Hello again everyone! It is my great pleasure to welcome you back for the fiftieth chapter of Stand Up, the LRIG! So before I get into the what I have to offer here today, I'd like to personally thank everyone that has been keeping up with the story so far as well as those who have kindly taken their time to offer feedback up to this point. For now, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Vanguard World: Card Capital
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Unsettling)
"H... He's really gone?"
Miwa kept a solemn expression on his face followed by a single nod as he addressed the situation surrounding both Kiyoi's arrival into this world and Kamui's disappearance in addition to finding his Raizer cards blank to those present of his friends in Card Capital. Whilst Misaki, Ratie and Shingo were surprised with traces of shock noticable on their faces, the two extras to the 'group circle' had not taken the terrible news very well at all. They were both boys who were just a little shorter in height than Kamui himself and were very close friends to the Nova Grappler user, which explained both their disbelief and agony from the fact that he had just suddenly 'vanished'.
One of them had dark turqoise-like coloured hair with a portion of it being tied up into a knot at the very bottom of the back of his head and he also wore large round glasses over his yellowish brown eyes. His name was Uno Reiji. The other boy had brown hair and much like Reiji, had his hair tied up in a knot at the back of his head. However it was at the top of the back instead and had dark blue eyes of his own. This boy's name was Saga Eiji and much like Reiji, the news of Kamui's disappearance that was brought to light by Miwa had initially brought about much grief to the two boys.
"T... That can't be true!" cried Reiji.
"TCBT yo!" Eiji chimed in.
"Calm yourselves," said Misaki, placing a hand on one of the boys' shoulders in an attempt to calm them down "We've only gotten knowledge of this right now."
"Besides, it shouldn't be impossible to find where he vanished to, right?" Ratie asked "I mean, you did manage to find the Sanctuary with a bit of luck."
Miwa's expression had not changed in the slightest from the former Quatre Knight's attempt to try and restore some faith in the fact that they would hopefully find Kamui and bring him back, unaware of his presence in the world that Kai was stuck in that Aichi and the rest of their friends had ventured out to.
"I know I'm grasping at straws here," he spoke "But with Kiyoi's recent appearance and Kamui vanishing, I'm getting the feeling that these two occurrences are linked."
"What makes you think that?" asked Shingo as he fiddled with his glasses.
Miwa then reached into his pocket and brought out the Grade 0 Remember card that he had picked up from the cardfighting stage in the park earlier in the day, just shortly after he had gathered up Kamui's blank cards. He placed the 'unit' on the table for everyone present to see, prompting Misaki to closely inspect what little details she could find on the card itself. Shingo and Ratie both came alongside her to see the card for themselves, curious about why Miwa had brought it before them and more importantly, where exactly he had found it in the first place.
"Remember...?" the former Quatre Knight murmured.
"Jun said that was the commonly shared name of some of the units that Kiyoi used," he explained "I'm starting to get the feeling that Kamui fought against her as well, before his cards went blank and he disappeared with her."
"That's most certainly a strange unit," Shingo interjected as he picked up the card for a closer look "It appears to be a part of the Magallanica nation and yet it has no clan name."
"Huh?" Ratie pondered, prompting the others to look at her as she gazed at a certain portion of the card, just beneath the seemingly blank clan box of the card "LRIG...? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I see."
Misaki then turned to face Miwa who could already tell that she was thinking of what she was going to say next and with the recent occurrences that had happened within their world, no one could blame her from coming to the exact conclusion that he had already come to.
"I think we can now agree that Kamui's disappearance was no coincidence," she said "If what Jun told you was already true, we need to be careful for this 'Kiyoi'."
As Miwa nodded grimly in reply, he turned to see that Reiji and Eiji's spirits hadn't been lifted by much and from everything that had happened throughout this day with them being unaware of it all, who could truely blame them for feeling in such a state. Deciding to try and help ease some of the pain from the recent shock of this news at hand, he walked over to them.
"Don't worry you two," he said "We'll find a way to get him back, just like how Aichi's going to find a way to get back here with Kai."
"I can't imagine how Kamui must be feeling in wherever he is now," Reiji replied.
