Previously:

"December, what are you doing?" Tsushima asked, almost popping out of nowhere. She grabbed my wrist, not giving me a chance to respond. "The finals are gonna start soon. You don't want to miss that, do you?"

We began moving faster towards the building to see the final match. I looked over to her, smiling and excited, wondering if she had noticed anything...

Kai's POV

"Come on Kai!"

"You'd better not lose you big jerk!"

"You can do it!"

"Go Mr. Kai!"

"GMK yo!"

Cheers rang through the entire room as I stood up to fight. I tugged on my fight gloves, making sure they were on properly. This would be easy, no doubt. I'd take this guy out and then be done. All that would be left is the final match Aichi would play. Speaking of Aichi, I noticed that he had a rather relaxed expression on his face. Which could only mean one thing-

"People who run from card fights aren't worthy of challenging me."

He knew I was talking to him, and he knew I had figured out what he was going to do. He sat back with a guilted expression, looking to the floor. If he still hadn't realized what he needed to do, then I'd show him

"Let the second match of the regional finals BEGIN!"

"Stand up! The! Vanguard!"

/skip battle/

"Winner of the second match, Kai Toshiki!"

The audience burst into cheers, most still in awe at the double critical I got. Didn't matter if I got it or not, I was going to win anyways. Not surprising, considering that guy wasn't even close to being as good as he said he was. Well, he learned his lesson.

I sat back down just as Aichi got up. He had a look of determination burning in his eyes, which meant he finally figured it out. It was about time.

Usually, by now I'd start hearing Miwa talk to me from up in the bleachers, but it was oddly quiet. I peered up to find he was gone. Not only that, but it seemed that Tsushima and May were gone as well. I turned my attention back to the final match, Aichi against Gouki. Whatever they were doing, that was their business.

/skip battle/

"The winner, Aichi Sendou! Which means this year's regional champions are team Q4!"

The crowd gave him a round of applause, cheering echoing through the building.

"Alright!" Katsuragi jumped from his seat and ran up to Aichi to give him a hug, thanking him for saving him from a lifetime with Nagisa.

Normally that wouldn't be of interest, but something was bothering me. During the match, before he pulled Soul Savior, he almost looked... Distracted. But it wasn't a mere moment of zoning out, more like he was entranced by something he saw.

It all seemed too familiar.

"Did he just-? No, nonsense."

I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and forget about it.

After Katsuragi tried to beat me up, we stood on stage for the award ceremony.

"Congratulations," one of the Ultra Rare girls said to me as she hung a gold medal around my neck. I didn't respond. The rest of the team had their medals, as well as some flowers and a couple of trophies.

After the award ceremony, I decided to walk around a bit before heading home. As I rounded a corner I saw Miwa, pacing back and forth with an unusually worried expression on his face. Sitting on the floor was Tsushima, gripping her knees close to her chest. It looked like she was wiping away tears. Come to think of it, Miwa still wasn't up in the bleachers during the award ceremony, and it's not impossible that Tsushima had left with him. Had they been here this entire time?

"Miwa."

He took notice of my call and looked my way. I noticed that his eyes were a bit red.

"Oh, Kai. Hey."

I knew something wasn't right; this didn't sound like the Miwa I knew. His voice was too wobbly to be okay.

"What's up?" I asked.

He looked behind his shoulder to the door on the right side of the hallway, the infirmary, and sighed.

"It's Deca... She threw up. And then collapsed."

What?

I looked over at Tsushima, who had started to cry.

"We're hoping it's nothing serious. The nurse here told us to just let her rest while she calls the hospital."

"When did this happen?"

"During your fight. She suddenly felt queasy and ran out. We've been here since, waiting for her to wake up." He gripped water bottle he held in his right hand, making a crackling sound, and let out a shaky sigh. "Deca..."

Suddenly my heart started pounding, my palms started to sweat and I could feel my body beginning to shake. I clenched my fists. I walked over to the door, and while exhaling, turned the handle. I didn't know what I was doing, but I felt that if I didn't go in it would bother me for the rest of the day.

Inside I found her resting. Her expression was completely different from when we were at the mall. She looked like she was in pain.

I walked over to the bedside and sat down on the stool provided. Looking at her pained expression made me feel uneasy, similar to when she tried talking to me at lunch. I still didn't have a clue what she was getting at, but it's not like I could get an answer out of her now.

