Previously:

As she rushed onto the train and sat down, catching her breath, she heard her phone go off. She almost forgot about it. Taking a look, Ember had sent another text.

December? Please, can you answer me? At least tell me if you're coming to the tournament?

-Ember

She hesitated, but only to think of what she would write back.

I'll be there shortly.

-December

She quickly tapped in her reply and sent it on its way.

Third person

*pant pant*

Footsteps and heavy breathing could be heard as December rushed her way along the pavement. Though she didn't want to admit it, she hated that she was this late. As she entered the building doors, she took a moment to catch her breath.

Stupid... Train... Being... Late!

Meanwhile, Aichi was motivating the rest of the team, filled with confidence.

"Alright, we've got this! Kamui, Misaki, let's do this!" He called out. The nodded. Shin was impressed with Aichi taking on this leader-like role; it was a good change for him to be more assertive. Then he noticed a certain teal haired girl in the lobby, catching her breath.

"Hey December!" He yelled.

Straightening up, she looked over to where she heard the call. She spotted Q4. Hesitant for a moment, she slowly walked over to the team, her eyes averted.

"Glad you could make it, we were all worried you'd miss the whole thing," he said cheerfully like he had forgotten what had happened back at the shop. She looked down, embarrassed.

"What took you so long?!" Kamui blurted out. "Jeez, you almost missed the first match!"

First match?

She glared at Kamui. "It's none of your business whether I came here or not."

"It's called confederation Rude Girl!"

Misaki sighed. "Kamui, it's consideration."

He flushed pink while December rolled her eyes.

"W-well that doesn't matter! You're still being a huge jerk to all of us, thinking you can just tango in whenever you feel like it!" He pointed at December, enraged.

"Why do I even bother?" Misaki sighed as she placed her hand on her head.

"At least I came at all. You know I can't remember why I decided to come in the first place," she sneered.

"Well with the way you're acting you should just leave right now!"

"Maybe I will."

The two of them glared at each other, a flash of lightening flashing between the two's stares as they growled at each other.

"Well, I'm glad you came December, " Aichi interrupted. She and Kamui looked up at him, forgetting about their fight.

"Uh...You are bro?" Kamui asked in a rather confused tone.

Aichi nodded, smiling confidently. "I'm playing first in the upcoming round, and I was hoping you'd get here so you could see me play."

Her eyes widened a little and her mouth opened slightly. "You... wanted me to see you card fight?"

He nodded, the smile still present on his face. "Yeah! Well we didn't get to card fight last time, and I was worried about you," he finished, a small blush creeping onto his face. It was true, the whole incident scared him, but what scared him more was the fact that December was upset and he couldn't do anything but hope she was okay. It had been on the back of his mind the entire week, and now he could finally put those thoughts to rest. "Actually I'm not sure what that has to do with me wanting you here, but you are and I'm happy."

She didn't know how he did it, but there was something about Aichi that made her feel, how should I put it, more at home, welcomed, like she wasn't a screw up for once, something like that. Her expression softened into a smile and she nodded at the boy.

"Aichi... Heh, you're sweet." She let out a short breath that could be taken as laughter as she slightly ruffled his hair. Kamui stared in disbelief at the girl he saw in front of him.

"Huhhh?! Who's this chick, where'd rude girl go?" A large tick mark appeared over her head as she growled. Aichi laughed nervously.

"Well team, I think it time we moved out. Let's get'er done!" Shin called out.

"Alright! First, we dominate theses first few rounds, then semi's and final's, and we'll be back on our way to nationals!" Kamui cheered. It seemed the excitement of regionals was enough to make him forget about December. She sighed. Then she remembered something she had to do.

"Shin wait."

Everyone in Q4 stopped and turned around. December was standing still, straight and expressionless. Then she quickly bowed down. "I'm sorry." The others stayed silent as she continued. "For what happened the other day, I was way, way out of line, and I take full responsibilities for my actions... I won't let it happen again." She closed her eyes and waited. A hand on her shoulder made her look up in surprise.

"Apology accepted December." She gave out a heavy sigh. Shin smiled.

She must have been really upset about it.

"I'll be honest, I was more surprised that angry at you. But I had to treat you like I would anyone else in that situation." She straightened up and brushed his hand off.

"Well as long as that's settled, I guess I'll go find my seat, or whatever," she said bluntly, like everything that just happened never occurred. Shin sweatdropped, it seemed that December was back to her normal self, irritably blushing at how desperate she was earlier to set things straight. But she didn't leave right away. There was one more thing she needed to do.

