Welcome back everyone to Leon vs Fumio Part 2! Other than, nothing else to mention other than things looking a bit quiet on the review front. That point aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Selector Battlefield
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Contention)
Trans-core Dragon glanced closely at Anne, emitting a low growl from under his breath. The LRIG looked up at the Aqua Force unit, slightly surprised from what she was seeing right before her. She was already aware of the presence of Kai's Dragonic Overlord, having overheard the Kagero user from the battlefield seperate from her own earlier in the day when Fumio had met him. However, she wasn't expecting to see how large Trans-core Dragon really was from nearly up close, at least, from her own perspective as an LRIG on the table. Meanwhile, Fumio had glanced over towards Leon, partially angered from the fact that the storm he had stirred up earlier had almost revealed what had laid hidden from the strand of hair that covered her left eye. However, she was more interested in Trans-core Dragon, having been curious as to what else the cardfighter had planned for this battle. The Aqua Force user continued with his turn by reaching for two more of the cards in his hand.
"Summon!" he called.
The SIGNI that he summoned were Storm Rider, Diamantes and Titan of the Beam Rifle. Diamantes being another Aquaroid looked human in appearance wore what appeared to be a white naval outfit, much like the Aquaroids that Leon had previously used so far. He carried two large blades with a neon green hint to them, much like Tidal Assault's blades. Titan of the Beam Rifle however looked completely different from the other units that the Aqua Force user had put into play. As the name would suggest, the titan easily towered over Diamantes and Tidal Assault from its large size, but fell short in height comparison to Trans-core Dragon. It had several green crystals littered over its rock-based body, most of which were clustered together at the titan's back. Leon then turned his attention towards Surrelis.
"Diamantes attacks!" he called "On the first attack of the turn, his ability gives him an extra 2000 power until the end of the battle!"
Storm Rider, Diamantes: 8000 - 10000
Diamantes charged towards Surrelis and wasted no time in banishing the SIGNI with the strike of his blades. Before Anne could react, the unit vanished as Tempest Assault suddenly appeared in his place. She gasped as she looked closely at Leon's table to see that the cards representing the summoned and previously banished SIGNI had switched places between Diamantes' SIGNI space and the Aqua Force user's Ener Zone.
"With Diamantes' ability," he spoke "After he conducts the first attack, regardless of whether it is successful, unsuccessful or even disabled, I can move him to my Ener Zone at the end of that battle and summon a different Blue SIGNI from my Ener Zone to take his place."
"I see," muttered Fumio "With this, you can get through more attacks with your SIGNI before charging in with your LRIG or rather, your dragon for that matter."
"That is correct," replied Leon "Aqua Force's speciliaty lies within making multiple attacks to gain benefits off of their abilities." He then turned his attention to Tempest Assault and Titan of the Beam Rifle.
"Attack!" he called.
Titan of the Beam Rifle lifted one of its massive rocky hands up from the ground and opened its palm in an opened claw kind of fashion, pointing right at Origami. A large green glow eminated within the palm before the golem crushed it and opened its fist once again to unleash a green laser that overwhelmed the SIGNI, banishing her from the field. Tempest Assault charged straight towards Anne who held out her staff to try and block any blows the unit would deal to her. She easily blocked the strike of the first blade, but was immediatly knocked back from not antcipating the second one coming down upon her afterwards. Fumio's crushed Life Cloth revealed another copy of Maki-e, no Life Burst came in her favour this time.
"Tidal Assault!"
The unit then leaped into the air and slashed down Colla, the score erupting into an explosion that banished the SIGNI and engulfed Anne as a result of the temporary Lancer effect from his previous Life Burst off of the crushed Jet-ski Rider in the previous turn. Fumio's next Life Cloth revealed Suiboku, Single Stroke Worthy of Nobility, the card glowing indicating a Life Burst. A blue aura surrounded Tidal Assault as its power decreased for its effect.