"ICIHKMBFIWHIS yo," Eiji interjected in his usual way of speaking.
As the shop atmosphere around the group continued on as normal in Card Capital like it normally would on busy days such as this, the store owner and uncle to Misaki, Nitta Shin seemingly remained unaware of what had been going on for the moment, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, given how far at the back of the shop that they were standing. However, a closer look behind his glasses could allow anyone to tell that he had overheard part of the conversation and like everyone else, he too shared concern about Kamui's sudden disappearance and how he could be holding up in wherever it was he was in now. But even he knew that as long as there was no trail for any of the group to follow on, much like everyone else involved in the discussion, even he was powerless to do anything to help.
(End Music)
Wixoss World: City Streets
Kamui panted as he struggled onwards throughout the various streets of the large city that was within. The Nova Grappler user was tired from both the long distance he had covered whilst calling out for either Aichi or Kai in hopes that they would hear him and was also rather hungry, given that he did not have a chance to eat whilst avoiding Nagisa earlier in the day, getting caught up in a cardfight with Kiyoi resulting in his current scenario along with his meeting and brief battle with Amika having almost made him forget about the dilemma completely. As his stomach sounded out again for the umpteenth time throughout his long trek, he was too worn out to even sigh under his breath in that regard as he eventually came up to a bench in the park and sat down on a bench to catch his breath.
As he slowly managed to regain his breath, he took the time to recount everything that had been going on so far and what the Selector had told him about. From what little he could understand, he could somehow see these 'alive' LRIGs just like Aichi and the other cardfighters within this world and that Piruluk, the blue LRIG who seemed to be more of an annoyance to him than Amika, given her blunt tone towards him which had caused him to have initial dislike of her in particular, appeared to be a requirement for the Selector to participate in these Selector Battles going on around the world so that her wish could be granted. When he recounted this bit of information, something suddenly clicked in his head.
"Wait a sec..." he murmured "Kiyoi mentioned something about the Selector Battles in our last fight. Is that what she was telling me about?"
Looking up to the late afternoon sky as the sun was now beginning to set over the horizon, Kamui suddenly realized that it was about to get rather dark soon and unless he could find some shelter soon, he would have to sleep outside in the open which ideally was the very last thing that he would want for his first stay within this world. Deciding not to waste any time on pondering over the subject any longer in favor of one last attempt to try and find his friends whilst it was still daylight, he hopped up from the bench and looked around the park for a little longer, just as Chiyori was passing by in front of him, holding out Eldora's card in front of him.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Chiyori)
"Aww... Why did I have to miss my chance to battle with Kai for real?" she moaned "At this rate, I'll never get that rematch he promised me."
"To be fair, you weren't exactly helping the mood given the family issue between Ruko and her brother," her LRIG replied.
"And just how was I being insensitive?" the young Selector retorted.
"Who knows," said Eldora "I wasn't looking at you when this was going on."
Kamui's eyes widened for a moment, not just from hearing the LRIG's voice at this very moment but also for the fact that she had just mentioned Kai's name at this very moment, indicating that much like Amika, Chiyori had also battled Kai in a game of Wixoss once before.
"Hey, wait up!" he called as the Selector paused in her footsteps, turning around to face him immediately "A... Are you one of those Selectors I've heard about?"
"But of course!" Chiyori replied as she walked up to Kamui "I mean, there's no way you'd know unless..."
She suddenly paused in the middle of her speech as she turned around Eldora's card that she held in her right mitton to face the Nova Grappler user, prompting the LRIG herself to look over at him.
"Well now," she murmured "I must say, your hearing must be good if you were able to determine that Chiyori was a Selector."
"R... Right," said Kamui, apparently still getting used to acknowledging that within this world, there were girls 'trapped' inside cards that only he and certain others were able to see "And you're this 'LRIG', right?"
"That would be correct," Eldora answered "By the way, you wouldn't be kind enough to tell us your name?"
"Sure!" he replied "I'm Kamui. Chiyori was your name, right?"
"Yeah!" she called "And this is my LRIG, Eldora. This must be my lucky day today, meeting with all of these boy Selectors with units from the Planet Cray and now I meet a sixth one!"
