And welcome back everyone to the last of the filler there will be before we go into this arc's endgame. Hope you'll enjoy this.
City Streets
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Unsettling)
Later into the night, Kai, Aichi, Naoki, Leon and Ren had all bid farewell to Hitoe and her family before setting off for the apartment they were staying in. Before they did so, they asked if they could borrow the novels that Fumio had published, to which the Selector was kind enough to allow them to do so. As the five cardfighters walked through the mostly empty and dark streets in the dead of the night, each were preoccupied with their own thoughts on what the day had brought for each of them. Naoki constantly glanced all around the areas they passed by, leading the others to instantly assume that he was keeping a sharp eye out for Akira in the event that she would be planning another attack. When several minutes had passed by however, it took some reassurance from Kai that he thought that even the Selector would be wise enough to not be planning to strike again at this very moment, especially given the defeat that Hitoe had handed to her.
That in turn had also got Aichi a little surprised from learning of this, but he was otherwise glad and relieved from the overall outcome of the battle he 'allowed' her to partake in. Then again, it shouldn't have really come across as much of a surprise, since he now saw the Kagero LRIG type on the cards that depicted Yuzuki's new forms in his previous battle with Hitoe. Eventually, after a long while, the group eventually arrived back at the apartment blocks and made the long climb up the stairs to the floor where Kai's apartment was. Naoki didn't tire himself out as much during the long climb this time, now that he didn't have anything on his back to carry upwards. After entering through the door, the cardfighters quickly treated themselves to something to eat before getting ready to turn in for the night, with nothing else on their minds for the moment. Well, almost nothing else.
"That reminds me," Ren spoke "Ruko wanted me to pass on a message to Aichi."
"A message?" Aichi murmured.
"That's right," he replied before heading over to the window, motioning for the Royal Paladin user to join him. As Aichi walked over to where the Shadow Paladin user was, he in turn pointed out towards an all too familiar building in the distance. When Kai joined the two of them, he could only glance intensely in the direction that Ren was pointing in towards said building.
"The place where Ruko and I battled previously," he muttered "And the place where she had her final confrontation, with Urazoe Iona herself."
"Now it makes perfect sense," Ren mused, shrugging for a short moment, though a closer glance at his expression would tell that there was a bit more intrigue than he was appearing to let on. "She said for Aichi to meet her there, when he was ready."
"I see..." Aichi murmured as he looked on into the distance, wondering what was happening with the Selector herself and silently praying that Reverse had not taken her over already.
"Well then," Naoki spoke "I guess we should all be getting some shut eye by now."
"Indeed," Leon replied "This second night in this world for some of us has proven to be rather eventful."
The others nodded in agreement as the lights in the apartment were all switched off, leaving the rooms dark as a result with only the moonlight from outside providing any foresight for inside. After Kai left Tama's card over on the single table, he went into the single bedroom that he was staying in. Aichi, Naoki, Ren and Leon all tucked themselves into their respective futons and settled themselves down to sleep.
(End Music)
Photon's Lab
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Mayu and White Room)
Meanwhile in the domain of Mayu, outside of her White Room, the Cyberoids that were monitoring the progress of Project: Locked Soul continued on with their task as the mastermind herself gazed at the giant concealed cylinder within the center of the room as she stood on top of the podium housed at the edge of the lab. She had felt as if there was more to the current situation involving the project than first glance was showing her and Photon and the confirmation of PSY Qualia being somehow involved, later revealed to have been Aichi's no less as evidenced from his previous battle with Ulith, some of which was because of the Selector's own doing. Her trail of thoughts were interrupted as the doors behind her opened up, as Photon and a footsoldier that went under the name Radon, entered the lab with Tatsunagi Takuto. His wrists were held out in front, shackled by a small black ring that was binding them together.
With a hard shove from the Unrivaled Star-vader, Takuto was pushed forward into the vicinity of the mastermind as he glanced up towards her, a hint of discomfort and uncertainty present on his expression.
"Tatsunagi Takuto," Mayu spoke "Your untimely appearance in the midst of the Selector Battles has certainly made things more... interesting."
"Mayu, was it?" the Cray being asked.
"That is correct," she replied as she approached him. At this moment, Photon held up a hand to Radon, prompting it to return to its current duty in patrolling the outer perimeter of the long corridor that led to the lab. The same long corridor that Midoriko had previously tried to traverse once before being captured and blasted by the Unrivaled Star-vader's beam rifle. After all of that had happened, Mayu had sent the LRIG off to her new Selector with nothing more after that event had happened. Of course, that wasn't to say that Hitoe's former LRIG was the first to stumble across what was really going on behind the scenes. Radon saluted for a brief moment before exiting the lab through the doors behind it as Photon walked over to join Mayu and their prisoner.
"What is the reason behind your actions?!" Takuto demanded "What meaning is there to toying with the wishes of others to make them suffer?! Even so, why would you go as far as consulting the Void and the Star-vaders to aid you in your plans?!"
At first, the lab remained silent, aside from the various noises that went about from the equipment that the other Cyberoids were using, as if Mayu appeared to have somehow remained unresponsive. Then, she stepped forward towards Takuto, her earlier gaze having now become a very sharp glare.
