Hi everyone and welcome back to Stand Up, the LRIG for just a little before its fourth anniversary! Just as a quick heads up, I went back to the previous chapter and patched up a goof up on my end (page should be updated soon). Turns out I made Kiyoi overguard Nagisa's last two attacks as she needed 10000 shield instead of 15000 for each one due to hitting a damage trigger. That aside, I hope you enjoy what I have here!
Shop Handsome
As the seemingly icy chill air in the shop's interior remained as it was, Kamui could only stare in worry at Kiyoi who had remained seemingly motionless since Nagisa snapped back at her questioning of the former's supposed 'one-sided' feelings for him. Now that he had sensed there was a possibility of her exploding at her opponent for stirring up unpleasant memories of her past and claiming that no-one 'loved' her at all in an attempt to supposedly deflect blame for the crimes that had been commited by Remember in her body, he had quietly chosen to try and find a place to 'duck for cover' even if that meant leaving the shop itself, knowing that he had been on the recieving end of her anger once before and for practically the right reasons back then.
Wait... what am I thinking?! he muttered in his thoughts before shaking his head I came here to sort out Kiyoi's identity issues with these guys and now I'm just thinking of abandoning her?!
"Hang on," Gouki spoke in a whisper, taking the Nova Grappler's earlier presumption into account "Are you saying Nagisa might have somehow angered Kiyoi about something in the past?"
"It's something personal and really nasty with the 'real' LRIG who took our units, Remember," he replied back in a hushed tone, trying not to let any other personal details of Kiyoi's past slip out without her consent.
This had now left some intrigue with not just the Granblue user about Kiyoi, who Kamui had insisted to him was not their previous attacker Remember, but with Reiji and Eiji as well. Looking back to the fight before them, they watched as the former blue LRIG picked out one of the three cards in her hand and held it out before her, her eyes still remaining out of sight from Kaoru, Hiroshi and Nagisa. The younger Daimonji sibling although partly confused by sudden change in her opponent's expression and noting her slow breathing was still confident that she could pull through the turn and finish her off immediately afterwards. Finally, after seemingly managing to calm herself down, Kiyoi lifted her head slightly as she turned her gaze upon the person directly in front of her.
"Even though I wasn't the one who attacked you, I won't deny that I've done things that I'm not proud of," she spoke "Things to this day that a part of me wishes I could just take back, no matter how impossible it is."
"Exactly," replied Nagisa "There's no way we'll ever let you take back what you did to us and Kamui-chan. People like you who take our units and what we care about deserve no future!"
"My future isn't set in stone and I won't allow my past or anyone else to dictact who I really am," the former blue LRIG continued as she held out the card she picked above her head "You who fights amongst the stars above your mother planet... revive now and soar across the skies of Cray! Break Ride!"
(Cardfight Vanguard! Unreleased Soundtrack: Crusade of the Shadow Paladins)
After throwing down the card on top of Mond Blaukluger, a neon green light erupted in the imaged arena as Nagisa through her image of Cosmo Lord stared up at the tall shadow descending from the sky above. As the column disappeared, it revealed that the figure was indeed yet another Blaukluger unit, only this was armoured blue and had several plates of armoured shaped similarly to that of Stern Blaukluger which had several neon green lines running across some of them. A set of three pronged wings were mounted behind each of the shoulders and it wielded a long barreled rifle in its left arm. Its green eyes flashed for a moment as it landed on the arena floor with a large thud as Kiyoi confirmed the name of this new unit.
"The evolved blue warrior... Galaxy Blaukluger!"
Galaxy Blaukluger/Grade 3/Twin Drive/SLD: 0/POW: 11000 - 21000/Nova Grappler/Star Gate/Battleroid
With the exception of Kamui, everyone else gasped in shock at the sight of the new unit that the former blue LRIG had now rode into battle with, having not seen this particular Blaukluger before despite being aware of most of the other cards in the series. The Nova Grappler user on the other hand was almost in awe, having not expected this particular unit to end up in her possession from the cards that she put her deck together with. Nagisa, having regained her composure after a long few moments gazed back to her opponent who had changed the outlook of her gaze one bit.
"You are already aware of Mond Blaukluger's abilties, so there's no point in me explaining," she spoke in her monotone as she placed down Red Lightning's card on her empty rear-guard circle before shoving it straight into the soul beneath Galaxy Blaukluger "With Red Lightning's skill, I turn over one damage. And call."
On the imaged arena, a smaller Battleroid with black and white armour as well as a variety of light blue and orange coloured lines running across it, appeared into the spot where Red Lightning formerly was, wielding a large cannon in its right hand. It then immediately took aim towards Nagisa's side of the field as the firearm began charging up.
"Starker Wind attacks your rear-guard," Kiyoi spoke "Since my Vanguard is a Blau unit, add 3000 power for the duration of the battle."
"No guard...!" Nagisa hissed as she moved one of her Death Army Knights to her drop zone.
"The same for Mars Blaukluger," she continued "Attack the second Death Army Knight."
