Cardfight! Vanguard
A New Light
Author's Note: Okay, so this is my first time trying a story for Cardfight! Vanguard. It's been interesting to say the least. I'm actually really new to the game but I thought I'd have a go at writing a fanfiction for it. Hope you enjoy. Please feel free to leave a review. Any and all feedback is helpful, especially since this is my first time writing for this fandom.
Card Capital was buzzing as school ended. There was nothing unusual there. What was unusual was the queues out the door and down the street. It wasn't something that had been seen since Vanguard first started. Or since the game got its first revision to iron out flaws and exploits in the rules. Other than that it was mostly shop tournaments and free in-store tournament viewings that caused queues out the door, but even they weren't usually this big.
Not content to wait, Kai bypassed the queue entirely, walking past it and going to slip in the door past everyone else. As he did, a kid about half his size grabbed his jacket in an attempt to stop him. He looked around at him, entirely disinterested.
"What's your deal?" the kid demanded. "You gotta wait your turn to fight him!"
"I'm not here to fight today." Kai went to move again but the kid's grip didn't budge.
"Then what are you doing here? Aren't you from Team Q4? Why are you here if not to fight on the day there's a new player?" This kid was everything Kai didn't like. He was too sure of himself. His goofy teeth that stuck out over his bottom lip were something Kai would have taken great delight in punching out if he were that sort of person and he seemed to think he was the world's gift to everyone. The fact that there was a new player meant nothing to Kai. Fighters came and went. He didn't see why this one was causing such a fuss.
"My business here is nothing to do with you." He batted the kid's hand away and went to move again.
"Seriously? This new player beat Aichi and now you get to jump the line? Go to the back!" There was a chorus of agreement from everyone around him. Probably his friends.
"If Morikawa could beat Aichi when he has a proper deck then I'm sure it's really not that hard." Kai shrugged, feigning nonchalance. In reality though, that disturbed him. A new player had come out of nowhere and beaten Aichi? What clan was he using? Aichi had defeated everything from Ren's Shadow Paladins to Link Joker and it's subsequent Reverse outbreak. It wasn't every day someone could just walk in out of the blue, defeat Aichi and have nothing known about him. And it had obviously caused a fuss.
"Hey, Kai!" Kai looked up to see the shop manager, Shin, making his way over. "Come on over! Your order just came in!" Kai shouldered through the rest of the queue and headed over to the counter. Shin pulled out a massive cardboard box and began rifling through it.
"Uncle, you always put Q4 orders with the assisticat!" a voice called from across the store. Kai looked over to see Misaki leaning over Aichi with her hands on her hips. She seemed to be lecturing him about something. He'd probably let cardfighting get ahead of his school work again.
"Thanks, Misaki!" he called back before lifting the cat's bed up. The cat gave a warning grumble as Shin fished a slim cardboard packet from under the bed, putting it carefully back down when he was done. He handed Kai the packet and started punching buttons on the till. "I understand you've pre-paid as you always do so here's your receipt." He handed the slip of paper over. "Thank you for shopping at Card Capital." Kai nodded in thanks and headed to a table at the back, taking out his deck and spreading it out to re-organise it. It was his Narukami deck since he'd realised a few days ago he hadn't upgraded it in a while. He tore open the packet and took out the plastic top-loader inside, rearranging the cards inside into his deck and removing the ones he didn't need now with these new upgrades. He pocketed the old cards and packed up his deck, putting it away in his inside blazer pocket. That was when he turned around and spotted the commotion at the table. The new kid was obvious compared to everyone else and he'd scored yet another win. The kids in the shop were staring at him with awe.
"I've never seen a clan like that!" The defeated opponent stared in wonder at the cards on the table. That was when the fighter they belonged to noticed Kai watching.
"Hey, you're Toshiki Kai, right?" He waved Kai over to him. Kai sauntered over and stood by the other end of the table, making sure he was a respectful distance away.
"That's right. I see you're causing a bit of a stir here. Who are you?" The young kid grinned, packing all his cards together back into the deck.
"I'm Hisashi Amato." That was when it clicked into place.
"As in the Amato printing company who are a subsidiary of Cardfight! Vanguard?" The kid nodded in response.
"That's the one. My dad asked me to beta test this new clan. I have to fight my hardest until I lose one and then the number of wins I get will be used to decide whether it becomes a permanent part of the clan list or not. It hasn't been given a name yet, but I call them the Solar Dragons."
"Hmm." Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting. I might look at them when they come out." he wasn't technically lying. If he thought they were an effective weapon, he'd look at adding them to his library as a third deck. But he wouldn't do it until he'd fought someone using them. That was the only way to be sure of their power.
