Hello everyone! This is the start of a new chapter! Chapter 3! I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter! Without further ado, let's start!
Normal POV
Taking Suiko's offer, Aichi decided to go over to Cardshop PSY with Kamui and Misaki as he led them to the shop after following the same feeling he had felt when he first found the shop.
" No one's around." Misaki said
" More importantly, this is..." Kamui said, looking around and gasped, running towards a display, " Wow! They've got rare cards on display!"
" Huh, it's surprisingly void of people today..." Aichi muttered as he glanced to another display, " Except for that person."
They looked in front and saw a red haired man, prodding at the holographic cards on display. They walked over to him as he turned behind after Aichi called him.
" Hello... Um, who are you?" Aichi ask
" I am... not an employee here." The man said
" I know... But that's not what I mean..." Aichi said
" Oh, I am not a customer here, either." The man said
" ... Got it! So where's Ultra Rare?" Kamui ask
" Nor am I a member of Ultra Rare." The man said
" What's with this guy?" Kamui muttered
" Not sure..."
These kids are weird." Says the person here..." Aichi muttered
" Did you say something, Brother Aichi?" Kamui ask
" ... Nothing."
" Welcome to Cardshop PSY." A voice greeted
They turned their heads to see the three girls.
" W-When did you get here?!" Kamui exclaimed
Kourin looked at Aichi in surprise as he bowed slightly.
" What is he doing here?" Kourin ask
" I invited him." Suiko replied
" But the three of us decided..." Kourin exclaimed but Suiko just smiled and walked forward
" I appreciate both of you coming... Aichi Sendou-kun and... Ren Suzugamori-kun." Suiko greeted
" Ren Suzugamori?! You don't mean that Ren Suzugamori?!" Kamui exclaimed
" That's right! In the last Vanguard Fight National Championship... his team participated for the first time, but won through overwhelming strength! He's the leader of Team Foo Fighter!" Rekka introduced
I've heard his name before... but didn't expect he'd be an absent-minded guy like this!Aichi hummed to himself as he looked back at Ren.
" The National Champion..."
" Let's get down to business, Ren Suzugamori. As agreed, you'll show us your prowess at Vanguard fighting." Kourin said
Ren's expression changed as he looked at Kourin.
" A Vanguard fight..." Ren smirked
I see, so that's what it is." He's changed..." Aichi thought
" You want to fight me, yes?" Ren ask
" Indeed."
" Sure. You three are qualified." Ren said
" We're lucky! Who'd ever guess we'd be able to get a sneak peek at the national champ's ability in a place like this?!" Kamui whispered
" Right..."
" You'll use this deck." Kourin said as she handed a deck to Ren
" Thanks."
He fanned the cards out to check the units in the deck.
" A deck of mostly female units? Certainly, this would put a player's ability to the test." Ren said
In an instant, a light flashed in Ren's eyes and Aichi gasped when he was dragged into an image with mermaids splashed over him before disappearing back into the ground and Aichi was back in the cardshop.
" What was...?" Aichi thought
Unbeknownst to him, Suiko had noticed his reaction and smiled a little. Ren pulled up a card and smirked again.
" It looks like you'll become the trump card..." Ren said as he then put his hand down, " I'm ready when you are."
" This way."
Looks like we weren't wrong, after all. This man is...
Aichi made a questioning noise and looked over to Kourin, the owner of the voice that he heard.
" You three, as well... I'm sure this is going to be an interesting fight." Suiko invited
" Yes!"
" Thanks..."
I'll keep watch over that boy for now, to clear my suspicions...
The voice this time came from Suiko as he raised an eyebrow slightly in confusion before they sat down to watch the fight. Ren had shown masterful play with a deck that he had never used before and easily won against Kourin.
" So... the key cards that helped him clinch the win was the two Blazer Pleasures, with only 2000 power. They determined the outcome of the fight." Aichi thought as he remembered the vision that he'd seen again during the turn Ren clinched the fight, " That was also Blazer Pleasures... Could that have been... No, that's impossible..."