After her opponent had moved the other Knight to her drop zone from the successful attack, Kaoru and Hiroshi looked on nervously as they weren't feeling so sure that their companion was going to survive the turn.
"Nagisa's intercepts are gone," breathed Reiji.
"And Kiyoi's still got another three attacks under her belt!" Kamui chimed in.
Kiyoi then turned her attention to her Vanguard, placing her fingertips on top of the card before turning her attention back to the person that was directly in front of her. Nagisa despite being annoyed that she had lost two of her shields to defend herself from her opponent's remaining attacks quickly regained her confidence as she looked to the four cards she held in her hand.
"It doesn't matter that my intercepts are gone!" she called "I can still protect myself and finish you from your lack of shields on the next turn! Then Kamui-chan can be broken from your spell so we can be married!"
"For the last time, Kiyoi didn't...! You know what, I give up..." the Nova Grappler user groaned, seeing that not even his side of the story was going to get through to her.
"Galaxy Blaukluger attacks Cosmo Lord!" Kiyoi declared as she rested the card "With Mond Blaukluger's skill, stand all of my rear-guards and add 3000 power to Dancing Wolf!"
Galaxy Blaukluger then charged up the rifle in its right arm and pointed it towards Cosmo Lord as a loud whirring noise rang out across the battlefield. As this happened, all of the former blue LRIG's units got back into fighting stances for the next two battles to come as Dancing Wolf howled loudly with a white aura surrounding it.
Dancing Wolf/POW: 7000 - 10000
"Twin Blader!" Nagisa's voice echoed as the small Battleroid landed in front of Cosmo Lord and stabbed both of its blades into the arena floor.
Galaxy Blaukluger then unleashed the energy gathered up in the barrel of the rifle right towards its opponent only for a barrier to be created by Twin Blader to deflect the mighty beam as it crashed right into the shield in a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared up, Cosmo Lord was unharmed, but the smaller Battleroid that protected it was damaged heavily and fell to the ground before vanishing in a flash of orange coloured sparks. Back in the shop, Nagisa tossed one of the two copies of The Gong that she had in her hand to the drop zone before gazing to her opponent's deck, partially anxious to see what her Twin Drive would unveil.
"Twin Drive," Kiyoi murmured as she turned over the top card of her deck "First check."
As it was revealed as Jupiter Blaukluger, Kaoru and Hiroshi sighed in relief whilst the younger Daimonji sibling kept her confident smile.
Yes! I can protect myself! Even with a trigger now, it's useless!
The former blue LRIG then placed the card into her other free hand before reaching out to her deck once again, this time turning over the card Schones Wetter which flashed brightly.
"Critical Trigger," she spoke "All effects go to Starker Wind."
Starker Wind/POW: 4000 - 9000/Critical: 1 - 2
"Starker Wind's skill will boost itself to 22000 thanks to Dancing Wolf and one of Nagisa's shields is only 5000!" Kamui cheered "If Starker Wind's attack makes it through, she'll win!"
This doesn't make sense Gouki muttered in his thoughts as he pondered back to the previous turn If Kiyoi wanted to keep attacking with a full frontal assault, she would have kept Grosse Baer on her rear-guard, guarded with Starker Wind and then called Polar Stern over Morgenrot. There's no way she would have defended the way she would have last turn and attacked Nagisa's intercepts first unless...
"The evolved blue warrior... Galaxy Blaukluger!"
His eyes suddenly widened as he suddenly managed to seemingly decipher the possible reason behind the former blue LRIG's actions up to this very point. He watched her as she rested the cards to signal her next attack. In the imaged arena, throwing the large cannon it had to one side, Starker Wind took flight on the jets that were on the bottom of its feet and soared towards the seemingly defenceless Cosmo Lord. Back in the shop, Gouki looked over towards his younger sister and immediately called out to her.
"Nagisa, let the attack through and hope for a Heal Trigger!" he cried "Kiyoi is probably planning to...!"
"Guard!"
Back in the image, Wall Boy and The Gong came to the defence of the giant black alien plated in silver armour, deflecting a punch that Starker Wind had tried and failed to use to breach the defences and land the finishing hit. As Nagisa slammed the cards straight into her drop zone, she looked back at the Granblue user with a very annoyed expression on her face.
(End Music)
"Are you suggesting that I LOSE on purpose to a knockoff Turboraizer?!" she snapped before glaring back to Kiyoi "Besides, I'm just a single turn away from getting back Kamui-chan from this hag over here! A hag that doesn't deserve have any love from him or anyone el...!"
"I've heard enough."
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Culmination)
The younger Daimonji sibling's expression at first changed to confusion as she blinked for two seconds before she silently opened her mouth in recoil upon seeing that the former blue LRIG had put up with her words for the very last time.
"Mars Blaukluger attacks your Vanguard," she spoke, her tone having grown harsher, but only slightly.
With her opponent having no guardians from her hand and no units to intercept with to block this attack, it was very easy for the imaged Mars Blaukluger to blast Cosmo Lord in the chest from a long distance with its large rifle. The fifth point of damage emerged into Nagisa's damage zone as a second Clay-doll Mechanic with no further trigger effects to aid her in this current situation.
