Ruko's Apartment
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Manly Big Bang)*
"King of striking who cuts through the air at a high speed! Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster! Legion!"
Naoki performed the action with intense energy as he placed Big Bang Slash's card beside Big Bang Knuckle Buster on the LRIG space over on the LRIG space of his side of the playmat, bringing the Level 4 Narukami unit into Legion. Hatsu calmly observed the situation that she was currently in after surviving this long for a majority of the game so far. She had Midoriko, Fourth Girl as her LRIG in use, along with a complete formation of SIGNI comprised of two Seiryu, Phantom Beasts whilst her middle SIGNI space was open thanks to a Spark Crash ARTS that the Narukami user had played the previous turn. In addition, the two of them were both tied at two Life Cloths each. From the sidelines, Hitoe who had been watching the bout with everyone else couldn't help but feel somewhat sad when the battle had begun, knowing that it was Midoriko herself she had wielded in her first run of the Selector Battles and everyone present knew how badly it had ended for them back then.
Nonetheless though, she had quickly gotten over her brief depression as the game went on, mostly from knowing that Yuzuki, Ruko and Aichi could give her some reassurance if she were to doubt herself over that particular topic again. Kai, Leon and Ren simply observed the battle as it was, just as Naoki was summoning more units to his two remaining SIGNI Zones on his side of the field. Those were quickly filled up by Brawler, Wildclock Dragon and Brawler, Big Bang Slash Dragon to join Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon which was already present.
"My, he's really throwing everything at her," the Shadow Paladin user said musingly, having noted that both of his newly summoned units were weaker than her SIGNI.
"Midoriko's speciality is similar to that of Genesis and Dark Irregulars, building up Ener to use for more powerful effects whilst also powering up," Kai murmured "Over the course of this battle, we've seen Hatsu take great advantage of powering up for the Lancer effect to deal additional damage to Ishida whilst mowing down his forces with each attack."
"He knows he doesn't have many defensive options after taking so many hits from the Lancer effects early on," Leon spoke "Therefore, he's gambling everything on 'that' skill again."
"Legion skill!" Naoki called as he moved Toshu's card from his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile. "I put Big Bang Knuckle Dragon from my LRIG deck under Knuckle Buster and attack all of your SIGNI and Midoriko in one battle! In addition, my SIGNI can attack immediately afterwards."
"Attacking everything at once again along with Midoriko?" Hatsu murmured with a gentle smile "I must say, that is a rather scary skill to encounter."
The Narukami user kept a confident smile on his face as he immediately downed both Big Bang Knuckle Buster and Big Bang Slash Buster's cards on the LRIG space.
"I'm not gonna let you get another one up on me with that annoying ability," he declared "That's why I'm gonna knock everything out at once! Great Gatling Punch!"
On a battlefield from one of the Planet Cray's rocky plains imaged within Naoki's mind, Big Bang Knuckle Buster and Big Bang Slash Buster rushed across the length of the plain towards both of Hatsu's Seiryu SIGNI and Midoriko, who could only clench her teeth at the situation she now found herself in. As the giant shadows of the two Narukami Thunder Dragons loomed over the top of her, Hatsu's voice suddenly sounded out from within Naoki's image.
"Big Bang Knuckle... a unit that benefits from making multiple attacks at the same time," she spoke "I must say Ishida, you certainly surprised me the first time I saw you use that. But now..."
Before the two dragons could immediately strike, two Servant Os immediately appeared in front of both Seiryu, Phantom Beasts, shielding them both from the multiple attacks that the Legioned pair could inflict upon them, this immediately catching Naoki by surprise as evidenced by his suprised gasp.
"And... no guard for the attack on Midoriko."