Kamui wasn't sure what to make out from the young Selector's seemingly overexcited attitude towards meeting him, as if it was almost the greatest thing in the world to her or something. But then again, if she had already met with Aichi, Kai and the other cardfighters that came to this world, no one could exactly blame her for feeling this way considering how few of them were around this city, including the Nova Grappler user himself.
"By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where Kai is, right?" he asked "And you wouldn't happen to know if Aichi onii-san was with him?"
"We didn't see where they went off to after we last met," Eldora replied "But if this 'onii-san' you're referring to is Aichi, then yes, he was with him."
"Well that's just great..." Kamui sighed "First I bend up in this crazy world to find they're here and now I can't find them!"
An awkward silence briefly hushed over the park with the exception of a cold breeze as Chiyori and Eldora stared blankly at him, leading him to immediately assume that he had messed up in his basic grammar for the third time this day.
"I was meant to say 'end up', wasn't I..." he murmured to himself before clearing his throat.
"Anyway Kamui, let's battle!" the Selector called as she turned the card around to have the back of it facing him, much to his sudden surprise.
"Fine by me! I guess I could use some practice in getting used to this Wixoss thing though," Kamui replied as he brought out his Beast Deity deck, giving Chiyori the confirmation that she had been waiting for.
"Yes! Let's go!" she called "Open!"
And just like before, with any other Selector or Cardfighter that had already experienced this once before, a series of rectangular flashes emitted in front of the Nova Grappler user as everything went completely white from his perspective.
Selector Battlefield
When Kamui eventually regained consciousness, he soon found himself within the dark space of the battlefield, seated at a table whilst his side had a silvery white colour covering over half of the background in addition to the silhouetted buildings in the distance that he could see all around him. Looking ahead to the opposite side, he could see Chiyori seated at the table over there and seeming rather eager to get the battle started already whilst Eldora simply scratched the back of her head, understanding the Nova Grappler user's sudden surprise in arriving in this particular place.
"W... Where the heck am I?!" he exclaimed before looking down on his table to see that Beast Deity, White Tiger was standing poised and ready for battle. As he watched the unit flex its arms for a brief moment, he couldn't help but look down in wonder.
"No way..." he breathed as the unit turned its head around to face him "A... Are you the real thing?"
"In the mechanized flesh!" the unit boldly proclaimed as it gazed around its surroundings before looking upon Eldora and Chiyori "So they are our opponents, huh?"
"Yeah," Kamui replied "Glad to know I have all of your backs in this whole thing."
"Amazing!" cried Chiyori as she stared wide-eyed at White Tiger "I can't believe this is actually happening! I'm finally battling against units from the Planet Cray! Isn't this exciting Eldora?!"
"Yeah, this isn't the first time you've wanted to go on about it," Eldora replied "Or the second. Or the third."
"Aw come on! At least sound ethusiastic about it!" the Selector groaned in reply.
The LRIG took no notice of Chiyori's sudden complaint and looked back towards Kamui who now seemed fairly acqainted with his surroundings and everything that was happening around him. So far that was.
"I take it you've at least learned the rules of Wixoss, right?!" she called out.
"You got it!" he replied "I should warn you I don't plan on being a pushover though!"
"Let's make this a battle they won't forget, partner," White Tiger interjected to which Kamui nodded in compliance along with a confident grin as the roulette above their heads began to spin to determine who could determine the turn order.
(End Music)
Photon's Lab
Meanwhile from the gantryway that stood above the lab, Mayu had observed Kamui's sudden entrance into this Selector Battle with Chiyori with Kiyoi standing right beside her as the two watched the monitor displaying the battle in front of them very closely. Whilst this was going on, down on the lab floor below them, several humans dressed in different attires and having their hands bound behind their backs by black rings were being shoved forwards in line by the Radons and Niobiums standing behind and alongside them. Two of them were easily recognized as units from Kamui's Raizer deck, one of which was a member of the Raizer maintenance crew and the other being Raizer Girl, Kate.
