Hello everyone! This is the start of a new chapter! Chapter 15! I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter! Without further ado, let's start!
Normal POV
The school bell rang to indicate the end of classes for the day as Kai stretched and got his bag.
" Heading straight home?" Miwa ask
" Yeah... You?" Kai ask
" I'll probably head to the shop and maybe tell Nee-chan about this." Miwa said
" Aichi did say that he approached her to join the club, but she refused?" Kai wondered
" Yeah, she did say something about Kourin Tatsunagi being in there, but I really don't see the reason to avoid joining." Miwa shrugged
" ... If the club can even be formed... The one that tried to form it is already giving up." Kai said
" ... Go on home, buddy. He needs you." Miwa said
Kai nodded and made his way back to his apartment.
At the same time, Aichi had woken up a few hours before to make a small lunch for himself after freshening up. He then turned on his phone that he had turned off the previous day to see text messages from Naoki and Shingo, sighing.
" What should I do, Zenki, Goki, Shamash?" Aichi sighed
Shamash, in spirit ball form, just bumped itself on Aichi's cheek while the other two kept their silence.
" I know you two can talk too, but I guess I'm still not strong enough to invoke any conversation, huh?" Aichi muttered
That was when another message pinged and he checked it. A voice message left by Kourin was there as he hesitantly played it.
" I'm not sure if you'll hear this, but the Student Council has announced that any clubs that wants to be formed must he done by the end of the evening or there'll be no more chances for new clubs to form for the entire year. Those two are lost now, but they honestly want the club formed too, so... you have to come back."
That was the end of the voice message as Aichi silently looked at his phone before setting it aside. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling of the apartment before looking at his Miyaji school uniform hanging on the door of Kai's cupboard.
A few minutes passed as Kai entered the apartment to see it empty.
" Aichi?"
He opened the door to the bathroom but also found no one as he placed his bag down, taking out his phone to call Aichi.
" Come on, Aichi... Pick up." Kai mumbled
Finally, Aichi picked up the call as Kai sighed in relief.
" Aichi, where did you go?" Kai ask
" I... I'm arriving at Miyaji..." Aichi replied
" What?! Why?!"
" I just feel like I have to... I started the club, and I..." Aichi muttered
" Stay where you are, I'm coming." Kai said
He hung the call up and ran on the path that leads to Miyaji High. Once he was close to the gates, he finally spotted Aichi watching Naoki and the others trying to hand out posters behind a tree and walked up to him.
" Aichi?"
" Kai-kun..."
" What made you want to see them again?" Kai ask
" The club... can't be made after today. Everyone's trying so hard to make it work but I..." Aichi said
" ... You still consider them as your friends, don't you? That's why you tried to make them stay away from you." Kai said
" Yes..."
" Listen, Aichi. They are trying so hard to make sure you have a club to return to. What does your heart want right now?" Kai ask
" I... I want the formation of the club too... But without a fifth member... And the sun's already beginning to set..." Aichi said
" You won't know if you don't try." Kai said, leaning in to kiss his forehead, " I'll always support your happiness. Go on, love. They'll need you now, more than ever."
Aichi looked up at Kai and smiled a little, nodding before running into the school gates and to his friends. Kai watched from behind the tree as Aichi reunited with them and started trying to hand out posters while the students had all gone home already. When it seemed that all was lost, Misaki returned to declare herself as the fifth member of the club, meaning that the Cardfight Club can really be formed. Kai saw the Student Council backing off while the five members walked back into the school as well. He waited for another few minutes when he received a call from Miwa.
" You won't believe this! We just got contacted by Miyaji High to have a fight to determine if they can have the club!" Miwa exclaimed
" ... So just having a fifth member isn't going to let them give up, huh?" Kai muttered
" You sound like you knew the club is forming..." Miwa said
" Yeah. I don't know what gave him the push to do it, but Aichi returned to the club just now and then Tokura arrived soon after. They should be coming out any minute now." Kai said
" So... are you gonna tell him?" Miwa ask
" I'm not good at hiding my thoughts from him these days, so I'll probably talk to him about it." Kai said
" Hm... Got it! See you tomorrow!"
Kai nodded and hung the call up as he finally noticed the five members coming out of the school gates.
" Cheer up, Aichi! We'll just beat whatever school that is and get our club!" Naoki said
" Yeah, Sendou-kun!"
" Yeah..."
Aichi hesitated to speak more as Kai approached them and went to Aichi's side.
" Shall we?" Kai ask
" Okay..."
As they turned to leave, Aichi turned back to the others for awhile.
