Hello everyone and welcome back! Before we get into today's chapter, you may remember I mentioned an update at the end of last chapter that I was going to address. Well, here it is. At some point, I'm planning to revamp the first chapter "Ride 01: That Boy is Kai" to add in a bit more detail for newer readers as I felt it was lacking in one particular place and I have also got a character from another part of the Wixoss media making a cameo in this revamp. For now at the moment, I have gone back to that same chapter, correcting a glaring error I noticed that I made in decribing Hitoe's appearance (after rewatching the Wixoss anime again, I now know that she actually has green eyes). Correction and update announcement aside, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as it's one I've really wanted to get started on for a while now. Until then, I'll see you at the end.
Apartment Blocks
"According to the key tag, Kai's rented apartment should be one floor above from where we are now heading."
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Friends)
Aichi led the way up the long stairs throughout the building that he, Hitoe and the other cardfighters were walking through. Needless to say, Naoki was already panting from the long climb up the many long stairs that the complex had to offer whilst Ren and Leon had effortlessly managed to join both the Royal Paladin user and the Selector at the current floor they were standing on. To their left was a single door leading to apartment 801, in which Hitoe had already known was Ruko's home. She couldn't help but worry for a moment about her friend, concerned that with every passing second that went on around them, Link Joker's grip on the Selector would continue to grow even stronger and holding on to Iona made it appear that the situation was growing ever worse, considering that Tama didn't go through with the oath to allow Ruko to become an Eternal Girl with the intent of saving everyone. Her trail of thoughts were interrupted as she heard Naoki stop and pant for a moment as he joined her and Aichi.
"Not... much... further to go," he panted, clearly showing that he was not a big fan from taking the long walk up, especially with all of the belongings he packed was stuffed into a single bag that he carried on his back, much like the other cardfighters that came to this world with him. Aichi sweatdropped for a moment before he noticed Hitoe looking over at the door to Ruko's apartment and turned to her.
"Is something wrong Hitoe-san?" he asked.
"Um... This is Ruko's apartment," she answered "I want to let her grandmother and brother know that Ruko is not hurt for the moment. But..."
"Given the circumstances," Yuzuki spoke, continuing for her Selector "Letting them in on the whole situation and the fact that she and us were involved in the Selector Battles will only make things worse for Ruko. When Kai battled her, she said that she ran away to avoid having them involved in some way and since Link Joker has somewhat of a hold on her with Iona, I can't exactly blame her."
"I see..." murmured Aichi. Before the group could resume their journey back to Kai's apartment, the door to Ruko's apartment opened up, revealing a tall boy with the same hair colour as the aforementioned Selector exit the front door before looking out in front of him. He was somewhat surprised to say the least, to see Hitoe along with the four cardfighters present right in front of him. The Selector already knew from meeting on occasion with her friend whilst she still had Midoriko that this was Ruko's older brother.
"Oh Hitoe, is everything alright?" he asked. Quickly thinking up of an excuse to not raise any suspicion, she gave out an answer to him.
"Not really Ayumu..." she answered "I was just passing by. I'm sorry I couldn't find Ruko for the moment..." Had Aichi and Naoki not recalled Yuzuki's explanation of the scenario at hand to them, they would have called out loud in disbelief, possibly making things worse for the aforementioned Selector and her friends.
"I see, I was just heading outside to try and look for her myself," he murmured before looking over at Aichi, Naoki, Leon and Ren who just playfully shrugged in response. "You seem to have quite the crowd here. Are they friends of yours?"
"Y... Yes!" Aichi answered "Hitoe-san met us a while ago and... we heard about what happened. We want to do what we can to help but... we haven't had any luck finding your sister so far."
"Well, I suppose I should be glad for the additional help," Ayumu spoke, somewhat bewildered that these friends of Hitoe were willing to help out. Before he could say anything else, an elderly figure emerged from the doorway. She wore a green jumper over a white shirt and had a red hairband present amongst her grey hair. Aichi assumed from appearance alone that this was Ruko's grandmother as Hitoe had briefly mentioned. She looked over to Hitoe and smiled warmly.
"Hello there, Hitoe-chan," she said warmly "I heard you were just passing through?"
"T... That's right," the Selector answered before looking over Aichi and the others "T... These are some of my friends that came along with me."
