Fenikkusumaru: Hello everyone! It's time for another chapter of Cardfight Vangaurd: Rise of the Courier Saints! And the start of the Regional Tournament!

BlasterDragonoid: Alright! Time for Team NJS to take the tournament by storm and Team Q4 too.

Fenikkusumaru: Yep! And first up is Team Heroes going against Team NJS!

BlasterDragonoid: Our OC team finally going against each other in the first round! What will happen?

Fenikkusumaru: You'll have to read and see! So let's do this!

Both: STAND UP! VANGUARD!

Disclaimer: Same thing.


After what seemed like forever, after days of many more practices, and editing their decks with intense prudence, at long last, the day had come: the beginning of the 3rd Kanto Regional Vanguard Tournament. As the sun arose that morning, many people were up, preparing for the big day. For Aichi's and Kurogasa's teams, the thoughts of a new challenge, facing so many talented cardfighters was what brought them there.

Over at Card Capital, Shin was putting up a small sign on the entrance of the door with the Sub–Manager looking at it.

"How's that?" Shin asked the Sub–Manager, who only meow in disapproval. "It's still crooked? Mattaku… no need to be all fussy." He sighed annoyed before fixing the sign. "Alright, how's that?" He asked. The cat then meowed with approval. On the door the sign read:

Due to participation in the Regional Tournament today, we are closed. Please come by again.
Shin Nitta, Manager of Card Capital

"Manager Shin!" A voice called out. Shin turned to see Kurogasa, Rika, Koji, Kyoshiro, and Yukina walk towards him.

"Oh, good morning!" Shin waved.

"Ohayo, Shin–san." Yukina smiled.

"Hey there! I guess we're using that van of yours?" Kyoshiro asked, gesturing to a light–green and beige van that was parked in front of the shop.

"Hai, we'll be using my van to head to the Regionals." Shin nodded.

Kurogasa looked around, noticing that something, or rather someone is missing. "Hm? Where's Misaki?"

"Oh, Misaki will meet us there. She won't be coming with us now." Shin said. Kurogasa was slightly dispirited by the news and wondered if Misaki was nervous or wasn't feeling well. "Don't worry. Misaki just has something important that she had to do before coming." Shin informed, but it didn't make Kurogasa will any better.

"Come on, aibou, like he said, Misaki will be there later today, plus you got us and the others, so lose that funky feeling, alright?" Koji tried to cheer up his friend.

"Yeah, remember that we're competing in the Regionals and we need all of us to be focused on winning. So, cheer up, okay?" Rika smiled.

Kurogasa was silent for a moment before saying, "Yeah… you're right."

"Alright, then." Kyoshiro said as he walked up to his son. "Shin, are the others ready?"

"Yes, they are doing some last minute checks on their decks before we leave. I can guess that your team did as well, right?"

"Of course."

"Totally right–on!"

"Exactly." All three members said as the Card Capital doors opened and Aichi, Kamui and Kai exited from the building.

"Hey, guys!" Rika greeted.

"Hey! I guess you guys are ready to go to the Regionals, huh?" Kamui said.

"Right! This is going to be awesome with all these Cardfighting teams from around the region to get a chance to get into the Nationals. Talk about epic!" Kurogasa said with too much enthusiasm as the others sweat dropped a bit from his happiness.

"Dude, I know you need to cheer up, but you're trying too hard." Koji deadpanned.

"Huh?" Kurogasa got out, before he deflated a bit. "Sorry,"

"Just calm down before you hurt yourself, okay? We don't need a player losing it because of something he can't control." Rika said.

"Yeah, okay." Kurogasa said.

"By the way, Manager, where's Misaki?" Aichi asked.

"Ah, she'll meet up with us later." Shin said.

"Oh." Aichi understood.

"Alright then, let's get going everyone!" Kyoshiro cheered.

"Right." Everyone said. Soon, everyone climbed into Shin's van with Shin as the driver and Kyoshiro and Yukina in the front, Aichi, Kamui and Kai sitting in the middle seats with Kai sitting next to the window and Kurogasa, Rika and Koji sitting in the back. The exhaust pipe exhumed black smoke as the van turned on.

"Okay, here we go to the Regionals!" Shin said.

"YEAH!" everyone said as the Sub–Manager meowed them goodbye.


(Cue Theme Re:member by Flow)

(Kakeru narase sonzai wo koko ni iru to~) The camera moved fast as we see Kurogasa in front of the camera running down a path. From one path, Koji comes running down to join him, giving him a high five. Rika joins them from the other side to give a high five too.
(Arata na tabi ga ima hajimaru~ [Whoa, whoa, whoa~])
After a few moments of running, the three jumped in the air and the camera moved upwards to focus on the sky.
(Whoa, whoa, whoa~ Whoa, whoa, whoa~ Whoa, whoa, whoa)
The title card Cardfight Vanguard: Rise of the Courier Saints appeared on the screen and stayed there before it faded away at the last part of the lyrics.

(Instrumental) At each beat, there was a cameo shot of Aichi, Kai, Misaki, Kamui, Koji, Rika, and Kurogasa.

(Kawari yuku kisetsu no naka wo) Kurogasa looks at the screen with a smirk on his face as he held up a Vanguard card, showing the reverse side and his Courier Saints appear with him.
(Ikinuku tabi ni bokura) Rika was cooking away while apparitions of her Neo Nectar units appeared and smiled at the delicious food she was cooking before setting them on the table.
(Chie to tsuyosa wo te ni ireta kedo~ [Just looks like a survival game])
Koji does some disco dance moves, a smug smirk on his face as his Dimension Police units surround him. Hitting his last pose, a mob of girls glomp him to the ground. Rika looking irritated, gets him out of the mob, covered in lipstick kiss marks, and smacks him upside the head, making Koji have a lump while Kurogasa laughed nervously with a sweat drop.

(Nagareteku jikan no naka ni) The next scene then shows the members of Team Q4 in a group consisting of Aichi, Kai, Misaki, and Kamui.
(Okizari ni shita omoi wo)
The camera then panned to the right to showing Miwa, Izaki, Morikawa, Reiji, Eiji, Emi, Shin, Kyoshiro, and Yukina as they smiled at the camera.
(Wasureta koto sura wasurete ita~) The camera then showed the members of five teams: Team Ultra Rare, Team Handsome, Team Caesar and the last two teams were unknown covered in silhouettes and the leaders of those teams had their eyes glowing ominously.

(Kuzure kaketa toki~ kodoku wo shitte~) In a black screen, Kurogasa stood alone looking down before a silhouette of a ghost hugged him from behind. Kurogasa senses it before the ghost disappeared.
(Deaeta bokura hi~to~ri ja nai)
When he turned around, he saw nothing, but his friends Koji, Rika, Aichi, Kai, Misaki, Kamui, Morikawa, Izaki, Miwa, Reiji, Eiji, Emi, Shin, Kyoshiro, and Yukina faded into view in groups and Kurogasa smiles seeing them before going over to them.