The imaged Midoriko simply dug the heel of her right boot into the ground as Big Bang Knuckle Buster's right fist struck the ground in front of the green LRIG, knocking her right into the air as Big Bang Slash Buster's let out a giant left hook that sent her hurtling across the battlefield by a few meters. Looking back in front of her, Skyhowl Dragon let out a mighty roar that forced her to her knees after shielding her ears from the intense loudness that came from it. Back to reality, Hatsu's final crushed Life Cloth revealed Hyakko, Phantom Beast whilst the previous one had been Pandan, Phantom Beast whose Life Burst had helped her to draw an extra card. Naoki had taken the lead, but his opponent's SIGNI had remained unscathed and with only two Ener and Life Cloths available, he knew there wasn't much he could do to try and survive the next turn.
Calm down... he muttered in his thoughts I already know from Legioning now that I've got a Heal Life Burst somewhere amongst those last two Life Cloths. If I can get it and use Toshu, it'll be over next turn.
"Turn end."
(End Music)
End of Turn 8
Naoki vs Hatsu
Hand - 3 : 2
Life Cloths - 2 : 0
Current LRIGs - Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster (Legioned with Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster) : Midoriko, Fourth Girl
SIGNI : Brawler, Wildclock Dragon - Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon - Brawler, Big Bang Slash Dragon : Seiryu, Phantom Beast - EMPTY - Seiryu, Phantom Beast
Ener - 2 : 6
"Naoki-kun's attack hit Midoriko..." Aichi murmured "But..."
"Hatsu's SIGNI are far too powerful for any of his remaining units to overcome," Yuzuki interjected "Even if their power was greater, without a Lancer or Assassin effect, Midoriko would not take any more damage this turn. And that's saying something since Hatsu doesn't have any Quintet Walls."
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Triumphant Limit Break)*
Hitoe and Ruko along with the remaining cardfighters that were watching from beside the small table remained silent, but they all had a feeling that they knew what was about to come next, after taking note of what Midoriko's playstyle was capable of, even in a situation such as this. Hatsu kept a gentle smile as she began her turn before immediately summoning a SIGNI known as Shienko, Phantom Beast.
"With Shienko's ability," she spoke as she moved two of the cards in her Ener Zone to her Trash Pile "For this turn, the power of my SIGNI including herself are doubled."
"Doubled?!" gasped Naoki "Then..."
"That's right," she replied "With this, both of my Seiryu's abilities become active again in addition to gaining Lancer for this turn."
Seiryu, Phantom Beast x2: 12000 - 24000 + Lancer
Sheinko, Phantom Beast: 8000 - 16000
The Narukami user could sweat for a brief moment, having only managed to escape Seiryu's abilty twice from the Spark Crash ARTS he had used during Hatsu's previous turn, but now he didn't have enough Ener to pay the cost for a second copy to help him out of this situation.
"My first Seiryu attacks," Hatsu spoke as she downed the Level 4 SIGNI "With her skill, I banish Skyhowl Dragon."
"Darn it," Naoki groaned as he took a card out of his hand, revealing it to be Hardship Brawler, Toshu "Quintet Wall!"
After revealing the top five cards of his deck, all of which were SIGNI cards revealed to be Servant O2, Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld, Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle, Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon and Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster, he placed them in his Ener Zone confirming that he managed to successfully block the attack with no problem. However, even he knew that he was far from being out of danger just yet. Hatsu kept her kind and gentle smile as she downed her other Seiryu, her same effect forcing Naoki to banish Wildclock Dragon that was protected by the Quintet Wall and just like the first one, this one had the Lancer effect as well. The Narukami user revealed the first of his last two Life Cloths to be Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle.
"Yes, Heal Life Burst!" he called "I'll... Ah!"
"What's wrong Ishida?" asked Ruko.
"Look," Kuro interjected as everyone else beside him looked back at the table to see exactly why Naoki had panicked at this very moment. He had gotten the Life Burst he wanted, but at the wrong timing as Hatsu still had no Life Cloths to his very last one.
"Tama sees!" Tama called.
"Ishida cannot recover a Life Cloth..." Umr murmured "He was banking on the timing and the Quintet Wall to save him... But..."
