Krika: Hello people! Welcome to my second trading card story! This story takes place about two weeks before the events of Vanguard G. Characters from previous series will appear in this story along with new characters that will be introduced since the new season of Vanguard G was recently released. Anyway, enjoy! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad.
Cardfight Vanguard, a card game played across the globe. In this game, imagination is key to play to the fullest. When card fighters play, they imagine that they have been transported to a far off planet called Cray. This planet has multiple factions that are then split up into Clans. The factions of Cray are the United Sanctuary, Dragon Empire, Star Gate, Dark Zone, Magallanica and Zoo. Within Japan, there are areas called Branches, which are designated by the factions of Cray, and have very skilled players. The best players in a clan become Clan Leaders, which is a great honor for many aspiring cardfighters. In the largest Branch, the Dragon Empire, was a young boy, around 14 in age and was looking at some Vanguard cards. He has deep green hair that was spiky and he had cyan blue eyes. He was wearing a blue school uniform and looking at some cards that belonged to the Kagero Clan. His name is Shen Jira.
"Okay...hopefully this will be good enough," Shen said, shuffling his deck and gets up, he grabs his book bag and heads over to a very popular card shop called Card Capital 2. He enters in and was greeted by the store manager, Shin Nitta.
"Welcome to Card Capital! How may I help you?" Shin asked the boy.
"Oh. Uh...hi there. I'm here to sign up to be an official cardifghter," Shen said, a bit timidly actually.
"Oh? So you want to be an official cardfighter, eh? Well okay then! I'll get you signed up in a jiff. I just need your information and the Clan you use," Shin said to him, getting on his computer.
"Okay. My name is Shen Jira. I'm 14 and I use the Kagero Clan," Shen said, giving his information.
"Kagero clan, eh? Lots of strong players who use that Clan," Shin said with a smile.
"Yeah. Though...I'm not very good at it. I've been stuck with school work so I haven't had many chances to play," Shen said, looking at his newly built deck.
"Hmm...how about you try challenging one of the other kids here to a friendly battle? That way you can get a few battles under your belt," Shin suggested before handing Shin a Fighter's Card, with it being white of course.
"Oh. Okay then. I'll ask around," Shen said, heading into the room where cardfighters played games and looked around.
"Now take this!" Shen looked over and saw two people playing a game, one of them had three damage while the other had five damage. The one with three was using a Shadow Paladin deck, a Grade 3 Shadow Blaze Dragon as his Vanguard. The Shadow paladin user was a boy with jet black hair that was shoulder length and he had blue eyes. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a blue shirt underneath and wearing khaki shorts with red and white shoes. "Twin Drive!" The boy checked the top two cards on his deck and one of them was a Critical Trigger, "Alright! I give all effects to Shadow Blaze Dragon!"
The other player recoiled, having imagined his Vanguard taking the damage and checks the top card on his deck and sighs before placing it on his damage counter, with it being six he had lost the battle, "Aw man...I lost"
"Hey, don't worry. Keep working on your skills and I'll welcome a rematch!" The black haired boy said, giving the player a thumbs up and a smile.
The other cardfighter smiled and nodded before collecting his cards and shuffling them into his deck and left before Shen walked up, "Uh...excuse me. You think you and I can have a cardfight?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. I definitely have the time for a couple more fights. The name's Tai Nakami," The fellow Vanguard player said, holding out his hand.
Shin shakes his hand, "I'm Shen Jira"
Tai nods and shuffles his own deck and places his deck on his spot on the table and placed his G-Units on their own separate spot, "Okay then. I assume you know the basics?"
"Of course," Shen says placing his deck on his spot, and he didn't have any G-Units on him before the two placed their FICAs on the slots.
*STAND UP, VANGUARD*
The table lit up and a picture of a location on Cray appears underneath the play mat, "I'll let you choose an area you feel most comfortable with," Tai said to Shen.