(Sarake dase kanjou wo banjou no omoi wo~) Koji and Rika are then shown standing in their spirit forms on the surface of Cray before their forms are replaced with those of Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha and Maiden of Trailing Roses respectively. Each of them unleash attacks on an unseen opponent.
(Namidame ga unmei wo kaete yuku~) Kurogasa is also shown standing on Cray as a spirit, standing opposite of a shadowed figure. The shadowed figure is then replaced by the silhouette of an unknown unit while Kurogasa transforms into Guardian Saint, Alexander with his facial appearance.
(Yami ni uchi narase kodou wo kitto aeru yo~)
Blaster Blade walked up next to him and Kurogasa looked to see him with Aichi's facial appearance and the two nodded before charging towards the unknown unit.
(Onaji itami no hata no moto de~ [Whoa, whoa, whoa~])
As they got closer, they crossed their blades and when theirs clashed with the unknown unit's blade, the whole scenery turns white and it fades out to Kurogasa waking up from a dream seeing himself sitting at a table in Card Capital and was startled to see Koji and Rika trying to wake him up.
(Whoa, whoa, whoa~ Whoa, whoa, whoa~ Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Kurogasa looks around as he sees everyone else crowding around the table and smiles. He then grabs hold of his deck as he stands up, with the shot pausing as he stood at full height with a look of determination.


Chapter 8: Regional Tournament Rampage

It was 30 minutes after they left for the Regionals as Shin kept driving and Kyoshiro and Yukina were making he was going the right way, Kai was looking out the window, Kamui and Aichi were doing some playtesting with some new cards for Aichi's deck as Kurogasa, Rika and Koji were doing the same with their cards. Kurogasa was looking through his cards and doing some last minute maintenance with his deck. He was thinking to himself that even though he won mostly all his matches, he still knew that playing in the Regionals was not going to be easy. He had to bring his A–game for his team, his family, his friends and himself if he wanted him and his friends to compete in the Nationals later in the Summer.

"So, are you still bummed about Misaki not coming with us?" Rika asked.

"What's there to be bummed about? Like Shin said, she had to do something that forced her to come later, so I'm not going to let her absence affect me, okay?" Kurogasa said before looking back to his deck.

"You are such a bad liar, Kururugi." Rika whispered to herself.

"Anyways, I was thinking that we should think up a good name for our team. I mean the other competitors must have names for their teams, right?" Koji pointed out.

"Right, but what would be a good name for us?" Kurogasa wondered.

"Quadrifoglio?" Kai said as the others turned to the front. They saw that Kai and Shin were talking about the same thing about a name for their team as well.

"It's the Italian word for 'four–leaf clover'." Shin said.

"And four–leaf clovers are considered good luck right?" Kyoshiro asked.

"Hai, and considering the four members of the team: Kai, Kamui, Aichi, and Misaki. They will combine their strength to fight." Shin said as he changed the gears of the van. "Team Quadrifoglio. Great naming sense, isn't it?"

"Team Quadrifoglio?" Aichi spoke.

"Yeah. Team Card Capital would've worked, but with Kyoshiro's team also representing our card shop, it would be confusing and the name doesn't have any zing, you know?" Shin said.

"It makes sense now that you think about it. The name wouldn't work for us, either." Kyoshiro said.

"So what should we call our team, anata?" Yukina asked.

"Hmmm…" Kyoshiro thought about it a bit as he looked back to Kurogasa, Rika and Koji. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and figured out something. "What about Team Neo Justice Saints?"

"Neo…" Rika began.

"Justice…" Koji added.

"Saints…?" Kurogasa finished.

"Well yeah. Neo to represent the Neo Nectars. Justice to represent the Dimension Police. And Saints to represents the Courier Saints."

"I like it." Kurogasa smiled.

"Yeah, it represents all of us to a T." Rika grinned.

"Totally awesome name." Koji shouted. "However, isn't the name too long?"

"Well, we can shorten it to Team NJS. Would that work?" Kyoshiro suggested.

The three members looked to each other and nodded, agreeing with the name change.

"We can work with it, Dad. Team NJS, it is." Kurogasa said.

"Okay, then. And it's Coach when we get there, okay?" Kyoshiro said.

"Right." They nodded.

"Quadro… Quad… Qua… Quadr… ahhh mou~ that's too hard to pronounce!" Kamui said frustrated.

"Hahaha, I guess you're right." Shin chuckled. "How about we shorten our team name also? Team Q4. How's that?"

"Q4? That sounds cool!" Kamui smiled.

"Yeah, it sounds good to me." Aichi agreed.

"What do you think, Kai?" Shin asked.

"The name doesn't really matter." Kai said, closing his eyes.

"Then, it's settled. Team Q4 and Team NJS, it is." Shin said before suddenly stepping on the gas.

"Gah! Manager, you're driving too fast!" Aichi panicked.

"You better not get us a ticket for speeding!" Rika snapped.


Luckily, they didn't as they finally arrived on the grounds where the Regional Tournament was being held.

"There it is. Just up ahead." Shin said.

Kamui, Aichi, Kurogasa, Rika and Koji looked out of the window and saw how large the buildings were and how close they were from competing. After they parked the van, everyone got off and went inside the main building and everyone but Kai looked at the place in awe, seeing so many cardfighters gathered in one place.

"Aichi–oniisan, Kuro–niisan, this your first time attending and playing in a regional tournament, right?" Kamui asked.

"Y–Yeah, I didn't imagine it'd be held in a huge center like this…" Aichi said as he looked around the main building.

"It's a bit overwhelming, I admit." Kurogasa added. Kai scoffed a bit as they looked to the front and saw holograms of multiple units over a machine with a Vanguard fight table on it.

"Wow!" Rika praised as she saw the fighting table. "What's this?" She asked as she went over to it.

"It's a Motion Figure System. It's a device that makes a 3D representation of fights and units working together. Is it your first time seeing this, too?" Kamui explained as he looked over to the others with Rika nodding.

"Actually, I've seen something similar to this." Kurogasa said. "It was at a card shop called PSY."

"PSY? I played there when I went there with Morikawa and Izaki against someone named Kourin." Aichi said.

"I did, too. Did you win yours?" Kurogasa asked.

"No, I lost, but I did get my Alfred from one of them after the match." Aichi said, but then realized something. "Wait, does that mean you beat Kourin?!"

"I did." Kurogasa nodded.

"Wow." Aichi gasped.

"Still, it's cool that there's a shop that has one of these!" Kamui smiled as he looked to the Manager. "You should get one at Card Capital!"

"I couldn't afford it! It would cost more than the shop itself." Shin waved off. Suddenly, the Motion Figure System started to play some music as, in amazement and surprise to the others, three figures began to form until it showed… Rekka, Kourin, and Suiko each wearing a white uniform.

"Hello, everyone!" They yelled with happy smiles on their faces.

"Wha…?" Shin gasped.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kourin!"

"My name is Suiko."

"And I'm Rekka!"

"We're Team Ultra Rare!" The three girls said in unison.

"U–Ultra Rare?" Aichi stuttered.

"Welcome to the third Kanto Region Vanguard Championship Tournament!" Kourin said.

"If you win here, you'll go on to the national championship!" Rekka said.

"I think you've got tough matches waiting for you…" Suiko said.

"But we all want you to do your best!" They smiled.

"Whew, look at those groovy chicks!" Koji whistled. "I'd love to go on a date with one of them!"

"What are they doing here?" Aichi said.

"I'm surprised they're here doing this, too." Kurogasa added.

"Are they some sort of idol group?" Yukina asked Shin.

"They are. They just made their debut recently. It seems they're promoting this tournament." Shin said.

"I know that girl." Kurogasa said, looking at Kourin. "That's Kourin, but…" Kurogasa quickly remembered how serious Kourin was when they fought compared to the smiling face of the girl now and sweat dropped. "That smiling face is like I'm looking at another person altogether."

"Really?" Koji asked.