"I see," the elderly figure replied kindly as she looked towards the Royal Paladin user "I assume you are this Kai that Hitoe-chan briefly mentioned on a previous visit?"
"Um... no, but we're close friends with him," Aichi answered "My name's Aichi. Sendou Aichi."
"Ishida Naoki," Naoki replied before holding out a hand pointing over his two colleagues. "That's Soryu Leon and Suzugamori Ren."
"Hello there," Ren said cheerfully. Leon said nothing, but nodded in agreement with the Shadow Paladin user's greetings.
"It is nice to meet all of you," the grandmother replied as she gave a gentle bow of respect before looking over to Hitoe. "Given that you were passing by, would you not mind joining me for a bit whilst Ayumu goes out and looks for Ru-chan?"
(End Music)
"S... Sure," said Hitoe.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Brasted Piano ~ Profane Wish)
The elderly woman smiled kindly and opened the door for her and the cardfighters to head inside whilst Ayumu waved goodbye and went down the stairs of the building, heading out into the streets in the hopes of finding his missing sister, still unaware of everything that was transpiring around her. When everyone was inside Ruko's apartment, Hitoe, Leon, Naoki and Ren all took a seat at the small table present on the floor of the living space beside the small kitchen area. As Ruko's grandmother began preparing drinks and cake for the group, Aichi had gone up to the windowsill, looking out into the city and the early afternoon sky out in front of him. What caught his attention was the tallest buildng amongst the ones he could see, unbeknowst to him was where Ruko's last battle with Tama took place and where she and Kai had confronted each other.
It was nearly complete in its contruction since that battle had took place, though Aichi could feel somewhat of an ominious presence deep within from just looking over at it. Wanting to get his mind off of that thought, he turned around to rejoin the others. As he went over towards an open space at the table, something then caught his attention on the shelves on the wall to his right, just a bit beside the table. Heading over towards the smaller lower shelf that was nearest to the stand divding up the kitchen and living space, he could see a photo within the frame. It depicted what appeared to be a much younger Ruko and Ayumu within a majority of the photo with a taller woman present behind them, though for some reason, the top right corner of the photo which would depict her face and upper body had seemingly faded away, much to his confusion.
As Ruko's grandmother prepared the group their food and drink on the table, she looked up at where Aichi was and had a solemn expression present on her face. Putting his food and drink down at his seat, she walked up to join him at the shelves. She noticed his glance at the photo and looked over to him as he did to her. Noticing her expression, Aichi seemed a little worried.
"Is... something wrong?" he asked.
"Not at all Aichi," she answered "I just couldn't help but see that you took notice of Ru-chan's old family photo, when she was still living with her mother."
"I see..." he murmured "Um... forgive me for asking, but... what happened?" Ruko's grandmother seemed uncomfortable with going over the subject, particuarly to a friend of Hitoe who she had just met. But with some of her suspicions over her granddaughter's disappearance growing by the second and Aichi willing to offer his help in trying to find her, she thought that disclosing the subject could maybe give him a clue to follow on when finding out why Ruko was missing.
"A few years ago," she began "Ruko's mother had transferred care of both her and Ayumu over to me. I was confused as to why, but she claimed that she couldn't understand what she thought that Ruko was thinking and that had scared her. As far as I was aware, Ru-chan never asked for anything more. She never gave any more details to the subject and left both my grandchildren with me, just like that. Then again, I always had my doubts regarding to the scenario as she had neglected Ru-chan in past."
"I'm sorry to hear," said Aichi, feeling guilty for asking over a particularly touchy subject.
"I understand Aichi," the grandmother replied "Before Ruko disappeared, when she would invite Yuzuki and Hitoe over, I had a feeling it would only be a matter of time before one of them found out." After a few moments of silence, she began smiling warmly again. "That reminds me," she said "Your drink and cake are on the table if you want them."
"Thank you very much," he spoke kindly as he went back to sit at the table to join his friends.
(End Music)
Around an hour later...