"For vengeance," she spoke "On the outside world. And all worlds that are beyond that one."
"Vengeance?" the Cray being murmured.
"Indeed Tatsunagi," Mayu replied "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, I am sure you are assuming as to why I had Photon bring you here?"
Takuto said nothing in response, but glared back at Photon, the Cyberoid of whom had already managed to figure that out on his own.
"We require your extensive knowledge of PSY Qualia, to complete Project: Locked Soul," he spoke.
"And if I refuse?" the Cray being replied in a questioning tone, feeling that there was more to this than the Star-vader and the mastermind of the Selector Battles were letting on.
"Then I shall have no choice, but to expand my domain of the Selector Battles across the junctures of space and time," Mayu spoke "Much sooner than I intend."
"You would go as far as reimagining the Selector system entirely in order to involve both the Planet Cray and the cardfighters of Earth in my dimension?!" he gasped.
"That's correct," she replied "Given your powerless state at the moment, retaliation is out of the question. So tell me Tatsunagi Takuto, what shall it be?"
Takuto could only clench his teeth at the offer that Mayu had proposed before him. He knew that although Link Joker had eventually been accepted as a clan from the Planet Cray itself upon the shattering of the Seed, there were still those that had chosen to remain sided with the Void, the Star-vaders that Photon had not left stranded on the surface being a prime example. He also knew that from what little knowledge he had of Mayu himself and having viewed several of the battles from where she had kept him imprisoned, that there was no telling what she would do if he were to refuse. Reluctantly, he looked back at her, a decision now having come to his mind.
"All right then," he sighed "I will complete Project: Locked Soul if it means you will not involve my dimension in the Selector Battles. But I have the feeling you already knew that."
Mayu said nothing in response before turning her back to the Cray being, who was then immediately escorted down to the lower level of the lab by Photon who had one of his twin swords pointed right towards his back.
Now I must turn my attention to dealing with Sendou she thought I suspect he must be after Ruko and 'the girl of black' now that he's learned nearly everything about her from Kai Toshiki. When they do find her... my instrument of destruction will be beyond their reach.
(End Music)
Kai's Rented Apartment
When dawn broke, Kai eventually opened up his eyes through what little sunlight there was seeping through the curtains that were in front of the bedroom window. Glancing over towards the clock that was beside his bed, he could only sigh a little. The time was reading as 6:55 am, 5 minutes earlier than the wakeup time that he was normally used to, regardless of whatever location, or world for that matter, that he was in. Deciding that it was not worth settling back down just to get up again immediately afterwards in a sense, he rose up from the bed and walked towards the door, slowly opening it up in an attempt to not wake anyone up. When he did though, he turned towards the window to see Aichi had also woken up early and was staring out into the distance.
"So you couldn't sleep either?" the Kagero user spoke, quietly enough to not wake everyone else who remained asleep in their futons on the floor.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Profane Wish)
Aichi almost jumped, having not expected Kai to have woken up early in the morning, much like he did, albeit a few minutes earlier. He turned around to face him as the Kagero user joined him by the windowsill.
"I... I've had a bit of difficultly," Aichi spoke nervously. "I'm thinking about a few things."
"It's about Ruko, isn't it?" Kai asked.
"Y... Yeah," he answered "Aside from that... I can't get out of my head... about what Ulith said."
Kai at this point could only grimace. It appeared that although Aichi had managed to defeat Ulith successfully to save Shiro from Reverse, the effects from her psychological torture through the Royal Paladin user's own PSY Qualia however had proven to have left a lasting impression on him. Although Kai was grateful that he had managed to pull through in the end, with aid from Umr that was, the fact that this was the case was proving to sound most troubling. That was when Aichi looked up towards the Kagero user, feeling he had something to get off his mind.
"Um... Kai-kun," he spoke "... Out of the Selector Battles you were involved with... did anyone have their wish tainted?"
"From my recollection, just one directly," Kai answered "It was one from a group of many fangirls that Akira had sent in an attempt to remove me from the Selector Battles. They were my last opponents before I faced Ruko herself."
"I see..." Aichi murmured "It's just... I can't help but worry if... we could only end up hurting Ruko-san."
"From what little knowledge I know from Yuzuki," he replied "Until her last battle alongside Shiro, Ruko has remained undefeated in Selector Battles. If Reverse has been plaguing her since that confrontation, that may still be the case."
Both remained silent at this point, each engrossed within their own thoughts to the scenario. Aichi remembered full well of Kai's explanation in that his attempt to make Ruko see that holding on to that power, even if for the moment if she was restraining it, was making things worse for herself had gone disasterously wrong from Reverse briefly taking control of him and it was only through Shiro's words that he snapped out of it just in time. Thinking back over what he was told, he suddenly realized that something didn't quite add up. He didn't quite get the chance to think about it immediately when he heard a loud yawn come from behind them. The two of them turned around to see Ren waking up as he slowly rose up from his futon, followed by Leon and Naoki.