They remained begrudgingly silent to avoid risking having their companions hurt as they were forcefully marched across the lab in an orderly fashion from the Cyberoids surrounding them as they looked across the lab to see that several Cyber Fairies were using their lifting ability to help heave one of the heavy Raizers to a large set of open doors on the other side of the lab. Meanwhile back up on the gantry, Mayu's expression had shown a hint of confusion, but also one of annoyance as she turned around to face Kiyoi who seemed hardly unfazed in the face of her slowly building presumed rage.
"You..." she muttered "What is the meaning of this? I thought you said you had obtained the units that boy possessed!"
"Forgive my oversight, Mayu," the girl calmly replied "I had no prior knowledge of him possessing a second deck on hand at the time we fought as I simply assumed that the only deck he had then was his Raizers. Regardless though, all of the units summoned from Cray via Kamui's cards are now your prisoners and Photon can 'tinker' around with those machines if he doesn't feel like scrapping them for spare parts."
The enigmatic mastermind simply stared at Kiyoi, having expected her to give an 'excuse' on her part for seemingly overlooking a detail that was now noticable within the current Selector Battle. Deciding not to bother arguing over the 'subject' with her, she simply huffed and looked back down to the floor of the lab as the lineup of the Raizer maintenance crew were brought before her presence as gazed down upon them.
"What is it that you want with us?!" Kate demanded as she tried to step forwards, only to have a beam rifle from one of the Radons pointed at her in response. Mayu raised one hand in command for the Cyberoid to lower its firearm immediately.
"Kate was it?" she spoke "I do sincerely apologize for the crude means we used to bring all of you forth to my domain. However, with what has occurred under my most banevolent gaze, I cannot simply allow all you to remain a possibility for hindrance in the Selector Battles."
"Then why are you working with the fiends that stained our home?!" one of the Raizer crew demanded.
Mayu however simply ignored his question and immediately snapped her fingers, causing the surrounding Cyberoids to move in closer to the group in response, boxing them all in to prevent any opportunity they were planning to use for escape.
"Take them to the Pit," she spoke "Even if they are in Takuto's presence, without his powers, it hardly changes anything."
The Radons and Niobiums nodded in reply to her command and escorted the group of captured humans to the place where she had kept Takuto imprisoned in since the attempted escape with Tawil and Umr. Eventually, the large group disappeared through a pair of sliding doors as Mayu herself turned her gaze up to the monitor that was displaying Kamui and Chiyori's battle which had only just begun at this very moment whilst Kiyoi simply remained standing beside her, intrigued to see what his 'other' deck was capable of. Unbeknowst to the two of them in the corridor behind them, Ulith was standing at a short distance away from them, enough to see what was going on in Photon's lab.
"How interesting..." she mused under her breath in her usual tone "So 'she' brought a sixth fighter over from the 'other' world and he's still clueless. For now at least."
The cruel demanored Selector then kept her sneer present on her lips as she turned around and exited the premises of the lab through the rest of the dark corridor that was in front of her.
...
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Nikushimi)
Akira was within her bedroom, sulking to herself as evidenced by both her frustrated huff under her breath as well as her irriated expression at this very moment. Ever since the night that Hitoe had defeated her and Leon had played his part in recovering Kai's Kagero deck from her clutches, she had been far more moody than usual with anyone from experience around her knowing better that 'moody' was a light term when it came to describing the Selector whenever she revealed her true colours outside of her work as a fashion model. But then again, any day or night which had Aoi Akira sulking or angered in any regard however was always a bad day in her own point of view.
Mirurun had wisely chosen to remain silent whenever her foul-tempered Selector was awake on the few occasions that she knew that just the wrong choice of words would be more than enough to cause her to rip the card containing her to shreds in a fit of blind rage. This was one of those occasions as the LRIG innocently whistled quietly to herself to not attract any 'unfortunate' outcomes to befall her as she kept a close eye on her. Akira simply clenched her fists as she looked down to the assembled deck that lay in front of her on the covers of her bed as she began to run everything that had been going on through her head.