"Yeah, she wasn't like that when I had my first cardfight with her." Kurogasa answered, with a sigh feeling very confused.

"KOURIN–CHAN!" Someone yelled. The others turned and saw Morikawa trying to get closer to the Motion Figure System with Izaki holding him back.

"Cut it out! This is pathetic!" Izaki said, trying to calm his friend.

"Shut up! Don't get in the way of my fated reunion with her!" Morikawa yelled back.

"The thing is, that's only an image of her!" Izaki said, however, Morikawa ignored him.

"I've known ever since we first met." Morikawa said while in a delusional state of love. "That girl has the power to draw people in. Don't you see?! My judgment wasn't off! I know Ultra–Rare is going to be big, especially Kourin!"

"Well, see you at Nationals!"

"We'll be waiting!" They finished as the images faded into motes and Morikawa was… being Morikawa.

"Okay, I'll be there!" Morikawa said, while Izaki rubbed his head.

"Morikawa!" Aichi shouted. Morikawa and Izaki turned and saw the group except for Kai, Yukina, Shin, and Kyoshiro walking over to them.

"Aichi, Kurogasa, you guys finally got here?!" Morikawa said.

"Yeah, and I see Izaki's here, too!"

"Sure! A classmate of mine and the upperclassmen of my school are playing in the tournament! I had to come to cheer you guys on!" Izaki said.

"You're not the only one." Another voice said as Miwa, Reiji, and Eiji showed up.

"Don't forget us too!" Reiji said.

"DF, yo." Eiji added.

"Looks like you guys made it." Kurogasa grinned.

"And me too." Yet another voice said. They all turned to see a familiar uncle approaching.

"Uncle Tarakudo?" Kurogasa gasped.

"Nii–sama!" Yukina said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see my little nephew and his team compete in the Regionals." Tarakudo smiled as he patted Kurogasa's head. "I know you, Rika and Koji will do your best and I hope you guys win it all."

"Thanks, Uncle Tarakudo." Kurogasa smiled.

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Shiryuu." Rika said.

"We're gonna win this!" Koji added.

"Ano, Kurogasa, who is this?" Aichi asked.

"Oh right, sorry." Kurogasa said before gesturing to his uncle. "Everyone this is my Uncle Tarakudo. And Uncle these are my new friends Aichi, Kai, Kamui, Manager Shin, Morikawa, Izaki, Miwa, Reiji, and Eiji."

"Don't forget Misaki." Koji teased.

"Oi!" Kurogasa snapped.

*SLAP!*

"OW! Hey, man, you're touchy!" Koji snapped back, holding the back of his head.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Tarakudo said. "I hope you all continue to look after him."

"Nice to meet you too." Everyone said, with Kai only nodding.

"KAMUI–CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

*WHABAM!*

Out of nowhere, Nagisa headbutted Kamui in the gut and slammed into the wall, surprising everyone, even Kai.

"Kamui–chan! Kamui–chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, shaking him by the collar of his shirt.

"Nagisa, what are you doing?!" Kamui groaned in pain.

"I'm here to cheer you on in your matches! It's what best friends do!" Nagisa smiled.

Kurogasa sighed a bit. 'At least she's not obsessed to make him be her boyfriend anymore. Let alone, have them marry.' He shuddered at the thought.

"Who the heck is she!?" Morikawa said.

"I'm not a "she"! I'm Nagisa!" She huffed. "I'm Kamui's best friend!"

"Best friend!?" Reiji and Eiji both screamed in unison.

"It's good to see that you want to be his friend rather than his girlfriend… forcibly." Kurogasa said.

"Yeah, well, since you and Kamui told me about trying to be his friend rather than his girlfriend, I want to be his friend and cheer him on!" Nagisa said. Kurogasa nodded, but somehow, he could feel the evil glares of Reiji and Eiji behind him, making him sweat drop in worry.

"What's wrong with you two?" Miwa asked.

'They're jealous of losing their friend to her and becoming dead weight, right?' Kurogasa thought to himself as he saw Nagisa helped Kamui up.

"Uh, thanks, Nagisa…" Kamui said while being weirded out a bit.

"No problem, Kamui." Nagisa said while turning around, getting a dark aura and devious smile on her face. 'After all, if I become your closest friend and once you see me for the kind, thoughtful girl I am, you'll dump that girl you have a crush on and come to your true love: me!'

Kurogasa saw the devious smile and raised an eyebrow in what Nagisa was up to. However, his train of thought was interrupted when…

"Long time no see, Kurogasa!" A voice said. As Kurogasa and the others turned around, they saw Gouki and his team walking over to them.

"You actually showed up, instead of running away!" Hiroshi said.

"I respect you for that, anyway! Kaboom!" Kaoru added.

"It's Team Handsome!" Aichi said, surprised.

'So, that's the team that Kamui chose us over.' Gouki thought to himself and smirked and then, looked over to Koji, Rika and Kyoshiro. 'And that's Kurogasa's team over there.'

"Ha! Your teams look like a bunch of feebs! Definitely not worth our league!" Gouki gloated.

"What you say jive–turkey!?" Koji shouted.

"Hmph… the weaker the wolf, the louder it howls." Kai scoffed.

"What was that?!" Gouki snarled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not fight right now." Kyoshiro said, getting in between Gouki and Kai.

"Right. We can't fight, well, that kind of fight anyways. Listen, I don't know who they're going to put us up against, but you guys better not lose until we face each other." Gouki said.

"Hmph… I should say the same to you too." Kai replied.

"Don't forget about us, Gouki. If we get the chance to fight each other, let's give it everything we got, okay?" Kurogasa said.

"You guys gotta have the last word, huh? I like that." Gouki smiled. "Let's go, guys. Oi, Nagisa, let's go!" Soon, Gouki, Nagisa and the others began to leave, leaving the two teams on their own.

"Alright, Shin and I will get the teams registered. You guys head over to the dueling area with the other teams." Kyoshiro suggested.

"Right." They nodded.


Soon, the teams made it to the tournament stage with all the other teams from around the region gathered to see the tournament pairings for the first round. On stage, a man with orange hair and glasses, wearing a red suit was about to show the pairings on the monitor above the stage.

"Hello, ladies and gentleman to the 3rd Kanto Region Vanguard Regional Tournament! I'm MC Mya here to commentate with you all the action that will be going on! And I have a special treat for ya! Due to one of the regions having a lack of teams competing in their region for a chance to qualify for the Nationals, we will have two teams in this tournament to qualify!"

Everyone gasped and talk to each other, surprised by the news.

"Whoa, two teams in this region can qualify?!" Kurogasa asked gawked.

"Talk about groovy!" Koji said, liking it.

"Yeah! And that's gonna be us and Q4!" Rika finished.

"I like that! Now, both our teams could qualify for the Nationals!" Kamui said, excited.

"We have to win, first." Aichi reminded.

"I know, Aichi–oniisan, we will! And I know that Kuro–niisan and Team NJS will win too." Kamui said.

"Now, time to decide the first pairings for the tournament!" MC Mya said as everyone looked up at the monitor. "Okay, the teams that the computer's randomly chosen to pit against each other are…" The monitor kept randomly flashing two random brackets. "Right here!" The random flashes stopped as it chose two teams.

Team Q4 vs. Team Three Blacks
Team Heroes vs. Team NJS

"Three Blacks?" Aichi said.