Tidal Assault: 10000 - 6000
As the unit charged towards Anne, it raised one of its blades up into the air. Before it could make contact with the LRIG, an afterimage of Suiboku appeared in front of Anne to take the brunt of the attack. Annoyed, Tidal Assault slashed through the image, but that had given Anne a chance to land a hard kick into the chest, knocking the unit backwards across the battlefield. The unit then picked himself up and retreated back to Leon's table. Speaking of whom, the Aqua Force user was shocked from the sudden turn of events.
"But how...?" he muttered.
"With Suiboku's Life Burst," Fumio explained "The next attack that you declared instantly became disabled. Hence why Tidal Assault's second attack failed." Leon could only clench his teeth as he turned his attention to the LRIG space.
"Trans-core Dragon!" he declared as the card downed itself. The dragon let out a mighty roar that echoed across all ends of the battlefield. He held the anchor he wielded on the chain above him and began spinning it around like a giant flail.
"No guard," the Selector replied. Anne held out her staff in front of her slightly higher to brace herself for impact. Trans-core Dragon swang the anchor around above him before finally hurling it across the battlefield towards the LRIG. The anchor hit Anne a lot more harder than she had anticipated, being knocked high into the air because of it, resulting in Fumio using her free hand to catch her in mid-fall and gently lower her back to the LRIG space. The next Life Cloth revealed another copy of Origami, Uniform Requirements. Trans-core Dragon pulled the chain back towards Leon's table as Tidal Assault lost all of the power bonuses from Jet-ski Rider, indicating it was the end of the Aqua Force user's turn.
Tidal Assault: 6000 - 1000
(End Music)
End of Turn 6
Leon vs Fumio
Hand - 4 : 3
Life Cloths - 4 : 2
Current LRIGs - Blue Flight Dragon, Trans-core Dragon : Anne=Third, Public Repentance
SIGNI : Titan of the Beam Rifle - Tidal Assault - Blue Storm Soldier, Tempest Assault : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 1 : 9
"Up and draw." After Fumio drew her cards, she glanced over towards Leon.
"So this is but a mere fraction of the Aqua Force clan's true potential if I'm correct," she spoke "I only regret though that I should have seen Kai's Kagero units in action earlier today for my own interests."
"Your own interests?" he pondered "What do you mean?"
"So that I would have seen the presence of Cray for myself earlier," the Selector mused "But in this scenario, that no longer matters. Now then, allow me to show you the full spectrum of Anne's potential." Fumio then held out her hand towards the LRIG space. Three cards from her Ener Zone moved to her Trash Pile before a blinding bright green aura surrounded Anne, obscuring her from Leon and Trans-core Dragon's vision.
"Stained soul of blessing, reveal yourself," the Selector spoke "Grow the LRIG!"
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Consternation)
As the bright light shimmered onwards for several more moments, it eventually faded away completely, revealing Anne's transformation to her Level 4 form to everyone present.
"Anne=Fourth, Blessing of Revelation!"
Compared to her previous form, Public Repentance, Anne's fourth form had brought about almost a complete change in the LRIG's outward appearance. The pinkish lines from her first few forms had returned to the bottom of her skirt folds, the shape of the lower sleeves of her dress had spikes sticking outwards and her staff had also completely changed. It now appeared to be mostly white along with a giant blue frame at the top with several turqoise folds going across in almost an axe or warhammer like fashion. In addition, Anne also had a pink ring with several purple markings present behind her back, hovering in place. It seemed to be more like an accessory like Tama's white ring in one of her higher level forms and a complete opposite to the black rings that Iona and the Link Joker units possesed. At least, in outward appearance. Fumio glanced over towards her LRIG deck as she continued her turn.
"Using 2 copies of Salvage," she spoke "By paying 2 Ener, I add Suiboku and Maki-e back to my hand and summon them!"
As another card moved right from the Selector's Ener Zone to her Trash Pile, the aforementioned SIGNI cards slid out from said pile before being placed into the center and left SIGNI zones on her table. This resulted in Suiboku appearing right in front of Anne, taking a stance to prepare from a brawl with Tidal Assault whilst Maki-e appeared into the left space. To the right of the LRIG appeared Marche, Mysterious Fairytale. Anne glanced over the formation before looking over to Fumio.
"It is time," she spoke. Her Selector nodded in agreement with her.
