NOTE: I forgot to mention it and there wasn't a moment to mention it in this chapter or previous chapters. Kai is wearing his Legion Mate outfit in this story and Misaki is just in her school uniform.

Other than that please enjoy the chapter and review.

Chapter 8: Weakness

"I-I end my turn…" Toshiki Kai glares down at his side of the board. His side was almost empty along with the singular card in his hand. His damage zone rested at 4 damage. Dragonic Overlord laid in the rest position from a failed attack towards Leon's Tetra Drive Dragon. Kai's eyes bore into Dragonic Overlord and it was almost as if the card was glaring back at him.

"Stand and Draw."

Kai's focus snapped back to Leon as the Soryu survivor began his turn. Leon closed his eyes as a wave of water crashed into the shore behind him and the wind around the two started to pick up a bit. "This will be the final turn!"

Kai's eyes widened at Leon's declaration. "Tch! I'm not out of this fight yet!"

"Are you truly sure about that, Toshiki Kai?"

Kai flinched from Leon's intense question. He didn't know if he could answer that question.

"Storm Rider, Basil attacks your Vanguard!"

"No guard." Kai passed through gritted teeth. He checked the damage and not a heal trigger was found.

"With a boost from Wheel Assault! Tetra-Drive Dragon attacks!"

"N-no guard…" Kai flipped over the card on his deck and stared in disbelief at the grade three in his hand. One of the Dragonic Overlords in his deck was placed as the sixth damage. He was utterly defeated by Leon once again. Kai slammed his fist down onto the table in frustration.

"AGAIN!"

"No."

Kai's shocked face stared directly into Leon's serious gaze. Shock morphed into a heated glare as Kai gritted his teeth hard. "I'm not asking Leon! FIGHT ME AGAIN!"

"My answer will be no. No matter how many times you continue to ask me, I will not fight someone who has lost their own wind."

"L-Lost my wind…" Kai was at a loss for words by Leon's statement. The Soryu gathered his cards and walked towards the house next to them.

"Follow me."

"W-What?" Kai replied, still focused on his own thoughts.

"Jillain is cooking lunch and it's better not to make her wait. We can continue talking inside," Leon informed the Kagero user. Left with no other choice Kai followed Leon inside of the house.

The two cardfighters entered the dining area to find Jillian Chen placing plates of food onto the table. Her light blue hair tied into a long ponytail. She wears a pink apron over a blue crop top and black mini skirt with dark leggings. The young woman notices the two enter the kitchen and bows her head.

"Welcome back Master Leon. I see we have a guest here. I'm not sure if I made enough for three people," Jillian explains to Leon.

"I don't really eat a lot, so it's fine if I don't eat," As Kai finished his sentence his stomach growls in disagreement. The Kagero user's face gains a small blush in embarrassment. He hadn't really eaten anything on the way here.

"Seems your stomach disagrees. You're a guest Toshiki Kai. Sit down and eat." With that said all three sit down at the table and begin to eat. Kai slowly bits into his food as his mind is still stuck on Leon's words about losing his wind.

"Did he mean my strength? Have I lost the thing that makes me strong? I've already discarded Link Joker and accepted that day. What else is there?" Kai contemplates in his head. Leon observes Kai's plight and sighs at his struggle.

"Meditation."

"Hm?"

"Master Leon?"

The Soryu placed his tea cup on the table and looked at Kai. "I'm suggesting that you go meditate on the matter entirely. I will not give you the answer that you desire, but I will assist you on reaching that point," Leon explains to Kai.

"Cardfight me instead, it'll help me reach the conclusion faster," Kai rebuttals.

"All that will do is waste both of our time, seeing as your image is nothing but a blur."

"My image is as strong as ever!" Kai glares at Leon.

"If you truly believe that then meditation should be no issue. You should be capable of picturing your desired image to find your answer," Leon states as a fact.

"Fine." Kai gets out of his seat and exits the house. Jillian had watched the scene nervously as the argument ended. She had mellowed out some after her sister's passing and thus doesn't jump to conclusions as much as she used to. But, some of that brashness still remains, espe

"Don't go storming out without giving your thanks first!" Jillian shouted at Kai's retreating form. The Aqua girl sighed as she was promptly ignored by Kai. Turning towards Leon she saw how looked more composed than annoyed or concerned.

