Hello readers and welcome to the fourth chapter of 'A wounded soul'! We might be expecting some talks and fights but not much, I hope it will be an enjoyable chapter! Please enjoy, everyone!

Normal POV

~ A few days later~

Naoki and the others had already split to teams and they started their break in to Tatsunagi Corporation.

" Gauntlet Buster Dragon!" Naoki declared

Naoki just beat a Reversed fighter but something was weird.

" Ethics Buster Extreme attacks!" Kamui declared

" Hey, you said there will be lots of Reversed fighters around here but this is pretty less." Naoki said

" Now that you said it, it's almost as if they have expected us to come here." Rekka said

" It might be a trap." Shingo said, pushing up his glasses

" We should keep going." Gouki said

" Yeah!"

At Misaki and Kourin's side...

" It's weird. Himiko attacks!" Misaki declared

She defeated another Reversed fighter.

" What is...? Salome attacks!" Kourin declared

She just beaten another Reversed fighter.

" The amount of Reversed fighters are lesser than we thought." Misaki said

" You're right." Koutei said

" I wonder why?" Yuri said

" Something's not right... It might be a trap. Everyone, be careful." Misaki said

" Yeah."

At Ren's side...

" Mordred Phantom!" Ren declared

He just defeated another Reversed fighter.

" Fly, Luquier!" Asaka declared

She just defeated another Reversed fighter as well.

" Shamsiel attacks!" Suiko declared

Suiko just defeated another one as well.

" Leopald!"

Chris, Lee and Ali just defeated more Reversed fighters as well. Tetsu... They told him to stay back.

" Tetra Drive Dragon attacks!" Leon declared

He defeated more Reversed fighters.

" Dragonic Descendent attacks!" Kai declared

" Blockade Inferno attacks!" Miwa declared

The both of them managed to beat more Reversed fighters.

" Weird. Why are there so little Reversed fighters?" Miwa said

Those words struck the others and they looked around. There were no more Reversed fighters, only those lying around after being defeated.

" What's going on?" Asaka said

" There's definitely something going on." Suiko said

" Yeah. Why is there only this little Reversed fighters?" Chris said

" Could this be a trap?" Miwa ask

" Probably." Kai replied

Ren looked around. So did Tetsu.


A figure stood at the roof of the building, observing them.

" Why does it feel like somebody's watching us?" Nagisa shivered

" Nagisa?" Gouki ask

" Is something wrong?" Hiroshi ask

" Kaboom?" Kaoru ask

" It feels weird here. Is somebody watching us? If so, it's creepy." Rekka said

" You too?" Naoki said

At Misaki and Kourin's side...

" What... is this feeling?" Misaki said

" Is somebody... watching us somewhere?" Kourin said, looking around

" It's creepy." Yuri said

" Is something wrong, Sis?" Gai ask

" The both of you too." Koutei said

At Ren's side...

Asaka and Suiko were feeling the same thing.

" Ren-sama, I feel like we're being watched." Asaka said

" Me too." Suiko said

" Leon-sama..." Jillian said

" What a weird feeling..." Sharlene said

The four of them looked around.

Almost at the same time, the girls all looked up to the roof. They saw the figure up there, staring at them with blank eyes.

Misaki and Kourin were the first ones to shout his name.

" Aichi!"

Aichi walked back into the building, it was almost as if... he doesn't recognize them anymore.

" Aichi!"

The girls lead them into the building.

" Are you sure you saw him?" Naoki ask

" Yeah. No doubt about it." Rekka replied

" That means Brother is alright!" Kamui said

At Misaki and Kourin's side...

" Really?" Koutei ask

" Yeah. We saw his face clearly. There's no doubt about it!" Misaki replied

At Ren's side...

" It's Aichi-kun! We saw him going into the building!" Suiko said

" Then maybe the reason why there are so little Reversed fighters, it might be because he called them back." Ren said

" We have to hurry!" Chris said


Meanwhile, Takuto, who was already aware of the situation was...

" The plan's working perfectly, master." Takuto said

A low growl was heard.

" I got it. I will Reverse as many of them as possible as well." Takuto said

The low growl was heard again.

" Yes. Aichi Sendou is feeling better now. Actually, he feels anxious to see those 'friends' of his." Takuto laughed menacingly

The low growl was heard again.

" No. I don't think he would be defeated that easily. But if so... we can still use his despair... to open the portal to Cray. Or should I say, for our Reversed units to enter Earth." Takuto said

The low growl now sounds like laughter.

" You seem to be having fun. What were you talking about?" A familiar voice said

Aichi was standing at the door.

" Oh. So they've entered already? That was fast." Takuto said

" I called most of the Reversed fighters in so they would have less to deal with. I don't want them to be exhausted when they fight me." Aichi said

" Good point."

The red marks appeared on the both of them and the both of them laughed menacingly.


Naoki and the others managed to meet up with each other. They were standing at a doorway. They nodded and opened the door. Instead of what they were hoping for, they were greeted with something like a game stage.

" What in the world is this?!" Kamui yelled

Two screens came down. The monitors turned on. One of them viewed Takuto while the other was...

