Me: HEY GUYS! Next chapter is up! I really hope you guys like it!
Tara: Course they do. They wouldn't be here if they didn't.
Wooju: Point taken. Enjoy! All together now!
All of us: We do not own Cardfight Vanguard.
In the last chapter:
I returned to the card shop. I looked over at Aichi. He looked a little shocked. I wonder if he saw the same thing I did. I looked around and there wasn't any one else in the shop.
"Oh! Wait!" I shouted and looked at my deck. "Gold… Paladin?"
Aichi looked at his deck, "Gold Paladin?"
"They took our decks!" we shouted at the same time. Suddenly the door opened.
"Well hello there!" Shin greeted, "Thanks for looking after the store Assista-Cat!"
"Meow!"
"Hey Aichi, Ai, you guys came!" Misaki greeted while tying her Card Capital apron on.
"A boy and a girl," Aichi started.
"Yo! Let's get this party started!" Morikawa burst in.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting!" Izaki apologized.
"Hey, gang!" Miwa walked in.
"Umm, listen," I said, "There was a weird boy and girl hanging around when we got here."
"Oh, really?" Shin asked, "Did this boy have a name?"
"Takuto and Wako… Takuto and Wako Tatsunagi!" I recalled.
"But look! They completely messed around with our decks!" Aichi interrupted as we showed them our decks.
"And?" Morikawa asked.
"I don't see anything wrong," Miwa commented.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I looked at the Gold Paladin deck.
"I could have sworn it was different before," Aichi murmured.
"Well, it looks like your Gold Paladins to me," Shin said.
"Huh?" me and Aichi both stared at him. We didn't use Gold Paladin. Ahhhhhhhh! All this thinking is giving me a headache!
"You guys have always had them," Misaki agreed.
"Are you guys kidding me? These aren't the cards we play with," Aichi said, "They took our decks!"
"You feeling okay guys?" Miwa asked.
"Yeah, you've been using Gold Paladin since the day we met you guys," Izaki added while Morikawa nodded.
"B-But, I… don't," I stammered.
"You don't recognize your own cards? Are you guys okay?" Misaki asked. This is getting creepy!
"Thank you!" Morikawa sang as h grabbed the top card on Aichi's deck, "Oh, a Grade 3 Garmore sitting on top! So cool! Y'know, considering how great this deck's been working lately, I'm surprised you really built it yourself."
"Cause you're the expert right?" Izaki asked.
"It can't be," I stared at "my" deck. There was an awkward silence.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Miwa shouted as he pulled something out of his bag, "Would you mind explaining what this is, Ai?" He smirked as he handed me the object.
"Umm… this?" I blushed a little. It was my debut album. It had a picture of me jumping in the air with a white tank top and black ripped jeans on. I had a pair of headphones around my neck along with a guitar on my back and a microphone in my right hand. It had the words "Take It Easy" along the top.
"Oh?" Everyone gathered around me.
"Why didn't you tell us about this Ai?" Morikawa smirked along with Miwa.
"Surprise?" I smiled sheepishly, "This is just my solo album though. I still have to meet my band."
"Let's see what it sounds like!" Shin grabbed the CD from my hands.
"Wait! Give that back!" I felt my blush deepen as Izaki and Miwa held me back as he turned on his CD player.
"How about we play the signature song," Shin pressed play and that song went on.
By the end of the song I was blushing.
"That was amazing!" everyone complimented.
I laughed nervously, "Ummm, can we go home Aichi?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." Aichi snapped out of his trance.
Chapter 2: A New Friend
Ai's POV
I heard Emi waking up Aichi as I walked pass his room.
"Who's my sleepy boy?!" Emi shook him until he woke up, "C'mon sleepy head! Let's rise and shine!"
"Good morning," I rubbed my eye.
"Ai! You look half asleep!" Emi scolded.
"I'm fine," I yawned and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. I put on a white t-shirt and a blue skirt. When I got downstairs, breakfast was on the table.
"It's great to have a Monday with no school!" Emi said, "You guys are gunna head down to Card Capital with everyone else when you're done eating, huh? I promised Mai that I'd go to the mall with her. It shouldn't take long. So after we're done, I'm gunna see if she wants to drop by the store for a cardfight or two."
I took a bite of my toast, "That sounds really fun Emi."
"Thanks for breakfast," Aichi stood up.
"Hey! Wait for me!" I shouted as I grabbed my deck and stuffed the last of my toast into my mouth.
-Mini-Time Skip-
"Check this out! Final ride!" we heard Morikawa shout from outside of the store.
"Final what?!" Izaki asked.
"I'm just as shocked as you are! He should never have even gotten to Grade 3 with that hand!" Miwa said.
Aichi walked off without even going in to say hi.
"Aichi!" I ran to catch up with him. As I expected, we ended up at his favorite sulking spot.
"Hey Aichi, Ai," we turned around and saw Kai.
"Hey Kai!" I smiled.
"What's up Kai?" Aichi greeted.
"Something in the pond?" Kai asked.
"Not exactly. See, I was thinking about this strange thing that happened yesterday."