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Kaisou)
Eventually after spending some more time with Ruko's grandmother and Ayumu had returned to deliver the bad news that he had been unsuccessful in his attempts to look for the Selector herself, Aichi, Hitoe and the other cardfighters bid the family goodbye and continued on their way up to Kai's apartment. Eventually after going up another flight of stairs, they found themselves at the place they needed to be. Unlocking the door with the key that Kai had provided them with, Aichi opened up the apartment for everyone to enter inside. They could see that its size was somewhat similar to Ruko's own apartment, only downgraded by the fact that there was only bedroom and joint bathroom available outside from the kitchen and living space in the whole complex.
"I guess Kai wasn't expecting all of us to show up when he was trying to find a place to stay," murmured Naoki.
"I find that understandable, given how long he has been in this world for," replied Leon as he glanced around the living space. "Ren, if you would head back to the city streets to find us some spare futons for our sleeping arangements?"
"But of course," the Shadow Paladin user replied "It's not like we plan on sleeping on the hard floor itself, right?" Everyone else just ended up sweatdropping at his rhetorical question. Ignoring the confused gestures, Ren smiled and exited the apartment to carry out his task for the day. Looking out the open window to see the afternoon sun starting to set, Aichi still had one thing on his mind that he felt he needed to get sorted.
"I should probably go out and look for Kai-kun," he said "I'm starting to worry about him."
"I... I'll come with you," replied Hitoe "I'll need to head back home soon."
"Thank you very much," Aichi spoke "Naoki-kun, can you take care of things here with Leon?"
"You got it!" the Narukami user replied energetically whilst giving a thumbs up. Leon nodded in agreement with Aichi's request to accept Naoki's help around the apartment. When everyone was happy with what they needed to do, Aichi and Hitoe left the two remaining cardfighters to themselves, exiting the apartment and eventually leaving the whole building. When they were outside, the Royal Paladin user and Selector began their search for Kai, hoping that he was alright after the way he appeared during their discussion at the library, completely unaware of the fact that Akira had wounded him a short time ago.
"I should try his mobile number..." Aichi murmured "But we're in a different world, so I'm not sure..."
"You should be able to still call him," Yuzuki interjected "You're both in the same world now and Hitoe can get in contact with him just fine."
"Okay then," he replied as he began dialing the number. When he did so, he listened carefully for any sign of an answer. Eventually, after a few ringtone bleeps, nothing happened.
(End Music)
"He's not answering...?" he pondered in concern. Before he or Hitoe had time to process that thought, they could suddenly hear some panting from nearby. Turning their attention forward, they suddenly saw Chiyori running towards them. The younger Selector although usually energetic was panting from rushing over to this point, leaving Aichi, Hitoe and Yuzuki to wonder what was going on. They soon found out after seeing that Chiyori's expression was littered with panic.
"Chiyori?" murmured Yuzuki "What's the ru..."
"There's no time to explain...!" she panted, a slight hint of panic present in her voice "I've been looking for you...! Something's... happened... to Kai!" This only led to several collected gasps from Aichi and Hitoe whilst the LRIG could only wonder in worry about what had happened. An "ahem!" was suddenly heard as Chiyori then dug into her pocket to bring out Eldora's card to the group.
"What's going on Eldora?" asked Aichi.
"I don't know," she replied "But from the look of things, Kai's in bad shape. We have a friend keeping an eye on him for the moment, but she'll need help carrying him through the city."
"So he's... injured?" Hitoe murmured in worry.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Lies, Desire and Broken Mess)
"Follow me!" called Chiyori as she quickly sped off to where Kai currently was. Aichi and Hitoe nodded in agreement with each other and hurried after the younger Selector, hoping they were not too late to help out their friend. Eventually, after passing through several streets to the City Park, Aichi could only gasp in horror as he saw Kai's unconscious state. He could see that someone was beside him, seemingly waiting for help.
"Kai-kun!" he cried as he ran down the stone steps towards the cardfighter. The girl, Amika, who had observed his conversation with him and Naoki earlier in the day looked over to Aichi as he joined her.
"Is he alright?!" he asked in panic.
"For the moment, he's still breathing!" she replied as she quickly held out something to Aichi. "But I found this pen stabbed into the back of his abomen. I'm concerned that he may have been poisoned by the ink if it has been in there for a while and I'll need help carrying him to the nearest hospital quickly!"