" Um... Thank you, for staying with the club... even when I told you that I wanted to disband it..." Aichi said
" We're all friends here! A small rumor ain't gonna destroy that!" Naoki assured
" Yeah!"
" ... Thank you... I'll see you guys tomorrow..." Aichi said
They waved Aichi and Kai goodbye as a thought suddenly flashed in Naoki's mind.
" Now that I think about it, why was he even with that guy anyway? Who even is he? He's been with Aichi since the first day of school." Naoki said
" That person... isn't he Toshiki Kai from Team Q4 and Team New AL4?! But... it does raise the question of why they are together..." Shingo said
" Let's just say, they're pretty close friends. Don't pry too much into it unless Aichi wants to talk about it." Misaki said
" Okay..."
" I'm more curious about the rumor I heard. Could I have more details about it? And why it even caused Aichi to want to disband the club?" Misaki ask
The other three looked at each other and explained their story to Misaki as she sighed.
" I see... So that's what happened..." Misaki said
" Hey, Boss Lady. I will never doubt Aichi, but I want to know! At least I want to know the reason why people are calling him Creepy Kid! They said something about him reading their thoughts or something but..." Naoki said
" ... I can tell you the truth, but it depends on whether you guys can accept it too. It was weird for me at first too, but I got used to it overtime. That's right, Aichi really can read our thoughts. But it isn't like he asked for that power... He was born with it from what I heard. What makes it worse is that he tends to hear negative thoughts more than any other thoughts. He's been saying how that has been improving, but with the rumors circulating now..." Misaki said
" No way..."
" Did you know this too, Kourin?!" Naoki ask
" Yeah."
" Like I said, it's whether you guys are willing to accept this fact. Don't bother hiding what you know from him either, you two wear your thoughts on your sleeves most of the time. It isn't hard for him to listen in, that's how sensitive that power is. Now that you've heard what I know, what's your decision? If your intentions are going to hurt him, I won't forgive you guys." Misaki said
" Me neither. Aichi had gone through enough to be hurt again." Kourin said
" I won't hurt him! I already said it before! I couldn't do anything to help him in the past, so I want to use this chance I have now!" Naoki exclaimed
" Me too! Sendou-kun will always be my idol!" Shingo exclaimed
" Good to hear. Well, get yourselves ready for tomorrow then." Misaki said
She turned to leave and waved them off as they all went their separate ways.
The next day, the club had met the Student Council Vice President, Suwabe, at the school gates as he pushed his glasses up.
" Where is Sendou-kun? Don't tell me he ran off with his tails between his legs." Suwabe said
" No way! Aichi wouldn't do that!" Naoki exclaimed
" That's right!"
" Also, he's already waiting for us at the destination, so why don't you just bring us there?" Misaki ask, waving her phone around
" Huh? But we didn't say anything about the location..." Suwabe said
" Don't delay it then. Our opponents are already waiting for us." Kourin said
Suwabe just held in a scowl as he led them to Hitsue High, where Aichi and Kai were already waiting for them in front of the gates.
" Oh, everyone." Aichi greeted
" Huh?! Our opponents are..." Shingo exclaimed
" Yeah, it's the Vanguard Club from Hitsue High. Kai-kun told me about it yesterday." Aichi said
" But we had agreed to meet in front of the school, Sendou-kun. Please don't do that again." Suwabe chided
" Okay...?"
" I asked him to come with me. Got a problem with that? It was closer to walk here instead of going to Miyaji and then walk back here again." Kai huffed
" I-I see..."
" It's okay, Kai-kun. I guess I'm also at fault here." Aichi said
" No, you're not." Kai said as he glared at Suwabe a little before turning away, " Come on, let's go in. I'll lead you guys to the club room."
" Okay..."
They followed Kai into the school as he guided them to where the club room was and opened the door.
" This is the club room?" Aichi ask
" Yeah."
Before Kai could open the door for them, Mark slid opened the door.
" Welcome to Hitsue High's Vanguard Club!" Mark greeted
" Huh, Mark-sensei? What are you doing here?" Aichi ask
" Job change! And I'm also the faculty advisor of this Vanguard Club." Mark replied
" So you're the faculty advisor now, Mark-sensei?" Aichi confirmed
" Yes! Advisor... or perhaps you could say 'instructor'..." Mark said
" Who is he?" Kourin ask
" He was my teacher in middle school. Quite a mysterious man..." Aichi said
" Oh, there they are!"
They looked inside to see Miwa and Izaki sitting at around a table.
" Oh, Miwa-kun and Izaki-kun."
