Me: I do not own Cardfight Vanguard blah blah blah onto the story yeah sure whatever don't feel like saying anything else or pausing to take a breath otherwise known as a pausing for a sentence.


Cardfight Vanguard: Cray Heroes

"Yes? You called?" Heiwami said as she walked into Principal Brown's office. All of the students had settled into their dorms yesterday and were getting used to their new life at the academy. She had on a plain white t-shirt and jeans, with the Dragonic Red dorm's red jacket tied around her waist instead of wearing it. There were bandages wrapped around her arm, legs, and middle, since she was still healing from the unpredicted attack yesterday.

She sat down in the chair across from the large desk of the principal. The office was large and spacious, with wall to wall windows behind the desk overlooking the island. It had high ceilings, lots of space, and was pretty nicely furnished. The chair was leather. She didn't like leather. Leather seemed too, well, lifelike.

Principal Brown sighed. "Well, as you know, students have ways on checking each other's profiles, ranks, records, and such."

"Yeah." Heiwami replied, not understanding what he was getting at.

"Their wins and loses records…"

"Yeah. I know."

"Which includes their entrance fight and entrance tests, along with the randomized fight against an online opponent, and how they're ranked in the school according to the record…"

Heiwami nodded.

"Which you don't have…"

"I know that."

"And of course, people will know and of course get suspicious…"

"Mmhmm."

"So…" Principal Brown trailed off, wondering how many hints he'd have to give before she caught on.

"So?" Heiwami said.

"So…"

"So?"

Principal Brown took a breath. "You're going to have to fight someone to put it into your record."

Heiwami stared at him. They stayed like that for a while before she started laughing. "Okay okay! You had me going there! That was really funny! So what's the real reason?"

"I'm serious Heiwami."

Heiwami stared. This time her jaw dropped instead. "Aw come on! I don't even got my deck with me!"

"Asaka offered to let you borrow her other deck for the month, since you two use the same clan. You can edit the deck, but remember to put it back the way it was when you give it back." Principal Brown took out a deck from his desk and placed it on the deck, offering it to Heiwami. Heiwami stared at it.

"Can't you just put in a fake name or something? Say I fought David Bowie and lost or something. Say I got 67/100 on the test!"

"Nobody will believe that you fought David Bowie. You don't even know who David Bowie is."

"Yes I do! I saw that Kakashi kept on being called that in the Naruto YouTube spoof version, just say I vanguard fought him or something."

"Nobody will believe you fought an anime character." The principal sighed. "Especially when that's not the real David Bowie."

"He isn't? And are you sure? Some people might."

"Please, please, just fight someone so I can put it in your record."

Heiwami looked at him. She leaned back in the chair. She groaned.


Vanguard Fight!
Taiyō no Beam karadajū ni abite
Stand Up saa Soul Chārge shite hashire
Vanguard Fight, Ready Go! !
Ready Go! !

Atarashī Generation!
Makiokose! Revolution!
Mirai e Navigation!
Asu o kiri hiraite Break suru

Ike yo! Perfect janakute mo ī sa
(Drive Check Vanguard!)
Tobeyo!
Seishun no sora e

Vanguard Fight!
Taiyō no Beam karadajū ni abite
Stand Up saa Soul Chārge shite hashire
Aiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiya!

Vanguard Fight!
Ride on the wave! Nani mo osorenaide
Shōri no Card furikazase saa ikou
Ayaiyaiyaiyaiyaiya!

Vanguard Fight, Ready go! !


"Looks like we got a good haul of first years this year, don't we Mana!" A sixteen-year old boy with messy white hair and light blue eyes, with a Dragonic Red jacket said to his friend, a girl with aquamarine colored hair to her shoulders, darker blue eyes, and a Vermillion Yellow jacket of the same age.

"Leo, you're talking about them like they're pigs for making bacon out of!" The blue-haired girl said in an annoyed tone. "See, some first years are already thinking you're weird!" She gestured at some kids, who were looking at him weirdly.

"Aw come on, I'm just saying they seem strong!" Leo whined. He waved at the kids who had thought he was weird, and then they ran into the dining hall as fast as they could.

"See, you scared them away." Mana sighed. The two second-years were sitting at a table at the front of the large, spacious dining hall of the Soul Saver Blue dorm, where the new first years were going to have their welcome dinner. The table had a sign that said 'Questions here', and they were supposed to help out any first years who didn't know what to do or where to go. So far, business was slow for them. Slow enough to make Leo seem even more annoying than he usually was. Mana was on the edge of asking for a new partner, just to get away from him for a while. Sure they were best friends, but nobody could take that much Leo at one time.

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves! Everybody's nerves, yes on everybody's nerves!" Leo began singing at the top of his voice. "Come on Mana, join in!"

Mana resisted the urge to collapse onto the table. On second though, it was time for a new partner.

"Leo. Shut up." She said slowly.

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it—"

"SHUT UP!"

Ride 3: An Awkward Dinner

"U-U-U-U-Uh…." Emil said, trying to find words. All speech had left him when he entered the Blue dorm. It had to be at least ten times as big as the Dragonic Red dorm. Just the dining hall. Plus twenty times as nice, he added to his thoughts while sulking slightly. This meant the better fighters were treated better, and the worse fighters (that meant him), were treated less nice until they improved. If they improved.

"Okay then…. Now what…." He looked around to see a 'Questions' table, and decided that was probably his best bet. He walked towards it nervously. "U-Um, excuse me…"

"Do you need something?" The blue-haired girl sitting at the table looked at him and asked politely. She looked normal enough, except for the fact that she seemed to be strangling her companion, a white-haired guy from the same dorm as him.

"U-Uh, d-does he have enough air?!" He squeaked.

The girl looked at the guy she was strangling. She let him go. "Oh, I dunno. He never seems to run out of air to bug others with."

"Oh come on Mana! You didn't let me finish my song!" The guy protested.

"Nobody wants to hear it!"

"Heeeeeeeey, it's a dude!" Leo stood up, walked around the table, and put an arm around Emil's shoulders in a friendly fashion. Emil just squeaked in response. "So dude, what's up? We're from the same dorm! We're homies!"

"Nobody uses stupid words like that Leo." Mana said.

"Well I do!"