"Are you sure he'll be fine, Master Leon?"

"I wouldn't have said anything to him if I didn't believe he could find his answers," Leon answers.

Toshiki Kai sat alone near the shore of the island and closed his eyes. The sounds of the waves and his breathing being the only noise to enter his ears. He tries to focus his attention on a single thought. An image of strength that represents him. However, every time he creates an image, it disappears into ashes. Frustrated he falls back onto the grass. Kai reaches into his pockets and pulls out his deck. Raising it up into the air he glares at it.

"What is it that I'm missing? Why are my images rejecting me? Why are you rejecting me, Dragonic Overlord…"

"I can answer that."

"Huh?"

In a flash Kai felt something pulling on his body until he was floating in the air. Looking below he saw his body laying on the ground unconscious. Confusion and concern rushed through his head immediately, before he was transported to a park.

"A park? Wait...I recognize this park," Kai remembered a time in his childhood from before his parents died. A very happy time for him in his life.

"Woah! That's amazing Kai! You have a super rare card!"

Kai's attention snapped towards the familiar voice and saw something he'd never thought he'd see again. On a bench in the park were three kids. One was blonde wearing a green jacket and smiling like a goof, his now deceased friend Miwa. The other was a younger version of him wearing a white jacket, grinning like an idiot. And the last person was a kid with short white hair that covered his eyes, the boy was smiling brightly as he stared down at the cards in front of him.

"Ibuki…" Kai whispered at the image in front of him.

"Really!?" His younger self exclaimed, excitedly. He lifted the card off the playmat and showed it to his two friends. "I just opened up a few packs the night before and got him. Blaster Blade!"

"Let me use him too, Kai!" Miwa 's hands gravitated towards the card.

"Of course! But first, today will be the day I win, Ibuki!" Kai grinned at his friend. Ibuki nodded his head rapidly at Kai's words.

"You'll have to get past my defenses, Kai!" Ibuki said.

Toshiki Kai watched the fight play out with his victory and the three friends started laughing together at the end.

"Thanks for introducing us to Vanguard, Ibuki. This game is super fun!" Miwa thanked the nervous boy next to him.

"N-no problem, Miwa," Ibuki stammered a bit. The blonde boy laughed some more and turned his attention to Kai. "Hm? Kai are you just gonna keep staring at that card?" Miwa asked.

"Huh? Oh...sorry. It's just that when we were playing I just felt my image form in front of me. As if the card was speaking to me or something. Sounds weird right?" Kai chuckled at his own words.

"I-I don't think so!" Ibuki replied heatedly, much to the other two's shock.

"Vanguard is a game where the player's image explodes to life! Kai, Blaster Blade brought your image to life! He showed you the image of victory!" Ibuki stated, proudly. Kai looked back at Blaster Blade and smiled in joy.

"My image...of victory…" The present Kai repeated as the location was suddenly changed from the park to Card Capital. "Card Capital? But, why would I be sent here?"

"STAND UP MY AVATAR! BLASTER BLADE!"

Kai's head snapped over to the playing area of the shop where he saw another familiar sight. He saw his deceased best friend/rival Aichi Sendou sitting in front of him. Though Aichi was wearing a Hitsue middle school uniform. Around them were Shin, Misaki, Morikawa, and Izaki.

"This was when I reunited with Aichi and he played his first cardfight." Kai realized.

"Ever since I got this card...I built this deck hoping to cardfight with you, Kai. When I heard you moved away...I thought things would go back to the way they used to be. But, as long as I was building my deck. I could forget all the unpleasant and painful stuff. Though I can't imagine myself being strong yet. I can picture myself becoming stronger...THANKS TO YOU KAI!" Aichi finished his monologue with a confidence he didn't possess at this time.

Both Kai's widened their eyes in astonishment after Aichi finished talking. The younger Kai felt excitement coursing through him at Aichi's sudden rush of energy. The present Kai felt mulled over Aichi;s speech, remembering a specific part of his words.