"Even a streak of minor victories since 'that night' wasn't enough to satisfy me...!" she growled before clenching her teeth and recalling the Selector Battles that had become most prominent in her memories. "That Ru-pon, Iona, Kai Toshiki, Ishida Naoki... and that weak-ass girl I defeated once before!"
As she closed her eyes in frustration, she immediately began to recall the words that were spoken to her during her previous battle with Hitoe, when she still had Kai's Kagero deck at the time.
"Power is not merely for enjoyment. It is something you must grasp with your own hands. Stealing it from others to abuse for your own entertainment is not the true means to achieve it."
"To think even Dragonic Overlord dared to have the right to 'lecture' me...!" Akira huffed as she recalled those exact words that the Kagero commander had given to her during the battle, as if they had been burned into her mind since that moment.
"Pitiful girl. It seems even as I'm battling under your banner instead of that of my Vanguard, unlike a certain few, you have learned nothing. You are not even worthy to call yourself a wielder of the Aerial Assault Unit, Kagero."
"'Nothing' you say... Not even you understand... that's what I've had this whole time...!"
Screaming loudly in a fit of anger, Akira opened her eyes and smacked her deck in utter frustration, causing the cards that made it up to fly off to her left and scatter across her bedroom floor as a result of that action. She breathed heavily as a result of venting out her rage in such a violent manner, making Mirurun feel thankful that her own card was placed on the Selector's desk from outside of her deck prior to this sudden outburst. She then calmed down as she saw her Selector's expression begin to change to one that she had not expected to see at all.
"But... with my final lifeline..." Akira breathed "If I lose one more time... Ulith-chan will..."
Picturing the scenario right before her, she was kneeling on the floor of a different place rather than the covers of her own bed, watching Ulith leaving her all alone with her back turned away from the Selector. With a hint of panic now present in her expression, Akira tried reaching out for the one who gave her a second chance but Ulith continued to ignore her as the image faded away to reveal the bedroom all around her with the wall directly in front of where she was reaching out for. She then clenched her fist and turned her attention towards the door leading out of her room.
"That Sendou Aichi was the one who defeated you, wasn't it...?" she murmured to herself "In that case... that is all the more reason for me, to avenge your utter humiliation."
(End Music)
Selector Battlefield
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Call out the Name!)
"Moonlight Chorizo!"
As Chiyori called out the signal for her attack, Eldora simply sighed to herself before flying along a jet of water towards Strongest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster Extreme and smacking the giant Nova Grappler unit in the chest with her large hammer. Kamui simply tensed up as Ethics Buster briefly wobbled as a result of the force from the direct hit before immediately hovering back up to regain its balance, almost taking up a kneeling like stance to do so. The LRIG then landed back on Chiyori's table before looking back to her Selector, her expression seeming almost deadpanned to a degree from what she had to hear before conducting the attack at this moment.
"I give up..." she murmured to herself "I think at this point, any attack 'name' would do for her."
"How's that, Kamui!" called Chiyori, ignoring her LRIG's brief exasperation "I think I'm finally pulling my weight after that last battle with Kai!"
Kamui simply smiled in response, causing the Selector to feel overjoyed that he was seemingly having as much of a good time in a Selector Battle as she was, especially given the units that she and Eldora were fighting against. He briefly looked over to Ethics Buster itself as it hovered down to the surface of his table, landing on its feet as it took up a stance to prepare to attack when his turn would come around.
This is amazing! he thought I'm actually fighting beside the real Beast Deities! And Eldora really isn't pulling any punches in this battle, even with those extra Aqua Force units. Chiyori, you're a lot stronger than I thought.
"Let's finish this, my Vanguard," the unit emitted in a vocal tone to Kamui who nodded in compliance as he looked over his situation.
His SIGNI formation had been wiped clean, no Life Cloths left to spare him from another direct attack by Eldora or any of Chiyori's three SIGNI, no cards in his hand and he already more than enough Ener to work with when going through his next turn. He kept a confident gaze towards the Selector herself as did she to him in return, showing how serious they were with seeing this battle through to the end.
"The great Kamui ups and draws!" he called as he pulled out the top two cards of his deck to start his turn.