Mana sighed. She took out a device which Emil recognized as the device they had all received when they had reached their dorms and pointed it at Emil. Then she read something on the screen, and then looked back at Emil. "So, Emil Walker, what do you need?"

Emil jumped. "H-How do you know my name?"

"Don't you know?" Mana held up the device. "These VA-Trackers tell us the data on anyone we meet. See?" She showed Emil the screen. It had a photo of him, along with his name, dorm, deck clan, credentials, rank in his dorm, rank in his year, and rank in total. Sad to say, he was near the bottom.

"O-Oh… that's what these are for…" Emil took out his. He looked at Mana. "So, can I try?"

"Well duh man!" Leo piped up before Mana could reply. Emil pressed the button on the VA-Tracker, pointed it at Leo, and out popped the data.

"Leo Seth… Nova Grapplers" He mumbled, then turned to Mana, "and Mana Hydral… Oracle Think Tanks... you two are second years…"

"Well, we are running the questions booth." Mana said. Now Emil felt a bit silly.

"O-Okay, s-so, where do I go then…" He asked.

"Well, you go inside the place to begin with!" Leo said. "Then just sit down in a place that seems friendly and wait! Eventually the overlord-slash-principal'll get there, say some welcoming words again, and then you guys get access to the buffet! It's really tasty! Plus since you're in Red, this is one of the rare times where you get access to good food!"

"Oh… okay… thanks…" Emil said and looked around the room again. He might as well sit with some people in his dorm, so he sat by some guys at a table near the corner, with many boys in Red looking as nervous as he did.

"Have fun Banana-head!" Leo yelled after him, making many head look at him and him getting very embarrassed, covering his hair. It wasn't his fault his bangs at the front stuck up! It didn't look like a banana that much….did it?

"Tough luck man." A guy said next to him, pointing at some Vermillion Yellow girls who were snickering at him. "Looks like you aren't getting a girlfriend here anytime soon."

Emil hung his head even further. Why…. Why always him…

"My name's Rean. Nice to meet you." The Red said, sticking out his hand.

"E-Emil Walker… Nice to meet you I guess…" Emil said.

"But still, you might want to watch your way around girls." Rean said. "They are tricky creatures. You'll probably just wanna lay low for a while until Bananahead thing blows over. Well, if."

The head dropped again. "It's not going to blow over…" Emil mumbled, silently crying to himself.

-linebreak-

Kouichi sat next to a bunch of Vermillion Yellows, now wearing the same jacket as them. The day had gone pretty well for him, since his ranking wasn't particularly bad. It wasn't good enough to get recognized but that didn't matter too much. The dorm was nice, the people were okay, it was a pretty good place overall. The only thing that honestly still bothered him was that weird appearance of a card yesterday. It made no sense, and he could not find any possible way for it to make sense. But there had to be something. Stuff like that just didn't happen!

"When are they gonna start, I'm hungry already!" He heard a boy next to him say. The first years were all around the same age, fifteen. He was no exception.

"I think they'll be starting soon." Kouichi replied.

"Oh that's good! Cause I…" Kouichi lost interest in the conversation, looking around the room with bored eyes. The Blues all looked confident in themselves and happy with what they had achieved and earned. The Yellows looked content with what they had, although some were jealous of the Blues. Average really. They guys around him weren't that interesting, just bragging about how they did at the entrances and saying it wasn't fair how they didn't get Blue. He didn't like the topic, but there were only two Yellow tables, and he certainly wasn't about to go to the other table full of girls, who were giggling and talking like there was no tomorrow. Who knew what went on in a girls head? Their mouths never seemed to really stop working.

The Reds were all quite nervous. Probably since they had gotten the lowest rank. They were all huddled together at their table. All guys, surprisingly. The majority of Vanguard was played by boys though. They talked quietly and were getting along, but they were all trying to not show how scared they were of this big place, and they were doing a terrible job of it. Kouichi swore he saw one boy wet his pants slightly. It could have been the light or the sweat though. Nope it was the nerves. The boy just ran to the bathroom.

Dragonic Reds were weird. And slightly pathetic. All except…

He squinted to see someone sitting in the corner, staring out the window. It was that weird dark-haired girl from on top of the plane from before! The girl who fire had randomly appeared around! She was sitting there, and had just about the same expression as he did, except she was looking out a window, apparently not bothered about all the people. She had on the Dragonic Red jacket tied around her waist instead of wearing it like everyone else was, with a red t-shirt and bandages wrapped all around her arms. He remembered they were bleeding yesterday. The weird girl…

Kouichi took out his VA-Tracker, and pointed it at her. The teachers at the Vermillion Yellow dorm had told everyone how to use it when they received it. He pressed the button, and a profile appeared on the screen.

"What the…" He stared at it. The profile had a picture of her, along with a name, Heiwami Soratsuki. Every other information that was supposed to appear had the words CONFIDENTIAL over them.

"Hey dude, what's up?" Another guy said next to him. He leaned over to look at Kouichi's VA-Tracker. "What's wrong with your thing?"

"I don't know. Maybe a malfunction?" Kouichi said.

"Lemme try." The guy used his VA-Tracker to look her up, but his screen had the same thing as Kouichi's on it. "Weird." He pointed it a Kouichi, and Kouichi's information popped up like normal.

"So it just doesn't work on her?" He said.

"I guess…" Kouichi said, trailing off again to look at Heiwami. Strange girl.

"Oh I am so telling everyone about this!" Another guy said.

-linebreak-

"Hey Rei! Did you hear?"

"There's that rumor going around about this Malfunction Girl!"

"It's so weird!"

"Malfunction Girl?" Rei asked the girls sitting next to her at the Soul Saver Blue table. She was now wearing the Soul Saver Blue jacket and a matching blue skirt, and had a harem of girls around her. Somehow, she had gotten popular pretty quickly. Now girls (and some guys) were following her around almost everywhere. It's not that she didn't appreciate it, it's just that she found it slightly strange. But still, they were nice girls. "What's that?"

"That's what people are calling her, since whenever anyone tries to check up her profile, all that comes up is 'Confidential!' for some reason! It's so weird!" Another girl explained.

"See, it's that girl over there!" The first girl pointed to Heiwami staring blankly out the window in the corner. "This is her profile!" Her VA-Tracker showed the usual results for her, with the words CONFIDENTIAL everywhere.