"I win!" she declared "Even with my intercepts and guardians gone, I've outlasted all five of your attacks!"
"It seems your obsession with Katsuragi has blinded you once again," Kiyoi replied, her tone from a little earlier remaining as it was "You should have taken Gouki's warning and prayed for a Heal Trigger as your sixth damage."
"What are you talking about?!" the younger Daimonji sibling exclaimed in shock "All of your units are at rest and my damage count is five! You can no longer attack me!"
"Since the attack of a Blau unit hit the Vanguard," the former blue LRIG continued before turning over two cards in her damage zone and throwing away the two cards she had gotten earlier into her drop zone "Galaxy Blaukluger's Limit Break. Stand."
Within the image of Cray, a light blue Vanguard circle flashed above Galaxy Blaukluger as a neon green aura surged through the battleroid, causing it to take up an offensive stance once again. Cosmo Lord stumbled backwards in shock having not expected something like this to be, as did Nagisa who was just as surprised as she could do nothing but watch as her opponent stood her Vanguard back up, ready for another attack to come her way.
"And because you used Red Lightning to still have an open damage for Mond Blaukluger..." she breathed before gasping "Y... You tricked me!"
"From one perspective, I could see why you would think that," Kiyoi replied "However, it seems a lack of foresight and faith in your own deck is what brought this upon you."
On the imaged field, Galaxy Blaukluger's eyes flashed as its wings folded down behind its back and slowly began to walk towards its target, a blade extending from its right wrist as it did so. Loud thuds were heard from each of its footsteps as the giant Battleroid continued in its approach towards the armoured black alien that was only a short distance in front of it. As this was happening, a golden aura enveloped Dancing Wolf, Polar Stern, Mars Blaukluger and Morgenrot as they turned their attention towards the helpless opponent before them.
"S... Stay back...!" Nagisa screamed as her image of Cosmo Lord frantically hurled bolts of lightning from its horn towards the slowly advancing Galaxy Blaukluger.
It was futile however as all of the electric projectiles missed their target or struck the ground a little too far in front of the giant blue armoured Battleroid. When it eventually came within close quarters range of Cosmo Lord itself who was now completely frozed, it raised up its right arm before performing a large slash across the chest armour of its target. The score exploded sending the defeated alien flying into the air and landing a little outside of the arena edge on its back, the ground beneath it cracking on impact. As the sixth and final damage emerged into Nagisa's damage zone as Mond Blaukluger, the result was now clear to everyone in the store that Kiyoi was the undisputed victor of the fight.
"Let me give you one clear piece of advice, Daimonji Nagisa," she spoke, her somewhat harsh tone remaining as it was for one last time "There is more to love than just blindly gushing over the other person. Remember that well."
Whilst the younger Daimonji sibling could only stare down at the cards still on the field, still believing that the former blue LRIG was the same person who had taken her units previously, a sudden thought had crossed her mind. She then gazed back at her victorious opponent, panic immediately arising as she believed what was going to happen next. As she closed her eyes, awaiting for the inevitable to befall her once again, Kiyoi closed her eyes and took a deep breath to relax herself from the earlier stress that had been on her mind since the start of her final turn. She then began walking over towards where Kamui, Reiji, Eiji and Gouki were, leaving Kaoru and Hiroshi confused on why she had supposedly not chosen to mark Nagisa and steal her units, still believing that she was Remember.
(End Music)
"Hey, Kiyoi..." the Nova Grappler user murmured, recalling her earlier state "Are you alright?"
"Hurt, but not as angry," she replied, her calm tone having somewhat returned to her.
"Listen, about me mentioning Saka..." he began, before immediately being cut off.
"Forget about it," the former blue LRIG interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder "You did what you had to."
Nodding grimly, Kamui felt a slight bit of relief waver over him in that he had not overstepped his boundaries when it came to mentioning any personal details about her past to the people beside him. Upon seeing that Nagisa had finally discovered that she had indeed not been marked and that her units were still as they were without any changes to the cards, Gouki then turned his attention over to the girl in front of him.
"I don't know why Kamui has put that much trust in you," he spoke "But I could tell you definitely didn't seem like the same person who attacked us previously."
"And how is that?" Hiroshi asked curiously.
"I thought back to the fights we all had against 'Remember' then and compared it to this one," the Granblue user explained "Whilst Kiyoi approached the fight in a calm as possible manner until her last turn, the girl who fought us then was constantly using fortunes to predict and dictate the outcomes in a way she could achieve them including all of her trigger checks."
"But that still doesn't explain why we've got the same girl here!" Nagisa replied.
"Same looking maybe," her older brother answered as he looked back to her "But when Kamui mentioned the term LRIG, I could finally piece everything together. During our fights, an aura always surrounded 'Remember', displaying her LRIG form as shown on her Grade 0 card to us for brief moments whilst no such things happened when Kiyoi fought."