"Marche's ability!" she called "I pay both a White and Green card from my Ener to return one of your SIGNI back to your hand. Seeing as I have 4 Ener available, I will use that ability twice!"
"But you only have a single Multi-Ener SIGNI in your Ener Zone," Leon replied "How do you expect to cover that cost?"
"I'll let Marche's continous ability answer that for you," the Selector spoke before holding out her hand over her Ener Zone "Observe!"
In an instant, the remaining cards from her Ener Zone moved right into her Trash Pile, much to the Aqua Force user's surprise as both Tempest Assault and Titan of the Beam Rifle suddenly vanished from his field in a blinding green light before their respective cards suddenly reappeared in his hand. Looking over towards Marche, he could finally understand why this was able to come to pass.
"I see," he murmured "Your SIGNI allowed you to substitute the SIGNI I already banished as fodder for your White costs. That's why I haven't seen you run a single White card in this entire battle."
"That is correct," Fumio replied "If I had simply loaded half of my deck with White cards or just Multi-Ener SIGNI, I wouldn't be able to use Anne to her full potential. In addition to her Grow cost having the same effect as Marche, all of my Green Beautiful Technique SIGNI gain 1000 power at all times."
Maki-e, Approximation of Tradition: 10000 - 11000
Suiboku, Single Stroke Worthy of Nobility: 12000 - 13000
Marche, Mysterious Fairytale: 12000 - 13000
"With this, everything we need is assembled for victory," Anne spoke before glancing back at Fumio. "Shall we?" The Selector didn't say anything as she turned her gaze to Suiboku.
"Suiboku attacks Tidal Assault!" she declared. Suiboku lifted up her staff and twirled it around, summoning what appeared to be the afterimage of an oriental dragon as it roared and consumed the Aquaroid in an instant with its breath of fire. When the attack was finished, the SIGNI stopped twirling her staff and the dragon disappeared once more.
"Next!" the Selector called. The other two SIGNI wasted no time in charging across the battlefield towards Leon's table before leaping into the air and each landing a hard kick onto Trans-core Dragon. Leon's next two Life Cloths revealed Ice Floe Angel and Titan of the Beam Rifle, the first card showing a Life Burst.
"I've got one..." he mumured "But since Ice Floe Angel was crushed before the other attack and I had more Life Cloths..."
"Then you can't use it," Anne cut in, finishing his conclusion for him before taking a stance and charging towards Trans-core Dragon. As she raised her staff into the air, Leon quickly moved Ice Floe Angel's card from his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile.
"Icefall Dragon!" he called as he revealed the card from his hand "Quintet Wall!"
The Tear Dragon suddenly appeared in front of Trans-core Dragon before a green circle suddenly appeared as the top five cards of Leon's deck revealed themselves to be Jetting Knowledge, Blue Storm Soldier, Tempest Assault, Tidal Assault and Jet-ski Rider. As the only Spell moved to his Trash Pile, the four SIGNI appeared alongside Icefall Dragon as a green circle suddenly appeared, blocking Anne's attack. The LRIG seemed annoyed but immediatly moved back to the LRIG space as the SIGNI vanished from the field. Fumio glanced over to Leon, having not expected his sudden manoeuvre just now.
Quintet Wall... she thought How interesting...
"Turn end."
(End Music)
End of Turn 7
Leon vs Fumio
Hand - 5 : 4
Life Cloths - 2 : 2
Current LRIGs - Blue Flight Dragon, Trans-core Dragon : Anne=Fourth, Blessing of Revelation
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Maki-e, Approximation of Tradition - Suiboku, Single Stroke Worthy of Nobility - Marche, Mysterious Fairytale
Ener - 7 : 0
As Leon began his turn, he looked over his current scenario. Fumio had already managed to gather some of her strongest SIGNI onto the field and he was very much limited in resources, having only 4 Level 4 SIGNI of his own within his deck. In addition, with Anne constantly powering them up, he knew that unless he could end things quickly, they would run over the rest of his SIGNI and finish him off. Closing his eyes and taking a calm breath for a moment, a sudden calm breeze blew across the battlefield.
