It's a bright early morning in Japan, only a day after his experience at Card Capital, Chrono Shindou stands in his kitchen frying an egg on the stove as a piece of bread toasts in the mini oven behind him. After cooking his breakfast, he sits down at the dining table and turns on the TV, but even before he starts eating, he sees the program on the TV. It was an interview on two girls dressed in idol uniforms, who looked about the same age as him, one had long pink hair that curved like a moon, and the other had short and spiky blue hair. "So, what is it you two love about Vanguard?" the interviewer asks them.
"Well I enjoy Vanguard because it's a way for us to bring smiles to everyone we meet." The blue haired girl answers, "Whenever I see people playing Vanguard, I just see all their smiles and the great time they're having."
"Hmm…" Chrono mutters as he grabs the remote and turns up the volume on the TV to hear them better.
"But as well as that, I also enjoy the excitement it brings," the blue haired girl continues, "Each and every match is unpredictable, just like our futures. We can change our futures just as much as we can shift the flow of a fight into our favor."
"Change my future…" Chrono says to himself. Sitting on that thought, he finishes his breakfast, puts his dishes in the dishwasher and exits his apartment and gets ready for the day again…
Opening Theme – STORY (Luck & Logic OP)
TURN 2 – The Ultimate Fighter, Yuji Kyouto
Later in the day at Card Capital, a fight is going on between two boys. A boy with black hair and a long ponytail shouts, "Supreme Heavenly Battle Deity, Susanoo attacks the Vanguard!"
"ARGH! I lost!" The other boy shouts.
"Nice fighting Tsunedo!" a small boy with brown hair in a bowl cut tells him.
"Yes, that was awesome!" a much larger boy adds.
"Heh, no one can best me! I'm the strongest in this shop!" the boy says as Chrono walks in the door.
"Hello!" he greets as he looks around. The shop wasn't very full, only a few people at some tables, as well as the three loud mouths in the back. He looks over to the counter, and there he sees a young woman with short pale-blue hair with her feet up on the counter as she leans back in a chair reading a manga book. "Um, excuse me." Chrono says as he walks up to the counter. The girl looks over her manga to see him.
"Oh, hi there." She greets him as she gets her feet off the counter and sits in the chair properly, "What can I help you with?" From there, Chrono could see she was wearing a loose dark green tank-top, a dark blue skirt, and a white bow in her hair, as she is only a few inches taller than him.
"I was supposed to meet a friend here." Chrono tells her, "Have you seen a girl about the same height as me, long green hair, and wearing the same uniform?"
The girl thinks for a minute and shakes her head, "Nope, sorry. Haven't seen anyone like that."
"Oh, ok. Thanks." Chrono bows as he thanks her and walks off to a table to wait for his friend.
Meanwhile, the girl hears the door to the backroom open behind her, and out steps Yuji carrying a clipboard. "Okay, I think that's all of inventory done." He says.
"You sure?" the girl asks him with a smirk, "Last time you said that, there was a whole stack of boxes in the back that you missed."
"Th-That was Yusuke's fault! H-He's the one who didn't store them properly when he closed the night before."
"Sure, it was his fault." The girl says with a giggle as she sits down in the chair and opens her manga back up, and Yuji grits his teeth at her. "Oh yeah!" she remembers and turns back to look at him with a genuine smile, "I think that kid you told me about last night is here."
"You mean Chrono?" Yuji asks and looks to where Chrono is.
Chrono is sitting at the table staring at the Chrono Dran card deep in thought, so deep, he doesn't notice the boy with black hair and ponytail. "YOINK!" he exclaims as he snatches the card from Chrono.
"H-Hey! Give that back!" Chrono demands in anger, trying to swipe the card back from the boy, but he pulls it away as he and his friends look at it.
"Oooo, Chrono Dran, never seen this clan before." He says.
"I said give it back!" Chrono demands once again and makes another attempt to swipe it away, but fails again.
"I tried searching Gear Chronicle and nothing game up!" the bowl-cut boy says as he taps some buttons on his tablet.
"GIVE. IT. BACK!" Chrono keeps demanding and making attempts, but the boy keeps pulling it away from him, like teasing a toddler with candy.