Sensing that there was still some uncertainty amongst the remainder of Team Handsome, Kamui suddenly remembered that he still had one final piece of evidence that could lead to proving Kiyoi's innocence in regards to the previous attacks committed by Remember. Digging into his pockets franctically, hoping he had still had whatever it was he was looking for there much to the confusion of everyone else save for the former blue LRIG herself. Eventually, he had taken out a single card that he had previously been given as a Wixoss card, now changed to the Vanguard card game like the majority of Ruko's cards.
"That weird aura showing Remember's real appearance to us really threw us off," he said "But if Kiyoi here was really the same person you thought she was, then that weird aura would have shown her like this!"
He then turned around the card, revealing it to be one that depicted Kiyoi as the blue LRIG Piruluk, much to the surprise of nearly everyone in the shop. It was the exact same Code Piruluk card that Hatsu had given to him during his stay in the other world when he was still worried about Amika in regards to how she was pursuing her wish at the time.
"T... That unit almost looks exactly like Kiyoi!" gasped Hiroshi.
"You gotta be kidding, kaboom!" Kaoru interjected.
When Nagisa stared at the card, a part of her wanted to dismiss the claim on the basis of the blue hair and the garb that Kiyoi had worn during her time as Piruluk. But the more she thought back to her previous fight with Remember when she recalled that the aura had shown her true appearance in brief instances along with the points that Gouki had brought up about the different behaviour the former blue LRIG had to her attacker, the more she began to believe that maybe the girl she had lost to may not have been the same person that stolen their units once before. Wanting to trust her better judgment, she walked over to the former blue LRIG who simply stared back at her.
"Listen... I may have been out of line with what I said earlier," she said "But if you're really not the same girl who attacked us and have Kamui-chan's trust without any spell or gimmicks, then you're free to go."
Though she said nothing back in response, Kiyoi simply gave a single nod to assure her that she would not do anything more to her from this point forward.
"Which reminds me!" she called in an overly cheerful mood once again "Would you help me with the soon to be wedding for Kamui-chan and myself?!"
"No."
Upon pouting in response, Nagisa simply turned away from the former blue LRIG and started muttering to herself about anything to do with her beloved 'Kamui-chan' and matrimony in general. As Kaoru and Hiroshi followed her away from the remainder of the group, Gouki turned back to Kiyoi.
"I don't know if I'll have much success," he said "But I'll let any fighters I see know that you're not the same as your imposter was then."
"You have my gratitude then," Kiyoi replied calmly before she turned back to Kamui "Let's go, we've wasted enough time here."
"Agreed..." he quietly muttered as they walked out of the shop together, followed shortly after by Reiji and Eiji who were careful not to resume Nagisa's direct attention to their friend.
City Park
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Let's Start Over with Everyone)
Eventually, the four of them had walked through the city back to the park where Kamui had first fought Remember and were sitting down on the large steps that were in the amphitheatre like area. As he and Kiyoi shared stories from their more recent adventures in the other world and up to their arrival into this one, including a brief summary of both Amika and Remember in general, Reiji and Eiji couldn't help but feel that the two of them were very lucky to have endured through the trials and tribulations of the Selector Battles in addition to overcoming Remember herself to get back some of the stolen units that were captured in the Pit's prison compound within Mayu's domain.
Now that two of the Nova Grappler user's closest friends were enlightened on most of what had been going on in the other world that he had been taken to, he sighed as he now thought back to over the day's events up to this point.
"Man... I didn't think Nagisa would had it in for you," he muttered as he looked to Kiyoi, feeling bad that she had to go through a case of mistaken identity after getting her body back.
"Given that you've clearly pointed out that you don't have feelings for her in spite of her relentless presistence," she murmured calmly "I'm geniunely surprised you haven't filed a restraining order."
"You think I haven't tried that..." he moaned "She always has Gouki and the rest of Team Handsome to try and find a loophole to force us to tie the knot whether I like it or not. But still, I'm just glad we managed to clear up the confusion between you and Remember with those guys."
As the early afternoon continued onwards, the Nova Grappler user's remaining friends then looked over to Kiyoi, finally having an opportunity of sorts to properly speak with her.
"You gotta admit, the way you tricked Nagisa into dropping her hand early with Galaxy Blaukluger was pretty cool!" said Reiji.
"WPC, yo!" Eiji interjected.
Though the former blue LRIG was not one to normally accept praise, regardless of whether it was from her own Selectors or just another human being around her in general, she smiled a little bit in response to acknowledge their compliments.
"Still though, I wish Nagisa didn't have to make that comment at you," Kamui muttered "Even if it was just your memory I saw, it was still the whole thing. It just frustrates me a little that she wouldn't understand in the slightest even if I told her."
"I would prefer it if I could just move on from my past without any further hindrance or mention," she said "But, I appreciate you trying your best to stand up for me during the debacle."
"Hey, what are friends for anyway?" he replied with a smile "I'm sure Amika would do the same for you if she was here or if the same thing was going on over there."