"First, with Diamantes' ability from my Ener Zone," he spoke "Instead of conducting my Ener Charge Phase, I reveal Ouika from my hand and summon him back to the field!"
Showing the Level 4 Blue SIGNI from his hand to both Fumio and Anne, Storm Rider Diamantes reappeared onto the battlefield, this time in the right SIGNI space. After that, three more cards from Leon's Ener Zone moved to his Trash Pile as he took a certain card from his LRIG deck and held it up high. The calm breeze from earlier suddenly changed into a strong gust of wind as it howled throughout the area.
"Snowy white, swift wind! Becoming a shooting star in the night sky! Break Grow!"
Once again, a large column of water shot up from the LRIG space, enveloping Trans-core Dragon as he glowed brightly before vanishing from the battlefield.
"Blue Wave Dragon, Tetra-drive Dragon!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Kai's Determination)
A sudden gale raged through the torrent of water that was present on Leon's table before the column burst apart, revealing the Rear Admiral of the Aqua Force clan in all of his glory. The Tear Dragon was primarly coloured in both blue and white colours with several yellowish patterns on his armour and several dabs of red, some of which were present on Tetra-drive's forehead and a small spot was present on the chest. On top of Tetra-drive's shoulders were two large cannons, known as the "Dual-H Cannon" which made the Rear-Admiral appear more foreboding to its opponents who could only stare up at the dragon with intrigue.
"Trans-core Dragon's Break Grow skill!" Leon called "With this, Tetra-drive Dragon permanently gains an additional Level and plus 3 Limit! In addition, unless you discard when he attacks this turn, you cannot use any cards from your hand to Guard or activate their effects and Tetra-drive gains Double Crush until the end of his attack."
"So then, even if I discard a Guard SIGNI already, its effects will not activate due to it being a cost to bypass Trans-core's ability," Fumio murmured "Fine by me. Right now, I have only two Life Cloths and the Double Crush will allow you to crush two Life Cloths at once. If you think you can beat me this turn, I would like to see that."
Leon said nothing as he continued his turn by summoning Ouika, Water Phantom and Tidal Assault to the middle and left of Tetra-drive Dragon respectively. The Rear Admiral glanced down at Anne, intrigued by the LRIG and awaiting for the Aqua Force user's command to wage battle. The dragon then briefly turned his attention back to Leon.
"Forgive me for asking, my Vanguard," he spoke "But why have you called upon me in my previous form?"
"I understand how you may feel," Leon replied "However, I require your original form if we are to stand any possible chance of victory here."
"Very well then." Tetra-drive Dragon then turned his gaze back onto Anne, preparing for the first sign of battle.
"Using Tetra-drive's ability," Leon spoke "I pay 1 Blue card to give 2000 power to Diamantes and I'll have that same SIGNI wage the first attack!"
Storm Rider, Diamantes: 8000 - 10000 - 12000
Diamantes charged across the battlefield towards Fumio's table, taking a giant leap into the air before diving down towards Maki-e. He raised his swords high before slashing right past the SIGNI, banishing her in an instant. Diamantes then vanished as Tempest Blader appeared in the center SIGNI space on Leon's table. The cardfighter then diverted his attention to his LRIG space.
"Tetra-drive Dragon!" he called. As Tetra-drive Dragon armed its cannons, Fumio could only stare on in confusion.
He's attacking with Tetra-drive immediatly?! she thought in confusion. Anne glanced behind her for a brief moment, noticing her Selector's expression before Fumio finally made up her mind.
"I discard Marche so Tetra-drive won't recieve Double Crush for this attack!" she called.
"Very well then," replied Leon.
Tetra-drive Dragon let out a mighty roar as his cannons were primed and ready to fire. Bringing the barrels downwards onto his shoulders, the dragon took aim at Anne as she braced herself with her staff held out in front. With a deafening roar, the cannons surged into life by unleashing two large bursts of water which combined to form one colossal stream that instantly surged towards and consumed Anne in an instant. As she fought through the torrent, she struggled to stay on her feet before she could suddenly hear a cracking noise. Glancing behind her towards the ring, she suddenly saw the immense force from Tetra-drive's attack was causing a small part at the bottom, obscured by her head from both the dragon and Leon, to fall apart.
