leaving it to me and returning to her book. "Oh, thank you..." he says, looking around. His eyes land on the table Kai and Morikawa were playing at. "Hm?" My eyes lingered on him for a moment. 'What is this power I sense...this couldn't be what the reading meant, could it? But what is it in him that I'm feeling?' I felt myself pouting, something I do unconsciously when I can't figure something out.

"That's six damage, so I win."

I was brought out of my thoughts by the declaration. "And Morikawa, zero," I mutter.

"No way! Let's play again," he says.

Miwa takes a card from his hand and says, "We're finished here. Hey, heads up, buddy!" Miwa throws the card, Blaster Blade landing in front of Kai. 'He looks...serious.' "Hey, man, cheer up! You won!" Miwa tells his best friend. The guy who had walked into the shop headed over to their table. "This should be interesting," I say, leaning onto the counter.

"Gi-Give me my card back!" he says.

"Who's this?" Miwa asks. "Aichi..."

'Aichi?' I thought.

"Morikawa, hand it over. Come on, it means a lot to me!"

"Hey, I don't have it," he says, not looking at Aichi, as I assumed that was his name.

"When you say "card", do you mean that one?" Miwa asks, pointing to the Blaster Blade in front of Kai. "Yeah, that's it! That's my card!" Aichi says, reaching out to grab it. Before he could take it back, Kai swipes it away and holds it between his forefinger and middle finger. "Please give it back," Aichi says.

"No way. This card belongs to me," Kai tells him. "Hey..." Miwa blurts out. Kai stands up and says, "It's important that we respect the terms and conditions of a Vanguard battle, don't you think? This guy bet me the card and lost."

"Well...can I have it?" Aichi asks.

"Sorry, but when you lose a card in battle, you've gotta fight to get it back," I say, causing them to look at me. I raise an eyebrow, "What? I'm not just part of the staff, y'know." I notice begin to look determined as he look back at Kai.

"Well then, why don't you fight me for it!" he declares.

"Huh?" I blurt out, followed by Miwa, Misaki, Morikawa and...that other guy.

"Hm, okay, kid. It's a deal," Kai says, a sort of smile appearing onto his face. "Hold on! 'Ya can't fight him! You've never even played Vanguard before!" Morikawa says. "You don't have a deck, do you?"

"It's true, I've never played," Aichi began, digging through his schoolbag and taking out a deck. "But I built this deck just in case I ever got the chance to play." "Say what..."

"Take a seat and get comfy," Kai tells him, pointing to the seat in front of him. "Move along, loser boy~ Hey, Himeko! Come on over and help teach this guy how to play, would 'ya?" Miwa calls me.

"...Do I have to?"

"Just do it," Misaki tells me.

Sighing, I make my way over and stand at the side of the table.

"What are you so happy about, huh?" Morikawa asks Miwa. "This battle! We're about to witness a match between one of the best players in the store and a guy who's never played the game! This is gonna be hilarious!"

"Stop saying Kai's the best! With the right cards, I'm sure I could've..." he trails off. I glared at the two, causing them to flinch back in fright. "Could you two just shut up? I can't teach him how to play if you two keep making noise."

They nod furiously and say, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Since this is your first time, Himeko and I will explain the rules as we go, okay?" Aichi nods and says, "Sure."

"Oh yeah. You're not gonna stand much of a chance against me unless you have this Blaster Blade back in your deck," Kai says. "Yes, that's right."

"So, you can borrow it until I beat you and take it back," he says, handing Blaster Blade over to Aichi. "Th-Thank you."

"Going soft, tough Kai?" I tease with a pun. He rolls his eyes at me in return. "Shut up." He places his deck down and says, "We're only going to explain the rules once, so you better listen. And no coaching, Himeko." It was my turn to roll my eyes at him. "Got it."

"Let's start."

"Right."

They bring their cards to the Vanguard Circle.

"Now, imagine it," Kai begins. "Our spirits have just been transported to the surface of a planet similar to Earth called Cray." My PSY Qualia reacted to his words, bringing me to the Planet Cray along with them as we stood on its surface. "In this form, there are only two powers available to us. First of which allows us to summon the monsters of this planet. The cards in your deck are your units, call to them." We're brought out of Cray and back to Earth. I shake my head slightly as we were brought back. "But first, we both need to draw our starting hands. Got all that?" He nods to me.

