Hello everyone! This is the start of a new chapter! Chapter 9! I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter! Without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

A few weeks after the Nationals, Aichi attended school as per normal. He entered Card Capital alone but his eyes shut after an unknown gust of wind blew from inside the shop once the doors opened.

He's finally here.

Blinking his eyes open, Aichi noticed a young white haired boy by the Standing Fight Table as he walked over to him after placing his bag on the counter, noting the unusually empty shop.

" Um, excuse me... Hello." Aichi greeted

" Hello."

" Is this your first time here?" Aichi ask

" Yes, um... Do you know Vanguard?" The boy ask

" Yes, of course."

" Actually, I, uh, came because I really wanted to play Vanguard..." The boy said

" Oh, really? If you'd like, I'll play with you." Aichi offered

" Really? I built my deck, hoping I'd get a chance to have a Vanguard fight someday." The boy said

Thankfully he took the bait for now. I just need to fight him.

Aichi's eyes narrowed a little, unnoticed by the boy as he offered to teach the boy about Vanguard as they started their teaching fight. Throughout the fight, Aichi patiently taught the boy about the rules of the game while he heard the suspicious thoughts of the boy during it. As soon as Aichi rode Blaster Blade, the thoughts became really dangerous.

There it is. Just a little more and I can get it away from him.

Aichi's eyes narrowed again as he made his attacks before ending his turn.

And... I'll do the same thing I did to Toshiki Kai.

Aichi's eyes widened and placed his cards down, a dark look in his eyes as he looked at the boy.

" What did you do?" Aichi ask

" Huh?"

" I asked... what did you do to Kai-kun?" Aichi growled

The boy's eyes widened a little before smiling. He rode to his grade 3 and immediately, Aichi was drawn into an image, told a story about how the three leading leaders of the army to fight a mysterious force were taken and sealed away. As soon as the image was over, Aichi was brought back to reality where he realized that his deck was replaced by units of the Gold Paladin clan. Distraught, Aichi immediately asked his friends but they were all claiming that Aichi's original clan had always been Gold Paladins.

" Blaster Blade..."

" ... Er... Aichi, shall we head off first? We can talk about this on the way." Miwa said

" Huh?! We haven't got to fight yet!" Morikawa exclaimed

" No, actually... yeah, I have some business to attend to. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Aichi said

" Huh?!"

Aichi excused himself with Miwa as they found a car not far from the shop and got in. Kai was already inside as the car drove off.

" Your deck?" Kai ask, after hearing Aichi's trouble

" Yeah..."

" Let me see it." Kai said

Aichi nodded as he handed Kai his deck to allow him to have a look at it.

" It looks fine to me. It's your usual deck." Kai said

" Oh... Wait, can I see your deck too, Kai-kun?" Aichi ask

Kai hummed in wonder before handing his deck to Aichi for him to skim through it.

" Narukami...?"

" That's my clan too." Miwa said

" ... No, but then... Kagero too..." Aichi exclaimed

" Kagero?"

" Yeah..."

Aichi recounted the times they had with the Royal Paladins and Kagero decks but Kai and Miwa seemed to have no memories of them as Aichi sighed.

" It's alright." Aichi said

" ... Fine then, fight me and we'll see if it invokes anything out of my memories." Kai said

" Huh?"

" Once we arrive at the mansion, we're fighting first." Kai repeated

" O-Okay..."

After arriving at the mansion, since they had to wait for Keijin, Kai sat Aichi down on the wooden floor to play a match with him.

" Um... Why did you want to fight me when you don't believe me?" Aichi ask

" Who said I didn't believe you? Sure, my memory tells me this is my deck, but you're not the type of person to lie." Kai said

Aichi turned his head to hide a blush before they began their match. After awhile, Kai had won against Aichi. Aichi had been unfamiliar with his new deck and was overwhelmed by the Limit Break ability of Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion.

" ... It seems like you were telling the truth, Aichi. During the fight, I also sensed that something was out of place. These decks are different than the ones we've been using until now." Kai said

" So you've realized it too." Aichi said

" Yeah. But who did it, how did they do it, and for what purpose?" Kai wondered

" ... Hey! Look at this!" Miwa said

He showed them his phone as it broadcasted about a Vanguard Fight Circuit that's happening around the world. Aichi gasped a little after seeing the same white haired boy being the sponsor of the event.

" What's wrong, Aichi?" Kai ask

" It's him! That boy... I fought him... and then my deck was changed." Aichi replied

" What?! ... 'Only the winners', he said. Interesting." Kai smirked

" Huh?"

" The only way to find out what happened to us is by going over there. That message was meant for us." Kai said

" But how do we...?" Aichi muttered

" Aichi! Sorry for the wait!" Keijin called out

" I'll make it there my own way. Aichi, you have make it there your own way too. And if our paths cross..." Kai trailed off before standing up

" What?"