"What strange thing yesterday?"
"Would you mind taking a look thought our decks?" Aichi handed him his deck as I did mine.
"The Gold Paladins."
"Does that deck seem odd to you?" I asked.
"No, it looks the same as it always does."
"Figures," Aichi sighed and thought for a moment, "Hey, can I take a look trough your deck?"
"Yeah, sure." Kai handed us his deck. It wasn't Kagero. The cards said it was the Narukami Clan.
"I'll sound crazy, and you probably won't believe this, but, these aren't the cards you usually use."
"Yeah right, nice try."
"I know it sounds weird, but just hear us out," I said.
"I'm all ears." Kai answered. We explained what had happened.
'Let me get this straight. You think all of our decks were replaced with other ones and all out friends don't seem to notice that anything's changed."
Me and Aichi nodded.
"Seriously, you don't remember anything at all?" Aichi asked.
"No, I don't. These cards are the only ones I've had."
"Well that really complicates things," I said, "Thanks anyway, big brother. S'okay it you don't believe us." Aichi and I got up and started to walk.
"Oh, I believe you," Kai said.
"Really?" we asked.
"It's like you said. I have no memory of these other decks you're talking about. But I know you, and you guys aren't the kind of people that would lie about something like this."
"Thanks, Kai," Aichi smiled.
"Thank you," I sang and gave him a hug.
"HEY, KAI," we heard a voice behind us. A girl with brown hair and red eyes ran up to us. "Ready to go?"
"Sure," Kai replied, "Guys, this is Anisa Suzugamori. Ren's sister. She's new here, so I was going to show her around town. Anisa, this is Aichi Sendou and Ai."
"I've heard a lot about you two." Anisa's eyes sparkled, "You beat my brother!"
"Nice to meet you," Aichi and I said.
"Well, ready to go?" Anisa asked Kai before she noticed our decks.
"Oh! You have your decks?" she asked, "Can we have a battle?" Her face became really serious.
"Sure," I was confused. Kai and Anisa led us to a battle area in the park.
"Are you ready?" Anisa asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied.
"Stand up, Vanguard!"
Her Vanguard was Smiling Presenter. Mine was Coongal.
"You use Pale Moon?" I questioned.
She nodded, "Like Miss Asaka. She trained me, so I'm use to using it."
"Oh, lets go then," I said nervously.
-After the battle-
"I lost," I stated, "This deck feels too weird."
"What? Weird? What's up?" Anisa asked and Kai explained.
"Oh, my friend Yukino said she had the same problem," Anisa said.
"No way!" I shouted.
"Yeah, maybe I'll introduce you to her some other time."
Suddenly, the TV turned on.
"Welcome to the Vanguard Fight Circuit! Better known as the VF Circuit if you prefer. It's a tournament where representatives form all over the world gather to prove they've got what it takes. And now a word from out sponsor."
The screen switched and I saw Takuto and Wako on it.
"The Vanguard Fight Circuit. Whoever wins will set themselves apart from every other Cardfighter on the planet Earth." Takuto began.
"The VF Circuit is turning Cray into a whole new battle field. In this harsh landscape, It's winner takes all. So, let you true strength free!" Wako smiled.
"What was that about?" Kai asked.
"It's them!" Aichi shouted.
"Those weird people!" I continued, "We battle them at the cardshop."
"The next thing we knew, our decks were gone and we had the Gold Paladins."
"You're kidding!" Kai and Anisa shouted and looked back at the screen.
"It's a winner takes all event, huh?" Kai thought to himself, "Count me in."
"Seriously?" Aichi asked.
"Think about it. The only people that know what happened to us are gunna be at that tournament. And those two are gunna have some explaining to do."
"Yeah," I stared, "But how do we… Do you need to get an invitation or what?"
"If you're gunna go, then you'll find a way," Anisa said.
"Hang on guys!" Aichi shouted.
"The only thing I care about is getting myself on the VF Circuit." Kai interrupted, "You probably won't make it without your favorite deck, but who know, maybe our paths will cross."
"Kai! You better believe me and Aichi are getting in that tournament!" I shouted to him.
When we got back to Card Capital, we were greeted with some great news!
"Hey everyone," Aichi said.
"S'up guys!" I managed to avoid the welcome mat.
"There you are!" Morikawa shouted.
"Way to take your time man!" Izaki continued.
"This is nuts!" Miwa yelled as we gave him confused looks.
"Aichi, Ai! You're not gunna believe it!" Shin was surrounded by a bunch of customers.
"Are we missing something here?" Aichi asked.
"Look here, Team Q4 just received an invitation to the VF Circuit!"
"No way!" I shouted.
"Your in the big time now!" everyone shouted.
"That's awesome Aichi!" I saw his jaw drop. I guess we did find a way to the VF Circuit, Kai.
Me: So how was the chapter!
Tara: Awesome as always.
Wooju: We have an announcement!
Me: Yes, yes we do.
Wooju: Emily, or Em-chan as you guys call her, has allowed me to become her official editor!
Tara: YAY!
Me: She'll start editing in the next chapter. See you next time!