Now that he had indeed brought up the subject of her former Selector, both the Nova Grappler user and Kiyoi gazed up the sky above thinking about what could possibly be happening in their unintended absence from there. Both knew that Aichi and Hitoe already had some kind of acqaintance with Amika and it was already likely that one of them by this time had already informed her of the current circumstances, knowing how much distress this was bound to have on her after having just fought through tooth and nail with them to save her own mother's life.
"Well, if there's any justice, at least Gouki's hopefully gonna clear things up between you and the cardfighters Remember had marked before we beat her then," Kamui murmured.
"Though I am relieved to be back in my own body after nearly a year," Kiyoi replied "I can't help but ponder how Remember will start her hunt for units all over again. She was still as an LRIG when I last saw her and I could sense she wasn't with either Futase, Akira or Ulith when we were in Singapore."
"You think she might con another Selector into giving her their body so she can come after us?" he pondered.
"Perhaps."
(End Music)
No one said a word after that, knowing that Remember would have no intention of taking her previous defeat lying down and would do anything to get back into the battle. And after what the Nova Grappler knew of the past between her and Kiyoi, there was no doubt in the back of his mind that the latter's former compatriot would also be seeking another way to try and ruin the former blue LRIG's life again.
"Say, since you were kind enough to turn down Nagisa's offer of you helping her to marry the great Kamui," Reiji spoke "Would you be willing to help him get closer with Emi-san?"
"WYH, yo?" pondered Eiji.
"I'm a close acquaintance, not his dating counsellor," Kiyoi replied "I have no bearing on what Katsuragi chooses to do in the pursuit of his own feelings and that's all there is to it unless we say otherwise."
"If you say so," Kamui shrugged before suddenly realizing something "Though now that Kai and I are back here..."
"Is something the matter?" the former blue LRIG asked.
"Well... Aichi onii-san didn't know how long it would take for him to find Kai, let alone bring him back here before we found out what was really going on," he explained "And Leon went against inviting more people to join them out of worry of getting lost in your world. Thinking Emi-san wouldn't believe him on the whole thing about other worlds or that she would insist on coming along and he'd be worried that he'd lose her... he and all of us back here kinda fibbed about Kai's whereabouts to her..."
Kiyoi merely shook her head, now seeing that things between him and Emi were bound to become more complicated than they already were once she would discover that Kai had indeed returned to her world without Aichi in tow.
"Believe me, I wanted nothing to do with the whole cover story," the Nova Grappler user continued "But Aichi onii-san was really worried that Emi wouldn't let him travel to your world if he tried to tell her about Kai being in another world and not believing him, and he insisted that we all did our part until he came back with him. I was even planning on breaking my word to tell her the truth before Remember showed up and challenged me."
"If she isn't aware of the recent attacks that have been occurring either," she replied "Then telling her everything, even what her brother omitted should be your priority."
Knowing that the former blue LRIG was indeed correct in regards to how Emi was now in just as much danger as any other cardfighter in this world and there was no doubt she would be a future target, Kamui decided that keeping up the requested deception to her was finally over. Nothing was worth keeping up a lie if it had meant her safety was at risk and there was no telling if Mayu or any of her associates had managed to deduce that she was Aichi's younger sister.
"Alright then," he said as he hopped up from the step he was sitting on "We'll go and find Emi and meet up with Kai later. At least she might believe his word since Aichi went to look for him in the first place."
Nodding in agreement, Kiyoi, Reiji and Eiji followed him out of the park and decided to begin their search for Emi in the hopes that they could reach her and tell her everything before any of Mayu's forces could reach her before them.
Kai's Apartment
Meanwhile within the single room apartment of the Kagero user himself, Ruko was seated at his desk with all of the cards depicting Yuki in front of her in addition to the few Shadow Paladin cards she had in that particular deck during her time in the Selector Battles. Whilst Kai had been observing her efforts to reconstruct that deck for use in cardfights from the end of his bed, Miwa had taken the interest in looking over the ARTS, Servant SIGNI and Spells from both of the Selector's original Wixoss decks for his own curiosity.
"Well, these are certainly something," he commented "I'm even more surprised that Kai managed to wrap his head around all of this before Aichi found him."
"Kai had help," Tama replied "Tama taught him everything Tama and Ru learned!"
"That would explain some things," Yuki pondered "Then again, I can imagine his natural strength with Vanguard allowed him to quickly adapt with your advice in mind."
After the girl of black had shared her opinion on the subject, she could hear a slight hum from under her Selector's lips as he looked at the options that were available to her, in addition to the Shadow Paladins were amongst Kai's non-Kagero loose cards, she was looking over the cards Iona, Zero/Maiden and Creeping Dark Goat in thought.
"Is something troubling you?" the Kagero user asked.
"I'm just thinking about something..." Ruko murmured "Although my Shadow Paladins worked with Yuki previously as they were SIGNI of the same colour... since there doesn't seem to be any restrictions on her cards save for any that are Grade 4 or Dragmiko... I was thinking of maybe doing something a little different."