"Heroes?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"So, we're squaring off against you first, huh?" Someone said. When the two teams turned around, they saw three young men covered in black cloaks and wearing black clothes. While the hoods of their cloaks covered most of their faces, they could still see one of each of their eyes and their mouths with each one smiling deviously.

"W–Who the heck are you guys?" Kamui said, shocked.

"I'm Kurosawa."

"I'm Kurosaki."

"And I'm Kuroda."

"The three of us together…" Kurosawa said.

"I get it. Since each of your names start with "kuro", which means "black", that's why guys call yourself Team Three Blacks, right?" Aichi said. But then he looked surprised when the three cloaked men turned their backs on them, looking very depressed.

"We wanted to explain that…"

"Uh, sorry…" Aichi apologized.

"Seriously, it's not like a name that's hard to understand or anything like that." Kurogasa said. "Heck, my name is literally translated to "Black Hat". Weird I know, but that's what my parents named me and I ain't complaining."

"Right. So, what's with the get–up?" Kamui asked.

"I'm glad you asked. The reason for that is…" Kurosawa said.

"Is because you guys are black magicians?" Aichi finished, much to cloaked man's chagrin.

"What did I just say?!" Kurosawa shouted.

"Sorry!" Aichi bowed in apology as Kamui chuckled and the others just rolled their eyes.

"So, these guys are like cosplayers?" Rika asked.

"I guess…" Kurogasa shrugged. Kurogasa looked back to the team again and this time, they were glaring at him.

"Cosplayers?" Kuroda shouted.

"We are not cosplayers!" Kurosaki yelled.

"Of course they are!" Someone said, sitting in the stands, revealing to be Morikawa. "Otherwise, they wouldn't be wearing such bad cloaks like those!"

"What!? Don't you dare insult our cloaks with your vulgar words!" Kuroda growled.

"Vulgar? Better not let some other cosplayer hear you say that!" Morikawa teased.

"Good point! It's like you and your love for ninjas!" Izaki said.

"I wouldn't say it's like cosplay, but if I did do that, it would be a ninja…" Morikawa said.

"He's insulting us!" Kuroda growled.

"Let him speak while he can because once the fight starts, he'll truly start to tremble with terror." Kurosawa smirked with a evil grin.

"Wait, you mean you guys can actually use black magic?!" Morikawa gawked.

"Yeah, right."

"How old are you?"

"Dream when you're sleeping."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!" Morikawa growled, clenching his fist.

"In any case, we're saying we'll pin you down when it comes to our Vanguard skills." Kurosawa said before the team left.

"Sheesh, what's with them?" Rika asked weirded out a bit.

"Not sure, but I'm sure you guys will beat them right?" Kurogasa said to Aichi.

"H–Hai." Aichi stuttered.

"Hey relax, you got this." Kurogasa assured. "It's like the shop tournament, only a lot bigger. You'll be fine. Just do what you best and just have fun out there."

"Right." Aichi sighed.


Soon after all the teams have cleared the dueling area, the four teams that were going to face each other remained. Team Q4 and NJS on one side with Team Three Blacks and Teams Heroes on the other. Looking at Team Heroes, the first member was a male who was eighteen having short blonde hair, blue pants, red short shirt. The second member was a year older having long black hair, blue pants, orange blouse. And the last member of the opposing team was about two years older than the second member having short black hair, blue pants, and red long shirt.

"So that's Team Heroes huh?" Kurogasa mused to himself. He then looked up at the Titantron screen above and saw the match–ups:

Kurogasa Kururugi vs. Misaki Kenji
Rika Ryusaki vs. Mamoru Junichiro
Koji Shinamori vs. Yoshikuni Susumu

"They look strong." Koji added snapping Kurogasa out of it.

"Yeah, but we don't know how strong they are, so we gotta be careful." Rika cautioned.

"Right." Kurogasa nodded.

"Hey son, got something for you and the team." Kyoshiro said as he approached Team NJS with a white box and inside contained three pairs gloves that were gold, silver, and bronze, with white techy lines on each of them. Each pair of gloves also had a red crystal in each of them.

"What are these Dad?" Kurogasa asked.

"These are Vanguard Fighting Gloves." Kyoshiro said. "You have to put these on when you use the Motion Figure System. The story goes that the crystals on the gloves are actually from the Planet Cray. When that crystal works with the System, you'll be invited to a world you've only known in your imagination up until now. Well… that's how the person in charge of the machine described it to me anyways." He added sheepishly.

"Right." Kurogasa said, taking the gold colored gloves and putting them on.

"Here you go you two," Kyoshiro said to Rika and Koji.

"Thanks!" Rika said, taking the silver one.

"Gotta admit, it's fashionable." Koji added, taking the bronze gloves.

"The first fights are about to begin. Will the first fighters please proceed to the console." MC Mya announced.

"Well, I'll be going first. Wish me luck guys." Kurogasa said.

"Got get 'em aibou!" Koji said with a thumbs–up.

"And stay focused, got it?" Rika advised.

"Yeah, I got it." Kurogasa said before turning over to walk to the space where the console is supposed to be. 'I really hope I can get it together…'

As he approached the console, the second member of the team approached showing that she was going to fight Kurogasa first, 'So that must be Misaki Kenji.' He thought. He then realized something. 'Her full name has Misaki in it. Oh man…'

Kenji took a look at her opponent and smirked a bit. "So, you're my opponent, huh? Kurogasa, right?" Kenji said.

"Yeah, I am." Kurogasa replied.

"Hmmm…" Kenji took another look at Kurogasa and smiled a bit. "You seem a strong fighter, but I can tell you're nervous about something. Is it because I'm a girl playing Vanguard?"

"What!? No! If you haven't noticed, one of my teammates is a girl and one of my best friends!" Kurogasa huffed.

Kenji looked behind Kurogasa and saw Rika in the stands with Koji and Kyoshiro sitting next to her, giving her a glare.

"Okay, then. Whatever." Kenji rolled her eyes as she took out her deck and place it in the Deck zone on the table. "You better give me your all, understand?"

"I was going to, even if you didn't ask me." Kurogasa smirked.

At that point, the white lines around him glowed before it opened and a machine rose up from the floor and a transforming cardfighting table appeared in front of him, as the system activated, surprising Kurogasa a bit.

Both players took out their Starting Vanguards, placed it on the Vanguard circle and their decks on the table before drawing five cards. After taking a second look at their own hands, both decided to keep their hands and not reshuffle.

"Are the fighters ready?" The referee asked. Both players nodded. "Then, let the match begin!"


"STAND UP, VANGUARD!"

As they flipped over their starting Vanguards, the entire area began to form a holographic gray area between the two players. To their sight and the audience, they teleported to a volcanic area where the the volcanoes were active and oozing lava around them with them around a circled field, void of lava.

"Amber Dragon, Dawn!" Kenji transformed into a bipedal red and gold scaled dragon with black horns on her head and wearing two golden gauntlets. [Amber Dragon, Dawn – 5000 Power]

"Victory Angel!" Kurogasa transformed into the trophy staff wielding angel. [Victory Angel – 4000 Power]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do we have here?!" MC Mya asked surprised. "A new clan no one's ever seen before?! From what I see about them, they look like angels, but what is the name of this mysterious clan?"

"They're called the Courier Saints!" Kyoshiro called out. "Made by yours truly!"

"If I didn't know better, I think that was Kyoshiro Kururugi, a well–known card designer in the Vanguard world! Should have known that, seeing his son with the same last name!"

"A new clan?"

"Courier Saints?"

"What does it do?"

All around, the people were murmuring with one another, wondering what these Courier Saints are.