"Well you'll be doing a lot more than looking." Hisashi slapped a card into his Vanguard circle. "Toshiki Kai, I challenge you to a Cardfight!" Kai thought this kid would never ask. He took out his deck, placing a card into the vanguard circle and then shuffling.
"Stand up, the Vanguard!" They both flipped their cards over in unison.
"Lizard Soldier Sishin!"
"Szubs Kin, Light of Generosity!" Kai was glad he'd been told beforehand that this was a new clan. Otherwise he would have been caught off guard by the little robotic-looking thing that had appeared in front of him and that could have caused him to make a mistake. He didn't have his Kagero deck on him, so the best thing he could do was play his Narukami deck like any other fight and let it happen as it would. What he learned today would be valuable if this clan ever got released to the public.
"The first move is yours." He gestured to Hisashi who seemed in his element with the new clan. Unsurprising. He'd been practising with it all day against most of the town from the look of the queue. The wisest move was to let Hisashi go first and see what this clan was all about.
"Szubs Kin has an ability. When I ride him as my starting Vanguard, we both get to draw a card." They did so and Kai tried to hide a flinch. He'd drawn Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo. A heal trigger. That meant she wouldn't be there to help on a damage or drive check when he needed her. Not to worry. He still had three others. "I ride Solar Flare, Helix Dragonoid." The previous Vanguard was gone, replaced by a dragon with armour that appeared to be made of magma. A flame burned at the end of its tail and its mouth was lined with razor-sharp fangs. It was big, too. It actually cut a profile more like a Grade Three, but it was definitely only Grade One. "When I ride him, the top card of your deck is burned off onto the drop zone. I call Twilight Dracokid and Blind Phoenix to the Rear Guard. That's my turn over."
"Then it's my move!" Kai shifted into high gear. "I ride Red River Dragoon and support with Photon Bomber Wyvern. I'm calling Lizard Soldier Ouho to rear guard along with Lizard Soldier Riki. Supported by Photon Bomber Wyvern, Red River Dragoon now attacks!"
"I won't guard that." Kai moved to check the drive trigger. This new clan didn't seem that powerful so far. He was still unsure of their purpose. When he turned the trigger over, the sight of Yellow Gem Carbuncle almost made him smile.
"I got a critical trigger. Red River Dragoon will take the critical and my Lizard Soldier Ouho will take the power." The strike landed cleanly and Hisashi's damage checks revealed nothing.
"Blind Phoenix has an ability. While he can't attack, he can blast one card from the top of your deck into your drop zone every time you successfully damage me." Kai checked the two cards he now had to discard. The first one was a copy of Excess Streak Dragon, but the second was Old Dragon Mage. A draw trigger. Another loss he didn't need.
"Supported by lizard Soldier Riki, Lizard Soldier Ouho attacks!"
"I won't guard." Again, the strike hit successfully. But it meant Kai lost another card from his deck. This one was a copy of Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion. A crippling thing to lose to the drop zone. And it was that very thought that made him realise the purpose of the new clan: disarmament. Just three cards in and this clan had cost him a Grade Three and two triggers, one of them very important. To make matters worse, it was now Hisashi's turn.
"I ride Solar Storm Luminous Dragonoid!" This time, the dragon that appeared in front of Kai was much more imposing. Again, it looked more like a Grade Three. The design of these cards was definitely more amped-up than it had ever been. Wings of fire stretched out behind the dragon and the armour had formed into pumice stone. The tail flame from its previous form was gone, replaced by a club made of magma. Compared to its orange scales from before, this creature's scales were a deeper shade that bordered on red. "When I ride him, the top two cards of your deck are sent to the drop zone." Kai checked the cards. Another Old Dragon Mage was lost along with a copy of Lizard Soldier Riki. "I call two more Blind Phoenixes to Rear Guard and call two copies of Urth, the Flame Purifier to my flanks. Now supported by Blind Phoenix, my Luminous Dragonoid attacks. I'm checking the drive trigger." There was nothing. Kai didn't bother to guard, either. The strategy he was working up to would depend on him having at least three damage. He let the attack through and checked the trigger. There was nothing. "I now attack with Urth, the Flame Purifier!" Again, Kai let it through and didn't find a trigger. "Urth has a special ability. When it deals damage, the top card of your deck goes to the drop zone."
"Okay, this is getting old." Kai checked the top card of his deck. Again, he struggled to hide a flinch. Zephyr Kid Hayate. A front trigger. Yet another card that could have helped him.
"Urth, the Flame Purifier now attacks!" Kai let the attack through and failed to score a damage trigger. He checked the top card of his deck and found another Worm Toxin Eradicator Seiobo. That was two heal triggers wasted. There was nothing he could do about it. But it didn't matter. Vengeance would be swift and brutal.