Meanwhile, as Yuji and the girl watch this unfold, they both sigh in annoyance. "I'll handle this." The girl says as she closes her manga and walks out from behind the counter over to where Chrono and the boys were. "Excuse me." The girl says to get their attention, and when the three mischief-makers look over at her, she is staring at them with a menacing and intimidating glare and says, "What have I told you boys about harassing new customers?" and the three boys all tense up in fear, "Give the boy his card back, or I will literally throw you out of the shop." She then immediately changes her expression to a very happy and cheerful smile, and says, "And I wouldn't want to do that, now would I?" with an innocent-sounding voice.
The boys quiver in fear as the bowl-cut says, "Her smile… it's so innocent yet so terrifying!"
Then the big guy says, "She's scary!"
"W-We're sorry! Here's your card!" the ponytail boys says as he gives Chrono his card back, and once he does, he says to his friends, "Let's get out of here!" as they all dart towards the door and run out of the shop.
"Sorry about those three, they can be a real hassle." The girl tells Chrono.
"N-No big deal." Chrono tells her, "Who were they anyway?"
The girl crosses her arms and glances toward the door with an annoyed face and says, "They call themselves Team Trinity Dragon."
"I call them Team Trinity Naggin' because they never shut up." Yuji says as he walks over to where they were.
"Yuji." Chrono responds.
"Hey Chrono, glad to see you're still interested in the game." Yuji says to him.
"Yeah." Chrono replies with a nod and turns to the girl, "So who is this? Does she work here too?"
"Yeah," Yuji answers putting his hand on the girl's shoulder, "this is Saki Tagushi, she's an old friend of mine from middle school."
"It's very nice to meet you." Saki replies with her classic innocent smile, which causes Chrono to blush a little at her cuteness.
"Uh… yeah…" he says and regains his composer.
"You said you were here to see someone?" Saki asks him.
"Yeah, Tokoha was supposed to meet me here to give me some pointers but…" before Chrono can even finish his sentence, he feels his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He pulls it out and sees he has a text message from Tokoha, and it reads, "Hey Chrono, unfortunately I won't be able to make it today. I need to stay back at school to work on some paper work. I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Oh… well that answers that." He says, then looks back at Yuji and Saki and tells them what happened.
"I see." Yuji says.
"Well since she's not coming, I might as well go home." Chrono says as he picks up his bag and heads for the exit, but Yuji stops him.
"Wait! Why don't I give you some pointers?" he asks and Chrono looks back in confusion.
"He may not look like it, but Yuji is actually one of the strongest Cardfighters in the country."
"Really?!" Chrono exclaims in shock.
"Yep." Yuji confirms, "Saki and I are part of Team Exodus, one of the top Vanguard teams in the world. Number 1 in the country, and number 3 in the world over all."
"Whoa, really?!" Chrono says.
"Yeah, and what better way to learn than from a professional?" Yuji asks.
"But aren't you supposed to be working?" he asks him.
"Nah, my shift just ended, so I'm free." Yuji tells him.
Chrono thinks about it for a minute and replies, "Okay, let's do it!"
"Cool." Yuji replies, "Since you're still a newbie, I won't use my actual deck, it would give me an advantage, so I'll use one of the free trial decks from the store."
"No." Chrono exclaims, stopping Yuji, "I want you to face me with your real deck, and give me everything you've got."
"Are you sure?" Yuji asks.
"How am I expected to get better if I don't know what I have to beat?" he asks and Yuji smirks at his words.
"Heh, you make a good point. Alright, I'll use my real deck then."
"Good." Chrono replies. The three of them head down the stairs in the middle of the room to a fight table, meanwhile, Saki hangs out above them watching the duel.
"Just so you know, I won't be going easy on you." Yuji tells him, "Are you sure you still want to do it like this?"
"Yes." Chrono says, nodding his head.
"Alright, then let's begin!" Yuji says as they place their hands on their Vanguards and declare in unison, "Stand up… VANGUARD!"
"Chrono Dran (G0/6000)!" Chrono declares.
"Extreme Battler, Kabutron (G0/6000)!" Yuji declares.
"Nova Grappler?" Chrono questions.