"Now then, shall we bring this to a close?" Hatsu asked bemusingly in a gentle tone to which Naoki could only remain tense. "Sheinko attacks."
He flipped up his last Life Cloth to be another Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster which he immediately placed in his Ener Zone, meaning he no longer had any Life Cloths left to survive the final attack of the battle. As Hatsu downed Midoriko's card, on the imaged field within the Narukami user's imagination, the green LRIG took a mighty leap into the air before performing a large uppercut across the front of Big Bang Knuckle Buster, the force being strong enough to knock it over onto its back after it had been weakened as a result of the previous attacks in the turn. Back to reality, Naoki was hunched over in disbelief that not only had he been defeated by Hatsu, Ruko's grandmother of all people, but the fact that she had calmly anticipated his last ditch effort to finish the game was enough to surprise him.
(End Music)
"I lost, huh..." he murmured before putting up a smile and looking back at Hatsu "Ruko wasn't kidding when she said you were strong."
"The same could be said for you, Ishida," she replied "You certainly had several things I wasn't expecting myself."
"Well, she did warn you about Hatsu's capabilities," Ren mused "Probably the reason Mayu never bothered to make her a Selector."
"You're one to talk Ren," Naoki muttered "You lost to her just 1 match ago."
The Shadow Paladin user simply shrugged with almost a hint of a pouting motion in his current expression, showing that he didn't want to be teased in return about what had happened during the previous game, to which almost everyone else in the room with the exception of Kai, Leon, Umr and Kuro along with Hatsu herself could only sweatdrop.
"Grandmother does constantly change her decks though..." Ruko murmured under her breath, to which Aichi and Yuzuki could only laugh nervously in agreement.
Shortly after her granddaughter had made her point though, Hatsu then looked over to the boy, causing the Royal Paladin user to immediately assume that she was now expecting him to be her next opponent immediately. As he was bringing out the case that contained his deck, Ruko's grandmother put away her Midoriko deck after gathering up all of the cards that made it up. She walked up to the shelf where she opened up a container that had another deck of cards that had seemingly been untouched for quite some time. She gave the container to Aichi who gazed at it in confusion. Looking back at Hatsu who simply gave a kind nod in response, he pulled out the deck contained within and turned the cards around, bringing a collected gasp from him as well as Yuzuki from over in her card.
"You've got to be kidding me...!" the LRIG exclaimed as she stared at the frontmost card, upon recognizing the very design on it.
"Umr...?" he breathed as Hitoe looked over his shoulder to get a closer look at the card.
"I thought it would be interesting for you to face a proper deck around Umr, given the circumstances of what happened from your battle against this Ulith," Hatsu spoke "I recieved the cards from Ayumu a few hours before we had learned that Ruko had 'disappeared' with the intention of showing her later, making the timing rather inconvenient."
"I see..." Ruko murmured as both she and Aichi looked down at Umr herself, whose card was laid just outside of the mat on the small table, but not before the Royal Paladin user handed the deck back to Hatsu. The strange LRIG simply gazed back at the pair, unsure of how to properly emote to this sudden revelation, especially given that Aichi would now face her 'supposed' true strength in person for the first time. As the cardfighter and the Selector's grandmother prepared themselves for battle, Aichi briefly looked down at Umr's LRIG card that he kept to the side of the playmat before looking back to Hatsu who seemed content for the moment, seemingly understanding how he was feeling about this whole situation for the moment as both of them reached for their starting LRIGs.
"Open!" they called as they flipped up both Advance Party Seeker, File and Umr=Noll, Wielder of the Key of Creation respectively to begin the battle.
Card Luck
Over in Card Luck, Kamui was already having a hard time in his own battle, or rather his very first Wixoss battle, against Amika as the sixth turn had eventually come to an end. Despite getting his head wrapped around the basics of Wixoss at last throughout the course of the battle, Piruluk's Freeze abilities had prevented him from fully utilizing Nova Grappler's speciality of restanding their rear-guards, or in this case, his SIGNI. In addition to that, Amika's earlier Peeping Analyze had also emptied his entire hand of all but two cards, the third one he had used to Guard Piruluk's most recent attack, leaving him with two Frozen SIGNI, both of which were Desert Gator and Hatred Chaos, an empty SIGNI zone and two Life Cloths with his Ener Zone being stuck at six cards.