As soon as he saw what they were, he immediately threw them out to the center and right SIGNI spaces on his table. The summoned units were Beast Deity, Desert Gator and Beast Deity, Yamatano Drake as they stared towards the two SIGNI on Chiyori's field that were opposing them. They were both Beluga, Water Phantom and Pearl, Water Phantom.
"Let's go!" Kamui declared "I use a Doping ARTS on Yamatano Drake, then it and Desert Gator attack!"
The two Beast Deities nodded and immediately charged at both of the Water Beast SIGNI, having no trouble overpowering them and banishing them one at a time. Beluga was the first to fall, just as Yamatano Drake's attack had impacted on Pearl as the blue SIGNI vanished from the field. Chiyori gasped a little before immediately regaining her smile as she looked over her table. Like Kamui, she too had no Life Cloths as it had been a very back and forth battle between the two of them which had only made it all the more exciting for the young Selector. She then looked back at the cardfighter, seemingly prepared to counter his next offence right there and then.
"Bring it on!" she called.
"You asked for it!" Kamui replied "Go, Ethics Buster Extreme!"
The largest of the Beast Deities on the field briefly had its eyes glow before soaring up into the air and charging straight on at Eldora who took up a defensive stance to prepare herself for the oncoming attack.
"Guard!" Chiyori called as Servant O immediately appeared in front of the LRIG to generate a barrier around her as Ethics Buster's fist was stopped right in its tracks from the great defensive power of the colourless SIGNI. The unit gazed back at Kamui who was watching on from his table.
"Reach for it now!" the Strongest Beast Deity called to him.
"You got it!" Kamui replied "Ethics Buster's Limit Break! Drive Check!"
Revealing the first card from the top of his deck, he briefly cringed as it was Beast Deity, Rescue Bunny. As it had a Life Burst, he could not apply the effect of the Limit Break to any of his SIGNI to stand it back up for another attack as he placed the card back on the bottom of his main deck. The cardfighter and his opponent tensed as he reached out for the second card, hoping it would be the one he would need to finish the game. He closed his eyes as he flipped it face up, revealing that it was Beast Deity, Max Beat. As Chiyori gasped, he opened his eyes with joy.
"Yes!" he cried "Yamatano Drake stands for another attack and with his skill, another 3000 power is added!"
Beast Deity, Yamatano Drake: 11000 - 14000
After Ethics Buster retreated back to the cardfighter's table, Chiyori could only look down at Eldora as Servant O vanished, knowing in the back of her head that she didn't have Icefall Dragon to save her from defeat this time. Knowing the outcome that was to come from all of this, she forced a smile on her face as she looked back at Kamui, willing to accept that she had lost this time and that the better player had won.
"This is the showstopper!" he declared "Go one more time, Yamatano Drake!"
Yamatano Drake then charged towards Eldora before hitting her head on, dealing the final attack that was needed for Kamui to end the Selector Battle between him and Chiyori in his victory. The LRIG struggled back up onto her knees before seeing in front of her that Ethics Buster had suddenly appeared in front of her, seemingly offering her a hand back up onto her feet. Even though her hand was only the size of a portion of any of the unit's fingers, Eldora reached out for and touched a portion of the unit's right index finger, to which Ethics Buster slowly raised it to help her back onto her feet.
(End Music)
"You put up a most excellent fight," it spoke "If this world wasn't different from Cray, I would say your abilities could be useful for you in the 'Nova Grapple' back in Star Gate."
"I appreciate your kind words," the LRIG said with a sincere smile "But someone needs to look after Chiyori here. She's only doing the best she can with my help."
"So I see."
Chiyori though disappointed from having her second loss in the Selector Battles now being dealt to her wasn't feeling as annoyed as she was when she had previously lost to Yuzuki when she was still a Selector and Kai when they first met in Card Luck. If anything, she had been smiling the whole time from simply enjoying such a close battle between herself and Kamui as well as finally getting her chance to battle against units from Cray up close and personal which had been more than enough to satisfy her in that regard. She kept her smile on her lips as the entire battlefield went dark.