"Aichi has always been picturing himself becoming stronger. No matter how many obstacles appeared in front of him, his image never wavered." Kai said, and looked back towards the fight as it reached its end.

"The cards that left me..now number six. My force "Kagero" has been defeated. "I'm just a spirit once again. It's been awhile since I've had such a fight. And so...I've lost." The Kai from the past admitted his defeat, meaning that Aichi has won back his Blaster Blade.

The Present Kai remembered that sensation well of finally finding an opponent who could enjoy Vanguard as much as he did...someone who he could truly call a friend(Though he never admitted it at that point and time). Another shift took him away from Card Capital and placed him in Fukuhara's training area.

Kai realized where he was as he saw Aichi, Ultra Rare, Tetsu, and Asaka standing on the side lines. Standing in front of him were the past him and Ren Suzugamori who was corrupted by Psyqualia.

"Ren...Even if we share a table like this, we're seeing different things. It's always been like that with us. Even when we hung out, it's like we were never facing the same way. I was searching for true battles, but you were only seeking victory. And so in pursuit of victory, you found your way to Psyqualia." The younger Kai spoke to Ren.

"That's right, Ren was only obsessed with winning back then. His image was tainted by a need for perfection and conquest. Not for the trill, but if that's the case...why did I lose this fight?" Present Kai tightened his fist in frustration at the memory before him.

"If the flow had more criticals in store, I'd sure be fretting. Even you, the peerless Vanguard fighter who boasted the greatest might, couldn't transcend the outcome of fights that I control. Psyqualia is my own power...it's a facet of the strength within me. My turn isn't it? Witness my power, TOSHIKI KAI! RIDE! PHANTOM BLASTER DRAGON, OVERLORD!" With his speech done, Ren proceeded to win the fight against the past Kai.

Present Kai growled at the bad memory of his ideals falling to Ren's old ones. "What is the point of seeing all of these old memories!"

"The point is that you're a weak little shit!"

Turning around Kai found himself standing face to face with his avatar Dragonic Overlord standing over him. Kai noticed the area transitioned to a giant ring of fire surrounding the two of them. The hulking Dragon loomed closer to it's chosen Vanguard.

"Do you not realize what all of that was supposed to represent?"

"That I'm still weak, right? That I've never been strong from the start?" Kai answered the Dragon.

"Tch, not even close, boy. You've always been strong before. Facing each adversary that came your way with seriousness and your full strength."

"But something changed right? I lost the wind that drives me forward," Kai spoke, sadly.

"Wrong again. It's not the wind that drives you forward, but YOU who drives the wind forward! You take a hold of the world and create your own image!" Dragonic Overlord exclaimed to Kai. The teen's eyes grew wide as he repeated those words over and over again. Each memory and even events afterwards not appearing within his mind again. Each opponent that defeated him were those who drove themselves forward.

"Aichi Sendou, Ren Suzugamaori, Leon Soryu, and even that Ibuki Kouji all form their own image and push it forward. You can call Psyqualia a "cheat power" all you want, but that power is exactly what I'm talking about. They've created their image and brought it into reality while you stumbled behind them every time. Had you chased after the image of battle and victory instead of just battle, then Ren Suzugamori never would've beaten you nor would have Leon Soryu." Dragonic Overlord explained to the shocked Kai.

"If that's true, then I really have been the weakest of everyone. Each and every time I needed to win, I came up short and Aichi needed to surpass himself to win," Kai admitted to himself. Has he really been lying to himself about strength this whole time?

"As I said before, boy. You were always strong, but you stopped being strong. You didn't stop being strong when you lost to any of those chosen Vanguards. No...you became weak very recently and that moment is why you've been unable to grasp an image."

"A recent choice I made...wait...then that means…" Kai realized what Dragonic Overlord was getting at and he wanted to slap himself once more for being an idiot.

"The moment you became a weak little shit was when you surrendered yourself and Kagero to Link Joker. When you chose without hesitation to turn us all into slaves." Kai stood horrified as his most terrible mistake still hasn't stopped haunting him.

"Toshiki Kai...you are the weakest little shit on the planet."

Chapter End