" We're Hitsue High School's select team!" Izaki said
" Just the three of you?" Misaki questioned, looking at Kai then at the other two
However, that question would be answered a few moments later as Morikawa came running towards the club room, calling out Kourin's name. Miwa and Izaki quickly acted to shut the door on him, not caring if he smacked face first on the door.
" Safe..."
" That was too close." Miwa sighed
" What do you think? We've got a funky, happy little club here, right?" Mark laughed
" R-Right... Oh yeah, start with a proper greeting, people. This is an away match." Suwabe said
" Go ahead, Aichi." Kourin said
" Oh... okay."
" No need for that formal greeting. We all know each other." Kai huffed while Aichi sweat dropped a little
" Kai-kun..."
" As expected of Toshiki Kai-san!" Shingo exclaimed
" So where are we gonna fight?" Naoki ask
" Let's at least give a proper greeting too, Naoki-kun, Shingo-kun." Aichi said
" Oh, Aichi-kun! I barely recognize you!" Mark said
" Oh..."
" Excellent!"
After a few more minutes of talking and trying to stop Morikawa again after he woke up, prying free from the door, they were finally led to a wide open hall with a stage at the other end of it. A small tv screen was at the side of the hall as Mark explained about the system selection of which fighters will go against each other. The first round pitted Kai against Naoki, allowing Naoki to have his first experience with the Motion Figure System. Even when he lost against Kai, Kourin managed to clinch a win against Izaki. Misaki also got them another win against Kamui even after Shingo had his match to Miwa. Lastly, Aichi went up against Morikawa, who had a Kagero deck made by Kai, barely managing to clinch a win with multiple Break Rides and getting their club secured in Miyaji High. By the time it was evening, Kai waited outside Miyaji High as Aichi came out of the gates, greeting him.
" Kai-kun."
" How is it?" Kai ask
" The club is no longer tentative. We even have a club advisor, even though he doesn't know much about Vanguard." Aichi replied
" Well, I guess it should suffice for now. You guys don't even need to go through the trouble of finding one." Kai said
" Yeah!"
" As celebration, I'll cook up something you'll like." Kai said
" I can't wait!"
Kai nodded as they walked back to his apartment hand in hand.
A few days later, once their club had fully established and confirmed the Captain and Vice Captain, namely Aichi and Naoki, a registration letter arrived for them. Recognizing it as the application form for the VF High School Champion, they immediately applied and wrote their names in. After that, Shingo recommended that they had a reconnaissance with a school nearby that would be in the regional tournament as well. Once they arrived, Aichi stared at the tall and familiar building in front of his eyes.
" Isn't this... the Foo Fighter building...?" Aichi muttered
" Sendou-kun! Fukuhara High is this way!" Shingo shouted
" Oh... Maybe not..." Aichi muttered
Aichi ran over to them as Naoki tried to enter the building but was stopped by the security doors as they needed a student id card to go into the school.
" Well, if it isn't Aichi Sendou!"
They turned to the voice and saw Tetsu standing there as they were surprised to find out that he had been a student of Fukuhara before graduating and was now a coach for the Fukuhara High's Vanguard Club. They walked through the building and took an elevator to the lower floors, in awe of the technology and space for their Vanguard Club. Behind them, they noticed a friendly match happening and immediately, Aichi recognized the figure who was an opponent against Asaka.
" Leon-kun?!"
Leon turned his head at his voice and stared.
" Aichi Sendou..."
Leon then returned to his fight as he finally won against Asaka and went up to greet Aichi.
" It's been awhile, Aichi Sendou." Leon greeted
" Long time no see. You're as strong as ever." Aichi said
" You tell me that?" Leon ask as Aichi made a questioning hum, " You helped me back then."
" Oh, not really..."
Have your wounds fully healed?
Aichi smiled a little and nodded in assurance.
" There hasn't been any more problems after that." Aichi said
" I see."
" What the heck? He not only knows the coach, but this guy too?" Naoki ask
" What are you talking about? You don't know about Dreadnought, the team that had a heated battle with Team Q4 at the VF Circuit?!" Shingo ask
" Dread Note? That's cool! But I don't know 'em." Naoki said
" For crying out loud! Read Monthly Vanguard every once in awhile!" Shingo yelled
" What are you mad about?" Naoki ask
" But why are you in Japan?" Misaki ask
" Right now, we go to a high school in Hong Kong." Leon said
" Like Singapore's SIT, it's famous throughout the world for its Vanguard studies." Jillian explained
" I am the Souryu child. I have to devote myself to my studies every day in order to make the name Aqua Force famous. However, I'm not misreading the wind anymore." Leon said
" That's great."