" Typical Kai. Well, I guess you can find out yourself, Aichi. Come on, let's get to training!" Miwa said

" O... Okay..."

The next morning, Aichi had arrived to Card Capital to find out that Team Q4 had been invited to participate in the Vanguard Fight Circuit. While Kai had been out of the picture, Aichi invited Kamui back to the team to participate, winning a fight so that he could free himself from Team Handsome for the time being to rejoin Q4. Their first destination was Singapore. Before they went up the plane, Aichi received a call from Keijin.

" Grandfather?"

" Why didn't you tell me something this important, Aichi?! Are you abandoning your lonely Grandfather in his mansion?!" Keijin cried

" No, I knew this would be your reaction so I didn't want to say anything." Aichi said

" Ugh... I'll book a flight and be there to cheer you on!" Keijin exclaimed

" No! I'll be back before you know it, so don't!" Aichi chided, hanging up the call

He sighed deeply as Kamui looked over his shoulder in curiosity.

" What's wrong, Brother?" Kamui ask

" It's nothing..."

They boarded the plane and it flew to Singapore. From there on, Q4's struggle had just begun. Even when they had made it to the finals, they had lost to Team SIT and couldn't advance. It was also from the final fight with Christopher Lo where Aichi had regained Psyqualia through an image from Takuto Tatsunagi, the boy that had taken his deck and changed it. With his refusal to use Psyqualia and Chris's skills in cardfighting, Aichi lost his fight and they went back to Japan to continue training. But even then, after much improvement, they'd still lost to Team New AL4, a team that consisted of Ren, Asaka and Kai, much to Aichi's shock.

After their loss and return to Japan, they decided to seek Ultra Rare for another fight and help again but instead watched a match between Daigo, a Royal Paladins user, and Leon Souryu, a fighter using the mysterious Aqua Force deck. For Aichi, the mystery just kept deepening and they continued training as a team. On the next day, Shin had interrupted their training with an invitation to a resort as they packed up and flew to the resort island. Their friends had also been invited according to the invitation on the letter as well. Aichi and the others wanted to have training but they soon encountered Team New AL4, having also been invited as well. They sat at the dining table while Aichi made some coffee and tea for them as apology for Morikawa bumping into them.

" Thank you, Aichi-kun!" Ren said

" Uh, yeah..."

" It seems that we weren't the only ones who were invited." Tetsu said

Aichi placed a cup down in front of Kai, not making any eye contact as he walked away to set the tray on the kitchen counter.

" Aichi!"

Aichi flinched as they turned to the entrance to Keijin.

" I'm here!"

" Why are you here?!" Aichi exclaimed

" Is that..." Kamui exclaimed

" Seriously, I told you that you don't have to come! How did you even get here without an invitation?!" Aichi exclaimed

" It's a secret. I have my ways." Keijin said

Aichi sighed in exasperation as Kai pretended he couldn't see Keijin.

" These mountains and sea are perfect for meditation." Keijin hinted

Aichi walked away from the group, knowing that they weren't going to be interested in training. In the end, Keijin still gathered the three boys to have their usual training in an inn.

" Why is there even an inn here...?" Aichi noted

" I have my ways." Keijin said

" Uh..."

" Now, now, back to training. There's a lot to keep up with for the Chou Senji Rakketsu." Keijin said

" Okay..."

They were at this until dinner as Aichi went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for everyone. He noticed Kai opening the fridge and freezing as he peeked over to see lobsters.

" You're cooking them?" Aichi ask

" ... It's a challenge to me." Kai replied

" Oh..."

On the other side, Ren was tossing in every ingredients he sees into a pot, no water nor were the ingredients shelled or peeled, though Asaka was complimenting him on the side.

" ... Let's cook this together." Aichi offered

Kai stared at him as he grabbed the lobsters and brought it to the sink to wash.

I want to taste his cooking again too...

Aichi took that thought as a 'yes' and joined Kai to cook lobster meals. Once the cooking was done, everyone sat around the table to eat. Aichi ate his meal silently, somewhat ignoring the compliments from Keijin while he glanced up at Kai often.

The risotto he made is delicious...

Aichi bit his fork shyly after hearing that as he averted his eyes from Kai.

" Why was I even mad at him for...? He did say that he would find his own path, so I shouldn't be surprised... I have to get stronger to win in the next Circuit..." Aichi thought

He continued eating until he was full before going to a table to look through his deck again. Keijin retreated to his room for the night after dinner while Ren suggested everyone to go outside for a campfire while he told ghost stories, suggesting a test of courage afterwards. Everyone who were getting the scares drew their numbers while the scarers got themselves ready. Aichi drew his number and found out that he had paired with Kai. When it was their turn to head in, Kai led Aichi towards another direction. At the end of that road, a cliff with the view of the stars was there as Aichi's eyes brightened while looking at the stars in the sky.