So Piruluk uses the same tactics as that Remember unit... he muttered in his thoughts Some of those SIGNI are even the same ones that Kiyoi's used... Nasty as I remember them.
As he continued to mutter away within his head, Amika noticed his hardened expression as he gazed over the cards that she had in play, unaware of the events that had transpired in his last cardfight with Kiyoi before arriving in this world. That was when she eventually took notice of the snowflake like marking that had been engraved over the top of his right hand, now curious to know how he ended up getting something like that.
"By the way Kamui..." the Selector spoke "What's with that snowflake like mark on your right hand?"
"Oh, this?" he murmured as he looked at the mark "It's kind of a long story that has to do with me bumping heads with you."
The Nova Grappler user then went on to explain how he had encountered Kiyoi in the park back in his own world which had raised some intrigue from Amika whilst Piruluk herself from her own card nonchantly listened closely. Whilst the blue LRIG didn't seem that bothered by what Kamui had been telling them so far, in actuality, she had been rather intrigued from what the cardfighter had been talking about in regards to his encounter with her. He also spoke about how Amika's Code Art SIGNI were also units that he had faced off against in the previous cardfight against Kiyoi and that her 'Vanguard' was a strange looking girl that went by the name Remember before speaking with how his loss had resulted in her taking away his Raizers and engraving that mark on his hand to prevent him from using any copies of the cards she had taken away from him, less they turned blank from just a single touch.
"And after that," he concluded "Kiyoi used a blank card to somehow send me off here. I'm guessing that's how my Beast Deities ended up changing. If she's really going after my friends back home, I need to find a way to stop her."
Whilst Amika simply stared at Kamui in wonder, seemingly amazed by what she had just been told, Piruluk had finally opened her eyes with her hardened gaze now staring at the ground of the space within her card. Then, unbeknowst to either her Selector or the Nova Grappler user, she suddenly clenched her right fist.
You... Was 'she' simply not enough for you?! she growled within her thoughts.
"The great Kamui ups and draws!"
The blue LRIG did not have time to ponder on this for long however as she looked back to see that Kamui drew his next two cards to begin his turn right off the bat. Looking over his hand, he placed Beast Deity, Death Stinger in his Ener Zone before picking out a card from his LRIG deck.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Ore-sama Saikyou! Nova Grappler!)
"Go! Burning Fire! Roaring Thunder!" he called out aloud "The great Kamui Crossbreak Grows the furious, Strongest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster Extreme!"
As he placed down the card on top of his current 'LRIG', on the battlefield imaged within his mind, the orange and white armoured unit that was called Beast Deity, Ethics Buster was enveloped in a bright neon green glow as several features of its current appearance began to change. When the light that covered over the unit died down, it now had a neon green coloured gem embedded in the center of its chest, additional plates of armour with the newly adorned colour now added onto the shoulders, body, the palms of its hands and the center of four hovering devices that remained behind the newly changed Nova Grappler. This was the evolved Ethics Buster in all of its glory, depicted on the card that Kamui had now grown into.
"Hang on... what's a Crossbreak?!" Amika exclaimed, having not come across the readapted term of a Crossbreak Ride.
"That's my previous Ethics Buster's speciality, a Break Ride or in this case, a Break Grow bonus," the Nova Grappler user replied "Any LRIG that grows from it whilst I have three or fewer Life Cloths gains an additional skill for this turn only. Then if the LRIG I grew was Level 3 or lower, it gains another Level and its Limit is increased by 3!"