"I guess it kinda makes sense."
The two then looked over to Miwa who came over towards them, wanting to offer his view of the current dilemma regarding the Selector's other deck based around the girl of black.
"Yuki's Grade 1 form allows you to search any Grade 3 or greater version as long as you get rid of a card from your hand of the same grade," he began "If you ride it over her Grade 0 form, it allows you to search any Grade 2 or greater form of hers."
"I'm just thinking back to my fight with Jillian," she replied "If I'm not able to get that benefit off that specific ride, then her Grade 0 form becomes like any other Forefunner unit. That's why I was thinking of maybe keeping Yuki's forms to the higher Grades and tweaking my Grade 1s and starting Vanguard a little."
"It is ultimately your deck after all," Kai interjected "Whilst Miwa and I can offer advice, how you approach building it is entirely up to you."
Ruko nodded in agreement, knowing that she would have to make those choices alone and how effective those choices would be were to be decided in any future cardfights she would choose to participate in. Thinking about it carefully, she began arranging the cards that she thought would be useful in her upcoming battles on the desk that was in front of her, moving all of her triggers, including three cards that were named Howl Owl to where all of her Grade 2 and higher forms of Yuki along with her Dark Shield, Mac Lirs and Creeping Dark Goat to one side of the surface in front of her. Eventually after a few minutes, she had finally gotten her deck back together with the remaining cards back in the bag that was now behind her waist.
"I think I might ask Ratie or Misaki for a chance to fight when we get to Card Capital," she said "I'd be interested in seeing what the Witches or either of Misaki's decks do in this world."
Before either Kai or Miwa could offer a response of any kind, a faint purple glow from the window of the apartment suddenly caught their attention as they looked out to the horizon of the city. From a few streets across, they could see a flowing black column with purple hues bursting from the distance for a few seconds as Tama and Yuki suddenly gasped, before it disappeared a few seconds later.
"Tama felt the same as Tama did in Singapore!" the girl of white gasped.
"Then... are they already marking more fighters here?!" Ruko exclaimed.
"Then we better hurry before they can make an escape," Kai interjected as he led the way out of the door to his apartment with the three friends now in pursuit of the next Judgement that had been cast.
None of them knew who they would possibly encounter at the scene if they were swift enough in their efforts to hurry that place, but they knew that none of Mayu's associates could be underestimated that easily, even if the attacks today were being conducted by just one of their number.
City Streets
Meanwhile in a large open area on the other side of the city, not too far from where the earlier column of light had erupted from, Emi was walking on her way to Card Capital herself with much on her mind. Alongside her was a close friend she had known for a long time with greyish coloured hair and purple eyes who at first seemed like being in a happy mood before noticing that the younger sister of Aichi was not feeling like her usual happy self.
"Is something wrong Emi?" she asked.
"It's just bugging me Mai," Emi huffed "Aichi leaves with Ren, Leon and Ishida to look for a missing Kai, then nearly two weeks pass and I haven't heard anything back from him. I can't even contact his phone for some reason."
"It's possible he might be having reception trouble in wherever it is he went to," Mai replied "Sometimes, you seem to worry about him too much."
The orange haired girl merely sighed a little, knowing that the possibility that her friend had raised could have been a possible reason given her lack of awareness of the other world in the first place.
"I just wish he would say something," she said "Let me know how he's getting on in his search for Kai or what it's like in wherever it is he's gone to. I swear Aichi can drive me up the wall sometimes with how much he worries me."
"Do tell."
The two girls suddenly stopped in their tracks, wondering who the voice was that had suddenly addressed Emi when she made her comment about her concerns for Aichi clear. Then before any of them could react, a circle of purple coloured flames suddenly erupted around them and cut off their exit as they encircled across a large portion of the open street.
"W... what is this?!" gasped Mai, too shocked to properly assess their situation.
A sinister giggle suddenly caught their attention afterwards as they turned around to find that it was Ulith who had summoned the barrier of flames to prevent them from leaving until the fight she had in mind came to a conclusion. The cruel demanoured Selector kept her creepy smile upon her lips as she gazed upon the two girls that she had ensnared. As Mai moved nervously behind her friend, Emi stared back at the one who had cast the barrier in bewilderment and confusion, unsure of why she had come after the two of them.
"At last we meet, Sendou Emi," Ulith spoke "I wonder if it is fate that I find you here after my ventures today? Or is it my craving for another stain on the Sendou name today?"
"Who are you?" Emi asked, raising an eyebrow as she did so.
"You may call me Ulith, scum," she scoffed "Not that I would expect that you would have heard of me, let alone my activities."
"Activities...?" Mai pondered in confusion.
Opening up her palm for a brief instance, a brief flash was displayed by the dark power of the cruel demanoured Selector which showed for a mere few seconds the symbol that was the Mark of Penalty. When it vanished, that was when Emi suddenly realized who it was that she was now face to face with and the peril that she and Mai were now in.
"That symbol..." she breathed "Are you one of the people that attacked cardfighters over at Foo Fighter and Singapore?!"