City Park
As the two of them had reawakened back in the exact place from where they were since Chiyori had opened the battlefield, they now faced each other with each of them knowing that the other had the satisfaction of enjoying the battle to the fullest, not caring about the consequences in the slightest, not that Kamui had even knew what those consequences were in the first place. To the Nova Grappler user's surprise, he could see the Selector trembling for some reason as she kept her head down, leaving him unsure of what to make of it.
"Hey, Chiyori..." he spoke "Are you...?"
"Amazing!" she cried out loud, briefly surprising him "This has got to be Chiyori's best battle ever! I'm so grateful you've given me the opportunity that I've been waiting for!"
"Heh, you were pretty strong yourself too," Kamui replied "I don't know everything about what these Selector Battles are meant to be, but fighting with Ethics Buster and the others in there was fun whilst it lasted."
He then held out his right fist between the two of them as Chiyori removed her right mitton from respective hand and return her respective fist back to his own. The two of them kept their exchanged fist bump in place for a few seconds before pulling away with the Selector putting back on her right hand the mitton that she had briefly removed earlier, apparently being caught up in the excitement enough to not notice the mark that Kiyoi had left on his right hand. She then immediately looked behind the cardfighter for a brief moment and gazed down at what appeared to be a small bright pink wristwatch on her right wrist before beginning to run off away from the Nova Grappler user.
"Good luck with whatever you're wishing for!" she called "I hope we'll see each other again soon!"
"Same to you Chiyori!" Kamui replied as the two of them waved each goodbye and the best of luck in their respective ventures as Chiyori eventually disappeared around the corner up a set of stone steps.
At the same time, now that he was thinking about it, he recalled Kiyoi briefly mentioning something to him about wishes in regards to her brief talk about the Selector Battles in their last cardfight, though he couldn't quite understand what exactly she was getting at during that time. At the same time though, now that Chiyori had briefly brought the subject up during her quick departure from the park, he began to ponder on this topic a little more than he had previously thought, now seeing that it appeared to be an important factor in the Selector Battles.
"So I need a wish, huh?" he murmured to himself "Let's see... Well, I suppose there is one..."
"Kamui-kun!"
His eyes widening upon hearing that all too familiar voice combined with the rapid pace of the footsteps sounding out behind him, Kamui turned around just in time to see Aichi and Naoki running up to him, followed by Kai, Hitoe and Ruko indicating that Ren and Leon had stayed behind at the apartment complex.
"Aichi onii-san! Ishida-sempai!" he called, waving in greeting as the group came up to him as he looked over "And you've found Kai!" He then looked over the two Selectors that were amongst the group "And who are they?"
"H... Hitoe," said Hitoe, briefly bowing to introduce herself.
"I'm Ruko," Ruko greeted "Kominato Ruko. It's nice to meet you."
"Same to you," Kamui replied as he flashed a somewhat toothy grin in response before looking back to the three cardfighters "Well, this is rather embarassing... I was trying to look for you and you ended up finding me instead..."
"Kamui, did you jump the countdown we agreed on back home?" Naoki asked in confusion.
"It's a long story..." the Nova Grappler user murmured as he scratched the back of his head in embarassment "Anyway, have you guys been involved in these Selector Battles, right?"
"You've entered the battlefield?" asked Kai.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Profane Wish)
"Sure!" he replied "I've just had a really close battle with a Selector called Chiyori! I tell you, that LRIG of hers really knows how to pack a punch, but I just outlasted them in the end!"
As soon as he finished his sentence however, he noticed that everyone's expressions had immediately gone down leading to a look of confusion present in his expression. Everyone else in the group felt somewhat saddened by what had just occurred before they had met up with the Nova Grappler user, though each of them had known that Chiyori in all of her excitement would purposely conceal the exact details of what all of them had learned throughout the Selector Battles up to this very point in time. And with him not knowing that much information to begin with, they knew they couldn't exactly blame him for the way things had turned out for simply having no prior knowledge until this very moment.
"What's the matter...?" he asked "Did I say something wrong?"
"Kamui-kun..." said Aichi "We... have a lot to talk about."