Suddenly, a slight headache hit him as he clenched his head, inciting the worried looks from Kamui and Misaki.
" Brother Aichi?"
" Are you okay?" Misaki ask
" Yeah..."
After allowing Aichi to rest up a little, the three left the shop.
The next day, Aichi and Kamui had gathered with Morikawa and Izaki in Card Capital as Kamui had a plan to how they could try to beat Ren. It then suddenly turned into a practice fight between Aichi and Misaki in order to find a fighting style that suited them. During the fight, it was shown that Misaki was always one step ahead of Aichi as he was unable to ride or superior ride to a grade 2 due to not have one in his hand or a counterblast to pay the cost as Kamui and the others commented about her perfect memory.
It's not like I wanted this...
Aichi looked up at Misaki in confusion as she seemed to have a mixture of emotions by the looks on her face.
" Misaki-san. Let's just concentrate on the fight." Aichi said
" Y-Yeah..."
Throughout the fight, Misaki seemed more and more frazzled as she hears the comments about her perfect memory being used for cardfights and the tournament.
I didn't want this...
It's not like I asked for this talent...
Please, stop this...
There are some memories I don't want to remember...!
In the end, even after pushing Misaki to four damage after being able to ride Blaster Blade, Aichi lost as he looked up at Misaki's panicked expression.
" Alright! With Misaki-san on our side, we can totally analyze the decks and fights at Nationals! This is a huge advantage!" Kamui exclaimed
" ... That's enough, Kamui-kun." Aichi said
" Huh?"
" Please, don't say it anymore." Aichi said as he continued to look at Misaki, who was now panting hard, " Misaki-san...? Are you okay?"
Misaki just silently gathered her cards and placed the deck in the middle.
" I can't... I can't fight together with you guys anymore..." Misaki muttered and left the shop
" What was that about?" Morikawa ask
" You got me..." Izaki replied
" Brother, what's wrong with Misaki-san?" Kamui ask in worry
" ... Kamui-kun. There are some boundaries that you shouldn't cross when you're saying something. Let's... allow Misaki-san to calm down first." Aichi said
" Okay..."
" I'm sorry, Manager." Aichi bowed
" It's okay. I'll talk to her later. Don't worry about it." Shin assured
" If you don't mind me asking, did Misaki-san not show up together with us to the Regional Tournament have something to do with her parents?" Aichi ask
Shin seemed to make a surprised gasp before composing himself.
" Misaki-san's parents?" Kamui ask
" ... Manager."
Aichi glanced behind Shin, to the semi-transparent spirits of two adults. He'd seen them but never really understood why they were around and neither asked.
" Misaki's parents... passed away in a car accident. Their death anniversary was on the same day of the Regional Tournament. She had went to visit their graves before arriving." Shin explained
" ... I thought so..." Aichi muttered before looking up at Shin, " Please send our apologies to her, I understand if she doesn't want to be in the team for now."
" I-I'm sorry too! I... didn't know." Kamui said
" It's okay, Kamui-kun." Shin assured
Morikawa and Izaki also said their apologies before they all decided to leave for the day.
" So that's why you asked me to stop talking, Brother..." Kamui said
" It's okay, I understand that you didn't know either." Aichi said
" Will Misaki-san be alright?" Izaki ask
" I don't know, it'll be her decision whether or not she decides to stay in the team. We just have to understand her if she doesn't." Aichi said
" Yeah..."
Even after the next day, Misaki did not come down to the shop as Kamui tried to persuade Aichi to see if Kai could give any advice about talking to her.
" ... It'll be impossible to ask him, but I'll see what I can do. Head home for today." Aichi said
" O-Okay..."
Aichi waved a goodbye to Kamui before walking to the park to see Kai lying on his usual bench.
" You awake?" Aichi ask
Aichi? What's he...