"Okay," Shen swiped the table a bit before he found a location with volcanoes and lava.
"Oh? A location belonging to the Kagero clan in the Dragon Empire, eh? Nice choice," Tai said, complimenting on the choice.
"Um...thanks," Shen said before he and Tai picked out a Grade 0 card from their deck and shuffled their decks again before placing their Grade 0s on their Vanguard spots before drawing five cards for their starting hand.
"You ready? Now...imagine it. Our spirits have been transported to the planet Cray..." Tai said, with Shen closing his eyes.
Shen found himself in his mind's eye that he was on a rock platform with lava surrounding him, his body was about see-through before he saw Tai in front of him. "So...this is Cray? I haven't played that many games so I never got a good picture"
"Well now you see what a part of Cray looks like. We're currently in the Dragon Empire, home to the strongest military force on Cray. And right now we're on the home turf of the Kagero clan, one of the most fiercest clans in the Dragon Empire," Tai said with a smile, "Now currently we're powerless spirits and we can't do anything. But what we can do is call upon the forces of Cray to fight on our behalf. And the one that leads...is the Vanguard. Now, let's begin shall we?"
Shen nods before they grabbed their Vanguard cards, "Stand up! Vanguard!" they both said and flipped the cards over, revealing their Grade 0s and they transformed into their chosen cards and their summoning circles lit up in their own colors, Tai's was a deep purple while Shin's was a light red.
"Amber Dragon, Dawn!" Shen called out the name of his starting Vanguard, and his imaginative form turned into the unit.
"Promising Knight, David!" Tai called out before he turned into the unit.
"So...which of us is going to go first?" Shen asked.
"Normally we'd play rock paper scissors, but since you're still relatively green at this I'll go first. Now I Ride!" Tai placed a card over his starting Vanguard, "Darkquartz Dragon!" His Vanguard on Cray changes into the new Vanguard, with Promising Knight, David being placed behind Darkquartz Dragon in the Rearguard, "You see, some Grade 0 cards allow you to move them to the Rearguard if they have the skill. Now since I'm going first, I can't attack you, so it's your turn"
Shen nods and draws a card "Okay then. I ride!" Shen placed a card on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Daylight!" His Vanguard turns into the evolved form of its previous form, "Now thanks to Amber Dragon, Dawn's skill, I can search my deck for one Amber Dragon, Dusk," Shen announced, searching his deck before he found the card and revealed it to Tai before placing it into his hand and shuffled his deck.
"So you have the Amber Dragons, eh? Those are some rare cards to get, especially since they work so well together," Tai said to him.
Shen rubbed his head with an embarrassed blush from the praise, "Yeah...I got pretty lucky with finding them. It's like it was fate, you know?"
"Eh. I'm not really superstitious about that kind of stuff. But I guess I can agree with that you were meant to find those cards," Tai said before smirking, "Now. Come at me!"
"I call Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid and Volcano Gale Dragon to the Rearguard!" Shen announces before placing the cards on the rearguard. Volcano Gale behind Daylight and placing Tinder Spear on the bottom left circle. "Supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!" Shen flips Volcano Gale Dragon sideways and then Amber Dragon, Daylight. Before that he grabbed the top card on his deck, "Drive Check" He draws the card and reveals it, and since it didn't have anything on it he just placed it in his hand On Cray, Daylight sent out a kick at Darkquartz, sending the dragon reeling back, with Tai doing the same before he grinned.
"Nice. Damage Check," Tai checked the top card, "No Trigger" He placed the card in his damage zone and drew a card. "Now I Ride!" He placed a Grade 2 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Darkpride Dragon!" His Vanguard turns into the unit on the card. "Now I'll call Karma Collector, Darkquartz Dragon, and finally Blitz Knight, Bolfri!" he calls the three units, Karma Collector to the lower left circle with Blitz Knight, Bolfri in front of it and Darkquartz on the top right circle.