"Oh... Are we interrupting anything?" the Shadow Paladin mused, yawning midway through his speech. Another noise suddenly rang through the room as Kai walked over towards the table, picking up Shiro's card as he did so. He looked at it, seeing the LRIG stirring up from her long rest.
"Uh..." she murmured drowsily before rubbing her eyes open to see the Kagero user once more. "... Kai!"
"Are you alright, Shiro?" he asked.
"... Shiro feels... strange..." the LRIG murmured "But... Shiro is alright."
"That's good," Kai replied "You may still require time to readjust from being brought out of Reverse."
Aichi could only smile warmly that Shiro had managed to recover just fine, relieved that his efforts in his previous battle against Ulith had not gone to waste. Thinking over for a moment, he suddenly remembered what he wanted to talk to Kai about before Ren and the others had woken up.
(End Music)
"Kai-kun... there's something I want to ask," he said.
"What is it?" the Kagero user asked.
"... Were you really defeated by Ruko-san?"
Everyone else in the room turned their heads towards Kai who remained still as Shiro looked up to him in concern, having known the real result of the previous battle between both him and Ruko herself.
"The battle abruptly ended by a strange energy pulse, right before I was defeated," he answered.
"Hang on..." muttered Naoki "But doesn't that mean... Ruko never beat you in the first place?"
"Not quite, but that would have been the case if Iona's final attack had connected," Kai replied "And unlike her previous confrontation with Ren, as I have told you before, the LRIG had the full power of Reverse coursing through her."
"Did that energy happen to be pure white?" Leon asked.
"Shiro says yes!" Shiro called "Shiro remembers white energy breaking apart the battlefield!"
"Then that means... our journey here ended up saving you from being Reversed again!" Aichi gasped, now having realized what had happened on that night.
"So that was the cause," the Kagero user murmured.
The entire room fell silent, now that the entire truth about Kai's previous confrontation with Ruko had been spilled out to the group of cardfighters. The Kagero user himself could only look down at Shiro's card, the LRIG having been concerned about the tension that had been rising up in the apartment. As everyone was deep into their own thoughts, Naoki suddenly remembered that there was something else they had to deal with first.
"That reminds me," he spoke "Weren't we going to look into those novels that Hitoe let us borrow?"
"That's right," Aichi replied as the others nodded in agreement, bringing the two novels they had onto the table.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Fumio)
As already noted on the covers, both novels were indeed written by Futase Fumio herself, the Selector that both Kai and Leon had encountered on seperate occasions of their own. Beginning with the first book, the group read through the compendium of pages, keeping an eye out for anything that could act as potential leads into the Selector Battles that were going on outside of the apartment blocks. When an hour or so had passed into going through the whole novel, the only pieces of information they could dig out from the pages was information that they already knew. The story in general had covered over a Selector who had lost twice only to eventually rise up and defeat her rival, eventually becoming an LRIG herself to continue fighting.
Things were seemingly bleak from their efforts before they began looking through the second novel, titled The Wings of Lamentation Encase the Dream of The Ruined Country. When the group did so however, this when new details had begun to come to light. The first of which depicted the appearance of 'Cocoon, the Dark Lord of Atonement'. With what little Aichi, Kai and others already knew from Yuzuki and Ruko to some extent, they quickly assumed that this 'Dark Lord' must have been the novel's representation of Mayu, the mastermind of the Selector Battles and the 'White Garden' that was mentioned, had to have been the White Room in which Takuto was imprisoned in.
Upon the hearing the mention of the Cray being from Leon, Kai was shocked to find that it was him of all people that had brought him into this world, even if it was unintentional. As the group continued to read the second novel up towards its climax in search for anymore clues, they couldn't find anything new within the rest of the book, until they reached the very last page. One which dropped down a single quote.
"The girl of white and the girl of black... one the instrument of destruction... the other the instrument of rebirth. From what I know, when these two powers align with that of the destructive nature of Cocoon's forces will everything change."
"The girl of white... and the girl of black?" Ren murmured, pondering as to what the description could refer to. Something clicked in Aichi's head as he remembered something familiar about that namesake.
"Ulith called Shiro the girl of white during our battle!" he gasped.
"Then, could she be the same person decribed in the novel?" Naoki pondered.
"Perhaps," Leon replied "Everything we've learned from these novels indicate that Fumio knows more than in depth about the Selector Battles than we realize. The fact that she may already know much about Mayu and that White Room somehow confirms this."
"Girl... of white..."
Shiro mumbled those words out loud, as if she had somehow known about this beforehand. She suddenly clutched her head in pain as another image suddenly flashed before her eyes. It was brief, but it somehow made sense to the LRIG. Kai immediately noticed her sudden reaction and glanced down at her whilst Aichi walked over towards the Kagero user, looking down at the card.
"Are you alright, Shiro-san?" he asked.
"S... Shiro definitely remembers... being called that before..." she answered "By 'The Clown'..."
"Can you recollect anything else?" Kai asked.