When the crack had subsided, Anne could only silently gasp in panic. A small, otherwise tiny fragment of her pink ring had broken off at a small portion at the very bottom, revealing a black colour with a red hint underneath.
This is bad! It's far too soon for this to come to light! If that boy discovers what lies beneath this barrier, then...!
Anne didn't have time to process that thought as she was suddenly swept backwards by the torrent until she was knocked onto her back on the LRIG space of Fumio's table. She shook herself of all the water whilst being careful to hide the shattered part of her ring from Leon and Tetra-drive Dragon's vision. The Selector's next Life Cloth revealed another copy of Maki-e, no Life Burst present this time. Fumio glanced back at Leon, under the impression that it seemed like things weren't even close to finished on his turn.
"Tetra-drive Dragon's Limit Break!" he called as a blue Vanguard circle briefly flashed in front of Tetra-drive Dragon. "Since Tetra-drive Dragon's attack was the second of the turn, I can reconduct the SIGNI attack step for a second time this turn!"
"So you can attack with your other two SIGNI..." the Selector muttered under her breath, having fully known that two of them were weaker than her remaining two SIGNI. "What are you planning?"
"Tidal Assault and Ouika attacks!" Leon declared. Tidal Assault and Ouika charged towards their respective opposing SIGNI and began engaging them. Whilst the Water Phantom had managed to easily overpower Suiboku, Tidal Assault had more difficulty against Marche and was forced back to Leon's table after a few unsuccessful swipes at her with his blades.
"What is the point of reconducting his attack steps?" muttered Anne "The result would be the same... unless!"
"That's correct," replied Leon "After four battles have been conducted, I pay the cost to Up Tetra-drive Dragon for another attack!" After paying the last two cards from his Ener Zone and moving the top two cards from his deck to his Trash Pile, being Titan of the Beam Rifle and Emerald Shield, Paschal, Tetra-drive Dragon let out a triumphant roar as it stood up once more. A gale swept across the battlefield as a result from the Limit Break being activated this moment. Fumio could only look down at her hand and growl in annoyance. She had no Guard SIGNI on hand and Tetra-drive Dragon was prepared for another attack.
"Tempest Assault!" called Leon. The Blue Storm Soldier nodded as he charged towards Anne and engaging her with his twin blades. The LRIG fought back as hard as she could with her staff, but was quickly overpowered as the Aquaroid knocked her backwards. The final Life Cloth revealed Marche, allowing Fumio to Ener Charge Servant D and Origami, none of which ended up helping either her or Anne.
It's over... she thought, glancing over to Tetra-drive Dragon. Well played, Soryu... For now.
"Go, Tetra-drive Dragon!" Leon declared as he held out his right arm "Sacred Storm!"
Tetra-drive Dragon roared as it took aim at Anne once again with its cannons, firing another torrent of water right at the LRIG. She struggled through as much of the water as she could before her strength finally gave out. As the water washed away from the table, Anne was lying on her back, heavily breathing from the experience she had just gone through. Glancing back at the blackened portion of the ring, she also felt a waver of relief that neither Leon, nor the dragon had spotted the patch at all. Fumio however had noticed herself and that had only increased her curiousity herself.
(End Music)
So then, you have also been burdened by 'them'... she pondered It seems our fates have indeed been somewhat intertwined, Anne. And as for Soryu Leon and Kai Toshiki, who knows what lies ahead for the both.
The air remained still across the battlefield before everything went black once more.
Fumio's Apartment
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Fumio)
When Leon and Fumio eventually regained consciousness, they found themselves back within the Selector's bedroom. The Aqua Force had to blink for a few moments, having felt slightly disoriented from returning back to the real world... well, Fumio's world, immediatly after the battlefield had gone completely black. Fumio then offered a hand to help him back onto his feet, to which he kindly accepted.
"It seems that fate was on your side for that battle, Soryu," she spoke "I suppose a congratulations is in order."
