Chapter 4: Asuma vs Aichi!
A/N: Sideways here guys, it's insane to see all the support coming out for this little story of mine, over 400 views with only three chapters out! I appreciate it so much, and I'm sorry I haven't been super consistent. I'll try to make sure you guys get at least one chapter of Asuma's story a month now, so get excited! Now let's get to what you're all here to see: the first cardfight between the original avatar and our purple-haired boy.
"Stand up, Vanguard!" The words seemed to ring through the air, despite the two players' best efforts to stay quiet. Asuma flipped his card, and feeling that familiar sensation of his spirit appearing on Cray, he breathed in deeply, feeling the aura surround him as he called out "Mecha Trainer." Looking across the table, and the battlefield, he saw Aichi ride his starting vanguard, a small angel holding a trumpet. "Stardust Trumpeter, and then I ride Little Sage, Marron." Aichi said it quietly in the shop, but on Cray Asuma could feel the resolve and hidden power behind his quiet demeanor 'This guy's probably stronger than he looks, I'll have to stay on my guard.' he thought to himself about the slender blue-haired boy.
Aichi's turn was over, so Asuma looked at his hand, trying to decide what to ride. 'I should probably try to put damage on him early, his grade 3 is definitely tough to put down if he's strong with just one in his deck,' he thought as he mulled over the units he held. "Alright Aichi, here I come! I ride Wonder Boy!" Asuma felt the now-familiar rush of power to his spirit as he took possession of the unit's strength. As he looked to the other side of the battlefield on Cray, he didn't just see Marron, but Aichi's blue hair and eyes as well, like he was there on Cray physically as well as mentally.
"You can see it too, can't you?" Asuma asked, pausing to talk after moving Mecha Trainer behind Wonder Boy. Aichi seemed startled, flinching slightly before looking up at his opponent.
"You mean the battlefield? Yes, I can see our units on Cray. I thought it was just in my head, but I guess you can imagine it too, huh." The shy boy leaned back in his chair a little bit, seemingly lost in thought. "Oh great! Now we've got two scatterbrains to worry about!" Kamui yelled from his chair next to the table, crossing his arms and pouting. "Are you two going to play or just sit there daydreaming!"
Asuma lifted an eyebrow at the younger boy's antics, but just relaxed and pointed behind him "I think you might want to keep it down, Kamui. We'll get on with it I promise." As the short, spiky-haired boy turned around, he noticed Misaki scowling at him from behind the counter, and immediately spun back around with his eyes wide in fear. Asuma smirked a bit, then smiled and waved over at Misaki, mouthing 'thanks'. She nodded, but kept her usual cool demeanor, not even cracking a smile as she turned back to the register.
Getting back to the fight at hand, Asuma attacked Aichi's vanguard, Wonder Boy slamming the gallows ball into Marron and dealing one damage, with no trigger showing on the attack. "Alright, you're up, let's see what you can do." Asuma said as he ended his turn, eagerly awaiting Aichi's first assault.
Aichi didn't disappoint, smiling as he drew his card, then choosing his next vanguard. "Arise my avatar, Blaster Blade!" Asuma watched in awe as a knight in shining white armor, carrying an equally luminescent longsword appeared as Aichi's next chosen vanguard. 'That is Blaster Blade? He looks really strong, I wonder what he can do.' He thought to himself, as the warrior leveled his blade at Wonder Boy, and Aichi's nervous gaze became steely and confident.
"I call Knight of Silence Gallatin to rear guard, and Wingal behind Blaster Blade. Then, Gallatin attacks Wonder Boy!" A knight wearing a blindfold charged at Asuma's vanguard with a power of 10,000 but thinking quickly he guarded for 5000 and stopped the attack. Aichi's attacks weren't finished however, as his vanguard raised his shining sword and leapt into the air. "Blaster Blade attacks your vanguard! With Wingal's boost and skill, our total power is 19,000." Asuma looked over the cards in his hand but couldn't find anything to guard the attack. "No guard".
Aichi looked to his deck as he checked for a drive trigger, but he didn't find one. "No trigger this time, Asuma." Asuma took one damage, his check not revealing a trigger either. On Cray, Wonder Boy clutched his side where Blaster Blade's sword had left a gash, but Asuma knew better than to give up after just one damage. "Alright Aichi, here I come. I stand and draw, and now the battlefield rumbles as the rising star of Spike Brothers makes his appearance! I ride Dudley Mason!" He called for the strength of his unit as he placed the card, feeling the now-familiar rush of strength from the giant unit. He called Dudley Phantom to boost his vanguard, and then Treasured Black Panther and Machine Gun Gloria to the left column.