" ... You don't have to respond if you don't want to. I'll just sit here." Aichi said
He settled himself on a perch beside the bench and contemplated on his next words.
" Misaki-san won't be joining us for the next tournament. Something happened yesterday and a sensitive topic was touched on by accident. I understand the feeling of not wanting something but having it, that's why I sympathize with her. Having a perfect memory and then having to repeat the memory of her dead parents, it must have been painful. I do want the four of us winning together in the Nationals, but I understand if she doesn't want to be in the team anymore." Aichi explained as he looked over to Kai to gauge for any thoughts or reactions before sighing silently and stood up, " I've said my piece, I'll leave you be now."
Kai slowly opened his eyes just as Aichi was about to leave and got up.
" She should quit. Anybody who wants to quit should quit. Everyone has a past. Using that as a perpetual reason for your own weakness is childish, pure and simple." Kai said
" ... I see. And I thought you would at least be slightly concerned for a friend, it seems I was wrong. I thought asking you for some sort of assurance or advice would make the situation better, but you disappointed me. I don't understand you at all, Kai-kun." Aichi said as he turned his back to Kai and got ready to walk away, " If that was the case, then why did you even help me in the first place?"
" We're fellow Shamans. It's natural to want to help one another if our goals are same." Kai said
" Is that so?"
" Yeah, nothing more than that." Kai said
" Not even as a friend?" Aichi ask
As they stood there in silence and Aichi couldn't hear Kai's thoughts, he gritted his teeth and took something out from his pocket. He then walked over to Kai and shoved it on his hand.
" You can have that back. I'll do something about my power on my own. I don't need that if it came from a heartless person." Aichi said, his voice cracking towards the end
He then briskly walked away without looking back at Kai as Kai opened his palm to see that it was the pin that he'd given Aichi.
" Aw, you got him mad. You've got to stop pushing people away like that, Kai. He really seemed like he had respected you at first too." A voice said
" Shut up. Someone sentimental like that will have problems in the future with that power. And yet, he cared about something that isn't his business." Kai said
" And that's why you got him that pin, right? You even kept holding back from thinking so that he won't know your real inner thoughts." The voice teased
" I'll punch you if you continue." Kai said
" Try it then, if you dare. You just don't want to admit that you're being a jerk right now. If he knew about your past, he would've forgiven you on the spot. People with that power usually are more sensitive to emotions after all." The voice said
" Just shut up."
" Whatever you say, Kai. But sooner or later, this action will cost you." The voice warned
Kai sighed deeply and kept the pin before leaving for his own home.
Thankfully, on the next day that they had gone to Card Capital, Misaki had recovered thanks to Emi, who'd shown up to Card Capital on the previous day. Now the team was back together again. Right now, all four of them gathered in front of the shop to get ready to head off to the Nationals.
" Good morning, Brother!"
" Good morning, Kamui-kun."
" It looks like we're all here. Then shall we go?" Shin ask
" I call shotgun!" Kamui exclaimed
" No, no, you can't have the passenger seat. Misaki sits there." Shin said as Kamui whined
" He says he needs me there to navigate." Misaki said
" If you don't know the roads, buy a GPS or something, you bad-at-everything! ... Is that right?" Kamui wondered
" Do you want to say 'good-for-nothing'?" Shin ask as he loaded their baggages
" Yeah, that's it!"
" Do you think a GPS is necessary with Misaki here?" Shin ask
" W-Well, no..."
" Yeesh..." Misaki sighed
" Tch! Whatever! Then I get the back window seat!" Kamui exclaimed as he paused when he saw Kai on the seat, " W-Why, you...!"
" What?"
" That's my seat!" Kamui declared
" Why?"