"That won't be necessary," he replied "However, I still have the feeling that what you showed before me tonight was not Anne's full potential. Am I wrong?"
"Who knows?" the LRIG shrugged, catching his attention "But the fact remains is that your journey into the matter of this world has only just begun. You should be more vigilant of the voices of LRIGs from outside of here. Most Selectors will do anything to obtain their wish, at any cost." Leon said nothing, but his expression allowed the LRIG to tell that he silently agreed with her. Looking outside of her window, Fumio could see that the night sky had gone pitch black, save for a few street lights outside and the clock on her computer had indicated that it was now very late. Sighing for a moment, she shut the blinds before turning her attention back to the cardfighter's current dillema.
"I will allow you to stay the night here," she spoke "But by tomorrow, you'll be on your own to find Kai yourself."
"Understood," replied Leon.
"Good," said Fumio "Feel free to take the bottom bunk of my bed. I only wish that tonight's victory will at least bring you a night of pleasant dreams for the future."
After sorting out their arrangements, Leon had already tucked himself into the bottom bunk a few minutes later after Fumio had turned out the lights in her apartment. After saying good night to Anne, the LRIG wished her Selector the same before drifting off to sleep herself. All was silent in the room once again, now darkened by the night outside. Fumio however felt that there was something she still had to do, whilst her LRIG and guest were completely unaware. She opened her drawer and pulled out the card that she had hidden from Anne, at the moment Leon arrive in her room before the LRIG could press on her about the subject. Fumio glanced at the card as a dark red aura appeared around it.
(End Music)
"You are aware of your burden and your mission," a deep voice spoke out loud, that only the Selector could hear. "Do not let Soryu or anyone else become suspicious of this or you will suffer a much harsher penalty than that from before."
Fumio could only give a quiet growl in response to the voice that had spoken out, her gaze tightened onto the card showing both a pained and irriated expression at the same time.
"Why is Anne involved in this dillema as well?!" she quietly snapped "She has no right to suffer this same burden!"
"Her fate is tied to yours," the mysterious voice replied "Failure to follow along our instructions will result in a similar penalty for her as well. Until then."
The Selector said nothing as she hid the card back inside her drawer before climbing up to the top bunk of her bed, being careful to not wake Leon up before tucking herself in and going unhappily to sleep. Eventually, morning broke out as the Selector yawned from waking up. As she climbed down the ladder of her bunk, she could see that Leon was now awakening, most likely from hearing her just now. He rose out of the bottom bunk and climbed out of the two person bed.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Daily Life ~ Missing Parts)
"I trust you slept well?" the Selector asked. Leon drowsily nodded, having only just woken up from this instant. Fumio's question had also drawn the attention of Anne over to the two, she too also waking up from her slumber. A few minutes later, after getting themselves sorted out and having breakfast together, Leon eventually gathered his belongings together before heading out for the front door of Fumio's apartment.
"This is farewell, for now Leon," she spoke.
"I imagine once you reunite with Kai, we will meet again soon," said Anne.
"Indeed," he replied "And I wish you two well in your own endeavours. Until then."
Both Selector and Cardfighter exchanged a final goodbye with each other before Leon bid both Fumio and Anne farewell as he walked out of the building where the Selector's apartment laid and made his way onto the city streets, in search of his missing comrades. He felt as if there were some more answers to the Selector Battles and LRIGs that he wanted to find out more about, but he knew that the first order of business in this world was to now find his companions and reunite with them as quickly as possible.
Present Day: City Library
"And after I came to this library in hopes of finding more answers to my whereabouts, that is where I find you now," Leon concluded.
"Amazing..." murmured Aichi, still at a loss for words over his friend's tale. The whole wing of the library had fallen silent, now that everyone present had listened to Leon's story as to how he ended up as he was now, reunited with everyone present.
"To think you even ended up battling Futase Fumio herself," muttered Yuzuki "At least from what you told us, she may not mess around the next time she decides to battle anyone."
"I agree," he spoke before looking down at the LRIG "You wouldn't happen to be aware of Kai's whereabouts?"