" ... Our paths will definitely cross. Keep moving forward. As long as you keep moving forward, our paths will cross." Kai said

" He has faith in me..." Aichi thought

" Aichi. Once our paths do cross and we can see each other as equals, I..." Kai trailed off

Kai then turned and looked into Aichi's eyes. For the first time, Aichi saw his gaze softening instead of the usual hard look in Kai's eyes before they were interrupted by the others, who'd found them after they diverted from the original path. When Aichi turned back to Kai again, he had already turned his eyes away from him to stare out at the sea again. To end the night, some fireworks had been fired from a distance away as they enjoyed the sight before heading back to the resort for some sleep.

A few days after the resort trip, Aichi and the others had gotten strong enough to make it to the finals of the Hong Kong VF Circuit but came close and lost to Team Dreadnought, led by Leon Souryu. Now, it was their last chance to clinch a win at the Japan VF Circuit. Thankfully, with newfound cards and determination, the three won all their fights and made it to the final stage of the entire VF Circuit. They were brought up to the top floor of the pyramid building of the Circuit as Aichi's eyes narrowed.

" We're not heading to a dinner buffet celebration. We're going to where Takuto-kun is and that's where we'll learn the truth." Aichi thought

Shin was escorted away from them as Takuto walked up to them.

" Well then... Shall we talk a bit before dinner?" Takuto said as he activated his Psyqualia

The three were drawn to an image of a war on Cray.

" W-What's this?" Misaki ask

" What's going on? We were just in a banquet hall without any food..." Kamui exclaimed

" This is an image. And that boy, Takuto Tatsunagi..." Aichi began

But he was cut off when Takuto himself appeared in front of them.

" Welcome to the planet Cray." Takuto greeted

" What are you talkin' about?! Cray isn't a real planet! Oh, I know! This is the newest attraction or whatever!" Kamui said

" No. Cray actually exists. What you're looking is really happening on the planet Cray." Takuto started as a dragon that flew past them got blasted down by a fireball, " One day, this planet suddenly came under attack by a mysterious force. In the face of a powerful enemy, all of the formerly squabbling clans of Cray came together to fight back. Three clans became the core of the resistance: Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin and Kagero. Their efforts were spectacular. The mysterious force was cornered, and victory was close at hand. But... Blaster Blade, Blaster Dark, and Dragonic Overlord, who fought and the forefront, were captured by the enemy. Robbed of their leaders, the three clans fell into chaos and lost their strength. That effect even extended to your world, where the decks of their three clans vanished." Takuto explained

" Then..." Misaki said

"... The "Royal Paladin" you were talking about, Brother..." Kamui recalled

Aichi just looked on in silence before looking down at his feet

" The disorganized clans didn't know what to do when the enemy stepped up its attack. Right now, Cray is on the brink of destruction." Takuto continued

Blasts from a distance created an explosion as they were back in reality.

" We need strength. Our powerful enemy even sealed away Royal Paladin. We need a strong power of our own to beat them." Takuto said

" ... Will you be able to save them if you have that kind of power? Can you save Royal Paladin?! And my avatar... Blaster Blade?!" Aichi exclaimed

" Yes, if we have leaders with a strong power, who can unite all of the clans and make the mysterious force retreat. I held the VF Circuit in order to choose people with that power. Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong and Japan... The winning fighters of these four circuits are the saviors of Cray, our new leaders!" Takuto explained

" Everyone..."

" Now, everyone... on this stage, I shall open the door to Cray!" Takuto declared

The top of the building opened up as they looked at it.

" The path is open... Leaders... Come!" Takuto declared

There was a huge burst of wind and they were all transported to Cray when they opened their eyes.

" Where are we?" Aichi wondered as Takuto appeared in front of them

" Aichi Sendou... And your team, Q4... As a leader, if you would fight alongside us to try to save Cray, please proceed. Head for the true final stage that waits for you ahepad. " Takuto said before disappearing

" True final stage?"

" Let's go, Brother!" Kamui said and started walking

" You have to get your avatar back, right?" Misaki said as she put her hand on Aichi's shoulder and also started walking

Aichi walked briskly and caught up with them.

" Kamui-kun... Misaki-san!"

" We're a team!" Kamui said

" What you want to do is also what we want to do." Misaki continued

" Right!"

The other teams slowly emerged from the fog by their side.

" Like Takuto-kun said, we have power. We're leaders. So... let's go. Let's save Cray." Aichi said

" Not so fast..." A voice said

They stopped in their tracks to see Leon standing in front of them, blocking their path.

" Here's where you turn back." Leon declared

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!