"However, Ethics Buster Extreme is Level 4, meaning you only acquire the additional skill this way," Piruluk bluntly stated, much to the Nova Grappler user's brief annoyance by her tone. He looked over the field as it was, taking note of his frozen SIGNI before taking the remaining cards from his hand and summoning them immediately, his frozen Beast Deity, Desert Gator being moved to his Trash Pile as a result of being replaced to make room for another attack. The two SIGNI he summoned were Beast Deity, Brainy Papio and Beast Deity, Max Beat
"With Ethics Buster Extreme's Cross Grow bonus, my SIGNI power up!" he called "And with two Doping ARTS, Max Beat and Papio power up again!"
Beast Deity, Brainy Papio: 5000 - 7000 - 10000
Beast Deity, Max Beat: 2000 - 5000 - 8000
Beast Deity, Hatred Chaos: 6000 - 8000
"So you're gonna go for it," Amika spoke looking over field. She had a whole lineup of SIGNI consisting of Code Art DEF, Code Art GLK and Code Art WTC from her left to her right whilst Piruluk remained at Level 3 for the moment. Her Ener however was limited to just one card meaning that there would be little point to trying to use an ARTS in this scenario. The Selector then looked back at Kamui with a confident smile. "Bring it on!"
"You got it!" he replied with his own confident smile "Max Beat and Brainy Papio attack your SIGNI!"
Piruluk simply kept her sharp gaze upon the Nova Grappler user as Amika moved her banished SIGNI over to her Ener Zone, seemingly remaining motionless as she did so.
"Ethics Buster Extreme attacks!" Kamui called.
"Servant D2!" Amika called as she discarded the colourless Guard SIGNI right away. "Looks like I'm escaping this turn with no damage again!"
"Is that so?"
The Selector suddenly gained an expression of confusion as Kamui's smile remained right as it was whilst Piruluk's expression had not even changed a bit in regards to what the Nova Grappler user had planned next.
"Let me show you, what Nova Grappler is truely capable of!" he boldly declared "Ethics Buster Extreme's Limit Break! Twin Drive!"
"What are you saying?!" exclaimed Amika.
"I reveal the top two cards of my deck," Kamui spoke "For each Beast Deity I reveal that does not have a Life Burst, I add it to my hand, Up a SIGNI and I can conduct my SIGNI attack step again!"
"Seriously?!"
Piruluk looked over to the Nova Grappler user's side of the field, having taken the opportunity to read each of his cards as they were put into play and as such, the blue LRIG could already tell that she knew full well of what he was planning to get at this very moment.
"First check!" Kamui called as he revealed Beast Deity, Yamatano Drake. "Max Beat stands! And when Max Beat stands due to a card effect, I can pay a Beast Deity from my Ener Zone to stand another SIGNI!" He then sent another copy of Max Beat from his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile and immediately upped Brainy Papio's card. He then revealed the next card to be Beast Deity, Desert Gator and upped his Frozen Hatred Chaos as Amika could only begin sweating nervously.
"Now he's got another three attacks," she murmured "But... I still have five Life Cloths..."
"Let's go!" the Nova Grappler user declared as he begun his second wave of SIGNI attacks.
On the battlefield imaged in his mind, Hatred Chaos made quick work of banishing Code Art WTC whilst Max Beat immediately charged towards Piruluk and slashed down the front of her with its spear. Amika's next Life Cloth revealed Code Art JV, no Life Burst being present to help her out at this moment. She looked over to Kamui to see that his confident grin had not faded in the slightest.
"I should probably let you know that I'm gonna knock you for a loop," he said "When Brainy Papio's attack hits your LRIG, I can pay a Beast Deity from my Ener Zone to stand a different SIGNI back up."
"And with Max Beat being there..." she breathed before suddenly realizing what he was getting at "No way... You mean to say, with Max Beat and Brainy Papio, you can wipe out my remaining Life Cloths?!"
"You got that right!" Kamui called as he downed Brainy Papio's card immediately.