"H... He's in the library garden around the back," Hitoe answered "We'll take you right to him."
Leon nodded in agreement, as did Aichi as he and Hitoe got up from their seats and lead the way to the garden. After a short walk, they eventually entered the lush green area to be greeted by Naoki and Ren as Leon eventually glanced towards Kai, as did he to him. Tama also gave out a loud, but hearty "Hello!" to Leon as the Kagero user gave a quick introduction to Ruko's former LRIG as well as most of the events that had gone about the two of them. When everyone sat down at the table, Aichi noticed that Kai was still seeming troubled like he was earlier in the day, before the Royal Paladin user had met Hitoe and Yuzuki.
(End Music)
"Kai-kun..." he murmured.
"Aichi..." he spoke "It's time..." Whilst everyone else glanced over to Kai in confusion as to what he actually meant, Aichi coughed slightly to get everyone's attention over to him.
"Um... Hitoe-san, Yuzuki-san..." he murmured "How far did Kai give on an insight to our past?"
"He went as far as the conclusion of the Link Joker invasion in your world," answered Yuzuki "But I couldn't help but feel there was more to the story."
"That's because... I asked him and everyone else to refrain from recapping it," Aichi replied "But given the circumstances I was told of from his battle with Ruko, I feel I need to disclose these events."
"W... What events would those be?" Hitoe asked.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Unsettling)*
"You see... It all began just before I battled Kai-kun to free him from Reverse," he began. He then went on to how Reverse Takuto's unit, Star-vader "Omega" Glendios had imbedded him with the "seed" of the Void just before it was destroyed. After fighting Kai, he knew it was only a matter of time before the power of the seed would corrupt him, reviving the terror he had fought so hard to banish from his world. Worried that he would endanger his friends from getting involved in the matter, he turned his attention to the four strongest fighters around the world that he knew to seal himself away on his world's moon, Olivier Gaillard, Phillipe Neve, Ratie Curti and the one that would break everything apart, unbeknowst to him at the time, Raul Serra. He briefly mentioned Kourin and gave a quick introduction to her and a catch up to her situation.
After recapping over all of the events that occurred, he concluded on the fact that Blaster Blade had now lightened the burden by splitting the seed into much smaller fragments, some of which were now embedded in the cardfighters now around Hitoe, Yuzuki and Tama, also bringing hope that Link Joker would one day be safe to use within the cardfighter's own world. The subject of the seed had now brought Kai's attention to the discussion.
"Hitoe, Yuzuki," he spoke "When I faced Ruko the other day... Iona's attacks resonated with the seed fragment embedded within me and..."
"That must have been why Link Joker took you over again..." the LRIG murmured, finishing his sentence for him.
"That is correct," he replied, clenching his fists in frustration "What angers me the most was that I wasn't able to do anything to stop it, nor was I able to remove that influence from Ruko without endangering her any further."
"Kai-kun..." Aichi murmured in worry.
"Tama stopped it though!" Tama called out "Tama saved Kai!"
"Well, that's a relief," muttered Naoki "So all we have to do is beat this Ruko and that Reverse stuff will leave her, just like the last time in our world. Right?"
"I'm afraid it may not be that simple," Leon replied.
"Eh?" Ren pondered.
"All of us have a fragment of the seed embedded within us," Kai explained "If what happened to me was because of Iona's power, there's a chance the same thing will happen to all of you." The Kagero user could only look down and clench his fists even more, frustration was already building up even higher inside of him. Hitoe could only feel nervous from noticing his expression, unsure of what to say to him.
"Kai-kun, whatever happened wasn't your fault this time!" called Aichi "You were brought back into Reverse's grip against your own will! We will find a way to save Ruko!" This however did not help the mood at all. Kai, feeling the frustration get the better of him, got up from his seat and picked up Tama's card, much to the LRIG's confusion.
"Kai-kun?" asked Aichi. He turned around to the Royal Paladin user and handed over what appeared to be a key to him.
"This is the key to the apartment I've rented," he spoke, trying to supress the stress that he was feeling "I will meet you back there later." He then began walking away from the group, leaving them to themselves.
"Kai?" mumured Hitoe.