"So news of our endeavours have spread," Ulith muttered with a sneer "But that is hardly of any concern to me. I'm more interested in the younger sister of the one who banished Link Joker's evil from this world. And what twisted delights I can pull from her."
With a wave of her hand, two dark transparent red fight tables manifested in front of both her and Emi, a signal that she was challenging the latter to a cardfight with no choice in the manner, given that her prey was now trapped in her circle of flames. The younger sister of Aichi then stepped up to the table in front of her and the two of them prepared for battle as Mai moved a little to the side so that she wouldn't be in the way of their conflict. Eventually as their starting hands were decided, Ulith and Emi reached out for their starting Vanguards.
"Stand up, Vanguard!" they declared as they flipped over their cards.
"PRISM-Duo, Tisza!" Emi called as a mermaid with a blue tail, pink hair and a black dress appeared as her first Vanguard.
"Ulith, Enma," Ulith calmly spoke as her Level 0 LRIG self appeared onto the battlefield.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Crawling Chaos)
Both the Bermuda Triangle user and her closest friend could only gasp slightly, having not expected their opposer's Vanguard to bear the same name as herself, leading to both wonder and confusion. As this happened, a card flew out from the cruel demanoured Selector's deck and bound itself face down, leading them to wonder what she had in store for them this way. Deciding not to let it shake her, especially in the dangerous scenario she had now found herself trapped in, Emi decided to take the first turn as she drew her first card from her deck.
"I pretty Ride, Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana!" she called as a mermaid in a black dress appeared in a bright pink glow "Tisza moves!"
After Tisza reappeared to the left portion of her back row, she gazed over to Ulith signalling the end of her turn. The cruel demanoured Selector then softly giggled as she drew her first card before going into a seemingly pouty mood as she placed the card into her hand.
"Hmm... Hold on a minute..." she muttered, much to the sudden surprise of her opponent.
"Huh...? Is something wrong with your hand?" Emi pondered in utter confusion.
"You could say that..." Ulith continued before soon recovering her smile "But, I can live with this. Ride! Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins!"
As the Ulith, Enma on her side of the field vanished in a black flash, the purple skinned Devil SIGNI appeared as her Vanguard whilst the former had reappeared into the front row of her rear-guard. As this happened, a second Grim appeared behind the pale LRIG to assist her in the coming attacks for the turn.
Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins/Grade 1/Boost/SLD: 5000/POW: 7000/?/Dark Zone/Devil
"Attack!"
As soon as the command was given, Grim took flight on her wings and dived down towards Parana in preparation to strike her directly with the red coloured trident she wielded. Ulith then turned over the top card of her deck from the attack's Drive Check, revealing it as Baal, Reason of the Mortal Sin which glowed brightly.
"Draw Trigger," she smirked as the Ulith on the battlefield powered up "It seems this minor setback was meaningless for concern after all."
Grim then slashed across the mermaid directly in front of her, causing her to scream as several scales fell from her tail upon it suffering from the impact of the razor sharp trident. Ulith, Enma then began giggling in a sinister tone, one that was very much almost identical to the real Ulith as a sphere of purple flames manifested in her gloved hands before throwing it at her target, causing Parana to scream loudly in pain as Emi moved back to avoid being singed by some stray embers. She then placed the card Duo Dream Idol, Main into her damage zone which was already home to PRISM-Duo, Slaney.
After seeing that her opponent had ended her turn there, she then drew her next card before pondering on what exactly was in front of her and what she could see of the cards that were on Ulith's table.
"I've never seen any of those units before..." she breathed before taking a card from her hand and placing it onto her Vanguard Circle "Ride! Duo Mini Heart, Rhone!"
A red haired mermaid with blue eyes and also dressed in black then manifested itself onto the battlefield as Emi's new Vanguard, gazing upon Grim as a new mermaid with greyish hair and purple eyes appeared to the left of her.
"Peace attacks Grim!" she declared as the new arrival charged towards the Devil SIGNI that was her opponent's Vanguard.
"Guard," Ulith said calmly as Baal came to the defence to protect Grim from harm before vanishing shortly afterwards.
As Rhone cast a torrent of water that struck her target head on, she swam through the tunnel that was created at high speed, just as Emi was conducting her Drive Check which revealed Duo Pride Crown, Madeira showing that she also got a Trigger, this one being a Critical. Rhone rammed straight into Grim which knocked the Devil SIGNi onto her back as Baron Amadeus and Ulith, Vermilion Enma landed in Ulith's damage zone.
"Good Emi!" called Mai "You've managed to tie with Ulith!"
"Rhone's Counter Blast!" Emi called "Peace returns to my hand and I add another copy to my hand from my deck!"
"I see," Ulith smirked "Bermuda Triangle's speciality and a means to strengthen your offensive and defensive options. I can see why you have quite the contrast to your brother as I've noticed for myself."
Whilst her opponent could only blink in confusion, wondering how she had such knowledge of both herself and her own brother despite this being the first time meeting the cruel demanoured Selector face to face, the latter then drew her next card before placing a different one from her hand over Grim's card, causing the Devil SIGNI that was her Vanguard to disappear.