"I got it!" called Aichi as he got himself underneath one of Kai's shoulders, as did Amika with the other. Hitoe and Chiyori quickly joined the two and the unconscious cardfighter as they all worked together to heave Kai as hard as they could along the rest of the park and down the streets of the city. Along the way, they had to call out to groups of people ahead to step aside, allowing them all to pass by. Panic was the only thing running through their minds, hoping they could help out the wounded cardfighter before it was too late, unaware of the perpetrator involved in the act.
(End Music)
Ruko's School: After School Hours
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Iona and Akira)
Ulith waited patiently from within the empty classroom that she sat in. She was expecting Akira to hopefully return with Tama's card as she specifically requested, after the Selector's earlier blunder with making herself known to the other cardfighters in her battle with Naoki, thereby exposing her to their knowledge. She felt angered by the blunder so much that she was almost unwilling to give her another chance until she mentioned the Narukami user's units had a yellow border on their cards, which was odd as Wixoss never had Yellow registered as an official colour within the game. Well, at least until his arrival that is. Her trail of thoughts were interrupted as the door to the classroom had opened up, revealing Akira in her presence.
"Have you been successful?" Ulith asked with a hint of venom to her voice.
"But of course, Ulith-san," Akira replied as she held out Tama's card before the cruel demanored Selector. Ulith then walked over to her and took the card, inspecting it closely. When she saw the LRIG's panicked and worried expression present as well as her hectic breathing, she smirked as that was the authentic LRIG.
"I see you have accomplished your task well, Aki-lovely," she spoke "Perhaps you aren't as incompetent as I originally thought."
"And I have an additional bonus for you as well," the Selector continued as she held out a rectangular shaped object, wrapped in cloth to obscure it completely. Ulith took the object from her and shedded a bit of the cloth. Upon looking closer, she picked out what was inside the object. A Wixoss deck and a very familiar one at that. Inspecting the cards closely, she placed them back in the object and wrapped the cloth back over it.
"I have no use for these cards," she spoke "But seeing as you went through that effort to obtain them, feel free to keep them, if you so choose."
"W... Why thank you, Ulith-san!" Akira replied with joy as she placed the object back in her hoodie pocket, a sinister thought having crept across her mind.
"That reminds me," Ulith continued "Have you set the bait?"
"Yes!" the Selector answered "With any luck, Aichi has come across Kai's wounded body and should be on his way in a matter of time."
"Excellent," she smirked "I only look forward to seeing what twisted expressions that 'hero' of the other world will show me soon enough." Her sneer never stopped for a moment, which greatly worried Tama as her card rested within the palm of the Selector Akira had now given her to.
(End Music)
City Hospital
Everything was dark for Kai. For the moment, he couldn't move, hear or even see about what was going on around him. Just an empty black void was present in his vision as he had no idea of anything around him for the moment. Eventually, after ushering out a weak, but collective groan, his hearing started to return to him.
"He's waking up!" called a female voice.
"Kai-kun, hang in there!" cried a different voice.
Although he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings or hearing just yet, he knew that tone of voice well enough to recognize that it was Aichi who had called out to him just now. Next, he tried opening up his eyes, resulting in his vision becoming blurry at first before his true line of sight eventually came back. Blinking his eyes to become more used to the light in the room that he was resting in, he sat up from the bed that he had been lying down in. Looking closely at what was in front of him, he could see Aichi, Hitoe and Amika looking over him, with relief coming around to their expressions.
"He's alright! Alive! Well!" called a familiar voice from a different person. Looking over to his left, he could see Chiyori bouncing up and down in both joy and relief that he was okay before briefly spinning around with Eldora's card, much to the LRIG's dizziness and dismay. As he attempted to get up, he suddenly felt a sharp pain from where he had been stabbed.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Unsettling)
"Easy Kai!" called Yuzuki "The doctors said it may take a while until your actual wound properly heals."
"I see..." he murmured before he looked around the hospital room. "How did I...?"
"I found you when Chiyori and I were going through the park," Amika explained before bringing out the pen that she held, the sharp point of which was still stained in blood. "I removed this pen from your wound and waited for help to carry you over here. I'm just glad the doctors managed to get out all the ink that ended up in your blood. My name's Amika by the way. Hashimoto Amika."
"Then I owe you my thanks, Amika," Kai replied. He then clutched his head, trying to remember the incident before he blacked out. "I was attacked earlier and... Tama...!"
"Kai-kun?" murmured Aichi.