Back on the imaged field, Piruluk remained motionless as she endured through continued strikes from Max Beat's spear and relentless waves of missiles of Brainy Papio that struck and exploded all around her. Much like the LRIG that was only imaged in a part of Kamui's imagination, the real Piruluk had kept her eyes closed as she listened on throughout the remainder of the battle. Over on the table, Amika's four crushed Life Cloths revealed Code Art WTC, Code Art DEF, Servant D2 and Code Art KEY, the two Life Bursts having increased the Selector's hand size by another two cards, much to the Nova Grappler user's annoyance.
"Well that bites," he sighed "I was only one Ener short from ending it this turn."
(End Music)
You tell me...! Amika muttered in her thoughts along with a sweatdrop to follow on that.
"Is that all...?"
Kamui's ear twitched as he gazed towards Piruluk herself from the card that she resided in, noticing that her gaze had fallen upon him again.
"What are you getting at?" he asked.
"Certainly, I can acknowledge that you are a rather passionate individual and that outcome from you last fight has not affected your confidence," the LRIG replied in a monotone "However... if feelings are all that you rely on... you will never survive within this world."
"You...!" he growled, clearly annoyed by her comment towards him.
"Easy Piruluk!" Amika replied, trying to calm the tension between the two "Besides, he's done really well to get to grips with Wixoss, especially with that Nova Grappler thing he has from this Vanguard game. Vanguard..."
She suddenly paused in ponder, causing Kamui to briefly raise an eyebrow in response as he looked over to the Selector as she suddenly remembered something from the back of her mind, now tying it up to the Nova Grappler user's story of how he had bumped into her.
"Wait a minute... are you from the same place that Kai Toshiki comes from?!" she exclaimed, causing Kamui's eyes to widen in shock.
"You've found him?!" he replied in utter surprise.
"Found?" Amika pondered.
"Kai's went missing from where I've come from and a few friends left to look for him," the Nova Grappler user answered "You haven't seen him with a boy with blue hair, right?"
"I have," she replied "I think his name was Aichi..."
Kamui having now realized that this Selector had come face to face with both Kai and 'Aichi onii-san' could now confirm his suspicions that he was now closer to finding the two cardfighters and he was indeed within the same world that they were now stuck in.
"Do you know where I can find them?!" he cried.
"We have no knowledge of their whereabouts," Piruluk replied in her usual monotone "However, they appear to remain in this particular city, just like most Selectors that we have encountered."
"Darn it..." he groaned, clenching his right fist over the table, knowing that it would presumably take forever for him to search the entire city just to find both Aichi and Kai, having no knowledge of where they along with Leon, Ren and Naoki were staying. As he looked back up, he knew that there wasn't much point to sulking over his dillema and decided that it would least be worth it to finish the battle first.
"Turn end," he spoke.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Profane Wish)
Amika nodded in reply and drew her two cards to begin her turn. As she was about to move three cards in her Ener to her Trash Pile, she suddenly felt a vibration go off in the pocket of her shorts, prompting her to immediately answer her mobile phone by pulling it out.
"Hello?" she asked before hearing a reply, causing her expression to sadden somewhat "I see... I'll be there right away!"
Immediately after she had put her phone away, she immediately began gathering up her cards in a hurry, causing Kamui to raise an eyebrow in confusion whilst Piruluk had simply closed her eyes in response, knowing exactly how Amika was feeling in regards to this particular scenario. The Selector brought up her bag and placed her deck back inside before picking up Piruluk's card.
"I'm sorry we can't finish..." she said, her tone no longer feeling as upbeat as it usually was "There's something I need to do for my family."
"I see..." Kamui replied, now understanding why she had to cancel their battle as it was. "Good luck with that."
Amika let out a sad smile in response, feeling somewhat better that the Nova Grappler user had at least taken the time to understand about why she was feeling the way that she was now. Piruluk meanwhile had kept her eyes closed since the abrupt end to the battle and began to open up her lips to speak.
"Katsuragi Kamui, I will only warn you and Amika once," she spoke "For the sake of your wish and safety... do not involve yourselves with Mizushima Kiyoi. That is all."