"Well, they're in for a surprise when they see Kurogasa's deck, huh, Koji?" Rika whispered.

"Yeah, Kurogasa's going to bring the show here with them!" Koji smiled.

"Well, I hope he can handle fighting against this opponent." Kyoshiro said.

Up in the stands, their friends were watching the starting fight as well.

"Looks like Kurogasa caused quite a stir." Tarakudo chuckled.

"Hai, nii–sama. They're all curious about what the Courier Saints do." Yukina added.

"Well, they are in for a big surprise when he unleashes them on his opponent." Izaki said.

"But, it looks like she's using Kagero. Depending on how Kurogasa uses his Courier Saints in a Cardfight, she may have the advantage if she quickly destroys his field with them." Miwa figured.

Kai took a look at Kenji's starting Vanguard as he thought, "Amber Dragon, huh? If played correctly, Kurogasa could have a problem. Let's see how he handles it."

"Looks like you brought quite an interesting clan. Regardless, I'll see what they can bring to the table." Kenji said, smirking through her Vanguard.

"Ask and you shall recieve! I Draw!" Kurogasa said, drawing his sixth card. "I Ride Mail Charioteer!"

Kurogasa transformed into the chariot–riding Saint, wearing the golden armor as the unit. [Mail Charioteer – 7000 Power]

"Victory Angel moves to the back!" Kurogasa said, moving his card from the Soul to the Rearguard.

Victory Angel quickly appeared behind Mail Charioteer with a determined look on his face. [Victory Angel – 4000 Power]

"I end my turn." Kurogasa announced.

Kurogasa
Hand:
5
Back Row: Empty/Victory Angel/Empty
Front Row: Empty/Mail Charioteer/Empty
Damage: None

Kenji
Hand:
5
Front Row: Empty/Amber Dragon, Dawn/Empty
Back Row: Empty/Empty/Empty
Damage: None

"I Draw!" Kenji drew, increasing her Hand to six. "I Ride Amber Dragon, Daylight!"

Dawn soon changed into an older form of itself, with golden armor and wings and its gauntlets becoming claw–like with a strange blue orb on them. [Amber Dragon, Daylight – 6000 Power]

"Since I called Amber Dragon, Daylight over Amber Dragon, Dawn, Daylight gains +2000 Power!" Kenji declared.

Daylight gained more of a flaming aura, gaining the power of its previous incarnation in its Soul. [6000 Power + 2000 Power = 8000 Power]

"I call Embodiment of Armor, Bahr and Iron Tail Dragon!" Kenji announced, placing the cards in the Rear Guard positions.

To the left of Daylight appeared a blue skinned warrior with red armor and holding a black and yellow saber with a vicious look on his face and on the right appeared a red dragon with orange blades on its arms and the tip of its tail. [Embodiment of Armor, Bahr – 8000 Power], [Iron Tail Dragon – 7000 Power]

"Bahr attacks your Vanguard!" Kenji said, turning her card sideways.

"No guard." Kurogasa responded.

Bahr gave a loud roar before dashing towards his opponent, giving a powerful slash on Mail Charioteer's chest. [8000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check."

[Damage Check – Throne Courier, Sahaquiel – No Trigger]

"Next up is Daylight, attacking your Vanguard!" Kenji continued.

"And that's where I stop you!" Kurogasa countered. "I activate Victory Angel's skill! By discarding a card, I can move him from the Rear Guard to the Guardian Circle and have him Guard!"

"What?" Kenji gasped.

"It looks like those Courier Saints are starting to show their skills right now!" MC Mya announced.

Victory Angel flew over Mail Charioteer as Daylight took flight and swooped in to give a blazing claw attack to his target. [8000 Power] Unfortunately, Victory Angel took the attack, disappearing into motes after being struck. [7000 Power + 10000 Shield = 17000 Power]

"Drive Trigger, check." Kenji said, revealing her top card.

[Drive Check – Blazing Core Dragon – No Trigger]

"Alright, then. Iron Tail Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Kenji continued, turning her card sideways.

"No guard." Kurogasa declared.

Iron Tail Dragon flew its tail with its blade radiating with energy, striking at Mail Charioteer's abdomen and damaging him. [7000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check."

[Damage Check – Mail Tracker, Zadkiel – No Trigger]

"I end my turn." Kenji finished.

Kurogasa
Hand:
4
Back Row: Empty/Empty/Empty
Front Row: Empty/Mail Charioteer/Empty
Damage: Throne Courier, Sahaquiel (U), Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (U)

Kenji
Hand:
4
Front Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Amber Dragon, Daylight/Iron Tail Dragon
Back Row: Empty/Empty/Empty
Damage: None

"Draw!" Kurogasa drew, increasing his Hand to five. He took a single card in his hand and raised into the air…

"A guardian's duty is to defend those who can't fight for themselves! Protect them with your life, my avatar! Ride! Guardian Saint, Alexander!"

Mail Charioteer soon transformed in a pillar of light as Alexander appeared in his silver armor having Kurogasa's face, preparing for battle. [Guardian Saint, Alexander – 9000 Power]

"From Grade 1 to Grade 2, Kurogasa comes in with another powerful unit from the Courier Saints! I can't wait to see what Kurogasa brings more to the cardfight!" MC Mya announced.

"Wow! Pretty impressive unit," Kenji smirked.

"Thanks." Kurogasa nodded. "But flattery won't get you anywhere! Call! Seraphiel, Messenger of the Holy Flame! Command Angel! Prism Angel!"

On the field appeared the golden bow–wielding Saint with silver hair on the left of Alexander, the pistol wielding Saint wearing army clothes behind Alexander and the prism holding Saint behind Seraphiel. [Seraphiel, Messenger of the Holy Flame – 9000 Power], [Command Angel – 8000 Power], [Prism Angel – 6000 Power]

"From one to four, Kurogasa prepares a field of readied warriors ready to attack Kenji and even the damage!" MC Mya announced.

"Alright, now Kurogasa can launch a decent attack right back at her." Rika said as Koji and Kyoshiro nodded.

"With a boost from Prism Angel, Seraphiel attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa declared, turning the two cards sideways.

"No guard!" Kenji said.

Gaining the power of its ally, Seraphiel took flight and aimed her bow and arrow, now aflame, and fired it at the Amber Dragon, causing it to stagger back a few inches in the air. [9000 Power + 6000 Power = 15000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kenji said, drawing the top card of her Deck.

[Damage Check – Dragon Knight, Nehalem – No Trigger]

"Boosted by Command Angel, Alexander attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa said turning the two cards sideways.

"No guard!" Kenji said again.

"Drive Trigger, check." Kurogasa said, drawing the top card of his Deck.

[Drive Check – Stamp Falcon – Draw Trigger]

"Draw Trigger! I add +5000 Power to Alexander and draw a card!" He said, drawing his extra card to increase his Hand to four.

Absorbing the power of the Command Angel and the Draw Trigger, Alexander quickly took flight and dived towards the Amber Dragon, striking with a powerful slash onto its armor. [9000 Power + 5000 Power + 8000 Power = 22000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kenji said, drawing the top card of her Deck.

[Damage Check – Embodiment of Spear, Tahr – Critical Trigger]

"Critical Trigger, but the trigger is useless by now." Kenji grimaced.

"I end my turn." Kurogasa concluded.

