Chapter 6: More Questions Than Answers
A/N: So. I fell off the chapter-a-month bandwagon. I feel bad about not giving you guys the content you've gotten at least somewhat used to, but college had me really busy in the past couple of months. As of now though, summer vacation! Woo! So expect at least semi-regular chapters for a few months, hopefully for the rest of this year. More at the end of the chapter, see you there!
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Asuma tilted his head at the three people in front of him. "No silly, but I'm sure you've heard of us!" The same high-pitched, almost lilting voice replied, and the shortest of the group stepped into the light. It was revealed to be a girl, looking like she was about Kamui's age, and his height as well. "I'm Rekka, and these two sticks in the mud are Kourin and Suiko! Together, we're Ultra Rare!" Rekka posed and threw her arms out to either side, beckoning her two companions forward.
These two seemed to be more along the lines of high school students, Kourin with mid-length blonde hair and Suiko's light blue cut short. "Um, okay? I'm really sorry but none of this is ringing a bell." Asuma gave a nervous half-smile, wondering what exactly was going on. He didn't have much time to think, however, as Suiko mumbled something under her breath then declared "As enthusiastic as Rekka seems to be about welcoming anyone who wanders in here, this is supposed to be an exclusive Vanguard shop. I believe you wandered in here by mistake, yes?" Her disapproval was clear on her face and in her steely gaze, and Asuma thought to himself "What in the hell is happening here? This store just shows up in a random alley, then I'm supposed to believe it's a VIP card shop just for Vanguard? And who are these three anyway?"
As if she could read his mind, Kourin cut through the stretching silence, stepping in front of the rest of the trio and staring Asuma down. "This might be confusing for you, but honestly just forget you saw this shop, okay? You don't even have a deck on you, so we can't see if you're up to our level. From what I've seen so far though, it wouldn't matter even if you did have your units with you. I don't know why you were able to find this place, but you should leave. Now."
Getting tired of being talked down to, Asuma stood his ground in front of the imposing blonde, standing eye to eye with her for a moment. "Look lady, I may not know who you are or what this place even is, but what I do know is I don't like people that think they're better than others. Just because I didn't do some test to get in here doesn't mean you can judge my skill! I'm going to be the best I can be at Vanguard, and your pretentious attitude can't stop me." Unknown to him, as Asuma spoke from the heart, remembering people that told him he'd never make it big back when he was a nobody in junior high and not the star player on the top club team in the region, his eyes began to faintly glow.
"Woah there tiger, Kourin can get a little feisty but there's no need to start anything." Suiko gently intoned, stepping between her more aggressive sister and the purple-haired young man. Realizing that once again he'd let his anger get the best of him, Asuma stopped for a moment and shook his head, clearing away the clouds of anger that had come over him again today.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so heated. I'll be leaving now." Asuma quickly shot out an apology, turning towards the door as he did. Not hearing any complaints or assertions otherwise, he hustled out of the dimly-lit space back out into the alleyway. 'Damn, I wonder what was up with that place. And why am I so angry today? It's not like I haven't lost before, or never had doubters.' Attempting to knock the thoughts loose with a quick shake of his head, Asuma walked to the end of the narrow dead-end street and turned the corner towards home. Had he stopped to look back, he would have noticed the entrance to PSY gone, leaving only a nondescript brick wall in its place.
Later that night, after having a nice but quiet dinner with his parents, Asuma laid back on his bed. Rather than working on any schoolwork or even taking cards out or adding them to his deck like he usually would, he simply stared at the ceiling. "What in the world happened today? From that weird shop to the voice I heard in my head to just having less control over my emotions." Before he could get too deep in his musings, however, Asuma remembered what Rekka had said about how he should have heard of them. Sitting up in bed, he flicked open his web browser on his phone and searched up 'Ultra Rare'.
Immediately, he was flooded with images of the three young women in white and gold outfits, links to their music videos, and articles about concert dates and tournament appearances. Opening one article about the group, he read a few paragraphs. "So they're some kind of Vanguard idol group? I guess that's why Rekka assumed I knew who they were, but that still doesn't explain what was up with their shop. And what's up with these 'concerts'? It looks like they only ever perform at big Vanguard tournaments."
His next search was much less fruitful, with 'Card Shop PSY', 'Vanguard store PSY', 'PSY shop' and 'Ultra-Rare PSY' all turning up nothing he was looking for. Articles about nearby card game shops, some about psychics and fortune tellers, and of course another flood of info about the three idols. "Damn, guess it couldn't all be that easy." He muttered, dropping his phone on his chest and laying back, folding his arms behind his head. Feeling the exertion of his near-frenzied run earlier start to come back, Asuma allowed the sweet release of sleep to wash over him.
Near-instantaneously, his eyes were back open. But a quick glance around was enough to reveal he wasn't in his room. He didn't even know where he was, because the surroundings were so blank. In every direction, nothing but darkness save for a single point of light, directly in front of him. Asuma started to reach out for it, but as he did it flashed, and then more lights began to appear, on all sides these pinpoints of light began to glow, until it became clear they were not mere lights, but stars. After a few moments, Asuma realized he was floating in space, looking at a planet below him. Taking a few quick glances, he could tell that none of the familiar continents were there, but he didn't think it was any planet he'd learned about in school.
Before Asuma could continue his thoughts, he heard an unfamiliar, serene voice speak to him, as if directly into his head. "Who are you, child. You are not one of my chosen ones, yet you hear the voices and appear here before me now." Asuma tried to look around for the source of the voice, but his head would not respond. However, it proved unnecessary as a gigantic form emerged from behind the globe of this strange planet, describable only as some sort of…space dragon. "Um, my name is Asuma Kujito. Who, or what, are you?" Unable to turn away, the only thing he could think to do was make small talk with what was quite possibly some sort of deity. "Great. Super cool, me." He did not have time to really process the situation, as before he could keep overthinking the dragon responded. "I know your name, child. That is not what I am interested in. I need to know, who you are." As Asuma watched, seemingly paralyzed, this planet-sized being seemed to reach down with an absolutely massive talon and the impossibly tapered point pressed against his ghostly forehead.
As this…dragon…god(?)…thing touched him, Asuma's already-open eyes shot open again and he sat up in bed, sweating like crazy and with the last thing that whatever that was said burned into his mind. "Who I am? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked his silent, unhelpful walls.
A/N: Well, this is a bit of a diversion from the main plot, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed me coming back with what I hope is a hell of a cliffhanger! Don't expect to see to much of this mysterious figure for a little while, though I suspect some of you already know who this giant space dragon is. For now, just know I'll be working on getting closer to that so far elusive Card Capital shop tournament, and how our purple-haired boy fits in! -SidewaysRiku