"Weird…" Rei looked at her. It was that girl from the auditions who had told her about where to go. She didn't seem that weird before.

"Attention, attention!" At the head table at the front of the dining hall, Principal Brown stood up and said. All of the students stopped talking and looked towards him.

"Welcome to Vanguard Academy. I hope you will enjoy your years here and learn many things. The goal of this academy is to teach our students how to be successful in Vanguard as they grow up. There are many things going around the academy, and I encourage you to get involved in many activities. You never know what could happen later on in life. But for now, let's enjoy the feast!"

Chefs began wheeling in huge trolleys full of food for students to eat. Students stood up to get plates of food, go back to their tables, and talk with their new dorm mates. It seemed to be a good enough atmosphere.

"Hey look, the Malfunction Girl's sitting by herself in the corner!" Rei heard one of the girls snicker.

"Didn't you notice? She's like, the only Dragonic Red who's a girl!"

"I heard they weren't even allowed to put girls in the Red dorm because of the bad living conditions! She was that bad at the entrances!"

"That's probably why her record's confidential!"

"Yeah yeah! That totally makes sense!"

Rei looked at the girls around her, then at Heiwami sitting in the corner, not eating and staring off into space. It was a bit sad. She got up and walked over to her.

"R-Rei! Where are you going?" She heard girls yell behind her.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back soon!" Rei said back to them. She arrived at Heiwami's table in the corner. "Hi."

Heiwami yawned. She looked at Rei. "Oh. Hi."

The two girls had an awkward silence as they looked at each other, each wondering if the other was going to say something more.

"Aren't you hungry? Do you want some salad? They're really good." Rei finally said and pointed to the nearest trolley, which had different types of salad in it.

"Nah. Allergic to peanuts." Heiwami mumbled. She yawned again.

"Well, there are other types of food here. After all, this is a—"

"Don't you have to get back to those Blue's now?" Heiwami interrupted, startling Rei. The sleepy tone was suddenly gone from her voice, and the sudden change was, well, startling. "After, people hang out with their dorm, and you'd sure be happier over there than here in a little corner. I'm a Red. People ignore Reds. You're supposed to ignore me and pretend I'm not there just like all the others."

"W-What?" Rei took a step back. "W-Well, you're sitting by yourself here… so I assumed—"

"Assume, assume. That's all you do, isn't it. Miss Anakisa, there's more to life than assuming."

Rei took another step back as Heiwami stood up and looked her in the eye seriously.

"You assume because I'm alone here that I'm lonely. Everyone assumes that because I happen to have the Dragonic Red jacket that I'm a bad fighter. Tell me something, Miss Anakisa. I'm not stupid like most of the other students. I know what your last name signifies. So now assume something, Miss Anakisa. Does it really seem like I need pity from you? I don't need anything from someone like you."

Rei stared at her. The girls in Blue from before rushed over to her and glared angrily at Heiwami.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Yeah!"

Heiwami looked at the girls sleepily, then looked away and breathed out. "More annoyances have appeared…" She mumbled.

"You're the only one annoying us here!" Another girl yelled.

"What is going on here?" A new voice said as a female with black hair tied up in two pigtails by pink ribbons and a Soul Saver Blue jacket and skirt. "Don't make a big fuss on the first few days you get here."

"Who are you?" One of the girls snapped, making the new girl's eyes narrow.

"My name is Kazumi Efilstine. Senior student, member of the student council, and third best fighter in this entire school." Kazumi said coldly.

"T-Third best?!" Now some kids around them were listening to the conversation now.

"M-Miss Kazumi! This girl is bothering us!" One of the girls pointed at Heiwami, who had lost interest and was looking out the window again.

"Can I go now?" Heiwami finally said to Kazumi. "This is making no sense."

"Not yet." Kazumi said. "I need to figure out what has gone on here, and then deal the appropriate punishments for fooling around and causing a crowd during the welcome dinners."

Heiwami groaned. "More annoyances. This isn't getting anywhere."

Kazumi glared at her. "Well at least I am trying to calm this problem logically."

"Screw logic. I just wanna take a nap. Being a senior doesn't mean you can boss people around."

"Apparently you don't know who you are talking to."

"Same to you ya know."

The two girls looked at each other as calmly as they could.

"What did you say to me? You think you have more authority than me?" Kazumi asked.

"I never said that. You just happen to be annoying me." Heiwami retorted.

"Your annoyances are none of my concern."

"They should if you're the cause of it."

Some people could swear they saw lightning flash between their eyes. The fact that their voices were both calm just made it scarier.

"You need to be taught a lesson in respect for your elders."

"You need to be taught a lesson in not interrupting things that don't concern you."

"Everything on this island concerns me!"

"Respect needs to be earned!"

Now the lightning had turned into fire, and some boys inched away from them as best as they could. Nobody could get between arguing girls who got angry with each other.

"So how are we gonna settle this?" Heiwami asked, crossing her arms.

"We are at Vanguard Academy, so let's settle things like the school's name." Kazumi replied, also crossing her arms.

"You. Are. So. On." Heiwami said.

Rei looked back and forth between the two, wondering if she should have said anything. She sighed. Great, now a fight had started and it was all her fault. It's been a nice dinner. A real nice welcome dinner…

-linebreak-

"Hey Principal! Seems like there's a fight starting over there!" One of the senior students sitting at the head table said to the principal.

"There is? We need to use the vanguard arena and detention room already?" Principal Brown said. He looked in the direction of the where the ruckus was coming from, and spit out the chicken he just put in his mouth.

"It seems to be a fight between Kazumi-san and a new girl. People are calling her the Malfunction Girl since nobody's been able to search up her record on the VA-Trackers." Another senior said. "All that comes up is Confidential."

"K-Kazumi's gonna fight…" Another senior said. He had shoulder-length silver hair, green eyes, and the Soul Saver Blue boy's outfit. "I'll probably have to hide for a while then."

"Vayle, please go watch over the fight and make sure things don't get out of hand." The principal said.

"What?! But you know how Kazumi is—"

"Just go." Principal Brown sighed. The silver-haired boy made a face, then stood up.

"Save me some pork." He muttered before walking over to the feuding girls.

Principal Brown looked at where the chaos was coming from and resisted the urge to put his head on the desk. That was unbecoming of the principal, but it was very tempting. He had told Heiwami to stay out of trouble and not attract attention from too many people. This was not anywhere near those lines. That girl really needed her hearing checked. And her attention span.