Three units...and now his Vanguard is a Grade 2... Shin thought, feeling a little nervous.
"Don't worry. You can use the units in your hand to guard against my attacks so you can prevent any damage," Tai said to him, giving him a reassuring smile. "Now, supported by Karma Collector, Bolfri attacks your Vanguard!"
"I guard with Red Pulse Dracokid!" Shin places the card on the Guard Circle and places it in the Drop Zone afterwards.
"Supported by Promising Knight, David, Darkpride Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Tai says, "Drive Check," Tai checked the top card of his deck and grins before revealing it, a Grim Reaper card, "Critical Trigger!"
"I don't guard," Shen says, recoiling a bit when his Vanguard took the hit and he checked the two cards on top of his deck and one of them was a Gattling Claw Dragon, "Draw Trigger," Shin draws a new card and smiled.
Tai notices the smile and smirks, "With that look on your face, you must have drawn one of your favorite cards in that deck"
"Huh? Uh...you can say that I guess," Shen said as he placed the two cards he checked for damage in the damage zone.
"Now I'll end my turn there. It's your turn now," Tai said to him.
"Huh? But you haven't attacked with Darkquartz," Shen said, looking at the unit Tai didn't attack with.
"Sometimes you gotta know when to attack and when to defend. If Darkquartz had the Intercept ability, I could use him for defending against an attack. But remember that you're still a beginner at this, so I'm going easy on you," Tai said with a smile.
Shen smiles and stands his cards and draws a card, "Now I ride!" He placed his own Grade 2 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Dusk!" his Vanguard moves up to the next Grade.
There's Amber Dragon, Dusk...now all there's left is either Amber Dragon, Eclipse or Amber Dragon, Midnight...this guy has a pretty good deck for a greenhorn... Tai thought with a smile.
"Now I call! Iron Tail Dragon! Amber Dragon, Daylight! And finally, Blue Ray Dracokid!" Shen calls the three units, Iron Tail Dragon to the top left circle with Amber Dragon, Daylight to the top right and then Blue Ray Dracokid behind it on the bottom right. "Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!"
"No guard," Tai takes the damage, "Damage Check," he checks the top card on his deck and places it on the Damage Zone.
"Supported by Tinder Spear Dracokid, Iron Tail Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.
"No guard," Tai takes the damage and does a Damage Check, finding that it didn't have a Trigger either and places it on the Damage Zone, bringing him to 3 damage.
"Now, supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Dusk attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces, an excited look having grown on his face as the fight went on.
"I guard with Knight of Meditation, Mac Nessa!" Tai announces, placing his card on the Guard Circle.
"Drive Check," Shen checks the top card on his deck and smirks, "Critical Trigger!"
"Aw man!" Tai exclaimed.
"All effects to Amber Dragon, Dusk!" Shen shouted, the attack breaking through and causing two damage to Tai.
"Damage Check," Tai checked the top two cards and got an Illegal Alchemist out of the two, "Alright! A Heal Trigger!" Tai places the two cards on the Damage Zone and takes one of the cards out of the zone and places it in the Drop Zone, bringing him to 4
"This...this is so exciting! I never had a Vanguard fight like this!" Shen said in excitement.
Tai laughed and he drew a card, "Yeah. Vanguard is an awesome game, isn't it? But now...the real battle begins now!" He holds up one of his cards, "Take flight and rain down doom on my foes! I ride!" He slams his Grade 3 card on top of his Vanguard, and it was the same card Shen saw him use earlier, "Shadow Blaze Dragon!"
On Cray, Tai's Vanguard turned into the terrifying Abyss Dragon as lightning sparked all around it, Shen gulping nervously, "Shadow Blaze Dragon..."
"This is my avatar. And by that I mean it's my favorite card in my entire deck and I always play it when I can," Tai said with a smile.
"Your...avatar, huh?" Shen said, looking at the cards currently in his hand and saw the one he drew thanks to the Draw Trigger.