"Is Tama's card here?!" he asked. Both the Royal Paladin user and Hitoe along with Yuzuki shook their heads, confirming Kai's suspicions.
"I knew it," he muttered "Whoever attacked me must have taken Tama's card."
"And when we think about how sharp that pen was..." said Yuzuki "There's only one person we know who has that kind of fondness when she's unstable..."
"Akira..."
Everyone turned to Amika, having heard the voice come over from where she was standing. Kai, Hitoe and Yuzuki being the most surprised as they had heard the voice of that LRIG before and not since their first encounter together. The Selector looked at Aichi and Kai, noticing their expressions in confusion for a moment. She remembered her LRIG telling her previously that Kai could see her and that same possibility lay with Aichi and Naoki who she also saw earlier.
"S... Say..." she nervously spoke "You wouldn't happen to somehow be Selectors yourselves?"
"I guess..." murmured Aichi "We can hear and see the voices of LRIGs." Amika then dug into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out Piruluk's LRIG card, revealing the LRIG to everyone present in the room and Aichi, Chiyori and Eldora for the first time in their case. Her expression seemed to be the same as Kai remembered seeing in his first battle against Akira, although closer glances would tell that she didn't seem exactly as 'cold' as the Kagero user first saw. She glanced over towards Kai, keeping her gaze upon him.
"So Piruluk, we meet again," he murmured.
"Likewise," she replied in a monotone like voice. "I assume from your injury that you were unfortunate this time round to fall victim to one of my former Selector's unstable fits."
"Wait... you don't mean the same Aoi Akira who works with Urazoe Iona in the fashion department?!" Amika asked in disbelief.
"T... That would be her..." Hitoe whimpered nervously, remembering back to their first encounter and how it ended.
"And we happen to know," Yuzuki replied, she too also remembering her Selector Battle against her when she was still a Selector herself, with Hanayo in her possession.
"But even so..." Kai murmured "If Akira was my attacker, why would she want to steal Tama from me?" As he fumbled his hands around, he suddenly felt a bump present in his right coat pocket. Reaching his hand in, he suddenly felt what appeared to be a scrap of paper stuffed inside recently. Grabbing a hold of it, he quickly brought it out to reveal a piece of paper, folded irregularly and with the name, Sendou Aichi written in bold on one of the folds.
"What is this?" Kai pondered, looking closely at what he held.
"It looks like it's for me..." Aichi murmured as he took the scrap from him. Carefully unfolding the paper that was before him, he could see what appeared to be a letter in front of him. It read out:
"Oi, so called 'hero' from another world"
"Aki-lucky here's got something that you and Kai-unlucky want back"
"If you want to know where I've taken Ru-pon's LRIG to"
"Meet me and a guest at her school tonight and all of your questions shall be answered..."
"Lucky, lucky, Aki-lucky..."
At the bottom of the message was what appeared to be a chibi anime style picture of Akira with a wink and a heart symbol above her head, no doubt glued on after being cut out from one of the fashion magazines that she and Iona, or rather Ulith as of now, starred in whenever they were called on to do fashion shoots as part of their jobs, aside from just being Selectors themselves. Aichi was primarily confused as to why Akira wanted to see him along with this 'guest' she mentioned in the message, though everyone else was beginning to feel uncertain. None however were more uncertain than Hitoe, Kai and Yuzuki, having been well aware of previous experiences around the Selector that Aichi was in the dark about. Nonetheless, the Royal Paladin user knew that she had taken Tama and Ruko's school was where he was to find the stolen LRIG.
"I'm going to save Tama," he spoke, his tone of voice being serious enough to define his decision being resolute. As he got up though, Kai quickly attempted to rise from the bed, grabbing a hold of the cardfighter's arm and wincing in pain from his injury.
(End Music)
"Aichi...!" he called.
"Kai-kun?" Aichi murmued.
"Listen to me," Kai spoke "I have no doubt that if you have to battle Akira for Tama, you have more than enough skill needed to face her. But, I need to confront her myself!"
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Akira)
"But you're still injured!" replied Eldora "As long as that wound hasn't healed by a signifcant amount, you won't be able to walk properly!"
"Besides, didn't you say that Aichi was one of the strongest opponents you've faced?" asked Yuzuki.