"My first attack is from Panther, boosted by Gloria. He's swinging in at Gallatin, for 17,000!" Asuma smiled as he saw his unit charge across the field on Cray, Aichi allowing his rear guard to be taken out. 'So, he's saving guardians for his vanguard huh? I guess I'll just have to give it my all.' A fierce grin spread across his face as Asuma realized that someone like Aichi could give him a real challenge in the strategy department. "Next, Dudley Mason is charging in at Blaster Blade. With Dudley Phantom's ability, his total power is 19,000!" Aichi seemed worried at first, but then discarded a card from his hand and placed a card with 0 shield on the guardian circle. "Flash Shield Iseult will protect me, with a complete guard!" Asuma watched as his vanguard's powerful attack bounced off a forcefield created by Aichi's shield-toting guardian, feeling the impact like running into a brick wall.
"Ouch, what was that?" Asuma said, rubbing his suddenly sore neck. Aichi looked up at him blankly for a moment, then responded. "Oh! Iseult, and other grade 1 cards with 0 shield can nullify any attack as long as you discard a card." Kamui piped up from beside the table, "Yeah! My Twin Blader is the best complete guard thought, he's so cool!" Asuma nodded, "I'll have to make sure to put a card like that in my deck as well then, it seems really useful" before returning Phantom to his deck and checking for a drive trigger, getting nothing again. "Well, it looks like that's it for my turn."
Aichi got a determined look in his eye, and after standing and drawing, Asuma could almost feel the mood shift as Aichi went to ride his grade 3 vanguard. "I call on the power of the proud white wings of faith! Ride! Solitary Knight, Gancelot!" Aichi called out, and on Cray Asuma felt a tornado whip up on the battlefield, before dissipating to reveal a proud warrior astride a pure white Pegasus, wearing shining silver armor and carrying a glowing broadsword. In addition, Aichi called High Dog Breeder, Akane to his open rearguard column, and used her skill to call Flogal to boost. He refilled the space left by Gallatin with Marron, and then started his assault.
Asuma managed to weather the storm, but after a critical trigger on his vanguard's twin drive, Aichi managed to deal three damage in one turn, leaving Asuma at four while the now-confident blue haired boy had only one point of damage. Asuma could feel his connection to Cray waver as Dudley Mason fell to one knee, but he refused to give up, thinking 'I've been through way worse than this before, I can manage to come back.' After standing his units and drawing, he rode. "Leading the greatest team on Cray into battle, the commanding officer of Spike Brothers! I ride General Seifreid!" With a roar, the demon general emerged on the battlefield, steam billowing around him. Asuma used up the last of his hand to call another Mason to rearguard in his right column, and Gyro Slinger to boost Seifreid. He began his attacks with Black Panther, and after he managed to hit Gancelot, Asuma's plan went into motion. "I activate Gloria's skill, paying a counterblast to send Panther to the bottom of my deck, and draw a card. Next, Seifreid is coming at you, boosted by Slinger for a total power of 20,000 thanks to Seifreid's skill!" Asuma smiled as his vanguard charged forward, and Aichi once again didn't guard the attack.
His first drive check revealed a critical trigger, and he gave the power to Mason while allowing his vanguard to deal an extra point of damage, bringing Aichi up to four damage total. 'Alright, now as long as I get a grade three I can finish this fight now!' Asuma thought to himself, before flipping his second drive trigger. It was not to be, however, as the card revealed was Treasured Black Panther. Asuma sighed, but he could still swing with Mason. This time Aichi perked up, "I guard with Bringer of Good Luck, Epona!" Asuma could only watch as his last-ditch effort failed against Aichi's guardian, and he clenched his fists in frustration. "That's my turn. You're up, Aichi."
Aichi ended the game quickly, activating Gancelot's skill to give him 5,000 extra power and an extra critical thanks to the Blaster Blade in his soul, and then the proud knight soared into the air, bringing his sword down across the chest of Seifreid twice, with both points of damage going through to hand Asuma his first loss.
Although he could feel the strength of his units slipping away while the battlefield dissipated, Asuma couldn't help but smile through the disappointment. "That was quite the fight, I hope you'll want to cardfight with me again soon." He said while reaching across the table for a handshake. Aichi smiled and accepted while saying, "Of course! I had a lot of fun just now, and I feel like you almost finished me off on that last turn." Kamui had something to add too, of course. "Alright bro! You managed to hold him off and show this guy who's boss!" The shorter boy celebrated, and Asuma stifled a laugh at his antics while putting his cards away. "Hey, are you two actually brothers? You don't look very alike to me," he gestured at the height difference as well as wildly different hair of the two.
"You're right, we're not related at all. Kamui just kind of started calling me that one day, I'm not really sure why." Aichi said with a sheepish grin, his hand on the back of his neck. "Today's been really fun, but I've got to head home early, sorry Kamui" the azure-eyed boy apologized while he packed up, making the younger kid pout a little bit before he perked back up. "Is Miss Emi coming to get you today, bro?" His sudden hopeful tone made Asuma suspicious of his motives. 'I wonder who this Emi is.'