-linebreak-

"Why can't we go back to the food?" One of the Red's said.

"Because we have to see this match! Between the third best fighter in the school and the newbie, as well as only Dragonic Red girl, the Malfunction Girl!" Another Red said.

"U-Uh, do we r-really have to?" Emil asked quietly.

"Yes!"

"This is probably gonna be really one-sided!"

Emil didn't say anything else after that. He still felt uncomfortable about the entire thing. But at least there had been no violence. It would have been even worse if there was violence. If there was anything he had learned from being a wimp all those years, it was that when girls got mad at each other, it was time to run and hide.

"Hey," He heard a voice say. Then a Blue with silver hair suddenly sat up behind them, rubbing his head, making all of the Red's jump in shock, "this is the place..."

"W-Where did you come from?!" Emil squeaked. The Blue looked at him.

"Oh, hi. My name's Vayle. Gotta oversee this match. If I accidentally fall asleep, could you wake me up?" He asked. Emil nodded cautiously. "Thanks!"

Emil turned back around to the motion figure system and internally sighed. This academy was nuts.

-linebreak-

"Stand up, Vanguard!" Kazumi yelled. "Kage Initiate, Abysus!"

"Stand up, the Vanguard!" Heiwami yelled. "Girl Who Crossed the Gap!"

Lightning flashed overhead Cray as two lights, one dark blue, and one purple, glowed across from each other on a battlefield. On one side formed a boy in dark ninja clothing and holding a small dagger from the blue light. He was transformed into a girl by Kazumi's image, and gained her hair as well her angry expression. [Kage Initiate, Abysus – 5000]

On the other side, from the purple light, appeared a small girl with light blue hair in a flowing ponytail at the back. She had a black bodice, with a skirt of feathers and red and black tails from the back, as well as black shoes and matching gloves. Her hair turned black as Heiwami inhabited her. [Girl Who Crossed the Gap – 5000]

"I usually don't fight unless the school needs it, but this is a special occasion." Kazumi said. "Draw! I ride Kage Apprentice, Abysus!"

Kazumi's Vanguard glowed in dark blue light as he grew taller, with more stylized ninja clothing. He held a katana sword, and a red ribbon around his waist. [Kage Apprentice, Abysus – 6000]

"Since there's Kage Initiate in the soul, he gains 2000 more continuous power! Initiate's skill. I can add Kage Samurai to my hand." Kazumi said. "End."

"Well then, first act, start. Draw." Heiwami said. "Let's begin, Midnight Bunny! Girl moves to the rearguard."

The petite girl waved before being enveloped in purple light, and from the light emerged a girl dressed completely in fluffy pink bunny clothing, with a small red bodice and a little dark blue top hat on her head. She smiled, jumping happily in place as the girl from before reappeared behind her. [Midnight Bunny – 7000]

"Darkmetal Bicorn, enter as well." Heiwami said. A dark beast burst from purple flames next to the bunny. [Darkmetal Bicorn – 8000] "Darkmetal Bicorn, attack Abysus!"

The beast charged forwards and bit the ninja on the arm.

[Damage Check –Stealth Fiend, Midnight Crow – No Trigger]

"Midnight Bunny!" [7000 + 5000 = 12000]

Midnight Bunny smiled in happiness as she glowed with the boost from the girl behind her, then jumped forwards and punched the apprentice, who fell back, holding his side.

[Drive Check – Dancing Princess of the Night Sky – No Trigger]

[Damage Check – Stealth Beast, Bloody Mist – No Trigger]

"First act, end." Heiwami spoke.

Heiwami – Kazumi

5 – Hand – 6

0 – Soul – 1

0 – Damage – 2

0 – Counterblasted – 0

Field:

none – Darkmetal Bicorn - - - - none – none

Girl Who Crossed the Gap – Midnight Bunny - - - - Kage Apprentice, Abysus – none

none – none - - - - none – none

"I stand and draw." Kazumi said. "I ride Kage Samurai, Abysus!"

The ninja glowed in dark blue light as it grew taller. He now wore a samurai's helmet along with a longer sword and sheath, with the same ninja clothing as before. [Kage Samurai, Abysus – 9000]

"1000 more continuous power to him since Kage Apprentice is in the soul." Kazumi said. "I call Kage Apprentice, Right Arrester, and Left Arrester."

The samurai's previous form appeared, along with two beast-men wielding chains and wearing ninja clothing. [Kage Apprentice, Abysus – 6000] [Right Arrester – 8000] [Left Arrester – 8000]

"Kage Apprentice's skill. I drop Mandala Lord to add Kage Warlord, Abysus to my hand." Kazumi said, revealing the card before shuffling her deck. "Left Arrester attacks Midnight Bunny!" [8000 + 3000 = 11000]

The tiger threw his chain at the pink bunny , striking her on the arm and crying out in pain.

[Damage Check – Midnight Invader – No Trigger]

"Kage Samurai, Abysus attacks!" [10000]

"Dynamite Juggler guards!" Heiwami said. [7000 + 10000 = 17000]

"Drive check."

[Drive Check – Central Arrester – No Trigger]

"Right Arrester attacks with Apprentice's boost! Right Arrester's skill. 3000 more power." [8000 + 6000 + 3000 = 17000]

[Damage Check – Sky High Walker – Stand Trigger]

"I end my turn now." Kazumi said.

Heiwami – Kazumi

4 – Hand – 4

0 – Soul – 2

2 – Damage – 2

0 – Counterblasted – 0

Field:

none – Darkmetal Bicorn - - - - Right Arrester – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

Girl Who Crossed the Gap – Midnight Bunny - - - - Kage Samurai, Abysus – none

none – none - - - - Left Arrester – none

"Second act, start." Heiwami said, drawing her card. "Ride the Vanguard! Dancing Princess of the Night Sky!"

Midnight Bunny gave one last pose before being swallowed in purple light, and a long blond woman with hair in pigtails reappeared in her place. She wore a tight, orange and purple trapezist's outfit with pink and purple markings on her face. There was a small black and purple top hat on her head, decorated with roses. She gave a backflip, smiling seductively. [Dancing Princess of the Night Sky – 8000]

"Dancing Princess's trick. I counterblast." Heiwami said, fanning out her deck and placing a card in her soul.