Without answering his question, Yuji gestures toward Chrono saying, "Why don't you go first?"
Chrono draws a card from his deck and takes his turn, "Ride! Bearing Rover (G1/8000)! Using Chrono Dran's skill, draw a card and add a Quick Shield to my hand!"
"Nope!" Yuji exclaims, surprising Chrono, "Only the player who goes second can get the Quick Shield. Read Chrono Dran's text more carefully."
Chrono slides the Bearing Rover card out of the way to look at the Chrono Dran's card and reads it aloud, "When rode upon, draw a card. Then if your opponent's Vanguard is grade 1 or greater…" he doesn't even finish reading it before he realizes what he did.
"Because you're going first, my Vanguard isn't grade 1 yet, so you can't add the Quick Shield." Yuji tells him.
"But I did it when I faced Tokoha yesterday." Chrono retaliates.
Yuji glances away with a tired smirk, "I'm not her, but I'd like to believe she saw the mistake and didn't say anything since you were still learning." Chrono slumps down and puts the Quick Shield card back in the pile with his Gift Markers. "Anyway, it's still your turn."
Chrono regains his composer and continues, "Call! Steam Maiden Memenne (G1/6000)! I end my turn.
"Then it's my turn." Yuji declares, "DRAW!" Just then, Chrono reacts as if he was overwhelmed with a very strong dust of wind blowing over him. "Ride! Extreme Battler Kendhol (G1/7000)! Using Kabutron's skill, draw a card and add a Quick Shield. I activate Kendol's skill! I look at the top five cards of my deck and add a Grade 3 from among them to my hand, and since I added a card, I have to also discard a card. I call Extreme Battler Jerohawk (G1/7000)! Now, boosted by Jerohawk, Kendol attacks the Vanguard! And due Jerohawk's skill, if the unit I boosted has "Extreme Battler" in its name, add an additional 5000 power (7000-14000-19000)! Drive Check (None)."
"ARGH!" Chrono exclaims as he is hit by the attack in his imagination, and stumbles backwards in real life. "Wh-What was that?!" he exclaims, shocked by what had just happened, almost as if he could feel the impact in real life. "Damage Check (None)." (Chrono: [])
"I end my turn." Yuji declares.
"Ride! Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000)! Activating Memenne's skill!" Chrono draws a card and discards a card from his hand. "Call, Lost Break Dragon (G2/10000) and Steam Mechanic Nabu (G2/10000)!"
"Hmm, going all out from the beginning huh?" Yuji observes.
"Using Lost Break's skill, bind a card and draw a card. Let's battle! Boosted by Memenne, Smokegear attacks (10000-16000)!" Smokegear leaps into the air like a lion pouncing on its pray.
"No guard." Yuji declares.
"Drive Check! (Critical). Critical Trigger! I give it to Smokegear (16000-26000/Crit 1-2)!" Smokegear slams itself down on Yuji's robot.
"AHHGHH!" he shouts in pain. (Yuji: [][]).
"Lost Break attacks (10000)!"
"Guard (10000)!"
"Nabu attacks (10000)!"
"I guard again (15000)!" Chrono frowns in mild annoyance as Yuji begins his turn, "Stand and draw! Ride! Extreme Battler Kenbeam (G2/10000)! I call another Jerohawk (G1/7000) and Extreme Battler Arashid (G1/8000)! Arashid's skill! Look at the top five cards of my deck and add a grade 3 from among them to my hand." Chrono then readies himself for an attack. "Let's go! Boosted by Jerohawk, Kenbeam attacks the Vanguard, and add another 5000 power with Jerohawk's skill (10000-17000-23000)!
"No guard."
"Drive Check (Draw). Draw Trigger! Power to Arashid and draw a card." (Chrono: [][]) "Boosted by the other Jerohawk, Arashid attacks the Vanguard (8000-15000-20000)!" Chrono once again declares no guard and is struck by the powerful attack, sending Smokegear flying. (Chrono: [][][]). In reality, Chrono stumbles backwards and grabs the handlebar on the side of the table to keep himself from falling. "Whoa…" Yuji thinks to himself,"…this guy's got some incredible imagination."
Chrono catches is breath, then looks up at Yuji with a slight grin, "I guess this is what a pro is capable of." He says.