"Now get ready! I'm going on the attack! Supported by Karma Collector, Bolfri attacks your Vanguard!" Tai announces.
"I guard with Inspire Yell Dragon!" Shen announces and uses the card to Guard.
Unbeknownst to the two cardfighters, they attracted quite the crowd around them.
"Wow, this is pretty awesome! Tai is one of the top ranked fighters in the entire store!" One of the onlookers said.
"I attack with Darkquartz Dragon!" Tai announces.
"No guard!" Shen draws a card for Damage Check and sees how it didn't have a Trigger and placed it on the Damage Zone, bringing him to 3 damage
"Supported by Promising Knight, David, Shadow Blaze Dragon attacks your Vanguard!"
Shen grabs two cards, "I guard with Serrated Dracokid and Spiritburn Dragon!"
"Twin Drive!" Tai draws two cards and grins and holds them up, one having a Critical Trigger.
"Darn it...Damage Check," Shen checks the two cards and one was a Stand Trigger and the other a Draw Trigger. Shen draws another card as he places the two damage cards in the Damage Zone, leaving him at 5.
"That was a smart move defending against the first attack. If you didn't, I would have won," Tai said with a smile.
"Thanks. Now it's my turn! Stand and draw!" Shen stands his cards and draws a card.
"Now show me. Show me the card you drew that you smiled at!" Tai announced.
Shen smirked and nodded, "Okay then!" he held up a card, "Now arise! Unleash a power that swallows light! I ride!" Shen slams the Grade 3 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Eclipse!"
"Woah! Amber Dragon, Eclipse!? That's a really rare card to get from the Kagero clan!" One of the onlookers said, looking in awe at Shen's avatar.
"Activating Eclipse's Counter Blast!" Shen flipped two of his Damage Zone cards upside down, on Cray Eclipse was surrounded in an aura of power as he readied his attack.
"Eclipse's Counter Blast...I better make sure you don't land a hit on my Vanguard," Tai said with a smirk.
"We'll see about that! Thanks to Amber Dragon, Dusk being in Eclipse's Soul, his power is increased by 1000! And now supported by Tinder Spear Dracokid, Iron Tail Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.
"I don't guard. Damage Check," Tai checks the top card and it was a Heal Trigger, but he only had 4 damage, so he added it, bringing it to 5.
Shen smiled, "Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!"
"No guard. Damage check," Tai checks the top card and finds it to be a Heal Trigger, bringing his damage down to 5.
"Now, supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Eclipse attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.
"I guard with Promising Knight, David!" Tai announces.
"Twin Drive!" Shen checks the top two cards and both were Critical Triggers.
"He pulled two Critical Triggers! This guy has some luck!" An onlooker shouted.
"Now break through! Eternal Eclipse!" Shen shouted.
On Cray, Eclipse formed a giant ball of fire between the two machines attached to his arms before blasting it at Tai's Vanguard, resulting in an explosion. Back on Earth, Tai placed two cards on the Damage Zone after not finding any Heal Triggers. But Tai gave a satisfied smile, "That...was one of the best cardfights I've ever had"
"Yeah...that was the best fight I've ever had too..."Shen said, looking at the table they played on before hearing the people around him cheering and looked around. "W-woah! What the?!"
"Wow...didn't notice you all. Guess we were getting into it so much we tuned everything out," Tai said with a laugh.
Shen looks at Tai and smiles This guy...he's pretty awesome...
Tai held his fist up, "Okay then! I'll be your tutor and friend from this day on!"
Shen looked at him before smiling widely and fistbumped him.
This was the beginning of a great friendship made possible thanks to Cardfight Vanguard. Now Shen has an exciting hobby to do from now on since he met Tai. And Shen will keep on getting stronger from now on.
Krika: I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter of The Dragon Master! And don't worry, Shen will get some G-Units next chapter and they'll be Flame Dragons, much like the ones he has played against Tai. Stay tuned for the next chapter!