Kurogasa
Hand:
4
Back Row: Empty/Command Angel/Prism Angel
Front Row: Empty/Guardian Saint, Alexander/Seraphiel, Messenger of the Holy Flame
Damage: Throne Courier, Sahaquiel (U), Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (U)

Kenji
Hand:
4
Front Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Amber Dragon, Daylight/Iron Tail Dragon
Back Row: Empty/Empty/Empty
Damage: Dragon Knight, Nehalem (U), Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (U)

"Alright, you gave me a bit of a zing with those new units of a clan of yours. But, I'm not feeling much of one." Kenji said, making Kurogasa give a curious look at her. "It's the same feeling I was getting from you from the start of this match. What's up with that?"

"What are you talking about?" Kurogasa asked, confused.

Kenji sighed a bit. "If you don't understand that what you're feeling is giving you a disturbed vibe, then…" Kenji said as she stood her units and drew her card, increasing her Hand to five. "Then, I'll have to show you. I Ride Amber Dragon, Dusk!"

Daylight roared as he was enveloped in fire and evolved into a more stronger and larger form, getting more of a humanoid body with its razor claws becoming lit with blazing fire and gold armor around its torso. [Amber Dragon, Dusk – 9000 Power]

"And with Daylight in the Soul, Dusk gets +1000 Power!"

Dusk roared with enthusiasm as it increased in power and flames increased in heat. [9000 Power + 1000 Power = 10000 Power]

"Iron Tail Dragon and Bahr move back! Call! Blazing Core Dragon! Dragon Knight, Nehalem!"

As Iron Tail Dragon and Bahr moved to the back row, a red bipedal dragon with yellow streaks of energy extending into the yellow core on its chest and holding a black sword appeared to the left of Amber Dragon, Dusk. And to the right, a knight in blue armor, holding a spear with a long blade in his left hand and a large burgundy shield with a gold emblem of a sword on it and rode a large brown dragon. [Blazing Core Dragon – 9000 Power], [Dragon Knight, Nehalem – 10000 Power]

"Boosted by Bahr, Blazing Core Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Kenji said, turning her cards sideways.

"No guard." Kurogasa replied.

Gaining power from Bahr, Blazing Core flew up and struck Alexander with its massive sword. [9000 Power + 8000 Power = 17000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kurogasa checked, drawing the top card of his Deck.

[Damage Check – Staff Recorder, Judiel – No Trigger]

"Now, Amber Dragon, Dusk attacks your Vanguard once more! And his skill gives him +2000 Power when attacking the opponent's Vanguard!" Kenji said, making Kurogasa gasp in shock.

"Drive Trigger, check." Kenji said, drawing the top card of her Deck.

[Drive Check – Lizard Soldier, Ganlu – Stand Trigger]

"Stand Trigger! The +5000 power goes to Blazing Core Dragon and he stands once more." Kenji said, turning her Rear Guard right back up.

Amber Dragon, Dusk took flight, emitting little sparks of fire that shone through the air as it struck Alexander with a blazing slash with its claw. [10000 Power + 2000 Power = 12000]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kurogasa said, revealing the top card and glowed green.

[Damage Check – Mediator Angel – Heal Trigger]

"Heal Trigger! I heal one point of damage from your attack and Alexander gains +5000 Power!"

Alexander glowed a gold aura as he powered up. [9000 Power + 5000 Power = 14000 Power]

"Now, Blazing Core Dragon attacks you again!" Kenji continued, turning the card sideways again.

"Seraphiel will Intercept!" Kurogasa said, placing the said card in the Guardian Circle.

As Blazing Core Dragon, this time powered by the Stand Trigger, was about to strike Alexander again [9000 Power + 5000 Power = 14000 Power], Seraphiel intercepted and used its bow and arrow to block the attack the best she could before disappearing into motes. [14000 Power + 5000 Shield = 19000 Power]

"Now, since Seraphiel intercepted your attack, I can discard one card from my Hand, and in exchange, Seraphiel comes back to the Rear Guard!"

"What?! That can't be fair!" Kenji rebutted.

"You're wrong, in this instance. The only setback is that she can't Intercept anymore until your turn ends!" Kurogasa said, placing his Rear Guard back on the field.

"Well, I can't let it get in my way, so, boosted by Iron Tail Dragon, Nehalem attacks Seraphiel!" Kenji said, turning her cards sideways.

"Guard! Fleetfoot Angel!" Kurogasa countered.

Boosted by the Iron Tail Dragon, Nehalem discharged some lightning and blasted towards Seraphiel and was about to destroy her [10000 Power + 7000 Power = 17000 Power], but the timid winged Courier Saint appeared and took the brunt of the lightning attack. [9000 Power + 10000 Shield = 19000 Power]

"Alright, I end my turn." Kenji concluded.

Kurogasa
Hand:
2
Back Row: Empty/Command Angel/Prism Angel
Front Row: Empty/Guardian Saint, Alexander/Seraphiel, Messenger of the Holy Flame
Damage: Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (F), Staff Recorder, Judiel (U) Mediator Angel (U)

Kenji
Hand:
3
Front Row: Blazing Core Dragon/Amber Dragon, Dusk/Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Back Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Empty/Iron Tail Dragon
Damage: Dragon Knight, Nehalem (U), Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (U)

"Well look at that! Kurogasa has managed to somehow survive four attacks!" MC Mya announced. "Misaki Kenji is at this point starting to get frustrated when her attacks can't get through!"

"Good! That's how you show Courier Saints' power, Kurogasa!" Rika cheered loudly.

"Uh, Rika, I think you're supposed to be quieter with the cheers." Koji interrupted.

"At least I'm cheering!" Rika said.

"Now, calm down, you two. Kurogasa will be fine." Kyoshiro said, smiling at the two members before turning back to his son. 'Kurogasa, be careful. I have a feeling your opponent is going to show her true power next turn.'

"Stand and Draw!" Kurogasa said before standing his Units and drawing his card to make his Hand at three. He then raised that said card in the air.

"To those alone in blackest night, know that you shall fear no longer! Ride! Soul Healer, Raphael!"

As Alexander raised his sword into the air, a pillar of light descended down on Alexander, engulfing him. After a few seconds, the light dispersed to reveal the bishop Courier Saint, holding his white staff with the red orb on it and beautiful four golden wings as he descended onto the field. [Soul Healer, Raphael – 11000 Power]

"Now Alexander's skill activates! When he's rode on a Grade 3 Courier Saint, I can move him out of the Soul and into an empty Rear Guard circle!"

"What?!" Kenji gasped.

"Wow! He's just full of surprises!" MC Mya exclaimed. "Who would've thought that such a skill exists?!"

"He can do that?"

"It's a new clan! What do you expect?"

"How is that even possible?"

Next to Raphael, Alexander reappeared, ready for battle. [Guardian Saint, Alexander – 9000 Power]

"Battle! Boosted by Prism Angel, Seraphiel attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa said, turning the Rear Guards sideways.

"No guard!" Kenji declared.

Seraphiel aimed her bow at Dusk as Prism Angel powered her up using her crystal. [9000 Power + 6000 Power = 15000 Power] Seraphiel then fired her flaming arrow at Dusk, right on the chest, exploding on impact.

"Damage Trigger, check!" Kenji said, revealing her top card.

[Damage Check – Blazing Core Dragon – No Trigger]

"Boosted by Command Angel, Raphael attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa said, turning the cards sideways.

"No way! I Guard with Lizard Soldier, Ganlu!"

"Twin Drive, check!" Kurogasa said revealing the top two cards and one of them glowed yellow.