Rolling my eyes, I began, "The cards you draw can both attack and defend for you. These," I point to Aichi's hand. "are your units." He opens his hand as I take a card and hold it up in front of him. "Each card has its own grade and powers, and any other abilities will be on the card."

"And then, there's the second power of our spirit form," Kai says. "The power to ride is to possess one of our units. The units that we merge with are called our Vanguards, you follow? The word Vanguard means the one that leads the way."

"The Vanguard leads the way.." I hear Aichi say.

"Right. Now the object of the game is to defeat your opponent by landing attacks on their Vanguard. The card in front of you is a Grade 0 unit, right?" I ask. "Yes," he replies. "Alright, flip it over," I say, nodding to Kai to do the same.

"Ready? Stand up, the Vanguard. Lizard Runner, Undeux."

"For me... Stardust Trumpeter, stand up."

I felt my PSY Qualia working again, taking me to see the battle on Cray. "Our Vanguards are ready for battle on the Planet Cray. It'll be easier for me to explain if I take the first turn, even though she's helping out," Kai says. "Alright."

"You start each turn by drawing a card. Each turn you can promote your Vanguard using a unit of no more than one grade above. Stack that unit on top of the Vanguard. Ride the Embodiment of Armor, Bahr! Now once your Vanguard is promoted, you can summon lower grade support units to the battlefield. These are called the Rear Guard. I call the Flame of Hope, Aermo! I now have two units on the field. And with them, I attack." I stopped PSY Qualia, noticing Aichi become shocked at the declaration of an attack. I scoffed as Kai said, "Except that you can't attack on the first turn." Aichi let out a sigh of relief. "The downside of going first. Your turn," Kai tells him.

"Right. I'll draw a card. Then, I'll promote. Ride Little Sage, Marron! A-And call Wingal, too!" he places the units onto the battlefield.

"Well, it looks like we both have two units in play. So, are you attacking?" Kai asks. "I...I'll attack you."

"Alright, then turn your Vanguard to signal the attack," I tell him. Aichi does as he's told and says, "Then I attack your Bahr with Little Sage, Marron!"

"When your Vanguard attacks, you can increase its power by supporting it with one of your Rear Guards," I add.

"In that case, I'll add Wingal's power to Marron's attack."

"When your Vanguard attacks, you need to reveal the top card of your deck and check for a Drive trigger." Aichi takes the card from the top of the deck and holds it up. "If you see a mark in the upper right corner, that means it's a trigger. If not, add it to your hand," I tell him. "Then, my attack when through?" he asks, putting Marron into his hand.

"Uh huh," Kai and I say at the same time.

"Okay..."

"Your attack overwhelmed my Vanguard," Kai says as he draws a card. "This is the damage from that hit. Now, if you can deal me five more damage, then my forces will vanish from the surface of the planet. That means I lose. Does it all make sense?" he asks. "Uh, yeah," Aichi replies.

"Well, it's good to see that you're catching on. My turn. Ride the Dragon Knight, Nehalem," Kay says as he stacks Nehalem onto the Vanguard Circle. "I call Bahr. Ride the Vanguard!"

"No more Mr. Nice Kai, 'ey?" Miwa comments. I glance over to Misaki, who returned my glance. *sigh* 'Boys...'

"I attack Marron with Bahr!"

"Um, Bahr and Marron both have the exact same attack power, so then..."

"If the power is equal, then the attack goes through," I cut him off. "But if this attack goes through now, you'll be able to hit me again with the Dragon Knight, Nehalem afterwards. Then I'll take two damage, right?" Aichi asks. "Yes, but you can weaken your opponent's attack by defending with the cards in your hand," I remind him.

"Then... I guard with the Bringer of Good Luck, Epona!"

"The number on the side of the card becomes your damage shield," I point out. "Bahr's power isn't high enough to break through. His attack has no effect, but now Epona has to go into the Drop Zone."

"Next, I attack Marron with the Dragon Knight, Nehalem combined with the Rear Guard's power," Kai declares. "I...don't guard."