"What do you mean?" asked Kamui, confused as to why she didn't want him to go after Kiyoi. But before he could get an answer, Amika had already turned around.
"I'll see you around!" she called as she exited the shop immediately, waving goodbye as she disappeared out of sight from the top floor.
Kamui simply stared at the staircase leading to the bottom entrance of Card Luck, now pondering over everything that had happened for him since his arrival into this world. Truth be told, he wanted to follow Amika on the off chance that he would run into either Kai or Aichi so that he could hopefully get a better understanding on what the two of them had ended up getting themselves into. His thoughts suddenly delved back into brief anger as he recalled everything that Piruluk said to him, from her assessment of both his attitude and the way that he battled to her blunt warning on not to go after the mysterious girl, Mizushima Kiyoi who still had a grip on his Raizer units.
That LRIG's attitude... he muttered in his thoughts She reminds me of the way 'he' used to act. There's something about her that ticks me off, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Doesn't matter now, I've just gotta find Aichi onii-san and we can get to the bottom of this whole thing.
With grim resolve, Kamui gathered up his cards and left the top floor of the shop, preparing to step into the unknown once again.
Ruko's Apartment
Several hours had passed over since Aichi and Hatsu's battle had concluded with Ruko's grandmother having emerged victorious over him after a long struggle between both the Royal Paladins and Umr. The Royal Paladin user needless to say was amazed by how much the LRIG could accomplish when the proper cards around her were brought into play, leading him to only question about how much strength and potential that the real Umr held from the single card that he now held onto. In the midst of his pondering, Leon and Kai later partook in battles against Hatsu, this time having much better luck than him, Ren or Naoki for that matter as they were able to win their games eventually, albeit only just.
When Kai's match had concluded with the finishing blow from Dragonic Overlord the End, everyone turned to see that Ruko was staring out of the window at the far end of the apartment, looking over the late afternoon sky as it rolled over the city's horizon. Her expression was not one filled with joy, nor was it one that was filled with despair, but one that held concern and the others present knew exactly what it was that she was concerned about as they walked up to her.
(End Music)
"It's about Ayumu, isn't it?"
The Selector turned around to see that it was the Kagero user that had asked her that question, to which she then nodded in response.
"We can help him understand... can't we?" she murmured.
"Right now, you cannot lose faith in what you believe in," Leon spoke "Regardless of whether that relates to your wish or if there is a way to talk some sense into your brother."
"Leon-san's right," Aichi interjected "We don't know everything that's been going on in your past, but I'm sure once we find out, we can help him to understand what's going on."
"I see..." Ruko replied as she looked over the rest of the group as Hitoe and Yuzuki shared collective warm smiles in return, now seeing that their friend wasn't as depressed as she was earlier "Thank you."
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Subete no Tatakai wo)
The others nodded in reply, including the other LRIGs that were present in the room as Hatsu then approached Aichi with something held in her hands. He turned around to see that it was the Umr deck that she defeated him with earlier in the afternoon.
"Given how important Umr is to you at this moment," she spoke "I think this deck is better off in your hands."
"R... Really?" he asked as she handed it over to him.
"I know how much your Royal Paladins mean to you, especially that Blaster Blade that Kai gave you," Hatsu replied "But if you ever need 'her' strength to help all of you, this should be my way of contributing to your efforts."
"T... Thank you, Hatsu-san," said Aichi as he looked down to Umr who simply nodded in response before looking back to the group of cardfighters and Selectors.
"Right now, even though Mayu has been defeated once before, the battle to free everyone involved has only truely begun," Kai spoke "We are all aware of the risks and the dangers that are now involved, especially given that the remnants of the Star-vaders are assisting her in her efforts to oppose us. If anyone wishes to back down from the struggle ahead, I will respect your decision and fight on alone. But first I must ask, who is willing to stand up to the Selector Battles and Mayu herself?"
"I will, Kai-kun," the Royal Paladin user replied with resolute determination as he held one hand to the center of the group.