" The high school sent us here to Japan this time." Sharlene said
" The VF High School Championship is a Japanese tournament, but the world will be watching because of the high level of fighters. And, starting this year, they're letting a small amount of people from other countries participate." Jillian added
" Then..."
" Right. We've come to participate in the VF High School Championship. Sendou, that means there's a possibility of us facing off. I'm looking forward to it." Leon said
" Yeah, me too."
" But why did you come to Fukuhara High?" Misaki ask
" I invited them. I thought it would be a good idea for them to get used to Japan before the tournament began." Tetsu said
" But you really invited us so you could observe us, right?" Jillian ask
" Right?"
" Well, you got me." Tetsu said
" Not that we mind. We don't need to hide anything." Jillian said
While she wanted to take her turn, Tetsu decided to allow someone from Miyaji High to fight someone from the club as Naoki came forward, passionate as the typhoon he said he was. His opponent turned out to be Suiko as Aichi sighed, sweat dropping when Naoki unintentionally called Suiko old and the two went up to the table to fight.
" Sendou. Shall we have an overdue talk?" Leon ask
" Sure."
Leon brought him to a secluded corner of the club where no one would walk by as Leon took awhile to begin talking.
" Sendou, I..."
" You don't have to apologize again. You've already done that since the Circuit ended. You couldn't help it, being under Void's influence and all." Aichi said
" Still, I did everything willingly anyway, tricked or not." Leon said
" You've repeated that too. Everything's good now." Aichi assured
" Alright then... How's everything going at your side?" Leon ask
" Grandfather's been obnoxious about the incident but from what I know, he's going to leave it be, so don't worry about it. It's a good thing too, I wouldn't want him to be angry at my friend." Aichi said
" Rightly so."
" No way. We just discussed this. You're not taking any blame." Aichi said
Leon sighed and nodded.
" Okay then. Change of topics. Your spirits..." Leon said
" Oh, them? They're pretty nice if they don't get offended." Aichi said
" Like now?"
Aichi looked behind him as he noticed Zenki and Goki in battle positions while in a glaring match with Poseidon. Shamash, in the meantime, was just floating around and reading his book.
" Come on, the two of you. Quit it." Aichi chided
" Posiedon. You should stop too." Leon said
" I didn't even do anything! Yet they're just glaring!" Poseidon exclaimed
" Just come back." Leon said
Poseidon scoffed and turned back into his spirit ball form, floating back to Leon while Zenki and Goki did the same.
" Those two needs some watching over." Poseidon said
" They were doing their duty. They just didn't want their Master harmed again." Leon said
" Tch!"
" Sorry about them. Goki does this often with Kai-kun too..." Aichi murmured
" Oh, Toshiki Kai too?" Leon ask
" ... Y... Yes."
" I see. Still, after what happened, everyone that has been to that space now can see spirits." Leon said
" Yeah. We think that it's because of the space time properties it had, managing to awaken some sort of third eye or Shamanic powers that enables them to see spirits." Aichi said
" But that's not possible unless they had Shaman bloodline history. Is it even possible by just going to that space?" Leon wondered
" Maybe. We don't know how Cray actually works after all." Aichi said
" That's true."
" However, I am alright with that. As long as no spirits harm them, I won't complain. But if they somehow become Shamans is another problem I would like to avoid. Recently, Misaki-san has been staring at the place where her parents were watching over her and Manager. Although she tells me that she sees them as blurs, I'm not sure if I want to tell her." Aichi said
" Maybe they just don't want to show themselves to her? Or they are ready to pass on to the other side soon?" Leon pondered
" I'd assume so. Anyway, I'm still keeping that a secret. I'll tell her when I think it's the right time." Aichi said
" Yeah."
" ... So there's been something that has been troubling us when we first saw Poseidon. How did you meet him?" Aichi ask
" I guess my use of him seemed sloppy in that space. When Void arrived on the island, Poseidon was the one that responded to my call. The Souryu clan had Shaman lineage too, but there had been little water spirits around that place now. Other spirits of our ancestors had passed on too." Leon said
" I only arrived because of that vast imagination and wishes of your people. Took me years though." Poseidon said
" No matter what, you've helped us out and we managed to find a way out of the island and now we won't be a stranded clan any more." Leon said
" I'm happy for you guys. I can tell that you guys have been better since then." Aichi said
" Yeah, thanks to you."
Aichi shook his head as they began to have a casual chat, making their way back to the club room.
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!