Shiro shook her head, confirming the Kagero user's expected suspicions on the subject. It appeared that although the LRIG was starting to remember things about herself prior to meeting Ruko for the first time, there were still a lot of areas that remained blank within her memories. The circumstances as to why remained a complete mystery to both her and everyone else in the room, each having their own thoughts on the subject.
(End Music)
"Well then, what should we do about all of this?" Naoki murmured.
"I understand that we need answers from Fumio," said Aichi "But I think our main worry right now should be on saving Ruko-san from Reverse before anything bad happens to her and anyone else near her."
"I agree," replied Kai "Right now, there's no telling how long she can keep that power at bay for with whatever willpower she has left."
"Kai..."
The Kagero user turned his attention down towards Shiro, who had spoken out before looking up at him from the card that she was imprisoned in. She had a hint of worry and nervousness present on her expression as she glanced up at the Kagero user.
"C... Can Shiro be called Tama again?" the LRIG asked.
"But... isn't Shiro your real name?" Aichi murmured.
"S... Shiro wants to be remembered that way..." she said nervously "So... if it's alright..."
At first, the room remained silent as no one responded to Shiro's request, everyone with the exception of Kai being curious as to why the girl of white wanted to be called by the name given to her by her former Selector, the same Selector she now wanted to rebuild her trust with and save from the same power that had previously infected the LRIG herself. Eventually, when a few more moments had passed over, the Kagero user looked back down at the LRIG within the card in his hand, a serious glint now present in his green eyes.
"Then I only have one request," he spoke "Tama, will you fight beside me to save Ruko?"
At this point, Tama's eyes had for the first time since the previous night, gone back to their normal happy expression. Aichi could tell from her smile that she was overjoyed to hear exactly what Kai had to ask of her. The Royal Paladin user couldn't help but feel happy for the LRIG, glad that she had managed to recover from everything that had happened the previous night.
"Tama will help Kai!" Tama called "Tama will battle with Kai!"
The Kagero user nodded in agreement with the LRIG's answer, smiling briefly as he did so.
"Then it is decided."
City Streets
A few minutes later...
After discussing the course of action they needed to take, the decision was made amongst the group of cardfighters that before anyone could consider confronting Ruko at this point in time, there were still some things that had to be dealt with first. Kai had already left for Card Luck to see if he could further modify the deck that the Selector had passed on to Ren, who in turn passed it over to him, Aichi and Naoki went off together to return the novels they borrowed back to Hitoe and bring her and Yuzuki up to date with everything happening at the moment whilst the Shadow Paladin user went with Leon to 'attend to something' as he had put it.
Truth be told, he knew that it was something to do with his previous battle with Ruko and as he expected, the Aqua Force user had already figured out the basic premise of this. When the two eventually came across a pair of Selectors that were already engaged in a battle of their own, evidenced by their sleeping like states, Ren held out Blaster Dark's card towards them as did Leon with Trans-core Dragon's card.
"Open!" they both called. Two bright flashes erupted from their cards, bringing them to the battlefield that was present.
Selector Battlefield
When the two eventually regained consciousness, they found themselves within the top of the tower that stood in the center and the far distance of the Selector Battlefield. They walked over towards the windowsill, briefly looking down at the battle that was already in progress out of partial interest. From what they could see though was that the battle seemed to be between both a red and a green user. When a minute or so had eventually passed, that was when Leon felt the need to question Ren over his idea of entering the field.
"What is your reason for coming here exactly?" he asked "You said that you needed to attend to something."
"Of course," the Shadow Paladin user replied in a cheery tone "You remember Kai said that he was able to summon Dragonic Overlord whilst he was observing a battle with Tama?"
"Indeed," Leon answered "But I'm uncertain as to what this may accomplish."
"You'll see," he mused as he held out the card that was in his hand right in front of him, pointed towards the tower windowsill. "Appear before us, my avatar!"
A black coloured beam surged out of the card and struck the surface of the windowsill, causing a dark purplish Vanguard circle to appear as a result. Within a few moments after a cloud of black mist emerged from the circle did Ren's avatar eventually appear before both him and Leon. Blaster Dark opened his green eyes, his sharp gaze now trained upon both the Shadow Paladin and Aqua Force users whilst the tip of his sword remained planted between his feet on the ground and the dark red cape that he wore remained trailing behind him.
"Hello," Ren spoke, smiling as he held up his right hand in the proper gesture.
"My Vanguard, what is your reason for summoning me here?" the Swordsman of Darkness asked, a stern tone to his voice.
"My, aren't you as serious as ever," the Shadow Paladin user mused "But there is a reason why I called you here now."
"Go on," Blaster Dark replied.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Chikara ni Obareru mono tachi)
"Well then," Ren began as he opened his red eyes, a serious glint now present within them. "There has been something about our previous confrontation with Ruko that has had me thinking."
"And what would that be?" the Shadow Paladin unit asked.
"During the battle, I could sense that you weren't exactly yourself," he spoke "Because of that... I believe that there's something that you're not telling me."
"What makes you certain?" Leon interrupted.
"Just a hunch," Ren replied.
"He is correct."