[Soul Charge – Jumping Jill – 6000]

"Barking Cerberus, Skull Juggler, enter the stage." A large three-headed dog jumped onto the field dressed in a circus collar of red, yellow, and blue. Behind it appeared a small demon, juggling three skulls. "Skull Juggler's solo act." Heiwami said as Skull Juggler did a small performance while juggling his skulls.

[Soul Charge – Purple Trapezist – No Trigger]

"Darkmetal Bicorn attacks Right Arrester."

"Stealth Beast, Cat Rouge guards."

The dark beast charged forwards, and collided with a bandit cat instead of its desired target. Annoyed, it went back to its side.

"Dancing Princess, swing towards Samurai Abysus! Girl Who Crossed the Gap helps out."

The Trapezist held out her hand towards the sky, and a trapeze dropped down from it. She swung on it as it lifted her into the air, and she swung across the battlefield, kicking the ninja in the face. [8000 + 5000 = 13000]

[Drive Check – Dancing Princess of the Night Sky – No Trigger]

[Damage Check – Silent Stealth Rogue, Shijimamaru – No Trigger]

"Barking Cerberus attacks Right Arrester! Skull Juggler helps out." [10000 + 7000 = 17000]

"No guard."

The three-headed dog barked and jumped forwards, tearing at the side of the tiger and making it disappear.

"Second act, end."

Heiwami – Kazumi

3 – Hand – 3

3 – Soul – 2

2 – Damage – 3

1 – Counterblasted – 0

Field:

none – Darkmetal Bicorn - - - - none – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

Girl Who Crossed the Gap – Dancing Princess of the Night Sky - - - - Kage Samurai, Abysus – none

Skull Juggler – Barking Cerberus - - - - Left Arrester – none

"Stand and draw." Kazumi said. She took a card from her hand and began to hold it in the air, then stopped when there was a thump, followed by a loud shout from the stands. "This voice…" She looked at the stands, her eyesight immediately zooming in on the silver-haired Blue rubbing his head as he rose from the seats he had just been sleeping on. "I knew it…"

The boy noticed Kazumi staring at him and froze. He waved nervously. "Uh, hey Kazumi! Nice fight!"

"Vayle!" Kazumi suddenly squealed, extremely unlike what she was like a few seconds ago. "I knew it! You came to cheer me on didn't you!"

"Um…I actually came because Principal wanted me to watch over this—"

"Just stay right there and watch me beat this nobody Red!" Kazumi waved furiously at him happily as fast as her arms would let her. "I'll be over as soon as I can!"

"Uh, I, um…" Vayle collapsed into his seat. "Oh forget it. I'm doomed."

Heiwami sighed. "Oh great. A fangirl."

"I'm going to beat you now and you'll be sorry for getting on my nerves!" Kazumi said, turning her attention back to her opponent. "Master of bushido and ninjitsu. I summon thee as my vassal! I ride Kage Warlord, Abysus!"

The black ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke as the field glowed in dark blue light. In his place, a man in dark ninja clothing and a gold warlord helmet with gold plated armor over the cloth and two silver swords. [Kage Warlord, Abysus – 10000]

"Since I have Kage Samurai Abysus in the soul, he gets a continuous 1000 power! Left Arrester attacks Dancing Princess of the Night Sky!" [8000]

"Whoops I guarded." Heiwami said, tossing a card onto the guardian circle. "Another Dancing Princess."

"Kage Warlord attacks Dancing Princess of the Night Sky!" Kazumi yelled. [11000]

"Whatever." Heiwami shrugged.

[Drive Check – Central Arrester – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Stealth Beast, Bloody Mist – No Trigger]

[Damage Check – Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier – No Trigger]

"I end my turn." Kazumi said. "Now we're even."

Heiwami – Kazumi

3 – Hand – 5

3 – Soul – 3

3 – Damage – 3

1 – Counterblasted – 0

Field:

none – Darkmetal Bicorn - - - - none – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

Girl Who Crossed the Gap – Dancing Princess of the Night Sky - - - - Kage Warlord, Abysus – none

Skull Juggler – Barking Cerberus - - - - Left Arrester – none

"Let's start the third act of the circus now." Heiwami said, drawing her card. She smirked. "The beautiful melody of the night, listen to it if you dare. Of course, it's not like you have a choice. Ride the Vanguard! Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah!"

The Trapezist gave a salute before glowing in dark purple light. Musical notes danced around the field as from the light emerged a blue-haired woman with pink-and-blue wings instead of arms. She had pink and purple clothing, with a skirt made out of dark-purple petals. The purple musical notes swirled around her as she flapped her wings and hovered above the ground. [Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah – 11000]

"Darkmetal Bicorn moves back. Girl Who Crossed the Gap's skill. Switch acts."

The dark beast jumped back as the little girl signalled it to. The little girl then smiled and disappeared, and in front of the beast appeared the blond Trapezist from before. [Dancing Princess of the Night Sky – 8000]

"Once again, Dancing Princess of the Night Sky's counterblast. I soulcharge." Heiwami continued.

[Soul Charge – Purple Trapezist – No Trigger]

"Darkmetal boosts, Princess attacks Kage Warlord!" [8000 + 8000 = 16000]

"No guard."

The Trapezist held her hand out and a trapeze dropped down from the sky once again. She swung on it, flipping in the air before kicking the warlord in the stomach.

[Damage Check – Kage Samurai, Abysus – No Trigger]

"Farah attacks Kage Warlord." Heiwami said, her eyes narrowing. [11000]

"Bloody Mist guards. Left Arrester intercepts."

"Drive check."

[Drive Check – Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Popcorn Boy – Heal Trigger]

"Heal trigger. Power to Barking Cerberus. No healing today."

The birdwoman flew into the air towards the warlord, but two tiger creatures appeared in her path, making her fly back to her side of the field.

"Skull Juggler boosts, Barking Cerberus attacks Kage Warlord!" [10000 + 7000 + 5000 = 22000]

"No guard!"

The three-headed dog head-butted the ninja on the side, pushing him back a few meters before running back to its master.

[Damage Check – Stealth Beast, Million Rat – No Trigger]

"Third act, end." Heiwami said. "But don't worry. We're not over yet." She smiled with contempt at Kazumi. "Not until you reach six damage, that is."