"Because I'm not willing to risk him being wounded as well..." he replied before he then turned to Aichi himself. "As far as I'm aware, you're not used to being threatened by any dangerous methods, sharp objects in particular and she will no doubt attempt to wound you herself if she becomes unstable in her mannerisms." Aichi however put a hand on Kai's shoulder.
"Please rest Kai-kun," he said "I promise I will be careful around Akira and I promise that I will save Tama and get her back!"
"Aichi..." Kai muttered. Sighing in defeat, he sat back down into the hospital bed that he was in. "Very well then, but I won't allow you to face Akira on your own."
"I... I'll go with him." Everyone looked over to Hitoe who had nervously spoke out in response to Kai's statement. Even Yuzuki could only gasp in horror and shock as she couldn't even imagine what her Selector was thinking right now.
"Hitoe!" she called "You were already in a bad state after your battle with Akira, there's no telling that she would be looking to harm you again!"
"B... But if I guide Aichi to Ruko's school..." the Selector replied nervously "And if I stay out of sight from Akira... then everything should be fine... You don't mind, Aichi?"
"I understand," he answered before looking back to Kai. "Hang in there for now, I promise we'll be careful and return with Tama." The Kagero user said nothing in response, still concerned about letting Aichi go to confront Akira in order to recover Tama, but he knew that as long as he remained injured from the earlier wound, he was powerless to do anything for the moment. Sighing, he nodded in compliance with his decision. With that, Aichi and Hitoe then left the hospital room leaving Kai, Amika and Chiyori all on their own.
"Well, I should probably get going too," sighed Amika before putting Piruluk's card back into the pocket of her shorts and looking back to Kai "I hope your friends and yourself end up alright."
"Likewise," replied Kai as he lay back on the hospital bed. The Selector then left the hospital room, waving goodbye as she left. As Chiyori looked up at the Kagero user, he shuffled his hand into his jacket pockets. His eyes suddenly widened as he felt as if something important had gone missing from his left jacket pocket. Quickly checking his other pockets, his worst suspicions were only just confirmed.
(End Music)
"Don't tell me...!" he gasped.
"Kai?" murmured Chiyori.
"If Akira has taken it as well, then...!"
Ruko's School: School Entrance
It was now nighttime by the time Aichi and Hitoe had reached Ruko's school. The sun had already gone down just before they arrived at the front entrance, meaning that the black night had now become present in the sky above. Much to Yuzuki's surprise, the gates had not closed, allowing them to wander freely onto the campus, though part of her was still worried for Hitoe's safety, hoping that Akira would not spot the Selector at least before Aichi had a chance to find her. The cardfighter then looked over to Hitoe who seemed to be shaking with fear.
"Is everything alright Hitoe-san?" he asked in concern.
"I... It's nothing...!" she replied loudly, a hint of panic still present in her voice. Taking a deep breath and gulping for a moment, she began walking towards the school building. Aichi walked alongside her, not entirely convinced from her composure, but pressed onwards. The silence of the night air around the school certainly didn't help to brighten the mood as it all seemed very quiet. Albeit, a little too quiet for their tastes. When they were halfway towards the front doors of the main building, they could suddenly hear a pair of footsteps up ahead. Hitoe suddenly stopped, having to bite her lip to avoid screaming out loud. Aichi kept one hand on her shoulder to calm her down before looking around. Then, before anyone else could think of something, several small knives suddenly struck the ground in front of them, causing Hitoe to jump and grab on to Aichi's left arm in fright.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Neon Messiah Unreleased Soundtrack: Ibuki Kouji)*
"So you actually showed up, Sendou."
Hitoe nervously gulped and moved behind Aichi as she saw Akira approach the cardfighter from the front doors of the school's main buidling, stopping only a few feet in front of him. Upon looking closer, she noticed Hitoe before sneering. This caused the Selector to nervously shift out from behind Aichi to be alongside him.
"And you've brought the blubbering mess of a Selector along for your little trip here?" she sneered "Seems someone's gone and overstepped."
"Leave Hitoe out of this!" snapped Yuzuki, remembering fully well of what happened from their first encounter, having explained about it to both Kai and Aichi.
"Where is Tama?!" Aichi demanded.
"Oh, you came all this way out for her?" Akira mused "Funny. I remember writing in that note that I'd give you your answer, I never said I would hand her back."