"I... I'll help too...!" Hitoe replied as she followed with the same action, the palm of her hand resting on top of Aichi's.
"You can count it!" Naoki called as he followed suit.
"Fine with me," Ren replied bemusingly as he too held his right hand to the center.
"I will not forgive those who have violated the sacred wind once before," Leon spoke as he followed on.
As Kai placed his hand over the top of the pile that was formed from the group circle that the five cardfighters and Hitoe had formed, they all turned their attention to Ruko who looked over to them. Looking down at Tama who pumped her right fist into the air as a sign of excitement and approval, Kuro then nodded with a sincere smile, showing that she now had complete faith in her Selector's decision. Yuzuki waved from her card to get Ruko's attention back to the group before the Selector nodded in response.
"Everyone..." she breathed before she stepped forward, now placing her right hand in the center of the group that had been formed from each of their right hands, now indicating that their circle had finally been completed as each of them now held a sincere smile, showing that they were now willing to take on whatever challenges that Mayu or the Selector Battles had to offer, in their bid to save everyone from her's and the Star-vaders' twisted grip. From her card on the table, Umr also held a sincere smile of her own, a sign showing that she too would offer her aid to Aichi and the others the moment that she would be called upon to aid them in their struggles for the future of this world.
(End Music)
Emerging from a flight of stairs that presumably led to an underground rail network of some kind, a cheerful young girl emerged onto the lonely street that was in front of her. She had smart black hair tied up in a bow at the back and had bright orangish eyes whilst wearing a buttoned up whitish coat with rather short sleeves. Seeing that no one else was currently present around her, she dug into her right coat pocket and brought out a single card, this one containing the real Midoriko as evidenced by the green background, the LRIG's jutted hair and her rather depressed expression at this point in time.
"Is something the matter Midoriko?" she asked in a gentle tone.
"I... It's nothing..." the LRIG replied, trying to force a smile on her face which had just been enough to reassure her Selector at this point in time.
However, Midoriko had felt anything but truely happy after her encounter with Photon that occurred shortly after Hitoe had her wish tainted at the end of her first run in the Selector Battles. Even though this had raised more questions for her about the individual and his forces that had apprehended her at the time, she knew that one thing was for certain. He was somehow in alliance with the one behind everything, Mayu herself and that he had seemingly been employed to prevent prying eyes like herself from gazing into what was truely going on. Before she could question more about herself after coming this far, she suddenly felt something within her chest causing her to throb in pain as a dark red aura surrounded for a brief moment, catching the attention of her Selector.
"Is something wrong?!" she cried, worried for her LRIG at this moment.
"I... I'm just a little sick..." Midoriko groaned, having struggled to stave off whatever Photon had his forces infect her with at the time "It's nothing I cannot handle..."
"If you say so..." her Selector replied, still not convinced that she was telling the entire truth about how she was feeling before putting the card back into her pocket.
Midoriko almost wheezed for a moment, having barely managed to cover up about how she was truely feeling as she lay down on her back to try and catch her breath out of her sudden ordeal. All she knew was that no matter how long she could delay 'it' for, that is if she knew what 'it' was, in the end, she was now a ticking time bomb for her Selector and that there was nothing she could do to truely prevent whatever would occur but prepare herself for the worst to come.
And there we go! After a series of friendly battles with Hatsu, Aichi recieves her Umr deck to inherit for the many trials and tribulations to come as the group advances further in their efforts to free everyone involved from the Selector Battles. As the group forms a pact to represent their unity, Amika ends her battle with Kamui abruptly to attend to something, leaving him with more questions than answers whilst Midoriko's new Selector becomes increasingly concerned about the LRIG, unaware of the events from two entire arcs back. What will happen next? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Feel free to leave your thoughts and criticisms on this chapter and I'll see you all next time. Until then!
*This first plays in Episode 168 when Naoki rides Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Dragon.
*This first plays in Episode 116 when Leon uses Last Card, Revonn's Limit Break.