Still surprised, Yuji regains his composer and tells him, "Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."
Meanwhile, just above them, Saki leans over the railing as she watches the fight when she hears the front door open, "Welcome to Card Capital!" she says to greet them. In the doorway was a young boy, about Chrono's age with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes.
"Hello Saki." He says in a rather sophisticated voice,
"Oh, hey Shion." Saki replies as the boy walks over to and stands beside her.
"What's going on down there?" the boy asks.
"Yuji's fighting a new comer with a unique deck." She tells him, piquing his interest.
"A new deck?" Shion questions as he looks down at the fight, just as Chrono is taking his turn.
"Open the gates! Lead to the future I truly desire! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/13000)!"
Shion is surprised by the appearance of said unit, "Chronojet? I never heard of that card." He then looks down at the boy who uses said card and thinks to himself, "Wait… isn't that…?"
Chrono then continues his turn down below, "Imaginary Gift, Force 1 (13000-23000)! Next I use Memenne's skill! Draw a card and discard a card. Next, I activate Chronojet's skill! I discard Bearing Rover, and when he would be discarded, he can count as a grade 3! Lead me to a perfect future! Superior Ride! Chronodragon NEXTAGE (G4/15000-25000)! I'm going all out! Call! Steam Scara Irkab over Lost Break (G2/10000), and Retroaxe Dragon (G1/8000)! Using Irkab's skill ([X][][])(Hand 1-0)! Nextage gains 1 drive (25000/Drive 2-3)!"
Board State
(G2/10000) (G4/25000) (G2/10000)
(XXXX) (G1/6000) (G1/8000)
"Battle! Boosted by Retroaxe Dragon, Nabu attacks the Vanguard! Nabu's skill! Bind a card in the drop zone, and you can't guard with grade 1 or greater units."
"No guard then." Yuji says with a smirk. (Yuji: [][][])
"Using Retroaxe's skill ([X][X][]), bind him and add a grade 2 from my drop zone to my hand. Now, boosted by Memenne, Nextage attacks the Vanguard!"
Yuji discards his Quick Shield, surprising Chrono, but then Yuji holds up a card and declares, "Complete Guard!"
Chrono grunts and declares, "Triple Drive (none/Draw/Critical). Draw Trigger and a Critical Trigger! All boosts go to Irkab (10000-30000/Crit 1-2) and I draw a card. Irkab now attacks the Vanguard!"
"No guard." (Yuji: [][][][][])
Chrono smiles and says, "I end my turn. I'll finish it next turn. Nextage is retired and I ride Chronojet from my Soul. Imaginary Gift, Force 1."
"Wow!" Saki exclaims, "I had no idea that deck used Grade 4s like that." Meanwhile, Shion holds his chin in thought as he observes the fight.
"It's nice to see you have some enthusiasm Chrono…" Yuji tells him as he draws a card from his deck, "however… now I'll show you what a pro is really capable of!" Yuji takes a card from his hand and holds it high, "Let's go! Where ever this journey takes me! We won't back down! Ride!" A glimmer appears in the sky as giant humanoid robot with cosmic wings and blue and white armor plates descends from the sky and lands on its feet with enough force to shake the ground, "Exxtreme Battler, RAXIS (G3/12000)! Imaginary Gift, Accel 1!"
"Accel?" Chrono questions.
"Yeah, it's another type of imaginary gift. This one gives me another Front Row rear circle.
"What?!" Chrono exclaims.
"And, any unit on that circle gains 10000 power. Call! Extreme Battler Jerohawk (G1/7000-17000) and Extreme Battler Malyaki (G1/8000)! Malyaki's skill ([X][][][][])! I look at the top 3 cards of my deck and can call any number of grade 1 or lower cards from among them. I call Extreme Battler Banguet (G1/9000)!"
Board State
(G1/8000) (G3/12000) (G1/8000) (G1/17000)
(G1/7000) (G1/7000) (G1/9000) (-)
"Wh-what's with all the grade 1s?" Chrono asks.
"I'll show you. Due to Raxis's skill! If your Vanguard is grade 3 or greater, my rear-guards can boost Raxis, no matter what circle they're on."