"W… What are you saying?" Hitoe asked nervously. Aichi glanced back at her for a moment before looking back at Akira, hoping to get a clear answer as to what exactly she meant.
"But since you came this far with "Hittoe"*, I suppose I'll be kind enough to tell you," she continued "I've delivered Tama over to my guest I mentioned. That would be Ulith."
"What?!" gasped Aichi.
"Ulith has Tama?!" cried Yuzuki.
"That's right," she replied "And she apparantly wants Aichi to pay her a visit in person."
"Ulith... wants to see me…?" he murmured "Then do you know where I can find her...?"
"That is why I'm here," Akira explained "To prevent you from advancing any further and disposing you for her."
Aichi didn't exactly get the full understanding from what the Selector was telling him, but it appeared that despite Ulith wanting to see him, Akira was wanting to take him out before he would even get a chance to meet her and hopefully, rescue Tama from her clutches. Thinking over the scenario very carefully, he realized there was one conclusion that Akira had expected him to figure out by now. He opened his eyes and brought out his deck box from his jacket pocket. He looked briefly at Blaster Blade's card before turning his attention to the Selector in front of him.
"Are you saying you want to battle me?" he asked.
"But of course," she replied before glancing over to Hitoe. "Or if you want, I'll let you take a free pass. That is, if you're willing to use your little accomplice as a shield to take your place."
"That's absurd!" roared Yuzuki "Hitoe would never accept any challenge from you and I know Aichi wouldn't even consider throwing her in harm's way!" Aichi nodded in agreement with the LRIG.
"I'll battle you if it means getting to Ulith and Tama," he spoke.
(End Music)
"Very well then," said Akira "Even if you beat me, Ulith will be sure to make you crack, one way or another. A shame too, as your little friend seems far too spineless to even take a stand. After all, would Ru-ru really want a useless, blubbering coward as a friend?" As Aichi kept his gaze trailed upon Akira, partially growling under his breath for the words said towards his friend, Hitoe watched on from beside and ran the situation through her head, thinking about everything that was said out loud. Yuzuki looked up at her Selector in worry, concerned about how she was really feeling.
"H... Hitoe," she said "Akira has no right to say those kind of things to you. You're not a coward and I know that for a..."
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Hontou no Kokoro wo Torimodosu tame)
"Wait, Akira!" Hitoe called. Both Aichi and Akira suddenly turned around to see that the Selector had spoken out for herself. Taking a deep breath and holding Yuzuki's card in her right arm, she stepped forward towards the pair.
"I'll... I'll battle you in Aichi's place!"
"Hitoe-san?!" gasped Aichi.
"What are you thinking?!" replied Yuzuki.
"My, oh my," Akira spoke in a mocking tone "It appears that the coward has decided she wants something to prove herself. Well, if that is fine with Aichi over here, I'm more than willing to give you a fighting chance to settle the score."
"Hitoe..." murmured Aichi "I know Akira shouldn't have said those things. But let me..."
"I'm not wanting to settle scores Aichi," the Selector replied, a hint of nervousness still present in her voice. "I may not even stand a chance against Akira, but I want to prove that I'm willing to do anything I can to help my friends, including you. If battling her will get you immediate passage to Ulith without wearing you down first, I'm going to risk even my own wish of having new friends on the line."
"But..." spoke Yuzuki.
"Yuzuki, please!" called Hitoe "I need your help if we're going to give Aichi a better chance of saving Tama! So please...! As my friend... I really want your help!" The LRIG didn't know what to say. Her thoughts were telling her to say no and allow Aichi to handle Akira himself and hope that his skills would be enough to overcome the Selector, but she knew from the scenario that Hitoe had raised a point. What if battling him was just a means of wearing him down so he would face Ulith unprepared? Yuzuki didn't want to believe that, but she didn't know what to say.
"Aichi, what do you think?" she asked. Aichi thought long and hard over this decision. He still was unsure of allowing this to happen, but he knew there were only two ways he could get to Ulith and he had to pick one of them. He looked into Hitoe's eyes and held a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you really sure you want to go through with this?" he asked in concern.
"... Yes," Hitoe answered with resolute determination. "If I remember the saying right... 'What are friends for?'"