[Drive Check – Soul Healer, Raphael – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Assault Pigeon – Critical Trigger]

"Critical Trigger! I give the + 5000 Power and extra critical to Raphael!" Kurogasa shouted.

Raphael's orb on his staff glowed yellow as he gained the power of Command Angel and the Critical Trigger and struck Dusk with a powerful blast of light, nearly blinding the dragon. [11000 Power + 5000 Power + 8000 Power = 24000 Power/Critical: 1–2]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kenji gritted.

[Damage Check – Iron Tail Dragon – No Trigger]

[Damage Check – Embodiment of Armor, Bahr – No Trigger]

"I end my turn." Kurogasa concluded.

Kurogasa
Hand:
4
Back Row: Empty/Command Angel/Prism Angel
Front Row: Guardian Saint Alexander/Soul Healer, Raphael/Seraphiel, Messenger of the Holy Flame
Damage: Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (F), Staff Recorder, Judiel (U) Mediator Angel (U)

Kenji
Hand:
2
Front Row: Blazing Core Dragon/Amber Dragon, Dusk/Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Back Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Empty/Iron Tail Dragon
Damage: Dragon Knight, Nehalem (U), Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (U), Blazing Core Dragon (U), Iron Tail Dragon (U), Embodiment of Armor, Bahr (U)

"Wow that Kurogasa has his Vanguard at Grade 3, how will Kenji retaliate with her next Ride phase?" MC Mya announced as Kenji smirked a bit at her opponent and chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Kurogasa wondered.

"You, dude. I just figured a big flaw with your Quiver Saints." Kenji said.

"That's Courier Saints!" Kurogasa corrected.

"Whatever. Anyways, I can see how those Courier Saints work best with defending from the field and from the hand and benefiting from that and to most cardfighters, that could be a big problem. However…" Kenji smiled as she stood her units and drew, increasing her hand to three. "I'm going to burn your angels' pretty little wings off!" Kenji soon raised a card in the air…

"Burning incarnation, rain down the incinerating flames that vaporizes all enemies! Ride! Amber Dragon, Eclipse!"

Amber Dragon, Dusk soon transformed and grew into a monstrous form of itself with its gauntlets becoming large blasters, the horns on its head separating with a green gem formed on the middle horn and green gems on the gold armor equipped over its torso and waist. Its wings became more draconic with black scales forming on the back of them and as it appeared, it gave a deafening roar. [Amber Dragon, Eclipse – 10000 Power]

"Since Amber Dragon, Dusk is in the Soul, Amber Dragon, Eclipse gains +1000 Power!" Kenji said.

Eclipse growled in pleasure as it felt its previous form giving him more power. [10000 Power + 1000 Power = 11000 Power]

"Call! Amber Dragon, Daylight!" Kenji said.

The younger form of the Amber Dragon appeared behind the elder one. [Amber Dragon, Daylight – 6000 Power]

"With the ultimate form of the Amber Dragon series in play, Kenji is prepared to take down Kurogasa right now with her formation! This has the tendency to get nasty!" MC Mya announced.

"And now I activate Amber Dragon, Eclipse's skill! I Counterblast two and gives him a deadly skill: if he attacks and it hits, I can Retire two of your Rear Guards!" Kenji exclaimed.

"Nani?!" Kurogasa gasped in shock.

"Say what?!" Reiji exclaimed.

"SW?!" Eiji added.

"Let's go then, boosted by Daylight, Eclipse will attack!" Kenji started, turning the center cards sideways.

"No way! Guard! Assault Pigeon!" Kurogasa countered.

"Twin Drive, check." Kenji said, drawing the two top cards of her Deck, in which one glowed red.

[Drive Check – Wyvern Guard, Barri – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Dragon Dancer, Monica – Draw Trigger]

"Heh! Draw Trigger, I give the +5000 to Eclipse and draw a card!" Kenji said, drawing her extra card after that to make her Hand at four.

Boosted by Daylight and the Draw Trigger, Eclipse blasted multiple volleys of incinerating fire to Raphael [11000 Power + 6000 Power + 5000 Power = 22000 Power], and as Assault Pigeon appeared in between the two figures to block the attack, [11000 Power + 10000 Shield = 21000 Power], the blasts not only burned the pigeon, but also Alexander and Seraphiel.

"Damage Trigger, check," Kurogasa gritted.

[Damage Check – Angel Knight, Haniel – No Trigger]

"Talk about devastating! With Amber Dragon, Eclipse's skill, two of Kurogasa's front row units are destroyed! And without his Intercepts, he may be in even more trouble!" MC Mya announced.

"Boosted by Bahr, Blazing Core Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Kenji said, flipping her two cards sideways.

"No guard." Kurogasa replied.

Gaining the power of the Embodiment of Armor, Blazing Core came charging and slammed its huge blade onto the Soul Healer. [9000 Power + 8000 Power = 17000 Power]

"Damage Trigger, check." Kurogasa said.

[Damage Check – Inventor Saint, Barachiel – No Trigger]

"And now the Coup de grâce, boosted by Iron Tail Dragon, Nehalem attacks your Vanguard!"

"I'm not letting you! I activate Raphael's skill! By discarding a copy of him and Counterblasting three! I check the top five cards of my Deck and choose two cards from those five to Guard that attack!" He drew his five cards and looked for something he could use to Guard. But his eye widened when he saw that all but one card were Grade 3's. "Gh… I only got one I can use to Guard! Kerubiel, Messenger of Hearts! But that's not all. I'll use Prism Angel's skill! I Counterblast one and put her in the Rear Guard right now!"

"Seriously? You have to be kidding me!" Kenji gritted.

As Nehalem gained the power of Iron Tail Dragon and started to discharge lightning from his spear [10000 Power + 7000 Power = 17000 Power], Prism Angel moved in front of Raphael as Kerubiel appeared right side by Prism Angel, using their weapons to block the attack, but taking the brunt themselves, sacrificing themselves [11000 Power + 5000 Shield + 5000 Shield = 21000 Power].

"Tch… I end my turn." Kenji scoffed.

Kurogasa
Hand:
3
Back Row: Empty/Command Angel/Empty
Front Row: Empty/Soul Healer, Raphael/Empty
Damage: Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (F), Staff Recorder, Judiel (F) Mediator Angel (F), Angel Knight, Haniel (F), Inventor Saint, Barachiel (F)

Kenji
Hand:
4
Front Row: Blazing Core Dragon/Amber Dragon, Eclipse/Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Back Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Amber Dragon, Daylight/Iron Tail Dragon
Damage: Dragon Knight, Nehalem (F), Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (F), Blazing Core Dragon (U), Iron Tail Dragon (U), Embodiment of Armor, Bahr (U)

"Hah… hah… hah… hah… hah…" Kurogasa panted.

"With an almost deadly end to her opponent's game, Kenji only missed winning by one point! Now, will Kurogasa get the first win for his team?"

"Oh man, this is intense." Rika said worried.

"Yeah, no kidding, but it ain't over til the last beat." Koji added.

"C'mon, son, you can do it." Kyoshiro said.

"Okay, so you survive for one more turn. It doesn't matter. Once my turn comes up, you're finished." Kenji said.

'She's right… this is my last turn. It all comes down to this next card.' Kurogasa thought, but then he started doubting himself as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. 'But can I really do it?'

"Kurogasa! Hang in there!"

"?!" Kurogasa's eyes opened wide and looked up to see… Misaki!

"Don't lose to your opponent! You have your team and your friends cheering for you, so wake up!" Misaki encouraged from the stands.