" Aichi!"

" Hello, everyone." Aichi said

" Where are you?" Misaki ask

" Oh my, you can't come yet. First, let's have everyone do some warming up first." Aichi said

" Warming..."

" ... up?"

" Yes. See those machines over there? You have to let them scan your avatar card there. And you have to run. If you don't run, something might happen. The teams will be the ones you've been in all these time. Good luck." Aichi said

The screen turned off and went up.

" Ah, wait!" Naoki exclaimed

" As he have said it, this will not be easy. I hope you can make it." Takuto said

His screen turned off and went up.

" Um... What does he mean by 'good luck'?" Chris ask

" Maybe we should just run, I don't want to even know the punishment for not running." Naoki replied

They nodded and sprinted towards the machines in front of them at the end of the room. But...

" H-Huh?"

" Why are we not moving forward?" Hiroshi ask

They looked down.

" A-Ah! This is..." Ali exclaimed

" Treadmills?!" Lee exclaimed

Everyone were sprinting on floor installed treadmills.

" So that's why he said good luck." Shingo said

" How can you be so calm?!" Naoki exclaimed

" I'm not calm! I'm panicking!" Shingo retaliated

" I-It's getting faster!" Kamui said

They continued running when a screen suddenly came down.

" Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you... The treadmill goes faster every three minutes. Good luck." Aichi said

The screen went up.

" Say that earlier!" Kourin yelled

~ A few minutes later~

They sat down in floor, panting. They managed to place their avatar cards on the machines and the treadmills stopped. They got up and faced the next door.

" I'm hoping it's not something ridiculous again." Naoki said

" I'm agreeing with you this time." Shingo said

They nodded and Naoki opened the door.

" W-What the heck is it this time?!" Naoki exclaimed

The room this time was full of Reversed fighters but something was off.

" What's with the clothes?" Jillian said

Everyone could feel their eyes twitching. The screen came down.

" This is the second stage." Takuto said

" Second stage?!" Yuri exclaimed

" Where is Aichi-kun?!" Koutei ask

" Calm down. You need to clear this stage and head to the next door. The rules are simple, go to each of the doors labelled with the clan you are using right now and enter it, there will be challenges or even events with the Reversed fighters inside. If you can clear them, then you can head to the next door. Good luck." Takuto said

The screen went up.

" Hey, wait!"

" Doors... He means those in front right?" Koutei said

The doors in front were labelled with their respective clans.

" We have to enter. It's the only way." Naoki said

They nodded.

Naoki, Miwa and Kai went into the Narukami door, Misaki went into the Genesis door, Kourin went into the Royal Paladin door, Shingo went into the Murakumo door, Ren went into the Shadow Paladin door, Asaka went into the Pale Moon door, Tetsu went in the Dark Irregulars door, Suiko and Rekka went into the Angel Feather door, Gouki, Hiroshi and Kaoru went into the Granblue door, Kamui and Nagisa went into the Nova Grappler door, Leon, Jillian and Sharlene went into the Aqua Force door, Koutei, Yuri and Gai went into the Dimension Police door, Chris Lee and Ali went into the Great Nature door.

Each room was specially decorated according to the clan.

~ In the Narukami room~

Volcano like and lava like decorations were placed in the room.

" This is awesome!" Naoki exclaimed

" Hey, is that the door?" Miwa ask

He pointed to the door at the opposite of the room.

" Yes! It looks like it! Let's go!" Naoki said

They ran towards the room but was stopped by some Reversed fighters.

" We challenge you to... a cooking competition!" The Reversed fighters said

" A-A cooking competition?" Naoki said, he could feel his eyes twitching

" Then we'll leave it to you, Kai." Miwa said

Kai stepped forward. They prepared everything.

" Ready, start!"

They began cooking. Kai used his fast speed in cooking and had soon set the food on the stove to cook.

" W-Wow! But... Why is the stove burning?!" Naoki exclaimed

" I see! Since this is a volcano themed room, they are using lava to cook it and lava is really hot." Miwa said

" H-He should do something!" Naoki said

" No, this is Kai we are talking about, he won't screw up just like that." Miwa said

~ A few minutes later~

A gourmet of food was placed on the Reversed judges to judge.

" Hey! Those are Reversed judges!" Naoki exclaimed

" But this is still Kai we are talking about." Miwa said

" Huh?"

They observed Kai as he scarily stare or glare at the judges that they had to give them a perfect score and they were able to go to the door.

" See what I mean." Miwa said

~ At the Genesis room~

Misaki walked around the Genesis room. It was like a maze.

" A maze, huh?"

Using her photogenic memory she could navigate herself through the room and arrive near the door where she was stopped by Reversed fighters.

" Not going anywhere, missy!"

A tick mark appeared on her head and she took down all of the Reversed fighters, not by Vanguard fight but in a real fight. In fact, she threw them one by one to the wall.

" Mess with me again and you'll regret it." She said

She opened the door in front of her.

~ At the Royal Paladin room~

Swords were all over the place and Kourin picked a handy one if she had to knock anyone out.

" Where are you going?" A Reversed fighter ask

" Since this is the Royal Paladin room, I can use these weapons right?" Kourin ask

" Of course."