There was a nagging feeling of helplessness as I looked down at her. I couldn't stand to look at her any longer, so I stood up, glanced at her one more time, and moved a stray piece of hair from her face before turning around... And bumping right into Miwa. I froze. He didn't see that, did he?

We stared at each other for a moment before he broke out into a huge smile.

"That was adorable!" He giggled.

I grunted and walked past him, crossing my arms.

"What happened to December?"

I looked up to see the rest of Q4 in the doorway, all worried and confused, maybe even a bit scared. Miwa explained to them the situation, and soon they were all crowding in the small infirmary.

"December..." Tokura said aloud.

"I hope she'll be okay," Aichi added. Katsuragi nodded along with what they said.

I turned my back to them and faced the wall. I still couldn't look at her. Was it because of when we were younger? Or was it just me? I couldn't be sure. All I knew was she was making my life more difficult than it had to be.

December's POV

I woke up in a white bed in some sort of plain room. Once my eyes focused on the light, I realized that I was in an infirmary. I began to sit up, only to have all the blood rush from my head to the rest of my body.

"Ow..."

How long had I been here?

"Rude girl's awake!"

"Oh thank goodness!"

"You really need to stop scaring us like that Deca."

I looked around to find Taishi and the rest of Q4 standing around the room. I looked at my lap, coming to the realization of what just happened. "Yeah, so?"

"Here." Taishi tossed something into my lap, something cold and... Wet? Oh, a water bottle.

"You spilled the one you had."

I held it in my hands, feeling the cool plastic on my warm skin, and unscrewed the cap. "Thanks."

I took a huge gulp, not realizing how thirsty I actually was. Screwing the lid back on, I placed it on the side table beside me. That's when I noticed something. Kai and the others each had a medal around their necks, which could only mean one thing.

"TK and Sendou won?" They nodded in response. "Then that means-"

"Yeah, we're going to Nationals!" Sendou finished, obviously excited.

"Congratulations," I replied, but just then, my stomach felt weird again. "Ugh..." I put my right hand to my mouth, hoping that nothing would be coming up again.

"We'll let you rest a bit more before heading back, okay?"

I nodded. One by one they each filed out of the room. All except Kai, who stayed behind. He wasn't making eye contact, as usual, but I could feel he wanted to say something.

"Miwa told me what happened."

"I assumed he would." I looked up to see Kai had sat down next to me. His face was blocked by his hair.

"You're such an idiot."

"...yeah, I know."

I couldn't believe I was actually agreeing with him, but he was right, my health wasn't exactly my priority nowadays, so something like this was going to be inevitable.

"If you keep this up you'll be dead before I can face you again."

I looked up.

"Kai..."

Did he actually want to card fight me? Ignoring the dead comment, I was surprised. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me. But, just maybe, that trip to the mall changed something. Just maybe...

"The last thing I need I to hear from Miwa is that you got sick again just because you weren't taking care of yourself. It's nothing but a waste of time and energy."

I looked at my lap again. It was almost too good to be true.

"Yeah yeah, I hear you loud and clear. But don't make me too mad or I'll make myself sick on purpose."

"As if."

"You're finally awake!"

Tsushima's chipper voice scared us both, as she walked in. We looked away from each other.

"Oh ho ho, what have we got going on in here? A little flirting between the lovebirds I see?" Tsushima teased.

"Yeah right."

"Tsushima..." Kai groaned in a slightly aggravated tone.

She stuck out her tongue, obviously not caring.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you're awake." A young woman, presumably the nurse here, walked into the room. "It seems like this was just a one-time thing, so you'll be able to head home. But just be more cautious from now on, and have your friend and your boyfriend escort you home just in case something else happens," she smiled, unaware of what she had just done.

Tsushima's face began morphing into the creepiest happy face I'd ever seen and begun giggling, inching closer to me.

"Ooh~ boyfriend huh? An interesting observation." She eyed the both of us

I couldn't stand to be in the room anymore, so I abruptly tore off the sheet and stood up.

"I think I should get going now."

"Alright! Here, let me and your BOYFRIEND help you!"

"Nope, it's fine, I can walk." I began out the door at a speed walking pace, Tsushima right behind me.

"But December, shouldn't you wait for your-"

"Say boyfriend one more time and I will actually tear your mouth off."

(Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard or its characters. All I own are my OCs. Credit goes to Bushiroad)