The two cardfighters then turned their attention back towards Blaster Dark, now realizing that the Swordsman of Darkness did indeed have something to answer Ren's 'hunch' as the cardfighter himself had put it bluntly and somewhat jokingly in his own strange way. He didn't appear shaken to the fact that his Vanguard had already managed to suspect that he had been hiding something from him during that last battle.
"I didn't speak of this at the time as I was uncertain," he continued "But that girl or LRIG as you call her, Iona. Something about her feels off and I don't just mean the cursed power inside of her."
"Go on," Ren spoke.
"That LRIG we faced the previous battle..." Blaster Dark explained "Her appearance is almost identical to someone that recently joined the Shadow Paladin clan as part of the Revengers."
"Oh... so you got yourself a new recruit lately," the Shadow Paladin user murmured.
"Who would that be?" asked Leon.
"Until my comrades are fully certain as to who she really is," the Swordsman of Darkness answered "We can only assume for the moment she is that same person as her wielder called her. Before you called me here, Tartu was bringing her to Mordred for questioning."
"I see..." murmured Ren as he held his hand to his chin. "Well this will certainly make things interesting."
"Then for the moment, we can only wait and see how things will play out," Leon spoke.
Blaster Dark nodded in agreement with his statement before turning his attention down towards the battlefield, to see how the current battle between the two Selectors were going. Feeling that he had done what he needed to do, Ren merely shrugged for a moment, feeling he had now gotten the answers that he wanted for now, leaving him curious as to who this 'new arrival' into the Revengers that Blaster Dark was talking about, before leaning over onto an empty part of the tower windowsill to watch the conclusion of the Selector Battle with Leon, who simply remained standing as he glanced down towards the field.
(End Music)
Card Luck
"Tama attacks Piruluk!"
Over in the shop that Hitoe and Yuzuki had introduced to him on the second day of his stay in this world, Kai was already well into a friendly battle against Amika, whom he remembered from bringing him into the hospital with help from Aichi, Hitoe and Chiyori after Akira's backhanded attack on him. The Selector of Piruluk approached him out of interest and challenged him to said friendly battle, to which he kindly accepted, feeling this was the perfect opportunity to test the modifications he made to Ruko's original deck so he and Tama would have a better chance of standing up to both the Selector, Iona and the power that had been plaguing them.
From how he originally viewed the situation prior to Amika's arrival, the deck in its previous state whilst mostly basic did already contain some powerful cards of their own merit, allowing him to conclude that there weren't as many changes he believed he needed to make as he originally thought. Using the catalogue he had obtained on that same day, the Kagero user picked through the single cards that the shopkeeper had available until he was certain that he had what he required. In efforts in finding the cards he was after, he noticed to his surprise several Royal Paladin units that had been transformed into SIGNI cards. Feeling that those would help a little in modifying the deck and for Aichi to use, he took the opportunity to purchase them, along with several additional ARTS as well.
Eventually, after a few minutes passed over, he had managed to reconstruct the deck that he had with him, all whilst Tama was watching closely from her own card that was also laid on the table. The LRIG ocasionally made a noise or two of approval from Kai's decisions in modifying the deck the way that he intended. Just afterwards did Piruluk's Selector approach him, with the opportunity she needed to challenge him. As of now, the Selector glanced over her hand before taking one of her three remaining Life Cloths, moving it to her Ener Zone seeing as there was no Life Burst present. That card in particular was Code Art DEF.
"My turn is over," Kai spoke.
End of Turn 6
Kai vs Amika
Hand - 3 : 5
Life Cloths - 3 : 2
Current LRIGs - Tamayorihime, Sixteenth Night Miko : Code Piruluk Gamma
SIGNI : Tlet, Gauntlet - Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine - Flamber, Medium Sword : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 2 : 6
"Wow... Piruluk wasn't kidding herself when she mentioned about you and her crossing paths before," Amika said in partial surprise. "But she mentioned that you used something different... Dragonic Overlord was it?"
"That's right," he replied. "But I have my reasons for switching to Tama for the moment."
"I see..." she murmured. Before the Selector began her turn, any trail of thought that the two of them had was interrupted when he heard several footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned over to the entrance to see Aichi, Hitoe and Naoki enter the store as well.
"Kai-kun!" the Royal Paladin user called before looking to see who he was facing. "Amika?"
"Hello Aichi!" she called as she waved to him. Aichi blinked for a moment before turning to the others who merely shrugged in response before they walked over and took a seat each at the table that the Kagero user was seated at.
"D... Did you manage to sort out Ruko's old deck alright?" Hitoe asked.
"Yeah," Kai spoke "I believe I am now ready."
"That's good to hear," Naoki replied.
"Huh...? Is there something I'm missing out on?" Amika asked, interrupting the group's conversation as they turned their heads towards her. "Who's this Ruko?"
Realizing that they hadn't told the Selector anything about Ruko herself or her current situation, the group briefly looked around the shop, seeing only the shopkeeper was present for the moment. As Kai was about to explain, a familiar voice sounded out from the pocket of Amika's shorts.
"Kominato Ruko."