" I-I've always gotten the window seat, ever since I was born!" Kamui exclaimed
" Like I care." Kai huffed
As Kamui got red in the face in anger, Aichi diffused the situation by sitting on the middle seat so that Kamui could get the other window seat beside the door and Shin drove the van off to the Nationals after that. When they arrived at the stadium, Aichi looked worriedly at the size of it as he imagined the amount of people participating and in the audience. Kamui was excitedly bouncing around after Shin left to park the van as he accidentally collided with someone while trying to get closer to a TV troop. It was revealed to be the leader of the team that became Champions of the past few Nationals, Kenji Mitsusada. When the crowd noticed them, Mitsusada requested that they went to a quieter and secluded spot to talk and introduced him and his teammates. However when the topic became about which three within the four of them would be fighting, the atmosphere between them became worse.
" It doesn't matter. 'Cause we don't even call it a strategy. It's simple. The weakest player amongst the four of us gets left out. That's all." Kai said
" ... Okay, I'll sit out then." Aichi said
" Kai!"
" What?"
" Moron! Ever heard of something called 'tact'?!" Kamui exclaimed
" No fighting, you two!" Mitsusada exclaimed
" Leave us alone! This problem is between the members of Team Q4!" Kamui said
" O-Okay..."
" Problem? That's right. It's a problem." Kai said
" Why, you!"
" Wait a minute, Kamui-kun. I already agreed to bow out. There's no need for a feud. I am admittedly the weakest fighter in the team." Aichi said
" Brother..."
This is unfair... Why...?!
" It's decided then." Kai said
" ... Kai, answer one question! What is Vanguard to you?!" Kamui ask
" Searching for someone who's stronger and beating that person in battle. That's my Vanguard." Kai answered
" That's all?!"
" Yeah..."
" I see... Originally, I didn't go to Card Capital because I liked it... It's just that I didn't want to be part of Team Handsome... so I started dropping by out of necessity. What I'm saying is that I didn't have especially strong feelings for Team Q4. But now I think we've got a good team! I wanna win with this team! But you... I heard about it after prying with Brother... It's the same situation... You don't even think twice about telling people to quit or drop out...! Kai, what do you think a teammate really is?!" Kamui ask
" I have no interest in that. No matter what I think, it doesn't affect the outcome, does it?" Kai huffed
" You...!"
" Kamui-kun!"
Kamui calmed his shaking and then looked over to Aichi with glistened eyes.
" I can't take it anymore! Brother, I'm sorry, but I... I can't fight alongside him anymore. So I... I'm sorry!" Kamui said as he ran off
" W-Wait...! Kamui-kun!"
Aichi tried to chase after Kamui but was accidentally blocked off by an unknowing Shin as he was relieved about being able to find them. However, before Aichi could continue chasing after Kamui, he was informed that since the concert was over, they had to gather immediately for the initial drawing for the matchups. Kai called for Misaki as she bowed in apology to Team Caesar.
" Come on, Aichi." Kai called as Aichi flinched in response, " If you don't come, on top of Katsuragi's disappearance, Team Q4 forfeits. Do you want that?"
" Kamui-kun? Forfeit?"
As Shin questioned the others without an answer back, Kai's eyes slightly widened at the aura that was starting to leak out from Aichi as Miwa had the same reaction.
" May I say something?" Mitsusada cut in
" Koutei?"
At that, the aura calmed itself and disappeared as Aichi turned towards Mitsusada.
" Did you know that the National Tournament is held on two days, today and next week? ... The elimination rounds take place today, the first day. So if you win today, you'll be able to advance to the final tournament a week from now. Right now, instead of chasing after him, maybe you should get through the preliminaries... and secure a place for him to come back to. How about it? I think that's what teams are all about." Mitsusada proposed
" ... Yeah, you're right..."
Giving one last look behind him, Aichi then moved to help Misaki to carry a bag and never gave a single glance to Kai before they left to enter the stadium. Above them sitting on a ledge, the boy in kimono chuckled.
" He was this close to summoning an Oni. That was dangerous. Now the real trial and danger begins here... in this stadium filled with the emotions and wishes of participants and audiences alike." The boy said before disappearing.
And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!