"Alright then... Just please be careful," Aichi said, still uncertain of whether or not this was a good idea. Looking back at Akira, he made a decision.
"I will agree to let Hitoe battle you," he spoke.
"Then... proceed," said Akira, stepping to the side and gesturing for him to enter the building. He didn't have to be told twice as he ran into the school through the front doors, briefly looking back at Hitoe before beginning his search for Ulith and Tama.
Please be careful... Hitoe-san... Yuzuki-san...
(End Music)
When the cardfighter was no longer in sight and had already gone deep into the school building, Akira sneered in delight as she turned around to face Hitoe. The more nervous Selector tried her best to keep a determined glance towards her, with mixed success from her expression. Taking a few deep breaths, she awaited for the eventual signal to conduct the battle between her and Akira. The opposing Selector then walked towards Hitoe, reaching out in her pocket and pulling out an LRIG card. This however had caught the attention of her current LRIG, Mirurun who seemed bewildered and somewhat annoyed.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Negativity)
"Hey!" she called from her other pocket "Aren't you going to use me?!"
"That won't be necessary, Mirurun," replied Akira, sneering upon glancing at the card she held. "I have a much better idea for this occasion so you can sit out for this one." As Mirurun made a pouting noise from the other pocket, the Selector held out the card towards Hitoe who clutched Yuzuki's LRIG card tightly, trying not to let her now built up composure fall apart at the last moment. The LRIG looked up at Hitoe, still concerned for what she was thinking of before looking back at their opponent.
"Well then," Akira spoke as she held out the card she was holding towards Hitoe. "Given that Yuzu-pon was once a Selector herself, I think that I'll relish in the delight that I'll crush two of my favourite victims again tonight for the price of one. That being said, are you prepared to suffer once more?" Hitoe said nothing, holding out the back of Yuzuki's card towards the Selector.
"Open!" they both declared. At that moment, to Yuzuki's shock, a fiery red flash also erupted from the card that Akira was holding, clashing with the one from her card, bringing both the Selector and Hitoe to the field that awaited them. Over from the open entrance gates of the school, peeking out from the edge the entire time was none other than Ruko herself, who had been overhearing the entire conversation from the very start. She too had also felt worried about Hitoe, but she knew at as long Link Joker's influence was present around her, she felt she couldn't risk doing anything to intervene in case her friend became exposed to that same power. Turning her attention back to the subject on her mind, she ran past the two Selectors and right into the school.
Aichi... Just why are you getting yourself involved in all of this?
Selector Battlefield
When both Selectors regained consciousness, they could see that the entire background colours from both sides of their fields were completely covered in red, much to Hitoe and Yuzuki's surprise as they knew fully well that Akira normally used a Blue deck as it was complementary to her playstyle. When they turned their gaze to the figure that was present in the LRIG space of the opposing Selector's table, they could only gasp in shock and horror. Standing right on the table was an all too familiar figure that was armed and at the ready. Mirurun was seen sitting beside the LRIG deck, pouting over the fact that she wasn't being used in the battle, but that was the least of Hitoe's concerns right now.
"B… But that's…!" she stuttered.
"Surprised?" Akira smirked viciously. "The LRIG you see is indeed, Lizard Soldier, Conroe!"
"No way...!" gasped Yuzuki "But why is the deck you have is...?!"
"That's correct! The deck you now see before you is in fact..." the Selector replied, her sneer not leaving her crazed smile for even a moment. "The deck that belongs to Kai Toshiki!"
(End Music)
And there! Wanting to prove to herself that she is not useless to her friends, Hitoe meets Akira's challenge so Aichi can immediately start his search for Tama and Ulith. But upon doing so, she soon finds herself and Yuzuki up against the very thing that the Selector also took from Kai at the end of last chapter, his own deck! Just what will unfold from this confrontation? Find out on the next chapter. Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I'll see you all next time. Until then!
*This soundtrack is played in Neon Messiah when Ibuki reveals himself at the Messiah Scramble.
*In the second of the Midoriko-san and Piruluk-tan shorts found on the extras of the Selector infected Wixoss DVDs, in response to a question involving being called a nickname by someone they don't like, Hitoe answers that she has been called "Hittoe". (Keep in mind that the shorts are essentially non-canon and this is merely a reference to them).