Heiwami – Kazumi

5 – Hand – 4

5 – Soul – 3

3 – Damage – 5

3 – Counterblasted – 0

Field:

Darkmetal Bicorn – Dancing Princess of the Night Sky - - - - none – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

none– Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah - - - - Kage Warlord, Abysus – none

Skull Juggler – Barking Cerberus - - - - none – none

"S-She…" Emil stared at the match.

"She's basically got the third best fighter in the school cornered!" Rean said. "And she's a Red like us…"

"It's not that Kazumi's weak." Vayle said from behind them, watching the match and looking at Heiwami, who had her arms crossed and was looking at Kazumi with that look of contempt. "It's just that girl… what's up with her?"

Vayle thought about it, then decided, what the heck. "Hey Malfunction Girl!" He yelled. "I usually don't compliment anyone cause I'm too lazy to, but although Kazumi's not admitting it, you got her on the ropes!"

"Do you have no confidence in me Vayle?!" Kazumi retorted.

"I'm your friend, just friend, and I believe in you. But that doesn't really change who I want to win this match. And honestly…. it might do a little good for your ego if you lose." Vayle admitted.

"What?!" Kazumi glared at Heiwami. "You think that I would, you, her, UGH! Whatever!"

Heiwami looked at her with what might have been pity. "Um, are you going to continue or just keep arguing with the guy you wish was your boyfriend?" She asked.

"I have a better chance than you!" Kazumi yelled. "There's no way you'll ever beat me in love!"

"That's… not what I meant..." Heiwami mumbled to herself. "I'm not even really sure what love is…"

"Kazumi calm down! I don't like her in that way." Vayle called.

"Oh so you like her in another way!" Kazumi gasped, then glared like crazy at Heiwami, who still had a weirded-out look on her face. "Fine! I don't care!"

It's so obvious you care… Heiwami looked at Kazumi, who tore the top card off of her deck angrily, and sighed.

So Vayle likes those kind of of ruffian girls? I'll show him how weak she really is! "Stand and draw!" Kazumi yelled. "Kage Warlord, Abysus. Limit Break!"

She flipped over two cards in her damage zone. "He gets 3000 power! I call Central Arrester and Stealth Fiend, Midnight Crow! Midnight Crow's counterblast. I call another Midnight Crow from my deck!"

A tiger holding two chains between his hands appeared behind the warlord, with two half-human half-crow ninjas appearing to his side in a puff of smoke. [Central Arrester – 6000] [Stealth Fiend, Midnight Crow – 8000]

"Midnight Crow attacks Dancing Princess of the Night Sky!" [8000]

The crow-man flew forwards and slashed at the girl's side, who screamed and disappeared.

"My other Midnight Crow attacks Farah with Kage Apprentice boosting!" [8000 + 6000 = 14000]

"Cerberus. Take care of this."

The other crow-man leapt forwards towards the bird-woman, but the three-headed circus beast jumped in his path to take the attack instead.

"Kage Warlord attacks Farah with Central Arrester boosting!" Kazumi yelled. "He gets another 3000 power because of Central Arrester's skill!" [11000 + 6000 + 3000 + 3000 = 22000]

"No guard."

"Drive check."

[Drive Check – Silent Stealth Rogue, Shijimamaru – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Stealth Fiend, Dart Spider – Stand Trigger]

"Stand trigger! Power to Kage Apprentice who stands!"

"Damage check." Heiwami absentmindedly tossed the card into her damage zone.

[Damage Check – Mirror Demon – No Trigger]

The shadow warlord charged forwards and sliced the bird-woman right down the middle, sending her flying back into the air before she regained her balance.

Kazumi smiled. "If you knew about Kage Warlord's effect, you would have guarded. You've just fallen right into my trap! When Kage Warlord's attack hits a vanguard, I send two of my rearguards into my deck and call two new ones! My two Midnight Crow's shall go, and I superior call Left Arrester and Right Arrester!"

The two ninjas disappeared, and in their place appeared two new ninjas, ready to fight. [Left Arrester – 8000] [Right Arrester – 8000]

"Right Arrester attacks with a boost from Kage Apprentice! Right Arrester's skill gives him 3000 more power!" [8000 + 6000 + 3000 + 5000 = 22000]

Heiwami looked at her, a small smile on her face. "I wonder who's the one falling into the trap here."

[Damage Check – Hades Hypnotist – No Trigger]

"Left Arrester attacks Farah! Left Arrester's skill! 3000 more power!" [8000 + 3000 = 11000]

"Midnight Bunny. Guard."

The pink bunny girl appeared in the ninja's way, surprising him and making him jump back. Behind her, Farah smiled.

"Left and Right Arrester get shuffled back into my deck. I end my turn." Kazumi said. "Now we're both at five damage! What are you going to do about it?!"

"What am I going to do?" Heiwami repeated. She sighed. "I'm going to win now. Isn't that obvious? After all, this is the final act of my circus for tonight."

Heiwami – Kazumi

4 – Hand – 4

5 – Soul – 3

5 – Damage – 5

3 – Counterblasted – 3

Field:

Darkmetal Bicorn – none - - - - none – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

none– Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah - - - - Kage Warlord, Abysus – Central Arrester

Skull Juggler – none - - - - none – none

"W-What?!"

"Did she just announce a Final Turn?!"

"Seriously?" Rei said to herself from the section where the Blues were sitting. "She's going to finish it there?"

"Stand and draw." Heiwami said, saying the regular phrase for the first time all fight. "Calling Mirror Demon, Sky High Walker."

A demon with his lower body inside a mirror appeared, with another smaller one crashing into the ground head-first. [Mirror Demon – 8000] [Sky-High Walker – 4000]

"Sky High Walker moves to the soul. I unflip one damage." The damage unflipped itself.

"Now, the musical notes of darkness shall dance throughout the stage, this is the melody announcing the end of the battle. Farah's Persona Blast!" Heiwami said, taking two cards from her hand and showing them. "Times two."

The two copies of Farah fell into the drop zone, and two damage in her damage zone flipped over.

"I soulcharge four cards."

[Soul Charge – Rainbow Magician – Draw Trigger]

[Soul Charge – Skull Juggler – No Trigger]

[Soul Charge – Darkmetal Bicorn – No Trigger]

[Soul Charge – Sky High Walker – Stand Trigger]

"Superior call. Midnight Bunny. Jumping Jill. They both get 3000 more power." Heiwami said.