Everyone could easily tell from the tone present that it was Piruluk that had spoken out the full name of the aforementioned Selector. Amika pulled out her card before briefly looking behind her to check that there was no one else listening in on her current conversation with Kai and the others.
"She is a Selector I previously confronted, the last one that my previous Selector lost to before she faced Kai," the LRIG continued "Though I assume the reason Kai is using her deck with alterations is because something may have happened to her."
"Piruluk is correct," Kai spoke "Right now, Ruko is in danger and her deck along with Tama may be the only possible way to save her."
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Ren no Theme)*
"So that's why you're using Tama now, so you could understand her strategies," Amika replied before smiling warmly. "I understand now. But, don't think this means I will go easy on you."
"Naturally," the Kagero user said rather bluntly.
No one else said anything in regards to the current scenario of the battle that had already been in progress. Right now, Kai was in the lead by one Life Cloth and had a full formation at the ready. But his hand had much fewer cards compared to that of Amika's, presumably due to Piruluk's speciality in discarding cards and freezing SIGNI to prevent them from attacking, two specialized features that he was already familiar with in both the Nubatama and Megacolony clans respectively back at his home world in the game of Vanguard as well as his first battle with Akira. The Selector placed Piruluk's card on the table beside the playmat before she begun her turn by drawing two more cards from the top of her deck and looking over her options carefully.
"I Ener Charge and..." she spoke as she revealed Code Art RFR from her hand before placing it into her Trash Pile along with two of the other cards in her Ener Zone before then picking through her White deck for the card she needed.
"I grow Code Piruluk Omega!"
On a field imaged within both Amika and Kai's minds, a large blue aura surrounded Piruluk as her dress changed slightly in appearance whilst the six crystal points behind her back also altered in their outward look, almost as if they were becoming sharp points of ice. The same could be said for the folds that were sticking out of the orb that was in the LRIG's hair. Tama and the SIGNI along with the Royal Paladin unit that Kai already had in play glanced towards Piruluk, bracing themselves for what could befall them. Back to reality, the Kagero user merely glanced down at Amika's side of the field, having not seen this form of the LRIG when he last battled Akira.
"Using her skill, by discarding another Blue SIGNI from my hand," Amika explained as she revealed Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir from her hand to her Trash Pile "I'll discard one card from your hand. Let's see... I think I'll pick the one on the right."
Kai barely made any sign of a response to what she had picked as he merely revealed the card she had chosen and discarded it to his own Trash Pile. The card that Amika had discarded was a Guard SIGNI, Servant O.
"That's not good," Yuzuki murmured "Now he won't be able to Guard Piruluk's next attack."
"Even so..." Naoki muttered "The fact that she also has Aqua Force units as well... Leon's certainly going to be surprised."
"Kai-kun..." Aichi spoke under his breath as he anxiously watched on, wondering what would happen next.
"Next, I summon Code Art DEF along with two Code Art DRS," Amika continued as she placed the three Blue SIGNI into the empty SIGNI Zones that were present on her side of the field. Kai gazed down closely, curious as to how the Selector was planning to advance. Tama watched on anxiously, wondering how he would now fare, considering that unlike Akira, Amika didn't seem to be making any mistakes in her plays so far. She was hoping he could win, so that would boost her confidence when the two of them would later confront Ruko.
"I activate the Spell, FREEZE and with it, I'll Freeze Flamber!" the Selector called. Kai simply remained still, seemingly not concerned with the scenario that had befallen one of the SIGNI he had in play.
"Finally, by downing DEF and activating her ability," Amika continued "I banish the frozen Flamber!"
Everyone that was watching with the exception of Piruluk herself could only watch in surprise as Kai moved Flamber's card to his Ener Zone, not expecting an effect like that which would allow Amika's attacks to land much more easily, especially considering that Elaine, the weaker opponent of DEF was in the same column as the Blue SIGNI. Taking this into account, they realized that it hardly mattered in that regard, considering that if Kai wanted to bring out a stronger SIGNI to take down Code Art DEF, he would have to Ener Charge it at the start of his turn or replace it with a stronger SIGNI.
"How's that?" Amika asked "Now I'll be able to damage you twice this turn! Let's go! Both Code Art DRS attack!"
Back on the imaged field, both of the Code Art DRS that were on Amika's field ran across the battlefield towards both Tlet and Tama. The first of the Blue SIGNI easily dispatched of the White SIGNI in front of her, banishing her from the field as Tama was caught completely off guard by the arrival of the second one. Her failure to forsee that was punished with a hard kick to the stomach, causing her to fail backwards before she regained her balance, just in time to see Piruluk summon a bolt of light blue energy which she fired from the fingertips of her right hand right towards her. The bolt struck Tama, causing her to cringe in pain as she fell to her knees. Back to reality, Kai revealed the second Life Cloth crushed by Amika's attacks, this one being Servant D.
"With D's Life Burst," he spoke as he grabbed the top card of his deck "Ener Charge."
He then placed both the revealed card, Energe, Original Spear and the crushed Servant D in his Ener Zone, beside the other cards there. This also including the previous crushed Life Cloth which was another copy of Flamber, Medium Sword.
"Turn end," Amika spoke.