"Aichi," she turned for a moment, and smiled, "good luck. You'll do great. And… let's fight sometime. Maybe when I get my deck back."

"Mm hm! Thanks, December!"

She turned back and continued walking towards the spectator area. Q4 headed in the opposite direction. As they walked, Kai began thinking; the way December had acted earlier had him confused.

Again. She smiled at Aichi again, the way she used to smile back when we were kids. Now she almost never smiles. So why him? Why smile at Aichi, and no one else? And she called him sweet. Where did that come from?

Kai had finally come to terms that he was jealous; jealous of Miwa, Aichi, Jun, heck, probably any guy that could get along with December. What he hadn't come to terms with was why. Why was this bothering him so much? Why did he care? Why did he spend hours at a time just trying to get those feelings out of his head, while trying to convince himself that it didn't matter, that he shouldn't focus on such trivial things? Besides, if Miwa found out it'd be non-stop pestering about how he had feelings. He looked down at his finger braces. That was enough of a reminder of what happened when he thought too much about her. He stuck his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and did what he always did; ignore everything around him until something that concerned him happened.

Up in the stands, December was greeted by a hug from Miwa and a hysterically sobbing Ember, who made December promise never to scare her like that again. The others were happy to see her; Emi seemed especially so, asking December if she was okay. When she heard what had happened she became almost as worried as Aichi. Even though December tried to brush her off she was as perky as ever, smiling even when December gave her a flat answer.

Soon Q4 was up, against a team who called themselves Team Fragrance. Aichi played unbelievably well. December was surprised at the huge improvement she saw. But there was something off with him, something very subtle. He seemed more, how you would say, assertive, maybe even aggressive with his play style. All in all, he looked and played with confidence, maybe even leaning towards cocky. It was weird for everyone to see, a usually shy kid like that taking charge on the playing field, but they were all excited when he emerged with an amazing victory! December clapped a little, a smile finding it's way onto her face. Ember and Miwa noticed, glancing at each other for a brief moment in mild surprised.

The happiness for her ended all too soon though.

"Aichi!"

The cries of Misaki and Kamui from below snapped December out of her pleasant mood as she peered over to find Aichi leaning against Misaki, eyes closed and breathing heavily. The smile disappeared. Her eyes widened and she seized up, gaze fixated on the sight in front of her, and breathing becoming shaky. She could feel her pulse throughout her entire body, from her toes to her temples. Soon she felt the burning pain of tears forming, and tried as hard as she could to keep them there. Seeing him like that, in pain, it didn't sit right. And she would have gone into a full-blown meltdown if it weren't for Ember bringing her back to reality.

"December," she quietly said as she placed her hand on her stiff shoulder, "December, stay calm, he's going to be alright. Breath. Remember? In 2 3 4, out 2 3 4, repeat."

She lowered her hand and reached for December's, squeezing it in reassurance. And not only did she not take her attention off December once, she breathed with her, eventually getting their breathing in sync with each other. Miwa, after peering over to see if Aichi was okay, watched the two girls from his seat, astounded.

Ember is amazing. If it were me I wouldn't know what to do. Probably crack a joke, but that wouldn't help. She's probably been doing this for years. Man… I wish I knew Deca as well as she did.

"Better?" Ember asked softly. December closed her eyes, sighed deeply and nodded.

"Better. Thanks."

Ember looked at her with a soft expression, and wrapped her arm around her, gently squeezing her. December leaned into her.

Misaki's POV

Aichi was given a cold cloth and laid down on the bench to rest up. He was fine, just a bit tired out after that battle. It startled me when he fell forwards; luckily I was able to catch him before he hit the hardwood.

"You know," I started, not talking to anyone in particular, "I remember, this happened before." I was remembering back to when we had visited PSY shop.

"When was it?" Kai asked. I hesitated for a moment; surprised that Kai actually had interest in what I was saying.

"After the regional tournament, when we ran into Suzugamori Ren at PSY shop."

"Really?"

That's when I noticed how his skin was slightly paler and his expression was becoming more and more concerned. I wasn't sure how to react to what I was seeing.

"What's the matter, Kai? You look upset," I asked, a hint of worry in my voice. He didn't respond, looking towards Aichi. I could almost spot worry in his expression. I wanted to know if he was okay, but the next match was about to start. I was up next, so I forgot about him for the moment being. I was not about to lose, not here. I was going to redeem myself, and my path to redemption was going to start by winning Regionals!

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