"Ride, Cosmo, Symbol of Immorality!" she called as a SIGNI riding atop a strange grey coloured demonic creature with red eyes imbued into its claws appeared in the place of Grim.
"Another unit we've never heard of..." Mai breathed "Just what are those cards Ulith has?"
"I think the bigger question we should be asking is why there's a unit with the same name as herself," Emi interjected.
That one answer was all the confirmation that Ulith had needed however as her lips pursed a devious smile, as if that one confirmation was all she needed to carry out the next part of whatever twisted scheme she had in her mind. And right now, her previous victim's sister was the target that was before her.
(End Music)
"Oh? You know of my actions, yet not of my cards?" she spoke in a seemingly questioning tone "I thought that circle of fighters that gather at that shop would have everyone in the loop."
"What do you mean?" the Bermuda Triangle user asked, confused by her sudden comment.
"I wonder why it is they never really told you," Ulith continued with her eyes closed and a sneer present on on her face "The real location that Aichi had went to find his 'precious' Kai Toshiki who had seemingly vanished without warning, did he not. That being... my own world."
Whilst Mai was simply confused, having had no understanding of what her friend's opponent was even saying at this point, seeing as it was more like a riddle that an straight answer at this point with the only clue seemingly being that the real location Aichi had travelled to, that being her own world.
"Are you saying you know where Aichi is now?!" Emi demanded, now seeing that the answer she had wanted all this time was now within her grasp "And what do you mean by other world?!"
"Know? I've met him myself and I would say he's doing just fine," Ulith replied smugly "But then again, your logic had you be able to see him now would dictate otherwise. Besides, are you telling me that he never said a word about where he was really going or why?"
The Bermuda Triangle user wanted to voice a reply to her answer, but then stopped upon taking in the words of what she had just mentioned and processed them through her mind. That was when a horrible feeling started to well up in her stomach, soon raising a possibility she had never wanted to consider since the very last time she had talked to her brother.
"That reminds me," the cruel demeanoured Selector continued "Didn't you happen to have a memory where you claimed to an unsuspecting Kai Toshiki that you were an only child? How do you believe that you even came to think of that in the first place?"
"N... No..." she breathed, taking a step back in trying to process this supposed information through her head "A... Aichi would never lie to me! He... He's not that kind of person and... there's no way that he could put in a bad dream in my head!"
"Then I'll enlighten you," Ulith continued "That was real memory, caused by four individuals under the very command of Sendou Aichi himself!"
Emi was now frozen still as she still could not believe in horror that not only was the reason she even said such words to Kai was because of the Quatre Knights changing her memories under Aichi's command, but that he had even lied to her about the fact that he had supposedly no idea of where he was going or how long the search for Kai was supposedly going to take.
"Besides, I think the rules of the Selector Battles will make my world a fitting home for him," she sneered before palming her face and giggling to herself. Ah, if only he knew about 'it' before today's events.
Emi could only clench her open fist tightly, her earlier disbelief now replaced by sheer anger. Anger from that she had been lied to by her own brother, having her own memories manipulated temporarily without knowing the truth behind it and the fact that everyone she befriended at Card Capital seemingly had knowledge about these two instances that they seemingly weren't even willing to share with her. Mai could only watch on in worry as this supposed truth was bound to have an effect on her composure for the rest of the fight and that whatever happened from this point forward, things were bound to get ugly between Emi and Aichi sooner or later, if the two were to ever reunite.
And there we go! Kiyoi manages to finish the fight and calm herself down over Nagisa's earlier comment with Kamui and Gouki now being able to help prove her innocence to other fighters across the city. But as they determine that Emi may be in just as much danger and seek her out to warn her and disclose the truth to her, Ulith ambushes her and forces her into a fight with her Duo deck on the line. Can Kamui and the others reach Emi in time to tell her everything or does Ulith have more than a few tricks up her sleeve in store for Aichi's younger sister? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! If anyone's confused by the presence of Howl Owl in Ruko's Yuki deck, I can assure you that it's not going to be the only card that originally debuted in the manga that makes it over to the fic. Please share your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews and I'll see you next time. Until then!
Re-adapted Cards debuting this chapter:
Code Piruluk
Grade 0
Ability: Boost
Shield: 10000
Power: 5000
Critical: 1
Nation: Magallanica
Clan: Magallanica
Race: Human/LRIG
Unit Type: Normal Unit
[AUTO]: When a Grade 1 card that does not have "Piruluk" in its name rides this unit, call this card to (RC).
[AUTO] (Soul): When a Grade 1 card with "Piruluk" in its card name rides over this unit, search your deck for up to one Grade 2 or higher card with "Piruluk" in its card name, reveal it and add it to your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
Cosmo, Symbol of Immorality
Grade 2
Ability: Intercept
Shield: 10000
Power: 5000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dark Zone
Clan: Dark Zone
Race: Devil
Unit Type: Normal Unit