"Misaki…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Eh? Hey, it's Misaki!" Kamui exclaimed.

"When did she get here?" Aichi wondered surprised.

"Looks like she's a fan for Kurogasa." Miwa smiled.

"Like I am, for my darling Kourin!" Morikawa said dreamily.

"Pfft, whatever Lose–umi." Reiji scoffed.

"PW, yo." Eiji added.

"Why you–!"

"Come on Kurogasa! Wake up and win!" Misaki shouted.

Kurogasa looked at her stunned for a while before smiling saying, "…you got it." He then looked back at Kenji with a smirk. "Get ready, because I'm about to win this!"

"Let's see if you can try that." Kenji said.

"I will! Stand and Draw!" Kurogasa said, before drawing his card to make his Hand at four. Soon, he raised a card into the air…

He then raised the card in the air.

"Noble at heart, he shall give those lost a second chance to be saved! Let your luminous light guide them into all truth! Ride! My Final Vanguard! Airline Communicator, Gabriel!"

As Raphael was wrapped in a white pillar of light that discharged blue electricity, the tall androgynous male angel with short black hair, wings shaped as plane wings and wearing a white pilot's clothing and blue pilot's cap, holding a large cybernetic sword and shield that glowed blue plasma appeared in his presence. [Airline Communicator, Gabriel – 11000 Power]

"From Grade 3 to another Grade 3, Kurogasa seems to be ready to end this cardfight right here and now! Let's watch!" MC Mya announced.

"First, Gabriel's skill activates! I unflip one Damage point!" Kurogasa said, doing just that. "Now I call Stamp Falcon! Then I activate his skill, Counterblasting one to put him in the Soul and draw two cards!" He said, doing that, and his kept his Hand at four. "Call! Kerubiel, Messenger of Hearts! Angel Knight, Haniel! Throne Courier, Sahaquiel! Heaven's Defender, Raziel!"

On the field, the club–wielding Saint, the knight–like Saint with a shield and sword in hand, the bazooka–wielding Saint, and the towering armored angel with its tall shield appeared. [Kerubiel, Messenger of Hearts – 10000 Power], [Angel Knight, Haniel – 7000 Power], [Throne Courier, Sahaquiel – 8000 Power], [Heaven's Defender, Raziel – 6000 Power]

"What a line–up!" MC Mya announced. "In a desperate to pull out one final attack, he calls on all of the Courier Saints!"

"Battle! Boosted by Raziel, Sahaquiel attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa said, turning the two cards sideways.

"Guard! Dragon Dancer, Monica!" Kenji countered.

Boosted by Raziel, Sahaquiel fired a blast from his bazooka, about to land on Eclipse, but a black haired woman adorned in red dragon scales for clothing appeared to defend Eclipse from the attack. [8000 Power + 6000 Power = 14000 Power], [11000 Power + 5000 Shield = 16000 Power]

"Boosted by Command Angel, Gabriel attacks your Vanguard!" Kurogasa said.

"I Perfect Guard with Wyvern Guard, Barri! By discarding a card, your attack is useless!" Kenji countered.

Gabriel was about to slash into the dragon with his plasma blade,[11000 Power + 8000 Power = 19000 Power] but a knight in white armor, riding a mechanized wyvern, came into intercept the blade-wielding Saint. [Wyvern Guard, Barri Shield: 0]

"Twin Drive, first check." Kurogasa said, revealing the first card.

[Drive Check – Rainbow Wings – No Trigger]

"Second check." Kurogasa continued before revealing the card and… it glowed yellow!

[Drive Check – Assault Pigeon – Critical Trigger]

"NO WAY!" Kenji shouted.

"Yes way! Critical Trigger! All effects are going to Kerubiel!" Kurogasa cheered. "Boosted by Haniel, Kerubiel attacks your Vanguard!"

Kenji looked at her one card and saw that she can't use it. And even with her Grade 2's to intercept, it won't be enough. She smirked to herself with closed eyes. "No guard."

Kerubiel, boosted by Haniel and the Critical Trigger [10000 Power + 5000 Power + 7000 Power = 22000 Power/Critical: 1–2], swooped in with her club at hand and once she flew above Eclipse, she lifted her club and gave the devastating final blow onto the dragon's head, ending the game.

[Damage Check – Amber Dragon, Eclipse – No Trigger]

FINAL RESULTS:

Hand: 2
Back Row: Angel Knight, Haniel/Command Angel/Heaven's Defender, Raziel
Front Row: Kerubiel, Messenger of Hearts/Soul Healer, Raphael/Throne Courier, Sahaquiel
Damage: Mail Tracker, Zadkiel (F), Staff Recorder, Judiel (F) Mediator Angel (F), Angel Knight, Haniel (F), Inventor Saint, Barachiel (F)

Kenji
Hand:
1
Front Row: Blazing Core Dragon/Amber Dragon, Eclipse/Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Back Row: Embodiment of Armor, Bahr/Amber Dragon, Daylight/Iron Tail Dragon
Damage: Dragon Knight, Nehalem (F), Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (F), Blazing Core Dragon (U), Iron Tail Dragon (U), Embodiment of Armor, Bahr (U), Amber Dragon, Eclipse (U)


The field returned to its previous state before the referee lifted his right arm. "The winner of this match is Kurogasa Kururugi!" The stands of people was abuzz with cheering as Kurogasa sighed and smiled.

"Phew…" Kurogasa said in relief.

"Awesome! He won!" Kamui cheered.

"I knew he could do it." Aichi smiled.

"Not bad for debuting my creation here to the tournament world." Kyoshiro smiled.

"Alright, Kuro!" Rika praised.

"That was groovy man! Outta sight!" Koji added.

Kurogasa looked over his shoulder and nodded with a smile before looking at Kenji. "Good game." He said.

Kenji smiled and nodded as a reply. "You too." She said, before walking back to her team and Kurogasa doing the same.

"You did great, Kuro!" Rika said as she gave her friend a high five.

"Thanks Rika." Kurogasa thanked before looking at Misaki who was still in the stands, smiling a bit at him. "I wouldn't have won if Misaki hadn't snapped me out of it."

"Once again, this proves your love for her." Koji smirked.

"OI! I told you it's nothing like that!" Kurogasa snapped comically with a blush.

"Whatever, aibou." Koji rolled his eyes in amusement.

"It's true!"

"Hai, hai, enough," Rika said, getting in between the two friends. "What matters is you won, so zip it. Now, it's my turn to go against a member of Team Heroes."

"She's right. If you win this match, we advance to the next round." Kyoshiro pointed out. "It's best two out of three after all."

"Mhmm." Rika said before turning to see Team Heroes bringing out their second member. "And I'll make sure to win it."


Fenikkusumaru: And there you have it! Team NJS scores the first win!

BlasterDragonoid: Alright! Kurogasa getting the first win, I knew he would! That Kenji girl was tough, especially with those Amber Dragon cards!

Fenikkusumaru: Yeah, if Misaki hadn't snapped him out of it, Kurogasa would've lost.

BlasterDragonoid: Well, yeah, Misaki and Kurogasa, what a couple that would make, huh? I can hear the wedding bells now… Anyways, what's next?

Fenikkusumaru: The second match obviously!

BlasterDragonoid: Well, I can say whoever's fighting in that, I can't wait!

Fenikkusumaru: Rika will be up next! So stay tuned! And don't forget to Like, Subscribe, & Review!

Both: STAND UP! VANGUARD!