" Perfect."

She knocked out every fighters she see and arrived at the door.

" Jeez... They weren't much of a match in the end." Kourin said

She placed the sword down and opened the door.

~ At the Murakumo room~

" I know this is a ninja clan and all but... do they have to be this serious about it?" Shingo murmured

It was like he was in a ninja training room.

" Looks like I have to get through this." Shingo said

Shingo feels like he was about to die in this. It really was like a training ground for a ninja. He had to dodge different obstacles, climb them and hit them.

" M-Made it..." Shingo said

He opened the door.

~ At the Shadow Paladin room~

Ren was lost in the place. Apparently, it was a haunted house but it was also like a maze.

" I can't believe I'll get lost here." Ren said

All of a sudden, a Reversed fighter, dressed as a monster jumped out of nowhere.

" Oh! Do you know where is the exit? I got lost in this place!" Ren said densely

The fighter had to point the way out since Thre was no way they could scare Ren, being the dense guy he is.

" Thank you!"

Ren opened the door.

~ At the Pale Moon room~

Asaka had already expected the theme for the room. It was a circus. Like Shingo, she needs to go past the obstacles, but since her room was decorated with circus items, she could pass them without any trouble. She opened the door.

~ At the Dark Irregulars room~

Tetsu walked past the room without fear, of course. He made it to the door within a few minutes and opened the door.

~ At the Angel Feather room~

It was a room filled with cute and fluffy stuff. Angelic to be exact.

" Wow. This room is cute!" Rekka exclaimed

" Yeah. Look over there. That's it." Suiko said

She pointed to a door at the other side of the room.

" Let's go!" Rekka said

They nodded and ran towards the door. They were stopped by Reversed fighters.

" You're not allowed to go through!" The fighters said

" Oh~ Please let us through~ We're in a hurry~" Rekka said cutely

The Reversed fighters all broke down into a frenzy at the cute charm displayed and let them through.

" Thank you~!" Rekka said

They opened the door.

~ At the Granblue room~

It was like a pirates' room.

" Kaboom!" Kaoru said

" This is how a pirate should live!" Gouki said

" Captain! That's the door!" Hiroshi said

They ran towards the door. Of course, they were stopped by Reverse fighters.

" We're charging at them!" Gouki said

" Yes, Captain!"

They knocked down all the Reversed fighters with a strike!

" Alright!" Gouki said

They opened the door.

~ At the Nova Grappler door~

" Kamui-chan! This is like a romantic date, right?" Nagisa ask

" No way! I'll never date you!" Kamui said

" No way! You're so cute, Kamui-chan!" Nagisa squealed

" Shut up!"

They passed the room without noticing anything in the room and opened the door.

~ At the Aqua Force room~

" No way..." Jillian said

" We need to be submerged in water to get to the door?!" Sharlene exclaimed

Given by the Reversed fighters were a few breathing items. They put it on as instructed and dived in.

" Pretty!" Sharlene said

" Hey, Sharlene! Concentrate! We're here to get Aichi Sendou back." Jillian said

" Ah! Sorry!"

Leon just kept quiet. They swam for a bit more and reached the door. But it was locked.

" Search for the key. It should be around here somewhere." Leon said

" Yes!"

They searched for sometime and found the key and opened the door.

~ At the Dimension Police room~

It was a high tech police field.

" Intruders! Get them!" A Reversed fighter dressed as a policeman said

Koutei, Yuri and Gai had to run around the room and avoid them.

" I wonder where's the door." Yuri said

" Maybe it's around here." Koutei said

They looked around and found the door. Thy approached the door and opened it.

~ At the Great Nature room~

It was like a jungle.

" Wow! A jungle!" Ali exclaimed

" It's amazing how they do this." Chris said

" We should go. The door is somewhere around here." Lee said

They walked around the jungle.

" W-What is that?!" Ali exclaimed

A bear was in front of them, of course, a forest is not complete with out its animals, right? Anyway, they continued running until they lost it.

" Is it gone?" Lee ask

They looked behind them and heaved a sigh of relief.

" Huh? Isn't that the door?" Ali ask

He pointed to the door in front of them. They nodded and opened the door.

But why didn't anyone find it weird that the doors are found so easily?


When everyone entered the room, it was almost at the same time. They looked at each other. Leon and the others took off their diving outfits.

The room was dark, they couldn't see what was in front of them.

" Where is this place?" Naoki ask

" The room where we'll be having our fight." A familiar voice said

The room lights turned on and Aichi was standing in front of them.

" Aichi!" Misaki exclaimed

" Looks like everyone is done with warming up. Now then..." Aichi said

He took out his deck.

" ... Who'll be challenging me first?" Aichi ask

Naoki took out his deck.

" I'll do it. I'll bring you back." Naoki said

" I wish you good luck with that." Aichi said, the red marks appeared under his eyes

The fight table appeared. They prepared their decks and starting Vanguards.

" Stand up, Vanguard!"


And that settles this chapter! Look forward to the next one as it is Naoki vs 'Reversed' Aichi! Please look forward to the upcoming battle!