"Sorry, she won't be here either, I just have a really tough test tomorrow I need to study for." Aichi said, finishing packing his bag before heading for the door. Asuma followed him out, and just after they exited the store he stopped his new friend. "Hey, I'll see you around, and any time you want to cardfight, I'm more than willing." Aichi smiled, and before heading off he replied, "Sounds like a plan to me, see you tomorrow Asuma!"
The purple-haired young man watched him go for a second before turning around and heading back into Card Capital. As he went in he almost ran right into two people standing just inside the door. "Woah! Sorry about that." Asuma apologized as he walked around them. "Hey Asuma! Nice to see you again, man." Asuma spun around and noticed just who he had run into. "Miwa, it's good to see you too, but we've got to stop meeting like this." Asuma grinned as he shook the friendly blonde's hand, then turned to his brown-haired, tall friend. "And you must be Kai. Sorry about running into you before, and right now. We've never really met, my name's Asuma Kujito." His extended hand was met with a cold look.
"Be more careful in the future, please." Kai said with a harsh tone, before stepping past Asuma, further into the shop. Miwa seemed embarrassed but managed a smile. "I really am sorry about him, I promise once you get to know him he's not like this, at least not all the time." He gave a weak laugh before heading off to sit across from Kai, with Kamui hovering around them.
Asuma stared after the two for a moment, thinking 'I wonder what's up with that guy Kai' before turning to the counter and Misaki. "Hey Misaki, sorry about Kamui earlier, and I probably could've been a bit quieter myself." She looked up with her usual cool expression, and when her light blue eyes met his for a second Asuma felt his heart thump a bit, so he quickly bowed, almost smacking his head against the desk. He could've sworn he heard her giggle, but by the time he looked back up she was her normal self, no sign of a smile on her face.
"Don't worry about it, I just give Kamui a hard time when he gets too loud for the other regulars here. Everybody who comes here knows how intense cardfights can get, so I don't blame you for getting into it. Speaking of your fight, if you're looking for complete guards I would recommend this Spike Brothers booster set, you might even find a couple of other interesting cards as well." She slid a basket with some packs across the counter, and Asuma looked at her, more than a little surprised. "How did you know I was about to ask about those?" He said as he pulled out his wallet and handed over the money to buy a couple of the card packs.
"I remembered you mentioned them, and I know you're very direct, so I got them ready while your game wrapped up." The silver-haired girl said while she typed the transaction in the register. "And you shouldn't let Kai get to you, once you get into a cardfight he's just like everyone else." Asuma nodded quickly as he took the packs, smiling at her. "Thanks for the advice, and if you're ever up for a fight yourself, just let me know ok?" To his surprise she smiled and said, "I'd like that, getting to fight myself is a nice change of pace from just watching everyone else."
Feeling his face flush, Asuma quickly turned and uttered a hurried, "Thanks!" before sitting at a table to open his new cards. He spent the better part of the next half hour taking cards in and out of his deck, trying to decide the perfect mix for equal offense and defense. Eventually, he was confident enough to head over to the table where Kai was currently playing against Kamui. "Kai, let's have a cardfight!" He said with more confidence than he felt, and Kai turned to him and in his usual monotone said, "Sure, this one's about over anyway." Kamui protested, but Kai silenced him just by holding up a finger and quietly saying, "Dragonic Overlord attacks your vanguard."
Kamui sputtered for a couple of seconds before hanging his head and sighing. "No guard, Kai." Kamui checked his damage and found a stand trigger, but on the sixth damage it wasn't the trigger that would matter, so he just packed up his cards and got up from the table, grumbling about "stupid Overlord and its stupid skill." Asuma sat across from Kai, ready for his third cardfight of the day. "Imagine it." Kai said, and Asuma furrowed his brow at him. "I'm sorry?"
"I said, imagine it. If you can, that is." Kai repeated, before placing his starting vanguard. Asuma did the same, and Miwa interjected, "Kai come on, don't try and intimidate him already!" while leaning back in his chair. "It's fine, I think I know what he means," Asuma said while placing Mecha Trainer face down, before he and Kai said those immortal words. "Stand up, vanguard!" "Stand up, the vanguard."
A/N: Wow! I really tried to get this chapter out before 2018 ended, but that didn't quite happen, sorry! Rest assured that I'll make good on my promise to put out a new chapter each month this year, more if I can make it happen. To everyone that's enjoyed Asuma's story so far, thank you so much, and I hope you'll keep reading all the way through 2019! Next time: we see what happens when our boy steps up to the biggest, baddest cardfighter at Card Capital.