City Hospital
On the rooftop of the hospital, Amika looked over across the horizon towards the setting sun as she ran through her thoughts over how the day had gone, particuarly from her encounter with Kamui and what she had learned about him in regards to the world that he and Kai had come from as well as the units from the Planet Cray that they could call forth to the Selector Battles given that much like all other Selectors, they too along with Aichi could see Piruluk for herself along with the blue LRIG's own personal confirmation in that regard. Knowing the reason why she had come to the hospital with her family in the first place, she sadly sighed for a moment before bringing out Piruluk's card from the right pocket of her shorts.
The blue LRIG kept her seemingly emotionless appearance present within her expression as usual, appearing at first to look uninterested in regards to what her Selector was seemingly concerned about in the first place.
"Hey Piruluk," Amika spoke "About that wish of mine..."
"You're curious about the amount of victories required, aren't you..." Piruluk interrupted.
"Y... Yeah," she replied "I know there isn't an exact amount specified, but... to save my mom... how close am I getting?"
"Like you said, I cannot tell the exact amount," the LRIG spoke "But... I can sense you are making progress. Slow, but somewhat effective progress."
"I see..."
Amika sighed under her breath for a brief moment with a forced smile, having somewhat expected this kind of answer from her LRIG. She had been around Piruluk long enough to know that she wasn't exactly the most sociable or even the most friendly LRIG that she had ever encountered within her run of the Selector Battles. But at the same time, she had managed to put up with her cold attitude towards almost anyone outside of her card that she had usually come across, though for some reason today, this had also bothered her in that regard.
"Are you still thinking about Katsuragi?" Piruluk asked, snapping Amika out of her brief stupor.
"Y... Yeah," she replied "I know I shouldn't mess with his business and that he has his own battles to fight... but there's one thing that's bothering me. Piruluk, don't you think you were a little harsh on him there?"
"Why is that?"
"It's just that, he's had these other units of his stolen by this Kiyoi," the Selector murmured "But you don't want him to go after her. Why is that?"
"Whatever Katsuragi intends to do, regardless of whether he heeds my warning or not," the LRIG spoke bluntly "It is not your place to be concerned about him. However, I intend for that same warning to apply to you. Kiyoi is a dangerous individual and the last thing you will want is your wish to not come true because of her."
Amika simply kept a somewhat saddened look on her face as she kept her gaze down on Piruluk's card, seemingly not as upbeat as she was earlier in the day. She knew part of it was to do with the reason why she had come to the hospital, her mother to be more exact as she had mentioned earlier. At the same time though, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Kamui, knowing the struggle he had to go through to get his Raizer units back from Kiyoi with Piruluk's blunt comments not helping his self-confidence to say the least. Sighing for a moment, she forced a smile back onto her face as she looked back to the door that led back to the inside of the hospital.
"Well, feeling depessed about it isn't going to do me any good," she muttered to herself "I'll just have to bear with it and hope for the best with him. Right now, I have my own battles to fight."
(End Music)
And with that, she went through the doorway back to the hospital to now prepare herself, for whatever lay ahead for her. From around the corner of a wall however, Kiyoi emerged onto the rooftop as she gazed towards the door that led back to the building premises, having now overheard everything that Amika and Piruluk had been talking about in regards to both the Selector's mother and Kamui himself. As a cold breeze whistled over the rooftop, her lips pursed into a sinister smile, seemingly preparing herself to plot out her next move in the near future.
And there we go! As Kamui finishes up a Selector Battle with Chiyori, Aichi and the others appear before him to bring him up to speed with everything within this world as well as the details that the young Selector had intentionally kept omitted from him. Meanwhile, as Misaki and the others try to uncover the mystery behind his disappearance, narrowing down their suspicions to the true culprit Kiyoi, she herself overhears Amika's desire to help her mother who resides within hospital for reasons currently unknown. What does the enigmatic girl plan next? And what does Mayu intend to do with the captured Raizers she has summoned from Cray to her domain? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Feel free to share your thoughts and/or criticisms for this fiftieth chapter and I'll see you all next time! Until then!
EDIT 28/08/2016: Correction on Raizer Girl, Kate's name (originally mispelled as Katie)