"I stand and draw." Kai pulled the top card from his now depleted deck and saw he had everything he needed for the turn. "I ride Recklessness Dragon and call Excess Streak Dragon and Yellow Gem Carbuncle to Rear Guard. Lizard Soldier Ouho retreats and Photon Bomber Wyvern switches places with Lizard Soldier Riki. Now I activate Excess Streak Dragon's ability. I counterblast one and soulblast one to choose one of your front row Rear Guards and bind it." Hisashi moved one of his copies of Urth, the Flame Purifier to his bind zone. "Since I bound a card this turn, Excess Streak Dragon now gains ten thousand power. Now I use Photon Bomber Wyvern's ability. I counterblast two and since you now have only one Rear Guard he gets an additional ten thousand power. Since you only have one Rear Guard, my Thunderstorm Dragoon also gets an extra five thousand and Recklessness Dragon gains three thousand. Now supported by Lizard Soldier Riki, my Recklessness Dragon attacks!"
"I guard!" Hisashi threw three cards into his Guard circle and Kai checked them. Their total power came to about thirty thousand. No way was Kai getting through that. His power was at twenty thousand. Even with a trigger he would only break even.
"Checking the drive trigger." As he checked it, a sense of relief washed over him. His deck was crippled, but he wasn't out of the picture. "I got a front trigger! Ten thousand power goes to each of my front row units! Excess Streak Dragon now attacks!"
"Not if I can help it!" Hisashi went to guard. Unfortunately for him, he'd just used up his last card that could guarantee his next attack could be repelled. The attack connected. His Rear Guard Thunderstorm Dragoon moved in at forty-two thousand power and also landed a clean strike. Unfortunately for Kai, he'd forgotten about the three copies of Blind Phoenix now opposing him in Hisashi's back row. Kai checked the first three cards that were on top of his deck. Another Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, a Recklessness Dragon and an Old Dragon Mage. The next three were decidedly more damning. Yellow Gem Carbuncle, Zephyr Kid Hayate and Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo. He was losing triggers with each attack and apart from anything else the number of cards in his deck was now getting dangerously low. But Hisashi was on five damage. The next successful attack would end him.
"I stand and draw." Hisashi drew his card and Kai knew something big was coming from the look on his face. "Day turns to night as the sun itself is torn asunder! The creature birthed from within reveals itself for the first time! I ride Solar Cataclysm Fusion Dragonoid!" Kai was overwhelmed by an intense blast of heat. The creature before him burned with bright white light. The pumice stone armour was now replaced by smooth black chitin over bright red scales and Kai couldn't tell if it was armour or a natural part of the dragon. Its wings burned with bright blue flame as did the spines up its back and the crest on its head.
"Let me guess: three cards to the drop zone?" Kai glared at Hisashi, thinking he knew what was coming. Boy, was he ever wrong.
"No. I activate his counterblast!" Hisashi flipped a card in his damage zone over. Now you have to drop one card for each card in my damage zone." Kai was in shock. Five cards gone just like that at a time when he couldn't afford it! "That's not all. I was waiting for you to get me to five damage! I counterblast four more times!"
"No!" Kai realised what that meant. Twenty-five cards! He'd be lucky to have that many left at this point. With a twisting in his gut, he counted them out. He was almost decked out. Only two cards remained. If he let any damage through and didn't have enough to make his next draw, he'd lose the match by default!
"Now, supported by Blind Phoenix, my Dragonoid attacks!" Hisashi went on a rampage of all three attacks. Luckily, Kai was just about able to defend. Unfortunately, another two damage made it through, taking him to five. Now he could see how Aichi and everyone else had lost to this kid. This had rattled him and there was no denying it.
"It's the final turn!" It was true. One way or another, Kai knew this would have to be the last turn. He had nothing left that could guard. He couldn't even afford a twin drive check. He either defeated Hisashi now or not at all. "I stand and draw!" Kai pulled the second-to-last card from what was left of his deck. That was when he saw it. The new card that had been added to his deck just minutes ago. "The winds give a last desperate howl as the mountains bow down and the skies weep one final time! The embodiment of lightning descends, making even thunder cower in its presence! Ride the Vanguard! Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion 'THE CLEANSING'!" The very lightning flashing in the overhead clouds descended towards the surface of Cray only to be torn apart. The dragon that clawed its way through it gave a booming roar that shook the planet's orbit. Its red and gold armour seemed to glow in the light around it and the suspended lightning it emerged from then started to bend and reform, adhering to its back and forming the creature's wings.
"But that's..." Hisashi realised only too late.