"Not that I need it, but I'll check for a Drive trigger," he says, earning a scoff from me. Kai doesn't land a trigger, thus earning an extra card in his hand. Nehalem's attack goes through, both players now at one damage each. "'Kay, now it's your move."

"Right. Ride the Knight of Silence, Gallatin!" Aichi stacks the next grade onto the Vanguard Circle. "And, I call Marron and Flogal!" Marron and Flogal are called to the Rear Guards. "I use Gallatin with the support of Wingal to attack Nehalem!" Gallatin attacks Nehalem with 16000 power, both players proceed to make a Drive check and Damage check. "Then Marron with the power of Flogal will attack Nehalem again!" Flogal raises Marron's power to 13000, prepared to attack Kai's Vanguard.

"I can't let you do that," he says, taking one of his units to guard Nehalem. "Your attempt fails."

"Then... In that case, I guess my turn's over."

I looked at Aichi. 'He must be thinking that they can continue trading damage until he gain the upper hand... Sadly, that's not Kai's play style' I thought. 'He may not even be able to make any more than two damage'

"Hn, why do you look so relieved?" Kai asks. Aichi lets a small gasp escape as Kai continues, "Did you seriously think I was gonna let it end this way?" He draws a card and says, "Time for your final lesson."

Well, guess I can leave now.

I move away from the table and walk back to the counter. "Ah, finally~ Something I can lean on," I sigh, leaning onto the counter. "You could just get a stool and sit there, y'know," Misaki tells me. "But I like leaning on the counter~"

"I call Wyvern Strike, Tejas and Jarran! Picture it, the assault that I'm about to begin. First, I attack Marron with Bahr."

"I guard with Flogal!" Flogal blocks the attack.

"Hah. Then I come for Gallatin with the combined might of Jarran and Tejas," he says. "I can't stop that..."

"That's right. And these two get special bonus for supporting each other. An extra 4000 power!" The power of Tejas increases by 8000, becoming an attack with 18000 power. "Now I have two damage, as well. Guess we're tied," Aichi states.

Oh, how naive.

"Oh? Who said I was finished attacking you? I attack Gallatin with Nehalem supported by Aermo!" "Over 16000?" Aichi asks in disbelief. "You sure that's all?" Kai checks for a Drive trigger and gets, "Embodiment of Spear, Tahr. But just look what's in the corner."

"When a mark appears in the upper right corner of the card you draw, it gives you an extra 5000 power and increases the damage of the attack by one. Meaning, he got a Critical Trigger," I say from the counter.

"Then, that means-" "This one is gonna hit you for two damage. And once I get the lead, I don't give it up," Kai says. The Dragon Knight, Nehalem boosted by Aermo and the trigger raises its power 21000. After the attack goes through, Aichi jumps back in his seat. My eyes widen slightly as I see this. 'Don't tell me he's able to...'

"You were able to picture it, I see. Witness true Vanguard!" Aichi sits back in his chair properly, pouting.

"Guess it's all over," Miwa says. "If it was me, I could still make a comeback," Morikawa states.

'Yeah, right'

"It's your turn," Kai tells Aichi. I go behind the counter to get another lollipop and notice Misaki look away from her book. 'Hm? Don't tell me she's interested' I thought as I look back at the table to see Aichi draw a card. He looks...relieved?

"What's up? Have you lost the will to continue fighting?" Kai asks. Aichi shakes his head and laughs a bit. "You're really good, but still...this battle is a lot of fun," he says.

"Do you know him or something?" Miwa asks.

"I always hoped that one day, I would get the chance to battle with you." 'So he does know Kai...'

"So then you're Aichi...Sendou, right?" Kai asks him.

"That's right, Kai. And you gave me the power to stand here before you today," he says, revealing Blaster Blade in his hand. "I see."

"Let's go! Arise, my avatar! Ride, Blaster Blade!"

Who's your Vanguard?

This was long. Next chapter coming up! Internet keeps shutting off for large portions of the day, I cry.

R&R? Tell me what you think? Contribute your ideas! I'll take 'em all ~ Well?

Ride, Blaster Blade!

ffxshilayt aka Shila -