End of Turn 7
Kai vs Amika
Hand - 2 : 1
Life Cloths - 1 : 2
Current LRIGs - Tamayorihime, Sixteenth Night Miko : Code Piruluk Omega
SIGNI : EMPTY - Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine - EMPTY : Code Art DRS - Code Art DEF - Code Art DRS
Ener - 7 : 3
"2 to 1..." Hitoe murmured.
"Kai just barely hung there," Aichi spoke.
"If Amika had gotten some of the more dangerous SIGNI or Spells that could be used with Piruluk into play," Yuzuki muttered "Kai could have been overwhelmed."
"Kai..." Tama mumbled nervously.
Naoki didn't say anything in regard to the current scenario, but could understand what exactly they were thinking. How would Kai escape the scenario that lay before him and what exactly would he do. Little did most of the spectators know was that the path that Kai needed to victory was all there. The Kagero user opened his eyes at Amika, slightly surprising her in the result.
"I see now," he spoke "Although you seem to be starting out with what you have for Piruluk, I can sense you have a strong conviction."
"I... I'm glad you think that," Amika replied "But, I wonder what you plan to do next."
"He already has everything that he needs."
The Selector suddenly blinked in confusion as she glanced down to Piruluk who had spoken out like this unexpectedly before turning her attention back to Kai, the glint within his eyes now far more serious than they were earlier.
"Final Turn!" he declared.
"Huh?!"
Amika glanced at the Kagero user in shock, wondering why exactly he had chosen to make that declaration. Aichi and the others that were watching knew exactly what this meant, if Kai was really being serious about where he was going in the battle. Tama glanced up at him, a hint of wonder and partial amazement present on her expression.
(End Music)
"Battle Kai!" she called.
"Up and draw," he spoke "I Ener Charge using Elaine and choose not to Grow!"
He then took out one of the cards from his hand before revealing it to the Selector, causing her to gasp in shock. It was as if she had recognized it from earlier on in the battle, much to the confusion of Naoki who had seen it up close for the first time.
"I activate Arc Aura!" Kai declared as he moved five of the eight cards that were now in his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile.
"That's..." Amika murmured nervously, her mind flashing back to an earlier point of the battle, before Aichi, Hitoe and Naoki had arrived to observe everything else up to this point in time.
Flashback
"I Grow Tamayorihime, Sixteenth Night Miko!"
Kai placed down the Level 3 form of Tama that he had in his possession on top of the Level 2 form that he previously had in play, which was Shooting Star Miko. He then moved one of the cards he had in his Ener Zone at that time to his Trash Pile.
"Using her skill," he explained as he held out his deck in a fanned like fashion before picking out the card that he needed. "I search my deck for Arc Aura and add it to my hand."
Present
Amika could only begin sweating, realizing that she should have been more careful in attempting to discard Arc Aura on her previous turn instead of the Guard SIGNI that she ended up removing from Kai's hand. The Kagero user glanced down at her, increasing her nervousness a little more.
"With this Spell," he spoke "Until the end of this turn, Tama gains an additional skill. Summon!"
He then summoned to his empty SIGNI Zones Sephiram, Shooting Star Bow and Bonya, Small Bow. He then revealed the top card of his deck, another copy of Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine and placed her into the final SIGNI zone, in compliance with the ability of Sephiram.
"Finally, I activate Gothic Boundary!" Kai declared "I return Code Art DEF to your hand!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Kai no Theme)
Amika could only 'TSK!' under her breath as she returned the SIGNI that she had in the center column to her hand whilst Piruluk herself simply remained unresponsive, as if she had already known what was coming next.
"... A... ARTS!" she called "Get Down!"
On the imaged battlefield, Piruluk summoned a bright rope like weapons and hurled it towards both Sephiram and Elaine, tangling them up which reflected the card's effect to downing them for the turn. Back to reality, Aichi and the others could only look on with a hint of worry to their expressions.
"She sealed two of his attacks!" Naoki gasped.
"This means Kai-kun will only be able to tie it up," Aichi murmured.
"Not quite," Yuzuki interrupted.
As both Aichi and Naoki looked to the LRIG in confusion as to what she meant, they turned back to the field to see what Kai now planned to do next. Over from her card, Tama glanced up at the Kagero user and smiled brightly.
"Go Kai!" she called "Tama's with you!"
Kai merely nodded in response before turning his attention back to Amika.
"Let's go!" he declared as he downed the card representing the LRIG's Level 3 form. "Tama attacks Piruluk!"
"G... Guard!" the Selector replied as she revealed Servant D2 before placing it straight into her Trash Pile. "I... protected myself."
"It seems you've already forgotten," Kai replied, much to her surprise. "Using the effect from Arc Aura, I send one White SIGNI to my Trash Pile and Tama stands up again!"
"Seriously...?!" gasped Naoki "Right now... Kai has three SIGNI left..."
"So he can stand up Tama for another three attacks..." Hitoe concluded.
"Amazing..." Aichi murmured "No wonder Ruko would have been so strong before she ran away from her home."