"Yes. This card is one about to be put into circulation by the Amato printing company as well. They sent me four copies as a product tester." Kai allowed a satisfied smile to spread over his face. "Just as your dad created the clan you fight with today, so too will a card of his creation end you and this game! Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion 'THE CLEANSING', Limit Break! I counterblast two and since you have three rear guards, he gains ten thousand power and plus one critical. Now I activate his secondary ability. I use it to bind all five of my Rear Guards. It's supposed to be three at minimum, but I'm in a destructive mood right now. With that, for every rear guard I've bound, my Vermillion can attack once this turn!" Hisashi's face showed it all. Kai had five attacks at twenty-three thousand power, each of them able to deal two damage and he didn't have nearly enough to guard against it. "It's over, Hisashi! Vermillion moves to attack!"
"I won't go down without a fight! I guard with Frei, Solar Immortal!"
"Checking the Drive Trigger." Kai turned over his last card. There it was. Against all the odds. "I got a heal trigger! The power goes to Vermillion and I recover one damage!" Vermillion's attack still failed, But no sooner had he done that than Vermillion circled around for its second attack.
"I guard with Twilight Dracokid and Awe, the Holy Glimmer!" Vermillion's second attack failed to leave a dent, but he circled around again to unleash his next one. "I drop one from my hand to nullify it!" That took care of attack number three, but the next one was already coming. "Intercept!" One Rear Guard alone couldn't defend the attack, so they both threw themselves into the Guard circle. Vermillion ploughed them out of the way, but that was it. One attack remained and the path was now clear.
"I'm not out of it yet!" Hisashi braced, knowing he still had a chance if he could pull two heal triggers. Very rare, but it could happen.
"Vermillion, obliterate!" Kai ordered. Vermillion threw back its head before unleashing a blinding storm of white lightning from its mouth. Hisashi's Fusion Dragonoid let out a scream of agony as Hisashi checked the damage triggers. There was nothing. Solar Cataclysm, Fusion Dragonoid vanished from the battlefield leaving Hisashi standing there in spirit form. As they watched, the battlefield around them faded away, leaving them standing back in Card Capital.
"Winner: Team Q4's Toshiki Kai!" Shin declared. Off to the side, Kai heard someone clapping. He looked over to see it was Aichi. Misaki joined in a second later, joined by Shin. It spread like wildfire throughout the shop and soon everyone was at it. Kai gathered up his cards as some people started cheering. Hisashi also started gathering up his cards with a smile a mile wide.
"Nice going, Kai." Kai looked around to see Miwa standing behind him. He'd been so engrossed he hadn't even heard him come in.
"Thanks, Kai." Hisashi came over and shook his hand. "I need to report back to my father. Before I go, do you have any feedback?"
"Yeah." Kai nodded as he pocketed his deck. "You need to nerf that ability on your Fusion Dragonoid. Way too powerful. Make it so you can only use it once per turn or something." Hisashi nodded, puzzling over it in his head.
"It does seem to be lacking a bit in the fairness department. You did amazingly against it, though. Just two more cards and you'd have been out. And to manage to win when you have all those drive checks but can only actually make one before you're decked out and still make it through..." Kai paused, considering Hisashi's words. Eventually, he took out a pen from his blazer pocket, opened his bag and tore a page from his school notebook. He wrote something down before handing it to him.
"Once your father balances that clan out, tell him to go and speak to this guy. He runs Team Asteroid. They also train elite fighters and I think they'd be very interested in this new clan. It might help give it a jump-start." Hisashi studied it for a second before realising what Kai was saying.
"Ren Suzugamori? Are you serious? You really think he'd be interested?" Kai nodded, securing his cards in his pocket again.
"He's always interested in that kind of thing. Just make sure you see him after your father balances the clan out properly. He'll probably want to purchase some trial decks for his fighters." Hisashi's look of amazement only deepened.
"I'll show this to him. Thank you!" With that he ran off, running at full speed down the street while pulling out his phone to call for a pickup. Kai leaned back against the table, finally ready to let himself relax a bit.
"That was really nice what you did for him, Kai." Aichi got up and walked over to the other end of the table. "I always knew you had a soft side." The words were barely out of his mouth before Kai turned to glare at him.
"I like to support new clans and cards. If you ever accuse me of being soft again, I'll kick your butt in a way that doesn't involve cards! Now prove it or apologise!" With that, Kai pulled his Narukami deck back out and placed it on the deck zone, setting a card in the Vanguard Circle. Aichi started beaming in a way that lit his whole face up as he did the same.
"Let's do this. I want to face that new Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion form you've got." Kai shrugged as he drew his starting hand, re-shuffling three cards into the deck.
"Alright then. Just remember that you asked for it. Now stand up the Vanguard!" With that, they flipped their Vanguard cards over; the routine that was by now so familiar to them beginning all over again.