"Seriously?!" Chrono exclaims.
"Let's do this! Raxis attacks the Vanguard (12000)!"
"Guard (10000)!"
"Twin Drive (none/Front). Front Trigger!"
"A new trigger?!" Chrono questions.
"Front Triggers are a special trigger exclusive to clans that use the Accel gift. When its revealed, it adds 10000 power to my entire front row!" Chrono's heart sinks at the thought.
(G1/8000-18000) (G3/12000-22000) (G1/8000-18000) (G1/17000-27000)
"Next, I use Raxis's other skill ([X][X][X][][])(Hand 3-1), now, until the end of the turn, Raxis gets minus 2 drive (22000/Drive 2-0), and whenever he is boosted, he can Stand immediately!"
Chrono's heart sinks again as he realizes, "but then that means… Seven attacks!"
"You got that right!" Yuji tells him.
Chrono quivers in fear on Yuji's power as he thinks to himself, "So this is what a professional fighter can do…"
"Let's go! Boosted by the Jerohawk behind him, Raxis attacks (22000-29000)!" Raxis raises a giant sword and slices Chronojet with it (Chrono: [X][X][][])."
"AHHGHH!" Chrono screams in pain.
"Boosted by the other Jerohawk, Raxis attacks again (22000-29000)!"
"Complete Guard!"
"Boosted by Arashid, Raxis attacks once again (22000-40000)!"
The attack hits Chrono as he yells in pain once again, "UGHHHHH!" (Chrono: [X][X][][][]).
"Boosted by Banguet, Raxis attacks Irkab (22000-31000)!" Raxis slices its sword through Irkab, retiring him. "Boosted by Malyaki, Raxis attacks Nabu (22000-40000)!" Raxis does the same thing to Nabu. Chrono as Chronojet flinches from Nabu's defeat and then sees Raxis flying high above him spreading its energy wings. "Time to end this! Boosted by the Jerohawk on the Accel circle, Raxis attacks Chronojet Dragon (22000-49000)!" Raxis dives toward Chronojet as he braces for impact, then, within a flash of light, Raxis lands behind Chronojet.
All is silent for a moment, but then there is an explosion from Chronojet's chest as Chrono screams once again, "AHHHHHHH!" (Chrono: [X][X][][][][]).
Chrono is speechless over Yuji's power, until notices Yuji walk beside him and extend a hand to him. "Hey don't feel too bad, at least you tried, and that's all that matters." Chrono looks back and forth between Yuji's hand and his face in thought. "You did have fun, right?"
Chrono thinks for a moment, then smiles as he takes Yuji's hand and shakes it, "Yeah, I did." He finally replies, "It's obvious I still have a long way to go until I get to your level, but I think I can do it."
"Yeah." Yuji replies with a nod, "Just be warned, you're going to face a lot of strong people, some maybe even stronger than me." Yuji looks up to where Shion was standing, but now he's mysteriously gone. He then looks back at Chrono and says, "But if you ever need any tips or pointers, feel free to drop by, and either Saki or I will be here to help you."
"Y-Yeah." Chrono nods as he and Yuji have officially established a friendship, and a rivalry…
Ending Theme – Days of Dash (Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo ED)
[Next Time]
Yuji: So how did it feel to fight a pro for the first time?
Chrono: Well, it was a bit overwhelming when you busted out those seven attacks.
Yuji: Well you told me not to go easy on you. Should I unleash my infinite attack strategy on you next time?
Chrono: HUH?! INFINITE ATTACKS?!
Yuji: Heh heh, I'm kidding, that's impossible. At least not since they made that change to Jerohawk's skill.
Chrono: What did it do before?
Yuji: Whenever it boosted, it got to stand immediately.
Chrono: Whoa…
Yuji: Combine that with Raxis's skill to stand after being boosted, and you have infinite attacks. They realized it was so broken when I did it in a tournament, so they chanced Jerohawk's skill to what it is now.
Chrono: Why would they intentionally make such a broken combo?
Yuji: I don't think it was intentional… Raxis was released long after Jerohawk was made.
Chrono: I see…
NEXT TIME on Vanguard GV: The Flowers of Tomorrow, Tokoha Anjou! Don't miss it!
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