"Let him be," Ren spoke, this time in a slightly more serious tone. "Though it may be true that he was dragged into that scenario again, it appears he feels somewhat responsible."
"But... What Aichi said was true," replied Yuzuki "None of this is his own fault."
"Look, I hate to ruin everyone's hopes," said Naoki "But I think Ren has a point. We should probably give him some space to sort this out. He said he would meet us back at that apartment he mentioned, right Aichi?"
"Yeah," the Royal Paladin user answered, looking closely at the address marked on the tag of the keyring. "Let's go, everyone!"
The rest of the group nodded in agreement and followed Aichi out of the garden and the library, heading out into the streets once more.
City Park
Eventually, after several minutes of walking around the city and trying to supress his frustration, Kai had eventually come to a stop, within the wide open area of the park. He sighed heavily as he breathed in and out as he recounted everything that happened from his previous battle with Ruko and Iona. Part of him was frustrated of not being able to save the Selector from Link Joker's grip and the other part was angry, but at himself for being under the control of that same power once again, regardless of it being his own will or not. He knew he had to face her again soon enough, but the question was, how? How was he going to plan to save her without falling under that influence for a third and possibly, permenant time.
(End Music)
"Kai?"
Tama's concerned voice snapped him out of his daze as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the card containing the LRIG. She seemed concerned for the Kagero user's state, worried about what was going on.
"I understand your concern, Tama," he spoke "But even now, I'm having doubts about not just myself."
"Doubts?" she pondered.
"That is correct," he replied "I'm also having doubts about... Dragonic Overlord."
"Huh?"
"During the battle, before I was taken over," Kai explained "I could sense some of the Reverse had not left it as I first thought. I'm beginning to wonder if that element had played a part in my brief return into Reverse." Tama pondered over the subject, she too having also been incredibly concerned for Ruko's state. If from what she saw Reverse do to Kai could do the same to Ruko, she knew that the only one the LRIG could blame was herself. Kai had promised her to get her back with Ruko and now she felt a great uneasiness swelling up inside of her. Gathering her thoughts, she looked up at Kai.
"Tama will help!" she called out.
"Tama..." murmured Kai.
"Tama wants to help Kai save Ruko!" Tama replied "Tama will keep Kai from Reverse!" Kai although somewhat grateful for her words of encouragement, felt as if even they wouldn't make much of a difference in changing their scenario. Then, it suddenly hit him.
"I see now!" he gasped "The key to saving Ruko is...! ACK!"
His answer was suddenly cut off as he felt something sharp enter right into the back of his abomen as he suddenly felt himself in a great deal of pain and his breathing declining by a very large margin. Everything began going black as he fell forwards to the ground, unable to hear Tama's cries of horror and pleas for him to answer her to see if he was alright. Eventually, a few seconds after hitting the ground, Kai lost complete consciousness as Tama could only hold her hands over her mouth as she looked over his fallen body, her card dropped onto the floor a few meters forward. Looking up, she couldn't suddenly see a hand reaching out for her card and gasped.
"Don't cry about it!" a familiar voice sounded "Aki-lovely's going to take you to your new, proper Selector, just after she finishes fishing someout out of Kai-unlucky here."
"Kai!" Tama cried in panic as Akira's hand obscured her vision completely "Kai, please help Tama! Kai!"
But the fallen cardfighter remained motionless as Akira took something out from his left jacket pocket, before leaving his unconscious body lying forward on the ground. He was unaware of Tama's screams for help as he couldn't even hear her and was unable to do anything as a small puddle of blood soaked out from his wound, from which a pen was present, sticking right in the back part of his abomen.
And there we go! Poor Tama's in trouble now! Akira has wounded Kai and taken the LRIG and something else of importance from him with the intention of delivering her to a "new Selector". Who will that be? Find out next chapter. Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I'll see you all again next time, when I will also announce an update by then. Until then!
*This plays in the first act of Link Joker-hen when it cuts to the Miyaji Academy Student Council and early on in Legion Mate-hen when Kai is wandering the streets, thinking over everything that has come to light surrounding Aichi's disappearance.