The pink bunny-woman hopped back behind Farah in happiness, and a girl with long green hair in a ponytail, and springs for legs, bounced beside her, the two laughing together. [Midnight Bunny – 7000] [Jumping Jill – 9000]

"Mirror Demon attacks Warlord. Darkmetal Bicorn's boost." [8000 + 8000 = 16000]

"Stealth Beast, Moon Edge guards!"

"With Bunny's boost, Starlight Melody Tamer Farah attacks Warlord!" [11000 + 7000 + 3000 = 21000]

"Stealth Beast, Leaves Mirage guards! I drop one card from my hand for perfect defense!" Kazumi yelled.

Farah flew forwards, but before she collided with the warlord, a wolf dressed in black appeared in her path. The wind blew, and a storm of leaves blocked her vision, so she flew back. The leaves disappeared along with the wolf.

"Drive check."

[Drive Check – Barking Cerberus – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Sky High Walker – Stand Trigger]

"Oh look at that! A stand trigger." Heiwami said as the card flashed blue. "I'll stand Mirror Demon and give him the power. Now Skull Juggler boosts, Jumping Jill. Since Jumping Jill was called from the soul, she gains another 3000 power by herself!" [9000 + 7000 + 3000 + 3000 = 22000]

"What?!" Kazumi yelled. She looked at the last card in her hand in frustration. Dart Spider, with 10000 shield. Just not enough. Right over her line. "No guard…"

The green-haired girl yelled happily as she bounced into the air with her spring legs. She fell from the sky like a rocket and kicked the warlord back right in the head.

"Damage check…"

[Damage Check – Stealth Beast, Cat Rogue – Draw Trigger]

"Draw trigger?" Kazumi cringed.

The warlord yelled in pain as he began to disintegrate in blue light, the motion figure dissolving around the two girls.

Heiwami – Kazumi

4 – Hand – 1

7 – Soul – 3

5 – Damage – 6

5 – Counterblasted – 3

Field:

Darkmetal Bicorn – Mirror Demon - - - - none – Kage Apprentice, Abysus

Midnight Bunny– Starlight Melody Tamer, Farah - - - - Kage Warlord, Abysus – Central Arrester

Skull Juggler – Jumping Jill - - - - none – none

"Well, that was nice." Heiwami said, cleaning up the deck. "I'm good. Now can I go?"

Kazumi didn't answer, still staring down at her cards in shock.

"If you aren't gonna answer," Heiwami shrugged and began to walk away.

"She won, just like that." Rean said. Emil nodded.

"It seemed, so, easy…" He mumbled.

"She did more than just that." The two Reds turned their heads to see Vayle, this time his face completely serious, speak. "Planning out Farah's Persona Blast, soul charging right from the beginning those cards, letting Kazumi use Kage Warlord's Limit Break to set up for her own strategy, taking advantage of the powerups to the exact point where Kazumi wouldn't have been able to guard at all, she practically controlled it from the beginning. Even if Kazumi knew about Jumping Jill's last power up, she would have had to let either Mirror Demon's attack or Midnight Bunny's boost through, letting that girl superior call another card from her soul. It wouldn't have been enough."

"Y-You mean…" Emil stuttered.

"She had planned that entire strategy from the very beginning." Vayle finished. He stood up. "Well, I guess I report back to the Overlord then. See you guys around, maybe." He walked away, yawning. "Time for a nice nap." He muttered to himself.

-linebreak-

Kouichi ran down from the stands towards Heiwami as she began to walk out of the arena. He needed answers. He grabbed her shoulder, making her turn around, looking at him with an annoyed expression.

"You probably know something." Kouichi said, straightening up. He tried not to twitch. There was something weird about her brown eyes. "I want answers. Why was there a card attacking the plane? Why are you in Red? I need to know."

Heiwami looked at him with unmoving eyes. She reached her hand out, and Kouichi instinctively flinched. Then he felt a hand touch him on the head.

They stood there, with Heiwami patting him on the head. W….What?

"Your hair…." She finally said, looking at him with a curious expression.

"M-My hair?" He said, not believing what he was hearing.

"Yeah… It's a bit like Kamui's…" Heiwami mused.

"K-Kamui? As in Kamui Katsuragi?!" Kouichi stuttered.

Heiwami patted him on the head again. "Nah, yours is only spiky in the front. His is spiky all over. Plus your hair isn't as tall as his."

"Why are you talking about my hair!" Kouichi shouted.

Heiwami stopped patting him, then cocked her head. "I dunno." She answered. "Your hair just looks like his." Then she began walking away.

"Wait!" Kouichi yelled. "You didn't tell me anything important! And what was that?!" Heiwami wasn't stopping, so Kouichi continued. "You, well, your hair's uneven at the back!"

Heiwami stopped and looked back at him. "Why would you talk about my hair? Isn't that a weird thing to talk about in the first meeting?" She laughed, leaving Kouichi unable to do anything other than gape as she left the arena. H-Huh?

"Y-You're the one who talked about my hair first!" He finally yelled, although she had already left. "Seriously, what was that?!"


Dear Tayuya,

It's been a bit of a hectic day, getting settled into our dorms, then had a welcome dinner. The food was pretty good and the Soul Saver Blue dorm was CRAZY fancy! But honestly the main event of the entire dinner was this fight that happened between the newly established Malfunction Girl and the third best fighter in the entire school, Kazumi Efilstine I think.

The Malfunction Girl is the same girl from before, the weird girl who I saw on top of the plane on the ride to Vanguard Academy. Apparently her name's Heiwami Soratsuki, and she's very weird. She comments on my hair, finds it weird when I do that to her, and it seems like her head's in the clouds almost every minute of the day. Really weird.

But the thing is, that girl Heiwami, she actually beat Kazumi, the third best fighter! It was a pretty close fight, but she somehow won! I don't know how or why, but I overheard the supposed-second best fighter in the school talk with some Reds, and apparently she's really good. I didn't really understand what he was talking about though. Something about strategy.

I still have no idea about what happened yesterday about the card, but you can bet your deck that I'm going to find out what's up. I will find out. I gotta find out. This is too weird to make sense. There's something weird going on here, with the weird girl and the cards coming to life. Of course, I could be just imagining things again. We used to do that all the time when we were kids.