Amika could only watch on in shock as Kai moved Elaine's card over to his Trash Pile before Upping Tama's card once again, indicating that he was ready to make the next attack against her. She could only sweat, realizing that she had used up every card in her hand and she had only two Life Cloths left. Mustering up a bit of determination within her, she looked back at Kai, showing that she wasn't ready to give it up yet.
"My next attack," he spoke "Tama attacks Piruluk!"
Amika flipped over her next Life Cloth, revealing Code Art KEY. The card had a Life Burst Icon over it, indicating that the attack had triggered the effect.
"With the effect," she spoke "I draw one card."
As she reached for the top card of her deck, she silently prayed, hoping to get another Guard SIGNI to block one of Kai's remaining 2 attacks that he had leftover. To her disappointment though, when she drew that top card, it was revealed to be another copy of FREEZE. She cringed inwardly, much to the nonchalance of Piruluk herself, who had been watching over everything that had been happening.
"One more!" Kai declared as he upped Tama's card again before immediately downing it after sending Sephiram's card to his Trash Pile for Arc Aura's cost. Amika reached out and flipped over her last Life Cloth, reavealed to be the Spell Rainy much to her disappointment. Swallowing a bit of pride, she looked back at Kai, smiling a little.
"I suppose Piruluk was right," she muttered under her breath. "Right now... I'm no match for you."
"This is the end," he spoke as he placed Bonya's card in his Trash Pile. "The relentless advancement of Tama as we move on to victory, will be engraved within your image!"
Kai upped the card, Tamayorihime, Sixteenth Night Miko as he prepared to make the finishing blow. "Final attack! Tamayorihime, Sixteenth Night Miko!"
On the imaged battlefield, Tama clutched ahold of her spear tightly before charging towards Piruluk, who was too tired to move out of the way from all the hits that she had now suffered from. The blue LRIG remained still as Tama slashed the orange tip of the spear past the side of her, grazing a large part of her dress in the result, indicating that the final blow had now been dealt.
(End Music)
Back to reality, Amika looked over to Kai with a small smile on her face before looking down to Piruluk. Much to her surprise though, she seemed to let out a bit of a smile, leading the Selector to wonder if her efforts had somewhat impressed the LRIG during her friendly battle.
"That was amazing, Kai-kun!" called Aichi. Kai said nothing in response, but glanced back at him to acknowledge his compliment. As he did so, Amika rose up from the table, looking down at her phone for a brief moment.
"I'm sorry I can't stick around for any longer," the Selector spoke as she gathered her cards back together "I suppose all I can do is wish you luck in saving this Ruko you told me about."
"You don't need to tell me that," Kai replied "For the moment, I can only advise you to be careful in your future ventures, given your current situation."
Amika simply nodded and smiled in response before exiting the store down the stairs, waving goodbye as she left the room. With the exception of the lone shopkeeper who remained busy behind the counter, the entire store room was practically silent. That was, until the silence was broken by Tama letting out a cry of happiness and joy. Everyone else turned over to Kai, as he did to them.
"Well then, you know what to do," Yuzuki spoke "All we can do now is wish you the best of luck."
"So give it to her!" Naoki replied.
Kai nodded in agreement to everything that his friends had to say to him. The question now remained for him was, could he really do it. Could he now succeed in saving Ruko where he had previously failed in falling into the very same power that he once sold himself out to for what he considered as power at that time. He looked down at Tama who admantly smiled at him before he then turned his attention towards Aichi.
"Aichi, if under any circumstance where I don't succeed," he spoke "Everything is in your hands."
"I understand, Kai-kun," replied Aichi, nodding briefly as he did so. "Good luck."
The Kagero user said nothing in response, but his expression easily allowed him to tell that he understood everything that was happening by this point. He got up from his seat and picked up Tama's card, the LRIG of whom looked up at him. She smiled in approval, to let him know that he had her support in the upcoming struggle that would eventually befall them. After nodding in response, Kai placed Tama's card into his jacket pocket along with the deck that he assembled before looking down to the others.
"Now then, let's go," he spoke.
"Yes," Hitoe replied.
Aichi, Naoki and Yuzuki nodded in agreement. Now there was no turning back from the scenario that was laid out before them. Getting up from the table, the two cardfighters and the Selector followed Kai out of the store, to first regroup with Ren and Leon before then going to that place. The all too familiar building where everything would be decided on this very day.
And with that, we end the second half of the filler. Next chapter will begin the endgame of Arc 2 as Kai and the others now head off to confront Ruko and Iona in a battle that may not just determine her fate, but possibly the fates of dozens of Selectors. Meanwhile, Ren and Leon learn something new from Blaster Dark and begin to suspect that there may be more to Iona than they realize. Now with Tama by his side, will Kai be able to succeed where he failed before or is fate still against him after all this time? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Feel free to follow, favourite and/or leave a review if you wish. Before I go though, I thought I'd let you know that the poll for how I will handle the start of the third arc has ended and that I've left up a new one in its place. Feel free to check it out if you want and I'll see you all next time! Until then!
*This first plays in Episode 81 when Ren rides Spectral Duke Dragon.