Well, tomorrow official classes start, meaning school again. Even if it's Vanguard Academy, we still got regular classes like Math and Science, probably so we won't be left behind later in life. I could honestly do without the math, but still, apparently we have to. At least we have classes like Vanguard Strategy, Clan Study, and Basic Analysis. Oh well, I'll just go to the classes and do what I'm supposed to. It's not too bad.

Anyways, until tomorrow, your friend,

Kouichi.


Nan man-kai demo makenai kimochi dorō shite
Kagayaku mirai e Ride massuguna kimi ga sukida yo!

Naitemo waratte mo ichido kiri no shinken shōbu honkidesu hora hibana chirase
Seikai mo riyū mo nakute ī yo yancha-gokoro kattedesu! Tsukande hanasanaikara

Makezugirai kuyashī toki wa namida shite mata tsuyoku narou
Tsugi no itte wa (hisshō! )
Nan demo ari no (jōkyō! )
Ima kirifuda misete ageru yo

Nan man-kai demo atsui kimochi dorō shite
Kimi ga omou mama ni Ride don'na sora mo toberu yo

Genkai toppa de saigo wa makikaesou So Let' s Fight!
Matta nashi ne honki dashite motto saikō no Fight o!


Me: My god, that took up 26 freaking pages! HOW?!

Astral: (sighs) You do that without realizing.

Me: It doesn't seem like that much! Anyways, moving on…


Name: Leo Seth
Age: 16
Hair: Spiky white hair
Eyes: Blue eyes
Rank: Second Year Dragonic Red
Clothes: Dragonic Red jacket with a baggy t-shirt underneath and grey shorts
Clan: Nova Grappler
Personality: He's a really cheerful person, always smiling. He also like to be funny and try and cheer people up, although sometimes he gets annoying when he does.
Fun Facts: He has an awful sense of direction, as well as ADHD.
Creator: Black Chains of Abyss

Name: Mana Hydral
Age: 16
Hair: Aquamarine shoulder length hair
Eyes: Blue eyes
Rank: Second Year Vermillion Yellow
Clothes: Vermillion Yellow jacket with a white t-shirt and blue denim shorts.
Clan: Oracle Think Tank
Personality: She's a nice girl, but a bit of a tomboy. She will get angry and annoyed at her friend Leo easily though.
Fun Facts: She's afraid of ghosts and supernatural things.
Creator: Black Chains of Abyss

Name: Rean Yanto
Age: 15
Hair: Shaggy black hair
Eyes: Amber
Rank: First year Dragonic Red
Clothes: Tan dress shirt under Dragonic Red jacket. Denim shorts that go past his knees. Amber necklace.
Clan: Kagero
Personality: Easy to get along with, generally nice and respectful to everyone. Doesn't back down easily.
Fun Facts: He hates onions and seafood.
Creator: The Humble Batora

Name: Kazumi Efilstine
Age: 17
Hair: Black tied in two pigtails by ribbons.
Eyes: Green
Rank: Third year Soul Saver Blue / Third Best Fighter
Clothes: Senior Soul Saver Blue girl's outfit, meaning Soul Saver Blue jacket, blue skirt, and blue shoes.
Clan: Murakamo
Personality: She's known as a total ice queen, and she basically is. She will break character around Vayle though, since she has a huge crush on him.
Fun Facts: The ribbons in her hair were given by Vayle when they were kids.
Creator: zetis void

Name: Vayle Ingrid
Age: 17
Hair: Shoulder-length silver hair
Eyes: Green eyes
Rank: Third year Soul Saver Blue / Second Best Fighter
Clothes: Soul Saver Blue Senior outfit, meaning jacket, blue shirt, and black pants.
Clan: Shadow Paladin
Personality: Laid back and cool, easygoing person.
Fun Facts: He has been mistaken as a girl before because of his hair. Despite that, he does have quite a lot of fangirls, although none of them dare do anything because of, well, Kazumi.


Me: And, uh, part two! The original cards!

Astral: Murakamo units.


Kage Initiate, Abysus
Grade 0 / Human – Murakamo / Power: 5000 / Shield: 10000
AUTO: When a card named "Kage Apprentice, Abysus" rides this unit, search your deck for up to one card named "Kage Samurai, Abysus", reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your deck.

Kage Apprentice, Abysus
Grade 1 / Human – Murakamo / Power: 6000 / Shield: 5000
CONT [V]: If you have a card named "Kage Initiate, Abysus" in your soul, this unit gets [Power]+2000.
AUTO: [Choose a Grade 3 «Murakamo» from your hand, and discard it] When this unit is placed on (RC), you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one card named "Kage Warlord, Abysus", reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your deck.

Kage Samurai, Abysus
Grade 2 / Human – Murakamo / Power: 9000 / Shield: 5000
CONT [V]: If you have a card named "Kage Apprentice, Abysus" in your soul, this unit gets [Power] +1000.
AUTO [V]: When this unit attacks a vanguard, this unit gets [Power] +2000 until end of battle.

Kage Warlord, Abysus
Grade 3 / Human – Murakamo / Power: 10000
CONT [V]: If you have a card named "Kage Samurai, Abysus" in your soul, this unit gets [Power] +1000.
ACT [V]: [Counterblast (2)] This unit gets +3000 Power. When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, choose two of your 'Murakamo' rearguards and send them to the bottom of your deck. Choose two 'Murakamo' units from your deck and call them to separate open (RC). At the end of your turn, the units superior called by this effect are sent back to your deck.

Central Arrester
Grade 1 / Warbeast – Murakamo / Power: 6000 / Shield: 5000
AUTO [R]: When this unit boosts a unit with "Kage" in it's name, the boosted unit gets [Power] +3000 until end of battle.


Me: Oh well, I'm good! Review and bye!

Astral: She procrastinated so long on this...


Kouichi: Oh, classes. My least favourite time of the day.

Rei: Um, shouldn't someone wake Heiwami up? She's been sleeping non-stop all morning…

Emil: Ack! Why are there bullies here!

Kouichi: There are bullies in this school too?

Heiwami: Um Charlene? Aren't you late for something?

Charlene: I wanna see this before going back to the others!

All: Next time, "Standing Up To The Bully"

Emil: Wait! Why me!